I absolutely love it, like you say there's so much history here it's incredible. I came here by accident so I did less research than I would have liked before hand. Almost everything has been a highlight, a walking tour of the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome & Hagia Sofia; a food and walking tour, some hands on Turkish marbing, playing some local games (similar to gin rummy) I've been doing a lot of the AirBnb experiences, which are a great way to meet locals and fellow travellers - and like staying in an airbnb they have previous reviews so the hosts all do a great job.
Getting the ferry from the west to the east side is amazing, a real highlight. It costs about 1 euro and takes 15 minutes. Or you can get a taxi for about 20euros which takes a lot longer! Its very easy to get around here, just get a local travel card and then you can just swipe onto everything. Traffic is crazy but the public transport is pretty good.
The west side is a lot more commercial (and where most of the tourist sites), but the eastern side is a lot more pleasant. I'm staying in Kadıköy which is a very pleasant neighbour hood on the eastern side, it's a little like Berlin, filled with coffee shops and vintage shops. This is a liberal enclave within a city that is a lot more liberal than the surrounding areas. I could easily live here. I was staying in a hotel on the western side before and it was a little grim (Like staying on Parnel St), but this is amazing.
The only low lights so far have been seeing someone be tasered, and hearing a gunshot. Coming here you have to be slightly aware of the risks, Erdogan is deeply unpopular and there are nightly protests which I would definitely avoid. Nobody has tried to sell me a carpet.
If you come here I can give you the number of two great guides.
i read this last year, and absolutely loved it. phenomenal read and gives a great picture of that time in history.
1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West
Also, as a very minor question, just because I've never filled a petrol tank before. I remember during the driving lessons the instructor saying that the petrol pump automatically shuts off when it detects the tank is full - is that standard in all cars, or it was just his specific one?
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Also, as a very minor question, just because I've never filled a petrol tank before. I remember during the driving lessons the instructor saying that the petrol pump automatically shuts off when it detects the tank is full - is that standard in all cars, or it was just his specific one?
You can attend one of my lectures and I cover all this for students. Interestingly, you delivered the module last year and should have covered the same topic!
Ah, those kind of details would just mess up HH's artistry.
You can attend one of my lectures and I cover all this for students. Interestingly, you delivered the module last year and should have covered the same topic!
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Perfect, thanks. Car rental costs seem brutal, although I've nothing to compare it with. €800 for a small automatic car for two weeks.
Cost of car rental has shot up.
They all got burnt in 2020 due to Covid. Their model is to buy new cars early in the year, rent them out and then sell them late in the year. The value of the car has obviously dropped but that is offset by the money they got for renting and then some so they are in profit.
After they bought cars in early 2020, Covid kicked in, tourism fell off a cliff so they were left with a loads of depreciated assets that they got no revenue from.
I absolutely hate car rental firms. They all just seem dodge and a bit scummy but they have a bit of a legitimate reason to push up their prices this year. Probably milking it though.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
A bit of a redundant question, as I've booked the car now. But is driving on the right (in France) much different to driving in Ireland?
Just make sure the dotted white line is on your left
For the most part it will be easy. Get the Mrs and kids to help.out when turning with an "ok my side"
.
Make sure you refill tank before you get to to airport as airport infrastructure is complicated enough with 1 way systems etc without having to navigate the refueling situation when you are stressed out of your bollox.
The little arrow on the fuel gauge points to the side where the fuel cap is.
Watched the first episode of The Outlaws tonight. A beautifully classic English show, in some ways in the style of The Detectorists, in the way in hones in on a particular way of life.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Watched the first episode of The Outlaws tonight. A beautifully classic English show, in some ways in the style of The Detectorists, in the way in hones in on a particular way of life.
Outlaws is good, just not sure there was quite enough for 6 x 1 hour episodes. But having Christopher Walken in it is always going to cover a few minor flaws.
Outlaws is good, just not sure there was quite enough for 6 x 1 hour episodes. But having Christopher Walken in it is always going to cover a few minor flaws.
