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Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

matduggan.com

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Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#261

Post by btilly »

tomcam wrote: post #254
iagooar wrote: post #83

I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times. It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there. Places that are so distant, with such harsh…

> I feel small, irrelevant, in the face of brutal, powerful nature. I married a Chinese woman so I know that same feeling! I kid. Mostly.

I see your Chinese and raise you Russian.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#262

Post by linehedonist »

Arainach wrote: post #143
kyledrake wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really easy to write off a giant part of the country that millions of people live in as tired (and the implication underneath is usually "backward"), it's also dehumanizing them and makes assumptions about their quality of life when it might actually be a lot better than the people making these assumptions. Spend some time not just driving through them, and one may be surprised to find plenty of diverse and inte…

I lived in the area for more than 20 years, have annually visited family living there for my entire life even after I left, and consider myself quite qualified to comment on the area, the people who live there, and their culture, thanks. I've traveled a lot through the area. I was throughout Ohio earlier this year, spent two weeks in Illinois last year, etc.

I would assume most of those 20 years were your childhood? How many years have you lived in the Midwest as an adult?

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#263

Post by WalterBright »

benrutter wrote: post #62
SilverElfin wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it a good material? I would think steel or reinforced concrete would be better, with cheap corrugated metal paneling. And either way you need reinforced concrete foundations right?

Certainly for Sweden and Norway, wood is very plentiful, and a good insulator. I don't know if steel would technically be better, but historically at least it would have been harder to get hold of.

I considered using metal framing for my house. The contractor told me that would be a mistake, as metal attracted condensation. I decided that following his advice would be a good idea.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#264

Post by rendall »

worik wrote: post #212
mkl wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author is American, and no Icelanders were mentioned.

> The author is American I assume you mean USAian. Fits my prejudices, which is unfortunate An arrogant prick, anyway

> I assume you mean USAian.

In English, the word American refers to someone from the United States, and almost all of the languages of the world use some equivalent term: amerikkalainen, Amerikaner, Américain, americano, американец, アメリカ人, أمريكي

When speaking South American-inflected Spanish, you might use the word estadounidense and not americano

USAian is not a word that anyone uses. I don't make the rules.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#265

Post by hollerith »

worik wrote: post #212
mkl wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author is American, and no Icelanders were mentioned.

> The author is American I assume you mean USAian. Fits my prejudices, which is unfortunate An arrogant prick, anyway

We're not going to start using your awkward new word. There's nothing wrong or ambiguous about "American".

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#266

Post by o11c »

cipheredStones wrote: post #188
Waterluvian wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took a moment to realize there’s a place called Gary, Indiana. And that there isn’t just some guy who is so infamous that he’s just known as Gary.

Every guy named Gary is named after Gary, Indiana. Gary Cooper named himself after the town, and then got very, very popular.

Not all, only most Americans. For Brits it's usually after Sir Garfield (spear field) St Aubrun Sobers.

And even before Gary Cooper there were people using it for Gerald (spear power), Gerard (spear hard/brave), and (old) Gerbert (spear bright). It is a cousin to, but believed not historically derived from, Garrett/Garrod. It is unclear whether German/Germain derive from this root or not. It is usually unrelated to Jared (which is usually a Hebrew name, but does have spelling variants that overlap Garrod).

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#267

Post by worik »

rendall wrote: post #264
worik wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The author is American I assume you mean USAian. Fits my prejudices, which is unfortunate An arrogant prick, anyway

> I assume you mean USAian. In English, the word American refers to someone from the United States, and almost all of the languages of the world use some equivalent term: amerikkalainen, Amerikaner, Américain, americano, американец , アメリカ人, أمريكي When speaking South American-inflected Spanish, you might use the word estadounidense and not americano USAian is not a word that anyone uses. I don't make the rules.

> n English, the word American refers to someone from the United States,

No.

It refers to Mexacins, Canadians, Columbians....

The problem with USA expetionalism made clear.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#268

Post by stockresearcher »

kens wrote: post #110
Waterluvian wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I took a moment to realize there’s a place called Gary, Indiana. And that there isn’t just some guy who is so infamous that he’s just known as Gary.

Gary, Indiana is still memorable to me 50 years later from when we'd drive through it, handkerchiefs pressed to our faces to block out the terrible smell from some sort of toxic industry. Is Gary still like that or has it been cleaned up?

It doesn't stink much anymore. It's still extraordinarily poor, but this is also Gary:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6196019,-87.2547571,3a,75y,3...

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#269

Post by chasd00 »

btilly wrote: post #261
tomcam wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I feel small, irrelevant, in the face of brutal, powerful nature. I married a Chinese woman so I know that same feeling! I kid. Mostly.

I see your Chinese and raise you Russian.

I see your Chinese, Russian, and raise you Mexican. :)

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#270

Post by genter »

kyleee wrote: post #247
bookofjoe wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of driving through Eureka, California in the early 80s and the overpoweringly horrible smell from the paper mills in the area.

Where did all the effluent go; directly into the bay?

No, there's a pipe from Samoa Peninsula out to the ocean. (Fun fact, they're now using that pipe for the fiber optic cable that's landing here.)
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