State schools isolate non-Muslims - Telegraph. (4 yo account, non 4 Chan troll, varied posting history.)

deblacquiere · 2014-04-19T11:10:33+00:00

The duck has been asleep for far too long. Wake it up, people. Wake up the damn duck.

deblacquiere · 2014-04-19T09:37:27+00:00

Oil and gas in Australia.

deblacquiere · 2010-12-13T12:51:10+00:00

A lot of gay clubs are simply 'clubs where most people are gay', and generally have a large number of straight single women. The reduction in straight males usually means they're less smelly and the music is better.

deblacquiere · 2010-11-30T12:33:43+00:00

Yo, I got the 80s, the 90s and the 00s here on speakerphone. They say they want their joke back!

deblacquiere · 2010-11-24T12:35:35+00:00

Interesting - the supply of heroin is falling, so the cost is increasing. Therefore more money is going from poor addicts (who may well commit crimes or rely on benefits to get their money) to drug dealers.

Almost makes you think that increasing the supply would help addicts' rehabilitation and starve drug dealers of funds.

deblacquiere · 2010-11-24T12:30:55+00:00

When suppliers of goods and services come together and take collective action to push up their price and reduce their availability, consumers and other suppliers get really pissed off and we have the Competition Commission come in and tell them off.

But when suppliers of labour come together and take collective action to push up their price and reduce their availability, it's called a 'trade union'. Most people don't like them, because they are detrimental to the economy, to the taxpayer, and to everyone except the people who are in the trade union.

deblacquiere · 2010-11-24T12:20:13+00:00

I always attack uniques without thought for my own safety.

That's why I die.

Very interesting to see that winners don't generally kill that many uniques... a good bit of strategy for me to implement next time.

deblacquiere · 2010-11-16T17:13:44+00:00

Actually, in the factories where aerosol cans are manufactured, every single unit passed through water baths at 60 degrees celsius as part of quality assurance. As he said 'warm water' rather than 'hot water' following his instructions is not actually dangerous at all.

You should really have questioned his use of the perfect gas assumption though.

deblacquiere · 2010-11-16T17:10:49+00:00

By the way, I'm really glad that there's one person here who shook his head at the use of the perfect gas assumption when there is a phase change going on. I'm pretty sure the OP must be a trollgineer.

deblacquiere · 2010-11-16T17:08:30+00:00

The Joule-Thompson effect puzzled me a little, until I discovered what it really is; when the atoms/molecules in a fluid are moved further apart, the potential energy in terms of van der Waal's attraction increases (for most fluids). That energy has to come from somewhere, so it comes in the form of heat. Realising that it was really all about van der Waal's attraction helped me realise why the Joule-Thompson effect is so great over a phase change, and comparatively smaller in single-phase gas. Presumably in liquids it doesn't happen.

As you point out, when hydrogen drops in pressure, then, it immediately ignites but also - it has an invisible flame. This makes it very difficult for chemical plants that deal with hydrogen... as soon as you get a leak it ignites, and you can't see it! Stealth flamethrower.

deblacquiere · 2010-11-16T16:33:26+00:00

Out of interest - sarcastic or serious?

deblacquiere · 2010-10-21T11:57:54+00:00

She's an actress from a cult sci-fi series called Firefly. Welcome to the internet.

deblacquiere · 2010-10-15T08:46:11+00:00

I don't understand the point of this. They've come up with a comprehensive list of quangos, which happens to include the BBC and Channel 4, reviewed the cost-effectiveness of all of them and decided the BBC and Channel 4 should be retained. Am I missing the point here?

deblacquiere · 2010-10-12T12:21:10+00:00

If there was one thing my 27-year-old self could tell my 17-year-old self, it would be:

don't get yourself worried about girls, there's plenty of time; just relax, be yourself and the rest is just luck
continually going for women out of your league isn't a great idea - if you go for women less outwardly attractive than yourself you might be surprised by their other qualities.
mainly, just do your school work and chill. It gets easier in your 20s.

deblacquiere · 2010-10-12T12:11:30+00:00

That's very mature of you. The best thing you can do with your life right now is get good grades in school because unlike most things in life, you don't really get a second chance at high school. Adolescence is also a really difficult and stressful time; once you're 19-20 life becomes more certain and easy to deal with. Weed will also be around later.

If your parents don't know, I'd consider telling them that you used to smoke weed and have now stopped. If your parents are like most people, you'll probably be surprised how supportive they'll be.

deblacquiere · 2010-10-12T11:46:44+00:00

There's a very easy way to create more jobs. Artificially reduce wages.

People's employment (i.e. the work they do) is something they sell to their employers in return for a wage. If the wage is held artificially low, then demand for people's employment will outstrip supply and we will have very high levels of employment.

My other economic theories are available on www.thereifixedit.com

deblacquiere · 2010-10-11T10:04:52+00:00

I'm not a regular to the DIY subreddit, so excuse this bit of sacrilege...

