QUOTE OF THE DAY. TRIPPS ORIGINAL

[Tizer]

...its “smoky notes” and “smooth creaminess”.

That sounds more like whisky/whiskey to me.

[Stanley]

I think you may be wise David. It struck me as being slightly surreal when I first read it.
Mind you, you never know.... The Co-op might have an imaginative buyer who has persuaded a marque to do a small special labelling for them.....
Peter is right.... 'smokey notes' doesn't quite fit with a sharp white wine like a Champagne.

[Tripps]

Sir Patrick Vallance at the Covid Enquiry -

Said he kept a diary each evening as a 'brain dump to protect his mental health'.


A bit like some of us on here perhaps?

[Stanley]

Could be.....
And they can't touch you for it.... (See my current brain dump re. unfathomable changes to my email.....)

[Tizer]

I couldn't resist this quote:
"Mate, there's rats everywhere," Derek Lord, a resident from the town of Normanton [Australia], told AFP news agency. "We have hire vehicles and they literally destroyed a car overnight, taking all of the wiring out of the engine bay," said Mr Lord, 49. LINK

[Stanley]

"said Mr Lord, 49."
This was what struck me about the clip Peter. How old-fashioned to quote a person's age like that. I thought journalism had got past that!
They want to be very careful about handling them. Rats drag their tail through the urine when they have peed and they are loaded with Jaundice..... Most people pick them up by the tails, the worst thing you can do.

[Tripps]

How old-fashioned to quote a person's age like that.

Really? What about Housewife 49 starring Victoria Wood-and the more you see of her after her untimely death, the cleverer you find she was. As an aside - "The Guardian thought it revealed Victoria Wood "to be both a far better writer than we had ever guessed and a far better actor as well."

All arrested suspects, when not named, are described by the Police with their age such as a male (23), and almost everyone referred to in the press has their age attached.

Taking a wider globalist view - I was in the company of an Asian lady recently who on introduction, promptly asked my age, and told me how old she was. I had read that this happened, but it was still a bit of a surprise when it actually did.

PS I realise now that the Housewife 49 bit probably supports your contention. The rest of it stands though. I'll leave it in because it's interesting.

[Stanley]

"almost everyone referred to in the press has their age attached."
That might be true but if so, I hadn't noticed. Perhaps we see what we are looking for.... ?
The same thing applied to 39-32-36 at one time after a young woman's name. Hard to believe but those measurements were often quoted.

[Tizer]

"said Mr Lord, 49."
This was what struck me about the clip Peter. How old-fashioned to quote a person's age like that. I thought journalism had got past that!

Perhaps it's still the rule to quote age among journalists working for the French news agency AFP. Agence France-Presse, based in Paris, France, is the world's oldest news agency. They must like sticking to tradition!

[Tripps]

"almost everyone referred to in the press has their age attached."
That might be true but if so, I hadn't noticed. Perhaps we see what we are looking for.... ?

Less than one minute's intensive research - revealed (from The Guardian)

"A five-year-old girl and a female creche worker in her 30s were critically injured. A five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl were treated for less severe injuries."

I rest my case.

[Tripps]

he same thing applied to 39-32-36 at one time after a young woman's name.

That almost takes us back to Flatley Dryer territory. (no pun intended).
Where are the latter day Jayne Mansfield, Diana Dors, and Marilyn Monroe? I'd say Katy Price isn't quite a sufficient substitute.

I love the line "though some scholars dispute those figures", Happy days when 'scholars' discussed such matters.

Newspapers in the 1950s routinely published Mansfield's body measurements, which once led evangelist Billy Graham to exclaim, "This country knows more about Jayne Mansfield's statistics than the Second Commandment."[243] Mansfield proclaimed a 41-inch bust line and a 22-inch waist when she made her Broadway debut in 1955, though some scholars dispute those figures.[266] She was known as "the Cleavage Queen" and "the Queen of Sex and Bosom".[267]
It was said that her breasts fluctuated[268][269] in size from her pregnancies and nursing her five children. Her smallest bust measurement was 40-D (102 cm), which was constant throughout the 1950s, and her largest was 46-DD (117 cm), measured by the press in 1967.[270] According to Playboy, her vital statistics were 40D-21-36 (102–53–91 cm) on her 5'6" (1.68 m) frame.[47]
It has been claimed that her bosom was a major force behind the development of 1950s brassieres, including the whirlpool bra, cuties, the shutter bra, the action bra, latex pads, cleavage-revealing designs, and uplifted outlines.[271][272] R. L. Rutsky[273] and Bill Osgerby[274] have claimed that it was Mansfield, along with Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot, who made the bikini popular. Drawing on the Freudian concept of fetishism, British science-fiction writer and socio-cultural commentator, J. G. Ballard commented that Mae West's, Mansfield's, and Monroe's breasts "loomed across the horizon of popular consciousness".[275] According to Dave Kehr, as the 1960s approached, the anatomy that had made her a star turned her into a joke.[266] In this decade, the female body ideal shifted to appreciate the slim waif-like features popularized by supermodel Twiggy, actress Audrey Hepburn, and others, demarcating the demise of the busty blonde bombshells.[263][276][277]

[Stanley]

For a flavour of what was thought to turn us on then, have a look at this clip!

[Tripps]

A rather sinister announcement after this article in the Mirror. Sign of things to come?

