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  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.
  • david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,401
    Freggles said:

    MaxPB said:

    Austria have just taken over the rotating presidency as well, I expect Ireland are going to get the rug pulled from under them and be forced to accept a technical solution or the EU turning a blind eye to an open border.
    No, Kurz’s statement should be taken as a willingness to kick the can, not to kick Ireland. An article 50 extension is nailed on if it goes down to the wire.
    That requires (1) both the UK government and the EU states to play ball, (2) there to still be some kind of solution.

    I don't think that (1) anything like nailed on, not least because the Brexit lobby will rightly interpret an unconditional extension as a backdoor to Remain in some guise. And (2) remains as chimeral as ever unless one side is prepared to give ground on its supposed red line - how does the Irish border question get answered? 'Stop asking it' is not an answer.
    All the Brexit 'solutions' suggested so far contain too many contradictions.
    The country needs non-contradictory options - the only 2 I can see at the moment are:

    1. Hard Brexit WTO
    2. Repeal A50, Stay In.

    Does anybody have any more?
    Hint: It will need to satisfy the NI problem and be acceptable to the remaining EU and the UK Parliament.
    I think

    3. BINO

    would work too, although it would be stupid and everyone would hate it.

    Basically the status quo, but without voting rights or MEPs. This isn't currently on the table because of TMay's red lines, but they're obviously not going to stick anyhow.
    4. NI in EEA, border in Irish Sea, Labour support to screw DUP
    That might work for the A50 agreement. However, the DUP would remember that sell-out for decades, whereas Labour (or Labour rebels) would be back as opposition MPs the day after. You'd be able to measure the government's life expectancy in hours.
  • Carolus_RexCarolus_Rex Posts: 1,414
    Sean_F said:

    Fenster said:

    I paid £203,500 for my house in 2005. It's currently valued at £218,000.

    4-bed detached. Rural, leafy, in a cul de sac, opposite a park and facing the beautiful Welsh hills.

    South Wales = Sensible.

    London = MENTAL.

    We sold our 2 bed mid terrace in Leytonstone for £287,500 in 2008 and bought a 4 bed detached house in Sittingbourne for 245,000. We thought at the time we'd done pretty well.

    The Sittingbourne house is now worth maybe £300,000 at most. Zoopla tells me a 2 bed terrace in our old road in London would fetch £495,000.
    What matters is whether you prefer living in your new house to your old. If you do, then the move was worthwhile.
    Much preferred the old one. The move was mainly for the sake of schools and aged parents/in-laws (having to make a 100 mile round trip every time someone lost their spectacles or couldn't work their computer was getting a bit wearing!)
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,786
    edited July 2018
    Dura_Ace said:

    I lived in Moscow for 9 years and speak/read/write Russian at B2 level and I found both Ukraine and Belarus impossibly baffling. E36 BMWs are very cheap in both places (which is why I used to go there). They were probably all stolen from Germany,

    The joke in Germany used to be "Heute gestohlen, morgen in Polen". I guess these days they need new markets.
  • SouthamObserverSouthamObserver Posts: 38,876
    I will just leave this here, with thanks to both Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn. They made it happen.
    http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/law-business-research-to-combine-with-globe-business-media-group-to-create-leading-provider-of-legal-business-information-1027343861
    I can't provide any more detail, but everything has changed. Bloody hell!!
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's bollocks. Could be done just as easily without block chain in the mix.
  • AlanbrookeAlanbrooke Posts: 23,559

    more infighting in the German government as Seehofer attacks Merkel, the SPD attack Seehofer, the CDU attack each other and the CSU and the Austrians add some petrol from over the border.

    https://twitter.com/LeopoldTraugott/status/1014179963728211970
    precisely my point

    this is a government in crisis and he numbers for the CDU are not much better
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Speaking of politicians and technology, some rare good news:
    https://twitter.com/EFF/status/1014815462155153408
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 20,901

    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.

    Boris like Kong Island. JRM is inspired by the Handmaidens tale.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited July 2018

    Speaking of politicians and technology, some rare good news:
    twitter.com/EFF/status/1014815462155153408

    Thank god for that....it was some of the most idiotic policy I have seen in a long time.

    I noticed that wikipedia had a massive push on it.
  • DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300

    The AV results are in. The Earl of Devon, not to be confused with the Duke of Devonshire, has been elected by the crossbencher hereditary peers. The Earl of Devon is a lawyer specialising in IP litigation.

    https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2018/Result-by-election-04-07-18.pdf

    AVS with 19 candidates and 26 voters. Have there been previous elections where the candidates outnumbered the voters? Pb needs an AVS thread to answer this important question, along with whether parliament was in danger of running out of lawyers.
  • rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 7,880
    Alistair said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's bollocks. Could be done just as easily without block chain in the mix.
    The inclusion of blockchain magic may have been quite important when it came to raising money to get the company going.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    rkrkrk said:

    Alistair said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's bollocks. Could be done just as easily without block chain in the mix.
    The inclusion of blockchain magic may have been quite important when it came to raising money to get the company going.
    Indeed.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,747
    Speaking of technology (no politicians involved afaik)..

    https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/1014835276856938496
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,232
    Charles said:

    Sandpit said:

    MaxPB said:

    Alistair said:

    MaxPB said:

    Austria have just taken over the rotating presidency as well, I expect Ireland are going to get the rug pulled from under them and be forced to accept a technical solution or the EU turning a blind eye to an open border.
    Error, this is what Ireland want. They want softest Bexit/no brexit at all. Extending negotiations means no brexit for the time being.
    Kurz has said he's in favour of starting negotiations for a trade deal even if the Irish problem isn't resolved. Currently Ireland are blocking the trade talks until a solution can be found. I expect Kurz and his wing of EU leaders are all on the same page and give no fucks about Ireland.
    The problem is that there is no “solution” to NI that doesn’t reference the future trading relationship, the whole thing is a huge bluff to try and force a BINO deal.

