Absolutely Anything Else

OK, if I gone ,"dark" the men in white coats have taken me away!!
Got all dolled up to a walk with my hubby today but he decided he wasn't into it.'I was on my own to run over to to pick up some items.
I went over myself, sort of a rare occasion these days.
At check out the young Hungarian clerk said hello in Hungarian and I was smart a@@ and said Howdy, Hi, Hello.
He couldn't hear me( he was in the normal formal greet customer mode).
He removed his head set and asked what I had said.
Repeat...
He said he couldn't hear me because of his headset in his ear.
I replied that he should be careful not to be radiated.
I quickly said don't use or have a cell phone.
He asked me how I am in contact with people:
Everyone I know is dead was my reply.
I told him I use a medium or spiritualist if I needed to be in contact.
He laughed but still wonder if he thought I was out of my mind or if I was funny.
-@Marilyn Tassy

Definitely my kind of humor. And it becomes even more entertaining when people take me seriously 😀 but what I noticed - Hungarians do love talking on the cellphones. It's amazing, I feel bothered whenever I need to speak over phone, it stops me from doing things as I've never been smart enough to buy hands free set

@SimCityAT

I think firstly for long swaps you have to have work at home arrangements in place.

Secondly, Its still fairly expensive for flights and entertainment. And the cost of living could be much higher than Hungary.

Also when I have visitors to mine I have to show them how not to bodge up my boiler.

I much prefer to just host friends and family but luckily I have the room available to . In return I just stay at theirs.

Our intent when we purchased this flat , 13 years ago or so was just to invest so we would not blow our money on silly things like,"having fun".

We paid cash for our flat, had already spent a nice downpayments worth of savings in Erd.

Hadn't worked or made a penny in over 18 months staying in Erd.

We looked at a few flats available at the time with real estate agents. The market was strange then. The dollar was also very low, 200 forints per dollar. Limited what we could purchase for ready cash.

Only one was alright, located on the Buda side near the castle, was just a tiny bit more expensive then our cash on hand and was only a nice large studio.'I had my heart set on a larger flat, at least a one bedroom.

Had some ground rules, no ground floor flats, too damp and often people can just look in from the yard or st.

Had to be in a area with easy public transportation.

Had to not be a flat facing the yard.

Had to have sunlight come in.

Had to be within our budget for cash and fast move in time.

We found a fixer upper.

Had every intention of fixing it in time but it's not so easy when you are already living inside to do big repairs.

We had in mind just using this flat as a stop over point. A place to crash while in Hungary for the summers.

We had already had the ,"fancy" house with swimming pool in the nice part of town years ago in S. Ca.

This time we didn't want to keep up with the Joneses or have any big expections .

6 months in HUngary and 6 months of working in the states.

Was great for several years.

As they say, time marches on.

Now this old place really could use some repairs but now we neither have the time or energy to care all that much about the interior or try to impress anyone. Belive me, can't really impress anyone I know.

Everyone in the US has in their imaginations about some romantic cosy little place in eastern Europe.

Reality is much different!

My US cousin and his lovely wife visited us 2 times pre Covid.

Dang, his custom made fridge almost cost as much as our entire flat did.

I wonder what he told the family about how we live here.

Well, on that note I realize if my 6'3" son ever visits here he needs an instrution book.

How not to,"off" yourself at home.

From making sure he doesn't knock himself out cold by hitting his head entering the WC to not blowing the flat up with not being careful lighting the heater.

The only thing I can say is we sleep great without any woories about paying bills.

In the states it was a major deal to keep up a large house and pool and pay for private schooling for our boy.

As the saying goes, beggers can't be chosers...

I am in contact with a few old friends in the states and they pay out so much with healthcare, energy bills and food .

BTW, our son in Japan mentioned a few weeks ago that Japan sent out coupons to everyone because of inflation.

Coupons to use for food in restuarants or grocery stores.

Yesterday my husband read a horrilbe story to me from the HU news online.

The case is from last year, guess it's about to go to court now.

I call it child abuse.

In some village here in Hungary the mother of a 10 year old boy forced/paid a 15 year old girl to teach him about,"the birds and the bees".

It was his BD gift!!

The 15 year old said she was afriad of his mother so did what she asked.

The mother of the boy rented out a room from another women to use for the act.

This women also knew what was going on because her voice can be hear on a video tape of the,"event". Her voice can be heard giving instructions!!

The 10 year old brought the taping of this ,"party" to school and shared it with other 10 year old boys!

Good grief...

Yesterday my husband got an ,"official" greeting for his 75th BD from our local district.

It was offically stamped as well.

Suppose now he is an official senior citizen?

Sorry to say they did not include a ,"party favor" like this 10 year old got!

We did purchase a nice BD cake for him yesterday.

Cakes are the price of gold right now. This one cost over 7,500 forints.Around $18.00US.

Loads of filling inside.

In 2002 we custom ordered a wedding cake for 25 people for our son's wedding.

It was vanilla on one layer and chocolate on the other, marcipone filling and really nice.

