Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@themcnoisy That reminds me of the debate on additional markers for measuring a country's wealth, such as happiness and general quality of life. The pandemic has really brought a lot of the issues to the surface, and people who previously weren't struggling now are.

@Ralizah Wages are quite low here, too, with high inequality, and there hasn't been much real-terms wage growth since the 2008 financial crisis. Ideally we should be in a higher wage, high-productivity society. It's unsurprising that the UK has low productivity compared to other G7 economies. It's not impossible for society to change, but there needs to be the political will to do so.

@Jimmer-jammer It's interesting how capitalism is often equated with freedom. It's not a linear spectrum, as even free market economies can be authoritarian and have poor human rights records. The route capitalism has gone down since the '80s has certainly warped it into the monstrous system we have today, but it's done damage throughout human history, particularly to poorer countries.

Nicknames... so does anybody else need a nickname?

@Th3solution well it ain’t short nor that catchy but @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy coined MrGameplayKing for me as I do love to harp on about the virtues of gameplay over pretty much every other aspect of gaming. I quite like it actually 🤫

@colonelkilgore The first Colonel who is also a King!

@Th3solution 😎/🥸

@Gadjo this is such a one sided juxtaposition and rightfully so. But what makes you think that people in the UK aren't exploited? Let me reassure you, we are. We don't have access to free oranges either.

I don't agree with the route capitalism has taken, people aged under 50 have a generally worse quality of life than the older generation. Most of the population fail to see the fruits of the '6th biggest economy in the world'. Yet here we are.

You will tar us with the same brush, but the reality is most of the people I know just want a nice meal and roof over their heads. And that's harder for most people now than twenty years ago.

@Gadjo in what way am I defending anything? I don't agree with our past in numerous ways. Capitalism is just that, capitalising on anything. That anything is currently the younger generation who have a significantly worse chance of a decent life than those before them.

Your father would have potentially had a better chance of a fair pension in the UK. But speaking from my personal point of view my own pension was reduced to pennies in 2008 and even now 13 years later still isn't the same. Geopolitics is insane and is routinely unfair, regional politics is were we suffer. Having millions in poverty isn't benefitting from colonial era policies.

I dunno I do like a good scotch @RogerRoger... And the name was just a mish-mash of random words so for all I know it could be after some tipple lol

@RogerRoger Pie. 😁 I also recommend Twin Peaks if its ever on somewhere @Th3solution!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Foxy sounds like a codename for an elite spy or assassin, who may happen to enjoy a fine scotch at a casino while scouting her mark. I've watched far too much James Bond!

...?! You know too much @RogerRoger! As does @mookysam!!! Next you two'll be blurting out the location of my super secret assassin lair!!!

... I've nothing to contribute to the twin peaks conversation beyond I watched two episodes (after my daughter bugged me to watch it) and honestly I found 'em pretty boring and the dropped the whole thing lol

@Kidfried Ah, I must have heard about her a long time ago. It's a good name! I liked Pam Grier in Jackie Brown.

@RogerRoger Pasta is an odd one for me, because I don't like spaghetti, but love rigatoni and penne. And don't get me started on tagliatelle. 🤢 Apparently shape impacts how well a sauce clings to it too.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Whoops, do I need to look into hiring some protection?

@Kidfried @RogerRoger As a connoisseur of desserts, I can say that cake is objectively better. But a good pie is certainly better than a bad cake. Cakes can easily be too dry and not have the right frosting-to-cake ratio and then the whole thing is a mess. Also, it depends on the pie. A good cherry pie or lemon meringue pie can trump a standard chocolate cake.

But I never thought about it, but “cheesecake” is really more of a pie, so I see the confusion there. 🤔

@Kidfried A pie is just typically something with a pastry case and sometimes things are called cakes that are really pies and vice-versa. Does Dutch have a separate word for savoury pies?

