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Norwegians Are Literally Using 'Texas' As Slang for 'Crazy'

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zinfamous said:
The Tulip craze was so insane at the turn of the century (19th, that is), that most Dutch folks had converted their entire fortunes to bulb stocks (interestingly, this is true).

being thus depleted of actual transactional currency, many a Dutchman found themselves needed to split costs for daily tabs amongst their pals and kinfolk. This was not so much a response to penury, as it was a rather successful way of avoiding long-term debt.
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That's pretty interesting. I need to bring up random shit I don't know anything about more often here. :thumbsup:
 
BoberFett said:
Do you actually believe that?
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No, they are not socialist. They have a blend of socialism with their capitalism. Other things however are easily testable.

Their schools are excellent, their kids learn language, science, math, and history, but in addition, their art and music programs are phenomenal. Pretty much every Norwegian can speak English better than the English. In addition something approaching 100% are capable of playing musical instruments.

You want to look at home ownership rate, its well over 80%, you want to look at "secondary home" ownership, its quite high as well, just about anybody who wants one, can afford a "summer house" outside of town.

Health care, their longevity is among the highest in the world and they are one of the healthiest countries.

Now, things are expensive there, naturally, when your McDonalds workers are earning equivalent to around $20 an hour, buying a $10 mcdonalds burger will kinda suck, Im not saying it is "perfect", but, they are running their country VERY well right now, and as a whole, the quality of life there is among the best in the world.

The USA quality of life has declined significantly over the last several decades, there is less and less economic stabillity and security, and while people have more "stuff", the lack of stabillity is critical.
 
SlitheryDee said:
That's pretty interesting. I need to bring up random shit I don't know anything about more often here. :thumbsup:
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To be fair, I have no idea if that is the origin of the term, I just felt it necessary to bring up the strange history of the Dutch and their obsession with tulips..which almost wrecked their economy.
 
BurnItDwn said:
No, they are not socialist. They have a blend of socialism with their capitalism. Other things however are easily testable.

Their schools are excellent, their kids learn language, science, math, and history, but in addition, their art and music programs are phenomenal. Pretty much every Norwegian can speak English better than the English. In addition something approaching 100% are capable of playing musical instruments.
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Is it possible that any of this has to do with the societal values? If Norwegians speak better English than native English speakers and want to play musical instruments, the problem is not how the country is run, the problem is us.

You want to look at home ownership rate, its well over 80%, you want to look at "secondary home" ownership, its quite high as well, just about anybody who wants one, can afford a "summer house" outside of town.
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Americans could probably afford two houses also if our average house size wasn't twice the world average.

Health care, their longevity is among the highest in the world and they are one of the healthiest countries.
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They're active, outdoorsy people. If Americans wanted to do things other than watch TV, they'd be much healthier as well.

Now, things are expensive there, naturally, when your McDonalds workers are earning equivalent to around $20 an hour, buying a $10 mcdonalds burger will kinda suck, Im not saying it is "perfect", but, they are running their country VERY well right now, and as a whole, the quality of life there is among the best in the world.

The USA quality of life has declined significantly over the last several decades, there is less and less economic stabillity and security, and while people have more "stuff", the lack of stabillity is critical.
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So Americans value stuff and Norwegians value other things in life. It's almost like you're comparing two completely things which can't be directly compared... :hmm:
 
BoberFett said:
Is it possible that any of this has to do with the societal values? If Norwegians speak better English than native English speakers and want to play musical instruments, the problem is not how the country is run, the problem is us.



Americans could probably afford two houses also if our average house size wasn't twice the world average.



They're active, outdoorsy people. If Americans wanted to do things other than watch TV, they'd be much healthier as well.



So Americans value stuff and Norwegians value other things in life. It's almost like you're comparing two completely things which can't be directly compared... :hmm:
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Face it. Norwegians not only have it better than you, they are better than you... in fact, everyone is better than you.
 
zinfamous said:
If it wasn't you posting this, it would surprise me that you didn't actually read the article you are linking to try and counter Jule's statement.

But it's you, and I'm not surprised that yet again you did something foolish. :\
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🙄

I think YOU should read the article, fool.

The summary is: Norway is amazing... if you want the same kind of lifestyle Norwegians have. Americans don't want that.
 
JulesMaximus said:
You know how many days I had off when my son was born? 2 days...

You know how many my wife had off? 6 weeks. Yep, we sure have our priorities right in this country. YEE HAW!!! Crap, there I go gettin' all texas again. :sneaky:
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Were the 2 days off called "Saturday and Sunday" ? Or did you actually get "2 days off for your son being born" ? like, you got 2 EXTRA days off in addition to whatever you normally get off ?
 
BurnItDwn said:
Thanks BTW for the link BobberFett.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/ex...-really-the-most-liveable-place-on-earth.html

Makes me love it even more. I look forward to saving enough PTO so I can go and visit family members over there for like a 3 or 4 weeks! Clean air, outdoors, forests, biking, hiking, skiing, open land "allemannsrett", it sounds fucking amazing!!!!!!!!
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You should do that, it probably would be great for you.

Tens of millions of Americans clearly disagree.
 
If I come to Minneapolis in the spring, BoberFett , will you join us for some beer or something? Couple of Friends went on brewpub tour over there this summer and rant and raved about how much fun they had.... You and I could argue for hours on end while enjoying beer and food, it would be super fun!
 
BurnItDwn said:
Were the 2 days off called "Saturday and Sunday" ? Or did you actually get "2 days off for your son being born" ? like, you got 2 EXTRA days off in addition to whatever you normally get off ?
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He was born on a Friday morning. I took that day off and the following Monday. My wife and son came home from the hospital on Sunday morning so I had one whole day with them before going back to work.
 
BurnItDwn said:
If I come to Minneapolis in the spring, BoberFett , will you join us for some beer or something? Couple of Friends went on brewpub tour over there this summer and rant and raved about how much fun they had.... You and I could argue for hours on end while enjoying beer and food, it would be super fun!
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Ooh, can I come too? :biggrin:
 
BurnItDwn said:
If I come to Minneapolis in the spring, BoberFett , will you join us for some beer or something? Couple of Friends went on brewpub tour over there this summer and rant and raved about how much fun they had.... You and I could argue for hours on end while enjoying beer and food, it would be super fun!
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Sounds good! The Minneapolis brew scene is exploding. So many good taprooms around here, Surly, Indeed, Dangerous Man... I could go on...
 
JulesMaximus said:
You know how many days I had off when my son was born? 2 days...

You know how many my wife had off? 6 weeks. Yep, we sure have our priorities right in this country. YEE HAW!!! Crap, there I go gettin' all texas again. :sneaky:
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I got 2 weeks, cant remember how long the wife had. Think it was 6 months with the first one, she was self employed for the second.

The rules here have changed since then though, I think that theres now a pooled time off that either or both partners can draw on.
 
BoberFett said:
You should do that, it probably would be great for you.

Tens of millions of Americans clearly disagree.
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Tens of millions of Americans love Honey Boo Boo and are welded to the couch but I'm not sure what either of these things has to do with the topic at hand.
 
WelshBloke said:
Tens of millions of Americans love Honey Boo Boo and are welded to the couch but I'm not sure what either of these things has to do with the topic at hand.
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It's an interesting point. Boberfett rejecting the studied data that shows Norwegians are smarter, healthier, wealthier, and happier than pretty much anyone by arguing that Americans simply don't want to live like a Norwegian, is basically admitting that Americans are dumber, sicker, poorer, and miserable.

It's a weird side to defend.

Tens of millions of Americans clearly disagree.
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Right, and isn't that exactly the point? 😀
 
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