Maher's Digital World

Off Topic Discussion => Chit Chat => Topic started by: Shadow.97 on August 06, 2016, 11:39 AM

Title: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on August 06, 2016, 11:39 AM
Maybe the forum is lacking a place where anyone can talk about anything.
Here you can say whatever you want. If you are a newly-registered user, no need to introduce yourself.
Usmangujjar or shadow97 can tell us here whether they are fine or not, or the weather in their country.




Original first post in this "chatroom".

Quote from: scarface on August 05, 2016, 03:58 PM
Maybe tonight there will be other movies...
I have a request;
Pick as few as possible.
What is your favorite:
Information/Documentary movie?
Romance? (Yes, I love romance :b)
Eye opening?

Thanks in advance!

Edit; the reason I ask for this is because I generally dont watch movies at all, and have a hard time enjoying it. But right now, I am in a sleepy movie mood!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 07, 2016, 01:32 AM
QuoteWhat is your favorite:
Information/Documentary movie?
some found on youtube are very good:
The louvre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o437CjNWgv0
The end of oil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nHFkoo7zKE

QuoteRomance? (Yes, I love romance :b)
Eye opening?
Well, my choice would be "In time", but overall I guess it's not the type of movies I've been presenting.
Maybe I would choose "les amants criminels" too, but once again it's a bit sick.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 08, 2016, 03:36 AM
I was looking at the movie "The End of Oil" (as mentioned below). Consider the following:

As I child I remember the gas crises of 1973 and 1979 when people stood in long lines for gasoline and the price tripled. Then-president Carter warned that "even foreign oil would become scarce by the 1980's". Today here in San Antonio a liter of gas sells for about 49¢ (43¢ for E85). Adjusted for inflation, this price the same or less than it before the crisis of 1973. According to the US Energy Information Administration's web site, in 2015 the US imported only 24% of its oil (lowest since 1970), and most of that was from Canada, Venezuela and Mexico. This came to about 9.4 MMb/d. At the same time this country exported 4.8MMb/d. We're told this is due to increased phracking, overproduction by oil-producing countries (especially those who cannot afford to cut production), and generally reduced demand, especially in China.

In the mean time, the US oil industry is doing everything in its power to block further deployment of alternate fuel sources such as ethanol and biodiesel. This involves heavy lobbying, campaign contributions to friendly politicians (i.e., legal bribery), plus massive misinformation campaigns. In Brazil ethanol has displaced gasoline as the primary fuel source for vehicles. The oil industry has vowed to never let that happen here.

There is no question only a finite amount of oil exists on this planet, but we will not run out if it in our lifetimes. If and when it starts to become scarce, alternate fuel sources will be there.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 29, 2016, 12:55 PM
In Paris the weather is dull, and it's raining. But it's good news, the heat wave may be over.
The stock markets are currently falling by 1%.
I had a vision this morning: Ismet and usman both riding a camel and bound for Mecca to make their pilgrimage. The painting of Léon Belly, now at the Museum of Orsay, is reminiscent of these ancient times. This painting is present somewhere in the "new photos topic" where the museum of Orsay was presented.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on August 30, 2016, 11:09 PM
Quote from: scarface on August 29, 2016, 09:50 AM
Maybe the forum is lacking a place where anyone can talk about anything.
Here you can say whatever you want. If you are a newly-registered user, no need to introduce yourself.
Usmangujjar or shadow97 can tell us here whether they are fine or not, or the weather in their country.
I kinda died.
So I'm currently looking for an appartment, signing the contract tomorrow at 7pm.
I was walking to my car from the University. It was raining and there was heavy winds. I only had a tshirt on, and my umbrella broke because of the winds. I had to walk around 2 hours home in that weather. I still havnt recovered. Haha.
The internet is ****. Like it drops every minute, and the speeds peak at 10mbit.. For me this is almost unusable, maybe because I'm spoiled with interweb speeds at home.
Chinese studies have started, and its going fine. Alot of things to learn, but also a very interesting thing to study.
Living without a stove and fridge is sure challenging. Food becomes very dull and boring.

I've been unusually good lately. Feels good to get away from family and 'friends'. The people here talk "official" swedish, which for me sounds quite odd. Because I'm not used to hear it on this scale. People see me as an outsider, which is fine.


(http://www.speedtest.net/result/5592470700.png)
(http://www.pingtest.net/result/151128040.png)
.. I cant game on this! :D
One interesting thing about their internet is that they have a total of around 7~ routers. Asus RT-AC68U.
My "idea" is that they do not have a professional network guy here. Because.. It seems like they forgot to add a password/turn off the 5ghz band on some of the routers. However, the device closest to me does not have 5ghz on Which I assume is because its an AP, and not a router.
The best signal strengh I can recieve to my room is around 90dbm or whatever the thing is they count it with. The others are around 50-60.
I asked them why the connection keeps dropping. (Not from the wifi, but to the internet) They gave me another room key, and told me i could use the laptop there. (Probably to connect to another router being closer). This did not help however... I have a theory. They are using the isp I've always had issues with (Telia Sonera AB).. Yeah. I just think they have a bad line or modem. Perhaps something else.
This is somewhat interesting in my perspective, they structured their network quite oddly. Because they are not using Vlans, like I would've..  They do not have any restrictions from me talking to other computers on the network.
I can also talk over the ips. Like. 192.168.0.1->192.168.7.1.
I noticed that they are also using Asus RT-N12D1 as AP I assume.
Tracing route to google-public-dns-a.google.com [8.8.8.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1     1 ms     2 ms     2 ms  router.asus.com [192.168.2.1]
  2     3 ms     2 ms     2 ms  router.asus.com [192.168.1.1]
  3     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  4     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  5    11 ms     4 ms     5 ms  192.168.99.1
  6    48 ms    45 ms    49 ms  90.228.165.148
  7   126 ms    68 ms    62 ms  s-b5-link.telia.net [62.115.114.24]
  8   135 ms     *       72 ms  google-ic-314684-s-b5.c.telia.net [62.115.61.30]
  9   130 ms   155 ms   138 ms  216.239.54.213
10   200 ms   192 ms   107 ms  72.14.234.89
11   101 ms    78 ms    90 ms  google-public-dns-a.google.com [8.8.8.8]

Trace complete.



We had an introduction to Chinese, where we basically(in swedish) told some things about us, and why we decided to study chinese. Alot of classmates came up to me being inspired, and said they felt more motivated to study now.
Basically I said that china wont fix itself, we need to fix it. (Environmentally, mentally, and show that we do not hate china, and that we have respect for the country etc.) I basically held a speech for 5 minutes.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 30, 2016, 11:37 PM
Maybe you could with this? http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/5592536452
At least if you find your studies interesting, that's what matters most.
If I could come back 15 years earlier, I would surely enjoy my studies a bit more.
Now I have the impression to live here like a dinosaur. And if you are not in a big town, that's good news. My wish would be to go somewhere else, and maybe buy a house or something. Well, to be honest I could buy something here, but with the evolution of the economy, climate change, and other things, maybe a piece of land, some fruit trees, and a small house at the countryside can be valuable assets.

at the beginning of the week, I was feeling like a roasted chicken: It was like a oven in my tiny apartment. Friday evening, during the heat wave, it was more than 30 degrees inside at 11 pm.
This is called the kiss cool heat island effect.

(https://i.ibb.co/XW5kvHz/357037icu.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 31, 2016, 04:32 AM
I'm glad this topic was started.

With respect to the weather it's not as hot as previous years. I'm anxiously waiting for fall and then winter. It's not as strong as it is in Europe, but at least it's a relief from this hateful heat and sunshine.

Shadow97 - your post prompts many questions. I'm curious about a few things:

Based on what you're telling us, it seem to me you didn't pick an ideal place to move. Was the situation at home so bad that you had to leave immediately even if it means sleeping under a bridge?  If not, then is it that you couldn't afford a better place or simply believed it would suit your needs?

By Chinese, do you mean Mandarin? If so, why that language? How do you even practice it in Sweden? Oh, and what exactly is "official" Swedish and how does it differ from regular Swedish?

Scarface - In that dream you had, how did you picture gujjar and ismet?

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on August 31, 2016, 10:03 AM
Thanks for this topics, forum really need this kind of topic since long time.
As I already told, I am busy somewhere. And will post somethings about Windows, specially for slimming down Windows 7 & 8.1 & image capturing.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on August 31, 2016, 08:23 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 30, 2016, 11:09 PM
Quote from: scarface on August 29, 2016, 09:50 AM
Maybe the forum is lacking a place where anyone can talk about anything.
Here you can say whatever you want. If you are a newly-registered user, no need to introduce yourself.
Usmangujjar or shadow97 can tell us here whether they are fine or not, or the weather in their country.
I kinda died.
So I'm currently looking for an appartment, signing the contract tomorrow at 7pm.
I was walking to my car from the University. It was raining and there was heavy winds. I only had a tshirt on, and my umbrella broke because of the winds. I had to walk around 2 hours home in that weather. I still havnt recovered. Haha.
The internet is ****. Like it drops every minute, and the speeds peak at 10mbit.. For me this is almost unusable, maybe because I'm spoiled with interweb speeds at home.
Chinese studies have started, and its going fine. Alot of things to learn, but also a very interesting thing to study.
Living without a stove and fridge is sure challenging. Food becomes very dull and boring.

I've been unusually good lately. Feels good to get away from family and 'friends'. The people here talk "official" swedish, which for me sounds quite odd. Because I'm not used to hear it on this scale. People see me as an outsider, which is fine.


(http://www.speedtest.net/result/5592470700.png)
(http://www.pingtest.net/result/151128040.png)
.. I cant game on this! :D
One interesting thing about their internet is that they have a total of around 7~ routers. Asus RT-AC68U.
My "idea" is that they do not have a professional network guy here. Because.. It seems like they forgot to add a password/turn off the 5ghz band on some of the routers. However, the device closest to me does not have 5ghz on Which I assume is because its an AP, and not a router.
The best signal strengh I can recieve to my room is around 90dbm or whatever the thing is they count it with. The others are around 50-60.
I asked them why the connection keeps dropping. (Not from the wifi, but to the internet) They gave me another room key, and told me i could use the laptop there. (Probably to connect to another router being closer). This did not help however... I have a theory. They are using the isp I've always had issues with (Telia Sonera AB).. Yeah. I just think they have a bad line or modem. Perhaps something else.
This is somewhat interesting in my perspective, they structured their network quite oddly. Because they are not using Vlans, like I would've..  They do not have any restrictions from me talking to other computers on the network.
I can also talk over the ips. Like. 192.168.0.1->192.168.7.1.
I noticed that they are also using Asus RT-N12D1 as AP I assume.
Tracing route to google-public-dns-a.google.com [8.8.8.8]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1     1 ms     2 ms     2 ms  router.asus.com [192.168.2.1]
  2     3 ms     2 ms     2 ms  router.asus.com [192.168.1.1]
  3     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  4     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  5    11 ms     4 ms     5 ms  192.168.99.1
  6    48 ms    45 ms    49 ms  90.228.165.148
  7   126 ms    68 ms    62 ms  s-b5-link.telia.net [62.115.114.24]
  8   135 ms     *       72 ms  google-ic-314684-s-b5.c.telia.net [62.115.61.30]
  9   130 ms   155 ms   138 ms  216.239.54.213
10   200 ms   192 ms   107 ms  72.14.234.89
11   101 ms    78 ms    90 ms  google-public-dns-a.google.com [8.8.8.8]

Trace complete.



We had an introduction to Chinese, where we basically(in swedish) told some things about us, and why we decided to study chinese. Alot of classmates came up to me being inspired, and said they felt more motivated to study now.
Basically I said that china wont fix itself, we need to fix it. (Environmentally, mentally, and show that we do not hate china, and that we have respect for the country etc.) I basically held a speech for 5 minutes.
Did you switch to google dns, perhaps? Try opendns. So, you're telling us, even with Killer Network your internet feels jittery?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 01, 2016, 04:35 PM
Quote from: humbert on August 31, 2016, 04:32 AM
I'm glad this topic was started.

With respect to the weather it's not as hot as previous years. I'm anxiously waiting for fall and then winter. It's not as strong as it is in Europe, but at least it's a relief from this hateful heat and sunshine.

Shadow97 - your post prompts many questions. I'm curious about a few things:

Based on what you're telling us, it seem to me you didn't pick an ideal place to move. Was the situation at home so bad that you had to leave immediately even if it means sleeping under a bridge?  If not, then is it that you couldn't afford a better place or simply believed it would suit your needs?

By Chinese, do you mean Mandarin? If so, why that language? How do you even practice it in Sweden? Oh, and what exactly is "official" Swedish and how does it differ from regular Swedish?

Scarface - In that dream you had, how did you picture gujjar and ismet?
By chinese I mean Mandarin, and The writing with latin letters. We study with swedish and english literature.
I didnt feel like dealing with the unneccesary stress family was giving me. I do appreciate them, but sice they do not want to change. I have to do this alone.

I do not like killer network. It is just commercial garbage compared to intel.
I do not blame this issue on the killer network though. The QoS, and ping stabilazing has not to my vision ever worked on killer network devices Ive used.
Id prefer a good intel nic and wificard.
I have noticed that when i game and download on my old 100/100 connection I get ping spikes with my killer network but not with the intel nics I have used. If I manually config my killer nic it bottlenecks my uploadspeed.

The issue at this moment is an unreliable connection. Not a bad nic ^^ because I am not utilizing my connection, and its on all my devices.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 01, 2016, 05:51 PM
QuoteIm glad this topic was started.
At least I made someone happy.

a few words about the stock markets:
As for me, Im happy I sold my hybrigenics shares. Yesterday they fell by 5%.
I only have some coface left, they are soaring and I'm going to sell them soon.
btw this session has been a bumpy ride for the markets: this morning the eurostoxx 50 was climbing by 0.8%, the cac40 by 1% and the dax 30 by 0.6%. But the markets slipped into negative territory...
I still advise you to sell your stocks. Alternatively, or in a purely speculative approach, I advise buying inverse ETFs (short trackers).

(http://cdn-media.objectifeco.com/images/remote/http--2000watts.org-images-stories-Cartoon-2016-2016_08_bubble.jpg)


Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on September 01, 2016, 05:57 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on September 01, 2016, 04:35 PM
Quote from: humbert on August 31, 2016, 04:32 AM
I'm glad this topic was started.

With respect to the weather it's not as hot as previous years. I'm anxiously waiting for fall and then winter. It's not as strong as it is in Europe, but at least it's a relief from this hateful heat and sunshine.

Shadow97 - your post prompts many questions. I'm curious about a few things:

Based on what you're telling us, it seem to me you didn't pick an ideal place to move. Was the situation at home so bad that you had to leave immediately even if it means sleeping under a bridge?  If not, then is it that you couldn't afford a better place or simply believed it would suit your needs?

By Chinese, do you mean Mandarin? If so, why that language? How do you even practice it in Sweden? Oh, and what exactly is "official" Swedish and how does it differ from regular Swedish?

Scarface - In that dream you had, how did you picture gujjar and ismet?
By chinese I mean Mandarin, and The writing with latin letters. We study with swedish and english literature.
I didnt feel like dealing with the unneccesary stress family was giving me. I do appreciate them, but sice they do not want to change. I have to do this alone.

I do not like killer network. It is just commercial garbage compared to intel.
I do not blame this issue on the killer network though. The QoS, and ping stabilazing has not to my vision ever worked on killer network devices Ive used.
Id prefer a good intel nic and wificard.
I have noticed that when i game and download on my old 100/100 connection I get ping spikes with my killer network but not with the intel nics I have used. If I manually config my killer nic it bottlenecks my uploadspeed.

The issue at this moment is an unreliable connection. Not a bad nic ^^ because I am not utilizing my connection, and its on all my devices.
I had quite the contrary with intel wifi chipsets until you find stable drivers that doesn't disconnect your PC frequently. I'm awaiting my AW 15.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 02, 2016, 04:01 PM
Quote from: Vasudev on September 01, 2016, 05:57 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on September 01, 2016, 04:35 PM
Quote from: humbert on August 31, 2016, 04:32 AM
I'm glad this topic was started.

With respect to the weather it's not as hot as previous years. I'm anxiously waiting for fall and then winter. It's not as strong as it is in Europe, but at least it's a relief from this hateful heat and sunshine.

Shadow97 - your post prompts many questions. I'm curious about a few things:

Based on what you're telling us, it seem to me you didn't pick an ideal place to move. Was the situation at home so bad that you had to leave immediately even if it means sleeping under a bridge?  If not, then is it that you couldn't afford a better place or simply believed it would suit your needs?

By Chinese, do you mean Mandarin? If so, why that language? How do you even practice it in Sweden? Oh, and what exactly is "official" Swedish and how does it differ from regular Swedish?

Scarface - In that dream you had, how did you picture gujjar and ismet?
By chinese I mean Mandarin, and The writing with latin letters. We study with swedish and english literature.
I didnt feel like dealing with the unneccesary stress family was giving me. I do appreciate them, but sice they do not want to change. I have to do this alone.

I do not like killer network. It is just commercial garbage compared to intel.
I do not blame this issue on the killer network though. The QoS, and ping stabilazing has not to my vision ever worked on killer network devices Ive used.
Id prefer a good intel nic and wificard.
I have noticed that when i game and download on my old 100/100 connection I get ping spikes with my killer network but not with the intel nics I have used. If I manually config my killer nic it bottlenecks my uploadspeed.

The issue at this moment is an unreliable connection. Not a bad nic ^^ because I am not utilizing my connection, and its on all my devices.
I had quite the contrary with intel wifi chipsets until you find stable drivers that doesn't disconnect your PC frequently. I'm awaiting my AW 15.
I think there was a new AW 15' that was announced yesterday. :p

I moved into an appartment today. The internet is quite okay, one of the better ISP's. The worst thing so far is not having a wire, and my own router. Ill try to flirt with the appartment owner to fix it somehow.. Oh wait, the absolutely worst thing is that the power in the apartment has no ground..

(http://www.speedtest.net/result/5599923935.png)
Current connection. Shared wifi.


Also: IS anyone aware of a method to secure devices from electrical failiure where ground is not present?
I have no way of grounding or wiring because.. well its a rented place in someone elses home. :b
I was thinking of a UPS.. but I doubt it would work. No ground is wired to any of the outlets.
Any ideas?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 02, 2016, 08:04 PM
Quotealternate fuel sources will be there.
You seem very confident about it. But if it's not the case?
Quotehttp://I remember the gas crises of 1973 and 1979
These were short term crises due to the embargo of Opec and the Iranian revolution. But we're now facing structural crises, with the rapid depletion of the giant oil fields: http://boereport.com/2016/08/29/worrying-about-where-the-next-super-giant-oil-fields-are-is-far-more-important-than-weekly-rig-count-data/



Note that tonight a Palestinian movie will be available on the forum.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 04, 2016, 04:25 AM
Quote from: scarface on September 02, 2016, 08:04 PM
These were short term crises due to the embargo of Opec and the Iranian revolution. But we're now facing structural crises, with the rapid depletion of the giant oil fields: http://boereport.com/2016/08/29/worrying-about-where-the-next-super-giant-oil-fields-are-is-far-more-important-than-weekly-rig-count-data/

I mentioned the crises of 1973 and 1979 only because at that time experts were saying that even foreign oil would become difficult to obtain as early as the mid 1980's. I know perfectly that oil is a non-renewable resource and that there is only a finite amount available. My point is and has always been that we will not run out of it in our lifetimes. Moreover, by the time that happens alternative technologies will be developed and will be fully functional.

I just saw a TV show on CNN about the crisis in Venezuela. It said that Venezuela has the planet's highest proven oil reserves, and due to the present situation it is mostly unexploited. This was not mentioned in the article.

I am a lover of E85. I installed a kit in my car in order to use it. At this point the price difference between E85 and regular gasoline is not that great. The reason -- the price is gas is too low simply because supply exceeds demand. This is precisely the reason there hasn't been further investment in alternative fuel sources. Not only that. but the oil companies are doing everything in their power to prevent ethanol blending beyond the mandated 10%. They even succeeded in squashing any bill to make all cars flex-fuel. In a way I hope the article is right - it will trigger investment in alternate fuel. Never forget that you can't make more oil, but you can ferment more ethanol.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 04, 2016, 04:52 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on September 02, 2016, 04:01 PM
Also: IS anyone aware of a method to secure devices from electrical failiure where ground is not present?
I have no way of grounding or wiring because.. well its a rented place in someone elses home. :b
I was thinking of a UPS.. but I doubt it would work. No ground is wired to any of the outlets.

Have a look here (http://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets). Are you saying that your new apartment has only non-grounded Type C plugs instead of Type E or Type F? Let me know if this is what you mean before I ask you some more.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 04, 2016, 08:03 PM
Quote from: humbert on September 04, 2016, 04:52 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on September 02, 2016, 04:01 PM
Also: IS anyone aware of a method to secure devices from electrical failiure where ground is not present?
I have no way of grounding or wiring because.. well its a rented place in someone elses home. :b
I was thinking of a UPS.. but I doubt it would work. No ground is wired to any of the outlets.

Have a look here (http://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plugs-and-sockets). Are you saying that your new apartment has only non-grounded Type C plugs instead of Type E or Type F? Let me know if this is what you mean before I ask you some more.
Yes, there are only type C, but there should be F. I've looked around the appartment and there is no ground behind the connectors.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 04, 2016, 08:10 PM
Quote from: humbert on September 04, 2016, 04:25 AM
Quote from: scarface on September 02, 2016, 08:04 PM
These were short term crises due to the embargo of Opec and the Iranian revolution. But we're now facing structural crises, with the rapid depletion of the giant oil fields: http://boereport.com/2016/08/29/worrying-about-where-the-next-super-giant-oil-fields-are-is-far-more-important-than-weekly-rig-count-data/

I mentioned the crises of 1973 and 1979 only because at that time experts were saying that even foreign oil would become difficult to obtain as early as the mid 1980's. I know perfectly that oil is a non-renewable resource and that there is only a finite amount available. My point is and has always been that we will not run out of it in our lifetimes. Moreover, by the time that happens alternative technologies will be developed and will be fully functional.

I just saw a TV show on CNN about the crisis in Venezuela. It said that Venezuela has the planet's highest proven oil reserves, and due to the present situation it is mostly unexploited. This was not mentioned in the article.

I am a lover of E85. I installed a kit in my car in order to use it. At this point the price difference between E85 and regular gasoline is not that great. The reason -- the price is gas is too low simply because supply exceeds demand. This is precisely the reason there hasn't been further investment in alternative fuel sources. Not only that. but the oil companies are doing everything in their power to prevent ethanol blending beyond the mandated 10%. They even succeeded in squashing any bill to make all cars flex-fuel. In a way I hope the article is right - it will trigger investment in alternate fuel. Never forget that you can't make more oil, but you can ferment more ethanol.

Gas is way too cheap, in many forms. Lately it dropped below 5.3 USD per Gallon (or 12SEK per Litre). (95 Octane)
I've came to the conclusion that I'm going to sell my car though. Just because there is no parkingspots in this town, and bus is just plain better here. How I will visit my family or whatever is up to the future to decide! But Yeah. Cars. Cars everywhere and this isnt even a big town. A trip that would take 5 minutes by bike takes around 20-30 minutes by car here.
I honestly wish they would shock raise the price for fuel if you can not prove that you're like a farmer, or truck driver(who depend on prices, Because everyone still need their stuff..)
Ofcourse this would in the short term make the non-city life much harder. Like if you live in sweden alot of our farms are very far from any major cities, and the buses can be around 6 miles away in some cases.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 05, 2016, 10:16 PM
The truth is, shadow.97, that today we still live in the era of cheap oil. For some reasons, I went to Rungis today, it took me one and a half hours to drive 25 km. With a bicycle, it wouldn't have been longer, quite probably. But in the Paris region, practically nobody is using a bicycle. There is too much traffic, it's make it too dangerous. And driving a car in here, well, it's a rodeo. Once again, I stumbled upon some Syrians in Villejuif, begging right in the middle of the traffic jam. I'm almost certain they are indeed from the Middle East, I mean, there are some Muslims in France, but most of them aren't dressed like them, with long dresses and headscarves. In a normal world, I guess they would not want to be there.
At least some of them seem happy. They are here with their family, like this woman, porte de saint ouen. Personnaly, I have practically no more family, and sometimes I'm wondering if I will ever have some children. If it's to raise them in a world where they are not sure to find a job, or be happy, well, what's the point. I know what humbert will say, that I'm too pessimistic. I was not like that 15 years ago. I was full of hope. But I feel I've aged 20 years. I constantly have dark circles under the eyes. Even Maher would not want to marry me (I wouldn't ask him to shave his beard, I promise). I wouldn't mind marrying a man, but sexually speaking, besides a kiss, well, I would be ill at ease (Maher is going to think I've really gone mad). As for money, I'm pretty sure it doesn't make you happy. I've got more than enough, but it doesn't permit me to feel I'm useful.
(http://entraides-citoyennes.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/r%C3%A9fugi%C3%A9s-syriens-porte-de-Saint-Ouen-5.jpg)
PS: I did not take this photo.


Sometimes I wish I was alone, on a desert island, far from the pollution, and in harmony with nature. Maybe with Maher, you, and usman, and a few butterflies.


Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 06, 2016, 02:56 PM
Quote from: scarface on September 05, 2016, 10:16 PM
The truth is, shadow.97, that today we still live in the era of cheap oil. For some reasons, I went to Rungis today, it took me one and a half hours to drive 25 km. With a bicycle, it wouldn't have been longer, quite probably. But in the Paris region, practically nobody is using a bicycle. There is too much traffic, it's make it too dangerous. And driving a car in here, well, it's a rodeo. Once again, I stumbled upon some Syrians in Villejuif, begging right in the middle of the traffic jam. I'm almost certain they are indeed from the Middle East, I mean, there are some Muslims in France, but most of them aren't dressed like them, with long dresses and headscarves. In a normal world, I guess they would not want to be there.
At least some of them seem happy. They are here with their family, like this woman, porte de saint ouen. Personnaly, I have practically no more family, and sometimes I'm wondering if I will ever have some children. If it's to raise them in a world where they are not sure to find a job, or be happy, well, what's the point. I know what humbert will say, that I'm too pessimistic. I was not like that 15 years ago. I was full of hope. But I feel I've aged 20 years. I constantly have dark circles under the eyes. Even Maher would not want to marry me (I wouldn't ask him to shave his beard, I promise). I wouldn't mind marrying a man, but sexually speaking, besides a kiss, well, I would be ill at ease (Maher is going to think I've really gone mad). As for money, I'm pretty sure it doesn't make you happy. I've got more than enough, but it doesn't permit me to feel I'm useful.
(http://entraides-citoyennes.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/r%C3%A9fugi%C3%A9s-syriens-porte-de-Saint-Ouen-5.jpg)
PS: I did not take this photo.


Sometimes I wish I was alone, on a desert island, far from the pollution, and in harmony with nature. Maybe with Maher, you, and usman, and a few butterflies.
I must ask, how come you stay in Paris? For me, it really seems like it is not the optional place for you to be.
Money doesn't make you useful, what you use money for, makes you useful. Sadly.

Personally I have a very small amount of interest in reproduction. I am more up for adopting, and helping the people who already exist.
I wish I could afford a plot of land, and have a solar farm, with water collection and my own food production.  I made an approximation of 300 000 Euro would be needed for such plans, including some life luxury such as a fridge, some machines etc.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 06, 2016, 07:53 PM
Tonight, shadow.97 will be answered (Im currently in a traffic jam). Note that these messages will be displaced in the general topic, they are polluting the good movies topic.
to vixen357ka, the new user needing win7: look at the topic about rebase.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 07, 2016, 12:13 AM
That’s true, shadow.97, I could leave Paris and ask for a transfer but there are not only disadvantages, even if I am complaining. I just have to walk 10 minutes to go to work (no need to use my family sedan), and I can take some beautiful photos for the forum. Nowhere else than Paris you can find as many expositions and museums in France.
By the way, in many cases you are obliged to begin your career in a big town. That's particularly true in France where the Paris region is generating 30% of the GDP. If I was given an opportunity in Biarritz, well, why not, but it seems difficult.
In an article I found today, here's a ranking of the significance of the European capitals...
http://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/2016/09/06/20002-20160906ARTFIG00021-et-si-paris-n-existait-pas-comment-s-en-sortiraient-les-francais.php
(http://i.f1g.fr/media/figaro/300x840/2016/09/06/XVMa136f94a-7374-11e6-8ea9-35096576febc-300x840.jpg)


I hope that you liked the photos that are already present on the forum:
http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=2283.msg19848#msg19848
http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=2283.msg16626#msg16626
http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=2283.msg16074#msg16074
Maybe I will visit the Picasso museum soon (In this case I will take some photos). I still hope that some users on the forum are going to create their own topics to post some interesting photos.



Today I gave some money to a Syrian woman at the porte de Clichy, once again. She said “bala” something, but unfortunately I don’t speak Arabic nor any Syrian dialect. It makes me a bit ill at ease to see all those beggars, whether they are Syrian or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub747pprmJ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDLy_3lDI_0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGCtyx3agH8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzUlQIJsQpY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09gSxLJZkMA
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 07, 2016, 04:49 AM
Shadow -> As for your power adapters, the site says Type F is compatible with Type C. Here many times I've used adapters with no ground connection (e.g., Types B to A) and I've never had a problem, nor do I know anyone who has had one. I'm suprised this building hasn't upgraded their plugs from C to F given that in Sweden building and electrical codes are probably stricter than they are here.

One of the things that fascinates me about cities such as Paris, Madrid and New York is that you can get from point A to point B on the metro without needing to use a car. Sadly in the vast majority of most US cities this is virtually impossible. Public transportation systems are all but useless, coupled with the fact that cities here have far more territory than what you typically find in Europe. Bottom line - you're dead without a car.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 07, 2016, 10:58 AM
Quote from: humbert on September 07, 2016, 04:49 AM
Shadow -> As for your power adapters, the site says Type F is compatible with Type C. Here many times I've used adapters with no ground connection (e.g., Types B to A) and I've never had a problem, nor do I know anyone who has had one. I'm suprised this building hasn't upgraded their plugs from C to F given that in Sweden building and electrical codes are probably stricter than they are here.

One of the things that fascinates me about cities such as Paris, Madrid and New York is that you can get from point A to point B on the metro without needing to use a car. Sadly in the vast majority of most US cities this is virtually impossible. Public transportation systems are all but useless, coupled with the fact that cities here have far more territory than what you typically find in Europe. Bottom line - you're dead without a car.

In sweden you're "dead"(you'll get fired) if you rely on public transport. Because they are rarely on time!
Currently at a lesson where you learn to pronounce IPA (international phonetic assosiation)'s way to pronounce.
The thing is he keeps referring to national swedish (Stockholm/official swedish).. Which doesnt apply to me, so its not easy. Hah..
Like the word "Fors" (waterfall/stream).. I pronounce is foss (like Floss, without L.) but they almost pronounce it like forsh(porch)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 11, 2016, 07:19 AM
I'm surprised that in Sweden public transportation doesn't run on time. From what I hear Swedish people are very advanced and very strict about things. Somewhere I heard that [for example] in Sweden if you are due to arrive at someone's house at 19:00, arriving at 18:55 or 19:05 is considered rude. True or false?

This business of people in different cities and countries pronouncing the same word differently is by no means unique to Swedish. It's like that everywhere.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on September 11, 2016, 08:34 PM
someone given me a SATA WD 250Gb laptop hard drive. it has two partitions, one is about 1.8gb, and it is active/boot partition, another one is about 230gb, labeled as "windows7 0s". I formated, deleted many times with various tools, but these partitions automatically created after format or delete, these partitions contains some data of windows, what anyone faced this,? or know what exactly gone with this disk? it is physical problem or some kind of encryption used to this disk?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 11, 2016, 09:10 PM
to usman:
According to what you said, I assume you plugged this disk in usb and therefore you don't use the OS on this disk as your current operating system. I also assume you don't have anything important on this disk.
If you want to get rid of everything on this disk, including the partitions, I recommend the tool hdd LLF: http://hddguru.com/software/HDD-LLF-Low-Level-Format-Tool/
Install it, execute it, select your disk, then run a low level format (You'll then have the disk in the same state it was when leaving the factory).
Be cautious and don't select the wrong disk, data would be irretrievably lost. Once done, you'll have to create one or several partitions, using the computer management console of windows 7.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 11, 2016, 10:42 PM
Quote from: humbert on September 11, 2016, 07:19 AM
I'm surprised that in Sweden public transportation doesn't run on time. From what I hear Swedish people are very advanced and very strict about things. Somewhere I heard that [for example] in Sweden if you are due to arrive at someone's house at 19:00, arriving at 18:55 or 19:05 is considered rude. True or false?

This business of people in different cities and countries pronouncing the same word differently is by no means unique to Swedish. It's like that everywhere.
Well, you honestly have to know the type of the event that is occuring. If its a houseparty (with like teens and such) you're not supposed to arrive earlier, unless youre going to help set it all up.
If you're going to the dentist, you have to be early, or they may charge you (if you're under 19 its free, but if you arrive late it will cost.)
if I'm going to visit a friend, I'm supposed to as "precise" as possible. preferably within a 5 minute margin of the discussed time. Like, who likes waiting..?
Oh, and busses are usually 3 minutes early, or 3 minutes late. you pick. There is no such thing as a bus being on time here. ;) But.. sometimes they just do not arrive.. or they skip your busstop..

WELL, everyone knows me for being a time optimist. I usually arrive 20 minutes late to everything. 5 minutes late to the dentist. They surely do not enjoy it at all times, but when i visit friends birthday party, its nice missing the "OH IM SO HAPPY TO SEE YOUUUUUU" that everyone has to do. You just come in sneaky, and be like. HEYA! and go on with life.

Quote from: usmangujjar on September 11, 2016, 08:34 PM
someone given me a SATA WD 250Gb laptop hard drive. it has two partitions, one is about 1.8gb, and it is active/boot partition, another one is about 230gb, labeled as "windows7 0s". I formated, deleted many times with various tools, but these partitions automatically created after format or delete, these partitions contains some data of windows, what anyone faced this,? or know what exactly gone with this disk? it is physical problem or some kind of encryption used to this disk?
Id also suggest trying it in Linux, when windows messes things up.. linux is the way to go! Atleast in cases like this.. (To my experience)
Oh, and formating the drives through the commandprompt may work too.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on September 12, 2016, 04:39 AM
I used it as USB disk and as internal disk, but failed. Also I tried Ubuntu setup, ubuntu deletes the partition, but it creates as I said in first message. I tried your given link,  this tool failed at 37%, I think it has some hardware issues. Thanks.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 16, 2016, 07:22 AM
@Shadow -> ±3 minutes for a bus is extremely precise. As for buses not stopping at your stop, something doesn't make sense. All buses have specific routes, and stops are located on them. Here buses don't stop only if the driver passes by a designated stop and sees nobody there.

What you told me about Swedish time customs confirms my opinion. Here in America people are nowhere near as precise, and it's infinitely worse anywhere from the US southern border all the way to Antarctica. Typically in those countries if a meeting is at 6:00 and you arrive at 7:30, you're pretty much on time. Here if a doctor's appointment is at 10:00, plan to be called in anywhere from 10:30 to 11:00. In Miami add one more hour of waiting time.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 20, 2016, 03:12 AM
Quote from: humbert on September 16, 2016, 07:22 AM
@Shadow -> ±3 minutes for a bus is extremely precise. As for buses not stopping at your stop, something doesn't make sense. All buses have specific routes, and stops are located on them. Here buses don't stop only if the driver passes by a designated stop and sees nobody there.

What you told me about Swedish time customs confirms my opinion. Here in America people are nowhere near as precise, and it's infinitely worse anywhere from the US southern border all the way to Antarctica. Typically in those countries if a meeting is at 6:00 and you arrive at 7:30, you're pretty much on time. Here if a doctor's appointment is at 10:00, plan to be called in anywhere from 10:30 to 11:00. In Miami add one more hour of waiting time.
The doctor appointment is almost the same here.
I was called in for surgury at around 5, but they arrived at 7. but I think we should just accept that, because they have a stressy job, and they have to prioritize and do things right the first time.

Oh and .. a disappointing thing. I bought fish over the counter 3 days ago. Today I learned that salmon does not stay fresh in the fridge(raw) for more than 1½~day. Max.
It smelled rotten, but i thought that was just fish smell or something. After I cooked it, it had a horrible taste to it.
Sad because I spent around 20$ on it. Rip.  ::)

A bit more related to the forum:
I've had issues with packetloss since my move.
30-60% at the worst times. Usually around 0-5%.
Did a little research on the neighbourhood.
First I tested with another router, and that didnt help.
I used common sense and tried with cable. It worked fine. Turns out that the 2.4ghz band is used to an extreme extent.
So, my dad is sending our wrt1900Acs to me, and I'll send the "backup" router back south to my hometown.
Speedtest with cable(to the router) is rather satisfying.
(http://www.speedtest.net/result/5645500505.png) (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/5645500505)

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 21, 2016, 02:31 AM
Tonight, I'm going to talk about various things, current affairs, stock markets and hold an interesting lecture dealing with religions.


While current international events are focusing on the presidential elections in the US (we are wondering who the Americans are going to vote for, between the sick woman and the mad man), the attacks in New Jersey, and the end of the truce in Syria, I have the impression that the people on the forum feel a bit dizzy. I tried to boost the morale of the troops yesterday, with a little photo, it was just a try to soften the atmosphere. I'm currently drinking a beer, actually a Tongerlo, a Belgian abbey beer (after months of abstinence, I must say I'm enjoy what I feel after taking a sip from my beverage). Btw, did you know that Palestine is making outstanding traditional beers?

(https://i.ibb.co/x18GbX7/2026622-la-pneumonie-dhillary-clinton-relance-les-speculations-sur-son-etat-de-sante-web-0211277868593-610x325.jpg)


Well, as far as the stock markets are concerned, there is little news. On the dax 30, Deutsche bank fell once again by 3.8% at 11.25 euros (I don't have any Deutsche Bank stocks, but I once bought some stocks at 24 euros, in 2013, and sold them higer...)
(https://d1w116sruyx1mf.cloudfront.net/ee-assets/channels/article_default/deutsche-banks-stock-is-at-an-all-time-low.png)




This evening, I'm going to talk about religions (You must have noticed I'm particularly fine tonight, the beer might be giving me some wings).
The lecture is going to deal with the differences between Islam and Christianity. I know that most of you are very knowledgeable and well-informed persons, otherwise you wouldn't be here, but I'm pretty sure you will learn a few things.

On the face of it, Christianity and Islam seem to have much in common, but this situation is a source of errors. One of these similarities led to the improper identification of ÃŽsâ (pronounced Issa) with Jesus. Thus when the Qur'an calls Jesus "ÃŽsâ", all the Christian meaning of the name disappears. It has then no connection with the one given by Arab Christians, who use the name given by the angel Gabriel to Mary and Joseph in the Bible "YaShou", meaning  "He saves." Note that in Hebrews, the name reflects the profound nature of being, which is why Jesus "Ieschoua" translates as "God saves". In these last two names Jesus reveals himself as redeemer, True God and True Man, that the Koran fiercely rejects .

The Quran does not know “Yasu” of the Christian Arabs nor “Yeshua” of the Jews. However, it is talking about “Îsâ” as son of Maryam. We can also make two remarks. First, Mary appears as inseparable from Jesus in the Qur'an; secondly, the information on both of them mostly comes from apocryphal texts.

The texts that evoke Jesus and Mary are of great importance in the popular faith. Most of them are found in sura 3, 4.5, 19, 21, 23, 43 and 61. The Quran mentions them with deference and takes care to present them as models, as their lives are exemplary. From birth, Jesus is the subject of a miracle willed by divine omnipotence since this is a virgin birth (19, 20). It is the mighty miracle which performs miracles and healings, always after asking "God's permission."

The formula “al-Masih ÃŽsâ ibn Maryam” is often used to describe it. Commentators give several definitions of the word Masih: the first is based on the root of the word: "Rub, anoint with oil"; it is inspired by the similar Hebrew root. But other etymologies, with Arab patterns, are also suggested, such as Saha, "travel", because Jesus was a great traveler. The origin of 'ÃŽsâ and and its transmission are not in any case established. The commentators also state that the root of the word  means "to be tan, red-haired": also, in the tradition, Jesus is presented as red. As for Maryam, although the name is derived directly from the Hebrew Meryem ( "servant, beloved of God"), they want to link it to rama and interpret it as "the one who visits the humans."

The Qur'anic insistence on "Jesus son of Mary" clearly marks the controversy will against divine filiation, while retaining its miraculous virgin birth without father, an element of major importance in an Arab society where children are referred to in connection with the name of their parent (Muhammad son of Abd Allah, for example). In the description of the palm tree bowing to offer its dates to Mary, she is alone with her son. However, the commentators know Joseph, he only has the role of his cousin; he's with her in the temple and can testify to the correctness of her conduct.

The wife of 'Imran’, and therefore the mother of Maryam, has devoted her child to God, asking the protection for her daughter and her descendants against the Devil. A hadith teaches that "all new - born is besieged by the devil at birth, so he lets out his first cry, except Mary and her son." Yahya (John the Baptist), the forerunner and herald of Jesus, is also rewarded with a miraculous birth; it is he who "declares that the  words of God are true" (3, 39).

The stories of the Annunciation and the Nativity are largely inspired by the apocryphal Gospels in a style that must be understand. Thus the “ruh” of God who conceives the child, is a timeless spirit, not the Holy Spirit, acting as the third person of the Trinity in Christianity. The Annunciation story dates back from the Meccan period; In its verses, it confirms the denial that Jesus could be God's son. The second text, proclaimed in Medina less than ten years after the previous one, reveals an obvious similarity with the "Gospels of Childhood" through many items. The word "gospel", "Torah," "Messiah" are first recognized as coming from the "Mother of the Book”.

Jesus is declared Prophet and apostle sent to the Children of Israel. He’s preaching pure monotheism, confirms the Torah, but it mitigates its legal requirements allowing the Koran to proclaim Islam as the religion of the middle: the balance dictated by God to His Prophet is between Judaism which is abusing the law and Christianity which has neglected the law brought by Jesus. Above all, the Qur'anic Jesus is the harbinger of Muhammad (also known as Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim) and his guarantor regarding Christians. Jesus disappears in front of the seal of all prophets and holds the second place after Muhammad.

Jesus performed miracles, like  Moses. From his birth he ordered the palm tree to feed his mother. Adult, he breathed life into clay birds, healed the blind and the lepers, raise the dead and knows the secrets of the heart. However, according to the Qur'an, Jesus's preaching was a failure because the Jews did not want to believe; only the apostles believed in him. The Jews wanted to kill him by crucifying him but God couldn’t allow that such a great Prophet be crucified â€"another difference with the bible- and "his double has been substituted in their eyes" (or "they were victims of an illusion"). What’s more, in many hadiths, Jesus is the main partner of the Mahdi, the Savior of the end of time, in the universal establishment of justice.

Similarly, Jesus is called "spirit [ruh] issued by [God]" because he was born from divine breath into Mary. The only stable element that emerges from the text is that the Spirit always stems from God, and it is generally hypostatized thereafter.

The Qur'anic Christology is therefore essentially consisting in four values presenting as absolute negation for fear of associationism: Jesus is not God because he was eating; Jesus is not the son of God; Jesus is not a the third element of a triad, the Trinity being likened to polytheism; finally, Jesus was not crucified, as this would have been unworthy of a great prophet like him. Thus the Qur'an blames three constitutive mysteries of Christianity in direct link with Jesus, the Trinity in the name of the absolute oneness of God; the incarnation, on behalf of the exclusive transcendence of God; Redemption, since there was no sacrifice.
However this controversy is based on a fundamental misunderstanding according to certain religious specialists, because the Trinity is not a triad, it only expresses the mutual participation of divine energies, the number 3 would only be the minimal indication of this eternal internal plurality.



A representation of Jesus Christ
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Christ_Icon_Sinai_6th_century.jpg/170px-Christ_Icon_Sinai_6th_century.jpg)

In certain reference works and books about Islam, we may come across the claim that even if the Prophet Muhammad was represented in pictorial form in earlier times, no pictorial representation of Him is permitted in our times. This reflects the state in Sunni areas, where images of the Prophet are rare. In Shia Islam, however, the situation is different, and pictures of the Prophet are quite common.
(https://i.ibb.co/7bgHPhL/236-b.jpg)



Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on October 02, 2016, 04:14 AM
(http://www.speedtest.net/result/5680068442.png) (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/5680068442)


SO I did some "magic" and unplugged their router, and placed mine there instead. disabling their dhcp, and plugging their Lan port into my Lan port. This is the speed over WIFI. I had some issues with huge pingspikes when they were downloading and such, so now I'll basically have 150mbit all by myself.(download). and the rest 100 will be split.

OKAY Back to studies! Cya <3
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on October 04, 2016, 04:06 AM
When it comes to religion and references to Jesus (or Issa), take another look at the image below. Notice that all these religions do is copy from one another, then they have the audacity to say they're right and all other religions are wrong. All religion's a scam as far as I'm concerned.

(https://i.ibb.co/Wyy3knw/561767messiahstory.jpg)

Shadow -> Did you say the speeds you got were over WiFi? I'm assuming you're using 802.11ac and were fairly close to the router. This is the only way I've been able to get past 300Mbps on WiFi. With 802.11n I can barely get past 100Mbps, and this is only a few meters from the router with no walls in between. Another thing -- the router change was at the apartment building you're living at? They're aware of what you did? Did you hide their router in your closet or what?

Regarding American politics you're correct. This election year is total madness and both major party candidates are detestable. Even the third party candidate, when interviewed, said he didn't know what Aleppo was. I'm confident that despite all this the country will survive. The real power here belongs to the military-political-industrial complex, not so much the president.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on October 04, 2016, 05:06 AM
Quote from: humbert on October 04, 2016, 04:06 AM
Shadow -> Did you say the speeds you got were over WiFi? I'm assuming you're using 802.11ac and were fairly close to the router. This is the only way I've been able to get past 300Mbps on WiFi. With 802.11n I can barely get past 100Mbps, and this is only a few meters from the router with no walls in between. Another thing -- the router change was at the apartment building you're living at? They're aware of what you did? Did you hide their router in your closet or what?

Regarding American politics you're correct. This election year is total madness and both major party candidates are detestable. Even the third party candidate, when interviewed, said he didn't know what Aleppo was. I'm confident that despite all this the country will survive. The real power here belongs to the military-political-industrial complex, not so much the president.
I asked them if I could place in a router, and a laptop below their router.
I didnt say HOW I would hook it up. I ended up doing like this.
Fiber jack(ethernet only 1 port) -> gigabit 5port switch -> my router, and their router.
I could not have it in my "lan" port, because it interfered with their IP telephone.
And yes, the speeds are over wifi, I after some troubleshooting for inconsistent ping, I had to set the network to AC only, and 80Mhz band width (auto channel ofc. even if there's only 1 other AC router-like device transmitting an SSID around anyway.)

I also did some testing with DD-WRT firmware.
I honestly love the layout of the DD-WRT, but the problem was that it didnt seem to reach over 30mbit for some reason, and as fast as it hit 30mbit it became unstable.
DD-WRT has an easy layout, with many things accessible from one top menu, without having to guess what different symbols mean.
I wonder every day, why programs such as Discord, and in general almost all of the windows apps(from the store) do not have proper menu's to configure the programs. They're usually hidden under a little "settings" button. I highly prefer the "menu bar" you have in programs like, skype for desktop, Mine sweeper for windows XP etc.

I also did a nice trade the other day; I traded my old laptop with P8600 intel duo core (4gb ram) and 1280 x 800, for a Macbook 15'(or 13' I honestly dont remember). mid 2010. with a duo core and a 320m Nvidia, having el capitan.
I've wanted a mac for a long time, but their prices are quite extreme. So hopefully, I'll get a decent experience! I had wished it was an i5, but hey, that would also probably have invalidated the trade. The guy wanted something basic that was running Windows 7 and not the "hazzle that mac brings" (software wise).

The post about religion, I honestly dont even want to try to "prove" it or, "prove" against it, because I believe that it may or may not be something that created us. I see it like something we as humans are incapable of knowing, and that religion as it is right now is a way to try to do the right, without knowing what is right.
For all that I know, this could be a deathmatch game, kill them all and get praised in the afterlife. But it may just as well be the opposite.
Or just infinite nothing  ::)


Hope you're all doing good, and that you eat your veggies.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on October 06, 2016, 03:22 AM
Based on what you're telling us it seems to me the only advantage of DD-WRT is that menus are easier to understand. If everything is working fine I see no reason to flash the router with DD-WRT, unless of course there's something else I don't know.

My beef with religion, other than the untold amount if suffering it has caused, is the fact that it's all based on faith and conjecture with no hard proof of anything. Science dictates that if you believe in something you must submit proof. Religionists often turn around and put the burden of proof on us, i.e., we must prove their beliefs are NOT true. This is in no way rational.

Today some idiot Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on my door. I told them I was a member of the Church of Satan.  :)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on October 06, 2016, 05:11 PM
Quote from: humbert on October 06, 2016, 03:22 AM
Based on what you're telling us it seems to me the only advantage of DD-WRT is that menus are easier to understand. If everything is working fine I see no reason to flash the router with DD-WRT, unless of course there's something else I don't know.

My beef with religion, other than the untold amount if suffering it has caused, is the fact that it's all based on faith and conjecture with no hard proof of anything. Science dictates that if you believe in something you must submit proof. Religionists often turn around and put the burden of proof on us, i.e., we must prove their beliefs are NOT true. This is in no way rational.

Today some idiot Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on my door. I told them I was a member of the Church of Satan.  :)
The default Linksys GUI is crippling according to me.
Also, the lack of functions are also a bit "meh" in the stock firmware.
BUT Function above all, right? The amazing this was, when i flashed back to the default firmware, the settings were kept and I did not have to adjust anything. It was very handy.

The thing with religion for me is that, I'd like to just avoid it. Because I know that unless there is very extreme proof for it existing, or not existing, its non of my business, and only a cause of anxiety. I'd honestly like if there was a confirmed "true" religion that 100% was true. Just to put my mind at ease some late nights..

I've been thinking some of this, why isnt nomaher.com using https?

Anyways, have a lovely day  :)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on October 18, 2016, 03:20 AM
(http://i.imgur.com/Uur3mcY.jpg)
*facepalm*
Intel hd in a nutshell.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 09, 2016, 11:36 AM
Donald J. Trump is president!
Woo!
For me, it's all good except. RIP environment.
It'll be an interesting 4-8 years.
I honestly do think that he will do a good job, except yeah.. you know, the things he already have had bad publicity for.
*clears throat*
THE ELECTION IS RIGGED!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 11, 2016, 04:10 AM
This is the first time in Amerca's country's history that opinion polls failed miserably. Nobody -- not even Trump himself -- expected to win. That's why he kept screaming the election was rigged.

Not to be overly optimistic, but almost always candidates who have promised something have been unable to carry out their promises once they have access to top secret information. Obama promised to close Guantanamo. Jimmy Carter promised to publicize all classified information on UFO's. Hopefully something similar will happen with this guy.

As Mahatma Ghandi used to say, "people who elect a moron are well represented".
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on November 11, 2016, 10:58 AM
Quote from: humbert on November 11, 2016, 04:10 AM
This is the first time in Amerca's country's history that opinion polls failed miserably. Nobody -- not even Trump himself -- expected to win. That's why he kept screaming the election was rigged.

Not to be overly optimistic, but almost always candidates who have promised something have been unable to carry out their promises once they have access to top secret information. Obama promised to close Guantanamo. Jimmy Carter promised to publicize all classified information on UFO's. Hopefully something similar will happen with this guy.

As Mahatma Ghandi used to say, "people who elect a moron are well represented".
@humbert: Its Gandhi,  What do you think about Trump winning is it accidental? Will the US triumph under him as claimed?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 13, 2016, 12:03 PM
Some people like shadows.97 told us that the election of Donald trump was rigged. That’s why I’m going to hold a conference today, to return to this subject.

