guitar player's journal

Where are you and where are you going?
ertyu
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by ertyu »

Congrats on your publication!

How to use the knowledge outside of work: advise others (use it to strengthen social capital), teach it to others (youtube? a course? coaching sessions?), use the knowledge to publish something you'd like to publish later on your own devices for an unrelated reason?

I like this week's stoic exercise. Our brains are such that "just the facts" aren't always easy to determine. Asking oneself, what is actually true here, is valuable.

On the MsC: you will be accepted, with or without your employer's contribution, so no harm in giving yourself a break after you complete your current studies and re-evaluate. Are there any reasons why it would be better to make the decision right away?

avalok
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by avalok »

The food scavenging is going really well! Sounds like you're regularly finding nutritional foods, and lots.

Congratulations from me as well for the publication.

guitarplayer
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Location: Scotland

Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Thanks @ertyu, @avalok!

@ertyu, good ideas on how to use what I am learning in the publishing process outside of work. Re MSc, the reason to make the decision right away is because of the momentum, I am having a pretty good momentum. I might take the momentum and use it some place else though.

@avalok, totally. Today I got some more high end goodies whilst on a lunchtime cycle; normally would cost about $20.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2022 update 50/52 (squeeze in)

Job

012/156 weeks in (ca. 7.7%).

Updating code for the publication that got published today. Pushing for minimum of manual interaction with the data so prevent my future stupid self from making stupid mistakes.

Reading

I have read the first four parts of 'The Snowball'. Buffet is now 47 and hanging out with public figures a lot.

I feel like there is no point for me to read anymore the book. If you think that there is still what you'd consider value in 'Part Five: the king of wall street' and 'Part Six: Claim Checks' please let me know.

Stoic exercises

Week 49: Speak just the facts about others

I have not experienced any real injustice so did not use my stoic courage and justice to intervene. I did ponder the injustice of the global food system, which makes me preach about dumpster diving to folk on the forum as well as to family.

Week 50: Decompose your difficulties

Ask yourself what is so difficult about difficulties that come along. Point at the difficult bits. Future is not difficult because it has not happened yet and so is outside of your control, do not worry about it. Some outcomes are more likely than others, but nothing is for certain. And if future materialises into the present, then will be time to point to the difficult bits of that present. People's lives unfold in a similar way, someone has probably been in that kind of situation before and they had survived. Or not, but well, it is the fate of all of us to eventually part with this life. Also, there is no point worrying about what has already happened as you have no control over it anyway either. Ask yourself what is the best way of dealing with difficulties here an now.

Consider that ruminating over the past is in fact you, now, in the present, remembering certain aspects of the past and assigning them negative value judgements. The same goes for fearing future, you, in the present, thinking about the future and assigning it negative value judgements.

This sort of objective thinking about what is happening can also be applied to physical discomfort, this is in the framework of mindfulness.
Pigliucci and Lopez wrote: - Explore the components of pain or discomfort by asking where it is exactly in the body. Can you locate it precisely? If so, where are its borders? If not, how does it move or change?
- Does the intensity remain constant, or does it shift? If it does, how does it shift over time?
- Is the discomfort or pain a single thing, or is it made up of different sensations such as shooting, heat, pressure, or throbbing? How are these sensations connected to your thoughts around them?
The task for this week to focus on either ruminating over the past, thinking about the future or present pain or perhaps thoughts about the present that are not reality checked. Choose one, and try to decompose it.

Maths and Stats / Studies

Working on branching processes now.

Thanks for reading!

guitarplayer
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Location: Scotland

Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

2022 update 51/52

Job

012.4/156 weeks in (ca. 7.9%).

I couldn't help myself and did some work on the code yesterday despite it being a day off. The changes have been lingering at the back of my head the last few days. I managed to get a good chunk of work done. The project is this. I have two data sets about the same thing. One data set is more accurate and less precise and the other less accurate and more precise. I am writing a code to extract information that does not match from both data sets. Then I want to send the information to the team producing the information. The team can then (a) check and confirm changes or (b) agree a protocol to introduce the changes with no need to meet. One example would be to agree that one data set is always right and merge the information from it with the other. I am happy about the work I have done on this so far.

