Jennka

during what we can "call" winter in Florida lollllllllllllllllllllll, yes i have J & then hanna when he goes to work in the AM, but its very short lived, we only have cool weather for like maybe 3months maxs it SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, cause i hate the HEAT

Oh, you should come live here we have only 3 months of what we call summer, rest of the year is spring with ideal temperatures, freezing winter and autumn with it´s wonderful "indian summer" ... I especially love autumn and spring I love temperatures around 20-25 celzius, just great

Ugh yeah, the university titles. Jennka, do people have to pay to study at state universities? The University of Bratislava and other bigger ones? Because here, if you become a student of Warsaw University or Warsaw School of Economics or any other big univeristy-in Warsaw or in any other city-you don't pay for studying, unless you study in evening or extramural mode. But the whole need to have a title is ridiculous. There are more and more private academies and only a few of them are of a good level. Most of them accept morons though, if you pay to get in. A few years ago, lots of vocational school were closed and now it's like: oh no, we need physical workers with vocational school diploma but as many of them were closed and that there is this stupid trend that 'everyone' has to study... ugh. Also, even if you study at a uni, MA seems to be a new BA so finishing a uni with just a bachelor's degree is not the best option.

Jennka, I can't remember the word but I know what you mean,

It´s exactly like you said, the same here. You don´t pay if you are daily student (only at the private unis) but as long as you study "external studies" while working, you have to pay - there are some exceptions, some universities that are for free for everyone.

But nowadays it´s like everyone has to have a title, even the most stupid people I have ever met, there is no real quality on most of the universities except few of them, very few. If you have enough money, you can have as many titles as you want... I myself helped at least four people to graduate at unis, and those idiots I´ve met and corruption I´ve seen... no I decided not to study after all... not now. And not on universities.

As I say, show me a manager who can bake a bread. There are lots of managers right now, but soon thee will be no one to bake that bread

Participating in politics tends to breed sociopaths, in my view. A lot of people who get into it eventually become kind of imbalanced and have strained personal lives. My 'friend' now works in the NYC local govt in public finance. I don't like the political life- firstly only a small number of people make it, and its' full of low-mid-high networking/cronyism that usually has little to do with anything productive or value adding to society. Barack Obama's favorite book was "The Power Broker" (Famous bio of Dr. Robert Moses, the greatest of all public works builders and one of the most cunning political leaders of the 20th century) and he was just the political type. He even graduated from Columbia University in NYC.

I´m saying one has to be born to do politics you have to lack the spine

I see ideologies as rough guidelines for society. It's like the "frame" so to speak- where one can influence broad social behavior and how most people in a nation or community will think. In Communist China during the reign of Mao it was the most ideologically pure form of Marxist- Leninism. In the Soviet Union, it was a more moderate form of Marxism (that incooperated some capitalistic/market/competition) based characteristics.

In the USA, today, it's social democracy, conspicuous consumption, self interest, and right of center capitalism.

You know, back in the 1900-1950s the predominant guideline for American society were those of protestant Christian values-so morality was very strict as people tended to be much more "Black & white, morally rules-based" than today. They saw the law and government as rule by law more than rule by the whims of men.

The Calvinist ethic, for instance, basically...trained within many American people that their primary goal in life was to work and contribute to their local society. Many, particularly the common person, would obey, and not really look outside of their immediate world. It's kind of a slavish devotion, but that, and with the firestorm of the world wars....by evidence available seemed to have maintained a higher "rules-based" (thus more consistent/predictable) standard in politics, business, war and government in the first half of the 20th century. Even in many hopeless military situations in the 3 wars (WW1,WW2, Korea), American soldiers- regular citizens with nothing to gain by not surrendering- were known to fight to the end- often to the last man- like corned animals. Like the ideologically driven Japanese....

When I interview the elderly about the 50s ...it's odd...(I wonder if it's them covering up their tracks with rose petals..) they keep on telling me about what a "wonderful" time it was, and how it was the happiest time in their lives. Odd..

