eBuyer are generally OK to

I had a 2011 Octavia 1.8TSi estate for over 10 years, was always reliable (even though I only had it serviced intermittently), a later model year smaller engine one I’d assume would be decent to.

I’ve had a fly zapper (mains one) for years (for when I have the windows open a lot in summer). Seems to do a decent job although a moth getting nuked overnight is often loud enough to wake me up

I’ve been paying YT Premium for a while now as the ads got too intrusive (and I mostly watch via TV app so don’t have an easy way to evade the ads…). I actually think it’s a pretty reasonable cost (for the time being at least) but I do watch a fair bit of content (more so once I subbed as the ads were a big turn off), my attention span seems to be getting worse so sub-30 minute stuff to watch is quite appealing.

The running costs of YT are immense and compared with something like Twitch (where the no-ads sub costs more than YT) YT has much more content (and much more variety)

The cop didn’t really seem to have a plan other than knock it over though, they had plenty of opportunity to at least try and box it in but they just waited (it then recovered and walked off, amusingly startling some guy walking past obviously as he had headphones on). Not sure if he expected to kill it (or at least incapacitate it) with the ramming and I guess it might have looked dead from where the driver was as it was motionless half under the front of the car for a bit.

Unfortunately we’ve already gone past the tipping point, we need some massive technological break-through to deal with the mess we’ve created – slowing down our destruction is very ineffective at this point. Stuff like tree planting is only a short term measure until (hopefully) that technology comes along that allows us to manipulate our climate quickly and positively, otherwise all those living trees just turn into dead trees and release the CO2 back as they decompose.

Don’t worry, I’m still “doing my bit” and pretending it makes a difference but we shouldn’t kid ourselves anything we (or governments/businesses) can do at this point is going to be enough to halt (let alone reverse) global warming.

Never done one but ours are largely a box ticking exercise, inc. as Harry posted to confirm return of equipment and also to ensure you’re aware you’re still bound by the terms of the OSA. Does seem a bit pointless for airing grievances if those lie with management (which seems to be the norm) as it will invariably go nowhere.

Chip shop chips work well reheated in an air fryer so I usually go large…

I’m not in a weapons system type role but personally I wouldn’t have a problem with it, having sophisticated weapons can be a deterrent in itself. I’ve got nothing against pacifism but it’s not a luxury we can all afford in the real world. It’s the same with AI – the West can talk about ethics and safeguards all day long but unless every country agrees to the same limitations then you’re just going to end up in a weaker position along with the consequences that brings.

I was told to do the vaseline thing to help reduce scarring (10 stitches on my face). I did it every morning for a couple of weeks but can’t really say if it helped or not as I don’t have anything to compare it with, the scar is pretty minor though.

I’m not madly into hot sauces but have tried a few from here and they were all good: https://www.eatenalive.co.uk/collections/hot-sauce

I have been asked to give up on this debate, you car lovers are not actually interested in debate nor do you want to hear any rebuttal of your car centric propaganda you like to believe so I shut up

Have you owned a car in the past? Maybe before you retired…? I have a car but I wouldn’t class myself as a car lover, I just deem it a necessity in my life currently. I don’t live in a city, I travel to/from work and sometimes to other locations (e.g. data centres and customer sites). Sure, there are alternatives but none are as practical and reliable as having my own car and sometimes they’re just not a viable option.

I think the recent push into the Kharkiv oblast is more just about stretching the UkrA and forcing them to weaken Southern defensive positions, ready for a new RA offensive there in the summer. I can’t see RA/Putin is foolish enough to think they can just use slightly modified meat grinder tactics to overwhelm the Northern defences and actually capture Kharkiv (and then Kyiv).

hat UkrA really need asap is artillery shells, artillery is still the most effective counter to RA tactics. Save the ATACMs etc. for strategic targets like air bases (and hopefully soon a massive strike on the Kerch Strait bridge, although that’s trickier due to the amount of AA that Russia have defending it).

The answer is not EVs – that answer is to stop moving people around individually in two tonne boxes.  yes that means lifestyle changes.  EVs allow people to pretend those lifestyle changes are not needed

That’s the kind of pie in the sky thinking that leads to no change and a worse net result. It’s been proven time and again society will not make rapid wholesale changes (without some catalyst like war, the impact of climate change is still nowhere near that though as far too many people still ignore it). EVs maybe a very small step on the way to change but at least they’re still a step in the right direction, going on about ending car use is just more hot air contributing towards global warming.

