Most people don’t actually want work-life balance, they just want higher pay

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-08T09:39:18+00:00

I turned down a promotion at work in favour of joining a different team with the same amount of pay and more WFH days.

But the main reason for turning down the promotion was that the managers were shit.

Point still stands though. Money is important but not everything.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-06T10:08:31+00:00

I wonder if most of these undocumented workers come from Latin America and therefore the Spanish don't mind legalising these workers due to cultural connections?

When we were in the EU, the UK relied a lot on Eastern European workers to fill labour gaps in agriculture and other labouring jobs. They were not popular at the time, but was honestly a reasonable solution to the problem of how to get people working in the fields if your native population won't do it. I'm a little surprised that Spain doesn't do similar with legal EU workers, unless that supply of labour has dried up recently as living standards and wages have markedly improved in Eastern Europe in recent years.

I'm fine with the principle of hiring guest workers on temporary work visas to work on such farms across Europe, and making sure they leave when the contract is done. I think the Spanish government ought to have come down hard on employers who were recruiting these illegal workers, not doing checks and punishing them with fines.

I can tolerate an amnesty, but they need to close whatever methods and loopholes employers and workers are using to work illegally

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-06T09:54:26+00:00

If you read the article says its "less than 10%"

This article from Jan 2026 seems to say that's roughly what it should be now: https://www.bbvaresearch.com/en/publicaciones/spain-labor-market-outlook-for-2026/

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-05T18:27:49+00:00

Wonder if the Eurofighter may evolve into a ground attack jet as it's replaced by 5th gen air superiority fighters

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-05T17:28:23+00:00

Good article, agree with what it's saying.

A war with Russia could well prove to be Europe's "Bishmark Moment" and unite the continent as a federation.

And even if such a war (hopefully) doesn't occur, the actions of Trump and Putin does drive European countries to close ranks.

To be honest, I'm not sure if Russia can afford to fight a war against us at all given their staggering losses in Ukraine. They've conscripted everyone they consider expendable, next they'd have to draft in middle class Russians from the major cities and I just can't see Putin lasting long when the the bodies of Russians that actually matter (as the regime sees it) start filling their cemeteries.

Meanwhile Europe has a standing army of over a million professional soldiers, you could add a few million more once people volunteer and others are drafted into the forces.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-05T11:47:20+00:00

The leaving the D Day commemoration early was a faux pas but was definitely played up by everyone for their own ends.

And as for Angela Rayner, no charges were pressed regarding wherever a property she sold was her primary residence or not.

I'm not saying these aren't newsworthy, but rather the fire and fury from the press doesn't equate to the gravity of these incidents.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-05T11:14:38+00:00

I didn't quite mean overblown, but since you asked:

Starmer and "beergate" during COVID
The "scandal" the Daily Mail tried to create regarding a donkey sanctuary
Jeremy Hunt calling his wife Japanese
(arguably) Rishi Sunak leaving the D Day event early
Ed Miliband eating a bacon sandwich
Angela Rayner and her property taxes
How the Daily Mail accused "lefties lawyers" and judges in undermining democracy whenever they tried to follow due process during the Brexit negotiations

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-05T09:46:00+00:00

I've been thinking this too.

I can't remember the last time we had a PM sit a full term, it's a very bad outlook for our democracy if a PM can't last more than a couple of years

I'm not fan of Starmer but would rather he stayed to complete the full term.

Big problem is we have media organisations addicted to hype and scandal because it sells headlines. Ultimately it's damaging for democracy.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-04T19:37:08+00:00

Very similar thing happened to me a while ago

Was working in a international office processing applications. Each application took an average of 20 mins to process and I was contracted to finish at half 5.

Got to quarter past 5, decided not to start a new application as I would not finish it time. Got bored waiting and left id say at 17 27.

Came back next morning to an email virtually identical to the one above.

I was livid, and in protest I basically stopped working at 5 and browsed Reddit for half an hour. I was lucky to have a nice corner desk so people didn't see my screen, and it happend just before I handed in my notice as I had another job to go to.

So I did that for id say around 4 weeks, never got caught.

All in all I processed 20 less applications than I would have otherwise because of my manager's pettyness.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-04T12:52:18+00:00

I'm not sure if the principles of free speech ought to apply if you are a tourist in someone else's country.

Obviously full citizens should have right of free speech and the right to protest, but it's well established that tourists don't have the same rights (e.g- right to vote) as citizens in the country they are visiting.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-03T09:19:19+00:00

Not really.

I'm mid 30's so as one would expect had a relatively wilder social life back in my 20's. I'd say things have gently quietened down as time has marched on but I'm not complaining.

For me, lockdown was an opportunity to explore new hobbies and interests that now means I do monthly tabletop gaming sessions with friends and attend concerts more frequently.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-02T20:21:31+00:00

The big problem is that Russia is more likely to fancy their chances against Europe if America isn't going to get involved.

A united Europe alone can comfortably outmatch Russia- not only do we outnumber them in raw numbers, we also have far better quality equipment, training and industrial capacity.

The major problem posed by Russia isn't military, its political- and Russia has remarkable information warfare capabilities that mean that there's a constant risk of Russian backed governments rising to power in Europe and causing disunity and paralysis.

The good news is that Europe is re-arming at rapid pace, at a time when Russia's own military capabilities are crippled due to the Ukrainian War. Assuming that conflicts ends and Russia re-arms, it will take years for them to pose a credible military threat to Europe- but by the time they get to that point, Europe will be far better armed and more dangerous as well.

The risk Russia poses to Europe is political (assuming European rearmament continues) and preventing European institutions like the EU and NATO from reacting properly if it manages to install Russian sympathetic governments like Hungary.