    Does anyone think that in the event of no deal, anyone in Ireland or Brussels is actually going to even think about possibly maybe contemplating considering building a physical border across Ireland?
    They'd have to, or Northern Ireland would be turned into a smugglers' paradise. The last thing NI needs is a mass influx of criminal gangs rubbing shoulders with the paramilitaries.
    Won’t happen. The existing criminal gangs (aka paramilitaries) are very effective at protecting their turf
    Well quite - I doubt there'll be any kind of turf war. More likely the smugglers and the paramilitaries will cooperate for their shared enrichment.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,786
    Upbeat stuff from the Telegraph.

    "The Week That Broke Brexit: The litany of mistakes that got Britain into this mess - and who we should blame"

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/week-broke-brexit-litany-mistakes-got-britain-mess-should/
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,709

    more infighting in the German government as Seehofer attacks Merkel, the SPD attack Seehofer, the CDU attack each other and the CSU and the Austrians add some petrol from over the border.

    https://twitter.com/LeopoldTraugott/status/1014179963728211970
    Though the main reason Seehoffer toughened his migration policy was CSU voters moving to the AfD
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 38,517

    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.

    "I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman."

    Where did you get that from, as it sounds rather unlikely? GPS is a location tech, not a tracking tech, and was a more accurate replacement of earlier tech such as the ground-based Gee and Loran, and the satellite-based NavSat. It did not spring out of a single mind, but was an evolution.

    Checking wiki, Kingpin first appeared in the comic in 1967, and the first NavSat was launched in 1959, and the system entered service in 1964. So it's almost certainly bogus.

    Likewise, I doubt Star Trek's transporters have anything to do withe the development of quantum teleportation (and teleportation as a concept predates Star Trek - as far back as 1897).

    There are sometimes strong correlations between science fiction and science fact - but it works both ways, with science influencing fiction and fiction influencing science. PD Smith's excellent 'Doomsday Men' covers this well. But those two examples are IMO bogus.
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 39,747

    Upbeat stuff from the Telegraph.

    "The Week That Broke Brexit: The litany of mistakes that got Britain into this mess - and who we should blame"

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/week-broke-brexit-litany-mistakes-got-britain-mess-should/

    I'm guessing poor quality, hysteria ridden journalism isn't one of the guilty parties.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited July 2018

    Speaking of technology (no politicians involved afaik)..

    https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/1014835276856938496

    Lets see how it turns out...The Chinese have a reputation of makes claims that doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Remember that tram that cars drove underneath.
  • OblitusSumMeOblitusSumMe Posts: 9,143
    I'm amazed that Robert Smithson could create an informative video about the UK housing market without mentioning buy-to-let.

    My suspicion is that the weight of money from people looking for better investment returns from buy-to-let than are available on the stock market will make a house price crash less likely.
  • DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300

    Dura_Ace said:

    I lived in Moscow for 9 years and speak/read/write Russian at B2 level and I found both Ukraine and Belarus impossibly baffling. E36 BMWs are very cheap in both places (which is why I used to go there). They were probably all stolen from Germany,

    The joke in Germany used to be "Heute gestohlen, morgen in Polen". I guess these days they need new markets.
    One of the Top Gear specials praised Albanian used car importers for their fight against global warming -- making cars lighter and more aerodynamic by shaving off their vehicle identification (VIN) numbers.
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    It's good to know the art of letter-writing isn't dead. In the Conservative party, it seems to be all the craze at present:

    https://twitter.com/ftbrussels/status/1014841644024258561
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,136
    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's all wank.

    I built systems like this for a shipping-related project, another for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The money was good, but I'm not taking any more work like this any more, because it's the most stupid retarded shit you can possibly imagine. None of it's any use to anybody, they just want to put "blockchain" on a press release.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.

    "I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman."

    Where did you get that from, as it sounds rather unlikely? GPS is a location tech, not a tracking tech, and was a more accurate replacement of earlier tech such as the ground-based Gee and Loran, and the satellite-based NavSat. It did not spring out of a single mind, but was an evolution.

    Checking wiki, Kingpin first appeared in the comic in 1967, and the first NavSat was launched in 1959, and the system entered service in 1964. So it's almost certainly bogus.

    Likewise, I doubt Star Trek's transporters have anything to do withe the development of quantum teleportation (and teleportation as a concept predates Star Trek - as far back as 1897).

    There are sometimes strong correlations between science fiction and science fact - but it works both ways, with science influencing fiction and fiction influencing science. PD Smith's excellent 'Doomsday Men' covers this well. But those two examples are IMO bogus.
    Samsung used the Star Trek PADD design successfully in their defence against Apple's patent troll cases.

    In a few cases art imitates life so well that when real life catches up to the fiction we forget that the theory was there before hand. The Alcubierre drive, if it ever gets invented, would be one of the few cases where the art has inspired the creation.
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,136
    rkrkrk said:

    Alistair said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's bollocks. Could be done just as easily without block chain in the mix.
    The inclusion of blockchain magic may have been quite important when it came to raising money to get the company going.
    Brexit ICO, it's worth a shot.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,563

    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.

