r/Glasgow Tools

dl064

Reddit URLhttps://www.reddit.com/user/dl064
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Interests:

  • I saw him live in 2014 and the whole point - by his own advertisement - was that the end was nigh. by dl064 (Sun 6th Jan 2019 6:09pm)
  • One time I found one on the street. Phoned 'home' and the angry woman on the other end just yelled at her son for five minutes. I didn't really want to meet them so I left it at a pub I trusted for them to pick up. by dl064 (Mon 7th Jan 2019 8:31am)
  • Probably my proudest moment is telling a woman in an airport her card had fallen out her back pocket. That would kinda muck up your break, especially 15 years ago. by dl064 (Mon 7th Jan 2019 8:30am)
  • Reminds me of [These guys made it!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfLmvKj_dMo) by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 9:12am)
  • My permit is electronic, so I'm told there's no little sticker. How does that work - do you scan each and every reg plate? by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 9:19am)
  • Every single weekend morning at Cafezique a daftly sized 4x4 will park on double yellows and obscure the exit for folk pulling out. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 9:18am)
  • Pretty sure him or a crony have appeared on here in a story or two: one girl standing on a corner waiting for a pal (at like 7 in the evening), someone rolls up in a car, to talk her friend arrives and they basically speed away. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 9:15am)
  • There's an interesting detail on the bus tour about how Charing Cross has one of the highest turnovers of cars anywhere in the UK, and it is absolutely miles more than it was designed for. I wonder if that'll come to bite us one day. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 9:24am)
  • The Sparklehorse can have absolutely bonkers rounds which if anything would actively rely on 20+ year old knowledge. Rounds have included: formal dinner etiquette, and who played Diana's funeral. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 9:23am)
  • > She's not the type of girl who likes people cuddling her Fair enough, to say the least. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 9:26am)
  • Here's one. I'm moving and losing my resident parking permit, which would basically take me to work. I still own that flat, though, but it's being rented out, and the renter doesn't have a car so it's not like they'll be claiming one of the allocated permits. Last year, the parking lot just went 'yeah to renew just send us a cheque for £xx', no need to resend all the documents. Vaguely - vaguely! - tempted to just chance it but don't like the idea of prosecution. I'm guessing it's brighter and more conscientious to just start getting the bus, though. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 10:07am)
  • Spot on, naturally. I saw one at Garscube just park on the road. Just 'here is fine'. I genuinely think ownership of a car like that is a solid correlate of character. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 11:45am)
  • Tell me an absolute howler of a story. People shouting and screaming, being unreasonable. There must be loads! by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 12:31pm)
  • As in: number of cars going across, whatever direction. Turnover's not the best word, agreed. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 1:53pm)
  • I got my first guitar there when I was like 10. Now on about 8, and love to go in there with no intention and come out with something. They have a little blog where he basically alludes to once fixing Clapton's guitar. by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 3:00pm)
  • here you go: https://www.thewhiskybond.co.uk/ by dl064 (Thu 10th Jan 2019 3:50pm)
  • They moved slightly but for years they were on Otago street. There's still a guitar shop there now, whereas JE are on GWR as you say. I guess they just splintered into two, pardon the expression. by dl064 (Fri 11th Jan 2019 11:30am)
  • I mind a few years ago 'The Schemie' subtitles were a good laugh. 'dinnae greet' == 'you're doing great' apparently by dl064 (Mon 14th Jan 2019 8:17am)
  • I've never used a dog walker but I always think the dog/person ratio is the biggest predictor of quality. Dawsholm sometimes a dog will just *appear*, with noone around, and they you hear a distant, vague '...Harold' or whatever. Freaks me out to think you could give a walker your dog and then they half-arse it. Anyway for the benefit of /u/conn1312: Dawsholm is mostly dog-walker-ful during the day. After 5PM it's much more just owners. You can also hear the walkers coming a mile away. by dl064 (Mon 14th Jan 2019 8:20am)
  • Genuinely keen for an opinion re whether I'm in the wrong here. So for part of my wife's christmas I got her a sports massage. There were two options: £30 for 30 minutes, or £45 for an hour. I bought her £45 vouchers, i.e. one hour. She booked that in, and on the day received 30 minutes as 'anything beyond that wouldn't have done much', and got told the remainder of the vouchers would be returned to it, to be used in future. It cannot be refunded. So there's £15 left on the voucher, and 30 minutes costs £30. So to *now* get a half-hour session, I'd have to pay an additional £15. Am I being mental here or is that an absolute con? by dl064 (Mon 14th Jan 2019 3:16pm)
  • *Kiiiiiiinda*, right? by dl064 (Mon 14th Jan 2019 3:25pm)
  • That's 'unfortunately' not possible, apparently. Not sure how appropriate 'unfortunate' is there given it's a *stance*. by dl064 (Tue 15th Jan 2019 9:34am)
  • That's a fair point on one hand, but slightly missing the one I'm making. You can have a sports massage for ages - they do a 90 minute one, even in the absence of a specific injury. I bought//she booked an hour's worth, and got 30 minutes. Having the 'remaining' 30 minutes would now cost me £15, and the principal of that bugs me. I think I'll just let it go, and go use the alternative in future. by dl064 (Tue 15th Jan 2019 9:36am)
  • Great thing about uni gyms is that if you stick around June-Sept it might as well be yours. by dl064 (Fri 18th Jan 2019 1:51pm)
  • Be sure to complain. It might seem like it goes nowhere, but at least it's something. My cousin used to work for SPT, and part of the problem is that folk only get in touch when something's gotten ridiculous (e.g. a damaged stop), when noone ever complained in the first place. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Jan 2019 8:52am)
  • Mine is fine in one of those postcodes: should I avoid using water incase that conserves it? Is that how it even remotely works? by dl064 (Tue 22nd Jan 2019 5:07pm)
  • Worth noting I drove past basically this image at about 13.30: not much progress, then... by dl064 (Tue 22nd Jan 2019 5:05pm)
  • That's handy. Thanks. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Jan 2019 6:06pm)
  • I read a paper last year which was basically saying the evidence is that the first sign of a newly-shite workplace (not their word) was the good people leaving, before almost total turnover. So basically: if you're going to get out of a crap environment, you're better off doing it first. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 8:23am)
  • There was recently an r/Formula1 subreddit tree which showed where everyone posted, and I was wondering about that F1/Glasgow/Scottish_people_twitter apex. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 8:29am)
  • I've got a paper 99.9% accepted in a fancy science journal, and I just need one of the co-authors to sign a little document (which is a total formality) before they (the journal) send the official letter and I can get cracked into the Coal Ila '18. Increasingly 'Fuuucking hell man, it takes 5 minutes'. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 8:25am)
  • I honestly think this whole thing is a nice little prompt to take Brexit stockpiling a bit more seriously. Some folk I saw like 'the only water in the house is what's in the kettle', like maybe that's actually something to not be caught out with again. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 8:31am)
  • It's in the journal 'Neurology', which I've wanted to publish in since I was about 21, so I'm pretty made up. Hence, I'm waiting on having it in writing so I can properly lean back with a dram like 'Job Done'. They have literally emailed saying 'when you finish these forms we'll accept'. It's basically to do with 'does lifestyle overcome genetics?' for something, and the answer is no but it still helps. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 9:06am)
  • Solid effort. I got some yesterday. Our taps were fine, so I'm just keeping it. After the beast from the east last year I got my act together more with emergency stuff, e.g. a 24 pack of protein bars in the car boot, waterproof etc. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 9:44am)
  • Yeah, so in some instances you get like low frequency and very rare but high 'penetrance' conditions like Huntingtons where if you have a certain mutation, the risk of disease is very high. There, it's mostly up to fate. What we looked at here is a more common (in about 25% of the population), but medium-penetrance mutation (called a single nucleotide polymorphism or SNP, which makes scottish scientific vs. political twitter awkward), and asked if its association with particular outcomes was nullified if you didn't smoke, drink, exercised a lot etc. They helped, but the association was definitely still there. Basically nothing in epidemiology is 1:1, even smoking and lung cancer (probably the biggest). That's just for the condition we looked at, of course. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 9:41am)
  • Sure. It'll probably be published in spring. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 9:53am)
  • Sure. It'll probably be published in spring. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Jan 2019 9:53am)
  • There was an instance last year where an Oxbridge medical student was spared jail after a knife attack, where the official reason was her career prospects. As opposed to here where it's not necessarily fact. by dl064 (Wed 30th Jan 2019 9:55am)
  • Fair enough. Thanks for links. by dl064 (Wed 30th Jan 2019 10:40am)
  • > I've tried to steer away from Piers Morgan a lot in my life He's cultivated a bit of a 'he said **what?!**' persona these days, ala Katie Hopkins, when really if everyone just *stopped paying attention* he'd hate that the most. It grates even more because fine, Hopkins says shit things, but that's kinda the extent of it whereas Morgan is genuinely evidently not a nice man, who should've been crucified at the Leveson enquiry, and even now if you tweet 'hacking a dead girl's phone' eh, the best he can muster is 'I think you'll find that's not been proven!' Tweets calling Morgan a cunt with 20k retweets or whatever...No: just stop talking about him. by dl064 (Thu 31st Jan 2019 2:42pm)
  • I used to park in Kelvinway and walk along Finnieston. by dl064 (Fri 1st Feb 2019 8:48am)
  • I think there's no wrong night for haggis and whisky. We went to a really good one done by a Burns historian. Was saying that a lot of folk get the ode to the haggis wrong in the sense they make it quite solemn, when the whole point is it's meant to be a bit of a comedy. by dl064 (Fri 1st Feb 2019 8:45am)
  • Jimmy Egypt does trade-ins, although as with anything you'll be losing out slightly, by their own admission. I imagine there are lurkers on gumtree. I certainly am for guitar deals. by dl064 (Fri 1st Feb 2019 8:50am)
  • A taxi driver a few years ago was letting us in on a bit of the informal politics, that there is rather significant business to be had from the taxi companies, and they won't let that go for the craic. An example he gave was that they really fiddled with the zones to make city/airport taxi fares more than they should be. by dl064 (Wed 6th Feb 2019 1:22pm)
  • Yeah, Baltimore cold made me realize Scots just moan about the cold more. by dl064 (Sun 10th Feb 2019 11:43pm)
  • Used to drink at the bar my pal managed in Edinburgh and was by all accounts a grumpy sod, with no hint of act. by dl064 (Sun 10th Feb 2019 11:42pm)
  • Literally the house we bought last year, a woman from London had lived in it a year and a bit because 'I moved up, flipped out that I could get the house for the price of a flat, and went a bit wild before realizing I didn't need a house at all, so I'm moving to a flat down the road'. by dl064 (Sun 10th Feb 2019 11:41pm)
  • Loads of hidden little walks and greenery where you wouldn't see a soul. I'm a 40 minute drive to the foot of Ben Lomond, Highlands etc. Cheaper houses and flats vs. Edin. Absolute millions of restaurants to the point I've barely dented them in 5 years but still been to loads. Can walk to the start of the west highland way. (They should still bloody light up Kelvingrove, though) by dl064 (Sun 10th Feb 2019 11:46pm)
  • Yeah why not right. It's mad the value we get here even vs. Edinburgh. by dl064 (Mon 11th Feb 2019 10:28am)
  • I think we can all agree we all just dislike shit people. Cyclists, pedestrians, cars. All fine, it just depends who's doing it. by dl064 (Mon 11th Feb 2019 11:26pm)
  • The wee temporary lights at Wolfson, on Friday there a student just ambled in front of me. Didn't even look. No idea I had even stopped. The light was green for me. by dl064 (Mon 11th Feb 2019 11:34pm)
  • Literally everyone I know who has attempted to commute to work by bike has got whacked. My old boss in Edinburgh broke his arms. Apparently 5 Glasgow uni MVLS staff have been run over in Bearsden since January 2018(!) Only exception is a guy who got vaguely assaulted. by dl064 (Mon 11th Feb 2019 11:32pm)
  • > I'm not a loud guy, and I'm not an aggressively patriotic, gun-touting man OP [irl](https://youtu.be/eX_k5_egUAo?t=32). by dl064 (Tue 12th Feb 2019 9:00am)
  • I lived in Baltimore for a year, and Boston for a month. Observations: 1. No added tax on things you buy! The price is the price! 2. banking and phone companies charge you fewer egregious fees for no reason. 3. You'll find the cars quaint. 4. tipping is still common but it's not the same situation as the states where you're literally paying someone's wage with it. 5. Starbucks is now cheap enough to actually get. You'll enjoy it. I think - at least for now - you'll be surprised that the UK is an upgrade in a few ways. by dl064 (Tue 12th Feb 2019 9:08am)
  • Manuals are more common by a mile. Automatics are the oddity to some extent. They're there, though. Yeah the insurance thing is an unbelievable racket they have! They charge about £30 a day vs. £50 for year-long cover if you get it from a 3rd party. https://www.icarhireinsurance.com/ by dl064 (Tue 12th Feb 2019 10:30am)
  • Totally. I'd got so used to it that when someone explained it to me I was sure they'd been done, but no. I phoned up my normal car insurance (Admiral) and they went 'yeah, total racket'. by dl064 (Tue 12th Feb 2019 10:45am)
  • Specifically at Asda apparently. by dl064 (Wed 13th Feb 2019 7:43am)
  • > big Bearsden cars loool by dl064 (Wed 13th Feb 2019 8:55am)
  • In addition, I'd have thought the council has more staff for whom this is their actual job. The uni is shocking for basically getting research and teaching staff to run the uni over and above their actual job, and perhaps understandably most try to get that all done in the least amount of time and noise. Possibly councils job? Fob it. In a heartbeat. by dl064 (Wed 20th Feb 2019 12:09am)
  • One time I went up and down in a day. Took the novelty of That London down a peg. by dl064 (Fri 22nd Feb 2019 2:53pm)
  • Pal did the red bull swim up the canal thing, and apparently everyone to a person got sick as a dog within 24 hours. by dl064 (Fri 22nd Feb 2019 2:51pm)
  • Ha, oops. Doesn't that feed into the canals? by dl064 (Fri 22nd Feb 2019 3:08pm)
  • Super glad he was found. We were planning to go walk the dog up that way today to try and help, then saw the great news. So he was just wandering back to the car park I read? No idea where he'd been or what he'd been up to? I can't imagine the fear...and the relief. by dl064 (Fri 22nd Feb 2019 7:47pm)
  • > Many of people need to drive to Glasgow due to shitty public transport The university recently cracked down on parking, and on the one hand you can see where they were coming from by saying 'get public transport' but on the other they've told my boss that he should get public transport in from *Kinross* every day. by dl064 (Mon 25th Feb 2019 12:51pm)
  • Must say, when the permit system came into the west end people cried end of the world, and in reality it was *great*. by dl064 (Mon 25th Feb 2019 12:50pm)
  • > I'd rather use public transport but Glasgow's a shadow of likes of Edinburgh in that department Recently got a train service survey from our MP, and basically said: if the train's were even half-reliable I'd get them much more than I do. You miss appointments etc., or have to get an earlier one to make sure you miss something. Shambles, truly. by dl064 (Mon 25th Feb 2019 12:49pm)
  • Totally. I was at pains in that survey to say: look we're not all shitting on Scotrail for the craic, we all *want* this to be good. Reliable and clean and you'll suddenly find more folk on them. by dl064 (Mon 25th Feb 2019 1:18pm)
  • I have met loads of really nice ScotRail staff who just want to do their job, be nice enough to folk and get on with things. That said, I have met a minority of absolute pathetic lazy bastards who do their level best to give them all a bad name. by dl064 (Mon 25th Feb 2019 11:59pm)
  • The other day we went to hand a ring in (anyone lost a ring in Milngavie, by the way?) and the guy spotted we were approaching and tried to actively run away into a staff bit. Visibly annoyed we wanted to talk to *hand in property*. by dl064 (Tue 26th Feb 2019 12:11am)
  • I've no idea but what I will say is that because I'm interested in it, my Google app puts terrifying headlines on my news feed *all the time* and it's never shaken out correct all winter. Just there, we were in Killin on work Monday to Wednesday and my forecast was saying 'it should literally be snowing right now'. Totally fine. I use AccuWeather and it says the weekend looks fine generally. by dl064 (Thu 14th Mar 2019 11:48pm)
  • I'd say coach is the most reliable of all in snow. Trains, planes etc use them as backup! by dl064 (Thu 14th Mar 2019 11:50pm)
  • > Just wondering if any of you have ever come across this issue Are you kidding? > Would it worth contacting the school directly? Yes, I'd do that. It's kids either trying to be cool, or they've learned it from somewhere. Either way: to be stamped out. You're not being grumpy! by dl064 (Fri 15th Mar 2019 11:34am)
  • > Also screw the parents that don't teach their kids how to behave Mind one time on GWR I saw a guy darting between cars to cross the road, carrying a baby. Properly just 'what the hell is that wee one going to grow up thinking is ok' by dl064 (Fri 15th Mar 2019 11:35am)
  • Seconded, they're grand. by dl064 (Mon 18th Mar 2019 11:44pm)
  • I know someone who worked at one and basically left in a ball of flames due to having it so much. Doesn't really dovetail with the lovely Facebook photos but there you go. by dl064 (Mon 18th Mar 2019 11:48pm)
  • I know someone who got their horse referred to a vet, basically saying to them 'everything about this screams melanoma'. New vet wasn't having it, and just left it. They got a second opinion who *immediately* agreed, and the first vet wrote them a pissy letter indignant they got a second opinion at all. My uncle basically died because he waited too long to get a second opinion, so I'm not that sympathetic. Not some old guy set in his ways either, totally fresh young guy. by dl064 (Mon 18th Mar 2019 11:46pm)
  • Always thought 'people make glasgow' was a bit of a wry semi-dig depending on the circumstances. by dl064 (Tue 19th Mar 2019 11:11am)
  • I don't have kids but we plan to one day. Why is there such a shortage/it's so expensive? Is it due to lack of childminders, or just a bit of a racket? by dl064 (Tue 19th Mar 2019 11:11am)
  • I genuinely wince when I read it, like I've eaten something sour. by dl064 (Thu 21st Mar 2019 8:11am)
  • My pal lived there in 2011 or so and had his *door* stolen. by dl064 (Thu 21st Mar 2019 8:24am)
  • I occasionally go through to see friends, and even walking from the train station, I think residents get used to just the *throngs* of people at all times. It's like a Japanese crossing. by dl064 (Thu 21st Mar 2019 8:23am)
  • > Being fae Edinburgh which almost all would consider the pure posh bit of Scotland as 25% in kids in Edinburgh go to private school Few points: 1. Edinburgh and Glasgow are not homogeneous lumps where one is posh and the other's not: you get variations in deprivation in both. Some parts of Glasgow are posher than some parts of Edinburgh and vice versa; although on average Edinburgh tends to be less deprived, it's definitely not a slam dunk in every part of the city. 2. I would imagine Glasgow is, as you suggest, more gang-crime (on average), but there must be huge rates of minor crimes around August in Edinburgh. Edinburgh uni was always infamous when I was there for a) bike theft for example (generally), b) toff's on coke, c) late night meadows crime. 3. Hibs vs. Hearts is obviously problematic but I would have thought (?) that Ranger vs. Celtic is the King of match day crime. General observation having lived in both for about 5 years each: Glasgow is more intertwined in terms of nice/deprived/nice/deprived, whereas Edinburgh has done a good job (/s) elbowing deprivation outside the centre. I lived in Gorgie for a year which even being pretty central, was visibly starting to get a bit towards the deprived side. by dl064 (Thu 21st Mar 2019 8:20am)
  • > if you feel your doc is an asshole, find another u/youngthugfan64 - can't emphasise this enough: doctors are not all one and the same. If in doubt, get a second opinion. by dl064 (Thu 21st Mar 2019 8:25am)
  • Sparklehorse has kids mornings on Sundays but I'm not sure they'd be keen on the football. by dl064 (Thu 21st Mar 2019 11:26am)
  • Edinburgh - sorry, unclear. Amended that. by dl064 (Thu 21st Mar 2019 1:24pm)
  • I've buggered mine *properly* about three times in my life and they were all shit for a week. Once in 2013 was literally because I sat on the ground for ages then got up too fast. Won't help now but for me the big thing is prevention: don't weight load it (put it all on your legs), stand up (as in get up) straight, stretch well after exercise. by dl064 (Wed 27th Mar 2019 8:13am)
  • No resident parking permits? by dl064 (Sun 31st Mar 2019 12:47pm)
  • I used to live in Gorgie near Hearts stadium and...yeah, quite something. by dl064 (Mon 1st Apr 2019 11:43am)
  • Used to work in alcohol services in the NHS and my boss, who used to be a bit of a casual, always said they need to change the NHS and GCC colours because it puts loads of folk off. by dl064 (Mon 1st Apr 2019 11:41am)
  • >We get this reputation of having such nice, salt of the earth people. Whilst it probably used to be true, it's not anymore That Frankie Boyle joke: 'Glasgow makes you realize extraversion and friendliness are mutually exclusive'. by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 2:39pm)
  • > there's a sort of pervasive downbeat/gloominess bordering on fatalism from many older folks Good Frankie Boyle joke at a Glasgow stand up about how he was waiting for coffee behind these two old women where they ordered, one went 'it'll be ages I bet' and the other went 'I don't even really like coffee'. by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 2:38pm)
  • Worth noting Glasgow Taxi's are open when you book something that that's all they're doing, too. by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 2:43pm)
  • On the outskirts of town I've seen Uber be unreliable as hell. One phoned up my pal after he'd booked one, to find out if it was worth it. I think it's smart of the taxi's to pitch themselves as a bit more expensive but will reliably come and get you without cancelling. by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 2:42pm)
  • The thing I really distrust about Glasgow is that I'm totally content the council is proper, proper old school corrupt. Not like Edinburgh, white-collar tribunals etc., but like 'burning down buildings with goons' corrupt. by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 2:41pm)
  • Read a while ago: biggest airport in europe you can only enter by car. Was talking to a taxi driver once and he was saying the whole issue is full to the gunnels with corruption and union interests: they had a huge fight years ago to make the airport a boundary charge//if there was a really good bus or train link, the taxi's would suffer big time and that wouldn't go down well. Killing off that would be a good way to wake up in a ditch (He was saying). by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 2:48pm)
  • 50k is a very good *deposit*, if that's what you mean. by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 2:45pm)
  • I think the veracity and generalizability of this depends a *lot* on who did the survey. Seems mentally low to me. by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 2:45pm)
  • > Constant events that close down swathes of the city and only benefit the organisers, constant parking restriction increases I talked to another dog-walker in the park (yes, I know how reliable this sounds so feel free to take it or leave it) who worked at some level in Glasgow events. He was saying the European Championships were a massive vanity project that took money from *loads* of other sources: all that and they didn't promote it particularly well. Folk were all over the 2014 Commonwealth Games: the EC not so much. by dl064 (Thu 4th Apr 2019 3:44pm)
  • My MP has organised a day where you can go and talk to the boss at the town hall. Naturally it's like a Tuesday at 2pm but I appreciate the effort. by dl064 (Mon 8th Apr 2019 10:16am)
  • I did it for a few months in 2010, and by the end you're just buggered. I started to find I'd get home and couldn't be bothered with exercise; and every week you found yourself just knackered from the week a day earlier, until a weekend just wasn't really cutting it at all. by dl064 (Tue 9th Apr 2019 12:01pm)
  • >Was literally getting home, eating and getting ready for bed basically Bang on. Your weekends lose out too, because you're conscious of getting to bed early or you'll \*start\* a new week knackered. I was 23! by dl064 (Tue 9th Apr 2019 12:42pm)
  • It's funny as well because you drive for 5 hours and then want to sit down. by dl064 (Tue 9th Apr 2019 1:28pm)
  • Good thing we've such reliable and sensibly priced trains. by dl064 (Tue 9th Apr 2019 1:40pm)
  • Milngavie line (where it starts and ends for long version) is the most disrupted in the UK apparently. by dl064 (Wed 10th Apr 2019 9:32am)
  • Went up Snowdon and it was horrifically busy. Like a shopping centre. by dl064 (Wed 24th Apr 2019 12:01am)
  • Read a piece from the Glasgow uni post-grad student blog saying 'obviously PhD students don't have their own desks, so here are some alternatives!'. Properly WTF at that, of course you should have your own desk. The uni makes enough off your fees, trust me. by dl064 (Fri 26th Apr 2019 1:07pm)
  • What do you mean? Usually it's either students that pay the fee or a studentship e.g. MRC that pays it. International students can be 20k in the uni's pocket. by dl064 (Sat 27th Apr 2019 9:42am)
  • Might be discipline specific but during mine (Edin admittedly) it was literally your workspace m-f 9-5. Can't imagine not having that. There was a slightly circular situation in one building where they only hot desked because they had to. Also the new ICE building, apparently everyone hates the hot dealing. by dl064 (Sat 27th Apr 2019 9:41am)
  • If you're in the west end, there's definitely a cultural thing. We went to Asia once and basically tiptoed around the cars until we were told you have to just go for it, and that seems to be what many students do. One recently just walked straight in front of the car. Didn't even look up. Mental. by dl064 (Thu 9th May 2019 9:19am)
  • Coming from Edinburgh: 1. cheaper accommodation 2. less busy 3. more personality. 4. better access to highlands 5. subway/gigs. by dl064 (Thu 9th May 2019 9:16am)
  • **Absolutely agree**. I would love to get public or active transport if it were even approaching as good an option, but it's not. by dl064 (Thu 9th May 2019 9:22am)
  • > Getting the bus, on average, is 45 minutes door to door. I drove this morning and it took 25 minutes and that was a slow journey because of road works. My commute is one of: 1. bus for 45-60 minutes 2. 20 minute walk to train, 20 minute train, 20 minute walk from train (and it's literally the least reliable route in Scotland). 3. cycle for 45 minutes: fuck that as something like 10 Glasgow uni staff have had incidents (one major, on the news) on the route in the last 18 months. 4. Drive for 20 minutes. What do folk honestly think they'd choose? I'd love to get public transport. by dl064 (Thu 9th May 2019 9:21am)
  • If you want literally any job, walk down Byers road around this time of year and there are often posters. I got a job in a shoe shop once because they put a poster up before having to resort to an internet ad. by dl064 (Thu 9th May 2019 9:34am)
  • My cousin used to work for the council, and was working on the canal path resurfacing. He'd get folk phoning up complaining, and he'd be like 'this will let people in wheelchairs use them; prams can be used now; isn't that better?' 'No'. by dl064 (Thu 9th May 2019 9:31am)
  • Depending on the bank, you might have luck saying it was not legit. I had it last year where I bought some vouchers for diving and the company went bust; they made no effort to reimburse me so I told my bank and got it all back. (RBS). by dl064 (Thu 9th May 2019 9:35am)
  • I really liked the story you get on the tour, that she came here expecting all this great Scottish beer and it was all kinda shite (back then anyway). They also said that back when they started, they got the site for absolute fuck all. by dl064 (Mon 13th May 2019 4:15pm)
  • Over and above the excellent suggestions others have posted, I'd recommend self-help type stuff: I used to work as an assistant clinical psychologist and a surprising amount of the content basically just comes from books and papers, and helping people work through surprisingly methodical stuff (for CBT anyway). by dl064 (Mon 13th May 2019 4:20pm)
  • It's getting a lot of shit on r/F1; I think a bit unfairly. It wasn't great but the Spainish GP never really is, and we've had years of Hamilton winning everything, so why's it a problem now? If you exclude Mercedes from it all, it's a great season. by dl064 (Mon 13th May 2019 4:27pm)
  • I'd say go check out some Pint of Science stuff and see what takes your fancy. https://pintofscience.co.uk/events/glasgow I did one in 2016 and it's ace when there are folk who aren't just there to see their boss but actually want to hear about shit. From there, there are loads of brief courses at Glasgow uni. by dl064 (Wed 15th May 2019 4:46pm)
  • Potentially daft but genuine question: where does Grangemouth stack up in this regard? Presumably horrendously? by dl064 (Wed 15th May 2019 4:52pm)
  • My cousin used to work for SPT/the council, and they'd get loads of really irate complaints about 'this fixture has been broken for ages', and when he asked when they first complained the answer was always 'well, now!' by dl064 (Wed 15th May 2019 4:50pm)
  • I find this funny given in my experience of Glasgow in the past five years is that the train and bus services are shite and have either 1. remained strong and stably shite 2. got worse by dl064 (Wed 15th May 2019 4:59pm)
  • Genuine prediction: parking permits hit the roof, even though that doesn't make sense. by dl064 (Wed 15th May 2019 4:57pm)
  • > But still have ancient taxis The taxi one is interesting to me because a taxi driver once let us in on how much their union is basically like the New York teamsters, and nothing happens without their say-so, e.g. a rail service to the airport would nuke a lot of their business, and they're not having that. Supposedly - could be shite obviously. by dl064 (Wed 15th May 2019 4:55pm)
  • I do like the idea that Glasgow's capable of this apparently extremely unlikely feat...purely on the basis of spite towards Edinburgh. by dl064 (Wed 15th May 2019 5:04pm)
  • It's been a few years, sorry: generally I'd say CBT help books are probably quite good. by dl064 (Thu 16th May 2019 11:32am)
  • Fingers crossed. It can happen; my wife's bike got nicked and the cops battered the guy's door down as he was sprucing it up. (He'd stolen loads). ​ The worst thing about this sort of stuff is that it's not just the cost, it's the sentiment, and it's taken by some fuckin' ned that doesn't give it a seconds thought. ​ There's a bit in Limmy's book about how he used to be a wee shite, nicking cars and just sort of rationalizing it that it was all fine, they wouldn't mind that much. by dl064 (Fri 17th May 2019 10:55am)
  • Our bus started accepting contactless, but in the process of doing so the company is stopping our bus, so swings and roundabouts. by dl064 (Tue 21st May 2019 4:44pm)
  • Bars must have made absolute millions off it. Think what it was like in nightclubs 10/15 years ago, folk struggling to hand over tenners. by dl064 (Tue 21st May 2019 4:48pm)
  • There just now. It's even better than that: if you get on a bus, then get off and get on another that's in the same zone: no charge. How fucking alien is that vs. GCC? by dl064 (Tue 21st May 2019 4:46pm)
  • > My point is we have not taught our kids who then become garbage tossing adults to respect their environment for decades now. Always think it's mental how many parents nip between traffic carrying a baby and/or toddler. by dl064 (Wed 22nd May 2019 3:41pm)
  • Always thought that was meant to be wry or karmic-ally ambiguous, like 'you get what you pay for', or 'you get what you deserve'. by dl064 (Wed 22nd May 2019 3:47pm)
  • Yeah there was a woman out the back of my cousin's close, where a few tenants wrote to the council about her never picking it up. She apparently got fined, because she came into the garden and just shouted obscenities at all the anonymous flat windows apparently. Sounds funny, really. by dl064 (Wed 22nd May 2019 3:45pm)
  • In some instances of long walks when people are coming back later on, the idea is to pick it up later on (rather than carry it if you're not going to be passing a bin). Although I'm sure that explains the absolute minority of instances. by dl064 (Wed 22nd May 2019 3:45pm)
  • The Glasgow uni archives did a blurb on him a few months ago which was nice. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 8:39am)
  • Edinburgh 10k tomorrow. It's basically my annual fitness test. Be my fourth time doing it. I want an absolute filth time. I want to finish and have passers-by prompt staff to check my wellbeing. I want the Limmy 'stop my dad from dancing, he's got a heart condition' concern from total strangers. Cannot wait. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 8:41am)
  • Absolute piles of them on Byers road. Two Oxfams. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 12:24pm)
  • Edinburgh 10k tomorrow, hoping to basically cross the line and vomit horrendously. I want an absolutely filthy time before the beer festival. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 12:27pm)
  • Depends on your definition of rural: I moved to Milngavie which is pretty damned green. My advice would be not to underestimate faffy things like keeping the lawn cut, and that wifi options are more narrow and often slower. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 12:26pm)
  • Always liked that Mhairi Black bit about how the government has no money for pensions but has money to renovate a literal palace. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 4:18pm)
  • Worth noting that the Alzheimer's one was not particularly good in various ways, and controlled for basically nothing. A more recent well-controlled study in UK Biobank essentially showed nothing on cognitive abilities like memory. That's not to say it's not important - there's no way pollution is good - but it's also not fair to say it's basically dementia mustard gas. For now. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 4:22pm)
  • > There's also the secondary effect of discouraging car use in the first place. Win win. It's about *options*, though. I only commute by car because the trains are unreliable as *fuck* and the bus route's significantly slower and is *stopping* in a few weeks anyway. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 4:21pm)
  • I dislike the general approach they take that rather than positively reinforcing aspects like cycle lanes, they negatively reinforce the things they want to dissuade. So you're not getting better trains, but parking will get harder. You can see why, if you're a dick about it: it gives more income and by presumably some metric, improvements you can call 'green'. Win-win. by dl064 (Fri 24th May 2019 4:20pm)
  • Fair point. by dl064 (Sun 26th May 2019 11:36am)
  • I lived in Baltimore for a year and fuck me, Scotland just moans more. Exponentially colder in winter, exponentially hotter in summer. The homeless must die in both. It was **awful**. by dl064 (Mon 27th May 2019 10:14am)
  • Our pals came to visit from Atlanta and apparently immigration were really shocked they were going to Glasgow for the sake of it, vs. Edinburgh or the West Highland Way. Which is daft because there's loads of history, greenery etc. by dl064 (Mon 27th May 2019 10:15am)
  • My mate had a one where they got in a cab to Cumbernauld and the guy was saying he was off to do in two guys who had mugged his taxi a few nights before. He'd staked out where they lived and everything. He showed my pal a crowbar. Wonder how it went. I don't think my pal was making it up, as his whole point was that he was absolutely terrified at how mental the guy seemed. by dl064 (Wed 29th May 2019 12:02am)
  • During my PhD I was on about 1400 per month (no tax) and lived alone for a year. It's worth giving it a go. I found myself a bit skint here and there but a. I enjoyed the pub which wasn't ideal when money's tight and b. I was in Edinburgh which was probably more expensive. I'd say it's do-able. Worth trying in any case. by dl064 (Wed 29th May 2019 12:06am)
  • Glasgow: yes. by dl064 (Sun 2nd Jun 2019 4:04pm)
  • I dislike the 'I hate that I have only one upvote to give' comments, but: **Yes**. by dl064 (Sun 2nd Jun 2019 4:04pm)
  • My pal used to work in Edinburgh park, and they had two shifts, from memory (being 10 years ago): 9 to 5, or 10 to 6. Sometimes he was on 10-6, and the buses were such that he could only get there for 9, 915, or 10.15. So rather than be late, he'd basically work 9-6 rather than sit at his desk and seem to be mucking around on the job. by dl064 (Sun 2nd Jun 2019 4:03pm)
  • Agreed and particularly enjoy 'varying degrees of shite'. Edinburgh absolutely monsters Glasgow for infrastructure. by dl064 (Sun 2nd Jun 2019 6:48pm)
  • That sounds satisfying. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Jun 2019 11:24am)
  • Walk down Byers with some CVs: couple with posters up. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Jun 2019 11:23am)
  • We used to have to let all these folk in the close. They'd just buzz everyone or follow you in, then come back at 3am or whatever. One left the gas on (!) and it's a wonder the whole block didn't go up. Other tenants smelled it. One American group got locked out and kicked the door in, which was vaguely satisfying. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Jun 2019 11:26am)
  • https://old.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/bvv9kg/working_on_a_sunday/ That entire thread, man. I see where the 'this will all lead to better public transport!' lot are coming from to an extent, but more importantly I'd love to see reality with that mile-high optimism. by dl064 (Tue 4th Jun 2019 2:18pm)
  • On Byers road I basically go to whichever of them (down near the Sainsburys) is quietest, and they're all much of a muchness really. by dl064 (Tue 4th Jun 2019 2:26pm)
  • There's quite a bit in that thread about how pathetic the public transport is completely generally. In my case, I'd be delighted to get public transport, but the trains are shit, the bus is infrequent (and my service is literally ending in three weeks), and cycling/running isn't practical (nor a robust solution for everyone). I think the idea that parking charges will go/lead directly to better public transport is...quaint. by dl064 (Tue 4th Jun 2019 2:47pm)
  • Good little section from Margin Call. https://youtu.be/xW1CrQu_H6E?t=94 by dl064 (Fri 7th Jun 2019 1:59pm)
  • > She was earning good money, her husband is a local councillor so he's been earning and Glasgow's not an expensive city Seems a fairly universal human trait that folk become used to their means; there's always a better car etc. Personally I keep meaning to save up and get a Switch, but hey ho. by dl064 (Fri 7th Jun 2019 1:57pm)
  • I don't think I'd sleep in the days before handing *that one* in. What a way to wake up in a ditch. by dl064 (Mon 10th Jun 2019 12:56pm)
  • 'You can't turn all your problems into student flats' 'watch me'. by dl064 (Mon 10th Jun 2019 1:09pm)
  • Did a stand-up thing last night. Few beers to celebrate it not being a disaster. So then had to get up at 330 for a flight down south for a conference. Not feeling...great. I'd do it again. by dl064 (Tue 11th Jun 2019 6:32am)
  • Sitting around giving platelets for the next hour. Bleeding like a total champ apparently. It's nice to be good at something I suppose. by dl064 (Fri 14th Jun 2019 2:37pm)
  • There are dry slopes. by dl064 (Fri 14th Jun 2019 2:36pm)
  • About a year ago you could walk across it during the heat wave. by dl064 (Tue 18th Jun 2019 9:15am)
  • Wife has won a 5 year fellowship to look at sleep and health. I have literally not told anyone so she gets the pleasure (other than strangers on the internet, now). This was it, the final roll of the dice before changing career. Actually cannot believe it. This is it: so many parts of our lives can start now. Second car, kids, she can stop worrying about fixed term contracts. I cannot believe it. by dl064 (Fri 21st Jun 2019 4:21pm)
  • Jon Ronson's So You've Been Publicly Shamed kinda concludes this: of all the folk that Twitter has gone for, the folk who have come out best are basically those like Max Mosley that went 'yeah, what of it?' by dl064 (Tue 25th Jun 2019 2:49pm)
  • I was going to reply like 'In fairness I'm sure they have a shit time of it and are just trying to survive the day' but you've basically nuked my sympathy with that. by dl064 (Tue 25th Jun 2019 2:46pm)
  • It's not something you'd want to rely on, surely. A few years ago we did the west highland way during a train strike with a replacement bus (back from Fort William). We could not get them to guarantee they'd let the dog on at all, which is basically 'well fuck that then, *obviously*'. by dl064 (Wed 26th Jun 2019 9:13am)
  • > We work a lot of hours. I mean, a lot. There's a guy on the 60 who will pace mid-speed for his entire break, because he's on for something like 12 hours with a half-hour break in the middle. Not precisely that; I'm sure you could correct those numbers, but it was mental. by dl064 (Wed 26th Jun 2019 9:12am)
  • On the other hand, you could have what we have, that the 15 is being curtailed despite being rammed every day, and you've basically got to drive. (Or get the train which takes 20 minutes extra and is literally the most unreliable journey in Scotland). by dl064 (Wed 26th Jun 2019 9:11am)
  • I enjoy that noone really gives a fuck about St. Andrews day and so on, but the real national holiday is: a sunny day. by dl064 (Thu 27th Jun 2019 8:58am)
  • According to the induction tour, the wanted to use UoG as Hogwarts, but they declined because they wanted to film over exams (and in fairness who knew it would be *so* huge). There are still some brief external shots in the first film, apparently (of Glasgow). by dl064 (Mon 1st Jul 2019 8:50am)
  • I found in Malaysia that the coils actually do work wonders. Don't seem as common here though. by dl064 (Mon 1st Jul 2019 9:12am)
  • We got told that by a train man, who went 'that's ridiculous though' and gave us off-peak. ​ Apparently they get commission for it. by dl064 (Mon 1st Jul 2019 1:29pm)
  • Yeah I had a delay on Friday to Euston. Went and talked to the ticket folk who were a mixture of 'don't give me shit, it wasn't me' indignation and utter despondency at how dickish folk can be to them. by dl064 (Mon 1st Jul 2019 1:28pm)
  • One time at Milngavie, we went to hand in a watch we found. The guy saw us approach after disembarking and - honest to God - ran away from us into the staff room. ​ We knocked and he was \*pissed\*. Serves us right for, uh, handing something in, like pricks. ​ There are some militantly anti-car folk on here, which would be fine, if public transport in Scotland wasn't an *absolute fucking shambles*. by dl064 (Mon 1st Jul 2019 1:25pm)
  • Was in London at the weekend and it was insane how clean, efficient and well signposted the buses were. ​ Imagine. by dl064 (Mon 1st Jul 2019 1:30pm)
  • I was at a Baltimore McDonalds, a bit drunk. Was talking to a black guy in the queue. Seemed nice enough. The manager came over and straight-up went 'we're closing, you have to leave. Oh, not *you*, sir'. by dl064 (Thu 4th Jul 2019 12:19pm)
  • In fairness I know the exact one; it's like 24 hours and *right* in the centre. by dl064 (Thu 4th Jul 2019 12:19pm)
  • I went up to the Glasgow one once to ask a bit what it was like. Even approaching him, he was about to take me the fuck down. by dl064 (Thu 4th Jul 2019 12:18pm)
  • I lived in Baltimore for a bit and there were loads of stories in the news of straight-up murders in McDonalds. Bonkers. by dl064 (Thu 4th Jul 2019 12:17pm)
  • Had a good one this week. I have donated blood a few times, and because I bleed like a champ, got asked to donate platelets. Grand. I *really* disliked the experience. Basically it's much longer - about 2 hours - but the main difference is that it's 30 second loops of draw/release. You squeeze a squishy ball when it's drawing, then it gets the platelets out and returns the blood to you, and you should not squeeze during this. One time across the two hours I squeezed, and you could feel it struggling up the vein. At one point my heart vaguely gurgled. Really grossed me out, personally, but fuck it - it's important and it matters to people, so I'll keep doing it. They phoned up and went 'it's been a week, let's get you in again', and I went 'can I have a bit longer?', and got told basically no: you come regularly or don't come at all; you can't be on the blood donor and platelet lists. So that's that: because I'm not donating platelets regularly, and preferred giving blood, I can't now donate plaletets even as one-offs (which I was game for). Woman even went 'it's fine, not everyone's cut out for it', which was *great*. by dl064 (Thu 11th Jul 2019 9:13am)
  • Yeah I really wish I hadn't found it so mingin'. Taking something *out* is cool but the idea of something coming back in you (they add artificial coagulant to your returning blood) was just...Bleh. Loads of folk do it happily regularly, in fairness: folk should still give it a go! I just couldn't face doing it as regularly as they sought. by dl064 (Thu 11th Jul 2019 9:45am)
  • Ach it might've just been a slip of the tongue. I do still feel a bit bad: if noone did it, people would be up the creek. What I think is daft is I'm *keen*, just not as much as they'd like. by dl064 (Thu 11th Jul 2019 10:32am)
  • Good on you! That's amazing. Great effort. In fairness they didn't specifically want it weekly regularly but I recall them saying that the turnaround was extremely quick with platelets so - yay - they could have me in all the time. Their more general point was that shortages were such that they wanted me to be able to basically pop in whenever they wanted, which I was a bit 'come on, dude'. I understand the position they're in, and it must be tough: only certain types can do it, you need to be a certain weight and willing. > Did you ever experience the buzzing sensation? I was told it happened when the needle was touching a valve in your vein, and it opens and closes to fast that it vibrates the needle. Honestly felt like there was a phone under my skin going off, horrible. Jesus I sunk into my chair at that. I initially thought 'God, No!' but I think this was exactly what it was that I had. It made a little noise. > be honest it become quite an uncomfortable experience Yeah, that's really it: I really, really didn't enjoy it but someone has to. I kinda fought through the time. by dl064 (Thu 11th Jul 2019 11:14am)
  • In fairness they did have serial donors there on the day I went; I think I just didn't get on with it. It is a genuinely important thing: it's got major uses and I'm a bit down I couldn't hack it, if I'm honest. by dl064 (Thu 11th Jul 2019 2:25pm)
  • Indeed: totally anecdotal, my one-off experience and I expected to become more comfortable the more I did it. It is extremely important people donate, and folk should try it for themselves. I just happened to find it physically uncomfortable. As I say in another comment below: there were serial donaters there on the day, which is amazing. by dl064 (Thu 11th Jul 2019 4:28pm)
  • How'd it go? by dl064 (Thu 11th Jul 2019 7:35pm)
  • Jesus it would be. Kilts are always murder in that regard. by dl064 (Fri 12th Jul 2019 12:05am)
  • I know someone who went to buy a range rover. He's bought nice cars from one guy for about 20 years. He got the skinny on them: they were released too early, and have huge electrical faults which are quite fundamental. Many of them spend much of their lives in the garage, and as a result they are often amazingly cheap 2nd hand (as, in fairness, range rovers have always been). by dl064 (Fri 19th Jul 2019 9:18am)
  • I've never really understood, having looked at various AA//RAC-type websites, if it's best practice to get out of the car if it's a very fast road and you'd conceivably be going into danger. by dl064 (Fri 19th Jul 2019 9:16am)
  • I mind being young thinking cops were presumably intelligent reasonable people, then I went to uni with one who became one. by dl064 (Fri 19th Jul 2019 9:24am)
  • > not get out of the car or attempt to move the car. > > That's really interesting and helpful; cheers. I've often wondered if it's good practice to leave the car on such a fast road. > As I was a young driver it was a £600 excess to fix it since Renault said I must have left the bonnet open. I lived in Newington in Edinburgh about 10 years ago, and came out one morning to my Corsa just *fucked*. Something big had hit the corner of it, and it was bleeding what turned out to be *steering fluid*. I never found out what did it, but it was a write-off. My insurance went up for years because they didn't care how it happened, even if I was nowhere near the damned thing. by dl064 (Fri 19th Jul 2019 9:21am)
  • Was behind a 6-series this morning near Milngavie that came within half-a-foot of a cyclist. Then he was stuck in the exact traffic I was for 15 minutes, and got stuck behind a van on the switchback anyway. You see it driving up the Loch Lomond road tonnes, too: folk make these mental dives and then end up precisely 10 seconds ahead of you within 15 minutes because there's *always more traffic*. I hope it was worth it. by dl064 (Fri 19th Jul 2019 9:28am)
  • > I think watchdog did a thing about it at the time but VOSA declared the latches safe, so I didn't have a leg to stand on. > > In fairness it's not like the automotive industry was close to any scandals pertaining to misleading ratings. by dl064 (Fri 19th Jul 2019 9:26am)
  • And *that's why* it closes all the time due to incidents. Folk make dumb moves to move themselves 3 metres further up in a queue. The NC500-type plans for that road are genuinely mindboggling. Folk just can't keep it in their figurative pants, and get there when they get there. by dl064 (Fri 19th Jul 2019 11:36am)
  • Pal had a similar situation in Partick. Couple paid a load up front. Then didn't pay. Then paid a load back. Then didn't pay, and this time they had fled, leaving the place a dump. by dl064 (Sat 20th Jul 2019 6:06pm)
  • Sometimes they make it odd just for the sake of it. There's a bar in Edinburgh where you can literally be standing at the bar and they won't serve you; they come to the table. Under the stairs I think. Takes fucking ages. by dl064 (Wed 24th Jul 2019 3:54pm)
  • I always think it's a bit like Three Sisters in Edinburgh, that it's job is to attract folk so they're not elsewhere. by dl064 (Wed 24th Jul 2019 3:52pm)
  • You're getting downvoted a lot, but fuck it, you gave them what they asked for. by dl064 (Wed 24th Jul 2019 3:58pm)
  • Noone gets in. by dl064 (Wed 24th Jul 2019 3:57pm)
  • > The Toby Jug on Hope Street I really like Toby Jug! Watched Munich vs. Chelsea champions league final there in 2012 and I've never felt unity like it in my life. by dl064 (Wed 24th Jul 2019 3:57pm)
  • I read once that if we could solve rush hour traffic, the benefit to the economy would be an overnight revelation. by dl064 (Thu 25th Jul 2019 10:34am)
  • What's struck me, commuting in across the year, is that when the kids finish school the congestion basically dies a death. I wonder how much that's because, whilst public health tries to encourage people to actively commute/bus etc., that works to a point but people en masse won't let their kids do it alone in a million years. by dl064 (Thu 25th Jul 2019 10:39am)
  • There's a cool gif around which simulates traffic data on a big oval, and basically you get to see how one car stopping for one minute has a knock-on effect that has people waiting for ages. by dl064 (Thu 25th Jul 2019 10:36am)
  • My pal grew up in the worst part of Cumbernauld by his own statement. He had amazing stories where his window overlooked where all the kids (kids?) used to meet up and fight. His favourite was one time one lot seemed to have won, and then one kid came running out the shadows with a *Samurai Sword*. by dl064 (Thu 25th Jul 2019 10:44am)
  • I've a pal who's walking the West Highland Way picking up all the litter he finds. He got a grant to do it, so it's partly subsidised by John Muir Trust. Win for all, kinda. by dl064 (Thu 25th Jul 2019 10:40am)
  • Well there you go. by dl064 (Thu 25th Jul 2019 11:02am)
  • Minor pointer which might not be relevant re > Plans to bulldoze the tenement blocks has resulted in a long and bitter battle between Inverclyde Council and private landlords refusing to sell up I know someone who was a landlord for some flats in Govan that the council wanted to buy, and the biggest stumbling block was really that the tenants didn't want to move out, and you actually can't force them if they've been there long enough. There were instances, though, where landlords were trying to push the council because they knew that politically they really wanted them bought and gone. by dl064 (Fri 26th Jul 2019 12:41pm)
  • I've no idea, sorry. by dl064 (Sun 28th Jul 2019 1:11am)
  • I lived in Edinburgh for about five years until 2013, and fuck me did I hate August. I mind going to Potterow for my morning coffee and it went up like 50p due to 'festival pricing' before it had even started. (Balance: better buses) by dl064 (Mon 29th Jul 2019 11:30pm)
  • There is alternatively the route via Drymen which ascends conic from the other side. It's the WHW route. Starts here: https://goo.gl/maps/GBys79L55SmUFmNt8 Quieter, prettier and less steep (but slower). by dl064 (Mon 29th Jul 2019 11:43pm)
  • > Seen a fox killing one in Muirend the other week A rat or a bin man? by dl064 (Wed 31st Jul 2019 1:29am)
  • Yeah I lived alone in 2011 and had even a couple of mice. The flat was genuinely very clean. It wasn't even that noisy; it just *bothered* me. by dl064 (Wed 31st Jul 2019 1:33am)
