True. I don't get to eat fried chicken at any temperature all that often, and I do love it, so if I'm gonna have it, I'd rather have it hot. But I'll eat it cold.
TNP just finished a book today.
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True. I don't get to eat fried chicken at any temperature all that often, and I do love it, so if I'm gonna have it, I'd rather have it hot. But I'll eat it cold.
TNP just finished a book today.
Nah. I scour many, many books, sometime rather thoroughly, but always with some idea of what I want out of the book, which is often not the whole thing from soup to nuts. But that last book I finished front to back was when I read all of David McCullough's books. I think it took me a solid weekend, but not only is his prose masterful, and suitable for reading quickly, I was just really on a roll and couldn't help myself. Caffeine and my tobacco pipe helped.
TNP spends an obscene amount of money, relatively speaking, on eating and drinking in places out.
Probably more than I should, yes. But not as much as I might.
TNP had three cups of coffee today.
Ha. You have no idea. It is a pretty prodigious amount, each and every day. Well, not really so much these days, more like two liters a day. I suppose that's not unusual for a person to drink a pot of coffee a day, but it still seems at the upper limit for people who don't just sit around in their domiciles all day drinking coffee, where a gallon or so would be more typical for me or such people. Doesn't even make me jumpy or shaky, just am used to it.
It's a rather good mixer for whiskey, as well, which is nice.
TNP drinks quite a lot of milk per week: say, a gallon or so, or whatever seems like a lot to TNP.
No, maybe a pint or so. I like it with cookies and other baked goods, and once in a blue moon on cereal.
TNP had a bowl of cereal today.
Nope. Haven't had a bowl (or scoop or spoonful or plate or whatever) of cereal in probably over a decade. Granola's good, though! I should pick some up next time at the store, were it not that I use all my whole milk for coffee. A gallon a week!
TNP does not think that one has to be a psycho to be perfectly calm while privately enraged and actively seeking vengeance.
Some people have that type of mental equanimity, sure. Not me.
TNP's New Year is off to a pretty good start.
So far so good. I gave myself until Epiphany to do a deep-cleaning of my apartment, right down to scrubbing the floors and preparing enough visible carpet to at least run a vacuum over it. Also, for the month of January, combined with the Lenten season, not drinking at home (just at a few bars/breweries) should yield in itself the minimum twenty pounds of weight loss I desire to get a head start. (No alcohol at all during Lent, but for January, strictly at-home consumption is forbidden).
TNP will offer some observations of the San Diego zoo, if he or she has been there (or perhaps regardless).
I've never been to San Diego, but if I do, I would certainly hope to visit the zoo.
TNP has seen two movies in the past week.
I don't really remember. Almost surely, but they were likely partial re-visitings of movies I'd seen a lot of before.
TNP has on a couple of times regretted giving a large, but undeservedly large gratuity to a server at a bar/restaurant. Purely because it seems odd, or perhaps eccentric, or gives the wrong impression. (OTOH, for ordering food at the bar, they have to tip out the guy at the kitchen, so an ordinary 50% tip on drinks, when they're given in the right temporal succession, and with no questions asked, plus something extra for the kitchen, doesn't seem so odd: it probably seems odd to the bartender at first glance, though. ETA, no, that's still wrong, no matter how one slices the percentages.).
Sometimes, yeah, out of inattention or not being willing to seem stingy.
TNP almost always tips 20%.
Sure. But, then, I only ever eat food served at a bar, or drink at a bar. So, the standard rules (maybe more if it's some fancy drink somebody intends to nurse over an hour, especially at a busy place, but I wouldn't know about that) end up to 50% or over. It ensures promptness, I will say, and it's a lot better reputation to carry than the guy or gal who gets a can of Rainier while fidgetingly pushing a bunch of coins in the general direction of the bartender.
TNP would never like to handle food or beverage for a living, except maybe on the docks. It seems odd and it is, given how many preferences and superstitions customers have about stuff.
No, I've thought from time to time it might be kind of fun to be a bartender in a classy bar or a server in a fine restaurant. But I suspect reality would be much less fun.
TNP is on a first-name basis with at least three bartenders.
Ha. Yeah. I probably shouldn't admit too much, but yes, certainly. It's a pretty small community, really, and there's kind of a revolving circus of people who know people who sometimes sub for other people, in addition to the regular workers one sees. Probably a dozen who know my name and likewise, and probably more who sort of know me in passing, but not by name until a little refreshing? I started to list the names, but it got to be tedious and depressing, like trying to remember old "girlfriends" and all that....not worth the effort, or the somewhat depressing fact that one could do such a thing.
Generally a good bunch of people: there are some "characters" with dubious work ethics and of limited capabilities, but I find them to be, as a group, reliable, friendly people who, as a rule, work really hard and definitely earn their pay.
A self-selecting group, IME: the good ones are the ones who stick around, generally because they're very good at what they do and seem to enjoy the job, for the most part.
If TNP owned his or her own cab and drove it for money, he or she would strongly consider printing up a sign saying "Do not talk the the driver, please. This is for your own safety." And maybe have the passengers sign a contract agreeing to the terms. More generally, TNP can't stand driving while a passenger is talking to him or her.
Nah, I'd value my tips too much to do that.
TNP kinda dislikes driving in general.
No, I like it. Good chance to go places, meet people, see things, listen to audiobooks, etc.
TNP is listening to an audiobook these days.
Sort of. The original, first series of Dr. John's instructional tapes on cassette. (He did some others later on new-fangled DVD and all that, but this is the first one). It's pretty much an audio version of a book about music, except where a book might have some printed out examples, he just plays them instead.
TNP has at most four reasonable ways to commute home, none of which are good at all when it's dark and rainy and during rush hour. Freeway is the default "good" answer: slow, but you probably won't die too much.
I have two routes which I regularly drive; I could figure out two or even three or four more without too much difficulty. Dark, rain and rush hour aren't particular problems for me on most days.
TNP has been watching Netlix's The Crown since it premiered.
Nah, for some reason I can't develop an interest.
TNP watches Netflix, like everybody else, but is pretty sure their business model is unsustainable.
I suppose that's probably true, although I've never thought about it, nor even read anything about their dealings. So, OK, if their revenue is from leasing content and providing it ad hoc to customers, that does seem limited. Video/DVD rental stores physically seemed to do OK for, what, twenty years or so? At most? I have doubts Netflix is going to see much recovery of their investments in original content. They're like an old-fashioned movie studio, who indulges every once in a while in a "prestige" picture, but Netflix seems to be going all-prestige, and not only haven't they shrunk their competitors to nothing by their out-of-the-gate saturation, they don't have the kinds of exclusive rights or power the studios had over moviehouses. They're not like Amazon which, despite providing things like physical delivery bonuses for old-fashioned consumers of toilet paper, clothing, or whatever, streaming products, also has a powerful product called AWS (more or less raw computing power, in the form of platforms and infrastructures, with powerful self-developed software tools, to be licensed to deep pockets who will require such off-site "cloud" storage and serving in the corporate world, now and in the indefinite future).
