SpruceWillis's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
SpruceWillis LinkI finished This is How You Lose the Time War, I enjoyed it but I wish they'd delved into the sci-fi aspect of the world and the time war itself a bit more but that's obviously not the book they...I finished This is How You Lose the Time War, I enjoyed it but I wish they'd delved into the sci-fi aspect of the world and the time war itself a bit more but that's obviously not the book they wanted to write.
The love story that the novel revolved around was nice but the letters and exchanges got a bit cloyingly sweet and flowery by the end.
Still a decent book.
Now I'm about 2/3's of the way through John Langan's The Fisherman which I'm having a blast with. I really love horror novels, and this ones like a classic ghost story with Lovecraftian touches. I'm still being regaled with the story of Rainer and his family and eagerly looking forward to the fishing trip between the main character and his friend.
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Comment on MomBoard: E-ink display for a parent with amnesia in ~tech
SpruceWillis Link ParentReminds me of the Nintendo mantra coined by Gunpei Yokai, the inventor of the Game & Watch and Game Boy. "Lateral thinking with withered technology" Using mature, inexpensive, well understood...Reminds me of the Nintendo mantra coined by Gunpei Yokai, the inventor of the Game & Watch and Game Boy.
"Lateral thinking with withered technology"
Using mature, inexpensive, well understood technology to create innovative solutions.
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Comment on Where does your username come from? (Following up on last year's thread) in ~tildes
SpruceWillis LinkThis is one of several usernames I have across the web. I felt the other one I used was getting a bit long in the tooth so switched to this one about 6 or 7 years ago. I think the first time I...This is one of several usernames I have across the web. I felt the other one I used was getting a bit long in the tooth so switched to this one about 6 or 7 years ago. I think the first time I used it was in the migration from NeoGAF to ResetERA after it turned out the owner of GAF was a creep. Felt fitting for a new username.
I just use it because I find the idea of Bruce Willis as a spruce tree to be quite funny.
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Comment on Understanding the leftist that didn't vote: "Everybody else gets one, but not me" in ~society
SpruceWillis Link ParentThis is called "spoiling your ballot" in the UK and political parties are very interested in it because it tells them there are people out there willing to go to a polling place, and cast their...I’m also curious how you would feel about an “abstain” option in elections ? I have often felt “I don’t want to vote for either person, and I want it documented that I chose not to do it because I felt neither candidate captured my goals/values/needs”.
This is called "spoiling your ballot" in the UK and political parties are very interested in it because it tells them there are people out there willing to go to a polling place, and cast their vote for nobody. These are people political parties can try to capture in future elections.
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Comment on What moderate countries are left to emigrate to? in ~travel
SpruceWillis Link ParentI totally get that, the midges can be a pain. Waking up the morning after enjoying one of our warm summer nights outside during the summer to find yourself covered in little itchy welts is very...I totally get that, the midges can be a pain.
Waking up the morning after enjoying one of our warm summer nights outside during the summer to find yourself covered in little itchy welts is very frustrating but certainly it's just one of those things you get used to living here.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
SpruceWillis Link ParentNo, never actually seen any adaptation of the book, it's completely unknown to me. I got into reading spy thrillers a couple of years ago,especially the Bond novels, and my dad suggested The Day...No, never actually seen any adaptation of the book, it's completely unknown to me.
I got into reading spy thrillers a couple of years ago,especially the Bond novels, and my dad suggested The Day of the Jackal, saying it's a great one, so I bought it but it's sat in my bookcase since.
I'll need to bump it up the list and get it read as it sounds right up my street then I can watch the adaptations.
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Comment on What moderate countries are left to emigrate to? in ~travel
SpruceWillis Link ParentEverywhere sadly :(. Probably more of them up north but spending any deal of time outside at night in the summer requires citronella candles or insect repellent spray to ward them off.Everywhere sadly :(. Probably more of them up north but spending any deal of time outside at night in the summer requires citronella candles or insect repellent spray to ward them off.
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Comment on TV Tuesdays Free Talk in ~tv
SpruceWillis Link ParentOoh, interesting. I've got the novel to read, which I've heard is great, this'll give me the kick to read the book and watch the show.Ooh, interesting. I've got the novel to read, which I've heard is great, this'll give me the kick to read the book and watch the show.
