University degrees that could harm your career prospects - "The average university degree leaves graduates with £45,000 in debt, which they only start paying off once their salary exceeds £27,295. But laying to one side the quirkier courses, which are only offered by particular universities, research has revealed the degrees which are the worst value for money in 2023, a list which includes academic staples such as English Literature...
University course Average salary, 5 years after graduation
Photography £24,242
Translation £24,581
Criminology £24,637
Fine Art £25,015
Public Administration £25,640
Music £25,667
Film £25,769
English Literature £26,172
Fashion £26,253
Tourism Management £26,555...
some of these “Mickey Mouse degrees” lead to lower salaries on average than they did a year ago. Translation graduates, for instance, can expect to earn £234 a year less than they did in 2022... some have bucked this trend. Ben Galyas who studied fine arts at Chelsea College of Arts, a constituent of UAL, now earns over £100,000 a year plus bonuses. However, the 28-year-old has not carved out a lucrative living by becoming a professional artist, instead taking a sales job connecting media and tech businesses. But Mr Galyas said “being able to articulate difficult or intangible concepts is genuinely helpful in business”. He explains: “Fine art is probably the only degree that’s largely discourse-led – very little dictatorial teaching and obviously no exams – which definitely helps in a sales job.”... 40pc of university degrees do not lead to an average salary above £30,000 within five years – the same proportion as last year. Of the 83 degrees included, 13 did not exceed the student loan repayment threshold within that period... “By going to higher education and taking on debt, students did what society told them would bring them a graduate premium. Now it seems that graduates get to keep the debt but not the pay premium promised.”"
Clearly, since education always makes society better off, the government should not just be offering degrees free but paying students to study
Retailers use ‘decoy effect’ to lure consumers into buying pricier products: study - "Also known as the attraction or asymmetric dominance effect, the decoy effect happens when consumers are offered different options for a particular product, and are naturally nudged toward a pricier choice. For example, a half-carat diamond might be priced at $3,000, while a higher quality one-carat diamond is $10,000. But if the seller also offers a 1.05-carat diamond for $9,500 — in other words, higher quality for a lower price — it entices the consumer to compare the two more expensive products, and increases the chances they’ll opt for the better deal. (In this instance, the 1.05-carat diamond is referred to as the “dominating” option, while the one-carat option is the “decoy.”)... the study found the decoy effect not only boosts sales; it increases the retailer’s gross profit by 14.3 percent... The decoy strategy is used in everything from magazine subscriptions to food sales; however, Dr. Wu says diamonds were the perfect product to study because other consumer items have different attributes – such as different packaging and different branding, which makes them hard to compare in an “apples-to-apples” way. “The diamond market is ideal for this type of research because quality is universally determined by physical attributes,” says Dr. Wu, pointing to what the industry calls “the four Cs”: cut, carat weight, colour and clarity. “So, the physical attributes are the same, they’re the same quality, and they’re from the same marketplace. So, it’s very simple for consumers to compare which ones are better and which are worse.” What’s more, because there are so many diamonds available on online marketplaces such as Blue Nile, James Allen and White Flash, it’s easy to see a pattern of dominating and decoy options."
Google HR laid off while interviewing candidate for a job role, says ‘call got disconnected suddenly’ - "In an unexpected turn of events, a Google HR employee discovered that he had been fired while on call with a candidate. Dan Lanigan Ryan, a recruiter for Morgan McKinley at Google's Dublin office, learned that he had been fired when his ongoing call with one of his candidates abruptly ended."
