#and also do my presentation for crab con

[recaffeine]

11/6/2024

The jaw surgery was a level of the season finale of 2024. With it came a lot. It marked a higher level of closeness again for the Foodie Four. It also was the end of the Victoria arc for quite some time. During 2023, I have to admit, I was doing my best to prevent with what the world was giving me. I was trying hard to protect the ones that I love and cherish.

What I've learned this year is that life must take its natural course. Like the waves of the ocean, it will ebb and flow; leaving me with little control over the final product. To be present and to be content means acceptance of whatever changes will happen in the future. That is what it means to grow. Growth is uncomfortable and rightfully scary.

Timeline of the jaw surgery:

24 hours before: I am able to sleep decently knowing that Alec, Anh, Tom and Julie will be there to help me get through it.

1 hour before the surgery: I remember being calm and the fear isn't there anymore. I'm ready to do this.

48 hours post surgery: I am pumped up with antibiotics, anti inflammatory medication, and pain medication. I appreciate that I chose Anh to be my life partner because she stays with me the first full 24 hours. She didn't eat much and having her there made me feel safe. On Day 2, she leaves the hospital for a few hours to eat and shower. I'm alone for just a few moments and I realize how absolutely terrifying it would have been without her.

Day 3: I check out. I was told that only 10% of Dr. Alfi's patients stay two nights at the hospital. Most choose to leave on the first day. My first meal of choice is pho broth from Pho Binh. It is a restaurant that Justin and his family used to take me growing up. It brings a lot of comfort to me.

Day 4-5: These are the most difficult days. I struggle stomach pain which could be from the inflammatory medication taking its toll on my stomach lining. I always had issue with my left jaw joint before the surgery and it starts to be extremely painful when I apply any form of pressure to my left side. I am only able to sleep on my right side at the moment. I try to ration my narcotic medication. There are only 10 tablets. I try to only take half doses every 6 hours.

Day 6-7: Recovery is going really well. I am able to be outside the entire day Saturday hunting pokemon cards at Collect-a-con. The event gives me a reason to move around. Day 7, we leave Houston and the ride back is not easy but it wasn't excruciating either.

Anh is the MVP of all of this.

Food/water: The training I obtain from the braces in the first year and a half allow me to transition quite easily into liquid diet. I am mostly drinking pho broths, egg drop soup, crab and asparagus soup, and wonton soup. We try using the immersion blender but it is quite messy and the consistency is not thin enough to use an oral syringe.

Mental health: I have spent the last 4 years fortifying my mental health. I believe because of my fiery spirit that I'm able to really power through this surgery without a hiccup in my mood.

Power up: If being a pharmacist was the mark of me becoming a super saiyan, my therapy/healing/knowledge journey of the last 4 years being super saiyan 2, this jaw surgery would propel to be ultimate gohan. My energy levels are out of this world and I'm able to make it through without any caffeine and adderall to make it through the day. I believe that this will be integral towards my dream of writing a successful book that will help others.

I have to admit that this year, I've spent a lot of it taking care of myself. I try to be there for others but it's not at the level that I'm normally accustomed to. I'm hoping that after my jaw surgery healing is complete, that I'm able to work towards my goal to help others with my writing.

Until next time.

[fbwzoo]

Store logo!!!! 🥰🥰🥰 @zooophagous did the amazing crab, & a friend helped fix up the lettering to exactly what I wanted.

[supernoondles]

2019

The last day of 2019 was also the day I fainted for the first time--a fitting metaphor for the year.

2019 was overall very emotionally taxing. This year was emotionally defined by falling intensely, deeply in love with someone (who is a very private person so I will try to be vague to respect that) and being in a lot of pain because of situations mostly outside of our control. There were a lot of intensely joyous moments, and a lot of intensely sad ones. Throughout it all I wish I had communicated better. I also made some bad decisions with another person I really loved and cared about that resulted in us growing apart. Do I think I grew from the experiences? For sure. Do I wish I could have come upon these realizations through a different course of action? Also yes. Am I fully healed from the experiences? Not really, but I've been getting better.

2019 was also very bad in terms of research. It was the 2nd year of my PhD. After I submitted my rotation project I basically felt stuck in the swamp of my advisors rejecting new project ideas for like literally half a year. This, combined with my high emotional volatility (partially due to starting birth control), made me really sad, unmotivated, and susceptible to self-blame. I definitely had high expectations for myself and became frustrated at my lack of progress and felt a lot of pressure from myself to get my shit together. I also felt incredibly bad after most advisor meetings and not supported by one of them to the point where I had to have a conversation with him about the lack of support (which was very scary)! Things started picking up, though, near the end of the year. I published a paper in collaboration with a former post-doc/now professor elsewhere whom I learned a lot from, and started finally building out another system. I also started mentoring an undergrad who at some point told me I helped him feel like he had something important to say and belong at Stanford for the first time and those words meant a lot to me. I think I'm continuing to refine what I value as research contributions and increasingly think about what it means to build systems that aren't used outside of the lab to satisfy the annual conference publishing cycle. I'm also starting to feel the pressure of doing work that follows a narrative rather than random projects that interest me.

Oh, I guess in terms of "program requirements," I did finish taking required classes, passed qualifying exams, and got a master's degree. But honestly those weren't hard at all nor do I think are externally valued in the larger research community, so I don't really celebrate them as accomplishments beyond surface level.

In 2019 I saw two different therapists. The first one was awful, I think directly influenced some of my bad decisions, and also didn't respect my gender identity??? The second one is a lot better and I'm grateful to see her, even if 90% of our sessions are just talking about my relationship (romantic/advisor) issues, which is something I want to move away from in the future. But I also feel incredibly privileged when relationship issues are the primary stressors in my life--I am grateful I feel equipped to handle other crap, like deadlines, and don't have to worry about my own health.

Those were the main things that have colored this year. We'll now move into the section of this post where I go through my photos to jog my memory of other events.

New years started a tradition of getting dim sum with Jasper, Matthew, and Michelle dear to my heart. My high school friend was also visiting and we all attended a really awesome new year's eve party. I was also going on a lot of dates and having a lot of good sex, which made me really happy, and at the same time crying all the time at work. In February I received probably the best gift anyone has ever given me and saw Panic! at the Disco, which I said in an end of the year group meeting was a good memory of my year (it was, to relive my scene days!). In March I roadtripped both to Marin (which I had never to been before, despite all my years in the bay) and LA for Wondercon; it was nice to both see high school friends and go on a trip with the boo. In April I went on a hike with my office which was probably the start of us all becoming closer (we are the social office in the wing now, which I take pride in! Also we draw a lot of Pokemon which warms my heart). In May I went to CHI in Glasgow and then to Paris afterward, and the entire experience was very weird and bad and also too many flights were canceled and/or missed and I vowed to not return to Europe for a while, but man do I love the noodles at Trois Fois plus de Piment. In June we hosted a double apartment party with my downstairs neighbors (side note: I am really appreciative of the place I live in, for the community, convenience, and large-ass space and will be really sad to be kicked out fall 2020) and I started a friendship important to me. I cat-sat for my advisor (the one who doesn't make me feel bad) twice. I went to Redwood State Park with my family and hosted a summer solstice celebration. Over the summer a friend I met in Paris back in 2017 moved in with me. I had a much needed escape from the bay to Seattle where I was reminded how abundant the world can be. I also went to Tahoe to celebrate my parents' anniversary, and really liked stumbling upon a smaller lake with a cheap boat rental. Then I became FOMO about the highly competitive Bay Area camping and did a last minute walk-in at Redwood Basin in Santa Cruz, which made me realize that I don't actually love camping (but was nice nonetheless). I ate an expensive meal at Commonwealth before they closed. For my birthday we made a friendship quilt and I served my favorite dish of cumin lamb but it was also 90 degrees in my apartment (I felt really bad and bought two fans afterwards). I started buying many cartoon frog plush after being gifted a $3.99 on sale Safeway frog (called Baby!). I went on Tinder dates (one of which was at a quaker yard sale marketed as Harvest Festival where I got a 1970s Kermit puppet for like $2) that largely went nowhere. My high school friend visited and we were both sad about break ups. I did Inktober before I went to New Orleans for a conference on Bourbon St where everything felt like it was coated in a sticky film of alcohol. I almost missed my flight home because I fell asleep in a sculpture garden but I had the most amazing Uber driver who snaked his way through traffic (oh and the flight was delayed by like 3 hours). I went to kind of embarrassing haunted houses and pumpkin patches over Halloween, but also had the most incredible bowl of ramen at Mensho. My whole office dressed up as Zootopia characters which warmed my furry heart. I spent like $120 on a Pokemon shirt. I started playing Arkham Horror and rekindled another friendship important to me. In November went on a road trip to Big Sur because again, I had to escape it all. For Christmas Eve dinner I roasted a duck for the first time (which was delicious). Shortly after I waited in line for 2 hours for a rollercoaster at Great America, which taught me the value of buying a fast pass because at this point in my life that money is worth it, and then waited 2 hours in line at the DMV to get a RealID (I had made an appointment, which was the fast pass).

Okay, now we move to the hobby section!

I got really into sewing in 2019, having received a sewing machine last Christmas. I made a Judy Hopps (which I wore to CrunchyRoll Expo) and Korok cosplay (Fanime), several unsuccessful garments, a crab bean bag, a dice bag, a fanny pack, and put hearts nipples on a jumpsuit.

Shows! I think I went to way fewer shows this year. The ones I can remember are Elephant Gym, Thom Yorke the night before I had an 8am flight, Carly Rae Jepsen over pride weekend (also, she is my #1 artist of the year, which makes a lot of sense given my emotional space), Mitski at Stern Grove, Capitol Hill Bloc Party (which was super lame, except for Lizzo, where I cried), and the National (which was a fucking surreal experience as they played on Stanford's campus, I was the only one within earshot of myself who knew the words to Crybaby Geeks, and then the white catalog moms came up to me after to thank me for singing the song).

I also started playing my own music! I started playing viola again for the first time in 7 years (lol) in both pop-up concerts with the Awesome Orchestra (one in Golden Gate Park, one at the Exploratorium) and a string quartet through my school. Sometimes I am filled with joy and delight. Other times interpersonal tensions run high and also I am very bad at being in tune. It's life.

Media! I really liked Mob Psycho 100 Season 2 and Beastars. I feel like those were the only notable anime I watched this year? I saw the Farewell three times--first in Seattle where I sobbed for like 1 hour after the movie, the second time with my parents, and the third where Awkwafina was present for a Q&A. I thought Parasite was incredible and Promare was OK. I have spent an unfortunately large amount of my time playing Pokemon Masters. I finally beat BOTW and completed my Pokedex in Shield like 2 weeks after getting the game.

Resolutions! In my draft of my 2018 end of year post (which I never polished and posted, sorry), I said my resolutions were 1. come out to my parents 2. draw enough to table at an anime con 3. be disciplined about paper reading and have a doc. I did none of these things!!! However, for 1, I feel like I am well equipped to have this conversation but am waiting for my sibling to do it first out of respect. 2 was just bad. I barely drew this year except for gifts. 3 was okay--I did have a large doc in the beginning of the year when I was looking for ideas, but as time went on I abandoned it (I also stopped reading papers, which I don't think you're supposed to do as a grad student...)

My resolutions this year are phrased as intentions (-(c) Matthew). They span several categories. Relationships: I want to open myself to and actively seek experiences of love, because I miss that. That being said, I will only date someone if 1. they have their life together 2. they love themselves and 3. they challenge me to grow. (I do think you can experience love without dating; the thing I'm after is love in an expansive sense.) Work: I want to do enough work so I don't feel guilty about not doing enough work, and also not berate myself for taking a long time to do things. Hobbies: I want to sew at least one thing a month. Chinese: I want to improve my Chinese, especially pronunciation.

Having written this 20 days into 2020, it's not been so bad so far. But I was also really happy in the beginning of 2019. Here's to no global maxima, a monotonically increasing year!

[regencyresource]

( * &. ━ list of slang words from the 1920′s

presenting a long list of slang terms from the “roaring twenties" ! the age of mobsters and jazz ! the time of longing after married women and staring into green-lights to include in your literary ventures ! i claim no ownership for this list, it was sourced HERE.

A

Alderman: A man's pot-belly

Ameche: Telephone 

Ankle: (n) Woman; (v) To walk 

Ab-so-lute-ly: Affirmative, yes 

Absent treatment: Dancing with a timid partner 

Air tight: Very attractive 

Airedale: An unattractive man 

Alarm clock: A chaperone 

All wet: Incorrect 

And how!: I strongly agree! 

Applesauce: Flattery, nonsense, i.e.. "Aw, applesauce!" 

Attaboy!: Well done!; also, Attagirl! 

B

Babe: Woman 

Baby: A person, can be said to either a man or a woman 

Bangtails: Racehorses 

Barber: Talk 

Be on the nut: To be broke 

Bean-shooter: Gun 

Beef: Problem 

Bee's Knees: An extraordinary person, thing or idea

Beezer: Nose 

Behind the eight ball: In a difficult position, in a tight spot 

Bent Cars: Stolen cars 

Big Cheese, Big Shot: The boss, someone of importance and influence 

Big House: Jail 

Big One: Death 

Big Sleep: Death 

Bim: Woman 

Bindle: The bundle in which a hobo carries all his worldly possessions 

Bindle punk or bindle stiff: Chronic wanderers, migratory harvest workers, and lumber jacks

Bing: Jailhouse talk for solitary confinement 

Bird: Man 

Bit: Prison sentence 

Blip off: To kill 

Blow: Leave 

Blow one down: Kill someone 

Blower: Telephone 

Bluenose: A prude

Bo: Pal, buster, fellow 

Boiler: Car 

Boob: Dumb guy 

Boozehound: Drunkard 

Bop: To kill 

Box: A safe or a bar 

Box job: A safecracking 

Brace (somebody): Grab, shake up 

Bracelets: Handcuffs 

Break it up: Stop that, quit the nonsense 

Breeze: To leave, breeze off: get lost 

Broad: Woman 

Bruno: Tough guy, enforcer 

Bucket: Car 

Bulge, The: The advantage 

Bulls: Plainclothes railroad cops; uniformed police; prison guards 

Bum's rush, To get the: To be kicked out 

Bump: Kill 

Bump Gums: To talk about nothing worthwhile 

Bump off: Kill; also, bump-off: a killing 

Burn powder: Fire a gun 

Bus: Big car 

Butter-and-egg-man: The money man, the man with the bankroll, a yokel who comes to town to blow a big wad in nightclubs 

Button: Face, nose, end of jaw 

Button man: Professional killer 

Buttons: Police 

Butts: Cigarettes 

Buzz: Looks person up, comes to persons door 

Buzzer: Policeman's badge 

C

C: $100, a pair of Cs = $200 

Cabbage: Money 

Caboose: Jail 

Call copper: Inform the police 

Can: Jail, Car 

Can house: Bordello 

Can-opener: Safecracker who opens cheap safes 

Canary: Woman singer 

Carry a Torch: Suffering from an unrequited love

Case dough: Nest egg 

Cat: Man 

Cat's Meow: Something splendid or stylish 

Cat's Pajamas: Term of endearment as in "I think you are really really cool"

