I agree, it’s not a fix. However it’s also not just “calling them extremist”. It’s an official classification not just something haphazardly mentioned in a speech.

The move, announced Friday by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), means that the AfD is no longer merely under suspicion. The agency says it now has definitive evidence that the party works against Germany’s democratic system.

A 1,000-page internal report, according to German public broadcaster ARD, underpins the decision, citing violations of core constitutional principles such as human dignity and the rule of law.

The new classification doesn’t ban the party, but it allows German authorities to intensify surveillance, including the use of undercover informants and monitoring communications, under judicial oversight.

Politico

I recognise you’re just expressing frustration towards current affairs – a frustration I often share, but:

Decisions require a mandate and the reason the EU has problems making decisions about some things is that it wasn’t designed to address them in the first place.

It’s simply a slightly over-grown trading union with occasional federalist aspirations.

Responding to tariffs - fast and coordinated.

Responding to external military threats - scattered and complicated.

That’s why the EU’s response to defense was based on financial instruments.

To become a “superpower” and/or make quick decisions regarding e.g. military threats, it would need to actually become a state-like entity and begin building several bureaucratic arms it currently lacks which doesn’t usually happen overnight. Not to mention establishing actual policies.

Before we get to that stage though, a consensus between member states needs to be formed and all manner of legal documents drafted. Centralising power means less independence for member states which is usually a hard sell. It would likely also require member states to alter their constitutions which could be an incredibly slow process even without resistance from all the respective governments. Not to mention the fact that a popular vote in all member states might be a good idea democracy-wise.

I’m not saying necessarily it’s something we shouldn’t pursue and hey, under extraordinary circumstances even bureaucracy can move quickly but it is a huge deal and moving quickly could also mean skirting around established democratic principles. (Actually iirc European bureaucracy is generally quite efficient as is –contrary to popular belief)

I guess I wrote this in the hopes of fighting disillusionment even though it’s not the core message here. We’ll do what we have to and I’m positive we’ll get to wherever we need to be in order to survive and thrive in this century. It will require patience, nerve and active participation from all of us though.

Last thing I want us to become is like the folks over in the States claiming it’s all already over. (A minority, I hope)

Sorry for the wall of text, I guess I had some stuff pent up.

The photo:

Very interesting read!

I may have an idea for that. If the choises were made simultaneously and only when a favourable combination was found, submitted, it would allow the user to create different combinations easily until they were happy with one. Similarly to this character creator screeshot here:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PNWK5o9l54w/maxresdefault.jpg

EDIT:

The University of Edinburgh has a publically available visual dataset of 59 forks:

https://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/rbf/UTENSILS/DINNER_FORK/dinner_fork.xml

I guess one way to approach this would be to use something like Skyrim’s character generator. Not sure how challenging it would be to put together something like that but it’d be a laugh.

Your suggestion about a 3d model with adjustable parameters is something I could do in Grasshopper. There is the problem of defining the parameters though. Not impossible by any means but determining which features are the most critical and which could be excluded could end up being surprisingly difficult.

As far as copyright is concerned I don’t think we’d encounter problems when using product photos from Ikea and the like. But your right about the combination part. Not only do the variations need to exist, we’d also need comparable photos of relatively high quality.

If we were to actually do this though, I think it would be best to start simple, do a sort of goldilocks prototype and see how it goes from there. For instance splitting ten (maybe even less) of the most popular forks into three parts and poll people on those (either separately or as combinations). If the number of initial fork designs is not too high, I could even model each of those separately to avoid copyright issues. Then again this works better for determining the preferred shapes and not as well for preferred scale – e.g. how long the tines are compared to the handle etc. I guess there would need to be two stages, shape and proportions. The proportions would be quite simple though and the initial images could just be scaled and skewed to achieve the desired look.

Another idea would be to go through the features one by one, having a poll at each stage. Every time the result is split, we could “fork” the design into multiple ones. This would require a whole lot of orchestration though and I have a gut feeling this wouldn’t work very well in practise. This is also based on the assumptions that there is only one perfect design for each respondent and that the preference for features is not interdependent.

Then again we could utilise gen AI to turn simple proportional sketches / illustrations (modifiable or user drawn) to more realistic images which maybe users could then rate.___

Damn, I already have more ideas.

I have a couple of ideas but I don’t know which would be the easiest.

We could analyse and break down forks to their design features and then let people mix and match. This would take a lot of time though.

Alternatively we could scrape a bunch of fork images and build a large dataset. Then show two at a time to users and let them pick their preferred one repeatedly until we know the preference hieararchy for that user. Then compare users and divide them into demographics.

I guess it would also be possible to have a visual model and some edit options like make different parts longer / thicker. I feel this is unnecessarily complicated.

Another idea would be to break the fork into two or three parts. Not perfect but faster than exploring all design features. Tines, body, end for instance and let people either mix and match or do some for of a/b testing.

My expertise is in design so I can help with those aspects but coding I unfortunately cannot do. Would be a really fun project designwise too…

Anyone interested in developing a “Find your ideal fork” web app?

