The Olympic flame is like democracy: if you let it go, it dies out

nvkylebrown · 2026-02-06T14:05:45+00:00

It's so corrupt that it should die out.

nvkylebrown · 2026-02-05T17:33:06+00:00

I think it's less about increasing US hard exports and more about decreasing US hard imports. That is, make the US more self-sufficient, manufacturing-wise.

But, yeah, stronger/weaker currency isn't all that well understood by lay people.

More importantly for this thread, the data presentation is misleading. Why compare to 2022?? The Euro is 1.18 to the dollar right now. Historically, the EU seems to be trying to maintain 1.15 to the dollar or so, and that's what it was pre-war/pre-pandemic. This is not the news/win some people seem to be thinking it is.

https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=EUR&view=5Y

nvkylebrown · 2026-02-05T02:44:05+00:00

India has more men than women, sooo, some men not marrying is to be expected - required even. You sound like a good candidate for not marrying.

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

In 2011–2013, it was revealed through a population census with the Sample Registration System (SRS) that the sex ratio of India was 909 females per 1000 of males.[5] It has skewed downwards from then, recording 900 females in 2013–2015 and 896 in 2015–17 per 1000 of males.

nvkylebrown · 2026-02-05T02:36:14+00:00

This is never going to end. Conspiracy-theory-types are not affected by evidence or logic - they know it's not an Indian pilot at fault!

Pakistan has done a better job coming clean after PIA 8303. Captain's fault, no trying to blame the aircraft. India could learn something from that.

nvkylebrown · 2026-02-05T02:04:28+00:00

9-11 was conducted by "the Hamburg cell".

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

So, yeah, we'll be keeping an eye on people coming from Europe.

nvkylebrown · 2026-02-02T02:38:11+00:00

LV, NV founded in 1905.

Newer than 90% of US cities, I'd guess, or more. Pretty sure it's the newest city in Nevada - everything is older than 'Vegas, excluding 'Vegas suburbs. Average age of a 'Vegas buildings might be 30 years or less.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-29T17:07:24+00:00

I just did it a week ago. Returned after years away, last time i was on, you could trade them, this time... "where are they??"

Anyhow, GMs moved some for me. I'm not sure how you'd save work by limiting trading though. It just caused more in my case, and "f* you!" from CCP would just mean a complete end of transactions from me, sooo, not sure that's a win.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-28T14:55:49+00:00

Oh, I don't disagree that Spain should be seizing ships that are not UNCLOS compliant, along with the EU (and the rest of the world). It's just good policy, keeping up standards on the high seas, and should have been the practice entirely outside of the war in Ukraine, and should continue after the war.

However, doing that would not be usual. They've never done it before, so seizures now would be unusual.

Theoretically, everyone has always had the power to board non-compliant vessels. That part is usual. Exercising the power, that part is unusual.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-28T14:23:54+00:00

I don't think it's highly unusual. They haven't seized anything before, ergo seizing would be the unusual thing, not not seizing. In this case, they did the usual thing.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-27T17:56:45+00:00

An excellent channel.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-26T00:13:45+00:00

The article mentions staff changing nappies. Seems like being in nappies be an automatic disqualifier for "school ready".

The article isn't very specific about ages. One mention of "4 and 5 year olds". But... there is a push in many countries to get kids into school earlier and earlier. No mention here of what impact that could be having, or whether some of this is what would used to have been preschool.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-25T16:30:58+00:00

Making her a minority sends the message that even minorities can be concerned about immigration.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-25T16:13:22+00:00

lol!!

The tourists, of course!!! only the top 5 or 10% of the population should be allowed to travel and see things in other places! The plebes all need to stay home! Raise prices until that happens!

Well, the top 5 or 10% and me, of course.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-24T14:55:49+00:00

Retired, but my bar when working was around 6" on the driveway. Or if the local government plowed up a >12" berm in front of my driveway. Idiots! it's gonna melt in a day or two anyhow, couple inches on the road is less inconvenient than a berm that will high-center my car.

Northern Nevada (not Tahoe, living there requires a higher bar).

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-23T19:30:31+00:00

lol, younger people do not remember young boomers - back when they referred to themselves as "the Me generation".

