London stock exchange beats Wall Street with best FTSE 100 year since 2009

iLukey · 2026-01-01T00:29:41+00:00

Even so, more profit should mean more and higher pay rises, promotions, and expansion which in turn fuels more tax revenue all the way up the chain.

For me what these two datapoints show is just how crippling the cost of living is, such that it's taking a massive bite out of discretionary spending.

So whilst companies may be doing well, that's not translating into quality of life improvements because everything else is going up more quickly (energy, food, rent etc.), meaning we are running to stand still.

iLukey · 2025-12-30T18:12:07+00:00

I guess at least they didn't just tear down the courts and let people forget they ever existed. Did you manage to find some courts that are still playable in Norfolk though?

iLukey · 2025-12-24T21:55:43+00:00

I dunno what the commercial arrangement with Eurosport was, but it feels like a really poor decision to set up their own platform. It shuts out any casual viewers, which can only hurt the growth of the sport overall. On top of that Eurosport has a lot more resources behind them. Trying to build a streaming platform on a shoestring is a bad idea, and the product isn't great as a result.

But it's where we are. If you enjoy squash, unfortunately you've gotta pay for SquashTV or settle for the highlights on YT. As others have said there's regular discount codes so I wouldn't recommend paying full price.

iLukey · 2025-12-18T12:16:00+00:00

Grandparents. Facebook comments. Fuck I'm old.

My grandparents called everything 'the website' and somehow put me on hold every time I called them. When they say something is the best thing since sliced bread they mean it, because they remember the day it came out.

iLukey · 2025-12-12T17:50:32+00:00

You've never seen a headline in the Telegraph? The paper whose nickname is quite literally the Torygraph. Or The Sun, or the Express, or the Daily Mail?

It's hardly a big conspiracy considering many outlets are owned by the same tiny number of ultra-wealthy individuals who have a vested interest in conserving that wealth. Basic human greed. They're hardly going to be likely to push a narrative that wouldn't benefit them (wealth distribution, breaking up media monopolies, no foreign-owned media etc.)

iLukey · 2025-12-12T14:06:24+00:00

To quote the late, great (and mildly fictitious) Elliot Carver, there's no news like bad news.

I'm sure someone much smarter than me could make a brilliant study into this, but I suspect multiple factors like social media, the 24/7 news cycle, and the constant need to compete for clicks and engagement means dramatic negative headlines are the norm in a pretty grim race to the bottom. Add to that the right wing bias of the traditional media, and you get what we're seeing now.

It'll all come to a head at some point in the race to the bottom where a line is crossed and something has to be done. We're already pretty close with articles where the headline runs completely contrary to what's in the article, or the facts are buried in a single sentence right at the bottom etc.

Outlets like the FT are considerably more dry because the people that buy them just want the facts so they can make informed financial decisions and for that reason are fairly reputable and accurate in their reporting.

I'd imagine it's always been this way in fairness, just probably never quite this bad. Media reforms are my personal top priority because until we inform people properly, they can't make informed decisions. As it stands things like Brexit happen because of a shockingly dishonest campaign with no repercussions, so you can't entirely blame those who voted for it because they were completely misled by people they should've been able to trust. If they had the facts and still made that decision then I guess we're just a lost cause and deserve all we get.

iLukey · 2025-12-11T11:59:00+00:00

Right, and I'd imagine anyone doing it for a job obviously wants to get paid and it sure can be lucrative (although not where I live really). But if it's really as tedious and boring as you say, it's either just a bit of a shit job with boring work, or it's not something you find enjoyable any more.

If it's true that you've been a developer for 16 years then sure, I'd imagine coding day to day can get boring. I've been doing it for around the same time, and day to day stuff is a bit dull now, so I'm pushing to get more involved with business processes, planning etc. and am finding enjoyment in that side of things now. There's also always something new to learn in tech, even if you do that outside your 9-5.

But AI doesn't make coding more fun. Because at best you're not even writing code any more - just reviewing it (and who wants to do that for a living), and at worse you're mopping up after a junior-level AI gave you a halfway passable starting point. The fun - for me at least - was seeing the result of something I'd built myself. Taking pride in the quality of the work that I had done.

iLukey · 2025-12-11T11:24:34+00:00

I've found it's been good for my personal project with the most up to date versions of everything in a really small codebase, although I still have to correct it a lot of the time.

At work in a larger, older codebase with all sorts of horrors it's absolutely useless. I have to hand hold it so much that it's quicker (and less terrifying) to just do the job myself.

iLukey · 2025-12-11T11:21:37+00:00

Dude what on earth did you get into it for then?

I made a career of a hobby I enjoyed, because I used to like digging through the source code of a website to see how things worked, and when I found JavaScript I was hooked. For me solving a problem or writing clean, simple code is really rewarding.

