I've got an odd request.
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@afewbugs Good point. But that would narrow the options down to zero. Do cruise ships have better med facilities? Having never been on one, I have no idea.
@smilingheretic I've never been on one myself, but I think they do have more medical facilities on board and are used to catering to a demographic who may have more health issues than, say, the kind of young reasonably fit person who is more likely to crew a cargo ship. Plus they stop off in various ports with medical facilities along the way whereas cargo ships go point to point
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I've got an odd request.
Does anyone have any idea how to get from Australia to the UK, without flying?
My in-laws are currently stuck on the east coast of Australia. One of them got very sick on a cruise. And long story short. They have been told they cannot fly ever again. It's too risky for what has happened, they're in the ICU - recovering, feeling better, but cannot fly ever again.
Hubs might have to go over there for a couple of months to help them out (his studio has a studio in the city they are in. This is the easy part).
They are looking at getting on another cruise ship, but the next one is in March, and if they miss that. They're stuck there even longer.
So, I am making a request to see if anyone knows if there is any other possible way to get them back to the UK without using planes.
The in-laws are in their late 70s, so there may be some limitations (they are obviously not going to be fit to help out on a catamaran or something).
Please share!
Have you drawn a blank with the Foreign Office?
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Have you drawn a blank with the Foreign Office?
Doesn't everyone?
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@Teaceratops Passangers on cargo ships are still a thing, I think, though unlikely to be the lap of luxury...
Blue Funnel cargo ships used to have luxury staterooms for passengers*, but that was a very long time ago, and they went bust because of containers.
* They were great. Went from Liverpool to HK in 1963, it was the start of my foodie obsession...
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undefined oblomov@sociale.network shared this topic on
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@Teaceratops I made some similar plan for this to go back to New Zealand at some point in my life without flying
You can go from Paris to Moscow in train, then to Vladivostok, east Russia in a week of train with the trans Siberian railway
From there, you can reach japan with a boat line
The main issue with this part is that I don't think I'd be safe in Russia currently, but it may differ for your family.I didn't look past that point, since I got basic sailing training that could help me get on a crew so sails around the ocean
I have heard it should be possible but uncomfortable, and possibly quite expensive to get on cargo boat. I never checked in details, but their should be lots of traffic across this part of the worldI would double check with your embassy on the path to avoid dangerous place/pirate and see if they have advice for you
@Fran thank you, I appreciate it.
Yeah, I had thought about them doing trains instead, but ruled out Russia - they're British citizens, and that would be incredibly risky for them right now, especially getting into Europe from Russia.
But, I have thought of the possibility of them maybe getting a boat to Vancouver, taking the train from Vancouver to Montreal, staying with us for a little while, before getting on a boat from Montreal (or Nova Scotia or nearby) to somewhere in the UK. To break the journey up and not be stuck on a boat for months.
I'm going to try to get a few routes together, so they have some options and take the route they feel most comfortable with. Gosh, if they could get here for the summer, it would be a great time for them to visit, and possibly the last time they could realistically come here.
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I've got an odd request.
Does anyone have any idea how to get from Australia to the UK, without flying?
My in-laws are currently stuck on the east coast of Australia. One of them got very sick on a cruise. And long story short. They have been told they cannot fly ever again. It's too risky for what has happened, they're in the ICU - recovering, feeling better, but cannot fly ever again.
Hubs might have to go over there for a couple of months to help them out (his studio has a studio in the city they are in. This is the easy part).
They are looking at getting on another cruise ship, but the next one is in March, and if they miss that. They're stuck there even longer.
So, I am making a request to see if anyone knows if there is any other possible way to get them back to the UK without using planes.
The in-laws are in their late 70s, so there may be some limitations (they are obviously not going to be fit to help out on a catamaran or something).
Please share!
A specialist operator that does medical transfers might be the one option if the medical insurance covers it?
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@drew oh shit. Seriously!? I was trying last night. And I found a line between Brisbane and Sydney, but nothing came up to get to Perth! That's great news, thank you!
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@drew oh shit. Seriously!? I was trying last night. And I found a line between Brisbane and Sydney, but nothing came up to get to Perth! That's great news, thank you!
@Teaceratops @drew Traditionally one rode The Tea and Sugar over the Nullarbor (including the world's longest straight stretch of rail). I don't know what the service is like these days, if at all.
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I've got an odd request.
Does anyone have any idea how to get from Australia to the UK, without flying?
My in-laws are currently stuck on the east coast of Australia. One of them got very sick on a cruise. And long story short. They have been told they cannot fly ever again. It's too risky for what has happened, they're in the ICU - recovering, feeling better, but cannot fly ever again.
Hubs might have to go over there for a couple of months to help them out (his studio has a studio in the city they are in. This is the easy part).