TNP accepts the argument that CGI alterations to actors' appearances is not different in quality/kind to make-up or prosthetics, but still doesn't like it.
Definitely. Still not completely comfortable with de-aging, etc. Too often it falls into Uncanny Valley territory.
TNP has been to the Uncanny Valley and doesn't want to go back.
Oh, I've been there, but I'd go back if I had a day or two off work, such as a weekend. It's only uncanny the first few times you visit. Then the ghoulish apparitions, phantom sounds, and physical plasticity feel downright heimlich.
TNP is or would be completely horrified and mortified if he or she thought that a person of the desirable sex suspected him or her of carrying a torch for him or her in private.
Nah, I'd be cool with that. What the heck.
TNP sometimes thinks spaghetti would make a good breakfast food.
Ew, no, not really, thanks. But knock yourself out!
TNP far prefers bacon and eggs, or pastry, or pancakes, or waffles for breakfast instead of a punch in the face.
My mistress won't let me have food until she thrashes me about the head and neck with a riding crop. No, that's false. I don't actually think anybody likes being punched in the face: it kind of hurts, you know, although it does inspire the recipient to retaliate with great vengeance and furious anger. FWIW, I often have noodles of some kind for breakfast, when I eat something then. Fast to cook, no mess, fast to eat.
TNP would much rather take a strong punch to the face (no rings on the fingers, please!) than one to the gut.
Probably, if I had to choose. Chances of me being in a position to retaliate are probably better.
TNP is less surprised by the lack of civility on the Internet than the lack of it IRL.
Generally, yes, although I'm a pretty polite guy all in all.
TNP has been known to curse other drivers under his breath when they do something dickish.
Uh-huh. Yeah. I followed a driver to his or her house after he or she honked while I was letting a little old lady cross (in a signalled crosswalk, no less, after I'd seen her waiting patiently for her signal, in fairly cold, dismal weather). Yesterday. I won't give the license plates, make and model, or address here, but I do on Facebook. I really got lucky being able to follow the driver through a circuitous route through the west hills of Portland, but like James Best said in Crazy Larry Dirty Mary, "I was born here." No, I didn't tailgate the object vehicle, or turn the brights on while directly behind them, but I'm pretty sure he or she about wet themselves when, after some passages where cars intercepted my path, I retained the path of my prey.
TNP thinks these two rules suffice for travelling via private vehicle: (i) don't use the horn, ever, unless there's a goddamned good reason (ii) don't tailgate, ever
TNP thinks a better strategy in the case described above would have been, upon hearing the rage horn inflicted upon an innocent, to stop his or her car completely, crack open the driver's side door, set one foot outside, then reverse the process and continue. As in, "chill them motherfuckers out, including oneself." OTOH, I think I found a new route to commute, and a place I can sip some coffee both going to and coming from the job. A bit out of the way, but it's not an unpleasant drive, and I know those roads blindfolded.
No, that could get you shot in some neighborhoods around here. At most I will glare at people and honk my horn if I think it would do any good.
TNP has spilled very hot coffee on himself or herself in the car at least three times.
No! For that is the act of a foolish man! IOW, sure, I've spilled coffee and other drinks on myself lots of times. Not in the car, though, I don't believe. Sure, I drink (coffee) and drive and smoke(tobacco) and drive and play music at deafening volumes while driving, but I've never managed to soil my garments while driving.
Just good luck, I guess.
TNP has the unique combination of having been detained or (inclusive) arrested by police on charges, yet has never received a single moving violation in his or her life (verbal warnings excepted).
ETA Oh fuck, shit, yeah, obviously it wasn't James Best in the walnut groves, but it was some actor who looked and sounded like him. [Jive]Cut me some slack, Jack[/Jive]
EETA Well, yeah, it's not like we lack for peckerwoods or gangbangers here either, but IME, that's a good reason to not start no shit unless you have a twenty-pound club sitting at your right hand. In fact, I think it's so popular it has its own brand and trademark. Viz, "The Club." No, it's not for displaying or threatening, but it's nice for peace of mind to have handy. Then again, it's also nice to be 6'3" 240 pounds and wearing a safety vest as well.
No, never been arrested or even briefly detained by police, but I have been ticketed for speeding a time or two in the past.
TNP has sneezed in the past hour.
I'd say no. A full sneeze? In the past twelve hours, yeah, for sure: in fact, I've been sneezing quite a bit lately, and I certainly remember about twelve hours ago. Since then, no, I seem to have controlled my symptoms with Loratadine and Sudogest. The latter seems to do a good job supressing any sneezing, but at the cost of drying out the nasal passages and those connected. It's hard for me to control for substances and give an accurate account, since I take diphenhydramine in addition to the loratadine daily, for years now.
TNP has recently realized that he or she should use more colored pencils/pens lately. As in, they're probably not just a kids' toy, but can be useful, especially compared to multiple layers of pencil annotations on various texts.
No, I sometimes go weeks without using a pencil.
TNP has at least six pencils within arm's reach right now.
(Counts quickly)...No, not that many pencils, but too many pens.
TNP thinks that printers with built in staplers are an invention that took way too long to come along.
I'm really not sure: haven't those been around for quite a while? At least a few decades, I'm pretty sure. Of course, when needed, they're very good pieces of equipment. Collating too, as well as "duplex" printing, but I'd bet those features have been around for even longer.
TNP uses a printer at home fairly often, even if it's an older model without the fancy office features.
Yup, fairly often. Got a usually-reliable HP printer for our home office.
TNP owns an HP printer.
Well, however did you guess? Yeah, actually. It's an OK piece of equipment. I don't have anything good to say about HP inkjet printers (nor their notebook computers, but that's a different topic entirely) but this older model of a "Laserjet" isn't so bad. It's an older model, with not very much RAM, but it accepts new bodies of toner cartridges fine, and with a bit of finesse, it's printed me many thousands of pages just fine, and still does just fine. I've only owned this model for a few years, and it was old then, but it's an OK printer.
TNP gets quite a bit of satisfaction from using equipment well beyond its "use-by" date. You know, "Best By blah blah." In other words, as long as it works, or you can make it work, if it isn't broke, it's good enough.
Yes, I do. I'm frugal and/or habitual that way.
TNP saved at least $20 on something recently.
