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> In Germany nobody drinks tap water. German here - drink pretty much exclusively tap water. Ordering tap water in a restaurant definitely IS frowned upon (the

by skore 7y ago

> In Germany nobody drinks tap water. German here - drink pretty much exclusively tap water. Ordering tap water in a restaurant definitely IS frowned upon (the restaurant has to choose putting it on its menu and/or accommodate your request) , but I have yet to meet another German who would take offense at drinking Kraneberger. I guess there may be regional differences, but it's very clearly not universal. > There was a time before air conditioning when it was possible to heat and cool buildings. There are a lot of old buildings with thick walls as well as special building styles (like the Fachwerk that we apparently have a lot of, compared to other countries) that deal very well with heat and, I must admit, have a much superior air quality and just overall feeling of climate than any air conditioned building I have experienced so far. Perhaps those are adjusted to a very particular temperature profile, though, and if the climate changes, AC might start to make more sense. I don't think we have very good experience with installing AC, though. Just an anecdote, but at my $JOB, we're housed in a very "modern" building with light materials, large windows from floor to ceiling, exposure to sunlight from dawn till dusk and a hilariously impotent AC (supposedly fed by an innovative ice storage something or other). The people in charge do a marvelous job of pretending, for years now, that it's a complete mystery why the ac keeps failing to move the needle - at the record heat of 39°C outside, the temperature inside climbs well beyond 32°C. But I guess that makes sense if you were responsible for making as basic a mistake as "building the walls too thin". > As soon as the fatties that need air-con completely take over then that is game over Aber sag uns doch endlich mal was du wirklich von den Amerikanern hältst, Klaus-Dieter.

Theodores 7y ago
Your skills with the German language are exemplary. We really have lost it with this air conditioning. It should be evident that the feedback loop has gone wrong when, after centuries of buildings serving us well, we can't enter them without the aircon, lighting and everything else turned on, with all doors and windows shut. It is like summer comes along and we have excuses for wasting as much electricity as possible, then winter comes along and we do it again. There is no let up to it and people aren't necessarily directly paying for air-con and other demands. They are also not aware that they are heating up their environment considerably with this over the top lifestyle. Modern offices are absurd alien places. The water can't come out the tap, it has to be brought by a man in a van. You can't wash and re-use a cup, cups and eating utensils have to be single-use disposable. Need an expensive fizzy drink? Have as many sugar rushes a day as you want, there is a vast refrigerator full of the junk, humming away, not too far away, all of it for free. The noise of ad-hoc air-con solutions and the moaning people make about air-conditioning is a phenomenon deserved of study. A lot of people really do have this overly corn-fed obesity problem that can't be spoken of because to do so would be 'able-ist' and possibly a sackable offence. However, if you had to provide A/C for a group of fit people or for a group of fatties, which do you think would have the lower electricity bill? Also, why should those that can stay off the snacks have to endure these fattie-friendly alien workplaces?
- skore 7y ago
  > Your skills with the German language are exemplary. I should hope so, what with the being German and all. The rest of what you wrote borders, again, on projection and doesn't seem to be a constructive way to tackle the issue that you do seem passionate but not sufficiently empathetic about.

by skore 7y ago

Theodores 7y ago

Your skills with the German language are exemplary. We really have lost it with this air conditioning. It should be evident that the feedback loop has gone wrong when, after centuries of buildings serving us well, we can't enter them without the aircon, lighting and everything else turned on, with all doors and windows shut. It is like summer comes along and we have excuses for wasting as much electricity as possible, then winter comes along and we do it again. There is no let up to it and people aren't necessarily directly paying for air-con and other demands. They are also not aware that they are heating up their environment considerably with this over the top lifestyle. Modern offices are absurd alien places. The water can't come out the tap, it has to be brought by a man in a van. You can't wash and re-use a cup, cups and eating utensils have to be single-use disposable. Need an expensive fizzy drink? Have as many sugar rushes a day as you want, there is a vast refrigerator full of the junk, humming away, not too far away, all of it for free. The noise of ad-hoc air-con solutions and the moaning people make about air-conditioning is a phenomenon deserved of study. A lot of people really do have this overly corn-fed obesity problem that can't be spoken of because to do so would be 'able-ist' and possibly a sackable offence. However, if you had to provide A/C for a group of fit people or for a group of fatties, which do you think would have the lower electricity bill? Also, why should those that can stay off the snacks have to endure these fattie-friendly alien workplaces?

skore 7y ago
> Your skills with the German language are exemplary. I should hope so, what with the being German and all. The rest of what you wrote borders, again, on projection and doesn't seem to be a constructive way to tackle the issue that you do seem passionate but not sufficiently empathetic about.