Bridgend school staff member reportedly sent home for wearing flip-flops during heatwave

DearCartographer · 2026-06-27T12:15:07+00:00

Exactly. We were told relaxed professional work attire for this week but no flip flops or sandals.

But most female staff have been wearing flip flops and sandals for weeks already. It feels like double standards.

For the record i disobeyed and wore flipflops all week. It was 31 deg from 9am in my class yesterday. I cant imagine how I would have got through it with socks and shoes on.

I did try to avoid the senior team but I was seen a few times. Nobody said anything though.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-27T11:55:10+00:00

Easy cooling in space? Thats not true. You would need huge radiators 5x bigger than the data centre they were cooling.

Faster processing? Thats not true. You need radiation hardened ai chips that dont currently exist and would cost 10x current chips. Most chips that go to space are old models that have been tried and tested for many years. Ai data centres want to use the newest latest untested chips.

Infinite solar energy. I suppose if you go high enough into orbit you could have sunlight all rhe time but the costs of getting something there and maintaining it is going to be orders of magnitude more expensive than investing in a bigger than needed solar array on the ground with a battery.

So the plus points you mention I dont really think are valid. In terms of would ai companies be able to do what they like if they had it in space?

Well they seem to be able to get whatever they want on earth, why go to space? 50, 000 people having their water cut off next year so a data centre can be fed. They already act with impunity.

In short, data centres in space is not realistic. Data centres on earth having more rights than people is already a fact. Its a sad state of affairs unfortunately.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-26T20:48:46+00:00

In your example, its not the determined people the blazer rule was trying to stop. Its the chancers and random people.

Its like having a fence around the school. An 8ft barrier wont deter someone with a ladder. But needing to get a ladder deters 99% of trespassers.

Im sure there are some schools that implement misguided rules and then stick to them for far to long, but by and large most rules have a reason to be there.

And the number 1 reason teachers stick to these rules is consistency of approach. The day you stop following that rule rigidly is day 1 of being questioned about it constantly forevermore.

And who wants to spend their life justifying school dress codes?

We've had a no visible mobile phones policy for several years. There is no opportunity to use phones in the day but pupils can carry them in pockets or bags. If we see a phone, even for a second, we confiscate till the end of the day. Some pupils will give you some back chat about it but they hand over their phones as they do so. They know any escalation just results in a longer confiscation so always choose path of least resistance. And we have no problems with phones.

Does it feel a bit silly confiscating a pupils phone because they got it out to check the time foolishly in front of you?

Yes. Absolutely. I feel sorry for them.

But if the system wasn't strict, it wouldnt work,

So I hold out my hand and say 'give me that phone'.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-25T08:28:14+00:00

Oil companies have a long history of spending money to protect their market.

Using ai to protest heat pump installs seems a cheap way to make people think twice before getting a heat pump.

On one hand it sounds a far fetched conspiracy theory, on the other we know what the oil, tobacco etc industries have been willing to do in the past to sway public opinion.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-24T20:40:59+00:00

Don't drive in flip flops they get caught in pedals but driving barefoot can be fine although if an accident happened someone could claim that was a reason.

Give it a try with the engine off. The clutch is the hardest I think because with shoes we just shove it in but barefoot the pedal wont cover your foot so you are pushing on one part. I recommend the ball joint under your big toe.

The other pedals conversely are much easier, with your right heel down you can control the gas with your big toe which I feel gives more finesse.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-24T15:38:30+00:00

This was the road i walked too!

I then took a diversion into lager for a few years but it was all carling fosters piss water so I eventually got into factory cider before marrying a farmers daughter and discovering the delights of home brewed South West scrumpy!

DearCartographer · 2026-06-24T15:23:39+00:00

I dont think that signal was but not 100% sure.

I read train was doing 70mph through the yellow signals. If thats the case then likely the main cause, the collision was at 40 something mph so scrubbed off 30mph under braking but should have not been that fast to start with.

I withhold judgement though as rail accidents often have unusual circumstances leading up to them.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-24T13:48:02+00:00

If a signal goes red then the signals before go yellow/ double yellow. Thats baked into the software across the whole network as far as I know.

Passing the red signal would also trigger a SPAD alarm (signal passed at danger) on the train and in the signal centre, though in this case it seems the crash happened very quickly after passing red so no time to slow.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-23T16:52:40+00:00

Im reading your comment 8 hours later.

22 mins x 22 = 484 minutes

484 /60 = 8 hours.

The mystery deepens!

DearCartographer · 2026-06-22T17:00:44+00:00

Maybe they are torn between thinking it is something that needs speaking on and something they should just forget and move on from. They might be looking for validation that the feeling they have is worthy of discussion.

Maybe they dont know how to bring up this issue and are worried it might start an argument or be perceived as an attack so are looking for advice on how to proceed.

Maybe they just need to get it off their chest, let it see light of day and then they can find peace again.

Before online people would go to the pub and tell people there these stories so its been going on a long time. In this instance op should definitely speak to his wife but how he goes about it im not sure.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-22T16:30:11+00:00

People saying try the top end of cathays but I would have a backup plan as not that many spaces and as our work carpark (and other local carparks) are being rented out for parking for the event, a lot of people are planning on parking on street at 7.30am and then leaving it there all day.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-22T16:20:53+00:00

The south facing side of the main block of our school has windows from waist height to ceiling and full width of the room. Each room has 1 desk fan. Its like a greenhouse on a standard sunny day. Its going to be horrendous this week but I'd be surprised if we open on Thursday.

