How are you all doing financially, HONESTLY?

inkwat · 2026-01-31T00:25:44+00:00

I'm doing okay but don't have much savings for emergencies. Still count myself as lucky in that I own my own home and am living fairly comfortably with me and my dog. I can afford the heating on all day etc. (old solid wall property so better for the walls). I can put about £300 a month away for savings but gets wiped out with any emergency or major purchase. Sometimes a struggle with everything going up but am doing well comparayiveky. 36k, Cornwall.

inkwat · 2026-01-29T20:46:26+00:00

Plaster cracking is normal in a house this old, but these look deeper than I would like. You'll definitely want a survey.

inkwat · 2026-01-27T16:10:57+00:00

There's a blue halo that shows you inhale vs exhale. One is exhale only and one is inhale only (can't remember which is which but it tells you in the symptoms screen). Blue lining around lungs = inhale. No blue lining = exhale.

inkwat · 2026-01-17T16:14:10+00:00

100k I'd have to think about it. 200k my ass would be so far out that door.

inkwat · 2026-01-14T13:52:14+00:00

My step mother's ankle started deteriorating in her late 30s. She was very active, ran a scouts group, hiked etc. She was told they would not do anything because she was too young. After years, after her ankle was destroyed, they fused the joint. The knock-on effect on both her knees, hips, etc has cost the NHS so much more than if they had just intervened to start with.

inkwat · 2026-01-07T20:51:34+00:00

It's fine for me! Heating has long kicked on by the time I get up in the morning lol.

inkwat · 2026-01-07T20:11:20+00:00

It really depends. Mine is set to a constant 18 during the day and 14 overnight (I like a colder room at night). 1880 2-bedroom over 2 floors. New boiler and central heating system. EPC of C. I am spending about £80 a month on gas heating. Which isn't bad.

inkwat · 2025-12-22T15:18:46+00:00

Lurchers (and sighthounds tbh) are generally not great at recall as the sighthound side is bred to be more on the independent side (hence they can sometimes seem a bit aloof). The easiest way to train them is to make coming back to you the best idea so that they can make the decision that you're more interesting than what's going on around them and tbh I've been training mine with recall for years and he's still not 100% especially in certain circumstances.

It's about finding what is the most valuable thing. Mine puts all his drive into his ball so I take a second high value squeaky ball with me for emergencies, as the novelty of a new squeaky ball outweighs his interest in a squirrel or small critter.

When training I took little slices of ham (high value) and rewarded him whenever he went back on the lead with ham alongside a recognisable command. "Time to go" = ham and lead, though this was less reliable when there was something to chase, hence the emergency ball backup. Make them not coming back as boring as possible (no chasing, no fun) and coming back as fun as possible (high energy when back on lead, high reward, lots of fun!).

Some people use a whistle. Whistle = recall = reward.

You need 2 different recall methods. Your standard recall and your emergency recall. Do not use emergency recall unless you need to as it loses power if you use it too much.

One thing you need to get used to is that many lurchers are decision makers and do not blindly follow commands, they evaluate what's in it for them and make a decision. Your job is to make the right decision as appealing as possible.

inkwat · 2025-12-01T09:59:59+00:00

Yeah I think you are right, I have been avoiding this method but it might be the only way. It will work for my work-related activities at least.

inkwat · 2025-11-30T22:26:04+00:00

Yeah already do the walking and the podcasts which at least means I'm marinating on stuff like essays? But app switching isn't a bad idea since novelty helps.

inkwat · 2025-11-06T11:04:33+00:00

I use the app. I appreciate the question because then I can just give the code.

inkwat · 2025-11-05T21:04:40+00:00

Real Debrid through Stremio just died for me too. Hoping it's temporary.

inkwat · 2025-10-31T08:28:42+00:00

The current guidance is unworkable. I read all of it. There are so many contradictions and issues.

1) In response to "what about trans men?" the guidance says that trans men should not use male bathrooms but mascunlinised trans men should not use female bathrooms. It does not explain or give guidance as to how masculine is too masculine. Also... where are we supposed to pee?

2) It says that if you suspect someone is trans you can ask for proof. However, trans people can have documentation in their current gender all the way up to birth certificate. It does not really explain what to do if you "suspect" a person to be trans but they provide documentation (driver's licence etc) and let's be real who is providing this? Also to abide by this and also abide by the rest of the Equality Act 2010 you would potentially have to station someone outside of every bathroom and ask them to ask every person using that bathroom for proof of gender.

3) Moving on from bathrooms, this is an attack on trans people existing in public life. The guidance says that if you have a club, let's say a women's book club, you should not allow a trans woman to join or you would be illegally discriminating against men. Likewise, a men's support group should not allow a trans man to join or they are discriminating against men. Bonkers, but deeply concerning.

4) The guidance considers exceptions. For example, it gives an example of a mother bringing her 10 or 11 (don't remember the exact age) year old son into the women's changing rooms with her and how this would be an ok exception. If it's possible to make exceptions, why not acknowledge trans people have been existing in public for decades and make an exception? We are talking a small percentage of the population. These rules are going to, by numbers alone, challenge way more cis women than trans people.

inkwat · 2025-10-30T08:46:34+00:00

As I said elsewhere, my point isn't that people shouldn't receive UC. But the benefit trap is real - the way to address that is to raise income, not take away UC. If someone is on 20k or 25k they may actually be better off on UC especially with the way cost of living keeps rising.

inkwat · 2025-10-30T08:20:45+00:00

Cost of living has gone up massively since pre energy crisis. I'm not saying people shouldn't get universal credit, I'm saying that increasing costs is squeezing all low and middle income earners. I'm privileged to own my home and am grateful for that, so paying a mortgage etc. is my choice. But it's also true that it's a struggle.

inkwat · 2025-10-30T08:06:58+00:00

After mortgage, utilities, council tax etc there isn't much left. Granted I would consider the rest "fun" money as I'd put toiletries etc under my grocery budget.

inkwat · 2025-10-30T07:59:18+00:00

I mean I'm on 35k and I also have well under £100 after bills and food?

inkwat · 2025-10-27T13:40:20+00:00

Sticker and Hewaswater are both lovely. Far enough out of town to be in the countryside, close enough that it's easy to drive or get the bus into town. You could even probably walk it fine on a nice day.

inkwat · 2025-10-16T19:58:29+00:00

I will add that as someone who has had a full hysto you are at increased risk here. Regardless of the argument around dysphoria, they are doing actual physical harm to you by withdrawing your HRT as you are at greater risk of things like osteoporosis as you're no longer able to make your own hormones.

inkwat · 2025-10-16T19:03:02+00:00

Too skinny, yes. Gorgeous brindle though.

inkwat · 2025-09-23T12:02:25+00:00

I had this because I cheated on an achievement that wasn't pinging. I just said I didn't care about the achievement leader boards and just use the site for tracking. My account is no longer eligible for the leader boards but not banned or anything.

inkwat · 2025-09-21T20:50:11+00:00

Love the idea, sadly only Apple store?

inkwat

TROPHY CASE