Hullo.

@Mahnax Just use Adblock Plus (FF) and you'll never see another YT ad again.

I haven't seen any for years, except on the computers those few people who still don't use Adblock.

Well, start using it, then!

It even has an option to allow "non-obtrusive ads", if you like.

Eh sure.

QED.

I have exactly 4k rep now. Woohoo!

Bet it won't stay that way for long!

@Robusto I think he means "... pursuing an MCA from ...".

Holla.

Well I'll be...holla!

Had a good weekend?

Yeah, it was fun.

We're paying the price, but it is not so bad. Definitely worth it.

Heh.

Those are the best.

What have you been doing?

I gather booze was involved.

My husband is paying the greater part. He drove and he's minding the children today.

@Cerberus No, not really.

I went to my very good friend's birthday party on Saturday night. It was relaxing.

I went to my brother's house yesterday for his birthday party. It was a great success.

The food I made was well-received.

Haha.

That sounds good. The kind of social interaction that makes you feel warm and fuzzy without being boring?

Um, yeah, mostly. I mean, my mom was there, but of all the possibilities I envisioned, she took the most predictable route.

Plus, my food was well-received.

:D

I made spinach lasagna and stew beef chili.

My children were perfect little angels.

Until the last ten minutes of the drive back, when the little one decided he'd had enough of being in the car and was just going to cry and cry until somebody let him out.

@Kitḫ That is exciting in itself!

Sleeping last night was not particularly good, so my husband is in a foul mood this morning.

@Kitḫ Oh dammit I want that.

@Cerberus Which?

@Kitḫ Both!

I like spinach. I like lasagna. I like stew.

Want the recipe? I think I can remember.

OK!

Spinach lasagna. This particular variant (because I do them a little differently every time) had fresh baby spinach chopped and mixed with ricotta cheese and lots of fresh grated garlic (maybe four or five cloves?).

Ohhh perfect.

I'm hungry now.

The sauce was tomato and basil. I used fresh mozzarella and pepperjack in the layers as well.

This is torture.

Layer in a pan, add some extra sauce, cover tightly with foil and bake for about an hour at 350F.

The noodles boil right in the pan.

Right. I feel like Tantalus.

Hahaha.

Lemme think. Stew beef chili is constantly under revision because I haven't quite perfected it.

I don't even know how that is made and I'm still drooling.

Diced garlic and hot pepper of choice, in heated oil until the garlic opens.

Add quartered, floured stew beef and brown.

Yay!

I like beef stew so much.

Now comes the wine?

Then some green onions. I think I used three. Sliced red and yellow sweet peppers, diced carrot, black beans, diced tomatoes, and a little can of tomato sauce.

Then a lot of cumin, maybe a tablespoon.

Wow.

A quarter cup of vinegar, either white or balsamic.

Oh, of course, vinegar instead of wine.

I suppose that has the same effect?

It's more common to use beer in chili, actually.

OK.

I think wine would change the flavor too much.

ponders

Maybe I will try it with a nice stout next time.

I suppose it isn't necessary with such a complex, strong stew.

Oh, and paprika.

Seems like I'm forgetting a spice.

Hmm how is paprika different from sweet peppers?

Oregano? or sweet basil?

@Cerberus It isn't much, but it helps bring out the flavor of the tomato and also makes it look redder.

Oh, wait, paprika is the powder?

Anyway, simmer on very low heat for an hour or so. Put it in the fridge overnight and then reheat it the next day and eat it.

@Cerberus Yes.

In Dutch, sweet/bell peppers are called paprika's, the powder paprika powder.

I forgot.

You can eat it fresh, but everyone knows that day-old chili tastes better.

What if you let it simmer for three hours? Does that have a similar effect?

Well, you could. It would probably help. The peppers might get really mushy though.

I have simmered it, then cooled it, then re-heated it with similar effect. In maybe six hours? Between making it in the morning and eating it for dinner.

Have you had chili before?

Yes. It's called chili con carne here.

But to be honest I like everything about it except the peppers.

Well, naturally. Because chili con queso is completely different.

Cheese?

@Cerberus The sweet peppers? You can omit those.

Yay!!

@Cerberus Yeah, melted cheese with chili peppers in it.

Then I am saved.

Delicious.

Funny.

Never seen that.

So why do we add "con carne" even though we always eat it with meat, and you're the other way around?

