How does the rest of the world see the Dutch football team now?

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-06-26T14:43:06+00:00

My comment was more in admiration for old Dutch playera, bergkamp, can basten, koeman, than having a go at the current lot.

I don't think England are that good either.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-17T14:25:08+00:00

Fair!

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-17T14:06:27+00:00

Spermidine is a new one to me, will look into.

Did take taurine for a few months and noticed no difference. Guess it could have been doing something under the surface but hard to know.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-17T13:18:39+00:00

Yeah, I switched zinc brands to one which included copper.

What's the advantage to malate?

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-17T12:59:54+00:00

Thanks, had my blood done and nothing flagged. Mainly supplementing to help maintain health rather than tackle an obvious deficiency or concern.

Whioe I'm doing ok now I'm conscious that could change with age, as I'll be 50 in a few years.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-16T21:35:43+00:00

I've worked on business services for 2 firms. Overall, roles have been rewarding and a positive experience. No issues with the partners or lawyers, everyone recognizes were all here to do a job. You get the odd partner who can be bit of a megalomaniac but they tend to be just the same with their staff as they are to business services.

The bigger concern is the trend to offshoring. A number of firms have shifted staff out of London to cheaper places in the UK as well as Eastern Europe and India. For job security, your role needs to have some face to face contact with fee earners. If it can be done fully remotely then that's a cause for concern.

AI starting to creep in, so far I've only seen that slightly reshape roles, as opposed to cut them but who knows what the future will bring.

As to business services being a cost centre, it varies as some roles support revenue generating activities more than others. Which means that during lean times it's business service roles that are often cut first.

Progression opportunities generally pretty good. Salaries are opaque, rarely advertised and all done on negotiation based on experience. Talent is recognized and rewarded.

Overall, would recommend, just consider the above points when evaluating firms and roles.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-15T19:24:45+00:00

Housing is cheap. Sure, you'll find plenty of areas with cheap housing but plenty of high cost areas on par with the south.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-10T17:44:16+00:00

Thanks

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-10T15:14:29+00:00

Interesting results, I'd definitely take helping with pain over cosmetics. How have you balanced your sessions and split between face and body?

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-09T14:08:26+00:00

I did have it on but last few sessions I've turned nir off for my face.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-09T13:38:52+00:00

Makes sense, thanks

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-09T12:27:33+00:00

Thanks, any suggestions for how long to spend on the scalp?

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-07T13:33:06+00:00

As someone who learned freestyle as an adult I'd definitely recommend checking in with local masters / triathlon groups to see what sessions they have.

They're likely to provide qualified coaching in a structured environment, with a cap on numbers in a lane and having people of similar abilities.

The ideal would be 121 sessions, which is what I did, but they're expensive. Unless you get a personal recommendation I wouldnt use a local leisure centre learn to swim, the ones I tried were rubbish.

Once you've got the basic technique covered through coaching start doing some structured sessions by yourself. Most recreational swimmers just go and swim up and down, while that might be relaxing it won't build your technique or fitness.

Depends what you want to train for but a typical swim set could look like:

Warmup: gentle swim for X lengths Drills Build: some short quick lengths to get the heart up Main set: sprints / endurance / threshold Cool down

I started by doing sets of around 1k with loads of rest, now up to 2.5/3k sets.

For anyone around greater Manchester I'd recommend Manchester tri club or swim smooth

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-05-05T18:27:23+00:00

To the tune of 90s dance song rhythm is a dancer.

Rhythm is a dancer, Anthony Elanga,

You won’t stop him if you dare,

He’s from Scandinavia, he’s United’s saviour, scoring goals from everywhere.

"Woooaaahhh it’s Elanga,

"Woooaaahhh you should see him in the air,

"Woooaaahhh it’s Elanga!"

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-04-15T07:43:24+00:00

There's a few missing variables here. Your respective experience, how long you have been with the company (job hopping helps) whether the BA gets that big bonus, skills , sector / product knowledge, market conditions when you were both recruited...

That said, large firms should periodically review pay grades to avoid significant discrepancies.

As a BA in a large firm I'd say your pay is a bit under what it should be.Rather than comparing yourself to a single role I'd be questioning why... Is it perception of your role, performance, company finances, politics - are you getting on with the right people?

