Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

I bet that was tasty, assuming the fish was salted a bit.

(Please forgive the late reply. It's been a long day, plus I'm up to my eyeballs in paperwork and legalese for my new job)

@NEStalgia Where you're at definitely sounds more populated than where I am. The closest city that most people could point out on a map is about two hours away. XD

There are other grocery stores, but I stick with the Aldi store. I like doing most of my shopping in one place. If I need some weird
ingredient that they don't have (which is rare), I'll likely get it at the local Walmart. The other grocery stores are either meh quality or else are too expensive for my comfort.

I'll take your word for it on the Pizza Hut commentary. It does sound like the ones near you function as take out places more than anything though.

@ThanosReXXX Taxes do tend to vary widely here depending on the state, town, county, etc., as does cost of living. My current bi-monthly paycheck would make people cry in some places, but I can usually get by with a little extra every month once all the bills and essentials are taken out. It helps that I don't currently have a car payment. Plus, I'm a saver and don't take out loans often; the only thing that I'm currently paying off is my house. I also do without some stuff, like TV service. I just don't need it.

There's also the fact that some people feel like they need every new thing or need to upgrade something more often than it needs to be. For example, I had my previous smart phone for over four years before finally switching. Nothing was wrong with it, but it was a Windows Phone. Microsoft had started cutting off support.

@HobbitGamer it was honestly better for the eyes. The fish itself had a dense brownie like consistency, and the ice cream was kinda runny.

I’m flying out of town late morning. I just concluded five days of solo dad duties with two young kids while my wife is in Denver for a conference. The kids are now with their grandparents, and the conference is over; so it’s time to meet up for some fun. I’m probably going to pour an adult beverage on my face after I post this. Have a great week and weekend everyone.

@Morpheel - Wow, that’s adventurous, for me at least. The kind of thing I would really hope someone else would order, and then let me try a bite.

I was thinking more along the lines of seeing a building being destructed minimizing the effect of any pain you might suffer during some procedure on your teeth. It could work as a placebo effect.

Yeah, I know: my mind works in mysterious ways. I almost never go for the obvious. Also because that's usually the most boring option, and if there's anything I can't particularly stand, then it would be boring stuff.

@Tyranexx From what you told @NEStalgia, it does sound like you're REALLY living in the middle of nowhere. Illinois, if I remember correctly?

I could probably never get used to that. In California, I already lived in a small city/town, and now that I'm living over here, I'm completely adjusted to city life, and having everything I need or want within an hour's travel from anywhere. And that hour is only for the outermost regions of the city.

I do always like to visit the country side, though. For a holiday, or a long weekend, just to relax a bit and so on, but I doubt I could ever settle down there. I need all my hustle and bustle, things to do, and places to go to be relatively nearby. In the city, I mostly use public transport, or I just hop on a bike, if the weather allows it, such as around this time of year, and of course in the summer.

And yeah, the whole annual new smart phone thing also still amazes me. I do however switch phones every other year, not because I really need to, but simply because it's a part of my provider's subscription service, and then the previous model goes to my dad, so he gets a relatively new phone for free.

And I always take good care of all my stuff, so he's probably better off than buying a second-hand one from a stranger or in a store...
(edit: not that he ever would, mind you)

@bimmy-lee Well, I hope you have a nice time over there. I'm pretty sure we'll hear all about it, if something interesting and/or funny happens.

@ThanosReXXX - Thanks! It’s a pretty short visit (for me), but we’re going to make the most of it. I think a fair amount of funny, interesting things are going to occur. If any of them are within the community rules, I’ll share the story!

Edit - Oh, quick quip. I bought an outlet timer to run my led grow lights for my succulents and inside trees, and I’m paying my brother in beer to stop by and water them on Friday. I’m officially weird, old plant guy now.

Well that's not so bad. I'm officially old wierd grass guy. Had a patch In my backyard that never grew grass. Tried for years to grow it and it never would. Month or so ago I went to Menards and really splurged on the good stuff and all sorts of bells and whistles. For like 2 weeks it wasn't growing and I started getting pretty ticked. One day I got home from work and voila, started sprouting! I'm out there every day watering and when I'm not, I'm just smiling and staring at it. Makes me wonder what the neighbors think of me

@bimmy-lee Inside trees? As in indoor palm trees, or just large, jungle type plants?
And hey, succulents are nothing to scoff at, nor is having them. Got a couple of them as well, sitting in my window sill. I used to have other plants as well, but I tended to forget to water them frequently, and seeing as I'm the only one living here, no one is reminding me to take better care of them.

The succulents are a bit more resilient and easier to take care of, at least.

Oh, and if any of the stories that you come back with aren't allowed under community rules, we can always use our personal contact details to exchange them.

@NintendoByNature That sounds close to my life. Same struggles with some grass and staring. It was a great day when my neighbor applied Pennington seed across the street on a very windy day 😂

Truck finally ran great this morning. Now I can play games again. Did that Mother 3 come out for Switch yet?

uhh...

