VBA Rubberducking

11:00 PM

@mansellan Protesting GDPR?

What's next with Brexit, BTW?

Oh wait, just checked their content pages, got all that. Hulu, don't launch here, I don't want another subscription for stuff I already get.

Hosch250

LOL.

@this My day went OK, but I'm brain-dead now.

mansellan

@Hosch250 So we're getting a new Prime Minister. It's almost certainly going to be Boris Johnson (is he known outside the UK?) He says we're out 31st Oct, deal or no deal. We'll see...

Vogel612

yes, he's known outside the UK..

Hosch250

Ah. Yeah, I know of Boris.

mansellan

11:03 PM

Lol!

Vogel612

at least in Europe we're vaguely aware he's a bellend

IvenBach

@mansellan No clue who that is.

mansellan

@Vogel612 Yeah, but an amusing one :-)

Hosch250

And, IMO, good for him. Just get it done and take the consequences was my opinion the whole time.

Vogel612

@Hosch250 still doesn't solve "The Irish Question"

mansellan

11:04 PM

I love Europe. I don't love the EU.

Hosch250

True. I keep forgetting that.

Which is why I wouldn't be a good politician :)

Quack Exchange

0

Q: Using an Array Constant to Store Multiple Values in Cell

For a recent project I needed to store id references to values of pivoted data. Usually, I would use helper columns to store the ids but in this case there could be anywhere from 1 to several hundred pivot values to track. My solution uses no helper columns. Instead it stores a row-header valu...

this

@Vogel612 wait, that's still a thing? I thought things pretty much settled around in 90s?

mansellan

@Vogel612 See, there's what I don't understand. This is the withdrawal agreement. How we will leave. The EU says "we won't agree to this without the backstop". But... we can just leave, agreement or not. The UK would never build a border, and neither would EIRE. So WTF are we arguing about?

Am I missing something?

Vogel612

@this it could become one if a border gets enacted

IvenBach

11:07 PM

@Hosch250 Which is why you're a productive programmer.

Vogel612

and a hard brexit would necessitate some kind of border

this

hmm. Hadn't thought of it in that way

mansellan

@Vogel612 Why? Under what law?

this

So you're saying that Irish Question largely settled down when EU became a thing and the border between the NI and RI became porous.

mansellan

Norway/Sweden have an electronic border...

Vogel612

11:08 PM

@mansellan immigration and tax codes as well, I assume?

this

@mansellan I don't think the actual implementation of border matter; only whether there's one or not.

After all, EU guarantee freedom of travel, no?

Vogel612

@this well, Schengen kinda does that as well

but brexit means brexit always was at least partially about borders

this

and can we agree that the word "Brexit" is ultra-lame?

IvenBach

Should we start thinking of it as Schröedinger's Border?

Hosch250

@this Agree, LOL.

mansellan

11:10 PM

@this Not true. The sensitivity is around physical infrastructure. Painful memories of UK troops in barbed-wire outposts. Anything physical would get attacked.

@Vogel612 UK not in Schengen

Vogel612

@IvenBach actually that's kind of one of the suggestions to "solve" the issue

this

(incidentally, it is UK that's leaving, not England, right?)

IvenBach

@Vogel612 LOL. Really?

Vogel612

one with a date for collapsing the quantum state

IvenBach

Claim there's a border for legistlative reasons then just ignore it since it's not really there?

Hosch250

11:12 PM

IMO, they should just add a clause that Irish citizens don't have any checks as well as goods produced on Irish soil, and ignore smuggling for a while.

this

ok, I'm an Irish! You britons gonna let me in!

Hosch250

And goods of non-Irish origin would have normal lockdowns.

this

What you gonna to do now?

Check me?!?

mansellan

The main reason for needing a border is customs tariffs. Without any border, differing tax rates would lead to smuggling. But that can be solved with e-Customs, anyone trading across the border would need to predeclare their goods. It's not really about immigration or regulatory standards.

