Absolutely Anything Else

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

On our flight over to Vegas on BA airways( I call them BS airlines) they were so cheap that on that flight from BUD to LON they didn't even serve water without charging.

You are a victim of the modern idea of economics, capitalism and market dynamics.

Thus..... More people today are fine with getting crammed into a metal tube, being uncomfortable, and not getting water on their flights if they can save a tiny bit of money.

And then, because of that (what most people want and will pay for), the airlines nickel and dime us to death to stay competitive, because the "other airline" offers cheaper fairs for less services. And people don't seem to care about service if they can get from point 'A' to point 'B' for less.

Unless, or until, that is..... they get thirsty ..... they they complain and Facebook or Twitter all about it....

Sadly, there are fewer and fewer options for a middle ground. Only, crammed into a tube in coach class or pay 10x more to sit in the same plane and get Champagne.

  Sighs....

And yes, "nickel and dime" is an American monetary idea, but this issue is caused mostly by the Chicago School of economics, so it is appropriate.

klsallee wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

On our flight over to Vegas on BA airways( I call them BS airlines) they were so cheap that on that flight from BUD to LON they didn't even serve water without charging.

.....
Thus..... More people today are fine with getting crammed into a metal tube, being uncomfortable, and not getting water on their flights if they can save a tiny bit of money.

.....

Sadly, there are fewer and fewer options for a middle ground. Only, crammed into a tube in coach class or pay 10x more to sit the same plane and get Champagne.....

You can get water for free.  I was on a BA flight this week and people asked for it and got it.  It was just tap water.

Business class is usually about 3 x economy class.  For that you are essentially paying for the space another person would use and their luggage allowances.  That means 2 x 32kg luggage checked and  2 pieces of hand luggage  plus the additional staffing, costs of fuel and the minor costs of drink/food and special ground transport, lounges etc.   

Excess baggage is based on 1% of the economy class fare per kg.  On some airlines, like Emirates, you almost get your own personal server - seems like 1 person per  8-10 passengers and if the plane is mostly empty, they are there every few minutes trying to shovel food and drink into you when you want to sleep.                                                                                                                                           

Not really 10x the amount  for business class.  First class is about 6 x the amount for economy.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Not really 10x the amount  for business class.  First class is about 6 x the amount for economy.

I was not trying to being pedantic. Rather pretentious to make a point....

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Not really 10x the amount  for business class.  First class is about 6 x the amount for economy.

I was not trying to being pedantic. Rather pretentious to make a point....

I thought so but I often really really incredibly massively hugely exaggerate to make a point. And then someone questions me and I don't have the evidence to hand to back it up.  It's the same with journalists and lawyers if you get involved with them, they are experts are wheedling out stuff and checking facts. 

I'm just trying to get someone to buy me an air ticket and their starting position is for economy $Y  and I'm holding out for 3 * $Y for business.  First class would be impossible.   But so far we've reached 1.8 * $Y for premium economy which is economy with better seat pitch, improved cutlery and free booze.  I don't care about the booze or the knives and forks.  I want a bed.

Actually I suppose my friend Peggy was in a "new wave" band and not a punk band.
Going back 34 years is hard sometimes, can't remember all the tiny details.
She was a sweet person who could of been a real B considering how pretty she was and how popular she was.
I know people who aren't even close to her in style or looks who think they are the greatest.
Being humble and sweet makes people even more attractive to others then demanding attention does.
What's that old saying, "Pretty is as pretty does".
She took time out of her super busy life to pick out an outfit for me and mail it to the states from Italy.
I mean I was just one of her good friends younger sisters after all, she didn't have to bother herself.
I still have the outfit, a nice sweater dress, I now sleep in it in the wintertime, moth holes and all!
I think in the past people lived in smaller communities where people took care of each other and knew each other's "odd" habits or behaviors. Didn't judge so much, just knew the person their entire lives and excepted them as they were.
These days even some parents hardly know their own children, just drop them off and let someone else deal with them at day care or school. Too busy with themselves to even know what's going on with their own kids let alone care about the guy down the st.
There will be allot of broken people who will not find their place in society with all the new AI , new tech has no time for one on one relationships, people would rather share with strangers on FB then sit down with their own families and let them know what's what.
Can tell already that many people can't hold a normal conversation for more then 5 mins without tuning out and looking at their phones to find out what's the latest with some celb or star.
More children are on medications for mental issues then ever, pretty sad when they haven't even grown up yet and they already need aid dealing with life.
Seems sad, people get bored to fast these days with things and with people.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Not really 10x the amount  for business class.  First class is about 6 x the amount for economy.

