Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they were
trying to pass off as entertainment ? Britain's Brightest or some such,
hosted by that horse-y commentator woman who should stick to what she knows
? I was amazed that it seemed to be some really notable mental feat that the
people taking part could actually spell and carry out simple mental maths
tasks at the sort of level that most of us would have been able to 40 years
ago. I accept that it's going to be a bit harder in a studio environment and
all that, but even so ...

But following on from this is what made me really laugh today, and brought
it home to me that the people on that show probably really *do* represent
'Britain's Brightest'. The missus sent me round to the local Co-op to get
her a box of 6 Cadbury Creme eggs - yeah, I know, but best to humour her ...
:-)

"They're on offer at £1.52", she said. So I found said items, and carried a
box up to the till. On the counter was a box of 'loose' Creme Eggs with
another offer of '3 for £1'. The girl - not particularly young - behind the
till swiped my purchase and said "That's £1.52, please". As I handed over
the money, I nodded at the other offer, and commented to her, "That's
clever, £1.52 for a box of six, or three for a quid ..." That stopped her in
her tracks. "Oh !" she said. "Would you like to swap them ?"

"Errr, no ...." said I. The woman behind me (a bit younger than me) was in
hysterics ...

As a separate aside, I see that Brian Cox is on the box this week doing that
live star-gazing thing with the Irish guy again. Trying out for The Sky at
Night perhaps ... ? d ;-)

Arfa

On 06/01/2013 16:35, Arfa Daily wrote:
Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they
were trying to pass off as entertainment ?

I turned it off after round one - never to be seen again. I thought
they were scrapping the crap out of the bottom of barrel with the
Richard Hammond programme on before it and thought things couldn't get
worse.


--
mailto:news{at}admac(dot}myzen{dot}co{dot}uk

On Jan 6, 5:33*pm, alan wrote:
On 06/01/2013 16:35, Arfa Daily wrote:

Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they
were trying to pass off as entertainment ?

I turned it off after round one - never to be seen again. *I thought
they were scrapping the crap out of the bottom of barrel with the
Richard Hammond programme on before it and thought things couldn't get
worse.

Yep, the Beeb is getting really bad.
If you compare the quality of the news with all the other news
channels now available it's total crap.

The hours they spend interviewing celebrities!

Interested to note that Gold, which I gather can only be watched if you
cross some palms with silver and as I understand it is part owned by the BBC
has made a new series of Yes Prime Minister with original writers but of
course new cast. So I am feeling that we are going down the Sky route of all
first runs as pay to watch, and then the general free channels get it. After
all Discovery does it with Quest, which has all the stuff already run on the
pay channel.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"harry" wrote in message
...
On Jan 6, 5:33 pm, alan wrote:
On 06/01/2013 16:35, Arfa Daily wrote:

Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they
were trying to pass off as entertainment ?

I turned it off after round one - never to be seen again. I thought
they were scrapping the crap out of the bottom of barrel with the
Richard Hammond programme on before it and thought things couldn't get
worse.

Yep, the Beeb is getting really bad.
If you compare the quality of the news with all the other news
channels now available it's total crap.

The hours they spend interviewing celebrities!

In message , Brian Gaff
writes
Interested to note that Gold, which I gather can only be watched if you
cross some palms with silver and as I understand it is part owned by the BBC
has made a new series of Yes Prime Minister with original writers but of
course new cast. So I am feeling that we are going down the Sky route of all
first runs as pay to watch, and then the general free channels get it. After
all Discovery does it with Quest, which has all the stuff already run on the
pay channel.
Brian



There was a thing in the paper last week about this. The gist of it was
that the BBC wanted a pilot making (even though it was they had made
umpteen editions already, and it was the same writers), whereas Gold
were happy to commission it without a pilot, so they got the deal.


