4 ms·

> thanks for all the bits Am I missing something here? What's the headline supposed to mean? Is it a tongue-in-cheek gesture, since GCHQ routinely hoover up pe

> thanks for all the bits Am I missing something here? What's the headline supposed to mean? Is it a tongue-in-cheek gesture, since GCHQ routinely hoover up personal data and spy on both their citizenry and foreign countries?

deleted 4y ago
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tellmelies 4y ago
it's from hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Long,_and_Thanks_for_All_the_Fish https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Long,_and_Thanks_for_All_...
mindcrime 4y ago
It's a paraphrase or restatement of the phrase "so long and thanks for all the fish", the title of one of the books in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Changing "fish" to "bits" is interesting, as it could be "just" a reference to life in the modern age and that this individual is leaving a techie oriented job that deals with "bits and bytes". Or it could be a really on the nose "joke" making light of exactly what you say: "GCHQ routinely hoover up personal data and spy on both their citizenry and foreign countries?" It's hard to say which it really is.
- fundad 4y ago
  doesn't bits refer to genitals?
  - thombat 4y ago
    In British vernacular about a quarter of all common words can be used to refer to genitals and/or intimate acts, especially when said out loud with the right intonation. One time in London I lost my rag with a local colleague and snarled at him "is there nothing you can't make innuendo from?!?" And without missing a beat he simply leered back "in-YOUR-end-o"
    - andrewflnr 4y ago
      It may be more widespread in Britain, but I assure you it's equally possible anywhere. :)
      - waterhouse 4y ago
        On "Penn & Teller: Bullshit", there was an episode where one of the people they interviewed was a woman who's initially seen carrying a large stack of envelopes, and Penn on voiceover said something like, "We told the previous guy that we wanted to see a woman with really ... big ... envelopes. He's foreign; he didn't understand that, in America, every plural noun means tits." So there may be some regional variation.
beardyw 4y ago
It's a reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish" as the dolphins abandon planet earth IIRC.
jhauris 4y ago
I think it's a reference to "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Knowing Earth was going to be destroyed the dolphins leave, but they leave behind a message which when decoded translates to "so long and thanks for all the fish" (referring to how dolphins had trained humans to give them a fish when they did tricks).
- happymellon 4y ago
  > Knowing Earth was going to be destroyed the dolphins leave, but they leave behind a message He thinks that the UK is going to implode? Probably correct even if it is mostly harmless.
  - bigiain 4y ago
    > He thinks that the UK is going to implode? Arguably, it's in the middle of doing so right now...
ChrisRR 4y ago
In addition to everyone who's given legitimate answers, it's also why they've used a picture of a dolphin and referenced "life, the universe and everything"
beardyw 4y ago
Four identical answers must be true!
- beardyw 4y ago
  Five!
nibbleshifter 4y ago
It's a Hitchhikers Guide reference, the article has a couple of them. Its Ian ingratiating himself to the geek readership so they think he's one of them and not, well, a fucking ex government spook ;)

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tellmelies 4y ago

it's from hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Long,_and_Thanks_for_All_the_Fish https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Long,_and_Thanks_for_All_...

mindcrime 4y ago

It's a paraphrase or restatement of the phrase "so long and thanks for all the fish", the title of one of the books in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Changing "fish" to "bits" is interesting, as it could be "just" a reference to life in the modern age and that this individual is leaving a techie oriented job that deals with "bits and bytes". Or it could be a really on the nose "joke" making light of exactly what you say: "GCHQ routinely hoover up personal data and spy on both their citizenry and foreign countries?" It's hard to say which it really is.

fundad 4y ago
doesn't bits refer to genitals?
- thombat 4y ago
  In British vernacular about a quarter of all common words can be used to refer to genitals and/or intimate acts, especially when said out loud with the right intonation. One time in London I lost my rag with a local colleague and snarled at him "is there nothing you can't make innuendo from?!?" And without missing a beat he simply leered back "in-YOUR-end-o"
  - andrewflnr 4y ago
    It may be more widespread in Britain, but I assure you it's equally possible anywhere. :)
    - waterhouse 4y ago
      On "Penn & Teller: Bullshit", there was an episode where one of the people they interviewed was a woman who's initially seen carrying a large stack of envelopes, and Penn on voiceover said something like, "We told the previous guy that we wanted to see a woman with really ... big ... envelopes. He's foreign; he didn't understand that, in America, every plural noun means tits." So there may be some regional variation.

beardyw 4y ago

It's a reference to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish" as the dolphins abandon planet earth IIRC.

jhauris 4y ago

I think it's a reference to "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Knowing Earth was going to be destroyed the dolphins leave, but they leave behind a message which when decoded translates to "so long and thanks for all the fish" (referring to how dolphins had trained humans to give them a fish when they did tricks).

happymellon 4y ago
> Knowing Earth was going to be destroyed the dolphins leave, but they leave behind a message He thinks that the UK is going to implode? Probably correct even if it is mostly harmless.
- bigiain 4y ago
  > He thinks that the UK is going to implode? Arguably, it's in the middle of doing so right now...

ChrisRR 4y ago

In addition to everyone who's given legitimate answers, it's also why they've used a picture of a dolphin and referenced "life, the universe and everything"

beardyw 4y ago

Four identical answers must be true!

beardyw 4y ago
Five!

nibbleshifter 4y ago

It's a Hitchhikers Guide reference, the article has a couple of them. Its Ian ingratiating himself to the geek readership so they think he's one of them and not, well, a fucking ex government spook ;)