Using war on foreign soil to kill the firstborn? Hasn’t that been every US president?

Bout 12 hours ago.

Similar, but fewer spices in the mix. I prefer ketchup.

Makes sense. In my country tomato sauce has a lot of sugar in it and we put it on french fries. You wouldn’t want it in your dal.

What’s tomato sauce in the US?

Those people who look through insurance forms to find technicalities the company can use to refuse payment.

Ever thought about not being that way?

I swear to God, every comment I read about life in the US boils down to ‘slight adjustment made to orphan-crushing machine’.

I was working telephone company helpdesk. A customer called in demanding that I raise the priority of their ticket so the serviceman (who was in their house already) would finish the work faster. I made the mistake of trying to explain that’s not how it works.

You mean Marvel, the company that created such notables as:

• Dr Bong, the villain who encased his head in a steel bell?
• Vamp/Animus, the woman with the power to turn into a man? (Or possibly vice versa)
• Starfox, the hero who could psychically activate your brain’s pleasure centre?

Credit where it’s due, they were willing to throw everything at the wall to see what stuck.

I think your friend is stupid and should give up.

kids getting ground up in a mill for playing a prank or getting their thumbs cut off for sucking on them.

That sounds like Struwelpeter. Yeah, quality entertainment there.

It’s so hard to pick just one. They all have their moments.

…except Miss Piggy, who has always annoyed me beyond measure.

Shit. I’ve been conned.

I did it. Elvis paid me to.

I’ve worked with two people who were homeschooled. Both were smart, but well behind in their social development. And just very odd, off-putting people. When one of them wanted your attention, he’d just stand there silently waiting for you to notice him. Sometimes you’d turn around and there he was. The other proudly announced in a staff meeting that he was going to appear in a porn movie.

Five days without food. I had a bout of gastritus (damage to the stomach lining) and never once felt hungry during that time. I was going about my normal routine and felt completely normal otherwise. Kinda surprised by that.

It hurt to lose 1899 just when things were getting interesting.

Genre-wise, I’d call it dieselpunk.

Barry Hughart’s tales of Master Li Kao and Number Ten Ox. There are three books in the series, but he originally planned more. I believe he had some issues with his publisher and gave up on writing the follow-ups. Shame, because it’s my favourite fantasy series.