I have been reading about SAS. Is seems a bit like what @zbigi was talking about in the context of software development legacy work. Knowing an older programming language and working on an organization's legacy code. This would be less stressful and less paid. Sounds good to me, a meat-and-potatoes work, sleep-well-at-night kind of work. So I am happy I get to know SAS.

I am trained to work as a practitioner and a supervisor of delivering care. Soon, I will also have enough experience and training to be able to do some meat-and-potatoes data work. I am eyeing desperate attempts of recruiting STEM teachers everywhere. The Government pays analytical profession folk £20,000/years to retrain as teachers. Sometimes I am ruminating about doing a PhD. But I would find it hard to position the idea so that it was homeotelic to other life aspects at this stage. I do think about enrolling and doing a MSc in data science or similar alongside the work I do now. With the MSc dissertation written at work using work data this should be possible. There would be a lot of synergy there, the question is of doing a lot of the same. Would it affect other aspects of life?

Reading

In the end I stopped reading 'the snowball'. I better focus on maths and stats the next 11 weeks. It is difficult though, I have been thinking of reading some Hemingway.

Stoic exercises

Week 50: Decompose your difficulties
Pigliucci and Lopez wrote: - Explore the components of pain or discomfort by asking where it is exactly in the body. Can you locate it precisely? If so, where are its borders? If not, how does it move or change?
- Does the intensity remain constant, or does it shift? If it does, how does it shift over time?
- Is the discomfort or pain a single thing, or is it made up of different sensations such as shooting, heat, pressure, or throbbing? How are these sensations connected to your thoughts around them?
Over the last two days I have been decomposing two phenomena:
- Eating. Sometimes after eating I keep sharp while other times I am drowsy and cannot concentrate. This is to do with the type of food eaten of course. Eating fruit and veggies even adds to the ability of focusing on other things. Eating starchy and carbohydrate rich foods tends to do the opposite. So there I was, having my bean-and-grain casserole and examining how it made me feel.

- Reading something I do not understand. Now that I am learning many new things, this is easy to come by. I had been examining how it made me feel to read something I do not understand. What were the physical phenomena associated with it.

Week 51: Pay attention to the right things

This week is about booking some of the working memory to keep the stoic principles in mind at all times. That is, developing techniques not to lose focus off of following stoic values in life.

@Ego wrote recently somewhere that it is much harder to start something cold than to do a little bit more of the same. This is an impediment if it comes to diversifying income streams. But it can be a good thing if it comes to keeping stoic virtues in mind!

Epictetus writes, that there is nothing we are better off doing without attending it. It is always better to pay attention. Come to think of it, it makes sense. Imagine not paying attention to making a cup of coffee and burning your hand with boiling water. Somebody might be better off not paying attention and overlooking dubious business practices. But this would make one better off only in the short run and not in the long run.

What to pay attention to?

To the will: there the good and bad unfold. No one can control yours and you cannot control anybody else's.

Control your will by following:
- the principles of dichotomy of control,
- virtues of moderation, justice, courage and wisdom.

This materialises in answering questions such as for example
- when is the time to be jovial
- how to act in front of other people
- when to call injustice,
- how to maintain your character in society.

In particular, acting with justice in mind gives clear conscience; what others think of us is not up to us.

The assumption is that we are rational and social animals. The outcome of paying attention to rules and roles is living a life worth living, and also being more serene.

This week the task is to try to pay attention to the

Rules: dichotomy of control. The only good lies within our will, other things are outside of our control.
Roles: who we are and so how we act.

Some of my roles:
- husband
- son
- brother
- analyst
- steward of my body
- citizen
- student
- resource manager
- intellectual
- cyclist

It is simple to say, 'keep these in mind', but of course it is a very complex exercise so it is difficult! Still, it would have been more difficult without going through a year of Stoic exercises.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For the author: Stoics still believe, Epicureans are already converted? Also, Conversion by A.D. Nock (1933).
Stoicism has an upper leg as it was
(1) incorporated by Christianity
(2) hence operates in a sort of echo chamber.
Stoicism nested in Epicureanism? Epicureanism nested in Confucianism, or they do not overlap?