The Wolf of Franchises 馃崯 on Twitter - "CHICK-FIL-A HAS DONE IT AGAIN. Their 2022 financials were just released, with an average revenue per location of $8,580,978 馃馃 The lowest performing store still earned $2.1M... For context - that means the *worst* CFA still outperformed the average Burger King by ~$600k 馃槀"
Adult star-turned-data scientist: I had more sex than showers in 2022 - "The mononymous Aella — once OnlyFan’s top-grossing star with a reported monthly income of $100,000 — told her 130,000 followers on Twitter that she only showered 37 times last year... By her own account, Aella engaged in about twice the amount of sex as she did showers, with 63 sexual encounters last year. In fact, she did a lot of other things more than bathing last year... the average American adult takes roughly 145 showers annually, according to a 2021 Harvard survey. “Yep, I try not to disturb my natural skin microbiome too much,” Aella responded to Twitter’s clean critics. “If I shower too often I seem to stink more! I regularly use a bidet and spot-wash my armpits and genitals tho.” The influencer added that she also washes her face and brushes her teeth daily, and changes her sheets twice per month... Despite the controversy, these bold claims are backed by science. Dermatologists “don’t recommend a prolonged bath or daily showers,” according to Manhattan derm Dr. Julie Russak, who told The Post that lathering in hot water “really removes and destroys the skin’s microbiome,” which plays a role in protecting the skin and is “also extremely important in overall health of the body.” “There has to be a healthy balance,” Russak advised, adding one simple rule of thumb: “When you smell, it’s time to take a shower.”"
Spain Is Outraged Because a 68-Year-Old TV Star Had a Surrogate Baby With Son’s Sperm - "The 68-year-old TV actress Ana Obreg贸n has shocked Spain after having a granddaughter via surrogacy using the sperm of her dead son. Surrogacy is illegal in Spain, and many in politics and the media refer to it as ‘womb renting’. Obreg贸n, who is famous in Spain, lost her only son, Aless Lequio Garc铆a, 27, to cancer in 2020. She revealed this week in an interview with Spanish magazine ¡Hola! that she adopted a baby girl born abroad who was biologically her granddaughter. The baby is called Ana Sandra... Much of the scrutiny Obreg贸n has received stems from the highly critical views many in Spanish media and politics hold over gestational surrogacy. Equality Minister Irene Montero, of the left-wing United We Can coalition partner, said “we recognise it as a form of violence against women.”"
The "myth" of the slippery slope strikes again
How to Spot Signs of Burnout Culture Before You Accept a Job - "According to a study by the University of California, Berkeley, Rutgers, and Deakin University, there are six main causes of workplace burnout.
Unsustainable workload
Perceived lack of control
Insufficient rewards for effort
Lack of a supportive community
Lack of fairness
Mismatched values and skills...
There are some words and phrases in online ads that should be considered flashing warning lights to those trying to avoid potential job burnout. Here are some examples:
High-performance culture: Some people thrive in highly demanding jobs, but just about everyone requires a supportive environment to make it work for more than a few months straight.
Ability to handle stress: Any employer that mentions “stress” in a help-wanted ad is probably someone you want to avoid, especially if it’s phrased like “you have to be able to handle a stressful environment.” That indicates that they already know their employees are burning out, and they blame their workers instead of considering it a workplace problem.
Able to work under pressure: See above.
Looking for a “rock star” or a “ninja”: I hate seeing this phrase in a job listing, unless M枚tley Cr眉e is looking a new bass player. Actual rock stars are generally not good at quarterly planning meetings, attending Wednesday HR trainings, or filing. (Neither are ninjas.) Employers who use these kind of descriptors in their ads are being unclear about the qualifications they’re actually looking for. It reads to me like, “we want someone we can take advantage of.”
We’re like a family: This could indicated a workplace without proper boundaries. My family doesn’t pay me to show up, but they do inspire a different kind of loyalty and commitment than a workplace has a right to expect.
No mention of salary: As career coach Leah Tillyer, told Yahoo News: “If there’s no salary in the job adverts this can mean there isn’t an open and fair culture around pay… if it’s office-based work with no flexibility this is usually an environment lacking in trust.”
An ad that’s been there forever: If you notice the same position advertised for a long time, it could be indicating a poison pill job that no one wants. Or it could be a “ghost job” that isn’t real anyway."
