Gromnir

we got a 7 series viking, 48", dual fuel, (VDR74826GSS) and for what it cost, it should be able to read our mind w/o the need for us to depress buttons or turn knobs. that said, is surprising few confusing doohickeys and whatchamacallits on the viking... though am gonna admit we initial gave the "gourmet-glo" *snort* infrared broiler the skunk eye with its six freaking settings. serious? there is a feature for backlight knobs which we used once- were christmas when we had young guests. red and green. is not s'posed to be for decoration, but whatever. the linked manual reveals just how few non-intuitive features the model boasts. is designed to cook food and not do our taxes or navigate solar space travel. we prefer simple. as for washer... we got some kinda whirlpool model whatever. matty ryan and ice-t say we should wash our clothes in cold water 'cause climate change, something-something. at this point we throw clothes in, hit power and then start and hope for the best. HA! Good Fun!

given what were the utter fail o' prohibition, is kinda mind blowing that a mere fifty or sixtyish years would elapse before repeating the same mistakes... mistakes magnified by minimum sentencing guidelines voted 'pon and passed democratic 'cause society were not satisfied with the namby-pamby notions o' justice judges were embracing... or at least the conjured notions o' justice self-interested politicians were selling to the ignorant masses. am s'posing law & order as a political platform has been popular since before the athenians, and deterrence and reformation has always been at best secondary concerns for The People who demand criminals to get their due. HA! Good Fun!

borrowing the immortal words o' vol, no. am thinking most people do not understand what a corporation is. not social organization. most US corporations have a single owner. many corporations do indeed have multiple shareholders or is public traded, but the vast majority is single owners who wish to limit their financial liability. most simple description: corporations is a scheme for encouraging business ventures and investment. that's all. example: bob wants to start a commode refurbishing business but he don't want to lose his house or his daughter's college fund if the venture fails to succeed, 'cause a commode refurbishing business is not a slam dunk venture, eh? so bob files articles o' incorporation for his new business. the corporation is a legal construct which provides bob with a certain amount o' security from creditors. as long as bob don't comingle funds or break certain rules and laws, he can't lose more in his commode business than he has invested. bob's commode business assets is separate from his personal assets. so, no. HA! Good Fun!

instant recognized as lemmings... 'cause am old. HA! Good Fun!

the thing is, you are being reasonable, and that is a flawed starting point. first step is you need imagine total lack o' self awareness coupled with a me and mine mentality which challenges credulity. school lunches for kids is bad 'cause is free for them. welfare is bad 'cause even if the vast majority o' adults receiving welfare benefits do so for less than six months, they are undeserving; likely using the free money to buy drugs and alcohol. programs which tax me and mine to provide benefits for they and them is necessarily bad even if those programs may be shown to benefit society as a whole. however, if a program is designed to tax the "fat cats" so everybody else benefits, including me and mine, then is good. unreasonable? sure but not necessarily irrational. rationality may be maintained even if the initial premise is unreasonable. as long as internal consistent, unreasonable may be rational. regardless, you gotta start with embracing a comical unapologetic me and mine perspective which am guessing is difficult for hurl. good luck with that. HA! Good Fun!

@Azdeus asked 'bout punishing "soldiers," and a position none wants, so we couldn't help but think o' the old quip 'bout corporals. HA! Good Fun!

corporal? HA! Good Fun! ps don't make the mistake o' referring to marines as soldiers.

new patch fewer fixes than anticipated, but am knowing is typical a few corrective measures which go unpublished. will maybe give the dlcs a shot now that there has been a couple patches. HA! Good Fun!

"potential" is key word for payments for donating genetic material. first, most people is rejected as donors. am recalling is less than 5% acceptance, which makes it tougher to be a donor than is getting into cal tech. second, near half money possible for donations is paid once your offering is actual utilized. am suspecting if you is a 6'4" white guy with mensa credentials you could possible make $26k per year. maybe. third, you is asked to abstain from sex three days prior to a donation, which for a young man 'tween 18 and 35 who is amongst that 5% group, abstaining is kinda tougher than it sounds. if your counts decrease, your donation is rejected and you do not get paid, so the three day guideline is functional a requirement. HA! Good Fun!