Century: $100 

Cheaters: Sunglasses 

Cheese it: Put things away, hide 

Chew: Eat 

Chicago lightning: Gunfire 

Chicago overcoat: Coffin 

Chick: Woman 

Chilled off: Killed 

Chin: Conversation; chinning: talking 

Chin music: Punch on the jaw 

Chinese squeeze: Grafting by skimming profits off the top 

Chippy: Woman of easy virtue 

Chisel: To swindle or cheat 

Chiv: Knife, "a stabbing or cutting weapon" 

Chopper squad: Men with machine guns 

Chump: Person marked for a con or a gullible person

Clammed: Close-mouthed (clammed up) 

Clean sneak: An escape with no clues left behind 

Clip joint: In some cases, a nightclub where the prices are high and the patrons are fleeced 

Clipped: Shot 

Close your head: Shut up 

Clout: Shoplifter 

Clubhouse: Police station 

Con: Confidence game, swindle 

Conk: Head 

Cool: To knock out 

Cooler: Jail 

Cop: Detective, even a private one 

Copped, to be: Grabbed by the cops 

Copper: Policeman 

Corn: Bourbon ("corn liquor") 

Crab: Figure out 

Crate: Car 

Croak: To kill 

Croaker: Doctor 

Crush: An infatuation 

Crushed out: Escaped (from jail) 

Cut down: Killed 

D

Daisy: None too masculine 

Dame: Woman 

Dance: To be hanged 

Dangle: Leave, get lost 

Daylight, as in "fill him with daylight": Put a hole in, by shooting or stabbing 

Deck, as in "deck of Luckies": Pack of cigarettes 

Derrick: Shoplifter 

Dib: Share (of the proceeds) 

Dick: Detective (usually qualified with "private" if not a policeman) 

Dingus: Thing 

Dip: Pickpocket 

Dip the bill: Have a drink 

Dish: Pretty woman 

Dive: A low-down, cheap sort of place 

Dizzy with a dame, To be: To be deeply in love with a woman 

Do the dance: To be hanged 

Dogs: Feet 

Dope fiend: Drug addict 

Dope peddler: Drug dealer 

Dough: Money 

Drift: Go, leave 

Drill: Shoot 

Drop a dime: Make a phone call, sometimes meaning to the police to inform on someone 

Droppers: Hired killers 

Drum: Speakeasy 

Dry-gulch: Knock out, hit on head after ambushing 

Duck soup: Easy, a piece of cake 

Dummerer: Someone who pretends to be deaf and/or dumb to appear a more deserving beggar 

Dump: Roadhouse, club; or, more generally, any place 

Dust out: Leave, depart 

E

Egg: Man 

Electric cure: Electrocution 

Elephant ears: Police 

F

Fade: Go away, get lost 

Fakeloo artist: Con man 

Fella: A man 

Fin: $5 bill 

Finder: Finger man 

Finger, Put the finger on: Identify 

Flaming Youth: Male counterpart to a flapper

Flapper: A stylish, brash young woman with short skirts and shorter hair

Flat Tire: A dull-witted or disappointing date

Flattie: Flatfoot, cop 

Flimflam: Swindle 

Flippers: Hands 

Flivver: A Ford automobile 

Flogger: Overcoat 

Flop: Go to bed or fallen through, not worked out 

Flophouse: A cheap transient hotel where a lot of men sleep in large rooms 

Fog: To shoot 

Frail: Woman 

Frau: Wife 

Fry: To be electrocuted 

Fuzz: Police 

G

Gal: Woman 

Gams: A Woman’s Legs 

Gasper: Cigarette 

Gat: Gun 

Get Sore: Get mad 

Getaway sticks: Legs 

Giggle juice: Liquor 

Giggle Water: Liquor 

Gin mill: Bar 

Glad rags: Fancy clothes 

Glaum: Steal 

Goofy: Crazy 

Goog: Black eye 

Goon: Thug 

Gooseberry lay: Stealing clothes from a clothesline 

Gowed-up: On dope, high 

Grab (a little) air: Put your hands up 

Graft: Con jobs or cut of the take 

Grand: $1000 

Grift: Confidence game, swindle 

Grifter: Con man 

Grilled: Questioned 

Gumshoe: Detective 

Gumshoeing: Detective work 

Gun for: Look for, be after 

Guns: Pickpockets, Hoodlums 

Guy: A man 

H

Hack: Taxi 

Half, a: 50 cents 

Hard: Tough 

Harlem Sunset: Some sort fatal injury caused by knife 

Hash House: A cheap restaurant 

Hatchet men: Killers, gunmen 

Have the Bees: To be rich 

Head doctors: Psychiatrists 

Heap: Car 

Heat: Police 

Heater: Gun 

Heebie-Jeebies: The jitters

Heeled: Carrying a gun 

High-Hat: To snub 

High Pillow: Person at the top, in charge 

Highbinders: Corrupt politician or functionary 

Hinky: Suspicious 

Hitting the pipe: Smoking opium 

Hitting on all eight: In good shape, going well 

Hock shop: Pawnshop 

Hogs: Engines 

Hombre: Man, fellow 

Hooch: Liquor 

Hood: Criminal 

Hoofer: Dancer

Hoosegow: Jail 

Horn: Telephone 

Hot: Stolen 

Hotsy-Totsy: Pleasing

House dick: House/hotel detective 

House peeper: House/hotel detective 

Hype: Shortchange artist 

I

Ice : Diamonds 

Ing-bing, as in to throw an: A fit 

Iron: A car 

J

Jack: Money 

Jalopy: An old car

Jam: Trouble, a tight spot 

Jane: A woman 

Java: Coffee 

Jaw: Talk 

Jerking a nod: Nodding 

Jingle-brained: Addled 

Jobbie: Man 

Joe: Coffee, as in "a cup of joe" 

Johns: Police 

Johnson brother: Criminal 

Joint: Place, as in "my joint" 

Juice: Interest on a loanshark's loan 

Jug: Jail 

Jump, The: A hanging 

K

Kale: Money 

Keen: Attractive or appealing

Kick off: Die 

Kiss: To punch 

Kisser: Mouth 

Kitten: Woman 

Knock off: Kill 

L

Lammed off: Ran away, escaped 

Large: $1,000; twenty large would be $20,000 

Law, the: The police 

Lead, "fill ya full of lead": the term used for bullets 

Lead poisoning: To be shot 

Lettuce: Folding money 

Lid: Hat 

Line: Insincere flattery

Lip: (Criminal) lawyer 

Looker: Pretty woman 

Look-out: Outside man 

Lousy with: To have lots of 

M

Mac: A man 

Made: Recognized 

Map: Face 

Marbles: Pearls 

Mark: Sucker, victim of swindle or fixed game 

Maroon: Person marked for a con or a gullible person

Meat wagon: Ambulance 

Mickey Finn: A drink drugged with knock-out drops 

Mill: Typewriter 

Mitt: Hand 

Mob: Gang (not necessarily Mafia) 

Mohaska: Gun 

Moll: Girlfriend 

Monicker: Name 

Mouthpiece: Lawyer 

Mugs: Men (especially refers to dumb ones) 

N

Nailed: Caught by the police 

Nevada gas: Cyanide 

Newshawk: Reporter 

Newsie: Newspaper vendor 

Nibble one: To have a drink 

Nicked: Stole 

Nippers: Handcuffs 

Noodle: Head 

Number: A person 

O

Off the track: Said about a person who becomes insanely violent 

Op: Detective 

Orphan paper: Bad checks 

Out on the roof: To drink a lot, to be drunk 

Oyster fruit: Pearls 

P

Packing Heat: Carrying a gun 

Pal: A man 

Palooka: Man, probably not very smart 

Pan: Face 

Paste: Punch 

Patsy: Person who is set up; fool, chump 

Paw: Hand 

Peaching: Informing 

Peeper: Detective 

Peepers: Eyes 

Pen: Penitentiary, jail 

Peterman: Safecracker who uses nitroglycerin 

Piece: Gun 

Pigeon: Stool-pigeon 

Pinch: An arrest, capture 

Pins: Legs 

Pipe: See or notice 

Pipes: Throat 

Plant: Someone on the scene but in hiding, Bury 

Plug: Shoot 

Plugs: People 

Poke: Bankroll, stake 

Pooped: Killed 

Pop: Kill 

Pro skirt: Prostitute 

Puffing: Mugging 

Pug: Pugilist, boxer 

Pump: Heart 

Pump metal: Shoot bullets 

Punk: Hood, thug 

Pushover: A person easily convinced of something

Puss: Face 

Put down: Drink 

Put the screws on: Question, get tough with 

R

Rags: Clothes 

Ranked: Observed, watched, given the once-over 

Rap: Criminal charge 

Rappers: Fakes, set-ups 

Rat: Inform 

Rate: To be good, to count for something 

Rats and mice: Dice, i.e. craps 

Rattler: Train 

Red-light: To eject from a car or train 

Redhot: Some sort of criminal 

Reefers: Marijuana cigarettes 

Rhino: Money 

Right: Adjective indicating quality 

Ringers: Fakes 

Ritzy: Elegant 

Rod: Gun 

Roscoe: Gun 

Rub-out: A killing 

Rube: Bumpkin, easy mark 

Rumble, the: The news 

S

Sap: A dumb guy 

Sap poison: Getting hit with a sap 

Savvy: Get me? Understand? 

Sawbuck: $10 bill (a double sawbuck is a $20 bill) 

Schnozzle: Nose 

Scram out: Leave 

Scratch: Money 

Scratcher: Forger 

Send over: Send to jail 

Shamus: (Private) detective 

Sharper: A swindler or sneaky person 

Sheba: A woman with sex appeal 

Sheik: A man with sex appeal 

Shells: Bullets 

Shiv: Knife 

Shylock: Loanshark 

Shyster: Lawyer 

Sing: Make a confession 

Sister: Woman 

Skate around: To be of easy virtue 

Skid rogue: A bum who can't be trusted 

Skirt: Woman 

Slant, Get a: Take a look 

Sleuth: Detective 

Slug: A bullet or to knock unconscious 

Smoked: Drunk 

Snap a cap: Shout 

Snatch: Kidnap 

Sneeze: Take 

Snitch: An informer, or to inform 

Snooper: Detective 

Speakeasy: An illicit bar selling bootleg liquor 

Spiffy: Looking elegant 

Soak: To pawn 

Sock: Punch 

Soup: Nitroglycerine 

Soup job: To crack a safe using nitroglycerine 

Spill: Talk, inform 

Spinach: Money 

Spitting: Talking 

Square: Honest 

Squeeze: A female companion or girlfriend

Squirt metal: Shoot bullets 

Step off: To be hanged 

Stiff: A corpse 

Sting: Culmination of a con game 

Stool-pigeon: Informer 

Stoolie: Stool-pigeon 

Stuck On: Having a crush on 

Sucker: Someone ripe for a grifter's scam 

Sugar: Money 

Swanky: Ritzy 

Swell: Wonderful 

T

Tail: Shadow or follow 

Take a powder: Leave 

Take on: Eat 

Take for a Ride: Drive off with someone in order to bump them off 

Take the air: Leave 

Take the bounce: To get kicked out 

Take the fall for: Accept punishment for 

That's the crop: That's all of it 

Three-spot: Three-year jail term 

Throw lead: Shoot bullets 

Ticket: P.I. license 

Tiger milk: Some sort of liquor 

Tighten the screws: Put pressure on somebody 

Tin: Badge 

Tip a few: To have a few drinks 

Tomato: Pretty woman 

Tooting the wrong ringer: Asking the wrong person 

Torpedoes: Gunmen 

Trap: Mouth 

Trigger man: Man whose job is to use a gun 

Trouble boys: Gangsters 

Twist: Woman 

Two bits: $25, or 25 cents 

U

Under glass: In jail 

W

Weak sister: A push-over 

Wear iron: Carry a gun 

Wise head: A smart person 

Wooden kimono: A coffin 

Wop: derogatory term for an Italian 

Worker, as in "She sizes up as a worker": A woman who takes a guy for his money 

Wrong gee: Not a good fellow 

Wrong number: Not a good fellow 

Y

Ya Follow: do you understand? 

Yap: Mouth 

Yard: $100 

Yegg: Safecracker who can only open cheap and easy safes 

Z

Zotzed: Killed

Zozzled: Drunk

[cdelint]

Photo by Al Bogdan

On the first weekend in November 2018 I received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Convention. Great though the honour was, initially I was reluctant to make the trip down to Baltimore to receive it in person due to the political climate in the US. But MaryAnn and various friends wore me down until I finally agreed to go. I’m glad I did.

I saw little of the pettiness and bullying that the current White House administration espouses except from one particularly obnoxious TSA agent as we were leaving the country. Most of my time was spent in the cocoon of the convention hotel where the civility and warmth of the attendees was the rule. I got to spend time and chat with so many wonderful readers and my peers—most of whom I hadn’t seen since the WFC in Saratoga Springs back in 2015.

Highlights were hanging with Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Evonne T., Charles Vess & Karen Shaffer, Ellen Klages and Leslie Howle throughout the weekend. Making music with the vastly talented Sarah Pinsker. A visit to the aquarium and the walk we took to Evonne’s recommendation of Faidley’s where we had the very best of crab cakes. Watching Greg Manchess do a live portrait of Michael Swanwick. Being surprised by Sara Felix flying up from Austin for Saturday night just to see us. Making new friends such as Linda Addison and Clarence “Zig Zag” Young. A dinner with Betsy Wolheim, another with Joe Monti. Sharing a table at the banquet with Joe & Gay Haldeman. Finally meeting Jonathan Strahan after so many years of only electronic communication.  Receiving my award from my editor at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Gordon Van Gelder. Being able to cheer for Ellen Klages when she won her award for her book Passing Strange and Greg for his win as Best Artist. The opening speech by Linda Addison and the acceptance speeches by Fonda Lee and Natalia Theodoridou.

Here’s the speech I gave when accepting my award:

First of all I’d like to thank the judges for this honour—it’s an especially good year for it to happen since I’m sharing it with Betsy Wolheim, the heart behind DAW Books. I’ve been enjoying DAW Books from when they first burst upon the scene with their distinctive yellow spines to the present day where they still publish some of my favourite writers such as Tanya Huff and Seanan McGuire.

I’d also like to send out my appreciation to the con committee for all their kindness and help.

No one wants to hear a long rambling acceptance speech—less is more, after all—but an honour such as this only comes around once in a lifetime and there are a number of people I really need to thank for their help and support in making my career what it is.

The impulse in a situation such as this to name and thank everyone who has ever been a part of this journey I embarked on back in the seventies when I stopped being the person who wrote simply for fun and the need to tell stories and became someone who still loves and appreciates his career but also wants to make a living doing it. So I do want to thank everyone who has supported me through the years. All of the editors I’ve been lucky enough to work with—and especially Tom Doherty, Patrick Nielsen Hayden and all the folks at Tor who gave my books a home for so many years. My peers and friends for their support and my agent Russ Galen who’s treated me so well and is always ready to try something new.