First and foremost, some of you may not know the new President. Here we can see him with his double. Since the vast majority of the users of the forum doesn’t come from the US (but probably from Asia), I precise Trump is on the left of the photo, whereas Donald Tramp is on the right.
(https://i.ibb.co/bQCdMF6/422605donaldtramp2.jpg)

Secondly, the results of this election were foreseeable since the Simpsons Predicted Donald Trump's Presidential Win 16 Years Ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0JCszBmHm8


More seriously, and let it be said straight away, according to the famous economist Piketty, Trump's victory is due above all to the explosion of economic and territorial inequalities in the United States for several decades and to the inability of successive governments to cope with them.
The Clinton and Obama administrations often merely accompanied the movement of liberalization and sacralization of the market launched under Reagan, then Bush father and son, when they themselves did not exacerbate it, as with financial and commercial deregulation conducted under Clinton. The suspicions of proximity to finance and the inability of the elite to learn from these lessons did the rest.
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and yet lost the electoral college and thus the White House (60.1 million votes against Trump's 59.8 million for a total adult population of 240 million), but the participation of the young and most modest was far too low to enable her to win the key states.
The sad thing is that Trump's program is likely to reinforce broader social inequalities.: he is about to remove medicare, laboriously granted to poor employees under Obama, and launch his country into a headlong rush in tax dumping , With a 35% to 15% reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate, whereas the United States had resisted this endless chase from Europe so far.


As far as Trump’s program is concerned, here are the key points:

Mexico
Donald Trump’s vow to build a wall along the border with Mexico, to make Mexico pay for it and to achieve iron-fisted control over illegal immigration stands as his leading promise, one that rang from the rafters countless times. But he owes his supporters â€" and now the country â€" much more than that.
While a lot of his agenda will be a hard sell, he won’t have the excuse used by many presidents whose promises have fallen short â€" a Congress in the hands of the opposing party. Trump will take office with a unified government, both the Senate and House under Republican control.

Child care
Trump promises six weeks of leave for new mothers, with the government paying wages equivalent to unemployment benefits. His plan also provides for a new income tax deduction for child care expenses, other tax benefits and a new rebate or tax credit for low-income families.

Education
Trump promises to spend $20 billion during his first year to help states expand school choice programs. He wants states to divert an additional $110 billion of their own education money to help parents who want their children to go to other schools.
And he owes college students a big, and expensive, leg up. He says he will cap student loan payments at 12.5 percent of a borrower’s income, with loan forgiveness if they make payments for 15 years.

Climate
Trump vows to cut regulations as part of his effort to “unleash American energy.” This means allowing unfettered production of oil, clean coal, natural gas and other sources to push the U.S. toward energy independence and create jobs. In particular, he owes coal miners a revival of their livelihood, even though the industry’s decline is in large measure due to the rise of natural gas, which he also supports. He pledges to rescind the Clean Power Plan, a key element of President Barack Obama’s strategy to fight climate change.

Foreign policy
Trump’s “America first” ethos means alliances and coalitions will not pass muster with him unless they produce a net benefit to the U.S. He speaks of a less interventionist approach to crises abroad â€" with the exception of his vow to crush the Islamic State group. Yet he also promises to spend much more to restore what he sees as depleted armed forces.

Health care
He’s vowed to repeal Obama’s health care law and replace it with something more affordable. With a Republican Congress, the pressure will be on to do so. It remains to be seen how far lawmakers and the president will actually go to untangle a law that has sunk some roots, and Democrats won’t be voiceless on this or other issues.

Immigration
One paradox of the campaign is the lack of clarity about Trump’s intentions on an issue that defined him out of the gate. He clearly promises to stop the influx of Syrian refugees into the U.S., and somehow to help them overseas. He vows to deport people convicted of serious crimes who are in the U.S. illegally. And there’s that wall, which Mexicans insist they won’t pay for. But the fate of millions of people who are in the country illegally is a gray area â€" he’s not promising to deport them but also not saying he would give them legal status. He’d ban immigration of people from areas prone to extremism, but how that would be defined is unclear.

Infrastructure
Trump vowed to double rival Hillary Clinton’s proposed spending on infrastructure. Taking him literally, that means a staggering $500 billion over five years.

Iran
Trump promises to renegotiate or withdraw from the multilateral deal that eased sanctions on Iran in return for controls on its nuclear program.
Minimum wage
He expressed support for $10 an hour, while saying states should “really call the shots.” It’s $7.25 now.

Social Security
Trump has promised not to cut Social Security.

Supreme Court
Trump promised to nominate justices who are open to overturning the legal right to abortion and who support Second Amendment gun rights.

Taxes
He owes Americans big tax cuts. He says he’ll collapse the current seven income tax brackets, which peak at 39.6 percent, into just three tiers with a top rate of 33 percent, slice the corporate income tax and eliminate the estate tax. Although analysts said the wealthy would benefit disproportionately, middle income people are promised a hefty reduction.
In his most recent plan, Trump proposed cutting taxes by $6.2 trillion over 10 years, according to Tax Policy Center estimates. That’s twice the size of the House Republican plan. And it would cut taxes by 2.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product, second only to Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cut as the largest in modern US history.  Including added interest and the macroeconomic effects, Trump’s tax cut would increase the national debt by $7 trillion over the next decade and by $20 trillion over two decades. With the Congressional Budget office projecting an annual deficit under current law of $1.3 trillion, or 4.9 percent of GDP, in 2026, it is hard to imagine Congress accepting a plan even approaching the size of the new president’s proposal.

Trade
Trump promises to renegotiate or withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement. He also vows to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and to slap stinging tariffs on countries that the U.S. judges to be trading unfairly. China faces the risk of steep penalties â€" and U.S. consumers would pay higher prices as a result â€" if his vow is carried through.

Veterans
Trump promises to expand programs that allow veterans to choose their doctors â€" regardless of whether they’re affiliated with the VA â€" and still receive government-paid medical care. He’s pledged to fire or discipline VA employees who fail veterans or breach the public trust. He also would increase the number of mental health professionals and create a “White House hotline” dedicated to veterans. If a valid complaint is not addressed, “I will pick up the phone and fix it myself if I have to,” Trump pledged.





Helmut Fritz - Metro boulot disco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27hHLN5NZIY

La Roux â€" Bulletproof (Gretina Club Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCxQ1kdIVn4

WILLY WILLIAM - Ego
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOxzG3jjFkY
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 13, 2016, 02:12 PM
Quote from: scarface on November 13, 2016, 12:03 PM
Some people like shadows.97 told us that the election of Donald trump was rigged. That’s why I’m going to hold a conference today, to return to this subject.

It was moslty put as a joke, but it's ironic how the person who screamed "Rigged" ended up winning :)

The election will put Sweden in a little bit of a "rough situation" because apparently we now need our own military force and cant rely on the US. WHOA! Haha
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 23, 2016, 06:53 AM
Keep in mind there are usually big differences in what politicians promise and what they can or will deliver. Presidents are not dictators and do not rule by decree.

There is no question the reason Trump won is because the people are fed up with establishment politicians and are venting their anger. Many voted for him not because of some of his crazy ideas, but rather despite those wierd opinions. What shocked me most of all was how wrong the polls were. The lastest one just a few hours before election day gave Hillary a 71% chance. No wonder Trump kept saying the system was "rigged" - he himself believed he could not pull this off.

Be that as it may, relax -- the world will not end and life will continue.

@Shadow -> You brought up and interesting point regarding Sweden's military. Let me ask: why do you guys need military forces? Sweden is a neutral country that has no quarrel with anyone. You don't even have internal enemies and, if anything should happen internally, the police would take are of it. How long has it been since Sweden has actually fought a war? I'm thinking since when you guys were occupying Finland.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 24, 2016, 07:34 AM
Quote from: humbert on November 23, 2016, 06:53 AM
Keep in mind there are usually big differences in what politicians promise and what they can or will deliver. Presidents are not dictators and do not rule by decree.

There is no question the reason Trump won is because the people are fed up with establishment politicians and are venting their anger. Many voted for him not because of some of his crazy ideas, but rather despite those wierd opinions. What shocked me most of all was how wrong the polls were. The lastest one just a few hours before election day gave Hillary a 71% chance. No wonder Trump kept saying the system was "rigged" - he himself believed he could not pull this off.

Be that as it may, relax -- the world will not end and life will continue.

@Shadow -> You brought up and interesting point regarding Sweden's military. Let me ask: why do you guys need military forces? Sweden is a neutral country that has no quarrel with anyone. You don't even have internal enemies and, if anything should happen internally, the police would take are of it. How long has it been since Sweden has actually fought a war? I'm thinking since when you guys were occupying Finland.
Well. Truth be told, we are far from Neutral. Havnt been since ages ago. During WW2, we were on the "winners side" all the time. First, when we thought Germany would win, we traded away alot of trains for dirt cheap (in return of gold harvested from jewish rings, a majority of which we never actually got). We let them transport jews through sweden, and german soldiers to norway or finland. Can't remember. When we traded oil with the US for their airforce, we took parts of the oil and gave to germany. Almost like a tax.

Personally, I am for having a defence of some kind. But the threat I see is "war" within the country which can't be won by the police(Although not likely at all). Where the police needs reinformcements of people who are trained for such duties. Lets pretend that gang criminality in Malmö increases, and it becomes a lesser "country" ran by criminals. The police force who is already too weak, would not be able to pull an operation like that off. (To combat such criminality). We would most likely get assistance from Denmark if such a thing happened in Malmö (Because it's so close to Denmark)
We do not need a military force against Russia, or NATO. Those aren't threats in the same way. Because there is little to no benefit of "ruling" over Sweden in the short term. It would cause alot of tension between Russia and NATO if any side attacks us.
I guess the REAL reason we need a military is to participate in wars in different countries, or to do organized attacks at i.e ISIS together with NATO or Russia.
Swedish military currently has the goal of holding ground for 7 days. But, according to almost everyone, including the military we would absolutely max be able to hold for 5 days.
Personally, I think they'll be all over in 2 days. We have too much border, and a tiny weeny military to protect such area.
This year the country opened a phoneline you can call if you see suspicious activity that could be of interest for the military. A few days ago someone of foreign nationality was arrested because of repeatedly going to "No photo areas" owned by the military.
The main area we need military control over is Gotland. It is the strongest strategical place in Sweden that could be of use for Russia(To control the Baltic Sea). NATO is all around us anyway, so they dont have alot of benefits of controlling Sweden.

Humbert, who did you vote for, or did you skip voting? My friends in the US living in bigger cities voted for Killary, while the people on the countryside voted for Dump. And my friends who are overly obsessed with Weed voted *drumroll* Gary Johnson!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 26, 2016, 03:25 AM
Your explanation of why you believe Sweden needs military forces. Basically it boils down to be ready for all sorts of scenarios that *might* happen, even though it appears they're highly unlikely. I had no idea Sweden was passively helping Germany at the start of WW2. Clearly they did the right thing - it kept the country out of war.

What is in Gotland that may interest a foreign country in occupying it? Are there important natural resources or something? Certainly the island's location isn't much of a problem when you consider the Baltic bottleneck that is Denmark, not to mention other nations in that immediate area.

Is there military conscription in Sweden? If so, could you be drafted?

As for who I voted for, I have voted in ages. Why? I believe politicians will always be politicians - all they care about is getting into power and enriching themselves with very little interest in benefitting their constituents. My lady voted for Hillary Clinton.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 26, 2016, 11:13 AM
Quote from: humbert on November 26, 2016, 03:25 AM
Your explanation of why you believe Sweden needs military forces. Basically it boils down to be ready for all sorts of scenarios that *might* happen, even though it appears they're highly unlikely. I had no idea Sweden was passively helping Germany at the start of WW2. Clearly they did the right thing - it kept the country out of war.

What is in Gotland that may interest a foreign country in occupying it? Are there important natural resources or something? Certainly the island's location isn't much of a problem when you consider the Baltic bottleneck that is Denmark, not to mention other nations in that immediate area.

Is there military conscription in Sweden? If so, could you be drafted?

As for who I voted for, I have voted in ages. Why? I believe politicians will always be politicians - all they care about is getting into power and enriching themselves with very little interest in benefitting their constituents. My lady voted for Hillary Clinton.
Honestly, i dont know alot about the situation. This is what others have told me. I can just imagine it would be a good place for missiles, and ships etc.
We do currently not have military conscription, from what I am aware of. If I was drafted, i would Never allow myself to be put out in the field. I could do "behind the scenes" work. But I do not believe i would have the capacity of getting myself back on my feet if I saw people die right infront of me. I've seen a person die, and it was quite nervewrecking.
Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving, and a happy blackfriday. Two holidays that to me, seem like two opposites. One to be thankful, and the other.. well I have no words for it! :p
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 28, 2016, 12:46 AM
In this topic, we talked a lot about Donald Trump, a great opportunity for America. Let's hope he will implement his national programme of action for the US.
Kansas, a state which entered into recession lately, approved a series of measures to decrease tax rates, and we can bet the new hero of the United States is going to boost the economy with the same remedies.

In 2012, voters in California approved a measure to raise taxes on millionaires, bringing their top state income tax rate to 13.3 percent, the highest in the nation. Conservative economists predicted calamity, or at least a big slowdown in growth. Also that year, the governor of Kansas signed a series of changes to the state's tax code, including reducing income and sales tax rates. Conservative economists predicted a boom.

Neither of those predictions came true. Not right away -- California grew just fine in the year the tax hikes took effect -- and especially not in the medium term, as new economic data showed this week.

Now, correlation does not, as they say, equal causation, and two examples are but a small sample. But the divergent experiences of California and Kansas run counter to a popular view, particularly among conservative economists, that tax cuts tend to supercharge growth and tax increases chill it.

California's economy grew by 4.1 percent in 2015, according to new numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, tying it with Oregon for the fastest state growth of the year. That was up from 3.1 percent growth for the Golden State in 2014, which was near the top of the national pack.

The Kansas economy, on the other hand, grew 0.2 percent in 2015. That's down from 1.2 percent in 2014, and below neighboring states such as Nebraska (2.1 percent) and Missouri (1.2 percent). Kansas ended the year with two consecutive quarters of negative growth -- a shrinking economy. By a common definition of the term, the state entered 2016 in recession.




Tonight, I also want to talk about another politician, a woman known for her lucidity in 2008 when she was stating "it's not a crash", Christine lagarde, the current managing director of the IMF.
A petition calling for "a true trial for Christine Lagarde", found guilty of negligence in the case of the Tapie arbitration but exempt from punishment, collected more than 210,000 signatures.

(https://i.ibb.co/FqGZ8tT/lagarde.jpg)

Considering this judgment as "unbearable" and "dangerous to social peace," Julien Cristofoli, a school teacher at Le Mans, launched a petition on Change.org.

"On May 13, a 18-year-old homeless person who had entered a house in Figeac to steal rice and pasta out of necessity was sentenced to two months in prison by the Correctional court of Cahors ", begins the presentation of the petition. "On December 19, 2016, Mrs. Christine Lagarde has just been found guilty by the Court of Justice of the Republic while being exempted from punishment," he continues.

"Now, the powerful are exempt from ordinary justice, and especially from its sanctions!" Indignant, the 35-year-old teacher, asked the President of the Republic, the Assembly And the Senate to demand that Mrs. Lagarde respond "in her actions before an ordinary criminal court" and that the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) be abolished.

Democratic Crisis
Launched on 19 December, the petition received more than 210,000 signatures. "It is not a question of governing with petitions, but it is clear that there is a democratic crisis behind the fact that this petition is working as well," remarked Cristofoli.

The CJR, composed of three professional magistrates and twelve parliamentarians, found nothing to reproach the former Minister of the Economy with the launch in 2007 of an arbitration procedure to solve an old dispute between Bernard Tapie and Crédit Lyonnais.

But the CJR considered that by failing to appeal against the arbitration award in 2008, the Minister had shown "negligence" and "made inevitable the appropriation by the spouse of Tapie of a sum of 45 million euros ". However, the CJR considered that the "personality" of the boss of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the fact that she was fighting against an "international financial crisis" at the time, pleaded in her favor and justified the exemption from punishment.
If you want to sign the petition, you can go here: https://www.change.org/p/un-vrai-procès-pour-christine-lagarde
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 31, 2016, 04:08 AM
I have a hard time believing you think a Trump presidency will be a great for America. This is an arrogant man whose ideas are so far off the norm it's ridiculous. I can write example after example. The only reason he won is because this country continues to use the 18th Century electoral college system.

I should mention that history professor Alan Lichtman, who predicted Trump would win as early as a year ago AND correctly called every US election since 1984, is now predicting Trump will be impeached. Let's hope he's right once again.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 31, 2016, 01:18 PM
QuoteI have a hard time believing you think a Trump presidency will be a great for America

You probably did not understand my remarks were sarcastic. The only state which « applied » a soft version of the Trump program during the Obama mandate, that’s to say Kansas, is now in recession and has obtained the worst results in the US. But politicians throughout the world have the same methods. When something does not work, they continue. It’s the same thing in Japan with the Abbenomics, they keep printing money year after year, the debt is soaring, but they did find anything better.

A good picture to understand that a bunch of old moguls are now running the US (click on it, it doesn't fit the screen)
(https://i.ibb.co/HpQmt6W/696777trump.png)




Yesterday I was watching this video, and I was imagining humbert vs (a blackened) Maher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zSkyHIQEZA
(https://i.ibb.co/dMvHgmX/311509stallone.png)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 21, 2017, 12:26 AM
Tonight, I'm going to give you a quick insight of the latest events in the United States.


Trump’s dark and threatening first speech as US president has put the world on notice

Donald J. Trump took the US presidential oath of office as rain began to fall over the Capitol building on Jan. 20 in Washington, becoming the 45th president of the world’s largest economy, and leader of the world’s most powerful democracy.

(http://feeds.thetimes.co.uk/web/imageserver/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fecff59da-dd32-11e6-a7b1-3a60b507a068.jpg?crop=4640,2610,116,285&resize=685)

In a dark speech that promised radical changes to the way the US government interacts with other nations and its own citizens, Trump promised to bring an end to “American carnage” that has weakened the country and impoverished its people.
“We the citizens of America are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people,” Trump said, in a speech that he reportedly wrote himself. “Together we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come,” he said.
Trump spoke in front of a poncho-clad crowd that didn’t fill the National Mall, a far smaller audience than had gathered for inaugurations in the recent past, and addressed political dignitaries including former election rival Hillary Clinton, outgoing US president Barack Obama, and US Senate leader Mitch McConnell. Missing were about one-third of the sitting Congressional Democrats, who refused to attend on account of Trump’s statements about minorities, women, and veterans while on the campaign trail and concerns about foreign interference in the election.
Throughout the speech, Trump echoed a familiar, and misleading, theme from his campaignâ€"that America is in terrible shape. America’s economic recovery after the 2008 recession indeed has been uneven, and its middle class weakened. But there has been a 50% drop in crime in the US since 1991, the stock market increased 148% under Obama, and the economy is currently growing faster than it was at the start of the last four presidential terms, among other factors.
Trump, meanwhile, spoke of:
Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities, rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation, an education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge. And the crime, and the gangs, and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.
The “wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and redistributed all over the world,” Trump said, announcing “a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital and hall of power: From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. For this day forward its going to be only America first, America first.”
Trump pledged that “every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families.” The speech indicates that Trump’s pledge to eliminate NAFTA, the two-decades-old trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, is not just idle talk. “We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs,” he said.
He promised to get Americans “off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor,” by following “two simple rules: buy American and hire American.”
Trump also had words for his political opponents, saying, “We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action, constantly complaining but never doing anything about it,” in a possible reference to congressman John Lewis, whom Trump had referred to on Twitter as “all talk” and “no action,” after the civil rights leader questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s election.
Trump also pledged to “eradicate completely from the face of the earth” radical Islamic terrorism.

As the new president spoke, thousands of protesters were gathered on the outskirts of the National Mall, demonstrating against Trump’s inauguration and expected policies.

Donald Trump’s historic levels of unpopularity, charted
(https://i.ibb.co/jD1Zny8/606634ratings.png)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 21, 2017, 05:13 PM
A new pollution episode is forecast for today and Sunday in Paris.
(https://i.ibb.co/MZsWt0k/paris-le-18-janvier.jpg)

For the ones who want to visit some Parisian museum, I guess you would rather stay at home to see the photos on the forum (The visit of the museum of Orsay is probably one of my best messages: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=2283.msg19884#msg19884 (http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=2283.msg19884#msg19884)) than come to Paris. And according to the specialists, the mask is not a useful solution against nano-particles.
(http://referentiel.nouvelobs.com/file/7087298-pollution-de-l-air-3-fausses-bonnes-idees-pour-se-proteger.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 23, 2017, 04:04 AM
The pollution you're seeing in Paris will clear after a few days. Certain conditions of weather cause the air to become stagnant, which causes pollutants to concentrate.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on January 27, 2017, 04:34 PM
No problem.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 29, 2017, 03:53 PM
Today, I’m going to hold an exceptional conference about the United States called “Donald Trump’s mission? To keep the US in the fossil age”.


While Obama, has been called the first climate president, Trump wants to make America Wait Again. At least, that is what Donald Trump’s energy policy amounts to. Stop all the clocks, put the technological revolution on hold, ensure that the transition from fossil fuels to clean power is delayed for as long as possible.
Even the Jihadists of the Islamic State are laughing: they don’t understand how the Americans have been that stupid to elect him.

(https://i.ibb.co/xD3164g/441308obama.png)

Trump is the president that corporate luddites have dreamed of: the man who will let them squeeze every last cent from their oil and coal reserves before they become worthless. They need him because science, technology and people’s demands for a safe and stable world have left them stranded. There is no fair fight that they can win, so their last hope lies with a government that will rig the competition.
To this end, Trump has appointed to his cabinet some of those responsible for a universal crime: inflicted not on particular nations or groups, but on everyone.

Coal miners wave signs as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Charleston
(https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/cd4765ad75ba3a96eff9d94775dab7a572acd0a7/0_0_4637_2624/master/4637.jpg?w=620&q=20&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&dpr=2&s=0fb598a5a99effbb6acae719da30888a)

Recent research suggests that â€" if drastic action of the kind envisaged by the Paris agreement on climate change is not taken â€" ice loss in Antarctica alone could raise sea levels by a metre this century, and by 15 metres in subsequent centuries. Combine this with the melting in Greenland and the thermal expansion of sea water, and you discover that many of the world’s great cities are at existential risk.
The climatic disruption of crucial agricultural zones â€" in North and Central America, the Middle East, Africa and much of Asia â€" presents a security threat that could dwarf all others. The civil war in Syria, unless resolute policies are adopted, looks like a glimpse of a possible global future.
These are not, if the risks materialise, shifts to which we can adapt. These crises will be bigger than our capacity to respond to them. They could lead to the rapid and radical simplification of society, which means, to put it brutally, the end of civilizations and many of the people they support. If this happens, it will amount to the greatest crime ever committed. And members of Trump’s proposed cabinet are among the leading perpetrators.

In their careers so far, they have championed the fossil fuel industry while contesting the measures intended to prevent climate breakdown. They appear to have considered the need of a few exceedingly rich people to protect their foolish investments for a few more years, weighed it against the benign climatic conditions that have allowed humanity to flourish, and decided that the foolish investments are more important.








In a previous message of this topic, in  a video showing a boxing match, I had made the assumption that the black man was Maher. Unfortunately it’s not the case (it’s Mr. T!). A recently-registered user called HulksmashMaher must be very disappointed. But I found another video, and this time it could be him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyv5T-4DFFE
Is it Maher? Nobody knows.
(https://i.ibb.co/6YwMLpp/81056353mc.jpg)
In any case, it’s not M’sieur baboon.
(http://elelur.com/data_images/mammals/baboon/baboon-03.jpg)


In a message of humbert, who is always interesting, we had seen that some people predicted an impeachment for Trump. I don’t want to be a prophet of doom, but somebody predicted something even worse for him (and once again, it’s not m’sieur baboon)...
The only Profiler for the police of France who correctly predicted the attacks has interesting forecasts for 2017...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq3FyNFKMTE
Lilie Delahaie has premonitions since she was very young and gave an incredible testimony in "Salut les Terriens!", Notably mentioning her prediction of the recent attacks.

Last March 22 on Facebook, Lilie Delahaie wrote: "It's hard to dream it before, to feel it, to tell all my friends that I feel bad“
She then pointed out that she saw several places affected. "I think mainly: France, Belgium, Germany, Europe. One in the South of France (...) Nice, possible," she revealed. On the same day, Belgium was actually hit by terrorist attacks, just as Germany and Nice were in the following months.

Invited in Salut les Terriens! This Saturday January 21 on C8, Lilie Delahaie explained she was very young when she began to have this gift of premonition and that it is "the expression of extreme sensitivity that I learned to listen". At school, she felt the emotions and even the physical pain of her comrades, guessed who was going to phone at home and predicted an incident that was about to happen.

Crazy predictions for 2017
At the age of 8, she dreamed of a little boy sexually abused and then killed, a drama relayed in the newspapers the next day. This prediction was a "traumatic experience" for the one that today works for free to help to solve criminal investigations. She is the only "profiler" in France, but never officially because this is forbidden in France, unlike countries like the United States, China or Russia.

Her sensitivity allowed her to detect her own brain tumor that was diagnosed a year and a half later. The healing occurred only after consulting a magnetizer.
Thierry Ardisson wanted to know what was going to happen in 2017 and according to Lilie Delahaie, the new French president will be in all likelihood "new and will change everything in the long term". There will be attacks too - not surprising, unfortunately â€" of which one against...Donald Trump
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 31, 2017, 12:00 AM
The forum is very calm. I know that the users are watching it everyday, they don't know what to say, but they are still following the latest news, humbert's, Maher's, and my messages.

If you are getting bored, well maybe you can watch this exceptional documentary about the attacks in Paris titled « Did intelligence fail in France ?», a documentary in English:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f0bM1ao1jU
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on January 31, 2017, 06:10 AM
Quote from: scarface on January 31, 2017, 12:00 AM
The forum is very calm. I know that the users are watching it everyday, they don't know what to say, but they are still following the latest news, humbert's, Maher's, and my messages.

If you are getting bored, well maybe you can watch this exceptional documentary about the attacks in Paris titled « Did intelligence fail in France ?», a documentary in English:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f0bM1ao1jU

Honestly, I barely see a reason to use the forum anymore. Rarely new posts, and I got nothing to say that will contribute to the topic.
I'd say I go on the site once every 1 or 2 weeks currently.
However, every time I visit the forum I feel like I should delete everything on my account..
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 31, 2017, 02:33 PM
What do you want me to tell you, shadow.97?
Many users have lapsed into silence, including the administrator.
Maybe you already found a better forum, where you can find beautiful photos, financial news and some good friends.
If you dont know what to do, maybe you could test resident evil 7 and tell us what you think about it...Or tell us what you think about the current level of the stock markets, (if you still have stocks).
I'm currently at work, and yet Im taking some time to answer you.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on February 19, 2017, 11:41 PM
In this topic, we have seen that shadow.97 was interested in the American election since he has been wondering whether the election of Donald Trump was rigged or not (And it's an interesting question, after all we don't know the degree of involvement of Putin in the hacking of the election: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38538002)
I hope that the photo of Tramp made him laugh anyway. Maybe the average Americans should have chosen the one on the right though: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=9764.msg27321#msg27321

But Shadow.97 (who comes from Sweden) must be laughing once again, after Trump said "Sweden, who would believe this?", citing non-existent terror attack
Indeed, at Florida rally Trump referred to attack in Sweden that did not happen, possibly confusing it with Sehwan in Pakistan.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/19/sweden-trump-cites-non-existent-terror-attack
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on March 15, 2017, 01:35 AM
Tonight, I'm going to talk about the latest reform of the new American President.
Then I'm going to talk about growing inequalities in the US, which are on track to widen further.



Trumpcare vs. Obamacare: Apocalypse Foretold

The Congressional Budget Office report on Trumpcare is out, and it’s devastating: 14 million people losing insurance in the first year, 24 million over time, with premiums soaring for older, lower-income Americans â€" in many cases, the very people who went strongly for President Trump. The C.B.O. thinks it would reduce the deficit, but only marginally, around $30 billion a year in a $19 trillion economy.

Then,  Let's have an assertion and two questions.

The assertion is that something like this was to be expected. The C.B.O. came in even worse on coverage than most predicted, but it was obvious that the news would be terrible because that’s what the logic of the situation told us. Obamacare imposes a mandate to induce healthy people to sign up, offers means-tested subsidies to make insurance affordable and expands Medicaid to take care of people with really low incomes. Trumpcare eliminates the mandate, slashes subsidies overall and redirects them to those who don’t need them and sharply cuts Medicaid. Of course that leads to a huge drop in coverage.

Or to put it differently, Obamacare is actually an intelligently designed system, and Republican claims that they could do much better even while slashing funding so they could cut taxes on the rich were always obvious nonsense. Trumpcare is a slapdash, incompetent piece of legislation; but even a much more competent set of people couldn’t have done better given the constraints of Republican Party ideology.

Now the questions: First, can this legislation still go through? We don' have to underestimate the cravenness of Republican “moderates,” who may posture to the center but almost always cave to the hard right when it matters. But even so, it’s hard to imagine this act of cruelty getting 50 senators. And if it can’t pass the Senate, won’t right-wing purists in the House decide to advertise their purity by voting against a bill that still falls short of free-market ideals rather than vote for Obamacare 0.5?

Second, what were Republican leaders thinking? Something like this C.B.O. score was a foregone conclusion; would it really have mattered much if it were 15 million losing insurance, not 24 million? How was this supposed to work out politically?

(http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/comment-title-tk-1200x904-1487983305.jpg)




The history books will remember at least two things of the year 2016 in the United States. The triumph of a populist candidate in the presidential election and the fact that the Americans as a whole will never have been so rich. Quarterly national accounts tables published on Thursday (March 9th) by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the US central bank, indicate that household wealth rose 2.3% to a record $ 92,805 billion .

To obtain this figure, the Fed summed up the cash, cars, real estate, and stock market assets held by all Americans, whose debts were taken away. The total assets have thus increased by two thirds since the financial crisis of 2008, during which it had fallen to 56 000 billion.

The record high of 2016 is mainly due to the spectacular rise in stock prices in the last quarter. Wall Street grew by 8% between November 8, the date of the election of Donald Trump, and December 31. Of the $ 2,000 billion in assets that have accumulated in the last three months of the year, 36% comes from the soaring capital markets, while the rise in real estate represents 28% of this amount.

The richest 1% hold 42% of the wealth
The problem of these two drivers of wealth progression is that they do not turn at the same speed for everyone. From the moment that 80% of the stock market is held by the richest 10%, it is clear that the vast majority of Americans have missed this enrichment. As the annual study by the Gallup Institute shows, 80% of households earning more than $ 75,000 per year own shares. Under $ 30,000, the rate amounts to 23%.

Studies have attempted to gauge the impact of what economists call the "wealth effect" that when the wealth of an economic agent increases, he tends to spend more. They came to the conclusion that Americans spend between 3 and 5 cents for each additional dollar accumulated. But the concentration of capital at the top of the pyramid is such that this "wealth effect" is now much more limited than it was in the 1950s and 1960s. According to the work of Emmanuel Saez And Gabriel Zucman of the University of Berkeley (California), the richest 1% in the United States held in 2012 (latest available statistics) 42% of the country's wealth.

Moreover, an article published in December 2016 by the two economists and co-signed with Thomas Piketty, showed that more than half of the wealth of the richest 1% of the population comes from real estate and the stock market. At the other end of the spectrum, for the 90% least well off, the proportion drops to 20%, the core of which is invested in pension funds for retirement.

Illustration of the widening of inequalities: the gap between household wealth and average income has never been greater. The first is now 6.5 times higher than the second, a level higher than that reached at the top of the 2007 housing bubble. While overall wealth has steadily increased, revenues have practically made no progress.

This explains why most of the fruits of the economic recovery were concentrated in a few hands. "From 1980 to 2014, average income per adult rose by 61% in the United States," said Saez, Zucman and Piketty. However, the average income before tax of the 50% who earned the least stagnated at around $ 16,000 per adult, after adjusting for the effects of inflation. On the other hand, incomes at the top of the pyramid have literally soared, rising by 121% for the richest 10%, by 205% for the richest 1%, and by 636% for the richest 0.001%.

Moreover, in 1980 an adult among the richest 1% earned 27 times more than an adult belonging to the 50% less rich. Today the ratio has increased to 81. "This ratio of 1 to 81 is similar to the gap between the average income in the United States and the average income in the poorest countries of the world, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Burundi," economists said.

The United States has never been so rich, but at the same time, the American society has rarely been so unequal. This is one of the keys to understanding the election of a populist candidate for president. But for the moment, it is the richest who are taking advantage of it, and it is not the least of the paradoxes.

(http://www.occupy.com/sites/default/files/medialibrary/US-land-wealth-2d1299e2acd1f2bf4348199044175877_0.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 15, 2017, 04:16 AM
Quote from: scarface on March 15, 2017, 01:35 AM
Trumpcare vs. Obamacare: Apocalypse Foretold

I totally agree. My lady has medical insurance through Obamacare. We pay $107 a month. Without Obamacare the bill will rise to probably over $700, and I can't afford that.

The misinformation that exists over the Affordable Care Act is unbelievable. And of course rich fatcats who are covered by companies they own are vehemently opposed to paying taxes to cover the rest of us. One more example of that fact that 1% of the people own 99% of everything.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on March 16, 2017, 10:51 PM
Tonight, I stumbled upon an excellent article about Global Warming.
Since humbert is a bit climato-sceptic, maybe he'll be eager to react to this article. And the other users of the forum can also speak in this topic.

(http://jeffreyhill.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341d417153ef01b7c7f9df40970b-800wi)

If we assume global warming is a hoax, what should we expect to see? By Phil Plait.


I will ask you to indulge me for a moment in a thought experiment. It’s not hard, and it leads to a startlingly simple yet powerful conclusion, one I think you may find both important and terribly useful.

Still, it starts with a big ask, so forgive me. And that is: Let’s make an assumption, one you’ve heard many times before. Let’s say that global warming is a hoax.

I know, I know. But go with this, here. So, yes, let’s say that climate change deniers â€"people like House Science, Space, and Technology Committee chairman Lamar Smith, Senator James Inhofe, and even Donald Trump himselfâ€" are right. Whatever the reasons (Chinese hoax, climatologist cabal clamoring colossal cash, carbon dioxide isn’t a powerful greenhouse gas, or just a liberal conspiracy), let’s say that the Earth is not warming up.

In that case, the temperatures we see today on average should be much like the ones we saw, say, 20 years ago. Or 50. Sure, you’d see fluctuations. In a given spot on a given day the temperature in 1968 might have been a degree warmer than it was in 1974, or three degrees cooler than in 2010. But what you’d expect is that over time, a graph showing the temperature would be pretty much flat, with lots of short-term spikes up and down.

Now, statistically speaking, you expect some records to be broken every now and again. Over time, every few years for a given day you’d get a record high, and every few years a record low. The details will change from place to place and time to time, but again, if the average temperature trend is flat, unchanging, then you would expect to see just as many record cold days as record warm days. There might be small deviations, like, say, a handful of more cool than warm days, but the difference would be very small depending on how many days you look at.

It’s like flipping a coin. On average, you should get a 50/50 split between heads and tails. But if you flip it 10 times, say, you wouldn’t be shocked to see seven heads and three tails. But if you flip it a thousand times, you’d really expect to see a very even split. Seeing 700 heads and 300 tails would be truly extraordinary.

So, if we remind ourselves of our basic assumption â€"global warming isn’t realâ€" then we expect there to be as many record high days as there are record lows. Simple statistics.

So, what do we see?

Guy Walton, a meteorologist in Georgia, took a look at the data from the NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Whenever a weather station in the US breaks a record, high or low, it’s catalogued (Walton has more info on this at the link above). He found something astonishing: For February 2017, the number of record highs across the US recorded was 6,201.

The number of record lows? 128.

That’s a ratio of over 48:1. In just one month.

Again, if temperatures were flat over time, and record highs and lows were random fluctuations, you’d expect a ratio much closer to 1:1. In other words, out of 6329 records set in total, you’d expect there to be about 3165 record highs, and 3165 record lows.

For fans of statistics, with a total of 6329 records broken, one standard deviation is the square root of that, or about 80. So, sure, something like 3265 highs and 3064 lows wouldn’t be too unusual. If you start to see more of an imbalance than that, it would be weird.

Seeing 6201 record highs to 128 lows is very, very, very weird. Like, zero chance of that happening by accident.

Now, Phil, I can hear you thinking, that’s just for the US (2% of the planet) over one month. And you’ve told us before that weather isn’t climate; weather is what you expect now, climate is what you expect over long periods of time. So, maybe this is a fluke?

Walton notes that, if you look at records in the US going back to the 1920s, the six highest ratios of record highs to lows all occur since the 1990s. Huh.

And making this more global, a pair of Australian scientists looked at their country’s data, and found that their ratios were about even...until the 1960s. After that, highs always outnumber lows. From 2000-2014, record highs outnumbered lows there by 12:1.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research collated data from 1800 stations across the US and binned the data by decade â€" by decade, which is a huge sample; any deviation from a 1:1 ratio would be extraordinary over that timescale.

They found this:
(http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/styles/blog_post_in_content_image/public/ucar_record_highslows.jpg?itok=MOlWlsaP)

Huh. Not only are there more record highs than lows, the ratio between the two is getting higher with time.

So, looking back at our initial assumption â€" the Earth isn’t warming, and temperatures are flatâ€" there’s a conclusion these data are screaming at us: That assumption is completely and utterly wrong.

And of course, all the evidence backs this up. All of it. Earth’s temperature is increasing. That’s because of the 40 billion tons of extra carbon dioxide humans put into the atmosphere every year (the amount we will see this year, expected to top 410 parts per million, has never been seen before in history as long as humans have walked the Earth). This CO2 allows sunlight to warm the Earth, but prevents all of it from escaping so that a little bit of extra heat remains behind, and that’s warming our planet.

Over time, we’re getting hotter. 2014 was a record hot year, beaten by 2015, itself beaten by 2016. In fact, 15 of the 16 hottest years ever recorded have been from 2001 â€" 2016. That’s exactly what you’d expect if we were getting warmer, and that means our initial assumption of hoaxery was dead wrong.

The science on this is so basic, the evidence of this so overwhelming, that “not a single national science academy disputes or denies the scientific consensus around human-caused climate change”, and also the overwhelming majority of scientists who study climate do, too.

Maybe you should listen to them, and not politicians who seem ideologically opposed to the science.

Or, you could flip a coin. But if it comes up science dozens of times more often than anti-science, well â€"and forgive me if I sound like a broken recordâ€" the conclusion is obvious.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 04, 2017, 12:58 AM
Tonight, I'm going to introduce you a Palestinian scholar and tomorrow we'll talk about his latest book.

(http://www.breizh-info.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/waleed-1140x805.jpg)

Here is an interview with Waleed Al-Husseini:
I was born in Qalqilya, West Bank, in 1989, in a pious Muslim family and a conservative society. As a teenager, when I was first in my class in Islamic teaching, I had the chance to reflect upon Islam.

Thanks to my curiosity, and above all, thanks to the tolerance of my parents, I discovered the trickery of this religion, used to dominate society and keep it in ignorance. After much research and historical and philosophical readings, I became convinced of the need to leave Islam. But by announcing my atheism, I found myself faced with the hostility of all society - except my family - and the Palestinian authorities.

I was arrested and imprisoned for more than ten months, marked by physical and psychological torture. During my trial by a court martial, I fled to Jordan, and I applied for political asylum to France where I arrived in 2012, thinking to take refuge in a haven of peace and in the capital of Enlightenment and Secularism.

Unfortunately, I discovered a rampant Islamization, a growing obscurantism under the effect of radicalization, and a secularism in danger. I then created, along with several other activists, the Council of Ex-Muslims of France (CEMF). My first book, Blasphemer, the prisons of Allah (Grasset 2015), released on the day of the attack against Charlie Hebdo, details all these adventures. Besides, the title of the book is inspired by the indictment that allowed the Palestinian Authority to persecute me.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on May 05, 2017, 05:43 AM
Being a non-believer myself, I can understand Waleed Al-Husseini's frustration when religious authorities try to forcibly impose their ways on everyone else. In my case, however, I know that making these people listen to reason is next to impossible. This is why when it comes to religion, I keep to myself and make every effort to respect everyone else as long as they do the same.

If Waleed lived in Iran, Saudi Arabia or under the Taliban, I can understand being jailed for being an atheist. But in Palestine? Who checks if you visit the mosque or pray 5 times a day? Add to this the fact that Palestine is occupied by Israel.

As for France being victimized by "rampant Islamization", forget it. France's constitution mandates securlarism. Marine LePen - who is adamantly anti-Islamic - stands a chance of being France's next president. They even tried to ban the burkini, which I for one believe is a stupid idea.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on May 07, 2017, 09:50 PM
(https://t4.ftcdn.net/jpg/01/05/91/35/240_F_105913555_k7FN4f6cdxn3xL8aGpvJVA9a1qUzrIwR.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/VanillaMacaron.jpg/220px-VanillaMacaron.jpg)(http://www.delifrance.com/media/catalog/product/cache/7/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/5/s5634b.jpg)(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Donald_Trump_official_portrait.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 31, 2017, 12:02 AM
Tonight, I’m going to show you a shocking video of hens kept in battery cages. These hen’s eggs and the meat are sold to consumers via retailers like Carrefour with the Lustucru Frais brand, or fast foods like Mc donalds. This video was filmed by L214, an association for animal welfare.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvhOavlS1s0

After watching thes images, Maher must be wondering if that’s the reason why there is no mcdonalds in Palestine. And the fact that industrial farming and intensive factory-based livestock raising are not common over there may explain why there is no fast-food: it’s not possible for them to buy meat from sick hens, eggs infested by fleas and therefore sell cheap food.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 01, 2017, 06:20 AM
@Shadow ->  In your post I don't understand the correlation between the pictures shown in your post.

@Scarface, et al -> I couldn't watch the video you posted. Abuse of defenseless animals - human or otherwise - is too revolting for me. I look forward to the day the enslavement of non-human animals will end forever.

P.S. - Remember humans are animals too, hence the term "non-human animals"
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on June 01, 2017, 08:48 AM
Quote from: humbert on June 01, 2017, 06:20 AM
@Shadow ->  In your post I don't understand the correlation between the pictures shown in your post.

@Scarface, et al -> I couldn't watch the video you posted. Abuse of defenseless animals - human or otherwise - is too revolting for me. I look forward to the day the enslavement of non-human animals will end forever.

P.S. - Remember humans are animals too, hence the term "non-human animals"
Congratulations Macron french president
(Congrats) (Macaron) (Baguette - typically french) (Trump, President)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on June 01, 2017, 07:06 PM
Quote from: humbert on June 01, 2017, 06:20 AM
@Shadow ->  In your post I don't understand the correlation between the pictures shown in your post.

@Scarface, et al -> I couldn't watch the video you posted. Abuse of defenseless animals - human or otherwise - is too revolting for me. I look forward to the day the enslavement of non-human animals will end forever.

P.S. - Remember humans are animals too, hence the term "non-human animals"
I don't like harming animals too.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 02, 2017, 05:26 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on June 01, 2017, 08:48 AM
Congratulations Macron french president
(Congrats) (Macaron) (Baguette - typically french) (Trump, President)

Gee Shadow, couldn't you have chosen a better example for president than this bastard Trump?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on June 02, 2017, 08:35 AM
Quote from: humbert on June 02, 2017, 05:26 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on June 01, 2017, 08:48 AM
Congratulations Macron french president
(Congrats) (Macaron) (Baguette - typically french) (Trump, President)

Gee Shadow, couldn't you have chosen a better example for president than this bastard Trump?
8) I forgot, He's a clown. Not a president.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 27, 2017, 08:30 PM
Tonight, there will be many conferences: about oil depletion, about the poor image of Trump, and about the closure of the torrent 411.



About the end of oil:
According to the CEO of Total, in 2020 there will be a new oil shock because we already lack oil!
This is important information, not because we do not know it but because it comes from Patrick Pouyanné, who is nothing less than the big boss of Total.
Every year, production drops by 3% and demand increases by 1%, therefore a 4% increase in the production would be needed to close the gap each year.
In 5 years, that's 20%! But we find very few new deposits and we do not invest enough because the prices are too low, which is partly true but not totally!
Indeed, we simply lack oil!
In short, by 2020 we will see a new oil shock, all the more violent as economic growth will be strong!

In the meantime, the situation seems paradoxical, because at the same time we lack the oil that would fuel economic growth (because in fact, what we lack cheap oil, not just oil) And we have an excess of oil, which is the consequence of past investments (in other words, wells that have been drilled in the past) with which firms are now producting oil because they must repay the loans they contracted yesterday in order to drill  these wells.
(http://ei.marketwatch.com//Multimedia/2016/04/20/Photos/ZH/MW-EK746_oil_pu_20160420135646_ZH.jpg?uuid=400866a0-0721-11e6-81a6-0015c588dfa6)

But it does not matter because we will definitely lose our job, and maybe one day we will go to the farms of Harkaz or Maher, who are already waiting for us.
Certainly, Some of you may have thought that the creature in the photo below was Maher (asking for a donation) with his family. In fact, you probably understood, it was Mr. Baboon.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDRd0YQWIAAu11U.jpg:large)




About Trump:
A survey that assesses the popularity of presidents in thirty-seven countries shows that the lack of confidence in the US president has been heavily accentuated.

The "Make America Great Again" slogan on which Donald Trump founded his presidency is hard to export. It’s even close to the the industrial accident, according to the Pew Research Center's annual barometer, which assesses the popularity of White House tenants in thirty-seven countries, released on Monday (June 26th). The arrival of Mr. Trump in power resulted in a sharp turnaround: while 64% of respondents said they had "confidence" in the US president in the last days of the Obama administration, they were only 22 % after he left. At the same time, the number of people who said they did not "trust" exploded from 23% to 74%.

In almost all the countries concerned by the Pew inquiry, the number of people asserting confidence in the US President's ability to "make the right decision" in international affairs collapsed with the arrival of Mr. Trump in power. Sweden leads with an 83-point gap: 10 percent of respondents give credit to Mr. Trump while they were 93 percent for Mr. Obama.
(https://www.rover.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/donald-trump-yelow-labrador-hair-combover.jpg)




About the closure of the French torrent site t411:
French authorities close T411 download site

Several people were arrested in France and Sweden in a an investigation about T411, one of the main French torrent websites.
The site T411 is inaccessible since Sunday 25 June in the evening following a Swedish police operation, according to the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter and the information of “Le Monde”.

This site - one of the last BitTorrent website, was offering a catalog of links to download movies, games and music, without hosting the files itself - was the subject of a complaint by the Society of Composers And music publishers (Sacem) in 2014 for organized band counterfeiting. The Association against Audio-Piracy (ALPA) then lodged a complaint.

The investigation, conducted by the specialized inter-regional jurisdiction (JIRS) of Rennes, has been entrusted to the research section of Rennes and has lasted for several months. Six people were arrested on Monday in France and Sweden, according to the Rennes prosecutor's office. According to the secretary-general of the Sacem David El-Sayegh, questioned by Le Monde, the people arrested in France would be "supermoderators". "Their role was to look at the contents made available on the site, to remove false content and to moderate the forums. "

Two arrests in Sweden
The French investigators sought the help of the Swedish police. The latter arrested two people in a compound in the southern suburbs of Stockholm, suspected of being the administrators of the site, the Swedish prosecutor told Agence France-Presse. They are not French, but according to Dagens Nyheter, two Ukrainian citizens with a residence permit in Sweden, arrested in the presence of French gendarmes. They should be charged for violations of copyright law and money laundering.

A computer company was also searched by Swedish law enforcement agencies to procure the server from which T411 was administered. "In the course of this judicial operation, many computer equipment had to be seized for exploitation, as well as movable and immovable property produced by the offenses committed," the Rennes public prosecutor said in a statement.

(http://www.news-lemag.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/t411.png)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 28, 2017, 06:02 AM
With respect to Trump, there is nothing good to be said about him. The guy who predicted his victory 2 years ago also predicted he'd be impeached. Let's hope he's right.

I have been hearing this thing about the end of oil since as far back as I can remember, and so far nothing. The price of a liter of gasoline in my neighborhood today hovers around 51¢/liter (about 0.45â,¬ at today's exchange) and shows no sign of increasing. I wish what you said were true because I'm firmly convinced that currently there is no financial incentive to invest in alternate forms of energy. This is essential given the fact that there is only a finite amount of oil on this planet.

Torrent sites are like flies -- you can kill one or two but there will always be more. The reason is due to the nature of torrenting itself. Sites provide either the .torrent files or magnet links, the files themselves come from everyone in the swarm. The profiteers would have to hunt down each and every person in the swarm. This is just not possible.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 28, 2017, 07:14 PM
Quote from: humbert on June 28, 2017, 06:02 AM
I have been hearing this thing about the end of oil since as far back as I can remember, and so far nothing. The price of a liter of gasoline in my neighborhood today hovers around 51¢/liter (about 0.45â,¬ at today's exchange) and shows no sign of increasing. I wish what you said were true because I'm firmly convinced that currently there is no financial incentive to invest in alternate forms of energy. This is essential given the fact that there is only a finite amount of oil on this planet.

Do you think big companies would exploit oil sands, which are projets with low financial profitability, if there were lage untapped oil reserves?
In fact, if the oil price is low, it's because rougly 15% of the oil production is now made up of unconventional oil. But this part is unlikely to rise, and it won't make up for the decrease in oil production in the years to come. After all, the American people should feel concerned, they greatly depend on it, and the media don't talk about it because it's not politically correct and above all, they don't want to create panic. Humbert is probably ready to go to Daniil's hideout or harkaz's farm, should anything happen.

Another clue: We have never discovered so little oil than in 2016, that's to say 6 billion barrels (30 billion barrels are consumed each year, or 100 million barrels per day).
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 29, 2017, 06:23 PM
Maybe Greece would be an interesting country, if we (the users of the forum) had to meet somewhere. I mean if we go to Israel, the customs officials won't let us go to Palestine, lest we should go to Syria to wage Jihad. In Greece, we could earn our livelihoods from fishing and I already imagine humbert with a fishing rod. Daniil would be there too, and he would be the one who serves Vodka. Of course drinking vodka would be compulsory, even for Maher, except perhaps during Ramadan. As for the French saucisson, it would be an option. I also imagine hakumei, keeping us good company, with a sexy outfit. Usman and harkaz would test some software for us, as usual. As for old Yoda, he would prepare good Greek meals, like Dolmadákia or Taramosaláta.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 29, 2017, 07:36 PM
Those who are currently reading the forum and looking at the picture below must be wondering: whose cars are these? You'll know it in a few minutes.

(https://i.ibb.co/YDQ81pk/S0-11-supercars-saisies-a-Paris-72922.jpg)


The son of Equatorial Guinea's President is on trial in France for splurging on a Parisian mansion, a private jet and a fleet of luxury cars using tens of millions of dollars he allegedly looted from his country.
Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue's trial on charges of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering started in Paris on Monday and is expected to last several weeks.
Prosecutors say he's amassed a fortune, including an opulent mansion near the Champs-Elysees, along with Bugattis, Ferraris and an Aston Martin. He also allegedly spent millions of dollars on pricey European art and jewelry.
He also owns a yacht named Ice, which reportedly costs about $800,000 a month to maintain, according to an article in the French newspaper Le Monde.
Obiang, 47, serves as his father's vice president and earns about $100,000 a year in that role, according to his lawyer, Emmanuel Marsigny.
In addition to his government job, the lawyer said, Obiang has income from his various private businesses in the central African nation.
"He is accused of money laundering for investing or spending funds in France that would come from offenses committed in Equatorial Guinea," his lawyer told CNN.
Marsigny said his client, who has not appeared in court so far, has diplomatic immunity.

The trial of the President's son is being watched closely in Africa, where corruption is a major problem among government officials.
Obiang's father, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, seized power in a 1979 coup and is the longest-serving head of state on the continent.
Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony rich in oil, but a majority of its population lives in poverty.
The country has mostly stayed out of the headlines by maintaining a tight lid on information. The trial gives an insight into the financial workings of one of the most secretive nations in the world. So much so, that for several years,Transparency International described Equatorial Guinea as "too opaque to rank," saying it could not get enough data on it for the global corruption index.

Obiang amassed his wealth in France, but Marsigny said it has no jurisdiction to charge him for alleged money laundering in Equatorial Guinea. He said the case is an example of French courts intervening in the affairs of a sovereign nation.

France is not alone.

Obiang also hid his wealth in Swiss though: eleven of the world’s rarestâ€"and most expensiveâ€"cars owned by Teodorin Obiang Nguema, were seized by Swiss authorities this week, adding to the family’s international legal battles over alleged misappropriation of public funds.
The cars, which included a Swedish-made Koenigegg One, one of only seven ever produced for $2.8 million, and a $2 million Bugatti Veyron, were allegedly moved to a freight area at the Geneva Airport soon after the investigation was launched.

