Absolutely Anything Else

Not sure why it is time to reminisce and go down "memory lane"
It is a bit fun sometimes to see where you started out and where you wound up in life.
Most all the old mates seem to have done ok with their lives, most never took advantage of their natural skills, getting all those A's in school didn't matter too much in the end.
One who was a top level student and skipped classes never went onto college.I asked her way last time we met up for a reunion in Las Vegas. She said her parents never told her to go to college and she just started working cleaning houses. She blames me because it was my idea to open my own home cleaning thing at age 18.
I didn't like one of my clients and gave her to my friend.
These days she still cleans homes but has clients who are mega wealthy in the beach areas of S. Cal and has had some of the same clients for decades. Just odd since she could of done anything if she had wanted to.
Another friend got pregnant at age 17. The most unlikely of our group to even have a boyfriend. Just a big awkward  girl, very tall and large, scared off all the boys our age.
She actually met a man 4 years older who was going to college , he was from Iran. They are still together and are great-grandparents. Her husband is something like no. 110 in line for the throne of Iran, she married into money.
One other less fortunate friend also got "into trouble" at 17. I had no clue at the time because I had run away and was being crazy in Hollywood, couldn't keep my friends safe.
Heard she had a baby and was stuck living in the US Navy base with her two older mean navy brothers and her horrible mean mother. My 21 year old friend and I went to visit her, just broke my heart to see her with a baby, no husband and being with her horrible family.
I knew who the father of her baby was, some musician guy a few years older then us. I had even dated him for a few weeks in school, seemed like a very nice guy but guess not.
My buddy did herself in.
One is a artist living and doing well in SF. Cal.
One is a street musician living in S. Cal.She was very talented with music played the guitar folk style like Bob Dylan, very good but not a very "attractive" person, think you need the looks and well as a tiny bit of talent to make it in music.
One is handicapped but travels around with her husband , she is comfy enough.
One is the head of the oral hygiene clinic at a Wash. state university.
One man from then old days, one of friends bro's friend, known him for years, went to concerts in school with them, nice guy, dated one of my friends, still see him on FB. Don't mention the past much with him as he has been happily married for over 45 years, don't want to get too much into the past with him since perhaps his wife would not like to hear about the old days.
He seems fine, is traveling around the US with his wife in a motor home, retirement fun times.
Seems like all those grades in school didn't matter much in the end, too much time spent studying for nothing. Should of been allowed to hitch to the beach and not waste so much time indoors with books.

Most of my mates from school have disappeared into boring as hell lives with 2.4 kids and a mortgage, "mort" being the right word.
I rebelled when I was able, buying a nice motorbike and doing very silly things on it.
I risked snuffing it whist still quite young but, if I was going to get killed, I fully intended to do it in spectacular fashion and at high speed.
I smashed 9 out of ten commandments, many several times over and would have been a great mate for old Harry, keeping his domain well partied out.
If my old self could see me as I am now, I probably would have aimed for the biggest truck I could find at a ton up.
Still, I can't moan too much because I'm still a girl magnet, look a lot younger than I am, and, most importantly, act way too young for my age.
I might be old and partied out, but I still like AC/DC at dangerous volumes.

Chill to this.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_IWlPHMziU

Thanks for the AC/DC link, love hearing them.
One wish I have in life was to see a few more of my fave groups in their "hey day" with my older sister.
She once scored "press tickets" for the two of us to see the Stones in S. Cal. full access to the press room with food and drinks.
She had "connections" in allot of the entertainment industry...
Yes, she was the real "wild child" in the family.
All my school mates were in awe of her, 5 years older then us and one of those pretty " skinny Bi*****" that everyone hates, mostly are jealous of.
She went to High School in the same class and my best friends brother.
She told me he was "nuts" coming from her that was really something to say!
He was the "Valley Victorian" of their class, gave a speech at the graduation, turned into a near riot, he started going off about the Vietnam war and how the principle of their school was a criminal etc. He was chased off stage, the only time i ever saw my friends older bro was then, just remember about 20 male teachers running across the field trying to beat him up. He got away clean.
Became a DJ in Pismo Beach, used to send my friend all early released LPs, heard Elton John ages before the local radio played his tunes.( we thought we were so cool back then!)
I now remember that when we got "busted" by the cops trying to hitch to the beach, when they saw the Dean of girls face at our school, they both turned to us 4 girls and said they were sorry they brought us back to school. A few times even off duty cops came to one of my buddies house parties.They were not "narcs" either, they were there for fun too.
It is strange to get old,guess it is true, the good die young as I am still here!!
Cops used to be cool in the US, never had any issues with cops growing up although I was given rides in the squad car more then once.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Seems like all those grades in school didn't matter much in the end, too much time spent studying for nothing. Should of been allowed to hitch to the beach and not waste so much time indoors with books.

