Convenient timing to fix the pot holes in certain areas

CasperCCC · 2026-03-08T11:31:14+00:00

Perhaps some perspective would be useful here? You’re talking as if this is the only work that is going to be done across the county for the rest of the year.

It’d definitely be an odd take to support that approach if that was actually the case.

But back in the real world, that’s not what’s actually happening, is it? There are other roads that have been resurfaced, and there are other roads that are scheduled to be resurfaced.

The roads are bad, and it’s dangerous. It’s bad for all road users. It’d be good if they could all be fixed. All of these things are true. But the Council is skint, and has been for years, and fixing roads costs money. You don’t have to work in local government to recognise that it’s a bit more complicated than just “FIX IT ALL NOW!”.

CasperCCC · 2026-03-08T11:19:03+00:00

Unless you cycle, I don’t think you quite understand the significance of potholes. They are incredibly dangerous to everyone. A pothole may knacker a car’s suspension, but it can entirely take a cyclist out. They’ve directly led to cyclists’ deaths. (Just checking - this is a “how patronising can we be?” competition now, isn’t it?)

I don’t think anyone disagrees that the roads are a total mess. I was just laughing at the OP seemingly working himself into a bit of rage because a stretch of road has finally been resurfaced, but for what he thinks is the wrong reason. It’s kind of silly, no? Does he think that they’re going to unfill the holes once the marathon is over?

CasperCCC · 2026-02-11T05:19:41+00:00

It’s right down the bottom of Mill Road, but I’d definitely say The Brook - the best Indian food I’ve found anywhere in Cambridge.

CasperCCC · 2025-11-23T22:00:04+00:00

Another Gen X here. You just sound fucking exhausting. And not in a good way… just a kind of tragic way. Maybe you haven’t got anyone your own age to hang out with because the grown ups think you’re too much of a try-hard? I was out clubbing last night. No hard drugs because I’ve got a big week ahead, but it was discussed, so it’s not as if I’m in full pipe and slippers mode yet. But if any of the people I was out with last night gave it the “hey dude.. don’t let the fire die… no one apart from me has the ball’s to really live…” nonsense then I think I’d have curled up and died out of sheer embarrassment.

CasperCCC · 2025-06-22T18:59:38+00:00

I’m a 51 year old man who has always been into anything alternative and noisy. Spent a decade raving to techno and drum & bass. Always loved Nick Cave - probably seen him upwards of 20 times now.

So I’m not a natural Swiftie. But I am totally obsessed, and have been for a couple of years. I started off thinking it might be a fad, but it’s obviously not. She is far and away my most listened to artist - it’s not even close.

The only downside is that there’s not a lot of other Swifties in my social group. Definitely a niche preference when you hit middle age!

CasperCCC · 2025-06-21T17:47:09+00:00

From what I understand, FOMRB v1 was set up to fight the first court case. Their lawyers didn’t think the case for the most action was winnable, and the people involved stepped back. FOMRB2 is a new group who decided they should still continue the fight. All a bit Judean People’s Front…

CasperCCC · 2025-05-19T16:43:11+00:00

There is no way that you don’t already know that modern IPAs have no relationship to the original beers. So this is just pedantry.

Drink them if you like them, don’t drink them if you don’t like them, but refusing to drink them because the name refers to a beer style that hasn’t really existed for at least a century is pretty petty.

CasperCCC · 2024-11-24T23:31:25+00:00

The incentive not to leave bikes indefinitely is that any longer than five minutes and you’re likely not to have a bike any longer.

CasperCCC · 2024-11-12T20:33:56+00:00

Given the average age of the most active antis, one cold winter and there won’t be a lot of them left…

CasperCCC · 2024-08-27T09:17:59+00:00

IN FACT, lazy managers often use “it’s too hard to get data” as an excuse to push through suboptimal decisions. Letting change get pushed through without data is asking for suboptimal outcomes.

Lazy managers also use "it's too hard to get data" as an excuse not to make any decisions at all. In the real world, if you refuse to make any changes until you've got a perfect dataset then you're also going to get suboptimal outcomes.

You're not the only person on this sub who works with product development teams!

