If you think that's bad, I remember seeing the exact same purses sold in Mainland China for 40 RMB (Approximately $6.50) at an outdoor market in Greece for 40€ (~$44.00).
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Comic Talk and General Discussion *
2016 Rant/Share/General Discussion Thread
bravo1102 wrote:Canadian dollars to US depresses you? Don't even look at the conversion to the Euro.
Yeah, but just about every online store that I shop at is located in the US, not Europe. Cross-border shopping trips are also a huge deal in Canada. Long weekends often used to mean a little road trip down to the states to take advantage of shopping, but not so much now with the exchange rate.
New Jersey has a lower sales tax than New York so we used to get cross border shoppers all the time. What I meant about US dollars to Euro was buying stuff made in Europe. From Belgian chocolate to Italian model kits the prices doubled when the dollar slipped against the Euro. One makers stuff was a bargain went to being an extravagantly overpriced overnight.
If you think that's bad, I remember seeing the exact same purses sold in Mainland China for 40 RMB (Approximately $6.50) at an outdoor market in Greece for 40€ (~$44.00).
Don't mean to just jump in, but that's not as crazy as it sounds. It's not uncommon for merchants in Mainland China to sell knock-offs and/or goods that fell off the back of a truck. Also if those purses were from China, then they took an airplane/ship ride to Greece.
I was in Hong Kong last month and was looking for this purse that was really popular. I found it in the markets for 80-200 HKD. In a store though? 3000 HKD.
The huge range in market prices depends on where I was looking. If I was looking at Ladies Market, a very popular tourist spot, then I am looking to pay at minimum 200 HKD. If I was looking at a lesser known local market, then I can find that little stand tucked in a corner selling it for 80 HKD. (Which I didn't get so I am full of regret. ;__; )
Apparently I'm an old woman because what I find depressing about the falling Canadian dollar is the price of vegetables. Broccoli used to be 0.99 cents a pound. Now at Loblaws it's selling for $3.99 a pound. And forget cauliflower. With the falling dollar and the California drought, we shall never talk about cauliflower for a long long time.
I buy my vegetables in Chinese supermarkets now where the prices are slightly lower.
I'm kinda wary when it comes to name brand stuff sold in Chinese stores. I find that a lot of them might be… I dunno… Clones???
And now I'm showing off the Klingon version of the Caitians, the Ferasans. A cat flying a Bird of Prey… that's… strange…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf5MwkXdfcQ
Black_Kitty wrote:You're totally not an old woman, I am also depressed about the price of broccoli! It's the best vegetable. And a house full of vegetarians and bunnies goes through a lot of veggies. :(
Apparently I'm an old woman because what I find depressing about the falling Canadian dollar is the price of vegetables. Broccoli used to be 0.99 cents a pound. Now at Loblaws it's selling for $3.99 a pound. And forget cauliflower. With the falling dollar and the California drought, we shall never talk about cauliflower for a long long time.
I buy my vegetables in Chinese supermarkets now where the prices are slightly lower.
HippieVan wrote:I'm going for a vegetarian diet, and I'm finding that vegetables (and anything we consider "healthy") is more expensive than junkfood.
You're totally not an old woman, I am also depressed about the price of broccoli! It's the best vegetable. And a house full of vegetarians and bunnies goes through a lot of veggies. :(
Of course, I'm also NOT happy that every food I decide on (healthy or not) has a negative impact on my health. For instance, some people around me are utterly convinced that water has calories and fat, cabbages will give you very bad constipation, and mushrooms will aggravate my gout (all of which I'm sure are either not true or exaggerations).
I'm sure that one day Humanity will starve to death because of its irrational fear of anything edible…
It is my not-so-secret life mission to get my fiance to eat more green vegatables. The only green vegatable he's willing to eat is broccoli. I'm trying to find a way to branch out, perhaps into kale and spinach. I made kale chips a few times and he won't go for it. :( So until I find a cheaper substitute, I am stuck buying expensive broccoli.
Every food seem to have gone up in price. Grapes are terrible too. Salty duck eggs, which I used to get three for a dollar (and when I was a kid, four for a dollar), is now two for a dollar. I hear meat is going to go up in price too. The problem is that we can't just NOT eat and fast foods, while cheaper, are terribly unhealthy for you. It's partly why those in poverty are generally unhealthy. It is more expensive and time-consuming to eat healthy.
I just made chicken meatball pasta tonight and that was way more effort than buying a hamburger. Or sushi. Mmm…sushi.
(I snuck broccoli into his meatballs. I'm very committed to this.)
Black_Kitty wrote:Would he eat quiche? It's pretty easy to throw a lot of vegetables in quiche without it tasting too vegetable-y.
It is my not-so-secret life mission to get my fiance to eat more green vegatables. The only green vegatable he's willing to eat is broccoli. I'm trying to find a way to branch out, perhaps into kale and spinach. I made kale chips a few times and he won't go for it. :( So until I find a cheaper substitute, I am stuck buying expensive broccoli.