I was not trying to being pedantic. Rather pretentious to make a point....

I thought so but I often really really incredibly massively hugely exaggerate to make a point. And then someone questions me and I don't have the evidence to hand to back it up.

No problem. And not a problem "calling me out", forcing me to clarify. In fact, good for you! Keep me honest. Attaboy! Here-here!

I vacillate between being pedantic and pretentious. Helps keep people guessing.

At AAE, I tend to be more pretentious.

At times, here, I am darn right silly..... 

But I won't say when I am any of the above. Takes all the fun out if it. Right?

fluffy2560 wrote:

I don't care about the booze or the knives and forks.  I want a bed.

I may need to travel to the USA soon.

Considering Cunard Line. Why the hell not. Eh? Might be fun to try at least once in my life.

klsallee wrote:

....

Considering Cunard Line. Why the hell not. Eh? Might be fun to try at least once in my life.

Some people actually live on those ships - they do 180 day round the world cruises back to back.  No rent, no heating bills, inclusive cleaning, free all inclusive food and entertainment and always new people around.  I don't know what they do when the ship has to go for maintenance or is out of action for a bit.

I know someone who did NY to Southampton.  Cost quite a bit and took about a week.  But as they were retired, well, why not take the time to take it easy.  Cost a packet though!  I expect no change out of say, $3K - each.

klsallee wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

On our flight over to Vegas on BA airways( I call them BS airlines) they were so cheap that on that flight from BUD to LON they didn't even serve water without charging.

You are a victim of the modern idea of economics, capitalism and market dynamics.

Thus..... More people today are fine with getting crammed into a metal tube, being uncomfortable, and not getting water on their flights if they can save a tiny bit of money.

And then, because of that (what most people want and will pay for), the airlines nickel and dime us to death to stay competitive, because the "other airline" offers cheaper fairs for less services. And people don't seem to care about service if they can get from point 'A' to point 'B' for less.

Unless, or until, that is..... they get thirsty ..... they they complain and Facebook or Twitter all about it....

Sadly, there are fewer and fewer options for a middle ground. Only, crammed into a tube in coach class or pay 10x more to sit in the same plane and get Champagne.

  Sighs....

And yes, "nickel and dime" is an American monetary idea, but this issue is caused mostly by the Chicago School of economics, so it is appropriate.

A long time ago my cousin was a steward for BA. He said they would basically pour you off the flight, that if it is a long distance flight they would give you so many nightcaps to give everyone a decent night's sleep that you were so lit up the next morning-... they used to be rather TOO generous with doling out the booze. Continental Airlines from Houston was also very good at it.

What I always wonder about is that they have "no smoking" signs. We all KNOW that, stop reminding us. As a smoker, there is nothing like a "no smoking" sign to make you want to spark up.

I think "nickel and dime" was Woolworths was it not, F. W. Woolworth, that everything was a nickel and dime. There is a song, "meet the million dollar baby, from the five and ten cents store" that is a bit of a jazz standard, I think Frank Sinatra sang it on one occasion, maybe Perry or Bing. When Woolworth's came to UK it then became the three and sixpenny store, everything cost threepence or sixpence. I could be wrong, but I think that is where the expression comes from.

"I found a million dollar baby in the five and ten cents store" according to the lyrics... loads have sung it, it says by Google "Song by Nat King Cole" but I am not sure that is right... B. Crosby, Barbara Streisand (haven't heard that version), Bobby Darin, so I imagine in my head I have Bing singing it, that is the version I remember.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

On our flight over to Vegas on BA airways( I call them BS airlines) they were so cheap that on that flight from BUD to LON they didn't even serve water without charging.

.....
Thus..... More people today are fine with getting crammed into a metal tube, being uncomfortable, and not getting water on their flights if they can save a tiny bit of money.

.....

Sadly, there are fewer and fewer options for a middle ground. Only, crammed into a tube in coach class or pay 10x more to sit the same plane and get Champagne.....

You can get water for free.  I was on a BA flight this week and people asked for it and got it.  It was just tap water.

Business class is usually about 3 x economy class.  For that you are essentially paying for the space another person would use and their luggage allowances.  That means 2 x 32kg luggage checked and  2 pieces of hand luggage  plus the additional staffing, costs of fuel and the minor costs of drink/food and special ground transport, lounges etc.   

