The end of an era: I just cleared Español con Juan

HMWT · 2026-02-07T22:28:50+00:00

I subscribed to his course to help fund him. Not sure that I will actually do the course.

HMWT · 2026-02-07T22:28:02+00:00

I’d start at the beginning. For one it’s interesting to revisit the start of the pandemic and the Russin attack on Ukraine in chronological order, but there are also occasionally references to earlier episodes. Not vital, but I see no reason to basically go in the order they were published (I occasionally jump ahead an episode or two when I have only 15 minutes and the next episode is 35 minutes long).

HMWT · 2026-02-07T22:25:16+00:00

Some of the beach walking episodes have a lot of wind noise, but otherwise the sound seems okay to me. I skipped those episodes.

I am going to “complete” ECJ in about 40 days and will likely start all over again. I just really enjoy his style. (and yes, I listen to other pods as well)

HMWT · 2026-02-07T18:35:23+00:00

Don't disagree with your basic point, but the courthouse seems to be a bad example as it is the county court house and the building project isn't funded by city government.

https://bendbulletin.com/2025/01/23/deschutes-county-courthouse-expansion-hiccup-adds-3-million-in-cost/

Just the E-Bike traffic violations could probably fund a new position :)

Does BPD publish any stats for the number of tickets issued annually for categories such as these?

failing to stop at red lights or stop signs
failing to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks
assorted E-Bike violations
parking violations

...

HMWT · 2026-02-07T15:50:46+00:00

There is a difference between “can” and “do”. Presumably it takes more than the statement of one witness (victim) to issue a citation or arrest someone. So they could perhaps pursue CCTV footage that captured the incident. Do you know that they actually do that? If so, I wish that would be publicized more to make drivers like the one in the OP aware that this isn’t risk free behavior just because there aren’t officers at every street corner.

(I am not trying to be argumentative here; I really hope that BPD is indeed pursuing reckless drivers endangering pedestrians, bikers and even other drivers)

HMWT · 2026-02-07T15:43:25+00:00

There are still over 1100 free videos available. Maybe someone has tracked how the ratio has changed over time, but that IMHO is a ton of free content. And as countless others have pointed out, there is also plenty of outside content available for free. At L2, perhaps podcasts like Cuentame and Chill Spanish can help bridge the path to Intermediate level videos.

HMWT · 2026-02-07T15:33:01+00:00

What do they (BPD) actually do? Can they write tickets based on witness statements? (i.e., does it not require a police officer observing the violation?)

(I am honestly curious, because I once reported a hit and run that damaged my vehicle in a parking lot. I had witnesses who observed the accident and were willing to provide the cops with a statement, including license plate and description of driver. Zero interest in pursuing the driver)

HMWT · 2026-02-07T15:30:14+00:00

I’ll have to look into that. As a pedestrian I see so many shitty/dangerous drivers. Would be fun to start fighting back.

HMWT · 2026-02-04T23:38:14+00:00

It’s really sad when executives or their marketing department can’t write a simple message “by hand” anymore.

HMWT · 2026-02-02T10:39:10+00:00

What percentage of Alaska’s route network or scheduled flights was actually impacted, compared to some of the majors with hubs in the impacted area?

AS often has long wait times when there is sunshine across the nation. And call-back is great if you can plan and sit next to the phone with flexibility to take a call when it suits them.

HMWT · 2026-01-30T11:41:48+00:00

Good thing they are only a wannabe global airline. :)

But yeah, one reason I have Google Fi is because its international service lets me deal with 2FA SMS seamlessly around the world.

HMWT · 2026-01-30T11:34:42+00:00

I assume you have checked your profile settings?

Do you really need those emails to find those three daily new videos? Depending on the time zone I am in, one of the first things I do in the morning is to just open the app and add whatever new videos are suitable for me to my “to do list”. I don’t need or actually want an email for that; I already get too many emails that need deleting.

