Taking on pretty large client once I'm done with current role.
What I'm finding out is super large well funded ventures seem to have just as many, if not more issues with day to day user authentication and team assignment.
People say I should be more humble I hope they understand, they don't listen when you mumble
Get a shiny metal Revolut card! And a free tenner! https://revolut.com/referral/jamesb8!G10D21
Some of the people who are the most pro-trans are extremely bigoted themselves. Prejudice is everywhere, it's part of being human - nobody is without it.
Of course. Across many issues on the social/political spectrum there are extreme views on either end. Godwin-esque example being far right nazism verses far-left Stalinism. I think I was clearly negative towards both the far-right and fat-left. These hyper-aggressive campaigners on either side are everything that is wrong with social media. Militant cancel culture is toxic.
I'd consider most of the loudest trans activism to be inherently homophobic. Oh, your not a lesbian, you're a man trapped inside a woman's body. You're not a gay man, you just have the 'wrong' body. Really annoys me that it's been tagged on to the LGB groups of past. Last pride event I was at was in 1993, so I know I'm well out of the loop.
That sort of activism is absolute nonsense obviously. Aggressively telling somebody what they “really are” like that is pretty ironic.
As I said above, I can’t imagine a gay man confusing his sexuality with identifying as woman. Kinda bizarre that people on both “sides” would try to merge the two issues, albeit in opposite ways.
Doing some investigating on upgrading the energy efficiency of my house. Currently a good B3 but looking at upgrading to an A2.
A couple of interesting things so far
Getting solar PV panels in my circumstance is a financial No brainer. Likely to spend ~16k for a 8-10kW system with a modest battery (net of grant) and save 2-2.5k per annum on electricity bill with a feed in tariff. So pay back in 6-8 years and an IRR of 12-16% over the reasonable future working lifetime. Having an EV and PHEV vehicles and more WFH will also help in this regard as they can be used to provide secondary storage and a use for excess production.
Not all good news however as the heat pump and heat recovery system and AC setup (for days like today) is much less of a financial sure thing. Need to get a proper detailed quote (have a guesstimate quote of 60k net at present including more insulation) with my likely kerosene and fuel saving of the order of 3k p.a. making it less of a financial slam dunk.
Now this is where having a pretty decent rating already on the house counts against it a little BUT I also need to do the sums stripping off things which will need to be replaced in the next few years anyway like the oil burner.
I don’t see much evidence of folk getting a valuation bump on their home for having upgraded the energy rating. I think it might be one of those things in 5-10 years time if you don’t have it you get penalised in terms of price rather than it coming through in an immediate bump in valuation.
If you don’t have or get a decent energy rating on your house and spend a lot on cosmetic stuff I think you’re really kidding yourself from a long term valuation perspective as the future buyer will be assuming a complete overhaul.
Be good to hear if anyone has gone through the whole process and what kind of savings you’re seeing and any suggestions/tips.
‘IF YOU had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.” Genghis Khan
Doing some investigating on upgrading the energy efficiency of my house. Currently a good B3 but looking at upgrading to an A2.
A couple of interesting things so far
Getting solar PV panels in my circumstance is a financial No brainer. Likely to spend ~16k for a 8-10kW system with a modest battery (net of grant) and save 2-2.5k per annum on electricity bill with a feed in tariff. So pay back in 6-8 years and an IRR of 12-16% over the reasonable future working lifetime. Having an EV and PHEV vehicles and more WFH will also help in this regard as they can be used to provide secondary storage and a use for excess production.
Not all good news however as the heat pump and heat recovery system and AC setup (for days like today) is much less of a financial sure thing. Need to get a proper detailed quote (have a guesstimate quote of 60k net at present including more insulation) with my likely kerosene and fuel saving of the order of 3k p.a. making it less of a financial slam dunk.
Now this is where having a pretty decent rating already on the house counts against it a little BUT I also need to do the sums stripping off things which will need to be replaced in the next few years anyway like the oil burner.
I don’t see much evidence of folk getting a valuation bump on their home for having upgraded the energy rating. I think it might be one of those things in 5-10 years time if you don’t have it you get penalised in terms of price rather than it coming through in an immediate bump in valuation.
If you don’t have or get a decent energy rating on your house and spend a lot on cosmetic stuff I think you’re really kidding yourself from a long term valuation perspective as the future buyer will be assuming a complete overhaul.
