Denim Blunders, Reflections and General Nonsense.

[Broark]

Not sure about Thailand, but Singapore is the same way. If you buy a S$50k car you pay another S$50k to get it registered.
Same rule applies to all of the super cars that are seemingly everywhere.
Given their limited space and high population density it's a way to ensure that not every single person can own a car.
It's not at all necessary, we never owned a car when we lived there and never missed having one. Purely a luxury given the great public transportation system.
But boy do they love to flaunt them, I remember when we first moved there I saw 21 Lambos parked outside of a hotel. Some sort of owners club or something.
 

[Double 0 Soul]

The Subaru Impreza crew seem like an odd bunch.. i remember a couple of years ago, the boy and i was trying to take a shortcut through the Peaks from Edale to Brassington.. as/per.. i had no fkin clue where i was going.. i came to a T junction of this long winding road and a Subaru Impreza WRX flew by.. brum brum!.. then another.. then another and so on.. The car at the front looked dope (he was obviously the leader) then they got progressively worse.. without exception, every single driver was male and in his late 40s.. every single passenger was female and in their early 20s.. non of these men looked like a particularly good catch.. i'd like to think it was the annual Impreza Club  'Take your daughter to the Peak District day' .. but in reality, i think what was happening here was these men were spending their evenings revving the bollocks off their cars in the McDonalds drive through or out of town shopping center carparks.. places where one wouldn't ordinarily meet 40yr old women.. and if you did, i'm sure as hell this isn't how they would want to spend their date night

[reallypeacedoff]

22 hours ago, Double 0 Soul said:

A 458, no less, too. Between that and the GT3 RS, the two best driving cars you could ever drive. I always wondered why you Brits buy convertibles, though. Do you think that it will somehow conjure up the sun gods for you?

[JMS]

Not sure if there are any fellow Decaf drinkers here, but Dogwood coffee's single-origin decaf is the best of the dozen or more I've tried.

https://www.dogwoodcoffee.com/products/decaf-colombia-los-idolos

[Double 0 Soul]

13 minutes ago, reallypeacedoff said:

I always wondered why you Brits buy convertibles, though. Do you think that it will somehow conjure up the sun gods for you?

There is a lot of things i don't understand about cars and this^ is def one of them..

The others are 0-60 times, you're on a 30mph public road you fucking cretin! often in traffic.. Even if you're on the motorway.. just allow an extra 2 seconds for your journey time and chill the fk out.. your car isn't inherently better becasue it does 0-60 in 3.4 seconds instead of 3.6

Private registration plates? the car comes with a free bit of perspex with a random series of numbers stuck to it.. why would you pay 1000s of pounds to replace it with a different series of letters/numbers which only you understand?.. I see an Audi A3 nr my work and the reg says M1LF.. you just can't buy class.

DVD players in headrests.. ffs! c'mon, car journeys are meant to be quality time with the family, stick some tunes on, gaze out the window, have a chat, play eye-spy.. you don't need to stare into a screen all the fking time!

..and relax

[Dr_Heech]

^Agreed.

As l often say to the minted golf fuckwits over at the posh course, a personalised number plate is no substitute for a personality 🙂

[Double 0 Soul]

It just doesn't make any sense.. i understand the concept of paying more money for better quality goods, we all like nice things.. but the investment usually rewards you with more comfort, better flavour, a clear conscience.. ect but the number plate doesn't reward you in any way for the money it costs... if anything, it just makes you look like a prick! .. maybe that's what the golfers aspire to?

edit- i've heard folks say that it disguises the age of the car.. but even this doesn't make any sense.. you know how old your car is, and to assume other folks give a flying fk how old your car is.. is assuming they're just as shallow as you are

Edited January 27 by Double 0 Soul

[Dr_Heech]

There's one guy with ' l Try' on his number plate (he's  got a 100 grand beamer 2 seater) and another bought one of those Lambo 4x4's. These guys aren't young! I mean have you ever seen Victor Meldrew driving a Lambo 4x4? So sad.

The worst is one guy so minted, he drives to the club in his own personal golf buggy with 'My hole' on the plate. Doesn't even bother with a car! Told his mate once if he was in that much pain that he had to advertise it, l had some Anasol for that in my bag. Not had anybody come back at me about it so l guess he sorted it.

I keep my distance from these people. 

 

Edited January 27 by Dr_Heech

[Maynard Friedman]

D3N1M H34D 🤣

[AlientoyWorkmachine]

2 hours ago, JMS said:

Not sure if there are any fellow Decaf drinkers here, but Dogwood coffee's single-origin decaf is the best of the dozen or more I've tried.

https://www.dogwoodcoffee.com/products/decaf-colombia-los-idolos

Do you pull shots from it? How's it go if so?

