Search found 201 matches

by Boring_Username
14 Mar 2021, 3:24pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Pandemic preparation.
Replies: 59
Views: 1630

Re: Pandemic preparation.

Jdsk wrote:Please put up the data on excess deaths.

Jonathan


It's in the very first link that I provided.
by Boring_Username
14 Mar 2021, 3:19pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Pandemic preparation.
Replies: 59
Views: 1630

Re: Pandemic preparation.

Jdsk wrote:
Boring_Username wrote:What is it about my original post you're struggling to understand? I said that on the basis of excess deaths, the UK has not performed uniquely badly in Europe. Then I gave a link to excess death figures in Europe.

Sure, let's do it on excess deaths.

The problem with your first post was choosing other countries (in Europe) with known high rates as comparators.

As above: a fairer table of comparators would help to resolve any disagreement... how about all countries in Europe rather than the highest?

Jonathan


And now you truncate my response to suit your argument...
by Boring_Username
14 Mar 2021, 3:11pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Pandemic preparation.
Replies: 59
Views: 1630

Re: Pandemic preparation.

Jdsk wrote:He's the source to which we both linked.

I'm not sure what the argument is about here... but if you put up the data for excess death rates showing the UK and all other countries or similar countries or European countries we'd probably able to resolve it. That would also avoid the obvious problem of cherrypicking comparators post hoc.

Jonathan


What is it about my original post you're struggling to understand? I said that on the basis of excess deaths, the UK has not performed uniquely badly in Europe. Then I gave a link to excess death figures in Europe.

We have fared worse than a number of countries (Germany, France, etc) and about the same as a number of other countries (Italy, Spain, etc). Could we have done better? Yes. Have we done uniquely badly, as implied by the political arguments in the book that started this thread? No.

Do I think this analysis is contradicted by "attributed to" figures? No, because as almost any statistician will tell you they are deeply unreliable.

P.S. If you want less tetchy responses, it's probably a good idea not to reply to a post by implying the poster is a liar ("What a strange way to say...")
by Boring_Username
14 Mar 2021, 2:56pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Pandemic preparation.
Replies: 59
Views: 1630

Re: Pandemic preparation.

Jdsk wrote:It's the same source... Burn-Murdoch at the FT.

Jonathan


He is not the primary source of any of those figures.
by Boring_Username
14 Mar 2021, 2:49pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Pandemic preparation.
Replies: 59
Views: 1630

Re: Pandemic preparation.

Jdsk wrote:What a strange way to say "Amongst the worst in the world". Same source:


It isn't the same source. One is excess deaths, widely recognised as a reliable indicator; the other is deaths "attributed to" according to government figures, widely recognised as not a reliable indicator.
by Boring_Username
14 Mar 2021, 2:28pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Pandemic preparation.
Replies: 59
Views: 1630

Re: Pandemic preparation.

We have a similar rate of excess deaths to Italy, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938

Yes our government has made mistakes but the idea that it has managed things uniquely badly simply isn't supported by the facts.
by Boring_Username
9 Mar 2021, 6:32pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Want vs need
Replies: 30
Views: 2118

Re: Want vs need

CHead2 wrote:Hi I'm having an internal battle of want vs need, n+1 and all that. I have an entry level road bike which I have ridden for about 3 years now with shimano claris weighs about 12kg.

I'm WANTING an upgrade but dont know if I NEED an upgrade. I myself weigh about 96kg and wanting an upgrade a bike weight of ideally 9kg, shimano 105 groupset (or similar) and disc brakes. That's about the most I can afford (£1500-£2000).

I do enjoy my current bike. But has anyone been in a similar situation? Or ride a similar spec bike and found significant increase in enjoyment? That's mainly what I'm in cycling for anyways


I'm not that far off 96kg, so if you will forgive me and allow me to assume you would like to lose a few kg, one strategy is to set yourself a target weight loss - say 6kg - and then reward yourself with a bike that is 3kg lighter. That way, a win-win.
by Boring_Username
9 Mar 2021, 10:28am
Forum: Racing, Olympics, TdF, Competitive cycling
Topic: Change The Time Trialling Records Rules - Because of the 7 km+ / 8 minute+ Advantage!
Replies: 14
Views: 2196

Re: Change The Time Trialling Records Rules - Because of the 7 km+ / 8 minute+ Advantage!

freeflow wrote: you might as well just sit people on a static trainer and measure the total power output over a specified time.