Excess baggage is based on 1% of the economy class fare per kg.  On some airlines, like Emirates, you almost get your own personal server - seems like 1 person per  8-10 passengers and if the plane is mostly empty, they are there every few minutes trying to shovel food and drink into you when you want to sleep.                                                                                                                                           

Not really 10x the amount  for business class.  First class is about 6 x the amount for economy.

I had a gold card with Continental because of the number of miles I flew, but whenever they attempted to upgrade me for some reason someone got there first even though they offered me the upgrade on my miles. I don't think single men get much priority, so I never went business, Doesn't matter I am only five foot ten so i can fit in an economy seat without too much discomfort, but it is of course all done on economics, as any business should be.

I can never understand why people want to go with businesses that make a loss. Like they get fed up with insurance companies making a profit. Well why should I want to go to go with a company that makes a loss? I certainly don't want something important like my house insurance to be in the hands of an insurance company going bust do I? I WANT them to make a profit so that if I need to claim insurance they will still be there.

Yet people somehow resent paying insurance.á You pay insurance in the hope you never need to use it.

To make it clear I worked for Lloyd's Register of Shipping as a sub on Lloyd's Lane, but I have no financial interest in that. The strangest thing about that is my branch of the bank, Lloyds, is on the corner of Lloyd's Lane and Fenchurch Street, in London, but Lloyds the bank got rid of the apostrophe as a bit of marketing, so Lloyds on Lloyd's Lane now has a branch where there is a street sign right outside saying it with the apostrophe but the branch doesn't.

It is useless to do spelling reform because we lose the etymology. British spelling is entirely a nuisance but it is what it is. You can't go around changing it, Mr Webster, because then it loses all nuance.

My fave building in Budapest is the ,"Anchor House" near Deak Ter, it used to be a huge insurance building pre WW11. Looks now like half the building was blown up but they were able to save a large portion on the building.
When we bought our apt. in Budapest I was glad our lawyer had his office in that beautiful building, got a  bit of the grand tour.
At one time there was a flat for lease in that building,would of loved to have leased it out but since we had our own place it would of been redontant .

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My fave building in Budapest is the ,"Anchor House" near Deak Ter, it used to be a huge insurance building pre WW11. Looks now like half the building was blown up but they were able to save a large portion on the building.
When we bought our apt. in Budapest I was glad our lawyer had his office in that beautiful building, got a  bit of the grand tour.
At one time there was a flat for lease in that building,would of loved to have leased it out but since we had our own place it would of been redundant .

That's a nice building.  Different age and prosperity of Budapest.

Gresham Palace is nice too.   Straight down the Chain Bridge.

OK, it's a ridiculously expensive hotel now, but at least the facade is saved.

Dreadlocks on me would I don't think be cultural appropriation but I would have to get a wig.

I do not think really it is appropriate to say cultural appropriation. I am Engliish, so why should people approprite my culture? I see around here so many Union Jacks and you think you are disrespecting my national flag on your T-shirt or whatever. Now, that is cultural appropriation if you want to call it that.

You cannot have it both ways.

There is a guy who carries his guiitar to school I assume every day and I say to the missus, oh look, midget with a violin. She seems never to get the joke.

We went to Vésprem for a day out, and in the pub=hotel where we stayed, they were playing games in the warm.

They were chess nuts roosting over an open foyer.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Today while walking home from the farmers market I noticed two lost looking young ladies sitting on the steps of a church with a map out and a cell phone.
Started to pass them but they really looked lost.
I asked if I could help direct them, they said yes.
I had to say OK then where do you want to go? Yes, I guess they thought I could read their minds.
Funny enough I know the hostel they wanted to find.

That is very nice of you. If you can help, you must. You can't always, but if you can, and don't, you are just an a-hole. That is very nice of you to do that, I thank you sincerely.

I get asked for help a lot around Keleti and do the best I can, I know my way around those parts of town a lot. One day, I will need help in some way, I will be injured or lost my spectacles and cannot see, or something, and someone will help me. That is what we all should do, look after each other.

Maybe it is because I am a twin, from day 1 of my life I learned I was not the only person in the world.

But helping people when you can, I thought it was part of being human.

I have lost it, but Fluffster said he wanted a totem pole (respectfully of course) in his garden.í

Get a telegraph pole, which you can find on any street, usually covered in vermicelli in a Hungarian manner of wiring, and then use that as your base. Son oncle s'apelle robert, n'est pas?

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Not really 10x the amount  for business class.  First class is about 6 x the amount for economy.

I was not trying to being pedantic. Rather pretentious to make a point....