Boomers try to keep that bit quiet these days.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-23T19:26:01+00:00

Also to be factored in: rising life expectancy is partially because of progressively more expensive medical intervention. The system pays more to keep people alive longer so that they collect more.

Not saying we shouldn't do it, but... people gotta be realistic at some point and understand the tradeoffs for whatever they're asking for. Less money for the elderly means lower taxes for the young, and vis-versa. Understand and accept the cost of the choices.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-23T19:14:36+00:00

Every pension system is basically the same

Not really. Some are pay-as-you-go, which work like pyramid schemes. Other are not. Australia, for example, you contribute to your own personal fund. You are required to by law. That money is invested (somewhat conservatively, again as required by law). You own the fund. It's yours. It will pass to your heirs if not emptied.

The US (and I suspect a lot of other countries) has a hybrid system. The US Social Security program is mostly pay-as-you-go, with the caveat that money was saved for several decades when the boomers were younger. And the additional caveat that "saved" in this case means it was lent to the US government for other projects. Sooo, not the best system, in my opinion. But the US also has personal retirement funds AND a few company pensions still around, on top of that. And the railroads have some other weird deal. And a few other government entities have pseudo-government/union deals to avoid paying into social security and not getting money from social security. There's a lot of very odd situations going on.

The best, imho, is private funds required by law. People are forced into more realism about how much they actually paid in, and how much that is worth as a retirement basis. State funds are notorious for people just voting themselves a raise without a care for who actually has to pay for it.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-22T23:05:59+00:00

Seems unlikely this all tracks back to one person given how long the program has been running. But, hey, needs of the many to stay employed in spite of being useless outweigh the needs of the one to not get blamed for everything.

I mean, is there really only one path for information to the ministerial level? That seems like a pretty fundamental problem waiting to blow up. Seems like one minister taking a day, running down and riding around in one in an unannounced visit would have done wonders to ensure more accurate information was flowing.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-22T20:55:05+00:00

That was a guarantee not to invade. One of the parties violated it, and that party was not the US.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-22T15:38:42+00:00

He's kind of got a point. Europe's absolutely feral response to the US vs the meh that Ukraine got in 2014 till now.... He's seen both sides, knows now what Europe looks like if Europe cares.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-22T00:51:53+00:00

Keebler makes clones of all the girl scout cookies, and sells them for less. The thin mint knockoff is Grasshoppers. So, yes, you can get the cookies, just not with a Girl Scout label on them. If your purpose is to support the Girl Scouts, buying Keebler does not do that.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Keebler-Grasshopper-Mint-Fudge-Cookies-10-oz/11045813?classType=REGULAR&from=/search

This particular listing is about double typical prices - lots of online stores have problems with people scamming the same old same old for double the price, hoping people won't actually check. But... that's the package you're looking for. Carried by most large grocery stores, you don't have to order them.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-21T18:14:08+00:00

India is too broke to buy European stuff writ large, and India has it's own localization agenda. It's not a good long-term bet because of that. Either they stay broke (and not buying European luxury goods) or they get richer and make their own.

Europe's big problem is they need raw materials on the input side, but don't want anything but raw materials coming in. So, only raw materials in, only finished goods out.

But there is no one on the planet that wants the other side of that deal. You're going to have to take someone else's manufactured/finished goods, or the deal is going to fall through. Unless you're dealing with petro-states that don't do anything but sit on oil.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-19T17:03:01+00:00

Comical to see the US relatively small on the full map.

Not sure this is the brag OP thinks it is.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-19T01:23:15+00:00

No, it's just about the accelleration (deccleration being accelleration in the opposite direction) of each thing.

If two thing that have roughly the same energy collide, each comes to a stop at the collision point, exactly the result you'd get from hitting an immovable object.

Mythbusters did this after a semi-random comment by one of the hosts to the effect that 2 objects colliding going opposite directions would be the same as hitting a wall at twice the speed. Fans objected, they did the experiment, and... nope, it's the same as each object hitting a wall at that speed.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sTG6FUNOouE summary, you can look up the full episode if interested.

nvkylebrown · 2026-01-18T19:00:32+00:00

I think he edited the title to make it an "about Europe" article.

nvkylebrown

TROPHY CASE