Adrian
--
To Reply :
replace "diy" with "news" and reverse the domain

If you are reading this from a web interface eg DIY Banter,
DIY Forum or Google Groups, please be aware this is NOT a forum, and
you are merely using a web portal to a USENET group. Many people block
posters coming from web portals due to perceieved SPAM or inaneness.
For a better method of access, please see:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

In article ,
Adrian wrote:

There was a thing in the paper last week about this. The gist of it was
that the BBC wanted a pilot making (even though it was they had made
umpteen editions already, and it was the same writers), whereas Gold
were happy to commission it without a pilot, so they got the deal.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20908049


Darren

In article ,
Adrian wrote:
There was a thing in the paper last week about this. The gist of it was
that the BBC wanted a pilot making (even though it was they had made
umpteen editions already, and it was the same writers), whereas Gold
were happy to commission it without a pilot, so they got the deal.

I can quite understand the BBC wanting to see a pilot episode. The
original series was so good due to a mixture of the cast and scripts. If
it were badly cast or the writing no longer 'in tune' with today it could
be a disaster. Like so many of these 'revived' shows.
Different when the BBC themselves made the prog from start to finish -
those responsible for commissioning a series could more easily keep an eye
on it during production.

--
*Forget the Joneses, I keep us up with the Simpsons.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"harry" wrote in message
...
On Jan 6, 5:33 pm, alan wrote:
On 06/01/2013 16:35, Arfa Daily wrote:

Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they
were trying to pass off as entertainment ?

I turned it off after round one - never to be seen again. I thought
they were scrapping the crap out of the bottom of barrel with the
Richard Hammond programme on before it and thought things couldn't get
worse.

Yep, the Beeb is getting really bad.
If you compare the quality of the news with all the other news
channels now available it's total crap.

The hours they spend interviewing celebrities!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

if you've got freeview 'russia today' and 'aljerzeeraz 'make an interesting
different slant on the news.

On Jan 6, 11:40*pm, "Dave West" wrote:
"harry" wrote in message

...
On Jan 6, 5:33 pm, alan wrote:

On 06/01/2013 16:35, Arfa Daily wrote:

Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they
were trying to pass off as entertainment ?

I turned it off after round one - never to be seen again. I thought
they were scrapping the crap out of the bottom of barrel with the
Richard Hammond programme on before it and thought things couldn't get
worse.

Yep, the Beeb is getting really bad.
If you compare the quality of the news with all the other news
channels now available it's total crap.

The hours they spend interviewing celebrities!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

if you've got freeview 'russia today' and 'aljerzeeraz 'make an interesting
different slant on the news.

If you have "Freesat" there is additionally to those France 24,
Japanese, three American, Sky news and Chinese ones.

Remarkably, the Yank ones are worse than ours. (CNN etc)

On Jan 7, 9:39*am, harry wrote:

if you've got freeview 'russia today' and 'aljerzeeraz 'make an interesting
different slant on the news.

If you have "Freesat" there is additionally to those France 24,
Japanese, three American, Sky news and Chinese ones.

Remarkably, the Yank ones are worse than ours. (CNN etc)

It explains the mentality of US posters on a lot of forums. Rather
than look stuff up online they look stuff up on their newscasts and
then post it.

On Sun, 6 Jan 2013 23:40:10 -0000, Dave West wrote:

"harry" wrote in message
...
On Jan 6, 5:33 pm, alan wrote:
On 06/01/2013 16:35, Arfa Daily wrote:

Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they
were trying to pass off as entertainment ?

I turned it off after round one - never to be seen again. I thought
they were scrapping the crap out of the bottom of barrel with the
Richard Hammond programme on before it and thought things couldn't get
worse.

Yep, the Beeb is getting really bad.
If you compare the quality of the news with all the other news
channels now available it's total crap.

The hours they spend interviewing celebrities!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

if you've got freeview 'russia today' and 'aljerzeeraz 'make an interesting
different slant on the news.

The latter was useful in the "Arab Spring" as it had access where others
didn't.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On Jan 6, 4:35*pm, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they were
trying to pass off as entertainment ? Britain's Brightest or some such,
hosted by that horse-y commentator woman who should stick to what she knows
? I was amazed that it seemed to be some really notable mental feat that the
people taking part could actually spell and carry out simple mental maths
tasks at the sort of level that most of us would have been able to 40 years
ago. I accept that it's going to be a bit harder in a studio environment and
all that, but even so ...

