It's so awkward to punch somebody in the nuts. (Especially if you're taller than the possessor of said nuts.)

Well...

Feel free to explain why 4 out of 5 martial artists disagree!

Okay, so you see me coming. I punch guys in the nuts quite a bit. I've been punched mid-thigh hard enough to drop me by a guy who's 6'2. Fuck. Although the thigh had been injured a week before, it still grates. It's the only time I've been dropped in a fight.

Handy cutting surface if you're ever held captive somewhere with a window or two-way mirror big enough to escape through?

But, see, if I had a big rock I could just break the window instead.

Lots of faceted gems are sparkly. Some of them are even in colours I think are pretty. Most diamonds, NSM.

My diamond solitare (inherited from my godmother b/c I could never afford a stone of this quality) is a stone that sparkles in colo(u)rs -- it throws rainbows in ways that surprise me.

For what it is worth my parents were married for 40 years, and lived together a few years before marriage. My Mom was there when my Dad died, and his last words were to tell her he loved her. They never had engagement rings. Their wedding rings were plain gold bands without markings. Nothing my Mom ever told me about their marriage leads me to believe she regrets not having a diamond.

My diamond solitare (inherited from my godmother b/c I could never afford a stone of this quality) is a stone that sparkles in colo(u)rs

It may be that I just haven't seen the right diamond, but since I'm not a huge fan of faceted stones to start off with, it might be a me thing. I like the deep red/blue/black stones the most.

The boy only found out a few weeks ago that engagement rings and wedding rings are different things. He's twenty six.

A likely story.

The boy only found out a few weeks ago that engagement rings and wedding rings are different things. He's twenty six

Dude needs a cluephone. Or, to meet more married people and examine their hands. There are some things you just learn from the culture around you, you know? Like, I know the difference between a morning coat and a tuxedo jacket, even though I am unlikely to wear either one.

Handy cutting surface if you're ever held captive somewhere with a window or two-way mirror big enough to escape through?

Nathaniel Hawthorne borrowed his wife's diamond and cut his and her names into a window pane at the Old Manse in Concord, MA. It's there still, in an upstairs bedroom. (When you're a celebrity, even your graffiti is worthy of historic preservation!)

I punch guys in the nuts quite a bit.

While generally speaking my approach to nuts is not currently the offensive approach, in the past I have always chosen kicking. It is possible that my stubby little arms are to blame, or else it is only insider-y, trained fighter-y people who punch nuts.

A knee to the groin is better than a kick. You have better balance. I've heard.

My mom's ring cost $16 in 1968. It used to have a pattern on its surface, but that's pretty much worn off.

OTOH, my grandmother went through 5 or so wedding or engagement rings. First pair was from the first marriage. When that ended, she kept the rings. New pair for marriage to my grandpa. They wore through after about 10 years (she cleaned for a doctor and blamed it on scrubbing the floors.) Then there was a ring that replaced that for a while, and then for one of their anniversaries, my grandfather took all the stones from the previous rings (including the first marriage!) and a necklace her father had given her when she was 16 and had them set in platinum. It was fawncy (not to my taste at all.) Just before she died, she gave it to the neighbor who'd been pretty much a surrogate daughter. That last act means more to me than the ring ever would.

I never got an engagement ring, though I'd love one. Many small sparkly stones would make me much happier than one big one--though I wouldn't turn down a 1-carat sapphire or something, just so we're clear.

My wedding ring was bought at a yard sale by me when I was in high school, and we needed a ring and didn't want to pony up the cash. So I dug through my jewelry box and said, "This is pretty." It's still on my hand, with another ring on my middle finger that matches the one Hubby wears now.

A knee to the groin is better than a kick. You have better balance. I've heard.

Depends on circumstance. You can kick someone in the groin and be outside their arm range. If you're going to knee them, unless you're performing a flying knee you're within arm range--you want those neutralised or mitigated, because it's really easy from that position to end up on the ground, and on the bottom to boot.

You have to be close to punch someone in the nuts, but your feet can be dedicated to moving you in and out quickly, whereas with a knee you have to get there, make sure you're in a good stance for power (which isn't always the first stance you end up in, deliver the blow, recover your stance, and get out.