Losing at life - The P&B Definition

[welshbairn]

50 minutes ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

I just find it strange that such a (seemingly) large proportion of the users all can talk about the same thing at a moment's notice. And that there's seemingly so much security and money in it.

It's one of the few industrial segments that can't be fully automated or exported abroad.

[Mon Dieu]

losing at life

^VERB

1. Be deprived of or cease to have or retain (your head)
   "He's lost his head; he found out a poster's personal details, contacted their work and complained about their online forum posts."
   ^{synonyms: Heads Gone}
2. Fail to win (a flaming thread) or failure to contest (a thread of wit)
   "One of life's losers: they couldn't even rise to Magee standards of wit, so descended into a Heads Gone mess."
   ^{synonyms: seething mess}
3. Become unable to 'Deal With It' by dragging a personal contact of the 'winning at lifer' into a thread, topic, debate, etc.
   "Most losers report unobjectionable content, with no basis to do so; this 'losing at life' loser found out every bit of personal information they could about the random stranger online and proceeded to contact that poster's boss at work in an attempt to flag said unobjectionable content."
   ^{synonyms: spat the dummy - creepy fucker}

[itzdrk]

Reporting someone to their work for saying something to you on the Internet.   

[sjc]

8 hours ago, vikingTON said:

Incorrect: one of the calling cards of the gormless loser who fulfils the term is actually "a graduate from the University of Life". There's nothing wrong with not having a university education: not having one, being absolutely furious about it and inventing nonsense titles to compensate for it is a complete and utter minter though.

Who was that and what title did they invent?

[sjc]

8 hours ago, Jacksgranda said:

Rates are high here because everyone has f****d off to England.

(Actually in 10 - 15 years I can foreseee an even bigger skills shortage for that very reason.)

Very true. You never see many young guys on site these days and like you say that's a problem that will be passed down the line for the future to somehow deal with.

[1320Lichtie]

Very true. You never see many young guys on site these days and like you say that's a problem that will be passed down the line for the future to somehow deal with.

Really no sure what sites you're going on but I can't say I'm seeing the same problems on the ones I go to.

[Gordon EF]

Maybe back in the mists of time, it was important for school leavers to have an idea of what career they wanted to do but I really don't think they need to any more. Generally, with people living longer and, more than likely, having to work longer, as well as doing the traditional getting married / having kids much later in life than previous generations, I think there's a growing sense of your 20s (or a large part of it) being a kind of 'free period' where you don't really need to commit to anything, can try out a few things, go to back to education later if you want to, etc.

The more I think about it, the more it seems crazy to expect children or even really young adults to set themselves up on a path they're expected to follow for the rest of their lives.

The job I'm doing now isn't directly related to the degree I did, although there's no way I'd have got it without having a numerical/analytical degree. 

I know plenty of folk who've jumped from some form of further education to another or one job to another all the way through their 20s, never sticking at anything before finally hitting something they really enjoyed and making a go of it.

[ayrmad]

7 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

Maybe back in the mists of time, it was important for school leavers to have an idea of what career they wanted to do but I really don't think they need to any more. Generally, with people living longer and, more than likely, having to work longer, as well as doing the traditional getting married / having kids much later in life than previous generations, I think there's a growing sense of your 20s (or a large part of it) being a kind of 'free period' where you don't really need to commit to anything, can try out a few things, go to back to education later if you want to, etc.

The more I think about it, the more it seems crazy to expect children or even really young adults to set themselves up on a path they're expected to follow for the rest of their lives.

The job I'm doing now isn't directly related to the degree I did, although there's no way I'd have got it without having a numerical/analytical degree. 

I know plenty of folk who've jumped from some form of further education to another or one job to another all the way through their 20s, never sticking at anything before finally hitting something they really enjoyed and making a go of it.

A large number of people of all ages are forced to change paths regularly nowadays.

[Gordon EF]

Just now, ayrmad said:

A large number of people of all ages are forced to change paths regularly nowadays.

True. The idea, if it ever was really true, that folk start a career at 20 and go all the way to retirement in it certainly isn't true any more.

[ayrmad]

I'm not convinced that P&B's definition will be worth much, Tryfield earns more than most in the country and does as he pleases and a lot of people on here would say he's a loser in life.

[sjc]

1 hour ago, 1320Lichtie said:

 

Really no sure what sites you're going on but I can't say I'm seeing the same problems on the ones I go to.