Not yet, but thanks to Microsoft Rewards I can get $30 worth of free cigarettes, assuming I decide to go all the way out to Walmart. I should really buy something more useful like a swanky new high-visibility safety vest that isn't falling apart, or maybe some new undershorts, but that would be silly.
TNP would describe himself or herself as pretty suspicious when it comes to assessing the motives of others.
No, I tend to assume the best of people while striving not to be either naive or foolish. (Sometimes I even manage to pull it off).
TNP has attended the swearing-in of a public official since the start of the year.
No, never! Hardly ever!
TNP would probably rather have a houseboy than a live-in maid. No running trying to bone the help all the time. Well, for certain tastes, that is.
I'm afraid a sexy young maid (French or otherwise) might too often tempt me to break my marriage vows, so yeah, a houseboy would probably be best.
TNP has bonded with a hotel staffer over an extended stay.
I don't think "bonded" is really the right word. Certainly mutually antagonistic, cooperative, or indifferent attitudes.
TNP has stayed in the same hotel for a month or more.
No, I think a week is probably the longest I've ever been.
TNP could use some time on the beach right about now.
Negative, Colonel. I feel like getting a running leap at the new year.
TNP ha a reflex reaction against parking a car nose-in: sure, sometimes it has to be that way, but it's, TNP feels, a bad compromise. Better to walk an extra hundred meters than park a car bad.
Nah, I don't mind. Although sometimes I'll part nose-out for a quicker getaway.
TNP has worn a hat today.
No. I haven't worn a hat in a few years. The weather forecast for out here, next week or so, seems to be rather warm (you know, above freezing), so I likely will not wear one in the near future.
TNP has a pretty strong opinion about why umbrellas are indispensable. Alternatively, why not.
It rains quite a bit here in season, so yes, I usually have umbrellas close at hand, in my car, office and house.
TNP owns at least three umbrellas.
Don't own a one. Got sick of them being ruined by the Prairie winds years ago, and never got back in the habit after I moved.
TNP has been sleeping badly lately.
Yes. I've had to miss some work recently thanks to only getting a few hours of sleep the night before. Not worth it to try to function under those conditions, even if I likely could. The malaise, the uncoordinated motor skills, and the general feeling like shit.
TNP considers one of the hallmarks of a good night sleep that one is aware of having had several dreams, even if one cannot recall them or they were not interesting.
Unless it's a nightmare, I really do like to dream, and even moreso if I can remember at least a bit of the dream when I wake up.
TNP has had a particularly vivid dream in the past month.
Yes. I don't remember the details, except that they were boring things about work. Definitely vivid, and definitely inversely proportional to how much I've had to drink before retiring.
TNP thinks knowing ASL (American Sign Language), or another signed language, would be both neat and surprisingly useful and is therefore considering learning the basics soon.
I suppose, but I don't think I have the gray cells, attention span or time to do it right. I do have a good friend who's an ASL interpreter, though.
On a similar note, TNP had not seen this British news story before: https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalt...sign-language/
True. I'd not seen or heard about that before. Prince William is the good one, right? Apparently!
When TNP is typing up even an abbreviated CV or some similar bit of document, it takes him or her about three or five revisions to get it right.
Oh, at least.
TNP has revised his or her CV in the past month.
Yeah, in a sense. Just made a condensed and specific version to fit on one page a "(Semi-Truck)-Yard Specialist" manager (L3, they call it) job. Wasn't difficult, but I still habitually fiddle with precise wordings and all that, so it took a few minutes of reflection and editing.
TNP has ever personally noticed some of the ridiculously specific HR requirements for various jobs, especially in the tech industry. It's plainly ridiculous, which I think is well-known by the general public at this point. But some companies seem to be more absurd than others, let's say.
I haven't, but I can't say I'm particularly surprised.
TNP will be going to a fundraiser this week (I'll be going to two tonight!).
Nah, don't go to many, thank God.
TNP is in a bit of a rut.
Sometimes it feels like that, but no, I don't think so.
TNP has been kissed today.
Nope. Not even the remotest fantasy. I did have a day yesterday full of unusually friendly encounters, but purely of the Platonic ideal of friendliness.
TNP is kind of involved in a soap opera, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the daytime TV things or whatever.
I've been on the fringes of a few of those, but not lately, thank God.
TNP knows someone who regularly watches a particular soap opera.
Sure. A bartender is really into one of those daytime ones, I can't remember which. I'm pretty sure my mother still watches some of those. I'm a repeat viewer of Buffy and Twin Peaks, which I think count.
TNP had no idea until today that Roger Federer was still playing, currently at the Australian Open (tennis). That's an old boy, right there! He's like my age!
No, I didn't, but I really don't follow tennis.
TNP has played tennis in the past two months.
Mmmm....hmmmm....well....you know, what with the weather and all and...hmmm....you know, the club isn't what it used to.....mmmm....well, I'll say, old boy, I haven't played a set in since I can't remember! Jolly rogering good of you to bring that up: I will have my boy said he is to bring it up again, next meetings, he shall.
TNP imagines fancy people speaking in posh British accents.
Heh. Yes, I do, now and then. And sometimes I do it myself.
TNP has watched the British Prime Minister's Questions on TV in the past year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_...%27s_Questions
Can't say as I have.
TNP knows useful things in the events of a landslide closing a major highway, or tracking a tailgater to his or her house, namely, knowing the backroads and lesser-travelled streets like the back of one's hand.
Yeah, I know my way around here pretty well, although landslides aren't really an issue, fortunately.
TNP enjoys New Yorker cartoons.
Mostly, but I have an occasional "Huh", or "Christ, what an asshole".
TNP reads at least one comic strip every day.
No. Pretty rarely.
TNP occasionally looks at comic Twitter tweets.
Yes, if someone sends them to me. I'm not on Twitter myself.
TNP isn't on Twitter, either.
I think I made an account a while ago, but I don't remember the login details, so false. Yeah, I just check out things people occasionally mention, like "Nihilist Arby's" or whatever. I don't follow any celebrities or reality TV hosts.
TNP knows at least one or two people who drive Mini Coopers and admits they're pretty slick little cars, even if you do see them everywhere on the roads.
I just know one, actually, but yes, I like those cars.
TNP has driven a Mini Cooper in the past month.
Nope, never driven one nor ridden in one. Sat in one: with the driver's seat all the way back, I could hardly reach the clutch pedal, and I'm 6'3.5" tall. Shocking.
TNP takes over four types of pills every day, such as ibuprofen (prescription-strength Advil), pseudoephedrine (prescription Sudafed), loratidine, diphenhydramine. In other words, TNP is a pill-popper.
