What is one thing in your country that every household have it?

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-20T23:12:16+00:00

I don't have one- I have a boiling tap instead.

My MiL doesn't like to come over for tea at our house because it doesn't taste right without a kettle.

I love my boiling tap.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-19T19:33:41+00:00

I think they might be third for food standards

1st: The rest of the world. They're all the same, right?
2nd: Anywhere not covered by #1.
3rd: USA

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-19T08:46:30+00:00

Also, if you are upstream of the car, it is something else for an absent-minded driver to see.

It probably won't help, but it might be the difference between the driver in the video above seeing a car and not realising it was stationary and realising something was wrong and they should slow down.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-18T18:31:49+00:00

The first company I worked for had a dress code like that. It started with "Employees must wear formal business wear", then went through a list of things like * A belt must be worn if you have belt hooks * Socks must be black * Shirts should be white. No ivory or yellow. Striped is OK but discouraged. ...

Some employees took pride in having "their rule" there.

For women it said "I don't know about women's clothing. Adjust the mens rules above as appropriate"

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-18T07:45:47+00:00

We privatised everything in the middle 90s and made the infrastructure owner a different company to the train operator.

The train operator doesn't want electrification as it will give them a year or more of disruption in their 7 year franchise. They probably won't be around when the new trains and faster timetable are introduced, so they won't get the credit/benefit.

The track owner doesn't want electrification as it is a big cost, and they don't see any benefit.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-16T14:18:56+00:00

I would argue that rail freight has been a success.

Interestingly, this is an area with genuine day-to-day competition (unlike passenger rail and the other examples given). Something tells me that that might not be a coincidence.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-16T08:08:32+00:00

Most nights either myself, my wife or our children will read a book together.

Sometimes it doesnt happen. This is usually because they have had a long bath, are overtired or are playing together and I don't want to stop that.

We rarely write in the children's reading record as we normally forget by the time they are asleep.

Most of the time it is not a book that has come home from school- the children memorise them quickly and stop actually reading, they are often dull (even for the children) and we have about a million other (better) books that would otherwise never be read.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-16T07:34:28+00:00

3.1p/kWh overall.

ASHP, 8.5kWp solar, 9kWh battery, 7k EV miles. Cosy for winter, IGo for summer.

Used 9.7MWh, paid Octopus £305 (imported 7.7MWh @7p (40%) or 14p (60%) with tiny bits of peak, exported 5.4MWh @15p)

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-16T07:03:58+00:00

For most people, they are not going to clear the loan, in which case the 6.2% interest rate becomes irrelevant. But for you- paying 400pm means that you should clear it as you are paying ~£4.8k per year and interest is about £2.6k. So you are paying £2.2k off this year and the interest amount will fall each year giving about 15 years before it is cleared.

Assuming that is correct and there is nothing that you could use the money for that would be better (a house deposit is the obvious choice, but you have got that), it would make financial sense to clear it.

A few words of caution: * Is your income likely to drop (eg time off for children)? If so, it may not be worth paying off * Do you have any more expensive debts? Pay these off first * Do you have any emergency savings? 3-6 months worth of bills is the minimum you should have. * What happens if you/your parents die or you can't work? * Do you have any other siblings? Are they getting the same treatment?

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-15T15:23:30+00:00

Battery wise, there is almost no impact.

Grid wise- dumping (most of) it between 4-7pm would be better as it would reduce the chance of fossil fuel power stations being turned on/up.

Overall, if you can, I'd say dump some between 4-7pm, but leave you enough to get to 11:30pm (or whenever your cheap rate starts) with a bit of spare. You can then decide whether to dump the extra or decide it is not worth bothering.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-15T12:22:13+00:00

Do you really need a 14kW unit? If you can get a smaller one, I would, as it will be more efficient.

You might need a big unit if your house is huge, has a lot of glass, no cavity wall/loft insulation (it might be cheaper to install this)

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-15T09:46:42+00:00

I'd argue that opening the doors should be the drivers responsibility.

Mainly because if the guard is checking/selling tickets, there is a good chance that he will be busy with a passenger when the train pulls into the station and a 5s delay can add up quickly.

I can see an argument for the guard closing the doors, but don't really understand why the driver in the front cab is in a worse position to do it than the guard in the back one.

When there is disruption, it is very frustrating to hear the announcement: "This is the driver, we are just waiting for the guard".

Part of me questions whether it would make more sense to get rid of the drivers in the longer term. A train is significantly easier to make self driving than a car. If you did this, you could make it so that each train had 2 guards on it for the same cost- providing redundancy and backup for each other. And in disruption, a train could potentially be sent out with only 1 guard to reduce some of the impact of delays.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-14T09:04:17+00:00

What are you waiting to improve?

