mike carey

That, or because he only listed the languages he considered relevant to his marketing on the site. Or both.

Perhaps so, but the question is, who decides what is a reasonable amount of time. Do we expect people to check e-mail every hour, every day or at 9am every Monday? I don't presume to guess when they will. Do we have a right always to expect a reply, or should we have to write an e-mail in such a way that elicits a reply. I know I have received e-mails that my response is to note but not to reply. How to reply to communications is a minefield no matter what the format of the communication.

I have chatted on line with @VictorPowers but nothing is certain until it happens.

I won't ask what you think of the wagyu burger that McDonalds had here a couple of months back. (It was good.)

A comment without reading the Wiki entry, Eritrea was an Italian colony for quite a while, whereas the occupation of Ethiopia was relatively brief. Asmara is noted for the substantial amount of art deco architecture there. The two countries were united after the Italians left but that suppressed their separate identities, so their separation was not really a surprise.

I can't agree. There was a time when the phone was an immediate way of contacting a person when they were at home, but you didn't get to pass a message unless the phone was answered—but you knew that your message hadn't been delivered. As the ability to leave a message has improved, from secretaries to answering machines then voicemail, I've increasingly regarded the technology as being there for my benefit not the caller's. It's rude if I don't acknowledge a message, and reply to it, but I get to set the terms of that not the caller/sender. The flip side of my approach to this issue is that I accept that others don't have the same rules that I have, so if one method fails I will search for others if I want to contact them urgently and just wait, without judgment, if the matter is not pressing. I guess my point is that each of us may have particular views of how and when we should respond (if at all) to missed calls, voicemails, texts, e-mails and snail mail, but we can't assume that others share our views. Silence may indicate rudeness but we should not assume that it does.

Yes, that's the intention. No worries, no problems, no probs, no wuckers. It's standard usage here, not some edgy slang, so for us it doesn't get that 'overused' feel. There are, of course, people who don't like it for whatever curmudgeonly reasons.

I didn't read it that way. He didn't say that bottom clients (individuals) are more important, he said that there are more of them so maintaining them as a group is more important. That's not the same as saying he's not interested in you as a client.

Sorry if I wasn't being clear, I agree that what you cite is not whataboutism. In the post you quoted I made a comment about what-about and then in the second para talked about the monkey issue. I agree with the interpretation of the issue you made (mine, about using the quote of the chief rabbi to ascribe anti-Semitism to Ms Barr's critics [although she did not claim that defence] is another way to interpret it and the two interpretations are not mutually exclusive). As I saw it, both he and Roseanne received mixed reviews, with supporters and condemners, and even among the condemners there was not agreement on the appropriate response. So the court of public opinion did not let the chief rabbi off. I also agree on the PR issue, but the imperatives that flow from bad publicity are different for commercial organisations than for religious bodies or political parties. With ABC it was purely the money and so they sacked her. Religions and political parties have believers who will allow them a free pass, so there is no imperative to sanction the chief rabbi (and IIRC the more liberal branches of Judaism in Israel who are more likely to be critical have no say in his appointment), just as evangelicals accepted the irreligious pronouncements of 45 and enough of the GOP have accepted his political missteps. The biggest exception I can think of is the loss of authority of the Catholic church in some countries as a result of child sexual abuse (witness two referendums in Ireland), but even that was so gradual that the church didn't notice it was happening.

Let it go. (And this post is itself whataboutism. I made one comment about the issue. The deflection in that case was material to the thread and I was engaged in the thread. That doesn't mean I need to comment every time it arises. I wasn't engaged in this thread, and indeed I hadn't even read the post in question.) But since you asked, I'm not sure it is. Whataboutism is trying to silence one criticism because the person making it wasn't criticising something else. This seems to be a wild series of non-sequiturs, (whether seriously or for ironic effect), saying that the chief rabbi called blacks monkeys therefore that was Jewish religious belief therefore criticising her for calling blacks monkeys is anti-Semetic.