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
SpruceWillis LinkI'm going to see Enter Shikari in early December, I last saw them on their Take to the Skies tour in 2007 where I was jumping around with the rest of the pit as a 17 year old but at 34 I'll gladly...I'm going to see Enter Shikari in early December, I last saw them on their Take to the Skies tour in 2007 where I was jumping around with the rest of the pit as a 17 year old but at 34 I'll gladly take a backseat and just enjoy the music.
To prepare I've been listening to a bunch of their music lately. The album "Flash Flood of Colour" has been in regular rotation, really great album but I'm also listening to their newest album "A Kiss for the Whole World" and really enjoying it.
Fantastic group of musicians who have truly developed and evolved from their electronic metalcore beginnings.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
SpruceWillis LinkNot much through the week if I'm being honest. Weekly session of D&D was about as exciting as it got, although I'm the DM for the campaign and it's great to the see the players really get into it,...Not much through the week if I'm being honest. Weekly session of D&D was about as exciting as it got, although I'm the DM for the campaign and it's great to the see the players really get into it, especially now they're in the last third of the campaign.
I'm currently on the way to Glasgow to go to a Q&A with Jeff VanderMeer on his book tour for Absolution, the newest book in the Southern Reach series. Hoping we'll be able get our book signed so I've brought my copy with me.
Sunday we're taking our daughter to the transport museum through in Glasgow to catch up with my brother. Been years since I was last there so it'll be cool to go back.
Saturdays just gonna be a chill out day though, maybe get some stuff done round the house.
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Comment on What moderate countries are left to emigrate to? in ~travel
SpruceWillis Link ParentI'm not certain as our immigration process is not something I'm certain of but I imagine you'd need to look at our Skilled Worker Visas. I also found this site which details the different routes...I'm not certain as our immigration process is not something I'm certain of but I imagine you'd need to look at our Skilled Worker Visas.
I also found this site which details the different routes to move to and work in the UK.
I imagine it would be best to speak to an immigration lawyer who can let you know the best route for you and your wife.
But yes, cunt is very context dependent in Scotland. It can be a term of endearment or deep hatred. Being called a "sound cunt" is one of the nicest things a friend can call you here haha.
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Comment on What moderate countries are left to emigrate to? in ~travel
SpruceWillis Link ParentThe summer this year was pretty grim to be fair, think I was getting used to those heatwaves we've had the past few years. The deep winter when you get 4 or 5 hours of light can be rough, you get...The summer this year was pretty grim to be fair, think I was getting used to those heatwaves we've had the past few years.
The deep winter when you get 4 or 5 hours of light can be rough, you get to understand why the Scots Gaelic for December is "An Dùbhlachd" which translates to "The Blackness".
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Comment on What moderate countries are left to emigrate to? in ~travel
SpruceWillis LinkI'm in the UK, Scotland to be specific. As another commenter mentioned, we currently have a centre-left Labour Party in power at the moment in Westminster after 14 years of Conservative party rule...I'm in the UK, Scotland to be specific.
As another commenter mentioned, we currently have a centre-left Labour Party in power at the moment in Westminster after 14 years of Conservative party rule so the Labour Party will be in power until 2029 at least. Although I hope they'll at the very least scrape a second term as a minority government through to 2034.
As the other commenter mentioned however, the Labour Party won, less as a huge shift to the left, and more as a rejection of the Conservative Party. A lot of their voters moved to embrace Reform, a right-wing to far-right political party, headed by Nigel Farage, a particularly vile toad of a man, and heavily funded by our millionaire and billionaire class. However, our political system has less room for dictators to emerge as the King or Queen are the head of state and MPs in parliament regularly revolt and stab each other in the back after a few controversies.
Up in Scotland, things are perhaps slightly better, we generally have a cultural distaste for right wing politics, with many Scots being brought up to despise the Tories. Even if the Scottish National Party, a big tent but generally centre-left political party, lose power in the next Scottish Parliament elections, it'll more than likely be Scottish Labour who take over. Our government in Holyrood, also uses the Additional Member System for voting so majorities are very rare, forcing political parties to work with one another to pass legislation.
There are a lot of reserved matters that are still managed in Scotland by Westminster such as defence for instance. However, there is also a lot of very important stuff such as the health service, education, local council funding and certain national priorities that are devolved to the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood).
However, we can only do so much and like the rest of the UK, Scotland's NHS is struggling, it's infrastructure is quite literally crumbling in places, and the wealth gap continues to widen.
