3 ms·

Nate Silver: Random, Pretentious Observations from Europe

27 points by rms 17y ago

rms 17y ago
There is a respectable startup coming out of CMU pushing a more secure version of the credit card pins. They or one of their competitors will catch on soon enough in the USA.
- ojbyrne 17y ago
  They are already in Canada, as is just about everything else in the article (rotting teeth on cigarette packs, waiters with portable credit/debit terminals). I had the sense not of USA vs. Europe but USA vs. everywhere else in the world.
  - nihilocrat 17y ago
    The article also felt a little naiive to me, but in a completely understandable way, I'm not about to expect someone to know how cigarette packets, credit cards, restaurants, touristy areas, etc. work around the world. He probably would have been either annoyed or appalled by the anti-credit nature of Germany. In Munich, at least, non-touristy venues did not accept credit circa 2006.
    - wheels 17y ago
      That's still common. You can't pay with a credit card in most of Germany for most things. Don't expect it unless you're at a nice restaurant, most grocery stores don't take them, bars don't, certainly not at convenience stores and the like. I can't decide which I prefer. I tend towards convenience, but there's also some comfort in knowing that everything that I've ever bought isn't tracked back to me. In contrast on my last trip to the US I had $20 in my wallet when I arrived and I never had to get cash in the week that I was there.
grandalf 17y ago
I was recently in Paris for a few weeks and I can say that: - There was zero anti-Americanism and zero rudeness. People were very cool and especially nice once they heard the words San Francisco come out of my mouth. - The food was great but it's difficult to find ethnic food in many parts of the city. - Everybody loves Obama. They want to strike up a conversation with an American just to say "Obama". - Vending machine coffee is quite good. - Baguette/Brie at the gas station is better than what you'd find in most French restaurants/Boulangeries in the US. - Paris reminded me in a lot of ways of a significantly more laid-back New York. - The 6 euro wine in France was generally about comparable with $20-30 wine in the US. Not sure why.
- TriinT 17y ago
  If Paris reminds you of NYC, you probably drank way too much 6 euro wine... Would you care to elaborate on that please? How's Paris like NYC? Seriously.
  - pierrealexandre 17y ago
    I would rather read what makes Paris different from NYC in your opinion. It would make for a much more interesting comment.
    - grandalf 17y ago
      Ok. I'll mention a few notable things: - People are more formal in the way they conduct themselves. They say "sir" and "maam" all the time to each other and there is generally an attitude of appropriateness and formality that is quite unlike anywhere I've been in the US. - Taxis are mostly Mercedes Benz cars and they are driven by people who don't seem to really care all that much about the money earning aspect of the job. - The cheapest wine in restaurants is usually terrible. In the US it's reliably mediocre but not terrible. The vaklue is in the 6 Euro bottles sold in stores. Those are the most salient differences. It's really hard to think of any. The best part of the trip was near the Sienne when a woman drew her son (who had been asking her questions) near her and asked me what kind of bird it was that was floating nearby. "A swan", I said. "How does he know?" asked the boy. It's great to see someone that young questioning authority.
jdale27 17y ago
Ha, I thought these were going to be observations from Europeans... Kudos to him for admitting that his own observations are random and pretentious.
Semiapies 17y ago
"London, and the United Kingdom in general, has sort of become ground zero for what is known as libertarian paternalism" In light of the other Orwell thread, it seems apropos to link to this classic essay of his: http://langs.eserver.org/politics-english-language.txt http://langs.eserver.org/politics-english-language.txt

27 points by rms 17y ago

rms 17y ago

There is a respectable startup coming out of CMU pushing a more secure version of the credit card pins. They or one of their competitors will catch on soon enough in the USA.

ojbyrne 17y ago
They are already in Canada, as is just about everything else in the article (rotting teeth on cigarette packs, waiters with portable credit/debit terminals). I had the sense not of USA vs. Europe but USA vs. everywhere else in the world.
- nihilocrat 17y ago
  The article also felt a little naiive to me, but in a completely understandable way, I'm not about to expect someone to know how cigarette packets, credit cards, restaurants, touristy areas, etc. work around the world. He probably would have been either annoyed or appalled by the anti-credit nature of Germany. In Munich, at least, non-touristy venues did not accept credit circa 2006.
  - wheels 17y ago
    That's still common. You can't pay with a credit card in most of Germany for most things. Don't expect it unless you're at a nice restaurant, most grocery stores don't take them, bars don't, certainly not at convenience stores and the like. I can't decide which I prefer. I tend towards convenience, but there's also some comfort in knowing that everything that I've ever bought isn't tracked back to me. In contrast on my last trip to the US I had $20 in my wallet when I arrived and I never had to get cash in the week that I was there.

grandalf 17y ago

I was recently in Paris for a few weeks and I can say that: - There was zero anti-Americanism and zero rudeness. People were very cool and especially nice once they heard the words San Francisco come out of my mouth. - The food was great but it's difficult to find ethnic food in many parts of the city. - Everybody loves Obama. They want to strike up a conversation with an American just to say "Obama". - Vending machine coffee is quite good. - Baguette/Brie at the gas station is better than what you'd find in most French restaurants/Boulangeries in the US. - Paris reminded me in a lot of ways of a significantly more laid-back New York. - The 6 euro wine in France was generally about comparable with $20-30 wine in the US. Not sure why.

TriinT 17y ago
If Paris reminds you of NYC, you probably drank way too much 6 euro wine... Would you care to elaborate on that please? How's Paris like NYC? Seriously.
- pierrealexandre 17y ago
  I would rather read what makes Paris different from NYC in your opinion. It would make for a much more interesting comment.
  - grandalf 17y ago
    Ok. I'll mention a few notable things: - People are more formal in the way they conduct themselves. They say "sir" and "maam" all the time to each other and there is generally an attitude of appropriateness and formality that is quite unlike anywhere I've been in the US. - Taxis are mostly Mercedes Benz cars and they are driven by people who don't seem to really care all that much about the money earning aspect of the job. - The cheapest wine in restaurants is usually terrible. In the US it's reliably mediocre but not terrible. The vaklue is in the 6 Euro bottles sold in stores. Those are the most salient differences. It's really hard to think of any. The best part of the trip was near the Sienne when a woman drew her son (who had been asking her questions) near her and asked me what kind of bird it was that was floating nearby. "A swan", I said. "How does he know?" asked the boy. It's great to see someone that young questioning authority.

jdale27 17y ago

Ha, I thought these were going to be observations from Europeans... Kudos to him for admitting that his own observations are random and pretentious.

Semiapies 17y ago

"London, and the United Kingdom in general, has sort of become ground zero for what is known as libertarian paternalism" In light of the other Orwell thread, it seems apropos to link to this classic essay of his: http://langs.eserver.org/politics-english-language.txt http://langs.eserver.org/politics-english-language.txt