So when websites talk about avoiding sweetbreads to prevent gout, I thought they were talking about stuff like donuts and actual sweetened breads. Nope. I find out that this "sweetbread" is actually an animal thymus or pancreas cooked in a dish. NOW it makes sense to avoid "sweetbread". But why are they called that?!?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetbread
I eat reasonably unhealthy… but I exersise enough to stay in good shape.
My problem is that I don't eat enough. :)
I've greadually reduced my meat intake over the years, now I eat mainly fish and chicken as my chief meat sources.
It's not that I still really want the taste of meat, it's that I don't eat very much so I need something that provides me a big hit of energy and protien in one easy package or I just won't get it otherwise. Generally you have to eat a lot more vegies to get the same result… and they take more preperation. I'm slowly getting better at that though.
@Black Kitty
Woo woo! Congratulations on your engagement!
I love Hong Kong from Mong Kok to the Mid-Levels. I did feel that my bargaining ability was reduced there compared to Guangzhou because the main language was Cantonese and I only knew the "lower the price" phrases in Mandarin. The toy and stationary shops in China were sometimes located underground so I would walk through tunnels filled with plush toys and stickers. It was pretty cute.
I am a big fan of tokidoki by Lesportsac, so I can spot the real deal from the knock offs. That is how I knew Greece was selling the exact same bags as in China.
As far as fresh produce is concerned, the California drought has reduced the variety of produce sold, but I still like to buy most of my produce from the frozen section because it lasts longer. Broccoli in meatballs are the best. I once tried turkey meatballs with broccoli and they were the best.
@HippieVan
I have had that "paper writing while dreaming" experience and it is the worst when it is for a class and a paper is due the next day or in a few hours. I have written papers while drifting in and out of sleep, but that has a completely different outcome.
==
I had a "Treat Myself" mentality last night after work and ended up purchasing two new pairs of brand new high heeled pumps. One pair is nude colored with a two inch heel and the other is a grey felt material. When I wore both pairs in the store they looked and felt damn sexy that I knew I needed to have them. The grey pumps are around a three inch heel and the closest thing to eff me pumps that I have in my collection, but c'est la vie, this is thirty.
==
I just donated to the Drunk Duck indiegogo campaign and there is no better cause worth helping than my favorite little hangout spot on the Internet for the last nine years. I am also going to get amazing artwork from one of my favorite artists, so it is a Win/Win!!
Okay, now I am off to yoga.
bravo1102 wrote:The topic as far as I can remember was something along the lines of "what constitutes a break?" Like, how long of a break are you allowed to take while you're working on something? What are you allowed to do during your break? It's both uninteresting and doesn't really make sense in the context of comics. I think I was dreaming about it because I had a marathon reading session yesterday evening, and was allowing myself brief breaks every few pages to look at handbags online.
Do it anyway . Since when have newsposts had to make sense?
kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
@HippieVan
I have had that "paper writing while dreaming" experience and it is the worst when it is for a class and a paper is due the next day or in a few hours. I have written papers while drifting in and out of sleep, but that has a completely different outcome.
I have also done the paper writing while falling asleep thing, with mixed results. I once turned in a paper that I had written like that the night before and it was full of typos (by my standards) but I still did super well on it. It kind of felt like I had cheated.
kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
I just donated to the Drunk Duck indiegogo campaign and there is no better cause worth helping than my favorite little hangout spot on the Internet for the last nine years. I am also going to get amazing artwork from one of my favorite artists, so it is a Win/Win!!
I got one of the DD Anthology books for myself! I hemmed and hawed a bit about whether I as an admin should take one of the limited perks when someone else could have it, but I really wanted one so…yeah. I didn't really deliberate for too long. And supporting a good cause! ^_^
Hippie- a Newspost about breaks is GENIUS!
Apply it to comics on hiiatus! What constitutes when a Comic is "late+, when it's in a break, and when it's on indefinite hiatus? Why do comics do that? Maybe it just takes ages to update like Pinky TS, maybe they just quit working on it and were too lazy to do it properly with a real ending or at the very least a note from the author.
It's also fine to take breaks, comic artists should feel guilty about it because guilt stops people going back and working again because they feel ashamed… Etc. There's so much to say about breaks in terms of comics!
Can also be beneficial!
Gonna ask you military minded people this question…
Is going from just graduating a military academy to the highest rank in a military organization a ridiculous thing?
Basically, in Star Trek Online you start out as a cadet freshly graduated from Starfleet Academy. You were apparently destined for "greatness" before your first mission because you get selected to be the first officer to the first ship captain you will serve under.
