June 2009
1 post
December 2008
4 posts
Writer's strike
The writer and reporter at Levys in London relocated to not-so-sunny California last week. Once they find their camera again in all of the boxes they will return with posts, videos, witty insights, and a new title for this blog.
Thanks for your patience.
Why Lowering Taxes Will Not Work (this time)
Fret not conservatives - I too agree that taxes are a disincentive toward the taxed behavior and agree that lowering or removing taxes reduces the disincentive. But not this time.
The UK recently lowered the VAT tax (see this earlier entry for an explanation of VAT) from 17.5% to 15% to help stimulate consumer spending. Here’s the relevant portion of the previous entry for lazy readers:
...
Instructor of the Jovian Month
Esther is still the ‘Instructor of the Month’ at David Lloyd Kensington Gym.
They must be using a Jovian lunar calendar based on Callisto’s orbit since Esther first took the title about 4 earth months ago and stopped teaching before Thanksgiving.
I still think she deserves it. Too bad the paychecks don’t follow the same schedule.
Unemployed, uninsured, and disconnected
And disconnected hurts the most.
Unlike Hollywood, Levys in London is immune to writers’ strikes. But when British Telecom rips our internet umbilical cord from our loving computer, we cannot provide the witty verses that our 5 readers enjoy infrequently.
Two weeks ago, Esther called British Telecom to notify them of our upcoming move and to stop our phone and internet service on December...
November 2008
12 posts
Time for Change - A Plagiaristic Pronouncement
If there are any remaining readers out there who still doubt that Levys In London is relevant; who still wonder how we afford living in Europe; who still question the power of the Slingbox to satiate Dan’s appetite for Stanford sports and Esther’s for dancing shows, tonight is your answer.
It’s the answer told by queues in the UK that are simply too long; by people who wait three hours and...
Justice Prevails
Justice prevails as our second ballot was in our mail box when we returned home from Prague on Sunday. Esther rushed this one to the back to the DHL office on Monday morning at an additional cost of ~$55 for overnight shipping.
So while our postman did not cast a vote, in effect, Champ did via his participation in our caucus. Which is worse?
Election Day Special: Constitutional Rights...
The US outlawed poll taxes in 1964 with the 24th amendment (seriously, this was allowed until then!). But we just paid ~$55 to vote in the US election.
Due to a glitch that we did not notice until about three weeks ago, we never received our absentee ballot in either London or Sacramento (our US address). Fortunately Esther caught the mistake and called the registrar of voters to explain the...
Czech, Czech, Czech It Out
This “back from Prague” blog is sponsored by the letter ‘C’
Clocks – just off Republic Square in the center of Prague, the Astronomical clock draws visitors every hour for a performance of 12 passing apostles. I recommend you make like an Apostle and pass as well. Instead head to the Jewish quarter to see the Hebrew lettering clock that rotates counterclockwise in homage...
October 2008
6 posts
Why Parliament Has Nothing on Red Lobster
While waiting for a restaurant table, I always loved holding the vibrating coaster. Compact, with a hard-to-miss signal, and surprisingly reassuring, the vibrating coaster told me that I could leave the over-crowded lobby without fear of losing my spot in the queue to some other hungry person pretending to be Mr. Levy. The problem with the coaster was its limited range - strategically programmed...
Back to the Blog Future II
Remember that scene in Back to the Future II when the future Marty McFly crosses paths with the current Marty McFly - and then your head explodes trying to figure out who is current, who is past, who is future, and why the sequel was not nearly as good as the first or third? (Of course, if you knew the third was better than the second while watching the second, then you should really be buying...
September 2008
8 posts
WatchPics from Munich - just tried the Slide Show application from slide.com. Very cool. Enjoy the pics from Munich. Unfortunately they are in reverse chronologial order. I’ll work on that this weekend. I’ll also post the flickr link if you want to see the full originals.
Series of Subtle Differences: #5
What would Freud say about British “loo” architects?
Consider the evidence vs. their American counterparts:
- 95% of them use electric hand dryers rather than paper towels
- 80% of them have fully private stalls (no opening at the top or bottom of the “throne door”)
- 50% have two-gear toilets (as discussed in a previous post)
- most public ones, including every one at...