    "I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman."

    Where did you get that from, as it sounds rather unlikely? GPS is a location tech, not a tracking tech, and was a more accurate replacement of earlier tech such as the ground-based Gee and Loran, and the satellite-based NavSat. It did not spring out of a single mind, but was an evolution.

    Checking wiki, Kingpin first appeared in the comic in 1967, and the first NavSat was launched in 1959, and the system entered service in 1964. So it's almost certainly bogus.

    Likewise, I doubt Star Trek's transporters have anything to do withe the development of quantum teleportation (and teleportation as a concept predates Star Trek - as far back as 1897).

    There are sometimes strong correlations between science fiction and science fact - but it works both ways, with science influencing fiction and fiction influencing science. PD Smith's excellent 'Doomsday Men' covers this well. But those two examples are IMO bogus.
    Arthur C Clarke's geostationary satellite was one - and I guess the Star Trek communications device and the original Motorola flip phone are another, rather lesser example.
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453
    rkrkrk said:

    The inclusion of blockchain magic may have been quite important when it came to raising money to get the company going.

    There is an advert airing in the UK right now for a kitchen with blockchain.

    Why?
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's all wank.

    I built systems like this for a shipping-related project, another for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The money was good, but I'm not taking any more work like this any more, because it's the most stupid retarded shit you can possibly imagine. None of it's any use to anybody, they just want to put "blockchain" on a press release.
    It did help them raise millions of dollars from private equity. ;)
  • DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300

    I'm amazed that Robert Smithson could create an informative video about the UK housing market without mentioning buy-to-let.

    My suspicion is that the weight of money from people looking for better investment returns from buy-to-let than are available on the stock market will make a house price crash less likely.

    I have heard it suggested that another source is villains investing their ill-gotten gains in BTL. Whether this is significant or how you'd measure it, I don't know.
  • ralphmalphralphmalph Posts: 2,201
    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/brexiteers-pile-pressure-on-sajid-javid-to-stick-with-them-a3879961.html

    The brexiteers have got their claws into Mr Javid. Back brexit or your leadership ambitions are toast. Supping with the devil comes to mind.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 38,517
    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Indeed.

    However, anyone who believes that new technology replaces old systems painlessly and 'cheaply' is a fool. Anyone who thinks a technological solution is always better than a manual alternative and automagically fixes all problems is a double fool.

    Or a politician. ;)
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited July 2018
    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's all wank.

    I built systems like this for a shipping-related project, another for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The money was good, but I'm not taking any more work like this any more, because it's the most stupid retarded shit you can possibly imagine. None of it's any use to anybody, they just want to put "blockchain" on a press release.
    It did help them raise millions of dollars from private equity. ;)
    Did somebody say TRON....

    They have absolutely nothing, other than some copied open source code, and raised crazy amount of money.
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,933
    Mr. Divvie, it's both amusing and disturbing that we're currently developing autonomous robot killing machines *and* artificial intelligence. Can't see anything going wrong there...

    Mr. Jessop, fair enough. I cited Star Trek because that's the most famous example (Doctor Who had the transmat technology the daleks used, which is basically the same thing).

    Incidentally, it works in reverse too. Greek fire is very popular with fantasy authors (interestingly, naphtha[sp] hardly ever gets mentioned, even though it was possibly the first instance of chemical warfare).
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,841

    I'm amazed that Robert Smithson could create an informative video about the UK housing market without mentioning buy-to-let.

    My suspicion is that the weight of money from people looking for better investment returns from buy-to-let than are available on the stock market will make a house price crash less likely.

    Here's my look at housing:

    http://ponyonthetories.blogspot.com/2017/11/housing.html
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,841
    Brexitchain coin mining operation.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 47,786

    rkrkrk said:

    Alistair said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's bollocks. Could be done just as easily without block chain in the mix.
    The inclusion of blockchain magic may have been quite important when it came to raising money to get the company going.
    Brexit ICO, it's worth a shot.
    Take back CoinTrol.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    Scott_P said:

    rkrkrk said:

    The inclusion of blockchain magic may have been quite important when it came to raising money to get the company going.

    There is an advert airing in the UK right now for a kitchen with blockchain.

    Why?
    Its for Hdac, Hyundai Digital Asset Company. As the name suggests, it is part of the Hyundai chaebol group, one of the three big conglomerates based in South Korea (the other two being Samsung and LG).

    https://www.techradar.com/news/what-is-hdac-the-world-cup-blockchain-advert-decoded
  • Scott_PScott_P Posts: 51,453

    Its for Hdac, Hyundai Digital Asset Company. As the name suggests, it is part of the Hyundai chaebol group, one of the three big conglomerates based in South Korea (the other two being Samsung and LG).

    https://www.techradar.com/news/what-is-hdac-the-world-cup-blockchain-advert-decoded

    Thanks, but still doesn't give a solid reason my kitchen needs blockchain
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    Scott_P said:

    Its for Hdac, Hyundai Digital Asset Company. As the name suggests, it is part of the Hyundai chaebol group, one of the three big conglomerates based in South Korea (the other two being Samsung and LG).

    https://www.techradar.com/news/what-is-hdac-the-world-cup-blockchain-advert-decoded

    Thanks, but still doesn't give a solid reason my kitchen needs blockchain
    Everything is better with blockchain, you can get millions from VC and PE!
  • rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 7,880
    Scott_P said:

    rkrkrk said:

    The inclusion of blockchain magic may have been quite important when it came to raising money to get the company going.