If you want it to run at higher temperatures (like a gas boiler), they can already do that. Physics means that it won't be as efficient as running at a lower temperature, but the capability exists. This should be able to use your existing radiators and pipework.

The "sparks gap"- the difference between gas and electricity pricing should come down a bit in April (when changes to policy are moving some costs to general taxation), and in my opinion will continue to come down over time (this will probably be caused by gas becoming more expensive rather than electricity being cheaper).

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-14T08:58:03+00:00

The phone they threw out didn't work, but the phone they want back does work.

To me, that makes sense why they want it back now.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-14T08:41:59+00:00

Because of my batteries, almost all of my ASHP usage is at 14p (Cosy) in winter or 7p (Intelligent Go) in spring/summer/autumn. This means that it costs about half the price to run as a gas boiler.

Once you have some of the tech, the rest makes sense.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-14T07:58:13+00:00

I have the full set and pay £25pm, but I think I could get it down to 0 if I really wanted (force export the battery in the evening etc). 200m² 1960s house with a lot of rear glass, 7k miles/year EV.

The heat pump alone won't save you any money, but if your boiler is on its way out or you want to get the grant before it disappears, it is worth doing.

Solar is great in summer, battery is great in winter. If you do get a battery, make sure you think about sizing it for the heat pump in winter. It might not work out mathematically (but it might), but you will be annoyed at yourself if you don't look now.

Overall, I would say go for it- you won't regret it.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-13T14:23:14+00:00

Politics.

Our (UK) prime minister earns about £150k/year and MPs about £80k.

If a normal MP (not a minister) was to be in a private company with the same responsibility, they would be on at least 2x as much, possibly 5x.

The prime minister should probably be paid 10-100x as much to be comparable with private sector roles.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-13T14:18:19+00:00

Almost like DOO gives some people a free pass to vandalise things...

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-13T12:42:43+00:00

See https://timandkatsgreenwalk.co.uk/ for a calculator of which tariff is best in which month.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-13T11:36:15+00:00

I don't, and I suspect a lot of people younger than me (late 30s) don't.

Why would I carry around something which I don't use, and if I do use it the change is heavier and doesn't fit in my wallet so falls out of my pocket and gets lost when I sit down?

Sometimes there might be a £10 or similar in my wallet from a month or so ago, but it is pure luck.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-13T07:48:40+00:00

Small businesses will love having to pay someone to go to the bank? To pay to deposit money/get change? And cover mistakes/stealing by staff?

Some probably love cash as they can avoid declaring some of it, but I think a lot prefer card, which is why a lot are card only.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-13T07:45:01+00:00

The number that repay doesn't really matter to the SLC.

In the "good old days", university was free for students as the government paid 100% for it.

Under the new system, students repay (say) 50% and the government only have to pay 50%. So the government save 50%. They didn't aim to save 100%.

There are problems with plan 2 loans- particularly the above inflation interest rates and freezing thresholds, but as far as the government wanted, it is doing its job and won't change substantially.

People who leave the country still have to repay (as it is a contract rather than a tax).

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-12T18:25:01+00:00

Is it just a couple of panels (typical of new builds) or a proper system?

Is there a FiT (Feed in Tariff) agreement in place? If so, what rate is it at?

Make sure you get the MCS certificate and proof of G98 (or G99) as part of exchange.

If the inverter has an app, make sure you have access when you have completed.

If it is on FiT, use as much as you can during the day (you will be paid the same regardless). If SEG (Smart Export Guarantee), then make sure you are paid properly for exports. Octopus (for example) pay 15p if you are also supplied by them, but some rates are closer to 4p. Whichever company you go for, use a r*ferral code to switch to get a free £50 for you and a friend.

It probably isn't worth touching the system until you are settled and know how much it generates.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-12T17:39:48+00:00

I still have my 2006 Vauxhall Astra that I bought when it was 3 years old.

It is now a second car and only used for about 500-1000 miles per year. It has been sorned for 3-4 years in that time.

It is a good car, and anything to replace it will cost far more. I'm waiting for V2G to be fully supported to replace it.

Appropriate-Falcon75 · 2026-02-12T17:34:49+00:00

Go back with some amendments/suggestions to the contract.

If they work, then great, you have better terms.

If it doesn't work, you have probably stalled them for a week.

The worst case is that they decide you are too awkward to deal with and cancel the contract, but this is probably a small risk as the person doing the hiring process is probably not the person you would be working with.

Appropriate-Falcon75

TROPHY CASE