My guess would be that at least 50% of the people flying in business class didn't actually have to shell out their own money for a ticket.
I flew once with first class, in the mid 1980's.
No bubbly, no dinner it was an early evening flight from Dallas to LA.
I was sent a ticket for a job interview and they bumped me up to first class on the way home.
It wasn't all that great, just a bit more leg room and a larger seat.
Think the flight crew was used to seeing people coming back empty handed for a job interview with their airline.
Dang, I could of bought my own first class ticket for the cost of that stupid interview. Paying for a babysitter for the day,buying a then $500 Dior suit, new silk blouse,
new heels, getting my teeth cleaned and polished, new haircut and color, new real pearl necklace and earrings, new handbag.
Looked so professional that everyone kept asking me questions because I looked like I worked for the airline.
My husband was bumped up once to first class on an overseas flight, lucky him...
I did ask for a glass of water on our flight from BUD ( could of used a Bud after that flight!) to LON because my husband needed to pop some pills.
Asked twice and was given a small glass of water about 30 mins before we landed.

Such a drag.
It's all alright though, we will never book with BS oh, typo, BA again.

That is a weird one, I don't know why I just thought of this, but whenever I say something the adverts change to whatever I am waffling on about... will probably get adverts for waffles (gaufre, the Hungarian is similar) now... I have been gettig adverts for hoovers (vacuum cleaners) lately.

Now we have a Dyson and I am not a fan of it because it has a transparent plastic kinda receptacle where all the dirt goes. I keep meaning to spray paint it but the missus is very fond of her Dyson although I don't like it at all. You see all the dirt from the house in the receptacle, so every now and again I take it apart to clean the receptacle properly, you need posidrive I think it is screwdrivers to do it.

So then the vacuum cleaner is nice and clean but the missus insists on then running around the house with it, making it all dirty again. If she didn't use it, I would have a nice clean vacuum cleaner. Filthy house, probably, but a nice clean machine.

But it reminded me, when I was a child, my mother had a Hoover Constellation. Theoretically these are a sort of hovercraft although like most hovercraft they didn't work very well in practice. I imagine it would have been a wedding present as we weren't rich.

I remember what I was rambling towards and it was antiques.

The trouble with antiques, or collectables, is that everyone collects the same thing, so there is no point. I will bet you that Beany Babies will be worth nothing as they were sold as collectables and bought in their millions. But you keep a crisp packet, or it will be something like that, and it will be worth a lot of money, as everyone else threw them out and you are the only one left with one.

Some things, of course, decent furniture etc, have inherent value, but in the antiques game it just comes down to rarity, it seems, quite often. And how can you predict nobody else is collecting what you are collecting, I mean, that is self-defeating. So you have to collect stuff, ephemera I suppose would be the word, that nobody else collects.

I collect dust.

I just went for a walk, my morning walk, and there must be ten dogs barking at me from people's gardens. It is quite annoying as it is a quiet Sunday morning and I just want to walk around the block. It is not as if I am going equipped or anything, but ruined my nice quiet walk.

I don't think dog owners realise how much their dogs are pests. To them, they are of course perfect pets, that is how a dog is, loyal to its owner. But they are nuisances to other people.

I was just walking along the street, a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and must have set off about ten dogs barking, because as soon as one starts, the others chime in, so now I have set the whole streetful of dogs off.

It has also stressed me out, so that my peaceful walk becomes a shouting match and now I am all stressed out. They are behind gates etc etc I know they are just doing their job, but I was just going for a walk. And now I have ten dogs barking at me.

There are a couple of people around here that don't pick up their dog's shit. I have already told one of them off, but there is another. I do not want it on my boots and i don't want to go blind, so please pick up your dogshit. When I catch who it is, the dogshit will be in their postbox.

If you have a pet, take responsibility for it. I don't want your dog's shit on my frontage which I tidy and clean.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

....

Considering Cunard Line. Why the hell not. Eh? Might be fun to try at least once in my life.

Some people actually live on those ships - they do 180 day round the world cruises back to back.  No rent, no heating bills, inclusive cleaning, free all inclusive food and entertainment and always new people around.  I don't know what they do when the ship has to go for maintenance or is out of action for a bit.

I know someone who did NY to Southampton.  Cost quite a bit and took about a week.  But as they were retired, well, why not take the time to take it easy.  Cost a packet though!  I expect no change out of say, $3K - each.

