The Off Topic Topic

[Josquius]

Trains on the other hand are a proper honest Northern invention.

[Duque de Bragança]

Trains on the other hand are a proper honest Northern invention.

Trains drive on the left in France (bar Alsace-Moselle), as in the UK.

Does not seem to help.   

[Sheilbh]

From what I've read it sounds like Britain was very sad, old world in the early 90s. Very different from my suburban American childhood.

Yeah. Liverpool in the 90s was grim af. I think it's sort of cyclical though.

[HVC]

Lol Josq wahrs with you and cars, man? Don't you own one yourself?

He thinks the french invented them.

Hush you! 

Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (26 February 1725 – 2 October 1804) was a French inventor who built the world's first full-size and working self-propelled mechanical land-vehicle, the "Fardier à vapeur" – effectively the world's first automobile.[1][a]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas-Joseph_Cugnot

All hail Karl Benz

[Richard Hakluyt]

Imo standards have immensely improved in the past 30-50 years throughout Europe. But it has been accompanied by a closing down of cheap options.
A Greek hotel in the 1970s could be a dusty oven, but by God it was cheap. Similarly with crappy urban campsites with only cold water and slow ancient trains with huge luggage racks that you could sleep in.
I don't mind personally as I'm old and prefer comfy 3star plus hotels these days. But is it at all still possible for the young folk to see the wonders of Europe on only 20 Altairian dollars a day?

[crazy canuck]

20?  I managed it on five a day, but mind you I did not spend much time in northern Europe back in the day Portugal was incredibly inexpensive.

I got out of London as fast as I could, when I realized I was spending as much at a hostel for one night as I could live like a king in Portugal

[HVC]

Apparently Portugals larger towns and cities have gotten much more expensive. Still cheap by foreign standards but when min wage in 10k euros a year people are starting to grumble. Probably just "normal" inflation, but a lot of people are blaming in the influx of expats on golden visas and digital nomads.

[Richard Hakluyt]

20?  I managed it on five a day, but mind you I did not spend much time in northern Europe back in the day Portugal was incredibly inexpensive.

I got out of London as fast as I could, when I realized I was spending as much at a hostel for one night as I could live like a king in Portugal

Yeah, it was a hitchhiker quote. My budget back then was £5 a day and I made £40 to £60 per week in the jobs I did at that time. I think Portugal was the cheapest, at least in Europe, Morocco was incredibly cheap.

[Tamas]

As we discussed, I find that a profoundly city-dweller view. For people not huddled up in urban centres, it opened up their wider region to exist in.

I'd say that is the city dweller view. Dismissive of how much life could be found in smaller towns before the coming of the car.

I grew up in a village listening to the tales of pre-car village life. There was plenty of life sure, what you did not have plenty of was options.

[Josquius]

As we discussed, I find that a profoundly city-dweller view. For people not huddled up in urban centres, it opened up their wider region to exist in.

I'd say that is the city dweller view. Dismissive of how much life could be found in smaller towns before the coming of the car.

I grew up in a village listening to the tales of pre-car village life. There was plenty of life sure, what you did not have plenty of was options.

There's even less post car when you're young, disabled, or poor.
And even for those with a car you have to work far more  to get anything.

[Tamas]

As we discussed, I find that a profoundly city-dweller view. For people not huddled up in urban centres, it opened up their wider region to exist in.

I'd say that is the city dweller view. Dismissive of how much life could be found in smaller towns before the coming of the car.

I grew up in a village listening to the tales of pre-car village life. There was plenty of life sure, what you did not have plenty of was options.

There's even less post car when you're young, disabled, or poor.
And even for those with a car you have to work far more  to get anything.

so the young, the disabled, and the poor had it better before cars became available for people to buy? How so?

[Caliga]

Yeah I don't really know who maps directly onto the Succession characters, I just kind of wanted Ken to win   

Why?  He was a fucking whackjob.

And the others?

 

I wanted that weird kid Greg to win.

[Duque de Bragança]

Apparently Portugals larger towns and cities have gotten much more expensive. Still cheap by foreign standards but when min wage in 10k euros a year people are starting to grumble. Probably just "normal" inflation, but a lot of people are blaming in the influx of expats on golden visas and digital nomads.

French pensioners have been blamed for skyrocketing prices in the Greater Lisbon area for some time now. 
With optic fiber now reaching not just big cities, I can see why digital nomads start to show up.

[Jacob]

So apparently the Bob Menendez bribery case could help Sweden get into NATO.

Menendez is the chair of the foreign relations committee, and apparently he has adamantly been blocking the sale of F16 to Turkey... and Erdogan is basically saying F16 is what's required to finally admit Sweden.

Menendez has temporarily stepped down from the committee, so maybe Turkey will get their jets and Sweden will get the final formal thumbs up.

[HVC]

So the question is, why doesn't Egypt want turkey to have F16s?