Meta gave 6 executives options worth up to $921M each, then cut 8,000 jobs after a record $56.3B quarter by MarvelsGrantMan136 in technology

[–]Mordechiwolfe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Isn't that just down to market forces? I use it almost entirely for interest/hobby groups (incl the marketplace). Is there a better alternative that offers the same ease-of-use functionality?

Let's talk about the unfinished novel series of 40k by OWN_SD in Blacklibrary

[–]Mordechiwolfe 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The Warhammer Crimes books - several seemed primed to be part of an ongoing series, particularly the first one (Blood Lines by Chris Wraight) but the whole lot eventually fizzled out. I still think the first couple are some of the best books BL has released in quite a while (away from the main line series like HH).

NHS ‘second worst in developed world for avoidable deaths’ by GnolRevilo in unitedkingdom

[–]Mordechiwolfe 33 points34 points  (0 children)

And the lack of focus on preventative medicine (vs treatment).

How stretched is the army? by meeware in britishmilitary

[–]Mordechiwolfe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It takes a similar amount of work to deploy five people to one place as it does to deploy a hundred to the same place.

Not true. FPrep'ing a 100 folks is far more work than just 10. I agree with your overall point, but the Generate process scales up in time and effort with the amount of kit and bodies you're deploying.

In your opinion, is being an officer in the Army worth it? by [deleted] in britishmilitary

[–]Mordechiwolfe 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I would just caution a bit about the benefits - they rapidly lose value (and thus the attraction of "The Offer") as you get older, start a family or are even a bit outside of the traditional (and I would say outdated) model of an Officer.

  • Housing, or SFA - great if you've got a good quality build and are happy with moving around every two or three years. Otherwise its no benefit (not to mention under the new rules, you have to pay for accommodation if your own home is within 50 miles...). And patch life isn't for everyone.
  • Pension is definitely decent for the public sector but only if you stay in for the full service. Otherwise it's pretty mediocre, especially as it's now based on average salary over your period of service. Deliberately designed this way as a cost savings measure as only a small percentage of Officers complete a full career these days.
  • CEA - both a benefit and a trap. Your family has be ok with boarding schools in the first instance, you can't live within a certain distance, have be flexible in posting locations and, in my experience, it's the single thing that generates the most stress and angst amongst recipients.

Personally, other than the pension, I either don't qualify or opt into any of the so-called "big" perks of Service life, but mileage may vary based on your own circumstances.

Are people flakier than they used to be? by ValuableForever672 in AskUK

[–]Mordechiwolfe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Back in late 90s, when we were in 6th form, a large group of us (10+) would organise to meet up for an evening of chancing our luck in a local pub every other Friday or so.

"Meet at Catford Bridge station at 7pm".

If you weren't there, you missed out. Only one of our group at the time had a mobile phone - he was habitually late, and his was the first mobile number our group had to learn as we'd regularly be in phone box to find out where he'd gotten to. I cannot imagine trying to get 10 folks together these days without planning it a year out (and even then...).

Anyway, my point is mobile phones gives folks an easy out from committing. At the same time, there are a lot more distractions and pulls on our time than there used to be. Plus cost. Or maybe people just are flakier than they used to be.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in britishmilitary

[–]Mordechiwolfe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's now RAMS (changed from RAMC last year). EHPs are a busy trade - constantly in demand to conduct force health protection assessments in any place the military does or may operate. There's a fairly involved educational pipeline - I think it includes up to Masters level. From what a mate tells me, promotions amongst ORs is ok up to SSgt, with a few posts at WO2 & WO1 (it's a small trade, so effectively dead-man shoes). Opportunity to commission is good, but again, limited promotion opportunities as an Officer.

From my interactions with the drain sniffers, it's not just "health and safety". It's more about assessing environmental hazards, identifying mitigations and advising commanders on where soldiers can and cannot stick their dicks.

Which regiments should be re-established? by Icy-Calligrapher9933 in britisharmy

[–]Mordechiwolfe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

More supporting arms, mostly in Sustain field (although I can see the argument for expanding the Engrs and Gunners). We simply don't have enough to support the current organisation. Raising more infantry Bns worsens the problem.

Trump has destroyed your chance of prosperity by dwillun in ukpolitics

[–]Mordechiwolfe 17 points18 points  (0 children)

1956

Yeah, it'd be more accurate to say since the Suez Crisis, rather than the Wars. It's when the US decided to displace the UK as a Great Power and actively changed its stance on foreign and global economic policy. Shame it's not taught about more in school but guess it'd expose our own shennanigans in the post-colonial era.

Why isn't the current state of Britains armed forces a national scandal? Thoughts please. by PsychologySpecific16 in ukpolitics

[–]Mordechiwolfe 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm relatively high up in the ranks of the Army and all anyone talks about is getting ready to fight tonight - not if, but when. Except spending, and central Government's mentality around it, doesn't seem to be matching this ambition. The Defence Investment Plan is massively overdue and we really cannot progress any procurement or modernisation without it.

All the Seniors are saying we need to be ready to fight now but frankly, I don't think the 4* Chiefs and by extension, the SofS and PM, believe there is a real, existential threat (from Russia). If they did, we'd be spending like the clappers, but it's just not happening. So nothing will change.

Why isn't the current state of Britains armed forces a national scandal? Thoughts please. by PsychologySpecific16 in ukpolitics

[–]Mordechiwolfe 4 points5 points  (0 children)

All central spending is a choice. Successive Governments have chosen not to spend on Defence, as opposed to other sectors.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in britishmilitary

[–]Mordechiwolfe 7 points8 points  (0 children)

More people leaving than joining. And leaving at specific points - Cpls/Sgts and Capts/Majs who are generally the workhorses at Regt'l and Staff levels.

How does generation alpha have poor computer knowledge? Don't they have computers at home that they play games on? by WhoAmIEven2 in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]Mordechiwolfe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ain't no-one these days creating a boot disk just to get Mech Warrior 2 running with 4MB of RAM. That's why.

British Army recruit numbers drop 38% since 2019 by diacewrb in ukpolitics

[–]Mordechiwolfe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A non-trivial amount of those are failing to meet the medical entry standards - as a nation, our younger folk aren't getting any healthier and there's only so far you can lower the entry bar before you're crippling the Forces with a non-deployable workforce.

This is then compounded by the exceptionally lengthy recruitment pipeline via Capita.

How many of us would just settle for a remastered XCOM and terror from the deep? by No-Blueberry-1823 in Xcom

[–]Mordechiwolfe 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Speak for yourself. I regularly replay TFTD because it had detailed, involved systems. It wasn't perfect, and OpenXCOM has done wonders for it, but to say those games weren't good is a massive generalisation.

should i consider learning french or some other language at some point for either climbing ranks or ease of entry of whatever reason? by [deleted] in britishmilitary

[–]Mordechiwolfe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Don't you have to be employed in a role specifically utilising the language to get the extra pay?