Another option is some kinda speech to text, mac does have dictation options. Appreciate might not be suitable for a classroom environment mind.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/pages/tan59042a403/mac

Okay let’s have the magic green energy then … in a year or two to a time before the sanctions.

no-one is suggesting green energy as a solution to this energy crisis short term.

…

dazh
Full Member
Weird there’s no chat in here about PMQs. Was it because Truss was actually quietly impressive

I must have watched a different PMQs. Banal, and dedicated to huge profits for the rich is how I’d describe it. Far from impressive.

the-muffin-man
Full Member
I was going to start a new thread but seemed pointless..

How many of you have voted for other parties rather than your default option?

Growing up Labour would be the default ‘tribal’ vote, so voted labour in 97 as a first vote, then voted Scottish Socialist in the early 2000s but they turned out to be a shambles. Since then, I’ve moved on to voting SNP and lately Green as 1&2 in the scottish elections, SNP in westminster.

Latter day votes are more related to voting against the union mind you than any great support for the SNP. Saying that I do find the SNP vastly more palatable than the Tories or Labour.

My last council election vote was SNP, SNP, Green, Labour, Labour, Lib Dem.

gobuchul
Free Member
Are they stuck in those deals?

Martin Lewis mentioned this, they have a 2 week cooling off period, so some can cancel.

Most will have a 100/150 quid exit clause too, so while a pain in the arse, they’ll get out of them.

dazh
Full Member
Labour have been blown out of the water.

It was always going to happen. They probably just handed Truss the next election. Nice one Keir! 🙄

For a few weeks, lots more problems to come. Though I think most are savvy to the fact starmer has been shouting for a price freeze. So it’s more the blinking obvious thing to do rather than blowing labour out the water.

Plus government protecting us from energy weaponization and a war time cost is just one of it’s basic responsibilities, not an extraordinary action.

Probably looking at may 2024 for the election anyhow, this will be long forgot about by then.

People need to understand – money is circular – it goes from the government to the private sector and into you pockets,and then destroyed.

Well, a part from the billions and trillions syphoned off into to corporate and multinational accounts. Not a lot of destruction going on there, just accumulation.

rone
Full Member
It validates MMT yet again

It only validates MMT if you ignore the inflation we are also facing. Which is just as big a problem.

Cougar
Full Member
Who is “cancelling” which views, and which opinions?

I’m not entirely sure what the difference is here between “cancelling” and “disagreeing,” can someone help me out?

:lol: good point.

v7fmp
Free Member
seems a bit odd that folks are saying 20 plus units a week isnt bad, when the NHS say anything over 14 units a week is a risk to your health.

Feels a bit like willy waving?

Not really willy waving just that the 14 units a week is miles away from alcoholism or reality for a lot of people.

5-10 beers a week? Jebus someone phone the polis the man’s out of control!

I know it was said in jest, but the attitude that makes this sort of comment a joke is why as a nation we have such a problem with alcohol.

It was said in jest, yes (though I appreciate it might not come across that way). I’m not one for telling anyone what to doing with alcohol, but I just thought it funny in the context of the drinking culture that surrounds me. Me, personally I’m a binge drinker, will easily tan the OPs amount and a shed load more on a session, but that’s just the culture about here. Albeit one I’ve partaken in less and less as the years roll by.

Ultimately with the OP, you’d struggle to class it as problem drinking tbh, but what the OP has recognised is they are developing a taste for it. I’ve always been lucky in that I’ve never developed an addiction and take it or leave it is easy for me. But, if you are doing something every night, it’s a habit that has potential to develop into something a bit more serious.

So yeah, fair play to the OP for recognising that. But you sound like you are far away from being an alcoholic, but the signs are there if you have the urge, so no need to be too hard on yourself, just work towards changing the habit. (Reason you don’t see benefits others do when giving up alcohol, is more than likely due to the quantities other people are drinking.)

I know all about the urge, auld man also has it, but mind you he’ll easily put away the OPs 10-15 units a night 7 days a week. He’s an auld school irish drinking grafter though, you know the types, my granda was the same, still working and drinking beyond retirement, it’s just a way of life and will continue till they drop.