    There is an advert airing in the UK right now for a kitchen with blockchain.

    Why?
    Better than a blocked drain I suppose
  • OblitusSumMeOblitusSumMe Posts: 9,143
    Pulpstar said:

    I'm amazed that Robert Smithson could create an informative video about the UK housing market without mentioning buy-to-let.

    My suspicion is that the weight of money from people looking for better investment returns from buy-to-let than are available on the stock market will make a house price crash less likely.

    Here's my look at housing:

    http://ponyonthetories.blogspot.com/2017/11/housing.html
    Cheers! Interesting - but also dodging buy-to-let, though you do at least mention it.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,841
    Off topic - Is the UK really going to be electric vehicle ready in 22 years ? From Autotrader:

    The first question you need to ask yourself is whether an electric vehicle is suitable for your lifestyle. One obstacle to ownership is the ability to charge an EV up. If you haven’t got a garage or parking space with close access to a plug socket, then an EV will be a non-starter, quite literally.What proportion of UK abodes have a garage to start ?

    If you can’t charge an EV at home, can you do it at work? If neither of these options are open to you, then you’ll be reliant on the UK’s EV charging network. This is patchy at best, and only really effective if you live in London or the South East.So what about the rest of the country ?

    Even then, there’s no guarantee that the charging point you go to will be working, and it might not cater for your car’s charging requirements. EV charging points at supermarkets and other busy locations could be occupied by thoughtless non-EV owners, too – it’s the equivalent of parking at a petrol pump when you’re just popping into the mini mart for a loaf of bread.Another issue

    If you’re confident that you’ll be able to charge an EV, the next thing you need to bear in mind is what kind of driving you normally do. If you do a lot of motorway miles, then an EV is a no-go, as a fully charged battery will lose its charge a lot faster at motorway speeds than the estimated range will lead you to believe. If short urban trips take up most of your driving, then an EV is ideal, as stop-start traffic will help limit battery depletion, and in some models it will even replenish the battery while you’re on the move.Errm ok...
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,136

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's all wank.

    I built systems like this for a shipping-related project, another for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The money was good, but I'm not taking any more work like this any more, because it's the most stupid retarded shit you can possibly imagine. None of it's any use to anybody, they just want to put "blockchain" on a press release.
    It did help them raise millions of dollars from private equity. ;)
    Did somebody say TRON....

    They have absolutely nothing, other than some copied open source code, and raised crazy amount of money.
    This stuff conclusively disproves any theories anyone might have about the Wisdom of the Markets

    There's an even more ridiculous project called IOTA, which doesn't work at all either in theory or in practice, and keeps threatening to sue security researchers who point this out, when they're not reclassifying their security holes as copy protection features. IOTA currently has a market cap of $3.31 Billion.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's all wank.

    I built systems like this for a shipping-related project, another for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The money was good, but I'm not taking any more work like this any more, because it's the most stupid retarded shit you can possibly imagine. None of it's any use to anybody, they just want to put "blockchain" on a press release.
    It did help them raise millions of dollars from private equity. ;)
    Did somebody say TRON....

    They have absolutely nothing, other than some copied open source code, and raised crazy amount of money.
    This stuff conclusively disproves any theories anyone might have about the Wisdom of the Markets

    There's an even more ridiculous project called IOTA, which doesn't work at all either in theory or in practice, and keeps threatening to sue security researchers who point this out, when they're not reclassifying their security holes as copy protection features. IOTA currently has a market cap of $3.31 Billion.
    We also have Tether, where every coin is supposed backed up by a real $, except nobody has every seen any proof of this and they keep producing new value out of thin air at rates no bank can possibly be giving them.
  • rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 7,880

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's all wank.

    I built systems like this for a shipping-related project, another for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The money was good, but I'm not taking any more work like this any more, because it's the most stupid retarded shit you can possibly imagine. None of it's any use to anybody, they just want to put "blockchain" on a press release.
    It did help them raise millions of dollars from private equity. ;)
    Did somebody say TRON....

    They have absolutely nothing, other than some copied open source code, and raised crazy amount of money.
    This stuff conclusively disproves any theories anyone might have about the Wisdom of the Markets

    There's an even more ridiculous project called IOTA, which doesn't work at all either in theory or in practice, and keeps threatening to sue security researchers who point this out, when they're not reclassifying their security holes as copy protection features. IOTA currently has a market cap of $3.31 Billion.
    What proportion of people working on these things do you think believe the hype vs. those who are just in it to profit from the hype?
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 38,517
    Nigelb said:

    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.

    "I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman."

    Where did you get that from, as it sounds rather unlikely? GPS is a location tech, not a tracking tech, and was a more accurate replacement of earlier tech such as the ground-based Gee and Loran, and the satellite-based NavSat. It did not spring out of a single mind, but was an evolution.

    Checking wiki, Kingpin first appeared in the comic in 1967, and the first NavSat was launched in 1959, and the system entered service in 1964. So it's almost certainly bogus.

    Likewise, I doubt Star Trek's transporters have anything to do withe the development of quantum teleportation (and teleportation as a concept predates Star Trek - as far back as 1897).

