Good luck with that. My wife had an issue with the U.K. tax people where they thought she owed them money but she didn't and fines and fees got racked up. Fortunately, there was nothing to garnish. We eventually got it sorted through many phone calls and several rounds of "That is all sorted out" followed by continuing to receive demands. (Lesson: Get everyone's names and get them to put anything that sounds like a concession in writing). She eventually ended up going to the tax office in person with the intent of not leaving until the issue was resolved (in the end it was resolved pretty quickly. You can't beat face-to-face sometimes).
There are statute of limitations for debt that it is worth checking. It looks like student loans are exempt but you say that this is a grant, not a loan.
This is definitely worth knowing about as there are some bad debt collectors out there. Last year we were contacted about a ten year old debt that had been racked up from $30 to over $1000 including interest and fines. Invoking the statute of limitations got rid of it. Note that apparently, you should not offer to pay any of the debt otherwise you might be confirming the debt and they could come after you for the full amount (IANAL but this is my understanding).
It *is* difficult to correct that mistake. In part because it's all proportional. I know a slim girl who when she thinks she's overweight goes out and knocks that couple of pounds off in no time. Firstly, she can do that because she's fit and secondly, on an overweight person, that couple of pounds is a drop in the ocean. I personally have lost a decent amount of weight and sometimes it's almost depressing how much more there is to go, realistically 2-3 times what I have lost already (but I feel I'm in the right frame of mind to keep it up).
Being overweight makes you lethargic and, if you are at all sensitive to body image, less likely to participate in social occasions (which are usually exercise in themselves). Some people out there are effectively carrying a second person on their frame. Most cardio type exercise is going to be difficult like that.
My point is that no one should believe it is easy to lose weight. It isn't (except for the lucky few). But it's worth doing. It takes willpower and planning and determination, especially to get through that first hump of not much happening and into the achievement stage.
Eight if/when you stop (everyone has bad times that stops them from training), start again today. Don't wait until tomorrow. Start today. Don't beat yourself up over stopping. Just start again right now. But equally, don't let yourself stop. Even if it seems impossible, try to do "just one more day". But if it really *does* become impossible, don't sweat it. You can start a million times over if you need to.
I'd just like to highlight this. Beating yourself up for stopping/missing a day just means that you avoid performing the action which leads to the stopping (i.e. exercising in the first place). I have had much greater success since I adopted the attitude "Today is a new day, go exercise". If I miss a day or week or more, that doesn't matter because it all starts here. It also helps avoid me stuffing my face out of guilt in the interim and during the periods I have stopped, I have maintained instead of gaining making it even easier to get back into things.
Jogging can be a very poor exercise for the overweight, especially the very overweight. That's a lot of stress to be putting on joints. Exercise is also actually a pretty poor way to burn energy but raises metabolism and adds muscle mass which burns energy even at rest.
One crucial piece of advice I would give: If you're in relatively good shape and notice that you're starting to put on a few pounds, particularly if you're going through a life change (getting married, getting a job, even changing mode of transport etc), start getting it under control immediately. Those pounds creep up on you and before you know it, you're effectively carrying a 50lb rucksack with you in everything you do. You'll be less able to exercise effectively and less inclined (and able) to engage in everyday activities that burn up energy.
I suspect that a "correction" is likely overdue but it will be nowhere near the doom-and-gloom that the media is pushing. Some people will likely end up owing more than the house is worth but so what? The media will, of course, report stories of people losing their jobs, being unable to pay their mortgages and owing thousands but the truth is that these people are in the minority and if, as you say, they can "ride it out" the market will recover eventually.
The simple fact is, there are too many people and not enough houses for them. Banks will continue to lend too much money because they like the interest and government will continue to support the status quo as high house prices=high property/council tax.
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter
No, seriously.
I was recently asked about learning programming options. I came up with a few ideas to suggest (this has been asked on Slashdot before also) but they all seemed to require a degree of preknowledge or setup that was over complex for a complete beginner. I couldn't help but think back to my 8-bit micro days: Plug it in, switch it on and there's a BASIC computer ready to program.
One of these with a BASIC interpreter (or other language if you really prefer), a PS/2 port, the ability to save/load programs to CF and some built-in graphics and sound routines would be nice to mess around with for the learner.