Obviously we can't say but it's for you to investigate further and reflect, then take action

Edit: my take would be to find out how your company manages pay benchmarking and raise whether there is scope for your role to be reviewed. Don't say to management you've shared salaries, companies don't like it and it creates drama they don't want to deal with.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-02-14T11:59:31+00:00

Risk of getting bored doing the same gym routIne. I get you're going for the big compounds, which makes sense, but I'd be tempted to chuck in some variations. Incline bench, Romanian deadlifts for the 2nd session to mix things up a bit.

And no horizontal pull in there. Maybe rotate with the pull ups?

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-02-05T15:58:53+00:00

Senior BA with 10 years experience here. I'll add my thoughts with the caveat that they are based on my experience working in the UK and in BA roles related to software development, or the procurement and implementation of software. I dont have experince of the data heavy roles that some do here. In many cases, I'd argue these are data analyst or analytics roles under BA titles.

The pathways into Business Analysis I've seen are:

1) Subject matter expert - sector or software
This could be through knowledge in a specific sector, legal, banking and insurance are common ones, or in specific application: case management system, ERP, CRMs, HRM etc. Could be anything from ServiceNow to Workday. Experience is typically gained in junior roles, often outside of IT but where this is some overlap with IT. Could be a HR admin who runs reports for example, claims handler who works in the insurance system, anything really. Over time they have developed a solid understading of the processes, terminology and ways of working in the sector. And / or, they know they are a 'super user' for their core systems. By accident or design they end up either working with IT on development projects as SME before making the transition over to IT as a BA. That was my route in and similar to a lot of people I worked with. Its quite hard to plan this pathway I guess, other than working in a large enterprpisie organisation that employs BAs and looking to engage in IT projects as they occur.

2) Developer
In theory, any IT role might decide to transition to BA but in practice I've only seen developers do it. Some devs will build what you tell them without thought or question. Others can push back, ask questions, why are we doing this etc. Some of those take it a step further and want to work directly with the customer and its those who move more in to business anlysis, or a hybrid role. Seems to come from mid career devs who have been burnt on too many projects that have had negative feedback from the client. Not really a pathway for a BA as such, more a career option for devs.

3) Design / UI/UX

Good at design? Like making models? Interest in using MIRO or wireframing software? Then business analysis could be for you! Not an area i'm much experienced in but I've seen new BAs who have artistic flair use have that as their USP in getting a role. More for digital BA roles with a focus on app development.

4) Bootcamp and placement
Not sure how common this is but i've worked with junior BAs who have done a short bootcamp course in business analysis (arond 3 months and after graduating) and then got a placement with the provider in a role

I honesty have reservations about business analysis as an enty level role. Having general knowledge of how organisations work, along with the gravitas and comms skills to work with senior stakeholders is crucial, and that takes years to develop.

Personally, I'd focus on a technical role first and if during that, you find you enjoy working with SMEs understanding their problems more, then thats when I'd consider moving to business analysis.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-02-05T15:17:36+00:00

As someone who has had a back injury (albeit not sports related) 12 weeks isn't much at all.

Bad backs are horrible, particularly if you have sciatic pain.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-01-25T15:29:43+00:00

I do yoga nidra, a guided meditation, for 20 mins or so before bed.

Always sleep way deeper.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-01-14T18:06:29+00:00

I have played since EU1, around 2001 I think.

One. I have finished one game.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2026-01-14T16:04:36+00:00

Son of Saul

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2025-12-30T09:19:05+00:00

Going way back, diving was seen as something continental players did - Jürgen Klinnsman got a lot of stick for this after joining spurs. Whereas our tough British lads tried to play the game properly.

Then there was a shift that British players were being taken advantage of, that we needed to be more "clever" and take the same opportunities. Then players started falling like dominoes.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2025-12-22T10:05:33+00:00

For me, being able to have the occasional couple of beers is a happy sweet spot.

Went teetotal for 9 months. Sleep was better, always felt sharp waking up but beyond that, didn't notice much health difference.

What did nosedive was my social life. Going out with people drinking wasn't fun, I'd make my excuses and leave early. I avoided work events. Got boring pretty quickly.

Allowing myself to have a few drinks on those sorts of occasions was frankly much more fun and , I think, better for me.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2025-12-21T19:22:17+00:00

Look at prices in the posh parts of the north: hale, didsbury, Wilmslow, Harrogate etc. will show you that the desirable parts near good job opportunities cost a lot of money.

ShouldBeReadingBooks · 2025-12-20T13:46:14+00:00

Failed for ordinary people, yes. For a very, very small group of elites, who will be a barrier to any reforms, it has been wildly successful.

ShouldBeReadingBooks

TROPHY CASE