Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@NEStalgia Oh, we also had those over here, about 10 years ago. But ever since they privatized the company (used to be owned by the government), they seem to have gained a far bigger budget, resulting in faster replacements of older vehicles. The model on that picture, is actually a Mercedes Benz Citaro bus.
Looks like this on the outside:

And then there's also even newer models, from a different brand:

When the government was still involved, from after the war until the early 90's, we went from these in the 70's and early 80's:

To these in the mid 80's and late 90's:

After that, the various bus companies in various regions became more and more privatized, which first resulted in this model:

until they were completely owned by private investors and directors, and they were much improved, such as the models at the top. Same goes for the subway and street cars/trams. They more or less have the same interior. Trains are now also privately owned, and these too have been heavily modernized.

If you've ever been here, like @rjejr has, and it has been quite a while back, it will be quite the change for some tourists who are somewhat familiar with public transport over here...

And with that, we conclude our lesson on public transport in Amsterdam...

@ThanosReXXX Oh my, those 2 red buses are ugly. It's like they were designed by some WWII aficionado who had a thing for armored transport vehicles.

Maybe we can sue

@ReaderRagfihs DISCLAIMER: more buses incoming...

@rjejr Back in their time, they weren't considered as ugly, but as state of the art, and very sturdy and durable. They were made by DAF, which for all intent and purposes, is the Dutch equivalent of Volvo. They make trucks and buses that last a LONG time. Even outside the Netherlands they are well known in certain circles, in large part because DAF trucks also always compete in the Paris-Dakar race. I don't know when exactly you were over here, but you must have seen some of these models driving around. Outside of the city, they had different colors, for the various regions, but the models were largely all the same.

That burgundy red bus was yellow in more rural areas and in other cities, it was dark blue.

But actual direct post-war buses actually looked pretty good, well at least: if you're into old-timers and so on...

So this is what happens when I drift in and out less often, huh?
Prime example why Tramadol and Google Images shouldn’t be used together.

@JackEatsSparrows And what do you know about Tramadol, hm?
But in all seriousness: I'm in full possession of all my faculties, so no drug has addled my brain in any meaningful way. Been using it now since last week Wednesday, and only the first three days did the side effects of the drug bother me, but by now I'm already used to it.

@NEStalgia If you think that looks good, you should see our trains

@Octane I already told him that:

I just didn't post any picture of it, since I thought I'd already posted more than enough of them...

Looper was a great watch. Next I'm gonna watch Coherence and Edge of Tomorrow.

@octane wow that's a nice bus... Looks like the newer MU trains....

I just don't get it... Where's the urine? The layer of black sticky "something" that coats every surface? The dirty diapers under the seat? The bottles of booze in paper bags? You Euro lightweights are doing transit all wrong... . No etched graffiti into the windows! No sense that i may get groped at random by someone of difficult to discern gender (or species)!

A

@ThanosReXXX wana swap 3ds friend codes mine is5430 2977 8452

@ThanosReXXX I Had to learn a great many things to get my CPC 😂

But yeah, it’s not a terribly disruptive med. I think most common discomfort is a tummy ache. Like most pain meds. Glad it helps some, the ribs are horrible to break. We never think about how much work a single bone or area does till it’s not 100%. Hope you can get some sort of financial relief though, wherever it’s from.

@NEStalgia That's a train, man...
And we have pretty strict overseers in our public transport, so if for whatever reason you decide to do your business in any of the means of transport, you will probably be apprehended and fined all but immediately...

@Ninfan No thanks. And I don't use my 3DS anymore anyway. And more importantly: I only game with people that I actually know, no offense.

@JackEatsSparrows I have had this injury before, but the first time I broke one, it was during winter sports, so more or less my own fault. I always say that in times like these, you're never more aware of having ribs, or whatever body part is hurt. Normally, you're just not that aware. Busted my back on several occasions as well, and in those instances too, I was never more aware of the fact that I had a back, than when I was in pain because of it.

As for my personal experience with Tramadol: on the first day I experienced nausea, dizziness, sweating, itching, a dry mouth, and drowsiness, so practically all side effects listed, and I couldn't even finish my dinner, so my appetite was also severely diminished.

The second day was just dizziness, dry mouth and drowsiness, and on the third day, I was only mildly light-headed, and by now, six days in, I'm actually wondering if they're helping at all, because even though I'm sleeping a little bit better than before starting with the painkillers, I can still feel the pain regardless.

M'kay folks, what'd I miss besides a Nintendo Direct announcement?

And who went and topped off NL's public transportation fund?

@Blitzenexx I guess I'm responsible for that. Although it's only Amsterdam's public transport...
What you may have missed, is me falling in the bus, due to an overzealous bus driver, stepping on the brakes like there was no tomorrow, and as a result, I slammed into a folded bench, breaking a rib on the right side, and also suffering a rupture in the middle bone of my right pinky finger, because I unsuccessfully tried to catch my own fall, which resulted in my hand being squashed in between my body and the folded bench...

And that started a whole discussion about interiors and exteriors of public transport in Amsterdam.

So, there, now you're all up to speed again, ma'am...

@ThanosReXXX: Ouch. That, my friend, does not sound like a nice trip. It seems as though rest and probably some painkillers are in your future?

I've luckily never broken any bones (yet), but I have broken some cartilage in my right knee from a hyperextension and have dealt with a couple of nasty sprains.

@Blitzenexx I'm on painkillers right now. Ever since Thursday. Tramadol, a so-called opioid and morphine derivative. Helps me sleep. Before that, the first two days after the accident, I only slept around 3-4 hours a day, because the pain woke me up every 15 minutes or so.

@ThanosReXXX "but as state of the art, and very sturdy and durable"

I thought of that before I read Volvo so I had to put it there. I do like the older yellow models, those red ones just look too industrial.

And I don't recall what the buses looked like during my trip. Do you know WHY American college students visited Amsterdam in the 90's? Hint - it wasn't the tulips and windmills.

@rjejr "Industrial"

Yeah, the 70's and 80's weren't exactly the best years for ergonomically designed buses...
(well, at least not over here. And to be honest: most car brands were rather boxy as well)