Seemingly trivial things that cheer you up

rjsterry

Watching drone racing FPV videos. Not sure why, but a part of my brain really likes it.

bompington

On my way home last night, I was passed - very close, very fast - by an Audi who overtook in the face of an oncoming car last night.

Seconds later, he ploughed - quite hard - into the high-banked grass verge, bouncing off fairly violently before heading on his merry way.

Was he distracted by an umpteen giga-lumen helmet mounted light pointing directly at his rear-vew mirror?

Well I couldn't possibly know the answer to that, could I?

surrey_commuter

There are 300 Tory MPs out there who now know that Boris thinks they are potentially more disastrous than Grayling

awavey

as I regularly complain about bad passes, it seems quite nice to be cheerful about a good pass today.

just riding my normal route, wind assisted, so was comfortably motoring along at a decent speed, could hear a car was following me but not closely and I wasnt that fussed about it as most times even at wind assist speed it doesnt make a difference anyway so I didnt bother looking back to see what was going on or why they werent overtaking, just you notice right on a road you constantly get overtaked on normally, and yet minutes are ticking by and theres nothing happening, but you can still hear the traffic, and I wasnt blocking them, just protecting myself through pinch points

1.8 miles later they finally made their overtake as the road widened up and they still gave me plenty of room, it was a learner driver, under tuition I assume as I dont think my route is a normal test route.

there is hope in the world

bompington

For those of you that know Minesweeper: basically, my life is now complete

mrfpb

Some "young people" are now referring to Coronavirus as "The Boomer Remover"

pblakeney

Waiting for the time when today’s youngsters moan about millennials having it easy “what with getting an actual education”.
Dark humour is required in dark times. 😉

ballysmate

pblakeney said:

Waiting for the time when today’s youngsters moan about millennials having it easy “what with getting an actual education”.
Dark humour is required in dark times. 😉

My parents' generation spent 6 years fighting a world war, people today losing their 5h1t for being asked to sit on their ar5e for 3 months.

pinno

Perhaps quite a few of the younger generations need a bit of hardship.
My OH (bless her) moans when silly things go wrong temporarily - internet down etc etc.
I have always said 'come, we'll go live in Kenya for 6 months'.

coopster_the_1st

Costa Coffee told all their employees earlier this week* that their wages were still going to be paid even if their stores were shutdown.

Companies that are like this should be called out for looking after their employees and remembered by the consumer when we are on the other side of this.

*This was before the announcement on Friday by the government on wages

pinno

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

coopster_the_1st

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

Right now on this, I don't care. What I do care about is the 10+ people I know, some reasonably well, who don't have to worry about if they will be paid.

I will happily move my custom to any business that treats their employees correctly over the next few months and conversely move my custom away from any business that takes the pi$$

pinno

coopster_the_1st said:

I will happily move my custom to any business that treats their employees correctly over the next few months and conversely move my custom away from any business that takes the pi$$

...and tax avoidance isn't taking the pi$$?
Very commendable Costa. However, they are in a position to do this, they can afford it and the long term future of coffee shops is certain.
It would make no economic sense to lay employees off and then advertise and recruit, then retrain employees in say, 4 months time.
I wonder what percentage of their staff are on part-time wages, who are not net contributors to the national pot.

I'm also wondering if this has a heaped tablespoon or two of PR and immediately, the likes of yourself are suckered in.

coopster_the_1st

pinno said:

coopster_the_1st said:

I will happily move my custom to any business that treats their employees correctly over the next few months and conversely move my custom away from any business that takes the pi$$

I'm also wondering if this has a heaped tablespoon or two of PR and immediately, the likes of yourself are suckered in.

It probably does have a PR element to it and I am aware of that. However, I am happy to accept that for the greater good this is doing for their employees.

pblakeney

coopster_the_1st said:

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

Right now on this, I don't care. What I do care about is the 10+ people I know, some reasonably well, who don't have to worry about if they will be paid.

I will happily move my custom to any business that treats their employees correctly over the next few months and conversely move my custom away from any business that takes the pi$$

Let's see if I understand this correctly.
You are concerned about friends financial welfare.
You are not concerned by family members dying.
Weird.

coopster_the_1st

pblakeney said:

coopster_the_1st said:

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

Right now on this, I don't care. What I do care about is the 10+ people I know, some reasonably well, who don't have to worry about if they will be paid.

I will happily move my custom to any business that treats their employees correctly over the next few months and conversely move my custom away from any business that takes the pi$$

Let's see if I understand this correctly.
You are concerned about friends financial welfare.
You are not concerned by family members dying.
Weird.

Your understanding is incorrect

pblakeney

coopster_the_1st said:

pblakeney said:

coopster_the_1st said:

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

Right now on this, I don't care. What I do care about is the 10+ people I know, some reasonably well, who don't have to worry about if they will be paid.

I will happily move my custom to any business that treats their employees correctly over the next few months and conversely move my custom away from any business that takes the pi$$

Let's see if I understand this correctly.
You are concerned about friends financial welfare.
You are not concerned by family members dying.
Weird.