And of course all the readers who continue to make my career a viable possibility. I have the best readers in the world and because of them I have the best job in the world.

But I would like to specifically thank a few people who made a real difference.

My buddy Rodger Turner has been along on this journey since the very beginning. We both started out as readers. While I went on to write, Rodger has been more behind the scenes, owning an indie book store for a while, doing a little publishing, serving on the WFC executive and doing websites for the likes of World Horror, The Magazine of F&SF and authors like Tim Powers and myself. He’s been a support through all the ups and down of my career and we still get together to talk books once a week.

Terri Windling started out as my editor and became a friend who, if I get to pick a family of choice, is definitely my sister. In terms of my writing she’s the one who encouraged me to keep telling stories in a contemporary setting and, especially in the early years, gave them a home. She also taught me more about writing and my own voice than any number of writing tutorials and editors combined.

When I first started writing dinosaurs still roamed the world and we communicated by writing letters. That’s how I met Charles Vess and it’s how we knew each other for many years. We were in pretty much the same place with our respective careers and cheered each other on in amidst yakking about the books, art and music we loved. Since those early days we’ve collaborated on a number of projects but the thing I still like best is hanging around with him and his wife Karen—who I might add, is a trickster, so be careful what you wish for around her. A hundred years from now they’ll be telling Karen stories in the Virginia hills just as they tell Jack stories now.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman hasn’t been as much an influence on my writing as on my life. She lives every day to its fullest and I can assure you that you won’t go wrong in a confusing situation to ask yourself, what would Nina do? If it’s not always the right thing it’s invariably the most fun.

I also count Leslie Howle among the dear friends that came my way through my writing. I know many of you have experienced her generous hospitality and encouragement first hand. We should all have such steadfast friends cheering us on.

Lastly I want to thank my wife MaryAnn although saying thanks seems so inadequate. She should be standing up here with me. We’ve been a partnership for decades and without her participation in my career I probably wouldn’t be in front of you accepting this honour. So this one’s for you, dear heart, and may we keep making stories for many years to come. And we might even share a few of the ones that get written down.

We live in a divisive and perilous time—not simply in this country or my home province of Ontario, but all over the world. To my American friends, I hope you’ve registered to vote. And if you have I urge you to go out and exercise that right on Tuesday.

Remember that democracy is not a free ride but a responsibility.

[pheonixandthewisteria]

So @m-iikan tagged me in a little tag post thing-y and sorrY for the delay I uhhh, haven’t been on tumblr much recently, but nevertheless,, So this is a tag 11 people and respond to the questions and ask your own then!~ So lets get right on in~ 1) What song have you had on repeat recently? Umm,,, for me I listen to a lot of music so there’s been like 3 on repeat recently, and those are; Alec Benjamin - The Wolf and the Sheep, Ruelle - Game of Survival, and Lindsey Stirling - Crystallize.

2) If the apocalypse arrived and you had to survive for whatever reason and you could only pick one person you met online to help you get through, who would it be and why? Well, I’ve only met a few people online honestly, it would be my friends Max and Vanner or you @m-iikan. So I totally adore all of you and I’m honestly the type who enjoys meeting new people (even if it does exhaust me and make me nervous at times) and learning more about them, who they are, why they are. Max and Vanner would be because we already bonded so much over so many things and having someone else who understands a lot about how I operate and feel over things would be good. Next, M-iikan, it’s cause I’m totally excited to hypothetically(I wouldn’t force anyone) to meet you, we’ve spoken only a few times, and it wasn’t always positive but I feel like we could get a better environment created and get our heads above the water!  3) Favourite Book?

Hhh, umm.... This is more impulse because I’m watching the Shadowhunter Series, but I really Loved the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, I love Will and Jem and Tessa so much, I just wish- *deleted for safety of spoilers x33*

4) What’s one food you can never get tired of? 

Crab Meat Tempura. I’m love. One true love.

5) Best thing that happened to you in the past year? Quitting my job at a retail store and starting in a manufacturing company, it seems kinda simple but it is so much better, I sleep a lot better, I don’t spend time after work thinking of ways to get out of work nearly as often, don’t feel nearly as depressed due to the pressure that company put on me, so I’ll have to say that changed my mentality quite a bit. It was a risk at the start but, it was definitely worth it.

6) Shuffle your music what plays first? (I refuse to list how many times I decided against the first song it plays because its itunes and I have too many songs I shame myself for having not deleted yet) But we’ll go with the first song that I actually enjoy listening to that played was Exec_Flip_Arphage by Shikata Akiko from the Ar Tonelico III game.

7) Favourite TV show ever?

Hrm, I’ll assume this doesn’t include anime to keep my nerdism in, but I already alluded to this show before, but I absolutely adore the Shadowhunters Series. It’s on Hulu and I hate that it’s almost over, even though I know it was probably only intended to follow the Mortal Instruments books... The series is based on the books by Cassandra Clare, one of my all time favourite writers.

8) Favourite Memory

Hhholy cats, I umm... I’ll actually chose the memories I have for a particular home I lived in, but my favourite memory has to be a random blurry memory from when I was reallllly young, like hmm, maybe 2-5 years old. I had been with my family for Christmas and my uncle Lane and I had built a little fort of christmas presents and I had a little peek hole to see my family but declared myself (I think, mind you this is a very distant memory) queen of the presents, before taking them to each person whom they were for. 9) What kind of weather do you prefer most?

When it is only lightly raining and typically in autumn so you can smell the trees in the air and sunny enough to make it not be outright cold. I’m also fond of when it’s windy on a sunny warm day, not too warm just warm enough to be tank top and shorts weather.

10) Favourite fictional character and why? This question always kills me, but I’ll say Sai/X/The Phantom Thief from Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro created by Yusei Matsui. Next is Sai from Majin Tantei, So, they’re kinda the main villain for a large portion of it, but they’re just trying to find themself, TBH the gender thing for Sai is largely confusing, so I’ll stick with they/them for them due to it being a complex spoiler if I go too far into it, but they just wrecked my heart with their story and their background and what happened with Ai, I found myself sobbing through quite a lot of Majin Tantei because the characters are so good, Sai was an understandable villain who did grotesque things not always with the best intentions, but to teach a lesson of cherishing what you have before it’s gone, it’s kinda crazy really, Sai is an inventive mind, with a complete comprehension that what their doing is wrong but continuing despite that and accepting that there would be consequences, Sai is a very grey-morally character and just deserves a hug and then some tbh.

11) What can you normally find in your bag?

My ipod/Headphones (for music), a notebook for writing down rogue ideas from out of nowhere, snacks, a fan (for cons), and a few different forms of pain meds for headaches, because I get them easily especially after I got a concussion (again?) in my junior year of high school.

Wow sorry that I ramble so much I’ve been in a poetic talk-y mood today out of nowhere. And onto the questions:

1) Favourite myth and why? 2) A character you were not fond of due to their goals, but you could still respect their decision/reasoning?

3) List your favourite band or a few if you are indecisive like me~

4) If you could change your eye colour to any one you wanted regardless of genetic possibility, what colour would it be and why?” 5) Do you have a favourite foreign(not of your locale except in restaurants or such like that I guess?) food/drink and what is it? 6) When you think of masks, what sort of masks do you think of? (Examples being like Noh masks, theatrical masks, or venetian masks, etc. feel free to use these, you don’t need exact names if you don’t know them describe them~) 7) Favourite movie from when you were a child? 8) What sort of blanket do you like to sleep with (if any)?

9) If you could go to a library with infinite knowledge, what one book would you pick off the shelf and what would it be about?

10) What sort of clothes would you wear if you could wear whatever you want regardless of consequences?

11) A fictional character that you love but often find yourself getting mad at due to their choices? SOrry my questions are a bit odd, I like to sprinkle a little oddity into them and kinda get a feel for what sort of things people think of, I like to learn about people through this odd little test of random questions that make them think.

Alright, I tag @gabriel-morrison-reyes @killus-donuts-trashcan @coreytasticc @arbiters-grounds @bugslamp @maiea-maiea @darkeecofreak and anyone else who feel like doing this random set of questions~ Mind you, none of you have to participate either, voluntary choice! I chose mostly people I know irl or who I am intrigued to get to know better or hear the answers of~ Thank you~

[vmheadquarters]

Happy Birthday @troublescout!

On the occasion of your birthday, our friend and yours, the wonderful @nevertothethird has crafted a sublime AU just for your special day! We wish you the happiest of birthdays and hope you enjoy your present.

On Occasion

Logan has to hand it to the woman sitting alone at the bar: she’s good. But seeing as he was practically raised by con artists (in LA they were most often referred to as actors) he can tell she’s not as unaware of her surroundings as she would like the world to believe.

She’s waiting for someone, of that he’s certain. He’s not psychic so he has absolutely no idea who she is actually meeting but an apparently crucial aspect of her plan is to put forth a façade of complete and total disinterest. She’s dressed in slim-cut cigarette pants and a silky red top that might look expensive but Logan can tell isn’t. Not that she isn’t gorgeous. The one time she left the barstool, to get the bartender’s attention he noticed that if not for her three inch heels she would be all of five feet nothing. Even with the heels she’s a short little thing.

If the way she responds to the guy touting his acumen for hedge funds (as if that is a real turn on) is any indication, she’s not there to be hit on. But the guy is also a pompous ass so maybe she just has slightly more refined taste.

After he watches her tell another guy to fuck off without barely taking a breath, Logan realizes what is bothering him about the whole scenario: she’s waiting for someone but hasn’t even looked at her phone. Call it a hunch, but he thinks he has a pretty good idea why.

Logan steps off his barstool and moves to the side of the bar she’s sitting on. She doesn’t acknowledge him as he sits a seat away from her, but he notices the slight tensing of her jaw.

“Decided to get a little more up close and personal with your leering?” she asks.

Ah, so she noticed him. “I like people watching,” Logan says. “And you are a fascinating case.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Why is that?”

If it wasn’t for the hard set of her brow Logan might actually think he was getting somewhere with her. “I have a theory about you.”

“Do tell.”

“I have to admit, the shoes threw me off a little bit.”

“Oh, great,” she says, rotating her bar stool to angle her body towards him the slightest bit. “Not only are you a leering perv but you also have a foot fetish.”

He grins, taking a sip of his drink. “Don’t you want to know my theory?” She looks at him, raises a single icy brow, and then turns away. Not to be deterred, he leans a little closer. “You a bounty hunter, boy?”

She was already still, but it’s like every cell in the woman’s body comes to a grinding halt. Then she tilts her head towards him the slightest bit and he can see the smile flirt with the corner of her mouth. It makes him feel absurdly accomplished.

She shakes her head at him. “Not today.”

Interesting. “So what are you today?”

“A private investigator.”

“Really?”

“I can flash you my badge.” She seems to realize what she just said and her face contorts. “Please,” she says, “refrain from making any sort of frat boy level comment about what I can flash you.”

“So what is that then?” he asks, pointing to the large band with gaudy gem on her finger. “Your decoder ring?”

“You know, I’ve never actually used a decoder ring before.”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“This conversation is giving me whiplash.” She rests an elbow on the bar. “Are you even old enough to buy yourself a drink?”

For the first time in their interaction she’s thrown him. Mostly because her suspicions are correct: he isn’t old enough to order a drink, but no one has treated him like anything less than a full-fledged adult for a long while. “What if I told you that I live in the penthouse suite and I think this place operates on a strict ‘let the wealthy man upstairs buy whatever he wants’ policy?”

“Well, if I were an officer of the law I would have to care very much about that.”

“But since you’re not?”

She smiles, and then seems to think better of it. “A vodka tonic would be appreciated.”

After the bartender brings her drink and another whiskey for him, Logan abandons all pretense and moves to the barstool beside her.

“Logan Echolls,” he says, extending his hand.

The woman smiles in a way that looks innocent but could also mean she’s about to destroy him. It’s more attractive than he cares for. “It’s cute you think I didn’t already know that,” she says, but takes his hand. “Veronica Mars.”

He’s left wondering how she figured out who he was when he hasn’t seen her use her phone once. Maybe she’s the one who’s a little bit psychic.

It doesn’t take long for him to suss out that Veronica Mars is there waiting for a mark to show up - specifically with a woman not his wife. The man is apparently deluded enough to think that the 30 minutes between San Diego and Neptune is enough distance to prevent him from getting caught.

“It’s good that you chatted me up,” she says.

“And why is that?”

“Because no one will believe the woman sitting at the bar with her little brother could be a private investigator.”

“Hardy har,” he says. Logan actually takes great offense at this and tells her all about how offended he is but she’s smiling as he sputters out his defense so he doesn’t mind too much.

Veronica Mars, it turns out, is only 23-years old.

“A private investigator? How did that happen?”

“Well, when I was your age,” she starts, infusing her voice with a healthy dose of gravitas.

“Oh please,” Logan says, “spare me.”

“No, I’m serious. I helped out at my dad’s PI firm when I was in high school and college. I have a very slight, practically infinitesimal, reckless streak and when I was 19 my dad told me I either had to get my license and start following the rules, or he could find someone to take my place.”

“So you toe the line now?”

“More or less.” She looks like she wants to say something, but then shakes her head, clearly thinking better of it.

“What?” he asks.

“Well, I don’t think my dad would be thrilled that I am flirting with Logan Echolls in a bar to prevent my cover from being blown.” She shrugs. “But I’m improvising.”

Logan laughs. “I’m sorry. You think you’re flirting with me?” He shakes his head, giving her a pitying look as he does. “I hate to break it to you, but your game needs all kinds of work.”

“It’s working okay on you.”

“Yes,” he says, “but I’m a raised-in-Hollywood-whore-of-a-man. I’m easy.”

The night wears on and he figures that Veronica’s mark must be scheduled to arrive at any moment, but she’s had a couple vodka tonics, and she’s so short that he offers to order them some food.

“You know, the crab ravioli here is excellent,” she says.

“Then you should have ordered it.”

“But if you had ordered it then I could have had some of my burger and your ravioli.”

“Seeing as I value my life, I decided against it.” He steals a fry from her plate. “Shellfish allergy.”

She smacks his hand and steals some of the crispy fried onions from the top of his steak. “If you truly value your life you’ll keep your mitts off my food.”

“You’re a very aggressive date.”

She smiles around a large bite of her burger. “This isn’t a date.”

“We’re drinking, we’re laughing, I bought you food.”

“I don’t date children.”

Logan scoffs, shaking his head. “I’m 19.”

“You can’t even rent a car without being charged an additional fee.”

“Neither can you,” Logan says.

“Yes, but I am four whole years closer to that wonderful privilege than you are.”

“You live by a very strange code.”

“The strangest,” she says.

After another hour Veronica’s mark still hasn’t shown up. She texts someone and grumbles a bit but then stays where she is.

“Did you miss the guy?” Logan asks.

“No. My contact says he still hasn’t checked in.”

“Oooh, you have someone on the inside?” He spins his seat around so he can glance over at the front desk. “Let me guess, it’s Tina?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because she’s doing her absolute best right now to pretend she’s not staring.” He turns back around. “Tina’s the best.”

