Plans to broaden access to a new type of pension scheme allowing savings to be pooled have been set out by the Government.
Collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes have the potential to deliver reliable returns for savers, while ensuring more predictable costs for employers, the Government said.
I don't understand this at all. Global trackers are very cheap nowadays and plenty of choice for tinkering to risk and geographic preferences. Just nudge private pension schemes into those, don't make it more complicated. Complicated is just a way of driving up costs here.
The argument is that you get paid for duration risk but if you are individual you can’t take that as easily. The likes of Teachers or OMERS in Canada outperform simply based on that factor alone.
Butler on a 'Boris bike' smuggled £27,000 of organic takeaways at 'cost price' into No.10 for PM (under his real first name Alex) and Carrie Symonds over eight months - and some 'was paid for by wife of rich Tory donor'
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
Love to know where he proposes to put the platforms at Kings Cross St Pancras.
It ended up at Euston because that is where the space is available..
It has to be Euston, sadly.
As I've said passim, a sane plan would have been for Crossrail to have been planned and designed to cope with HS2 sets; allowing (say) one service an hour to interconnect at Old Oak Common, go through central London on Crossrail, then join HS1 at Stratford to go on to Europe, if required, or Kent. It's far too late now, but that would have been true transport planning at its best.
It's really annoying when you see how close HS1 and Crossrail are at Stratford, and HS2 and Crossrail will be at OOC. It is a massively wasted opportunity.
Given the work required and the complexity of Crossrail's signaling it would have added a few more billion to the cost.
I speak from a position of technical ignorance, but would it be possible in the future to tunnel from Euston to join the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) somewhere down the track?
Butler on a 'Boris bike' smuggled £27,000 of organic takeaways at 'cost price' into No.10 for PM (under his real first name Alex) and Carrie Symonds over eight months - and some 'was paid for by wife of rich Tory donor'
Plans to broaden access to a new type of pension scheme allowing savings to be pooled have been set out by the Government.
Collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes have the potential to deliver reliable returns for savers, while ensuring more predictable costs for employers, the Government said.
It's a contribution based pension scheme - it won't have any impact on employer costs because once the money is paid into the fund by the employer that's the end of their responsibility.
You then have the second question of would you invest in a fund that any government has control over - to which the answer is I'm not that stupid.
What is the advantage, if any, of the schemes being collective rather than individual?
In theory the risk is shared across more people so in theory you could invest some of the money in more riskier ventures.
Is the post office pension scheme going to have more customers than Vanguard? Or more holdings than the 30,751 in their LifeStrategy60 fund? Clearly not, but I bet it will be a damn sight more expensive.
We can also tailor our own risk profile individually rather than collectively which makes far more sense.
You can, I can, probably most on here can. But plenty can't.
I reckon it would be beyond a majority in the country.
I assume because you are on a defined benefit pension? Those are generally better than those of us with flexibility to choose our risk profile have.
Pension transfers are relatively simple otherwise aiui.
I was and I had the option to take a transfer rather than an annuity. I chose not to but I do have plenty of assets I am comfortable to manage.
However, Mrs P. for example - an intelligent, highly educated person - would not be comfortable managing her own investment portfolio and in the event of my demise would no doubt turn to an IFA to take care of it all for her.
Then you have huge swathes of the population, not very well-educated or intelligent, who frankly wouldn't have a clue what to do to look after their pension assets.
This actually reminds me of my acquaintance a former senior manager of the civilian side of Aldermaston, and Scrapheap Challenge Expert *.
He got fed up with architects so learnt the skills to design his own passive house and all the systems in it, down to creating his own private water source and all the rest, and educating me about the difference between a Fixed Price Contract (~it isn't) and a Firm Price Contract (~it is).
Then he thought "what happens if I go first?", and spent quite some time writing a House Manual so that whichever adviser his wife employed afterwards would be able to understand it.
“Donald J. Trump suggested in a radio interview on Monday that he had visited war-torn Gaza in the past, a place there is no record of him visiting. When asked to clarify, a campaign aide said that Gaza is “in Israel” and that Mr. Trump has visited Israel.”
Reminds me of this from a Mary Harrington article.
"Such rhetoric in turn relies on claims that may be of dubious factual truth, but which feel emotionally or perhaps allegorically true. This quality of “truthiness” was satirised back in 2005 by the commentator Stephen Colbert, who characterised it as a preference for statements that feel as though they ought to be true, over things that verifiably are. “Who’s Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was finished in 1914?” he asked. “If I wanna say it happened in 1941, that’s my right. I don’t trust books. They’re all fact, no heart.”"
