The Off Topic Topic

[grumbler]

I take it that Germans really have never had to learn what to do under those circumstances.

If that video was being run at real-time, the short, sharp violence definitely looks like a tornado.

[Jacob]

I take it that Germans really have never had to learn what to do under those circumstances.

If that video was being run at real-time, the short, sharp violence definitely looks like a tornado.

Me neither... what are you supposed to do?

[Admiral Yi]

Me neither... what are you supposed to do?

Cower in the basement.

[Syt]

Public broadcasters sourcing Twitter is becoming weird (I suppose it's better than just using "Source: Internet" or "Source: Twitter", but it's inviting trolls. 





For Austrian TV it's even funnier, because Huan is also the phonetic spelling of "Huren" (whores) which you see a fair bit in user comments, on Twitter, reddit etc.

(Similar to how I chuckled when I saw giant posters for EA's FIFA series advertising their FIFA Ultimate Team mode, or short: FUT ... which is an Austria word for vagina which is about at the same level as "cunt" is in English )

[Syt]

Applies to Languish meets, too.

[grumbler]

Me neither... what are you supposed to do?

Take cover in the basement if you have one, or the most interior room if you don't.  Stay away from windows (which means not filming through a window) because there is a significant risk of debris coming through that window at fairly high speeds.

[Syt]

Me neither... what are you supposed to do?

Take cover in the basement if you have one, or the most interior room if you don't.  Stay away from windows (which means not filming through a window) because there is a significant risk of debris coming through that window at fairly high speeds.

I've pretty much got all my knowledge of how to handle tornadoes from US shows and movies, and what you say is how I, rationally, would want to behave.

That said, Germany has no history of tornadoes causing much destruction, and certainly no warning systems for that (unlike the occasional heavy storms that often hit, esp. up North), so it would probably take me a while to realize what I'm looking at or what amount of danger I'm in. I mean I'm not the guy who takes pictures or films all the time, but I would most likely stand there stunned for a good while before seeking cover.

[grumbler]

I've pretty much got all my knowledge of how to handle tornadoes from US shows and movies, and what you say is how I, rationally, would want to behave.

That said, Germany has no history of tornadoes causing much destruction, and certainly no warning systems for that (unlike the occasional heavy storms that often hit, esp. up North), so it would probably take me a while to realize what I'm looking at or what amount of danger I'm in. I mean I'm not the guy who takes pictures or films all the time, but I would most likely stand there stunned for a good while before seeking cover.

Yeah, my point was that one cannot expect a German to know how to handle a tornado.  The danger period is too short to actually work out what to do in the midst of an event.

[Jacob]

Take cover in the basement if you have one, or the most interior room if you don't.  Stay away from windows (which means not filming through a window) because there is a significant risk of debris coming through that window at fairly high speeds.

Thanks. Hopefully I remember this if I'm ever in a tornado

[Syt]

https://bangordailynews.com/2022/05/17/news/penobscot/passadumkeag-resignation-shut-down-n6hjn1me0n/

The town of Passadumkeag is effectively shut down after clerk's resignation

Christen Bouchard's first duty as Passadumkeag town clerk was to oversee the Nov. 3, 2020, election, for which she received three days of training. She had been on the job for two months.

By the time she resigned last month, she was also the deputy treasurer and in charge of licensing pets, registering vehicles, maintaining vital records and liaising with the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for the town of Passadumkeag.

Bouchard submitted her resignation April 7 when the board of selectmen refused to let her take a two-week vacation because there wouldn't be anyone to take over during her temporary absence, she said.

Her resignation means that the town of Passadumkeag, located about 30 miles north of Bangor, has effectively shut down until further notice, because it does not have a town clerk, code enforcement officer, assessor or animal control officer. One of two School Administrative Unit 31 board of director seats for Passadumkeag is also vacant.

The town can't issue vehicle registrations, inspect homes or businesses, assess properties or respond to reports about rabid or abused animals, and its office has been closed to the public since April 21.

"Please call the office before heading out to do any business here as there are no designated hours of operation now," an April 19 notice read.

It's unclear when some of those key town positions might be filled. Residents at the annual town meeting on March 28 rejected a $91,400 budget article meant to fund town operations after town officials at the meeting couldn't explain an increase to the municipal salary line, according to the Lincoln News. The budget article also didn't provide money for a code enforcement officer, a position towns are required to have under state law, the newspaper reported.

Treasurer Barbara Boyer comes into the office a couple days per week to collect taxes and pay bills, but she can't issue vehicle registrations or perform other duties. 

The town has been advertising for positions in the Lincoln News, which first reported the vacancies, Boyer said.

"The market right now for qualified employees that are looking to work part time is very difficult," Boyer said, citing Passadumkeag's small population of about 350 residents. "We're doing what we can to keep everything going." 

She directed further questions to the board of selectmen.

First selectman Brad McKechnie said he was unaware of Bouchard's vacation request or the role it played in her resignation. Jana Spencer, the chair of the board of selectmen, is handling concealed weapons permits for Passadumkeag residents, he said.

"We have been left with a mess from years of neglect and are doing as much as we can to get our town back in order," McKechnie said. "I do believe in time with the team we have, we will get Passadumkeag back in order and looking good, but it will take a bit and is going to be a challenge for sure."

Selectman Alton Huston, who was elected in March, confirmed the vacancies but directed further questions to Spencer.

Spencer did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Selectman Alton Huston, who was elected in March, confirmed the vacancies but directed further questions to Spencer.

Howland started handling all vehicle registrations for Passadumkeag residents two weeks ago, said Kelly Sirois, Howland's water and sewer clerk.

The town has been in charge of new vehicle registrations for Passadumkeag residents for "well over a year" because Bouchard was only trained to renew existing registrations, Sirois said.

Bouchard said she performed her duties while being paid $13,500 a year to work 16 hours a week, though in reality, she worked far more than that. Most days, she was the only person in the town office whom residents could interact with when they needed help with something or had a question.[/b]

"I came in on my days off to complete certain tasks, because 16 hours a week is just not enough to do everything that needed to be done over there," Bouchard said.

She and Boyer became the first people to be appointed to their roles, after the board of selectmen voted in March to make them appointed roles instead of elected positions, according to the Lincoln News.

"There is so much to know in order to do the job," Bouchard said. "I was honestly just getting somewhat comfortable."

Yay for small government?   

[Zanza]

Does an own administration for a place with 350 residents make sense? Why not incorporate them into some larger municipal structure?

[Zanza]

[Josquius]

Does an own administration for a place with 350 residents make sense? Why not incorporate them into some larger municipal structure?

Yep.

Though I guess this being America it could be a country away from anywhere else?
Could be nobody is willing to take them.

Also incorporating villages into cities is something that has happened a lot in Japan and it really annoys me. A city is a urban area. Not a freaking group of villages scattered across a area the size of a county.

[Sheilbh]

I think the key factor for the UK's numbers, is this:


Solving productivity is probably the biggest challenge with the UK economy right now, especially because by international standards the UK was already pretty low pre-financial crisis. In the G7 only Japan and Canada are lower.

It's one of those things with lots of theories about causes but no real consensus - it's probably a combination of loads of factors which means we need to do everything and hope that collectively it works.

[Josquius]

A year or two ago I bought my mam a bird box with a camera in it.
This year a family of great tits have taken up residence.
And... I've discovered something I didn't know. How they keep it clean.
Parent brings back food and gives it to a baby....baby then goes head down butt in the air and poos, right into the mouth of the parent who carries it away....
... Nature is gross.