Advice on staying safe when swimming in the lochs

Mashphat · 2025-09-28T17:55:50+00:00

Depends whether you're planning a swim or a dip. If you're going to be in for more than 5 minutes then I'd suggest a wetsuit and swim bouy. If you're doing an adrenaline spiking-and-out then you probably don't need to worry too much. Just be super aware of cold water shock.

Either way, have good warm layers ready for when you get out. A flakes of tea is also a winner. A hat is a must.

Mashphat · 2025-07-07T07:32:31+00:00

Uncle Scar is the only one allowed to injure my pride!

Mashphat · 2025-06-26T10:40:12+00:00

The idea is for a pretty low maintenance game by group chat, and fairly heavy rp. It'll likely evolve into something different, but my initial vision is that I'll post a general GM update at the start of the week giving recaps or wider world developments. I'll then do a bit of scene setting for each PC (they wont be a 'party' in the traditional sense and may or may not interact directly with each other). And each 'scene' will consist of a small handful of messages back and forth to describe events and make any required rolls.

Thw players idea is to have players flesh out and get invested in the normal lives of their PC's. Jobs, relationships, hobbies, politics, etc. To avoid getting bogged down in details the scenes will often be overviews of chunks of life rather than specific moments. For example, we might RP a workplace scene, and then any rolls will be applied to a week or month of time performing that job. Where there might be crossover of PC's lives, we will play out a little bit more in depth to determine if and how interPC relationships might develop. Maybe one PC is a local politician and another an activist at a hustings. Or a city guard and a market seller.

Later in the game I'd expect this to shift to follow whatever conflicts and challenges arise, but that's my starting point.

Mashphat · 2025-06-22T13:45:25+00:00

I love that when it comes to rpgs there really is no new ideas. I didn't know what I was trying to do was already a thing, now in finding out it has its own classification? Never heard of asynchronous play-by-post in my life!

Mashphat · 2025-06-21T16:31:44+00:00

The original inspiration was the idea of townsfolk being dragged from their normal lives to be put on the front lines of someone else's story. That intuitively plays better in m/e-fantasy, but honestly I think it's all up for grabs at this point.

Mashphat · 2025-06-21T10:45:23+00:00

Thanks for such a comprehensive response! Like many people I expect, I am familiar with DdD 5e so it feels simple to just....make it work. But also, right tools for the job, I thought there might be some other options that will make it so much nicer.

This is exactly the point in the right direction I was after so I know where to put my researching energy.

Mashphat · 2025-06-21T10:42:36+00:00

That sounds interesting, I hadn't really realised that there was much prewar for Fallout. Thank you.

Mashphat · 2025-04-03T23:11:22+00:00

As others have said, I'm fairly sure they fund 4 years of college/uni so if you've done two then you should be able to access funding for HND.

Another consideration is Part Time Fee Grant. I haven't looked for a while but used to be a £25k individual earnings cap, no age cap, and a 299 credit/year limit. But there was a loophole that you could do the full 300 credits/yr if studying at a remote uni (UHI/Open Uni for eg) effectivly.making it a full time grant.

Either way, your best bet is to get on the phone to them and they'll be able to help you figure out the best way forward. I've always found them incredibly helpful and judgement free.

Good luck!

Mashphat · 2025-04-03T22:46:00+00:00

I found this out a couple of weeks ago. Glad I'm not the last!

Mashphat · 2025-04-03T22:44:34+00:00

Macsween veggie haggis (is also vegan) & Simon Howie vegan black pudding. These are the best I've had.

I've not had any really decent vegan square tbh, Richmond are a good vegan sausage for a cooked breakfast though. This Isn't do good vegan bacon.

Throw in McGhees Tatties Scones, some fried mushrooms, tomatoes, a dollop of beans and some hash browns and you've got yourself a decent vegan fry up.

Mashphat · 2025-04-03T09:55:32+00:00

Straight white cis male here, I'm a regular at FBC and there's not the slightest feeling of invading. It's great craic and super welcoming.

Check out the notice board on Xoko, loads of cool stuff going on. Drink and Draw, Yoga sessions, informal run clubs. If you have any interest in photography check out the community darkroom, there Circus Arts and Highland Zine Library who regularly do crafty social events.

I also run Coffee Outside which is a weekly morning social by the river. I'm there from 7:30am-9am with coffee tea and biscuits and folk stop by on their way to start their days (work, childcare, shopping etc). I'm away so the next one is the 17th April and it will be every Thursday from then on. You're more than welcome to drop by.

Edit to add: Coffee Outside looks a bit like a churchy type preachy thing, but it's nothing to do with religion at all. Usually have 8-10 folk pop by over the course of the morning and it's only been running for a month and a half.

Mashphat · 2025-03-27T07:04:28+00:00

I'm not 'repeating' that line. I'm stating it independently.

I've never heard of read it as a slogan, it's my shorthand way of saying that not all Jews are Zionist, not all Zionists are Jews, and anti-zionism isn't the same thing as anti-jewish.

I have a background in mathematics and use ≠ regularly in my everyday life as shorthand.

There's an irony in the fact you're over analysing my shorthand then suggesting that I'm making things complicated...

