Corned beef seems to have originated in Ireland and Scotland, but was commonly used throughout the British Empire for the past 400 years. I assume the cooking and salting process makes it last much longer without going bad, which would make sense for long voyages.
They also practiced polygamy, so that rich and influential men would have multiple wives and poor men would have none. Imagine the rage when you were a Shepherd tending someone else's flocks, knowing that you will never have a wife or family.
It makes sense to have occasional wars with neighboring tribes so that excess males can be removed from the system.
I have a Bip as well, and aside from the silly name I love it. Even after 5 years a single charge lasts more than a month.
It tracks my sleep and steps, and is always on (other smartwatches turn the display off to save the battery).
It doesn't do all the fanciest things. I can't answer phone calls or send text messages (it will display received messages), but the advantages far away the drawbacks.
In my experience, it's the large trucks that are speeding and overtaking dangerously, not to mention driving much faster than the conditions would dictate. A rear-wheel drive vehicle with nothing in the back on an icy road is a recipe for disaster, but I see it all the time.
I finished two episodes, and I really hope that the interesting part is going to start. So far almost everything has been about how Cowboys are tough, gruff, brooding, and loyal to their families above all else. A couple of SF elements, but those have been incidental.
I really hope that it's going to do more than just mining the cowboy mythology and showing how rugged individualism is superior to government and corporations.
We have small lights that plug into the socket. They turn on automatically when there is movement and it is dark, or if the power goes out. We can also take them out of the socket and then they become flashlights.
Yes, Language Transfer doesn't have as many languages as Duolingo. Hardly surprising, since the entire system and all the language lessons were created by one man!
For me, the most important thing is to learn to think in the other language. Everything else follows from that.
Language Transfer makes a conscious effort not to get you to memorize things, but to internalize them and understand the system. That works perfectly with my own way of learning.
Language Transfer is much, much better than Duolingo for learning a language.
I am learning Spanish using language transfer after having learned four other languages in more traditional ways. Obviously, immersion is the best way to learn. But if you have to learn any other way, this is the one. Far, far better than Duolingo.
It's made up of MP3s, usually about 10 minutes each. You just listen to them and respond to the instructor.
You can use SoundCloud, or YouTube, or the simple but practical smartphone app. The whole thing is run by one guy, and there is no charge but he asks for donations. I have been paying $10 per month on Patreon for several years now, and consider it well worth it.
You can learn French, Spanish, Italian, German, Greek, Turkish, and Swahili.
I have a Bip watch as well. I actually bought a fancier one, but the Bip has a display that is on all the time, and after 5 years of use still has a battery life of about 5-6 weeks!
It tells the time, buzzes when I get a phone call, and tracks my steps. That's about all I need.
It helps if you realize that most people are delighted to talk about themselves, if you can find the right angle. They may be passionate about cars, or gardening, travel, their children.
Also realize that most people have spent a lot of time doing whatever they do, and there are things they know about it that few other people do.
For example, someone who works in a laundry might have insights into the laundry business, or the people who come in late at night or the values of different kinds of detergent.
Someone who works at a mall may well know things about them all that you don't. There may be aspects to their job that they find challenging or painful.
I seem unable to care much about other people (not officially diagnosed on the spectrum, but it seems obvious to most people who know me), but I am interested in the insights they can give me, and I genuinely want them to be happy.
Having a conversation like that also beats sitting around awkwardly.