bnm73

In your defense, who expects to be drugged when they take a shot of tequila? There are things you could have done differently (in hindsight), but it's not your fault someone else drugged you.

I don’t understand Christians. They say that gambling is wrong, then bet their entire life on heaven being real.
 
---ba-dum-dum---

Isn't that how they caught the "Golden State Killer?" The police asked for copies of the genetic tests one of those for-profit companies did and then compared those to DNA collected at crime scenes?

It should be said that the scientist who "discovered umami" was the person held the patent on and first mass-produced monosodium glutamate (MSG). And since glutamates are what make things taste "umami," there is reason to be a little curious (if not skeptical).
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate
 
" Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University isolated glutamic acid as a taste substance in 1908 from the seaweed Laminaria japonica (kombu) by aqueous extraction and crystallization, calling its taste umami. Ikeda noticed that dashi, the Japanese broth of katsuobushi and kombu, had a unique taste not yet scientifically described (not sweet, salty, sour, or bitter). To verify that ionized glutamate was responsible for umami, he studied the taste properties of glutamate salts: calcium, potassium, ammonium, and magnesium glutamate. All these salts elicited umami and a metallic taste due to the other minerals. Of them, sodium glutamate was the most soluble, most palatable, and easiest to crystallize. Ikeda called his product "monosodium glutamate", and submitted a patent to produce MSG..."
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikunae_Ikeda
 
"By 1909 he had developed a process for mass-producing MSG. He was able to extract MSG from wheat and defatted soybean, and patented the process for its manufacture. His Ajinomoto Co., Inc. currently employs over 32,000 people. With this method the global production of MSG increased rapidly."

Ummmm.....what are YOU comfortable with? That's just as important a question.

Trifle is my go-to "the cake didn't come out of the pan cleanly" dessert.
 
I threw a neighborhood "make your own pizza" party a couple of years ago and made a red-wine chocolate cake for dessert. Sadly, when I turned the pan over, only half of the cake came out.
 
I checked the fridge and had whipping cream. I knew I had homemade jam from the plum and apricot trees in my back yard. I whopped the cream and started making layers of cake, cream, and jam.
 
Some of my neighbors STILL talk about that dessert....which was fixing a mistake.

Trifle is my go-to "the cake didn't come out of the pan cleanly" dessert.
 
I threw a neighborhood "make your own pizza" party a couple of years ago and made a red-wine chocolate cake for dessert. Sadly, when I turned the pan over, only half of the cake came out.
 
I checked the fridge and had whipping cream. I knew I had homemade jam from the plum and apricot trees in my back yard. I whopped the cream and started making layers of cake, cream, and jam.
 
Some of my neighbors STILL talk about that dessert....which was fixing a mistake.

Trifle is my go-to "the cake didn't come out of the pan cleanly" dessert.
 
I threw a neighborhood "make your own pizza" party a couple of years ago and made a red-wine chocolate cake for dessert. Sadly, when I turned the pan over, only half of the cake came out.
 
I checked the fridge and had whipping cream. I knew I had homemade jam from the plum and apricot trees in my back yard. I whopped the cream and started making layers of cake, cream, and jam.
 
Some of my neighbors STILL talk about that dessert....which was fixing a mistake.

The question in the title about "admitting." It's about "denying." I think you might be reading into it more than there is/was, but I can understand where you're coming from.

I don’t understand Christians. They say that gambling is wrong, then bet their entire life on heaven being real.
 
---ba-dum-dum---

The question in the title about "admitting." It's about "denying." I think you might be reading into it more than there is/was, but I can understand where you're coming from.

An old man was on his deathbed, with his closest, dearest, oldest friend at his side.
 
"Jimmy," he croaked, "I am not long for this world. In the bottom drawer of my dresser is a bottle of whiskey. I've been saving it for 70 years. When I die, could you pour it on my grave?"
 
"Of course," said Jimmy, "but would you mind terribly much if it passed through my kidneys first?"

Duly edited.

Strangely, he doesn't look like the guy did when he was working, but he had been out of the porn industry for some time before we went to the club. The name was not from the "current" batch of porn stars. For those who have watched a lot of porn (or perhaps those who prefer older porn) the name would have been familiar.
 
Strangely, my friend is several years younger than he would have had to be were he working in porn during the era that his namesake was active...but, given his popularity that night, the name was familiar enough to still be recognizable.
 
Maybe the patrons had been drinking just enough to recognize the name but not think about whether this might be the same guy or not....but when they come up and said "aren't you so-and-so" and got an affirmative answer, maybe hopeful thinking took over.
 
I don't pretend to understand the why-fors and how-tos. On that night, in that club, under those circumstances, he could have made quite a bit of money if he had wanted to.

An old man was on his deathbed, with his closest, dearest, oldest friend at his side.
 
"Jimmy," he croaked, "I am not long for this world. In the bottom drawer of my dresser is a bottle of whiskey. I've been saving it for 70 years. When I die, could you pour it on my grave?"
 
"Of course," said Jimmy, "but would you mind terribly much if it passed through my kidneys first?"

It's the "savory," ""meaty," or "delicious" taste of glutamates (found in tomato, mushrooms, meats, seaweeds, etc.).
 
I'm not entirely sure if there has been research to confirm that there are taste bud receptors that fire when this is tasted (like sweet, salty, etc.). It could just be something the food industry came up with, or there might be actual science. I'm not sure.

An old man was on his deathbed, with his closest, dearest, oldest friend at his side.
 
"Jimmy," he croaked, "I am not long for this world. In the bottom drawer of my dresser is a bottle of whiskey. I've been saving it for 70 years. When I die, could you pour it on my grave?"
 