I think that is very true. Some parents make the lives of their children a misery by pushing them too hard. Nearly everything I know I learned after leaving school, as the school I attended was probably one of the worst in UK. They didn't even offer O or A level courses, which were the standard school exams at the time. I did end up getting a degree but only because my boss had more faith in my ability than I ever had myself! He persuaded the toolmaking company we worked for to sponsor me  on a materials technology course.

Toolmaking, interesting, We owned and operated 3 machine shops in the past.
I actually loved helping out sweeping up chips and running a mill machine. Nothing like working for yourself to make long hours fly by.
My husband is the pro, I was only a minor helper.
My fave part was picking up materials, taking parts for special, heat treatments, delivering parts.
Being able to drive around town and not stuck in a office or building all day long.
My step- dad was a tool grinder at Lockheed in S. Cal. Got hired at age 18 and trained on site, he later signed up for the "Grunt Works" some secret projects for the military.
Sad to say, he developed cancer year in life, age 39-40 is. Probably one of those secret projects did him in, that's our way of thinking at least.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Euro standards

Are weaker than EPA requirements.

I don't think they really are, they are just different.

I was commenting on the topic of diesel engines, especially regarding NOx emissions, which is the main problem when trying to make high performance engines comply with regulations, and keep them "high performance". And regarding those emissions, the US EPA Tier 2 / Bin 5 emissions standard and the California LEV-II ULEV standard (which are essentially considered equivalent for practical purposes -- so California is not the "problem" in this case) are both twice as strict as EU current allowed emissions.

More at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswage … _standards

Running a milling machine?  It is possible you have heard of Clarkson milling cutters then? We also had various other brand names, as Clarkson had bought up some smaller companies, including Cleveland Tools in Canada. I can't remember them all but there was Larcher, Osborn and a few other brands. It was part of the Thorn EMI group.

Fred wrote:

.....buying a nice motorbike and doing very silly things on it.
I risked snuffing it whist still quite young but, if I was going to get killed, I fully intended to do it in spectacular fashion and at high speed.....
I might be old and partied out, but I still like AC/DC at dangerous volumes.

Mrs Fluffy pointed out to me yesterday that all the grizzled fellas with pony tails, earrings, cool bikes and questionable history are actually all about 60+.  Rather than the rebels that they appeared to be way back when, they are actually dinosaurs close to pensionable age.  I felt quite dejected hearing that.  I thought I was still hip and cool and now I see I am well past the mainstream. 

And as for AC-DC, much as I love them, seeing them and plenty of similar other bands of that age have majorly damaged my hearing.  And who'd have thought those guys would ever suffer from dementia or become disabled through arthritis.  So much for living fast and dying young.

Fred wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

That club has long since been closed down, they had a bad habit of letting in too many minors, me included.

That happened to the NUM in the UK, but they let in miners.

Now that's going back a bit.  Arthur Scargill and what have you.  He was a case study in a course I did once.  I have had cause to think how Arthur's manner and his harking back to a previous style of life is reminiscent of the Orange Man in DC (not AC-DC).

I was in the middle of it, living about 2 miles from where the whole thing kicked off.
I saw stuff that was never in the papers, and it was nasty.

