Lapras IRL

Learning the reason hotels work is because there are multiple rooms in one location so you can offer enough work to hire a housekeeper for a whole day's work and still keep the cost per room at a level where you can make a profit even if the guest doesn't make their own bed.

Quick thoughts on MLB's 154-game schedule proposal. In short, I like it. I would love it if they went to 156 games and did something I wrote MLB should do over 10 years ago. Expand to 32. Ditch the leagues. Go to four 8-team divisions based on geography. Yankees and Mets together. White Sox and Cubs. Dodgers and Angels, etc. You play one series against the 24 teams in the other three divisions, alternating home and away each season, so you visit every park once every two years. That's 72 games. You play the seven other teams in your division 12 times. Six home. Six away. That's 84 games. 156 total. This plays into geographical rivalries. It leads to more familiarity with pitching in your division, which will increase offense. Larger divisions reduce the chance a team with a mediocre record wins it. Less travel for all involved since the divisions are based on geography. Everybody wins. You're welcome.

JAVANESE SURINAMESE MAN, OLD PEOPLE, VENEZUELAN PROSTITUTES 🇸🇷 Befriended a Javanese Surinamese man because Javanese Surinamese is such a unique combination that I thought it would be interesting to. Hardly anything seems to happen in Suriname, which makes it a little inscrutable in the sense; it leaves it difficult to get a read on the country. So informative to talk to people One of first things I asked him was if he felt more Indonesian or Surinamese. He said Indonesian but that he also identified as Surinamese as a kind of civic identity. Then asked him if he identified as an Indonesian nationalist. He said he did. More digging revealed he believed West Papua belonged to Indonesia and supported Suharto’s killings of the communists. He was surprised I knew about this. Made an off-hand joke about the Suharto policy being a success, which seemed to endear me to him Asked him next if he knew any Javanese or Bahasa. He said not really. Asked him if he had even been to Indonesia. He said he hadn’t. Asked if he ever went abroad on holiday. He said sometimes but mostly to America. Asked why he hasn’t gone to Indonesia if he is an Indonesian nationalist. He said he can’t afford it. Pointed out it is probably more expensive to go to the US on vacation than Indonesia if you include accommodation and spending. He said maybe and mumbled something about “not having the time to go properly” Decided to go out together at the weekend. Went to one of the “most popular bars” in Paramaribo - there was basically nobody there and of the people who were there most were old. Tried another “popular bar”; same thing. Felt like I was the youngest person in both venues “Are we in the right bars? Where is everyone?” I asked “People don’t go out much here” he said “But these are the most popular bars?” “Yes” “Why is everyone so old?” “They’re not always old” “Just mostly old” “Maybe we’re just unlucky tonight” “I noticed there are a lot of casinos in Paramaribo, is that because there aren’t many young people here and the older people prefer going there instead of to bars?” “Never thought about it like that, could be” There was a younger moderately attractive Latina-looking woman sat at the bar scrolling her phone “Look over there” my Javanese Surinamese friend said, “it’s a Cuban prostitute” “How do you know?” “Just look at her” “No I mean how do you know she’s Cuban?” “Well, in the last few years most of the prostitutes in Suriname have become Cuban. You’re not going to see any women who look like that who are not prostitutes from Cuba” “So the only young people out on a typical Saturday are Cuban refugees working as prostitutes?” “Um… it’s actually a better quality of life here than in their home countries. More affordable to live here, never much drama” “Mostly they service old people?” “I wouldn’t know” Went to three other bars that evening while touring the city’s non-existent nightlife. All mostly old people with only the occasional young person. In two of the bars there were also again younger Latina women sat alone scrolling their phones “Another Cuban prostitute” he said, in the second bar “How can you tell?” “I’m going to ask her if she’s Cuban” He went to ask her and then came back “She’s a Venezuelan escort” “Can you go ask her what is she even doing in Suriname and then if she ever has any clients younger than say, 40?” He went to ask her “She says Venezuela is terrible and Suriname was one of the easiest countries to move to. And then no she doesn’t, they are normally older” “Wonder if this is a busy night for her, how busy she is if things are always this dead” “I’ll go ask again” “Don’t do that you don’t need to keep bothering her” He went and asked again anyway “She says 2-3 times a week and often she sits there the whole night and nothing happens” That was as exciting as the evening got. Went to look inside the casinos later too. Somehow the people in the casinos were even older than in the bars