Also, I will aim to go through what @mF has in one of his first posts about 'the kind of person I am'

I have been attending mindfulness sessions at work three times a week for 30min each. It is good. Relating mindfulness and attention?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Maths and Stats / Studies

I worked through 'applications of probability': branching processes, random walks and Markov chains. Then I worked through birth and death processes. I wrote an assignment on this so now I have 10/19 assignments done. Nine more to go, I give myself 10.5 weeks for it.

I will now be working on mathematical statistics. Hypothesis tests and confidence intervals, and later on asymptotic theory. The latter will be rather abstract.

Learning these approaches, processes and theories will contribute to approaching data tools. It is useful to have some understanding how to make a hammer or an electric drill. It is more useful to have an understanding of why, when, where and how to use them.

Keeping the technical analysis of what is most in-demand in the marketplace aside. If we want to do something or work somewhere, we only have to be successful once. Interest contributes to being successful.

Thanks for reading!

Western Red Cedar
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by Western Red Cedar »

Just chiming in to say that it is quite impressive reading about how seamlessly you've transitioned to a completely new line of work. Well done!
guitarplayer wrote:
Tue Dec 27, 2022 6:59 am
I couldn't help myself and did some work on the code yesterday despite it being a day off. The changes have been lingering at the back of my head the last few days. I managed to get a good chunk of work done.
This is a good indication that you are excited about the work. That is a beautiful place to be and will lead to a lot of professional success.

Also, it is really cool seeing the plunder from the urban foraging expeditions. A little depressing when you see how far some of that produce has traveled, but at least you are making good use of it.

guitarplayer
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Thanks for the kind words @WRC!

Yes, definitely feels good to be learning new things and getting paid for it. My previous work was very much a 'maintenance' one.

It does make me feel sad to see where all this food comes from. It might be to do with the fact that I am now getting all the food packaged with the origin written on the plastic. Until recently I would be getting food in cardboard boxes and this alone had a much more pleasing feel. Also, the company we were getting food from would not be importing apples from South Africa. It would import them from the Netherlands (ditto peppers etc) or source from the UK - more reasonable. Oranges etc would most likely come from Spain. Bananas would still make their way from South America though.

It is actually a pretty clever system, ticks many boxes. Big supermarkets have less waste they need to pay someone to dispose of. Works well for their PR - I read people writing 'supermarket xxx kindly donated...'. As an enterprise, the supermarket might not feel anyhow about it. DW recently told me that it seems supermarkets pay the app owners to carry out the whole thing. Then it needs to balance out in the supermarkets' books! It also relies on people's drive for 'free' (think Ariely's experiments). Since the food is not yet expired, there is social permission to take it. As it stands, it is not dumpster diving. People who I meet are regular people, only a couple hippie types I had met. The app people take care of all the legal liability bits. As in 'I will dispose of the use-by food and not share with anyone past the date'. This way no 'expired' food changes hands. I want to think the app founders have genuine intentions of doing something good. Trying their best to work with what is at hand. Like anything else, the system relies on cheap energy. When I cycle or run places to collect things, I see people coming with a car to collect their items.

Glamorous life these fruit and veg have with all the travel. I hope that a bit more meaningful, ending up in someones belly rather than globetrotting the world in vain.
___________________________________________________________________________

2022 update 52/52

Job

013/156 weeks in (ca. 8.3%).

I signed up for and did beta testing of a training about logistic regression in SAS. This is with a training provider that gives trainings at my organization. Also started doing prep work for the next three projects I will work on.

Reading/Extracurricular/Languages

I watched some interviews with Popper and Kolakowski and read bits and bobs. DW announced we would be talking only in Spanish until our trip to South America next year. It makes me happy. I was trying to think of a good book that is simple enough and translated into many languages. This to help with language acquisition but also to generally fit in the system. Was thinking of Hemingway again, but I do not want to handle too heavy fiction topics at the moment. I only remember reading his one book or short stories. There he was, sitting in an attic of some shabby house in Paris, describing his days. Not for me at the moment. Was thinking of Epictetus, but not sure that language there is modern and simple enough. Finally settled on 'Little Prince' with second one being 'Sophie's World'. I will start with Little Prince.

