You say that like it’s a problem....

I once saw a suggestion of putting cherry pits in vodka and letting it steep; apparently the pits give it a unique flavor separate from just putting in cherries.

Always, ALWAYS be sure you’re on the same page with the person you’re sleeping with. Have an explicit, up-front conversation BEFORE anything happens....”Hey, I’m not interested in dating, but you do seem like someone I’d enjoy hooking up with from time to time, but I’m not interested in getting involved. If you’re…

I have a co-worker who gushes about what a great investment crypto-currencies are and how he’s investing in them and how rich he’s going to get by sinking his money in them. I’ve registered my own reservations about them (as you say, it’s a market that will inevitably implode over time, and to my inexpert mind there…

The DC area in general also has a ton of pho restaurants, many of which are amazingly good and cheap. Don’t know pho? It’s a Vietnamese beef noodle soup, often ladled over slices of raw meat that cook in the broth. It’s comfort food sublime, just the thing on a cold, raw winter day. Usually those places have spring…

A&J rocks. I may have to shlep down there for a meal one day...

As an FYI: The former Ray’s location in Silver Spring is now known as “The Classics.” There is no “Hell Burger” on the official menu but there is a “Classic Burger.” Ray’s the Steaks is in Arlington.

Oh, and if you’re early for the movie, grab some coffee at Kefa, a small and friendly coffee shop run by a pair of sisters from Ethiopia. It’s also a center of community activism and arts, so you’re likely to bump into a local politician or artist or business leader there. Lots of interesting conversation to be had.

If you’re in Washington DC, head out to the suburb of Silver Spring for a movie at the fabulous AFI Silver theater, one of the world’s best movie theaters. Then go to dinner at Pacci’s Neapolitan Pizzeria, a great alternative to Olive Garden or any other faux-Italian joint. Or, if you’re in the mood for Asian, dismiss…

My parents were DEATH about bedtimes, and would order me to “GO TO SLEEP!” as if I had a “sleep” button somewhere. It drove them wild that I would sneak some reading after “bedtime” or be still awake if they peeked in. I got grief about “Why aren’t you asleep?” and they had trouble with me simply saying, “But I’m not…

That has happened to me, when I happily greeted someone who looked familiar...and it wasn’t them! I apologized, and made a joke of it, and thankfully she and her husband had a good sense of humor about it. And we became friends and hang out every so often. Delightful couple and when I was able to introduce them to my…

My parents would just unshell them, roll them out on the plate, and cut them up, stuff oozing everywhere, and then eating it up with toast. The sight made me gag and I could never stand soft-boiled eggs after seeing them do that.

I wonder how freezing the steaks in their marinade would work?

I use some old jam jars for vinaigrette, and for my mustard mix (1 part each dijon and brown deli mustard, 1/2 part coarse grain mustard, 1/4 part horseradish, and a sprinkling of whatever herbs I feel like adding; please try it!). I eat tons of pickles (German ancestry) and have a ton of pickle jars on hand for…

Diana Shaw’s cookbook “Almost Vegetarian,” which I love, has a strawberry risotto recipe that calls for labneh made from strawberry yogurt. You basically make risotto, only with milk and sugar, and then stir in some cut-up strawberries and the strawberry labneh which gives flavor and tang. I haven’t made it in a long…

Get fired.

When I switched to a credit union (my big corporate bank was closing all its branches in the city I’d just moved to, for unknown reasons), everything was easy except I overlooked payments for a small personal loan I’d obtained a couple of years before. Got it sorted out quickly once I realized I’d overlooked it. It…

Not to mention that many juices are very acidic, and play hell with children’s teeth.

Back in the 80s, I had a TI-30 that got me through high school and college. I have no idea what became of it; I’ve actually been thinking of finding an old one on Ebay for nostalgia’s sake. I miss that handy gadget. I know I can use my laptop or phone, but I love the idea of a simple, dedicated calculator. I guess I’m…

Please be cautious with steroid nasal sprays, and if you’re using one, have your vision checked once a year. You’re probably going to be all right, but a rare side effect of steroid sprays is glaucoma. It happened to me....a one-in-10.000 reaction, says my doc. I’m on drops and it hasn’t been getting worse, but…