But following on from this is what made me really laugh today, and brought
it home to me that the people on that show probably really *do* represent
'Britain's Brightest'. The missus sent me round to the local Co-op to get
her a box of 6 Cadbury Creme eggs - yeah, I know, but best to humour her ....
:-)

"They're on offer at £1.52", she said. So I found said items, and carried a
box up to the till. On the counter was a box of 'loose' Creme Eggs with
another offer of '3 for £1'. The girl - not particularly young - behind the
till swiped my purchase and said "That's £1.52, please". As I handed over
the money, I nodded at the other offer, and commented to her, "That's
clever, £1.52 for a box of six, or three for a quid ..." That stopped her in
her tracks. "Oh !" she said. "Would you like to swap them ?"

"Errr, no ...." said I. The woman behind me (a bit younger than me) was in
hysterics ...

As a separate aside, I see that Brian Cox is on the box this week doing that
live star-gazing thing with the Irish guy again. Trying out for The Sky at
Night perhaps ... ? * *d ;-)

Arfa

It will be a bimbo. You watch.
Maybe even black, one legged and "gay".

Ticks all the PC boxes.

No it will be a blind person obviously, no point in having anyone who can
look through a telescope.

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"harry" wrote in message
...
On Jan 6, 4:35 pm, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they were
trying to pass off as entertainment ? Britain's Brightest or some such,
hosted by that horse-y commentator woman who should stick to what she
knows
? I was amazed that it seemed to be some really notable mental feat that
the
people taking part could actually spell and carry out simple mental maths
tasks at the sort of level that most of us would have been able to 40
years
ago. I accept that it's going to be a bit harder in a studio environment
and
all that, but even so ...

But following on from this is what made me really laugh today, and brought
it home to me that the people on that show probably really *do* represent
'Britain's Brightest'. The missus sent me round to the local Co-op to get
her a box of 6 Cadbury Creme eggs - yeah, I know, but best to humour her
...
:-)

"They're on offer at £1.52", she said. So I found said items, and carried
a
box up to the till. On the counter was a box of 'loose' Creme Eggs with
another offer of '3 for £1'. The girl - not particularly young - behind
the
till swiped my purchase and said "That's £1.52, please". As I handed over
the money, I nodded at the other offer, and commented to her, "That's
clever, £1.52 for a box of six, or three for a quid ..." That stopped her
in
her tracks. "Oh !" she said. "Would you like to swap them ?"

"Errr, no ...." said I. The woman behind me (a bit younger than me) was in
hysterics ...

As a separate aside, I see that Brian Cox is on the box this week doing
that
live star-gazing thing with the Irish guy again. Trying out for The Sky at
Night perhaps ... ? d ;-)

Arfa

It will be a bimbo. You watch.
Maybe even black, one legged and "gay".

Ticks all the PC boxes.

On 06/01/13 18:33, harry wrote:
On Jan 6, 4:35 pm, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they were
trying to pass off as entertainment ? Britain's Brightest or some such,
hosted by that horse-y commentator woman who should stick to what she knows
? I was amazed that it seemed to be some really notable mental feat that the
people taking part could actually spell and carry out simple mental maths
tasks at the sort of level that most of us would have been able to 40 years
ago. I accept that it's going to be a bit harder in a studio environment and
all that, but even so ...

But following on from this is what made me really laugh today, and brought
it home to me that the people on that show probably really *do* represent
'Britain's Brightest'. The missus sent me round to the local Co-op to get
her a box of 6 Cadbury Creme eggs - yeah, I know, but best to humour her ...
:-)

"They're on offer at £1.52", she said. So I found said items, and carried a
box up to the till. On the counter was a box of 'loose' Creme Eggs with
another offer of '3 for £1'. The girl - not particularly young - behind the
till swiped my purchase and said "That's £1.52, please". As I handed over
the money, I nodded at the other offer, and commented to her, "That's
clever, £1.52 for a box of six, or three for a quid ..." That stopped her in
her tracks. "Oh !" she said. "Would you like to swap them ?"