I'm not sure, but there's apparently a term for one's first voyage on a ship right after boot camp… Anyways, during this first mission your captain is kidnapped, orders you to take an action that will kill him (and give you and the crew a chance at survival), naming you as the ship's new captain. Later on a senior officer comes to your rescue, but leads you to another mission but gives you a field promotion to the Lieutenant rank to give you proper authority over your ship. The mission leads to an even more dangerous enemy and you're ordered to go to that enemy's target to warn the civilians there. Instead you end up saving as many of those civilians as you can. Upon finishing the mission the Starfleet commander grants you official command of your ship, citing that while ships can be easily replaced, good officers cannot be and he's taking a chance with you…
In the next 18 months you rise very fast through the ranks, and in the meantime saving the Federation from a Klingon plot, from the Tal Shiar's schemes, from a Dominion invasion, and an alien race from another alien race who happen to be slavers, liberate a planet controlled by pirates, strengthen ties with peoples who the Voyager met long ago, and finally saving the Romulans, Klingons, and the Federation from a huge catastrophe…
In any case, at least I know why all the major Federation officers talk down on the player character despite his rank being higher… But could this actually happen in the military?
@HippieVan
I went through a similar hemming and hawing, but the voice inside my head said, "Do it." Plus, from a design perspective, the perk is worth way more than the donation price.
@ozoneocean
Is Pinky TS the prequel to Pinky TA that has been on hiatus since 1998? (LoL, sorry, I am being a smart arse.)
==
Alright, good citizens of Drunk Duck, I have a special announcement!
Today I received an invitation to an orientation for my third paying job next week. This confirms that after five months of test taking, applications, fingerprinting (twice), and a TB skin test, I can finally work in the school district.
I must admit, it feels amazing to be back on the paying grid and even better because I love my bosses, coworkers, and students at all my jobs.
I am in the middle of a six-day work week, which may become a seven day work week pretty soon.
@Kawaii- the perils of typing on a phone… I have lots of spelling mistakes to fix! Dammit!
@Lonne- in historical military yes, if the person was very well connected or had a high ranking sponsor like a king or highly connected person. Not in modern militaries… But I think Star Trek is based around meritocracy so it's different. People are promoted on real ability there.
kawaiidaigakusei wrote:I knooooow! I almost regret the anthology now.
Blast it all to bloody hell!
Is the Indiegogo campaign saying that Ironscarf is now offering his artwork to go toward fundraising??
That one is sure to be picked up like a hotcake.
Ooo all you skilled and talented artists on DD.
—
I stayed out until 11:30 playing DnD so I guess I will be writing that dream-inspired newspost after all. Whoops.
kawaiidaigakusei wrote:Thanks! :D
@Black Kitty
Woo woo! Congratulations on your engagement!
I love Hong Kong from Mong Kok to the Mid-Levels. I did feel that my bargaining ability was reduced there compared to Guangzhou because the main language was Cantonese and I only knew the "lower the price" phrases in Mandarin. The toy and stationary shops in China were sometimes located underground so I would walk through tunnels filled with plush toys and stickers. It was pretty cute.
I am a big fan of tokidoki by Lesportsac, so I can spot the real deal from the knock offs. That is how I knew Greece was selling the exact same bags as in China.
As far as fresh produce is concerned, the California drought has reduced the variety of produce sold, but I still like to buy most of my produce from the frozen section because it lasts longer. Broccoli in meatballs are the best. I once tried turkey meatballs with broccoli and they were the best.
Your bargaining skills are probably way better than mine. I'm too used to the Canadian way which is to go in, see the price, think about it, and then either buy it or leave. Instead in Hong Kong I can't go in without someone immediately offering customer service. One time I spent an hour in Canada deciding what wallet to buy. You don't want to offer me any customer service. I'm a slow thinker when it comes to shopping (but generally pretty satisfied with what I bought once I take the plunge.)
With that being said, I did give haggling a shot. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes itdidn't. Sometimes I just get my dad, a natural Hong Konger, to just do it for me. I always feel bad haggling. :(
Turkey meatballs are on my list of things to try making. I like meatballs because if you have leftovers of them the next day, you can just help yourself to a little snack. >.>
ozoneocean wrote:So basically because your character survived a Klingon ambush and then a Borg invasion while saving a lot of colonists, the Admiral gives you your own ship command?
@Lonne- in historical military yes, if the person was very well connected or had a high ranking sponsor like a king or highly connected person. Not in modern militaries… But I think Star Trek is based around meritocracy so it's different. People are promoted on real ability there.
And even funnier (I think), later in the game both the Romulan Republic commander and Admiral Tuvok note your "meteoric" rise in ranks and history, but only Kim seems to give you the respect your rank commands.
As for the Klingon and Romulan players… The Klingon player kills their commander (but it's complicated as the player's superior attempts to kill the captain but fails with the player succeeding in the task seconds later, forcing him/her to undergo a special ritual to determine their right to command).
As for the Romulan player it's simpler. The Tal Shiar commander shows up during a celebration in the player character's colony and blows it up. The Romulan player is as ticked as hell. They go with their best friend and take on the enemy in an old Romulan Warbird. After the resulting fight, the Tal Shiar commander flees having lost his eye. The result is a story that is essentially a TITANICALLY HUGE GRUDGE MATCH between the Player and the Tal Shiar commander (and we really LOVE to hate him).
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