Author Topic: 15/12/22  (Read 1755 times)

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Offline Maik

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15/12/22
« on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 03:24:22 »
Today’s bank rates:
1 €UR = £0.8833 GBP
1 €UR = $1.0861 USD
£1 GBP = 1.1321 €UR
$1 USD = 0.9207 €UR

Based on Alpha Bank exchange rates, these are widely used by exchange agencies in Greece.
Other banks likely to offer a different rate which may be marginally higher or lower.
Banks and foreign exchange offices normally charge standard 2% commission.
You may get a better rate changing your holiday money in advance at e.g the
Post Office.
NB: some f-ex agencies advertise "No Commission".
Invariably, they deduct commission before they (don't) advertise the rate.
Foreign exchange offices are businesses, not charities.


Ten day weather forecast for Kefalonia:
This is an overall forecast, due to the mountainous terrain the weather can be very localised.
Updated forecast @
weather.com

Day, Date   Hi°/Lo°   Wind sp   Wet   Forecast
Thu 15/12   20°/15°   16 km/h   14%   Sun & cloud
Fri 16/12   20°/16°   21 km/h   15%   Mostly cloudy
Sat 17/12   20°/15°   21 km/h   36%   Thunderstorms possible
Sun 18/12   19°/13°   11 km/h   22%   Mostly cloudy
Mon 19/12   17°/09°   16 km/h   19%   Mostly sunny
Tue 20/12   14°/09°   14 km/h   05%   Sunny
Wed 21/12   15°/11°   08 km/h   03%   Sunny
Thu 22/12   16°/12°   09 km/h   05%   Sun & cloud
Fri 23/12   16°/12°   12 km/h   12%   Sun & cloud
Sat 24/12   16°/13°   12 km/h   23%   Sun & cloud

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #1 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 03:29:49 »
Quote
Airport security 100ml liquid rule to be scrapped

Some security rules on liquids and items such as laptops in airport hand luggage are set to be scrapped.

The government has set a deadline of June 2024 for most UK airports to install new high-tech 3D scanners, that show more detailed images of baggage.

The changes will see the 100ml liquid rule increased to two litres and mean passengers won't need to remove electrical items from bags at security.

A previous installation deadline was pushed back due to the pandemic.

Passengers are currently required to remove items such as tablets, laptops and liquids from their hand luggage while going through security checks at airports.

Liquids, such as sun cream, shampoo or toothpaste are required to be 100ml and must be in a clear plastic bag.

The limits have been in place since November 2006.

With the legislation being phased in across the country over the next two years, current rules will still apply at airports not using the technology. Passengers are advised to check this before travelling.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63975270

Maybe I missed something but presumably those flying in to UK will be dependent upon the type of scanners at the departure airport?

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #2 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 03:47:47 »
Bought some nice mince pies last Christmas, no idea where. But Iceland mince pies, at £1.20 for six, fare quite well against more expensive competition in this Telegraph review.

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #3 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 03:49:01 »
Quote
Why scientists are worried about the number of insects splattered on car number plates

Populations of flying insects in the UK are rapidly collapsing, with numbers falling by 64 per cent across the country since 2004, new research has found.

Conservation charities are now calling for “urgent” action to address and reverse the declines, which have major ramifications for ecosystems everywhere, threatening food supplies for a vast array of animals as well as humans.
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/flying-insects-decline-uk-number-plates-biodiversity-b2245109.html

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #4 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 04:05:41 »


Quote
Greek MEP at centre of Qatar corruption inquiry has hearing postponed

The Greek MEP at the centre of a corruption scandal engulfing the European parliament will have to wait in prison until next week to find out whether she will be released on bail pending a trial.

The Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili is one of four suspects arrested last week in connection with a major police investigation into cash for influence involving Qatar’s government.

In a statement, Belgium’s public prosecutor said “defendant EK” had not been present at the hearing, “having requested a postponement”, and would appear before the judicial chamber on 22 December.

However, Kaili’s lawyer, Andre Risopoulos, told AFP that she had not been able to attend court because of a staff strike in the prison where she is being held.

On Wednesday Belgian police released photos of neatly stacked bundles of cash worth nearly €1.5m that had been seized during raids on 20 addresses in Brussels since last Friday.

A Belgian judicial source told Agence France-Presse that €150,000 was found in Kaili’s flat, €600,000 in her partner’s home, and €750,000 in her father’s hotel room.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/14/greek-mep-eva-kaili-at-centre-of-qatar-corruption-inquiry-has-hearing-postponed

Offline TonyD

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #5 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 06:02:59 »
Quote
Why scientists are worried about the number of insects splattered on car number plates
The aerodynamic design of cars has evolved.
This change in design from a blunt body to a more streamlined body reduced the drag coefficient from about 0.95 to 0.30
Consequently, the Number Plate test is not a reliable historic comparator.
However, a motorcyclist's teeth have remained a constant and I concur, there are indeed fewer airborne insects.