speaking o' interesting, how exact is israel occupying palestine? ask self when when were the s'posed initial israeli invasion of palestine. as for some folks talking genocide by israel, will once again observe the strong population growth o' the peoples in gaza and the so-called occupied territories, which at the very least, given israeli capabilities, suggests they ain't trying to bring 'bout the destruction o' a people, yes? by comparison, am suspecting the population growth for ukraine is not gonna look so good for 2022. the killing o' the reporter is likely a terrible accident, but as usual am gonna wait for details. is weird how no matter how many times same situations arise, we nevertheless get folks with same instinctive need to react reflexive. am also not recalling the building the ap needed evacuate *gasp* were "suddenly" discovered to be a hamas stronghold. is unsurprising israel never offered details regarding the existence o' hamas intelligence assets in the building. that said, we wouldn't be shocked if israel had decided that given al jazeera acting as an intelligence gathering arm for qatar backed entities is hardly a controversial position, they would destroy their gaza headquarters. not legal, but were bloodless. am not condoning btw, but on the scorecard o' evils attributed to israel, and has been more than a few genuine bad acts, that one were extreme minor. every few years, israelis reach a limit as to numbers o' gaza launched rocket attacks they is willing to suffer and decide the five minutes o' western infamy they endure for stomping out hamas in gaza (or hezbollah to the north) cells is worth the body count and bad press, and their calculus thus far appears to be a valid approach to maintaining the status quo... and status quo is best possible outcome at this point considering the last legit efforts for peace were 2000 and since then neither israelis or arabs has had real serious interest in revisiting long-term peace solutions. HA! Good Fun!

and our point was your misinterpretation o' what we said. to varying degrees, near all US Presidents could be described as racists, but am thinking it should be obvious that observation, w/o context, is meaningless. btw, is kinda starting point o' crt that racism is normal and if is evil, then is an inherent evil o' human nature. brookings site offers good insights. is easier for Gromnir to embrace foundations o' crt 'cause while you are selective pretending not to recall, is Gromnir who suggests state o' nature is brutal and that is 'cause o' inherent flaws in all men. you are the one who curious believes politicians is unique subject to flaw... particular major party politicians. and you are serious misrepresenting your own past observations/claims. how many times has you suggested it makes no difference which you choose as 'tween lesser and greater evils? they are all bad. self paralysis resulting from convincing self choice 'tween evils don't matter? so again, is only funny 'cause you misinterpreted. our observation were in response to your less than meaningful descriptor o' woodrow wilson. is Gromnir who has always made clear that given the magnitude o' the job and the challenges presented, US Presidents and Congressmen is near always gonna come outta the wash looking dirty and unsuited for the job. Presidents were never s'posed to do what we want 'em to do, so is hardly shocking when they fail to meet expectations. is not 'cause they is bad (edit: though is no question at least a few potus has been undeniable corrupt) they fail to meet gd expectations but rather 'cause they is men, human beings. spam. has us chasing you as you chase your tail? more fool us. HA! Good Fun!

am knowing there is no sympathy for landlords hereabouts, but both o' our current tenants (sadly, our best tenant, the butcher, moved and we sold the property in question. no more free meat to make up the difference in rent) whom we provided more than a year advanced warning we would not be renewing leases, has informed us they ain't gonna be moving out by may 31 and june 30 respective. ... at minimum is gonna take us 60 days to evict 'em, if we choose to do so. one o' the tenants is 85. am kicking an 85 year old woman out on the street? for chrissakes, we know her daughter lives w/i 2 kilometers and her sons are both in the sacramento valley. is not as if she has no family, but either our tenant refuses to move in with family or they don't wanna take her in, and her health/physical mobility is limited such that she no longer cooks for herself and family needs come check on her daily. 'course if we don't sell soon, the market is likely to change dramatic, which is exact what we anticipated. the thing is, if we let our tenants stay and collect rent after the end o' the lease, then am effective creating a new month-to-month lease, which means we are required to add another sixty days notice before starting the aforementioned eviction efforts; 120 days becomes the new minimum time frame to be rid o' would be squatters if we take rent. as such it makes more sense to not collect rent. how long am s'posed to not collect rents? we were also serious considering moving into one o' our two remaining rental homes as our current place is too big by far for one person... even if is one person and multiple dogs. so yeah, am not expecting sympathy, but we never expected both remaining tenants would screw us after we gave 'em years o' significant discounted rent and an extra long advanced warning on non-renewal o' lease. no good deed... HA! Good Fun!

