Streamjumper

The best test of a table's attention issues is to play Paranoia. I've seen groups run out of all their clones without making it past R&D.

My first D&D stuff was from a Waldenbooks in our mall. When they closed years later they let me have the TSR branded endcap shelf all their stuff was kept on. I had that in my room for the longest time.

More specifically, old Radio Shack. Back before the store was 50% shitty remote control toys, 30% As Seen On TV products, 15% this clever item will probably burn your house down (or make whatever you attach it to not work, or void one or more warranty) rather than fulfil whatever miracle it promises, and 5% circuit components. I also miss Media Play, Waldenbooks, and Toys R Us.

Don't forget the classic "Dude." with downward head tilt.

AC, splits, air conditioning distant third. I can count the number of times I've said aircon in my life on the fingers of my nonexistent twin's third hand. And typed it exactly once more than that.

Enfield native here, ready to invade at the drop of a nutmeg grater.

If they ever kidnap the headmaster to bring him on a US road trip, I'd be glued to Youtube for the duration.

Bacon and ham are miracles. First you kill the pig, then you cure it.

Because it is based on a miracle. First we kill the pig, then we cure the pig. Just kidding. Its because we make it from the belly, which has a lot of tough meat with connective tissue and good fat. So you get a decently chewy bit of meat with plenty of nice, renderable fat, for a rich piece of meat with flavor that can stand up to decent smoking, salting, and seasoning. And the better bacons are cured for a good long time, with strong seasoning mixes, then smoked to add more flavor. What you end up with is a nice salty, savory, often somewhat sweet, piece of smoky meat that hits most of the flavors your tongue can taste, has rich mouth feel, good chew, and smells amazing. It triggers so many senses so intensely that you can't not get into it. And, if you can get pork belly, you can even make your own pretty easily. I've already made my own belly bacon, buckboard bacon (from the shoulder, or butt, area), and Canadian bacon, and they're dummy simple other than some math. Skip the wet cures if you decide to try it, and look into Equilibrium curing, where you measure the ingredients precisely for the weight of the meat you're curing. I just takes a week or two (depending on the cut, weight, and dimensions of your pork) in the refrigerator, then a day to set the pellicle (tackiness of the outside of your bacon that helps catch smoke better), then smoke it for a few hours. Then you've got amazing bacon you can really take pride in before furiously scribbling down pages of notes on how to improve your cure mix for the next time.

Yep, and many have some kind of specialty. I remember one that made some stupidly good polish food.

Nutella is popular, but it isn't even vaguely close to Peanut Butter in popularity.

Nice, quiet state. Stays where it is, does what it does, and blends in. As a Nutmegger, I can appreciate that kind of energy. Cup, you're gonna need to cut me some slack here, you know us Connecticut guys can barely manage neutrality on our best days when discussing our favorite things... you gotta realize this is the best I can manage in the high praise department.

This Harry Baals erasure is nuts. I nair thought it'd happen in my lifetime.

Only so we don't get used to the inconsistency.

Especially since D&D was out in the 70s and cabinets are an early 80s thing.

Massachusetts lives up to the notion that a true patriot isn't a cheerleader, but a shepard.

What really gets hilarious is when someone assumes x tiny town has zero significance and then you find out it has a laundry list of events/personages/stuff invented there.

Where are you from? Asking for a friend who really wants to know if your country or region doesn't know how to use a search function or start a subteddit.

I didn't expect a Mustard Plug reference in Ask An American in a million years.

> Props to the New Balance peeps with wide feet! Dear fellow members of the tribe, skip NB and start grabbing Hoka. Better price, better current quality, and way better toe boxes, especially in the 4e ranges.

The deck was small and really felt like it separated you from the yard, plus the price of rebuilding and expanding it wouldn't really be worth it. A paved patio will pull the backyard together. Plus we get a few sitting walls and a fire pit right where we want one with the patio.

I've enjoyed the occasional morning coffee sitting on the raggedy old deck on the back of my house these last few years, no matter the season, watching light shining off the pond through the trees. Gonna miss that deck, but in July it'll be coming down to put a nice new patio in, and I think I'll be loving that too, despite the loss of about 2 feet of elevation.

In addition to the lemon, water, sugar combo that has been mentioned here there is also a somewhat more decadent lemonade you can make with orgeat syrup. Shake 2 oz lemon juice, 2 oz orgeat (an almond and sugar syrup with some other botanical like rose water and orange blossom water) with ice then strain into a tall glass filled with ice. Top with your choice of cold still or carbonated water and give a gentle stir.

Pushing walkability and expanding public transportation should be on the short list too.

Only when I've already eaten 3 of them. I'll be here all week; try the veal. And don't forget to tip your bartender.

I knew Hartford got boned over the years, but the first time I visited the Connecticut Historical Society's museum it really got hammered home for me. I would love to see it rise again, but that's one hell of a long climb, and I don't know if the powers that be are willing to make it happen.

