I bake a lot and default to a hand mixer as a compromise. I’ll accept that oddity—like how I have a soda stream (because I got it for free) but no toaster. I am thinking of stealing my dad’s sous vide immersion circulator (like his wife is using that thing). Seems like a nifty tool that doesn’t take up a lot of space.

Practically speaking, there are many more incentives to develop the skills and opportunities to use those skills for Brits playing Americans than the other way around—our entertainment industry is just bigger. And coaching/research rather than training play a big part of that. That’s project-based. So if an actor…

This has 2 things I really appreciate: looking into someone else’s fridge (jam FTW) and seeing what appliances one opts for in a smaller kitchen. Those are both as interesting as looking at someone else’s bookshelf.

This gave me a good laugh. I’m not on twitter so I have never seen that hashtag, but I totally got it when used in context. So I thought it was funny that someone whose job it is to know what stuff on that platform means was a buffoon about it. That’s a complex job fail right there.

I remember when that place opened (I still call it the MCI Center), yet I’ve never been there. I’m okay with my first and only venture being Michelle Obama.

Thank you! That Chuck Wendig book looks great.

I haven’t had Taco Bell since I was like 15 because I value my gastrointestinal system. And because I’m from South Texas. But those survey options were slim pickins.

Same, except I cannot understand anyone from my home town eating at Taco Bell when three are a million better and actual Mexican restaurants available that are just as cheap, often right next door. I only taco-shame there.

That all sounds way cooler than sex offenders. And the whole theft category is interesting as in theft vs. burglary vs. home invasion vs. robbery vs. car jacking, etc. I’ve done various policy analyses on that and it’s fascinating.

I was just mentioning elsewhere that I don’t drive and no nothing about cars, but I actually love talking to car nerds. I guess cars are so alien to me that it becomes really fascinating.

One of my good friends is a very unassuming car expert. And even though I don’t drive and know nothing about cars, we have the best conversations. I think it’s because I’m SO clueless and he gets to explain things to me. We spent a long car ride talking about the future of driverless cars that was really interesting.

I’m not as much of an expert anymore, but I used to have expert-level knowledge of certain pockets of criminally deviant behavior, for example, the research and psychology of stalking or the legal evolution of sex offender laws. Obviously those aren’t topics that come up in regular conversation, but when they do…

I agree with all of that, except for the point about the caliber of school. One thing I’ve learned from working non-profit, government, and policy, and dipping my toe in corporate is that it varies so widely. Tier 2 schools are sometimes the more reliable in non-urban regions because the direct professional pipeline…

It’s not noble behavior, but it’s not uncommon—not particularly egregious IMO just really annoying. Players have called umpires corrupt, cursed at them, threatened them, gone on and on—some with violations, some without. The idea that Serena’s behavior was somehow an anomaly for tennis is odd. It’s only the last…

Totally agree with the last point. I texted that to my friend at the time. Uh, that’s now how it works and no whining to the tournament ref will change that. Focus back on the match.

I agree with that last point. I know they had an amicable exchange about it and maybe she thought there was more to the result. But that’s not how things work—it wasn’t going to get rescinded. And it’s why I was annoyed about getting the tournament ref involved later. There’s nothing you can do, refocus and get on…

I’m surprised that kids who grew up in hardcore tennis establishments aren’t all sociopaths, especially folks whose parents are their coaches. The Williams Sisters are so successful and relatively balanced precisely because they were kept out of juniors tennis and still remain mostly outside tennis circuits doing…

I’ve definitely heard iterations of that before, and much worse—accusing umpires of corruption, cheating, collusion, and threatening to report them, especially on the men’s side. But it’s probably what started things down the wrong road. I tend to think it was more that she kept demanding him to apologize. That’s what…

Ramos has the backing of the establishment so he’ll definitely be fine. As mentioned above, other umpires have been borderline corrupt and still been okay. I question Ramos’ discretion here, I think he made the wrong call, but I’ve seen worse. He may not do a U.S. Open women’s final for a long time (this was his first…

I agree. I don’t think the meltdown happened until after the third violation when she called in the tournament referee. What keeps getting left out is that she had at least two completely reasonable and amicable conversations with Ramos before that last exchange, which was tense but not extraordinary. But after that…