Hello there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

Enjoying the small talk? We have a Discord server too! We'd love to have more of you over there. Do both of us a favour and use this link to join the fun.

The mod-team wishes you a nice day!


5 comments

  1. As I go through my receipts from my recent trip to Helsinki, one thing immediately leaps out at me:

    English: Restaurant

    German: Restaurant

    French: Restaurant

    Spanish: Restaurante

    Italian: Ristorante

    Dutch: Restaurant

    Swedish:Restaurang

    Polish: Restauracja

    Serbo-Croatian: Restoran

    Russian: Restoran (not “pectopah”, as I learnt embarrassingly recently)

    Latvian: Restorāns

    Turkish: Restoran

    Estonian: Restoran

    Albanian: Restoranti

    Finnish: 👀
    #RAVINTOLA

    Why, Finland, why?

  2. I had paella for lunch yesterday, like about 90% of the other tourists in Valencia 😉 It was very good indeed.

    This must be one of the most popular ‘typical dishes ‘ of any city in Europe, for visitors to try

    Like eating pizza in Naples.

  3. I thought autumn equinox is on the 23rd every year, but it turns out that it can be anywhere between 21 and 25. This year, it was yesterday. Did you guys know (doesn’t count if you’re a planetary scientist).

    I saw something really disturbing yesterday. Apparently a company in the US (I mean I don’t want to badmouth Americans, but why??) which is organizing “Enhanced games”, where they offer (usually retired, since obviously if you’re an active athlete it’s not possible) athletes doping and performance enhancers under control, after which they compete. There was for example a former swimming champion from Australia, who is now 35 and “feels 18 again” apparently. The spokesperson of the company had the most useless argument of “well, athletes dope all the time, so why not do it honestly and under medical control (as if athletes who do dope do so in complete secrecy and not at all with the knowledge of higher-ups)”

    I think the worst thing about this (other than the obvious billion concerns) is that human beings put their entire self-worth on one thing. Like, if you are the swimming world champion, you’re that. If you’re not, you’re nothing.

    And it is probably one of the main reasons why I like to have creative side things to do. I see so many professors do just that, they cling on to their seat and title until the last possible moment (which can be years after they retire). One reason is of course that they love what they do. But another reason is that they only love that. There is nothing else that they have cultivated over their life which gives them a feeling of fulfilment and self-worth.

    Anyhow. I hope this is a passing fancy and doesn’t become “a thing”. How the medical personnel deals with the ethical considerations of this, I don’t even want to know.

  4. I read that the original album cover artwork for Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’ is expected to become the most expensive album cover art ever sold at auction in October.

    What’s your favourite album cover art? Irrespective of the quality of the actual music!

  5. Planning to visit Netherlands in November with my wife and daughter (1,5 yo). Any recomendations which city to visit? Besides the obvious Amsterdam.

Leave a Reply