School bans Tag and asks pupils to play games 'rooted in love' instead - "A school has temporarily banned children from playing tag - a policy branded "health and safety gone mad" by a parent. Manston St James CofE Primary Academy in Leeds has declared all games involving physical contact off-limits for the time being. While hugging and high-fives are still allowed, the new policy considers rough play and other activities involving more physical contact... Bright Horizons nurseries, one of Britain's largest nursery school groups, has been slammed by some parents for introducing in his handbook a series of pieces of advice on how to bring up daughters. These include stopping and reflecting before "falling into a pattern of praising a girl's appearance" or labelling her behaviour as "good". A mother of a child at a nursery in Kent received the handbook by email and said: "Bright Horizons is dictating to parents their own political views on how to raise their children."... Swansea University has been accused of cutting links with Christian heritage after renaming its Michaelmas and Lent terms for secular alternatives."
Meme - "To new beginnings. A one-bedroom apartment with stainless steel appliances in a gated community. Fitness center and meals included! *prison cell*"
Iran passes ‘pedophilia’ law to let men marry adopted girls - "Iran lawmakers passed a measure — in a bill aimed at protecting the rights of children, no less — that allows for men to marry their adopted daughters, so long as the girls are at least 13 years old... Girls in the Muslim nation already can marry when they’re 13 years old, with the OK of their fathers. Girls who aren’t yet 13 also can marry legally but must obtain the permission of a judge. The union of stepchildren with stepparents is currently forbidden by law... The Iranian news site Tabnak estimates that 42,000 children between the ages of 10 and 14 were married in 2010 — and another 75 children under the age of 10 were forced to wed in Tehran in that same year."
From 2013
Meme - "Facebook staff laughing at my memes before blocking me for 30 days:"
Meme - "After your third 30 day ban, you must face the boss of FB Community Standards *Fat woman with horn-rimmed glasses, super short hair, bushy eyebrows, pink eyeshadow/lipstick, piercings, a nose ring, a double chin*"
Meme - "In Orlando today. I took a pic because if I said traffic was blocked by a one legged chic in a wheel chair with her big ole titties hanging out, no one would have believed me."
Meme - B.Symonee @BrianaSymoneee: "My aunt called me crying I asked, whats wrong. She say "God is too good " she kept saying "God Is too good." She crying louder, so I asked again what was wrong & she gone say "You know I owed the Landlord $5,600 in rent?" I told her yea she said "She just died" God is good""
Meme - Josh Olson @ @joshuarolson: "I've been obsessed with random unnecessary quotation marks since I was a kid. This is easily the most terrifying example. 'TIMMY TAKES A TRIP WITH "OFFICER" SANDUSKY'"
Meme - *Tombeau* "Famille ANGLES. Attention: angles morts"
Meme - "Honey I can't do it, if someone is watching"
"It's just The cat"
*Cat behind camera*: "Don't speak! More passion!"
Meme - Robby: "at the hospitel n my grandpa is still sick n i have to watch him fuckin a man tonite is gunna suck"
Mason: "Hey roby, think a comma would help here."
Robby: "Dats fucked up man my grandpa already sick n the last thing he need is to be put in a comma fuck you man"
Meme - "I'm sorry about your Aunt May. We did everything we could"
"How did she die, Doc?"
"She should've informed us about her butt plug and nipples piercings before the MRI scan..."
Meme - "60-70% of all elderly couples still engage in oral sex"
"SHUT UP"
Meme - "Paris in real life *Industrial Orthanc*
Paris in Ratatouille *Rivendell*"
Meme - "When she tells you she loves "movies where you need a tissue""
"OMG, ME TOO!"
Meme - ">fantasy setting has magic and flying creatures
>still using horses as main transportation"
">setting has nuclear energy
>still using coal as main energy source"
Or worse: the sun and wind
Meme - "Lisa narrating: what if we just got naked
It's easy."
"That time CNN did a segment on a virgin 4channer and the reporter felt so bad for him that she stripped"
Meme - "I think it's impossible to feel happy and sad at the same time..."
"Out of all your brothers, you are the best in bed."
