How much money have you made by now?

$134. I'm sure that it'll taper off, but even counting what they'll take off for tax, this should make the site more self-sustaining for a while.

Lessee...right! It was about people I know. Tim and Colin are the only people I've put up that I knew well before deciding to put them up. If the site is something I'm not sure how to breach in conversation, no pics will go up. Colin didn't mind, and I was pretty sure Tim'd be tickled (pictures of either would go down in a heartbeat if they asked). Dave Chappelle's picture's up too, but I think a) he wouldn't mind b) we're not going to see each other again, so I'm good with it. There are other guys who're not going up (or no more of their pics are), because it would just be weird...but those are guys who fall between Dave and Colin on the knowing-them scale.

More than you asked for, eh?

What made you wonder?

Why assume your tastes are in the wrong?

I'm not saying my taste is in the wrong, but rather admitting that I like my food less salty than restaurants are going to prepare. So there's food that's perfectly reasonably seasoned that I'm not going to like -- it's not the kitchen's job to play dice in the dark with my peculiarities. If I want something without cilantro, I need to ask for it that way.

I've been assured that that's just me having been burnt, that in LA I can drink the coffee and take or leave the number as I see fit without any hassle.

Jesus, ita. I don't think I've ever been confronted in the parking lot over a drink. Inside the bar, sure. But since I go to the bar with friends, I usually have a couple of big bruisers at the table with me.

I refuse all "free" drinks unless they're clearly bought without any romantic intention whatsoever. The last time I accepted a drink, a guy was buying rounds for everybody because he'd just won some money.

I make my own money. I can buy my own drinks, and I'm always going to go home with me.

Reminds me of dancing. In the States, guys seem to assume that if you dance with them, you're going home with them. I never ran into that problem in Europe.

The first time I accepted a free drink, he got lucky. It's possible that it's on my file.

If someone strikes up a conversation and buys me a drink, it doesn't bother me so much. If they don't it makes me creeped out.

I swear, Detroit has a lot of random guys with not much to do with their time. So there'd be occasions where making eye contact was not just license to follow, but license to upbraid if the attention wasn't well-received.

In LA, no one gives a fuck and nobody pays me any mind. It's one of the reasons I moved here. I can't imagine being bought a drink here either, but I'm not at restaurants in the evening alone much myself.

Jesse, when you get home, get on IM. k?

My boss (who took a personal day today) just called in to see if the high corporate mucky-mucks have finally sent an email saying the company can close early today. They haven't. So she gave me dispensation to close the phone lines an hour early today. Yay!

I don't generally go to bars, except when the cable is out and I want to watch a game. They're too loud, the food tends to suck, and I live in a college area.

I like my food less salty than restaurants are going to prepare.

I don't go to a lot of restaurants, but my experience is usually that foods are under-seasoned, for the express purpose of letting the customer season it to taste. Except for that one place that puts cayenne in their cole slaw...

I'm a pretty picky eater myself, although my pickiness is usually manifested in a dismay at the lard/mayonnaise/deep-fried additions to what would otherwise be a nice, light meal. French fries with a burger, okay, but mayo on the burger and butter on the bun? I need a little contrast and a lot of lettuce/tomato.

We just got the message that we can take off two hours early. Since I got in three hours late this is looking like a really short day.

Now I can spend the rest of the afternoon figuring out what to bring to the New Year's party. Hmmmmm. I brought the hostess prosecco for her Christmas party already. Maybe chocolate?

my experience is usually that foods are under-seasoned, for the express purpose of letting the customer season it to taste

I've been told (by people complaining about my cooking, mostly) that adding salt after the fact is markedly not a substitute for decent salting during preparation, and I do believe that. Also, at the table one basically gets salt and pepper, which is just barely a start in the seasoning game.

If your observation is true, it still doesn't stop much restaurant food from being on the top end of my tolerable scale. I find Italian to be the most common transgressor of my boundaries.

What do you guys think about replacing candied fruit with crystallized ginger in fruitcake?

If that winds up too gingery, we replace the candied fruit with dried fruit that's been soaked in brandy. You could replace the candied fruit with a mix of dried fruits and ginger no problem.

I'm a picky eater but I think I've only sent food back once in my life.

I don't look to meet folks in bars. I don't think I ever have. I go to bars only when I have a purpose for being there. I went to one weekly back when I was playing open mikes. I'll be going to one on the 12th when I'm opening a gig. If there's a friend's party or something, I'll go. Generally, I prefer bars that have a point besides drinking. There's a piano bar in Oakland i used to frequent. There are bars where I'll go to play board games with friends. But, in general, bars are too noisy and expensive for me.