Culturally, Scandinavia has a history of hospitality that while much more open than the current American/Western standards still had expectations of both the host and the guest.
A traveler could demand lodging at any home but there were well established bounds he was not to cross and if he did the host was well within his rights to deal with his guest in a rather permanent manner. Which made a lot of sense in an area where the climate can kill quickly. You could seek shelter if you needed with some assurance of safety. You could also provide shelter with some assurance of safety. People who abused hospitality put others in danger and were dealt with accordingly.
Yup, A-OK since they probably neglected to construct their walls out of reinforced concrete (and of a sufficient thickness).
The "you only have the rights you can defend -- and I defend mine very well crowd" tend to talk big about personal responsibility and rights until a superior force decides to pay attention to them and proves that no, they really couldn't defend those rights.
Don't get me wrong, I support individual rights. I just don't have the delusion that I alone can defend them. I could devote all my resources to creating a fortified enclave for myself and it would easily all come to naught. The best defense for individual rights and property is being part of a society that accepts, embraces and defends those concepts. Unfortunately that in itself requires a high degree of personal responsibility and restraint which is why we're slowly sliding towards little points of light hidden in a vast sea of darkness.
"An ounce in the morning is a pound in the evening." - Old hiking adage.
If you're paying good money for laptop that focuses on portability weight is rather important.
At first, you think the people that cut down the handles of their toothbrush to save weight are rather nuts. Then you find out that all their crazy methods of shaving off weight from individual items actually ends up to a noticeable reduction in overall weight.
The same principles applies to more work related traveling. If you can shave off a pound here, a few ounces there, eventually you're commuting with a noticeably lighter load.
The thing about the roads in Europe is the next city or, more often than not, country is a stone's throw away from your current location.
Their weather (if you can call it that) is just a wee bit different as well. One of those little SMART cars would be the dumbest choice you could make for winter driving here.
The vast majority of the innocent don't have the connections or resources to get either the prosecution to throw the case or anyone to care about sloppy work on the prosecution's side.
This isn't the process that keeps the innocent from being railroaded. This is the process that keeps the lawmakers from being subject to their own laws.
If you do ever give it another chance the other thing to remember is that it is A-OK to water down your coffee to your liking.
The "black coffee means burnt tar" crowd may sneer at you, but remember they are drinking their own punishment.
To get a consistent cup you should keep the process consistent. After it's made then adjust it to your taste.
The problem with the fancy machines is that you have to know how to use them properly. One could have the most expensive machine in the world but if you didn't know how changing the pressure or temperature would affect the brew that machine is as good as a Mr. Coffee espresso machine or possibly worse.
This is one of the few times I'd side with incompetence (with a good dash of ignorance) instead of malice.
Back around the 40s, percolators were the way of making "coffee". In reality, percolators are one of the worst ways of making coffee as you're actually cooking the coffee. So we've had a few generations who thought percolated coffee was the best thing since sliced bread.
Then the automatic drip makers start making their appearance. They make a "better" tasting coffee than percolated coffee (really, it doesn't take much). Now we've got a few generations thinking automatic drip is the way to go and that coffee is supposed to be burnt before consumption.
Recently, some businessmen were exposed to good coffee and figured out that with all the horrible coffee out there, they'd have a market. Unfortunately, the new wave of coffee houses picked up a pretentious air, so that it was the drink of the yuppie and burnt, stale automatic drip coffee was still the drink of the working man.
The bean, the roast and the manner in which it is prepared influence the character of the coffee.
Office coffee that's been sitting in the pot of an automatic drip machine will tend to be as thick as tar, more acidic than battery acid and was probably made from grounds that are older than you are.
Most home prepared coffee will generally only be slightly better. Unless there happens to be a good coffee mill and bag of freshly roasted beans in the premises. If you see the equipment for the more esoteric methods like Turkish coffee (at least it is very rare here in the midwest of the US) you're probably going to be able to get a good cup of coffee. If the host asks you what you like and doesn't push their favorite down your throat you're most likely in for a real treat.
What'd I do is find a reputable coffee house and just tell them you're not a coffee drinker but you'd like to give it a try and then tell them what other beverages or flavors you like. They should be able to figure out what sort of coffee you'd like. Don't be ashamed to start with flavored drinks. Unfortunately, you may find that there are some types of coffee you do like, and that it agrees with you.
