Saturday, January 21, 2023

Four Observations

 1.  There's a new listing out for the Stuttgart-21 rail project.  Originally, the estimate was in 1995 around 2.5-billion Euro.  

After the city gov't flipped in the first stage of construction, and the new gov't tried to revamp the project (cutting pieces) and the vote went against the changes...the new estimate came to around 4.5-billion Euro. Presently, the amount is up around 9.8-billion Euro.

It'll easily cross the 10-billion line in the end.  

Opening date?  December 2025....still three years away, and I'd suggest another billion will be added at the end.

2.  Berlin, in the weeks now leading up to the mandated 2nd attempt at the election (Feb)....had a poll.  Number one issue?  Affordable housing. 

Just about every single solution on the table requires more money than the city has at present.  So resolving this is next to impossible.

I should note in polling....the CDU will get near 23-percent in this city election, but the SPD and Greens will have enough (39-percent combined) to get control of the city government.  

3.  Some German think-tank has given the number of C02 'tons' a wag, and says your personal amount should be three 'tons'.  If you exceed that....you should pay for the extra used amount.

If you go and browse the material....you'd have to figure C02 into literally everything....the coffee you bought today....the newspaper that came to you digitally (instead via paper)....the visit by the postal guy....the catfood you bought....the beer delivery method (glass versus can)....and so on.  You'd likely reach the stage of evaluating the single ply toilet paper to the 2-ply or 3-ply.  

Just sitting down with your spouse and discussing the ride into the city to hang out at some Christmas market....would mean a 10-minute discussion how C02 use would be involved, and if you could afford some leisure time.....OR if it was better to just sit in your carport and wish you were there.

4.  Discussion going on in Germany about nipples.

Apparently both Instagram and META are having a policy change review....allowing images of nipples in pictures.  There's some belief with German commentary that booby pictures will get the green light (it was offensive for the page 3 Bild newspaper crowd, and the booby pictures disappeared in the 1990s in Germany).  

Kinda funny how things evolve, then double-back two decades later.  

At the present rate, I'd say boobs on TV shows (like it was in the 1980s in West Germany) will come back into full fashion.  

3 comments:

Wrench said...

There is currently an ICE rail project plan between Hannover an Bielefeld. The plan is to build it through the Auetal valley (where I live) alongside the A2. This has raised a multitude of protest throughout the valley. The project is a bit silly when you consider, according to current regional rail transport, the ICE will save 8 minutes travel time.

Wrench said...

BTW, on the topic of nipples, I hope they bring back the game show "Tutti Fruiti". Many a night, in the common room of the barracks, a group of soldiers gather (beer in hand) in front of the TV admiring this wonderful show. We had no idea what was going on, but, it didn't matter. Presentation is everything.

Schnitzel_Republic said...

I rode one of these high speed sections in 2019...between Koln and the Frankfurt Flughafen. Basically no stops in between, and high speed...probably cut 12 minutes just on speed. Maybe a status thing, but I agree...a lot of this work cuts 6 minutes here, and 9 minutes there.