"Of course," said Jimmy, "but would you mind terribly much if it passed through my kidneys first?"

An old man was on his deathbed, with his closest, dearest, oldest friend at his side.
 
"Jimmy," he croaked, "I am not long for this world. In the bottom drawer of my dresser is a bottle of whiskey. I've been saving it for 70 years. When I die, could you pour it on my grave?"
 
"Of course," said Jimmy, "but would you mind terribly much if it passed through my kidneys first?"

If I can't try it on, I don't buy it.
 
Let's take shoes, for example. Depending on who makes the shoes, for example, I wear anything from a 10 1/2 to a 12 1/2 (US measurements). Who wants to get a pair of shoes that don't fit and have to go through the trouble of trying to return them and get the correct size?
 
The same rule would go with trousers....who wants to be strangled at the waist?

From the linked article:
 
"...the average price of a movie ticket has risen from $5.06 in 1999 to $8.97 in 2017, and the average cost of a liter of wine has risen from $5.09 to $12.38."
 
I've been all over the US, and I question where you're getting movie tickets for less than $9.
 
Also, where are you buying a liter of wine for less than $12.50? Wine bottles are 3/4 of a liter (750 mils). And if you think you're going to impress your date with the rase of a $12 bottle of wine for an entire liter.....well, you better hope they're a cheap date. (chuckle)
 
That said, there are a lot of things to do on an actual date that don't cost a lot of money. But some bread and cheese (or make something yourself) and a DECENT bottle of wine and have a picnic, for example.

Kind of makes me nostalgic for when men met their escorts in person first. No "you don't look like your pics" if the first time you see them is in person.

An old man was on his deathbed, with his closest, dearest, oldest friend at his side.
 
"Jimmy," he croaked, "I am not long for this world. In the bottom drawer of my dresser is a bottle of whiskey. I've been saving it for 70 years. When I die, could you pour it on my grave?"
 
"Of course," said Jimmy, "but would you mind terribly much if it passed through my kidneys first?"

I know it's straight but I thought it funny
 
* The Widow And The Expensive Funeral *
 
Joe passed away. His will provided $30,000 for an elaborate funeral.
 
As the last guests departed the affair, his wife, Helen, turned to her oldest friend.
 
“Well, I’m sure Joe would be pleased,” she said.
 
“I’m sure you’re right,” replied Jody, who lowered her voice and leaned in close.
 
“How much did this really cost?”
 
“All of it,” said Helen. “Thirty thousand.”
 
“No!” Jody exclaimed. “I mean, it was very nice, but $30,000?”
 
Helen answered. “The funeral was $6,500. I donated $500 to the church. The wake, food, and drinks were another $500. The rest went for the memorial stone.”
 
Jody computed quickly. “$22,500 for a memorial stone? My God, how big is it?!”
 
“Two and a half carats.".
 

Strangely, he doesn't look like the guy did when he was working, but he had been out of the porn industry for some time before we went to the club. The name was not from the "current" batch of porn stars. For those who have watched a lot of porn (or perhaps those who prefer older porn) the name would have been familiar.
 
Strangely, my friend is several years younger than he would have had to be were he working in porn during the era that his namesake was active...but, given his popularity that night, the name was familiar enough to still be recognizable.
 
Maybe the patrons had been drinking just enough to recognize the name but not think about whether this might be the same guy or not....but when they come up and said "aren't you so-and-so" and got an affirmative answer, maybe hopeful thinking took over.
 
I don't pretend to understand the why-fors and how-tos. On that night, in that club, under those circumstances, he could have made quite a bit of money if he had wanted to.

I've been encouraged via PM to share this story as an example of how you don't need the internet to make contacts and get clients. All it takes is a little savvy -- and in this case, a bit of a sense of humor since it was a bit of a trick I played on a friend.
 
A few years ago (within 5 years), I was visiting an old college friend in Las Vegas. For one reason or another, I extended my trip by a day because we were having so much (platonic) fun together. He was pretty obviously gay when we were in school together. I was out but he wasn't, so I didn't press or make a big deal out of it.
 
Of particular note: my friend's legal birth name is the same as a moderately well-known porn star of several years ago. My friend, though, has never been in porn and has never been an escort.
 
Anyway, we went to one of the "gay guys pool parties" at one of the casinos on my "extra" day in LV. We met a couple who were friendly (platonically, again) and we had dinner together. Then, we went to one of the clubs.
 
While people were changing shirts, etc., I made my way to the doorman/bouncer. I asked if he was familiar with porn star "xxxx." The doorman/bouncer acknowledged knowing the name, but not much else. "Well, he's in the car with a couple of other guys and will be coming in here...he doesn't mind being recognized, but he doesn't want a big deal made about it. But he might be available for a private hire." The doorman/bouncer was -- of course -- skeptical, but when he checked IDs of everyone and saw that his name was actually "xxxx," I saw his eyes get a little wider and a bit of a grin come on his face.
 
I bought our first round of drinks and had a similar conversation with the bartender. Within about 5 minutes, my friend started having men come up and introduce themselves to him and buy him drinks.
 
He was just innocent enough to not pick up on the fact that they were interested in hiring him as an escort. He thought they were trying to pick him up, of course, but he never made the connection when guys asked him "what would it take for you to come home with me for an hour or two." Nevertheless, when he took me to the airport the next day for my flight home, he talked about how popular he was the night before and how the Las Vegas guys must have been desperate to see a new face.
 
The moral of this story is that the "old ways" of finding clients still works. A few well-chosen words to a few well-chosen people, and the fact that you're an escort for hire will circulate pretty quickly.