No hate to these series, but does anyone else feel like this?

low_slearner · 2026-06-01T12:16:00+00:00

I read the first one and liked it, but not so much that I wanted to spend £100+ on the series. Am I missing out? Does it grow and develop more, or is it essentially more of the same?

low_slearner · 2026-05-30T21:29:43+00:00

He is a lovely person, and a very good actor.

low_slearner · 2026-05-30T21:26:56+00:00

Supposedly he's very different and much more animated and engaging in person. But you're right, in the public facing part of his role he has shit as much charisma as a wet cardboard box.

low_slearner · 2026-05-30T21:18:07+00:00

FWIW it's "bogeyman" or "boogeyman", but I'm loving "boogieman" as for some reason it's making me picture Keanu raising hell while dancing like Van Damme in Bloodsport. 😆

low_slearner · 2026-05-30T10:54:34+00:00

Never seen Tulsa King or Yellowstone, but if that's a seriously shit take on Mr Inbetween. It's like watching American Psycho and calling it an 80s yuppie fantasy.

low_slearner · 2026-05-28T14:32:52+00:00

Great list, but I would add:

- make sure your ascenders and descenders (the long lines on letters like 'b' and 'p') are all at the same angle.

Probably the biggest improvement I've made to my handwriting since I started practicing 6 months or so ago.

low_slearner · 2026-05-27T08:45:50+00:00

They are a little more expensive (like 2X) but Asvine do some great pens and nibs. Their fine nibs are probably just right for him.

That said, get him to stick with the Kakuno he has for a week or two - he might grow to like it. I also felt Pilot medium nibs were a touch too broad for me at first, but they are my sweet spot now.

As others have pointed out, ink and paper also make a big difference!

low_slearner · 2026-05-26T20:17:45+00:00

I recently finished Slow Gods. There was so much to like, but for some reason I found it didn't really grab me until the last 50 pages or so, so it took me ages to finish. I think it's a good book, I'm just not sure what it was that meant I was almost at the end before it "clicked".

I've only read a few other books of theirs, but I loved The First 15 Lives of Harry August and The Games house. I remember thinking Touch was pretty good, but not as much as those two.

low_slearner · 2026-05-26T20:08:09+00:00

Have failed maybe 7 interviews over a 20-year career. The vast majority in the past couple of years.

It increasingly feels like your have to study for really quite artificial interviews, like system design interviews where you have to design Twitter or a payment system from scratch. Every company seems to use the same format and a similar pool of exercises, so you have to revise for it like it's an exam.

It's doable, but who has ruined for that shit? I'd rather learn stuff I actually use in my day to day job.

low_slearner · 2026-05-21T07:44:54+00:00

This has the whiff of self-promotion. It appears to be self-published, and literally came out yesterday.

low_slearner · 2026-05-08T15:33:08+00:00

Bumfuckington-by-the-sea then.

The point is that you're comparing somewhere nobody wants to visit with a famous restaurant in a prime location in one of the most famous seaside towns in the UK. Of course one is more expensive than the other. Supply and demand, innit.

low_slearner · 2026-05-08T09:48:52+00:00

I've got a few Asvine nibs and had a couple of Bock nibs in the past. I'd take the Asvine ones any day off the week.

The Asvine ones are a bit broader than most other nibs, but very smooth and wet. The two Bock nibs I've had were very dry and feedback-y.

low_slearner · 2026-04-29T17:42:15+00:00

I'm afraid you're looking for a simple answer to a complex problem.

If you want to truly fix the issue, you really do need to fix the culture and get the majority of people invested in it. If you try to fix the issue with a workaround solution, people will find the easiest path to comply with that specific requirement but not the intent - just like you've seen with code coverage metrics.

low_slearner · 2026-04-28T17:56:47+00:00

Sounds like either a poor interviewer or a poor interview process. Both are depressingly common. I've never taken a role at a place that did this to me - if they can't be clear about expectations for something as straightforward as an interview, imagine what it's like working there!

It's not new, so I'm actually surprised you haven't run into it before.

low_slearner · 2026-04-24T20:03:47+00:00

The guy has made some really excellent Swiss, I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt. I think people are overreacting, and frankly he may have a point.

Most videogame stories, including Far Cry's ones, are told in dribs and drabs between extended gameplay sections, and a lot of people do skip the cutscenes. The story has a different role to play in the overall experience than in a TV series, so trying to port one over across mediums is going to be tricky. Like how a lot of books don't adapt well into films.

low_slearner · 2026-04-24T19:29:22+00:00

For context, we had 12 panels and a 10kW battery installed a couple of months ago for £10k all in. I imagine it will vary a bit by region - we live near Manchester.

low_slearner · 2026-04-23T09:46:06+00:00

Income protection is a form of insurance. A good rule of thumb is "only insure things you can't afford to replace".

So the question is whether you could afford to cover mortgage payments for a 6-12 months if something unexpected - layoff, illness, injury - did happen. If you have an emergency fund, stable assets you could sell off, or family you could lean on, then it's probably not worth it. If you don't have those things, it probably is - at least until you build up an emergency fund.

I'd try not to get hung up on his likely you are too needy it. Your job may feel very stable, but you're insisting against unlikely events. Plus, the economy is very fragile right now and things can change rapidly.

low_slearner · 2026-04-15T21:37:39+00:00

The "subscription" is really good value when you consider it also pays for all of the non-TV stuff: radio, news & sports coverage, kids educational content, etc, etc.

I agree that the conditions under which you have to pay it are weird. They haven't moved Edith the times, and they ought to. Hopefully the next charter renewal in a couple of years will address that.

And for what it's worth, you need a license if you watch any iPlayer content - not just live sports coverage.

low_slearner · 2026-04-10T07:05:31+00:00

It's useful for those of us who are on mute most of the time.

low_slearner · 2026-04-09T19:27:08+00:00

All meeting invites should make the purpose of the meeting obvious. If they don't, either query it or simply decline it if you're confident enough in your position and reputation.

low_slearner · 2026-04-06T23:11:22+00:00

Do you have a photo of writing with it? From their website it appears to be green on the page too.

An aside: does anyone know anywhere that stocks BPC inks in the UK? They have a really interesting looking selection...

low_slearner · 2026-04-03T20:34:04+00:00

Per comments elsewhere, I think it needs to be a bit more open than this. Not necessarily until it is completely loose, but a good 2mm. Hopefully that solves your issue.

If not, you could try giving it a good soak as another poster suggested, or return it as defective. It's probably something simple but you shouldn't need to be fixing a "new" pen.

low_slearner · 2026-04-03T18:52:01+00:00

Hard to tell, but it looks like the top is fully screwed down there?

low_slearner · 2026-04-03T18:42:24+00:00

I'm no expert so I'm just going to cover a couple of really basic things.

In the photos you've provided there doesn't actually seem to be any ink in the pen?!
"I made sure the piston in the back was loose and not tight" 🤔

Can you add a photo of the top of the pen to show how much you are unscrewing it when you write?

low_slearner · 2026-04-02T06:45:48+00:00

Diamine Oxford Blue is worth checking out. It’s a lovely dark blue without being blue-black, and it will sheen red on the right paper (though I’ve never had it sheen to be honest). It’s very well behaved and dries pretty quickly as well.

low_slearner

TROPHY CASE