qyron

You and your friend seem to not take yourselves too serious, which is a nice trait.

Your sister seems a bit too uptight.

Ever got the "are you part dog or something"? Always makes me laugh.

Smell is undervalued in humans. I could smells if my partner was about to have her period before she started using contraception.

Call me crazy but, with things getting like this, if I was a Russian, I'd go. Just present myself, get the trainning (ah! as if!), get the equipment, get the guns.

Immediatly start to prepare a bomb attempt at a magazine, a hit on an officers station, whatever. Do some critical damage, from within.

It will either be dying on the field or by firing squad, so, better to die doing something useful.

Today I learned.

I don't consider any part of my personality as a super power, although I am aware I have a few oddities on me.

• Smells play a very big part of my reality.

I can "smell" a shift in air humidity. This led to me learning I can cook by my nose, as I can smell the very onset of burning or low content of salt or spices.

Anyone else can smell crickets?

• it was always easier to maintain a memory if I translate it into an image.

I gave differents colours in my mind to the days of the week, I color coded my emotions in order to know how things are inside my head and I have a colour bar to range my dialogue intensity to other.

• noticing something is "wrong" around or out of place always seemed easy, be it because there is a sound too much or missing or something is somewhere it doesn't belong or missing

I always thought these were normal things, growing up. Just like having a narrator voice in my head (this one comes really handy when reading a book; all character have a voice and the narrator has another).

I knew Solingen as a brand through men in my family, from a barber and later on through a book. And the straight razors were just called Solingen, nothing else. I was never told the name stood for anything else but a manufacturer.

I was very disappointed, when I came to the age of needing to shave, that Solingen was no more. I was always told their fare was very good. Every place I went to always said the brand had been out of the market since the mid 90's. Which is obviously a lie, after today. Even barbers were buying japanese or english scissors and straight razors, then.

And after checking the prices for my national made razors, I'll sooner buy a Solingen than a Tatara. I like my country very much but I don't see myself spending 175€ for a safety razor when I can get one for 50€.

Solingen sounds like quality, Tatara sounds like luxury brand.

BIC and Wilkinson Sword immediatly came to mind. Wasn't aware Solingen still existed - I grew up hearing their single edge razors were fabulous. But I really wasn't aware my own country makes blades. Now I have to ~~try~~ check Tatara.

In a democratic country, you can think and say whatever you want from its government. At best, being there, you should expect some side eyeing: you're there; if you don't like it, go your own way.

In countries where you know such criticism can bring harm your way, just avoid going there altogether.

Intriguing, isn't it?

Probably marked it as such inadvertently. Thank you for the warning.

I can do one class per semester and pay less than 100€ of tuition. I have a paid house and a source of income besides my salary.

Greed, plain and simple, and a complete absence of checks and balances.

There is no problem in creating an endeavour to achieve some goal and make money from it in the process but it is a problem when making a better life for oneself becomes a trip to hoard as much riches as possible just for the sake of it.

I've been lucky enough to know people with a lot of money, both old money and new money. Old money were down to earth people, still working on their family business, leading a very discreet life, with no show off. Polite, well spoken. New money - I prefer the french nouvelle riche - were insuferable twits, that liked to throw around their money as if it meant anything.

The old money people paid whoever worked for them well; I was told, in no uncertain terms, trust is a very high value commodity. They wanted to keep people around them loyal and reliable. The other lot paid pittance salaries.

There is only so much money needed and spendable. I don't mind paying taxes, although I do say there is a lot of misuse of all the money collect from it, but I consider it the price of civilization. I have an NHS, good roads and somewhat well taken care infrastructure, free public education, subsidized medication, unemployement by the state, paid sick days, paid parental leave, etc. That is money well spent.

Meanwhile, I see companies paying pittances. Tax the blood out of them. Force them to pay higher salaries in order to have higher tax deductions. Throw out deductions for charity; that is white washing greed. Increase paid vacation days (we get paid 14 months here and only work 11, as we have 22 days of paid vacation, plus an extra month salary for holiday "bonus" and another for christmas) and pay higher per diem values.

A company can work to only break even and still produce a lot.