However, healthcare is free at the point of use, prescriptions are free, dentistry is free for a lot of the young and elderly, university fees are free or heavily subsidised and if you do need or want private health care it's not horrendously expensive. I just got a dental check up, scale abd polish the other day for £70.
If there's one thing I can say it's that Scots are very friendly. There's arseholes like you'd find anywhere of course, football is a huge sport here, loved by millions but it can be a pathway to bigotry and Sectarianism between Protestants and Catholics throughout the country. Alcoholism and drug abuse is our country's shame, but we are trying to reduce drug and alcohol deaths. You've got to be able to take a bit of piss-taking but it's rarely ever meant to offend, we're warm, friendly and there's plenty who'd give you the clothes off their back if they call you their friend.
In terms of careers, I can't really speak much on it, I work for the civil service for the national auditor. I could be paid more in the private sector but I like helping my country, the holidays (42 days a year) and pension (career average defined benefits) are amazing and I work with some lovely people. However, a lot of finance companies are headquartered or have huge offices in Scotland (particularly Edinburgh and Glasgow) with Edinburgh itself being a huge UK financial hub.
The weather is cold, mild, rainy, and wet. You get four different types of weather in a day, and can never be sure if you should bring a jacket out or not in case the sun suddenly comes out or it starts chucking it down with rain.
Its Westminster that deals with immigration since it's a reserved matter. So you'd have to look at the relevant UK government webpage to find out how to immigrate to the UK if that's what you want but Scotland is a wonderful place to live at times, full of history and culture.
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Comment on What is happening outside the US? in ~talk
SpruceWillis Link ParentHonestly, I'm not sure. Looking it up, he seems to say he did it to maintain tradition. It is generally traditional that big announcements by the PM are made at the lectern outside Downing Street...Honestly, I'm not sure. Looking it up, he seems to say he did it to maintain tradition. It is generally traditional that big announcements by the PM are made at the lectern outside Downing Street but I don't think anyone would've minded him doing it in the briefing room, especially since it was absolutely bucketing it down.
It did provide everyone with the funny soundbite of Sunak announcing the election while protesters less than 100ft away blasted "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream over loudspeakers.
British politics is something to behold, genuinely incredibly entertaining at times, especially when parties have been in power for a bit and they get the knives out if a Prime Minister is doing a shit job. It can be frustrating to live through at the time but at least it's never boring.
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Comment on What is happening outside the US? in ~talk
SpruceWillis (edited )Link ParentJesus, yeah, I missed two other Conservative PMs in my recap haha. So when Boris Johnson won his 80-seat majority, it was mere months before Covid-19 became a full blown epidemic. The...Jesus, yeah, I missed two other Conservative PMs in my recap haha.
So when Boris Johnson won his 80-seat majority, it was mere months before Covid-19 became a full blown epidemic.
The Conservatives instituted stringent lockdowns, which included not being able to leave your house, working from home where possible, wearing masks, not being able to see loved ones and family, and a lot of people were placed on furlough.
However, while a majority of the population were following these rules to the best of their abilities to protect their friends, and neighbours it turned out Johnson, his advisors, other Conservative MPs and Downing Street staff were flagrantly breaking these rules including having huge all-night parties in Downing Street.
This, amongst other controversies, including trying to bury stories about an MP who was sexually assaulting young male staffers finally sank Johnson.
After a leadership contest he was replaced by Liz Truss, a truly bonkers woman whose meme potential was incredible when she wasn't the most powerful politician in the UK, if not one of the most powerful in the world.
However, one of her first acts as PM was announcing a surprise budget, done without consulting pretty much anyone. Which resulted in complete and utter economic catastrophe, wiping billions off the UK economy already struggling post-Brexit and post-Covid, and almost causing the collapse of a number of UK pensions. Because of this she resigned after 50 days in office (after announcing the day before that she was "a fighter, not a quitter"), officially making her the shortest serving Prime Minister in UK history.
Fun pub quiz question though, if the question is, who was PM when Queen Elizabeth II died, the answer is Liz Truss. Even the Queen had enough of her bullshit.
She was then replaced by Rishi Sunak, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Johnson government and oversaw furlough, Covid support, and the "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme. This scheme offered 50% discounts in restaurants across the UK, with the government subsidising the other 50%, to try get people eating out after Covid, so he was actually fairly popular. However, as PM, he was viewed as a bit of a milquetoast technocrat, who was regularly pushed about by the quite powerful backbench right-wing nutjob ERG wing of the Conservative party. He also oversaw the continued downfall of the Conservative party in public opinion polls, with a few polls suggesting that at one point, the Conservatives could be left with as little as 8 or 9 seats!