"Errr, no ...." said I. The woman behind me (a bit younger than me) was in
hysterics ...

As a separate aside, I see that Brian Cox is on the box this week doing that
live star-gazing thing with the Irish guy again. Trying out for The Sky at
Night perhaps ... ? d ;-)

Arfa

It will be a bimbo. You watch.
Maybe even black, one legged and "gay".

Ticks all the PC boxes.

Not unless its muslim too


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On Sun, 6 Jan 2013 16:35:27 -0000
"Arfa Daily" wrote:

Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they
were trying to pass off as entertainment ? Britain's Brightest or
some such, hosted by that horse-y commentator woman who should stick
to what she knows ? I was amazed that it seemed to be some really
notable mental feat that the people taking part could actually spell
and carry out simple mental maths tasks at the sort of level that
most of us would have been able to 40 years ago. I accept that it's
going to be a bit harder in a studio environment and all that, but
even so ...



Was that the show where James Corden and somebody else got drunk on TV?
If so, it got a load of complaints, I read during the week.
--
Davey.

On Sunday, January 6, 2013 6:37:23 PM UTC, Davey wrote:
On Sun, 6 Jan 2013 16:35:27 -0000

"Arfa Daily" wrote:



Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they

were trying to pass off as entertainment ? Britain's Brightest or

some such, hosted by that horse-y commentator woman who should stick

to what she knows ? I was amazed that it seemed to be some really

notable mental feat that the people taking part could actually spell

and carry out simple mental maths tasks at the sort of level that

most of us would have been able to 40 years ago. I accept that it's

going to be a bit harder in a studio environment and all that, but

even so ...







Was that the show where James Corden and somebody else got drunk on TV?

If so, it got a load of complaints, I read during the week.

--

Davey.

Re the James Corden brou-ha-ha.

What actually happened. What did they say that was so offensive ?

On Sunday, January 6, 2013 4:35:27 PM UTC, Arfa Daily wrote:

Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they were
trying to pass off as entertainment ? Britain's Brightest or some such,
hosted by that horse-y commentator woman who should stick to what she knows
? I was amazed that it seemed to be some really notable mental feat that the
people taking part could actually spell and carry out simple mental maths
tasks at the sort of level that most of us would have been able to 40 years
ago.

A quiz show featuring people that lack the brains to do something useful with their time, and featuring questions that had nothing at all to do with any sensible interpretation of intelligence, let alone high iq or anything in some way like it.


The missus sent me round to the local Co-op to get
her a box of 6 Cadbury Creme eggs - yeah, I know, but best to humour her ....
:-)
"They're on offer at £1.52", she said. So I found said items, and carried a
box up to the till. On the counter was a box of 'loose' Creme Eggs with
another offer of '3 for £1'. The girl - not particularly young - behind the
till swiped my purchase and said "That's £1.52, please". As I handed over
the money, I nodded at the other offer, and commented to her, "That's
clever, £1.52 for a box of six, or three for a quid ..." That stopped her in
her tracks. "Oh !" she said. "Would you like to swap them ?"
"Errr, no ...." said I. The woman behind me (a bit younger than me) was in
hysterics ...

Everyone's stupid at times, it doesn't necessarily mean they lack IQ. Her job's just to give the customer what they want, even when its a bit daft. Probably she just wasn't paying much attention.

That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was even
more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than what he spouts.
Its like going back to the Junior school.

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...
Did anyone see that dreadful 'quiz show' on BBC last night that they were
trying to pass off as entertainment ? Britain's Brightest or some such,
hosted by that horse-y commentator woman who should stick to what she
knows ? I was amazed that it seemed to be some really notable mental feat
that the people taking part could actually spell and carry out simple
mental maths tasks at the sort of level that most of us would have been
able to 40 years ago. I accept that it's going to be a bit harder in a
studio environment and all that, but even so ...