It cost back then around $25.00 a buck a slice.

Inflation is real!

Read that inflation in Hungary has hit a 20 year high of 20%.

I do notice at the market that each week prices are creeping up.

Our biggest expense is groceries and I don't thinking we over eat at all.

Buying a fresh supply of veggies is getting pricey every week.

I know last time we purchased avacados people were looking at us like we were rich, we buy perhaps 6 or more at a time. Or perhpas they don't know how good they are?

It's strange because way back in 2000 when we purchased allot more 'Junk food" becuase our son was with us, we got dirty looks in the check out because we had too much "frilly" foods.

If things get too tight for the average family we may have to break up our purchases to not draw attention to ourselves... Just an observation.

People are strange no matter what.

Yesterday one of our errands was at the great market hall.

My husband loves to look at all the stalls twice before purchasing anything.

I find it bring and tiring.

I sat on a bench inside while he ran in circles.

On one side of me was a man and the the side a women.

She was from Italy and LOUD on her cell phone, it was a bit much. Then her boy came over and he was almost sitting on top of me because he sqeezed in. I didn't wish to sit on the man next to me's lap so I let the boy close to me.

Then 2 men come over to the women and stand in my personal space before my face. About crotch level to my line of vision.

Hard to know where to look when the view is so limitied.

What a bunch of idiots...

I was just so close to calling out," Mama Mia, that's a biga sausage"!

Thank God the man next to be got up and I was able to escape the ,"view".

I really am getting tired of people not knowing how to act in public spaces.

Inflation in principle is not too much of an issue for me (what is important to compare to EUR prices go in line)

I have to admit how it goes in Hungary right now, subsidies, restaurants, cigarettes, ....

What I konw in Turkey independent of inflation TRY is doing well (comparring to EUR), this is frustrating as things go more expensive by the month.

Example when we got here (water drinking not out of the tap) water for 19L was 15 TRY, less than a year later TRY 35, cigarettes doubled as well.Many example (barber, bread,...)

For expats if is fine, as long inflation keeps the value of EUR (but EUR has its problems as well)

USD is fine, but for how long???

Inflation in principle is not too much of an issue for me (what is important to compare to EUR prices go in line)
I have to admit how it goes in Hungary right now, subsidies, restaurants, cigarettes, ....
What I konw in Turkey independent of inflation TRY is doing well (comparring to EUR), this is frustrating as things go more expensive by the month.
Example when we got here (water drinking not out of the tap) water for 19L was 15 TRY, less than a year later TRY 35, cigarettes doubled as well.Many example (barber, bread,...)
For expats if is fine, as long inflation keeps the value of EUR (but EUR has its problems as well)

Inflation is raising interest rates. It's helpful for those with savings but still not that great.  Lag in the system and energy dependency means prices are rising faster than inflation. Interest rates are across the board which people are being clobbered on their mortgages too. 

Turkey's inflation looks out of control and while I don't know Turkey well, I bet wages are not increasing at a sufficiently high rate to compensate. I suppose Erdogan is printing or borrowing money (from where? Russia?). It'll be like Zimbabwe or here in Pengo-land with billions of whatever to the USD.

EUR is tainted because of the proximity to Ukraine.  In all cases USD is the safest bet.  It might not last as the mid-term election results may mean Trump could be edging back in.  That would make the world completely nuts.

I don't get how ruthless egomaniacs are so popular these days. Utterly deranged.

My husband was talking about investing in HU gov. bonds?

I really don't care what he does really.

He said the interest rates were better then savings interest rates.

I give up, years ago in the US they were giving us 17% on our IRA account, now days it's better to keep you money in your mattress, at least you don't have to pay bank fees.

My husband was also talking about investing in cripto when it was less then $10,000.

Having good ideas and not acting on them is useless and a waste ot time.

My husband was talking about investing in HU gov. bonds?
I really don't care what he does really.
He said the interest rates were better then savings interest rates.
I give up, years ago in the US they were giving us 17% on our IRA account, now days it's better to keep you money in your mattress, at least you don't have to pay bank fees.
My husband was also talking about investing in cripto when it was less then $10,000.

The usual wisdom is to only invest money you're prepared to lose. The crypto thing is just a real gamble. Too risky in my mind.  Only a good idea if you win. Like insurance. Only useful if you need to claim on it otherwise people revert to saying its a waste of money.

I had noticed the Treasury here was pushing some bonds - seen some advertising hoardings up around the roads. Essentially they are borrowing your money and providing an interest rate/coupon (payment) are either end of term or at regular intervals.  Like savings. It's not unusual to sell bonds. Governments do it all the time. Moreover, the surprising thing - at least it was to me way back then - was the government sells its bonds at auction. In other words, the value of money and its interest rates are essentially tradable.  Quite surprising

The question is if their coupon (interest rate) is higher than projected inflation. I think not. I've seen inflation figures being discussed at 15%, which is higher than the 11% I believe the HU government is offering.

