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Ego Vici Mundum  

40Deuce 46M
4633 posts
12/3/2018 6:41 pm

Last Read:
12/5/2018 5:38 pm

Ego Vici Mundum


I watched an episode of the Religion of Sports the other day that was about Iceland making it to the world cup (the smallest nation to ever do so) . Well it was half about that and half about a dude that was going to be a big time football player and then started having anxiety attacks and his career was ruined . That part was kind of a downer . For as progressive a place and Iceland seems to be they don't seem to have any tolerance of mental health issues at all . Or at least that's the way this show made it seem - who knows if it's accurate ?

It occurred to me that I don't know much about Iceland so I did some research today (in that I read wikipedia) here's some factoids .

Iceland is the only NATO member with no standing army

The only native land mammal is the arctic fox . Polar bears sometimes walk over from Greenland but just to visit . Yeah , walk because sometimes Iceland and Greenland are ice-sheeted together . Iceland and Greenland don't seem that close but that's because always looking at a flat map - maps really screw up our perception of the world which is as round as a porn stars fake tit .

Human habitation has ruined 75% of the island so badly nothing will grow there .

They practice commercial whaling - I wonder why Japan is the only country that gets the heat for killing whales . The Icelanders must keep it on the QT .

Renewable sources (geothermal and hydropower)provide all of Iceland's electricity , they're rated one of the greenest countries in the world . Apparently they have the capacity for TONs of geothermal energy but they don't bother because so few people live there . Right now England and Iceland are working on some kind of magic technology that would allow Iceland to hook them up with all the geothermal power you'd ever want . I tried to read about it - an electrical engineer I aint .

According to DNA shenanigans most of the male settlers of Iceland were Norse and most of the female were Gaels - you know , because of slavery . They have every citizen's genealogy in a database .

During their economic meltdown they had the largest mass emigration away from Iceland ever . . . . . 5000 people .

Their official language is Icelandic which is more like Norse than any other language . On the show I watched everyone spoke English - I wonder if that's actually common there or if they sought out English speakers for the show .

They have universal healthcare and there are no private hospitals . They are among the world's healthiest people . Almost all women choose to terminate pregnancies of with Down syndrome in Iceland . Which is a weird thing to report but I guess is a thing I never thought about before .

The amount of toxic materials in the atmosphere is far lower than in any other industrialized country measured .

Iceland is one of the top 3 countries for women to live in , is liberal with regard to LGBT rights issues and is one of the most secular countries in the world . Apparently these are common attributes of Nordic countries - what's different (allegedly) is that Iceland is all about individuality and self reliance whereas the other Nordic lands are more about community and togetherness .

Generally sounds like a pretty good place to live until you find out the average high temperate in summer is 55 Fahrenheit (which they don't use of course) . The food looks pretty grim too .

Back in olden times a bubonic plague killed a bunch of people - and I mean a BUNCH . I still thought it was pretty deadly but I was wrong , with treatment survival rate now is 90% . Anyway , it's not something you think about much but I started reading a book about it and there's a couple chapters about how of the many things that happened due to 30-60% of the population dying off one of them was there were a bunch of orphans running around all of a sudden .

For most of these orphans you had three choices - die of starvation , become a or become a thief .

We can discard the first option right off . At first it seems like thief is the way to go but then you realize that most thieves didn't last long . A good 30% of them were caught and hung on the first caper and very few of them made it more than a few . So you think is the way to go . But then you think , sure you get to live longer that way but what kind of quality of live is sucking cocks every day ? So then you swing back to thief - at least that way you have a chance to live a life without getting buggered all the time .

I guess what saying is that glad not a Genoese orphan in 1347 .

The other day I was talking to my pal Dat Snatch and I was saying my usual 40deuce straw nihilistic BS about how the US really isn't much different from a dictatorship because really the only choice we have is between two people chosen by an entrenched elite class that is enforced by military strength but after thinking about it a while I realized that Trump being elected is kind of a good thing . Because it shows that someone "they" don't want can slip in . Granted it was another rich person but still , it shows that things are as bad as I think - it IS possible for someone outside the system to make it through .

The question becomes then though , are there rich people that aren't horrible ? My instinct tells me that if you became rich it's probably because you did many horrible things and if you were born rich you're probably insane .

So let's say we're in some kind of fantasy world where there's no political parties and you can just pick from whichever rich person you want . Is there anyone that comes to mind as a rich person you really think is a good person and should be in charge of anything ?

Warren Buffet is the name some people have tossed out there but I don't know anything about him other than that he's good at making money through investment . Is that a reason to like him ? I mean I know it is in America because that's our whole thing , but I mean in the real sense .

Putting first by putting employees first, immediately after prioritizing fiscal responsibilities and leveraging profitability towards exceeding by empowering our employees to put (and themselves) first, in a diverse and respectful environment of only those that come first, first.


40Deuce 46M
5725 posts
12/3/2018 6:46 pm

In conclusion sodium methoxide is a dangerously caustic base - don't eat it

Putting clients first by putting employees first, immediately after prioritizing fiscal responsibilities and leveraging profitability towards exceeding by empowering our employees to put clients (and themselves) first, in a diverse and respectful environment of only those that come first, first.


HAMONMAN 64M
13128 posts
12/3/2018 7:08 pm

In early 2012 Iceland considered using the Canadian dollar as their currency.

“The choice is between surrendering the sovereignty of Iceland in monetary policy by unilaterally adopting the currency of another country, or become a member of the EU” - Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir

What's the 40Deuce take on that?


40Deuce replies on 12/5/2018 5:39 pm:
Need more information , I'm not sure how it would work to use the currency of another nation

smartasswoman 66F  
35813 posts
12/3/2018 8:04 pm

Interesting factoids about Iceland. I guess they don't feel that whale-killing or destroying their land impacts their image as a "green" country.

As for a rich person who isn't evil...I dunno maybe I'd nominate Minnesota's last governor, Mark Dayton. I was just listening to a podcast that talked about the fact that he openly repudiated what the Minnesota territory did to the Dakota tribe before and after the uprising in 1862. (not that that alone makes him not evil, just an example)

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't fly as a President though, since he talks like his mouth is full of marbles.


40Deuce replies on 12/5/2018 5:40 pm:
How rich was he and where did said riches come from ?

smartasswoman 66F  
35813 posts
12/5/2018 7:05 pm

His family has a net worth of $1.6 billion; although there are many family members so perhaps he, personally, is not all that rich. Oh and also he was married to a Rockefeller for a while.

Dayton's was a fancy department store chain in the Midwest...it no longer exists but seeing as the Dayton family also created Target, they're doing OK.


HAMONMAN 64M
13128 posts
12/8/2018 10:10 am

In early 2012 Iceland considered using the Canadian dollar as their currency.

“The choice is between surrendering the sovereignty of Iceland in monetary policy by unilaterally adopting the currency of another country, or become a member of the EU” - Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir

What's the 40Deuce take on that?


40Deuce replies on 12/5/2018 9:39 pm:
Need more information , I'm not sure how it would work to use the currency of another nation

Therin lies the rub.


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