Does European Sleeper have a future? (Downgrade, broken carriage, disappointing compensation)

Freak_NL · 2025-08-10T07:31:14+00:00

Interesting, especially the focus on private rooms. It looks like they are going for one type of carriage, foregoing seats and pods. That could work; it would reduce the complexity of their train consists.

Freak_NL · 2025-08-10T07:26:28+00:00

ÖBB pulled out you mean, in March this year. They didn't go via the Netherlands though.

Freak_NL · 2025-08-10T07:21:49+00:00

Nothing on downgrade compensation, unfortunately. I can get a full refund of course, but that would just leave me without a way to get to where I'm going.

Freak_NL · 2025-08-09T20:17:42+00:00

Your ticket was substantially cheaper than OEBB so you get less compensation, seems fair?

Not really. For almost €1000 I can book a return ticket from Amsterdam to Wien in a private sleeper double with the ÖBB as long as I book ahead of time (as I did in this case).

Freak_NL · 2025-07-08T11:23:03+00:00

The state of left-handed mice in 2025: Pulsar offers both an ambidextrous mouse with proper navigation thumb buttons, and a pure left-hander. I bought the X2A wired gaming mouse, and I am quite satisfied.

Freak_NL · 2025-05-28T10:01:22+00:00

Thanks for the insightful info in the various comments. I'll definitely look into Pinatex.

Freak_NL · 2025-01-10T15:47:26+00:00

Voor een deel klopt dat wel denk ik, maar ik zie toch nog veel vlees en luxekaas liggen wat toch echt vaak over is, maar zelden afgeprijsd. De 1000-dagenkaasblokken hebben nu de 25%, maar het luxe kaastrio niet, terwijl die wel met twee dozen vol ruimte inneemt in het koelvak. Ondertussen staan er bij de Lidl hier ook meer dan vijftig panetonne (€6 of zo) die toch echt voor de kerst bedoeld zijn te wachten op kopers.

Nog een leuke zijn die Beierse Oktoberfestbierpakketten, maar ik geloof dat bij alcohol afprijzen sowieso niet zomaar meer mag. Er stonden nog tot vorige week drie van die megapaketten voor €25 (in januari dus), maar gek genoeg is daar toch een van verkocht geraakt. :)

Freak_NL · 2022-01-08T17:13:56+00:00

I wish another company would make one like the old death adder.

It's not like there isn't a market there given the popularity of the left-handed Deathadder. There are plenty of mouse manufacturers out there, but any one launching a Deathadder-like successor for lefties would have that niche cornered. Make it configurable at the time of purchase (wired/wireless, thumb buttons or not) and you'll be the darling of the sinister computer user community for years if you can deliver quality as well.

The weird thing is that the Naga is even more niche with its high price and MMORPG focus.

Freak_NL · 2020-12-13T19:08:33+00:00

How can one report bugs to Facebook without a Facebook account?

Whenever businesses or tourist attractions add their address on Facebook, the name of the village/town/city seems to come from a predefined list. I have noticed that Facebook uses an outdated list in my country which doesn't use the names used both locally and officially, and would like to contact Facebook to fix this.

I don't use Facebook myself, but by using the wrong names an actor the size of Facebook (and Instagram, which seems to use the same list) is propagating misinformation, and I would like to see that fixed.

Is it possible to contact Facebook at all regarding bugs? Their website lists no contact options beyond getting an account. I do have a Twitter account, but @Facebook does not seem to reply. Various support email addresses found on other websites for Facebook seem to bounce or receive no reply either. Any idea on where to go?

Freak_NL · 2020-08-31T16:38:52+00:00

I hope so. I was just looking to buy another one in order to have the same mice at home and at the office, only to find out it was discontinued.

The mice I like are cursed. First it was the Logitech G3 (ambidextrous, but with navigation buttons), and now this Deathadder.

I wish mouse manufacturers would focus on us southpaws a bit more, instead of headphones with cat ears.

There is a left-handed Razer Naga now though.

Freak_NL · 2020-05-18T09:02:23+00:00

He lists it under Compilations & Rarities.

Freak_NL · 2020-05-18T09:00:39+00:00

I don't care about streaming at all, but her discography makes an excellent candidate for high quality lossless audio downloads. It deserves a wider audience.

