Asides

A Guide To A Good Life

The Office Lounge is a restaurant and night club in Predeal, Romania. Its location is amazing. It sits on top of a mountain peak which overlooks an idyllic meadow and valley. Other mountain peaks frame the view all around.

The restaurant has indoor space, but it also has a beautiful terrace where you can truly enjoy the view.

The espresso is good. It could even be called great, but let’s not get carried away… It has a well-balanced taste: not too bitter, not too watery, not too chocolatey. It’s good. And when you sit on the terrace and look at that gorgeous view, it somehow tastes even better.

We also had some very tasty “clatite” — a Romanian dessert that’s similar to French crepes and to British (not American) pancakes, according to one of my readers.

The place is a nightclub — and we’re not much into nightclubs. We went there during the day, to enjoy the beautiful view. If you’re interested in going there for a morning coffee, don’t — they open around 11 am or noon, because they close in the early hours of the morning.

Here is a map.

Espresso at the Office Lounge

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Thoughts

This video is an epiphany. It explains how people’s conceptions of time affect their lives and societies — and vice-versa. My jaw kept dropping as I watched it. If you’re a sentient human being, you will think it’s the best 10 minutes you’ve spent in a long time.

RSA Animate – The Secret Powers of Time

The Secret Powers of Time by Philip Zimbardo

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Places

If you’re visiting the Duomo, in Florence, Italy, don’t miss Sergiobar, a little place next to the Campanile. It’s the perfect place to get a perfect hot chocolate, which is the perfect treat to warm you up after an early morning climb into the bell tower. 🙂

Sure, the place is a little touristy, but the proof is in the pudding, so to speak… Here’s a map of the place.

Want to see some photos from Florence?

The best hot chocolate I ever had

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Thoughts

Have a look at the infographic below for some sobering facts about pharmaceutical companies in the US. Here are a few snippets:

  • The cost of prescription drugs rises 12% every year; they now cost 3x more than 30 years ago.
  • The markup on prescription drugs varies from 5,000% to 225,000%! That’s pure profit these companies make on every pill they sell.
  • Big Pharma spends over $20 billion per year on advertising for their drugs.

Pharmaceutical Companies

Stats about pharmaceutical companies

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Places

We stopped at Pizzeria New Croco in Cluj-Napoca last night, around midnight. Among other things, I ordered my usual espresso. It had a strong taste, the right aroma, a bit on the bitter side, but it was what I needed to keep me awake for a night trip that would last another few hours.

Taste-wise, this espresso ranks right up there with some of the best I’ve had in recent years. It may have been a little bitter, but it was its strong character that set it apart from some of the swill I’ve tasted at times.

Here’s a map of the restaurant’s location. They have a website as well, but it’s done in Flash, it takes forever to load, and you can’t shut off the annoying music that starts playing as soon as the site opens up.

Espresso at Pizzeria New Croco

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