While scrolling through the comments, I was also listening to the local news. The top story is the visit of Tim Walz, who is here for a private, invitation only, fund raiser at Hunt's Point -- where household income is a bit above the national median. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunts_Point,_Washington
(Ordinarily in American campaigns, such events are combined with events that ordinary voters can attend. I am a bit surprised the Harris/Walz campaign didn't do that. They may be worried about pro-Hamas demonstrators.)
New policy coming out from Harris on care for the elderly. I'm pretty sure Theresa May also tried something like this a few weeks before an election, can't remember how it worked out for her.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
Love to know where he proposes to put the platforms at Kings Cross St Pancras.
It ended up at Euston because that is where the space is available..
It has to be Euston, sadly.
As I've said passim, a sane plan would have been for Crossrail to have been planned and designed to cope with HS2 sets; allowing (say) one service an hour to interconnect at Old Oak Common, go through central London on Crossrail, then join HS1 at Stratford to go on to Europe, if required, or Kent. It's far too late now, but that would have been true transport planning at its best.
It's really annoying when you see how close HS1 and Crossrail are at Stratford, and HS2 and Crossrail will be at OOC. It is a massively wasted opportunity.
Given the work required and the complexity of Crossrail's signaling it would have added a few more billion to the cost.
I speak from a position of technical ignorance, but would it be possible in the future to tunnel from Euston to join the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) somewhere down the track?
There was originally an idea to use existing overground links to join HS1 just East of Camden. That was an early cuts victim. But also technical problems IIRC
“Donald J. Trump suggested in a radio interview on Monday that he had visited war-torn Gaza in the past, a place there is no record of him visiting. When asked to clarify, a campaign aide said that Gaza is “in Israel” and that Mr. Trump has visited Israel.”
Reminds me of this from a Mary Harrington article.
"Such rhetoric in turn relies on claims that may be of dubious factual truth, but which feel emotionally or perhaps allegorically true. This quality of “truthiness” was satirised back in 2005 by the commentator Stephen Colbert, who characterised it as a preference for statements that feel as though they ought to be true, over things that verifiably are. “Who’s Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was finished in 1914?” he asked. “If I wanna say it happened in 1941, that’s my right. I don’t trust books. They’re all fact, no heart.”"
Truthiness was associated with Karl Rove, the man who made George W Bush president between Clinton and Obama, and whose presidency was topped and tailed by 9/11 and the Global Financial Crisis.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
Love to know where he proposes to put the platforms at Kings Cross St Pancras.
It ended up at Euston because that is where the space is available..
It has to be Euston, sadly.
As I've said passim, a sane plan would have been for Crossrail to have been planned and designed to cope with HS2 sets; allowing (say) one service an hour to interconnect at Old Oak Common, go through central London on Crossrail, then join HS1 at Stratford to go on to Europe, if required, or Kent. It's far too late now, but that would have been true transport planning at its best.
It's really annoying when you see how close HS1 and Crossrail are at Stratford, and HS2 and Crossrail will be at OOC. It is a massively wasted opportunity.
The problem with that is that Crossrail is a stopping service - the high speed train would have either had to run slowly through Central London, or the frequency of crossrail would have to be severely compromised. And underground stations with 400m platforms for HS2 trains are VERY expensive.
Indeed; but I'm only talking of 1 tph or less; and HS2 trains are 200m long - and so are Crossrail platforms, as the Lizzie line trains are 200m. HS2 trains are planned to be 200m long, with the option for two to be coupled together.
But my point is that any such problems can be fixed if both systems are planned to work together, even if they are not given the go-ahead at the same time. Certain levels of passive provision can eb very useful in the future.
A more significant issue is tunnel diameter: HS2 varies between 7.7 metres and 9.1 metres, with an average f about 8.8 (the diameter varies according to planned line speed for aerodynamic reasons). Crossrail internal diameter is in the 6-metre level. But HS2 was meant to have classic-compatible trains anyway.
Plans to broaden access to a new type of pension scheme allowing savings to be pooled have been set out by the Government.
Collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes have the potential to deliver reliable returns for savers, while ensuring more predictable costs for employers, the Government said.
I don't understand this at all. Global trackers are very cheap nowadays and plenty of choice for tinkering to risk and geographic preferences. Just nudge private pension schemes into those, don't make it more complicated. Complicated is just a way of driving up costs here.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
Love to know where he proposes to put the platforms at Kings Cross St Pancras.
It ended up at Euston because that is where the space is available..
It has to be Euston, sadly.
As I've said passim, a sane plan would have been for Crossrail to have been planned and designed to cope with HS2 sets; allowing (say) one service an hour to interconnect at Old Oak Common, go through central London on Crossrail, then join HS1 at Stratford to go on to Europe, if required, or Kent. It's far too late now, but that would have been true transport planning at its best.
