Comments by "Halfdan Ingolfsson" (@Halli50) on "Type Ashton" channel.

  1. While it may seem draconian to food manufacturers, the EU policy of erring on the side of caution seems a more prudent approach. There are plenty of stories told by US citizens that spend considerable time in Europe, how they lost weight and felt better during their stay, and then felt sick for a while when returning back to the states. That may only be anecdotal evidence, but still evidence that there IS a difference between EU and US food!
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  2. In Iceland, the owner of land bordering a body of water is not allowed to build e.g. a summer house within 60m of the waterline, NOR install any fences limiting free roaming along the waterline. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between.
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  3. Confused? You won't be after this episode of... This in-depth comparison dive (to the extent possible) you take us on is extremely informative, even if only to show how complicated this can be. As a citizen of one of the Nordic countries (crappy climate but high security) it is a no-brainer to me: Working to live a secure and comfortable life, very similar to most of my fellow citizens, is more important to me than the apparent rat-race of life in 'Murica. Of course I am biased, but who isn't?
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  4.  @maximan142  I think @jonevansauthor was referring to 'Murican slaughter practices, not Romanian (or any European practices, for that matter).
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  5. I spent 2 years in a multinational setting in Africa in the early 1990's (doing war zone relief flights for the ICRC). Coming from one of the Nordic countries I am used to North-European custom of just bidding everyone "Good morning", and I found the English/French-speaker custom of a "How are you/Fine, and you" ritual a bit over the top, ESPECIALLY after coming down to breakfast one morning feeling really miserable due to having caught a head cold (yes, just south of the equator!) and being asked "How are you" by one of my American colleagues. Well, I actually told him how I was (miserable! - he ASKED, after all) and he was actually offended! Apparently he was just going through the motions of a ritual, he was not really concerned about my heath at all. Where I come from, we simply wish everyone a Good Morning, no response required. Seeing a friend or colleague appearing under the weather will, however, prompt a concerned and sincere "hey, you look a bit off, is there a problem?".
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  6. Seeing you lugging all that baggage around drives home how literal my own language (Icelandic) tends to be: Baggage is "Farangur" (compound for "Far Angur"). "Far" in this context means travel, being on the move, while "Angur" in this context means irritating. Baggage literally "travel irritation" in Icelandic.
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  7.  @rollingwoodmediaservices831 , in Iceland you will see very rare barbed wire fences extending well into the water. Their purpose is to prevent roaming livestock (horses and sheep) from mixing between areas to limit potential infectious livestock diseases from spreading freely. If there are hiking trail nearby, there invariably are means for people to cross the fence easily.
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  8. What originally drew me to the channel was that it was a glimpse into the ups and downs of the life of a normal, happy family putting down roots in a new social and economic environment. Then came came economic comparison videos, which were also interesting. I fully understand and respect your reluctance to publicize the part your children play in you life and will miss that.
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  9. Have you noticed that when a family and one child pack for travel, the amount of baggage pr. individual is inversely proportional to the size of the individual: 50% for the child, 30%+ for the mother and the rest for the father. This is universally true in the modern world. PS. You are using the ski poles wrong: Put your hand UP through the loop so the straps are between the handle and an your palm, so the pole/strap will pivot between your thumb and your index finger. This is especially important when skiing. Second, you use the poles to push along one at the time, exactly like you swing your arms while walking. Additional point: Walking/cross country poles are long, they should reach your armpit. Alpine poles like you are using (bottom/middle of handles reaching your elbow) are less comfortable for walking.
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  10. Ambient temperatures rule the day - a nation that simply cannot survive without air conditioning is doomed to sweat a lot and require A LOT of drinking water! To add insult to injury, the water requirements for showers to wash off all that sweat is probably even greater! I live in Iceland and never sweat unless I am doing serious physical exercise (moderate temperatures). I drink very little water during summer compared to e.g. a Texan that is simply unable to survive outdoors during the summer months. For me it is simple: If I'm thirsty, I drink something. Icelandic tap water equals any bottled water, so I have no problems. I do, however, wish that our excess (over 90% of out drinkable water simply runs into the sea) could be transported to nations that really need it...