Before I bought a house, lived in it, sold it and moved out of the country and bought a bigger house with the profit. (That original house is now worth more than 50% what I sold it for too).
Just to add a further data point, we (non-ISP corporation) have had users go from PC connection to wireless router and it has required a reboot of their cable modem before they could get an internet connection. This seems to imply that the client equipment MAC address was important but that the modem could sort itself out itself on power-up
Course, things are undoubtedly different from place to place. I was flummoxed briefly at the weekend setting up an out of state Bellsouth connection. Here, Bellsouth requires username/password but there, username with no password.
My DSL had no authentication or PPPoE when I first signed up. After about a year, Bellsouth decided it was required. I have no idea why. Point is, it's not a DSL requirement.
This is ridiculous. It's like you're complaining that the cost of MRI scanners is too high. Sure, it might be nice if there was a consumer version but for what the pros need, the price is the price.
My experience with Debian is that the package maintainers tend to be way too conservative with their dependencies. This frequently leads to minor upgrades or installations forcing upgrades of many packages. This in itself causes other problems. It depends on what tradeoffs you want to make but I appreciate that Slackware allows me to use my judgement in these things.
Slashdot Mirror
Good luck with that. My wife had an issue with the U.K. tax people where they thought she owed them money but she didn't and fines and fees got racked up. Fortunately, there was nothing to garnish. We eventually got it sorted through many phone calls and several rounds of "That is all sorted out" followed by continuing to receive demands. (Lesson: Get everyone's names and get them to put anything that sounds like a concession in writing). She eventually ended up going to the tax office in person with the intent of not leaving until the issue was resolved (in the end it was resolved pretty quickly. You can't beat face-to-face sometimes).
Rich
the CEV program will feature more seats
And cupholders. And an IPod adapter.
Rich
No, the United States and England
Rich
There are statute of limitations for debt that it is worth checking. It looks like student loans are exempt but you say that this is a grant, not a loan.
i ons.htmlm lt ions-explained.htmlh tmlm itations.shtml
This is definitely worth knowing about as there are some bad debt collectors out there. Last year we were contacted about a ten year old debt that had been racked up from $30 to over $1000 including interest and fines. Invoking the statute of limitations got rid of it. Note that apparently, you should not offer to pay any of the debt otherwise you might be confirming the debt and they could come after you for the full amount (IANAL but this is my understanding).
Some good links:
http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitat
http://www.cardreport.com/credit-problems/time.ht
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/statue-limita
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.
http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/statuteLi
http://www.bcsalliance.com/y_debt_sol.html
It *is* difficult to correct that mistake. In part because it's all proportional. I know a slim girl who when she thinks she's overweight goes out and knocks that couple of pounds off in no time. Firstly, she can do that because she's fit and secondly, on an overweight person, that couple of pounds is a drop in the ocean. I personally have lost a decent amount of weight and sometimes it's almost depressing how much more there is to go, realistically 2-3 times what I have lost already (but I feel I'm in the right frame of mind to keep it up).
Being overweight makes you lethargic and, if you are at all sensitive to body image, less likely to participate in social occasions (which are usually exercise in themselves). Some people out there are effectively carrying a second person on their frame. Most cardio type exercise is going to be difficult like that.
My point is that no one should believe it is easy to lose weight. It isn't (except for the lucky few). But it's worth doing. It takes willpower and planning and determination, especially to get through that first hump of not much happening and into the achievement stage.
Rich
Eight if/when you stop (everyone has bad times that stops them from training), start again today. Don't wait until tomorrow. Start today. Don't beat yourself up over stopping. Just start again right now. But equally, don't let yourself stop. Even if it seems impossible, try to do "just one more day". But if it really *does* become impossible, don't sweat it. You can start a million times over if you need to.
I'd just like to highlight this. Beating yourself up for stopping/missing a day just means that you avoid performing the action which leads to the stopping (i.e. exercising in the first place). I have had much greater success since I adopted the attitude "Today is a new day, go exercise". If I miss a day or week or more, that doesn't matter because it all starts here. It also helps avoid me stuffing my face out of guilt in the interim and during the periods I have stopped, I have maintained instead of gaining making it even easier to get back into things.