I was able to run a Bridgeport mill.
I seriously do not know a darn thing about machining except it is dangerous and messy.
My husband( now I am bragging) is such a fantastic machinist that he was able to set the mill so well that all silly me had to do was to watch the dial and push a button.
He did allot of one of a kind piece work for the aerospace industry and for trains, buses, whatever jobs came our way and paid the bills.
He had many different lathes some he bought new and some he bought at auction in New Mexico from Sandia Labs.
Those lathes has seen better days,the lab had them all out in the weather, rusty wires hanging out etc. My husband had tears in his eyes seeing those wonderful machines in ruin.
My husband redid all the machines himself, made new parts for anything that was missing, rewired them, painted them, I swear when we finally moved away and sold out our shop, people were just about ready to get into a fist fight because they all wanted to buy his machines.
We realized too late that maybe that was a better business then actually making parts, re finishing old machines for resale to hobbyist. 
Don't feel bad getting old and riding a motorbike, my sister is going on 70 and when the weather is good you can see her riding in Minn.
Must be even harder to be a older women and a biker.
Both of my older sisters were way ahead of their time I think.
One learned to drive a semi-truck in the early 70's when her husband bought his own rig.18 gears and no automatic transmission.
She also learned to barrel race horses in the local rodeo.
Both were good at archery , the eldest hunts with bow and arrow, shot and clean her own deer.These 2 sisters were/are strong with doing whatever they want without saying a role is male or female. They took up drumming in High school, back then only boys did that. Guess our father really wanted boys and not so many daughters, they always tried to show him they could be as good as our male cousins with anything.
Both were very fem in their day too, one was a fashion model until her husband put a stop to it( yes it is a corrupt industry) the other was in beauty contests in her teens.
Well rounded people.
Me, not so adventurous, I am accident prone and learned early that I was a clutz, fell off horses,twisted my knees, I stick to safer hobbies then hunting, racing and riding.

Sometimes I do find it strange to be living in Hungary as none of my family is here.
A consider myself a family person, weird to not have family nearby.
Never really liked not having close family by me.
Was thinking of my eldest sister, so many years out of our lives that we have lived very far apart.
She married and moved away from home when I was only 12 so that's been 50 years now.
I was a bit moved a few days ago, she wrote to tell me she has left her home to me after she passes away.
I don't want it if it means her not being around in my old age.
Thinking it over, although she was never really physically close to me in my life she always thought about me.
When she got paid from her very first "real job" at age 17, she went out and bought me a new dress and go-go boots had them all wrapped up for me in a box.
How many teenagers would spend their money on a younger sibling like that?
She said she felt bad that over the years I had worn many hand me downs from her and my other sister.
She was working her way through college at 17 with a part time job in a ice cream shop.
I know she worked hard for that money.
As a young girl I do remember what "fun" it was to watch my two older sisters get into it.
One was 5'10" tall and really thin, the other was 5'6" and slim but not skinny.
The skinny tall one would "borrow" outfits from the other without asking first. What started the fights was the skinny one would let out the hem on a dress and take in the waist .She never asked first and when the heavier shorter sister would go to put on her outfit, it wouldn't fit, tight in the waist and hanging below her knees.
Fireworks would ensue. What glee I had from the sidelines watching the show.

Moved from: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 12#3616532

zif wrote:

And he's gotten no recognition at all for recognizing right off the bat the problem developing at the border, and taking steps to resolve it. Instead, he was dumped on by all his European peers for trying to control the border.

Of course his peers should stand up and admit "We're all Viktor Orbáns now" but they'll never do it.

HU is a signatory to the UN Declaration on Human Rights.

All OV did was shift his problem on to the neighbours.  Not only is he intent on ignoring the treaty, he's not being a good EU citizen. 

UN Declaration on Human Rights

and worse....

Asylum Seekers

Nothing in those treaties requires a contracting state to simply let a claimed refugee stroll right across the border at any place of his choosing. That's what was happening just south of Szeged that summer.  (Recall that the claimed refugees didn't want to undergo formal registration procedures in Serbia or Hungary because that would have interfered with their ability to settle in the country of their choice.)

Orbán had to do something. And he recognized his principal duty was to protect Hungary.

