I lived in Germany for several years and moved to the U.S. and purchased a “fixer-upper” home. On the docket for replacement were the windows. To make a long story short, the cost of replacing every window on the house with a normal American window was within ~$1k of the price of a single “German” window. The cost to replace all of the windows with the German style was nearly the total price of the home itself.

So yeah, I would love to have those windows, but they’re not made or at least readily available in US markets.

Similar struggle. I told my folks (they live 2hrs away and I see them every 2 mo.) that they need to choose: a relationship with me or talking about politics. At first I gave a couple warnings, but after maybe 3 or 4 times. I reiterated, me or politics, and left without another word. Works with phone calls too. “Did you hear what Bide” click - I hang up.

Treat them like dogs - they’re trainable. If you abruptly leave or hang up every time, eventually they’ll get the hint. If not, they’ve made their choice and if it’s not you, then you’ll need to move on.

I didn’t travel 2 hours to talk about someone I’ll never meet. Let’s talk about ourselves and what’s new in our lives. What’s going on in the garden, what’s new in the office, whatever happened to what’s-her-name you used to hang out with.

Like you I’m in a third category. For me cilantro isn’t soapy, it’s just wildly overpowering. If it’s in a dish, it’s the only thing I will taste that meal. It can be really low in a list of ingredients and still the only thing I taste. I want to like cilantro, but it’s too abusive to the other flavors in and meal for my predisposition.

It’s like someone took the perfect beverage {water} and decided to soak a used sock in it before attempting to hide this heinous blunder with a big squeeze of random flavorings.

I wish I didn’t have to tell the expert artisanal sandwich craftsman how to make the sandwich step by step. “I’d like a number 5”

-What bread? “Whatever’s in the picture for number 5”

-Toasted? “Whatever’s in the picture for number 5”

-What meat? “Whatever’s in the picture for number 5”

-What veggies? “Whatever’s in the picture for number 5”

-What cheese? “Whatever’s in the picture for number 5”

-What sauce? “Whatever’s in the picture for number 5”

Why bother selling meals if each component requires a conversation. The fucking meal option should skip that bulshit unless initially ordered as such. ‘I’d like a number 5 with everything different than advertised’

That’s really good advice. Thank you!

That was my go-to long ago

Make America Hate Again - Thy Art is Murder

Deftones - White Pony

I’m heavy and my calves are like rocks from supporting all this mass. Those bastards are working their ass off when I’m walking they’re often dripping with sweat. If it’s over ~5c it will look like I slogged through a shallow stream - my pants will be visually wet within no time at all.

I was diagnosed with leukemia a couple years ago and a funny moment during treatment was my toes getting cold for the first time relative to my body temperature. I’d never experienced that before - it blew my mind and I became such a baby about it. It was totally intolerable. I finally understood what all the women in my life complain about regarding cold feet. … Who knew?

Rivers of Nihil

This has been my earworm for at least a week now: https://youtu.be/dzo-SQYRNio?si=rRQWR-RGbO_a91Ij

Thanks - missed the release!

Young Jesus fearing me hypothesized that the Garden of Eden was within the Bermuda triangle. It made sense to me… God kicked out the unworthy and disappearing planes and ships were God’s wrath for trespassing. .

But now you’re telling me the triangle isn’t really a thing… What else from my developing mind isn’t real… Lol

I don’t know how anyone affords home solar. We got 2 quotes last year to put solar on our 1000sqft roof from solar installers in our area. The first was just over $100k, the second $160k! The second quote was for more than we have remaining on our mortgage - how is anybody doing this?

I made the best pulled pork Sandwich last weekend using Chicken-of-the-woods mushroom in place of the pork.

I shredded the mushroom, dry sauteed until the tips began to brown. I added just a splash of oil, cumin, paprika, and oregano. Once the aromatics started smelling great I put in a light amount barbecue sauce for the last couple of moments. Then onto a toasted bun with some fried onions. Delicious!