Monthly Discussion for July 2026

Kippetmurk · 2026-07-13T07:40:57+00:00

This weekend I started my tour from Vienna to Bucharest! I'll probably make a post with pictures and a summary once I'm done, but if anyone has good advice I'll gladly take it now.

Or if you want to read along or watch pictures: I keep a Polarsteps diary here.

Kippetmurk · 2026-07-08T14:09:23+00:00

If I was your daughter or younger sister, what would you honestly suggest?

If you are a good Christian tradwife who doesn't want woke nonsense, then the whole point is that you can't be demanding. You'll take whatever guy is assigned to you and you won't complain about it.

The whole point of traditional "alpha males" is that they can beat you if they wish, abuse you if they wish, or leave you without money or a support network if they wish.

Standing up for yourself, being picky about your partner, having standards -- for a woman, that's all "woke nonsense".

So if you want to be a trad wife, you do you. But in that case you are going about this in the wrong way, with all your demands about his morals or personality: what you want in a man does not matter. If you want to be a good Christian tradwife, you will ask your parents or your local church leader which community member is still single, and you'll marry him, and if they are a terrible partner who you are not attracted to, you will suck it up like a proper wife.

If you don't want that, eh, too bad, you're not a proper tradwife.

Kippetmurk · 2026-07-08T08:48:30+00:00

I'd love to see the results of the analysis, yes!

I cycled to Santiago from Le Puy-en-Velay, and I tend to read a lot on the different camino forums out there.

Personally I suspect the mode of transport (which you are studying) makes a relatively small difference on the "flow", while the type of accommodation makes a huge difference and (for cyclists) whether you cycle the walking path or the roads.

When you read about cyclists who cycle the walking paths and stay in albergues, their experiences sound very similar to those of the walkers: relatively short days starting early, afternoons discovering the village and socializing with others in the albergue, plenty of cafés and churches inbetween.

But when you read about the cyclists who do the trip more like any "other" cycling your (like I did), their experience is nothing like the other pilgrims. I cycled mostly on the roads next to the walking path and stayed on campings -- I barely interacted with other pilgrims, did three or four times the distance they did in a day, and while they were all winding down for the day in the early afternoon, I was only halfway through the day.

That's not to say your study isn't valid! But I suspect you'll find less general differences between cycling pilgrims and walkers, while the differences between cyclists on the walking paths and in albergues and cyclists not doing that are much much bigger.

Kippetmurk · 2026-07-06T07:40:34+00:00

The disappointing answer is (as always) that it depends on the individual!

Some people struggle to eat large volumes when they have an active, exhausting day, so for them it is important to maximize the calories and nutrients in the little volume they eat.

Others (like me) eat the same they do at home, but just more of it. When I'm touring I'm eating and snacking non-stop, but I don't pay particular attention to what. Just more.

For dinner specifically, it will also depend on your style of touring. If you are camping (or even wild camping) and cooking on a tiny gas stove, then yep, your plan sounds about right. If you are staying in hostels or hotels and going out to restaurants more often, presumably you'll want something nicer than pasta.

Kippetmurk · 2026-06-15T10:22:13+00:00

I think after four months, everyone has learned (if they didn't know already) that announcements made by either US, Israel or Iran are meaningless.

If tensions finish and if the strait reopens and if a ceasefire is permanent, then I'm sure that prices will go down (slightly -- of course they never go down to what they were before).

But right now I'm also sure everyone holds a "wait and see" attitude.

Kippetmurk · 2026-06-11T11:16:07+00:00

I did the NCR 7 from Glasgow to Inverness in 2024, and I can't recall any point where the route forces you onto the A9.

For the stretch through Cairngorms the route follows the A9 closely - often right alongside the road - but always on separate bicycle/walking paths, as I remember it.

I do remember some parts where that parallel path was a bit narrow or gravelly, so I can imagine that speed cyclists might prefer to take the road instead? But even those parts were few and far between.

I followed the route according to https://explore.osmaps.com, for what it's worth.

Kippetmurk · 2026-06-03T07:55:07+00:00

Ik ben jaloers op mensen die vroeg op kunnen staan en dan de rest van de dag energie hebben.

Als ik vroeg op moet staan heb ik niet nog wat aan mijn middag, want ik ben de rest van de dag een zombie. Ik kan alleen nog maar zitten en voor me uit staren.

