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8:43 AM

I fully agree that the essence of present giving should be evidence of consideration for others and that a personal gift shopper is not thoughtful yet there could be a category of presents where it is not so much the recipient but the location you have been to.

The Wandering Coder

Indeed

pnuts

For example, I had no idea about Geneva's chocolate pots until in the city. They are an insight into the history there and maybe are not so much a 'present' as a souvenir. There is nougat from Montélimar, some (rather tasty) sticky bun from Bordeaux, (or their wine). - Virtually portable versions of some of the reasons for going travelling there in the first place.

I can envisage a wiki post - Place - Souvenir - say 100 words max of details each.

Bit like "Your favourite Loire chateaux and why" Q.

Maybe two Qs (I'm getting ambitious) what to bring back for one and what is appreciated there when carried in for another (by country)?

The Wandering Coder

In which case a question about a specific city or town's delicacies, famous items etc. would produce a more answerable list.

pnuts

That would suit the main site.

The Wandering Coder

Asking, What should I get my friend? is basically unanswerable because it is impossible to know what the friend likes, the budget of the person buying, the cultural norms for gift giving itself.

etc.

I wasn't trying to take spite at the question

Merely that it seemed out of scope

Maybe something on the travel site similar to documentation?

II usually answer the Japanese posts (cause I live here) and there seem to be a lot of very similar questions

Something like,

Tokyo
Capital of Japan
Famous spots: Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree
Associated Foods: Tokyo Banana

etc.

pnuts

9:01 AM

I agree (3x over! - just not sure about Documentation here, its a mess there). For present FROM Japan I thought a hand-made tea pot suitable (as a suggestion) without necessarily being obvious. (Like Brits, they do like their tea - ceremonies etc)

The Wandering Coder

Indeed

Although I could give you 5 pages of gifts you could get here

Tea

Strange Drinks

Figures

Anime

Candy

Gag gifts (there are whole shops of those)

etc.etc.

pnuts

Anime is good, Candy I would never have thought of (from Japan), drinks neither (but some of their names would make them eligible!).

The Wandering Coder

Lamb flavoured caramel?

Some drinks (like melon Soda) can't be bought readily overseas

Anyway, if you will excuse me. It is 6pm Friday and I will be going home. If you would like to continue / want some more ideas etc. I shall be back on Monday

pnuts

I'm thinking "representative" and fairly 'mainstream' - plain weird might make another Q!

@The - Many thanks - I appreciated that. Enjoy your weekend.

hippietrail

10:11 AM

你好

pnuts

10:22 AM

Great work with the tagging. Tags are a shambles on SO, would be a shame not to learn from that experience (ie to do as you are, catch the degradation in time).

hippietrail

they're a bit of a mess here too. there's more than one agreed decision to take on tags sitting in meta from over the years that were never actually enacted

the one involving cleanup of documentation vs paperwork and related stuff springs to mind

but i stopped taking upon myself to try to keep them in shape after i was scolded for messing some tags

pnuts

I stopped after being scolded (by mods) twice :)

hippietrail

but if you're interested in cleaning up any other tag problems i think it's always worth talking about in chat

although i was just scolded in meta for talking about hypothetical stuff, which to my mind means thinking out potential problems before encountering them. or at least trying to.

pnuts

I'd like them cleaned up but am not prepared to contribute. Appreciate the work of (some) others though. (HYPOCRITE!) Users don't like hypothetical stuff full stop (answering is more fun and askers don't give a damn). I set up a Gallery chat room on SO to try and get a plan for the Excel family and among the Top Users there was next to no interest - though most felt the status quo 'left a lot to be desired'.

hippietrail

yeah i just hit the status quo asking about why off-topic has a non literal meaning used nowhere but stackexchange

pnuts

10:32 AM

I know!

hippietrail

after which i managed to find several previous questions from three years ago all with overwhelmingly positive reception but nixed by the bosses

three years is enough time to become firmly status quo at least on SE

pnuts

Bear in mind though 'jargon' seems to be required for adhesion in all human communities.

hippietrail

jargon is generally technical language created to be more precise than the existing terms which turn out to be a little to generic to use in technical fields

it's hard to find people talking about on-topic / off-topic seemingly thinking about both its meanings at the same time without realizing it

pnuts

Well, we seem to get more than an average dose of users for whom English is not their first language.

