The Infrastructure Off-Topic Thread!

rameire

well i drive a honda deauville motorbike,
so im the guy filtering through all you guys stuck in the traffic, especially on the lovely 2 lane M7 motorway.

also drive a honda civic the newer version ( no i dont have shares in honda )
but that will be gone in 2 weeks, cause the missus decided to give up work to be all arty farty.

used to own a panda, great car.

opened my account on boards back in 2002, cant remember why but forgot all about it until a year or two ago.
now the missus is addicted and i have to fight her to use the comp, as she uses my log-on.

hobbies, just getting into photography, thats what the wife has decided to do. hence the reason why ive started taking photos of roads for you guys.
another hobby is alcohol, but im cutting back ( i swear ). and Stargate.
i suppose roads are a hobby now for me, its more of a how quick can they build them interest.
used to be more confrontational on boards, but am more laid back now.

also hate people who dont look after their financial situation, or cant understand how people just ignore their problems.

KevR

BluntGuy wrote: »

I drive a Fiat Punto...

*sigh*

If you're over six foot, aren't paper thin or plan to carry more than half a person... I don't recommend this car.

It's cheap and nippy, but that's about it.

I drive a Punto (1.2L Petrol) also. Love it around town but it's fairly crap for long journeys, especially on a motorway (the petrol practically drains from the car if you push it at all). Worst journey ever in my Punto was a night time trip to Dublin a couple of years back when the M6 only came as far as Kilbeggan. There was thick fog and ice on the roads, took 4 hours and I was wrecked tired.

I now also drive a Skoda Superb (1.9L Diesel). Long journeys are so effortless in it compared to the Punto.

Furet wrote: »

! I've always been way more interested in roads than cars anyway - quite the opposite to the lads over in Motors!

+1

KevR

tech2 wrote: »

What are posters interests outside of infrastructure and wimmin?

Watching but not playing football (soccer) and hurling. Travelling and sightseeing. Incidentally, often killing two birds with one stone, I have travelled all over England watching football and travelled all over Ireland for hurling. Hopefully next season when I have a job I will be able to afford some away games in the Champions League and I'll get to see some parts of Europe that I've not been to before.

In my Final Year of Information Technology in university so I suppose I am interested in computing.

Also, have a bit of an interest in power-lifting.

tech2 wrote: »

Oh heres another topic: Ryanair- Yay or Nay?

I use them a fair bit and I find them ok.

L1011

tech2 wrote: »

What are posters interests outside of infrastructure and wimmin?

men

football, trance music, weird mix of films, cooking, Lego. weird mix of stuff.

mysterious

What about interesting topics such as?


Whats going on in the world??????


Pub talk is really overated imo. Cars? A topic of conversation.EEK. Are we going to talk about cars for the rest of eternity on this thread. Come on guys be more innovative with your conversations. Don't be scared to talk about things that don't always have to be small talk.:rolleyes:


Topic, I have one.
Why are Irish people so bloody afraid to talk about realism? awareness? reality? space? nature? beliefs?

Amtmann

You can develop your thoughts about this stuff here if you want I suppose. Just don't get angry or abusive if people disagree with you!

KevR

So who else hates students? I am a student myself but I hate students. :eek:

BluntGuy

mysterious wrote: »

Whats going on in the world??????

I'm currently eating a sandwich.

Amtmann

KevR wrote: »

So who else hates students? I am a student myself but I hate students. :eek:

Count me in there.

Tech3

KevR wrote: »

So who else hates students? I am a student myself but I hate students. :eek:

I'd say the ratio of bums to real students has hit 10:1.

There is no motivation in people today.

I see many wasters with no real target in life, sad really.

Amtmann

Well, one thing that bugs me as a researcher at a third level institution is the amount of students who look cross-eyed or dismissively at you when you use a word composed of more than four syllables. This is unavoidable in the Humanities, because often long words describe concepts or whole theories of society. Rather than bothering to find out what a word or concept means, the frequent refrain is, "I wish yer man would talk proper". I make no apologies for really hating that attitude.

