What you did today

[Woldan]

I bought this as birthday present for a buddy. Best of collection of Modern Talking. Its just for fun, we always make fun of this band because its such an incredibly horribly cheesy 80's band with super high pitched voices and super cheesy song texts that were written for desperate lonely single moms. 

 

The pic says it all: 

 

 

And, I'll be damned, I'm just listening to the first CD and a couple of the songs aren't sooo bad at all........damn, I think I have to get rid of this evil artifact ASAP.  

Edited September 2, 2014 by Woldan

[ShadySands]

Wait, what? You bought a car and forgot about it? O.o

No, my wife convinced me to go back out an look at one more place on the far side of town

[Malcador]

Got into trouble for snarking at some FNG in NY. Couldn't take the buzzwords without being a bit lippy. "Action items", "drill down", "touchpoint session" and "pain points" to name a few. Ah well, not like much will come from that

[Tale]

Max is probably coming home today, yay.

 

They told me yesterday that his abdomen didn't seem as tender. So that's good news. With less pain and less fever that's a good sign of recovery.

And I spoke too soon.

 

His fever is back up, his urine is dark, and his spleen is enlarged.

 

He might come home tonight, but even if he does, he's going right back in tomorrow. They have ultrasounds scheduled.

[Woldan]

Racing thoughts, insomnia and feeling like being on cocaine 24/7. My manic phase of my depression is striking again, right on time. Lovely.  

[BruceVC]

cocaine 24/7.

 Nice...oh wait you probably talking about that awful feeling when you come down after being on Cocaine for 24/7

[Woldan]

Nice...oh wait you probably talking about that awful feeling when you come down after being on Cocaine for 24/7

No, you barely need to sleep and you're totally hyper, energetic super moody and nervous - for weeks. But its also just as mentally draining as prolonged use of a powerful upper, Its awful.

Edited September 3, 2014 by Woldan

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Yeah being coked out for long periods of time sucks.

 

I've got classes today, and am then going out drinking with wknd friends I've made. One girl is hot and we hit it off, so wish me luck.

[Raithe]

Heh, and they've just released the "Official Event Video" of that Tough Mudder weekend, so for general amusement for those interested..

 

http://youtu.be/o-OpAY1BfPw

 

Yes, I will be milking this, and for surviving that for years to come. 

 

http://youtu.be/OYTjWFmzB0o

Edited September 3, 2014 by Raithe

[Nonek]

After the childrens six weeks off Mrs Nonek and I have decided to follow suit now that they're back at school, a quiet week in a rustic cottage in the Lakes awaits, with hopefully no calls from the mother in law.

 

I still don't understand how I have one small handhold with everything I need while the wife is busy filling two large suitcases.

 

Edit: Well done Mr Raithe and good luck Mr Parker.

[Blarghagh]

You visible in any of those vids, Raithe? Congrats on making it through, I doubt I could have done it.

 

Doctor says I may have sleep apnea. Gonna see a specialist in two weeks and then see when they can schedule me in for observation at a sleep lab.

[Azdeus]

You should start playing the oboe. I've seen on TV that it helps, so you totally should. *Nods sagely*

 

Read a post by BruceVC, while I had a craving for sweets, so I made myself some Swedish un-PC "negerbollar". They are tasty.

[Guard Dog]

You know why I love Skyrim? This is like my 4th time through it and it's been a different experience every time. I played it almost all day today.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

My breath tastes like vodka and my legs hurt. Got the day off so going to try and sleep.

 

You know why I love Skyrim? This is like my 4th time through it and it's been a different experience every time. I played it almost all day today.

[Gorth]

After a Long and valiant fight against the system, my presence has finally been officially acknowledged and my current Location accepted as being the place i actually live. Germans may recognise the term "Anmeldepflicht". I now live officially in Berlin and can say I'm also a Berliner. Now for a bank account, medical insurance and a Tax ID number. Well... Rome wasn't built in a day (old proverb where i come from)

[Tale]

Max finally came home yesterday and on a related note, $2,000 left home. He's loaded up on 8 medications, I'm not sure if that includes the prescription food or not. Some of which require three times a day so I have to take an hour off work in the middle of the day to give it to him. Which isn't really a problem for me.

 

The scary thing is that if he hadn't been throwing up that one day, I never would have known anything was wrong. And unless he starts throwing up again, I still won't.

[Amentep]

After a Long and valiant fight against the system, my presence has finally been officially acknowledged and my current Location accepted as being the place i actually live. Germans may recognise the term "Anmeldepflicht". I now live officially in Berlin and can say I'm also a Berliner. Now for a bank account, medical insurance and a Tax ID number. Well... Rome wasn't built in a day (old proverb where i come from)

Have you declared "Ich bin ein Berliner" yet? Particularly near pastry shops?

 

[Longknife]

German bureocracies = Best bureocracies

 

 

And by best, I mean best at being a pain in the ****ing ass.

[Lexx]

It is ok until you meet an incompetent bureaucrat. Then you are going to have fun in hell.