Hmm some older people here also fancy communism and call it the "golden age of their life" - you know, SOME people were doing better, those who followed the regime, those who were envy and managed to spy on neighbours and finally get their properties... those who cannot build anything by their own hands and just envy other people´s things

As for the wars... Russian soldiers were known for their strenght and will to fight for their country... I mean, they are born Russian, raised Russian, taught Russian. It´s more than just a nationality. It´s something inside of you that is purely... Russian they have amazing coutry-pride inside of them - not really gained by years, but somehow grew into them from the very birth. It´s like their country is inside of them. I have never seen it before on any nation And I adore that. It´s not a real nationalism or patriotism - it´s something much deeper.

and I don´t think the communism has done that. And of course, only generally speaking, not ALL Russians are like that, I believe.

I care about what I wear, hehehe, and I can get pretty vain. I often look at men's magazines to get ideas. But I don't buy what I don't need, though

Really? sometimes I don´t buy even something I need when I don´t have the money I mostly just wear what I feel comfortable in. That´s the most important thing for me - to feel comfortable. The last thing that bothers me is if it´s trendy I can go on wearing the same thing for many years... until it is worn out.

But I love skirts. I really DO love skirts

I liked math and mental calculation. I liked comics. I remember the first cartoon character I really liked was Garfield: . I could sketch Garfields pretty well by the time I was 6 years old. Calvin and hobbes was also a favorite, but at that time I could not understand many of the artist's more adult and philosophical references

The main "bonding" activity I had with my father was hard discussions about history and war. We had little in common- personality wise- besides that. His eyes would light up, and his pulse quicken..whenever we got a chance to talk about it. The conversations were often long, maybe up to 3 hours. But I learned a lot during those discussions about things that 10 year old boys usually don't know. I supplemented the discussions with readings on my own. History has been one of my fascinations ever since.

History is fascinating - although written by winners, so one never really knows the truth... but yeah, history does fascinate me too. I especially love tv series on history that Spectrum or Discovery broadcast. What do you find the most fascinating? Which era? Which country?

And Garfield has always been great I remember reading Ninja Turtles comics and Mickey Mouse... and some Slovak Comicses about Slavic heroes

I think it's generally hard to have a heavily muscled torso without doing some major weight training and dieting. With the six-pack and its derivatives, the key for men is to lower one's body fat down to 5% or so (a low %, and pretty unnatural). This is pretty hard to do and requires a ton of cardio. Getting solid abs is usually attainable, though

I used to weigh around 195 pounds (very muscular) and my abdominal area was tight & chiseled, but I didn't have "the 6 pack". (even w/ lots of swimming for cardio)

And I'm with you Jennka that a university education is now devalued by virtue of everybody having one. Taking luck, money and nepotism out of the equation - all that it does is delay the inevitable: we are all sorted eventually...

What are some of the other qualities?

I think it's generally hard to have a heavily muscled torso without doing some major weight training and dieting. With the six-pack and its derivatives, the key for men is to lower one's body fat down to 5% or so (a low %, and pretty unnatural). This is pretty hard to do and requires a ton of cardio. Getting solid abs is usually attainable, though

I used to weigh around 195 pounds (very muscular) and my abdominal area was tight & chiseled, but I didn't have "the 6 pack". (even w/ lots of swimming for cardio)

So you like long necks on men? or just medium? I've always thought that long necks were feminine

If I were to list them all, it would probably take more than a thousand words and I don't want to do that especially not in Jennka's thread

No, no, I didn't mean long or medium neck specifically, it's just that some men look like they have no neck at all like their head is placed between their shoulders

Ugh yeah, the university titles. Jennka, do people have to pay to study at state universities? The University of Bratislava and other bigger ones? Because here, if you become a student of Warsaw University or Warsaw School of Economics or any other big univeristy-in Warsaw or in any other city-you don't pay for studying, unless you study in evening or extramural mode. But the whole need to have a title is ridiculous. There are more and more private academies and only a few of them are of a good level. Most of them accept morons though, if you pay to get in. A few years ago, lots of vocational school were closed and now it's like: oh no, we need physical workers with vocational school diploma but as many of them were closed and that there is this stupid trend that 'everyone' has to study... ugh. Also, even if you study at a uni, MA seems to be a new BA so finishing a uni with just a bachelor's degree is not the best option.

