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Wandering Adventure Party

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  3. Notes for Americans:

Notes for Americans:

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  • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

    RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

    Notes for Americans:

    1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

    2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

    3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

    Jigme DatseJ This user is from outside of this forum
    Jigme DatseJ This user is from outside of this forum
    Jigme Datse
    wrote last edited by
    #68

    @cstross I'm leaning toward "boom" with these. But I'm not an electrician.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

      RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

      Notes for Americans:

      1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

      2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

      3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

      Madeleine MorrisR This user is from outside of this forum
      Madeleine MorrisR This user is from outside of this forum
      Madeleine Morris
      wrote last edited by
      #69

      @cstross Oh my god.

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • sabikS sabik

        @moz @cstross
        I mean, you'd hope that a plug which shorts live and earth would just trip the house breaker or RCD, but it could also make nearby appliances live or cause a fire, if there's a fault or if the rest of the wiring is to the same standard

        CockneyLaurieC This user is from outside of this forum
        CockneyLaurieC This user is from outside of this forum
        CockneyLaurie
        wrote last edited by
        #70

        @sabik @moz @cstross Guess it depends how the fuse /breakers are wired in and whether they were also wired using LLMs

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • Rolf Steinort (314.8 ppm)R Rolf Steinort (314.8 ppm)

          @cstross Escher's Suicide Plug

          CockneyLaurieC This user is from outside of this forum
          CockneyLaurieC This user is from outside of this forum
          CockneyLaurie
          wrote last edited by
          #71

          @rstein @cstross Love Escher
          very good

          1 Reply Last reply
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          • tautologyT tautology

            @cstross I do these threads every so often. My most recent one was on my Bluesky where I got four LLMs to draw maps progressively getting more zoomed in (the World, Europe, UK, Yorkshire, York).

            Things got worse each time you zoomed in, sometimes with "memories" from the previous image. My favourite was the attached version of Yorkshire.

            I'll do another one in a month or two.

            Link Preview Image
            Sarianna SilvonenS This user is from outside of this forum
            Sarianna SilvonenS This user is from outside of this forum
            Sarianna Silvonen
            wrote last edited by
            #72

            @tautology @cstross Great map! Now you just have to ask AI to write the fantasy book to match it.

            tautologyT 1 Reply Last reply
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            • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

              RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

              Notes for Americans:

              1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

              2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

              3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

              QuincyQ This user is from outside of this forum
              QuincyQ This user is from outside of this forum
              Quincy
              wrote last edited by
              #73

              @cstross

              But sure, let's become "an AI nation", build "AI gigafactories" in order "not to be left behind" ... /s

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • Joe BayesJ Joe Bayes

                @cstross You...you had to wire your own plugs? Seriously?

                How many people killed themselves each year because they didn't know how to do it properly and were too impatient to wait for someone who did?

                Wolf_BaginskiW This user is from outside of this forum
                Wolf_BaginskiW This user is from outside of this forum
                Wolf_Baginski
                wrote last edited by
                #74

                @cstross @jbayes

                I learned to wire plugs from "Blue Peter". That TV program was very involved in the transition from the old round-pin system.

                Details of electrical wiring have had many changes since then. My grandfather was a qualified electrician, trained before WW1. Many of the don't-kill-yourself rules that he taught me don't depend on colour-codes or the design of a screw-head.

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                  There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                  Asta [AMP]A This user is from outside of this forum
                  Asta [AMP]A This user is from outside of this forum
                  Asta [AMP]
                  wrote last edited by
                  #75

                  @cstross@wandering.shop smh, kids today wouldn't know even what to hook the blive wire up to.

                  it's nice that they've labelled the neutral tone area of the picture, though.

                  1 Reply Last reply
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                  • Sarianna SilvonenS Sarianna Silvonen

                    @tautology @cstross Great map! Now you just have to ask AI to write the fantasy book to match it.

                    tautologyT This user is from outside of this forum
                    tautologyT This user is from outside of this forum
                    tautology
                    wrote last edited by
                    #76

                    @ssilvonen @cstross Ackroyd the Barbarian wi' 'is warsheep and scout ferret. 'e adjusts his warcap and lights his Woodbine. as 'e descends to cleanse the lands of rogue Lancastrians.

                    Wi' his warcry of "Yorkshire, Yorkshire, dust tha want braying"?

                    Sarianna SilvonenS MauriceB 2 Replies Last reply
                    0
                    • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                      RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

                      Notes for Americans:

                      1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

                      2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

                      3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

                      shift/resetS This user is from outside of this forum
                      shift/resetS This user is from outside of this forum
                      shift/reset
                      wrote last edited by
                      #77

                      @cstross at least in my secondary school, they were still teaching you how to do it in the early 00s

                      Colin WatsonC 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • Daniel CarosoneU Daniel Carosone

                        @cstross only missing the enormous rat-penis

                        Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                        Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                        Charlie Stross
                        wrote last edited by
                        #78

                        @uep You called, sir?

