u/nastratin_hogea

An der Kasse, beim Autofahren, beim Spazierengehen auf der Straße, am Zigarettenautomaten, im Fitnessstudio – im Grunde überall gibt es viele Leute, die einfach keinen gesunden Abstand einhalten können.

Als ich heute bei Billa in der Schlange stand, war hinter mir ein junger Mann, der so nah stand, dass ich mich nicht einmal umdrehen konnte, ohne ihn zu berühren.

Ich war nicht genervt, da ich mich schon daran gewöhnt hatte, aber ich fragte mich: Warum? Die Schlange geht nicht schneller voran, man kommt nicht schneller zur Kasse, und im Wiener Verkehr spart man dadurch vielleicht ein paar Minuten, kommt aber erschöpft und angespannt am Ziel an.

Also, wenn du vielleicht zu diesen Leuten gehörst – warum machst du das eigentlich? Ich bin wirklich neugierig, die Gründe für diese Art zu leben zu verstehen :)

Ich wohne im 13. Bezirk, in der Nähe von Unter St. Veit, und früher habe ich immer Flugzeuge am Himmel gesehen, die sich dem Flughafen näherten. Man konnte sie auch hören, aber nie besonders laut. Es war wie ein leises Summen.

In den letzten Tagen ist der Lärm der Flugzeuge jedoch deutlich stärker geworden. Auch scheinen die Flugzeuge viel tiefer zu fliegen.

Werde ich verrückt und bilde mir das nur ein, oder ist jemandem anderem auch etwas Ähnliches aufgefallen?

I plan on visiting Maribor with my family in the next days and I would like to know what is your favorite spot in the city, or close-by and why is that a special place for you. It makes the trip special for me if I can develop an emotional connection with a place I am about to visit, through the memories of others.

Faith or the genetic lottery decided that my wife and I should have a so called “high-need baby”. This means our small bundle of joy can transform rapidly into a black hole, that sucks all life out of us. She needs constant attention, she can’t sleep by herself, she has an irregular eating schedule and a highly demanding temper.

Almost each trip with the car is pure agony: even after our baby’s fundamental needs have been met (fed, clean diaper, my wife nearby, comfortable temperature), she will cry her soul out, up to the point where she turns red as a radish, and even vomits. I have to stop every 10-20 minutes, and take another 5 minutes in order to calm her down and be able to put her back in the baby seat.

She’s is 6 months old.

We have received advice from our parents, and other geniuses in our family, to just let her cry until she shuts down, because it is the way of life - babies have to learn to be quiet! I find this absolutely disgusting, because every cell in my brain and body wants to hold her close to me until she calms down, which she does quite quickly when she feels that we are there for her.

All in all, it has been one heck of a challenge to take care of her. I had to quit my job and be more present at home, because otherwise my wife would have had an emotional and psychological breakdown, and now I am focusing on my freelance career (journalism and photography). Even that is difficult because I have to work from home, and whenever I hear her cry, I feel I have to be there for her.

I have been sleeping on the couch for the last half a year, I miss my wife, and some days end as quickly as they begin - shopping, cleaning, cooking, baby time. It’s not desperation that I feel, but a deep pain and sadness. This has also put a big strain on our marriage: we have all sort of silly arguments more often, and our love life has also taken a huge hit.

Nevertheless, she gives us many wonderful moments and I feel much more motivated than ever to create a better life for my family. Even if we fight more often, we always manage to remember how much we love each other and that this is life - a battle of patience and determination.

It is however a titanic task to do that, while keeping my sanity. I used to smoke weed to cope with the stress but I felt that it made me too numb and emotionally detached. Therefore, I decide to “raw dog” life, or however you say that - no alcohol, pills or drugs, just a few cigarettes a day, and a lot of physical exercise.

Anyway, I just wanted to get that off my chest.

First of all, I still dislike this city, especially the 13th district. It’s full of old racist and xenophobic people who make you feel like an unwanted piece of garbage with such passion and pleasure. It’s disgusting.

However…

There are so many reasons to love Vienna, and paradoxically, its people are one of them. Most of those who live here, or have lived here for a while, have a subtle and pleasant manner. They never speak loudly in public places. They are polite and offer their seat on public transportation if you have a baby. They stop at pedestrian crossings. They are respectful, and they take work and order seriously.

Consequently, the city is clean, traffic is excellent, and public transportation is perfect. If you want to work, start a business, or start a family, Vienna is a fantastic option.

Sometimes, though, I feel like I'm drowning in solitude in this city. I miss home, my friends, my language, and the typical Balkan drama and excitement.

Nevertheless, Vienna offered me the chance to rediscover myself professionally, grow as a person, meet my wife, and have a child.

I will always be grateful to Vienna for what it has given me. You will always be the city of my dreams.

After spending about a year working as a content creator and social media manager in the private/general aviation world, I became genuinely fascinated by the people behind the industry: pilots, engineers, cabin crew, brokers, FBO staff, dispatchers, maintenance teams, and many others who usually stay outside the spotlight.

I’m currently preparing a series of in-depth interviews with a few experienced general aviation pilots, and I’d like to ask this community for input.

What would you actually want to know about their work?

Are there any parts of the job, the lifestyle, the training, the pressure, the safety culture, the economics, or the behind-the-scenes reality of general aviation that you think are rarely discussed properly?

I’m especially interested in questions that go beyond the usual “what aircraft do you fly?” or “how did you become a pilot?” angle.

