Disqus - Latest Comments for gerikson

Re: Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 2,142

gerikson — Wed, 20 May 2026 08:18:16 -0000

Huh, I was going by the hero image on this post

< https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2019/01/erik-visits-american-grave-part-405 >

Re: Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 2,142

gerikson — Wed, 20 May 2026 07:38:09 -0000

Considering the size, shape, and likely placement of George Jones' grave, having sex on it requires both daring and acrobatic prowess.

Re: The Great Tolkien Reread: The Hobbit

gerikson — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:05:26 -0000

The first translator (Åke Ohlmarks) had an idiosyncratic take on the translation.

Here's a summary on Swedish Wikipedia https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96vers%C3%A4ttning_av_Sagan_om_ringen_till_svenska

Ohlmarks later become embittered against the Tolkien estate and accused them of being Satanists:

https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien_och_den_svarta_magin

There's a much later on from 2003 which is more in line with the original - or so I am told. I'm Swedish but read Tolkien in English.

Re: Why The Modern Leica Brand Decided To Make Wristwatches

gerikson — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 05:03:59 -0000

As an amateur photographer I have thoughts on Leica. They're definitely a company actively mining their past, which makes them very much adjacent to most watch brands. So it's interesting to see how they're trying to create a new tradition from scratch.

FWIW I don't see any Leica watches on the local trading forum, and only a couple on Chrono24. I suspect the people buying them are doing it just because they have enough disposable income to afford modern Leica gear and don't feel the need to resell.

Re: The Dreyfus affair, the lynching of Leo Frank, and precursors to fascism

gerikson — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:48:35 -0000

Frederick Brown's For the Soul of France is a good book about the Dreyfus affair and its impact on French society.

I wrote a small review here: https://gerikson.com/blog/books/read/For-the-Soul-of-France.html Content warning - there's an extended passage quoted from the book with antisemitic slurs.

Re: Apes do Read Banks, Elon, they Just Don’t Understand Him

gerikson — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 15:53:28 -0000

That's a non-M Banks novel, though :D (i.e. not explicit SF)

I liked Espedair Street at lot and need to re-read it.

Re: Putin lackeys and loyalists a-fussin’ and a-feudin’

gerikson — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 14:58:48 -0000

Adding spice to the stew, here's speculation that this statement from Kadyrov is meant to distract from his alleged involvement in a business deal in Moscow that involved gunfire:

https://xcancel.com/Liveuamap/status/1836843215154205160

Re: The Twitter Blues

gerikson — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 15:06:43 -0000

I've locked my account but still find value in following Twitter users. Today I got 2 promoted tweets from blue check users and found some pleasure in blocking them.

Re: Bills no honest man can pay

gerikson — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 17:22:41 -0000

Musk is... an accident waiting to happen. As well as a dedicated swallower of fascism.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 17:21:47 -0000

This is part of what I was alluding to. Sweden's safety net, already much more comprehensive than the US', got even bigger during the pandemic. A lot of people are stressed and worried, but immediate lack of funds to pay rent and food isn't an issue.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 17:20:39 -0000

I'm not familiar with this particular reference. Care to enlighten me?

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:46:39 -0000

Sweden looks really bad (on a deaths per capita basis) compared to Denmark, Norway and Finland, but it looks OK compared to Belgium (same population), Spain, and Italy, and much better than the UK.

The response is always prepared to be flexible. If it's warranted more restrictions can be put in place. I suspect mask usage will be encouraged soon, or it will grow organically. I'm seeing more and more people wearing them.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:43:21 -0000

Thanks for the clarification.

Sweden's education is quite decentralized. Some day care schools started using the gender-neutral "hen" (vs. han/hon for he/she) 10 years ago, but it's not a general thing. However, the usage has been spreading organically as it's shorter to say "hen sa" instead of "han eller hon sa" for "he/she said". It's not mandated by the government.

All genders have shop *and* home ec in primary school. I'm frankly amazed it's segregated by gender in the US.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:25:11 -0000

Last comment from me in this thread(?) - there was never the false dichotomy of "saving lives" or "saving the economy" in the Swedish debate and response.

Faced with probably the worst public health threat - an airborne respiratory disease with no cure or vaccine, Sweden instituted policies to lessen the spread while trying to keep as much of society open. There was *never* any doubt that the economic fallout would be disastrous. If nothing else, tourism is basically dead.