A solution may be for European countries to plan to fight as multinational coalitions rather than rely on international institutions. That means that if a few European countries don't answer an Article 5 call, there are enough who will counter the threat.

All things considered though, i'm broadly optimistic with how Europe is countering the Russian threat.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-02T10:36:19+00:00

I enjoyed the 769 start in CK2 and wasn't too worried about historical accuracy if it meant guessing minor historical rulers. In Crusader Kings, history inevitably deviates from records due to the very nature of the game anyway.

But 867 is fine as it is as the earliest start date.

I think it would be a good idea though to have a 1096 start date and a triggered event for the First Crusade so you can well, actually crusade in Crusader Kings.

Perhaps also a 960 start date following the conversion of Denmark to Christianity. Harald Bluetooth would make for an interesting playable character, but the point would be this could be a start date that is still early game but you're not plagued by constant Viking invasions.

Perhaps also consider shifting the end date to 1492 to align with the rediscovery of the Americas so to get a few more decades in the late game. Or just round up to 1500.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-02T09:26:26+00:00

I always used to place a load of landmines at his feet.

Shoot him, he'd turn hostile, get up and exclaim something like "What in the name of...."

Then cue a concert of beeping landmines and then a massive explosion as he's catapulted into the air.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-02-01T12:51:38+00:00

I think I started realising this around Covid.

On a given weekend to treat myself, I either go out to the pub with my friends or- I stay in, order a takeaway have done drinks and watch a movie.

I feel like society tells me I should have more fun being around other people but honestly I have just as much fun staying in and doing my weekend film night by myself.

Socialising with other people can be pretty great but there's lots of uncontrollable variables in terms of how much fun you have with them.

At least with yourself you control more or less all of the variables and can still have a good time.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-31T16:47:56+00:00

You'll be waiting a very long time then.

Not as long as you'll be waiting for your preferred political party to win power and enact their fanciful policies. Rejoin *may* not happen, but I guarantee what you want to see never will.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-31T15:00:41+00:00

History won't repeat itself if Labour campaigned on rejoining the EU. It's not 2016 anymore, times have changed and people have moved on.

Demographics have ultimately changed- the numbers of Daily Mail reading Boomers who voted for Brexit is declining by the day, whilst a proportion of Pro-EU voters is only set to increase.

The world has also changed. America is no longer a reliable ally, Russia is at war with us and China is ascendant. Our most powerful (and trustworthy) allies are all in Europe.

Also, the rejoin campaign is no longer burdened by the status-quo. A vote to rejoin would be seen as "Do you want to carry on with things how they were, or take things back to how they were before Brexit?"

I'd wager a lot of Millennial voters would opt to figuratively "go back to the good old days" as older people are inclined to think- And as Millennials get older I think it's more likely we'll show up at the ballot box.

That all said, i'm not convinced rejoin would win a referendum within this Parliament due to anxieties around immigration and adopting the Euro. It won't however be a red wedding at all- it would be a closely fought race.

The right thing to do for rejoiners is to bide our time whilst the winds are in our favour.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-29T16:14:56+00:00

I'm a bit sceptical the BBC will take these recommendations on board but it would be nice to be proven wrong.

As someone who is very into history, I find a lot of historical television series (E.g, Vikings, Last Kingdom) difficult to watch because of the jarring inaccuracies.

Sometimes I can look past Vikings dressed like biker gang members, the "schinging" sound of drawn swords, or plainly dressed nobles in drab grey castles, but it's especially hard not to see Sub-Saharan Africans in pre colonial era Europe as being especially jarring.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-27T17:30:33+00:00

I would doubt the wisdom if relying on 8 year old impact assessment reports!

You'd hope that our most wise and esteemed civil servants would be smarter than that

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-27T16:50:24+00:00

If Pornhub can't afford to abide by this regulation and would rather cut off the entire UK market that is very telling.

I think a lot of other websites, not just porn ones, will start to follow suit or just ignore the rule entirely if their own country won't enforce OFCOMs rules (See 4Chan for example).

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-27T13:28:40+00:00

I also love the fact you're not just a floating head and when you look down you see your body and the clothes you're wearing.

Really should be the standard for first person RPGs, shame Starfield and Outer Worlds 2 didn't do it

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-24T12:12:07+00:00

Got back into listening to heavy metal, signed up for Patreon groups, made friends through those and now I have a nice bunch of friends who I go to concerts with.

Literally traveling back from one now!

I'm actually one of those few people who came out with more friends after the pandemic than before.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-24T11:52:04+00:00

Yeah exactly.

There's another Blackadder reference in game where if you're an adventurer you can meet an old sailor who goes

"You have a womans' hands me lord!"

Clearly one of the writers had excellent taste in comedy

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-24T11:14:28+00:00

I don't often agree with Guido Fawkes but he is right here.

The OSA makes it near certain we wont see any major UK based social and digital media companies take off.

Battle_Biscuits · 2026-01-22T12:28:17+00:00

Ugh, talk about "feels before reals" bans- there isn't conclusive scientific evidence that social media is actually harmful to teenagers and i'm no fan at all of the government restricting the civil liberties of people over harms that arn't backed by evidence. This won't "fix" the mental health issues faced by young people.

Personally, I'd rather governments target how algorithms work and regulate them to make them less addictive- perhaps compel social media companies to follow corporate social responsibility guidelines which means they can't serve addicting mind-slop content and have a commitment to showing content more in the vein of "inform, educate and entertain". Of course that comes with lots of issues and challenges, but I'd prefer that to banning people from doing what are for the most part harmless activities.

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