Rich
If that doesn't help, start jogging.
Jogging can be a very poor exercise for the overweight, especially the very overweight. That's a lot of stress to be putting on joints. Exercise is also actually a pretty poor way to burn energy but raises metabolism and adds muscle mass which burns energy even at rest.
One crucial piece of advice I would give: If you're in relatively good shape and notice that you're starting to put on a few pounds, particularly if you're going through a life change (getting married, getting a job, even changing mode of transport etc), start getting it under control immediately. Those pounds creep up on you and before you know it, you're effectively carrying a 50lb rucksack with you in everything you do. You'll be less able to exercise effectively and less inclined (and able) to engage in everyday activities that burn up energy.
Fat is positive feedback. Best avoided.
Rich
With an American accent. Saying someone has no accent is like saying they have no language ...
!
I suspect that a "correction" is likely overdue but it will be nowhere near the doom-and-gloom that the media is pushing. Some people will likely end up owing more than the house is worth but so what? The media will, of course, report stories of people losing their jobs, being unable to pay their mortgages and owing thousands but the truth is that these people are in the minority and if, as you say, they can "ride it out" the market will recover eventually.
The simple fact is, there are too many people and not enough houses for them. Banks will continue to lend too much money because they like the interest and government will continue to support the status quo as high house prices=high property/council tax.
Rich
I hope you meant "more than 50% more than what I sold it for
:)
Yes. I had only 50% of the "more"s that I required in that sentence. Or in other words, I needed 100% more "more"s.
Rich
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter
No, seriously.
I was recently asked about learning programming options. I came up with a few ideas to suggest (this has been asked on Slashdot before also) but they all seemed to require a degree of preknowledge or setup that was over complex for a complete beginner. I couldn't help but think back to my 8-bit micro days: Plug it in, switch it on and there's a BASIC computer ready to program.
One of these with a BASIC interpreter (or other language if you really prefer), a PS/2 port, the ability to save/load programs to CF and some built-in graphics and sound routines would be nice to mess around with for the learner.
Rich
Sorry, should be
Before I bought a house, lived in it, sold it and moved out of the country and bought a bigger house with the profit. (That original house is now worth more than 50% what I sold it for too).
Rich
Fortunately, the bottom is about to drop right out of the UK property market anytime soon.
They were saying that 15 years ago. Before I bought a house, lived in it, sold it and moved out of the country.
Don't hold your breath.
Rich
You can get a Dish Network DVR622 for free with an 18 month commitment now.
So not "for free" then.
Rich
Just to add a further data point, we (non-ISP corporation) have had users go from PC connection to wireless router and it has required a reboot of their cable modem before they could get an internet connection. This seems to imply that the client equipment MAC address was important but that the modem could sort itself out itself on power-up
Course, things are undoubtedly different from place to place. I was flummoxed briefly at the weekend setting up an out of state Bellsouth connection. Here, Bellsouth requires username/password but there, username with no password.
Rich
My DSL had no authentication or PPPoE when I first signed up. After about a year, Bellsouth decided it was required. I have no idea why. Point is, it's not a DSL requirement.
Rich
The checking depends on the State
By county here in TN.
Rich
Q. What do you get if you cross an engineer with a computer scientist?
A. Yuk... Just yuk...
Rich
Someone set you up the bomb.
I agree with you totally... we are missing the ability to run multiple simultaneous users on home machines.
Who's this "we"?
Rich
This is ridiculous. It's like you're complaining that the cost of MRI scanners is too high. Sure, it might be nice if there was a consumer version but for what the pros need, the price is the price.
Rich
For real fun, name them after computer terms:
"Online is down, the hard-drive is going bad on RAM, Down and is back up and there's a flashing LED on Windows"
Rich
Fortunately, the obsession some seem to have with Linux achieving mainstream adoption is not holding it back from getting serious work done.
Rich
My experience with Debian is that the package maintainers tend to be way too conservative with their dependencies. This frequently leads to minor upgrades or installations forcing upgrades of many packages. This in itself causes other problems. It depends on what tradeoffs you want to make but I appreciate that Slackware allows me to use my judgement in these things.
Rich
Why bother upgrading a fresh install? It's not like you're throwing any work away and it's just inviting unexpected problems.
Rich