Might be better to trade on the stock market if there's cash one is prepared to lose. Tech like Meta/Facebook, I'd steer clear of. Their model is doomed.

One thing I wonder is - if things really go further down the toilet - if they are going to introduce currency controls - stop people extracting their money. EU would probably have something to say about that. Mrs Fluffy says it's a discussion in the HU forums she hangs out in.

Just my 2 HUF.

We invested many years ago in stocks and gold.

Cashed them out and bought a home, used the money for a nice downpayment.

We are too old for the emotinoal roller coaster of seriously investing.

A friend of ours is into stocks and he his checking every day several times an dlooks nervous all the time.

My BFF ,Lisa got her mother Aplle stcks. Her mother invested way back when.

Sad to say my friend passed away a short time after she got the money.

Never got to enjoy it.

Yes, it is only 11% interest on HU gov. stocks, better then nada but it really doesn't matter to me much either way.

Not that I'm above all that sort of thing, just don't have the time or energy to worry about stricking it big at this stage in life.

Our son would benefit but how many video games does one really need in life?

If he had children then that would be a different story.

I'm thinking maybe we can get back to Vegas and let the dice roll.

It's all a crap shoot anyways.

It's all go here at Fluffy Towers.

Apart from the excitement of filling in the census form, I'm supposed to be in a meeting but it's delayed 2h so I'm going to repot some chili pepper plants.   

One of the joys of "working from home".  Been doing a lot of repotting recently and now I'm running out of larger pots. 

I've also dug up and turned over our vegetable patch. 

I'm thinking about trying to get hold of some horse dung to dig in over winter but I don't know any friendly horses willing to share.

Maybe I should ask OV if he's available to share more horses**t.

We invested many years ago in stocks and gold.
Cashed them out and bought a home, used the money for a nice downpayment.
We are too old for the emotional roller coaster of seriously investing.
A friend of ours is into stocks and he his checking every day several times and looks nervous all the time.
My BFF ,Lisa got her mother Apple stocks. Her mother invested way back when.
Sad to say my friend passed away a short time after she got the money.
Never got to enjoy it.
Yes, it is only 11% interest on HU gov. stocks, better then nada but it really doesn't matter to me much either way.
Not that I'm above all that sort of thing, just don't have the time or energy to worry about striking it big at this stage in life.
Our son would benefit but how many video games does one really need in life?
If he had children then that would be a different story.
I'm thinking maybe we can get back to Vegas and let the dice roll.
It's all a crap shoot anyways.
-@Marilyn Tassy

I dunno, stock market is somewhat just like gambling down at the casino or perhaps more like betting on the horses.   Horses seem like there might be skill in it - checking their form, wins, ya de yada etc.  Unless it's all fixed.

But of course, only betting what you can afford to lose is the MO.  Stock market is more interesting in some ways - try and convert say $1000 into $2000 in the first year.  I always wondered why people with a gambling addiction didn't do more punts on stocks.  Not quite the same instant thrill perhaps? 

Personally I wouldn't convert any USD to HUF unless one want to take advantage of the exchange rate.  US economy is not looking that great until 2024 but everyone is still in the USD as it's safe as houses compared to everything else.   There's no way the USD is going to drop like the HUF or even the GBP. 

Japan is heavily exposed to USD bonds but interestingly, China isn't.  Looks like they've been slowly insulating themselves.  Russia built a war chest before invading Ukraine.  Makes you wonder what China is up to. Perhaps a precursor to doing something in Taiwan.  I guess the difference is China is very dependent on exports and is not a single commodity economy based on oil alone.   An interesting aside might be regime change in Iran - they could pump more oil if their government changes to something less of a pariah.  I heard some in the USA want Biden to lean on Saudi Arabia for restricting oil output (and therefore raising prices).  Essentially they said they'd reduce deliveries of weapons.

I was watching a time travel show called La Brea.  Some down on their luck time travellers dropped into the 1980s and broke into a house to eat the absent occupants food, wear their clothes and steal their cash.  They left a note "buy Apple stocks".  If only I could send myself a message back in time!

Yes my BFF Lisa's mom was a real trip. She got herself out of red neck Alabama during WW11 and joined the US Navy.

She raised 5 mosrtly cool children with her life long hubby. When she got very elderly and was moved into a old folks home she found herself a BF.I say mostly cool because my BFF spent her last years in court fighting 2 of her older brothers over her mom's estate. I think the stress of that helped do her in.

Her mom even changed her name from Sue Ann to just Susan.

I did notice a few photos of Susan in her home with her Navy dress blues on.She was stationed state side and worked in cerical .

Anything to get outta Alabama.

It was strange, my 2 older sisters went to school with 2 of Lisa's siblings. They never really hooked up as friends but Lisa and I were made to be BFF's.

I am always interested in sibling order for births and the dyamics of

family order.

My son is a ,"space case" as he lives in Japan and really doesn't pay any mind to what is ging n over there.

He just informed us that it is now alright to go outdoors without a mask on but you still need one indoors.