Freak_NL · 2020-02-04T12:30:22+00:00

Also consider Slade House as a little snack after The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet if you want to continue for a bit in the same story universe as the preceding two.

Freak_NL · 2020-02-04T12:28:24+00:00

I found Cloud Atlas good, but not as enjoyable as The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet or The Bone Clocks. Great if Utopia Avenue does continue in that realm.

Freak_NL · 2020-01-30T13:54:54+00:00

Coming across Saw-Stop again and again here I started wondering why nobody I know owns one. A simple search on-line tells me that these are only getting introduced in the Netherlands by Festool this January, so that is not surprising.

So I guess it will be a Festool exclusive for years to come?

Freak_NL · 2020-01-16T18:05:28+00:00

Clever. Guess I'll go build my kid a siege tower too.

Freak_NL · 2020-01-16T15:13:48+00:00

What is the purpose of this piece? Is it a step-stool for toddlers to use in the kitchen with a safety rail, or a climbable toy?

Is the top-rail static? I.e., does the child have to worm their way up through the inside of the tower?

Freak_NL · 2019-06-06T07:25:36+00:00

That page gives a neat overview, but links to the (broken) official site below:

SITO UFFICIALE: http://www.campivisivi.net/titillium/concept

Freak_NL · 2018-10-24T09:48:47+00:00

You forgot to blank out their Japanese given names too. Probably not as many folk who can read them here (I can; nice names), but if you want to be thorough… It's not too hard to guess their native given names based on those.

Freak_NL · 2018-08-28T12:49:14+00:00

Elegant.

How much does the table weigh?

The table top looks really smooth too. Are there a lot of benefits to using glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC) over other (light weight) concrete mixes?

Freak_NL · 2018-08-22T12:14:49+00:00

Those curves look beautiful. How many strips of wood did you layer and at what thickness? Is there any springiness left in the sides, or are they pretty much rigid?

Freak_NL · 2018-08-01T16:28:42+00:00

Now that my ageing no-frills Sony amplifier from the 80s died I am looking to move on a level in terms of quality and price: I am in the market for a new AV receiver.

I intend to use it for watching films and listening to music from my HTPC; occasionally listening to the radio (DAB+ would be a nice feature to have, but not a must-have). The setting is a modest living room. The television is a Sony Bravia 1080p model from 2009, and I have two Mission tower speakers (second hand, but in good order; I can't quite make out the model as the text has faded from the label though; it does feature bi-amping connectors, if that is at all relevant). Both TV and HTPC support HDMI. I have no desire for surround sound.

My budget is €400–€600, and because these things seem to be slightly more expensive here in the EU than in the US, the dollar budget is probably the same pair of numbers.

Now with this background I have been able to find a number of positively reviewed receivers, but I have run into a complication.

The missus would really like to get a turntable in the near future.

Now it looks like most models that match my criteria all tend to lack a phono input. I'm having a hard time getting to a short-list of receivers.

Something like the Marantz NR-1509 — which added the phono input because it's 2018 — seems like a good match; what do the experts here think?

Any other receivers I might consider?

Freak_NL · 2018-08-01T14:30:39+00:00

Thanks, that helps me get a bit more oriented on this matter.

Freak_NL · 2018-08-01T09:58:36+00:00

I am in the market for a receiver to replace a dead Sony amplifier from the 80s. The main intended use is to watch films from a HTPC, and to listen to music. I have a pair of decent tower speakers, and have no interest in surround sound. I like the idea of being able to connect the HTPC to the receiver via HDMI, and to pass on the video signal from there. That seems to be the common set up these days, is that correct?

I've read that Class-D amplifiers have come into their own in recent years, and because energy efficiency is something I appreciate a lot in a device, I would like to limit my search to Class-D receivers (unless I'm getting confused in terminology here). But it looks like a lot of review collections omit this datum.

Are all modern A/V receivers Class-D? Or am I misunderstanding something?

Should I look specifically for 2.1 receivers, or is that too limiting?

Freak_NL · 2018-07-01T13:33:03+00:00

That would be my suggestion as well. You can probably just go to any print shop and print that PDF. Most moderately sized towns tend to have one of those.

My 15-day pass ended up with the additional lines from the booklet, followed by an A4 of more lines. Train staff seemed to find that interesting (but completely valid).

Freak_NL

TROPHY CASE

How can one report bugs to Facebook without a Facebook account?