Eventually, the calls for an election, opinion polls, party strife, defections, and more controversies, Rishi Sunak in the rain outside of Downing Street (without an umbrella or using the nice room inside Downing Street specifically built for pressers) announced that an election would be held, knowing almost fine well that his party would be destroyed at the polls, which they were.
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Comment on What is happening outside the US? in ~talk
SpruceWillis Link ParentIt's the opposite for us, after Christmas and New Year it's absolutely relentless for birthdays, anniversaries, events etc from February until August then it chills out for a bit, it's crazy haha....It's the opposite for us, after Christmas and New Year it's absolutely relentless for birthdays, anniversaries, events etc from February until August then it chills out for a bit, it's crazy haha.
I'm definitely enjoying the quiet while I can!
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Comment on What is happening outside the US? in ~talk
SpruceWillis (edited )Link ParentWe had a bit of a spate of them in the UK at one point. The Conservatives under David Cameron won a small majority of seats in the 2015 election which took place, as expected, 5 years after the...- Exemplary
We had a bit of a spate of them in the UK at one point. The Conservatives under David Cameron won a small majority of seats in the 2015 election which took place, as expected, 5 years after the previous election in 2010 where they won power from the incumbent Labour government led by Gordon Brown.
However, after the Brexit referendum in 2016 Cameron quit as PM and Theresa May took over. She decided to consolidate her position in 2017 and called a snap election (resulting in this viral exchange where poor old Brenda exclaims "You're joking, not another one!"). This election actually resulted in a hung parliament so she actually ended up with less seats than they had before and the Conservatives had to enter a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP, a unionist party from Northern Ireland, to give themselves the ability to pass legislation.
When May quit in 2019 we ended up with Boris Johnson as PM who called another snap election that year which resulted in a large 80-seat majority for the Conservatives until the election this year when the Conservatives lost and Labour got into power with a huge landslide victory gaining 211 seats in the process, with the Conservatives losing 251!
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Comment on What is happening outside the US? in ~talk
SpruceWillis LinkNothing to be honest, which is nice. I'm sure there are things of course but after 14 years of the Tories in the UK, I'm just glad for a bit of relative peace and quiet. Even personally there's...Nothing to be honest, which is nice. I'm sure there are things of course but after 14 years of the Tories in the UK, I'm just glad for a bit of relative peace and quiet.
Even personally there's not much happening, quiet time of year just before Christmas, even work isn't too crazy at the moment.
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Comment on Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of November 4 in ~society
SpruceWillis Link ParentI agree, I'm in the UK, and I'm normally a Scottish National Party voter as I generally agree with their political views but their recent issues and corruption was massively off putting so I...I agree, I'm in the UK, and I'm normally a Scottish National Party voter as I generally agree with their political views but their recent issues and corruption was massively off putting so I wanted to punish them in some way. I certainly don't agree with everything the Labour Party adhere to, less so than the SNP, but a Lid Dem vote would've been wasted and I wasn't going to let good be the enemy of perfect to ensure the Conservatives were brutally kicked out of government.
I voted Labour as a tactical vote and my constituency which was leaning heavily toward an SNP hold switched to a comfortable, but not landslide, Labour win.
Sometimes it works out and this time it did, which was nice after not being on the successful side of a single election or referendum in the UK since I came of voting age (2010 election, Alternate Vote Referendum, Scottish Independence Referendum, 2015 election, Brexit Referendum, 2017 election, and 2019 election).
I bought Trading Card Shop Simulator the other day and have been having a blast with it.
I love building up my shop, buying trading card booster packs, toys, board games, D20's etc. and having people buy tons and tons of stuff. Putting tables in as well so people come in and play against each other for a bit is cool. Funniest thing is having to spray smelly customers with deodorant.
Also the dopamine hit you get after buying packs of cards, opening them rather than putting them on the shelf and finding rare cards is fun.
Whole games a blast, seems like the dev is really communicative as well and has a great roadmap planned for the game, including eventually allowing you to play the actual card game "Terramon" at some point.
I've not installed any mods yet but I've heard there's mods to change the card game to Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, or Magic the Gathering.