OK, where has he been for the last year??

They recently gave every household in Japan some coupons to use to spend on food.Something like $100. a person to spend either in the grocry store or while out dinning.

It was very strange years back for my husband to invest in stocks but when one is young and has confidence in themselves they are willing to gamble more then old people are with a fixed income.

My husband used to take me to the horse track when we dated and he would gamble hundreds at a time. Glad we were not married then otherwise I'd of had a stroke!

...Anything to get outta Alabama. It was strange, my 2 older sisters went to school with 2 of Lisa's siblings. They never really hooked up as friends but Lisa and I were made to be BFF's.
I am always interested in sibling order for births and the dyamics of
family order.
My son is a ,"space case" as he lives in Japan and really doesn't pay any mind to what is ging n over there.
He just informed us that it is now alright to go outdoors without a mask on but you still need one indoors.
OK, where has he been for the last year??
They recently gave every household in Japan some coupons to use to spend on food.Something like $100. a person to spend either in the grocry store or while out dinning.
It was very strange years back for my husband to invest in stocks but when one is young and has confidence in themselves they are willing to gamble more then old people are with a fixed income.

I saw film where there was a recurrent theme of a characteristic sign you were in Alabama were signs on the road which said "Dirt for Sale".  What it means, I have no real idea. Compost? Or just earth/dirt?

Japan must be a closed world. There haven't been any tourists there for a couple of years. I was there once on a layover and I found it weird and decided it wasn't worth really worth the bother.  Admittedly, I wasn't there for any time at all. But one of my kids lived there a couple of years teaching English to Japanese kids. Based in the very North. Seemed to like it but it was ultimately a dead end job with no chance of advancement.

I actually fear betting $100s on horses or even go in a casino. So easy to lose your money. At least with shares, you could possibly get some of your money back. If I lost $20 on a horse bet, I think I'd feel sick. $100, I'd probably implode.

BTW, I believe there's a bit of a giveaway going on here and it's better than $100 for lunch/dinner. If you have repairs on your property and you have at least one one kid under18, own your own place etc., then you can get 3M HUF from the government towards those improvements. I don't know if it's really true or any of the details. Maybe someone else will know how it works.

We don't know the details of getting the 3 mill towards home repairs but heard it's for real.

In the US they value older people more, they give special gov. funds out for elderly people to get their homes winter ready, new windows etc.

My sister had her new windows and insulation from the gov.

ATM she is getting help with redoing her bathroom this way. Just takes forever to get someone over to do the work.

3 Million foints isn't too much now for a construction  job.

Might get a new floor and a paint job for one room for that price.

My son in Japan says people either love him or hate him.Because of his looks I'd guess because he is basically a quiet person and minds his own bees wax.

They can only judge by his looks. Pale as snow, green eyes, red hair and 6'3" tall,slim.

Stands out like a sore thumb.

He has had a few male friends there but he says they seem to live to work and are a bit too serious.

I honestly can't see him living there the rest of his life but you never know.

One thing he says that he is tried of is everytime he gets a haircut they cut it like they would an animie charactor of like a businessman.

He did find one gay guy that gave him a nice cut but my son moved to another part of town and it's to far off for him.

IDK, I used to drive 2 hours each way when my fave hairdresser moved to another shop.

It was an all day affair just for a haircut.

I guess everyone has their own priorities.

As a games dealer in Vegas I've seen people lose so much money so fast. I'd figure they were done when their chips were down but no, 10 mins.later after an ATM run they were back for more of a beating.

I once dealt Baccarat  to one  Chinese/American lady.

She ,her sister and brother used to usually come in toogether and play the table limits all day long. All decked out in the high end Gucci outfits, shoes, handbags, diamond necklaces. The trio were nice enough, at least they didn't scream when they lost, never tipped however when they won either.

Well, I was dealing the game to her and out of the blue she started to cry. She said, "Marilyn, please let me win"! WHAT??

Like I risk being at the bottom of Lake Mead for her??

She siad she had just lst $50,000.

I said here at our casino. She said no, mentioned another casino.

For sure we weren't having that, she had some nerve to ask me to cheat for her.

I really wouldn't even know where to begin to do that even if my mother was begging me.

Our casino was the talk of Vegas for a few days, all written up in the local papers.

A regular( that's what we call an addicted gambler!) came and bought in with only $800.

He was a bac player. Nice enough guy from the middle east.

Never made any trouble at the tables and tipped when he won ( as it should be).

Well when I started my shift the next day it was mayhem at work. Security guards surrounded his table. He had been playing all night long and turned that $800. investment into $750,000!!!

They actually dug out the $10,000 chips from storeage, we only kept $1,000 chips on the games.

He had piles and piles of chips and the guards were there to protect him and the "casinos" money. If you win they see it as still belonging to them. It's theirs until you cash out and leave the property, at least in their minds it is.

He was given a room to rest in, they didn't dare let him walk away with their money.

I asked my cowboy floorman how far they would go to keep him. He was funny, said they probably already brought in the dancing girls to his room!