But following on from this is what made me really laugh today, and brought
it home to me that the people on that show probably really *do* represent
'Britain's Brightest'. The missus sent me round to the local Co-op to get
her a box of 6 Cadbury Creme eggs - yeah, I know, but best to humour her
... :-)

"They're on offer at £1.52", she said. So I found said items, and carried
a box up to the till. On the counter was a box of 'loose' Creme Eggs with
another offer of '3 for £1'. The girl - not particularly young - behind
the till swiped my purchase and said "That's £1.52, please". As I handed
over the money, I nodded at the other offer, and commented to her, "That's
clever, £1.52 for a box of six, or three for a quid ..." That stopped her
in her tracks. "Oh !" she said. "Would you like to swap them ?"

"Errr, no ...." said I. The woman behind me (a bit younger than me) was in
hysterics ...

As a separate aside, I see that Brian Cox is on the box this week doing
that live star-gazing thing with the Irish guy again. Trying out for The
Sky at Night perhaps ... ? d ;-)

Arfa

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was even
more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than what he
spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

tim

In message , tim.....
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than
what he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him


--
geoff

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , tim.....
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than what
he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence.

Don't believe that with Mike Mosley's docos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Mosley

Dara seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him

On Mon, 7 Jan 2013 00:45:21 +0000, geoff wrote:

That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, ...

I almost didn't get past the opening sequence due to poor sound. 'orrible
pumping audience "noise".

... a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than
what he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

I then fell asleep for most of it. B-) I don't think I missed much.
Will have to try an see the others that have been recorded but I don't
hold up much hope, it's filling the *last* clause from the BBC's
statement:

"Our mission - To enrich people's lives with programmes and services
that inform, educate and entertain."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/ins...ion_and_values

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed
down that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people
seem embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or
intelligence.

Agreed, Junior School science, for those with little brain.

Dara seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him

Well as a former(?) comedian I guess he ticks the entertain box.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Well if he can raise the bar, but at the moment I feel that the bar has not
left the ground yet. Mind you I'm flabbergasted by the lack of knowledge in
average people of under 30 years. IE not knowing that planets and stars are
different or which planets are gaseous and which rocky and which have no
atmosphere etc.
Also not understanding the rudiments of how electricity works and how
transformers work. There are very simple books on these concepts and we were
taught them as a matter of course.

Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , tim.....
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than what
he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him


--
geoff

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
Well if he can raise the bar, but at the moment I feel that the bar has
not left the ground yet. Mind you I'm flabbergasted by the lack of
knowledge in average people of under 30 years. IE not knowing that planets
and stars are different or which planets are gaseous and which rocky and
which have no atmosphere etc.

Also not understanding the rudiments of how electricity works and how
transformers work. There are very simple books on these concepts and we
were taught them as a matter of course.

I'm not convinced that most managed to absorb them tho.

I had one silly cow who is a tad older than me proclaim
that it was crucial to take the batterys out of a battery
powered radio of hers that I was having a look at for
her, so I wouldn’t electrocute myself in the process.

And that wasn’t one of the dinosaur valve radios either.

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , tim.....
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than what
he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him


--
geoff

In message , Brian Gaff
writes
Well if he can raise the bar, but at the moment I feel that the bar has not
left the ground yet. Mind you I'm flabbergasted by the lack of knowledge in
average people of under 30 years. IE not knowing that planets and stars are
different or which planets are gaseous and which rocky and which have no
atmosphere etc.
Also not understanding the rudiments of how electricity works and how
transformers work. There are very simple books on these concepts and we were
taught them as a matter of course.

I see little desire to "find out", no sense of discovery, a lack of
wonderment how and why

we're becoming a nation of hairdressers

--
geoff

On 07/01/2013 00:45, geoff wrote:
In message , tim.....
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than
what he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him


I think we are going to have to starting talking about dumbing up. The
level has dropped so far that even the dumb are above the level to which
they have plummeted.

--
Rod

On 07/01/2013 00:45, geoff wrote:
In message , tim.....
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than
what he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him



I didn't see the show but I quite like Brian Cox and Dara O Briain
presenting science - I think they strike a happy medium. Speaking as
someone with little natural science education/training.

Rob

In article , geoff wrote:

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him


Yeah, he seems geniune enough. I didn't mind his show - would have like more
science but most of it was ok.

