Merkin

As with all things earthly, you can buy a kit for one on Amazon. But I think it would be much more satisfying to grow your own potatoes and then hook them up from scratch: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Potato-Clock

Very best wishes, Jason!

The Secret Life of Nerds is off to an awesome start. Kevin and Philip appear to be as different as chalk and cheese, but they share one important quality, and that is thoughtfulness. Will that be enough to allow them to become friends? Can't wait to see what Mildred cooks up next. http://www.awesomedude.com/rob-warr/the-secret-life-of-nerds/index.htm

We always put raisins in meatloaf when I was a kid. The habit still clings.

MAJOR ellipsis . . .

Aside from Cole dissing Boston this is off to a great start. When do we find out about the puppy in the picture? What a cutie.

SO GLAD to see this fine tale revived for us in this month's "Picks from the Past." One never tires of rereading a story by Cole Parker, and this one is very special. http://www.awesomedude.com/cole-parker/scurvy-dog/scurvy-dog.htm

I am a bit mystified. Surely whether, when, or how Mike responds to inquiries from John Lloyd is his business?

Good question. The link at the top of this thread still works, however.

That calls for an equal-opportunity reply. Not all blonds are babes: A blind guy on a bar stool shouts to the bartender, "Wanna hear a blond joke?" In a hushed voice, the guy next to him says, “Before you tell that joke, you should know something. Our bartender is blond, the bouncer is blond. I’m a six foot tall, 200 lb black belt. The guy sitting next to me is six foot two, weighs 225, and he’s a rugby player. The fella to your right is six foot five, pushing 300, and he’s a wrestler. Each one of us is blond. Think about it, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?" The blind guy says, “Nah, not if I’m gonna have to explain it five times."

This is a wonderful story. I had to read it twice since my eyes got so blurry the first time through. I wish every shy boy, gay or straight, could have an experience like this. http://www.awesomedude.com/alan_dwight/summer-camp/summer-camp.htm

On the U.S. news we see images of people so concerned over their 'rights' that that they form into mobs and demonstrate for freedom to ignore the virus and infect everyone.

Paris in the spring! I'd settle for just one more glimpse of those magnificent trees, facades, cobblestones, boulevards...

I thoroughly agree. Plus "The Aquittal" a perfect tale for this period of seclusion, for it will pull you in and swoop you up for 27 intense chapters, and then you realize the story is nowhere near over so you go on to part two, "The Empty Spaces Between Us" for 41 more wonderful chapters. A great read from a writer well worth following.

I barely made it through the watching of this. It brought back so many memories of these and other similar discoveries after the war. We must never forget such horrors; they color our present, they foreshadow our future—unless we can somehow learn to transcend the brutality that seems to lie dormant within us all.

Here's hoping you read it before, Cole. Catch those glitches. Then we can all read it after. When, that is. Or was it then?

Don't try this at home.

Ouch!

I know the feeling, Nigel. At my age I have a memory like a sieve, and as I worked my way through The Golden Portifer I found myself thinking, ‘Wait, wait, did that just explain the reason for what happens in that story about Henry…’ but then of course I couldn’t remember which story. I kept tripping up on events that occurred in Portifer that appear to lay the groundwork for much of what occurred later on in “modern day” Rothenia, but as you say, it looks as though I’ll have to go back and reread the series right from the start. Sigh. Thankfully each time I do it is wonderful all over again.

I share your pain, James. Up here in Virginia the pollen is piss yellow, not lime green. However we won't see spring for a good while yet if the current trend continues.

Agreed. Some very inventive interning situations indeed. I shall have to speak to my own primary care physician about getting with the program. A great read: http://awesomedude.com/cole-parker/on-the-job-training/on-the-job-training.htm

Virginia The other day my dang turn signal got stuck and I had to drive around the block until I ran out of gas.

Thanks to Sinbad for clearing this up. As for you, Pedro, if you think I'm going to press that button, think again.

One is overwhelmed by this young prodigy's accomplishment. Born in 2001, he is 19 and already has a career that astounds. At the age of 14 he won the Tchaikovsky (8th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians). If you ever have a chance to see and hear him play in live concert, seize it. More details: http://www.alexander-malofeev.com/biografiya-gb

That's a very generous thing to do, Talo. I for one shall keep an eye on it for new material.