They are looking at getting on another cruise ship, but the next one is in March, and if they miss that. They're stuck there even longer.
So, I am making a request to see if anyone knows if there is any other possible way to get them back to the UK without using planes.
The in-laws are in their late 70s, so there may be some limitations (they are obviously not going to be fit to help out on a catamaran or something).
Please share!
It might make sense for them to just stay in Australia until they can get a relatively direct cruise route, if such a thing exists.
Late 70s and in poor health, does not sound like a good candidate for an extended and complicated journey.
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I've got an odd request.
Does anyone have any idea how to get from Australia to the UK, without flying?
My in-laws are currently stuck on the east coast of Australia. One of them got very sick on a cruise. And long story short. They have been told they cannot fly ever again. It's too risky for what has happened, they're in the ICU - recovering, feeling better, but cannot fly ever again.
Hubs might have to go over there for a couple of months to help them out (his studio has a studio in the city they are in. This is the easy part).
They are looking at getting on another cruise ship, but the next one is in March, and if they miss that. They're stuck there even longer.
So, I am making a request to see if anyone knows if there is any other possible way to get them back to the UK without using planes.
The in-laws are in their late 70s, so there may be some limitations (they are obviously not going to be fit to help out on a catamaran or something).
Please share!
@Teaceratops This may be a very silly question, but have they talked to the British Consulate there? Repatriating stuck Brits is a large part of what the Consulate does.
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@stonebear2 I was thinking Oz - Singapore - LA - train to Baltimore - Rotterdam
Multiple months though
@krans @stonebear2 @DamonHD @Teaceratops sounds like it's no longer a thing especially for crossing the Pacific; there's a Reddit thread https://www.reddit.com/r/Shoestring/comments/1ab55ed/anyone_do_or_know_someone_who_has_done_travel/ as well as a reference to https://www.cargoshipvoyages.com/WhatToExpect/
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@krans @stonebear2 @DamonHD @Teaceratops sounds like it's no longer a thing especially for crossing the Pacific; there's a Reddit thread https://www.reddit.com/r/Shoestring/comments/1ab55ed/anyone_do_or_know_someone_who_has_done_travel/ as well as a reference to https://www.cargoshipvoyages.com/WhatToExpect/
@va2lam In that case it's going to be very difficult indeed.
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@smilingheretic I've never been on one myself, but I think they do have more medical facilities on board and are used to catering to a demographic who may have more health issues than, say, the kind of young reasonably fit person who is more likely to crew a cargo ship. Plus they stop off in various ports with medical facilities along the way whereas cargo ships go point to point
@afewbugs @smilingheretic
But cruise ship medical facilities are •extremely• expensive - they are really only for emergency situations and are considered to be a profit centre! -
@Teaceratops This may be a very silly question, but have they talked to the British Consulate there? Repatriating stuck Brits is a large part of what the Consulate does.
@hedders @Teaceratops
My guess is that the consular will refer them back to their travel insurance company.
(They •do• have travel insurance don't they?) -
We have looked at them leaving different ports in Australia, there's a faster cruise from Perth, but it is actually impossible for them to get to Perth from where they are without a flight. So, it's got to be from a port on the east coast of Australia.
@Teaceratops So the Indian Pacific Train to Perth is a no-go?
Apparently there are cruises Darwin-Singapore or Sydney-Singapore. But these wouldn’t be super helpful as land travel across Asia from there is extremely complex.
FWIW there seem to be a number of expensive AF cruise options to the UK from SE Australia https://hellocruise.co.uk/no-fly-cruises/to-australia/
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@Teaceratops So the Indian Pacific Train to Perth is a no-go?
Apparently there are cruises Darwin-Singapore or Sydney-Singapore. But these wouldn’t be super helpful as land travel across Asia from there is extremely complex.
FWIW there seem to be a number of expensive AF cruise options to the UK from SE Australia https://hellocruise.co.uk/no-fly-cruises/to-australia/
@janet Hi, I'm not Australian, so I did not know about that train - my quick panicked Google last night said it wasn't possible. Happy to find that it is.
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@va2lam In that case it's going to be very difficult indeed.
@krans @va2lam @stonebear2 @DamonHD yeah, the US isn't going to be an option either, because of the instability and the risk if health goes bad again. If they need to cross North America, we're going to send them Vancouver > Montreal, as we are in Montreal, and if something happens to them in Canada, I can go and help them, as I am a permanent resident.
But the main problem seems to be, how the heck do we get them off the continent of Australia.
They do also have friends in New Zealand, but again, the Pacific is huge, and we face similar issues in New Zealand too.
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@janet Hi, I'm not Australian, so I did not know about that train - my quick panicked Google last night said it wasn't possible. Happy to find that it is.