Grace on Twitter - "donating my body to science so those dork virgin scientists can see what a perfect pair of tits looks like at least once in their lives"
Meme - "Daniel Radcliffe attend son premier enfant"
"Il a fait son gosse tout seul apparemment"
"quand un chef reussi un plat on felicite pas le four"
Meme - "Hill: people say that cats are the perfect pets to teach consent, but that's not true. Cats aren't about consent when it comes to affection, they're selfish. Of course if it doesn't want to be pet, it will let you know, and you should respect that, and give it its space. But when IT wants affection, it will stop at nothing to get what it wants. It will bother you, interrupt your work, force you to pet it, and come back no matter how many times you move it away. If anything, they teach that consent only goes one way"
Meme - "When you finally see the 'shoulder' that your male friend said he'll give you to cry on *penis*"
BBC Radio 4 - Best of Today, What next for Scottish independence? - "‘The Scottish Parliament can introduce legislation. If you don't then get that section 30 order do you go ahead with a vote anyway?’
‘Well, we have said we will proceed with the referendum because that's the instruction that people of Scotland and really that vetoes any idea of a veto coming from elsewhere to try and stop the referendum. The democratic will of the people of Scotland will be observed’...
‘Can we find a way of explaining to people the facts about what independence means and I would challenge Nicola Sturgeon. She's had years to think about this, tell us what independence means, the benefits. And tell us the costs. Tell us about the pound. Tell us about the pension. Tell us about the border. Tell us about quantitative easing. None of these questions have been answered. And every time you ask her, she says we're going to produce a plan sometime. We actually should have answers to these questions by now.’...
‘I was totally disengaged from politics. I was actually gonna vote no. And my mum took me to an event where Nicola Sturgeon was speaking. First time I ever went to anything political. And something shifted in my brain that night. It was something I can pinpoint, it was like those moments that just change, your life course just changes.’
‘It seems like almost a religious conversion.’
‘Absolutely not. No. I was like, I went that night, and I'd kind of been a bit lost and know what I want to do with my life. And I finally had a bit of a purpose that was like, do you know what, I really believe in this, I really believe in these things that they're saying and I really believe in the mission.’"
‘This is why the SNP’s opponents were so frustrated in this election campaign, when debates about schools roads, drugs were all wrapped up in the mission’
From 2021. All Scottish independence referenda are good, even if illegal. But the Brexit referendum was bad
BBC Radio 4 - Best of Today, Scottish election 2021: Meet the party leaders - "‘You are in terms of your job as a dentist. Any read across to politics?’
‘Well, you know, nobody likes their dentist and nobody really likes politicians. So that perhaps I'm just a glutton for punishment.’...
‘My question to you is, why you would occupy so much time at a time of a series of emergencies. You can't do both at the same time, can you? There is a limit to the bandwidth of politics and the bandwidth of government.’
‘There's a limit to the number of people we're willing to see die to the incompetence of the Westminster Tories, you know into things like their harsh, inhuman, DWP assessment, benefits assessments, mishandling of the pandemic, the Home Office, making life more miserable and dangerous for refugees. There's only so much of this we can see, only so much of this human misery dished out by Westminster that we can see before we say we got to go another way.’...
‘Our priority must be recovery and rebuilding, protecting jobs, investing in our NHS, recruiting more teachers in Scotland because we've seen a huge reduction since the SNP came to power. But I go back to my point the SNP said they would ignore that despite saying the previous referendum was the gold standard. They've said they would go ahead with an illegal wildcard referendum’"
Ahh.. deflection (I wonder how they would deal with various issues without English money if they went independent). And given how Scotland messed up care homes, it's rich to criticise the Tories for mishandling the pandemic
BBC Radio 4 - Best of Today, SNP to announce Nicola Sturgeon's successor - "‘Essentially since the SNP came to power, the attainment according in Scotland according to the Pisa studies has more or less steadily declined in reading, mathematics and then science. And that's been a steady decline. There was a slight uptick in reading between 2015 and 18 but all that did was take it back to the position in 2012... one of the problems in assessing explanations is that another thing regrettably that the present Scottish government has done is removed almost all the statistical measures by which a valid rigorous evaluation of policies can be done but as far as can be plausibly suggested in relation to research that's been done elsewhere probably the new curriculum is the explanation… the evidence is now that the curriculum, the so-called curriculum for excellence is less challenging to students, it has produced a narrower curriculum especially in the middle years of secondary school and that it has in fact despite the admirable aspirations of narrowing inequality of attainment has probably in certain respects widened inequality of attainment’...
