Missile Lane Knee Us

Before I sign off tomorrow, I thought I’d share some stories today in this penultimate post.

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Unintended consequence

Back in Budapest, on the day I visited the mineral bathhouse, I minimized my possessions for the subway trip up there from my apartment so as to minimize any potential losses when I stored my valuables in a locker room or in case I left something poolside. But instead, I caused losses because in my haste I left behind most of my wallet contents, including my public transportation pass. And as you may recall, there are many pass checks in the subway systems of Budapest! I got busted on my way out of the station at the bathhouse and had to pay a hefty fine on the spot, more than the cost of the 7-day pass, which was at that moment sitting useless back in the apartment. The irony was frustrating: by attempting to prevent monetary loss, I had caused monetary loss!

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Brewery surprise

On Sunday evening I took a tram to get to a popular neighborhood brewery. I’m ever confused about what to do in many venues in foreign countries – like, do you wait to be seated in a restaurant, or do you just go sit down? Or, at this brewery, do you go to the bar and order a drink, or sit at a table since they also serve food, and since there are clearly menus on the tables? I didn’t see anyone else at the bar, and so I took a seat at a table, and indeed, so did everyone else who came in after me. But I wasn’t getting any service, and I noticed that everyone already there seemed to have food too. Then I noticed someone enter the front door and then go down some stairs. Accordingly, I figured that maybe there was a regular drinking area downstairs, so I followed them down. But at the bottom of the stairs was just more of the same – big tables with menus on them and people eating food at the occupied tables. However, I noticed that there seemed to be an attached room off to the side, so I went that way.

In the meantime, no staff has yet to address me or even acknowledge me, so I figure I’m on my own. I enter a room where it’s clear that one orders at the bar – aha, finally! A couple of guys are paying for their beers, so I go up to the bar as they depart, and I order a half liter of the main house beer. While I’m waiting for the beer to be poured, I notice a table in the door entry with a sign in Czech and an upturned hat. I’m not sure what that means, so I begin to wonder if I’ve entered a private event. I pay and take the beer from the bar and then also notice that the room is strangely configured, where there are benches lining the side walls, but just a big open space in between in the center of the room. I see that the seven or so other people are seated on these benches on one side, so I go to the other. But I’m still curious about that sign, so I leave my beer on a table and go over and Google Translate the sign and find to my surprise that it’s asking for voluntary donations for the dance room! To my chagrin I have planted myself into a dance venue, and that’s when I notice the peppy dance music and a DJ. By the time I cross back over what I now know to be the dance floor to retrieve my beer before making a hasty exit, two couples have stood up and left the benches to begin to boogie to the beat. I weave my way through to return to the restaurant, chug my beer like that was my intent all along, and retreat back upstairs and through the front door to outside so as to make my life simpler.

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Dutch dialects

Earlier last week I had heard or read somewhere that the Netherlands has dozens of distinct dialects, which is quite surprising given that the country is so small. And then on Saturday during the group run through the park, I chatted with a Dutch guy during most of it (before I petered out), and he coincidentally mentioned the same thing — he said that Dutch people from different regions often cannot understand one another if they speak in their respective dialects. So instead, they each must revert to “TV Dutch”, which apparently provides common ground. Amazing! I think we take for granted in the US how relatively mutually intelligible we usually are across our vast country (though there are some occasional exceptions, of course).

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Wordle

Many readers will already know this, but this summer I created a couple of different software solutions to solve Wordle puzzles. The first was a Python command-line tool, and the second was a Chrome browser extension which automatically solves a puzzle:

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Killer inventor

I recently heard a fascinating story about Thomas Midgley, an American inventor who accidentally killed himself with an invention, who effectively killed millions of people with another invention, and who accidentally almost destroyed all life on Earth with another of his inventions. Oops! I thoroughly enjoy the podcast Cautionary Tales, and here’s this episode, if you want to learn more.

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Prague Beggars

A man who works with Prague’s homeless told me that the beggars on the streets in the old town and along Charles Bridge are hired help run by mafia, with the beggars having to share a cut. Any actual homeless people that try to beg in those areas are supposedly harassed and made to leave. I have no simple way to verify or dispute this claim, but I thought I’d share it since this guy is so involved in the community and would have reason to know.