Speaking of overseas cruise ships...
I knew a really cool, really pretty,really interesting and sweet women here in Las Vegas who moved here from the UK with 6 or so other good friends of hers. All were professional dancers.
They all got hired in the mid 1960's to work the Follies style review dance shows.
Some of their shows were topless, a big deal in the day...
Long story short, the girl made BANK!
She had a home with car etc. in the S. of the UK  and a nice home here in Vegas.
Her boyfriend enjoyed the perks of having a wealthy retired girlfriend.
He was American.
She hated jet lag so much that she never flew overseas.
She would fly into FL.and take a luxury liner to France and then travel to the UK.
She was really nice and still lovely in her mid 60's, over 6 feet tall, slim with blonde hair.
She always took a weekly yoga class with me and we often chatted before class.

So last time I saw her in class she was about ready to travel to the UK to her home for a few months with her long time BF.
A few weeks later I heard from one of her old time friends who also was in my yoga class that Maggie had died in France on that trip over.
She and her BF were enjoying some tour thing in France before going to the UK.
She left the tour group to use the WC and died in the stall.
Such a undignified way to go for such a classy lady.
Oh, well, at least she was doing what she wanted to do.Sad thing to hear was her family in the UK totally forgot all about how loyal and how many years she and her BF were together. They just kicked him to the curb, literally, tossed him out of their Vegas home and took over the property in the UK.
I'm sure Maggie is rolling in her grave about that.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
My husband was bumped up once to first class on an overseas flight, lucky him...
I did ask for a glass of water on our flight from BUD ( could of used a Bud after that flight!) to LON because my husband needed to pop some pills.
Asked twice and was given a small glass of water about 30 mins before we landed.

Such a drag.
It's all alright though, we will never book with BS oh, typo, BA again.

The problem with the BA economy class is that one has to pay for the drinks/food now.  So I guess the crew has been told to prioritise the food purchasers rather than the free glass of water drinkers.  They also don't have much time. I suspect they have fewer flight attendants now in Economy.

BA was a lot better but is now dumbing down to take into account competition from Wizzair/Easyjet etc.   To be honest, Wizzair does a better experience - nicer planes, efficient crew, larger luggage allowances, acceptable for shorter distances, annoying but not outrageous on the drinks and usually about 1/2 price of BA.   Only problem with them is they have no transit connections at LTN (London Luton) but they do fly to places like Dubai which is a surprise.  Easyjet I don't rate much at all other than going to LGW (London Gatwick - a dump of an airport).

But spare a thought for the marketing morons at Brussels Airlines.  If you are long haul transiting in Brussels then you get 1 x free drink but if you are not in transit, then you don't.  They have a list now which they check.  They didn't use to have that list so you had to argue with them while waving your boarding cards.  It's all rather pathetic but perhaps in Belgium that's what goes for customer service. 

I was on BA from LHR (London Heathrow) a couple of days ago.  Outbound (from BUD) the plane was completely full but inbound (to BUD) was somewhat empty.  Being a mediocre airline doesn't seem to have affected much in terms of load factor - I note that they seem to be running a major feeder operation to their long haul - BA does 4 x flights a day to BUD and back, all LHR.

I'm going on Aeroflot soon. Surprisingly, they are not bad. Transiting the immigration desk in Moscow is even more miserable than the Hungarian immigration people - smiling and being cheerful goes a long way and it's free too!

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
My husband was bumped up once to first class on an overseas flight, lucky him...
I did ask for a glass of water on our flight from BUD ( could of used a Bud after that flight!) to LON because my husband needed to pop some pills.
Asked twice and was given a small glass of water about 30 mins before we landed.

Such a drag.
It's all alright though, we will never book with BS oh, typo, BA again.

The problem with the BA economy class is that one has to pay for the drinks/food now.  So I guess the crew has been told to prioritise the food purchasers rather than the free glass of water drinkers.  They also don't have much time. I suspect they have fewer flight attendants now in Economy.

BA was a lot better but is now dumbing down to take into account Wizzair/Easyjet etc.   To be honest, Wizzair does a better experience - nicer planes, efficient crew, larger luggage allowances, acceptable for shorter distances, annoying but not outrageous on the drinks and usually about 1/2 price of BA.   Only problem with them is they have no transit connections at LTN (London Luton) but they do fly to places like Dubai which is a surprise.  Easyjet I don't rate much at all other than going to LGW (London Gatwick - a dump of an airport).2

But spare a thought for the marketing morons at Brussels Airlines.  If you are long haul transiting in Brussels then you get 1 x free drink but if you are not in transit, then you don't.  They have a list now which they check.  They didn't use to have that list so you had to argue with them while waving your boarding cards.  It's all rather pathetic but perhaps in Belgium that's what goes for customer service. 

