BRFR Cake Stop 'breaking news' miscellany

[briantrumpet]

"Politically bold" indeed. Maybe Rick Chasey would approve.

 

[briantrumpet]

I am a little bit intrigued why the forum reaction to technology that has been widely used in Germany and is being considered for the uk is to declare it impossible.

I had assumed that Ikea had checked it would work first.

 

[orraloon]

Guess the 'microinverter' means get a feed in. Sounds like is a set up where use it or lose it...?

I have the inverter plus controller up in loft, can monitor / change settings etc via an app on iPad rather than getting up the ladder. I have battery storage units up there as well. Downstairs by the mains electricity in / out and smart meter there are:
- a dual supply box with the ins, outs and trip breakers
- a PV array junction box
- a BIG PV system main isolator

Does seem a bit more complicated than plug it in. Do have ASHP and integrated backup gas boiler for when it gets too cold for the ASHP to hit requested temps.

ok, out of nerd mode perlease...

 

[PurplePenguin]

I had assumed that Ikea had checked it would work first.

I assumed that argument might be attacked on the grounds of some previous furniture failure.

 

[briantrumpet]

I assumed that argument might be attacked on the grounds of some previous furniture failure.

Just glad I've kept all the previous Ikea hex keys and spare fixings so I can screw my solar panels direct into the grid.

 

[briantrumpet]

Guess the 'microinverter' means get a feed in. Sounds like is a set up where use it or lose it...?

I have the inverter plus controller up in loft, can monitor / change settings etc via an app on iPad rather than getting up the ladder. I have battery storage units up there as well. Downstairs by the mains electricity in / out and smart meter there are:
- a dual supply box with the ins, outs and trip breakers
- a PV array junction box
- a BIG PV system main isolator

Does seem a bit more complicated than plug it in. Do have ASHP and integrated backup gas boiler for when it gets too cold for the ASHP to hit requested temps.

ok, out of nerd mode perlease...

There are batteries of various sizes in the various kits too. Without knowing too much about the whole thing, my initial reading is that the Ikea concept could be a game-changer through its price and simplicity.

 

[BoldonLad]

It is not safe to just plug a generator into a socket. Frequency synchronisation is the most obvious issue, but there are others. It has to be more complex than plugging in.

Yes, one of my drinking pals is a retired Parsons Turbine / Generator person, he often mutters stuff about Frequency Synchronisation, and, the rest of the group nod as if we understand what he is talking about 😂

 

[briantrumpet]

A useful piece about public views of taxation, from @PurplePenguin's favourite, Dan Neidle, asking whether tax policies should be driven by the public's (often ignorant) understanding.

https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/10/26...-of-tax-increase-and-why-we-should-ignore-it/

If most people don’t understand the tax system, or government funding, should tax policy simply ignore popular views of tax and the tax system?

That would be a mistake, and perhaps even dangerous. Our political system, and our tax system, needs popular consent. And ignoring popular views on tax would give space for populists, of Left and Right, to pursue tax policies that could be highly destructive.

Tax policy therefore has to be informed by the public mood – but it shouldn’t be led by three second conversations, which confuse public sentiment for public opinion. And tax policy, and tax educators, should seek to challenge popular misapprehensions.

However there is a wider problem.

Robert Colville recently wrote in The Times that much bad tax policy is driven by politicians’ fear that they can’t tell voters the truth about the real constraints on tax and spending. He may be right. But how can politicians tell voters the truth about what may have to change, if voters don’t understand the basics of how things work at the moment?

It seems trite and inadequate to say that we need more education around finance and tax. Right now I don’t have any other suggestions.

 

[First Aspect]

He says that as though the UK is any more informed about any other policy.

 

[Stevo 666]

Another one from Mr. Neidle, this one on the futility of wealth taxes:-

View: https://x.com/DanNeidle/status/1834185517019119903

 

[Dorset Boy]

It all goes back to the utter failure of the education system to prepare people for the reality of adulthood. Very few of the population are financially literate and that should have been addressed years ago. School leavers need to have an understanding of how their pay works, what their payslips really mean, and a basic understanding of saving , investing and pensions.

 

[briantrumpet]

It all goes back to the utter failure of the education system to prepare people for the reality of adulthood. Very few of the population are financially literate and that should have been addressed years ago. School leavers need to have an understanding of how their pay works, what their payslips really mean, and a basic understanding of saving , investing and pensions.

It is bizarre that pretty much all of this stuff ends up being picked up second-hand (if at all) outside of formal education, given that our adult lives hinge on trying to negotiate and get this stuff right.

 

[Dorset Boy]

It is bizarre that pretty much all of this stuff ends up being picked up second-hand (if at all) outside of formal education, given that our adult lives hinge on trying to negotiate and get this stuff right.

It's everything from a self employed tradesman understanding how to correctly price up a job and add their profit, to understaning that saving isn't investing, and how interest on a mortgage works.

 

[briantrumpet]

Not content with continuing to taint/tank Tesla, Musk is doing his best to make Grok worthless.

 

[matticus]

It is bizarre that pretty much all of this stuff ends up being picked up second-hand (if at all) outside of formal education, given that our adult lives hinge on trying to negotiate and get this stuff right.

<devils teachers' advocate:> I actually think that few school-leavers need this knowledge. You can a get job without knowing about tax/pensions (you choose based on total salary, and you budget based on how much cash you get at the end of the week/month).
Hardly anyone starts their career self-employed.
Few people buy a house before several years of getting settled / saving / career advancement.

And which pupils would take any interest? When you can learn about volcanoes! How to chat-up french girls! Hammering Things skilz! Gear ratios!!!