    There are sometimes strong correlations between science fiction and science fact - but it works both ways, with science influencing fiction and fiction influencing science. PD Smith's excellent 'Doomsday Men' covers this well. But those two examples are IMO bogus.
    Arthur C Clarke's geostationary satellite was one - and I guess the Star Trek communications device and the original Motorola flip phone are another, rather lesser example.
    All AIUI: Arthur C Clarke, genius as he was, did not 'invent' the geostationary satellite. That was done before (and AIUI Clarke knew of the earlier work). His post-war paper did give them a purpose, as a radio relay. It was also a scientific paper, and not fiction.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Tsiolkovsky
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Potočnik
  • RoyalBlueRoyalBlue Posts: 3,223
    I hope this is all wrong:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-44719576

    The idea that the EU will just ‘let parliament decide’ what we’ll diverge on and yet still have an open border in Ireland is madness.

    Are the government trying to collapse the negotiations?
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 40,950

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's all wank.

    I built systems like this for a shipping-related project, another for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The money was good, but I'm not taking any more work like this any more, because it's the most stupid retarded shit you can possibly imagine. None of it's any use to anybody, they just want to put "blockchain" on a press release.
    It did help them raise millions of dollars from private equity. ;)
    Did somebody say TRON....

    They have absolutely nothing, other than some copied open source code, and raised crazy amount of money.
    This stuff conclusively disproves any theories anyone might have about the Wisdom of the Markets

    There's an even more ridiculous project called IOTA, which doesn't work at all either in theory or in practice, and keeps threatening to sue security researchers who point this out, when they're not reclassifying their security holes as copy protection features. IOTA currently has a market cap of $3.31 Billion.
    Back in the pre-dotcom crash days, when everyone was raising millions for nothing whatsoever, there was one infamous BBG DES of a recently-listed NASDAQ company, which said: This company has no assets or revenues or business plan but is actively looking for opportunities.
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,136
    rkrkrk said:


    What proportion of people working on these things do you think believe the hype vs. those who are just in it to profit from the hype?

    Well, I sort-of believe the hype. For the right use-cases, there's a lot of potential.

    But I'd say almost all the projects with big marketing are fraudulent. IOTA is one case where the guy probably genuinely believes he's a genius, but con artists often seem to be conning themselves, so it's not an easy line to draw.
  • PolruanPolruan Posts: 2,083
    RoyalBlue said:

    I hope this is all wrong:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-44719576

    The idea that the EU will just ‘let parliament decide’ what we’ll diverge on and yet still have an open border in Ireland is madness.

    Are the government trying to collapse the negotiations?

    The position seems to be “since the EU won’t allow us to cherrypick elements of regulatory alignment now, we’ll ask them to agree to allow us unfettered sovereignty to cherrypick those elements at any point in the future.” Doesn’t immediately inspire confidence.

    Incidentally, is it a new low for journalese using the expression that “a source close to David Davis refeused to comment”? I thought the justification for citing these unnamed sources was that they had something to say, rather than nothing... what meaning is this intended to convey?
  • rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 7,880
    Not sure this has been commented on?
    Trump keen to invade Venezuela:
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/04/trump-suggested-invading-venezuela-report

    You'd hope there are still enough people in the White House with the sense and ability to dissuade him. This is presumably also absolute political manna from heaven for Maduro to be threatened by Trump.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,563

    Nigelb said:

    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.

    "I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman."

    Where did you get that from, as it sounds rather unlikely? GPS is a location tech, not a tracking tech, and was a more accurate replacement of earlier tech such as the ground-based Gee and Loran, and the satellite-based NavSat. It did not spring out of a single mind, but was an evolution.

    Checking wiki, Kingpin first appeared in the comic in 1967, and the first NavSat was launched in 1959, and the system entered service in 1964. So it's almost certainly bogus.

    Likewise, I doubt Star Trek's transporters have anything to do withe the development of quantum teleportation (and teleportation as a concept predates Star Trek - as far back as 1897).

    There are sometimes strong correlations between science fiction and science fact - but it works both ways, with science influencing fiction and fiction influencing science. PD Smith's excellent 'Doomsday Men' covers this well. But those two examples are IMO bogus.
    Arthur C Clarke's geostationary satellite was one - and I guess the Star Trek communications device and the original Motorola flip phone are another, rather lesser example.
    All AIUI: Arthur C Clarke, genius as he was, did not 'invent' the geostationary satellite. That was done before (and AIUI Clarke knew of the earlier work). His post-war paper did give them a purpose, as a radio relay. It was also a scientific paper, and not fiction.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Tsiolkovsky
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Potočnik
    I didn’t say he did, FWIW.
    In any event, speculative fiction seems to provide spurs to engineering technology rather than science per se...
    https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610713/when-science-fiction-inspires-real-technology/
  • BromptonautBromptonaut Posts: 1,113
    Pulpstar said:

    Off topic - Is the UK really going to be electric vehicle ready in 22 years ? From Autotrader:



    and in some models it will even replenish the battery while you’re on the move.Errm ok...

    Utter bollocks. Seems they have not the faintest idea how energy works.
  • BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,272
    Polruan said:

    RoyalBlue said:

    I hope this is all wrong:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-44719576

    The idea that the EU will just ‘let parliament decide’ what we’ll diverge on and yet still have an open border in Ireland is madness.

    Are the government trying to collapse the negotiations?

    The position seems to be “since the EU won’t allow us to cherrypick elements of regulatory alignment now, we’ll ask them to agree to allow us unfettered sovereignty to cherrypick those elements at any point in the future.” Doesn’t immediately inspire confidence.