I was on BA from LHR (London Heathrow) a couple of days ago.  Outbound (from BUD) the plane was completely full but inbound (to BUD) was somewhat empty.  Being a mediocre airline doesn't seem to have affected much in terms of load factor - I note that they seem to be running a major feeder operation to their long haul - BA does 4 x flights a day to BUD and back, all LHR.

I'm going on Aeroflot soon. Surprisingly, they are not bad. Transiting the immigration desk in Moscow is even more miserable than the Hungarian immigration people - smiling and being cheerful goes a long way and it's free too!

Yes, complimentary alcohol seems to be a thing of the past. A lot of the American airlines got rid of it. I used to be a gold card member with Continental and got "bumped" a couple of times but on each occasion was flying with my partner so I let her go up the front while I sat in economy. Gentlemanly thing to do I would have thought.

it is not really that I mind paying for a drink - and please do not drink too much on a flight but I always have a little whisky or something, it is just part of my routine, it somehow "makes" the flight for me to have a cheeky little whisky at some ridiculous time of day that you would never normally do.

Luton is very convenient for me as my British family were all in Hertfordshire, and I lived in Bedfordshire, so far more convenient for me than LHR.

Stansted is probably the most convenient if you want Cambridge. Or my wife often works near Basildon so it is more convenient than LHR  or LGW. So often it is a toss up.

I agree, WizzAir's service seems very good and they are always clean and friendly. I would choose WizzAir over Ryanair any day.

LHR would be far less convenient for me, working in Cambridge, than getting into Stansted, so there is just no point taking BA when I can get a train straight from Stansted to Cambridge Science Park or when I used to visit my late mother in March, Cambridgeshire. Sometimes I would go to Luton, and there is the 100 bus that goes from Hitchin to Luton Airport and some express buses I have never used, but it is a fiddle because the bus doesn't go to Hitchin railway station, so you have about a fifteen minute walk to get the train to Cambridge.

I am used to doing all these fiddles on public transport, but I suppose other people would take a taxi.

One of the odd things of being a twin is that I know my exact time of birth, it was 12.10pm. My brother was born at 11.47am if I remember correctly. I don't think birth certificates usually have that, but they do it for multiple births so that if there is any doubt to primogeniture, who was born first if there is any doubt on an estate - both my parents are dead and willed the estate equally so it was no issue, but I think that is essentially the reason.

We also have consecutive National Insurance numbers, I can tell you, or him, his national insurance number off the top of my head.

It makes a bit of a nonsense of these security questions they ask you. I could so easily impersonate him on the phone, although we don't look at all alike, that yes I have the same mother's maiden name, same birthday, know your national insurance number, and so on... they are not very secure these questions really are they.

Finally some nice Vegas weather has arrived, in the high 60's with a slight wind.
Went for a swim today didn't want to wear my husband out so we only swam about 40 mins.
If I were staying here longer I would of applied for a clerks job at the pool. Nice little easy part-time job, don't think the lifeguard post would be for me.

Just a little something job for a retired person, doubt the pay is all that much, not even sure what min. wage is any longer in NV, maybe $8.50 or $9.00 an hour?
Free swimming would probably be a perk although as it is they hardly charge a thing.
Makes me cringe thinking of the pool rates in HU, for those with children it can be super pricey for a day at the water.
Here they have swim lessons for $20 for a 6 week class.

Went to a second hand store last week, found ourselves a sweet deal on a Prosource inversion table.
Looks hardly used, retails for $400. but we picked it up for only $32.
Wish I could ship some of these steals to Hungary, shipping would kill any profit made though.
Suppose I'll have to sell my table before I leave here, sad...

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Finally some nice Vegas weather has arrived, in the high 60's with a slight wind......

You're missing the nice weather here.  Probably warmer than LV.

It was 24 C in my back garden today and very warm.  Had to have the windows open and I was walking around in a T-shirt and I saw some guys in shorts in the street and on bikes.

Might be a Foehn if you know what that is.  We used to get them when I worked in Munich. Don't know what it is called in Hungarian. 

It was raining very heavily during the night, then brilliant sunshine most of the day with a steady wind. 

I'm looking at my outside thermometer and it's still 19 C outside.  According to the forecast, it'll be pretty reasonable even into next week.  I'm hoping we skip winter altogether.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

If I were staying here longer I would of applied.