Jennka, I can't remember the word but I know what you mean,

It´s exactly like you said, the same here. You don´t pay if you are daily student (only at the private unis) but as long as you study "external studies" while working, you have to pay - there are some exceptions, some universities that are for free for everyone.

But nowadays it´s like everyone has to have a title, even the most stupid people I have ever met, there is no real quality on most of the universities except few of them, very few. If you have enough money, you can have as many titles as you want... I myself helped at least four people to graduate at unis, and those idiots I´ve met and corruption I´ve seen... no I decided not to study after all... not now. And not on universities.

As I say, show me a manager who can bake a bread. There are lots of managers right now, but soon thee will be no one to bake that bread

I wonder if it's like that in many countries

Well, I don't want to sound too detail-istic but from what I know, or at least it is like that in my language that 'university' is a title given by government? I mean, no private school can be called a university, an academy, or a higher school of some arts yes, but not a uni. I think universities are donated more too, the medical university used to be an academy. I think the change in the name had sth to do with financial support from the government, although I'd have to read more about it to tell you how it is in 100%. Though there are still these state schools which aren't called universities so I guess I am lost at this point, with the whole terminology.... all I wanted to say is that no private school can earn a title of a university.

It's 'funny' how it used to be believed that higher education is a pass to a better job with bigger money, while nowadays... Ugh. Obviously it is annoying when graduated with MA or PhD titles have laughable salaries, but then again, the whole higher education structure is whack. There are lots of graduates of humanistic studies, like European studies or pedagogy, thus many of them have it diffuclt to find a job suitable with their degree, yet there are too little students at technical studies. Of course it is changing, as at technical specializations you can get bigger financial support and scholarships but still. It's like, even the biggest schools seem to not realize the needs of the market.

I think it's generally hard to have a heavily muscled torso without doing some major weight training and dieting. With the six-pack and its derivatives, the key for men is to lower one's body fat down to 5% or so (a low %, and pretty unnatural). This is pretty hard to do and requires a ton of cardio. Getting solid abs is usually attainable, though

I used to weigh around 195 pounds (very muscular) and my abdominal area was tight & chiseled, but I didn't have "the 6 pack". (even w/ lots of swimming for cardio)

^I read a lot of it is down to body type (as in ecto/endo/meta-morphic) too though, no? I mean I've always been slim - typically 'ecto' - but the downside to that was that even at my fittest as a teenager, when I was swimming every day and boxing competitively, I still had little muscle definition despite being broad...

Hey, welcome back Baron!

Did you consume enough protein and calories to rebuild your body after your workouts? This is the most critical part, and where most screw up on. I personally think that a lot of male models probably use Creatine or some form of supplement to with it.

I am in the "middle" so to speak. Yeah, genetics has something to do with it. I can gain muscle very easily- probably @ around 5 pounds a month but I have to match very heavy exercise with a lot of intake. Maintaining 195 muscled body is a lot of work, and not worth it (unless you're David Gandy), LOL.

Now, I love fantasy books, especially Terry Pratchetts´ ones - my most favourite writers are Terry Pratchett, Peter S. Beagle and Christopher Moore. I love funny books as well as drama ones... but I prefer funny ones, those that can make me laugh. Ironical or black humour... doesn´t matter Terry can manage to do it all - he is witty, funny and full of deep thoughts wrapped in light words. Last two years I also got hooked on science & biology - reading Freud´s Psychology of a Dream and Young Girl´s Diary, Darwin´s Voyages on Beagle and On the Origin of Species... as well as some studies on cosmology or anything related to space, both relativity theories.... there is so much to learn, so many fascinating things.