    Incidentally, is it a new low for journalese using the expression that “a source close to David Davis refeused to comment”? I thought the justification for citing these unnamed sources was that they had something to say, rather than nothing... what meaning is this intended to convey?
    Ha! That does seem like journalistic desperation.

    Next up: "a source refused to confirm if he or she was close to David Davis".
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    TOPPING said:

    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Jonathan said:

    Anyone who is relying on technology is either a fool, a charlatan or both.

    Anyone who believes that technology today has developed as far as it is possible I'd say would be on the fool side.
    Sci-Fi will save us. Good grief.

    What we need is an AI Blockchain with a Crispr CAS omniwangle. Carrillion are well placed to bid for the contract.

    There's an insurance company which uses blockchain tracking of goods from Chinese factory floors all the way to delivery to end users. I have no idea how it works, but the solutions are coming.
    It's all wank.

    I built systems like this for a shipping-related project, another for the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The money was good, but I'm not taking any more work like this any more, because it's the most stupid retarded shit you can possibly imagine. None of it's any use to anybody, they just want to put "blockchain" on a press release.
    It did help them raise millions of dollars from private equity. ;)
    Did somebody say TRON....

    They have absolutely nothing, other than some copied open source code, and raised crazy amount of money.
    This stuff conclusively disproves any theories anyone might have about the Wisdom of the Markets

    There's an even more ridiculous project called IOTA, which doesn't work at all either in theory or in practice, and keeps threatening to sue security researchers who point this out, when they're not reclassifying their security holes as copy protection features. IOTA currently has a market cap of $3.31 Billion.
    Back in the pre-dotcom crash days, when everyone was raising millions for nothing whatsoever, there was one infamous BBG DES of a recently-listed NASDAQ company, which said: This company has no assets or revenues or business plan but is actively looking for opportunities.
    “A company for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.”
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,263
    Polruan said:



    Incidentally, is it a new low for journalese using the expression that “a source close to David Davis refeused to comment”? I thought the justification for citing these unnamed sources was that they had something to say, rather than nothing... what meaning is this intended to convey?

    I've always assumed that "close to X" was code for "X", so Davis has told someone, not for attribution, that he won't comment on whether he agrees with May's plan. Which I suppose is newsworthy in today's bizarre world.
  • JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 38,517
    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.

    "I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman."

    Where did you get that from, as it sounds rather unlikely? GPS is a location tech, not a tracking tech, and was a more accurate replacement of earlier tech such as the ground-based Gee and Loran, and the satellite-based NavSat. It did not spring out of a single mind, but was an evolution.

    Checking wiki, Kingpin first appeared in the comic in 1967, and the first NavSat was launched in 1959, and the system entered service in 1964. So it's almost certainly bogus.

    Likewise, I doubt Star Trek's transporters have anything to do withe the development of quantum teleportation (and teleportation as a concept predates Star Trek - as far back as 1897).

    There are sometimes strong correlations between science fiction and science fact - but it works both ways, with science influencing fiction and fiction influencing science. PD Smith's excellent 'Doomsday Men' covers this well. But those two examples are IMO bogus.
    Arthur C Clarke's geostationary satellite was one - and I guess the Star Trek communications device and the original Motorola flip phone are another, rather lesser example.
    All AIUI: Arthur C Clarke, genius as he was, did not 'invent' the geostationary satellite. That was done before (and AIUI Clarke knew of the earlier work). His post-war paper did give them a purpose, as a radio relay. It was also a scientific paper, and not fiction.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Tsiolkovsky
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Potočnik
    I didn’t say he did, FWIW.
    In any event, speculative fiction seems to provide spurs to engineering technology rather than science per se...
    https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610713/when-science-fiction-inspires-real-technology/
    Fairy nuff.

    You might be interested in the book I mentioned below. It's rather good:
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doomsday-Men-Strangelove-Dream-Superweapon/dp/0713998156/
  • hamiltonacehamiltonace Posts: 642
    Polruan said:

    RoyalBlue said:

    I hope this is all wrong:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-44719576

    The idea that the EU will just ‘let parliament decide’ what we’ll diverge on and yet still have an open border in Ireland is madness.

    Are the government trying to collapse the negotiations?

    The position seems to be “since the EU won’t allow us to cherrypick elements of regulatory alignment now, we’ll ask them to agree to allow us unfettered sovereignty to cherrypick those elements at any point in the future.” Doesn’t immediately inspire confidence.

    Incidentally, is it a new low for journalese using the expression that “a source close to David Davis refeused to comment”? I thought the justification for citing these unnamed sources was that they had something to say, rather than nothing... what meaning is this intended to convey?
    The whole thing is just blowing up. There is no such thing as partial compliance in regulations. I agree that TM is planning to put a proposal to the EU that will be rejected. The option will then be a hard Brexit or ? (another referendum?).

    The chances of a leave on a second vote cannot be better than 50% so the markets suggest there is a possibility the Brexiters railroad parliament in some way as well.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 20,392

    It's good to know the art of letter-writing isn't dead. In the Conservative party, it seems to be all the craze at present:

    https://twitter.com/ftbrussels/status/1014841644024258561

    That thing round Tezzie's neck - is that a Blockchain?

    (I've heard plenty of people wibble about it, but not one has ever explained what it is. I don't think I need to know.)
  • JonnyJimmyJonnyJimmy Posts: 2,548

    Mr. Jonathan, I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman. Star Trek's transporters have led to the creation of teleportation technology (working but in its infancy).