It's really annoying when you see how close HS1 and Crossrail are at Stratford, and HS2 and Crossrail will be at OOC. It is a massively wasted opportunity.
The problem with that is that Crossrail is a stopping service - the high speed train would have either had to run slowly through Central London, or the frequency of crossrail would have to be severely compromised. And underground stations with 400m platforms for HS2 trains are VERY expensive.
Indeed; but I'm only talking of 1 tph or less; and HS2 trains are 200m long - and so are Crossrail platforms, as the Lizzie line trains are 200m. HS2 trains are planned to be 200m long, with the option for two to be coupled together.
But my point is that any such problems can be fixed if both systems are planned to work together, even if they are not given the go-ahead at the same time. Certain levels of passive provision can eb very useful in the future.
A more significant issue is tunnel diameter: HS2 varies between 7.7 metres and 9.1 metres, with an average f about 8.8 (the diameter varies according to planned line speed for aerodynamic reasons). Crossrail internal diameter is in the 6-metre level. But HS2 was meant to have classic-compatible trains anyway.
Except Crossrail is now at capacity so it's not possible - and nor should it ever have been because you shouldn't mix suburban with national rail services..
Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 1h The UK is seeing more deaths than births (ie natural population shrinkage) for the first time since the 1970s (pandemic aside obviously) www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...
Something very odd about those figures. England saw very slightly more births than deaths. But Wales and Scotland see vastly more (in proportion) deaths than births?
Eg in Scotland that’s 45,000 births and 65,000 deaths
Is Scotland dying out? Or is this a data glitch
Wales has an an older population profile so should see more deaths than England. Not sure about Scotland. Norn has the youngest population iirc so should see the highest birth rate. England has a slightly more immigrant heavy population so should have slightly higher birth rates for the same age profile as the other nations, but it's not quite enough to outweigh Norn's slightly younger population *I think !
That’s a massive disparity in Scotland however
45k births, 65k deaths
Almost one and a half times as many deaths as births
Births falling in Scotland for 60 years...
And its been remarkably consistent. 104k births in 1964
Deaths have been broadly level for last 50 years. 50 - 65k per year.
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has been to Scotlands main belt. Poor people, born in poor housing, who smoke, drink and have a poor diet without much exercise die earlier. Who'd a thought.
None of the SNP's initiatives over the last 17 years have worked?
The biggest cohort of deaths are those aged 90+ followed by 85-90 (2021 figures Vital Events Reference Tables).
Knock yourself out with ideas to reverse the aging process.
Life expectancy in Scotland (like everywhere) increased until the pandemic.
If you want to get close to seals*, then I firmly recommend Donna Nook during the Nov-Dec breeding season.
*Under supervision
Seals are fairly regularly climbing onto rowing boats around Hammersmith bridge. They generally seem to be young ones being friendly/curious about the strange logs with the apes sitting on them.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
Love to know where he proposes to put the platforms at Kings Cross St Pancras.
It ended up at Euston because that is where the space is available..
It has to be Euston, sadly.
As I've said passim, a sane plan would have been for Crossrail to have been planned and designed to cope with HS2 sets; allowing (say) one service an hour to interconnect at Old Oak Common, go through central London on Crossrail, then join HS1 at Stratford to go on to Europe, if required, or Kent. It's far too late now, but that would have been true transport planning at its best.
It's really annoying when you see how close HS1 and Crossrail are at Stratford, and HS2 and Crossrail will be at OOC. It is a massively wasted opportunity.
Given the work required and the complexity of Crossrail's signaling it would have added a few more billion to the cost.
Not necessarily: depending on how the systems were defined together. Crossrail required TPWS, AWS, ATP, ETCS Level 2 etc (1). HS2 is planned to be ETCS Level 2, so it *should* be automagically supported (ha!)
Butler on a 'Boris bike' smuggled £27,000 of organic takeaways at 'cost price' into No.10 for PM (under his real first name Alex) and Carrie Symonds over eight months - and some 'was paid for by wife of rich Tory donor'
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
Love to know where he proposes to put the platforms at Kings Cross St Pancras.
It ended up at Euston because that is where the space is available..
It has to be Euston, sadly.
As I've said passim, a sane plan would have been for Crossrail to have been planned and designed to cope with HS2 sets; allowing (say) one service an hour to interconnect at Old Oak Common, go through central London on Crossrail, then join HS1 at Stratford to go on to Europe, if required, or Kent. It's far too late now, but that would have been true transport planning at its best.