But aye, fair play to the OP, a little can turn into a lot very quickly, given the tolerance levels for alcohol go up very quickly. So something to definitely raise an eyebrow at. And good you’ve noticed it before you develop a serious problem.

johnjn2000
Full Member
Units vary from 10-20 spread across the week. Last week was a bad one at 21 which kicked me into action.

5-10 beers a week? Jebus someone phone the polis the man’s out of control! :lol:

dazh
Full Member
the next election could well be much closer than many are predicting

Of course it will. With Starmer at the wheel labour have very little hope. A hung parliament at best. They’ll be a govt in name only at the behest of the SNP and Lib Dems. And all because Starmer is too frightened of the people he’s supposed to be standing up to.

Starmer will start making noise from now surely. It was fair enough not making too much noise during the leadership contest, as for one he’d just get drowned out and two, the tories have damaged themselves with that I think. Although as mentioned, she’s an easy out there to give herself some breathing room if she chooses to start at least. Though I doubt a price freeze will save her from everything, she’s got cost of living/inflation and unions to be dealing with too and plenty more, which are much more difficult tasks, I’m not sure her belligerent style is going to be helpful there.

And also as mentioned by binners the polls are massively in labours favour at the moment. Starmer from this moment now has to put himself on an election footing and get his message out there, the country is crying out for it.

So, I don’t agree a hung parliament is inevitable. The tories time is up really. It’s time for a labour gov, and England and Wales are more than capable of supplying the numbers for it. It’s happened 3 times in the last 25 years.

The big bad SNP running the show is really just tory campaign strategy/fearmongering from the mid 2010s that has little basis in modern history.

Anyhow, she’d be off her nut not to announce a price freeze eh? Pretty obvious and easy start to her PMship should she wish to reverse the negativity immediately surrounding her..

frankconway
Full Member
Not all bad news – mad nad is standing down.
The three delivers is reminiscent of Blair’s ‘education, education, education’.

More an Ian Paisley never never never vibe I got.

I find building on the peel encourages sticking, less time on the peel the better IMO.

A wooden peel is also so much better for launching.

Caputo blue flour is good, what I use, cause it already comes with some manitoba flour in it, think that’s the difference from normal 00 flour. I’ve been using caputo yeast too.

Should add as well, after you’ve made the final dough with your poolish, nothing to stop you letting that lie for a 24/48 hours proof too.

I’ve always wondered what a scrawny city centre pidgeon would taste like. is it advisable just to grab one, take it home and cook it? :lol:

Or are edible ones a specific breed?

Also seagulls, what do they taste like?

That’s not my experience. Olive oil is optional though.

Vito Iacopelli is the youtube channel you want btw.

https://www.youtube.com/c/vitoiacopelli/featured

Also, cover your hands in olive oil when working with the dough prior to final shaping works too. Semolina is just for the final shape of the actual pizza, after you’ve made the dough balls.

FYi, to make up the hydration.

just base it off the total flour count btw.

for example. using 200g for the poolish. So if you add 500g of flour to that. base the 65% off the 700g.

So 700g of flour = 455ml total of water (just add another 255ml to the poolish mix). Salt, I like 2.5%, so 17.5g of salt. add in a glug of olive oil too, about 20ml tops.

I think the reluctance to mobilise, would also transfer to a reluctance to use nukes tbh. So tend to agree.

But he needs a way out here, god knows what that is mind. Things could take on a life of their own. So it’s still a concern. Guess we’ll find out if the deadlock breaks in Ukraines favour I guess.

Make a poolish, yeast doesn’t really matter imo.

200ml water, 200g 00 flour, 5g yeast, 5g of honey.

Mix it up, leave it out for 1 hour, then put it in the fridge for 16 hours.

once that is ready. Just make the dough up to 65-70% hydration using the poolish.

Wet dough is good, can be difficult to handle though, need to use flour or semolina for shaping. Semolina is better. Doesn’t burn like flour.