  • Recently walked through some alleys near there recently (google said it was the quickest way from A to B) and there were tonnes of signs between neighbours like 'stop dumping your food waste here; the rodents are going crazy'. by dl064 (Wed 31st Jul 2019 1:32am)
  • I got tonnes of stick for this on the Edinburgh subreddit a few years ago (where mice are basically a fact of life) but the rentokil poison pellets, to me, were clearly the most efficient method. You lay them out; wait a couple of days; voila, nothing comes back. I found trap didn't work. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rentokil-Rodine-Mouse-Killer-Sachets/dp/B07BC7SFK8 by dl064 (Wed 31st Jul 2019 1:30am)
  • Oh not outside! God no. Inside. This was after trying the humane ones which didn't work at all. by dl064 (Wed 31st Jul 2019 10:36am)
  • Supposedly that can happen but in my case no. by dl064 (Wed 31st Jul 2019 11:03am)
  • From memory (9 years ago) peanut butter, as recommended. by dl064 (Wed 31st Jul 2019 7:56pm)
  • Also: worth noting that if you book online in good time it's basically pennies. It's much cheaper to park now vs. taxi to/from. I think folk are put off by the idea of a 10min bus to the airport from the car park but they're actually very good. by dl064 (Thu 1st Aug 2019 10:36am)
  • Safer than out and about by a country mile I'm sure. One time I went on holiday with my pal from uni. Met at the airport and he'd just left his car at the McDonalds in Partick. For a week! Fair cop, he had no notices/signs or anything. by dl064 (Thu 1st Aug 2019 10:35am)
  • It's funny that you never really receive training in life about how to deal with someone absolutely taking the mick to fuck. by dl064 (Thu 1st Aug 2019 10:56am)
  • I always find it funny that as a society we dispute public health advice, official government statements and scientific discovery, but see a cone like 'well there's a **cone**, can't dispute **the cone**'. by dl064 (Thu 1st Aug 2019 10:55am)
  • Even the 'bus' parking is actually only really a 10 min walk, they just don't like you doing so. Recently we were there when the fire alarm went off, and a staffer also waiting for the bus went 'follow me, it's about 90 seconds slower just to walk it'. by dl064 (Thu 1st Aug 2019 12:58pm)
  • I don't think there's anything wrong with contacting the admin staff and asking if there's an existing student willing to talk to you. Happened at my old uni all the time (Edinburgh psychology). by dl064 (Thu 1st Aug 2019 1:22pm)
  • Red flag if they can't/won't find you one! by dl064 (Thu 1st Aug 2019 1:40pm)
  • These were Edinburgh mice that went through the whole block, so were probably detective savants. by dl064 (Fri 2nd Aug 2019 9:07am)
  • Gumtree is absolute gold for guitars. I got a PRS Custom SE for £200 in perfect condition. Old guy in Kirkintilloch's wife was pestering him to get rid of some for more room. Fucking cracked it, man. by dl064 (Mon 5th Aug 2019 11:42am)
  • Yeah there are loads of instances of that on Gumtree. Keep an eye out and you can win big. by dl064 (Tue 6th Aug 2019 9:03am)
  • I commuted from Stirling to Edinburgh for about 2 months in 2010, and was just fucked. Expensive and I was knackered. Every week it'd take one less day before you just wanted to stay in bed, until eventually a weekend wasn't enough. by dl064 (Fri 9th Aug 2019 11:23am)
  • I'm surprised how low a number that is. by dl064 (Fri 9th Aug 2019 11:22am)
  • I read a quite good book called 'The Joy of Work' a while ago, and there was a guy who managed to negotiate with work that he'd work from home early, then get the post-rush hour train in at which point he'd be working on wifi, then he'd work until after rush hour again. Just depends if you strike it lucky with your employer, of course. Day 1 of my job in 2014 my boss went 'keep me happy and you can be wherever, whenever', which was cool (but lucky). by dl064 (Fri 9th Aug 2019 11:21am)
  • I'd say you're more liable to get stick in Glasgow for being an Edinburger than a Londoner. by dl064 (Fri 9th Aug 2019 11:25am)
  • Obviously gotten away with it before. I always find it weird that you're obviously meant to side with the officers of 'Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away' when they seem, to a person, bastards. There was one where they outright got the wrong place and basically just went 'shit' and wandered away. by dl064 (Fri 9th Aug 2019 11:46am)
  • They're soundchecking now so I think you're good. by dl064 (Fri 9th Aug 2019 1:14pm)
  • Fair enough. Different thing of course, but when we get the train down to London I would say around literally one-third to half of the time we get the cost back completely due to delays. by dl064 (Fri 9th Aug 2019 2:07pm)
  • Increasingly it's automatic, which is kinda handy. I mean I'd often rather they just *ran on fucking time*, but hey ho. The worst was once when there was a fault in a tunnel or something, and we were 5 minutes from Glasgow Central. We sat there for 2 hours (one guy could *see his house*), then went all to Livingstone to get a bus, and in the meantime they'd fixed it so they cancelled the bus and we had to get a train from Livingstone to Central instead. by dl064 (Mon 12th Aug 2019 8:36am)
  • Hardly any *anywhere* as a generality. There was a woman in Amsterdam who got charged with public indecency for taking a piss in an alley, and she fought it quite hard like 'I don't *want* to piss in an alley, mate'. I agree; it's totally ignorant. by dl064 (Mon 12th Aug 2019 12:24pm)
  • yeah the partick subway is much better vs. kelvindale then. Also partick has a shopping precinct which is good. by dl064 (Tue 13th Aug 2019 9:06am)
  • Last year with work I went to a museum//tour all about American Independence (in Boston), and *man* were they pissed I didn't know some of the (to-them) fundamentals. Like, **actively** aggrieved at my ignorance of their history. by dl064 (Tue 13th Aug 2019 9:13am)
  • Presumably the politics of that would be a nightmare. by dl064 (Tue 13th Aug 2019 9:12am)
  • I knew a guy in Edinburgh, wee bit dim, who got something like this a number of years ago. He went to *town* on it; telling his current employer to stick it, going on Facebook talking about all the suave suits he'd be wearing to his new work. Turned out it was door-to-door selling, like, spare vacuum parts or something, and a generally desperate situation. Funny, though. by dl064 (Tue 13th Aug 2019 9:19am)
  • Think it was Frankie Boyle that made the joke 'North Korea vs. USA is the world's most indoctrinated nation vs. the other'. by dl064 (Tue 13th Aug 2019 11:54am)
  • I went to Korea a few years ago. Lovely place. by dl064 (Thu 15th Aug 2019 9:23am)
  • > She claims she was physically sick with grief, but the 18-year-old student was told to find cover or risk dismissal. Unable to find a replacement, she said her part-time job in a sandwich shop was terminated. Quite believable really. I knew folk who worked at the SECC and Hilton, where ostensibly it was a zero-hours contract 'so you can work when you want!' but really that meant 'work exactly when we demand or we'll never call you again'. by dl064 (Thu 15th Aug 2019 10:51am)
  • I would say a significant advantage of Glasgow vs. Edinburgh is property prices. I've a pal on six figures who is utterly gulping at the costs for somewhere he'd actively want to buy in Edinburgh (where he already is). Edinburgh has always been expensive, and probably always will be. On the other hand, Glasgow is an increasingly popular university and I would suspect its prices will start to rise a lot: now might be a good time. My two cents, exchange rate varies. I've lived in both for about 5 years each. by dl064 (Wed 21st Aug 2019 12:36am)
  • 'Fuck if we'd come here between 3 and 5 we could've had a third off the nachos' by dl064 (Wed 21st Aug 2019 7:59am)
  • Anyone for a £3 footlong? by dl064 (Wed 21st Aug 2019 7:59am)
  • I've had enough Subways for a lifetime. I worked in Baltimore for a year, and my flatmate was an overweight alcohol, who was a 'bear' on grindr. So these young guys would be in the flat as I came home from work. I'd just buy a subway, go to my room and vaguely repress the situation. Did that for about a month. Fun story towards the end of my stay: 'one guy lost his job, and keeps trying to pester me. I think he might try and break in. Anyway, if he does it'll be via your room. Night!' by dl064 (Wed 21st Aug 2019 11:38am)
  • Edinburgh nukes our bus service generally I think. by dl064 (Sun 25th Aug 2019 9:32am)
  • I enjoyed Chris McQueer's Hings. by dl064 (Sun 25th Aug 2019 11:11pm)
  • I'm in much the same position where I put together the lawnmower and got into that recently. True empowerment. by dl064 (Tue 27th Aug 2019 9:50am)
  • I suppose you could phone up estate agents and explain your situation. Must say: I moved to the states in 2013 and basically conceded I'd be in a hotel early on while I looked for accommodation ASAP. by dl064 (Tue 27th Aug 2019 9:58am)
  • I got put off when the big season finale masterplan in season 1 was >!'get all the baddies in one place then shoot them'!<. I'd been expecting something a bit...I dunno, brighter. by dl064 (Tue 27th Aug 2019 9:56am)
  • It is absolutely the case that 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease' with collections/bins. You have to complain or they're not that bothered. by dl064 (Thu 29th Aug 2019 11:56am)
  • I got one from a guy in kirkintilloch, double-cut with p90s, at an absolute steal. He had so many his wife was pestering to make some room! Absolutely cracked it with that one. by dl064 (Mon 2nd Sep 2019 2:48pm)
  • I'd say guitarguitar for the 0% finance but Merchant City music have good prices too. In honesty they're all good in different ways. Jimmy Egypt have mad shit, as does the one where it used to be. by dl064 (Mon 2nd Sep 2019 2:47pm)
  • Great thing about guitar guitar is the 0% finance. Crazy guitars become possible. by dl064 (Mon 2nd Sep 2019 2:46pm)
  • The only race I've paid to watch live this season was France, won't be doing that again in a hurry. I quite enjoy the C4 highlights. by dl064 (Mon 2nd Sep 2019 2:51pm)
  • The F1 subreddit links to streams. They do work. by dl064 (Mon 2nd Sep 2019 2:51pm)
  • Eyes Silver Sky. (One thing about it, having tried it and found it excellent, I didn't try much else at the 2.5k bracket so it'd have to be more excellent than a load of other guitars also aiming to be excellent). by dl064 (Mon 2nd Sep 2019 5:28pm)
  • I always used to get nervous around this time of year living in the west end: who will be moving above, below or to the side of me? Admittedly it was never an entire curry house. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 1:19am)
  • They're bringing in more and more restrictions. It'll go eventually, because Glasgow likes to dissuade folk from driving, long before they positively encourage public transport. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 1:17am)
  • There was a parking/travel survey for Glasgow uni staff. It said: if you do drive and don't have a permit, where do you park? Everyone I know to a person essentially replied 'eh like hell I'm sharing that'. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 1:15am)
  • I used to obviously have the same routine as Frankie Boyle, where I'd go let the dog out at 12.30 and pass him literally every day. I've read all his books and wanted to say I enjoyed them, but figured against it. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:34pm)
  • Bit tangential, but my pal was a doorman at Dundee union when The View played. The main guy was an absolute prick, but my pal found coke on them, which went to the cops and their US tour got canned. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:39pm)
  • He's got a good story in one of his standups about two wee old ladies that are grumpy in a cafe he was in, and I'm fairly certain it was the two old ladies that used to sit outside the one near Tesco. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:38pm)
  • My pal works at Holyrood and apparently she's perfectly nice. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:37pm)
  • The absolute fucking *odds* of that. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:35pm)
  • Apparently he tries to grope waitresses. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:42pm)
  • He lived in Killearn near my pal when I was wee, and apparently he was a bit of a grump. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:40pm)
  • If you follow many film journalists: renowned, infamous bastard. Genuine prick. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:48pm)
  • Loads! 1. I argued with Paolo Nutini about Boyzone vs. Westlife, without realizing who it was for a while, in what is not Innis and Gunn. 2. Used to see Frankie Boyle *loads* when I lived near Dowanhill. I reckon the cafe across from The Sparklehorse is in one of his standups. 3. Apparently you used to see The Hound driving around in a tiny wee red convertible. 4. A tale of two Chewing the Fat actors: Greg Hemphill I've seen around loads. The most I ever did was say I enjoyed the wrestling thing, in Cottiers. Seemed quite delighted with that; but generally you can pick up he's not after fawning. Ford Kiernan, whenever I've seen him, has made an absolute song and dance, and you can never miss him. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:52pm)
  • Why do you do that, John? by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 2:58pm)
  • Ha! Oh well. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 3:25pm)
  • I never got how parents could not be absolutely mortified their kids are bullies. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 6:41pm)
  • Mad wee John Leslie story. My pal managed The Canny Man in Edinburgh. Leslie and his pals came in. The boss of the whole place wanted them to have a nice time and spend loads. So they got a private room. Leslie started trying it on with the waitress, and she didn't want to go back in. My pal, the manager, went in her stead. Leslie didn't realise they'd changed, and without looking grabbed my (6ft, male) pal's gooch. Worth noting that Gran Stott is his relative, and has eschewed the Leslie name, he's that slimey. ***** U/duskthehusky - accurate? by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 7:12pm)
  • Yeah I'm sure. I just...elected not to. I should've, really. I know his stuff inside out, and didn't want a photo or anything: just to say I appreciate his work. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 7:24pm)
  • I once read that the true cynics are the ones who really have the clearest perception of the distance between the way things should be (nice) vs. how they are (often shite). So I think it's kinda consistent. by dl064 (Sun 8th Sep 2019 7:26pm)
  • We bought our house from a woman who moved from London, found novelty in selling a London flat to buy a detached Glasgow *house*, and promptly got bored and sold it after doing it up. Winner. by dl064 (Wed 18th Sep 2019 2:39pm)
  • We were on Bute the other day, and they're selling Inchmarnock - an *island* - for 1.2 million. Not *that bad* I thought. Two farms and a big house overlooking it included. by dl064 (Wed 18th Sep 2019 3:50pm)
  • I never really found a great route when I lived in Dowanhill. The canal path closes in winter. I used to like: A. Run to the city centre and back, e.g. down to the expressway then along Clyde B. To The Titan restaurant out past anniesland. Really the best is a brief drive somewhere like to Queens View or Garscube estate. An area Edinburgh has us beat, I think, really goos running routes from your flat door. by dl064 (Thu 19th Sep 2019 7:39pm)
  • If it's to actively see it with pals or in a pub, grand, if it's to watch it full stop, r/motorsportstreams works. by dl064 (Thu 19th Sep 2019 7:47pm)
  • They used to say re ours: if noone lets us in *immediately* when we buzz, we're off. Just leave it off the latch around our time. by dl064 (Thu 19th Sep 2019 8:11pm)
  • I never blamed the bin men: it's management or lack of investment. Looked a tough job. by dl064 (Thu 19th Sep 2019 8:11pm)
  • The biggest knob is that they're long gone and don't give a fuck. In our old close garden you'd see this every June. Folk would leave notes like 'this is an eyesore' when you knew they were never coming back, ever. Not a moment's thought. by dl064 (Thu 19th Sep 2019 8:10pm)
  • Even if you don't go that far that general direction is quite good. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 12:18am)
  • Cash is also infinitely less traceable re tax. They make a big deal about smart meters being more environmentally friendly; absolute bollocks - they're just harder to game. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 9:11am)
  • I used to be really into the Silent Hill 2 soundtrack. [Good to work to.](https://youtu.be/SHz8_EDDpiw?t=563) Anyway, in 2014 I saw a poster that the guy who did them played fucking Glasgow School of Art...the night before. What an odd wee show I wish I'd been at. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 9:42am)
  • Met a guy once: 'I wouldn't make an animal live in those places'. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 9:51am)
  • I used to work in addiction services (NHS), and would meet folk who'd say I'd rather be out on the street than in some of the places they send us. That said there were some really nice flats folk went into, but that was rare and they tended to have quite major needs by that point. Part of the problem of course was 'complex needs', which is a fancy way of saying 'absolutely loads of problems that no one division could deal with'. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 9:50am)
  • Nice one. Big thing that totally, totally improved my running and recovery: stretching really well afterwards for 10-15 minutes. (You might already!) Also gels every half hour: they really do help. (Again, you might well already do that of course). Good luck. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 9:57am)
  • Pal lives in Amsterdam, and apparently there is a talent for buying a bike just good enough to be good but not good enough to be focally nicked. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 9:56am)
  • My wife's bike got nicked in Edinburgh. It was a serial thief who had loads. Cops kicked his door down and he had *just* finished giving it a very good service and clean, and since she had written contact details in white pen, she got it back in better condition. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 9:55am)
  • Yeah that run was okay: out to Morrisons then right up to Garscube. Or via canal in summer. by dl064 (Fri 20th Sep 2019 12:54pm)
  • Could not agree more; especially with climate conference here next year. by dl064 (Sat 21st Sep 2019 6:59pm)
  • I think there are two answers to that 1. Relatively healthy people who succumb. 2. Folk for whom, from an early age, substances are just what happens around them. by dl064 (Sat 21st Sep 2019 7:01pm)
  • Friend was on a flight where the staff kept trying to convince a guy to take some complimentary headphones. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 9:13am)
  • Next level of this: folk watching live sport on their phone on the train, no headphones (when you intend to watch it on an actual television later). by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 9:12am)
  • I am mulling a Renault Zoe, but it really is incredible how fast electric car tech is moving on. The Vauxhall Corsa version next year makes the Renault seem *enormously* outdated. Further, faster, charges faster, everything. I think moving to an electric car, whatever you go for within a year you'll be driving a duffer. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 10:18am)
  • Saw a good one on twitter earlier where some old dude was saying 'why not do it on saturday and keep things running' like 'well that's not a *strike* then, is it, that's a parade'. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 10:23am)
  • It is particularly strange to me she was willing to pose for all that. 'Carly Mackie, 28, pictured here having obviously fucked it...' by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 10:27am)
  • It's also just a dick of a stress you don't need. I had one in 2011 where the previous tenant owed SSE a load of money; nothing to do with me. But someone happened to say 'just for our records, mate, what's your name as the unrelated tenant that happens to be there now?' and I said 'why I'm dl064!' like a prick, so they obviously went 'lol fucked that didn't you dl064'. Anyway eventually we sorted it out, but it's stressful getting letters saying folk will come to your door. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 10:26am)
  • The bus is alright too, we had to get that when the trains died a few years ago. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 11:40am)
  • That's genuinely mega helpful, thank you. The reviews are one thing, but the folk who actually live with one are another. Was the home charger much of a faff? I've seen 'from £500!' quotes which seems heavy going, and I'm concerned they might not do one at my house (for whatever reason). What really appeals is that I'm about 7 miles to and then from work every day, and with a diesel it feels a waste (plus it's not what they're built for, economy wise). So if I'm £XXX a month on fuel, around 300 per month for a Zoe (plus insurance I guess) starts to make active sense. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 11:50am)
  • Grand. I have a driveway. Cheers: very helpful. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 12:16pm)
  • You might find this thread handy. https://twitter.com/PGCgenetics/status/1175334124254613504?s=20 Essentially using a type of methodology which means you can say with more confidence that something is 'causal': > Confiding in others was found to have a beneficial effect on depression, watching TV was found to have a deleterious effect, and daytime napping had a deleterious effect as well, although having depression was also associated with napping more. I know people who have gone onto medication and disliked it, and people who happily swear by it. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 3:18pm)
  • > Doctor's are encouraged to get you to exercise, drink less alcohol and go to therapy sessions before they can prescribe any medication As an aside, and not to contradict anything you've said, I had a friend who went to the GP and they went straight away with medication, first visit. That might depend on how many of those preventive factors (you mention) that each person is engaged in in the first instance, of course. I think the reality is that GPs don't particularly understand mental health and its treatments very well, and it's a very long time to see a clinical psychologist. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 3:15pm)
  • > because the truth is your mental health is just as important as your physical health Hugely correlated too. There is tonnes of evidence that they share many of the same risk factors. It's ridiculous that anxiety, depression and mood disorders account for such enormous loss of quality of life, and disability, and it's still slight taboo to discuss. I heard a great line at a conference: anxiety is like the brain's BMI - you don't want too much of it, but you certainly don't want none of it. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 3:21pm)
  • Absolutely! But the letters are rather threatening, and the idea of someone coming to the door used to people saying 'this is an error' is still something you'd rather do without. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Sep 2019 4:07pm)
  • A guy kicked my car the week after I passed my test, in Falkirk. My car was going 30. by dl064 (Wed 25th Sep 2019 11:13am)
  • Right, sorry to do this, but if it happens again you'll thank me. This happened to me in Edinburgh about 8 years ago. Arnold Clark did the huffy 'oh, well..y'know, 50 for the part, 50 for the labour if *you're lucky*...'. My dad used to be a car mechanic so he advised me. We went to something like carpartsdirect.com (or whatever), got a 2011 Corsa wing mirror stick-on for no shit like £2.50...and bunged it on. 30 seconds out the box and on the car. by dl064 (Wed 25th Sep 2019 11:12am)
  • They're not *all* bad, but yeah surely are mostly. A few years ago my Astra had a brake fault (not catastrophic). They went 'right this is under warranty, but if we get in there and find it's something *not* under warranty, you'll be hundreds'. I went 'alright' thinking I didn't have much choice and fair enough, they were straight with me and all was good. It can happen. by dl064 (Wed 25th Sep 2019 11:47am)
  • Frankie Boyle: Glasgow's where extraversion and friendliness aren't necessarily correlated. by dl064 (Thu 26th Sep 2019 9:49am)
  • I have a friend who saw someone's dog take a shite which they didn't pick up. Offered them a bag, given the obviously didn't have one to hand. Got socked. Cool. by dl064 (Thu 26th Sep 2019 9:49am)
  • > bawbag Should've called them that, really. by dl064 (Thu 26th Sep 2019 9:53am)
  • [> In the 80s] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfCpDQKHcUw) by dl064 (Thu 26th Sep 2019 9:52am)
  • I imaging warranty might be more appropriate if it's not been damaged. I did it with vodafone once or twice, as long as you're consistent that it's not been dropped etc. by dl064 (Thu 26th Sep 2019 11:35am)
  • It's all the Asian students that come over and throw money at the situation. Much higher fee costs, plus there are loads of Chinese govt. studentships which are a *piece of piss* for supervisors to get, so that's the uni then getting a good 20k per student per year. It's noone's fault: it just is what it is. I supervise a masters course and the uni are always breathing down your neck to accept lower entry requirements (i.e. more students) and if anything only withdraw teaching support. The uni does teacher training courses and all the folk on it are like 'how can the uni expect me to be this polymath scientist teacher when I've got 300 students to deal with alone?' University is a business which happens to do a bit of research. by dl064 (Thu 26th Sep 2019 11:40am)
  • Sure thing! by dl064 (Thu 26th Sep 2019 12:03pm)
  • Hopefully this will improve in the medium term. https://twitter.com/BBCScotlandNews/status/1177529572801138688?s=19 by dl064 (Tue 1st Oct 2019 7:56am)
  • The Dawsholm one was *very* odd. Very early in the morning, very specific, and they left the dog after knifing the guy. Didn't quite understand that one. by dl064 (Tue 8th Oct 2019 8:16am)
  • > This honestly seems like a really poor smear frankly, like the car last time when it was literally a gift that anyone (any other Lord Provost from any other party, bar the Greens perhaps) would have accepted. Surely a FOI request should go out on previous Lord Provosts to see how much they spent of the clothing allowance to see if this is a legitimate critique? > > I always thought it was shite that folk gave Theresa May (bear with me here) shit for her expensive trousers, when I have no idea what David Cameron's suits cost but I'm guessing not the £79 deal at M&S. by dl064 (Tue 8th Oct 2019 1:52pm)
  • I saw an article trying to give Anton Muscatelli shit for charging a latte at Shangai airport. by dl064 (Tue 8th Oct 2019 1:51pm)
  • > I absolutely hate noise and always strive for a top floor flat when I move. It genuinely gives me *disproportionate* anxiety. I think it's less about even the noise, but that someone's putting you out and there's nothing you can *really* do about it. by dl064 (Tue 8th Oct 2019 1:58pm)
  • Pal in Edinburgh was below an AirBnB, so it wasn't odd to have folk arriving at genuinely any hour of the day or night with the daft wee suitcases and loud voices. Not like they'd even go 'oh fuck, we were a bit loud there, eh?' or someone you can really complain to other than an owner who might nod and go 'oh yeah, that's bad, I'll put a note'. We moved out of the West end last year, and for all the commute's a bit of a knob sometimes, not having to deal with neighbours or 3AM karaoke was worth it. by dl064 (Tue 8th Oct 2019 1:56pm)
  • Yeah in fairness I'm probably attributing a bit much logic to their behaviour. by dl064 (Tue 8th Oct 2019 2:03pm)
  • Re the 'talk to them!' thing, I understand reluctance there. A few years ago we had an American woman move in next door, and they'd have like midnight karaoke with a guitar; absolutely no shit. I put a polite letter in her door, and fair enough it totally stopped. It was right next to our bedroom. My wife goes to sleep before I do. I never told her about the letter, but she said later that they would literally play until 23.59.59 and not a second longer. Fair cop I guess. At least then there's also not awkwardness if they're like 'fuken naw mate' by dl064 (Tue 8th Oct 2019 2:00pm)
  • I'm always amazed that Big Anton's office is very modest. I feel he should spend 9-5 at the top of the spire, personal finger-print elevator etc. by dl064 (Thu 10th Oct 2019 9:16am)
  • Tried to get 2.5 grand from me yesterday. RBS only flagged it because they tried to do it four times, the issue wasn't that I was doing it at all. So that was something of a catch. by dl064 (Thu 10th Oct 2019 11:54am)
  • Was alongside a guy dressed as Thor for charity in Edinburgh mara once. Went 'nice one!' and he wheezed 'fuck off' by dl064 (Mon 14th Oct 2019 10:23pm)
  • Not feeling today, man. Got a big grant rejection. I've had that before and not been that bothered, but this one was months of proper hard work, been round the department, totally air tight work I thought. Stings more when you're proud of it. Reviewers got some dumb stuff wrong, which I was annoyed about, but then the proper panel thought I'd overstated how little we know about something. Which is genuinely quite brutal: I know what I'm on about more than they do (on this) and we really know fuck all. Fuck it. Knob of a morning. by dl064 (Tue 15th Oct 2019 11:07am)
  • Once saw a police car park in the parent/child bit at Tesco Milngavie. Minor, daft thing. (The situation, not the contents of the car). by dl064 (Wed 16th Oct 2019 9:11am)
  • (Where does the dental student aspect come into it?) by dl064 (Wed 16th Oct 2019 11:15am)
  • Jesus. by dl064 (Wed 16th Oct 2019 11:24am)
  • Kinda what I'm getting at, indeed. Principle. by dl064 (Fri 18th Oct 2019 12:13pm)
  • I mind one time I was queuing up. It had been a while and I'd decided to bail and do it another time. Two kids started kicking off, and their mum went 'YOU'RE ANNOYING THE OTHER CUSTOMERS' and, well, I couldn't then get up and leave, eh, like 'yeah fuck you 6 year olds'. by dl064 (Fri 18th Oct 2019 12:22pm)
  • I worked in Boston for a month, down the road from Berklee School of Music. It was actually *pretty cool*. It wasn't like 'who's ready for some Sheeran!' but properly professional students with varied instruments at a good level. It can be done. I used to part-run a university live music society and fuckin' *hated* when it was decreed we were putting on acoustic nights in the bar. by dl064 (Fri 18th Oct 2019 12:28pm)
  • West brewery isn't miles from Drygate and is good. by dl064 (Fri 18th Oct 2019 12:27pm)
  • Telling the parentals we're expecting in t-minus 5 hours. My inbox will never be the same again. by dl064 (Fri 18th Oct 2019 3:18pm)
  • Cheers! Went well. by dl064 (Sat 19th Oct 2019 4:51pm)
  • Few years ago I worked in Baltimore for a year. Brutal. Guns on the bus, boarded up windows, folk getting bundled into cop cars on the way to work. Also my office didn't have a window. Tell you what, mind when you land and they go 'if you're visiting, enjoy Glasgow, if you're coming back from a trip *welcome home*'. Fuck me what a moment. Can't buy relief like that. (Legally). by dl064 (Mon 21st Oct 2019 3:34pm)
  • Did a bright club thing once. The buzz afterwards is mental. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Oct 2019 12:07am)
  • River dried out almost completely around June 2018. I walked down it with the dog. by dl064 (Thu 24th Oct 2019 11:06am)
  • I mind in a Boston McDonalds they went 'how many sugars in your iced latte' 'none' '...sir the machine won't do that'. by dl064 (Thu 24th Oct 2019 11:06am)
  • I'm not sure how much /s there is in this conversation, but it's not really 'affectionately known' as it colloquially: it's the meaning of Glasgow full stop, obviously from long before cars. (Vaguely expecting a woosh here) by dl064 (Wed 30th Oct 2019 11:33am)
  • Big daft doggle by the side of the road this morning. Big floppy golden retriever. Luckily a passing girl knew the owner, and he had got out the gate when noone was watching. I've stopped to help a few escaped dogs over the years, including one in Milngavie a week or so ago, and literally one ever had collar with a tag on. There's surely a meaningful correlation in that. by dl064 (Mon 4th Nov 2019 10:23am)
  • > > The way I view it is this.. if that's the way this guy behaves, his comeuppance is awaiting him in his future I got mugged in Stirling aged 12/13. He was a grown adult. It bothered me somewhat for a number of years, and then when I really got to, I dunno, 25, I realized he wasn't some big scary hardman: he was some fuckin' *bam* picking on a 13 year old, and he probably came a cropper later on. by dl064 (Mon 4th Nov 2019 2:45pm)
  • I used to work in clinical psychology. There was a guy who was quite violently attacked, and had agoraphobia. Basically he didn't get out at all. His mum went 'fuck that', and basically slowly conditioned him back outside, 5 minutes extra per day, back to health. I always liked that. Take control of the anxiety: show it who's boss. Easier said than done...but anyway. by dl064 (Mon 4th Nov 2019 3:02pm)
  • I used to get my star trek models from Beatties in Clydebank. Magic. by dl064 (Tue 5th Nov 2019 9:08am)
  • Across from the Sheriff court funnily enough. 1999. by dl064 (Tue 5th Nov 2019 9:12am)
  • I mind when I was tiny (like 8) in Fintry, I was vaguely bullied. (I don't actually think I *was*, I think adults just said I was but anyway). I recall my parents telling me 'don't worry, his parents are drunk and divorcing and he'll never amount to anything' which I thought was in retrospect a pretty funny thing to tell an infant. by dl064 (Tue 5th Nov 2019 9:18am)
  • I had an interview at the Royal a number of years ago. It was in the obesity/weightloss department, which I thought was quite wryly placed at the top of *many* stairs. by dl064 (Wed 6th Nov 2019 9:13am)
  • "openness, tolerance and trust" - I'm guessing that's Glaswegians to non-Glaswegians, rather than 'intra-Glasgow tolerance', which seems a tough sell. by dl064 (Thu 7th Nov 2019 8:10am)
  • When they brought them into the west end the parking improved 1000% overnight, for £50. Great. by dl064 (Thu 7th Nov 2019 9:11am)
  • I don't think they meaningfully differ, having lived in both and being *from* neither. by dl064 (Thu 7th Nov 2019 4:37pm)
  • What I enjoyed most about that was that it you dug down into the actual story, which was on most news sites, Brian Lamont was quite emphatically and evidently a grass indeed. by dl064 (Thu 14th Nov 2019 11:28am)
  • Do they not still have that thing where it doubles if you appeal? by dl064 (Thu 14th Nov 2019 11:33am)
  • Got an absolutely ridiculous one at work, where my wife's X-year contract extension was agreed in *June*, and they're just fucking sitting on it. Email, call, whatever: just 'yeah we'll get around to putting that on paper. We'd rather they did because the moment that's done we're telling them she's pregnant. by dl064 (Tue 19th Nov 2019 11:49am)
  • > Neighbour has opted to use boiling water from the kettle. > > Autoglass like 'sounds good to us! BTW we can be reached on...' by dl064 (Tue 19th Nov 2019 11:47am)
  • I worked in Baltimore for a bit, and it was properly 'if you literally stay outside at night in winter, You Will Die'. It's just so mucked up, what there's money for in the world, and what there's not. by dl064 (Tue 19th Nov 2019 11:46am)
  • As someone who used to work in addictions: it's the folk *above* addictions you should be mad at. The bean counters. by dl064 (Wed 27th Nov 2019 7:29pm)
  • My boss in NHS addictions used to say fuck the bean counters, because they spotted that the more you cut funding, the faster folk are pulled through the system. They're not actually *helped* but they're processed faster, because you've not a hope of really helping them. by dl064 (Wed 27th Nov 2019 7:27pm)
  • I've friends in Bournemouth. I really liked it, particularly the climate. It's a small but significant step more temperate, and brighter for longer. It is, of course, literally the other end of the country though. I've lived in Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow. I would say Glasgow is the best balance of cheap (Edinburgh accommodation is, genuinely, beyond your nightmares), good nightlife (pubs; gigs etc.), and you can get out to the highlands. by dl064 (Thu 28th Nov 2019 3:10pm)
  • I like it. I've friends who *moved* from Southampton and Bournemouth and were aghast that we ever considered moving there (from Glasgow). (I've also lived in Baltimore and Boston, and Do Not recommend that). by dl064 (Thu 28th Nov 2019 3:16pm)
  • I enjoy Pint of Science. I performed at one a few years ago. Great time. Hope it goes well. by dl064 (Fri 29th Nov 2019 3:09pm)
  • We've just had our 20 week scan for the baby. All grand. Anyway, my wife's got a big fancy fellowship which covered her mat leave and well beyond, and the uni we work which makes a huge song and dance about equality and more women in science, is being *The Biggest Cunt* about the whole thing. We're pretty *on it* when it comes to paper trails, but they're still obstinate. You can have X on paper, but the moment it involves paying a penny, suddenly the structure and function of language apparently escapes them. "What does 'confirmed', even really mean? This word 'supply', how nebulous. 'Pregnant', that could mean many things" You can see how folk who don't like kicking off end up getting screwed over; they try and do you, or not pay as much as possible, and then it's only when you kick off they go 'oh yeah, silly us' (if you're lucky). It's not discrimination - yet - but they're clearly adept at finding the exact line and not a millimetre beyond it. by dl064 (Fri 29th Nov 2019 3:05pm)
  • There was one on the Edinburgh FB pages a couple of years ago when some kids who regularly stole motorbikes and razzed them, one died. Started off 'so sorry about Stevie RIP BIG MAN' etc. etc., and then the '...fuck him, idiot, had it coming' began and it all got quite tense. by dl064 (Fri 29th Nov 2019 3:12pm)
  • I had a knob a few months ago, where basically our boiler was brand spankin' new in October 2017, when the previous homeowner bought it. As I got it serviced, the man and I agreed it was ambiguous if she'd started the warranty. So I phoned them up and due to GDPR they couldn't even tell me if she'd activated it or not, so I had to pay money to start it late (even though she might well have actually done it and all was grand). by dl064 (Fri 29th Nov 2019 3:11pm)
  • >Think even asda is open cos they're worst cunts. I mind in 2007/2008 Sainsbury's did just unfair hours at Christmas. Like shut at 1 open at 5. I came in late once and they were all just milling about. Noone else was in. This was a megastore you had to drive to. One guy was on both shifts, said he might start bringing a sleeping bag. Just shit. by dl064 (Tue 3rd Dec 2019 11:55pm)
  • > Alternatively you could just get the number 2 bus from duke street to Finnieston which would take a bit longer but you wouldn’t have to get off and walk as far. I'd additionally say the busses tend (overall) to be more reliable. At least where we are in Milngavie, a bus might be slightly slower but it'll *arrive* and *get you there*, whereas a train might just meh its way into non-existence. One time we were on the train and it just sat and had a fault for 45 minutes and you couldn't even get off. It's a 15 minute journey. by dl064 (Wed 4th Dec 2019 10:42am)
  • I always think the cops must be grateful that criminals homogeneously gravitate to certain cars. by dl064 (Wed 4th Dec 2019 10:45am)
  • I attended one the other day and it was Indiana Jones. My sister in 2012 got Star trek the next generation. by dl064 (Fri 6th Dec 2019 9:47am)
  • I dunno, the Christmas Velociraptor. (Folk who think I'm kidding: no) by dl064 (Sun 8th Dec 2019 12:31am)
  • There's a raptor in the Elfingrove stuff and it's obviously 'right we've got one in the cupboard; better than nothing?' by dl064 (Mon 9th Dec 2019 1:14pm)
  • There was a good one a few years ago where Ferrari called their 2011 F1 car the F150, to celebrate some Italian birthday. Ford kicked off that folk might mistake a Ferrari Formula 1 car for their US-only pickup truck (also called the F150). Fuck it, why not. by dl064 (Thu 12th Dec 2019 9:13am)
  • The app game Candy Crush famously nicked IP and then sued the creator to get *that* closed. by dl064 (Thu 12th Dec 2019 9:10am)
  • I worked in Baltimore for a bit and it was genuinely, like, fatal if you were outside overnight. Whole other ballgame. We've got it okay. by dl064 (Sun 15th Dec 2019 7:25pm)
  • The accomodation is absolute pennies compared to Edinburgh. by dl064 (Sun 15th Dec 2019 7:25pm)
  • Literally the first week I moved to Edinburgh some Ned just randomly kicked me in the balls and ran away. Nothing else for 5+ years, just that first fucking week. by dl064 (Mon 16th Dec 2019 12:11am)
  • > the little screen where i controll the heating from says its due and keeps beeping every so often > > It's not *absolutely certain* it'll be correct and you're due, but you are correct to flag it up and contact someone. by dl064 (Mon 16th Dec 2019 10:14am)
  • I'm kinda wondering to what extent I've been underestimating the 'student flats incoming' joke, in all honesty. by dl064 (Mon 16th Dec 2019 10:13am)
  • There's probably a button you can press to stop it beeping; acknowledge/confirm or thereabouts. by dl064 (Mon 16th Dec 2019 11:17am)
  • > They talk about his comedy history, his celebrity mates, the band, the boots and plenty more My parents and family were friends with him when he was in Drymen decades ago. They say: a. many of his stories are totally embellished. b. quite a lot of stories involving *him*, never got out. Apparently he kicked a guy in pretty hard one time. by dl064 (Tue 17th Dec 2019 11:25am)
  • Ha, damn I've actually made an enormous typo someone: I meant *none* of his stories are embellished. What an odd brain fart. by dl064 (Tue 17th Dec 2019 3:59pm)
  • Ha, well I don't know about *that one*. by dl064 (Tue 17th Dec 2019 4:26pm)
  • I mind in 201..6? or something, they did huge subway works and there was a replacement bus. Meant to be for 2 weeks, but they got a week in and had used the wrong cement, so spent a week taking it all back out, just to start again. by dl064 (Wed 18th Dec 2019 11:47am)
  • Got my course feedback today from all the students. All grand; the biggest complaint is 'I know all the lecturers try, but something has to be done about the Chinese students talking'. by dl064 (Wed 18th Dec 2019 1:07pm)
  • Ah was it 4 and 8? Cheers. Jesus. by dl064 (Thu 19th Dec 2019 11:35am)
  • I really like the Glasgow uni Christmas card/video thing. https://twitter.com/UofGlasgow/status/1207221461921910786 by dl064 (Fri 20th Dec 2019 10:45am)
  • There's a good story that because they sent all the airport folk to the nearby hotel, Smeaton ended up with like 1000 pints behind the bar for him. by dl064 (Sun 22nd Dec 2019 12:54pm)
  • Pal who worked at a union said similar: folk on coke fight back too hard and wake up with serious injuries. They push too hard. by dl064 (Sun 22nd Dec 2019 12:52pm)
  • I've left Virgin twice in 2011 and 2018, and both times they tried to nab an extra months charge. Phoned them up and they sorted it no bother, but funny that. by dl064 (Tue 24th Dec 2019 12:50am)
  • My pal wanted to do a PhD on him a number of years ago. Got told, basically, come back when he's dead. We're useless at celebrating living people who should be celebrated. by dl064 (Mon 30th Dec 2019 12:58am)
  • Personally I can absolutely see the unfortunate possibility that if you take the kids, suddenly you're basically a kidnapper: and where does it go from there? I think for all you don't trust the cops, and you've probably a point, at least citizens advice and/or the police probably are potentially the right thing to do. Not to get all Fathers4Justice or whatever, but I definitely think most authorities will be geared mother-ward, you're right. by dl064 (Wed 8th Jan 2020 1:23pm)
  • The university buildings have been delayed and delayed and delayed. Originally meant to move in 2018(!). by dl064 (Wed 8th Jan 2020 2:48pm)
  • > I also think they should just turn University Gardens and Lilybank Gardens off to cars completely now. There are going to be so many more pedestrians now the new uni building has gone up. They're selling off all or at least their Lilybank gardens properties to offset the new buildings. High quality flats incoming, no doubt. by dl064 (Wed 8th Jan 2020 2:48pm)
  • That Hillhead one was basically my private cafe over the summer before it inevitably died. I think one at Partick might face the same problem that basically noone comes to a subway station to dilly-dally. Might fare better due to being a train station, I guess. by dl064 (Wed 8th Jan 2020 2:45pm)
  • I'd be reluctantly okay with harder parking stuff if it came with the benefit of better public transport, which it hasn't at all. Cycling in the West end is an absolute death trap. by dl064 (Wed 8th Jan 2020 2:50pm)
  • Investigating prams and baby seats. Fuck me, it's overcomplicated. by dl064 (Wed 8th Jan 2020 2:56pm)
  • I was absolutely ragin' about this story yesterday where it seemed a guy basically got away with killing a 20-something by a dodgy overtake. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-51021874?ns_linkname=scotland&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_scotland_news&ns_source=twitter Investigating it more, I actually do see the complication that he didn't actually hit him: he set off a chain reaction which did. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-49254481?fbclid=IwAR2X6Gf6Wx1sRVltoDc54HaZXa8aPmx5AYE66x9yn1nII31iN2fB-LQP3b8 Still an absolute prick who I hope struggles to live with himself, but still: I can actually see the problem with sentencing him wholesale, now. by dl064 (Wed 8th Jan 2020 3:01pm)
  • Yeah reckoning Argos - that way it's not a total nightmare to return if it's problematic. It's not so much I begrudge investigation, it's more I'm like 'I sincerely don't think it needs to be this complicated', like even Isofix stuff, which is specifically meant to be a *standard fitting*, has brand and car specificity. by dl064 (Wed 8th Jan 2020 3:25pm)
  • Genuinely going to play around with that site - thanks! Nice one. by dl064 (Thu 9th Jan 2020 8:54am)
  • Yeah this is exactly the plan, indeed. Thinking a Joie seat/pram for that reason. by dl064 (Thu 9th Jan 2020 8:52am)
  • So a bit of skinny. I know someone who inherited several flats in Govan. They were worth absolutely nothing a number of years ago. Anyway, a few more recent years ago Sturgeon either got stick or started to think it wouldn't look good for her constituency to have such a bad reputation, and so the council started buying up flats to completely nuke and redo. Among which were this person's like 4 flats which went for *stupidly* over the odds. So yes, good time to have owned historic property in that neck of the woods. by dl064 (Sat 11th Jan 2020 12:14pm)
  • There were actually some external shots in The Dark Knight Rises. And I think the plane scene at the start was filmed in Paisley or something (that's less clear). by dl064 (Mon 13th Jan 2020 9:09am)
  • > There actually is an argument that Glasgow doesn't charge much for filming - it seems the filming costs are maybe being kept low to encourage big films to use the city and then the real money will be made in tourism etc off the back of those films. Which I can understand as a strategy. Outlander for example has been a massive tourism boon to Scotland. I worked in Baltimore for a bit and exactly this *made* the place, re House of Cards. They then started trying to ramp up the fees and they went 'well we'd go elsewhere'. by dl064 (Mon 13th Jan 2020 9:10am)
  • Ah that's the one; cheers. by dl064 (Mon 13th Jan 2020 12:12pm)
  • Generally speaking it would be *handier* to learn a manual, but I also think that the given most companies are going to stop making combustion-engined cars full stop in the next few years, you'll see more and more without sticks until eventually, one day, none. by dl064 (Tue 14th Jan 2020 3:49pm)
  • Does it bother you much? Milngavie folk are up in arms about it but I quite like it actually. by dl064 (Tue 14th Jan 2020 3:52pm)
  • I'd say Crannog's are up your alley/river. https://www.crannog.co.uk/ by dl064 (Wed 15th Jan 2020 1:17pm)
  • The best is the aggro you get between warring Lost Dog pages. by dl064 (Fri 17th Jan 2020 1:40pm)
  • Got a bit of a funny, daft one at work where basically, for bland mundane reasons, I have to kill 5 grand worth of expenses before April, and because we're expecting a baby conferences are basically out the window. Chucking in these bad boys at the very least. They're Skype Business Certified, don't you know. https://www.lyreco.com/webshop/ENEN/sennheiser-premium-binaural-pc-headset-usb-3-5mm-product-000000000011328462.html?context=more-result by dl064 (Fri 17th Jan 2020 2:34pm)
  • If it's a myth, it was certainly officially the plan early on: I remember reading it in the news before the film started. by dl064 (Fri 17th Jan 2020 3:33pm)
  • Yes that seems a reasonable possibility! by dl064 (Fri 17th Jan 2020 3:38pm)
  • I still go running in Stirling. I'll drive for 45 minutes because it's just *such* fucking amazing scenery. Even when I lived in Edinburgh I just never twigged with it. by dl064 (Fri 31st Jan 2020 11:09am)
  • Edinburgh in June - specifically June and nothing else - is utter 10/10 heaven. by dl064 (Fri 31st Jan 2020 11:08am)
  • Yeah, totally. I come out there with *shitloads* for 30 quid or whatever. by dl064 (Fri 31st Jan 2020 11:11am)
  • Yeah most MW stuff is fine for walks etc. They do disproportionately well for the price, given sometimes the alternatives can be 10x. They won't necessarily last years and years, but they also won't fall apart in a month or anything. I think they fill a gap, certainly. by dl064 (Fri 31st Jan 2020 11:11am)
  • > More recently, maybe 5 or so year ago I got sucker punched for no reason comming out of a pub. 2 neds just looking for a fight. > > That's what gets me about so many stories you read: drunk folk in a bad mood, whack someone and their (and some poor bastard's) entire life ends off on a different trajectory because it goes a lot worse than they expected. by dl064 (Fri 31st Jan 2020 11:19am)
  • Bit of a tangent but my pal had a bonkers one where he was walking down Highburgh road (near the Tinderbox on Byers) when a guy threatened him with a big kitchen knife. He took his wallet, and then was going through it in front of him, having *put the knife between his legs*. So my pal grabbed it, got his wallet back, and legged it to his flat in Partick. Burst in the door still holding the knife like 'oh fuck, I've still got this, what now?' by dl064 (Fri 31st Jan 2020 11:21am)
  • Few additional anecdotes from living above one in the West end: 1. Folk are just fucking *milling around* outside your building and walk in with you without asking. Grand for my 5'2 wife, thanks. 2. If folk can't understand the lock, they'll go and *ask neighbours*. One American couple got locked out, and kicked in the door though, which was funny. 3. That same couple left the gas on, and the close was stinking of it. We were out on holiday at the time. 4. The unmistakable noise of suitcase wheels at 4AM every 2 days or so. 5. They would just leave their binbags in the close, having obviously been told to. Fuck 'em. Zero sympathy for the AirBnB hate they get. by dl064 (Fri 31st Jan 2020 11:27am)
  • I work in research, having worked in NHS addictions in the past and get quite mad//sad at what there is or is not money for. 5 million quid for a big fancy scanner noone uses? Grand, in you get. Money for an old guy to get a ramp? Hey now, we're not made of money. Social worker for a guy who might relapse? Dream on. by dl064 (Sun 2nd Feb 2020 7:38pm)
  • My pal in Edin got two parking tickets in 24ish hours and it was straight down to the impound. by dl064 (Sun 2nd Feb 2020 7:46pm)
  • Some stories I have accumulated recently: 1. I went to uni with two folk who are now cops. One was a drunk waste of space. The other, no word of lie, was a doorman because he really liked tussling with folk. What you want, eh. 2. Pal called the cops on a domestic above their flat. Cops arrived, asked if everything was ok, which the couple obviously said yes to, so came down to my pals door and went YEAH SO WE CHECKED OUT THAT DOMESTIC YOU REPORTED ABOVE, ALL SEEMS FINE, BYE. 3. Two of my family were involved in an incident a couple of years ago where someone (not them) crashed into something. They phoned the cops who were sending someone out. Waited 90 mins. Phoned up again 'oh yeah, they're not coming. Low priority'. (It was a Sunday afternoon). Cool stuff, seem great. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Feb 2020 12:05am)
  • On a bit of a tangent, there's a Starbucks guy who used to be very friendly, chirpy and enthusiastic, then he obviously got moved up a grade and has seemingly gone mad (and angry) with power. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Feb 2020 1:54pm)
  • Yeah I think you can't really go wrong in work/finances if you're transparent (e.g. with landlords), which is what you're doing. You're not the baddie here whatsoever. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Feb 2020 1:57pm)
  • I always think: general sentiment goes that most people are generally good, kind and intelligent, but every time I actually have to deal with the A Random Member of the General Public I come away with a worse impression. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Feb 2020 1:56pm)
  • If you cycle West end to Bowling//Balloch, there used to be a diversion through it a bit. Hairy stuff even at like 5PM in the summer. by dl064 (Tue 4th Feb 2020 1:03pm)
  • I mind a few years ago we went to a beer festival the same weekend as six nations. It had no TVs, so it was dead as a fucking doornail. The beer vendors were ragin' but it was amazing for the like 30 punters. by dl064 (Wed 5th Feb 2020 10:42am)
  • Only advice I'd say is that if you want something to keep you going, working in a shop or whatever, I had mega luck with literally walking the streets looking for signs. Worked in a shoe shop where they went 'if the sign hadn't worked, we were going to have to go online, and that was a faff'. So I got in before all that. Nice job. by dl064 (Wed 5th Feb 2020 10:41am)
  • Worth noting that the boiler makes a huge difference. We got ours replaced with a very good one a few years ago and it went from like 350 to 220 (approx. from memory; in any case **a lot**) by dl064 (Wed 5th Feb 2020 10:40am)
  • Bit of a tangent but a handy thing I found: if you're with Vodafone mobile and broadband, if the broadband ever dies for a week or whatever (which let's face it they all eventually do), Vodafone mobile just crank your 4g up to 100gig or so until it's fixed, and you use that as a router. I mean: not ideal, but fair enough to them, it's better than BT managed. by dl064 (Thu 6th Feb 2020 4:27pm)
  • Genuinely might need a new router. That increased our rate hugely. by dl064 (Fri 7th Feb 2020 7:22pm)
  • I love their jackets. by dl064 (Mon 10th Feb 2020 6:00pm)