@Kitḫ Haha I am that cat! I don't like olives either!

@Cerberus blasphemy!

I also hate, hate mushrooms. All other things I can eat.

@Cerberus Well, "chili" just refers to the pepper.

So you can make a meatless chili.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Well, I sort of appreciate the idea of olives. But the taste is just too overwhelming.

@Kitḫ Yeah OK.

I've made my black bean chili without meat in it.

@Cerberus Yeah, I'm with you there. Not a fan of mushrooms.

Oh! White pepper! That was the spice I forgot.

It makes sense that you New-Worlders would do more with peppers.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Yay!

(and sweet basil, I am pretty sure.)

Wow, that is quite a complicated chili.

I like the flavor of mushrooms, but the texture makes me want to barf.

Here it is usually very simple.

@Cerberus Meh. Not too much. I have been tweaking it for ages.

It's one of my favorite dishes.

@Kitḫ Both texture and taste make me barf, and each can have that effect on its own too. Bwwaaaaah.

I actually wonder whether Americans eat more peppers than Europeans.

It would make sense.

Why is that?

BTW: Lego 2012 Toy Fair pics: secure.flickr.com/photos/fbtbnet

Well, in my romantic imagination, you need but extend your hand to pluck some peppers off a near-by bush.

Or whatever they grow on.

Oh werewolves!

@Cerberus Really? Americans grow peppers like Dutch grow tulips? I suppose pretty much everyone's garden has some. There are a lot of varieties.

Really?

That is pretty cool.

Tulips are common flowers here, and most people have some in their gardens, but they don't really grow in the wild here.

I love tulips. They are my favorite flower.

They are elegant and simple, the one most people have here, at least.

I find some orchids a bit scary.

Fascinating, but not very...homely.

Agreed.

But I think you mean "homey."

Homely is plain to the point of ugly.

Oh, yes.

Homey is what I was looking for.

@Kitḫ Homely also has a somewhat less pejorative usage. Meaning plain or simply-fashioned.

Yes, but that meaning doesn't fit it that sentence.

BRB

> Homely: "domestic, cozy, informal (British)"

Perhaps that's where I got it.

Haha.

It is truly the stupidest think ever.

I've always hated Valentine's day

Good.

I also always miss any jokes or hints about it.

I just forget about it every time.

Well, it's tomorrow.

It should be renamed "Women Expect Compensation For Sex Day" ...

And I learned on the radio that today is "Mistress day", that is, the day when you take your mistress out for dinner, etc, because you can't do it tomorrow on account of your wife would notice.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 What if you don't have a mistress? Are you obligated to seek one out?

So many aspects of V-day bug me. Like, parents are compelled to provide their children with sufficient valentines cards so that they can give them out to their classmates. And later on, when valentine's day takes on that "romantic" sense, then you feel pressure if you're single and don't have a date, or whatever. and THEN, when you DO have someone in your life, suddenly there's this arbitrary expectation to perform some kind of ritual. bah

@Robusto Of course. But who doesn't have one?

@Robusto yes! It's just like how if you're single you're supposed to hook up at least for tomorrow.

@Cerberus <raises hand>

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I have never done any of these things, nor experienced them.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Geez, this is a lot of pressure.

@Robusto Tsk, tsk.

@Cerberus maybe it's different in north america

I don't know, it's pretty big here too.

But not in my circles.

It is looked down on as something shopkeepers invented.

My previous house was opposite a coffee bar.

My feelings about V-Day.

A few weeks after removing Christmas decorations, they replaced them with Valentine's Day decorations.

They used to hang there for a month and a half.

So, basically, you're just tipping your GF, wife, or SO.

Well, just because the stores try to sell goods during that time doesn't meant they invented it. And just because a message originates in a marketing campaign doesn't mean people don't believe it.

Please. I'm not your homework monkey, especially when you can't even make your question clear.

Like, diamond rings as the one and only engagement symbol. Invented by DeBeers. Pah! But try not giving a diamond to a girl... YMMV indeed.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 It does mean that it's stupid!

@MrShinyandNew安宇 That would be considered extremely tacky here!

The whole idea of spending a lot on a ring.

Just a plain gold band.

Anything cultural that comes from a commercial source and that isn't reeeeaaaaly old is suspect.

Dixi.

My wife's coworkers have engagement rings that cost in the neighbourhood of tens of thousands of dollars.

