I am still not a big fan of trump. I doubt I ever will be. Lets make that clear.
But assume for a moment, every time you make a negative or critical comment about him, his policies, what he says, what he does, how he acts or conducts himself that you have a problem with his actions.
Assume, someone calls you a racist.
Now you get how a whole lot of people got treated when doing the same exact thing to obama
Mom: Do you need anything at the store
Me: No.
Mom: Are you sure?
Me: We don’t have any popcorn, and I know how you like it. So if you buy some I will make it.
Mom: What kind?
Me: Just plain, uncooked, corn kernels. Not a brand, not a type, Nothing special about it. Corn Kernels, for popping...
Mom: Who makes that?
Me: Well kind of no one. Its just uncooked popcorn. Not packaged or sold with flavor or anything else. You know, just raw corn kernels.
Mom: Why don’t I buy the pre-made stuff?
Me: Well you can, but you like it when it is cooked better. You don’t like the fake salt and butter taste.
Mom: But then you have to make it…
Me: Yea, but it’s the way you showed me to make it as a kid. We played with boiling oil, in this archaic kettle kind of thing with open heating tubes set to nuclear temperatures. That’s how we made it.
Mom: Isnt that dangerous?
Me: Well if it is, it was a hundred years ago when you showed us how to make it. Either way, get the one you want. Its for you.
Mom: What happened to the corn popper we used?
Me: Well it either got lost in time, or child protective services took it away when the raided the house because you let us use something that is probably banned in a hundred countries now because it was so unsafe.
Mom: You're not funny
Me: That's odd, child protective services felt sorry for me and laughed at my jokes after the raid...
Mom: So, you just want corn then?
Me: Well yes and no. I want corn kernels that are intended to be put in oil to pop, hence the term “Popcorn”. I dont want anything packaged or pre-made. It defeats the purpose.
Mom: Ok.
A few hour later…
She bought some off brand of Orville Redenboker, Gluten Free-Organic-Low Salt-Dairy safe Buttered, Environmentally concerned, low MSG, High Vitamin C, Pop corn in multi packs.
Mom: I got you the low salt popcorn, you need to cut back at your age.
Me: {Blinks}
I drove by a bank on my way to some random thing I was doing and saw a sign that said
"No fees, free checking, free savings account"
I thought, wow how incredibly generous of them. I give them my money, and in order to qualify I need to do a direct deposit from work, and I have to maintain a $5000 balance and I can only write ten checks a month and there is a charge if I use any ATM that isn't theirs, and I cant use their ATM more than ten times a month.
All of this when I give them my money, that they realistically give me nothing in return for because the 0.025% interest isn't paying off my vacation house in Belize anymore.
And they can invest in anything they want without my say. They can fund sub-prime loans, or send the money to Uzbekistan as part of their portfolio, regardless of the risk to my money and if I don't like that, well suck it up Francis.
All of this so I can do what again?
Which translates to letting them be a fee based clearing house to pay my bills.
I use USAA and love them, because they dont do any of these things.
First off, there are for the most part two kinds of people.
1) Those that like artichokes, and
2) People that still live in the dark ages of eating paint chips and watching nascar, and,
3) Scott
So the question being, and its multi-part, so please use a #2 keyboard and reference your work on all problems
1) Do you steam the artichoke, or are you putting it directly in water and boiling it?
2) When you do whatever you do in #1, do you cut off the tops of the artichoke first, or leave the leaf tops attached?
3) When you are doing both #1 and #2, are you putting the artichoke stalk down or leaf top down?
For the sake of legal issues being addressed and liability, I am assuming you are cutting the stalk down to the base prior to cooking.
Bonus question, and its rhetorical:
4) Technically you don't have to boil or steam the artichoke, you can barbecue it, but since I have never done that, its like the moon landings, since I cant personally figure it out, thus, it must have never been possible. If you do barbecue it, please explain how to be awarded the bonus points.
Moving along:
Once cooked, what, if any are your condiments of choice
Typically this also falls into two basic camps
1) Mayonnaise, or
2) Melted butter
For the most part I vote for the mayonnaise. But I have some flexibility there.
If however, you use miracle whip for an artichoke, or for that matter anything else. Please seek immediate psychological help and do not go near sharp objects, petting zoos or anything flammable.
Mongol General: Conan, What is best in life?
Conan: Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women.
Mongol General: That is good! That is good.
Since this is both on the internet and it's a direct quote from a real person, I thought I would add some more, alternative facts.
This is not fake news.
1) Pizza that is so hot that it almost burns your mouth, but it doesn't.
2) Coffee served by a barista that smiles and doesn't look down on you for ordering something boring.
3) Winning another argument with scott over the technical details of a vorpal weapon.
4) Squirrels that walk towards you when thy hear the secret 'food is on its way' noise from the old human male.
5) Cats that fall asleep above you on a hot summer day.
6) Hitting all of the green lights on a major street.
7) Canadian women's Olympic curling team members.
8) Completely inappropriate text message you get (I love technology).
9) Doing the right thing when you think no one notices. And then you find out someone noticed
Seems like they just occur at the same time. Somewhere is an analogy of a Viking snake myth eating its tail that comes to mind.
Or perhaps it's just the Tears for Fears lyric "Nothing good happens without some pain."
I don't really know and I am truly the last person I would ask advice from at this point.
I know there is all of the wisdom to be said about its my journey and people, places and things will come and go, it does not however make it any easier.
Even a small step in that direction proves better than sitting in the basement, both literally and figuratively.
There simply comes a time for action and that time is now.
mg