My 11 year old son loved the show however... and was very interested. Guess
that's a success then.

Dara always comes across as friendly and appears to have a real wish to
share his enthusiasm. How true that really is I don't know, but he was
very good at responding to a question sent to him from my sons friend via
twitter (and I'm sure he gets millions of tweets!)... could have been a
lucky hit I guess, but that's two 11 year olds who spent several hours
listening to science instead of playing minecraft. That's a win in my
books.

Darren

On 07/01/13 14:02, D.M.Chapman wrote:
In article , geoff wrote:

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him


Yeah, he seems geniune enough. I didn't mind his show - would have like more
science but most of it was ok.

My 11 year old son loved the show however... and was very interested. Guess
that's a success then.

Dara always comes across as friendly and appears to have a real wish to
share his enthusiasm. How true that really is I don't know, but he was
very good at responding to a question sent to him from my sons friend via
twitter (and I'm sure he gets millions of tweets!)... could have been a
lucky hit I guess, but that's two 11 year olds who spent several hours
listening to science instead of playing minecraft. That's a win in my
books.

Darren


+1.

I like Dara and the show was passably interesting.
If you didn't mind it being dumbed down for 11 years olds,

Now look at this and ask yourself whether in today's BBC such a show
would even be contemplated. let alone made..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGwSe0ZptV0



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

On Mon, 7 Jan 2013 14:02:52 +0000 (UTC), D.M.Chapman wrote:

... but that's two 11 year olds who spent several hours listening to
science instead of playing minecraft.

Ah Minecraft, big time sink if there vere was one but at least there is
the opertuneity to "build" stuff and use the imagination, rather than sat
gorping at the idiots lantern.

My lad (12) has "built" the basics of an 8 bit computer using the
Computercraft plugin for Minecraft. Needed a bit of help finding the
logic diagrams of binary adders and a general description of how you use
registers to store numbers but build it he did and it works at least to
enter and add two 8 bit numbers.

Just because there isn't a physical "product" doesn't mean they aren't
"building" things...

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2013-01-07, geoff wrote:
In message , tim.....
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than
what he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him

Quite. I suspect the agenda of the show is to try and show that science
isn't as geeky as most of the public think.



But they already had a good show in that respect. It was called Tomorrow's
World (I was on it once .... )

Arfa

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...


"Huge" wrote in message
...
On 2013-01-07, geoff wrote:
In message , tim.....
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was
even more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than
what he spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

The truth of the matter is that we have a country that is so dumbed down
that he has to aim at the lowest common denominator and people seem
embarrassed at any display of scientific knowledge or intelligence. Dara
seems to be someone who is bucking the trend - good luck to him

Quite. I suspect the agenda of the show is to try and show that science
isn't as geeky as most of the public think.



But they already had a good show in that respect. It was called Tomorrow's
World (I was on it once .... )

Arfa

Selling burgers?

When did you go to school though. My education was in the fifties and 60s.
We did science properly when you really could burn yourself and blow up the
labs..
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"tim....." wrote in message
...

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
That Irish guy, if you mean Science club. I watched the first one and
thought, a bit infantile this, and watched the second one and it was even
more rubbishy. Surely there is more knowledge out there than what he
spouts. Its like going back to the Junior school.

Oh, I quite liked it

tim

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
When did you go to school though. My education was in the fifties and 60s.
We did science properly when you really could burn yourself and blow up
the labs..

I remember Ned Templeman (Chemistry[1]) turning from the fume cupboard,
eyebrows smoking, and asking us with a grin "Alright boys, what did I do
wrong *that* time?"

He expected an educated guess, at the least. A *proper* inspiring teacher,
and inspiring lessons!

Dave H. (the other one)

[1] making nitrates of certain organic alcohols, if I remember right...

In message , news.virginmedia.com
writes

"Brian Gaff" wrote in message
...
When did you go to school though. My education was in the fifties and 60s.
We did science properly when you really could burn yourself and blow up
the labs..