Why would it be unfortunate? It probably won't be the discount folgers in a can. The upside is with good coffee, you really don't want to guzzle it, nor do you have to. A good cup is to be savored. So while you may be paying more for the good stuff by weight, by time it will probably work itself out to a decent price. Just don't buy more than you can go through before the beans lose their freshness.
A good thermos like mug will help a lot too. Reheating coffee is basically recooking it so the longer you can keep it hot for sipping at the better.
Put in a good automated weapons system and we'd have the pirate version of a bug zapper.
Instead of the ZZZZAP of a bug zapper we'd have the steady purr of a minigun but I'm sure we could get used to it. Rig up a mount for something like the GAU-8 Avenger and you'd some good youtube material.
Efficient government with an easy time for the politicians should scare the bejebus out of anyone with a quarter of a brain.
It's like all the red tape we throw in the way of law enforcement (well, like we used to). All the kneejerkists whine that it is hampering the ability of the cops to catch "the bad guys" and that we need to make it easier for the cops, not harder. Now objects are getting charged with crimes since they have no rights. Nevermind that they were owned by someone who does have rights.
Information stored on processed tree carcasses has more protection than information with electrons because electrons weren't specifically mentioned in that amendment that outlines what we can be secure in. The purpose is the same but it is so much more convenient to ignore rights based on the medium. (Which is why I never transport anything important on vellum, since like electronic media, it isn't paper, and we don't have a right to be secure in our vellums.)
We shouldn't be letting civil servants get away with an easy paycheck. They want power over the rest of us plebs so they should get all the red tape that goes with it.
Well, since google news totally absolutely never links to the original site and just steals their precious text (which they put on the internet)I think the news sites should just not allow google to index, err, steal their content.
I would say children are more ignorant than innocent since enlightening someone going through puberty as to why their body is doing what it's doing and why they're feeling the way they are can be rather embarrassing for the adult.
Since being embarrassed can make people feel bad it must be avoided at all costs. Instead we'll just tell them they can't have sex and should be ashamed of their bodies while not explaining what exactly it is they aren't supposed to be doing it and why they shouldn't do it (aside from making the invisible space man angry).
The article doesn't but your run of the mill "environmentalist" does and the article panders to those people.
I don't believe in Environmentalism - the religion. The hell of global warming. Al Gore, the savior of "The Planet". That bunko only serves to fill the pockets of those who own the resources they are trying to scare us into using.
Air quality. Water quality. Maintaining features that control or lessen flooding. Managing animal populations to control the spread of disease. Managing agricultural run off. Not pie in the sky power schemes.
We'd be much better off if all the energy sunk into CO2 was diverted to more practical matters like developing fertilizers that are better at staying in the soil and being consumed by plants and less likely wash out after it rains.
Environmentalism would actually get more traction if it was actually about improving *our* environment.
Every environmentalist goes on and on about CO2. CO2 could actually be threat. Could. How many do you hear going on about all the birth control hormones building up in our water? Bueller? Bueller?
Not many. Currently it's not directly threatening anything cute and fuzzy, just scaly and slimy and it raises uncomfortable questions that people really don't want answered.
Wind and solar! Wind and solar! Well, what about nuke and hydro. You know, sources that can actually provide a base load and are something viable now?
You know, back in the day, kids listened to radio programs. Not just music. TV Programs without the "vision" part. Dramas, comedies all that. Without seizure inducing bright flashy pictures every three seconds. All those were pretty much nothing but "talking" with some sound effects tossed in.
Kids have more potential then people want to believe. They let that damned myth of innocence morph into a need for ignorance because once those little gears do start turning it is hard to make them stop (well, easy once you get the kid diagnosed with the deficit disorder du jour and load them up with meds).
Slashdot Mirror
Culturally, Scandinavia has a history of hospitality that while much more open than the current American/Western standards still had expectations of both the host and the guest.
A traveler could demand lodging at any home but there were well established bounds he was not to cross and if he did the host was well within his rights to deal with his guest in a rather permanent manner. Which made a lot of sense in an area where the climate can kill quickly. You could seek shelter if you needed with some assurance of safety. You could also provide shelter with some assurance of safety. People who abused hospitality put others in danger and were dealt with accordingly.