Hosch250

@this Sure thing. Got proof of citizenship? Irish passport? OK, good to go!

mansellan

11:14 PM

mostly solved. enough to be manageable.

this

See, you're checking me. Can't say there's no check then check anyway.

Hosch250

Well, not anymore than a British citizen.

mansellan

@this well, England and Wales voted Leave. Scotland and Northern Ireland voted Remain. Not-So-United Kingdom.

Hosch250

I meant basically treat Irish citizens as honorary UK citizens.

Vogel612

as if the UK were to accept that

Hosch250

11:18 PM

LOL

this

@mansellan See, the parliament was a mistake. You should have kept ol' Georgie in power.

mansellan

tl;dr, the UK negotiations were shockingly incompetent. Ruling out no-deal was ridiculous. The EU saw our weakness, and ate us alive. Hoping a change of leadership may change things, but not confident...

this

(or whoever it was the king that signed power over to the parliament)

mansellan

@this lol. One of the suggestions recently was literally "hey, lets just suspend Parliament". I shit you not.

this

I'm sure the people will enjoy the wanton abuse of power and suppression.

Hosch250

11:21 PM

@this Johnny.

mansellan

I, for one, welcome our new dictatorial overlords ;-)

this

Ah yes, right. John was the one who signed Magna Carta. I was not sure if that was the same document that started Parliament

mansellan

No, that was later

16 something iirc

Hosch250

Parliament really took over when they finally finished throwing the Scottish house out with Charles and James.

mansellan

I hear the UK is a laughing stock atm, and not surprised.

Certainly John Oliver is making dollar from it!

@this Ooh wait no.... see that's the thing - the lack of a border predates the EU by a long way, it was originally known as the Common Travel Area. So - we didn't need a border before the EU, WTF would we need one afterwards?

Because they've introduced "stuff"?

this

11:31 PM

Huh. Didn't they have fences around the NI borders?

to quell the riots and violence during the troubles?

mansellan

Bah, at the limit here. Googles

this

(and what's up with britons' propensity for understating things? The troubles? Really? :-p )

mansellan

@this Oh, that's political. We all knew how serious it was.

Common Travel Area

The Common Travel Area (CTA; Irish: Comhlimistéar Taistil) is an open borders area comprising the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The British Overseas Territories are not included. Based on agreements that are not legally binding, the internal borders of the Common Travel Area (CTA) are subject to minimal controls, if any, and can normally be crossed by British and Irish citizens with minimal identity documents with certain exceptions. The maintenance of the CTA involves considerable co-operation on immigration matters between the British and Irish authorities...

this

I see. So Ireland is a signatory to that.

mansellan

IIUC, the walls \ barbed wire were in Northen Ireland, to segregate Catholic and Protestant communites, and to protect UK forces bases

the border itself had some checkpoints, but nothing excessive

this

11:34 PM

However, if Ireland stay in EU, you still have porous borders (travel via Ireland, profit)

I assume prior to EU, you had to go through the full yard to get in Ireland

mansellan

@this honestly IDK, was too young to live though it. But I think the border was pretty quiet, the IRA just hated occupation.

@this yes, it would be a soft border. smuggling prevention would have to be intelligence-led.

There's actually a growing swell of support for giving NI back to the Irish. Not sure how I feel about that.

And indeed, it's kinda none of my business.

@Hosch250 Oh, wait, did you troll me? ;-)

Hosch250

No, I was honestly interested.

I'm just programming at the same time.

mansellan

lol was kidding!

IvenBach

@mansellan Did the UK think they were King Kong and the EU would just bow down to their benevolent colonial conquerors?

mansellan

@IvenBach No not at all. But if you walk into a negotiation saying "I can't leave without you giving me a deal", what kind of deal do you think you'll walk out with?

I certainly wouldn't walk into a car dealership with that line!

IvenBach

11:46 PM

It sounds so stupid when you put it that way.

mansellan

We're the 5th largest economy in the world... focus-economics.com/blog/the-largest-economies-in-the-world

this

You should have gone the way of PIIGS

then they'd pay you to leave

mansellan

@this yes!

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