Also known as - Zwift racing
by Boring_Username
8 Mar 2021, 9:07am
Forum: On the road
Topic: Commute time Surrey (Epsom) to central London
Replies: 14
Views: 1029

Re: Commute time Surrey (Epsom) to central London

Sweep wrote:Do they really slow up that much unless the junction is a major busy one or those temporary road work ones which usually use inefficient switching for safety reasons?


Fair enough. Most don't, all that much. Some do, a lot. The system between Birdcage Walk and Victoria Embankment, for example, is awful.
by Boring_Username
8 Mar 2021, 8:22am
Forum: On the road
Topic: Commute time Surrey (Epsom) to central London
Replies: 14
Views: 1029

Re: Commute time Surrey (Epsom) to central London

I find the main thing the slows me down is not traffic, but traffic lights. Where possible, I pick a route with fewer lights, even if it is slightly longer.
by Boring_Username
7 Mar 2021, 8:52am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Nurses Pay Award
Replies: 127
Views: 4066

Re: Nurses Pay Award

Syd wrote:
kwackers wrote: ...and lets not forget that most NHS staff (unless they've been around a while) automatically get a pay rise each year anyway through the tier system based on their extra "experience"..

That is no longer the case. The number of pay points in each band has been reduced and staff members now sit longer on each one, up to 5 years, before moving up to the next.

Scale for NHS England linked below.

https://www.nhsemployers.org/pay-pensio ... les/annual


As I understand it, newly qualified nurses start at Band 5. Your link shows pay on that band starting at £24,907 and then rising to £30,615 by year 8. That's an average annual increase of 3%. So nurses with less than 8 years' experience will on average be getting a pay rise of 3% + 1% = 4%. And those with more than 8 year's experience who get promoted to Band 6 will by the same process for the first 8 years be getting an average pay rise of 2.7% + 1% = 3.7%.

If the public was better aware of all that it might feel different about the headline 1%.
by Boring_Username
6 Mar 2021, 7:03pm
Forum: Lands End to John O'Groats
Topic: New idea for navigating LEJOG?
Replies: 61
Views: 6576

Re: New idea for navigating LEJOG?

ossie wrote:I'm not sure you need turn by turn navigation. I've never used it in a decade of touring using Garmins (Etrex Hcx and Etrex 20x )Just download your route and follow the pink line (or whatever colour), when zoomed in its quite easy.


Whatever the incremental benefits of turn by turn, following a line sounds a great deal easier than the suggestion of having to stop/start verbal directions by tapping a phone.
by Boring_Username
6 Mar 2021, 10:04am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Nurses Pay Award
Replies: 127
Views: 4066

Re: Nurses Pay Award

It's a 1% increase in pay bands, not a 1% increase in pay.
Many nurses will see a larger increase as they progress through pay bands as a result of years of service, even if they remain in the same grade of position (i.e. pay increases for the same job).
Some other nurses are I believe covered by pre-existing more generous deals.
Added to which, as noted above, many nurses (over half at my local hospital) work through agencies, not directly for the NHS - so they may have different arrangements.

So it would be helpful to understand the resulting average increase in pay, rather than the headline impact on pay bands. That may well still be too modest, but I don't think we are getting the full picture at the moment.
by Boring_Username
5 Mar 2021, 8:56am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: New name coming to the high street?
Replies: 26
Views: 1029

Re: New name coming to the high street?

merseymouth wrote:All covered by the horrible "Smart Phone"! Use their "App", then fingers crossed.
No I won't be shopping such a store if they hit my city.
As I resist being hooked to a smart phone, refuse to accept on-line banking, contactless shopping and other measures beloved by the impatient types, it won't get my custom.
But would love to know how acceptable it would be to others? MM


If I had access to a horrible "computer", I would answer your question. But I refuse to accept that technology, so I can't.
by Boring_Username
4 Mar 2021, 10:52pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: The Caledonia Way vs Lochs and Glens Way
Replies: 4
Views: 597

Re: The Caledonia Way vs Lochs and Glens Way

We did more or less the Caledonia Way a few years ago. It was lovely.

The track that runs along the north west edge of the amusingly named Loch Lochy is pretty rough - big stones embedded in the track rather than roots. But doable on say 32c tyres for a normal weight man. (Sadly I am rather above normal weight and was on 25c - I made it, but only by standing up for an hour or so!)