  • Was talking to a taxi driver once who was telling us it’s all enormously dodgy and a massive economy boon for the taxis. Which was actually kinda staring us in the face, with even a little reflection. His point was that If there really ever is a good train service, they’ll have got around some rather serious people from the taxi industry. They actively mucked around with the zones to make Glasgow city to the airport cost an arm and a leg, for a taxi. by dl064 (Mon 10th Feb 2020 8:11pm)
  • Staff actually do park at long stay, to at least some degree, yes. by dl064 (Mon 10th Feb 2020 8:10pm)
  • Used to work in Addictions clinical psychology, and they had to start putting on group therapy sessions because the *psychologists* were getting traumatised. Just absolutely shocking. Different planet. by dl064 (Tue 11th Feb 2020 11:59am)
  • > Aye what’s it called fucking mon yersel or some pish like that The scottish folk on Twitter inviting people to come to Scotland like it's a big party 'the weather's pish but we're warm!' etc. Genuine wince reflex by dl064 (Wed 12th Feb 2020 9:02am)
  • > if you’re new to the city then good luck. One detail I think is fucking daft vs. other countries' systems: in Glasgow at least you need to know your stop's coming up. If you don't know where you are or aren't familiar with the stops, literally nothing tells you you are at stop XYZ. The other day the screen was covered in snow, like 'good thing I'm omniscient then eh'. by dl064 (Wed 12th Feb 2020 2:49pm)
  • https://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/news/tell-us-how-you-travel-locally-and-help-guide-future-local-transport East Dunbartonshire survey here, too. by dl064 (Wed 12th Feb 2020 2:52pm)
  • > Cineworld often shows horror movies only as late night screenings - at like 9pm...so a 2 hour movie + trailers means I'm not finished til about 11:30. The last subway is 11:40, the last bus home is 11:35. I'm probably not going to risk that tbh. My one 'oh come on' one was at New Year, where the Subway shut at like 2330, like 'OK I appreciate you work hard and deserve a break, but if you literally ran another hour, think how many folk wouldn't need taxis. Loads of people work overtime at NYE, noone would take it?' by dl064 (Wed 12th Feb 2020 2:52pm)
  • > getting a bike is your best bet Too many of my workmates have been run the hell over. Vague skinny: there's a paper coming out in a few weeks in the BMJ basically showing that as you cycle to work more, your risk of heart disease etc. goes down, but your risk of getting hospitalised due to goes up a *stupid* amount. by dl064 (Wed 12th Feb 2020 2:50pm)
  • If I could get onto the canal without having to hit A roads, that'd probably become my commute. by dl064 (Wed 12th Feb 2020 4:09pm)
  • DELETED Literally this wee thread on Reddit has reinforced the authors are in for an absolute whale of a time when it's published. Cc u/duskthehusky by dl064 (Wed 12th Feb 2020 10:44pm)
  • Agreed. I responded to that East Dunbartonshire survey saying as much: people will do what's most convenient and cheap, and if that became cycling, voila. by dl064 (Thu 13th Feb 2020 9:28am)
  • That is genuinely very informative, thank you. by dl064 (Thu 13th Feb 2020 9:27am)
  • Getting whacked, basically. by dl064 (Thu 13th Feb 2020 9:27am)
  • > I’ve appealed a few that have been unfairly issued unfairly by GCC and they’ve knocked my appeal back every time - they’re brutal with the parking enforcement. I had one I genuinely thought was shocking in 2012. I phoned up to discuss an appeal and the person was very obviously waiting for an opportunity to say I was being abusive and end the call (which I didn't give). I guess they must get that. Anyway, I asked: right, I think this is a genuine flaw in the system, can I request a) what the appeal success rate is at all, and b) if you can narrow that down by street or area, because if it's 0%, fuck that. Basically got told: you're welcome to an FoI, but we'll delay it for a very long time, so get fucked. by dl064 (Wed 19th Feb 2020 3:24pm)
  • I always think that folk like that probably respond the *worst* to inconvenience when the boot is on the other foot. by dl064 (Thu 20th Feb 2020 7:53am)
  • I was literally just hearing this is specifically because they are much more funny about dogs or even people walking on the grass. by dl064 (Thu 20th Feb 2020 7:52am)
  • The folk in my cousins old close did that. They photographed a serial offender and she got a fine. She came out into the garden and started screaming at no one in particular, which was daft as that’s even more satisfying. by dl064 (Thu 20th Feb 2020 7:50am)
  • I can understand it a bit though. It’s such a common observation folk have: we all underestimate the frequency of absolute mental bastards in the general population. I know someone who told someone their dog took a shit, and they got fucking *headered*. by dl064 (Thu 20th Feb 2020 7:56am)
  • They do them less on the grass. It's probably not the only explanation but it contributes. by dl064 (Thu 20th Feb 2020 10:47am)
  • That sounds really interesting. Could you elaborate a wee bit? My personal BBC story was that one time, they got in touch with me because they wanted to a bit on 'Trust me, I'm a doctor' about the brain. They kept going 'can you show that XYZ is bad, but then when you stop, it gets better'. I kept going 'no, I'd feel daft going on telly saying that, because folk are far too sceptical for that and we don't actually *know that*', and basically they went and found someone who'd go 'YUP TOTALLY'. by dl064 (Thu 20th Feb 2020 1:02pm)
  • I mind looking for flats in Edinburgh 1. was below ground level, and the little old lady who had died's stuff was literally still there. She must've barely been cold. It had fucking doilies and wartime photos up. Even the girl from the agent was like '....this is fucking *grim*, innit, sorry'. 2. saw one last thing on a friday, and the guy was brilliantly like 'look: you've questions, I dunno, look at it, take it, leave it, don't care; is what it is. Cool?' It was actually quite charming. by dl064 (Thu 20th Feb 2020 1:00pm)
  • I know two folk who came from that course, specialising in bioinformatics, who are probably among the most valuable folk on the team now. Seems to generate high quality graduates. by dl064 (Sat 22nd Feb 2020 1:35pm)
  • I mind in June 2018 it was so hot you could literally walk on it. Basically some mud and the odd trickle. by dl064 (Sun 23rd Feb 2020 6:51pm)
  • When I was wee I sincerely thought the ice cream wars were about ice cream. by dl064 (Sun 23rd Feb 2020 6:54pm)
  • My old job in the NHS was literally testing people's cognitive abilities once they'd gone cold turkey. So folk would drink for years and years, then get themselves better and our job was to go 'right so your memory's fucked, in these specific ways, try X,Y,Z'. It also really helps them through the system, as they'll get some addiction psychiatrist that thinks they're just being useless and their social worker//care worker//the charity can go 'no, look, they've actually been tested by a neuropsychologist, they're genuinely not as sharp as they could be, you're being unfair'. by dl064 (Mon 24th Feb 2020 3:03pm)
  • Yes there was, one might argue unsurprisingly, a bit more thought to it than that. by dl064 (Mon 24th Feb 2020 6:57pm)
  • Yes, usually there was a backlog so people had to be of representative mind and clean for a while. I tested one guy in prison because that was the only time we'd manage that with him. A sad job. by dl064 (Mon 24th Feb 2020 7:03pm)
  • Usually just paper and pencil aids about the house. There was a little camera thing we sometimes tried where folk would record their day, then watch it back and it would sometimes stimulate their memory a bit. The aids weren't very good if I'm honest, sadly. I'd say it had more use as like: this guy's reasoning is still okay, but his memory is crap so write stuff down for him. Or this guy's memory is okay but he's lost a lot of information processing speed, so explain things to him slowly. Folk seemed to feel a lot better that someone had actually tested them and they could tell folk 'please take things slow with me'. by dl064 (Mon 24th Feb 2020 7:01pm)
  • I mostly focussed on alcoholism but many people were on +1 substance, or had historic head injuries. It's why proper, deep care is tough: it's a multi-agency thing. Folk need a care worker, social worker, ocupational therapist, neuropsych testing, clinical psychology, a psychiatrist to check they've decision making capacity...the system can't cope with that. I tested one guy who was just out of jail for murder, and he still had pretty clear psychotic tendencies including delusions and intrusions. by dl064 (Tue 25th Feb 2020 9:52am)
  • No although they were part of the team. by dl064 (Tue 25th Feb 2020 9:51am)
  • I know from someone who would definitely know, that to at least some extent the upsurge is because they are having much tougher problems going to the US. They've done surveys: UK students like unis with fancy new stuff, international students like, basically, Hogwarts. There is apparently a man from UoG who goes out to China to convince students to come here, and he pays his salary 10x over. by dl064 (Fri 28th Feb 2020 12:18pm)
  • Recently had a talk from McLaren (F1)'s technical boss, and he was saying that for their specific purposes, Glasgow has a very high rate of extremely capable graduates, up their with the best. It's all area specific, of course. Glasgow's good at cancer and heart disease, Edinburgh's better at (xyz) by dl064 (Fri 28th Feb 2020 12:17pm)
  • Glasgow uni did a commuting survey a few months ago and it went 'if you commute via car, and you don't park in a UoG car park', where do you park? Like, gt (absolute) f. by dl064 (Fri 28th Feb 2020 12:23pm)
  • I know a black, female professor at UoG who was saying the other day she's literally never had a hint of racism in decades in Glasgow, until you go to the USA and it is absolutely front-and-centre. by dl064 (Fri 28th Feb 2020 12:20pm)
  • If she is truly stuck, PM me and I'll let you in on a good spot. by dl064 (Fri 28th Feb 2020 1:39pm)
  • My wife's expecting. We're both staff and you'd better believe I'm making a song and dance about the baby when we get to parking permit season. They basically couldn't give away permits for Garscube last year. There should be a shuttle or something, like Edin uni used to have from Little France, through the uni, to the Western General. Park in Garscube, shuttle in. by dl064 (Fri 28th Feb 2020 1:41pm)
  • The uni gives parents priority in the application process. Dunno why, but I guess for the mothers during their Keeping in Touch days. I'd *love* to get the bus in more but it's simply far less convenient and more expensive for our specific journey. The train is unreliable and again much slower. by dl064 (Tue 3rd Mar 2020 11:00am)
  • Yes, the big three modifiable factors from a recent university 'summit' were: 1. heating (which would be helped overnight by climate control rather than off/on radiators, and will improve a lot in a couple of years when several old buildings full of staff are consolidated into a new campus) 2. domestic flights (they're going to make it that you need to justify why you're flying vs. train). 3. commuting in by car (which would be improved by better public transport, safe cycle lanes; or as I suggested a shuttle from Garscube or something). If the public transport were more convenient I'd do it tomorrow; you've absolute no idea about my circumstances. by dl064 (Wed 4th Mar 2020 9:46am)
  • > It’s time to make it awkward and expensive as hell to drive in, and make cycling/walking/public transport the cheap and easy thing to do. Recently, Glasgow uni had, let's say departmental-wide talk, about emissions, where the man from the relevant dept. basically said that it's miles easier to just make it harder to drive around, than to improve services. Not terribly endearing approach, really. I read a good article about electric cars a while ago, about how people are selfish and agnostic to convenience: if it becomes easier and/or cheaper to bus/train/cycle vs. car, they'll do it in short order. by dl064 (Wed 4th Mar 2020 12:34pm)
  • > Glasgow's extensive motorway network, though much maligned, make it super easy to travel in and out of the city > > There's an interesting bit in the red bus tour, that Charing Cross was never designed to hold the number of cars it does - by orders of magnitude - and one day they'll have to do something about it which will not be a job of the moment. by dl064 (Wed 4th Mar 2020 12:33pm)
  • I don't doubt the first half is incoming, it's the second I'm sceptical about. by dl064 (Wed 4th Mar 2020 12:37pm)
  • Huh. Bugger. The bit that's always put me off is that in one year about 5 people in the uni medical college were whacked on bikes between Garscube and Bearsden, one very seriously. Nah, man. by dl064 (Wed 4th Mar 2020 1:28pm)
  • > Councils and operating companies (Amey, transerv etc) have 24hrs from the initial complaint to fix the potholes, which they do but unfortunately not very well. This means that the potholes reappear and a new 24hr period starts. If you'd like a raise on that one, I used to work in Edinburgh neuroscience/radiology, and they had a mobile MRI machine out the back, in a lorry. It was fucking useless. You'd get a better picture from your phone. But, on paper, if you drive it out to someone's house and scan them, however useless the image, it counts on paper as scanned within a week/month/whatever limit they were being held to re 'if you are suspected of condition X we will scan you within this time frame'. by dl064 (Sun 8th Mar 2020 11:58pm)
  • My wife had one a few years ago where basically she was owed a load of money from estate agents going back a while. She spoke to someone I think at Citizens Advice who said: it costs them nothing to basically be dicks and try and fob you off, and many people fall for it. In her case she didn't need the stress and faff of their apparently common technique of holding off until the day before a tribunal to go 'aye alright'. by dl064 (Sun 8th Mar 2020 11:56pm)
  • What truly pisses me off is the amount of roadworks, and we know from folk involved that there really is bugger all going on, and it's all a way of spending the budget on equipment hire. It's irritating because Ross Greer did an amazing job getting the 15 bus back after summer, and now you'd be an idiot to get it when the 60a goes a slightly alternate route that's not sat in traffic the entire time. by dl064 (Mon 9th Mar 2020 12:00am)
  • The bidet market has generally failed to capitalise. by dl064 (Mon 9th Mar 2020 2:34pm)
  • Couple of instances on Lost Dogs Glasgow or thereabouts of a dog going missing and just appearing next to a beggar in Buchanan street having been nabbed in a totally different part of the city. by dl064 (Mon 9th Mar 2020 2:37pm)
  • My pal's a consultant microbiologist, of which there are like 8 in Scotland at all, and I run stuff on twitter with X-thousand likes on it past him, and he's usually: 'absolute bollocks'. by dl064 (Mon 9th Mar 2020 2:36pm)
  • I was at a public health conference a few years ago where someone reported on how many germs were on various things they swapped. Even surgical stuff had a *bit*, but the worst by a country mile was stuff used a lot that folk don't think about, like the nurse station telephone. ...or, say, the bathroom. by dl064 (Mon 9th Mar 2020 2:35pm)
  • Caught a glimpse of our neighbour's garage the other day and they had a genuine wall of loo roll. by dl064 (Sun 15th Mar 2020 1:01am)
  • Genuine chance you're friends with my pal then, or that's a tremendous coincidence. One of them a microbiologist? In any case, he says he at least turned around and flew straight home... by dl064 (Sun 15th Mar 2020 1:08am)
  • I definitely think that while health is obviously important, basically noone seems to be thinking at all about the secondary effects on the economy, which will hit *very* hard afterwards. I see on twitter there's a big push to make going to pubs a faux pas. Okay, but noone should feign surprise if they're gone on our return. by dl064 (Sun 15th Mar 2020 1:05am)
  • Must say, I've been in an m&s and Lidl this weekend and you wouldn't know. by dl064 (Sun 15th Mar 2020 7:17pm)
  • I would say Sandra if I had to. by dl064 (Sun 15th Mar 2020 7:16pm)
  • Mmm. Twitter keeps screaming that we should close schools and universities, but as the CMO said, none of these things are simple or without downside or they'd be done. Folk love to think there's a big red button and silver bullet. You can't close universities outright because they conduct research. Every wet lab experiment kaput? No new medical cohort in August? No. Ditto, you close schools and the kids go stay with grandparents or inevitably play together anyway, and if we close schools, they're probably closed until August. For once, I'm slightly on the side of the Tories that thinking about the economy after all of this *does* matter for public health. It'll hit a lot of people like an absolute train. It's hard stuff. by dl064 (Sun 15th Mar 2020 11:41pm)
  • Ah well. Did you end up turning around I guess? They landed, France announced it was basically closing, and they had one night in Geneva before flying home. Some of them ended up in Dublin exactly when the news came: everyone out. by dl064 (Mon 16th Mar 2020 9:23am)
  • Bugger. Well, if it helps I discovered from RBS there that if you ordered a holiday/flight, and then while you are about to fly/have to come back because all but essential travel is discouraged (from home office), insurance will reimburse you. by dl064 (Mon 16th Mar 2020 11:16am)
  • Off-topic, but this must happen a lot. I applied for a job a number of years ago where the postcode was in a pretty terrible area, but it turned out to be merely where they made the decision. by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 9:39am)
  • Also: https://twitter.com/DavidDuffy95/status/1239918672644358144?s=20 by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 10:13am)
  • Yup. I had a beauty around that time where I applied for a job in one wing of NHS GG&C. Had interview, and then *ages* later, weeks and weeks, got a letter saying no. Applied for more jobs, got more interviews etc. That 1st one then phoned me and went 'so you coming or what?' They'd send a reject letter by mistake. I had an interview the next day, which I went to just incase it was an error, and got that too. So if they'd phoned even a day later, I'd have taken another job and my whole life would now be totally different probably. by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 11:12am)
  • Yeah mega common, that. I got interviewed in Royal once (near Charing Cross) and the job was in Gorbals. by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 12:21pm)
  • > Even if it’s not a mistake, you can get good feedback on where to improve on your next application. I mind the most brutal feedback I got was 'look, you seemed nice and entirely capable, but we got 200 applicants, interviewed [loads], and someone had like one year more experience. That was literally it, there's no meaningful way of distinguishing people at this level'. Just: well fuck. (2010). by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 1:06pm)
  • Bit far out but there's a wee car park just outside Stirling on the road to Tillicoultry, which has a sign saying 'look, doggers, fine, whatever, but pick up your litter, eh?' by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 3:28pm)
  • There's a good Chris McQueer bit about this (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p077g0ls/chris-mcqueers-hings-series-1-episode-1), and I remember reading him saying once that when they were filming out and the guy was shouting, someone came out like 'fucking finally, where you been?' by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 3:26pm)
  • I think there is a very fine line between staying informed vs. wilfully freaking yourself out with Twitter. by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 11:04pm)
  • Mental health hygiene, innit. by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 11:08pm)
  • My family were on holiday in Lanzarote recently and they were saying folk outright didn't give a fuck. Mingin' on a *normal* day, some folk. by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 11:14pm)
  • I think a lot of takeaways are crying out for folk to use them (if that helps). It seems that the huge Supermarkets get it worst; the wee ones e.g. Tesco metro don't seem as bad. by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 11:12pm)
  • You can get them as an app on your phone, although I can't vouch for the veracity. by dl064 (Wed 18th Mar 2020 11:19pm)
  • Ah nice one, thank you. Luckily it was 10+ years ago now. I think it only got worse in the sense of hundreds applying for a tiny one-role bottleneck. In any case though yes, I agree: a few months later a rejection phoned back and said 'hi, we DO have something else'. I've a pal who works for an accounting firm, and he can apparently invent a post as a relative formality; his boss just needs to OK the business plan, which he barely looks at. by dl064 (Thu 19th Mar 2020 9:48am)
  • There is a push for this on Twitter but it does not yet have a catchy hashtag. by dl064 (Fri 20th Mar 2020 9:34am)
  • Generally speaking, my wife worked for SECC for a long time and they advertise it as 'zero hours! Work when you want!' then you agree, and it's 'if it is not exactly when we ask we'll never ask again'. by dl064 (Fri 20th Mar 2020 9:34am)
  • Apparently Tiso sacked 8 staff on the spot this week: 'if you could work from home, you were never needed'. by dl064 (Fri 20th Mar 2020 9:33am)
  • There's also a secondary effect. I know someone who does contract work for a large hotel (among other agencies), and they've basically told him: we had 900 cancellations recently. They're worried about getting paid for the work they've done. by dl064 (Fri 20th Mar 2020 9:32am)
  • Jon Ronson's book on psychopathy is good, about how most folk don't want to do things like this, but they're ok enough hiring the folk who *will*. by dl064 (Fri 20th Mar 2020 9:30am)
  • Absolutely ditto. I knew *of it* from 20 years ago. It would've been quaint to go again now, but fuck that. by dl064 (Fri 20th Mar 2020 9:35am)
  • (This was Edinburgh central office) by dl064 (Fri 20th Mar 2020 12:12pm)
  • It's funny, I used to absolutely love a freezing cold run. Nothing like that hot shower on return. Nowadays I like it comfier: treadmill (fat chance now) or outside if it's actively warm only. by dl064 (Fri 20th Mar 2020 12:22pm)
  • To some extent the govt. were pragmatic that a downside of closing schools was that inevitably there would be a weekend where they all celebrated, basically, a 6-month summer holiday. They were quite transparent that basically no measure you take is made in a vacuum: you can't close schools without them going elsewhere, you can't lockdown a country for too long or people will flip out. Added to which, from the kid's perspective they've all been hanging around for ages already, so what's one more Saturday night. It's obviously not correct or ideal, just realistic. Try telling a 16 year old not to celebrate the end of school. I think patience extended to this weekend past though (even then for many people it didn't). by dl064 (Mon 23rd Mar 2020 12:41am)
  • Depends what he's doing, to some extent. If he's off at a rave, yeah maybe not; if he's just going for a walk alone, fine to within reason. by dl064 (Mon 23rd Mar 2020 12:47am)
  • https://twitter.com/hannahITV/status/1242219831849553930?s=19 by dl064 (Tue 24th Mar 2020 3:59pm)
  • There is actually evidence that China's emissions dropped >25%, and basically crept straight back up once life returned to normal. by dl064 (Wed 25th Mar 2020 12:37pm)
  • I was out for my daily mandated Lone Exercise the other night and some folk had set fire to a tree in Garscube. They'd basically found a hollow-ish one, laid logs (quite diligently I might add), and set fire to it from the inside out. It was kinda horrifically beautiful, actually, like something out of Midsommar or Wicker Man. Just this perfectly contained oven. Anyway the fire lot came and put it out fairly quickly, and the place was thick with smoke for a while, so job well done to the little knobends that did it. Probably a very old tree; it was big. by dl064 (Wed 25th Mar 2020 1:28pm)
  • They're basically on summer holidays and teenagers are bastards to control (in summary). I keep thinking back to that bit in Limmy's autobiography about being basically a bit of a bam: 'I just didn't care. No guilt. I figured everyone would be fine and it wouldn't be a big deal'. by dl064 (Wed 25th Mar 2020 1:26pm)
  • I'm sure there's a way to pin it on smartphones. by dl064 (Wed 25th Mar 2020 3:15pm)
  • Patton Oswalt had a thing about how it's hard to make fun of Trump as a comedian because it all moves so fast. Covfefe was *ages* ago and there are a million memes and crazy stories. I think that's just modern life really: there's a drama and we all hate, I dunno, Costa for a bit, then folk forget and it's replaced by being mad at (again, I dunno), Admiral. by dl064 (Thu 26th Mar 2020 1:21pm)
  • On the basis of years in the Western tennis club changing rooms, I sincerely think there are different social distancing norms full stop, by age. by dl064 (Mon 30th Mar 2020 9:59am)
  • I was in Lidl a couple of weeks ago, so before all the proper lockdown stuff but still when there was a 'keep your distance, keep it orderly' vibe. They opened an extra til and some bam legged it basically *over* an old person and their grandchild. Cool stuff mate. by dl064 (Mon 30th Mar 2020 10:03am)
  • I think to some extent what happens is social media (including reddit and the news a bit) show the absolute horror stories, and the 'my area's actually quite good' stuff never sees the light of day. 'It's fine' doesn't make great content. by dl064 (Mon 30th Mar 2020 10:00am)
  • The Bearsden and Milngavie facebook page is tremendously entertaining these days. Somewhere between Limmy's [Mr Mulvaney](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lwno2IRStc) and the [CITIZEN'S ARREST](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN9IKtxepmo) guy. by dl064 (Mon 30th Mar 2020 10:05am)
  • As with many things I think people are going to one extreme or the other when the answer's a bit more in the middle. I think common sense should be the order of the day, but I can see why they've whacked on a basically total order, because otherwise you do get things like Strathclyde park getting closed. I mean: it's why we have the lockdown full stop, really; because folk can't be trusted en masse. My pal's a microbiology consultant - literally working on it - and he was saying you'd more or less have to cough in someone's face, but folk actually do kinda, so we have to go a bit overboard with the lockdown. It seems daft to me that I can walk the dog from the front door where it's mobbed, but not drive literally 4 minutes to a bit only accessible by road and not see a soul. by dl064 (Mon 30th Mar 2020 10:11am)
  • I have noticed, personally and on social media, that folk lap up the horror stories but whenever one's optimistic, many people are quick to dismiss it. I suppose it's protective, really: as you say if we endorse 'CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE, JOB DONE', at least one person somewhere will be knocking on the pub door. The twitter accounts for glasgow central and the traffic cameras were saying the other day that in absolute terms, it's incredibly impressive that basically overnight Scotland stayed home. It was very obvious apparently. by dl064 (Mon 30th Mar 2020 10:20am)
  • I'm sure folk are more clued in on this than me, but everything I've read (including that quite-good actual official document above) suggests they know the public en masse wouldn't hack intense lockdown for more than a certain amount of time. Coming back to what you're saying there about how if folk properly rebelled en masse, they couldn't stop it, so it's a deft balancing act. So if I were a betting man I'd say we get to 3 weeks, they go 'just another 2!', then they'll ease certain aspects. Depending of course on how the stats look. On the other hand, I know from a GP that they're going to start a permanent roadblock on at least one road, with passes for genuinely key staff. Given that hasn't even started yet, I do wonder. by dl064 (Mon 30th Mar 2020 10:33am)
  • There are a few pretenders, like 'Bearsden Community', or 'Milngavie & Bearsden Community', but what you really want is 'Bearsden And Milngavie Whats Going On'. That's the Real McCoy. by dl064 (Mon 30th Mar 2020 11:53am)
  • Must say, for all a lot of curtain twitchers are flipping out about people's 2nd exercise of the day, I think a massive amount of the country has done quite well in terms of social distancing. For Scotland to, basically overnight, abandon public transport and the roads...is pretty good going, in the absolute scheme of things. by dl064 (Tue 31st Mar 2020 10:04am)
  • > Phantom Penny Whistler of Kelvinside Please expand. by dl064 (Tue 31st Mar 2020 11:09am)
  • >Fucksake, left Scotland nearly 20 years ago, moved half way round the world and my face is leakin. I went to work in the US for a year or so, and missed Scotland terribly. In one of the wee 'craft beer' sections in Baltimore I found a Williams Bros fraoch heather ale and it pushed me over the edge, like 'yessss, an envoy from the motherland'. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Apr 2020 9:39am)
  • One time during a (long) race I had died on my arse, and I was flagging. The crowd clapped a little old lady that was running ahead of me, then I arrived and the clapping stopped \*absolutely dead\*, like '*alright*, thanks'. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Apr 2020 9:43am)
  • It was quite nice on my estate; everyone that came out for a clap, there was an obvious 'so the couple at number 7 are cool....' by dl064 (Fri 3rd Apr 2020 9:45am)
  • My pal works for a beer company and there is in fact a heirarchy, which Hermes are by and large at the very bottom of, apparently. by dl064 (Tue 7th Apr 2020 4:56pm)
  • So we took an 'essential' drive somewhere today. What I find truly baffling: fine, there are folk on the roads who need to be there (e.g. us today). But they are an absolute shadow of the normal traffic. Why do folk still pull dick moves? Nipping out in front when there was no queue behind me. Razzing away at lights. What's the point, there are like 9 other cars in a square mile: there's *no race*. by dl064 (Tue 7th Apr 2020 4:54pm)
  • I did the Silverstone experience thing last year and had a similar time. I thought given I'm good at karts, know all my lines etc. I'd be at least not an embarrassment but folk were properly seconds and seconds faster. Makes me appreciate Button's line once about how the top guys are all *really* much of a muchness at the very top in absolute terms, whereas most of the population have a much wider spread. by dl064 (Thu 9th Apr 2020 2:37pm)
  • Wife made a human this morning, which is nice. Also nice is that with lockdown I get to be home far for far longer than 99% of dads would be, even once paternity leave ends in 2 weeks or so. by dl064 (Thu 9th Apr 2020 2:40pm)
  • I'm sure you're miles better at karting than me, too, I'm not properly competitive. by dl064 (Thu 9th Apr 2020 5:43pm)
  • Thank you :) by dl064 (Thu 9th Apr 2020 5:41pm)
  • Cheers! My advice to anyone expecting during Corona is to not believe the scary stories going around: the dad gets to sit in for much of it, you get time with the wee one after, and all of the equipment//services etc. are exactly the same as normal except I can't go to the mat ward just now. But we've plenty of time :) Even the NCT class said some scary stuff about control procedures which were absolutely untrue. by dl064 (Thu 9th Apr 2020 5:41pm)
  • Cheers! I've a clear night to sleep tonight fortunately... by dl064 (Thu 9th Apr 2020 6:35pm)
  • I mind saying once to a Knockhill staffer, like 'it is amazing how fast some folk are' meaning general adults, and he was like 'if you feel bad about that, don't come around when it's 9 year olds who weigh half what you do and run rings around everyone'. by dl064 (Thu 9th Apr 2020 10:19pm)
  • Thanks! by dl064 (Fri 10th Apr 2020 12:31am)
  • I had a 2012 Astra until last year. I was very attached. Moved to a 2018 Volvo and bloody hell, you'll notice a. The better efficiency and b. How far things improve, fast. by dl064 (Sat 11th Apr 2020 4:03am)
  • I am thinking about doing a post all about how my wife was very concerned about scary stories, including from support groups, re giving birth at QEUH. It was in fact totally grand and she'd have been better off not knowing or receiving said 'support'. Everything ran like clockwork. by dl064 (Sat 11th Apr 2020 4:01am)
  • Funnily enough I met a park ranger in the US. He was bamboozled our cops don't ordinarily carry guns; they kinda take the mick out of park rangers for that reason apparently. Loch Lomond looks for them every now and again. There are houses that are very good value, but you need to basically prove you work nearby, and I imagine it's to tempt folk to that job. by dl064 (Sat 11th Apr 2020 4:26am)
  • 11am: 4 shot blonde latte from Starbucks 1pm: brel burger 5pm: a big fat pint of st. Mungo from Sparklehorse; before it gets busy. I'll bring the dog. That is my day. by dl064 (Sat 11th Apr 2020 4:25am)
  • Yes I think she had at least some point there! There is a very fine line between keeping yourself informed vs. just freaking yourself out unnecessarily. Thank you. by dl064 (Sat 11th Apr 2020 10:43am)
  • Having lived in Edinburgh, I found rentokil poison very effective for mice. You can see they've been eating it, then they disappear. The humane traps were a waste of time I found. by dl064 (Mon 13th Apr 2020 5:00am)
  • It's currently a green space round of Pointless. by dl064 (Mon 13th Apr 2020 5:13am)
  • The londis by cottiers you wouldn't know anything was wrong. by dl064 (Mon 13th Apr 2020 12:41pm)
  • I feel for you both. It's a tough situation. Unless something has changed in the interim, I literally was this a few days ago. Our baby was born on thursday. Few pointers: if she's in the *mat ward*, partners often didn't stay there anyway as if she's in the advanced latent stage (I.e. 4cm) she could still be *quite a long time* from giving birth. Many men reasoned, rightly, go sort the abode out and get some sleep, because it's a commodity. My wife had contractions starting Saturday, was 4cm when she went in on wed morning and was 4cm 18 hours later! So there is still a long time potentially even when you go to the private suite, when partners are allowed back again all the way to birth. It is sad we can't be there to support them earlier, but again it could be days and many men don't anyway. We heard scare stories of: epidural shortages and lower likelihood of c section due to staff shortages. We did not find that: once we were in the active labour suite if anything it was quiet and efficient. One downer you might not be aware of: after birth you get an hour in labour ward together, then your partner and baby are off to mat ward for at least a day without you. Again, it's sad, but go get the shopping in, have a snooze, do a clean. You'll need it. All the best and congrats in advance! by dl064 (Mon 13th Apr 2020 6:53pm)
  • Key thing here is distinction from latent vs. active labour. You're not allowed in the mat ward when the woman goes from latent to active, and where folk can be there days. Partners are allowed in the active stage, namely the suite and then an hour or so afterwards. That is still hours, and really the business end. Then the mother/baby go off to mat ward again for at least a day. One solace is that in mat they can give the mother some *serious* cocodamol and apparently that eases things. by dl064 (Mon 13th Apr 2020 7:00pm)
  • I had a chilling one in Edinburgh, where the couple would argue ferociously then you'd hear a light shuffle and it'd stop dead. by dl064 (Sun 19th Apr 2020 8:23am)
  • +1 on the poison. I couldn't get any other method to work in (clean) Edinburgh flats, and poison did the job 101%. by dl064 (Sat 25th Apr 2020 12:04am)
  • I used poison a few times in Edinburgh and it did work a treat. There is the possibility they die somewhere and make a smell, but that never happened to me. The painless traps were useless I found. by dl064 (Sat 25th Apr 2020 12:02am)
  • Every now and again, rarely in fairness, you get cars going down the side down towards the university gates, full pelt like pedestrians are the weirdos for walking around a 30. It's obviously an error in Google maps or something. by dl064 (Sun 3rd May 2020 1:28am)
  • Back to work after the better part of a month off pat leave. It was good: I recommend it. It's also quite nice I'm still at home. by dl064 (Mon 4th May 2020 10:21am)
  • Re Tune of the Day: I recommended them to my boss one time a few years ago and he went 'I saw them in Oran Mor with about 9 other people *just* before they hit the big time'. I love those kinds of things. by dl064 (Mon 4th May 2020 10:20am)
  • Congrats when it happens. If we're still in covid-type conditions even at the birth, I'd say it's not half as bad as you might expect. Our NCT class included many folk due june/july and they were probably off the hook in terms of lockdown with at timeline, I'd say. by dl064 (Mon 4th May 2020 4:16pm)
  • Our classes were all on zoom and still useful. We are meeting all our 'classmates' for pints later. I don't know what normality is like but honestly all we found that was off was I couldn't go along at latent labour in the very first stage when they go from 4cm dilated to active labour; which can be 24hrs+ and many partners don't stay anyway. Honestly: main advice is it's fine (relatively speaking). You've much better chance of good parking this way! by dl064 (Mon 4th May 2020 9:35pm)
  • I fucking love a good iron in fairness. by dl064 (Wed 6th May 2020 4:12pm)
  • It's the real national holiday, the sun coming out in Scotland. by dl064 (Wed 6th May 2020 4:12pm)
  • > Paid a one off £500 fee as she could get a better mortgage deal than available online; and once our rates change in three years she will have a look again at the best changes to be made free of charge. > > See, I got that too from a small group in Stirling, and everyone on here told me I'd got done and it was a scam - but I felt it was money well spent for the service I got. by dl064 (Mon 18th May 2020 1:07pm)
  • I once wrote a letter to the council about a few things, and it became clear that if they had 0.1% opportunity to go 'ah well, you've said [blah] therefore nothing we can do', they'd take it. by dl064 (Tue 19th May 2020 11:43am)
  • I always think it's kinda funny that we all *get* that there's serious frequency of people with mental health problems in the general population, but when we're actually presented with one people are quite taken aback. A lot of people are seriously unwell and just out and about in daily life, plodding on, shouting at neighbours. by dl064 (Tue 19th May 2020 11:42am)
  • Indeed: wisdom teeth can be a general anaesthetic job if it's upper. I thought I needed one out and in the end just got antibiotics, job done. My friend is a dental surgeon (in Manchester) and they're largely twiddling their thumbs. by dl064 (Wed 20th May 2020 12:06pm)
  • 8AM is the boundary where you're technically alright but you'd be a bit 'this is a dick move eh'. by dl064 (Wed 27th May 2020 12:37pm)
  • > at the same time it's only a short drive to get to the hills or the seaside To me, this is king. We lived in Partick but enjoy hills, so moved to Milngavie. We can be at work in 30 mins, or Ben Lomond in 40. Crazy part of the world. by dl064 (Wed 27th May 2020 2:23pm)
  • > How many places don't take card payment, cash only Someone who'd know was telling us ages ago that cash only is, 9 times out of 10, 'we'd rather not tell the taxman about this, thanks'. by dl064 (Wed 27th May 2020 2:29pm)
  • Scotland's a welcoming and warm country (in spirit); it's each other we can't fucking stand. by dl064 (Wed 27th May 2020 2:28pm)
  • There's an old Limmy bit about: 'why do the bottles of lucozade always have the top on? Why do folk put the top on then chuck them?' by dl064 (Wed 27th May 2020 2:27pm)
  • > and as an East Coast American this made me feel stand off-ish at first I found it funny, living in Baltimore and then Boston to a lesser extent, that folk in the US tend to have a higher frequency of folk at the extremes: absolute 'Jesus Christ don't talk to that guy' and also essentially Golden Retrievers that happened to be born human. by dl064 (Wed 27th May 2020 2:26pm)
  • My wife lived in France for a year teaching English, and says exactly this. Absolutely flagrant, bare-faced stuff. by dl064 (Wed 27th May 2020 2:24pm)
  • Yeah. I liked Boston in particular. by dl064 (Wed 27th May 2020 4:02pm)
  • I would absolutely murder for a Big Tasty meal (large) + 2nd thing of chips, but I genuinely don't get how you'd wait that long for, like, 3 minutes of food. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Jun 2020 11:39am)
  • A few of my friends got a bit 'tense' the other day over a recent behaviour someone made, and I'm just a bit 'who fucking *cares* at this point, the country and world is not short of negativity at the minute, let some folk enjoy their little thing, I'll enjoy mine, and we'll all just not talk to one another'. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Jun 2020 11:38am)
  • I always find it funny that folk go on about 'make your own burgers! It's healthier etc.' and when I do mine are 10x filthier. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Jun 2020 11:36am)
  • When I was at uni in Edinburgh, I never really liked it, but it wasn't a big deal. Now I live in Glasgow (being from neither) suddenly folk think I've got on board with the rivalry, when really I just *never liked Edinburgh*. by dl064 (Sat 13th Jun 2020 10:01pm)
  • West keep advertising their cans/bottles etc., not getting that there's something about a big pint of St. Mungo from Sparklehorse that is perfection, and it's the gestalt of it all together, not one single aspect. by dl064 (Mon 15th Jun 2020 5:28pm)
  • It's probably absolute extortion to keep the place open at the moment, I would guess. They were saying on the tour once that they initially got the premises for kinda fuck all, years ago, and then once they did well the price magically went through the roof. We've done the tour/dinner thing twice 5 years apart, and the 2nd time around they'd clearly cut back on it (but not the price): tour was shorter and less interesting and food/drinks were more limited. Economics, I guess. by dl064 (Tue 16th Jun 2020 9:27am)
  • I feel they're slightly distinct things; a lot of people aren't socially anxious but are afraid of public speaking. Hell, most people are afraid of public speaking. I'm a lecturer, and my advice would be to do it a *lot*. Any opportunity to get up and say a bit, do it; if you're doing something proper like a performance, literally practice it in your kitchen. I did Bright Club (basically science standup), and I must've gone through the whole thing full pelt 20 times in the living room. Don't mime or whisper, say it properly. Anyway, that all helped me, from a place where I avoided speaking up like the plague at undergrad. Beat the fear a little bit each time. by dl064 (Fri 19th Jun 2020 10:22pm)
  • Completely independently of the thing today, someone was on here the other day saying management were mental. by dl064 (Fri 19th Jun 2020 10:28pm)
  • I've heard it's horrendous in the sense it's steep and hot. I've a pal who fell off and fucked his leg, and had no phone signal to get help. by dl064 (Sun 21st Jun 2020 11:02pm)
  • I find it in some subreddits, particularly sport stuff. Something happens, and most folk say X. If you're moderate, you've most folk shouting at you. Then if the tide turns and folk say Y, by being moderate folk are *still* shouting at you, from the different angle. Basically, being 'aye, well, bit of column A, bit of column B' is usually the truth but folk don't work that way. Is my experience on here over years, anyway. by dl064 (Sun 21st Jun 2020 11:01pm)
  • We were talking to a a woman in the Sparklehorse once who said her and her partner moved out to Knightswood thinking they were ready for a move to a slower pace of life, and regretted the fuck out of it and basically now spent loads of taxis back to the west end. by dl064 (Sun 21st Jun 2020 11:07pm)
  • Always a bit wary of somewhere the staff are *that* friendly so reliably. by dl064 (Mon 22nd Jun 2020 2:53pm)
  • I've got a pal who lives in Edinburgh and works at the Falkirk Royal, and he can get to work in the time it takes me to get from Milngavie to the West End. The fuck's that about. by dl064 (Mon 22nd Jun 2020 2:52pm)
  • Right old week, man. Aunt recently died of cancer. Now *another* aunt has been diagnosed with 3 types this week. My colleague, an older woman who is just the loveliest, her husband collapsed with a brain tumour on tuesday. He's alright, but 5-year survival rates aren't good. And then a nice woman who walks her giant dog in the park was saying her dad had two heart attacks this month. Just fuckin' hell, man. I spotted a tiny daft error in a paper that was accepted for a journal but not published yet. I stressed about emailing them to go 'hi...so, bugger...' and they were totally cool! No problem, but stress. And I've a grant deadline today at 5, and the baby regressed a bit in terms of sleep this week. So you know what, when that grant's in I'm having a Big Fucking Beer. by dl064 (Fri 26th Jun 2020 9:23am)
  • Cheers. In total fairness, they aren't my troubles per se; they're other people's, they just make me sad. But yes: pint at 5 I think! by dl064 (Fri 26th Jun 2020 11:09am)
  • Good luck; you're nearly there! Tell you what, as a lecturer on a master's course, dude you got in the nick of time, because the 2020 intake are going to have an absolute fucking doozey of a time with COVID-related amendments. Totally bananas how different it will all look. Substantially online, and starting later in the year but the 2nd semester (i.e. January 2021) they want as normal, so it'll basically be nightmarish for folk in Nov-Jan. Advice from someone who has marked MSc theses for years. 1. Make it look clean. Obviously, an amazingly written thesis which looks crap will still get a good grade, but you prime the marker if it's clean, neat, no absolutely daft typos in the first page etc. It is not a perfect 1:1 correlation that a sloppily written, poorly formatted thesis does badly or vice versa, but it's definitely *there*. 2. Make it clear what gap in the literature you're filling. 3. critical appraisal. Why is what you've done good, but also shite? That's where your absolute 1st class grades are. Good luck; you'll be grand. Especially because, massive skinny here, Glasgow uni at least is fucking petrified of students kicking off that they weren't understanding re exceptional circumstances, so there are top grades flying off the shelves like you wouldn't believe. Is that a vague insult to folk who really did work hard and deserved it? Yeah probably, a bit. But the long-and-short is, you won't fail unless you absolutely duff it, and even then you can resubmit under 'no detriment'. In short; you're *definitely* grand. by dl064 (Sun 28th Jun 2020 9:35pm)
  • The real national holiday, sunny days. by dl064 (Sun 28th Jun 2020 9:44pm)
  • Worth noting that re Border Collies, where I have one and am friends with someone who breeds them: firstly 250 is *very* low, ours was £600 (though she came with a load of tests, registration docs etc.). She's a tricolour, and a red and/or merle BC can be £1000 and it not be *that* odd, really. Obviously it'd be ideal to adopt, but I also know from friends who went that route that it can be quite a nightmare for a nice idea. One pal basically used up his annual leave within 6 weeks because they couldn't leave the dog alone, another got a few months in and couldn't hack it any more and returned the dog despite the best of intentions; some can be very, very challenging. Even a good puppy *is* rough. by dl064 (Mon 6th Jul 2020 10:56pm)
  • > You'll be able to get into the city centre in under 20 minutes from pretty much everywhere though. Oh I dunno about that; we moved to Milngavie and it's basically an hour. The trains are hugely unreliable and you're probably a walk to the station; the bus is fine but indirect; driving is a pain; cycling is a fucking death trap. Definitely overrated if you are genuinely keen to be in town quickly. WFH has been a God-send. by dl064 (Mon 6th Jul 2020 11:17pm)
  • > I think moving from a south side middle class bubble to Castlemilk could be a bit of a culture shock. They’ll be areas you can’t walk in, especially at nighttime. > > Friend of mine grew up in a particularly poor section of Cumbernauld. Was telling me about how there used to be gangfights straight outside his window which he'd watch. One guy pulled a samurai sword out once. by dl064 (Mon 6th Jul 2020 11:21pm)
  • I think you should prioritize somewhat, because those things would all be ideal for anyone. We went for Milngavie because it's very green and you have incredible access to things like the west highland way for running/walking the dog etc. But the access to town is poor unless you're *right* by the train station. Personally I valued not having a semi-; I didn't see the point in spending a load of money to potentially share a wall with karaoke enthusiasts. by dl064 (Mon 6th Jul 2020 11:20pm)
  • So I’m not complaining, and I’ve been slavishly adhering to rules/systems, but as a total pleb - do the masks not make distancing a lot more redundant? Like, I get that each are small preventive measures, but surely the masks are 95% of the benefit if it’s transmitted by droplets and potentially air? by dl064 (Fri 10th Jul 2020 10:20pm)
  • So they subsequently explained it on the BBC this morning, that because it indeed serves much the same ultimate purpose as distancing, it's good for when the 2m distance is relaxed and/or people start getting lax about distancing. It gives a wee nudge back the right direction. by dl064 (Sat 11th Jul 2020 9:19am)
  • >Where every student wants to know what their particular street is like. A few years ago I went to work in Baltimore. The only thing I didn't bother to ask was: is the area around the uni (Johns Hopkins) good? I figured, come on; it must be alright. No: absolute low-point in an already brutal city, and an absolute bee's dick from being a total disaster of a move. by dl064 (Mon 27th Jul 2020 3:08pm)
  • >Think we all agree that, at least in the centre (and ignoring Leith, Wester Hailes and Edinburgh's Sighthill) it seems safer I lived in both for 5 years evenly. I always think it's a bit unfair that Glasgow gets appraised in one homogenous lump, whereas Edinburgh gets a bit surgically split up for the purposes of comparison. I had a flatmate who used to say you could cycle Edinburgh in an hour, and that always pissed me off: no, you can cycle Newington, Leith, Princess St. and the Meadows; what she chose to consider as Edinburgh's outer circumference. by dl064 (Mon 27th Jul 2020 3:14pm)
  • I find it funny that Byers road is lively as a pro while Partick is not; I honestly would consider that a bonus for Partick in the sense of: you can go for nightlife easily enough but your literal street you live on isn't loud. There was a guy on here once who lived across from The Garage and apparently it was like living next to a waterfall that yelled obscenities. by dl064 (Mon 27th Jul 2020 3:10pm)
  • There is a west island way which takes you literally around Bute. Two day walk, and it's a loop so you could arrive, dump bags at hotel and be on your way and you're back in town for pints. Then next day you just go around the other half. We did it with public transport for my birthday (aren't I a riot). Absolute amazing time. I'd love to do it again. I'd be jealous. https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/argyll/west-island-way.shtml by dl064 (Wed 29th Jul 2020 7:56pm)
  • Something about loud neighbours just goes through me. It's not even the noise as such, it's almost the psychology of it. by dl064 (Fri 31st Jul 2020 11:26pm)
  • My wife and her pals were talking about all the times men say shit to them, individually, out running. Whether it's neds running with them, folk trying to make a joke, folk trying to get fired in, whatever. In 15+ years of running literally noone has said a word to me. Women live in a different fucking world, man. Awful. We're awful. by dl064 (Fri 31st Jul 2020 11:31pm)
  • Drive to Stirling via Stockymuir road. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Aug 2020 10:27pm)
  • At uni I was an absolute owl, and I'd work into the night then me and my pal would go for drives and chat shite. Got to nearly St Andrews once. We got stopped by the cops randomly once or twice, and they were surprisingly accepting of two students who drove to Kinross at 4AM on a Tuesday for no particular reason. Good ones include Glasgow/Stirling via Drymen, past Stirling to Dollar, Larbert etc. Doune is a classic. Crianlarich too. It's a fun and relaxing activity I think. Better habit than many. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Aug 2020 10:30pm)
  • What was wrong with it? by dl064 (Tue 4th Aug 2020 12:46pm)
  • Thing about that, too, is it was such a small community they surely must've had a very good idea from the absolute get-go. by dl064 (Tue 4th Aug 2020 12:53pm)
  • I used to work in NHS addictions, around the time of Baby P. My boss was saying those kind of lapses, where folk fall between the cracks and get lost to services, happen absolutely all the fucking time. Folk don't show up for a service, they eventually get removed, like they never existed. All the time. The Margaret thing is surely happening elsewhere too on a lower level. by dl064 (Tue 4th Aug 2020 12:51pm)
  • Karen Buckley, friend of friend worked in the car wash near Anniesland. Apparently the guy came at like 16.59 and *demanded* they valet his book, which was covered in vomit. Never had to go to the court with that, fortunately. Staff basically went 'mate, something's up with that'. The following day from the Paige thing, me and my pal were walking the dog in Dawsholm when a Golf rolled up, saw us and obviously changed his mind and U-turned. I thought that was weird at the time then the news hit. Anyway I told 101, and they found her handbag there eventually. There's some sad stuff about the guy, that he had a couple of prior assaults, then had a serious head injury and apparently got a lot worse. by dl064 (Tue 4th Aug 2020 12:58pm)
  • In a bin. by dl064 (Wed 5th Aug 2020 10:39am)
  • Yup. You might know already but the whole thing was that he loved Breaking Bad, and tried to basically dissolve the body as they attempt (unsuccessfully). Not right in the head. by dl064 (Wed 5th Aug 2020 11:14am)
  • Yeah I used to walk the dog there basically every day. You come to learn that for all it seems huge, there area really only so many routes. And bins. by dl064 (Wed 5th Aug 2020 4:27pm)
  • Yesterday we took the baby down to a restaurant for the first time since she was born at the start of April (!). It was really good (Finsbay Milngavie). Distancing was solid and staff taking it seriously. Fucking amazing moment having someone ask what drink I'd like. by dl064 (Thu 6th Aug 2020 5:02pm)
  • Apparently mortgage rates are rock bottom, ergo you could confidently ask for a lot I think. Now is timely especially if no students appear in Sept 2020 and the letting industry goes cold. Huge numbers of courses are going online and many Asian students didn't pass their English exams in time for 2020, so there will be far fewer students to fill flats in September. Of course there still could well be plenty and it doesn't change a thing. by dl064 (Fri 7th Aug 2020 10:42pm)
  • I've a pal who remortgaged recently and the rates were so low they had the options of: Cut your monthly contribution Cut five fucking years off it by keeping monthly payments the same by dl064 (Sat 8th Aug 2020 4:03pm)
