Flocculencio's recent activity

  1. Comment on Ten days in December- Germany with kids: Itinerary feasibility in ~travel

  2. Comment on Ten days in December- Germany with kids: Itinerary feasibility in ~travel

  3. Comment on Ten days in December- Germany with kids: Itinerary feasibility in ~travel

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    The Technikmuseum looks amazing! We might be able to land a couple of days earlier in which case maybe I'll extend a day more in Frankfurt and drive down. Thanks for the advice about Berlin. The...

    The Technikmuseum looks amazing! We might be able to land a couple of days earlier in which case maybe I'll extend a day more in Frankfurt and drive down.

    Thanks for the advice about Berlin. The older kid is obsessed with WW2 and to a certain extent the Cold War.

    3 votes

  4. Comment on Ten days in December- Germany with kids: Itinerary feasibility in ~travel

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    Thanks so much! Good point re the greenhouses. Pfauninsel looks interesting

    Thanks so much! Good point re the greenhouses.
    Pfauninsel looks interesting

    2 votes

  5. Ten days in December- Germany with kids: Itinerary feasibility

    ~travel Ask (advice)
    Hi all- throwing myself on the goodwill of the community. I'm currently planning an approximately 10 day trip to Germany this December with my wife and our two boys (6 and 10). I am constrained by...

    Hi all- throwing myself on the goodwill of the community.

    I'm currently planning an approximately 10 day trip to Germany this December with my wife and our two boys (6 and 10).

    I am constrained by the will of the people as follows:

    My Wife: Wants to see the Christmas markets in Cologne and wherever else they may be in the cities we go through. Cologne is a must, though.

    My elder son: Is obsessed with tanks and really wants to see the German Tank Museum in Munster (Lower Saxony not Munster in Westphalia). Honestly, so would I.
    He had also really wanted to see the u-boat preserved at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven so Bremen seemed like a good midpoint. It turns out the ship exhibitions are closed during winter alas. In any case I'm not closely wedded to Bremen specifically but I will need to take a day trip to the Tank Museum from a nearby city. Staying specifically in Munster seems counterproductive as it appears to be a rather small town (I'm willing to do so if anyone has good things to say about it).

    I'm stuck with these dates too, as I have to be elsewhere by the 21st for Christmas celebrations.

    Currently the broad strokes are as follows:

    10 Dec (Tues)
    AM: Land in Frankfurt 0610. Connect to Cologne via train
    PM: Check in to hotel. Cologne Christmas markets

    11 Dec (Weds)
    AM & PM: Tourist stuff in Cologne

    12 Dec (Thurs)
    AM: Connect to Bremen via train
    PM: Wander Bremen old town

    13 Dec (Fri)
    AM: Rent car, drive to German Tank Museum in Munster
    PM: Back to Bremen, check out Christmas markets

    14 Dec (Sat)
    AM: Connect to Berlin via train
    PM: Check into hotel, get orientated

    15- 18 Dec (Sun- Weds)
    See Things In Berlin (would be glad for suggestions here)

    19 Dec (Thurs)
    AM Connect to Frankfurt via train
    PM Last minute sightseeing Frankfurt

    20 Dec (Fri)
    AM Fly off from Frankfurt Airport

    Would be grateful for any feedback and/or suggestions.

    12 votes

  6. Comment on Compensating compassion | Too few people donate their organs, dead or alive. How can we make it easier to donate, but avoid the abuses that some fear from cash payments? in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link
    In Singapore we have two acts covering this. One is an opt out system for all citizens above 21 covering liver, kidneys, heart and corneas solely for purposes of transplant and therapy (not...

    In Singapore we have two acts covering this.

    One is an opt out system for all citizens above 21 covering liver, kidneys, heart and corneas solely for purposes of transplant and therapy (not reaearch). The second is an opt in system covering all organs for research as well as transplant/therapy.

    6 votes

  7. Comment on Teach me about biryani in ~food

    Flocculencio
    Link
    Ethnically Malayalee Syrian Christian here. It's a difficult question to answer. All biryanis are based on the concept of spiced rice but from there the permutations of spices and cooking methods...

    Ethnically Malayalee Syrian Christian here. It's a difficult question to answer. All biryanis are based on the concept of spiced rice but from there the permutations of spices and cooking methods are near infinite. We do prawn biryanis as well as sometimes beef or pork biryanis which, understandably, aren't seen in many other Indian ethnic groups foodways.

    One thing I do tend to notice about the types of biryani that I like the most (Bangladeshi biryani and Malabar Muslim biryani) is that they tend to use shortgrain rice varieties. This allows the oils of the meat to coat each grain more effectively, resulting in a much richer taste.

    6 votes

  8. Comment on I need an alternative to the traditional typewriter in ~creative

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    The Lamy and the Pilot both use proprietary cartridges IIRC. I personally love the Kaweco Sport which is nicely sized and takes standard short cartridges. IMO it also looks great (but admittedly...