“Tina’s the best,” Veronica says in a comically deep tone. “You would say that.”

“I’m sorry, was that supposed to be me?”

“Of course the tall leggy blonde is ‘the best,’” she says, ignoring his commentary.

“What can I say?” Logan shrugs, “I have a thing for blondes.”

“You think you’re so cute, don’t you?”

He leans his elbow on the bar, resting his hand on his palm. “I know I am.”

“What you are is --” Veronica trails off, and her jaw gets this hard set to it.

“Veronica?” he asks. “What’s wrong?” He’s about to turn around to see what she’s looking at but she stops him with a quickly placed hand to his leg. Well, more like his upper thigh. She absolutely has his attention.

“Don’t move,” she says, sliding off her barstool to stand between Logan’s legs. She fiddles with her ring, rotating it so the gemstone is tucked into her palm and then winds her arms around Logan’s neck. “He’s here,” she whispers. He hears the faintest of clicks coming from her ring.

He kisses her cheek, moving his hands down to span her waist, and smirks at her intake of breath. “So, really not a decoder ring?” he asks.

She shakes her head and then kind of nuzzles into the space between his neck and shoulder. “Not quite.”

“Is he still there?” Logan asks. He feels Veronica nod against his shoulder. “Okay.” He moves his hands up from Veronica’s waist so that one spans her back and the other tangles in the hair at the nape of her neck, massaging the muscles there with his thumb.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Helping you keep your cover.”

“I’m not a spy, you know.” She leans into him a little more and he thinks he imagines the press of her lips to his neck, but then she does it again.

“Okay, I was wrong,” he says, kissing along her jaw. She raises her head, giving him better access to her neck.

“Wrong about what?”

“You might be okay at this whole flirting thing.”

And then just like that she pulls away and is out of his arms.

“I think I got it,” she says. Logan watches, amused, as she tries to put her hair to rights. She throws back a large gulp of water and straightens her blouse. It appears she’s determined to pretend she didn’t gasp when he kissed her neck. Okay, then.

She holds her bag in front of her. “Well, thanks for the help. And the burger.” She hesitates and then punches him lightly in the shoulder. “Pal.”

He laughs and grabs her hand before she can step too far away. “Allow me the chance to --” he looks into the air as if searching for words, “what do old, mature, grownups like you call it? Make love to you?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. Also yuck.”

“In its original meaning, the phrase ‘make love’ --”

She cuts him off. “I can’t date a --”

“Child?” he asks at the same time she does. “You need a new line. Can I please have your number?”

She looks to where he’s still holding her hand and then it’s like all the energy leaves her body and her shoulders sag. “Give me your phone,” she says. He’s half convinced that she’s not going to give him her real number. But how many Veronica Mars’ who operate as a private investigator in San Diego can there be? She hands him back the phone, setting it in his palm.

“Don’t even think of calling me until you graduate from college.”

He laughs and rotates their hands so they’re clasped for a handshake. “Deal,” he says.

“It was very nice to meet you,” she says primly, and then leaves the bar.

XXXXX

He doesn’t think of Veronica very often. Well, at least he doesn’t think he does. Logan supposes it all depends on how one would define the phrase very often. He thinks of her on the most rare of occasions.

Occasion 1:

Logan is picking up takeout from a deli he really likes and the cashier wishes him a Happy Hanukkah. He could have sworn the guy said Veronica. But “happy Veronica”? What sense does that make?

Occasion 2:

He and Dick are on the beach one night with a group of ladies that normally — if he were a little less depressed and a little more sober — he wouldn’t even consider entertaining. As it is, though. He agrees to go on a walk with one of them — Tatum? Or Taylor, maybe? — pretending like she’s not going to try and get into his pants, and that the sole reason isn’t that he’s Aaron Echolls’ son. Halfway into their stroll, he’s distracted by the sight of a blonde woman with her pitbull out for a late night run. The pitbull slows down and the woman turns around.

“Come on slowpoke,” she shouts. The waves are loud enough he can barely hear her. The dog catches up and the two of them run around each other for a little before the dog stops running and lays down, wagging his tail like he’s done something to be proud of.

There’s something about the way the woman sits next to the dog, wrapping her arms around his head and rubbing his ears affectionately, that gets to him. It’s kind, and simple, and so normal. And having a girl want to give you a blowjob because your deceased father was a famous movie star is nowhere approaching normal.

So when Taylor tries to pull him towards his car he stops her and suggests they walk back to the bonfire instead.

That night, back in his suite at the penthouse, Logan remembers how indignant he was when Veronica made jokes about how young he was. But what about his life even comes close to resembling that of an adult?

Occasion 3:

Trina’s in town and the two of them get drinks. She orders a vodka tonic and Logan finds himself saying, “that’s my friend Veronica’s drink.”

Occasion 4:

Logan gets bored one night and looks up the meaning of his name. And then looks up the meanings of the names of everyone he knows (Richard means ‘strong in rule?’ Who would have guessed it?) and happens to stumble upon the meaning of the name Veronica.

Occasion 5:

Lilly’s visiting him over her spring break and, though their attempts at any sort of a romantic relationship have long since passed, they sometimes fall into old habits. Like Logan slinging an arm around Lilly’s shoulder as they walk, and Lilly pressing a kiss to his cheek when he brings her a chocolate chip cookie from the bakery. He doesn’t realize that where he and Lilly are in the bakery waiting for their lattes is blocking traffic until he hears someone clear their throat.

“Excuse me,” she says. It doesn’t make any sense. He hasn’t seen or talked to here in two years, but —

Lilly and Logan step out of the way and the woman pushes past without looking back so he can’t be certain. She definitely had a very Veronica Mars quality about her, though.

Occasion 6:

He reads a newspaper article about a bust of a grand theft auto ring. The arrest was officially credited to the San Diego Police Department but it was with the assistance of Mars Investigations. The article is replete with mentions of and quotes from Keith Mars (he assumes Veronica’s father) and Veronica herself. He feels like on this specific occasion he can be forgiven thinking her about seeing as the article explicitly mentioned her name.

The point is, he rarely thinks about her.

XXXXX

There is one other occasion where Logan just happens to think of Veronica Mars: his graduation from college.

He doesn’t expect her to answer the phone. Or talk to him. Or do anything except for hang up and then block his number. But he graduated from college and she’s been like the physical embodiment of an ellipsis — a what if, a what could be, a what comes next. Logan figures he’ll call her, she won’t answer, and then he will no longer even have the need for a rare occasion upon which to think of her.

It’s a scant amount of brain space that exorcising her from his thoughts will provide him, but hey, he’s seriously considering graduate school so he needs all the brain space he can get.

So he calls her and as he is in the middle of planning the voicemail he’ll leave her (there is a Kurt Vonnegut quote about maturity and disappointment that feels particularly relevant) the phone stops ringing.

“Hello.” It’s Veronica’s voice. He thinks. It’s been a few years so his memory has done that thing it’s wont to do which is soften and sharpen the image he has of her.

Logan clears his throat. “May I speak to Veronica?”

“This is Veronica.”

She sounds faintly amused, which is unexpected but not entirely unwelcome. “How many times a day do you think to yourself ‘what the hell’?”

“Are you trying to sell me Amway or something?”

He laughs, standing up from where he sits on his couch and then promptly sits back down. He really should have practiced this speech. “Look, I’m not sure what to say except that three years ago we almost made out in a bar and you told me to call you when I graduated from college. I have processed, my mortar board was sufficiently tossed, and I am now dealing with the terrible uncertainty of a post-university future.”

“Is this your best pitch?”  

Logan grins. “No. My best pitch would include a fair bit more sincerity.”

“Can I hear your best pitch then?” she asks.

“Veronica Mars, you’ve been in and out of my head the past three years. Can I take you on a date?”

There’s a second or two of silence and then, “What the hell.”

XXXXX

They’re on their second drink, waiting for trivia night to begin, when Logan asks Veronica the question he’s been pondering for a few days.

“How did you get my number?” he asks.

She’s looking at him like he might be the dumbest person she knows, but her body is still positioned so that her ankle is looped around his so she can’t mind too much. “Uh, you called me?” she asks.

He rolls his eyes. “You mean to tell me that as a private investigator, an unidentified number called and you answered without screening it?” He takes a french fry from her plate and points it at her. She lets him. Interesting. “You had my number. Before I called you.”

“If what you’re saying is true —”

Logan laughs. “If?”

Veronica ignores him. “Yes, if, then that would be a gross misuse of resources available to me as a private investigator.”

“I might get ‘gross misuse of resources’ etched on my tombstone when I die.”

XXXXX

They’re only through drinks and food and it’s already one of the best dates Logan’s ever had. But then he takes her to a quote-a-long of The Big Lebowski and discovers she has the entirety of the “I’m the Dude” monologue memorized. He considers proposing marriage.

For Veronica’s part, she at the very least appears to be very fond of touching him. But it’s not in any way that Logan has ever been touched before. It’s not like she’s making a pass at him or trying to drop hints that she really wants to bang one out in the movie theater bathroom. It’s almost like she’s investigating him and it requires a detailed analysis of the bumps and calluses and plains of his hands. And to be tucked into his side while they watch a movie. And to bump his hip as they walk.

The movie theater is less than a mile from Veronica’s apartment and the night is still warm so he offers to walk her home.

“No getting fresh,” she says. “I’m still not sure I’m sold on this whole idea of me as a cougar.”

“I don’t think you qualify, Veronica.”

She looks at him like she’s not sure if she believes him. Still, she takes his hand in hers as they walk.

“You have pretty hands,” she says.

It’d be so easy to turn it into an innuendo. Wave his fingers, and bob his eyebrows, and tell her everything his hands could do for her. But she sounds so sincere. Instead he settles on raising their clasped hands and kissing the back of hers.

“Thank you,” he says.

“Your turn to compliment me now.”

It takes less than half a second for him to settle on, “You are a woman who knows exactly what she wants.” She holds his hand even tighter so he thinks he did alright.

“What did you get your degree in?” she asks.

“Psychobiology.”

She stops walking and he turns around when their arms stretch between them.

“What?” he asks.

“What in the world compelled you to do that?”

“Honestly?” Veronica nods. “Pure spite.”

“Ah,” she says, nodding sagely. “A motivator I am all too familiar with.”

“My freshman year I was stuck in all these general requirement courses I just had to get through. I had this real dick of a professor for my cell and molecular bio course. He was determined to prove he didn’t care who I was, I think.”

“Which only proves how much he did care,” Veronica says.

“Exactly. So he’s just this huge asshole to me for the entire semester. He was also the chair of the psychobiology department and they boasted one of the lowest admissions rates of any major on campus.”

“So naturally you had to apply.”

“Naturally.” Veronica shakes her head at him, but either she’s doing a very poor job of hiding her amusement or she’s simply not trying.

“Does your story have a properly inspirational ending? Did the asshole professor become your mentor and help you discover your true potential?”

“Nope. As is often true in life the asshole remained one and I graduated with a respectable GPA but without his deference or apology.”

“Life, man,” she says.

They arrive at her apartment and she looks up to, what Logan can only guess, is her window and then back at him.

“I will not be inviting you up,” she pronounces.

“Got it.”

“But I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy myself tonight. Even though you are way too young for me, and if I ever told my friends they would laugh their asses off, and I’m seriously thinking --”

There’s not much more of that Logan can stand to hear, so he does what he’s been wanting to do all night (and on the aforementioned incredibly rare occasions where he happens to think of Veronica Mars) and kisses her.

When he pulls back, Veronica’s chest is hand-to-god heaving, but then he hears the shuddering breaths leaving his body and realizes he’s in a similar state.

“Oh god,” she says, leaning against the wall of her building. She hits her head back on the brick wall.

He knows it’s not hard enough to hurt but he finds himself cradling her head, rubbing his thumb along her neck as he does. “What?” he asks.

“You’re twenty-two,” she says, sounding deeply grieved.

“Twenty-two is a magical age. Taylor Swift wrote an entire song about it.”

“Oh god. You are such an asshole. You are twenty-two and a giant asshole,” she says. Which should be an insult, but seeing as she hauls him closer by his shirt and stands on tiptoe to kiss him again, he decides to take it as a compliment.

XXXXX

“This is unjust.”

“I know,” Logan consoles.

“Seriously, I have seen some things in my life but this is more than one woman can stand.”

XXXXX

What happened is that Logan planned the kind of cheesy date for their one year anniversary that high school him would have endlessly made fun of him for. Including recreating their first official date by visiting the same bar they went to for trivia night. Which led to Veronica being carded. Logan was not.

“I’m four years older than him,” she said, handing the server her ID. “He can’t even rent a car without being charged an exorbitant fee.”

Logan rested his chin in his palm and smiled at her. “What is your fascination with this whole rental car thing? When’s the last time you even rented a car?”

“It’s the principle of the matter,” she explained.

XXXXX

“Take it as a compliment. You’ve yet to lose your youthful glow!”

“Take your youthful glow and --”

“Sorry, snookums. Seeing as we’re recreating our first date, neither one of us will be shoving anything anywhere.”

That stops the rest of Veronica’s retort. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” He takes a large bite out his burger, just to annoy her, and then smiles. “It’s romantic.”

“You’re purposefully foregoing anniversary sex?”

“I’m building anticipation,” he explains. “It’s foreplay.”

“Really?” she asks. And then she gets this familiar gleam in her eye that always manages to both terrify and turn him on. “So where will you be sleeping tonight?”

“Huh?”

“Well, if you’re so committed to authenticity then we should probably sleep in separate beds.”

“Fine. Then after we wake up in our separate beds, after the best date of your life, you can dodge my calls for a solid week.”  

“It wasn’t a solid week!”

“Or --” Logan says, trailing off.

“Or?”

“Or,” he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a small gift box. “We could try something new.”

It doesn’t take her long to unwrap the gift and if Logan’s not mistaken she’s the faintest bit disappointed.

“How is this something new? I already have a copy of your house key.”

“But this one would be yours to keep. Move in with me.”

She stares at the key for a second before she shrugs. “Won’t that cramp your style?” Veronica turns the key over and over again in the palm of her hand.

“How so?”

“I mean, don’t you need more time to sow your wild oats? Live life as an unattached bachelor who uses all that beach real estate to throw some wicked bitchin’ parties? What if I --?

“Stop it,” he says, reaching for her hand. “I only want you.” He kisses her knuckles. “Move in with me.”

“Well, my apartment complex did just raise the cost of doing a load of laundry, so --” And he knows her well enough to know that she’s having a difficult time concealing the brightness of her smile.

“So, yes?” he asks, because he might know her, but he wants to hear her say it.

“So yes.”

Later that night, after Logan goes back on his word and they have all the anniversary sex, he presses a kiss to her shoulder, laying on his side to face her.

“Thank you,” he says.

She scrunches her brow. “For what?”

“For making me wait for you.”

Veronica nods, her cheek smushed into the pillow in a way that is cuter than he can stand. “It was worth it?”

Logan knows enough about Veronica to know that what she’s actually asking is, ‘I was worth it?’