I was in Serbia and S Hungary at that time, and saw what was happening, in Belgrade in particular. Orbán knew he could not let Szeged and Budapest go that route, especially after the developments at Keleti Station. So he acted. And ultimately most of the neighboring countries took similar measures, conveniently forgetting their earlier harsh criticism of Orbán for doing just the same.

And as for neighborly consideration, was anyone less considerate than Mrs. Merkel, who unilaterally put the welcome mat out, with no consultation whatever with other countries.

"Those countries that have armed the factions now suffer the results of their joint stupidity . . ."

Actually, Russia and the U.S. have been almost untouched by the refugee crisis, however unfair that is.

Fred wrote:

Syria is a prime example of blind stupidity causing mass misery in that support from outside the country has made the locals' situation far worse that it ever needed to be.
If the various powers had kept their fat noses out, the war would have long since finished and the refugee crisis simply wouldn't have existed.

I agree with that for sure.  I was living and working in Syria on and off for a short time - about a year.   It was a pretty good place then.  However, it was blatantly obvious to anyone just being there for a couple of months that Assad and his cronies would fight back.  The US and the British should have learnt their lesson from Iraq.

zif wrote:

Nothing in those treaties requires a contracting state to simply let a claimed refugee stroll right across the border at any place of his choosing. That's what was happening just south of Szeged that summer.  (Recall that the claimed refugees didn't want to undergo formal registration procedures in Serbia or Hungary because that would have interfered with their ability to settle in the country of their choice.)......

And as for neighborly consideration, was anyone less considerate than Mrs. Merkel, who unilaterally put the welcome mat out, with no consultation whatever with other countries.

Actually the point is that when these people arrive in Hungary, they should be treated with respect as per UNDHR and guidance of UNHCR of which Hungary is a member.  Putting them in detention camps is not treating them according to the convention.   

Merkel made the right humanitarian gesture.  That's even if there are 5th columnists amongst them. 

I was in Budapest when they were at the station and I live near the autoplaya in the direction of Vienna where they began their march.  Quite a sight  AND there were plenty of people handing out water to the refugees who believe in solidarity with other human beings.

OV should remember this:1956

fluffy2560 wrote:

Fred wrote:

Syria is a prime example of blind stupidity causing mass misery in that support from outside the country has made the locals' situation far worse that it ever needed to be.
If the various powers had kept their fat noses out, the war would have long since finished and the refugee crisis simply wouldn't have existed.

I agree with that for sure.  I was living and working in Syria on and off for a short time - about a year.   It was a pretty good place then.  However, it was blatantly obvious to anyone just being there for a couple of months that Assad and his cronies would fight back.  The US and the British should have learnt their lesson from Iraq.

Not just the western powers, Russia is no better.
The various interested countries have made a bad situation far worse.

Perhaps every politician who starts a war should be the first to land in the country they attack and, if they survive, should then face a trial where they have to prove the war was justified.

I'll bet there would be a few less wars if they had to actually fight.

I can't help admire the way China conducts itself.
They don't attack anyone, just wait until a country is alienated by the west, then move in and get really advantages trade agreements.

Regardless of anyone's opinion of the Chinese government, you have to admit they're very clever.

Fred wrote:

Perhaps every politician who starts a war should be the first to land in the country they attack and, if they survive, should then face a trial where they have to prove the war was justified.

I'll bet there would be a few less wars if they had to actually fight.

I think they rather should conduct a personal duel. That way nobody else gets in harms way or is harmed by the outcome.

zif wrote:

"Those countries that have armed the factions now suffer the results of their joint stupidity . . ."

Actually, Russia and the U.S. have been almost untouched by the refugee crisis, however unfair that is.

You forgot Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Syrian conflict is a proxy war mainly between these four countries (with the EU thrown in as an afterthought). In fact, most issues in the Middle East today are mostly an Iran-Saudi Arabia proxy battle (which is more an idealogical battle between Shiites and Sunnis) that draws in countries like the US (with Saudi Arabia) and Russia (with Iran).

fluffy2560 wrote:

Much as I despise Putin and Assad for their autocratic ways, it was verging on a genius step to join up with Assad.  Totally wrong footed the amateurs in DC and London.

