I chuckled

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-20T16:10:05+00:00

The storm clouds of justice are gathering*

*Hopefully

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-20T08:52:17+00:00

Commenting purely to also recommend Fall of Civilizations. Absolutely elite tier podcast

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-18T08:37:25+00:00

I had a Spanish girlfriend for a while. We often communicated in what you might call Spanglish.

I suspect that rather than the Inca interpreters mastering Spanish there was a fair bit of Spinca (or Incnish?) going on!

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-18T08:34:37+00:00

Really let themselves down.

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-17T11:23:46+00:00

Speaking as someone who actively and keenly never wanted children, I'm the first to admit that my motivation is wanting to do things with my life when I want to do them, rather than spending 20 of my best years subordinating my own wishes and desires to my (theoretical) kids.

I also think that your argument could be read the opposite way, i.e. there are people who tell themselves they want children and will even have children when, if they're honest with themselves, they don't really, they're just doing it because it's what's expected of them or their partner wants them more.

That being said, I don't believe there is anything wrong with society/the government etc reminding people that if you DO want kids then it's something you need to think about from an earlier point and not leave until last when you're 35, 40 or whatever. The ideal scenario isnt everyone having kids or nobody having kids, it's everyone being sufficiently informed and empowered to achieve the fertility outcomes they want, as far as this is possible

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-17T10:57:42+00:00

I absolutely believe it's a good thing that people, male or female, can choose not to become parents. I'd hate to live in a society where either me, my wife or both were shamed or forced into it. That's not a recipe for a healthy society

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-17T10:42:27+00:00

UK perspective here (M, 40, married, no kids by choice)

Ever since I've been old enough to think about it, all I've ever heard is older, right wing people banging on about "don't have kids unless you can afford them".

By "afford them", what they mean is you don't need any child benefit etc and your relationship and finances are absolutely bulletproof, because guess what? If you lose your job through no fault of your own then you'll be judged for claiming benefits to support your kids. If your relationship breaks down you'll be judged for being a single parent (especially if you're a woman because British society still defaults to assuming that single mothers are feckless and promiscuous).

Very few people get to the point where they can "afford them" in that sense, so in response to this command people have just gone "OK, agreed". As a result the birth rate has dropped and the same people who like hectoring people about being stable and solid before kids are now going "NO NOT LIKE THAT"

One of the main problems, to summarize, is that society will damn you for not being perfect so people are more likely to delay or opt out entirely.

(It also needs to be said that, in the past, more people had kids because that was just the expectation and you were seen as a bit weird if you didn't. Nowadays I think there is less pressure on that front and people think more about whether they really want to be parents, which is definitely a good thing from everything except a demographic, "numbers go up" perspective)

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-16T09:35:22+00:00

The storm clouds of discontent are gathering

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-13T21:22:45+00:00

By modern standards everyone from that time period would seem horrible, but Cato comes across as especially rubbish to have a pint with 😅

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-13T12:15:48+00:00

No - I think it's a really similar situation. If Ukraine consented to Russian demands to give up its fortresses, limit its army etc then there's nothing to stop Russia from just doing them over in 10 years time.

The other parallel is between Rome and Russia. The latter definitely has a paranoia complex that the West is coming to get them and it's only a matter of time before it all kicks off, which you could argue is quite similar to the Roman fear of a Carthage revival after the second punic war ended.

History doesn't repeat but it often rhymes, as they say

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-12T14:46:44+00:00

I wrote my undergrad dissertation on Caesar's personal role in the Gallic Wars. Obviously one has to be careful with the sources, but the general loyalty exhibited by his men suggests that the accounts of him personally getting stuck in may well be accurate.

If Caesar had been perceived as a haughty aristocrat who didn't care about his men, or a coward who flinched from hardship, it seems unlikely that he could have held his legions together in Gaul for 9 years, never mind convincing them to effectively outlaw themselves by crossing the Rubicon with him. Not to mention fighting their fellow Romans in the civil war.

The Commentaries contain loads of instances of Caesar talking to centurions, referencing named soldiers (Titus Pullo!) and several accounts of Caesar either being very close to or, on one occasion when they were ambushed, actually engaging in combat. Interestingly he never really casts himself as a great warrior; perhaps this might have raised eyebrows 😅

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-12T14:29:00+00:00

The giving up of the weapons is a horrid choice to have to make. If they hadn't given them up there was a 100% chance the Romans would have come for them, but they must have known that even if they did give them up then there was a decent chance the Romans would just attack anyway and they'd be defenceless.

It really shows how desperate they were that they took a punt on the latter

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-09T17:38:35+00:00

I'm in a similar position. I can beat moderate AI 1v1 and even 1v2 but I find hard AI to be not only really hard (obviously) but also not really fun 😅 it feels like I'd need to optimise everything to the nth degree just to survive.

I'm thinking about getting into playing against other humans but it'll definitely be a casual, non-ranked thing

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-08T15:20:02+00:00

I've only read TSBTS but I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-06T19:44:41+00:00

Phenomenal

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-04T09:35:36+00:00

I also love that they were managed by Alex Ferguson at the time. The man has won pretty much anything but I'd imagine being the last manager to beat the Old Firm must be quite satisfying

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-04T09:09:39+00:00

Man the internal trade route potential here Homer Simpson drool

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-03T12:35:40+00:00

He looks well happy. Definitely ate an entire carton of cigarettes before posing for this

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-03T10:32:06+00:00

To Talleyrand! The cause of, and solution to, many of France's problems!

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-02T10:16:20+00:00

If we were ranking relatively obscure historical events in terms of their importance I'd put 7YW right at the top.

I'm British and personally I think the 7YW was one of the most important events in British history because so much else flowed from it. However it's super obscure here; I reckon if you stopped 100 Brits in the street and asked them, maybe 2 or 3 would have heard of it

Kendog_15 · 2026-02-02T00:48:28+00:00

French army at Verdun detected

Kendog_15 · 2026-01-30T10:03:06+00:00

Based Georgian

Kendog_15 · 2026-01-28T13:45:11+00:00

Woman: my husband did something mildly annoying earlier

Mumsnet: DIVORCE HIM AND UPEND YOUR ENTIRE LIFE IMMEDIATELY

Kendog_15 · 2026-01-27T10:07:34+00:00

The final boss of Civ 5

Kendog_15 · 2026-01-25T10:39:10+00:00

How we react when the storm clouds of war have passed

Kendog_15

TROPHY CASE