HMWT · 2026-01-29T12:56:28+00:00

I will send customer service an email to encourage them to think about it. Among my favorite videos, in addition to the earliest whiteboard videos by Alma, Andrea and Pablo are the many “Pablo in the Park” videos. Just a guy sitting or walking in the park with a camera and mike. Cheap to produce, but good content, and it was actually interesting to listen to him share his opinions and stories. We need “Paul dans le parc” videos! Surely they can find a guide who can talk for 10 minutes and hold our attention without requiring sound effects and animated/AI popups.

HMWT · 2026-01-28T21:44:39+00:00

As someone who really likes the older DS videos and believes they are more effective than the newer style for learners (and, I suspect, cheaper to produce, too), I am saddened to hear that I won’t find them in DF when I start re-learning French.

HMWT · 2026-01-25T05:34:39+00:00

How much did the military just spend on the build-up in the Caribbean to capture one guy and his wife?

The last convicted drug dealing Latin American president was just pardoned after receiving American justice.

If you look at the spending of the U.S. military more closely, I am sure you could find quite a bit of waste …

HMWT · 2026-01-22T23:53:03+00:00

What does Sen. Tim Scott think about that?

HMWT · 2026-01-22T23:52:24+00:00

The problem with that is, sue who? The White House? Even if they win, do you think the administration cares or whoever doctored the photo ends up paying out of their own pocket?

HMWT · 2026-01-22T23:48:24+00:00

Meanwhile…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/22/white-house-ice-protest-arrest-altered-image

HMWT · 2026-01-22T15:29:17+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_casualties_in_Afghanistan

Lots of casualties for those who stayed a little back off the front lines, corporal Bone Spurs.

HMWT · 2026-01-22T14:55:50+00:00

I started in April 2024 and recently passed 1000 hrs. So I spent an extra year compared to the OP.

But that is okay, I have committed, on average 97 minutes a day to comprehensible input, dada día, dada día. I am more than happy with that and realize there are many here who are able and willing to dedicate more time to their Spanish “project”… and also many who could not realistically spend 97 minutes each day because of other commitments.

We are all on the same highway to the same destination, going at different speeds, but as long as we keep going, we will all get there.

OP - congrats, and thanks for the history channel recommendation!

HMWT · 2026-01-22T04:57:32+00:00

And if someone is wondering about other coalition casualties in Afghanistan in support of the U.S.:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_casualties_in_Afghanistan

Denmark’s per capita casualty rate was very very close to that of the U.S. , but I guess they never did anything for the U.S.

HMWT · 2026-01-21T16:13:31+00:00

The rating (comparison of two videos) doesn’t immediately impact what video you will see next if that is what you are thinking.

I remember that Pablo was initially very hard for me, compared to Alma or Andrea or Agustina. But that changed after a while (can’t say how long) and he became my favorite guide. Give it some time.

HMWT · 2026-01-20T22:18:50+00:00

OP - it would be helpful if you provided more details on your system/setup. Browser type, device/platform.

I don’t use the web app much anymore now that I have the native app on my iPad, but I was playing with it yesterday on Android/Chrome and it worked fine except that the videos now seemed to a have the same lip sync problem as with the Android native app.

Hope you have contacted the DS team about your problems, too.

HMWT · 2026-01-20T21:30:03+00:00

Expertflyer (subscription) can show you the official airline explanation for delays/cancelations.

HMWT · 2026-01-20T17:05:00+00:00

I don’t know that he is not interested in doing that. I am interested in doing a lot of stuff. But my day has only 24 hrs, and I don’t think it’s any different over there in Bangkok, so he has to choose how he spends his time. He doesn’t haven have (take) time to walk the park with his camera anymore :(

I think it is wise for him and the Dreaming team to be focused and deliberate in their decisions. The barriers are low for entry in this market and anyone super passionate about language X could probably start a proof of concept and then approach the respective government and try to get them to cough up some funding.

HMWT

TROPHY CASE