DeepLurker

We work for companies based in Bordeaux. For a while I was working remotely for a UK company, but to be frank I got a bit tired of being self-employed - the administrative hassle was never-ending.

We're near Bordeaux. Biarritz is nice - very nice. Whole Basque coast is nice actually. I'd be happy to live there myself. It's a bit of a mixed bag though: houses are expensive, some roads are gridlocked in tourist season. Big cultural contrast between the poncy Parisian "immigrants" and the Basques. The Basques are very proud of their culture, with a strong will to keep it alive. Downside is they can be strong willed in other areas! The job market is fairly restricted - it's not London! But if you've got a job, then there's lot to do. Go in with the mindset that from San Sebastian to Hossegor as basically one conurbation, lots of towns with very different vibes.

A late reply, but I'll post it anyway for anyone else reading this thread: we moved from London to the South of France 3 years ago. A big part of it was cost of living - we're far better off now. As a couple (both working) London was great. With a kid, it became impossible. I don't regret for a second our move. However - the grass is not always greener on the other side. France has big issues: the bureaucracy is far, far worse than even the worst description that you've ever been given of it. The job market is difficult - you need to speak good French, have relevant recognised qualifications. Renting a place can be a nightmare - anecdotally I've been told that 80% of rentals are now covered by "Assurance Loyer Impayés", which is basically landlord insurance against non-payment of rent. And if you haven't already got a permanent full-time job with a local company and completed the "période d'essai" (trial period) - then you'll get told to go away. So basically you're stuck with choosing from the worst 20% of the rental market. If this sounds negative - well, I want to be clear that it's not a walk in the garden. But we're here, and we're happier than we were in London. For us, the upsides are really worth the aggro. But YMMV.

I often read the above, but I struggle to reconcile it with reality. The most popular media in the UK is TV. How many of the most popular TV channels are right-wing? How many are pro-Brexit? Same question for the radio stations. The only media where right-wing views are strongly represented is print.

+1

The political landscape has changed very rapidly, and the political parties have not responded. For example, the most important question of today - Brexit - does not fit at all into the traditional left/right split. E.g. I used to live in St Albans, where a Cons MP was comfortably re-elected despite her name popping up several times during the Expenses Scandal. Yet St Albans also voted very clearly for Remain. So what's going to happen on Thursday? (answer: I haven't a clue) I now live in France, where the political parties were equally unable to react to changing voter priorities - and the 2 main parties got wiped out in the recent elections. Instead, in the first round of the election you had new 2 parties that did not even exist 2 years ago taking around 40% of the vote, and the much-reviled far right also surging forwards. Interestingly, when I discuss politics here, a lot of (youngish) people are up to speed on land value tax, citizens' income, and similar ideas that are almost never debated in the official channels - TV, newspapers. There was a moment when I thought the UK Labour party would split between the Corbynistas and the Blairites. Maybe it was a missed chance - the chance to start a party with a new set of priorities. As opposed to (and sorry if this upsets some people) the current UK choice of replaying the 1970s, or replaying the 1900s.

Not a purge. A number of people decided to stop posting here. Some (like myself) still sometimes contribute here, but far less frequently. There's been no outright bans AFAIK.

Just got back from London - I go every few months for work. I had to visit various places: Victoria, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Aldgate. Was shocked by all the homeless, they seem to have massively increased in number in a short span of time. I also noticed that whereas previously there were many East European beggars with the obligatory Big Issue in their hands, these seemed to have simply vanished; instead I saw many people who spoke with a native accent, were in a very poor state (skin scabs, shakes from drug addiction), and had the traditional homeless equipment (sleeping bag, crummy backpack). I formed a general impression of people really in the poo, whereas previously it was almost as if the Big Issue sellers were just regular people doing a job.

I'll give it a try... We also think that building the web This will be a reference to both creating websites, and creating the tools that enable you to then create websites. is still mainly a question of privilege these days right now this is a bit confusing. What privilege? You can find "build your own website" systems where you click-and-drop your stuff. It only costs a couple of quid of month. So I guess they're not talking about "building websites" being a privilege, but rather that building the tools is a privilege. and that the meritocratic structures of Open Source I could write a whole book on what is Open Source. Basically it's a bunch of people who get together, write some software, and then make the source code public - and anyone can copy/use it for free. No one (usually) gets paid for doing this, it's just a way of sharing effort, standing on the shoulders of giants etc... Thing is, how do you decide whose contributions/ideas get adopted? The answer is almost always "the best one". The system naturally tends to become a meritocracy, because new contributors will not want to send in their work, only to see it rejected in favour of inferior alternatives that get adopted "cos I'm the boss/I sleep with the boss/I've got a big dïck/I'm rich". Contributors who see this happen will take a copy of the code and "fork the project" i.e. start their own version of it, ask for new contributions, and promise to review them purely on merit. Pretty soon the original project and team are dead. are highly problematic this is the money shot, the massive "WTF". Why would you not want the best contributions to be accepted into the project, and the best contributors to run it? and we’re trying all we can to find ways to do better. Good luck with that.

Modern Educayshun (And how the flip do you embed YouTube videos nowadays?)

I just have... it's not mobile-friendly. And he gives talks about design. Hmmm.

Of the 3 people interviewed on that page, only one provides clear and useful advice. The other 2 are just playing buzzword bingo (one with a marketing card, the other with a SJW card).

Well it surprised me I remember checking the numbers right after the election, and Clinton was 10% on Obama's score. I didn't realise that an election result could be declared with so many votes still to be counted!

Resisting is the easy bit. Proposing a credible alternative (i.e., something that is an improvement) is usually a little bit more involved... and I think that America signalled very clearly that they did not see Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton as a credible alternative to Orange Face. As much as it may dismay us, unless the Democratic Party can put forward a decent candidate at the next elections (NOT Clinton's kid, or Obama's kid, or ******** like that) then Orange Face could well get re-elected...

Being generous here: "efficiency" might refer to the lower weight of a 2-stroke compared to a 4. For a range extender - which will most of the time be switched off and just a dead weight to lug around - weight might be a lot more important than fuel efficiency.