Category Archives: Economics

A Government Shutdown is Nothing Unusual

Other countries have them all the time, too. Let’s look at when some other countries went through a similar period of limited capacity to act. USA: today Germany: 1945 Russia: 1917 France: 1789 Japan: 1945

Posted in Economics, History, Politics, USA | Leave a comment

Red Star

“OK, we’ll tear down the old houses, put up a high-rise building and sell expensive apartments. Long live capitalism! But don’t touch the monument with the Red Star, comrades!” (Photographed in Tivat, Montenegro.)

Posted in Economics, Montenegro, Photography | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Random Thoughts (20)

If you care neither about the deficit, nor about providing public services, it’s actually quite easy to cut taxes. When I saw books by Džon Grišam at the bookshop in Montenegro, I was happy that my name wouldn’t have to be … Continue reading

Posted in Austria, Books, Economics, Germany, Italy, Language, Montenegro, Politics, Romania, USA | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Random Thoughts (19)

But what will become of James Bond if we don’t tolerate sexual harassment anymore? Trying to cash in on crypto-currencies, I have now invested all my savings in Paypal. I always find it strange when people say “I am writing … Continue reading

Posted in Austria, Economics, Israel, Language, Montenegro, Politics, Romania | Tagged , , , , , , | 70 Comments

Two Books on North Korea

If there will be a nuclear war in 2018, it will most likely have something to do with North Korea. So you may as well use your last weeks alive to read about that country. Suki Kim pulled off a … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Economics, Human Rights, North Korea, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

How about tipping?

Wikipedia has this map of tipping customs in restaurants: This might be useful for those of you who like to do things as they are done customarily. Me, I am rather skeptical regarding tipping. And it really pisses me off … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Travel | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Why travelling with little money is the best

Dan Kieran writes in The Idle Traveller: If you have to rely on other people, you are forced to be open and engage with them, which quickly spreads the notion of friendship and community. One person leads you to another … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Economics, Philosophy, Travel | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

The sweet life of a freelancer

From a conversation with a potential client on Upwork: They didn’t hire me for the job.

Posted in Economics, Time | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Buy more saltpeter!

In the article about Humberstone, I had already shown a few of the placards which I found in the museum there. Most of them were from the first decades of the 20th century. I quite like the graphic design and … Continue reading

Posted in Chile, Economics, History, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What’s the priority, car or house?

You can either have a big car and a live in a run-down house or stick to the old car and live in a mansion. As you know, I have neither and travel the world instead. (Photos taken in Tbilisi, … Continue reading

Posted in Azerbaijan, Economics, Georgia, Life, Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | 7 Comments