Mr. Max, been bloody ages since I bought Civ VI and DLC (much of it bundled due to delayed release on the PS5) so I can't remember the name of it, but one adds the ability (which should be in the base game, really) for cities with low loyalty to become independent and then flip to another civilization. Definitely get that.
To be honest, I think the expansions are, if you like the game, pretty much all worth getting, and some of the extra leaders are nice (Basil II, Eleanor or Aquitaine. I have downloaded but not played with the last pack, including Elizabeth I).
I'd advocate playing a few games, seeing if it agrees with you. If it does, gradually build up the DLC to avoid having a billion new features all at once.
Unlike Stellaris, I haven't (and am not really interested) in beating Civ on the hardest setting but if you have any questions feel free to send them my way and I'll answer them if I can.
Lovely warm early autumn weather here in the Maconnais where we’re at the place for some building site meetings, notary palavas and a silver wedding anniversary weekend at Chateau de Bagnols just south in Beaujolais.
29C today. 31C tomorrow. And it’s on its way North to Blighty by Sunday.
8th warmest summer on record for the UK. 33rd warmest for central England in a series going back more than 350 years. Not bad, even though it felt so. We forget just how shit the long term average British weather is.
Have to admit I am surprised about that. Lincolnshire ha definitely been a lot coller this summer than any I can remember in the last decade at least. Only a single night when it was actually reasonably warm. I judge these things based on the suitability for moth trapping and I have had very few good nights this year as far as warm temperatures go. I am hoping for a warmer September so I can get a better handle on how the moth numbers are looking compared to previous years.
I think you’ve had the worst of it in Lincs this year. I remember back in June when we had those unbroken weeks of hot sunshine, very often the morning weather forecast would finish with “except the Lincs coast, which will be under cloud with a cold breeze from the North Sea”.
Still, at least you have the consultation of living in the murk surrounded by all your Brexit chums….
I also have a suspicion this summer’s scored very poorly on the weekend:weekday good weather ratio, especially in July and August. Many days around 25-26C in the SE during the working week and some stinkers at the weekend. I must have a go at the calculations.
The GFS model has UK maxes above 25C for 9 consecutive days coming up, and above 30C for 5 days from this Wednesday. If it happens it’s going to be a shock to the system.
Lovely warm early autumn weather here in the Maconnais where we’re at the place for some building site meetings, notary palavas and a silver wedding anniversary weekend at Chateau de Bagnols just south in Beaujolais.
29C today. 31C tomorrow. And it’s on its way North to Blighty by Sunday.
8th warmest summer on record for the UK. 33rd warmest for central England in a series going back more than 350 years. Not bad, even though it felt so. We forget just how shit the long term average British weather is.
Have to admit I am surprised about that. Lincolnshire ha definitely been a lot coller this summer than any I can remember in the last decade at least. Only a single night when it was actually reasonably warm. I judge these things based on the suitability for moth trapping and I have had very few good nights this year as far as warm temperatures go. I am hoping for a warmer September so I can get a better handle on how the moth numbers are looking compared to previous years.
I think you’ve had the worst of it in Lincs this year. I remember back in June when we had those unbroken weeks of hot sunshine, very often the morning weather forecast would finish with “except the Lincs coast, which will be under cloud with a cold breeze from the North Sea”.
Still, at least you have the consultation of living in the murk surrounded by all your Brexit chums….
I also have a suspicion this summer’s scored very poorly on the weekend:weekday good weather ratio, especially in July and August. Many days around 25-26C in the SE during the working week and some stinkers at the weekend. I must have a go at the calculations.
The GFS model has UK maxes above 25C for 9 consecutive days coming up, and above 30C for 5 days from this Wednesday. If it happens it’s going to be a shock to the system.
The weekend stats for home were max temps of 22 and 23 for the 3rd and 4th, better than the weekdays around, 30 and 24 for the 10/11th, the former being the hottest day of the month but the latter below the following weekdays, 26/25 for the following weekend, on a par, and 25/28 for the last weekend of the month, that Sunday being the last hurrah for the heat before temps plunged below 20 as the month ended. So the weekends look pretty decent where I was.
Lovely warm early autumn weather here in the Maconnais where we’re at the place for some building site meetings, notary palavas and a silver wedding anniversary weekend at Chateau de Bagnols just south in Beaujolais.
29C today. 31C tomorrow. And it’s on its way North to Blighty by Sunday.
8th warmest summer on record for the UK. 33rd warmest for central England in a series going back more than 350 years. Not bad, even though it felt so. We forget just how shit the long term average British weather is.
Have to admit I am surprised about that. Lincolnshire ha definitely been a lot coller this summer than any I can remember in the last decade at least. Only a single night when it was actually reasonably warm. I judge these things based on the suitability for moth trapping and I have had very few good nights this year as far as warm temperatures go. I am hoping for a warmer September so I can get a better handle on how the moth numbers are looking compared to previous years.
I think you’ve had the worst of it in Lincs this year. I remember back in June when we had those unbroken weeks of hot sunshine, very often the morning weather forecast would finish with “except the Lincs coast, which will be under cloud with a cold breeze from the North Sea”.
Still, at least you have the consultation of living in the murk surrounded by all your Brexit chums….
I also have a suspicion this summer’s scored very poorly on the weekend:weekday good weather ratio, especially in July and August. Many days around 25-26C in the SE during the working week and some stinkers at the weekend. I must have a go at the calculations.
The GFS model has UK maxes above 25C for 9 consecutive days coming up, and above 30C for 5 days from this Wednesday. If it happens it’s going to be a shock to the system.
The weekend stats for home were max temps of 22 and 23 for the 3rd and 4th, better than the weekdays around, 30 and 24 for the 10/11th, the former being the hottest day of the month but the latter below the following weekdays, 26/25 for the following weekend, on a par, and 25/28 for the last weekend of the month, that Sunday being the last hurrah for the heat before temps plunged below 20 as the month ended. So the weekends look pretty decent where I was.
Sorry, that was for the June heatwave. You may be right for the mixed months following
I've just drunk bought Civ VI for my steam deck (£2 off cdkeys) I know there's a few players on here, any recommendations on DLC?
I've played it lots (most recently getting a culture win on Immortal difficulty, which was a lot harder than winning Broxtowe). IMO it's worth getting the game expansions (Gathering Storm and Rise and Fall, IIRC), but the extra countries/leaders etc. are just nice to try when you've played all the standard leaders.
Yes, agreed.
What Civ VI needs more of is scenarios, like WW2 or WW3 etc.
It has a couple, like the Black Death or Rise of Alexander the Great, but that doesn't quite cut it.
Civ IV was the best: sometimes sequels aren’t better.
Didn’t the same guy go off and create Old World, which is def worth a look?
I think the Civ franchise is a bit tired.
