I keep buying clothes by mistake. And I'm going to do it again.

At least yesterday I found an actually decent shirt in a charity shop, even if it was pricy for what it is.

Nowt, I'm skint because of a contract change that means I've got to make two weeks of pay last until July, and it's completely legal for my company to do that apparently. Capitalism is wonderful.

I've been sensible and saved enough to cover the bills and hold me over, but it means I won't be doing anything fun. I hope it rains constantly for the whole month so nobody else can enjoy themselves either.

>>470724
How do you buy clothes by mistake?

I'll pretty much be moping around feigning depression because I'm lonely but don't want to go out making friends.
Had a diet of confectionary and crisps over the last 5 days because the bus up to shops is 'too expensive' I could walk but the heat of not-even-summer is too great and I can't be slogging it 30 minutes uphill in boots just to feed myself. I could stretch for 3 trips but after that my clothes would be stinking even to my standard, requiring more regular laundry, soap.. ugh.
It's probably do me some good excersise though and I'd be less likely to be buying crap like I am now.
I had intended to buy from the local grocer - greater quality and convinience but fewer items, at likely the same price as the bus to Tesco. It makes sense to me trading quality for quanitity when considering the £6 travel fee required for the latter.

>>470724
>I found an actually decent shirt in a charity shop, even if it was pricy for what it is.
What's that then, a decent shirt? I suppose you could say it's second hand - I'll admit charity shop prices have risen over the past 4 years, particularly BHF.

I once witnessed a scrubby woman complaining in a charity shop about £1 price tags on clothes she'd picked out herself. It's like, dude you've already shown your interest by noticing the item, then you have the cheek to ask "who'd pay a pound for that?!" Evidently you're considering it. You'd give a quid to a beggar for fuck sake. They made a fuss in the entire shop, thankfully it was mostly empty. I felt bad for the learning disabled floor volunteer - they didn't know where to look.

I'm going out later for a friend's stag night. He's 46, it's his third wedding, second stag night I've been to, and he's a complete liability and a notorious bellend. And an alcoholic. I hope some of the random bartenders he has also invited turn out to be close friends, so it doesn't fall to me to be the best friend there. Because I am hoping to really be more of an extra.

My stepdad fell for one of those mobile phone courier theft scams, almost. My mum said the woman sounded like she was from "Um Bongo", yet my stepdad still trusted the woman despite him being a huge racist.

>>470730

Never heard of that, what's the scam?

>>470731
You get a call from your "phone provider" offering a discount and a free bit of tech (in this case an Apple Watch) for being a good customer. To finalise the order they request a pin. In the background, they're resetting your actual account password using the PIN provided. They order an expensive flagship phone to your address using your phone provider account.

The package turns up and they ring you to say you were sent the wrong item! They offer to collect the phone with a courier, then you'll be sent your Apple Watch. The courier is actually a scammer too, who will take the phone to a mule to be sent elsewhere, usually out of the country.

Then in a month's time the victim receives a bill for £1200 from the phone provider, and the scammers have won. And the victim still has no Apple Watch.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Ppe3MEoWo

Can you get goosebumps in your pubes? As in, they'll all stand up on end?

>>470732

I think they tried that one on me too.

A while ago I got a call from somebody - with a faint but noticeable Mideastern accent - who claimed to be calling me as part of the O2 Loyal Customer programme. Or something like it, anyway, he said he was with O2. I knew it was a scam but I was in a mood that day to let him finish his bit just to see how elaborate the scam was. And then I said, yeah, I don't think you're working for O2. I haven't been an O2 customer for over 15 years. He then actually said "well, we do Vodafone as well". I laughed and hung up.

You ever see posts on here that seem to align with your own day and what you're up to?

On my walk today I was thinking about how cornershops shouldn't be given support by the government and perhaps they should even be banned. I know that sounds drastic but everything they sell is either nicotine, alcohol or addictive foods that they sell at a premium because they know they have addicts coming in the door. When's the last time anyone got something from a corner shop that they actually needed and how many times have you got milk in an emergency and found it had gone bad because the milk just sits on the shelf most days?

The other week I walked into one looking for button batteries and there was a bloke taking a litre of vodka to the counter who was shaking like a shitting dog and knew the owner by name. They didn't have my batteries of course, the local Tesco express did.

>>470727
I don't get it, you'd need to do 3 trips in a day or in a week? I'd recommend doing the walk anyway, get an audiobook or a podcast and you soon start looking forward to a good walk. Aim for 10k steps a day, find some good routes with lots of greenery and you'll eventually feel great.

>>470727
>You'd give a quid to a beggar for fuck sake

How dare you.

The weather forecast said it was going to rain pretty much non-stop from about 10am until 6pm. Apart from a few minutes of spitting around lunchtime, it's been dry all day.

>>470727
>What's that then, a decent shirt?
It's just a Vans shirt, that for some reason cost a whole tenner. Not that much really, and it did have "new" written on the label (although there were no original tags on it). However, it's just "decent" because while it's not a cheapo bit of shite from BHS or suchlike, but it's also not particularly interesting in terms of design or fit.

>>470736
I've had a fair amount of rain, off and on. I should have been at my stag night now, but the early bit was cancelled due to nobody wanting to go out to an outdoor place in the rain.

As a result, I have put up a new light in my living room. This is my new greatest electrical DIY achievement in history, surpassing the time I replaced a light switch. The old light hadn't worked since I bought this house, and it was hanging off the wall from some exposed wires that I never went near but discovered were live as I researched how to attach the new light I bought. I didn't even need to switch off all the electricity in my house to carry out this DIY! Although the exposed wires were very short and I couldn't connect them to the new light, so I had to go back to Wickes for the fourth or fifth time to identify and purchase the type of wire I needed.

Fuck it; you can't doxx me from this picture. Here it is: my actual handiwork. The damn thing is much too bright.

>>470735
>Corner shops
>they sell at a premium because they know they have addicts coming in the door
Their premium prices reflect the convinience of using them.
Where I'm from corner shops are usually the ground floor of a block of flats or set within a residential area. Walk up town for 20 minutes for a pint of milk or pop to the corner and back in 90 seconds at the cost of an additional 50p.
At least that's the logic. I don't know how rent comes into it - you'd have thought it'd be cheaper than the highstreet. Logistics probably accounts for more than the bigger shops but I'm grasping.

I used to know the names of the cornershop people, they even gave me a lift up the road a couple of times and let a friend use their shower (?!). I don't like talking to them much these days, no real reason I'm just anti-social.

The worst I can say about one of my local cornershops is that the milkbottle handles are sometimes smeared with what I can only hope is curry (Hindu owners). Oh, and I suspect they're fiddling taxes.

>I don't get it, you'd need to do 3 trips in a day or in a week?
Probably 3 trips in a 12 day period, never really bothered to count it. There are a few nice walks enroute, I used to do it at least once a week back when I was 5 stone lighter.
I was trying to say how by walking I'd need to wash my clothes more regularly than the current 4-5 week cycle they're currently on.

Most of my fruity looms have yellow, even brown-orange armpits :S

>>470738

I don't have much to add but it feels weird seeing inside a dotjee-esser's house. I want you all to post a picture of a random corner in your home.

>>470739

I only use my local corner shop (it's not even on a corner, it's one of those where there's a little block in the middle of the estate with a shop, a takeaway and a nail/hair place) for milk. And I generally only go down when I've got cash. But I made a rule that I will walk if I am going there instead of getting in the car, because it would just be bone idle to go that far in the car and it forces me to get clean clothes on and a wash.

Sad as it sounds there's days when I was badly depressed I would just sit and rot without showering and drinking black coffee with no milk in because I just simply couldn't be fucked going outside even though I was hungry and had nothing in. Usually then I'd eventually cave and waste a load of money ordering delivery too, which would make me feel worse, in a negative feedback loop. Each time I do need milk and just pop out to get it like a normal person I consider that to be a little victory and it gives me reassurance that I am actually doing well and I've got my shit together, which I find is a positive feedback loop in the same way.

A lot of things are like that, when I think about it, feedback loops are everywhere in life, there's something profound in realising and utilising that understanding I think.

Fancy buying DJ Spoony's house?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/162375134

>>470736
Yeah, that ruined my day as well! I was expecting Armageddon, but that weather wouldn't have warranted so much as a red flag.

Do you three ever feel like completely walking away from your life and everything you know, to start something entirely new?

>>470743
Of course, most days. I used to dream of livingon a narrow boat (and sod it all) until I learned there was a community of live aboards and it solves nothing.

After that: find house in livable place, move there, done. Anything that ends in "-ford" as initial filter.

>>470743
I think it's fairly common to fantasise about starting again, especially if you're in a position where this would be unrealistic.