Haha.

It's fucking ridiculous.

If it's an heirloom, like Kit's, that's different.

The "rule of thumb" that is constantly repeated is that the ring should cost "two months salary".

And a decent wedding should cost about $ 100,000 or there can't be true love.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Only two? I thought it was more...

Oh, wedding rings are often much cheaper because traditionally they are simpler and/or don't have a big honking stone on them.

Oh, right two different rings.

I don't think that exists here.

Anyway, two months salary is the "starting" point for a ring.

Oh, thank goodness.

You were getting me worried!

so if you really love her you should spend more.

Sex doesn't come cheap.

No wonder so many people are broke.

@Cerberus No pun intended?

Uhuh.

@Robusto Never!

V-Day invented by companies? Pfah. It's how the Christians stole Imbolc from us.

@Cerberus Never not intended?

@Kitḫ Well, Christmas was commercialized long after it was stolen.

@Kitḫ Yes! Let's lock up all Christians on Christmas Eve to let them think about what they have done.

A guy I worked with was a confirmed bachelor. He refused to get married, and frequented prostitutes instead. I asked him why, and he said, "If you're not paying money, you're paying too much."

The Coca-Cola depiction of Santaclaus is tacky.

@Robusto Wise.

@Cerberus But cynical.

But you are paying good, hard money, if only for the ring and the shopping!

@Robusto You think?

You get more than just sex in return.

@Cerberus That's just the start of it.

I have no problem with my husband hiring a professional to provide services for him. As long as money changes hands, the nature of the relationship (or rather lack thereof) is clear.

@Robusto Tell me about it!

@Kitḫ Yes. In many cases (my own excluded), you get someone who manages every detail of your life, nags you about it, wins every argument by virtue of being able to go longer without sex than you can, and so on.

@Kitḫ Yes. But what about the other things? Diseases? The idea?

If you are paying money for an emotional relationship, then you are better off hiring a therapist.

@Cerberus Diseases? The idea? I don't know what you mean.

@Robusto Well, of course that is who you would get if you think that you have to buy a relationship. You will get someone who thinks that they should be paid for being in a relationship.

He could get diseases from prostitutes. The idea that he craves sex so much that he is willing to go to such a place might freak you out.

@Cerberus My desire for sex has hit an all-time low for my entire life. It has been this way for months and shows no signs of turning around. Should my husband not have sex anymore because I have a problem? That doesn't seem fair. Also, that's what they make condoms for.

Yeah OK.

But aren't there other options?

Like...?

And so you haven't improved yet?

@Kitḫ I don't know...some random girl?

@Cerberus Show me a man who never entertained the notion of getting some strange and I'll show you a man in a coma. Even then ...

No, but it's hard to say with all the illness and craziness.

@Cerberus Random girl is WAY more dangerous than a professional.

@Robusto From a distance it seems interesting. But once you come closer...I walk by their windows every day. Rather unappetizing.

@Kitḫ Hmm I hope you get well soon. Maybe with some help.

@Cerberus Well, that doesn't mean all possible liaisons are unappetizing. Street hookers are not the most appealing of creatures, after all.

@Kitḫ Even if it is some young or dumb girl that he couldn't possibly be seriously interested in?

@Robusto Yes. I suppose an expensive girl is better.

But the idea of spending a significant amount of time talking to someone is just so humiliating.

I can hardly stand picking up people in a bar for that reason.

@Cerberus What if she's intelligent and witty and very sexy?

@Cerberus Right, sure. She turns into crazy stalker or accuses my husband of rape. Sounds like a great plan.

@Cerberus "young and/or dumb" does not preclude "could possibly be interested in". Especially if there's sex involved. The brain does strange things, starts inventing feelings, etc.

Or maybe she pokes a hole in the condom and gets him to knock her up.

@Robusto If she is all that, why is she a prostitute?

The point is, when money changes hands there is no question about the nature of the exchange.

@Cerberus You said expensive, didn't you?

@Cerberus She's a law student, trying to pay for her outrageous tuition

@Kitḫ Not that young.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Well...perhaps that is just too far removed from my life for me to understand.

@Kitḫ I suppose that is true.

But can't your husband judge the anonymous bar girl?

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Do those exist?

@Cerberus headdesk

I don't know him, of course.

@Cerberus It doesn't even need to be real, it just needs to feel real enough at the time, in order to sabotage the existing relationship.

