escortrod

Burgers, fried chicken, hot dogs, BBQ ribs... There are plenty of dishes that are widely recognised as 'American', even if they originated elsewhere.

I’m very happy with ‘queer’, though don’t bridle at ‘gay’ or ‘bi’. The acronym has certainly become unwieldy of late, so the reclaiming of queer, and it’s use to refer to the entire community seems very positive to me.

I wouldn't keep a traditional mattress for longer than 10 years, but I suspect my memory foam mattress may last longer than that. Well used sofas, couches and chairs do tend to wear out within a decade, but if they're well made it should always be possible to replace worn out components rather than junking the whole thing. Good carpets should last longer than a decade, but that really depends on traffic.

This is pretty common if you leave your phone in the sun. It has happened to me several times.

While there, I saw two cyclists collide. An ambulance came so at least one required medical attention (I did not stay around).

Sure, accidents happen, but helmets are most necessary where there’s a lot of energy involved, i.e. when cycling fast, or when interaction between cyclists and two ton steel boxes is likely. I can’t really be bothered to dig up mortality rates per KM for Amsterdam cyclists, but I’d be willing to bet quite a lot that it’s a hell of a lot lower than London, or any large American city.

I was in Amsterdam for a few days last month. I was told there are more bikes than people in the city and that next to the train station they were building a garage just to hold bikes and the capacity would be to hold 40,000 bikes.

 

One thing that really stood out was that I did not see one bike rider wearing a helmet. The nanny state had not yet declared helmet wearing a requirement.

Helmets aren’t particularly beneficial in cities where cycling is a norm, the infrastructure takes cyclists into account and drivers interact with them appropriately. Sadly Amsterdam is unusual in all of that, so there are strong arguments in favour of requiring helmets elsewhere.

People who commit suicide are the most selfish people on the planet == I lost a dear wonderful intelligent funny sexy productive creative amazing FWB++ this year --- He ripped the hearts out of family and friends and tore my heart to shreds -- Why? So many people loved him . . .

I don’t get this logic at all. “My friend was in such great pain that he decided to take his own life, so he must be selfish.” Try some empathy.

Please don't put words in my mouth; didn't mention driving as that wasn't what he asked.

“San Francisco to Los Angeles to San Diego on old Highway 1 has some of the best scenery in the nation.”

Surely that at least strongly implies driving.

I have taken advantage of the British ‘cycle to work’ scheme a couple of times. It allows your employer to purchase a bike for you and take reimbursement from your salary, pre-tax. It saved me ~35% on the purchase price, so it’s a very worthwhile scheme.

At the moment I work about 10.5 miles from my home, so I cycle in 4x per week. It’s a great way to build exercise into my routine and very preferable to sitting on a packed, delayed train, as I am right now.

I've never looked at it in order to 'look for my next score'. If nothing else it's not connected to my second phone.

That's what I look for in my sex partners. Men who can multitask rather than being able to fully engage themselves in a single activity.

I wasn’t being totally serious. I have glanced at the watch during sex before though. That took about 3 seconds out of a three hour session. Hardly multi-tasking.

This is why I like my Apple Watch. I can check it very discreetly during sex.

LOL whoever thought anyone would be annoyed by NOT getting targeted ads popping up........

I was typing too quickly on my iPhone. Not = now.

Annoyingly I’m not having shapewear ads targeting me. I can’t wait for Apple’s new privacy controls.

If you can find any Equmen stuff online I’d highly recommend it. The company went out of business a few years ago but I’ve seen their products floating around anyway. I wear their underwear for sports, and occasionally I wear their t-shirts to help correct my posture. The t shirts work as shape wear though.

So this has created a mucus membrane? Would be interesting to know if it has any application to MTF bottom surgery.

The quality of their furniture is highly variable. A friend bought all of her furniture from IKEA when she bought a house. The veneer on all of the tables started peeling away after about 18 months. The one table she bought at Target is still holding strong almost 20 years later. On the other hand, I've used their desktops and adjustable legs for years and they have held up well. My only complaint is the newer components are not quite as sturdy as the older components. However, the difference is negligible.

Maybe they're manufacturing different items for the US. I've bought at least a couple of dozen Ikea flat-pack items over the years, all of which have been fine, and I've helped friends build plenty more, all of which has also been fine.

I have always found the quality of all but the very cheapest Ikea furniture to be excellent. Their staple ranges (Malm, 365, etc) seem to offer particularly good value. I’m surprised by so many people claiming Ikea’s quality is terrible.

I also love the efficiency of their furniture. Cardboard used in non-structural elements and whatnot.

