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bikeit!

2008.05.10 09:18 bikeit!

Discussion of everything bicycle related. bikeit! bike bikes bicycle bicycles bicycling cycling
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2023.06.07 03:52 boomerandzapper Comprehensive List of "Small Family Run Hidden Gems" in Vancouver

Background

I've been compiling a list of "hidden gems" in the back of my mind for a while now. There are many "hidden gems" in Vancouver. To cover them all would be a whole book. To make things easier for a post I created a stricter set of criteria.
 
The purpose of this post is not only to share but also to uncover more "small family run hidden gems". There are many places that almost make it which I added to the Honorable Mentions section.

What constitutes a small family run hidden gem?

A tiny to small restaurant that's family and serves amazing food or beverages. These are the places that people who've been recommend to out of town guests. You go "wow" when you first discover the place.
 
The hidden part is covered by collecting data on posts/comments to verify the "hidden aspect". Although just because a business has low Reddit exposure, many of these places are well known in specific communities.

Detailed Criteria:

  1. Small: Under ~10 tables, Ideally ~2 tables. Exceptions for Food Court Stalls
  2. Family Run: Owner or a family member is always present. Bonus for family-run businesses with no employees.
  3. Hidden (On Reddit): Under 40 comments where a post is worth 5 comments.
  4. Gem: Arguably the best place to get a certain dish/cuisine in Metro Vancouver

The List:

Name Rough Area Cuisine Known For (* = other things also good) Comments Posts Reddit Exposure
Nine Ninety Richmond Chinese (Wuhan/Food Court) Spicy Dry Noodles* 1 0 1
Adam's Crepes South Burnaby French Crepes 1 1 6
Feast and Fallow Oakridge Cafe (Plant Based) Coffee* 2 0 2
Lao Cai West Vancouver Chinese (Xi'an) Dry Cumin Lamb Noodles* 2 0 2
Lully's Food Truck Abbotsford (Canadian Tire Parking Lot) American Hot Dogs 4 1 9
Excellent Tofu Richmond Chinese (Dessert) Tofu Pudding 6 0 6
Gateau de Henry Kitsilano Cakes Cakes* 8 1 13
Oide East Van Cafe Coffee Rotation 8 1 13
Tama Organic Mart Burnaby Japanese (Grocery Store) Vegan Bento 8 1 13
Fat Boy Kitchen Victoria - Fraserview Chinese (Hong Kong) Pork Chop Rice* 9 0 9
Klasik Inasal Mount Pleasant Filipino Overall Filipino Food 10 1 15
Long's Noodle House End of Main Street Chinese (Shanghai) Soup Dumplings + Drunken Chicken* 12 3 27
Mr Japanese Curry Mount Pleasant Japanese (Curry) Japanese Curry 17 0 17
Sushi Bar Kilala North Burnaby Japanese (Sushi) Homey Sushi 18 0 18
Sashimiya Downtown Japanese (Sushi) Moderately Priced High Quality Nigiri* 20 3 35
Baby Dhal Commercial Trinidadian Dhal Puri Roti* 24 1 29
Tandoori Palace Commercial Indian/Pakistani Naan + Butter Chicken (Outside Surrey)* 26 1 31
Cafe Dang Anh Victoria - Fraserview Vietnamese (Northern) Pho Bo Tai Lan* 27 0 27
Yama Cafe East Van Japanese (Cafe) Meal Sets/Moffins (Mochi Muffins) 35 0 35
Merci Beaucoup Cafe Commercial Vietnamese (Bahn Mi) House Special Sub 38 0 38​

Honorable Mentions:

Name Rough Area Cuisine Known For (* = other things also good) Comments Posts Reddit Exposure Honorable Mention Reason
Bali Thai East Vancouver Indonesian (Food Court) Overall Indonesian Food 45 2 55 Too Well Known
Barbara Chinatown Contemporary Tasting Menu* Unknown Unknown 50+ Too Well Known (Michelin Star)
Carp Mount Pleasant Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Poke Unknown 5 50+ Too Well Known
Dragon Ball Tea House Shaughnessy Bubble Tea Fruit Slush Unknown 5 50+ Too Well Known
Hachibei Fairview Japanese (Assorted) Miso Black Cod (Often Sells Out)* 18 0 18 Owner Status Unknown
Melo Patisserie Mount Pleasant French (Cafe) Almond Croissant 14 1 19 Owner Status Unknown
Prototype Coffee East Vancouver Cafe Coffee Flight* 75 13 140 Too Well Known and Owners not always Present
Unchai Kitsilano Thai Overall Thai Food 59 10 109 Too Well Known​

Hidden Gems from Comments:

Name Rough Area Cuisine Known For (* = other things also good) Comments Posts Reddit Exposure
T-Bay Bistro Marpole Taiwanese 0 0 0
Bangkok City Cafe Kitsilano Thai 1 0 1
Rumi Rose Tea North Burnaby High Tea 1 0 1
Shine Valley Lamb Noodle Richmond Chinese (Northern) Lamb Noodles 4 0 4
Szechuan Delicious Richmond Szechuan 4 0 4
Green Bamboo Burnaby (Crystal Mall) Vietnamese Pho (Meat from top to bottom) 5 0 5
Nam vegan express New West Vietnamese (Vegetarian) 6 0 6
Veggiebowl Cafe Renfrew - Collingwood Vietnamese (Vegetarian) Vegan/Vegetarian Pho 7 0 7
Puerto Mexico Kitsilano Mexican 9 0 9
Pho Lan Richmond Center Vietnamese (Pho) 16 0 16
Yagoto Kitsilano Sushi 10 2 20
Pho Tan Kerrisdale Vietnamese (Pho) 37 3 52
Indian roti kitchen Cambie Indian 43 2 53
Paul's Sub Shop Metrotown Deli 54 2 64
Sun Bo Kong Kensington Chinese (Vegetarian) Oyster Mushroom/Hot and Sour Soup/Noodles 70 1 75
Lamajoun Bridgeport Lebanese 46 8 86
Manpuku Chinatown Japanese Karaage 61 6 91
Northern Cafe and Grill Mitchell Island Diner 90 2 100
Hawker's Delight Little Mountain Malaysian/Singaporean 72 8 112​
Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine Metrotown Chinese (Shanghai) Soup Dumplings/ Pan Fried Juicy Bun 100+​
 
Used this to make the tables: http://tableit.net/
submitted by boomerandzapper to vancouver [link] [comments]


2023.06.07 03:28 AdConsistent8481 Biscoff Cookies - Crumbl copycat

Biscoff Cookies - Crumbl copycat
I don't have much to say about these except that they're chewy, great warm, and SO GOOD? I don't even like biscoff and I loved these cookies! I added 1/4 tsp cinnamon and I think that pulled it all together nicely. 💗
I also had to make a few ingredient swaps. I used a mixture of white & milk chocolate as well as a 50:50 of butter and crisco vegetable shortening due to ingredient availability.
Recipe from thepalatablelife.com
📸 For more copycats check out @/ alicesbakingaddiction on Instagram
submitted by AdConsistent8481 to Baking [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 14:25 SepticSauces Blue Roses: Non-Sapient Predatory Introduction! [17]