It's really annoying when you see how close HS1 and Crossrail are at Stratford, and HS2 and Crossrail will be at OOC. It is a massively wasted opportunity.
The problem with that is that Crossrail is a stopping service - the high speed train would have either had to run slowly through Central London, or the frequency of crossrail would have to be severely compromised. And underground stations with 400m platforms for HS2 trains are VERY expensive.
Indeed; but I'm only talking of 1 tph or less; and HS2 trains are 200m long - and so are Crossrail platforms, as the Lizzie line trains are 200m. HS2 trains are planned to be 200m long, with the option for two to be coupled together.
But my point is that any such problems can be fixed if both systems are planned to work together, even if they are not given the go-ahead at the same time. Certain levels of passive provision can eb very useful in the future.
A more significant issue is tunnel diameter: HS2 varies between 7.7 metres and 9.1 metres, with an average f about 8.8 (the diameter varies according to planned line speed for aerodynamic reasons). Crossrail internal diameter is in the 6-metre level. But HS2 was meant to have classic-compatible trains anyway.
Except Crossrail is now at capacity so it's not possible - and nor should it ever have been because you shouldn't mix suburban with national rail services..
Well, yes, it's not possible *now*. My point is that this interconnectivity should have been planned as part of Crossrail's requirements, a couple of decades ago.
If you want to get close to seals*, then I firmly recommend Donna Nook during the Nov-Dec breeding season.
*Under supervision
One of those Wash bombing ranges is/was both the RAF's biggest base and its smallest, twice a day, depending on the tide.
I can recommend Elephant Island, Antarctica
This lively little fella actually tried to attack me. He came bouncing angrily towards me. Unfortunately for him he realised after maybe ten minutes - during which time he moved about 2 yards - that he was, in fact, an elephant seal and he weighed 3 tons so “swift attack” wasn’t really in his skill set
After that existential moment he just laid there and glared
Torsten Bell @torstenbell.bsky.social · 1h The UK is seeing more deaths than births (ie natural population shrinkage) for the first time since the 1970s (pandemic aside obviously) www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...
Something very odd about those figures. England saw very slightly more births than deaths. But Wales and Scotland see vastly more (in proportion) deaths than births?
Eg in Scotland that’s 45,000 births and 65,000 deaths
Is Scotland dying out? Or is this a data glitch
The young move to London. And have their families in England.
Also immigrants move to London. And have their many more children/family there.
“Donald J. Trump suggested in a radio interview on Monday that he had visited war-torn Gaza in the past, a place there is no record of him visiting. When asked to clarify, a campaign aide said that Gaza is “in Israel” and that Mr. Trump has visited Israel.”
I've visited Mars because Mars is in the solar system. In fact I live there.
...because I live near Guildford.
I've visited Mars, when it was in Slough. Interesting factory.
Have we done the covid tests for Putin story? The Dems must be sitting on so much dirt about the previous Trump administration, for the next month they can just keep dripping out whatever the media will find appetizing.
Are you sure the constitution would cover that eventuality?
Yes.
The state gets to choose its electors - that's it. It has no jurisdiction over the choice of President beyond that.
The Constitution (Article II, together with the 12th Amendment) is quite clear on the procedure. And the Supremacy Cause (in Article VI) makes federal law the arbiter of any disputes.
Even the Roberts Court would struggle to mess with that.
On topic, are the predictions all within 240-299 for Harris/Trump? 2020 I managed to cover the range 240-330 at a profit. If it's looking 90% or more within the 240-299 range then there's value.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
If you get beyond the "Of course HS2 has to terminate at Euston", Old Oak Common looks to be as a good a place as any for a terminus. There's space for additional needed platforms. Connections to three quarters of final London destinations are better or as good as Euston. They need to add capacity to connections, maybe repurpose Heathrow Express and build a connecting station on the Central Line. But this is easier than adding capacity where no space exists.
“Donald J. Trump suggested in a radio interview on Monday that he had visited war-torn Gaza in the past, a place there is no record of him visiting. When asked to clarify, a campaign aide said that Gaza is “in Israel” and that Mr. Trump has visited Israel.”
I've visited Mars because Mars is in the solar system. In fact I live there.
...because I live near Guildford.
I've visited Mars, when it was in Slough. Interesting factory.
I remember, years ago, that in certain weather conditions, the odour from the Mars factory and the sewage plant would converge over an unfortunately sited housing estate. Known locally as Pong City.
“Donald J. Trump suggested in a radio interview on Monday that he had visited war-torn Gaza in the past, a place there is no record of him visiting. When asked to clarify, a campaign aide said that Gaza is “in Israel” and that Mr. Trump has visited Israel.”