laughy gif but am knowing you believe it, so... gd likes to ignore the substantial degrees o' variation. convinces self biden is no more corrupt or skeevy than trump? sure. andrew johnson and jimmy carter were both democrats and supporters o' racist policies during their political careers, but am suspecting even gd would agree the degree o' villainy those two Presidents displayed as it pertains to equitable treatment o' race were vast different in terms o' scale. nevertheless, 'cause is convenient and supports gd worldview, he simplifies to they are all bad. @Hurlsnotcontribution is noteworthy as it provides balanced context for lbj. converse, label a late 19th century and early 20th century US politician as racist and a believer in eugenics is less than helpful w/o context. is unfortunate but am suspecting such labels would apply in varying degrees to at least 90% o' US politicians circa 1910s. is not that woodrow wilson were racist and a believer in eugenics which made him a bad guy by the standards o' his day but rather the degree o' his belief and the efforts to which he attempted to have US policy reflect his racist beliefs. however, so is no misunderstanding, woodrow wilson were indeed vile. the following is woodrow wilson quotes used in the film, birth of a nation: Adventurers swarmed out of the North, as much the enemies of one race as of the other, to cozen, beguile, and use the Negroes.…In the villages the Negroes were the office holders, men who knew none of the uses of authority, except its insolences. The Policy of the congressional leaders wrought…a veritable overthrow of civilization in the South.…in their determination to "put the white South under the heel of the black South." The white men of the South were aroused by the mere instinct of self-preservation to rid themselves, by fair means or foul, of the intolerable burden of governments sustained by the votes of ignorant negroes and conducted in the interest of adventurers. *shrug* regardless, as is typical, gd jokes... but not really. HA! Good Fun!

racism were an official part o' the democrat national platform post civil war (andrew johnson arguable being our most racist President evar) 'til fdr, who himself were a running mate o' the venomously racist james cox, initiated japanese internment by executive order, and ignored jim crow laws. and let's not forget how truman, lbj and jimmy carter all at least flirted with the kkk during their political careers. 'course most (all?) republicans were racist, but the party platform were at least offering a nod to a paternalistic view o' post civil war racial inclusivity. have also mentioned more than once how american eugenics inspired euro fascists and not the other way around. it is not hard to find advocates o' eugenics from both sides o' the aisle for that sin as well, particular 'mongst the so-called intellectuals o' the late 19th and early 20th century. HA! Good Fun!

have been perpetual kinda dumbstruck by how few lessons were learned from the great recession. HA! Good Fun!

overlooked this. apologies. cast iron retains heat, but takes longer than the other choices to arrive at the temp you want and a pot or pan may have hot spots. takes a bit more skill and patience. stainless steel is a nice option as has higher conductivity than iron and is durable (no or minimal warping and unlike iron it isn't gonna crack) as well as light. aluminum is light and cheap and generally sucks compared to the other options, but good and thick aluminum is gonna heat as even as will a cheap layer o' copper. copper, btw, has fantastic conductivity (and anti microbial properties btw which is why adding a layer o' copper were so popular for the hulls seagoing vessels until cheaper paint solutions were discovered) but is difficult to keep looking pretty, is expensive and is not as durable... 'course you won't see all-copper pots and pans. will see pots an pans with a layer o' copper and the cheap stuff has a crap layer which is existing for no reason save for appearances. the sooper expensive copper actual includes a literal silver lining for even better conductivity. the qualities o' cookware is also gonna be dependent on your burner-type. for example, electric and non-induction hops/burners is gonna nullify some o' the benefits o' high-end cookware anyways and is why we initial asked 'bout your cooking surface. HA! Good Fun!

bad math. bill clinton only left office in 2001. 'course for @Guard Dog, woodrow wilson would be the most likely bearer o' the potus antichrist title, with the rest getting no more than a collective, "they are all bad." personal, am thinking calvin coolidge, donald trump, james buchanan, william harrison, thomas jefferson and andrew jackson deserve mention way before regan. btw, is more than a few o' our scholarly indian acquaintances who insist abraham lincoln and ulysses s. grant is among the most vile holders o' the potus office, and is tough to argue they is wrong if you look at the situation through a lens colored by the indigenous people's experience. every generation o' young americans needs a potus antichrist. from a european or canadian pov, am suspecting every post woodrow wilson potus (lending some credence to guard dog's position btw) has had the antichrist label hung on them for a time by some significant number... though obama benefits from a curious get out of jail free pass from all too many euros and kandians. HA! Good Fun!