Yup, A-OK since they probably neglected to construct their walls out of reinforced concrete (and of a sufficient thickness).
The "you only have the rights you can defend -- and I defend mine very well crowd" tend to talk big about personal responsibility and rights until a superior force decides to pay attention to them and proves that no, they really couldn't defend those rights.
Don't get me wrong, I support individual rights. I just don't have the delusion that I alone can defend them. I could devote all my resources to creating a fortified enclave for myself and it would easily all come to naught. The best defense for individual rights and property is being part of a society that accepts, embraces and defends those concepts. Unfortunately that in itself requires a high degree of personal responsibility and restraint which is why we're slowly sliding towards little points of light hidden in a vast sea of darkness.
"An ounce in the morning is a pound in the evening." - Old hiking adage.
If you're paying good money for laptop that focuses on portability weight is rather important.
At first, you think the people that cut down the handles of their toothbrush to save weight are rather nuts. Then you find out that all their crazy methods of shaving off weight from individual items actually ends up to a noticeable reduction in overall weight.
The same principles applies to more work related traveling. If you can shave off a pound here, a few ounces there, eventually you're commuting with a noticeably lighter load.
Splitters!
And the customer is always right.
The thing about the roads in Europe is the next city or, more often than not, country is a stone's throw away from your current location.
Their weather (if you can call it that) is just a wee bit different as well. One of those little SMART cars would be the dumbest choice you could make for winter driving here.
The vast majority of the innocent don't have the connections or resources to get either the prosecution to throw the case or anyone to care about sloppy work on the prosecution's side.
This isn't the process that keeps the innocent from being railroaded. This is the process that keeps the lawmakers from being subject to their own laws.
If you do ever give it another chance the other thing to remember is that it is A-OK to water down your coffee to your liking.
The "black coffee means burnt tar" crowd may sneer at you, but remember they are drinking their own punishment.
To get a consistent cup you should keep the process consistent. After it's made then adjust it to your taste.
The problem with the fancy machines is that you have to know how to use them properly. One could have the most expensive machine in the world but if you didn't know how changing the pressure or temperature would affect the brew that machine is as good as a Mr. Coffee espresso machine or possibly worse.
This is one of the few times I'd side with incompetence (with a good dash of ignorance) instead of malice.
Back around the 40s, percolators were the way of making "coffee". In reality, percolators are one of the worst ways of making coffee as you're actually cooking the coffee. So we've had a few generations who thought percolated coffee was the best thing since sliced bread.
Then the automatic drip makers start making their appearance. They make a "better" tasting coffee than percolated coffee (really, it doesn't take much). Now we've got a few generations thinking automatic drip is the way to go and that coffee is supposed to be burnt before consumption.
Recently, some businessmen were exposed to good coffee and figured out that with all the horrible coffee out there, they'd have a market. Unfortunately, the new wave of coffee houses picked up a pretentious air, so that it was the drink of the yuppie and burnt, stale automatic drip coffee was still the drink of the working man.
You should at least give coffee a fair try.
The bean, the roast and the manner in which it is prepared influence the character of the coffee.
Office coffee that's been sitting in the pot of an automatic drip machine will tend to be as thick as tar, more acidic than battery acid and was probably made from grounds that are older than you are.
Most home prepared coffee will generally only be slightly better. Unless there happens to be a good coffee mill and bag of freshly roasted beans in the premises. If you see the equipment for the more esoteric methods like Turkish coffee (at least it is very rare here in the midwest of the US) you're probably going to be able to get a good cup of coffee. If the host asks you what you like and doesn't push their favorite down your throat you're most likely in for a real treat.
What'd I do is find a reputable coffee house and just tell them you're not a coffee drinker but you'd like to give it a try and then tell them what other beverages or flavors you like. They should be able to figure out what sort of coffee you'd like. Don't be ashamed to start with flavored drinks. Unfortunately, you may find that there are some types of coffee you do like, and that it agrees with you.