I've also noticed a massive decline in the quality of students' writing over the past few years - and I'm not talking about typos here. It seems that a good deal of students do not know how to punctuate properly, let alone form grammatically correct sentences. Raise this matter on certain fora, or around certain people, and you'll be denounced as a 'snob'. There's also a very non-chalant attitude in certain quarters towards attending lectures. Whatever the rights or wrongs of bringing back fees, if a certain type of student had to pay for their education, they probably wouldn't go skiving off lectures so frequently!

KevR

There has been quite a bit of attention given in the local media to the rise in anti-social behaviour from students in Galway this year.

There are 20,000 students in Galway so it's probably a small minority but I can't stand students who go on like that. It's blatant attention seeking. Also, some of them just can't handle a bit of freedom.

Boards coverage of student behaviour that was also in the local papers

Students who need to get a life and a proper sense of humour

More coverage

Chris_533976

That'll be Spongey trying to gain support for the Outer Bypass by trashing Galway Noone will want to go there anymore, only around it.

mysterious

Students today are so irritating and out of touch with reality. I'm lucky in my generation where I learnt pretty fast when I left home what real life is about and where you have to say to yourself that your a grown up and you can't depend on your parents even when your stuck.

They think by getting a degree you kinda look hot. It's one of the most irritating things to me at the moment. "This generation" from (16 to 24) And I hate to biased but it's like Americansim.


You will soon find out, life isn't all materialism and how good your job is. The ego ccentric mind. YUCK.. The amount of 20something year old's that behave like 14 years old's is quite a common thing aswell.. When they come into a shop on a sunday night they buy all the crap food and giggle like a mob. I cannot understand the logic in young people smoking it's just hideous.

I'm extra aware and senstive to the people around me. I can easily detect what they give off. They are careless, ignorant and really flippant. They have no manners for old people. No patience and HAVE NO SENSE OF DIRECTION.


They judge, pass comments, the lads are goofy and the girls act like innocents. Why is this? Is this always the way? But honestly they are annoying and loud and I have no time for it!!! One would drop a bar on the ground and all of them would laugh. It's no joke. Is this funny?

I hate to judge, but this has to be said. There is no concept of respect, awareness or self responsibility amongst these folks.


I'm 24 and I'm saying this and that saying something. (And I was a student)

Chris_533976

Furet wrote: »

Well, one thing that bugs me as a researcher at a third level institution is the amount of students who look cross-eyed or dismissively at you when you use a word composed of more than four syllables. This is unavoidable in the Humanities, because often long words describe concepts or whole theories of society. Rather than bothering to find out what a word or concept means, the frequent refrain is, "I wish yer man would talk proper". I make no apologies for really hating that attitude.

I've also noticed a massive decline in the quality of students' writing over the past few years - and I'm not talking about typos here. It seems that a good deal of students do not know how to punctuate properly, let alone form grammatically correct sentences. Raise this matter on certain fora, or around certain people, and you'll be denounced as a 'snob'. There's also a very non-chalant attitude in certain quarters towards attending lectures. Whatever the rights or wrongs of bringing back fees, if a certain type of student had to pay for their education, they probably wouldn't go skiving off lectures so frequently!

The number of scientific papers I've seen with glaring typos is staggering.

Amtmann

tech2 wrote: »

Nice interests Furet although I've never heard of Dexter!

Well then do yourself a favour and get season one. So few people here have heard of the show but I have managed to get most of my friends addicted. I guarantee you'll be hooked by the second episode!

rameire

just want to say thanks to furet for the links page,
just checked out the ireland link for skyscrapercity and noticed im being quoted on that site with my pics and talk of the m9 from boards.
were world famous guys.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=517243&page=19

I wouldnt mind joining that site, but i would find myself divorced.

Amtmann

rameire wrote: »

I wouldnt mind joining that site, but i would find myself divorced.

+1.

Road enthusiasm + discussion fora = unhappy girlfriends/wives.

Amtmann

I'm doing a bit of research on the movements of journeymen and pedlars in sixteenth-century Germany. Happily, this allows me to indulge my diletantish interest in road history.

At the moment I'm looking at the historic routes between Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Nordlingen (a major trade route or 'Handelstrasse'), and also the old road between Rothenburg and Bamberg.

