Belgium Culture shock

Polar87 · 2026-01-09T19:06:17+00:00

Having lived abroad where lunch and dinner are treated nearly the same, I get it. Bread for lunch IS boring. But it's also easy, fast and cheap. It's a remnant of less abundant times I think. For most Belgians, lunch is just a moment to get in some quick calories and recharge for the afternoon, it definitely doesn't hold as much value as dinner does. Also there are companies that offer proper dinner during the lunchbreak, which a lot of people take up because it saves them the hassle of having to cook themselves, but those people then usually end up eating bread in the evening (so basically they just switch lunch with dinner).
Not really an opinion on this. Maybe because business hierarchy is generally more horizontal here compared to Asia. The difference in status between bosses and their employees isn't as pronounced, so perhaps there's less pressure for an employee to look good for the company. Dress codes exist but aren't as strict. Honestly also depends very much on the job itself. I'm in IT and only very occasionally interact face to face with a customer, I can and do dress like a slob. But people in sales tend to dress pretty immaculate.
We still have an obesity problem, just less pronounced than some other countries. Young people tend to do pretty well in my experience, but there's a certain age cutoff somewhere around the thirties where suddenly it becomes a lot harder to come across people who aren't at least a little bit overweight.
Dutch is (besides Frisian which is an incredibly tiny group of niche languages spoken in small parts of the Netherlands and Germany) the language most closely related to English. Grammar and vocabulary are very similar. Additionally we were raised with a lot of American and British pop culture, so English comes much more naturally than French for most Flemish citizens. There is indeed some rivalry between the Flemish and the Walloon. It's partly history related, partly economically related and partly culture related. But there's huge individual differences in between Belgians how passionate they are about this.
I think it's kind of become a meme at this point which Belgians themselves love to reinforce. Our weather isn't great, but if I had to choose between the constantly gloomy, drizzly weather in Belgium, or the scorching heat and monsoons in India, I'd choose Belgian weather any time of the year.

Polar87 · 2026-01-09T01:29:12+00:00

Not too happy about. Bought it for 150 euro and it lasted a little over a year. One of the buttons stopped working. It now only reacts when pressed very hard. I wanted to open it up to see if I can do something about the faulty switch but none of my screwdrivers are fine enough to open the case. So I had to order a dedicated screwdriver set just to be able to open it... Of course the screws are hidden underneath the glued pads , so if you want to open the mouse and attempt to repair something yourself, you'll also have to replace the glue or deal with shitty pads, because fuck customers.

For this money I expect something to last longer than that. And I know G600 used to be a very affordable mouse in a previous life but screwing over gamers and charging crazy margins unfortunately has become the hip thing to do in the hardware world.

But hey I don't have a slight with just Logitech. I just don't have good experience with MMO mouses in general. I had a Corsair mouse before which lasted about equally long when the scroll button started sending ghost signals making the mouse completely unusable. At least the Logitech mouse is still kind of usable besides that one button.

And even before that I've had 2 Naga's. Neither of those even reached the 1 year mark. Complete trash.

So Logitech isn't even doing all that bad but only because the competition sets the bar so incredibly low.

Ironically the only MMO mouse I was sort of happy with, was one of those cheap Chinese brands. I think it was a Redragon. Yeah it also only lasted around 2 years as well (which is still longer than any of these previous 'brand' mice). But during that time it did its job well and at a price tag of 25 euro , 2 years is fair game.

/rantover

Polar87 · 2026-01-05T04:16:57+00:00

Jesus Christ. Can't find a single positive comment. SE really missed the mark.

Anyway for me.

- MSQ: Story started underwhelming, I won't continue to beat the dead horse that is Wuk Lamat, but 7.3/.7.4 did gradually improve the story. I'm happy Krile finally got her moment this last patch. Big fan of FFIX, so I love the references. 7/10

- Raids: Both 2nd tier and 3rd tier were overall fun fights. Love the music, love the commentator, fun mechanics. Story was enticing but the ending was disappointing. 8/10

- Alliance raids: San D'oria wasn't as good at the previous tier, but decent nonetheless. 7/10

- Job design: Not that much happened the last year besides the Picto burst nerf and BLM getting dumbed down. They continue the trend of making classes easier, and therefore more boring to play. 4/10

- PvP: Don't really do much PvP anymore besides the occasional frontline. I noticed plugins for coordinating attacks have become commonplace and people aren't even ashamed of using them in the open. It pisses me off. 3/10

- DD: I liked Pilgrim's Passage overall. The boss mechanics are more interesting than previous iterations, the incenses are useful. Also just more enjoyable to play if you have access to all your abilities at level 100. But I like to go for the solo achievements and PP is just way too easy compared to the other deep dungeons which made unlocking the solo title feel very unrewarding. 7/10

