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Golf_Hotel_Mike's comments
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Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  2681 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: November 23, 2016

What is it you really want to do, if you don't mind me asking?

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  2976 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Bernie Sanders just changed the Democratic Party

I can't help but feel a strong sense of deja vu when I compare what people say about Sanders to what people said about Obama in 2008. That's not to say that Sanders will start a wave like Obama did but I sincerely believe it's way too early to write him off. Sanders could easily project a much better image to minority voters than Clinton, given his track record with the Civil Rights movement. He was arrested at a protest against segregated schools, he was present at MLK's "I have dream" speech. That could easily be spun into the image of a pro-minority President. I also think you can't discount the endorsement he is starting to receive from people like Run The Jewels' Killer Mike.

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3211 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What is the meaning behind your user name?

These are my initials in NATO phonetic alphabet. A lot of people look at it and assume I'm into golf, which couldn't be further from the truth.

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3212 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Welcome to Hubski, redditors! Tell us about yourselves.

I'm constantly amazed by how many Americans watch the IT Crowd. I thought it was alright, nothing special, but it's clearly struck a chord with a lot of people!

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3212 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Creating a personal library and book collecting

Haha, this is a question we've been pondering for some time in my family. My grandfather was an avid reader, and the gene has been passed through to me.

Honestly, I think you shouldn't start to think that there are some books your library 'must' have. English literature does have its classics and canon, but honestly I'd say the best way to build your own library is to buy whatever interests you the most at the time, read it, and keep it in your library when you're done. Don't try and stick to a schedule of any sort, it'll only bore you in the end.

Also, always note down the date of purchase of the book and your name, on the first blank page of the book itself, and somewhere else. Over time, you'll start to see patterns emerge in what you're reading and it'll help you make all sorts of connections. Today in 2015, I can pull out a musty old ledger and see what my grandfather was reading in the 60s. In its own way, it's a window into his mind.

I second foliosociety.com if you can afford it, but to be honest the vast majority of our library is plain old Penguin paperbacks. My granddad used to cover them with clear plastic film, it's something we continue to do. The covers are usually beautifully minimalist, and with a bit of care they can last a very, very long time.

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3212 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Welcome to Hubski, redditors! Tell us about yourselves.

Hi Hubski! I'm actually returning to this site for the first time in several years, I think I registered this account all the way back in 2012 but never got around to using it much. Here's to hoping I can make it stick this time around!

I'm a 25-year-old Englishman. I have a Master's degree in statistics and I work as a data scientist for a startup in London, although I am thinking about going back to uni soon for a PhD. In my spare time, I'm a complete history nerd. I love reading historical fiction and non-fiction, and I've spent more time than any reasonable person should on Paradox's historical strategy games. I'd love to be able to write my own historical fiction one day. It'll be set in Europe between 1848-1914. I play football (soccer to you yanks out there) on Sundays and I also follow cricket, although I'm no good at it. Arsenal FC is my first and true love.

I also love sitting in pubs and listening to people talk about their lives and interests. Hubski looks like a good digital equivalent!

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3940 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Did Obama Just Destroy the U.S. Internet Industry?

In fact, a lot of people like to think that the real issue isn't privacy infringement at all, but rather a sign of how large and powerful the intelligence-industrial complex has become. I read something rather interesting on Reddit the other day. Here's the comment. It's quite a handful

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3941 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Did Obama Just Destroy the U.S. Internet Industry?

It's probably the word 'government' that's spooking everyone out. I think most people are conjuring up visions of the NSA telling insurance companies about your medical records and stuff. That or they probably think they'll be sending a SWAT team to your door every time you tweet about getting high or something.

The point is, there are already checks and balances that exist to protect your privacy. Just because an organization has collected your data, doesn't mean they can look at it. Your metadata, no matter how much you try to hide it, is visible to a lot of people. Hell, your ISP probably uses that same metadata for all it's marketing and operational planning anyway. I personally don't think the US Justice system is so impotent that it cannot impose effective safeguards on the government.

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3956 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What is your political view?

Some of these questions are incredibly loaded.

    There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures.

Come on, what kind of person would disagree if the question was posed this way?

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3956 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Hubski's shortcomings: What are they?

I am an absolute noob here, and don't know about many of the features some of the other users have talked about. I'd love it if there was just a small tutorial page describing the main features and how to get the best Hubski experience.

The thing is, a lot of businesses are moving away from the 8 hour work day, but unless it is done properly, it can make things a whole lot worse. France, for example, used to be the envy of most of Europe with their 35-hour week and 5 compulsory weeks of vacation. Of late, however, a lot of companies have stopped imposing fixed working hours on their employees. You come in when you have something to do, and leave when you don't. Good news, right?

Except now, there's no way to limit the amount of work the company makes you do. Unless you're in a job based on shifts (waiting on tables, hairdressing, cashiering), you actually end up working well over 40 hours a week, simply because you have insanely short deadlines and more and more projects piled on you all the time. If you take your foot off the gas for just a bit, and miss a couple of deadlines, it can be grounds for being laid off, or for not getting a pay rise. In some places, you just have to put in long hours, except now you don't even get overtime. It's an absolute mess.

