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[malvolio]

So th0se jumps are nothing to do with having to repair Brown's mistakes and Covid I suppose?

The real point is that Reeves is borrowing to support expenditure rather than building the reserves that expenditure would need, and claiming the economy is doing well......

[malvolio]

It was PCG that led the argument for the last rise, which begrudgingly went from from 40p to 45p a mile, in the days when they were listened to in Whitehall That took a few years to happen, and the original call was for 60ppm...

Given the current nonentities, in charge of economy I have...

[malvolio]

I get this terrible feeling of Deja vu... ...

[malvolio]

I think that you are missing the point. What we needed to happen for the modestly growing economy left by the Tories to be properly supported until we had a genuinely stable economy (i.e. not the one Reeves keeps on bragging about). What we got was more borrowing at higher rates, and a series of measures...

[malvolio]

Hope is about all I have left. At my age I doubt I'll be around long enough to see today's bollocks put right... ...

[malvolio]

The old Tories are gone (including Jenrick and a few other failures), either to Reform or out on their ear at the last election. Badenoch and team are proposing positive ideas if they get back in - which is doubtful as things stand. But if she can keep the rabble in line and kill off their mad focus...

[malvolio]

Jeez, change the record. Or stop reading the Guardian....

[malvolio]

Just to be clear on something most people forget...

SC is not a personal attribute. It goes with the role, not the person filling it. On other words, they have to match the required risk profile for the role (which is hat the vetting is doing) and when the role expires, so does the worker's...

[malvolio]

Just been reading the reports on his speech to Davos. Most of it seems to have been incomprehensible, but there was one clear point, if I may paraphrase:

- "Right now we need Greenland to act as a defensive cover for the USA. Right now I can move as many troops and other materiel into...

[malvolio]

Agreed. But by any other piece of statute in this area you are not an employee. Good, innit!


Not a bad thing though. No need to be bound by minimum wage or maximum hours for instance....

[malvolio]

Yes I do. It's the negative, pointless, zero-value ones I have problems with......

[malvolio]

True, but a four nodeVAX multiprocessor cluster did a oretty good impression of one under VMS5 and above.

VME/ B and variants was ICL 2900s, also a good impersonisation of a mainframe...

[malvolio]

Because the modern coders who use structured client/server languages don't understand batch processing and the management layer think mainframes are old hat, while simultaneously insisting on a cloud-based architecture that behaves just like a mainframe...?

Or is it the old adage of "it...

[malvolio]

Well lucky old you. The major benefit of working on niche, outdated technology I suppose... But sadly it doesn't make you special, or representative....

[malvolio]

Agreed, training is the key. I started in Land Rovers and tractors on the farm when I was 11 or so, some circuit driving (Lotus Anglia anyone?) then two wheels then cars. Thought I was fairly good at driving until I took the BSM High Performance course (many years ago now). They didn't teach me any...

[malvolio]

Could be the best option. Add a solar panel to keep the battery charged - they work as long as there is light, it doesn't have to be bright sunshine and you only need a trickle charge (on a smaller scale, my panel keeps the motorhome leisure batteries charged through a van cover in the winter...). That...

[malvolio]

You need to work out the minimum amperage you need to replace the mains power first. I suspect your pump is out of reach of the usual small gennies and a big one is likely uneconomic. You might be better off with a pair of small ones, one for the house and one for the pump if you can get the needed...

[malvolio]

Boringly predictable.

Luckily we can differentiate between reminiscing and satire. ...

[malvolio]

Totally agree. My record home time was midnight post Hatfield, left Paddington at 4, took two hours from Reading to Swindon, made Bath at 11.30 and the staion was shut and locked. Happy days......

[malvolio]

There has been a tightening on IR35. It's been aimed at ensuring the right assessments are made and the right people are paying the right taxes. That has led to greater certainty over outside roles.

Don't for a minute think that HMG are working in our favour....