He was welcomed by us dealers, he was tipping like crazy, we knew we all were going to ,"make bank" while he was playing.

The the bosses tried to break his run by adding some bad ju-ju. They told him after a day that he was no longer allowed to make bets for or tip the dealers. They thought the cards would turn on him if the dealers were not rooting for him. We still did, he had already been kind to us.We pulled tips for a 24 hour period with all dealers who worked that day.

He finally walked away with $500,000!  All in less then 48 hours.Good for him!

Man, the high up bosses were in a serious bad mood...

They had gotten to the point where they changed out dealers ever 20 mins to try and break his run of luck.

I was so glad I was new at dealing baccarat and was not sent to his table. I was dealing at the table next to him and you could feel the energy around him.

Sad thing is my floorman said this player owed money to so many casinos in town that he probably was just able to pay them back before they went after him.

To win big you have t be willing to lose big.

I have a heartattack if I lose $5. in one hour at the slots.

I only played because my husband liked it and what else is there to do inside a casino?

We used to have lunch and he wuld play for a few hours, I'd often see a movie and even left him there while I went to the mall.

He never could understand how bring and painful it was to spend your free time inside a casino when you work in one 40 hours a week.

We don't know the details of getting the 3 mill towards home repairs but heard it's for real.
....
Might get a new floor and a paint job for one room for that price.
My son in Japan says people either love him or hate him.Because of his looks I'd guess because he is basically a quiet person and minds his own bees wax.
They can only judge by his looks. Pale as snow, green eyes, red hair and 6'3" tall,slim.
Stands out like a sore thumb.
He has had a few male friends there but he says they seem to live to work and are a bit too serious.
I honestly can't see him living there the rest of his life but you never know.
One thing he says that he is tried of is everytime he gets a haircut they cut it like they would an animie charactor of like a businessman.
He did find one gay guy that gave him a nice cut but my son moved to another part of town and it's to far off for him.
IDK, I used to drive 2 hours each way when my fave hairdresser moved to another shop.
It was an all day affair just for a haircut.
I guess everyone has their own priorities.

As a games dealer in Vegas I've seen people lose so much money so fast. I'd figure they were done when their chips were down but no, 10 mins.later after an ATM run they were back for more of a beating.
I once dealt Baccarat to one Chinese/American lady.
She ,her sister and brother used to usually come in toogether and play the table limits all day long. All decked out in the high end Gucci outfits, shoes, handbags, diamond necklaces. The trio were nice enough, at least they didn't scream when they lost, never tipped however when they won either.
Well, I was dealing the game to her and out of the blue she started to cry. She said, "Marilyn, please let me win"! WHAT??
Like I risk being at the bottom of Lake Mead for her??
She siad she had just lst $50,000.
I said here at our casino. She said no, mentioned another casino.
....
Well when I started my shift the next day it was mayhem at work. Security guards surrounded his table. He had been playing all night long and turned that $800. investment into $750,000!!!
....
He finally walked away with $500,000! All in less then 48 hours.Good for him!
Man, the high up bosses were in a serious bad mood...
....
I have a heart attack if I lose $5. in one hour at the slots.
I only played because my husband liked it and what else is there to do inside a casino?
We used to have lunch and he would play for a few hours, I'd often see a movie and even left him there while I went to the mall.
He never could understand how bring and painful it was to spend your free time inside a casino when you work in one 40 hours a week.
-@Marilyn Tassy

That's just nuts.   

I suppose if one is a serious gambler (if there is such a thing), then knowing when to cash out is the difference to an addiction.   That guy should have cashed out with his $750K.   Be almost set for life with that.  They could have put it all on a credit card for him or given him a cheque (US: check).  He should have run out the door with the loot!

We play the Lotto here sometimes but we never win anything.  I sometimes to do the UK one if I am there but again, never win anything.   As I never win anything, it puts you off playing.   I heard the UK lottery called a tax on hope.  People with no money play it hoping they'll get pulled out of poverty.  Our numbers are all one number different from the winning selections.  Just typical luck!  Bit like The Truman Show where everything goes wrong "perfectly" as though there's a conspiracy going on.

Mrs F has told me the 3M HUF freebie is a real deal.  But I am not sure how it works.  Do we get the money or does the builder?  If the builder gets it, it would be just hyped prices I'd have thought.  Not sure if there's a minimum spend. I suppose 3M HUF.   I wonder why the government is giving that away.  If they think it'll bribe people to vote OV, they are very much mistaken.  No-one at Fluffy Towers who can vote would vote for more OV.

Red hair eh?  Interesting.  My nephew was like super red haired but it's all fallen out now he's reached his 50s.  My Dad surprisingly had a few red hairs and so did I. Just a few flecks - now all grey.  My Dad was blonde and freckly and my Mum absolutely luxuriant black dark hair - I inherited that and so did my son. All thinning out but still reasonably OK. Perhaps it was our mysterious remote Irish ancestor who brought the red in?  Or maybe some Vikings. I've still not tracked the Irish connection down.  Not that it will make any difference to the here and now. 

