We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.

To me that seems like a bold claim considering “the divine right of kings” has not been successfully resisted nor was it escaped from. Monarchies still exist on every continent, people of royalty still get more rights and better treatment than others, once-royal families still possess loads of wealth, still rule countries in high political positions, still own many companies and other wealth generating assets. Humans have gained unfair advantages due to their lineage for thousands if not tens of thousands of years and I highly doubt that this will change massively in the next thousand years.

Regardless, it still sounds like a really nice speech though.

How about ducks?

I don’t really know much about this topic even after reading the article. It does bother me however that there’s so many channels/server on Telegram full of spammers that seem to offer drugs and prostitution. It’s almost like those were the only things that exist in this world. Which is such a huge waste of a chat program.

Also who the hell listens to any of the nonsense influencers/politicians write in their heavily biased channels, seriously, I can’t find a sane reason to join those, yet strangely that seems to be the only reason the masses use this tool. It’s all just confusing.

I think rating genres is generally not a useful thing. I feel as though pidgeonholing games, music, videos or other things into categories and judging them based on that could lead to narrow-mindedness. Each genre has great games and each genre has bad games.

Some genres are more interesting to some people, but I’d say that’s because hobbies are sort of random and not because some are better than others. If by chance you happen to get a deeper knowledge about a certain genre or topic you will become more interested in it naturally. That doesn’t mean other things are more boring by nature.

That’s done intentionally. The holes make it easier for the bird to spy on you.

Considering the comfy curled up pose of the cat I was thinking since AI already has problems generating hair/fingers/toes due to their variety, how difficult would sleeping/lying cats be.

One might argue the image is 3 * 1/4 + 2 * 1/8.

The 4th panel is two half-sized panels! Does that count? 👀

It’s a vampire cat!

I mean we’re doing ok, but our prices more than match the incomes.

Yeah I guess that’s normal, because having more money means you’ll want a bigger income and for people to afford paying high personell costs they’ll have to sell products and services at higher prices.

I get mildly annoyed every time a non-Swiss European - only having heard of typical Swiss incomes and nothing else - acts as if we were super rich.

You didn’t look annoyed. Your comment seemed neutral in tone.

Anyhow, with that much money compared to the rest of the world you are kinda “rich”-ish (depending on who you ask). Sure, you probably don’t own ten mansions and yachts, but you’re able to afford things inside and outside your country which some other people might not be able to afford (unless the product is price adjusted like eg Steam games which from what I understand are more expensive in Switcherland).

When I say “I guess in some countries people have way too much money” I don’t mean to insult the inhabitants directly, rather I’m pointing out - in a perhaps mildly provocative manner - the unequal distribution of wealth around the globe.

Alright it wasn’t clear whether or not this was after tax. Makes sense!

I think a rent of 3600 with 5000-7000 income could be sustainable. Kinda depending on the price of living, but I think the best case of 3400 each month would be enough in most of Europe. Still paying over half your salary probably wouldn’t make sense for most people unless you live there 24/7 and the place is in a really good location (eg short transits to work, family and other places people frequently visit) and you really like it and/or it’s cheaper than comparable flats.

Well I guess in some countries people have way too much money…

Yes they only considered certain places. See “NEIGHBOURHOODS COVERED IN EACH CITY SURVEYED” in the surveys pdf for a list of cities and the respective neighbourhoods.

The 1-bedroom flats in Helsinki that were considered for this study are 40-60m². All the 1-bedroom flats for this study were either 40-60m² or 60-80m², depending on the city. See “Typical dwelling sizes by category in each surveyed city (in m²)” of this surveys pdf.

Keep in mind that these numbers are for above-average flats, ie in good locations, of good size (40-60m² or 60-80m², depending on the city) and for well-earning positions. Probably not the top 1%, but still generally well paid jobs. As such the presentation is inaccurate. Those are not “average prices in the city”, but “average prices for good flats in good districts, comparable with Brussels”.

source: 2023 CURRENT MARKET RENTS (pdf)

OBTAINED THROUGH SURVEYS WITH ESTATE AGENCIES, COVERING A SPECIFIC HOUSING SEGMENT

The rent data presented in this booklet are part of a wider work programme, whose objective is to compare the relative cost of living of international civil servants in any place of employment with that of Brussels, the reference city.

Since the aim of the entire exercise is to compare “like with like”, the neighbourhoods surveyed may not necessarily be in those areas where expatriates actually live but are comparable with those actually occupied by officials in Brussels.

These neighbourhoods are described as residential areas of good quality, favoured by expatriates and professional people such as international civil servants, university staff, doctors, managers, and similar professionals, who pay their rent by themselves (i.e. not paid by their employers).

What exactly do you consider insane about it?

From this limited view pedestrians seem to have a pretty nice place there. Crosswalks are highlighted strongly and there’s no traffic lights to slow down pedestrians so they have the priority and the necessary attention. Sidwalks seem wide enough as well.

Yes the road is wider than the bike path, but they each have one lane per direction and there don’t appear to be any sharp turns. The bike lane should perhaps be a little wider, but if there’s only a low number of cyclers it seems equal-ish.

I feel like the little “hill” where the bike lanes and crosswalk intersect should start earlier, that way bikes could come to a halt at the top of the hill and wouldn’t have to accelerate through it, instead they could use it as a sort of break to build up potential energy for a little speed boost later on. Either way the hill seems like a decent idea considering bike drivers occasionally try to drive past pedestrians without a clear path, overestimating their agility - especially at high speeds.

While one could argue for a similar hill on the road, I’d consider that an unnecessary nuisance for the bus driver and passengers. Being shaken around while getting up for a stop is not a nice experience. A hill would also scratch the underside of a low-floor bus.

Ideally bus and tram stops should probably be placed just before a crossing, not after. That way the bus doesn’t block view of pedestrians for cars coming from the opposite direction. The bus driver will usually have to stop for the station either way, so might as well combine the stop for the station with the stop for the crosswalk.

That said I’d argue it’s more of a pedestrians > cars > bicycles or maybe even a pedestrians > cars/bycycles system. Not quite as bad as your suggestion, but still not ideal.

edits: Added a comment about bus stop location. Added comment on low-floor bus.

Reminds me of a still image Medusa video I’ve seen some time ago. Thinking back to it I feel like I didn’t really understand the story completely. MEDUSA - The Stone Kingdom (youtube link)

edit: Apparently it also has a prequel MEDUSA - The Prequel (youtube link)

Not just libraries and businesses, but also religious facilities, clubs with a focus on social interactions, etc. Oftentimes they can provide rooms.