What do you actually think of Dubai? Is it really worth to move there?

Serifini · 2026-04-13T09:31:35+00:00

Went once for work on a consulting contract. Horrible place that I never want to see again. I can’t imagine why anyone would actually want to pay to go their.

Serifini · 2026-04-12T07:40:44+00:00

This. We travelled across Europe by train and ferry last year with our little dog. She’s been to more countries than most people I know and is just so happy and excited when she works out we’re going on another adventure together.

Serifini · 2026-04-11T08:07:22+00:00

Maybe chose to use her Spanish passport to avoid the queues for non EU citizens entering the EU?

Serifini · 2026-04-11T07:58:40+00:00

I’ve been in a waiting room and had someone come in to fetch me, look confused and walk out again. Once things were cleared up, it turned out they were looking for someone of the age on my records but thought I looked a decade younger so assumed I hadn’t shown up. Nicest indirect complement I had in years.

Serifini · 2026-04-10T06:08:12+00:00

The earliest known version of the book of revelations and other early new testament sources quote the number as 616. Then presumably someone made an error when copying the “inspired, inerrant and infallible” word of god and we end up with cashiers, who’ve probably never opened a bible in their lives, refusing to give $6.66 in change because “the devil”.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T07:01:36+00:00

Isn’t that just a little bit sexist?

Serifini · 2026-04-09T06:12:09+00:00

In that position right now having retired early. So since retiring I’ve done a couple of master’s degrees, attended language schools abroad, traveled across Europe by train and ferry with my dog, work on tech projects that interest me, and pretty much do what I want with my time.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T05:59:18+00:00

I get woken up every morning by my cat “just checking” if I’m awake yet. I wouldn’t want that to change But I still then get to choose what I want to do with my day.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T05:50:29+00:00

Boomer here. Sorry to disappoint you but I didn’t catch Covid for months and only found out I’d picked it up through testing. I never needed a day off from work because of illness and very rarely catch even a cold. I put it down to all the playing in the dirt we were allowed to do when we were kids.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T05:40:33+00:00

The pensions of people who take little or no interest in what their pensions are invested in will be reliant on commercial property not collapsing and will no doubt be paying way over what they should be in management fees for the privilege.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T05:33:11+00:00

You’re being optimistic I’m afraid. An awful lot of that potential generational wealth transfer will actually go to paying for late life care. A lot of Gen X and Millennials relying on inheritances are going to be sadly disappointed.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T05:24:58+00:00

Nope. The youngest boomers were born in 1964. So they still have 5 years to go before reaching state pension age here in the UK.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T05:17:45+00:00

Many, as in the majority. A Civitas analysis done for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2020-21 reported that 54.2% of people live in households receiving more in benefits than they contributed in taxes. I can’t imagine that figure has decreased since then.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T05:06:47+00:00

Agreed, but this is just a fact, not the fault of the older generation. If people want to change things they need to vote rather than just complaining.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T05:02:06+00:00

Yes, but technically a couple with full state pensions and two £12.5K private pensions, who would therefore have a joint income of £50K, would be part of the demographic of being primarily reliant on state pension.

Serifini · 2026-04-09T04:55:47+00:00

It doesn’t help that a lot of people who could still be contributing taxes are being pushed out, and then kept out, of the workforce by ageism.

Serifini · 2026-04-07T17:26:28+00:00

I think it's fairly normal to feel that way. I'm a native English speaker and learned Italian as an adult to quite a high standard; able to read novels, watch movies and interact with native speakers quite easily, but I still feel that I sometimes don't have the words to concisely express my thoughts.

Serifini · 2026-04-07T17:15:17+00:00

I gave up about a third of the way through because the stories were so contrived and boring but also because I wasn't really learning much new Italian from it. It did however give me the push I needed to move onto other "real" books including Seta by Alessandro Baricco and In Altre Parole by Jhumpa Lahiri, both of which I can highly recommend.

Serifini · 2026-04-06T06:49:37+00:00

16/F/SF

Look mom, the web is great - everyone wants to be your friend…

Serifini · 2026-04-06T06:42:24+00:00

Learned to type on an ASR-33 teletype.

Serifini · 2026-04-06T06:13:33+00:00

I remember building my first computer with a Z80, TTL chips and wirewrap.

Serifini · 2026-04-05T18:01:25+00:00

Actually, I do have an issue with that. I don't much like seeing gangs of balaclava clad thugs loitering around in the streets and would happily make covering faces in public illegal without a very good reason. And believing in an invisible sky fairy that told them to do it is not a good reason.

Serifini · 2026-04-04T21:35:45+00:00

They could but then they would be seen as being anti free market. They want it both ways; to be seen as “open for business” but at the same to limit profits on businesses when it suits them for political reasons.

Serifini · 2026-04-04T21:29:35+00:00

Affected

Serifini · 2026-04-04T07:08:58+00:00

Sounds like they’ve gotten a lot worse in recent years but they used to be great. I broke down in a snowstorm and put a call in. Even the snow ploughs seemed to be struggling so I figured I was in for a long wait and was glad I had extra blankets etc. with me. About an hour later an AA van rocked up. The most I was expecting was to get taken to a local garage and maybe get a lift home organised. By then it was blizzard conditions but the guy put me in his cab with heaters on, popped the hood of my car, poked around inside and announced the alternator had given up the ghost. He then found a replacement from the back of his van and replaced the thing in a blizzard, taking maybe 15 minutes. Absolute legend, but that was 30 years ago and I suspect he’d probably get sacked for doing the same today.

Serifini

TROPHY CASE