Change the names of the autocrats, and the year to the 1930's and you see history does repeat itself.

Even so, I would not be too quick to call them amateurs. For example, doctors who have never seen TB or Polio, or small pox*, because they are believed "eradicated" in many countries and never expected to reappear, is simply caught off guard by something they had never seen in their professional career, and never expected to see. And it is a darn pity that such disease (including political ones) are reemerging.

* Yes - I know WHO declared that eradicated world wide.... They think.

klsallee wrote:

Fred wrote:

I can't help admire the way China conducts itself.
They don't attack anyone, just wait until a country is alienated by the west, then move in and get really advantages trade agreements.

And pay lots of bribes to local corrupt officials to get what they want from that country. In fact, paying higher bribes is one way the Chinese leverage some countries away from the west.

China is not the only country that does that kind of thing.  Incidentally (or not),  The Donald is citing China's artificial exchange rate controls as a way they subsidise their exports.  A kind of creeping invasion and dependency.   I wouldn't say that's admirable.

Closer to home, I think the Russians are really getting their game on in world circles. 

Here's a scenario which might work out for them:

I can currently envisage something heavy brewing in the South China Sea with all the occupation of the shoals and islands there being the trigger point.  In a show down, it would be inevitable that the US and Russia join forces to topple the regime in China.  If that occurs, Donald will have to sell Europe down the river and Russia will reassert at least some of the former boundaries of the Iron Curtain - i.e take the Baltics, Ukraine and maybe parts of Poland.  Putin  is willing to be friends with all sorts of wannabe despots, namely Erdogan, Orban etc. At least as far as they don't get in the way.  With pro-Moscow satellites in a big swathe down towards Saudi, he's got a massive foothold into the oil fields and therefore the West other than the USA by the cojones.

Wars, never good no matter which side one is on.

My first cousin on my mom's side is Mohawk , only 1/8th like I am and   Nipmuc a not so well known clan from Mass. He lived on a reservation for over 10 years, was a native drummer and studied with a healer, also learn to speak Algoquin.
He never had children of his own as in his mind he was born to be a warrior.
That whole side of the family was adopted into a east coast "tribe" a nation but sadly we are not enough Mohawk to really be taken in by them, need more pure native blood then just 1/8th.
Anyways, his native roots are strong.
He went to Minn. to visit my older sister who was having a big BBQ at her home.
One of the party guests was the great or great-great grandson of General Custer. She said he looked allot like his relation, long blonde hair, slim the whole works.
My sister said the two of them, my cuz and this guy were almost at each others throats the whole day long.
She also wasn't too crazy about that Custer relation, he was a friend of her husbands, said he was a arrogant  jerk like his grandpappy...
Just sad that people just can't let go of hate and old distrusts.
On second thought, wonder how the media would of spun it if my cousin and that Custer relation actually got into a fist fight. Maybe  Greasy Grass, Last Stand 2 would of started.

fluffy2560 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

Fred wrote:

I can't help admire the way China conducts itself.
They don't attack anyone, just wait until a country is alienated by the west, then move in and get really advantages trade agreements.

And pay lots of bribes to local corrupt officials to get what they want from that country. In fact, paying higher bribes is one way the Chinese leverage some countries away from the west.

China is not the only country that does that kind of thing.  Incidentally (or not),

I did not say they were. I said they are paying higher bribes. That is, they are now out bidding everyone else.

klsallee wrote:

.....

Even so, I would not be too quick to call them amateurs. ....And it is a darn pity that such disease (including political ones) are reemerging.

* Yes - I know WHO declared that eradicated world wide.... They think.

BTW, Polio was supposed to be eradicated. I think the only reservoir is Pakistan currently.  Even Afghanistan and Nigeria are free of it (I think). 

Anyway, they were amateurs over Iraq.   They moved to war over WMD on the basis of some guy's PhD thesis.  Professionals would confirm and reconfirm and triangulate their sources.  Seems basic to me to at least try and get information from the field.

fluffy2560 wrote:

In a show down, it would be inevitable that the US and Russia join forces to topple the regime in China.

