Last time it mattered? This morning. Right now? Prevented by pax rail? No, it’s the opposite, the largest freight rail system prevents pax rail as freight owns the rails and rightly has priority. Also, it not being the mid 19th C prevents long distance rail in the US. And having by far the most airports of any nation on the planet.
Right. Which is a huge economic boon to the nation. It’s also useful for national defense to move armor and other heavy military equipment quickly and efficiently. And good for the roads and environment to reduce freight on trucks in the highways. Passengers have sensibly long since abandoned long distance rail for air travel. After all we have the most airports in the world too (by far).
Because sales taxes vary by city and county and transit area etc and often change from time to time. Here in my town in Washington state it is 10.6%, walk a mile away and it’s 10.4% the town in the other direction is 10.5%, our relatives on an island not far pay 8.8%. Unincorporated areas in our own county pay 7.9% if not in a regional transit area but can be as high as 10.5%. All these variations that can change literally from one side of the street to the other makes it hard for store chains to print prices with tax included. Also, we like to see how much the govt is charging us.
The Guardian says that further censorship of U.S. social media companies is needed to control dissent in Europe.
The U.S. govt needs to make it clear: targeting Americans with censorship laws is not an available solution to Europe's domestic problems.
https://t.co/jZ3HZEXurC
Number one over 100 years. Not last 20 or whatever. Though James has been top 5 in 4 of the 5 years from 2021-2025 at least (see pic) so it’s hardly out of fashion. Also…my uncle, two of my cousins, five high school classmates plus my best childhood friend (neighbor, a year behind me in school), at least a dozen co-workers over the years: all James (some go by Jim or Jimmy or Jamie but all officially with the name James). I’m 50 years old.
Yes, obviously. The trade off is it does show a lot of common names of current adults. And common name we as adults have encountered over the years even if some are more granddad’s generation and out of favor now. Seemed better than attaching a list of trendy recent baby names. Our Japanese friend didn’t seem to be asking about names of young kids and toddlers.
I grew up in and around NYC. The best pizza is in the NY outer boroughs and close-in suburbs of Long Island and Nee Jersey. Actually had good NY style pizza in Tokyo once! But there are many different types, NY, New Haven / Connecticut, Detroit, Chicago is more of a casserole than a pizza. When back home on Long Island I always get a grandma slice, a grandpa slide and a traditional slice.
@tuuu28283 It varies with mood, tiredness, stress, etc. Weekday mornings usually black with a small amount of fake sugar. Lazy weekend morning? A bit of milk same small amount of fake sugar. Autumn afternoon after outdoor exercise? A cinnamon latte at Starbucks.
@mame_kininaruki Yes a tempura chef in Kyoto made sure us gaijin ate the tails. They were amazing because - it was a nice high end place in Japan so the shrimp themselves were highest quality and were perfectly prepared.
I’m have lived in 6 (soon to be 7) states on both coasts and have visited 44. Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington state (not DC), California, Colorado, Montana and Utah are the most naturally beautiful. New Hampshire, Florida, Texas, Washington have no income tax and that makes life far more affordable. I grew up in and around New York City and no metro area in the US compares for energy, dynamism, chaos, or opportunity. But it has a lot of downsides. The Midwest is dull geographically and culturally but has lots of incredibly nice people. The South has some dynamic areas but also a lot of poverty …but some very nice and hospitable people plus some genuine my unique cultural enclaves. Much of New England is pretty and charming. But cold in winter and its people take their time warming up to new folks. We have a home in Washington State outside Seattle near the water. We are near two
mountain ranges, have great wildlife, a busy tech heavy city and an international airport that has good connections to Asia and Europe.
We’re heading to Virginia for a career move but keeping our home here in Washington State to return to for retirement years. We prefer the weather, natural beauty and style of life.
There are good and bad aspects of every state. I have lived in 2 towns in Connecticut, 4 cities/towns in New York, 2 towns in Massachusetts, 1 city/town each in California, Oregon and Washington state so far. They all had some beauty, some economic opportunities, some local or regional food specialties, and they all had beautiful areas. They also all had (different) problems - expense in NYC and nearby suburbs, traffic in California, homelessness and drugs in Portland Oregon, etc etc. Most people can find happiness and challenges in any state. Humidity bothers me a lot so I don’t prefer the Deep South or even the summers in New York and Nee England. I am dreading summer in Virginia after we move. The summers in the Pacific Northwest like Oregon and Washington state are far better. But those states get a lot of winter rain and have high earthquake risk (without Japan’s amazingly good construction and infrastructure standards for seismic issues). Every place has its pros and cons. But while I miss the frenetic energy, food and sports teams of New York…the western US is far prettier with more interesting and varied landscapes.
USA = America, at least in English. We call the continents “North America,” and “South America.” A small subset of South Americans and Europeans object to this. Some due to language differences; some due to learning a different (fewer than 7) continents model. But mostly just to start silly arguments on social media.