Stoic exercises

Week 52: Apply the dichotomy of control from dawn to night

Epictetus states here that if we apply the dichotomy of control in every moment of life, we will be serene at all times. Looking at miracles or atrocities before us but not to do with our doing, we would conclude that if there had been anything we could do, we would have done it. But we cannot prolong the miracles or stop the atrocities so we should not pay that much attention to them.
Pigliucci and Lopez wrote:You will develop an attitude of equanimity that allows you to accept whatever comes your way: If things turn out as desired, be thankful; if not, be resilient.
The task for this week is to try to spot any aversions and desires and ask ourselves whether their object is within or outside our control. And then act in accord with the conclusions.

The stoic exercises ran their course. There is an epilogue in the book, suggesting compiling a personal curriculum. I liked the weekly stoic exercises.

Health / Exercise

I haven't written about this for a while. I still do 200 burpees with a jump every every day, with one random no-burpee day per month on average. This most often coincides with some other physical activity. I tend to do other things on burpee days as well though. Often running or cycling places to get free food. Such running can range from 1 mile to 6 miles, back with a rucksack full of food. Makes me feel good that I have no issue with this whatsoever, as in my body is not screaming at me. Good tool, the body. Cycles are further afield, 10-30miles. I also get to know people and neighbourhoods this way.

I also have been taking cold showers the past hmm, approaching 3 years now (DW says more like 1.5 years). Also during the winter, which is not too bad but also not insignificant. For example, with the recent cold spell we had 8-10 C in the flat for about a week. This coupled with cold showers was quite a burden. My body resorted to wanting more food and sleeping longer. But all worked fine, so happy about it.

I now eat as many greens as I used to only during harvest time. Then we had heaps and heaps of lettuce and could not eat through it. We have 6 heads of iceberg lettuce and 6 bags of mixed leaves/rocket/lamb's lettuce in the fridge now. Also 10 heads of little gem and three bags of kale. This is rather standard these days.

Still take vitamin D and B12 (we are vegan).

Maths and Stats / Studies

I finished reading about hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. Also asymptotic theory, proving the law of large numbers and central limit theorem. I am now working on an assignment for this.

Found a book called 'Statistical Methods for Research Workers' by R.A. Fisher in 1920's - what a title! R.A. Fisher introduced some statistical techniques that are popular to this day. I like how this title is so blue-collar sounding. Especially given that the British Queen had knighted Fisher at some point.

Thanks for reading and a stoic New Year to everyone!
Last edited by guitarplayer on Fri Dec 30, 2022 3:28 pm, edited 9 times in total.

User avatar
Lemur
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by Lemur »

I've been doing cold showers for just over a year now. Still enjoying its benefits. Sounds crazy but to me I like it when its even more cold in the winter- its gets the initial shock feeling over with that much quicker.

guitarplayer
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

@Lemur, way to go! I wonder how it's going to be in ~30 C for a month when I go to South America in a couple months. Do you have any such experience from the Philippines?

___________________________________________________________________________

2023 update 1/52

Happy New Year everyone!

Job

014/156 weeks in (ca. 9.0%).

It's great, around three months in and I am getting in the swing of things. Building new functionalities that make work easier, better or faster, catching up with folk in different departments to have stuff lined up for future publications. The 'get your clothes for the morning ready in the evening' sort of stuff (I am not getting my clothes in the evening ready for the morning per se, but like the idea).

Spanish

I am now mostly talking Spanish with DW, I love it. Poor Spanish language, suffering from my abuse. I maintain the philosophy 'fail early fail often', DW seems not to mind and is understanding. I am inventing words on a daily basis parroting from other languages hoping I will get the right word. I have good grasp of key words such as

'mi amor',
'si',
'por supuesto',
'claro',
'con gusto',
'te amo',
'claro',
'bueno',
'muy bien'

and

'lo siento'
'mi culpa'
'que pena'

and others similar, I also smile a lot. I get the impression that DW is nicer to me and also happier and I credit speaking nice words to her in her native tongue partly responsible. Maybe it is just honeymoon period of this language expedition.

The Little Prince

I am going to be reading The Little Prince little by little in multiple languages here, you can join me with languages I have not covered if you wish.