I have an EV, I don’t think I’ve single-handedly saved the planet, nor do I think it means I don’t need to make any more change to reduce my carbon footprint/impact on the planet. But it’s a step I could make so I did. I was going to invest in solar panels and battery storage but right now it’s cost prohibitive and there are more cost effective changes I can make in the short-term. Why not advocate for heavily subsidised home solar generation and battery storage so more EVs can move off-grid and use 100% renewable energy? It could be part funded by the EV VED change. But no it’s just simpler to spout grandiose notions of ending car use…

You don’t need “diets”, you don’t need keto, you don’t need fasting, or a “refeeding and reverse dieting (not even sure what that one is)”, you need a consistent, well thought out calorie deficit that is sustainable to you day in, day out.

Everyone is looking for the magic bullet, there isn’t one, eat less and eat well, move more, stay hydrated and keep the “treats” in moderation.

Everyone knows this but people differ in their will-power/motivation to stick with a diet that has a calorie deficit. People aren’t all thinking an ice cream and a mars bar is 2 of your 5 a day.

At the end of the day human biology and basic instincts haven’t evolved at nearly the pace we have progressed as a species. The old hunter-gather lifestyle is a thing of the distant past for many people (and certainly a large majority in the UK and other developed countries). We’re also bombarded with cues about indulging and over-eating.

Whilst I agree there’s no magic bullet, these new drugs (if they turn out to be safe to consume over long periods) could be the answer some people need to keep their calorie intake under control whilst also succumbing to some of the indulgences of modern life. The alternative seems to be an ever-growing obesity problem, messaging about healthy eating clearly isn’t working.

As an EV owner I’m fine with moving onto the standard VED rate, I do think they need to adjust the Expensive Car Supplement though – not so much to incentivise people to switch to EVs but to not penalise them for doing so. An EV will generally be around £10-15k more for an equivalent spec. to an ICE due to the battery cost so it either needs to be raised to £50k before it triggers for EVs or if that’s too much hassle to admin raise it to £50-55k for all cars and introduce another band at say £80k that’s a higher charge again to make up for the lost revenue.

I’d second Victorinox Fibrox knives if you just want a decent step up from supermarket type knives. Wusthof Classic are decent to, although I wouldn’t buy sets personally unless you really want all the styles in it. Up from there you’re really into Japanese knives territory but they generally need quite a bit more care (many don’t use stainless steel) and I’d avoid single bevel ones (they’re weird to chop with). Personally I buy IO Shen knives, Japanese steel with Western style handle (although they are chunky so I don’t think would be good if you have small hands).

As for caring for them, there’s been a few threads on here about sharpening which are worth reading (as is Reddit r/sharpening). My own experience is unless you’re willing to spend a lot of time on it then whetstone sharpening can be frustrating (especially as I don’t actually use my knives a whole lot and can go months between sharpening so never really gained the muscle memory). I switched to a Worksharp Pro Precision Adjust, it works well and requires minimal effort to learn how to use it. It’s expensive though (but I wouldn’t recommend the cheaper non-Pro version, it has a few issues that are resolved in the Pro version)

I’ve had a Siemens iQ one (via John Lewis) for the last 7 or 8 years and it’s better than the previous Bosch and Samsung ones I’ve had (but then technology moves on so probably not a fair comparison). I know washer/dryers get a lot of flak but I’ve had 3 over the last 27 years with very few issues (first one died after around 12 years with some electrical issue, wanted a new one anyway so didn’t try to get it repaired, second sprung an inlet leak but again wanted a replacement anyway as that model (a Samsung) left a lot of fluff in the tub after the drying cycle which was annoying and so far no issues at all with the current one)

Hellman’s Organic for me, for some reason it tastes a lot better than the standard stuff. Too lazy to make my own but it’s the best of the shop bought stuff I’ve found (inc. the niche expensive brands).

There’s not really any choice but nuclear for the foreseeable future, SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) are a bit more concerning in terms of potential environmental impact but they’re on the way, like it or not. The race towards AI will drive some of it, they’re building GW datacenters now (that house super-dense compute racks, mostly for AI workloads) and those really need local power generation

Hard to see past Pog to win it (comfortably) unless he crashes badly. I’m hoping Gee can be competitive but sadly I think the reality is he’ll go out the back on the first big mountain test

I wouldn’t do some random one on Facebook but must admit I do a single entry to the Omaze house ones from time to time (yes I know the odds are crap etc.)

I’d go with a web app like smartdraw.com (it even has a decking planning option), I don’t think you’ll find anything simpler that does scale

Deliveroo? If you must go supermarket I quite liked the M&S Hot Chicken Tikka Masala but not sure if they do it anymore now that they launched the Fiery Hot version (which was too hot for me)

I’m confused, you drop below NMW but also earn above £43k, how many hours a week do you work?!