Offline expat

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Re: 15/12/22 Card.
« Reply #6 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 12:37:31 »
Thanks for the card Mike! all the best to you and yours, and thanks for the work you put in running the forum, all the best to everyone on here as well. :yiamas:

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #7 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 12:52:25 »
You're welcome! Card from usual supplier should be landing on your doormat in your in-tray early tomorrow.

 :x-smile:

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #8 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 13:00:30 »
=
The aerodynamic design of cars has evolved.
This change in design from a blunt body to a more streamlined body reduced the drag coefficient from about 0.95 to 0.30
Consequently, the Number Plate test is not a reliable historic comparator.
However, a motorcyclist's teeth have remained a constant and I concur, there are indeed fewer airborne insects.

I do like that. However, motorcyclist's teeth sadly aren't a constant, well, not if a car driver pulls out of a side road into your path. If I could get my leg over a motorbike I'd gladly see if I'm sucking in more flies than before.

If only I could remember...

:dunno:

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #9 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 13:08:25 »
A tragedy didn't occur on Ithaka: a 29 y-o local went fishing in a small boat yesterday afternoon and didn't come back. Once reported, coast guard were in action. A search located the missing man, in good health, on a rocky stretch of shoreline. The boat's pump had failed and the ingress of water had caused the boat to sink, fortunately near to the shore.
 

Offline Misty

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #10 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 14:58:39 »
You're welcome! Card from usual supplier should be landing on your doormat in your in-tray early tomorrow.

 :x-smile:

Thanks for the robin card Mike and proceeds going to a good cause, good idea especially this year with the strikes

Offline BeeTee

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #11 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 16:10:33 »
Cheers Mike for the cute Christmas card. Hope you, Mary and everyone else has a Great Christmas  :x-smile:   

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #12 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 17:11:55 »
Quote
Corinth: 5 schoolboys arrested on suspicion of attempted rape of classmate

Police in the Peloponnesian city of Corinth have arrested five schoolboys on suspicion of the attempted rape of a 14-year-old female classmate.

According to the mother of the girl, the five boys tried to rape the 14-year-old in the playground of a secondary school in the city on Wednesday during school hours. The girl resisted and managed to escape.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1200354/corinth-five-schoolboys-arrested-on-suspicion-of-attempted-rape-of-classmate/

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #13 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 17:16:33 »
Quote
Funeral held for Roma teenager shot by police

More than 1,500 mourners gathered in a Roma settlement in the Thessaloniki suburb of Evosmos on Thursday for the funeral of a teenager who died days after being shot in the head by a police officer during a chase over an unpaid gas station bill.

The shooting of 16-year-old Kostas Frangoulis, who was married and had a young child, triggered days of protests which often turned violent, despite calls for restraint by the teenager’s family and Roma community leaders.
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1200342/funeral-for-roma-teenager-shot-by-police/


Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #14 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 17:30:54 »
Quote
Iranian footballer sentenced to execution for 'campaigning for women's rights'
Amir Nasr-Azadani is facing execution amid anti-government protests in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Masha Amini in September

An Iranian footballer who took part in protests against the regime is facing execution, despite pleas for mercy from a former national team captain and other sport stars.

Amir Nasr-Azadani, who once played for the national under-16s team, was arrested in September for allegedly taking part in an “armed riot” in Isfahan in which three members of the security forces were killed.

The 26-year-old defender with Iranjavan Bushehr FC was charged with “rebellion, membership in illegal gangs, collusion to undermine security and therefore assisting in moharabeh”. 

The charge of moharabeh, meaning “waging war against God”, carries the death penalty in Iran.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/12/13/iranian-footballer-amir-nasr-azadani-sentenced-execution-campaigning/


Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #15 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 17:44:35 »
Quote
Hungry hippo swallows toddler - and then spits him out alive

In an African twist on the Biblical legend of Jonah and the whale, a toddler in Uganda has miraculously survived being gulped down and then regurgitated by a hippo.

The two-year-old boy, who was named as Paul Iga, was playing near his home about 800 yards from the shores of Lake Edward in the west of the country.

The hippo grabbed the child in its huge jaws and was in the process of swallowing him when a local man saw what happened and started frantically pelting the animal with stones.

The startled hippo regurgitated the child and lumbered off back towards the lake.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/12/15/hungry-hippo-swallows-toddler-spits-alive/

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #16 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 18:23:54 »
Quote
Google Chrome 108 security update fixes 8 security issues

Google released another point release update for Google Chrome 108 Stable that addresses 8 security issues in the web browser. This is the second security update for Chrome 108, which itself fixed 28 security issues in the browser as well.