  • My mum used to tell me it was God's potty, which is quite lol in retrospect actually. by dl064 (Mon 10th Aug 2020 3:19pm)
  • My pal during FY1 at WGH got a call to remove a fox from the maternity ward. Y'know, that elective you do; fox removal. by dl064 (Tue 11th Aug 2020 4:09pm)
  • > The NHS boss's have got nice offices in there so why would they care about staff that have to wear uniforms and finally why would we think that the people in the know, both architects and NHS bigwigs actually care about patients I'm friends with a Prof in one of the new buildings. Since he is barely there because he really works at the uni, he gave up his office to other staff. Felt bad that he had this massive room and the PhD students/post-docs etc. were all hot-desking together in a room the same size (!). Another fun wee one: big Anna D **hates** microwaves incase they're showing bigwigs around and it stinks, so there aren't many and are an *enormous* political fight to get. by dl064 (Tue 11th Aug 2020 4:13pm)
  • We're getting a load of new buildings for UoGlasgow and they're all like that. Genuinely massive, massive penny dropped when they found out PhD students aren't like undergrads: they want desks and are there 9-5, stably. by dl064 (Tue 11th Aug 2020 4:11pm)
  • Brel a good example of having a quite cheery, unique vibe but are in fact owned by essentially gangsters. by dl064 (Tue 11th Aug 2020 4:17pm)
  • Hahahahahahahaha, hey there, Negroni Master. by dl064 (Tue 11th Aug 2020 4:15pm)
  • Funnily enough, at Christmas time I put a massive deposit down for let's say 20 people. Let's say the bill came to 500 quid in total. It wouldn't be the case that the 200 would be deducted, however many of the group showed up. If 19 of the 20 showed up, *190* would be deducted, and they pocket the tenner of the person that didn't appear; even if you spend well over the deposit amount. A tiny little hmm which probably adds up, I thought. by dl064 (Tue 11th Aug 2020 4:20pm)
  • I thought it was the G1 group? Fair cop if I'm incorrect. by dl064 (Tue 11th Aug 2020 11:03pm)
  • Snappy snaps or the printing shop down near the cross. by dl064 (Tue 11th Aug 2020 11:06pm)
  • Reinforces the value of local news that a few years ago there was an expose on all the Glasgow garages that sell worn out tyres. Straight up illegal but they know 9/10 folk don’t know what they’re on about. A few years ago in Edinburgh some dick kicked in my Corsa wing mirror. Phoned Arnold Clark rerepair and they did the OOOO, bloody hell, PHEWWW, you’ll be 50 labour, 50 for the part AT LEAST...So I told my dad who used to be a car mechanic, who got one for a fiver and he whacked it on in genuinely 20 seconds. by dl064 (Thu 13th Aug 2020 4:10pm)
  • My wife’s ex-flatmate, a generally mad mental bastard (who is now naturally a clinical psychologist), went absolutely tonto at a garage once for (from her perspective) doing her over when actually she was totally in the wrong to even a pleb like me. by dl064 (Thu 13th Aug 2020 4:18pm)
  • Arnold Clark in Maryhill, I went to them with like a week left on my Astra’s warranty for a brake pad. They said: if it’s something else and we’ve done all that work, we’ll charge you for it, okay? I went away like ‘RIGHT SO I’M PAYING FOR THAT,THEN’, and fair cop to them, it was indeed under warranty. They could’ve kinda said anything and I wouldn’t have known. by dl064 (Thu 13th Aug 2020 4:16pm)
  • I won’t pretend for a split second that I can talk, but I used to work in NHSGGC addictions, and some of the more experienced folk were telling me that even the folk in the worst nick you’d see are still the ones in good enough condition//have the wherewithal to get in touch with services. There is an entire world of absolute pestilence, drug use and horror that NHS/the council just have nothing on, folk that are born, live and die knowing nothing but drugs and alcohol. I dunno if many folk will remember Baby P, a child that died about 10+ years ago basically because he fell through the cracks of various services, but anyway everyone I worked with said that must happen all the time and will happen again, no question. Even now, we had a child in early April, and they’re lax as fuck about who she is and how she’s doing. We have to chase the health visitor down. by dl064 (Thu 13th Aug 2020 4:41pm)
  • Did a radio interview this morning for something, and it really must be like qualifying in F1 or something where you practice and stress over something and it's genuinely over in a couple of minutes. Went...totally passable. by dl064 (Tue 18th Aug 2020 7:37am)
  • Walked into that one didn't I. by dl064 (Tue 18th Aug 2020 8:46am)
  • I've done it before but this time did it on Legendary setting: not waking a baby. by dl064 (Tue 18th Aug 2020 9:49am)
  • About 6 year ago I took my car in for a warranty fix with literally 48 or so hours left on it. Warned me if there was evidence I was at fault, I'd have to pay it. Totally consigned to that. ...and no! Totally fair cop to them, they said it was warranty. I'd have had no idea. by dl064 (Mon 24th Aug 2020 6:33pm)
  • We got told something similar like 5 years ago near Dowanhill st. They know folk don't have that. There are grants for it from the govt., or you wait and replace things piecemeal as they actually break and are fixed bit by bit. Half a million would be like if you rebuilt the fucking thing. We got the quote and everyone just agreed to sit on it, and the place is fine. The problem you might have is if enough owners voted to do it! I don't know your situation but in ours, people have sold, rented, moved, bought all sorts: as the guy said, all these buildings were built at similar times and subject to similar elements (mostly). So they'll all as a common denominator be due *some* significant works. As owner I guess you have buildings insurance. Talk to a factor. by dl064 (Mon 24th Aug 2020 6:37pm)
  • I think it's less decline, than elect to go for it or not. I've no idea about the specifics but in our case it was a matter of: one day this will need done, we can either do it now for thousands each (potentially mostly alleviated by a govt grant) or eventually it will degrade and force our hand, but then we can do it piecemeal at greater total ultimate cost, but more affordable. But that was 5+ years ago and they basically compromised on a fairly cheap maintenance job which was fine and I know folk subsequently sold a flat or two, no problem. So honestly unless the place is about to collapse, in my experience, the issue *in reality* went away, basically! by dl064 (Mon 24th Aug 2020 10:30pm)
  • We have H&P for our housing estate and I'm genuinely like: what do you do? by dl064 (Mon 24th Aug 2020 10:36pm)
  • DELETED It's means tested btw. by dl064 (Mon 24th Aug 2020 10:35pm)
  • We had this itemised and a huge amount of it is like: X number of dudes, X amount of scaffolding for X days. Multiply that and it quickly exceeds 50 quid. by dl064 (Mon 24th Aug 2020 10:35pm)
  • Yeah I had an okay interaction with them but I won't pretend that means they're all fine. There was one on here a few years ago where someone was like: 'hi, Am I the arsehole here? I bought a car with in-built sat-nav, and when I arrived they had another; the same make and model obviously, but without Sat-Nav, so they chucked in a Garmin one you can stick on and are saying I'm not being reasonable for accepting that. That's mental, right? I'm not insane for disagreeing?' by dl064 (Tue 25th Aug 2020 9:03am)
  • I really lold at their email re COVID, like 'everyone is feeling the pinch, which is why it's more important than ever to pay us in a timely fashion'. Absolute racket. Genuinely, verging on fair play for being so transparently snake oil. by dl064 (Tue 25th Aug 2020 10:57am)
  • DELETED Daft little story, but a number of years ago there was a huge kerfuffle in our close/set of tenements about whose dog was shitting in the garden. I even joked about it with the neighbour, who had a terrier called Archie. Then one morning Archie's dog walker came out, he shat directly in front of her and that was that. One of those moments you're so excellently gobsmacked, nothing comes out, the moment just passed. I always found that funny, weirdly: everyone was getting so paranoid and 'how could a resident, someone we know, be doing this?' and all along it was some woman who just didn't give a fuck. by dl064 (Tue 25th Aug 2020 12:56pm)
  • Does codeclan actually suck? What's wrong with it? I've never been tempted but I see it on twitter a lot. by dl064 (Wed 26th Aug 2020 1:12pm)
  • Interesting. Cheers. Yeah, Reddit can be bad for intense opinions on things; always just have to consider what kinds of folk overly represented on it. by dl064 (Wed 26th Aug 2020 1:30pm)
  • > This would have never happened if she was Glasgow born and raised which makes this situation even more devastating. It's a sensitive issue, and we're obviously all very sympathetic to this; but we can't *necessarily* know this. I worked in NHS Addictions and people are left behind by the system genuinely, genuinely all the time. I see the point that immigration status is potentially a factor, but I also think Glasgow council/NHS is entirely capable of leaving anyone at all for dead, regardless of background. by dl064 (Wed 26th Aug 2020 4:16pm)
  • I've always been fairly on the fence about it all. Now I'd probably vote Yes, but I always feel the really militant Yes folk who can't see that it won't be a utopia, it's not simple, and our politicians are just as capable of duffing it all up, do the side a bit of disservice. by dl064 (Wed 26th Aug 2020 4:24pm)
  • > So, why can we not have as sustained, targeted and combined an effort to tackle the root causes of poverty in our city too? Maybe one day we could provide the blueprint for accurately tackling that problem, too. It doesn't seem too unreasonable a request, given the net benefit to our city that it would result in. > > I think we honestly don't understand them well enough. The whole point of 'The Glasgow Effect' is that each of the things which are known contributors to earlier mortality - crap diet, binge drinking, poor exercise etc - don't individually add up to the poor health Glasgow has. There's something else, or some synergy to it. I was reading analysis today actually, about how a disproportionate amount of Glasgow's increased deprivation vs. Edinburgh, comes from its frequency of areas in the top 10% of deprivation. And I know from working in NHS Addictions (specifically alcohol), that those are some seriously Wild West parts of town, which will be difficult to amend. by dl064 (Wed 26th Aug 2020 4:21pm)
  • Ah: okay. No bother. by dl064 (Wed 26th Aug 2020 6:36pm)
  • I always found it weird in terms of narrative, that public health is always: get the bus/train/cycle to work, but when the schools are off it's like a lightswitch. You can tell the days they're off in a moment. Seems to me, pre-COVID anyway, that better school bussing would wipe out a huge amount of traffic. (Not to say that should be the approach in isolation, sorry). by dl064 (Fri 28th Aug 2020 10:24am)
  • Yeah, agreed. I sometimes get even a hint of traffic, like 'fuck going back to that noise twice a day. Fuck that good and proper'. I am massively hopeful aspects of lockdown that have been beneficial, stay. https://makeworkbetter.substack.com/p/offices-the-case-for-faster-horses by dl064 (Fri 28th Aug 2020 10:23am)
  • It's funny, eh, Heineken seems to get away with not being grouped in with Carling etc., but to me it's about as appealing. It's sort of marketed itself above it all. by dl064 (Fri 28th Aug 2020 10:21am)
  • Every now and then it's all I want in the world. It's a bit thin, but it has to appeal to a lot of people. Sometimes I like all sorts, and Tennents fulfils its role. Something about it on draft just elevates it 10-fold, plus the fact it could well end up <£3. by dl064 (Fri 28th Aug 2020 10:19am)
  • I do find it kinda, I dunno, funny, that the Tories are all 'London needs its workers! Pret will go bust! We can't have empty storefronts!' like, dude, have you genuinely been to any other part of the country. Stirling has been a fucking ghost town for a decade. by dl064 (Fri 28th Aug 2020 10:26am)
  • Or even something like Park and Ride on a charter. I've seen it once or twice near Bearsden, where it seems folk drop the kids off for a coach that leaves at, I dunno, 830 for the final stretch. Really good idea that just rolls off that last bit of traffic at the bottleneck near the school. by dl064 (Fri 28th Aug 2020 10:38am)
  • > The kelvin way being shut has been such a good idea. I honestly hope to God they keep it. If I never have to commute into work ever again I'll be happy as Larry. I'm working now in the kitchen and it's fine. Less emissions, less time wasted getting to the office, the uni heating bill's at rock bottom, not flying to London for a one-day conference etc. Magic. by dl064 (Fri 28th Aug 2020 10:49am)
  • Good thing Glasgow uni hasn't invested in about 10 new buildings! by dl064 (Tue 1st Sep 2020 9:40pm)
  • Few pointers from Sky the other night: 1. The cases are spiking in some parts of Europe but deaths are not tracking that. This suggests some mix of testing count in wave 1 being a massive underestimate of true cases, and/or it killed a lot of the folk it was going to kill. 2. We know what we're doing with it a lot more now in terms of treatment, prevention and facilities. 3. Scotland was pointedly not close to being overwhelmed first time around at all. by dl064 (Tue 1st Sep 2020 9:45pm)
  • Yeah you weren't allowed up the long drive I recall. by dl064 (Tue 1st Sep 2020 9:58pm)
  • All the more time to stay in and watch The Boys S2. by dl064 (Tue 1st Sep 2020 10:09pm)
  • S1 was so good. The guy who plays Homelander does such an incredible job. Our baby was born in absolute lockdown peak, and they obviously have zero sense of circadian rhythm, so I watched S1 with a week-old perched on my shoulder at like 5AM. Total dream-state, but a vivid cool memory that will stick with me forever. by dl064 (Wed 2nd Sep 2020 1:22pm)
  • They basically all will be unless it's vet/med or the like. It's a shit year to do an MSc unfortunately; the coursework will be buggy and not necessarily well translated. I run one, and at 33 I am genuinely the only lecturer with the slightest idea of 'best practice' regarding ODL content. Some lecturing staff can't handle zoom at all. It's going to be a *riot*. by dl064 (Tue 8th Sep 2020 12:21pm)
  • Not GCU, but as a once-student and now lecturer, the only thing I would impart is that any sense of 'the staff know what they're doing; this is a concerted and unified voice of the university' is laughable. by dl064 (Tue 8th Sep 2020 12:21pm)
  • You'll probably be absolutely blown away how much cheaper gas is from a modern boiler. Ours went down genuinely >50%. by dl064 (Tue 8th Sep 2020 2:28pm)
  • Yeah honestly, get excited! (From a boring person here). So much quicker, quieter, cheaper, everything. Gamechanger! by dl064 (Tue 8th Sep 2020 3:42pm)
  • I think, honestly, there's a degree of when rather than if. Students back; we've had a hot summer that was beneficial (!); Bolton and Aberdeen have had shuttings; highest case count since May now. I don't think it's hard to read these tea leaves by Christmas time. I saw the SAGE head today was making their first early remarks to soften people that Christmas has a really good chance of being locked down. by dl064 (Tue 8th Sep 2020 10:08pm)
  • I really enjoy that the university is simultaneously wanting more from its staff at a time it's giving the least reassurance that they'll be kept on. I know someone whose fellowship 'top up' from the university (Glasgow) that was long inked has basically been told probably not now. One professor told me they won't promote anyone for a long time unless they're worried they'd go somewhere else and take their papers with them for REF. Glasgow uni does an incredible job making it seem a big warm family, but really it's a business as cold as any. by dl064 (Wed 9th Sep 2020 8:55am)
  • I know a cop and they are absolutely twiddling their thumbs other than breaking up parties here and there. I also know a medic, a professor no less, who took the whole COVID situation as a great opportunity to play two departments off on one another that she was working full-time at the other, while she did fuck all. by dl064 (Wed 9th Sep 2020 11:09am)
  • One time, my friend genuinely did think the guy upstairs was beating his partner, so phoned the cops who went and asked, the guy said 'nope!' and the cops came down to her (my friend) and went, in the hall: > YEAH SO WE KNOCKED ON THE SUSPECTED ABUSER YOU REPORTED UPSTAIRS, ALL SEEMED FINE, THANKS FOR REPORTING IT THOUGH Unbelievably dim. by dl064 (Wed 9th Sep 2020 11:07am)
  • This could've changed but whenever I've tried to book one, they all say that it's a standard 35+ quid charge, or they'd get in a bit of bother. Although Glasgow Taxi's have a discount if you do a return with them. Could easily just be my experience of course. by dl064 (Wed 9th Sep 2020 11:04am)
  • It's my birthday on the 15th, and I've always thought that's kinda the exact day the weather pivots from 'last of the summer wine' to 'right, let's get cracking with autumn'. by dl064 (Mon 14th Sep 2020 10:45am)
  • I used the train for the first time in 6+ months the other day. 90% of folk were good, distanced, masks etc. You did get the odd absolute whopper that obviously thought everyone else is sheeple. by dl064 (Mon 14th Sep 2020 2:02pm)
  • DELETED I agree with the sentiment but many departments were basically sat around twiddling their thumbs in Scotland. Generally speaking ICUs etc., and it was GPs that got the absolute brunt of it. To at least some extent the 'burden' was due to procedures that took much longer now (e.g. a dentist pal was saying they needed to basically clean the room after every single person), or a friend who couldn't get a bed because half of them were reserved for COVID cases (which weren't there). Cardiac admissions in particular *halved*, which is more problematic than anything. My boss in addictions put it well once: the problem with the NHS is that as you cut services, managers start to see their metrics *improve* (basically as people get bundled out too fast), so a poorly funded and serviced NHS is quite a low-hanging fruit. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Sep 2020 1:27pm)
  • I don't know, obviously, but Leitch was saying the other day that certain things which seem unintuitive are totally fine because we *know who's there*. It's all about track and trace; the problem is big daft house parties where noone keeps records. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Sep 2020 1:36pm)
  • I see there's a vacancy for 'CMO: Scotland' up there. £140k. Fuck that; nightmarish responsibility. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Sep 2020 1:41pm)
  • Everyone has their struggles, but feel for new mums in all of this. My wife gave birth in the absolute COVID-19 peak (so far, hopefully), and just as she's starting to return to reality, meet some NCT pals (who we met online!), things are starting to get pulled back. The grandparents weren't allowed to hold the baby for ages early on; couldn't come in the house. I changed a nappy recently and my mum went 'oh here's how I do it' - I realized literally noone had ever shown us how in person because of all the lockdown, and those sorts of things aren't coming back. Health isn't just the absence of disease, and includes things like quality of life, seeing friends, feeling you are active and able, and this just absolutely compounds the total shit that is a global pandemic. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Sep 2020 1:46pm)
  • Genuinely do not hesitate to PM me as I have tonnes of pointers. A friend of ours has two: a toddler from a few years ago, and a newborn recently. She said the two experiences of labour were incomparable. The lockdown pages on Facebook can be helpful, but they can also be a lot more frightening than reality turned out to be. The benefits (there are some!) are that at least I (the dad) can be home during it all, and traffic to the hospital was a dream at least. It's outrageous to me that so many services are just totally canned or mothballed. I feel like as a country we went from an acute COVID response and just...somehow never bothered with the 'new normal' at all, really. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Sep 2020 2:01pm)
  • Yeah, indeed, we're in East Dunbartonshire and that has been the case more recently. Total saving grace; for a long time though that wasn't the case at all unfortunately. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Sep 2020 4:28pm)
  • > a useless 6 week course of CBT With a psychologist, or self-help? by dl064 (Wed 23rd Sep 2020 4:43pm)
  • I used to work as a clinical psychologist, now in research. It absolutely infuriates me no end, that there are millions and millions thrown at 'precision medicine! We will genotype everyone and find variants and find brain structures that blah blah blah 20 years away', all the while there's no money for fucking social workers and health visitors and actual real stuff that would help people **now**. There is a day or two a year thrown away, because the NHS/council take different holidays and the NHS folk can't get into the council building because it's locked. The fuck, man. She's obviously sacked, but Catherine Calderwood was *very* good for this: she called for 'realistic medicine'; let's get the basics right before we start trying for space-age. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Sep 2020 4:45pm)
  • Group CBT? Can't say I'm familiar with that; sorry. Alternative routes include mindfulness, which can work wonders with *some* people, but not others (it can backfire in the context of trauma for example). by dl064 (Wed 23rd Sep 2020 4:54pm)
  • Genuinely furious on your behalf. Do PM me if you'd like. The system is designed to triage the hell out of folk and fob people off, and it's bollocks. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Sep 2020 7:40pm)
  • Yeah. It annoys me, because there's so much emphasis on 'how can we use genetics and brain imaging and biomarkers and PET etc. etc. to identify high-risk people' and it's like: The homeless. New mothers. People who live alone. The unemployed. They're *right fucking there*, we don't need precision medicine for this. Some come in and get fobbed off. Argh; makes me mad at 9am! by dl064 (Thu 24th Sep 2020 9:35am)
  • My wife did this at uni. The bike got stolen. Literally that night, by total chance the cops kicked the guy's door down because he was a serial thief, and he was fixing it up as they burst in. So basically she came away from it all net positive. Back within a day. The system works! by dl064 (Thu 24th Sep 2020 9:22pm)
  • I went to the pub (!) for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. We had a baby in April and it was my first time back, or away from the baby at all. My wife's idea, which was nice. Figured: if we stick to the rules, that's what they're there for. It was quite funny that we were totally concerned about numbers and household counts, and conscientious all this time, and then we went to a bar which had two tables of 12; just tonnes of folk (distanced, thankfully) who obviously see it as something to be loopholed. Lewis Capaldi was there with like 10 people. by dl064 (Fri 25th Sep 2020 9:37am)
  • Had a staff case and a deep clean, resultantly. by dl064 (Fri 25th Sep 2020 9:36am)
  • Arrochar 10k: best race of the year. A couple of years ago they twigged I was doing it on my birthday, and at the prize giving they had a bottle of whisky for me, but I'd left like an idiot. by dl064 (Fri 25th Sep 2020 9:35am)
  • I always took is as 'circa'. by dl064 (Fri 25th Sep 2020 2:57pm)
  • (*data) by dl064 (Wed 30th Sep 2020 9:58pm)
  • I recommend investigating Attrition Bias. by dl064 (Wed 30th Sep 2020 9:58pm)
  • Quite clever I noticed before we had our child that they don't call them vaccinations any more on the letter, it's something else. Which is quite smart I think. Some quite interesting research that the anti anti-vaxx discourse isn't working; if anything it's only got worse in recent years, and a change of tack is needed. Some folk don't care that the evidence is non-existent. by dl064 (Wed 30th Sep 2020 10:03pm)
  • There's a lot of folk calling the parents nutjobs, but if you go onto new parent Facebook groups, it's not quite the tiny minority you might think. Quite a lot of folk like 'I will make the right decision for my little one (smiley emoji X 10)'. It's not two or three folk, it's quite a lot. I mean, they're wrong obviously, but don't console yourself it's just a few folk. by dl064 (Wed 30th Sep 2020 10:00pm)
  • It's 25 quid actually. by dl064 (Mon 5th Oct 2020 9:48pm)
  • Perhaps phone up. Our pals in Bournemouth got their child tested due to suspected case. They both stayed off work for 3 days and isolated (which isn't compulsory!). Phoned up and apparently they only get in touch if it's positive. Crackers. by dl064 (Mon 5th Oct 2020 9:49pm)
  • I feel like there was never really a good, serious attempt at the new normal. Everyone went all Rule Britannia, 'we shall meet again!', Blitz Spirit get on with it when it was new and acute for a month or two, but I don't feel societally we've done much job with the absolutely boring, mundane 6 months onward when it's genuinely becoming reality for a long time. Like, you can shut maternity wards (e.g.) for a *bit* when it's all new, but after a while: what's the actual plan here for potentially years? by dl064 (Mon 5th Oct 2020 9:58pm)
  • Good one on the BBC last night where they interviewed folk on Ashton lane, and one girl was saying: folk our age are gonna drink, and if they're not gonna do it in pubs... Personally I think the solution wasn't necessarily new rules but *enforce the existing ones better*. Crack down on test and trace; increase fines for house parties in particular. by dl064 (Thu 8th Oct 2020 9:18am)
  • I was getting annoyed at the amount of adversarial discussion going on, like - this is sad for business owners - yeah well, everyone (i.e. unrelated people who aren't in this conversation and who probably never listened to anything) should've thought of that! Like, both things can be true and sad; they're not opposing points. It's all just *shit*, isn't it. I personally dislike the 'this does not include any activities which adversely affect me, and is therefore fine'. You can have a bit of empathy that some folk are being fucked by it, even if it is for a greater good. by dl064 (Thu 8th Oct 2020 12:27pm)
  • I reckon they'll probably say on you go (in more words, including 'advise against it'), because people would mutiny. I'm not saying right or wrong, I'm saying that's the *reality*. I mean: look at the universities. Literally the worst *possible* approach was: let students come together, infect one another, *then* let them all go home. That last bit only came about because there was such justified outcry from a personal perspective. If they've committed the public health mis-step of bringing them together in the first place (which I thought was atrocious; convincing people they needed to be there then *not*), they kinda have to double down and go 'right, you can't now all go disperse to all ends of the country'. Point is: they're surprisingly responsive to absolute outcry, even if it's wrong in terms of COVID on paper. by dl064 (Thu 8th Oct 2020 12:31pm)
  • Well, I recommend ordering from Stewart brewing direct. They were super kind to us a few years ago, have ace beer and have a huge discount on at the moment. by dl064 (Thu 8th Oct 2020 12:36pm)
  • Bit of skinny, because fuck it: at least one university is telling postgrad students whose courses start later than September 2020, that they will be expected on campus by January. Learned fuck all, despite all the lovey-dovey social media. by dl064 (Thu 8th Oct 2020 1:43pm)
  • My pal, his wife's a GP in one of the worst affected COVID areas in Scotland. Apparently their practice sent out a text, plain as day: 'don't go in other people's houses. Don't let people in your house'. Need more of that. Simple language, high catchment, no 'oh I didn't hear that'. by dl064 (Thu 8th Oct 2020 1:48pm)
  • Stay alert; don't go to work; save Pret now; maybe go to work?; do you believe in life after love; protect the NHS by dl064 (Thu 8th Oct 2020 1:56pm)
  • Yeah must say I'm not really concerned as I don't think it'll come to that. by dl064 (Thu 8th Oct 2020 9:20pm)
  • I think the data suggests kinda fuck all but they have to (at least be seen to) do something, and they're not closing schools. https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2020/10/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-epidemic-issue-no-21/documents/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-epidemic-scotland-issue-no-21/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-epidemic-scotland-issue-no-21/govscot%3Adocument/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-epidemic-scotland-issue-no-21.pdf by dl064 (Fri 9th Oct 2020 11:04am)
  • I think they're in a tough position. They have to be seen to do something, and ideally Scotland Public Health likes to get one over/be 'better' than England (I've heard this from the horse's mouth, as my wife/colleague met Calderwood and her team a few times). I think some of the analyses are a bit of a stretch: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2020/10/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-epidemic-issue-no-21/documents/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-epidemic-scotland-issue-no-21/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-epidemic-scotland-issue-no-21/govscot%3Adocument/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-epidemic-scotland-issue-no-21.pdf But I do see Leitch's point recently that there's no direct textbook for this stuff, and you can't be the team that got it wrong. Sky News have a nice piece on Youtube on it, where they were saying 'okay, things are getting worse: but this time we've more equipment generally, we're better at treating it, we know how to slow it. A rematch would go a bit differently'. I understand from folk who were there that some NHS services in Glasgow were run off their feet, but some were very quiet and basically twiddling their thumbs. The ones that had a tough time have more resource this time around. They're not closing schools is the fact of the matter; I do wonder how bad things would have to get for them to do that. Some of that is economy, some of it is that there was a bit of noise last time that education is a WHO human right, and you can't deprive kids of that, given we now have (much better) data that there were massive and stark deprivation differences in how kids took to online learning. So no to that barn door solution. I think banning booze is a reasonable next step; which incidentally is quite different from the first impression they gave that anywhere that is *capable* of serving booze must close. So yes: on reflection, I don't think it's a simple yes/no but I agree. I think people who are extremely confident either way - total lockdown vs. preserve the economy - are wrong, and the truth is in the middle. by dl064 (Fri 9th Oct 2020 11:22am)
  • Incidentally, as an aside I'm an epidemiologist (non-communicable), and I find it funny folk tipping their toe in it. People see a bit of suggestive data on COVID-19 and have strong opinions, but show them something like red meat intake and colorectal cancer, which is *pretty solid* and it's '...No, frankly'. It's basically the study of biases, really: no data in the land is perfect and a true representation of reality. Estimates of effect size can be fuzzy, or totally conditional on third (moderator) variables which you might not have, or even considered. Booze is quite a good example where it's *obviously* not good for you, and any positive effect is probably bias (namely 'sick quitters' where the ill have dropped out, or list their intake as zero, or it's health social folk who have a bit, frequently). It's also usually quite slow and rarely reliant on single papers to guide decisions. The idea of a solution in the short-term is pretty crackers. Anyway: just my observation, having worked in it for years. Folk sometimes run away with it a bit. by dl064 (Fri 9th Oct 2020 11:28am)
  • There's some sixth formers at Bearsden high being told to quarantine apparently. Must say, I do think re schools that we're under a national delusion that kids don't possess/transmit it; they just rarely show major symptoms. by dl064 (Fri 9th Oct 2020 11:40am)
  • Apparently the rate of 1-car accidents (i.e. fucked it into a verge) went *up* in early lockdown. by dl064 (Tue 13th Oct 2020 2:24pm)
  • It's funny, even Milngavie/Bearsden, there are little pockets of 'fuck that'. Literally 1/4 mile could be night and day. by dl064 (Tue 13th Oct 2020 2:25pm)
  • The only place I have seen go from nice to warzone as fast is Baltimore. It was a lot more severe there. by dl064 (Tue 13th Oct 2020 5:51pm)
  • It's funny, I had to drive a few times in peak lockdown early April due to my wife giving birth and all that malarkey, and there were no shit like 5 cars on the road, and 3 were usually cops. Ghost town. Drug dealers must've either not driven or stuck out like a sore thumb. by dl064 (Tue 13th Oct 2020 7:20pm)
  • The infamous statistic is ~6 months life expectancy per stop on the subway if you start at Hillhead. by dl064 (Wed 14th Oct 2020 8:59am)
  • I don't think folk need to be full-on neds to be problematic. I agree it's generally nowhere near some other parts of Glasgow but there are also little pockets I wouldn't particularly want to live in, personally. by dl064 (Wed 14th Oct 2020 8:58am)
  • 'Recorded delivery?' 'Aye...I mean naw...I mean...' by dl064 (Wed 14th Oct 2020 12:59pm)
  • Good one about 10 years ago where Sebastian Vettel couldn't rent cars in many countries despite being F1 world champion. by dl064 (Thu 15th Oct 2020 10:07am)
  • Incidentally this week the (probably) main road to it is closed anyway, and another more indirect one will be next week too. by dl064 (Thu 15th Oct 2020 10:06am)
  • Oh that's cool! Did you live/from there? I lived in one of the nicest bits, and even then it was fucking *hairy* sometimes (although generally nice). I lived at one end of Paterson Park, and literally a street or two down the other side it'd be boarded up windows and no streetlamps. I used to get dropped off in the Baltimore Pier, and I'd go running down a random street to get to know the place more. Told folk at work and they were **mortified**. But yeah I do see the overlap, definitely: slightly unfairly bad rep, relatively cheap housing, distinct character, small physical distance between wildly different levels of deprivation. by dl064 (Thu 15th Oct 2020 12:10pm)
  • Ah, cool. > Imagine Glasgow having a yearly homicide rate of about 900. Dude, the *stories* I've got of my year there, honestly. In January 2014 they had a murder for every day, including seemingly innocuous middle-aged folk in their homes. They reckoned it was a new dealer going around doing in his rival's customers. My flatmate's pal shooed away some burglars one night, and a year later to the day they came back and murdered her. The day my GF came to visit, we got on the bus and a woman pulled out a gun on the driver. Then we got the train and a woman in front of us was leaving a voicemail for her pal: 'hey X, hope you're well. I'm having a bad week, my nephew was found with a bullet in his head in a burned out car. Anyway ttyl!' I went and viewed a flat, which I didn't get. About 6 months later, their dog ran out and died of 'heat stroke'. Fine, until they got the autopsy and it turned out the cop that found him and just outright murdered the poor thing. Big news story at the time. (I've *way* more). Fucking *mental*. Give me Sauchihall street at 3am any day over Baltimore, man. On the bright side: Americans are just big golden retrievers and were unbelievably welcoming and interested in who I was and where I was from. I viewed a flat, which again I didn't get, and they were like 'you're not right for this flat but come to the pub with us, it must be hard being new in town'. I got invited to a thanksgiving and it was great: basically christmas without gifts. Great idea. by dl064 (Thu 15th Oct 2020 12:21pm)
  • > We were mugged only once - $600 for dinner at the much feted The Charleston, which we thought was mediocre. Yeah it's funny, eh, America seems to do mid-priced food very well but the 'fancy' stuff goes up in price but not quality. I've been to Atlanta, Baltimore, New York, DC and Boston and Atlanta was the best for food (and was pennies). New York in particular was just extortion. by dl064 (Thu 15th Oct 2020 12:30pm)
  • I was part of a group who organised a big conference at the SECC a couple of years ago. I helped but I didn't have final say on anything. Our side really wanted it to be great, though, because we're a youngish research lab and it would be nice for these international colleagues to see Glasgow's very nice. We were thinking: bus out to Lomond, morning run organised around Kelvingrove park, Ashton lane pub crawl yadda yadda. Instead folk got the walkway from hotels to the SECC; the provost made some jokes about our shit diet; noone had any idea Glasgow has all these great things. Just a big disaster. Annoyed me: folk probably left with exactly the impression of Glasgow they had going in. by dl064 (Thu 15th Oct 2020 4:52pm)
  • I was reading on the local facebook group that apparently a load of teens come into the Lidl at Baljaffray and run about with masks off just to fuck with staff. by dl064 (Fri 16th Oct 2020 10:29am)
  • Glasgow uni is telling students (some, anyway) to expect to be in-person teaching next semester (i.e. January onwards) but the reality is: no hope. The worry is that everything we think we know about 'good' online distance learning, we learned from folk who wanted to do it in the first place. The university has been its classic mode of saying nice, lovey dovey things in public and then flat-out 'where's my shit' at the managerial level as though nothing's changed. I was lucky enough to have done my lecturer training course on ODL, but the impression I get is that a lot of academics don't *really* have the time or inclination to study best practice and how you can make ODL good for students, and that's largely down to the uni giving them too many responsibilities. Transferring content from in-person to ODL is a *lot* of work, and a lot of academics do not get that and/or were blazé. by dl064 (Tue 20th Oct 2020 12:38pm)
  • I've done a bit of research - a *bit* - on pollution and health and while it's obviously not good, it's often not half as convincing as headlines might make you think. It's massively confounded with a lot of stuff like deprivation, and a lot of studies just look at overall pollution, and overall rates, without controlling for confounders. Tale of two studies: we had one that showed links between pollution and cognitive impairment were....pretty shaky actually. Really struggled to get it published anywhere. Someone else in the group did one on heart disease which showed significant results and folk were like 'that'll get published somewhere huge no bother'. by dl064 (Tue 20th Oct 2020 12:41pm)
  • Sorry to hear that. But...Yeah. Totally predictable, I'm sorry to say. I had a teaching meeting with the other course lecturers in like June, and they honestly couldn't handle *that* Zoom. I'm unfairly ahead because I'm far younger and did a thesis on ODL, but still. It also doesn't help that Zoom isn't *particularly* intuitive. > We've known that uni would be online for months, so why does it feel like we're scrabbling to make things work? I think it speaks to a large amount of folk being totally 'acute' in how they deal with things. They have the mental bandwidth to deal with what's in front of them at a given time; and that's to do with how much the uni lumps on them rather than a laziness. by dl064 (Tue 20th Oct 2020 1:28pm)
  • In Amsterdam they are flat-illegal except for NYE. Absolutely shitloads of accidents, but at least it's one fucking night. by dl064 (Fri 23rd Oct 2020 2:13pm)
  • I almost appreciated (not really) when the off-license across the *road* from the Milngavie police station got burgled. Just 'lol, whatever, that won't be a problem'. Atrocious. by dl064 (Fri 23rd Oct 2020 2:18pm)
  • > Thinking the world should revolve around our pets is no different to these parents that think the world should revolve around their children Or alternatively that the world should revolve around wanting to light up the sky for your own amusement? We can decide; the animals *can't*. by dl064 (Fri 23rd Oct 2020 2:16pm)
  • What sort of additionally annoys me is the folk commenting on FB boards 1. just give dogs/cats habituating noise! 2. Well I think it's good clean fun and there's no need to be a spoilsport. The first one does fuck all, and the second one someone replied 'kids stole my bin and set them off from it. What are you *talking about*'. by dl064 (Fri 23rd Oct 2020 2:15pm)
  • They're banned in Amserdam other than NYE. It means that one night is fucking mayhem, but at least it's isolated. by dl064 (Fri 23rd Oct 2020 2:48pm)
  • Fun paper on the Necropolis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1884737/ by dl064 (Sat 24th Oct 2020 6:35pm)
  • Funny. Talking to some pals who live in England last night. They've spent the summer basically in pubs and restaurants, and now feel incredibly hard done by that they're in lockdown and we're not, EVEN THOUGH the central belt has been mid lockdown since September. by dl064 (Mon 2nd Nov 2020 10:18am)
  • If you go back to the SAGE documents from march or so it's there in black and white that it's not something they can realistically police en masse. It's a game of convincing people it's for their good; not stamping things out. by dl064 (Mon 2nd Nov 2020 10:17am)
  • When I was at uni, my pal who was very very English went out with a girl who lived in Port Glasgow, and she basically advised him not to open his mouth. by dl064 (Mon 2nd Nov 2020 11:01am)
  • Funny one there where DPD delivered us two baby seats. Different types. I only ordered one, but they're both addressed to me. It's been here for a few days now. They're expensive bits of kit. What do I do? Will they probably come back at us? I don't need two... by dl064 (Fri 6th Nov 2020 2:05pm)
  • I'll definitely give the *original* to charity, although car-seats can be problematic re guarantees. What I reckon I'll do is basically keep it and give it to a pal. I considered selling it but that's probably the most 'eep' if they ever demanded it. It's properly a wrong order, too: it was packaged in Holland and sent across to dl064! Odd one; it's not just someone else's package DPD misplaced. by dl064 (Fri 6th Nov 2020 4:58pm)
  • It's mad to me that it was a faux-pas to go up hills in March or so, whereas now fireworks in your back garden are totally fine even despite all the accidents. by dl064 (Fri 6th Nov 2020 5:08pm)
  • One the other night where on the Milngavie FB pages, folk were saying 'leave the kids alone, they've nothing better to do!', and then they put a passer-by in hospital, and that was that. by dl064 (Fri 6th Nov 2020 5:07pm)
  • > am very lucky that the pup doesn't seem to bother too much with them however I wouldn't want them banned Ours didn't mind n youth and only likes them less with age, so you're not necessarily out of the woods on that one. by dl064 (Fri 6th Nov 2020 5:09pm)
  • I've been giving online lectures recently, and I'm really not that sure I'm enjoying it. I like to walk around while I lecture; see faces, use my hands to express things etc. Now you're basically talking into an empty well of blanked out screens. I've always got excellent course feedback but I'm curious how this year will go. by dl064 (Wed 11th Nov 2020 12:39pm)
  • What a Tune of the Day u/AhYeah85. Excellent. by dl064 (Wed 11th Nov 2020 12:37pm)
  • Although one interesting benefit is that folk are far less inhibited, earlier, talking via chat. by dl064 (Thu 12th Nov 2020 8:50am)
  • IMHO, looking at the stats (which are free and easy to browse), tier 3 was we working okay in the scheme of things. Everywhere was going right down except for the West which was kind of...gliding down slowly. The problem is the grenade of Christmas. by dl064 (Tue 17th Nov 2020 4:34pm)
  • 'Health is not merely absence of disease'. by dl064 (Tue 17th Nov 2020 4:38pm)
  • There was a nice article in an epi journal earlier this year that the outcome is not Christmas, but rather where folk are in about 2022. by dl064 (Tue 17th Nov 2020 4:37pm)
  • Yeah indeed: apologies if I wasn't clear, my point was that in total isolation, tier 3 was doing okay, but not in the context/relative to the urgency of forthcoming problems. by dl064 (Tue 17th Nov 2020 9:33pm)
  • Yeah that's surely a wee bit of a sham I think. The nation's childcare, basically, and folk don't want to admit that. by dl064 (Thu 19th Nov 2020 7:56pm)
  • Beauty from my pal who is a teacher. They've all been told to turn off track and trace, which is relatively common knowledge (still fucked up), but what *hasn't* made it big is that if a student gets tested positive their close contacts have to isolate. Teachers were told that the the limit for that definition was 15 minutes in a 1:1 setting. So what she and her colleagues have been told is: if you want a 1:1 meeting, make it last 14 minutes, walk away for a minute, then continue. If the UK had a wicker-man we'd fill it with teachers, fucking hell. What a shit gig. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 9:17am)
  • Well, yeah! Indeed. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 10:15am)
  • Noone really wants to admit it's the nation's childcare. That's the absolute unfair gist. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 12:33pm)
  • She was saying years ago when she started teaching, that it's daft: you get all this theory and 'best practice' from the course, and then you go into schools and it's old head teachers like 'We do it the way we've always done it, thank you very much'. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 12:32pm)
  • There was a long post on here recently which wasn't even a patch on this story. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 12:35pm)
  • I'm not suggesting schools and education are not important - definitely not - but I am suggesting that the country generally realized it couldn't hack having the kids around 24/7 and schools a) educate them and b) get them out of their parent's hair. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 4:29pm)
  • Daft. I got attracted to science/academia on the basis that authority doesn't make you right. Total bullshit sadly: if the boss says do it this way, folk do it that way. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 4:30pm)
  • Yeah, totally fair enough I was too glib and blunt there on what's a complex issue; apologies. Tonnes of evidence that online teaching affects some kids worse than others, education is a human right etc. - totally agree schools being open is important from that perspective. My neighbour is a teacher and was saying they could see on the portal that tonnes of kids just weren't clicking a single thing. *But* I also think a substantial amount of it is: parents want the kids off their back and the govt. know that. I'm not saying that's every case - definitely not. Everyone I work with who has kids was basically 'I am not getting an hour's work done with the kids around'. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 4:52pm)
  • I'm a lecturer and, honestly everyone's just trying to survive. Everything we think we know about online learning, we learned from folk who *wanted* to do it. by dl064 (Tue 24th Nov 2020 5:12pm)
  • Two folk in our NCT group (basically new parents) are teachers, and it must be horrible to be like: 'I'm basically interacting with massive risk COVID risk factors every day the coming home and hugging the baby.' by dl064 (Wed 25th Nov 2020 9:57am)
  • What was the name of that toy/model shop near the cinema? That was my Mecca by dl064 (Wed 25th Nov 2020 10:02am)
  • Friend of mine's 5-year fixed mortgate was up in the summer when interest was basically at rock bottom. Rather than cut the rate they took *five years* off it. Something about having 20 years left on it seems far more 'real' than 30. by dl064 (Wed 25th Nov 2020 1:27pm)
  • BEATTIES. Dead on. That's the stuff. by dl064 (Wed 25th Nov 2020 1:25pm)
  • What gets me is the busses that just don't turn up. You're there early, it never comes, but the *next one* does. If it had happened to me once or twice, that'd be one thing, but it's loads. I used to commute into work by car. I didn't particularly *want to*, but to do my bit for the environment was: cycle (death-trap), bus (fucking ages), train (20+minute walk then even more unreliable). If they make public transport the more reliable and convenient option, folk'll do it. They're agnostic to avoiding faff, people. by dl064 (Thu 26th Nov 2020 9:31am)
  • I get less bothered by someone taking it easy on pavement than folk cycling like knobs where they're legitimately allowed to ride safely, e.g. the speed freaks in Kelvingrove. by dl064 (Fri 27th Nov 2020 7:42pm)
  • The Sparklehorse are doing 2 pint cartons as takeaway btw. by dl064 (Mon 30th Nov 2020 1:24pm)
  • Lidl in Baljaffray occasionally have them. You never know - they might have loads in the store they just don't happen to have put up. Give them a ring. by dl064 (Mon 30th Nov 2020 1:24pm)
  • I don't know any, sorry. I was a conference once where Spanish girl who worked in Glasgow was giving a talk in English, and she'd go from an obviously Spanish accent to every 10th word being full-on Glaswegian having obviously lived here a while. Quite funny. by dl064 (Mon 30th Nov 2020 1:27pm)
  • Yes: the Oxford one by contrast can basically be kept in a bog-standard fridge. by dl064 (Wed 2nd Dec 2020 2:30pm)
  • Sorry to ask a boring question, but does anyone happen to know where I could buy an individual bottle (or 4x or whatever) of Quilmes beer? I need one as a gift for someone for Christmas, but can only get them in stupidly large packs on amazon. by dl064 (Wed 2nd Dec 2020 2:30pm)
  • Yeah it's one of those things where I've seen it here and there, but gun to my head couldn't actually *name* one. Cheers! Will genuinely act on this advice so thank you. by dl064 (Wed 2nd Dec 2020 5:06pm)
  • Ah nice, that's easy. Cheers. by dl064 (Thu 3rd Dec 2020 9:07am)
  • Some years the last weeks before Christmas are total fucking pandemonium and some years it's...fine actually. This is the former, it seems. by dl064 (Fri 11th Dec 2020 9:44am)
  • I used to work in addictions, and my boss used to say two worrying things for the long term 1. A&E started taking, 10+ years ago, a much harder line on nurse abuse. Right and good - *but* what it means is that folk who've had a knock on the head and aren't right go to A&E, lack inhibition, and basically get turfed out. And just go back into the community 2. managers twigged that if you cut resource, folk get pulled in and out the system faster. They don't get longer care they really need; they're just numbers ticked off. Long term, that's a disaster which will hit. by dl064 (Tue 15th Dec 2020 10:16am)
  • It's a common side effect of many things including a knock to the head, booze, drugs, all sorts. I did a bit of work in a prison once, because there was a guy who was well-known to (health) services but went off grid for a while, and here he'd shown up in Barlinnine. My job was to go and test his cognitive faculties like memory, reasoning, reaction time etc., and this was a great opportunity because theoretically he wasn't on anything while he was in prison. Some of the stories I'd hear in the booths next to mine, lawyers with their heads in their hands like 'what the fuck am I meant to do with this story' as folk were just 'yeah so an opportunity came up and I thought why not'. by dl064 (Wed 16th Dec 2020 9:35am)
  • Frequency of 2-3 has gone up massively but frequency of 5+ has dropped massively too. Basically more frequent but much less intake. by dl064 (Sat 19th Dec 2020 10:47pm)
  • If you can't handle me at my worst, it's probably the tip of the iceberg by dl064 (Sat 26th Dec 2020 2:39pm)
  • It's definitely 'in' at the moment. I've a pal in Lomond MRT who says a chunk of their stuff is folk on Ben Lomond who broke a sandal. by dl064 (Sat 26th Dec 2020 2:37pm)
  • I think the point they're potentially making is they have some initiative and drive. Or not, dunno. by dl064 (Sat 26th Dec 2020 2:42pm)
  • I suppose it's 'some evidence I am capable of getting up and out and doing something' > 'bit naff to some after 100x similar shots'. by dl064 (Sat 26th Dec 2020 2:41pm)
  • I used to live up at Dowanhill street. Hill, throw in a pasta bake, down to Sparklehorse for precisely two pints. Magic. Not tooootally sure I'd want to live that close to it, though. by dl064 (Sat 26th Dec 2020 2:47pm)
  • Normally my pals and I have a reunion pint (plural) in Stirling on the 23rd and I'm hungover to hell on Eve. Five years ago my uncle died of a huge embolism, immediately, and at about 1130pm on Christmas Eve I had to drive my mum to see my relatives as they found the body shortly before. Clock struck midnight for Christmas day and they're all sat just totally WTF. It was mad: his son like 'an hour ago I thought he just hadn't answered his phone for a bit'. I suppose the Christmas moral is to enjoy your loved ones because you never know. by dl064 (Sat 26th Dec 2020 2:45pm)
  • First Christmas with a baby. Fun but bittersweet, not being able to see all the family when they're 45 mins away, or stay overnight and hence have a pint etc. Plus the kinda of undercurrent of 'January will be a huge hangover'. by dl064 (Sat 26th Dec 2020 2:50pm)
  • They say they'll have done the over 50s by May. Impressive if so. by dl064 (Mon 4th Jan 2021 11:04pm)
  • Fairly profoundly grim really isn't it; largely where we were almost a year ago. The vaccine is a long way for many (most) of us assuming no hitches, and if we didn't live when we do, it would've taken an awful lot longer. If it weren't for the vaccine we just *wouldn't* manage to beat it, which is pretty stark for preventive public health. We've got absolutely dropkicked in comparison with countries like China and Vietnam. by dl064 (Mon 4th Jan 2021 11:19pm)
  • Depends what you mean, really. There was quite good evidence that their efforts in autumn to winter were beneficial. They always needed to do something re Christmas, so this is more aggressive. If you mean in terms of beating it to submission, that simply won't happen with lockdown whatever. It'll just keep coming back. by dl064 (Mon 4th Jan 2021 11:24pm)
  • Ah okay, cheers for spot. by dl064 (Tue 5th Jan 2021 9:19am)
  • I was talking to an A&E doc today. She saying it's worst now, because in say March 2020, you had this drop-off where they saw very few strokes, angina etc. (which is actually bad news; you want them to appear), but also very little in the way of basically 'daily daft shit' like falling off a ladder, rolling down a hill etc. So to some extent they were, relatively speaking, twiddling their thumbs just a touch. Whereas now that the cases are back to that level, people are presenting with heart attacks as per pre-COVID, but folk don't have that 'stay at home, protect the NHS' thing and so A&E is back to seeing stupid accidents, car crashes etc. Plus the staff are fucking knackered, which she says has a real, measurable effect. Folk can say it's a scare story all they want, she's seen folk wait 24+ hours for an ICU bed in the last month, with her own eyes. I mind in lockdown #1, our baby was born in early/mid-April so literally the peak. The roads were dead as a doornail, and the hospital car-park was apparently relatively empty. Good luck with that tomorrow. by dl064 (Wed 6th Jan 2021 4:02pm)
  • DELETED Lidl currently have a bonkers deal on Brewdog: £10 for a 12 pack. It's £16 in Sainsburys. by dl064 (Wed 6th Jan 2021 4:13pm)
