BeastOfBodmin

We have had a ECOVACS DEEBOT T30S COMBO for a few months. We have about 150 m^2 of tiled house to clean. Everything gets cleaned once daily except bathrooms. The hand held vacuum is used for touch-ups or messes made after the scheduled clean. If you spend money on replacing the bits that wear out (dust bag, mop pads, main brush, side brush) as well as floor cleaning fluid, it's pretty good. I have to empty the dirty water bin and refill the clean one daily. It self empties and mops and has space for a battery-operated vacuum cleaner. You'll need to periodically remove the bottom tray and clean it. There is an app that allows you to set up "scenarios (set of rooms)" and schedules/ manual controls/ maps the house. Set sweeping speed/ thoroughness &/ or mopping speed/ thoroughness, sweep only, mop only, sweep & mop/ sweep then mop. Voice control is limited but adequate. Only one firmware update since we bought it (hmm). It has a habit of finding/ pulling out cables, which it then uses to remove the mopping pads. Sometimes it will go over steps into bathrooms. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/new-2024-ecovacs-deebot-t30s-combo-i5186454202-s22028012321.html?

How are you measuring that?

I have seen mention of the GBP 40 - 50B black hole. It appears the GBP 11B "left by the Tories" has either been replaced or has metastasised into something much larger in less than 2 years. As I wrote: the article's only mention of a "tax raid on pensions" is in the title of the article. Having read it again, I found this: But this is speculation, whereas the headline states it as fact. It is this that I object to, nothing else. I find the quality of the "news" articles posted on AN to be, on the average, low and that was the main reason for my initial post. I don't know. I wouldn't rule out anything to be honest. What is interesting (in the sense of the Chinese curse), is the economic reasoning leading to the apparent need to plug the deficit and "balance the books" is based on fallacious reasoning. In other words, a lot of economic damage is done by the government to the people it is supposed to work for, based on provably false ideas.

"The brain is quicker than the eye."

I missed when the UK gubmint explained/ blamed this alleged GBP 51B black hole like when the GBP 11B was blamed on the Tories. I don't want to think about any of RR's holes thank you very much!

I am not saying that at all. Those who have sounded off on a pension raid were reacting to the title and not the content of the piece. In my opinion it is a bad piece for that reason. Perhaps a better title that was truthful and relevant to the contents of the piece would have been more accurate.

The funny thing is, this whole argument about balancing the government's books is based on economic fallacy. The UK uses a "Spend & Tax" system (codified in law in 1866 I think). Parliament approves the budget and taxes are raised to sterilise the government spending. It's a little bit technical, but relatively easy to prove, given an understanding of how money is created in the UK and the role of the BoE, that it is not the size of the government deficit that matters1, but the ratio of public to private debt. What follows from that is the possibility of eliminating direct taxes entirely. Govt could move to consumption-based taxes for example. Then it becomes not spending less, but spending different. [1] "Matters" means the economy not being driven into crises as we saw in the GFC almost 20 years ago,

"Pensions" or "pensioners"? Pensions can't do or say anything.

What is also shocking is how few bothered to read and understand the article beyond the headline.

Beyond the title, there's no mention of tax raids that I could find.

Mmm. The title of this piece is "Rachel Reeves Pensions Tax Raid Sparks Outrage Among Older Brits", but the only mention of stealing pensions is in the quote above. The quote is in no way suggestive of a tax raid. The title of this thread is misleading.

Like this?

Maybe draw up a bullsh1t Bingo card for this: 1. Inconsistently 2. Incompletely 3. Inaccurately 4. Disinterestedly 5. Corruptly 6. Reluctantly

Bitcoin fixes this.

I don't think that is a good idea. This may be a medium-term plan to get Gubmint into everyone's bank account at will, to help implementation of the Thai CBDC. I prefer to keep Gubmint intervention into my private life on the other side of a legal wall. I don't trust them to make the best decisions for me on my behalf. I also tend to think they never act with the populaces' best interest at heart. There is a similar scheme under way in the UK. Monitor bank accounts of welfare recipients (turning banks into spies), 2026 HMRC rules over crypto transactions (crypto exchanges, etc. to provide all transaction details of all UK tax residents to HMRC). The data to be given to Palantir's system they spent an 8 figure sum to implement. They are already looking for cash balances in excess of GBP 25k so as to remind the account holders they owe tax on their interest.

What difference would it make if Thaksin had done this? 😜

FIFY: illiterate (the typo's kind of ironic) I was surprised to find the illiteracy rate (100% - literacy rate) for 2022 to be so high, also the YoY variation. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.LITR.ZS?locations=TH

A cat is a possibility. We have a few dogs that follow me round so they can get into our outhouses and look for geckos, mice or rats. If they catch one they'll eat it. I suppose we could teach the dogs to leave a cat alone. The cats can also do that - one nose-swipe at a time.

Yeah, we always have ants patrolling. It taught me to keep food in cupboards well wrapped (I wonder if that's why there is so much packing on snack food). Even if I was a builder, I doubt I could get the house hermetically sealed.

Do they come in having somehow determined there is food inside, or do they happen to wander in and hang around if they find a food supply? I don't like having to clean up their faeces.

I couldn't find the "urgent warning".

CHF is still my home currency. It beats the <deleted> out of USD.

One that looks like this? I added the SMA9 just for larks. AUDTHB https://www.tradingview.com/chart/omBmWEst/

"I'm surprised!" said no-one, ever.

Trump made a big mistake appointing a war monger as his NSA. At least he fired him later.