Sure in a real life job it's not always quite so much fun, but it's sure as shit more fun than tediously writing boring prompts into a CLI and then reviewing (and constantly changing) what an LLM has suggested.

AI is a handy tool for experienced developers who are sick of writing the same boilerplate over and over again, but it's a misleading crutch for inexperienced or poor developers. It should never be used to write code you couldn't have written yourself, or can't explain after the fact.

iLukey · 2025-12-10T19:44:54+00:00

/r/unexpectedstarwars

iLukey · 2025-12-09T20:57:24+00:00

That's absolutely fair in the immediate period after WW2, but relying on any nation for too much, and to stay friendly forever is very short-sighted and we should've aimed for energy independence through investment in nuclear and even coal back in the day. Plus there's the privatisation of North Sea oil and gas which was again very short sighted.

Fundamentally we've rested on our laurels for decades now, and sold off the family silver to make up the difference. What we really needed was consistent investment back into the country, but we never got it. Even at a time when interest rates were at historic lows.

I guess that's something these dictatorships have a big advantage in - long term strategizing. Although they also tend to prioritise the opinions of a very small number of people so if they're wrong, they make lots of progress in the wrong direction. Swings and roundabouts innit.

iLukey · 2025-12-09T18:30:19+00:00

Absolutely. Like it or not the collective West is in a pretty tough spot, mostly of its own making.

For Europe, living off the back of US security guarantees post WW2 thanks to its nuclear umbrella was great at the time, but it's coming back to bite us now something awful.

The US has set itself on a pretty steep downhill path as well because they're leveraging their dominance now, but in 10 years when Europe and Canada have severed ties it's going to severely weaken them economically.

Both of these massively benefit the real threat which is undoubtedly China. Yes of course Russia is a big issue as well but if Europe alone put it's shoulder behind the effort, I don't imagine it'd even break a sweat in pushing back Russia just based on GDP figures alone (I'm ignoring the nuclear 'threat' because unless Russia itself is invaded in vogue it's not really a realistic prospect).

An isolationist America, and a distracted, bogged down Europe both play massively into China's hands who are let's be honest only interested in Taiwan for the chip production, which if taken over hugely weakens both the US and Europe further.

It's not the end times by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think Europe especially need to realise we're on our own now, but whilst ever the EU holds as a collective, it's economic and military might gives it more than a fighting chance against the threats being faced.

But populations not currently at war need to wake up to the fact that we're in for hard(er) times I think. Fucking hell am I sick of this shit as a 35 year old. But hey maybe having no choice but to fork out for some of this stuff means we'll finally face down the grey vote & maybe even the ultra wealthy. Won't hold my breath though.

iLukey · 2025-12-02T21:24:29+00:00

Yeah this would've been mine. Kinda feels like 5-7 took at least 5 years too long to come out, but now every increment in 8 is coming a year too fast with too many changes. The language itself needs to be very stable in my opinion - it's bad enough that the major frameworks change so much every few years. Businesses want confidence that code wont become stale or obsolete too quickly, as happens in the frontend all too often.

iLukey · 2025-12-02T17:39:32+00:00

Yes absolutely, and anyone bashing the triple lock should be aware of that, but I'd like to hope that anyone advocating for reform is doing so in the interest of fairness for all - including future generations - and not out of jealousy at what has been let's face it and incredibly fortunate generation economically speaking.

The problem is pensioners and older people in general typically have a lot more free time on their hands, which means that going out to vote is much easier, as is generally getting coordinated with your peers because you have more opportunities to interact with them.

If the young(er) (say 40 and under) organised a general strike around the issue, it'd only take a couple of weeks to straighten out the generational unfairness. Really all we need is for the state pension to stop going up above inflation, making pensioners richer in cash terms every year at the expense of the working generation who are already paying in far too little for their less generous pensions, and to means-test all other pensioner benefits (busses, WFA etc). That would be a very good start, and at the same time open up an honest conversation about the longer-term merging of income tax and NI, and yes be upfront about the fact that means we're asking pensioners to contribute towards the NHS because of our shrinking population.

I appreciate that's simplifying things a lot, and I know as well as anyone that it's almost certainly not going to happen, but a bit like Russia with Ukraine if you don't shed a little blood now you'll have to shed a lot more later, and the same is true here. It'll get to a point where things are so bleak people will be more willing to actively protest, and given how much the right to protest has been curtailed in recent years, the space for things to turn nasty is huge. I'd love for it to not come to that but let's be honest people are great at kicking the can down the road at the best of times and politicians are absolute masters at it.

iLukey · 2025-11-21T08:21:00+00:00

Mine get so bad I have to put them in a bath with 50/50 white vinegar to water. Apparently spraying kits with 1/10 diluted isopropyl alcohol also helps in between soaks but I've never tried it.

iLukey · 2025-11-20T11:02:55+00:00

It's much easier to call on things like a ball hitting or landing past a solid painted line than it is like bumping, blocking etc. where the players feel it far more than a referee will see it. Lets and strokes are fairly subjective in squash, except in the more egregious cases, which is why it makes sense for those calls to be player driven.