I posted about this flippantly on /iq/ years ago, but Karen Matthews sort of had the right idea. She was trapped in her life on a sink estate in Dewsbury with seven bastard children by five different men, so sick of them that she'd give them sedatives so she could actually get a bit of peace and quiet. Her thick as pig shit paedo boyfriend wasn't exactly much better.

Karen saw a way out of this life. She took a gamble, which cost her three years in prison but gave her a new identity, a new life. She's free of everything that was tying her down in life, free of those bastard kids every single day, free of her responsibilities. She can reinvent herself without a worry or a care. Even if her plan somehow worked, £50k can go a long way in Dewsbury to a better life.

>>470746
Truth is, you can't live free on this crowded island wihout 4-5 million at least. Yes, there's the acquisition, let's say you bought your 1.5m croft and make a hovel there. What next? Unless this is playground money for you, it'll be an endless money sinck (listed, remember) with endless upkeep.

>>470748
When most people talk about starting over with a fresh start they generally mean not being tied down by family, mortgages or the career path they've taken, and getting another attempt from scratch, rather than an off-grid smallholding.

Maybe I should have studied pharmacy instead of finance at university. Maybe I should have had different relationships in my life. Doesn't mean I want to start rearing sheep and pigs.

Gotta go do the big shop. Can't be arsed, but I've got fuck all in. Was supposed to be out for drinks with a lass this afternoon but to absolutely no surprise from me she's flaked out with some half cooked excuse about forgetting it's her mate's birthday. Fuck her, I couldn't really be bothered either if I'm honest. I'm going to try out that The Finals game later on. Supposedly it's good but I am skeptical of any free to play games. Might buy a steak for dinner as a treat. Or just loads of chocolate and pastries.

It's an 'ard life innit.

It's a sign of my age that I just spent £99.81 on health supplements. That's like a ticket to a music festival. 6 months of gut biotics, 12 months of fish oil with vitamin D and a measly 2 months of magnesium bisglycinate. I even had fun running through it.

I learnt that cod-liver oil is a scam and there's a new boy in town called 'New Leaf' that are giving you the good magnesium instead of cutting it with magnesium oxide and they're doing it for cheap. You might think the vitamin D addition would be useless but apparently even in summer the sun in this country isn't perfect. I'm going to have to start hiding this stuff away from my bathroom so people don't get the wrong idea.

>>470750
Go for a good steak dinner - a few weeks ago I did Tesco's 'Finest Dine in for two' with steaks, buttery mash, sticky toffee puddings and a couple big bottlegreens to drink. The steaks, puddings and drinks gave me the basis for two days of good dinners and was much more enjoyable than if I'd got a takeaway in.

I promise I'm not an advertising bot

>>470749

>When most people talk about starting over with a fresh start they generally mean not being tied down by family, mortgages or the career path they've taken, and getting another attempt from scratch, rather than an off-grid smallholding.

Pretty much this. It's about questioning your decisions and wondering if, and how your life could be better if you'd gone down a different path at some point.

A little bit of it isn't unhealthy, or at least no more unhealthy than some other similar thoughts, but you have to make sure it doesn't weigh on you too much and depresses you.

>>470751

Well, I compromised, got a big pizza that I've just had, and some belgian waffles for a bit of sweet snacking while I play games. Got some salmon and chicken breasts and rice to make healthy meals through the week. I never do takeaways any more because I realised a long time ago it's never actually nice food, unless you have a really good Chinese or Indian nearby. I only ever ordered it out of laziness, not because I actually wanted a shite rubbery pizza.

Spent the afternoon playing guitar because I realised I haven't touched the thing since about February. Would have happily kept on all night but my fingertips are painful now, because that's long enough for the callouses to soften. I need to get back into all the things I used to do hobby wise. The last few months I've done basically fuck all but go to work, then come home to watch YouTube and shitpost. That's not living, it's just existing.

>>470741
Considering I have no idea who DJ Spoony is (is he a nightclub DJ or a radio-presenter DJ?), that house is downright palatial and much nicer than any of the others you have posted.

>>470754
When I first saw it I was picturing Goldie. It turns out he's a radio DJ.

I don't think I posted Tim Burton's house. I believe it had been in Helena Bonham Carter's family for a few generations but he got it in the divorce.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/162309527

>>470755
>I believe it had been in Helena Bonham Carter's family for a few generations but he got it in the divorce.
This is praxis. Thank you, Comrade Burton.

Father's day next week. What are you getting him? I think I've written myself into a corner by spending £40 on my mum this year for her garden.

There's not much a man approaching 70 needs; he mostly watches sport on the tv, takes the dog out for a walk and keeps things interesting by sometimes reading a newspaper. There's an older man at work but going by his work intro page his favourite thing in the world is his grandchildren which seems unethical to send to my dad.

I just sent an email to Kirk Holsted, a guy from the 99 Percent Invisible podcast who recently lost the use of his arm.

In it, I suggested that he plug a second keyboard in, put it on the floor, and use his feet to augment his single handed typing. The next step is taking off keycaps of keys you don't want, then further to that 3D printing your own 'footboard', possibly using triggers and utilising the dexterity within our toes that goes unharnessed.

I was going to end the email by saying "I've got both hands, and even I'm going to give it a shot", but that may be a bit gauche. Either way, I feel quite gracious for sharing my wisdom but somewhat hypocritical for not plugging a second keyboard in right now and doing it myself - I just can't be arsed to try learning something new at the moment.

It's got legs though.

Spent the evening having a large bag of crisps and three bottles of Stella while aimlessly watching youtube.

The simple things.

>>470757
My dad is getting a few bottles of beer, a couple of chocolate bars and some smellies. It may not be the best things to have bought him, seeing as the doctor told him to improve his diet, but if I can't get these I'll be completely fucked.

I always end up spending more on my mum than my dad when it comes to presents, unless I do something like getting them theatre tickets for Christmas, but that's because it's easy to buy for her whereas he does nothing and doesn't really want anything.

>>470760
I finally got him some socks, a coffee cup heater, sweets and fancy biscuits. I agree that for men there's no getting away from unhealthy gifts.

And then I saw that Amazon have a 30% off offer on books and ended up spending more on myself than I spent on my dad

My strawberries look like AI concoctions, but they're tasty and I'm even getting to eat some before the bastarding birds do.

>>470765

Mine sort of went straight from greenish-pink to mushy and overripe due to the rainy weather we've had. I got to eat only about a handful.

It turns out a small lump in a horse's field I've walked past pobably a hundred times is an Iron Age cemetary barrow. There's a buried stone circle across the road from it and there was another barrow, but they built a petrol station on it in the 70s.

>>470837
Get digging.

I think I will get an airbnb for my stay in Crete. Never been much of a fan of big hotels, and there are plenty of self catering apartment complexes on the island that come with everything from a pool to a snack bar and gym.

I already had one place booked via booking.com, but on second thought it just wasn't good value for money at over 800 quid for ten days, so I cancelled it again yesterday. £500, with sea view and a pool in a well looked after location, looks entirely possible on the island, and there are still plenty of vacancies for the end of the month.

>>470843

Just take a sleeping bag. It's going to be plenty cosy at night this time of year. The money you save booking a room means you'll be able to eat out every night. You can shower at the beach.

>>470844

>The money you save booking a room means you'll be able to eat out every night.

I mean, there's travelling on a budget, and then there's travelling like a bum.

>>470839
While it's novel to know they're so close, I don't think there's much value, academic or monetary, in re-excavating a large pit of bone ash or several large stones.

I was thinking of doing some art classes in the evening and maybe making it a little activity to meet more people. Would you recommend doing beginner pottery or painting?

I'm not sure what I'd paint/make and I've never really done anything too creative outside of my school days. But it would be fun either to have some horrifically misshapen pottery I can leave on a shelf or to be told to draw a banana and a oranges only to ignore my teacher's instructions and do a couple melons and a kiwi for japes.

>>470846
Might be a good place to bury a body though if you think about it. Just throw in some ape bones so everyone is too focused on that to worry about who the skeleton originally belonged to.

Have you ever noticed that you can predict with good accuracy what a person's voice will sound like before you hear them speak for the first time, just by looking at them?

Try it with some youtube videos. It's really bewildering.

I was in a café earlier and there was an old man who absolutely stunk of piss. I hope I never reach that point in life. If I do, maybe I'll be completely unaware of it.

>>470852

My grandad had prostate problems in his old age and he always smelled of piss, although he was not somebody who generally stopped looking after himself.

He also liked his cigars. I still remember that combined smell of piss and cigar smoke everytime we visited my grandparents.

