Mercenary Pen's Meticulously Planned Machine of Prose Random Banter #182

[Kneenibble]

I, too, hug the Teddy, and wish fat budgies on his shoulder to dissolve his shame and calm his heart.

We actually saw surprisingly few birds... Mostly crows and magpies.
Though we did see a brush turkey and a couple of goannas.

If you ever visit our wonderful country, I shall have to persuade my Mum to take us driving in the country. Just so you can experience the vastness of the wilderness. Even though it's actually not wilderness, as attested by the cows and fences that have likely stood for fifty years judging from how grey the fence posts have become.
Lots of fires this time of year however. But it needs to be done, because otherwise huge bushfires would result from all the dry grass. Which is actually rather picturesque.
Looking out across hills covered in gray.
It's very nice.

You and Serpentine both tease me with names of creatures I've never heard which I then look up, and crave a wildlife tour of your country. In my mind all of the animals will cuddle and frolic with me like in a Disney movie.

Although Canada and Australia will be similar in that respect -- we too have vast open spaces of both the wild and cultivated variety with sun-bleached fences and droopy centenarian barns. Not to say that Australia wouldn't be unique in its own ways, of course -- I would love to take such a drive with you.

I misunderstood, snails are mollusks, so I thought you meant you didn't like them. >.<

Ok, ok, I'm going! D=

...how long does it take to walk to Canada? >.>

I should dearly hope you know, Cobra, that if you visit Canada without at least a brief glass of wine with me, I shall be quite cross.

I have no problem with sausage, and I've always wanted to try haggis, but I find fungus unbearably disgusting for some reason. I mean, by definition it grew from rot and decay...

Also: *hugs Teddy*

There is something magical about the way that it transforms that rot and decay, though. Its sublime body rises out of death bearing beauty, wisdom, or nourishment. To me it is a metaphor much like the Indian lotus that floats perfect and beautiful atop muddy waters, arising from them but unpolluted.

[LaZodiac]

Ah, yes, I forgot!

HUGS TEDDY!

[The Succubus]

Of course, if I *really* felt like grossing Dimonite out, I'd point out that mushrooms are merely the reproductive organs of a considerably larger organism that can stretch for up to 2 or 3 kilometres below the soil.

So when you're eating a mushroom, you're actually eating the equivalent of (end of sentence redacted).

*Also joins in the Teddy Hugfest*

[factotum]

I am seriously loving university guys!

Enjoy yourself while you're there--you probably have more freedom and less responsibilities at uni than you will have at any other time in your life!

[LaZodiac]

Of course, if I *really* felt like grossing Dimonite out, I'd point out that mushrooms are merely the reproductive organs of a considerably larger organism that can stretch for up to 2 or 3 kilometres below the soil.

So when you're eating a mushroom, you're actually eating the equivalent of (end of sentence redacted).

*Also joins in the Teddy Hugfest*

Well, let's be fair, it's what they look like

I don't like mushrooms either, so I'm allowed to say that.

[Kneenibble]

I am seriously loving university guys!

This is one of those sentences that illustrates the importance of commas.

Of course, if I *really* felt like grossing Dimonite out, I'd point out that mushrooms are merely the reproductive organs of a considerably larger organism that can stretch for up to 2 or 3 kilometres below the soil.

So when you're eating a mushroom, you're actually eating the equivalent of (end of sentence redacted).

*Also joins in the Teddy Hugfest*

Mmmmm... interkingdom loving.

Mushroom hunting is one of those things I love the idea of and wish I had the time to pursue. An Italian grocer around the corner from me has local wild mushrooms for sale all the time. They're so neat.

I have never, however, tasted the elusive truffle. Has anyone here had the [dis]pleasure?

[The Succubus]

I love the mushroom.

It's a wonderfully versatile ingredient and there's so many different varieties as well. Portabellos make for a good starter, porcinis make a great stock mushroom, there's oyster mushrooms for stir-fries. There's far more textures and flavours than the usual boring white chestnut sorts.

I know that you can get truffles in England but they are extraordinarily rare. A few shaved flakes on top of scrambled eggs and a few other secret ingredients tastes wonderfully nutty.

I got a River Cottage book that serves partly as a mycology guide and recipe book. I don't feel brave enough to go and pick my own though.

[LaZodiac]

This is one of those sentences that illustrates the importance of commas.



Mmmmm... interkingdom loving.

Mushroom hunting is one of those things I love the idea of and wish I had the time to pursue. An Italian grocer around the corner from me has local wild mushrooms for sale all the time. They're so neat.

I have never, however, tasted the elusive truffle. Has anyone here had the [dis]pleasure?

Wait wait, you get your mushrooms from an italian?

Here we go

[Kneenibble]

I love the mushroom.

It's a wonderfully versatile ingredient and there's so many different varieties as well. Portabellos make for a good starter, porcinis make a great stock mushroom, there's oyster mushrooms for stir-fries. There's far more textures and flavours than the usual boring white chestnut sorts.