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  11. It is very simple: 'Murica, the "greatest country that ever was" is too incompetent to provide basic necessities like affordable health care and education to it's citizens. Virtually every other developed country has figured out how to do this, but 'Murica is too greed-ridden to manage it. Why the 'Murican public has not revolted long ago escapes me. Have they really been dumbed down to the degree that they simply lie back and actually ask for the the next lash of the whip?
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  12. I have always found it ironic how 'Muricans wrongly call their prisons "Correctional Facilities".'Murican prisons are Punishment/Retribution/Revenge Centers. Take your pick. There is no "correction" going on there, aimed at releasing improved citizens that have a chance of building a productive life after "serving their term". Compare and contrast that with the correctional philosophy and policies of North-European countries, especially the Nordic countries.
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  13. I was born in Iceland in 1950 and for most of my formative years I admired the US and everything the US stood for. Around Nixon and no later than Ronald Bloody Reagan, things started going downhill, the US changed into 'Murica! In the last decade or two, there is absolutely nothing to admire about 'Murica. It is becoming a crappy place where the citizens are virtual working slaves and individual freedoms are being stripped away, one by one. Religion is supposed to rule the land ("christian" religion, that is) - what can we call the Christian version of Sharia law? The way things are going, 'Murica will become a rabid fascist christian theocracy (what a horrible mixture!) within a decade or two, and will then go the way of The Third Reich: A painful demise, followed by some decades of retribution.
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  14. You seem to have all the building blocks for a happy and content future: An apparently very compatible couple, a happy child (ever-smiling Jack) and what appears to be a frank and sober appreciation of your current environment (Steady Germany) as well as a similar appreciation for your possible alternate environment (Madhouse USA). There will be bumps and upsets (there always are), but I have a strong feeling that you will find your way to a happy future.
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  15. I wonder what the average wage growth in Europe compared to the US has been for the last, say, 30 years? I know that worker wage growth has been stagnant in the US for some decades while it has NOT been in Europe, so boasting about a recent (and long overdue) wage growth in the US might not make as much sense as the WSJ wants you to believe. Add to that the fact that the war in Ukraine is currently affecting Europe far more than the US, calling for some temporary belt-tightening in Europe.
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  16. Not only RAISING a child, but an obviously HAPPY child! Any clip where Jack is not smiling is a rare clip...
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  17. I was about to turn 40 when I watched the USSR collapse and now, about to turn 75, I am watching the USA beginning to collapse. Personally, I think the 'Murican people, in toto, are a bunch of ill-informed, blithering idiots that fully deserve the calamity they elected! 'Murica is about to alienate itself from most of it's former allies and align itself with autocratic nations like Russia, China and Hungary. It will be interesting to watch the lengths Trump is willing to go to, licking Putin's arse...
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  18. Sadly, the US is becoming an outlier regarding the human rights of it's citizens - the SSA (Slavery States of America).
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  19. Bottom line: This is all about keeping homeless people out of certain areas. Now, what country is drowning in a wave of homeless people?
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  20. It is glaringly obvious that US health care insurance is a gigantic scam, designed to benefit the executives and shareholders, NOT the "insured". The US spends almost twice as much per capita on health care than comparable European nations, yet still manages to leave a sizable part of the population out in the cold.
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  21. Happy Jack will be like all children: A virtual sponge when it comes to languages! The way things are going, he will be immersed in the German language and German culture. German will be his first (main) language. Speaking English exclusively at home ensures that he will be bilingual. Personally, I know Icelandic children that were raised in Luxembourg, and they were all comfortably conversant in 5 languages: Icelandic (spoken at home), English (parents being aviation professionals), German and French (school - as well as France and Germany being next door) and, obviously the local Luxembourg language. Many did, however, have a handicap - there was no obvious First Language until (or if) they went for higher education. You seem to be conscious of the pitfalls and well ahead of the game, so I predict Happy Jack will ace it!
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