a friend of mine who is a chef swears by making grilled cheese sandwiches by spreading the outside bread with mayonnaise instead of butter, says it makes it crispier.

Ooh, I'll have to try that.

mashed potatoes with mayonnaise

And maybe that too.

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One can chew fingernails off babies if one is trapped sitting down with a nursing baby.

IJS.

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One can chew fingernails off babies if one is trapped sitting down with a nursing baby.

This is how my grandmother trimmed the nails of her infants, because "Safety First" wasn't making a bazillion dollars in infant products, back in the 20s and 30s.

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The first known instance of using text characters to represent a sideways smiling (and frowning) face is in a newspaper advertisement in the New York Herald Tribune, March 10, 1953, on page 20, columns 4–6.[1] Promoting the film Lili, starring Leslie Caron

For reals?

I'm pretty sure my aunt used hearts to dot the i in her name.

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flea, your mention of Russian salad reminded me of this Russian dish we had in Romania at some diplomatic event. It was bits of turkey suspended in chicken-fat-gelatin. NAS.ty. Apparently also a delicacy.

Hates the aspic, hates it, my precioussss...

I think my bathroom scale is sulking. I haven't used it in months; today I stepped on it and the digital readout said "No." I tried again; "No." I tried a third time, and was really expecting it to say "Have you considered sideways? Everybody always wants to be weighed, but what about measuring your land speed?"

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For reals?

Well, it's wikipedia, and my research consisted of A) google, and 2) click. Perhaps I shall delve a little deeper. This time, two clicks!

ETA: that wikipedia entry goes on to say:

The creator of the original ASCII emoticons :-) and :-(, with a specific suggestion that they be used to express emotion, was Scott Fahlman; the original proposal made by Fahlman on CMU CS general board on September 19, 1982 (at 11:44) was retrieved from old backup tapes on September 10, 2002, by Jeff Baird.

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One can chew fingernails off babies if one is trapped sitting down with a nursing baby.

I can never get the angle right for some reason. Plus, they grow at kudzu rates, so by the time the second hand is done, the first needs a redo.

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When people call me "Cin" (which is pretty much the standard, in person), I always hear it spelled "Cyn" though, which I prefer.

I do not think I have ever heard anyone call my mom -- another Cynthia -- Cyn, or Cin, or even Syn. I might need to try it and see what she says. (Or, actually, not.)

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I can never get the angle right for some reason. Plus, they grow at kudzu rates, so by the time the second hand is done, the first needs a redo.

We used to swear Ben was part demon. And I think that was *before* Season 4, which only confirmed our worries. So far though? No Celine poster, and no Cher on auto-repeat.

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Heh. From Betsy White House press link upthread:

QUESTION: Scott, this is ridiculous. The notion that you’re going to stand before us, after having commented with that level of detail, and tell people watching this that somehow you’ve decided not to talk. You’ve got a public record out there. Do you stand by your remarks from that podium or not?

MCCLELLAN: I’m well aware, like you, of what was previously said. And I will be glad to talk about it at the appropriate time. The appropriate time is when the investigation…

QUESTION: (inaudible) when it’s appropriate and when it’s inappropriate?

MCCLELLAN: If you’ll let me finish.

QUESTION: No, you’re not finishing. You’re not saying anything.

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