020210us Th1ngs

[Sebastian Cobb]

The term 'Direct Dialling' is a hangover from the times when certain types of calls - international calls even up to the 1960s - had to be booked with the operator and you had to wait in a queue.

Area codes didn't exist at all until 1958 and it took until the end of the 70's to complete std code allocation to all the exchanges!

[NoSleep]

"The big hall with the ceiling on it?"
"Yes that's the one"
"Like the school hall where they have assembly and eat their lunch?"
"Yes."
"Or the hallway which is a kind of corridor and not a room."
"No, not the hallway which is a kind of corridor, but the hall which is most definitely just a big room."
"Ok that's all I needed to know."
"Cheers, bye!"
"Byeee!"

"Hang on, it was the kind of hall that you walk into via the front door that also allows access to various other rooms and also the staircase to upstairs. But it isn't a hallway/corridor; more like a reception area. There might even be a mirror (for people to check how they look before they leave the house) and maybe the landline phone can be found there as it is so central. That kind of hall."

[Paul Calf]

Area codes didn't exist at all until 1958 and it took until the end of the 70's to complete std code allocation to all the exchanges!

We had a party line in the 1970s. There was a light on top of the phone, and if it was lit you couldn't use it because your neighbour was on it.

I also only just learned that local loop unbundling is a legal, not a technical process.

EDIT: I'm going to get Buzbied aren't I?

[touchingcloth]

EDIT: I'm going to get Buzbied aren't I?

I was just about to say "say 'arcane British telecoms infrastructure details from the past' three times...", so yep, I'll be surprised if you haven't been Buzb'd by the time I've hit post.

[Replies From View]

"Hang on, it was the kind of hall that you walk into via the front door that also allows access to various other rooms and also the staircase to upstairs. But it isn't a hallway/corridor; more like a reception area. There might even be a mirror (for people to check how they look before they leave the house) and maybe the landline phone can be found there as it is so central. That kind of hall."

"And it's still a room, right?"
"Sure is!  A room that has access to other rooms."
"Impossible surely!"
"You say that, but some bedrooms have access to their own little bathrooms, and some kitchens and living rooms can have connecting doors to conservatories and things like this."
"Well I have never heard of such a thing so let's from now on say that these liminal bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms are now antonyms of rooms, along with halls."
"Oh, also, did you know that having a mirror does not automatically make a room into a non-room?  Having a mirror is immaterial!"
"I have never heard of this!"
"Ok we'll have to agree to disagree then; bye!"
"Bye again, bye!!!"

[Sebastian Cobb]

We had a party line in the 1970s. There was a light on top of the phone, and if it was lit you couldn't use it because your neighbour was on it.

I also only just learned that local loop unbundling is a legal, not a technical process.

EDIT: I'm going to get Buzbied aren't I?

Never seen one of those in the wild but a mate lived in the sticks and his mum worked from home and they installed a second line, but instead of being an actual separate line it used some digital multiplexer to have two extensions on a single line. It meant his dial-up was a bit slower.

Then they moved house and the lucky bastard ended up with dual ISDN.

[NoSleep]

"And it's still a room, right?"
"Sure is!  A room that has access to other rooms."
"Impossible surely!"
"You say that, but some bedrooms have access to their own little bathrooms, and some kitchens and living rooms can have connecting doors to conservatories and things like this."
"Well I have never heard of such a thing so let's from now on say that these liminal bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms are now antonyms of rooms, along with halls."
"Oh, also, did you know that having a mirror does not automatically make a room into a non-room?  Having a mirror is immaterial!"
"I have never heard of this!"
"Ok we'll have to agree to disagree then; bye!"
"Bye again, bye!!!"

"More of a passageway to actual rooms, rather than a place to hang out; you're always going somewhere else as you pass through the hall. The ceiling in the hall can be quite high as it may extend upwards into other floors with the stairwell (to other halls; or are they they all part of the same hall?). As a result it can be quite cold compared to actual rooms, so not a place to linger (like you would in a room)."

[Dusty Substance]

Two musical ones occurred over the last 12 hours....

1. Danish indie rockers The Raveonettes aren't named after a stylized spelling of "raven", they're The Rave On-ettes.

2. Keith Flint sung 'Firestarter'. Flint is used to start fires.

[Replies From View]

"More of a passageway to actual rooms, rather than a place to hang out; you're always going somewhere else as you pass through the hall. The ceiling in the hall can be quite high as it may extend upwards into other floors with the stairwell (to other halls; or are they they all part of the same hall?). As a result it can be quite cold compared to actual rooms, so not a place to linger (like you would in a room)."

"Whether you like to hang out there isn't part of the parcel; loads of rooms are poorly heated in this day and age.  When you had your lunch at school or PE lessons was it in 'a passageway'?"
"Oh no certainly wasn't.  You are right and I am wrong."
"No worries don't feel bad it's all just part of it."
"Thanks for correcting me."
"You're welcome, bye!"
"Bye, thanks again, bye!!"

[Darles Chickens]

"Why are you all speaking in a different accent to before?"

[Echo Valley 2-6809]

The term 'Direct Dialling' is a hangover from the times when certain types of calls - international calls even up to the 1960s - had to be booked with the operator and you had to wait in a queue.