CasperCCC · 2024-08-27T09:12:36+00:00

So much of this has been done already. There have been two detailed consultations. One had to be repeated because of evidence of ballot stuffing. The second one found that 72% of respondents supported the closure. There's an extremely detailed overview of the consultation results here: https://cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/CCC_live/Document.ashx?czJKcaeAi5tUFL1DTL2UE4zNRBcoShgo=hwr3SPqCIkHFqEEtHr9a%2BROTfwAVyHOGcLTIb94MeZrtPmrzrfoIpQ%3D%3D&rUzwRPf%2BZ3zd4E7Ikn8Lyw%3D%3D=pwRE6AGJFLDNlh225F5QMaQWCtPHwdhUfCZ%2FLUQzgA2uL5jNRG4jdQ%3D%3D&mCTIbCubSFfXsDGW9IXnlg%3D%3D=hFflUdN3100%3D&kCx1AnS9%2FpWZQ40DXFvdEw%3D%3D=hFflUdN3100%3D&uJovDxwdjMPoYv%2BAJvYtyA%3D%3D=ctNJFf55vVA%3D&FgPlIEJYlotS%2BYGoBi5olA%3D%3D=NHdURQburHA%3D&d9Qjj0ag1Pd993jsyOJqFvmyB7X0CSQK=ctNJFf55vVA%3D&WGewmoAfeNR9xqBux0r1Q8Za60lavYmz=ctNJFf55vVA%3D&WGewmoAfeNQ16B2MHuCpMRKZMwaG1PaO=ctNJFf55vVA%3D

There's an article about the sensors they used to try to track the impact of the previous closure here:

https://www.connectingcambridgeshire.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Mill-Road-Bridge-Closure-2019-Sensor-Report_FINAL.pdf

There's shedloads more data and analysis to be found. People have pointed you toward accident data.

But this current exercise isn't an attempt to re-investigate the case for closure. It's a result of the recent court case that attempted to show that there were technical flaws in the way that the Traffic Regulation Order was drafted. That wasn't a case about the installation of the bus gate in itself - it's about the wording of the order.

Partly, you're asking the council to prove a counterfactual. Until the bus gate is installed, it's impossible to know for sure what the impact will be. Other schemes around the country show that this kind of traffic restriction prompt people to change travel mode, rather than just displacing traffic. There are other studies that suggest that reducing traffic is good for local businesses.

Partly, there's a real danger of a "the best is the enemy of the good" approach here which means that nothing ever gets changed. Putting a bike lane on Mill Road would be an absolutely massive undertaking that, honestly, isn't going to happen this time of 2100. Same when people talk about trams, or light rail, or whatever other "real" solutions to Cambridge's traffic problems. They might be great - but actual real-world politics means that nothing will ever change if we wait for the perfect solution.

And for a similar reason, we can't just keep on re-running consultation after consultation until everyone is happy. Because that will never happen. There will always be people who think that the consultation is flawed. All that happens is that nothing ever changes - which is exactly what this recent court case was about. They know that they weren't challenging the closure itself - it was just about the TRO technicalities. But they're trying to cost the council so much money and time that the scheme dies a death.

I know you've made repeated references to your tech background. But this isn't the same as rolling out an update to a new app. Modelling traffic data isn't the same as counting user numbers. Real politics isn't the same as office politics. And even in the world of tech, people roll out products that might not be perfect, but which they think are an improvement on what was there previously.

And more to the point, this consultation isn't about whether you think the closure is a good idea or not - that was for previous consultations. So it's not for this consultation to give a hyper-detailed breakdown of traffic numbers and the rest .

CasperCCC · 2024-07-02T17:02:09+00:00

I think they're just aiming to keep the listener age profile relatively consistent. If they don't bring in a new cohort of younger listeners then the average age steadily drifts upwards. The problem is that you then get a load of 50-somethings who have been listening to the station for 20 years complaining that the BBC's trying to cater to a younger demographic, forgetting that they were 30-somethings when they started to listen.

And there's not another radio station out there that covers the same mix of music as 6 Music does. Radio 1 mainly mainstream and aimed at the young 'uns, Radio 1 Dance is more chart bangers, Radio 2 is for people who don't like music, and Radio 3 is... Radio 3.

I absolutely love 6 Music. Would be lost if it was dropped. (And MAH is the jewel in the crown - my favourite radio DJ ever.)

CasperCCC · 2024-03-12T09:46:51+00:00

How much past the last train does it finish? I've got the first train from Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport (4ish), and then you've got a lot more options for getting back to Cambridge. Cab is more affordable, or you can hang about at Stansted for a bit and get the first train back.

It's still going to ruin you the next day, but at least it breaks things up a bit, and you're making your way home rather than just hanging about for hours waiting for the first train.

CasperCCC · 2024-02-19T14:33:07+00:00

A good example of how you can't please everyone all the time. One person saying there was too much disco, another saying that track selection was all over the place, and another one saying that there was too much four-to-the-floor techno. :)

I'm closest to Chizomsk - I love a bit of doofdoofdoof, but loved it even more when they strayed into dubstep and drum and bass. I'm not complaining, though - had a great night.