The best 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) game by far is the original Master of Orion, which can also be bought on Steam for almost nothing.
I've just drunk bought Civ VI for my steam deck (£2 off cdkeys) I know there's a few players on here, any recommendations on DLC?
I've played it lots (most recently getting a culture win on Immortal difficulty, which was a lot harder than winning Broxtowe). IMO it's worth getting the game expansions (Gathering Storm and Rise and Fall, IIRC), but the extra countries/leaders etc. are just nice to try when you've played all the standard leaders.
Yes, agreed.
What Civ VI needs more of is scenarios, like WW2 or WW3 etc.
It has a couple, like the Black Death or Rise of Alexander the Great, but that doesn't quite cut it.
Civ IV was the best: sometimes sequels aren’t better.
Didn’t the same guy go off and create Old World, which is def worth a look?
I think the Civ franchise is a bit tired.
The best 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) game by far is the original Master of Orion, which can also be bought on Steam for almost nothing.
I've just drunk bought Civ VI for my steam deck (£2 off cdkeys) I know there's a few players on here, any recommendations on DLC?
I've played it lots (most recently getting a culture win on Immortal difficulty, which was a lot harder than winning Broxtowe). IMO it's worth getting the game expansions (Gathering Storm and Rise and Fall, IIRC), but the extra countries/leaders etc. are just nice to try when you've played all the standard leaders.
Yes, agreed.
What Civ VI needs more of is scenarios, like WW2 or WW3 etc.
It has a couple, like the Black Death or Rise of Alexander the Great, but that doesn't quite cut it.
Civ IV was the best: sometimes sequels aren’t better.
Didn’t the same guy go off and create Old World, which is def worth a look?
I think the Civ franchise is a bit tired.
The best 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) game by far is the original Master of Orion, which can also be bought on Steam for almost nothing.
Back from the era of Civ I ? Wow
Yes. Games in those days had to rely on gameplay rather than flashy graphics or sound.
Apparently Ukraine figure doesn't include the occupied Crimea and Donbas., so may not be quite as dramatic as shown.
Interesting to see that our own figure is actually fairly unremarkable in Western Europe, even compared with other high population density countries.
The contrast between the Middle East and Eastern Europe is quite something.
Look just off that map to the right, and see the numbers for the Gulf states. UAE population is up 5x in 30 years. Qatar and Kuwait the comparators in this Google chart.
A beautiful morning in the mâconnais looking from our bedroom window to the halfway completed barn conversion and beyond to sunny tops and misty valleys.
The French are very politically grumpy at the moment even in quietly affluent Southern Burgundy, a kind of Monmouthshire of France. Rather like the Brits they’ve decided things are shit and nothing - including an economy outperforming Germany’s and gleaming public infrastructure - is going to change their mind.
As an aside, a theory I've heard about the plague of Justinian's reign is that the rats/fleas that transmitted the bubonic pestilence were normally isolated near the mouth of the Nile. A volcanic eruption or meteor strike caused the climate to cool globally for years, enabling said vermin to travel north to Egypt, and then the rest of the Empire.
Interesting to consider the unexpected ways that climate/weather can affect things.
On the subject of Civ and 4X games and the Steam Deck:
(1) Civ VI is best played on a laptop, unless you are really good at squinting and don't mind the fact that you can never remember which key you bound to which button
(2) Yes, MoO is excellent. But it's a little dated now.
(3) The perfect portable computer, for the first time in a long time, is not a Mac. It's this.
There’s a hosepipe ban still in force across Cornwall and much of Devon, despite the low temperatures and all the rain we have had. A couple of dry weeks and some heat will almost inevitably see South West Water impose even more restrictions. It’s an abysmal service provider, unable to capture water and to prevent links but brilliant at pouring raw turds into our rivers and seas given the slightest opportunity to do so.
As an aside, a theory I've heard about the plague of Justinian's reign is that the rats/fleas that transmitted the bubonic pestilence were normally isolated near the mouth of the Nile. A volcanic eruption or meteor strike caused the climate to cool globally for years, enabling said vermin to travel north to Egypt, and then the rest of the Empire.
Interesting to consider the unexpected ways that climate/weather can affect things.
The most fascinating recent example, quite well researched since, is the 2 links between weather and the Arab spring.
First, severe drought in several of the main grain producing regions, notably Australia, leading to a surge in food prices and hyperinflation in North Africa which is one of the most susceptible regions to global agri commodities. Leading to the rioting in Tunisia which triggered things.
Then equally severe drought in Syria and the wider levant leading to an unprecedented flow of destitute young men and women from the countryside into the big cities, in the months before it kicked off in Syria.
The new El Niño will almost certainly mean soy prices hiked because of the link with drought in North East Brazil. A few other agri impacts likely eg drought in SE Asia - rice prices.
As an aside, a theory I've heard about the plague of Justinian's reign is that the rats/fleas that transmitted the bubonic pestilence were normally isolated near the mouth of the Nile. A volcanic eruption or meteor strike caused the climate to cool globally for years, enabling said vermin to travel north to Egypt, and then the rest of the Empire.
Interesting to consider the unexpected ways that climate/weather can affect things.
Geoffrey Parker's Global Crisis is all about the effects of climate change on politics in the Seventeenth Century, and is excellent.
(1) A byelection in a winnable seat (2) BJ chosen as the candidate (3) BJ to win said byelection (4) MPs to submit enough letters for a VoNC (5) The VoNC to pass (6) Johnson to run and to get into the top two (7) Johnson to win with members
Now... I'm confident about 7. And 1 is pretty certain too.
But the rest. Phew. That's a hard call. Can't say I'm tempted by a 7% chance.
I've just drunk bought Civ VI for my steam deck (£2 off cdkeys) I know there's a few players on here, any recommendations on DLC?
I've played it lots (most recently getting a culture win on Immortal difficulty, which was a lot harder than winning Broxtowe). IMO it's worth getting the game expansions (Gathering Storm and Rise and Fall, IIRC), but the extra countries/leaders etc. are just nice to try when you've played all the standard leaders.
Yes, agreed.
What Civ VI needs more of is scenarios, like WW2 or WW3 etc.
It has a couple, like the Black Death or Rise of Alexander the Great, but that doesn't quite cut it.
Civ IV was the best: sometimes sequels aren’t better.
Didn’t the same guy go off and create Old World, which is def worth a look?
Hmm. Civ IV was good but it had that annoying stack-of-doom thing, and I just played Warlords as there was too much going on with Beyond the Sword for me to get my head round.
Strangely, I have fondest memories of Civ II (which is probably just nostalgia) and found Civ III the hardest, with certainly the most boring topography.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
On a more positive note, a great night out last night to see Wishbone Ash at the Flowerpot in Derby.