The security update is already available for all supported desktop operating systems and for Android. As usual, it is possible to download the update immediately on desktop systems by opening chrome://settings/help in the browser's address bar.

Chrome displays the installed version on the page and runs a check for updates. Any update found is downloaded and installed automatically. A restart is required to complete the update.

The following versions of Chrome should be displayed after installation of the update:

    Chrome for Mac and Linux: 108.0.5359.124
    Chrome for Windows: 108.0.5359.124 or 108.0.5359.125
    Chrome Extended for Mac:108.0.5359.124
    Chrome Extended for Windows: 108.0.5359.125
    Chrome for Android: 108.0.5359.128

Just compare the version shown on the Help Settings page with the listed version above.
https://www.ghacks.net/2022/12/15/google-chrome-108-security-update-fixes-8-security-issues/

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #17 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 18:47:50 »
Recently I've swapped Chromium for Ungoogled Chromium:

Quote
What is Ungoogled Chromium?

In order to understand Ungoogled Chromium, you first need to understand what Chromium is.

In short, Chromium is the open-source engine and framework that Google Chrome is derived from.

This does not necessarily mean that Chromium is Google Chrome.

This also does not at all mean that Chromium, as it is, is a private alternative to Google Chrome.

This gap is exactly where Ungoogled Chromium steps in.

Ungoogled Chromium is what its name implies; it is Chromium stripped of its dependencies on Google web services such as "Safe Browsing" and Google Location Service.

This improves your online privacy because it totally eliminates the "phoning home" to Google servers - something that even regular Chromium does.

For example, "Safe Browsing" sends data of the sites you visit to Google to ensure that these sites are "safe." This feature sounds good, but if you follow your standard internet safety checklists, you'll be pretty good at avoiding obviously "unsafe" sites.

The privacy issue with a "Safe Browsing" web search is that Google you're feeding the G machine free information. You can bet that they are recording what sites you visit, when you visit them, how often you visit them, and etc.

Ungoogled Chromium also removes the Google (and other Big Data/Big Tech) defaults.

For example, regular Chromium sets your browser's default search engine to Google. Ungoogled Chromium's default is its "No Search" feature.
https://avoidthehack.com/how-to-install-configure-ungoogled-chromium

Pretty easy to install and set-up on Linux, haven't tried it with Windows / Mac OS. Works well, both DuckDuckGo and Startpage are search engines that don't track you around websites (although Google is probably better at search results).

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #18 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 20:07:53 »
Quote
Greece repays euro zone bailout loans early for first time-source

Greece has repaid ahead of schedule 2.7 billion euros ($2.87 billion) of loans owed to euro zone countries under the first bailout it received during its decade-long debt crisis, a finance ministry official told Reuters on Thursday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed a Reuters report in September that Greece planned to repay euro zone bailout loans earlier as part of its efforts to improve its debt sustainability.

"We repaid today, ahead of schedule, 2.7 billion euros," the official said.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/greece-repays-euro-zone-bailout-loans-early-first-time-source-2022-12-15/


Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #19 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 20:53:36 »
Quote
Strep A kills three more children as UK activates alternative medicines plan

At least 19 children have died and scarlet fever cases are more than treble what they were in previous high season
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/dec/15/strep-a-kills-three-more-children-as-uk-activates-new-medicines-plan

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #20 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 21:24:21 »
Fri 16/12   -1°/-5°
Sat 17/12   05°/02°
Sun 18/12   07°/07°
Mon 19/12   13°/10°
Tue 20/12   11°/06°
Wed 21/12   08°/04°
Thu 22/12   07°/03°
Fri 23/12   06°/02°
Sat 24/12   05°/01°
Sun 25/12   05°/02°


That's for London but it looks to be a similar pattern across the country: in some places getting in to double figures on Sunday, warmer still on Monday and then dropping a few degrees each day from Monday on as it gets back to just above freezing.  Of course, it could all change.

Offline Maik

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Re: 15/12/22
« Reply #21 on: Thursday, 15 December, 2022 @ 21:34:40 »
Quote
'Pee-back time': London council covers walls in 'splash-back paint' to give drunk men urinating 'a nasty surprise'
A central London council has covered building walls in paint that splashes back urine, to catch out anyone relieving themselves in public.

Westminster City council has painted the walls in the worst-affected parts of the nightlife area of Soho ahead of the Christmas party season.

The paint creates a water-repellent layer on the walls that means urine splashes back on the offending party, "leaving them soaked," the council said.

It comes with outdoor urination on the rise post-Covid. Westminster Council is already spending £950,000 a year on cleaning urine from the streets. The council has also installed pop-up urinals in various parts of the West End.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/soho-westminster-council-pee-paint/