I know that you can get truffles in England but they are extraordinarily rare. A few shaved flakes on top of scrambled eggs and a few other secret ingredients tastes wonderfully nutty.

I got a River Cottage book that serves partly as a mycology guide and recipe book. I don't feel brave enough to go and pick my own though.

I know, right?! Painful poisonous drawn-out death awaits in every bite. But there are a few that seem easy to identify without any evil twins -- I see sulphur shelf occasionally during nature romps that I keep meaning to try.

Are your truffles actually harvested in England, or imported? If they're imported, it might give me hope of finding one here because I'm almost certain they don't grow in the New World.

edit Oh. Apparently they do. To the market!

Wait wait, you get your mushrooms from an italian?

Here we go

Italians have the best mushrooms

[The Succubus]

I'll dig up the book this evening and put the details up for you but I believe they are native English truffles.

[Devmaar]

This is one of those sentences that illustrates the importance of commas.

...

Mmmmm... interkingdom loving.

Mushroom hunting is one of those things I love the idea of and wish I had the time to pursue. An Italian grocer around the corner from me has local wild mushrooms for sale all the time. They're so neat.

I have never, however, tasted the elusive truffle. Has anyone here had the [dis]pleasure?

I've had truffle oil, which is a nice flavouring. Don't know if it's the same though

[Dimonite]

Of course, if I *really* felt like grossing Dimonite out, I'd point out that mushrooms are merely the reproductive organs of a considerably larger organism that can stretch for up to 2 or 3 kilometres below the soil.

So when you're eating a mushroom, you're actually eating the equivalent of (end of sentence redacted).

*Also joins in the Teddy Hugfest*

I knew that, I just wasn't going to mention it because I didn't feel like squicking out people who previously enjoyed mushrooms.

I have never, however, tasted the elusive truffle. Has anyone here had the [dis]pleasure?

DAMMIT I LOST THE GAME. A friend of mine made me associate the word "truffles" with the game.

[wadledo]

I have never, however, tasted the elusive truffle. Has anyone here had the [dis]pleasure?

I've found most mushrooms to be relatively tasteless.
Truffles included.

[Tragic_Comedian]

I am seriously loving university guys!

And you were worried...

I'm glad you like it! It's a lot of fun. Gone to any parties yet?

[Devmaar]

And you were worried...

I'm glad you like it! It's a lot of fun. Gone to any parties yet?

My concerns were totally valid and rational

I've been on nights out, but not parties as such.
I've somehow ended up with a busy social life, I'm going to SciFi society tonight, playing board games at a local gaming shop tomorrow, going to [no politics on the boards] on Wednesday, planning to learn Magic: the Gathering on Friday, and GameSoc runs 2 til 10 on Sunday.
I've genuinely never had this much to do before.
And next weekend I'm going to London to see my girlfriend

I may not have really made 'friends' yet, but I'm on good terms with my flatmates, and I had a whole conversation with a guy from my course today.

Life is good

[Teddy]

Ughn, tough day today. I was woken up by my alarm clock, accidently turned off the alarm in my soporific haze and fell back to sleep for another two and a half hours. And it wasn't an especially restful sleep either. Despite getting almost 9 hours of it, all in all, I've still spent most of the day being dead tired. I even skipped the 3 hour lab at the start of the day to not overexert myself (I love uni for letting you do something like this). Also, I think I'm coming down with a cold.

Good thing is, however, that I've managed to complete my next programming assignment up to the point where it compiles. I need to finish it by Wednesday, because even though it is for Friday, I'd wish to take that day off so that I can go on a short trip to our summer house with my family over the weekend. Now I'll only have to test and debug it...

If that was an apology for the earlier hoo-ha, then it is accepted. Also, you have my apologies for causing any distress - as I've already mentioned, nothing I said was to tell you off for anything. It was a friendly academic discussion, an attempt to find common ground, and an attempt to explain where things went wrong.

Yes, it was. It also was a pre-emptive apology for any eventual accidental accusations in the lines just above it, you know, this insecurity thing I usually don't engage in.

Also, apology accepted.

Also: *hugs Teddy*

I, too, hug the Teddy, and wish fat budgies on his shoulder to dissolve his shame and calm his heart.

Ah, yes, I forgot!

HUGS TEDDY!

*Also joins in the Teddy Hugfest*

Thank you all. It's really heartwarming.

[LaZodiac]

You're my little teddy bear, Teddy. I always treat my plushy friends well (just ask my Hush Puppy puppet from babyhood, who's still in as perfect condition as he can be).

By this I mean you're one of my best friends.

[Teddy]

You're my little teddy bear, Teddy. I always treat my plushy friends well (just ask my Hush Puppy puppet from babyhood, who's still in as perfect condition as he can be).

By this I mean you're one of my best friends.

But plushies are supposed to be loved until they almost fall apart, and then granted a place of honour on your shelf of retired cuddle toys.
...