I've visited Mars because Mars is in the solar system. In fact I live there.
...because I live near Guildford.
I've visited Mars, when it was in Slough. Interesting factory.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
If you get beyond the "Of course HS2 has to terminate at Euston", Old Oak Common looks to be as a good a place as any for a terminus. There's space for additional needed platforms. Connections to three quarters of final London destinations are better or as good as Euston. They need to add capacity to connections, maybe repurpose Heathrow Express and build a connecting station on the Central Line. But this is easier than adding capacity where no space exists.
You miss the fundamental issue that the Lizzie line is running at capacity already before the trains from Birmingham start to arrive..
Off thread, but I've just had the most delicious Eccles Cake I have ever eaten. Only M&S, warmed in the microwave for 25 seconds. Perfection.
I tipped these a couple of months ago and was mocked for my parochial, off-topic posting. I mean, rightly, but still...
Did you really? I'm reassured. I rarely feel so moved by confectionery that I feel the need to record the issue on a politics blog, but this really did strike me as an unnaturally good Eccles Cake. I'm quite pleased I'm not alone.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
If you get beyond the "Of course HS2 has to terminate at Euston", Old Oak Common looks to be as a good a place as any for a terminus. There's space for additional needed platforms. Connections to three quarters of final London destinations are better or as good as Euston. They need to add capacity to connections, maybe repurpose Heathrow Express and build a connecting station on the Central Line. But this is easier than adding capacity where no space exists.
That's sadly not true. Crossrail was designed to supply a certain number of train paths, and take a certain number of passengers. These numbers were set without thinking about HS2.
OOC might have the connectivity for passengers; but Crossrail simply does not have the capacity; and the numbers are such that your ideas are essentially spitting in the wind.
The original Euston plans had the space, and could have worked. They have been cut down ?three times? now, to a bare minimum. It is incredibly short-sighted.
“Donald J. Trump suggested in a radio interview on Monday that he had visited war-torn Gaza in the past, a place there is no record of him visiting. When asked to clarify, a campaign aide said that Gaza is “in Israel” and that Mr. Trump has visited Israel.”
I've visited Mars because Mars is in the solar system. In fact I live there.
...because I live near Guildford.
I've visited Mars, when it was in Slough. Interesting factory.
Mars is more inhabitable than Slough.
There was a story from Boris's alma mater of a school trip to the Mars factory being stopped halfway through when the Mars security team glanced at the list of Etonian names and noticed a scion of the Cadbury family among them.
Odds have shortened significantly on Jenrick and Badenoch being eliminated. Not sure why. No market on 4th round, can't see there being any value on that given how Cleverly has shortened.
As a small example of short-sighed infrastructure.
A new secondary school was opened in our village about ten years ago. The road route to it is (literally) around the houses; to improve connectivity, a footpath was created from the village to the school.
Since then, there have been two expensive upgrades. After a few years, the terrible lighting that had been put in were replaced with proper lampposts. This summer, the path was widened over five weeks to incorporate a cyclepath; with half the lampposts having to be moved.
It would have been relatively inexpensive just to create a 'proper' path ten years ago, instead of these continual 'upgrades'
My rule-of-thumb is that if a piece of infrastructure needs 'enhancements' within two decades of opening, then the infrastructure was poorly planned.
“Donald J. Trump suggested in a radio interview on Monday that he had visited war-torn Gaza in the past, a place there is no record of him visiting. When asked to clarify, a campaign aide said that Gaza is “in Israel” and that Mr. Trump has visited Israel.”
I've visited Mars because Mars is in the solar system. In fact I live there.
...because I live near Guildford.
I've visited Mars, when it was in Slough. Interesting factory.
Mars is more inhabitable than Slough.
There was a story from Boris's alma mater of a school trip to the Mars factory being stopped halfway through when the Mars security team glanced at the list of Etonian names and noticed a scion of the Cadbury family among them.
There aren't that many secrets in a Mars Factory tour (I've done a few other the years). The only place you won't get anywhere close to is the part where Maltesers are made.
These are pretty astonishing figures for Scotland.
"In the year to mid 2023, international immigration into Scotland was 82,800 and international emigration from Scotland was 35,100, resulting in net international migration being +47,700."
On topic, are the predictions all within 240-299 for Harris/Trump? 2020 I managed to cover the range 240-330 at a profit. If it's looking 90% or more within the 240-299 range then there's value.
No. There's an off chance of Harris getting 319 if she took all of the 'swing states' (AZ; NV; MN; WI; MI; PA; NC; GA...).
As a small example of short-sighed infrastructure.
