Off Topic Thread 5.0

Clegg

45 cases today. Slight increase in yesterday but still way down from the 80 odd on Thursday. It's a cincern however that there's a growing number of cases that we can't trace back to the root. Don't think there should be panic yet, but I've a growing feeling that pubs won't be allowed reopen on the 10th.

b.gud

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I'm seriously considering moving to the west of Ireland as it looks like I can wfh indefinitely

The lot of youse can feic off and stay put. No need to make here as expensive as Dublin

Neil3030

I'd definitely be short on Dublin property right now. Wonder if the government will impose a "work from home" tax to try discourage such migration.

Buer

b.gud wrote: »

The lot of youse can feic off and stay put. No need to make here as expensive as Dublin

Even if people can work from home, I don't see many rushing to move. They should but people are stuck in their ways. The decentralisation of government departments failed because nobody wanted to relocate.

But they really, really should. Hopefully, in time, we see more people being able to stay in their home town along with a smattering of people relocating whilst being employed in Dublin. It would be brilliant for the economy of many towns in rural areas which have seen a chronic lack of investment in recent years.

Neil3030

On reflection, it's probably a small enough group of people who both can and want to relocate. Basically young couples / first-time-buyers, who work in an industry that affords wfh, and who don't need too much variation in their entertainment / social lives.

Everyone else is tied to the city, either needing to be on site for work, not wanting to take kids away from their school/friends, etc., or putting too much value on access to more restaurants, pubs, theaters, etc. Also, single people will want to be near the largest population they can afford, you'd imagine.

Buer

Very accurate. People who are looking to have families won't relocate for the most part as they need support, generally from grandparents. It's a massive factor for people in that bracket and was also one of the key reasons we strongly looked at moving to Mayo.

bilston

So it is being reported today that Russia will start mass vaccinations in October...I'm no anti Vaxxer, and will happily take a Covid vaccine when the time comes, hopefully in about 9-12 months time...but good luck to the Russian Guinea Pigs in October..

errlloyd

5am. Houseparty in my block has begun to finally quieten down. 7 hours of heavy techno later. 😴😴

irishbucsfan

errlloyd wrote: »

5am. Houseparty in my block has begun to finally quieten down. 7 hours of heavy techno later. 😴😴

Ah if you’re really desperate to keep going I’m sure you can find places for the rollover even in these dark times!

Neil3030

Neil3030 wrote: »

On reflection, it's probably a small enough group of people who both can and want to relocate. Basically young couples / first-time-buyers, who work in an industry that affords wfh, and who don't need too much variation in their entertainment / social lives.

I'm not sure how much property prices will be impacted by relocation in the short term. Market is still quite hot from what I've seen albeit I expect that to change by the end of the year due to the arse falling out of the economy.

I'd be concerned moving remotely to work from home in that changing jobs could be a fairly limiting experience. Only some companies will fully support WFH moving forward and I'd probably want to keep my options wide open in the current climate.

I can't see us easing lockdown further at this point either. England is losing control of the virus again and are talking about locking down over 50's for the winter. I think having good control of the virus before Winter is going to be key because it's going to be much harder to manage once the weather turns.

I'm a lot more pessimistic about the rest of 2020 given how resilient covid appears to be.

Dunney848

jacothelad wrote: »

I hope nobody, now, will fail to understand that the Tory sh*ts in government simply do not care about us. They will tell any lie and stoop to any action which will serve their purposes, KEEP THEM IN OFFICE, DUPE THE UNTHINKING CRETINS THAT VOTE FOR THEM AND CONTINUE TO LINE THE POCKETS OF VULTURES LIKE REES=TURD.
Since the start of this crisis, Johnson and his cabinet have done a woeful job in every sector of containing the virus, putting the interests of themselves and their wealthy donors before those of the people.
250,000 tests by the end of march. A Bunter lie.
World beating test regimen? A Bunter lie.
World beating track and trace? A Bunter lie.
Protecting the Care sector? A Bunter lie so monstrous that the perpetrator should be in fu%king jail.
BoJoke Bunter.......... a world beating failure.


