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Deimos

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Posts posted by Deimos

    I was always taught to say thank you.

    in Other Topics

    Posted

    Depends on the nature of what people are asking.  If its a "my circumstances are ... and what should I do" then I agree.  However, if its a general discussion type question then it is a bit of a waste of time as others who contributed will just start getting e-mails, etc. and it is more os a general interest, chat type of thread.

    And I notice the person who asked the original question in this thread has not said thank you for the responses.  But then maybe the nature of this thread is such that they feel saying thank you is not appropriate (which it isn't) so maybe their lack of thanks has sort of answered their own question.

    Ian

    LATEST ANNOUNCEMENT PUBLISHED BY FRENCH GOVERNMENT

    in Changes to Healthcare Entitlement, CPAM, CMU and Cartes Vitales

    Posted

    I see that they say that they are compelled to do this by 2044/38/EC.  Poor French government has absolutely no choice in the matter other than to do this !!!

    So to save money they are throwing those who are not sick off and losing their contributions, but keeping those who are already sick and treating them -> net cost increase.  And these people have access to armies and big bombs !!!  God help the world.

    Ian

    Foster Home Needed

    in Pets

    Posted

    Sorry I cannot help but wish you luck in your search.

    I have seen some "kennels" which are designed for longer term stays where the dogs are basically living in the house with the owners (loads of them).  One place was http://www.cani-excel.com/, the other one was called Maison des Animaux (I think) but their site is doing a "Not Found" and a Google search gives loads of references to (it was towards the south of France).  Not used and had no experience of either so cannot recommend or comment on them other than point out their existence. 

    Ian

    Lobbying !

    in Changes to Healthcare Entitlement, CPAM, CMU and Cartes Vitales

    Posted

    [quote user="Russethouse"]

     ... and I still think that it is better to wait and see what is on offer, make sure the weakest and most vulnerable are protected and then lobby for other changes.

    [/quote]

    Sorry.  I had not realised the French gov. were going to make us an offer and we could then accept or reject it (maybe sending them back to think again if we did not like it).  Not had much time to keep up with things recently and I previously thought they were just going to say what would happen and once decided  "that was it" type of thing.

    Ian

    BREAKING NEWS ON EXPAT HEALTH COVER

    in Changes to Healthcare Entitlement, CPAM, CMU and Cartes Vitales

    Posted

    And this months nominee for the "Should have thought it through" award is the French government.  Recent successes in the "Should have known better" awards seem to have helped them move on to better and better.  On an individual basis their leader and recent repeat winner of the "Should have tried harder" award should be feeling very proud of their achievements under his guidance.

    And who knows, there is still all to fight for in the "Seemed like a good idea at the time" knock-out competition.

    Ian

    BREAKING NEWS ON EXPAT HEALTH COVER

    in Changes to Healthcare Entitlement, CPAM, CMU and Cartes Vitales

    Posted

    I'm glad they might have done something for those with pre-existing conditions but I would be interested how they justify excluding the healthy people and providing cover for those who are ill.  Seems a bit counter to the whole idea and "morally" unjustifiable ("morally is not the right word but I cannot think of a better word).

    Basically, if you are healthy (and cost the state system nothing) you cannot contribute to the health state system and its profits for private companies.  However, if you are ill and costing FR gov money they they will treat you.  French Economics !!

    Ian

    Cucumbers

    in French Food and Wine

    Posted

    Through the summer nice cucumbers available in the shops.  Then they started to go uneven shapes and price bounced around (normal to expensive).  More recently they have gone back to being cheap, very even shape and wrapped in plastic.

    I prefer buying local fresh produce that has a minimal "carbon footprint" (i.e. not raised in heated greenhouses, etc.).  Does anybody know if these plastic wrapped ones OK or are then greenhouse raised or shipped in from miles away ?

    Ian

    BREAKING NEWS ON EXPAT HEALTH COVER

    in Changes to Healthcare Entitlement, CPAM, CMU and Cartes Vitales

    Posted

    [quote user="cooperlola"]

    PUBLISHED WITHIN THE LAST HOUR

    http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthadvicefortravellers/DH_078670

    We are awaiting a statement from the French and will keep you up to date.  We have had announcements from this source before, which have not been confirmed by the French government, so do not take this as gospel until you hear more, would be my advice.

    [/quote]

    Any hints as to what it said.  As others have commented it's gone, but what did it say (not necessarily word perfect, just the gist would be great).

    Ian

    Silicone sealing around the edge of a bath..

    in House Renovations

    Posted

    I use masking tape and an old table knife the sort with the rounded end.  The size of the rounded end of the knife determines how big the sealant fill will be.  Position the tape appropriately (tiny bit "smaller" than the knife end will give you).  Then apply a bit more filler than is needed.  Drag the knife along the corner and it gives a constant curve to the sealant, removing the excess and spreading to fill properly.  Dead easy and no skill necessary.

    Ian

    Mythbuster - OECD world education ranking study

    in French Education

    Posted

    My impression (no knowledge, just impression) is that it is not so much the ranking that is significant but changes in how well the children are being educated.  I country might easily slip in rankings is its educational standards are only improving slowly is those below it are improving fast and thus overtaking it.

    Another aspect that can have an impact is how standards are measured.  I have the impression that in the UK at the moment the government cannot stop its obsessive interfering and continual changes to education.  Rather than just allowing schools to get on with teaching kids there continual changes to school structures, exams and tests, teaching methods, syllabus, everything and I would expect standards to drop.