A special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for the fantastical universe.
Have a really long chapter!
Forgot to say it has been a while. Hope you're all doing well!
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Memory transcription subject: Jaxton, son of a humble sheep farmer
Date [standardized human time]: October 11th, 2136
If someone asked me years ago how many people would travel the globe just to see me. My answer would have been three; my father, my mother, and Dex Mason. My mother and father would have been simply obligated to do so, as I was their son, and I would have done the same thing. Dex was my best friend when I went to middle school in America, and he stayed my best friend when I went back to Wales, going back to Atlanta for many vacations.
What can I say? He had a nice collection of guns, and his general cheerful attitude made many people optimistic, so a day on the range with him led to the both of us being happier.
Then you add in Dex’s older and younger brothers, our mutual friend John Dillinger, and then you have a recipe for a fun time; guns, video games, hiking, and the occasional sheep herding if they ever come to my home: It’s a blast!
An alien porcupine though… I honestly never expected that I would ever in my honest-to-God lifetime, have such an impact on someone before. We barely knew each other for even a few minutes, yet she to my knowledge was merely some sad Gojid that was struggling with depression and loss. All I did was walk in and comfort her, or well, that’s how I saw it.
I still feel like an absolute idiot for forgetting about what I told her. It wasn’t a promise, but based on the implication of how I said it. It may as well have been a declaration to see the girl a few hours later, or however long it took her to get ready.
Now, speaking of Barlim, it’s been a few minutes since she arrived at my doorway at the most unexpected of times. I had her sitting in our living room on our couch. The Gojid, or Gojya, that I had to have explained to me, had her arms wrapped around one of our decorative pillows. She was giving squeezes every few seconds depending on how she felt, and if she was really giving it a firm squeeze, I’d reach over and stroke the top of her head. Barlim seemed to relax every time I did this.
“You holding up better?” Barlim appeared to be holding up better: No longer sobbing out tears from her eyes, or having mucus running from her nostrils.
She merely sniffed weakly for a second, nuzzling into my hand. If I had to admit, I had no idea if I was performing some massive social taboo by patting her like an animal, but if she wasn’t going to complain, neither was I. I mean, I already poked myself twice more! “I’m feeling much better. Sorry for intruding…”
“Don’t be,” I said while holding back a small laugh. “Are you feeling better enough to talk now?” Barlim’s ears flicked in response, and then she nodded in response upon realizing I didn’t know what those ear flicks meant. “Good.”
“Hey, I would just like to apologize for how I acted,” my mother started before I had the chance to speak. “It’s just that I’ve seen on the news and read of murderous xenophobic aliens…-”
“It’s fine,” Barlim let out the most adorable-sounding chittering noise I have ever heard. It sounded as if a porcupine was, well, laughing! “I would not have reacted much differently… Three days ago?” At least she could make fun of herself for how she acted. Her ears gave a few flicks, gesturing towards amusement or self-depreciation if I had to guess. They burned bright blue.
My father took a minute to stand up and walk over to Barlim. She only fidgeted a little bit, but not much when he reached out to her with one hand. “Jameson, again, it’s been pleasant to meet you so far.” The man’s hand hung in the air for several seconds. Barlim eyeing it up with what had to be a quizzical expression. “You’re supposed to grab it and firmly shake it,” my father eventually grunted.
“Oh!” That seemed to snap Barlim out of her stupor. She reached forward in kind with one paw, clasping her surprisingly big paw around my father’s hand, which he shook. The Gojid seemed to have a fair understanding of the action after a few seconds, at which point the handshake ended and my father returned to his seat.
A brief, quiet pause occupied the four of us before there was more knocking at the front door. “Oh, uh, that may be the rest of my friends. I sort of forgot about them when I realized we were so close.” The tips of Barlim’s ears turned a delicate shade of blue. She started to get up, but with a firm palm on the top of her head, I held her down, gently.
“You traveled a long way. Let me get the door,” I state and get up from the couch. My knees and back stretch, giving a satisfactory series of pops before I work my way to the front door. I decide against grabbing the mask, assuming that Barlim’s friends have gotten quite used to the infamous human binocular stare. When I open it, I see a rather eclectic group of individuals, some familiar and some not.
“Arwen, Trivi, Tova, and I take it Barlim’s friends.” Arwen and Trivi issue some friendly waves. Tova has her forearms clasped around Arwen’s neck from behind, jaw resting on the redhead’s shoulders. Her eyes are puffy and orange. It was pretty easy to assume what she had been going through. Meanwhile, the other three flick their ears and tails in a way that was most likely a greeting, but that was just me making an inference based on this being our first interaction, and them not giving waves in greeting.
I really need to learn Gojid and Venlil body language.
“Just delivering the rest of that one Gojid’s friends.” Arwen’s tone was the general cheerful tone it always was. She briefly stepped back from the door and swung an arm to the side, pointing to the three aliens behind her, doing so while under the weight of Tova.
“Barlim,” one of the Gojid said to Arwen. “My name is Pragh,” she then pointed over to another Gojid, “That’s Tack, and,” she indicated to the final Gojid, “That is Telg.” Again, the other two Gojid gave very similar flicks of the ears when they glanced at me with one of their eyes. “I take it you’re Jaxton?”
