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[phisheep]

If you were to commit suicide, how would you do it?

Me, I've always quite wanted to jump off a tall building. I think it would be novel and brief.

Really, no.

I jumped out of an aeroplane once and that few seconds before the parachute opened were seriously terrifying. They asked me if I wanted to go up again. I said no, but in rather more words than that.

 

[phisheep]

It's true in academia, especially within the social sciences and economics, suffer from objectivity problems; a vast number of theories that academics ignore due to their background, training and biases and cycles through paradigms of thought in their discipline. I don't want a true metrocracy, no matter how attractive it is and that it would be an extreme violation of freedom of speech, which I am big supporter of and how it empowers us to change and debate problematic situations within institutions. I'm more focused on changing the incentives of the policy decision makers in favour of logical debate instead of political biases. Empowering the academics instead of weakening them. There are a few groups in society that I envy and celebrate. Doctors, researchers, academics, entrepreneurs and human rights activists.

EDIT: For those UKIP supporters, attended a small seminar by the former head of UKIP who's attends my university. He called Farage a dimwit. Nothing wrong with supporting UKIP or any party unless it reduces the rights of certain demographics of society, thought that may be quite interesting.

If you are going to empower academics then there is a big problem to be overcome. Academics (typically) are rather good at coming up with a convincing-sounding rationale 20 years after the event, but are rather rubbish at having to take decisions on the spot. Also rather rubbish at recognising that they might be wrong and have to change direction in about five minutes flat.

 

[banofypie]

Discussion is good. And I say this as a fully-paid up triple minority.

Maybe roundabout needs to just add a few more LOLs!

This is a tense situation.

Especially as I can't connect to the Titanfall servers. Grrr.

play dark foals instead

in other news im going to do something stupid tomorrow

 

[Symphonia]

Nothing quite beats these winter blues like a chilli chicken pasta bake.

 

[banofypie]

[insert comment designed to rile up cyanide here]

 

[Symphonia]

[insert overly defensive retort to banofypie here]

 

[banofypie]

[laughing about how your retort makes you come off worse]

 

[Symphonia]

[spends ages writing out a whiny bitch rant]

 

[Chinner]

 

[Vashetti]

^ that's an absurd turd alright

 

[sploatee]

Just to say, I might have been wrong about Uncharted 4. It's not my kind of thing at the moment but it does look like it's going to be really good in its genre. I think the graphics look good, too.

I'm looking forward to the Brand/Farage Question Time Extravaganza myself.

But really, immigration is a fun issue to talk about. The "i-word" makes people absurdly nervous of the taboo because they are desperately afraid of appearing to be the "r-word." So it's got to the stage where anybody who brings up the i-word is most certainly an r-word and so only r-words would be concerned with it.

It's also really common that people absolutely fail to distinguish between different kinds of migration. Legal migration of skilled/unskilled labour, illegal migration and asylum are different things that should be treated differently. If a person is fleeing genuine persecution then yes, we should help shelter them, for example, when Idi Amin expelled Asians from Uganda in 1972 we were right to help.

Legal immigration is a mixed bag. Of course skilled labour is highly valuable, especially health workers. Nobody wants less doctors. You occasionally hear that argument that doctors and nurses and other professionals from developing countries should stay where they are and help their fellow countrymen, that's its unfair for Britain to hoover up foreign talent. I see the logic in that, but I'm always suspicious that the argument is being used as a cover for prejudice.

When it comes to un-skilled labour you get the other argument, that the unemployed in this country are too lazy to do those jobs so we need migrants there. I'm really not fond of sweeping generalizations when it comes to millions of people.

Essentially my stance on the subject is this: I wish people saw it more as a numbers issue and left the emotion at the door. But at the same time, statistics are used by all sides to persuade the public one way or another. I want to see a set of reliable, agenda-free reports that give us the hard maths on a few things. Like how much wealth immigrants bring to the country, whether current trends are sustainable etc. I feel like that's not something that's ever going to happen though. Every face in the debate has a study they can refer to which supports their argument. And of course you can't trust a politician not to omit or misconstrue figures, nor you can you 100% trust that the study is unbiased or reliable.