He cups her cheek and kisses her. “On occasion,” he says, and then ignores her huff of annoyance to kiss her again.  

[stormbear]

A Guide To Getting An A&P

My work experience prior to Baker’s

My father had a unique way to get me to learn about cars. He wouldn’t let me get my driver’s license until I learned how to work on cars. And what better way to achieve that than buy a Triumph TR7 that didn’t run. I remember the day it was TOWED to the house. There was to be no driving in my future until that car was fully repaired. Six months later, after a teardown of the engine to replace the head gasket, replacement of the transmission, the rear end, and the drive shaft. Keeping the Zenith Stromberg updraft crabs synced was an ongoing nightmare and DO NOT get me started on Lucas electrical system, which must have been conceived during a Welsh Demon Summoning ritual that went awry.

At the time all of that turmoil was going on, I was working for the local FBO, getting all of my civil time in for when I go get my A&P. At the same time I earned a 2 year degree in electronics and that helped greatly when it came to take the writtens, oral and practical.

But.... life happened. Those halcyon days of working on airplanes ended 25 years ago. I had my time in but I had forgotten a lot of what I had learned via on-the-job training.

When 2018 rolled around, I wanted to go back and finally get my A&P. I saw two ads for A&P prep schools in Trade-A-Plane. I always grab a copy of TAP whenever I can and one ad was always there; Baker’s School Of Aeronautics. I cut it out and saved it. I remember seeing this ad for YEARS in TAP. When I started asking around, Baker’s kept getting highly recommended, especially by a very good friend of mine that got his A&P from there. For me, his recommendation and the ARMY of other graduates that swear by Baker’s, my decision was finalized - Baker’s it is!

My Baker’s Prep

Since it was such a long time since I have wrenched on a certified aircraft, I went whole hog on training materials. I used the King Schools video course which was excellent for me because it actually shows what the questions are pertaining to visually. I get a lot out of visual presentation.

I also used the test prep apps from Dauntless Aviation. The flash card feature is excellent. The apps have excellent descriptions for those of use that need that visual of “how it works.”

For the King Schools video, I didn’t bother with the sample tests, I only watched the videos. Same with the apps, I only used the flash card feature. As the instructors at Baker’s will tell you, ONLY consume the correct answers. Recognize the correct answers and ignore the wrong ones.

List Of Things Not To Do Before You Arrive At Baker’s

Don’t take sample tests or random tests.

Don’t use the time before Baker’s to slack off - you study.

Don’t think this will be easy, it won’t be.

List Of Things Not To Do After You Arrive At Baker’s

Don’t go to Nashville - you study.

Don’t take weekends off - you study.

Don’t fart around after classes - you study.

The staff is there to help you succeed. They are a great bunch of people who are actually dedicated to getting you an A&P certification (don’t call it a license ffs). Don’t fear the DME’s they are very helpful and are not there to make you fail. 

Study Groups

Once you are into the oral and practical portion of the course, have your ass in a study group every night. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. The act of asking each other questions is VITAL to succeeding with your orals. Nothing, no other study method can replace it. If you want to be the loner and study on your own, make sure you have the time off of work and the cash to stay a few extra weeks in Lebanon.

Money

No matter what you spend getting your certs, it will still be waaaay cheaper than a semester of college. That said, there are loads of ways to lower your costs before you get to Lebanon and while you are there.

Some hotels are more expensive than others. I stayed in both the Hampton Inn and the Holiday Inn Express and they both have their pros and cons. I can only speak about the other ones via word-of-mouth from my fellow students.

Hampton Inn

Pros

Nice accommodations

Big lobby to host study groups

Good breakfast

Free snack pack during the week (bottle of tea, granola bar, coffee cake and a piece of fruit.

Literally next door to the school so you might be able to do away with having a car.

Cons

It is the most expensive choice of the school’s recommended hotels.

Holiday Inn Express

Pros

Nice accommodations

Big lobby to host study groups

GREAT breakfast options - it has a CINNABON bar! 

It is very affordable

Cons

You will probably need to rent a car or budget for a lot of Uber rides.

Love Your Walmart

It will cost you a lot if you eat out for every meal. Go to Walmart and buy food that is easy to prepare with just a small refrigerator and microwave. One of my fellow students ate baloney sandwiches for his entire time there.

Aviation Museums

If you are fortunate to live near an aviation museum, do yourself a favor and get a season pass. I went damn near every week for three months to learn all I could about turbine engines. I took hundreds of reference photos and studied them for hours when I would get home. I never worked on one and had a lot to learn to get through the powerplant written test as well as the oral and practical.

My Tips

If you don’t have any knowledge about electricity or electronics, I suggest getting this, an electronic education kit (Amazon Link). It has 130 different experiments that will teach you everything you will need to know about the fundamentals that you will face on the writtens, the orals and the practicals. For only $35, it is a great deal.

If you are a turbine guy and are unfamiliar with the archaic technology called a carburetor, consider this Army educational film on YouTube. Here are some other helpful videos...

FADEC

Carbon Pile Voltage Regulator

Vibrating Point Voltage Regulator

Welding 101

Above and beyond all of the above, there was one thing that made me successful and that was flash cards. Not the flash cards from a software app, but actual notecards.

When I got the Oral and Practical book from Baker’s, I took each question, copied it by hand on the front of a notecard and put the answer in my own words on the back. I did this for most of the book for the questions I didn’t know like the back of my hand. When I wasn’t in group, I was going through this stack of cards, read each card and tried to answer. Once I did, I flipped it over to see if I got it or not. I would then place the card in a pile and move on to the card.

I did this over and over and over. Once I knew the card by heart, I would place it in a different pile and then continue on with the pile that I still didn’t know. I repeated this until I was left with no cards in my hands. I then repeated this up until the day I took my orals.

DO NOT QUIT

Of my class, only three zipped through everything on the first try. Most failed something; a written, part of the oral or the practical - me included. The powerplant written was a particular struggle due to my unfamiliarity of turbine engines.

Doing the prep work that I have suggested BEFORE you get to Baker’s will help you find success. If you don’t do the prep work and don’t put in the insane hours required to succeed, you can’t blame Baker’s. You have to do your job before they can do their’s.

Conclusion

Baker’s has a damn fine program to get you your certificate - best in the nation. Listen to your instructors. Work your ass off and you will get there.

[shellheadtmarc]

okay.  alright.  i’ve finally got this situated how i want it, and i want it in my verse info because it is pretty important, but everyone that’s onboard for tony’s fallout companion verse sit down, we’re gonna have a SCIENCE! lesson.

(disclaimer:  this post contains no actual real science.  all science is based upon the invincible iron man runs and fallout’s own brand.  no scientists were consulted in the writing of this post.  may cause eye rolling in some listeners.  if you find yourself eye rolling for more than four hours, please consult another fallout.  do not use if you are not a fallout or have no plans of ever becoming a fallout.)

what this is basically about is what i’m calling the “wasteland special”, which would be the suit companion tony’s running around with in the commonwealth, some parallels between marvel and fallout, and how i’m mushing it all together to form a smoothie of, “tony what in fuck is wrong with you” while lifting some stuff from 616.  so hang with me here.

so you all know the mcu version of the bleeding edge suit, right.  this thing:

(amanda, did you really make an edit of the bleeding edge just for this post?  really?  yes, now sit down, shut up, and lemme finish.)

it’s neat, right?  it’s got nanomachinery and tony keeps it in a little casing right on his chest and-

listen fuck that.  it’s wrong.  and i’ll tell you why it’s wrong because the actual 616 bleeding edge (and in effect, the wasteland special) are so much more awesome.  like yeah, it’s sexy as hell and i’m glad it in and of itself got some screentime because it’s always been one of my favorite iron man suits but here’s the thing:  tony in the mcu?  could not run that suit.  the way the bleeding edge is actually supposed to work is that tony is literally, physically and mentally, wired into the goddamn thing.  it’s the post-extremis suit.  now, admittedly, we don’t know mcu tony hasn’t dosed himself up with a modified version of extremis but disney’s been real squeamish about one of tony’s biggest quirks, and that’s his willingness to tinker on his physiology to make himself a better, stronger, faster iron man.  everything they’ve shown thus far as been so, so tame.  popping a few sensors in his arm?  yeah that was old news in the 80s.  a cute little housing for nanomachinery?  aha...boy is it really so much weirder than that.  it doesn’t make sense that he can run that suit and the bleeding edge making an appearance the way it does makes no sense and-

the bleeding edge is literally supposed to be the physical representation of “the suit and i are one”.

comic-nerding aside, i’m taking this away from disney and using it for myself since while it’s sexy as hell, they did it wrong.  no one ever said tony wasn’t a mad scientist - because he is.

so now that i’ve gotten that out, let’s talk how the wasteland special works.  fallout has fev (forced evolutionary virus).  it is, depending how you want to look at in, in combination with the background radiation, the source of most of mutation present in the wasteland.  oversized scorpions?  fev.  giant crabs?  fev.  deathclaws?  actually no that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish and they’re bascially chameleon chimeras but also fev.  anyway, they’re also the cause of the super mutants.  yeah.  those guys.  big.  green.  smash.  starting to sound familiar to the marvels in the audience?  a lot of this also depends on if you count the original turn-based fallouts as canon.  so anyway, do you want to know what fev kind of works like?  616 extremis.  and i’m pretty sure some of y’all already see where i’m going with this and you’re right, you’re right, but let me get there.

basically, what fev does is increase muscle mass and brain mass - in most cases.  and there’s the sterility thing.  and the fact that a lot of people think the whole...mental deficit present in most super mutants is caused by the corruption of genetic code due to radiation (but the debate rages onward whether it’s that or being exposed to the airborne version but whatever, it doesn’t apply here because-). in 616 tony doses himself up with extremis because he’s too slow to fight what’s called an enhancile (the other people who are enhanced with extremis), but he hacks it to do what he wants it to which allows him to basically wire himself into his suit directly and control it with a thought.  this is how the bleeding edge comes about, because it goes a step further.  instead of calling his suit from a room away and using precious seconds to do it, he starts...you know.  keeping the suit inside of him.  it’s nanomachinery, so it’s super light, and it’s literally right there in an instant if he needs it.

so what i’m saying is tony’s had a long time to get to the same point 616 tony has.  it’s a natural conclusion to the watered down version of tony’s version of mad science in the mcu, and that’s that tony’s hacked the fev virus to make himself what he basically is now.  which is...well, he’s still human, yeah.  just...what he’d call the next link in the evolutionary chain.  he’s a touch stronger - that wasn’t really his focus here, he has the suit for that - his brain works a little faster - very much intended - and yeah, he didn’t hack the sterility out.  better that way.  (i should point out there’s a difference between sterility and sexlessness - some super mutants are sexless like the nightkin, but some are just sterile (the east coast variant iirc) and he’s not a super mutant but it’s kinda like getting snipped, in a way).

none of that is actually important tho, because what this all boils down to is that tony’s carrying the wasteland special basically inside himself.  like i said, it’s light in comparison to his other suits - adding a whole fifty pounds to his overall body weight and most of that in the hollows of his bones as opposed to the 200+ the regular suits do.  he’s rewritten himself to be able to be a better pilot, because he and the suit are literally one in that sense now.  and yes, i know how ridiculous this sounds but hey.  welcome to comic soap operas.  this is how things work for tony stark.  check out the extremis run if you don’t believe me.  the version of the virus he used was the east coast variant, though he didn’t know at the time that it was the institute’s take on it.  so that’s an interesting little thread in the making with a sosu if anyone’s up for it, i’m js.

so what i’m saying is the wasteland special is the fallout version of the 616 bleeding edge.  tony’s had a long time to think, tinker, and weigh the pros and cons of being that connected to the suit (remember, wasteland tony has not gone through iron man 3).  and in a world of super mutants, giant death chameleons, people who’ll shoot you as soon as look at you, and fucking feral ghouls...well.  the pros of being mentally and physically wired in outweigh the cons.  it’s the natural progression tony goes through in 616, and tony is still tony no matter the medium, so he’s still going to have ideas like that whether you like it or not.  it’s how his brain works.

thank you for attending my tedtalk.

[fbwzoo]

Speaking of hermit crabs, if you want to go to Crab Con 2022, start saving up!! Tickets go on sale January 1st, and we're trying to make sure word gets out well bc we can only do a limited amount of VIP tickets and people are often disappointed if they're too late to grab one. The convention is virtual only again this year, so you can attend from your own couch or bed!

https://crabcon.org/

I'm super excited to be presenting again, and since I'm impatient when excited, you get to know my talk title: Hermit Crab, Hermit Crab, What Do You See? - Hermit Crab Senses

I'm hoping to start doing the reading and research I need to do for it soon! I think it'll be a really interesting and fun topic to discuss and learn about, and I'm hoping it'll give me some more enrichment ideas as well.

I'm also planning on having my store up in the con marketplace, so there will be special discounts and possibly exclusive products for the con!

[brooksopim753]

7 Réponses Aux Questions Les Plus Fréquentes Sur Domaine De Massereau

In this article, We'll examine reworking ideas to transform your basement right into a wine cellar.

Assess your basement

Is your basement willing to be converted into a wine cellar? Prior to making an attempt a pricey renovation, it is important to gauge In the event the project can be done. The basement should be roomy adequate to deal with a wine cellar of fair size. It ought to be ready to accommodate almost any refurbishment that aims at controlling the atmosphere in the place which subsequently will have an affect on the storing and aging of your wine. Any inadvertent construction could adversely impact your wine selection and even destruction the same.

Any basement that's to host a wine cellar really should be sealed off that has a concrete sealant and be made of concrete. The ceiling with the space ought to have at least an R-19 insulation.

Regulate the local weather

It could be a pricey affair but we very advocate which you invest in an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air con) method that may be particular to wine rooms. Common programs are not able to control humidity and temperature In the space in a means that HVAC units can.

Plan

Guantee that you have got each and every facet of the remodeling venture planned out right down to the tiniest detail. There shouldn't be any uncomfortable surprises or unforeseen deviation through the execution. Make sure you note - converting your basement right into a wine cellar is really a high priced proposition. A mean transforming job will operate into several tens of Many pounds. In addition, if concrete pouring and excavation are associated, it's going to enhance the costs even more.

Insulation

In case you do not need the price range for an HVAC process, you are able to continue to Handle the temperature of your basement wine cellar effectively by insulation. Basement insulation is largely ruled by aspects such as geographical place so it is recommended that you simply find Expert assistance With this regard. Such as, when you can be found within the southern United states of america, it truly is recommended to install dampness barriers outdoors each and every wall and also the ceiling and floor. To prevent mould and condensation buildup, you may also increase shut mobile foam insulation.

As is talked over earlier mentioned, converting a basement into a wine cellar is a pricey affair. As a result, arranging the execution thoroughly and adhering to the aforementioned ways will certainly help in noticing the wine cellar of one's goals.

In case you can be found in Georgia, US, and searching for basement contractors in Atlanta, you are in luck. There are many development firms in the area that provide outstanding reworking solutions at cost-effective fees.

