The Vent and Rant Thread

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Renate

I was idly looking at vacation destinations and visas.
Australia has an electronic visa program which must be done on an Apple/Android app!
Desktop? Nope.

I hate apps. I hate bad one-time apps. I hate the presumption that I have a smart phone.
Why not let people do it online in a browser and print a QR?
I'm definitely sure that a printed piece of paper won't run out of power when I least expect it to.

Yes!

There should always be paper and desktop options even if there are apps.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

And even when you DO believe in smart phones, I buy the "SE" which is the tiniest iphone, because it still fits in my pouch. That screen is NOT big enough to fill in a form, especially not when that requires half the screen be the keyboard. Grumble.

I never do serious things on a smart phone.
It's too ungainly and the risk of error is larger than on a full screen/keyboard.

[JSWolf]

The UK is bringing in an electronic ID. But those without a smartphone can get a physical alternative. So what's to stop these ID cards from become illegally made and sold?

[Renate]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So what's to stop these ID cards from become illegally made and sold?

I think that they should use biometrics based on singing.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The UK is bringing in an electronic ID. But those without a smartphone can get a physical alternative. So what's to stop these ID cards from become illegally made and sold?

It's a gift to criminals, spies and illegals. Not all "immigrants" are illegal. See Asylum. One that's not physical is even less secure and can be fake! Even faked on official database. Security? Yes. we've heard of it.

We have an ID card via the back door in Ireland, but it's not a stupid one like the UK.

Driving licence in N.I. part UK had photo since forever (at least 1960s?) and was used as ID if you had one.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The UK is bringing in an electronic ID. But those without a smartphone can get a physical alternative. So what's to stop these ID cards from become illegally made and sold?

Not a single line of the enabling legislation has been written, it's just a brainfart from Starmer to stave off Farage. If Starmer's advisers had any sense they would have wedged Farage by framing digital ID as a way to stop woke banks from cancelling your account

[DNSB]

This post is likely only of interest to Canadians and other fans of the CFL.

For reasons that may be entirely valid, the new CFL commissioner has decided to make major changes in the rules of the game and in the size and layout of the field over the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

One of the 2026 change is to do with a time honoured Canadian football tradition called the rouge. For those who have never watched, Canadian football has a single point awarded for a punt, kickoff or missed field goal that goes into the end zone and is not returned into the field of play. No rouge will be awarded on a missed field goal nor if the ball goes through the end zone either in the air or rolling on the ground from a punt or kickoff. If a player catches the ball and either takes a knee or is tackled in the end zone on a punt or kickoff, the rouge will still be awarded. This does remove such sights as a team that is 2nd down and 5 at the 18 yard line with 2 seconds left in a tied game lining up in punt formation and simply punting the ball through the end zone for the winning point. Not exactly a common occurrence which I've seen twice in the years I have watched the CFL and both times the field goal kickers were injured. Normally, the field goal kicker would be kicking for 3 points.

The other two changes for the 2026 season are:

(1) Putting the team benches on opposite sides of the field. The majority of fields are already configured that way so no big deal.

(2) Changing the play clock from 20 seconds to 35 seconds. The new clock will be started as soon as the previous play is whistled dead unlike the current 20 second play clock which is started manually at the official's signal. I can visualize all the officials and players heading down the field at a run to get in position after an 80 yard pass and run play.

Now for the horrifying part for CFL fans...

In 2027, the current 110 yard by 65 yard CFL field will be shortened to 100 yards with the width unchanged. The currently 20 yard deep end zones will be changed to 15 yards deep and the goal posts will be moved to the back of the end zone instead of the current position at the goal line. The argument for the 15 yard end zones is that current CFL field have end zones that are not consistent. One field has an end zone that has curved corners due to the track around the field. The argument is that this will lead to 10% more end zone completions (i.e. touchdowns) per year though the statistics for the past 7 years suggest that is a bit optimistic. That this is also going to result in fewer field goals since a 35 yard field goal is now going to a a 50 yard field goal likely resulting in fewer field goal attempts and a lot more punts out of bounds inside the 5 yard line does not seem to be seen as potentially affecting scoring.