I remember Ned Templeman (Chemistry[1]) turning from the fume cupboard,
eyebrows smoking, and asking us with a grin "Alright boys, what did I do
wrong *that* time?"

He expected an educated guess, at the least. A *proper* inspiring teacher,
and inspiring lessons!

Dave H. (the other one)

[1] making nitrates of certain organic alcohols, if I remember right...

A gentleman named Croaker (you guessed it, Froggy) taught me a little
chemistry.

One day, after condensing and collecting the result of burning hydrogen
in air, he asked the class how we should know it was water.

After a pause, a gravelly voice from the back said, suck it and see sir!



--
Tim Lamb

In message , Brian Gaff
writes
When did you go to school though. My education was in the fifties and 60s.
We did science properly when you really could burn yourself and blow up the
labs..

What do you mean "could"

That's how we ended up with a state of the art science block

--
geoff

On 07/01/2013 09:32, Brian Gaff wrote:
When did you go to school though. My education was in the fifties and 60s.
We did science properly when you really could burn yourself and blow up the
labs..
Brian

We had plenty of explosions, fires and on one memorable occasion a
lesson in the Junior Chemistry Lab, which was connected to the Advanced
Chemistry Lab by the Prep Room - the upper sixth were doing a
distillation in the other lab ... of tear gas!!!

We also had physics lessons where one pupil would be working on a water
experiment right next to someone using a cathode ray tube, connected to
(IIRC) 3500V, using reversed banana plugs, pushed onto the protuding
pins of the tube.

We also got to do proper woodwork, metalwork and machining - making our
own patterns, moulds, castings and then machining them on lathes,
millers, shapers and surface grinders.

SteveW

Arfa Daily :
The missus sent me round to the local Co-op to get her a box of 6
Cadbury Creme eggs - yeah, I know, but best to humour her ... :-)

"They're on offer at £1.52", she said. So I found said items, and
carried a box up to the till. On the counter was a box of 'loose' Creme
Eggs with another offer of '3 for £1'. The girl - not particularly
young - behind the till swiped my purchase and said "That's £1.52,
please". As I handed over the money, I nodded at the other offer, and
commented to her, "That's clever, £1.52 for a box of six, or three for
a quid ..." That stopped her in her tracks. "Oh !" she said. "Would you
like to swap them ?"

Reminds me of the time I asked how much the batteries were (this was
decades ago, before multipacks were so common, and batteries were priced
individually). He told me, they were 25p each. I said "I'll take half a
dozen". He frowned, bit his lip, stayed like that for a few seconds,
smiled, then said "That's six, isn't it?".

--
Mike Barnes

What I could never quite get was when Tandy were over here, you got a free
battery when you spent over a certain amount. They did not care what battery
it was, It was only 1 though, per visit. Think about it..


Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
Arfa Daily :
The missus sent me round to the local Co-op to get her a box of 6
Cadbury Creme eggs - yeah, I know, but best to humour her ... :-)

"They're on offer at £1.52", she said. So I found said items, and
carried a box up to the till. On the counter was a box of 'loose' Creme
Eggs with another offer of '3 for £1'. The girl - not particularly
young - behind the till swiped my purchase and said "That's £1.52,
please". As I handed over the money, I nodded at the other offer, and
commented to her, "That's clever, £1.52 for a box of six, or three for
a quid ..." That stopped her in her tracks. "Oh !" she said. "Would you
like to swap them ?"

Reminds me of the time I asked how much the batteries were (this was
decades ago, before multipacks were so common, and batteries were priced
individually). He told me, they were 25p each. I said "I'll take half a
dozen". He frowned, bit his lip, stayed like that for a few seconds,
smiled, then said "That's six, isn't it?".

--
Mike Barnes

On Sunday, January 6, 2013 7:06:20 PM UTC, Brian Gaff wrote:

What I could never quite get was when Tandy were over here, you got a free
battery when you spent over a certain amount. They did not care what battery
it was, It was only 1 though, per visit. Think about it..

IIRC they also did a 50p diary that included vouchers for 12 batteries, one every month. Not bad for anyone that walked past the store each month.


NT