I have long been a fan, and saw them 4 decades ago at Southampton Gaumont, they still are great live and played the entire 1973 Live Dates set. Great for old rockers, though both band and audience noticeably less hirsute than when they first appeared with their classic twin guitar rock.
Apparently Ukraine figure doesn't include the occupied Crimea and Donbas., so may not be quite as dramatic as shown.
Interesting to see that our own figure is actually fairly unremarkable in Western Europe, even compared with other high population density countries.
The contrast between the Middle East and Eastern Europe is quite something.
Look just off that map to the right, and see the numbers for the Gulf states. UAE population is up 5x in 30 years. Qatar and Kuwait the comparators in this Google chart.
How do they count those for the Gulf States?
And how many are imported foreigners who will be sent home again?
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
IMO it's not the DfE; not doing investment when it is necessary is the philosophy of the current Government.
The money is there, and the money has always been there if required - consider for example the £100bn* or so thrown away by not increasing fuel excise duty in line with inflation for the last decade.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
There's been a lot of talk on here over the years about the country living beyond its means, borrowing from future generations etc. etc. It's clearly true but the question is what are we going to do about it?
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
On a more positive note, a great night out last night to see Wishbone Ash at the Flowerpot in Derby.
I have long been a fan, and saw them 4 decades ago at Southampton Gaumont, they still are great live and played the entire 1973 Live Dates set. Great for old rockers, though both band and audience noticeably less hirsute than when they first appeared with their classic twin guitar rock.
Good real ales at £4 a pint too!
I've only been to the Flowerpot once, years ago. We were sat in the bar having a pint while Midge Ure was playing in the other room.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
I cant see the next one doing anything positive either
I've just drunk bought Civ VI for my steam deck (£2 off cdkeys) I know there's a few players on here, any recommendations on DLC?
I've played it lots (most recently getting a culture win on Immortal difficulty, which was a lot harder than winning Broxtowe). IMO it's worth getting the game expansions (Gathering Storm and Rise and Fall, IIRC), but the extra countries/leaders etc. are just nice to try when you've played all the standard leaders.
Yes, agreed.
What Civ VI needs more of is scenarios, like WW2 or WW3 etc.
It has a couple, like the Black Death or Rise of Alexander the Great, but that doesn't quite cut it.
Civ IV was the best: sometimes sequels aren’t better.
Didn’t the same guy go off and create Old World, which is def worth a look?
I think the Civ franchise is a bit tired.
The best 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) game by far is the original Master of Orion, which can also be bought on Steam for almost nothing.
MOO 2 was wonderful, we thought, especially in 2-player mode, but MOO 3 was a sad disappointment.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
The logic which Stuartinromford outlines (not his own!) is also defective in that there are all sorts of other reasons to replace/rebuild schools anyway, and if there are x schools with a design life of y then the replacement rate in a steady state should be something like x/y pa assuming a steady state, which this won't be - it will be lumpy, making it worse sometimes. But if some C of the E who coincidentalluy likes helicopter rides has cut that to a small fraction then it will all pile up (pun most certainly not intended) and get even worse.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
I have a speculation that the more control humanity exerts over natural things, the more out of control other natural things become.
I've just drunk bought Civ VI for my steam deck (£2 off cdkeys) I know there's a few players on here, any recommendations on DLC?
I've played it lots (most recently getting a culture win on Immortal difficulty, which was a lot harder than winning Broxtowe). IMO it's worth getting the game expansions (Gathering Storm and Rise and Fall, IIRC), but the extra countries/leaders etc. are just nice to try when you've played all the standard leaders.
Yes, agreed.
What Civ VI needs more of is scenarios, like WW2 or WW3 etc.
It has a couple, like the Black Death or Rise of Alexander the Great, but that doesn't quite cut it.
Civ IV was the best: sometimes sequels aren’t better.
Didn’t the same guy go off and create Old World, which is def worth a look?
I think the Civ franchise is a bit tired.
The best 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) game by far is the original Master of Orion, which can also be bought on Steam for almost nothing.
Back from the era of Civ I ? Wow
Yes. Games in those days had to rely on gameplay rather than flashy graphics or sound.
There are plenty of retro games produced now. And it's not like the Civ games are graphics powerhouses.
Though the one I've played the most is Civ3, unless you count Alpha Centauri (which I've also read the novelization trilogy).
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
I cant see the next one doing anything positive either
Would be difficult with Mr Starmer if he keeps his promises to freeze to so many current tax levels.
Didn't the old chuff-fart rule out a wealth tax in any form?
Playing computer games? FFS, what a bunch of saddos.
What next? Out on your skate boards?
Meanwhile I am spending today playing on the trains. A proper grown up hobby.
Diesel? Or steam? And as a passenger or proper grease monkey?
Diesel and Ale day on the Keighley and Worth Valley. I am a passenger and a drinker.
Oh! On checking, a whole Class 37 - not the 1960s DMU that I had assumed (worthy of preservation though it is as well). And a whole range of ales to work through.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
I cant see the next one doing anything positive either
They at least have potential to surprise on the upside. What can we expect from continuation?
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
It's basically the same problem in the NHS. There have been serial cuts for over a decade to capital budgets, training budgets and public health in order to prioritise "front line services". As a result we have a thin, brittle shell of "front line services" handicapped by poor productivity and unsuitable estate for modern practice.
I have little faith that appropriate remedial work or training will happen. Just flog the galley slaves a bit harder.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
I cant see the next one doing anything positive either
Would be difficult with Mr Starmer if he keeps his promises to freeze to so many current tax levels.
Didn't the old chuff-fart rule out a wealth tax in any form?
I see a 'turns out the problems are even worse than we thought because of Tory incompetence, sadly we must u turn' moment coming.
Playing computer games? FFS, what a bunch of saddos.
What next? Out on your skate boards?
Meanwhile I am spending today playing on the trains. A proper grown up hobby.
Diesel? Or steam? And as a passenger or proper grease monkey?
Diesel and Ale day on the Keighley and Worth Valley. I am a passenger and a drinker.
Oh! On checking, a whole Class 37 - not the 1960s DMU that I had assumed (worthy of preservation though it is as well). And a whole range of ales to work through.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
There's been a lot of talk on here over the years about the country living beyond its means, borrowing from future generations etc. etc. It's clearly true but the question is what are we going to do about it?
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
Good morning
A fair assessment of where we are and frankly I do not see a way through without all three of cutting spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and encourage growth
None of this is palatable to any politician and it cannot be wished away
Playing computer games? FFS, what a bunch of saddos.
What next? Out on your skate boards?
Meanwhile I am spending today playing on the trains. A proper grown up hobby.
Diesel? Or steam? And as a passenger or proper grease monkey?
Diesel and Ale day on the Keighley and Worth Valley. I am a passenger and a drinker.
Oh! On checking, a whole Class 37 - not the 1960s DMU that I had assumed (worthy of preservation though it is as well). And a whole range of ales to work through.
