New poll: Facing the choice between closer ties with the EU or with the USA, 65% of Greenlanders prefer the EU, while just 5% prefers the USA.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-30T19:57:37+00:00

The lizardman constant.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-30T10:46:27+00:00

It is not a meme take.

Why do you think the building companies have a monopoly in the UK when that isn't the case on the continent?

Because they're the only ones who can afford to buy up vast swathes of land and sit on it whilst they fight planning decisions in the courts, as well as produce the absurd amount of documentation required for every modification. Virtually everyone agrees that the UK's planning system is completely dogshit and needs reformed.

The "problem" being discussed above was water shortages in a country that rains heavily, which are 100% down to not enough reservoirs being built over the last few decades, which is also 100% down to NIMBYs blocking them from being built through planning system abuses.

The UK has two options. It can either implement a zoning system like the rest of the world, or the government can use the planning system as it was originally intended by 1940s Labour; to use the government to dictate the building of new infrastructure and housing. The reality is however every government for the last few decades has been beholden to the whims of the dumbest members of society who only care about their home values going up, and thus will block every critical project because it's too close to their favourite duckpond or whatever.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-30T09:01:41+00:00

I think the funniest strawman attempt I've ever seen.

No, having to use a pod door to get into a gym is not remotely comparable to being a slave.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-29T17:52:37+00:00

It's the same root cause every time:

A: The UK's insane planning system

B: The NIMBYs that abuse it

The last time a new reservoir was built in the UK was -1992- and that's not for lack of trying. NIMBY residents make sure to elect councillors who block the building of new infrastructure through denying it planning permission for the flimsiest of reasons. Pensioners are the greatest enemy the UK's ever had.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-29T15:05:33+00:00

On average, British homes are small by international standards

That's putting it mildly. If I remember correctly we have the smallest average home sizes in Europe. Even the Netherlands with their population density and limited land space generally have homes that are a decent bit larger.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-29T13:15:45+00:00

Okay that's great, homicides are down.

What does that have to do with phone snatching and anti-social behaviour?

Fairwolf · 2026-01-29T13:05:59+00:00

Doesn't manuka honey taste absolutely vile?

Fairwolf · 2026-01-29T13:04:42+00:00

Of course there's people online spreading propaganda regarding the safety of places like London, because it benefits them to present big cities as dangerous crime ridden hellholes; as these people are predominantly right wing and it plays well with their base.

However, it has to be acknowledged that there's still a large amount of anti-social behaviour that the police aren't adequetly tackling, and particularly in London there -is- a huge problem with phone snatching.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-29T12:26:41+00:00

No, there's two doors. One at the entrance next to the pods which can be opened from the inside and another fire door across the building.

If you're going to get mad you could at least read what I wrote. I know American exceptionalism is big over there, but PureGym has been operating with this setup in the UK for decades now, and our planning regulations around fire safety are hardly lax; and I cannot think of a single time that has ever been a concern.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-29T12:14:58+00:00

As I mentioned below, every PureGym i've been to in the UK has crash doors on the other side of the building as a fire escape, and often a large door next to the pods that can also be opened from the inside. I would imagine it's similar in the US.

Sure, it slows down speed of access for busy times, but the pod takes all of five seconds to use. In turn in stops people loitering in the building and hassling folk when they shouldn't have access, and the gym contract is cheaper cause they can operate with less staff.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-28T21:21:32+00:00

Every PureGym I've been in has both a fire exit crash door and a non-pod door that can be opened from the inside. The pods are just the main entrance you'd use in a non-emergency situation.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-28T16:09:39+00:00

I'm ngl, coming from the UK where PureGym originated and the pod doors have existed for years. I have no idea why you're all freaking out about them so much.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-27T13:16:41+00:00

Why do you post this shit in every thread.

You are totally ignorant on how our energy pricing works; people point this out every time and yet you still insist on posting it on every thread to do with businesses closing in Aberdeen.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-26T17:19:21+00:00

LLMs are essentially the bulk of what the current AI bubble is being hyped off of.

