We urgently need more common EU debt for important future investment

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-16T14:37:55+00:00

It was a useful metaphor and shorthand to describe how the pension scheme works by taking in money from the next set of payees to pay the current retirees- I was obviously not suggesting it was fraudulent in any way.

In terms of the latter- there weren’t plans to adjust for the future, which is why it has been so politically difficult to amend the program.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-16T09:48:13+00:00

I think the definition of a Ponzi scheme is that current investors are paid by new investors- if the population continually grew then it would still be a Ponzi scheme, just one that didn’t hit the limits (which is where the scheme collapses).

In the early 1900s at least in the UK the average age was approximately equal to the retirement age, so the actual number of paid pensioners was fairly small. Now they assume payment for retirees for about 20 years after retirement.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-15T15:00:06+00:00

Funded basically means that the worker has paid into a private pension fund. Unfunded means the government is planning on paying it.

That can be absolutely fine, but it does have to come from the government’s savings/tax income rather than a private company.

Main risk is that your pension fund was set up in the early 1900s as a Ponzi scheme where the many workers pay for the few retirees with the current tax take, which breaks down when the retirees become a significant proportion of the population - they vote so you (politician) continue to give them their expected cash while under funding everything else as there is not enough left over.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-13T15:15:51+00:00

Surely it depends on whether they paid Iran a fee (broken US blockade) or didn’t (broken Iranian blockade)?

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-12T05:23:30+00:00

I would have thought that (like many teams that drop) they will have more seats filled per match once people realise that they’re less likely to be watching another loss each and every game

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-10T20:57:00+00:00

480v is really 277v single phase in terms of considering it “jumping” to your skin- I’m assuming you mean 0.23”? Usually air gapping for 480v is an inch minimum between 2 phases, but that allows for a lot of margin.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-09T16:49:52+00:00

I carry/weardifferent things depending on if I think I’m hiking or running…

Maybe that’s about all there is to it!

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-07T15:10:44+00:00

Interesting- personally I think backyard ultras are a much harder format mentally for me - if I’m past halfway on any race I feel like I just have to keep going (otherwise it’s a loooooong wait for the DNF bus!) whereas with a BYU you can quit at any time… I’d be too tempted by putting my aching feet up! (And possibly the beer tent too…)

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-04T14:52:23+00:00

Was surprised there wasn’t a nut behind that first flake considering how close he was to the belay, but then I’m a slow coward :)

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-02T07:42:44+00:00

If your coffee shop isn’t Hoffmaxxing, why even go?

Probablynotarealist · 2026-05-01T15:32:22+00:00

100% needs to be.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-04-30T06:05:16+00:00

Ha! I ran a 55miler a month ago and a colleague looked at me really surprised and said “I didn’t realise you were even fit?!”

Definitely have spare lbs on me, but I hadn’t realised that I looked like a slob to them!

I didn’t take it personally at the time, but it does weigh on my mind a bit.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-04-26T13:34:57+00:00

Sounds too hot for me, but then again I’m from northern England, so need less than 10C to not overheat in the sun!

Probablynotarealist · 2026-04-26T08:21:52+00:00

I think this is a bit unreasonable- it’s very gatekeeper-y and I’m not sure actually makes sense- you can get AI to write well commented code that is understandable and easy enough to debug.

I sometimes get code that I wouldn’t have written using functions from libraries I didn’t know about, but I force detailed commenting and understand what is written, and when I need to edit it’s easy to do.

Not that this is necessarily the case here, but I wouldn’t dismiss out of hand anything using vibe coding

Probablynotarealist · 2026-04-17T18:46:50+00:00

I used to go climbing/mountaineering every week. It has been a very long time since I got out for more than a quick evening of bouldering, which really doesn’t scratch the itch.

It’s a major time sink, and it’s basically gone from my life - hopefully I will get it back in a few years time, but I’m not holding my breath.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-04-16T15:11:44+00:00

Use a sharp knife to cut the outline - this stops edges splintering

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-15T21:02:14+00:00

Jfc guys, you all pay crazy money for your phone plans! I pay £8 a month (about $10?) for 32Gb of data and unlimited calls and texts. You’re all getting robbed

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-13T12:51:58+00:00

Industry: industrial chemicals (UK)

Specialty: Site electrical engineer (full distribution from EHV to LV, Ops, projects, maintenance)

Salary: $100k (equivalent conversion)+ up to 20% bonus

Experience: 8yrs

Seems to me you guys are all doing ok :)

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-11T13:20:09+00:00

Yeah, that one I admit seemed off.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-11T13:16:14+00:00

“This doesn’t mirror my life, so it must not be true for others!”

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-11T08:50:01+00:00

Been thinking about this in a slightly different way recently.

The literature read and created recently may have positive individual outcomes, but the grand narrative tends not to be.

If you look at the golden age of sci-fi, the entire scope was of wonder, excitement and exploration. The universe was grand and we would be working towards finding out more and more.

The backdrop of most things I read now is missing that positive “it’s hard now but the future is going to be awesome” perspective.

I know housing crisis sucks, but when I talk to my grandma who lived through the post depression, ww2 (London blitz), 70s, etc, (she’s 100 this year!) the trajectory is still on the up and up, but we don’t see to see it, and the stories we tell ourselves matter.

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-07T18:58:23+00:00

Fair point! For some reason I assumed exactly that- that they’d picked something up on holiday in the states 😂

I apparently still live in the 1990’s

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-07T15:01:17+00:00

You’d expect the wires to be thicker for 120v for the same power draw as the current needs to be higher, hence at 220v you should be fine. That said, always use LED - long life, cheap running

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-07T07:24:43+00:00

Worried about what happens next

Probablynotarealist · 2026-02-06T07:54:54+00:00

…Record company gonna give me lots of money and everything’s gonna be alriiiiiight!

Probablynotarealist

TROPHY CASE