The Off Topic Topic

[Malthus]

Hooker hooked for hooking hookahs.

http://www.courant.com/community/west-hartford/hc-west-hartford-hookah-hooker-hooked-0905-20140904,0,6152730.story

[Liep]

Lego becomes the world's largest toy company. EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!

http://online.wsj.com/articles/lego-becomes-worlds-largest-toy-maker-on-movie-success-1409820074

[Josquius]

Watching the news about the NATO meeting. Rasmussen, the head of NATO is speaking- he sounds surprisingly Irish

[derspiess]

Watching the news about the NATO meeting. Rasmussen, the head of NATO is speaking- he sounds surprisingly Irish

LOL, yeah he does.  I knew one Danish dude who sounded vaguely Australian.

[mongers]

This evening Pres.Obama made an unannouced visit to Stonehenge, just up the road/river from here, on his way home from the NATO summit.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-29083959



The funny thing is the barbed wire fence isn't for the President's benefit, but to separate the national trust land, which anyone can walk in, from the small area of land the monument stands on and to access to which you have to pay $30.

So these cheapskates, possibly locals, who used that route to view the stones for free from around 30 yards, also go to meet the President of the United States.   

[Tonitrus]

But did the POTUS pay the $30? 

[mongers]

But did the POTUS pay the $30? 

Interesting question.

I'd guess they'd be meticulous and above board and pay, is only as a contribution towards lost visitor revenue.

But I think it currently closes at 7pm, which is around the time he visited, so few would have been there and the visit would have inconvenienced hardly anybody.

[Sheilbh]

Since he hunted the guy down, I don't have a problem. Why is father of 3 relevant?

According to the judge he roped them into the hunt:

The judge added: "All you needed to do was to phone the police and give them the information. However, you armed yourself with a knife and, along with your three sons, went looking for him."

Oh, I agree that it's the growing pains of something new replacing the old. You see a similar fight between Amazon and traditional publishers. I don't mind those discussions and ideally it leads to more competition.

Has Amazon really lead to more competition?

There is a clear cut answer alright. Even if it was difficult to know what kind of driver you sit behind in a taxi, Uber AFAIK has a review system. And is not like the current guild system used for taxis has stopped many taxi drivers to be major assholes and crooks.

Taxi drivers are pretty good. It's the unlicensed minicab drivers who are the crooks (and worse).

I don't know which I hate more - Silicon Valley "disruptive" douchebags that think just because they do something on the internet that normal rules don't apply to them, or the poster-child of regulatory capture that are taxi boards.

Artificially limiting the number of taxis allowed on the streets benefits nobody other than taxi companies.  The whole model of taxi licensing should be dramatically deregulated.  However, Uber/Lyft and the like need to follow the rules like anybody else.

Yep.

Maybe yellow cabs should get an app. It is much easier for me to get an uber or gypsy cab then wait all day for a yellow cab.

Can you get Hailo in NY? That's an app for hailing a black cab in London.

[garbon]

I just saw Hailo the other day as an app. Had never ever heard of it.

[Josquius]

I'm in Switzerland.
So many cute girls.
I don't know what it is about continentals that makes then so much hotter than the girls back home (well, except not being fat). It's just.... They seem....fresh. But not in a pervy 1000 virgins sort of way. Fresh just seems the word.... Wholesome?

[Jacob]

I'm in Switzerland.
So many cute girls.
I don't know what it is about continentals that makes then so much hotter than the girls back home (well, except not being fat). It's just.... They seem....fresh. But not in a pervy 1000 virgins sort of way. Fresh just seems the word.... Wholesome?

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

The funny thing is the barbed wire fence isn't for the President's benefit, but to separate the national trust land, which anyone can walk in, from the small area of land the monument stands on and to access to which you have to pay $30.

That's ludicrous.

[Ideologue]

I'm in Switzerland.
So many cute girls.
I don't know what it is about continentals that makes then so much hotter than the girls back home (well, except not being fat). It's just.... They seem....fresh. But not in a pervy 1000 virgins sort of way. Fresh just seems the word.... Wholesome?

Sounds awful.  I want a world where every woman is thin and moderately attractive.

[Jacob]

That's ludicrous.

How so?

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

That's ludicrous.

How so?

$30 to see an ancient monument in an open field that is constructed exclusively of rough-hewn stone?  Where the hell is all that money going?  It's certainly not going to site maintenance, or the non-existent archaeological dig at the site.  Sounds like a British agency using a famous monument as a cash cow.