Topics

1

General discussion / Scammers

« on: November 20, 2019, 07:55:21 PM »

Anyone getting phone calls from tech support scammers lately? I got one yesterday. I usually don't answer to obvious fake numbers, but it was a slow day at work so I thought I'd play along. He was an Indian lad working from a busy office by the sounds of it. Claimed to be working for AT&T. Talked me through some PC stuff (I have a Mac, so I had to do some googling as he talked to see what I was supposed to be seeing on my screen). After we got as far as the event viewer I couldn't think of a way of stringing him along any longer, so I just asked "Look, do you just want to skip to the part where I give you my social security number and credit card information?"
Him: "Did I ask you to do that?"
Me: "No, but you're going to eventually, aren't you?"
Him: "I'm calling from AT&T, not some random XYZ company..."
Me: "Yeah, right."
Him: "Look, motherf***er, if you don't want to take part in this call, you're free to hang up any time."
Me: "Why are you doing this? Can you not get a real job? There are plenty of honest jobs out there, you don't have to earn a living by robbing people."
Him: "... and don't you dare waste my time. I don't need advice from you, so stick your advice up your a$$hole..."
Me: "I think you need to calm down, go home and re-think your life." - click -

Funny how quickly they become abusive once they realise you're on to them. I got one a few days ago from an Indian lady.
Her: "Hi, I'm calling about your vehicle's warranty which is expiring soon and would like to offer you a chance to renew it."
Me: "Which vehicle?"
Her "Uhhh, your Ford."
Me: "Which Ford?"
Her: "uuuuuh, Escape."
Me: "Oh, okay." (We have a VW Jetta, but she doesn't need to know that.)
Her: "So would you like to renew your warranty?"
Me: "What about the warranty on our other cars?"
Her: "Uh ... uh ... uh ..."
Me: "Are they expiring soon too?"
Her: "Uh ..."
Me: "Come on, tell me about my other cars, since you seem to know so much about them"
Her: "Uh ..."
Me: "What other cars have I got? You must have all that information in front of you"
Her (screaming): "You keep repeating yourself as if I can't hear you!" - click -

2

General discussion / Point of order

« on: November 13, 2019, 03:39:45 AM »

Can we please try to be civil?

I’ve been scrolling back through some older threads that I missed the first time around and I can’t believe how quick lads are to get into a ding-dong. Someone posts a comment that’s either missing a bit of detail or someone misunderstands or disagrees with, and before you know it you’re wading through three pages of back-and-forth abuse. Knock it off! Learn how to disagree like adults.

If someone says something you know to be incorrect, all you have to do is post the relevant article that refutes it. Instead of saying “you’re talking shite,” try “I’m not sure if that’s true” or “are you sure?” Leave the man a bit of wiggle room to change his mind without losing face.

And if someone does contradict you and you know they’re right, there’s no need to dig in and defend the fort. This isn’t the Oxford Union or the Dail. It’s okay to change your mind and say “point taken” or just “oh, I didn’t know that.”

3

General discussion / Help with college / university projects

« on: October 04, 2019, 05:36:08 AM »

Would any of you mind helping me out by completing a survey for a bit of research I'm doing for a college project? It takes a minute or two and it's to do with electric cars.

https://sjsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_barpBX4rdkvrbOR

Many thanks!

4

General discussion / The Troubles - A Secret History

« on: October 03, 2019, 05:07:06 PM »

New thread for fans of the excellent BBC Spotlight documentary.

5

General discussion / Climate change

« on: September 20, 2019, 08:18:05 PM »

Kudos to all the people protesting today. Governments need to get off their holes and do something.

6

GAA Discussion / GAA pitches in Craigavon - a gale in a pale?

« on: June 12, 2019, 06:28:03 PM »

What's all the hullabaloo about the ABC council not providing municipal pitches for Gaelic games? According to the shinners the SDLP are being west Brits by going along with the decision to provide facilities for Rugby and Soccer but no GAA, and claiming that the GAA was not consulted.

According to the SDLP this has been a 3-year process in which all councilors, including SF, were involved. The GAA was consulted, the Armagh county board is fine with the plan, the GAA Ulster council is fine with the plan, the North Armagh clubs are fine with the plan, St Ronan's College is fine with the plan, and SF was fine with the plan all along. Only now are SF raising objections.

Is this a bit of a cheap shot by SF or what?