I couldn’t resist the urge to curl my lips upwards in a smile. The three Gojid didn’t flinch when I exposed my teeth, for which I was grateful. I really didn’t feel like bowing to more people than I needed to at the moment, having not gotten a particularly great amount of sleep last night was not a wise idea. “You’d be correct. It seems I’m the popular man of the hour. What can I do for you all?”
“Well, Tack and I were simply following Barlim, so we were going to stay with her until the UN or whoever really controls the whole Gojid refugee camp situation comes looking for us-”
I cut off Pragh with an amused tone. “So let me get this straight. You wanna come and mooch off my family for a bit because you have nowhere to stay at the moment?” I hold my tongue for just the slightest second, letting Gojid raise up her paws defensively. Even Arwen’s eyes widen briefly at what I just said.
“That’s not-” Pragh doesn’t speak for long before I dismissively wave my hand.
“I’m joking, yes, I’m sure my parents will allow you to stay for a bit, but you’ll have to clean up after yourselves, and all that stuff.” I lean up against the doorframe. “Ok though, jokes aside, what do you all want?”
Pragh rubbed her paws over her blue ears. “Yes, well, you did sort of hit one of them. I will admit, there was very little planning other than we’re going to Wales on our part. You don’t have to worry about Telg though.”
“I scored myself a date! Hah!~ So, I will be going back to Georgia in about an hour or two.” The Gojid paused, popped open one of the pockets on his hoodie, and took a peek inside at a slip of paper he pulled out. “Two hours, yeah, I have about an hour to spend here. So you and Tack are going to stay here?”
Pragh nodded to Telg’s words. “Yep, someone has to make sure Barlim continues to be a responsible Gojid. Also, I still have more research to do over the internet-”
“Ah yes, research, Pragh, research, am I right?~
“No! Not that! I’m not going to be looking up that!
The two male Gojid couldn’t help but hold back giggles and chitters, making me feel as if I was missing some sort of- Oh. The second it clicked for me, I just let out a long, slow sigh. “Please, let me just say that humanity is probably not whatever you found. Factory farms are a thing of the past.” Apparently, I was wrong, for the other two Gojid started laughing more uproariously, “Ok, I’m wrong it seems…” The gears proceeds to click a second time after realizing it was something a lot more bawdy than damning. I opened my mouth to say something but quickly realized that I wouldn’t have anything to follow up on if one of them decided to make any sort of accusation, so I quickly shut my plan to speak about that down. “How about you all just come inside now? Your friend Barlim already came by, and I’m pretty sure you all would like a break from your adventure.”
“Actually, Trvi and I were going to take Tova to my home. Might take her to the hospital if Quilix has calmed down. God, I wished they transported him to Ysbyty Gwynedd, but no. He had a freakout and had to be moved to London.”
“It’s all my fault…” The dark venlil whined.
Arwen’s hand managed to work its way between Tova’s ears, giving a few scritches. Scritches that Tova nuzzled into. “Come on you big, big venlil. I know you’re upset. Just, hang in there for a little while longer. I’m sure Quilix will come around. Let’s take you home, see ya Jaxton!” Arwen waved and carried the venlil toward the parked taxi in front of my house. Well, carried was a generous term for half-carry/half-assisted in guiding toward the car.
Trivi followed seconds later, giving his own bye and wave. “Tell your mother and father I said hi, see you tomorrow!” And with that, the blonde venlil scampered off, following after his human lover.
This left me with the three other hedgehog-looking aliens standing awkwardly in front of my door. They looked amongst themselves, thinking about saying something.
Wait, someone’s missing…
“Arf! Arf!”
The three Gojid who looked like they were about to say something all jumped about a foot in the air when Lacey came bounding through them, running straight past me into my home. “Oh, Lacey! Welcome ho- Oh, and ignored.” I shake my head upon hearing the following oof that comes from my father. Lacey must’ve claimed my father’s lap as her seat. “Well, if you want to come inside and meet the rest of my family. Come right on in.”
The next few minutes are filled with more pleasantries being exchanged. The Gojid all take their place on the couch, somehow managing to fit four of them on a couch meant for three. I end up choosing to stand by my father, who gently strokes Lacey across her back. The border collie panting jovially, looking back and forth between us and our alien guest, giving the occasional bark to beg for more attention.
The Gojid guests seem calm for the most part, sitting on that couch, but it is quite clear that the dog makes them uncomfortable since they flinch every time Lacey either makes a noise or stares at them with those heterochromatic eyes. “Not a fan of dogs, are you?” My father breaks the silence once it starts up again.
“I didn’t like…” Pragh started but stopped seconds later. “Listen, I believe you know why most Federation species don’t like humans, right?” Pragh’s words earned an affirmative grunt from my father. My mother and I nodded too. “Well, you’re all sapient and in control of your hunting instincts…” I raised my eyebrow at that but chose to say nothing. “That dog though-”
My father raised a hand, telling Praph to stop speaking for a moment. “I am going to have to stop you right there. Firstly, humans don’t, or we believe don’t have hunting instincts, and secondly, Lacey is a good girl that has harmed no person before, human or alien. I can assure you, as well as Quilix, Trivi, and Tova, that Lacey wouldn’t harm any of you, your pups, or anything else you will be worried about.”
Those few calmly spoken, but sternly voiced words are enough to calm the four Gojid down a fair amount. While I can’t see their muscles under their fur all that well, I can safely assume that their muscles grew lax at such information. Maybe we can do more to ease them around the dog while they’re here?