Be good to hear if anyone has gone through the whole process and what kind of savings you’re seeing and any suggestions/tips.
We're going from E2 to (hopefully) A3 so a different ball game. How many days a year do you think you'll need AC, realistically? I've got the window open here and it's grand...
New kitchen finishes today btw, looking good. Almost afraid to touch anything.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
Taking on pretty large client once I'm done with current role.
What I'm finding out is super large well funded ventures seem to have just as many, if not more issues with day to day user authentication and team assignment.
welcome to my world
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
We're going from E2 to (hopefully) A3 so a different ball game. How many days a year do you think you'll need AC, realistically? I've got the window open here and it's grand...
New kitchen finishes today btw, looking good. Almost afraid to touch anything.
Tbh I like a slightly cool house which means I tend not to have the place too hot in winter but really would enjoy the benefits of AC about 3 months of the year if the last few years are anything to go by!
The upstairs in particular would be 24 degrees plus most days in June/July/August and we intend to move the kids to the upstairs bedrooms in a few years time. The fact is the cost of running the AC will be negligible with the solar at that time of year but all the Velux windows and insulation makes the upstairs very warm in the evenings. I’m very keen to get it done but I need to get the accurate cost estimate to really make the final decision.
‘IF YOU had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.” Genghis Khan
FYI Lazare - pension comments below which may “trigger” you…
I found all that pension chat from Hitch hilarious. All the chat and career planning over the last number of years to get professorship status (and well done again on pulling it off) and he still didn’t have a clue how much pension he’d get and what it would be worth (a large part of the overall compensation which he always acknowledged).
And now he’s criticising folk for leaving the PS and not understanding the value of the pension benefit their leaving behind. Talk about your classic Hitch-pocrsy. Never change Hitch, never change.
‘IF YOU had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.” Genghis Khan
My friend is going from B to A atm and was quoted about 100k, he did say he can bring that down a lot as he had some done already like the windows, but he noticed things like 6k for windows dumping in the quote, lol. I'll check in with him in a while and see if he has any wisdom. When I move in I'm going to get solar and move from A3 to A2, I'm near A2 anyway, not sure what it takes to go to A1.
My friend is going from B to A atm and was quoted about 100k, he did say he can bring that down a lot as he had some done already like the windows, but he noticed things like 6k for windows dumping in the quote, lol. I'll check in with him in a while and see if he has any wisdom. When I move in I'm going to get solar and move from A3 to A2, I'm near A2 anyway, not sure what it takes to go to A1.
I’d guess a true A1 would required a low energy house design from the start. Including solar and glazing orientation, heat recovery, air tightness maximised during construction, etc.
I suspect a lot of BER’s are only really on-paper values, so perhaps a pseudo-A1 could be fudged somehow.
Would be interested in how closely people’s energy bills align to their ratings. Very easy to check, also very useful to a potential future buyer as a sort if BER validation.
Congrats on the kitchen btw! I assume you’ll celebrate with an outdoor BBQ this evening
I will celebrate by bringing the old fridge and some other crap to the recycling centre. Never let it be said I don't know how to par-tay.
Maybe a cold bottle of Norman cidre in the garden after.
All the kitchen crap is all out in the shed anyway so it'll be takeaway tonight and then MrsD\kids\dog head to Donegal for a week tomorrow so I'll be home alone, with lots of repainting to do over the rewired walls. Saving myself 10k+ by doing my own painting, which is actually a job I like.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
I’d guess a true A1 would required a low energy house design from the start. Including solar and glazing orientation, heat recovery, air tightness maximised during construction, etc.
I suspect a lot of BER’s are only really on-paper values, so perhaps a pseudo-A1 could be fudged somehow.
Would be interested in how closely people’s energy bills align to their ratings. Very easy to check, also very useful to a potential future buyer as a sort if BER validation.
I think you're 100% right but having the model is useful.
I've aleady done some upgrades (zonal heating controls and new windows/doors in the kitchen/dining area) and my rating went from a low B3 to almost a B2 and we can really notice the difference in terms of heating and cost savngs. Getting to an A1 or A2 with a 18 year old house may be fake in reality but energy cost savings and a more comfortable home will be the real test. If I have to use a bit more electricity on the heat pump then a true A1 designed and built home it's not too much of a cost.
