The Retirement Thread

[Dave7]

Good day peeps
Blumin blinking ecky thump...... It's gotten colder and is - 7° here. I didn't sign up to this.
I am going nowhere today.

 

[Paulus]

Good morning all. -5⁰ here at the moment and very frosty.
1st mug of tea being drunk and I'm listening to Tony Blackbum on the radio.

 

[PaulSB]

As ever, almost certainly the last out of bed, but then we are usually the last in.

Got up at 10.15am to a beautiful blue sky. V.cold. Outside thermometer reading -6°C.

Still haven't put the new curtains up - the blockage is that they need ironing and the ironing board is in the attic. 🤔

Today:

Turbo session followed by a walk around town to take some new clothes in to the very excellent tailor to do minor alterations.

Afternoon doss followed by party for two and usual Friday very late night malarkey.

Other matters:

The economy is bothering me but we can't talk about that, however, I think I am on safe ground mentioning inflation calculation. Why is it that our own calculations, and we are more than most on top of our domestic finances, bear no relation to official figures? Our food costs have increased massively year on year. Frustrating! PS: I am not pleading poverty here.

Tech-savvy. Picking up from this thread earlier in the week and the due NHS App revamp (brilliant, imo) the attendant conversation is that it leaves many people behind re understanding of tech'. Maybe for the very old and people with learning difficulties etc (although that shouldn't stand in the way of progress) how can anyone in their 60's & 70's not understand how to use a simple App? This is old tech' now.

Scams. Unless either of us here lose our marbles I can never see us getting scammed. There has been enough publicity about them over the years

We know an older couple who live in a series of inter-linked cul-de-sacs populated by well-off older folk. They are scam-paranoid. They have early warning systems in place (great stuff for those truly at a loss, not knocking that) but, boy, do they get in a tizz when someone gets a scam email, phone call, etc. An almost hysterical 'excitement' descends upon the community with messages shuttling back and forth sparking more conversations and further messages. Total overkill. Maybe they are bored?

Clothing sizes. I buy L sized tops. But the arms are always too long, hence getting them shortened. It would be nice to be able to get tops with different arm lengths as per trouser leg lengths.

Have a good afternoon all.

TLDR: Late to rise again. Going to Kendal town centre - tailoring stuff. Fun night tonight planned. Various witterings possibly interesting, probably not, and a have a good pm finale.

Whoa! Sorry Spokey, I have to pick you up on this. I've obviously missed the chat earlier in the week but here goes. I'm very active, as a founder member and Treasurer, in our local u3a. If you're not familiar with the u3a it's an organisation for those "no longer in full-time employment" - the vast majority are retired. In my u3a the age range is late 50s to early 80s. We have 230 members.

In IT I'm entirely self-taught and have no fears of this new world. Long story short. Aged 40 I was asked to set up from scratch a small jointly owned business on behalf of four other companies. The directors wanted tech. As I was 20 years younger everyone assumed I knew what to do. I didn't but crucially I listened to people who could educate me.

I've come to understand through the u3a there are many people for whom our brave new digital world is truly scary. Only yesterday I had to help an intelligent, articulate friend setup his new Chromebook. When I arrived he had 76 tabs open - how do i close these? First step get a Google account!!! That's a very minor thing. One lady confided to me recently "I've almost given up and gone back to cash. Sometimes it reduces me to tears. Everything is so difficult." This is a lively, lovely, intelligent widow who in more than one way is on her own.

Those who genuinely struggle tend to be:

1. Fearful of "breaking" things - generally impossible!
2. Never had reason in their working lives to understand tech or had to do nothing more than use the keyboard
3. Are impatient. For example with touchscreens some folk instead of touching repeatedly jab or poke the screen. This makes the device respond multiple times
4. Struggle with passwords and resetting them
5. Don't understand how a computer "thinks."

My u3a group is full of lively, active, intelligent, successful people. Desperately middle-class. IT "problems" though are so widespread I'm considering offering "how to" sessions every six months. This could be using a password manager, how to respond to an NHS appointment sent by text link, simple stuff but problematic for many.

In many ways these "problems" are created by the tech companies. There is good tech and bad tech, especially apps. Let me offer three examples;

The Santander banking app is, for me, magnificent. Then we come to my hobby, cycling. Recently I moved to di2. I love the gearing. The Shimano app is a 0/10 copper-bottomed disaster. I can't use it. Given up. My opinion on Shimano has moved from neutral, it's just kit on a bike, to this is a s*** company with no interest in the consumer. I may go to Sram on the next bike.

I recently started using the Wattbike at my local gym. This was a main reason for joining. The Wattbike Hub app is diabolical. In my first two visits, over an hour each, I've managed 40 minutes cycling, the rest has been playing with setup. The app has one more chance, tomorrow, and then I ditch it.

Three years ago a GP friend described a new disability to me. She calls it "the digital disability."

This transition problem until my kids, 30s, mature is a societal problem. Please understand it.

 

[welsh dragon]

Cooooeeee. -2 here so it's warmer for us. Hopefully the worst is over for us.

Stay safe peeps

 

[Drago]

I have risen!

 

[Paulus]

Cooooeeee. -2 here so it's warmer for us. Hopefully the worst is over for us.

Stay safe peeps

It's going to get to the tropical temperature of 1⁰c today before going back to -5 overnnight again.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Good morning, -1 at the moment. On my walk into Poole yesterday I was listening to an episode of the excellent podcast " Sliced Bread ". The subject of this podcast was " insulation hacks ", inexpensive ways of helping to reduce energy bills. Astonishingly the researchers have built a house complete with all the usual furnishings inside an environmental chamber where they can simulate temperatures down to -10 up to +30 degrees. The house has hundreds of sensors so they can see the real life effects of various measures and find the most cost effective. A very good and informative episode, I'm off to B+Q later 😁

 

[Dirk]

Morning all

Off out for a walk on Staple Plain first thing, then an hour or two in my workshop.
Temperatures going up to 5° today.

 

[gavroche]

Bonjour. -1 degree here do it is warming up.
After taking Molly for a walk, I will put my working clothes on and start decorating ,
under the watchful eye on the boss.
What time is coffee break?