That would put Putin in the position of accepting a limited conventional U.N./NATO role or risking a nuclear escalation that would lead to the destruction of everything.

fixed that.

Generally it isn’t part of russian doctrine to use them as a offensive tool, they are fairly similar to us, in that it’s when the territorial integrity is under threat. A dynamic that might change if they actually go ahead and declare parts of Ukraine as parts of Russia. And as alluded to, who knows what they do if they get to a desperate stage.

Putin is a bit boy cried wolf with the threat of nukes at the minute though, so the concern isn’t really there due to that. But who knows.

DT78
Free Member
if the current situation is as bleak for the Russians as it seems to be reported in our press why is no one talking about the risks of a major escalation by Russia. Talk of nukes seems to have gone very quiet.

I mean if he did drop a few tactical nukes what would NATOs response be without risking everything going up in a mushroom cloud?

If he does I don’t think there is a NATO response tbh.

gobuchul
Free Member
Could also be a precursor to a wider call up

What use would half trained conscripts be?

Be no use til next year anyhow. Apparently the russian do have 30-40k worth of these volunteer battalions ready to deploy, how useful they are and what state of readiness they are in who knows.

Interesting vid.

Scotland getting independence.

Some shifts starting to filter though on the maps, gives a sense of the scale of movement, be very interesting how this develops, finger crossed.

You’d guess the other factor on the numbers game, is how partisan warfare develops into the equation as time develops.

markgraylish

Do trenches even work when there’s aircraft/drones about? Or very accurately targetted ordinance??

Probably more required with drones about.

Poopscoop
Full Member
I wonder if we are looking at some nasty 21st century version of the trench warfare we saw in WW1 over the coming winter?

It’s been trench warfare for months.

Yeah, was just googling that tbh, there’s defo a straight equation to me made, if you can get reliable numbers on both sides, which is difficult.

dissonance
Full Member
until the front collapses.

Tbh, does seem to be the logical outcome Ukraine is looking at. Basically expecting either logistical or moral collapse. Seems a bit hopeful.

matt_outandabout
Full Member
I gather the Russians are using it as a base for troops and resources, plus have been shooting out from it. So they can be aggressive from there – safe in the knowledge Ukrainian forces won’t shoot back. And we’ve seen how liable to misfiring the Russian missiles are.

They are also basically holding the staff as hostage to keep running the place.

There is no plan to maintain or inspect the plant.

And do we trust the Russians to look after the largest nuclear facility in Europe?

Whether we trust them or not is irrelevant, they occupy and control it. Just sounds like media noise to me more than any real danger tbh. Which I guess works, if the majority reading the stories aren’t looking at an occupation map.

One more thought for the day, is that we are often told that you need at least a 3:1 attackers v defenders ratio to be looking at success.

Given 25k Russians apparently in the Kherson area, we are looking at a requirement of 75k soldiers for a successful operation?

What do you all make of the constant noise about the nuclear plant? I just don’t get it at all.

Russia occupies and controls the area, the ukrainians are on the other side of the river.

If there is bombing around the plant, why are ukraine saying the russians are shelling it?

Absolutely bizarre all round tbh.

Is this just a media offensive or is there actually something happening?

If there is something happening the only thing I can reasonably conclude is that it’s Ukraine trying to attack russian supplies in the area? Just makes zero sense that the Russians would shell territory they occupy and actively use to store items.

I was reading that basically we are looking till about about mid october to see winter conditions start to set it.

I’m not really sure about shaping operations they’ve been at that for weeks, but I would temper expectation of any quick result. It’s still going to be a long long grind to shift the Russians, even if they are backed against the river(Conditions that don’t exist elsewhere in the country, so difficult to extrapolate what happens here to the rest of the country). Looking for slow steady progress over the next couple of months, rather than a quick liberation of Kherson. We’ll have a better idea mid October rather than in a few weeks I think.

Then I guess we’ll be heading for months of speculations over the winter about what happens in the spring, whether that is positive or negative, probably depends on the outcome here over the next 6 weeks/2 months.