I wanted to write a post about Lithuanians. National characteristics. Something like, "they're obviously not stupid, but the jokes aren't wrong about that slight Baltic slowness," and so on. But then I came across a headline on the Inopressa website that describes who Lithuanians are with 99% accuracy: Young British woman discovers a Lithuanian crane operator living in her shed ...she was astonished to find a wooden bed, a chest of drawers, a camping stove, pots and pans, dishes, and a shaving mirror. The tenant had even put a television at the edge of the bed and laid a carpet on the floor. ...The man cleared the garden—"without tools"—and planted the flowers from pots into the flowerbeds. "Once I stopped being afraid, I started to feel a bit sorry for him. You can tell he's very house-proud. The shed was absolutely spotless, even cleaner than some houses in Banbury." The remaining 1% of information about Lithuanians: they're all huge guys. I've never seen so many hulking brutes in one place. At 190 cm (6 ft 3 in), I'm usually taller than the average man, but here I'm walking down the street and every third guy is taller than me. No wonder they're all obsessed with basketball—there are courts everywhere. At our hotel they're thumping that damn ball until one in the morning.