Stoicism

I am going to be reading the Handbook of Epictetus in a separate thread. I might still write about other things stoic here.

Maths and Stats / Studies

I wrote the Mathematical Statistics assignment on hypothesis tests and confidence intervals and asymptotic theory. Got in touch with my tutor asking her 'what's after I graduate?' She recommended I throw my weight behind the job I do now and mentioned plenty of jobs in data science and finance at the moment.

ETA: Learning about log-linear models for contingency tables. Mosaic plots are such a neat way of depicting conditional probabilities! Below is one from a dummy dataset, showing how gender distribution is conditional on employment status. It is very clear to see some extent of conditionality but also absolute values of counts given by the areas of the rectangles.

Image

Until the next time!
Last edited by guitarplayer on Sat Jan 07, 2023 3:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

avalok
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by avalok »

The Enchiridion is great. Epictetus' style is very direct (though this may have been the translation I read), which I appreciate: there's less time wondering what he means, more time absorbing the power of it.

Really glad you are enjoying your job so much; every update brims with enthusiasm. Long may it continue!

theanimal
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by theanimal »

You might enjoy checking out "Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish". The first chapter offers an easy way to feel more comfortable and gain more vocab by focusing on the words that are the same or slightly different than English. The rest of the book continues and follows more of an unorthodox approach.

There are also short stories in Spanish that are designed to introduce new vocab. I haven't looked but I imagine there are plenty at beginner levels. Actually, you could try using popular kid's books too. We have some kids books in Spanish for our daughter like Corduroy, Buenas Noches Luna (Good Night Moon) and Eres mi mama? (Are you my mother?) Find something that you are familiar with so that you have an idea of the story and go from there. It scales all the way up to novels, books, technical papers etc. Enjoy!

guitarplayer
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Touch base!

@avalok, would be nice to see Epictetus talking, I sometimes wonder on the delivery style. Would it be like Frankl? Likely Epictetus would have an accent speaking Greek.

For the job, I set a timer for three years and am now about 10% in!

@theanimal thanks for the references. I am reading one children's book that DW suggested - she half knows it by heart so it is a fun activity to read it. I also chat with OpenAI sometimes, and am very bold in experimenting with the language (but make sure to use lots of key words so DW does not lose her patience). In one version of the future we move to Spain in a few years when of course learning the language would go faster.

___________________________________________________________________________

2023 update 2/52


Job

015/156 weeks in (ca. 9.6%).

I spent a lot of time rewriting SAS code into R for one project. This was a lot of fun, very rewarding. I am glad my manager is busy with lots of stuff and leaves me to my own devices and I make sure to give him feedback about various bits of work I progress with so we retain this status.

Maths and Stats / Studies

Wrote another assignment, this time on Bayesian statistics and Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. I have 6 assignments to go and 8 weeks until I am away for a month. It is going well overall. I am occasionally getting results from these assignments, so far (in percentages): 100, 98, 98, 92, 94, 88, 97. Some are written but waiting for a deadline to be submitted.

A short one this time.

guitarplayer
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

2023 update 3/52

Job

016/156 weeks in (ca. 10.3%).

Had a catch up meeting with my manager, we are meant to have them every month but only had one so far. The manager seems very happy with my performance. I mostly do what I want and just make sure all that is in my power is done for the publications. Content.

There was a Python training that I was meant to attend this past and next week, but in the end I cannot due to permission issues regarding software. It is fine though, I have lots and lots of material to digest now anyway. There are some other projects on my mind that I plan to do using R so maybe better to put more time into R rather than diversify just now.

Maths and Stats / Studies

Working on graph planarity, vertex / edge colouring and decomposition, matching problems (marriage theorem), assignment and transportation problems. After I am done with the Forum session I will work a bit more on a transportation problem and move onto the design of codes!

Also, I applied for a research bursary to do with graphs and networks. I had applied for this last year and did not get it. There is some money involved but I applied mostly for the experience of having 140h of supervised research time in mathematics this summer. I estimate the chances of getting it as slim but non-zero. Wrote a rather unconventional application and in essence told them 'look, here is why I am clever and and have a predisposition for this type of stuff'. Due to external reasons, the application window was only 10 days this year which I hope to play in my favour too.