  • They in fact wanted to make it Hogwarts in the films, but wanted to film over exam period so the uni said no. However there is the odd external shot in the first Harry Potter film, so GU is still Hogwarts, just about. In a similar way to how Doune Castle is very, very briefly Winterfell in GoT season one. by dl064 (Thu 7th Jan 2021 10:09am)
  • Someone who'd know was telling me that a huge advantage of the new buildings (the 3rd ever full-throttle campus change), is that they'll go from a load of scattered buildings like Horselethill, Lilybank Gardens etc., each of which can be sold for flats at a killing, to relatively few, efficient buildings. The savings on heating will be, pardon the inverse-pun, through the roof. by dl064 (Thu 7th Jan 2021 10:11am)
  • Funny one where my wife has been on mat leave since April, and strangely enough is massively dreading returning to work in the context of WFH. Not the work itself; WFH regularly. I'm quite used to it by now and if anything don't miss the commute, but she's basically ' I would hate your life', which is low-level lol. by dl064 (Fri 15th Jan 2021 4:33pm)
  • It angers me enormously that some folk think ODL is a simple pivot. I did my PGCAP thesis on (uni) ODL and it's a *whole* area unto itself. As someone said to me, as well 'the worry is that everything we think we know about ODL, we learned from folk who want to do it'. In terms of school teaching I know someone who just bunged kids a load of documents and said 'see you in a week'. At university level the students are semi-revolting because the uni promised them an 'experience' and so now they get mad it's largely just recorded videos. Luckily I've got loads of synchronous stuff (i.e. live lectures/seminars) so they dig me. by dl064 (Fri 15th Jan 2021 4:29pm)
  • Yeah she literally works in the same dept. by dl064 (Fri 15th Jan 2021 7:51pm)
  • I'd go private as a GP will one of: 1. give you meds straight off the bat (which might be what you want) 2. put you in a queue to see a clinical psychologist in about 2022. Worth noting of course that a psychiatrist will diagnose you whereas a clinical psychologist is the one you'd really see long-term to talk through things. by dl064 (Mon 18th Jan 2021 1:58pm)
  • I'm generally healthy and happy and even I'm like 'It's fucking *January 18th?* After all that?' Gonna be a long year I think. by dl064 (Mon 18th Jan 2021 2:44pm)
  • Haha; yeah, fair enough - perhaps a bit too fatalistic. I think the moral is we each need to find some balance to survive and sustain ourselves at least medium term. We each need to find some rhythm we can hack, because the way out's not coming *that* immediately, and it'll be fraught. by dl064 (Mon 18th Jan 2021 2:58pm)
  • Not at all; a good catch! You're totally right. by dl064 (Mon 18th Jan 2021 3:09pm)
  • A few years ago there was a conference in genetics at the SECC. We were sort of involved in managing it, but the folk at another Scottish uni were nominally in charge. It was shite. The SECC has zero charm, and there was nothing like 'bus tours' or morning runs around Kelvingrove. There should've been a bagpiper or something. Something to overcome folk's stereotypes that Edinburgh's the nice one. Folk arrived from all over the world and they get Finnieston, and the provost making jokes about deep fried mars bars and shit weather. Be a bit more progressive, man. Cheap. We can't complain when it's that poor a show put on. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:23am)
  • I think a huge amount of it is logistics and town planning. After the Edin mara the number of busses is unreal. There is a half every year in Kirkintilloch and apparently the cops are a total pain to deal with and are very obstinate (in fairness due to lack of resource). It's super expensive to close roads apparently. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:29am)
  • My cousin did the Glasgow->Edin ultra once. Got like one mile off and had to bail, so then felt he had to do it again and finish. Different species, man. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:27am)
  • I lived in Baltimore for a year or two and saw like X guns on the bus, folk getting pinned by the cops, cops pulling guns on folk. They had a murder every night of January 2014. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:26am)
  • Only experience of crime I/wife have ever had was Edinburgh, like 3-4 times. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:25am)
  • I honestly felt more shock getting a puppy than a human baby. I think folk underestimate the knock it is to your life. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:32am)
  • Baltimore once did a charity 0.05k. Literally the door to the bar. Nice idea! by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:31am)
  • Surprisingly okay on have I got news for you when she gracefully held off the voices. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:31am)
  • Mine was saying that it's basically the reason so many sales fall through: folk just go direct to TSB or whatever who spin them a yarn and don't inform them of all the fees and additional checks. So it gets far down the line and they have to spend ages getting their credit checks lined up, hadn't realized all the fees etc. and it goes to pot. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:30am)
  • Yeah. Apparently some students see Glasgow as the cool hipstery one (vs. Edinburgh). I think fine, cool: anything but pride over deprivation. It's funny too because Glasgow's actually got some very interesting stories about overcoming its problems, e.g. knife crime and there's even some evidence they're making headway on the Glasgow Effect, particularly with regards dental health. by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:40am)
  • Yeah. I was in bits before taking the plunge! Luckily ours turned out okay by dl064 (Tue 26th Jan 2021 11:48am)
  • We did the WHW with our collie, and were about to give her half an ibuprofen once and our vet pal was like 'you'll be at A&E with even that' by dl064 (Wed 27th Jan 2021 10:38am)
  • My wife has explicitly remarked that all the time you spend as a Prego like 'man I can't wait until this is over' is total fantasy land, unfortunately. You'll hopefully get the first day in the hospital of peace. After that you're talking 6 months before babies calm down a bit. by dl064 (Wed 27th Jan 2021 10:37am)
  • See this is an interesting one: you get a lot of older mega marathon runners. Is that just attrition bias, where it's only the really good young folk that stick with it, or do you actually get *faster* and more resilient with age? by dl064 (Wed 27th Jan 2021 10:36am)
  • At least with the baby I went *into it* knowing it'd be a vague kicking. A puppy, I totally underestimated. by dl064 (Wed 27th Jan 2021 10:35am)
  • What we've noticed as well is that, totally on average etc. etc., women definitely suffer more from babies crying. A guy in our NTC group is a paediatrician, and is basically doesn't bother him at all. Whereas his and my wife, they just cannot hack it. Goes straight through them. Women get the shit deal! by dl064 (Wed 27th Jan 2021 11:34am)
  • Sadly I wouldn't really know: we had our baby in April and have been to precisely one restaurant since then. by dl064 (Wed 27th Jan 2021 1:26pm)
  • Ha, yes, indeed. by dl064 (Thu 28th Jan 2021 9:30am)
  • Pffffffffft absolute swathes of examples of the uni saying one thing on Twitter or on their flag or newsletters, vs. doing another altogether. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Feb 2021 7:54pm)
  • COFFEE MORNINGS. YOGA ZOOM. BADGES. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Feb 2021 7:55pm)
  • I'm staff and that does not end when you graduate. Months of: hey, calm down, chill out, wellbeing is most important, it's cool man :) Reality: where's our shit. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Feb 2021 7:55pm)
  • Certainly the stuff I was involved in (in MVLS) last spring summer we were basically told: noone fails a thing, you follow? by dl064 (Wed 3rd Feb 2021 9:14am)
  • That age-old comment 'I came here to say this', but yeah, exactly. Like that Limmy sketch, I got to aged 20+ before I realized bottle water isn't literally just because you can't get to a tap, it's actively nicer than a lot of the country. Funny one we found is that the West end water is much better than Milngavie/Bearsden, despite being far closer to a reservoir. by dl064 (Thu 4th Feb 2021 3:43pm)
  • Certainly are in Milngavie/Bearsden. by dl064 (Thu 4th Feb 2021 3:46pm)
  • Pal used one who identified a gluten intolerance, and it changed her life, honestly. by dl064 (Thu 4th Feb 2021 3:45pm)
  • My wife is undergoing a training course in sleeping better. It basically starts by starving you of sleep so that you improve your 'efficiency' - when your head hits the pillow, you go out. Brutal though. by dl064 (Thu 4th Feb 2021 3:44pm)
  • Worth noting that, 2nd hand, it's often that companies start out and go with Hermes because they're the cheapest, and only come to realize why through brutal experience. Contracts can be a *dick* to get out of. by dl064 (Thu 4th Feb 2021 3:51pm)
  • My pal works for a beer company and said they basically calculated that Hermes fucked *so many* of their deliveries that it was worth the cost to break contract and go DPD, who are excellent. Reckons it was 1/3rd of all their deliveries in a year got smashed, lost etc. Couple of 100k. And even then, their executive pull cowboy stuff like ignoring emails; it's not like they're *nice* or constructive about it all. by dl064 (Thu 4th Feb 2021 3:50pm)
  • She gets (non-seriously) jealous because I am an absolute dynamo sleeper. Out like a light. by dl064 (Thu 4th Feb 2021 4:11pm)
  • My main tips, having been a poor sleeper in adolescence: 1. genuinely only go to sleep when you are very tired. 2. no mucking about doing anything else 3. if you can't sleep, get up and do something, then attempt re-entry a while later. Don't lie around. by dl064 (Thu 4th Feb 2021 10:24pm)
  • As an occasional winter shortser, I sincerely find it refreshing and because I walk the dog in mud a lot it's slightly easier than putting wellies over my trousers. Shoes inside is just a bit gross though. by dl064 (Sat 6th Feb 2021 10:08am)
  • In the last year they've given it a facelift. It's not actively pretty but it's not the 70s throwback it was. by dl064 (Sun 14th Feb 2021 10:33am)
  • If you have Vodafone mobile and WiFi, tell them. They gave me infinite GB until the WiFi was fixed to use my phone as a dongle. by dl064 (Mon 22nd Feb 2021 10:51pm)
  • In 2010, a friend of a friend bought a flat across from Inn Deep, and it turned out to have some big structural problem. The whole issue cost her loads and it just sort of enveloped her whole personality. It was all she could ever talk about, her issues with the building. Kinda the great fear, really. Like, the first night you move into a new place you've bought it's just anxiety there'll be a neighbour who wakes at 11PM to play drums. by dl064 (Thu 4th Mar 2021 2:55pm)
  • Couple of pointers. 1. It's not *always* that there's food. I've had some flats where there's been no mice, and others (always in Edinburgh) where they came and went. There was no food or remains; they just seemed to have a look around. 2. Rentokil poison did the trick for me usually. Little blue pellets. It kills them a while after they take it, which in my case was not my flat. I tried the humane traps before that and I cannot overstate what a waste of money they were. by dl064 (Mon 8th Mar 2021 10:11pm)
  • One time I ran from Weyms Bay to Greenock. I got dropped off by my wife in the car and she picked me up at the other end. She'd left me in a car park as I sorted out my stuff, headphones etc and someone started giving me stick about if I'd parked there. Full-on curtain twitcher mode. I said no and that I'd simply jumped out, but she didn't believe me. I wish in retrospect I'd said yes, pointed somewhere random and said *that's my car there, bye*, and run away, leaving her to stew all day. by dl064 (Tue 16th Mar 2021 11:13pm)
  • Apparently in lockdown they briefly became a sort of common choice in lieu of a large funeral. by dl064 (Thu 25th Mar 2021 10:46am)
  • I can hear OP's heart sink reading those times. by dl064 (Wed 31st Mar 2021 10:04am)
  • I tried Stirling to Edinburgh for a few months and each week you're knackered earlier until eventually a weekend didn't cut it at all. by dl064 (Wed 31st Mar 2021 10:01am)
  • Ah of course, I forgot that. by dl064 (Wed 31st Mar 2021 11:40am)
  • The cafe by Carbeth is rammed more days than not nowadays. I mind in November or something when it opened, we were some of their only customers and I think they were a bit 'I hope this doesn't fall flat', which it has definitely not. Penny for the thoughts of Carbeth residents, who I am confident didn't move all the way out there for the company. by dl064 (Tue 6th Apr 2021 3:28pm)
  • I don't miss the commute but it's horrible when it's like up; breakfast; laptop out by dl064 (Thu 8th Apr 2021 8:13pm)
  • Baby's first birthday. A funny old year. Top three concrete, doable pointers for expectant dads: 1. NCT is essentially purchasing new friends. The NHS train parents in essentially getting to the delivery room and not 1% what you do once you're out the hospital. 2. Do online big shopping and delivery. You won't have time to dally around Morrisons for an hour. Get a big one in post birth but before they come home. Be prepared. 3. Be a team and tactical with time and responsibility. There's no point in you both watching the baby knackered. One get a brief run in, have a nap, have a wee clean. Don't just sit and stare at the baby knackered together. Be an effective team. First 6 months are brutal then they're fun wee gnome pals. Anyone got advice for toddlers? by dl064 (Fri 9th Apr 2021 7:14am)
  • Baby's first birthday. A funny old year. It's awful for 6 months then they're fun little Ronnie Corbett gnome pals. by dl064 (Fri 9th Apr 2021 8:15am)
  • Cheers. A pint this evening I expect! It's mad to me how little support new parents get. It's such a common occurrence but it's absolute concussion to your life. by dl064 (Fri 9th Apr 2021 9:25am)
  • We've been lucky vs. the rest of our NCT group seemingly. Touch wood. Cheers! by dl064 (Fri 9th Apr 2021 9:48am)
  • Definitely. PM if you'd like any advice I can give, I appreciate how brutal it can be. 6 is the big semifamous tipping point. They start to develop personalities a lot more soon. Big one: sleep training. Short 'pain' for long term gain, often faster than you'd expect. by dl064 (Fri 9th Apr 2021 3:26pm)
  • I think Aberfoyle is a different kettle-of-fish from a few of those. I grew up on a farm near Callander and I agree with those here who say the novelty of duff internet and no taxis wears off. Don't be under an illusion 'salt of the earth' folk are nicer, if anything there's a gruffness you'll find less of in the city. by dl064 (Tue 20th Apr 2021 10:48pm)
  • Fun one the other day at work/uni where the stats on staff reporting working over their hours is insane, but it's roughly similar between men and women, so it's okay. Cool, totally normal. by dl064 (Wed 21st Apr 2021 8:58am)
  • Glasgow uni at the executive level has done a stellar job fobbing off/pitching students and overworked staff against each other. School teachers have had that 10x, I appreciate. by dl064 (Wed 21st Apr 2021 10:18am)
  • I work in medical research, and man Scotland/Glasgow just pisses me off so much in some ways. There's all this money for fancy MRI scanners that lie dormant, they talk a big game about precision medicine where everyone's genotyped etc. etc. - there's no money for fucking libraries, the cycle lanes are shit, Kelvingrove's pitch black at 4PM in winter, there's no money for social workers or health visitors. Sort out the basics before shooting for the moon. I know it's surely different pots of money, just bugs me. by dl064 (Thu 22nd Apr 2021 1:33pm)
  • The 7T crown jewel sits doing fuck all. by dl064 (Thu 22nd Apr 2021 3:49pm)
  • It's what I work on :) How do various risk factors influence brain structure and how does that then influence risk of dementia. Anything pique your interest? by dl064 (Thu 22nd Apr 2021 10:44pm)
  • Our neighbour has work being done. They keep dumping paint down the drain. It's stained it. Is it worth reporting in any way? OTT or not? by dl064 (Sun 25th Apr 2021 8:33am)
  • It's rain I believe. by dl064 (Sun 25th Apr 2021 3:05pm)
  • Yes. My wife had two separate bikes stolen in Edinburgh. The first she got back in better condition than it had been; apparently bike thieves tend to be serial, so the cops bust down his door exactly as he was cleaning it up. She had put details in white pen, so voila; got it back within 24 hours. The second she 'found' after it was sold to another student. by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 10:33am)
  • I'm not sure if the uni's told students this yet but it looks very likely to be no in-person lectures in 2021, but *some* seminar work, particularly in courses where it's necessary e.g. vet, medicine etc. by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 10:31am)
  • I mind when the unequal pay result came out and everyone was rightly happy, a pretty dead-on comment here was like 'great but don't be naïve; that's 500m coming out of your services' and I think with the library stuff they were pretty accurate. by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 10:39am)
  • Nice one. How old? (the baby) by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 10:38am)
  • My wife got her bike back via white pen. by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 10:36am)
  • A number of years ago a semi-friend had their car stolen from Dunblane. The cops were telling them thieves really like places near motorways because you can whack whatever you've stolen in and be *long gone* by the time the cops even arrive. It could be in mainland Europe by morning (pre brexit/covid anyway). by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 10:35am)
  • Frankie Boyle: Glasgow's where people learn extraversion doesn't equate to warmth. by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 11:38am)
  • I had even even last month or something where my 4th year UG student was like 'hope we get to meet at graduation in June!' and I was like '...haven't they told you they're off, yet?' by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 12:27pm)
  • Nice one; onward and upward from there! A tough 6 months you'll have had in all this; well done. by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 2:01pm)
  • I mind last year when the McDonalds opened folk gave those queuing stick. They had some vox-pops from folk and it was actually quite nice like 'look, there's fuck all else to do and it cheers the kids up. So what', and I kinda agreed. by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 4:21pm)
  • https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/three-men-seriously-injured-after-23985285?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar This sounds like a story with a reasonably interesting backstory. by dl064 (Mon 26th Apr 2021 4:19pm)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-56919166 People are jumping on how nice a story this is. It's good the older man is better, but it speaks to a. psychiatry/clinical psych? You've no hope of seeing them for months, have a voluntary organisation who cost us fuck all. b. massive bias towards people thinking this works more than it probably does because you never see the 99 cases it does fuck all. c. the bit about 'my experience with stress' is all well and good but as a psychiatrist said to me once: if a cardiologist worked off textbooks as old as psychiatrist does they'd get struck off in a heartbeat. by dl064 (Thu 29th Apr 2021 10:44am)
  • Yes, we went to Finsbay in Milngavie yesterday. Funny things 1. We were plonked next to folk who were so loud we had to shout. 2. Took ages to get served/bill etc. 3. Inside was dead as a doornail and folk were getting carried from the premises they were so fucked. Well done Scotland. by dl064 (Thu 29th Apr 2021 10:47am)
  • Yeah you use white marker pen which shows up under special light. The cops had a big advertising campaign on it. by dl064 (Thu 29th Apr 2021 10:56am)
  • To be very clear ECT's biggest problem is perception; it's a really effective, surprisingly mild procedure which is nothing like you see on TV. There's no clinging to the bedposts or anything like that. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electroconvulsive-therapy/about/pac-20393894 by dl064 (Thu 29th Apr 2021 1:37pm)
  • It is indeed. It's aggravating to me because, as you suggest, okay if it's going to be supported (including financially!) and considered a meaningful, legitimate pathway but I think what's *more likely* is it's a bit of fobbing. Folk might not remember but a few years ago there was a thing of 'man-sheds', basically like the above story. It was about how men's mental health could be helped by essentially gardening. My old boss, a psychiatrist, told me he was at a funding meeting once where someone had applied for money to meaningfully, systematically assess the benefits of these man-shed/caves. The board went 'look, we're fobbing people off with them now. Either they work and we don't need a big study to tell us that, or they don't and we should shut up about that'. Stories like this *are* nice, and I'm pleased for the man, but they shouldn't be mistaken for evidence or as something an underfunded system can fob you off with. by dl064 (Thu 29th Apr 2021 2:46pm)
  • Sparklehorse aren't doing bookings at all; just walk up. by dl064 (Fri 30th Apr 2021 9:24am)
  • Find it quite funny all the folk that are pro-rewilding until 'y'know, to get rid of loads of deer' and they go a bit 'wait what'. by dl064 (Fri 30th Apr 2021 9:23am)
  • Yeah. Cottiers the other afternoon, we booked ages and ages ago and in the end it was dead as a doornail when we arrived at lunchtime. by dl064 (Fri 30th Apr 2021 9:54am)
  • I saw there's a big push in London to dissuade folk from SUVs unless they need them. 'Chelsea tractors', which amused me. A lot of folk don't realize most SUVs don't even come in 4wd. by dl064 (Fri 30th Apr 2021 11:08am)
  • Meant to see pal today for the first time in...9 months? Including seeing our baby. Booked a restaurant and everything. ...Train strike. I know it's for a reason, but I'm not gonna lie lads, you're making it hard. by dl064 (Sun 2nd May 2021 10:01am)
  • *Exactly* what caught out my pal until the last moment. by dl064 (Sun 2nd May 2021 3:56pm)
  • It just buggers your day/weekend up, eh. I had one a couple of years ago where I was meant to be in London on Monday morning for something. My wife was away on a work thing. So I had the dog dropped off at the grandparents in Stirling, had an early dinner and generally sorted my day around a train at 6PM, then I got there and no, it's fucked. One time for my birthday or something my wife'd arranged a london weekend. You have this image of a pint at 4, train then dinner down there and no, sorry, you might get in at 1am if you queue right now for a rammed standing ticket. I'm really pro public transport generally but it shouldn't be the charitable option vs. driving, it should be *good*. by dl064 (Tue 4th May 2021 10:01am)
  • Beauty last night where a guy buzzed our house to sell us a milk subscription. I said not now, feeding the baby - also there's a sign on the door saying don't buzz as it can wake her. He started sincerely arguing - *arguing* - ach she'll be fine for 5 minutes in the other room, listen to me. I said no and he went off like I was the biggest arsehole. Love it. That lot have a technique they're known for anyway, where they do their pitch and if you say no they just start leaving it as the free trial, then start saying it elapsed and you owe them. by dl064 (Sat 8th May 2021 11:35am)
  • I had a pal in Edinburgh once, genuine candidate for dimmest person I ever met, who properly threw away his old steady job and made a song and dance about how he'd hit the big time//burned all bridges for something like this and had to go crawling back. by dl064 (Sat 8th May 2021 12:28pm)
  • It's hard wired. I'm not mucking around with that. by dl064 (Sat 8th May 2021 10:12pm)
  • Yeah McColls are apparently quite famous for mad shit. I told a pal the story and he said in Edinburgh, a guy came to their door one day, just left some without asking, then came back for money the next week. by dl064 (Mon 10th May 2021 10:09am)
  • Genuinely very good advice; I'll bear that in mind. by dl064 (Mon 10th May 2021 10:10am)
  • I have a colleague involved in a big COVID trial, who was saying that they're not done with the analysis yet but it seems immunocompromised folk don't have the same benefit from the vaccine. They really do need both jabs, and even then might not be as effective as in healthy people. It's probably gonna be on the news in a few weeks. So yeah: don't think you're out of the woods, guys. Still be careful. by dl064 (Mon 10th May 2021 1:27pm)
  • The govt. covid tests you can order are good. You can get 7 a day. I ordered a pack yesterday and it arrived today. (Negative!) https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests by dl064 (Mon 10th May 2021 1:26pm)
  • Daft one. Brel to book a table is 25 quid per person for outdoors (deposit). We have booked 3 and so a table. For a fourth person to join us they would have to pay 25 deposit. This pal doesn't want much to drink, so Brel would rather it was three of us than a fourth person join and not spend 25. by dl064 (Mon 10th May 2021 6:06pm)
  • I'd completely forgotten that every year when I organised the work Christmas party there was a reason I swerved them. by dl064 (Mon 10th May 2021 7:31pm)
  • I said: so you're saying if we have a fourth person, they can't come in? You'll turn them away? Brel: they can join you after your meal, somewhere else. Had to laugh as the tone was like 'see! No problem! You're very welcome'. by dl064 (Mon 10th May 2021 8:23pm)
  • Yeah I regret it now. We're going for dinner too but 25 for dinner and a couple of drinks...actually might be more marginal than I thought. I used to organise the work Christmas do and I'd completely forgotten that they just kept getting more unreasonable. They had a system where you said how many people there'd be, and it's a tenner each (pre-order weeks beforehand). It turned out that if it was say 10 people at £10 each, if someone didn't turn up, that £10 didn't go back into the slush fund: it was just gone. So if 9 people spent £110, only £90 would be taken off. The more I'm remembering the madder I'm getting. by dl064 (Mon 10th May 2021 10:10pm)
  • I worked in Baltimore for a bit. Straight off the plane the taxi driver asked me what Australia was like. by dl064 (Tue 11th May 2021 11:24am)
  • The modern day one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAOgLDyKDtg by dl064 (Tue 11th May 2021 11:23am)
  • I had a boss like this once and it always made me cringe. Like talking to an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. He'd suddenly say 'Glesga' and even writing it...Jesus. by dl064 (Tue 11th May 2021 11:21am)
  • This is 101% Ford Kiernan in the West End. by dl064 (Tue 11th May 2021 11:19am)
  • I used to work in NHS addictions, and it's a real problem that all the psychologists in particular generally were and are affluent and then have to talk to people about very, very unfamiliar realities. by dl064 (Tue 11th May 2021 11:25am)
  • There is a bit in Limmy's book all about how he got told to tone the Glasgow down a bit, and is ashamed he slightly relented. by dl064 (Tue 11th May 2021 11:33am)
  • It's kind of funny, really: we're in an age where discriminating based on demographics/appearance etc. is not legitimate/a fairly massive faux pas. ...But not accent. Fair game it seems. by dl064 (Tue 11th May 2021 3:10pm)
  • > I'm a psychologist who's worked in addictions Depending on how long you've worked there we might well know one another as so was I ;) by dl064 (Wed 12th May 2021 10:24am)
  • See this is why I like March/April: a few sunny days and everyone's optimistic. It's full of *promise* whereas May/June it actually has to be sunny or it's a disappointment. All about expectations. by dl064 (Thu 13th May 2021 4:04pm)
  • My friend was a number of years ago and they honestly thought there was a secret camera and they'd be on C4 or something. by dl064 (Thu 13th May 2021 4:00pm)
  • COVID, right, I find all the contradictions mad. I visited pals in Edinburgh last week. Mask the whole train journey including the station. Wash your hands everywhere. Great. Get to Edinburgh and the cafe is just like nothing happened. Folk right there, no masks, no T&T. Mad. by dl064 (Thu 13th May 2021 4:07pm)
  • My viewing of Casino was a bit skewed where I missed that his car explodes in literally the first 20 seconds of the film, so I went the film thinking he was about to get done in at every turn, when the whole point is it establishes his death at the start. by dl064 (Thu 13th May 2021 4:06pm)
  • I always enjoyed that during indyref, the remain side's analysis told them seven ways from sunday that Cameron was *absolute* kryptonite to their cause. That's why he wasn't a figure in it. It turned folk off remain. by dl064 (Thu 13th May 2021 10:14pm)
  • Might be over-reading but a lot of interesting analysis on Twitter (it can happen) about whether it was specifically planned to 'get people going' on day 1 of the new parliament. A bit of Westminster reinforcing who's in charge. Maybe; maybe not. by dl064 (Thu 13th May 2021 10:13pm)
  • See when you get to a certain level at Glasgow uni, they get all the new permanent folk into a big meeting with some high-ups. I had that in 2017 or so and it's kinda your chance to talk to some quite big folk. I asked the VC what they thought about independence if it came up again, given Brexit. He said in 2014 the uni were very pro-No because it seemed the prudent decision based on various analyses. Post Brexit, they had absolutely no idea, so whatever you fancy, go for it, the uni won't really have a stance if it happened again. I found that interesting, personally. He had an interesting story about how whenever they+their Edinburgh counterparts and Holyrood can have ages of very constructive discussion about various things, then they go down to Westminster and it's just absolutely flung in the air by broader politics. by dl064 (Fri 14th May 2021 11:23am)
  • It's a shame, isn't it? I genuinely think there should be link a park n'ride system. It would allow folk without a car (which is fine) to do them and it would help congestion/parking. by dl064 (Fri 14th May 2021 11:39am)
  • I bet they thought they were *fucked*, frankly. Wouldn't you? Genuinely astounding. Must've been a one in a million feeling to come out to that. by dl064 (Fri 14th May 2021 11:35am)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uA_FPAqgXg by dl064 (Fri 14th May 2021 2:14pm)
  • I have colleagues who have been in the UK for many years - their kids were born here, they work hard and are just...nice, basically. They do medical research and the UK's better off for them being here. The stories they've got of going through the immigration process are shameful. The money you need to show as having been in your account - the average and minimum at any given time - is just...rhetorically high. They need to know more about the UK than I do by a country mile, and they spent time, money and effort on things like bank statements which the home office then go 'nah not happy with that stamp RBS gave, sort it and come back in 3 months, and you can't talk to anyone else but *me*'. It's awful. by dl064 (Fri 14th May 2021 2:41pm)
  • To tempt fate like a dick, this sounds like they're actually sort of equivocal. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-57107502?at_campaign=64&at_custom2=twitter&at_custom4=908918BE-B4BD-11EB-AD3F-274E4D484DA4&at_medium=custom7&at_custom3=%40BBCScotlandNews&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D A big factor of course, going back to the levels 1/2/3/4 document months ago, was the infrastructure to cope with if it got out of hand, where Moray obviously doesn't have anything like Glasgow. My pal is a consultant who's part of the decision making process here, and he was saying a while ago that while it was sensible(ish) to make out it was the end of the world so stay indoors etc., at the end of the day the hospitals in Scotland were never really over-run like they have been in some parts of the world/country. We never really needed to use Louisa Jordan en masse. I specifically was interested in: is there much death-rate if people can get to ventilators and he said no, that's never been a problem in Scotland. by dl064 (Fri 14th May 2021 3:11pm)
  • Yup, a solid effort; you're welcome everyone! Fair cocked that one. by dl064 (Fri 14th May 2021 5:51pm)
  • I'm not saying what's right or wrong, but it feels sad to me that a restaurant in Milngavie can post on Facebook yay we're open indoors for pints on Monday, and Sparklehorse 6 miles away isn't going to open at all now. by dl064 (Sun 16th May 2021 7:18am)
  • Yeah, indeed. Funny one to me was that the UK govt. were scrambling around to stay in EU funding streams like ERC, Horizon 2020 etc., and all the while the head of MVLS was saying in meetings it was a total waste of money (to pay to stay in these streams) because they all hate us now anyway. From the perspective of most European researchers, the UK did a bit too well for a bit too long and now they've a massive competitor they don't need to worry about. Sorted! (To be clear: this isn't my opinion but comes from two very successful profs who know what they're on about). by dl064 (Mon 17th May 2021 10:14am)
  • My opinion's changed, certainly. In 2014 I was No. I really read around, got into it and considered as much as I could. If it happened again tomorrow I probably wouldn't bother and just slam a Yes down. by dl064 (Mon 17th May 2021 10:16am)
  • *Loads* of cases of that on Twitter, indeed. It's funny though, I'm in one very EU-centric project and they're all a bit 'you're cool though, Scotland, we might figure out a way to fit you in specifically'. What kind of area are you in? by dl064 (Mon 17th May 2021 2:50pm)
  • Oh wow, cracked it. Friend of mine works in investment banking and was saying that's one of the only absolute sure-fires these days. by dl064 (Mon 17th May 2021 3:57pm)
  • Nice one. I gather Glasgow's very good at physical sciences. I'm slightly wary of my career trajectory where I'm an R&T lecturer so can't complain to some extent, but at the end of the day if you don't bring in the grants (which are absurdly competitive in medical stuff), you can still get sacked and then I'm 5 years down the road in a bit of a skills cul-de-sac where my research abilities are outdated but I don't want to be a teacher. The uni wants you to be 11 out of 10 at a dozen different things, all within 9-5. by dl064 (Mon 17th May 2021 4:15pm)
  • > Whereas I've happily stayed a researcher because I only need to win funding sufficient to cover myself (and because of the volume of grants I'm in demand with academics to work on their bids and they do it for me), and so I don't really need to worry about job security, and can get on with doing the actual interesting research with minimum exposure to internal politics > > You must be very very good! If you can get the grants to cover yourself then yeah, it must be an excellent existence. The issue with R&T lecturing is that they lump on admin after admin and it doesn't factor in to the metrics you're held to at annual appraisal. So you get to August, breathless, and they ask where the 4-star papers are. by dl064 (Tue 18th May 2021 10:34am)
  • Ok. That's quite a generic link: what specifically don't you trust? by dl064 (Tue 18th May 2021 8:02pm)
  • A pal who knows was saying this particular site is basically surplus. If noone uses them they get binned. Loads do. My dad a few months ago got told: if you can come now grand, if not this is in the skip. by dl064 (Tue 18th May 2021 8:01pm)
  • I mean: the vaccines don't intend that you won't/can't get infected and transmit. They substantially *lower* the risk you'll develop to infection, and transmit. But they don't stop it completely. So 20 folk testing positive post vaccination isn't a 'problem' per se. by dl064 (Wed 19th May 2021 2:34pm)
  • Ah right I follow you now, cool. Cheers. by dl064 (Wed 19th May 2021 2:48pm)
  • > On days there are matches a couple hours on each en of the match where my road was simply not usable. I used to live in Gorgie in Edinburgh and there were sundays in particular like 'I literally can't go anywhere. I don't have a car'. by dl064 (Thu 20th May 2021 1:33pm)
  • I hope you have luck here :) It must be particularly difficult for folk with more complex needs, this last year. Even masks must upset some people. by dl064 (Thu 20th May 2021 1:32pm)
  • > It is difficult if your a guy to find opportunity's outside of work to make friends I moved to the US for work in 2013, and honestly made like 2 pals the entire year. My workmates were all 30s+ with kids etc and lived ages away, my flatmate was just...bonkers. I barely drank as a result, which was useful I guess. by dl064 (Thu 20th May 2021 1:31pm)
  • I keep finding the COVID portal hopelessly slow recently. by dl064 (Thu 20th May 2021 1:38pm)
  • Apparently there was a big TV show/competition about the best flat in the UK or Scotland, and one in Park Circus won. by dl064 (Thu 20th May 2021 1:36pm)
  • I think it's Blackhill or something that is particularly posh in Edinburgh, and particularly not in Glasgow. by dl064 (Thu 20th May 2021 1:35pm)
  • I like Dumbarton road because it's kind of a nice mixture of daft one-off shops, the flats are about the right price, and if you walk down it at 4AM on the way from down it's unbelievable serene. I feel like Dumbarton road is kind of the best mixture of quite 'authentic' Glasgow (I hate myself saying that) and being quite nice. I always used to find it funny how dead it was on Sunday morning, like the whole street was hungover. by dl064 (Thu 20th May 2021 1:35pm)
  • We were meant to get jabbed yesterday in Milngavie. No NHS staff there. They scrambled to get folk in for 11, that's two hours of folk who didn't get vaccinated. Felt for the guy at the gym door telling everyone no, and that he has absolutely no stake in the matter. Just two hours of astounded/indignant/sad folk. Above his paygrade, that one! by dl064 (Mon 31st May 2021 12:39pm)
  • I'm working today. Had last week off, and my work (uni) lets you take the bank holiday in lieu later on. It's great; get through the emails, noone bothering you. by dl064 (Mon 31st May 2021 12:38pm)
  • There is no drug in the world like post-hill run. by dl064 (Mon 31st May 2021 12:41pm)
  • My flatmate in Baltimore made a song and dance about his Polish/Scottish heritage, and really disliked immigrants. by dl064 (Mon 31st May 2021 12:40pm)
  • That's very useful info actually, cheers. My pal is in that queue. I'm Hydro tomorrow morning between meetings, and was concerned it was just habitually long queues, so an explicit explanation is useful to know. by dl064 (Mon 31st May 2021 2:35pm)
  • I've mine tomorrow and it's not a judgement call: if it takes more than an hour I'll have to go for work, however much I'd love to get it. by dl064 (Mon 31st May 2021 8:07pm)
  • Yeah it's not a judgement call for me tomorrow: beyond a point I need to go, end of story. Great by dl064 (Mon 31st May 2021 8:10pm)
  • Jab today at Louisa Jordan. 950 appt for a circa 1030 jab. Seems much better than yesterday! Quite happy with that. by dl064 (Tue 1st Jun 2021 10:28am)
  • Total rubbish. by dl064 (Thu 3rd Jun 2021 8:00pm)
  • Glasgow uni actually have a postgraduate gardening club https://uofgpgrblog.com/pgrblog/2019/4/4/u6huot1t9xfw1fptpt2vvlb580epdl?format=amp by dl064 (Thu 3rd Jun 2021 8:14pm)
  • Incidentally fyi for anyone, if your car is too tall for multi story just go up to the barrier folk and they let you park in the staff bit. by dl064 (Thu 3rd Jun 2021 8:16pm)
  • Colleague who's working with the data/knows what he's on about was saying it's pretty much the case that if you have a bad Pfizer jab 1 reaction, you probably have had COVID before. I genuinely wouldn't have known other than the sore arm, personally. by dl064 (Mon 14th Jun 2021 10:18pm)
  • Same as many things in epidemiology really: it's a game of averages. Some folk will be fine, some won't. There's always an athlete who dies at 40 and a smoker who lives to 90. by dl064 (Tue 15th Jun 2021 9:41am)
  • It's very, very individual. And in any case: you're definitely better off with it! Apparently if you've had it already you're more likely to have a worse jab #1, but if you've *not* had it you're more likely to have a tough jab #2. So either way, folk are due a bit of a poorly day or two probably, it's just when. Or not: some folk get off with it completely. by dl064 (Tue 15th Jun 2021 9:40am)
  • The 95% thing a while ago reeked of absolute bollocks. I'm sure it's 95% of *some* metric. I did a study on epilepsy once 10+ years ago where you rung folk up based on medical records and it was like 50% if they still lived there. by dl064 (Wed 16th Jun 2021 1:46pm)
  • I'm kinda hurry up and wait at work where I've got two grants to submit, but I'm waiting on folk OKing them before they go on Friday and I go on holiday. Not enough time to start something else so...procrastinating tensely. by dl064 (Wed 16th Jun 2021 1:45pm)
  • I saw loch Lomond on twitter's new thing is asking folk to share their favoured spots/hills so folk don't come to Ben Lomond as much. I wonder how many folk will share their absolute top drawer favourites. It's very true that if folk go even a little from the main attractions/sites, things get a lot quieter fast. by dl064 (Sun 27th Jun 2021 7:58pm)
  • We walked the circumference of Bute - the west Island way I think it's called - a few years ago and had the best two days. enjoy. by dl064 (Sun 27th Jun 2021 8:21pm)
  • > If she has more witnesses than you and can convince a court that you as a man are the aggressor then you are FUCKED. My mum and sister basically had a car of teenagers crash into their car. They settled out of court because the lawyer was like: 5 testimonies vs. 2, end of story, sorry - the way it is. by dl064 (Thu 1st Jul 2021 3:25pm)
  • Oh they had one but it didn't capture the moment unfortunately. I totally agree! by dl064 (Thu 1st Jul 2021 3:31pm)
  • In the last few years I made a pal when we walk the dog to the local park. The lady is a bit older and has a rescue. Our baby hurt her finger the other day in front of us, and we had to take her to minor injuries. All fine, but it was amazing how it goes from nought to 'fuck we're going to hospital' in 5 minutes flat. I was saying this to her and she revealed that one of her sons murdered the other. Burned the house down. She was saying it's incredible that we all go through life just sort of floating above it all millimetres from total collapse. She remembers mulling 'is there any steak pie left? Maybe I can get away with not making a new dinner tonight' and all of a sudden in one moment: no grandkids, no weddings, no nothing. Blink of an eye. Was saying, her first thought of the 6 folk killed at the weekend in the water, was of a mum getting that phone call from absolutely nowhere and their life's done a 180. I dunno, just food for thought, innit. by dl064 (Tue 27th Jul 2021 10:54am)
  • My wife got 2nd jabbed yesterday and we genuinely got 5G in Milngavie overnight. Lol. by dl064 (Tue 27th Jul 2021 10:57am)
  • Kind of the way we left it, indeed. by dl064 (Tue 27th Jul 2021 12:44pm)
  • Genuine first thought was whether whoever did it had any qualms about this particular target. by dl064 (Wed 28th Jul 2021 10:44pm)
  • I had a funny response to Pfizer where I felt 90% for a week rather than properly dodgy for a couple of days, as some have. by dl064 (Wed 4th Aug 2021 10:35pm)
  • A big aspect of Edinburgh too is that many, not necessarily OP here but many in my experience, take 'Edinburgh' to mean a ~2k radius of Princes st, and Glasgow to mean the totality. From neither, lived in both for years. by dl064 (Sun 8th Aug 2021 8:08pm)
  • Not but it's a correlate. More bins, folk might. Our local FB group always kicks off at folk leaving recycling at the depot when it's full, and as someone said: they've at least had the intent and come to find it isn't emptied enough. by dl064 (Sun 8th Aug 2021 8:13pm)
  • Taxi driver was telling us once that, as an example, part of the reason they'll never have a really good public transport to the airport is the politician that does it will get a horse's head on their pillow G1 group basically own Ashton Lane. Stuff like that. by dl064 (Sun 8th Aug 2021 8:10pm)
  • DELETED Specifically brought in HMOs because a friend's son was killed in a Glasgow flat fire with windowbars. As you say: it's *for* you. by dl064 (Sun 8th Aug 2021 8:18pm)
  • I used to go do marking in Sparklehorse. The clock struck 5, had a pint. Brilliant. by dl064 (Sun 8th Aug 2021 8:21pm)
  • Frankie Boyle: Glasgow is like Paris ten years after a nuclear holocaust. by dl064 (Mon 9th Aug 2021 8:27am)
  • My pal in Stirling was/is a cop. I asked him about a particularly dodgy looking pub and he said no they're never there: 'they have their own justice'. by dl064 (Mon 9th Aug 2021 1:24pm)
  • DELETED Apparently every successful Chinese restaurant in Glasgow (probably broader) has to pay protection money. by dl064 (Mon 9th Aug 2021 1:23pm)
  • My pal at high school, his dad's career was basically: when folk who own nightclubs get a fright and want rid of it 'just keep the wolves from the door', he would swoop in and deal with the debt/whatever problems folk had with gangs. He later turned out to have an entire 2nd family, and they moved to Perth where he became a sort of bourgeois drug dealer. He had a judge on his wee black book. Mental, and I'd imaging pretty dangerous if you were on the wrong side. by dl064 (Mon 9th Aug 2021 1:21pm)
  • This seems a solid hypothesis. by dl064 (Mon 9th Aug 2021 1:25pm)
  • > Take a trip 10 mins out any direction and youl see it's just as much a shithole as Glasgow. I find it quite funny that many people think Trainspotting is synonymous with Glasgow when actually it's of course Edinburgh. I had a flatmate in Edinburgh who used to say she could cycle around 'Edinburgh' in an hour, which always annoyed me. No, you can cycle from Leith to Newington via the Meadows. by dl064 (Mon 9th Aug 2021 1:32pm)
  • Haha I lived in Gorgie and it reminded me of Dumbarton road so I loved it. I was on Wardlaw street, just across from the distillery. by dl064 (Mon 9th Aug 2021 1:30pm)
  • Close enough actually, I think it's now shut but the one by Union street. Near the uni halls, used to have a big pelican. by dl064 (Mon 9th Aug 2021 8:10pm)
  • My pals lived on drip road around 2005. They used to sit on Friday nights and watch folk fight across the road. by dl064 (Tue 10th Aug 2021 9:07am)
  • Just it isn't it, wouldn't surprise. by dl064 (Tue 10th Aug 2021 1:07pm)
  • I haven't been to Bar Salsa since about 2012, but was there enough from 2009 to last a lifetime. Bar Salsa and Wardlaw street, what a time of my life man. by dl064 (Tue 10th Aug 2021 1:05pm)
  • See I got really annoyed about this a few years ago when Glasgow held a big global genetics conference. I'm at Glasgow uni so there's a bit of 'here's our home', although we didn't organize it. Fuckin' shite. Nothing on for them. They're sold on Eileen Donnan Castle, Skye etc., and they get the bridge from Finnieston. They should've had a piper as you come in. Then the provost gave a talk and it was boring and classic Glasgow self-deferential 'sorry about the weather!', 'have a deep fried mars bar! We die young' etc. Red bus tour; Kelvingrove, transport museum (which has the fucking *world's first bike!*), Art School, one of the wee nearby hills like a Campsie; cycle to Balloch. All sorts. by dl064 (Tue 10th Aug 2021 1:38pm)
  • I'm optimistic we'll see them sold to licensed folk only, and they'll basically be on firework night, NYE and that's it. by dl064 (Tue 10th Aug 2021 1:34pm)
  • Pal there, got a referral from a GP for clinical psychology. Relatively soon, too. Great! No: they need to phone up the assessment team. And they're not phoning anyone due to anxiety; the GP did a great job getting the story out of them at all. Absolute Bravo to the service though, avoiding shedloads of work due to this. You have to marvel. I used to volunteer for Edin Uni mental health services, and the disability centre was slap bang in the middle of the library. Good thing social anxiety, agoraphobia etc. aren't commonly comorbid with mental health problems, eh. by dl064 (Wed 11th Aug 2021 12:54pm)
  • Yeah I think 700 for two people would be very good, really. A lot of the time these posts here (and r/edinburgh) tend to be 'I'm struggling to find something *I'd like*'. by dl064 (Wed 11th Aug 2021 12:57pm)
  • Ah that's cool. I'm not going to pretend my finger's on the flat pulse since COVID, especially. I had a one-bed flat in Gorgie in Edin for 700 *ten years ago*, but that was a lucky deal. by dl064 (Wed 11th Aug 2021 3:15pm)
  • It's a good thing there would be no systematic biases in who can phone at 8.30 on the dot for half-an-hour, right. by dl064 (Thu 12th Aug 2021 12:08pm)
  • http://www.gillesbaudet.co.uk/about/ Jesus H. by dl064 (Wed 25th Aug 2021 12:11pm)
  • Folk always say they pack in Twitter etc., I just think start a new one and only follow funny or interesting things. by dl064 (Wed 25th Aug 2021 12:23pm)
  • Our child started nursery. It's unreal having some time back, including doing some actual work. It's funny though the distinction between Normal People with Normal Cars and the absolute white Porsche 4x4 brigade who can barely fit into the car park. by dl064 (Wed 25th Aug 2021 12:25pm)
  • In America, where I worked variously over a few years, folk often go to bars alone. Folk will just sit at the bar and chat as folk come and go. by dl064 (Fri 27th Aug 2021 11:31am)
  • I wouldn't recommend Edinburgh uni. by dl064 (Sun 29th Aug 2021 7:20am)
  • I think it's Iona that's largely owned by Samantha Cameron, which smarts somewhat. by dl064 (Sun 29th Aug 2021 7:31am)
  • Interesting BBC article recently about how they have some 20k award they'll give folk to move to rural islands, but as a resident said, it looks good but they should invest that in more fundamental issues. I always thought with Arran, it would get expensive once folk could WFH effectively. by dl064 (Sun 29th Aug 2021 7:30am)
  • I find the bug spray actually does work. by dl064 (Mon 30th Aug 2021 2:59pm)
  • You can get spider catcher boxes on amazon. They're sticky. They work. by dl064 (Mon 30th Aug 2021 3:02pm)
  • It's just so down in the DNA that I google searched that and flinched from my screen. There's a line in the game Gears of War that stuck with me that we've obviously evolved to be repulsed by things that scuttle. by dl064 (Mon 30th Aug 2021 3:00pm)
  • Hotel du Vin in the West End used to do this *mental* whisky tasting thing. It's literally you and this really great expert and she picks stuff off and talks about it. It's excellent and amazing. by dl064 (Tue 31st Aug 2021 1:02pm)
  • Certainly Glasgow, other than Medicine/Vet, things requiring essential in-person etc. are not. I as a lecturer have been told I'm ODL until at least January. It's shit, I had a student I supervised 2020-21 where she was saying 'hopefully I get to see my friends in June' and I was like 'but they've told us graduation's off. Have they not told *you?*' by dl064 (Tue 31st Aug 2021 1:00pm)
  • It is, eh. The uni were quite slimy about money, too, like getting folk into accommodation and then basically locking them in. I had an undergraduate I supervise last year who was sad he didn't get a masters scholarship, and I was like 'mate honestly you might be better off'. by dl064 (Tue 31st Aug 2021 1:43pm)
  • December - I honestly dunno. They might take it, as Sturgeon seems to be saying now, that this is *it*, we're mostly vaccinated and need to get on with life. I noticed months ago though they said the june graduations were off because the planning involved is so far ahead they had to play it safe. But certainly my course is ODL until January. That's totally bullshit about not meeting the lecturers but...yeah, I agree. I've supervised loads of undergrad/postgrad students I've never met at all, now, just via Zoom. It's just sad. Re graduation, did they not let loads of folk up to the new building? And did Edinburgh not have a grad recently? by dl064 (Tue 31st Aug 2021 1:41pm)
  • Yeah they let folk go up to the new building roof and take a photo or two. It wasn't full-on graduation ceremony. by dl064 (Tue 31st Aug 2021 2:37pm)
  • In a right funny mood today. I had my annual appraisal, with my boss, who's a prick. Some things he's said to me over the years thinking we were pals 1. don't Saudi students smell funny 2. it's poor form X isn't here today - 'she's part time. She doesn't work today'. Doesn't care. 3. told an Irish colleague he doesn't think there should be a republic at all. I should've dobbed him in but...ach, you worry what'll actually happen, and you're left dealing with it. I don't agree with any of these obviously, I just sort of stood there. Anyway, I'm annoyed because I've worked my arse off for 18 months with COVID, baby April 2020 with no child support etc., got a few papers in (we're academics), *loads* of grant apps in, my students are all happy and doing well, and he's just like 'ok'. No well done, thanks for covering all the slack etc. etc. Scoffed at discussing promotion. It's funny because I appreciate it's a bit juvenile to be like 'my boss didn't give me a gold star :(' but I'm also like 'well what the fuck am I doing thinking about work on Saturday afternoon when it's all for 'OK. You're doing fine'" by dl064 (Fri 3rd Sep 2021 9:20am)
  • That's just it, really. I don't want to muck about with my job while the baby is wee, mortgage etc. and my wife's on a fixed-term contract, but one day: fuck it, am aff. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Sep 2021 9:52am)
  • Thing is, right: the only person above him has worked with him for 3x as long as I have. They know. He's Head of dept., I'm not taking him down with some stories. For now. Glasgow uni bury folk with admin, errors and procedures. It's a tactic. What I will start doing though is telling folk that matter, so it's at least known. At the end of the day, I can't complain about culture like that and then not do anything about it; that's weak of me. I need a bit of moral fiber about it all. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Sep 2021 9:51am)
  • I think they're parallel issues. He's a prick, but also a terrible line manager, and the two feed off one another. My point is not that I'm about to dob him in, because there's little substance there anyway, but it has encouraged me that I should tell more folk these things. I get the point though - would I be happy as Larry if things were great - and the answer's not really, because the culture has always been terrible, and the question is when to move on. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Sep 2021 10:16am)
  • That's genuinely food for thought. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Sep 2021 10:33am)
  • https://twitter.com/GlasgowGuardian/status/1433715725315842049?s=20 Speaking from experience, this is absolutely the way the uni work. Try to get stuff for free nine times before relenting. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Sep 2021 10:40am)
  • Yeah. I've got it mild. He's a dick but he's not chasing women, or shouting in people's faces, putting students he fancies 1st author, or getting PhD students sacked because a better one comes along (all of which I've heard). My wife when she worked at Strathclyde, the project wasn't going fast enough for the boss who basically threatened his post-docs with 'I'll force you to move to our sister lab in Ireland'. It's really not a shocker that total arseholes who get their elbows out and take credit, end up high up. They've got Athena SWAN but it's a number-crunching exercise, frankly. It needs teeth. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Sep 2021 11:28am)
