Dr. Gonzo

I think Kabak's some ways behind Fofana in quality, unfortunately. I think Tarkowski would be the best out of those names, but the price is probably too high.

I started playing The Ascent with a friend the other night because it was on gamepass and was new and lately I've been really bored of the traditional games I've been playing. We barely got into it, tbh, but what little we played I thought was really good. The dialogue is actually hilarious and I wasn't expecting that, so I'm pretty pleased with that. Lots of dick jokes and pee pee poo poo humour, which I always appreciate.

It's something I read on twitter (or reddit, tbh, not sure which one)... so it could be bollocks.

Fabinho and Henderson are unlikely to be fit enough by the start of the season. Now Thiago is out of some pre-season matches due to injury. So what are we thinking the midfield looks like against Norwich? Milner, Keita, and Jones?

Iran's suspected of taking the crew of 4 tankers in the Persian gulf hostage

Tony Robbins is an enormous bellend. Like no joke, he's enormous - his size is absolutely ridiculous. But he's also a fucking bellend and he's probably the #1 all bestselling bullshit artist. I've actually watched a video somewhere on the internet with Chris Voss (the FBI hostage negotiator) talking about negotiations though and I thought it was really interesting and pretty useful tips, tbh. So I'm actually quite keen on checking out his book and seeing what his tips for negotiations are. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a million miles away from the shite you're thinking of, tbh. I'd read a Tony Robbins book if it was about how to sell bullshit to people... but not his typical books that are just the bullshit he's trying to sell

Good things I've learned: 1.) Learning how to recognise good people skills/how to have good people skills - sort of invaluable both in working with other people... as well as just generally a person. I think I'd be a lot more socially awkward if I'd just stayed at home not working an office job and pursued the family buisness, tbh. But that's just me personally. 2.) Learning time management skills - it makes your job easier and it makes your life easier. 3.) Learning by doing things - so many times when I first started I was given work to do that... I really knew next to nothing about what I was working on when I started but I figured out what to do as I went along doing things more and more. Obviously there's only so much you can "learn by doing" just on your own and there will be times you need to make sure you're doing things right. Bad things I've learned: 1.) The "Peter Principal" is real: people get promoted beyond their level of competence fucking constantly ("Petering out") and it leads to the common workplace culture of shit managers/executives that are in over their heads. 2.) Some industries/certain sectors of businesses have a "boys club" mentality that feels like it's straight from the 50s or 60s. I'm mostly thinking about my business trips with sales people where I work. Casual racism, casual sexism, people acting like they're in the cast of Mad Men... it's just weird & I know of at least one female coworker in the division I work in that felt incredibly uncomfortable on one trip she went on with them. And having been on several of these trips... I fully understand why. 3.) Exploiting workers in high pressure/competitive fields - managers do this all the time because they view newer workers as somewhat disposable. It leads to overworking people who are new, which leads to work-life imbalances that lead to people generally being unhappy and high turnaround with constant faces coming and going. Thankfully this is more of an issue at my last job than where I currently work... but I remember it being something I hated. You feel constantly overworked, like you aren't really valued, and it feels like an unstable work environment.

That's excellent news. Imo he's our best midfielder - and playing him as an emergency CB was a bit shit because it took a lot out of our midfield imo. But I'm very happy to have his future tied down with us for the near future, because he's an immense player.

Isn’t that basically US Middle East policy in a nutshell? Make stupid decisions that turn large swathes of the local population against you & then acting surprised and angry when the situation goes the exact opposite of how the US would like it to go. It’s all the more bizarre with Afghanistan - they could have learned what not to do from the Soviet invasion… and had a unique role in the initial formation of the Taliban. You wouldn’t think they’d be so… ignorant about how they went about their invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. Yet here we are. I think China’s gonna come in now and throw money at the Taliban saying “we don’t care what you do to Afghans in Afghanistan, but we want to build and have control over Afghan infrastructure and we want exclusive mining rights” - and it’ll probably be a more effective strategy than America’s more expensive 20 year war. But any situation I think is bad for Afghans generally, so that’s pretty shit for them

Mask guidance here has recently changed - after a little more than a month of being told "if you're vaccinated you don't need to wear a mask" we're now being told we should be wearing masks when indoors again, vaccinated or not. Tbf, I think I hadn't seen a mask around anywhere for a month and statistically it's unlikely that everyone I was seeing outside was actually fully vaccinated (and that's a problem with relying on the "honour system" with matters of public health tbh)... but now that the delta seems to be spreading rapidly and vaccinated people are a powerful transmission vehicle (because most vaccinated people either show no symptoms or very mild symptoms).

Yeah just a controller, I’m playing it on a console though with super idiot mode turned on. If I had a PC that could handle the game (which tbh, idk if mine can or not - I doubt it though), I’d probably use a joystick like I did when I was a kid.

On the new one I’ve crashed into every place I’ve ever lived. It’s kind of scary though how accurately they’ve made the world

I’ve been playing MS Flight Simulator, I’ve always liked these games but been extra shit at them (especially the WW2 themed MS Combat Simulator, where I didn’t have to just worry about crashing but also people were trying to shoot me down). They're great fun, I usually start off shit, then get a bit more comfortable once I’m in the air… then I’ll forget something and somehow lose control of the plane and either scramble to save myself or end up crashing. It’s definitely cool that I can do this rather than attempt it in an actual airplane and kill myself on accident. These games have also definitely taught me that I shouldn’t fly an airplane.

Yeah exactly, it’s a terrible investment. And honestly it sounds like my boss (and the other investors who I don’t know). I like the idea of trying to get a raise out of this though Thank you! I think I’m going to use this to wiggle out of it.

So my boss is sort of pressuring me to join him in an "investment opportunity" he's recently discovered - basically buying a 15% stake in a local restaurant here. And I'm not really comfortable with it at all, for a few reasons. Firstly, I'm not sure how ethical (idk if that's the right word to use, though) it is to have a business venture with my boss... I guess I should probably check my employment agreement to see if it says anything about that. Secondly, it all sounds a lot more "hands on" than any investment I've traditionally made... and I'm not sure how involved I can/want to be. Third, I don't really think a restaurant is that great of an investment - most new restaurants fail... And lastly, I feel awkward saying no because he's my boss. Honestly, the whole thing seems strange and somewhat inappropriate to me.

Keep us posted!

I've never really been into MMOs, but it'll be interesting to see how an Amazon game does. It's weird seeing companies like Amazon and Netflix try to branch out into gaming... but if it leads to better games (although, I've got serious doubts about Netflix making lots of good games) that's a good thing for gaming generally. Is it being harsh if I say the animations in the video's of New World look really really shit though? I know it's not a finished game and they'll likely change things... but those animations, to me at least, aren't a promising indicator of how much polish there is on this game.

He's not even green, nor is he that incredible. Bad name.

Wasn't it higher than United's only because of the bonuses for winning the leagues though? I still think we could be spending more to revitalise the squad, especially considering the big exit we've had in the midfield and the issues we had last season.

FSG should back Klopp more, cheap cunts.

He's back with the squad in Austria btw

It does seem like the Ox is sort of being groomed to play in the Firmino role. But I'm not sure how much we can rely on him even as a backup option with all of his injury problems.

Yeah, I'm attaching them. Shame embedding doesn't work because that's way fucking easier (also I hate these emojis and I want the old ones back)

I'm quoting someone. I don't think the post has smileys. I don't think I've got anything other than some words and pictures. I'll survive though