Should We Have An In/Out Referendum On Europe?
Years ago in 1975, I voted to stay in Europe, in Harold Wilson’s referendum. It was the first time I’d ever voted in any political election.
I look upon our membership of the European Union, with the mind of a Control Engineer. Two things should be born in mind.
Uncertainty is one of the most difficult things, when it comes to making a system stable. And I think, we’d all like stable lives.
Trying to take a system through a discontinuity is dangerous! I use the example of riding a bicycle up and down a kerb. Or if you don’t ride one, how about driving a car over a sleeping policeman.
For me, the best way to control anything is lots of little actions applied regularly and often.
Look at the serious discontinuities, the world has experienced in the last few years, like the attacks of September 11, 2001 or the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Our reaction was strong and as a control engineer, I think it could have been far too strong. We just panicked and made things worse.
The referendum on Europe would be a major step-change for us all to pass through, with many in favour and many against. Just the holding of the referendum might have either a lot of large positive or negative effects.
Let’s face it Europe has a lot of problems. Some like the budget and the non-sign-off of accounts are large problems in politicians of the out tendency, but they are the sort of problems, that in any large organisation, can generally be solved by hard negotiation.
One thing, that politicians seem to have ignored is the world in 2018, will be a very different place to that today. There is so much uncertainty!
The only good thing, is that a lot of that uncertainty will result in positive results for Britain, Europe and the whole planet.
Think about these issues before deciding on whether we should have a referendum.
1. Suppose Obama is replaced in 2016, by a very unacceptable president, who makes Mormon Mitt look like a liberal.
2. Will Scotland still be in the United Kingdom?
3. Will France be an economic powerhouse?
4. Will the banks still do all their traditional functions?
5. Wind turbines and nuclear power.
6. Airports and trains.
7. Where will the next big war be?
There is a lot of uncertainty, is the only thing you can say. And all David Cameron is doing is increasing it!
Taking The Prison Bus
I have joked that the 274 bus, is the prison bus for Pentonville a few times, as it always seems to drop of and pick up unfortunate wives, partners and girl-friends in the vicinity of the prison.
I took the bus back to The Angel, so I could get some shopping before coming home.
What surprised me was outside the prison, I was getting a rather strong Wi-fi signal. Was it escaping?
Glum Faces
Judging by the glum faces on the buses this morning, we’ve all got fed up with this weather.
Respect At Highbury Cormer
This morning I was at Highbury Corner, waiting for a bus.
A funeral cortège passed and several of the men present took off their hats.
Tips For New Zopa Users
When you start using Zopa, you’re obviously going to go down a few blind alleys or do things wrong.
Here’s a few tips.
I always keep a record of the interest rates I have set and how much money, I lend out on particular days. Thus, if I find that money is sticking and not being lent, I can drop my rates slightly to see the effect. Zopa’s information helps in this way, but your own records are invaluable. I keep my records in Excel, but there is nothing wrong with an old-fashioned notebook or as my mate, Brian, would say, the back of an old envelope or fag packet. But then he was a real accountant!
I’d also check the minimum amount you are prepared to lend to each borrower. My limit is £100 and I’ve generally found that to be good and fairly safe.
I also don’t have AutoLend switched on. I just transfer the money to the offer, when it comes in. I have in the past found that sometimes having a few hundred pounds in Zopa is faster to get into my bill paying account, than waiting for my pension to come in. With money, timing is everything!
Make sure you have Rapid Return switched on, so that you can accept loans, that other lenders want to cash in. I’ve got seventy loans that way and not one has gone belly up on me. You may not pick up many loans that way, but they’ll generally be good ones.
Doing A Favour For A Friend
Last night, I renewed my friend’s domain name, as I’d originally registered it and it’s easier for me to do.
He then needed to pay me twenty four pounds, so late last night, he sent me a direct transfer to my bank account.
it was duly there this morning, when I checked my bank account.
But all the statement said, was that it was a credit of the requisite amount, labelled as just a credit.
As it was, I obviously knew what it was, so there was no problem. But surely in this day and age of good computer systems, that the banks could add a bit more detail to the statement, as soon as the money arrives.
The banks could actually use fully annotated statements as a marketing and selling point for their services.
But they don’t! No wonder people don’t like banks.
What a wunch of bankers!
I’m With Guy De Maupassant
Will Self has written an article about the Shard for the BBC web site. I liked this bit.
It was said of the French writer Guy de Maupassant that he ate dinner in the restaurant of the Eiffel Tower every night of the week, and when asked why, replied, “Because it’s the only place in Paris from where you can’t see the Eiffel Tower.”
I wonder if Guy De Maupassant would agree with me on Europe’s tallest building. It is just too easy to see, as I showed in this article.
On the other hand, I’ve no desire to eat dinner every night in the building, as it will only encourage someone to build something even more intrusive.
Deaths From Asthma
The previous post on asthma got me thinking, so I looked up if there was a site, that gave asthma deaths by country.
There is and it’s here.
The site is interesting , as it gives an awful lot of ways you can die. just select and click go.
For example, one of the sections is falling from trees. No-one actually died that way in the statistics they show.
Personal Taxation – Italian Style
This article from the BBC’s web site, describes how the Italian tax man is getting to grips with the country’s tax avoidance.
The Italians are finding it all a bit intrusive and with an election coming up, the tactics of the taxmen are an election issue.
According to the article, the United States uses a similar system, which links the amount of expenditure you have, with the income you need to sustain that lifestyle.
I’ve met many people over the years, who seemed to live very well, with no visible means of support.
So perhaps we need that sort of system here!
The Internet For Timely Information
I generally look each morning, at the list of the ten most read pages on the BBC’s web site.
This morning, only one of the ten is not about the weather and seven are concerning school closures. In order they are Notts, Essex, England, Leicester, Kent and Shropshire.
In pre-Internet days, parents would have listened to local radio.
The Anonymous Widower 