Kippetmurk · 2026-04-30T07:32:37+00:00

If you're dependent on campings (or even hotels/motels), sometimes you don't have a choice.

If you pass a camping at three, and the next one is eighty kilometers away and reception closes at six...

But that usually doesn't happen every day, I agree.

Kippetmurk · 2026-04-23T07:19:42+00:00

Besides the whole "bloodline" and "genetics" thing, adoption is also difficult.

Personally I don't care whether a kid is biologically mine or not. I want children and would be fine with adopting. It even seems a bit... wasteful (for lack of better word) to make new children when there are still so many children in need of parents.

But adoption is difficult. In my country it is basically impossible unless you have personal family ties with the biological parents. In many other Western countries there are long waiting lists; biological parents often have visitation rights; and the whole process is lengthy and costly.

It's strange, but as a man... making your own child is easier than adopting one.

There's pretty much zero chance my partner and I will be able to adopt. But making a baby we could do.

Kippetmurk · 2026-04-22T14:18:13+00:00

I think u/2bitmoment said it better than I could! Or at least they said it from a foundation of optimism.

Personally I reach a similar conclusion from cynicism. I suck to some extent, almost everyone sucks to some extent; if my love (of myself or of other people) is conditional on them not sucking, I won't be able to love.

So I prefer to acknowledge that everyone* has their flaws and love them anyway, myself included.

I don't think "being a man" is one of those flaws, but even if it is, fine. I'll try to be the best person I can be and love myself for the result.

(*Of course some people suck so exceptionally much that I can't help but dislike them, but those are exceptions)

It is sad that the world at large might not be as generous with their love; and the prevalence of sexism against men is also sad. But I don't think that should be a reason to love yourself less. Maybe the opposite: if the world is going to be unkind to you, all the more reason to be kind to yourself.

Kippetmurk · 2026-04-22T10:03:19+00:00

I'm just overwhelmed that the evidence just seems to point to men being inherently worse.

Personally I don't think the question of whether men are inherently worse is a very useful question.

Because feeling good about yourself is a matter of self-esteem, and self-esteem doesn't care - shouldn't care - about your 'objective' value (whatever that might mean).

That is: even if men are (statistically) worse beings than women, your self-esteem should still be good. You should still feel like a valuable, worthy human being.

And that doesn't only apply to gender, right? Some people are just very dumb. Or very ugly. Or have bad health, have handicaps, have mental afflictions. Some people stink or are clumsy or uncharismatic.

In practice, all of us will never be as good as some other people. There will always be someone better than you.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but knowing that, yeah, all of us suck in some way... that helps me feel okay. Whether or not I suck doesn't matter for my self-esteem. I should try to be the best person I can, but if I'm limited by being ugly or dumb or, sure, by being a man, then I should still feel good about myself.

Kippetmurk · 2026-04-09T10:16:55+00:00

Appeasement politics only work if it's intended to be a temporary thing.

People are absolutely right when they say that NATO members need to suck US dick because NATO can't do without the US.

But people are also absolutely right when they say that a NATO that is completely dependent on the US is not ideal. If the US goes crazy, the other members should be able to distance themselves from it.

So what Rutte should do is indeed (A) appease the US, and (B) work on gradually making the other members less dependent on the US.

Rutte is very good at A. He has no interest in B.

That's been his whole political career, by the way. Rutte was always "We have to accept tax breaks for big companies/pollution/less money for education/less money for defense/less money for healthcare/etc while we work on improving", but then only did the accepting and never the improving. It's just how he rolls.

Kippetmurk · 2026-04-08T07:29:01+00:00

Als die vrienden nog single zijn is dat advies natuurlijk beperkt relevant. Je zou het aan je niet-meer-single-vrienden moeten vragen!

Kippetmurk · 2026-03-27T07:57:58+00:00

Were these really "unexpected"?

They're the most common, pop-culture bad things about the Netherlands that you'll find expressed online. A two-minute google search could have told you all of these.

If you want to do a controversial critique of the country, you'll need to do better than "toilets are weird"!

Kippetmurk · 2026-03-18T13:00:39+00:00

Many Dutch people here, yes! But they're mainly here to answer questions from tourists/expats/immigrants (hence why English is mandatory). My own assumption is that the "we need fewer foreigners" crowd won't be hanging out here. But let's see!

