Episode #648

[Kwisatz Haderach]

Cara spoke with far too much generality in regards to European coffee
I've only been to Europe twice, first to Ireland and then to England some 10 years later.
"Coffee" by and large was instant coffee. 
Luckily by the time I went to England there were some Starbucks in some places.

next week: american bacon vs bacon (aka 'canadian bacon')

Canadian bacon is a third thing.  The stuff they (we? I'm a dual citizen) call "bacon" here in England is "back bacon," which is great on sandwiches, but horrible sitting next to your eggs on a plate, or as a garnish on a burger.  "Streaky Bacon" is what they call real bacon in England, but as with the coffee here, it is hard to find a good version of it.

[Mr. Beagle]

Cara spoke with far too much generality in regards to European coffee
I've only been to Europe twice, first to Ireland and then to England some 10 years later.
"Coffee" by and large was instant coffee. 
Luckily by the time I went to England there were some Starbucks in some places.

next week: american bacon vs bacon (aka 'canadian bacon')

Canadian bacon is a third thing.  The stuff they (we? I'm a dual citizen) call "bacon" here in England is "back bacon," which is great on sandwiches, but horrible sitting next to your eggs on a plate, or as a garnish on a burger.  "Streaky Bacon" is what they call real bacon in England, but as with the coffee here, it is hard to find a good version of it.

There is nothing in the US comparable to a British "Bacon Bap." When we were in the UK last summer we had a ritual bap every morning just because we knew we would not see it again for some time. Lunch was often a Cornish pasty on the go for the same reason. Except in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (for interesting historical reasons) these are also too rare in the US.

[daniel1948]

Cara spoke with far too much generality in regards to European coffee
I've only been to Europe twice, first to Ireland and then to England some 10 years later.
"Coffee" by and large was instant coffee. 
Luckily by the time I went to England there were some Starbucks in some places.

That's how is is in England, by and large - the only choices are instant coffee or Starbucks (or the Starbucks knock-offs "Costa" and "Nero").  And making coffee at home is not really an option because coffee beans/grounds are so expensive here.

So is Starbucks coffee in the UK cheaper than coffee beans? That seems to make no sense. However, if you say it's the case I'll believe you and file it along with the Ferrero Rocher chocolates in my local grocery store, that are cheaper per ounce in the 12-pack than in the 24-pack.

I miss caffeine. It was a very nice recreational drug and I enjoyed it.

[Jaloopa]

So is Starbucks coffee in the UK cheaper than coffee beans?

No. A coffee from one of the big chains will cost between £3 and £5, depending on size and options. You can get a bag of pretty nice ground coffee for that easily, probably even speciality stuff from somewhere like HasBean.

[daniel1948]

So is Starbucks coffee in the UK cheaper than coffee beans?

No. A coffee from one of the big chains will cost between £3 and £5, depending on size and options. You can get a bag of pretty nice ground coffee for that easily, probably even speciality stuff from somewhere like HasBean.

Okay. So you are contradicting Kwisatz:

... making coffee at home is not really an option because coffee beans/grounds are so expensive here.

[The Latinist]

Well I was going to say something along the lines of this, but I see on the discussion page someone said it much better than me:

michaelegnor says:   
December 4, 2017 at 10:53 am   

[Cut for Michael Egenor-ness]

In particular I would add, calling skepticism about the know safety of GMO foods as unscientific, is about as unscientific as you can get.

You realize that you have quoted a world-class crank and young-earth creationist, right?

[godbomb]

Science denial is offensive.
They burned Galileo at the stake for disagreeing with science and he was right.  I'm not saying I am Galileo, but i am saying that I am exactly like him.

[Jeremy's Sea]

Well I was going to say something along the lines of this, but I see on the discussion page someone said it much better than me:

michaelegnor says:   
December 4, 2017 at 10:53 am   

[Cut for Michael Egenor-ness]

In particular I would add, calling skepticism about the know safety of GMO foods as unscientific, is about as unscientific as you can get.

You realize that you have quoted a world-class crank and young-earth creationist, right?

Geese of a feather and all that

[Jaloopa]

So is Starbucks coffee in the UK cheaper than coffee beans?

No. A coffee from one of the big chains will cost between £3 and £5, depending on size and options. You can get a bag of pretty nice ground coffee for that easily, probably even speciality stuff from somewhere like HasBean.

Okay. So you are contradicting Kwisatz:

... making coffee at home is not really an option because coffee beans/grounds are so expensive here.

I am. Coffee beans are more expensive than teabags or instant coffee, but still far cheaper than paying someone else to make it for you. Even if you factor in the cost of an espresso machine with milk frother, you can get an entry level one for £100 or so, so it would pay for itself in a couple of months if you normally buy a coffee every day

[daniel1948]

Science denial is offensive.
They burned Galileo at the stake for disagreeing with science and he was right.  I'm not saying I am Galileo, but i am saying that I am exactly like him.

You're joking, right? Galileo was shown the instruments of torture, and then put under house arrest. This was seriously fucked up, but Galileo was not physically harmed. Only threatened and deprived of the right to leave his house.

[werecow]

Science denial is offensive.
They burned Galileo at the stake for disagreeing with science and he was right.  I'm not saying I am Galileo, but i am saying that I am exactly like him.

You're joking, right? Galileo was shown the instruments of torture, and then put under house arrest. This was seriously fucked up, but Galileo was not physically harmed. Only threatened and deprived of the right to leave his house.

Pretty sure that was meant to be a parody of someone with a Galileo complex.

[werecow]

Is it even reasonable to say that the preference for regulation of net neutrality is based on a fear of a hypothetical situation, seeing as the exact fears of abuse that those who are pro net neutrality have expressed have become reality multiple times in the past when the regulation was more laxe, by Pai's own admission (and Steve's brief summing up of the history on this topic)? The problem did exist, ISPs have abused this situation in the past, and, aside from hand waving, there seems to be no reason to think they won't do so in the future if doing so is in their financial interest, particularly if users have little choice of providers.

[Mr. Beagle]

I have yet to see a good case FOR trashing net neutrality other than some vague fears about investment with zero or weak data backup. And some philosophical arguments about why this belongs with the FTC, which has a spotty record of consumer protection.

[Sawyer]

I have yet to see a good case FOR trashing net neutrality other than some vague fears about investment with zero or weak data backup. And some philosophical arguments about why this belongs with the FTC, which has a spotty record of consumer protection.

If I lived in a cave for the last 20 years and heard the "common carrier model is outdated" argument, I might have found it convincing.  But I've seen enough examples of free-market fundamentalism to recognize it in people like Ajit Pai, so I have little trust that his critiques are anything more than post-hoc rationalizations for an existing worldview. 

[phooey]

Just watching Pai speak makes me want to kick him in the balls.  I bet I am not the only one. 

He said yesterday, the last few years spending on internet infrastructure has decreased by billions.  Gee, what a surprise Pai!  Because there already exists a lot of infrastructure!  That's like saying, spending on airports has gone way down. 

Is spending on internet infrastructure going to increase by billions next year Pai?  You twit!