@HobbitGamer haha, what's even better is when the neighbors dandelions spread over to your grass 😣. Nice on the truck. Love when things finally pan out and you can get back to your everyday life stuff. As for me my next project is ripping out the deck and making a patio. I personally have zero clue wth I'm doing but thankfully my dad is a handy man and can do this stuff in his sleep. So all I need to do is front the money (which will still be quite a bit) and do all the grunt work while he barks orders. It's good to be 31 and still feel like a kid taking orders from your dad every now and again 😂

@NEStalgia
Oh, wait.
Was that about Dr.Pornsack ? 🤣🤣🤣

@Tyranexx Funny thing is I always thought this was "suburbia" until recently I realized it actually used to be actually rural. Now it's like the worst of "suburbia" that I always considered the city. Actually the big city is nicer than most of "urban suburbia" in a lot of ways...it feels roomer. Of course you need to be really rich to live there. The amount of urbanization here in the last 20 years is surreal. Where it was empty forest, farms, orchards, or tiny houses on big forested lots with lots of land forever, now it's just solid-gridded, traffic lights every block with backed up turn lanes, continuous horns, and strip centers, apartment complexes, and corporate parks piled on top of each other. Now they're building up. Homes get torn down and 3 story ones repalce them. 5+ story 55+ "communities" etc. In just 20 years I feel like a foreigner. I don't understand the culture I'm in even slightly with entirely different customs and ways, attitudes and ethics...I'm certainly not a participant in the world around me, just an observer. But that isn't visually or audibly recognized so I have to nod and play along even though I understand nothing about this culture.

If I'm going to feel like a foreigner anywhere, I'd rather it be Tokyo.

@NintendoByNature Oi, don’t even start about dandelions. I’ve just got a small 6’x6’ slab patio, but one day I want to grade and extend it. My next outdoor project will be putting 4x4 posts down for my muscadine grapes, though. They’ve matured to a weight and strength that’s bending the rebar spikes now

@Anti-Matter I'm sure he's the top doctor in the nation (as voted on in the top women's magazine.)

@HobbitGamer I still need to make a garden too. Not sure where to put it though. I have a small backyard and it's oddly shaped. I suppose I can get rid of the little mulch area i made a few years back when i rip the deck out and put a garden there, but I can barely grow grass. How embarrassing would it be planting all these veggies and fruits and waiting for nothing like i typically do hahaah

@NEStalgia I know who he is: Full House was also aired over here, as well as all the AFHV shows that he presented. Except his name isn't Bob Sagat, it's Bob Saget, so you misspelled it. Hence my joke about the Street Fighter character...

Oh, and I wouldn't mind owning a DeLorean. I already loved that car long before it ever became famous thanks to Back to the Future...

And I am REALLY starting to wonder what you're doing to your food, because I can honestly say that none of my food ever smokes, unless I burn it. Which I don't, of course. I get steam, and every now and then some billowing fat clouds, if I add a splash of water to the butter/oil I baked my meat in, to make a gravy out of it, but other than that, no smoke, ever. It seriously makes me doubt your gourmet skills...

Or maybe, there's some additives in American meat, that makes it smoke by default.

As for the greasy food thing: oil/olive oil in food may be an Italian thing, but butter-soaked pizzas and/or bread, like was described by one of you, mentioning it being soaked before AND after baking, very much IS an American thing. And as we know from modern day infotainment, America is still the land of giant-sized portions. Even burgers at McDonald's are bigger in the States than in Europe. What's sold over here as a quarter pounder, is a normal burger in your neck of the woods. And in restaurants, you still see enormous slabs of meat being served, entire bowls of whatever as a side dish, liters of soda, and so on, and so on.

All of that makes what most European restaurants are serving, look like children's (or dwarf-sized) menus...

But I would agree that at the very least, pharmaceuticals will also have something to do with it. But food still is a major factor. A couple of pages ago, I believe it was @Tyranexx that also mentioned that apparently, a lot of American-made products (as in: processed foods) also taste sweeter than what most people outside of the States would be used to, so still having fluoridated water might not even be such a bad idea. Not that it helps against obesity, but still...

@NintendoByNature - Well done. Getting grass to grow in that ooooone bate patch is always difficult. Glad you were able to do it with seed instead of sod. I live in a wooded lot. No grass at all. I miss that kind of yard work.

@ThanosReXXX - These are local hardwoods. I live in an oak/hickory/maple forest, and our collection of inside trees are samples from our yard that we’ve either grown from tree nuts, or gotten trimmings of new growth to sprout roots. They’re babies now, but I’ll keep them bonsai size. Can’t call them bonsai though as none of them are acceptable specimens for official bonsai. We added a walnut tree and some rooted willow branches this spring. I do have a blood maple that’s about 4.5 feet tall in a large planter, but I keep it trimmed way down so it can function inside. It’s like a family member. My favorite tree is redbud, but they’re too finicky. Haven’t gotten one to survive the transition to inside tree.

I really love the succulents too. You’re right, I can forget to water them for weeks, and they’re fine. Amazing plants. I’m constantly cloning them with fallen leaves too. Once you have one succulent, you can have as many as you want.

@NEStalgia - That chance to get out a little Bob Villa humor really made my day. I actually thought I’d never have the opportunity.

@bimmy-lee Thanks! It definitely got the best of me for years. I don't love the yard work but I will say I feel a sense of accomplishment when my work pays off in the yard.