Wine pairing is a well-liked subject in the wine globe but Were you aware that there's a well being connection? Are you aware that many of the compounds in wine are fantastic for your heath? Wine pairing will now be more details on what wine goes together with your hen, lamb or nut roast. In my new e-book Nutriwine I clarify how wine pairing are going to be practiced in the future - having a wellbeing relationship.

Wine Pairing & The Molecular Wellness RecomendationThe total expertise of wine tasting will get much better when you start to pair wine with food stuff. This can also further more increase your frontal cortex for wine data and lead to much more wellness peaks in the human body biochemistry because it reacts towards the flavour as well as meals is better still digested. In most cases men and women pair white wine with white meat like rooster and fish and pink wine with beef usually beef and lamb. Quite sweet wine goes with dessert as another wine paired having a sweet dish will taste acidic. The whites will Reduce via brine and the reds will insert texture into the meat and each will attract out flavours. For dining establishments it could be helpful to think about the components with regard to style on the wine as that can't be altered the food stuff could be created round the wines presented. Afterall the elements in wine are established extended before you decide to dine.

Whites will vary with regards to dryness to sweetness and age as We've got witnessed before. With reds your speaking about tannin and oak from a taste range between gentle to a hard style that extends to leathery. A dry Savignon Blanc will go properly with grilled fish and crab with its citrus notes. With roast rooster you might have a Chardonnay to enhance the butteryness or maybe a velvety Merlot to draw out the texture of the meat. Coming to beef you could have Pinot Noir or maybe a Cabernet Savignon their comprehensive physique and likewise tannins complement the meat. Champagne will cut by means of any brine in fish dishes like caviar and oysters. There are a variety of very easily printable free charts on-line to down http://alexisnmyw011.theglensecret.com/7-secrets-simples-pour-vous-faire-basculer-domaine-de-massereau load and print to help your wine pairing. With the massive attractiveness of Asian foods now around the world Imagine Rieslings from Germany for refreshing crispness.

You might think that all This is often pie during the sky but there is plenty of science guiding wine pairing. As an example bell peppers comprise two-methoxy-3-isobutylpyrazine which happens to be located in Savignon Blanc. So All those two would go nicely alongside one another. This is a very simple example of how subtle This tends to get but generally He's matching the food items and wines based mostly on their aromatic and flavour compounds. Should they be related they won't clash and alternatively make a gastromic synergy.

The main target of wine pairing with meals is synergy that improves your eating expertise. Like several fantastic relationship the wine will have to not overtake the food items and also the food items need to not overtake the wine. Collectively they bring out the top of each other. White wine as an example will Slice by means of fishy taste and the citrus notes will complement the flavor with the dish. Lemon is generally served with fish and lemongrass in Asia.

There are 2 paths when it comes to wine pairing. A single is by following the advice of professionals in what wine to pair with all your food stuff and another is empirical - personalized demo and error. Everybody may have unique likes and dislikes. As Vaynerchuck states often in Wine Library Television set if you try another wine together with your food stuff everyday in six months you will know your likes and dislikes.

Dr Maury was a french medical professional also skilled in acupuncture and homeopathy. In terms of wine Maury thinks that wine functions as an aid to digestion. Medoc wines are great at toning the abdomen with their tannins with calcium and magnesium. Also the intestine partitions get toned specifically if the individual is susceptible to diarrhea or irritable bowel syndrome. For constipation he endorses sweet wines like Anjou significant in glycerol which can have a gentle epsom salt influence. An additional promoter of wine and health and fitness was Dr Luca California. He also wrote quite a few textbooks on the topic. Considering the fact that their books We've got far more scientific experiments to demonstrate whatever they were being saying at enough time about wine and wellbeing.

The Energetic compounds of wine for health and fitness are B nutritional vitamins, minerals and phenolic compounds, including; anthocyanins, catechins, quercetin and resveratrol. The B natural vitamins are Vitamin B1 (thiamin), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin B3 (niacin) specifically. B vitamins are important for energy output in the body. Viamin B1 is nice to the pumping strength of the guts and degrees are depleted with lasting usage of diuretics. Thiamin is likewise fantastic for the anxious method and shields the anxious technique from injury specifically in diabetic neuropathy. Moreover increases your contemplating and was the 1st vitamin being discovered. Vitamin B2 helps inside the manufacture of thyroxine hormone which controls metabolism and pink blood cells when it really works with iron. Main good thing about riboflavin is always that it shields the eyes significantly the lens from cataracts. 50 percent of the human body's demands for Vitamin B3 emanates from the amino acid tryptophan. Staying a all-natural anti-inflamatory it has benefited These with arthritis. In nerve health it is claimed to ease despair anxiety and insomnia.

[tiasalle-blog]

that’s TIASALLE DALMA walking down the street, the twenty six year old, who looks like zoe kravitz. here in apple peak, they own "mystique botanica". some say she acts like tia dalma/calypso from pirates of the caribbean, since she can be enticing, but also a little bit frightening

my sixth and final child !! queen of the seas, obeah voodoo priestess, riddler and rhymer. i present my absolute goddess tiasalle.

tiasalle, of african origins meaning “ it is forgotten ”

tiasalle remembers some of her past, but not all of it. it comes to her in flashes, much like visions, and she believes that it is the person she was in a past life, and that she is a reincarnation of tia dalma, goddess of the sea.

she was born in saint mary parish, jamaica, to an obeah woman and a witch doctor. her parents were both heavily spiritual, and believed deeply in demons, hoodoo, and magic. tiasalle grew up learning the ways of obeah, a form of voodoo similar to haitian voodoo that originated in the igbo communities of nigeria and came to the united states with the arrival of slaves.

obeah was outlawed in jamaica in 1760 following a slave rebellion, and the practice was still dangerous throughout tiasalle’s childhood. her parents were very secretive about it, and ended up moving to the united states with their daughter so they could teach her about their religion and culture without persecution.

they moved to apple peak when tiasalle was ten, and to be quite honest she hated it. it was cold, wet, and nothing like the home she had always known. she didn’t understand at the time that it was done to keep her and her parents safe.

the saving grace of apple peak was the beach. tiasalle had always felt connected to the water in some way, particularly the ocean. if you ever needed to find her, it was an easy bet that that was where she would be, searching for crabs and shells to bring back home for her spells.

her parents opened mystique botanica as a way to make money. originally it operated out of their home, but as business grew more steady they were able to afford a small shop in the shadier part of apple peak. 

tiasalle spent most of her days helping her parents in the shop. it functioned both as a traditional botanica (an herbal supply store specializing in folk medicine) and hoodoo shop. her father was a natural/magical healer and her mother performed spells and made potions to help the community. outwardly it seemed like a steady and happy operation, but there were darker dealings going on that most people couldn’t see.

aside from selling balms to promote hair growth, doing tarot readings, and conducting love spells, mystique botanica’s other specialty lied in dark magic. voodoo dolls, possession, spells to cause harm to others. this was the dark side of obeah, and the side most commonly practiced by tiasalle’s mother.

a key part of obeah is the fact that the practitioner controls the spirits. there is no such thing as the rule of three or karma in obeah. the man or woman controls karma and bends spirits to their will. it is a dangerous practice, but incredibly powerful when done correctly. you dabble with both dark and light magic, good and evil spirits. 

as tiasalle grew older and became more in touch with her magic, she began to feel inner turmoil. she felt as though she didn’t belong on this earth in a physical form, and believed she was meant to be part of the sea. her practices reflect this, and she focuses heavily on ocean-based spells.

when she was nineteen, a spell of tiasalle’s went horribly wrong. she is convinced that she angered the wrong type of spirit and that it lead to the tragic death of her parents, who succumbed in a mysterious fire inside mystique botanica. police blamed it on all the candles, but tiasalle knew the truth. she has been plagued by this ever since.

she repaired and reopened mystique botanica to both honour her parents and keep obeah alive in apple peak. she enjoys the control it gives her over some of the residents who come to her for her less savoury spells. light magic can be bought with money, but dark magic is bartered.

tiasalle is not a con-woman, but she firmly believes in being paid properly for what she is giving. if you want her to spend a month whipping up a potion for you to slip in somebody’s drink so that they’ll fall into a romeo and juliet style death-sleep, she’s gonna need more than a few dollars. she’ll want favours. gathering ingredients, finding interesting artifacts, human sacrifice, selling your soul ... these are the prices you may have to pay to get her to mingle with those dark forces that killed her parents. though it’s not a high price to pay for what you’re getting. tiasalle promises a 100% success rate with any of her “ products ”

speaks in riddles, and with a heavy jamaican accent. sometimes she can be hard to understand because of her dialect, as she was raised speaking jamaican patois, a pidgin language that, though not officially recognized, is one of the main languages in jamaica. she didn’t begin learning “ real english ” until she moved to the united states.

didn’t go to high school, or elementary school. she grew up being educated in the family business by her parents, and they never felt the need for her to partake in traditional schooling.

tiasalle is very flirty, and very charming. she often uses her beauty to her advantage, to gain customers or convince you to ask her for something other than what you originally came for. calypso was a seductress, after all.

her personality is quite playful and enigmatic, and she thinks of most things in life as a game with a prize to be won. the only thing she truly takes seriously is obeah, because she knows how terrible things can turn out if you are disrespectful of the spirits who are supplying you with your power. she will always come back at your question with another one, until you are completely puzzled and falling into her trap.

she is messy. super messy. messy unlike anyone has ever seen. she keeps mystique botanica clean because it’s a business but her house is a mess of jars and plants and crystals and animal bones and candles and anything you could think of. 

she swims in the ocean a lot. though she more just floats there and thinks than actually swimming. she feels the most connected to her magic when she’s in the water.

reads tarot. will tell you your future. you won’t believe her but she’s got a p decent idea. bridal parties are her favourite.

tiaselle is a talented scrier, using water as her medium to “ contact the beyond ”

she once was in love with a young naval officer. she met him when she was eighteen, and fell for him quickly. he fell for her too and they were so sickeningly in love that she would have done anything for him. however, when he found out about her family and obeah he thought she was insane and left her, which broke her heart. this was what led to her channeling the spirit that eventually killed her parents. she wanted to get back at him for breaking her heart and so she attempted a spell that would kill him. she had never attempted magic that dark before and her mother had warned her time and time again not to ask the spirits for something as dramatic as giving or taking life. it didn’t go as she planned and the officer didn’t die, her parents did.

she has slowly gotten a little battier over the years, an effect that practicing obeah so heavily can have on the mind. she often talks about things that make no sense.

there is a loving woman under there somewhere, but she’s too interested in herself to really show it.

don’t trust her to cook you anything. there will be weird shit in it i guarantee. eyeballs in your gumbo, man.

more will be added as i explore the character !!

[zipperdry57-blog]

Three Days in Charleston

Travel

by Jenn P.  |   on April 3rd, 2018  | 

When Vinny asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year, I replied “nothing”. Then I said, “Wait. I take that back. I want you to plan a weekend away together” because I am wise and all-knowing and pretty much always itching to get out of town if time and finances allow. On Christmas morning I opened an envelope with an itinerary he created– a few nights each in Charleston and Savannah, with print-outs of the most expensive hotels in each city because Christmas mornings are for wildest dreams and looming debt. We delayed booking until we filled our vacant apartment, but once we did, we hopped online and decided to go away for our 15th anniversary. We didn’t end up staying in the pricy, dreamy places he’d originally picked out, but that’s okay because Charleston and Savannah are pretty dreamy on their own.

  WHERE WE STAYED:

The Ashley Inn: We stayed in room 5 of this cute pink bed and breakfast very conveniently located in downtown Charleston. We booked it last minute on bedandbreakfast.com, and were very pleasantly surprised by its location and the fact that it lead out to a slightly more private section of the home’s wrap-around porch.

PROS: Clutch location! Around the corner is one of Charleston’s best breakfast spots (The Hominy Grill) and just past that are two really great restaurants– Xiao Bao Biscuit (I’ll circle back to this!) and R’s Kitchen, which we wish we could have tried. The b&b is about a 10-15 minute walk to King Street, which is the main shopping/restaurant row in town. Also, I gotta give props to that four-poster bed. It’s rare that I sleep so comfortably when I’m not in my own home.

CONS: B&B purists will be none too thrilled at the check-in process. No one greeted us, and we never met an innkeeper. Rather, our keys were obtained from an envelope in a property down the street. Breakfast was also served down the street, but I never ended up going for it since Charleston is known for its food! But the biggest drawback (and it’s a big one frankly)… there was no coffee in the building! Not one sweet, sweet drop! Who could live like this? Seriously, this place needs to set up a keurig or something in the main area, because that’s just bad hosting, in my opinion. On the brighter side, the lack of in-house brew forced us to get up early and beat the crowds for breakfast:). Another thing to know before booking is that the hotel is a few blocks from the medical center and we heard emergency helicopters hovering overhead a few nights which scared the shit out of me until I realized what was going on.

NEARBY: The Hominy Grill, R’s Kitchen, Xiao Bao Biscuit, Sugar Cupcakes, Candy Shop Vintage, King Street

HOW WE GOT AROUND: By foot! If you stay downtown there’s really no need to rent a car. If we weren’t able to walk, ubers were plentiful and inexpensive and every single driver was so sweet and friendly we couldn’t get over it. Charleston is a super quick flight from NYC (I think it was less than 2 hours!) and a great weekend destination for people on the East Coast. We went in March, which was perfect timing since we’re about at the end of our ropes with winter weather.

WHAT TO DO:

Our intention in heading down to Charleston and Savannah wasn’t to “do” much, but to stroll, soak up a little spring sunshine and eat until our top buttons cried uncle. We met all these goals. We didn’t really do that much in Charleston except wander around and explore, punctuated by feedings. Downtown Charleston is super walkable, and there are a million guides on the internet to lead you toward the most popular areas to walk around in. South of Broad, Rainbow Row, the Battery, King Street, down by the water. It’s all very photogenic, clean and charming. That’s what we did the first day and a half– walked around, dipped into little stores, ate.

We also visited a plantation in nearby Mt. Pleasant, and I certainly would recommend that as well. There are a few to choose in the area; we chose the one that offered the most insights into what life was like for the slaves on the plantations. Boone Hall Plantation is the only plantation in the S.C. Low country to present a live presentation of the Gullah culture adapted by African slaves and they have eight former slave cabins you can walk through to learn more about the conditions for slaves on the plantation. (and yes… I suppose some people will choose this one over others because The Notebook was filmed here).

  MOST IMPORTANTLY…WHAT WE ATE

Poogan’s Porch– Recommended!

We tried: Country Fried chicken with gravy and mashed potatoes (very much like the Chicken Fried Chicken I grew up eating in TX), Lump Crabcakes with creamed corn (super generous with the crab, but they could have punched up the flavor a bit), pimento cheese fritters with green tomato jam (the real MVP), and she-crab soup–very tasty but realllllly heavy. This soup is basically on every Charleston menu, but this was the only time we tried it so it’s hard to say whose is best. Very good food, super charming atmosphere, lovely service, a little on the pricier side. Oh yeah… great cocktails too!

Hominy Grill– Highly Recommended!

