OV9

Nice to see the start of Tory thieves having their feet held to the fire over all the multi-million pound contracts they dished out to their mates under cover of the pandemic. https://goodlawproject.org/update/the-judgment-is-in/ Some months ago I posted my irritation at the way the government was u...

Bought a Fitbit and then promptly took it back when I found out what the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 can do for the price! I've gone one pikier with a generic Mi Band 5 copy. £8 off eBay :lol: Mrs. Nef had a Fitbit (2, I think) and now has a mid-priced generic (FitPal or FitPro, £28, IIRC). Comparing those th...

I think where we're getting to is that each country requires a formula specific to its circumstances, and there's a sliding scale of compromise between pure FPTP and pure PR. It matters less where exactly on the scale any country sits, and a lot more on the specific adjustments/details that the part...

Alex - as Broccers mentioned them, I'll use the example of the SNP in the UK. I'm going to try some fag-packet maths using the system you describe and the voting proportions in the UK 2017 general election. The SNP won 1.45 million votes or 4.7% of the popular share. It won 56 seats out of a total o...

Alex - you might have to Janet&John me on this one :oops: As I understand it there are 135 parliamentary seats representing a geographic area (whether we're calling that regional or sub-regional). When the people in one given geographic area vote, does the candidate with the largest number of vo...

I guess you think the Snp is ok Neil I'm sure you're not asking out of genuine interest, but you can have my opinion anyway. The SNP are like the parish council that accidentally found themselves in charge of the country. In most cases well-meaning, but way out of their depth. On the plus side, it ...

Just read up on Danish election law. There are 179 seats in parliament, four are earmarked for Greenland and the Faroe Islands (two each), 40 are additional seats and 135 are regional, split according to a formula taking into account the size of the population in that area. There are 10 regions wit...

Just read up on Danish election law. There are 179 seats in parliament, four are earmarked for Greenland and the Faroe Islands (two each), 40 are additional seats and 135 are regional, split according to a formula taking into account the size of the population in that area. There are 10 regions wit...

Just a side note to add on the issue of voter engagement - one aspect of FPTP is that at least constituencies vote for a local representative, so people can feel that they're voting for (in theory at least) "one of their own" who understands the issues specific to the local area and will (...

The idea has some good points to it (I remember when you first posted it), but I can't see it addressing apathy or disenfranchisement because people's vote may still not go towards the person/party they voted for, therefore continuing the bias towards the incumbents. I agree with the funding formul...

I think these are the exact issues many European PR-based systems struggle with - disproportionate power for populist/extremist parties, ineffective coalitions etc - and hence why many keep chopping and changing their exact formula (e.g. mix of PR and FPTP, bonus seats for majority parties etc etc)....

I agree with you on many of those points - more education and engagement from the electorate, more accountability from the politicians, etc etc However, I fundamentally believe you need some mechanism to prevent one person/party taking effective control on the back of one successful marketing campai...

The biggest problem with PR is that it effectively amplifies a fundamental problem with democracy - the people. Democracy is frequently described as the least shit system we can come up with, primarily because it relies on gathering popular support from a population poorly educated in the workings o...

Those damned Tories privatising our NHS! :evil: Cameron era tories - "Let's open up the NHS to the private sector so our mates can bid for contracts and get a slice of the pie" Johnson-era tories - "Bid for contracts? Slice of pie? Nah, let's re-centralise and make sure our mates get...

It's something of a relief to know that the creeping senility hasn't fully taken over yet!

Get onto your credit card company - they are jointly liable and will refund you (eventually). They can worry about getting paid out 1p in the £ by the liquidators. Shame though, I did a Walshy day back in 2003/4ish at a very wet North Weald. IIRC, V8_Chris, Hardboiled_Phil and dboyXR2i were with me...

I should also maybe add that my experiential reports relate exclusively to the Disco. The Merc fuel pump is quieter anyway, and the engine generally far more refined, so I can't feel/hear/sense any difference in running quality, but continue to use my mix on the back of my Disco experiences. Oh, als...

I thought 2-stroke oil was an old wives tale (possibly beneficial for the old US derv before it went low sulphur), this study shows it does bugger all for British spec fuel - https://www.fuelexpert.co.za/2-stroke-oil-in-diesel-technical-study.php Interesting. My own use of 2-stroke in the blend was...

I was trying to find my old thread about the experiments in the Disco to come to my recipe, but it looks like it's too old. Basically, I adjusted the fuel pump to the point where there was *just* a little black smoke on WOT using supermarket juice, then did a series of motorway runs. No dyno or roll...

I make a blend to add to cheapo supermarket diesel. Better than super - higher cetane and better lubricants, and costs around an extra 1p per litre. 50% 2-stroke oil 45% Cetane booster ([url=https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hydra-Fuel-Cetane-Booster-Treats-1-000L-Ultra-Pure-99-2-Ethylhexyl-Nitrate-1L/2720...