Have only seen the first episode tbh. Love the set of characters.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Have only seen the first episode tbh. Love the set of characters.
Yeah, I thought it was good as well.
Just never quite committed to it, still only half-way through ep 6 about four months after I started watching it. I do watch TV programmes in a uniquely weird way though, sometimes doing 5/10 minutes per week of a show.
'Inside No 9' is a couple of episodes into Season 7 btw, bizarrely hidden away on BBC2 late on Wednesdays. Pemberton and Shearsmith still proving themselves masters of disturbing comedy.
Renting an automatic is probably around 50% more than getting a manual, so get a manual
I'd imagine Hitch is 100% more comfortable in a manual.
Never quite got the aversion to automatics in ireland/europe. They are the better choice for at least 50% of the people on the road who struggle to drive.
If driving an Auto for the 1st time remember the left foot is now redundant. Back in the day nobody told me this and i went from Sea Tac airport straight onto freeway with a few OTT hits on the break .
RuSSia has already had a football team's worth of generals killed in the Ukraine War so far.
Good news obviously but surely that's not a normal rate of attrition of your top brass in modern warfare. I suspect the Ukrainians are being given very exact intelligence on the whereabouts of these lads.
The actual head of the Russian army injured (but unfortunately not killed) yesterday too. Someone you wouldn't expect to see within several hundred ks of the actual front.
Clearly the Ukrainians are putting the top grade intelligence plus their shiny new weapons to excellent use. And are clearly trying to decapitate the beast.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
I'd imagine Hitch is 100% more comfortable in a manual.
Never quite got the aversion to automatics in ireland/europe. They are the better choice for at least 50% of the people on the road who struggle to drive.
Yeah, I'd say it's also almost 100% of people who try an automatic for a bit and then go: wtf was I doing changing gears with my hand for the last X years.
I think it's well shown that the Euro-opposition to automatics was because of some flaws with the original automatics (in France mainly), that have been solved for decades at this stage.
Well that and car manufacturers pricing it as a premium luxury add-on.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Yeah, I'd say it's also almost 100% of people who try an automatic for a bit and then go: wtf was I doing changing gears with my hand for the last X years.
I think it's well shown that the Euro-opposition to automatics was because of some flaws with the original automatics (in France mainly), that have been solved for decades at this stage.
Well that and car manufacturers pricing it as a premium luxury add-on.
Always love the "Hitch facts".
Manuals had much better fuel consumption and much less complicated maintance than automatics in the past, allied with the cheaper initial outlay.
Guy at a previous company I worked at got a 'sporty' BMW automatic, it sounded like a constipated elephant when it was trying to figure out what revs/gear it should be using.
I drove an auto Toyota in Australia and found it fine for town journeys but found myself reverting to the sequential gearstick when on the highway to get the right speed/power for traffic and overtaking.
i get the buying and choosing to drive an automatic. it makes sense other than the price differential, but why spend all that time passing a driving test and not learn on a manual, just so you have the right to drive both whenever and wherever?
80% of cars sold in Europe are manuals so knowing how to drive them seems standard, even if your personal choice is to drive an automatic. it also means that if one day you need to rent a van for whatever reason (and everyone needs to at some point), you'll need a driver too.
i personally much prefer a manual as it's more fun and engaging, and much better on motorways or overtaking roads, but that's just a personal choice.
You can attend one of my lectures and I cover all this for students. Interestingly, you delivered the module last year and should have covered the same topic!
the students this year don't know how lucky they are!
Manuals had much better fuel consumption and much less complicated maintance than automatics in the past, allied with the cheaper initial outlay.
Guy at a previous company I worked at got a 'sporty' BMW automatic, it sounded like a constipated elephant when it was trying to figure out what revs/gear it should be using.
I drove an auto Toyota in Australia and found it fine for town journeys but found myself reverting to the sequential gearstick when on the highway to get the right speed/power for traffic and overtaking.