    Fiction can be a powerful source of inspiration for technological advancement.

    And, of course, Alexa is Hal's Grandma.

    "I believe GPS was developed after the creators saw the Kingpin plant a tracking chip on Spiderman."

    Where did you get that from, as it sounds rather unlikely? GPS is a location tech, not a tracking tech, and was a more accurate replacement of earlier tech such as the ground-based Gee and Loran, and the satellite-based NavSat. It did not spring out of a single mind, but was an evolution.

    Checking wiki, Kingpin first appeared in the comic in 1967, and the first NavSat was launched in 1959, and the system entered service in 1964. So it's almost certainly bogus.

    Likewise, I doubt Star Trek's transporters have anything to do withe the development of quantum teleportation (and teleportation as a concept predates Star Trek - as far back as 1897).

    There are sometimes strong correlations between science fiction and science fact - but it works both ways, with science influencing fiction and fiction influencing science. PD Smith's excellent 'Doomsday Men' covers this well. But those two examples are IMO bogus.
    Part of the development of electronic tagging might have been influenced by a judge having read Spiderman;

    "Later in 1983, a district court judge in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jack Love, persuaded Michael Goss, a computer salesperson, to develop a system to monitor five offenders. He sentenced offenders in what is considered the first court-sanctioned use of electronic monitoring at home. Judge Love was supposedly inspired to act based upon a storyline in a Spider-Man comic, specifically the newspaper comic strip version where the Kingpin puts an electronic bracelet on the superhero primarily to follow his movements"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_tagging
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 113,957
    Pulpstar said:

    Off topic - Is the UK really going to be electric vehicle ready in 22 years ? From Autotrader:


    If you’re confident that you’ll be able to charge an EV, the next thing you need to bear in mind is what kind of driving you normally do. If you do a lot of motorway miles, then an EV is a no-go, as a fully charged battery will lose its charge a lot faster at motorway speeds than the estimated range will lead you to believe. If short urban trips take up most of your driving, then an EV is ideal, as stop-start traffic will help limit battery depletion, and in some models it will even replenish the battery while you’re on the move.Errm ok...

    Isn't that what they do in F1 with KERS?

    https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/inside-f1/understanding-f1-racing/Energy_Recovery_Systems.html
  • PolruanPolruan Posts: 2,083

    Polruan said:

    RoyalBlue said:

    I hope this is all wrong:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-44719576

    The idea that the EU will just ‘let parliament decide’ what we’ll diverge on and yet still have an open border in Ireland is madness.

    Are the government trying to collapse the negotiations?

    The position seems to be “since the EU won’t allow us to cherrypick elements of regulatory alignment now, we’ll ask them to agree to allow us unfettered sovereignty to cherrypick those elements at any point in the future.” Doesn’t immediately inspire confidence.

    Incidentally, is it a new low for journalese using the expression that “a source close to David Davis refeused to comment”? I thought the justification for citing these unnamed sources was that they had something to say, rather than nothing... what meaning is this intended to convey?
    Ha! That does seem like journalistic desperation.

    Next up: "a source refused to confirm if he or she was close to David Davis".
    ‘A person suspected of being a source did not comment on whether he or she was in fact a source.’

    @nickpalmer - yes that was the only way I thought it could be read, so effectively DD is saying ‘you can publish that I have no comment but you can’t write that the person who has no comment is me.’
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    Pulpstar said:

    Off topic - Is the UK really going to be electric vehicle ready in 22 years ? From Autotrader:

    The first question you need to ask yourself is whether an electric vehicle is suitable for your lifestyle. One obstacle to ownership is the ability to charge an EV up. If you haven’t got a garage or parking space with close access to a plug socket, then an EV will be a non-starter, quite literally.What proportion of UK abodes have a garage to start ?

    If you can’t charge an EV at home, can you do it at work? If neither of these options are open to you, then you’ll be reliant on the UK’s EV charging network. This is patchy at best, and only really effective if you live in London or the South East.So what about the rest of the country ?

    Even then, there’s no guarantee that the charging point you go to will be working, and it might not cater for your car’s charging requirements. EV charging points at supermarkets and other busy locations could be occupied by thoughtless non-EV owners, too – it’s the equivalent of parking at a petrol pump when you’re just popping into the mini mart for a loaf of bread.Another issue

    If you’re confident that you’ll be able to charge an EV, the next thing you need to bear in mind is what kind of driving you normally do. If you do a lot of motorway miles, then an EV is a no-go, as a fully charged battery will lose its charge a lot faster at motorway speeds than the estimated range will lead you to believe. If short urban trips take up most of your driving, then an EV is ideal, as stop-start traffic will help limit battery depletion, and in some models it will even replenish the battery while you’re on the move.Errm ok...

    It’s always seemed to me that easily-swappable batteries has to be part of the solution: you drive into the service station and your battery pack is easily lifted out and sent to a recharging bank and a fully-charged replacement is seamlessly dropped in. This would require unprecedented standardization and cooperation between manufacturers though, so it probably won’t happen.
  • TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 113,957

    NEW THREAD

  • Dura_AceDura_Ace Posts: 12,880
    RoyalBlue said:

    I hope this is all wrong:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-politics-44719576

    The idea that the EU will just ‘let parliament decide’ what we’ll diverge on and yet still have an open border in Ireland is madness.

    Are the government trying to collapse the negotiations?