@Kitḫ of course they do

I was really hoping I would be ready to go by Valentine's Day.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 What I meant was, perhaps many people are vulnerable in that way. I personally can't imagine overlooking things like a lack of education etc., so I don't know what it is like.

@Cerberus Try having sex with a stranger, repeatedly, and THEN getting to know them.

@Kitḫ It's only a random date. You will be ready sooner or later.

@MrShinyandNew安宇 Oh goody! @Cerberus has a homework assignment!

@MrShinyandNew安宇 What about it? I have done that.

I hated it every time.

@Cerberus What if she quoted Ovid to you. In Latin.

I know in five minutes whether someone would have any long-term potential at all. If not, that usually makes me want to leave immediately afterwards.

It takes you five minutes?

@Cerberus That's like saying "any given Sunday is a day you can watch football." It's the Superbowl of having crazy sex days. And I'm going to miss it.

@Robusto She would first have to have herself fixed. And, if "it" were able to quote Latin, then I would have known in five minutes.

@Cerberus Fixed?

@Kitḫ You know my opinion about sports!

Or "Men Are Expected to Pay Full Price for Sex Day"

@MrShinyandNew安宇 I just mean that it could only happen with people that were marriage material at all, and I would know that beforehand, so it would never be only physical.

@Robusto As in surgically altered to be indistinguishable from a man.

Or maybe "Men Still Think That Women Owe Them Sex After Giving Them Stuff Day."

Haha.

Or just tacky middle-class day.

Sorry. I just despise it.

It's a holiday for having sex. Why is that a bad thing?

You despise sex?

@Kitḫ That's not how I see it.

Well, then you need glasses.

:D

@Kitḫ V-day, silly.

Aww.

I believe he already has them on.

Haven't you?

@Cerberus here is an article where they discuss "high-end" prostitutes which are totally different from street-walkers and are generally more intelligent, educated, etc than might be expected.

@Cerberus Yes, I do have glasses.

> I almost get the impression, both from reading about Allie and other prostitutes in Superfreakonomics and from communicating with Maggie, that high-class prostitutes like Allie and Maggie have more in common with college professors, corporate executives, or poets than with the more affordable and visible members of their profession.

I am sceptical.

@Cerberus Well, whatever. My point is not that all high-end prostitutes are like that. My point is that there ARE some prostitutes like that. Thus it is possible to meet one. I make no claims as to what the probability is.

Right.

It is possible, why not.

Actually a friend of mine once considered being a non-sex escort.

Just to accompany businessmen to dinners if they had no date.

She said there were agencies.

And she certain knows her Latin.

And who knows what might have happened if one of these gentlemen had been nice to her.

@Cerberus Whatever your preference. You get my meaning.

@Robusto Yup, but the image was somewhat lacking like that. No offence.

Arg.

Instead of "yup" I wrote "but" twice, then changed it into "yut".

Way to go!

I'm in the process of getting a normal sleep cycle again.

So I'm going to bed as late as I can, since going earlier never works.

@Cerberus Define "normal" sleep cycle.

Waking up anywhere between 6 am and 1 pm?

@Kitḫ Believe me, we pay way over retail already.

@Robusto I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over all the whining.

Women never listen. They just can't talk about their emotions.

> For some reason most people seem to be born without the part of the brain that understands pointers. Pointers require a complex form of doubly-indirected thinking that some people just can’t do, and it’s pretty crucial to good programming.

Is this true?

I get annoyed by men talking about women owing them something because they took them to dinner or something. They tend to be the same men that get offended when a woman tries to pay for dinner, which leads me to believe that they want this kind of arrangement.

@Cerberus I don't know.

@Cerberus Read what Jean Piaget says about the stages of development in children. The final one is called "formal operational" and it's one that I think most people never reach, which includes many kinds of abstract thought.

@Kitḫ Hmm I agree; the social convention does not entail their owing these guys anything. The being offended part is probably just bruised ego, because they think she doesn't accept because she doesn't like them or doesn't trust them.

@Robusto Sounds rather Zen.

@Cerberus I think it's more of a "If you pay for dinner, that means you don't want to have sex with me, because if I pay for dinner then you should have sex with me."

Since the whole dinner thing is just for the purpose of having sex, instead of trying to establish a relationship.

I am so glad I am no longer dating like that.

Men are such jerks.

And women are crazy.