‘IF YOU had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.” Genghis Khan
I will celebrate by bringing the old fridge and some other crap to the recycling centre. Never let it be said I don't know how to par-tay.
Maybe a cold bottle of Norman cidre in the garden after.
All the kitchen crap is all out in the shed anyway so it'll be takeaway tonight and then MrsD\kids\dog head to Donegal for a week tomorrow so I'll be home alone, with lots of repainting to do over the rewired walls. Saving myself 10k+ by doing my own painting, which is actually a job I like.
I like paintng a defined room or two or a small outdoor project but tackling the big jobs like you do just ain't my idea of fun. Now planting my wildflower bank and seeing the results was a major middle age, middle class kick this year - lol!
‘IF YOU had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.” Genghis Khan
I'm looking at going down the SEAI retrofit path from something like c3 to hopefully A2 so that I can move from oil to Heat pump.
Tricky part that has yet to be confirmed is how to insulate the dormer part. Will definitely want some form of AC upstairs for the warm nights if it was better insulated but we could do with that these nights as it is.
I’d guess a true A1 would required a low energy house design from the start. Including solar and glazing orientation, heat recovery, air tightness maximised during construction, etc.
I suspect a lot of BER’s are only really on-paper values, so perhaps a pseudo-A1 could be fudged somehow.
Would be interested in how closely people’s energy bills align to their ratings. Very easy to check, also very useful to a potential future buyer as a sort if BER validation.
How do you determine how aligned the rating is to the bill?
I suspect mine is exactly where it should be, circa 1,300e all in over the last 12 months but is there an equation for it that you can use for any home for any rating?
Bayou Belle runs in the apprentice race at 17:15 in the curragh today.
It's a small step up in grade for her from her last few runs, but we hope she can be competitive.
She got a poor draw but the jockey is one of the best in the race and with a bit of luck he can use it to advantage.
The race is a memorial to an old friend of mine Derek O'Sullivan who set up RACE in the 80's so it would be especially nice to win that.
Wouldn't be going mad punting on her but will take a small bit of 9/1 ew with added places.
Might be the sun, but it's still very heartwarming to hear Nkosi Sikelel'iAfrika before a SA rugby match being sung by all races. And SA with a widely admired black captain.
Nobody would have thought this possible for much of the last century.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
It's great story, well worth a read, full of ego and hubris. I also think learning the story of Pimco is very important to make sense of the financial world.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Ended up today eating phenomenally spicy (omgg, a next level of sichuan spice) bullfrog in Chinatown. Its quite the oral experience to pop them in, bite into this little spicy frogleg that releases mad flavours, using your tongue to flick out the meat, then reaching up to pull out this tiny, now meatfreee poor little frogs leg from your mouth. Done. On to the next leg. We've a plate full of legs to get through and there's no space for legless slackers.
Am I the only one who read 'spicy bullfrog' as some kind of modern euphemism for something filthy
Genuinely no idea which way it would go. Well played ABs, that was a tough game to win
All Blacks should have been going in up nearly 30pts at half time. Terrible kick by the centre gifts a lineout on the 22 to SA and a pathetic tackle by the big wing and it’s try SA and then a monster penalty.
The ABs had fucked up at least two gilt edged chances to score tries earlier in the half.
To have done that and then have a genuine SA purple patch and to go a man down and then to find the composure and determination to win says a lot about them. I think they’ll kick on from here big time. Aussies and Argies won’t trouble them and Foster will hang on and have a mandate to be ruthless. I think they got the forwards coach they needed just in time.
‘IF YOU had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.” Genghis Khan
All Blacks should have been going in up nearly 30pts at half time. Terrible kick by the centre gifts a lineout on the 22 to SA and a pathetic tackle by the big wing and it’s try SA and then a monster penalty.
The ABs had fucked up at least two gilt edged chances to score tries earlier in the half.
To have done that and then have a genuine SA purple patch and to go a man down and then to find the composure and determination to win says a lot about them. I think they’ll kick on from here big time. Aussies and Argies won’t trouble them and Foster will hang on and have a mandate to be ruthless. I think they got the forwards coach they needed just in time.
It was an enjoyable game - and it highlighted how to beat SA.
How do you determine how aligned the rating is to the bill?
I suspect mine is exactly where it should be, circa 1,300e all in over the last 12 months but is there an equation for it that you can use for any home for any rating?
The heating/electric bills should have info of energy units. Usually in KWh for electricity and gas. Oil may need to be converted to KWh.