    That just sounds like a charter for rampant fraud. This really is utter fucking madness. The UK government is spending time, energy and money trying to come up with solutions to amazingly complex problems that they created.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 40,950
    rpjs said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Off topic - Is the UK really going to be electric vehicle ready in 22 years ? From Autotrader:

    The first question you need to ask yourself is whether an electric vehicle is suitable for your lifestyle. One obstacle to ownership is the ability to charge an EV up. If you haven’t got a garage or parking space with close access to a plug socket, then an EV will be a non-starter, quite literally.What proportion of UK abodes have a garage to start ?

    If you can’t charge an EV at home, can you do it at work? If neither of these options are open to you, then you’ll be reliant on the UK’s EV charging network. This is patchy at best, and only really effective if you live in London or the South East.So what about the rest of the country ?

    Even then, there’s no guarantee that the charging point you go to will be working, and it might not cater for your car’s charging requirements. EV charging points at supermarkets and other busy locations could be occupied by thoughtless non-EV owners, too – it’s the equivalent of parking at a petrol pump when you’re just popping into the mini mart for a loaf of bread.Another issue

    If you’re confident that you’ll be able to charge an EV, the next thing you need to bear in mind is what kind of driving you normally do. If you do a lot of motorway miles, then an EV is a no-go, as a fully charged battery will lose its charge a lot faster at motorway speeds than the estimated range will lead you to believe. If short urban trips take up most of your driving, then an EV is ideal, as stop-start traffic will help limit battery depletion, and in some models it will even replenish the battery while you’re on the move.Errm ok...

    It’s always seemed to me that easily-swappable batteries has to be part of the solution: you drive into the service station and your battery pack is easily lifted out and sent to a recharging bank and a fully-charged replacement is seamlessly dropped in. This would require unprecedented standardization and cooperation between manufacturers though, so it probably won’t happen.
    F**k me they can't even make all the phone chargers the effing same.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,052
    edited July 2018

    I'm amazed that Robert Smithson could create an informative video about the UK housing market without mentioning buy-to-let.

    My suspicion is that the weight of money from people looking for better investment returns from buy-to-let than are available on the stock market will make a house price crash less likely.

    I suspect it will feature in part 2. Great series from @rcs1000

    BTL is based on paying the mortgage with rent and profiting from capital appreciation. If house prices start to fall the gearing works the other way, and could dump a lot of distress sales on a falling market.

    Fox jr moved into a BTL last week just around the corner from the first house that I bought, for £42 000 in 1992. Now these are asking £210 000. Even allowing for inflation that is a substantial rise. On the other hand the mortgage payment would be less as a percentage of income than I was paying in the high interest 1990's. Affordability may actually be better due to rock bottom interest rates.
  • David_EvershedDavid_Evershed Posts: 6,506
    Foxy said:

    I'm amazed that Robert Smithson could create an informative video about the UK housing market without mentioning buy-to-let.

    My suspicion is that the weight of money from people looking for better investment returns from buy-to-let than are available on the stock market will make a house price crash less likely.

    I suspect it will feature in part 2. Great series from @rcs1000

    BTL is based on paying the mortgage with rent and profiting from capital appreciation. If house prices start to fall the gearing works the other way, and could dump a lot of distress sales on a falling market.

    Fox jr moved into a BTL last week just around the corner from the first house that I bought, for £42 000 in 1992. Now these are asking £210 000. Even allowing for inflation that is a substantial rise. On the other hand the mortgage payment would be less as a percentage of income than I was paying in the high interest 1990's. Affordability may actually be better due to rock bottom interest rates.
    Very good point. It was scary when the variable mortgage rate went into double figures when we were shadowing the Euro in the ERM days.

  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    Foxy said:

    I'm amazed that Robert Smithson could create an informative video about the UK housing market without mentioning buy-to-let.

    My suspicion is that the weight of money from people looking for better investment returns from buy-to-let than are available on the stock market will make a house price crash less likely.

    I suspect it will feature in part 2. Great series from @rcs1000

    BTL is based on paying the mortgage with rent and profiting from capital appreciation. If house prices start to fall the gearing works the other way, and could dump a lot of distress sales on a falling market.

    Fox jr moved into a BTL last week just around the corner from the first house that I bought, for £42 000 in 1992. Now these are asking £210 000. Even allowing for inflation that is a substantial rise. On the other hand the mortgage payment would be less as a percentage of income than I was paying in the high interest 1990's. Affordability may actually be better due to rock bottom interest rates.
    Issue is raising the capital for a deposit.
  • FrankBoothFrankBooth Posts: 9,005
    Foxy said:

    I'm amazed that Robert Smithson could create an informative video about the UK housing market without mentioning buy-to-let.

    My suspicion is that the weight of money from people looking for better investment returns from buy-to-let than are available on the stock market will make a house price crash less likely.

    I suspect it will feature in part 2. Great series from @rcs1000

    BTL is based on paying the mortgage with rent and profiting from capital appreciation. If house prices start to fall the gearing works the other way, and could dump a lot of distress sales on a falling market.

    Fox jr moved into a BTL last week just around the corner from the first house that I bought, for £42 000 in 1992. Now these are asking £210 000. Even allowing for inflation that is a substantial rise. On the other hand the mortgage payment would be less as a percentage of income than I was paying in the high interest 1990's. Affordability may actually be better due to rock bottom interest rates.
    But what does rock bottom interest rates tell us? That no-one expects much long term growth.
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