And that's totally fine, loads of people are not into gaming. I go in and out of interest, but it's somthing I have done since I was young, like reading, so it's part of my default consideration about what to do.
But even if people are not into gaming in the slightest, it's the bemusement that others are which is strange - and it is usually expressed as a thing expected to grow out of, which goes beyond personal disinterest. Some people might dare to question interest in political minutiae as a hobby too, but it's not odd (well, not exactly).
I will say being into gaming can be useful for those with children and teenagers though, precisely because young people may be more into it, and the older person still has the muscle memory, and its an activity even a bored youngster might get on board with. My brother doesn't live with his daughter, who is now into her teens, and one of the things they have kept up for years is playing games together online. Years and years of Minecraft (a 'game' which would bore me to tears) on a weekly basis for example, chatting away for hours at a time. He didn't say so directly but it was obvious he was a bit upset when his TV broke and he didn't have another way of playing with her for 8 weeks until he could afford a replacement. Even though they did see each other and do other things, it was a genuine shared interest for both of them, not parental duty or child obligation.
Agreed. Computer games vary almost as much as books or movies, so it's hard to generalise, but solo gaming fills in the cracks if you have periods on your own and want to fill X minutes/hours with no fuss whatever, while multi-player games with friends is simply an easy way to enjoy something together even if you're far apart physically, typically chatting while you play. The AI isn't usually ChatGPT-level amazing, but it's good enough to supply competent opponents to fill any slots you want if you've got a six-player game with 3 friends. The basic appeal is that the game is an intellectual and/or dexterity challenge that you can be sure to rise to if you practice - which is satisfying for most temperaments.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
I have a speculation that the more control humanity exerts over natural things, the more out of control other natural things become.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
I have a speculation that the more control humanity exerts over natural things, the more out of control other natural things become.
Good morning, everybody.
Climate change being the biggest example.
Hubris is the prime characteristic of the human species rather than intelligence.
Playing computer games? FFS, what a bunch of saddos.
What next? Out on your skate boards?
Meanwhile I am spending today playing on the trains. A proper grown up hobby.
Footy for me. A good transfer season for my team, though could have done with shifting a few more of the deadwood. We now have 5 goalkeepers...
Could you lend a couple to Man U? We could do with playing two in goal.
Apropos of which, I woke up this morning from a vidid dream in which we'd lost 7-0 to Arsenal. Sad thing is, it really wasn't so unbelievable.
United need to rid themselves of the toxic Glaziers and it is a commentary on the mismanagement that they had so many players that no other club wanted that they could not raise the funds to buy in the market under fair play rules
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
It's basically the same problem in the NHS. There have been serial cuts for over a decade to capital budgets, training budgets and public health in order to prioritise "front line services". As a result we have a thin
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
I have a speculation that the more control humanity exerts over natural things, the more out of control other natural things become.
Good morning, everybody.
Climate change being the biggest example.
Hubris is the prime characteristic of the human species rather than intelligence.
But could a non-intelligent species be capable of hubris?
My dog, moderately intelligent, maybe at a 2yo human level, is not able to exhibit hubris.
Joy, disappointment, pique, frustration, desire, love even... yes to all of those. But hubris? - no.
Apparently Ukraine figure doesn't include the occupied Crimea and Donbas., so may not be quite as dramatic as shown.
Interesting to see that our own figure is actually fairly unremarkable in Western Europe, even compared with other high population density countries.
The contrast between the Middle East and Eastern Europe is quite something.
Look just off that map to the right, and see the numbers for the Gulf states. UAE population is up 5x in 30 years. Qatar and Kuwait the comparators in this Google chart.
How do they count those for the Gulf States?
And how many are imported foreigners who will be sent home again?
Thats the first time Ive heard of population numbers being based on citizenship. Of course foreign residents are part of a population headcount. Over twice as many Indians alone in UAE than Emirati.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
It's basically the same problem in the NHS. There have been serial cuts for over a decade to capital budgets, training budgets and public health in order to prioritise "front line services". As a result we have a thin, brittle shell of "front line services" handicapped by poor productivity and unsuitable estate for modern practice.
I have little faith that appropriate remedial work or training will happen. Just flog the galley slaves a bit harder.
Incidentally, one interesting new trend is private companies exiting the UK healthcare market.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
There's been a lot of talk on here over the years about the country living beyond its means, borrowing from future generations etc. etc. It's clearly true but the question is what are we going to do about it?
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
Good morning
A fair assessment of where we are and frankly I do not see a way through without all three of cutting spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and encourage growth
None of this is palatable to any politician and it cannot be wished away
Good morning to you too Big_G.
I generally agree but I honestly cannot see where public spending can be cut without further damage to the economy (except perhaps the apparently sacrosanct triple lock).
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
The logic which Stuartinromford outlines (not his own!) is also defective in that there are all sorts of other reasons to replace/rebuild schools anyway, and if there are x schools with a design life of y then the replacement rate in a steady state should be something like x/y pa assuming a steady state, which this won't be - it will be lumpy, making it worse sometimes. But if some C of the E who coincidentalluy likes helicopter rides has cut that to a small fraction then it will all pile up (pun most certainly not intended) and get even worse.
Oversimplifying massively (I'm a physicist, it's what we're trained to be good at)...
There are about 30000 state schools in the UK.
If you replace 300 a year, that's a replacement cycle of 100 years. Whilst it's certainly possible to build something that lasts 100 years, it requires a different attitude to the one the British state has taken postwar.
Besides, the then CofE decided that we couldn't afford to replace 300 schools a year. At fifty schools a year, you're talking a 600 year replacement cycle, which gets you back to the 1400s.
Coincidentally, Winchester College was founded in 1382.
To sum up, the UK has been hiding all sorts of bills under the doormat for decades, even as they've turned from blue to red. Now the bailiffs appear to be knocking on the door.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
It's basically the same problem in the NHS. There have been serial cuts for over a decade to capital budgets, training budgets and public health in order to prioritise "front line services". As a result we have a thin
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
I have a speculation that the more control humanity exerts over natural things, the more out of control other natural things become.
Good morning, everybody.
Climate change being the biggest example.
Hubris is the prime characteristic of the human species rather than intelligence.
But could a non-intelligent species be capable of hubris?
My dog, moderately intelligent, maybe at a 2yo human level, is not able to exhibit hubris.
Joy, disappointment, pique, frustration, desire, love even... yes to all of those. But hubris? - no.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
I cant see the next one doing anything positive either
Would be difficult with Mr Starmer if he keeps his promises to freeze to so many current tax levels.
Didn't the old chuff-fart rule out a wealth tax in any form?
I see a 'turns out the problems are even worse than we thought because of Tory incompetence, sadly we must u turn' moment coming.
