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180714782
comment
byserviscope_minor
uary 01, 2026 @08:23AM
(#65962310)
Attached to: 99% of New US Energy Capacity Will Be Green in 2026
The title is missing a
180710930
comment
byserviscope_minor
nuary 31, 2026 @05:22PM
(#65961574)
Attached to: Apple Switches to Build-to-Order Systems on Its Web Site
Dell or Lenovo or basically any PC vendor has for the last 25 years.
Sure but Apple invented it, like they invented touch pads, smartphones and sex and music.
180710912
comment
byserviscope_minor
nuary 31, 2026 @05:19PM
(#65961564)
Attached to: Do Markets Make Us Moral?
Well, I'm glad to hear her suffering is over. My MIL's suffering is not. What little is left of her is not happy.
She was far into end stage dementia,
It's horiffic to see someone unmade. My MIL is in the beginning of the end stage. A few words left. She doesn't know anyone except her husband, really, though still has some recognition that I'm someone she is familiar with.
I had to convince the wife that needed to happen. She was exhausted from all that stuff that creeped up, so it really wasn't too hard to convince her in the end.
My FIL was looking after her. He tried to push through, but things got pretty bad before it finally broke. That was the worst day of my life and the memories will haunt me forever.
It is a problem to even discuss. Say something to the wrong person, and next thing you know, you have therapists and suicide hotline type people call you. Yet I'm the farthest thing from suicidal, I just want to save my family from that "long goodbye", a particular cruelty of modern life..
Quite so. I plan on raging against the dying of the light. But I don't plan on sticking around if I'm unable to do so.
180710038
comment
byserviscope_minor
nuary 31, 2026 @02:14PM
(#65961256)
Attached to: Universal Basic Income Could Be Used To Soften Hit From AI Job Losses In UK, Minister Says
I'm not convinced that it is that complex. The government knows what people's income is for the most part, as banks report it to them
If it's all done through PAYE and pensions are made mandatory PAYE as well, it could work. I think that would be a good idea. You appear to be disagreeing but honestly we seem to be in agreement.
180709612
comment
byserviscope_minor
nuary 31, 2026 @12:39PM
(#65961072)
Attached to: Universal Basic Income Could Be Used To Soften Hit From AI Job Losses In UK, Minister Says
The thing is you can say the same about any group of people of any age. There will always be some who, for a variety of reasons, have trouble navigating these systems. We don't hesitate to introduce them in other cases, along with help for people who need it.
Yes, but it's a question of scale. For kids, there are way, way too many, so the work is punted to the parents. For old people something like 1 in 3 are expected to develop dementia, and they basically arrive out of nowhere but don't have parents to assist. Vulnerable adults of other sorts often have come up through the system somehow.
But also, it's inefficient. If we have a complex system where people have to navigate it and then need an army of people to help others navigate it, and monitor people enough to know when they need help, we're just burning vast amounts of labour on administration.
180709356
comment
byserviscope_minor
nuary 31, 2026 @11:26AM
(#65960960)
Attached to: UK's First Rapid-Charging Battery Train Ready For Boarding
We don't use cabeese for passenger rail in the UK.
180709276
comment
byserviscope_minor
nuary 31, 2026 @11:03AM
(#65960924)
Attached to: Universal Basic Income Could Be Used To Soften Hit From AI Job Losses In UK, Minister Says
I think we need to move to means testing the state pension. We have Universal Credit, extend it to pensions.
Yeah means testing could work. Or UBI :) Also the winter fuel allowance. Or, well, the means tested pension ought to cover it, having a double system is daft. But yeah, having the entire lot be on UC would make s good deal of sense.
I don't buy all the stuff about old people being too thick or demented to get what they are entitled to.
Well, it depends. Some are fine. Watching some suffer serious cognitive decline, there are good reasons some are classed as vulnerable adults and are really only semi independent.
We can build a system that handles it. We have to.
Yes. I think UBI+higher flat tax solves that too.
180707674
comment
byserviscope_minor
nuary 31, 2026 @03:49AM
(#65960626)
Attached to: UK's First Rapid-Charging Battery Train Ready For Boarding
A full train can hold hundreds of people.
Thousands!
A modern high capacity train like the Elizabeth line holds 1500 passengers.
180707586
comment
byserviscope_minor
nuary 31, 2026 @03:39AM
(#65960614)
Attached to: UK's First Rapid-Charging Battery Train Ready For Boarding
Big problem, trains only go from A to B, far from where most people need to be.
????
also trains make so much more noise.
You have it back to front. Cars make far, far more noise. Motorways are incredibly loud.
And most people think dieseltrains are powering the actual train much like an engine powers most ice cars, but that's not true, most dieseltrains are actual electric trains, where the dieselgenerator is generating electricity.
Not universally. The class 171 and 180 uses a hydraulic transmission.
180702692
comment
byserviscope_minor
ary 30, 2026 @02:45PM
(#65959680)
Attached to: Do Markets Make Us Moral?
Yep.
It's not just that it's a significant proportion of your life, people can't physically do it, especially not to the standards of care we expect today.
As you say in the past people with dementia would have died of all sorts of preventable things like being lost in the woods. You'd find out in the morning, maybe people would go look, maybe you find a body. That wandering off isn't supposed to happen now, if it does the authorities get involved etc etc. Not in a bad way, the police will go looking to bring them back, an ambulance will come to check up on them and the council may send someone to discuss options.