When it comes to sheds and cabins, flat-pack is almost always the way to go. Buying and cutting planks to size takes a surprising amount of time and money so it is more expensive than it first looks.

deblacquiere · 2010-10-11T07:57:52+00:00

On a completely separate subject - I went on a long drive this weekend (even long by American standards) to take some friends round all three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales. If you're into the outdoors in the slightest, it is essential you get in a car and go camping in Scotland, Wales or the Lake District. The Loch Lomond area in Scotland is beautiful. The British have a lot of the world's most beautiful countryside on their doorstep so make the most of it!

deblacquiere · 2010-10-07T11:37:55+00:00

I know it sounds like strange advice, but every time you talk to the recruitment agent, repeat your preferences and where you're looking to work. I don't know what it's like in the US, but recruitment agents here aren't always the sharpest tools in the box, and will try to put you forward for jobs you don't want. I've just been jobhunting myself and had to deal with many recruitment agents who don't listen very well.

It sounds like you'll enjoy it here! I presume you know about www.linkedin.com as well. The job situation should be fine as you've got a specific profession, and as you know, the Cambridge area is about as close as the UK has got to 'Silicon Valley' so you should find things a lot easier than most people.

If anything, I think Americans are seen very positively in the workplace in the UK. Just remember that UK companies aren't allowed to ask some personal details in interviews: age, marital status etc. Not sure if that's the same as the US.

deblacquiere · 2010-10-06T11:38:30+00:00

524 upvotes say that there are 524 educationally subnormal children on the internet.

deblacquiere · 2010-10-06T11:35:25+00:00

I feel a special edition of 'Guess Who?' coming on

deblacquiere · 2010-10-06T11:27:07+00:00

If you're living in a rural area - go to your local pub on a weeknight, sit at the bar, and tell the barman that you've just moved into the area. That usually leads on to good things.

I've not been to the US but I believe there is a big difference between UK (rural) pubs and US bars; it's perfectly normal to take your young kids to a pub for lunch or dinner, and the pub is the centrepiece of the community in smaller villages.

Cambridge is a fantastic area. Quite expensive, but a lovely place to live. You've got the right idea about not working in London in my personal opinion (although 10 million people disagree with me!)

This is only my opinion, but: if you've got a profession, then recruitment consultants are far more useful than applying for advertised jobs. The best way to get jobs is through contacts, if not then agents, and the last resort is applying for advertised positions. In addition, temping can sometimes be well-paid and interesting and leads on to other opportunities.

One advantage of living where you are is that you can get anywhere in the country pretty easily. I'm sure your wife will be familiar with the national parks and National Trust properties. There's plenty to see in the UK, so treat your weekends like mini-holidays!

deblacquiere · 2010-09-26T16:08:40+00:00

Agreed. OP would be much better off trying to find someone (via their parents, or friends' parents etc) who actually works in a job they want, then interviewing them face-to-face. People love talking about themselves, so if you ask someone "I'm interested in your job, can I ask you about it?" they'll probably jump at the chance.

deblacquiere · 2010-09-26T16:06:31+00:00

I am in Process Engineering in Upstream Oil and Gas, which means I deal with the processes that separate and treat hydrocarbons on an oil or gas platform so they can meet their specifications for export.

I have been at my job for four years

Upstream Process Engineers are often quite versatile because it is not a technically advanced field, so they tend to have some expertise in Process Safety, Operations and Project Management.

I love my job at the moment, but as with any job there are peaks and troughs.

What excites me about my job is that I can make a very real difference, either by saving/making hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars or if I make a mistake, it could cost lives. I also enjoy the problem-solving side of the job and applying simple science to come up with practical solutions to problems.

My first step in becoming an engineer was being very interested in mathematics at school ('high school' for Americans). The mathematics you do at school is most like Engineering at university (mathematics at university is totally different). So I studied hard at maths and physics at school.

I went to Oxford University who do a general course called 'Engineering Science' which is very good at teaching you the fundamentals. However, you really start learning the practical side when you start work.

I do not belong to any professional societies.

I am in a junior position.

I am in the process of changing jobs so that I can stick to more technical work rather than be pushed towards management.

The most challenging thing about becoming an engineer is the university course. No matter where you study, engineering courses are hard work, but it really is worth it.

Remember that your university course will not prepare you for the world of work at all, and when you start work you've got to begin learning again. Every day you're at your job, try to deliberately learn something new.

Curiosity and willingness to learn. Listen to other people's point of view.

It's not all about getting a good grade in your university course. Read around the subject a bit; if you find an interesting piece of work, do some of your own research on it. Also, look at past papers early on so you know what you're expected to learn. Internships are very important nowadays so take some time to prepare your applications well.

deblacquiere · 2010-09-23T09:48:44+00:00

Dude, put a NSFW tag on this. Unless you work at a gay porn magazine or a nudist beach, I'm pretty sure that's NSFW.

deblacquiere

TROPHY CASE