With an idea springing to mind, I take a few steps over to our old wooden hall tree. It is adorned with a few coats and hats, but what I am interested in is blue colored, six feet long rope of dog leash. The second it makes the lightest noise, Lacey is bolting toward me. “Eistedd!” The dog swiftly responds to the command: Hind quarters hitting the ground the second the word leaves my lips. I reach down and stroke the top of the dog’s head with one hand, getting a jovial arf out of her. “Merch dda, merch dda.~” I give the dog’s head a little bit more tender love with my palm and fingers before attaching the leash.
“Cefn.” I keep my voice low, coaxing Lacey into walking toward the couch.
The four Gojid, three of which have probably spent some time outside with the dog, all had a similar reaction when the dog came over: Paws came up off the ground, retracting safely onto the cushions above. It wasn’t really out of the border collie’s reach, but it was clearly instinctual-driven or propaganda-driven fear. “No need to be afraid, she won’t bite you - eistedd.” True to my words, Lacey gets close, sniffing along the edge of the sofa, but not jumping up onto the furniture.
“I see you’ve been practicing, Jaxton. You showing off for the guest?” My dad jokes.
“Hey, I don’t really get a good chance to speak Welsh. Dam- Darn it, really should’ve paid more attention in school. Might go get some lessons so I’m not part of the ten percent that can’t speak it. All I can do is shepherd a dog around, ask for the bathroom, a beer, where am I, and a few other things.” It’s hard not to let out a disappointed sigh. “I need to get off my backside and stop being so lazy.” I pause for one small moment. “And that probably translated for all of them to their native tongue. Doesn’t matter if I say it in English, Welsh, or honestly, Mandarin.”
My old man grins and laughs, leaning his back into the old rocking chair he claimed. My attention returns back to the dog, the fearful porcupine, and three scared hedgehogs.
The first one to reach out if I recall his name is Tack. The Gojid’s claws lightly brush the top of Lacey’s head in a tepid fashion. The dog stares back up at the curious paw; not growling, barking, yipping, biting, or making any sort of fuss that could freak out the apprehensive Gojid. Slowly, Lacey’s tail beings to wag as the curious touching continues for a few seconds. “Is that normal?”
“Mhm… Yes, dogs’ tails wag when they are happy. If she was really happy, she’d jump on you and start licking your face.”
The four Gojid recoiled with what looked like disgust: The thought of a predator’s maw all over their face, tasting them as if they were her next meal was probably what was coursing through their minds. “I think… That’s something I wouldn’t like from a non-sapient creature.” Telg adds in.
He says he doesn’t want it from a non-sapient, but what about a sapient? Oh, what wonderful thoughts this one has. I internally joked.
Both my father and mother let out an audible cough at Telg’s… Well, it could’ve been an indecent statement, or maybe licking was a sign of greeting? There was no way for me to know with my lack of knowledge of Gojid customs.
God damn; Gojid customs, language, body language, and Welsh! That was leaving out Venlil ear and tail signals as well! Too much to learn.
With a gentle nudge, I guide Lacey down the bottom of the couch, letting each Gojid get about a minute or two of bonding time with the goodest of girls. It’s only been a few minutes, but the four could be easily seen relaxing: Tack and Telg are both confident enough to let their paws touch the floor again.
From fearful of anything that ate meat their entire life to sort of fearfully allowing a dog to sniff them, or them to touch a dog, must be leaps and bounds beyond possibility months ago.
“So, you all more comfortable around dogs?”
I get a non-varied amount of reactions: All of them positive to a minor degree, but none are negative or super positive. “Good.”
With such a positive, or well, lacking in a negative reaction from our alien guests. I reach down and unhook the canine’s restraint. No one flinches and Lacey continues to sit for about another few seconds before lazily pacing around the front of the couch, sniffing at paws for some more time before retreating back beside my father’s feet.
“So… What’s the history between humans and dogs?” Pragh was the one that shot this question. One is no doubt born from the fact that we probably allowed a non-sapient predator into our home.
Well, if I was using their logic, of course: I wouldn’t be surprised if it came from ‘Wouldn’t predators eliminate the competition?’ if I had to guess.
“The history involving our canine companions is long and complex.” I reach behind my head to adust my blonde ponytail, tightening up the black band to keep my hair from falling in front of my face. “Most domesticated dogs you’ll see; German shepherds, border collies, Australian shepherds, golden retrievers, and on and on the list goes. I believe there are hundreds of breeds, but that is another tangent we can go on another date. What you’re more interested in is the history, as you have asked.”
I took a few steps around toward the front of the couch, using this new position to project my voice onto my alien audience. My parents had already heard this story a few times when they spoke with one of our dog breeders.
“It all started roughly speaking, thirty-thousand years ago.” I paused, totally for dramatic effect, but to also allow the Gojid to digest this fair-sized crumb of information. “Our competitor, an antagonizing species of persistent pack predators with a strong social bond, the wolf, would often invade human territories, and vice versa. You see, humans and wolves aren’t too dissimilar. We’re both highly social species, pursuit pack predators as I have heard, emotionally intelligent, highly adaptive, strong parental connections, and good communication skills. I can go into specific details another time, but those are some of the big traits we share. I’d say that the large preference for having a social structure coupled with good communication skills on both sides were the two assets that helped the most. Emotional intelligence and actual intelligence would probably be third and fourth. Dogs and wolves can be pretty smart.”
