mike carey

Part of the 'why' would be why go around the world. One reason is that sometimes RTW tickets are cheaper than a return ticket, it then becomes a question of 'given I'm going RTW where to stop?' as sometimes those tickets mandate a certain number of stops. Regardless of that if you're doing the trip and have the time to spare, why not stop at some random places.

No difference for me. What matters is how comfortable I was on the flight and how well, or whether, I slept. Getting off a 12 hour flight*, east or west bound makes no difference, it's adjusting to the time-zone difference after arrival that is the kicker. I find arriving in the morning then forcing myself to stay awake until the normal clock time (not body clock) for going to bed is the best approach. Incidentally, I found that it worked on my SYD-LAX-JFK flight which arrived in the late afternoon. It arrived in LA early morning so I treated the transcontinental flight as part of the 'staying awake all day' regimen. One thing that Qantas is experimenting with on their long-haul research flights is how they manage time changes on flights. Rather than serve a meal then turn the lights off at the start of the flight, then turn them again shortly before arrival for another meal, they are telling people to change their clocks as they board, then run cabin activities to match time of day at the destination. They've flown JFK-SYD and LHR-SYD so they're covering both directions. * I find that if you can deal with 12 hours, extending it to 14 or 16 hours makes only a marginal difference.

Yes, and why gentlemen like Peter do prosper. From drinks and chatting beforehand to the bedroom he is such a lovely man.

'Long flights' is in the eye of the beholder, but 'one of the above' should suffice. I'd go with the alcohol. On my last Y long haul flight, the steward was very good at bringing another little bottle of wine.

Rent.Men does allow narrative reviews, they are just not visible in the US after SESTA/FOSTA or whatever those laws are. In the US you can view them by using a proxy server or VPN. I agree that reviews without any narrative text are not much value.

Hi @Bentley_xxl welcome to the forum. I would echo @azdr0710's comments. Openness here is a good way to broaden your appeal, although this is only a small proportion of the market. I don't know that seeking clients in public is the answer, in those settings you have no idea if people are even open to a meeting (but it's worth trying). There is always a market for built guys (swoon), but if you limit how far you will go, you need to be clear about that (as you are in your RM ad).

Qantas has opened a new first class lounge in Singapore now that they have reinstated A380 flights through the city (their London flights formerly went via Dubai). The number of first class seats on those flights is vanishingly small so the main customer base for the lounge is platinum (and One World Emerald) frequent flyers. I've only used their First lounge at LAX and was impressed (Mr Nicholas may have been less so). https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-opens-doors-to-brand-new-luxury-first-lounge-in-singapore/ United Premier doesn't get you through the door but I expect you'd have access to a similar level of Singapore Airlines lounge.

Not an exact analogue to your experience @tassojunior (and I wouldn't bother with the rigmarole you went through) but I just had a sort of good experience. Some months ago my mobile phone company notified me that my prepaid plan would be retired on 5 Nov, and that I would have to recharge with a different plan after that date and would lose all my accumulated credits that normally roll over with each recharge. (Don't judge me, it cost $20 per 60 days and I had quite a build up of credit minutes dollars and texts, but losing them hadn't been an issue of outrage because $10 per month.) On 4 Nov I recharged it for a final 60 days, planning to work out what to do when that time ran out. Couple of days ago I tried to buy a data add-on (my plan only covered talk and text) but couldn't do so on-line so I called them. Cue the usual 'your call is important and all our agents are taking other calls' delay. Spoke to the dude and explained what I wanted to do and that their system wouldn't let me, he goes, let me look at your account. Long and short of it, he says he can move me to a different plan (the one I thought I would go to) and all my credits would carry over. OK, $500 became $110 but that amount buys the same number of minutes in the new plan as the higher amount did under the old plan so nothing lost. So I'm happy I had a minor win but sort of annoyed that there was no hint that this was possible in their initial correspondence or the web pages I looked at trying to work out what to do. So, sometimes talking to a service provider gets you a better deal that you wouldn't have got without asking even though you may not get the 'sign-up' benefits.

In one of his posts above (quoted below) he refers people to his web site, which is https://www.romancharter.com/. He has that posted in his forum profile although not in his signature here. Posts with his rent.men advert are almost two years old, entirely likely that he has moved on from that site.

@oldNbusted I don't disagree, and that may well be why fewer escorts than clients answered the question. I agree it's a false dilemma but not one of which an escort should be afraid. If I knew an escort preferred regulars, if I were interested, I would see that as a challenge to become one rather than a disincentive, as a new client, to ask. I have successfully negotiated the 'will schedule more readily with prior clients' hoops on at least one occasion.

