We dont know how much power they have, it’s illegal to know:

| Due to secrecy laws, it is extremely hard to find documentary evidence of the queen’s exercise of influence. In the United Kingdom, government documents that “relate to” communications with the sovereign or the next two persons in line to the throne, as well as palace officials acting on their behalf, are subject to an absolute exemption from release under freedom of information or by government archives.

• “relate to” is so broad and it means we have no idea what is going on.

| But The Guardian has managed to expose a removed in this armour of secrecy. In the UK’s National Archives, it discovered documents from 1973 showing the queen’s personal solicitor lobbied public servants to change a proposed law so that it would not allow companies, or the public, to learn of the queen’s shareholdings in Britain. The gambit succeeded, and the draft bill was changed to suit the queen’s wishes. Perhaps these documents escaped the secrecy embargo because they involved communications with a private solicitor, rather than palace officials

https://theconversation.com/the-queens-gambit-new-evidence-shows-how-her-majesty-wields-influence-on-legislation-154818

• unless you live in Australia. We had to censor Peppa Pig for spreading this pro-spider propaganda. That said, there hasn’t been spider or snake deaths in years, due to antivenom. Will still hurt like hell though.

Geri is my favourite Indonesian crackers, but not so much the chocolate ones…

a bit pricey

Look on the map for Bónus supermarkets, I found them to be the best value but with a good range of stuff to try. I thought the rye bread (Rúgbrauð) and skyr were particularly delicious in Iceland.

Australia already spends time and money maintaining the English monarch as the head of state. And it’s not a ceremonial position; the governor-general has reserve powers, such as the ability to remove office holders, like in 1975. It is only convention, not law that appoints and makes the GG act on the PMs ‘recommendations’ rather than the Monarch; the description of the office has not been rewritten. We can’t rely on convention to govern a country and need to have explicit laws that match our ideals of how a democracy should behave. It’s unexploded ordinance that should be cleaned up… let’s do that rather than spending our time and money changing all the pictures on the money, and the pronouns on all the legal documents each time a monarch croaks.

Good use of Keanu meme, as he recently fell for and is promoting a conspiracy theory (ancient civilizations).

Heh, we do the same. I appreciate that Changi airport has bottle-filling fountains at every gate.

I really appreciate Haneda airport for having bottle scanners, so you can just bring your filled bottles through security. Saw this at an airport in Europe, too, but can’t remember where (domestic Athens maybe?).

Yeah, this kind of thing. We have pocari sweat powder.

As a frequent flier I’d say the most important thing is what you do before and after your flight, not during. Go in well hydrated (get those electrolytes!) and well rested. If you’re flying far east/west, adjust your eating and sleeping ahead of going, to make sure the adjustment is not so hard on arrival. If you’re arriving in the morning, try to sleep on the plane… if you’re arriving in the evening, don’t sleep on the plane. Additionally, when you arrive, wait until the appropriate time to sleep/eat as not to prolong jet lag.

I’ve had it farm fresh in Bali and at a swanky cafe in Penang. The shared characteristic was how smooth it is. Tastes different, not necessarily better or worse. Depends on what you’re after in your beverage.

In Penang, we had it with a normal espresso to compare. After drinking the Luwak coffee, the espresso lost all it’s flavour… It did something to our sense of taste!

Going through a factory you can tell there’s no chance the poop makes it to the final product. In fact, none of the cherry meat is used, only the bean, so I question what effect the digestive process has. Maybe the preparation method is different? I haven’t been to a normal coffee factory to compare.

The conditions the Luwak are kept in vary wildly, apparently the worst practices are in Vietnam. The Luwak are super cute , amazing fur, ones kept as pets were fun to interact with. The size of two house cats. Nocturnal, so I’ve only seen them active once.

I liked the coffee but not so much that I want to support demand for it. The Luwak is a totally unnecessary step in making what is already a great beverage regardless.

You don’t see many cats out and about in Bucharest. Best move to Greece (or Turkey, I hear). In Athens the city microchips and makes sure “stray” cats and dogs get veterinary care. Public parks are filled with cats so you can’t eat your lunch without making a few friends, and you can’t park a motorcycle without a cat parking itself on the seat. Even the hill the Acropolis is on is covered in cats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgh_by_Sands

Just want to make sure everyone know about naproxen (Aleve, Naprogesic, etc), because I’m met several people in their 40’s who still didn’t know it exists. Over the counter, not a pain killer, targets the cause and stops cramps/nausea etc.

I’ve been overcharged/“taken for a ride” by five or so taxis in my life, never had trouble with a ride-share service, even in countries where they are operating illegally. Never had a clearly drunk driver, too, unlike a couple of taxis I’ve taken.

When there’s any kind of language barrier, choosing the destination in the app rather than trying to speak it is so much easier, and using in-app translation messaging, too. When arriving in a new country, not having to get money out at the airport (avoiding rip-off ATMs or money exchangers) and being able to pay online is so much better than cash, especially when you’re not familiar with the currency.

Certainty of price, and ability to give instant feedback are great at keeping things honest. Sure, Uber/Grab etc are terrible companies, but I swear most taxi licenses in the world are owned my organized crime, so not much of an alternative. There is so much that needs to be done with regulation to get rid of the ‘gig economy’ and make sure that drivers are properly compensated/employed, but the app-powered ride service is just so superior in every way for the passenger, in my opinion.

May I suggest a back-up battery for your phone (I just use my laptop USB as it’s always with me and works when the PC is off).

You’ve triggered my working with GameCube/Wii through Cygwin PTSD.

🧑‍🚒

her status and authority, unfortunately, make her an acceptable target

Agreed, but It’s really more that she’s a complete arsehole. As a nimby mining magnate, she is a sponsor of organised climate denialism and vocal about it herself, a race she clearly has a horse in. She’s also an active libertarian who wants to further dismantle the welfare system, and reduce taxation, and wants Australian workers to be cool like Africans and work for $2 a day. And a vocal Trump supporter.

It’s not the painting that makes her ugly, it’s her behaviour and ideology.

As the oldest Millennial (just scrape in), I insist they peaked at Dragon Ball. A half beaten to death pre-teen launching himself through the bad guy to defeat him? Epic stuff.

(Married at 22. You can marry young and be in your 40’s discussing Dragon Ball with internet strangers!)