mike carey

I had been under the impression that the fair was more of an occasion where all holes were bared, and much more. And that holds were permitted over pretty much anything.

Gentlemen, please bear with us, we're reviewing some recent posts to determine their appropriateness. In the mean time remember that discussion of people's health status is not permitted. We've permanently removed some comments that we have determined breached our community guidelines about trolling and personal attacks, along with some that discussed them further. A reminder not to respond to trolling comments but report them to the moderators. 'Feeding the troll' only amplifies their comments, so our guidelines dictate not doing so. This edit, 27 Feb 26 at 0800 UTC/0300 EST/0001 PST, formalises this comment as a moderator's warning not to troll or respond to such comments, rather than informal information, so ignoring it may be treated as a violation of our guidelines.

Not everyone has the luxury of two metres of snow in the afternoon, some just miss out.

Thanks for that affirmation. He's been on my list for a while.

I can relate to that. Where I usually stay in Sydney, there's a grocery chain shop across the street, and they do quite serviceable espresso coffee, beats the instant the hotel usually offers in their in-room excuse for tea and coffee making facilities. On the too-few occasions I've had an upgrade (hotel status? what?), those rooms had a Nespresso machine, with two pods (!) so I travel with more of them that I buy. Other hotels have the same machines, or others that use another proprietary pod system, so I travel with supplies of those too. At least they always have china cups or mugs for the coffee rather than some plastic-wrapped paper thing. In the US, the default I've seen, where there's been anything at all, is Keurig, so I buy extras of those and usually end up dumping them or leaving them in my room before I fly home (I've never seen Keurig machines here, and in any case I don't want the drama of having any plant products to declare on arrival). I agree that the pods are environmentally questionable, but morning coffee wins the day.

A bon mot from a mindless youtube video I was watching, 'You know the best part about getting old? You stop auditioning.' I'm sure I'll be able to confirm it some day.

Gentlemen, let's table the discussion about how the cartels came to have such sway over events in Mexico, particularly any political discussion about influences from north of the Rio Bravo del Norte. The situation is sad, and the implications for the tourist industry potentially profound, there is ample scope for discussion of that.

The new Minister-president van Nederland (prime minister), Rob Jetten (Rob Arnoldus Adrianus Jetten) born 25 March 1987. [I've removed a link that is no longer valid] He announced his engagement to Argentine hockey player Nicolás Keenan in November 2024, after they had been together since 2022. There is an unusual symmetry that the Queen Consort of the Netherlands is also an Argentine.

His name in 15th-century Genoese was Cristoffa Corombo; in Italian, Cristoforo Colombo; and in Spanish, Cristóbal Colón.

Fake news! He is not six years old, and about to turn seven. He is about to have his seventh birthday. Seventh birthday and seven years old are not the same thing. At least in cases like his. 😀

Oh, you! 😀

In RM I pasted his name after the rent.men/ in the URL bar and came up with this: https://rent.men/JaydenRay

Gentlemen, a reminder not to post links, or the handles people use for their social media profiles, if they have not published them in any of their public-facing professional documentation or advertising.

Yes, it's fine. If you wish, you can include it as your signature, which will appear on all your posts here. To do that, open your profile then select signature from the Settings menu. It will then activate when it's been approved by the moderators. We restrict the length of signature blocks and ask that ads be posted there as links not in an auto-generated display version.

@StarQualityLuke, I think his behaviour is inexcusable. Client or provider, cancelling if you're ill and potentially contagious is the only sensible and professional thing to do. There are always people who will be determined to misunderstand you, but this case goes further than I could imagine possible. I can't fathom someone being so insecure that they project their own self-perception of inadequacy as your reason for cancelling rather than accept what you stated. I think you dodged the proverbial bullet. I can imagine them complaining that every aspect of a meeting that they found any minor fault with as being a deliberate slight against them. That sounds exhausting. As an aside, I think the calm and measured way you described the situation and responded to members' comments and questions will do much to burnish opinions of you in this forum. How you dealt with, and ultimately disengage from, one spiteful and irrational client says volumes about your professional care and responsibility.

I really couldn't resist this. The comments posted in the article are solid gold. https://www.thepoke.com/2026/02/19/this-hilariously-sarcastic-and-well-informed-bedford-council-comeback-is-a-masterclass-in-handling-bigots/?utm_medium pic

More than one level of meaning there!

If he wasn't there, it can't be Budapest then.

Gasp!

Budapest?

Eid Mubarak. By possible cosmic, but more likely lunar coincidence, it's also Ash Wednesday.

Requiescat in pace. Semper fi.