2009. március 4., szerda
Humour is essential
2009. március 2., hétfő
Maybe Mrs Ropi is emerging?
2009. február 25., szerda
My sovereignty
- In 1848 there were 2 riots, one in March and one in October. At the second, he asked Chancellor Metternich why they were making such a noise. The chancellor answered that they were rioting and Ferdinand V asked: Really? Are they allowed to do so?
- According to nasty rumours his only powerful instruction was when he ordered his luch and he wanted dumplings. The chef told him that he couldn't cook it because some components were missing or something like that. Ferdinand became upset and he said: I am the Emperor and I want dumplings!!
- The last one happened after his deposal (2nd December 1848). In the 1860s and 1870s Germans and Italians wanted to create their states. There were 2 plans for a German unity and Prussia and the Habsburgs had a battle at Königgrätz in 1866 which was lost from the Habsburgs point of view, Ferdinand ironically said: Even I could do that.
2009. február 23., hétfő
First anger post ever
I wrote my opinion about this article but I felt it too strong so I removed it. Anyway I tell you a note to the Hungarian wastes: due to Obama's bailout and the Iraq War costs roughly $16000 per capita. I don't have so much debt. :) I had a feeling that the article writer was sending a message to Obama that he should be careful because the US may end up like Hungary. If it happens I won't feel sorry because 1, this article 2, they caused this crisis.U.S. Debt Gains on Hungary'sBased on the costs of fiscal stimulus and the bank bailout, the federal government’s ratio of debt to gross domestic product is heading much higher. By 2011, it may equal Hungary’s current ratio — which skyrocketed due to profligate spending and remnants of centrally planned waste.
While other factors are important, that suggests the credit quality of currently top-rated Treasury debt may trend down more toward the quality of Hungary’s government debt, which is nearer the bottom of the investment grade pecking order. That’s not a complete disaster, but it means Treasuries won’t really be a safe investment, either.
Assuming deficit projections by the Congressional Budget Office for the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years are right, and adding the cost of the stimulus plan, the bank rescue plan and borrowing costs, public debt would rise from 41 percent of G.D.P. in September 2008 to about 70 percent of G.D.P. three years later. That is roughly in line with Hungary’s December 2008 ratio.
After 2011, America’s debt-to-G.D.P. ratio is expected to decline again. The budget office projects deficits of less than 2 percent of G.D.P. after 2012, and the capital injected into the banking system under the government’s bailout plans should start to produce some returns for taxpayers around that time.
There are considerable downside risks. The budget office’s projections are based on optimistic assumptions: that growth averages 4 percent annually from 2011 through 2014, that the Bush tax cuts and alternative minimum tax relief all expire in December 2010, and that discretionary spending increases only in line with inflation after 2010.
The falling debt projection also assumes that none of the costs under the stimulus plan migrate into annual spending after 2010.
Should the recession deepen, or persist beyond 2010, higher budget deficits could become entrenched. Finally, the projection assumes interest rates in the United States remain low. With Treasury bond maturities now averaging only 48 months, higher interest rates would rapidly feed into higher borrowing costs and budget deficits.
“No European government has done anything as boneheaded as we have,” Ferenc Gyurcsany, Hungary’s prime minister, said of his country’s fiscal policy in May 2006. By 2012, United States policy makers may be echoing his words.
China’s Bargain?
China’s $25 billion oil purchase agreement with Russia trades cash for bargain-priced oil over 20 years. That solves a chunk of China’s long-term supply problem. Russia may be politically unreliable, but the advantages of the deal make it well worth the risk.
In return for $25 billion in loans, China will get a total of about 2.2 billion barrels of oil over 20 years. Including interest at 5 percent, that equates to a price of $17.40 a barrel over the period, a bargain when the longest New York Mercantile Exchange futures contract, for December 2017, sells at $73.22 a barrel.
The contract covers about 8 percent of China’s current oil imports, which are expected to increase sharply in coming years. The Chinese authorities regard long-term oil supplies as a key matter of national security, and are not prepared to rely more than modestly on the international spot market.
