Sadness: Shouted CORE POWER!, lacked necessary hand strength to open bottle. Now waiting like a chump for Hec to come home.

eta: Second time worked--clearly it's a two-shout job. However, the drink is just cool enough that I feel like I have knives in the back of my throat when I swallow, so I'll still wait for Hec to come back so he can heat it up a bit.

RE: The Mouse discussion.

I'm a devotee of the big Kensington trackballs. I've been using them for...yikes decades at this point. I'm also a mechanical keyboard nut.

Second time worked--clearly it's a two-shout job.

You are mighty and powerful beyond compare, my queen.

However, the drink is just cool enough that I feel like I have knives in the back of my throat when I swallow

This is not a ringing endorsement.

It *tastes* fine; I'm just not able to get anything down that's room temp or below. It could be Dom Perignon and I'd feel the knives.

Happily, that fades after a couple of days. After the first dose I was craving Diet Coke and root beer so much I was hallucinating about them, and finally someone said, "It's not permanent. By week two you should be fine." But for right now, knives all the way, baby.

But for right now, knives all the way, baby.

Well, that's a bitch of a side effect. Glad it's only temporary, because hot Dom Perignon is nasty.

After the first dose I was craving Diet Coke and root beer so much I was hallucinating about them

Hot Dr Pepper, especially with lemon and/or orange slices, is actually pretty good.

That’s a sucky side effect!!

I do agree that Core Power is pretty good as protein shakes go. It’s from the Fairlife milk company—they also have some Fairlife brand shakes that I got at Costco once that basically just taste like milk? Those aren’t as easy to find though.

Hot Dr Pepper, especially with lemon and/or orange slices, is actually pretty good.

I can kind of picture that.

Maybe a cup warmer near the couch would be handy to keep things on the right side of room temp, JZ? But hopefully this stage passes quick enough regardless.

“Clearly it’s a two-shout job” made me snort laugh.

I remember when I had pneumonia when I was 8 I couldn’t feel cold drinks and it freaked me out - I could drink a glass of water and it felt like I’d had nothing to drink (so we heated everything up- in the dark ages, before microwaves!). I wonder if the phenomena are related. What pisses off throats and makes them reject cold drinks? Is it that the swallowing muscles aren’t working correctly?

If champagne isn’t explicitly contra-indicated maybe you should keep some around to celebrate with each time the knives go away.

I have no idea what was in it, but there was definitely a drink called a Flaming Dr Pepper when I was in college...