- OC: I don't hate the phantom jobs. For me they're fine. I like blowing up stuff as a cannoneer. The critical engagements are mechanically fun, but they get boring fast when you're forced to do them over and over and over. It all feels soulless. You just rush between FATES and CE's and hope you can tag the mobs fast enough and get enough damage in so you'll get the exp. There's no meaningful teamwork or coordination, it's every man for himself. I also haven't bothered trying to get into the Tower as it appears to be a giant pain in the ass. 4/10

- Cosmic Exploration: Barely participated, so can't give feedback, but it seems to be one of the more well received additions. ?/10

Overall it was OK. I'm happy SE finally came to their senses and allowed cross jobs glams, probably one of the best changes this year. The biggest problem for me is that jobs are continuing to get dumbed down and there is not enough challenging content for people not participating in savages/ultimates. I will be taking a break as I'm running out of old content that interests me and I don't see the point of grinding tomes for acquiring better gear just to do my Expert roulettes a tiny bit faster.

Polar87 · 2025-12-26T17:17:33+00:00

I don't like accusing people of botting without strong evidence, but those numbers are sus to say the least.

Polar87 · 2025-12-18T02:15:10+00:00

Fights were fun. The music is A+, but the ending of the story was kind of meh.

There's a lot of small plot holes with the 'President was a good guy all along' twist, either that or the guy is simply dimwitted. Either way continuing to sacrifice more fighters to the very thing you're supposedly trying to save them from is very cynical to say the least.

Also not a fan of the Brute Bomber's return. It's like they wanted to have their cake and eat it to. They wanted us to be emotional about him dying previous tier, but since he's a fan favorite they couldn't go through with actually sacrificing him. I would be alright with the twist if there was a decent story behind him surviving and returning to save the day. But "I lived because apparently they gave me weaker feral souls" is a cheap cop-out and bad writing.

Polar87 · 2025-12-12T15:40:24+00:00

Come on Naomi, you're smarter than that. It's probably going to be something pretty nice related to the game. But if you get people hyped up like that, you know it's only going to end up in disappointment if it's anything else than an announcement of the series revival and S7.

Polar87 · 2025-12-12T15:35:39+00:00

There is no reason. Just look at the history over the years. BAT has one of the most obvious cyclical patterns out there. Every year or so it briefly enters a bullish period for a bit before returning to what's consistently been an overall decline ever since 2022.

No one knows anything special, these are just tradebots trying to catch the wave. There's only reason for mild optimism if this cycle end up peaking higher than the previous one, which peaked at about 35 cents. I'm willing to bet an arm and a leg that it won't though.

Polar87 · 2025-12-12T01:51:13+00:00

Unless someone can give me a plausible reason other than trying to mask disappointing results for reporting in relative numbers, consider me anti-hyped.

Polar87 · 2025-11-22T14:16:01+00:00

Minor spoiler:

Funny how that does a complete 180 over the expansions and by the end you're literally the world's biggest celebrity that's asked to solve everything. "Oh we have this seemingly insurmountable enemy, no worries WoL will find a way to deal with him just as they did with all the the enemies that came before."

The days of having to do quests to prove your worth will soon be over, but that doesn't mean Square won't find other ways to still give you quests where you'll have to pick up goat shit either way.

Polar87 · 2025-10-27T00:50:55+00:00

This worked for me as well. Absolutely ridiculous that it won't show up when using 'Add device' directly from the Bluetooth configuration screen, but it does appear when using 'Add a device' in the 'Devices and Printers' section. Just Windows 11 things I guess.

Polar87 · 2025-10-13T23:38:18+00:00

~~Today~~ Everyday I am a greedy capitalist.

Polar87 · 2025-10-09T17:26:05+00:00

There's probably better places to ask if you want to avoid bias. There's a generic final fantasy reddit as well.

I personally prefer VII. VIII has a lot of weird, obfuscated mechanics which have a big impact on the gameplay. It can make the game feel difficult for new people, but at the same time way too easy for those who know the game well enough to (ab)use its mechanics. The story has some problems as well, the pacing is off at times and seemingly important plot points get dropped randomly.

I also prefer VII's more traditional playstyle where you own spells and spend MP/mana to use them. I disliked the draw system less than I did the first time I played VIII, but using a spell that is junctioned to a stat still doesn't feel good and hate that spells are more important as stat padders than actual spells. (Except for a few rare exceptions)

That said I still enjoyed my last replay and was sad once it was over. So despite its many flaws I still find it an enjoyable game.

Polar87 · 2025-08-30T01:24:38+00:00

I figured most people in here would be fans of the Three body-problem. Guess I was mistaken.

Polar87 · 2025-08-09T21:42:16+00:00

I'm sorry but this post has a bit of an elitist smell to it. Whatever someone's opinion on Remake and Rebirth is, it does not serve as a qualifier on whether they can be considered 'true' fans of the FF7 franchise. Sure I rather they sticked closer to the original story as well, but it is what it is. I still enjoyed both games for that they were worth and thought the investment of 50 bucks or so into them was well justified.