One of the problems with Boturd's character in my view is he is incapable of taking responsibility, either personally or as a leader, for anything and doesn't give a flying septic tank full to the brim of Rees-Mogg about the wreckage that spews out around him.The casual shifting of blame seems second nature as he just can’t stop himself all the time. "It wasn't me Guv. it was ...anyone nearby."


One thing he and his government are experts on is the bull**** mantra which they repeatedly state "Mistakes made, lessons learnt". Mistakes made, lessons learnt."Well nothing has been learnt has it with over 50,000 deaths. We have a government that wants power but without the responsibility.


The UK government is world class at something though and that is killing its citizens and lying repeatedly to cover up the truth.It's a damning indictment that the only thing Bastard Blunder Liar's s government is world beating at is lying to the public and causing preventable deaths.



After dabbling in herd immunity the government implemented lock-down lite, a delay that has been hypothesised by many to have resulted in thousands more deaths than there could have been. This demonstrated the horrific disregard for life of the Conservative Party, who for so long prioritised their personal economy and that of their tax dodging masters over people.
When lock down came the was minimal testing and no contact tracing, resulting in the spread of COVID-19 being unchecked. This was an egregious error by the government who could not track hotspots of the virus and thousands of lives were endangered needlessly. Most experts now think that if we had locked down 11 or 12 days earlier, when our infection and death rates were roughly equal to Germany's by the time they did lock down on the same day as we did, up to 75% of the deaths to end June could have been avoided. By the time we did lock down our rates were 4 times those of Germany's, a ratio that has pretty much pertained ever since.
This demonstrated the horrific disregard for life of the Conservative Party, who for so long prioritised their economy over people.


Now as we emerge from lock down and now head back in, we will wait nervously for the second wave to wreak havoc across the nation. It wouldn’t be a surprise if after all that has happened the government has failed to learn from their mistakes. Despite their litany of failures they will continue their selfish ways, truly cementing their position as world beating with the number of deaths dooming their citizens to widespread fatality and destruction.


A 'very difficult call to make' is no more than a line. The government knew very well it was gambling by its attempts to outrun the shadow of the virus. That was more than evident in its constant repetition of being 'led by the science' and the refusal to err on the side of caution. Utterly extraordinary and inexplicable to have exercised no controls at the airports even up to the present day. To have left the doors open to 30,000 football fans coming from Northern Spain and to have sanctioned a racing festival of 250,000 for no better reason than someone's wife who had the ear of the prime minister being on the Cheltenham Racecourse board.

Don’t be dissin’ Rees Mogg pal. He’s a good Catholic boy that one!

Dave_The_Sheep

Dunney848 wrote: »

Don’t be dissin’ Rees Mogg pal. He’s a good Catholic boy that one!

He's a turd of the highest order. An absolute me feiner who is just in it to make money and influence for himself (more so than most politicians, and far more egregiously).

(I presume the above post is sarcam, by the way)

Neil3030

bilston wrote: »

So it is being reported today that Russia will start mass vaccinations in October...I'm no anti Vaxxer, and will happily take a Covid vaccine when the time comes, hopefully in about 9-12 months time...but good luck to the Russian Guinea Pigs in October..

"We will begin <mumbles>ations this October"

"Wait, was that "vaccinations" or "exterminations"?

"Yes"

jacothelad

Dunney848 wrote: »

Don’t be dissin’ Rees Mogg pal. He’s a good Catholic boy that one!

He certainly is. Some of his great thoughts and works are as follows.
He claims that a woman who gets pregnant as a result of rape has received a gift from God. Classy.



Government minister Jacob Rees-Mogg’s investment firm has been criticised for exploiting the coronavirus crisis after telling clients it provided a chance to make “super normal returns”.Somerset Capital Management (SCM), which manages investments in emerging markets, told clients that the dive in stock market valuations around the world since the pandemic took hold had made “excellent entry points for investors” It is estimated that thge company has made over £500,000,000 from the collapse of the pound and stock market as they vulturise firms in trouble after Brexit.