"An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to webhomepage@mirror.co.uk"

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS, I suppose it's off piste here but your mention of AI in the newspaper article reminded me that I heard a news item yesterday about the increased use of AI Apps by very young children to 'sext' each other or for sexual harassing on line. It would appear that the genii is out of the bottle and it's no longer necessary to worry about when AI will affect our lives, it's happening already and we haven't even noticed.....

[Tizer]

A rather sinister announcement after this article in the Mirror. Sign of things to come?
"An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to webhomepage@mirror.co.uk"

It amuses me to see that they are using HI (the readers) to find and correct the errors!

[Stanley]

I suspect that we would be surprised if we knew how extensive use of AI is in all fields of the media and industry. It's an opportunity to save money and increase profit and I think we all know what happens in circumstances like that.
I am so glad I am no longer in the world of work and in a job vulnerable to further computerisation. I think I know what's going to happen and when it does it will dwarf all the other problems in the economy.
(Just a thought..... how do you tax AI when it's taken over a human task?)

[Tizer]

(Just a thought..... how do you tax AI when it's taken over a human task?)

I put your question into TalkAI which has free use here: TalkAI
Here is a copy of the answer...

Taxing artificial intelligence (AI) when it takes over a human task is a complex and debated topic. As AI becomes more prevalent in various industries, governments worldwide are considering options to ensure fair taxation. However, it is important to note that the specifics of AI taxation may vary between countries and regions. Here are a few approaches that have been discussed:

Income or profit tax: This approach suggests taxing AI-based systems similarly to human workers or businesses. If an AI system generates revenue, it may be subject to income tax or corporate profit tax, just like human workers or companies.
Robot tax: This concept proposes taxing the use of robots or AI systems that replace human workers. By levying a tax on each robot or AI system employed, governments aim to generate revenue to support affected workers or public services.
Data tax: AI systems heavily rely on data, and this approach suggests taxing the use or processing of data. The idea is to tax companies based on the amount of data their AI systems utilize, encouraging them to contribute their fair share to society.
Value-added tax: Another option is imposing a value-added tax (VAT) on goods or services produced or enhanced by AI. This would not be a specific AI tax, but rather a broader tax on the overall economic output related to AI applications.

It's important to note that these discussions are still ongoing, and there is no universally adopted approach to taxing AI. The complexities of implementation and potential impact on innovation and economic growth make it a challenging issue to address. Consequently, governments are carefully considering various perspectives and balancing the need for fair taxation with fostering AI development.

[Tripps]

Or as Mavis Riley would have said a - lot more concisely -

"We don't really know "

[Stanley]

Quite David!
This struck me....
"The complexities of implementation and potential impact on innovation and economic growth make it a challenging issue to address."
Which is why nothing serious will be done about it and whatever method is used, such as VAT, will hit everyone. We will be paying the tax for the viper that is strangling us......

[Tizer]

A very long quote but worth reading! It's taken from this BBC article this morning: `Milford Haven: Garden ornament turns out to be live bomb'
After living in the street since he was three years old, 77-year-old Mr Edwards was sad to see it go. "It was an old friend. I'm so sorry that the poor old thing was blown to pieces." Mr Edwards said he had been told the history of the bomb by the Morris family, whose relative used to own the house. They said he had found it more than 100 years ago.
"The street did not need to be evacuated, as the bomb had such little charge", said Mr Edwards. "Warships for the Royal Navy used to drop anchor in St Brides Bay and point their guns towards Broad Haven and open fire," he claimed. "They used to use the sands for target practice. They'd make sure there was no one on the sands, mind! Well Pop Morris, who went around delivering lemonade, was going down to Broad Haven with his horse and cart and found the shell. He struggled back up the beach with it, put it on the back of his cart and had a very bouncy seven-mile ride back home. He plonked it upright in the front courtyard and that's where it remained."
The full story is here: LINK

[Tizer]

NB. That reminds me of my father's story of parking his truck containing depth charges outside the house belonging to the lady whose daughter became his wife (and my mother) in Port Elizabeth, SA. An Avro Anson carrying the depth charges had crash-landed on take-off and he'd been sent out with some other RAF men to unload the armaments. They always stopped at the house for a cuppa because the lady was from Stoke-on-Trent and her house was open to all Brits during the war.

[Tripps]

Hot from Dubai - Irony lives. . . .

The president of Cop28, Sultan Al Jaber, has claimed there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5C, the Guardian and the Centre for Climate Reporting can reveal. Al Jaber also said a phase-out of fossil fuels would not allow sustainable development “unless you want to take the world back into caves”.

PS there are 80,000 delegates. Just think about that for a moment. I read also that Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton has donated £60,000,000 (not personally you understand) to be given to countries of the Global South to compensate for the damage we did to them in the nineteenth century due into our industry.

Perhaps a deduction might be allowed for their use of limousines in the interim, or is it back to tents and camels?

[Stanley]

Am I alone in my suspicion that the whole series of 'COP' conferences is mainly so that we can say we were doing something? 80,000 delegates sounds a trifle excessive....
My UXB story isn't quite so exciting. We had one very close to our Anderson Shelter one night. My father, as senior ARP warden reported it and the Bomb Disposal people came out immediately. When they investigated they found it wasn't a bomb but a length of railway line that had been blown into the air by a direct hit on the nearby railway sidings. It's still there and perhaps some day will be discovered and puzzled over!

[Tripps]

From Paul Lewis of Radio 4's Money programme.

"Rwanda has signed a Treaty with the UK which promises that if UK sends another Home Secretary there - the Rwandan government will not return them, but will find them accommodation and a job".

[Tizer]