Morning :)

Woah, early! Morning :)

Yeah, not sure why...

Can happen. I fell asleep really late last night, so my postponed-to-8AM alarm still felt too early.

Did have a long train ride and a beer after, that probably factored into falling asleep (:

@Tinkeringbell ouch, how come?

Tried sleeping without the fan turned on, just like the night before. Ended up being too hot, so turned the fan on at about 1:30AM. Fell asleep almost immediately after... Maybe it's time to try and sleep without a blanket, just the sheet.

Maybe I also shouldn't have read that news article about how the government wants to allow judges to hold laws up against the constitution.... like we haven't just seen how that worked out in the USA XD

we got a summer duvet, these things give you a bit of mass (compared to just the sheet) without much actual insulation

Yeah, I got a summer and winter part as well, sleeping under the summer one now.

@Tinkeringbell it's really bizarre how the republicans with trump managed to not just 'overturn' :P the supreme court, but also get so many people to now question its validity... the republicans wanted to turn back some elements of progress and ended up making people lose trust in the whole system... That's gonna hurt their entire country for a century to come

Not to mention that same idiot withdrawing from all kinds of painstakingly achieved international treaties, even if as another country you're okay with Joe Biden you don't know if another trump might happen... That's a good chunk of international stability out the window as well

Yeah, it's really... And I can't believe Europe is still kinda waggling just behind it, like a puppy, trying to do everything the US does because the US is seen as 'an example'.

And parts of European politics will follow.

Well, if you consider poland and hungary representative... Which fortunately they are not

We too have ON! spouting 'omvolkingstheorie' on tv, don't think for a second we're 'better than that'.

There will be bits that special interest groups happily copy, like our bible sash (:P) friends and abortion, but there's also a great, great many things where we look at the present day US as a cautionary tale rather than an example :)

@Tinkeringbell that's your far end of the bell curve... they're always there, just a bit more visibly so now

just realised i haven't even had an espresso yet... must fix!!!

'just a bit more visibly so now'. > That's where the sliding scale starts, if you dismiss it as 'oh it's just a bit more visible' each time it gets a 'bit more visible' (worse).

Didn't say I was sitting back and enjoying the show, and certainly didn't imply anyone else could or should :)

I mean, we literally have the cautionary tale of our neighbours to the east having some disgruntled people about 85 years ago managing to get the winning vote... Then doing bad things

Yeah well... as long as you remember.

I don't really feel all that confident XD

There are definitely parallels to be drawn between then and now, so we definitely can't just sit back and let it ride out... If these weirdos have their way we might end up there again

will, not might.

@Tinkeringbell Visited Auschwitz, that for me is the dark end of the line we once ended up at... and might again if we do absolutely nothing

@Tinkeringbell will if nobody lifts a finger, this is never the case (even in totalitarian present day russia there are still people actively resisting putin)

mmmmmm.... delicious, sweet Honduras Copan espresso <3

twitter.com/iandrleslie/status/1543617401429921793

this has got to be an interesting experience... Spanish F/A-18 pulling up starboard side and trying to get the attention of the pilots :x

had to laugh when filming lady said "is he just showing off?" :D

@MiG Mom and dad still want to take me and my brothers to do the same. I hope that never happens XD

@MiG As far as I read, that was because one of the passengers made a false bomb threat.

@Tinkeringbell it was on NOS, an 18 year old kid

I'm still wondering what a fighter jet is supposed to do if someone does blow up the plane... does it come with some giant net for catching every survivor and the debris, and putting it to ground safely, or?

@Tinkeringbell it's an experience alright :(

@Tinkeringbell they are there to make contact with the pilot and escort them to land

@MiG It's also a hell of a lot of travel and hassle just to go see something you can also see on TV XD

@MiG The pilot can't land the plane themselves if there's a bomb threat?

making visual contact also allows them to assess the state of the plane itself and the pilots - if they're unresponsive, or even worse, slumped over the controls, they know something's wrong and ground measures can be taken

also, if there is hostile intent (like 9/11) they can also establish this more easily visually

Ah, okay. Getting a visual might actually be a point, yeah.

@Tinkeringbell I had a conference in Krakow, so I was in the neighbourhood - buses going from there to Auschwitz on a regular basis

Ah, yeah. Then I guess it's just a way to waste some spare time.

@Tinkeringbell That's all there is to it - I don't think the rules of engagement include shooting down an airliner full of passengers - this is a CAP (combat air patrol) like we have in all NATO countries, so they're by default equipped with a couple of missiles, not specifically for this situation

@Tinkeringbell Wasn't a tourist destination from my point of view, I wanted to first hand witness the place of horrors that I've read a lot about

the rocking of wings is an ICAO protocol btw, means 'follow me'

Kinda cute that airplanes have their own language :)

there's protocols for everything - one of the many reasons why a pilot's education takes a hell of a lot longer than that of a bus driver :P

Isn't a pilot just an airbus driver though :P

friend of mine actually went to pilot school and was rated for the A320 (most common aircraft here)... I did frequently inquire if he was finally a certified (air)bus driver :D

Yeah, I didn't doubt the joke was unoriginal :P

/me grins

Best kind of work is work that you don't have to do. Like when a coworker gets sick, and you have to take over their tickets, and half the people that have tickets mail back 'oh, no, he fixed this for us already'. Seems he only didn't get a chance to close the tickets! :D

lol nice

had one of those teambuilding type days today, went bouldering... pretty nice, but typing hurts now :'(