kbobam

I really don't know what the time-line is for our progression from the 'double-edge' or 'safety' razor to our more modern alternatives. The DE (as it's sometimes referred to in serious shaving discussion groups) certainly held its own for many decades. There seems to be a resurgence of popularity lately. It sounds like this has come about because of either/both reduced long-term expense, and an overall improved shave for some people. It should be noted, that from what I've read, the DE requires a little more care and commitment when shaving. You need to be relaxed and take your time. Those lucky so-and-so's who occasionally find themselves getting a late-night 'booty call' after having had a couple drinks should probably have one of the modern wham-bam no-worries razors available. Also, from what I've seen, the 'resurgence' is generally directed at men's needs, although there's certainly no reason that many women wouldn't appreciate a less expensive superior shave as well. I'm guessing that this may be because most of us guys were just so darned 'proud' when we saw that 'first whisker' that we've never gotten over it. We like the overall process, and going 'retro' with it is very appealing to male 'hipsters'. Although if you check out 'classic' razors for sale, you'll find that there have been ladies' razors of the old type available since day 1. Which all use the same DE blade available today. Apparently, these were designed to be less 'aggressive' and more suitable for softer hair and skin and the more convenient 'long-strokes' approach. ( :

That sounds cool, too! Are the blue ones 'known' to be?

It's probably been in the back of my mind somewhere for decades that I'd like to try the kind of razor that 'Dear Old Dad' used. But I've never acted on the thought. Please note that this is different from the kind that 'Grand Dad' used, which I'd be scared to get anywhere near. For several years I've been using one of those funky razors with the two dozen fuel-injected blades. Or something like that. It was a gift, and I finally wore out the last of the pack of cartridges that came with it. So one of my errands today was to get a new pack. I have to admit that I had a very mild case of 'sticker shock' when I found what I needed. Something along the lines of jumping up and down, pulling my hair out, and screaming "ARE YOU BLEEPING BLEEPING ME?" The security guards moved a little closer, but still kept their distance. They'd probably seen this before. So I looked a little more at the overall selection and noticed this razor. Pretty much the same as Dad's, and it's being endorsed by a guy I know I've seen somewhere. More importantly, he has a shaved head! If anyone knows a good razor, it's this guy! (And his name's 'Harrison'!) Somehow I just trust him. And the nice looking razor plus twelve blades was less money than my replacement blades.

Canned beans are always great to have around too. You could also wait until breakfast like our British friends. ( :

And also 'of course', now you realize that since your many loyal fans have been blown-away by how cool this apparently 'second-choice' photo is, they won't be satisfied until you post the current oversized screen-saver shot. Honestly, I feel for you! I mean, until you do so, you're just going to have that little 'knot' somewhere. It'll probably start in your stomach. But then it'll likely move to your head and then start going who knows where. Just gnawing and gnawing and......

Well first off I want to say to the one or two of you who aren't particularly fond of my 'Weekend Happy-Hour' posts and read the title and thought to yourselves "Ha! Probably more like a 'Moron black beans' post!", well, I'm not mad. Just terribly disappointed! Cooking up my latest batch today, and had sort of a flash-back. I was sampling a few to check how 'done' they were. And it hit me that at this point in the cooking process they tasted just like chick-peas. Which brought me back to the streets of New York many many years ago. In some areas you could get hot chick-peas in a paper cup from street vendors. With lots of melted butter and black pepper. They were cheap and one of the greatest things you'd ever eat. So you already know what I had to do. Took a big spoonful from the very pot o' beans you see pictured below, and whipped 'em up in a cup with butter and pepper. I couldn't believe how well it worked. This was at a seriously 'al dente' point in the cooking process. And I'm finding recently that as you continue to cook them the taste changes significantly. Cook them a little more and they shift from chick-pea to chestnut. After that, they start to get the more traditional 'bean' taste. I don't think butter would work well at this point, but of course a lot of other things would. ( : Black gold! Didn't know beans had aventurine in them, did you?

