The Off Topic Topic

[Valmy]

I think about that often but I am about 70 years from affording to retire.

As soon as I found out about Eric, I did the retirement math:  23 or so years to go.  Doubt I'll make it, and I'm really thinking I don't want to work until they day I die.  Also, what the hell am I going to even do when I'm that old?

E:  He was grandfathered in under the old retirement plan, so he was able to get out sooner than someone who has started in the last 15ish years or whenever they changed it to the crappy...I dunno how to describe it...it's like a points type deal. Some numbers add up to some other number and voila, you're free.  I can get out earlier if I give them thousands of dollars and buy my federal time.  Val knows about this plan, I'm sure, if he still works for UT (I work for one of the UT medical schools).

 Oh and good to see you, Tamas 

I worked at UT from December 2004 until August 2014 but I burned my pension to fund the rest of my EE degree. But then I went right back to working for the state in February 2015 so I have some nice things from that past service but had to start my retirement over again and I am on the same system. I plan on retiring in February 2045 so I am paying pretty close attention to my health. I am well aware I may not make it that long. My longevity goal is to attend my daughter's 50th birthday on February 28th, 2069 but obviously that happening depends on tons of shit outside of my control. Anybody can die at any time, you can only increase your probability.

As for what I am going to do when I am old: well most of the shit I like to do I can still do when I am old. Though when I was a big WoW player one of the warriors in our guild was a 70+ year old retired dude playing in his retirement home. It bugged me a bit he struggled with his eyesight and could only physically sit there and play about 4 or 5 hours a day. I was like "holy shit you mean I cannot even physically sit there and play WoW when I am old for very long?" Because that was kind of the plan. Finally have all that time for video games, just can't physically play them anymore.

Being old kind of sucks. But I will make the most of it.

[Josquius]

Good to be talking to you again MBM

I frankly have no idea how retirement will look if I get to live that long. I mean, my wife and I have workplace pension things going so the pittance of state pension will be extended with a private pittance in my case (and a more decent one in my wife's case who bothered to learn some valuable skills).

I recon we may return to Eastern Europe after retirement, unless the world changes drastically around us, British pensions will ought to get you further there.

I'd say odds are good Poland will be on a par with, if not better than, the UK in terms of cost of living and wages by then.

Hungary of course...

[Tamas]

Anyone knows how effectively home AC units are at heating? My father is really convincing himself into getting one as secondary heating for their living room and I am extremely sceptical.

[Tamas]

I'd say odds are good Poland will be on a par with, if not better than, the UK in terms of cost of living and wages by then.

Hungary of course...

Yeah, I should probably learn Polish while I still have the brains for it. 

[Josquius]

Anyone knows how effectively home AC units are at heating? My father is really convincing himself into getting one as secondary heating for their living room and I am extremely sceptical.

They work well in that they certainly do heat up the room.
But they're super inefficient and cost way more to run than just a purpose built electric heater.

[Admiral Yi]

I didn't win the Mega Millions jackpot. 

[PDH]

I thought the drawing was 11pm eastern...

[Admiral Yi]

 

[Eddie Teach]

I didn't win either.   

[DGuller]

I didn't win either. 

[Grey Fox]

Anyone knows how effectively home AC units are at heating? My father is really convincing himself into getting one as secondary heating for their living room and I am extremely sceptical.

They work well in that they certainly do heat up the room.
But they're super inefficient and cost way more to run than just a purpose built electric heater.

No. My heatpump is a ratio of 1:3.6, my electric heater is 1:1.

[Syt]

[Josquius]

Probably of interest to literally only Jos - but I loved this
https://chronotrains-eu.vercel.app/

Shows you how far you can get by train in five hours. They've basically combined multiple train stations when there are easy bus/walking/metro connections so Euston and St Pancras and others are all merged into London King's Cross.

Thing that's really striking is the impact of borders. I know there are campaigns on this but in terms of both climate and output legitimacy I think working on better cross-border trains seems like something the EU should definitely look at as a priority. There are some cities where it's less of an issue (and you see the impact of favoured high speek routes, eg in France or Spain). But, as an extreme example, is Lisbon:


But a few of the locations show how national rail travel still is. But really fun little tool - especially if, like me, you like getting around by train when you're on holiday

It's especially sad to me as there was so much idiocy about how the EU forces us to privatise our trains (it doesn't) due to the rule that was specifically designed to create more cross border services.

It is pretty annoying how undeveloped things are on this front. For your one or two train a day specials between major cities it's fine but regular service is lacking, especially between more second tier places.

I would like to see more international through running.

[Zanza]

I took a train from Vigo to Porto some years ago and that was fine. But I remember that we tried to go from Huelva to Faro in the early 2000s and there was no train, just a bus. 

[Duque de Bragança]

I took a train from Vigo to Porto some years ago and that was fine. But I remember that we tried to go from Huelva to Faro in the early 2000s and there was no train, just a bus. 

Don't think there was ever a train line linking Algarve to Andalusia, unlike for instance the Douro valley international link through Barca d'Alva.