@Guard Dogam a big fan o' cast iron cookware, and the enameled choices is not particular high maintenance. unfortunate, is a whole lotta terrible enameled iron. ironic, am also thinking some o' the problem with naked cast iron is people put in too much maintenance. the urge to clean is good, but cast iron don't want you to scrub and it dislikes anything but most minimal soap. this is why we got a dedicated fish pan. the fish gets into the carbon surface and stays there until you cook something else... multiple something elses and at high temps to boot. so, we got a dedicated 10" cast iron skillet which we use for cooking fish on our outdoor grill. am knowing folks who literal have special cast iron pans which they will only cook a single dish and they has done so for decades. am not quite so finicky so yeah, every year or so we do need season the non enameled skillets, but otherwise, is not too bad. ... hadn't really considered previous, but particular considering @Bartimaeus concerns, am suspecting a good litmus test for a non-stick pan is to check and see if it is induction capable. if you got a meaningful stainless steel base, is gonna work with induction. am suspecting is uncommon a terrible nonstick pan is gonna have a stainless steel base. HA! Good Fun!

observations: is best not to go super expensive 'cause even the best non-stick pan is gonna wear out in a few years (as such, buying a set o' non-stick is kinda silly. choose a couple pieces you know you will need replace.) ceramic actual wears out quicker go above medium or medium-high is verboten even in 2022 you are gonna want a durable reinforced stainless steel base to avoid the warping which annoys bartimaeus HA! Good Fun!

well, there were some kinda brainfart with this. simple breakdown: for nonstick am recommending the aforementioned zwilling (madura or forte). for cast iron, we recommend lodge. for stainless steel, made in is our first choice, but all clad and misen (5-ply for both brands) is comparable and as we noted, our 3-ply all clad is more than satisfactory. side note: have seen misen sets, which is already reasonable priced, offered shocking cheap, particular during the holidays. we rare want sets which invariably include items we will never use, but if you are willing to be patient, is likely you find a nice misen deal at some point. costco also does all-clad deals from time-to-time, but is ordinarily the large sets which is having special deals and we never need a full set these days. HA! Good Fun! ps misen cookware is made in china, so...

t-fal (tefal not US) is subject to the warping bartimeaus references. HA! Good Fun!

what do you want? non-stick? pretty? stainless steel? what is your cooking surface? a cast iron pan, properly seasoned, will cover most needs save eggs. cast iron is oven safe and a lodge cast iron skillet is extreme cheap and will outlive you if proper care is practiced. a cast iron enameled dutch oven (the 7.5 qt doubles as a stock pot) and braiser is also less than obvious workhorses which will handle most needs, are oven safe, distribute heat like a dream and is durable. 'course they is heavy, which is also part o' what makes 'em such effective cooking implements. with a cast iron skillet, braiser and large dutch oven, add a non-stick pan or two and most o' your cooking needs is gonna be covered. you may buy lodge for 1/3 to 1/4 o' le creuset but the difference in quality is not extreme. for most stuff not in the cast iron or non stick we use made in, but is not a great value pick. more reasonable, for non-stick, am gonna admit we love these: https://www.zwilling.com/us/zwilling/cookware/madura-plus/ these pans is heavy and durable. am s'posing if we didn't have our made in pots and pans we would go all clad or misen for any nonstick needs. we also have a bunch o' 3-ply all clad, and have little room for complaint, but our made in is the gear we use nowadays. HA! Good Fun! ps carbon steel is kinda the new thing and am admitted curious, but we got little personal experience with decent carbon steel cookware.

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one thing to clear up is the misunderstanding 'bout J. Alito comments. have already commented we do not share Alito's faith in a history and tradition analysis, but is nothing inherent political 'bout it save how in practice it inevitably favours conservative interests. interpret a law is the role o' a Justice, and what objective measures is there for doing so? to question the traditions and history o' a law to give words meaning when the law were penned? tradition and history leading up to 1791 and 1868 is gonna necessarily exclude a whole lotta people, nevertheless, is not inherent political to decide such is a good approach to interpreting laws. Alito has been consistent with this nonsense and we got a low opinion for his legal and history scholarship, but am thinking is self serving o' liberals to dismiss Alito opinions as political motivated. oh, and so is clear, am most assured not an Alito supporter, mcconnell comments as you note is staking out a an irrefutable fact followed by a functional impossibility sans change to filibuster, a change am suspecting he would avoid even if republicans gain control o' the senate just so republicans would have an excuse as to why in spite o' their best efforts, they could not create a national ban on abortion. is the same kinda political strategy which went into the faux fight v. roe which has existed for five decades. and fair enough on ted cruz, but he is a senator from texas, so his constituency is the folks who created the heretofore improbable bounty scheme which gave private citizens the right to sue those individuals who aided in abortion. however, ted is most assured not a doofus even if he inexplicable shows he has limited people skills and an utter contempt for those he s'posed represents. ted cruz is arguable a superior legal authority than at least four o' the Justices current sitting on the Court and only two is clear outta his league. he wears cowboy boots and says stuff which resonates with the qanon and maga crowd. he is also as mercenary as mitch mcconnell with having the skill to pull off the machinations, but is only a handful o' people in Congress with as big a brain as ted cruz. HA! Good Fun!