Stop Press:

Mrs F says a subsidy for solar panels has been withdrawn or reduced.   

Don't know about the 3M HUF as I think it doesn't include solar panels.

Solar panels,no idea but it's worth checking into. I'm sure you'd qualify with 2 minors in the house.

Red hair,my husband said Hungarians used to have many red headed people in the population. Not sure what happened since most seem to have med to dark brown hair these days... Unless they bleach it out.

My Ruysn granny was a red head, my MIL was and a couple of her brothers were, my BIL is red headed but his son was blonde, my husband had redish brown hair with a red beard, the key work is HAD...

My son used to make me laugh because he's always say his carpet matched his drapes...

IDK, hadn't seen that bit since he was in diapers!

Had an exhusting morning, went to the doctors across town to get a blood test.

Had to wait so long to check in, test was done in 5 mins.

They could organize things better here. The lab tech kept asking if anyone needed their blood drawn but without the paperwrk from the front desk you couldn't get the test done.

Didn't eat all day, not even hungry.

Making a hopefully healhty meal now. A brocolli and cheese pie, fresh mushroom soup and fresh homemade pickeled beets.

Hope it turns out nice because it would of been so easy to just buy a st. gyro.

What's the news about the UK f^cked up politics in Hungary? In Austria, they find it all amusing, I really can't see Truss lasting much longer. Well Hunt although I can not stand the man, seems to have the right idea. No one likes taxes, but the way Kwasi Kwarteng was going he would have bankrupted the country.

What's the news about the UK f^cked up politics in Hungary? In Austria, they find it all amusing, I really can't see Truss lasting much longer. Well Hunt although I can not stand the man, seems to have the right idea. No one likes taxes, but the way Kwasi Kwarteng was going he would have bankrupted the country.
-@SimCityAT

Now they've got someone with experience in as Chancellor (Finance Minister), then it might work out in the short term.  I cannot stand him either.  He's got form on screwing things up particularly with the doctors pay but at least he's more old school and knows how to manage the job.  Kwasi was only a quasi-Chancellor.   

It's a case now of TiT - Truss is Toast.   It looks like the Opposition will wipe the floor with them and a lot of MPs will be out on their ears.  I'd like to see the Conservatives out but I have fears - like Labour trying to negotiate with Putin like that apologist Corbyn.  I also worry about the country breaking up because Labour will cosying up to Sturgeon and appeasing her.  But it's like here, anyone but the Conservatives, anyone but Orban.  But I've waffled on. The upshot is that UK isn't really on HU's mind. 

There's a lot of hassle here and discontent - the teachers have been cast as an enemy by the usual OV MO. But this has been deeply unpopular.  People used to be indifferent to what was going on but now people are starting to protest more strongly.  Previously when they were saying "I'm alright Jack", they are now more vocal.   We know a lot of teachers and they are all angry with their money, their conditions and government interference.   There's a bunch of other unhappy people as well.  It's really the beginning of the end for OV.  He's not been able to do anything about the global oil price despite bending over for Putin.  And prices are rocketing - none of which he can control without subsidies, the coffers are reducing and borrowing economically will not be an option (look what happened to Truss - the markets ain't dumb).  His problem is determining when he's takes the private jet to exile in Moscow or Dubai.  If he stays here with his cronies, they'll all probably end up on remand.

If you thought Hungary was in a mess, just look at the UK today. I wouldn't want to be a Tory MP right now.

If you thought Hungary was in a mess, just look at the UK today. I wouldn't want to be a Tory MP right now.

It's looking chaotic for sure. Someone is going to have to step up. Sunak is supposedly back in the race again. Apparently the parliamentary party wanted him but got Ms (Blunder)Truss instead. They wanted to order steak and got gammon instead.

Makes you wonder how a few thousand Tory party members could have reached such a disastrously bad judgement. Their rules have to change. It's not on.

BTW, I notice Sturgeon is on the war path again with her fantasy independence campaign/plans. Probably taking advantage of the vacuum. I am sure the Supreme Court is going to knock her back. It would be outrageous if they didn't. In that case, it doesn't matter what the next election says, if Westminster holds all the cards, there's nothing she can do about it. On the other hand, her policy of rejoining the EU is likely to prove popular everywhere. If only Starmer would give us a sign, I'd vote for it if I could.

Well, let's hope they end the 15 years rule soon.

deleted

Well, let's hope they end the 15 years rule soon.

Hear! Hear!

Over time, there's been a lot of damage done, not just in the past week, over all that tim
Starmer will have to raise taxes to increase public spending. It's not going to be popular but if it delivers on things like the NHS, schools, proper treatment of refugees, better Brexit (like restore freedom of movement) and so on, people will be happier in the long run.

All that divisiveness has burnt itself out amongst the population. I hope!

Starmer is at least a technocrat. He seems like a rational man. Sunak too.

