My company announced RTO the same day Amazon did. The Union is up in arms, but honestly the powers that be are handling it pretty well. My boss is happily going to the office for a couple of days a week. She’s a million miles from enforcing it on us though. Exceptions are already in place for people like me (3 hour TGV ride from the nearest office) and even a few people who just said “I really don’t want to”.

I’m sure a few people will leave and not be replaced, but perhaps they were just dead weight anyway. I couple that I know about definitely are.

All the gear, no idea?

I just have them speak my name. Lived in France for 12 years now and not 1 has got it right.

I know, but my point is that sort of parent has no desire to do so.

Is the sort of parent who gives a 5 year old their own phone going really going to a limit the use? I think the crossover in that Venn diagram is pretty small.

Had project manager at previous job the same. Worked about 3" from his screen. He was the proof that a good project manager is worth their weight in gold though. Guy was absolutely brilliant.

Either Slackware or Red Hat Linux 5, can’t remember. I do remember that when I first installed RH5 I used “Hick” for my language.

That didn’t end well last time though

No need for poisoning. Where he was -30°C is normal at this time of year. Not giving him a coat would have been enough to kill him

Shame, one of my favourite workplace proximity associates is called Kyle.

Easy workaround: live in the countryside with no neighbours.

Yeah, for a living room TV the only option is either “digital signage” or no network.

I’ll just stick to not connecting my TV to the network.

The US invented neither trains nor cars.

It is true the US was basically built on railroads, so I agree that it should have an awesome network, but it is just too big. Even if France ships you all a bunch of TGVs it will take days to go from NYC to LA. Something that takes hours by plane.

I have one of those and it works perfectly from Linux using standard software. You can also go over the subscription, you just pay (still comparable to buying ink cartridges though, perhaps even a little cheaper if you’re printing photos). It also worked for 2 weeks with no internet connection, although it did complain about that lack of an internet connection after a week.

It has also proved to me that HP are conning everyone with non InstantInk cartridges. After 3 years we are still on the same cartridges, which I am sure it would have claimed were empty if it were not InstantInk.

Disclaimer: I got the printer for (effectively) free and use the free tier subscription which allows me 10(?) pages a month with no rollover. It has cost me about €2.50 in 3 years. I would never have paid for a modern HP printer.

Edit: I am not defending HP’s abhorrent business practices. However, in this case I found a loophole and was able to exploit it. It was also free because I had a awesome employer who gave out Fnac vouchers every year. I am also only able to exploit that loophole because I also have that little Brother laser that just works.

Laserjets up until generation 5 were amazing. There are laserjet 4s still trucking away churning out pages. I personally had a LaserJet 4MP that I sold when I got married due to its extremely low wife acceptance factor (it was huge, loud and ugly. We both regret that decision because 20 years later it would probably still be working.

Basically, what Brother lasers are now is what HP laserjets used to be up until ~2004. We can debate the exact switchover year ad nauseum, but you get the idea.

pandemic taught people how viruses spread

Didn’t every adult in the developed world not learn this as a child from their parents? Or failing that, at school? Are most people genuinely that stupid?

It boggles my mind that it took a world changing pandemic for people to learn basic hygiene! If people just washed their hands occasionally (start with after you go to the toilet) perhaps COVID would have never happened.

Instead of brake checking, flash the rear fog lights.

A red light coming on often makes them think you’re braking.

The problem goes back further. You say “another group owned it first”, but Israel say they have had that land for millennia and it was given to them by God.

Palestine did not even exist until the British randomly carved it out on a map except for a brief period under the Romans around 0BC. The Romans called it Palestine in order to remove Israel’s identity.

How far back do we go?

Wars have been fought for less.

In fact, it would not surprise me if an argument about bread was a factor in WW1.

I may live in France, but I am English too. A simple white cottage loaf is great, that is indisputable. However the availability is laughable.

When I lived in Portsmouth, there were 2 bakeries on the whole island. 2!! in my little town here we have 4 artisan bakers, plus 3 supermarkets that all sell really good bread. Just round the corner from my house there is a farm that sells bread (made completely in house) every Friday afternoon and people take the afternoon off work and drive 2 hours to buy it.

French bread wins hands down.

However I agree with you on one thing: I love bread!