7

GAA Discussion / Let's move the All-Ireland finals to St Paddy's Day

« on: May 30, 2019, 10:03:42 PM »

And while we're at it, Gaelic football needs an oval ball to make high fielding easier. The posts should be moved two feet closer together in hurling, we need to bring back lateral point posts, the opening clash should be above head height like in Shinty, pitch invasions at Croke Park should be reintroduced, we should go back to making a goal outweigh any number of points, the club championship should have a different format every year, and each provincial council should run their championships on a different format.

8

General discussion / Mormon temples

« on: May 28, 2019, 05:31:44 PM »

Mormon temples aren't open to non-Mormons - except for yesterday when the Oakland temple was opened for tours by the public. I went with some family and friends (some of them former Mormons) just out of curiosity because it's an impressive looking building from the outside.

Well inside it's just and endless labyrinth of corridors, smallish rooms, more corridors, cramped staircases, more corridors, and strikingly dull decor. It's like a cheap and tacky middle eastern hotel inside. I was expecting to see a big cathedral-like worship space, but all I got was some bland looking auditoriums roughly the size of a college lecture theatre. There was a cool looking baptismal font, something the size of a hot tub, supported by big statues of bulls, but that was about the most impressive thing about it. Everything else was just dull or outright weird.

These include:

• Tons of changing cubicles with multiple clothing storage lockers in each one
• Storage for white robes that people are supposed to wear during certain ceremonies like baptism (they go for the full immersion version, hence the hot tub)
• Small and dull rooms where they perform "marriages" (they don't call them weddings for some reason) and there's a small altar at the middle of the room where the couple kneels opposite each other
• Code violations left right and centre. There's no emergency exit signs despite it being confusing where is the way out, I saw no signs of any sprinkler systems, no emergency lights, and stairs are non standard dimensions
• All the decor such as carpet is custom-made in a specific pattern, but it still looks like something out of a hotel
• There's one auditorium with a curtain behind the stage. They didn't tell us what that's for, but my former Mormon friend told me it's where you reach through to the people hiding behind the curtain and they give you the Freemason-style secret handshake which you're supposed to use when you get to heaven

What I found most striking is that it's high on a hill with a stunning view over Oakland, the bay, and San Francisco looking out through the Golden Gate - and there's not one single window in the whole damn building. They have these rooms where you're supposed to go and supposedly meditate or something, contemplating the grandeur of God's creation, but you can't look out a window at one of the best views ever.

An interesting day out, but weird.

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General discussion / Bygones

« on: March 29, 2019, 10:47:18 PM »

Old fellas on ancient black bikes cycling around the country.

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General discussion / Eamonn news

« on: March 15, 2019, 08:08:43 PM »

Adolph1 is now on ignore.

That is all.

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General discussion / Things people do on TV / in films that never happen in real life

« on: February 07, 2019, 12:19:26 AM »

Getting into the shower and then turning on the water without testing the temperature with their finger first.

Driving for long periods without looking at the road without crashing.

Hanging up the phone without so much as a goodbye.

12

General discussion / Motion to ban Dolph1

« on: December 26, 2018, 04:31:54 PM »

Dolph1 is a sock puppet who raised his ugly head as soon as Foxkkkommander was banned. His sole purpose is to wind people up with extremist alt-right talking points. Ban him.

13

General discussion / Tautologies

« on: December 05, 2018, 05:05:24 PM »

ATM Machine.

Or better still, Automatic ATM Teller Machine.

14

General discussion / Pivotal "Riverdance" moments and positive memories

« on: August 10, 2018, 09:44:48 PM »

I don't know what people think of Riverdance nowadays but I distinctly remember at the time how ground-breaking it was. When Flatley came bounding across the stage with his arms lifted up and not welded to his sides I knew immediately that this was a radical departure from traditional Irish dance and was going to be something special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0v_pu6miJ8

This was before the Euro, the property bubble and the banking shenanigans. I remember there being a positive atmosphere about the place, it was a country on the up, leaving behind the poverty of the past. Riverdance captured the spirit of that time beautifully.

There have been other positive moments in the national mindset too. Free from the usual cynicism and begrudgery, it's nice when something positive happens and people can celebrate something.

During the World Cup I was looking back at old YouTube clips from Italia 90, and the "nation holds its breath" moment in the Ireland v Romania match really jumped out at me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0LR0fmN3gM

Others include the Croke Park fireworks of 2009, an underrated cultural moment in my opinion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLRS8w5ehfk

Any others you can think of?

15

General discussion / The beating of that girl in Bangor

« on: April 25, 2018, 07:15:37 PM »

Anyone see the video? Mad stuff. She was lucky to walk away alive from that pounding. The perps are being charged with GBH but I'm wondering why it's not attempted murder. There must be a high bar to proving that charge.