Appropos of nothing I'm quietly irritated about some acrobat post or tweet I occasionally remember I once saw where they were arguing that all credit should be given to artist's muses than to the artist, as they're the ones responsible for the work. I'm not sure how they came to that conclusion, maybe they saw Dogma and are total morons.

I'll actually have a good few blackberries in my back garden this summer.

It started a few years ago with one plant randomly growing in the flower bed, probably from a seed that a bird shat out, and I transplanted it to a different corner of the garden, where conditions were apparently perfect for it to grow profusely and form several daughter plants. But they've never flowered as numerously as this year. All going well, I can expect almost a whole small bowl of blackberries this season.

I need to remortgage by September so I better get my arse in gear. The best deals at the minute seem to be:

2 year fix - 4.14%.
5 year fix - 4.06%.
2 year tracker - 0.29% above base rate.
5 year tracker - 1% above base rate.
Lifetime tracker - 0.52% above base rate.

I think I'm tempted by the 2 year tracker, but the £999 product fee if I have to remortgage afterwards is a bit of a turn off.

>>470856
Enjoy them, but I'm reasonably sure that blackberry plants count as carnivorous. I've got them in hedges next to the sheep, and they capture one every now and then.

I know it's a simple thing to make, but I've baked shortbread and it's bloody delicious.

>>470859
>a simple thing to make
Put the recipe in the recipe thread, I could do with a good make at home while bored biscuit. I used to do a flapjack I found on rudgwicksteamshow.co.uk but it was quite heavy. Simply Oats, butter, honey and flour to bind. 20 minutes in a medium oven to melt it together, eat when cooled and 'set'. To memory they were equal measures minus the flour which was about 1/5th, but you can pretty much eyeball it. Added milk gave a moisture and creaminess.

I think I sold a schizophrenic man £200 worth of charity shop tat today. I'm feeling slightly guilty.

>>470862

Be fine, I'm sure he'll have fun with it. Maybe not in the intended manner, but waste not want not.

Yesterday I suggested a distressed looking mum have vodka and coke for her breakfast because HGVlad fucked up his cold chain, so all my fridge stock was fucked. I don't think she saw the funny side.

>>470860
It's literally just flour, butter, and sugar.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/shortbread_1290

In other news, I've received a bar of Tony's for Father's Day. It's alright I guess.

>>470866
>It's literally just flour, butter, and sugar.
I made it, it's .. okay. A bit dry.

>>470867
It should be nice and buttery, and a bit crumbly.

I am watching Soccer Aid on TV, and it has come to my attention that ex-professional footballer John O'Shea looks exactly like what you'd get if you merged Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness into one person.

>>470875
I'd say he looks more like Johnny Vaughan in the midst of a bitter custody battle.

Is music star Kae cup of tea doing an actual sex change? I know that she the individual in question no longer goes by Kate, but I am watching said individual on Later With Jools Holland and I can definitely see a proper beard being grown, which is more masculine than I would have expected from a standard enbie lesbian.

>>470877
>cup of tea
That's an odd wordfilter to have. Do people bring up the Shakespeare play, The T*mpest, excessively often?

>>470877

They're a they/them. If they has a beard then it's a fairly safe bet that they is on testosterone, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they identifies as male.

Gender-neutral pronouns are a crime against grammar.

>>470877
When she was a Kate I thought she looked like a grown up version of the girl from Jurassic Park.

Now that he's a Kae he looks like a lesbian Geography teacher counting down her days until retirement, so I can see why they'd try and grow a beard to avoid this look.

I only know one transman who's grown a beard, but they don't groom it so it looks like a bunch of pubes have sprouted on their head.

Beard or not, and I don't care if everyone at 6 Music hears me saying this, the music's shite.

>>470887
I don't think I could articulate it without coming across like I'm a racist, but there is too much rap on 6Music. White person rap, especially when it's poshos harping on about poverty and social injustice, is even worse.

It's like Jack Monroe all over again. If they were an actual poor person the likes of the Guardian wouldn't give them the time of day.

>>470888
I used to listen to 6 music almost exclusively and thought ther playlist was eclectic. They even had a 'freak show' program that played the weirdest music, some of it shit.
Granted it's been about 4 years sinse I listened regularly, but you're probably catching the same few programs each day.

>>470889
I did a work experience thing for a marketing company many years ago and they listened to BBC 6 Music in the office. It was cool to hear wild and random music, but by the end of the week I knew all the songs. The playlist is no longer than any other radio station; it’s just a handful of hipster songs instead of Culture Club and Fleetwood Mac like proper radio has.

>>470889
I don't think I can agree with that. I mostly listen to Craig Charles and Nick Grimshaw. However, Kae cup of tea just isn't very interesting in terms of their rapping, nor are the beats they rap over particularly good. Maybe I just have an unrecognised bigotry for Londoners. I also once said on here that "only Americans and the Irish" should make rap music, so there are multiple reasons why my opinion might not be worth a damn.

>Jack Monroe
In the past I would have gone to the mat over this one. However, I think they might have turned their brain to soup with the booze addiction, or just locked themselves into a very online career with few transferable skills and as such exist to produice "content" at all costs. Perhaps it's a little of both.

>>470889
It's mainly on the way to/from work I have the radio on and it feels like they play a disproportionate amount of rap music in those slots. Ever since Nick Grimshaw took the breakfast slot from Lauren Laverne it's also got more... pop.

I quite like it when I stumble across a one-off theme, e.g. the tribute to Roy Ayers the other month or when they do a show that's all foreign language songs.

>>470888
>White person rap, especially when it's poshos harping on about poverty and social injustice, is even worse.
>It's like Jack Monroe all over again. If they were an actual poor person the likes of the Guardian wouldn't give them the time of day.
The past 60 years have done a lot to impoverish the education and ambitions of the working class, no doubt there are talented and awake to social injustice povvo artists out there but the majority are neither or only one. In the meantime I'm not against middle class people making an effort to raise issues they personally may not directly suffer from.
Taking your argument to the logical extremes is "men should never write women and vice versa, no white person should make art about non-white experiences" and whatnot.

>>470893
My issue with Jack Monroe is that she came from a fairly privileged background and LARPed as a poor person for a few months so she could tap into the indignation of Guardian readers about having to feed her son Weetabix mixed with water because that's all she could afford as she didn't get her parents to bail her out that time. It's not too dissimilar to Common People by Pulp.

Kae cup of tea feels similarly performative. It's music for Guardian readers who want to pretend to be on the right side of the struggle while going about their cosy middle-class lives and hoping deep down things won't change for them. I've never met a poor person who likes his music, it isn't for them.

>>470893

There's a huge difference between depicting someone in fiction and purporting to speak on their behalf.

The working class are perfectly capable of making their own rap music, but actual working class people are frightening and repulsive to Radio 6 listeners; they'd prefer to venerate an imaginary working class that conforms to their prejudices.

>>470894
Yeah, I don't really care about this kind of authenticity. Most poor people are barely literate, anti-intellectual, troglodytes. It's no wonder they don't get newspaper columns or book deals. I'm not saying it's the only reason, but it is a significant one. And it's for those same reasons I don't defer to them on matters of taste either.

If the output is quality, and I think Jack Monroe's was in the prior decade, then I don't especially care if they were only skint for a few months. Kae cup of tea (who implemented this word filter and for what purpose?) meanwhile has always had decidedly miquetoast lyrics that often sound like "live, laugh, love"-isms with a more social consciousness. Combine that with a kind of shite flow and I've never really connected with the music, or poetry.

I don't hold the same level of disdain for Guardian readers as you do either. I think they're no different from most people in not really having any clue regarding how to lift the UK out of it's malaise, and while the Corbyn years showed many of them to be easily led and hopelessly naive, they're far less of a malign influence than most socio-political sets in this country. It's like complaining about the smell coming from the zebras while a pride of lions is already eating you.

Anyway, I listened to 6 Music while going to the shops earlier, but they were doing a "Six of the Best" feature, which this time was essentially the Gen X power (half) hour. As such I didn't get a good handle on how much cracker rap they put out.

>>470895
>There's a huge difference between depicting someone in fiction and purporting to speak on their behalf.
That's really not true especially in this context. Fictional portrayals massively impact how people are seen, perhaps moreso than actual representatives, given how much more fiction is consumed than real people are listened to. Where's the line, anyway? Are those lads rapping about their real lives or an idealised portrayal of them? Who's keeping track, the class segregation thought police?

>>470894
>I've never met a poor person who likes his music, it isn't for them.
What does that have to do with anything? I was introduced to Kae's music by a well spoken goth with overtly middle class sensibilities, happened to also be a single mum raising two kids on a teacher's salary in a council flat. Does she count as poor or is the distinction not an actual economic thing?