Tut tut, "would have" not "would of", please try to learn English It is the subjunctive mood, it is "would have" or "should have", now write it out twenty times

It is not a particularly American mistake, British people do it too. Drives me nuts. Like "we should have been ought to have been going to the pool", fairly simple isn't it? You managed to say "if I were" in the subjunctive mood, then completely failed at the end, tut tut tut.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Went to a second hand store last week, found ourselves a sweet deal on a Prosource inversion table.
Looks hardly used, retails for $400. but we picked it up for only $32.
Wish I could ship some of these steals to Hungary, shipping would kill any profit made though.
Suppose I'll have to sell my table before I leave here, sad...

Now that is sweet. I also, the word which I hate the word but what I do, is "upcycle", that I am not sure what an inversion table is, oh I am looking at Amazon and completely wrong, I thought it was some kind of folding table or gate-leg table but I am wrong, but yeah, why not, that is a bargain.

you should change your name to "Second-Hand Rose"

I repair, replace, anything I can. I love going around second-hand stores. Hada is very good here in Hungary, got some nice clothes from there. People chuck out too much.

What annoys me is that when I buy something new, like I bought four lamps from IKEA the other day, the amount of packaging that came with them. And then I somehow am responsible for getting rid of the packaging.... I didn't want the packaging in the first place. I literally filled a two foot litter bin, the kind you have in the room, with all the packaging and I had shoved and packed it all up, and there was so much plastic which has some sign saying on it you can recycle it, well it goes in my recycle, but why give it it to me in the first place? it is two screws, I can put them in my pocket, I don't need a plastic bag for it.

They are building a new block of flats around the corner from me and I asked them, do you want those bricks, no help yourself, went back with my sackbarrow picked up about sixty, now my clothes horse doesn't actually fall down in the wind as it is weighed down by some bricks on the bottom.

It is not actually very difficult. They didn't want them, it would cost them money in the weight to dispose of them, let alone the hassle, so yeah, please just take them. So I have a stack of bricks, they have got literally a weight off their shoulders, and everyone is happy.

All you have to do is ask. Sometimes you don't get, but I am not ashamed to ask.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

On our flight over to Vegas on BA airways( I call them BS airlines) they were....

considering the A stands for airways  you are being redundant there.

More hypocritically, they are not even British. they are owned by some consortium that includes Iberia, I think the Italian airline Alitaliam, the one with the hairs under its wings, and various others, these consortia change all the time so I am not sure who they own quite now without checking, it seems to change day by day.

One slightly odd thing is Ryanair mostly fly from the UK but are registered in Ireland, this must be some kind of tax dodge as the Irish equivalent of the British Civil Aviation Authority is equally as good so there is no question on the grounds of safety (actually on the ground is the safest place a plane should be, but they do seem to insist they get up into the air, it is dangerous up there, you know, it is a long way to fall. Well the air is safe enough but the ground tends to break your fall),.

Rambling on, although I did aerodynamics for many years, I am still amazed a plane can get up into the sky,. I know the physics but it just seems amazing to me that something that heavy could possibly get up at all. It does, obviously, but it still seems to me amazing.

But then it seems amazing to me that birds can fly, or that flowers grow. The whole world to me is amazing. I wonder why other people think it so dull. To me it is all amazing and wonderful, to see a flower or a cow or whatever and, as Louis MacNiece put it, the drunkenness of things being various. There is so much of this world and I have only seen a tiny bit of it. Yet the bits I have seen are wonderful.

Not all of them, I have seen dirty toilets and I have had burglars etc but on the whole I have had a wonderful varied life and seen so many things, I am not planning anything but were I to die this evening well, I had a good innings.

There are some beautiful flowers, I am not sure what they are, that someone has planted at the front of their house near me, I would say a kinda orchid or tulip, I don't know. The wonderful colours, the beautiful scent, to me it is just amazing, I love it. The whole world about you is amazing if you just look at it.

I tend to walk quite early in the morning, just about dawn, just have a mooch and walk around, and people keep their places nice around here, also I pick litter up so I tend to come back with some beer cans or coffee cups or whatever to put in my recycle.

I like to walk in the middle of the night or early morning so I don't get run over by the manic drivers, I have a theory (unproven) that SatNav sends them down our street. I myself rely on WifeNav, which has ended me up in many places we never intended to get to, that is the beauty of WifeNav, directing you up a crease in the map or whatever, WifeNav is very good for finding places you never meant to go to,

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My fave building in Budapest is the ,"Anchor House" near Deak Ter, it used to be a huge insurance building pre WW11.  (...) .