The BER cert will state estimated KWh per m2 per year.
Might have to take some averages for appliances. Not sure how BER cert handles those
Another dish we had was pork knuckles. This fat filled, meat free, collection of bones. You put the knuckles in your mouth and suck. Then this hot fat guzzles down your throat, filled with all those fragrant spices. It felt slightly ortolan in eating style. Have we been eating all wrong, all these years. Fucking spice burgers and ham and cheese sandwiches.
Dunno, kinda feels like future students of anthropology might look at this and think 'wtf, they were eating pig knuckles, like w t f '
Then again, I kinda think that now.
I hold silver in tit for tat, and I love you for that
Landed in Utrecht. The purpose of the trip. Four days to read The Power of Why and 100 Years of Soltitude and work out what's going on in my life. Hope you are all well.
The best advice I ever heard anyone give to someone in a similar situation is to think about the contexts of when you use the term 'we' and work out which one is truly most important.
And then you have your answer.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
The heating/electric bills should have info of energy units. Usually in KWh for electricity and gas. Oil may need to be converted to KWh.
The BER cert will state estimated KWh per m2 per year.
Might have to take some averages for appliances. Not sure how BER cert handles those
Are the days of a fireblock between 2 semi detatched houses gone ? Brother bought a house and id swear there was OSB between the 2 houses in the attic, I assume then its a timber frame build as all the external walls are plasterboard.
Are the days of a fireblock between 2 semi detatched houses gone ? Brother bought a house and id swear there was OSB between the 2 houses in the attic, I assume then its a timber frame build as all the external walls are plasterboard.
Has to be firerated. Typically that’s solid concrete block. But can be done in timber frame too. But needs 2 layers of plaster board each side. Right to underside of roof. OSB would be a bit of a worry. For fire and acoustic reasons
Has to be firerated. Typically that’s solid concrete block. But can be done in timber frame too. But needs 2 layers of plaster board each side. Right to underside of roof. OSB would be a bit of a worry. For fire and acoustic reasons
Deffo not slabbed up there, can see the stud on his side.
He did get an engineer report, all he snagged was a tidy up of the insulation in the attic. I also thought the attic should have a walkway to the water storage, maybe thats just a best practice rather than a reg?
Off topic, but I've been finishing off Low Life, which you recommended. It's some read. He really captures the misery and yet the way he still wants to cling to things.
Phew. Swingers party tonight. Just home. That was legit one of the most surreal experiences of my life.
Need to process all that I think.
Tee time in 90 mins. Match play event. Hope my opponent is giving 5ft gimmes today.
This may or may not be an original thought of my own.
All efforts were made to make this thought original but with the abundance of thoughts in the world the originality of this thought cannot be guaranteed.
The author is not liable for any issue arising from the platitudinous nature of this post.
All the kitchen crap is all out in the shed anyway so it'll be takeaway tonight and then MrsD\kids\dog head to Donegal for a week tomorrow so I'll be home alone, with lots of repainting to do over the rewired walls. Saving myself 10k+ by doing my own painting, which is actually a job I like.
Off topic, but I've been finishing off Low Life, which you recommended. It's some read. He really captures the misery and yet the way he still wants to cling to things.
It's the perfect mixture of very funny and deeply sad.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
I'm not sure it's all that big a thing (my thing, not Theresa's thing - that's huge), unless you make it so. It's essentially just a new friendship. Someone to do new things with.
Swinging sounds exhausting. Was watching porn for the last two weeks to figure out some exciting moves, and that's just one person. Imagine being done and then having to move on to the next person.
The trick is not " getting done"...or so i have heard.
I'm not sure it's all that big a thing (my thing, not Theresa's thing - that's huge), unless you make it so. It's essentially just a new friendship. Someone to do new things with.
Sounds like you have rationalised it all quite nicely for yourself.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
Hitch do you have an arrangement with the missus that opens up that craic? Obv you don't have to answer and I'm not being judgmental or anything. I just can't think of anything more stressful.
I hold silver in tit for tat, and I love you for that
Hitch do you have an arrangement with the missus that opens up that craic? Obv you don't have to answer and I'm not being judgmental or anything. I just can't think of anything more stressful.
Assuming he doesn't (), to successfully perpetuate these 'arrangements' would require a talent for both secrecy and deception that has not been evident to date!
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
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