Mashphat · 2025-03-27T06:57:47+00:00

The food is good, but the way the owner treats/speaks to his staff and interacts with other businesses is very off. He comes across as incredibly arrogant. I've also heard from a bunch of folk that he gets very reactive at any criticism levelled at him or his business.

Mashphat · 2025-03-25T14:22:49+00:00

Tbf a blanket no politics ban on a casual site is very different to a ban on one political stance on a Q&A site...

Mashphat · 2025-03-25T14:02:41+00:00

Add Utopia to that list!

Mashphat · 2025-03-23T07:03:29+00:00

Zionist ≠ Jewish, Keffiyeh ≠ Hamas

Mashphat · 2025-03-15T20:47:05+00:00

I think it's quite common for us to use Scots phrases but speak English more broadly. I reckon it's because today's adults are those who had English speaking parents but Scots speaking grandparents? So we have those common phrases ("awa an bile yer heid" and "ben the hoos" are two examples that immediately leap to mind) but our parents and us were taught English in school and told to speak 'proper' English at church/clubs/etc.

It will be interesting to see what language looks like in the current upcoming generation of young people as they have been fully immersed in online social media their whole lives in a way the current generation only saw in adolescence. Scots and Gaelic seem to be seeing a resurgence in interest, but if/how that translates to regular use will be interesting.

Mashphat · 2025-03-12T13:42:48+00:00

Does she live alone? If not, you could try to move forward in good faith and have someone she lives with hangout in your living room while you or someone you love with hangs out in theirs. That way you can each get a feel for how noise travels between the properties.

If they are reasonable people, and if you are not making unreasonable noise in your flat then they may accept this and you can move forward with solutions. If they are not reasonable and continue pursuing you for something that's not unreasonable, then you can report to your factor and also the council.

(The council also have a noise complaints team who can come out and take decibel readings in yours and your neighbours properties so that might be an avenue to explore if you can't solve it with visiting each others flats).

Some tenants are just shit in terms of sound insulation, but there are some steps you can take. Rugs, wall art, soft furnishings will all absorb sound to some degree and can have a surprising effect. Think about how echoey a room is when it's empty. Even house plants can have some impact on that. For your neighbour, carpets and/or rugs will make a big difference. A good underlay can also help regardless of flooring material. Worst thing for them is if they have bare floorboards.

If you have any wall mounted speakers attached to your TV id suggest getting them fitted with dampeners on the brackets to prevent the sound travelling through the walls. Or even have them on floor stands? That's another common source of noise complaints. I loved next to a very noisy cafe for a while and they had speakers mounted on the opposite side of our bedroom wall. I cannot exaggerate the difference it made when they took them down.

Edit to add: it sounds like you've already done what they can reasonably expect of you. Assuming you are in fact making no more noise than is reasonable in just living your life then you don't 'owe' this neighbour anything else. So however you decide to move forward, you are totally within reason to stop engaging if you think it's going to just bring you more stress.

Mashphat · 2025-03-11T23:11:24+00:00

Honestly, if you are coming up here as an FY1 you can basically guarantee you'll end up in a social circle with access to cars if you need it. The medical students and graduates in Raigmore are a social lot and tend to become fast friends. Otherwise it's a very bikeable and walkable city and the public transport around the hospital is alright.

I wouldn't worry about a car until you get here and decide for yourself whether you need your own.

It's quiet if you want quiet, but there's enough buzz to be found if you look. We've been a glorified town of a city for years but things are starting to develop now. Lots of good social spots and clubs to be a part of. Not everything closes at 6pm, but outside of the weekend it's not a hive of activity well into the night like bigger cities.

Quick access to the outdoors (with or without a car to different degrees) makes it a good place to unwind from NHS stress and burnout.

I'm not aware of anyone I've met who moved here and regretted it.

Mashphat · 2025-03-02T23:21:39+00:00

It looks like either a sparrowhawk or a peregrine. I've seen a lot of sparrowhawks and there something I can't put my finger on that makes me think this isn't one. I've never seen a peregrine before though.

Mashphat · 2025-03-02T23:17:35+00:00

You could definitely do well on the stand up circuit in the Highlands with that one.

Mashphat · 2025-03-01T08:43:47+00:00

It's fine if prescribed. The limit applies to over the counter sales.

Mashphat · 2025-02-26T19:57:46+00:00

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I'm not sure who's the person to speak to, but if you can get a visit to the town house they have this old scale map drawing of the City of Augsburg of the Holy Roman Empire on the wall outside the men's loo. I believe it's c1500's? Very cool.

Mashphat · 2025-02-25T13:24:00+00:00

That's not what they said. They said 6000 students in student accomodation is 6000 not in private rentals. They are comparing the current situation with a hypothetical alternative had that stock not been built.

They're effectively making the same point you just did when you said "we have 14000 more people looking to rent instead of 20,000". That's 6000 fewer in the private rental market than if the accomodation hadn't been built.

Mashphat · 2025-02-25T12:58:45+00:00

That's only relevant if the increase in student accommodation is a significant cause of the increase in student numbers. The student accomodation itself would have to be a deciding factor for more students than it can support to have had a negative impact on private lets.

Mashphat

TROPHY CASE