 

Heavy civils sites. mainly RC frames. The standard of shuttering joiners and steel fixers in particular is dire.

[chomp my root]

I'd guess that the 'loser in life' stuff is down to the individual, some people always seem to be in competition with friends/neighbours etc, want to have the newest/biggest/smallest/fastest or whatever, these people will never be happy as there's always a newer/bigger blah blah blah whatever come along. If you're the kind of person who judges happiness (or winning) by your relative success to those in your circle then you're probably doomed until you feel secure enough to genuinely not care. I suppose it is an insecurity thing generally, trying to over compensate or make yourself more 'noticeable'. At the risk of patronising, its more of a younger persons thing, I think when you're trying to make your mark on the world you're generally more keen on being 'noticed', you're competing for just about everything so its easier to understand, its tragic in older folk, it just screams desperation in one way or another. To an extent its the same on forums, someone who is trying so hard to 'make their mark' is probably over compensating, feeling the need to 'win' arguments on the internet probably doesn't make you a winner in life, same with trying to belittle people. 

I've found it interesting that the debate quickly went down the degree/no degree route, probably no surprise as we've got more graduates than ever. I've got to agree with the earlier sentiment that dicks are going to be dicks, the level of education doesn't seem to make much difference in my experience. There's folk with chips on their shoulders and there's pompous arses everywhere, even within academia there can be a snobbery of what University and what course people did so its not just the 'university of lifers' that might mock a Media Studies degree. Basically 'good guys and wanks', same as everywhere. 

[SilverWolfe]

"Losing at life" is an interesting one. I think its simply a term used by wankers who want to feel better about themselves usually because they have acquired more worthless possessions than another person.

I did a maths degree at uni because I was good at maths subjects in school then went into teaching secondary school maths. I thought I had made it in life but then realised I hated teaching.

6 months later I was working in McDonalds before becoming unemployed. At that point I certainly felt like I was losing in life but only because all my mates were on £30k to £40k a year and telling me that I should take any job that comes along because I should have self pride and not live off the government. At this point I decided I was going to be an accountant and was roundly ridiculed by mates and family for not being realistic and just using it as an excuse for being lazy etc. I set myself a goal to prove them all wrong and become an accountant and went at it like an obsessed mad man.


It took me 54 weeks but eventually I got a job as an accountant at a massive American investment bank.
My mates are now all earning £50k to £70k while I'm at national average level but I no longer give a f**k what they do or what they think of me. As far as I'm concerned I'll end up meeting my life goals, I have my wife and kids and I'm happy as can be. There is no winning or losing at life, there is just being happy no matter what that means for the individual and more importantly not giving a flying f**k about what others think of you

[Mark Connolly]

2 minutes ago, Tartantony said:

"Losing at life" is an interesting one. I think its simply a term used by wankers who want to feel better about themselves usually because they have acquired more worthless possessions than another person.

I did a maths degree at uni because I was good at maths subjects in school then went into teaching secondary school maths. I thought I had made it in life but then realised I hated teaching.

6 months later I was working in McDonalds before becoming unemployed. At that point I certainly felt like I was losing in life but only because all my mates were on £30k to £40k a year and telling me that I should take any job that comes along because I should have self pride and not live off the government. At this point I decided I was going to be an accountant and was roundly ridiculed by mates and family for not being realistic and just using it as an excuse for being lazy etc. I set myself a goal to prove them all wrong and become an accountant and went at it like an obsessed mad man.


It took me 54 weeks but eventually I got a job as an accountant at a massive American investment bank.
My mates are now all earning £50k to £70k while I'm at national average level but I no longer give a f**k what they do or what they think of me. As far as I'm concerned I'll end up meeting my life goals, I have my wife and kids and I'm happy as can be. There is no winning or losing at life, there is just being happy no matter what that means for the individual and more importantly not giving a flying f**k about what others think of you
 

Gave up being a maths teacher to become an accountant?

I think we have our definition!

[The Grass Is Greener.]

[jamamafegan]

You can delete a thread but that's not going to make all this go away!

[itzdrk]

I was in the middle of catching up.  still had 10 pages to go.  

roundup please?

[paranoid android]

Just now, itzdrk said:

I was in the middle of catching up.  still had 10 pages to go.  

roundup please?

Nice avatar!

[Christophe]

Deleted thread shots fired. The p&b feds have just made this our Ferguson

[itzdrk]

2 minutes ago, paranoid android said:

Nice avatar!

Attempting some severe goading.