    Ian

    UK passport

    in French Legal Issues

    Posted

    To get you passport, send your details to the UK government.  They then publish those details openly on the internet together with anything else they can find about you.  If you are lucky they will burn your full details onto CDs and distribute them to "who knows where" .....

    When I did mine a few years ago, it was all done by the British Embassy in Paris (they are the issuing thing in the passport I got back).  Was pretty quick (though they did need a bit of chasing).  Of course you are without your passport ID for a few days - there are ways to do it keeping your passport but they are a "pain" so I thought it was easier to just manage without mine (I have only ever had to use it when paying for things by cheque and even then only rarely and they have always accepted a photo drivers license.

    Ian

    Talking of fraud attempts

    in Other Topics

    Posted

    Earlier this year I got a letter from the UK DWP "Letter Forwarding Service" saying how the Prudential were trying to contact me and enclosing a letter and form from the Prudential.  All the stuff sent contained only my name and address (freely available from the phone book).  The information they ("Prudential") were asking for included stuff like NI number, etc.  Basically anybody with a £50 printer could have done it.  So I called the Prudential using the (different) telephone number from their web site checking - and they could neither verify or deny their attempts to contact me via DWP.  Basically they tried checking their systems but could find nothing.

    So I wrote to DWP saying I would not respond as I had no reason to assume it was genuine and not a fraud to get more personal info about me.  All they wrote back was that the had checked and "complied with all their internal quality of service standards".  Again I pointed out how easy their "procedures" would allow somebody to collect personal info using their weak security system - and they just repeated that they had met their standards.

    (Turned-out it was genuine as I went back through the only company I worked for who used the Pru for Pensions and told them to tell the Pru my details - but it would so easy for a fraud attempt to use such an easy system).

    And people get surprised when government systems help fraud and identity theft rather then make it harder.  I can see how all the criminals out there must have thought all their Christmases have come at one with the UK ID card system.

    Ian

    A question on puppies...

    in Pets

    Posted

    If you are getting a pup from a breeder, you should be able to ask for it to be micro-chipped rather than tattoo'd.  a couple of years ago some breeders were still tattoo'ing by preference - unsure if this has changed.  I asked the one I got my pup from to microchip rather than tattoo.  I think French pups are given their 1st "routine" vaccinations earlier (i.e. normally before 2 months when you would collect it), though this batch does not include rabies vaccination (which is quite a bit later).  That is unless things have changed recently.

    (I agree with the rescue comments and appreciate why people (myself included) sometimes purchase from breeders)

    Ian

    70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

    in Other Topics

    Posted

    Consider that we can only see individual stars in our own galaxy (the Milky Way - a spiral galaxy).  Then consider that current estimates are that there are at least 125 billion galaxies in the universe (though this number increases as we get to see deeper).

    However, I think the estimate of seeing 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 from Earth is a bit high.  Maybe seeing evidence for that many start.  Our own galaxy is thought to contain 100,000,000,000 stars.  Even the next closest galaxy is too far to resolve individual stars with the naked eye.  For example, here (Northern Hemisphere) you might get to see M31 (Andromeda galaxy) with the naked eye.  I doubt even the Hubble telescope would resolve an individual star outside the local group.

    However, seeing so many galaxies is one thing but a lot are a long way away.  Some of the light we are seeing from the more distant galaxies has taken 13 billion years to reach us (and thus we are seeing them as of 13 billion years ago).  A lot will have changed between now and then and many of the stars that were emitting light then will have died by now (though maybe others might have formed).

    But if we wait a bit, Andromeda is getting closer (approaching us at a speed of about 400 000 Km per hour) - on a collision course.

    Then you get into questions like "Should Girls Aloud be included in the count ?"

    Ian

    Unwelcome 'visitors in our attic?

    in Wildlife/Nature/Environment

    Posted

    If you really want to trap it (less effective) then don't ask the Mairie.  Ask either the local Chasse or a local chicken farmer.  The Mairie will not catch it (even if it is not protected in your area).  As they are regarded as pests (whatever they protected status), chasse and farmers will "get rid of them".

    However, moth balls are more effective, quicker, easier, humane, don't break any protected status (as far as i know), etc.

    Ian

    Unwelcome 'visitors in our attic?

    in Wildlife/Nature/Environment

    Posted

    Moth balls - the old fashioned type.  I got mine in Super U (and they are still available).  If its an open area just scatter the around.  If living between plasterboard and the roof tiles (which they can), put them in shallow trays (e.g. old margarine tubs and similar) to get then odour as much as possible into the roof space (i.e. you want the place where they live to smell of the mothballs as much as possible).

    Very effective and they should depart of their own accord within a day or so.  I have used this method twice on fouines that were living between plasterboard and roof tiles and it was quick both times.  Just remember you are not harming them but making the place smell "off" to them (they are very sensitive to smell) - so they move on.

    Before the moth balls I did try loads of other things.  Local hunt set traps with eggs, I tried leaving music on loud the entire time, etc. and none of that had any effect - moth balls had immediate effect.

    Ian

    Teddy bears

    in Other Topics

    Posted

    When I see crowds of people protesting in the street demanding the death sentence for allowing a cloth toy to be given an "inappropriate" name I do start to wonder quite why we are donating them so much money.  I'm all for aid and certainly giving aid to a country does not buy the right to dictate anything to that country.  However, it might be nice were they to show just a little appreciation, maybe a tiny bit of tolerance.  Maybe this aid being given is just subsidising these people who then demand the death of these infidels who given them the money.

    Or maybe I'm just getting less tolerant myself in my old age.  Maybe they are reasonable not giving an inch whilst we give a mile, bucket loads of money, food aid, etc., etc.

    Ian
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