@AndyD said: Good for them. But McDonald's sucks. Plasticky food in inadequate buns with salty fries. Vanilla milkshakes being the exception, slurp slurp. I had my first taste of their food(I use the word loosely) in my late 20's and it has always been my least liked takeaway. I usually try their 'special' burgers... so Thursday evening having been out, we roll into the drivethru, to be told the heatwave means their shake machine ain't working(?) so I get a Big Arch. Arrives looking a pale shadow of the photo and after a couple of bites turns to mushy cheesy bits ensuring my shirt, trousers and car all need a wash. I just wanted a cold vanilla milkshake. Thankfully MrsA usually prefers KFC. We get a boneless bucket, and I repeat my joke about the bucket coming in useful if the food makes us feel icky. We don't go often. So many better options on which to spend your £20. Burger King 100% agree about McDonald's. Correlation does not imply causation.

I no longer want to live in a large city, not even New York or Chicago. Neither could I afford it. Town and Country as a concept was strongly imprinted on us in the NY, Tri-State metropolis So someone with $$ would of course have a city apartment and a county estate. Well, the estate was as always a house, gardens, and land, of course. This, scaled down, is the kind of house I'd have in a perfect world. I like apartment buildings (and tower houses even better even though don't have them.) However, there are the age, aging, aging in place, and dying (excuse me) factors, as well resource to consider. Hawaii was remote. I couldn't live there again. Why? Access to modern (in a neutral sense) health care. At this age, for me, living in some rural paradise is is not an option. Yes, I like having everything I need close enough, and couldn't live any other way. It's fun to dream, though.

Happy Birthday!

@jon-nyc Beautiful!

@jon-nyc

The folly immediately reminded me of 15th century Peel Towers built along our Scottish border areas. The house, a behemoth.

"Influencers" has many meanings. What exactly does it mean in this case? I don't know. I don't get my health knowledge from "social media". "Social media" can be distracting, but no more than a "smart" phone. YMMV

@adagiom As usual

I think we've been lead down a wrong path in a way. The '80's "Oprahfication" of confessional psychology won't leave us. Two of its great proponents, Harry and Meghan gave it a spin. Their project imploded. Now they want to come crawling home. Don't get me wrong. I agree about pandemic-induced trauma.

Tariffs are a tax. They say if you write it on a chalkboard 100x it gets easier to remember.

My first thought was: there's a market for cash? My next thought was: leave it alone.

@chas Thank you I'm also now finishing off a Mendelsohn Op67#2 which I'd almost learnt during covid. This: https://m. Link to video

@wtg said: The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-bombing-of-pan-am-103-cast-guide We watched it. It was really well done.

@Rontuner excellent discovery! I bet that is indeed what it's for! That would make it the correct length, and that would also explain why it's still there!

Bingo.

Tenacity.

Orders from Putin...

@chas Fabulous, love it. Dylan on speed meets the Horns of the Rohirrim. Let's jam riders Oh my goodness the comments this horn guy absolutely left his stove on at home Horn dude looks like a confused time traveler from the 13th century French Horn player is playing air guitar with his eyebrows. That dude's eyebrow position is directly correlated to the pitch of the note he plays dude on the horns looked like he had something reaching inside of him The French horn player looks like he has just received a call from his girlfriend telling him she's pregnant I feel like the horns guy knew exactly what he was doing because he aced it all, but didn't exactly know what he was gonna do until just before he had to do it... Trumpet player looks like he just found out hes his own father, mother, and can solve the pringles can problem How the hell did I get here and when did I start playing the French horn...... or wait, is it playing me? The horn player has this perpetual look as if he farted and wonders if anyone else detects it. Birth of a meme, I was here The french horn guy has killed his wife and see's the FBI pulling up outside Horne man can see the future... 10 years later his sound has evolved exactly not at all... I guess this is where Shaggy ended up after solving all them crimes, I wonder what happened to Scooby?

South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham has given opponents fresh ammunition to attack her on her biggest vulnerability: her inexperience. She revealed a major blindspot in her understanding of a critical foreign policy issue, U.S.-Taiwan relations, during Tuesday’s debate for the Aug. 25 snap Senate primary runoff to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham. Her response spread like wildfire on social media, with critics saying it proves she is “unprepared” to take office. Asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are relevant national security priorities, Graham responded: “I’m just going to be honest here … I’m not that informed on national security, so.” She added that “national security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military.” It was a notable acknowledgement from a sitting senator, as tensions rise between China and Taiwan — and as the U.S. preoccupation with the Iran war calls into question how reliable a supporter it might be amid fears of a possible future invasion of Taiwan. The gaffe exposed the exact weakness that her runoff opponent, GOP Rep. Ralph Norman, has been eager to highlight: the senator’s lack of tenure https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/19/darline-graham-taiwan-flub-south-carolina-senate-01042395