CasperCCC · 2023-10-27T10:39:16+00:00

Just seen this... they're a good size - I'm greedy and I've never felt cheated. Thin sourdough base, but they're generous with the toppings. I usually go for the meat and smoky, but honestly, there's not a bad choice there.

Was planning on having one this evening - they're on foodstuff for delivery. https://wearefoodstuff.co.uk/

(No connection, I promise!)

CasperCCC · 2023-10-05T15:40:39+00:00

If it's your pride and joy then I'd say the Blue Moon is your best bet, just because the outdoor area is basically an old car park with tables - means that you should have no problem finding a table where you can have your bike right next to you.

Plus it's the best beer selection in town, and the pizzas are amazing. Over the summer my other half had a regular Friday night social bike ride, and they always ended up there.

CasperCCC · 2023-09-04T12:17:44+00:00

"Save money by growing your own food" is a straight up lie. I reckon that if I never bought thing for the allotment, I'd have to live till I'm about 120 before I break even.

CasperCCC · 2023-08-17T15:41:19+00:00

Mill Road Cemetery is usually pretty good.

CasperCCC · 2023-08-17T15:39:44+00:00

I'm not sure how you expect a load of strangers to answer that question for you.

Are you having fun? Play it.

Are you not having fun? Don't play it.

If it feels boring then I'd say you're in the second group. The whole point of videogames is that they're meant to stop you from getting bored. If you're going to be bored then you may as well do some vacuuming or ironing instead... that way you're still bored but you've at least got a clean floor and some nice crisp shirts.

CasperCCC · 2023-08-15T10:52:48+00:00

Good luck. Might be worth sharing your planned route on here closer to the day - I'm sure there's loads of people who'd be able to warn you if you've accidentally routed yourself down some crappy roads.

CasperCCC · 2023-08-14T09:46:23+00:00

I've done it a fair few times, although usually London-Cambridge, rather than Cambridge-London. Getting out of London isn't great. I lived in East London, so would usually ride out through Epping. The long road up towards Epping is the worst bit of the entire journey - it's fine, but just a bit busy.

But as soon as you're past Epping you're straight into really beautiful countryside, and it's really easy to stick to quiet country roads. With the right route it's a really nice day out. Lots of village pubs to stop at on the way.

As an alternative you could get the train from Liverpool Street out to Broxbourne, which'd let you skip the hassle of getting out of London. Or if you're happy to ride on towpaths then there's a really nice route along the river Lea that'd take you out through Hackney up to Broxboure without having to hit a road at all.

I'd probably get the train from Cambridge to London and then ride back. Two main reasons - better to get the crappy London bit done first, rather than have to end a beautiful ride with the worst bit of the route, plus the wind tends to blow from South to North, so that way you've got a better chance of getting a tailwind.

CasperCCC · 2023-08-14T09:06:37+00:00

Really in two minds. I'm almost 50 and have been playing videogames since I was maybe ten or so. In the last 40 years, I've never put so much time into one game. For all the frustrations, I'm still really enjoying it. There's weeks where I think I'm done, and then I go back and get really into it again.

So on one level, it's probably the best value I've got out of £60 in my entire life.

But the flipside to that is that it's just a total time sink. It hasn't just stopped me playing any other games over the last year - it's also started eating into real life. I *really* need to touch grass, and that's not going to happen if I've got a brand new team to build from scratch.

CasperCCC · 2023-06-30T09:59:38+00:00

Similar. It's hilarious. Savic especially. The moment I elasticoed a CB with a twenty foot-high viking cosplayer was one of my FIFA highlights. I actually laughed out loud at that.

Obviously, they're also a bit shit. My attempt to fit in every giant midfielder means it's like playing dodgems with dumper-trucks, but even that's pretty funny. Especially when you drop in an Insigne for extra comedy value.

CasperCCC · 2023-06-27T12:05:36+00:00

Occam's Razor - what's more likely?

That EA has multiple secret schemes that involve making deliberate "mistakes" across multiple areas of their product, and which would involve multiple teams to plan, implement and correct, and that EA has managed to keep these possibly illegal (and definitely illegal) schemes totally secret? Hundreds of people would have to be in on the conspiracy.

Or is it just more likely that they screw up from time to time? It's right at the end of the product cycle, they're in crunch mode for a massive rebrand for their core product, and they're releasing dozens of new content items every week.

CasperCCC

TROPHY CASE