How weird, I edited my post and it's published it twice. The previous one (now deleted contents) and this new version.  And if you edit your own post, it makes your text into quotes which you then have to remove.

@SimCityAT

UK politics - Hungarian opinion.

Basically that is not important who gets leadership (PM), because>

It is NOT a choice between bad and worse (let alone not even in a picture anyone who at least neutral) but only worse differently.

With numbers: 0 would be neutral, but all who are/ was in the picture in recent years are far bellow minus 50 just for different reasons.

The last one who had some credit here was Tony Blair in the 90`s, far before the Coalition of Killing and even 2001.

So he was a neutral/ slightly ok in  the begining, but not later.

So no one since his early years.

---

Not de facto politicians (not elected) - but had respect:

    Elizabeth II

    Princess Diana

And Liz Truss resigns the shortest serving UK prime minister.

And Liz Truss resigns the shortest serving UK prime minister.
-@SimCityAT

Inevitable.   But question is which of the remaining lot is going to take up the baton. I think Penny Mordaunt.  Boris might come back.  Talk about rising from the dead!  Sunak is going to keep clear of it.  It's not like he needs the money etc.

It's a poison chalice at the present time.  I think the Tories will say, 6 months, see where we are as we stabilise the ship.   But if it's not got back on an even keel, it's PM Starmer next time - within 2 years anyway.  Tories will be out of office for 10 years.

And Liz Truss resigns the shortest serving UK prime minister.
-@SimCityAT

Inevitable.  But question is which of the remaining lot is going to take up the baton. I think Penny Mordaunt. Boris might come back. Talk about rising from the dead! Sunak is going to keep clear of it. It's not like he needs the money etc.

It's a poison chalice at the present time. I think the Tories will say, 6 months, see where we are as we stabilise the ship.  But if it's not got back on an even keel, it's PM Starmer next time - within 2 years anyway. Tories will be out of office for 10 years.
-@fluffy2560

Sunak is favourite.

My money is on Penny... JH is going to do everything he can to keep Sunak out of the PM's office as he wouldn't want a boss who knows so much more than he does in his position. Does Sunak want to be associated with this administration at this point? His reputation is intact for a future run when things die down.

Penny has shown she can be vile and backstabby. Just what the party needs...

My money is on Penny... JH is going to do everything he can to keep Sunak out of the PM's office as he wouldn't want a boss who knows so much more than he does in his position. Does Sunak want to be associated with this administration at this point? His reputation is intact for a future run when things die down.
Penny has shown she can be vile and backstabby. Just what the party needs...
-@Vicces1

You might be right about Penny.  Interesting her initials are PM.   

JH is only the best they can do.  He was a controversial figure.  He's not some grandee.  He's got form on messing up the health services and annoying a lot of people.  He's also an aristocrat.  In some ways, he's the same as that silly toff chosen by MissTrust,  Rees-Mogg.  Apparently he could lose his seat.   Let's hope.

Sunak's wife is a multi-millionaire.  No way he needs the hassle of it.  He could take it easy doing speaking engagements and visiting scholar at some university like Harvard.   He could bounce back but we'd be talking 10+ years. I suppose he can wait.

Boris might get back in temporarily but the Tories are toast as of right now.

Boris might get back in temporarily but the Tories are toast as of right now.
-@fluffy2560

IMHO - Tories are toast for a long while. But what are the alternatives?

Britain may want a bit of Starmer Boredom/Calm, but where is the vision to advance the UK in the years to come?

Interestingly, to me at least, I see the UK becoming much more like the US, and less European.

Cuts to education and healthcare, blaming foreigners and the working poor just being lazy...

It was Ivana Trump who once asked, if the poor want more money, why don't they just get another job?

Suella Braverman basically said the same.

Tax breaks for the rich and trickle-down economics to stimulate the economy? Straight out of the Republican playbook of the last 40 years.

Brexit really has had some serious consequences!

Boris might get back in temporarily but the Tories are toast as of right now.
-@fluffy2560

IMHO - Tories are toast for a long while. But what are the alternatives?
Britain may want a bit of Starmer Boredom/Calm, but where is the vision to advance the UK in the years to come?

Interestingly, to me at least, I see the UK becoming much more like the US, and less European.
Cuts to education and healthcare, blaming foreigners and the working poor just being lazy...
It was Ivana Trump who once asked, if the poor want more money, why don't they just get another job?
Suella Braverman basically said the same.
Tax breaks for the rich and trickle-down economics to stimulate the economy? Straight out of the Republican playbook of the last 40 years.
Brexit really has had some serious consequences!
-@Vicces1

You're right, the rhetoric has been very much as you say these past few years. It's more extremist and more right wing. Foreigners are to blame, EU did it etc. It's all nonsense. People live Braverman and indeed Truss had lost the plot. And Boris just didn't care. The joke was on the population and his popularity soared. He was a magnificent showman but the game's up, he's been rumbled. Maybe he'll get back in. The PM job is in the hands of very few. There are reports some MPs will become independents or cross the floor and join the Opposition if Boris is back!