Yeah, I guess I generally take five pills a day, mostly prescription. Being old and coming from a family with a history of heart disease sucks.
TNP has high blood pressure that needs control through meds.
Fortunately not. When I give blood the nurse almost always remarks on my low blood pressure.
TNP has seen a doctor professionally in the past month.
Naw. I should make an appointment with my dentist soon. (Dammit, they are doctors: rule number one, don't piss them off. Well, the hygienists...I think they're always angry).
TNP thinks the best thing to say to some shrimp-dick cockbiting prick with an unruly dog with whom one has to interact on occaion is to say, "If you need a man to train your emotional support animal, I can give you the number of a man who knows how." If not, do a better veiled insult.
How about "Y'know, I just can't decide which of you is the bigger bitch"?
TNP listened to some Mozart this week.
Not a recording, but I've recalled some fragments of various pieces of his music, certainly.
[Yes, sure, right, calling a contract driver a bitch would not be what I'd call veiled. I'm often extremely rude or dismissive to them, which is fine, or mutter things like "go fuck yourself you stupid cocksucker" within earshot, but there's a difference: the latter I'm allowed to do, but the former, probably not really.]
TNP thinks pain in the heels of the feet is worse than pain in the toes.
Not really. I'd rather have a little pain in the toes than a lot in the heels, and vice versa. It's the degree, not the location, that matters to me.
TNP just bought new shoes.
No. I have a giant mound of shoes already that I rotate through. If I get this job as Truck Yard Manager, I might upgrade to a professional-grade pair of work boots.
TNP has been noticing more and more people smiling (in a friendly way) to him or her lately. Particularly women.
No, about the same as usual.
TNP had some chocolate today.
Actually, yeah. I threw out a pretty high-class bar of 88% cacao that'd been in my cupboard for apparently too long. It was edible, I suppose, but maybe on a desert island or in Haïti or someplace dire. So I just ate about six mini Hershey bars left over from Halloween (no, I don't get trick or treaters, but I can't resist a sale on stuff I don't usually buy). Apparently chocolate does go pretty foul after a number of years in a cupboard. I guess that wass 24-36 hours ago. Not sure. In my mind that's pretty much "today."
TNP doesn't really care about KC or SF in the superbowl this Sunday, so instead will privately think of the day as Candlemas, which it is. Also, screw the Niners.
Don't care about the Super Bowl at all this year, it's true, but neither will I be thinking about Candlemas.
TNP has a candle burning right now.
No. Given my frequent falling asleep at my desk at home, sometimes waking to find the entire place filled with smoke from something I left on the stove, I should probably not use candles. I would like to die in a fire, though, like Ingeborg Bachmann, so maybe I'll keep that in mind when I find out I have stage IV cancer. If I'm lucky, I can take out some neighbors too in the conflagration: they kind of suck. No, please do not SWAT me with the pigs: AFAIK I do not have cancer yet, so I am not a threat to myself or others, any more than usual.
TNP would be pretty suspicious if some guy at work seemed to make a point of starting conversations. "Do you like the Rolling Stones?" "I heard you playing that jazz in your car before work." "So you're from X but were born in Y: you still have family down in Y?" [On reflection, nah, some people are just like that, working from memory of some good friends from the past, but I'm still interested in TNP]
I suppose it'd depend on that person's demeanor and affect. If he already seemed a little creepy, yeah, that might make me suspicious.
TNP has a pretty good memory for other people's little life stories.
Yeah. It's not conscious, but I seem to recall pretty much everything someone tells me in passing conversations. It's kind of a curse, because I sometimes find people's stories don't quite add up. "Oh, yeah, the 1960 Chevy Nova you mentioned is your prized possession, completely restored with stock parts..." Which...actually...probably exists about as much as that diving certification, your welding experience, and your fiancée in Nebraska. (Chevy Novas didn't exist in 1960, AFAIK). But, it can be handy for making small talk...once I remember little unimportant details like people's names and things.
TNP has never found the "memory palace" trick for deliberately remembering things to be useful.
Agreed. Despite it now having become a Hollywood cliche, it does seem to really work for some people, though.
TNP has been inside a real palace.
If you mean a "working" palace with royalty or functionaries using it actively, then no. The other kind that are more for show nowadays, then sure. Some of them are pretty big! But some are more modestly sized, just kind of out in the middle of nowhere. "Oh, check it out, that's a fucking palace!"
TNP has ever recently been somewhat depressingly excited to receive a somewhat rare coin or bill as change: for example, a fresh two-dollar US bill.
Not too recently, but yes, I've had old or relatively rare coins given to me as change a few times over the years. It's a small treat.
TNP owns at least five crisp $2 bills.
What? You must have called ahead to the bank! No, I just have the one. Used to see them pretty often, but not in a dog's age. And trust me, brother, this is one crisp as hell motherfucker of a Jeffersonian! I'm going to give it to my nephews, since I can't imagine spending it. I imagine younger people wouldn't even know what the hell it is!
TNP is thinking, or has thought about, buying a non-fancy shotgun, like a Mossberg 500 in 12 gauge...or perhaps already has one.
No, never had a shotgun, and probably never will.
TNP prefers using a camera to a gun.
False. I just don't enjoy photography at all, although I can appreciate others' works. However, I don't live in the country, so I can't exactly step out on my balcony and start firing away whenever I want, so chances to fire a gun of any sort are pretty far and few between.
TNP dubs this interregnum between the feast of the presentation of the lord and ash wednesday: "The season of paperwork."
LOL. It sometimes seems like that, but no, I have not thus dubbed it.
TNP already has plans for Easter.
Sure. I plan to attend mass, and if I can make it to the two-hour window on Saturdays to reconcile, receive the eucharist. After that, I'll go to work in the afternoon. Depending on my mood, I might play hooky from work and go out to see my parents and uncle and, maybe, depending on my sister's plans, the nephews.
TNP shall give an everyday, benign example of "rules-lawyering," and say if it's good or bad.
I will admit that I will jaywalk if the road is safely clear in both directions. My rationale is that, although I'm breaking the law, that particular law is intended to protect lives, and if no life is endangered, there's no point in me walking all the way down to the corner just to cross the street. Don't you judge me!
TNP jaywalks with some regularity.
I suppose so, when it's the best option. IME it's often safer to jaywalk than to wait for a "walk" signal, and almost certainly have drivers violating the crosswalk while dumbly initiating a turn before it is legal and safe to do so. Similarly in driving, for example, in a parking lot. Just signal intent and proceed accordingly and defensively. I was just having a brief conversation earlier today about some new legislation in my state allowing bicyclists to roll through controlled intersections that are, nonethless, free of traffic. (No, I don't believe the average cyclist has the ability to judge during times of continuous traffic, but it's probably OK on a deserted street in the middle of the night, provided they never, ever hit a pedestrian, nor even come close to it). Anyway, yeah. Both as a pedestrian and as a driver, I think it's OK if one has truly "cleared" the proposed pathway of all reasonable hazards.
