Notices by Annie Radetzky (soupdragon@mastodon.green)

That's the first snowfall we've had in a few years. Measured at 7 cm deep away from shelter.

@christineburns @ChrisMayLA6 @Nicovel0 @John_Loader it's a fascinating thread. Thank you. I just remember burning lithium in school science lessons because according to our teacher "it's cheap and has no uses". That was the 80s!

@christineburns @ChrisMayLA6 @Nicovel0 Tesla batteries are very different to those of other car makers so a factory can serve more than one manufacturer. Nissan has a battery factory and Jaguar Rover getting one. As for lithium I gather the only UK source so far is in abandoned mines in Cornwall

@gerrymcgovern just over ten years ago I was celebrating the opening of a biomass power station nearby as part of the solution to green power generation. How far we've come in such a short time... It's still burning away but now surrounded by solar arrays. I think it's important to note the rapidity of technical change and understanding over the last few years

@futurebird I left the (dead) bird site a while ago in terms of posting, but I still visit as there are so many accounts I still want to follow. I think I will sign off now though and start on #bluesky. I much prefer Mastodon, but there is still some pretty important stuff which isn't here unfortunately.

There's also variance in land values depending on where you are.

The new rules will make most arable farms under 1000 acres in southern and Eastern England unviable when anyone dies, with a massive impact on food supply ( bread, beer, vegetables, oils etc).

I think the government is on the right path, but misjudged scale. Hopefully it'll be put right promptly.

I'm blown away by the level of ignorance about farming among the commentariat since the UK IHT changes were announced. People talking about 'farms' as if they're all interchangeable. There's a huge difference in scale between a dairy farm in Devon, a sheep farm in Cumbria, and an arable farm in Suffolk.

Where a dairy farm may be able to function at around 250 acres and fall below the IHT band, an arable farm needs to be around 600-800 acres to be viable.

@Beedazzled I have a bit of involvement with empty homes. Unfortunately a huge number of these are locked in probate. I think that after a decent time - say a year - these should be compulsorily liquidated and the property sold.

An equally huge number are empty because the householder is in long-term care or prison which is a little more thorny to deal with, but if we can get the probate properties and various others back that would be a huge benefit.

@anon_opin Here is a bell. Here is a cat. Good luck!

Today's trip up Sutton Bank, North Yorkshire. As can be seen our country is "full up" and those two national grid lines "spoil the view". Actually, a beautiful vista over miles of arable and pasture land of the Vale of York. Thirsk is down there somewhere

I'm reasonably okay, but so many of my colleagues are really struggling in lower pay grades.

Oh dear. I've just voted for strike action. I hate doing that, particularly under a Labour government, but Local Government is always at the back of the queue for more pay. Hopefully it won't be necessary as so many people are so dependent on the work we do.

@urlyman Yes. Some of those responses illustrate nicely why I'm troubled by left politics and remain glad I don't share that worldview!

@urlyman I 'sit in the middle' because I find that politically that is where I'm most comfortable. There seems to be a view among some on the left that centrists are just left wingers with no backbone, but in reality I find left-politics as troubling as I find right-politics so I am in the centre by choice.

@Lana point 1 is so very important in my view. It should be easy to recoup from richer users through the tax system if only we would use taxation more progressively!

@derthomas yes, but in spite of EM. Academic as I can't afford one.

@ChrisMayLA6 @anarchic_teapot @urlyman @epistatacadam a lot depends on the building. Georgian shop units can convert quite nicely. A 70s office block or a 90s carpet showroom is not so good. Costs may vary.

Today's track of the day is "The Pit" by Public Service Broadcasting.
I'm going to see them live in October.
Elsewhere on the album from which this track derives there are archival samples boasting of a "secure future in Welsh coal" and "having enough coal for another four hundred years". It does an excellent job of highlighting modern society's hubris regarding the environmental damage it causes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujgpy1OirSo

@anarchic_teapot @ChrisMayLA6 @urlyman @epistatacadam yes sorry. I deal with domestic/housing property only

@ChrisMayLA6 @urlyman @epistatacadam it would also be useful to be able to liquidate properties in long-term probate. When you have a semi that hasn't been maintained for ten years it can become a problem due to vandalism, infestation, deterioration etc.