Did you get around to asking about topic on EL&U, or have second thoughts?

hippietrail

exactly. they've got enough to struggle with without unheralded jargon meanings secretly in place of the literal meaning used everywhere else in the world

i wouldn't ask about topic I would ask about on-topic and/or off-topic

but not yet, maybe later

pnuts

10:46 AM

Aside: Why is OT the abbreviation for off-topic???

hippietrail

i hope the russian, spanish, japanese, and portuguese stack overflows each have non native speakers of russian, spanish, japanese, and portuguese too. because they translated the term literally on those sites too as far as i can tell. no idea if they realized they were creating new site-specific jargon in each language

nerds like to abbreviate? (-:

moreso when it's obvious

pnuts

OT for on-topic would seem about as appropriate!

Nerds should have chosen something like -T and +T.

hippietrail

oh yeah! an ambiguous abbreviation that covers two ambiguous terms with opposite meanings!

they don't like being told they're being illogical

especially when they're being illogical

pnuts

Who does? :)

rhubarb

hippietrail

celery

what's your take on identify-this questions?

pnuts

10:55 AM

Peas.

hippietrail

Where can I watch UFC 202 in Taichung?

pnuts

I don't like them without a specific Travel aspect. (Which somewhat clashes with "don't ask why someone is asking/don't question motives".) Windows 10 screen savers a bit of a disgrace.

hippietrail

now what is and is not a travel aspect.

i don't mind those - this looks like a great destination - where is it

i have a feeling my one about a half buried armenian church was maybe the first one

pnuts

Only "where is it" when either I have been there or am seriously contemplating going (that's the 'Travel'). Not "Look this up for me" / "Resolve our dispute" / "It's a nice picture" / "Idle curiosity" / "rep whoring" / etc.

hippietrail

I think I was in Georgia when I asked the armenia one. but maybe it was after my trip.

i only like look this up for me when i've already tried umpteen ways to look it up and failed. especially if i think someone might be able to look it up in another language or aided by local knowledge

like i'm getting nowhere finding a sports bar in taichung. google maps comes up with some red herrings

pnuts

11:06 AM

I've not seen that post. Had you been there or were you considering going (either would serve!)

hippietrail

i was definitely interested in seeing it!

pnuts

That's 'Travel' then (in my book!)

hippietrail

14

Q: Where is this half buried Armenian church or monastery?

While browsing Wikipedia and the Internet about some damaged Armenian churches in Tbilisi Georgia I came across an amazing photo (but I know this one is not in Tbilisi). This link is to the Armenian language web page with the original picture I found but could not include for copyright reasons. ...

we don't have to ask about only our own stuff either. or things we don't already know the answer to.

four years ago = 2012. i was in georgia in 2012. not sure about the months

november 2011 actually so i was definitely in georgia working in the hostel in tbilisi. i didn't end up going to armenia on that trip but i had been on my previous trip in 2010.

pnuts

Agreed. PS I've seen the post now :)

hippietrail

i also spotted an ancient typo in it and fixed it

well i'm going to ask where to watch UFC in taichung

pnuts

11:27 AM

Might someone here have a suggestion?: facebook.com/taichungmuaythaiandboxing

hippietrail

0

Q: Where is a bar, cafe, etc that shows pay-per-view UFC fights in Taichung, Taiwan?

I'm in Taichung, Taiwan. One of the three biggest cities in Taiwan. There's lots of expats, but mostly from other Asian countries from what I've seen. Normally I would look for a sports bar on Google Maps or just Google the question and find somebody has already asked or already created a list ...

taiwan nightlife sports-events cafes taichung

Taichung Info Exchange

there might also be a TGI Friday's here

well you helped me find it!

facebook.com/theuptownertaichung/posts/1742709696003084

JoErNanO

11:48 AM

Yuhuuuu @pnuts is back!

pnuts

Cabbage Jo(k)Er

Have you not been away yourself (somewhat)?

JoErNanO

@pnuts Hey hey you've disappeared for months.

@GayotFow and I were worried sick.

:P

pnuts

I thought you deserved to be left in peace (for a bit!).

JoErNanO

Who? Me?

Nobody ever leaves me in peace.

pnuts

See - I did!

hippietrail

11:54 AM

hey quit leaving pieces of peanuts all over the floor!