  • They genuinely are still trying to sort out my wife's maternity leave pay and the baby's 1.5 years old. I don't think they're active bastards, like evil, I think they're hopeless and inept. Truly. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Sep 2021 6:07pm)
  • Went to the West end for a pint for the first time in like two years there. 90% of folk still are quite conscientious, wear masks etc., and I'd say most of the remaining 10% are The Lads in groups of 6 or so. A weird flex, as they say. by dl064 (Thu 9th Sep 2021 9:52am)
  • I always love getting phones and wallets back to folk. Little buzz from it. Folk try to give you 20 quid or something and it's even better to say no. Total virtue, feels great. I've done it 6 times or something now. You worry about folk who don't have that little dopamine hit from helping folk. A woman found my wallet recently and the gratitude's enormous when folk reassure you about human nature a bit. by dl064 (Thu 9th Sep 2021 9:56am)
  • Well, that's a different couple of discussions. My point was it was one specific demographic that stuck out. by dl064 (Thu 9th Sep 2021 11:40am)
  • Pal worked with someone who didn't trust anyone with the surname McDonald. I've a pal whose dad is genuinely, genuinely angry about the highland clearances today. by dl064 (Sat 18th Sep 2021 9:18am)
  • How'd *that* come up? by dl064 (Thu 23rd Sep 2021 7:44pm)
  • 'Jesus Christ not now Sandra' by dl064 (Thu 23rd Sep 2021 7:43pm)
  • Even in Edinburgh it's openly accepted even by the cops as what the Saunas *do*. by dl064 (Thu 23rd Sep 2021 7:45pm)
  • Hard to top that one. by dl064 (Thu 23rd Sep 2021 7:52pm)
  • Yeah I really enjoy the blown cognitive fuse here that folk might not live near where they work. by dl064 (Wed 6th Oct 2021 8:01pm)
  • Was meant to be on radio 4 right now talking about work. Got bumped at 620, for 645! My wife had got up at 6am too, and we've an 18 month old so it's not a whim. It sucks because it's fucking scary and you spend the day before psyching up. They do a pre interview with you, and I had folk texting me at 8pm which pissed me off. Very anti climactic! I've all this energy with nowhere to go. by dl064 (Thu 7th Oct 2021 6:46am)
  • So it varies a bit. Radio 4 wanted a pre-interview where if I'm honest they kind of interrogated me like a politician and I could barely get a word out. Sometimes folk email, which is my favourite because it's easier to be careful with words. Normally it's: please be ready for interview at 6.30 for a 6.45 interview which lasts 5 minutes. It is *incredible* how little training and checking of you they normally do. I did it in 2017, where I went to the Quay and it really was: sit there for 5 minutes, then you're on the radio, hope you're not shit. by dl064 (Thu 7th Oct 2021 9:49am)
  • Re the takes thing: I've done TV stuff which is recorded and *that* by contrast goes on and on and fucking on. by dl064 (Thu 7th Oct 2021 1:19pm)
  • > I was contacted about recorded job interviews by someone from the BBC and asked if I could send them some stuff for a potential documentary. Put in time and effort finding, downloading and sending the files then heard fuck all from them, not even a thanks. They tried to get me in for one of the Michael Mosley things a few years ago. Basically they wanted me to say a load of things where I was like 'but we don't know that'. Didn't care, just say the nice-sounding fact. They went and got some other lot from down South who were happy to say anything on telly. by dl064 (Thu 7th Oct 2021 1:21pm)
  • Tell you I'm beginning to wonder about this whole 'Glasgow - the world's last best hope' thing. by dl064 (Thu 21st Oct 2021 2:50pm)
  • There's a good bit on the Alan Partridge podcast where he's been hired by the Norwich car industry to encourage car use, like 'Get there whenever you want: **cars!** Go with whoever you like, or even alone: **cars!'** by dl064 (Thu 21st Oct 2021 2:58pm)
  • There was one maybe 5 years ago, where a kid who lived near Carbeth was taking pot-shots at west highland way walkers with a wee pellet gun. One couple had an infant with them, and the judge threw the book at the guy as a result. Went to prison I think, basically pleading'I didn't know there was a child, I just meant to annoy some folk'. Judge: yeah well I don't give a fuck, in you get. by dl064 (Thu 21st Oct 2021 2:56pm)
  • We moved to Milngavie and worked in the west end. It used to be: bike - fuck off, I don't fancy dying. train - 20 minute walk then unreliable, expensive, crammed in, then 20 minutes from Partick. bus - an hour Car - 15-20 minutes on a good day. by dl064 (Thu 21st Oct 2021 3:02pm)
  • I listened to a good podcast all about this sort of thing and as they said: populations are incredibly agnostic to convenience and cost. The moment the bus/train/bikes/e-stuff are genuinely clearly quicker, cheaper and safe, folk will turn on a dime. Until then? No. by dl064 (Thu 21st Oct 2021 3:00pm)
  • At 14 you can turn everything around. Noone's who they definitively are at 14. It's unfair. by dl064 (Thu 21st Oct 2021 3:04pm)
  • There was a good story like this once in Edinburgh/that subreddit where a woman had a terrible flat like this, and lived in Bermuda and had never actually seen it in the flesh. Just bought it, rented it out, didn't care. Numbers. by dl064 (Sun 24th Oct 2021 6:46am)
  • Some think China's good COVID results after the initial wave was to do with positivity not being a punishment. Whereas here a lot of places if you can't work you're not paid, or your boss is shitty about it etc. I've a pal who is a doctor. His son was a bit ill so got a PCR, so my pal couldn't go to work that day in-person. His boss/co-workers were unironically pissed at him because his...son decided to have a cough? Bananas. by dl064 (Sun 24th Oct 2021 6:54am)
  • Yeah at my work there are a set amount per year, like annual leave. I used to work at NIH, which is basically US government health research. At Christmas an email came around 'Hi, I've used up all my sick leave with ongoing chemo. If anyone has any leave to donate, I would appreciate it'. by dl064 (Sun 24th Oct 2021 6:55am)
  • Found it quite funny that folk fought over ownership now they fight to cast the blame. Remember when folk fell out it would be a union jack rather than saltire? It's a UK conference etc.? Now it was 100% Glasgow and Scotland, thanks. by dl064 (Sun 24th Oct 2021 7:30am)
  • If the unthinkable happens to the Queen during COP26, I can't think of a funnier place for the world's media to be than Glasgow. by dl064 (Wed 27th Oct 2021 8:25am)
  • > The details of the schedule for the 10 days between the queen’s death and her funeral range from the banal to the ridiculous This article was an excellent read. by dl064 (Wed 27th Oct 2021 10:40am)
  • Pal's sister is a cop who said basically this. by dl064 (Wed 27th Oct 2021 4:04pm)
  • My pal has a good one - incidentally an infectious disease doctor. He and his medic pals went on a ski trip in like march 2020 to France. They literally arrived and their phones buzzed that France was locked down. My pal literally booked a flight home on his phone there and then, and in the time between then and some other folk getting their bags off, the flights back home were full to the brim. The best the rest of them could get was to Dublin a few days later. Literally sat in the pub, time to put all this behind us, and cops walked in and said everyone out, don’t even finish your pint. by dl064 (Thu 28th Oct 2021 7:38pm)
  • Almost like international travel in March 2020 wasn't the best idea. by dl064 (Fri 29th Oct 2021 10:57am)
  • My wife's pal, her husband has cancer. Very probably quite advanced. They have a one year old. What can you even think, eh? We have an 18m old. In the past I've wondered, is it worse to leave your loved one behind, and now with a child that's even more pronounced. Is it harder to leave behind or watch a loved one suffer, knowing they're leaving you behind? Dunno. Anyway have a nice weekend everyone! by dl064 (Sat 30th Oct 2021 4:37pm)
  • We've pals who live in Finnieston who got a little leaflet basically saying pretend it's lockdown 1. by dl064 (Sun 31st Oct 2021 2:48pm)
  • The trains are back today. That said the Edinburgh ones are largely the slow one that stops everywhere. I was much quicker and cheaper on the bus. £6 and 80mins vs. £19 and 90mins. Easy. by dl064 (Sun 31st Oct 2021 2:49pm)
  • As a casual observer I read 'unhappy with the council' and thought 'yeah probably right knowing them'. by dl064 (Sun 31st Oct 2021 8:14pm)
  • If you get the train from/to Partick you get a bird's eye view of the SECC, expressway etc. and Jesus H. are there a lot of cops. by dl064 (Sun 31st Oct 2021 10:53pm)
  • Really common in stroke that what does a lot of damage is folk falling over. When you fall and expect it, you sort of prepare yourself. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 9:32am)
  • I had a pal once where, as the nightclub was closing, got into a huge argument with three guys and it came 99.9% to kicking off. The punchline, pardon the pun, was that my pal thought the two guys standing next to him were me and my other pal and actually it was just two random guys queuing. So he was basically squaring up to three guys alone. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 9:31am)
  • I used to work in NHS GG&C neuropsychology. My boss always used to say, since they brought in the rule that you can't abuse nurses or get turfed out, there must be *so much* head injury in the general population that just...come to and go home, and they're 5% less. It's not an uncommon observation that spouses dying increases risk of the *remaining* spouse getting dementia, and they reckon it's because the wife covers for the husband - preps his lunch, does all sorts, then without that structure the guys could never have hacked it all and kinda spiral. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 9:38am)
  • I know someone who hit a drunk guy in her car. She was totally beside herself at the hospital, understandably. The cops went 'we know him, he walks out in front of cars all the time, just go home, we won't hold it against you', and that was it - never heard any more. Similarly, a woman who I met at the dog park and became semi-pals with, her son was murdered a few years ago. It was in the news. They knew who did it, pretty much, and told her 'look, even if we can't pin it on him per se, we'll keep him on remand for at least a year before anyone even hears his side of the story, then he'll go to court, stay on remand, and we'll just basically keep him in prison for as long as we can'. She meant this as 'well at least that's something eh' but to me the idea the cops can sort of decide was pretty chilling. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 9:35am)
  • Yeah. I've read the point that we should be proud of GGC going above and beyond, but I think what aggravates is it's not like they're generally good and going to 11 - they're just doing shit we all asked for for *years*, with ease. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 9:43am)
  • I wrote a letter to them about 5 years ago, saying this is insanity, it's pitch black at 4 in December and folk are walking through it. They wrote back saying there are few crimes reported so it's obviously unnecessary. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 9:42am)
  • Yeah. What prompted me was trying to walk the (black!) dog and it was ridiculous. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 12:56pm)
  • My flatmate in America, he was saying the system there is fucking mental where basically you *pay* the restaurant and you make it back + your profit in tips. So literally you could work for a month, and if your tips were sufficiently shit you *owe* the restaurant. Baltimore, 2013. 21st century. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 2:04pm)
  • I kind of 'round up' with 10% as a sort of minimum. So like 39 becomes 45, that kind of thing. My wife has a hole in her brain where the estimation of appropriate tip should be. It's very funny. One time she tipped a £10+ for a like £20 meal, ruined her day. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 2:08pm)
  • > I work in a restaurant of highly skilled front of house staff that all have 5+ years experience. Our tips are substantially more than average because of our experience. I know someone who's well into restaurants, has travelled widely, generally well-to-do etc., and he always said the big thing about the UK is noone has pride in service. You go to Spain or France and it's a really good, respected job that is the end-point, whereas in Britain it's usually in the process of going to uni or something. The point isn't to denigrate at all but rather that the UK would do well to reposition it as a difficult, very respect-worthy job same as anything, because as you say a very good one makes a difference. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 2:07pm)
  • > And now we’re in the situation that restaurants can’t get staff cause as the OP said it’s back breaking work for shit pay and a ton of people have left the industry because of that. Nick Nairn was saying a while ago it's been a rough time because all his chefs found it was nicer being on furlough at 80% than shit hours, conditions etc. Like yeah, maybe reflect on that one Nick. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 2:05pm)
  • Yeah. I saw a big piece in the Telegraph trying to throw Glasgow and Sturgeon under a bus for it all - after 6 months ago making a song and dance about how it was a UK conference, no saltires. by dl064 (Mon 1st Nov 2021 2:22pm)
  • I thought the daft John Mayer one. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 10:29am)
  • I had a pal in London whose job was basically sorting out rich people's lives. One good one was Tracey Emin couldn't get from A to B in the Icelandic gas cloud. She was like 'fine how much do I have to pay', and they said 'no, that's not how it works' and she just could not get it in her head that money can't solve literally everything. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 10:27am)
  • Someone on here had a half-decent conspiracy theory that with COP, the UK basically put it on the least Tory area possible because local cities always hate it, and they're not worried about Glasgow losing Tory voters. Dunno, funny idea though. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 10:25am)
  • A different planet, I bet. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 11:00am)
  • I've no idea, sorry. I'm just parroting. Although I do vaguely recall the story that we'd 'won', actually, yeah. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 11:39am)
  • I am meeting a pal for drinks for the first time in 18 months on Thursday. I have three hours. We meet in Queen Street; where is your favourite pub within a 15 minute walk? by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 5:23pm)
  • Done! Why not. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 6:02pm)
  • Yeah I was hoping it was someone who stood on the bridge at Harthill or something. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 9:34pm)
  • 'Seems to me, everything you think you know about serial killers, you learned from ones who got caught' - Mindhunter. by dl064 (Tue 2nd Nov 2021 10:07pm)
  • Glasgow Uni HR are genuinely fucking useless. I have no sympathy for them getting totally railed on this. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Nov 2021 5:02pm)
  • I imagine there's a bit of 'where are the facilities', too. So they didn't do it in Edinburgh because they'd be out by the Gyle. by dl064 (Thu 4th Nov 2021 10:31am)
  • Hahaha they're thinking of the bats, how kind. by dl064 (Thu 4th Nov 2021 3:59pm)
  • If there is genuine impact they don't give two fucks, guaranteed. by dl064 (Thu 4th Nov 2021 4:04pm)
  • I enjoy the circularity from them of: well don't go through the park at night, it's dangerous, duh. by dl064 (Thu 4th Nov 2021 4:05pm)
  • Fair enough - people get attacked in the well-lit Meadows too - but lighting is an obvious deterrent. We don't abandon seatbelts because they're not 100%. Very little in public health is a silver bullet. I do get your point about other factors though. by dl064 (Thu 4th Nov 2021 6:44pm)
  • Apparently this absolutely duffed up folk who took cash in hand when they got furlough based on the previous 18 months. Which is a bit 'well who's fault is that' but a bugger anyway. by dl064 (Sun 14th Nov 2021 2:24pm)
  • Apparently it's similarly why electrical companies want you to have a smart meter: harder to fenegle. They don't really give a fuck about you saving power. by dl064 (Sun 14th Nov 2021 2:23pm)
  • Pal of mine lived above a video rental shop in Edinburgh. In like 2013! They'd come and change a poster once every 6 months but never opened. by dl064 (Sun 14th Nov 2021 2:28pm)
  • The one near Anniesland going up in flames was...surely a story or two. by dl064 (Sun 14th Nov 2021 2:28pm)
  • My pal worked for HSBC as part of this. Basically they had a tiny little clause for businesses that you had to fill in, or they closed your account. It fucked loads. Charities, small shops, all sorts. They got a very angry call from Dua Lipa, as a business entity like Lorraine Kelly. Did tonnes of harm to honest folk who just missed the letter. by dl064 (Sun 14th Nov 2021 2:26pm)
  • I've written the council one or two letters, and if you give them the slightest balance to your point, they'll side with that. They're looking for ways out of doing stuff in Terminator-level detail. by dl064 (Wed 17th Nov 2021 10:45am)
  • Heating bills. by dl064 (Tue 30th Nov 2021 11:29am)
  • I honestly think Twitter should have an option to auto-mute anonymous avatars of that ilk. Bit heavy handed I don't think I'd be missing out. by dl064 (Tue 30th Nov 2021 11:29am)
  • https://glasgowguardian.co.uk/2021/12/01/new-testing-measures-introduced-after-cheating-rose-exponentially-last-year/ 'New glasgow uni testing measures introduced after cheating rose exponentially last year' I mind in 2020, my boss was getting very angry that all these students who had been D/E/Fs for months suddenly got A1s on the exams, but the uni values its image as a big progressive 'Friend To Students!' so hard it didn't want to know. Everyone gets an A! by dl064 (Wed 1st Dec 2021 12:03pm)
  • BBC News kinda nailed it that we've not see Boris et al. on the podium like that for a long time. There is a bit of 'the cavalry is here, we have the vaccine' to it, I think; lockdowns have their own problems. by dl064 (Wed 1st Dec 2021 12:08pm)
  • Yeah they explicitly met to discuss this at a high level and didn't go for it, so it's the next step if there is one. I really don't mind that, personally. It's quite interesting, they had a govt. guy on BBC Scotland radio the other day basically admitting the vaccine passport is a mandate by any other name - they do not want to mandate vaccines, just squeeze folk so they basically have to if they want a normal life. Said 18-39 is the least vaccinated, and they don't know why. by dl064 (Wed 1st Dec 2021 12:06pm)
  • > The developer can appeal against the decision. Is kind of it really. I helped someone defend against a greenbelt thing, and it basically just goes on and on until they win. Basically. The old line: 'we only need to get it right once, you need to get it right forever'. by dl064 (Wed 1st Dec 2021 2:23pm)
  • Yeah, I helped some folk with an attempt to build on greenbelt - basically the Andy Murray museum in Dunblane, the real truth is that they wanted to use that as a Trojan hose to get into greenbelt, and then build a ton of houses. Eventually they won, which was bullshit but anyway, it all got kyboshed by COVID. Anyway: they said all sorts of stuff like we'll make a preserve, we'll do affordable housing, build a community centre etc. and they just say that to get *in* and then it all falls away magically. Wasn't viable! Argh! What are the odds. by dl064 (Wed 1st Dec 2021 2:25pm)
  • I know someone who teaches an r course who was saying a lot of students are really baffled by the idea of paths. Like c:\dl064\documents Reckon it's because for many, phones just sort of do it all for you. But yeah Glasgow uni in 2020: if you failed a student you basically had to tell the uni exactly why, because they didn't want to have to deal with students complaining. That sympathy has completely gone by the wayside. This meant I had a daft one where I had a student who had a very tough time in COVID, had loads of thesis extensions, and then by the time she actually submitted and it got graded, the sympathy had all gone and she got very harsh marking. It's all just a bit fucked really, the cogs of it all. by dl064 (Thu 2nd Dec 2021 12:34pm)
  • In 2nd year we had a teacher we all told our parents was not right, would give wild homework for the next day, just act...wildly, and they all said 'ach shut up, kids for you innit, obviously'. Well, a year later she left and was hospitalised with bipolar and a psychotic episode. I'm not making fun, because that's sad and serious, but we fucking did tell them. by dl064 (Tue 7th Dec 2021 7:53pm)
  • Apparently it's 1.5m to fix the Croftamie bridge, so 96 all in seems a bargain. by dl064 (Tue 7th Dec 2021 7:56pm)
  • Indeed, definitely - my point was not that all people with bipolar or who have psychosis display obvious behaviour or symptoms, my point was that she *did*, and noone listened to us. by dl064 (Wed 8th Dec 2021 9:45am)
  • Funny wee detail that might help you one day. Ipad wasn't charging after a knock, via plugs. Plugged it into laptop, and it charges slightly slowly, but does. by dl064 (Tue 14th Dec 2021 5:34pm)
  • We had ours weeks ago before any Omicron discourse at all, and I'm quite glad for that. by dl064 (Tue 14th Dec 2021 5:36pm)
  • I always liked the line in commentary for the office Christmas special, that literally the moment after David Brent is straight with himself, things improve a bit. by dl064 (Sun 19th Dec 2021 7:04pm)
  • Child's back in nursery so all bets are off, I'm in the cinema for the first time in 2 years. Last film was Parasite. Spiderman is dead as a doornail which is nice. by dl064 (Wed 5th Jan 2022 11:55am)
  • I'm not sure what Virgin do, but Vodafone a couple of years ago, with me after saying 'yes it is indeed buggered' gave me like 200gigs of data on my phone which I just dongled. It worked pretty well actually. by dl064 (Thu 6th Jan 2022 9:19am)
  • Did you know a 2016 Rosberg Merc is in a castle hotel near Plockton? In the lobby apparently. by dl064 (Thu 6th Jan 2022 9:22am)
  • > There’s loads of trains and busses you can take that drop you at the foot of a hill or at the start of a walk. True, but I always think there should be tonnes more. Folk can't get up Ben Lomond or Ben Ledi for parking; there should be a park and ride. by dl064 (Thu 6th Jan 2022 9:20am)
  • Oh a disaster. Shambles every weekend from April, or nice weekend at all. So you're very good to take public transport! Removes a variable. Many more distant hills have tiny wee car parks: if you're late, that's you. (Many folk don't take that and park like dicks). by dl064 (Thu 6th Jan 2022 11:09am)
  • Worse outcomes! by dl064 (Thu 6th Jan 2022 11:10am)
  • Back at uni I used to find it very calming driving around at night. We went to all sorts of places. by dl064 (Mon 10th Jan 2022 1:08pm)
  • Apparently if you work on the London underground as a subway driver/conductor/whatever, it's when not if you'll see one. by dl064 (Mon 10th Jan 2022 2:25pm)
  • I know someone who's a landlord of a few properties. Obviously there are terrible rogue landlords out there, but it's *also* the case that you get a similar number of absolutely unreasonable, wild tenants. It's not absolutely a one-way street. by dl064 (Mon 17th Jan 2022 2:45pm)
  • Yeah - we *all* just hate folk who are inconsiderate, whatever they're in. I was behind a guy recently where he overtook a cyclist on a blind bend, totally wild, and then turned into a BP about 500 metres down the road anyway. I got a look at him and it just hadn't registered at all the cyclist was like 'wtf'. He was just in for an irn bru or something and thought nothing of it. Nothing behind the eyes whatsoever. by dl064 (Mon 17th Jan 2022 2:52pm)
  • Horrendous. It's the great fear with kids, isn't it? One time at that exact spot, a cyclist ran a red light and fair enough to them, nearby cops pull him over for a telling. May or may not help folk, and I appreciate it shouldn't be necessary, but whenever I'm at a junction with our child I look to check folk have stopped, red light or not. Kinda like folk crossing a zebra crossing before the oncoming cars have stopped: you're sort of having faith in these random folk to see you. by dl064 (Mon 17th Jan 2022 2:59pm)
  • To me, the most telling emotion is when we have foreign delegates and I'm *embarrassed*. by dl064 (Wed 19th Jan 2022 9:43am)
  • Ian Hislop - yeah who knew it's easy to be chancellor while you just sign off on everything for a year. by dl064 (Wed 19th Jan 2022 10:08am)
  • So, first world problem to fuck, but I know someone buying a very expensive Porsche. He's buying it outright, rather than on finance where they make their money. Apparently, they are absolutely shifty as fuck about trying to make it on finance. Sending him stuff to sign and it's like '20% deposit, rest on finance at XX%'. He says no, correct that, and they never ever ring back. Just absolutely not interested, this posh dealership, because it's they're not making their cut off it, 'aye mate whatever'. I find that quite funny, anyway. by dl064 (Wed 19th Jan 2022 10:07am)
  • > Potholes: Too much vehicle traffic (nobody wants to admit this) > > Interesting on the red bus city tour that Charing cross was never designed for anything like the number of cars, and one day they'll have to do something about it. by dl064 (Wed 19th Jan 2022 10:19am)
  • Get the red bus tour. Go to the science centre and/or transport museum (it’s free/donation). Go to the kelvin grove museum. Day trip to Edinburgh: Carlton hill, a museum/castle and up Arthur’s seat. by dl064 (Sat 22nd Jan 2022 9:25am)
  • > I’ve personally never seen any evidence of how they’ve helped or supported folk with complex mental health problems in the long term Yeah. It's all about the responsibility like 'just talk!' and speak to people is responsibility being fobbed off. There are very, very few medications for mood disorder, services are skint, queues are out the door. It's just fucked. As a psychiatrist said to me once: if a cardiologist treated someone with textbooks as old as psychiatry does, they'd be struck off by lunchtime. by dl064 (Thu 27th Jan 2022 1:13pm)
  • > > My theory is that Glasgow is a special case in terms of addiction, so has a lot of resources to help people out of it I used to work in GAS and I think you got very lucky, if that's the word and relatively speaking. Generally speaking, people would receive one of those services when we were crying out that they needed what you described: a somewhat holistic, person-wide approach including social care, clinical psychology, medical etc. Glasgow addictions *definitely* doesn't have enough resources. Your good story shows what it *can* be like! by dl064 (Thu 27th Jan 2022 1:11pm)
  • DELETED I know a lot of clinical psychologists and a fair few I wouldn't trust with getting to a cafe on time, let alone someone's mental health. Some are 11/10 heroines who should be in charge of the world, some are just...a bit daft. by dl064 (Thu 27th Jan 2022 1:16pm)
  • See the line about men-sheds? I know someone who was in a grant review board where an applicant wanted to actually look, empirically, at their effectiveness. It got punted because the chair said 'either they don't work and we can't recommend it any more, or it does work and they'll want the NHS to subsidise it. No'. That's the world we're dealing with. by dl064 (Thu 27th Jan 2022 1:14pm)
  • Much of working in GAS was being aghast at what GPs and the like tell folk/would try to refer! And arguing about capacity, like 'if you let this person go home, they will have drunk themselves to death by monday morning.' My boss told me something that should influence everyone's perception of the NHS: when you cut resource to some structures, efficiency *appears* to go up as folk get bundled out. So it can be easy pickings. A good system should have folk there until they're better, and many services actually just want to discharge asap. by dl064 (Thu 27th Jan 2022 1:44pm)
  • It's so sad that it comes down to how you negotiate the system. by dl064 (Sat 29th Jan 2022 8:06pm)
  • So - yes. Pollution is bad and that's obvious. But! Actually parsing out the contributions of pollution (particulate matter 2.5) is really hard with data because it's very tied in with a lot of other variables like postcode deprivation. Are you only looking at folk who live there now? What about the guy who moves and has a heart attack? So not disagreeing at all but estimates of what it actually contributes to poor health are harder than folk make out. by dl064 (Sun 30th Jan 2022 1:44pm)
  • When I used to commute partick to Milngavie, if one was late enough they'd just cancel it and then claim the *next* one was bang on time. Art. by dl064 (Sun 30th Jan 2022 1:42pm)
  • >Yeah, hard to pin down but which ever way you slice it, less air pollution should be a core focus of policy. Totally. Very tractable! by dl064 (Sun 30th Jan 2022 2:31pm)
  • It's nice in these trying complex times that ScotRail remain solid as a rock, dependably undependable. by dl064 (Sun 30th Jan 2022 2:31pm)
  • A classic of the genre. I have no doubt at all you're right and true. https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/9sczla/i_hate_scotrail/e8nv6rn by dl064 (Sun 30th Jan 2022 7:59pm)
  • I was a PhD student in Edinburgh, and would literally say 'hi I see no students, but I'm XYZ' and they always went 'ah ok grand'. by dl064 (Tue 15th Feb 2022 1:24pm)
  • I recommend Bright Club, but it is absolutely terrifying. by dl064 (Tue 15th Feb 2022 1:26pm)
  • Hey Reddit, want a mad wee story? About 4 years ago on the academia subreddit, I replied to someone about their CV and how they should apply for a PhD, and there was one going in Glasgow (by-the-by). Well, they did, I was the supervisor and today she passed her viva exam for that PhD. Leaves for a post-doctoral job in the USA next week. https://old.reddit.com/r/AskAcademia/comments/8la062/msc_neuropsychology_what_can_i_do_to_help_myself/dze4pn6/ Funny how things go, eh. by dl064 (Thu 17th Feb 2022 2:04pm)
  • It's mad to me how short the seasonal turnaround is now. I mind when it ended in October! Barely feels a break now. by dl064 (Tue 15th Mar 2022 11:34pm)
  • I definitely (...) don't recommend Sportsurge for live streaming. by dl064 (Tue 15th Mar 2022 11:33pm)
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXDjoWVOh8 If you watch this, the guy jogs off, the adrenaline wears off and he collapses. Needed back surgery. by dl064 (Thu 17th Mar 2022 12:05pm)
  • In Baltimore they had a 0.10k; literally the distance between the front door and the bar. Just put money in on your way in. by dl064 (Thu 31st Mar 2022 12:34pm)
  • I had a very old Omega where they were like 'its value if you sold it is fuck all, but if it were lost we'd pay out X grand' like hmm I wonder why folk commit fraud. by dl064 (Thu 31st Mar 2022 12:31pm)
  • I've started to listening to GB news in the car sometimes, genuinely just to get a bit of insight into how big ol' gammons think. Will I find myself convinced? Perhaps my lefty echo-chamber has deprived me of all these straight-talking, common sense views that I'll be convinced by. Fuck no, wall-to-wall bullshit gammon nonsense, recommended for a laugh. by dl064 (Tue 5th Apr 2022 3:14pm)
  • Oh that's cool! Love it. Good luck. I'm curious how much it's a skill that can benefit from training; probably a good amount. Let us know! by dl064 (Tue 5th Apr 2022 3:13pm)
  • Our baby is 2 in a couple of days, so two years ago my wife was in the maternity ward and the most I could do was wave in the window. No relatives to visit for months, couldn't drive anywhere, no friends to visit. Course it then turned out the rest of the NCT group had ignored that//no.10 was partying. It's been an experience. by dl064 (Wed 6th Apr 2022 10:14am)
  • I see the distinction, yeah. You can say 'no as simple as that' - fine. But you can only say 'naw' to decline something, like 'would you like a coffee', 'naw'. I think it's just folk haven't seen the distinction somewhere. by dl064 (Wed 6th Apr 2022 10:13am)
  • I’ve thought this for years. I said it to a taxi driver once who told me there is too much money in it not happening. The taxi folk would drop a horses head on whatever politician really went for it, he reckoned. I believed him. by dl064 (Sat 16th Apr 2022 1:10pm)
  • I have a factor in Hacking and Peterson. We live on a housing estate. Is it all a big con? I get charged 50 quid a quarter for stuff and was just kinda *told* I was when we moved in. They don't seem to do anything. We've been charged 150 to fix a river embankment a mile away, which is 50 grand in total. Isn't that the council's job? What if I said no? Genuinely like 'this is all fine and reasonable' vs. 'I am a total mug'. by dl064 (Tue 19th Apr 2022 12:00pm)
  • Ah well - thanks. by dl064 (Tue 19th Apr 2022 5:10pm)
  • It's genuinely the worst possible system. Scotland makes a song and dance about being progressive etc., and we have this system which absolutely fucks over so many demographics (insomniacs; folk who simply can't ring in that window; new mums; all sorts!). Archaic. I was thinking there's probably an app that rings constantly until it gets through, but there you go, having an unfair advantage on folks who won't have a clue about that. A big disgusting scramble every morning. Gets me angry. by dl064 (Tue 26th Apr 2022 2:10pm)
  • Everyone I know who commuted to work via bike, edin or Glasgow, has a horror story or serious injury. One colleague was put in intensive care and only lost his limp recently. Another still limps. One broke both arms. I'd love to cycle but fuck that. Personally. by dl064 (Sat 30th Apr 2022 7:37am)
  • I don't believe you, or anyone, could truly believe this. by dl064 (Sat 30th Apr 2022 7:43am)
  • It is quite funny to me that when my family dragged me up to Skye during childhood, all I played was SNES/N64. Now when my child is napping I am playing the exact same games on switch. by dl064 (Sun 1st May 2022 2:00pm)
  • https://news.stv.tv/west-central/duke-and-duchess-of-cambridge-start-two-day-visit-to-scotland-with-trip-to-glasgow-university I enjoy that they're visiting neuroscience with its fancy scanners rather than the Dept. of Mental Health and Wellbeing, which is basically a mouldy corner of Gartnavel. Like > 'What's that?' Oh it's an unrelated department. > 'An unrelated department within the same college, called Mental Health?' ...Yes. by dl064 (Wed 11th May 2022 12:10pm)
  • So I've had similar and the garage were at it a bit. I know you say the whole thing needs replaced, but is it *definitely* the full structure and they're not having you on a bit? With me, the first quote tried to say it'd be £150 or so 'oh 50 for the part, 50 for the labour (etc.)' and the next said that was kinda bullshit. If it's the mirror itself you can order them direct and whack it on for £5, which is what we did. Ultimately if it is genuine then I wouldn't meet him halfway as you did nothing wrong, of course. by dl064 (Wed 25th May 2022 11:23am)
  • > Plenty of plumbers and builders earn 50k too, so there's more to being working class than just how much you earn (or don't earn). My dad is an engineer and says it is total death trying to get tradespeople these days. I'm sure a lot are on more than me in <white collar job>. That said, I gather the insurance is a dick because if you break an arm you're kinda fucked. by dl064 (Wed 25th May 2022 11:27am)
  • > Even 2 parents on £40K isn’t a guarantee as that just creates more travel costs, more childcare costs and you’ll need a cleaner and gardener to free up any meaningful free time. We're basically a grand a month on childcare. Fair old whollop. by dl064 (Wed 25th May 2022 11:30am)
  • I lived in the US for a bit and it actually *was* mental. Woman on the bus in front of me had a bin-bag full of stuff, and just put a handgun down in front of me. Fairness to the driver she got bundled off. Another time I was waiting for a pizza and some rando cop came up and talked to me. He was interested in Scotland but he didn't know that before he talked to me. A minute later a car of black guys were at the lights blaring music and he went and told them off, gun in his hand the whole time. While I was there (Baltimore) the big story was that a new drug dealer was going around and offing his rival's *customers* who included white middle-class people. by dl064 (Wed 25th May 2022 11:38am)
  • Mental story from my mother-in-law, who was there, is that in the immediate aftermath of Dunblane the info was scarce. The parents were at the gates, basically told by cops to wait for updates. Imagine that? Amazing folk didn't storm the place. by dl064 (Wed 25th May 2022 11:36am)
  • I had a good one in a guitar shop once, where I went in to get something technical done. I have a fair idea what I'm on about. The guy tried to upsell the *hell* out of it - oh you can't just do A; it'll need X, and Y, and Z - and I just walked out. Back onto cars, about 8 years ago my Vauxhall had a brake problem and it was just within warranty. Arnold Clark said they'd do it, but if they looked and it *wasn't* a warranty issue then I'd be charged. Never been more convinced of a £500 bill in my life, but fair enough they covered it. by dl064 (Wed 25th May 2022 12:15pm)
  • I asked for a basic setup for a larger string gauge (look, it was 2004 okay) especially because I'm bad with setting action - and he wanted to stone the frets, new nut, muck around with pickup heights etc. Was talking hundreds. I just wanted the action raised, and someone else did it no bother. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 8:58am)
  • Apparently getting into trades is a total racket these days. Can't find them for love nor money. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:23am)
  • Everything is just a bit fucked, isn't it. Government's a shower; everyone's skint; public transport's fucked; utility costs are fucked; economy's fucked. I'm genuinely not sure if society was always so ragged or I'm just at an age I see it, but it feels like we're just circling the drain as an island. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:22am)
  • Alan Partridge finished at 10pm last night. Last train from exhibition centre at all: 21.59. :) by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:20am)
  • I was reading about mortgage rates there. We've got pals who came to the end of their 5-year fixed in June 2020, and because rates were so low they had an option of knocking a few hundred quid off per month, or 5 years off the total. By contrast if you did it now it'd be a fair bit higher, and might well be more so next year when we come to the end. Fun times. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:28am)
  • Walkhighlands are good and there are loads of 'ways' like clyde coastal path; John Muir Way; Rob Roy way is my favourite probably. We ran Rob Roy Way, my wife and I, where she'd be a leg ahead. She'd drop me off, I'd run, she'd park at the end then I'd get the car and scoop her up X miles down the road. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:25am)
  • I just mean like nu-metal phase, I think I had like 'boomers', where the low e was absurdly low for drop-C or something. 58-10, that kind of absurdity! This particular guy was actually known as a bit of a con-man, where a pal took in an amp for repair. The guy reported back it was a goner - sorry. A month later he had it on sale. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:31am)
  • What gets me about tradespeople is they must save tonnes on stuff they can do themselves. My dad was a car mechanic and became an engineer, and the amount of money he's saved even me with car/house stuff is unreal. Some of that is I'm just useless, clearly. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:36am)
  • Oh wait, tell you what you should do over a weekend. Isle of Bute. https://www.westislandway.co.uk/ Two days, get a hotel overnight and the ferry from Weymss bay. Walk one half, pint/dinner at the pub across from hotel, walk the other half the next day. Did it for my birthday in 2019 and had an amazing time. It says 4 legs but really it's two long days. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:45am)
  • Totally, right? I love where we live. Folk fly from all over the world to see Scotland and it's like 30 mins by car to get amazing places. by dl064 (Thu 26th May 2022 11:51am)
  • Epic Trails near Milngavie https://www.facebook.com/groups/585687542604348/?ref=share by dl064 (Tue 14th Jun 2022 8:18pm)
  • See indyref 2, right. In 2014 the universities were by and large against independence. In 2017 I got promoted and you get time with a vice chancellor at Glasgow uni. I asked: what do you/uni think of independence post-brexit, and he basically went 'absolutely fucked if we know, the whole game's changed due to Brexit'. Quite funny I thought. by dl064 (Thu 16th Jun 2022 1:42pm)
  • My (female) pal lived below a guy who was pretty much beating his partner. She heard a big thump one night and called the cops. The cops came to their (couple) door and asked if everything was alright. He said yep! All good! The cops then went to my *friend's* door, very audibly and went 'yeah we investigated that domestic you reported but all seems well, so seeya'. My pal like *shut the fuck up, Jesus*. by dl064 (Tue 28th Jun 2022 1:02pm)
  • Guy tried to break into my dad’s car when he was at the lights outside the royal once. My sister was in a taxi in the west end one random afternoon, and the car in front was blocking the way. After a minute the taxi honked, and the guy came over, pulled him out the car and moderately kicked him in. So yeah, lock your doors. Mine has an auto lock I disabled and I might reactivate it. by dl064 (Tue 28th Jun 2022 9:19pm)
  • The RS McColl across from Milngavie police station got burgled in the middle of the day not that long ago, and I always thought that should be deeply embarrassing for the cops but I’m sure it didn’t cross their minds. by dl064 (Tue 28th Jun 2022 9:20pm)
  • Yeah, it's always worth getting annual travel insurance because while we imagine it only covers that week in Portugal, it actually covers local stuff too. So we booked a week in Islay once and the ferries were cancelled so we got everything back. by dl064 (Sat 2nd Jul 2022 12:49am)
  • I was meant to see Childish Gambino in 2012 and they cancelled it a couple of weeks ahead. No illness, no reschedule, just naw. by dl064 (Sat 2nd Jul 2022 12:52am)
  • I love how they treat you as thick as mince for asking when peak times are and they're like 'well they vary obviously'. by dl064 (Fri 8th Jul 2022 10:03am)
  • I went to a research conference last week in Atlanta on my boss's suggestion. I wasn't forced but I kinda went 'uuuhhh...alright?' several months ago and here we were. It just felt a bit morally grimy to have 4 flights for less than a week's stay. A few years ago climate concerns were obviously important, but somehow they're more internalized now and I feel *genuinely* guilty at how unnecessary it was, and won't do it again without very good reason. by dl064 (Fri 8th Jul 2022 11:39am)
  • Rough. Tonnes and tonnes of homelessness. You couldn't walk 50 yards without someone quite obviously unwell talking to you. Which is very sad, but then a colleague said she went for an explore and just noped out of it within 5 minutes. Expensive. Regularly 8 dollars for a pint etc. I lived in the US for a year or so in Baltimore, lived in Boston for 6 weeks or so. Boston was the best but really living away just made me appreciate home the most. by dl064 (Fri 8th Jul 2022 12:35pm)
  • I'll pretend that was intentional. by dl064 (Fri 8th Jul 2022 3:00pm)
  • Haha I’ve had that verbatim! by dl064 (Sat 9th Jul 2022 9:05am)
  • I wrote our neighbors a letter! They were playing folk songs at all hours. So I said like Hi, no bother about the music but I'd be grateful if you could stick to the 11pm cutoff time please. Fair enough, 22.59 every night it went away. by dl064 (Sat 16th Jul 2022 10:43am)
  • I'm the other way around where I've rung 101 for 1. Man walking down the expressway the wrong way (not that that is the issue) holding flowers one night 2. A nude teen boy off his nut in our cul de sac at 5am They were like: aye 999 is fine here pal. by dl064 (Sat 16th Jul 2022 10:41am)
  • Goes without saying I thought. by dl064 (Sat 16th Jul 2022 11:27am)
  • When my wife was wee she thought the line 'That's when good neighbours, become good friends' Was actually the plot and one day there would be no arguing, peace would reign, and the series would end. Amused me. by dl064 (Fri 29th Jul 2022 8:57am)
  • Maybe the title will morph at the end. by dl064 (Fri 29th Jul 2022 1:08pm)
  • > Wouldn't be surprised if this talk of all these projects being so bad they couldn't be released is just a cover up. They did that with the Terminator movies where if they didn't release X in period Y, the rights would revert to James Cameron, which they eventually did. This is why the most recent one is generally considered the best since T2. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 9:49am)
  • Like Cats. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 9:48am)
  • I think that's a different flavour of issue where that's had a successful TV series and is by all accounts a great film. The issue for The Flash is if the personal life stuff would influence success. There's a good Variety article on it that the only real data they have is stuff Armie Hammer was in, where he wasn't even 100% front and centre. They could remove him from promo stuff easily enough, so whatever effect they reckon that had on film XYZ's success, it's probably a mild version of what would happen when they release The Flash and the star isn't doing any press. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 9:53am)
  • There's a lot in Variety about this and how it'd basically mean redoing the film from scratch, which they don't want to do a) cost and b) by all accounts it's a great film. At the end of the day, it's tallying cost vs. reward where they've obviously counted that this isn't worth the cost of doing anything with it. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 9:51am)
  • > But it's poor form to do it at a wedding if the bride/groom don't want it to happen. Shite pals. I was at a wedding where the father of the bride put £500 behind the bar, and one guy got a round of something stupid like champagne jagerbombs and took £100 of it. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 11:38am)
  • Bit here on it: https://variety.com/2022/film/news/batgirl-movie-why-not-releasing-warner-bros-1235332062/ by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 12:16pm)
  • I've a pal, a medic, who had his flat bought for him and is now on 6 figures anyway, and at 34 is like: I literally don't think about money and never will again. It might as well not exist to me. Anyway... by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 2:29pm)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62390578 Piece here about how the housing market is still full-throttle, so the interest rates are to...slow that down. Which seems to me a lot like it'll just get rid of the folk who can just about afford stuff, rather than the loaded folk who are getting multiple properties. It's quite something in that article that they're like 'boy howdy will it only get worse'. Fun. Re > If the recession many are predicting sees unemployment rise sharply, the property market will invariably take a hit, said Andrew Montlake, managing director of mortgage broker Coreco. Tally this with the suggestion that they might scrap affordability tests, which is ostensibly (at a very facile level) good if you are having trouble getting on the market, but really not good if you wouldn't pass it originally then come a cropper. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 2:26pm)
  • > Over 3 years (including COVID savings) we've managed to save maybe a quarter of the amount we'd need for a deposit and a winning bid. Good BBC piece a while ago about how COVID really did fuck the most deprived because a. a lot of white collar folk stayed at home, saved a load of money, lower risk of COVID b. folk with people-facing jobs didn't save as much, higher risk of COVID (then get blamed for it!) So now we've got this tip of an iceberg recession and the poorer folk are just getting double fucked. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 2:48pm)
  • There was a single mum on BBC radio the other week with a very middle class job like 'not that I'm special, but there's something wrong when a single parent fundamentally can't make ends meet *at all*'. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 2:47pm)
  • Yep, consultant. And as you say, 'easily'. I work with an NHS consultant - admittedly a very senior one - where I apply for grants with him. His time is costed, based on his salary, which I see as part of the grant. Bit over 200k. In fairness though, it's not an easy job and I wouldn't want the responsibility or hours. My pal's responsible for some gnarly shit, and he's on call every 3rd weekend for the rest of his life. But it is a bit mad that he's never had to interview for a job in his life and probably won't. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 3:46pm)
  • What I would say is if you're with vodafone and have mobile too, if your broadband has bother they just lump you 100gigs of 4g while it's fixed, which sorts you out. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 4:12pm)
  • Glasgow uni medical college have mucked around with the structure and I cannot overstate the amount of absolute fucking bollocks in here https://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvls/mvls2025/# by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 4:11pm)
  • I think it varies by exact discipline but fundamentally yeah. I know a geriatrician who was twiddling her thumbs for 2 years. Ditto a reconstructive surgeon. COVID meant they're just sitting around waiting for cleaning to be done; they're more frustrated than anyone. by dl064 (Wed 3rd Aug 2022 7:12pm)
  • My pal had a similar one but it was about how his wife was giving birth. Needed money to catch the birth of his child. My pal: why aren't you there to begin with? Headbutt. by dl064 (Fri 5th Aug 2022 12:13pm)
  • One time I, a bit half-cut, went and asked the McDonald's guard about what sort of shit he sees. The fact he was prepared to take me *down*, visibly, for a polite question kinda signified to me it's probably not great. He warmed up the question though, fortunately. by dl064 (Fri 5th Aug 2022 12:12pm)
  • I got mugged in Stirling aged 12-13, and in retrospect I now get how sad that is for the mugger. by dl064 (Fri 5th Aug 2022 12:20pm)
  • Garscube uni gym. Particularly in the summer. It's me and like 6 people, at all. by dl064 (Fri 5th Aug 2022 2:48pm)
  • > Still feeling it today, the years are really catching up on me it seems. I was listening to a podcast with a 41 year old sportsman (Fernando Alonso) where he was saying it's surprising how much ageing hits you in the funnybone (so to speak). Your VO2 max might still be very high, you might run 100m just as fast - everything on paper is fine, but it's peripheral stuff like jet-lag, recovery, hangovers that really knock you as you from 25 to 40. by dl064 (Mon 8th Aug 2022 12:37pm)
  • Get yourself down the Kelvingrove by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 10:08am)
  • It was in the news recently that across the UK, there really isn't anything to wonder about. It's what you think it is. by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 10:08am)
  • BBC Radio was saying that at the moment unemployment is very low but that will do an upward spike like you won't believe in the next 6 months. It's all just a bit mad, isn't it. by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 10:07am)
  • BBC Radio Scotland drivetime is *quite good* for what's under the news. Had a guy on yesterday saying that the first thing the new PM (probably Truss according to Guardian podcast), will do a month and a few days from now is an emergency budget. I haven't seen that elsewhere. by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 10:06am)
  • BBC covered it yesterday re Truss vs. Sunak's perspectives which are, unnervingly, completely different. Sunak wants to get inflation down and thinks everything will flow after that. by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 10:14am)
  • BBC saying yesterday that the general expectation is an emergency budget in a month or so. by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 10:13am)
  • > I think they know they have virtually no chance of being re-elected at the next general election and the best thing for them is to fuck things up as massively as they can for the next government so they can revert to type and blame everything on everybody else. I think it's simpler than that, that The Ferret had a nice story recently that a lot of the Ofgem board are Tory Lords who own shares in gas companies. It's not exactly hard to draw the lines. by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 10:15am)
  • It was basically overnight that we stopped being able to justify Dominos, out for dinners etc. Drop of a hat, a big load of money suddenly not going into the local economy. by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 12:38pm)
  • > No doubt some corrupt politicians allow this so that they get a nice wee back hander. Totally. Piece in the Ferret recently that folk on the board that regulates UK Gas/energy prices include various Tory peers who own shares...in gas. So it's transparent. by dl064 (Tue 9th Aug 2022 12:45pm)
  • I honestly think riots are a matter of when. by dl064 (Wed 10th Aug 2022 11:29am)
  • Jimmy Egypt does it for the professionals. He fixed up Clapton's strat once in an emergency. It depends on what needs done and the only vague faff is you have to arrange a time to go in, because he'll give you a quote depending on what needs done. If it's fundamentally not a very good guitar, consider new pickups while you're at it, as they can be genuinely transformative and it's smart economy to do something to the guitar while it's getting set up and cleaned anyway. I whacked some Seymour Duncan SSLs on my strat while it got set up, and very genuinely, it's like listening to Under the Bridge on the record. by dl064 (Wed 10th Aug 2022 12:16pm)
  • Including dog. by dl064 (Wed 10th Aug 2022 6:11pm)
  • Absolutely damned if I could find it now but I mind september 2021, they didn't have enough flats so sent them all to existing accomodation in Paisley and offered a free shuttle. (i.e. they'd take an existing minibus and asked for a volunteer to drive it every day). I'm a lecturer at Glasgow and I honestly just hate it. It's such a money-grubbing business which does a great side-line in leftie Twitter to keep folk happy. We can't have a poor culture; there was a webinar. The admission criteria for a masters are straight-up a fuckin' pulse. by dl064 (Thu 11th Aug 2022 12:25pm)
  • I always felt it was a bit wry. by dl064 (Wed 17th Aug 2022 11:33pm)
  • They had a single mum on BBC with a very fancy job saying > I earn a lot and I can't hack it, this isn't a functioning society. Also now I actually have a child I actually don't understand how you do it. It's amazing, honestly. by dl064 (Fri 19th Aug 2022 5:42am)