I also love fairytales and Harry Potter

How about you and books?

I read only non-fiction, and this gets me into trouble all the time because I just can't talk to people about literature because I am so backed up with reading that I can't read any...

Well, I do buy 50 fun, thought-provoking books a year (no math or dryness) and use them as interdisciplinary reference for my work, so here is a sample of my last amazon (fun) purchases:

Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do And Why They Do It

The New Industrial State

The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle

Tomorrow's Gold: Asia's age of discovery

Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations

Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning

Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy

In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington

Oil 101

Schwager on Futures: Technical Analysis

Understanding Arbitrage: An Intuitive Approach to Financial Analysis

The Aggressive Conservative Investor

Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises

Inside the Tornado: Strategies for Developing, Leveraging, and Surviving Hypergrowth Markets

Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance

Stabilizing an Unstable Economy

As you know, I have a BS in Acct./Fin. and as an analyst I have to read a lot about accounting, finance, economics, management & strategy, investing/trading, statistics, etc. in my spare time to kind of plug the areas where I don't have much knowledge. I last read three books on the Federal Reserve (United States Central Bank), one book on the 1982-2004 stock market cycles, and one book on China and its government.

But what do I enjoy reading the most? Probably history, economics, sociology, and economic development (a subject that I barely studied in college). I like thinking about societies and their evolution.

CI, all these things you wrote about your predictions on what's going to happen in Slovakia I wanted to read it all but couldn't but the part about big markets vs. small shops (or at least that's how I interpreted one of the parts, or rather-how I wanted to read it) it reminded me of the article I read in one of the magazines here. It was about shopping preferences of Polish people, how and when we go shopping (for food etc) They compared our situation with Germany, and how some companies had to change their strategies here. It was mentioned that in Germany, people usually do shopping in huge markets located at the outskirts of the city, once a week. And such strategy, to surprise of some, doesn't work here. Most people prefer to do shopping in places which are not located further than 10 minutes by feet from their houses. The 'once a week' shopping startegy also doesn't work here for several reasons. Petrol is getting more expensive with each year. Many people live in blocks of flats which don't have elevators, so the perspective of carrying heavy bags to your flat isn't a good one. The article also said people in Germany have bigger fridges but I wouldn't count it as one of the reasons really A few years ago, many 'experts' scared us that these big markets like Carrefour, Real, Tesco etc. will kill small shop owners but it's not as dramatic; these big places win when it comes to buying things like washing powder etc.

Ok, I guess I said all these to explain that every country may not go the expected (worse) route but you may disagree of course, since I have no idea for predicting such stuff

It was just off the cuff speculating :-p. I don't know that much about the Slovak economy outside of Economist articles Europe had 0.2% growth (real growth, (-)) for this quarter.

I've lived in Germany and I understand what you're talking about: European consumer behavior tends to be different and vary broadly across countries (as it varies coast to coast in the USA), and this is related to local cultural values. But cultures, and particularly financial cultures can change...and it can take as little as 10 years.

You must be referring to how Wal-Mart & co. tried & failed to really penetrate the German market, but the German economy is "middle-way" with strong unions, strong regulation & labor laws, culture conscious consumers who will not necessarily chase the lowest price, powerful courts/ local/federal govts, etc. I personally believe that the structure of the German economy resembles America's about forty years ago. They never got fully "neo-liberalized" but future developments may change things.

If I were to list them all, it would probably take more than a thousand words and I don't want to do that especially not in Jennka's thread

You're making me super-curious, Layla

No, no, I didn't mean long or medium neck specifically, it's just that some men look like they have no neck at all like their head is placed between their shoulders

Oh, I know what you mean I <3 long necks on women, btw

during what we can "call" winter in Florida lollllllllllllllllllllll, yes i have J & then hanna when he goes to work in the AM, but its very short lived, we only have cool weather for like maybe 3months maxs it SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, cause i hate the HEAT

Oh, you should come live here we have only 3 months of what we call summer, rest of the year is spring with ideal temperatures, freezing winter and autumn with it´s wonderful "indian summer" ... I especially love autumn and spring I love temperatures around 20-25 celzius, just great

well my loverly JENKS, i have a GISELE surprise coming your WAYYYYYYYYYYY, links will be postd tonight waiting for you in the morninggggggggggggggggggg

Yeah I heard that Wal-Mart will supposedly be here, but it looks like those were rumours, and Poland's shopping tendencies (similar to the ones in Slovakia, as Jennka agreed with one of my previous posts) had something to do with it

Hey, welcome back Baron!