That has actually been US thinking for decades (even when Russia was still the undisputed head of the Soviet Union).

I am not convinced that is how it will play today. Russia is already pivoting toward China. Doubt they would take the western side in a conflict. But of course that is just my less than amateur opinion.

fluffy2560 wrote:

BTW, Polio was supposed to be eradicated. I think the only reservoir is Pakistan currently.  Even Afghanistan and Nigeria are free of it (I think).

According to : https://www.cdc.gov/polio/, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria were all still sources as of 2015 data (would be good to know if there is more current data somewhere else?). But anyway, with world travel, easy for disease to spread beyond national borders (especially by carriers who are asymptomatic). So I would not breath easy yet.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Anyway, they were amateurs over Iraq.   They moved to war over WMD on the basis of some guy's PhD thesis.  Professionals would confirm and reconfirm and triangulate their sources.  Seems basic to me to at least try and get information from the field.

I would rather call that moving based on ideologies. That is, they searched for any reason to justify their preconceived intent to invade. In other words, they knew exactly what they were doing to get the invasion going.

After that is was more complicated.

They did underestimated local resistance while being bound by ... well to some extent.... the Geneva Convention. If someone does not care about that, such as the Russians in Chechnya, then overwhelming local resistance is a great deal easier.

But over all, I do agree with the premise, especially in democracies, where just about anyone can run for office and win, even if grossly unqualified, and then proceed to cause any number of problems. Some recent events rather prove that as a fact rather than a theory.

I do have a better solution and form of government in mind, of course. But I doubt I will become world wide benevolent dictator any time soon. 

klsallee wrote:

I do have a better solution and form of government in mind, of course. But I doubt I will become world wide benevolent dictator any time soon. 

I'd be a great dictator, not demanding much more than pizzas to keep me happy.
The sacks of cash and loads of women would be a bonus.
Tell me - Is a stupid haircut obligatory for despots r can I keep my locks as they are?

Fred wrote:

klsallee wrote:

I do have a better solution and form of government in mind, of course. But I doubt I will become world wide benevolent dictator any time soon. 

I'd be a great dictator, not demanding much more than pizzas to keep me happy.
The sacks of cash and loads of women would be a bonus.
Tell me - Is a stupid haircut obligatory for despots r can I keep my locks as they are?

Now now Fred. I've got multiple daughters and I don't really like them to be thought of as commodities along with pizza and cash.  So I'll pretend that was a slip of the keyboard and you meant cats.

Your demands would start to increase as unlimited access to pizza, cash and cats increased.   More pizza would just have no value and with nothing to strive for, what could you except increase your megalomania. Nothing would satisfy you.  Like all dictators, it'll just be more and more extreme to keep the pizzas, cash and cats a-coming. And soon, you'd have to let out your trousers due to the pizza diet.

You could just try out the DPRK haircut to see how you fare. 

But in any case, all your underlings would soon be sporting Fred-style haircuts to show they were in your cult.  It would be a badge of honour for them.  And you'd have to reward them for their loyalty - their own pizzas, more cash and more cats.  Their demands would increase until the Treasury was empty, they'd rush your palace, burn down all the pizza places and cut their hair.  The cats would go free.   You get asylum somewhere if you managed to get away fast enough.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

In a show down, it would be inevitable that the US and Russia join forces to topple the regime in China.

That has actually been US thinking for decades (even when Russia was still the undisputed head of the Soviet Union).

I am not convinced that is how it will play today. Russia is already pivoting toward China. Doubt they would take the western side in a conflict. But of course that is just my less than amateur opinion.

Following on with that, maybe another scenario is for Russia to wait on the sidelines or while the USA took on China, Russia could sneak into Europe.  I suspect there might be trouble brewing over North Korea. No way they will let them have intercontinental ballistic missiles but also no way that China would want a US puppet state, sorry, ally,  directly on its border.   Anyway, I reckon DPRK would collapse in 5 minutes if the US took them on and China did not intervene.

klsallee wrote:

....
I would rather call that moving based on ideologies. That is, they searched for any reason to justify their preconceived intent to invade. In other words, they knew exactly what they were doing to get the invasion going....