I read a (single) story on that about France. That the early automatics were causing crashes due to glitches. Something like that. I see though that the majority of new cars sold there now are automatic, so they've obviously overcome the initial problems.
Don't know about regular automatics, but the Leaf is a joy in terms of how it works. Like it's notable how fast it goes to top speed from a standstill while the drivers in the cars behind are furiously jerking off their gear sticks like a teenage boy who has just seen Megan Fox in early Transformers.
Hey. Its a bit in the future, but how would one go about financing building a house on our corner plot? Do you just go back to the mortgage broker and ask them to temporarily pop a few hundred grand on the mortgage? Presumably not, so how do you go about financing it then?
Also, as a related question: if you were to build a second house on your principal residence plot of land, would gains on the sale of that house then be subject to capital gains tax as the new house isn't your principal residence?
Can't seem to find the answer by googling, and we kinda need to build in order to get enough gains to support the eventual move to Clonskeagh, where I guess even a million would be lucky to get you a garden shed.
Manuals had much better fuel consumption and much less complicated maintance than automatics in the past, allied with the cheaper initial outlay.
The fuel consumption/acceleration edge in manuals was based on a professional driver on a test track.
I wonder how much the typical drivers sub-optimal shifting has on the that. A fair bit I'd say.
I drove an auto Toyota in Australia and found it fine for town journeys but found myself reverting to the sequential gearstick when on the highway to get the right speed/power for traffic and overtaking.
Some have sport moves that makes changes more aggressive for motor way driving and overtaking.
But you can still choose manual shifting if you feel like it.
i get the buying and choosing to drive an automatic. it makes sense other than the price differential, but why spend all that time passing a driving test and not learn on a manual, just so you have the right to drive both whenever and wherever?
80% of cars sold in Europe are manuals so knowing how to drive them seems standard, even if your personal choice is to drive an automatic. it also means that if one day you need to rent a van for whatever reason (and everyone needs to at some point), you'll need a driver too.
i personally much prefer a manual as it's more fun and engaging, and much better on motorways or overtaking roads, but that's just a personal choice.
Definitely do the test in the manual. It makes sense to have the skill. And you'll get a better understanding of how cars work and how to drive.
I prefer auto for city driving. Longer motorway drives is kinda a moot as once the road is open both it's going into cruise control either way. Autos probably slightly better there if you have sensors for other cars. A dynamic wnding rally up a mountain sure. But how often do you do that.
Mr. Beast doing his best to repopularise poker to the kids and is going to be taking on Dwan/Hellmuth in a high-stakes cash game. Alexandra Botez is also in the game, she is a massive chess steamer. No idea who Ludwig is? Presume he is another big streamer on twitch. I think they will be adding more players in the coming days, should be a fun watch.
This ended up a pretty insane game as you would expect. I have only seen some of the highlights but one of the pros lost close to a million in the game, Alan Keating, who the fuck is this??
I don't know how much the likes of Botez make from streaming but $50k seemed like a decent chunk of change to her given how she was talking about it. She ran it up to like 700-800k at one point and she managed to cash out for around $500k profit in the end. I have to think this is insanely massive money to her?
The streamers kept buying back money off each other during the game which meant they kinda went south which seems to annoy Dwan a little I would love to know what the hell Hellmuth is thinking, he is sitting in this game with these mega beluga whales that most people would kill to get into and he never tops up above the 50k. So loads of the table is sitting $300k deep and he is sitting below the 50k with Mr. Beast asking him a couple of times does he needs to borrow some money
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Hey. Its a bit in the future, but how would one go about financing building a house on our corner plot? Do you just go back to the mortgage broker and ask them to temporarily pop a few hundred grand on the mortgage? Presumably not, so how do you go about financing it then?
Similar process to building on a new site. I posted a rough outline a few pages back to Degag.
Budget informs the mortgage, mortgage dictates the budget.
Architect designs with that in mind. Architect applies for planning, and prepares a tender.
Contractors price the tender, then you review and adjust design spec if needed to align to budget.
