bitofarambler

@ bitofarambler @crazypeople.online

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407
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1057
Joined

11 mo. ago

I like to travel, learn and tell stories.
Travel podcast here
Travel community here

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bitofarambler crazypeople.online

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Is this for beer?

I've brewed a lot of wine with a lot of ingredients but chile pepper isn't something I've tried adding yet.

A little goes a long way with any flavor, a single vanilla bean or half a cinnamon stick completely changes the flavor, so the only practical advice I can offer is to start small.

I was wondering about the capsacin affecting the yeast, but plenty of people online are saying they cut the peppers in half and throw them in, and I've had any number of spicy brews and wines, so it must not be too much of an issue.

4w ago

China’s firm unveils EV battery with 1.5-million-mile life, 12-minute fast charging.

Last time I was in Beijing, the newest BYD was under 8,000 USD equivalent to buy in person before haggling.

The new 2026 economy sedan on the BYD .com website is publicly listed at $11.5k and 13k USD equivalent for 80 miles and 135 miles of range respectively.

Considering they have EV chargers every other block throughout the country and installed 10 million EV chargers in 18 months, that's plenty of range for a great price.

4w ago

Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was ‘gonna invent a career.’ He founded Reddit

Sane in an insane world.

4w ago

Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was ‘gonna invent a career.’ He founded Reddit

Quick reminder that English speakers can retire 30-40 years early if they want to head over to China and teach English for a couple to several years, depending on how many hours you want to work per week. I worked 10 hours a week. That was comfortable for me.

$3-10k USD per month, practically unlimited jobs, no qualifications to start aside from English-speaker, work as much or as little as you like.

For those who wanna skip the business management and other work and get to the not-working part real quick.

1mo ago

In a few years, the western liberals who claim to want a world led by countries outside the west are gonna get what they wished for, and realise that means western liberal values lose

Federal agents invading states and extrajudicially executing citizens is a common historical prelude and introduction to civil war.

The moment a US state government fights back on behalf of its own citizens, the US will have entered civil war.

1mo ago

In a few years, the western liberals who claim to want a world led by countries outside the west are gonna get what they wished for, and realise that means western liberal values lose

Consistent messaging is key!

1mo ago

In a few years, the western liberals who claim to want a world led by countries outside the west are gonna get what they wished for, and realise that means western liberal values lose

The US is in actual national peril, not all "Western" countries.

But yes, I'm excited after living abroad for 15 years for other countries to stop paying so much deference to harmful US policies and consider sensible global alternatives like bidets, gun control and accessible, affordable civil services.

Especially bidets.

1mo ago

Beyond BuyFromEU: de-americanization?

Those tropes are very accurate.

A stark differences I see between the US and the rest of the world is that many of its infrastructures are nakedly profit-based rather than service-based. In the EU, the healthcare systems have their problems, but their fundamental purpose is to provide health. In the US, the healthcare infrastructure's main purpose is to generate a profit at any sustainable human cost.

Much of the transportation infrastructure in the EU is meant to help people travel from one place to another. In the US, the point is to make a profit off of providing transportation. Many US states have literally no forms of public transportation between cities hundreds of miles away from each other. Born in Miami? Hope you like it there or have a private vehicle.

Education in the EU is first a system by which to educate EU citizens, whereas the US educational system is primarily a profit-making venture selling educational services.

Not the individual healthcare workers, educators or conductors who care about their jobs and helping people, but the US infrastructures themselves seem completely divorced from the idea of citizen service or social compact as anything but a means by which to siphon and accumulate capital.

1mo ago

Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra – Still Blooming

You got it!

It's cool that he's having fun.

1mo ago

Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra – Still Blooming

Looks like:

1mo ago

My younger brother is screaming in pain...

Serious back problems can occur at any age. If he is stabilized but needs or eventually will need some serious surgery that he can't pay for, he can travel to more affordable countries with the same or better quality of care than the US and get his treatment there for a fraction of the cost.

Here's a list of top spinal surgey medical destinations.

Let me know if there's any other information you can use after you get more information about your brother's condition.

1mo ago

Don't exchange currency at the airport; you'll get a significantly better rate in town

I can't remember the exact rate I got, but I always checked the international average rate online and compare the rates of several windows by walking around, then go to the window with the highest rate, so it would have been roughly equivalent(within a couple percentage points) to the average international exchange rate. There's no way I ever would have agreed to a 10, let alone 20% fee.

Once I choose a place, the agent asks how much, confirms on a calculator the amount I've agreed to, I make sure it's a good rate and the same rate posted, the agent takes my USD and hands me euro. I didn't have any trouble with windows across western Europe finding a roughly equivalent exchange rate using this comparison method.

I am aware of scammy counter fees though, so maybe I avoided the fee-heavy counters you're talking about simply by knowing they were out there somewhere.

Italian ATMs all charged me the local bank fee($5-10)+my home bank fee($5)+plus the exchange rate fee, and that was almost always over 10% of the maximum allowed withdrawal.

I usually use a no-fee card and ATMs these days, but I traveled with cash back then because the EU ATM fees were so high and I didn't have a no-fee card yet.

1mo ago

Don't exchange currency at the airport; you'll get a significantly better rate in town

Good to know, thanks. I exchanged USD across central and southern Italy at FX windows without issue for a good rate, but that was several years ago. Is this a recent development or specific to your region?

ATMs are useful, but those international fees can be rough.

1mo ago

Don't exchange currency at the airport; you'll get a significantly better rate in town

Banks are another good option, although they don't publicly display exchange rates for comparison, are very strict about bill condition, and you might have to wait for a very long time. In a lot of countries, payrolls, utilities and disbursements are still conducted as individual cash transactions, so bank lines filled with accountants, bosses and customers can last for hours.

Waiting in line for 40 minutes to find out that the corner crease of your $50 bill prohibits the bank accepting it is not fun.

If the bank is empty, you have new bills and you don't mind paying a small premium, city banks are a better option than the airport.

Walking around to a few different FX windows will usually get you a better rate quicker and they are the most forgiving of bill condition.

1mo ago

Yes please more tahu cabe garam please

The smaller cut pieces is a really good idea because the tofu doesn't hollow out in the center, and then the outside is more flavor surface area and more crunchy skin, it's so freaking good.

I honestly might go back there again today and get it for the third time!

1mo ago

Hey there, US retirees: You can receive Social Security living outside the US and retire abroad

Those four guys from the post were spending about $600 USD a month renting a house and getting artisan beer and sushi 4 times a week. Each house was about $150 per month. For two of them, a few more hundred per month went to medical treatments they couldn't get in the States that literally would have killed them back home.

The US should learn its lesson and people can still retire abroad.

1mo ago

I forgot how crazy sun bears look. Now i remember.

Wherever I wander, wherever I roam,

I couldn't be fonder of my big home

1mo ago

Dang I think Indonesia just beat China at fried tofu. It's a little shocking for me.

Truth, sign me up for the tasty train!

1mo ago

Dang I think Indonesia just beat China at fried tofu. It's a little shocking for me.