And the US ?
In 2014, the United States agreed to a settlement following allegations that Obiang used money plundered from his country to amass assets such as a Malibu mansion, a private jet and Michael Jackson memorabilia.
Under the settlement, the Justice Department allowed Obiang to keep a Gulfstream jet and most of his Michael Jackson collection, including the white glove from Jackson's "Bad" world tour. Those assets were not in the United States, the Justice Department said, but they could be subject to seizure if they ever come to the country.
At the time, Obiang disputed the US allegations and said the assets, including a $30 million Malibu mansion, were purchased with proceeds from his businesses. He admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.
As part of the settlement, Obiang had to sell the Malibu mansion, a Ferrari and pay $20 million to a charity that benefits the people of Equatorial Guinea.
Under the settlement, the US government kept about $10 million.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8jMn0mQPnY
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 30, 2017, 05:48 AM
Quote from: scarface on June 28, 2017, 07:14 PM
Do you think big companies would exploit oil sands, which are projets with low financial profitability, if there were lage untapped oil reserves?
In fact, if the oil price is low, it's because rougly 15% of the oil production is now made up of unconventional oil. But this part is unlikely to rise, and it won't make up for the decrease in oil production in the years to come. After all, the American people should feel concerned, they greatly depend on it, and the media don't talk about it because it's not politically correct and above all, they don't want to create panic. Humbert is probably ready to go to Daniil's hideout or harkaz's farm, should anything happen.

Who said anything about drilling into sand? According to Wiki, the country with the largest proven oil reserves is Venezuela. Maybe phracking is responsible for 15% of the oil at this moment, but 85% still comes from conventional sources. There is still plenty of oil to go around. Let me say once again, I wish it were less available. The abundance of oil and consequently its low price is precisely what is keeping alternate sources of energy out of the market. In fact, adjusted for inflation, today's price is gasoline is the same or lower that it was prior to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, which is when the price began to spike. Check this site (https://inflationdata.com/articles/inflation-adjusted-prices/inflation-adjusted-gasoline-prices) and you'll see what I mean.

I'll give you an example using my own situation. I like to use E85 fuel in my car. I even installed a conversion kit because my car is not flex-fuel. I use it because high ethanol blends have plenty of power, makes the engine run cooler, and in general keep the engine and injectors cleaner (alcohol is a solvent). Currently the price is E85 is only 5% less than regular gas (E10), and the fuel is not easy to get because few stations have it. Why does this situation exist? Because the price of gasoline is just too cheap. It makes no financial sense to expand the availability of E85. And of course, due to the cost in producing ethanol for fuel, dropping the price is not possible.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 30, 2017, 10:12 PM
Quote from: humbert on June 30, 2017, 05:48 AM
Who said anything about drilling into sand? According to Wiki, the country with the largest proven oil reserves is Venezuela. Maybe phracking is responsible for 15% of the oil at this moment, but 85% still comes from conventional sources. There is still plenty of oil to go around. Let me say once again, I wish it were less available. The abundance of oil and consequently its low price is precisely what is keeping alternate sources of energy out of the market. In fact, adjusted for inflation, today's price is gasoline is the same or lower that it was prior to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, which is when the price began to spike. Check this site (https://inflationdata.com/articles/inflation-adjusted-prices/inflation-adjusted-gasoline-prices) and you'll see what I mean.


Let’s take an example. Imagine you bought 300 saucissons last year. For you it’s the best meat, even the fumed salmon is no match for it. But like the roquefort or the foie gras, the French saucisson is probably forbidden in the US, which really cares about the health of all its citizens. When you came back from Paris to Houston, you hid them in your socks, and it worked, you could get past the checkpoint unhindered. Last year there was no shortage of saucisson. It smelt a bit like coyote in your kitchen but it’s not a problem for you. And you could eat a whole saucisson each day. You even built a storage room in your cellar because it really reeked of pig in your lounge. But a few months later, some problems were looming large. As you couldn’t get new supplies of saucissons, the stocks were diminishing.
It’s the same phenomenon with the oil market. There is a temporary abundance of oil, but without new discoveries it can’t go on indefinitely. You quoted Venezuela and you are right, along with Arctica, it’s probably the only place where there are untapped oil reserves. But there is a problem: the price of the Venezuelan oil is high, its reserves being essentially in the form of extra-heavy oil and oil sands. It costs practically 30$ to produce a barrel, and with the fall in oil price it explains the current situation in Venezuela.
But as I said, finding new reserves is not enough, they have to make for a 4% depletion of the current oil deposits every year. 
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on July 02, 2017, 03:25 AM
Quote from: scarface on June 30, 2017, 10:12 PM
It’s the same phenomenon with the oil market. There is a temporary abundance of oil, but without new discoveries it can’t go on indefinitely. You quoted Venezuela and you are right, along with Arctica, it’s probably the only place where there are untapped oil reserves. But there is a problem: the price of the Venezuelan oil is high, its reserves being essentially in the form of extra-heavy oil and oil sands. It costs practically 30$ to produce a barrel, and with the fall in oil price it explains the current situation in Venezuela.
But as I said, finding new reserves is not enough, they have to make for a 4% depletion of the current oil deposits every year.

I'ts a well known fact that there is only a finite supply of oil on this planet and that sooner or later it will all be gone. The point is that at this time we're nowhere near there and that the abundance of oil that exists today makes investment in alternate sources of energy unfeasable. To make matters worse, for as far back as I can remember they've been saying the end of oil is near, and yet time passes the oil glut doesn't seem to go away as predicted. Given the wrong predictions of the past, it's anybody's guess until when this situation will continue.

Energy conservation methods have also allowed the glut to continue. Here in America, a typical 1970 car had an efficiency of around 6 km/L. Today that number is around 12½ km/L. Add to this the fact that gasoline sold here must be 10% ethanol or higher. In a country where there are more cars than people, the amount of oil saved is pretty large number.

As for ISIS, the numbers you posted don't surprise me at all. Everybody hates ISIS, they have more enemies than you can even think of. Only a demented person would believe they can go up against the whole world and actually win.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 11, 2017, 12:58 AM
Tonight, I'm going to hold a conference. It's not very optimistic though. On a photo, you'll recognize mr Orangutan.



This is what they call "biological annihilation." In a very alarming study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on Monday, July 10, American and Mexican researchers conclude that vertebrate species are massively retreating on Earth, both in numbers and In extent. A loss of wildlife with potentially "catastrophic" consequences for ecosystems and serious ecological, economic and social impacts.

The two main authors, Gerardo Ceballos (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and Paul Ehrlich (Stanford), are not on their first try on the theme of the erosion of biodiversity. By June 2015, they had already published another study in Science Advances, which showed that the earth's wildlife was already undergoing its sixth mass extinction. They had calculated that species disappearances have multiplied by 100 since 1900, an unprecedented rate since the extinction of dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

Disappearance of populations
This time, the researchers sought to quantify the decline in populations and not in the number of species, ie groups of animals on a territory. "The emphasis on extinction of species can give the impression that terrestrial biodiversity is not dramatically and immediately threatened, but that it is just slowly entering into a major erosion episode that can be combated Later" the authors explain.

There are several shortcomings in this approach: public opinion is struggling to gauge the seriousness of the phenomenon at work (two species disappear every year, which seems low, especially when the latter are little known or not widely spread). And it does not adequately assess the current problem. The most common species are indeed experiencing massive declines in their numbers, but they are not yet threatened. "The disappearance of populations is a prelude to that of species" warn the scientists. A detailed analysis of the decline in animal numbers makes the problem much clearer and worrying.

The researchers conducted a large meta-analysis of half of the known vertebrate species, examining population trends of 27,600 species of terrestrial mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians across five continents using The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List database, which is the most comprehensive global inventory of the state of conservation of biodiversity. They also reviewed, more specifically, 177 species of mammals, for which they had data between 1900 and 2015.

"The real magnitude of mass extinction affecting wildlife has been underestimated: it is catastrophic," they say. In total, 32% of the species studied decline in terms of population and extent. Many mammals that were doing well a decade or two ago are now on the verge of extinction. By 2016, the planet had only 7,000 cheetahs and 35,000 African lions (-43 per cent since 1993). Borneo orangutan populations have dropped by 25% over the past decade to 80 000, while those of giraffes have decreased from 115 000 specimens in 1985 to 97 000 by 2015. Those of pangolins have simply been decimated.

(https://i.ibb.co/WkVF8L2/Orang-Utan-Semenggok-Forest-Reserve-Sarawak-Borneo-Malaysia.jpg)

What is less known is that nearly 30% of these declining species are considered common. They are (yet) classified as "low concern" and not "endangered" by IUCN. All continents are affected by this spectacular erosion of biodiversity. The most affected areas, particularly for mammals and birds, are those in the Tropics (Amazonia, Congo Basin, Southeast Asia) because they are the richest in terms of wildlife. But moderate regions have similar or even higher relative values ​​- that is, compared to the richness of their biodiversity.

Corollary of the loss of numbers, the wildlife sees its territory shrink like "peau de chagrin". Among the 177 species of mammals scrutinized more specifically in the study, 40% lost 80% of their historical distribution area since 1900. emblematic case, the lion has long reigned over most of Africa, the southern Europe and the Middle East, to the north-west of India; Today there are only a handful of populations dispersed in Africa.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on July 16, 2017, 03:29 AM
I'm a little more optimistic than you are. Many species, due to efforts of conservationists, have bounced back from near extinction. Off the top of my head are the North American Bison and the Everglades Alligator, and I know there are more. Rest assured the Orangutan will not go extinct any time soon.

On the other side of the coin, species like Ædes ægypti coloquially known as the mosquito, will never make it to the endangered species list. As you know, this species is a vector for diseases like Zika and Dengue.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on July 17, 2017, 07:50 AM
Havn't caught up reading all the topics the last days. But it's great seeing the posts.
It'd be really interesting to hear your stories or just discuss things face to face.
Not really sure why I thought about this 6:49 AM.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on July 18, 2017, 03:25 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 17, 2017, 07:50 AM
Havn't caught up reading all the topics the last days. But it's great seeing the posts.
It'd be really interesting to hear your stories or just discuss things face to face.
Not really sure why I thought about this 6:49 AM.

I'm glad to see you on the forum. You're a brilliant man with plenty to contribute. I hope you'll be here more often. Also, 6:49am is morning for you, I've seen you here at 3:00am, on our about.

So tell us - what's happening in your life? By now you should be done with high school. Are you in college or working at a business? You moved out of your parent's house, right?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on July 18, 2017, 05:14 AM
Quote from: humbert on July 18, 2017, 03:25 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 17, 2017, 07:50 AM
Havn't caught up reading all the topics the last days. But it's great seeing the posts.
It'd be really interesting to hear your stories or just discuss things face to face.
Not really sure why I thought about this 6:49 AM.

I'm glad to see you on the forum. You're a brilliant man with plenty to contribute. I hope you'll be here more often. Also, 6:49am is morning for you, I've seen you here at 3:00am, on our about.

So tell us - what's happening in your life? By now you should be done with high school. Are you in college or working at a business? You moved out of your parent's house, right?
4am, currently been talking about Nginx, caddie and ssl configuration with a friend from school.
I started university, but it became way too much for me, and my mind just couldnt handle it. I ended up coming back home(which I really hate, I don't like it at all here.)
I've applied for another local university and I'm going to have 1 year of "Basic studies" (Physics, maths, and such.) This will allow me to apply for even more universities. One of the main reasons I applied for the other courses last year was because I just didnt have high enough pre-education.
Preferably I want to start working, but the places I have a chances to work at is nothing I want to work with for an extended amount of time.

I've started a tech blog, but it's currently very empty. I might share it when it has more things on it.

Why I'm awake during night? Because I'm awake for around 18 hours, sleep 10. So my "awake" time always switches. I try to be awake between 4pm and 6pm because otherwise my parents get very upset at me. I also usually try to be awake at around 5 am and 8am just because there's a few people I like talking to that are usually on at those times.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on July 20, 2017, 03:18 AM
I'm surprised that your pre-education wasn't good enough. As far as I know, and correct me if I'm wrong, Sweden imposes high standards on the educational system. I'm glad you plan to continue studying. Simply having some sort of diploma on the wall is more important than you realize. Living with your parents must be horrendous, hopefully one of your goals is financial independence so you can leave ASAP.

I'd been meaning to ask you something. I heard on the news that Sweden is planning to impose mandatory military service beginning with citizens born in 1999. You're safe because you were born in 1997, but I believe you once said you had a younger brother. What's with that?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 22, 2017, 12:51 AM
Tonight, I'm going to give you a brief overview of the news in Palestine, since something important happened today.

(http://img.lemde.fr/2017/07/21/425/0/3579/1786/644/322/60/0/25b910f_5685126-01-06.jpg)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the Palestinian leadership will freeze contacts with Israel on all levels until Tel Aviv reverses its recent security measures against entering Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Three Palestinians were killed and more than 200 injured by Israeli occupation forces today after Israeli police attacked worshippers outside Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem following Friday prayers. Three Israelis were killed as well.

According to various media reports, Israeli police used both live and rubber bullets as well as tear gas to disperse Palestinian protesters after the prayers ended. 

On Thursday, Israeli occupation police said they were barring men under 50 from entering Jerusalem's Old City for Friday Muslim prayers as tensions rose over new Israeli security measures at mosque.

Last Friday, Israel closed Al-Aqsa Mosque to worshippers seeking to perform Friday prayers for the first time since Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 to install metal detectors at entrances.

After Israel reopened the mosque on Sunday Palestinians refused to enter Al-Aqsa through the detectors, with hundreds camping around the premises throughout the week to protest Israeli actions.



If you are currently somewhere in Palestine, I advise you against going near Al-Aqsa mosque, it's too dangerous.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on July 24, 2017, 10:04 PM
Quote from: humbert on July 20, 2017, 03:18 AM
I'm surprised that your pre-education wasn't good enough. As far as I know, and correct me if I'm wrong, Sweden imposes high standards on the educational system. I'm glad you plan to continue studying. Simply having some sort of diploma on the wall is more important than you realize. Living with your parents must be horrendous, hopefully one of your goals is financial independence so you can leave ASAP.

I'd been meaning to ask you something. I heard on the news that Sweden is planning to impose mandatory military service beginning with citizens born in 1999. You're safe because you were born in 1997, but I believe you once said you had a younger brother. What's with that?
No younger brother; just 1 older.
But I have cousins who were born after 1999. No clue what's going to happen with them.
I'm a bit more worried about my Iraq'ian friends who live and study here. Thinking that they may be forced to do military service. They all talk about how they want to go back to their home country ASAP after the war has calmed down. Saying that they dont feel like they have close friends and such here.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on July 26, 2017, 04:10 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 24, 2017, 10:04 PM
No younger brother; just 1 older.
But I have cousins who were born after 1999. No clue what's going to happen with them.
I'm a bit more worried about my Iraq'ian friends who live and study here. Thinking that they may be forced to do military service. They all talk about how they want to go back to their home country ASAP after the war has calmed down. Saying that they dont feel like they have close friends and such here.

Regarding anyone you know who might be subject to military conscription, remember the chances of them being sent into combat are slim to none. They'll probably spend all day target shooting or hiking. Come to think of it, when was the last time the Swedish armed forces were in real combat? Was it when you guys were trying to hold on to Finland or what? Oh.. and before I forget. The news report said both men AND women would be subject to conscription. With girls around it might not be all that bad. :)

Regarding your Iraqi friends, let me as -> are they refugees or Swedish citizens? I don't know how Swedish law works, but it most countries it is citizens and not foreigners who must serve in the military. With respect to them being homesick, why can't they go back? Iraq is winning the war against ISIS. The country has its problems but at the present time it's stable enough for them to return, at least for a visit.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 04, 2017, 12:19 AM
Tonight, I'm going to talk about the obamacare repeal.


"3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!" Trump tweeted just before 2:30 a.m. on Friday.

(http://politicaldig.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/trump-chimp-.jpg)

President Trump early Friday morning blasted lawmakers for failing to pass the Senate GOP's "skinny" ObamaCare repeal bill, doubling down on his past call to "let ObamaCare implode."

The Senate voted 49-51 against the skinny bill, which would have repealed ObamaCare's individual and employer mandates and defunded Planned Parenthood.

Following the bill's defeat, it is unclear what happens next or where the Republican repeal effort can go.

Trump ran on the promise of repealing and replacing ObamaCare and has been pressuring Republicans for months to put forward and pass a repeal bill.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 13, 2017, 05:52 AM
I like your comparison of Trump and a monkey beside him. Trump cares nothing about the American people. He's trying to get rid of insurance subsidies for the people in order to fund tax cuts for the rich.

Today he made the idiotic mistake of saying that he would not rule out military action with respect to the crisis in Venezuela. In doing so he has given Maduro a great gift -- an enemy! Trump seems to think that everything can be solved by threats and intimidation. He is a disgrace to this country!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 03, 2017, 04:09 PM
Today, I'm going to hold a conference to talk about North Korea.

North Korea says it has tested a powerful hydrogen bomb that can be loaded on to an intercontinental ballistic missile, in a move that is expected to increase pressure on Donald Trump to defuse the growing nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula.


In an announcement carried on state TV, North Korea said the test, its sixth since 2006, had been a “complete success” and involved a “two-stage thermonuclear weapon” with “unprecedented” strength.

The TV announcement â€" accompanied by patriotic music and images of North Korean scenery and military hardware â€" said the test had been ordered by the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un.

(http://i2.cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/170903150914-03-north-korea-kim-jong-un-nuke-lab-visit-exlarge-169.jpg)

The explosion was heralded by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake about six miles (10km) from North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the north-east of the country. It was felt over the Chinese border in Yanji.

South Korea’s meteorological administration estimated the blast yield at between 50 to 60 kilotons, or five to six times stronger than North Korea’s fifth test in September last year.

Sunday’s test â€" the first since Trump took office in January â€" offers further evidence that North Korea is moving perilously close to developing a nuclear warhead capable of being fitted on to an ICBM that can strike the US mainland.

Since it conducted its first nuclear test just over a decade ago, the regime has strived to refine the bombs’ design and reliability, as well as increasing their yield.

Hydrogen bombs are far more powerful than the atomic weapons North Korea is believed to have tested so far. Whatever its eventual yield, Sunday’s test was “a staged thermonuclear weapon” that represents a significant advance in Pyongyang’s weapons programme, said Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 04, 2017, 06:54 AM
I'm beginning to think this nutjob Kim Jong-Un is starting to believe his own propaganda and seriously thinks he can defeat the USA and its allies. He has no allies, at least not militarily. Even China and Russia are telling him to stop this nonsense. This guy needs to be taken out, and unfortunately it will not be an easy thing to do.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 09, 2017, 12:51 AM
Tonight, I'm going to hold a conference to talk about the perpetrators of the attacks of Catalonia. They visited France at least three times.

(http://i.f1g.fr/media/figaro/680x382_crop/2017/09/08/XVM8a0d17fa-e228-11e5-89cd-f79f720aab47.jpg)

The trip of Younes Abouyaaqoub on 11 and 12 August in the Paris region was already known. Abouyaaquoub was the driver of the white van that killed 14 people and made more than 120 wounded in Barcelona, and one of his accomplices used an Audi during during the night of 17 August in Cambrils (Catalonia). Further investigations revealed that members of the Alcanar terror cell had come to France in December 2016 and again in July 2017 in Paris.
Interior Minister Gérard Collomb revealed Thursday that the Islamists had even taken a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower.
But the members of the cell of Ripoll, of the "primary terrorists" whose profile worries the European anti-terrorist services, had been in the hexagon on two other occasions in quick passages. The first time, in December 2016. The second in July 2017 in Paris. These two passages, like the stay of 11-12 August, raise again the question of the motivations of the terrorists.

Part of the evidence of the Islamists' stay in the city was found in the ruins of the Alcanar house (Catalonia) where the explosives laboratory was located. The house that exploded in the evening of 16 August compromised the plans for massacres using trapped vehicles. The terrorists had acquired not fewer than 500 liters of acetone (which is part of the TATP, which is widely used by Islamist terrorists). In the destroyed house, the investigators found  an invoice of an hotel located in Malakoff, where Abouyaaqoub and his accomplice have stayed. From a Spanish source, the camera purchased at the FNAC and a French motorway voucher would also have been found. Note that the pictures of the Eiffel Tower were found in the camera. This can lead to a conclusion:  the terrorists were probably asked to justify the use of the funds of the terrorist cell to their leader.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: PANZER24 on November 11, 2017, 10:11 PM
Well if you want guys to have a discord and chat about everything(not creating posts or messaging:this is boring and took much time) you can open a new IRC channel(discord) example: #generaldiscussion or add a shoutbox to this forum like this one:
http://viceunderdogs.com/ (scroll down to see the shoutbox)
since this forums is made with SMF it is possible to add a one!!!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 12, 2017, 03:08 AM
Scarface -> What Catalonia attacks are you referring to? I just opened a tab to see "El País" (the Madrid newspaper) and there's no mention of an attack. In fact this whole crisis hasn't had much violence. Perhaps the only exception was the Guardia Civil trying to forcibly close polling places during last month's "election", or maybe some incidents of pro and anti-independence demonstrators throwing things at each other.

Panzer -> I took a brief look at Viceunderdogs, but I'm not too clear what it's about. Can you summarize?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: PANZER24 on November 12, 2017, 01:32 PM
Quote from: humbert on November 12, 2017, 03:08 AM
Panzer -> I took a brief look at Viceunderdogs, but I'm not too clear what it's about. Can you summarize?
ViceUnderdogs is a famous VCMP clan(Vice City multiplayer)| clan is a group of recruited people(depending of their skills ingame) they do clanwars(Example: DnW vs VU)(DnW is a clan also that I joined few months ago) the purpose of clan is to make their names in the history of the game and make a powerful group together | a shoutbox is a choisable feature of the SMF forum, contact the creator of this forum to add it, there should be an update or a pack or something in the original SMF website.

DnW clan forum(it also contains a shoutbox!!): http://dnwclan.move.pk/
You'll find me as a trainee there ;)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: PANZER24 on November 12, 2017, 06:51 PM
Now I become a rookie due to the last clanwar, I was ranked up!!!!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 20, 2017, 08:53 PM
Tonight, I’m going to hold an exceptional conference to talk about global warming.

Global warming didn't pause, and is carrying on at catastrophic levels, scientists warn

(https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/article_large/public/thumbnails/image/2017/11/20/15/fire.jpg)
A man on a rooftop looks at approaching flames as the Springs fire continues to grow on May 3, 2013 near Camarillo, California

There was never any “pause” in global warming, new data shows, and the world is warming at a pace that scientists warn will be catastrophic.
Gaps in the data about the world temperature led people to believe that climate wasn't heating as much as suggested. But that was wrong and global warming is progressing far faster than would be expected, the new research suggests.

That's according to scientists who returned to calculate global temperatures in the years 1998-2012. It's those years that many people claim were subject to a "global warming hiatus", where the pace of climate change appeared to slow.

But that idea was based on a mistake in the data used to calculate the temperature of the planet, the new research suggests. It builds on a range of research that shows that despite repeated claims global warming had stopped it is actually continuing at a catastrophic pace.
The idea of a hiatus had been helpful to climate change deniers and confounding to scientists, who couldn't understand why the world would stop warming even despite increased emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. The solution is that the warming never happened, according to the new research carrried out by Xiangdong Zhang, an atmospheric scientist with UAF's International Arctic Research Center, who collaborated with colleagues at Tsinghua University in Beijing and Chinese agencies.
"We recalculated the average global temperatures from 1998-2012 and found that the rate of global warming had continued to rise at 0.112C per decade instead of slowing down to 0.05C per decade as previously thought," said Zhang who is also a professor with UAF's College of Natural Science and Mathematics.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on November 25, 2017, 08:47 PM
I have made ultra-trimmed version of W7 32/64bit.
No updates, both are in one iso sized about 1.3gb,
Trying final tests, if i found working, i'll upload for forum users.
May be someone interested.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 26, 2017, 12:13 AM
Quote from: usmangujjar on November 25, 2017, 08:47 PM
I have made ultra-trimmed version of W7 32/64bit.
No updates, both are in one iso sized about 1.3gb,
Trying final tests, if i found working, i'll upload for forum users.
May be someone interested.

Well, why not, some users will likely be interested. Be aware that deleting elements in the winsxs folder will seriously hamper the ability to install updates.
That's why my latest versions were not "light". I was using the specialist harkaz's method, a program that you can find in my version of windows 7, called rebase (known as resetbase cmd in win 10) to trim down this folder, but it was breaking updates too.


I heard on the radio that Islamists tried to take control of Islambad by blockading roads, and I was actually thinking about you. Maybe you were taking to the streets amongst them, who knows?
For the past two weeks, hundreds of right-wing Islamists belonging to various religious parties have been protesting in Islamabad which has disrupted the capital’s life. The protesters have been demanding the resignation of the federal law minister over a recently omitted reference to the Prophet Muhammad in a constitutional bill. While the law minister has apologized by terming the constitutional amendment a “clerical mistake,” the protesters continue to insist that they will carry on the protest unless the minister resigns.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on November 26, 2017, 07:33 PM
If we use "updates", how windows will remain lite? I said already i dont update windows until major changes come.
I dont have money to purchase rebase set for w7.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 26, 2017, 09:47 PM
Quote from: usmangujjar on November 26, 2017, 07:33 PM
If we use "updates", how windows will remain lite? I said already i dont update windows until major changes come.
I dont have money to purchase rebase set for w7.

Well, in windows xp or 7 , updates are integrated, therefore there is not a big difference between a version which is updated and another one which is not (besides winsxs which keeps ballooning, hence the interest in using rebase. If you use rt7lite to reduce an iso, then you should use an updated version, unless you don't mind using an old version (after all, if you don't use internet explorer, it may not be a problem not to have security fixes).
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Sobhana123 on February 05, 2018, 08:46 AM
hi there.. really nice information.. i was looking for this since a long time…really appreciate the amount of work which you have put into to it.. thanks for sharing

OHSAS 18001 Certification in Qatar (http://www.certvalue.com/ohsas-18001-certification-in-qatar/)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 03, 2018, 05:12 PM
Today, I’m going to hold an exceptional conference to talk about the discovery of the most distant star ever spotted.

Nicknamed Icarus, it is up to a million times brighter and about twice as hot as our sun.

(https://preview.ibb.co/bYGx6c/9612562_3x2_700x467.jpg)

Scientists announced on Monday 2 April they detected the most distant star ever observed: a blue supergiant located 9.3 billion light-years from Earth. This discovery was made thanks to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

It's officially called MACS J1149 + 2223 Lensed Star-1, but scientists have dubbed it Icarus.

Located in a distant spiral galaxy, it is at least 100 times farther than the other stars previously observed, except for objects, such as quasar consisting of a super-massive black hole or huge supernova explosions, which mark the death of certain stars. Older galaxies were spotted, but their individual stars were indistinguishable.

Scientists took advantage of a phenomenon called "gravitational lens" to spot the star. It involves the bending of light by very massive clusters of galaxies between the observer and the light source, which magnifies and makes visible distant celestial objects, which would otherwise be undetectable.

Scientists just found this star, but If usman or aa1234779 are looking at the stars to predict the future, they had probably already spotted this star.

"The part of the universe where we can see stars is very small, but this kind of quirk of nature allows us to see much larger volumes," said astronomer Patrick Kelly, of the university of Minnesota, lead author of the research published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
"We will now be able to study in detail what the universe looked like - and especially how the stars evolved and what their nature is - almost to the early stages of the universe and the first generations of stars. "

Because its light has taken so long to reach Earth, watching this star is like going back in time, when the universe was less than a third of its current age. The Big Bang, which gave birth to the Universe, happened 13.8 billion years ago.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 06, 2018, 04:59 AM
Quote from: scarface on April 03, 2018, 05:12 PM
Because its light has taken so long to reach Earth, watching this star is like going back in time, when the universe was less than a third of its current age. The Big Bang, which gave birth to the Universe, happened 13.8 billion years ago.

As you said, Hubble is looking far into the past. Most probably the star known as "Icarus" isn't there anymore, it probably went nova a long time ago. Must have been quite a bang.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on April 21, 2018, 11:37 AM
Whats gone wrong with the forum? in news it says: we are online back.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 22, 2018, 06:24 AM
Quote from: usmangujjar on April 21, 2018, 11:37 AM
Whats gone wrong with the forum? in news it says: we are online back.

I'm not sure what you mean. The forum was down for a while because Maher was switching it to another server. It's been up for quite a while now.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on May 17, 2018, 01:17 AM
Ramadan Mubarak to everyone who celebrates it!

Ps, sorry for not being able to catchup to all the posts and such.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 17, 2018, 01:34 AM
Good to see you again. There are not so many posts lately though.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on May 18, 2018, 10:47 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on May 17, 2018, 01:17 AM
Ramadan Mubarak to everyone who celebrates it!

Ps, sorry for not being able to catchup to all the posts and such.

Thank you for greeting us Muslims.. Very nice of you.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 22, 2018, 03:27 AM
Well, today I went to the Champs Elysees to take some photos for the users of the forum (especially aa1234779). When I looked at the photos after coming back, it was a catastrophe, they are blurry, and I noticed that I could only have 6mb pixels photos (instead of 16). The culprit is Android Oreo. I installed it on my samsung s6 and I regret that. If you also have an old smartphone, don't install it. And if you want to buy a new smartphone, don't buy it either.
Apparently, it's a well known issue: http://piunikaweb.com/2018/02/02/mi-a1-oreo-fiasco-continues-as-xiaomi-confirms-camera-issues/

photos here: https://ufile.io/fv8i7

Note: the first photo is in the 1st arrondissement (palais brogniart).
On the second photo, it's behind the petit palais, Avenue Dutuit, near the champs elysées (this is the only place where you can park your car "for free" in the vicinity. Well, it's not free in fact,  there are parking ticket machines, except it was a bank holiday today. And there are Vinci parkings a bit further, but its shareholders don't need my money). A man was sleeping on the ground. Was it mr baboon? Probably not. Maybe one of the 600 traders laid off by Goldman sachs in NY, who couldn't afford a McChicken in the nearby Mcdonald's.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on May 22, 2018, 04:55 AM
The photo of the Champs Elysees is officially my WhatsApp profile photo for the next couple of months.
They aren't bad, unless you zoom in there is no blurriness.
I have a xiaomi redmi 5 plus. The camera sucks already and oreo for it won't come out until the last quarter of 2018. Hopefully the issue will be solved by then.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 22, 2018, 05:04 AM
All this is sheer marketing. Why don't they keep old software when it's working? It's the same thing with windows 10. A few new features, but it's basically a rebranded windows 7.
Maybe you should compare with these photos: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=2283.msg19884#msg19884
There is a difference.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on May 22, 2018, 05:24 AM
Yes, there is difference in quality no doubt. But still, the scenery is just amazing!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on June 09, 2018, 03:47 AM
So where's everyone?

Y'all that aren't fasting Ramadan, where are you guys?

Ramdan Mubarak to everyone who celebrates it, where are you guys too?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 11, 2018, 11:16 PM
Quote from: aa1234779 on June 09, 2018, 03:47 AM
So where's everyone?

Y'all that aren't fasting Ramadan, where are you guys?

Ramdan Mubarak to everyone who celebrates it, where are you guys too?
gone? tired? It's hard to know. The forum is like a frozen work of art, there are still users browsing it, but nobody feels like spoiling it.


(https://image.ibb.co/jX2gDT/3040988.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 03, 2018, 11:46 PM
California is experiencing new devastating wildland fires. This could be due to climate change.
Here is an article about it: https://earther.com/the-explosive-county-fire-is-california-s-latest-climat-1827295582
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on July 05, 2018, 06:13 AM
Quote from: scarface on July 03, 2018, 11:46 PM
California is experiencing new devastating wildland fires. This could be due to climate change.
Here is an article about it: https://earther.com/the-explosive-county-fire-is-california-s-latest-climat-1827295582

Wildfires in California have been happening as far back as I can remember, and almost always during the summer. There's plenty of wood to burn and very easy to start a fire, expecially in dry conditions.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 06, 2018, 02:06 AM
Yes that's true. But the question is simple: if there is a climate change, is it worsening the wildfires? And the answer is certainly yes.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/what-megablazes-tell-us-about-the-fiery-future-of-climate-change-81547/


A few interesting articles:
If some users of the forum decide to meet somewhere in order to make a startup (look at my caption), and become as successful as Pablo Escobar, it seems The Philippines would not be a relevant choice.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/07/world/asia/rodrigo-duterte-philippines-drugs-killings.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer

Was Aboubakar Fofana a model citizen like his little friends?
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/984408/Nantes-riot-France-fires-Edouard-Philippe-police-Aboubakar-Fofana

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 10, 2018, 01:19 AM
Here is another interesting article...not optimistic for the future.

As World Busts Heat Records, Study Warns Global Warming Could Be Twice as Bad Climate Models Project
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/07/09/world-busts-heat-records-study-warns-global-warming-could-be-twice-bad-climate


Jancovici (graduated from polytechnic) answers your questions, in French, about climate change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfWvfVElJug


(http://internationalpsychoanalysis.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Global_Warming_Predictions_Map.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 15, 2018, 10:24 PM
Maybe some of you watched some football matches of the world cup. I'm not sure humbert, aa1234779 or Maher were interested since I don't think their teams were qualified. I can't remember the last time the US or Palestine won the final of the FIFA world cup. I watched the final only, and I must say I wasn't disappointed, there were several goals. France won but it's probably Croatia which deserved the victory.
When you have to watch a match for 90 minutes without a mere goal, it's an ordeal. I remember where I was 20 years ago for the previous victory of France. I wish I could go back to those days. In the mid 90's, on Saturday evenings, after culture pub on M6, I was watching the erotic movie when I could do it. There was nothing to see, only a few noises that would suggest that something was happening. But at this time it was impressive, and internet didn't exist yet.

If some of you want to watch culture pub, I selected those 2 clips (culture pub = a program to watch the best commercials).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkCsky81Ytg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62AE_hOQhYs

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 22, 2018, 07:16 PM
Tonight, I’m going to hold an exceptional conference about the unusual temperatures in UK, Sweden and Japan.


First and foremost, let’s begin with UK.
THE Met Office has released incredible satellite images comparing the UK from May to June, and the results are shocking.

(https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/153/590x/UK-heatwave-992560.jpg?r=1532256934065)
UK heatwave: The left satellite image was taken in May, the right in July
The summer, on track to be on of the hottest on record, has brought unusually dry conditions.

An average of just 47mm of rain has fallen in the past two months, making it the driest start to summer since modern records began in 1961.

The lack of rainfall has prompted fears if a drought as reservoir levels begin to drop, resulting in hosepipe bans in some areas.

Parts of the UK have been ravaged by wildfires, including a huge blaze across Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester and the largest grass fire in the London Fire Brigade's history on Wanstead Flats, east London, last week.

Warm weather has gripped London recently. Temperatures across Britain have routinely soared above 86 degrees Fahrenheit
(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/07/20/world/20Sweden-fire2/merlin_140970507_4e3ad3af-a228-432c-90af-ebf3ed363526-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp)


Now let’s talk about Sweden. We used to think there was a harsh climate in Sweden, particularly in winter when the weather is very cold. But a heatwave in Sweden?
And yet, SWEDEN has called for emergency EU help as the country struggles to contain an out-of-control and unprecedented series of wildfires, following a heatwave that has baffled weather experts.

Sweden is struggling to contain more than 60 wildfires, which continue to ravage the country today, with one official claiming that the "entire country is at risk".
An unusual heatwave, which has caused the worst drought in the country since World War Two, has baffled meteorologists.

More than 20,000 hectares of forest is on fire in the Nordic country, with the wildfires even reaching Lapland in the Arctic Circle.
(https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/78/590x/Sweden-991541.jpg?r=1532071210767)


As far as Japan is concerned, People across Japan have been urged to take precautions against a heatwave that has killed about 30 people.
Thousands more have sought hospital treatment for heat-related conditions over the past two weeks.

Temperatures reached 40.7C (105F) in central Japan earlier this week, a five-year nationwide peak.
(https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/78/590x/Japan-weather-forecast-heatwave-992592.jpg?r=1532262711342)

In the city of Kyoto temperatures have stood above 38C (100.4F) for seven days in a row for the first time since records began in the 19th Century.
The heatwave is thought to be lasting until at least the end of the month, with temperatures soaring every day.

Soaring temperatures have also made some question the wisdom of staging the 2020 Tokyo Olympics during July and August, when temperatures often exceed 35C.
Experts have warned the risk of heatstroke in Tokyo has escalated in recent years, saying the Olympics are expected to take place in conditions when sports activities should normally be halted



Is it due to climate change or is it simply a temporary heatwave?
Maybe some attendees are eager to react and speak on the forum.



Maybe you will be interested in this video. A specialist is talking about what’s happening. In Spanish with French subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILwS5xbeRjA





Some good videos:

Alizée - Gourmandises
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvh-ieuM8yg

Billie Jean, with Trump performing as singer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9_ztVHAafk

Some excellent documentaries:

Karachi, Pakistan, the city where water is running out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWraEBec0Vg

Transgender, Muslim and banned in Malaysia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMCl0NkQ6Qg

Critically endangered: The plight of Cameroon's Great Apes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgk3suYIeB0
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 24, 2018, 01:47 PM
If you are currently in Ile de france, there is a pollution peak with the heatwave. And it's probably the same thing in other big towns.
Be cautious if you are doing sport.
(https://image.ibb.co/bQXyeT/pollution.png)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 24, 2018, 08:51 PM
Tonight, I’m going to hold a conference to talk about Pakistan.

Vasudev and shadow.97 probably know it’s a country situated in Asia, between India and Afghanistan.
It is the second biggest Muslim country in the world with 200 million people. If Pakistan is the second one, maybe some of you are wondering what is the first one.
It’s not Bangladesh. It’s not Egypt either. It’s Indonesia. But the population of Pakistan could reach 400 million people by 2050...and it could become the first Muslim country in the word.

Here is a map of Pakistan, to understand where it is located.
With my comments.
(https://image.ibb.co/mcCfTo/pakistan.png)

The introduction was only informative and the conference doesn’t deal with Islam.
Actually, tonight the conference can be titled: Is Pakistan entering another phase of instability ?

Elections will likely deliver either a weak coalition or unpopular majority

(https://image.ibb.co/chqQuT/https_s3_ap_northeast_1_amazonaws_com_psh_ex_ftnikkei_3937bb4_images_8_8_5_0_14900588_3_eng_GB_RTX6_CFSV.jpg)
Street poles are decorated with the flags and banners of political parties in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on July 23 ahead of a general election.


On July 25, Pakistanis will elect a parliament and provincial assemblies, only the second time in the country's 70-year history that an election occurs after the completion of the assemblies' full five-year term. However, despite that encouraging sign of greater stability, events preceding the elections have raised worrying questions about how durable the stability will be, and about the credibility of the vote itself.

Among the three parties who dominate the polls, the Justice (PTI) grouping led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan is emerging as a favorite to form a government after the polls. Although Khan has political support among the masses, his real strength is his alleged backing from Pakistan's powerful security establishment.
Nawaz Sharif, three times prime minister of Pakistan, was Khan's leading opponent. However, he was disqualified by the Supreme Court in August 2016 as prime minister and in July this year he was convicted on corruption charges. Sharif, who used to head the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), is now serving a 10-year sentence in Pakistan's infamous prison of Adiyala. He alleged that the judiciary was used by the security establishment to remove him from the electoral battle and claimed that the country's powerful military establishment is clearing the way for Khan, its favored candidate.

Sharif is not the only one who is complaining of alleged injustice. Top legal minds in Pakistan have questioned the grounds on which Sharif was disqualified by the court. Sharif was found guilty of not revealing, in his election nomination forms, salary that he was owed by his son's company in the United Arab Emirates. The court decided this owed salary was an "undeclared asset" and disqualified Sharif for life from politics.

Last week, Justice Shoukat Aziz Siddiqui, a serving judge of Islamabad's High Court, alleged that Pakistan's powerful intelligence agency ISI is putting pressure on judges to secure judgments against Sharif. In response to Siddiqui's allegations, the chief spokesman of Pakistan's army has requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court to investigate.
It is not only Sharif who is facing questionable verdicts from the judiciary but also some of his party members. On Saturday, Hanif Abbasi, a PML-N stalwart who was contesting elections in Rawalpindi, was sentenced to life imprisonment and disqualified. There were six other people charged with Abbasi in the case but all were acquitted. This decision by the lower judiciary was once again seen by some as partisan.

The treatment meted out to Sharif and his party workers has started to shift public opinion in his favor, at least in his support base of Punjab. Large numbers of people have appeared at the election rallies of PML-N, whereas Khan's PTI is sometimes facing problems pulling in the crowds in Punjab. Independent pre-election polls carried out in Pakistan show that both PTI and PML-N are neck and neck and the election is too close to call.

Alleged meddling in the election is not the only problem Pakistan is facing. The 2018 elections are proving to be the most violent in recent times. So far, three candidates have been killed in suicide bombings. In one of these attacks, 153 people were murdered by an Islamic State group suicide bomber who targeted an election rally in Mastung district near the Afghan border. Akram Durrani, former Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, survived two assassination attempts during his election campaign. There are concerns that more terrorist attacks may be carried out on Election Day.

If there is no tampering with ballots on the day of the polls, then analysts believe it is likely that a hung parliament may be the result. This will mean a coalition of multiple parties which will be weak and will struggle to take tough decisions.
A hung parliament will also threaten the pace at which the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key Belt and Road initiative, will develop. CPEC is a $62 billion Chinese-sponsored economic development plan for Pakistan which was backed by the PML-N from its inception in 2015. If the PML-N is forced out of power and there is a weak government in Pakistan, the CPEC is less likely to find favor.

Finally, if a PTI majority government comes to power amid allegations of election manipulation, the consequences could be very serious. There would be protests in central and northern Punjab, Sharif's support base and Pakistan's most populous areas. A PTI government elected amid questions of impropriety would struggle to last, generating more instability.
Pakistan's political stability depends in no small part on the fair and undisputed conduct of the elections being held on Wednesday.


Here are a few pictures of Pakistan.

Faisalabad
(https://image.ibb.co/eWabjT/Faisalabad.jpg)

Islamabad, with Faisal mosque and Centaurus mall
(https://image.ibb.co/dTXNPT/Faisal_Mosque_and_Centaurus_Mall.jpg)

Lahore's ancient walled city
(https://image.ibb.co/najfB8/Lahore.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 24, 2018, 10:27 PM
This is terrible news for the Femen organization.


Femen co-founder Oksana Chatchko committed suicide in Paris.
With three other activists, 31-year-old Oksana Chatchko founded the feminist movement, which became known for its topless actions in April 2008 in Ukraine.

(http://md1.libe.com/photo/1142993-la-cofondatrice-du-mouvement-et-ex-activiste-femen-oksana-chatchko-lors-d-une-manifestation-a-paris-.jpg?modified_at%20=%201532446620%20&%20width%20=%20960)

In the morning, Anna Goutsol, another co-founder of the movement also confirmed her death on her Facebook page, however, she remained cautious about the causes of the disappearance: "The bravest (...) Oksana Chatchko has passed away. With her family, we are in mourning and we are waiting for the official version of the police. For the moment, what we know is that (...) Oksana's body was found in her apartment in Montrouge (near Paris). According to her friends, she left a suicide letter. "

Exiled in France since 2013, the young woman left the organization and worked as a painter.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on July 25, 2018, 05:24 PM
Quote from: scarface on July 24, 2018, 10:27 PM
This is terrible news for the Femen organization.


Femen co-founder Oksana Chatchko committed suicide in Paris.
With three other activists, 31-year-old Oksana Chatchko founded the feminist movement, which became known for its topless actions in April 2008 in Ukraine.

(http://md1.libe.com/photo/1142993-la-cofondatrice-du-mouvement-et-ex-activiste-femen-oksana-chatchko-lors-d-une-manifestation-a-paris-.jpg?modified_at%20=%201532446620%20&%20width%20=%20960)

In the morning, Anna Goutsol, another co-founder of the movement also confirmed her death on her Facebook page, however, she remained cautious about the causes of the disappearance: "The bravest (...) Oksana Chatchko has passed away. With her family, we are in mourning and we are waiting for the official version of the police. For the moment, what we know is that (...) Oksana's body was found in her apartment in Montrouge (near Paris). According to her friends, she left a suicide letter. "

Exiled in France since 2013, the young woman left the organization and worked as a painter.
That's sad news. Maybe some pressure lead to her death.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 26, 2018, 02:30 AM
Quote from: Vasudev on July 25, 2018, 05:24 PM
That's sad news. Maybe some pressure lead to her death.
Their exposure of nudity is a form of violence, and violence leads to despair.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 26, 2018, 02:37 AM
In a previous message, aa1234779 showed he had been interested in the unbelievable prison escape of Redoine Faid (He might have been astonished because in his country of the Gulf, prisons are luxury hotels). That's why Redoine Faid made an appearance lately to say hello. Here is the article: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/redoine-faid-escaped-gangster-spotted-car-with-explosives-north-paris/
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 05, 2018, 06:53 AM
Quote from: scarface on July 26, 2018, 02:30 AM
Their exposure of nudity is a form of violence, and violence leads to despair.

Logic dictates nobody will pay any attention to the Femen protesters if they keep their clothes on. Interesting strategy.

On a similar note, I wouldn't be surprised if one day in the future a member of ***** Riot becomes Russia's first woman president.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on August 05, 2018, 11:14 AM
Although I completely disagree with the means that Femen activists  as a form of expressing outrage or protesting. Public nudity is offensive to the majority of civilized people. Yet that is not how Gene Sharp who is an authority on Non-violent struggle sees it. It is just a way among other ways of dissent.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 06, 2018, 06:59 AM
Quote from: aa1234779 on August 05, 2018, 11:14 AM
Public nudity is offensive to the majority of civilized people.

I disagree. There is nothing offensive about public nudity. Just like everything else, it has to be done in the right places. There are nudist beaches and other places just about everywhere, including here in the USA. Only people with religion-infested sexual repression see something bad in it.

That is it simply not practical to walk totally naked through [for example] the middle of Paris is another matter entirely, and it has nothing to do with being offensive. In New York, Toronto, and a few other cities it's perfectly legal for women to be topless in public. For very practical reasons they choose not to exercise that right.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 06, 2018, 11:08 PM
Tonight, we are going to see if sea food is allowed in Islam. For aa1234779, Maher or humbert, the answer to this question must seem pretty obvious.
For information in Chritianism, it's allowed to eat Jellyfish (oysters, shrimps...), and it's forbidden in Judaism. But for Islam, there is no single answer.
We are going to look at a map:
(https://image.ibb.co/kLQewK/Islamic_Sects_and_Madhhabs.png)

As you can see, in Sunni Islam there are 4 madhhabs (or "schools"). Hanbalism is the most rigorous rite of the four madhhabs.
Actually, it's allowed to eat sea food in Islam, except for the Hanafi school of thought. Hanafis consider fish to be the only sea life that is halal, and sea food isn't fish.
For the Shia, I think it's not allowed to eat sea food. And for the Muslims who are neither Sunni nor Shia (it seems there is another "sect" in Oman), I don't have the answer.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on August 06, 2018, 11:24 PM
Quote from: scarface on August 06, 2018, 11:08 PM
Tonight, we are going to see if Jellyfish is allowed in Islam. For aa1234779, Maher or humbert, the answer to this question must seem pretty obvious.
For information in Chritianism, it's allowed to eat Jellyfish (oysters, shrimps...), and it's forbidden in Judaism. But for Islam, there is no single answer.
It's interesting that you're researching comparative religion & schools of Islamic jurisprudence. I've read more than a few of them and never seen the fatwa on Jellyfish!!!  ;D
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 06, 2018, 11:42 PM
Quote from: aa1234779 on August 06, 2018, 11:24 PM
It's interesting that you're researching comparative religion & schools of Islamic jurisprudence. I've read more than a few of them and never seen the fatwa on Jellyfish!!!  ;D
It seems you are in a conservative region and yet sea food is allowed. Note that I replaced the word Jellyfish with sea food. It seems I was mistaken. I was not talking about medusas.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 07, 2018, 06:57 AM
Leaders of just about any religion can classify seafood (or anything else) to however it best suits their purpose. During the colonial period in the Americas, the capybara was classified as a fish by the Pope and his cronies at the Vatican. This despite the fact that it's the world's largest rodent. Naturally this was done so they could eat it on Friday or during Lent.

Religious leaders of all persuasions act with impunity. Remember, they have God on their side.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on August 09, 2018, 01:57 AM
Quote from: humbert on August 07, 2018, 06:57 AM
Leaders of just about any religion can classify seafood (or anything else) to however it best suits their purpose. During the colonial period in the Americas, the capybara was classified as a fish by the Pope and his cronies at the Vatican. This despite the fact that it's the world's largest rodent. Naturally this was done so they could eat it on Friday or during Lent.

Religious leaders of all persuasions act with impunity. Remember, they have God on their side.

So do leaders of the so-called "Free World" such as the US & EU &  Canada..

e.g. Your own country, whose people I admire by the way.
During the colonization of North America, the natives were considered worthless by all the invaders even after the Declaration of Independence. Until Abraham Lincoln became president, Africans were being kidnapped, enslaved, and abused. Then they were still segregated and without political rights until the 1960s and were still being enslaved by the same masters in low-paying jobs.

The problem with public nudity (exposing genitals & women's breasts) is that it offends people, whether majority or not, and most importantly children and teenagers. This has nothing to do with sexual repression, it's what I call sexual chaos. I prefer that I marry than commit adultery & raise my children in the purest environment possible and educate them in a way of having a strong personality in front of indecent temptations. Then I will set them free to discover the world.

Yet that environment doesn't exist. And so do the means to marry. $$$ + Better Income.

If all religious people as you say claim to be having God on their side, I believe that Secular Politicians are more blunt in considering mostly their own benefits and imposing the political party's views on the people through legislating absurd laws.
Hence, the supreme court endorsement of President Trump of a hardliner conservative after Justice Kennedy retired.
As to Muslim scholars, many live behind bars for long long years not because of inciting or committing violence or spreading extremism. They've spent their whole lifetime studying and researching sincerely to issue Fatwas (Religious rulings) that are in compliance with the evidence. They are behind bars because they are against oppression, corruption, injustice, nepotism, taxes, fines, and much much more. Their sincerity to knowledge and courage to announce what they believe to be true is something that pisses off authorities and the extremist secular gangs controlling the media. I agree with you that their are religious scholars in all faiths that that are innovating new religions and taking advantage of the positions and popularity of being a Godly man. It's unjust to stereo-type all religious scholars as thieves.

(34) O you who have believed, indeed many of the scholars and the monks devour the wealth of people unjustly and avert [them] from the way of Allah. And those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah - give them tidings of a painful punishment.
(35) The Day when it will be heated in the fire of Hell and seared therewith will be their foreheads, their flanks, and their backs, [it will be said], "This is what you hoarded for yourselves, so taste what you used to hoard."

Surat Al-Tawbah
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 10, 2018, 06:17 AM
Quote from: aa1234779 on August 09, 2018, 01:57 AM
So do leaders of the so-called "Free World" such as the US & EU &  Canada..

I agree. But there's a big difference. The power of "free world" leaders is more limited than that of dictatorships, both secular and religious. For example, every night on TV I see shows about comedians saying horrible things about Trump. Trump cannot simply sign a decree to order these TV shows off the air. In true dictatorships no one would even dream of making fun of their leaders, let alone on TV. In no way does this imply that obtaining absolute power is impossible, it's just much more difficult.

Quote from: aa1234779 on August 09, 2018, 01:57 AM
e.g. Your own country, whose people I admire by the way.
During the colonization of North America, the natives were considered worthless by all the invaders even after the Declaration of Independence. Until Abraham Lincoln became president, Africans were being kidnapped, enslaved, and abused. Then they were still segregated and without political rights until the 1960s and were still being enslaved by the same masters in low-paying jobs.

I know. I learned all this in history class at school as well as historical documentaries available on TV. I can mention even more abuses of the constitution on the part of the US government than you've heard about.

Quote from: aa1234779 on August 09, 2018, 01:57 AM
The problem with public nudity (exposing genitals & women's breasts) is that it offends people, whether majority or not, and most importantly children and teenagers.

Only because they were taught as children that nudity is offensive and they, like many people, don't question their teachings. Both the penis and the finger are parts of the human body, they just exercise different functions. I personally have been to several nudist camps and beaches. You see all kinds of people there, including children. Men that are there don't even get erections and any kind of sexual behavior is strictly prohibited. I have yet to see someone become some sort of demented pervert due to simply having been there, regardless of age.