-

This has taken far too long. Turns out I'm more self conscious about potentially "getting it wrong" than I thought. Sorry if I was a tease and had people waiting for my post.

I feel that the numbers argument might be a bit of a smokescreen, to be honest. My impression is that the complaint some people have is more relating to the "visible effects" of immigration; the sense that areas become relatively ghettoised in the sense of only containing one ethnic group that supposedly fails to integrate. It's not really about numbers, it's about the number of "ethnic restaurants", the number of Arabic signs or the number of polish delis.

I don't have a solution (not sure there is one), but in my gut I feel that the immigration debate is just hot air. I believe we've ended up navel-gazing; saying "oh no, the system is overloaded because of foreigners!", instead of "how can we improve a system that has been shitty for an awfully long time?".

I don't really want to give any more space on the internet to the nutters that live at the fringes of immigrant communities (including my own), so I won't - apart from saying they're a tiny sideshow being used by some rather manipulative people for their own ends.

Cool, it's a really neat game but for whatever reason I never really got into it. Apparently the pc community is dead now so I uninstalled it.

I just lost a good hour to it (on 360). Yeah, it is good, isn't it? Away from all of the hype (and the full price!) I'm really quite pleased with it. It feels really newbie-friendly (either that or my wasted hours in Destiny PvP have paid off) and I just love any kind of game which runs at such a fast pace.

Rambling post incoming


Business academics tend to speak in a string of acronyms punctuated with conjunctions. They and economists have a very bad habit of being too rigid in their thinking, seeing reason where there is none, trying to objectively analyse far too much... etc. Libertarianism is very common in this area as is a distinct lack of empathy. Obviously I'm generalising!

I have a lot of respect for these two fields (I nick from them all the time) but democracy is best, there is just a severe lack of democratic action by the electorate. People used to riot as a means of expressing political discontent (look up food riots) but politicians are largely unaccountable. I don't think having academics or doctors or whomever in charge will make for better decision-making in the long term. They are as vulnerable to idiocy, corruption, laziness and obliviousness as anyone else.

The lawyers are wonderful of course

Yes, I can understand the absurdity of all of the acronyms. I work in a large firm which practically has its own language. I think there's something to be said for a person's language influencing the way they think or structure arguments; in short, I don't think it's particularly healthy for people to talk in such a way.

I utterly despise politicians, almost as much as The Sun. To hear David Cameron respond to the Archbishop of Canterbury's food bank report by spinning it into all of the things the Conservatives have achieved for "the poor" made my blood boil.

I don't believe academics have the answer, either. Too much theory and not enough life. Doctors and nurses should be guiding the NHS, with facilitators for all of the legal/accountancy/admin stuff. Teachers should be guiding education policy with consultants and facilitators. It's absurd to think that anybody that hasn't worked in a particular field for a decent length of time should be able to tell others that do how they should be.

And don't worry about insulting lawyers. I have no particular loyalty to my profession. We're far too amoral and far too emotionless to be able to comment on anything. Our basic skillset is to spin arguments out of any material and to be able to control how much information we put across (i.e. 1% information per 100,000 words). It's effectively being an analytical robot. Sometimes I genuinely enjoy it - I work in the most black-letter law area there is and it's fun to actually have to apply every ounce of my brain to a particular problem. But it's necessarily completely disconnected from everything that, to my mind, makes a human being a human being.

 

[Symphonia]

I both love and hate Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away! on Channel 5. It really gets to me how the officers practically bully people into paying, with no consideration or empathy for the debtor or the debtor's family whatsoever. The way they act makes me look like the Florence Nightingale of the debt collection world.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

[insert comment designed to rile up cyanide here]

[insert overly defensive retort to banofypie here]

[laughing about how your retort makes you come off worse]

[spends ages writing out a whiny bitch rant]

 

[sploatee]

Goodbye gargoyles! In the words of Yahtzee "I know all of your attack patterns and now I'm fantasy Batman."