JoErNanO

What if I am allergic to peanuts?

pnuts

You would not be the only one.

hippietrail

i am addicted to peanuts. or 花生 as i usually call them

JoErNanO

@hippietrail Since when does a peaceful hippie like yourself enjoy watching violent fighting sports?

hippietrail

my nick is ironic. now where's my knife? ...

JoErNanO

11:57 AM

Your neck is iconic?

pnuts

And your kick iron?

hippietrail

that's why it's on so many t-shirts

as soon as i'm done pulling the wings off these flies you guys are going to taste my wrath

pnuts

Don't waste your breath.

hippietrail

time to eat lots of garlic

pnuts

time to lick lobes of ear

hippietrail

12:02 PM

get a room you two

JoErNanO

A room with flies and garlic? No thanks.

hippietrail

man it's hard trying to convert the time from US nonstandard timezone abbreviations to taiwan time

what would 10PM/7PM ETPT Aug 20 be in Taiwan time?

Gayot Fow

@JoErNanO I take it you didn't get to Bayreuth for the festival this year?

pnuts

Have you tried Google for time now LA?

hippietrail

well the fight is in las vegas

but i'm assuming PT is pacific time but should be PDT and not PST i think coz i think it's summer ther

but does every state observe daylight savings in the US?

JoErNanO

12:11 PM

@GayotFow Na man. I'll be on holiday starting tonight. Finally.

pnuts

@hippietrail Sorry I meant LV. Surely no clocks are going to change (ha ha) in the next 24-hours or so?

hippietrail

the point is if LA and LV are not the same timezone i still won't know for sure

pnuts

05:16
Friday, 19 August 2016 (PDT)
Time in Las Vegas, NV, USA

hippietrail

both PDT apparently

so the fight should be 1pm on the 21st here

pnuts

I would not expect the offset to change in the interim.

hippietrail

12:20 PM

i would expect that i messed up at least one of the variables though (-:

pnuts

:)

blackbird

12:48 PM

Morning everyone

hippietrail

1:18 PM

i just found a Daiso around the corner so I bought a new compass just like my old compass that seems to have forgotten where north might be. And the worst fake Rubik's Cube ever (-:

hippietrail

1:32 PM

the very gall of somebody curious about a factoid relevant to not one but two countries and wanting to identify the origin of something asking on a site strictly dedicated to travel!

tourist

3:24 PM

Anyone here have any idea about Luxembourg?

hippietrail

3:54 PM

i was there 15 or 16 years ago

stayed in a hostel with a dodgy air about it. befriended an algerian guy. loved the scenery. thought it was underrated. exchange rate was really against me at that time so i didn't do much.

Willeke

4:31 PM

@tourist, I have been in Luxembourg plenty of times (as have most members of my family.) What do you want to know about Luxembourg? Gifts?

They do nice leather work, with the names of the town where you buy it stamped into the leather.

And there is Kirch, the strong alcoholic drink, based on cherries (although they do different kinds as well.)

Relaxed

7:01 PM

Tobacco of course

@Willeke Wouldn't that be Kirsch? As far as I know, it's just cherry brandy, similar to what's being made from Alsace to Austria...

Willeke

Might well be, I do not remember the actual spelling and I was too young to appreciate it when my parents bought it on the family holidays.

Tobacco is just cheaper, not special, all imports.

Kirsch was the local produce in the town we stayed when I was 11 or so....been back there at 18 but not much of a drinker back then.

phoog

I was last in Luxembourg in 1974, I'm afraid.

chx

where's my silver??

412 points in air-travel 81 answers.

Willeke

May be a case of chasing, takes a few seconds to minutes.

Chasing is wrong word, sorry

chx

caching

but it's already 81

Willeke

7:11 PM

Should be enough, I think, but as I do not have a silver, I am not sure.

chx

posted a meta

this is very important!

:P

imaginary badges based on imaginary points.

Willeke

I missed getting a bronze, turned out I did not meet the number of different answers.

I wonder if this user is doing enough not to be considered being spam:

CitySafe

89 2

safety event-based-effects germany hiking rio-de-janeiro trekking brazil

Answers are very thin, very basic safety for the city and not about the event the question was about.

chx

i flagged

Willeke

For mod or for being spam? (or something else again.)

chx

for mod

suggesting it might be spam

it's borderline

Willeke

7:25 PM

In that case I think I do not flag, I do not think mods go by number of flags for this kind of thing.