@Kidfried Lol, not sure if it’s a language thing or a culture thing, but either way I agree — it doesn’t always make sense. 😂

But yes, I would consider cheesecake more like a tart; cake has a flour-based breaded feel to the base and typically covered with frosting on top and often layers of it also on the inside. Cakes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, one variant being called a “cupcake” which just fits in your hand and can be consumed in a few bites. Pie does have a crust at the bottom (like cheesecake does), is circular and made in a specific pie pan and typically has a filling with a crust on the top. Lemon meringue pie is more of a tart and has a crust at the bottom but not on top, rather has a nice fluffy meringue on top.

The more I try to explain the difference, the more I realize it doesn’t always make sense! 😂

@Kidfried English is a strange language all round. There was actually a legal case some years back where for tax purposes the courts had to decide whether Jaffa Cakes are cakes or biscuits. Now I'm imagining a great legal battle on the differences between cakes and pies.

It really should be lemon meringue tart.

@Gadjo we are on the same side of the arguement, I am attempting to illustrate that the general population doesn't benefit from what happened way back when. I grew up in a terraced house surrounded by people with mental health issues, drug addiction and domestic violence. No money or hope at times. Capatalism benefits the rich as it will in your own country. Most of us here posting are into computer games as it's a getaway from life. As you are in another country it's difficult to comprehend that not everyone in England sips tea and eats crumpets at 3 in the afternoon - we are all working including our partners. The average wage is £27,500. Maybe that sounds a lot until you realise you only take home £21,000 after tax, rent is £700 a month. Gas and elecy is £200 a month. Fuel and a car are essential and you have bugger all left to do anything.

So no I wouldn't consider any of us here beneficiaries of the colonial system. And it's why there is such a big pushback against Boomers (Baby boomers born 1946-1964) who definitely did and have kept the wealth mostly to themselves. Then Gen X (65-80) who had a good fist of things. It all goes wrong after there.

I have literally just moved into a house which cost 2.8 times the amount it was first purchased for. In the same time inflation hasnt doubled yet. So with quick maths I have paid 1.55 times the amount for the same house. In other words a 20 year mortgage in the mid nighties becomes a 31 year mortgage. Also as @Mookysam mentioned we are in a weird situation, everything has a cost these days. Want football you need to hire a pitch, you need parking at a hospital its £7.50. A pack of ciggies that's £12. You need insurance for everything as well. So for a bit of perspective I replied to you.

In my own opinion something after capitalism will happen. You can fool people some of the time, but after 40 years of nonesense I and many others have had enough.

@themcnoisy I agree with you that something has to come next after capitalism, maybe a kind of luxury communism will eventually be possible, if more and more people can educate themselves about real world problems and vote accordingly. What I would also say though, is that capitalism works well up to a point. I've known quite a few people who used to live in communist countries, who have lived through the frustration of working hard and contributing to society, but seeing themselves unable to get out of poverty. They are overjoyed to be able to amass wealth, buy land, own a house, and control their own destiny in a capitalist system.

@themcnoisy I think mixing it in with socialistic systems won't make it any better. History has shown that the rich will always be around. Any country that has tried any form of government always has the rich, and those that have control of the wealth more directly will still hand the rich their portion and be part of them. They have power and won't just let it go, or someone will claim power which is why so many revolutions end with a dictator despite the cause being freedom (we got lucky in that George Washington just wanted to live his own life, he didn't want to govern, but did it because he felt America needed him - he easily could have chosen to be king and no one was gonna be able stop him. Heck, after not getting paid the army was practically asking to him to do it.). It's human nature. If we come to a point where people are willing to share, take care of each other, and not freeload out of the goodness of their hearts - the economic system won't matter so much. And that's why the communistic ideal will never happen by government. If the right people are there for it the government aspect becomes unnecessary. If you don't have the right people for it fails like always. You can't force people be to good, you can only provide them with opportunities to work with.

@Wesker @Jaz007 I dont think it will be communism ROFL.

Something new. A system we don't know about yet. It's the sight of so many homeless people on the streets which gets me. The housing situation has to change it's not right that a 25 year old is paying an extra 11 years mortgage compared to their older relatives (suffice the rise in 30/35/40 year mortgages).