We could think about confirmation bias and groupthink.   

I think these things are too easy. I agree with you. They knew what they were doing but didn't care, especially George Dubya. And Tony Blair fell into line as Bush's poodle.

Bay of Pigs a prime example of groupthink.  Well, at least in the literature it is and one of examples often cited.

In reply to: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … =4#3626641

fluffy2560 wrote:

On the other hand you could always use radio "mirror" which would then bounce the signal down to another place and then to you, all within line of sight and bounce it back to the house.  If there is anywhere on your property within line of sight of the tower,then cable from that place to your house.

Not one sq meter on our property has line of sight to the radio tower. I really checked years ago.

But from my 4G router, Wifi from the house reaches all parts of this property (both in the sitting garden and vineyard) even though I have little interest in checking the latest stock market in the vineyard. 

However.... Since then we have acquired another property that does has line of sight to the radio tower and to our house -- both at eye level so no need to install a tall post (also requires permit from the NP).

But ....

fluffy2560 wrote:

There is a need power (solar possible with battery backup for nights).  To make it cheaper, the equipment shelter could be a building or just a street cabinet with an inverter, panel and a couple of batteries.

There is indeed no power on this property (it is a vineyard). I have toyed with the idea to install power for other reasons (to run a crusher on site for example), but have demurred for now. Potential for theft of solar or batteries make me not to excited about those options to be quite frank.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I am sure the amateur (ham) radio community in Hungary has plenty to say on this matter and the technical interest to dabble for free.  I've got a Europe wide license for that but don't have much time for it  these days but I drive around with my radio on but only very rarely do I hear anyone CQ'ing (CQ - Seek You, geddit? i.e. asking for a contact).

I think this is like vinyl records -- reduced to a smaller group of aficionados.

klsallee wrote:

But from my 4G router, Wifi from the house reaches all parts of this property (both in the sitting garden and vineyard) even though I have little interest in checking the latest stock market in the vineyard. 

However.... Since then we have acquired another property that does has line of sight to the radio tower and to our house -- both at eye level so no need to install a tall post (also requires permit from the NP).

Ah well, now if you can get a 4G signal, you must be within signal reach of a tower.  Maybe it's visible from your property.  Maybe there's a look out tower as well.  Several look out towers near us have radio gear on them.  Unlike point to point links I was describing, the 4G has "diversity" or directional antennas on them, some of which will be pointing directly at you.  Of course, the likes of Vodafone have plenty of money.  I've worked on mobile networks and the install cost per tower was anything up to 500K EUR.  It's big money.  Hence the interest in getting farmers to put antennas on their silos and large hotels to rent out their roof. Antenna spot can generate income of 5K EUR a year.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Ah well, now if you can get a 4G signal, you must be within signal reach of a tower.

Almost all of Hungary has 4G coverage these days:

https://www.telekom.hu/lakossagi/englis … e/coverage

Does not mean there are other goodies on those towers as well pointed in my direction.

klsallee wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Ah well, now if you can get a 4G signal, you must be within signal reach of a tower.

Almost all of Hungary has 4G coverage these days:

https://www.telekom.hu/lakossagi/englis … e/coverage

Does not mean there are other goodies on those towers as well pointed in my direction.

These days, towers tend to be shared because people complain about them as eyesores.   

But what I was getting to is that there is a "diversity" antenna which means that you can get the signal in different orientations from anywhere at your position.  That also means that the signal works through walls, around corners etc.

So it's possible to sometimes "borrow" space on a tower for free or a nominal amount if it's for a good cause although normally you'd have to provide an acceptable shelter and pay for power.

FYI: Hungary Plan That Could Shutter Soros’s University Is Called ‘Political Vandalism’

klsallee wrote:

FYI: Hungary Plan That Could Shutter Soros’s University Is Called ‘Political Vandalism’

Absolutely shocking.  CEU is a respected institution. 

This is behaviour akin to Putinism, Trumpism, Maduroism, Erdoganism at its worse. 

Now we have Orbanism.

Follow up, FYI: Hungary’s Parliament Passes Law Targeting George Soros’s University