Did you consume enough protein and calories to rebuild your body after your workouts? This is the most critical part, and where most screw up on. I personally think that a lot of male models probably use Creatine or some form of supplement to with it.

I am in the "middle" so to speak. Yeah, genetics has something to do with it. I can gain muscle very easily- probably @ around 5 pounds a month but I have to match very heavy exercise with a lot of intake. Maintaining 195 muscled body is a lot of work, and not worth it (unless you're David Gandy), LOL.

No, I didn't do any of that sort of thing - just busy having fun. Didn't really think much more to it at the time other than knowing girls liked muscles! Maybe diet and nutrition could have helped, but I've always been far too much of an epicurean to bother about all that.

Yeah I heard that Wal-Mart will supposedly be here, but it looks like those were rumours, and Poland's shopping tendencies (similar to the ones in Slovakia, as Jennka agreed with one of my previous posts) had something to do with it

When I was living in Berlin, I found that the Berlin had less retail development than my home town. It is true, though, that European/East Asian consumer behavior and their approach to consumer/personal debt is like America's in the 1960s. For us, it took a slow and creeping political/social/ideological revolution (over the course of two decades 70s/80s) to really change everything. This revolution began as a response to slowing economic growth, an oil crisis, and rampant inflation.

The main effect of large retailers is this: You build one to five of these per town, cluster the highways with big box stores.. and the entire small business segment/local culture of the town goes up in smoke. It does hurt a lot of people (in many cases, wiping out the life work of many small businesspeople), and the growing power/expansion of corporate retail (USA 1980s) & their lobbying/political punch will help extinguish labor laws and unions. :

^Indeed!

No, I didn't do any of that sort of thing - just busy having fun. Didn't really think much more to it at the time other than knowing girls liked muscles! Maybe diet and nutrition could have helped, but I've always been far too much of an epicurean to bother about all that.

I only did it at the time because my girlfriend liked it, but yeah...it's not worth it. Bodybuilding is a 14 hour weekly commitment (basically, you lose 1/7th of your life..) and you have to eat about twice as much as you normally do and have to obsess about finding more food..it's unhealthy, too...

my lovely surprise for you jenks, enjoy babe

http://i51.tinypic.com/30vn8f5.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/2cq01vc.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/2n6x6s5.jpg

Hmm some older people here also fancy communism and call it the "golden age of their life" - you know, SOME people were doing better, those who followed the regime, those who were envy and managed to spy on neighbours and finally get their properties... those who cannot build anything by their own hands and just envy other people´s things

My personal belief is that life and values were simpler & more straightforward in the US back then and the educational standard- at least from an "intellectual" perspective were lower. Young people back then were more innocent. They saw the world narrowly, ie. There were good guys and there were bad guys. There were good times and there were bad times. They trusted people and their government more. Life in the 1950s was much slower, and people spent more time with their friends and family (which tends to bring more joy than the pursuit of mammon). Economies were less dynamic, and there were rigid social structures that gave a certain predictability to life.

Their conception of reality was just much different.

I guess there may be been something of that sort in the East...at least while the Soviet Union and its client states were growing in the 1950s.

As for the wars... Russian soldiers were known for their strenght and will to fight for their country... I mean, they are born Russian, raised Russian, taught Russian. It´s more than just a nationality. It´s something inside of you that is purely... Russian they have amazing coutry-pride inside of them - not really gained by years, but somehow grew into them from the very birth. It´s like their country is inside of them. I have never seen it before on any nation And I adore that. It´s not a real nationalism or patriotism - it´s something much deeper.

and I don´t think the communism has done that. And of course, only generally speaking, not ALL Russians are like that, I believe.