Those coffee pods are good if you know the room will have a machine, although I have an ideological reluctance (not refusal) to use them on environmental grounds. I bought some that fitted the machine in my SF hotel last year (they provided some free ones, not the minibar hell @LaffingBear describes) but I wasn`t able to give the ones I had left away in PS so I left them in my room. A hotel I use in Sydney had a machine in one room I had, but only one time. The next time when there wasn`t one I asked about it when I checked out and they said that only certain rooms had one, but they gave me a complimentary flat white. Generally speaking I`m more than happy to go and find a decent espresso coffee rather than take what I can get in my hotel room.

Guineapig in Perú, crocodile and camel here. Kangaroo shouldn't count in Australia, but I guess it does, and it's on supermarket shelves here (so is crocodile for that matter). I've had goat, but it's not all that exotic either. There are vast numbers of feral goats on arid rangelands in Australia, and in recent years graziers have been mustering them for (mainly) an export meat trade, and in poor seasons they provide a good source of extra income.

Qantas hasn't got there yet (well, they hadn't when I last flew) so radio silence on SYD-LAX/SFO/DFW, but the inflight entertainment is more than adequate to keep me busy if I can't sleep, And even in economy they seem to bring snacks around every couple of hours. Over 14-15 hours in the air, it might be nice to check in here or on social media, but I can live without it!

I sorta like it for its novelty value at the moment, but I share your regret that it takes away one assured period of unplugged time. I haven't used a paid wi-fi service on a flight yet, and doubt I would unless I'd been off-line for a while before the flight and needed to catch up. 'Need' is nonsense, of course, and I'm not working so that imperative is absent now, and there is often wi-fi in the departure lounge and you're always stuck there for a bit before a flight. The one time I have used it was on my Alaska flight from SFO to PSP last year, and that only allowed web based text messages, not general internet access.

Really, Kenny! Get with the program! Only 'warmongers' are bad. Bad comments by other people didn't happen.

Yes, click on their name under their avatar (where is says BostonTom, followed by Apprentice on yours) on the left of the screen. That will bring up a dialogue box that has, amongst other options 'Ignore'.

And when it comes to the `candlestick` part, what is that alluding to??

He was back in Sydney a little while back when I wasn't in town, or in a position to hire, but severely tempted!

Off topic, since I was a wee lad I can remember travelling through the village of Breadalbane in the NSW southern tablelands, but had never thought to check on the origin of the name. Turns out it's in the Scottish highlands and amongst other things it is the name of a street in Toronto and one in Hamilton in Ontario.

Maccas here also blocks adult content, including this site. As does the free wi-fi at Sydney Central Station. Curiously, the wi-fi at the Sydney Cricket Ground does not. I have yet to have a problem at a hotel either here or in the US, although I have not tried to use it in public areas.

I didn't recheck the site earlier, but there is detailed info on London fares here: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ It also shows the symbol that will be on your card if it is contactless-enabled. As Rod mentioned contactless gives you as good rates as an Oyster card. If you decide to go with the Oyster, there is detail on the site about ordering one in advance (yes, £5 plus postage, plus however much you want to pre-load it with). The weekly cap for contactless is the same as a travel card (around £34 for Zones 1-2), and the card is a better deal if you are going to be there from mid-week to mid-week (the contactless cap is Mon-Sun, not 'any seven days'). Over three weeks it would matter less, and there are daily caps as well as weekly so you may end up paying less on contactless. Nice one, Rod! I agree on Bruges too, and Ghent isn't bad either.

But wait, wasn't he first in line or something? I know I am well down the queue.

[David Attenborough voice] And here we have Homo Connecticutensis in its natural habitat. This species of is known to migrate temporarily to different environments but it is not clear whether it can successfully establish itself permanently in hotter climates.

You're probably correct. My Visa and Amex cards here are contactless, as is the prepaid card I mentioned. We have had to use either contactless (valid up to $AU100) or chip and PIN for about four years now, signature isn't permitted. It may be prudent for anyone travelling to the UK to confirm that chip and signature still works there.

You may wish to check, when I was discussing London with @escortrod he mentioned that you can now use any credit card with a chip instead of an Oyster card, just make sure you tap on and off with the same one! IIRC the system applies the same (or slightly lower fares) as the Oyster card, including discounts and daily or other fare caps. Of course, if your credit card charges a transaction fee for each foreign currency transaction (other than a small percentage surcharge) using it may not work for you. (I have a prepaid card I can pre-load with GBP.)