Quote from: aa1234779 on August 09, 2018, 01:57 AM
This has nothing to do with sexual repression, it's what I call sexual chaos. I prefer that I marry than commit adultery & raise my children in the purest environment possible and educate them in a way of having a strong personality in front of indecent temptations. Then I will set them free to discover the world.

Any sexual behavior between willing adult participants where nobody is getting hurt is strictly up to them. No one has the right to intervene or dictate that this sort of thing is "sinful" (or whatever word you prefer). If you prefer to have your sexuality in a more "conservative" way, you are certainly entitled to that without being dictated otherwise by anyone.

I firmly believe is that organized religion is nothing but a huge impediment to mankind. It has resulted in wars, brutal dictatorships, witch hunts and massive abuses of human rights, not to even mention every possible attempt to put the brakes on science or anything that interferes with their agenda. All you hear is "you are a sinner", you will "burn in hell" if you don't follow our rules - intimidation carried to the highest possible extremes. This is why I a total atheist. It is humans who create their gods, not the other way around -- and believe me, humans have created millions of gods (see http://www.godchecker.com (http://www.godchecker.com)). Naturally everybody thinks their religion is the right one and all others are wrong.

Oh, and indeed if there are such places as heaven and hell, I can only say this: if all these religionist fanatics of all persuasions are going to heaven, then leave me in hell. Infinity with these people is a far worse punishment.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 18, 2018, 10:35 PM
Note that there is a bug on the forum that has been preventing new registrations for several months. And yet, I’m aware that dozens of users are eager to sign up. If the forum is not fixed, allowing guests to register again finally, you can contact some administators here:
Maher: [email protected]
Humbert: [email protected]
Vasudev: [email protected]
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 19, 2018, 06:55 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 18, 2018, 10:35 PM
Note that there is a bug on the forum that has been preventing new registrations for several months. And yet, I’m aware that dozens of users are eager to sign up. If the forum is not fixed, allowing guests to register again finally, you can contact some administators here:

I think only Maher can fix this error. None of the moderators have that kind of access, at least I know I don't.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on October 31, 2018, 11:41 AM
Quote from: humbert on August 19, 2018, 06:55 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 18, 2018, 10:35 PM
Note that there is a bug on the forum that has been preventing new registrations for several months. And yet, I’m aware that dozens of users are eager to sign up. If the forum is not fixed, allowing guests to register again finally, you can contact some administators here:

I think only Maher can fix this error. None of the moderators have that kind of access, at least I know I don't.
Yeah you're right, only Maher have permission to change/modify that.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 16, 2018, 12:02 AM
The forum is empty and yet I'm sure some of you want to give some news, or register to post messages.
I remind you that you can send a message to maher at this address: [email protected] if you want to create an account.
For those who already have an account, I, humbert and Vasudev are waiting for you.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 16, 2018, 06:43 AM
I know what depression is all about. In fact I'm having a bout with it as we speak. It always get bad this time of year despite the fact that I don't celebrate holidays nor do I suffer from S.A.D. (depression due to more darkness during the winter months). All I can do is take some more Xanax and hope it goes away.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 16, 2018, 10:49 AM
In Winter in San Antonio, I guess you have more sun than here. I don't know what I'm going to do this year either.

Look at this: a grey, sad weather.
https://ibb.co/zHKHBjQ
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 20, 2018, 11:48 PM
I told you that my dad was very ill a few days ago. I talked to him by phone On Sunday and he could talk and understand. I saw him on Monday and he was still conscious. But his condition has considerably worsened ever since.
He currently has palliative care. Unless there is a miracle, the doctor told me it's over. The cancer is attacking his nervous system and he's less and less aware of what is going on. He didn't wake up today.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on December 21, 2018, 01:50 AM
I'm sorry to hear that. My prayers for him.
I haven't talked with my family since fleeing the country.
They're probably living in fear because of my actions even though they have nothing to do with it and don't agree with what I say on social media.
I've received many threats even to my family in DMs on twitter.
May Allah preserve our families in good health and safety.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 21, 2018, 05:27 AM
Scarface: I like cloudy-cold weather like the one in the picture. What I can't stand is cloudless days with bright sunshine. Mostly San Antonio is like that, but not always. While SA winters are not as cold as [for example] in Europe, at least they're colder than Miami.
this is a big plus, I've had the misfortune of living in tropical (or sub-tropical) areas most of my life.

My condolences on your father. Mine died 20 years ago of pancreatic cancer. My mother is also on her last leg, in fact I'm surprised she's not gone yet. It's all part of life - we come, we live, we go. At least I take comfort in that she had a full life.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 22, 2018, 10:08 PM
A few days ago, I read that Egypt prohibited the sale of Yellow Jackets, fearing that the movement of protest in France might be spreading in Egypt.

I stumbled upon a photo, and some of you are probably wondering if Macron or Sissi have finally been overthrown by an angry crowd.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DvCR7BWV4AAaC0_.jpg)
Actually, the scene took place in Angoulême, Charente, where several "yellow vests" participated yesterday in a staging in which a puppet wearing a mask with the effigy of Emmanuel Macron was beheaded. A staging of a trial of Emmanuel Macron was first held for fifteen minutes, during which the public called for a hanging. The scene ended with a death sentence.
A man embodying a masked executioner then decapitated the manikin with the ax, causing blood to spurt out. A co-organizer told the newspaper that it was beef blood. The manikin was then inflamed in a fire around which "yellow vests" danced while singing.


aa1234779 vs the monarchs of the Saudi regime?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv_yFvIqiQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RaLEVmuM4o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiRfMC2YOMY
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 23, 2018, 05:46 AM
Quote from: scarface on December 22, 2018, 10:08 PM
A few days ago, I read that Egypt prohibited the sale of Yellow Jackets, fearing that the movement of protest in France might be spreading in Egypt.

They could buy vests of any other color and paint them yellow. Looks like al-Sisi didn't foresee this thing happening.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on December 23, 2018, 01:04 PM
Quote from: scarface on December 22, 2018, 10:08 PM
aa1234779 vs the monarchs of the Saudi regime?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv_yFvIqiQg

@scarface: I wish!  ;D

I read your post and humbert's, intended to come back to reply, but yesterday was very busy on twitter.
Lujain Alhathlol's father confirmed what Amnesty/HRW had published that his daughter was tortured physically/psychologically, tased, sexually harassed, thrown in solitary for 4 months, and threatened with rape, death and being thrown in the sewers.
Even though I'm Islamic and she is a liberal feminist, none of what happened to her is acceptable to me or anyone else in the dissident movement. She is my sister in Islam/humanity.
The people got the hashtag #تعذيب_اÙ,,Ù...عتÙ,Ù,,ات_جريÙ...Ø© which translates to (torturing female prisoners is a crime) trending at #3.
Government trolls who usually manipulate twitter took it down, and replaced it with similar hashtags (torturing animals is a crime, torturing mice is a crime) just sick!

I'll be back to answer, later tonight or tomorrow insha'Allah

Peace
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on December 31, 2018, 09:10 AM
Quote from: scarface on December 30, 2018, 04:16 PM
I hope that the users of the forum are fine. You don't talk much...
Note that I deleted a few messages (only 5 or 6). The ones with my father for example.
There is a sad weather here, with lots of mist.
I saw that in the log. We're fine.
How was the holiday season?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 31, 2018, 03:52 PM
Well, this year there was no holiday season for me. Fortunately, some users like you are still there on the forum and I can talk with them.
I had taken some days off for December, I had planned to spend Christmas with my father and some cousins, but I had not expected it to happen like this.
Early November, I remember he was tired and had lost his appetite (but he could still walk or drive his car). But there was no reason to believe he was ill until he had a back pain.
Late November his condition got suddenly much worse and a doctor decided to put him in the hospital. He spent only 3 weeks there. Doctors found out he had an advanced non-small-cell lung cancer that had spread to the bones.
A ceremony for my father took place the day following Christmas.

Tonight I'll spend New Year's Eve alone. So maybe I'll post a few videos for the users of the forum.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 01, 2019, 01:15 AM
Happy New Year for the users of the forum.

(https://i.ibb.co/tPRgRTs/happy-new-year-2019-png-145039.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 01, 2019, 07:10 AM
Quote from: aa1234779 on December 23, 2018, 01:04 PM
Lujain Alhathlol's father confirmed what Amnesty/HRW had published that his daughter was tortured physically/psychologically, tased, sexually harassed, thrown in solitary for 4 months, and threatened with rape, death and being thrown in the sewers.
Even though I'm Islamic and she is a liberal feminist, none of what happened to her is acceptable to me or anyone else in the dissident movement. She is my sister in Islam/humanity.

I didn't know of this lady until I read your post. I googled and found her Wiki page, so I familiarized myself with her case.

The fact that you are Islamic has no bearing on your fine opinion of Lujain and her battle for freedom. I already knew that true Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, you simply reaffirmed my belief. It doesn't matter what religion you follow. It would only matter if you were a false Muslim, such as a Wahabi or a member of Iran's Shi'a gang of thugs.

Next time you visit a mosque, ask Allah to intercede in her behalf and to support her cause and that of all freedom fighters.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on January 03, 2019, 11:37 PM
Quote from: humbert on January 01, 2019, 07:10 AM
I didn't know of this lady until I read your post. I googled and found her Wiki page, so I familiarized myself with her case.

Read this which was just released by a trusted NGO.
https://twitter.com/ALQST_ORG/status/1080812877651603456

God help them.

QuoteNext time you visit a mosque, ask Allah to intercede in her behalf and to support her cause and that of all freedom fighters.
I don't pray at mosques currently, but Muslims believe Allah can hear everything, especially sincere prayers, where ever a person is even if the words were not spoken.
My prayers are all with the men and women suffering at the hands of this evil regime and others around the world.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 04, 2019, 02:20 AM
I can't sleep. I don't care because I'm not working tomorrow. I was wondering where you have settled (I'm talking to aa1234779). If you have found a paradise, where you don't need to work and where the air is pure. If you don't want to answer, you can send a private message.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on January 04, 2019, 04:49 AM
@scarface I got back to you in a PM

@humbert Don't miss the coming episode of 60 minutes, an interview will air with Egyptian dictator Elsissi (the sissy) that he requested to be shelved. I wonder who the minority is that is trying to force its beliefs on the majority?
https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1080916426402091008
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 05, 2019, 06:26 AM
In politics, everyone everywhere tries to force their beliefs on everyone else. No one is free from sin.

I'm horrified (but not surprise) at the brutal treatment that opponents of the Saudi Royal Family have to endure. I had been meaning to tell you: remember you said you supported Loujain's cause even though you're a Muslim? I firmly believe that in all this, Loujain is the Muslim, the Saudi Royal Family are the atheists. She fights for principles you say are stipulated in the Qu'ran. The Royal Family uses their warped version of Islam as a tool to keep themselves in power. This is clearly prohibited by the Qu'ran.

Note: I haven't read the Qu'ran. If my information is incorrect, please let me know.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on January 05, 2019, 11:02 AM
Quote from: humbert on January 05, 2019, 06:26 AM
In politics, everyone everywhere tries to force their beliefs on everyone else. No one is free from sin.
I didn't expect a generalization this big to come from you  ;D

QuoteI'm horrified (but not surprise) at the brutal treatment that opponents of the Saudi Royal Family have to endure. I had been meaning to tell you: remember you said you supported Loujain's cause even though you're a Muslim? I firmly believe that in all this, Loujain is the Muslim, the Saudi Royal Family are the atheists.
I said I'm Islamic (or Islamist as some prefer to say) because I am a Muslim calling for reforms based on my Islamic views and understanding.
She is a liberal femenist, not an atheist as far as I know. Even if she were, or even a satanist for all I care, the mistreatment she got is unacceptable no matter the difference in opinion.
Just as Khashoggi was forced to divorce his wife and mother of his children, Fahad Al-Bitairi, Lujain's husband who was also imprisoned was forced to divorce her. True story.
I can't believe how crazy these power-hungry idiots got to be in the last few years.

QuoteShe fights for principles you say are stipulated in the Qu'ran. The Royal Family uses their warped version of Islam as a tool to keep themselves in power. This is clearly prohibited by the Qu'ran.

Note: I haven't read the Qu'ran. If my information is incorrect, please let me know.
I don't remember saying that.
The royal family & their scholars on the payroll who manipulate religion to be utilized as a means to make people obey or be imprisoned or killed if not, are at the opposite side of true Islam. This is the main point I focus on in my videos & writings, debunking Saudi Islam.
I don't know if Lujain is atheist, but you just dissed atheism big time by calling the royal family atheists  ;D
They are more Machiavellian utilitarians that will do anything for the power & money.

Peace
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 06, 2019, 05:05 AM
Quote from: aa1234779 on January 05, 2019, 11:02 AM
Quote from: humbert on January 05, 2019, 06:26 AM
In politics, everyone everywhere tries to force their beliefs on everyone else. No one is free from sin.
I didn't expect a generalization this big to come from you  ;D

I was referring to politicians and politics in general. Even in a democracy, a party when elected will try to impose their policies on the country and the people. Naturally this has nothing to do with personal beliefs. I'm thinking my semantics were off.

Quote from: aa1234779 on January 05, 2019, 11:02 AM
I can't believe how crazy these power-hungry idiots got to be in the last few years.

Power is an end unto itself. Desire for power has no limit.

Quote from: aa1234779 on January 05, 2019, 11:02 AM
I don't know if Lujain is atheist, but you just dissed atheism big time by calling the royal family atheists  ;D

My point is that in fact the royal family doesn't really believe in any god. They believe in using their warped version of Islam to enslave the people of Arabia (removing the term "Saudi"). I too am not aware of Loujian's beliefs, but I bet anything they're closer to true Islam than that or the royal family. And of course as you already know, not all atheists are bad. :)

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 06, 2019, 04:04 PM
aa1234779 asked me if I was fine in a private message. Actually I'm a bit tired. The weather is cold in there. The snow has recovered the ground in Saint Etienne. It's probably not the case in Palestine. And I imagine Maher riding a dromedary in Qalqilya.
Here is another photo with my father, taken in July. At this time he was fine.
(https://i.ibb.co/y89yMXd/DSCN9263.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 07, 2019, 01:40 PM
Today, I found a disquieting article about Saudi Arabia. I guess aa1234779 may be interested.

A Saudi woman barricades herself into Bangkok hotel room, fearing she will be killed if deported.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, was due to be repatriated on a Kuwait Airlines plane, KU412, at 11.15am local time, but the aircraft left without her after she barricaded herself in an airport hotel room and used her Twitter account to appeal in real time for international help and asylum.

Surachate Hakparn, Thailand’s immigration chief, initially told AFP that the 18-year-old was denied entry to the country when she flew in from Kuwait on Sunday.
"She had no further documents such as return ticket or money," he said, adding that Ms al-Qunun was currently in an airport hotel.
"She ran away from her family to avoid marriage and she is concerned she may be in trouble returning to Saudi Arabia. We sent officials to take care of her now," he said.
He added that Thai authorities had contacted the "Saudi Arabia embassy to coordinate".
But Ms al-Qunun disputed his account, saying that she was only in transit to seek asylum in Australia, where she claimed to have a visa, and was accosted by Saudi and Kuwaiti embassy representatives when she deplaned in Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi airport.
Her claims were backed by the Australian authorities who confirmed that she had a three month tourist visa, although her possession of the visa would not mean that Australia has any legal obligation to intervene.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 08, 2019, 03:56 AM
Remember we're going to call the country "Arabia" in order to remove the house of Saud from the country's name. I think if you called aa1234779 a Saudi citizen, he wouldn't appreciate it.  :)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 09, 2019, 05:29 PM
In Mecca it's 24 degrees C, but here in Saint Etienne it is snowing. I have my bonsais on the balcony. I hope they will survive. It's my father who used to take care of them.
I hope that the users are fine since we haven't seen them much in the last few days.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 11, 2019, 06:57 PM
aa1234779, humbert and the users of the forum are probably watching the clips and the videos available on the forum.
Don't forget that you can talk on the forum and bring your own contribution.

Note that a new, smaller repack of Dishonored 2 is being prepared.
I've also completed the latest version of windows 7 x64. If some users send me a mail, I'll upload it rapidly.

Maybe I'll hold a conference later.


Note that if you want to register on the forum you can contact Maher here: [email protected]
you can also contact me via [email protected] or humbert via [email protected]
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 20, 2019, 12:37 PM
You probably heard of the yellow vests movement in France.
And I must tell you I went to see the yellow vests in Saint Etienne. It was a journey to the unknown. I saw a great social distress. But also brave people, who did not hesitate to sleep on a roundabout to defend their rights. Many of them had no job, they had been stripped of their dignity by the society.
(https://cdn-s-www.leprogres.fr/images/6b9a0547-55f8-46da-9011-6d64d4813c40/LPR_v1_02/photo-helene-jaffiol-1543245629.jpg)
200 years ago, most people were actually peasants, city dwellers were the exception. And with the end of oil in the next 10 or 20 years, there will be a return to the land. That will be a natural path for social reintegration for many. But nowadays, unfortunately, even if willed, you can't be a farmer anymore and live in dignity in France. Except for those who have valuable arable land like the grain farmers of the Beauce. Because in a industrialized and competitive system, they are not free to set their own prices.
For example, in Palestine, it's not the case. The EU can't dictate milk quotas over there. And smallholder farmers are able to live from their production, without subsidy.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 20, 2019, 11:19 PM
Today, I received a disquieting personal message. Apparently, a user of the forum is trying to post, to no avail. I don't know what to answer, since I can post without having to complete a captcha.
But I tried to register another account and I got the same message too.
I will send a message to the administrator if he doesn't read this message. Maybe it is due to tha fact that the forum is using an obsolete version of smf?

Here is the message of the user:

Hello Sir,
I am sorry to trouble you but I don't know what else to do. I am unable to post in any of the forums. I keep getting the following message after correctly completing the captcha.

"The letters you typed don't match the letters that were shown in the picture"

As you know, there are no letters to type there but only pictures to select correctly. Can you please help.

Thank you
Janet
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 22, 2019, 05:10 AM
Quote from: scarface on January 20, 2019, 12:37 PM
200 years ago, most people were actually peasants, city dwellers were the exception. And with the end of oil in the next 10 or 20 years, there will be a return to the land.

End of oil in 10-20 years? Forget it! Indeed oil will end one day, but neither you nor I will be alive to see it. Here in San Antonio the price of gas continues at about 48¢/liter and shows no sign of increasing. In other American states it's higher due mostly to taxes and not to supply and demand. Venezuela has the largest proven untapped oil reserves, not to even mention reserves in other parts of the world.  I wish what you said was true. It's the only way progress will be made on alternative sources of energy. Right now this is simply not economically feasable - oil is too plentiful and too cheap.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on January 22, 2019, 08:07 PM
More than depletion of natural resources, I fear a "relapse in civilization", don't ask me what I know, what I expect, how or when.. I don't know much.. Yet is is my worst fear.. Because of what it will cost in the number of human lives and what it will bring out of humanity, its best and its worst too unfortunately..

Climate change or "natural" disaster whether you attribute it to human intervention in the environment, mother earth or the Creator.. It seems to me to be close, around the corner..
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 22, 2019, 08:53 PM
Quote from: aa1234779 on January 22, 2019, 08:07 PM
More than depletion of natural resources, I fear a "relapse in civilization", don't ask me what I know, what I expect, how or when.. I don't know much.. Yet is is my worst fear.. Because of what it will cost in the number of human lives and what it will bring out of humanity, its best and its worst too unfortunately..

Climate change or "natural" disaster whether you attribute it to human intervention in the environment, mother earth or the Creator.. It seems to me to be close, around the corner..

I'm pretty sure you can find  some Arabic videos with English subtitles about your relapse theory.
In the meantime, I hope you watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGt4XwBbCvA
What humbert doesn't say about Venezuela is that most of its oil resources are heavy oil, and it's not as profitable as Saudi Arabia's oil.
https://blog.politicsmeanspolitics.com/if-venezuela-has-more-oil-than-saudi-arabia-why-cant-it-feed-its-own-citizens-a98dc9636ed6
Venezuela's Oil Reserves Are Probably Vastly Overstated
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2016/07/01/venezuelas-oil-reserves-are-probably-vastly-overstated/#72d701a84497
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on January 22, 2019, 10:00 PM
Quote from: scarface on January 22, 2019, 08:53 PM
I'm pretty sure you can find  some Arabic videos with English subtitles about your relapse theory.
Nah, unfortunately, the only thing close that I might find on the subject is minor & major "Signs of the Hour".. Nothing specific on what I'm talking about..
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 23, 2019, 09:52 PM
Note that I sent a message to Maher asking "are you still alive? If you are dead, a reply would nonetheless be useful"
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 25, 2019, 01:06 AM
I guess that humbert has no news of the administrator of the forum either. In one month, I will call the town hall of his residence to know if he's not in the obituaries. I will keep you posted.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 27, 2019, 05:36 AM
Quote from: scarface on January 25, 2019, 01:06 AM
I guess that humbert has no news of the administrator of the forum either. In one month, I will call the town hall of his residence to know if he's not in the obituaries. I will keep you posted.

I assume you're talking about Maher. I haven't heard from him in a while either. Still, somebody is paying for hosting the web site and I can only assume it's him.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on February 08, 2019, 10:33 PM
Quote from: humbert on January 27, 2019, 05:36 AM
Quote from: scarface on January 25, 2019, 01:06 AM
I guess that humbert has no news of the administrator of the forum either. In one month, I will call the town hall of his residence to know if he's not in the obituaries. I will keep you posted.

I assume you're talking about Maher. I haven't heard from him in a while either. Still, somebody is paying for hosting the web site and I can only assume it's him.

Sometimes i'm thinking that the site is down. For me, it's like a 1 in 5 chance that i actually manage to enter the forum when i type in the link. Often it loads for 20+ seconds.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 11, 2019, 07:41 PM
Well, I deleted an old topic of mine too, but I put the message again here. Despite 999 views, nobody answered.
In the meantime, maybe you can try to solve this little riddle.

Imagine that the forum is a maze, there are one thousand doors, and one thousand slaves on the forum. The doors are numbered from 1 to 1000. Since too many users want to register to the forum, Maher ,the master of the game, has to make sure that as few doors as possible stay open, while a few doors must be left open for the nice users.
Maher asks the first slave to open every door. Then, he has the second slave close every second door. The third slave goes to every third door and if it is closed, he has to open it, and if it is open, he has to close it. The fourth slave of the forum does this to every fourth door, and so on. After the operation is completed with the thousandth slave, how many doors are open?

25?
29?
31?
99?
125?

You can log on to the forum and tell us if you found the answer.

(https://i.ibb.co/qF8kNqr/9-Thinking.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on April 12, 2019, 11:04 PM
Thanks to scarface & everyone else for their efforts in maintaining the forum, it's truly appreciated.
We all miss Maher & Ahmed & all the ones absent for a long time now.
We wish to hear from you guys that you are all ok.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 17, 2019, 12:45 AM
Note that a mini offline version of the forum is going to be available (zipped, only 1.43Gb)
Link: https://mega.nz/#!1YUxAChK!f9l-Tq7aF2L8wjTmtM41TK6_KY4ZP2V6jXPXcBOsIbk

In case some image hosting sites are down or if there is no more internet in the world, at least you'll have a copy of the forum. If there is no more electricity, it won't work though. Note that I didn't only delete images, I updated some old messages of Ahmad, Fuj, iih, shadow.97, Daniil and a few other users...that had lost their pictures in their messages. At least if I had a copy of these pictures. Some pictures on imageshack or postimage were certainly deleted several years ago. They should feel lucky.

Note that I was thinking that further cleanup might be necessary, with my own messages for example.
by way of illustration in the game topic, let's take the message about the repack of Quantum Break. Well, unlike the other repacks that are normally quite reliable, this repack doesn't work very well, and 2 times out of 3 the installer is crashing. What's more I didn't find any bink 2 encoder that could be used to further reduce videos. And yet with a size of 23 Gb, it was a "small" repack.
Actually, the first few minutes of the game are rather interesting, when Jack is meeting Paul Serene at Riverport (then the time travel experiment goes wrong). Then the game is a bit more boring.
In fact, I think that only the beginning and the end of the game should be kept. But I don't have the skills for such modifications. And with a size of 66Gb, this game is a kind of burden for a hdd. Therefore If this message is not essential I'll delete it too.
In the clip topic, some messages are outdated too, and some contain broken links. You can send me pms if some messages seem useless.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on April 23, 2019, 08:41 PM
Thanks to scraface.
Some user should have the complete copy of forum. In case wo lost or something happened bad, this vesion may help to make forum online again.
Many users including Administrator already not available on the forum.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 23, 2019, 08:49 PM
Important
Note 1
I deleted a few messages in the topic best clips (only mine). I worked for several hours to choose the best clips, and put them in 2 posts (The cleanup of this topic is not over though). You can find the best clips in the first few messages of the topic:
http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=1020.0

Note 2
Apparently Fuj deleted his messages, maybe he was angry at the cleanup of the forum. He might recognize that we have a clean forum now. Fortunately, his messages are not lost, they can be restored. If you want them back, you can post a message.

Note 3
I made a smaller repack for the latest edition of Dishonored 2 (1gb smaller than the current repack - 17.8 Gb vs 18.8 Gb but it is the same content), unfortunately I have no more space on mega. I was afraid that using srep 3.93 might cause memory leaks, but this repack is just fine, I tested it several times. Maybe I'll remove a few movies on the forum (not the good ones) or some series and I'll reupload some of them somewhere else. In the meantime, if some mega links are broken on the forum, just wait.

Note 4
For those who want news concerning Maher, I learnt that he's fine.

Note 5
Note that it was my birthday a few days ago. Maybe humbert remembers the photos of the big couscous on the forum. Actually, one year ago I went to a restaurant with my father, 24 rue Damremont in Paris to eat a good couscous. That's why I wanted to eat another couscous for my birthday.
(https://i.postimg.cc/V6HfQf3t/gazelle.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on April 23, 2019, 08:53 PM
Happy BirthDay scarface.
Waiting to see Maher again, as you said.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on April 23, 2019, 09:10 PM
Quote from: scarface on April 17, 2019, 12:45 AM
Note that a mini offline version of the forum is going to be available (zipped, only 1.58Gb)
Link: https://mega.nz/#!5Q9UmSKC!prwdrqDezO4IdBRPX8X5T4DOOkwQB_MX-g4yXRoAiY8

In case some image hosting sites are down or if there is no more internet in the world, at least you'll have a copy of the forum. If there is no more electricity, it won't work though. Note that I didn't only delete images, I updated some old messages of Ahmad, Fuj, iih, shadow.97, Daniil and a few other users...that had lost their pictures in their messages. At least if I had a copy of these pictures. Some pictures on imageshack or postimage were certainly deleted several years ago. They should feel lucky.

Note that I was thinking that further cleanup might be necessary, with my own messages for example.
by way of illustration in the game topic, let's take the message about the repack of Quantum Break. Well, unlike the other repacks that are normally quite reliable, this repack doesn't work very well, and 2 times out of 3 the installer is crashing. What's more I didn't find any bink 2 encoder that could be used to further reduce videos. And yet with a size of 23 Gb, it was a "small" repack.
Actually, the first few minutes of the game are rather interesting, when Jack is meeting Paul Serene at Riverport (then the time travel experiment goes wrong). Then the game is a bit more boring.
In fact, I think that only the beginning and the end of the game should be kept. But I don't have the skills for such modifications. And with a size of 66Gb, this game is a kind of burden for a hdd. Therefore If this message is not essential I'll delete it too.
In the clip topic, some messages are outdated too, and some contain broken links. You can send me pms if some messages seem useless.
Well, how did you do that? Is it just like internet archive?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on April 23, 2019, 09:12 PM
Quote from: usmangujjar on April 23, 2019, 08:53 PM
Happy BirthDay scarface.
Waiting to see Maher again, as you said.
Its been a long time since you visited the forums.
Quote from: scarface on April 23, 2019, 08:49 PM
Important
Note 1
I deleted a few messages in the topic best clips (only mine). I worked for several hours to choose the best clips, and put them in 2 posts (The cleanup of this topic is not over though). You can find the best clips in the first few messages of the topic:
http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=1020.0

Note 2
Apparently Fuj deleted his messages, maybe he was angry at the cleanup of the forum. He might recognize that we have a clean forum now. Fortunately, his messages are not lost, they can be restored. If you want them back, you can post a message.

Note 3
I made a smaller repack for the latest edition of Dishonored 2 (1gb smaller than the current repack - 17.8 Gb vs 18.8 Gb but it is the same content), unfortunately I have no more space on mega. I was afraid that using srep 3.93 might cause memory leaks, but this repack is just fine, I tested it several times. Maybe I'll remove a few movies on the forum (not the good ones) or some series and I'll reupload some of them somewhere else. In the meantime, if some mega links are broken on the forum, just wait.

Note 4
For those who want news concerning Maher, I learnt that he's fine.

Note 5
Note that it was my birthday a few days ago. Maybe humbert remembers the photos of the big couscous on the forum. Actually, one year ago I went to a restaurant with my father, 24 rue Damremont in Paris to eat a good couscous. That's why I wanted to eat another couscous for my birthday.
(https://i.postimg.cc/V6HfQf3t/gazelle.jpg)
Belated Happy Birthday.. I usually forget my birthdays yeah always.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 23, 2019, 09:17 PM
Thanks usman.
I'm 36 and unfortunately I didn't stop aging at 25. I wish I could. I don't know how much time left I have, but if I don't live more than my father, it means I've already done more than half.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnGHQokMhZ0
As for Maher, well, I don't know if we are going to see him any time soon.
After all we are quite lucky here. We have a forum for us. No insults, no angry users, no stupid questions. At first I was thinking it was a bug, but If Maher closed the registrations, it's probably because he didn't want to to look after the forum any more.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 23, 2019, 09:32 PM
Quote from: Vasudev on April 23, 2019, 09:10 PM
Well, how did you do that? Is it just like internet archive?
Actually I began to make copies of the forum in 2017, because I didn't know if the forum was going to "survive", and because I noticed that some picture hosting sites were regularly closing too. I've been right to do this since hostingpics.net closed in 2018 and I've been able to update most messages in the photos topic (including some photos of Daniil or usmangujjar btw). Even if I have a copy of my own photos, I don't know which photo is present in each message...
At this time I wasn't updating messages though, I just wanted a copy in case everything would be lost. My first copy dates back to April 2017. That's also why I deleted some old messages of "the nawab" or "bladeshark" about old software (they were not only outdated, the images they contained were definitely lost).
When I made a new copy a few months ago I had hundreds of errors in the log of winhttrack, the piece of software I'm using to "absorb" the forum (it's not important, it just means there were hundreds, or even thousands of broken links (after 900 errors no more errors or warnings are logged I think). (It displays errors even for the broken link of the avatar picture of usman). Knowing that it would be too hard to update all the forum,I took the decision (alone) to delete the outdated messages of the forum (concerning xp, firefox...), even if I updated some old tutorials - I updated a tutorial of usman (this one: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=2420.msg17350#msg17350) which had a dozen pictures with broken links and it took a long time.
Well, I know that a lot of messages were deleted, but the forum was looking like the Spanish inn (The choice of the message to delete was difficult, I tried to choose the oldest ones, containing broken links/outdated contents, and written by users who are not coming any longer). Roughly 4000 messages were deleted. The biggest contributors were humbert (because he was answering a lot), me (because I deleted some useless messages in some topics -since usman deleted his messages I removed some answers too) , iih (because he used to post a lot of messages about common programs that were not updated any more), bladeshared, the nawab...In this cleanup, it seems that Fuj was a collateral victim, since some of his messages were deleted, about 50 messages, but he still had 377 messages on the forum. (when a 5-year-old topic is deleted, even if it features an answer of the king of Morocco, it is deleted too). He still has 377 message in the bin, but I doubt he wants them to be restored. Let's wait for an answer.
PS: note that some messages initiated by Maher and humbert were preserved, like "windows xp support" "looking for windows xp sp3 serial?" or "windows 8 support" even if they seem outdated too...
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 24, 2019, 02:57 AM
To usman: it's a good decision to come back to the forum.
Since there are no new users on the forum, It's important to keep the most interesting and reliable users. I was thinking you had disappeared. I just checked, you had not posted messages since April 2018. In the meantime maybe you improved your English skills. You should take Vasudev as a role model. You know, if you came here, you would speak English better than 90% of the people.
I wanted to ask you 2 things: First and foremost, maybe you could update your avatar (the previous one is available here: https://i.ibb.co/FsqcTGc/rrnxp53f17.gif
I also stumbled upon one of your topics, which seems a bit outdated: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=1623.10
I mean some messages are interesting, others contain dead links, or links for old programs. I'm pretty sure that this topic could be more interesting with a few updated messages (Unfortunately iih's messages are obsolete too... I don't know if you have news of little iih. Is he still in Indonesia? I'm not expecting him to come back soon anyway...).
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: usmangujjar on April 24, 2019, 04:40 AM
I think Giveaway topic may be deleted.
And I will try to post something interesting.
ih is still in Indonesia and active on other forums.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on April 24, 2019, 07:37 AM
Quote from: scarface on April 24, 2019, 02:57 AM
To usman: it's a good decision to come back to the forum.
Since there are no new users on the forum, It's important to keep the most interesting and reliable users. I was thinking you had disappeared. I just checked, you had not posted messages since April 2018. In the meantime maybe you improved your English skills. You should take Vasudev as a role model. You know, if you came here, you would speak English better than 90% of the people.
I wanted to ask you 2 things: First and foremost, maybe you could update your avatar (the previous one is available here: https://i.ibb.co/FsqcTGc/rrnxp53f17.gif
I also stumbled upon one of your topics, which seems a bit outdated: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=1623.10
I mean some messages are interesting, others contain dead links, or links for old programs. I'm pretty sure that this topic could be more interesting with a few updated messages (Unfortunately iih's messages are obsolete too... I don't know if you have news of little iih. Is he still in Indonesia? I'm not expecting him to come back soon anyway...).
Taking me as role-model will be a disaster. Haha...
Quote from: usmangujjar on April 24, 2019, 04:40 AM
I think Giveaway topic may be deleted.
And I will try to post something interesting.
ih is still in Indonesia and active on other forums.
Well, you can post ICC world cup stats. I have a hunch that a new team will win the cup this year.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 24, 2019, 12:34 PM
Quote from: Vasudev on April 24, 2019, 07:37 AM
Quote from: scarface on April 24, 2019, 02:57 AM
In the meantime maybe you improved your English skills. You should take Vasudev as a role model. You know, if you came here, you would speak English better than 90% of the people.
Taking me as role-model will be a disaster. Haha...
You speak English very well and I'm pretty sure that many Indians only understand their local dialects.
English is not necessarily understood everywhere in the world.
In 2000, I remember I went to Spain (I spent one day in Benidorm, and then almost 2 weeks in Alicante). In Benidorm it was hot and I went swimming. Huge crowds of tourists have flocked to Benidorm, and it was already overcrowded at this time. 30 years earlier, it was a small, old-fashioned fishing village. In Alicante I remember that it was hot too. There, I read the book The Red and the Black, written by Stendhal. One day in the streets, I was looking for stamps, and I asked a few locals if they knew where I could find stamps (I didn't remember the Spanish word for stamp). It was as if I was speaking an unknown language. Nobody knew what a stamp was. I came to the conclusion that it's better to speak Spanish in Spain.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on April 24, 2019, 03:24 PM
Quote from: scarface on April 24, 2019, 12:34 PM
Quote from: Vasudev on April 24, 2019, 07:37 AM
Quote from: scarface on April 24, 2019, 02:57 AM
In the meantime maybe you improved your English skills. You should take Vasudev as a role model. You know, if you came here, you would speak English better than 90% of the people.
Taking me as role-model will be a disaster. Haha...
You speak English very well and I'm pretty sure that many Indians only understand their local dialects.
English is not necessarily understood everywhere in the world.
In 2000, I remember I went to Spain (I spent one day in Benidorm, and then almost 2 weeks in Alicante). In Benidorm it was hot and I went swimming. Huge crowds of tourists have flocked to Benidorm, and it was already overcrowded at this time. 30 years earlier, it was a small, old-fashioned fishing village. In Alicante I remember that it was hot too. There, I read the book The Red and the Black, written by Stendhal. One day in the streets, I was looking for stamps, and I asked a few locals if they knew where I could find stamps (I didn't remember the Spanish word for stamp). It was as if I was speaking an unknown language. Nobody knew what a stamp was. I came to the conclusion that it's better to speak Spanish in Spain.
My English was really bad and coming here improved it at a hefty quality. Indians can understand English a little bit because of Smartphones and Google translate but requires fluency. Also, people around different region pronounce same words quite differently so that can confuse newcomers but its manageable.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 24, 2019, 04:54 PM
Quote from: Vasudev on April 24, 2019, 03:24 PM
Indians can understand English a little bit because of Smartphones and Google translate but requires fluency. Also, people around different region pronounce same words quite differently so that can confuse newcomers but its manageable.
Who requires Fluency? Google translate? did you mean "but it requires"? if you are talking about the Indians, they need fluency. At least in this case I'm pretty sure that the word require can't be used if the Indians are the subject of the sentence (I can explain why).

In this video, we can see a man who goes to the hairdresser in India. And visibly the hairdresser can speak English very well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYf8Nol-BC4
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 24, 2019, 11:36 PM
Yesterday we have seen that we had a little party on the forum for my birthday with Vasudev and little Usmangujjar.
And today I invited an old friend and we ate a paella with an excellent red wine, a Saint Chinian.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 25, 2019, 04:53 AM
Scarface -> Happy 36th bday. I don't have birthdays. I've had too many and decided not one more  :)  Spanish in Spain? Depends what region you're in. Spanish (Castillian) is not the first language in Barcelona, Galicia and the Basque country.

Vasu -> From what I've been hearing, anybody who is anybody in India speaks English, and it's a link language considering your country is home to many languages and dialects. I even heard that some time ago the government decided to phase English out since it was considered a colonialist language. It didn't work and they had to backtrack.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on April 25, 2019, 04:05 PM
Quote from: humbert on April 25, 2019, 04:53 AM
Scarface -> Happy 36th bday. I don't have birthdays. I've had too many and decided not one more  :)  Spanish in Spain? Depends what region you're in. Spanish (Castillian) is not the first language in Barcelona, Galicia and the Basque country.

Vasu -> From what I've been hearing, anybody who is anybody in India speaks English, and it's a link language considering your country is home to many languages and dialects. I even heard that some time ago the government decided to phase English out since it was considered a colonialist language. It didn't work and they had to backtrack.
There were some schools which banned English but eventually English was mainstream and all schools needed more English teachers there on.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on April 25, 2019, 09:03 PM
Quote from: scarface on April 17, 2019, 12:45 AM
Note that a mini offline version of the forum is going to be available (zipped, only 1.58Gb)
Link: https://mega.nz/#!5Q9UmSKC!prwdrqDezO4IdBRPX8X5T4DOOkwQB_MX-g4yXRoAiY8

Archived it on my server.
The loading speed of it is amazing compared to the forum :p
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 26, 2019, 02:40 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 25, 2019, 09:03 PM
Quote from: scarface on April 17, 2019, 12:45 AM
Note that a mini offline version of the forum is going to be available (zipped, only 1.58Gb)
Link: https://mega.nz/#!5Q9UmSKC!prwdrqDezO4IdBRPX8X5T4DOOkwQB_MX-g4yXRoAiY8

Archived it on my server.
The loading speed of it is amazing compared to the forum :p
Of course. But if you have a fiber optic connection you may not see a real difference (even with the messages containing some big photos).
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on April 27, 2019, 09:30 AM
Quote from: scarface on April 26, 2019, 02:40 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 25, 2019, 09:03 PM
Quote from: scarface on April 17, 2019, 12:45 AM
Note that a mini offline version of the forum is going to be available (zipped, only 1.58Gb)
Link: https://mega.nz/#!5Q9UmSKC!prwdrqDezO4IdBRPX8X5T4DOOkwQB_MX-g4yXRoAiY8

Archived it on my server.
The loading speed of it is amazing compared to the forum :p
Of course. But if you have a fiber optic connection you may not see a real difference (even with the messages containing some big photos).
The site this is hosted on causes delays for me, and currently sitting on 240/24 cable. Back to sweden for 14 days starting monday.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 06, 2019, 01:09 AM
Note that a newer version (dated 2 May instead of 16 April) of the forum is being uploaded, the link in this message will be updated: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=9764.msg30256#msg30256
-compressed with 7zip (200mb smaller).
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 11, 2019, 12:14 AM
To the moderators: it's not possible to login from the front page, it seems it's a bug of smf 2.014...
But it's possible by using another address. I sent it to Vasudev.
In the meantime, some help is needed to clean the forum.
As for the bot problems, it seems the captcha system was broken years ago and it's not efficient any more.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on May 11, 2019, 05:32 AM
I texted Maher this morning and brought the "attack by bots" problem to his attention. He immediately deleted all bot topics, banned their accounts and closed all new user registrations. I'm not sure what he plans to do regarding new user applications. I'm thinking he might ask them to write a brief message explaining why they want access - or something.

The important thing is that for now there'll be no more bots, unless one of our current users goes rogue.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on May 11, 2019, 02:01 PM
Quote from: scarface on May 11, 2019, 12:14 AM
To the moderators: it's not possible to login from the front page, it seems it's a bug of smf 2.014...
But it's possible by using another address. I sent it to Vasudev.
In the meantime, some help is needed to clean the forum.
As for the bot problems, it seems the captcha system was broken years ago and it's not efficient any more.
Should we post new link here?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 11, 2019, 05:28 PM
why not. Let's see what happens.
The new login page:
http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?action=login
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 14, 2019, 11:22 PM
Some users like aa1234779 are wondering how to log into the forum.
Here is the new url to use: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?action=login
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on May 15, 2019, 05:33 AM
Thank you
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 25, 2019, 09:33 PM
Tonight, I'm going to hold a conference about the protests that took place yesterday.

Yesterday, students around the world skipped school to protest and demand action on climate change.

This photo was taken in Saint Etienne.
(https://cdn-s-www.leprogres.fr/images/70D946B1-5980-4FA5-9C1E-18A1E0018196/LPR_v1_02/photo-jeremy-pain-1558698146.jpg)

Students in scores of countries around the world skipped school on Friday to stage protests against governmental inaction on climate change and to demand that world leaders address the issue immediately.

The coordinated action follows one in March, in which an estimated 1.6 million students from 125 countries protested instead of going to school. It was the latest event in a movement called Fridays for Future, in which young people periodically take action on climate change.

The movement was sparked by a Swedish teenage activist named Greta Thunberg, who in 2018 led a solo protest in front of the Swedish parliament with a sign saying “School strike for the climate.” Pictures she posted on her social media accounts went viral, and the movement was born.

The protest Friday coincided with current voting for the European Union’s assembly, which ends Sunday and is expected to show growing support for environmentally minded political parties. Mainstream parties have in this election cycle seized on climate change policies as a key issue, in part a reaction to the student protests.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 07, 2019, 02:00 PM
For those who want to watch the match Federer Nadal in roland Garros, here is a link (you have to remove the ads)...

http://live.harleyquinnwidget.net/streamvideo12/roland-garros-2019-vs-eurosport-1-2-live-stream-4934716.html

(https://sf2.sport365.fr/wp-content/uploads/se/2019/05/roland-garros-illustration-balle-750x410.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 10, 2019, 01:29 PM
Imagine my surprise this morning when I discovered the new Layout of the forum. The plus: you can login on the frontpage. The downside: It looks more austere. What looked like a clear sky disappeared.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on June 10, 2019, 02:49 PM
What happened to the forum? I did see Maher early morning today but soon after site was down.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 11, 2019, 05:17 AM
I wonder if it was Maher who redesigned the forum's layout or if it was some sort of software "upgrade". I prefer the old layout. I guess we'll just have to get used to this one for now.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on June 12, 2019, 01:54 AM
 I couldn't even find the reply button :D

But honestly, the site really needed this update.
Hope to see a dark mode. Havn't investigated yet though.


Also, quite a funny bug, if you drag your windows to cover half the screen, everything becomes MASSIVE. Profile pictures covering the entire page and such
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 12, 2019, 02:19 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on June 12, 2019, 01:54 AM
I couldn't even find the reply button :D
But honestly, the site really needed this update.
Hope to see a dark mode. Havn't investigated yet though.

Also, quite a funny bug, if you drag your windows to cover half the screen, everything becomes MASSIVE. Profile pictures covering the entire page and such
It's seems it now fits better a smartphone screen. But on a laptop screen, there are weird stuff happening indeed, avatars are becoming huge if the window is resized.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 07, 2019, 02:43 PM
Today, I’m going to hold a conference to talk about Assad’s hollow victory.

(https://i.ibb.co/3sZkM1J/20190907-LDD001-0.jpg)


Bashar al-Assad is on the verge of retaking Idlib province, the last rebel stronghold. But that will not end the chaos he has wrought at home and abroad

"Assad or we burn the country.” For years Bashar al-Assad’s troops have daubed that phrase onto walls in the towns they recapture. The insurgents pushed the dictator to the brink. But Mr Assad shrugged off the empty threats of Western leaders, and enlisted the help of Iran and Russia. True to his slogan, he destroyed whole cities and gassed and starved his own people. What rebels remain are holed up in Idlib province. It, too, will soon fall. Against all the odds, the monster has won.
Yet it is a hollow victory. Far from bringing order to the country, as the Russians and Iranians claim, Mr Assad has displaced half the population. Mr Assad has nothing good to offer his people. His country will be wretched and divided. The consequences will be felt far beyond its borders.
The precise moment of Mr Assad’s triumph will be determined in Idlib. About 3m people live there, many of whom fled fighting elsewhere. The area is controlled by the hardest-core rebels, jihadists linked to al-Qaeda, who will not go quietly. That, too, is a legacy of Mr Assad’s ruthlessness. He released hundreds of jihadists from prison in 2011, hoping that they would taint the once-peaceful, multi-confessional uprising. Now the regime is bombing them, along with civilians and hospitals. The offensive will take timeâ€"and it will be bloody.
When the fighting stops, the tensions that originally threatened the regime will remainâ€"but they will be worse than ever. Start with religion. Mr Assad’s father, Hafez, a member of the Alawite minority, clung to power partly by holding the line between the country’s faiths. His son, though, painted his Sunni opponents as fundamentalists as a way of rallying Christians, Druze and secular-minded Syrians to his side. Millions of Sunnis have fled the country, creating what Mr Assad calls “a healthier and more homogeneous society”, but millions remain. They have seen their homes looted, property confiscated and districts overrun by Assad supporters. Resentful, fearful and oppressed, they will be a source of opposition to the regime.

Next are Syrians’ grievances. Back in 2011 corruption, poverty and social inequality united the uprising. Things have only got worse. Syria’s GDP is one-third of what it was before the war. The UN reckons that more than eight in ten people are poor. Much of the country lies in ruins. But the government’s plans to rebuild Syria risk tearing it further apart. Reconstruction will cost between $250bn and $400bn, but Mr Assad has neither the money nor the manpower to carry it out. So he has focused resources on areas that remained loyal. The Sunni slums that did not are being demolished and redeveloped for his bourgeois supporters. His cronies reap the profits, as the country’s class and religious fault lines grow wider.

Then there is Mr Assad’s cruelty. Hafez kept Syria in check with a brutal secret police and occasional campaigns of murderous violence. His son, in danger of losing power, has tortured and killed at least 14,000 people in the regime’s sprawling network of clandestine prisons, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, an NGO. Nearly 128,000 people are thought to remain in the dungeons, though many are probably dead. Even as the war nears its end, the pace of executions is increasing. Almost every Syrian has lost someone close to them in the war. Psychologists speak ominously of a breakdown in society.

Last is Mr Assad’s debt to Iran and Russia. He owes his victory to their supply of firepower, advice and money and their willingness to back a pariah. They will expect to be paid, with interest.
For Syrians, therefore, Mr Assad’s victory is a catastrophe. But his opponents are exhausted so, in spite of his weaknesses, he could yet cling to power for years. And for as long as he is in charge, Syria’s misery will spread across the region.

The war has already drawn in a handful of outside powers, but the chaos could grow. Iran treats Syria as a second front against Israel to complement Hizbullah, its proxy in Lebanon. Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Iranian positions during the war. One in August prevented Iranian and Hizbullah operatives from attacking Israel with armed drones, the Israeli army says. Turkey, which has troops in the north, is threatening to launch an offensive against Kurdish forces, whom it considers terrorists, near its border. That could lead to a face-off with America, which supports the Kurds and had been trying to calm the Turks.

Refugees will destabilise Syria’s neighbours, too. Those who have fled Mr Assad do not want to go homeâ€"indeed their numbers will grow because of the offensive in Idlib. The longer they stay in camps, the greater the danger that they become a permanent, festering diaspora. They are already unsettling host countries, such as Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where many locals accuse them of draining resources and taking jobs. Turkey is sending some back, even to places like Idlib.
And that could spill over into the wider world. Dispossessed at home and unwanted abroad, refugees are at risk of radicalisation. Mr Assad’s ruthless tactics have left large parts of his population bitter and alienated. His prisons will incubate extremism. What better breeding ground for al-Qaeda and Islamic State, which the American government says is already “resurging in Syria”? In May America dropped 54 bombs and missiles on jihadists in Iraq and Syria. That number rose to over 100 in each of June and July.

Having failed to act in the war’s early days, when they might have pushed the dictator out, Western countries can do little now to change Syria’s course. Some European leaders think it is time to engage with Mr Assad, participate in reconstruction and send the refugees home. This is misguided. The refugees will not return willingly. Reconstruction will only benefit the regime and the warlords and foreigners who backed it. Better to let Russia and Iran pay.
Instead the West should try to spare Syria’s suffering by offering strictly humanitarian assistance and threatening retribution for heinous acts, such as the use of chemical weapons. America should stay to keep IS and al-Qaeda in check. But for as long as Mr Assad is allowed to misrule Syria, most aid money would be better spent helping its neighbours. With Mr Assad’s victory, Syrians’ misery will go on.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 08, 2019, 01:16 PM
Today, I'm going to talk about the vibrant appeal of chef Raoni in Bordeaux to save the Amazon and its peoples.

(https://i.ibb.co/7QQ1TR2/f009e1a-5556147-01-06.jpg)


In Bordeaux for several days for the Climax festival in Darwin where he is one of the guests of honor, the great chef Raoni was able to express himself during the press conference of the festival, as well as at the Bordeaux city hall, where he received the Medal of the City. Financial assistance for reforestation will be discussed at the next municipal council.

This 4th of September, Bordeaux was able to discover the face of one of the greatest defenders of the Amazon cause. Raoni Metuktire, better known as Chef Raoni, has been here for almost a week. He will speak at a Climax festival conference on Saturday, September 7th at 4pm, entitled "Testimony of a cacique of the Kayapo tribe".

In the meantime, the iconic Brazilian chef made several public appearances on Wednesday at the Climax press conference and at Bordeaux City Hall.
The voice of the indigenous people

Born between 1930 and 1934, Raoni is one of the most publicized indigenous leaders of the last 40 years. It is impossible to miss his face marked by a labret, a disc of ceremonially painted wood, worn under the lower lip. Surrounded by a delegation of representatives of indigenous peoples, Raoni carries the voice of the Amazon all over the world, and especially in Europe.

Sadly under the spotlight for several weeks, the "green lung" of the planet is in the throes of fierce fires, mainly on the part of the Brazilian territory. From the beginning of January to the end of August 2019, 74,000 fires were recorded in the country (almost twice as many as in 2018).

Chosen over a year ago, the theme of the 2019 edition of Climax festival, "the Amazon or the uprooting of the world", puts the question of the preservation of the largest tropical forest in the world at the heart of the questions on agricultural intensification and deforestation.

The presence of Raoni as guest of honor marks this new edition of the festival. At the inaugural press conference on September 4, his arrival â€" surprise â€" seized the assembly. His words, transmitted to a translator of the dialect of his tribe, then translated into Portuguese and finally into French, resounded in a lead silence.
"I'm here to fight for the last remaining forests, for the heart of the Amazon. For that, I need to know if you think like me. Together, we will leave our children a future."
"President Bolsonaro justifies his campaign against us by saying that we are not sufficiently advanced. I ask the world that it helps us: the forest is our house, our pharmacy. If it dies, we will die. In Brazil, we do not have the freedom to speak like here."
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 09, 2019, 04:58 AM
Quote from: scarface on September 07, 2019, 02:43 PM
Today, I’m going to hold a conference to talk about Assad’s hollow victory.
Bashar al-Assad is on the verge of retaking Idlib province, the last rebel stronghold. But that will not end the chaos he has wrought at home and abroad

As you said, Assad was very close to losing power until Russia and Iran won the war for him. There is no question he's a brutal dictator. However, I firmly believe some (not all) of his opponents would be infinitely worse. ISIS and some other fanatical islamists were in the battle to oust him. If you live in Damascus and don't get involved in politics, chances are Assad will leave you alone. You can do things like go to a night club to drink and dance. and generally go about your business. This is impossible under ISIS or similar. This is, of course, no reason Assad should stay in power forever. The world just needs to be very careful as to who will succeed him if he is defeated.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 09, 2019, 10:53 PM
Tonight, I'm going to talk about the Taliban.

