The New Coffee Room

At this point it looks like Trump is just making things up to justify tariffs. Why does he think the US will profit from this? It's nonsense. Fair trade is win-win for both sides.

VAT similar to a tariff? What?

VAT applies to local products the same way. It doesn't punish imports in any way.

Ridiculous nonsense.

Reminds me of Leica cameras. For the last two decades they have gone more and more into the direction of "special editions" of their cameras made by various designers and sold for ridiculous prices. There was a time when Leica was the camera maker of choice for many thousand photo journalists and photographers. Now it's just a maker of technically outdated ridiculously overpriced cameras that are never used to make photos because they only sit in shelves.

I'd try a good old phone call. With some look, you'll reach an older lady or guy working in the library who is happy to help you.

I wonder how North Korea gets its place near the bottom.

Yes, it's of course one of the worst places to be on earth, but it's not obvious that corruption is also a big thing there, and we barely have any intel about what's going on in this place.

It will most likely be a car that looks tiny to Americans and will hence not be sold in the US.

How did Trump perform so far relative to the expectations you had before the election?

For me, he did better so far than I expected - admittedly that was not a very high barrier.

You seem to have met very odd MAMILs. I've met many MAMILs, but not one like that. They are usually very easy going, with a "live and let live" attitude....

I once saw a video where a pro rider hopped on a smart trainer and produced 400W for over an hour.

I last 2-3 minutes top. (joke opportunity here!)

It's rather humbling what the pros can do, especially when you realize how much more straining 20 additional watts are.

@jon-nyc Around 185.

When I was in peak form, I could do 320 watts for 20 minutes, near maximum HR.

These days I'm happy about 220 watts for 20 minutes.

Sounds too familiar...

500 bucks at sequencing.com. I've only just ordered; it will probably take 2-3 months before I get results.

I just ordered a whole genome sequencing test.

Who already did this? What did you find out?

@Aqua-Letifer She has applied to schools in Queensland (mostly near/in Gold Coast) but since its the most popular choice it's likely that she'll have to make another choice.

Update: The US wasn't far enough, apparently. Daughter is going to Australia this year.

The energy prices are just one component of a big pile of structural problems. Progressive ideology has a lot to do with it indeed.

It's a mess.

Let's see whether the upcoming elections can change a few things.

@jon-nyc said in The Melania Picture:

Honestly she looks much prettier on the left.

Most people look prettier when we are young. The basis of comparison should be: What would she have looked like without cosmetic surgery etc.?

Metal detectors at schools sound absurd to me.

It would be a reason for me to move elsewhere. I don't want to live in a place where this is necessary.