The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Larry Brennan:

Re: the Deep Fried Jello - It sounds dangerous to me. Hot viscous fluid in a crispy shell? More like "Fresh in the ER" than "Fresh from the kitchen".

TNH @ 54 - I had forgotten about that, but I supppose it was wedged in my brain and unconsciously surfaced in a (slightly) different context. Probably because my fiancee is an opera nut and dragged be to see the Ring Cycle last month. I somehow survived, and now want to see at least one performance from the LA Opera's new production. Note - video plays automatically.

I can't help but wonder if there are any tags reading "If found, please return to Alberich, 1 Forge Way, Nibelheim. Postage and resonable expenses reimbursed."

I can't help but wonder if there are any tags reading "If found, please return to Alberich, 1 Forge Way, Nibelheim. Postage and resonable expenses reimbursed."

I was about to point out the proximity to Lutheran Medical Center, but katre @ 5 beat me to it!

When I was going to Polytechnic in Downtown Brooklyn, our favorite lunch spot was a place on Lawrence Street (since lost to the Metrotech development) called Sun Ho, notable for the neon sign in the window reading, "Comidas Chinas y Latinas."

The owners were Cuban-Chinese, and it was the only place I knew where you could get Beef with Soft Egg served with yellow rice and plantains if you wanted it. It was friendly, cheap and tasty.

I wish we had a radio show like As It Happens in the US. As always, they did a great interview.

My voice mail rules:

1: State my name clearly. If they don't know me, I spell my surname.

2: State my phone number clearly.

3: Leave brief message

4: Restate my name and phone number

At my company, there are people who refuse to answer their phones, and only want to communicate via email. They tend to be the hardest people to work with because a simple 2 minute phone call often turns into hours of typing.

FWIW, often if I can't reach someone by phone, I leave send an email instead of leaving a voice mail, but that's not always an option. Generally, I reserve voice mail for friends and family.

Meanwhile, here in Washington state, a Christian hate-the-gays group has already filed suit to reverse a law that hasn't even been signed yet. And all that the law does is make civil unions have all the same benefits and obligations of marriage.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_domestic_partnerships.html

If the initiative gets enough signatures, it would go on the ballot in an off-year, giving the religious crazies plenty of time to energize their fellow haters.

So, this morning I had an appointment with my dermatologist and was greeted at the entrance to his building (a large multi-practice with over 100 MDs) by a woman wearing a surgical mask, eye shield, gloves and scrubs.

She was quizzing everyone on the way into the building about flu symptoms and if they said yes to anything, they were asked to put on mask, clean their hands with disenfectant and go to a screening area.

I felt as if I had wandered into a bad movie.

But, I also think they were doing the right thing in attempting to protect their patients and staff from an unknown but growing threat.

FWIW, my doctor said that at the very least they were having a chance to do a good test of their procedures, and that they seemed to be working OK.

My version of sangria is almost identical, except I strike the brandy and add triple sec. Not Cointreau or anything expensive, just plain old triple sec. It's based closely on the Cook's Illustrated version.

I also make Clerico, a.k.a. white sangria using less citrus (about 1/2 of above) and adding fresh summer fruit. We first had this in Punta del Este, Uruguay on a warm summer day and a pitcher was a lovely companion to our delicious fish lunch. Who knows if it's authentic, but it's tasty and disappears FAST at summer gatherings.

I've got a bottle of young genever in my freezer. Alas, it's almost empty. I've got an almost full bottle of old genever because I really don't like it that much.

And, alas, my next trip to Europe won't get me anywhere near the Netherlands, or the mainland for that matter.

I think I could live in Amsterdam or its environs pretty easily. Or Berlin.

I hope the rest of the trip involves less cyclo-aerobatics.

Evan @ 162 - FWIW, I grew up in NYC, and most of the houses in my immediate neighborhood had front porches.

My new neighborhood (I moved about 3 months ago) gets a 95 for walkability. It thinks a condo that's under construction on the site of a former QFC grocery is still a grocery (they say there will be a new QFC when the building is finished) but otherwise seems to get things right. I am surprised that the nearest clothing store is a kilt maker, and not really a store.

At work, I wouldn't even consider walking to anything - it's pedestrian unfriendly off campus, and campus is just a bunch of office buildings. (Score of 32.)

Lori, Magenta @ 14 & 15 - your comments weren't there before I hit "Preview" :-)

Another item
* Bank with a local Credit Union - Credit unions keep all their lending local and are the last of the depositor-controlled banking institutions.

EClair @ 228 - As I mentioned above, I found it at a local (for-profit) urgent care walk-in clinic.

Back in 2003, I was visiting friends in New Jersey for a couple of monhts when one of their parents had a flare-up of Shingles.

I've never had Chicken Pox, and am too old to have had the vaccine as a child. I called up a local doctor, who said I should get the vaccine, but he couldn't order or administer it to me. I called some other GPs and Interists. No luck.

Pediatricians had the vaccine, but wouldn't administer it to an adult.

I called the Essex County health department, who told me to call local hospitals. They all said they didn't have it and couldn't get it. So I called the Morris County health department, figuring that I might have more luck with a county that's more eveny affluent. (Essex is home of both Newark and upscale suburbs like Short Hills and Livingston).

The Morris County health department had no idea either.

I tried the Livingston township town nurse (an odd post, but they've got one.) She referred to me to a local Doc-in-the-Box, who had the vaccine and were happy to give it to me for cash on the barrel. I was able to get the second shot in the series from my own doctor in California.

I've never had a titer test for Chicken Pox, but I hope the vaccine took. FWIW, I've had the measles vaccine over and over again becaus I have had the titer test several times and always come up negative. Measles outbreaks make me nervous.

Re: unfortunate names...

Last week my SO and I were sitting on a plane waiting to take off, when a flight attendant came on the PA looking for missing passengers. One of the names made us both chuckle:

Iona Trailer

My SO felt bad about laughing, and punched me when I pointed out what would happen if she married someone named Park.

When I was a kid (Elementary - JHS age) my mother served on Grand Jury in Brooklyn several times. To say that the experience stressed her out would be an understatement. Some days, she'd sit and sob for hours. Eventually, she found a psychiatrist who was able to help her be permanently excused.

At the time, once you sat on a Grand Jury, you were barred from Petit Jury service, so she was basically freed from service.

When I lived in NYC, I only ever got summoned after moving, and at my old address, so I never had to appear. Summoned by Kings County, sorry, I live in Queens! By Queens? Sorry, I live in Nassau. By Nassau? Sorry, I live in Monroe County. By Monroe? I live in California, so leave me alone!

I did get called twice in California, once in SF and once in San Mateo, but was never empanelled. The SF experience was MUCH better than San Mateo, but then, I was called when they were seating a jury for that guy who killed his wife and threw her body off his boat so it was a total zoo. Really. There were news helicopters circling the County Courthouse in Redwood City.

Here in Washington, they've yet to call, and that's fine with me. If thet do call, I'll go but (barring getting sequestered) I'll still be expected to get my work done so it would be like having TWO jobs.

Ow, and oy. Get yourself some spicy chicken soup (if stomach-appropriate) and chill in bed awhile.

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