We tried: Bread Pudding French Toast with Bourbon Caramel Sauce (as good as it sounds) and their classic Shrimp and Grits with scallions, bacon and mushrooms over cheese grits (like heaven, but seriously). I just loved this place, and it was literally a five-minute walk from our inn, which was perfect to beat the morning crowds. On our second visit, I had the grits bowl topped with mushrooms and leeks (and side order of bacon I got to crumble on top:), and Vin got smothered eggs over biscuits. Fantastic and inexpensive. Get there early for breakfast because it gets totally packed, but there’s lots of good reasons why. I wish this place was in my neighborhood.

Sugar Bakeshop- Recommended (pop in if you’re already walking toward King Street)

We tried the Lemon Curd and the Raspberry. Small, light, lovely little place. Definitely worth a stop if you’re already in the area but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of the way unless you’re a total cupcake fiend (I’m not. I’m more of an ice cream gal).

Fleet Landing- Recommended, especially for atmosphere

We tried: Fried Green Tomato Stack layered with tarragon crab salad (for $8.99, this is an amazing deal and it was delicious!), Lump Crab Cake Sandwich with Red Pepper Remoulade (we’re used to paying through the nose for any dish whispering the word “crab” in NYC, so we ordered crab at almost every restaurant in Charleston!), the fish special which was served with a tomato relish, black-eyed peas and Charleston red rice (twas just ok). Great spot downtown, very popular and super nice if you’re looking to eat outside by the water. Not my favorite meal of the trip, but did the job.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Highly Recommended!

I’m an ice cream gal, and this place is indeed splendid. If you’re ever in a town that has a Jeni’s shop, you must pop in to sample their excellent flavors made from premium ingredients. Top billing goes to Wildberry Lavender and Brown Butter Almond Brittle.

Xiao Bao Biscuit Very Highly Recommended!

All the in-the-know gals who travel to Charleston (thanks Victoria!) rave about this place and for good reason– it’s incredible! On the website, it’s described as “Asian Soul Food -  Select dishes from China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam prepared locally & inspired by kick-ass grandmothers everywhere. ” We tried the popular cabbage pancake topped with bacon, an octopus tail and a crazy beautiful spicy salad (the menu has already changed for the season and I can’t remember what any of the dishes are called). But trust me, when you need a quick break from heavy home cooking, this place really hits the spot! Charleston truly is a foodie’s paradise, and not just for Southern cuisine.

Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit Very Highly Recommended!

Line up early because this place is small, popular and fantastic! Vin had a breakfast sandwich on a biscuit (which was bomb) and I just tried two little guys (cheese & chive, which was really good and Black Pepper & bacon which was utterly mind-blowing). On King Street, so if you’re already shopping around, pop in! This one qualifies as an absolute “don’t miss”.

Circa 1886 - Very highly recommended (for a splurge). We went to Husk in Savannah, and I have to imagine this place beats Husk- Charleston. If you’re looking for a romantic and special meal for your trip, this is the spot! The restaurant is in the carriage house of the Wentworth Mansion (one of the fancy printouts Vin made on Christmas morning) and serves some really exceptional high-end Southern cuisine.

We tried:

Appetizers: BUTTERMILK FRIED ARTICHOKE HEART  with Parsnip Puree, Tomato Marmalade, Black Truffle Pesto, Basil, Baby Spinach, Prosciutto (good, but not as awesome as it sounds)

NIMAN RANCH PORK CHEEK  with Spaghetti Squash, Pickled Green Apple, Crispy Kale, Herb de Provence Glacé (very very good, very tiny)

Main Courses: COFFEE BRINED ANTELOPE  with Sorghum Sweet Potato Mousseline, Braised Greens, Pineapple Relish, Shishito Peppers, Coconut Crema (Amazing!!! So many flavors– everything was covered)

BENNE CRUSTED DUCK BREAST with White Peach Grits, Broccoli, Carmelized Shallots, Sour Vanilla Tea Demi Glacé (I will dream about white peach grits for a very long time–such a subtle flavor that worked perfectly with everything else on the plate. Really fantastic!)

Dessert: CHOCOLATE BENNÉ CAKE Jivara Mascarpone, Ganache, Benné Butter, Lace Cookie

This was the best dessert I’ve ever had. The chocolate was practically unsweetened and the benne seeds (which are popular in the Carolinas, and are basically sesame seeds with a more toasted flavor) added lots of texture and crunch. My life’s mission is to recreate it. Plus, how pretty is this thing??

What we Missed: Husk, FIG, Jestine’s, R Kitchen, Leon’s Oyster Shop ( I hear the fried chicken sandwich is spectacular and I’m still sad I missed it!).

Jenn P.

30-something psychotherapist. Loves cooking, hosting parties, exploring new places. Texan by birth. New Yorker by choice. Likes to tell little stories. Pull up a chair; I'll tell you one.

Source: http://muchtomydelight.com/2018/04/three-days-in-charleston.html

[andrebearakovsky]

The Caps Lost and You Want to Cry Remedy Masterpost

EDIT: Hi there! I managed to get this post functioning again, but I have an updated list! I tried to update this post but tumblr’s a dick and won’t let me have as many links as I want on a post. So, to see the updated list, go to my blog, and click on the tabs on top that say “Caps Masterpost Pt. 1″ and “Caps Masterpost Pt. 2″ (I had to do it in 2 parts because, again, tumblr won’t let me have pages with that many links). Enjoy! I promise there’s a lot more to like in the updates!

So the Caps just lost and you feel ready to cry. What can you do to help remedy that feeling of despair? I present to you my magnum opus, a masterpost of happy and funny Caps videos and posts to make you feel better and forget about any bad hockey you just watched. In this post is everything you could ever want to watch related to the Caps. Of course, I don’t have everything, I’m not nearly as extensive as RMNB, and there’s a lack of actual hockey highlights (as the point of this post is to highlight off-ice hilarity). So sit back, pick what you want to watch, and enjoy.

Official Team Events

Segway Tour 2017

Segway Tour 2015

Segway Tour 2007

Family Skate 2016

Caps visit MedStar Georgetown University Hospital 2016 

Emoji Sentences - Barry Trotz, Unleash the Fury, More Cowbell, Backstrom, Dump and Chase, Poke Check, Ovechkin, Rock the Red, Faceoff, Power Play Goal

Emoji Impressions

Casino Night 2016

Casino Night 2015

Capitals Bobblehead Election

Justin Williams Bobblehead Concession Speech

Tom Wilson Meets the Holtby Bobblehead

Burky/Willy and Schmidty/Chorns play videogames

Ovi and Kuzy talk about their hair

2017 Canine Calendar Shoot - pics plus a video of Kuzy giggling, a feature on Taylor Winnik, Ovi’s dog maintenance

2016 Canine Calendar Shoot

Willy, Latts, Beags, and Schmidty go golfing

Swedish Food Tasting

Dads Trip 2016

History of Caps Mentors’ Trips

Caps visit Joint Base Andrews

Jay Beagle skates with his son

Caps at Six Flags 2015

Caps at Six Flags 2011

Rowing on the Potomac

Crab Cake Cooking Competition

Team Silliness

The Russian Bros have fun in front of a giant Ovi ad

Team bonding dart competition - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Halloween Karaoke - Zach Sanford, Alex Ovechkin, Andre Burakovsky

Ovi’s Smelling Salts - Mojo, Kuzy

Nicky pranks Mojo and Burky

The late-night fire alarm incident

Shenanigans on a plane feat. Green & Brouwer

More Silliness

Why did they give Locker a t-shirt gun

Ovi, Kuzy, and Geno dress as Russian mascots

Ovi and Carly discuss their pregame routine

“Hockey at its best”

Andre Burakovsky, Tom Wilson, Michael Latta

Burky explains the Uber incident

Burky is the MPP of the Caps

5 seconds of Burky looking cute

Cruisin with Willy and Burky on the way to Casino Night

Burky shames the cameraman for being a Penguins fan - the whole interview is good but this happens 15 minutes in

Interview with Latts - dolphins and Valentine’s Day

Cruisin with Willy and Latts on the way to Casino Night

Willy and Latts feature for Washington Life Magazine

Willy and Latts voted best bromance

Burky spooks Latts

Interview with Latts - nicknames, playoff beards, and Caps Roomies

Burky and Willy sing dubsmash together

Willy and Latts fill out their 2015 March Madness bracket

Willy Sings (Badly)

A good brobeans post

I meant to include the video of Tom and Latts’s apartment from the Road to the Winter Classic episodes but I cannot for the life of me find it, so as consolation I’m going to include a link to the Road to the Winter Classic episodes which you can watch if you have Amazon Prime here

Alex Ovechkin

Ovi delivers pizza - Part 1, Part 2

The Alex Ovechkin song

Behind the scenes with Ovi at the 2017 All Star Game - Video 1, Video 2

Ovi escapes his own home

Ovi makes a noise

Ovi DJs

Steve Dangle talks about Ovi’s 500th goal

Ovi swings away in 2015 Breakaway Challenge

Ovi dons a cowboy hat in classic 2009 Breakaway Challenge

Alex Ovechkin Funny Moments

Top 10 Ovi Off Ice Moments

Post with links to many Ovi quotes and videos

Nicklas Backstrom

Nicky hat trick quote

Nicky singing (there’s also some behind the scenes but the singing is the important part)

Cruisin with Nicky

Ovi & Nicky

All Star Nicklas Backstrom

Ovi and Nicky complete each other

Braden Holtby

Holts wants to bring the Cup back to his hometown

Holts has strong opinions on socks

Fetus Holtby video

Karl Alzner, John Carlson

Alzner does “Canadian or Nah” and makes a loon call

Carlzner test drive - Part 1, Part 2

Carlzner roomies - Part 1, Part 2

Carlzner Q&A at Caps Con Kid Press Conference 2011 - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Carlson at 2011 Winter Classic (segment from 10:50-15:47)

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Kuzy’s daughter drives the car

“It’s rivalry night”

Kuzy tells the story about meeting Brad Pitt and Orly getting cut out of the photos

Kuzy trolls the refs (mushrooms, baked potatoes, and medium rare steak)

Kuzy at the All Star Game

Kuzy’s most Extra celly possibly ever (with links to more cellys in the article)

Nate Schmidt

Nate Schmidt’s mohawk misadventures - Bonus: Holts calls Schmidty the best player

Schmidty sings Taylor Swift

Schmidty’s Chewbacca impression

Schmidty’s Interview Sabotaged by Teammates 

Barry Trotz Mishaps

Oshie bulldozes Trotz

Trotz gets hit in the head with a puck

Dancing

Mojo busting moves (feat. Taylor Winnik)

Lars Johansson victory dances - dance 1, dance 2

Justin Williams Dances to Cotton Eye Joe

Shaving Cream

Vrana 1st NHL goal

Kuzy hat trick

Willy 1st NHL goal

Nicky pranks Ovi

Mustaches

Movember trophy ceremony 2015

Top 5 Caps mustaches

Who has the best mustache?

Christmas

Christmas elf dancing

2015 holiday card

2014 holiday card w/ Wizards

2013 holiday card

Commercials

2017 All Star Game Audition Commercial

Paisano’s Commercial

Paisano’s Commercial Bloopers

Ovi as Caps Interviewer (feat. Nicky, Greener, and Brooks Laich)

Ovi Eastern Motors Commercial

2007 All Star Game Road Trip Commercial

Global Heritage Series

Nicklas Backstrom - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Evgeny Kuznetsov - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Tributes

John Carlson 500 Games Played Tribute

Karl Alzner 500 Consecutive Games Played Tribute

Alex Ovechkin 1000 Points Ceremony

Alex Ovechkin 1000 Points Tribute

Nicklas Backstrom 500 Assists Tribute

Nicklas Backstrom 500 Assists Ceremony

Braden Holtby Vezina Ceremony

Alex Ovechkin 500 Goals Ceremony

Alex Ovechkin 500 Goals Tribute

Karl Alzner breaks Caps record for consecutive games played tribute

Drafts

Jakub Vrana (phone call with Ovi)

Zach Sanford (interview)

Andre Burakovsky

Tom Wilson

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Marcus Johansson

Alex Ovechkin

Reference

Every butt slash article RMNB has ever written

Player reaction gifs

On-Ice Moments

Oshie’s shootout goal that wasn’t actually in the shootout

Ovi’s 1000th point (John Walton call)

Nicky’s 500th assist

The epic Orlov hit on Duchene

Edits to Orlov’s hit

Ovi’s 500th career goal (all calls)

Huge save leads to Ovi’s OT gamewinner

TJ Oshie Olympic Shootout

Oshie shootout compilation

John Carlson scores OT winner in 2010 World Juniors

Empty Net Fails

Best 1 on 1 Embarrassing Moments - Part 1, Part 2

10 Minutes of Bad Goals

5 Minutes of Happy Goalies

Hat Tricks

Oshie 04/28/2016 vs PIT in the playoffs

Williams 01/17/2016 vs NYR (I can’t find his hat trick from ‘06 so this’ll have to do)

Kuznetsov 10/23/2015 @ EDM

Oshie 01/03/2015 @ SJS

Backstrom 12/13/2014 vs TBL

Oshie 03/27/2014 vs MIN (hats)

Ovechkin 12/10/2013 vs TBL

Eller 01/04/2012 vs WPG

Backstrom 4/17/2010 vs MTL in the playoffs

Ovechkin 05/04/2009 vs PIT in the playoffs

Ovechkin 12/15/2006 @ ATL (I’m only including 3/17 Ovi hat tricks else we’ll be here all day)

Non-Caps

Goal Horns

Connor McDavid Rap

Auston Matthews Rap

Carpool with Cam - Nick Foligno, Seth Jones

All Star DJ Snoop

Baby Leafs in Road to the Winter Classic

Get Vladi some snow

Jamie Benn and Tyler Segin Head to Head

PK Subban wins breakaway challenge

“Fruit Salad” by Dylan Strome feat. Mitch Marner

Crosby and MacKinnon work at Tim Horton’s

Full Games/Events

2017 All Star Game

2017 All Star Game Skills Competition - Part 1, Part 2

2016 Heritage Classic EDM vs WPG

2016 All Star Game - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

2016 All Star Game Skills Competition (playlist)

2015 All Star Fantasy Draft

2015 Caps Winter Classic

Still not satisfied? Go check out some of my posts! They’re funny I promise. Karlsson/Carlson flowchart, Caps Drinking Game, Why Carlson or Alzner Should Have the A, Caps True Nicknames, Top Golf RMNB Insta Photos, New Caps Lineup, Caps Top 10 (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Caps Hat Tricks and 1st NHL Goals, Jay Beagle, Caps Family Tree, Caps Bromances, My Top Caps Moments of the Regular Season

[allianceinternational-blog]

Executive Recruitment Agencies - Executive Recruitment Agencies - Executive Search Companies

If you've yearned to telecommute, you're not alone. According to a 2006 study conducted by the Association of Executive Search Consultants several executives surveyed felt work/life balance issues were critical in their decision to join-or remain-with an job.