I hope so. Starmer is in serious danger of promising too little.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
And yet when I fingered the Tories for letting schools get into a dangerous state of disrepair again, just as they were pre-97, I got pooh-poohed. No No No its not the Tories fault its PFI. No, its the Tories.
So when Tory spivs were paid to import unusable PPE, it turns out the best contractor to store the same unusable PPE was the one who had pocketed the cash for the unusable crap. So I have to assume that the SofS for Education saying that the government will pay for emergency portacabins means big ching for Tory contractor spivs.
The kids? They should be in private school anyway if they were decent people.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
The logic which Stuartinromford outlines (not his own!) is also defective in that there are all sorts of other reasons to replace/rebuild schools anyway, and if there are x schools with a design life of y then the replacement rate in a steady state should be something like x/y pa assuming a steady state, which this won't be - it will be lumpy, making it worse sometimes. But if some C of the E who coincidentalluy likes helicopter rides has cut that to a small fraction then it will all pile up (pun most certainly not intended) and get even worse.
Oversimplifying massively (I'm a physicist, it's what we're trained to be good at)...
There are about 30000 state schools in the UK.
If you replace 300 a year, that's a replacement cycle of 100 years. Whilst it's certainly possible to build something that lasts 100 years, it requires a different attitude to the one the British state has taken postwar.
Besides, the then CofE decided that we couldn't afford to replace 300 schools a year. At fifty schools a year, you're talking a 600 year replacement cycle, which gets you back to the 1400s.
Coincidentally, Winchester College was founded in 1382.
To sum up, the UK has been hiding all sorts of bills under the doormat for decades, even as they've turned from blue to red. Now the bailiffs appear to be knocking on the door.
Tell them not to knock too hard - the whole wall will come down.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
It's basically the same problem in the NHS. There have been serial cuts for over a decade to capital budgets, training budgets and public health in order to prioritise "front line services". As a result we have a thin, brittle shell of "front line services" handicapped by poor productivity and unsuitable estate for modern practice.
I have little faith that appropriate remedial work or training will happen. Just flog the galley slaves a bit harder.
Incidentally, one interesting new trend is private companies exiting the UK healthcare market.
Apparently Ukraine figure doesn't include the occupied Crimea and Donbas., so may not be quite as dramatic as shown.
Interesting to see that our own figure is actually fairly unremarkable in Western Europe, even compared with other high population density countries.
The contrast between the Middle East and Eastern Europe is quite something.
Look just off that map to the right, and see the numbers for the Gulf states. UAE population is up 5x in 30 years. Qatar and Kuwait the comparators in this Google chart.
How do they count those for the Gulf States?
And how many are imported foreigners who will be sent home again?
Thats the first time Ive heard of population numbers being based on citizenship. Of course foreign residents are part of a population headcount. Over twice as many Indians alone in UAE than Emirati.
The UAE population is currently around 15% Emirati, up from 10% a decade ago despite the large general increase in population. I saw a stat last week that 65% of Saudi nationals are aged under 35, and that will be replicated across the Gulf states.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
There's been a lot of talk on here over the years about the country living beyond its means, borrowing from future generations etc. etc. It's clearly true but the question is what are we going to do about it?
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
Good morning
A fair assessment of where we are and frankly I do not see a way through without all three of cutting spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and encourage growth
None of this is palatable to any politician and it cannot be wished away
Good morning to you too Big_G.
I generally agree but I honestly cannot see where public spending can be cut without further damage to the economy (except perhaps the apparently sacrosanct triple lock).
The triple lock is unsustainable as is the demands of the doctors and train drivers
I do think Starmer and Reeves understand just how serious these issues are and his fiscal conservative stance is correct but I cannot understand why he has ruled out all forms of a wealth tax
Sunak and Hunt come under enormous flack but they are following the correct economic policies which by this time next year may provide Starmer with some room for manoeuvre
So I wake up to news that Mason Greenwood has been signed by Getafe on a loan deal where Manchester United continue to pay his wages.
So the carefully-worded statement saying that all sides agree that he should rebuild his career away from Old Trafford was just more smoke-blowing. We haven't dispensed with his services at all. Its just pathetic management.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
The other problem of course is that Covid has sucked budgets dry, and then the unfunded pay rise has put every school in the land into deficit.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
It's basically the same problem in the NHS. There have been serial cuts for over a decade to capital budgets, training budgets and public health in order to prioritise "front line services". As a result we have a thin, brittle shell of "front line services" handicapped by poor productivity and unsuitable estate for modern practice.
I have little faith that appropriate remedial work or training will happen. Just flog the galley slaves a bit harder.
Incidentally, one interesting new trend is private companies exiting the UK healthcare market.
Too much hassle, and not the goldmine that they expected, IMO.
Babylon crashed for other reasons. They’re not exiting the UK healthcare market. They’re exiting solvency.
That sounds to me like the time banks were taking over Estate Agency. Does anyone remember Black Horse Agency?
Piddled away billions then ended up walking away iirc.
One of my local independent Estate Agencies sold his business, then bought it back after it had all collapsed. My favourite case on their tenancy waiting list was a lady who needed a small house, outbuildings and a field because she wsa a husky racer who needed space to practice.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
There's been a lot of talk on here over the years about the country living beyond its means, borrowing from future generations etc. etc. It's clearly true but the question is what are we going to do about it?
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
Good morning
A fair assessment of where we are and frankly I do not see a way through without all three of cutting spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and encourage growth
None of this is palatable to any politician and it cannot be wished away
I don't think you can just blame politicians for that, though.
Voters have come to take something for nothing as their due, and get very cross when told that taxes might go up or spending might be cut.
Not saying that it's unique to the UK, but I suspect we're more prone to it. Maybe FPTP makes it too costly to be the first one to submit to the realities of arithmetic.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
There's been a lot of talk on here over the years about the country living beyond its means, borrowing from future generations etc. etc. It's clearly true but the question is what are we going to do about it?
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
Good morning
A fair assessment of where we are and frankly I do not see a way through without all three of cutting spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and encourage growth
None of this is palatable to any politician and it cannot be wished away
Good morning to you too Big_G.
I generally agree but I honestly cannot see where public spending can be cut without further damage to the economy (except perhaps the apparently sacrosanct triple lock).
The triple lock is unsustainable as is the demands of the doctors and train drivers
I do think Starmer and Reeves understand just how serious these issues are and his fiscal conservative stance is correct but I cannot understand why he has ruled out all forms of a wealth tax
Sunak and Hunt come under enormous flack but they are following the correct economic policies which by this time next year may provide Starmer with some room for manoeuvre
There is little room for maneuvre, and discussion of “wealth tax” with no specifics, is likely to be counter-productive.
