The Chat Thread

[CriticalI]

Ha! That's because it's so epidemic these days that it's not logically correct to label it a disorder!

Incorrect - you appear to have misdiagnosed.

I don't think so! I like to listen to noisy drone music when I study.

Vivaldi is great

[ibanezmonster]

Vivaldi is great

[Opus106]

Bought a second external hard drive! 24,992 of 41,448 files copied as I type this.

I almost bought my first, last night. Relatively reasonable price at an online store with a rather bad reputation. What specs, if I may ask?

[Opus106]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/windows.asp <there doesn't exist an emoticon that quite conveys my emotion on seeing that>

[Florestan]

Here most folk abide by the law,

Now don't imagine that in Romania anarchy rules and everybody does just whatever crosses his mind. Most of us are law-abiding too. Where we differ from you is in our choice of what laws we abide by and what laws we break. 

but also realize when it can be stretched without making any damage - like driving 105 km/h at when there's a speed limit of 100, but everyone else drives 105.

That can be very damaging in just a matter of seconds, but I agree. Breaking the speed limit is customary here too. For instance, the speed limit in villages is 50 km/h but I usually drive at 70-80. And if a police team lurks in the next village the drivers coming on the other side will almost always notice me by flashing their lights. 

But something like banning burning leaves on yards is generally quite well adhered to.

Perhaps that's because people have been educated about the risks involved and they are aware that a law banning burning leaves is in force. None of these conditions obtain here except in some urban areas.

And if someone decides to break these ruled, people may or may not call the police, depending on the offense.

That's all right. I have an old woman neighbor who regularly calls the police when someone plays loud music at midnight through the speakers (we live in a block of flats) and I don't mind in the least. Now, if I were at the residence of my in-laws in the countryside and saw someone burning leaves in his yard I would perhaps try to persuade him not to do it but I most certainly would not call the police.

I am sorry if people can't live in this kind of system in Romania

Don't be. I kinda like it. 

, but it works well enough here.

I imagine. Different culture, different history, different society. That's what makes the world such a great place. If we were all the same we would die of boredom. 

And I'd hardly worry about the government being too strong, or spies 

That's because you have never lived in a police state swarming with spies, where each and every word uttered publicly or even privately could have got you in trouble (and I mean real trouble, like being imprisoned or worse) and where the government was strong enough to enforce absolute obedience or to repress any dissent. Maybe for you it's hard even to imagine that such conditions existed for real.

There are laws in Finland that aren't actively controlled, and there might not even be a sanction defined for some offenses

That's the case here too.

- but the laws are still usually obeyed.

Well, as I said before, in our case it depends on the law. For historical reasons, laws that are perceived as being invasive of the private life, such as the one at hand, tend to be disobeyed.

[Ataraxia]

I almost bought my first, last night. Relatively reasonable price at an online store with a rather bad reputation. What specs, if I may ask?

http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/standard/goflex/?cmpid=ppc-_-goflex-_-g-_-us-_-1tb_goflex-_-p

[North Star]

Now don't imagine that in Romania anarchy rules and everybody does just whatever crosses his mind. Most of us are law-abiding too. Where we differ from you is in our choice of what laws we abide by and what laws we break. 
That can be very damaging in just a matter of seconds, but I agree. Breaking the speed limit is customary here too. For instance, the speed limit in villages is 50 km/h but I usually drive at 70-80. And if a police team lurks in the next village the drivers coming on the other side will almost always notice me by flashing their lights. 
Perhaps that's because people have been educated about the risks involved and they are aware that a law banning burning leaves is in force. None of these conditions obtain here except in some urban areas.
That's all right. I have an old woman neighbor who regularly calls the police when someone plays loud music at midnight through the speakers (we live in a block of flats) and I don't mind in the least. Now, if I were at the residence of my in-laws in the countryside and saw someone burning leaves in his yard I would perhaps try to persuade him not to do it but I most certainly would not call the police.
Don't be. I kinda like it. 
I imagine. Different culture, different history, different society. That's what makes the world such a great place. If we were all the same we would die of boredom. 
That's because you have never lived in a police state swarming with spies, where each and every word uttered publicly or even privately could have got you in trouble (and I mean real trouble, like being imprisoned or worse) and where the government was strong enough to enforce absolute obedience or to repress any dissent. Maybe for you it's hard even to imagine that such conditions existed for real.
That's the case here too.
Well, as I said before, in our case it depends on the law. For historical reasons, laws that are perceived as being invasive of the private life, such as the one at hand, tend to be disobeyed.