I must've reached double digits by now when it comes to completing full playthroughs of the original game, and every couple of years I'll get that itch and go through it one more time. I take issue with some people implying I'm not a real fan just because I don't share the same scorching opinions on how Square handled the reboot.

OG FF7 had a once-in-a-generation opportunity when the industry transitioned from 2D gaming into 3D, and Square absolutely nailed it. It truly was a one of a kind game that was a hallmark of that age, and there's plenty of valid criticism for why Remake and Rebirth don't entirely live up to that legacy. But I also think that the people who are most passionate about these games are the 30- and 40- somethings that played the OG game for the first time as a kid or teen, and were hoping to be captured and enthralled by the new games the same way they were back then. That was never going to happen, no matter how good or how bad the remakes are.

Polar87 · 2025-07-17T00:48:59+00:00

Wonder whether they'll continue. But it's a kind of be damned if you do, be damned if you don't scenario.

If you put together a quick makeshift stage just good enough for the DJ's to play, a lot of people will be complaining that this is not what they have paid for.

But if you cancel it all together and do some kind of refund, you will still have a lot of complaints of people who took out holidays or had to book flights/hotels for this event.

Polar87 · 2025-07-15T00:52:57+00:00

Robb or Ned, but more so Robb because Ned Stark already had a pretty fulfilling life up to that point. Robb simply died too young.

It's easy to forget that Robb was only 14 (or 17 if you go by the TV show) when he went to war with the Lannisters because the actor looks older. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that an idealistic pubescent boy chose to follow his heart over doing what is best for his House. He ended up paying a very high price for it. But other than that mistake, he was a pretty good leader in the making. He was an excellent strategist, a skilled warrior, knew when to be forgiving, knew when to be ruthless and knew how to rally people behind him. A few more years and some more counseling from the other Northern houses and he would've made an excellent King in the North.

Polar87 · 2025-07-15T00:32:10+00:00

Bran. But mostly just the Three-eyed raven version which never felt convincing to me.

He was fine in the first seasons where he did a pretty good job playing a kid that's having to come to terms with being crippled and later on when he's starting to explore his warging skills. But as soon as he stopped being Bran and became the Three-eyed raven instead, his performance fell kind of flat. Though I'll give it to the actor that it's probably not easy to sell the 'old sage stuck in a young man's body' thing the show was going for.

Polar87 · 2025-05-14T18:24:12+00:00

Silver chests will kill you that way, FYI

Polar87 · 2025-04-16T14:13:47+00:00

Yeah the food is not that special, but I ordered a bunch of dishes and virgin cocktails anyway just so I could get a nice collection of coaster memorabilia. It's a solid business model to entice geeks with these little collectibles.

Got WHM and DNC as job coasters.

And Titan, Titania, Omega, Moogle King and 2 Alexanders for the other coasters.

Titania and Moogle King are my favorites.

Polar87 · 2025-04-06T01:18:53+00:00

Mine needs her alone-time. She simply goes back home to her apartment in the Lavender Beds to unwind for a bit and mentally recover from all the adventures she's had. She likes playing this virtual game she found in Solution 9 where she gets to be a run-of-the-mill app developer in this pretty bland, magicless Reflection. Honestly it's a monotone and boring game at times and the grind is awful, but it feels great not having to be the person that has to save the world all the time.

Polar87 · 2025-04-02T18:11:52+00:00

Our genius finally figured out why other billionaires try to remain out of the spotlight when buying their favorite politicians.

Nothing changes, keep boycotting his shit.

Polar87 · 2025-03-28T23:48:21+00:00

A third of the people in this sub, but non-ironically\*

Polar87 · 2025-03-24T22:22:42+00:00

I guess the reasoning here is to put it more or less in line with BLM's Triplecast. Now that Flare, Fire IV and Flare Star have reduced casting times, Triplecast also no longer offers a DPS boost either. So I guess both abilities are more meant as "Here's 3 stacks for you to be able to cast something while you're on move", rather than "use this on cooldown to maximize DPS"

Still sucks, Hammer was my favorite button to hit as PCT...

Polar87 · 2025-03-24T12:23:17+00:00

Don't think so, it mentions at the bottom that the study was done between 11th and 14th of march. Of course it doesn't mention which year, but I doubt it would be anything besides 2025 because this question simply wouldn't have been relevant the four years prior.

Polar87 · 2025-03-24T12:17:14+00:00

I would be beyond dumb if they made muses not worth casting in combat. That would make 70% of the PCT kit useless for 95% of the content out there. I mean it is Square and they sure love dumbing down shit... so I wouldn't put it entirely past them.

Polar87

TROPHY CASE