25th January 2019 - Of Free Medics, Free Transport and Free Analysis

Thought for the day:"Those who are here for the yodeling lesson, please form an orderly-orderly-orderly queue!"

"After their 11th child, a Kentucky couple decided that was enough, as they could not afford a larger bed. So, the husband went to his veterinarian and told him that he and his cousin didn't want to have any more children.

The doctor told him that there was a procedure called a vasectomy that could fix the problem but that it was expensive. 'A less costly alternative,' said the doctor, 'is to go home, get a cherry bomb, (fireworks are legal in Kentucky) light it, put it in a beer can, then hold the can up to your ear and count to 10.

The Kentuckian said to the doctor, 'I may not be the smartest tool in the shed, but I don't see how putting a cherry bomb in a beer can next to my ear is going to help me. ''Trust me,' said the doctor.

So, the man went home, lit a cherry bomb and put it in a beer can. He held the can up to his ear and began to count! "1" "2" "3" “4” "5," at which point he paused, placed the beer can between his legs and continued counting on his other hand.

This procedure also works in Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Parts of Georgia, Missouri, West Virginia, and all of Washington DC."

In other News - Luxembourg goes for free public travel (TAZ)

"Use the bus, train or tram without a ticket?? - this will be possible in Luxembourg from 1 March 2020. Then the small state will be the first country with free public transport. This was announced by the Minister for Mobility François Bausch on Monday.

In the future, only one ticket will need who wants to use the first class of trains. In the remaining part, as well as in buses and trams, passengers only need to be able to identify themselves. For this purpose, the Luxembourgish state is investing around 2.5 billion euros in the transport network by 2023. "The introduction of free public transport is an important social activity. You could call it the social icing, "said Bausch.

The free means of transport should not only benefit the people of Luxembourg in the country, but also the approximately 200,000 commuters who travel daily from neighboring countries to work in Luxembourg. Especially in the capital, the traffic is a problem: According to a study from 2016 motorists here are stuck on average 33 hours per year in a traffic jam.

Whether car drivers actually switch with the free offer, experts are disagreeing. According to a study by the TU Dortmund, free public transport alone does not make people stop their cars. It makes more sense to use more public transport and to increase its frequency. Also driving a car should be more expensive, for example through higher parking fees and more Tempo-30 zones. Bike paths would have to be expanded.

Although today more and more people use public transport and bicycles, the car traffic has not decreased - the citizens would cover a total of more kilometers. Thus, the car remains the most widely used means of transport in Germany - 55 percent of the distances are covered according to TU study.

It remains questionable whether more car drivers will transfer to bus and rail in Luxembourg from March 2020 onwards. Cheap was the local traffic there for a long time. A one-way ticket, which is valid for two hours for the whole country, costs there only two euros, a day ticket just four euros. The state has so far financed urban transport by 90 percent.

Free transport has been offered in different European cities and towns in the past. But many projects have been discontinued for financial reasons. In the Estonian capital Tallinn, however, registered residents have been able to travel for free by train, bus and tram since 2013.

The Federal Government last discussed in February 2018 about free public transport. The reason for this was the high emissions in many German inner cities and the associated diesel driving bans. The environment minister Barbara Hendricks (SPD) wanted to start pilot projects in five cities. The project silted up, federal, state and local authorities could not agree on a financing. Only in some cities there is a free offer today: Since December in Aschaffenburg for a period of two years buses and the tram on a day in the week are free. In Tübingen this will be the case from February."

In other news I changed my profiles as it was another week into the year ...

Interestingly I got an unsolicited "Face Reading"  from a stranger..
Of course my profile is Public and the pictures are there to see but still quite nice to have...

Cheers !
I reckon I am just an old Singer