Not as counter-productive as any specific policy though, so better to ignore for now and look to flesh out something as a second-term project. If you want to raise significant money, then ‘wealth’ has to include primary housing and pension pots, as well as investment funds, ISAs, and shareholdings in both private and public companies. Which is an awful lot of the population, not just 1%.
Whatever the cause and whoever the culprits, this schools issue is not going to boost Tory prospects is it?
I may have to modify my prediction of Sunak calling an October 23 GE.
Why? These schools collapsing after years of neglect and Rishi Sunak slashing the new schools budget is a direct example of what happens under a Labour Government. I await whichever nonentity is SofS for Education this week to publish a letter imploring Starmer to demand that leftie woke teachers stop whining and get back into the classroom.
So I wake up to news that Mason Greenwood has been signed by Getafe on a loan deal where Manchester United continue to pay his wages.
So the carefully-worded statement saying that all sides agree that he should rebuild his career away from Old Trafford was just more smoke-blowing. We haven't dispensed with his services at all. Its just pathetic management.
While I understand your comments I suspect employment law is playing ( excuse the pun) a part in this as his contract is to 2025
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
I cant see the next one doing anything positive either
Would be difficult with Mr Starmer if he keeps his promises to freeze to so many current tax levels.
Didn't the old chuff-fart rule out a wealth tax in any form?
I see a 'turns out the problems are even worse than we thought because of Tory incompetence, sadly we must u turn' moment coming.
I hope so. Starmer is in serious danger of promising too little.
The concern I have is that he’s boxing himself in so that his government is going to be continuity Sunak, which nobody really wants.
I will however wait until the manifesto to form a concrete view. He is clearly taking the “say nothing that could be construed in any way controversial” approach to the pre-GE phoney war.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
And yet when I fingered the Tories for letting schools get into a dangerous state of disrepair again, just as they were pre-97, I got pooh-poohed. No No No its not the Tories fault its PFI. No, its the Tories.
It's both.
It's about a system of government that rewards The Right People over competent people, rich people over honest people, processes over common sense and systems over personal integrity.
And that has certainly held good for decades if not centuries. Whenever somebody is elected to shake it up, they often finish by being worse than what was before (exhibit a - David Lloyd George).
That system made the decision to build cheap stuff quickly to meet an urgent need thereby compromising on quality and longevity. Which as pointed out by somebody yesterday (I think it was @Richard_Tyndall ) isn't necessarily an irrational choice as long as you accept replacements will be needed, budget for them and then build the bloody things.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
I cant see the next one doing anything positive either
Would be difficult with Mr Starmer if he keeps his promises to freeze to so many current tax levels.
Didn't the old chuff-fart rule out a wealth tax in any form?
I see a 'turns out the problems are even worse than we thought because of Tory incompetence, sadly we must u turn' moment coming.
I hope so. Starmer is in serious danger of promising too little.
The concern I have is that he’s boxing himself in so that his government is going to be continuity Sunak, which nobody really wants.
I will however wait until the manifesto to form a concrete view.
Whatever the cause and whoever the culprits, this schools issue is not going to boost Tory prospects is it?
I may have to modify my prediction of Sunak calling an October 23 GE.
Why? These schools collapsing after years of neglect and Rishi Sunak slashing the new schools budget is a direct example of what happens under a Labour Government. I await whichever nonentity is SofS for Education this week to publish a letter imploring Starmer to demand that leftie woke teachers stop whining and get back into the classroom.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
There's been a lot of talk on here over the years about the country living beyond its means, borrowing from future generations etc. etc. It's clearly true but the question is what are we going to do about it?
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
Good morning
A fair assessment of where we are and frankly I do not see a way through without all three of cutting spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and encourage growth
None of this is palatable to any politician and it cannot be wished away
I don't think you can just blame politicians for that, though.
Voters have come to take something for nothing as their due, and get very cross when told that taxes might go up or spending might be cut.
Not saying that it's unique to the UK, but I suspect we're more prone to it. Maybe FPTP makes it too costly to be the first one to submit to the realities of arithmetic.
Agreed and voters expectations have been encouraged to think that way not least as we lockdowned the economy for 2 years
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
There's been a lot of talk on here over the years about the country living beyond its means, borrowing from future generations etc. etc. It's clearly true but the question is what are we going to do about it?
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
Good morning
A fair assessment of where we are and frankly I do not see a way through without all three of cutting spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and encourage growth
None of this is palatable to any politician and it cannot be wished away
Good morning to you too Big_G.
I generally agree but I honestly cannot see where public spending can be cut without further damage to the economy (except perhaps the apparently sacrosanct triple lock).
The triple lock is unsustainable as is the demands of the doctors and train drivers
I do think Starmer and Reeves understand just how serious these issues are and his fiscal conservative stance is correct but I cannot understand why he has ruled out all forms of a wealth tax
Sunak and Hunt come under enormous flack but they are following the correct economic policies which by this time next year may provide Starmer with some room for manoeuvre
There is little room for maneuvre, and discussion of “wealth tax” with no specifics, is likely to be counter-productive.
Not as counter-productive as any specific policy though, so better to ignore for now and look to flesh out something as a second-term project. If you want to raise significant money, then ‘wealth’ has to include primary housing and pension pots, as well as investment funds, ISAs, and shareholdings in both private and public companies.
It's interesting to compare what's taken into account for benefit claims.
Primary housing and pension pots* are ignored but investment funds, ISAs, and shareholdings etc. are all taken into account. (*Pension pots are taken into account too if you're over 75).
So I wake up to news that Mason Greenwood has been signed by Getafe on a loan deal where Manchester United continue to pay his wages.
So the carefully-worded statement saying that all sides agree that he should rebuild his career away from Old Trafford was just more smoke-blowing. We haven't dispensed with his services at all. Its just pathetic management.
While I understand your comments I suspect employment law is playing (excuse the pun) a part in this as his contract is to 2025
Although they could have just left him on the sidelines until he asked to be released from his contract.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
I cant see the next one doing anything positive either
Would be difficult with Mr Starmer if he keeps his promises to freeze to so many current tax levels.
Didn't the old chuff-fart rule out a wealth tax in any form?
I see a 'turns out the problems are even worse than we thought because of Tory incompetence, sadly we must u turn' moment coming.
I hope so. Starmer is in serious danger of promising too little.
The concern I have is that he’s boxing himself in so that his government is going to be continuity Sunak, which nobody really wants.
I will however wait until the manifesto to form a concrete view. He is clearly taking the “say nothing that could be construed in any way controversial” approach to the pre-GE phoney war.
A concrete view? Yes, lots of politicians rushing to form a view on concrete.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
The country is literally falling to bits. I cannot see this government doing anything positive about it.
Trouble is that positive action will cost. From today's Times;
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years 2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious 3 And hardly anything bad has happened left 4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
And yet when I fingered the Tories for letting schools get into a dangerous state of disrepair again, just as they were pre-97, I got pooh-poohed. No No No its not the Tories fault its PFI. No, its the Tories.