But also the end result is it's also way more work to look after someone to modern standards. No one can give 24/7 care, it's not physically possible. No just going to bed and hoping they are there in the morning. No following someone around for hours trying to feed them because they feel no hunger and can't swallow well if you have to spend 14 hours a day on the farm or in a factory.
Trouble is it creeps up. I'm trying to work out an exit strategy that I think I can execute if it comes to it. I don't want to put anyone through this horror, but neither would I like them imprisoned for murder. Hopefully though it won't.
180702614
comment
byserviscope_minor
ary 30, 2026 @02:32PM
(#65959646)
Attached to: The UK Paid $5.65 Million For a Bookmarks Site
Yeah massive colossal waste, I 100% agree.
180701656
comment
byserviscope_minor
ary 30, 2026 @01:04PM
(#65959432)
Attached to: The UK Paid $5.65 Million For a Bookmarks Site
It's not fraud because PwC didn't do anything wrong per se: they quoted a silly price and the government agreed to that price. That's stupid but it's not fraud.Big companies overcharge, and the tendering rules are such that no one else can practically apply.
180701154
comment
byserviscope_minor
ary 30, 2026 @11:42AM
(#65959184)
Attached to: The UK Paid $5.65 Million For a Bookmarks Site
If it only cost 5 mil and actually works then they got off very cheap as these things go.
The trouble is that the government is obsessed with several things.
1. Fraud!
Can't have fraud so the procurement rules are deep and complex to the point where only the largest companies can hope to negotiate them. They'd rather pay 100x over the odds and a 50% failure rate due to incompetence than have a 1% chance of failure due to fraud. In fairness this is a problem with the elctorate rather than the government. But it means...
2. Giant companies only need apply
Giant companies deliver things for the government (albeit it crappily), so there fore only large companies that people have heard of can possible deliver things. So only they get to deliver things. So only they can deliver things. So only they get...
3. The government can't do anything
because only large companies can deliver things. so clearly the government can't because things are made by big companies.
The end result of 3 is that the government refuses to do anything except contract out to giant companies. Noe only is it expensive but the lack of in house skills (and seriously this is a bookmarking website) means they can't even evaluate proposals, let alone build anything. So the only option is to tender to giant companies because only those companies can build anything...
Classic British inefficiency.
180700782
comment
byserviscope_minor
ary 30, 2026 @10:35AM
(#65958974)
Attached to: Universal Basic Income Could Be Used To Soften Hit From AI Job Losses In UK, Minister Says
The driving force behind benefits policy in the UK is outrage that someone else is getting something for nothing, and you are paying for it through tax.
I think this is a gross over simplification: ultimately the bill failed precisely because most people don't think that people in wheelchairs should have their benefits slashed. People broadly speaking want the two child benefit cap lifted.
Beyond that though it's a mess. Yeah some people are just mean spirited and some are terminally wooly headed. Most people though don't really have a problem with the welfare state existing.
The problem isn't idlers. Most people aren't idlers. The problem with the system is that it forces people into idleness. The low pay and lack of protections mean it's not just financially unwise, but seriously risky to try and get a job because you end up on lower pay, and then a big gap you can't afford if your employment doesn't continue.
And there has been a huge spike in anxiety related costs. Trouble is having people permanently off is poorly founded from a medical point of view, but the options for returning to work are sufficiently poor that it makes it very hard to do.
Also what the fuck is up with motability. That's largely speaking madness derived from good intentions and tweaked to the point of absurdity. Not how the Fail say, they are as usual wrong about everything and nasty to boot, but it has got senseless.
So yeah, the benefits system does need massive reform, and I don't think it's working well or in any way intended. Lest you think this is some right wing inspired rant about idlers, I can give you my manifesto on why I think UBI and higher tax is a solution to a large number of the problems
Except when it comes to the biggest cost to the system - pensioners. Then there doesn't seem to be any limit to the burden on working people.
OK, how much would you cut pensions by? Trouble is half of them have gold plated boomer final salary schemes, the other half are trying to survive on 230 per week. Plus an extra 25p once they are 80 years old.
But you know I'm sick of this "working people" nonsense. If it's a burden, then it's a burden on everyone.
180697196
comment
byserviscope_minor
ary 30, 2026 @04:07AM
(#65958438)
Attached to: Universal Basic Income Could Be Used To Soften Hit From AI Job Losses In UK, Minister Says
I don't know about the UK, but aren't unemployment benefits funded on the assumption that more people will eventually find work?
I principle yeah. In practice, oh boy the UK benefits system is in a bit of a mess and needs some serious reform. As a result, a lot of people are going on long term disability for mental health reasons, since its the only practical way to get support. This has no return to work provision and the benefits bill is spiralling out of control.
Sadly our PM is a moron. The reform he tried to ram through was to... slash benefits for people in wheelchairs. Basically, everyone agrees people in wheel chairs are disabled, even the most strident Daily Fail reading, flag waving Reform voter. A person in a wheelchair is pretty much the universal symbol of disabled. So that proved so wildly unpopular with everyone that he did nothing instead concluding that no one wants the broken system fixed because we don't want to fuck over wheelchair users.
Anyway TL;DR the benefits system here is fucked, makes it hard to get back to work, and steers people firmly towards more permanent systems which shouldn't even be permanent.
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