Hence in recent years, Chinese oil companies have invested in a number of African countries to line up supplies, and have had lengthy discussions with oil-rich but unreliable Venezuela. Given its energy concerns, a 20-year contact with even the erratically governed Russia could be regarded as only moderately risky.
Russian oil companies may be less likely to default on a deal with China, which takes a strong stance in most international matters, than they would be on an equivalent obligation to the more passive European Union, for example. Russia gets the capital needed to upgrade its oil industry and establishes a long-term relationship with a large and growing customer.
Even the low equivalent price of this contract probably represents a profit considering Russia’s low extraction costs. It also provides guaranteed demand in case of an oil glut.
This looks like a good deal for both sides, but Russia’s cash flow needs and the fall in oil prices seem to have given Chinese negotiators the advantage.
It is the first post ever I wrote with anger. I am fine by the way.
2009. február 18., szerda
Surprises
However I have been living my 3rd revival at Spanish. Yesterday I held a presentation about México and I got 5 to it. I was surprised how cool things I can say if I want. I used words as executed by head shot (fusilar), Viceroyality of New Spain (Virreinato de la Nueva España). Well, I tell you the execution story because it has conenction with Hungary in some way. The executed guy was Maximilian of Habsburg (Emperor of México) who was the younger brother of Franz Joseph who was the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
It was snowing here quite a lot in the last 2 days and I would like to show a photo from my window. It may look very artistic but I just can't sue the camera properly. I made it last evening when it was heavily snowing.
Today I was reassuring everyone again that I am still quite conservative. On History we had a kind of debate class and it was about the politics in Hungary in the 1840s. There were 4 significant parties in that time and we had to vote for one according to its program. I didn't vote for the most conservative one though but I vote for a slightly conservative. I was a lonely conservative. In my class the radical reformers and the liberals were in majority (4-4) .
Tomorrow I will have a good day, I have only 2 lessons because my English teachers are absent. On Tour Guiding the teacher was the tour guide who we had in Scotland. I was a bit surprised. At first I didn't recognise her though.
I am very exhausted. Luckily this time It wasn't my turn to be the goalkeeper in the class team but next week probably I will.
2009. február 11., szerda
Top Secret revealed
I am thinking whether I have taken up so much tasks this year. I can bear it now but I am curious whether I will bear it in April when I will be less fresh and I will have to invest extra energy on my first tourism Exam. We will see... As Harley said: hard work pays off.
Today I was playing football in the class team against the teachers' team. We won 8-3 but I got 2 easy goals but I made some nice saves as well so I can say I was doing well but nothing extraordinary. I also got back my Biology test and I got 59%. I was very satisfied with it and I was the second best in my group which was a kind of surprise. Yesterday I got back my Statistics-Probability great test and finally I managed to be the best in the group. I got 101.5%. You know I am a loser kind of person. I have been second 4 times at chess on local contests and twice victory was in my hands and I let it go. I was second at Maths once, I was second at swimming a long time ago when I could swim better. It wasn't a serious contest though. At table tennis I can lose sets for 9-4 or 10-6 leads. So I am always the second and I am so happy when rarely I can be the first. So I am realable among the good or average ones but it is rare when I do outstandingly. The only exception is History on the positive side and Biology on the negative side however I don't think to Biology as failure. It is interesting to mention that it is only the second occasion I have reached more than 100% in almost 12 years. I let you guess which subject it was but you won't find it out. If you say history you are on the wrong path because it was CHEMISTRY. I got 120% once at elementary school at it. Thank you for reading few hundred pages from my autobiography.
I have to add that I am not entirely satisfied with Maths because I made the usual Ropi-kind of mistakes (for example: I substitued the wrong number to an equation).
2009. február 4., szerda
Tourism and sickness
Yesterday during my suffering I had my first tour guide class. We studied the basic terms of tourism, about foods and beverages (mainly about wines) and we discussed the vineyards in Hungary. Hungarian wines are quite famous. For example Tokaji Aszu is really famous and even more expensive. Louis XIV said This is the wine of kings and the king of all wines.
