Comments all seem to refer to an article and this post doesn’t link to any article. ? (edit: never mind, I looked up the name and I don’t need to see anything more).

Fried in baby oil.

Yes, me too. Cursive is easier and faster to write. Though I usually print the capital letters.

I have never purchased a smartphone and don’t want one. I still prefer to use a flip phone. Their quality has improved over the years so I haven’t been forced to switch yet.

Yes, but just until I realize I’m doing it then I breathe.

Physically possessing the music that you bought, having the actual vinyl records (or later, CDs and DVDs of shows). That you don’t have to keep renewing subscriptions for to continue being able to listen to (or watch), that you can lend out or pass down to your kids or sell to a used record store, where you can buy the ones someone else sold to them. Those were the days.

Oh OK yeah I guess that was the joke. whoosh! on me.

Ironically there was an episode where Dr. Crusher did fall in love with a ghost. Of course it turned out to be a disembodied alien, but still.

OT but I just found interesting:

1st pic: Aidan = AI Dan, I guess that’s a clever name.

2nd pic: his hand melds into her hand or phases through her wrist. She calls him Thad but suspiciously he sure looks a lot like Aidan. Is ChatGPT perhaps CheatGPT? Just asking.

I don’t think I’d read it, but just looked it up and did. Or maybe I read it before and forgot–I’ve certainly heard that concept enough times, and many variations on it. The ultimate ego trip!

That’s my view too. even if reincarnation existed, it wouldn’t matter. If each life has no memory of the others, then each life is effectively a different person altogether, so from the POV of any one of those people, there is effectively no such thing as reincarnation.

Now suppose there’s some kind of ‘soul’ who the lives ‘belong to’ and will one day remember the lives, again – so what? They’re just memories. Those lives were each a separate person who no longer exists, and never knew the others or the soul.

Tin is a heavy metal.

I’d say it’s because during Biden’s term he was running a fairly basic administration and during the run-up to the election, inflation was something they (repubs) could use to rile up the base, but now not only is the election long over, there’s so much new horrible stuff every day (both real and made-up) in the spotlight that inflation pales in comparison.

Cat who is a kitten,
Kitten who’s a cat.
Cat who is a kitten who’s a cat, cat, cat.
Imagine that! A kitten who’s a cat!

I’ve used a (LibreOffice) spreadsheet for the past 10 years to track everything I spend–yes, every single thing–it’s not that hard at all. Keep the receipt or make a note of it to enter when you get home. Mine is set up like this:

One tab for each year. Rows are transactions and columns are categories (after the date, payment type, and payee/description), so one transaction row could have amounts entered in multiple columns.

I use only about a dozen broad categories like Food, Utilities (I see no point in separating out each specific utility), Household supplies, Car, Entertainment, etc. Also sales tax and donations columns. Basically whatever you might want to see totals for. Start simple and general, and you can always add another column or two later if needed. Row totals in the final column, column totals at the top.

I also have tabs for: Credit card charges–for reconciling with the bill (and then record the payment on the yearly tab in the appropriate categories); Medical expenses–categories are type Rx/Tx/Ins and how paid HSA/Chkg Acct/Credit card; And finally a Notes tab for entering more detailed info about any unusual/extra costs like auto/house repairs or major purchases.

You could add Budgeting on another tab with budgeted amounts vs actual amounts (grabbed by using formulas pointing to the year tabs), but I don’t need that because my spending and expenses are pretty simple and consistent.

Most people would just put water in the mug (ceramic/microwave-safe of course) that they’re going to make the tea in and microwave it until it boils or bubbles just short of a rolling boil, which takes 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the microwave’s power–you’d learn the time yours takes and set the timer for that. At that point I don’t see the difference between that vs. if you poured it into the cup from the kettle. Either way you now have a cup full of boiling-hot water to steep your tea in. No, it won’t spill over if you don’t fill it all the way up to the brim.

Oh, now I see! You don’t understand that a microwave can boil water, you think it can only warm it up a little. Thank you for clearing up my confusion.

Have some class!

Whenever I hear Europeans accuse Americans of being arrogant, I can only laugh. Feeling superior about something like how you boil water is hilarious.

I use an electric kettle but remember that in the US outlets are 120V, so they take a lot longer to heat water than in countries with 240.

So the microwave isn’t much less efficient than the electric kettle, mainly because some of the energy is heating the mug/container. The least efficient is a stovetop kettle on an electric stove.

But I’m curious, why are Europeans so horrified by the idea of heating water in the microwave? Is it related to power consumption, or is there some other reason?

Isn’t that the time most people would think of testing it on themselves?

Yeah I use the hottest running water and also scrub it with soap to get as much as possible off.

I’ve also used a hair dryer to heat the bites up but you have to be careful not to hold it too close to the skin and burn yourself. I’m very reactive to bug bites and I seem to get a million bites within seconds of going outside.