Well, the experiences of the German soldiers on the Eastern Front indicate that Russian troops had a tendency to fight with aggressive, nearly suicidal courage. They would take massive risks and fight savagely. The average Russian soldier in the 1930s-1940s had a 6th grade level education and was functionally illiterate. By 1943 the training of Russian troops were at the same level as the Germans.

This was something that German Generals did not expect when they launched Operation Barbarossa- for the most part, the encircled Russian units usually fought until all ammunition ran out. To my understanding, Slovak divisions also participated with the Germans. The Eastern Front was a very savage theater- as savage as the battles the US army fought on the Pacific Islands.

History is fascinating - although written by winners, so one never really knows the truth... but yeah, history does fascinate me too. I especially love tv series on history that Spectrum or Discovery broadcast. What do you find the most fascinating? Which era? Which country?

It is written by the winners until the mid- 20th century..in my view. Before the 20th century gathering historical data was much more difficult, and there were fewer competing historians. For instance, WW2 is actually very extensively studied, and the achievements of historians in this area are very impressive.

What fascinated me the most? Growing up it was World War 1 (particularly about trench fighting tactics and the great Aerial combats), World War 2 (Eastern Front, Western Front), The Korean War, 20th century US politics, and the Vietnam war. I have familiarity with all these wars, and understand how they were fought- from the General's staff down the common man on the ground. I enjoyed reading about US history post WW1 in general, and being a US citizen I can see how the structures formed in the past still exist. I'm above all interested in economic and social history- in this case, the history of people..learning about how they thought and how they experienced things.

Understanding the past has been very useful for me for better understanding the present.

I am also interested in Chinese and Japanese history, but my knowledge here is less extensive. And some German/Russian history (Third Reich, Soviet Union)

And Garfield has always been great I remember reading Ninja Turtles comics and Mickey Mouse... and some Slovak Comicses about Slavic heroes

What Slovak heroes?

Robert McNamara is not considered a hero in the United States (in fact, he is hated by many Vietnam Veterans), but I feel like I can relate to his personality (We have similar physical presence, similar manner of speech, formal education, and...even his values are very much like mine. ). I think we have identical forms of idealism. McNamara played an enormous role in the war in Vietnam as the United States Secretary of Defense (he was president of Ford Motors before that, and a staff officer during WW2 "one of the Whiz Kids".) He was given a difficult mission and he tried his best to succeed at it. After his SoD role, he became president of the World Bank.

"If people do not display wisdom, they will clash like blind moles. Try to learn, try to understand what happened. Develop the lessons and pass them on.."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McNamara

Really? sometimes I don´t buy even something I need when I don´t have the money I mostly just wear what I feel comfortable in. That´s the most important thing for me - to feel comfortable. The last thing that bothers me is if it´s trendy I can go on wearing the same thing for many years... until it is worn out.

I feel the same way with my clothes. I don't buy much and I don't chase trends either. I only wear my favorite pieces.

However, I feel that the quality and appearance of my clothes is very important- In that I want to communicate something with them, and do it accurately & at the right occasion.

But I love skirts. I really DO love skirts

I like skirts too, LOL :-D

.....

It´s way too complicated to speak generally when I think about it

I want to thank you for sharing, Jennka It is all very interesting to me. Economies and societies are so complex that they're beyond the ability of the most knowledgeable economic mind to comprehend all the variables. Human judgement, human understanding...are never adequate enough. :-p

my lovely surprise for you jenks, enjoy babe

http://i51.tinypic.com/30vn8f5.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/2cq01vc.jpg

http://i55.tinypic.com/2n6x6s5.jpg

what the... oh my god, that´s just insanely gorgeous thank you dozen times hun she is... heart: that is one great amazing surprise indeed