Sweden's policies are designed to be in place for a year or more, until a vaccine is available. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:18:39 -0000

The way things work in Sweden is that nominally independent authorities (myndigheter) execute policy. The government sets the policy. Actively interfering/guiding the execution (called "ministerstyre") by the responsible cabinet member is frowned upon.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:12:22 -0000

Huh? I'm almost 50 and have lived in Sweden since I was 10 (spent the first 10 years overseas), and I don't recall "extreme amounts of social engineering" regarding sexual politics.

My favorite anecdote regarding the difference between Sweden and the US is that showing a murder is PG-13 in Sweden, while showing boobs isn't. As far as I'm concerned that's A-OK.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:07:13 -0000

You can buy alchohol in restaurants from 18, but you have to be 20 to buy it retail. Most bars have age limits of 25 and up. Those that allow younger people in are heavily scrutinized by the authorities.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:05:58 -0000

You underestimate Swedish conformism. Both my wife's workplace and mine ("white collar") went remote-only in a matter of days. The complex of offices where my workplace is (I was in the office for regulatory reasons) is almost empty. At least in Stockholm, going remote has worked.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 13:03:59 -0000

Sorry, I didn't express myself well.

Naturally most deaths are in hospitals... what I meant to say is that most cases were concentrated to homes for care for the elderly. A theory of mine is that the differences in responses in Denmark, Norway and Finland to this threat explains the differences in deaths.

SVT (public service broadcaster) has a data page here: https://www.svt.se/datajour...

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 11:53:58 -0000

I'm a Swede.

The current government (Social Democrats + Greens) is shaky in terms of parlaimentary seats. However, the usual opposition usually attacks from a position of "less government involvement". Attacking the government for not restricting more would be weird.

In addition, the current thinking is that the center-right opposition pushed for deregulation of elder care years ago which might have led to worse outcomes - more part-time gig workers, less accountability. This is not something they want voters to be reminded of.

The actions taken to address the economic fallout have broad support both from all parties and the public. It's a traditional Social Democratic policy where the state pays for sick leave, furloughed employees, and direct support for sectors that have been hit hardest.

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 11:48:57 -0000

I don't think there's any evidence that keeping schools open has led to more infections in facilities for cares for the elderly. However, there's been a lack of contact tracing, so who knows?

Re: Scandinavian DeSantisism

gerikson — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 11:36:57 -0000

Swede here (long time reader, first time commenter).

It's a bit disingenious to say that Sweden "didn't lock down". Here's what's current now:

* people who can work at home are encouraged to do so
* people in risk groups are encouraged to self-isolate
* the usual rules about sick leave are waived (usually, the first day sick is not paid, you need a doctor's note after 5 days, and the employer pays for the first 2 weeks of sick leave). All this is now covered by the state. So if you're sniffly you can stay home for 2 weeks without too much of a hit economically.
* primary schools and day care (kindergarten) were open (it's summer holiday now), high school and universities were closed
* gatherings of more than 50 people were forbidden.

Most of Sweden's deaths have been in "old folks home" (äldrevården, don't know the US term). This is a national scandal and discussed widely right now.

As of today, less than 100 people are in ICU care for COVID-19 nationally. There was never a risk of ICU beds being overwhelmed.

*Addition* it's not the case that Swede's are complacent. The relevant authorities (Folkhälsomyndigheten) continually emphasise the need to hew to the current restrictions. Anecdotally, there are many more people very concerned about the risk of infection than who consider it to be some sort of hoax. Weirdly, the center-right opposition are in the position of attacking the Social Democrat-led government from the position that we need *more* restrictions, not less.

Re: Nikon 35Ti review

gerikson — Sun, 18 Feb 2018 11:27:40 -0000

Thanks for a good thorough review!

I've just stumbled across this site, I'm happy to have a trove of reviews to read through.

Re: C.P. Goerz Citograph 35mm f/8 “always-in-focus” lens officially launched on Kickstarter

gerikson — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 06:59:51 -0000

I have this lens, it's one of my favorites!

Re: C.P. Goerz Citograph 35mm f/8 “always-in-focus” lens officially launched on Kickstarter

gerikson — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 16:30:21 -0000

Man that would be a perfect topping to what's looking like an enormous sh*t sandwich - but I do think it will be full frame for Canon and Nikon.