A new secondary school was opened in our village about ten years ago. The road route to it is (literally) around the houses; to improve connectivity, a footpath was created from the village to the school.
Since then, there have been two expensive upgrades. After a few years, the terrible lighting that had been put in were replaced with proper lampposts. This summer, the path was widened over five weeks to incorporate a cyclepath; with half the lampposts having to be moved.
It would have been relatively inexpensive just to create a 'proper' path ten years ago, instead of these continual 'upgrades'
My rule-of-thumb is that if a piece of infrastructure needs 'enhancements' within two decades of opening, then the infrastructure was poorly planned.
Is the desire for perfect planning behind the massive delays and cost overruns on British infrastructure?
Obviously it's good to get things right the first time, but there can be an advantage to getting something done quickly and then iterating.
Butler on a 'Boris bike' smuggled £27,000 of organic takeaways at 'cost price' into No.10 for PM (under his real first name Alex) and Carrie Symonds over eight months - and some 'was paid for by wife of rich Tory donor'
On topic, are the predictions all within 240-299 for Harris/Trump? 2020 I managed to cover the range 240-330 at a profit. If it's looking 90% or more within the 240-299 range then there's value.
No. There's an off chance of Harris getting 319 if she took all of the 'swing states' (AZ; NV; MN; WI; MI; PA; NC; GA...).
Unlikely, but not negligible.
Ok, but 300-329 is available at 6, so still likely it can be covered at a profit.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Euston was always the wrong terminus for HS2. It is crowded already and doesn’t have the same connections, including Eurostar, as Kings Cross St Pancras half a mile up the road.
If you get beyond the "Of course HS2 has to terminate at Euston", Old Oak Common looks to be as a good a place as any for a terminus. There's space for additional needed platforms. Connections to three quarters of final London destinations are better or as good as Euston. They need to add capacity to connections, maybe repurpose Heathrow Express and build a connecting station on the Central Line. But this is easier than adding capacity where no space exists.
You miss the fundamental issue that the Lizzie line is running at capacity already before the trains from Birmingham start to arrive..
Not quite at capacity. Additional trains can still be added to the Elizabeth Line beyond the ten extra on order. There's things they can do to increase connection capacity further and I have suggested a couple. Points are, they haven't tried this seriously and it's easier than building a new station on an unsuitable site.
I suspect they're pretty much committed to Euston and it will go ahead regardless.
As a small example of short-sighed infrastructure.
A new secondary school was opened in our village about ten years ago. The road route to it is (literally) around the houses; to improve connectivity, a footpath was created from the village to the school.
Since then, there have been two expensive upgrades. After a few years, the terrible lighting that had been put in were replaced with proper lampposts. This summer, the path was widened over five weeks to incorporate a cyclepath; with half the lampposts having to be moved.
It would have been relatively inexpensive just to create a 'proper' path ten years ago, instead of these continual 'upgrades'
My rule-of-thumb is that if a piece of infrastructure needs 'enhancements' within two decades of opening, then the infrastructure was poorly planned.
Mobile network ? Broadband ? National datacentre... ?
As a small example of short-sighed infrastructure.
A new secondary school was opened in our village about ten years ago. The road route to it is (literally) around the houses; to improve connectivity, a footpath was created from the village to the school.
Since then, there have been two expensive upgrades. After a few years, the terrible lighting that had been put in were replaced with proper lampposts. This summer, the path was widened over five weeks to incorporate a cyclepath; with half the lampposts having to be moved.
It would have been relatively inexpensive just to create a 'proper' path ten years ago, instead of these continual 'upgrades'
My rule-of-thumb is that if a piece of infrastructure needs 'enhancements' within two decades of opening, then the infrastructure was poorly planned.
Mobile network ? Broadband ? National datacentre... ?
Seems questionable.
Good points, but I'd argue that's a different type of infrastructure where change (and obsolescence) is very rapid compared to housing, roads, etc.
The dynamics of the race have totally changed. Looks like Cleverly is almost guaranteed to go through and it's going to be very close between Jenrick and Badenoch.
My photo for the day is a 3 minute video from the "Together Creating Community", about anti-wheelchair barriers on the Flintshire Coastal Path.
It includes a 3 minute video with a wheelchair using lady explaining how she used to cycle down the path all the way to Chester with her husband, but since she became disabled a decade ago cannot go there without paying a helper £20-25 an hour or taking a friend because of the barriers.
(For anyone not into these things, those A-barriers are of 1980s-1990s design, so it is 20-40 years of prohibition for disabled people, illegal since at least DDA in 1995.)