UK charter of ERE :)

Went for a ERE walk with a fellow forumite. Was good, a good variety of topic touched upon!

Mould!

Due to condensation (I hope only due to this) there was some mould in a dark windowless walk-in wardrobe in the flat (spreading to some items in the bedroom too), as well as in a couple dark corners of the kitchen !

It doesn't help that we are running a no-heating-in-the-winter experiment.

DW got moisture meters, one for each room, one for bathroom, one for kitchen. Normally I see the readings in the mid 70%. Something like 72-76% in the living room, a bit higher in the kitchen and bedroom. There were a few sunny days where I kept the windows open for a long time, then it would go down to high 60%'s and low 70%'s. Today it is less sunny (82% humidity in Glasgow outside now) so opening windows does not help much (still feels nice to get fresh air, cold though).

I ran an electric heater today as an experiment. Running it for 20min spent 1kW of energy and brought humidity in the living room to 66% but it climbed back up to 74% in less than an hour. We could ask our landlord for a dehumidifier, he would probably get it for us (definitely in his interest). It would be an energy sink for us though (although less than a heater).

We did proper cleaning with vinegar and cleaning products last week and this week to, will be doing a sort of deep clean weekly for some time. This weekend all looked okay.

Had a 'god we are never getting a property in this city' kind of moment, but then realised this is just the 'stuff' property owners deal with.

Any ERE ways of dealing with this other than dehumidifier? Will airing whenever possible and giving a good clean to all each week do? My line of thinking now is that mould is like weeds in conventional gardening - as long as I am on it (frequent cleaning) it will remain under control.

RSS

Anyone aware of any tangible benefits of being a member of the Royal Statistical Society (or the American Statistical Society - this is parallel org)? I have become a fellow, later this year I will get a graduate status so if I stick around for long enough (which is 5 years), I would then become a Chartered Statistician.

British

DW and I started looking at resources for the 'Life in the UK' test. This is a test that has to be passed if one wants to then apply to become a British Citizen.

avalok
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by avalok »

guitarplayer wrote:
Sat Jan 21, 2023 12:59 pm
Any ERE ways of dealing with this other than dehumidifier? Will airing whenever possible and giving a good clean to all each week do? My line of thinking now is that mould is like weeds in conventional gardening - as long as I am on it (frequent cleaning) it will remain under control.
Your humidity readings are quite high; anything greater than 70% and I have observed our damps issues begin to worsen. I have read that 40-60% is an appropriate range for a UK abode, but that really depends on where you live.

Our dehumidifier is not cheap to run, but if this is affects your belongings (e.g. clothes) then the cost of not treating the humidity could be outweighed. Frequent cleaning would treat the mould, but the mould is growing in part because of the high humidity inside, which could begin to cause other issues. I believe you asked before about drying clothes quicker indoors. A dehumidifier would also help here if that is still an issue for you. Again, not cheap to run, but may help get to the root of the issue.
guitarplayer wrote:
Sat Jan 21, 2023 12:59 pm
DW and I started looking at resources for the 'Life in the UK' test. This is a test that has to be passed if one wants to then apply to become a British Citizen.
That's really exciting. You see yourselves staying in the UK long term then? I've heard a lot of citizens fail the tests if asked to take one, but I wonder if that is an inability to revise, as with driving theory tests.

guitarplayer
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Yep I thought about the dehumidifier doubling down for helping with drying clothes so might ask the landlord for one. Might maybe also look for another flat (the benefit of renting not owning!) But first I will give it some time to try our new system.

I think the UK has been very kind to DW and I over the last few years, and vice versa. We met here and built the ERE life as we have it now! It will be good to have that sort of link, so that no matter what future holds it will be there. Has been a huge chunk of time in one country for me as historically prior to that I had been very nomadic. And I remain cosmopolitan in outlook.

The test is a bit of a memory test. 'Who was leading the football team that won the World cup in 1996' sort of questions, but also 'what is the capital of Wales'. It is not tricky; we organise snacks and make an event out of reviewing for it once a week, will see how quickly will cover all the questions.

avalok
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by avalok »

That's great to hear: I know a couple of people who have immigrated to the UK and it pleases me to hear they are happy to have made a home on this rainy isle. Brits love to put the place down, but I think they forget to look at what the British Isles, not just the UK, gives them.