Thankfully a suggestion that the 5 yard restraining zone on a punt be changed to a suggestion similar to the NFL free catch rule was not accepted. Basically, the CFL rule is that no opposing player who was not onside when the ball was punted is allowed to be within 5 yards of the punt returner before the ball is caught. This does make punt returns a lot more exciting than the NFL's free catch or tracking the ball down and stopping it (again, IMNSHO).

Ahh... that feels so much better.

[Rumpelteazer]

I'm sick of being not well.

It started three weeks ago with neck pain, followed by my sister bringing back a Covid infection from her vacation. One of the Covid symptoms for me was long sneezing fits and during one of those fits I managed to break off a piece of molar. Since I didn't want to infect anyone I couldn't go to the dentist right away, so that wasn't fixed until yesterday. But overall the last couple of days I've been feeling more and more myself, only still more easily tired. But last night I started getting an itchy throat again, so I've been coughing.

I'm fed up with it and I want to feel better again. Hopefully it'll be better soon and I'm feeling myself again when going on vacation on the 6th.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I'm sick of being not well.

It started three weeks ago with neck pain, followed by my sister bringing back a Covid infection from her vacation. One of the Covid symptoms for me was long sneezing fits and during one of those fits I managed to break off a piece of molar. Since I didn't want to infect anyone I couldn't go to the dentist right away, so that wasn't fixed until yesterday. But overall the last couple of days I've been feeling more and more myself, only still more easily tired. But last night I started getting an itchy throat again, so I've been coughing.

I'm fed up with it and I want to feel better again. Hopefully it'll be better soon and I'm feeling myself again when going on vacation on the 6th.

I hope you will be better soon. I had a cold not that long ago and it caused my Asthma to act up and I was coughing a lot.

[Quoth]

Why is there no brand of Cider in Ireland now without "sulphites" added? Sometimes the fact is in tiny text separate from "ingredients" that might tout no artificial sweetners or flavourings.

People think of Whiskey and Stout (Guinness, Murphy, Beamish) as Irish drinks, but local Cider is as traditional here as in the English West Country etc. Just as Irish. Guinness may be even a quite late Irish introduction.

Edit
Maybe they always had them but just didn't list it before 2005.

[DNSB]

The only two Irish ciders I've tried were Magner's (Bulmer's(??) in Ireland) and Strongbow though I think they come from the same company. The Magner's Pear cider is one of the best pear ciders I've had.

OTOH, one friend of mine made drinking cider (or virtually any other alcoholic beverage) totally annoying since he couldn't simply enjoy whatever we were drinking but had to go on like a pretentious oenophile about the citrus notes, the vanilla, the rust and leather, the smoky woodiness, the cigarette ash, etc. I will admit the cigarette ash was a Quails' Gate winery Pinot Gris. I think he was rather upset when I asked what a lifelong nonsmoker knew about the taste of cigarette ash.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

…
I will admit the cigarette ash was a Quails' Gate winery Pinot Gris. I think he was rather upset when I asked what a lifelong nonsmoker knew about the taste of cigarette ash.

You never got cigarette ash in "fast food"?

Once a "pastie" from a "chipper" had an entire butt.

Pastie= N.I. UK potato / mince concoction in batter, deep fat fried. About diameter of a 1/4 lb burger and maybe x2 thicker. They might have them in Scotland too. Never seen them in England or rest of Ireland.

A Chipper has real chips (not fake US French Fries) and deep fried battered cod (sometimes whiting or haddock). In England also may have rock salmon, which in reality usually dogfish of some kind, a small species of shark up to 1m common in British Isles waters. In some places may have pickled eggs and mushy peas (not in Ireland outside N.I.) Also burgers with or without the bread (a bap in N.I. and used to be called a bun burger in rest of Ireland before US Chains were common). Also fat pork sausages, optionally battered. Some in N.I. even do fried soda farl sandwiches (an Irish Griddle Cake is related) with a fried egg filling. There are also battered onion rings and mushrooms. A curry sauce almost unique to chippers.