Somehow, Truss has managed to make break the "angry with everything" model which has been going on for the past 10 years. I am quite sure there's going to be change in government. People are unhappy and quite rightly so.
But the whole thing world wide hasn't burnt itself out yet. There's still Trump looming in the USA and that nitwit Kevin McCarthy would cut aid to Ukraine. And in Italy they are just restarting on a right wing path. And here, in HU, we're seeing some death throes of a desperate Orban with his anti-EU sanctions posters and loaded questions in unrepresentative and of no legal consequence national consultations. Who will bother filling that in? People should wake up. 

Brexit does seem to have been the source of a lot of these problems in the UK.  There are rejoin protests going on in the UK this weekend. People really do want to go back to the old stability and want free movement again. It's caused nothing but problems and annoyed a lot of people.  It was the kind of decision making that would have been made in a banana republic. No logic, just some imaginary whipped up fear.

Indeed, Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell are nothing but narcissistic, egomaniacal trouble in the US.

The US spent trillions (yes, with a "T") in Afghanistan, only to see it fall in a month. The mere Billions that the US is providing to Ukraine -- with much of that coming back to US companies for Ukraine to buy American goods and older military hardware and munitions that would have had to be destroyed anyway -- is HUGE value for money. It is breaking Russia from within at mere pennies and with no loss of American lives.

The US just needs to get over the "hump" of the next 2-4 years to wash out the GOP which has no platform other than blocking everything, no ideas other than those that endanger/harm the working poor and benefit the rich. One of the overriding themes, with voices getting louder, is in regards to consequences. We've been given the constant drip, drip of news that tells us that Trump, his family, his associates are under investigation, that there is incontrovertible proof of illegal actions, and yet Trump is still free, his allies still roaming. Where are the consequences?  The news states that the DOJ is waiting post-election in November before bringing charges. This is really intolerable. No normal citizen would get the deference that these politi-foes are enjoying. It's infuriating.

For Hungary, the pressure is mounting. But O1G and associates have insulated themselves by having much of their corrupted gains hidden offshore, buffered from any forint damage. As he and the Fidesz party have just been re-elected by a landslide, he can be patient.  But Hungary has been chastised by NATO, the EU, and even the US directly recently:

https://dailynewshungary.com/hungary-wi … rican-aid/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63317158

And Hungary isn't making friends at a time when it desperately needs EU money:

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022 … commission

https://www.euronews.com/2022/09/23/ukr … -on-russia

• The same "referendum" tactic was used for migrants in 2016

Here's an interesting article:

https://www.ft.com/content/40173191-856 … 95f553aee7

I remember reading that the HU Gov't had proposed some lackluster anti-corruption measures, but they were rejected unanimously by the EU Commission as too little, and having no real power within the HU Gov't. Honestly, sounds a lot like the EU having little power to punish Hungary's illiberal democracy itself. Luckily, the Rule of Law does not require unanimity but they also have to be willing to use their power, something the EPP in the past has been too hesitant to try.  Now with Italy sliding in a troubling direction, perhaps they will find some stronger backbone.

And of course, every time I want O1G to lose, to feel pain, I know that I am only hurting myself, because I live and work here. The value of my home has plummeted, the value of my salary has plummeted. I do not see these recovering any time soon. I used to say, my flat has doubled in value! Only to remember the forint has halved, meaning I've gone nowhere.  The longer I stay here, the worse it is getting, but with the value falling so much, it's also more difficult to leave. Troubling times for many, not just me, I know....

I am predicting a General Election soon. The Tories will elect a new leader so it is going to be an exciting couple of days to see who puts their hats into the ring. But as soon they have one I can not see the party uniting the damage has been done.

So a GE by Christmas, the Tories will lose which will be good for them so they can get their sh^t together.

With regard to the clusterfuck that is currently UK politics.  My opinion is we need a General Election quickly.

As of right now (just before 9 am on Friday morning), nobody has put their name forward, all of the waffle in the Press is just speculation.  If nobody puts their name forward then Mr Starmer can legitimately go to the King and offer to form a minority Government which will pretty rapidly turn into a General Election at the first vote they lose in the House.

They have until 14:00 on Monday 24th October to put their name forward to be the new Leader; the only qualification from amongst the Parliamentary group is that they must have the support of a minimum of 100 MPs; the maths tells us that this will limit the pool to 3 candidates at the most (if any).  If there is only 1 candidate, he/she will become the new leader and by default, the UK's next Prime Minister, more than 1 and there will be an online ballot of the party members with a result by this time next week; why they couldn't have done that for Lettuce I don't know.

There is an incentive, whoever wins can look forward to a £115,000 annual allowance for the rest of their life.

Its still early as I said it will be an interesting day or possibly the weekend. I shall have Sky News on in the background.

Interesting odds from the UK Bookmakers website (link); for the next Tory leader they are only offering odds on (in favourite order):

• Sunak
• Johnson
• Mordaunt
• Wallace
• Frost

Everybody else is at 200/1