Who is Esther Levy?
Alex Trebek: Correct!
Answer: This energetic exercise professional was recently named “instructor of the month at David Lloyd gym for the second time in 9 months despite the gym employing more than 30 instructors and the average instructor of the month award lasting for approximately 10 weeks”.
Back from Holiday
Much like the French, we are finally returning home after a month-long holiday.
Refreshed and relaxed, we’ll be posting pics, video, and updates again soon.
August 2008
2 posts
Olympic Question: Why David Beckham will never win...
Because England never enters a soccer team in the Olympics. In most international athletic competitions (World Cup, Rugby, Cricket), our current homeland competes as England … and Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales (each separately). However, during the Olympics they compete together as Great Britain. Sorry – I don’t know why.
Because none of the four wants to compete in the other...
Celebrating One Year in London
Yesterday marked one full year in London. In one year we have become:
healthier - due to more time in the gym; significantly more walkking; a better diet with smaller portions, less preservatives, and more fruits and vegatables; and less time in front of the television
better citizens of both the world and the US - watching the US from abroad is like watching a game from the press box instead...
July 2008
11 posts
Series of Subtle Differences
While your favorite video host and mine finishes her thesis, your next favourite blog writer has been reduced to trite topics like this one to provide entertainment for our last remaining reader.
Over the next week I am aiming to publish a series of short posts about subtle differences between the US and UK.
Some of my planned topics include personal favourites like ‘bathrooms’,...
Former Stanford Star Moves To Europe
No, we are not writing about us. Though we are “formerly from Stanford” we are not “stars”.
Earlier today, Josh Childress, a currently successful NBA player from Stanford, decided to leave the NBA at the peak of his career to play in Greece. A few years ago, this would have been seen as crazy - like a successful investment banker moving from Goldman Sachs in Manhattan to...
A Day at the Museum
With the parents in town, we decided to take in some local culture that was not a pub or a football stadium.
After exploring the British Museum for a few hours, I had three key observations:
1. All National museums in the UK are free. Naturally this draws enormous crowds. But it promotes learning. That’s a good thing.
2. At least half of the material in the museum is under dispute with...
Thirsting for Victory
During my last period on unemployment, I drew up a list of “things to do before I die”. Most of them involved attending sporting events. That’s why we entered the lottery for Wimbledon tickets back in October. Fortunately, the J. Crew-dressed grey-hairs that run Wimbledon picked our number. Ten months later we crashed their party… but we managed to keep quiet during the points.
Like the US...
June 2008
2 posts
Punters, Puritans, and Ponies
Around 5 years ago, the US government banned online gambling. In the UK, every high (“main”) street has multiple shops where anyone over 18 can place a sports bet. Even more online. Why the puritanical US?
And better yet, why so hypocritical? Almost every US state supports some form of a lottery. Not only are the odds for a lottery worse than for sports gambling, lotteries don’t drive other parts...
May 2008
5 posts
Three Leaf Clover: Thoughts on Dublin
Given how many famous writers hail from Ireland, I should write a higher-quality entry. But James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, et al did not work for an internet company or have a needy cat (like me), so here’s the quick one so I can get back to doing what I do well:respond to email, attend meetings, and help my cat chase a string. 1. Alcohol: The Guinness factory is the #1 tourist...
Capitalists in Socialists' Kits: The Answer
Thanks for checking back. This pair of posts was inspired by a brilliant insight from my sports and capitalist loving wife (how far you’ve come babe!) If you said that Industry A was Europe and B was the USA - congratulations, you’re right. If you knew that Industry A was the English Premier League (soccer) and Industry B was the National Football League (USA – American football) – even better....
Capitalists in Socialists’ Kits*: The Test
Let’s compare two similar existing industries. One is in Europe, the other is in America. Try to guess which is which: Industry A Dominated by 4 major entities Key assets may be bought and sold Salaries for employees have no restrictions No labor unions New employees are recruited at a young age and developed through extensive programs for many years The bottom 15% of ...