OT What's the point of working ?

[Phil L]

You appear to think that the council is paying foir this work to be done - they aren't - it's almost certainly the warmfront scheme, which covers the

100% grants for insulation too, and has done from the beginning, about 12 years ago, although when it first started it offered only draughtproofing, then loft insulation, and now CWI and replacement boilers.

The money that funds this lot was creamed off the energy suppliers as a 'windfall tax', who creamed it off us in the first place, so you see, he has already effectively paid for this boiler, through all the gas and leccy bills he has paid over the decades.

[Andy Cap]

Fair enough, but then we should *all* be *entitled* to a free boiler and it should not be means tested. It shouldn't only be spent on those choosing different priorities. The more freebies there are, the more people will look to avoid their responsibilities.

[geoff]

In message , Andy Cap writes

... ...

Come Inside

I was outside a lunatic asylum one day, busy picking up stones When along came a lunatic and said to me, "Good morning Mr. Jones, Oh, how much a week do you get for doing that", "Thirty bob I cried" "What, thirty bob a week, with a wife and kids to keep? Come inside you silly bugger come inside"

"Come inside you silly bugger come inside, you ought to have a bit more sense. Working for your living, take my tip, act a little screwy and become a lunatic. Oh you get your meals most regular and a brand new suit besides. What's thirty bob a week with a wife and kids to keep. Come inside you silly bugger come inside."

[Owain]

I agree, but -

1. Elderly people are amongst those most at risk from inadequate heating.
2. Elderly people are amongst those most likely to live in houses with older/inadequate/no heating systems.
3. Elderly people are amongst those *least* likely to claim anything, especially if it's means-tested
4. There aren't actually that many people going to benefit under the free heating for pensioners scheme, and most of them will be on fairly low incomes anyway - because if they weren't, they'd have installed/replaced their heating systems by now - so means-testing would be somewhat superfluous and an administrative cost
5. Hospital care for elderly people is expensive; better heating means they can stay in their homes more
6. Elderly people are going to die soon, so the improved houses will be released into the general housing stock fairly quickly

It's a bit like the argument that it would be cheaper to give every homeless person a flat than it is to pay for the costs of homelessness.

Maybe we should have some more schemes, like free replacements for every open-flued back boiler, on safety and energy efficiency grounds.

Owain

[Andy Cap]

You've made several excellent points in respect of the elderly and perhaps the scheme has it's merits. I must admit I found 6. a bit depressing ! :-) In cases of real hardship, few would object to social assistance, but the suspicion is, that it's often a question of having set the wrong priorities. Policing that of course, would be extremely expensive and therefore those inclined towards milking the system, will probably continue to get away with it. Which going slightly deeper, is why you need to instill moral values and not rely on policing each and every human activity, because that's both impractical and unaffordable.

Andy C

[Arthur2]

Bob rhymes with nob.

Arthur

[Appelation Controlee]

-------------------8><

Hey, go easy on the mental exertion - it's Sunday.

[Arthur2]

I'm learning to moderate my efforts.

A... I mean, a.

[geoff]

In message , Arthur2 writes

Swear more ...

[Weatherlawyer]

Yeah! Tell gorblimey Brown lies. He'll want something to take his mind off getting new apprentices trained in time for doing public service work:

Gordon Brown has just been telling us porkies about the need for skilled construction workers after condemning the walk out by oil plant workers over the hiring of Italian workers.

Nobody advertised down our way, so where did he suddenly come up with the need and what has new apprenticeship initiatives got to do with the price of oil today?

Bloody lies! Who needs people like that in power? Barefaced stinking liar!

[Appelation Controlee]

-------------------8><

A shallow argument - you never even mentioned the price of beer. :^)

[Mike]

Another plus besides the fares was South Yorkshire always had relatively new vehicles that were pleasant to travel on rather than the usual stink of stale piss and sweaty bodies permeating the air (and due to nasal problems that's my experience with an almost permanently blocked nose!)

The fares weren't always 5p, but the most used short routes were, as a comparison in the late 1970's York charged around seven times the South Yorkshire rate for a two mile journey. The fares really should have been free though as collecting and processing fares apparently cost more than the money they received.

Absolutely, if it were not for free bus travel for the over 60's I know my parents couldn't afford to travel into town - a two way journey for the pair of them, traveling not much more than a mile and a half is nearly £6! OK they could possibly walk one way in good weather (not that I'd let them with the local crime figures) but carting a weekly shop back that sort of distance is not much fun when you are in your late 70's

[jim]

On 30 Jan, 16:56, Appelation Controlee wrote: ///

That is just plain anti-social. You are helping to clog roads with long dirty slow busses which keep stopping and which obstruct us good folks who depend on cars.

What's more by leaving your car at home you are taking pressure off the demand for decent free car parking.

[djc]

Channel4.com currently only supports Windows PCs using Internet Explorer

6 or 7. This is due to restrictions with the rights and technical protection measures required.

However, if you are using Firefox 2+ (on a Windows PC) you can get a plugin from here which should allow you to watch the programmes on Channel4.com.

translation: You are a Linux user, bugger off.

[Bob Eager]

Not that I'd touch Linux, but I must try it on FreeBSD...Windows Firefix works fine under wine.

[Appelation Controlee]

Like so many things, it's a compromise - too often, when there isn't a best option, we have to choose the least worst.

[The Medway Handyman]

I understand he was sacked from his first job - a tea boy in Pizza Hut.

Apparently he couldn't organise a brew up in a pizzeria.

[Pete Verdon]

It's not the browser that matters for these things, it's Windows Media Player, which has the Digital Restrictions Management capabilities that the programme owners demand. Might work via Wine too, of course, but being much more integrated with Windows it's less likely to than Firefox.

I actually bought a copy of Parallels for my Mac specifically to watch Channel Four stuff, forgetting that I'd still need a copy of Windows to install into it. Since I haven't had a Windows for very nearly ten years, I lost interest at that point.

Pete