Do people actually think before they act, most of the time? No, but sometimes. All of the time? Absolutely not. Do what you got to do, but do it right. Yeah, that's some cowboy wisdom.
TNP has already filed his or her taxes for this year, or is a lazy slug like me who is still "getting around to it."
No, not yet, but I'm gathering the paperwork together.
TNP has an accountant help with his or her taxes.
Yep, money well spent once your life gets complicated.
TNP often uses the concierge services at hotels.
I have a few times when I was much younger and staying in real hotels, not just flophouses or hostels. I doubt I did it right, but they were nice. Can't remember why I talked to them, probably just for directions or something.
TNP would rather stay the night in a fleabag hotel or motel than in a "youth" hostel, given the choice.
Well, neither, given the choice, but if I had to choose, yeah, probably the fleabag hotel or motel.
TNP spoke to a childhood friend today.
Nah, last year spoke to a childhood friend for the first in years. I haven't kept in touch that great with where I grew up.
TNP thinks movin's the closest thing to bein' free.
No. I feel free already, and I don't like all the bother of moving.
TNP will probably take a nap today.
Yeah, I think so. I did some swapping around of shifts so I have today free. My feet hurt and I don't feel like playing Bach or anything else today. I just would like to reset myself for a bit.
TNP has spent most of his or her life copying others, and finds the only freedom is in dreams.
Disagree on both counts. If you live in a Western democracy and don't think you're free, try a year in North Korea or Syria sometime.
TNP actually wouldn't mind a stint in North Korea or Syria.
Yeah, I would mind very much. Lebanon or rural South Korea seem a little more to my tastes.
TNP does not care for pedestrians who, at a minimum, don't carry (and use) a high-powered LED flashlight, and neglect wearing a reflective vest, if they're going to be poncing around in the dark during rush hour.
No, actually, I'd be surprised to see pedestrians thus equipped regardless of the hour.
TNP knows who Georgy Zhukov was.
This, 100% honest, but wasn't he some guy who got shot down in a plane and then did some stuff? I'll look him up after this post, but that's my honest impression.
ETA Whoops! Well, at least the name sounded familiar. I'm still pretty sure he had a plane named after him, or a tank, or something, but I don't feel like reading an encyclopedia entry just now.
TNP takes most opportunities he or she can to inspect and assimilate the roles other people part of one's "profession" do, even though it can be a path fraught with various people who are like "Well, we don't do it like that," or whatever.
I'm always willing to learn more about other professions and careers, yes. I usually find it interesting how people do things I don't know how to do (even if I don't always have the patience or time to learn how to do it anywhere near as well as they do!).
TNP has seen the 1984 Mozart tragicomedy Amadeus in the past year.
Ha. Haha. Hahahaha. Hahahaha! Hot? Who's hot? I don't know when I've ever felt quite so comfortable! That's a true.
TNP thinks present-day Pee-Wee (AKA "PW") is still pretty awesome...but slightly less so than back in the day.
Haven't seen him lately, so I couldn't say.
TNP has or had a red bike.
Sure. Still have it, in fact, just up on my balcony with the front wheel off, where it just...I don't know....it just sits there. Well, it's red and black, I guess. Most people would say, "That's a red bike!" though, I guess. I'll be fucked if I'm going to be riding a goddamned bike in this fucking crap town, though.
TNP can think of a less childish way of dealing with sluggish, dumb-fuck coworkers than just lowering oneself to their standards, and if so, will say what that is.
Ignoring them, working around them, bitching about them to non-coworker friends or mocking them silently in your mind, maybe?
There are times when TNP wouldn't mind having a working flamethrower.
Not really: my next firepower-related purchases are going to be a good empty gasoline can to carry in the trunk, and a Mossberg 500 with a bunch of #00 and a few slugs for fun.
TNP probably should not be slinging a backpack full of fuel and a torch anywhere near anyone, but still owns and uses a blowtorch somewhat often.
No, never had one of those, although I've seen them used.
TNP would like to learn how to blow glass.
Absolutely not. That just seems entirely wrong to me. Everything about it seems wrong, somehow. Some of those hippies do make some pretty cool stuff, though.
TNP knows somebody with a pretty cool collection of those glass floats used (perhaps not so much any longer) in maritime fishing.
Nah, can't say as I do. Sounds sharp, though.
TNP thinks Coke from a glass bottle tastes better than Coke from a can.
I'd go along with that. I really have more experience with beer than Coke, but regular beer out of a can is, to me, not that best way to drink it. Kind of a metallic taste, I guess, but for all I know that's a preconception. I don't like it much, though, whatever it is, but poured into a glass, I doubt I could tell the difference. It's fine for ghetto beers like Steel Reserve 211, or others that aren't exactly things you drink for subtle flavors.
TNP thinks whiskey and a modest amount of Coke is a very good combination indeed.
No, I don't like Coke in anything. And I drink my whiskey neat.
TNP has listened to some Mozart today.
Yesterday? I don't really remember. I seem to remember a few seconds of going back to my bugbear, namely, trying to figure out how to arrange Mozart's aria "Der Hölle Rache" for solo piano. It's likely pretty rare a day goes by I don't recall a small fragment of Mozart's music, but it's rare I actually find a recording and project the performance via speakers.
Today? Well of course. It's like the white bear, not thinking about it.
TNP thinks auditory recall of a performance or a piece of music (an abstracted performance, say) can be a much more powerful and flexible tool than inspecting a realized performance.
Yes, that's probably true.
TNP ate some form of chocolate today.
Not yet, haven't eaten a thing.
TNP generally skips breakfast, except on weekends.
Other than a little OJ before I walk out the door, yes, usually.
TNP prefers grapefruit to orange juice.
I suppose not. I can't remember the last time I had grapefruit juice, but I have orange juice a few times a year on purpose. It appears sweet appears has won a decisive victory over sour, in the opinion of this commentator.
TNP thinks holidays are mostly for kids (or young adults): the adult mind tends to grim matter-of-factness and revels daily in the austerity of the quotidian.
Mostly, yeah, but I enjoy holidays too - just not the same as kids do.
TNP has a favorite non-related kid in his or her life.