Why would it be unfortunate? It probably won't be the discount folgers in a can. The upside is with good coffee, you really don't want to guzzle it, nor do you have to. A good cup is to be savored. So while you may be paying more for the good stuff by weight, by time it will probably work itself out to a decent price. Just don't buy more than you can go through before the beans lose their freshness.
A good thermos like mug will help a lot too. Reheating coffee is basically recooking it so the longer you can keep it hot for sipping at the better.
Caffeine addiction is the only justification for drinking office coffee.
AT&T and Apple decide it's not worth the legal rigamarole and pull the plug on the Skype app entirely?
When did Canada drop below sea level?
Put in a good automated weapons system and we'd have the pirate version of a bug zapper.
Instead of the ZZZZAP of a bug zapper we'd have the steady purr of a minigun but I'm sure we could get used to it. Rig up a mount for something like the GAU-8 Avenger and you'd some good youtube material.
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future."
Want to keep old non-pc ideas away from impressionable minds? Ban the media that contains them.
But banning books is un-American you say? Have no fear good citizen, we're just banning the toxic ink that's in those books.
Efficient government with an easy time for the politicians should scare the bejebus out of anyone with a quarter of a brain.
It's like all the red tape we throw in the way of law enforcement (well, like we used to). All the kneejerkists whine that it is hampering the ability of the cops to catch "the bad guys" and that we need to make it easier for the cops, not harder. Now objects are getting charged with crimes since they have no rights. Nevermind that they were owned by someone who does have rights.
Information stored on processed tree carcasses has more protection than information with electrons because electrons weren't specifically mentioned in that amendment that outlines what we can be secure in. The purpose is the same but it is so much more convenient to ignore rights based on the medium. (Which is why I never transport anything important on vellum, since like electronic media, it isn't paper, and we don't have a right to be secure in our vellums.)
We shouldn't be letting civil servants get away with an easy paycheck. They want power over the rest of us plebs so they should get all the red tape that goes with it.
... And people wonder why it's not the year of the linux desktop yet.
Why would the drug companies want a cure?
Treatments are more profitable.
Well, since google news totally absolutely never links to the original site and just steals their precious text (which they put on the internet)I think the news sites should just not allow google to index, err, steal their content.
That'll show that thieving google who's the boss.
I would say children are more ignorant than innocent since enlightening someone going through puberty as to why their body is doing what it's doing and why they're feeling the way they are can be rather embarrassing for the adult.
Since being embarrassed can make people feel bad it must be avoided at all costs. Instead we'll just tell them they can't have sex and should be ashamed of their bodies while not explaining what exactly it is they aren't supposed to be doing it and why they shouldn't do it (aside from making the invisible space man angry).
Perhaps in Bizarro America.
The article doesn't but your run of the mill "environmentalist" does and the article panders to those people.
I don't believe in Environmentalism - the religion. The hell of global warming. Al Gore, the savior of "The Planet". That bunko only serves to fill the pockets of those who own the resources they are trying to scare us into using.
Air quality. Water quality. Maintaining features that control or lessen flooding. Managing animal populations to control the spread of disease. Managing agricultural run off. Not pie in the sky power schemes.
We'd be much better off if all the energy sunk into CO2 was diverted to more practical matters like developing fertilizers that are better at staying in the soil and being consumed by plants and less likely wash out after it rains.
Environmentalism would actually get more traction if it was actually about improving *our* environment.
Every environmentalist goes on and on about CO2. CO2 could actually be threat. Could. How many do you hear going on about all the birth control hormones building up in our water? Bueller? Bueller?
Not many. Currently it's not directly threatening anything cute and fuzzy, just scaly and slimy and it raises uncomfortable questions that people really don't want answered.
Wind and solar! Wind and solar! Well, what about nuke and hydro. You know, sources that can actually provide a base load and are something viable now?
You know, back in the day, kids listened to radio programs. Not just music. TV Programs without the "vision" part. Dramas, comedies all that. Without seizure inducing bright flashy pictures every three seconds. All those were pretty much nothing but "talking" with some sound effects tossed in.
Kids have more potential then people want to believe. They let that damned myth of innocence morph into a need for ignorance because once those little gears do start turning it is hard to make them stop (well, easy once you get the kid diagnosed with the deficit disorder du jour and load them up with meds).
That last gun ban turned out oh so well for Germany...