I take a moment again, allowing my audience to follow along with what I am saying, waiting to see if any of them have a question. “So due to these similarities, humans and these wolves cross species’ barriers?” The bipedal porcupine opined.
I nod to Barlim’s question. “Very close, but not quite.” I take a moment to swing a pointing finger down to Lacey. “I mean, as much as I love Lacey. I don’t see a dog diplomat coming through any time soon to argue for their sapience let alone an alliance.” I then straighten my posture back up, holding back a small laugh by letting a grin stretch across my lips. “It was more along the lines of wolves were desperate for food, and they’d feed off the scraps we humans left behind. This would go on for some time with the braver or more docile canines being allowed to slowly integrate with human society.”
“But they’re eating your scraps and food, but what do they do for you? Other than herd sheep? It just seems like your competition is swooping your food from under your nose, but… You’re not complaining at all.” Pragh was the one to ask that question.
Called it!
“These proto-dogs had many purposes! Just look at Lacey and you can probably see what she has that is superior to a human. Tell me what traits you can see.”
I give the four Gojid some time to look over the dog. They eventually look like they all have something to say, so I slide down the line of them; Pragh, Telg, Tack, and then finally Barlim.
“A better sense of smell to hunt for prey you can’t see?” Pragh opined.“Better hearing for locating threats?” Telg questioned.
“Sharp teeth and claws for fighting off other humans.” Tack would state rather confidently.
“To form an emotional connection with and to not feel lonely?” Barlim tilted her head to the side, giving the dog another look.
I let them stew over their answers for about thirty seconds to discuss amongst themselves. Needless to say, I was kind of shocked, but also not by Barlim’s answer. Maybe my time spent with her gave me some subconscious understanding of her mentality? The other Gojid all looked at her, so I assume her different answer probably made something click amongst all of them.
“Well, to answer your questions; yes, yes, yes, and yes. You’re all correct. Some may say that the first three are probably the priority.” This statement earns a chitter from the four Gojid occupying the couch. “But I like to have hope for that last one: When you’re by yourself. The world is a scary place after all. It’s best not to be alone. I believe you all have herds? Well, we humans have families, tribes, or nations, depending on how deep you wish to look into it, and yes, dogs can be a part of a human family. Family cares not from where the blood comes.”
“Quick question and not to side-track the conversation too far, but I was told by my date that humans dislike being called predators. Is that true here too, or was that a dialect or cultural thing?” Telg was the one throwing this question.
“It is that way here too. When humans refer to other humans as predators, it is because that other human is a gross pervert that does horrific, deviant, and sexual things toward other people, animals, or in this case now that aliens exist, aliens, so I would refrain from calling humans predators unless you personally know the individual and they are ok with it. That being said, humans define predator as more of a relationship adjective when between animals. A deer is a predator to plants as a wolf is a predator to a deer. It is the relationship of consumption rather than dietary traits.” I finish off my statement with a nod.
“Well… If you don’t mind me referring you to as a predator for one statement…” Telg droned on.
I take a brief glance over toward my parents. My dad gives me a nonchalant shrug. My gaze returns back to Telg. “Go ahead and shoot your question or statement at me.”
The four Gojid look stunned for a moment, off-put by something I said-
Oh, don’t tell me ‘shoot’ was predatory… Probably was.
“Just… throw out your question.”
“It was more of a statement, actually, but anyways. Family cares not from where the blood comes, has to be one of the most herd-like statement I have heard from a predator.”
Did he really just say that?
He really did, but I can’t fault him. From his point of view, he’s been spun so many times that up is down, and left is right.
I shake my head, lowering it. A small chuckle slipping from between my lips. I could even hear my mother and father laughing behind me a few seconds later.
“Was what I said really that funny?”
“No, just the logic behind it is kinda funny. Like I said, humans don’t normally refer to ourselves as predators, and this whole alien thing is kind of new to me.” My words carried upon by a light tone earns some laughs as well from our Gojid guests.
I clap my hands together, signaling the end of our little tangent. “Now, if I may resume my, if I do say so myself, informative explanation… The proto-dogs seamlessly integrated into our small tribes at the time; they could track threats and prey miles before we were even aware of them, they could hear the smallest sounds and alert us of their dangers. Moreover, their sharp teeth and claws served as deterrents against other threats such as large carnivores, food-stealing rodents, or hostile human forces. Additionally, their companionship provided solace to lonely humans. As you can see,” I pointed back to Lacey, who was having her back rubbed by my father’s sock-covered foot, “Lacey seems to be enjoying herself quite nicely, but so is my father. In short, interacting with dogs triggers the release of feel-good chemicals in both human and canine brains. Activities such as petting, snuggling, and playing contribute to this positive bond."
