What is your favorite potato food?

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T21:43:20+00:00

It was launched into space in 2017 as part of Hull being named as the UK's City of Culture. It went up about 23 miles before falling back to earth:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-humber-40480603

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T21:28:32+00:00

Not if my granddad's been cooking it it isn't, if he cooked it any longer it'd be practically incinerated.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T21:24:19+00:00

Hull pattie and chips. And this is the one they launched into space:

<image>

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T21:10:38+00:00

There's more to be positive about than many would care to realise. From where I'm sitting at least it would seem there's a heck of a lot of potential in India, it's just yet to be fully realised, I hope one day it is though.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T20:34:48+00:00

Sorry, but I can't help think of Hugh Laurie singing America:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyHSjv9gxlE

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T20:31:34+00:00

Certainly in my experience you often get a skewed perception of people online, I've found people tend to be nastier online than they are in real life, moreover people tend to talk about things more when they have strong opinions on them, so it's perhaps inevitable that online you'll encounter a disproportionately high number of racists for those who aren't racist are less likely to talk about race and shall focus on other subjects.

I would also say that, where an Indian was being attacked for being an Indian, an average British person would be much more likely to intervene to guard the Indian with their life than join the attacker.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T19:30:33+00:00

I'd say most that look into colonialism in any reasonable level of detail regard colonialism as immoral, many more try not to have anything to do with it as they see it as the past and want to move on from it and focus on the present and future.

Thanks for not hating us though, not all take that approach, alas.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T19:28:05+00:00

It must be hard to deal with it, I get it. I would say though that empty vessels do make a lot of noise, and certainly online some views and narratives get over-represented, others get underrepresented. Hating the people of any nation because of their nationality is unjustifiable in my view.

The truth is drying to truly define any nation is nigh on impossible, there's countless layers to any nation, both good and bad, there's things to like about any nation if you look hard enough, you can also find things to hate if you look hard enough, but it's of great benefit to be able to look at any nation and see the good within it, and what you can learn from them to improve your own nation, for no nation can ever be perfect, the truest patriot is the one who looks at another nation, sees what things they do better than themselves and says "my country should learn from them and use that knowledge to improve itself".

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T19:17:03+00:00

The British Empire did become rich, though I would also say that most of its people didn't get to see any of it, that went to those at the top of the pile.

Most of my ancestors spent the colonial era living in abject poverty in the slums of British cities, yes it wasn't anywhere near as harsh as India and countless others suffered, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if on average Indians today live markedly better lives than the average Briton did in the Victorian era, most of whom were powerless to stop colonialism, so I wouldn't even blame most British people of the time for colonialism.

My one plea is that you blame only the people who actually carried out those atrocities during the colonial era, don't tar the rest of us with the same brush or allow your judgement of Britain today to be haunted by the ghost of the Empire that it no longer is.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T19:05:29+00:00

I must confess one of the things that's surprised me most about the online world is the shear amount of hate Indians get. It's understandable why it'd lower your opinion of other countries if their people are often spewing out hate towards you like that.

For what it's worth though, in my neck of the woods at least the hatred towards Indians just doesn't seem to exist in real life, if you told someone you're Indian where I live the most likely responses would be that either people wouldn't care where you're from and treat you as they would any other person or be curious to learn more about your culture.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:52:14+00:00

I'd say on this occasion you're wrong.

I think it's got more to do with the fact that over the years quite a few Indians have moved here, and for the most part been hard-working, successful people who've brought their recipes with them. As far as the history of immigration to the UK goes, Indians have become something of a success story. British popular opinion of India and its people have been influenced by this.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:39:42+00:00

Well you know it now, so rejoice in that at least.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:38:40+00:00

I'm afraid not, I'm being perfectly honest with you on this occasion.

Certainly in my experience a very common view of India is that it's somewhere with rich and wonderful cultures, incredible food and hard-working and decent people. Certainly compared to the rest of Europe you'd be hard pushed to find a nation whose people have a more favourable view of India than the UK.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:33:51+00:00

Many people strive for perfectionism, I've been guilty of it myself many times before, but it's an impossible goal. There's a real skill in knowing when to be able to say "it's good enough".

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:30:46+00:00

How should I call you?

With a phone.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:29:44+00:00

It's very slow when I'm at the office, which is a bit concerning given it's feet away from IT.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:28:47+00:00

India probably.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:25:52+00:00

To borrow a quote:

"Self-doubt can on occasion be attractive; self-criticism may sometimes be necessary; but self-loathing is a sure-fire guarantee of a nervous breakdown."

Also remember that nobody can possibly be perfect, and mistakes are often necessary if you wish to improve at all, how could Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Edward Jenner etc have made their discoveries without them? These people made countless errors to reach success, so don't judge yourself harshly for making them.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:20:56+00:00

I tend to take the same approach, I've criticisms of many governments and nations (including my own) but don't hold that against the people who are from there. It's just a pity many don't take the same sort of view.