It's both.
It's about a system of government that rewards The Right People over competent people, rich people over honest people, processes over common sense and systems over personal integrity.
And that has certainly held good for decades if not centuries. Whenever somebody is elected to shake it up, they often finish by being worse than what was before (exhibit a - David Lloyd George).
That system made the decision to build cheap stuff quickly to meet an urgent need thereby compromising on quality and longevity. Which as pointed out by somebody yesterday (I think it was @Richard_Tyndall ) isn't necessarily an irrational choice as long as you accept replacements will be needed, budget for them and then build the bloody things.
So I wake up to news that Mason Greenwood has been signed by Getafe on a loan deal where Manchester United continue to pay his wages.
So the carefully-worded statement saying that all sides agree that he should rebuild his career away from Old Trafford was just more smoke-blowing. We haven't dispensed with his services at all. Its just pathetic management.
While I understand your comments I suspect employment law is playing (excuse the pun) a part in this as his contract is to 2025
Although they could have just left him on the sidelines until he asked to be released from his contract.
Yes but I assume they would still be paying him until the end of it so not sure why he would want to be released from it
So I wake up to news that Mason Greenwood has been signed by Getafe on a loan deal where Manchester United continue to pay his wages.
So the carefully-worded statement saying that all sides agree that he should rebuild his career away from Old Trafford was just more smoke-blowing. We haven't dispensed with his services at all. Its just pathetic management.
If one were cynical they might think that Man Utd are hoping that he can gradually be rehabilitated and with time the opprobrium will die down and he can return to the club.
Their statement about him leaving the club was sneaky and designed to placate the protests as he’s not really leaving the club but it got Utd out of a hole as they were hoping to get him playing for them this season.
Next summer there will be stories floated to journalists about Greenwood coming back so Utd can test the water.
So I wake up to news that Mason Greenwood has been signed by Getafe on a loan deal where Manchester United continue to pay his wages.
So the carefully-worded statement saying that all sides agree that he should rebuild his career away from Old Trafford was just more smoke-blowing. We haven't dispensed with his services at all. Its just pathetic management.
While I understand your comments I suspect employment law is playing (excuse the pun) a part in this as his contract is to 2025
Although they could have just left him on the sidelines until he asked to be released from his contract.
Yes but I assume they would still be paying him until the end of it so not sure why he would want to be released from it
Comments
To be honest, I think the expansions are, if you like the game, pretty much all worth getting, and some of the extra leaders are nice (Basil II, Eleanor or Aquitaine. I have downloaded but not played with the last pack, including Elizabeth I).
I'd advocate playing a few games, seeing if it agrees with you. If it does, gradually build up the DLC to avoid having a billion new features all at once.
Unlike Stellaris, I haven't (and am not really interested) in beating Civ on the hardest setting but if you have any questions feel free to send them my way and I'll answer them if I can.
Some things shouldn't be possible to carve from stone, but the master sculptors managed it anyway.
A thread of impossible details of marble sculptures 🧵
https://twitter.com/Culture_Crit/status/1697353825911206330
The best 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) game by far is the original Master of Orion, which can also be bought on Steam for almost nothing.
https://enormo-haddock.blogspot.com/2023/09/monza-pre-qualifying.html
Interesting map of population changes over the last 3 decades.
https://twitter.com/simongerman600/status/1697651788248162794?t=aZ4pfUJX7s6UfQklxkLWGA&s=19
Apparently Ukraine figure doesn't include the occupied Crimea and Donbas., so may not be quite as dramatic as shown.
Interesting to see that our own figure is actually fairly unremarkable in Western Europe, even compared with other high population density countries.
UAE population is up 5x in 30 years. Qatar and Kuwait the comparators in this Google chart.
The French are very politically grumpy at the moment even in quietly affluent Southern Burgundy, a kind of Monmouthshire of France. Rather like the Brits they’ve decided things are shit and nothing - including an economy outperforming Germany’s and gleaming public infrastructure - is going to change their mind.
My favourite weather visualisation website, mainly because it shows hours of sunshine. Weatheronline (data from GFS model):
A better 8 day outlook than any time since early July. Look at those night minima. Sticky.
Interesting to consider the unexpected ways that climate/weather can affect things.
(1) Civ VI is best played on a laptop, unless you are really good at squinting and don't mind the fact that you can never remember which key you bound to which button
(2) Yes, MoO is excellent. But it's a little dated now.
(3) The perfect portable computer, for the first time in a long time, is not a Mac. It's this.
First, severe drought in several of the main grain producing regions, notably Australia, leading to a surge in food prices and hyperinflation in North Africa which is one of the most susceptible regions to global agri commodities. Leading to the rioting in Tunisia which triggered things.
Then equally severe drought in Syria and the wider levant leading to an unprecedented flow of destitute young men and women from the countryside into the big cities, in the months before it kicked off in Syria.
The new El Niño will almost certainly mean soy prices hiked because of the link with drought in North East Brazil. A few other agri impacts likely eg drought in SE Asia - rice prices.
Strangely, I have fondest memories of Civ II (which is probably just nostalgia) and found Civ III the hardest, with certainly the most boring topography.
Our @itvnews investigation into RAAC in schools back in MARCH was alarming, and parents were understandably worried.
They were right to be. Many will be asking why the DfE waited until now, and days before the start of a new term, to announce schools with it should close?
https://twitter.com/DanielHewittITV/status/1697263515252519135
It seems the answer was (as I guessed yesterday) that there was a sudden collapse somewhere. But you don't have to be a raging cynic (even though I am) to say that failing to anticipate the structural collapse of a material 20 years past its life expiry date at a time of inadequate maintenance before a mad panic at the last minute is still a pathetic performance which demonstrates the utter unfitness of the entire DfE.
You'll be pleased to hear I won't be sharing a picture of that.
If the former, the school was in Kent (as was the earlier collapse).
However, exclusive new @omnisis poll finds:
- Majority of voters believe Sunak's Government is "institutionally corrupt"
- Just 15% disagree
- 57% say corruption has got worse over recent years"
https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1697549527023046879?t=bE1sWwF8cS2s3E8uYiI_cw&s=19
Sources in the department pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for slashing the school repairs budget, with cash allocated for 50 school replacements a year at his 2021 spending, down from 100 previously and far less than the 300 requested by officials. “This has been one of the most high-profile things in the department for years,” one insider said. “RAAC is only one of a number of reasons why there is a risk of children dying in schools.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/85997904-4907-11ee-9359-63e432ab6148?shareToken=ccb58f4f85dfee3555c803ef14e1251f
Back in the day, @Leon speculated that COVID was able to sense and exploit human hubris. Colourful, but he had a point. Natural phenomena will cause disaster if we're not alert to risks. In this case, the logic for decades has been
1 The design life for this is X years
2 But everyone knows that engineers pad design lives, because they're cautious
3 And hardly anything bad has happened left
4 So we don't need to spend money on it yet
Which works fine until it doesn't.