Grease-Smug voted in support of the appalling 'Bedroom Tax' which deprived tens upon tens of thousands of benefit claimants, the poorest in the UK of social security payments if they had an unused bedroom in their house or flat. His wife will inherit the biggest private dwelling in the U.K. They have been given a £7.6m grant for restoring Wentworth Woodhouse, England’s largest private home with 100 bedrooms. So... Rees -Turd votes to take the bread out of the mouths of the very poorest in society while his immediate family benefits from public money to the tune of millions.



As a cabinet minister he isn't supposed to have an outside job. He is paid£14,000 per month from Somerset C.M. according to the Register of Members interests in Westminster.



Yes, he's a good Catholic if that term means an appalling hypocrite, money grubbing, avaricious muppet and f*ckwit of the lowest order.

Dunney848

Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »

He's a turd of the highest order. An absolute me feiner who is just in it to make money and influence for himself (more so than most politicians, and far more egregiously).

(I presume the above post is sarcam, by the way)

It was said tongue in cheek. I have to agree with Jaco though, his intentions are well disguised as most English upper classes do. They drip with faux sincerity are talk about empires of love when in fact they are as basic as football hooligans. It can be seen when the likes of Robert Maxwell gets money and raises a paedophile enabler. They are generally guttural tramps.

swiwi_

Am I allowed to say the off topic has, well, become a bit boring...?

There’s only so much Brit-bashing I can take.

Synode

At some point Boards is just going to stop. It's been creaking for far too long at this stage. I'm guessing there's very little if any money being made from it

Buer

swiwi_ wrote: »

Am I allowed to say the off topic has, well, become a bit boring...?

There’s only so much Brit-bashing I can take.

Patience. The NFL is scheduled to start in a month. I know you're excited.

jacothelad

swiwi_ wrote: »

Am I allowed to say the off topic has, well, become a bit boring...?

There’s only so much Brit-bashing I can take.

It's not Brit bashing. I am one. It's the utter contempt in which the government.....if they can be called that....is held and how they have perverted Parliament, democracy and facilitated the deaths of tens of thousands by their criminal actions. Their actions don't just afflict those of us in the U.K. but will also have severe repercussions for Ireland...both bits.

swiwi_

swiwi_ wrote: »

Am I allowed to say the off topic has, well, become a bit boring...?

There’s only so much Brit-bashing I can take.

By all accounts if you've anything of even remote interest please post it - I think everyone is pretty bored at this point!

At the same time - I haven't seen anything which I would categorise as "brit-bashing". If people had no concern for the well being of British people they'd say nothing at all - the fact that posters are highly critical of an entirely discredited government suggests that they are in fact concerned.

Buer

To provoke a different discussion, does anyone have any decent recommendations for a book? Surely someone has read something good over the last 5 months? No particular genre. I'm happy to read anything once it holds my attention.

I'm camping the next two weekends and I'm in danger of having to play eye spy for about 6 hours on each occasion if I can't demonstrate my attention is being held by a book.

Buer

Buer wrote: »

To provoke a different discussion, does anyone have any decent recommendations for a book? Surely someone has read something good over the last 5 months? No particular genre. I'm happy to read anything once it holds my attention.

I'm camping the next two weekends and I'm in danger of having to play eye spy for about 6 hours on each occasion if I can't demonstrate my attention is being held by a book.

What kind of books / genre do you like? I might have a few suggestions but my wife definitely will - I think she has read everything at this stage.

Buer

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What kind of books / genre do you like? I might have a few suggestions but my wife definitely will - I think she has read everything at this stage.

A good biography is always interesting, rugby or otherwise. In terms of fiction, John Irving, Stephen King or have always enjoyed the classic literature like Orwell, Steinbeck etc. although I don't really want something too demanding.

Zzippy

swiwi_ wrote: »

Am I allowed to say the off topic has, well, become a bit boring...?

There’s only so much Brit-bashing I can take.

Most of us have relations in the UK, who we are concerned about. It's not Brit bashing, it's legit criticism of the government whose (in)action has resulted in a far higher death till than the country should have experienced.

But just to change the topic and introduce some good news which is probably of at least as little interest to anyone else, my long suffering better half has now outmanouevered yours truly by outnumbering the male side of the family with a second daughter. Momma and baby home since Wednesday and doing great 😀

Buer

Well done, Zzippy. Sleep and money are overrated. Hope all are well and any this period of working from home for many allows you some time with the family.