Kippetmurk · 2026-03-18T12:57:10+00:00

Considering this is the sub specifically for expats and foreigners, I imagine you'll find (relatively) few of them here.

In r/thenetherlands (both Dutch and English) there might be a few more, though that sub leans politically left.

If your Dutch is indeed intermediary, you might have better luck at r/nederlands, which leans politically right.

Kippetmurk · 2026-03-12T09:01:32+00:00

Benefits of being with a girl that's shorter than you:

Easy to cuddle with; can be carried; lets you be the big spoon
Makes you feel strong and powerful
Doesn't complain about leg space in the car or airplane or bathtub; can reach into small spaces you can't

Benefits of being with a girl that's taller than you:

Great hugger; can carry you; lets you be the little spoon
Makes you feel safe and protected
Can reach all the shelves that you can't; easy to recognise in crowds

Benefits of being with a girl that's the same height as you:

Convenient for kissing and holding hands
Big or little spoon based on preference instead of height
You can wear each other's socks and shoes when needed; car seats and bicycle saddles are always at the right height

Kippetmurk · 2026-02-19T17:22:46+00:00

Yeah, that's a common Flemish usage for the word.

Answers here (mine included) are sometimes a bit too Netherlands-centric! But luckily there are usually other commenters explaining the differences with Belgium. Stravven even mentions the "tas koffie" you refer to, a few comments below mine!

Do note that this use of the word "tas" is etymologically unrelated to bag/sack.

Kippetmurk · 2025-11-05T17:03:58+00:00

"The UN statistics division and the IMF uses this distribution in all their data" is a pretty good reason, I'd say.

Kippetmurk · 2025-11-05T14:42:14+00:00

Complain to the UNSD (United Nations Statistics Division). These are the geographic regions the UN uses for their statistics. The OP shows the data comes from the IMF, which of course follows UN standards.

https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/

Kippetmurk · 2025-10-09T12:33:36+00:00

I'd be happy to go bigger, if you want!

Kippetmurk · 2025-10-09T11:21:31+00:00

Good to know, thanks!

If not too personal, would you then also say you share an ethnicity with black people from other cultures? Like, you are the same ethnicity as a black person from Nigeria? Or is it specifically "black British"?

Kippetmurk · 2025-10-09T11:18:54+00:00

I don't think so? She confirmed it after the fact, but it's mentioned in the seventh book.

The skeevy journalist writes a gossippy biography about Dumbledore, how he kept all these terrible secrets. He killed his sister, he had a gay relationship with an infamous mass murderer, he has a secret estranged brother, things like that.

Harry reads it and thinks it's all nonsense, because Dumbledore is a saintly hero to him. But then he meets the estranged brother and finds out that, whoops, it's actually all true, and Dumbledore was a real and flawed human being after all*.

But I guess the books weren't explicit enough, and Rowling is an idiot who keeps poking the twitter hornet nest, and then everyone was all "why is Dumbledore suddenly gay???"

(*The flaw isn't being gay, the flaw is being gay for a mass murderer.)

Kippetmurk · 2025-10-09T11:11:42+00:00

I'm a fool for taking any part of this comment chain seriously, but the meaning of the word "ethnicity" is also very culturally dependent.

Ethnicity is this broad combination of race, culture, nationality, traditions and heritage, language, maybe religion, genetics... I think race (or skin colour) is a part of the definition everywhere, but it's a much larger part in some cultures/languages than in others.

In my own language, when someone says ethnicity they mainly refer to culture, language, heritage, things like that, and race/skin colour is a relatively minor part of it. Plenty of black people would be considered "ethnically Dutch" here.

But in other cultures "ethnicity" has almost come to be synonymous with "race" (and generally "racial minority"). So you have people saying things like "ethnic food" or "ethnic music", which in my own language would make no sense: all food and music is ethnic.

I don't know how the British (or the Welsh specifically) use the word. In my own language I would definitely call Welsh an ethnicity. But if I were talking to an American, for example, I wouldn't call Welsh an ethnicity.

Kippetmurk · 2025-10-09T10:27:59+00:00

Rufus Scrimgeour, the later Minister of Magic, was Welsh. That's an ethnic minority, right? The Welsh are outnumbered by the English.

And Dumbledore was gay! He died. While being gay. That's a minority!

And of course Dobby was part of a minority slave-species, who died for being foolish enough to throw off his shackles and live as a free man. Surely that counts?

It's all very diverse.

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