US non-competes were already as unenforceable as UK ones, for the most part, (outside of senior exec positions) so this won’t change much in the US either

Hmm are they really that bad (rusty taps and noticeably salty taste)? I’ve been meaning to get one fitted for a while (but it would have to go in the garage, which means I need a garden shed for the garage junk which means I need my garden sorting out – hence the procrastination :p ). I’d read you can taste it a bit on some models but didn’t realise it was that bad (and hence also not recommended for the kitchen tap). Also, do people not have it feeding the outside tap as it’s considered a waste (if you’re just using the water for watering plants etc.) or some other reason? I figured it would help avoid any water spots when car washing (although maybe it actually makes that worse if it’s got more than negligible amounts of salt in it).

+1 for another iPad, pricey yes but given she’s already used to the interface and they pretty never go wrong with updates etc. it will be less hassle in the long run. Printing from one is simple, especially if the printer supports AirPrint

My work phone (which is actually my only phone) is an SE 2022 and its fine for me but then I only use it for the occasional texts, calls and very rarely checking emails. Not sure I’d want to do regular web browsing on it (but I use my iPad for that).

I don’t think it’s controversial, especially for a student! I think it’s crazy for someone that young to be locking away a chunk of savings when they still have massive capital outlays to worry about (and no full time salary).

No harm if you’re paying less for more bandwidth even if you don’t need it, whenever I’ve looked at local fibre supplier deals they’ve always been a cheap intro period followed by a big increase whilst you’re still locked in to a contract so I’ve never bothered switching from my current 70Mbps. It’s only games (and game patch) downloads I ever feel a need for more bandwidth for anyway (and I only dig out the PS5 once every 2-3 months so it’s not a big deal for me).

As much as I wish the US would hurry up and sort Ukraine funding out, the rest of NATO could and should be doing a lot more. Yes, only the US really have the military industrial capacity to provide mass shipments of ammunition and weapons systems in the short-term but other countries aren’t expanding their capacity quickly enough and now the expired and legacy stuff they’ve already sent has largely been exhausted they’re just back to talking about supporting Ukraine rather than sending the volume of supplies they actually need.

Composite decking….. Why not just be honest and call it plastic decking….?

Because most composite decking is a composite of wood and plastic

Why are those the only choices?

At that age (especially if not yet on the housing ladder) I wouldn’t do a company share scheme if all it saved was tax/NI (I use my company’s share scheme but only because they match 1 for 1 up to 3% of salary, I used to actually sacrifice/buy 10% as was a handy way of saving without having it locked up in a pension and year or year they go up at least 8% – you do need to factor in capital gains and they’ve just cut the allowance though). If the share scheme didn’t match any then unless I was really confident they’d perform better than an investment fund I wouldn’t bother.

Investing early into a pension is always a good idea but the flipside is you’re tying up your money and for a lot of young people they have a more important need for it in the short term.

So personally I’d continue with the minimum contributions to the pension and increase savings via an investment fund, until I was on the housing ladder, had done any renovations it needed, had a car etc. and only then start paying a larger amount into my pension (which for me was in my late 20’s)

A few years ago a colleague moved his pension into Chinese linked funds (available within the company pension scheme) as he saw the previous year they all went up 10-20%, they all went down 10-15% for a couple of years after that. Point being don’t go chasing high performing funds with your pension as they’re usually high risk to – but yeah you don’t want to be in a fund that’s consistently under-performing (unless it’s a very low risk fund with a lot of bond investments that you specifically selected for being ‘safe’ – that said bonds aren’t generally considered a good investment for most people).

I struggle to see how this will be viable to (and I grew up partly in Merthyr and still go there regularly to see relatives), it’s not exactly in the middle of nowhere but it isn’t particularly easy to get to either (especially on public transport). Assuming it ever gets built then after the initial honeymoon period I can’t see there’d be enough visitors. Merthyr isn’t exactly an affluent area so regular local visitors won’t be numerous and as it will be a overnight trip for many people then outside of school holiday peaks I can’t see how they’ll get the numbers. There’s not really much else in the immediate area apart from BPW and that will only interest a small fraction of the visitors.

I’m hoping at least they’ll install some 150kw chargers there though so there’s better options than the 50kw ones dotted about there already

I listen to a mix of YouTube, Amazon Music & Tidal depending on the device – I’m no audiophile but there’s quite a few tracks even I can tell the difference (with Tidal being better), although I’m actually rarely in a quiet situation focusing on the music so it’s not that big of a deal to me.

the last person Trump ever pays is his lawyers

Apparently Alina Habba’s been paid $3-5m already so a certain type of lawyer can still get paid…

perhaps socialism has a PR problem

It definitely does, more so in the US than here (although the Tories & Daily Mail etc. do keep trying to demonise it). In the US the right-wing media (owned by billionaires) has convinced a large swathe of the population that socialism means the government taking all your money and giving it to immigrants or drug addicts. It’s a bid sad that for the vast majority of them it would actually improve their lives.

So annoying that eToro won’t let you short DJT (for now at least)