Glad the test sounds pretty easy. All the best with it :)

guitarplayer
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

[what was here does not reflect reality anymore]
Last edited by guitarplayer on Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ThriftyRob
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Re: guitar player's journal

Post by ThriftyRob »

In answer to your question about mould - the key is to keep humidity in your flat as low as you can. I grew up in an old house with coal fires in the lounge and dining room only. It was standard every morning to 'air the bed' pull the sheets and blanket/quilt towards the foot of the bed to let any humidity in the bedding evaporate. My mother would open all the windows to get the internal humidity down to ambient levels. It sounds slightly eccentric to be letting all the warmth out of your home however opening the windows (and doors) ensures the humid air mixes with outside ambient almost immediately. Most of the warmth in a house is stored in the fabric of the building and the contents of the rooms.

The other important issues are not drying washing inside - outdoors on a clothes line is good (so long as it isn't raining) and using an extractor fan when cooking. Most of the humidity comes from the breath we exhale, so doing physical exercise outside is good mitigation and keeping a window open slightly at night while sleeping also works.

You need to be alert to mould growing on your clothes, so check in drawers and wardrobes and make an effort to ensure you get good air movement when you ventilate your rooms.

guitarplayer
Posts: 1299
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: guitar player's journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Amazing advice, thanks @ThriftyRob! This is just the advice I was looking for, such things make me abandon the ideas like in my earlier post, so much value here. Some of the things I have been doing intuitively already:

- airing the bed (my mum used to do it sometimes, and definitely my granny)
- opening the windows - although I have been hesitant to do it these days because the ambient humidity is 95% versus the readers in the house in their 80%s. Opening windows on both side to create draft does not help. Have not thought about opening the door though! This makes sense.
- washing will need to be dried inside I am afraid. This being said, I had a good chat with the landlord who agreed to buy a dehumidifier. It will run on 220W and can extract up to 12l a day (realistically maybe half of that). With current energy prices an impossible scenario or running it 24/7 all year would cost less than £600. Vastly preferred solution to heating the place a lot.
- cooking is not much of an issue as we cook in a slow cooker, microwave and (water) a kettle so not much vapour - that being said the dehumidifier will help here.
- I had thoughts about exercising indoors, it can be a tricky balance on rainy day when working out indoors increases humidity level but so does bringing back wet workout outfit from outside.
- yes we started moving around our clothes and other belongings on a regular basis. We have also seriously started considering simplifying and de cluttering (not that we have much anyway, I can conceivably see Rob Greenfield at the end of the tunnel!)

I think the dehumidifier will be a game changer. I now think of the dehumidifier bill as a tax on living in Scotland / UK. Will still implement the other techniques, bringing the old and the new together like in the Ugly Civilization which I try to revive on the forum now.

Thanks again!

zbigi
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Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2020 2:04 pm

Re: guitar player's journal

Post by zbigi »

guitarplayer wrote:
Tue Jan 24, 2023 8:24 am

- opening the windows - although I have been hesitant to do it these days because the ambient humidity is 95% versus the readers in the house in their 80%s. Opening windows on both side to create draft does not help.
Cold outside air that is 95% humid probably has much less water in it than inside air at 85% humidity. Meaning, if you open your windows and fill your apartment with outside air, then close the window and wait for the air to heat to room temperature, it should be much below 85% humidity.

chenda
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Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 1:17 pm
Location: Nether Wallop

Re: guitar player's journal

Post by chenda »

Traditionally buildings were made of permeable materials which allowed them to 'breath' e.g. lime mortar. This prevented the build up of moisture, together with daily airing like @thriftyrob says.

20th century architecture has built ridgid barriers to water ingress. Things like damp courses, cement mortar and double glazing (one of the great eco-scams of the 20th century) has led to a dependency on mechanical extraction. Retrofitting non-breathable materials on pre-war buildings often creates damp problems which previously didn't exist.

During the pandemic we also remembered why hospitals used to have big openable windows; ventilation helped sweep away airborne viruses.

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