Chatterbox Thursday

Anyone want a walkie talkie?

Wordle 1,188 5/6*

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morning.

Samwise Gamgee cosplay is even worse than fascism

Morning all!

I had a brain-wrong yesterday, and so spent much of the afternoon and early-evening in a darkened room, drifting in and out of consciousness.
I’ve decided that today I should have a break from work, as the head is still a bit “heady”.

TVblog: The Expanse. Miller’s been kicked out of the force, the MCN gunship is now the Roci, and things are going tilt on Eros.

Twitterblog: I made the mistake last night of responding to a comment on Twitter. Oh boy.
Person A (a Dr): painter did a fantastic job for me. They got £30 an hour for a job well done. Realised some Drs/nurses receive £17 an hour.
Person B: painter is self employed, works less hours, no holiday/sickness pay, overheads etc.
Person C (me): no offence to painters, but anyone can do the job with minimal training. The same can’t be said for medicine.

Aaand the floodgates opened…

I only got my phone back last night and had seen the original post, hadn't noticed your reply. Oof.

It’s the blue-tick responses which are typically the ones who are either personally affronted, or a simple STFU.

I mean, if I wanted a wall painted and did it myself, is it still not painted?

It can't come as a huge surprise to people that different jobs are paid different amounts

I certainly don't get paid enough for what I do as much as I'd like

May not be true.

I read once that Goebbels's favourite poet was Tom Bombadil.

This article from last year is better; essentially the complaint is that Italian fascists are getting Tolkien wrong, and they need to do Tolkien better.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/03/the-lord-of-the-rings-italy-giorgia-meloni-tolkien

I'm listening to Andy Serkis' reading of LoTR at the moment. Tolkien resisted, in both the writing of LoTR and writing about it, interpretations of fable or allegory, which perversely perhaps leaves the text more vulnerable to a prejudiced or one-eyed allegorical evaluation. A lot of the language and tropes really haven't aged that well (some of the same words written today would doubtless be overtly racist) which perhaps also makes it attractive to the fascists.

I put this in a long read because I always thought they got paid more, I believe this is GROSS not NET pay. 

Here are some average salaries for emergency services roles in the UK:


1)  Emergency care assistant:
A starter emergency care assistant can expect to earn around £23,000 per year, while an experienced one can earn around £28,000. They typically work 37 to 42 hours per week, including evenings, weekends, and bank holidays.
2)  Emergency response officer:
The national average salary for an emergency response officer is £23,659.
3)  999 call handler:
The average salary for a 999 call handler is £28,287 per year, with an average additional cash compensation of £3,915.
4)  Emergency call handler:
A trainee emergency call handler earns a basic salary of £27,228 per year during their training period. After training, they earn £32,450 per year, and after one year they are promoted to emergency call coordinator, earning £35,240 per year.
5)  Ambulance controller:
The national average salary for an ambulance controller is £36,440.
6)  Paramedic:
The national average salary for a paramedic is £36,779 per year. Paramedics often work on-call, responding to 999 emergency calls, assessing patients, and transporting them to the hospital.

The average minimum pay for a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) in the UK varies by force and experience, but is generally between £19,000 and £26,000 per year. Here are some examples of PCSO salaries by force:

1)  British Transport Police
£27,168 per year, with a range of £23,000–£33,000
2)  Metropolitan Police Service
£31,049 per year, with a range of £26,000–£36,000
3)  Greater Manchester Police
£27,961 per year, with a range of £25,000–£32,000
4)  Sussex Police
£28,461 per year, with a range of £25,000–£35,000
5)  Kent Police
£23,975 per year, with a range of £20,000–£29,000
6)  Thames Valley Police
£22,564 per year, with a range of £19,000–£24,000
7)  Lancashire Constabulary
£20,957 per year, with a range of £19,000–£25,000

PCSOs work with police officers and other agencies to promote community safety and confidence. They share some of the powers of police officers, but not all.

The minimum pay for a firefighter in the UK can vary depending on the role and the fire service:
1)  Trainee firefighter:
A trainee firefighter's salary can range from £23,833 to £32,280 per year, depending on the fire service
2)  Fully trained firefighter:
A fully trained firefighter's salary can range from £28,310 to £37,675 per year, depending on the fire service
3)  Crew manager:
A crew manager's salary can range from £40,041 to £41,767 per year
4)  Fire control operator:
A fire control operator's salary can range from £25,819 to £34,415 per year
5)  Senior firefighter:
A senior firefighter's salary can be around £46,672 per year
6)  Lead firefighter:
A lead firefighter's salary can be around £35,368 per year


Firefighters may also receive benefits such as a pension scheme, childcare support, interest-free loans, and training opportunities. They may also have flexible working hours, which can depend on the fire situation or level of emergency.

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