@Teaceratops I took it a long time ago, and could definitely recommend back then. Good luck!
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I've got an odd request.
Does anyone have any idea how to get from Australia to the UK, without flying?
My in-laws are currently stuck on the east coast of Australia. One of them got very sick on a cruise. And long story short. They have been told they cannot fly ever again. It's too risky for what has happened, they're in the ICU - recovering, feeling better, but cannot fly ever again.
Hubs might have to go over there for a couple of months to help them out (his studio has a studio in the city they are in. This is the easy part).
They are looking at getting on another cruise ship, but the next one is in March, and if they miss that. They're stuck there even longer.
So, I am making a request to see if anyone knows if there is any other possible way to get them back to the UK without using planes.
The in-laws are in their late 70s, so there may be some limitations (they are obviously not going to be fit to help out on a catamaran or something).
Please share!
@Teaceratops Would going eastwards be a viable option?
Cruise ship from Australia to Mexico or the USA, then overland to Mexico's Atlantic coast or NYC, and a cruise ship from there back to Blighty?
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@hedders @Teaceratops
My guess is that the consular will refer them back to their travel insurance company.
(They •do• have travel insurance don't they?)@MikeFromLFE @hedders yeah, they have travel insurance, luckily. Also an agreement between AUS and UK which is currently doing some heavy lifting to look after them.
Honestly, wonderful help so far from Australia, best place in the world to be stranded if you're British, to be fair.
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@Gina such a cuties
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@cancel from reading the report from the copy right office it sounds like it is less of a matter of was a computer involved and more whether the human author did anything at all.
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Current* conditions near Alpena, MI:
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@res260 Sadly a likely observation :\
So many people just giving up on their craft.
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@cwebber things sure are changing fast. code quality for example. and the ability of developers to write or recognize good code. now the direction of change isn't great, but...
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@cwebber I'm hanging out there a lot and yes there is a lot of vibecoding. However, they don't seem to vibecode more than the average paid software dev.
In 2024, I'd say about 20% of my friends vibecoded. Today the number looks more like 90%. This is not specific to atproto, my understanding is that most people vibecode nowadays.
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(Reposted as unlisted to not pollute my instance's discovery with slop-related content)
The US Supreme Court has declined to hear the AI copyright case. So, the new Copyright Office guidance that says the output of prompting systems that produce art, sound, text, etc., cannot be copyrighted, no matter how many times the human re-prompts or iterates the system, is upheld: https://www.theverge.com/policy/887678/supreme-court-ai-art-copyright
(Guidance from Copyright Office: https://copyright.gov/ai/Copyright-and-Artificial-Intelligence-Part-2-Copyrightability-Report.pdf )
So, unless I'm misunderstanding something…
1) If your corporate codebase is written with AI, and it leaks to the public, too bad -- no copyright protections. People can take it and use it.
2) AI generated code is incompatible with GPL and GPL-like projects, because GPL requires copyright to be assigned in order to enforce the license. (Edit: only a problem if the project is 100% AI, since public domain can be mixed into GPL without problem.)
Is that really what's happening? Am I misunderstanding something here?
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Designing A Pen Clip That Never Bends Out Of Shape
If you’ve ever used a ballpoint pen with a clip on the top, you’ve probably noticed they bend pretty easily. The clip relies on you only bending it a small amount to clip it on to things; bend it too far, and it ends up permanently deformed. [Craighill] decided to develop a pen clip that didn’t suffer this ugly malady.
The wire clip design easily opens wide because the spring wire is not actually deforming much at all. Credit: YouTube video, via screenshot
The problem with regular pen clips comes down to simple materials science. Bend the steel clip a little bit, and the stress in the material remains below the elastic limit—so it springs back to its original shape. Push it too far, though, and you’ll end up getting into the plastic deformation region, where you’ve applied so much stress that the material is permanently deformed.[Craighill] noted this problem, and contemplated whether a better type of clip was possible. An exploration of carabiner clips served to highlight possible solutions. Some carabiners using elastically-deformed closures that faced the same problem, while others used more complicated spring closures or a nifty bent-wire design. This latter solution seemed perfect for building a non-deforming pen clip. The bent wire is effectively a small spring, which allows it to act as a clip to hold the pen on to something. However, it’s also able to freely rotate out from the pen body, limiting the amount of actual stress put on the material itself, which stops it entering the plastic deformation region that would ruin it.
It’s some neat materials science combined with a pleasant bit of inventing, which we love to see. Sometimes there is joy to be had in contemplating and improving even the simplest of things. Video after the break.
youtube.com/embed/bFDt3lUzVPc?…
youtube.com/embed/3i9FGaakX-Y?…
[Thanks to Keith Olson for the tip!]
