Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

lostinrates

The nicest thing about having a puppy is that it's given me a chance to see dog dog in a role I never imagined her in, and I am 'falling in love' with her all over again. She really is my dog of a lifetime. She plays with such tenderness with the puppy, and such patience.

In other news, big dog is having another phantom, and is being utterly vile to everyone as a result. It's worrying because she is outside the 'normal' time zone for phantoms, and combined with things like her increasingly dodgy tummy I think we are certainly seeing the beginning of the end. I am cursing her dodgy tummy on the day she was meant to be spayed, which was already pushing it in her cycle, because we got shoved down the list (various reasons, all acceptable) so it means march before the next opportunity. I plan to whizz her in for a blood test next week. But what I fear ime rarely shows up on screening.

Generali

zagubov wrote: »

One of the best classes I get to teach in Biology involves getting the students to understand why being poisonous/venomous is so rare in complex animals.

6 venomous mammals (3 shrews, 2 solenodons and 1 platypus) and 0 venomous (but 1 toxic) bird.

So why are there so many venomous snakes? Presumably at it's most basic, it's Darwinian natural selection: the venomous ones either bred more successfully or simply survived to breed but can you explain further? Lots of the indigenous mammals here are immune to the toxins anyhow.

Nothing at all can kill a wombat except another wombat. FACT.

More on wombats, and Australia more generally:

http://www.h2g2.com/entry/A12295

The second confusing thing about Australia are the animals. They can be divided into three categories. Poisonous, Odd, and Sheep. It is true that of the 10 most poisonous arachnids on the planet, Australia has 9 of them. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that of the 9 most poisonous arachnids, Australia has all of them. Though, there are curiously few snakes, possibly because the spiders have killed them all. Even the spiders won't go near the sea. Any visitors should be careful to check inside boots (before putting them on) under toilet seats (before sitting down) and generally everywhere else. A stick is very useful for this task.


Strangely, it tends to be the second class of animals (the Odd) that are more dangerous. The creature that kills the most people each year is the common Wombat. It is nearly as ridiculous as it's name, and spends it's life digging holes in the ground, in which it hides. During the night it comes out to eat worms and grubs. The wombat kills people in two ways: First, the animal is indestructible. Digging holes in the hard Australian clay builds muscles that outclass Olympic weightlifters. At night, they often wander the roads. Semi-trailers (Road Trains) have hit them at high speed, with all 9 wheels on one side, and this merely makes them very annoyed. They express this by snorting, glaring, and walking away. Alas, to smaller cars, the wombat becomes an asymmetrical high-speed launching pad, with results that can be imagined.

(continues)

lemonjelly

zagubov wrote: »

I was horrified to read on the bbc website recently that putting a house spider outoors kills them just as efficiently as stamping on them.

I used to make a major effort into "setting them free" rather than squishing them to keep the family happy. :eek:

Never understood why people do that. I leave them in the house to eat as many insects as they can catch...

lemonjelly

PasturesNew wrote: »

People try to make people feel bad about not having a pension, but Ed Investor (ex MSE/deceased) told me that if you're not a higher rate tax payer and if you've not got an employer paying in, you might as well forget it as it's dead money.... so, that gave me the green light to not have to try to justify it. I've never earnt enough to even consider putting into a pension.

I've only ever paid into mine because employers have.
My rationale is that in the same way employers will try & gain everything they can from me, I value my time & labour equally high. I'm therefore going to get the maximum wage possible. Therefore, I am going to pay into the pensions scheme, as are they. If they don't pay into the scheme, I'm selling myself short...

Generali

lemonjelly wrote: »

Never understood why people do that. I leave them in the house to eat as many insects as they can catch...

To understand:
1. Marry an Australian: they insist that the only good spider is a dead spider by-and-large. Fail to understand why having a few fly munchers round the house is A Bad Thing.
2. Move to Australia. Come face-to-face with a large funnel web spider climbing out of a cereal packet. Understand immediately why a zero-tolerance approach is the only possible strategy. Curse the Government for banning DDT & spider sized tactical nukes from general sale.

lemonjelly

Generali wrote: »

To understand:
1. Marry an Australian: they insist that the only good spider is a dead spider by-and-large. Fail to understand why having a few fly munchers round the house is A Bad Thing.
2. Move to Australia. Come face-to-face with a large funnel web spider climbing out of a cereal packet. Understand immediately why a zero-tolerance approach is the only possible strategy. Curse the Government for banning DDT & spider sized tactical nukes from general sale.

Bring some samples with you next time you're over!:D

Dribley

michaels wrote: »

At 55(?) I can get back 25% of my pension pot tax free if current rules continue.

It looks like the Tax free lump sum will be scrapped within the next few years. Probably sooner than later :mad:

michaels

Dribley wrote: »

It looks like the Tax free lump sum will be scrapped within the next few years. Probably sooner than later :mad:

This is why I don't like saving in pensions. They can and do change the rules to your detriment. Was it Romania or somewhere that they nationalised all private pensions? given the demographics I would not rule out it happening here!

zagubov

Generali wrote: »

So why are there so many venomous snakes? Presumably at it's most basic, it's Darwinian natural selection: the venomous ones either bred more successfully or simply survived to breed but can you explain further? Lots of the indigenous mammals here are immune to the toxins anyhow.

Nothing at all can kill a wombat except another wombat. FACT.

More on wombats, and Australia more generally:

http://www.h2g2.com/entry/A12295

There's plenty of venomous cold-blooded creatures.
It's a useful survival strategy
You just don't find many warm-blooded examples.

It suggests (but doesn't prove) that being warm-blooded with a double circulation gives organisms other advantages that make them more successful. Warm-blooded organisms seem to occupy the higher ground in most food chains.

michaels wrote: »

The mortgage is 2% over base tracker offset (effectively IO) currently I have about 60% saved elsewhere at higher rates, it runs for up to about 15 years at the moment. I have been trying to save about 20-25k per annum out of income as 'mortgage repayment. Next year I could give up 4500 of net income and pay 12k in to my pension. At 55(?) I can get back 25% of my pension pot tax free if current rules continue.

Everyone I know that retired that early ended up having to go back to work as their pension was risible.:(

I'm overpaying my pension mainly because I was a student for an unfeasably long time and didn't find full-time work till I was older.

lostinrates

zagubov wrote: »

Everyone I know that retired that early ended up having to go back to work as their pension was risible.:(

I'm overpaying my pension mainly because I was a student for an unfeasably long time and didn't find full-time work till I was older.

I know many who have been able to retire early, but most started from a very, very comfortable point where their pension was probably more than dh's good salary. Many of them have not retired retired, but rather found that they like 'messing in stuff' where money is an end goal, even if that is a charitable concern. Some mix being things like board members with charitable work.

I can think of one very, very rich couple in their forties (in fact must be fifties now)who have done it, but have had to scale back a lot.....part of their pension was property in Spain. I think they can only stay as they are because they have no children or other dependants so can cut expenses RIgHT back to the bone and try to sit it out. To me, that's the absolute opposite of what early retirement should bring.