Working Stiff.

She's using the bottom part of her overskirt (frock). She probably had another three layers of skirts under that.

It's as deep as a fortune-cookie and about as well written. I have a deep loathing for it, not because it is simple, but because it pretends to be profound. Millions love it, but millions also have "Carpe Diem" signs on their walls at home and thinks that makes them special.

It's a slightly different skill to reading, and you just need practice. I suggest books where it won't hurt your enjoyment too much if your mind wanders a bit to start out with. Eventually you'll get just as good at "reading" with your ears as with your eyes, and you'll be able to listen to audio-books while doing chores or even shopping. I swap between listening and reading on a kindle, and if you held a gun to my head I wouldn't be able to tell you which parts I read and which parts I listened to.

I'm sure the burger is lovely but those fried have not been destaarched and double fried; they look more like they were lightly dipped in boiling water.

I thought you can't farm chanterelles?

EDIT: I had to Google it, but it seems it is possible, just very very difficult and most often not worth it since they're so common growing wild. I'm guessing it might be worth it in the Netherlands. I'm now seriously considering doing this in my garden in Sweden next to my Oyster mushrooms, if I can figure out how, just for fun (and because my usual picking spot got bulldozed).

I should also say the meal looks lovely OP!

Aren't those chanterelles?

Västerbottenost, that's some great stuff!

Didn't know they were that progressive back then!

I'm confused, there's nothing about Siederman on that page...?

Yes, I figured - except that the preparation of salmon called "gravad lax" or "gravlax" in Swedish is also called "gravadlax" or "gravlax" in English. It's a loan word from Swedish, just like "Smorgasbord".

In English it's called Gravadlax, which is just literally Swedish for "graved salmon". OP translated it which is mildly amusing, like me showing a picture of a spread of different foods and inviting you to admire my "sandwich table" (smörgåsbord).

We usually do when we make this, but the slices need to be very thin.

Hey, I'm just using you as a springboard for my own frustrations at this point. I am literally a rich person unable to give money away. It's insane.

That said, what we've done is we pay everyone a more than fair wage (way above average for our sector), insane pensions scheme, and obviously we respect the parental leave laws in our country. We also give gratuities when we've done well.

We're not on the stock exchange, so we can't give options on shares, and the law makes it really advantageous to own more than 90% of your company.

We give the exact same bonus to everyone, regardless of salary. Who cares if the people in the warehouse therefore gets a higher percentage bonus; they probably need it more. We've toyed with the idea of bonuses being more formalized, but it always ends up with people expecting and even spending the bonus... and getting royally possed off if they then miss a milestone because one guy was sick or another was on paternal leave. Not worth it, ruins cohesion.

All in all, it's really hard to give people bonuses without wrecking your company.

Dude, this is some difficult shit. I own a business that is worth maybe $50m. Dividends per year for me are about $200k (profits are in the $2m range).

I am literally trying to make more of that go to my employees but it's not easy. Anything I do is apt to wreck the company. The best I can do is give them a really good Christmas bonus, and pledge (to myself) that if I ever sell the company, the employees will get half.

But that will literally mean me giving them a gift of whatever their portion of half is. If I do it any other way (like, officially) I'd break the company. I've seen it happen. Once people start thinking about future wealth, your culture gets fucked. And Culture beats strategy any day.

That sounds great, but only works in at-will, no-regulation states/countries. Everywhere else, that means expanding fixed costs because of probably short-term super-profits, which will eventually lead to companies going under as soon as the economy turns bad. Happened a lot in the 70s.

I'm not arguing against fair wages, far from it, but bonuses are a better way of dealing with windfall profits.

I personally think it's one of the best books I've ever read, and rate it even higher than Simmons' Hyperion Cantos. I really enjoyed the slow building dread as their situation worsened, mixed with the historical accuracy.

I'm not American. It may surprise you to find that 95% of the world isn't. The only reason people buy guns in my country is to hunt.

You clearly don't hunt.

Yup. Also this was Sweden, better to just cooperate and do your time if you're guilty.

Yes, obviously. It's not nonsensical at all, it happens all the time. Think of all the executive auctions where cars and houses are sold way below market value to cover a debt.

There was no theft, it was drug money from online sales.

Yep. Had this seizure happened in 2020, and then the sale happened today, this case would be reversed with the criminals owing way more than the bitcoin was sold for.

Is it Aleppo chili peppers that make them Aleppo eggs? I've got some of those growing in my greenhouse (took me years to find seeds weirdly).