SorryImLate

I agree there are still technical challenges ahead, I’m just optimistic about innovation. There are a lot of companies investing heavily in this field, so there must be many technical experts who are similarly optimistic.

I’d also like to point out that current agricultural practices are heavily subsidised. Plus there are the unpaid environmental costs. If agricultural subsidies were no longer applied, and all businesses had to start paying an emissions tax, so that consumers paid the actual cost of farming meat, any financial comparison to cultured meat would look very different.

I don’t think it’s going to happen in the next 5 years, but 15 years from now? Maybe.

Sheepish does not mean nervous.

It means being shamefaced, usually embarrassed when you did / said something wrong and it comes out. It can also mean meek or docile.

I believe cultured meat is the future.

I don’t mind the plant-based substitutes and eat them occasionally, but:

1. I don’t like that they’ve named them meat-related names (I have the same issue with plant “milk”). This marketing strategy causes an expectation of flavour and texture that disappoints people and puts them off. If the product is good enough, give it its own niche, like tofu.
2. Part of the reason vegan / vegetarian diets are healthy is because the food is largely unprocessed, whereas many of these products are highly processed. I’d rather just eat actual vegetables.

Cultured meat has real potential to replace farmed meat because it can provide things no plant-based alternative can, while removing many of the disadvantages of animal farming:

• The taste and texture should eventually be identical to farmed meat.
• It’s kinder to animals than farming - not vegan, but not cruel, no-one dies, and far fewer animals are needed.
• It’s better for the environment in many ways: less emissions than animal farming, less land required than both animal and plant-based farms, can be produced close to urban centres so less transport should be required.
• It can be fed to pets that are obligate carnivores, like cats. I will never put my dog on a vegan diet but I am following the UK company Meatly, that is specialising in cultured meat for pet food, with interest.

Once cultured meat is a similar price to farmed meat, I believe the ethical and environmental advantages will give it the edge. Many people that will never go vegan or vegetarian will hopefully switch.

You feel sorry for insurance companies? Huh.

You don’t know what my scenario is. I didn’t say in this comment what I recommend, only that his advice is poor, which it is. This stuff is literally what I do for a living.

The payment period alone is not sufficient information, it also matters how old OP is and what their expected lifetime is. Plus how do you know the lumpsum was calculated correctly?

That’s such bs. You don’t know how old OP is so you don’t know her expected lifetime. You’re advising her to take on longevity risk, specifically the risk that she runs out of money when she’s old and probably unable to work.

Living off the lumpsum only works if her drawdown is 1% a year, not 1% a month.

There are a lot of questions that would influence my answer.

For example: Who did the calculation? Do you trust them to have calculated the lumpsum as a fair representation of the payments?

Who is carrying the death, disability and unemployment risk? In particular, if your ex-husband dies or becomes unable to work, who will continue to make the payments? What if he married in the meantime and his new wife fights the settlement due from his estate? (Happened to someone I know. She won eventually but had a very hard time for years until the money was released.)

How large an amount are we talking about? Can you survive on 1% of the amount per year? For example, if the lumpsum is USD 10m, then hire a wealth manager to invest it and have yourself paid 1% a year, in this case USD 100k a year, or USD 8.3k a month. The invested lumpsum will increase with inflation and so your 1% will also increase each year. This setup will allow you to live off the lumpsum indefinitely.

Based on the limited information you provided I assume the amount isn’t that big, in which case I would advise that the monthly amounts are paid via an annuity purchased in your name from a life insurance company.

This solution has a number of advantages:

1. The insurance company will calculate the lumpsum (which would be the price of the annuity)
2. You aren’t subject to any risk from your ex-husband’s life
3. If this is payable for life, the life insurance company takes on the risk that you become very old and run out of money.

You will have the risk that the insurer goes bankrupt but provided you select a reputable, well-funded company that’s been around a long time, the risk is relatively low - life insurance companies are heavily regulated. Also, you would get some money back from a bankruptcy. Many annuity products also pay back part of the annuity price if you die within the first few years, so in that case there should be something to inherit for anyone you leave behind.

Edit: I see from your comments that the payments are not meant for life but only a limited few years that will end before you reach retirement age. Is that correct?

If so, that raises new questions. Importantly, do you have any additional retirement savings or is this settlement meant to cover that? If you were married for 20 years you should be entitled to a portion of his retirement savings if you don’t have any of your own.

If this money includes your share of your retirement savings, then take the lumpsum and put the amount that represents your retirement money into a suitable (tax advantageous) retirement fund that you can not touch. At your age (nearing 40?) you should have saved up a sizeable retirement amount already, so that will easily be half the lumpsum I would assume. The actual numbers depends on all sorts of things I don’t know.

My qualifications are suited to helping you with calculations. If you are willing to give more personal information, pm me and I can give better, more tailored advice.

Spain?

India?

I like that they keep referring to it as an “accident”, or an “unprovoked attack”. He was stalking an animal to kill it, and was close enough that he couldn’t get out of its way when it charged. Seems to me the animal was smart enough to defend itself, nothing accidental or unprovoked about it. Go Buffalo!

Edit: spelling

Hello beautiful boy.

He’s growing so fast! A little trim around the eyes so he can see better might be appreciated.

Gorilla habitats, forests, and world climate at risk as the developing world aims to maximise GDP using the same methods as the developed world. Sadly, protecting nature still doesn’t feed people, or finance a developing nation.

To be clear: I’m not happy about this choice but I can understand it. It would be very hypocritical of me to sit comfortably in one of the wealthy, developed nations that has caused climate change, refuses to give up luxuries to slow climate change, won’t implement a carbon tax or a tax on the very wealthy to fund climate change technology, and judge Congo.

Oh look, a meme created by a man, who promptly ignored the more frequent use for toilet paper employed by 50% of the population 🙄

I read this the opposite way.

Scottish museums are objecting to an anti-trans judgement from the UK. They are saying that if trans-women can’t use the women’s bathroom, and trans-men can’t use the men’s bathroom, then they have to close. They’re being allies.

It’s based on a recent case where Scotland’s highest court stated that a person’s gender could change based on a doctor’s authority, and this was overturned on appeal by a UK judge.

Gah, I forgot about expiry dates!

Oh well, at least they exist now. Now to figure out which ones are effective and ensure someone implements them…

You might enjoy this podcast

Should we edit genes to make nicer people?

I’d like to be the sole owner of all global patents required for an effective, sustainable, eco-friendly solution to removing and recycling microplastics from earth’s environment.

There are a number of reality checks that you can do to check whether you’re awake or (lucid) dreaming. I would suggest that you try some of those.

For example, apparently your hands always look odd in dreams. They might seem fine until you try to focus on them, then suddenly you’ll notice they’re the wrong colour or shape or have the wrong number of fingers.

There are also some other reality checks in that Wiki if you’re feeling bored.

I recently moved somewhere a little further from the shops. I can take the bus part of the way but still need to walk around 1km each way, so I’ve invested in a Clax trolley to carry my groceries.

If I was in your situation, I would buy a light, foldable cart, take the bus to the shops, and walk home.