    The Lamy and the Pilot both use proprietary cartridges IIRC. I personally love the Kaweco Sport which is nicely sized and takes standard short cartridges. IMO it also looks great (but admittedly I'm a sucker for interwar designs).

    2 votes

  9. Comment on Apple cuts off Beeper Mini’s access after launch of service that brought iMessage to Android in ~tech

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    I mean like the rest of the planet Americans could just start using platform agnostic messaging services like WhatsApp, Line, Signal, Telegram but I'll just file this iMessage/SMS obsession under...

    I mean like the rest of the planet Americans could just start using platform agnostic messaging services like WhatsApp, Line, Signal, Telegram but I'll just file this iMessage/SMS obsession under American Exceptionalism.

    I'm surprised Meta doesn't try to push WhatsApp harder to their American users tbh.

    26 votes

  10. Comment on Contact lenses to USA without a current prescription? in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link
    Quick question- in the US do you have to go to an actual doctor to get a prescription for lenses? In most countries I've been to, you walk into an optical shop and the optometrist tests your...

    Quick question- in the US do you have to go to an actual doctor to get a prescription for lenses?

    In most countries I've been to, you walk into an optical shop and the optometrist tests your vision on site. The test itself is free if you then purchase a new pair of glasses/contact lenses but IIRC in my friendly neighborhood opticians it's somewhat under 50 USD (equivalent in Singapore dollars) to just do the test.

    Is this another aspect of the byzantine American health provision system? Having a concept like vision coverage through insurance is bizarre.

    3 votes

  11. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes I intend to use semaglutide alongside other interventions such as a planned exercise and calorie counting programme.

    Thanks for sharing your experience.

    Yes I intend to use semaglutide alongside other interventions such as a planned exercise and calorie counting programme.

  12. Keeping a commonplace book

    ~creative Ask (survey)
    I have tried and tried to write a daily journal/diary and always gave up after a while. My longest stretch was over the course of five years. It always devolves into a litany of banality, though,...

    I have tried and tried to write a daily journal/diary and always gave up after a while. My longest stretch was over the course of five years. It always devolves into a litany of banality, though, and when I look back at it, invariably appears a bit cringy.

    So I have decided to start keeping a commonplace book- a place to write down interesting thoughts, quotes, ideas I come across and so forth. Without the chronological format of a journal I feel less compelled to list down stuff for the sake of it and am actually listing down ideas I'd like to remember.

    Do any of you do something similar?

    17 votes

  13. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

  14. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    Thanks for your perspective. I definitely agree. I'm on meds for anxiety myself so I get what you mean about involuntary responses.

    Thanks for your perspective. I definitely agree. I'm on meds for anxiety myself so I get what you mean about involuntary responses.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    Thanks for sharing. I don't even see it as a shortcut. I can try to calorie count and so forth but all that goes out of the window when I'm stressed. If semaglutide can help curb the impulse to...

    Thanks for sharing. I don't even see it as a shortcut. I can try to calorie count and so forth but all that goes out of the window when I'm stressed. If semaglutide can help curb the impulse to eat in response to stress/boredom/almost anything it will help me maintain my calorie intake at healthy levels.

    And if it stops me keeling over of a heart attack at 60 then by all means give me the short cut.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    Once again I thank the powers that be that I'm not subject to the vagaries of the American healthcare industry. Thank you for sharing your experience!

    Once again I thank the powers that be that I'm not subject to the vagaries of the American healthcare industry.

    Thank you for sharing your experience!

    3 votes

  17. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    Yeah the not-being-pre/diabetic thing might disqualify me but hopefully being on the cusp of morbidly obese will allow Socialised Healthcare to subsidise it.

    Yeah the not-being-pre/diabetic thing might disqualify me but hopefully being on the cusp of morbidly obese will allow Socialised Healthcare to subsidise it.

  18. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    Luckily here if I paid out of pocket it would be around 1k per month which is doable though painful. If I can qualify for it under public healthcare it gets heavily subsidised.

    Luckily here if I paid out of pocket it would be around 1k per month which is doable though painful. If I can qualify for it under public healthcare it gets heavily subsidised.

  19. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    I'm in Singapore and access to grey market pharmaceuticals is a lot more controlled than in many countries. However if I do qualify to get it through the public system it becomes heavily, heavily...

    I'm in Singapore and access to grey market pharmaceuticals is a lot more controlled than in many countries.

    However if I do qualify to get it through the public system it becomes heavily, heavily subsidised and will be prescribed along with an accompanying holistic weight loss support plan.

  20. Comment on Semaglutide for weight loss in ~health

    Flocculencio
    Link Parent
    Thanks! Hearing about the side effects is really valuable.

    Thanks! Hearing about the side effects is really valuable.

    2 votes