>>470898

>Does she count as poor

No, obviously, unless your definition of "poor" includes the majority of the British population.

>>470898
That's a middle class person who's made poor life choices™.

>>470896

Why don't you just say "I'm a posho wanker and I am uncomfortable with the introspective conclusions about myself that I may have to confront when privilege is discussed" and be done with it, lad. You are clearly cripplingly insecure for someone who doesn't think there's anything odd about tying a sweater around your neck.

>>470899

Unless you are comparing them against eastern bloc shitholes or countries with brown-eyed people in them, the majority of the British population are poor.

I bet the lad who brought up the facial hair wasn't expecting this.

>>470905
Of course I was. Perhaps I was expecting more of a gender-based debate, but nothing has surprised me so far.

>>470902
That's just it though, mate, I'm not a posho wanker. All my fucking life I've been around fellow strugglers and strivers, and a lot of them have treated me with complete contempt for seemingly no reason. Back in 2017 a couple of them in a van chucked a bottle of water at my head, and when I shouted "fucking cunts" at them and flipped them the V they turned around on the A-road, sped towards me and mounted the pavement. During that time I was so poor I was pinching food from the baked goods counter in Tesco to get by. Or how about when I was in year 9, got jumped by a 18 year old I'd never met, who proceeded to kick the shit out of me, all for seemingly no reason? But that was alright, because his brother explained he'd been on ket at the time (probably to cope with how hard the "working class" have it) and was properly sorry about it. That was around the same time my prick father and his mates were snorting white powder off the bathroom mirror while I was in my room. Or, or, how about the half-pissed 50-something scrote I had the misfortune of dealing with yesterday who, in the span of about ninety seconds, managed to whinge about migrants ruining the town (that's easily more than 95% white British), and make fun of me for not having one of the two locally acceptable regional accents? That, by the way, is because I had a fairly noticable speech impediment growing up that I only overcame with the help of some very talented teaching assistants (a job you may or may not consider utter woke nonsense), right before I headed off to secondary school. Not, as you might assume, because I'm a "posho wanker".

So, without meaning to get all Muhammed Ali about it; no middle-class person ever called me a faggot. And I'm not saying we need to exterminate anyone who doesn't have an arts or humanities degree, I'm not saying I look down my nose at anyone wearing trainers, or whatever made up bollocks you're whinging about. What I am saying is that you're not going to pull the wool over my eyes with this "oh, aren't the proles of Britain such a noble lot" bollocks. Because a lot of them a fucking cunts, and while I don't want anyone to suffer because of their socio-economic background, I'm also not going to act like we have some kind of magical working-class solidarity in which I've got their back so they've got mine, because a lot of them couldn't give a fuck about me.

Alright, I ate a load of paella (ooh, how posh of me, prawns and tomatoes and rice) in the middle of writing this and the carbs have taken the venom and energy out of me.

>>470908

Thanks for this post. Truth be told, I felt similar in the past. I've plugged this book before but it's the best description I've read of the array of conflicted feelings you get when you change class in the UK.

The problem is, I genuinely want more solidarity and latched onto working class intellectual life where it existed, but it feels like so much of it has been stamped out. People have been made to feel hopeless, even as (ironically) many things became easier.

I sometimes feel like a a bit of a class traitor when I talk about the class-correlated nastiness I grew up with as a kid -- violence as a reactional activity, outright homophobia and dolphin rape, being called a faggot for speaking a certain way, the fact I grew up in a house with four televisions but no books.

>>470914

To add to this, though, I hate to give snobbish people more ammunition to use against people like me. I would have absolutely been written off as a yob by many when I was 15.

>>470908

Good fucking grief lad. You're even worse than I thought then, you're literally Hyacintyh Bucket.

Believe me I had just as shit of a time growing up in a stagnating mining village and going to a rough school where bullying was the order of the day. It's probably the biggest reason I bounced off of education. I was clever, but how was I supposed to concentrate on school when really you just spent all day on guard in case some cunt wanted to start on you for no apparent reason?

You don't want to write them off but your attitude certainly seems to imply you think they are un-salvageable. Oh, what's that phrase... Lobster barrel... No... Hm.
>>470914

They made us read a book in year 9 IIRC called Daz 4 Zoe. At the time I thought it was shit but I've come to realise it must have been profoundly influential on my young mind. In it, the world is literally segregated, like blacks and whites used to be in America, along class lines, and there's a romance between a nice middle class girl and the scruffy charver with a heart of gold.

However, there was a character that has always stuck in my mind. He was the leader of the chav "resistance", who were sort of like, Addidas Black Panthers, and treated unambiguously as the bad guys. But part of his characterisation was being an intellectual. Used big words that the other charvers didn't. Wore glasses, even. He was portrayed as being extremely dangerous for that.

>>470848
Why is it that whenever I post about getting out of the house and meeting people you lot get awful quiet?

>>470917
My friend met her boyfriend at a drawing class, so you might be onto a winner. Personally, I wouldn't want to learn either painting or pottery, because I don't want my house to be full of my shitty paintings or childlike mugs and wonky saucers. I'd rather have a hobby that doesn't give me a pile of litter for my shelves.

There were four, possibly five, rap songs during the ~40 minutes I listened to 6Music this morning.

>>470916
>I was clever
Past tense, noted.

You didn't even address my ultimate point which is why should I go out of my way to make out like some cunt, who would gladly hit me with a car given half a chance, is also my beloved class ally who would perish alongside me on the barricades if the chips were down? Despite there being no indication of that being the case? At a certain point, it's got to go both ways, but it seems like you're blinkered by your own strangely paternalistic attitude towards anyone within a certain salary band.

>You don't want to write them off but your attitude certainly seems to imply you think they are un-salvageable.
Who's "them"? I'm fucking them, you thick cunt. I'm not in any position to do fuck all, but you're acting like I'm some kind of class traitor because I don't have a deep, near spiritual, respect for blokes who start drinking before noon and still call people "poofs". Despite the fact that I'm probably worse off than these bastards! You're the fucking class traitor, because apparently I'm not ignorant enough for your blind adulation.

>>470921
Yes, but was it passé and about how nice it is to be nice?

>>470921

I'm not intelligent enough to closely follow the conversation but I'm getting the impression that some of you think poor means 'bad person'. That's not the reality of my situation, at least. Yeah there're cunts around but enough of us just exist as regular people with barely a touch of anti-socialism or whatever you want to call it.
The most valuable thing I can barely afford at the moment is privacy.

No rap music on the way home. They did play the new song by Turnstile, which I'm quite partial to. I think I posted it on /beat/ the other week.

>>470925

> but I'm getting the impression that some of you think poor means 'bad person'.

Maybe it's still kind of a Dickensian-era thing. When poverty was seen as a character flaw or as the result of a lack of good character. Because an upstanding man of character would never allow himself to become poor. And where poorhouses were there to teach the common man or person the value of hard graft to better their character.

Watching Nords.

Today hasn't been as hot as I was expecting.

Can I have a job? One of you pair must be an employer by now.

>>470965
I went on a long walk at midday. I left in light rain, and that was on and off until I'd been out for four hours, and then the last hour-and-a-half was almost clear sunshine, and that really took it out of me.

Future forcasts are all peaking around 20°, which is probably for the best.

Still no thunderstorm. It tried raining a bit earlier, and on the way back down the A19 I saw a few spots of big dirty dark clouds that looked promising. But right now it's just humid and muggy.

Goes back down to the low 20s tomorrow, so that will feel arctic after the last few days, but I want the fucking thunderstorm.

>>470938

My feeling is that there's a straightfoward bit of resentment going on, I can certainly feel it from one or two of these lads. They were mistreated as a youth growing up around rough and belligerent poor people, and that was no small part of their incentive to work hard at "getting out", they are going to hold onto mainly negative feelings towards that environment.

But to me that's no different to a lad who has had a consistent series of negative, frustrating, humiliating experiences with women ending up a chronic. It's understandable how your experiences might shape your views but that doesn't automatically make them valid. We would recognise that were it race or gender, but of course, class is the one acceptable form of discrimination.

>>470968

I've not been the most vocal lad about this, I'm the one who posted the book recommendation. The best I can say is that I feel ... conflicted about my background. It's not that I judge people who are from working class backgrounds. Quite the opposite, I miss them, because I barely fucking see them anymore.

At the same time, I can't exactly look back with nostalgia, either. I do think that there's a certain hopelessness that infects people. Some get depressed, others get nasty. It feels like an undiagnosed sickness.

But I'm getting a bit woo-woo. I am at least aware of my resentment, and I do my best to take people as they come.

