mike carey

Well, his profile says he's a bottom, so perhaps not!

Given that it's a remake of a somewhat older love story in a different time and on a different continent, remaking the film for a new time seems unexceptional. I haven't seen this recent version, but I have seen and enjoyed versions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas placed in a contemporary context*, so I'm quite open to a remake. I realise remaking a film has a different 'feel' than re-staging a live performance, they are not all that different. *A Canadian production of the Pirates with the major-general singing about matters bilingual in that patter song made me laugh.

Good for you. Choosing to wear nothing in the spa is liberating.

Quite so. There are places that do and those that don't. As I have mentioned, I have an Amex card and others for places that don't accept Amex. It's not a 'one or the other' thing. If the 'other' cards have transferable points that's a bonus, if you have to use one that is tied to an airline or other loyalty program, so be it.

I know that you used the term in here, but you are far from the first, or the only person to use it. Don't assume that I was using the term in respect of your comments, I was not, I was using it about its use more generally. I specifically acknowledged that people choose a 'lifestyle' that may be at odds with their Kinsey scale position. Everyone is 'born this way', and I was born gay and am gay in my identification. Not everyone lives the way they were 'born', and none of us should care if they do or not. How you were born and how you choose to live should be, and is, of no concern to me or anyone else.

There certainly is a 'gay lifestyle' but it is open to dispute what that is. It was easier to understand when there were gay ghettos or areas where gay people congregated. It can also be argued that it can be where a person makes their identity as gay the core of who they are. I certainly don't do that, and I would say I lead a middle class suburban lifestyle, but I don't conform to what others may say are essential elements of that like having an opposite sex partner, 2.3 kids and a golden retriever. The trouble with the term 'gay lifestyle' is that it has become code for homophobes and people who resent the idea that LGBTIQ+ people exist. It is used to tell them that all aspects of their existence, including the fact of their sexual orientation, are matters of choice, and choices they should not have made. I have no doubt that everyone comes in at one position or another on the Kinsey scale (is it fixed for life, I doubt it), but that being a 5.5 is what you are, not a decision you make. Of course, given any position on the scale what you chose to do with that and how you live your life, such as who you choose as sexual partners and life partners are decisions you make, and decisions that you may make differently in different parts of your life. There is no guarantee that the public manifestations of how a person lives are any indication of where on the Kinsey scale they are. For that reason I view 'gay lifestyle' as a loaded term that I should avoid, and if someone uses it to describe how I live my life I wonder if it's an accusation rather than a description. I know (roughly) my position on the scale and know how I identify. Others should be free to identify as gay, bi or straight without having to prove their identification matches their Kinsey scale position. Why they identify as they do is none of my business, nor is it any of my business if they later change how they identify, and I have no right to read anything into such a change.

@samhexum Should the eggs have gone in at Step 6?

But I doubt the encounter would be like drawing teeth.

That's unrelated. Full reviews are visible only outside the US. This can be achieved either by being in another country or by using a VPN or proxy server that places you in one. I had to search to find what someone had posted to find some details. Here's what another member posted a while back. I haven't tried it as I'm not in the US (you don't have to use Germany). go here https://hide.me/en/proxy and use the "browse anonymously on the fly" box at right....set country to Germany.....enter RM profile URL and click "go".....accept the RM privacy thing up to a couple or three times......should then get to the regular profile, but text in the reviews, if even offered by the reviewer, is now visible.......

I should have commented on this at the same time as I made my previous comment. I also think it's a great card even though it is far less generous here in the number of points you get than the US version. The other benefits are comparable. I have an airline visa card for places that don't accept Amex, and it returns roughly the same number of miles per dollar spent as Amex MR points would yield. Qantas has some useful (although I wouldn't say 'valuable') benefits from certain levels of ground-based earning (including from MR transfers) so I'm not strict in using Amex when I can rather than the visa card. There are lots of detailed consideration you can give to which cards, airlines and FF programs you use (and it can become a hobby [or an obsession]), so do that if you want, or just work out a plan that works for you and stick to it.

I've been a premium member on and off for a couple of years (I don't have it set to auto-renew and there's usually a few days or weeks between my periods of membership). It only costs me $AU49.95 for six months, well worth it for the reasons others have enumerated.

