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Off Key - General Discussion

A place to talk about whatever you want

2.7k Topics 19.2k Posts
  • Galleri test - great news for cancer screening

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    wtgW
    More cancer news, mRNA vaccines and cancer. How mRNA Vaccines Can Help Fight Cancer Turning "cold" tumors "hot" https://erictopol.substack.com/p/how-mrna-vaccines-can-help-fight?publication_id=587835&post_id=176787765&isFreemail=true&r=1v8sh2&triedRedirect=true
  • I feel safer now

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    wtgW
    Local reporting from the Daily Herald. A family-run Palatine cafe is closing because of a drop in customers due to immigration enforcement in the area, the owners said. Chappie's Cafe, 754 W. Euclid Ave., will serve its last meal Nov. 2. The business has seen great success despite opening four years ago during COVID, said Judith Martinez, who owns the cafe with her husband, Omar Garcia. But things began to change about three to four weeks ago, when federal agents arrived and started to approach customers, she said. Two masked agents encountered customers while they were eating breakfast and asked to see their papers but took no one into custody. Agents visited about a week later. This time, Martinez locked the front door when she saw them driving around the parking lot. They then confronted her in the back of the store. “Right away, they told me, ‘Who are you? I need to see your papers. I need to see your passport. I need to see your legal status,’” she said. There were two cars parked in the back, without license plates, she said. “I was afraid and I was nervous, but I'm a U.S. citizen,” said Martinez, who was born in Mexico but later came to the United States and was naturalized. Her husband is also an immigrant but is here legally, she said. She kept asking the agents why they were there, but they avoided her questions and soon left. Beside the looming threat of federal agents keeping customers away, food costs have risen sharply, making the decision to close easier. Local reporting from the Daily Herald. https://archive.is/BlJSB
  • David Brooks in Atlantic

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    wtgW
    What has Trump done for you lately? Gave George Santos a Get Out of Jail Free card. Asked for $230 million of taxpayer dollars for himself. Tore down the East Wing of the White House. Will the greatness never end???
  • The great sourdough starter experiment

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    wtgW
    Hey @Steve-Miller ! I've got a novel sourdough recipe for you: Sourdough Soba Noodles Japanese soba noodles are delicious and nutrient rich. They’re made with buckwheat, which contains all nine essential amino acids, meaning buckwheat is a complete protein. A common flour ratio for soba noodles is 80:20 buckwheat flour to all purpose wheat flour. This small amount of gluten in from the wheat is enough to make the dough manageable, and in the case of our recipe, the all purpose flour comes in the form of sourdough starter, adding flavor complexity and digestibility. Our instructions do include baker’s percentages in case you’d rather not use sourdough starter, and the recipe is written for four small servings (or two large), allowing a beginner to finish the entire process relatively quickly and without needing an extra long rolling pin or special knife. https://breadtopia.com/sourdough-soba-noodles/?utm_content
  • News that Doug can use...

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    wtgW
  • When they think no one is listening

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    wtgW
    "I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday's HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time," Ingrassia posted in an online message. "I appreciate the overwhelming support that I have received throughout the process and will continue to serve President Trump and the administration to Make America Great Again!" https://www.npr.org/2025/10/21/nx-s1-5581714/paul-ingrassia-nomination-withdrawal
  • I’m almost tempted to attend the open house

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    D
    Imagine having a budget of 1.7 million to hire an architectural firm to buy whatever kind of lot/ land and steer all of your budget into something you could think of as your dream house. It wouldn't take me a minute to decide to do that instead of buying some AI looking monstrosity.
  • Habits

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    I have spray bottles with various amounts of rubbing alcohol/ water, vinegar/ water, and Dawn/ water. Other than that I buy products with any chemical you can think of except ammonia. I buy fragrance free laundry soap--same brands, just the "free and clear" versions. I don't like the smell of industrial perfumes. Other habits? I don't know. I think people are creatures of habit so probably so!
  • Cam toilets

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    Needless and disgusting.
  • Bosendorfer at Costco!

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    ShiroKuroS
    @Bernard said in Bosendorfer at Costco!: Klimt Bosendorfer. Whoa! How did it sound? Was it gorgeous? Also, that sounds like a lovely event!
  • My childhood home sold!

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    The siding is redwood. You can't tell now but it is mid-century modern. In 1973 when the summer cottage on the site was demolished and the house was built the roof was completely flat. The sloping roofs you see now were a later addition.
  • Gen Z - dating for free meals

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    My mother once said in the prosperous times they were always creating federal holidays. The prosperous times she referred to are a distant memory. Date to eat? Wouldn't you have to keep your agenda to yourself? That seems all kinds of awkward and messed up.
  • Calvinism in Portland

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  • Where humans work longer and work harder for AI

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  • Jane Goodall's post mortem message to the world

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    said in [Jane Goodall's post mortem message to the world] Like talking to her. (post/18388): Jane Goodall's beautiful last words now available (here on Netflix) - recorded before her death, in an interview only prepared on condition it only be made public after she was no longer physically present. So valuable and helpful. https://www.netflix.com/watch/82053197?trackId=2597
  • Craftivism in Portland

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    AdagioMA
    It’s been nice knowing you, Doug!
  • Liszt, a good piece for October, I think

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    ShiroKuroS
    Ooh, thanks for this, I'll listen tomorrow. it's suddenly very fall-like here.
  • Please give me advice about a rare (?) bacterial infection

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    Thank you, Nina. I bought Clorox discs and 3 bottles of a Clorox spray that kills MRSA and even COVID. I sprayed down the bathroom, opened the back door, and didn't come back until it dried. We don't share dishes. We don't wash each other's clothes. I try to stay away from him and after today I'll try even harder.
  • Chicago Stories - Iconic Foods

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    I thought it said iconic floods! Chicago is one of the world's great cities. There's no two ways about it.
  • Road trip story...

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    Big_AlB
    I'm very glad you posted that story. It reminded me of what it was like to be young and foolish and still live to tell about it. I grew up in an area where most cars were big domestic sedans and the earliest compact cars were Chevy Corvairs and Ford Falcons. The most exotic vehicle was a Renault Dauphine that a high school friend's father owned and a VW Beetle that my high school math teacher drove. When I arrived at university in 1963, I was amazed at the number of sports cars around, especially the smaller British cars like the TR-3s, Austin Healeys, MGs, and so on. There was even a Jaguar XK-E or two. I could understand the allure of such cars. About 10 years later, when I met my wife, she was driving an Opel 1900 that she had bought in California and drove back to Pittsburgh when she decided to return east. We made some memorable road trips in that car. One of my favorites was a ride up the Blue Ridge Parkway on the cusp of spring with the trees in full leaf in the lower portions and just beginning to leaf out at higher elevations. It was like driving through almost the entire season over a couple of days. I'm also reminded of the following: There was a young man from Boston Who had a cute little Austin He had room for his ass And a gallon of gas But his balls hung out and he lost 'em. Big Al