(https://img.lemde.fr/2015/12/04/0/0/5520/3680/688/0/60/0/6a22729_25986-j57xn7.jpg)

Trump has declared talks between the US and the Taliban “dead” after he called off a Camp David meeting over the weekend, triggering fears of a spike in violence in Afghanistan in the run-up to presidential elections due later this month.

Trump’s tweeted announcement on Saturday came as a shock in Washington and Kabul, where there was disbelief that the president would have invited the Taliban to an iconic presidential venue in the same week as the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

There was also scepticism that the bombing of Thursday in Kabul was the real reason the talks were called off.

The Taliban issued a statement saying an agreement had been “finalised” and that talks had ended in “a good atmosphere” but the deal had been sabotaged by Trump.

The Taliban would continue their “jihad” against foreign “occupation”, the statement said. “Now, the announcement by the president of the United States of an end to negotiations with the Islamic Emirate [the Taliban] will harm America more than anyone else; it will harm its credibility, and further expose its anti-peace stance to the world; it would [result in] an increase in financial damage and casualties to its forces.”

The Taliban are expected to step up attacks on preparations for presidential elections on 28 September.

President Ghani had been opposed to the US-Taliban deal negotiated in Qatar by the US special envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, because the Afghan government had been excluded from the talks, and the agreement reportedly gave no guarantees on the holding of this month’s election or the survival of the Kabul government. Nor did it commit the Taliban to talking directly to Ghani or his ministers.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 10, 2019, 05:23 AM
Trump came up with this scheme about inviting the Taliban in order to look like a peacemaker after the failed talks with Kim Jong Un. As usual he overruled all his advisors, including Pence. Not surprisingly, the scheme backfired.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 16, 2019, 02:12 PM
Today, I noticed an interesting magazine cover in a bar, with the headline "how to buy a laptop or a smartphone without losing one's shirt". You can see that cover below. Note that the French expression "se faire plumer" perfectly fits the picture.
I imagine that usmangujjar and Maher are going to read this message with interest.

As far as laptops are concerned, the magazine is saying that ultraportable are pretty cheap like the Acer Swift 1. If you want a bigger screen, they are also recommending the laptop hp notebook 17 by0024nf.
As for the smartphones, they are recommending the Xiaomi mi9 T.  (I have a Honor 9 lite, it's even cheaper).

(https://i.ibb.co/NSRJm4N/01-netn-914septembre-2019.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 20, 2019, 12:39 PM
Note that this afternoon I will give you the link for the new repack of soma (I will test it before).
I will also hold a conference to talk about the worldwide demonstrations, since a climate strike has begun.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 20, 2019, 02:09 PM
Here are the first photos of the strike for climate taking place in many towns around the world.


In Sydney, Australia; on 20 September 2019. Young Australians kicked off this day of global mobilization to fight global warming.
(https://i.ibb.co/fxkfFHw/Sydney.jpg)


Activists are taking to London streets in a global climate crisis protest
(https://i.ibb.co/LPZWDnr/NINTCHDBPICT000476186734.png)


In Lyon, the strike has begun too.
(https://i.ibb.co/mB7hvbj/Lyon.jpg)


Students take to the streets of Prague as part of the global day of action
(https://i.ibb.co/g4TxLfB/0012b6cd-642.png)


In Qalqilya, some palestinians are gathering to discuss the issue of climate change. They look very happy.
(https://i.ibb.co/pWFCpzT/XVMdf8e27ba-9e67-11e9-b288-bcfdea1b7529.jpg)


The movement has been inspired by Swedish schoolgirl and climate activist Greta Thunberg
(https://i.ibb.co/yRL9kWq/NINTCHDBPICT000521869015.png)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 20, 2019, 04:26 PM
Apparently, there is a mistake in the message above.
The scene in Palestine was supposedly taking place in Qalqilya during the strike for climate.
In fact the photo was taken in Pakistan, near Islamabad, with a crowd of onlookers, in front of the house of Bin Laden, after he was arrested.

(https://i.ibb.co/7vMdn29/gettyimages-712-19-640x640.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 20, 2019, 06:55 PM
Here are more photos of the global strike for climate.

Millions Of Young People Around The World Are Leading Strikes To Call Attention To The Climate Crisis.

(https://i.ibb.co/GcT35fm/sub-buzz-620-1568975786-1.png)
People take photos on their phones as marchers stream past in Melbourne, Australia.

People across the world are walking out of school and work in a massive youth-led movement to draw attention to the climate crisis.
There are more than 3,600 events planned, according to the main organizing group #FridaysForFuture. The third global youth-run climate strike of the year, Friday’s event is poised to be the biggest yet, leading up to the first-ever UN Youth Climate Summit in New York on Saturday.
“September 20 is not our goal,” Xiye Bastida, a 17-year-old climate activist helping to organize the latest strike in New York, told BuzzFeed News. “It’s a stepping stone, a catalyst for future action. It’s a point to tell the world we are watching.”
The climate strike movement is just over a year old. It started with 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, who began striking alone every Friday in August last year outside of the Swedish Parliament building in Stockholm to call attention to climate change. In the year since, the movement has spurred hundreds to thousands of kids to strike regularly. Other climate movements, most notably Extinction Rebellion in the UK and the Sunrise Movement in the US, have tapped into growing frustration about a lack of climate action.
Thunberg has brought her blunt plea for climate action first to the international climate conference in Poland last year, the TED Talk stage, and, just this week, to the US Congress, where she told lawmakers, “This is the moment in history we need to be wide awake. Dreams cannot stand in the way of telling it like it is, especially not now.”

In Afghanistan
(https://i.ibb.co/rvJGFDh/sub-buzz-2500-1568992935-1.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 25, 2019, 10:22 PM
Tonight, I'm going to talk about a serious problem. The IPCC released a new report. And you are going to see that it predicts a bleak future for oceans and frozen regions.

Maybe you are wondering who is responsible? Is it mister baboon? Is it because ants are becoming too numerous? No. Apparently it's due to viruses crippling the Earth. These viruses are more and more numerous. They are called humans.



Protestors blocked roads and marched in Washington, D.C., to urge the U.S. government to curb greenhouse gas emissions. It was one of many protests around the world on September 23 drawing attention to human-caused climate change.
(https://www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/092419_cg_ipcc_feat-1028x579.jpg)


Earth’s oceans and frozen regions are changing alarmingly quickly, scientists warn in the first comprehensive look at how greenhouse gas emissions are altering the planet’s seas and cryosphere.

Since 1993, the rate of warming in the oceans has more than doubled, scientists report in a new study by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. Melting of the two great ice sheets blanketing Greenland and West Antarctica is speeding up as well, accelerating sea level rise. And West Antarctica’s glaciers may already be so unstable that they are past the point of no return.

“The consequences for nature and humanity are sweeping and severe,” Ko Barrett, IPCC vice-chair and head of research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said at a news conference September 24. Rising seas are already threatening low-lying coastal areas that today are home to 680 million people, about 10 percent of the world’s population. 
(https://www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/092419_cg_ipcc_inline-icecliffs_1030-800x450.jpg)

“The ocean has largely been left out of the discussion on climate,” says Becca Gisclair, senior director of Arctic Programs for the Ocean Conservancy in Bellingham, Wash., who was not involved in the IPCC study. The new report emphasizes the need to “slash emissions, and do it quickly, or these impacts highlighted in the report will quickly become irreversible…. My hope is that seeing all of these impacts in one place can highlight the need for action.”

The report is one of several special reports focusing on the latest science on specific aspects of climate change that the IPCC releases in between its large, sweeping assessments. Since the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report came out in 2013, scientists have learned a great deal about the impacts of absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide on the oceans and their denizens, as well as in coastal areas, says Sarah Cooley, director of the Ocean Conservancy’s ocean acidification program in Washington, D.C. For this new report, 104 scientists from 36 countries evaluated 6,981 studies to determine the impact on the world’s oceans and ice-covered regions.

While the IPCC report rings an alarm bell, there is hope, says climate scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, who heads the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland in Australia. The ocean isn’t just part of the problem, Hoegh-Guldberg says â€" it should be a key part of the solution. “What’s surprising is how quickly we can limit the damage,” Hoegh-Guldberg says, a message that he says was also embedded within the IPCC’s 2018 special report on 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, for which he was a contributing author.

Hoegh-Guldberg and colleagues recently assessed ways to harness ocean resources to reduce or mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions. The study, commissioned by a group of 15 world leaders called the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, was released September 23 by the World Resources Institute. In it, the researchers highlight five ocean-related activities that they say can help slow warming:

- Build offshore wind farms and other ocean-based renewable energy to shift away from dependence on fossil fuels;
- Eliminate carbon emissions from the shipping industry;
- Restore coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and salt marshes, which not only store carbon but also provide myriad benefits, including serving as buffers against tropical storms, filtering pollutants and providing habitat for fish and other wildlife;
- Harvest more ocean-based protein sources, which have a much lower carbon footprint than any land-based animal protein;
- Store carbon in the seafloor, which theoretically has high potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, but also a lot of uncertainty in terms of its environmental impact.

Those five activities have the potential to account for as much as 21 percent of the emissions reductions needed by 2050 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times by the end of the century, Hoegh-Guldberg and colleagues write in the Sept. 27 Science. That help is sorely needed. Human activity has already increased global temperatures by 1.1 degrees C, and studies suggest that global emissions are now on track to blow past midcentury targets needed to achieve 1.5 degrees .

(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/31/f3/55/31f35542e0038f61c31b5875f17a0c67.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 26, 2019, 01:43 PM
I read that Chirac is dead.

In case you don't know him, here is a funny video. In French.
https://vimeo.com/91009482

An article is available here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10009794/jacques-chirac-dead-french-president/

(http://les.guignols.free.fr/Fiction.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on October 02, 2019, 04:25 PM
On Twitter somebody posted "Hong Kong’s very own version of Eugène Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People’."

(https://i.ibb.co/mCBGpBT/EDz-Cn4-CW4-AEo-BVs.jpg)


The original:
(https://www.telerama.fr/sites/tr_master/files/styles/simplecrop1000/public/1._la_liberte_guidant_le_peuple_louvre_0.jpg?itok=ydiTc8bg&sc=671adcf0257acd0acfd5dcf1fb0a148b)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on October 04, 2019, 02:22 AM
Quote from: scarface on October 03, 2019, 02:10 AM
Tonight, I went to a bar in Clermont Ferrand, and I talked to a guy named Kevin. I drank 2 beers and I learnt a few things about Japan because Kevin was fond of Japan. He was about to buy a house in Fukuoka.
I notably learnt a few things about Japanese honorifics.
For example, If maher was going to Japan, he wouldn't be called Maher. Instead, he would be probably called Mahersan, "san" being the most commonplace honorific and a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Or he would be called Mahersama, "sama"  being a more respectful version for people of a higher rank than oneself or divine.
He could be called Maherkun too, by those who don't know who he is, kun being a status addressing or referring to those of junior status. It can even seem rude sometimes.


People being way too fond of anime calls people that in a "playful" way in games and in chats..

I'm not sure what to think about it..

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on December 25, 2019, 01:22 PM
Merry Xmas everyone!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 25, 2019, 08:42 PM
Quote from: Vasudev on December 25, 2019, 01:22 PM
Merry Xmas everyone!
Yes, merry christmas...
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 27, 2019, 05:34 AM
Quote from: Vasudev on December 25, 2019, 01:22 PM
Merry Xmas everyone!

I'm surprised you posted this. In India the vast majority of the population is Hindu, followed by Muslims. Christians make up less than 3%. I assume Christmas isn't celebrated in India given such a small number of Christians. Do I assume correctly or what?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on December 30, 2019, 10:08 AM
Quote from: humbert on December 27, 2019, 05:34 AM
Quote from: Vasudev on December 25, 2019, 01:22 PM
Merry Xmas everyone!

I'm surprised you posted this. In India the vast majority of the population is Hindu, followed by Muslims. Christians make up less than 3%. I assume Christmas isn't celebrated in India given such a small number of Christians. Do I assume correctly or what?
I think most of them celebrate now if not cakes and special sweets will be consumed by many. I studied in a Catholic School so Christmas, Good Friday, Easter etc.. were celebrated in grand!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 31, 2019, 01:51 AM
Quote from: Vasudev on December 30, 2019, 10:08 AM
I think most of them celebrate now if not cakes and special sweets will be consumed by many. I studied in a Catholic School so Christmas, Good Friday, Easter etc.. were celebrated in grand!
If you are Catholic, then you belong to a very small minority in India, only 2% of the population, the vast majority being Hindu, or Muslim. But apparently faith is strong among them. You probably know the Christian religion more than I do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6SlR98ZZBo
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 01, 2020, 01:25 AM
(https://i.ibb.co/Mhz9ks7/lettering-happy-new-year-2020-with-balloons-23-2148317172.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on January 01, 2020, 07:10 AM
Quote from: scarface on January 01, 2020, 01:25 AM
(https://i.ibb.co/Mhz9ks7/lettering-happy-new-year-2020-with-balloons-23-2148317172.jpg)

Happy new years to you all :)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: akaubee on January 01, 2020, 07:41 AM
Quote from: scarface on January 01, 2020, 01:25 AM
(https://i.ibb.co/Mhz9ks7/lettering-happy-new-year-2020-with-balloons-23-2148317172.jpg)

Thanks mate, Happy new year to everyone.
Have a blessed day
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 06, 2020, 05:18 AM
Quote from: Vasudev on December 30, 2019, 10:08 AM
I think most of them celebrate now if not cakes and special sweets will be consumed by many. I studied in a Catholic School so Christmas, Good Friday, Easter etc.. were celebrated in grand!

I could have sworn you once told me you were Hindu. In fact, you even told me what caste you belong to (I wrote it down and lost the note  :( ) I don't know how closely you follow any religion, but I do know that Hinduism and Catholicism are as different as night and day. I'm curious. Tell me more.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 24, 2020, 06:47 PM
Hi,

Yesterday when I noticed the forum was down with the message "This account has been suspended due to unpaid invoices.", I was thinking..."should I say It was good knowing you all?" (a quote from aa1234779)
Good to see it's back. Money is always a problem. As Stendhel said "When we want to live with one's time, we die with one's time".
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on February 25, 2020, 09:40 PM
I hope you listened to my advice and sold your stocks. In late April I was hinting at the valuation of the US stock markets in this message, the video of Howard Marks speaks for itself: http://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=3226.msg35050#msg35050

The stock markets are expensive indeed and due to the coronavirus we are going to see some profits warnings in the weeks to come. Humbert would say that for the moment, this virus only caused a few thousand deaths, but the outbreak is currently spreading despite the fact that many factories and shops are closing in China. Note that the number of cases will probably increase in Europe and in other parts of the world since the incubation period of this virus could reach 30 days. At least where there are many tourists. In Syria, in Palestine, there is a low risk and these countries are certainly lacking bold tourists. But in Egypt, in Italy or in France, the virus is already here.

The s&p 500 keeps heading lower and I expect it to go to 3100 points or below pretty soon. Note that the coronavirus is also a good argument in favour of selling equities since they were pretty overvalued, notably in the US.
Fundamentally, I think that the s&p 500 could be trading a much lower valuations, maybe around 2000 points, should we value the markets with standard PER.
Actually, I don't expect the markets to go below 2800 points on the short term, except if the coronavirus became a pandemy, which is still possible.

Many US stocks reached sky high valuation with a pretty straightforward mechanism (besides stock buybacks). Earnings are not really going up, but the market was going up, and so were the price earnings.
To illustrate this, imagine humbert, Maher and Vasudev trading at Wall Street.
Humbert is buying the stocks of Vasudev, he knows maher will buy them for a higher price.
Maher is buying because he knows that Vasudev will buy them for a higher price.
And Vasudev is buying because he knows that humbert will buy them for a higher price.
This can be an infinite circle. But one day, stock are 40% too expensive. Humbert has doubts. Maybe Maher won't buy them: he doesn't buy the stocks of Vasudev. Maher doesn't want the stocks either, they are too expensive.
To cope with losses, Vasudev has to sell all his stocks 40% lower. This type of mechanism triggered the crisis of 1929.
This is also what propelled the markets higher recently, besides the stock buybacks.


Note that the new version of windows 7 x64 is ready. It's big (5Gb) since nothing was removed. Every update was installed. psp9 is not installing during the process, I will try to correct that later. It is being uploaded.

I will put new videos on the forum soon.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on February 26, 2020, 05:11 AM
How many of you on the forum have the money to invest in the stock market? Of those of you that do, do you have money tied up in stocks? If so, can you give us an idea of how much?

I continue to believe the stock market is a racket. The rich get richer, the rest of us get screwed.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on February 27, 2020, 04:11 AM
Quote from: humbert on February 26, 2020, 05:11 AM
How many of you on the forum have the money to invest in the stock market? Of those of you that do, do you have money tied up in stocks? If so, can you give us an idea of how much?

I continue to believe the stock market is a racket. The rich get richer, the rest of us get screwed.
Once again humbert made an interesting remark and I'm sure some users will try to answer too.

I think you are right: The rich (those who are investing at least) get richer when the stock market is going up. But they can get poorer than the average person when it’s going down. All of this is virtual. If for whatever reason there is a serious recession, all this is over. For instance, Arnault lost 15 billion â,¬ since the beginning of the year, while the stock price of LVMH was plumetting. And maybe it’s not over. I didn’t lose as much money and you probably didn’t lose so much money either.

As far as the amount of money one’s puts in the markets, I think what matters is the part of stocks you have in your portfolio. If you have 20kâ,¬ in stocks and if it represents 10% of your assets, you are not taking a lot of risks. I currently have a few tens of thousands of euros on a share savings plan (known as PEA). But I’m not gambling this money since I don’t usually buy stocks but ETF. The problem with stocks is you can’t really forecast what is going to happen. Look at Renault. It was at 100â,¬ early 2018. Mid November 2019 it was trading at...45â,¬ (see graphic below). I was thinking the stock looks pretty cheap. But I stayed on my first conviction: to short the US markets. Actually the stock wasn’t that cheap since there is a downturn in the sector of carmakers. Besides Tesla, the stocks price of all the carmakers are hit. Bmw stock hit a new low a few days ago on the Dax 30. And today, Renaut is trading at...29â,¬. It kept losing 30% after a first profit warning came in October 2019 (see here : https://www.reuters.com/article/us-renault-results/renault-shares-plunge-as-profit-warning-deepens-its-problems-idUSKBN1WX0O6)
(https://i.ibb.co/KXCy8MW/Rno.jpg)
But the strategy of the ETF is dangerous too. And it requires to be cold-blooded. In November when I saw that the US market was going to the sky I began buying a short ETF. The s&p 500 kept going up for two months. I kept buying short ETF, gradually. On the first position I was losing 20% last week. On the last position I was at the market price. It’s a very risky strategy to do that because you can be ruined. But I was pretty confident that the market would eventually fall. I had the possibility to wait because the leverage was pretty low (x2).
What’s more the clues of a bubble were pretty obvious when I was listening to the “strategists” on CNBC. At least those who were bull on stocks. They were never talking of valuations (high) or dividends (low or non existent). They were just talking about a favorable environment for stocks. That was true though.
Btw, I didn’t understand the statements of Dalio. He seemed bearish in October (when he was betting 1.5 billion on a fall of the markets) and bullish at Davos when he was saying that stocks were the ultimate thing to buy. I’m pretty sure he’s losing money.
Early February the s&p 500 was already at 3350 points, above the targets of most strategists.
But when you were looking at the PER of many stocks, they were just growing. For Microsoft, at 190â,¬ the PER was standing at 45 for example. I don’t even speak of Amazon. No wonder Bezos and Gates have more than 100 billion $ when their company is worth their weight in gold. And look at this interview of Cathie Wood, the biggest bull of Tesla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhW1VJE-DyU
According to some “model”, the stock could go to 4000$ (the target was suddenly at a whopping 15 000$ per share a few days later). But what’s in this model? We don’t know. Who wants to buy Tesla, a company that still has never made money for 600 Billion or one trillion $ besides Cathie Wood? At the same time, Renault is just trading at 8 billionâ,¬...and it’s still earning money.
I began selling some Short positions yesterday and actually I earnt money on these positions. I sold practically half of the positions and recouped 8000â,¬ in a week. I keep thinking that the S&P 500 could go below 3000 since valuations are still pretty high. Btw, Microsoft announced a profit warning tonight, due to the coronavirus.
At the moment I still have approximately 40 000 invested on a short ETF on the s&p 500. Of course when you are investing significant sums, it's important to have exit plans. If you are losing 10 000â,¬, what are you doing? For example, at 3400 points, I wasn't selling. But I was wondering what I would do, should the s&p 500 go to 3700 points.
And this is when you need to be as cold-blooded as a crocodile. If you are selling you have no more losses. If you are reinforcing your positions you can increase your losses in case the market is not going in the right direction. Sometimes it's better to just wait.
What's interesting with a short ETF is the fact that you can "only" lose your invested capital. And not more. That's not the case if you are short selling some stocks (I'm sure some Tesla short sellers are broke since they probably lost more than their original selling price if they sold at 200$ and bought back at 800$). When a strategy seems less obvious, you can do a "straddle". You take two opposite position. You are normally sure to win on one position. Then you can decide what to do with the other (sell or reinforce).

Note: You probably know that my computer is now pretty old. I keep it since it’s still working pretty well, but sometimes I'm browsing the website of the Fnac (one of the main shops selling computers in France) to see if there is something new (this is never the case, the law of Moore is dead) and lately I noticed there is no more MSI laptops (a Korean brand) on the website of the Fnac. I’m practially sure it’s due to the coronavirus.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on February 29, 2020, 03:23 AM
Thought I'd post a small update on whats going on for me in my life.

Currently I'm looking for a new place to live. The house share I currently live in is 1600â,¬ + bills every month.
It's a 3 bedroom house, with 1 kitchen, and a livingroom.

The other people in the houseshare are moving out, which is causing me to have to look for other options, as 1600 +bills alone is not something that is sustainable in the slightest.
At the moment I've been having 540 as rent and bills included, but due to how the contract is shaped I will take other the other peoples rents if they move out. I would love to get other people to move in here, but the landlord(House owner) required strong references which are almost impossible to get for the people that I know here.
That means, that in slightly more than a month I need to have found a new place, otherwise it's the streets(Bnb/Hotel) for me.
I could in theory get by paying 1600+bills per month. I earn about 1000â,¬ more than that after tax each month. I'd rather find a new place than paying that though. It's not easy to find a new place to live at though. Especially due to the type of person I am.
A type of person that really does not do much social activities, and can be seen as a bit nosey(Asking too many questions).
I'm a person who rather has too much stuff than not enough. Today for example I got a free keyboard from my now ex housemate, a high quality MK 85 from Qpad. Red Cherry switches. I could not pass it by, it retails at around 100â,¬. It's a great keyboard with good stabilizers but was in need of some TLC because it was n a s t y.
My plan is to probably retire my keyboard at work. That also has red cherry switches, but it is of lower grade I feel like. They are not pleasant to type on.
I've also recently gotten RSI, repetetive stress injury. Likely from playing too many PC games, holding my hands flat instead of vertical. My solution? Stop sleeping on the side and buy an Xbox one x and play xbox instead.

I've been a hardcore PC gamer since forever. This has lately stated to switch though, just because games on the PC online being so competetive instead of focusing on the social aspect. The first day on the Xbox I probably met more friendly people than the last months on pc.

Workwise I've gotten a lot of responsibility, sometimes I believe it's almost too much. I got a lot of power. As it is security related I would never be allowed to share any deep details to anyone outside of contract. Even within work sharing details with anyone in UK, or outside of EU legislation is strictly prohibited. However, I can inform you that the type of work I do has done a lot to reassure me of Swedens stance on trying to actually do their best and put pressure on thirdparties abroad to follow rules and such.
If you're curious about what specific things I do I can take that in PM. However I will not post it publicly here.


I've considered for a long time to upload a lot of pictures to the forum, maybe some selfies. I'm pretty sure some of you remember the video long ago of my house tour. Perhaps you dont? I wouldn't know :)
At Christmas when I was visiting my family in Sweden my brother decided to gift me his old camera. It's not the best, especially not for my usage which is basically it being connected to the PC livestreaming a feed.
It's really nice for taking detailed pictures with though. Even if I'm a complete amatuer.


I've saved up a good chunk with my current job. My plan was originally to only work here for a year and then move back. But due to me getting promotions over and over I decided to stay for a bit until I feel like i've stagnated, and then find a new position in marketing of some sort.
Marketing yourself and products is a fantastic thing to know how to do properly as it will benefit you both privately during negotiations and potentially if you own a company or just need to do a sales pitch for any reason at all.
My current goals here are to save enough to move in with my parents in sweden, to find a job locally, then buy a house or appartment hopefully loan-free or just a small loan.
I don't really use money for other things than games, basic food, transport and rent.
I'm guessing that the non-critical things like games+food are around 150â,¬ a month. Phone/Pc parts/Perhiprials excluded, but would probably be around 100â,¬ per month on average because I buy them so rarely but more expensive.

Been looking to buy a new mouse as well, due to my current having the scrollwheel seized up slightly by some type of glue that attaches the soft plastic of the wheel and the hard one. My other mouse has the famous Omron double-click issue.

I've been taking a lot of looks at Scar's financial posts, trying to understand what I should even do with my money. I do enjoy having it stacking up, because I do not like risks. I usually rather take a slight decline than spit in more money into my papers.
When I was younger my grandma had put in the rough equal of 1kâ,¬ on a paper for me, and it's increased quite a bit, it's almost at 4500â,¬.

My current portfolios are worth approximately 60~% of what I have in terms of money.


Anyways.
Not sure what to say, so thought I'd make a messy post to show I'm actually alive!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on April 18, 2020, 03:56 AM
Anyone else having had issues on the forum lately?

Not being able to press the "reply" buttons, logging in, going to profiles. Navigating works, but actions seem to be broken at times. Logout, did however work.

Tried from both my pcs.

Worked today, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to log in to post :)

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 19, 2020, 05:55 AM
Shadow,

I informed Maher of the problem with the forum. Using trial-and-error he put the old theme back and the problem seemed to disappear. It seems there's a glitch in the new theme somewhere. Be that as it may, it appears the problem is fixed, at least for now.

Where exactly are you living? Based on what you wrote it doesn't appear you're in Växjö. For starters, you're quoting rent prices in Euros instead of Swedish Krona.

You're not in college or something like that, at least part time?

You've explained you can't divulge details of your job. Can you at least give us an idea of what you're doing? For example: software developer.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on May 30, 2020, 04:12 AM
Thought it may be of interest for you people;
you can get free hosting on Oracle, Amazon and Google

Oracle has a fantastic deal of 2x 480mbit internet, 50gb storage, 1 core cpu, 1gb ram for free.
I forgot the bandwidth cap but it wasnt that bad.
I recommend you checking it out. I've only tried Oracles "Always free" pack, but it's good.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 02, 2020, 05:18 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on May 30, 2020, 04:12 AM
you can get free hosting on Oracle, Amazon and Google
Oracle has a fantastic deal of 2x 480mbit internet, 50gb storage, 1 core cpu, 1gb ram for free.
I forgot the bandwidth cap but it wasnt that bad.

I assume you're referring to hosting a web site. If so I don't understand something. Bandwidth of 480mbps and 50GB storage makes sense. What about this business of 1 core cpu and 1gb of ram? I was under the impression that organizations that host web sites have all kinds of servers in air-conditioned rooms to keep them cool. Please explain.

If they're doing this for free then how do they make money? Do they force you to put ads on your site or what?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on June 03, 2020, 03:55 AM
Quote from: humbert on June 02, 2020, 05:18 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on May 30, 2020, 04:12 AM
you can get free hosting on Oracle, Amazon and Google
Oracle has a fantastic deal of 2x 480mbit internet, 50gb storage, 1 core cpu, 1gb ram for free.
I forgot the bandwidth cap but it wasnt that bad.

I assume you're referring to hosting a web site. If so I don't understand something. Bandwidth of 480mbps and 50GB storage makes sense. What about this business of 1 core cpu and 1gb of ram? I was under the impression that organizations that host web sites have all kinds of servers in air-conditioned rooms to keep them cool. Please explain.

If they're doing this for free then how do they make money? Do they force you to put ads on your site or what?

Nope, they earn the money by the 'advertisement' that you will good-mouth them and people learn how to use their cloud service, which means people wont want to re-learn the things on google etc :) Oracle is a massive company who made Java if i remember correctly. They also had Oracle Database which we use at work. They arent really a 'broke' company. A net income increase of $11.08 billion dollars last year according to wikipedia. Probably just a penny in the bank for them
These are generally "older" servers with lets say, 12 cores total, and then the server hosts 12 virtual machines, and you get one of those virtual machines.
It's really cool.
You can host anything, like games, homepages, whatever you can install on a laptop with 1gb ram, 1core cpu and command line interface only.


You connect through SSH to Linux based servers, and RDP to windows based ones. However windows is not free as it requires license. And, i'd not recommend it due to how resource heavy it is compared to lighter weight linux boxes.

This offer of free hosting could be made to host your very own VPN, with your very own IP that you can port forward.
Great if you're not able to port fortward and want to share some files over FTP as a server or something.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 02, 2020, 07:17 PM
The forum is pretty calm. Sometimes, I see some former members, but new messages are scarce. But I know shadow.97 and Vasudev are still hanging around here
At the moment, I have no new repack to offer, but there will be Amnesia: Rebirth pretty soon. And in 2 weeks, there will be new versions of windows 10 and windows 7.
Note that I'm going to present another recipe tonight.
As far as the stock markets are concerned, I think the US equity market is too expensive. The firms that we call "Gafam" have price earning ratios above 30. Amazon PER is reaching 138 ! And Tesla stock price is stratospheric. In the current context, I think there is going to be a correction, and I advise you to be cautious.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 10, 2020, 08:22 PM
A few days ago, I stumbled upon something a bit weird in a shop and I bought it.
Look at the photo below to see what I'm talking about.

(https://i.ibb.co/3vBkwW2/20200812-190234.jpg)

Maybe you don't know what it is. I imagine that shadow.97 and usman have already seen such things in Super Mario Bros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2oAwTAzmnU
(https://i.ibb.co/GP3mJrm/mario.jpg)

What you see here is a Dionaea, also known as the Venus flytrap.
This is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States. It catches its preyâ€"essentially insects and arachnidsâ€"with a trapping structure formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves, which is triggered by tiny hairs.
Maybe it will catch some flies in my kitchen.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on August 11, 2020, 09:34 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 10, 2020, 08:22 PM
A few days ago, I stumbled upon something a bit weird in a shop and I bought it.
Look at the photo below to see what I'm talking about.

(https://i.ibb.co/3vBkwW2/20200812-190234.jpg)

Maybe you don't know what it is. I imagine that shadow.97 and usman have already seen such things in Super Mario Bros: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2oAwTAzmnU
(https://i.ibb.co/GP3mJrm/mario.jpg)

What you see here is a Dionaea, also known as the Venus flytrap.
This is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States. It catches its preyâ€"essentially insects and arachnidsâ€"with a trapping structure formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves, which is triggered by tiny hairs.
Maybe it will catch some flies in my kitchen.

Not sure if you knew this. But I love plants, and gardening.
I've had two venus traps during my childhood. Quite facinating to trick them into thinking they caught something.

Currently I only have one plant. A succulent, not even sure what kind. I used to have hundreds of plants, mostly sugar snaps, wild strawberries, sun flowers, tomato and peppers.
Planting edible things that you see the full progression from, from seed to food on your table is very rewarding. And it is so much better taste than the store bought.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 13, 2020, 05:29 AM
Scarface/Shadow: How do you guys feed the Venus Flytraps? Are summers in Paris and Växjö infested with flies like both Miami and San Antonio? Are there other insects around? Also, how often do the flytraps have to be fed?

Shadow: Where did you put your hundreds of plants you used to have? In the pictures and videos you posted about your home, I didn't see a garden or anything similar.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on August 13, 2020, 04:15 PM
Quote from: humbert on August 13, 2020, 05:29 AM
Scarface/Shadow: How do you guys feed the Venus Flytraps? Are summers in Paris and Växjö infested with flies like both Miami and San Antonio? Are there other insects around? Also, how often do the flytraps have to be fed?

Shadow: Where did you put your hundreds of plants you used to have? In the pictures and videos you posted about your home, I didn't see a garden or anything similar.

(https://i.imgur.com/sENAO7p.png)
Very bad picture. But here's a drawing of the area I had available. Most of it is grass, and some of it is indoors.
Most plants really don't take much space at all. In an area of 2x1m, we could have almost 20 plants, like sugar snaps.
On that garden(Pictured) there is 4 specific areas just for plants in the corners of the plot.
Also a lot of them were indoors on window sills
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on August 14, 2020, 04:52 AM
Short rant:
Been dating a girl for a few months now. Turns out she is only interested in sex and nothing more.
Tonight I'll be staring blankly at the screen, wondering how on earth we could have missunderstood eachother that badly.

I have absolutely 0 interest in DTF, ONS, or FWB.
(Down to ****, one night stand, or friends with benefits).

Like. We've gone super slow, and nothing sexual at all, and now all she wants is sex. I'm failing to see where I've miss-interpreted her signals.

I should likely just have asked straight out.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 15, 2020, 06:00 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 14, 2020, 04:52 AM
Been dating a girl for a few months now. Turns out she is only interested in sex and nothing more.
Tonight I'll be staring blankly at the screen, wondering how on earth we could have missunderstood eachother that badly.

I can't believe how lucky you are! Every time I've been able to take a woman to bed they immediately want a long-term relationship. I've never been in a situation such as this where I don't have to worry about being pressured to be her next husband. This is, of course, with the exception of paid sex workers.

I'm fully aware that you and I don't think alike when it comes to this. May I ask: In your case is sex always linked to the desire for a long term relationship, or was this particular woman in some way exceptional? I realize this is highly personal, so if you'd rather keep it private I fully respect your choice.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on August 16, 2020, 12:12 AM
Quote from: humbert on August 15, 2020, 06:00 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 14, 2020, 04:52 AM
Been dating a girl for a few months now. Turns out she is only interested in sex and nothing more.
Tonight I'll be staring blankly at the screen, wondering how on earth we could have missunderstood eachother that badly.

I can't believe how lucky you are! Every time I've been able to take a woman to bed they immediately want a long-term relationship. I've never been in a situation such as this where I don't have to worry about being pressured to be her next husband. This is, of course, with the exception of paid sex workers.

I'm fully aware that you and I don't think alike when it comes to this. May I ask: In your case is sex always linked to the desire for a long term relationship, or was this particular woman in some way exceptional? I realize this is highly personal, so if you'd rather keep it private I fully respect your choice.

I've had many offers in my life of one-night stand like deals.
I like stability in life; one of the reasons I've stuck around on this forum for a long time.

It's very hard finding something serious at my age and in western society(My beliefs).
If you want something temporary you just go to tinder, or one of those apps and hook up by writing 'dtf' as first message alongside with a compliment. Often in games if you find someone interesting, just hint at it and they open up a lot and if you end up travelling to their place you can often just offer it to them. If you get banned, buy a new phone number at the shop and just register a new account. There's a million apps you can try. Just make sure you got good pictures. The hardest part would probably be not to get STD's.

I genuinely just don't understand the point of one nighters or friends with benefits, it just sounds like a bunch of drama. Why not just by toys to deal with your sexual needs? There are VR games that are 18+ where you connect with 'sexual partners', and put on toys that essentially doo your diddle. that you wear and it syncs online to the other persons toy. If you get leg trackers you can even do fancy positions!

... I wonder if relationships will end forever when the above mentioned tech gets cheap enough.


Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 17, 2020, 12:17 AM
Quote from: humbert on August 13, 2020, 05:29 AM
How do you guys feed the Venus Flytraps? Are summers in Paris and Växjö infested with flies like both Miami and San Antonio? Are there other insects around? Also, how often do the flytraps have to be fed?
Actually, there are practically no flies here, and I'm not sure the Venus Flytrap will survive. There are a few mosquitoes, but it's not likely for the plant to catch them, they are too small.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 17, 2020, 04:27 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 17, 2020, 12:17 AM
Actually, there are practically no flies here, and I'm not sure the Venus Flytrap will survive. There are a few mosquitoes, but it's not likely for the plant to catch them, they are too small.

I saw on a nature show on TV that one guy who has Venus Flytraps fed them with a small piece of ground beef. You might want to try that. Also, be happy there are no flies there. Here during the summer there are flies everywhere, and it Miami it's all year.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 17, 2020, 04:49 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 16, 2020, 12:12 AM
I've had many offers in my life of one-night stand like deals.
I like stability in life; one of the reasons I've stuck around on this forum for a long time.

Aside from the fact that you prefer stability, with respect to the "many offers" you've gotten I have a simple question: how do you do it? Do the women signal you and you pick up on it? Do you have good powers of presuasion? Are you physically handsome in their eyes? For me in my experience this sort of thing is virtually nonexistent? Clearly you're doing something right.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 16, 2020, 12:12 AM
It's very hard finding something serious at my age and in western society(My beliefs).

Unless I'm seriously mistaken, the only plausible explanation is that European women have a more liberal mentality. Here even using the apps you mentioned, getting a woman for sex only is very difficult. They have to "feel something" for you before they spread their legs.

You're in Dublin so let me ask -- does this apply to Irish women too? Last I heard the Catholic church has a stranglehold on Ireland. With their neanderthal beliefs I'd assume women would usually not do this.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 16, 2020, 12:12 AM
I genuinely just don't understand the point of one nighters or friends with benefits, it just sounds like a bunch of drama. Why not just by toys to deal with your sexual needs? There are VR games that are 18+ where you connect with 'sexual partners', and put on toys that essentially doo your diddle. that you wear and it syncs online to the other persons toy. If you get leg trackers you can even do fancy positions!

In my experience the problem boils down to the simple fact that you get tired of jerking off because women aren't readily available. 2½ to 3 years or more of this gets you to the point where you'll pay any price for a sex worker. Fortunately you're not plagued by this problem.

How many of you other guys on the forum find that getting women for sex isn't difficult?

Just curious.



Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on August 17, 2020, 11:02 PM
Quote from: humbert on August 17, 2020, 04:49 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 16, 2020, 12:12 AM
I've had many offers in my life of one-night stand like deals.
I like stability in life; one of the reasons I've stuck around on this forum for a long time.

Aside from the fact that you prefer stability, with respect to the "many offers" you've gotten I have a simple question: how do you do it? Do the women signal you and you pick up on it? Do you have good powers of presuasion? Are you physically handsome in their eyes? For me in my experience this sort of thing is virtually nonexistent? Clearly you're doing something right.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 16, 2020, 12:12 AM
It's very hard finding something serious at my age and in western society(My beliefs).

Unless I'm seriously mistaken, the only plausible explanation is that European women have a more liberal mentality. Here even using the apps you mentioned, getting a woman for sex only is very difficult. They have to "feel something" for you before they spread their legs.

You're in Dublin so let me ask -- does this apply to Irish women too? Last I heard the Catholic church has a stranglehold on Ireland. With their neanderthal beliefs I'd assume women would usually not do this.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 16, 2020, 12:12 AM
I genuinely just don't understand the point of one nighters or friends with benefits, it just sounds like a bunch of drama. Why not just by toys to deal with your sexual needs? There are VR games that are 18+ where you connect with 'sexual partners', and put on toys that essentially doo your diddle. that you wear and it syncs online to the other persons toy. If you get leg trackers you can even do fancy positions!

In my experience the problem boils down to the simple fact that you get tired of jerking off because women aren't readily available. 2½ to 3 years or more of this gets you to the point where you'll pay any price for a sex worker. Fortunately you're not plagued by this problem.

How many of you other guys on the forum find that getting women for sex isn't difficult?

Just curious.

Hard questions :P!
And here we go with bad replies, as I am very bad at quoting and being specific!

I've never considered what I do.
I had women tell me that I'm really bad at picking up signals. People do in general say that I am very wholesome and loving towards everyone. Some people say they "love my hair" and what-not. Most of the people who end up liking me are people I meet daily. I don't have much luck on tinder and the likes. Mainly because I don't take pictures. But most of the people I meet are very open about what they do and don't.
In my case, it has a lot to do with having moved to a new country.
Most people I meet in my day to day life are people who made the similar move, who have no current attachments or who are thrill seekers. I never had anything to speak about before I moved to Ireland, because of how boring my daily life was. Now I can always go on a rant about how annoying all the unfamiliar euro-coins are or something!


Areas near Uni's are very famous for being great places to find one-nighters. So if you live near one of them, you might have better luck.
I cant really say anything for ages 30+. As most of the people hitting on me are below that age.

Talking with my friends in the States, they have quite an easy time finding nightly action as well. Unless they live in the middle of nowhere.


Regarding Irish women. I wouldn't know. Generally speakiong I avoid them, I dislike their manners, the way they talk, and especially their looks.
People keep saying how beautiful irish women are. My experience is the opposite. Ofcourse there are exceptions, but the average irish girl isnt that pretty.
I dont talk to many Irish people at all actually. I just never 'found' them. Not many at our work, and not many friends-of-friends are irish.

Church has an okay hold I'd say. It's very noticable if you compare it to Sweden. Having strangers say something about the lord and blessings to me, makes me feel very awkward.


Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 20, 2020, 06:47 AM
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions. This is indeed a very difficult subject. Sometimes I think it's easier to find the answer to Einstein's "Theory of Everything" than to understand how women think, especially when it comes to sexuality. All you get is a flow of conflicting signals and, in the end, beliefs that make no sense at all. There are times I think I should have been born gay so I wouldn't have to deal with any of this. Oh well....
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 28, 2020, 12:22 AM
Shadow.97 and humbert must be wondering if the Venus flytrap is fine.
Here is a new photo. Apparently, it caught something. Note that I followed shadow.97's advice: I bought a peach tree and some strawberry plants.

(https://i.ibb.co/XVqQb01/20200831-223151.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on August 28, 2020, 08:09 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 28, 2020, 12:22 AM
Shadow.97 and humbert must be wondering if the Venus flytrap is fine.
Here is a new photo. Apparently, it caught something. Note that I followed shadow.97's advice: I bought a peach tree and some strawberry plants.

(https://i.ibb.co/XVqQb01/20200831-223151.jpg)

Remember that strawberries original stems should be removed every 3 years. As they grow "upwards" on themselves and get a harder time getting water and such to the plant itself.

It often shoots out 2 offsprings per year per plant. Meaning you can get an exponential amount of plants quickly.

They often take around 1 year to start producing berries. But it is worth in the long run to remove the old plants to let the newer plants shoot out new offspring to take over.

I love the way strawberry plants grow.
I used to put them into 2 balcony flower boxes. And then have an empty one next to the box, and by hand direct the offspring into the empty box. Meaning I always had extra plants to give away.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 29, 2020, 05:13 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 28, 2020, 12:22 AM
Shadow.97 and humbert must be wondering if the Venus flytrap is fine.

How do you feed the Venus Flytrap? You said there are no flies and just a few mosquitos. Also, how often do they need a meal to avoid starvation?

Do you have to water it like any other plant? If so, every day or less than that?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 29, 2020, 09:33 AM
Quote from: humbert on August 29, 2020, 05:13 AM
How do you feed the Venus Flytrap? You said there are no flies and just a few mosquitos. Also, how often do they need a meal to avoid starvation?


Do you have to water it like any other plant? If so, every day or less than that?
I don't know how many flies they need. As far as water is concerned, it's not easy, especially during dry weather, because it's necessary to ensure that their growing medium does not completely dry out.  Ideally, the growing medium should be evenly moist, not soggy or waterlogged. A tray under a pot with drainage hole can be a method for watering Venus flytraps.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 31, 2020, 04:50 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 29, 2020, 09:33 AM
I don't know how many flies they need. As far as water is concerned, it's not easy, especially during dry weather, because it's necessary to ensure that their growing medium does not completely dry out.  Ideally, the growing medium should be evenly moist, not soggy or waterlogged. A tray under a pot with drainage hole can be a method for watering Venus flytraps.

Probably the best way to tell if the soil is moist is to feel it. It's not accurate but it's better than nothing.

Have you tried putting a piece of raw meat on one of the traps? I saw someone do this on [I think] National Geographic. I'm assuming you buy meat at the supermarket and cook it. Or do you buy only frozen food and microwave it?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 31, 2020, 11:52 PM
I have a question for Vasudev, shadow.97 or another user of the forum.
Do you know a Call confirmation app for Android 9 which is functional ?
Call Confirmation is an application allowing the user to validate the outgoing calls to prevent misdials (in the pocket for example).
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 04, 2020, 03:23 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 31, 2020, 11:52 PM
I have a question for Vasudev, shadow.97 or another user of the forum.
Do you know a Call confirmation app for Android 9 which is functional ?
Call Confirmation is an application allowing the user to validate the outgoing calls to prevent misdials (in the pocket for example).
No sorry, I only really use apps to call unless I'm stuck in a location without any form of internet access.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 05, 2020, 02:20 AM
Well, some users of the forum must be wondering: "What's next on the forum?".
Next week, there will be a new version of windows 10 x64 and I'm waiting for the release of Amnesia: rebirth before making a new repack "The Frictional games AIO".

(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Sz9l22F9iQ8/maxresdefault.jpg)

(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/94/b5/8f/94b58f10fb696a9850d012161095a7b1.jpg)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASN-CixefYc

(https://i.ibb.co/vwM2Tcb/baboon2.jpg)

Note that I won't have a lot of time to speak on the forum. For some reasons, I'm working in Neuilly sur Seine now, and I'm spending at least 2 hours commuting each day. It's incredibly expensive to live in Neuilly sur Seine (it's even more expensive than Paris), and unless shadow.97 or humbert have several millions to buy a house or a flat with a terrace for my peach tree and my strawberry plant, I will stay in Sceaux for some time.
If Maher needs a donation, note that I found something in my pocket: a 100$ banknote. humbert or Maher can contact me if they need something.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on September 05, 2020, 07:41 PM
Quote from: scarface on September 05, 2020, 02:20 AM
Well, some users of the forum must be wondering: "What's next on the forum?".
Next week, there will be a new version of windows 10 x64 and I'm waiting for the release of Amnesia: rebirth before making a new repack "The Frictional games AIO".

Note that I won't have a lot of time to speak on the forum. For some reasons, I'm working in Neuilly sur Seine now, and I'm spending at least 2 hours commuting each day. It's incredibly expensive to live in Neuilly sur Seine (it's even more expensive than Paris), and unless shadow.97 or humbert have several millions to buy a house or a flat with a terrace for my peach tree and my strawberry plant, I will stay in Sceaux for some time.
If Maher needs a donation, note that I found something in my pocket: a 100$ banknote. humbert or Maher can contact me if they need something.

What do you work with?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 05, 2020, 11:56 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on September 05, 2020, 07:41 PM
What do you work with?

I work with a computer and my head. As far my head is concernred, I'm afraid of losing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnJGn1JHen4
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 08, 2020, 12:35 AM
Maybe some users like shadow.97, vasudev or humbert were watching his videos.

The YouTube star “Ethan Is Supreme” died this Sunday of a suspected drug overdose, according to his family and closest friends. He was 17.
Unfortunately, you will not find any videos of this youtuber on the forum since I didn't know this youtuber till I read this piece of news.

(https://i.ibb.co/V920XLF/Ethan.jpg)

The Texan, famed for his flamboyant makeover videos, was found dead in bed by his father, Gerald Peters, at 11 a.m. Sunday.
While there has not been an official cause of death, his father told Fox he is certain it was an overdose â€" blaming the “cancel culture” that he said “weighed heavy on his heart.”
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on October 27, 2020, 04:08 PM
I hope that the users of the forum are fine.
I'm waiting for the news about a new curfew or a reconfinement in France.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on October 28, 2020, 01:00 PM
Quote from: scarface on October 27, 2020, 04:08 PM
I hope that the users of the forum are fine.
I'm waiting for the news about a new curfew or a reconfinement in France.

A hard time for everyone that will surely pass
People say to stick with basic supplements that won't harm anyone if taken in the correct dosage
Vitamins C & D and Zinc daily..

Stay safe & healthy everyone..

P.S. I watched Joe Rogan last night with the comedian Alex Jones on youtube..
The "cancel culture" reaction will be memorable this time for sure..

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on October 28, 2020, 07:43 PM
Quote from: aa1234779 on October 28, 2020, 01:00 PM
Quote from: scarface on October 27, 2020, 04:08 PM
I hope that the users of the forum are fine.
I'm waiting for the news about a new curfew or a reconfinement in France.

A hard time for everyone that will surely pass
People say to stick with basic supplements that won't harm anyone if taken in the correct dosage
Vitamins C & D and Zinc daily..

Stay safe & healthy everyone..

P.S. I watched Joe Rogan last night with the comedian Alex Jones on youtube..
The "cancel culture" reaction will be memorable this time for sure..

It's winter here, but I guess you have more sun in your country than me (Somewhere between Jeddah and Dubai if I remember well).
I guess you are confined again because of the "terrible" virus? (humbert must not be convinced). I'm waiting for the allocution of Macron at 8pm.
Maybe you want to participate in the making of the repack of Amnesia Rebirth. I'm wondering if it's possible to reduce the size of dds files (the textures). There are 14gb of them in the game. Is it possible to use batch processing with gimp or another program? I hope Vasudev, shadow.97, aa1234779 or someone else can answer this question.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on October 28, 2020, 09:06 PM
Macron is currently announcing a reconfinement here...
https://www.france.tv/france-2/direct.html
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 01, 2020, 03:46 AM
Quote from: scarface on October 28, 2020, 07:43 PM
I guess you are confined again because of the "terrible" virus? (humbert must not be convinced). I'm waiting for the allocution of Macron at 8pm.

Of course I'm not saying we should do absolutely nothing about this virus. But we have to put this into perspective. This virus has less than a 5% kill ratio. This doesn't even come close to REAL pandemics such as bubonic plague or the Spanish flu. Are survivors immune? Probably. There have been very few cases of reinfection, and even then these people have recovered faster.

Trump, his wife, youngest son, and some others in his government have tested positive for Covid19. Unfortunately the virus hasn't killed any of them.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 03, 2020, 07:49 PM
Tonight, I'm going to talk about the elections in the US.

But First and foremost, let's talk about various different things.
Maybe you know that I'm confined again due to the coronavirus. Well, this is not bad news since I tinkered with the repack of Amnesia Rebirth. New size: 10.1 Gb (vs 10.3 Gb previously).
I don't know when it will be available on the forum (I'd want to reduce its size a bit more).
I guess very few of you are confined again, even if in Europe tightened measures amidst sharp rise in coronavirus cases. Maher, aa1234779 and Vasudev probably aren't confined right now. They may be partying, who knows? I remember that 2 years ago I was invited at the restaurant by my father for my 35th birthday and I was offered a couscous. Now the restaurants are closed. I imagine that humbert might be confined in Texas, or at least, he must have barricaded himself in his house, until the election results come out. We don't know what the Republicans will do if their candidate loses the elections.


Now let's talk about the American elections.
Who will win 2020 presidency?

(https://i.ibb.co/NCgdC30/elections.jpg)

The race for the White House is nearly over as voters head to the polls in the 2020 presidential election.
While current polling suggests former Vice President Joe Biden has an almost insurmountable lead, Donald Trump still has a chance of securing four more years in office.

Who is in the lead for president 2021?
According to the latest polling averages, Joe Biden's lead over the incumbent is remaining solid, despite a slight downfall in the wake of the US presidential debates and Donald Trump's diagnosis with coronavirus. Mr Biden's polling average has remained above 50 per cent since October 4, and the Democratic nominee has consistently polled in the lead since the race began.
If state polls are close to the final result, Mr Biden is on course for gains in at least two swing states - Michigan and Wisconsin - and Arizona, which has been more likely to vote Republican in recent years.
While Florida and Texas are too close to call - carrying 67 electoral college votes between them - Pennsylvania and its 20 votes for the presidency are leaning Democrat according to the latest polls.
Of the states that could go either way based on the latest polls, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida all flipped to Donald Trump from the Democrats in the 2016 election, and his chances of retaining the presidency could rest on reclaiming victory here and holding on to Texas.
Having voted Republican in every election since 2000, Texas is now a toss-up and could be pivotal to the final result.