Sign up contractor. Architect approves the release of mortgage in stages over the course of the build. You don't get hit for the full amount from the start.
Basically you go to the back for a separate mortgage. LTV etc is considered as normal. The site has an inherent value, etc.
Also, as a related question: if you were to build a second house on your principal residence plot of land, would gains on the sale of that house then be subject to capital gains tax as the new house isn't your principal residence?
Can't seem to find the answer by googling, and we kinda need to build in order to get enough gains to support the eventual move to Clonskeagh, where I guess even a million would be lucky to get you a garden shed.
In order to sell the second house, you've need to sub-divide the plot. Which means at that point, its not the same property but an investment property. So subject to CGT.
Although, you could transfer you principal residence to the second house. In which case it would be CGT exempt, but the first would be CGT liable for the period that it wasn't your residence.
I laughed out loud when I read the full quote. It's especially funny when you consider Israel have been trying to walk a line in between Russia and the West.
I laughed out loud when I read the full quote. It's especially funny when you consider Israel have been trying to walk a line in between Russia and the West.
Remember they have nukes. And they're nuts, and getting nuttier.
"We are not Europeans. Those people on the continent are freaks."
Can you have it so that one house is your principal res and the other is a partners, sell and go back to original house.
I mean i assume they've thought of that.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Ah that seems grand so. So we build the second house, then move into it, and we're good. Thanks Mellor!
What's the plan when the latest PhD candidate finds herself knocked up? Really don't remember you mentioning having a vasectomy, though if ever there was a person who should have one it's you.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
Ah that seems grand so. So we build the second house, then move into it, and we're good. Thanks Mellor!
I doubt you can hop around houses calling them your primary residence, it's probably something like you have to choose which one is? And the other has CGT when selling.
I doubt you can hop around houses calling them your primary residence, it's probably something like you have to choose which one is? And the other has CGT when selling.
Surely its straightforward enough, that you sell your current residence and then move into the new house?
What's the plan when the latest PhD candidate finds herself knocked up? Really don't remember you mentioning having a vasectomy, though if ever there was a person who should have one it's you.
Should we be legitimately worried that they may launch a nuke at some point at this stage?
I think that they can be stopped if launched (anti missile defence or some such) but apparently it can fail due to numerous factors.
Highly unlikely we have such defence but then again why should we, seeing as A we’re officially neutral and B we wouldn’t be top choice anyhow.
Just seems the rhetoric has increased recently in this regard
My Iranian postdoc was asking me about this - would Ireland be safe from a nuclear attack, and I went - pfft its nothing, and she goes - 'I don't think, unless you live in crazy, that you can understand quite what crazy is'.
Actually, she was saying something interesting about Iran. She's moving back for a few months to work remotely from there after not going back during her PhD in Ireland, and she was asking her mother would she have to wear a hijab, and she said that's all gone now outside of Tehran. The mother was also saying that there are now loads of only-slight-disguised pubs and nightclubs all over the place. A bit like our guy on here was saying when he moved back there. Persia really is different to the rest of the middle east. The more I hear about Iran the cooler it sounds as a place - the people only obv, not the politicians.
Originally posted by Hitchhiker's Guide To...View Post
My Iranian postdoc was asking me about this - would Ireland be safe from a nuclear attack, and I went - pfft its nothing, and she goes - 'I don't think, unless you live in crazy, that you can understand quite what crazy is'.
In one way it might make sense that they hit Ireland.
We are obviously not friends at the moment and more importantly, not NATO affiliated.
Hypothetically they could hit us, with no likely defence and still not bring NATO into the war
Barring i guess the fact that any attack would very likely affect the UK
Ye are worried the nutjobs in Russia will start nuking ? The US (With a history ) will be 1st to strike at the merest whiff of the Ruskies doing it. Hmmm
In other existential news
Well someone is looking out for us , some idiot in a camper was overtaking us at high speed as i'm indicating left. Saw the fool at the last second and avoided carnage. Who overtakes a car turning left at the fooooking turn dodged 1 there .
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