My new car has an 11.3:1 compression ratio. It's similar to newer smaller engines that use higher compression ratios to produce good fuel economy. The owners manual recommends "minimum" 87 octane. I'm experimenting what different octanes do for performance and fuel economy.

 

In the old days, before cars had computer diagnostics that could retard knocking, higher grades (octane) of gas were required with a higher compression ratio. As you say, some engines are more efficient, and actually get better mileage, with higher grades of gas.

Yes, the requirement for knocking sensors on new petrol cars has definitely contributed to better fuel economy and power on higher grades of petrol. It was particularly noticeable on my last BMW if I switched between regular (95 RON) and premium (99 RON).

I currently pay the equivalent of $6.15 per US gallon for our standard 95 RON petrol. Of course we can run more efficient engines on higher grades of petrol, so the price per mile of running a car remains fairly reasonable.

You might even consider a day or two in Paris--it's an easy excursion on the Eurostar from St. Pancras to Gare du Nord. The travel time is a smooth 2 and 1/2 hours--in a two-day stay you could easily do the Louvre, the D'Orsay, Notre Dame and Eiffel Tower. If you book in advance, the R/T is about $140 USD on the Eurostar (much cheaper than flying).

Great idea, though if you're considering taking the Eurostar and fancy seeing something dramatically different to London, you may want to visit Bruges. You can get the Eurostar direct to Brussels and take another train from the same station to Bruges. It's the prettiest, most interesting city I have visited in Europe, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Chip and signature definitely still works in the UK. Was just there last week and they get enough Americans that they don’t blink and eye when they have to reach for a pen.

 

I saw some people using their phones to pay for the tube as well but not sure if that’s Applepay/Androidpay or something else.

 

Interesting that chip and signature is not allowed down under!

Chip and signature still works in the UK, but most merchant services providers apply different rules in relation to fraud (they don't indemnify the vendor against fraudulent transactions using a signature as verification). The upshot is that any business that regularly serves American tourists will happily accept a signature, but I have had my Chase card refused in a couple of rural locations.

This is my favourite hotel at present: https://www.ihg.com/hotelindigo/hotels/gb/en/london/lonlt/hoteldetail

I would recommend using contactless payment for public transport, if you have that available. This includes Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Android Pay (or whatever it's called these days). It works out cheaper than a travel card, though only slightly so, and it means you don't have to go to the trouble of buying an Oyster card. Also the fare is automatically capped depending on which zones you go to, so you don't have to guess in advance how far out of central London you may venture. Just be sure to use the same 'card' to touch in and out every single time.

Must do restaurants:

- Il Bordello (http://ilbordello.com): The best Italian I've been to in London, with American-sized portions of unbelievable food. Expect to request a doggie bag.

- Zeret Kitchen (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d1748899-Reviews-Zeret_Kitchen-London_England.html): This is quite out of the way, and not in the best neighbourhood. Should cost about £10 to get an Uber there, so it's not too painful. It's unbelievably cheap, and the food is the best I've had in London, bar none. Everything is at least slightly spicy. Be sure to try the Special Kifto.

- Buenos Aires Cafe: (http://buenosairescafe.co.uk): My husband and I had dinner here last night. Be sure to order their made-in-house chorizo to start. All of the mains are excellent, but the steaks are particularly good, as you might expect of an Argentinian restaurant. Wines are superb too.

- Sushi Samba (https://sushisamba.com/london/): The food here is not quite as good as in their NY location, but the 37th floor outdoor bar and spectacular views more than make up for that. And the food is nonetheless excellent.

- Tozi (http://www.tozirestaurant.co.uk): excellent Italian food, brilliant atmosphere, and near my office, so I spend far too much time and money here. It's an easy walk from the Tate Gallery too. A nice outing could be to take a riverboat to the Tate, then walk to this restaurant, then walk the 10 minutes from there to Buckingham Palace.

- Carmen (http://www.carmenbardetapas.com): some of the best tapas I've had in London. Be sure to have the pork cheek.

- Sagardi (http://www.sagardi.co.uk): Basque tapas in Shoreditch. This is our favourite Tapas bar in Barcelona, and they have opened a location in London. Manned by staff selected from their Spanish restaurants, the food is amazing. They have an on-site butchery (visible to the customers), and a massive selection of gin.

Must do escorts: me.

Hope you have a great trip!

For car journeys I use a large duffel, since it keeps my packing to the bare minimum and looks good. If I'm flying I use a four wheel spinner carry-on. I don't like the two-wheeled cases that cabin crew often drag behind them, but I find the spinner much easier to handle when I'm striding through an airport.