What are the latest odds on winning?
UK bookmakers appear to be setting out their stall to take on Mr Trump by making the present POTUS the subject of their enhanced-odds sign-up offers.
After shortening following the final head-to-head debate, Mr Trump’s US election odds have stagnated, with Biden still the odds-on favourite.
These are the latest odds from Betfair Exchange
•   Joe Biden â€" 2/15
•   Donald Trump â€" 15/8


Trump and Biden clash in debates.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden faced each other in the first presidential debate in September.
In a bad-tempered and at times chaotic debate, the candidates ripped chunks out of each other on their records and issues such as the economy and race.
Mr Trump was rebuked several times by Chris Wallace, the moderator, for speaking over his opponent. At one point, after incessant interruptions from the president, Mr Biden said: "Will you shut up, man?"
Tempers were much more controlled at the second debate in Nashville, in which insults flew but neither candidate could land a killer blow.
The pair had their microphones turned off at the final presidential debate on Thursday 22 October to stop them talking over each other. The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) enforced two minutes of uninterrupted speaking time for each candidate per topic after the first debate between rivals became a farce.
Presidential debates are a political version of gladiatorial combat and they have, in the past, turned elections.
Four years ago the polls showed it was reasonably close between Mr Trump and Hillary Clinton with neither delivering a knockout blow.
Meanwhile both Mr Trump's and Mr Biden's running mates - Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris - clashed in their own vice-presidential debate on Wednesday 7 October, with the focus dominated by the Trump administration's Covid-19 response.

What happened in the town halls?
After the second presidential debate was cancelled, the two candidates appeared in separate live town halls that were broadcast at the same time.
Mr Trump dominated the headlines after he refused to denounce the QAnon conspiracy theory, which falsely claims the US government is controlled by a "deep state" cabal of anti-Trump Satanist paedophiles. He said: "So, I know nothing about QAnon. I know very little. What I do hear about it, they are very strongly against paedophilia. I do agree with that."
The president was questioned over his decision to retweet a false conspiracy theory, from a QAnon-linked Twitter account, suggesting that Navy Seals killed a body double of Osama bin Laden and that the Obama administration covered it up. Mr Trump said he was just "putting it out there" and "people can decide for themselves".
Mr Trump also denied that he was told in the Oval Office, by his national security adviser in January, that the coronavirus would be the biggest national security threat of his presidency.
In Philadelphia, Mr Biden said: "We're in a situation where we have 210,000 plus people dead and what's he doing? Nothing. He's still not wearing masks."
Mr Biden put on his mask when leaving the stage to be closer to questioners.

Trump approval static at around 40 per cent.
Donald Trump's presidential approval ratings are at steady levels, according to the Telegraph's poll tracker.
The tracker, which takes an average of the last eight polls, put Mr Trump's approval rating at around 44 per cent, while 54 per cent disapprove of the way the president is doing his job.
The president's approval ratings had recovered slightly recently, after experiencing a "rally around the flag" effect with Americans backing the Government to handle the coronavirus crisis.
The period since Donald Trump's election has been packed with controversy and intrigue but, underneath it all, few people seem to have really changed their minds about America's 45th president.
His approval rating quickly slumped in the chaotic days after assuming office, with Trump achieving a majority disapproval rating in a record of just eight days. Three years in, he is far less popular than previous presidents at this stage of a presidency - but overall approval has generally remained above 40 per cent.
Still, with the president having defied political gravity four years ago, the jury's out as to whether he can do the same again against his new Democrat opponent.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 04, 2020, 06:16 AM
Quote from: scarface on November 03, 2020, 07:49 PM
Tonight, I'm going to talk about the elections in the US.

It is 22:00 here in San Antonio election night and I have turned the TV off. At this point things are looking very bad. It appears this despot will win again. Why people would vote for this miscreant is beyond my comprehension. Once again all the polls were wrong. That is, of course, unless the polls sampled people who aren't voting. It seems to be the only possible explanation.

I would love to move out of the USA. Possible destinations include Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and any country in Scandinavia. Unfortunately that's not possible, not even in the unlikely event one of those countries offered me a premanent residence visa. And of course returning to my native Cuba (which is NOT impossible) is a situation where the cure is worse than the disease.

I read somewhere that Edward Snowden is applying for Russian citizenship. I wish I could ask him to put in a good word for me with Putin so I could possibly emigrate there.

I'm sick and tired of this country and the majority of idiots who live here.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 04, 2020, 10:01 AM
Well, yesterday Biden was ahead in the polls but it seems it's not the case any more.
Incredibly enough, humbert was right: the tyrant Trump could win the elections.
After six years of Republican rule, the Senate could very well flip.
With such uncertainty, the Dow Jones futures are dropping 300 points.

(https://i.ibb.co/KFf8hLd/president.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 04, 2020, 04:39 PM
Apparently Biden is once again ahead of Trump due to his lead in Michigan and Wisconsin. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump was making a coup d'etat to stay in power.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 05, 2020, 01:20 AM
Here are some news about the election in the USA...
It seems Biden won the vote in Wisconsin and Michigan. Early results showed Joe Biden with a lead Tuesday over President Donald Trump in Nevada, a state no Republican presidential candidate has carried since 2004 but that has remained a battleground. If Biden wins Nevada, he will win the elections.

Here is a map showing the latest results:
(https://i.ibb.co/Ycdcj9T/USA.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 05, 2020, 11:18 AM
Below is another interesting map which shows the electoral votes in the US. Maybe humbert and Vasudev haven't seen this map in detail yet.
And here is an article of le monde, which discusses the map et the elections (in French...): https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/11/04/elections-americaines-2020-suivez-la-carte-des-resultats-en-direct_6058394_3210.html

(https://i.ibb.co/Ryz8kcb/map.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 06, 2020, 02:03 AM
Tonight, I'm going to talk about the "deadly" coronavirus (I think humbert will correct me).

Yesterday, roughly one thousand died due to the coronvirus in France and new records where reached today in Europe: France registered record 58,046 new cases and Italy reported highest death toll since April. Olivier Veran, the Health minister wants to strengthen the confinement. We know that some countries like the US or Brasil are coping better with the pandemic and there is no confinement other there. It's probably the case in Palestine too, I guess Maher is nodding.
But what is the situation in France? I found an article summing up the situation.

"This time it's too much! », Says Delphine. Like many French people, this 50-year-old Parisian social worker accepted the "ordeal" of the first confinement. But with the announcement of a new confinement, the "stunned effect" of spring gave way to anger and despair. She senses the “violence” and the “rupture” that this new episode will represent: “There is something Darwinian, the poor and the weak die faster. She no longer finds that spirit of "resilience through humor and solidarity" or the hope of deliverance that prevailed in spring. Applause on the balconies still remains with this young neighbor "who plays music and shouts" good night "every evening at 9 pm".

While it could have been painful, the first confinement, by its exceptional nature and the hammered injunction to stay at home, had been relatively understood, resulting in solidarity, mobilization, hopes of reinvention. Seven months later, the fear seems to have diluted, the funeral and disembodied figures trivialized, making the social acceptability of this reconfinement more difficult, despite the epidemic resurgence and the repeated call on Thursday evening by the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, to respect it. Everyone is faced with their own arbitrations.



As for the economic aftermath, it is estimated that around 15% of the 168,000 restaurants and 38,800 bars and cafes in France will close permanently by the end of 2020. This means that 220,000 employees - out of 960,000 in total - could thus lose their jobs, without counting of course the other sectors which will also suffer from these disastrous consequences: from suppliers to cleaning staff, including security guards, sometimes dozens of different sectors are affected by the closure of one restaurant.
Even if the government tries to reassure by distributing public aid of up to 10,000 euros per month, many bars and restaurants are in agony. The most alarming situation being in ÃŽle-de-France, where the tourist season has been more disastrous than in other regions of France during this summer.


In Front of the Cathedral Notre Dame. Not everyone is confined.
(https://i.ibb.co/f0K6RLy/Devant-Notre-Dame-Paris-20-dernier-0.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 07, 2020, 05:18 AM
With respect to Coronavirus, I'm not suggesting we do nothing. What I'm saying is let's put it into proper perspective. This is not bubonic plague nor the so-called Spanish Flu (which had nothing to do with Spain). The kill ratio is under 5%, meaning over 95% survive. Only the most vulnerable are at risk. My lady's mom died of it, but then again she was 85 and a lifelong smoker. 2 or 3 of her children and/or grandchildren were also infected. They all survived.

With respect to the USA election, I originally believed all was lost. I forgot the fact that many more votes remained to be counted and are still being counted 3 days after the election. As of this moment things are looking very good for Biden. The US Secret Service has already extended presidential protection for him and his family. His transition team is already at work. As of today's post it's not over yet. Let's not chant victory until all votes are counted.

Coup d'etat? I don't think it'll go that far. Trump will rant and rave until people get tired of listening to him. For a coup to happen you need to control of the military. It's no secret the country's top generals and admirals don't like him. Even it they did, rest assured the American people are not going to just sit back and do nothing, especially when Biden clearly won the popular vote.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 23, 2020, 08:04 AM
Maybe some of you are still confined due to the lockdown.
I don't thin it is the case in the US or in Palestine. But in France, an exemption certification is needed to go out.

Note that if you need an exemption certification,  this one must be valid.
In today's Figaro, I stumbled upon an interesting article:
He said he was waiting for someone to beat him up and he put it on on his certificate: a resident of Lannion (Côtes d'Armor) was fined 135 euros in the night from Friday to Saturday as a result of 'a police check. The 39-year-old was hiding behind a car near Lannion train station on Saturday around 1 a.m. when he was spotted by a police patrol. The man was equipped with a switchblade. “He had his handwritten certificate with his real name, the time he left home at 10:15 pm. But he was told that the reason was not valid, ”added the police, confirming information from the local press. “He's someone who is concerned about the law in his own way,” the police officer said.
Drunk, the suspect was placed in a drunken cell. He came out on Saturday morning with a fine of 135 euros for the certificate and another of 150 euros for public and overt drunkenness. He left with a good model of certificate and it was pointed out to him that "to fight is not planned," added the police commander.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 27, 2020, 05:36 AM
Fortunately we are on the verge on ending this Covid19 crisis. There are already several vaccines out. Like all new things, they require fine tuning - but it will be done. Distribution will begin sometime next year. It will take a while for fine tuning an mass distribution, but it WILL happen. I'd say by this time next year Covid19 will be relegated to the history books.

Add to this the fact that Covid is not Bubonic Plague nor the Spanish flu. This thing has a very low kill ratio. The more people survive, the more difficult it will be for them to be reinfected. In a matter of speaking, the survivor will be, in effect, vaccined.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on December 25, 2020, 04:51 PM
Merry christmas to everyone :) Even if you don't celebrate it.

I wasnt planning on having any form of celebration, but ended up buying a small cake and some candy.

My landlords gave me a little goodiebag that was very much appreciated, containing:
2 Guinness drought
1 Chocolate bar
1 Sherlock Puzzleman(Toy https://www.easons.com/sherlock-puzzleman-6302063 )
1 bag of travel-essentials, deodorant, face wash etc.


@Scarface, as the Wine expert of the forum, have you tried Mulled wine?
I came to realize that the ones we have here are very weak flavorwise in comparison to what I was used to.
In sweden we heavily associate Mulled Wine (Glögg) with christmas. We usually serve it hot on the stove, one for the children without alcohol, and one for the adults.
Then we add raisins(sultanas) and almonds and drink from an espresso sized cup.

The ones who do not wish to have as much alcohol usually mix both.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 26, 2020, 04:17 AM
Shadow: You said "2 Guinness drought". Is this beer? If so, you're saying your landlord gave you 2 bottles (or cans) of beer? If so, is it that disgusting dark beer that tastes bitter as hell? They say Irish people are heavy drinkers. All along I thought this was just stigma.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on December 27, 2020, 12:52 PM
Quote from: humbert on December 26, 2020, 04:17 AM
Shadow: You said "2 Guinness drought". Is this beer? If so, you're saying your landlord gave you 2 bottles (or cans) of beer? If so, is it that disgusting dark beer that tastes bitter as hell? They say Irish people are heavy drinkers. All along I thought this was just stigma.

Irish people are undoubtably very heavy drinkers. My landlords has been completely wasted 4 times the last days.
I have yet to meet any irish people who are not heavy drinkers.
And when they drink, they drink a lot. They also like pushing others to drink more.

They usually say 'Want some cans?' or 'Cans tonight?' when they ask if you want to drink with them.
The Guinness is drought stout. So yes, beer. Dark.
I prefer Red ale, but drought stout is probably near the top for me. I cant stand the 'fresh'/sour beers. Cocos, Heineken, Bud light are all bad according to me.

A solid recommendation from me would be:
Red Ale, by Foxes Rock
(https://d2wwnnx8tks4e8.cloudfront.net/images/app/large/5391528370436_3.JPG)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 27, 2020, 10:58 PM
(https://i.ibb.co/RyQKPY7/Christmas.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 28, 2020, 05:34 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on December 27, 2020, 12:52 PM
Irish people are undoubtably very heavy drinkers. My landlords has been completely wasted 4 times the last days.
I have yet to meet any irish people who are not heavy drinkers.
And when they drink, they drink a lot. They also like pushing others to drink more.

I thought this was "racist" (for lack of a better word) generalization, but according to you that doesn't appear to be the case. I'm curious - does your landlord's wife drink as much as he does? What about the married couple that lives there? Here's another interesting question: how do they behave when they're drunk? I'm asking because everybody reacts differently to excessive amounts of alcohol. I'm thinking their behavior might be offensive or something.

If the women drink as much as the men, then I'd guess it's a lot easier to get laid in Ireland. From what I've been reading with women it's a double whammy: their inhibitions decrease and their testosterone level increases. Ideal conditions if you're looking for a quickie -- or maybe more.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on December 27, 2020, 12:52 PM
They usually say 'Want some cans?' or 'Cans tonight?' when they ask if you want to drink with them.
The Guinness is drought stout. So yes, beer. Dark.
I prefer Red ale, but drought stout is probably near the top for me. I cant stand the 'fresh'/sour beers. Cocos, Heineken, Bud light are all bad according to me.

The dark beer you mentioned as well as the one in the picture: are any of them bitter? I love beer also, but I can't tolerate bitterness. Next time it's possible I'll probably try the beers you mentioned - as long as they're not bitter. I'm not clear as to what you mean by "fresh/sour". Regarding your preferences concerning Cocos, Heineken and Bud light, is it because they're too "plain" or maybe "watery"? Naturally I don't refer to the alcohol content, I mean the taste.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on December 28, 2020, 06:11 AM
Quote from: humbert on December 28, 2020, 05:34 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on December 27, 2020, 12:52 PM
Irish people are undoubtably very heavy drinkers. My landlords has been completely wasted 4 times the last days.
I have yet to meet any irish people who are not heavy drinkers.
And when they drink, they drink a lot. They also like pushing others to drink more.

I thought this was "racist" (for lack of a better word) generalization, but according to you that doesn't appear to be the case. I'm curious - does your landlord's wife drink as much as he does? What about the married couple that lives there? Here's another interesting question: how do they behave when they're drunk? I'm asking because everybody reacts differently to excessive amounts of alcohol. I'm thinking their behavior might be offensive or something.

If the women drink as much as the men, then I'd guess it's a lot easier to get laid in Ireland. From what I've been reading with women it's a double whammy: their inhibitions decrease and their testosterone level increases. Ideal conditions if you're looking for a quickie -- or maybe more.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on December 27, 2020, 12:52 PM
They usually say 'Want some cans?' or 'Cans tonight?' when they ask if you want to drink with them.
The Guinness is drought stout. So yes, beer. Dark.
I prefer Red ale, but drought stout is probably near the top for me. I cant stand the 'fresh'/sour beers. Cocos, Heineken, Bud light are all bad according to me.

The dark beer you mentioned as well as the one in the picture: are any of them bitter? I love beer also, but I can't tolerate bitterness. Next time it's possible I'll probably try the beers you mentioned - as long as they're not bitter. I'm not clear as to what you mean by "fresh/sour". Regarding your preferences concerning Cocos, Heineken and Bud light, is it because they're too "plain" or maybe "watery"? Naturally I don't refer to the alcohol content, I mean the taste.

My guess would be that you wouldnt like it :)
I would not call them plain or watery. Just straight sour, nasty after taste that lingers in the back of my throat.
The one in the picture is a red ale, which i'd say isnt very dark. It's more dark orange than yellow or black.

When it comes to getting laid, I never really enjoyed the precense of drunkos around me, so Id rather just not go to a pub.
It's not uncommon for families and such to go to the pubs, it's not like a pub in sweden where people go to party. Ofcourse it depends on the pub. But children are usually allowed until 9pm.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 29, 2020, 06:17 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on December 28, 2020, 06:11 AM
My guess would be that you wouldnt like it :)

Translation: it's very bitter - stay away from it  :) ;)

Quote from: Shadow.97 on December 28, 2020, 06:11 AM
When it comes to getting laid, I never really enjoyed the precense of drunkos around me, so Id rather just not go to a pub.

Yes, I'm aware of the fact that you're not really into that sort of thing. I was asking more in general terms, not specifically you.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on December 28, 2020, 06:11 AM
It's not uncommon for families and such to go to the pubs, it's not like a pub in sweden where people go to party. Ofcourse it depends on the pub. But children are usually allowed until 9pm.

Let me ask you again -- how do the Irish people you live with (landlords + married couple) behave when they drink too much? I'm asking because everyone reacts differently to an excess of alcohol. Some people talk too much and say what they shouldn't, some become agressive, and some others fall asleep. I'm thinking this can become a problem for you or any tenant.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 01, 2021, 01:31 AM
Happy new year for the users of the forum.


This year I'm alone for New year's day.
I used to be with my father, but he's not here anymore.

I hope that aa1234779, humbert and Maher are fine.
As you can see on the photo below, I'm having a pizza.

(https://i.ibb.co/741Cbc6/20210101-001609.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: aa1234779 on January 02, 2021, 01:56 PM
I hope scarface & others enjoyed their holidays and new year celebration however different the circumstances now..
And also hope everyone is well.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 04, 2021, 05:12 AM
Quote from: scarface on January 04, 2021, 03:48 AM
It was unlikely. But there is an ongoing coup d'état in the United States.
The youtube video with Trump asking Georgia Secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn his defeat:

The problem here is that Trump is a delusional tryant who will not accept defeat under any circumstances. He is so crazy he actually believes he won! Fortunately there is absolutely NO WAY he can stage any kind of coup d'état. Every court has denied his attempt to steal the election. This despite the fact that many of the judges who were involved were appointed by him. Every day that passes more and more Republicans in Congress openly challenge Trump's assertions. The military doesn't like him and will not get involved. His last gasp is an old law that allows Congress to question the electoral college's votes. In order for this to work he needs a majority in BOTH houses of Congress - something he will NOT get. The House has a Democrat majority, and more and more Republicans in the senate will not support him, not to even mention Senate Democrats. Don't worry, this election is a done deal and nothing will change the outcome.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 10, 2021, 09:58 AM
Today, I'm going to talk about Pakistan.

A breakdown in Pakistan's national power grid plunged the country of 212 million people into darkness on Saturday night, officials said.
This is Pakistan's most widespread power shutdown in the country since 2015.

Power cuts are frequent in Pakistan, which has faced a chronic energy crisis for years and has a complex and dilapidated distribution system. Many of its approximately 210 million inhabitants go without power for long hours every day, and the phenomenon worsens during the heat of summer.

A general view shows Pakistan's capital Islamabad during a power blackout early on January 10, 2021.
(https://i.ibb.co/b1kXnSQ/Islamabad.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on February 26, 2021, 07:15 AM
I used to mine a few coins that I thought would kick off. None of them did. Some lucky people got insane money even with not so popular coins, such as ZEC.
I have been mining on and off since 2014. But always thought that the bigger coins would fail.
I've caved in and I'm just using nicehash now.

Why?
Mainly to keep my room at a steady temperature. I do not like having 1h of heat, 5h cold, then repeat.
Secondly, I'm not paying the electrical bill. I find the rent here extortionate and I see it as a way to reduce rent.
I dont make big bucks, I only run my gpu on 40~60% power, unless it is icecold, where i temporarily set it to 110% Usually make around â,¬4~6 per day. Which is not a lot, or maybe it is, depending on how you view it and what you compare it to. It's nice when it is passive.

Many of my friends are into mining to some extent. Most of them just run it in the background on their pc, or a laptop that is competent enough. Mainly because they want coins, but dont want the upfront cost of investing in them.

I do not believe in new coins at all at the moment. I see ETH, BTC and maybe some fiat-stabilised coins to hold their places.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 01, 2021, 04:56 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on February 26, 2021, 07:15 AM
I've caved in and I'm just using nicehash now.
Why?
Mainly to keep my room at a steady temperature. I do not like having 1h of heat, 5h cold, then repeat.
Secondly, I'm not paying the electrical bill. I find the rent here extortionate and I see it as a way to reduce rent.
I dont make big bucks, I only run my gpu on 40~60% power, unless it is icecold, where i temporarily set it to 110% Usually make around â,¬4~6 per day. Which is not a lot, or maybe it is, depending on how you view it and what you compare it to. It's nice when it is passive.

I don't understand something. I looked up nicehash in Wikipedia and got at least a remote idea of what is it. What I don't understand is how it keeps your room at a relatively steady temperature. Also, the 4~6â,¬ a day, is this in real Euros or in satoshis?

Isn't there a thermostat where you live? Is it that the owner sets it real low to save money on whatever fuel they're using for heat?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 05, 2021, 04:05 PM
Quote from: humbert on March 01, 2021, 04:56 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on February 26, 2021, 07:15 AM
I've caved in and I'm just using nicehash now.
Why?
Mainly to keep my room at a steady temperature. I do not like having 1h of heat, 5h cold, then repeat.
Secondly, I'm not paying the electrical bill. I find the rent here extortionate and I see it as a way to reduce rent.
I dont make big bucks, I only run my gpu on 40~60% power, unless it is icecold, where i temporarily set it to 110% Usually make around â,¬4~6 per day. Which is not a lot, or maybe it is, depending on how you view it and what you compare it to. It's nice when it is passive.

I don't understand something. I looked up nicehash in Wikipedia and got at least a remote idea of what is it. What I don't understand is how it keeps your room at a relatively steady temperature. Also, the 4~6â,¬ a day, is this in real Euros or in satoshis?

Isn't there a thermostat where you live? Is it that the owner sets it real low to save money on whatever fuel they're using for heat?
You get it in bitcoin, but it can show next to live conversion rates.
It keeps my room at a steady temperature as my computer outputs heat while it mines.
There is no thermostat, just a timer.
They use gas to heat the house that they burn. We also use a gas stove. Gas heating is likely the most common way to heat houses in Ireland.

In sweden we had a heating tank in the central city that pumped out hot water across town.(Next to boiling). Then you just turned a dial on each radiator to set your heat.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 08, 2021, 06:36 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 05, 2021, 04:05 PM
You get it in bitcoin, but it can show next to live conversion rates.

So you're basically mining Bitcoin. Do you convert your satoshis to Euros or keep them in your wallet? I say satoshis because at today's rate, one bitcoin alone would put quite a bit of cash in your pocket.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 05, 2021, 04:05 PM
They use gas to heat the house that they burn. We also use a gas stove. Gas heating is likely the most common way to heat houses in Ireland.

Fortunately I have a gas fired furnace too. I say that because had that not been the case, last month with the freeze we had my electric bill would have gone through the roof. Many people who have electric heat got hit real hard. One day last month it snowed all day nonstop. I have never seen that anywhere in a place located at about 29°30' latitude and 250m in altitude.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 05, 2021, 04:05 PM
In sweden we had a heating tank in the central city that pumped out hot water across town.(Next to boiling). Then you just turned a dial on each radiator to set your heat.

Then how do they bill you? If it was gas they'd bill you by cubic meters. But raw heat that comes from a boiler? I see no other way except by using a calorimeter. Also, is the radiator in an enclosed space with a fan that blows the heat into your house?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 12, 2021, 06:10 AM
Quote from: scarface on March 08, 2021, 08:27 PM
I think that the knowledge of shadow.97 could be needed if we want to start a new crypto.
I looked at Quickswap. This concept seems interesting to me. It is a fork of uniswap. Apparently it's not mineable: https://www.advfn.com/crypto/Quickswap-QUICK
Now I'd like to know what shadow.97 thinks. Is it feasable? Maybe it would be better to fork Bitcoin because it's more common?
Then what source code to choose?
Once finished, the creators of the new crypto (I, shadow.97, maybe humbert and Vasudev?) would be given some coins. Even here I don't know how to proceed.

How are you going to get people to accept your Scarcoins? If nobody accepts them then what's the point of mining them?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on March 12, 2021, 08:57 PM
Quote from: humbert on March 12, 2021, 06:10 AM
How are you going to get people to accept your Scarcoins? If nobody accepts them then what's the point of mining them?
You're right. Even if we dit it, it wouldn't work. Those who invented a crypto with a dog didn't think it would work either.
That's why I deleted the messages about it.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 13, 2021, 04:06 AM
Quote from: scarface on March 12, 2021, 08:57 PM
You're right. Even if we dit it, it wouldn't work. Those who invented a crypto with a dog didn't think it would work either.
That's why I deleted the messages about it.

Let's make something clear. I did NOT insinuate that this would not succeed. I asked a simple question: how do you get people to accept Scarcoins? Do you have a plan for that? I just find it a little hard to believe you (or anyone) would try to create a product without first seeing who'd be interested in buying it.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on March 13, 2021, 08:38 PM
Quote from: humbert on March 13, 2021, 04:06 AM
Let's make something clear. I did NOT insinuate that this would not succeed. I asked a simple question: how do you get people to accept Scarcoins? Do you have a plan for that? I just find it a little hard to believe you (or anyone) would try to create a product without first seeing who'd be interested in buying it.
Well I don't need sarcasm. I never talked about scarcoins.
I think I wanted your help. I'm trying to get my father's estate settled but there are debts and  things don't work out the way I wanted them to.
Note that if you want to donate 100 bitcoins, my address is 13dxCArrziB7GxatUzNKtds5RR4xa6MSD5
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 15, 2021, 05:16 AM
Quote from: scarface on March 13, 2021, 08:38 PM
Well I don't need sarcasm. I never talked about scarcoins.

No sarcasm. As I recall when you came up with the idea you were looking for a name. 'Scarcoins' sounds ideal. Nobody else has it and it was Scarface's idea. If ever you manage to get this project off the ground, that's the name I vote for.

Quote from: scarface on March 13, 2021, 08:38 PM
I think I wanted your help. I'm trying to get my father's estate settled but there are debts and  things don't work out the way I wanted them to.

I don't know of anybody who thinks the money they have is enough. Everyone wants and needs more. All the more reason to follow my advice. To analogize, suppose you decided you could bake and sell pastries. The first thing to do is find out who would buy them and at what price. Without this information you're dead in the water.

Quote from: scarface on March 13, 2021, 08:38 PM
Note that if you want to donate 100 bitcoins, my address is 13dxCArrziB7GxatUzNKtds5RR4xa6MSD5

Let's see something. Today's (14/3/2021) conversion rate is 1BTC = USD$60,180.44 or $50,306.09â,¬ (do the math). If I were a fortuneteller with a crystal ball 10 years ago I would have bought the baddest array of video cards to mine the hell out of Bitcoin. Sadly I don't have those abilities.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on March 15, 2021, 08:59 PM
Quote from: humbert on March 15, 2021, 05:16 AM
No sarcasm. As I recall when you came up with the idea you were looking for a name. 'Scarcoins' sounds ideal. Nobody else has it and it was Scarface's idea. If ever you manage to get this project off the ground, that's the name I vote for.
scarcoins doesn't mean anything. In my opinion it would be interesting to keep Bitcoin in the name. Like New Bitcoin.
Those who are mining bitcoin don't earn money because individuals are now competing against powerful mining rigs that have more computing power. Recently, the mining difficulty rate has skyrocketed. When bitcoin was first launched, the difficulty was 1. As of May 2020, it is more than 16 trillion, it gives you an idea how difficult it is to mine Bitcoins and how unprofitable it is. The idea was to build something profitable. If it is profitable then some individuals will mine it. Actually I doubt I have the skills to do that alone anyway, and I doubt anyone on the forum can do that either.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 17, 2021, 04:01 AM
Quote from: scarface on March 15, 2021, 08:59 PM
scarcoins doesn't mean anything. In my opinion it would be interesting to keep Bitcoin in the name. Like New Bitcoin.
Those who are mining bitcoin don't earn money because individuals are now competing against powerful mining rigs that have more computing power. Recently, the mining difficulty rate has skyrocketed. When bitcoin was first launched, the difficulty was 1. As of May 2020, it is more than 16 trillion, it gives you an idea how difficult it is to mine Bitcoins and how unprofitable it is. The idea was to build something profitable. If it is profitable then some individuals will mine it. Actually I doubt I have the skills to do that alone anyway, and I doubt anyone on the forum can do that either.

I like the name, but if you don't we can call it something else. With respect to the present difficulty of mining Bitcoin, it makes perfect sense given the present-day exchange rate. When I upgraded my system just recently, I wanted to upgrade my GTX-970 graphics card to something better. Forget it! The price is extremely high, and this is assuming you can even find a high end graphics card.

If this project is to ever get off the ground, someone would have to write the mining software AND sell the idea of accepting our coins to vendors. Otherwise there's nothing to do, at least not for now.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 15, 2021, 10:33 PM
Well, tonight I'm writing a new message here to talk about miscellaneous things.

First off I found a video about the different endings of The room 3. If shadow.97 or usman are playing this game they will probably need clues to find them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCgI33elozU
I wanted to know what you think about these phones: Samsung s21 and Samsung A52? I'm still using my old Samsung S6, which is now almost 6 years old, but I could buy a new one with interesting prices. I'm not really interested in 5g anyway.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 16, 2021, 04:38 AM
Quote from: scarface on April 15, 2021, 10:33 PM
I wanted to know what you think about these phones: Samsung s21 and Samsung A52? I'm still using my old Samsung S6, which is now almost 6 years old, but I could buy a new one with interesting prices. I'm not really interested in 5g anyway.

I've been a Oneplus guy for a while now. Somewhere recently I saw a head-to-head comparison of the OnePlus 9 Pro vs Samsung's S21. If I had to make a choice I'd probably go with the Samsung despite it being $200 more expensive.

Even if 5G is not available in your area, there is no question it's the future. Electronic devices are designed to become obsolete pretty fast. At least a 5G phone is going to last maybe a few more years. To give you an idea, I read that at least in America there are several cell providers that said that beginning in 2022 3G and lower signals will be turned off.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 08, 2021, 05:00 PM
Note that President Macron was attacked during a trip to the Drôme.
In the excerpt posted on Twitter, Emmanuel Macron is seen approaching a group of people massed behind barriers, then exchanging briefly with a man. Seizing the forearm of the president, the individual seems to strike him then on the cheek, the entourage of Emmanuel Macron evoking an “attempted slap”. The head of state continued his visit, said the Elysee.
In this same video, just before the slap, is screamed the royalist war cry “Montjoie Saint Denis!”, As well as “Down with macronie”.
Two people were arrested, the prefecture announced shortly after the incident.

The war cry "Monjoie Saint Denis" probably reminds Vasudev and Maher of a movie. If you haven't watched it yet, it's here: https://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=1023.msg35829#msg35829
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 11, 2021, 08:19 PM
For those who want to watch Roland Garros, here is a link: https://fr4.sportplus.live/tennis/60873/1839405/
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 11, 2021, 08:52 PM
Note that you don't have hd quality with the link above. If you want to have a better quality, you can check this link if you have an account: https://www.france.tv/sport/tennis/roland-garros/2511305-le-direct-du-vendredi-11-juin.html
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on June 15, 2021, 01:52 PM
BTW, friends, are anyone of you already vaccinated against Covid19? And what vaccine did you use?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 16, 2021, 04:39 AM
Quote from: Daniil on June 15, 2021, 01:52 PM
BTW, friends, are anyone of you already vaccinated against Covid19? And what vaccine did you use?

I'm glad you asked. I was given the first dose of Phizer-Biontech vaccine about 2 months ago. The second shot was 3 weeks later. I had no side effects, although I do know some people who had brief, mild fever and fatigue. It went away after a few hours. Naturally the vaccine is free, Biden paid for it.  :)

The results of the vaccination program are positive. New cases and deaths are down by over 90% compared to the peak in January. The country is opening up again. A few days ago I was watching a football match on TV. It was in Atlanta, there were 70,000 people there and few if any masks. Go to bing.com/covid (http://bing.com/covid) and you'll see data and graphs for all countries.

I've left several posts on other forums about this. Only Scarface responded, telling us he had was not vaccinated and was in no hurry to do so.

Hey Daniil, did you get vaccinated or what?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on June 17, 2021, 08:34 PM
Quote from: humbert on June 16, 2021, 04:39 AM
Hey Daniil, did you get vaccinated or what?
Not yet, and that's why I asking. I'm making a statistics of vaccines effects, based on answers of my familiar persons. Yep, I know that that isn't very good statistics, but it's my own (you all knows, I'm used to not trusting the news).
Maybe you know, Pfizer vaccine is denied here in Russia, and, we have three free vaccines - "Sputnik V", "EpiVac Corona" and "COVI-Vac". All of them made in Russia. But there is some problems with them:

"Sputnik V", positioned as the best vaccine against COVID, was the first vaccine against COVID, and it was made before other contries (China, USA, EU, Israel) made their vaccines. It rases doubts to its quality - well, how russian scientists could make a vaccine so fast, if we in Russia can't make our own OS or own good PC, and our space agency can't develop any new spacecraft for 30 years?? ??? This is indirectly confirmed by a scandals in press about "Sputnik V", where mentioned that this vaccine working only 2 or 3 month, or, in some cases, not working at all.

"EpiVac" is extremly effective, but, by unofficial reviews, has a lot of side effects, maybe because it's genetically engineered. As I can understand, it's difficult to correctly decode molecular sequence of active part of COVID DNA, and that can cause side effects in human organism. Also, it's accepted to use only in Russia and Turkmenistan - that's also raises doubts about it, isn't that? ;D

And "COVI-Vac" is just ineffective.

Also, most what I said is unofficial information - official information is "russian vaccines are the best, all other vaccines are sh*t!". So, in fact I should select from 3 unknowns, or search a way to find a foreign vaccine. That's why I'm asking to anyone of my vaccinated friends and familiars, what vaccine did they use.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 17, 2021, 11:29 PM
To Daniil: I stumbled upon a video, and I was thinking that it was going to be of interest to you.
Unfortunately the video is in French. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCtlfGVVVBE
But I'm going to sum it up.
The guy is presenting a town with the cheapest apartments of Russia. Unfortunately for you, it's not in St Petersburg. It's not in Moscow either.
I'm talking about the town named Vorkuta (which means "the abundance of bears") and just north of the Arctic Circle. I have the impression that it's not far from St Peterburg on a map (compared to Vladivostok) but since Russia is a big country, it's probably not a one hour hike. The estimated population is still about 50,000.
Incredibly enough, you can find a well-furnished apartment for 500â,¬. This is due to the closure of the mines after the fall of the Soviet union and many apartments are empty. So those who are leaving don't find buyers, hence those prices.
Here you can see an apartment in a "Khrouchtchevka" for 550 â,¬:
(https://i.ibb.co/VNyndGM/Russia.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on June 18, 2021, 12:34 AM
Quote from: scarface on June 17, 2021, 11:29 PM
The guy is presenting a town with the cheapest apartments of Russia. Unfortunately for you, it's not in St Petersburg. It's not in Moscow either.
;D ;D ;D Yep, I also heared about this apartment. And that's not a good idea to go to Vorkuta to buy it. ;D You all, guys, doesn't understand reality in Russia. This flat in Vorkuta isn't cheap because there is nice nature or because Vorkuta is a good town to live to. Vorkuta is a monotown in the middle of poisoned industrial wasteland where temperature is about -40 for ten months in a year. You can't find any job there except slavery work at coal mines. And all life there fully related on "northern delivery". So this apartment is cheap just because the owner can't sell it. And that's not a good idea to save money. )))
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 29, 2021, 12:24 AM
For those who want to watch the football match between France and Switzerland, here is a streaming link : https://sport-stream.live/event/streaming-croatie-espagne-direct-live/13499/
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 29, 2021, 12:49 AM
Switzerland accomplished the feat of winning against France, which lost out in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, with Mbappe who failed to convert.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 30, 2021, 06:49 AM
Quote from: scarface on June 29, 2021, 12:49 AM
Switzerland accomplished the feat of winning against France, which lost out in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, with Mbappe who failed to convert.

I saw the game as well as most of the others in the UEFA tournament. In fact if I'm out of the house I can stream them live on my phone. It was truly a dramatic finish. Too bad games like this have to end in penalty kicks. As you know, this isn't much more than a coin toss - the goaltender either guesses right or guesses wrong. Sadly FIFA doesn't have much choice. You can't ask the players to continue playing forever until someone wins. Even more so in the summer heat.

Did you see Ukraine's big surprise against Sweden? The final goal in overtime was a masterpiece. Belgium and Italy play on Friday, it seems it'll be whoever wins that game. Then again, you never know.

Speaking of the heat. When the Emir of Qatar paid off FIFA to get the 2022 games, did they promise to provide stadiums with A/C? I'd like to see how long the players last in the 50° heat.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 01, 2021, 12:47 PM
Here is an interesting article, in French, about the situation in Afghanistan: https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/07/01/en-afghanistan-les-talibans-man-uvrent-pour-encercler-kaboul_6086498_3210.html
This article is titled "In Afghanistan, the Taliban maneuver to surround Kabul"


A rally in support of Afghan security forces to fight the Taliban, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, June 23, 2021.
(https://img.lemde.fr/2021/07/01/0/0/3500/2433/664/0/75/0/5e7496f_798377013-439246.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on July 11, 2021, 06:34 PM
My father was in a motorbike accident. He's fine, broken ribs, punctured lung and broken arm.
Booked a flight for tomorrow to go see him.

Researching travel restrictions, and different rules etc are brutally hard. I'd say it's harder than final boss fights, because you only know if you've done everything right when you're at the destination.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 11, 2021, 11:38 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 11, 2021, 06:34 PM
My father was in a motorbike accident. He's fine, broken ribs, punctured lung and broken arm.
Booked a flight for tomorrow to go see him.

Researching travel restrictions, and different rules etc are brutally hard. I'd say it's harder than final boss fights, because you only know if you've done everything right when you're at the destination.
I'm sure your father will be fresh as a daisy when you arrive. Since he's not ill, you don't need to be worried.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on July 12, 2021, 04:31 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 11, 2021, 06:34 PM
My father was in a motorbike accident. He's fine, broken ribs, punctured lung and broken arm.
Booked a flight for tomorrow to go see him.

Every time I hear of a motorcycle rider inevitably I hear about an accident. Some are worse than others. My cousin's husband was killed in one. If he had simply worn a helmet chances are he'd be alive today. Do you know if your father was wearing one?

Here in Texas they force us to wear seat belts while riding in a car. There is, however, no law making motorcycle helmets complusory. This is beyond my comprehension.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 11, 2021, 06:34 PM
Researching travel restrictions, and different rules etc are brutally hard. I'd say it's harder than final boss fights, because you only know if you've done everything right when you're at the destination.

I assume this has everything to do with Covid19. Do you think it's possible to get yourself vaccinated in Sweden once you make it there? Here as of this writing 55.46% of the population has had at least one dose of vaccine and 44.16 are fully vaccinated. Everything is reopening, masks are no longer required in many places, and the number of new infections and deaths continues to drop.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on July 16, 2021, 06:44 PM
Quote from: humbert on July 12, 2021, 04:31 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 11, 2021, 06:34 PM
My father was in a motorbike accident. He's fine, broken ribs, punctured lung and broken arm.
Booked a flight for tomorrow to go see him.

Every time I hear of a motorcycle rider inevitably I hear about an accident. Some are worse than others. My cousin's husband was killed in one. If he had simply worn a helmet chances are he'd be alive today. Do you know if your father was wearing one?

Here in Texas they force us to wear seat belts while riding in a car. There is, however, no law making motorcycle helmets complusory. This is beyond my comprehension.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 11, 2021, 06:34 PM
Researching travel restrictions, and different rules etc are brutally hard. I'd say it's harder than final boss fights, because you only know if you've done everything right when you're at the destination.

I assume this has everything to do with Covid19. Do you think it's possible to get yourself vaccinated in Sweden once you make it there? Here as of this writing 55.46% of the population has had at least one dose of vaccine and 44.16 are fully vaccinated. Everything is reopening, masks are no longer required in many places, and the number of new infections and deaths continues to drop.

First thing I did was to book a vaccine. I will get it the 21st :) Unsure which yet though. You only get to know when you're in the facilities.
I've not seen a single person in sweden wear masks. Everyone took them off when they arrived over the danish border to sweden.
In sweden noone cares about corona. I've had my neighbour come up to me, very close and greet me. I've had my cousin and his girlfriend over for pizza, and another friend driving me from the bus station..

My dad was indeed wearing full covering gear, including back brace and helmet. I'd be suprised if he wasnt wearing a reflective vest as well.
Here helmets are mandatory, but most people think you're insane if you're not wearing additional protection.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on July 17, 2021, 04:56 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 16, 2021, 06:44 PM
First thing I did was to book a vaccine. I will get it the 21st :) Unsure which yet though. You only get to know when you're in the facilities. I've not seen a single person in sweden wear masks. Everyone took them off when they arrived over the danish border to sweden. In sweden noone cares about corona. I've had my neighbour come up to me, very close and greet me. I've had my cousin and his girlfriend over for pizza, and another friend driving me from the bus station..

A similar situation exists here. When you go out, almost nobody wears masks nor are they required. I'm also noticing on TV that stadiums are full of people. Inevitably cases are rising because only about half the population is vaccinated, but nobody seems to care.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on July 16, 2021, 06:44 PM
My dad was indeed wearing full covering gear, including back brace and helmet. I'd be suprised if he wasnt wearing a reflective vest as well. Here helmets are mandatory, but most people think you're insane if you're not wearing additional protection.

You guys certainly have the right attitude. Many bikers here think they're indestructible, or maybe that it'll never happen to them. Idiots!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on July 24, 2021, 08:45 PM
Tonight, I'm going to reveal something.
I found a trunk in a garage in the house of my father. Since he died, I guessed he left it for me. Inside, I found some old photos with my father and my mother. I put some of them on the forum (maybe you remember the photos of the trip to Cairo in 1982) but I deleted this message since it might not be interesting for the users of the forum. And I found another document. A declaration of abandonment of a child dating back to December 1950. My mother was an adopted child. She told me this years ago but I didn't want to believe this. This is evidence she was telling the truth. I will probably never know my real grand parents. I thought that my grandparents were the real ones even if I never knew my grand father - he died in 1981 of lung cancer (he was a coal miner) and I was born shortly after.
The real name of my mother was Catherine De Scherrer. If you are over 90 and if your name is De Scherrer and if you had a daughter in 1950, chances are you are my grand father.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 20, 2021, 05:54 AM
I must tell you that I got the second shot for the covid vaccine.
And I'm really tired. My arm hurts. I've got fever. I hope I'll survive this ordeal.

Note that I learnt a few days ago that my mother had a colon cancer with metastasis to the liver and lungs. The doctor described her health condition as fairly serious (palliative care).
If I'm inheriting her house in the south of France, near Valence, and if humbert, Maher or a trusted user want to live there for free, it's not a problem. But it's a run-down house, because it has been unoccupied for nearly 2 decades. On the first floor, the walls in the room adjacent to the garage began to rot due to the absence of ventilation and it lead to musty smells. There is a garden too.
If you are interested in doing up a house, you can contact me by private message. There will be an adapted lease: it's free, but you'll have to paint the walls, fix the windows. The property is perfectly habitable, but it requires finishing touches and decoration.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 21, 2021, 04:24 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 20, 2021, 05:54 AM
I must tell you that I got the second shot for the covid vaccine.
And I'm really tired. My arm hurts. I've got fever. I hope I'll survive this ordeal.

This is unusual. What vaccine did you get? Did you get the same reaction with the first shot?

Quote from: scarface on August 20, 2021, 05:54 AM
Note that I learnt a few days ago that my mother had a colon cancer with metastasis to the liver and lungs. The doctor described her health condition as fairly serious (palliative care).

Yikes! I assume they immediately put her on chemo. How is she reacting? Hopefully there is better chemo than when I underwent treatment some 15 years ago.

Quote from: scarface on August 20, 2021, 05:54 AM
If I'm inheriting her house in the south of France, near Valence, and if humbert, Maher or a trusted user want to live there for free, it's not a problem.

Cool! Who knows, one day I'll take you up on your invitation. 😊
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 21, 2021, 10:16 PM
Quote from: humbert on August 21, 2021, 04:24 AM
This is unusual. What vaccine did you get? Did you get the same reaction with the first shot?
I got the pfizer vaccine. Apparently side effects like fatigue and muscle pain are common.

Quote from: humbert on August 21, 2021, 04:24 AM
Yikes! I assume they immediately put her on chemo. How is she reacting? Hopefully there is better chemo than when I underwent treatment some 15 years ago.
It might be too late for a chemotherapy. I'm going to the hospital at the end of the month due to the distance. When my father was hopitalized and diagnosed with lung cancer with metastasis it was too late for a chemotherapy. You're probably an extraordinary man for surviving cancer. Your strength and your wide knowledge are apparent in your messages.

Quote from: humbert on August 21, 2021, 04:24 AM
Cool! Who knows, one day I'll take you up on your invitation. 😊
Should you come to France, I would introduce you to some indomitable wild boar hunters. But in southern France, you need to speak French, English is not commonly understood, let alone Spanish.
If you want to learn French or if you want to know the correct pronunciation of French or English words, I advise you to use this dictionary: https://www.nomaher.com/forum/index.php?topic=10011.0
Many words in French and English are pretty similar, for example the words orange, robot, photo, piano, biscuit, taxi, bus, ambulance...are the same in both languages, but some have a different pronunciation. What's more there are many false friends. For example the word "fastidious" (meticulous) in English is not equal to fastidieux (which means boring when talking about an activity) in French whereas "meticulous" and "méticuleux" have the same meaning.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 23, 2021, 04:39 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 21, 2021, 10:16 PM
I got the pfizer vaccine. Apparently side effects like fatigue and muscle pain are common.
I got the Phizer vaccine too and I didn't feel a thing. I wonder if it's got something to do with those allergies you were telling us about.

Quote from: humbert on August 21, 2021, 04:24 AM
It might be too late for a chemotherapy. I'm going to the hospital at the end of the month due to the distance. When my father was hopitalized and diagnosed with lung cancer with metastasis it was too late for a chemotherapy.
You can't think this way! No matter how serious it is, your mom should start chemo immediately. Chemo attacks the cancer no matter where it's located. There's a good chance it will at least cause the tumors to shrink or hinder their growth. You'll never know until treatment begins. I remember during my treatment there was a woman there who started chemo 13 years go and was still fighting. While the treattment didn't cure her, it did succeed in keeping the cancer at bay.

Quote from: scarface on August 21, 2021, 10:16 PM
You're probably an extraordinary man for surviving cancer.
There's a proverb that says "nobody dies the day before it's his time". It was just not my time to go. My tumor started due to some strong heartburn that I paid no attention to. It was also not metastisized. That's why they were able to shrink it and burn it off with radiation. The onconolgist prescribed a drug called Pantoprazole to control the heartburn. It's great! I take it every day without fail.

Quote from: scarface on August 21, 2021, 10:16 PM
Your strength and your wide knowledge are apparent in your messages.
Thanks, but don't overestimate me. There's plenty I don't know. I learn something new every day without fail. The more I learn the more I realize how ignorant I really am.

With respect to French, I'm aware of the fact that many words are the same as English and, being a romance language, the grammar structure isn't too different from Spanish. This is why when reading [for example] a newspaper in French, I more or less have a good idea of what it's about. What throws me off completely is spoken French. The way it's pronounced is often very different than how it's written. Believe it or not, it's easier for me to understand a Quebéçois than a Parisian. I have a friend who worked for a French couple from Brittany. The lady used to always say "I have trouble understanding the Quebéçois - it's easier to speak to them in English instead of French".
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 25, 2021, 10:52 PM
Quote from: humbert on August 23, 2021, 04:39 AM
Chemo attacks the cancer no matter where it's located. There's a good chance it will at least cause the tumors to shrink or hinder their growth.
Chemo is possible when the health condition of the patient is good. Patients at the initial stage of metastatic or locally advanced disease can receive a chemotherapy to prolong life.
A chemotherapy is a drastic remedy (I would describe it as a "remède de cheval" in French). For those who are very weak there is no chemotherapy.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 26, 2021, 05:08 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 25, 2021, 10:52 PM
Chemo is possible when the health condition of the patient is good. Patients at the initial stage of metastatic or locally advanced disease can receive a chemotherapy to prolong life.

I had advanced stage cancer when I started chemo. Had I followed your suggestion I wouldn't be here today responding to your post. My father died of pancreatic cancer, and even he was given chemo despite his health having deteriorated.

Quote from: scarface on August 25, 2021, 10:52 PM
A chemotherapy is a drastic remedy (I would describe it as a "remède de cheval" in French). For those who are very weak there is no chemotherapy.

Is there another form of treatment available? Have the doctors suggested immunotherapy or something else? If not, then your only option is to either go with chemo or sit there and watch your mom waste away. Even if she succumbs to cancer, at least you know you did everything you could to prolong her life.

Don't be such a pessimist. There have been advances since my cancer 15 years ago.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 27, 2021, 10:54 PM
Ive been to an hospital near Grenoble and I saw my mother. In a bed and not able to talk. Hopefully she knew who I was, but it's not even sure.
The doctor said they dont feed her any more.

I took a photo in Grignan...

(https://i.ibb.co/tDtQnFH/20210827-130000.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 28, 2021, 05:36 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 27, 2021, 10:54 PM
Ive been to an hospital near Grenoble and I saw my mother. In a bed and not able to talk. Hopefully she knew who I was, but it's not even sure.
The doctor said they dont feed her any more.

How sad! My heartfelt condolences. 😥
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on August 28, 2021, 10:41 PM
She finally died this afternoon in the hospital center of La Mure...
From now on I guess the users of the forum are my only family.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on August 29, 2021, 04:59 AM
Quote from: scarface on August 28, 2021, 10:41 PM
She finally died this afternoon in the hospital center of La Mure...
From now on I guess the users of the forum are my only family.

And we, your family, all here for you. Once again my condolences. I don't think you have any siblings so you had to do all the funeral arrangements. The only thing to do now is accept what happened and move on. My mom passed away about 1½ years ago so I know the feeling.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 14, 2021, 09:24 PM
Well, I logged on to the forum and my godfather Joel called me on the phone so I was unable to post.
He was the best friend of my father. He's 75 but he's still hunting wild boars in the forests. If humbert and shadow.97 are coming to France one day, maybe they will hunt wild boars too.
But French is the only language spoken amongst hunters. What's more, eating wild boar and drinking red wine is a sheer necessity to show that you're a man.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 16, 2021, 06:23 AM
Quote from: scarface on September 14, 2021, 09:24 PM
Well, I logged on to the forum and my godfather Joel called me on the phone so I was unable to post.
He was the best friend of my father. He's 75 but he's still hunting wild boars in the forests. If humbert and shadow.97 are coming to France one day, maybe they will hunt wild boars too.

What does he do with the boars after killing them? Does he eat them? In my opinion if you kill just a few non-human animals in order to eat them, it's OK. I strongly oppose the indiscriminate killing of innocent non-human animals who pose no threat to anyone. If you want to make is sporting, shoot something that can shoot back. Paintball is a fine example.

The North American Bison was nearly driven to extinction in the late 19th century for this very reason. Back in 1995 with help from Canada the Grey Wolf was reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park after their specie was killed off by greedy cattle ranchers. As expected the park was inundated with deer who kept eating farmers crops or whatever other plant life they could find.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 16, 2021, 11:38 PM
Quote from: humbert on September 16, 2021, 06:23 AM
What does he do with the boars after killing them?
Yes, the meat of boar is an upscale dish. They are hunting deers too.
The meat of wild boar is bit gamier than pig and it gives wild flavours.

Note that a wild boar is not a warthog: The latter are living in Africa. Wild boars are nocturnal whereas warthogs are diurnal. A Boar is larger and heavier than a warthog, the density of fur in boars is high while warthogs have a sparse cover of hair.

