How big is the actual effect on most of the US anyway?

I mean, most of the US is located surprisingly far to the south (e.g. Washington lying on a same latitude as the southern tip of Italy, Los Angeles as Northern Africa), so I would assume it to be not that big a deal, as seasonal changes of daylight are limited?

Isn’t Sans Forgetica the opposite of a font for dyslexics?
As I understand it, it is supposed to make reading harder, not easier.

Honestly? No.

It looks like the first own design my son would come up after a one week course of web design.

Sure I’ll support, but let’s talk about adequate weekend bonuses first.
And you sure won’t mind that I’ll take Monday off in exchange, will you?

Didn’t know that Linkedin has been around that long already.

Will also be released for AOSP within the next 2 days.
Seems like one of the next LineageOS updates will be a mandatory one for me…

When listening to a Michael Patrick Kelly song outside of a running car for the first time, it turned out it wasn’t a nerdy song about “Beautiful maths”, but just another boring love song called “Beautiful madness”:-)

There is a famous one here in Germany that everyone gets wrong.
The original line being sung: “Es tobt der Hass da vor meinem Fenster”, meaning “Hatred is raging in front of my window”.
What everyone hears: “Es tobt der Hamster vor meinem Fenster”, meaning “The hamster is raging in front of my window”.

Dream on…
Motorola has continuously been moving headphone jack down to ever lower spec devices.
Has been the reason I bought a used G84 half a year ago, as this has been the last Motorola with at least somewhat decent specs to support those. (On top of it, it runs LineageOS really well!).
But the GrapheneOS phone will be a high-end-device, so you can probably forget about it…

How about messengers?
Specifically Signal and Threema.
Are they still working as expected?
This is the biggest fear I have. Messaging is essential, but often seems to rely on google services for real time message push.
I am currently using a vanilla LineageOS with basic Google Services and Apps installed because of this fear.

I never expected to read the term “chicken powered nuclear bomb” in a serious Wikipedia article. Yet here we go!

BTW, I think we have left the mildly interesting context by now… :-)

Most of northern and central Germany was seen as a complete loss in any way.
There where hundreds of French tactical nuclear missiles pointed, not at Warsaw Pact countries, but at Germany, to bring the Soviet advance to a halt before it could reach the French border.
German Tornado fighter jets would have been outfitted with nuclear weapons to drop them - you probably guessed it - on German soil.
There would not have been an “after the war” for Germany.
Welcome to the insane logic of nuclear warfare!

Cold-War era strategic Autobahn segments in West Germany had covered shafts at regular intervals.
Rumors had it that they were supposed to be fitted with small tactical nukes in the case the Sowjet tanks were on the verge of crossing the border…

Edit:
Found the relevant Wikipedia article (only in German, though…):
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra-Paket

I’m not convinced the fucking has declined. :-)
I guess it is more that by now it is decoupled from family planning, which combined with more rational considerations (tied to higher education levels) lead to reduced family sizes.

Housing prices in the last few years have exploded in Germany, but the reduced birthrate preceded that rather recent effect.
When looking at the statistics, main reason is less that parents decide completely against children, but more that they have less children. So the average nowadays is just 1.35 children per woman compared to 2.5 children in the 60s.
Main driving factor here seems to be more self determination of women and a more rational approach to family planning overall, tied to increased levels of education.

I totally understand that.

But I personally like watching videos (instead of reading about the related topics) even less than I like using AI.
So for me summarizing transcripts is the lesser evil.

And if I do it anyway, I might as well share the result and spare people with similar views the effort.
Does no harm and might help.

In many municipalities child care is even completely free of charge.
(Only for low-income families where I live.)
From society’s standpoint it is also a good idea to let pedagogues mentor young kids and give them social interaction with same age peers. Also best way for foreign kids to learn the German language and customs, reduces possible later social problems.

B’cause XOR!!!

Personally I agree with his assessment of bicycling here in Germany where I live.

And for all of you who prefer reading to watching videos, I let AI generate a transcript summary.

1. Montreal: Small changes build over time

• The Lesson: Incremental improvements accumulate into significant transformation.
• Context: The speaker describes Montreal as the city that changed their perspective on cycling. Unlike the “battle” mentality of car-centric commuting, Montreal offered safe, separated infrastructure.
• Key Details:
  • The city has been building bike lanes since the 1980s.
  • Regular visits show constant expansion of the network, better connectivity, and the addition of pedestrian spaces.
  • It represents a gradual reprioritization of public space away from automobiles.

