mike carey

OMG!! So, sneakers are straight-people shoes??

Well, that's something I would never have expected to read, @Simon Suraci!

Thanks to everyone for a great weekend, the usual suspects who did the heavy lifting, @Oliver and Phil, @David-SF, @sam.fitzpatrick, @azdr0710 for his tireless taxi service (and bit of In N Out). Thanks @Simon Suraci for your invaluable advice on things to do in San Diego, if only I'd had time to more of them. The zoo is worth it in itself. I know there are things and people I've missed and for that i apologise. À l'année prochaine!

The thing with a lot of those folk recipes is that if you don't know what it 'should' be like and try to make it from a recipe or a video, what your first attempt tastes like will be your 'standard' (or convince you it was a bad idea to even try). If you persevere, you may vary it either by chance or to incorporate suggestions from whatever source, and your 'standard' may shift. If you then try an 'authentic' version, your opinion of it is coloured by your version, for better or worse. And of course every cook from the particular culture has their own version that is 'better than all the others'. And so many 'native speakers' of the dish have similarly vague versions of the recipe as your friend.

Yes, but would it be the truth or a fairy tale?

It's nice to have a lifestyle that is absolutely fabulous.

Exactly what I had thought!

Great to have met you, @BodeBrentwood, I'm so glad you enjoyed the weekend.

Spooky!

You could say that, I couldn't possibly comment!

Yep, there's a group playing cards plus a few others. Love to see you here!

Oh, yes there are, and for me it was only time, not anything that really affected me in the grand scheme of things. I can live with that!! And thank you!

In LA, have car, see you all tomorrow! PS. I hate the LAX immigration queue. Over 90 minutes tonight. OK, I'm over it now!!

Hey, a guy's gotta milk this gig for all it's worth!

Eid Mubarak! And a glorious autumn day it is in Canberra. A far nicer day to walk to the bus stop than it was yesterday, 9 degrees at midday and cold rain. And I am about to do just that now, to go to the airport for my flights to Melbourne then on to Los Angeles. I can't wait to get to Palm Springs tomorrow. Well Thursday, and it is already Wednesday here, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Small earthquake in far away country ... nothing to see ... Seriously, I had heard something about that, but I'm never sure about which small island a place is on ... To quote another poster, 'grin' ...

So is Upper Manhattan in Queens now ... ? I remember using such a parking meter in Rotorua (on the North Island of Aotearoa) when I was there with two other forum members a few years ago.

And Sydney is in the band of totality but near its southern edge, a bit further north at say Newcastle would be closer its centre. The path of the eclipse will be from the NW, moving to the south-east of the country. I've seen (well experienced) one, 200km south of Canberra, in the mid-seventies. It was overcast, but you certainly knew it was happening, and the 'shadow' of totality was still obvious.

Sounds a bit fishy!

A wild-arse guess, but I suspect he is sure.

Moderators Note Gentlemen, we've all had our say about each other's opinions and motives for posting here. It's time to return to discussions of Mark himself.

Engaging and cheeky entry into the forum, and welcome aboard Travis. The forum can be engaging but at times annoying (well, 'some posters' rather than 'the forum'), and you can get as much from it as you're prepared to contribute. But I think you have already assessed the lie of the land here. I hope you get someone to take you up on your offer, alas I'll be unable to be one of them!

Please don't be shocked that someone is posting here on an actual Friday. Despite their use going back a long time (think FDR, JFK and LBJ), the Economist has published a light hearted lament at the increasing use of TLAs (and other sometimes indecipherable abbreviations and acronyms), from RGB, MBS and MTG to the endless list employed and understood (or not) in social media. For those who have access to the site, it's here. The author notes wryly (and I suspect falsely) TBH IDK WTF a PSA is.

And in 3... 2... 1... 'But it's still Queens'. Or as it should now be called, 'Kings'. I'll show myself out ...

Maybe they think a tongue indicates they'll use it?