Here is the photo of a wild boar. In French a wild boar is known as a "sanglier".
(https://i.ibb.co/fkZpTCm/sanglier.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 19, 2021, 05:02 PM
Quote from: humbert on September 16, 2021, 06:23 AM
If you want to make is sporting, shoot something that can shoot back. Paintball is a fine example.
Actually hunting wild boars can be dangerous. Every year several hunters are injured by wild boars.

Now Imagine the scene.
We have all gathered in a rural area in the Lozère department. This is a big day.
Vasudev and shadow.97 are out picking mushrooms. Ahmad and aa1234779 have stayed at home to prepare the feast. In fact, they are watching the frightening episode of the X-files known as “Tooms”.
I, humbert and Maher have gone hunting wild boars. The other hunters are bewildered: who are these strangers ? Humbert is rapidly making things clear and say “Nous voulons chasser le sanglier”. Humbert and Maher look particularly determined. The hunters are finally inviting us into their hut. It is nearly 11am and the cocktail hour is approaching. Before providing us with a hunting dog, we have to show our skills. Humbert, Maher and I are enjoying this moment with pastis or fresh fruit juice, and dizziness ensues. After lunch, we are finally going to hunt the wild boars.
Suddenly, Maher is spotting something moving in the bushes, near Humbert: it is an enormous wild boar. Humbert is shooting the boar, it’s only 30 meters away, but the beast is now charging: it wants to make its assaillant trip and fall to the ground. Maher is aware of the danger: humbert won’t make it without an heroic act. He can’t use his rifle: the boar is too close and humbert is already on the ground, threatened by the sharp tusks of the monster. So Maher decide it’s time he fought back with a knife until mauling ends. It’s a success: Maher gained victory over the boar.
Thanks to Maher, there will be a feast for everyone.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on September 20, 2021, 05:35 AM
QuoteHe can’t use his rifle: the boar is too close

Are you allowed to own firearms in France?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on September 20, 2021, 06:48 AM
Quote from: humbert on September 20, 2021, 05:35 AM
QuoteHe can’t use his rifle: the boar is too close

Are you allowed to own firearms in France?
No, I'm not, because I'm not a hunter. A hunting permit is required. And with it, only a few small-caliber guns are allowed.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on October 01, 2021, 01:48 AM
Upgraded my pc from 1700x to 3700x (amd).
So will offer my 1700x for shipping if someone's interested. Offer will be up until i regret offering  ;)


Pros of the upgrade:
Much smoother fps.
Ram can run at 3200mhz without issues.
Hugely improved acoustic, as it does not generate as much heat it seems like, or reports heat differently. Not sure.

Bought it used from a friend when I was in sweden.

My server's been having more issues with crashing lately, I think it does not like the RAM i have in it. only 2 out of 4 sticks are matching. Different voltages, ic's, timings, and speeds.. :)
Was thinking of perhaps upgrading it with a b450 + 32gb of ram + 1700x, but changed my mind as I could not justify the cost.
I dont mind the server not being fully 24/7
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on October 03, 2021, 02:35 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on October 01, 2021, 01:48 AM
Upgraded my pc from 1700x to 3700x (amd).
So will offer my 1700x for shipping if someone's interested. Offer will be up until i regret offering  ;)
This CPU is a little faster than my current CPU but I don't need it, and my motherboard would not be compatible anyway (my CPU is a Intel i5 9300H).
Maybe you should contact Danill, I remember he was one of the few in the forum to talk about Amd cpus.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on October 22, 2021, 02:22 PM
In this topic, we have seen that we were talking about various things including personal matters.
And today, I'm going to post a photo taken in the town where I attended the funeral of my mother.
Look at this photo below.
(https://i.ibb.co/zZwL4p9/20210903-111.jpg)

It was taken in the small town of La Mure, in Isère.
Humbert and Maher must be flabbergasted: it looks like an oil rig ! But they know there is no oil under the ground in France.
Actually, what you see here is an abandoned coal mine. It was definitively closed in 1997.
Note that after some research, I found my biological grand mother...in the obituaries (link: https://www.geneafrance.com/france/deces/?deces=11554930).
I only know that she was living in Echirolles, in the outskirts of Grenoble (at the time Echirolles was a working class district).
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on October 24, 2021, 06:03 AM
Quote from: scarface on October 22, 2021, 02:22 PM
Humbert and Maher must be flabbergasted: it looks like an oil rig ! But they know there is no oil under the ground in France.
Actually, what you see here is an abandoned coal mine. It was definitively closed in 1997.

According to Google images this pic doesn't look anything like an oil rig. Not even like an oil drill or well.

I believe the reason France decided to go with nuclear power is precisely because there is no oil and very little in the way of fossil fuels. As far as I know it's been a success.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 04, 2021, 09:40 PM
Look at the photo below.
This is a puzzle with 1000 parts, depicting some book sellers near the cathedral Notre Dame. This photo was probably taken in 1935 or 1940.
I'm giving this puzzle to whoever is interested. It would be a nice present for Vasudev, shadow.97, humbert, Maher... Just send me your address, I will take care of the shipping cost.
(https://i.ibb.co/w6wvzV5/20211104-202038.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 07, 2021, 09:55 AM
Well, I received no answer for the amazing puzzle above. I will remove the message if nobody wants it.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 07, 2021, 10:16 AM
Today, I'm going to talk about Bitcoin. More precisely, I translated an article published in courrier international, and originally published in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or FAZ. I guess that shadow.97 will be glad to read this even if it's a rather negative view of bitcoin.
This article is titled: The bitcoin, a dangerous illusion.

Today's most popular cryptocurrency will never have the qualities of an “old-fashioned” currency, warn two ECB directors in a column for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Its increasingly wide distribution could even cause “considerable social damage”.
You don't have to be a financial genius "to understand that the price of bitcoin will sooner or later be zero." Speculators who bet on its scarcity are wrong. “It is only useful subjective demand that makes a good scarce and therefore valuable". “The bitcoin fever has all the hallmarks of a bubble based on the biggest fool theory,” which says “value increases as long as the 'biggest fool' assumes he can later sell for a higher price ”.

Bitcoin is not as "popular" as its community thinks it is. It is “shaped by financial interests and powerful investors”. The “masses”, ie 75% of the addresses on the blockchain, “only hold 0.2% of the market”. It's a much more elitist than egalitarian system.
Finally, crypto-assets are dangerous for the environment - mining “wastes energy on a large scale” - and for society - money laundering, financing of terrorism… All this militates for “a reaction from the public authorities”, conclude the two economists, for whom a bitcoin that lasts is something “as impossible as dividing by zero”.

Link for the article: https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/finance-le-bitcoin-une-illusion-dangereuse
(https://www.courrierinternational.com/sites/ci_master/files/styles/image_original_765/public/assets/images/p-20-amorim-w.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 08, 2021, 03:27 AM
Quote from: scarface on November 07, 2021, 09:55 AM
Well, I received no answer for the amazing puzzle above. I will remove the message if nobody wants it.
Is the puzzle black & White? Do you know about how physically large it is when it is done? My mom loves puzzles. Was thinking it would be something of her interests.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 08, 2021, 03:30 AM
Quote from: scarface on November 07, 2021, 10:16 AM
Today, I'm going to talk about Bitcoin. More precisely, I translated an article published in courrier international, and originally published in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or FAZ. I guess that shadow.97 will be glad to read this even if it's a rather negative view of bitcoin.
This article is titled: The bitcoin, a dangerous illusion.

Today's most popular cryptocurrency will never have the qualities of an “old-fashioned” currency, warn two ECB directors in a column for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Its increasingly wide distribution could even cause “considerable social damage”.
You don't have to be a financial genius "to understand that the price of bitcoin will sooner or later be zero." Speculators who bet on its scarcity are wrong. “It is only useful subjective demand that makes a good scarce and therefore valuable". “The bitcoin fever has all the hallmarks of a bubble based on the biggest fool theory,” which says “value increases as long as the 'biggest fool' assumes he can later sell for a higher price ”.

Bitcoin is not as "popular" as its community thinks it is. It is “shaped by financial interests and powerful investors”. The “masses”, ie 75% of the addresses on the blockchain, “only hold 0.2% of the market”. It's a much more elitist than egalitarian system.
Finally, crypto-assets are dangerous for the environment - mining “wastes energy on a large scale” - and for society - money laundering, financing of terrorism… All this militates for “a reaction from the public authorities”, conclude the two economists, for whom a bitcoin that lasts is something “as impossible as dividing by zero”.

Link for the article: https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/finance-le-bitcoin-une-illusion-dangereuse
(https://www.courrierinternational.com/sites/ci_master/files/styles/image_original_765/public/assets/images/p-20-amorim-w.jpg)

The thing as well about Bitcoin is that, before it's possible to use as a currency, it needs to stop being used as a stock.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 08, 2021, 09:10 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 08, 2021, 03:27 AM
Is the puzzle black & White? Do you know about how physically large it is when it is done? My mom loves puzzles. Was thinking it would be something of her interests.
Yes it's black and white, it's a photo taken in the 1930's.
Size: 68x48cm

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 10, 2021, 06:18 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 08, 2021, 03:30 AM
The thing as well about Bitcoin is that, before it's possible to use as a currency, it needs to stop being used as a stock.

I googled this and noticed that, sure enough, it's on some stock exchanges. You know more about all this than I do. Let me ask: why do you believe they should remove it?

I might have asked you this before, but let me ask again: do you speak Irish (or Gaelic)? If not, have you had a problem communicating with the locals over there?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 19, 2021, 01:26 PM
Today, I’m going to hold a conference to  talk about Eric Zemmour.
Note that I’m not promoting this potential candidate since I don't want to vote for him if he declares his candidacy. If I had to choose I would vote for Poutou (who was dismissed from his job as a worker at the ex-Ford factory from Blanquefort early 2020)


At 63, Zemmour is set to replace Marine Le Pen as the far right French leader.
Zemmour is expected to officially declare his candidacy in the coming weeks, and there are even claims that he will form his own political party.
(https://i.ibb.co/28nXYbj/Zemmour.jpg)

Zemmour has been likened to a Gallic Donald Trump, but is more extreme than the former American President. He caused controversy this week after he pointed a gun at journalists at a defence industry show in Paris
The Frenchmen despises immigrants (he has an obsession for Islam), Left wingers, woke culture and even feminists, whom he blames for weakening France. He has written a bestselling book called The French Suicide, which states that traditional France is being swamped by alien invaders. He described England as France's greatest enemy for the past 1,000 years (Remember that Hitler described France as the greatest threat for Germany, with the Jews).

Lately, Zemmour was expected to speak in London about Anglo-French relations (why choose an enemy country?), Brexit and the situation on the Belarus-Polish border. But Eric Zemmour will not be speaking at the Royal Institution of Great Britain on Friday, November 19 in London, but in the room of an Ibis hotel - a cruel disappointment for those who care about places patinated with  history. The British learned academy, created two hundred years ago to promote science and placed under the patronage of Prince Charles, canceled, after verifications, the rental of its amphitheater to the putative candidate, who was to hold a meeting there in front of 300 sympathizers. "Anyone who wants to (...) incite hatred against people because of their skin color or creed is not welcome," said Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London. Same setback in Geneva, where 1,600 people have signed an online petition against the arrival of the far-right polemicist, scheduled on November 24. There he was to give a conference with Geneva lawyer Marc Bonnant, on the shores of Lake Geneva, in the Eaux-Vives park, which belongs to the town hall. But the city councilor of the Swiss city, Frédérique Perlier, indicated on November 14 that he was not "welcome". The municipality cannot, however, prevent the conference of the probable candidate, which should be held in a private place. These failures tarnish the tour of Eric Zemmour, while the prosecution requested a 10,000 euros fine against him, Wednesday, November 17, for "complicity in provocation to racial hatred" towards unaccompanied foreign minors (whom he had described as "thieves, murderers, rapists" in his talk show on CNews, in 2020). Despite a meteoric breakthrough, the former Figaro columnist did not see his candidacy formalized before the end of November, at the risk of wearing out his supporters. His inner circle has their eyes riveted on polls indicating a slight decline, and is alarmed that a "false dish" is on the way to becoming a "hollow". Even the audience on YouTube is running out of steam, from 415,000 Internet users having watched its meeting in Toulon in mid-September, to 160,000 for that in Bordeaux two months later.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 21, 2021, 05:18 AM
Quote from: scarface on November 19, 2021, 01:26 PM
At 63, Zemmour is set to replace Marine Le Pen as the far right French leader.
Zemmour is expected to officially declare his candidacy in the coming weeks, and there are even claims that he will form his own political party.

I was reading your post about Zemmour. People like him are very dangerous. Not only do they firmly believe their lies and messages of hate, they have the ability to attract followers and cause real damage. Hitler and Mussolini would have admired a guy like him.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on November 25, 2021, 12:41 AM
Tonight, I’m going to hold a conference about the smart cities.


Lately, a new smart cities ranking was released. Singapore was named smartest global city for the third year.
A so-called smart city no longer refers to the only technological prowess implemented on its territory. In the post-pandemic context of Covid-19 and in the face of the climate emergency, cities are proving to be "smarter" than others and better meet the expectations of their fellow citizens in search of well-being. These smart cities, are at the forefront of health issues and societal challenges.

Singapore tops the Smart City Index 2021 ranking, which lists the cities most involved in technology, ecological, health and societal issues. The Asian city is ahead of Zurich and Oslo. New York City was ranked as the smartest North American city, landing at the twelfth spot on the global list. Los Angeles (31), Washington D.C. (35), Seattle (43) and Denver (45) followed as the top U.S. cities.
Note that three French cities appear in the Top 50, including Lille, Bordeaux being the best ranked (32nd), and Paris only stands out in 61st position. In the Middle East, the first one is Abu Dhabi (28th); in Eastern Europe, Moscow (54th); in Latin America, Buenos Aires (98th) and in Africa, Cairo (104th).
Three cities in Switzerland made it into the top 10. This is partly because of the country’s good healthcare system, according to the IMD.

These are all cities which, according to their inhabitants, have perfectly managed the Covid-19 crisis and tend to quickly become resilient. The latest data collected indicates that environmental concerns are ultimately strongest in relatively wealthy cities.

More generally, access to better air quality and more health services have become a priority since the start of the pandemic. Moreover, the crisis linked to Covid-19 has significantly changed the way in which the leaders of large cities view the challenges to come. In addition to the climate emergency, health-related factors are also becoming a priority. In the light of the experience of the pandemic, it is therefore urban design and planning that must also be adapted to these new challenges to make them definitively resilient cities, in all areas.


Top 10 smartest cities in the world in 2021
1. Singapore
2. Zurich (Switzerland)
3. Oslo (Norway)
4. Taipei (Taiwan)
5. Lausanne (Switzerland)
6. Helsinki (Finland)
7. Copenhagen (Denmark)
8. Geneva (Switzerland)
9. Auckland (New Zealand)
10. Bilbao (Spain)

A photo of Singapore
(https://i.ibb.co/M9v24N5/Fish-eye-view-of-Singapore-city-skyline-at-sunset.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 26, 2021, 05:47 AM
What criteria do they use to determine smart cities? Of the cities mentioned I've been to New York and Taipei. Unless things have changed drastically since my visit, I don't see a reason they'd be named. At the time of my visit New York was crowded as hell. The mass of people walk on the sidewalks is a little like predatory ants in a tropical rain forest. The traffic is extremely heavy with yellow taxis as far as the eye can see. Taipei was also very crowded with very bad air pollution. Lots of people use motor scooters to get around the heavy traffic. If I have to travel there I make sure my trip is as short as possible, and of course I wouldn't consider living there.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 02, 2021, 11:39 PM
Quote from: humbert on November 26, 2021, 05:47 AM
What criteria do they use to determine smart cities? Of the cities mentioned I've been to New York and Taipei. Unless things have changed drastically since my visit, I don't see a reason they'd be named. At the time of my visit New York was crowded as hell. The mass of people walk on the sidewalks is a little like predatory ants in a tropical rain forest. The traffic is extremely heavy with yellow taxis as far as the eye can see. Taipei was also very crowded with very bad air pollution. Lots of people use motor scooters to get around the heavy traffic. If I have to travel there I make sure my trip is as short as possible, and of course I wouldn't consider living there.
Actually, if you want the techical details about smart cities, I will let you read this:
https://www.oecd.org/cfe/cities/OECD_Policy_Paper_Smart_Cities_and_Inclusive_Growth.pdf
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 17, 2021, 10:00 PM
I have an url (https://www.leboncoin.fr/ventes_immobilieres/2006605099.htm?ac=558505705) and I'd want to get a screenshot of the page since it was deleted (I don't know if this apartment was actually sold but it seems the real estate ad was not renewed). I'm trying to get the cache in google, to no avail. Actually I sold an apartment in this building for 177000â,¬ a few months ago and this apartment looked pretty expensive in comparison. Since I know a website to check the price a few months after the sale, I could use this as a reminder (I remember that the apartment was 31m² and located on the ground floor). If you nobody knows how to do it, it doesn't matter, I will remove this message anyway.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on December 20, 2021, 07:34 PM
Quote from: scarface on December 17, 2021, 10:00 PM
I have an url (https://www.leboncoin.fr/ventes_immobilieres/2006605099.htm?ac=558505705) and I'd want to get a screenshot of the page since it was deleted (I don't know if this apartment was actually sold but it seems the real estate ad was not renewed). I'm trying to get the cache in google, to no avail. Actually I sold an apartment in this building for 177000â,¬ a few months ago and this apartment looked pretty expensive in comparison. Since I know a website to check the price a few months after the sale, I could use this as a reminder (I remember that the apartment was 31m² and located on the ground floor). If you nobody knows how to do it, it doesn't matter, I will remove this message anyway.

We've got a similar site in Sweden:
https://www.hemnet.se/salda/bostader
It's really good to get a general idea of prices
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 20, 2021, 08:18 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on December 20, 2021, 07:34 PM
We've got a similar site in Sweden:
https://www.hemnet.se/salda/bostader
It's really good to get a general idea of prices
The site "Leboncoin" is a generic site, not only used to sell real estate. I used it to sell a washing machine a few months ago (I bought a better one: a whirlpool - the other reliable brands for washing machines are Samsung and Bosch).
Note that during world war 2, the Germans were called "Boche" by the allies. The alternative spelling Bosch can also be found. Boche seems to have been used first in the underworld of Paris in 1860, with the meaning of a disagreeable, troublesome fellow and was then applied to Germans in general.

I noticed that the prices in Stockholm are pretty high. But what you see are probably the displayed prices before negotiations. On this website - https://app.dvf.etalab.gouv.fr/ -  you can get the real prices for every real estate transaction (in France), but you need to know the transaction date and the corresponding cadastral parcel.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 30, 2021, 07:20 PM
Tonight, I’m going to talk about inflation. In  some videos posted in the topic “best clips”, we have seen that inflation is rampant in Turkey. It’s also the case in the United States where the poor citizens can’t buy good food any more.
That's why some people quit their job because they are not paid enough, or they go on strike.
Below you can find an article of the newspaper "Le Monde" that I translated.

Several hundred employees of Cora hypermarkets went on strike to demand a rise in wages, in more than a dozen of the 61 French stores, according to the unions. Faced with rampant inflation and the loss of purchasing power, several hundred employees of the Cora hypermarket group are demanding wages that allow them to "live with dignity". They gathered on Thursday 30 December in a few hypermarkets, such as Rennes, Bruay-la-Buissière (on the photo below), Mundolsheim-Strasbourg and Alès, on call of the CFTC and the CGT.

(https://i.ibb.co/hf8cH2S/Cora.jpg)

The movement is "fairly limited" and "without major disturbance", reacted the management, which identifies "between 250 and 300 employees" mobilized. "Today, many employees have the minimum wage and we are permanently understaffed, deplores Cyrille Lechevestrier, of the CFTC. The CEO told us in mid-December that he did not want to negotiate a raise or bonus. So we launched a national strike movement. The CGT joined us today and several hundred workers are on strike. " According to Julien Aquilina, CGT delegate: “But in twenty years, I have never seen a raise decided by the group. In 2021, on average, we had between 0 and 0.5% increase. "With the new management, the workforce began to plummet in 2016," he adds, adding that the workforce at Alès, his store, has fallen from 385 employees in 2015 to 289 today. "We are asking for a 50 euros monthly increase," continues Mr. Lechevestrier, when the management finally made an appointment on January 6 to negotiate. "We want a 5% increase and a purchasing power premium. If something right isn't put on the table in January, the momentum will pick up, "he warns. The French subsidiary of the Belgian group Louis Delhaize, which "calls for responsibility" at the end of the year, now employs less than 18,000 people in the territory after various reorganizations. Since mid-December, walkouts, filter dams and blockades of warehouses have also targeted Carrefour and Action, at the initiative of inter-union organizations or the CGT. Auchan, Leroy Merlin or Decathlon, owned by the Mulliez family, have also experienced strikes since November, without always obtaining the hoped-for results. At the call of the CGT, a few dozen employees took part in particular on December 21 in walkouts and blockades of Carrefour hypermarkets in Bercy, in Paris, and in Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne). These precarious workers, on the "second line" during the health crisis, suffered the full brunt of inflation (+ 2.8% over one year in November) and soaring energy prices. The companies claim to have reacted, with the payment of bonuses or the doubling of the inflation compensation of 100 euros paid by the state. Not enough, however, in the eyes of many who were cited at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 31, 2021, 04:44 PM
I had a third covid vaccine this morning. I went to the Essone department because there was no room anywhere else.
Fortunately I stumbled upon a pretty pharmacist. No doubt they have a difficult job.
I was wondering if Maher, Vasudev or humbert could get vaccinated. An easy access to the vaccine in India, in Palestine or in the United States is not obvious.

PS: My left arm now hurts.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 01, 2022, 05:32 AM
Quote from: scarface on December 31, 2021, 04:44 PM
I was wondering if Maher, Vasudev or humbert could get vaccinated. An easy access to the vaccine in India, in Palestine or in the United States is not obvious.

I too have had 3 jabs with the Phizer-Biotech vaccine. The 1st was back in April and the 2nd was 3 weeks later in May. About 2 months ago I received the booster shot the government recommended. It was very easy. I simply booked an appointment online at a participating pharmacy. In the 1st and 2nd shot there were maybe 3 people ahead of me in the queue. There was nobody there during the 3rd. There were no side effects at all. It was all very easy and, of course, Biden paid for it. The only ones who aren't vaccinated are these idiots who believe they can be cured of Covid19 by using horse medicine (Ivermectin).
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 01, 2022, 09:26 AM
I wish the users of the forum a happy new year.

(https://i.ibb.co/nfpBkH2/new-year-wishes.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 09, 2022, 11:52 PM
Tonight, I’m going to talk about the current diplomatic talks as a new war could be imminent.


Nearly 100,000 troops have massed on the nation’s border, stoking fears of a possible invasion.
As the crisis deepens, the United States is warning of confrontation risks. And as the war heads into its eighth year, many fear that a large scale military escalation may be underway.

Maybe you are thinking that I’m talking about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, with 100 000 Palestinian soldiers ready to cross the Israeli and the Egyptian border to reclaim the Mediterranean coast. That’s not the case for the moment.
With the invasion of Afghanistan by the Taliban tribes, it wouldn’t be absurd to think that they are preparing an invasion of the Pakistani territory, with the material left by the Americans. It’s not the case either.

Here one of the belligerents is a country with the biggest army in the world (after the ones of China, the USA, and...North Korea). Actually, I’m talking about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Some talks between U.S. and Russian diplomats begin in Geneva on Monday 10 January, after a weeks-long standoff over Russian troop deployments near its border with Ukraine, with veteran envoys on each side trying to avert a crisis.
Russia, which moved nearly 100,000 troops close to its border with Ukraine, says it is not preparing for an imminent invasion but wants to see the West back off from its support for Ukraine’s government and halt the eastward expansion of the NATO military alliance.
Washington has already dismissed some of Moscow's demands as unviable, making rapid progress desired by Russia in the meetings unlikely.


A Ukrainian soldier in the region of Donetsk on 8 January 2022.
(https://i.ibb.co/bN4XgNn/Ukraine.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on January 10, 2022, 05:09 AM
I seriously doubt Russia is going in invade Ukraine any time soon. Why? What kind of natural resources does Ukraine have that Russia doesn't? They've already taken over Crimea and have a strong presence on the black sea. Russia has much more to lose by invading Ukraine than by not doing so.

This is pretty much the same game of chicken they played during the cold war. And of course, ever forget that the MAD (mutually assured destruction) concept hasn't exactly gone away.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on January 15, 2022, 06:43 PM
Today, I’m going to show you a map of the covid incidence rate per department, in France.

The incidence rate per department is an indicator to follow very thoroughly to be aware of the epidemic's evolution if you go to France. For example, if you look at the map, you will see that the incidence rate varies widely according to the departments. If you go to Paris, you are more likely to catch the virus than if you go to the Cantal department for example.
(https://i.ibb.co/wKrVjnK/incidence-rate.jpg)


A few photos about the pandemy covid in the world.
In the middle of a pilgrimage to the Ganges river, an Indian official tries somehow to call for social distancing.
(https://i.ibb.co/1X5wQVN/a-government-official-uses-a-megaphone-t.jpg)


Models at the Tokyo Motor Show, wearing transparent face masks. Japan has still not reopened its borders
(https://i.ibb.co/pyDkCdM/models-wearing-face-shields-amid-the-co.jpg)


A little Indonesian child receives a dose of Sinovac vaccine.
(https://i.ibb.co/YbMVZBB/topshot-a-student-receives-the-sinovac.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on February 11, 2022, 07:23 PM
Note that tomorrow evening, an important event will take place on the forum.
New versions of Windows 10 & 11 will be available. What's more, I will show you another recipe. And new clips will be posted.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on February 12, 2022, 05:57 AM
Quote from: scarface on January 15, 2022, 06:43 PM
Today, I’m going to show you a map of the covid incidence rate per department, in France.

In France do you guys also have those idiots who are opposed to vaccines? If so then they should all die in ignorance together with their colleagues in the USA and Canada.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 10, 2022, 01:07 PM
A way has been found to unlock old AMD K6-2+ to equal K6-III+ unlocking full 256mb cache.

https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=85071

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on March 10, 2022, 05:39 PM
In Russia most of western news media and sites are blocked because of sanctions, and TOR working very slow. So it's much more difficult to get vital news. Can you tell me, is there in Europe and US any news about disabling products of Microsoft on russian computers?
In our media there is a lot of fake news about that, but, as I know, Microsoft can't directly disable installed OSes.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 10, 2022, 09:41 PM
Quote from: Daniil on March 10, 2022, 05:39 PM
In Russia most of western news media and sites are blocked because of sanctions, and TOR working very slow. So it's much more difficult to get vital news. Can you tell me, is there in Europe and US any news about disabling products of Microsoft on russian computers?
In our media there is a lot of fake news about that, but, as I know, Microsoft can't directly disable installed OSes.

I think best is to open free instance in Oracle Cloud if it works, then host own proxy/vpn there.
Shady free VPN services in a virtual-machine is what i would recommend as well for news.


I think best source is Microsoft themselves, they only mention new sales being blocked.
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2022/03/04/microsoft-suspends-russia-sales-ukraine-conflict/

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/ for latest updates for Microsoft sanctions etc.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 11, 2022, 05:03 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 10, 2022, 01:07 PM
A way has been found to unlock old AMD K6-2+ to equal K6-III+ unlocking full 256mb cache.

The AMD K6-2 went to market in 1998 and was discontinued in 2003. Who still uses it?

Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 10, 2022, 01:07 PM
I think best source is Microsoft themselves, they only mention new sales being blocked.

Who the hell pays for Windows?

Daniil: As you're aware, due to the way the Tor browser works, it's slow no matter how fast your internet connection is. Are they also blocking torrent downloads over there? The Pirate Bay and probably other torrent sites have .onion links.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on March 11, 2022, 01:39 PM
Humbert: I'm not sure how modern Tor system works - as I know, it's not a simple distributed encrypted VPN as before, they are added a lot of features, allowing to passing the censor blockings and increasing connection speed. By my experience, before massive censoring from both sides, Tor works well, difference with ordinary connection was minimal. But now something was changed, without bridges Tor doesn't work at all - it can't establish connection with other Tor nodes. I.e., it looks like that our censors understood how Tor system worked and found a way to block hubs spreading addresses to access. But, after a check, I figured out that bridges helps in this situation.

The rumors in russian segment of internet and in social networks are that M$ can release an update for Windows, which could disable any installed copy of Windows in Russia. I also heared that products from Adobe (Photoshop and Illustrator) and Apple (all iPhones and MacBooks) could be blocked the same way. But, after doing a check today I found that this looks like a fake news. Yes, Google Pay and Apple Pay are blocked, some services are blocked (for example, Google and Apple AppStores) but no official info from corporations that they planning to block devices.

And it's really strange. Where is the source of this rumors, why they are so wide-spreaded? Is that just a panic? Or some bad peoples wanted to got a money on hype around the sanctions?

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 11, 2022, 02:48 PM
Quote from: humbert on March 11, 2022, 05:03 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 10, 2022, 01:07 PM
A way has been found to unlock old AMD K6-2+ to equal K6-III+ unlocking full 256mb cache.

The AMD K6-2 went to market in 1998 and was discontinued in 2003. Who still uses it?

Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 10, 2022, 01:07 PM
I think best source is Microsoft themselves, they only mention new sales being blocked.

Who the hell pays for Windows?

Daniil: As you're aware, due to the way the Tor browser works, it's slow no matter how fast your internet connection is. Are they also blocking torrent downloads over there? The Pirate Bay and probably other torrent sites have .onion links.

Reg. AMD:
Retro builds!

Reg: "Who pays for windows"
I have a legal, genuine windows copy on all of my windows machines. I barely ever crack software anymore.
And companies who do not want to get sued do.
On my primary computers I would not like viruses and the likes and do not want the risk of infection through a bad crack.
Saving %u20AC20 or so per month on software by using cracks is no longer to me worth it for the little risk of having to wipe my entire computer, drives or be anxious about cryptolockers. Even if there's still a chance of infection it is indeed much lower.

I am fortunate enough to no longer need cracks. Only cracks I still use is vmware, photoshop, and sony vegas.
Software that costs an absolute fortune or have too high recurring costs, and I use old versions purely because I've had those cracks for years and I consider them safe. If a bad infection would have happened, it would have happened by now. On my current windows install I only have one game "cracked"/illegally obtained Need for speed 4, and no software cracked. Purely because I can not obtain it anywhere, and I already own a disk for it on playstation1 and wanted to see the difference between the windows and ps1.

When I registered on this forum I was 15 and very much into cracking software as I had no means to pay for all the software I wanted to try, learn or use. And even if I sometimes had the funds, I still had no reseller available or card to pay with.
The reason I registered on here was to make an old windows pc usable again as I could not find a way to obtain a windows xp iso without pirating.
Even if I am for pirating when necessary. What you consider necessary is likely different to me. If you find it necessary to save %u20AC20 on a game, go ahead :D  I wont judge you. I'd still assist you in all ways I can.

As well when it comes to Pirating, it's very good to enable things you've already paid for and whose activation servers are offline and never coming up again.


Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on March 11, 2022, 06:15 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 11, 2022, 02:48 PM
Reg. AMD:
Retro builds!

For what purposes you planning to use this retro build?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 11, 2022, 07:06 PM
Quote from: Daniil on March 11, 2022, 06:15 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 11, 2022, 02:48 PM
Reg. AMD:
Retro builds!

For what purposes you planning to use this retro build?
Win95/98 games that havnt been well ported to new pc's.
I might consider one if i buy my own house and have extra space.
For me old computers and old games i played when i was 3~10 have a special place in my heart :)

Sometimes even if the port is good, it just doesnt feel right.
I'm also a very nostalgia driven person
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Vasudev on March 11, 2022, 08:02 PM
Quote from: Daniil on March 10, 2022, 05:39 PM
In Russia most of western news media and sites are blocked because of sanctions, and TOR working very slow. So it's much more difficult to get vital news. Can you tell me, is there in Europe and US any news about disabling products of Microsoft on russian computers?
In our media there is a lot of fake news about that, but, as I know, Microsoft can't directly disable installed OSes.
Haven't heard of them. But I heard US chip makers are stopping selling chips and even games are stopped being sold.
I don't think they can simply kill active Windows PCs in Russia but I'd have a linux liveCD on USB stick and data backed up just in case.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 12, 2022, 06:16 AM
Daniil: There is no way M$ can go in and disable somebody's copy of Windows -- nor do they even want to. This not to mention that NOWHERE in ANY news source have I seen anything like that. The vast majority of users are pirates like me. Not only does M$ know that, they secretly support it. Look at any torrent site and you'll see and endless number of pirated copies of Windows with activators that actually work. Remember: what that want is Windows everywhere. This cannot be done without piracy. Don't worry.

It's sad that Tsar Vladimir has restricted your information to only HIS version of events. If you had access to foreign news sources you'd see a very different picture. I use an app called Smartnews which has sources from just about everywhere (not just America), they all seem to agree. Just to give you an idea, some news sources report that there are Russian soldiers knocking on doors of Ukrainian homes asking for food, or going to gasoline stations trying to get fuel for their tanks. Not to move the tanks, but to stay warm because they're freezing! This makes sense when you consider that the vast majority of Russian soldiers do NOT hate Ukrainians, on the contrary, they are like brothers.

I should also mention that Putin progaganda is not restricted here. I just opened another tab and looked at the English version of Russia Today. Only dictators need to hide the truth from their citizens.

Shadow: I've been using pirated copies of Windows and cracked software since the day I learned to use a PC. Never have I ever had a problem. This is, of course, with the exception of some weird malware that managed to find its way in. Even then, that malware doesn't care whether or not my copy of Windows is legit.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 14, 2022, 04:42 AM
Check out this link (https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1579676/Russia-army-general-killed-Vladimir-Putin-Ukraine-invasion-vn). Sadly Tsar Vladimir will not allow Daniil to look at it, so let me give you a brief summary.

So far in Putin's war 3 generals have been killed. They are Eastern Military District, Andrei Kolesnikov, Vitaly Gerasimov of the 41st Army, and Andrei Sukhovetsky of the Russian Airborne Forces. All this while the despot keeps saying that Russian casualties are around 500. According to Former RAF Commander Edward Stringer, killing 3 generals and only 500 soldiers indicates something is gravely wrong. Generals are rarely killed in war because their job is to control their armies from well behind the front lines. The only possible reason they were killed in action is because they were at the front line where they don't belong. This can only happen if there is a serious breakdown in leadership, supplies, morale, or who knows what else.

Kyiv says Russian casualties number around 12,000 while Ukrainian casualties number at about 1,800. US intelligence puts the figure at 5,000 to 6,000 Russians as of last Wednesday. To put this into perspective, during the 9 years the Soviet Union was in Afghanistan there were only 15,000 casualties. So if the numbers from US intelligence are to be believed, Putin's losses are close to half of Afghanistan with only 17 days in. And of course Mariopol, Kharkiv and Kyiv are still holding. Nice going Vladimir!

I'm seeing on TV a nearly 40 mile convoy of nearly 1200 Russian tank, almost not moving. I'm under the impression Tsar Vladimir thinks he's going the fight the battle of Kursk all over again. This time there is a huge difference. At Kursk tanks were fighting other tanks. Here you have Ukrainian foot soldiers armed with the NATO's lastest Javelin anti-tank weapons. They have plenty of immobile targets to blow away, and they're doing exactly that.

I even read that according to intelligence reports, the military is feeding Putin much more optimistic reports than what's really happening. The reason is if they tell him the truth, he explodes in rage.

As has happened so many times in Russian history, the leaders have enriched themselves at the expense of ordinary Russians and led their people into hellish situations.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on March 15, 2022, 09:39 AM
Quote from: humbert on March 14, 2022, 04:42 AM
Kyiv says Russian casualties number around 12,000 while Ukrainian casualties number at about 1,800. US intelligence puts the figure at 5,000 to 6,000 Russians as of last Wednesday.

OK.

I don't trust any propaganda and news anymore. Many of western public influencers in a conflict situation shown themself same fascist as our russian politics. They urged to kill russians in Meta/Facebook, they supporting ukrainian nationalists, they didn't give any real help to ukrainian people, they sponsored fake news, and they supporting our russian oligarchs because of their money - OK, then no trust to them, they are same bastards as ours.

I want to note, that most of western regimes aren't fascists. Fascism is an ideology based on lie. Most known example is a nazy Germany - they lied to people that Germans are aryan, that aryan is a dominating race, and so on - Theory of Ethernal Ice, Old Gods, aryan paganism, well, you all know this. Western democracies doesn't use a lie as a basis of their politics. But many media persons, historicans and oligarchs from West (for example, Zukerberg with his urges to kill russian soldiers because they are russians - i.e., by national sign) are falls to fascist way of thinking.

Humbert: you asked me, what is propaganda? Here is the description (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda). And here is info about propaganda in US (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_the_United_States). Propaganda is a manipulation with information. It's goal is to form an opinion about something in the heads of people. For example, marketing and advertising is a variety of propaganda. Propaganda isn't bad itself (it's just an instrument). But many political regimes using it for achieve their dirty goals.

To continue the argue about propaganda and things close to this, I want to return to our argue about Vietnam war. You said, that:
Quote from: humbert on March 04, 2022, 06:03 AM
None of the countries you mentioned are "destroyed", not even Vietnam which his the most extreme example. All are alive and well and enjoy good relations with the USA, with the possible exception of Syria and North Korea. While the USA might have influence in one more than another, none are US puppet states. If you want we'll take each country one by one for a more detailed explanation.
So, let's take a Vietnam as most extreme and well known example. Let's analyze this step by step. What national interests US pursuited in that conflict?


Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 11, 2022, 07:06 PM
Win95/98 games that havnt been well ported to new pc's.
I might consider one if i buy my own house and have extra space.
For me old computers and old games i played when i was 3~10 have a special place in my heart :)
Shadow.97: Yes, I understand you. Sometimes it's interesting to play an old games, like Tomb Raider 3 or something like this. Retro PC is a best way to play this, no emulators are effective enough to play old 3D games.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on March 19, 2022, 10:16 PM
Apparently it works again. Humbert was afraid Maher might be held prisoner in Russia or Ukraine but it seems he's fine and the forum is repaired. I was afraid of a closure of the forum because I had new videos to post as well as new game repack updates for the users of the forum.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 20, 2022, 02:36 AM
Quote from: scarface on March 19, 2022, 10:16 PM
Apparently it works again. Humbert was afraid Maher might be held prisoner in Russia or Ukraine but it seems he's fine and the forum is repaired. I was afraid of a closure of the forum because I had new videos to post as well as new game repack updates for the users of the forum.
Do you know what happened?
I believe some posts went missing.

I remember specifically asking Daniil about what the best way for West to "punish"/help Ukraine without sanctioning civilians. I cant find that post in any part of the forum
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on March 20, 2022, 03:02 AM
Maybe we just shouldn't talk here about politics?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on March 20, 2022, 03:29 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 20, 2022, 02:36 AM
Do you know what happened?
I believe some posts went missing.

I remember specifically asking Daniil about what the best way for West to "punish"/help Ukraine without sanctioning civilians. I cant find that post in any part of the forum
I don't really know, but it was fixed anyway. Maybe Maher was trying to apply updates and then the forum was acting up, I can't tell. As for the missing messages, I remember a photo of a leerdammer (in this cheese you can find the holes of the emmental and the flexibility of the Gouda, but it is an industrial cheese and I prefer the taste of the original emmental. What's more, it's very salty), but it disappeared and then it was not possible to post messages any longer due to a sql error.

As for the question of shadow.97, it's virtually impossible to prevent this war since Russia is financing its army essentially thanks to its commodities. Unfortunately, despite the announcement of a Russian oil and gas ban by the US and the UK, the other European countries are still importing oil and gas. And it's likely there will be no embargo in Europe because there is no oil and gas in those countries. In fact, only the countries that can manage to phase out oil and gas imports announced an embargo. As of today, the oil from Russia still accounts for 30% of the oil imports into Europe. Russia is the main EU supplier of crude oil, natural gas and solid fossil fuels.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 20, 2022, 04:02 AM
Finally the forum is back. Contributing to the delay was the fact that I lost Maher's phone number. When I texted Scarface he accidentally gave the the old number  :( : :-[ - It then occurred to me to send Maher an email, he saw it after a day and got back to me. According to him, the issue started because he changed hosts. Fortunately it's fixed.

Daniil: I know you're kidding but I like talking politics. We share opinions and learn from each other. I say we continue.

With respect to lost posts, I responded to Daniil with a detailed account of what happened during the Vietnam War (historians call it the 2nd Indochina War). It never occurred to me to copy it to a text file. If you're interested I'll gladly post it again. The interesting thing is that there were some interesting historical ironies as well as interesing parallels between what happened to Lyndon Johnson (US President at the time) and what Putin is currently going through. If you're curious I'll retype the whole thing again.

Before I forget: Daniil, I agree with your Wiki links regarding US propaganda and propaganda in general.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on March 20, 2022, 11:26 AM
Quote from: humbert on March 20, 2022, 04:02 AMDaniil: I know you're kidding but I like talking politics. We share opinions and learn from each other. I say we continue.
I'm not really kidding actually. You see, russian society is very heterogeneous. There is a lot of people even between youngsters, who supporting putinism. Some of them are IT specialists, sometimes better than me. They are crawling over internet, "fighting" against dissent by defacing sites and attacking forums where discussing any opposit thoughts. I don't want troubles to our forum. So if that was an attack, probably we should take measures.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 20, 2022, 02:36 AMI remember specifically asking Daniil about what the best way for West to "punish"/help Ukraine without sanctioning civilians.
Yes, I remember your question. Firstly, I should explain, that any sanctions will hit civilians in Russia, because of structure of our economics (all of economics are under hard control of governmental corporations owned by oligarchs, and any sanctions against any branch of economics will hit hard most of civilians). Today all european sanctions are palliatives in fact (because european oligarchy are tightly linked with russian by a big money).
Teoretically, effective measures of Europe in confrontation with Russia would be like this:
1) Apply real sanctions against russian corporations. Stop using russian gas and hydrocarbonates. Without this all other sanctions are useless, even a deny of exporting to Russia high-tech electronics like Intel and AMD CPUs. One of main basises of russian economics are oligarchs, and their main business are exporting of energy, resources and hydrocarbonates. While world continues to use this, any other sanctions are like a joke for them. Denying to sell Louis-Vuitton in Moscow are not a sanctions. And when in Europe they arrested a mega-yacht of Usmanov and a day later returning it with apologises - this is not a sanctions too.
2) Offer a free visa (green card in US, etc.), valid for 6 month, to russian IT and tech specialists, who has marks of real employments in workbook and proved examples of finished projects. This is modified idea of Robert Zubrin (he is a well-known aerospace enthusiast and scientist, but with nazi ideas sometimes). His idea was to pull specialists with high education out from Russia. In fact, his idea is partially wrong. Because most of tech specialists in Russia are now in IT, and many of IT specialists in Russia have no high education in IT (or even no high education at all).
3) Offer to emigrated tech specialists to pay their credits in russian banks at once, if they found an employment while their visa/green card is valid. Banks are main chain in modern russian economics - without them, any activity of force structures are impossible now. Yes, if West pay the credits of russian tech emmigrants, this looks like West support russian regime. But in this case it's not true. Russian tech specialists is a most part of "middle class", those who use a credits. Only a credits provides rotating of capital in russian economic. If west repay mentioned credits, returned money will lay down in russian banks like a dead weight. This will destroy them, and stop all russian economy.
4) Stop to export weapons in Ukraine. Yes, in that case Russia will defeat Ukraine very fast. But - are West wanted to stop the war, or they supports war and are against russian and ukrainian civilians? Political regimes such as current russian regime can't be defeated with force, the main contermeasures are economics measures I described before. Main goal in Ukraine now - stop the violence. But West are just pours oil on the fire. Stop to send to Ukraine overdue US weapons (Javelins are ineffective against russian tanks), but send there a humanitarian missions. If UN can't send their forces, use Red Cross, any medical organizations, but save the people.

(I made an edit on this post, because of appearing of some unpleasant tendencies in our news here)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 21, 2022, 04:54 AM
There may be many people supporting Putin but I bet anything there are more than oppose his policies. Remeber these people risk 15 years in jail for merely saying this is not a "special military operation". If most people supported him there would be no need to impose censorship. You probably don't know about Marina Ovsyannikova, the courageous reporter who went on TV with a sign condemning Putin's unnecessary war. She was promptly hauled off to jail. And of course nowhere in the Putin-controlled press did you see pictures of the 3 Russian cosmonauts on the ISS. They were all wearing yellow and blue uniforms.

I strongly disagree with stopping weapons shipment to Ukraine. This despot has to be stopped. He destroyed whatever remained of Russian democracy. He started wars against Chechnya and Georgia, and now wants to destroy Ukraine and make it a part of Russia. The comment that javelins can't harm Putin's tanks is a total lie. ALL news agencies outside Russia report exactly the opposite. If Putin's propaganda machine were true, why is it that now, one month into this invasion, Putin is no closer to crushing Ukraine than on the first day? Why is it that Russian casualties are FAR higher than anticipated and are already close to approaching the total number of casualties in Afghanistan? Why is it that 6 generals have been killed? This NEVER happens in any war unless things are going very badly.

Putin grossly underestimated his enemy and has gotten himself into a jam he cannot easily extricate himself from. He is a stone cold killer and might even go so far as to use his nukes if he doesn't get his way.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on March 21, 2022, 10:20 AM
Oh, looks like forum is heavily updated. :) Thank you, mr. Maher! Now all works fine!

Quote from: humbert on March 20, 2022, 04:02 AMI responded to Daniil with a detailed account of what happened during the Vietnam War (historians call it the 2nd Indochina War). It never occurred to me to copy it to a text file. If you're interested I'll gladly post it again. The interesting thing is that there were some interesting historical ironies as well as interesing parallels between what happened to Lyndon Johnson (US President at the time) and what Putin is currently going through. If you're curious I'll retype the whole thing again.

Before I forget: Daniil, I agree with your Wiki links regarding US propaganda and propaganda in general.
Thank you, mr. Humbert. I, in outline, remember your counterarguments.
So, let's continue our analysis. You said (in outline) that:
1) US attacked Vietnam basically because of paranoid ideas of top government officials
2) US didn't destroy Vietnam
3) Vietkong leaders, demonised in US, later overcomed the Pol Pot regime and saved people of Cambodia.
4) Today US and Vietnam are in good relationship, and
5) in US is believed that Vietnam War was a horrible mistake.

Also you said that you in your posts express your own thoughts about this historical events, and not only official position of US historicans.

That last one statement makes some of your argues unclear for me.

To make things clearly, is the 5-th statement is official position of US propaganda, or it's your own opinion? Could you, please, describe official position, if your opinon is different?

Then, you said (in 2-nd statement), that US didn't destroy Vietnam. Maybe I, because of difference of our languages, didn't understand real meaning of word "destroy", and under "destroy" you meant "destroy politiaclly, prevent to be separate country"? Because, I understand word "destroy" as "ruin all the infrastructure, kill the dwellers, make a country impossible to live there", etc.

And, finally (in 1-st statement) - I can't believe that only a paranoid ideas of some of officials could push such a large country as US into a big war. I.e., I really can't believe! All of us are knows, that in democracy countries there is large system of of checks and balances, preventing to rising to power psychically unstable people and blocking society from too emotional actions of politicans. Even in Russia, today, there is such kind of system (it's just working only in interests of oligarchy). Is that 1-st statement your own opinion, or it's an official explanation?

Again, thank you very much for your explanations. It's very, extremely interesting to understand a view "from other side". It helps to understand ongoing events better and learn us alot.

Quote from: humbert on March 21, 2022, 04:54 AMThere may be many people supporting Putin but I bet anything there are more than oppose his policies. Remeber these people risk 15 years in jail for merely saying this is not a "special military operation". If most people supported him there would be no need to impose censorship. You probably don't know about Marina Ovsyannikova, the courageous reporter who went on TV with a sign condemning Putin's unnecessary war. She was promptly hauled off to jail. And of course nowhere in the Putin-controlled press did you see pictures of the 3 Russian cosmonauts on the ISS. They were all wearing yellow and blue uniforms.
Things is much more complicated, then you imagine, mr.Humbert. Modern dictature in Russia is very different of what you can imagine basing on dystopian books and films. We all know about all of this you mentioned. We can't DO anything! I'll explain this later. Before this, please answer me to my questions in previous passage of this post.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 21, 2022, 11:30 AM
I'm having a hard time reading the text on the background on my primary monitor after the theme was changed. Works fine on my secondary, but it feels like I have to squint with my eyes for some reason.. :'D Atleast forum works now!
Cant wait to get a new monitor. These old TN 144hz monitors are not great for reading on. The white/gray/black is atrocious after a few years of usage.
When turning on the monitor it is next to impossible to read gray text on gray background. After around 30 min to an hour it is usually better. There is a shortcut, using a hairdryer on the monitor to physically heat it up.

Electronics do be weird.



Back "ontopic" I appreciate all your posts about this stuff, it's interesting to see your insights on the current matters.
I've finally been able to relax a bit more about the ukraine stuff. It's been stressing me mentally.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on March 21, 2022, 08:33 PM
Finally we know why the forum was down: A surprise was coming. I miss the original layout which looked like the jungle of Amazonia, but we'll have to make do with the new one, which is certainly more sober.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 23, 2022, 04:32 AM
Quote from: Daniil on March 21, 2022, 10:20 AM5) in US is believed that Vietnam War was a horrible mistake.

In this country propaganda changes with the times. People laugh when the paranoid beliefs of the 1960's are mentioned. The fact that this war was a huge mistake is common knowledge. That's what everyone believes, including those in government. It's not necessarily the official policy, it's an opinion based on historical facts. I hope this is what you were asking me. If you're curious about something else, by all  means let me know.

I should also mention that it's not even close to the first time the government as made grave mistakes and/or not acted in the interest of American citizens. Indeed, historically the worst abuses have been committed against the American people themselves.

Quote from: Daniil on March 21, 2022, 10:20 AMAnd, finally (in 1-st statement) - I can't believe that only a paranoid ideas of some of officials could push such a large country as US into a big war. I.e., I really can't believe! All of us are knows, that in democracy countries there is large system of of checks and balances, preventing to rising to power psychically unstable people and blocking society from too emotional actions of politicans.

I suppose the best explanation would be to take the situation that existed at the time and add terror. America and the west in general were locked in a cold war with the Soviet Union. Both powers were fighting over every piece of territory they could get, and the ultimate aim of both was to subdue the other. It wasn't just the people at the top who believed this, many mainstream Americans believed it too. That's why at first there was support for the war. Support began to deteriorate as it became apparent that this war could not be "won" and that the Vietnamese had no intention of going beyond South Vietnam. 

Quote from: Daniil on March 21, 2022, 10:20 AMAgain, thank you very much for your explanations. It's very, extremely interesting to understand a view "from other side". It helps to understand ongoing events better and learn us alot.

I also appreciate your input. It's very important to gather as much information as possible and try to see thing from the other side's point of view.

Quote from: Daniil on March 21, 2022, 10:20 AMThings is much more complicated, then you imagine, mr.Humbert. Modern dictature in Russia is very different of what you can imagine basing on dystopian books and films. We all know about all of this you mentioned. We can't DO anything! I'll explain this later. Before this, please answer me to my questions in previous passage of this post.

You live in Russia and are pretty much in the middle of this problem. All I have is press reports from as many sources as I can get. We all know that (1) press reports are often inaccurate, and (2) the press reports the news in such a way as it agrees with their opinions. That's why your opinion is important. By all means tell me how things are from your perspective. No need to repeat Putin propaganda, trust me we know all about it  :) Here on TV we see Putin talking, with English subtitles to translate his words.

I should also mention that, unfortunately, the despot has closed off your access to news services other than his propaganda. Sanitized pro-Putin news is all you get. You're not getting the full pictures of what's happening in Ukraine or anywhere else. Putin is a pathological liar. If Putin was right then why does he restrict your access to other news sources? His news sources are not restricted here. I can easily access his Russia Today web site.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 23, 2022, 04:37 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 21, 2022, 11:30 AMI'm having a hard time reading the text on the background on my primary monitor after the theme was changed. Works fine on my secondary, but it feels like I have to squint with my eyes for some reason.. :'D Atleast forum works now!
Cant wait to get a new monitor. These old TN 144hz monitors are not great for reading on. The white/gray/black is atrocious after a few years of usage.