  • BBC had a good piece recently that the divide is even bigger depending on background because the folk who had to go into work during COVID A. Got the blame for rising rates B. Didn't get to save much at all. Whereas we for example could stay at home and save. It's hard to believe the savings we had two years ago. by dl064 (Fri 19th Aug 2022 5:48am)
  • >What the fuck are you on about? Genuinely lold. Simple, clean, efficient. by dl064 (Fri 19th Aug 2022 8:13am)
  • Yeah I think to quote Margin Call 'you get used to what's in your pocket'. So folk get mortgages, cars, loans etc. on the basis of salary and the climate - which are fine - and then when things spike - oh shit. It depends on your stage - what is enough for a single guy might be completely different for parents, folk with mortgages etc. My wife and I can't really complain about our total salary - but the rising costs, plus nursery fees (believe the hype), fuel costs etc. make things a lot tighter than they were. by dl064 (Fri 19th Aug 2022 8:10am)
  • You are a genuine superhero. Honestly. by dl064 (Fri 19th Aug 2022 8:22am)
  • Honest advice: if you're on a UKRI or esprc go fucking hard on expenses bois. Conference in Hawaii? Aye. If you don't spend it, it gets absorbed back into the uni and someone else *will*. Get laptops, iPads, good headphones, all sorts. I've done all those and encourage my students to do the same. Wellcome in particular can't move for money. by dl064 (Fri 19th Aug 2022 5:23pm)
  • That's the spirit. by dl064 (Fri 19th Aug 2022 5:34pm)
  • My two stories there Kiernan in Peckham at the west end making a huge scene. Hemphill, I ended up next to him at the bar in Cottiers. I was in two minds about saying hello but figured hey I’ll just say thanks. I said I loved Kelvinbrawl and I think he was pretty made up about that. by dl064 (Sat 20th Aug 2022 12:09pm)
  • John Barrowman did a documentary at the vet school and by the end they were *fucking sick of him* by dl064 (Sat 20th Aug 2022 12:08pm)
  • It’s easy to see Frankie Boyle about the west end, as you say, very obviously trying to stay low key. by dl064 (Sat 20th Aug 2022 12:06pm)
  • Apparently he used to drive around the west end in an absolutely tiny wee red convertible (The Hound) by dl064 (Sat 20th Aug 2022 12:06pm)
  • Friends were neighbours with Robbie Coltrane and bit of a grumpy dick by all accounts. by dl064 (Sat 20th Aug 2022 12:05pm)
  • Few that aren’t Glaswegian but whatever. 1. Used to pass Frankie Boyle literally every day. I always wanted to say I loved his books but never had the bottle. 2. I was at school with Lauren from CHVRCHES who was very nice but I gather from pals it went to her head *rapidly* in 2012. 3. Wife sat next to Andy Murray at Dunblane when he was there - rarely, or was late with a strained groin. No one really liked him because he was a grumpy sod but loads of folk are friends with Jamie to this day. He got the testosterone, folk used to say; I’m sure he’s nice now. 4. Argued the merits of Westlife vs. Boyzone with Paolo Nutini before realising who he was. Seemed fun although I gather he was drinking too much around that period and has since reigned it in. by dl064 (Sat 20th Aug 2022 12:14pm)
  • I got talking to him at a bar without realising. Seemed nice but as you say I think he had a dark period of too much drinking about 10 years ago, and indeed I saw he’s reigned it all in a lot. Good move. by dl064 (Sat 20th Aug 2022 12:11pm)
  • I used to see Peter Mullan about sometimes and think ‘there is a guy I wouldn’t say a word to in a million years’. by dl064 (Sat 20th Aug 2022 12:10pm)
  • DELETED > (I would imagine, can’t say for sure personally) I guessed. by dl064 (Tue 23rd Aug 2022 1:27pm)
  • Alternatively when they hit 3 you get a lot of hours subsidised by the government where they currently are. by dl064 (Tue 23rd Aug 2022 1:25pm)
  • I had a pal once who did one of these. He was always a bit daft and he made his own bed with it a bit. Basically, he quit his old stable job in a blaze of unnecessary glory, telling everyone he'd be going to work in a suit every day etc. Door to door sales. Absolute misery, came back looking for his old job within a month. by dl064 (Tue 23rd Aug 2022 3:49pm)
  • Interesting article on Reuters yesterday that the skinny is that the utilities don't *want* these apocalyptic estimates and would rather the government met the difference which we all pay back far more sensibly over 10 years. So they'll get their money, but if everyone's fuckin' homeless in 3 months, it's worse for everyone, and they see that. BBC Radio was saying recently that it's generally acknowledged there will be an emergency September budget, but they're all on holiday at the moment. by dl064 (Tue 23rd Aug 2022 3:53pm)
  • Interesting on BBC Radio recently, they were discussing bailout packages etc., and the charity guy was saying: we all say 'the new PM has to sort this out!' but actually huge proportions of people already miss out on grants and subsidies that they're entitled to. So a relatively easy and cheap way to help a lot of vulnerable people is to help them realize what they're due *now*. by dl064 (Tue 23rd Aug 2022 3:57pm)
  • My wife and I aren't quite 120, but into 6 figures, and honestly the family costs are an *asteroid* to your finances. Pram, ISOFIX, the cot (etc. etc.), **nursery fees**, probably using more fuel, heating on more. The folk on here who think children are just a few extra quid don't know what they're talking about; it's a whole new category. I think you'd have to be an extremely well paid single parent to survive. by dl064 (Tue 23rd Aug 2022 4:03pm)
  • No, indeed, we're still fucked ultimately. by dl064 (Tue 23rd Aug 2022 6:47pm)
  • I read this wrong like 'professional *lifewankers*?' by dl064 (Thu 25th Aug 2022 11:58am)
  • Christ that's horrendous. by dl064 (Thu 25th Aug 2022 8:12pm)
  • Also folk do it in boots when running shoes are better. The terrain is fine really. by dl064 (Thu 25th Aug 2022 8:18pm)
  • 'actually it starts tomorrow' by dl064 (Thu 25th Aug 2022 8:17pm)
  • Radio was interesting on it. Basically it's a storm of: Lots of students avoided living in town or even attending uni in 2020 or 2021. Cost of living means a lot of folk are now *not* buying when they might have (and left a flat for someone to rent). And just uni numbers are up generally. by dl064 (Thu 25th Aug 2022 8:17pm)
  • Some stuff in Lidl which is great just disappears never to return. They used to do massive Chonchigli pasta. Disappeared. by dl064 (Thu 1st Sep 2022 1:24pm)
  • Our house is near a bus stop which is at the end of the line, so they often get out and stand around, have a wee walk etc. Anyway it hammers home the human turnover they have. Folk last weeks. Must be a shit job. by dl064 (Thu 1st Sep 2022 1:26pm)
  • I went to a private school and it was straight up: If you’re aiming Vet/Medic/Dentistry, sit over there. If you’re not and just going to normal uni, sit over there. If you are one of the, I dunno, 4 guys not going to uni…just go sit outside. Bonkers in retrospect, I’m absolutely sure there are electricians and plumbers on more than I am (quicker!) having gone to uni for X years. Not going to uni was just not in the discussion for folk. by dl064 (Thu 1st Sep 2022 1:43pm)
  • Apparently you get this with surgeons - the real nominally top ones just avoid risky stuff, and sometimes the guy you want has a 50/50 success rate. by dl064 (Thu 1st Sep 2022 1:41pm)
  • So true. I 95% went to uni because it’s what you did. I wish I’d woken up younger, really. by dl064 (Thu 1st Sep 2022 1:45pm)
  • We used to live 50m from Sparklehorse. We'd go climb a hill, then put on the dinner, get maybe 2 pints in, and come back for it. Sparklehorse 2017 for me. by dl064 (Thu 8th Sep 2022 4:04pm)
  • R/Motorsportreplays is good. 100% live is harder. by dl064 (Fri 9th Sep 2022 11:58am)
  • Not being funny but what is the genuine expectation for holidays, or as my pal called it, annual grieve. by dl064 (Fri 9th Sep 2022 11:57am)
  • Very fair enough, I think. I'll be very sad when Patrick Stewart dies, personally. by dl064 (Fri 9th Sep 2022 12:55pm)
  • I'd been led to expect a 4-day weekend at *least*, so my disappointment is immeasurable. by dl064 (Fri 9th Sep 2022 6:18pm)
  • I did think it would've been fun if the queen had died during COP26 and the world's gaze was on Glasgow of all places. by dl064 (Mon 12th Sep 2022 9:33am)
  • Fun one on Twitter there that apparently working for the monarchy you get shit bereavement leave; so if *your* mum dies, we'll see you at 9AM sharp regardless. Fun. by dl064 (Mon 12th Sep 2022 9:32am)
  • Birthday today. Ran a bit of the Ayrshire coastal path, having fajitas for dinner. by dl064 (Thu 15th Sep 2022 7:11pm)
  • I'm a lecturer. I was 18 in 2004 and 36 now so a fresher now is literally half my age. I don't think I'm an old but the evidence is solid. by dl064 (Thu 15th Sep 2022 7:10pm)
  • Totally unscientific observation; it's always when the seasons change. September and March, everyone's dying. by dl064 (Mon 19th Sep 2022 12:49pm)
  • It's funny, on the one hand with all the Queen stuff I'm like: ach, if it's important to all these folk, fill your boots. Then I watch a bit and it's absolutely grating, like the guy yesterday saying Charles will 'shore up' any commonwealth nations thinking about packing all that in. by dl064 (Mon 19th Sep 2022 12:51pm)
  • One on a local Bearsden FB thing where a lady was like: these kids are causing mayhem at 4am every night. Some old gammon was saying he'd simply go and tell them off, easy as, and she replied ~'okay great, come and fucking *do* then if it's as easy as that Gordon, yeah I thought not'. by dl064 (Mon 19th Sep 2022 12:54pm)
  • Uni: a. We are a data-driven centre of excellence, leveraging 'big data' approaches to understand the world around us. b. hey let's accept about 5x more students than there are places to accommodate them, fuck it weyyyy by dl064 (Thu 22nd Sep 2022 3:53pm)
  • They were talking about it on the radio and it was quite interesting - basically a mix of as you say 1. deferrals 2. first absolutely full-throttle, 100% on-campus freshers week since 2019. 3. with cost of living, a lot of folk in the eco system who would ordinarily be selling//leaving their rental, aren't and staying put. by dl064 (Thu 22nd Sep 2022 3:52pm)
  • If you can't get a bus you like it wouldn't take *that* long to bring a bike and go from Milngavie to Eden Mill and then up the back side of the whangie. Probably a 40 minute leisurely cycle. Follow the John Muir Way and that's it. I appreciate that's not what you asked, of course, so feel free to tell me no! by dl064 (Thu 22nd Sep 2022 3:50pm)
  • All the folk saying move out and away - it's not what you *want* though, at undergrad. I get it. by dl064 (Thu 22nd Sep 2022 3:58pm)
  • It's great. Cafes en route too. It's West Highland way from milngavie then peel off left at Carbeth to John Muir way. by dl064 (Thu 22nd Sep 2022 5:58pm)
  • If I had any observation pertinent to the student housing crisis, it's that - take it from me, a piddly lecturer who doesn't have any power - the folk who decide this shit really are on another planet and don't care what anyone thinks. Like - it's all true. by dl064 (Fri 23rd Sep 2022 9:28am)
  • I enjoy talking shit on r/f1, although I appreciate that's not what you're after necessarily. by dl064 (Fri 23rd Sep 2022 2:40pm)
  • I'd consider writing it out, or explaining it as though noone's listening or thinking in terms of symptoms. Just explain what happens, when. They will ultimately, at most, seek referral with some badge on it like stress, anxiety etc. by dl064 (Mon 26th Sep 2022 12:47pm)
  • Oh nice one. Whereabouts? We went to Big Island in 2016 or so and it's genuinely heaven. I hate renting cars but the speed limit is 50 and everyone is relaxed. Heaven. by dl064 (Mon 26th Sep 2022 12:45pm)
  • They did a little piece on it on bbc radio months ago where they said A. Host cities are always glad to see the back of it. It costs quite a bit to stage, locks out hotels well before and during, and duffs up infrastructure for a while. It’s not just the weekend of the final, by a long shot. B. Due to A) the expectation was it’d be the city the Tories give the least shit about, and look what’s left. As they concluded (ages ago), it’ll probably be Glasgow because SNP would love the optics of a pro-Europe Scotland, however minor and facetious. It’s a lot of eyes. There’s not really a huge benefit to the host otherwise - especially given COP26 tourism wasn’t half what everyone expected. by dl064 (Tue 27th Sep 2022 11:02pm)
  • I think it's sufficiently ambiguous that some will be disappointed but that's their own fault for not specifying. It's like asking for tea and not specifying what kind. by dl064 (Wed 28th Sep 2022 11:21am)
  • And a less appealing time of year. Point remains, anyway, that it's not quite the halcyon days folk might envisage. by dl064 (Wed 28th Sep 2022 11:25am)
  • They did their level best to cock up various aspects of my wife's childbirth during COVID. She went in to stay (spring 2020 so full COVID) and it was only when she said after hours 'you know I'm here to give birth, I'm not just extremely pregnant with high blood pressure' they absolute galloped her down to the suite and I could finally arrive. They were far too pro natural birth. They asked my wife what she preferred and she was doped up to the eyeballs. If we hasn't done c section - as surgeon casually suggested but midwives were encouraging against - both would have died. Individuals are kind, but some are overwhelmed and some are careless. This can happen anywhere, and the moral is to have someone with you and take charge of your healthcare, because you're a CHI # on a Thursday night to them. Another pal has taken them to outright court because they sent a premature baby home. They came back within a few days and a new team flipped their lid that they were discharged in the first place. by dl064 (Fri 30th Sep 2022 4:10pm)
  • I'm genuinely very sorry for your loss. There was a moment before I arrived that my wife genuinely 100% thought the baby had died and they were waiting for me to arrive. I can't imagine. My uncle took Glasgow NHS to court over his cancer and won. It was in the papers and everything. They changes guidelines because of him. They'll try to wait you out. It's their strategy. by dl064 (Fri 30th Sep 2022 4:42pm)
  • China do a lights display, which sort of seems the future. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Oct 2022 11:59am)
  • My pal was in the TA, and they put him through an fast-track course where he first set foot in the drivers seat on like monday morning, and he'd passed by Friday. You just go around and around until you pass. At the time it was considered a cool plus, now it'd be worth a fucking ton of money. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Oct 2022 11:58am)
  • I thought about a moped, or a wee scooter thing. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Oct 2022 11:57am)
  • What I would say is if you get external insurance, they're literally a fraction of what Europcar et al. would charge you on the day. It's really the majority of the charge from a rental company. I was wary but know someone who had to enact the insurance and they were absolutely fine. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Oct 2022 11:56am)
  • I can only sort of comment because we were expecting during COVID and the hospital was very quiet, but our plan was to ring them and I'd drop my wife off at the front for a few minutes, then go look for more long-term parking, or if it were really an emergency I'd printed off a piece of A4 with my number on it saying 'wife in labour - give me a ring if I'm an obstruction'. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Oct 2022 12:04pm)
  • Bit of advice about the drive is that apparently it is a really common circumstance for incidents because folk rush - they don't drive 'normally' - so emphasis on calm heads! by dl064 (Mon 3rd Oct 2022 12:05pm)
  • I lived in Baltimore when they had this in 2013 and basically yeah - the cops know they can't catch them so what do you do? The cop cars can't go through little alleys. The cat's out the bag unfortunately.. by dl064 (Wed 5th Oct 2022 10:13am)
  • So, BBC Scotland had a good piece about it ages ago. They were saying that every host, without fail, ends up hating it. The host (sic prior to nominees) would definitely be somewhere the Conservatives don't care about because it's total death for locals, and they get mad about diversions, which last a lot longer than TV makes out. They had a political science guy on who said the obvious play for Scotland was it's good for EU ties, but that's really it; there's no evidence that hosting helps local economy particularly. Largely, it's extended periods of all the local hotels being booked up by security. So I've genuinely no strong stance, but it seems a dodged bullet perhaps. by dl064 (Fri 7th Oct 2022 8:17pm)
  • Yeah, indeed. It might not make sense on paper but it would've been cool. by dl064 (Sat 8th Oct 2022 7:51am)
  • Colleague in NHS was telling me there that they're very worried indeed about flu season this year - 'no hyperbole does the projection justice' - so worth getting a jab folks. I had proper flu in 2005 and aged 19 it *fuckin' floored me*. by dl064 (Mon 17th Oct 2022 10:52am)
  • *There we go*. by dl064 (Mon 17th Oct 2022 2:51pm)
  • Our bag tenement garden, there was always *one* doing it and we could never work it out. It couldn't be the nice guy at Flat 5, right? Anyway one day it became very clear when his dog-minder came out, the dog did a shit directly in front of her and they just went back inside. No 'did she see it', or 'did she not have a big', just dgaf. by dl064 (Tue 25th Oct 2022 9:59am)
  • East Dunbartonshire sometimes have local grants specifically because they have more money than they know what to do with, it seems. by dl064 (Tue 25th Oct 2022 9:58am)
  • > Yeah, I think politeness goes over the head of some people. You might want to amend that to something more assertive. Mentioning they are being recorded (even if they aren't) is usually a good deterrent, and having the notice omit the words please and thank you might work too. > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfoBpf1XH4g by dl064 (Tue 25th Oct 2022 9:56am)
  • > In an ideal world, the police would do something about it, but unless someone's caught in the act by the police, the police aren't going to know who 99% of these people are, and don't have the time to put the work in to find out who they are. My cousin's block, enough folk were happy to sign a letter saying woman X never picked it up that she got a fine. She ran into the garden and screamed at all the windows for being bastards. by dl064 (Tue 25th Oct 2022 10:00am)
  • I know someone who did air con for a car dealership, and once he got in it became clear it was absolutely a laundering enterprise. They were surprisingly open about it, like 'well, I've got to be here all day anyway, we have to buy \*some\* legitimate stuff, so it's your lucky day'. by dl064 (Thu 27th Oct 2022 9:49am)
  • I know someone who was pals with an actual, genuine gangster in the 70s (and to a certain, distant extent today). This someone is very, very emphatic that you wouldn't go anywhere near the cops if you're ever worried about gangs. Apologize, pay up, whatever; not the cops, because you'll wake up in a ditch if you're lucky. by dl064 (Thu 27th Oct 2022 9:47am)
  • I do know this because I did a talk in the US and talked about how mental it all is. I particularly enjoy that Edinburgh uni's is like: Book - books are good! Thistle because Scotland! Castle - got one! by dl064 (Tue 1st Nov 2022 9:53am)
  • A Tim Cook video recently did the rounds where he was like 'at Apple we have a fraction of the staff that other companies do, isn't that great' and all I could think was I bet their lives are utter hell. by dl064 (Thu 3rd Nov 2022 10:17am)
  • Tim Cook to the Glasgow branch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g61wYzwJ6gg by dl064 (Thu 3rd Nov 2022 10:16am)
  • I got told it only has to be 2 of: parallel, 3-point, reversing around a corner. And it can be genuinely any. by dl064 (Mon 7th Nov 2022 8:24pm)
  • Got my flu jab today in Boots. I sat around for 5 minutes after. Man, the staff really do take the mick out of everyone the moment they're out the door. Almost without exception. Olds, the heavily pregnant, noone escapes the sarcy Boots staff's ire. by dl064 (Thu 10th Nov 2022 5:42pm)
  • > basically just getting people to invest and stealing their money, and if they ever want it back or returns from it you just use someone else's investment to pay. Not being funny but this sounds a lot like banks fundamentally. by dl064 (Mon 14th Nov 2022 11:39am)
  • About 15 years ago, my pal went into the Fubar nightclub. Anyway he left after a few hours, and cops *pummelled him* into the deck. Big bruise on his face. Anyway, it turned out they wanted *some other* 20-something in a blue jacket, who had drugs on him. Didn't get an apology or anything, just: wrong guy, fuck off. by dl064 (Thu 17th Nov 2022 2:13pm)
  • Friend's nephew is a properly big one in Mexico. He came to the wedding in a wee white suit and apparently he's worth more than his parents at 11 or something. by dl064 (Mon 21st Nov 2022 10:05am)
  • > don't be afraid to tell them how urgently you need to see someone Frankly I'd be as on the nose as possible. by dl064 (Mon 21st Nov 2022 12:44pm)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63659754 Interesting on NHS charges potentially. I think it's a febrile topic. I've a colleague who says that okay it should always be free, but there are things it does for people that means the NHS gets disproportionately bent over. So X people get ibuprofen on prescription which costs the NHS an arm and a leg, but for you or I to get it from a shop is 20p for a pack. I've a very senior NHS colleague who was telling me it's just grim, going to research conferences where for example US clinicans can ask 'which of these gives the best result, all other considerations be damned' whereas the NHS is 99% about efficiency and bang for buck. Sad. by dl064 (Mon 21st Nov 2022 12:48pm)
  • https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=444251354529884&substory_index=3&id=100068350705396 This was a friend of a friend. I'm absolutely shellshocked. So, so sad. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Nov 2022 2:33pm)
  • I think, right or wrong, it all depends on what happens to the bonus if folk don't. Boss in a good mood, thinks everyone loves him = big bonus? Sure, whatever mate. Bullshit, but don't cut off your nose to spite your face. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Nov 2022 8:12pm)
  • Yeah I mean - *it is bullshit*, but if that's what it takes, don't be daft. by dl064 (Tue 22nd Nov 2022 8:30pm)
  • > mrs will go back to work in 9 months when our son is at nursery and we can finally chop away at some debt. It's when they hit 3 and the government pays most of it you'll finally get a bit of financial normality back. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 11:27am)
  • > Wonder how local restaurants are going to do with having reduced customers Quite a few saw the writing on the wall and shut in summer anyway. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 11:34am)
  • I got well into this when we got a chest freezer. Fucking love it. £1 for Finest quarter pounders that need eaten tonight or frozen? Magic. 500g of mince by tomorrow? No bother. One day the till lady said if you come at like 10pm, they go wild with the discount gun because the staff just buy loads themselves. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 11:34am)
  • Before COVID and Ukraine and everything, I met a guy at a party who worked for SSE doing planned allocations. So for example during the world cup final, at half-time the grid goes haywire because everyone puts on the kettle, so his job was to convince say Vodafone to turn XYZ down for 90 minutes and they'd get a rebate. So while the intensity of it may be more prominent now, it's not a new idea per se. They've always needed to. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 11:32am)
  • > Energy bills: Patients prescribed heating as part of health trial https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63707689?at_medium=social&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_id=1632200C-6A4B-11ED-8737-6BC94744363C&at_link_type=web_link&at_link_origin=BBCScotlandNews&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign_type=owned&at_format=link by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 11:31am)
  • So it's Greater Glasgow, but I think this guy: https://www.lochlomondwhiskies.com/products/54-year-old-single-malt-whisky?gclid=CjwKCAiAyfybBhBKEiwAgtB7fnG6fekxXdUjmWybNdbjueoZrhZAjth8Qap1TguoaZlfjCTgIC2HCxoCn_gQAvD_BwE He has an interesting story where he worked for Arnold Clark, took out his pension and invested in a high-value whisky he sold ten years later with another zero on the end. So he opened this shop but kinda as a hobby. They have all sorts of interesting shit, like how every year Islay do a whisky festival and it includes stuff you can only buy there on the day. But with COVID in 2020, nobody could come yet they held it anyway. So he's got one of those. All sorts of mad shit. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 11:39am)
  • Yeah, absolutely no sympathy for the uni as far as I'm concerned. Folk think that working for them you'd be #TeamUoG but really it's staff who are the *most* 'UoG can GtF'. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 11:36am)
  • What gets me is, it's like £4-5 return ticket for a bus which takes an hour when I can drive in 20 minutes and I don't think it's £5 worth of fuel. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 11:35am)
  • I quite enjoy that our home's gas use is 50% (based on use) what it was last year and is still a touch higher in terms of £££. Fun. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 12:36pm)
  • Friend of mine lived below an AirBnB and said the worst was folk arriving at like 4am, struggling with the door, suitcases rattling and squeaking up the stairs. All that. And some countries culturally speak *quite a bit louder* than we do. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 2:04pm)
  • One of those things where they can't exactly threaten to go to the council or something - because you're totally right. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 2:02pm)
  • > If they don't want to speak to you face-to-face about it then just let them stew - for all they know, you never found that note There's always that possibility they're completely deranged. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 2:05pm)
  • Cheers you were quite right. I had the wrong link. Amended now. by dl064 (Thu 24th Nov 2022 4:53pm)
  • Loads left in Dobbies Bearsden. by dl064 (Mon 28th Nov 2022 8:29pm)
  • I've done this loads including recently. No checked baggage, I reckon you could arrive at the airport 45 minutes before and be fine. I don't *recommend that*, at all, but that's the minimum before it could get iffy. Usually, anyway. Personally for a 5.15pm flight I'd aim for 330-45, and comfortably get a coffee. by dl064 (Mon 28th Nov 2022 8:28pm)
  • An *hour* in security? I've never had that at Glasgow in decades. by dl064 (Mon 28th Nov 2022 8:24pm)
  • Stirling was Tory until 2019. Not that long ago, or far. by dl064 (Mon 28th Nov 2022 11:19pm)
  • So this thread here, folk suggest various safe times to arrive for a 5PM flight. https://old.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/z70wjl/anyone_flown_out_of_glasgow_airport_recently/ I've flown quite happily arriving 1 hour before, and had time for a coffee - what's the *latest* before a flight you've arrived? I reckon balls-to-the-wall, you could do 30 minutes. by dl064 (Tue 29th Nov 2022 10:33am)
  • So it's obviously bad news it broke, but we took the plunge on a new one in about 2018 (vs. a really old thing), and the bills literally halved. It paid for itself really rapidly. by dl064 (Tue 29th Nov 2022 10:30am)
  • Her Twitter makes me so angry; stuff like when she was just left on a train platform because noone would put the ramp on. So much bullshit. by dl064 (Tue 29th Nov 2022 10:29am)
  • Pal of mine did something similar. The three of us are *at the airport* in Amsterdam, and he loads it up on the app to see his flight's tomorrow. by dl064 (Tue 29th Nov 2022 11:44am)
  • > definitely got there 20 mins before the flight on several occasions and got through no bother *Niice* by dl064 (Tue 29th Nov 2022 11:43am)
  • I saw/heard a guy wolf-whistle a woman on Byers road a while ago! She was right in front of him. Everyone in a 10 meter radius sort of stopped and gaped like we'd seen a unicorn. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:04pm)
  • Good Frankie Boyle line that people mistake Glaswegian extraversion for friendliness, which it's not. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:03pm)
  • > For a while I worked in a pub in Germany in a city that has a lot of Americans due to there being an American army base nearby. A touring singer (a black woman from Baltimore) had a slot one weekend in our pub and we got talking. She hugged me as soon as she heard I was from Glasgow and said the impression she got from singing in Glasgow is that "there is zero racism", as she put it. She told me how she got treated with racism in the US and abroad but felt so welcomed in Glasgow. I am semi-friends with a black woman in Glasgow, who was telling me she's never in decades had one instance of racism. Obviously she's perhaps been lucky in that regard, but anyway. Moment she lands in America though it's very plain. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:00pm)
  • I mind once, my wife and I (academics) were discussing sexism etc. at work and it was largely subtle microaggressions and so on; then someone who worked at RBS was like 'oh I've had folk pat my arse', propositioned, guys below me promoted above. Small fry. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:09pm)
  • > Plenty of racists care. The idea that only obviously spiky, abrasive arseholes can be racists is what makes it so pernicious. "Oh, but he's so nice" say people even if a manager treats nonwhite subordinates differently. My boss, a university professor in a health area, said to me once 'zoom is great for dealing with the [specific nationality] students, you don't have to smell them'. Glasgow has an absolutely horrendous record on dealing with whistleblowers, so fuck all would happen if it were reported. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:06pm)
  • Good Private Eye article a few years ago where they tallied up all the known whistleblowers and what happened to their careers and they were all - **all** - suspended, sacked or quit. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:05pm)
  • > people went into NHS cos they cared I worked in addictions for a while and everyone remarked how unbroken I was, and that I should get out. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:05pm)
  • Billy Connolly bit once: Scotland's real export is hatred. Other countries, other parts of the UK, other parts of Scotland, other side of the fucking *street*. We're A1, the alpha and the omega at hatred. Funnily enough, not that popular a bit. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:13pm)
  • Yeah I feel like the middle ground is, as usual, probably the truth. by dl064 (Wed 30th Nov 2022 1:15pm)
  • Up there with 'avec frites?' Excellent. by dl064 (Sat 10th Dec 2022 11:44am)
  • Funny phenomenon I've found. COVID snobs. I know someone who is a *hawk* about COVID, distancing etc. Cough? Don't come near me. Tickly throat? GTFO. But flu jab? Ach, couldn't be bothered. If I'm ever ill - vomiting, nausea, whatever - all that matters is if it's COVID or not. Not COVID? Ah okay, you'll be fine then. "Other infectious diseases are available for your ailment pleasure" by dl064 (Mon 12th Dec 2022 4:13pm)
  • Totally. COVID or nothing. My pal is a medical microbiologist who worked on it all throughout, and his view was that the public at large seemed to discover infectious diseases at all in Q2 2020. by dl064 (Tue 13th Dec 2022 2:02am)
  • https://twitter.com/scottish_water/status/1603360452662247427?s=20&t=JdKci-jtwFwie__zbbfiWg Genuinely very useful. What to do if your pipes burst. by dl064 (Thu 15th Dec 2022 12:14pm)
  • Friend of mine worked for a beer delivery company. Hermes were the worst. They went for them because they were cheapest, but over 2 years they broke or lost something like 35% of *all* stock. DPD etc. cost a lot more but are worth it. by dl064 (Thu 15th Dec 2022 12:18pm)
  • > Took a routine COVID test. I've got COVID. The test yesterday was negative. Yeah a friend of mine is a consultant microbiologist who works on infectious diseases included COVID since 2020. Really it's been his full-time job, COVID, and he hates it. Says the real bugger re COVID now is it's asymptomatic folk undergoing surgery who get it and are shocked. So their 2-year surgery's out the window, and folk get very upset. Says Omicron basically never, ever progresses in healthy people. Delta did. by dl064 (Thu 15th Dec 2022 12:17pm)
  • Theoretically every airport should offer a tap, but it's funny how many are like 'urrrrrgh fine there's one half a mile down the terminal'. Glasgow and Edinburgh are quite good in that regard. by dl064 (Thu 15th Dec 2022 12:15pm)
  • There was a good one in Edinburgh about 10 years ago where a student was in the flat when it got burgled. They wanted his laptop which had his thesis on it, and he said no. It went up and up and up but they relented and left. It was only afterwards the guy went 'Jesus christ I could've been absolutely decked for a B3 grade, that was daft' by dl064 (Fri 16th Dec 2022 10:22am)
  • I was at a neurology conference in the summer. It's quite good going around posters half-cut, chatting away about what folk had done. It's absolutely horrendous what we do to rodents, man. One study was interested in circadian rhythm and repair, so they broke mice spines every hour of each day and saw who recovered the best. None of them, particularly. Science! One lady had a poster where they looked at the brains of women who got sexual gratification from strangulation, and I thought I'd probably better not try to be funny there. by dl064 (Fri 16th Dec 2022 10:25am)
  • It was *mental*. They had little stands where companies were advertising their little surgical devices and they were Kubrick-esque horror machines. They had a really strong 70s brutalism vibe. Anyway the conference had a couple of relatives of footballers with dementia there, and I know they came away a bit disgusted, like 'I want to support concussion research but *not this*, guys'. by dl064 (Fri 16th Dec 2022 11:19pm)
  • A dog is a big commitment. It shocked me, the reality of it: those post-work pints, you now need to be back to let him/her out. Dog walker at lunch? Hour's walk every day? It's great, but it's no joke. Adopting is a lovely idea but the requirements are stringent and the dogs are sometimes *very* difficult - like spend your year's annual leave trying to get them to calm down difficult. Cats are easier! by dl064 (Wed 21st Dec 2022 5:39pm)
  • McIntyres in Edinburgh did mine and it was great. You get a big discount if you work for various companies, e.g. the university. It is kind of understood that it may not fit perfectly. They will resize it for free (some don't). My understanding is that a lot of high street franchise Jewellers are rip-off merchants and you're better off with a one-off place. by dl064 (Wed 4th Jan 2023 12:23pm)
  • Good one in Bruges where basically nowhere in the centre took card. Last day on the outskirts they guy went 'oh no, we do. We're outside where the gangs are interested in' (i.e. they're all owned by dodgy folk). by dl064 (Wed 4th Jan 2023 12:27pm)
  • DM if you want loads more advice. You want to get it right, I get it! by dl064 (Wed 4th Jan 2023 6:47pm)
  • I did something similar. I put one on my pinky and saw how far it went, and took a photo. by dl064 (Wed 4th Jan 2023 7:14pm)
  • Had a right one today. My mum and aunt don't get on, and the aunt's not been well. They haven't seen each other in a few years. Years of smoking, drinking etc. My mum got a tip-off that her sister had declined a lot, and I went to see how she was, as she still likes me. Basically had to tell my mum: yeah, I think your sister, my aunt, really will be lucky to see 2024 a wee bit. The pregnant pause as it went in will stick with me; the 5 short seconds of heavy, thick silence. by dl064 (Sat 7th Jan 2023 6:16pm)
  • I mind during COVID, the system had the Allander centre in Milngavie as a valid booking one Sunday. Nope, they were shut, with only the gym attendant to tell people to go home. Whole day of upset people for the poor guy. by dl064 (Sun 8th Jan 2023 12:32pm)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64237314?at_medium=social&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_type=web_link&at_link_id=892C8B52-91AA-11ED-AD6F-2CC34744363C&at_format=link&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_link_origin=BBCScotlandNews > A baby has been hit on the head by a brick that was thrown through a bus window in Glasgow. A friend of mine was driving through Harthill about 10 years ago and folk dropped a brick on his windscreen from the bridge. The cops said they'd treat it as attempted murder if they found the kids. by dl064 (Wed 11th Jan 2023 12:52pm)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64244097 > Some police show outdated views on domestic abuse - watchdog I remember last year there was a story about a whistleblower in the weapons force (basically cops who can carry guns), and the gist was they were 110% *the laaaddsssss*. Just a bunch of meatheads. So none of this surprises me one bit. by dl064 (Thu 12th Jan 2023 11:29am)
  • Yeah could well have been that exact person. by dl064 (Thu 12th Jan 2023 1:09pm)
  • The only two folk I knew at uni who became cops 1. union steward who loved it because he got to rough folk up legitimately. 2. *The* drunkard. by dl064 (Thu 12th Jan 2023 2:37pm)
  • My pal and I used to walk from Sauchihall street home to Partick at like 3-4AM every saturday. The only thing open was the little Spar down the road on the right. So we'd get Cornettos as the sun was coming up (or already up!). Different times, man. by dl064 (Thu 12th Jan 2023 2:43pm)
  • https://twitter.com/opinonhaver/status/1614750354771693571?s=20&t=Ww5mQzfXqcztqeKAI31Ghw I'm enjoying this thread: > asked this before, but it's something I find interesting: what do you consider last "normal day" in 2020 before the pandemic really started impacting you personally? what did you do? I have put a couple on there, but a silly one: Guy in Tesco *kinda* telling me off for buying a 16 pack of toilet paper. The way I saw it: buying multiples or stockpiling is wrong, but the act of buying one large thing of toilet paper is not per se. by dl064 (Mon 16th Jan 2023 12:34pm)
  • > The gym in the West end Couple of quiet gyms: 1. Western tennis club 2. If you have a car, Glasgow uni garscube is usually dead as a doornail. In summer it's basically me and three other punters. by dl064 (Mon 16th Jan 2023 12:46pm)
  • Yeah, I get it. The uni Stevenson dies a death June-sept too, incidentally, if anyone's on the fence. by dl064 (Mon 16th Jan 2023 1:54pm)
  • > My friend sent me a twitter thread by an Italian doctor on I think the 11th March and that's when I really knew we were fucked. The doctor was saying they weren't even admitting anyone over the age of 65 (I think) because they were past the point of help and they had a better chance of saving younger patients. > > I remember that explicitly, yeah. > Work hosted an online mental wellbeing session a week or two later and there were literally colleagues on it crying saying their parents were in care homes across the country and they didn't know if they would ever see them again, it was horrible. I've a friend whose wee granny was in a care home in Kent. They had a panto (?) where an outside guy came in for one morning, on a Friday in December. On the Saturday some had symptoms. On the Sunday it was pandemonium. On Monday morning the ambulances were queuing outside the front door, and something like half of the residents died. Like...fuck me. by dl064 (Mon 16th Jan 2023 1:58pm)
  • Fuck yeah. I used to get all my Star Trek toys out of there, the Clydebank branch. by dl064 (Mon 16th Jan 2023 2:17pm)
  • Depends if you're staff/student/neither but they often do summer-specific deals *because* it's so dead for 3 months. by dl064 (Mon 16th Jan 2023 3:21pm)
  • My mum and sister were on holiday in Tenerife. It developed so rapidly that it went from: > It'll all be fine, enjoy your holiday. To > The travel agent has chartered a flight for all guests back to the UK tomorrow morning sharp. New Zealand though...Jesus. A guy in our NCT was a Kiwi and his parents in NZ didn't see the child until he was basically two. by dl064 (Mon 16th Jan 2023 8:25pm)
  • Having had mice for years in Edinburgh and grown up on farms: poison poison poison. Just cut out anything short of it. Save time. Rentokil. There is the possibility they can die under a floorboard but I never had that in years. by dl064 (Tue 17th Jan 2023 7:59pm)
  • Started this new collaboration at work with folk down south and their boss is all Let's meet on a Saturday! My schedule is packed, let's all zoom this at 7pm! If it were even vaguely marginal I could sort of agree but *this* wild is just an easy decision. Bananas. by dl064 (Tue 17th Jan 2023 7:57pm)
  • My wife got told once: just frighten them away if it comes inside. She did and it fucking *went for her*. Genuinely not sure she's ever recovered from the fright. by dl064 (Tue 17th Jan 2023 8:01pm)
  • Apparently mice fear cats, rats fear dogs. by dl064 (Tue 17th Jan 2023 8:00pm)
  • It's the droppings that got me. by dl064 (Wed 18th Jan 2023 9:40am)
  • Parked near a car with the reg BJ22 XMAS this morning, and lightly loling at how much BJ Xmas is a detective or dame in a terrible novel. by dl064 (Wed 18th Jan 2023 11:14am)
  • I feel like COVID's truly over because the morning traffic is fucking horrendous. (/jk) by dl064 (Wed 18th Jan 2023 11:12am)
  • Glasgow uni has a school of life sciences (or did anyway), and I always imagine folk cracking a cigarette like 'school of **life**, pal'. by dl064 (Fri 20th Jan 2023 10:04am)
  • > Use "Find My..." by logging into iCloud and checking its location, freeze and wipe any devices. > > Yeah, unfortunately by all acounts if it's been outright stolen then freezing it is all you can do. Someone had a story on here a few years ago about how their phone was stolen, and they told the cops *exactly* the address it was at. Apparently they went: if we go over there and ask, and they say no, that's really all we can do. We don't recognize the tracker as evidence. Mad, but hey. by dl064 (Fri 20th Jan 2023 10:02am)
  • Funny wee story about that. I know someone had an engineering company that was bought by Romec, owned by Balfour Beatty, many years ago. A bit into the discussion he got cold feet and said so. He was told in no uncertain terms that they pretty much had folk in the HMRC who would take a sudden, aggressive interest in his business, and even if they found nothing it would be an intentionally drawn out affair. Audits are a weapon. (He sold to them, worked for a year to the day and left, and they ran it into the ground within months). by dl064 (Fri 20th Jan 2023 10:09am)
  • I always genuinely thought that slogan was intentionally wry. by dl064 (Fri 20th Jan 2023 10:06am)
  • > Because there's no space for nuance in society anymore. **Yes** or **no?!** by dl064 (Fri 20th Jan 2023 10:12am)
  • Yeah the impression I get is that SNP and Labour have their absolutely fair share of completely mad bastards. by dl064 (Fri 20th Jan 2023 10:11am)
  • I thought that little period was an interesting example of COVID-19 like closures where companies went 'well the rivals are, I guess we kinda have to now' and it went like dominoes once the first did. (Obviously it was *right* with COVID, my point is that a lot of companies really just look to one another for what to do). by dl064 (Fri 20th Jan 2023 10:10am)
  • What's there to warn you about?! Anyway, I believe it 100% by dl064 (Fri 20th Jan 2023 3:11pm)
  • DELETED Good one in pub yesterday. A few older adults sat down near my dog and I. I made a joke about how the dog was super friendly since my wife and I had a child, 'noone loves me any more!' etc. Anyway conversation continued and you could see the cogs turn > Wait...so your child was born during lockdown 1? Yes > But...how did that work? Badly. (explain we couldn't see grandparents, I couldn't go into maternity ward, wife had to self inject C-section medicine with a comedy Acme needle etc., little midwife support, no visitors). > That's awful! Who knew. I thought **literally everyone** but clearly not. by dl064 (Sun 22nd Jan 2023 12:32pm)
  • For me it was kinda 2021/22 I really went man fuck this. Worked very hard in 2020/2021 to overcome COVID related work problems, with a new child, then come review time my boss was just like yeah fine. Now let me moan about the cost of parts for a BMW X5 for an hour. After that, fuck doing more than I need to. by dl064 (Sun 22nd Jan 2023 12:38pm)
  • First of all that's a timeless story for the books. Secondly I'd cling to that phenomenon while you can if I were you! by dl064 (Sun 22nd Jan 2023 12:40pm)
  • You're done for the day. by dl064 (Sun 22nd Jan 2023 12:47pm)
  • The vibe from them was far more that the entire situation generally had never crossed their minds. by dl064 (Sun 22nd Jan 2023 7:53pm)
  • They never banned spouses from the actual birth, just the pre and post. by dl064 (Sun 22nd Jan 2023 7:52pm)
  • Ian Hislop was saying once that if you've a pile of money and want to influence things, a newspaper/rag is a damned good way to do it. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 2:03pm)
  • > Seems to be from people who should know better as well - I went for a walk at lunch and some old boy coming at me decided to cough as hard as he could facing me from about a meter away. Didn’t even turn his face away - Just machine gunned a series of loud coughs right at my face. > > I know someone who works very closely with a lot of bigwigs in Glasgow NHS, including the QUEH, and he was saying that during early COVID (pre-vaccine), they were some of the *worst*. He thinks it was a dick-swinging thing. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 2:08pm)
  • I couldn't do that HOICKKKK thing some men do. I dunno if it's testosterone, age, some other random biomarker, but like rolling your tongue, I don't have the physical capacity. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 2:06pm)
  • Pal of mine's an infectious disease microbiologist, and says when there's a hospital infection risk, the cleaners become the most important people in the hospital. Not that you'd think it the way some get treated. I heard a good talk at a public health conference in 2015 where they swabbed various parts of the hospital for bugs. The worst was the nurse's station and phones. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 2:04pm)
  • Why's it closed? by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 2:12pm)
  • **So** fucking true, especially with a pram or dog. Your foot slips, I pay the price. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 2:12pm)
  • >Although TBF, I've noticed an uptick in drivers waving people across and also I hate when they get annoyed when I don't want to go, though. Sometimes it's like: just go, I'll wait thanks, I don't *want* to walk in front of your running car. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 2:11pm)
  • I finally convinced my wife to stop cycling in Glasgow when she decked it once beneath a white ranger rover that came the wrong way down a one way street. The driver's view? Cycling so fast she didn't have time to react. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 2:10pm)
  • https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m336 I mean not really. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 5:38pm)
  • The overall health benefit I agree with - not that you're at higher risk of injury walking vs. cycling. Car I would believe either way. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 6:15pm)
  • I briefly talked to the water guy there in charge of dealing with it and he said it was a *whopper*. Off the scale. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 8:18pm)
  • I took one look at the back roads and did a U-turn. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 8:17pm)
  • You feel for the car between the brand new loch and the fucking *hole in the road*. by dl064 (Tue 24th Jan 2023 8:17pm)
  • Good BBC piece on this last year that COVID accelerated it but the decline was very clear for a long time. It's all going the way of services you can't get online e.g. nail salon, barbers etc. It's the endpoint of high-street evolution, like how loads of species evolved to be crabs. by dl064 (Wed 25th Jan 2023 1:59pm)
  • The bike lanes are often 90% there but then have stretches of 'ach dunno you figure it out' until the next one. They don't seem to get that if I had 100% safe lane from Milngavie to Glasgow city I'd do it. Not 80%. by dl064 (Wed 25th Jan 2023 2:03pm)
  • Every subreddit I've been on regularly (because I've lived there) has said their city is the worst for littering. by dl064 (Wed 25th Jan 2023 2:02pm)
  • Apparently the big hole in Milngavie will take '10-14 days to repair/diversions to end'. Which is *fucking good going* I think! Assuming they manage it, anyway. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 11:54am)
  • If you don't have the pleasure, 'holidays' with a toddler aren't really, so January 2022 when the nurseries reopened I took a day's leave and went to see Spiderman 3. Clydebank cinema *to myself*, first cinema experience since 2020 and COVID. Fucking magic. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 11:53am)
  • > ScotRail apologise to disabled man after conductor refuses to let him onboard https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scotrail-apologise-disabled-man-after-29020982 It reminds me a lot of cultural stuff at work generally that bodies can say XYZ, but all it takes is one daft ignorant jobsworth and it doesn't really matter. It's not the same scale but I mind years ago we were gonna get the train from Glasgow to Fort William, but it was a replacement bus and they couldn't guarantee the dog would be allowed on the return bus as it's up to the driver on the day. So we went 'well fuck that then, we'll drive, nice one Scotrail'. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 12:13pm)
  • If you can drive even a *little bit*, the runs, cycles and walks are *stellar*. I moved from Partick to Milngavie and it's like another planet, man. In lockdown we did all the interesting runs we could from the front door, and it's a *fuck-ton*. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 12:23pm)
  • Yeah a lot of them were more 'this is a fundamental issue rather than a funny wee nuisance'. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 12:22pm)
  • I used to work in GG&C Addictions. I had one guy who lived there in the 90s who said a. he wouldn't let animals live there b. they should burn it to the ground c. the folk who leaped on GG&C for tearing it down didn't know what they were on about, and where were they all while it was standing, and essentially a warzone. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 12:21pm)
  • During COVID they banned ambient music in restaurants and pubs and it was great. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 12:26pm)
  • My wife had one at work recently where they weren't going to allow X, which meant someone basically might lose their job. My wife was like: but why? There's noone else here. You're making someone's life harder for no reason than your personal interpretation of the guideline. Totally dead behind the eyes shit. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 12:47pm)
  • **Hook it to my veins** by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 3:42pm)
  • Fuck me, they're reopening the burst pipe road tomorrow under traffic lights. I'm not sure if it's in both directions at the junction, but either way: a few days is *some* effort. by dl064 (Thu 26th Jan 2023 5:38pm)
  • A friend of a friend in England died during the ambulance strikes. Not 40 years old. He had a flu, and he simply collapsed. The ambulance wouldn't come out unless he was 'not breathing', and he eventually ticked that box but they missed him. So he died. Gobsmacking. by dl064 (Sun 29th Jan 2023 10:47am)
  • Was at a Burns dinner on Friday. You got a complimentary whisky. In previous years you got several throughout the dinner, so I asked: > hey, no bother either way but is this whisky to be kept for the duration, for toasts and such? And I struck gold because the waiting staff went > Well, we poured about 8 whiskies for other tables who didn't turn up for their reservation, so *here you go*. The downside is I'm still hungover 2 days later. by dl064 (Sun 29th Jan 2023 10:45am)
  • I'm not judging here but what I always find kinda funny is, like: you are phoning wildly the moment the clock strikes 8.30. Again and again and again for this important thing. Then you get reception and there's no hint of urgency. It's just a Tuesday morning. by dl064 (Tue 31st Jan 2023 9:58am)
  • I've a colleague who said this basically. 2020 was not good obviously but a. A&E admissions and injuries were down and b. some sense it was temporary. 2021 had COVID plus a return of injuries as lockdown ended plus burnout. Then 2022, swathes of good people validly went 'fuck this'. by dl064 (Tue 31st Jan 2023 10:02am)
  • What gets me about the 8.30 system is you are unfortunately quite fucked if you have sleep problems or work night shift, or for one reason or another just can't ring then. by dl064 (Tue 31st Jan 2023 10:00am)
  • It is funny and odd to me that you get bike to work schemes etc but there is absolutely nothing around the school run. by dl064 (Wed 1st Feb 2023 3:59pm)
  • If you have any work trips planned, try to piggyback off that. by dl064 (Wed 1st Feb 2023 4:34pm)
  • Met up with old pals recently. One is shall we say 'good value', content-wise, and always has some wild story. He and his dad are against the COVID-19 vaccine; even though his dad recently had a triple heart-bypass and is very vulnerable. 'We'll take our chances'. Pretty bold stuff to say to someone who works in public health/epidemiology (me) and a microbiology consultant (other pal), both of whom *explicitly work on COVID*. You like to think you'll try to convince them of the benefits as per best practice - but in reality you just go 'um....ok man'. by dl064 (Thu 2nd Feb 2023 1:57pm)
  • It's obviously moved onto you from us, because Milngavie/Bearsden into the West end has been hellish recently but has now largely finished. by dl064 (Thu 2nd Feb 2023 1:55pm)
  • I'm not homeless - very fortunately although I used to work in Glasgow addictions. Some general, but mostly alcohol related. The main reflection I'd have is that the system is a shambles (pre-2010, too). There's politics and ego involved, and there's a poor sod in the middle of it. Services are too unitary. A homeless guy probably has problems with X, Y, Z. He needs social care, psychology, plus whatever physical stuff. Instead he maybe gets one 2-week visit if he's *lucky* enough to be in sheltered accomodation. I work in research now and I get quite existential about it all; we have all these fancy brain scanners and genetic science and (yadda yadda), and there's no money to keep folk off the streets. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Feb 2023 10:09am)