Natural and engineering phenomena are bracingly moral in a way that politics and finance aren't.
I have long been a fan, and saw them 4 decades ago at Southampton Gaumont, they still are great live and played the entire 1973 Live Dates set. Great for old rockers, though both band and audience noticeably less hirsute than when they first appeared with their classic twin guitar rock.
Good real ales at £4 a pint too!
And how many are imported foreigners who will be sent home again?
The money is there, and the money has always been there if required - consider for example the £100bn* or so thrown away by not increasing fuel excise duty in line with inflation for the last decade.
But this lot just won't.
* figure from Social Market Foundation.
What next? Out on your skate boards?
Meanwhile I am spending today playing on the trains. A proper grown up hobby.
There are surely only three levers available: cut public spending, raise taxes, grow the economy; we can do any or all of these in combination. Obviously the third lever is attractive but it's not obvious how government can engineer or even influence real growth.
Some people are going to be worse off when either of the first two levers are used but since we've been living beyond our means we just need to face up to the idea of being worse off.
Cutting public services is often a false economy, as the current RAAC crisis in schools shows. I would also contend that cutting public services has a more detrimental effect on growth than raising taxes.
Ergo: taxes will have to rise for those with above average incomes and wealth. TINA.
They literally do not have the money to do anything about this.
And because of the academy structure the Local Authorities can't help them.
So any extra funds will have to come from central government, which is also going through a Robert Maxwell phase of bouncing Czechs.
Good morning, everybody.
Though the one I've played the most is Civ3, unless you count Alpha Centauri (which I've also read the novelization trilogy).
Didn't the old chuff-fart rule out a wealth tax in any form?
https://kwvr.co.uk/events/diesel-ale-day/
Apropos of which, I woke up this morning from a vidid dream in which we'd lost 7-0 to Arsenal. Sad thing is, it really wasn't so unbelievable.
I have little faith that appropriate remedial work or training will happen. Just flog the galley slaves a bit harder.
A fair assessment of where we are and frankly I do not see a way through without all three of cutting spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and encourage growth
None of this is palatable to any politician and it cannot be wished away
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_philosophy
Hubris is the prime characteristic of the human species rather than intelligence.
I'm going to be far too busy messing around with a radio controlled vehicle to waste time on such frivolities.
My dog, moderately intelligent, maybe at a 2yo human level, is not able to exhibit hubris.
Joy, disappointment, pique, frustration, desire, love even... yes to all of those. But hubris? - no.
(The jury's out on schadenfreude)
https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/practice-personal-finance/us-insurance-giant-looking-to-sell-its-nearly-60-nhs-gp-practices/
https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/breaking-news/babylon-could-sell-gp-at-hand-as-it-looks-for-uk-buyers-for-business/
Too much hassle, and not the goldmine that they expected, IMO.
I generally agree but I honestly cannot see where public spending can be cut without further damage to the economy (except perhaps the apparently sacrosanct triple lock).
There are about 30000 state schools in the UK.
If you replace 300 a year, that's a replacement cycle of 100 years. Whilst it's certainly possible to build something that lasts 100 years, it requires a different attitude to the one the British state has taken postwar.
Besides, the then CofE decided that we couldn't afford to replace 300 schools a year. At fifty schools a year, you're talking a 600 year replacement cycle, which gets you back to the 1400s.
Coincidentally, Winchester College was founded in 1382.
To sum up, the UK has been hiding all sorts of bills under the doormat for decades, even as they've turned from blue to red. Now the bailiffs appear to be knocking on the door.
So when Tory spivs were paid to import unusable PPE, it turns out the best contractor to store the same unusable PPE was the one who had pocketed the cash for the unusable crap. So I have to assume that the SofS for Education saying that the government will pay for emergency portacabins means big ching for Tory contractor spivs.
The kids? They should be in private school anyway if they were decent people.
(Spot on btw)
It’s actually becoming more difficult to hire expats for junior white-collar jobs, as these countries expect employers to look to the local population first - a process known in the UAE as Emiratisation. https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2023/07/12/emiratisation-what-rules-fines/
I do think Starmer and Reeves understand just how serious these issues are and his fiscal conservative stance is correct but I cannot understand why he has ruled out all forms of a wealth tax
Sunak and Hunt come under enormous flack but they are following the correct economic policies which by this time next year may provide Starmer with some room for manoeuvre
I may have to modify my prediction of Sunak calling an October 23 GE.
So the carefully-worded statement saying that all sides agree that he should rebuild his career away from Old Trafford was just more smoke-blowing. We haven't dispensed with his services at all. Its just pathetic management.
Piddled away billions then ended up walking away iirc.
One of my local independent Estate Agencies sold his business, then bought it back after it had all collapsed. My favourite case on their tenancy waiting list was a lady who needed a small house, outbuildings and a field because she wsa a husky racer who needed space to practice.
Voters have come to take something for nothing as their due, and get very cross when told that taxes might go up or spending might be cut.
Not saying that it's unique to the UK, but I suspect we're more prone to it. Maybe FPTP makes it too costly to be the first one to submit to the realities of arithmetic.
Not as counter-productive as any specific policy though, so better to ignore for now and look to flesh out something as a second-term project. If you want to raise significant money, then ‘wealth’ has to include primary housing and pension pots, as well as investment funds, ISAs, and shareholdings in both private and public companies. Which is an awful lot of the population, not just 1%.
Its all his fault.
I will however wait until the manifesto to form a concrete view. He is clearly taking the “say nothing that could be construed in any way controversial” approach to the pre-GE phoney war.
It's about a system of government that rewards The Right People over competent people, rich people over honest people, processes over common sense and systems over personal integrity.
And that has certainly held good for decades if not centuries. Whenever somebody is elected to shake it up, they often finish by being worse than what was before (exhibit a - David Lloyd George).
That system made the decision to build cheap stuff quickly to meet an urgent need thereby compromising on quality and longevity. Which as pointed out by somebody yesterday (I think it was @Richard_Tyndall ) isn't necessarily an irrational choice as long as you accept replacements will be needed, budget for them and then build the bloody things.
We haven't done so.
And now we're screwed.
;-)
Primary housing and pension pots* are ignored but investment funds, ISAs, and shareholdings etc. are all taken into account. (*Pension pots are taken into account too if you're over 75).
Wealth tax could simply use the same rules.
Their statement about him leaving the club was sneaky and designed to placate the protests as he’s not really leaving the club but it got Utd out of a hole as they were hoping to get him playing for them this season.
Next summer there will be stories floated to journalists about Greenwood coming back so Utd can test the water.