>>470968

It's undeniable that people often stay poor because they make bad life decisions - not every poor person, but a lot of poor people. That doesn't necessarily make them bad, but it does frequently make them unpleasant to live around and makes their problems less tractable than we might be willing to admit.

In my nice middle-class neighbourhood, nobody has a rotting couch in front of their house, nobody has loud parties until 4am and nobody gets glassed in the local pubs. We can come up with all sorts of sociological explanations for that, but we can't reasonably pretend that poor people are just temporarily embarrassed middle-class people or that all of the problems associated with poverty would disappear overnight if we just gave those people more money.

>>470970

Okay, I'll bite.

This is exactly the concern I was talking about in >>470915. "All sorts of sociological explanations" are the explanations. Economic factors matter, history matters. The best way I've heard it put it is: yes, we are all capable of individually making decisions, but those decisions are made in a context.

There is no significant genetic differences between populations, here. Most human characteristics are distributed on a bell curve. What you're seeing when you find rough families are the roughly the same percentage of fuckups that you'd see across any large enough population, it's just that you dig bigger holes and face more severe consequences when you make bad decisions when you're already living a precarious life.

>all of the problems associated with poverty would disappear overnight if we just gave those people more money.

I would be strongly in favour of trying this.

>>470967
>>470966
The problem with the rain is that it seems to be sending the humidity rocketing up but then when it finally start it's nothing but a light drizzle. UK weather is like a man with ED, it might get you hot and bothered sometimes but it's rarely going to rock your world.

>>470971
>There is no significant genetic differences between populations, here. Most human characteristics are distributed on a bell curve. What you're seeing when you find rough families are the roughly the same percentage of fuckups that you'd see across any large enough population, it's just that you dig bigger holes and face more severe consequences when you make bad decisions when you're already living a precarious life.

You're downplaying upbring and nutrition a bit aren't you? The problem a lot of poor people seem to have is a lack of impulse control and propensity towards aggression combined with a host of traumas and possible dependencies. That arguably isn't their fault as they don't know any better and aren't taught how to work on themselves but if someone grows up with a chip on their shoulder because some people earn money or they think they have a right to act like an antisocial dick in public then it's not my responsibility to deal with them like they're my children.

And let's not pretend that social sorting is completely dead either. It's hard to get money but it's incredibly easy to lose it as well, hence why so much family wealth is lost across generations.

You know how Hitler went off on his entire thing about the jews because he was bumsore about being rejected for art school?

Getting a similar vibe here. You got beat up by the burberry hat trackie brigade at school, and you've never let it go. Not only did you continue to perceive the world in the same way, you have carried forward the same self-image, of yourself as the scrawny nerd who those nasty charvers like to pick on.

I went through the same things, but as an adult, even though I live in a pretty scruffy area, I work in a thoroughly male dominated working class high vis kind of job, we are all adults now. I don't remember the last time I heard someone call somebody a "poof". A lot of that goes away when you are a grown up. I live in the world you are describing but it's nothing like you are trying to make it sound like. The people you are describing, who didn't "grow up" and carried on living like a high school bad lad for the rest of their lives, are by no means representative of the broader "working classes". They are the unemployables and petty criminal underclass of society. You seem to be conflating those people with basically anybody who isn't a full blooded broadsheet reading, Waitrose shopping, quinoa eater.

The rare occasion I do encounter it, I think the difference between you and me, is that I learned to stop seeing myself as the victim. I stopped fearing bullies, because I am a grown up. I can handle bullies now. I am not beneath them. A cunt is just a cunt, you get them in all walks of life. It's not healthy to carry a chip on your shoulder about it.

Nobody is going to pretend any social groups are without problems but I think the way you are banging on about it just speaks a lot more to your own psychology and prejudices than it does society, that's all.

>>470971

>There is no significant genetic differences between populations, here.

That's wildly untrue. We have a mountain of data to show that behaviours like criminality and drug abuse are driven substantially by genetics.

https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/41333/chapter/352361753

>Most human characteristics are distributed on a bell curve.

Notably, criminality isn't - it's a power-law distribution. In every population we've ever studied, a small minority of people commit the majority of crime. Sometimes this represents career burglars or car thieves who consistently commit the same kinds of crime, but often it's just dickheads who do completely pointless crimes.

Okay. I was ignoring the second round of this discussion because I was over it. And then some cum stain said I was Hitler.

All I was saying is that my fellow working classes are not automatically my social and political ally. Just because we're both skint doesn't mean he's going to have my back when it all gets a bit Les Mis, and I'm up on the barricades singing my fucking heart out. I may have gone a bit overboard in some of my whinging, but the reality is, and it's not up for debate and none of you have even contested this, there's very little poltical or class consciousness amongst the common garden plebs of Great Britain. Nor have I "never let [school] go", I've been shit on by bastards plenty as an adult. I'm not saying we need to kill everyone who's ever worn a Rebok trainer either, I'm saying it's unreasonable to say class solidarity only goes one way, that I've got to make all the effort. I'm working class, but apprently I'm the wrong kind of working class, so I don't get the benefit of the doubt. I never started this shit, they came to me with their shitty personalities and closed minds.

>>470973
>I don't remember the last time I heard someone call somebody a "poof".
Oh, well, bully for you.

>>470975

Are you the same lad who sometimes used to mention how you don't like or get along with men as a gender?

I was promised a storm, where's my fucking storm?

>>470974
>We have a mountain of data to show that behaviours like criminality and drug abuse are driven substantially by genetics.

I appreciate your point and that is interesting work that you've shared, but "criminality and drug abuse" are not synonymous with "working class". I would struggle to believe that there are any broad genetic differences between groups based on categories from our industrial-era society (with some allowances made for epigenetics or gene-environment interaction). Ultimately, "class" is a socioeconomic distinction, not a biological one.

In a way, you're affirming this point when you write:

>In every population we've ever studied, a small minority of people commit the majority of crime.

Agreed, and certain kinds of crime. I would argue that different class positions lend themselves to different types of crime. "Criminality" itself is a wide category, which might include fraud or money laundering as much as theft or assault. When I say human characteristics, I mean more fundamental psychological ones, like impulsiveness or aggression. Again, I would be hard-pressed to believe that more fundamental characteristics are much different between socioeconomic groups at a biological level, and whatever differences did exist (e.g. brain activity, physiology due to nutrition) would quickly change with exposure to a different environment. The greater difference is that circumstances either inhibit or exacerbate these characteristics, as well as presenting radically different opportunities to express them.

We should be extremely cautious when implying that one group of humans is inherently different than another, and not treat "criminal behaviour" and "working class" as interchangeable. There are correlations, but I do not believe that working class people are inherently worse.

>>470973

I think this is being uncharitable to otherlad, whose main point seems to be that there is not a lot of working class solidarity around these days.

I can't speak for him, but I can also say that "male-dominated working class high vis kind of job" in a "scruffy area" still presumes a place where there is still stable work around. A huge part of the working class in the UK is in desperately precarious circumstances, and that's the kind of working class environment I grew up in.

In the places with a lot of precarious work, or no work at all, that's where you'll find a lot more hopelessness and nastiness.

>>470976
Alright, now I'm Dworkin-Hitler. Nice one.

>>470979

Thought so.

Cream cakes are far too easy to eat.

>>470977
It was a metaphorical storm. Not only have we got ourselves a brand new war in the Middle East, but some fucker mentioned class war in this thread again. How stormy do you want things to be?

Taxman owes me £700 apparently. Get in.

I've baked cookies, but I made them too large so one of the trays has essentially turned into one gigantic cookie instead of five separate ones.

>>470984
This post shocked me for a second because I also felt the urge to bake cookies today only I ended up with crumbly cookies from overmixing the dough. Is this like that day in the run-up to valentines where all men get the signal to rush to buy stuff in the same afternoon?

I like the Nurburgring 24 hours, but it's always disconcerting to see that many Germans celebrating at the end.

>>470980
Do you have any actual thoughts or what? You're pretty bloody superior for someone who's clearly too embarrassed to plant a flag in an opinion.

Currently regretting that I decided PTFE tape would be enough to properly seal my air compressor lines. It was not.

>>470985
I'm doing asparagus and mushroom quiche for tea, just in case we are synchronised.

Lads, where do I go to get an ironing board? Last time I needed one I am fairly confident it will have cost me no more than a tenner from Wilko. But Wilko don't exist any more, and Amazon want the better part of 50 fucking quid for one. That's... They don't cost that much. They just don't, surely.

>>470989
Is there a B&M Bargains near you? Or any large supermarket? They're not hard to find; they're just something you always walk past because how often does anyone buy a new ironing board?

>>470989
Argos. About all they're good for if we're honest.

>>470988
That sounds a bit punchy after eating all that cookie. I'm thinking of only a light meal deal lunch from Tesco express or maybe some cereal.