Wow! Just looked the name up, and these things are real! Of course not that I doubted you, Ann. But the immediate response is that these are too fantastic, in the traditional sense of the word. ( :

There have been several posts here which are making me feel that I have no idea what a cat's eye really is. Some of them have absolutely no resemblance to a feline's eye. For me personally they've always been the 'definition' of marble that I pictured in my mind before I knew anything about other marbles and the great variety available. Also, I have some sort of gut instinct which makes me want to refer to this type of marble as a 'cat eye', without the apostrophe and 's'. No idea if there are marble people out there who agree with me on this point. I could just be making this up because of my recognition that Americans seem to enjoy adding 'esses' to words wherever they can. There's no such thing as "Miller's Beer". But many people call it that, so it's generally accepted. Does this have any connection with determining the perfectly correct name for this type of marble? I don't have a clue!

Dang. That does sound really good. Can you vary the amount of 'heat' to suit individual tastes, like you can with the wings? It's hard to do a good job making the classic stuff spicy, but with that flavor I bet it could work well. And is there any blue-cheese flavor involved? For some people that might be insanely great! ( :

I was going to say that this post is 'for no particular reason'. But that wouldn't be entirely honest. Actually I just noticed that there have been no (zilch, zip, nada) posts in the 'Lounge' area for a period which has just exceeded two full days. A situation like this completely disrupts what little equilibrium I have in my life. Earlier today I found myself watching an episode of '30-Minute Meals' with Rachael Ray. Don't know how. I don't watch any of her stuff. Didn't think I 'liked' her. Huh! And 'Whaddayouknow?' She was totally charming, and I was enthralled. This may in part be due to her somewhat 'New Yorky' accent and attitude. Because of where I grew up, there's always going to be a part of me which believes that this is what a real woman sounds like. She also prepared the best looking macaroni and cheese I'd ever seen. Wanted to post that video, but couldn't find it on 'The Tube'. (If anyone wants to take up the challenge and try to find it, it's not the episode with the 'mac and cheese and ham', although that looked pretty good too.) But I did remember another charming woman. Robbie Montgomery, aka 'Sweetie Pie'. And she also once made the best looking mac and cheese I'd ever seen. Was able to find that video, so here it is. For those of you who don't know this lady, way-back-when she was one of the backup singers with Ike and Tina Turner. She's now 'famous' again because of the food she's been making available to the public for many years. Apparently, there's absolutely no point in being anywhere near St. Louis if you don't make a point of giving her restaurant a try. Maybe if Galen makes his trip to Annapolis for the lobster rolls, he could veer off the straight-line approach a little and give us a review of this place. ( : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7PKZaBCQYE

Oh man! I'm not really a shrimp fan, and that still looks amazing.

Thanks for clearing that up! All I can think of at this point is that maybe a '39 Lincoln went on to become an official armored car for the President. It's 'mention' just came out of nowhere. That would be interesting. Given the way things played out here, I'd have to guess that it would then be the first of many presidential vehicles to have been custom modified to specifically address personal security issues.

Whoops. The famous quote should have said "date" instead of "day".

I have no idea what this car actually is. In the show I'm watching, it was originally referred to as a 1939 Lincoln. Then a few moments later it was called a 1928 Cadillac. Very bad 'editing' on someone's part. But the 'story' is pretty cool! And a good example of how some of us who struggled with it in school later come to find 'history' one of the most interesting and fun things there is. The attack on Pearl Harbor happens. I have to assume that the entire country was having a similar 'stunned' reaction that many of us here probably had on 9-11. Also, similarly, was an immediate sense of need for 'improved security'. President Roosevelt needed to be transported from the White House to the Capitol in order to address the nation on this issue. And suddenly it became obvious that there was no particularly secure vehicle with which to do this. I guess word travels quickly on Capitol Hill. Someone at the Treasury Department called the White House and said that he was in possession of a car that had been confiscated from gangster Al Capone. It had one inch glass all around, and thousands of pounds of body armor. And that wound up being the car FDR took to deliver his famous 'a day that will live in infamy' speech. ( :

