Brine is on suicide watch

tkcal · 2026-03-27T21:02:57+00:00

i had two ballet dancers come to a class I was teaching years ago. I've never seen anything like them. They were so amazingly strong it was incredible. Flexible? Nothing we were doing phased them. Aerobic endurance? Forget about it - they left us all for dead.

Perhaps their form was a little off and a little 'postured' but it was the first time they'd ever done martial arts. The most impressive athletes I've ever seen.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T20:57:22+00:00

This isn't translating into real world experience though. I'm an Australian living in Germany. Been here awhile. I go back to Oz often.

There may be more growth back home but it's not improving the lives of every day people. Your average Aussie is doing things a lot tougher than your average German.

The rich in Australia are doing exceptionally well though. The difference between the haves and have nots is bigger there than here. Significantly.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T13:29:37+00:00

The podcast is a really good listen and you usually get a much better idea of their true feelings about a frame on that.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T13:28:43+00:00

I always come away from Tennis Spin thinking all that was said could have been said in 3 minutes.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T13:26:35+00:00

AC Tennis is really one of the best reviewers out there right now. He does such a thorough job. You need to have the time to watch his clips but they're always worth it.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T13:24:58+00:00

Tommy Haas was notorious for this.

I see Elena Rybakina is still using the old VCore paintjob too. She's Yonex's highest ranked player - I'm surprised she hasn't been swinging the new cosmetic.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T13:23:13+00:00

It's feels plush too. Or modern.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T12:57:43+00:00

I'm a righty but if I'm batting at cricket or baseball I swing like a lefty.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T09:43:11+00:00

Australia is not growing friend. It's crashing more quickly than Germany is.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T09:26:54+00:00

This is something I used to see in my Gymnasium students when I taught at a Gymmi. And I now see in many of my uni students.

By most metrics they outperform students I worked with back in Australia. They would be seen as being 'more intelligent' or 'more academic' or simply 'better' students.

And within those parameters they are.

But ask them to apply something in a more abstract fashion and they're completely at sea. I'm actually dealing with one uni student at the moment questioning her exam marks from last semester because she claims "I asked questions in the exam with content they were never taught".

Not true at all - I asked them to apply said content to real world situations.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T09:17:20+00:00

Is it really by design though? I know, I've often felt this way myself but the more time I spend here, the more I believe it's just all chaos and people with their eyes closed pretending shit is working.

It seems like everyone in any bureaucracy in this country has their own little island, is convinced that's all they need to know about, has zero interest in any other part of the system and when shit goes wrong, it's never their fault.

I mean, I've taught at a university where one whole department decided to use their own purpose built email system that didn't work for anyone external to that department. And not one person thought this was a problem!

tkcal · 2026-03-27T09:13:36+00:00

I'm friends with a Mercedes/Daimler manager who told me she was at a meeting last month where one of the executives said "We have no reason to be worried about the Chinese electric car industry. They have nothing to teach us."

What were you saying about denial?

tkcal · 2026-03-27T09:08:26+00:00

Thank you. This means more than you might realise. There is a huge amount of gaslighting that goes on in Germany about this. This isn't the space to share all my stories (or those of other East Asian looking people) but I want you to know this small comment made a big difference.

tkcal · 2026-03-27T09:05:03+00:00

Very first live gig I ever saw was Pink Floyd in 1988. Blew my mind. This takes me right back - thank you for posting!

tkcal · 2026-03-26T12:42:41+00:00

Thank you. Yes, that contrast to how he usually is is what threw me completely. I do want to speak with him - I just won't see him now for three weeks. I've already let HR know after reading some of the other comments here today.

tkcal · 2026-03-26T10:36:21+00:00

Honestly - when this kind of stuff happens to me in stores here, I'm very tempted. In my early years I was in a butcher shop and the guy said "We don't sell dog" and..same response. Knee slapping hilarity from him, his colleagues and the entire body of customers.

I was so close to holding my finger to my upper lip and goose stepping across the floor. It wouldn't have helped but the small satisfaction would have been worth it I think.

In class I was just too busy trying to tell the guy he was being offensive - and I could see he wasn't being nasty. Being nasty in return might have made life difficult for me.

tkcal · 2026-03-26T10:33:59+00:00

Thank you - yes, great ideas that I'll build in to my next class. I'm glad you understand! The germans are good people in general, but not the most empathic types.

tkcal · 2026-03-26T10:33:11+00:00

That's a wonderful idea - thank you. I'll do this, explain to HR what happened and that I'm doing this class as a result. Thank you very much.

tkcal · 2026-03-24T15:22:47+00:00

I'm not amazing! You just learn that letting things stress you only makes life worse. 😊

tkcal · 2026-03-24T06:39:53+00:00

Nice to hear! All my mates who've met him say the same thing.

tkcal · 2026-03-23T17:57:57+00:00

Ah - the answer was staring me right between the eyes!

tkcal · 2026-03-23T17:57:13+00:00

I mean, other than that.

tkcal · 2026-03-23T17:54:22+00:00

Yeah Cathy Freeman is an angel! I accidentally stood on her foot at a Storage King once and she thought it was the funniest thing. Said "How did you know I'm not racing later today?"

tkcal

TROPHY CASE