2009. január 28., szerda
Stereotype II
Also: we don't share our private life in great details, we switch to informal style very slowly, that's why we use each other's family name a lot at first unless we talk with people in similar age. Hungarian learn less languages compared to EU average.
The "flu season" is starting in Hungary. It is an usual epidemic here. The substitution board is full at school, many students are sick and so on. Luckily I don't really get any illnesses. Today we discussed the term averages and marks. I was No 1 among boys and No 4 or 5 (Biology deteriorates my average a lot) in the whole class according to averages. The class average was 3.95 out of 5. We were 18th out of 21 classes in the entire school. It is not so bad because we used to be the last ones. Today I managed to say something absolutely not wrong on Hungarian Literature ... marvel happens.
Today I got the topics for the Oral part of the final exam at Geography. I have 43 topics to study. These are not so difficult I think except a few. There are some I would like to skip but 80% of them is not so horrible. It is good I posted it here because it is not a great problem if I lost my papers.
- Northern part of the Great Plain (Hungary)
- The Small Plainland and the Subalpine Region (Hungary)
- The Transdanubian Middle Mountains (Hungary)
- Southern Transdanubia (Hungary)
- The Northern Middle Mountains (Hungary)
- The Physical geography of Europe
- The physical Geography of Northern America
- River discharge and food hydrograps
- The inner structure of the Earth
- Plate Tectonics/ Constructive and Destructive margins
- Volcanic activity/ Volcanoes
- River Landforms in lowlands
- Sea currents
- Drought and water supply in developing countries
- Warming up of the air/ Weather and Climate
- Formation of falling precipitation
- Cyclones and anti-cyclones
- Global air circulation
- The equatorial belt
- Global Warming
- Mediterranian and Monsoon Climate
- European Union
- Evolution of EU
- Old and new industries in the UK
- Mediterranian farming
- Japan - levels of development
- The effects of intensive agriculture
- Advantages/disadvantages of transport forms
- Non-renewable energy sources
- Renewable energy sources
- Population Growth
- Population Structures
- Transnational Companies
- Sustainable development
- World trade
- Inequalities in World development
- Tourism- recent trends
- Hungary - population development
- Hungary- the structure of economy
- Hungary- employment (structure)
- Hungary- energetics
- Hungary- machine industry
- Hungary- fundamentals of the agriculture
2009. január 24., szombat
Some things can't be learnt from books
2009. január 11., vasárnap
Blogger
Well, yesterday I fullfilled my promise. You may remember that I had a bet if I get a 5 to my Maths test then I will go out with my friends, Zsófi and Ádám. We went to a pub and we had a good time. Actually, vodka is a really cool drink.
2009. január 7., szerda
Well ...
Well, in the past 2 years I advised 2 quite cheap holiday opportunities, which are not so popular but I guess they are nice places and cheaper than popular places such as Italy. Let me give you an advice. Be careful when you swim in the sea in Italy because at some parts it is very dirty. So the two places which I mentioned were Ukraine's shoreline (Odessa etc...) and Albanian, Montenegro shoreline. Of course my idea wasn't accepted but if on any Wednesday after 8 periods of suffering at school a cold home will be waiting for me then I won't be happy and in the next few years I won't go to Ukraine.Russia Shuts Off Gas Supplies to Europe
The Associated Press
01/07/09 - 06:31 AM ESTUpdated from 2:14 a.m. ESTBy Maria Danilova
KIEV, Ukraine -- Russia has shut off all its gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine -- the latest move in a pricing dispute that has reduced or halted fuel deliveries to a dozen countries during a winter cold snap.
Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, which had sharply limited supplies through Ukraine on Tuesday, has stopped all gas shipments through the country as of 7:44 a.m. local time, said Valentyn Zemlyansky, spokesman for Ukraine's Naftogaz.
About 80% of Russian gas to Europe is shipped via Ukraine. Other smaller pipelines run through Belarus and Turkey.
"It was the Russian side's decision to stop all gas deliveries to Europe" through Ukraine, Naftogaz head Oleh Dubina told reporters. "I think it is inappropriate."