Yes I know that one, although have never been in there. It has a big anchor on the outside, if we are thinking of the same one... I have always wondered about it because it is not as if Hungary has a coastline...

SimonTrew wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My fave building in Budapest is the ,"Anchor House" near Deak Ter, it used to be a huge insurance building pre WW11.  (...) .

Yes I know that one, although have never been in there. It has a big anchor on the outside, if we are thinking of the same one... I have always wondered about it because it is not as if Hungary has a coastline...

Well, actually Hungary did have sea access at one time, won't get into it, still a sore subject for Hungarians.
I'm losing it, twice in several days I have not been able to understand more then every other word spoken by my fellow Americans.
In all cases those I spoke with should be able to speak in a clear understandable voice since it all was related to them doing business with me.
The women in the bank spoke so jumbled and so fast that I had to ask her to repeat herself every other sentience.Her boss came over and I could make him out a bit better but still... Mumbling and speed talking. Of course they were trying to sign us up for cards etc. when we only had minor business with the bank.
Think I've been gone from the US for too long, things have changed.
Made a medical appointment over the phone for my son, couldn't understand the women on the other end of the line( Is it still called a line if it's a cell tower?)

"Well, actually Hungary did have sea access at one time, won't get into it, still a sore subject for Hungarians."

Of course it's still a sore subject. Loss of Croatia was probably Hungary's biggest loss at Trianon. Not only did Croatia give Hungary access to the sea, it had great strategic value, striding as it does across the Balkans.

zif wrote:

"Well, actually Hungary did have sea access at one time, won't get into it, still a sore subject for Hungarians."

Of course it's still a sore subject. Loss of Croatia was probably Hungary's biggest loss at Trianon. Not only did Croatia give Hungary access to the sea, it had great strategic value, striding as it does across the Balkans.

You see it daily on the car "H" country stickers which show the greater Hungary. 

Hungary sort of has a standing navy like Bolivia.  Surprisingly well armed and equipped.

fluffy2560 wrote:

You see it daily on the car "H" country stickers which show the greater Hungary.

Often those of ethno-nationalists.

Which I find beyond ironic.

The Treaty of Trianon exploited ethno-nationalism. In that these regions split from Austria-Hungary were usually (with some exceptions) not mainly "ethnically" or culturally Hungarian, so gave an excuse to do the split.

But this also means, the "nationalistic" ideal of a "Big Hungary" rejects the ethno-nationalistic views of others.

Which means the current ethno-nationalistic view of a Big Hungary as really rejecting other's regional ethno-nationalistic views.... which is of course hypocritical (but of course supporters automatically go into willful denial and cognitive dissonance to try to "refute" that fact).

And that is the problem of nationalism. It is always egocentric.

Why would ethnic Croats want to be part of ethnic Hungary? Maybe they don't.

And thus nationalism is always bound to run up  against other nations and regions with their own nationalistic concepts. Thus is it an isolationist system. Unless political leaders find a way to sell out their own national population to larger, more powerful entities, which the nationalistic leaders of small countries often do -- while convincing the population they are not.

Sad.

klsallee wrote:

.....

But this also means, the "nationalistic" ideal of a "Big Hungary" rejects the ethno-nationalistic views of others.

Which means the current ethno-nationalistic view of a Big Hungary as really rejecting other's regional ethno-nationalistic views.... which is of course hypocritical (but of course supporters automatically go into willful denial and cognitive dissonance to try to "refute" that fact).

And that is the problem of nationalism. It is always egocentric.

Why would ethnic Croats want to be part of ethnic Hungary? Maybe they don't......

Sad.

I agree with that but that's always been like that in every country where the boundaries are arbitrarily drawn and things get fuzzy around the edges.

Having worked there, Croatians are happy enough to be finally doing their own thing.  I would support that of course as I've no dog in that particular race. 

I know more about Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and Transylvania/Erdely. I do know from travels in Romania that the Hungarians there are somewhat culturally different. Not quite so au fait with other HU areas.

Not quite so happy about nationalism in Scotland or Wales or even Northern Ireland.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Not quite so happy about nationalism in Scotland or Wales or even Northern Ireland.

That is an interesting topic. I have no "skin in the game" there, as you said, but it has some centuries old and interesting topics of discussion.

Damn Internet. Not possible to have a good pint over such discussions. Which is how it should, maybe only, be done... So will defer it for now.