Not really. I get along with some kids from work, and young people who do things like work at the grocery store or tend bar or whatever. Late teens/early twenties, is what I'm calling a "kid." A favorite of those? One of our floor-level supervisors is not of drinking age, but he seems to enjoy my sense of humor, so it's always good for a laugh. Impromptu comedy dialogues. Anyone who sees the comedy in muttering "Motherfuckers...." while pretending to be outraged is OK, and moreso if they contribute their own mockeries of common emotions.
TNP can say there was a specific moment when he or she, figuratively (or literally, in my case), shined a bright light on himself or herself and decided that he or she was physically not exactly the freshest. IOW, old. For example, tobacco-stained fingers, toenails, and flesh, brought to you by Philip Morriss, don't use drugs, kids.
Maybe when I turned fifty, but every year I become a little more aware that I'm older now than I used to be.
TNP was particularly close to one grandparent.
Sure, although my only and best contacts, with respect to the order presented in the following sentence, were when I was below the age of ten. Both my maternal grandmother and my paternal grandfather were pretty bitchen, in very different ways.
TNP has sprained his or her ankle in the past ten or fifteen years.
Oh, yes. I do it every year or so, I think.
TNP has taken iron supplements in the past five years.
Don't think so, no.
TNP has pretty much given up on the idea of taking dietary supplements.
No, I take a multivitamin every day.
TNP has read a literary classic in the past three months.
Hmmm....read a lot of old stuff, but not a lot that most people would consider "classics", I suppose.
TNP thinks that any booze with "Old" in its name is probably worth drinking, except for Old Milwaukee.
Hmm. Guess not. Can't think of any "Old"-named booze I prefer.
TNP has smoked a cigar in the past month.
No. And I did not have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky, either. The experience doesn't fit well with Old Crow or Olde English 800, either, I'm guessing.
TNP knows which of his or her eyes is dominant, presuming at least partial vision in both eyes.
Yes, my right eye.
TNP has had an eye exam in the past six months.
No. In fact it's probably been a quarter century since I had an actual opthamologist examine my eyes, as opposed to a regular optometrist. It's on my list of things to do to get a new (stronger! better!) prescription, though. Probably will get around to it sometime this year unless an eye becomes infected or physically damaged.
TNP has found it impossible to feel the discomfort of others unless one has experienced, at the least, strongly analogous circumstances. For example, spraining or perhaps breaking one's ankle and becoming hobbled. All I can think of are past examples of observing others with such an affliction and observing to myself, "Well, that must hurt: lots of luck!"
Kinda sorta. I try to empathize but sometimes I don't really have grounds for comparison.
TNP has seen a great movie in the past week.
Sure. An oldie (but still recent) again, The Commitments. I think in the past week there have been at least a few others, but I can't say if they were from the past week or maybe two weeks ago. I don't keep a diary, you know. ETA Oh! Yeah. All That Jazz counts.
TNP has given notes on somebody's original manuscript recently: you know, sort of editing just for a friend and all that. (Really hard to be diplomatic, but sometimes the brutal truth has to be said, however much one sprinkles sugar on top).
More generally, TNP has recently given critical notes to someone about his or her creative efforts, and if so, feels pretty confident in his or her judgment.
Not too recently, but yes, I have provided a friendly edit to others' writings quite a few times.
TNP has a favorite philosopher.
Yeah. I'm going with two who are certainly among the most influential in modern Anglo-Austrian "technical philosophy" (as it sometimes used to be called): Wittgenstein and Husserl. Both very interesting people in their private lives, as well. For sheer pleasure to be found among his fragments on cultural topics, I'll stick with Wittgenstein, even though his technical work on language, mathematics, and logic can be a bit gnomic. And, no, I don't necessarily agree with every feature of their various systems developed in their developments as thinkers, but there's plenty of room for disagreements large and small as well.
TNP has a pretty good bone to pick with people who, out of ignorance or malice, dismiss logicians and rigorous philosophers as mere navel-gazers, when in fact, the practical applications of the best philosophers of the past century are vast and of crucial importance to a great many scientific fields.
I suppose so, but I can't say it keeps me up nights. I think the more pressing problem for humanity right now is accepting that hard science is real.
TNP has a favorite dead scientist.
I guess. For the sake of argument I'm excluding all mathematicians and logicians, but Maxwell was a remakable synthesist, as was Leibniz. I can't go back to the pre-early moderns, including the Greeks, because that didn't really observe the stale old divisions between humanitarians and mere experimentalists, so Epicurus is out, as is Eratosthenes and Archimedes, not to mention Gauss, Goethe, and so forth.
I'll stick with Maxwell, just for fun. He was really good at hammering stuff out, it seems, and I don't have much interest in atomic chemistry or its kid brother, particle physics, and still less anything whatsoever to do with cosmology. I think I can sometimes understand electromagnetic fields, Lenz's law, all that.
TNP has recently had one of those "helpful people" hawks his wares, like in a parking lot, "Hey, esse, I see you have body damage on your car, I do insurance adjustments and can get you a good deal!" Yeah, right.
No, I rarely see that kind of thing.
TNP has a favorite dead leader (president, king, queen, prime minister, pope, etc.)
Not so much, although over the years I've developed a strange affection for George Washington, particularly the strength of character it took to walk away from a place where he could have been dictator.
TNP follows Spring Training baseball a bit.
No. Just not that hardcore. But I see the appeal, and given the chance, I'd watch some highlights + commentary on the tube, above many other things, certainly.
[Ditto GW: I still can't abide his having assisted the Brits against the French in his earlier days, but the more I read about him, the more I think he was a remarkable man and soldier.]
This is a bit of a retread, but it recently came up today and I'd like to know if the TNP would feel the least bit bad about, after having had three or four beers at a bar, as a tip, just dropped some loose change on the bar. Like eighty odd cents or something like that. For the mere fact of the bartender being slow as mollasses.
No, I've given small tips - or none - for sucky service. Not often, though.
I'm a big GW fan, too! Recommended reading: Chernow's masterful bio, Washington: A Life, or Ellis's Founding Brothers, both of which won Pulitzers.
TNP has read a bio of Washington in the past ten years.
I'm not really sure: the closest I do remember for sure is probably McCullough's 1776, which had some good Washingtonia, IIRC. I might have read an actual bio, or I might just have picked up information from textbooks and such, which I sometimes browse just to see what the kids are up to, besides twerking and texting.
TNP is somewhat outraged that some companies, including some government ones insist on doing certain things by phone. More generally, TNP finds it a giant waste of time to deal with business-type stuff over the phone.
Depends on what they want to do by phone, I guess. Sometimes it's easier and quicker, but there are certainly times when I'd rather have a paper trail or an email record.
And yes, McCullough's 1776 is a great intro to the Revolutionary War and to Washington's generalship. Fischer's Washington's Crossing covers some of the same material but is even better, I'd say.