>>470989
Argos has always been a good shout for them.

>>470990

I have some flavour of B&M/Home Bargains down the road, not sure which honestly. I will have a look on the way back from Aldi tomorrow.

>>470991
>>470992

I forgot Argos exist, good shout. Looking on their website they have irons and ironing boards for about 15 quid each which is much more sensible. If Home B&Ms don't have cheaper I'll go there.

Eaten a lot of ice cream over the last few days and I think it's caught up with me. Normally I'm not the kind of oat milk poofter who has the shits after a sip of dairy but my guts must have been a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of lactose forced through them. Coming out roughly the same consistency as it went in.

It's Glasto' weekend!

Am I cunt for not liking Lewis Capaldi's music? I heard one earlier that sounded like Numa Numa slowed down (except it wasn't sick as Hell like that song).

>>471069
Lewis Capaldi fascinates me, because his sense of humour is legendary and he is absolutely side-splitting when he markets himself, but all his music is invariably tuneless overwrought sentimental shite. The dichotomy is inexplicable.

Why don't they make computer desktops interactive and entertaining of themselves that they're fun to simply click around and use? I'm specifically thinking now about a recycling bin that overflows more and more with paper balls as it's storage is filled, potentially covering other icons. You've a choice to move icons up out of the deluge or empty the bin. You'd literally be playing on the desktop. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Are there any decent desktop pets that aren't full of viruses?

>>471073
Because computers are work tools, not toys for children.

>>471073

Microsoft Bob is your friend.

https://www.neowin.net/news/unofficial-app-conjures-windows-bobs-spirit-despite-microsoft-wanting-you-to-forget-it/

Finally bought some decent cologne again, after a period of being a bit skint and just needing my money for other things.

50 millilitres of Azzaro Chrome EdT for just under £40. Which is reasonable for this fragrance. You can get the usual grey imports online for under £20, but I've got burned on those before. They're usually not even fake, but they could have sat on a shelf or in a warehouse for years. Which means it'll either smell flat or oxidised.

This bottle is straight from an offline high street perfumery, and it smells delicious, like it was made yesterday.

I can't seem to oogle young OF models on Instagram without it also serving me far too many suggestive images of actual children, no matter how many times I tell them to fuck off.

One of the singers with Nile Rodgers and CHIC is so fucking beautiful it's making me feel ill.

Somebody here is fucking with the windows open right at this moment.

Talksport is very nearly a spoonerism of Stockport.

Forgot to turn off my work alarm so I'm up at this hour on a bloody Saturday.

>>471141

I've decided I'm going to be one of those cunts who's first in the door when the supermarket opens. This is my life now.

Saw a lass in the supermarket who was absolutely gorgeous, but she had a full goatee. Caused a lot of confusion in my trouser region.

>>471147
>Bearded ladies
You know, I'm starting to find this sort of thing attractive. A goate can be quite feminine to begin with, then there's that inverted moustache sort of thing that looks like whiskers.
I'd say the key for a feminine beard is fine placement of and embelishment with hair, rather than a full and chiselled beard like that Eurovision winner some years ago.

FTM's can be pretty sexy, too, though I think such talk is straying into trans-chaser territory.

>>471084
You're sure it's not a pair of cats growling at each other, again?

Today I've been car shopping. The first place I went to, a car supermarket, was a bit weird because none of the cars had prices displayed; it was all QR codes to scan. All of the cars were locked, so if you wanted to sit inside a car you had to go and wait inside for about 15 minutes until a salesman came over to you with the keys.

I've found Alex Zane. We need to get him out, before it's too late.

HobNobs for breakfast. Nom nom nom.

>>471153
Tell us if you get heartburn this evening, I usually do. But then again I eat 6+ in a sitting, so..

>>471154
>I eat 6+ in a sitting

>>471155
I watch the box set quite regularly when I'm on a chinese takeaway binge, but don't recognise that shot.

>>471156
You might recognise it if you watched it while eating out at an Indian restaurant.

>>471154

I scoffed about half the packet, and no, no heartburn as yet. More likely to get it from the big pizza I've just had.

I used top get a lot of heartburn but it's settled down lately, I think either because I am more physically active, or because my diet has improved. Which, I realise sounds unlikely considering I've eaten nothing but hobnobs and pizza today, but in general 5-6 days out of 7 I don't eat shite any more.

>>471156

Four naan Jeremy? Four? That's insane.

Can anyone explain to me why people in the more creative/left-field professions are unbelievably fit?

Let me rewind that: I did a painting class this weekend to do something a little bit different as I rarely work with my hands or do anything that involves expressing myself. But thinking back on it the teacher was attractive to a degree that I didn't even think about it at the time, like I'm some gremlin that knows my station. I also noticed how relaxed the whole set-up was compared to the grown-up world, she was happy enough listening to dream-pop, Broken Social Scene and a little Lush and her whole process of teaching was focused on doing and learning as you go through it rather than explaining the theory. As a result I was shit at it because I didn't have the technical foundations and can't just learn by watching people - "oh it's okay men tend to struggle more"

So is it the clean eating? The yoga and meditation? Doing what they love everyday on their own time? I'd cope that I'm wealthier but I'm not sure that I am. It makes me think that maybe I took the wrong path in life when I could have been fucking around with art chicks and having a big studio in London with a dog.

>>471161
Part of it could be fashion. I don't judge people for it, but factually a lot of people dress like shit and it's noticable attractive a woman who's dressed well is compared to a woman who isn't. Same goes for men, but he'd have to be seriously working an outfit to make me want to have sex with a man. I don't know, I might be off the money entirely, you're the one who saw her.

>maybe I took the wrong path in life when I could have been fucking around with art chicks and having a big studio in London with a dog.
Yeah, you and anyone else who didn't do that has made a tragic error. The three of us should become career advisors to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

>>471161

Rich men marry beautiful women. Their beautiful children pursue "careers" that are generally only viable for people with trust funds.

>>471161
Hippies tend to be younger, and they smile more. These are both attractive qualities a lot of the time. I know some right sea monsters in the hippie fields, but even they have a kind and welcoming demeanour that makes me like them.

>>471165
I find that to be a bit of a facade with hippies. The most uptight person I know acts like she's a free spirit who goes with the flow, but if that ever happens to go in a direction she doesn't want then the petty grumbling comes out in full force. She's also very preachy about veganism.

I also know plenty that went off the deep end during Covid.

>>471163

Living an easier life also tends not to age you as quickly as a hard life slaving away in the care worker mines like a council estate lass.

I'm surprised that we managed to get a post in before it all came down to class again.

>>471168

Is what it is innit. I am picturing Albert Eisntein slamming his fist down on his desk going "damnit, it's fucking subatomic particles again, every time, I'm sick of it."

Would you like me to attach an AI image of that or can you imagine it well enough?

Saw some pictures of myself today from about 15 years ago when I was still a heavy smoker, with over a pack of fags a day. I wasn't in overall bad health back then, even somewhat athletic, but boy I looked poorly. Very uneven skin, pale grey complexion, the works. And in one picture with the sun from the side, all the veins on my hand and arm were popping out just casually posing for a picture. Which can be a sign of diminished vein elasticity when they bulge out like that.

I'm 15 years older now, but I can honestly say that I've got healthier looking skin now at 51 than I did in my mid-30s. I quit smoking cold turkey thirteen years ago, and I never looked back. Best decision ever.

Went to go and get my hair cut this morning, it's very warm out. Came back home and it's even warmer indoors.

Lots of lasses out in small bikini tops today.

>>471212
I have to walk through a nice park near me and there are women full on taking their tops off to sunbathe. Now you can call me an old man but the thing is it's so disgustingly sunny that I can only shake my head at how they're going to resemble crocodile skin handbags in a few years - people are laying out for hours in the same position and I know this because I'll see them when I'm coming and going.

Initially I was tempted to get a suggestive book and sit outside with them but frankly I'd rather not roast alive just to get on that 'hot guys reading' social media page.

This year I've also started wearing hats in the heatwaves. I'd never thought about it before but it really is nuts that nobody wears a hat on a sunny day in this country.

>>471212

I went to the Spar yesterday and had to barge my way through a group of teenage girls who were hanging around outside. I know this must make me sound like a carpet-bagger or a whale poacher or both, but what are their dads thinking letting them go out dressed like that? I just want to buy a Calippo without having to avert my gaze and hate myself.

>>471214

I've started wearing a hat basically all the time now that I work primarily outdoors, I think it makes a bigger difference than people realise. Your forehead catches a lot of light, and even more if you are a baldy. That little bit of shade is the difference between just being a bit warm, and coming down with sunstroke.