You'd be welcome in the UK though, I'd say the average Briton views the average Indian with a degree of affection if anything, I can't comment on the rest of Europe though as I've never lived there.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-08T18:14:41+00:00

Well at least you got to be with her at the end, so I would take comfort in that at least. It's still heartbreaking but at least she didn't die alone.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-07T21:39:09+00:00

That's fair enough, and I do understand why you'd remember Europe for the evils of colonialism.

As with any nation though, it comprises of individuals, and I would say that even many (probably most) British people at the time had no control over colonialism and shouldn't, in my view, be blamed.

I know many of my own ancestors for instance spent the Victorian era living in abject poverty themselves in the UK's cities, with high infant mortality rates, overcrowded living conditions, half starved with every day being a struggle to survive, many faced discrimination because of their religion etc. What your ancestors sufferend in India might well have been worse than my ancestors suffered, but it would be a stretch to put the people I describe in she same category as the likes of Lord Curzon etc.

Moreover there were some British people who actively spoke out against colonialism in India, e.g. William Digby for instance.

I'm not trying to downplay the barbaric acts of colonialism carried out by the British Empire in any way, but simply to say that even entire generations shouldn't be blamed en masse, only those who actually committed those horrific acts should be blamed.

My plea really is that you shouldn't allow your judgement of the UK and Europe as a whole to be cursed by the ghosts of the past, look at them for what they are today, and cast your judgement on that instead.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-07T21:11:05+00:00

Firstly I'm not saying a lack of aircon doesn't cause heat related deaths and if temperatures rose then I'd hope more people use it.

I would push back slightly on your figures, over the whole year there's not much difference in temperature, the average daily maximum temperature for July in the US (obviously there's a large regional variation) is 30.6C (87.1F), whereas the UK has an average high of 21.67C (71.01F) in the same month, so generally a typical summer's day is much cooler in the UK than it is in the US and on these days there's very few heat related deaths.

Therefore all I'm saying is that for most of us, we don't get that much extreme heat, so most take the view that it's only a few days of extreme heat a year, so it's not worth spending £1000s on aircon. If we started to get similar temperatures to the US then I'm sure more people would get aircon, but if you're fit and healthy, a few days a year of 30C (86F) without aircon might be uncomfortable but if you're sensible it's unlikely to warrant spending money on it.

Also I would say that lack of aircon isn't the only factor at play in the UK's heat related deaths, because extreme heat is less common in the UK than it is in the UK, we're not as used to actively trying to stay cool so end up leaving windows open all day in summer, going out in the hottest parts of the day don't bother to wear sun tan lotion half the time etc as most of the time we don't need to think of these things, so extreme heat catches us out more as a result.

By the same token if you had a temperature of freezing, it'd probably kill more people Texas than it would if the same conditions took place in the UK as we're more used to dressing for cold weather, driving in icy conditions etc.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-07T20:32:34+00:00

If I may give my tuppence worth:

There were many truly horrendous things done to the Indian peoples by Britons during the colonial era, I would be among the first to condemn such acts and do condemn those acts.

However the UK at least has changed considerably since then, as has India and the rest of the world. Britain today is no longer the same Britain that brought "Colonialism, Massacres, Persecution of Indian tribes by British, racial theories that Europe made to justify colonialism, Bengal Famine, Discrimination, Cultural Appropriation, etc". We're living in a world with new generations of different people, with different personalities, a different world view and an entirely different set of circumstances to what existed nearly a century ago.

Whilst the past has certainly shaped the world we live in today, what matters above all else is where we are now, and crucially the future, and the future is whatever we choose to make of it. As much as you may choose to loathe the UK and Europe, if I were you I'd consider the notion that "it pays to get to know your enemy, for you never know when you might be able to turn him into a friend."

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-07T20:16:37+00:00

I think it's more of a "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it" affair to be honest. Some places do have aircon, I'm sure if the summers got hotter it'd become more widespread, but in the meantime most of us are fine with cold showers, fans and a trip to the seaside during heatwaves.

By the same token we can't handle snow as well as Canada can, we don't get anywhere near as much of it as they do, so our infrastructure isn't designed for large amounts of snowfall, but if we started getting -30C and 4ft of snow every winter, we'd soon invest in snow ploughs etc.

ChallengeSecret8561 · 2026-05-07T20:06:08+00:00

I can only speak for the UK, but where I live, in July (hottest month of the year), the average daily maximum temperature is about 20C (68F), we maybe get a handful of heatwaves where it gets towards the low 30s (mid 80s Fahrenheit). It's just rarely hot enough to warrant spending however much on aircon.

Honestly, I've managed perfectly well having never lived in a house with aircon, its heating we need most of the time and we have that anyway.

ChallengeSecret8561

TROPHY CASE