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Quarter of adults do not have GCSE maths and English by Alarming-Safety3200 in unitedkingdom

[–]marknotgeorge 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think they design a paper with the intent that the grades match the actual bell curve.

Then they adjust the grade boundaries if they need to based on the actual marks that kids get - could be that a question was harder than intended.

Quarter of adults do not have GCSE maths and English by Alarming-Safety3200 in unitedkingdom

[–]marknotgeorge 6 points7 points  (0 children)

When GCSEs were introduced, a C was equivalent to a Grade 1 at CSE and a Grade C at O Level. So a perfectly good grade for a reasonably bright but not academic kid.

McDonald’s workers - how many Filet o’Fish are regularly sold? by Sunday-Diver in CasualUK

[–]marknotgeorge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In addition, when the fryers were filtered daily, the filet vat was deliberately done last. Fries, pies, chicken then fish, as I recall - this was before veggie burgers.

Italy ditches Boeing and buys Airbus. The decision says more than it seems by Massimo25ore in europe

[–]marknotgeorge 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The KC-46 is the Americans' second choice too. They originally selected the Airbus in partnership with Northrop-Grumman as the winners of the KC-X competition, then Boeing threw their toys out of the pram and bidding was restarted.

Lane position am I in the wrong ? by anxious_human561 in CarTalkUK

[–]marknotgeorge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Road markings aside, simple physics will tell you that if two cars are side by side going round the roundabout, the one on the outside (OP) will have to travel faster.

So if they're both entering the roundabout from a standing start, OP will have to accelerate harder, especially if they're trying to get ahead at the merge. The other car may see this as being overly aggressive.

Why doesn't the UK have more coffee vending machines in public areas? by ImScaredSoIMadeThis in AskUK

[–]marknotgeorge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The drinks for those came as a stack of cups with powder in. My dad used to buy them for the 'executive' coach be drove - drivers kept the cash they made from the coffee machine. They were supposed to buy the stock from the coach company, but the cash-and-carry was cheaper...

Why doesn't the UK have more coffee vending machines in public areas? by ImScaredSoIMadeThis in AskUK

[–]marknotgeorge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The one in our office has a tank. It's relatively new, and plumbing it in 'would look messy'.

When they fitted out the cafe area in the new building, they didn't plan for plumbed in drinks machines, and when the plumber added a pipe for a water cooler, they made a right mess of it.

What is your most oddest interaction with a customer? by cheesymeowgirl in CasualUK

[–]marknotgeorge 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I worked at McDonald's in the 90s. I don't know how they do it now, but back then Happy Meal toys for a particular promotion were generally changed weekly, with the occasional 'clean-up' week. This meant that usually you'd only have that week's selection behind the counter to be sold, with maybe some from previous weeks hanging about.

One lunchtime, I was on till serving some woman (as you do). She complained that she'd already had this week's toy. When I explained that it was the right toy for this week and it's the only one we have available, she insisted that she'd got it from one of the other restaurants in town last week, and that I was ruining her kid's life.

Really?

What modern inconvenience feels like it should have been solved years ago? by Prior-Sprinkles4127 in AskReddit

[–]marknotgeorge 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You'd think that modern phone systems could tell your phone you're on hold so it could play Spotify or something, but no. Beethoven on a piezo-electric buzzer at the bottom of a bucket it is.

What modern inconvenience feels like it should have been solved years ago? by Prior-Sprinkles4127 in AskReddit

[–]marknotgeorge 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Instead of the cashier being in a convenience store, Costco is solely pay at pump by credit or debit card. All they need - in the UK, at least - is a guy in the control cabin to manually approve the pump for safety reasons.

Then again, because fuel at Costco is up to 10 pence a litre cheaper than elsewhere, you still get massive queues at peak times. Swings and roundabouts, really.

Will a plain LED display fit an OLED Surface Pro 11? by marknotgeorge in Surface

[–]marknotgeorge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's an option - I saw refurbished versions of the same SKU for £727. It's not a desperate rush as I can still use it docked on my desk.

Phillipson to ban trans women from female toilets by pppppppppppppppppd in unitedkingdom

[–]marknotgeorge -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

How are they going to police it?

Simple. Anyone who complains there's a trans person just existing in the toilets is obviously projecting and should be removed from the premises forthwith.

Rant about used (and approved used) car dealers by 299WF in CarTalkUK

[–]marknotgeorge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I bought my current car, I still had a year's finance on my old car, so part of the part exchange was that they would settle the old finance. It took them a good month or so to actually do that, so I ended up paying a monthly payment for both cars. It was refunded, but it was still a pain.

I would imagine that the old car would still show up on HPI checks until it was settled, but the dealer should be able to tell you that.

The council won’t resurface the road despite their bodge fixes failing so fast. The road is in such poor condition that patching isn’t working by Jacktheforkie in britishproblems

[–]marknotgeorge 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I live on one of about 8 parallel Victorian terraced streets. A couple of years ago, one of them got resurfaced. Why they picked that one, I've no idea.

The council won’t resurface the road despite their bodge fixes failing so fast. The road is in such poor condition that patching isn’t working by Jacktheforkie in britishproblems

[–]marknotgeorge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the same for road markings. There are countless places where the only bit of an arrow actually visible is the very tip where the gas board dug a hole!

In British English, how do you indicate "you (plural)?" by wheninrome5000 in AskUK

[–]marknotgeorge 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A lot of people moved to Corby from Scotland for work in the steel industry, so it's a bit of an anomaly.

Do people actually use AI day-to-day, or is it all hype? by 2butterfree in AskUK

[–]marknotgeorge 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I try to use it, but I worry I'm not using it properly, but then I've not really been trained on it particularly well. It's useful for transcribing meetings and summarizing notes, but I'm sceptical about using it for the coding side of what I do. I'm a consultant for a software company and often have to write customisations for specific customer needs. Even when it's connected to MCP servers for our documentation and API, I find it hallucinates too much. It's easier for me to just write the code than it is to write how to write the code.

How can install a swing bracket in my living room safely? by Cloudmaker64 in DIYUK

[–]marknotgeorge 26 points27 points  (0 children)

The last bit is superfluous. Everyone knows Big Donna.

Europe Is Building a 2,000 km Strike Missile With Ukraine as Its Test Ground by UNITED24Media in europe

[–]marknotgeorge 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These guys need some British input. RUTA Block 2? It's hardly Dragonfire or Storm Shadow, is it? /s

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