My high school French class went to Quebec City expecting to speak French. Little did we know that apparently the Quebecois have the same attitude toward English-speakers as the Parisians are legendary for. Beautiful city, but the people were somewhat less than friendly.

See, I went to Stonehenge last year and had pretty much exactly the opposite experience. I deliberately kept my expectations low, but found it instead to be one of the most peaceful and enchanting moments of my life.

We got this same thing talking to the RE agent—they approved us for something like 175k when there was NO way we could afford that on my actual salary, especially with no money for a down payment. The RE agent tried to get us to buy a house that she really wanted to sell (which was actually pretty nice, but the owners…

I do, yes. =) Well, everything but wargaming. I gave that up because there really was no joy in the playing, only in the painting (and the painting is bloody expensive!)

Over the years, I’ve gotten very good at losing. It’s a really good thing that my actual life is not decided by dice rolls. I would have been dead long ago.

I didn’t have a choice. Our living situation changed very drastically, about 18 months after we brought an enormous dog (who trounced every apartment weight limit by the time she was a year old) into our lives. All of the homes for rent in our area either didn’t allow pets or also had absurdly-low weight limits.

I do genuinely enjoy my martial arts (Kung Fu) classes, but I think that’s because it’s as much a mental challenge as a physical one. Yes, there’s repetition and sweat and such, but there’s also intricate technique, balance, and careful application of force to simulate an incapacitating strike without actually…

Just wanted to say thanks for this. I tried taking up a C25K program a couple years ago, and I think this may be one of the major reasons why it didn’t stick. Been thinking of giving it another go, and the idea of ‘slow gear’ might just make the difference. =)

Haha, sorry! That’s 8 hour eating window/16 hour fast/5 days a week =)

I followed an 8/16/5 for several months, and recently decided to try switching back. One of the major things I’ve noticed was that on the IF protocol, I did in fact lose some weight, but plateaued about 10 lbs down and wouldn’t budge, even with increased activity. My energy levels started to flag, and I started…

Yeah, it was particularly effective in London, since the Tube goes everywhere and is everything. Miss a stop? No problem. You can connect back to your stop at any of the next three, or just get off and walk a quarter mile. Plus, the DLR in East London (where I was most of the time, since I was staying in an East…

I used the off-site hotel, no credit card fee and unlocked phone/PAYG-SIM tips when I went to Ireland and the UK for 10 days last year, and saved a bunch. I also stuck to public transport (trains, tube, etc) and Wi-Fi, and only checked a bag on the way back (but Aer Lingus lets you check one for free anyway).

My wife and I got married outside, in a public space. My mother (a JP) officiated. The guest list was parents, a couple of grandparents, and our closest friends. Music was provided by my brother and an acoustic guitar.

Over the years I've developed what I consider to be a fairly dry, ironic wit (must have been all that British TV I grew up on, and Edmund Blackadder is still my hero in that regard), but I once got challenged by my father-in-law to "tell me a joke"—and I completely floundered. I couldn't call anything to mind... I…

My $30,000+ associate's degree. Biggest mistake ever.

Someone else mentioned that for them, HFCS tastes sweeter than real sugar!

Right! Flavor is king :D

It's probably got a lot to do with what we're primed for. Like I mentioned, I drank way too much regular US soda growing up, so I'm probably inured to the sweetness of HFCS, whereas it's the other way around for you.

It is probably entirely the ever-increasingly-potent Placebo Effect (or possibly conditioning, given just how much soda I consumed as a youngin'), but I find that, for me, real sugar is sweeter than HFCS, which means that my taste buds shut off and say "no more" at a much lower level.

My wife and I had our first date on February 16th. We eschew Valentine's in exchange for a nice day on our anniversary instead, and to our luck never have to deal with the awfulness.