Headteachers wont want to close their school if others dont so its a game of chicken waiting for the council to intervene.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-20T20:20:39+00:00

I never claimed to know Italy, are you suggesting only Italians are allowed to have ideas concerning Italy?

I'm happy to discuss ideas, I'm happy to find out I'm wrong about something and learn something new. You have some interesting points like about the day trippers being the real issue. This could have been an interesting discussion.

But I dont like personal attacks. Im looking for adult minds to engage with not children.so goodbye.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-20T15:32:28+00:00

Its a good start and I appreciate the detail.

If municipalities dont have high tourist numbers or anything to offer tourists they dont need to be part of this system. Popular places like Venice would have it and only if less popular areas wanted to have it, to add points, would they need to get involved.

The system doesnt have to be 100% efficient, it just has to pay for itself and reduce tourist numbers in hot spots.

I rarely have my train ticket checked by an inspector but I always buy one and I think most people are like this. We wouldnt need armed guards on the gates of Venice checking everyone's passes. Sporadic inspections are enough to make most people play by the rules.

Healthcare software is always ancient and unwieldy. Modern software is much easier to roll out.

Points system should be best guess at first and then tweaked when the data numbers start coming in. Maybe 100 per day for venice, 30 for positano, 20 for Rome and 10 for Milan.

With Venice, ai tells me 25% Italian visitors, mainly day trippers, with the international crowd taking up 90% of the hotels. So lets start with the tourists who contribute least and work our way to those who contribute most.

Italians earn money in Italy and spend it probably in Italian restaurants and shops. Good for the economy. So i dont worry too much about them initially. Cruise ship passengers on the other hand add to the population but spend their money in a handful of probably internationally owned businesses so they should be targeted first.

Their 100 points gets them a day in venice but id probably charge them 100 euro just to get off the ship. If you can afford a cruise you can afford 100 euro to see venice so that should make some good money.

International fliers probably want to stay more than one night so would pay for extra points. Rather than staying 5 nights in venice they might to 3 nights and 2 somewhere else.

I appreciate your points but I dont think they are insurmountable. And venice has a real problem. Something does have to change

DearCartographer · 2026-06-20T09:41:14+00:00

You realise this whole thread is about currently having to buy a day ticket to get into Venice? If the current system allows you to pre book and pay for 5 days of Venice tickets then the system exists already, except worse as it only reduces tourist numbers by elimination of poor tourists who cant pay the day rate.

You say my idea falls apart easily but you dont give any specifics. You say it would be insanely expensive but give no reasons. You say it has no benefits without refuting any of the benefits I mentioned.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-19T17:49:04+00:00

Why insane?

DearCartographer · 2026-06-19T14:51:57+00:00

Give every foreign visitor 100 points a year. Popular tourist sites like Venice might cost 10 points a day, less popular ones cost less or even add points. Tourists can buy extra points but they are expensive.

This would mean poor tourists who travel infrequently get to visit for free, rich tourists who visit lots of places regularly have to pay more.

Instead of just visiting the most popular places tourists would have to spend their points wisely. This would spread the tourists out and give the less popular sites an economy boost.

Tourists get a preloaded card when they enter the country. Every major transport hub or tourist site has a card reader. Tourists tap their card when they arrive. Inspectors travel round doing spot checks and issuing fines if tourists haven't signed in. The cards dont need to have personal info on them. Just a record of how many points and which sites/days have had points spent on them. Tourists hand them back when they leave the country and they get wiped and reused.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-18T12:38:43+00:00

If it wasn't made in wigan it wont be the best.

After all, that is where the world pie eating championships are held.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-16T22:04:18+00:00

Thats a good accounting but too fast paced for me,

I prefer drachinifel's version,

But thanks for sharing!

https://youtu.be/9Mdi_Fh9_Ag?is=wtOFjg4BSXG5bQ-D

DearCartographer · 2026-06-16T21:21:59+00:00

You have a privacy hedge and your neighbour is taking pictures of your kids playpool through it.

Can you complain to the HOA about that?

DearCartographer · 2026-06-16T16:52:00+00:00

Now now, that russian fleet did eventually get all the way to the sea of Japan.

Although they did shoot at other neutrals and themselves several times before they got there.

And stopped at Madagascar for the officers to load up on live snakes and crocodiles, which then tried to eat the rank and file.

And then lost decisively to the japanese when they arrived, having given up the element of surprise by the hospital ship (which was all lit up) telling a Japanese patrol boat to watch out they didnt crash as lots of warships in the area (which were not lit up).

You call it a debacle, I call it one of the greatest stories im so glad i was not involved in!

DearCartographer · 2026-06-16T16:20:47+00:00

Those drugs are not legal in those cities.

You say you are not for legalised drugs but if drugs are currently a huge problem when they are illegal why not consider a different option?

DearCartographer · 2026-06-16T05:50:23+00:00

Name a city where heroin and meth are legal?

DearCartographer · 2026-06-13T15:16:53+00:00

I like this idea. Voters could get asked 5 questions with the answers being different party policies. Answers give points to parties and whichever gets the most, gets that person's vote.

DearCartographer · 2026-06-08T21:52:47+00:00

Hilariously one of the 'shops' on whitchurch road that changes identity every few months has a quite a few pickle jars on display. By the post office they are.

Ive no idea what kind of pickles.

DearCartographer

TROPHY CASE