The problem is that a time-based work week is more or less obsolete in most professions now. It was made for the industrial age, when workers were expected to just turn up at a factory, do their thing and then go home and have nothing to do with work for the rest of the 16 hours. Nowadays, if you work in the service industry, you're taking work home, constantly scrambling to get in your projects on time. Things aren't necessarily better.

Memento. Then tell him that's what every film in the world is like.

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3962 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What do you consider to be your biggest obstacle?

I think the situation is pretty neatly summed up here. I basically start up wanting some very specific info on the side, and then find something else I really want to learn, and then something else again! I guess it's not random so much as it is absolutely useless, I end up learning and experiencing a lot of different different things, but am unable to master anything. As a result, I'm not really good at anything, which obviously affects me professionally. My personal relationships suffer a lot too, because I forget to call people and honor commitments because I've suddenly leapt onto something else.

I don't quite know how to go about tackling the problem. I think my problem is classified as a mild form of ADD. It's not a full-blown disorder because I still manage to scrape through at work and satisfy the bare minimum criteria for being a well-adjusted adult. The obvious solution would be something like Adderall, but even if I do get a prescription for it I'm too scared to take it because I've seen what it does to some of my friends.

I've recently discovered Vipassana Yoga, which is supposed to work wonders, but it requires a tremendous amount of dedication and effort. I'm still a noob, but getting better. Fingers crossed, I guess.

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3968 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Gitmo is Killing Me

Good God that is just terrible. I despise how global geopolitics can make so many people's live so horrible.

Sorry, this comment is private.
Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3968 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: What do you consider to be your biggest obstacle?

I guess my biggest obsctacle is lacking a clear sense of what I want. I'm interested in a huge variety of things and I find my mind keeps jumping from one thing to another in a matter of hours. Last Saturday, for example, I woke up fully determined to spend the day learning Arabic, something I've wanted to do for a while now. As it happened, I got on Wikipedia to look something up, and then just kept link hopping till I got off the computer in the evening, having read all about the Thirty Years War. I wouldn't say it wasn't fruitful, but I didn't stick to my goals for the day.

I guess it's a combination of a lack of motivation, a lack of discipline, and some really crap planning. It's affected me a lot both in my personal and professional life.

Sorry, this comment is private.
Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3991 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Where have you been that seemed other-wordly?

The desert outside of Dubai. Not a tree, not a blade of grass in sight, nothing but an endless expanse of red sand. Felt like I was on Mars.

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3991 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Paris in the Springtime: Any Ideas

Parisian here, if you're visiting soon, you should definitely take a look around the Latin Quarter. Our museums tend to be very crowded during the tourist season, so set aside a whole day if you want to visit them. The Louvre, the Orsay and the Pompidou are the three big ones, but there are plenty of other smaller museums that are worth a shot. Read up about it on Lonely Planet, it has a pretty good section on Paris.

If you're coming for a taste of our architecture, you should check out the 8th and 9th Arrondissements. The Opera, the Champs-Elysées, the Arche de Triomphe and the Boulevard Haussmann are all in this neighbourhood, and it can be a spectacular sight on a sunny day. This is also where you'll find the Galeries Lafayette, the best destination for shopping in Paris.

If you want to discover French food and drink your best bet would be the 5th Arrondissement. It has plenty of good eateries and bars, and the big advantage is that it's not very touristy, so you won't risk paying too much for average food. If you want to go to one of the posher restaurants in the 1st or the 7th Arrondissements, I suggest you reserve a table right away. It can be tough to find a spot at the last minute, especially in the spring.

I don't know how long you'll be staying for, but on 21 June, Paris hosts the Fête de la Musique, with loads of free concerts and stuff. It can be quite an experience. Apart from that, be sure to enjoy our parks and gardens to the fullest! The Tuileries and the Luxembourg are the two famous ones, but they are generally choc full of tourists in the spring. If you're looking for something a bit quieter, I'd suggest the Parc Monceau in the 17th Arrondissement, or the Jardin des Plantes in the 5th Arrondissement.

And finally, if you are as big a Doors fan as me, don't forget to go to the Père Lachaise cemetery to pay your respects to the Lizard King!

EDIT: I forgot about one thing, if you are interested in literature, you should definitely check out Shakespeare & Co., near the Nôtre Dame. It's one of the finest English bookstores in the world, with a massive selection of books, live music, book discussions and loads of other stuff! I recommend it very strongly, it's like entering into another world altogether!

Golf_Hotel_Mike  ·  3991 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The problem with 24 hours news is that it's 24 hours.

The 24-hour news cycle is a relic of a bygone age. It arrived (at least where I live) in the late '80s and hit that sweet spot where the world was moving fast enough to require people to be updated on things on an hourly basis, but there was no platform where people could search for their own content, let alone contribute. Nowadays, I like to use a combination of Twitter + print media for all my news needs, the former allows me to stay up to date, while the latter allows me to read in-depth analyses a few days later.

It's funny, because for so many years the conversation was always about TV making newspapers obsolete, whereas today I find NYT/WSJ/Washington Post to be much more useful than CNN/NBC/Fox