indiepanda

Together in Electric Dreams - Phil Oakley and Georgio Moroder

Michael Palaeologus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "Of the newer inclination" > > "Alternatively experienced" > > "Newer than average" > > "Shiny" lol.... I think newbie infinately preferable to any of those.

From what I read the issue with the new charge was that cars with emissions below a certain level wouldn't be charged at all, while the gas guzzlers would be charged ?25. It was the first part of it that was going to lead to increased emissions not the ?25 levy on gas guzzlers. I really struggle with the concept Porsche did this for any other reason than they were worried the increase in congestion charge on their cars would hasten the trendy switch to the likes of the Toyata Prius from supercars!

You and Me Song - The Wannadies

I've never felt inclined to have children, mainly I think because my parents found the responsibility involved weighed upon them somewhat heavily and as a result I don't remember childhood being much fun. They weren't bad parents in as much as they weren't alcoholics / abusers etc, and there was always food on the table and clothes on our backs. But they were very strict and no matter how good I was, it was never seemed good enough. Having really only started to have fun as an adult, I'm frankly reluctant to give it up! Selfish I know, but better to be realistic about these things than have children and then resent them for the impact they have on my life. I'm continually surprised at the number of people who talk to me like I am some kind of freak for not wanting children, or say things like "you might find you like it if you have them". Might?? And just say I did find I didn't enjoy being a mum? Can't take them back for a refund, once you're a mum, it's for life. Perhaps I (like my parents!) take it a bit too seriously, but we're not exactly living in an underpopulated country, I reckon the world will survive without my offspring.

Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen

Given the amount of abuse in care homes it's debatable isn't it? I was at a conference today and one of the presenters was a consultant to the DWP who has been involved in some work with incapacity benefit claimants to get them back into work. One of the interesting points he made was that many of the people on IB don't have objective medical conditions - e.g. multiple sclerosis, cancer etc. What they do have is a combination of subjective illnesses - stress, back trouble etc. The interesting this about this is that these are things most people manage to suffer from without ending up long-term sick. I think most people can think of a time they've had a sore back, or sleepless nights due to anxiety about some problem or another. So, the question is what is it that is different about the ones that end up signed off sick? In many cases it seems to come down to beliefs and attitudes. If you believe that you can't cope with stress, or that you have no control over a situation, you are more likely to end up signed off sick. Since beliefs are often influenced by the environment you grow up in it's not surprising generation after generation of people in some deprived areas have grown up with some pretty negative beliefs about their ability to work. I agree its not all people - some will always buck the trend of their genes and upbringing. It's also been noted that claims tend to rise when the economy is doing badly, even though there's no reason why people should be sicker then. So economically disadvantaged areas of the country tend to have much higher rates of IB claims. Might also be something to do with government choosing to manipulate unemployment stats by letting people claim sick benefit instead... or is that too cynical?? I think it's unfair to suggest some people are just lazy, it's not quite as simple as that. What is true is that being off work sick is fantastically bad for people. The data I saw today was quite alarming. The impact of being out of work for over 6 months had the same impact on life expectancy as smoking 10 packets of cigarettes a day! Young men out of work were 40 times more likely to commit suicide than the average person. What the government is starting to do is make more constructive steps to get people back into work, rather than just trying to cut benefits off. Things like sending people for cognative behavioral therapy to help them develop the skills to deal with stress, and paying people benefits when back in work to encourage them to make the first steps back. They've concentrated efforts on areas of the country with major issues like the former coal mining areas where lots of people are on IB. I gather the results have been very positive, and the intention is to roll out further to help more people back into work. They've got a big task on their hands for sure and if we end up in recession it won't help matters, but at least they are trying. I'll hop off my soap box now ;-)

Elvis

Dreams - Fleetwood Mac

See the day - D C Lee

Good

Cool, look forward to it :)

I'm going to be (500 miles) - The Proclaimers

Well, if your bank or building society goes belly up now, and was regulated by the Financial Services Authority (which they would generally be in this country, but worth checking), provided you have less than ?35k in a deposit account, you will get all your money back via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If you are lucky to have more savings than that, it might not hurt to split them between different banks so that all accounts have less than the maximum in. More info at : http://www.fscs.org.uk/consumer/ - including how to tell whether your bank is regulated by the FSA / covered by the FSCS.

Will newbies be welcome? I'm moving to ED the previous weekend, would be nice to meet some people living in the area.

The Tide is High - Blondie

twins

mark

obesity

All you need is love - The Beatles

SteveT Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My full name is SteveT'panda, by 'eck, from > Yorkshire way, and if you think that 35 is too old > to have a full litter of baby pandas I'll have you > know I sired my last litter at 44 'appen and she > has just passed her eleven plus, at the tender age > of 18. > Now if that there, aint a success story I'd like > to know what was. > Any more of this 'ere faint hearted 'can't do it I > 'ave an 'eadache' nonsense and I'll expect you > round 'ere at your most fertile part of the decade > and we shall soon eradicate all these 'academic > ideas' wi' a seein' to we'll never forget. > > An if that aint the best offer a critter as 'ad t' > this side o' a full moon, I'll eat my bamboo > by'eck if I won't. Lol, now I am scared ;-). *scampers off to hide in the chinese mountains* Seriously, I didn't mean 35 is too old anyway, but ruling out single parenthood as an option (for me) there is that minor detail of needing to find the right guy first and wanting to be able to enjoy some time together before thinking about having a family. And I have my reasons for not wanting to be a parent (nothing sinister just personal).

mouth

verucca

lol, I think some of that would put me off more! I'm sure it's great for some people, just don't think it's for me. And being single and the wrong side of 35 it's largely academic anyway.

Not sure what my biggest fear would be now.... really don't like snakes though, menacing looking things. I used to be terrified of the idea of being trapped in a burning building when I was a kid - had repeated nightmares about it, my poor parents used to have to get up to me most nights when I was a toddler, god knows how they put up with me. Actually having children might be my biggest fear, but at least I can do something to avoid that one!!