Image Source:

Executive Search Companies - A Toxic Cv Along With A Job Opportunity Are Soon Parted

I obtain the feeling that many of these recruiters I talk every day take presctiption the wrong track. They are looking for the secret potion that will turn either themselves or their firm into a brilliant star on the recruiting industry with the slickest resume database and applicant tracking features present.

Image Source:

Executive Recruitment Companies - What Must When Seeking An Executive Travel Recruitment Company

The digital age is different this. Yes, it's to be able to create documents on a laptop. And that's precisely why your main "resume" ought to a number of pieces info that will be able to arrange can certainly say that is usually to catch the eye of the recruiter who reviews that it. In other words, one resume doesn't cut it -- you would to customize every resume because every job is different. An one size fits all resume won't demonstrate that are aware of and honor that special. This takes work, it's worth in which.

Video Source:

Executive Employment Agencies - How To Make More TOP EXECUTIVE SEARCH COMPANIES By Doing Less

Or you can search for individuals with similar skills in location and see where they work. For example, investigation of IT project managers in San Jose and we will see a list of subscribers and the firms where they work.

Executive Search Agencies - 15 Unheard Ways To Achieve Greater TOP EXECUTIVE SEARCH COMPANIES

The Senator talked about being true to your self and looking Executive Staffing Agencies to the financial situation. She called the GOP the party of "nope".

The job of executive recruitment agency software in order to make sure that each of these 5 steps can be exercised without any wasted measures. Note that my emphasis is on saving Best Executive Staffing Agencies recruiters time and is not on features. I am unable to begin to count the features I have reviewed and discarded. They looked want a good idea at period but simply could not stand nearly the daily grind of ones recruiter.

You furthermore volunteer for unpopular tasks. I once got a campaign because I volunteered to head my company's United Way campaign a year. Trust me, running the United Way campaign was not really a job that people anticipated. I did a good job concerning the campaign and met a whole of senior people. One among them liked me as well as the work when i did, and offered me a job in division.

I interested in a brighter day when companies and organizations are led by leaders which inspired, dedicated, and skillful in how they lead their teams. Let's tear down the old bronze monuments to arrogance, incompetence, and management by intimidation.

Emily Brandon of people News just ended up with a handy list of tips around starting company after age 55. Nothing on the list is particularly surprising (tap into your network, leverage your experience, expect long hours, etc.) but there are good lessons and examples in each another one.

Analyse all by yourself. What's your expertise? Then, once you need assessed any. You may get started by means of executive recruitment agency firms that appeal on your own niche and go on from typically. Now, you might want to analyse their track record and their reputation over the market. Ask to see several references of both sexes that they placed.

Questions on the audience included crimes against women, Golden Gate Bridge suicide barrier, pro choice, stimulus money for company and tenants, universal medicine and no child left in our bodies. This crowd was very serious (not like the "joy" of last year after Obama was nominated).

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I recently went to Miami for a work-related event in January, and being a temporary winter migrant from the NYC area, a trip from the cold was a much-needed respite. When discussing the trip with a close friend, she invited herself to join me. Frankly, it did not take much arm twisting!  So, I decided to add a few extra days onto my trip. (Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same!) I forewarned her that the trip would be all about good food and specialty cocktails, as I have a mild obsession with both. Luckily, she was on board. I also mentioned we were going to stay in Downtown Miami (aka Brickell) instead of South Beach, as South Beach has become the Times Square of Miami. It has too many tourists, no parking and overpriced restaurants serving mediocre food. However, if you’re looking for the beach, flavored margaritas on Ocean Drive, and great people watching, then by all means do the South Beach thing. I had been to South Beach many times, but truly fell in love with Brickell a year ago because of the upscale restaurants, beautiful rooftop bars and gorgeous people who take fashion to a whole new level. In any case, whether you decide to stay in South Beach, Wynwood, Downtown Miami, North Miami, or other, give one of these places a visit. You won’t be disappointed!

1.       Bazaar Mar by José Andrés

The best way to describe Bazaar Mar, is that it is unlike any restaurant you have ever visited. Seriously-it’s life changing. I’ll prove it. I went once and was so blown away, I almost flew down to Miami multiple times after that just to eat here. However, I don’t exactly bathe in $100 bills, so I waited about 9 months until I had a good work-related reason to visit Miami again and made a reservation. This time around I dragged my two girlfriends, who can’t tell the difference between cheddar cheese and American cheese. They generally just don’t understand my obsession with good food, and presentations; now they are totally hooked.  The Miami police should put this place on the list of things which can cause citizens to start drug addictions, I would take an IV of the food here in a heartbeat! My friends jaws dropped after every dish we ate, and you guessed it, they’re now food lovers like me. I love bringing people over to the other (foodie) side! They agreed that they too would fly down to Miami just to eat here. (If only money grew on trees!) Anyway, the place itself is amazing. It has a fairy tale quality with white dollhouse-like wooden seats and white couches at every table. Sea based characters like mermaids are painted in blue on the white tiled walls and on the ceiling, there are also giant fish heads protruding from the walls. It’s quite the experience!

I can only speak about the dishes I have tried already, but everything was spectacular. Some menu highlights include, Maine Lobster Croquetas: these bad boys just melt warm lobster goodness in your mouth, and the saffron aioli sauce is a perfect complement. The first time I ordered them they came tucked inside a plastic sneaker “dish”. (The entire place is Instagram worthy!) Our next dish, the California ‘funnel cake’ was one of the most unique dishes ever eaten. The dish was served on a metal object resembling an eight-legged octopus, and the salty, spicy, and creamy flavor combination of seaweed, avocado, blue crab, tobiko, spicy mayo and cucumber was scrumptious. We also went with the Cobia “Rosa” Ceviche. The description on the website reads, “rose” of leche de tigre, nasturtium leaf, sweet potato, corn nuts. Let’s put that in laymen’s terms…. basically, they give you a ‘rose’ on a plate which is comprised of raw fish in the middle surrounded be vegetables on the outside and nuts on top. Then they tell you to smash the rose down, and compile the ingredients together into your mouth. It’s an excellent combination of sea meets land with salty, fishy, and crunchy flavors. The presentation is also very ‘social media-esque’. On our first visit, we finished our dinner with the key lime pie dessert, which had sweet, key lime goodness with a graham cracker on top designed to look like a sandcastle. Every dish was created meticulously and creatively.  

The second time I came here and turned my friends into food enthusiasts, we ordered the Maine Lobster Croquetas as a starter, then the Neptune’s Pillow appetizer. This dish must have been a customer favorite as they were coming out of the kitchen like hotcakes. It’s total raw tuna overload; spicy tuna inside a dough like pastry with sliced tuna on top and spicy mayo underneath. It was to die for! We also split the Ora King Salmon dish and the octopus dishes. The Ora King salmon was lightly cooked on the inside, with a thin crust, and salmon roe on the side. The fish practically melted in my mouth. The octopus dish was so unique and colorful! It came with one large tentacle accompanied by peanuts on the side, with squid ink sauce and a lemon gremolata. The last time I frequented the restaurant the chef brought us the Japanese peaches on the house., Since they were outstanding, we wanted an encore on this visit. The dish comes with small peaches, burrata, hazelnut praline, croutons, and nuts. One spoonful and the sweet, salty, creamy flavor combination and you’re completely swept off your feet. This restaurant is also amazing for people watching. Everyone is gorgeous here and dressed like they just came off a runway someplace like Paris. I think I’ve just about sold you, huh?

2.       Zuma

It’s no wonder Zuma has locations all around the world; the sushi here is seriously top notch. The restaurant was founded by chef Rainer Becker, who was inspired by informal izakaya-style Japanese dining in which dishes are brought to the table throughout the meal. The ambiance is upscale, trendy, and slightly pretentious with beautiful views of the intra-coastal waterway and many lavish yachts parked right outside. The service here was incredible, as was the food. In true Brickell style, the people dining here put Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively to shame. Everyone was beautiful and very well dressed. I have had the opportunity to dined outside before, as well as inside. The outside area is much more relaxing, as wooden tables and wicker chairs align the area beside the water. The inside is the more upscale choice. It is replete with cushioned chairs, overlooking the open kitchen to one side and the wall to ceiling windows on the opposite side of the room. On my last visit here, we started off with the crispy fried squid which had a nice salt, pepper and lime taste to it, and the shrimp and black cod dumplings which were nicely pan fried, slightly salty, and incredible. As far as sushi goes, we opted to try the spicy tuna roll with green chili sauce and tobiko, the salmon roll and the tuna roll with Osetra caviar on top. How can you go wrong with sushi and caviar? That’s just not possible!  

3.       La Mar at the Mandarin Oriental

The Mandarin Oriental in Miami is one of the most spectacular hotels I have ever visited. Immediately upon entering the hotel, you are greeted with the aroma of glorious floral notes, including jasmine and juniper. The smell is so magnificent and inviting, you’ll find yourself wanting to book a reservation at the spa straight away. Every time I have been here, the staff has warmly, and professionally greeted me and made me feel very special. The lobby bar presents an excellent happy hour, which is worth checking out. However, the Peruvian restaurant, La Mar is really the highlight of this MO. The ambiance is fun, trendy, colorful and sexy, while also being luxurious and upscale. There’s both indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the intra-coastal waterway. Everything I ate here was amazing! I suggest their express lunch for $25 deal, which is quite generous. We, however, being total ‘gavones’, (Italian for slobs) decided to go a la carte and ordered a variety of appetizers, salads, and ceviche dishes. The hummus salad (pictured below) was one of my favorite dishes, and yet was nothing like we expected. A mix of veggies, shrimp and pita chips in a Greek yogurt vinaigrette. It was crispy, light and refreshing. Last time we ate here, the waiter said Dan Barber of Blue Hill had been there a week prior. (I absolutely love him, he’s revolutionary- when it comes to the farm to table movement)….but I digress. Of course, when we were here we had to have a few Pisco Sours. They have a few different flavors and each one is better than the last! I also highly recommend ordering dessert, whether you have a sweet tooth or not. We tried “la piña, el coco y el manjar”, which is two delectable scoops of coconut ice cream with pineapple chips, foam, and ginger jelly. It’s such an interesting flavor combination and in summary was outstanding! We had a tough time not ordering three of these!

4.       Ceviche105

Ceviche105 is a nine-year award winning gastronomic Peruvian restaurant with some of the best ceviche I have ever had. It’s located right in the business district of downtown. I recommend you Uber it as parking is terrible. Anyway, we decided to sit in the outdoor area, which was comfortable and cozy, compared to the upscale interior of the restaurant. The menu was extensive and slightly intimidating I will admit. There were lots of sea based options to choose from as well as unique Peruvian dishes! We started off with the famous potato based appetizer, Causa de Camarones con Palta, which was quite the flavor combination. I never had anything like it. It’s mashed up potatoes with shrimp, avocado and red peppers covered in a delicious yellow sauce made of Andean cream and other ingredients. After that we split the ceviche trio dish: Tetra de Ceviches, a platter of three popular fish ceviche dishes with sauces that included: virgin cream, yellow pepper cream, and anconero and rocoto cream. The dish also came with deliciously salty corn kernels, corn, and sweet potato. I have yet to discover a place in NYC that offers ceviche and Peruvian food as good as this. If you know of any, please let me know! 

5.       Sugar

Easily one of the best rooftop bars in downtown Miami, Sugar is located at the upscale East hotel. The upstairs rooftop ‘garden’ has a Hawaiian inspired theme with comfortable, brightly colored, cushioned wooden chairs and couches, surrounded by plants and trees on the outskirts of the bar. It has a very cozy treehouse like feel to it. All the seats overlook the tall residential buildings surrounding the hotel and the water to the east. Up a few small stairs and towards the back of the rooftop is the large, ornate, wooden bar complete with gorgeous tribal craftmanship carved into the wood. This rooftop is the place to see and be seen. Most men were dressed in fresh pressed European style suits and/or expensive button downs. The women were wearing heels and their nicest ‘Sunday’ dresses. The last time I visited, I ordered a delicious Lychee martini that made all my vodka/club drinking friends very jealous. They serve Asian style tapas, but sadly I have never eaten here. I have however, eaten at the restaurant Quinto La Huella inside the East hotel and it was fantastic.

This is a great start for food and drinks in downtown. While you’re in Miami, check out these great late-night spots in South Beach for specialty cocktails:

1.       Employees Only

One of my favorite bars in NYC, Employees Only, makes some of the best drinks I have ever had in my entire culinary life. I wrote a guest post blog on five great prohibition bars in NYC here: https://tinyurl.com/y7pxj8n5, Employee Only is a definite favorite! After visiting both Employees Only locations, I can say they are both very different and yet, very much the same. I love the Miami location because of the relaxing outdoor area, and the fact that is a lot less crowded than NYC. I was able to get a fabulous hand-crafted cocktail within 10 minutes! Inside, the layout is like NYC, as they have the bar area and a separate sit-down restaurant area. I highly recommend getting both cocktails and food when you’re here. The ricotta gnocchi and mac and cheese with gruyere and Applewood smoked bacon are some amazing late-night bites worthy of the calories. Last time I was here I noticed that they had hired my favorite bartender from NYC. The guy is fantastic!

2.       Sweet Liberty Drinks and Supply Company

The bouncer at Employees Only suggested we check this place out. It was easy to see why, because from the minute I walked in, I was totally smitten. The place reminds patrons of a speakeasy meets 1990s chill bar/club warehouse, and is open until 5am. Trouble! Exposed pipes hang from the ceiling, along with warehouse style hanging lights and Christmas tree lights. The floor is made from a Costco style concrete, and exposed brick walls align the back of the establishment. The bar itself is massive and has every cordial and liquor you could ever dream of. The cocktail menu is equally expansive and compliments the massive bar selection. I started off with their ‘Basic Bitch’ cocktail which was the perfect combination of fruity meets sparkling. Between the amazing cocktails and the 1990s music in the background, I could have stayed until closing time.

I recently went to Miami for a work-related event in January, and being a temporary winter migrant from the NYC area, a trip from the cold was a much-needed respite. When discussing the trip with a close friend, she invited herself to join me. Frankly, it did not take much arm twisting!  So, I decided to add a few extra days onto my trip. (Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same!) I forewarned her that the trip would be all about good food and specialty cocktails, as I have a mild obsession with both. Luckily, she was on board. I also mentioned we were going to stay in Downtown Miami (aka Brickell) instead of South Beach, as South Beach has become the Times Square of Miami. It has too many tourists, no parking and overpriced restaurants serving mediocre food. However, if you’re looking for the beach, flavored margaritas on Ocean Drive, and great people watching, then by all means do the South Beach thing. I had been to South Beach many times, but truly fell in love with Brickell a year ago because of the upscale restaurants, beautiful rooftop bars and gorgeous people who take fashion to a whole new level. In any case, whether you decide to stay in South Beach, Wynwood, Downtown Miami, North Miami, or other, give one of these places a visit. You won’t be disappointed!

      The food in Miami was amazing! Check out some of my favorite places! I recently went to Miami for a work-related event in January, and being a temporary winter migrant from the NYC area, a trip from the cold was a much-needed respite.