Now, the current way of getting from Rothenburg to Bamberg is here. The old way is basically here, up along the Aisch River. The old road seems to have been modified quite a bit before the Autobahns were built. I am going over it bit by bit, and I notice quite clearly here that the old road was realigned. But if you follow the old road back a bit, you see that the current route, marked in blue, runs for the most part parallel to a small dirt track. In Germany today, these dirt tracks are often cycle paths. I wonder though if these cycle paths are actually (and generally) the original Handelstrasse, or simply a Green innovation of more recent years?

Anyway, moving along!

Here we have the old and great trade route from Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Nordlingen, which passes through Dinkelsbuehl. One of the great things about many German towns is that you can clearly see the mark left by redundant infrastructure, namely the old town walls. Look at this aerial view of Dinkelsbuehl for instance - and especially this one of Nordlingen. Note how perfectly circular the old town is; and also, how the fields around it also form a circular pattern.
The reason?
The city is nestled is the heart of a crater resulting from a prehistoric meteor impact.
But back to the old road. It diverges from the more modern road here and appears quite abandoned here. The image isn't clear, but I'd love to know if the old medieval route is still used by anything other than cars, namely cyclists. Meh. This off-topic thread is coming in useful!

munchkin_utd

Furet wrote: »

..... The image isn't clear, but I'd love to know if the old medieval route (Rothenburg -> Bamberg) is still used by anything other than cars, namely cyclists. Meh. This off-topic thread is coming in useful!

Aischtal Radweg?

starts in Rothenburg and ends in Bamberg anyhow.
http://www.radtourist.com/aischtal-radweg.html

and here's it on a google map!
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://radweg.doit-edv.de/AischtalRadweg.kmz

Amtmann

Brilliant! I had a hunch alright that in large places those Radwegs are actually old historic roads. Now to find a medieval road map and tavern/inn locations...

KevR

My hands are seizing up from using the feckin computer so much (Repetitive Strain Injury I think they call it). I have so many assignments and projects to do over the next few weeks, which is bound to make it worse!

Anyone else ever had bad RSI?

Tech3

I also enjoy going to a few gigs every year. The Muse gig in the O2 on this Friday is one I've been looking forward to for a while now. The only downside to this will probably be a promotion for their new album, the resistance which in my own opinion is average at best.

My musical taste can differ on what kind of moods I would be in. The bands and artists I would usually listen to would be like The Clash, Pearl Jam, Neil Young to name just a few.

Does anyone else listen to a bit of grunge?

Amtmann

Can anyone tell me how to copy an area of google maps or google earth from those websites/programmes onto Paint so that you can save and doctor map images?

KevR

Furet wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how to copy an area of google maps or google earth from those websites/programmes onto Paint so that you can save and doctor map images?

Take a Screen Shot (Print Screen button) and paste into Paint. Then just cut out the bits of the screen and map you don't want.

Tech3

Furet wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how to copy an area of google maps or google earth from those websites/programmes onto Paint so that you can save and doctor map images?

Print screen?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_screen

If you hold the fn tab and hit prt sc it will copy the whole screenshot into memory so you can paste it into paint.

mysterious

Guy whats the most up to date detailed mapping of Ireland online.


I do have this free time on my hands and I want to look at up to date mapping. Google earth is becoming a joke with updates. Brunei and the pacific Islands are probably more up to date than we are on this front.

Seriously 80% of Ireland is practically not covereed whats' up with that.

Sponge Bob

For Ireland

maps.yahoo.com has the best road map IMO
osi.ie has the discovery series in a layer if you zoom right in ( middle of home page has maps link), now very good
www.map24.de has a nice distance marker ( looks like a ruler) but is otherwise crap for ireland
maps.google.com has the best terrain ( countour) map but has ****e roadmaps
maps.google.com has the best modern ( post 2005) aerial photographs but coverage is dreadfully spotty
maps.live.com has the best quality Irish city aerial photography but is useless in the countryside .
osi.ie has aerial photography
osi.ie has historic maps , 1910 and 1845 ( thereabouts)

KevR

I wonder did Google collect any mapping data while they were going around doing the Street View thing? If they did, we might see some map updates when Street View launches for Ireland.

Sponge Bob

They mapped every road in Ireland with GPS as they drove along .