Your understanding is incorrect

You best rewrite some of your posts then.

coopster_the_1st

pblakeney said:

coopster_the_1st said:

pblakeney said:

coopster_the_1st said:

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

Right now on this, I don't care. What I do care about is the 10+ people I know, some reasonably well, who don't have to worry about if they will be paid.

I will happily move my custom to any business that treats their employees correctly over the next few months and conversely move my custom away from any business that takes the pi$$

Let's see if I understand this correctly.
You are concerned about friends financial welfare.
You are not concerned by family members dying.
Weird.

Your understanding is incorrect

You best rewrite some of your posts then.

Pragmatism not panic!

pblakeney

Caring does not equal panic, nor pragmatism.

briantrumpet

ballysmate said:

pblakeney said:

Waiting for the time when today’s youngsters moan about millennials having it easy “what with getting an actual education”.
Dark humour is required in dark times. 😉

My parents' generation spent 6 years fighting a world war, people today losing their 5h1t for being asked to sit on their ar5e for 3 months.

The thing that really galls me is that my mum's generation, that went through a world war for five years, and nine more years of post-war rationing, are the ones who are most likely to die if we screw this up, and are being asked to spend a long chunk of what's left of their lives shut away from others. And then there's a whole load of people saying 'screw you, we're going to party!"

Sorry, that's not trivial, doesn't cheer me up, and should be in the CV-19 thread.

Stevo_666

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

To be fair to Costa, they are not involved in any Amazon style tactics that I am aware of. They are headquartered in that well known tax haven Dunstable and were part of the UK based Whitbread Group until a year or so ago when the Coca-Cola Company bought them.

orraloon

Indeed, perhaps OP was confusing Costa with Starbucks. Back in the day when they still brewed beers as well as did other things like TGIF and PizzaHut I worked for several years for Whitbread. Means I have one of those old school style final salary pensions which for some obscure reason starting paying me when I hit 50, years after I had left. Bless 'em.

However as dem 'Mericans have bought Costa, for sure tax dodging will be the new modus vivendi.

Pross

Stevo_666 said:

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

To be fair to Costa, they are not involved in any Amazon style tactics that I am aware of. They are headquartered in that well known tax haven Dunstable and were part of the UK based Whitbread Group until a year or so ago when the Coca-Cola Company bought them.

There you go, spoiling a rant with facts!

Stevo_666

orraloon said:

Indeed, perhaps OP was confusing Costa with Starbucks. Back in the day when they still brewed beers as well as did other things like TGIF and PizzaHut I worked for several years for Whitbread. Means I have one of those old school style final salary pensions which for some obscure reason starting paying me when I hit 50, years after I had left. Bless 'em.

However as dem 'Mericans have bought Costa, for sure tax dodging will be the new modus vivendi.

If Coronavirus isn't enough, we now have a major outbreak of sweeping generalisation-itis

Stevo_666

Pross said:

Stevo_666 said:

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

To be fair to Costa, they are not involved in any Amazon style tactics that I am aware of. They are headquartered in that well known tax haven Dunstable and were part of the UK based Whitbread Group until a year or so ago when the Coca-Cola Company bought them.

There you go, spoiling a rant with facts!

I see it as a public service

coopster_the_1st

More and more people are becoming Brexiteers without knowing it

We have people in rural communities complaining about outsiders(Londoners in this instance) coming into their community and risking overwhelming their critical services. All the Londoners are doing is exercising their right to free movement and moving to somewhere better.

pinno

Pross said:

Stevo_666 said:

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

To be fair to Costa, they are not involved in any Amazon style tactics that I am aware of. They are headquartered in that well known tax haven Dunstable and were part of the UK based Whitbread Group until a year or so ago when the Coca-Cola Company bought them.

There you go, spoiling a rant with facts!

What 'rant'?

...and of course, Coca-cola are deemed one of the worst tax avoiders.

https://www.rt.com/uk/437334-coca-cola-costa-coffee-takeover/

morstar

coopster_the_1st said:

More and more people are becoming Brexiteers without knowing it

We have people in rural communities complaining about outsiders(Londoners in this instance) coming into their community and risking overwhelming their critical services. All the Londoners are doing is exercising their right to free movement and moving to somewhere better.

That’s almost a clever analogy until you realise you’ve confused parasitic behaviour with mutually beneficial behaviour.

orraloon

Ach ignore the Botster. 72yo (allegedly - quite why Leningrad would choose that...?) so that one will be bye-bye soon enough.

Stevo_666

pinno said:

Pross said:

Stevo_666 said:

pinno said:

Costa and the likes of Amazon can afford to do that given their elaborate tax avoidance schemes.

To be fair to Costa, they are not involved in any Amazon style tactics that I am aware of. They are headquartered in that well known tax haven Dunstable and were part of the UK based Whitbread Group until a year or so ago when the Coca-Cola Company bought them.

There you go, spoiling a rant with facts!

What 'rant'?

...and of course, Coca-cola are deemed one of the worst tax avoiders.

https://www.rt.com/uk/437334-coca-cola-costa-coffee-takeover/

Do you have any reliable evidence that Costa has suddenly started avoiding tax? Because there is none in that link to the notoriously unbiased rt.com...