Daily Slow Chat

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1. This past weekened, Stöckli (Swiss Ski company) had a day people could test their skis for free, at the resort I frequent. Tried a pair and absolutely fell in love with them.

   Ultra light and responsive and overall a fantastic riding experience.

   When you return them you participate in a short survey about them.

   My reviews were glowing and the lady taking the survey started laughing and said “You fell in love with the most expensive skis we offer…”

   How much are they?

   1900 CHF (around 2000 EUR) with the setup I tried.

   Oh geez…

2. It turns out that the streaming service we have at the moment stops at the end of Season 10 of Death in Paradise. The last episode ended on a cliffhanger where my homie was going to confess his love to his coworker, so maybe it is for the best that I don’t have to see him get friendzoned. I should know better than to get invested in this stuff.

   No, I am not crying, I have shipbait in my eye.

   Speaking of which, did any Belgians (or others) here watch the series “Professor T?” I know there’s a Brit version too, but everyone says that the Belgian original is so much better. I watched the first episode of the Brit one and quite like it, Ben Miller is a good actor. But seeing him touch everything with latex gloves makes me wince as a molecular biologist.

3. I am over the moon about the shy, tentative return of the cheesy power ballad.

   First, there was Frozen 2 with that hilarious tribute that had more than a little of Peter Cetera Karate Kid’s *Glory of Love*, and then, my god, how Mark Ronson RAN with it for *I’m Just Ken*. With motherfucking Slash! I genuinely laughed out loud at the cinema when the Kenergy breakdown came out, such glorious 80s perfection.

   (Honorable mention to Celine Dion, the absolute goddess, channeling the inherent cheese of the “007 ballad” energy for Deadpool 2)

   Anyway, if you haven’t see the delightful camp spectacle that was Ryan Gosling performing at the Oscars, please go watch it. Also Wolfgang Van Halen showed up on stage along with Slash. Glorious.

   Bring back the cheesy power ballad!

4. This sleep schedule makes me wake up in the middle of the night…

   I heard the UK was having a youth delinquency crisis or something on reddit. There’s even been some posts where they suggested restarting conscription to straiten the youth out. Conversely, the teenagers/young adults of the 2010s to present in the US seem to more mellow than the previous generation of teens. Teenage pregnancy, crime, drug use, and car accidents are all down. Some researchers think that extremely high internet use has encouraged teenagers to stay in their room and not go out.

5. By routinely buying coffee (bean or ground) at the roastery, I learnt a lesson: when they ask you what type of coffee you want, it is best to say the type they usually prepare for customers (usually sweet Arabica); because if you ask for the blend you will get a very strong coffee.

6. Recently the president of the largest pinball manufacturer was asked about the possibility of a Dragon Ball pinball, to which he responded negatively, stating among other reasons that anime was “not popular enough in Europe.”

   I don’t really care one way or another if a DB pin gets made, but I had to laugh at all the comments online decrying him as an out-of-touch old man when he knows better than almost anyone what sells in such a niche industry.

7. I’m glad that spring is around the corner because that means the birds are returning. Yesterday on my walk I saw cardinals, blue jays, mourning doves, grackles, and even a flicker. What is everyone’s favorite backyard bird? Mine is probably a tie between the chickadee and goldfinch