Text 10489, 134 rader
Skriven 2014-03-02 20:28:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: inconvenient truths 280
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 NB>> as you might have guessed... probably did a balance transfer to a
 NB>> different card that was wooing me...  ;)   Somehow, corporate truth
 NB>> just doesn't stay true...  ;(
 ML> I'm wondering if a lawsuit was in order. 
 NB> Dunno... I think that what they did was technically legal... if not
 NB> particularly right...  

I thought that transfer of ownership means transfer of
everything, including liabilities. Perhaps the fine print
of the original agreement that you had with the bank had
a weasel clause in it, you know, the lender reserves the
right to screw over the borrower in any way possible and
to invent new ways of doing so, but I think a lot of those
don't withstand judicial scrutiny.
 
 ML> I'm currently guaranteed Star Gold for life and United Platinum
 ML> for life (that being the normally 7500 a year status), but we're
 ML> all aware that that is that of United, not of me.
 NB> Exactly.

A sad truth indeed. I sort of sweated this when Continental
essentially took over the reins, because it was SkyTeam,
which I don't like, but the consensus turned out that Star
was better both for customers and the company, so I dodged
a bullet there.

 ML> only, but one could buy a lifetime pass for $300 in the '70s,
 ML> then the Red Carpet Club, which offered one for $1000 in the '80s
 ML> (Benita picked one up, I didn't), then the President's Club for
 ML> $3600 I think in 2008 or so. All of these translated into
 ML> lifetime United Club membership.
 NB> One has to have the foresight and the dosh... and the luck of the
 NB> eventual outcomes...

I pretty much had the foresight; the dosh, now that is
another issue. I thought of borrowing from my mother's
estate in '08 (taking an advance on my share), but that
seemed to be a slippery slope. Now that my brother has
cashed out his share, and I haven't, that decision seems
less wise than it did.

 ML> Yep. Self-consciously divey. The problem is that it allows
 ML> smoking and has no circulation (possibly intentional), and
 ML> not even mentioning lungs, my clothes and hair had to be
 ML> washed twice to get the atmosphere out.
 NB> Hmmm...  A quick peek inside the door would indubitably be sufficient
 NB> for me, then... ;)  (If that... [G]) 

For me a whiff was enough, but Alex wanted to show me the
full experience. Luckily that didn't involve expensive
cheap women, just expensive cheap drinks.

 ML> then fly to YZF to see Jim and family. So just a year ago.
 NB> Guess you just need to somehow get the sound fixed on the puter,
 NB> then...?  :)
 
Which would probably cost more than an alarm clock!

==
 ML> There have been stories, Stepford Wives, Pod People, that
 ML> sort of thing. I'm not the only one who has had this idea.
 NB> The good ideas seem to occur to multiple people... ;)

Funny how the human race plods along for millennia making do
without, and then kaboom, Newton and Leibniz (for example), never
having communicated directly, invent calculus independently.

 ML> Semi-trained monkeys. And the system was designed (?) to
 ML> support a medium-size operation, not what was for a while the
 ML> largest airline in the world.
 NB> Until the next merger...?

It was United when I started traveling so much, then
I think it was American, then it was United again, then
Delta, and now American again.

 ML> the Philadelphia United Club said "it's not so bad"; the guy
 ML> at the Admiral's Club in Dallas actually winced when he
 ML> poured me a shot.
 NB> Definitely just as well...  :)   Just say no... unless one is
 NB> desperate, eh...?

There are sometimes extenuating factors, being in Philadelphia
being one of them.

 NB> Crowds/mobs are easily swayed... caught up in the moment...

Indeed. There is something that gets that adrenalin
pumping. I'm rather glad that most of the times when
I've been in a mob, it's been a happy mob.

 NB> Quite true... applaud the nationalistic, ignore the racist, and cheer
 NB> the promises of jobs...  And then be appalled by what it was the
 NB> screen for... 

Yep, get them hooked on the good stuff and then ...

Devilled kidneys on toast
cat: offal, main, British, breakfast
servings: 2

sunflower or olive oil
4 lamb's kidneys, cut into quarters
- whitish core trimmed out
1 sm glass sherry
1 Tb cider vinegar
1 ts redcurrant jelly
A few good shakes of Worcestershire
A good pinch of cayenne pepper
1 Tb English mustard
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tb double cream
A little chopped parsley, to garnish

Heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the kidneys,
and sizzle 1 min to brown them, tossing them
occasionally. Add the sherry, let it bubble for a
moment, then add the vinegar. Add the redcurrant
jelly and stir to dissolve, then the Worcestershire,
cayenne, mustard, and plenty of black pepper. Season
with a pinch of salt, add the cream and bubble for
another minute or two, shaking the pan occasionally,
until the sauce is reduced and glossy. Taste for
piquancy and add more cayenne or black pepper if
you like. Serve on toast, with parsley scattered
on top.

Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall, theguardian.com



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