Noting the forum this is in, interesting that most of the responses (stand fast @hypothetically and [uSER=12155]@Dominiking[/uSER]) have been from clients rather than escorts.

That's appalling and surprising, and in a perverse sort of way not surprising. There seems to be a fair proportion of the hiring population that is aware of who is in the market, what they are like, and treats them professionally, but also a proportion that has no idea and cares even less. The challenge for a provider is determining into which group a potential client falls. If people in this forum behave like the second group they deserve to be called out. Civility is often missing.

Lol, that's a universal tradition (well, at least widespread)! And yes, all those things, but while we do that, surrender your wifi (invented in Australia).

Didn't do any of it. Some retailers (on-line more than bricks and mortar) have started to use Black Friday tag lines but to general disinterest and occasional scorn (a/ Why is the day after a holiday we don't have in any way significant, b/ We don't need more American 'traditions' and c/ Black Friday is Friday the 13th [or Black Anyday is a way of memorialising bushfire disasters]). Generally it's not a thing here. Our sales stampede day (as depicted in @FrankR's photo) is Boxing Day.

I may have mentioned it before: Dull, in Scotland is partnered with the town of Boring in Oregon and the Bland Shire in SW NSW. I would note the unfortunate omission of any of the villages in the Piddle Valley in Dorset that have the word piddle in their names.

Large splash of course is a technical culinary term.

Others have mentioned rhubarb and strawberries as a filling. I found a recipe for a rhubarb and strawberry crumble a few years ago which I made to considerable acclaim. My sister-in-law mentioned it years later. A mistake I made was cooking the strawberries before making it. The rhubarb needs to be stewed but the strawberries should be added uncooked, the time in the oven was enough. The only other ingredient that I can remember, and I suspect it was critical, was a large splash of cointreau in the fruit.

A pie that's tart. Well done, you!

I'll have just arrived home from a trip to Aotearoa, so I'm afraid I must send my regrets. Have a great get-together.

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Expatriate Australian writer, poet and broadcaster Clive James has died in England at 80. He was diagnosed with leukaemia about 10 years ago. He has spent the years since then reflecting on his life and death. His 2014 poem is one poignant meditation on his impending death. 'Japanese Maple’ Your death, near now, is of an easy sort. So slow a fading out brings no real pain. Breath growing short Is just uncomfortable. You feel the drain Of energy, but thought and sight remain: Enhanced, in fact. When did you ever see So much sweet beauty as when fine rain falls On that small tree And saturates your brick back garden walls, So many Amber Rooms and mirror halls? Ever more lavish as the dusk descends This glistening illuminates the air. It never ends. Whenever the rain comes it will be there, Beyond my time, but now I take my share. My daughter’s choice, the maple tree is new. Come autumn and its leaves will turn to flame. What I must do Is live to see that. That will end the game For me, though life continues all the same: Filling the double doors to bathe my eyes, A final flood of colours will live on As my mind dies, Burned by my vision of a world that shone So brightly at the last, and then was gone. He had been a literary critic at The Observer and in that capacity he wrote of a biography of Brezhnev: On Brezhnev - A Short Biography: "Here is a book so dull that a whirling dervish could read himself to sleep with it. If you were to recite even a single page in the open air, birds would fall out of the sky and dogs drop dead."

Yes, have a great Thanksgiving (whatever that is*) to all of you below the 49th*. I read today that the authoritative correct time to have the Thanksgiving meal is at 2pm. My considered opinion on that, based on Christmases past, is that the correct time is when the turkey is cooked and not a moment earlier. Any delays are easily ameliorated by copious amounts of champagne*. (* That was a joke, don't @ me, or send me wiki links explaining the holiday. * And above the Rio Bravo del Norte * Or other sparkling wine. An Australian sparkling shiraz would be delightful)

I've met Russ, and this is not an image of him that rings true. I have no idea if he's used steroids, but he isn't a 'roid rage' guy. He couldn't have been more obliging and engaging, but he is a bit reserved. Any issues I had were of my own making not his. As with any companion, you need to say what you want, some will push the envelope, others will wait for your lead. Russ has a great body and I loved being enveloped by it.

I couldn't possibly comment on which was the 'correct date'. My original comment was an oblique way of saying we don't do Thanksgiving, not a challenge to those who do.