I understand that in a police state, legislation is totally different. And I certainly understand that in these societies, spying is a lot more common, like in DDR (and in Finland, too, in those days, but to a far lesser extent).
And I certainly wasn't suggesting that leaf burning should be banned in the countryside. That I would call idiotic.
And regarding the speed limits, I just meant that if everyone drives 5 km/h over the limit, it's much safer to drive at the same speed than to drive slower, creating traffic jams and dangerous passes, 20 km/h over the limit sounds dangerous, but of course some (quite many) limits are not too well considered. This can be a real problem.
I'm not too big on calling the police either, but I have advised a neighbour to stop burning wet leaves and wood on his yard, the smoke coming out of the fire looked, and smelled, really bad. (he's done this quite often during the summer months).

My whole point was that this can affect others so much that it can't be considered a private issue, just like it isn't a private issue if someone pollutes a lake. And the leaves can be burned, if it's done properly, with a high enough temperature.

[Florestan]

I'm not too big on calling the police either, but I have advised a neighbour to stop burning wet leaves and wood on his yard, the smoke coming out of the fire looked, and smelled, really bad. (he's done this quite often during the summer months).

During summer? Where did he get the leaves from? Here it is done in late autumn when virtually all leaves have fallen.

My whole point was that this can affect others so much that it can't be considered a private issue, just like it isn't a private issue if someone pollutes a lake. And the leaves can be burned, if it's done properly, with a high enough temperature.

Fair enough.

[North Star]

During summer? Where did he get the leaves from? Here it is done in late autumn when virtually all leaves have fallen.
Fair enough.

Good point - it was some garden waste of similar nature.

[Karl Henning]

Artistically, I find the idea that someone was operating a camera interferes with the verisimilitude.

Still rather funny, though.

http://www.youtube.com/v/gVszHLWHLo0

[DavidRoss]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/windows.asp <there doesn't exist an emoticon that quite conveys my emotion on seeing that>

Here's a terrific example of the rampant bigotry of the mainstream press in America these days, every bit as partisan and untrustworthy as Pravda once was. Even the debunker, Snopes, is misleading, when at the top of the story they say it's true that Romney said it, but later quote his entire remarks in context, showing that's not what he actually said, and then at the very end of the story they admit that

his posture and tone clearly indicated that he intended the line to be taken as a tongue-in-cheek aside rather than as a serious statement

[DavidRoss]

http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/standard/goflex/?cmpid=ppc-_-goflex-_-g-_-us-_-1tb_goflex-_-p

USB 3.0, "upgradeable" to e-sata
Good, you have decent speed and didn't get snookered into obsolete technology

[Opus106]

http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/standard/goflex/?cmpid=ppc-_-goflex-_-g-_-us-_-1tb_goflex-_-p

Thanks.

[Ataraxia]

USB 3.0, "upgradeable" to e-sata
Good, you have decent speed and didn't get snookered into obsolete technology

I have two of these. One holds the tunes, because they don't fit on my laptop, and the other is the backup.

[Opus106]

Even the debunker, Snopes, is misleading, when at the top of the story it says that it's true that Romney said it, but later quote his entire remarks in context, showing that he didn't say exactly what they claim he said, and then only at the very end of the story, admit that: snopes quote

How it that misleading? (Unless, of course, you expect Snopes to pander to people who read no more than the first few sentences of any piece of writing.)

[Ataraxia]

Ever get shaky and have to eat? Even when you eat regularly?

I used to get this more frequently but it happened again today. So I quickly consumed a giant candy bar and a giant bag of chips. Must be something to do with sugar level? My glucose is kind of high per the doctor but not that high.

[North Star]

Ever get shaky and have to eat? Even when you eat regularly?

I used to get this more frequently but it happened again today. So I quickly consumed a giant candy bar and a giant bag of chips. Must be something to do with sugar level? My glucose is kind of high per the doctor but not that high.

Sure sounds like sugar level problems, but there are probably plenty of things that could upset it temporarily.

[Ataraxia]

Sure sounds like sugar level problems, but there are probably plenty of things that could upset it temporarily.

Yes, it's strange. I probably need a better diet, not that mine's that bad. There's room for improvement I'm sure.

[Scarpia]

Ever get shaky and have to eat? Even when you eat regularly?

I used to get this more frequently but it happened again today. So I quickly consumed a giant candy bar and a giant bag of chips. Must be something to do with sugar level? My glucose is kind of high per the doctor but not that high.

Reactive hypoglycemia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia

In a nutshell, consumption of carbohydrates (big bowl of cereal at breakfast) triggers excess release of insulin, which overcompensates and drives glucose too low.  The body reacts to low glucose with adrenalin, which causes shaking.

[Ataraxia]

Reactive hypoglycemia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia

In a nutshell, consumption of carbohydrates (big bowl of cereal at breakfast) triggers excess release of insulin, which overcompensates and drives glucose too low.

That sounds like it. Thanks, doc!