Russia confirmed the cutoff, but said it was Ukraine's fault because it had shut down the last pipeline carrying gas from Russia. Gazprom also says it is reducing to compensate for the gas it accuses Ukraine of diverting.
The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute has left tens of thousands of people in Europe without heat as governments scrambled to find alternative energy sources.
By early Wednesday, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Turkey had all reported a halt in gas shipments, while France, Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary had reported substantial drops in supplies from Russia.
Russia stopped all gas shipments to Ukraine on Jan. 1 after both countries failed to agree on prices and transit fees for next year.
Over the past week, Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off tens of millions of cubic meters of gas meant for Europe from its transit pipelines.
Ukraine admitted diverting some transit gas, saying it had the right to use the fuel to run its pumping system. Gazprom then started dramatically reducing supplies to European consumers this week.
The crisis erupted after Russia and Ukraine failed to agree on a gas price for 2009 and on payment of $600 million Gazprom says it is due from Naftogaz.
URL: http://www.thestreet.com/print/story/10456393.html
The term will be closed on next Wednesday so teacher soo will start or has already started giving term marks. I got 3 at Biology, which is very good to me. However my English teacher is hesitating about my mark. I am between 4 and 5 because I got 4 to my grammar test so she await for my Literature marks from our native speaker teacher. It is the first time ever that 5 as a term mark became an option to me at English and I hope it is going to be more than an option.
2009. január 1., csütörtök
Happy New Year!
Hopefully when blogger posts it, I am going to enjoy the first minute of the Hungarian New Year according to local time.
Finally I would like to share a technological device with you which was builtby Hungarians: The SOLO. Thanks to Komaja for the link.
Hungarian "Solo" concept car, super-light and super-ecological
by Staff Writers
Prototype of the first ever Hungarian hybrid vehicle called Solo is on display at the Museum of Transport in Budapest, Hungary 16 June, 2008. The three-seats, 3.12-meter long and 1.92-meter wide environmentally friendly vehicle powered by gas and li-ion batteries is designed and built by ANTRO company based in Oeriszentpeter, Hungary. The ecological gas-electric vehicel can reach 140km/hours top speed and is expected to go on sale in 2012. EPA/BARNABAS HONECZY.
Budapest (AFP) June 17, 2008
The prototype for a new Hungarian car that can reach 140 kilometres per hour while only consuming between 1.5 and two litres of ethanol per 100 kilometres, was unveiled Tuesday in Budapest.The smooth,oval-shaped "Solo," developed by Hungarian company Antro and presented Tuesday at Budapest's Museum of Transport, is just over three metres long, less than two metres wide and can carry up to three people, with the driver sitting between the two passengers.
With a car frame and body made of a carbon fiber composite, the vehicle is ultra-light, weighing only 270 kilogrammes (595 pounds).
And the glass roof is entirely covered with high-performance solar panels, enabling the vehicle to cover 15-25 kilometres on solar energy alone. For longer trips, four small electric engines are also hidden behind each wheel.
"Solo is a hybrid car with two modes of functioning: moving in the city using electric engines, solar energy or even human power thanks to mechanic pedals attached to a generator -- for traffic jams. And for longer trips it uses a modern engine running on not only traditional but also biofuels and ethanol," said Antro director Zsolt Hegedus.
The interior is elegantly cosy with wood and leather everywhere, even on the steering wheel and on additional pedals allowing the passengers to help move the car along.
Solo is expected to cost about 12,000 euros (18,606 dollars), the usual price for a small city vehicle of this kind, but its carbon-dioxide emissions are only a quarter of that released by its non-hybrid rivals, its developers said.
They said they were hoping to begin mass production in 2012.
Antro has also promised a big sister for Solo by that time.
Baptised Duo, it will carry six people and its owners will even be able to go their separate ways if need be: according to its designers, it will be possible to transform the Duo into two Solos in ten minutes.
Watch "Canadian Bacon" Movie I advise you to see the whole movie in your free time.