I technically had a stepmother. My then 65 year old dad hooked up with this woman a few years younger than him who he married a few years later. My mother had died about a decade prior, and I don't begrudge him a need for companionship, but she was a terrible person. She was a bit (being generous here) of a narcissist, more than a little of a gold digger, and had a chip on her shoulder when it came to me and my sister (and my nephews). I kept a distant but fair relationship with her. I didn't treat her like a stranger, and was definitely warmer to her than her to me, but she really didn't like the one time I explained to her that I wasn't going to call her "mom" or see her as one. I was a grown-ass man in my late 30s, with my own life and household. She had been no part of my life up til that point (and I refrained from saying it, but made zero effort to be part of it even after she was in it), and certainly wasn't a mother to me. She was also a liar and an alcoholic. We tried to get her help on those for both her and my father's sakes, but she shat all over the times we got her into some very good recovery programs. After multiple times of lying, stealing, and relapsing, my dad finally had enough. He divorced her, booted her out, and last I heard her kids put her in a home where she's currently dealing with alcoholic dementia. She was a horrible person, but I don't blame that on being a stepmother, just a horrible person to begin with. Two of her three kids are trainwrecks of her making and the third is trying to deal with the baggage she got left with due to her shitty luck of the parental lottery. Meanwhile, I've had quite a few friends who've had decent step-parents of both kinds, and several who had amazing step-parents. While the situation has some baked-in social "features" that can be problematic, many of them can also make for a great relationship. One of my friends is way closer to her stepmom than most bio daughters I've seen are to their moms, and I feel that the choice element is a strong factor in that.

If they don't mind me occasionally asking them to repeat themselves because I'm glitching on one of their word choices or pronunciations/accent then I'm one hundred percent fine with them. Hell, I'll go out of my way to talk with them.

A loaf of butter, container of bread, and stick of milk. I know because I've been repeating this to myself since I was told so I could make sure I got it right. Container of butter, loaf of milk, and stick of bread.

Boston cream pit is relatively easy to make, would work nicely for a tea, and would make a nice option in case some of your coworkers aren't keen on baked fruit.

> I am all for visiting other pets though. Being a pet-aunt/uncle is one of the massively underestimated joys in life.

We've got 4 cats right now, 2 "old men" who are around 13-14 and two "kittens" who are 2 years old. When the old men have moved along we intend to get another pair (probably stepping up to at least one Maine Coon and maybe a Norwegian). Our intent is to get cats in pairs so they have a friend their own age, so nobody is ever an only cat nor are they stuck needing to annoy/be annoyed by a friend with a much lower/higher energy level. And when we're past being able to handle another round of kittens, we'll happily adopt a senior cat for a last few years of soft couches, warm laps, and all the head scratches an old beastie can handle. We've got people able and willing to take our cats if anything happens to us, and we're still able to properly care for them. And it is always a bit easier to handle a pet passing when you still have others to keep you going. I wish your girl a smooth passage to the foot of the Rainbow Bridge to reunite with her brothers and sisters who have already arrived. Losing a pet is one of the few things that tends to get harder the more practice you've had. I wish you the best in this. If you're not sure you're ready for another one, nor sure if you're able to life without one, maybe be a doggy uncle for someone? While I'm definitely more of a cat person, I can get some of my dog itches scratched by taking my sister's tiny mixed or nephew's fiancee's shepard for walks/playdates/dogsitting sessions. It may give you the chance to get some of your emotional congestion out and help you arrive at the decisions to get or not get another one with a bit less baggage clouding your decision.

Without even trying I can run into French, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Ukranian, and Arabic.

Same here. It just seems more correct.

Nope. Short form for Package Store, and I believe it predates Pakistani immigrants being very common. It was because due to laws prohibiting a store from buying bulk alcohol and bottling it locally (and possibly altering it), the alcohol had to be sold in a "sealed original package". Thus, properly licensed liquor stores became Package Stores.

Grinder is supposedly both because the guys eating them were often the grinders working in the shipyards and because the bread used was a crusty, dense bread that didn't quickly get soggy in lunchboxes on long shifts, so they needed to really chew them in a grinding motion.

Bottle shop or jug shop are a pretty common name for particular packies. I've known at least 5 or 6 Jug Shops.

A good diplomatic middle ground on the fridge is that anything is fair game, but ask/comment before doing anything that might be pushing, like grabbing nicer stuff or the last of something.

A good port practically begs you to drink it. Especially if you've got some good snacks to go with it.

Northeast here. We'll offer some kind of beverage, and if you say no we won't press, but the offer is open in case you decide a bit later. We might mention it again at some point, but that's mostly to make sure you're still good, and/or because we're about to get one for ourselves, and don't want to be rude about it. We'll generally make sure there's enough food if you're there for a meal, and will encourage you to eat more if you look like you're hungry, but most of us won't push you to eat more. Granted, if its a special occasion or you're in the home of specific ethnicities, the rules change a bit. Italian and Latino households almost pride themselves when it comes to feasting their guests.

Same, but delivered with a direct tone and maintained eye contact.

I've got family all over Maine, especially around the Saco area, including some lobstermen, so between that and them pulling in something like 80% of the national haul, I think them Maine first too. If someone's gonna go to the Boston area for lobster, they're better off hitting the coastline around Boston for a better experience though.

Ah. Misread.

This is the way.

> Lobster is best in New England, unfortunately not on your itinerary but it's a lovely part of the country to visit if you're not locked into your current plan! Otherwise NYC for lobster like others have said. Day trip to Coastal Connecticut can be about 2 hours from NYC and there's tons of lobster shacks down there as well as plenty of scenic and historic tourist sites.

Connecticut coastline has tons of iconic lobster shacks from boats that fish the same waters. We just bring in less of the overall catch. And not only would it be a short day trip compared to Boston or Maine, but overall cheaper. Hell, even the food itself would probably be cheaper than Boston.

No.

> This might be only one small side-quest on your trip - but if trying great fresh lobster is high on your priority list you'll want to detour to coastal Maine, and summer is best. Less far, Boston could be a good spot. Coastal Connecticut is right there, with tons of authentic lobster shacks. And some nice places to visit.

If your trip includes NY and DC, but California is where you're getting your lobster fix, you have problems.

Its almost certainly going to be fresh if you're getting boiled Maine Lobster in NYC. Its literally a few hours from the boats in CT/MA, and a few more from Maine.