                        Vlad 🇺🇦V 1 Reply Last reply
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                        • LisPiL LisPi
                          @cstross I'd kind of hope the government actually provides a guide for citizen on their websites and/or other convenient information outlets.
                          Colin WatsonC This user is from outside of this forum
                          Colin WatsonC This user is from outside of this forum
                          Colin Watson
                          wrote last edited by
                          #79

                          @cstross @lispi314 It hasn't been relevant since websites entered the general public's consciousness. I became an adult a few years after the relevant change in the law and I've been a (mostly ...) perfectly functional adult for the three decades or so ever since without ever having bothered to learn how to wire a plug. Literally never needed that skill.

                          Charlie StrossC 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • shift/resetS shift/reset

                            @cstross at least in my secondary school, they were still teaching you how to do it in the early 00s

                            Colin WatsonC This user is from outside of this forum
                            Colin WatsonC This user is from outside of this forum
                            Colin Watson
                            wrote last edited by
                            #80

                            @cstross @shift_reset My A-level computing class in the late 1990s taught me about mainframes. I think curriculums tend to lag reality somewhat.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                              There are WORSE AI-generated images of how to wire a UK mains plug. Here's one I saved last year.

                              MH ThaungM This user is from outside of this forum
                              MH ThaungM This user is from outside of this forum
                              MH Thaung
                              wrote last edited by
                              #81

                              @cstross Seems it would save time just to stick your fingers directly into the socket, no?

                              Stephen J HenstridgeH 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • Charlie StrossC Charlie Stross

                                RE: https://nomenloony.com/@nomenloony/116019280517956996

                                Notes for Americans:

                                1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances in the UK (they were sold without pre-molded plugs).

                                2. Mains voltage is 230VAC, not 110VAC. It'll kill ya.

                                3. If you follow ChatGPT's advice *YOU WILL DIE*.

                                Brian SwetlandS This user is from outside of this forum
                                Brian SwetlandS This user is from outside of this forum
                                Brian Swetland
                                wrote last edited by
                                #82

                                @cstross Was (1) due to variation in outlet designs in different locales or some other reason?

                                Charlie StrossC 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • Steve GloverA Steve Glover

                                  @cstross 1.a) The UK still had homes wired with the old round pin (2,5,15 amp) plugs until stupidly late.

                                  A 2a round pin gave just enough energy to use a wee heating element to boil a cup of water.

                                  For 13A plugs, the lowest available fuse was 3A so an old boilette could overheat for minutes before the fuse would blow....

                                  Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Charlie Stross
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #83

                                  @akicif I know: I grew up in one of those houses. (It was rewired when I was 13.)

                                  RickH 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • DressToKILTD DressToKILT

                                    @cstross as an American who was awake and aware prior to 1992 and growing up in a house with multiple appliances from the 60s, I can attest that the only household appliances I ever saw that did not include pre-molded plugs were washing machines, and the one I bought in 2024 was the same way. Agree with the other two. Most houses of the day had a 230 outlet specifically for the air conditioner. Washers tend to be 230 as well. We have standardized on dumb.

                                    Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                    Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                    Charlie Stross
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #84

                                    @dresstokilt I'm talking about the UK. Where EVERYTHING runs on 230v and nothing came with a plug prior to 1992. Read for context!

                                    [Yaseenist] CauseOfBSODC DressToKILTD 2 Replies Last reply
                                    0
                                    • M. GrégoireM M. Grégoire

                                      @cstross @jbayes
                                      Yes, why were people wiring their own plugs?

                                      I'll bet ChatGPT could give me a story...

                                      Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Charlie Stross
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #85

                                      @mpjgregoire @jbayes Because NOTHING was sold with a pre-molded plug until it was required by law from 1992. (This is the UK we're talking about.)

                                      M. GrégoireM 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • C.S.StrowbridgeC C.S.Strowbridge

                                        @cstross

                                        "1. Until 1992 you had to wire your own plugs onto new electrical appliances (they were sold without pre-molded plugs)."

                                        This is such a stupid thing.

                                        The plug itself is very good, but having to wire it yourself is painfully dumb.

                                        Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                        Charlie StrossC This user is from outside of this forum
                                        Charlie Stross
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #86

                                        @csstrowbridge Were you even alive during my 20s?

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • tautologyT tautology

                                          @ssilvonen @cstross Ackroyd the Barbarian wi' 'is warsheep and scout ferret. 'e adjusts his warcap and lights his Woodbine. as 'e descends to cleanse the lands of rogue Lancastrians.

                                          Wi' his warcry of "Yorkshire, Yorkshire, dust tha want braying"?

                                          Sarianna SilvonenS This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Sarianna SilvonenS This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Sarianna Silvonen
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #87

                                          @tautology @cstross You're cheating, I know AI didn't write that 😆

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0

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