I once took a step too close to a nest of Bald-faced hornets (which are a species of communal wasps related to yellowjackets, not actual hornets) who are total and complete assholes. One of the little shits saw me from 10-15 feet away and came at me like a shot. Bastard stung me on the neck. I was maybe 100 yards from…

A friend of mine back in the 90's had a garage full of old English cars. He had an XKE, a Tiger, and a couple of Alpines. He couldn’t resist buying them if he found them cheap enough. None of them were driveable.

Nah, you missed the part where I said they’re going to invest in a newer flat screen smart TV. (May have already done so.) Then we can just load up some USB sticks with media we like.

Probably too much khat.

Are you kidding? I need that liver!

Repetition makes it easier.  Like I said, it was my fourth try when I made it.  However I wasn’t even 20 by that time.

We were thinking of limiting it to black and white movies only, to keep up with the vintage nature of the place. Casablanca, Key Largo, that sort of thing. And I’ve got the complete The Thin Man series, which is really fun.

Yeah, most cargo ships come up the river at 10 knots or so.

When I was a kid we used to go down there all the time for a day, or a weekend. Stay in a motel and watch the storms in the winter, or go dig razor clams. Today I have a friend with a 100 year old beach house, and occasionally I get invited for a weekend. I enjoy it. Get away from the internet and just relax and…

Three times!

I don’t actually know that answer, however most fishing vessels don’t. Even pretty good sized ones. (I’ve known a couple of people who own small fishing vessels.)

Probably, although it’s hard to say. Sauron is of the same level of beings that serve Ilúvatar as Gandalf, (The Maiar) so perhaps he’ll look like a pleasant but wise old man. Sauron was a student under the Vala Aulë the master craftsman, (The Valar are a level of beings above the Maiar in the hierarchy under Ilúvatar) …

Makes me wish I didn’t get so deathly seasick.  I get seasick in a bathtub.

Don’t even say that. The literal translation of “Vespa” is “Wasp.”

That’s an interesting point. I work with (read that: deliver to) ships coming up the Columbia river, and we watch the Columbia River Pilots board to see when they are arriving/departing. In the case of the Columbia there are at least two different pilots that are used. One comes on board at sea to bring the ship into…

Laser cows!

The Cleveland series of engines (The Ford 335 series) were physically larger and heavier than the Windsor engines, which is probably the reason they stuck with a Windsor. While the Cleveland engines were capable of more horsepower than the Windsor, under the hands of the right builder the 351W had plenty of HP…

I think that kind of was the recipe.

Have you ever tried a white lasagna? Chicken sausage, Mascarpone whipped with pesto, plenty of garlic, layered with Asiago, Provolone, and Mozzarella. A friend of mine taught me to make it with zucchini strips instead of noodles, but I prefer pasta. Pour heavy cream over it all instead of marinara and bake.

./sigh