After some research on official government websites, plane spotters databases and flight tracking projects, I have found that the active state VIP air fleet of the United States of America is comprised of the following aircraft (last flown in the last 2 years, confirmed as active):

• 2 x Boeing VC-25A;
• 1 x Boeing VC-25B Bridge;
• 4 x Boeing C-32A;
• 4 x Boeing C-40B;
• 4 x Gulfstream C-37A;
• 7 x Gulfstream C-37B;
• 21 X Sikorsky VH-92A Patriot.

While the total current value of the fleet stands at roughly 4.9 billion USD (current value, not cost of acquisition), it would be interesting to know how much does it cost to operate and maintain this plethora of aircraft.

Can anyone help me on this subject, or direct me towards reliable sources?

After some research on official government websites, plane spotters databases and flight tracking projects, I have found that the active state VIP air fleet of the United States of America is comprised of the following aircraft (last flown in the last 2 years, confirmed as active):

• 2 x Boeing VC-25A;
• 1 x Boeing VC-25B Bridge;
• 4 x Boeing C-32A;
• 4 x Boeing C-40B;
• 4 x Gulfstream C-37A;
• 7 x Gulfstream C-37B;
• 21 X Sikorsky VH-92A Patriot.

While the total current value of the fleet stands at roughly 4.9 billion USD (current value, not cost of acquisition), it would be interesting to know how much does it cost to operate and maintain this plethora of aircraft.

Can anyone help me on this subject, or direct me towards reliable sources?

Before our baby was born last year, my wife and I decided to buy a car. We chose the Toyota Corolla Touring Sport 1.8 Gas Hybrid. We found a brand new one with only 10 km on the clock in midnight black, available for 27,000 euros, and bought it almost immediately. Here are my main impressions after driving it 10,000 km in Austria.

• The exterior of the car is splendid — it has a fluid design where all the elements work together in harmony, from the elegant front LED daytime running lights to the aluminium roof rails and the rear bumper and back lights. It's a case of beauty through simplicity — a typical Toyota feature.
• The black paintwork, called 'Midnight Black', has a pearlescent sheen when hit by direct light, as can be seen in two of the uploaded images. While the black-pearly finish gives the car a mysterious, discreet look, which I personally like, it is difficult to keep the car clean. Every speck of dust is visible and, if you live in an area with a lot of vegetation, pollen can damage the paint over time.

Front view - photographed with a Canon R5 Mark II / Sigma 50mm f/1.4

Side view - photographed with a Canon R5 Mark II / Sigma 50mm f/1.4

Front partial view - photographed with a Canon R5 Mark II / Sigma 50mm f/1.4

Front partial view in Black/White - photographed with a Canon R5 Mark II and Sigma 50mm f/1.4

Front partial view - photographed with a Canon R5 and a Sigma 50mm f/1.4

• The interior is simple and made of a combination of soft and hard plastic, leather imitation and textile, with a few glossy elements on the front dashboard. The heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel is a blessing during cold winter days.
• However, the glossy parts are very sensitive to fingerprints and small scratches. I clean them with a microfibre cloth designed for laptop screens, which seems to be the ideal solution so far. Any other type of cloth always leaves small scratches behind.
• The car comfortably seats two passengers (+ driver) and a baby, provided the chauffeur is over 1.90 metres tall.
• After driving 10,000 km in Austria, where the roads are in fairly good condition, I can't hear any squeaks or other signs of wear and tear inside the car. The car feels exactly as it did when we bought it.

Interior driver and front passenger - photographed with iPhone 17 Pro

Back seat - photographed with an iPhone 17 Pro

Trunk storage compartment - photographed with an iPhone 17 Pro

• You have no control over the gear stick, whether it is mechanical or digital. The car has three driving modes: Eco, Normal and Sport. It shifts gear automatically according to instructions from the on-board computer. Having driven a manual car for 15 years, I found it a little strange at first. Over time, however, I realised that having one less thing to worry about when driving is great, especially when the computer does such a good job.
• Acceleration is decent, especially for city driving, while fuel consumption is around 5 l/100 km with air conditioning or heating.
• At speeds over 130 km/h, it becomes difficult to communicate with passengers in the back seats and you can hear the car's mediocre sound insulation. This is not a deal breaker, just a minor inconvenience.

Front head light detail - photographed with an iPhone 17 Pro

Front wheel detail - photographed with an iPhone 17 Pro

Rear view - photographed with an iPhone 17 Pro

Back wheel detail - photographed with an iPhone 17 Pro

Back detail - photographed with an iPhone 17 Pro

• The digital dashboard is decently customisable, while the car's fundamental controls (lights, sound, cruise control, indicator, etc.) are operated using mechanical buttons. The central display is ideal for navigation and music and interacts seamlessly with the Apple ecosystem.
• The seats are comfortable enough for long drives, and the driving position is great in terms of visibility, steering wheel adjustment, control accessibility and armrest position.

All in all, I'm in love with the car. The colour and exterior are visually appealing, the fuel economy is decent, and the technical performance is ideal for my calm, slow and composed driving style. Thankfully, the interior hasn't been completely taken over by the digital revolution — there are still a number of mechanical buttons and an automatic shifter (P-R-N-D-B) on the centre console.

As this is my first family car, I have a deep connection with the Corolla. Just looking at it gives me a warm, soothing feeling, and it always reminds me of the people I love most in the world: my wife and daughter.

I am looking to buy a voice recorder for my 90 year old grandmother. Ideally it would be something very simple, analogue style with just a few buttons, however with the possibility to save the recordings digitally. Does something like that exist? My grandmother wants to record her life memories, as she thinks she is close to the end, and if such a device exists, it would be a great surprise for her.

Does anyone know of such a voice recorder?