TNP has texted more recently than twerked.
Tough question! J/k: I text all the time to quite a few of my peeps. It's great fun, even when discussing various work problems with some of my crew, or even just joking around. Text+forums >> (i.e., "much greater than") e-mail any day of the week, mostly. IMHO. I don't dance, period: I got the rhythm covered, and am not shy, but it just seems very, very wrong. If it's a good tune, I want to listen to it, not be busting a move and getting all distracted. Besides occasionally air-drumming or beating time or air-conducting or air-keyboarding.
TNP dances every now and then, of one's own accord (not just dragged into it by, say, a romantic partner!)
Yes, usually if I'm alone and a particularly good dance tune comes on.
TNP is a big fan of Saturday Night Fever.
Nope, you can count me right out of that party! I still think Travolta's not an inherently bad actor, though. Not great, but he did a few very-good-to-excellent movies.
TNP would not intervene in a street-fight between punks and the softboys of disco/Kiss Army, but knows who to root for. Purely as spectacle.
I'm against streetfighting as a matter of general principle, so I probably wouldn't root for anybody.
TNP has called the cops in the past year after observing a breach of the peace.
Abolutely not. I would rather personally intervene and try to to be a bit of a diplomat than let some random civilians with civilian merit badges intervene. Much like at the Church last day: sure, the guy with the sleeping bag in the vestibule was quietly told that a few of us were doing whatever, but there was no problem..
TNP can explain to me why it is that, I assume, everyone knows about Mardi Gras, but nobody seems to know what it's all about? Seems really odd to me: people think everyone just goes nuts on a certain Tuesday, every year, for no reason?
Well, people in general, I think, pretty much go with the custom, without over-thinking it. How many people who call themselves Christians, for example, can explain most of the "orthodox" beliefs, beyond, "Jesus good"?
TNP likes watching TV shows about archaeology.
Now and then, yes. I've long been interested in the Aztecs in particular.
As to Mardi Gras: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras
TNP has eaten king cake.
No. What is that, like king crab meat in a disc form with oyster frosting? No.
Ad Mardi gras/carnival/whatever you want to call it, it just seems extraordinary that people with strong anti-French, anti-Catholic biases hesitate not to regale themselves and all that, while apparently feigning ignorance of the traditional cultures and ethnicities that inspire these deeds.
Probably shouldn't be so surprised, but, just think of it as life stripping more optimism regarding other humans away. Just another application of the rasp to the veneer.
TNP knows a few people originally from the US state of Maryland, or people who live there currently, but has never stopped over to check out the coast and such over there.
I do know a couple of Marylanders, yes, including a good college friend who's lived there with his family for 30-some years now. I have not spent much time in the state myself.
TNP wants a piece of king cake now: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake
Oh. I know what that is now, I just never heard the term as such. Ehhh....maybe at a party. No deep hankering right now. ETA actually, it's fun, or it would be if well-meaning hosts or hostesses didn't "sugar the pot" by letting everybody "win"! Yeah, it's fun, but whatever. Good for kids or as an icebreaker at a party. IME.
TNP knows somebody who used to hang out with Joe Estevez, or somebody of a comparable level of notoriety, and will give an example.
My high school chum Dan knows quite a few bigshots in NYC politics; that's probably my best example.
TNP wants to visit NYC this year.
Want to, yes. Probably won't.
TNP has spent Christmas in NYC.
No, never have. Someday, mebbe.
TNP has spent July 4th in Washington.
Nope. I almost surely will not in the future: that might be a little too much for me. I mean, sure, "USA! USA!" and all that....but...it could be a little much. For me.
Here'd be a somewhat subtle insult to a politician: you know, you're really kind of the Joe Estevez of United States mayors! (Or whatever!)
TNP has caught a few minutes of a rugby match on TV and couldn't really follow it at all.
Christ, I watched a whole game, at a stadium, and couldn't figure it out, or develop much interest in figuring it out. Pretty much might as well have been watching softcore gay porn.
TNP likes to put their socks into balls instead of folding them.
Correct, although I ball my white athletic socks just at one end, while I ball dress socks all the way along their length. Don't ask me why, because I don't know.
TNP heard a hated song this morning, even if only for a few seconds before lunging for the radio controls.
Actually, yes. It wasn't so much a song as a snippet of a kind of music I found detestable. No it wasn't on a softcore gay porn clip (at which BTW, that was pretty funny), but just a video clip. I did lunge at the FFW shortcut key, though, PDQ.
People fold socks? Like the way they are sold in stores? Huh. I didn't know that.
TNP is getting ready to toss out/donate a good amount of older clothing that's either gone bad or just doesn't want anymore.
No, although I did put some ties I rarely wear on a hangar 'way in the back of the closet.
TNP has a cedar closet.
No. Used to, at an old house, and they are nice.
TNP wonders why we still put up with the crappiness of daylight saving time.
Nah. It's because of the illuminati or something. FWIW at least two-thirds of the west coast (contiguous) US states have passed legislation to remain on permanent DST, but I think there's some kind of federal stamp needed for it to become really true. Probably the people spoke because it's fricking dark here during the winter evenings and people would rather pretend it weren't so.
TNP could say whether or not, over the course of his or her life, people have underestimated or overestimated his or her intelligence.
No, I think most people develop a pretty accurate appraisal of my intelligence. Pretty high, but not a supergenius.
TNP has taken an IQ test, and agreed with its result.
I don't know. I did, but it was when I was very young, and I don't think the results scale all that well, for various reasons with statistics and whatnot. They didn't put me in a bughouse, so I guess I fooled them. Considering I scored the same at the SAT ("scholastic aptitude test," a corporate standard used in the US as a criterion for undergraduate admissions) at age eleven or twelve as I did at eighteen, I'd suspect I drifted a little off the path somewhere in there. I can break a hundred, pretty sure, but can I run a hundred points in straight pool? I dunno.
TNP probably "peaked" at about age three or four: been a downhill slide ever since!
TNP has pretty recently "tooted" the carhorn as a greeting to others in parking lots and such. If so, TNP is pretty sure or not that this is a good idea.
Yeah, not too long ago. As long as you accompany it with a friendly wave, not a problem.
TNP has owned a car with a broken horn.
No! To the contrary, well, OK there was one exception...possibly two, I've wanted a more rigorous, strenge, horn. And maybe a little one for saying "Hi!" in the parking lot as recently for me with one of a hundred or so neighbors I don't dislike, and vice versa.
TNP has, let's say in the last year or so checked under the hood of a neighbor's Corvette or similar and just like, you know, "have a beer!" Good times. Lasting friendships. Well, they rate a "high sign" in a parking lot and such.