Edit: and goodbye headless demon damage sponge! Rrraaaarrgghh! This game is so satisfying. Next on my kill list is that big armour plated dog-bull-pig.

 

[Symphonia]

Wait, what?

Goodbye?

 

[NinjaBoiX]

 

[8bit]

I depend on meat.

 

[Screaming Meat]

I depend on meat.

That's my new political slogan.

Goodbye gargoyles! In the words of Yahtzee "I know all of your attack patterns and now I'm fantasy Batman."

Edit: and goodbye headless demon damage sponge! Rrraaaarrgghh! This game is so satisfying. Next on my kill list is that big armour plated dog-bull-pig.

Well played! I hear the sound of collecting souls every damn day.

 

[Hystzen]

I need that soul sucking noise as my message tone especially when kill multiple enemies at once it gets louder

 

[sploatee]

That's my new political slogan.



Well played! I hear the sound of collecting souls every damn day.

Thanks! Falchion + 5 was my buddy. I quick-sharp took out the first and then the second was easy-peasy. Weakness: bravery. I now need to figure out where the dogbullpig's weak spot is. Even from behind I'm only pecking away at it. I did manage to get some real damage once but it was a fluke - I can't work out whether it was fire or some particular timing of my attack.

I also need to figure out where to go next. There's a big dude in the forest that I think I can beat and I'd like to try the graveyard again. I remember from before that the downstairs bit from Firelink Shrine is full of ghosts that I can't yet kill but can easily kill me, so I might wait for a little while before going down there.

The sound design is fantastic. I love the "chung!" when you enter a new area. This game is something else. It's quite funny too. Someone left a message next to the Blacksmith saying "Be wary of fatty". And I noticed the spell caster up in the Parish doing a funny rain-dance type thing to cast a spell. And then he was slain by the might of the Estoc (damage: 75).

 

[StayDead]

So you're OK with cheap EU labour coming over and taking jobs?

 

[Symphonia]

Wait.

I just realised sploatee wasn't saying goodbye to us. I did find it weird her calling us gargoyles. I can feel my brain cells fizzling out.

 

[banofypie]

I think I've been playing Smash U since about 8pm. Been playing with the friend that got me properly into videogames with Melee way back in 2003 playing the same kind of matches we're playing today.

Beautiful.

 

[CHEEZMO™]

Thanks! Falchion + 5 was my buddy.

R1 spammer spotted

 

[sploatee]

R1 spammer spotted

Hahaha! Rumbled! It wasn't my plan, but I noticed that if I strung together a few attacks it really damaged it. So I just dodged and then a chain of attacks and then as soon as the second one came down went crazy.

I was more proud of taking down that metal demon thing to be honest! And the black knight in the undead burg.

I can't wait to get to Ornstein and Smough. I will get my arse handed to me and love it 😄

 

[Jackben]

 

[Little Old Man]

This weather is nasty. It's far too early in the day for this shit!

 

[NinjaBoiX]

Hahaha! Rumbled! It wasn't my plan, but I noticed that if I strung together a few attacks it really damaged it. So I just dodged and then a chain of attacks and then as soon as the second one came down went crazy.

Yeah, there is a cumulative multiplier on damage with every successive strike, which is why stamina is the single most important stat in the game. Fuck health, that's for people who are willing to fail!

I focused on stamina, dexterity and faith for my Ninja build and carried a kickass katana, (Uchigatana and Iaito for the win.)

I do miss that game, it's awesome.

But fuck that game.

:|

 

[Symphonia]

Stubbed my toe getting out of bed and there's no milk.

Not an ideal start to the day.

 

[show me your skeleton]

i hope nobody here is an estate agent as they are all scum.

£210 for an inventory? fuck off.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

"Mama gripped onto the milkman's hand,
And then she finally gave birth,
Years go by and still I don't know,
Who shall inherit this earth,"

- Lucky Day In Hell

 

[The_Poet]

Still waiting on the PC version of Dark Souls to abandon GFWL like a deformed child in Sparta before I replay it.