‘We want to see more women coming through in those sectors to enable innovation, to thrive. Innovation thrives in our diverse gender environment so we really need to start to see progress in some of those areas’"
Damn Tories sabotaging education in Scotland!
Luckily in Scotland they know that standardised tests are useless in measuring educational outcomes and concentrate on inculcating a love for learning, which is priceless
Clearly diversity is the way to improve outcomes
Nicola Sturgeon arrest: Humza Yousaf urged to suspend predecessor from SNP - "Nicola Sturgeon must be suspended from the SNP after she was arrested by police investigating the party’s finances, Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s First Minister, has been told. Police announced on Sunday that the former first minister had been taken into custody for questioning “as a suspect” as part of an inquiry into an alleged missing £600,000 in donations to the party for a second independence referendum that never happened... Ms Sturgeon has previously insisted that her sudden resignation as first minister in February was not linked to the police investigation, describing the latter as beyond her “worst nightmares” and “very traumatic”. While she has stonewalled questions about the inquiry, her allies have attacked the police’s conduct, particularly the erection of the tent outside Ms Sturgeon’s home - with the SNP’s former chief spin doctor calling it a “grotesque spectacle”."
The spectacular rise and fall of Nicola Sturgeon - "She was one of Scotland’s – and Britain’s – most successful politicians, helping to lay the groundwork for the nationalist domination of Scottish politics, and then maintaining it as first minister for an extraordinary eight years. Her tenure was defined by an uninterrupted series of electoral triumphs at local, Scottish and UK level – but it was a record balanced by an equally notable lack of achievement on the policy front. When she left office, her devolved administration was struggling with the same problems that existed when she took office in November 2014: a wide and damaging attainment gap between wealthy and poorer pupils in Scottish schools, historically long waiting times for vital operations, and a sclerotic Scottish economy. When she finally threw in the towel, during a hastily-arranged and unexpected press conference in February, she left behind a party in tatters... With troubles mounting around her – unbuilt ferries in Port Glasgow, lengthening waiting lists in the NHS, her own activists’ increasingly voluble impatience for a referendum and an unexpected (and popular) veto by the UK government of her gender ID legislation for trans people – Sturgeon vanished from the political scene... This is the woman who was once assumed to be destined to lead Scotland into a new era as an independent country."
BBC Radio 4 - Best of Today, Sir Jeremy Farrar’s Today programme - "‘During the Vietnam War when troops on both sides of the conflict were ravaged by malaria, more people dying of malaria and that conflict than died as a result of enemy action. The North Vietnamese leader at the time Ho Chi Minh sought the help from his allies in China and so began the secret medical research program to find a cure for malaria dubbed project 523. It led to the development of the most active and potent anti malarial drug ever invented, which many years later became the global standard for the treatment of malaria.’"
Sheila Seleoane: hard to grasp how body was not found for years, says coroner - "It is “difficult to comprehend” that a model tenant could have died and lain undisturbed in her flat for more than two and half years despite not paying her rent and neighbours raising the alarm, an inquest into the death of Sheila Seleoane has heard. The coroner, Julian Morris, said it was “clear something went wrong” when Seleoane’s repeated failure to engage with her landlord, gas engineers or the police failed to trigger any suspicions"
BBC Radio 4 - Best of Today, Blair and Hague call for digital ID cards - "'There hasn't been a new uh um properly built reservoir to hold water anywhere in the UK since 1991 and it's because local people for various reasons, some of them possibly quite good reasons, don't want them built. Their effect on the ecosystem etc etc'"
Just blame greedy businesses and incompetent government for the damage NIMBYs cause