I take a caffeine break usually 2x a year for a good month or sometimes even a few, so I'm always on the lookout for good decaf. My go to so far is Counter Culture's Urcunina Decaf, which I find pulls a pretty nice shot. It's still decaf but the first week isn't quite as dispiriting if I splurge for this one. 

Edited January 27 by AlientoyWorkmachine

[JMS]

@AlientoyWorkmachine Ah, I have not tried pulling any shots with it, just aeropress so far. I would expect it to make a very nice espresso, its got good body and still a lot of ripe fruit for a medium roast. They're both ethyl acetate (and done at the same plant it seems). Maybe one to add to the list. 

[yung_flynn]

2 hours ago, AlientoyWorkmachine said:

Do you pull shots from it? How's it go if so?

I take a caffeine break usually 2x a year for a good month or sometimes even a few, so I'm always on the lookout for good decaf. My go to so far is Counter Culture's Urcunina Decaf, which I find pulls a pretty nice shot. It's still decaf but the first week isn't quite as dispiriting if I splurge for this one. 

Does Comet Coffee in Ann Arbor sell beans? I've always liked that shop - one of the only ones in Ann Arbor that didn't disappoint.

Never tried their decaf, but Newport Coffee never let me down. It was one of my go-tos when we lived in Evanston and I got some shipped to MI with no issue. They tend to specialize in lighter to medium roasts - a lot of anaerobic, unwashed, fruity roasts. I lived in Minneapolis for a while to and have been to the Dogwood shop a few items and I think that I personally prefer Newport's coffee (the caff ones at least)

Edited January 27 by yung_flynn

[AlientoyWorkmachine]

1 hour ago, yung_flynn said:

Does Comet Coffee in Ann Arbor sell beans? I've always liked that shop - one of the only ones in Ann Arbor that didn't disappoint.

Never tried their decaf, but Newport Coffee never let me down. It was one of my go-tos when we lived in Evanston and I got some shipped to MI with no issue. They tend to specialize in lighter to medium roasts - a lot of anaerobic, unwashed, fruity roasts. I lived in Minneapolis for a while to and have been to the Dogwood shop a few items and I think that I personally prefer Newport's coffee (the caff ones at least)

Not sure when you were last here but Hyperion (started in Ypsi) is what I prefer - granted I haven’t tried their decaf. Madcap (GR) and Higher Ground (TC) both have a spot in our home too (Higher Ground’s half caf blend makes a decent shot, surprisingly). Will have to circle back around to Comet, it’s been awhile and when I first went it didn’t make much impression on me…but I’ve got a toddler, so I don’t get out to local cafe’s all that often since we moved here.  

The trick with all of them is finding a decaf that is a medium or light roast, so even more reason to scope Newport. My wife and I met at Intelligentsia (original location) back in the day so I’ve been partial to them whenever I’m in the area even though there are so many good options in Chicago. 

[MJF9]

Bryan Rite Stuff's new workshirt is looking good (and with those salt n pepper trousers).... pic taken from IG

 

[Dr_Heech]

...

Edited January 28 by Dr_Heech
Deleted

[indigoeagle]

I hope you're also all getting your coffee beans in chain stitched bags.

[reallypeacedoff]

On 1/27/2024 at 12:53 PM, Maynard Friedman said:

D3N1M H34D 🤣

NTZ 4 DNM

[julian-wolf]

My partner and I are going to be staying in Italy for 5 weeks this coming April. We're in the phase of starting to iron out concrete plans, and I'd love to get any input from folks who know the country!

The rough plan is to stay in Florence for around 10–14 days, then somewhere on the Ligurian coast (maybe Genoa or Levanto) for 20–25 days. At some point we hope to spend 3–4 days in Sicily, as my partner has some ancestry there. Beyond that, we're open to just about anything.

Some particular areas where it would be great to get some input:

• Places that are known for specific crafts, and that still stand up to their reputations. We'd be glad to go out of our way to find good glassware or ceramics or (of course) textiles or leather goods.
• Other things to do around greater Tuscany? I've spent some time in Florence, but haven't explored the surrounding area much at all. We won't have a car, but are happy taking trains and walking.
• Restaurant recommendations in Florence, in particular! Really, though, any food related recommendations anywhere. My partner and I met through the farmers' markets here, and are both really passionate about agriculture, fresh food, good cured meats and cheeses, fancy meals, coffee and wine and aperitifs and digestifs…all the things Italy's known for doing well.
• Thoughts on towns or neighborhoods that would be particularly nice to stay in in Sicily or Liguria?
• Any cities or regions that would be worth staying in for 2–4 days? We're looking forward to doing a few day trips from our main home bases, but are also open to the idea to doing longer jaunts to any cities that are worth exploring a bit more.

