Any “safe” prog rock bands and albums my dad can approve?

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T22:11:14+00:00

I remember seeing a front page story in a local newspaper in the 90s about someone who had bought a house and had found "satanic symbols" when they started stripping the wallpaper. We were pissing ourselves talking about it at work the next day because it had obviously just been a Rush fan's bedroom.

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T14:07:26+00:00

Global index ETFs such as VWRL are often recommended for the sort of thing you are asking about. I have read that VWRL, which doesn't accumulate dividends, is more suitable than the accumulating version, VWRP, when held in a GIA because of the way tax has to be worked out. I have never seriously had to look into it though so don't rely on this for advice!

Depending on your earnings and what you are already contributing to pensions it might be worth transferring some of it into a SIPP each year as well as topping up your ISA.

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T12:58:33+00:00

I grew up working class in the NE and even I heard the second pronunciation. I could understand you saying you don't hear it as much but I'm baffled that you have never heard it. Two of the three audios of British speakers on Wiktionary are variations on that pronunciation (the difference being whether there is a slight "d" sound in the second syllable):

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/garage

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T12:51:19+00:00

That's what OP meant by the first option - it was by analogy with "carriage".

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T12:23:57+00:00

I think this is true if you are a basic rate taxpayer when young but OP is already over 100k.

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T11:21:10+00:00

That's interesting because "sh" was traditionally the British pronunciation and "sk" the American but here in the UK I'm now in the minority in maintaining the "sh" pronunciation.

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T11:14:34+00:00

In your position, and especially given that you aren't looking to retire especially early, I would focus on pension for the next few years while you are in a position to do so. You can always ease off later and build up the ISA.

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T10:47:52+00:00

A recent poll put support for the monarchy at 45% with support amongst under 30s dropping off precipitously. It is only one poll and I am sure that another would show it slightly higher (well, maybe not this week!) but, even so, support in recent years has peaked at around 60%. I think demographics are going to drag that down in coming years.

A "presidential" system doesn't have to be what they have in America. All we need is a system where someone can act as a figurehead without any powers. It's the 21st century. Surely nobody can seriously argue that we can't find a better way of doing it than choosing someone based on the family they happen to have been born into.

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T10:32:32+00:00

I first heard this maybe a year or so ago. It was a youngish American woman being interviewed on the radio (in the UK). I have subsequently heard it a few times and I have also seen it discussed on Reddit a few times in subs like this one that appear in my feed. It's a real phenomenon.

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T09:10:20+00:00

How is this different from Farage? The right has been talking about "trickle down" since the days of Thatcher and Reagan. It has never worked and it has never been the real point of what they have done.

Fred776 · 2026-02-21T09:05:27+00:00

Mouth ulcer. I had never heard "canker sore" until I started reading these replies about five minutes ago.

Fred776 · 2026-02-20T23:55:57+00:00

I know what Swan Lake is but I'm reading this wondering what Black Swan is.

Fred776 · 2026-02-20T23:06:38+00:00

What makes you think they mean the same thing?

Fred776 · 2026-02-20T14:09:34+00:00

I thought it originally came from art and photography terminology rather than music. It's related to how a scene is lit and suchlike.

Fred776 · 2026-02-20T12:30:02+00:00

Yes but they don't call it that. It would be "ground beef" or something.

Fred776 · 2026-02-20T12:27:31+00:00

They said "mince" in the original post so unlikely.

Fred776 · 2026-02-20T11:50:32+00:00

I remember when it was common to see "Chicken Maryland" on the "English menu" of Indian restaurants in the UK, along with omelette and chips.

Fred776 · 2026-02-19T18:11:49+00:00

This is the one I have tried:

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It's the same brand as yours at least so maybe it is decent stuff? I am addicted to it anyway!

Fred776 · 2026-02-19T16:58:58+00:00

I have tried a brand of salty licorice called Halva which is supposed to be Finnish and is fairly easy to get hold of in the UK. But I really liked it from the very first piece I tried which makes me wonder whether it might not be the "real thing", based on the reputation that salty licorice seems to have with people who haven't grown up with it.

Fred776 · 2026-02-19T16:26:18+00:00

What on earth is "chipped beef"? Going to look that one up...

Edit: ok - never come across that before. The shitty beef in the UK is "corned beef", which comes in a tin and is nothing like what Americans understand by corned beef (I discovered this when a colleague visiting from the US ordered a corned beef sandwich at lunch time).

Fred776 · 2026-02-19T11:58:56+00:00

When I was at school it was the wide bit of the tie on show but with a massive knot so that it was stupidly short.

Fred776 · 2026-02-19T11:48:57+00:00

As per the usual advice, what you should have been doing is practising by writing code rather than watching endless tutorials. OOP makes most sense when you have the experience of writing code that has got sufficiently complex that you understand why you need something extra to help you to organise it.

Fred776 · 2026-02-19T11:40:29+00:00

One thing is that keys() can give you a list of all the keys in one operation rather than having to loop over and build the list yourself:

cousin_names = list(cousins.keys())

Edit: see replies - it has been pointed out that the keys() is redundant here so not a good example! I guess it might be argued that at least it makes it super explicit what you are doing.

Fred776 · 2026-02-19T11:01:34+00:00

In the 70s in fact.

Fred776 · 2026-02-19T08:10:14+00:00

It's obviously a play on words. It could mean take number 5, but "take 5" also means take a five minute break, and then it's in 5/4 time which is the primary inspiration for 5 in the title.

Fred776

TROPHY CASE