Sunglasses too, people might scoff if you have sunglasses on when there's a bit of cloud cover and the sun peeking through, but having your eyes constantly bombarded with all that UV isn't good for them.

>>471216

I used to scoff at middle-aged blokes who always wear baseball caps, but now I'm one of them. Sunburn on your scalp is miserable.

>>471216
Haven't you heard, if you wear sunglasses your eyes don't know how sunny it is and your skin stops producing melanin, making you more likely to burn or get cancer? I've no idea where this nonsense comes from but I've heard it from more than one source now.

>>471216

I have also taken to wearing a cap and sunglasses on sunny days. Although I always feel a bit uneasy when I see my reflection, when I'm somewhere on a beach and whatnot, because deep down I feel a bit like that kind of outfit makes you look like a carpet-bagger. Not just on me, but generally. So that when I then engage in conversation with somebody, I tend to take off one or the other to look less menacing.


>>471218

>Haven't you heard, if you wear sunglasses your eyes don't know how sunny it is and your skin stops producing melanin, making you more likely to burn or get cancer?

Horseshit. I was just in Crete and I'm very well tanned, despite always wearing sunglasses.

Your brain does regulate its internal clock including its sleep cycles with the aid of the amount of light that hits your eyes, that much is true. Which is why what they're doing in that immigrant camp in Florida right now with bright white lights on 24 hours a day is really torture, because it very materially contributes to sleep deprivation.

Personally, I think that the most important effect of a cap and adequate sunglasses is that both of it keeps harmful UV radiation out of your eyes. I've got green eyes that have always been very light sensitive, so even as a young boy I always had a tendency to want to wear sunglasses, without my parents needing to tell me. But it's also that people in my family have a tendency to get severe cataracts as they age. An eye doctor told me a long time ago that one way of slowing it down, besides healthy living (smoking exacerbates it!), is by limiting the amount of lifetime UV exposure, because it contributes to the degradation of the proteins in the lens that then lead to clouding, which is what a cataract is. He suggested proper wrap around sunglasses, in combination with UV filtering contact lenses. So that's what I have been doing since. Maybe it will help. I won't know for sure until I'm about 60.

>>471219

>Which is why what they're doing in that immigrant camp in Florida right now with bright white lights on 24 hours a day is really torture, because it very materially contributes to sleep deprivation.

My neighbour has been doing that for the last six years with a badly-aimed security light.

I haven't had a poo today.

It turns out that I'm eligible for a blue-light card which is nice but I'm also looking at it soberly now and realising that like all discounts it's actually all about convincing me to buy stuff I don't need.

>>471219
I don't remember seeing the recap from your travels. Is the honey as prominent as Lidl makes out?

>>471226

> I don't remember seeing the recap from your travels. Is the honey as prominent as Lidl makes out?

No, not really. I guess you can buy honey in most supermarkets and from some artisan sellers in tourist hotspots where they also sell all kinds of other specialties and souvenirs that say Crete on them but are really made in China, and if they don't have a tiny sticker on the back that says so, you are at least left feeling like they're no doubt cheaply made Chinese tat. But no, I was not under the impression that Greek honey is really a big thing in Greece.

Didn't get around to posting a recap because I was absolutely swamped with things I had to do after my return.

I have to say I really liked Crete. The people were friendly, most of them spoke very good English, prices were reasonable as long as you avoided the very touristy areas, the seafood in particular was excellent, the water was warm and crystal clear and the beaches were stunning. I ended up in an Airbnb in Stalida, about 30 minutes from Herakleion airport. Just over 700 quid for ten days in a recently renovated, air conditioned flat with a seaview balcony. I couldn't complain.

Bit of a problem with my hire car. I was supposed to get a Nissan Juke, but apparently the car that was designated for me had a serious accident the night before. They were unable to get a replacement on short notice, so I was given a VW Polo at the airport, and was told they would ring me as soon as they had a replacement. They said that normally they would have upgraded me, but that the Polo was the only class of vehicle that day which still had available examples. They then said something about a partial refund, the Polo being a cheaper vehicle category, but almost two days later when I finally went back to the airport to get a Nissan Juke, they told me that it wouldn't be as straightforward. I was unable to fully understand why, and I've given up for now, after spending over fifteen minutes on the phone with Avis UK upon my return where the only thing they could really tell me was that it was up to their local offices in Crete.


But yeah. Visit Crete. It's a nice place for a summer holiday.

Bought another used CD off eBay and for the first time I've got a CD that's got disc rot that makes some of the tracks unplayable. It's Cross Road by Bon Jovi from 1994. It was apparently pressed in Canada. I had a copy of it once, but I lost it when my car got stolen. Which makes it all the more annoying that I've now got another example and it's unuseable.

I've read about discs from the 1990s being more susceptible to disc rot and degradation than CDs from the 1980s. Mainly because they were using cheaper chemicals than previously. Which is why you've got some 40 year old CDs that are still pristine while some CDs from the 90s are now degrading. Everybody knows that discs that were pressed by PDO in the UK in the early 90s started degrading rapidly, but their defect is mostly disc bronzing. This here is a breakdown of the polycarbonate body. Which is equally disconcerting, if you think that your other CDs could start doing the same.

This CD has tiny cloudy spots on top of the polycarbonate, the size of pinholes, and I tried polishing them with a polishing compound, but they seem to go deep into the material and aren't just on the surface.

I guess I'll start watching for similar spots on my other CDs in the next few years, and then follow the advice you increasingly read on hi fi forums, to rip your CD collection and keep a backup somewhere.

>>471229

I've still got MP3s I downloaded off Soulseek in the late 90s that don't have this issue. Likewise I've got albums like Led Zepelin IV, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy, on vinyl that my parents left in the loft for about 30 years and haven't gone bad. In a way, CDs were the worst of all worlds. The inconvenience of physical media, but none of the nice analogue warmth and crackle of a record.

Besides, real men were into minidisc. Never heard of minidisc rot.

>>471230

>I've still got MP3s I downloaded off Soulseek in the late 90s that don't have this issue.

They're probably 128kbps and given the early Fraunhofer codec implementations and free software that were available back then, they probably sound underwhelming. At least on a good pair of headphones or speakers.

CDs can last a very long time, if they're made well. But as always happens, diminishing profit margins forced manufacturers to cut costs by the early 90s, and they started scrimping on materials.

But what's usually much worse is that many DVDs, after not even 25 years, are now starting to catch surface rot just like my Bon Jovi CD. My Matrix DVD from 1999 doesn't just have pinhole spots, but big cloudy blotches all over its surface and it's entirely unreadable, and I've tried with two DVD players and a desktop computer disc drive. Most people probably aren't bothered by it, because who honestly still watches DVDs today instead of HD streaming or even Blu Ray, both of which are doubtlessly superior. But unless you're really willing to spend big money on a home hi fi system, your red book audio cd still more than holds up. So it's kind of a problem for people who, like me, are into collecting them.

>>471231

>They're probably 128kbps and given the early Fraunhofer codec implementations and free software that were available back then, they probably sound underwhelming

They sound like shit, but that's still a win over a CD that won't play.

In the mid 2010s when big hard drives were cheap I got a 4tb that I use exclusively for media, and then I got into FLACs, but I never managed to download the whole lot again. And I probably couldn't be arsed to even though I've got gigabit internet now that would make it fast and easy to do so. I have a music collection that totals nearly a month of continuous play time. I just wonder how long before that hard drive conks out.

Horses for courses though, because despite being an audiophile musician nerd with a set of very expensive M-Audio monitors and AKG headphones at home, the majority of the time I actually spend listening to music is through the dogshit speakers in my car. So it's much of a muchness what the quality is like.

>>471232

>Horses for courses though, because despite being an audiophile musician nerd with a set of very expensive M-Audio monitors and AKG headphones at home, the majority of the time I actually spend listening to music is through the dogshit speakers in my car.

I lived in rented flats most of my adult life, where I couldn't really turn up my mid-range hi fi system without getting death threats from upsetting my neighbours. At relatively low volume, you'll struggle to tell the difference between a CD and a good MP3 file. And so for the longest time, my music collection consisted of a hard drive full of youtube rips and other dodgy sources. But now that I'm in my own house, of course I can turn it up as loud as I want, and that's where you do notice a vast difference between CD and compressed formats. And that's why I eventually started collecting (mostly used) CDs again.

