Goafer

One thing that bothers me about flats is leasehold and the fact that you presumably wouldn't own the land that the flat is on. Even if the lease is longer than you'll live, it could still effect the resale value of you ever decided to move again and the lease is significantly shorter than when you bought it. It almost feels like a ticking clock to me. My parents bought their flat and whilst it's a lovely flat (it's not in a block of flats, it's more of a maisonette), it does have a lease. As an only child, I'm set to inherit it, so whilst I'm not anticipating it happening anytime soon, I do worry if it'll end up being an extra thing to worry about when it comes to deciding what to do with it. That said, it's in such a nice area that I may end up moving back in if the area stays nice. Hopefully that's decades away though, so not really something I've thought about in depth.

For me, it depends on the type of game. I play 3 main types: Action/Adventure: About 8 hours RPG: anything up to 100 hours Racing: Doesn't really matter, as I can race the same tracks and collect cars until I get bored.

Our house was a proper dump when we bought it. Our living room had what we effectionately named Catpiss Corner. The house had been vacant for a few months when we got the keys, but Catpiss Corner was so saturated that the carpet was still wet when we took it up. The previous owner had also sealed the attic, presumably to stop the tenant from smoking weed up there, as we found a bong and other items when we finally got it open. Thankfully, there was room in our budget to redecorate every room and we were in no hurry to actually move in. Spent a couple of months doing it up and I think we got it looking good, if I do say so myself.

Yup. Me and my partner were on very low wages at the time. Our house cost £135,000 and the most we could borrow was about £160,000. We've both changed jobs since then and both earn quite a bit more now. Whilst we're not rolling in money, we're pretty comfortable because the mortgage was set up when we were so "poor". We don't live in a bad area either. I'll admit, we did get lucky with our house though. It's a weird pocket of absurdly cheap houses, mainly because they're ex MOD. 3 bedroom house on the edge of the Cotswolds though, so can't complain. Couldn't even get a flat in the nearest town for what we paid.

If I remember right, we were offered about 15% more when we actually spoke to someone. Not sure if that's normal or if we didn't do the online calculator correctly.

The view from my friend's front door: They've been evacuated from their house and are staying with friends. We could see the smoke from here, several towns over. Crazy stuff.

Any camera with manual controls will give you better photos than a phone. Cameras have got to the point now where any bad reviews are generally just nitpicking. My advice: get any camera that is supported by a wide range of good quality lenses. That will be what you'll want to upgrade in the future and it'll be what makes the most difference. The camera body itself isn't really a big issue and you shouldn't stress too much over it. I would always recommend Canon, Nikon or Sony, as they all have a great lens catalogue, but I'm pretty out if the loop nowadays. That said, lenses don't really age like camera bodies do. A great lens from 30 years ago will still be a great lens today (assuming it's in good condition). TLDR: get any camera with manual controls and learn how to use it, then upgrade lenses if you want to. Skills make good photos, not cameras.

Oculus are giving Quest 2 owners free silicone face pads to address complaints of allergic reactions to the foam ones. Given that the sponge one absorbs sweat like, well, a sponge, it's a godsend. Anyone with a Quest 2 should check the My Devices tab on their account to see if they can get one. It's saved me having to buy one.

The bottom one looks about what I'd expect from Polaroid. The other two do seem like there's something wrong. Could be expired or incompatible film. I tried for ages to get my original Polaroid camera working with some film I managed to get hold of, but I just couldn't. I haven't looked into Polaroid for about 10 years now, but the film that was on offer back then was a bit shit, as people were just starting to manufacture it again and basically just experimenting until they could recreate the original films. I'd try a different brand of film and see what happens. Unfortunately any film photography is basically trial and error, so it does usually involve some wasted money.

Well that certainly went places. Could have just saved yourself a lot of time and just wrote "Wake up sheeple" like the rest of the conspiracy nuts. This conversation is ultimately pointless. Best to just go our separate ways and let natural selection decide who's right.

Ironically, some evidence suggests that Covid itself is more likely to cause lower sperm counts in men than the vaccine. Source.

I don't. Which is why I turn to those who do, the scientists. They say getting the vaccine is what will save lives so I believe them. They've done far more research than any of us, so they are THE people to believe. If you genuinely think you, or anyone else, know more than the scientists who have dedicated the last few years to researching this pandemic, then that is a level of arrogance that is impossible to argue against, so I'll just leave you to your "me and mine" attitude and continue to do what I believe is right.

Can't believe I have to say it, but caring about others is the right thing to do? And to be clear, it's the people who CAN'T have the vaccine that need protecting, not the people that WON'T. The more people get vaccinated, the more those people are protected by proxy.

Maybe it was something that was hinted at in the trials, but isn't proving true in the general rollout? A quick Google also seems to suggest the second Pfizer is the worst, but it seems the opposite from what people are saying, including my own experience. What was fun was being told that new research shows that there's a small chance of myocarditis or pericarditis. After looking it up, it's a negligible chance, but they were vague enough to make me think about it until I could research what "small chance" actually meant and how serious those conditions were. Turns out 300 cases in 177m vaccines and generally not serious. Would have been nice to have been told that by them though.

Got my second jab on Friday and, despite being told at both jabs that the second one is the one that sucks the most, the side effects seem to be fairly mild. Same sore arm as before, but the flu like symptoms actually seem milder this time.

I have one of those face coverings that's basically a cloth tube. I've soaked it in water and am now wearing it like a hat. I look ridiculous, but my head is legitimately a bit cold. I strongly recommend it. Basically like this, except mine isn't as long, so it's not on my back or neck: Would probably work with other hats, but the cloth of the face covering is pretty thin, so it probably works a better, but needs resoaking more often.

Did the weekly shop last night and I was genuinely impressed by how many people were still wearing masks. It basically hasn't changed from when they were mandatory, with only a few people not wearing them (who may have been exempt TBF). It'll be interesting to see how many people keep it up though in the coming weeks/months.

I got an email saying that I'm now eligible to move mine, so I've now got it on Friday. Excellent.

Very happy with this if it works out. Amazon have allowed me to actually order it, so I assume that means they're expecting stock. Discovery has been impossible to get without paying silly eBay prices (usually £100+), but managed to order it for £22 from Amazon.

Get out of the road! It's ok, the roads were oddly quiet. Almost like there was a big event or something.

Managed the ride to Warwick again. Bit harder this time, but I just took it steady and plodded along at my own pace.

Had a nice trip out to the Zoo. We took our dog, so couldn't go in all the places, but that was mainly the indoor areas, which we thought it best to avoid anyway.

The Fitbit has done a good job of putting me back on track with my diet. Although I never wanted to log everything I ate, it's not actually as much of a pain in the arse as I thought, so it's working well. So well that I've lost half a stone in about a week. Can't imagine I'll maintain that rate, but it's a reassuring start and has given me the instant gratification I needed to get back into the old routine. In terms of fitness, I'm pretty much where I want to be. The 30 mile ride to Warwick and back the other week was surprisingly easy overall, and I didn't feel any ill effects afterwards. I can pretty much cycle for as long as I want, although I do go at a slow and steady pace.

I won't spoil it, but the end of season 3 is hype as fuck. But yeah, overall it's probably the weakest of the 3 seasons.

Best I can do is set it to the "Jul 1" format, but that involves having a specific watch face. Annoyingly, that face doesn't allow me to view stats such as heart rate etc on the clock screen, so it's not as useful. I've read about some people being able to change the date format by changing their region to a certain country, but I'd rather stick with actual English. Plus not everyone reports it as working.