I for one would be very interested to see statistical preferences…

If you are looking for something similar to Fjällräven but want to watch your wallet you could look into Revolution Race.

I was a bit skeptical because they’ve had very prominent social media campaigns and they seem to have an endless amount of product variations. (Things I don’t equate to reliable businesses.) However I’ve recently seen people use them not only for hiking but also quite a lot for work – gardening (not the hobby kind), landscaping etc.

If anyone has personal experiences with them I’d gladly hear your take!

Interesting! I’ll give them a go.

Also, got curious: How many ducks would you say is just enough?

How do they feel when brushing your teeth?

I’ve been meaning to try them on hiking trips.

You seem to be unfortunate enough not to be in its target demographic but that doesn’t make it flawed.

As electrical conductivity is essential for the proper function of this hrm strap as much as it is with any other model or brand, it hardly makes it the problem of this specific device. Hair, dry skin, it’s the same problem and has to do with how the technology works on these kinds of straps.

Furthermore none of the features you mention, from a physical power button to a battery indicator exist in any hrm strap I’ve seen. In other words you would regard a similar strap from any other brand equally as bad.

Why should it rely on electric current then? Because compared to measuring heart rate optically, it’s far more accurate. They also work much more reliably under water.

As to the cut outs you mention, that is simply anecdotal and in this instance third hand information. Not to say it’s not true, just saying it’s impossible to put something like that into perspective. There are faults with all devices and without reliable statistics of return rates or failures it’s not particularly fruitful to form a view based on that kind of evidence.

In all fairness, perhaps using the in-built optical hrm on your watch just is the best option for you.

There’s also armband hrms which are optical but iirc somewhat more reliable than wrist based ones. For instance the Polar Verity Sense and OH 1. They even have rechargeable batteries and a physical button.

Thanks - I’ll keep it in mind if I switch to Android at some point in the future!

Interesting. Only options that come to mind are a faulty device or inefficient contact between the strap and skin. During colder months I wet my fingers under the tap and swipe the strap and my chest before putting it on. Otherwise it would take ages to build enough sweat for reliable contact during my run.

I mean it could be other things too but those are a bit harder to diagnose. Well apart from using the wrong battery (many fit but the slimmer ones don’t stay put).

I’m pretty confident swapping it under the warranty would probably have fixed the situation. Don’t know if that’s still an option for you.

I really like my Garmin. I would love to find a source that breaks down how they operate and how European they could be considered being.

I hope my current Fenix lasts long enough for me to find a good alternative. Open source and locally managed data would be great but consumer friendly alternatives have quite a way to go still.

Thanks for bringing it up, Suunto still gets mentioned a lot.

I wouldn’t mind a bot commenting basic info on companies’ whenever they’re mentioned. It’s a lot of work to spread the same info from thread to thread.

Good point about replaceable batteries having a positive side in that regard.

I’ve used a Polar H10 extensively and am very happy with it. The specific model is hands down the best regarded hrm for accuracy. It’s the only model I have experience with so I don’t know whether other / older models are equally reliable. (Apart from the H9 which is basically the same device with a different strap)

On the off chance this helps:

The strap is switched on when the module is connected to the strap. It’s switched off when you disconnect at least one of the connectors.

Initial pairing should be done with the Polar Flow app with your phone. You can manage the strap’s settings from there and see the battery status among other things. E.g. turn ANT+ and bluetooth on or off.

Yes, it’s supposed to connect to your sportswatch automatically when you strap it around your chest. At least if you’ve paried them. For my fenix you do this from settings “add sensor”.

Iirc I get “sensor battery low” notifications on my watch. It’s hard to remember because the battery lasts such a long time (even when on a marathon training cycle). It’s been a while since I’ve had ro change it. Not that I wouldn’t prefer a rechargeable device.

Edit: Noticed you asked for thigh high socks. These manufacturers probably don’t have any but I’ll leave the comment up in case someone else finds it useful.

If you’re asking for dress socks or something in that direction there are tons of brands.

On the “budget but quality” end I recommend Viccel although they’re from Turkey so not strictly EU.

https://www.viccelshop.com/about/

On the more expensive end of the spectrum there is:

https://www.bresciani.it/en

https://meschaussettesrouges.com/en

Then there’s Bexley, a cheap French store that used to sell shoes online and has since then expanded into other areas as well. Products weren’t necessarily top quality but they had a few notable shoe models that became popular for being decently priced/made back in the day. If you need “normally” priced socks that are over the calf they have them. They are made in China though so not exactly what we’re here for, but given the company is European maybe it’s an option if nothing else works out.

https://www.bexley.com/

And lastly there’s Suitsupply from the Netherlands (socks made in Italy). They at least sometimes sell over-the-calf socks but their socks and products in general were never really good quality and they’ve gone down hill from there over the years. They are cheap though and made in Europe so I thought I’d mention them too.

https://suitsupply.com/

Hope you find what you’re looking for!