Spikecollie

May the universe be with you....

I might live over yonder but I'm still an adopted Yorkshire lass. I'm really worried for all of you. I know my OH is safe but also know he will be awake all night listening out. Stay safe my friends. I'll be back in the morning...

Pas trop serieux ici. Nous avons quelques vigilances en place..

Have had many happy landings in worse at LBA!

I know, Cowdog. I used to live in the Aire Valley and saw the devastation before some of the flood defenses were installed. They're not perfect and maybe nothing can withstand the likes of this. We'll see. Bon courage mon ami!

Yes, by reaction. Always reaction. We are having/have had the time for action but it is not being allowed/hasn't been allowed to happen. So we are here. Will anything change? I doubt it, until we really begin to suffer...

Go back to our "twelve days of Christmas" mock up - "seven surfers sinking"...'tis fun for them without wit. Having said that I've done mad things in my life. just not that mad...

Sounds good, minus the sausages! Stay safe...

Naughty, naughty boy! Don't get me started on uniforms!!!

Crikey GW, stay safe. I have a lovely day here and have been playing ball with Mylo, starting some onions in the garden and getting some washing done and out. We're about to go for a run. I really hope that everything will be OK for Yorkshire but my gut feel says not. Bon courage!

Jesus wept! A fibreboard cabinet as a flood defence - proposed by the military, too, on the BBC.

The latter yes, but she has lost her father.

The man was 80 years old. His daughter is recovering well.

Glad someone else does that. I often wait until heavy rain to wash my car!

That's all the TV stations are interested in, juicy disaster footage. Of course individual journalists and their managers will have empathy with their fellow human beings but the corporate "go get it" mentality subsumes that, in the same way that we all get on with our jobs and do unpleasant things from time to time. I have an idea but then again I'm a naughty bunny! If it's live coverage, do your concerned resident bit but try and get very, very well rehearsed quip in - anything (European funding for flood defenses would be my favourite but you've come up with a lot more in recent posts). Bon courage!

You should do a "12 days of Christmas" style thing - I'll start you off " seven surfers sinking, six cars a'floating"... The climber rescue thing really annoyed me. All those resources wasted for some silly buggers who went out in bloomin' trainers. Someone in real need could have lost their life. Grrrr!

Not sure - I think we have some very rational discussions but we do need to ensure our sources and statistics and also make sure we don't make alarmist statements that are unfounded assumptions.

Snipper, I know what you are saying but I work with people like that and while some of the situations you have seen may be due to deliberate behaviour/alcohol or drug addiction, 100% of my cases are elderly or disabled people. Two of my clients are living in conditions unfit for human beings. One man staggers to his bed each night but is recliner chair-bound all day tied to his oxygen supply. He eats his meals from a filthy chipboard square on his table and spits/drops his leavings onto the floor. The walls of the rented accommodation are riddled with mould (it's an old small town big mansion split into social housing flats). He has no vacuum cleaner so all I can do is brush the floor and clean up what I can and what he lets me touch - he is very defensive. He gave me a Valentine's Day kiss today... Our societies are broken. Where we go, I don't know, but the pleasure of being able to make a small difference to individual lives has transformed my own. Sometimes you forget about that hot shower or even wearing gloves because you just want to hold a very vulnerable human hand...

I hope all is OK for you folks in Mytholmroyd and elswehere. Folks trying to run businesses in Hebden Bridge and your area have had a succession of very rough times and I have read some stories of them just deciding to give up - desperately sad. Hebden Bridge is a lovely, quirky little town and I worked with a client not so far from Mytholmroyd and it's a super little place. My OH is safe as is our house over there because we are relatively elevated but I hope everyone ends up OK. Finally our wet week has dried up over here and we have had a lovely, warm afternoon and Mylo and I ran in the beginnings of a glorious sunset. It's supposed to be a nice weekend with mid to high teen temperatures but unsurprisingly cool nights, so we'll be out and about and doing. Stay safe everyone...

I have very sensitive skin and can't use anti-bacterial handwipes or gels, otherwise I erupt in dermatitis! I just wash my hands very scrupulously in mild soap and water. I too avoid the "coughers and sneezers" but who knows what they have touched/coughed/ sneezed on before. I work with vulnerable people and also do some quite intimate work like changing people's "protection" (sanitary ware) and preparing their meals. I wear gloves for some tasks but never a mask as it would be inappropriate. I fear this might all get a bit out of proportion compared to the risks of "gastro" (Noro.) and "Grippe" ('flu). I am not really worried for myself but for people who are vulnerable both physically and psychologically to and threat...

This is getting a little bit silly: Phone showcase cancelled over coronavirus fears WWW.BBC.CO.UK The world's largest mobile industry showcase will not go ahead, organisers confirm. I'm not a big tech. fan or even a big business fan but until we can remodel this world of ours, its current cogs need to keep turning.

I know the point that BB is trying to make but quants aren't everything. In my research I always looked to back up quants. with quals. I had a brilliant case once with one of my part-time professional students where she was using a quant.-based staff survey for her dissertation research. I'll abridge it a bit/a lot - staff in the north are less satisfied than in the south and the productivity of the former is 25% higher than the latter - she was obliged to feed back the results to senior management, who immediately seized on the difference between the geographical divisions and implemented enhanced staff supervision and disciplinary threats. I sent her back to do some quals. with both divisions and she uncovered a veritable can of bullying worms in focus groups. Senior management would not let her use or refer to the quals. in her dissertation - nice. With quants., not only do you get unexplained causality but very often you get no explanation at all. Senior managers love quants. though... Just had "the text" from my GP surgery in the UK!

Sadly not enough for a statistically significant conclusion...

Thailand is still a mainly agricultural economy but has a growing service sector, not to mention tourism and manufacturing is not insignificant. Just checked my notes from last year!!!

I think we're back to a debate about "the many and the few". This is probably nothing of a threat to those of us who are healthy/resilient enough to withstand it, which is probably the many. There are though, very vulnerable people who are likely to succumb or suffer and who are, or may become, very frightened. As I have suggested before, if we are ever to realise any sort of interdependence in our world and work together on common threats, we need to consider everyone. I don't think it's fine to say "I'm fine" I'd like everyone else to be fine with me...