Again, I pause, giving everyone some time to follow along. “Thus, they’d impact our evolution and vice versa: Humans that had dogs in their tribes were more successful than tribes without dogs. Humans that bonded more effectively with their canine companions would get even farther. As millennia went by, humans would get better at reading dog expressions, and dogs would get better at reading human expressions.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I typed into it for a bit until an old photo of a wolf showed up. I turned my phone’s screen toward the four Gojid. “Here you can see a wolf. They aren’t extinct due to some wildlife restoration efforts, but we had a few close calls. Wolves are extinct in the UK and Ireland as of now, but not in North America, Europe, or Asia. What you see before you are what thirty-thousand years of evolution has done to us.”
Based on the look that the Gojid were giving me. I would guess it was along the lines of wow.
“Now, before you start asking more questions. I should let you know that humanity has not only domesticated one carnivorous species, but a few others as well; some birds of prey like falcons, felines, and mustelidae such as ferrets. Meanwhile, on the herbivorous side, we have horses, elephants, rabbits, and so on. Yeah, it’s quite a long list. Means more animals for us to pet and touch. Humans can bond with just about anything, even non-living things, but that’s a story for another time.”.
I perform a small stretch, feeling my back pop. A small break in the monotony of speaking for so long.
“Now, to go back to the human-dog bond. I should remind myself to tell you the story of Gelert. It’s quite a sad story, but bear with me for just a moment.”
I clear my throat, getting ready to speak out an old Welsh folklore myth.
“A long time ago, a prince of North Wales by the name of Llywelyn went out hunting without his trusty dog, Gelert. He’d return home later that day to see Gelert, covered in blood, jovially returning to him. This freaked out the prince, who rushed to his son’s crib, finding it knocked over and messy with blood. He feared that the dog had killed his son and immediately plunged his sword into the dog’s side.” The four Gojid wince at the description, having just been told of the forged bond I have described moments ago. “The dog’s pained cry heralds the cry of the prince’s infant son, who lay on the other side, protected from a slain wolf. Gelert had valiant fought to protect Llywelyn’s son from the wolf, and in so was rewarded with a blade through its heart! A tragic tale to discourage impulsive thoughts and rash rushes to judgment. It was said that the prince buried Gelert and never smiled again.”
I never considered myself a great storyteller, but somehow I managed to get the four Gojid all teary-eyed. Barlim was rubbing at her eyes once again, and so was Tack too.
“H-how could he have done that to the dog..?” Barlim’s meek voice trailed off.
“Well, as said, Llywelyn thought Gelert killed his son. It was a rash decision. This moral folklore is supposed to warn against such tragedies, speaking of which, isn’t there an extermination fleet heading this way?”
While I may have been speaking for so long, having taken all our attention away from the potential destruction of Earth, or the general mopey attitude that came from meeting Tova. It probably was wise to bring up the fact that armageddon was on its way to Earth.
The four Gojid just sort of looked down sheepishly at the ground or flicked their ears in a way that probably meant the same thing. I didn’t really mean to put them on the spot like that, considering it was some of their former allies committing this attack, but I guess that’s just how the cookie crumbles sometimes.
“I think I can speak for all of us here that we don’t-” Telg was interrupted by my father.
“We don’t blame you, or at least I can attest to myself, my son, and my wife over here. One day, assuming we survive this looming catastrophe. There will be regret, followed by hope, and then love and compassion once again. Though, I don’t think that’s what my son was hinting toward, more over the fact that your allies are about to make a rash decision they don’t understand. Probably one you would have made years ago, but that doesn’t really matter here, or there. We live in the now, and I think it’s time we started stocking up on some goods for our cellar. Well, we got goods actually, and a couple of guns too, but nothing fancy like the Americans and all their machine guns. A .30-30 lever action, an old .44 revolver, a twelve gauge shotgun, and a .22 hunting rifle. Nothing fancy,” he shrugs and grunts. “I’m more worried about my sheep. The best we can do is pray they don’t shoot the barn.”
There’s a brief silence as the seven of us come down from the long monologue that was dispersed between moments of questionnaires. I rub one of my eyes, stretching my jaw open wide in a hand-covered yawn.
How long have by been talking?
“Sprak! I gotta go or I am going to miss my flight!” Telg clamors, quickly hopping off the couch. He quickly taps at his phone with his claws, making his way toward the front door. “See you guys later, and thanks for letting us stay! Yes, I know how to call a taxi!” He opens the door and bolts outside. At least had the manners to close it back without slamming it.
This left us with three Gojid!
“Well,” my mother stood up from her chair. “I’m certain you’re all hungry after such a long adventure, and Telg is probably too, but he’s gone already. Let me see if I can make you all something to eat…” She hesitates for a second before continuing. “Nothing with meat or animal products in it. Just vegetables and fruit,” she iterates before walking off to the kitchen, leaving my father and I with the three Gojid.
You know, that leaves one important question that’s been on my mind. One that I had asked Barlim, but have been quickly distracted by her onslaught of sudden tears due to my forgetful nature. “A quick question if I may have your attention.”
The three Gojid turned their attention toward me, looking at me as they awaited my question
“How the hell did you all get here?”
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submitted by SepticSauces to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 12:22 Inevitable_Pie9541 Ayyyyyy caramba