I should imagine virtually all the Tugendhat votes go to Cleverly with a few for Jenrick so they probably still end up the last two
Cleverly will definitely end up well ahead of anyone else tomo. Huge momentum as he goes to the members. Looks like a done deal even if Kemi scrapes it against Jenrick.
While scrolling through the comments, I was also listening to the local news. The top story is the visit of Tim Walz, who is here for a private, invitation only, fund raiser at Hunt's Point -- where household income is a bit above the national median. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunts_Point,_Washington
(Ordinarily in American campaigns, such events are combined with events that ordinary voters can attend. I am a bit surprised the Harris/Walz campaign didn't do that. They may be worried about pro-Hamas demonstrators.)
I couldn’t find a median income but given that prior residents include Steve Ballmer and Jeff Bezos I am guessing that the “bit” above is somewhat tongue in cheek…
My photo for the day is a 3 minute video from the "Together Creating Community", about anti-wheelchair barriers on the Flintshire Coastal Path.
It includes a 3 minute video with a wheelchair using lady explaining how she used to cycle down the path all the way to Chester with her husband, but since she became disabled a decade ago cannot go there without paying a helper £20-25 an hour or taking a friend because of the barriers.
(For anyone not into these things, those A-barriers are of 1980s-1990s design.)
Surprisingly, those barriers are actually quite hard to negotiate with a backpacking pack on as well. Oh, and I think I've walked that path a couple of times.
If you want to get close to seals*, then I firmly recommend Donna Nook during the Nov-Dec breeding season.
*Under supervision
One of those Wash bombing ranges is/was both the RAF's biggest base and its smallest, twice a day, depending on the tide.
I can recommend Elephant Island, Antarctica
This lively little fella actually tried to attack me. He came bouncing angrily towards me. Unfortunately for him he realised after maybe ten minutes - during which time he moved about 2 yards - that he was, in fact, an elephant seal and he weighed 3 tons so “swift attack” wasn’t really in his skill set
After that existential moment he just laid there and glared
He may not have been particularly fast but if he HAD caught up with you, my money would have been on him.
Comments
This Boris Johnson?
JCB boss pays for Boris Johnson's wedding toilets and food
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62833837.amp
or this Boris Johnson
Butler on a 'Boris bike' smuggled £27,000 of organic takeaways at 'cost price' into No.10 for PM (under his real first name Alex) and Carrie Symonds over eight months - and some 'was paid for by wife of rich Tory donor'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9606217/amp/Butler-smuggled-27-000-organic-takeaways-No-10-paid-wife-Tory-donor.html
and a totally different Boris Johnson.
Boris Johnson accepts another £10,000 in accommodation from Tory donor
Bamford family has contributed almost £50k to ex-PM’s lifestyle since July, register of MPs’ interests shows
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/04/boris-johnson-accepts-another-10000-in-accommodation-from-tory-donor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpUmzjG8R-0
The hammer has just dropped on lot 72 at 2,500,000. That's guineas, of course, nothing so vulgar as pounds.
https://arthur.io/art/james-thurber/all-right-have-it-your-way-you-heard-a-seal-bark
He got fed up with architects so learnt the skills to design his own passive house and all the systems in it, down to creating his own private water source and all the rest, and educating me about the difference between a Fixed Price Contract (~it isn't) and a Firm Price Contract (~it is).
Then he thought "what happens if I go first?", and spent quite some time writing a House Manual so that whichever adviser his wife employed afterwards would be able to understand it.
* He did Swamp Boats. Here's a deep link to the intro:
https://youtu.be/S68CX1Q7ZO8?t=185
And here's a link to the performance on the lake.
https://youtu.be/S68CX1Q7ZO8?t=2459
(Quite a lot of fun)
Has Kemi-kazied?
"Such rhetoric in turn relies on claims that may be of dubious factual truth, but which feel emotionally or perhaps allegorically true. This quality of “truthiness” was satirised back in 2005 by the commentator Stephen Colbert, who characterised it as a preference for statements that feel as though they ought to be true, over things that verifiably are. “Who’s Britannica to tell me the Panama Canal was finished in 1914?” he asked. “If I wanna say it happened in 1941, that’s my right. I don’t trust books. They’re all fact, no heart.”"
https://unherd.com/2024/09/the-reason-people-want-to-kill-trump/
(Ordinarily in American campaigns, such events are combined with events that ordinary voters can attend. I am a bit surprised the Harris/Walz campaign didn't do that. They may be worried about pro-Hamas demonstrators.)
*Under supervision
That was an early cuts victim. But also technical problems IIRC
But my point is that any such problems can be fixed if both systems are planned to work together, even if they are not given the go-ahead at the same time. Certain levels of passive provision can eb very useful in the future.
