No idea why they’d want those tethered caps. My speculation (and that’s 100% unfounded, so take it as you will) is that they are lobbying for something simple and cheap (tethered caps, plastic straws, etc), to blind people from the real environmental issues that are far more costly to tackle. Kind of like the plastic recycle logo, which is a total scam, but makes people feel good enough to not further question the big corps’ recycling practices.

An EU regulation that was heavily lobbied for by Coca Cola.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Back when I was single and living alone, I did my share of nature photography, mainly landscapes and wildlife. Sitting for hours, waiting for the perfect moment, was my meditation. And yes, there were times where I just lived for the moment, rather than taking the pucture.

I saw the movie a few years after I settled down, and it triggered my only occasion where I questioned my life choices and wondered what might have been if I remained alone and unattached.

I’m being self-censored. Working for a very large corp that has a long list of topics I’m not supposed to discuss, and I’m pretty good at not talking about them under my real name. I’m quite certain that my anonymous comments may also be traced back to me, but the HR doesn’t care about those.

I always imagine All Along the Watchtower as a 1980’s fantasy movie along the lines of Red Sonya or The Beastmaster.

I’d love to see a movie based on Silent Running. But I’m afraid it’s shaping out to be a documentary…

(The existing movie of the same name has nothing in common with the song, but it’s worth watching anyway.)

Last year, a middle aged gentleman stopped me on the street to ask me what time it was. I told him “half past one and ten minutes.” Just came naturally to me (I also wear an analog watch, so never really can tell the exact minute). I still remember the confused look on his face, and I imagine he’s been working really hard to convert it into minutes. That made me self-conscious about saying the time, and I noticed I never say time in the hours-minutes format. My kids will be the same, as long as they pick up this habit from me rather than videos and movies.

I still have a Samsung Galaxy S2, which has such a cover. From the beginning, the phone would lose its back cover (and the battery would fall out) whenever it hit the ground, even just from a table. I solved it with getting a thin plastic phone case, and even after 14 years the phone works just fine.

May 1995. Started with Gopher to access other university sites. My e-mail client was through vi editor. Eventually, I got onto the WWW with the Mosaic browser. Back then, I didn’t know how to even use a URL. The browser defaulted to Yahoo, and I just kept clicking through categories and then on links that sounded interesting. Even later, I discovered Geocities, created my own page (learned HTML by exploring the code the WYSIWYG editor generated), and collected lots of swag sent to me by up-and-coming online stores and search engines for placing their button on my page. I miss those simpler times…

It’s the same nonsense as invoking “the luck of the Irish”. Said by people who have absolutely no idea about Irish history.

One of your grandparents had to be born in Ireland, not just obtained Irish citizenship later in life. If he was born in Ireland, you’ll need his original birth certificate. More info here.

That said, I have a few formerly US coworkers who did get Irish citizenship by naturalization. That requires life in Ireland for at least 5 out of the last 9 years. Studying doesn’t count, so you’ll either have your current employer transfer you here, or you’ll find a job and move here. Your employer will apply for a 2-year work visa, which can be extended for another 3 years, after which you can apply for permanent residency. If you are employed in one of the critical skills jobs, you can apply for permanent residency in less than 2 years.

It’s for domestic consumption. Iran is the Big Bad in Israel, due to its support of Hamas, so the Israeli PM is chasing after brownie points from the electorate by hitting Iran over and over again.

I’m helping people resettle to Europe. We currently host a recent college grad until they finalize their job and housing arrangements, and I don’t think they’ll be the last one.

Idealism is the privilege of elites. Maslow’s pyramid puts the majority of people into survival mode or comfort, and the US has been boiling the frog towards expanding the bottom of the pyramid for a long time. By the time people noticed that an open revolt (even so much as a work strike) would destroy their lives, it was too late. There are so few charismatic, moral and idealistic elites that the government could take care of them as soon as they threatened to become leaders of a real opposition. I don’t believe there would be a civil war, and I don’t believe there is a way back. The US will become a neofedual country, with a lucky few who have the means to move elsewhere. The best case scenario is for the rest of the world to isolate from the US, both economically and militarily.

Fico faces an EU probe after journalists and opposition politicians found dozens of mansions built or purchased by Fico and his cohort through misappropriated EU funds. He’s desperately trying to change the subject.

I don’t follow other people’s private activities, but this one hurt a lot. He remains one of my favourite authors, and having him disappear from publishing leaves holes in my library (Trees and Injection, in particular).

Tennis and athletics (track & field). Both watch and play.

How are you dealing with tax returns? I have a coworker who’s a dual citizen, and she tells me that she has to file through an accounting service that costs her an arm and a leg. If she weren’t close to retirement, she’d renounce her US citizenship.

Your saliva contains microscopic amounts of toxins. As you swallow, these toxins collect in your body, and eventually they’ll reach critical mass and kill you. The amount of toxins in your saliva, and the total amount required to kill you is very individual, so nobody knows which will be their last drop. Still, one day I’ll swallow my last bit of saliva and die.

But only spelling or grammar mistakes.