No, I am neither interested nor well-informed as to how cars work.
TNP would like a Corvette.
Sure. The newest ones are expensive as hell, but I think they're good machies. If one landed in my lap, I wouldn't turn her down. I don't know, not really into cars myself, just what I see.
TNP ever actually "decided" (as a reasoned response) to just shack up with somebody, let's say romantically, to stick with somebody, as opposed to just going with the flow.
Sure, when I suggested to my girlfriend (now my wife) that we move in together. One of the best things I ever did.
TNP has seen Christian Bale in the political satire Vice and was very impressed.
No. The title of the show sounds familiar, but I've not seen it. The reason I say "No" is that it wouldn't surprise me a bit: Xian Bale is a fucking great actor.
TNP has gone on a bit of an unintended adventure recently (let's say in a car, or whatever) and despite getting lost as hell, ended up OK.
No, since I discovered Google Maps, I don't think I've ever gotten lost.
TNP is starting to see signs of spring!
Not really.
TNP has recently looked at his or foot and said to himself or herself, "That is not good! That's a bad scene, mang!"
My feet have never been beautiful.
TNP got messed up with Daylight Savings Time over the weekend.
Not on the weekend, but it has me feeling pretty tired today for some reason.
TNP is starting to think people are getting way too freaked out about the coronavirus.
Well, I'm not sure. Yeah, probably people who are relatively fit and all that are absolutely obsessed about it. Why? Just something they can talk about But, yeah, it's probably a good occasion to remind oneself of basic hygiene. If it gets more people washing their hands and not spreading their nasty stuff around, why not. It's ridiculous, of course, but it's not the worst thing ever. Very few, if any, downsides, beyond some kind of panic in the streets.
TNP would consider the coming rise (and fall) of the hockey season....not that great. Lot of rowdies out and about.
Haven't given it much thought. I'll follow your lead, Jizz.
TNP is a Judge Dredd fan.
Not too sure. I think I'm familiar with what/who that is, but I really missed that whole bit of phenom.
TNP is a little depressed nowadays: the world's pretty much falling apart. Economic chaos, one hopes a temporary thing, this damn viral strain making panic in the streets, elections in the US. It's not an all around super great time, even powering through whatever personal things one might have going on.
I'd have to agree. It's not a world war or a recession (yet....), but the world and national news do have me a bit on-edge these days.
TNP will be voting in a primary election in the next two weeks.
I'd like to say I'll be exercising the right and privilege of voting, but I think my state's presidential primary election is relatively late. Certainly not in the next two weeks or even month. It's vote by mail, so, yes, I'll be making sure I get some postage stamps, if I don't have any in my little spot I keep all that stuff in my unkempt home office. It's either Biden or whatsis face, here, almost 100% sure. I'm more interested in local elections, but, considering that reality TV guy got like 40% compared to Clinton's 50%, last primary, I don't think it would be wise to sit this one out.
TNP would be a little bit (more!) lost if he or she didn't keep in contact with friends from work, in one's private hours, just to keep appraised of what's going on.
No, I don't have to in my private time. I learn, and know, enough during regular court hours.
TNP loves to hear office gossip.
Yeah, I'm a bit ashamed to say so, but that's a pretty main staple of just talking. I mean, keep it low, not be hurting anyone's feelings but absolutely, it never gets old.
TNP is trying to cut down on using all the swears IRL, but "fuck," "motherfuck," "shit," "dammit," and a few others are just too much fun to lose.
Not usually a problem for me, no. And I've found a well-timed F-bomb can be more effective than swearing all the time.
TNP ought to brush his or her teeth now.
Not especially. I do brush my teeth regularly. Never hurts, though, to get an extra brushing in. I could should probably have my pro do some X-rays and see how fucked up they are, but, even though I'm not the cleanest monkey in the cage, I do manage to brush my teeth regularly.
TNP remembers the old commercials for Mitchum underarm deodorant, and especially its tagline, "So strong, you can skip a day!" If only. :)
Hmm, no, I don't think I ever saw those.
TNP remembers the stop-motion ads with the little electric shavers zipping over the snow-covered countryside like sleds.
I don't think you're talking about the Burma Shave ads, so no.
TNP misses somewhat the good old days when "celebrity spokespeople" used to roam the land hawking a bunch of shit. I guess JL Curtis survives, doing her whole nasty yoghurt thing, but not that many others.
Yeah, kinda. Ads go more for funny than for celebrity these days, mostly.
Not Burma Shave, BTW, but Norelco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXQCRToxdJA
TNP remembers that ad now.
No, afraid not.
TNP has good eletcric shavers in the past, but prefers doing it the old fashioned way. Slow hand and a sharp blade. Yeah, good way to cut yourself, but hey, blood dries, and besides what the women know about all that, it's water under the bridge.
Oh, yeah. I use an electric every day, but a nice luxurious shave with hot water, shaving cream and a sharp razor is a treat.
TNP has read some Ray Bradbury lately.
Not lately, no. Read a ton of him when I was young.
TNP has been having a lot of dry skin itching lately.
How'd you guess? You one of those TV psychics or something. Oh yeah. I'm both itchy, scratchy, and all points in between. Mostly callouses-built-on-callouses on my feet, but sometimes a pick up a little thing that makes a spot on my RH just itch like a mofo. I think that one might be some kind of fungus, probably similar to athlete's foot. Oh yeah. I know all about it.
TNP has recently "closed" a bar (you know, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here! Let's go people!"). [size]TBH, I was hanging with a cool little group, all new to me and pretty upstanding regular, pretty sharp people, but that's just...not for me anymore.[/size[
No, I have a time or two in the past, but not recently.
TNP has met someone from another country for the first time (either as to the individual or his or her country) in the past week.
I'm not too sure: obviously I know a ton of people at present, in person, from all over, but I've known them quite a while. I don't think Russian doll was actually from "Russia" (or a neighboring country). Certainly her "friends" were full-blooded criminal types from somewhere over there, but I didn't talk to them one bit. She could have been, but I just don't know. Oh, sure. Yeah, I'm always meeting people from places south of the border, just in daily life. I guess that counts.
TNP is not 100% sure if he or she has the Plague (ok, COVID-19, to be technical). Could be a carrier, maybe not.
No, I don't know, but I sure hope not.
TNP has already been annoyed to have some fun and looked-forward-to events cancelled due to CV19 concerns.
Oh yeah, a whole lot. This is going to be wild.
TNP has been astounded at just how fast everything changed.
Yeah, I have. This is historic. We're going to be telling our grandkids about it, assuming (as seems likely) we live to do so.
TNP thinks his or her local government is handling the crisis pretty well.