Al Dente

I'd donate.

The latest on Sakina. I'm thankful for people like Kazi Mannan.

"D.C. Restaurant Feeds the Poor and Homeless Every Single Day." by Caroline Patrickis on wjla.com

I went a few nights ago hoping that Joe's improved since my last visit. It hasn't.

Entrees came out 30 seconds after the appetizers. I hate that.

The Mapo Tofu was a greasy mess and the flavors just didn't have that Szechuan peppercorn zing that it had in Joe's heyday. Dan Dan Noodles were overcooked to the point where they fell apart when I tried lifting them with chopsticks. The beef in the Pad Thai (I know, I know, but my 9 year old wanted it) tasted and smelled gamey. Even the freakin' tea put me off.

Joe's Noodle House could challenge and reward my taste buds in the past and I'd often push beyond my comfort zone for a taste of intestine, kidneys, and blood. That stuff is still on the menu, but I can't possibly order it. I don't trust that kitchen anymore. 

The italics gotta go!

It's worse than that.

Think our $20 trillion debt is bad? Get a load of the real number  BY SHIVA RAJGOPAL from The Hill

When I heard the sad news, this is the scene that popped in my head. I love this movie.

From the Coen Brothers:

How about Monday 2/18?

12 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Picture Erik Estrada running down the street without any clothes on, arms in the air and wailing, after some vagrant threatened him with a liquor bottle and ordered him to disrobe.

Up until now, I thought I've imagined Erik Estrada naked in every possible scenario.

"The menu isn’t much different than what you might find at a standard suburban Bell, with the exception of a trio of “sharables.” A bowl of Cheesy Jalapeño Dippers sounds like something you’d split over a beer, though the Naked Chicken Chips with nacho cheese dipping sauce seem like a way to get rid of the shards of chicken tenders that once might have been destined to be the shell of a naked chicken chalupa."

WTF is a Naked Chicken Chip?

[cue Rocks with some smartass reply]

58 minutes ago, Keithstg said:

Because that one citizen developed something that fundamentally changed commerce (or infrastructure, or finance, or or or).

That may be so, but at what expense? What is the cost of environmental damage? What's the cost of underpaid employees receiving gov't benefits? What's the cost to future generations? 

I read a book by Umair Haque called "The New Capitalist Manifesto". I think some of what he writes is overly simplistic, but what really struck me is how he describes costs shifting to other people and groups. That $3 hamberder from McDonald's should cost much more than $3.

I'm sorry, but the old Horatio Alger narrative is dead-- or should be, anyway. 

I think there's something deeply wrong with an economic system that creates billionaires. How can any one citizen be worth $140,000,000,000? 

Whatever addresses obscene income inequality is fine with me. 

I don't expect a level playing field, but it's absurd how much money is accumulating at the top. 

11 hours ago, DanielK said:

Less than 10 minutes from me, so shoot me a message if you want to get a group together.

I'm in.

I might be interested. What's her net worth?

Wow! That didn't take long.

Thanks for taking them off my hands, Don!

I hate to see them go, but I need the space for some new hobbies.

18 hours ago, DonRocks said:

There's something fundamentally wrong with my being the only person in the history of the world to fully comprehend this title.

Well, I thought I comprehended it. Enlighten us.

1 hour ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Ride the Metro without pants.

Actually, I don't think it's cool.  It's possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.  

I rarely, if ever, wear pants on the Metro. 

I lost custody of my All Clad pots and pans in the divorce.      They were wedding gifts.

The tuna weighed 613 lbs. That's over $5,000/lb.

Are the subs and pizza as bad as I suspect they are?

Build that wall.

Reopening may never happen.

No Timeframe for Hank Dietle’s Tavern Reopening by Charlie Wright of Bethesda Magazine

1 hour ago, DonRocks said:

(According to traditional Christian tenets, the North Sentinelese haven't yet "heard the word," and because of that, they won't go to Hell (similar to a child dying before the age of accountability)) - that said, the bible says some pretty awful things. I personally don't see how you get to pick-and-choose what to believe.

I'm not sure what traditional tenets are. Here's Focus on the Family's view: 

"What about Those Who Have Never Heard?" by Robert Velarde on focusonthefamily.com

The founder of Focus on the Family is James Dobson, an evangelist with enormous influence among conservative christians. 

Al Qaeda wants to destroy non-believers because they follow the same logic as Dobson-- you should have come to the obvious conclusion that our god exists, so therefore, if you're not already a believer, you deserve to die.

14 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I will say this, however: On a certain level, there isn't *that* much difference between what these missionaries did, and what Al-Qaeda has done - in both cases, they're prepared to destroy societies, as well as give up their own lives, in order to follow God's word.

I'd say there's very little difference. The blind zeal and arrogance in religion continues to amaze me. Look at the All Nations website's info on how to tell Muslims that Islam is wrong, but their's is the one true religion.  https://allnations.us/train-and-go/good-news-refugee-neighbors/

I guess all North Sentinelese will continue going to hell when they die just because they never heard of christianity, let alone accepted its biblical fables as truth.