2. Paris: It is about priorities, not space

• The Lesson: Cities do not need to find new space; they must reallocate existing space based on new priorities.
• Context: Paris underwent a rapid transformation from a car-clogged city to a bike city.
• Key Details:
  • Transformation involved reallocation rather than “nipping and tucking.”
  • Example: Rue de Rivoli was converted from car dominance to mostly bike use, with only one lane for taxis, buses, and deliveries.
  • This demonstrates that rethinking the use of existing space can create “magical” urban environments.

3. New York: Political courage is essential

• The Lesson: Changing the status quo requires political will to fight entrenched paradigms.
• Context: Changing infrastructure in New York is uniquely difficult due to it being a media capital where everything is amplified.
• Key Details:
  • Improvements like bike lanes and congestion pricing challenge 75 years of car-centric habits.
  • Example: The congestion pricing debate showed how political capital must be invested to achieve results (reduced traffic, increased transit use, quieter streets).

4. London: Benefits extend beyond transportation

• The Lesson: Cycling infrastructure improves the city for everyone, not just cyclists.
• Context: London’s “cycling superhighways” have catalyzed broader positive changes.
• Key Details:
  • Safety: Separated lanes make streets safer for motorists too by calming traffic and reducing speeds.
  • Economy: Businesses benefit as it is easier for customers to stop at shops by bike than by car.
  • Health: Central London saw a 53% drop in harmful nitrogen dioxide levels due to low emission zones and reduced traffic.

5. Edmonton: Better cities can happen anywhere

• The Lesson: Even cities historically designed around cars can transform themselves.
• Context: Edmonton is a sprawling, postwar North American city with a cold climate, often assumed to be resistant to change.
• Key Details:
  • The city is a leader in undoing car-centric damage through zoning reform, removing parking minimums, and investing in transit.
  • These changes have contributed to affordable housing and better public spaces, proving that change is possible regardless of a city’s starting point.

6. Seattle: Think creatively about space

• The Lesson: Overlooked or forgotten spaces can be transformed into vital public amenities.
• Context: Seattle is rainy and hilly, yet ranks highly for cycling.
• Key Details:
  • Example: The Burke-Gilman Trail was created from a decommissioned railroad in the 1970s.
  • Instead of selling the land off, it became one of the world’s first “rail trails.”
  • This demonstrated the vision to see forgotten infrastructure as a way to transform daily life and connectivity.

7. Oulu, Finland: You can build winter cycling cities

• The Lesson: Climate is not a barrier; infrastructure commitment is.
• Context: Located near the Arctic Circle, Oulu is snowy and dark for much of the year yet is a world-class bike city.
• Key Details:
  • The network prioritizes bikes over cars and is well-lit for dark days.
  • Maintenance is prioritized: plow crews maintain a packed snow foundation for traction.
  • Users are “normal” people (families, students, elderly), not just hardcore cyclists.

8. Ottawa & Washington D.C.: Progress is local, not national

• The Lesson: National character matters less than specific local decisions.
• Context: Comparing two national capitals revealed unexpected results.
• Key Details:
  • Washington D.C. was surprisingly bikeable with a solid network, whereas Ottawa had a patchy network outside of scenic corridors.
  • This proves that cycling success depends on specific city council decisions, local advocates, and political courage, rather than national culture or funding.

9. Victoria: You can build a family bike city

• The Lesson: Infrastructure should support “mobilities of care,” not just commuting.
• Context: Victoria focuses on families rather than just the typical “commuter” demographic.
• Key Details:
  • The city sees high usage of cargo bikes for transporting children.
  • Planning focuses on trips related to domestic responsibilities (school runs, shopping, daycare) rather than just downtown employment centers.
  • This creates a calmer, safer bike culture.

10. Berlin & Hamburg: Normalizing cycling is not enough

• The Lesson: Cycling must be prioritized, not just accepted as normal.
• Context: In Germany, cycling is a normalized mode of transport, but the speaker noted a hesitation to prioritize it.
• Key Details:
  • Cycling is socially acceptable, but infrastructure and laws still prioritize the automobile (“normalized but marginalized”).
  • This limits the potential impact of cycling because it remains less safe than it should be.

11. Calgary: Build on what you have

• The Lesson: Cities can leverage existing recreational assets for transportation purposes.
• Context: Calgary is a car-centric city with a massive network of multi-use pathways originally built for recreation.
• Key Details:
  • The pathway system was intended for leisure (Sunday rides) in a low-density city.
  • The city is slowly integrating this recreational network into a functional transportation network by filling gaps and connecting pathways to street bikeways.

* in the US

We currently pay something in the range of 250€ a month for after school care of our 2 kids, including lunch; full kindergarten care for both was around 500€ before in Germany.
Funny thing though: birthrates here are dropping even worse than in the US…