[rbeck]

@julian-wolf Florence is wonderful, took a day trip there when work sent me to Milan a year and a half ago. My favorite spot was Piazzale Michelangelo, truly breathtaking view of the city that has stuck with me ever since. On your way up and back down you gotta check out the gardens that border the piazzale on the east and west ends (Giardino delle Rose and Giardino dell'Iris). Also check out as many cathedrals as you can. Those catholics knew how to build a church lol.

Venice is a day trip by train as well. I spent a day there on my trip too, and it was great just wandering around aimlessly. The ocean views are wonderful. You said you want to see local crafts, so you could check out the glassblowing on the island of Murano too. I didn't check it out, but our CTO recommended it to me when I told him I was gonna go check out Venice, so I imagine it's worth checking out if native Italians recommend it. 

[AlientoyWorkmachine]

It may seem obvious but Rome is a fascinating city and while I would also prefer to spend the majority of my time on the coast I can't imagine a trip that long without a few days there. 

[JDelage]

The Amalfi coast is lovely if you have a few days. You would enjoy hiking the "Path of the Gods" - look it up. Herculaneum is absolutely worth it, and if you're there you could also go up Vesuvius.

In Venice is one of the best restaurants I've ever been to (it was 15 years ago mind you): https://www.ilridotto.com/en/

Rome is world class, and if you go there make sure to book (long in advance) entries to the Galleria Borghese to see Bernini's most beautiful work (imho), David. Daphne's not too shabby either.

Edited February 3 by JDelage

[Cucoo]

4 hours ago, julian-wolf said:

My partner and I are going to be staying in Italy for 5 weeks this coming April. We're in the phase of starting to iron out concrete plans, and I'd love to get any input from folks who know the country!

The rough plan is to stay in Florence for around 10–14 days, then somewhere on the Ligurian coast (maybe Genoa or Levanto) for 20–25 days. At some point we hope to spend 3–4 days in Sicily, as my partner has some ancestry there. Beyond that, we're open to just about anything.

Some particular areas where it would be great to get some input:

• Places that are known for specific crafts, and that still stand up to their reputations. We'd be glad to go out of our way to find good glassware or ceramics or (of course) textiles or leather goods.
• Other things to do around greater Tuscany? I've spent some time in Florence, but haven't explored the surrounding area much at all. We won't have a car, but are happy taking trains and walking.
• Restaurant recommendations in Florence, in particular! Really, though, any food related recommendations anywhere. My partner and I met through the farmers' markets here, and are both really passionate about agriculture, fresh food, good cured meats and cheeses, fancy meals, coffee and wine and aperitifs and digestifs…all the things Italy's known for doing well.
• Thoughts on towns or neighborhoods that would be particularly nice to stay in in Sicily or Liguria?
• Any cities or regions that would be worth staying in for 2–4 days? We're looking forward to doing a few day trips from our main home bases, but are also open to the idea to doing longer jaunts to any cities that are worth exploring a bit more.

In Tuscany the area around Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci is great, bot towns are great little gems. They're located a short drive down from the Livorno/Pisa area and totally worth a stay. You should get a rental car and just go on a road trip down to Sicily!

[Double 0 Soul]

@pomata is probably your best person to ask here..

if you want to make the leap, Sardinia is one of my favourite places.. I’ve got a book at home full of hidden gems.

My one key bit of advice is avoid the tourists, especially the British.. they’re awful people!

[Dr_Heech]

Shit, nearly forgot - Happy Birthday @Maynard Friedman who must be at least in his late fifties by now. Still doesn't look a day older than 60. Hope you're partying hard me old mucka!

 

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Thanks for the reminder.

Happy birthday @Maynard Friedman !

[Duke Mantee]

Happy Birthday Modnard Freidman 

[Maynard Friedman]

1 hour ago, Dr_Heech said:

Shit, nearly forgot - Happy Birthday @Maynard Friedman who must be at least in his late fifties by now. Still doesn't look a day older than me.

Thanks everyone, I’ve had a lovely day, pub lunch with Mrs F and the whippet earlier. Just returned from the local sushi restaurant for dinner with the family and now having a glass of Drappier with some homemade (not by me) Victoria Sponge. Cheers!

[Broark]

Happy birthday Maynard!

[MJF9]

Many happy returns @Maynard Friedman

[smoothsailor]

Happy birthday Maynard, to manny more🎉