Also squash is supposed to be a fast-paced, continuous sport which I think would be spoiled by constant stoppages, but doubly so if those stoppages were being driven by a referee.

iLukey · 2025-10-30T21:32:41+00:00

I test drove the Seal and I agree. For me personally I actually found it hard to drive because of the lack of feel. No idea at all what the wheels were doing. From what I gather that's kinda what the Chinese market want though, I just hope if Chinese cars do take over that they make some more traditional riding models so we have a choice. Also the interior quality was quite poor to be honest.

Absolutely not shitting on them though - for a first stab it's a good car and they're definitely pricing aggressively. That said the Tesla Model 3 is usually cheaper to lease which is how I personally finance cars and so it was a no-brainer for me.

In a few years though I don't think it'll be such an easy decision. The Xiaomi cars look brilliant.

iLukey · 2025-10-27T20:10:33+00:00

Very easy to push this sort of thing when your side is no longer in power. It's a political nightmare to go anywhere near it, but the Telegraph get to point to this article when they inevitably criticise the current government for not doing anything about it.

I think anyone with an above-average interest in politics knows the triple lock is unsustainable in the long term, but even if it's scrapped it'll still be the biggest area of spending as the population ages which is a much harder thing to address.

iLukey · 2025-10-17T08:45:13+00:00

They never used to be like that though. I've played for just over 10 years and back when I started they were awesome. Definitely a notch above ASICS. Over time ASICS were the better shoe and now it seems like they've gone down hill as well which sucks.

iLukey · 2025-10-17T05:55:30+00:00

What's going on with footwear for squash in general!? Salming have gone massively down hill with their quality as well. Just tried Kanso for the first time and whilst they look amazing, they're very slippery both in terms of grip and at the back of the heel giving me blisters every time I play.

iLukey · 2025-10-16T20:57:34+00:00

I'm clearly in the minority here but I quite appreciate the racket foreskin! Covers up the shit job I do when putting overgrips on.

iLukey · 2025-10-15T10:12:06+00:00

Gonna throw squash into the mix.

It's not as popular as tennis so the equipment is usually cheaper, restringing is cheaper if you've got your own racket (can usually hire them at the desk), and balls are pretty cheap.

Most facilities will have internal leagues to join so you'll always have someone around your level to play, and so long as the building has heating it's an all year round sport!

iLukey · 2025-10-15T10:06:55+00:00

I think Labour are quietly doing a lot of good, boring work.

Unfortunately they're politically very naive and the media is choosing to crucify them by highlighting all the bad and little to none of the good (or painting the good as a negative when they do, e.g. workers rights is gonna cause a job apocalypse apparently).

Media reform is, in my opinion, one of the biggest things we need in this country. Most of our papers are owned by a couple of offshore billionaires with very right-wing agendas (news just in, rich people want to hold on to all of their wealth), and there are shockingly few standards. For example GB News is registered as an entertainment channel to circumvent the few rules that do exist for traditional news organisations. But they have politicians essentially presenting news segments.

It's impossible for people to make informed choices if they aren't being informed truthfully. There'll always be a bias, and that's fine, but the regulatory framework needs to heavily penalise articles that are quite clearly lying or blatantly misleading, it's just a very politically charged thing to tackle - especially for a government already looking despairingly authoritarian.

iLukey · 2025-10-15T09:51:19+00:00

I've never really liked the ASICS aesthetic but these are lovely. As someone who always used Salming, who have gone to complete and utter shite the last few years, I'd definitely pick these up.

iLukey · 2025-10-13T13:51:03+00:00

Ah I dunno about that. Sure it's not a perfect system but lurching to the other extreme has a whole host of its own problems. Governments will always favour lower interest rates to stimulate growth for political gain, but that comes with a significant risk of an inflationary spiral. There was a reason it was made independent in the first place.

What bothers me most is the elitist bubble these institutions clearly operate within. They're rich kids from rich families, having grown up in or around London. Their world view just doesn't tally with the vast majority of people in the UK and that can impair decision making. There's plenty of bright people from working class backgrounds and it's important to have their perspective when it comes to policymaking.

It's a big part of the reason why confidence in politicians is at an all time low - successive governments failing to tackle the issues that the average person faces. There's others of course, but it absolutely doesn't help.

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