[Quoth]

First time I was in the USA on business the host Engineer wanted to take me to McD straight from airport (mid 1980s).

I pointed out that we'd had them in Ireland for years and Wimpy in GB and NI from the 1950s. McD claim to have the same experience everywhere, though source Irish ingredients in Ireland. Indeed it was the same and I like Chinese take-outs better. I preferred Wendy's in Ohio then and recently they announced opening here.

But the USA franchise chains are parasites, exporting all the profit and often avoiding tax using dubious patents / copyright / royalty. Also inferior food to most local run places I've been (9 countries). Often parasitical in getting a local to provide capital but that person is then purely an investor or manager. Franchises are one of the dark aspects of USA Capitalism.

KFC was good when it originally arrived (though rubbish chips AKA french fries. I know what we call crisps are usually chips in USA. Pringles don't qualify here as too low in potato). It's ghastly now. The original Irish Franchisee was sued because they broke away. Pat Grace's Famous Fried Chicken.

Also Pizza is Italian, not American. The Irish locals and locals run by Italians settled in Ireland are often much superior to the USA Franchise chains.

Subway is now widespread in Ireland. The rolls were never called "subs" in UK or Ireland but rolls. Their product was examined and found to qualify as cake, not bread (too high a sugar content, so has VAT instead of tax free, as all real food is). I was very annoyed. I tried many of their outlets as I love a filled roll. Ghastly. Fortunately almost every small foodstore does filled rolls, either with breakfast items or a good choice using real local bread, including the locally finished bought in frozen French breads.

I can't understand why the USA fast food survives in Europe. Of course, like Kellogg's in UK & Ireland, they do a massive amount of advertising.

[Renate]

I cook for myself, so obviously I have a large tolerance for crappy food.
But I don't do fast food. Just nope.

American "bread" products sap your will to live.

For "filled rolls" I'll take a proper pasty (with Swede/rutabaga) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Makes me think of a nice plate of haggis with neeps and tatties.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Renate

Makes me think of a nice plate of haggis with neeps and tatties.

Curiously turnips and swedes are two related plants. One is large with yellowish flesh and is neeps; it's called turnip in most of Ireland. The related plant, usually called a swede in Ireland, is much smaller and white flesh.
In some parts of Ireland and most of England the names are reversed.

<rant>
A Halloween lantern is made from a large turnip. It's Samhain in Irish (like sawin). It's one of the four Celtic Fire festivals originally exactly between equinox and solstice and vice-versa, surviving as "Quarter days" in the Church of England.

It was Americanised in about 1908 and Corporations then in more recent years imported the USA practices, including the pumpkin. Though the pumpkins are locally grown. There is zero tradition of pumpkin pie and the USA Pumpkin spice seems to be derived from Irish/British Allspice or Mixed Spice that might be in Hot Cross Buns. I've had real pumpkin pie in USA and the "pumpkin" spice is because it would be otherwise be almost tasteless.

The Chinese made junk and costumes (more inspired by USA Addams & Munsters and then USA TV) and pumpkins promoted by big business has almost destroyed the local original Irish / Celtic culture of Halloween / Samhain. Actually even the much older than US imported culture All Saints is a Catholic and later Anglican attempt to "take over" the original festival. </rant>

A poor advertising copy on an Irish Media site.https://www.thejournal.ie/halloween-...23558-Sep2025/

The turnip lantern reason is lost in the mists of time. One theory is that it's goblins.

It's not about witches or ghost either (originally), but more about a time that the Sidhe (pronounced shee and used as basis for Tolkien's Elves) can more easily pass to and from the "Otherworlds" such as Land of the Tall Women, Land under the green waves, Tír na Óg and Inis Abhlach (Welsh Ynes, English Avalon) the Isle of Apples (old Irish for apple).