This is what one of Edmond Dantes alter egos did in the Count of Monte Cristo. “Lord Wilmore” was an eccentric Englishman who understood French perfectly well, but refused to speak it:

… Lord Wilmore appeared….His first remark on entering was, “You know, sir, I do not speak French?”

“I know you do not like to converse in our language,” replied the envoy.

“But you may use it,” replied Lord Wilmore; “I understand it.”

To keep my family as happy and healthy as possible, as long as possible.

Nice, thanks for digging that up. It’s different than I remembered, but the important part is the same, Chewie got a medal.

I haven’t read it since middle school, more than 40 years ago, but I think I recall the Star Wars novelization (of A New Hope’s screen play) stated that Chewie was getting a medal too, but that he’s have to wait because Leia was to short to present it to him the same as she did for Luke and Han.

NA beer is not basically “beer flavored soda.” The only thing the two have in common is carbonation and even that is produced differently in each. Soda is flavored syrup mixed with water that has been carbonated by forcing CO2 through it. NA beer is brewed the same as regular beer, and carbonation occurs during this process. For some NA beers, fermentation is arrested before significant amounts of alcohol form, while others are subjected to a vacuum to lower the boiling point so that the alcohol can be boiled out with a minimum effect of the flavor.

The Pixel 7a replaced my Pixel 3a which I was running LineageOS on.

I miss LineageOS already and may soon install it on the 7a too.

Google Fi had an instant rebate offer on the Pixel 7a - $200 off if activated on an existing Google Fi account. I got mine for $300 plus tax. It’s last year’s model, but I’ll still get more than 4 years of security updates on it.

I suspect “cheese” would top, but ketchup would be highly ranked.

PSA: if you do stop to talk to someone at the supermarket, don’t do it in the middle of the fucking aisle. Between you, your friend and your respective carts, you create an obstruction for everyone else who just wants to get their damn groceries and get out.

I use a kettle at home, but I’ve used a microwave at work. I don’t understand what’s remotely laughable about doing so. Boiling water is boiling water.

I’ll tell what is laughable is how America restaurants typically serve hot tea. They draw a small metal container of hot water from the spigot on the side of the coffee maker, and bring it to the table with an empty cup and a teabag. By the time the bag goes in the water, the water is far too cold to infuse properly.

I can’t dispute that, but in fairness, there are quite a few of the original Sherlock Holmes stories where the reader couldn’t be expected to solve the mystery. The Adventure of the Red Headed League is one such, as I recall, though it has been quite a while since I read it.

For me the fun of the show is in the chemistry between actors and in the development of Sherlock’s character as someone who discovers his own humanity and eventually forms connections with those around him.

Elizabeth Keen in Black List. Writers constantly told us how brilliant and special she was, then showed her acting like a dimwitted, hormonal teen.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I love martial arts films in general, but this one didn’t grab me.

Parker Quink. It dries quickly, flows well and generally behaves well in most pens, even those otherwise prone to clogging. It’s inexpensive, decent looking ink. Nothing special or fancy, just good ink.

My take, informed mainly by The Doctor’s Wife, is that while a TARDIS console alone can move through time and space, it’s a bit like driving a card without a windshield, exhaust system, shocks and brakes. It may get you where you’re going, but the odds of you experiencing harm increase greatly.

Depends on your budget and use case. Jellyfin’s “Hardware Selection” documentation has you covered as to general specs, so maybe consider them a shopping list.

Briefly, a mini PC with the following will work for a “normal server:”

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560, Intel Core i3-7100 or newer Pentium or better

RAM: 8GB or more

Storage: 60GB SSD storage for Jellyfin files and transcoding cache.

Graphics: Intel HD 6xx (7th gen integrated graphics) or newer, Nvidia GTX 16 / RTX 20 series or newer (excluding GTX 1650). Intel is recommended over Nvidia. AMD and Apple Silicon are not recommended.

If you don’t need transcoding, or can use low power transcoding, Intel 12th gen or newer Atom CPUs with integrated graphics will serve.

https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/administration/hardware-selection/#:~:text=Storage%3A 60GB SSD storage for,Apple Silicon are not recommended.

I’ve run Jellyfin on a R Pi 4 but experienced glitches on playback with a Roku with media that required transcoding. It wasn’t awful, but knowing myself, I knew it’d get old quickly so I went back to MiniDLNA which works a treat when playing back on a mini PC with VLC or Kodi.

There’s a Hugo winning short story by Roger Zelazny called “Unicorn Variation.”

“ In an abandoned saloon, a man and a unicorn play chess. The fate of humanity is at stake. A Sasquatch aids the human.”

The game they play follows one played by Halprin and Pillsbury in Munich, 1900.

I’ve heard him introduce himself in a video, pronouncing his name as you would a hair comb.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw9LsbqquCg

According to Ian’s video, this example is at the Cody Firearms Museum. I spent several hours there a few years ago and barely scratched the surface of their extensive collection. If you’re ever near Cody, WY and have time, it’s worth the trip.

This is a sign that we are in the end times.