Might do a DEX run, I went sword and board last time.

 

[Deaf Spacker]

Who else is wearing a Christmas jumper at work? I am singlehandedly making the place look Christmassy.

 

[CyanideFuse]

i hope nobody here is an estate agent as they are all scum.

£210 for an inventory? fuck off.

What does an inventory involve? Yes, this property has walls, windows, doors, floors...

I also do not like estate agents. I have rarely had what you would define as a good experience with them.

 

[Spookie]

"Mama gripped onto the milkman's hand,
And then she finally gave birth,
Years go by and still I don't know,
Who shall inherit this earth,"

- Lucky Day In Hell

Deep.

"I don't wanna know
Who's sucking my dick today
I'm going to the glory hole
Gonna spend my weekly pay
Dream about virgin teens
While a beast greases up my pole
I'm gonna blow my load at the glory hole"

- Gloryhole

Who else is wearing a Christmas jumper at work? I am singlehandedly making the place look Christmassy.

Not sure I would wear a jumper to work. BT set the heating to levels even Satan would be thinking is toasty. That being said I think we've got a Christmas jumper charity day tomorrow. D:

 

[SmokyDave]

I don't want to see a ghost.
It's the sight that I fear most.
I'd rather have a piece of toast.
Watch the evening news.

-Life.

Really makes you think.

Edit: Just googled to make sure I got it right and it seems this was voted the worst pop lyric ever. I don't feel so clever now

 

[NinjaBoiX]

"Mama had an epidural,
Hoping I would be a girl,
The night was black, the sky was booming,
Darker clouds were surely looming,
I heard screaming, doctor shouts,
And then baby, I came out,"

Eels - Jungle Telegraph

I don't think he liked his mama.

 

[Jordan]

Bang bang into the room,
Bang bang all over you,
Wait a minute let me take you there

- Jessie J

Wait... Am I doing this right?

 

[Spookie]

Wait... Am I doing this right?

Yes.

X gon give it to ya
He gon give it to ya
X gon give it to ya
He gon give it to ya

- X Gonna Give It To Ya

 

[Symphonia]

Baby cakes,
You just don't know, know,
How I I,
I like it down low,
And I just want you to know,
That I think our love will grow,
Will take it step by step,
Because I'm not something you own,
I'm not something you own.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

"We've got everybody singing,
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
We've got everybody singing,
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,"

Paramore - Whoa

 

[The_Poet]

Someone left the cake out in the rain,
I don’t think that I can take it,
Cause it took so long to bake it,
And I’ll never have that recipe again.

Jimmy Webb, “MacArthur Park”

 

[Reknoc]

You not rrrh rot
dot n dot n dot per rot
dot n not n dot per
n dot chi cot n dot rrr ah

Korn - Twist

 

[Jordan]

all around the country coast to coast,
people always say what do you like most,
I don't wanna brag i don't wanna boast,
I always tell 'em I like toast.

Bob and Tom - Yeah Toast

 

[Symphonia]

That's two songs about toast.

I fucking love toast.

 

[BGBW]

GO MY WAY!! GO MY ue e!!
Egao mo namida demo
Kono sekai juu ga
Wonder Land na Never Land
GO MY WAY!! GO mae e!!
Gambatte yukimashou
Ichiban daisuki na
Watashi ni naritai

GO MY WAY!! - Haruka Amami

 

[Reknoc]

普段よりそわそわ いつもより可愛く
どうしたら"love"☆"love"
だって…(今日&#12399二度と来ない
恋の魔法どこかで 信じてちゃいけない?
ダイスキの奇跡を
どうか…(今日&#12399起こしてよ

μ's - もぎゅっと“love”で接近中!

 

[show me your skeleton]

everybody stop it.

 

[The_Poet]

everybody stop it.

 

[Reknoc]

everybody stop it.

Stop doing what you
Keep doing it too
Things are getting strange I'm starting to worry
This could be a case for Mulder and Scully

Catatonia - Mulder And Scully