A more significant issue is tunnel diameter: HS2 varies between 7.7 metres and 9.1 metres, with an average f about 8.8 (the diameter varies according to planned line speed for aerodynamic reasons). Crossrail internal diameter is in the 6-metre level. But HS2 was meant to have classic-compatible trains anyway.
Knock yourself out with ideas to reverse the aging process.
Life expectancy in Scotland (like everywhere) increased until the pandemic.
(1): https://www.railengineer.co.uk/crossrails-signalling-challenge/
Luke Tryl
@LukeTryl
🆕In today’s Playbook our latest
@Moreincommon_
voting intention has Labour’s lead at 1 point
🌹Lab 29% (-1)
🌳Con 28% (+2)
➡️ Ref 19% (+1)
🔶Lib Dem 11% (-2)
🌎 Green 7% (-1)
🟡 SNP 2% (-1)
This lively little fella actually tried to attack me. He came bouncing angrily towards me. Unfortunately for him he realised after maybe ten minutes - during which time he moved about 2 yards - that he was, in fact, an elephant seal and he weighed 3 tons so “swift attack” wasn’t really in his skill set
After that existential moment he just laid there and glared
Result is due at 3.30pm.
https://bsky.app/profile/washingtonpost.com/post/3l5ywmobmai2n
The state gets to choose its electors - that's it.
It has no jurisdiction over the choice of President beyond that.
The Constitution (Article II, together with the 12th Amendment) is quite clear on the procedure.
And the Supremacy Cause (in Article VI) makes federal law the arbiter of any disputes.
Even the Roberts Court would struggle to mess with that.
2020 I managed to cover the range 240-330 at a profit.
If it's looking 90% or more within the 240-299 range then there's value.
OOC might have the connectivity for passengers; but Crossrail simply does not have the capacity; and the numbers are such that your ideas are essentially spitting in the wind.
The original Euston plans had the space, and could have worked. They have been cut down ?three times? now, to a bare minimum. It is incredibly short-sighted.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/kemi-badenoch-is-a-gamble-the-tories-must-take/
I remind you that I have a fiver on her at 11/8.
No market on 4th round, can't see there being any value on that given how Cleverly has shortened.
A new secondary school was opened in our village about ten years ago. The road route to it is (literally) around the houses; to improve connectivity, a footpath was created from the village to the school.
Since then, there have been two expensive upgrades. After a few years, the terrible lighting that had been put in were replaced with proper lampposts. This summer, the path was widened over five weeks to incorporate a cyclepath; with half the lampposts having to be moved.
It would have been relatively inexpensive just to create a 'proper' path ten years ago, instead of these continual 'upgrades'
My rule-of-thumb is that if a piece of infrastructure needs 'enhancements' within two decades of opening, then the infrastructure was poorly planned.
"In the year to mid 2023, international immigration into Scotland was 82,800 and international emigration from Scotland was 35,100, resulting in net international migration being +47,700."
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24636744.immigration-fuels-scotlands-largest-population-growth-since-1946/
The cashback offer on my Kemi-Kaze lay is down by 20% since this morning.
Do we have leaks? Or has she kept quiet for a bit?
There's an off chance of Harris getting 319 if she took all of the 'swing states' (AZ; NV; MN; WI; MI; PA; NC; GA...).
Unlikely, but not negligible.
Obviously it's good to get things right the first time, but there can be an advantage to getting something done quickly and then iterating.
THE TUG IS SUNK.
I suspect they're pretty much committed to Euston and it will go ahead regardless.
Is the Cleverly money on James?
What's the time the results out? I have some resting orders in I should probably pull before hand.
Broadband ?
National datacentre... ?
Seems questionable.
Jenrick 31
Badenoch 30
Tugendhat 20
Disappointing result for Jenrick.
Kemi in third place.
Cleverish 39
Rickety 31
Tugboat 20
It was above a fried chicken place, so at least they knew their market.
My photo for the day is a 3 minute video from the "Together Creating Community", about anti-wheelchair barriers on the Flintshire Coastal Path.
It includes a 3 minute video with a wheelchair using lady explaining how she used to cycle down the path all the way to Chester with her husband, but since she became disabled a decade ago cannot go there without paying a helper £20-25 an hour or taking a friend because of the barriers.
(For anyone not into these things, those A-barriers are of 1980s-1990s design, so it is 20-40 years of prohibition for disabled people, illegal since at least DDA in 1995.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqyr4NXezms
Cleverly +18
Badenoch +2
Tugendhat -1
Jenrick -2
So looks like Stride's votes went en bloc to Cleverly.
A crushing victory?