I have Dark Reader on my browser. This new interface looks great with this addon. Without it the display is very bright and hard on the eyes. I have a 32" Samsung 4k monitor I bought on sale with a GTX-970 Nvidia card. The card is old but upgrading is financially impossible -- assuming you can even find a card at all. You know the reason.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 23, 2022, 10:09 AM
Quote from: humbert on March 23, 2022, 04:37 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 21, 2022, 11:30 AMI'm having a hard time reading the text on the background on my primary monitor after the theme was changed. Works fine on my secondary, but it feels like I have to squint with my eyes for some reason.. :'D Atleast forum works now!
Cant wait to get a new monitor. These old TN 144hz monitors are not great for reading on. The white/gray/black is atrocious after a few years of usage.

I have Dark Reader on my browser. This new interface looks great with this addon. Without it the display is very bright and hard on the eyes. I have a 32" Samsung 4k monitor I bought on sale with a GTX-970 Nvidia card. The card is old but upgrading is financially impossible -- assuming you can even find a card at all. You know the reason.

I'm just waiting to get a new monitor until I move countries again :) I used to use dark reader  ( https://darkreader.org/help/en/ )  but got performance issues and didnt like the "white flash" that then turned dark until plugin had fully loaded the site
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 24, 2022, 03:47 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 23, 2022, 10:09 AMI'm just waiting to get a new monitor until I move countries again :) I used to use dark reader  ( https://darkreader.org/help/en/ )  but got performance issues and didnt like the "white flash" that then turned dark until plugin had fully loaded the site

I never had a problem with Dark Reader. In any case are you using another darkening extension or putting up with an uncomfortably bright display?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 24, 2022, 11:59 AM
Quote from: humbert on March 24, 2022, 03:47 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 23, 2022, 10:09 AMI'm just waiting to get a new monitor until I move countries again :) I used to use dark reader  ( https://darkreader.org/help/en/ )  but got performance issues and didnt like the "white flash" that then turned dark until plugin had fully loaded the site

I never had a problem with Dark Reader. In any case are you using another darkening extension or putting up with an uncomfortably bright display?
I ended up zooming in to %120 to be able to see properly :)
Regarding brightness, it's not a huge issue. Just some fonts being problematic. Although I almost always prefer dark mode.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on March 25, 2022, 11:04 AM
Quote from: humbert on March 23, 2022, 04:32 AMI should also mention that, unfortunately, the despot has closed off your access to news services other than his propaganda. Sanitized pro-Putin news is all you get. You're not getting the full pictures of what's happening in Ukraine or anywhere else. Putin is a pathological liar. If Putin was right then why does he restrict your access to other news sources? His news sources are not restricted here. I can easily access his Russia Today web site.
That's not true actually. Only some of topmost and most official western news services (like english "The Times") and services of Meta corporation (like Facebook) are closed. Also, many of russian oppositional press are banned, but that's not a big problem, IMHO, because they are very rusophobic. Some of less rusophobic, "normal" oppositional/liberal news services, like an "Echo of Moskow" was disbanded by themself, as a protest against "denazification operation". And that's not good, because they were a good opposition platform, a counterweight to Kremlin politics.
Here, everybody who want, in fact, can found what's going on in Ukraine. TOR, proxies, VPN (for those who are brave and dumb enough) are working, so, if you can configure your PC or smartphone, you can get info. The trouble is not in info inaccessibility.

Also, mr.Humbert, you didn't answer to my question about your statement, which I numbered as #2. Here is this question:
Quote from: Daniil on March 21, 2022, 10:20 AMThen, you said (in 2-nd statement), that US didn't destroy Vietnam. Maybe I, because of difference of our languages, didn't understand real meaning of word "destroy", and under "destroy" you meant "destroy politiaclly, prevent to be separate country"? Because, I understand word "destroy" as "ruin all the infrastructure, kill the dwellers, make a country impossible to live there", etc.
I'm asking again. You said that US didn't destroy Vietnam. Am I misunderstand something in mention of word "destroy"? Or US actually destroyed Vietnam?
Also, why you didn't answer me first time? Is arguing about that is uncomfortable for you?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 26, 2022, 05:06 AM
Quote from: Daniil on March 25, 2022, 11:04 AMHere, everybody who want, in fact, can found what's going on in Ukraine. TOR, proxies, VPN (for those who are brave and dumb enough) are working, so, if you can configure your PC or smartphone, you can get info. The trouble is not in info inaccessibility.

Do you guys REALLY know what's going on in Ukraine -- or at least what the "prohibited" press is saying? I'm asking because I recall at one time you said Ukraine had nuclear weapons and that Javelins were ineffective against Russian tanks. This is pure Putin propaganda. If Ukraine had nukes the time to use them is when you're under attack, otherwise why have them at all? Also, at last report Putin has lost 549 tanks to the Javelins -- not even counting those where the tank crew surrendered because they were hungry and had frostbite. Ukraine has so many captured Russian weapons that Zelensky the other day joked that Russia had become one of Ukraine's major weapon suppliers!

A few days after the invasion I believed this was 1939 all over again. I was wrong. It's much worse than that.

Quote from: Daniil on March 25, 2022, 11:04 AMthat US didn't destroy Vietnam. Maybe I, because of difference of our languages, didn't understand real meaning of word "destroy", and under "destroy" you meant "destroy politiaclly, prevent to be separate country"? Because, I understand word "destroy" as "ruin all the infrastructure, kill the dwellers, make a country impossible to live there", etc.

There is confusion on the definition of "destroyed". I believe it means the total obliteration of a country where it can never again recover. Despite everything that happened, Vietnam was nowhere near destruction (as I define it). Just 3 years after the war with the USA ended they were able to mount an offensive against Cambodia, and took Phnom Penh in less than 3 months.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 26, 2022, 11:03 PM
Been thinking more and more to quit my job and move back to Sweden. It's fascinating how much energy it takes to go through with it and actually start process.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 28, 2022, 05:40 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 26, 2022, 11:03 PMBeen thinking more and more to quit my job and move back to Sweden. It's fascinating how much energy it takes to go through with it and actually start process.

I was under the impression you were happy over there and making big money. Could you get a job in Sweden and earn the same as in Dublin? Also: Would you be moving back in with your parents? That sucks!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on March 28, 2022, 06:28 AM
Quote from: humbert on March 28, 2022, 05:40 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 26, 2022, 11:03 PMBeen thinking more and more to quit my job and move back to Sweden. It's fascinating how much energy it takes to go through with it and actually start process.

I was under the impression you were happy over there and making big money. Could you get a job in Sweden and earn the same as in Dublin? Also: Would you be moving back in with your parents? That sucks!
Accomodation is brutally expensive for low quality, and buying a place to live permanently is not an option. + Missing irl friends.
I'm at the point where I'm looking to buy an apartment. A mediocre paying job would be ok as it would allow me to get a loan. If I move back to my home town I have a close friend who would be willing to be willing to move in just to avoid living with his parents. So at that point I'd be paying next to nothing for my own place to live.

I currently live in 10 square meters including kitchen, bed, computer space, and around 2.5 sqm bathroom. No corridor, halway etc. No storage space.
It's cramped, very cramped.
I cant have a future here due to apartments and houses being too expensive. Generally speaking they have a starting price of 350k euro, but very VERY rarely go for that. They usually go for 450k+.
And to be able to afford that, I'd either have to take a loan that drowns me in payments or get a co-signer.
If I were to take a loan for a place costing 350k I wouldn't have the freedom of being able to be unemployed.

I'd be looking to spend 100k-170k euro in Sweden on a 2-3 bedroom apartment somewhat central, with a repayment rate of around 500 euro per month. I currently got approx 100k saved up which would get me a pretty neat place.

Moving back would result in living with family short term, but most likely would just occupy their summer house, meaning I'd be alone most of the time. Bad part about that would be that it's going to be hard going to get groceries without a car. No busses really operate in the area, and it's too far by bike.
If I end up living with parents house, i'll occupy the basement. But it is certainly a stress factor having to hide myself in a way from them. Even if I love spending time with them, I dont have energy for a lot of questioning, pressuring etc they put me under. Even if it is just them trying to help me.

Job wise: I love the job, but I'm starting to have issues with the crampedness in my accomodation and the constant change of night/day shift, and I got news that it will likely be after the coming new year that they may permit a country move. Depending on if their contract gets renewed. But because there's no promise if the contract gets renewed with their client there is a risk I'll be without my nice position and there is still a risk I wont be allowed to move. Perhaps they're just baiting me to stay? I wouldn't know.
There's a lot of positives and negatives in staying and leaving. Nothing is obvious in what to do.  But I'm for sure tired of my living situation here.

Sorry if it became a bit incoherent. Edited text left and right.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on March 29, 2022, 05:36 AM
Hey Shadow,

Your point is perfectly clear. It makes no sense having a high paying job you like and living in a situation that becomes more intolerable by the day. Something needs to be done, the sooner the better.

I am shocked at the price of apartments in Dublin. Believe me, here for that price you could literally buy a mansion (not kidding)! Even in Miami Beach you could buy a luxury condo located right on the tropical Atlantic Ocean, assuming it's what you like.

As usual, a smart guy like you always weighs all the options. From what I'm seeing your plan sounds perfect. I suggest you talk to your employers and explain the situation. Based on what you're telling me there's a better than average chance they'll help you out.

Go forward with your plan and best of luck to you.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 01, 2022, 09:34 AM
We are in April and yet, it's currently snowing here, in the Hauts de Seine.
If the snow is sticking, I'll take some photos.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on April 02, 2022, 02:24 PM
Ramadan mubarak to all our Muslim friends on the forum :)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 03, 2022, 05:26 AM
Quote from: scarface on April 01, 2022, 09:34 AMWe are in April and yet, it's currently snowing here, in the Hauts de Seine.
If the snow is sticking, I'll take some photos.

How I envy you! Daytime temps here are already 32° to 34°C. If I had a wish it would be to live in a place where I would never need A/C.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on April 03, 2022, 01:55 PM
Quote from: scarface on April 01, 2022, 09:34 AMWe are in April and yet, it's currently snowing here, in the Hauts de Seine.
If the snow is sticking, I'll take some photo
Oh, I'm understand you, friend. Here in St.Petersburg was about -8C at Thursday.

BTW, it's very funny to play a computer games about cold places made by guys from southern regions. This winter I with my gf played "Subnautica:Below Zero". It was "very cold" in the game, temp indicator in GUI shown "insane" 0°C, and in-game notifications said that it is "extremely weather conditions"... And at outside was -23°C, and we played snowballs and went to museums.

Quote from: humbert on April 03, 2022, 05:26 AMHow I envy you! Daytime temps here are already 32° to 34°C. If I had a wish it would be to live in a place where I would never need A/C.
32°C it's very hot, for me! Last summer here in St.Petersburg it was up to 27°C, and that was insane in the city without A/C. Buildings here are not intended for warm weather, and that's also very humid here in city. Probably, in Texas, where is much more dry, it's easier to endure this heat.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on March 26, 2022, 11:03 PMBeen thinking more and more to quit my job and move back to Sweden. It's fascinating how much energy it takes to go through with it and actually start process.
What is your job, dear friend?
You see, I think I must warn you against too fast solutions of this question. Life sometimes is hard, ans dometimes you think that maybe it's better to drop all this, and get back to home and restarting all... But in many cases it's not so good solution. I was in a such situation some times. Think twice - is the trouble in your work or in you self?

I understand that sometimes in such situation all solutions are inoptimal, specially if to think about far consequences . I repeating, I was in such situations. Solutions I made was always acceptable, but always inoptimal. For example, my finance troubles today caused by a situation like your, which was three years ago.

Also, about prices for an apartments you mentioned... That's horrible. We heared here in Russia that english landlords and estate sellers are impudent, but that's over any bounds! It's not normal to pay 350kE for an apartment. Prices is Sweden looks (for me) much more normal. Here in Russia we can buy an 2-3 rooms apartment in St.Petersburg for about 12 000 000 R, it's very close to prices you mentioned for Sweden. (We have much smaller salary than in Europe, that's why we, en masse, have troubles with new real estate. But despite of this, people buy estate, using hypotec).

Quote from: humbert on March 26, 2022, 05:06 AMDo you guys REALLY know what's going on in Ukraine -- or at least what the "prohibited" press is saying? I'm asking because I recall at one time you said Ukraine had nuclear weapons and that Javelins were ineffective against Russian tanks. This is pure Putin propaganda. If Ukraine had nukes the time to use them is when you're under attack, otherwise why have them at all? Also, at last report Putin has lost 549 tanks to the Javelins -- not even counting those where the tank crew surrendered because they were hungry and had frostbite. Ukraine has so many captured Russian weapons that Zelensky the other day joked that Russia had become one of Ukraine's major weapon suppliers!
I didn't say that Ukraine have nukes. I said that they can make it in a some years, and that's a truth (I'm surprised why they didn't create nukes earlier!) Also, Javelines are ineffective against russian tanks. Do you know how Javelin's homing system works? I know, I can explain it for you. And I can say that this is an old piece of crap hardware from 80-s. It's a kind of "true american weapons" - infinitely expensive, very knowledge-intensive and with very dubious efficiency.
549 tanks is a normal losses count for such kind of a conflict. Let's be impartial. Our military at 25.03.2022 reported about 1351 killed and 3825 injured russian soldiers. That looks a bit understatement, probably losses are 15-20 percents higher. (1351+3825)x1.2 equals ~6211 casualities overall. Tank forces are about 1/3 of russian military overall (in fact, part of tank forces are much bigger, but we should understand , that not everyone in tank forces are crew - most of them are technicans, drivers of supply vechicles, and so on). So, 6211/3=2070 casualtites in tank forces. Now, typical russian tank have a 3 mens in a crew. So, 2070/3 is ~690. So, 549 destroyed tanks looks very probale count (most probable number is about 659). An this is normal for this scale of warfighting. Don't forget, russian military have 10 000 tanks only on european theater, and Ukraine have second (by size) military force in Europe after France.

Quote from: humbert on March 26, 2022, 05:06 AMThere is confusion on the definition of "destroyed". I believe it means the total obliteration of a country where it can never again recover. Despite everything that happened, Vietnam was nowhere near destruction (as I define it). Just 3 years after the war with the USA ended they were able to mount an offensive against Cambodia, and took Phnom Penh in less than 3 months.
Oh, well, OK. In that case we can't say that even Germany or USSR in WWII were "destroyed" - at 1951 german's BMW made their first after-war car, and at 1957 (just in 13 years!) USSR sent to space first Sputnik.
In that case, take a look at numbers. Total death count in civilians in Vietnam war is 1 326 494-3 447 494 men. I.e., about 2 millions of people, about 5% of population! And that's only a civilians! With military losses it'd be about 7% of population. To compare: USSR lost 11.7 % in WWII, Germany lost 10%. That was a losses in a most ferocious war in history. You can see yourself, that in percents, loss count for Vietnam is close to percentage of losses in WWII.
Why I raise this all? I just want to say, that US have no rights to blame Russia for this invasion. US politicans are same bitches as ours. They, historically, very often decided to cut lives of innocent peoples, just because of their paranoia, political and economical interests. In this they are no difference to Putin.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 05, 2022, 04:39 AM
Despite what you said regarding javelins and other stuff, the hard fact is this: Putin has lost this war. 1½ months after an invasion that was supposed to take 48 hours, Ukraine is still holding -- and getting stronger. I am constantly reading reports from MANY news sources that Russian tanks and planes are being destroyed left and right. The morale of Russian soldiers is horrendous. They are low on fuel and food. There are constant desertions. Putin has lost (at last count) 6 generals. If the weapons Ukrainians are using don't work, then how do you account for all this? Putin has lost this war. Please don't say this is propaganda, the only one saying the contrary is Russia's Putin-controlled news media.

Putin had absolutely NO right to invade a democratic, sovereign nation such as Ukraine. His plan was to remove a democratically elected president and install a puppet. This war was totally unnecessary, Russia was NEVER in any danger. Then again despots always do this when either they're in trouble or they want to expand their leadership. And yes, I agree Americans aren't perfect. But Putin is MUCH WORSE. Keep something else in mind: ALL despots of any nationality equate loyalty to the dictator  to loyalty to the nation. Don't fall for this trap. The enemy here is Putin, not the Russian people.
 
BTW, one of the Russian generals was killed because he was using a regular cell phone. Ukrainians immediately triangulated his location and sent their troops in. He and his staff were all killed. A surviving captured Russian soldier, during interrogation, was asked why was the Russian communication system not used. He answered "because it wasn't working"!
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on April 22, 2022, 03:03 AM
My c: drive is has gotten bad blocks(corruption). 3% bad blocks. 60gb in total. I'm assuming thats how it works, as it is a 2tb SSD. Samsung PM9A1. (OEM version of 980 Pro, retails for 12% lower price than 980 pro)

Lord, it's a pain in the *** to deal with.
Running "Roadkil's Unstoppable copier" to copy a .vhdx virtual harddrive that is ever so slightly corrupt. (5.29MB of 22.392GB so far, of 290gb. 4MB/s. Approx 21h ETA), Most things are backed up, but some things just can not be easily be backed up on a regular schedule.

I've got an RMA accepted by the retailer Caseking.de. So just doing my backups before sending the drive over.
Reinstalled windows on my old samsung 960 500gb ssd. I'm happy I had that laying around barely used.


I recommend you all to scan your drives every ~6 months with HDDSCAN(butterfly test) or HDTUNE on default setting. As well as checking Smart values.



Tool links:
https://www.roadkil.net/listing.php/C1/Data%20Recovery (force copy corrupt files)
https://hddscan.com/
http://www.hdtune.com/download.html (scroll down to free version)
https://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm (Can help if your drive is not spinning up/not showing up in windows)
https://crystalmark.info/en/download/ (standard/zip is recommended, just to check smart values in a nicer GUI than hddscan/hdtune)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on April 22, 2022, 07:23 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 22, 2022, 03:03 AMLord, it's a pain in the *** to deal with.
Running "Roadkil's Unstoppable copier" to copy a .vhdx virtual harddrive that is ever so slightly corrupt. (5.29MB of 22.392GB so far, of 290gb. 4MB/s. Approx 21h ETA), Most things are backed up, but some things just can not be easily be backed up on a regular schedule.
Don't turn off your PC until the end of all backup operations. Every power-offs in that case increases chance to destroy all of your data. Good that you have backups.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 23, 2022, 01:58 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 22, 2022, 03:03 AMMy c: drive is has gotten bad blocks(corruption). 3% bad blocks. 60gb in total. I'm assuming thats how it works, as it is a 2tb SSD. Samsung PM9A1. (OEM version of 980 Pro, retails for 12% lower price than 980 pro)
The last time I broke a SSD, it was in June 2019. I spilt a beer can on it...

Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 22, 2022, 03:03 AMTool links:
https://www.roadkil.net/listing.php/C1/Data%20Recovery (force copy corrupt files)
https://hddscan.com/
http://www.hdtune.com/download.html (scroll down to free version)
https://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm (Can help if your drive is not spinning up/not showing up in windows)
https://crystalmark.info/en/download/ (standard/zip is recommended, just to check smart values in a nicer GUI than hddscan/hdtune)
In case you need to install some of these programs, I made an AIO installer.
Link: https://mega.nz/file/dNtFkQID#Iyc-NVozA7IlUJyyQZRzSp0i6TKU_WxF3t04_6G_mqw
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on April 23, 2022, 04:24 AM
Quote from: scarface on April 23, 2022, 01:58 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 22, 2022, 03:03 AMMy c: drive is has gotten bad blocks(corruption). 3% bad blocks. 60gb in total. I'm assuming thats how it works, as it is a 2tb SSD. Samsung PM9A1. (OEM version of 980 Pro, retails for 12% lower price than 980 pro)
The last time I broke a SSD, it was in June 2019. I spilt a beer can on it...

Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 22, 2022, 03:03 AMTool links:
https://www.roadkil.net/listing.php/C1/Data%20Recovery (force copy corrupt files)
https://hddscan.com/
http://www.hdtune.com/download.html (scroll down to free version)
https://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm (Can help if your drive is not spinning up/not showing up in windows)
https://crystalmark.info/en/download/ (standard/zip is recommended, just to check smart values in a nicer GUI than hddscan/hdtune)
In case you need to install some of these programs, I made an AIO installer.
Link: https://mega.nz/file/dNtFkQID#Iyc-NVozA7IlUJyyQZRzSp0i6TKU_WxF3t04_6G_mqw
I've had 3 ssd's break.

One I got used from a shady person for €10. (corsair 120gb).
One was a portable ssd from Intenso, that was honestly just 2 usb sticks slapped together. (2 memory cells, no cache).
Now thirdly, this "premium"-oem branded ssd.
First ssd died for no reason, second one died due to having issues being reformatted.
Third for no reason.
I've only ever had two HDDs fail throughout my entire life. So it kind of does surprise me of my bad luck with SSDs.
Luckily no data has been lost from the SSDs. Sadly from the very first HDD there was 300GB lost data, mostly family pictures. Harddrive got lost after I brought it to schools IT for data recovery.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 23, 2022, 05:49 AM
I've been pretty lucky. I have yet to lose and SSD. I did lose an HDD but only because I plugged and and unplugged cables without realizing the power was still on. So far I have not been able to recover the data. It's still sitting in my drawer, someone might figure out a way to recover it.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 05, 2022, 08:16 PM
I disappeared for a few days because I was a bit weary. In the meanwhile the forum has been pretty calm. Shadow.97 and humbert posted a few messages.
Since there is a restructuring of services and job cuts where I work, I was asked to say if I wanted to stay in the Hauts de Seine, in another office, or go elsewhere. I had an incentive of 25000€ if I chose another job in the provinces. That's what I did. I learnt today that I will move to the department of Isère in the southeast of France. The main town is Grenoble. If there is a recession, or if there is no more oil or electricity, I guess it's better to live in the "countryside" than in the Paris region anyway.

Maybe some of you followed the financial markets today. European stocks rose sharply this morning, the cac 40 was up 2.5% and the dax up 2.8 but they both finished on a down note, since Us stocks are falling after rally, as traders digest Fed decision. The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq are dropping sharply, with losses accelerating during intraday trading. The Nasdaq sank by 5% just after noon in New York.

Note that I'm planning to post new videos soon (in the topic "best clips").
Next week there will be new versions for windows 10 & 11 (and 7 maybe).
This Sunday, I'm planning to go to Paris to take new photos. I already chose a neighborhood that Vasudev and humbert probably don't know.

(https://i.postimg.cc/L41YbGHF/baboon2.jpg)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on May 05, 2022, 09:48 PM
Quote from: scarface on May 05, 2022, 08:16 PMI had an incentive of 25000€ if I chose another job in the provinces. That's what I did.[/img]
That's a lot of money. I would probably not think twice, atleast long enough to get the cash. Then consider getting casually browisng for a new job at the previous location.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 28, 2022, 04:24 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on May 05, 2022, 09:48 PMThat's a lot of money. I would probably not think twice, atleast long enough to get the cash. Then consider getting casually browisng for a new job at the previous location.
Actually I'm not changing employer. This is for the removal expenses, and for the inconvenience caused by the shutdown of the unit.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on May 28, 2022, 04:31 AM
I just received a new message: someone asked me to open registrations on the forum to create an account. If humbert or Maher are reading this message, maybe they can do something since I can't create accounts. If it's too risky to open registrations (the forum was regularly attacked by bots), it might be possible to create a single account.

This was the message:
Hello, excuse me but is this mr. Scarface? I'd like to ask a small favor regarding the forum at nomaher. I am a long time visitor of the forum but I never made an account, and registrations have been disabled for a long time now. I don't know whether you have the privileges but would it be possible to re-enable registrations for a short time, or otherwise create an account for me? I tried contacting mr. Humbert but I guess he's not checking the address I found. I would be very thankful for your help, and again, please excuse this message,

Guliver
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on May 28, 2022, 06:07 AM
Quote from: scarface on May 28, 2022, 04:31 AMHello, excuse me but is this mr. Scarface? I'd like to ask a small favor regarding the forum at nomaher. I am a long time visitor of the forum but I never made an account, and registrations have been disabled for a long time now. I don't know whether you have the privileges but would it be possible to re-enable registrations for a short time, or otherwise create an account for me? I tried contacting mr. Humbert but I guess he's not checking the address I found. I would be very thankful for your help, and again, please excuse this message,

I never got any message from this guy. As you're aware, Maher was forced to close registrations due to the fact that we were invaded by bots. Any new registrations had to be approved by him.

Did this guy leave an email address or some way for you to contact him? If so, let me have that. I'll contact him and see what this is about, then I'll contact Maher so he can do the rest.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on June 03, 2022, 11:02 AM
I bought a monitor arm used, I never really realised just how much of a quality of life thing it is to not have the keyboard blocked by a monitor foot.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 04, 2022, 09:50 PM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on June 03, 2022, 11:02 AMI bought a monitor arm used, I never really realised just how much of a quality of life thing it is to not have the keyboard blocked by a monitor foot.
I still use my laptop without a second monitor. I guess what you have looks like this:
(https://i.ibb.co/YhBfKV2/dual-monitor.webp)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 04, 2022, 09:59 PM
Quote from: humbert on May 28, 2022, 06:07 AMI never got any message from this guy. As you're aware, Maher was forced to close registrations due to the fact that we were invaded by bots. Any new registrations had to be approved by him.
Actually I receveived another message of the user who wants to open an account on the forum...I transfered the request to Maher. He says: Thank you very much I hope I'm not causing too much trouble, I will understand if it's impossible to get a hold of Maher or open registrations. My main reason for wanting an account was that I wanted to thank you for still making builds of windows 7 (so that Humbert can see there are still people using it). So if it doesn't work out with the registration at least I told you this way.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 04, 2022, 10:45 PM
For those who want to register to the forum, registrations are open again. I was informed by Maher a few minutes ago. I don't know how long it will last.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 05, 2022, 05:40 AM
Quote from: scarface on June 04, 2022, 10:45 PMFor those who want to register to the forum, registrations are open again. I was informed by Maher a few minutes ago. I don't know how long it will last.

Guliver was trying to open an account. I had no idea you told Maher about it. He just told me about opening registrations. I'll send Guliver an email tomorrow morning. As soon as he does I'm going to advise Maher to close registrations again. If not we will be once again invaded by bots. It's a little bit like living in a warm climate without fumigating your home.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on June 05, 2022, 01:49 PM
Hi, friends. I was a bit busy at my job, that's why I didn't respond for a time.

I have a question about medicine - how is the sale of antibiotics is regulated in Europe and US? A day before I got a trouble with buying simple antibiotic in a local drugstore, they just didn't sell it to me, said that I can't buy it without prescription, and, then, said that from now "all will be like in western countries".
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 06, 2022, 04:58 AM
Quote from: Daniil on June 05, 2022, 01:49 PMI have a question about medicine - how is the sale of antibiotics is regulated in Europe and US? A day before I got a trouble with buying simple antibiotic in a local drugstore, they just didn't sell it to me, said that I can't buy it without prescription, and, then, said that from now "all will be like in western countries".

Yes!! The reason is because the more these pathogens are exposed to antibiotics, the more resistant they become. There are already bacteria that are totally resistant to many, if not all, antibiotics.

How are things in Caнкт-Петербург? Hope all is well for you. Last I heard Mad Vlad has cancer and it's interfering with his thinking. Some press outlets have been reporting it and now it seems US intelligence confirmed it. Let's hope it's true and this madman dies ASAP.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on June 10, 2022, 09:24 PM
Quote from: humbert on June 06, 2022, 04:58 AMYes!! The reason is because the more these pathogens are exposed to antibiotics, the more resistant they become. There are already bacteria that are totally resistant to many, if not all, antibiotics.
Oh, I understand. That's not very good thing for me in this case. Because of very poor level of accessible medical services here. Well, here we have a free (by social insurance, as in USSR) medical services, and commercial clinics. Free clinics are totally **** - there is crasy queues and very low level of service (they mostly just registering our ills in papers, not healing). And it's very difficult to get a  prescription from them.
Commercial clinics was a good alternative (medics there were highly trained and quality of services were much better). But when economy started to fall (approx. at 2019) most of them were closed, and prices in clinics that not closed, are very high.

Quote from: humbert on June 06, 2022, 04:58 AMHow are things in Caнкт-Петербург? Hope all is well for you. Last I heard Mad Vlad has cancer and it's interfering with his thinking. Some press outlets have been reporting it and now it seems US intelligence confirmed it. Let's hope it's true and this madman dies ASAP.
Well, not so good, comrade. Prices raised drastically (for food - from 20% for basic food to 1000% for european alcohol, for computer components - from 50 to 100%). Many products and services from West are inaccessible more.  Crimes raised, and a lot of it because of political hate. But Putin's rating is high - many people, mostly from 40 y.o. and older, supporting him. It's a kind of mass madness. Faschism as it is.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 12, 2022, 04:31 AM
Quote from: Daniil on June 10, 2022, 09:24 PMWell, not so good, comrade. Prices raised drastically (for food - from 20% for basic food to 1000% for european alcohol, for computer components - from 50 to 100%). Many products and services from West are inaccessible more.  Crimes raised, and a lot of it because of political hate. But Putin's rating is high - many people, mostly from 40 y.o. and older, supporting him. It's a kind of mass madness. Faschism as it is.

Let me ask: the support for Putin you mentioned. Did you read it in the press or is it your personal experience with people you talk to every day?

And yes you're correct regarding Fascism. Many people believe whatever the Fascist dictator tells them regardless of any hard evidence to the contrary. It is because of these useful idiots that the dictators can thrive and rule.

Here inflation is high, due to gasoline prices that are out of control. I've seen some selling at $1.259/liter. Last year at this time is was about 50¢/liter. Putin's war is only partially to blame, there are other more important reasons. I've looked into the possibility of getting an electric car or at least a hybrid. Unfortunately today getting an electric car is a little like buying graphics card.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Daniil on June 14, 2022, 02:56 PM
Quote from: humbert on June 12, 2022, 04:31 AMLet me ask: the support for Putin you mentioned. Did you read it in the press or is it your personal experience with people you talk to every day?
No, not only in press. I understand what you suppose - but no. Many people, mostly at age 30-50 y.o. truly supporting Putin. They are from different social groups, with different income, but they are really many of them, about 40-50%. It's a kind of mass madness. I think that real fascism works just like this. When we think today, while watching documentary about nazi Germany, "how could progressive european country in 10 years turned into place where peoples burning books" - the answer is "like this, like in Russia today".

Quote from: humbert on June 12, 2022, 04:31 AMAnd yes you're correct regarding Fascism. Many people believe whatever the Fascist dictator tells them regardless of any hard evidence to the contrary. It is because of these useful idiots that the dictators can thrive and rule.
They are not idiots, that's the trouble. Many people, who I knows before as good, clever and active peoples (for example, deeply interested in space exploration) turned into a rabid dogs, full of hate. They are... Well... Like a believers. That's the trouble.

I think, that is a kind of bug in mass consesness, initiated by defeat in Cold War and fall of USSR. A bug generated by socialistic upbringing and psychology.

Quote from: humbert on June 12, 2022, 04:31 AMHere inflation is high, due to gasoline prices that are out of control. I've seen some selling at $1.259/liter. Last year at this time is was about 50¢/liter. Putin's war is only partially to blame, there are other more important reasons. I've looked into the possibility of getting an electric car or at least a hybrid. Unfortunately today getting an electric car is a little like buying graphics card.
Well, that's not good. I sympathize with you - that is a trouble for dwellers of such automobilized country like US. Here on our side of the border is other trouble - most of spare parts for cars were european. So, most of imported cars slowly but surely going out of order. I'm looking to this with smile yet - my car is soviet-made, so it uses spare parts from military trucks, and I have no need to ride it every day. But the trouble is that our roads becoming more and more dangerous because of incorrectly repaired cars.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 15, 2022, 05:15 AM
Quote from: Daniil on June 14, 2022, 02:56 PMNo, not only in press. I understand what you suppose - but no. Many people, mostly at age 30-50 y.o. truly supporting Putin. They are from different social groups, with different income, but they are really many of them, about 40-50%. It's a kind of mass madness. I think that real fascism works just like this. When we think today, while watching documentary about nazi Germany, "how could progressive european country in 10 years turned into place where peoples burning books" - the answer is "like this, like in Russia today".

I believe it was Hitler who said "the bigger the lie, the more the people will believe it". Or maybe the correct quote was "any lie, if sufficiently repeated, will be believed". Totalitarian ideologies (Fascism, Communism, religions, etc.) begin with control of information. The seize all news outlets and have them echo their propaganda, which is repeated endlessly. They also make absolutely sure the other side of the story is never heard. I believe you said people in Russia have no access to Western news outlets, especially when it refers to Ukraine. It's entirely possible that few people in Russia know Zelensky is a Jew. Even in Russia everyone knows there is no such thing as a Jewish Nazi.

Quote from: Daniil on June 14, 2022, 02:56 PMThey are not idiots, that's the trouble. Many people, who I knows before as good, clever and active peoples (for example, deeply interested in space exploration) turned into a rabid dogs, full of hate. They are... Well... Like a believers. That's the trouble.

"Idiots" in the sense that they don't question what they're told and believe just about anything. You don't fall into this category. Despite where you live and the endless barrage of propaganda, you essentially agreed that Putin is basically a fascist. Sadly people like us are a small minority. This is why dictatorships are so successful.

Quote from: Daniil on June 14, 2022, 02:56 PMWell, that's not good. I sympathize with you - that is a trouble for dwellers of such automobilized country like US. Here on our side of the border is other trouble - most of spare parts for cars were european. So, most of imported cars slowly but surely going out of order. I'm looking to this with smile yet - my car is soviet-made, so it uses spare parts from military trucks, and I have no need to ride it every day. But the trouble is that our roads becoming more and more dangerous because of incorrectly repaired cars.

I hate the fact that here you absolutely have to have a car and that public transportation is very bad or totally nonexistent. And congrats on your car. OK, maybe it's not as prestigious as an imported car but hey, you have access to parts, the other guys don't.  ;)  Here I'm trying to see how I can get my hands on an electric car, or at least a hybrid. Today I saw somebody with an electric car. I asked him about it and he loves it. And, of course, he doesn't care about the price of gasoline.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on June 16, 2022, 11:27 AM
Yesterday there was an article in the Washington Post evoking the heatwave in Texas. I hope that humbert is not too hot. Today, there is also a heatwave here. I'm working at home and I turned on the fan. It's also important to stay hydrated when it's hot.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Guliver on June 17, 2022, 02:56 AM
Quote from: humbert on June 15, 2022, 05:15 AMIt's entirely possible that few people in Russia know Zelensky is a Jew. Even in Russia everyone knows there is no such thing as a Jewish Nazi.

Sorry to butt in on your discussion, but I feel I can help you (humbert) understand this a bit more. The interpretation of the word nazi is a bit different in Russia. When people from "western countries" hear the word nazi, they imagine the holocaust, the attempt to exterminate all the jews. For many russians (not all of them, but a significant majority), what comes to mind is "they invaded us, they tried to conquer our country and take our territory by force, they killed our people", and very often also "they came from europe". In short, in the west "nazi" means "against jews", while for many russians "nazi" means "against us" (even though the nazis were also against a large part of the western world). So, the idea of "naziness" is not as intrinsically linked to jews and the holocaust, and it is instead interpreted and used more generally, in extreme cases to mean "anything and anyone who is against us and comes from the west/south-west". That is why the concept of a "Jewish Nazi" is not something immediately nonsensical. It was not too long ago that Sergei Lavrov, russian foreign minister, said "So what if Zelensky is Jewish. Some of the worst antisemites are Jews". And what he said was so silly, such a mistake not just in terms of factual accuracy but also in terms of the effect his words had, that Putin himself had to apologize to Israel's PM, Naftali Bennett. But the fact remains that Zelensky being a jew doesn't matter, whether ordinary people in Russia know that or not won't change their conviction that Ukraine is somehow "nazi" and needed to be "denazified", certainly not those russians who believe state media. It was never about Jews.

Is my explanation correct, Daniil?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on June 17, 2022, 06:17 AM
Scarface: Don't even mention the heat wave  :). Daytime and afternoon temps are anywhere from 38° to 41°C, day after day after day. My air conditioning runs nonstop. I paid over $250 in electricity (1,447 kWH) last month and I would not be surprised if it hit $300 next month. As you know I deliver food a few hours a day on the side. Fortunately the car has good A/C and dark tinted glass, but even so when you're parked it can get hot as hell. At this point I'd be happy with 30°C.

BTW, my bill also include 22.65 m³ in gas. In summer it's just for water heater. In winter it's for the water heater and heating for the house. Naturally it's much higher in winter. The electric and gas company are one and the same.

Guliver: Never say you're "butting in". This is a public forum where EVERYONE has the right to be heard. This applies especially to you. If the brief time I've known you it's clear you are a very smart, well-informed guy, and, in my opinion, an asset to our forum. We NEED users like you. I'm glad you posted what you did. None of what you said even remotely crossed my mind. Upon reading your post it's clear you're absolutely right. Naturally I would like to hear Daniil's opinion, but I'm certain he'll agree. When you have an opinion, by all means speak up.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on October 17, 2022, 04:39 AM
Have you guys been reading the news about the situation in Russia? According to this morning's (16/10/2022) edition of the Washington Post, Putin has resorted to simply taking men off the streets at random to send them to Ukraine. At a recent raid at a restaurant-bar they took everybody. This includes a 55-year old drunk man and a courier who arrived to simply deliver a package. This is starting to remind me of Hitler from 1942 onward: a despot out of his mind and making horrendous decisions. I'm posting this because if indeed this is true, Daniil is in grave danger. Daniil, if you're reading this: swim to Finland if you have to, and, if conscripted, surrender to the Ukrainian army as soon as you can.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on October 18, 2022, 11:23 PM
Quote from: humbert on October 17, 2022, 04:39 AMHave you guys been reading the news about the situation in Russia? According to this morning's (16/10/2022) edition of the Washington Post, Putin has resorted to simply taking men off the streets at random to send them to Ukraine. At a recent raid at a restaurant-bar they took everybody. This includes a 55-year old drunk man and a courier who arrived to simply deliver a package. This is starting to remind me of Hitler from 1942 onward: a despot out of his mind and making horrendous decisions. I'm posting this because if indeed this is true, Daniil is in grave danger. Daniil, if you're reading this: swim to Finland if you have to, and, if conscripted, surrender to the Ukrainian army as soon as you can.
I found and read this article in the Washington Post, you summed it up pretty well.
This is a dilemma, I don't see any good solutions.
Putin called Assad and Kim Jong-un to send mercenaries to Ukraine, apparently it wasn't an interesting project for them.
After counting on Chechen inmates, Russia is now turning to the urban population of Moscow and Saint Petersburg to take up arms.
In this context, if Daniil wants to stay in Russia, and if doesn't want to be sent to the battle front in Ukraine, maybe it would be wise for him to be disguised as a woman in the street. I don't know if this is a good solution.
Let's hope that Ukraine will win the war, The Russians slowly understand they don't stand a chance in fighting lions.
If he wants to go to Poland or Estonia, why not, but I don't know what he will do other there.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on October 19, 2022, 05:35 AM
Quote from: scarface on October 18, 2022, 11:23 PMPutin called Assad and Kim Jong-un to send mercenaries to Ukraine, apparently it wasn't an interesting project for them.

This is desperation. Neither of these 2 countries are in any condition to send troops anywhere. Both are near the bottom on the 2021 world corruption index. For those who must live there it's the only way to survive.

Quote from: scarface on October 18, 2022, 11:23 PMAfter counting on Chechen inmates, Russia is now turning to the urban population of Moscow and Saint Petersburg to take up arms. In this context, if Daniil wants to stay in Russia, and if doesn't want to be sent to the battle front in Ukraine, maybe it would be wise for him to be disguised as a woman in the street. I don't know if this is a good solution.Let's hope that Ukraine will win the war, The Russians slowly understand they don't stand a chance in fighting lions. If he wants to go to Poland or Estonia, why not, but I don't know what he will do other there.

Do you honestly think Daniil can pass himself off as a woman? I doubt it. He either finds some way to make it to Estonia or Finland, or he'll be in hiding forever. I seriously doubt any of these countries is going to send him back if he's a Russian citizen running from a brutal madman.

As for winning this war, as things stand there is no possibility of a Russian victory. Russian soldiers have no interest in fighting and hate their commanders. They're tired, untrained, they lack supplies, etc. etc. They abandon tanks and other military hardware in virtually unused condition and take off on foot. No country can win a war under like this. If Putin goes berserk and uses the nuclear option, he's toast. The entire world will react very strongly. Also, who is he going to use his nukes against? Ukraine is on Russia's border. With all the fallout these weapons create, he may as well be using them in Russia itself near populated areas. And keep in mind something else: this scenario is assuming that those with their fingers on the button decide to follow his orders. Given the broken command structure and overall incompetence, I doubt it.

And of course, keep in mind Russia has already lost nearly 65,000 soldiers in under 8 months. This figure exceeds the number of American casualties during 7 years in Vietnam (58,000). Don't think the Russian people don't know it. No wonder nobody wants to fight. Remember too that winter is coming. This time it is the Russians who will suffer the same fate as Napoleon and Hitler.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 18, 2022, 06:54 PM
Ended up ordering a new laptop today.
HP Victus RTX 3050 16-D0013no 16,1" i5-11400H (Gen 11) 8GB RAM 512GB SSD

Mainly picked it due to the ports it has and the layout of them.
Will be looking to shove 32gb of ram into it, as it's not too expensive.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 19, 2022, 05:45 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 18, 2022, 06:54 PMEnded up ordering a new laptop today.
HP Victus RTX 3050 16-D0013no 16,1" i5-11400H (Gen 11) 8GB RAM 512GB SSD

That makes 2 of us. Newegg was offering an MSI GE76-Raider-11UE for $300 off the regular price and I took the bait. My current laptop is almost 7 years old and needed an upgrade badly.

Here's a question. I refuse to run that bloat-infested Windows 11 Home that comes with the computer. I'm planning to wipe the drive and install a fresh copy of Windows 11 Pro. Since the laptop comes with relatively new hardware, I can't get away with Windows 10. For starters, the lappie supports Wifi 6E - for that you must use W11.

I'm under the impression that the detestable secure boot won't allow booting from flashdrive, making a backup as a precaution, and proceeding with the changes. I'm thinking the way to go is to enter the BIOS, disable secure boot, boot from USB with Sergei Strelec's ISO, delete all existing partitions and install a clean pre-activated W11 Pro from flashdrive. After that reinstall all drivers which are readily available at MSI's web site. Guys -- you know more about this than I do. Do you think this is OK or do you know a better way?

Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 18, 2022, 06:54 PMMainly picked it due to the ports it has and the layout of them.
Will be looking to shove 32gb of ram into it, as it's not too expensive.

I'm thinking the same thing. It's gotten to the point that 16GB doesn't do it anymore, plus RAM isn't as notoriously expensive as it used to be. But first let me get this thing up and running with Pro.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 19, 2022, 07:11 PM
Quote from: humbert on November 19, 2022, 05:45 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 18, 2022, 06:54 PMMainly picked it due to the ports it has and the layout of them.
Will be looking to shove 32gb of ram into it, as it's not too expensive.

I'm thinking the same thing. It's gotten to the point that 16GB doesn't do it anymore, plus RAM isn't as notoriously expensive as it used to be. But first let me get this thing up and running with Pro.
I'm going to consider getting a pro license, but other than that. I think I will try to use/get used to win11. If it comes with it. Not sure yet.

I'm planning on instantly "refreshing" the laptop to get it to not have as much bloat. But we'll see if it's needed.

RAM was also on sale on Black Friday. Due to the generous return window of 60 days, that you can try and use the product etc then return it. I felt comfortable buying both and then return if there's any issue. Wont see it for 20 days, something to look forward to.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on November 20, 2022, 05:10 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 19, 2022, 07:11 PMI'm going to consider getting a pro license, but other than that. I think I will try to use/get used to win11. If it comes with it. Not sure yet.

Unless you bought a computer that was on the market 2-3 years ago, you have to bite the bullet and go with Win11. M$haft is purposely not supporting newer hardware on Win10. Sooner or later upgrades become mandatory. Resistance to upgrading has been around since the days of MS-Dos, if not further back than that.

Do you pay for a Pro license? Even if you did, how do you install it over Win11 Home? Do you wipe partitions or just overwrite the Home installation being sure to delete all the garbage in the process? For me Home is not an option. Off the top of my head (1) there is no Group Policy Editor, and (2) you must use a M$haft account. These 2 among other limitations.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 19, 2022, 07:11 PMI'm planning on instantly "refreshing" the laptop to get it to not have as much bloat. But we'll see if it's needed.

What do you mean? As I understand it, refreshing will not delete the bloat.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 19, 2022, 07:11 PMRAM was also on sale on Black Friday. Due to the generous return window of 60 days, that you can try and use the product etc then return it. I felt comfortable buying both and then return if there's any issue. Wont see it for 20 days, something to look forward to.

Eventually I'll get 32 GB. First let me get the damn thing working the way I want it.  :)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on November 20, 2022, 08:38 PM
Quote from: humbert on November 20, 2022, 05:10 AM
Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 19, 2022, 07:11 PMI'm going to consider getting a pro license, but other than that. I think I will try to use/get used to win11. If it comes with it. Not sure yet.

Unless you bought a computer that was on the market 2-3 years ago, you have to bite the bullet and go with Win11. M$haft is purposely not supporting newer hardware on Win10. Sooner or later upgrades become mandatory. Resistance to upgrading has been around since the days of MS-Dos, if not further back than that.

Do you pay for a Pro license? Even if you did, how do you install it over Win11 Home? Do you wipe partitions or just overwrite the Home installation being sure to delete all the garbage in the process? For me Home is not an option. Off the top of my head (1) there is no Group Policy Editor, and (2) you must use a M$haft account. These 2 among other limitations.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 19, 2022, 07:11 PMI'm planning on instantly "refreshing" the laptop to get it to not have as much bloat. But we'll see if it's needed.

What do you mean? As I understand it, refreshing will not delete the bloat.

Quote from: Shadow.97 on November 19, 2022, 07:11 PMRAM was also on sale on Black Friday. Due to the generous return window of 60 days, that you can try and use the product etc then return it. I felt comfortable buying both and then return if there's any issue. Wont see it for 20 days, something to look forward to.

Eventually I'll get 32 GB. First let me get the damn thing working the way I want it.  :)

@License.
Search for "Activation" in windows, then change product key to Pro, and your computer will be upgraded to Pro after a reboot.

@Refreshing.
No clue, I think it should wipe it as long as you tick the option that is NOT "safe files/programs"?

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 18, 2022, 05:37 PM
I'm currently watching the final of the football world cup and I think the Argentinians are going to win against France. They are completely dominating the match. I was going to post and they just scored a second goal.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 19, 2022, 06:07 AM
Quote from: scarface on December 18, 2022, 05:37 PMI'm currently watching the final of the football world cup and I think the Argentinians are going to win against France. They are completely dominating the match. I was going to post and they just scored a second goal.

Did you watch the game to the end? What a match! I too believed it was all over for France until the 80th minute, then everything abruptly changed. Both teams deserve the trophy. Maher even texted me immediately after the game ended to discuss the match. Incidentally, did they show Macron on TV over there? In the beginning he was wearing his coat and tie. By the end there was no coat and a loose tie. I'm not surprised.

And speaking of the world cup, who of us on this forum would love to shag Miss Croatia? Let see... a show of hands please? All hands up (myself included). A unanimous yes!!  :)  ;)
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on December 19, 2022, 08:51 PM
Quote from: humbert on December 19, 2022, 06:07 AM
Quote from: scarface on December 18, 2022, 05:37 PMI'm currently watching the final of the football world cup and I think the Argentinians are going to win against France. They are completely dominating the match. I was going to post and they just scored a second goal.

Did you watch the game to the end? What a match! I too believed it was all over for France until the 80th minute, then everything abruptly changed. Both teams deserve the trophy. Maher even texted me immediately after the game ended to discuss the match. Incidentally, did they show Macron on TV over there? In the beginning he was wearing his coat and tie. By the end there was no coat and a loose tie. I'm not surprised.

And speaking of the world cup, who of us on this forum would love to shag Miss Croatia? Let see... a show of hands please? All hands up (myself included). A unanimous yes!!  :)  ;)
Till the end, of course. The second part of the match was completely different and the French prevailed over La Albiceleste until the penalty shootout. Macron was there to observe the epic final from the stands at Lusail Stadium and was later spotted on the field indeed.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on December 20, 2022, 05:19 AM
Quote from: scarface on December 19, 2022, 08:51 PMTill the end, of course. The second part of the match was completely different and the French prevailed over La Albiceleste until the penalty shootout. Macron was there to observe the epic final from the stands at Lusail Stadium and was later spotted on the field indeed.

It's too bad FIFA's policy is that the game ends in penalty kicks. Penalty kicks can go either way depending on the quality of the shot and/or whether the goaltender guesses right.

Logic dictates you can't ask the players to play on and on and on. For that reason, I believe FIFA should change it's policy so that on the final championship game, another game should be played if it it still tied after 120 minutes. They would even make more money on a second game that's being watched by probably more than 50% of humanity.
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: Shadow.97 on April 17, 2023, 11:44 PM
Moved into a 2bedroom rental appartment built 2022, 55 sqm with balcony that has glass walls last week.
Also started my job today as a jr network technician today.

Here's some financial information about my situation(s) i've had the last years:


Cost breakdown this far: (will put in euro for simplicity, converted from SEK)
€800 rent. This is considered very expensive for the size.

€25 500/500 ISP (offer for 3 months, 43 euro after. But will swap provider to use another offer for a handful months and repeat.)
€15 connection fee by fiber company to connect to ISP.
€7 for unlimited phone data, 1mbit
€8 euro unlimited phone data ireland, 10gb roaming, unlimited speed
€35 coffee, expecting this to go down as work provides decent coffee.
€53 buscard, for zone 2.
€260~? food, unsure yet. But estimated.
€8 home insurance covering everything
€70 Used table & two chairs
€19 medicine

I also have in my planned budget:
€30 games
€100 electronics
€50 furniture
€10 video streaming

Electricity, i got no clue what the cost will be, due to issues picking which electric utility company to use, as i cant find the facility ID I need to provide to the utility company. I will be charged a higher price than reasonable due to that. I expect €60-80 until this is sorted.
(Per month)
If we calculate these costs: €1458 total
Salary pre-tax: €2560
Salary after-tax: €2015
I have a headroom of around 500, if we count in some unexpected expenses.

Compared to finances I had in ireland:
Salary pre-tax: €3041
Salary post-tax: €2600

Expenses:
€850 for a drafty place with utility bills included, around 10 sqm.
€300 for food.
€100 electronics
€30 games

Resulting in about €1280 expenses.
Approximately €1300 saved per month.


The cost of my sanity is worth going down this salary.
If you look on Swedish Crown, SEK compared to Euro value. Had this been april 2022, with the same swedish salary of 29000 SEK pre-tax.

I would have had been able to exchange my money to Euro for around 2900 euro per month pre tax. Now it is around 2560 pre-tax due to inflation.




One of the biggest financial, unexpected blows for me has been that I've developed cluster headaches last autumn and they have not stopped, only gotten worse.
The medicine is €17~ per fast working injection. I would estimate during bad times you would need one injection every two days.
After €240 averaged over 12 months, you get them cheaper or free. I'm currently trying to figure out if I can get it on my insurance I've had all my life. At this cost, which may sound low. It is still a question of having to value extreme pain vs two fancy dinners. Which gives/takes the most joy out of you?


This may sound like pennies for people who have to take a lot of meds, or have given birth in the US. But to me, this is a lot as I expected to stay "healthy"-enough for many years to come.

Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: humbert on April 18, 2023, 05:43 AM
Hey Shadow. Glad everything is working well for you.

OK fine, rent is a little high which is typical in Europe. It's much cheaper than what you paid in Dublin.

You have to pay a separate fee for the ISP and connection to it? I've never heard that before. Even so, it's not expensive. I pay Google Fiber $72 a month for 1GB (up and down). Taking into account the end of the 3 months you'll pay 58€, or about $63.40 at today's exchange rate. Here Google is the cheapest in town for 1GB.

Phone with data is dirt cheap. I pay much more. So is just about everything else except coffee.

Overall I'd say you're doing great. Just one thing: is all this in Växjö or somewhere else?
Title: Re: General chat room
Post by: scarface on April 27, 2023, 09:30 PM
Well, I'm happy for you shadow.97, you know I'd want a son (or a little Swedish girl) like you. I still have no heir and I don't want my cousins to inherit my fortune. I hope that you'll like your new job, money is not the most important thing to consider.
It may be better for you to work in Sweden, even with a lower wage, because I guess the cost of living is higer in Ireland (and particularly in Dublin).