The busbud guy turned out to be a good contributor.

blackbird

didn't flag as spam either, the A is actually useful in this case

Willeke

It has three answers and they (or at least two of them) read like copies of each other. (Read for more information on our website)

blackbird

btw did Mark from Seat61 disappear from the site ? I was trying to find the A he posted once about his site, can't find it

chx

didnt look like one

i mean "didn't flag as spam either, the A is actually useful in this case" didn't look useful

blackbird

well the disclaimer is useful, gives numbers to back up his A

Willeke

7:31 PM

I have mailed him with an other question and he mailed back but did not come to the site then.

(Mark form Seat 61

blackbird

not just anecdotal "I was there in 1999 and it was fine" type

@Willeke aw too bad

Willeke

Maybe the Q was not interesting enough. (discounts for people over a certain age, which he said are not worth it, as early booking is cheaper for any age.)

blackbird

bet he gets tons of mail a day too

Willeke

I hope my mailing him might spark a bit of interest in this kind of discounts, so he adds a line of two to his site when he meets something about it.

blackbird

well if you ever come to Canada, our (decrepit) rail company has 10% off on certain fares for 60+

hardly a deal :p

Willeke

7:42 PM

I will tell boyfriend, (who is old enough to qualify), I will have to wait 8 more years.

In Europe you can often get 25% if you own a national discount card for one of the European railway companies. And only when over 60 or over 65, depending on the country.

Early booking can get you 50% off, but if the 10% goes on top of that it will help.

blackbird

you'd save even more with the value of the CAD lately ...

Willeke

Euro is up and down all the time, I do not see any line in exchange rates. At least every time I check it is different.

Do you think this rates as an answer?

0

A: Car rent with International driving licence in UK after lived in UK more than 1 year

I'm so glad that this question can be discussed like this which helps me a lot. My point is that I can legally drive in UK since I have a UK licence, which means hiring a car with Chinese licence won't break the law. The agreement between me and the car hire company is still valid because they gi...

One of the comments is by someone working for an insurer who has many rentals under his clients, he says it is not allowed.

blackbird

seems more like a long comment

if he backed it up with something (like a legal text) it would be an answer I guess

like this The agreement between me and the car hire company is still valid

how does he know ? it seems like an assumption

Willeke

He has talked with a rental agent online, he says, but they can easily say a lot, agree that he said it.

I even know people who will say 'yes' even when they mean 'no'.

blackbird

exactly

not to mention some are inclined to say yes when they're not sure

or simply make mistakes

obviously then there's that argument about legal vs accepted practices

chx

8:03 PM

I hate these "how old are you" questions

I never know what I should answer, I was born in July 1975 , so right I am clearly 41 but what's the answer in January? Do I just subtract the years?

Or I'm 41 until the day before my birthday? In which time zone? hate, hate, hate this shit especially because some companies use it to verify identity

just ask my date of birth and move on

blackbird

that's weird, they usually always ask for dob

chx

you have an online ad, say a child born on or after 2016 aug 19 stays free.

blackbird

I would say 41 until next July

Willeke

In social situations, use the way you say it at home.

I would also say 41 till your birthday comes around.

(But I did round up my age in a post not that long ago, to the age I will reach next month.)

blackbird

socially is different though, I usually round up 4-5 months before my bday

but his case seems to require precision ?

phoog

8:08 PM

@chx I have read that you legally turn 42 on the day before your next birthday, but but most people I know would say that you are 41 until (and on) that day.

Willeke

Midnight (say 00:01) on the day of your birth

Relaxed

9:12 PM

@chx Some Asian countries have a completely different notion of age, when I design questionnaires I ask “When were you born?” instead...

I don't recall the detail but you count based on the calendar year, no matter your birthday, or something like that. I.e. you become one year older on January 1, no matter your actual month of birth.

chx

see the problem is that I am 47.05 years old now :)

or so

I didn't actually calculate 19/365 in my head :)

and as it grows, after 47.5 I feel like I should round it up

Zach Lipton

yeah Japan does the January 1 thing I believe

chx

(why yes, i am a maths geek and a software engineer)

g'night

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