Moderator's Note: Please keep the discussion here about the effects the war might have on your business, or on Rentmen, not on the progress of, or factors affecting the war itself.

This is a case where YMMV is literally true. Using MR points to pay for tickets is an option. If you are close to the line of qualifying for elite status at any particular level and won't otherwise qualify it makes sense regardless of the economics. If those loyalty points won't make an appreciable difference (say, you have no prospect of qualifying that year, or you have already done so), then you should compare the number of points it takes to buy a ticket directly, with the number you need to transfer to claim an award ticket. (My recent experience is that using MR points directly is significantly more expensive than transferring, but it's been a moot point as I've had enough FF points not to need to transfer any. If I've needed airline loyalty points [or there have been attractive offers of bonus loyalty points, as I had recently] I've tended to pay cash. YMMV!) So, by all means consider paying directly with MR points, but consider your other options.

The thing you are 'doing wrong', and it's not you, it's RM, is that you live in the US (assumption on my part). Text comments on RM reviews are not visible there (reviewers don't always write one, BTW). Short of moving to Canada, you need to use a VPN or a proxy server so you can log on as if you were in another country. I can't recall an address to use (I'm in Australia and don't need to use one), but there are some that are simple to use. I'm sure others will chime in.

Magpies have outwitted scientists by helping each other remove tracking devices: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-22/magpies-show-cooperative-behaviour-by-removing-tracking-device/100851458

I guess that means he has a salad with his steak once every three months or so. Whether he needs it or not.

Yep, here it's 22/02/2022 which, if you leave the /s out is a palindrome!

I can understand your concern as it appears to be a new thing, but in reality it's an established practice being applied to a new disease. Children receive a raft of vaccinations some having up to three shots in the course. Most of them are long lasting but boosters for some, like pertussis, are recommended in later life if you're going to be around children too young to be vaccinated. When I travelled in tropical countries cholera and typhoid vaccinations were required on a cycle (every three years IIRC) as their effectiveness was known to wane. And back in prehistoric times, regular smallpox inoculations were needed. Also, if you don't have an up-to-date tetanus vaccination, you're dicing with death. (Which reminds me, I don't.) Long story short, the understanding of the efficacy and duration of effectiveness of vaccines develops over time. As it does, regimens for boosters or revaccination are established. I'll be paying attention to what is recommended and getting those jabs. And checking which others I hadn't been paying attention to.

I remember seeing a version of this question with LinkedIn being listed just after 'climb in through my bedroom window'.

If it wasn't clear I was alluding to the forum weekend, and by 'short flight' I meant coming in from Seattle, New York or Washington, or wherever. 'Short' is a relative concept, so for me those trips are 'short'!

You're welcome. Brussels is a place I haven't been for years, it's good to be reminded of travel destinations. Moderator note: perhaps you guys can take this offline so as not to divert this thread.

I was going to say welcome to the forum, but you've been here for a year!

First port of call is always your mobile service provider, they will have options (as references above to AT&T attest). They may have more than one way to do it, so you need to research. I'm in a different country so my experience is not directly relevant, but my provider offers add-ons for up to seven days for data, voice and text, or both that don't use my plan credits. On some of their plans they offer a roaming fee (like the AT&T plan) that uses your home credits. They also have (very high) default call and data charges if you don't set something up. YMMV. Buying a local SIM is always an option, but you need to weigh the disadvantages of not being on your usual number: you won't receive incoming calls, and if you call people in your life they won't know it's you. (Your WhatsApp will continue to work regardless.) You can minimise your use of your plan credits by using WiFi (including for regular calls and texts if your phone can be set up to do that, or if it does so automatically). That is less important, or even irrelevant, if your roaming deal is a flat daily fee, but important if you're charged by the amount of usage. There is always the option of calling (or checking the web page of) your provider, asking what their option is and saying, 'That sounds fine'.

Moderator's Note: This thread is about one pastor's journey from an adult industry career to his current calling. Comments on the issues that arise from that are fine, but a more general discussion of Religion does not belong in the Lounge. Members are welcome to start, or continue, conversations about Religion in the Political Issues Forum.