You still have to go through an operator to get Jesus on the line.

[Replies From View]

Where are we on the ambiguity of penthouse layouts?  Are these rooms?  Is this one big hall?




Fun fact:  to reach this non-specific but exemplar penthouse image I started out by googling A Fish Called Wanda.

[Smeraldina Rima]

I'd love to live there. The bedroom view in particular. I feel you would look out at bedtime and see - in a way - the day you'd had in your penthouse.

[touchingcloth]

Where are we on the ambiguity of penthouse layouts?  Are these rooms?  Is this one big hall?




Fun fact:  to reach this non-specific but exemplar penthouse image I started out by googling A Fish Called Wanda.

It's a "space". A space with with an interplay of wood and glass, air and light.

[jamiefairlie]

Oh wherever I lay my ludicrous beard, that's my home.

[bakabaka]

I'd love to live there. The bedroom view in particular. I feel you would look out at bedtime and see - in a way - the day you'd had in your penthouse.

Fine if you live on your own, but it looks to be designed, like geodesic domes, to bounce any and all sounds to all areas equally. So when in bed you can hear anyone else who is still up and anyone who is up can hear what you're doing in bed. But at least there's a door to the en suite, unlike Bucky's geodesic home where the gaps between the walls means you can hear every turd hitting the water, no matter where you are in the place.

So yes, geodesic dome = half a ball = hall.

[touchingcloth]

Where are we on the ambiguity of penthouse layouts?  Are these rooms?  Is this one big hall?




Fun fact:  to reach this non-specific but exemplar penthouse image I started out by googling A Fish Called Wanda.

Imagine having this house and a) having LIVE LAUGH LOVE cushions, and b) watching the test card on a telly behind the sofa.

[Replies From View]

Imagine having this house and a) having LIVE LAUGH LOVE cushions, and b) watching the test card on a telly behind the sofa.

Very working class, those choices.

[Dr Rock]

A doll's house has different rooms- but guess what, they are usually all within a much bigger room, the child's bedroom. Rooms within rooms, if you can imagine.

[NoSleep]

"Whether you like to hang out there isn't part of the parcel; loads of rooms are poorly heated in this day and age.  When you had your lunch at school or PE lessons was it in 'a passageway'?"
"Oh no certainly wasn't.  You are right and I am wrong."
"No worries don't feel bad it's all just part of it."
"Thanks for correcting me."
"You're welcome, bye!"
"Bye, thanks again, bye!!"

"Bathroom,
Bedroom,
Dining Room,
Living Room,
Front Room"


Hall
The cupboard under the stairs
("How many rooms does the house have?"
"7, including the hall."
"6, then?"
"9, including the loft space and the basement."
"So, 6.")

[touchingcloth]

"Bathroom,
Bedroom,
Dining Room,
Living Room,
Front Room"


Hall
The cupboard under the stairs
("How many rooms does the house have?"
"7, including the hall."
"6, then?"
"9, including the loft space and the basement."
"So, 6.")

You'll always find me in the boot room at parties.

[Icehaven]

It's not "When the moon hits your eye like a big piece of pie, that's amoré", it's "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amoré". I cannot be the only person to have got that wrong for any length of time, particularly since we don't call it a pizza pie this side of the pond.

[Paul Calf]

I once thought that too, but as 'pizza pie' is a silly, overwrought term for 'a pizza', I think we're fully excused.

[Icehaven]

Yes, pies have lids, that's the rule. Pizza quiche would be more acceptable, but still unnecessary.

[Dr Rock]

A piece of pie wouldn't resemble the moon's shape. A pizza does.

[Echo Valley 2-6809]

A piece of pie wouldn't resemble the moon's shape. A pizza does.

Ramadan Half-Moon pies are a thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdYBS_qO9a4  It doesn't scan though.



Enjoy your fatwa, Findus.

[Voltan (Man of Steel)]

It's not "When the moon hits your eye like a big piece of pie, that's amoré", it's "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amoré". I cannot be the only person to have got that wrong for any length of time, particularly since we don't call it a pizza pie this side of the pond.

"When an eel bites your heel and the pain makes you squeal, that's a moray." And that's not even my funniest one.

[Replies From View]

It's not "When the moon hits your eye like a big piece of pie, that's amoré", it's "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amoré". I cannot be the only person to have got that wrong for any length of time, particularly since we don't call it a pizza pie this side of the pond.

Also it's a shit image.  The moon doesn't hit your eyes like any kind of pie of any size.  So the simile could be absolutely anything and achieve the same meaning.

[Replies From View]

A piece of pie wouldn't resemble the moon's shape. A pizza does.

It depends where the moon is in its cycle, and how much of the pie has been bitten off.


Who even gets hit in the eye by the moon though?  It's quite a niche complaint - no wonder the song tanked.

[Replies From View]

Ramadan Half-Moon pies are a thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdYBS_qO9a4  It doesn't scan though.



Enjoy your fatwa, Findus.

Not pies though are they.  Try putting some pancake on a plate with ice cream and selling it as "pie of the day", and see what happens to your account.