Hey...... Wait a minute..... I honestly had no idea what the current date was. Just a vague overall knowledge that we're near the beginning of whatever month it is. I have a sneaking suspicion that you know exactly what day this is and are already 'psyched' in advance! ( :

Something tells me that if you're teamed-up with the Jag you'd probably get across those 'middle' states pretty quickly. ( :

I've gotta go with the 'Connecticut' first. Just lobster and lemon butter sounds the 'purest' somehow. But I'll probably have to go back a couple times more. Next time for the 'Maryland Crab', and later the 'Classic'. I hope I can get myself really hungry before each of these visits. Because as a New York boy I want a Nathan's hot dog too. Hope they don't ID for the kid's menu. ( :

I've always considered my local 'downtown' to be more trouble than it's worth. Haven't been there in twenty years. Until a few weeks ago, when I had some work there. Noticed this place, and found it sort of intriguing. Then promptly forgot about it. Until tonight, when it came to mind. So I looked it up on the computer. Oh crud. I'm going to have to go back to the heck-hole. I have to take the fact that I'm sitting here ankle-deep in drool as a 'sign'. http://www.masonslobster.com/menu/

Watching a show about Bonnie and Clyde. Here's a little bit of history which might be interesting, and it relates to the 1932 date mentioned previously. Apparently much of Clyde Barrow's success in outrunning pursuers was due to the fact that he made a point of never 'borrowing' a vehicle unless it was powered by this recent 'baddest thing on four wheels' engine. ( :

Pretty outrageous! I'm getting 'spiritual vibes' from the car that it's a little uncomfortable sitting still like that. It wants to move!

This is a terrific endeavor and much appreciated! ( :

In this case, since I was 'at work' in its pure blue-collar sense, the only 'assignment' involved was the choice I made a few years ago to concentrate mostly on using a small light-weight camera that I could have 'on my person' at all times. Usually in a little belt-pouch. The camera 'system' I chose allows someone, who's willing to spend some time learning to use it 'well', to take high quality photos very quickly and unobtrusively. On this particular turf, I went back into the truck to make sure the camera was set correctly. Spending time fiddling with it out in the open would have been stupid. Looked both ways, and got the shot in two seconds with no one seeing me. Immediately put it back in the pouch where I hoped most people would assume it was a 'weapon'. I may be a little neurotic in general, but I'm still here!

Hah! Auntie Mame is another great one! Just as good, and maybe even more so. ( :

I really have to watch this show. Honestly, I've never seen it. Not fond of courtroom scenes. They make me nervous and uncomfortable. But this program obviously has some serious 'staying power', so I really ought to check it out. ( : Separate from that, 'finales' and 'pilots' are terrific things to watch!

Woof! Currently watching the 1945 movie 'She Wouldn't Say Yes'. This is one of the great movies of all time. It doesn't fit into a 'mold'. It's hilarious and a lot of fun, but not in the same way a thousand other movies might be. Most male native speakers of 'American English' will automatically know what I meant by "Woof!". For others, I will clarify, because I'm in a rare good mood and it's Friday night and well into 'happy hour' and I feel like talking. I've never done this before and hope no one is shocked. "Woof!" is an exclamation which is meant to imitate the sound of a dog barking. In this particular situation, it is meant as high praise. It suggests that seeing this woman has instantaneously changed me from human being to pure 'animal'. The 'reverse' situation would be a woman seeing a man she found immediately very attractive who caused her to make the sexy 'meeoooowww' sound. Both the woof and meow are tricky words to use, and should be reserved for private conversations. They can be considered 'crude', even when used with the best intentions. Woof in particular must be handled very delicately. An insecure woman could interpret it to mean that she 'looks' like a dog. And it is sometimes used in this awful way. Very rarely, a person can suddenly see someone, walk up and look them in the eye, and make one of these sounds. And it works spectacularly! But this is the stuff of which legends are made. And the people who actually 'pull it off' are considered 'gods and goddesses' by all others. ( :