[Longknife]

It is ok until you meet an incompetent bureaucrat. Then you are going to have fun in hell.

 

 

You mean German bureaucracies? As a dual citizen I can say I'd take an American bureaucracy over a German one any day of the week. The USA is just generally more relaxed in culture whereas Germany is highly anal-retentive by comparison, not to mention Germany will regulate all sorts of things like how long a tree branch in your back yard is allowed to grow whereas America often doesn't give a damn.

 

Honestly the real issue with bureaucracy is that bureaucrats learn the same things lawyers do. As a lawyer you realize that whoever your client is, guilty or not guilty, they deserve someone representing them to the best of their ability so that their case can be presented in the most fair light possible in a way that defends them. Personally, I don't consider this bad and some countries actually do impose laws where a lawyer MUST confess if they receive proof their client is guilty (for example the UK forces a lawyer to turn in any client that confesses, Germany severely cripples such situations by making it illegal for the lawyer to blatantly state or claim their client is innocent in certain ways, leading the lawyer to have to dance around any situation where they'd need to claim innocence on behalf of their client).

 

  But what is a bureaucrat? A representative of the state in regards to aggrivatingly simple tasks. This isn't about who should pay for damages in a car wreck between you and your neighbor, this is about the government deciding if you should receive assistance or not or if you owe money under the STRICTEST of rules. The problem with bureaucracy is that the bureaucrat is acting as a lawyer that's representing not a man, but an inhumane, uncaring and unfeeling system that only knows rules and how to do things exactly by the book. Well, guess what: people don't really work that way. There's all kinds of people with all kinds of different circumstances and possibilities, and to expect any bureaucracy to be prepared for every possible scenario? It's just not happening. Unfortunately the solution isn't often kind, as that means people get forced into bureaucratic systems that don't cater to their needs at all; the system becomes self-defeating in that it explicitly fails to do exactly what it was designed to do simply because it's not prepared to handle so many diverse scenarios.

  And as a bureaucrat...? Well, you're taught to represent the state. You have to think of the effect misplaced taxpayer dollars could have, not to mention you're sorta endangering your job by bending the rules; you are literally NOT paid to think, but to make sure the entire process is handled appropriately according to all the law books you've read.

 

 

 

It's a rather unfortunate situation but having studied law, I somewhat sympathize with bureaucrats because I know why they act as they do. "Somewhat" because I'd personally sooner work for minimum wage than support a system that's screwed me over a multitude of occassions because my life scenarios are always too unique to be handled appropriately by bureaucracies. I personally don't think it's incompetence so much as a tendency to resort to the more basic cases first, alongside a rather pessimistic attitude that must come with KNOWINGLY "helping" people by giving them a solution you know won't help them, but also knowing you CANNOT actually do anything about it and you're just a cog in a system.

 

 

But yeah, in a nutshell?

 

Bureocracy is when papers become more important than the very people carrying them, which is all around a travesty.

[Nepenthe]

Yarp, and they often lack proper, full legal training, meaning that their application of law is rudimentary at best and wildly inaccurate and damaging at worst.

[Enoch]

Yarp, and they often lack proper, full legal training, meaning that their application of law is rudimentary at best and wildly inaccurate and damaging at worst.

 

As an attorney who is employed in-house counsel to non-attorney bureaucrats, I can confirm this.

 

 

Also:

As a dual citizen I can say I'd take an American bureaucracy over a German one any day of the week.

 

U-S-A!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!

[Amentep]

To be fair to bureaucrats everywhere, the vast majority of people don't fall into special cases, they just think they do when something doesn't go the way they wanted.

[Longknife]

To be fair to bureaucrats everywhere, the vast majority of people don't fall into special cases, they just think they do when something doesn't go the way they wanted.

 

 

But as a disabled dual citizen who switched countries and had limited contact to a parent alongside little to no support, with both parents not having citizenship in one of my two countries and therefore being incredibly difficult to contact for formal papers, all topped off with the fact that Germany can be rather snobby on many things (do NOT come here looking for work without a university degree. I **** you not, they made me study english at the university before letting me study to be an english teacher, citing "you do not have any GERMAN diploma or degree that you speak fluent english and have studied it extensively;" sitting in classes where I learned **** all while paying €700 per semester? NOT fun)...

 

 

Those of us that fall through the cracks do exist, and jesus christ are bureaucracies unkind to us. I could make a list of ways bureaucracies can screw me over, but I don't wanna bore you all.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Longknife

[Longknife]

 

Also:

As a dual citizen I can say I'd take an American bureaucracy over a German one any day of the week.

 

U-S-A!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!

 

 

 

Don't get too excited. I'd also choose German police over American police any day of the week. And while I enjoy American culture more (more relaxed, more fun-loving, no one will ****ing flip **** and have an aneurism because you dared not follow a rule or not follow protocol to the letter for two seconds of your life), I consider Germany far more comfortable to live in from a governance standpoint for a multitude of reasons. (easier living costs in various forms, including health care, smoother functioning public services aside from bureaucracies, more income equality across the board)

 

 

I've got criticisms for both, really.