mike carey

@tassojunior, those options are not generally available here. I haven't seen the Keurig machines here at all, although they may be.

I have an ethical objection to coffee pods as they are unnecessarily polluting. My usual coffee has been a plunger (US=French press). My sister used to use a pod machine and I used that when I visited despite my reservations. I mean, you need good coffee. Last time I visited she had an automatic machine that you used coffee beans in and it was sublime. I need to buy one. When I do (inshallah) I will buy my coffee beans from a local roaster that I used when they had a shop in the mall years ago and now operates in a less commercial setting.

Since I last posted here, sadly the chances that I could attend have not improved. I may be lucky enough to be vaccinated some time in April, but the chances of Australia's borders opening by then are about zero. A MAL-aligned event, as we have had in the past and as @jrhoutex suggests, is more likely in January 2022, and it would be good to be able to be there regardless of the weather. I have frozen my arse off there before and could do it again. Minus 10C, ugh!

That would be a good idea.

Now, you're being deliberately obtuse. If they were not trying to converse in English, and they may not have been, we don't know, then it matters not whether English was the escorts' first language or if they spoke English at all.

I know, my point was that for him whether they spoke English is immaterial if they both spoke a different language as their first language.

Yes, sometimes you think WTF, but other times it actually is a great question. If you're gonna use it, mean it, don't use it as a gap filler.

Or in Wolfer's case, French or Flemish.

I suppose a boyfriend experience could be two guys sitting on the couch watching TV and not talking to or touching each other, but that's not one I would sign up for if it were for one night.

Reading the title of this thread I decided to come in and make an off-topic remark about GOAT meaning greatest of all time, only to discover that was what the thread was about (saves my comment from being off-topic and removed). Nathan Lyon, a spin bowler who has taken over 300 wickets in test cricket (but who is not as old as a certain former Patriots quarterback, who looks far younger than his alleged age), is an Australian cricketer who wears that title. A former Australian rugby player (and Wallabies captain) rejoiced in the nickname 'Nobody' because, it was reasoned, nobody is perfect. OK, back on topic.

I have a basic phone that's running out of space and I don't have a bank app loaded, so that limits me.The last two guys I've hired preferred electronic payment, the first I paid by bank transfer using my laptop, the second with cash. He would have accepted PayPal or PayID. That's an Australian bank-operated instant payment facility that uses your phone number as a reference. Obviously legality isn't an issue here, but still I'm concerned about PayPal's reported attitude to this work. That second meeting was one of only two times I have used cash in the last 11 months.

I dislike early morning departures more. QF could do that with a quick turnaround and 10 or 11am departure from LAX. Bear in mind that their LAX departure times are the same year round, so Sydney arrivals would vary according to the respective daylight saving times at each end. As a Canberran who has to connect from one of the arrival cities, evening arrivals can be tricky.

As quite a few here can attest, he is quite aware of his persona here! I mean my persona here.

It wasn't a speech, it was an interview with Eurocontrol. I listened to it a couple of days ago, and it's quite interesting. It was live streamed and this recorded version has (or did when I watched it) about 15 minutes of the count down to its start. Qantas already flew Perth to London with the B787 and Sydney to DFW with A380s, both of which are longer routes than Sydney to Rio, although the great circle route goes into Antarctic latitudes that they may want to avoid. Those flights aren't operating now with our borders largely closed. They are flying London to Darwin repatriation flights which are about the same length as SYD-DFW. (SYD-LAX is also longer than Sydney to Rio.) Alan Joyce made two particular comments that I thought were notable. The first was about Project Sunrise which is Qantas' plan to fly east coast non-stop to London and JFK. They have done several test flights with B787s carrying minimal loads, and have announced that they will acquire A350-1000s to operate commercially. With the pandemic they have shifted their target date for operations until 2024. Qantas believes that the pandemic will increase the appetite for non-stop flights rather than those with stopovers. Rio was one of the additional cities he mentioned, flagging possible flights from the three east coat cities to Chicago, Paris, Frankfurt and Cape Town as well as Rio. Qantas believes they will have an advantage over other airlines because unlike say BA or American, Qantas would have a viable subfleet of extreme long haul aircraft, whereas Australia and New Zealand would be the only destinations foreign carriers would need such an aircraft. His other comment was about the A380s which many carriers are retiring. He thinks they will still be profitable for destinations like LHR and LAX. London has expensive slots so having a big aircraft has benefits over two smaller ones. For Los Angeles to Australia flights the time difference and distance make late night departures a better fit for arrivals into Australia, and in the past even with A380s on the main service on the Sydney and Melbourne routes there was often a second flight to one or both, sometimes also an A380.

Not at all, if you had read my intent, fine, but if not I'm happy to clarify. BTW, I have added comments to the post you ust quoted.

Absolutely it was. I chose to use the prescription drug example because it is the opposite of what happens, and has been discussed in these forums. Edited to add: That video and article go a long way to illustrate how a single payer system works, and how much of the US establishment works to reject it. It's a fact that the US system provides excellent care to those who can afford it, and that in a single payer system some may miss out. Or more often have to wait. People going to the US for an MRI doesn't validate or invalidate either system. I went to the doctor and had to pay $125 for the consultation (different system to Canada where everything is free at the point of delivery), but got half of it back from Medicare. A follow-up consultation was 'free', billed directly to Medicare. I have insurance, but if I had a heart attack I would be treated but wouldn't have to pay or use my insurance, the public system would cover it.

'Science the crap out of it', love that.

I had considered replying to him with a simple, 'No'. Of course everyone knows that people in border and near border cities like Niagara, Windsor and Vancouver always go to a neighbouring US city for all their health care and Canadians routinely use mail-order American pharmacies for all their prescription drugs.

Yes it was. I would usually say full stop if I meant the punctuation mark. Thanks for the explanation, I've never talked to my sister or any other women about it. I wasn't being entirely serious in my response, as you may have gathered.

Yes it was. I would usually say full stop if I meant the punctuation mark. Thanks for the explanation, I've never talked to my sister or any other women about it. I wasn't being entirely serious in my response, as you may have gathered.

I just selected it from the phone book.

How on earth did I not notice this when it was posted. I have no experience of menstruating but I've never heard it associated with pleasure, period.

Another bird brain at work...

Not a drag name (and tangents are already flying about here so I feel less guilty),, but I saw a Bloomberg article with a by-line of Lizzy Burden. The article had nothing to do with axes.