  • I have my border collie in work today. The guy in the West end who wears a kilt and has a collie tipped his hat to me and went 'GOOD MORNING'. The day has been blessed. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Feb 2023 10:06am)
  • Taxi driver was telling me once that they'll never do it in Glasgow without going through some pretty aggressive and predictably shady taxi characters. You've them to thank for it being a different 'district' or whatever which necessitates a big charge. Whoever pushes for it has a good chance of waking up halfway to Aberdeen, it seems. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Feb 2023 10:05am)
  • > I think some people aren't familiar with the fact that sometimes good Samaritans can get attacked, let alone someone making a legitimate complaint about something. good one on Bearsden community FB where a woman posted about kids at 4AM. Some guy went > well I'd go tell them to stop it! and she replied > Great come along then tomorrow Gary, yeah fuckin' thought not. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Feb 2023 10:17am)
  • I left our neighbours a letter saying 'guitar playing is great, but keep it pre-11PM please' and they did to the minute. I figured with letter they might not know which exact neighbour it was. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Feb 2023 10:16am)
  • This doesn't shock me, unfortunately. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Feb 2023 12:34pm)
  • > I’m the middle of crossing a road and a big SUV comes speeding down the junction nearly running into me. I definitely, definitely think there are *predictors* of who buys what kind of car. by dl064 (Fri 3rd Feb 2023 12:38pm)
  • Interesting one at work the other day. I was hearing about an MND registry they have in Edinburgh. About 700 people over 10 years. The woman was saying a pretty obvious unifying thing is that they were all very fit; they aren't smokers, heavy drinkers, sedentary, obese etc. at all (the common risk factors for most things). Quite interesting, I thought. by dl064 (Tue 7th Feb 2023 10:01am)
  • Very valid point indeed. *Also* the additional point someone said that many people die from it before diagnosis. Maybe it's disproportionately the young, fit folk who live long enough. by dl064 (Tue 7th Feb 2023 8:12pm)
  • https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/10wge6t/where_are_the_most_dangerous_places_for_americans/ This reminded me of something. When I worked in the US in 2014, part of the work training included 'shooter on campus', like 'unconscious bias' or 'diversity training'. Anyway I thought it'd be quite interesting and have techniques, but genuinely the best they have is: hide, run, if you're really fucked then wrestle them. That's really it, that's the extent of training. You're now certified to be approached by a gunman. by dl064 (Wed 8th Feb 2023 1:42pm)
  • I wrote to the council about the Hyndland st/Dumbarton road junction, as well as the one by the M&S on Byers road, and got *so* fobbed off you wouldn't believe. by dl064 (Wed 8th Feb 2023 1:47pm)
  • Largely what I got in 2017 or so. by dl064 (Wed 8th Feb 2023 2:52pm)
  • I was there. Fuck me was that loud. They were late then mad at SW3 for making them play to curfew, that gig? by dl064 (Thu 9th Feb 2023 2:19pm)
  • BBC had a piece this morning on a triathlete who is up for an Oscar because she was part of the screenwriting team for All Quiet on the Western Front. A very nice story. I have a pal, a neighbour with a funny dog, who did a TV show that was picked up by Netflix, and the wide-eyed enthusiasm has stopped dead. Apparently *everyone* is out to get you and steal credit, so well done to this Stirling writer for keeping it. Apparently it's super common that you'll get a payoff and lose all rights to saying it's yours at all. by dl064 (Thu 9th Feb 2023 2:21pm)
  • I definitely read that they already did have a tariff on electric charging after they kindly paid 300k worth of energy in one year. by dl064 (Thu 9th Feb 2023 8:12pm)
  • My perspective on driving changed a few years ago when I heard a (fairly obvious) line - 99.9% of responsibility falls on you as the driver of a car. You started it up. You decided to start driving. Drive like everything would be your fault. Maybe daft but I think I'm a better driver for that mindset. by dl064 (Thu 9th Feb 2023 8:10pm)
  • I had one where a guy pulled a *really* dodgy overtake on a cyclist here or [so](https://goo.gl/maps/Erh5BfC6sZntPE9J7) Really hair-raising stuff. Anyway, he got out at the BP literally 400 metres later. I got a look at him and there was no hint he was shaken or anything, just wanted to overtake a cyclist and save, at most, 20 seconds before going into the petrol station anyway. It kind of reinforces to me that a lot of bad things in the world aren't malice but total dead-eyed stupidity. by dl064 (Fri 10th Feb 2023 10:08am)
  • Interesting study I saw once about who has the most accidents in the USA, and it was a. 16 year olds b. people who had passed their test in the last year Annoyingly they didn't look at how much of it was people who had passed in the last year *above the age of 20*. by dl064 (Fri 10th Feb 2023 10:11am)
  • I always want to play around with the incident data and see if certain colours, brands, types of car are in the most accidents: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-accident-investigation-road-accident-in-depth-studies/road-accident-in-depth-studies-raids by dl064 (Fri 10th Feb 2023 10:10am)
  • F1 driver Fernando Alonso used to cycle all the time, and then he got run over and broke his jaw. Now he drives out the city and cycles. My wife is the same, but fortunately I convinced her to stop cycling before the (what was obviously impending) injury. by dl064 (Fri 10th Feb 2023 10:32am)
  • Yeah it's an (in) famous study paper, that. It's published somewhere. I'll try and find it for you. by dl064 (Fri 10th Feb 2023 1:30pm)
  • I mind once at uni, working late, a lighting fixture was hanging from the ceiling. Just some random corridor. I went and told a night porter who tried to blame *me*. I don't think I'm a good enough actor to fake my 'fucking hell mate get a clue' reaction. by dl064 (Sun 12th Feb 2023 10:54pm)
  • It's a wonder more teachers weren't looking over their shoulder at weekends. Or maybe I'm being naive. by dl064 (Sun 12th Feb 2023 10:57pm)
  • I'm amazed it didn't happen more. Not saying what's right or wrong, just that I'm surprised the odd teenager didn't physically rebel as much as you might expect. by dl064 (Sun 12th Feb 2023 11:03pm)
  • Nah, you've lost me with this bit. by dl064 (Sun 12th Feb 2023 11:00pm)
  • I know a few folk who've done it, ie attended. Some got told the night before: nah never mind. One went for a morning and got told never mind. One had two days. So you never know, you might do it, it's no bother, and that's you off for a long time. by dl064 (Sun 12th Feb 2023 11:06pm)
  • https://twitter.com/fraserjfstewart/status/1626128080837263360?s=20 I've a pal who works in finance that says this is *absolutely* how they think. by dl064 (Thu 16th Feb 2023 10:47am)
  • https://twitter.com/journostacey/status/1626268953734483968?s=20 People (had better) Make Glasgow, because it sure won't be the infrastructure or facilities. by dl064 (Fri 17th Feb 2023 10:08am)
  • There's so much evidence that better health/access/lifestyle today saves the NHS a lot of money tomorrow, and this is just 'nah too skint'. by dl064 (Fri 17th Feb 2023 10:34am)
  • One time I clicked my fingers in a restaurant in the process of telling a story, and a waitress came over to me like 'yes?' Fucking **mortified**, which I told her obviously. by dl064 (Mon 20th Feb 2023 2:18pm)
  • I got a big box freezer a few years ago and fuckin' *love* the reduced section. One time at Tesco the woman went 'you're buying a lot of reduced...tell you what though, if you come back at 10pm we *really* go to town...that's where the good stuff is'. I got gateway-drugged by the Tesco cashier. by dl064 (Wed 22nd Feb 2023 10:19am)
  • Someone at a Tesco was telling me that they really hold off until it's quiet because the staff want it themselves! Brilliant. Right at the last minute they go buckwild. by dl064 (Wed 22nd Feb 2023 10:21am)
  • M&S Milngavie I've got a £5 club for 89p. Touching the face of God, and it needs eaten by midnight. by dl064 (Wed 22nd Feb 2023 10:21am)
  • Totally by the by but Stravaigin always get our Christmas parties because they have the least hardline reservation policies. Loads of places are like: pay for the whole meal 2 weeks beforehand (for example), or provide your orders. Just gets you off on the wrong foot. Brel, we had one where one person (out of ~10) just wanted to sit and drink (no meal) and they said outright no. Eat a meal to the tune of £25 or you can't sit down. Stravaigin: £50 up front you'll get back, give us 24 hours notice on any big changes like numbers. So we always go there! by dl064 (Wed 22nd Feb 2023 10:35am)
  • DELETED A friend of mine took a relatively senior position at Glasgow uni where for one reason or another she sees all the complaints about folk. Basically said there are about 3 non-complete-bastard professors in the entire medical school, it seems. Some pretty wild shit, and what's striking is less stuff that's say illegal or immoral, just *dickish*. One pair of bois, they basically made a PhD students life hell so they packed it in and they could give funding to someone else they really liked. One professor just takes it as *read* that you spend a year after your PhD working for free. Doesn't even aim to complete it in the time you're funded for. Shocker! ^^/s by dl064 (Wed 22nd Feb 2023 11:00am)
  • She left. This is all old stuff, I just got kinda reminded of it today. She basically got so high up then went 'this is all not for me and is horrendous' by dl064 (Wed 22nd Feb 2023 12:07pm)
  • Wife is away on a girl's weekend so I have the toddler all weekend. Literally hour one: > can I have yesterday's garlic bread for breakfast? Sure! by dl064 (Fri 24th Feb 2023 8:43am)
  • Family of lost man asking people to keep an eye out as the search officially ends. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2222435804/permalink/10159723512055805/?sfnsn=scwspmo&ref=share ****** Hello, I’d like to raise further awareness of my dad’s disappearance, Ross Kinghorn. He went missing up the Beinn a’ Ghlò peaks/Bridge of Tilt/Blair Atholl area between the 16th and 20th of January and still hasn’t been found despite extensive searching. As of today, the official search subsides and the only hope of recovering him is if hillwalkers or landowners stumble across him - the police/mountain rescue have no reason to assume he’s not somewhere on one of those hills or in the immediate area. Although they expected to find him, they’re not particularly surprised that they haven’t: it’s the second largest estate in Scotland and vast. He could be holed in somewhere, for example between rocks if he was injured. For obvious reasons, we still really need to find him. I ask therefore, anyone walking in that area and particularly anyone ascending and descending lesser known paths, to please please keep an eye out for anything odd or just anything at all. by dl064 (Sun 26th Feb 2023 12:59pm)
  • https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/news/2023/february/fatal-road-crash-auchenhowie-road-milngavie/?fbclid=IwAR0jE6b-0h5Ethwcb1Kh7VftA1PbcqPYGOEVNpM9ipLm_F6I2m1FjMJAEhc Very sad ***** Around 9.05 pm, three cars, a Skoda Superb, Audi A4 and a Ford Tourneo Classic were involved in a crash on Auchenhowie Road. A 21-year-old man, the rear seat passenger of the Skoda, died at the scene. A 16-year-old girl, also a rear seat passenger from the Skoda, was taken by ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where medical staff describe her condition as critical. The male driver of the Skoda, aged 19, sustained serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. A further two male passengers from the car, aged 23 and 17 years, sustained minor injuries. The 65-year-old female driver of the Audi and her 82-year-old male passenger were uninjured. The driver of the Ford Tourneo, aged 38, and his passengers aged, 30, 29 and 31 were uninjured. Three men, the driver of the Skoda, aged 19, and his two male passengers, aged 23 and 17 years, have been arrested following the crash and enquiries are continuing. Sergeant Jack Swindells from the Greater Glasgow Road Policing Unit, said: “We are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision or who may have dash cam footage from Auchenhowie Road from around the time of the crash. Information can be passed to police via 101. Please quote reference number 3566 of Sunday, 26 February 2023, when calling.” ***** What I don't get is that when you drive down it now, there's a car in a tree and it's none of those three. by dl064 (Mon 27th Feb 2023 1:03pm)
  • They've not done it since COVID I think but in years gone by, the 'subreddit meet-up' photos from Glasgow/Edinburgh were always...illuminating. by dl064 (Mon 27th Feb 2023 1:05pm)
  • Pretty wild thread on a hit and run https://twitter.com/AlanMyles8/status/1629990008064036865?s=20 by dl064 (Tue 28th Feb 2023 9:36am)
  • I know someone (XXX) who was driving along happily, and a car of 4 teenagers flew past them into a wall. They said XXX pulled out on them. The dashcam showed that wasn't true, but legally it was 4 on 1, so they had to 'settle' in the end. I enjoy that even lawyers can be like 'yeah this is absolutely bananas but hey ho, it's how it goes' by dl064 (Tue 28th Feb 2023 10:13am)
  • His point was: you can pursue this and the costs will go up and up, and you'll probably get quite nervous over weeks and months that the judge just randomly elects to believe them over grainy footage. Just settle now, take a slight premium hit on your insurance, and move on. I can see how it's a bit of a personality thing, that some would elect to pursue and clear their name, but this person has enough to deal with so just agreed. (But it *is* bullshit). by dl064 (Tue 28th Feb 2023 12:45pm)
  • https://twitter.com/NHSGGC/status/1628052977112973315?s=20 Volunteer for an MRI scan. This is quite good. I've done it three times. If you're nice they'll let you keep the images which can be viewed with free software. It'll also get a once-over by a radiologist. One time, I was worried I'd had a microbleed (tiny haemmorhage) so went for a volunteer scan. Probably quicker than the NHS really. by dl064 (Wed 1st Mar 2023 1:32pm)
  • I enjoyed it! Bit different. I use software called TK-SNAP to view the pictures. It's pretty easy. You can look at your brain any which way. by dl064 (Wed 1st Mar 2023 5:09pm)
  • Remortgaging as our 5-year fixed is up. We've put in the enquiry thing. I'm basically Homer Simpson in the bath about to get whacked with a chair. I know a financial kicking is one email away. by dl064 (Mon 20th Mar 2023 1:38pm)
  • Hail Hydro by dl064 (Tue 28th Mar 2023 1:19pm)
  • I had it in Edinburgh once and apparently a lot of companies just buy debt and then go for you, fairly transparently hoping you'll pay. They don't *actually* care if the debt was true or not, they'll try to intimidate you into it. It should be criminal. It might be and noone cares. by dl064 (Tue 28th Mar 2023 1:24pm)
  • Good one on a local FB group where someone was complaining about a new speed camera and folk were like 'Umm...why should a fucking speed camera in a residential area be a problem, Gary?' by dl064 (Tue 28th Mar 2023 1:23pm)
  • Insight I had once was I was behind a driver who pulled a *bananas* overtake on a cyclist. 500 metres down the road he turned into the petrol station anyway. He got out and was just totally going about his business. Just hum-de-dum, nearly kill a cyclist, might get a Lucozade, wonder what's for dinner tonight. There's a bit in Limmy's book where he talks about being, basically, a wee bam in his youth and how there wasn't a shred of guilt. He didn't think 'this is bothering people' or 'I shouldn't do that because I wouldn't like it done to me'. Just nothing going on between the ears (he said). by dl064 (Tue 28th Mar 2023 1:21pm)
  • One time I had a parking ticket for a reason I didn't agree with, and I phoned up to ask, freedom of info-esque, if there had been any other appeals in that area or how many were successful at all. You either pay quickly and don't appeal, or you appeal but pay double if you lose. So I figured: well if 0.1% of people win their appeals then fuck that obviously. Well, they really, *really* don't want you to know how many appeals are successful. I didn't get shirty or anything but was told very transparently that they'd fight me tooth and nail to avoid disclosing such a thing. Fun times. by dl064 (Tue 28th Mar 2023 1:26pm)
  • Advice they gave me was: ring just after you land and you'll meet it at pickup in perfect time. by dl064 (Tue 28th Mar 2023 10:59pm)
  • I know an air conditioning engineer who's said they're the future for a long time. Most efficient by a mile. by dl064 (Tue 28th Mar 2023 11:00pm)
  • Awful. How many folk would just go: gulp, ok! Probably a few. by dl064 (Wed 29th Mar 2023 9:21am)
  • I ascend to Valhalla with honour in my heart and pastry in my gullet by dl064 (Fri 31st Mar 2023 2:59pm)
  • I went there a few times 10+ years ago and thought it was fine. I’d say there’s a bit of bias here where the genuinely dodgy places, most folk on Reddit don’t frequent. by dl064 (Sat 1st Apr 2023 11:44pm)
  • I’ve done a sub crawl a few times. Always found it funny that folk expect stops along the way to be dodgy, but really the only place we’ve had people randomly want aggro was the West end. by dl064 (Sat 1st Apr 2023 11:46pm)
  • Funny one there. We took our child to Peppa Pig World at the weekend. Nursery lady asked what we'd been up to and I said: we went down to England and met Peppa! Unfortunately she was very frightened because Peppa is actually about 7 feet tall and really big. Apparently a lot of children are frightened by her. (Nursery woman smiles and agrees but does look 1% quizzical). Me: "...Peppa *Pig*, I mean" Nursery lady: **Riiiight, okay**. Not just a 7-foot goliath called Peppa who frightens children for fun. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Apr 2023 12:06pm)
  • Depends on exact age and child (stating the obvious perhaps!). We flew to Faro aged 2 and it was fine enough. This was Glasgow->Gatwick then train, and/or you could do Glasgow->Southampton/Bournemouth. Main advice: download stuff onto your phone, loads of snacks, get a wee magazine with toys from WH Smith as a treat. Gatwick has a half-decent kids-play bit which is a God-send. It's exhausting but alright. I handed her over to nursery today and near-enough collapsed. Peppa Pig World is *great* and actually really high quality. Recommended. by dl064 (Mon 3rd Apr 2023 12:13pm)
  • I was reading some psychology stuff about electric cars, and it was saying that humans are totally agnostic to faff. The moment the train, bus etc. becomes categorically easier than driving, folk will do it, but it's not so you have to be wilfully virtuous. Dumb. by dl064 (Thu 6th Apr 2023 9:48am)
  • I've gotten to a place where I'll just go to the busstop whenever I'm ready, because there's a chance at any moment it could come really late. One time I arrived at the bus-stop, the bus immediately arrived and the guy already there said to me (nicely): 'you *dick*, this is 90 minutes late!' by dl064 (Thu 6th Apr 2023 9:50am)
  • The big billboard saying 'Give Greenock jobs!' is something of a sign, pardon the pun. by dl064 (Thu 6th Apr 2023 9:55am)
  • Interesting. Personally I love driving, environmental stuff to one side. I find it bananas how many people actively dislike driving. I've a pal who'll avoid it any chance he gets, which is weird to me (fair enough of course!). by dl064 (Thu 6th Apr 2023 10:38am)
  • Agnostic to minimising faff, rather. by dl064 (Thu 6th Apr 2023 10:36am)
  • Indeed, or if you've ever had a puncture relatively close to home, it still ruins your day. We kinda lose sight that it's the most dangerous thing you do every day by a country mile. My parents always used to say they trusted my driving, but not other people's. You're at the mercy of anyone. by dl064 (Thu 6th Apr 2023 11:58am)
  • Apparently it's a pretty rough job with massive turnover. We live really close to a stop and there was a guy who used to get out and walk. Said he used his breaks for 90% walking because, obviously, you spend hours on end sat and unable to get up. Said if you didn't make an active effort, you could get to the end of a day with very few steps indeed. by dl064 (Wed 12th Apr 2023 1:13pm)
  • The bus is a fortune, and has only X stops along the way too. So if you're coming from like Milngavie, it is *ages* longer for only a bit saved vs. taxi. by dl064 (Wed 12th Apr 2023 1:16pm)
  • > Get Glasgow Moving is a ready made campaign for a popular mass movement to end private ownership of public transport in the city. Yeah. I always get annoyed with public health stuff (which I work in!) that there's so much 'gene science data science amazing life-changing public health science!' when like: the fucking buses don't work, you can't get on the subway with a pram, they can't stop folk smoking outside the maternity wards etc. So much basic, foundational stuff for public health like active travel just *doesn't fucking work* because noone takes control, and so forgive my cynicism about grandiose ideas. by dl064 (Wed 12th Apr 2023 1:15pm)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65248558 I've a lot of sympathy for Ariana Grande, strange as it might sound. Obviously there's Manchester. She split up with her boyfriend and he killed himself the next day. Obviously not her fault, but the psychological weight of that (rightly or wrongly of course) must be...impossible to even say. by dl064 (Wed 12th Apr 2023 2:20pm)
  • We've a child in nursery so the car is simply the fact of the matter. Prior to that (and COVID) we sometimes would get the bus (my wife and I work in the same place), but the return bus costs (x2) starts to get very marginal vs. fuel. And the train is a walk, train, another walk. For me/us to get public transport with child or without is an act of virtue rather than it being *easier* which I feel is the real tipping point for the general population. by dl064 (Thu 13th Apr 2023 11:11am)
  • John Mayer's playing in March, which is nice. by dl064 (Thu 13th Apr 2023 1:49pm)
  • Area near Queen's View absolutely scorched by fire. Like burned toast. Wee Gary's cigarette or some shit, surely. by dl064 (Sun 23rd Apr 2023 5:20pm)
  • Good one about 2 years ago where we were out for dinner (for my birthday!) at a perfectly nice restaurant, and a guy was drunk and fell onto our table. He said sorry, and went aye okay no worries *anyway back to the conversation*, and he started getting aggressive that we 'didn't mean it'. Some folk, man. by dl064 (Mon 24th Apr 2023 12:58pm)
  • Silly wee thing but whenever I've seen FM play e.g. at The Stand, he sticks around to watch the other comedians. Just a nice touch. by dl064 (Mon 24th Apr 2023 1:01pm)
  • Yeah, I grew up on farms and while folk think rural places are charming, salt of the earth etc. they can actually be pretty brutal and rough. by dl064 (Mon 24th Apr 2023 1:00pm)
  • Zelda at midnight Boys and girls. I'm staying up late and sleeping on the couch. by dl064 (Thu 11th May 2023 8:34am)
  • Yeah you'd expect if noone volunteers they'd have to pay folk. I had it 10+ years ago at a running thing where I paid something to do an event, noone else really did, and weeks beforehand they were giving out vouchers to people to do it. by dl064 (Thu 11th May 2023 3:59pm)
  • Yeah I think the real issue is the lack of benefit of the doubt people are willing to give this specific festival. by dl064 (Thu 11th May 2023 4:07pm)
  • I'm very happy so far. by dl064 (Fri 12th May 2023 1:23am)
  • Rentokil rodent grain bait works incredibly well for mice anyway. Some people worry that they might die in the rafters and decompose, but I never had that. When I lived in Edinburgh it was very common. Don't bother with the traps, especially the humane ones; waste of time. by dl064 (Wed 17th May 2023 10:28am)
  • I organise the work christmas dinner each year. One thing about Bothy I found (at Christmas) was they want basically the whole order and payment in advance - like a month. Stravaigin were far more reasonable and did very good veggie/vegan. by dl064 (Wed 17th May 2023 10:25am)
  • Someone in the trades was telling me it's a well-known thing that on a sunny sunday, the boss prepares for a lot of 'flu' from folk the next day and they can't come in. by dl064 (Fri 2nd Jun 2023 10:14am)
  • Yeah my first reaction was the police are 100% capable of this. They go to the culprit, then go to the person who reported it. What is very useful is you can report things anonymously to 101 online now. by dl064 (Mon 5th Jun 2023 1:07pm)
  • Very generic experience with a couple of phones: a. often the official one gives you peace of mind it *will* be fixed or replaced for the amount they estimated. Vodafone are little more expensive than shops anyway (I appreciate this isn't a phone though) b. check they've got what you need; one time I had a phone with a cosmetic crack. I got it replaced by an unofficial repair shop and they took the screen off, didn't have a replacement and couldn't put the original back on, so it was 100% fucked. by dl064 (Mon 5th Jun 2023 1:05pm)
  • We've flown out of Glasgow with an under 3 about 4 times and it's always been fine. by dl064 (Tue 6th Jun 2023 5:41pm)
  • I get it. Weeks roll by. Prices go up, pay doesn't. Nothing to look forward to. I've no particular advice, but yeah, I get it man. by dl064 (Thu 8th Jun 2023 12:44pm)
  • https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/nhs-chiefs-used-private-investigators-30148530 This is quite good and doesn't surprise me at all. My uncle had an absolutely bonkers mistreatment by NHS GG&C about 7 years ago and - rarely - won compensation, and they had to do an ad campaign. The lawyers were saying that, yes nurses and doctors are great and everyone's overloaded etc. etc., but NHSGG&C fight fucking *dirty* and will stretch things out until you're dead or can't afford to pursue. by dl064 (Thu 8th Jun 2023 12:46pm)
  • I went to uni with three folk who ended up becoming cops. 1. Was *the* drunkard. 2. Was nice but *dim*. 3. Was a union steward who couldn't believe they paid him to rough drunks up at 2AM. by dl064 (Tue 13th Jun 2023 11:42pm)
  • Haha totally. 2012? I've seen Wu Legends, Ghost and GZA, and Ghost was the only one who cared one bit, at both gigs. I remember GZA just staring into the distance waiting until he could go home, clearly. Like a horse in a field. by dl064 (Tue 13th Jun 2023 11:46pm)
  • I lived in Baltimore and Boston for a bit, and it’s genuinely a lot worse. Unbearable other than Autumn and Spring. Too hot then too cold. Brits complain about the weather but we have it quite alright. by dl064 (Wed 14th Jun 2023 7:57pm)
  • > Genuinely considering a change of career to traffic police just so I can make it my nightly mission to go after these cunts. Funnily enough apparently wee garages up north are making a killing on the NC500 because all these folk do it in Ferraris with zero suspension and low profile tyres, and they get called out to fit punctures. by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 9:35am)
  • Absolute *swathes* of folk do NC500 in supercars. There are companies that specifically specialize in it, I think e.g. https://northernsupercarhire.com/services/driving-adventures/scenery-and-landscapes/north-coast-500/ by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 9:45am)
  • I took that as: he's making stuff genuine to *him*, but the fact is that people do knock-offs of his stuff for financial gain, none of which 'mean' anything to the artist. Maybe you're right and we're the product all along, but I enjoyed the film and think I got the point he was making. by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 12:29pm)
  • I obviously don't agree with them, but as some have observed: if you *did* consider it murder (i.e. you consider a foetus a life), they're behaving about as you might expect a lot of people would. by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 12:34pm)
  • Anti-genetic testing folk protested at the genetics dept. in Edinburgh 10+ years ago and the porter was like: we just do plants, guys. There's nothing in here. by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 12:33pm)
  • I like the idea of Glasgow having some big headliner to get tourists in who are here for the fringe. We had pals come from America for our wedding one august, and the immigration person said that literally day after day, all people say is: Business, Edinburgh or golf at St Andrews. by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 12:30pm)
  • I passed one in Baltimore once, and it was quite hilariously different to what I imagine it'd be like here. Here: folk a bit awkward, not wanting to go alone (which I get) There: folk were rolling up in limos, full suits and dresses etc. Making a big show, like peacocks. Fair enough! Go for it. Full throttle. by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 12:37pm)
  • There's a pretty strong implication of donating to Kelvingrove, though. by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 2:06pm)
  • 100% We have somewhere we often go near Skye and the uptick has been wild over 10 years. We did it in 2015 and honestly my main feeling was how *unrewarding* it was just driving around all day. by dl064 (Thu 15th Jun 2023 7:58pm)
  • I did the men's 10k yesterday. Started at 0930. My wife and child would be there at the end. Great. I arrived for the 837 train based on the app. Nothing. Train guy who didn't look up 'first train is at 911'. Yeah but it *says* 837 on your own site. *FIRST TRAIN IS AT 911*. Wife/child tried to get subway to see me finish but they opened at 10am. So we all drove, and paid £12 for two hours parking. We *wanted* to get public transport but it was simply too shit. by dl064 (Mon 19th Jun 2023 10:19am)
  • As someone else said, we're in this position where taking public transport is seen as 'taking a hit for the greater good' rather than it actually being the easier way to go. People are agnostic to convenience so the moment things are actually *good* they'll flip. I'm like that with cycling to work; the moment they do that last 20% and make it 100% safe, sure thing. by dl064 (Mon 19th Jun 2023 11:24am)
  • I had one in 2016 where I was part of a relay team and I stayed overnight in Edinburgh. One of the team bailed at 5am, and I woke up to them all agreeing to not do it. Well, I ran my wee bit anyway. You only get the t-shirt if the team completes it, annoyingly. by dl064 (Mon 19th Jun 2023 12:10pm)
  • You’re ‘avon a laugh mate by dl064 (Fri 30th Jun 2023 12:27pm)
  • Case in Milngavie literally down the road from me where a family had two that sporadically attacked dogs until they basically tore one limb from limb. Only then were they put down by police, but the owners still have their puppies. by dl064 (Thu 6th Jul 2023 7:44pm)
  • I wouldn't say it's *all* on the owner; if they're bred a certain way they'll have certain traits on average. Like, it's a nice idea that it's nurture > nature, but genetics plays a rather substantial role. by dl064 (Thu 6th Jul 2023 7:54pm)
  • This is a very appealing idea but unfortunately not the reality, in many cases. I've a border collie. She's never been taught to round up sheep but if we're ever near them you can tell something's going on upstairs. by dl064 (Thu 6th Jul 2023 7:56pm)
  • Yeah; it's not 100% either way. by dl064 (Thu 6th Jul 2023 10:29pm)
  • In 2021 when Glasgow uni didn't have enough halls for students, they put them in Paisley and tried to get students to drive the minibus for free. by dl064 (Thu 13th Jul 2023 4:36pm)
  • A teenager went to prison a few years ago for firing at walkers on the west highland way. The teenager didn’t realize they had a baby in a sling, but the judge had no sympathy. You could probably look it up. Point being: yes the cops will take it seriously. by dl064 (Sat 15th Jul 2023 8:13pm)
  • Fuck me he’s lucky the vision came back at all. by dl064 (Sat 15th Jul 2023 8:15pm)
  • I think that story was in the news. I read exactly that story somewhere before. by dl064 (Sat 15th Jul 2023 8:15pm)
  • I think we’ve all a half-decent idea the kinds of parents that let (aren’t aware) their kid’s out with a BB gun. by dl064 (Sat 15th Jul 2023 8:14pm)
  • Ah no I read a story way more recent than that which was a carbon copy. by dl064 (Sat 15th Jul 2023 8:33pm)
  • I drive by it a lot and some of the parking genuinely beggars belief. by dl064 (Fri 21st Jul 2023 4:26pm)
  • Taxi driver was telling us once that it’s not an oversight that taxis are the main way of getting to the airport. Good way to wake up in a ditch, changing that. by dl064 (Fri 28th Jul 2023 8:03am)
  • Yeah I’ve been in *way* worse than Glasgow. Unfortunately. by dl064 (Fri 28th Jul 2023 8:05am)
  • Yeah maybe but I'd sort of believe it. by dl064 (Fri 28th Jul 2023 10:01am)
  • I could believe gangsters influence quite a lot fundamentally, and that could Glasgow council, yes. by dl064 (Fri 28th Jul 2023 10:08am)
  • That's miles from the suggestion: rather that organised crime includes taxis to some extent and they have some nudging influence over Glasgow politics on issues pertinent to their interests. It's not: 'taxi drivers have a direct line to parliament'. I *don't* believe Glasgow city council is free from corruption. At all. by dl064 (Fri 28th Jul 2023 5:29pm)
  • One time at Inn Deep two pints of Pilot Blonde, of all things, was ~£20. Even the guy was like: that's weird and a surprise. by dl064 (Sat 29th Jul 2023 10:40am)
  • I mind hearing that for about 2009, you had to pay for them. End of an era. by dl064 (Sun 30th Jul 2023 10:22pm)
  • I mind at the end of first year uni, my pal and I based a night off one of those 5-litre bottles of Strongbow as we had about £5 between us. Halycon days. by dl064 (Sun 30th Jul 2023 10:27pm)
  • I remember that undeage drinking apparently peaked in 2003 (I dunno how that quantified it), but then I heard from a lot of people that for about 2004/5 it became a *lot* harder to get served booze underage. I've never found a thrill on par. by dl064 (Sun 30th Jul 2023 10:25pm)
  • For me they were free, then as you say it became a nominal thing like one quid, then apparently it went really up quite a lot. by dl064 (Mon 31st Jul 2023 7:18am)
  • Yeah academics now are strongly encouraged to make a properly lay version of stuff to share. Not many do but hey. by dl064 (Mon 31st Jul 2023 7:17am)
  • Super. I supervise/mark data projects all the time and this is 10x more interesting than a lot of what people do. I get people saying 'for a definitive answer you should...' but a. it was your thesis! What you've done is brilliant for the time you had b. if folk think actual published research are necessarily more definitive than this they've another thing coming. by dl064 (Mon 31st Jul 2023 9:16am)
  • > Still armchair science, how about going out to the actual streets themselves and take photographs and conduct research. Speak to communities and local councils. Google Street View is only going to tell you so much, I wouldn’t trust that as a validating source compared to going out to these areas and conducting research from lived experience. > > To some extent google street view can be informative as a proxy if if's consistent. If there's non-random variation, e.g. it takes some stuff as litter and some other stuff as *not* inconsistently across regions then yeah - problem. But if it's an even-handed snapshot of places then it can be useful. > Especially since fast food / take aways are all over the city not just in poorer areas. That might be the case in Glasgow but it's quite well observed on average that more deprived areas have more fast-food restaurants. In the US there's quite good evidence that a Walmart can *causally* increase surrounding deprivation. > Also drawing conclusions and statistics from the SIMD isn’t going to be accurate in the sense that just because a specific area is lower on the social mobility ladder, prone to unemployment, poverty, poorer nutritional diets does not make that area any worse He/she aren't implying they're worse in some dispositional way, just asking the question: do more deprived areas have more litter, which could be for a million reasons. SIMD has its flaws but all measures of deprivation are only a proxy. Townsend deprivation index for example is basically just postcode. by dl064 (Mon 31st Jul 2023 9:14am)
  • Apparently some stops on the NC500 like Applecross often consider ‘exiting’ it and not playing ball, because a lot of the tourists just: get off a plane, rent a van, stop at Tesco for BBQ stuff, then don’t buy a thing for the week. They don’t actually gain a thing from the tourism. Someone else does. by dl064 (Sat 5th Aug 2023 9:49am)
  • That’s the absolute long and short of it. by dl064 (Sat 5th Aug 2023 9:48am)
  • I enjoy that all the social media for closures is like ‘there will be disruption and potential delays. The disruption is: most roads are closed, deal with it’. We’ve been outright told not to come to work at the uni for the week. by dl064 (Sat 5th Aug 2023 9:47am)
  • Friend of mine manages a pub on the royal mile, and apparently for the king’s visit they straight up just banned people from going to his pub because they closed the pavement. First thing they knew about it was when the barriers went up. by dl064 (Sat 5th Aug 2023 9:46am)
  • I did enjoy that Glasgow was a total shoe-in for crime-ridden, dilapidated Gotham. I think it was Brendan Fraser or someone who said words to that effect, that Glasgow really transports you there. by dl064 (Sat 5th Aug 2023 9:51am)
  • For the Glasgow 10k thing a couple of months ago we (me; wife + child watching) TRIED to get public transport to the start at the transport museum, and just fucking gave-up and drove. Subway wasn’t open; first train from Milngavie would’ve missed the start. Useless. by dl064 (Sat 5th Aug 2023 9:50am)
  • I enjoy that for years they refused to light up Kelvingrove at night because it ‘would disturb the birds’, then COP hits and they didn’t give a *fuck* about that. Not that I ever really believed it. by dl064 (Sat 5th Aug 2023 9:55am)
  • I lived in Edinburgh for 5 years and Glasgow for now 9. Edinburgh was vastly, vastly worse. Edinburgh was worse than my house growing up which was a literal *farm*. by dl064 (Wed 9th Aug 2023 4:17pm)
  • Apparently there are a few instances of that on the comedy circuit but noone will put any of them in writing. I heard of at least one project journalism piece to put a load of them together, collect loads of stories, and just *whollop* a load of them in one go. Or noone takes it seriously. by dl064 (Thu 10th Aug 2023 3:44pm)
  • Tenement bins: I stuck to my own. Out and about, near someone else's house: hmm. Lot more marginal I think. It's funny and shows the demographic difference that this exact question came up on Milngavie FB and all the olds were emphatic it was fine. Hmm. by dl064 (Sun 13th Aug 2023 9:24am)
  • Oh that'd be disgusting! That's what the compost bin is for. by dl064 (Sun 13th Aug 2023 3:22pm)
  • I liked the line from Tina Fey on her scar: it tells you all you need to know about the person who says it to you. by dl064 (Mon 14th Aug 2023 8:21pm)
  • Colleague in Baltimore got called up for a *year*. by dl064 (Mon 21st Aug 2023 5:47pm)
  • He was head of department! And worked for the government already so I guess they'd be nice. It was federal court so pretty all consuming. He got told that was him off the hook for life at least. Dunno about bills. by dl064 (Mon 21st Aug 2023 6:24pm)
  • I've a dog and a child and yes the child can spill stuff, but dog hair can be a *nightmare* to get out. If you get a car valeted, see them wince when you say 'yes, there's dog hair'. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Aug 2023 1:32pm)
  • I have known a few people who rented their flats out and several tenants very obviously had pets. One had two Alsatians and they had to spend a lot of money getting the smell out. Which was annoying as the people who were renting it out were nice, reasonable landlords. by dl064 (Wed 23rd Aug 2023 1:30pm)
  • https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/24/nhs-consultants-in-england-to-strike-for-further-three-days-in-october The junior/registrar doctor strike was fine, but this one feels like reading the room wrong a bit. If it were about conditions that'd be one thing. My pal in his mid thirties is on 120k (and not supportive). A colleague who's a senior consultant is on 200k (which I've seen with my own eyes). So yeah. by dl064 (Thu 24th Aug 2023 8:08am)
  • Everyone has the right to strike, but it's also valid to critically appraise that, and at 100k+ salaries I'm less sympathetic than usual. If it were *conditions* that'd be different. by dl064 (Thu 24th Aug 2023 10:01am)
  • I haven't heard the word gimp in literally 20 years. by dl064 (Thu 24th Aug 2023 10:26am)
  • Yeah *conditions*. Absolutely no dispute that training to become a doctor is horrible, but I think *most* of that horror is at the foundation year/registrar level. I'm not conflating this consultant strike with doctors generally. But my understanding from *various* consultant pals is that once you *make it*, you're kinda through it and on easy street. by dl064 (Thu 24th Aug 2023 11:55am)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-66614488 Just bananas. I can never drive past Bridge of Orchy without thinking of this guy. We've walked past where he was buried. I remember at the time there was a news piece saying 'show some humanity and come forward if you know what happened' and then like a week later they had the two arrested. I guess that got to the girlfriend but they were lucky with timing if that's all there is to it and she'd just found out by chance. by dl064 (Fri 25th Aug 2023 12:43pm)
  • My wife struggles with the idea he was alive while they deliberated on what to do with him. by dl064 (Fri 25th Aug 2023 4:09pm)
  • I find the contrast with Edinburgh quite interesting where this one's funnier but occasionally far more aggressive. by dl064 (Sat 26th Aug 2023 5:59pm)
  • I had genuinely assumed it was intentionally wry. by dl064 (Sat 26th Aug 2023 5:57pm)
  • I always think in similar circumstances: you/your kids have already won. There's probably some shit parents in the background, and some shit outcomes await those kids. It's actually sadder than the day's event. by dl064 (Sat 26th Aug 2023 7:23pm)
  • I think folk largely believe the other post *was* made up. But yeah I get the point. We, or at least I get in my wee middle class bubble then get an 11pm bus home and reality hits. by dl064 (Sat 26th Aug 2023 7:30pm)
  • Yeah indeed. Higher rate of gems. by dl064 (Sat 26th Aug 2023 8:13pm)
  • Largely speaking my/our experience of my wife's childbirth and two family members who've died in recent years: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/27/can-i-forgive-myself-for-my-daughters-death?CMP=share_btn_tw A generally rotten culture. I liked the story of how the hospital HoD in the Lucy Letby case simply ghosted the families and legged it. Just 101% what I would've expected. Perfectly in-character. by dl064 (Mon 28th Aug 2023 1:40pm)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66634382 > Hannah McLaughlan added: "There needs to be stricter guidelines on what defence lawyers can say to a victim giving evidence because you aren't treated like a human. There's a bit in Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test about a lawyer in Falkirk who got a rapist off the hook by discrediting the accuser as promiscuous, including bandying her thong around. Proper 'how could you genuinely sleep at night' stuff. by dl064 (Wed 30th Aug 2023 12:33pm)
  • > If you vote then you're much more likely to be called than if you don't. This 'clearly actually alive and living there' method would probably be a good high-pass filter for folk who might actually do it, so this makes sense. by dl064 (Wed 30th Aug 2023 12:39pm)
  • > I actually wouldn’t mind attending and seeing how the systems work. My dad did it and said it was a. a total waste of everyone's time b. shows how much financial waste there is that it's X folk getting paid £XX each day to come in, drink the free coffee, then get told to go home at 11am. by dl064 (Wed 30th Aug 2023 12:37pm)
  • I find it funny when I speak to tourists and they say they got a true Scottish experience by visiting the royal mile. by dl064 (Fri 1st Sep 2023 10:49am)
  • There is a car park near Blairlogie with a sign up saying 'stop dogging here!' Yes yes 'did that stop you?' Etc. by dl064 (Tue 5th Sep 2023 9:36am)
  • Ageing for you: my birthday present from my parents is a spare tyre. And I'm delighted with it. by dl064 (Thu 7th Sep 2023 9:56am)
  • Re One, I listened to Achtung Baby back for the first time in ages, and Fuck Me what an album. by dl064 (Thu 7th Sep 2023 9:55am)
  • Still legal, fifty quid. by dl064 (Thu 7th Sep 2023 8:22pm)
  • When you see vans with ‘how is my driving?’ I used to naively think they were seeking constructive criticism rather than the truth that the boss just wants to know if they’re a maniac. by dl064 (Sun 10th Sep 2023 2:44pm)
  • I saw/heard it once on Byers road and honestly everyone in a 10 metre radius stopped and gawped at the situation, like what is genuinely wrong with you. by dl064 (Sun 10th Sep 2023 2:43pm)
  • One of the houses up by Mugdock. by dl064 (Thu 14th Sep 2023 6:48pm)
  • One's up for sale now actually. by dl064 (Thu 14th Sep 2023 6:47pm)
  • I lived on Dowanhill street and it was *nice* but 'no object'? Dream bigger, man! by dl064 (Thu 14th Sep 2023 6:47pm)
  • I always think it's mad folk live way, way out in the sticks then share a wall with someone. All that for that. by dl064 (Thu 14th Sep 2023 6:46pm)
  • Used to work in NHS addictions and yeah, the depths of humanity aren't on show. They don't even present to services. The worst things you can think of, and lower. by dl064 (Tue 19th Sep 2023 4:25pm)
  • I hate the Tories as much as anyone but it has been underfunded and falling apart for a long time including pre 2010. It may or may not be a strategy to deliberately underfund it to *a greater extent* but before the Tories it was cold, confusing and grim too. by dl064 (Tue 19th Sep 2023 9:50pm)
  • I hate the Tories as much as anyone but it has been underfunded and falling apart for a long time including pre 2010. It may or may not be a strategy to deliberately underfund it to *a greater extent* but before the Tories it was cold, confusing and grim too. by dl064 (Tue 19th Sep 2023 9:50pm)
  • I had an interview in the royal in 2009, for a weight management support service. Seriously unwell people. I'm not being funny but I genuinely wasn't sure if it was *intentionally* at the top of the stairs. I feel you couldn't get away with that idea, but it's just too dumb to not be planned. Never put down to malice what can be attributed to ignorance, I guess. by dl064 (Tue 19th Sep 2023 9:57pm)
  • I know first hand from a few surgeons that they've had literal faecal matter dripping down vents. They raise it as urgent and get fobbed off. One example. I think people don't know the half of what's wrong with QEUH or there'd be pandemonium. Supposedly various design aspects, which were obviously approved a long time ago now, were lazy and sometimes downright stupid. by dl064 (Tue 19th Sep 2023 9:55pm)
  • Disappointing because I think folk *want* it to be good, but a lot of folk (usually their parents, really) badmouth the working practices on the Milngavie Facebook page. Disappointed but not *surprised* deep down. I find it funny they've attempted a *nightclub in Milngavie*. Full marks for giving it a go. by dl064 (Thu 21st Sep 2023 10:53pm)
  • I like that this is informative without accusing OP of being an idiot or suggest they go be a politician. Interesting. Cheers. by dl064 (Sat 23rd Sep 2023 4:37pm)
  • One time on the way back from Boston, the lady next to me in the terminal was on the phone saying > yeah we're at the airport. We're going to find our heritage...my family are from *Paisley?* by dl064 (Wed 27th Sep 2023 4:58pm)
  • Yeah pals visited from Atlanta and the immigration lady said 90% of folk say: Edinburgh, st Andrews or nc500. by dl064 (Wed 27th Sep 2023 4:57pm)
  • Oh I believe it 100%. Perfectly common thing. by dl064 (Wed 27th Sep 2023 5:04pm)
  • I have imagined it often since. by dl064 (Wed 27th Sep 2023 6:23pm)
  • Wildly disproportionate downvoting. Classic Glasgow sub stuff, really: tightly sprung and ferocious, and nothing’s in the middle. Okay someone might disagree for polite and interesting reasons, but you’ve not said anything totally wild or offensive here. by dl064 (Sun 1st Oct 2023 7:05pm)
  • It's 5 for 10 minutes but it goes up very quickly after that. Park nearby eg the petrol station, then have them say when they're already waiting. by dl064 (Thu 12th Oct 2023 11:47am)
  • It's because it's a full day and short notice. We were 70 for a week at long stay. Either do the dropoff which is a fiver, or long stay and the free bus. by dl064 (Thu 12th Oct 2023 11:46am)
  • When I worked in Baltimore, work offered me either a parking space or a state wide bus pass. Anywhere. Any time of week. Any route. Bananas in retrospect. by dl064 (Sun 22nd Oct 2023 11:32pm)
  • 99p in Tesco! by dl064 (Tue 24th Oct 2023 2:23pm)
  • I mind X years ago we paid for the queue skip (or something similarly named), and were then just in the queue skippers queue. by dl064 (Tue 24th Oct 2023 2:23pm)
  • I made a soup! Had a grand old time. by dl064 (Tue 24th Oct 2023 5:50pm)
  • It's a funny subreddit, Glasgow, but it's very antagonistic fundamentally. It's often spoiling for folk to fall out a bit. by dl064 (Thu 26th Oct 2023 1:09pm)
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-67226820?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA Racist police officer abused colleagues in Maryhill office > The prosecutor said: "He would listen to calls coming through and listen to the name of the complainer. "If their name sounded Catholic, Cruickshank would say 'they would get the jail'." He wasn't exactly thinly veiled. by dl064 (Thu 26th Oct 2023 1:10pm)
  • Yeah I see it as like: 6pm and change. 6 but don't be pissy with me about minutes. by dl064 (Fri 27th Oct 2023 7:47pm)
  • *tipo by dl064 (Tue 31st Oct 2023 3:59pm)
  • Bearsden is like that. Lacks active travel stuff at key points so the whole thing becomes a bit redundant. by dl064 (Mon 6th Nov 2023 9:15am)
  • Good one on the Bearsden Facebook page re some new houses > When are locals going to be consulted??! "2021" by dl064 (Mon 6th Nov 2023 3:30pm)
  • It’s a volatile sub. by dl064 (Wed 8th Nov 2023 11:36pm)
  • Kevin Bridges: taxi driver tourettes Don't say it don't say it don't say it "Been busy?" FUCK Spot on bit. by dl064 (Sun 12th Nov 2023 7:56pm)
  • I think you're accepting this explanation too easily personally - I think you're pretty right that it's bullshit in the first place. by dl064 (Wed 22nd Nov 2023 8:08pm)
  • Threads like this are why this subreddit is generally a waste of time. Everyone is trying to flip your point back when you're totally right, or find some flaw or generally contrary stance. by dl064 (Wed 22nd Nov 2023 8:11pm)
  • Apparently it's a big problem in Milngavie where *the* bus after school will often just not turn up. End of story. It's absolute bullshit if they want people onto public transport. by dl064 (Wed 22nd Nov 2023 8:09pm)
  • This happened to me once in Boston, I clicked no and the guy openly was like: hey you clicked zero, I assume in error. by dl064 (Sat 25th Nov 2023 1:07pm)
  • Was in Kirkintilloch Weatherspoons once at like 10am once. A guy came in and very urgently asked for a pint of Port. The barman said they didn't serve booze yet, and before he'd even finished the sentence the man had 180d and was halfway out the door. by dl064 (Tue 28th Nov 2023 8:25am)
  • Yeah I had new neighbours sharing our wall once, who played guitar all night. I wrote them an anonymous letter and fair cop, 22.59 they would stop. by dl064 (Tue 28th Nov 2023 12:58pm)
  • Yeah - there is explicitly a staff car park, I've noticed. I've also met a couple of staff at the long stay too. by dl064 (Wed 29th Nov 2023 1:12pm)
  • https://x.com/glasgowmurphy/status/1729841886704116000?s=20 Ten years on from Clutha. I dunno why, but one thing that sticks with me is an observer saying that (dumb as it sounds) they were surprised how much it just *dropped like a stone*. I know what they mean that I 'feel' it should sort of slowly drop or slow down, or glide or something - but I know that's dumb. They said its direction just absolutely flipped 90 degrees. Down in a millisecond. Must have been gobsmacking to see; like, someone somewhere idly saw 9/11 happen as they watched a plane. 'What the fuck did I just see'. by dl064 (Wed 29th Nov 2023 1:10pm)
  • That's so annoying, on your behalf, that they charge the entire tenement for the cleanup. Classic. by dl064 (Thu 7th Dec 2023 5:37pm)
  • I find it you stand still and just stop they tend to find a way around magically. by dl064 (Fri 8th Dec 2023 6:25pm)
  • I would emphasize the transferable skills a lot. So data science if you focussed on that, whatever your thesis was on, critical appraisal etc. As others have alluded to, with an MPH the two routes are really A. You have done it because there is something very explicit you want it for eg professional training. B. Push the transferable skills and evidence them. Speak to your ex supervisor because more than you might think, staff have money for research assistance but not enough to justify the whole recruitment process. They can simply hire you on the spot for a few months, which may tip you over the competition. Get on linkedin, and crank it up including specific skills, because suddenly the jobs you *could* do becomes quite apparent. by dl064 (Sun 10th Dec 2023 12:30pm)
  • Yeah one wonders if calling it something like public health science might help, or epidemiology. Some psychology degrees you could get it as MA or BSc depending on what you wanted to go into after, where the latter is a bit more biomedical. by dl064 (Sun 10th Dec 2023 1:20pm)
  • Yeah I'm always amazed how many folk just send out the same application whatever the job. Re standing out, I got a job in 2010 where a while in they were like > Yeah it's not necessarily causal, but you were 1% easier to refer to because you were the guy whose address was a farm. Oh, the farm guy. by dl064 (Sun 10th Dec 2023 6:17pm)
  • Re public health science, keen an eye on health enforcement, NHS Scotland, public Health Scotland etc. Often these sorts of jobs have variable names but they're the same job in reality. The unfortunate reality re 2 is that these are deeply, deeply competitive. by dl064 (Sun 10th Dec 2023 6:14pm)
  • Yeah I lived in Baltimore for a year or two and Glasgow is mild at worst. by dl064 (Mon 11th Dec 2023 7:46am)
  • In January 2014 there was a city murder every day of the month. When I was there, the local story (in the news) was of how one drug dealer did in another, and was going through that first dealer's book of customers and shooting *them*. Crucially for Baltimore residents, this included middle class white people. by dl064 (Tue 12th Dec 2023 7:49am)
  • Ha yeah Fells was nice. I was near Canton, so not far. Indeed, I was in basically the one murder free bit, and even then, 'my' Starbucks, a guy got shot in the head about 3 months after I moved. It's funny to me that in The Wire, Fells is used as a 'they are in a nice bit' but you have to kind of *know* that for the scene to work the same way. I used to run around the city to get to know it, and my colleagues were like: mate genuinely stop that right now, hard. Few things 1. Neighbour got murdered by some kids where a year before to the day, she'd stopped them burgling her house. 2. Boss got carjacked. 3. Two instances of folk pulling a gun on the bus driver in front of me. Loads more. by dl064 (Tue 12th Dec 2023 7:45am)