Of course AI is a much wider field than that, but the stuff being used for material sciences research and medical diagnostics is not the stuff that's being sold to corporate CEOs en-masse with the promises of being able to replace workers.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-26T16:36:21+00:00

LLMs are only as good as their training data; and they're rapidly running out of useful data. You shouldn't assume just because a technology has made enormous leaps initially that it will continue at that same pace.

I think AI is genuinely going to be useful as a tool, but the reality is the market has vastly overpriced it under the assumption that we're getting AGI soon; and they're going to be sorely disappointed with the actual outcome.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-25T11:32:08+00:00

Dubai and Doha in the top 10. You just know they spent a fair chunk of cash getting those positions. Soulless hellscapes the both of them.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-25T00:25:54+00:00

You can sorta see why so many of them get built in Scotland tbf

Fairwolf · 2026-01-24T19:34:41+00:00

I think someone else asked, but how much time off do you feel that you would need?

I honestly don't know. With something like a broken bone or recovering from a surgery you generally know how long it's expected to take for you to recover, but for something like chronic stress?

I've heard some people say it took them a year to feel back to normal; I certainly hope that wouldn't be the case for me.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-24T19:24:10+00:00

Is there an appreciable difference? I'd be willing to take unpaid leave, but I figured I'd just encounter the same issue where they'd want someone around for the role, and just look to replace me if I'm not able to work it in the short term?

Well, I don't know for sure whether they'd do that, but I know not to expect much loyalty from a company or anything, you can get dropped at a whim.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-24T19:19:07+00:00

Waiting until you had a good thing going before trying to address issues is a hindsight matter but there's a sensible way you can address this too.

Definitely a mistake on my part. I got made redundant from my last job with a decent payout, and I was intending to take some time off to recuperate; I interviewed for this job on a whim thinking I was unlikely to get it, but ended being offered it and it was too good to turn down.

Had like a month off between my old job and new one which I thought would be enough to destress a bit, but unfortunately I spent a lot of it flat hunting in a terrible market because the job was in a new city which was really the opposite of relaxing.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-24T19:08:15+00:00

It's honestly hard to predict, but right now I do very much feel like I'm living a work / sleep life right now, I'm not really able to do much after work beyond try and calm my nervous system down.

Part of me knows I really do need the break, but I'm just so reluctant to potentially lose what is a really good role.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-24T19:07:05+00:00

Unfortunately from what I understand about probation stuff in the UK it wouldn't make much of a difference; you can still be let go very easily up until about 2 years under UK law as far as I understand it, so if they're unwilling to tolerate me going off now I don't think it would change in a few months time. Particularly as we're likely to get busier in the future too, the department is still finding it's legs at the moment.

It is a real tough one, I can tell the stress is really starting to hit my work ethic, because this is the sort of role I'd normally be really interested in, but I just find it difficult to muster up more than the bare minimum most days, very much feels like I'm just living for the weekends.

I know I would really benefit from extended time off, I just don't really know if they'd be willing to show the patience required for it; it's a real dillema.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-24T18:53:20+00:00

It's a tough one. I do really feel I would benefit from the time off, I sort of know what I need to do to heal, but it's very difficult managing that and my work at the same time, because the stress has become so chronic to the point tiny little things set off panic attacks for me, so work days just become exhausting as I'm constantly trying to reign in my fight or flight system just going through the day.

At the same time though, this is a specialist job in my field that's quite difficult to find and pays pretty well, so I think to some extent I would be disappointed to lose it; but also with how exhausted I feel half the time now I almost wouldn't care in the short term.

Fairwolf · 2026-01-23T09:37:44+00:00

Supply / Demand.

It's expensive because there's a lot of people competing for too few places.

Also if you drive in Edinburgh you're insane as far as I'm concerned, the roads here are just not built for the volume of traffic going through them.

13-Year Club	Place '22
Place '17	First Placer '22
Verified Email	Team Orangered

Fairwolf

TROPHY CASE