dharmabum's Profile

Just a minor correction/addition (lived in Rome for 7 years so I have a little insight...) on the coffee recommendation.

Piazza Sant'Eustachio is close to the Pantheon and well worth the SHORT walk, especially for coffee fans. Bar Sant'Eustachio, mentioned in the article, is famous for their cappuccino, not really for their espresso. They have all these blinders up so you can't see the "secret" way they make it. LOL It is pre-sweetened, so you get a good cappuccino that is nice and sweet and hard not to like. The blinders are a tourist gag, but it's still a cool place and the coffee is legit.

In the SAME PIAZZA, there is also Bar Camilloni. After you have fun at Bar Sant'Eustachio, it's time to get serious at Camilloni! LOL The espresso THERE is legendary, especially the "ristretto" (restrained), which is an especially "short" and concentrated espresso. Ristretto is to espresso what espresso is to a regular cup of joe.

I've sent MANY people into the clutches of this beautiful, simple, off the beaten path piazza and they've all thanked me for it, so make sure you don't miss out on half the attraction of that short walk!

Getthebubbles, men are stupid. Sorry, but we are. I'm a chiropractor and trying to get a man to go to a doctor of any kind when something isn't seriously wrong (and therefore, often at a seriously advanced stage) is difficult. If he really won't hear you, though, that is partly maybe because of a bad approach, but it could also be a symptom of a larger communication breakdown/marriage issue. Let's assume he's stubborn and sensitive, though:

Your approach needs to be gentle and non-accusatory. "Honey, I'm worried about your health. I don't want you to have something that will take you away from me before it should. I want you to feel good and sleep good and I want to jump your bones and I don't feel like it when we're both exhausted because of your snoring. I made you an appointment to see Dr. So and So, please go..." If he doesn't soften to that sort of approach, then there is a bigger issue.

The other thing is that men have an irrational idea that if they don't know they have a health problem, it can't hurt them, so many men are afraid to go to the doctor because they feel like it's better not to know, somehow. Crazy, but that's how it goes. Both genders are guilty of some crazy ideas! lol

If you want to put a little more science and preparation behind it, you can also do a few minutes of research on motivational interviewing. From a doctor's point of view, we have to try to guide patients toward lifestyles and behavioral changes they often don't want to do, and motivational interviewing is one way to help that. Do a search online and you'll have plenty to read. Good luck!

Keep in mind, credit card/debit card users, that simply using plastic instead of cash means you spend, on average, 20% more than people who use cash. So, those "great points" may not be all that much to write home about...

Before I got a nicer espresso grinder, I used to use canned espresso. I use a can for all my change now, and a couple times a year I separate it out into other jars so I can grab quarters for toll roads, etc when needed. I didn't know that about Coinstar, though... I'll have to look into that. Daddy may be buying a Kindle for Christmas this year...

I was also surprised by no mention of SupermarketHQ. GREAT site, seems more artsy/less random than Etsy, but they're both cool. I'll check out some of those other ones, too.

The watch winder isn't as dumb as it sounds. They are for mechanical or "automatic" watches that wind themselves with movement. The internals on some of these watches are really finicky and you don't want the springs to wind all the way out, so for people with more than one watch, a winder is a good way to keep the springs wound without having to shake the watch for an hour a day. Now, for a $50 watch it might be overkill, but how about for a $1,500+ one? I have a winder at home that will accept 4 watches at a time and it's great.

I think cell phones are one of the most annoying things on the planet. Well, the fact that people can't regulate themselves when and how they use them is the most annoying. If it were up to me I would illegalize those stupid Star Trek Bluetooth things. God, those are awful. I can't tell the difference between crazy people and people who are talking to their stargate communicator anymore. It's unfair! lol

Seriously, though, I think cell phones are a serious problem in cars and people are too irresponsible to handle it themselves. I would like to see a car device that jams calls incoming and outgoing. I don't care that you could get in a wreck and need to call your friend or text someone about it. That's the risk of driving.

As for other places, I am a doctor and I absolutely can't stand it when a patient's cell phone rings when I'm in with them and they say "Hang on." to me then, "Hey. Hey. Yeah, who dis? Yeah, it's me. Listen, I'm at the doctor's. Yeah. YEah. Yeah. Let me holla back atchoo later. No. Yeah, I'm at the doctor..." and so on and so forth. People evidently are unaware of a phenomenon called voicemail. So, I would like to be able to jam cell phones in my place of business. It would keep my employees from talking and texting on my time, too. I'm not paying people to talk on the damn phone with their idiot friends.

Gotta have something to keep my gun in easy reach. And for my book.

I would definitely figure out how to make #2 the living room and #1 the bedroom. It's tough to help without knowing the dimensions of the room, though. You may need to ditch the sofa in exchange for some comfy chairs, but I would try to use the existing closet as a clothes closet and set up a separate entertainment center on another wall.

A kid who volunteers at our local Humane Society takes old t-shirts and cuts them into strips, then tightly braids them and knots them off on the ends. The HS sells them as a fundraiser at events and they make awesome "rope" toys for dogs. My mutt has two and she loves them both.

Make sure your napkins, particularly around Halloween, aren't black. Have you ever seen someone try to mop up a little spill on something in light-colored upholstery with a cheap black napkin? I have. Ugly!