Also, thanks.

[LaZodiac]

But plushies are supposed to be loved until they almost fall apart, and then granted a place of honour on your shelf of retired cuddle toys.
...


Also, thanks.

Well, to clarify, the HP on his shirt has been worn off, and both his ears are gone. Is that worn enough for you

In all seriousness though, I'm just different that way. I treated my things with care and elegence.

[Teddy]

Well, to clarify, the HP on his shirt has been worn off, and both his ears are gone. Is that worn enough for you

In all seriousness though, I'm just different that way. I treated my things with care and elegence.

Yeah, for as long as you didn't rip the ears off, that's good enough for me. That said, it takes a while to actually wear down a plushie to the point where you have to put it on the shelf in order to secure it's continued existence. I've only ever had to do it with one of my favourites through the ages...

The little brother of a friend of mine, who also is a friend and former classmate of little brother, had a favourite plushy who he kept so long that I could swear on there being more stuffing visible than there was cloth left on it.

[Tragic_Comedian]

When toys are loved until they fall apart, they become real and jump out the window.

[Kneenibble]

I knew that, I just wasn't going to mention it because I didn't feel like squicking out people who previously enjoyed mushrooms.

DAMMIT I LOST THE GAME. A friend of mine made me associate the word "truffles" with the game.

You poor bastard. Truffles.

Abstracting the nature of food objects in that way never squicks me, even fungus genitals that tell me to go ask Alice. To me, all food sounds equally strange in abstraction. I have come to terms with being an alien from Earth and the weird details of the sustaining pleasures to which our kind of flesh is subject.

I've had truffle oil, which is a nice flavouring. Don't know if it's the same though

That I, too, have tasted in dishes. I'd really like to experience truffles more directly, such as the eggs with shaved truffles that Succubussy mentioned.

But plushies are supposed to be loved until they almost fall apart, and then granted a place of honour on your shelf of retired cuddle toys.
...


Also, thanks.

I still sleep with my teddy ;_____;
Does that make me less of a man

[Teddy]

I still sleep with my teddy ;_____;
Does that make me less of a man

If I'm anything of a man, then no, not at all. You know that pink plush hippo in the first picture I posted of myself? I can barely sleep at all if she isn't with me, and I have a whole heap of other animals lying next to my pillow in the bed. I mean, give me one reason for why they shouldn't be there.

Speaking about pictures, the bunker pictures are up in the You thread, now with a drastically lowered frequency of me.

[LaZodiac]

I still sleep with my teddy ;_____;
Does that make me less of a man

Of course you're still a man! To be a man is to simply be manly! Having compassion for things in your past is manly!

[Aedilred]

I've found most mushrooms to be relatively tasteless.
Truffles included.

Truffles should have a strong, almost overpowering smell, although if divorced from the nose their taste is sometimes pretty negligible.

If you haven't been able to taste or smell truffles at all, perhaps the problem is with old truffles. They lose their smell and taste very quickly.

[wadledo]

Truffles should have a strong, almost overpowering smell, although if divorced from the nose their taste is sometimes pretty negligible.

If you haven't been able to taste or smell truffles at all, perhaps the problem is with old truffles. They lose their smell and taste very quickly.

I have a very weak sense of smell, so that might be it.

[MoonCat]

I misunderstood, snails are mollusks, so I thought you meant you didn't like them. >.<

Ok, ok, I'm going! D=

...how long does it take to walk to Canada? >.>

Nah, exception. It's mainly seafood that are a problem for me, taste-wise.

From where I am, about two days.

I'll see to it in the evening. There won't be much of me in the pictures, however. For some reason, I was very rarely caught on film during that trip.

Also, I'm fine.


Sorry.

DAMNATIONS!

Good! Beucase I'd hate to stop showing appreciation.


<hugs to pieces>

I've heard of eating snails before, I'm just astounded that people do it. It just sounds so gross

What makes it different from other meats?

It's quite alright. Still though, the slimy texture of the snail would instantly put me off.

They're hardly slimy when you eat them. Very buttery, but not slimy. They secrete that when they're alive, y'know.

[Mutant Sheep]

They're hardly slimy when you eat them. Very buttery, but not slimy. They secrete that when they're alive, y'know.

STILL A SNAIL! (Look at that S Car GO! /cackle at old arthur joke)

[Mynxae]

STILL A SNAIL! (Look at that S Car GO! /cackle at old arthur joke)

/chuckles S Car GO xDDD

[Cobra_Ikari]

Nah, exception. It's mainly seafood that are a problem for me, taste-wise.

From where I am, about two days.

Ah. I know it's a 63 hour drive to visit Lala from here, part of which involves a ferry. And a 3 hour drive followed by three flights totalling about 10 hours, with another 10 hours in layovers, if I want to fly there. *nodnod*

...still gonna show up there the instant she has a place of her own and glomp her to death.