I've got 8-channel Bose in my Audi A4, which is more than a bit shit. Car hi fi tends to be an oxymoron in and of itself, or at least it's very difficult to get actual hi fi sound in your car, but Bose made it worse by saying, here's a bunch of stamped aluminum basket speakers with paper cones which 80 percent of customers will think sounds absolutely cracking because they know nothing about true hi fi. I was able to upgrade the rear fillers on the parcel shelf with a set of Pioneer 6.5'' drivers, so at least it's got some true bass now. There isn't much you can do besides that, at least you'll struggle to find a drop-in replacement with an amp and speakers and everything, which not only gives you 8-channel sound but also sounds good in your car because it lets you calibrate signal delay and other DSP settings. A suitable amp alone will cost you more than 700 quid. So I've decided to just live with the trademark mediocre Bose sound.

I have eaten too much.

Wouldn't mind a few beers tonight, but I've got too much to do tomorrow morning.

Maybe just one.

Someone had left those chocolate digestives with a caramel filling at work. No one else in, hadn't eaten since about 7am, but I didn't eat one of them. One month, no sweats, it's in the bag.

>>471235

Wainter stopped Big Jim.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZk2jV5gJbM

>>471237

Mirth.

Youtube suggested this video at the bottom of the one you posted -


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoprVhpOKIk

Hedging sounds like a fulfilling profession. I'm sure it's died out.

Have you ever met someone who has suffered a stroke? It took quite a bit more out of me than I was expecting. Anything to do with brain injuries is not for me.

>>471238
I had to help do this during work experiance 20 years ago in a public forest. They get volunteers in to do it for free and it's actually not as hard as it makes out, although obviously when you've got volunteers it's probably a job in itself.

I imagine farmers do it themselves.

>>471239

The video makes it look like it was once a recognised trade. A profession in itself where that was all you did.

Loads of old trades like that have disappeared, some of them kind of fascinating.

>>471239
You must get a better class of farmer wherever you live.

>>471240
Mechanisation, for all it's benefits, has not been without downsides.

>>471237
This is the true high tidemark of Scottish manhood, cycling 20 miles over the most rugged terrain in Northern Europe on a fucked road bike, no expensive kit, no protein shakes or energy gels, just twelve drams of Glenlivet and three wee heavies. He doesn't start tearing up and talking about being vulnerable when his widow isn't there, he just turns round and does the whole journey over again. If we had more Big Jims we'd be an actual country by now, in fact we might have even conquered the world.

>>471242

>ah hink she's no in

I have watched it three or four times now and lose it every time, pure comedy.

>>471237

In the good old days, the professionals liked a drink too.

Josh Widdicombe's house.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164359757

>>471244
To this day, in Germany a shandy is called a "Radler", meaning a "Cyclist". Sugar, carbs, a little alcohol... it does ward of the bonk, numbs a tiny bit, and hydrates decently. What's not to love?

I have an interim inspection next week on my flat where the lettings agency wants to come in and take some pictures and then report on the current state of the place for the landlord. Fair enough I suppose but I have a number of paintings hanging up using Command Strips. In theory that doesn't damage the walls but I think we all know it will take some paint off if I ever take them down.

How much of a shit do you think anyone is going to care about this?

>>471315
His wife is clearly in charge of that house. It's so full of needless junk. It's the female equivalent of how I have over 100 DVDs I never watch, a box of grass seed and a power-washer in my living room.

>>471321
She is an interior designer, or at least she is now that they're rich and doesn't need a real job.

https://www.penrosetilbury.com/about

>>471322

That almost sounds like a Real Housewives plot.

>>471315
It's a testament to how Golby-Pilled I am that I looked at that property and thought "not bad for 2.1 mil'".

>>471325

It's that elite simping mindset that we all fall victim to.

Who the fuck needs a house for £2M. Even in The London.

>>471327
He also owns a holiday home in Cornwall as well.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/comedian-josh-widdicombe-becomes-latest-9094324

>>471328

They are living the good life, no doubt.

Fucking rich cunts.

>>471327
It's not really "simping" it's more that if you'd asked me what it would cost I'd have said eleventy-septillion-quid.

>>471330

Property prices are fucking mental any way you look at it.

My mum treated me to lunch yesterday. She keeps a post-it note in her purse with all of her PIN numbers written on it. Boomers.

>>471337

She should just do what I do and change all her PINs to the same number. That way you can make it an easily remembered number, such as your year of birth.

>>471337

I must confess I keep my credit card PINs in my notes app on my phone, but mostly because I'm too lazy to go to a machine to change them.

>>471233
>I've got 8-channel Bose in my Audi A4, which is more than a bit shit.
As in channels for different frequencies? I'd have though 8 was okay, 16 pushing it to max.
They use channels for recording seperate instruments, right? How do you isolate those?

>>471341

Just did a bit of research and it's actually a five-channel stereo system. You've got eight speakers in total, nine if you' ve got an estate ("Avant") which came with a factory woofer. The front door driver and tweeter are one channel per side, and the rear door driver and parcel shelf fillers are also one channel per side. The Bose amp has a rudimentary DSP which is supposed to correct signal time between the front and rear speakers. In standard configuration, the saloon doesn't have a subwoofer because it was assumed that it doesn't need it, with the enclosed boot providing enough resonance underneath the rear fillers. But I've heard from people with an avant that that woofer is just as disappointing as the rest of the system.

As late 90s/early 2000s stock audio goes, Bose in the Audi actually wasn't all that bad. A lot of carmakers weren't even offering four speakers, let alone an external amp from the factory back then. I guess the main issue I have with it is that it's just the typical underwhelming Bose sound. Even with the rear fillers that I've swapped out for something more substantial, the overall sound is still tinny.

But I've accepted it. I'd have to spend a good bit of money to upgrade the system so it'd be true (car) hi fi, and it's not really worth it to me. Let alone on an old car like this.

If I had squirty cream with ice cream or jelly I'd class it as a foodstuff. If I had squirty cream on top of a hot chocolate or milkshake I'd class it as a beverage.

>>471339
You can just open up the banking app on your phone and view the pin number anytime. Possibly change it if you want but I don't know how comfortable I'd be having a series of numbers for everything.

>>471347

Indeed, but that means unlocking my phone and then finding, opening, and unlocking the specific app for the credit card rather than just opening my notes.

I also can't change them on the apps otherwise I would have.

My neighbours just lit up their back garden fire pit. On a Sunday evening. Using old newspaper. And it's wafting right over to me.

Fucking savages.

>>471350
I hope for you that the thunderstorm that just rolled over me heads your, and their, way.

>>471352

They were hosting a children's birthday party this afternoon for their younger one, and it looks like two or three of the adults are now sitting around the fire pit. I've no problem at all with children playing next door and the kind of noise level that that entails. Children need their freedom to jump around and be noisy, lest they go on to turn into miserable adults. But I draw the line at lighting the fire pit with newspaper and shrouding this entire side of the street in faint but visible - and smellable - smoke.

>>471353
I appreciate that you're someone who tolerates child-noise. It can be abrasive, but I find that people who hate it are generally of a type that should be made to live in a remote SSSI, for everyone's benefit and further study.

As for the fire, yeah, that sounds profoundly stupid. I've moaned about fire smoke from homes here some time ago, and a firepit is just as obnoxious to me. Especially given that it's practically the height of summer. It's twenty degrees celsius, I don't think anyone needs to worry about pneumonia just yet.

>>471354

>I appreciate that you're someone who tolerates child-noise.

I think it's something my parents instilled in us. The idea that children should enjoy a few years time where they're getting away with things and aren't held to the same standards as adults. And think about it. You've got the whole rest of your life having to conform, having to obey rules and conventions, and make sure you're not bothering anybody in the slightest.

Why not let children enjoy a precious few years where they've got no idea what's coming. And a birthday party where they're not told to be quiet the whole time can well be part of that.


It started raining quite heavily about an hour after my neighbours lit the fire pit. So at least that has taken care of itself.

If an online task site (think Fiverr but only for quite specific design commissions) asks for a two day extension on a Friday, does that mean two working days or should they have sent me something by now?

>>471353
>>471354
>>471355
Am I still allowed to complain about the high-pitched screams that girls make? Please don't put my picture in the Daily Mail, I merely mean to say that a girls birthday party is like having a colony of bats around and I've known many a broken father that is quite happy to find an excuse to escape their own home.

>I find that people who hate it are generally of a type that should be made to live in a remote SSSI, for everyone's benefit and further study.

Okay well then I bet I'd make a good lighthouse keeper - give me a nice pot of coffee and a stable internet connection and I'll keep that light on. I might even install a sound-system to protect ships and deter whales from beaching.

To make my post more interesting: I hear that a lot of physically remote jobs like fire watchers in the US are actually quite hard to break into these days because so many people are applying just to get out of modern life. It's something that has amplified by the post-pandemic shift in work-life priorities and a growing disillusionment with urban living but conversely these kinds of jobs are doomed to die out like the classic lighthouse keeper.