Now go get the snip.

Buer

Buer wrote: »

A good biography is always interesting, rugby or otherwise. In terms of fiction, John Irving, Stephen King or have always enjoyed the classic literature like Orwell, Steinbeck etc. although I don't really want something too demanding.

So in terms of biography's my wife recommends "Wild Swans".

I'm going to recommend the Timothy Zahn trilogy as I've posted about it here before. Set just after the Return of the Jedi, it's by far the most interesting followup story written within the Star Wars universe.

Zzippy

Zzippy wrote: »

Most of us have relations in the UK, who we are concerned about. It's not Brit bashing, it's legit criticism of the government whose (in)action has resulted in a far higher death till than the country should have experienced.

But just to change the topic and introduce some good news which is probably of at least as little interest to anyone else, my long suffering better half has now outmanouevered yours truly by outnumbering the male side of the family with a second daughter. Momma and baby home since Wednesday and doing great 😀

Congrats Zzippy!

Dunney848

Buer wrote: »

To provoke a different discussion, does anyone have any decent recommendations for a book? Surely someone has read something good over the last 5 months? No particular genre. I'm happy to read anything once it holds my attention.

I'm camping the next two weekends and I'm in danger of having to play eye spy for about 6 hours on each occasion if I can't demonstrate my attention is being held by a book.

“I am Charlotte Simmons“ by Bonfire of the Vanities author Tom Wolfe is good for a insight into American Frat culture.

“Baghdad Central“ by Elliot Cola is a good noir depicting Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion.

“Red Notice“ by Bill Browder for biographies I have heard is good for an insight into Putin regime and hold on power in Russia

And if it’s an absolute unputdownable classic of literature “ The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas is the best book I’ve ever read

Dave_The_Sheep

Buer wrote: »

A good biography is always interesting, rugby or otherwise. In terms of fiction, John Irving, Stephen King or have always enjoyed the classic literature like Orwell, Steinbeck etc. although I don't really want something too demanding.

I was going to recommend the Malazan series by Steven Erikson, fantasy. However, it's by far the most demanding fantasy book series (10 in total) I've read ... ever. It starts at a million miles an hour and doesn't slow down, and makes no allowances if you can't keep up. If you've ever read the Silmarillion you'll know what I say when I say I had to keep looking up characters to see who they are. I started it in August last year, finished it there in early July and I've dived straight back in for a re-read (or rather a re-listen as I'm doing via audio book while running), it's that compelling. Excellent stuff, despite the effort invested, or maybe because of.

I'm also half way through the Expanse series of books, they're very very good. The TV show is also excellent, well worth pairing the two if you're into that kind of thing.

Fiction wise, Iain Banks fiction works (and seperate Sci-Fi series under the Iain M. Banks moniker) are excellent and not too arduous. You'll pick most of them up for €3/4 quid in the second hand section of Chapters (don't let that put you off). Fiction favourites: Wasp Factory, the Bridge. Sci-Fi: Player of Games, Consider Phlebas. Excession too, but don't have it be the first one you read. Chronological order is best.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy:
Julian May - the Many Coloured Land. Irish connection in terms of mythology, six million years in the past in Europe.
Peter Hamilton. Epic Sci-Fi. Two trilogies, both excellent.
Pratchett - enough said.

Comedy/social commentary: Tom Sharpe, Douglas Adams. Mind you, I suspect you've already indulged. Catch 22, if you call it a comedy.

World War Z. Forget the film, it's nothing like the book. Even if you're not into zombies, this is an excellent read. It's unlike everything else doomsday/zombie related out there. Fascinating imagination and thought into the whole end-of-the-world scenario. Max Brooks in general is very good.

awec

Buer wrote: »

To provoke a different discussion, does anyone have any decent recommendations for a book? Surely someone has read something good over the last 5 months? No particular genre. I'm happy to read anything once it holds my attention.

I'm camping the next two weekends and I'm in danger of having to play eye spy for about 6 hours on each occasion if I can't demonstrate my attention is being held by a book.

The Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbo is a favourite of mine.

Norwegian crime thrillers.