Ron

Good for you. I was in Australia just the once and after the second day in Sydney I spent the next four days in bed with food poisoning. Two days later I was in Melbourne. Luckily, Melbourne turned out to be a safe haven from food issues even if the city turned out to be a bit boring for me.

@drsawzall I hit the 'laugh' emoji because it's funny-stupid when those things happen. Try wondering just where you put your eyeglasses when you're actually wearing them!

From another Ohioan (Northcentral), although now formally a Bay Stater (Massachusetts), welcome to GA.

18 grams of whole coffee beans freshly and finely ground (11 on the Baratza Encore grinder) put into an Aeropress coffee maker. Add enough hot water (just off the boil) up to the number 2 then press through with the plunger into a mug (containing the contents of two Sweet 'n' Low packets), and then pour the brewed coffee over ice in a tall glass and top up ice cold water. I do this several times a day and it's always enjoyable. In the evening I do enjoy a martini but I find martinis to be a cold weather drink, and what with warmer weather and its subsequent humidity arriving with it a martinis days are numbered. Otherwise, there's always the tasty and classic cocktail Negroni.

Good for you folks. Massachusetts is down six inches of precipitation against normal averages. I’m afraid we’ll be in drought conditions again this year.

Pretty much the same here on the East Coast of Massachusetts (on the Cape today) and the ‘feels like’ temperature is 33 degrees — brrr. My ideal weather is sunny and 75-77 degrees with a light breeze.

I prefer dark-mode when reading the Boston Globe and the Washington Post (I may be leaving this one soon. I already skip the opinion pieces.) and Apple News. Otherwise, I use light-mode for everything else. So, a mixed bag for me!

The term male slut has been in use for a long time. At least as long as I began hitting the bars some forty-five years ago, and I suspect for far longer than that.

I saw $4.00 per gallon (that 9/10ths of a cent on the end of $3.99 shouldn't fool anyone ) at a gas station here on Cape Cod yesterday.

Time for some Depeche Mode ... Or, is it?

When I saw the word Tang I immediately thought of the astronauts and space flights of olden days. Although, I have been loosely following the Artemis II flight. I watched one short video taken through the window of a jet showing the launch which was interesting to see (window seats can be good). It's loin lamb chops, sauteed spring onions and sauteed radish greens for dinner. No starch.

Congrats on your promotion, @Jeff Burton.

Audience participation! 1. I like late spring/early summer and early fall and I've had it with the rest. 2. I lived in cities for thirty years and it was easy to walk on the 'shady' side of the street. Nowadays I'm not out in the sun long enough to bother. 3. No. 4. I have and own both. Although the physical books have diminished greatly. A few years ago and prior to a move I gave around a hundred hardback and paperback science fiction and fantasy books to my young nephew who enjoys those same types of stories as I do. Lately I have been tossing other types of books into the trash bin a few at a time; I no longer want them and no one else does either. 5. I do read actual books but mostly digital nowadays. I figure at my age it doesn't really matter if I don't actually 'own' the books I buy. And, of course, there's always the online web-based reading material. 6. Mparntwe by our very own @Palantir. At least I began reading it and I commented on the beginning for the author here after the first chapter. As it happens, and, sadly, but all too often lately, I haven't finished reading the book.

And now ... Time for some Black Sabbath. This seems appropriate nowadays.

I once did an ancestry search by going through the U.S. census records. My paternal side can be traced to a German man who listed his occupation as being a barber. He married an Irish women who is recorded as homemaker on the census. On the maternal side once again is Irish for the male and British for the female.

We are all (I think) eager for Spring to arrive. But there is a treat on Tuesday morning a little after 6AM EST, a full eclipse of the moon by the Earth visible in the lower 48 states that will turn the moon the color red, this is because some light from the sun will leak around the Earth despite the moon being in shadow. Not only that but a extremely rare phenomenon called a selenelion ( or selenehelion) that occurs during a total lunar eclipse where the sun rises and the moon sets at the same time. If you're in a high enough location you will be able to turn toward the rising sun and turn around and see the setting moon.

I feel doubly provoked by this word. I am both provoked because, and, due to the fact that I have had time to think about it, I am also provoked.

I believe the ideal tax result is no need to pay more taxes and to get nothing back or as little coming back as possible because otherwise you've given your government an interest free loan.

You've got me beat by a decade then. I do maintain that younger people are often dismissive of our generation. And I do get that 'progress' in technology can at times be a daunting task to keep up with as one ages. At least here on GA if you don't understand something and ask for further explanation you'll be met with kindness in the offering up of help. As I initially stated my comment was not directed at you. Your sarcasm and eye-roll at the end was uncalled for.

My comment is not personal to the commenter but it does draw attention to the not-inconsiderable bias toward ageism generally in the world. We may be older than some of you younger individuals, but that does not preclude the understanding of simple questions. Nor do complex ideas and/or algorithms generally exempt us from participation in this community. Get a grip youngling's!

Now, now, now you're reaching deep down into esoteric territory. (Say 'esoteric territory' five times - real fast. ) My thought: Even though it is/could-be a thing ... but speaking for myself, I don't need/want to see it happening in real-time, time-lapsed, or the very much dreaded slow-motion viewing option. Edit: After much hemming-and-hawing and deep thought I decided that '... is/could-be ... ' was a better solution than '... is/could be ... ,' but I am still on the fence over this. Second Edit: Now this post is not as humorous as I wanted this post to be. Damn it!

Odie Henderson the Boston Globe film critic writes this bold-face headline "In 'Pillion,' a shy bloke's heart belongs to daddy". He gave the film a three-and-a-half star rating where four stars would be the top rate. Not bad for what is described as a 'Dom Com' movie. The trailer may be too risqué for Google to show here. When in doubt don't share.

A review of the reviewers reviews ... Is that what you're saying? Oh, yeah, it is ... Okay. , , ... . Sorry, I'm done. This is me just being cheeky.

Once upon a time I kept freshwater tropical fish and provided the environment for the breeding of them (successfully), and I also worked in shop that sold fish and the equipment needed to keep them well. As you might suspect this led to my belonging to the areas fish club. At an annual show and sale I entered one of my beauties to be judged and won Best of Show 2nd place and 1st place in the category for my fish — I offered it into a subsequent auction and got quite a bit of money for it. As part of the show there was a raffle, one had to buy tickets but the cost was not onerous (all profits went to the club). Well, well, well, I won the grand prize of a corner fish tank, stand and all the goodies needed to make it work. I had no room in my fish room for it and so I gave it to my stepfather who kept it stocked and working for many years.

Well, Bill I’m not sure how crying helps when it relates to a man’s meat. It strikes me that it’s a very sad thing should one convert to crying when it comes to the tenderizing application (so to speak) and … Oh, goodness. I don’t know where to go from here. I can’t continue!