Ayyyyyy caramba submitted by Inevitable_Pie9541 to HilariaBaldwin [link] [comments]


2023.06.06 03:05 uninspiredun Alkemia, Stereoplasm, plus lots of decants + samples!

[US to US] [Sell] [Perfume] $4 US shipping. Smoke free cat friendly home. No minimums. Will be shipped out within a week (usually Mon/closest weekday). I always include freebies, please let me know if you don’t want any. 1mLs ARE DECANTS IN ROLLER BALLS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED!
Alkemia FS, $10 each (dropper tops):
- Fumé Oud à la Vanille: Tonka, Woodsmoked amber, Bourbon vanilla, Oud
- La Flamme: Rare Spices Steeped in Root Tea, Incense Woods, and Oakmoss
Stereoplasm FS (mLs differ), $8 each:
- Almost a Year (4.5mL): snuffed perique tobacco, dirty wool, cemetery air, death cap, cereus and petrichor.
- FIRE (3mL): Heat, wide-eyes, smoke, power. Stars above, flames around, smoke like grey ink in the hot, black air of a summer night.
Alkemia Samples, $2 each:
- Bohémiens en Voyage: Tabac leaf, Orris Root, Fresh Hay, Amber, Skin Musk, Sugar Cane
Andromedas Curse Samples, $2 each:
- Gryphon: Golden cardamom mane and sandalwood-scented wings.
Area of Effect Samples, $2 each:
- Syndicate (Slink): OIL, PETRICHOR, STONE, LEATHER, GASOLINE, BENZOIN, DARK AMBER, FRANKINCENSE, GINGER, BERGAMOT, BLACK TEA
- Tenpenny Tower (Slink): LEATHER, BOURBON, DARK AMBER, BERGAMOT, TOBACCO, CACTUS BLOSSOM, BLACK PEPPER
BPAL samples, $2 each:
- Danse Macabre (slink): Black cypress with oakmoss, frankincense, oude, and a sliver of toasted hazelnut.
- Tavern of Hell (slink): White gardenia, ambergris bouquet, lavender fougere, orange blossom, melissa, tobacco flower, coriander, ebony wood, ylang ylang, absinthe and aged whiskey.
- Wicked (slink): rich myrrh and jasmine draped in the subtlest rose.
BunnyNoseScents samples, $2 each:
- Obliquity: Spanish moss, Himalayan cedar, black pepper, oakmoss, juniper, bamboo, and cardamom.
Deconstructing Eden 2.5mL samples, $2 each:
- Prince of Travels: Musk and leather, Tsingani spices, dusty tobacco and exotic woods.
Luvmilk 2mL Samples, $2 each:
- Kneady Kitten (at shoulder): Warm sweet bread, melting butter, a base of rich vanilla.
Nui Cobalt Samples, $2 each:
- Skeleton Key (Slink): spiced pipe tobacco, Haitian vetiver, tangerine, honeyed almond, liatrix, and High John the Conqueror root.
Possets Samples, $2 each:
- Zombie (Rev 1) (Slink): A big dose of toasted marshmallow and oude, a bit of burnt stick, and the unmistakable fragrance of the crisp autumn air.
1mL Decants available, $3 each:
- Alkemia, 2022 Arcanum Experiments 1: Marzipan frosted sugar cookies, Crème Brûlée pipe tobacco, Bourbon vanilla
- Alkemia, 2022 Rose Musk Alchemy: A sensual alchemy of pangender musks and fresh hothouse roses.
- Alkemia, Arcanum: Eastern Spices, Aged Patchouli, Sandalwood, Frankincense, Nag Champa, and Dragonsblood
- Alkemia, Book of Shadows: A biblichor of eldritch books - heavy parchment paper, ancient iron oak gall ink, crumbling leather bindings, and wafts of rare incenses.
- Alkemia, The Highwayman: An irresistible mix of gentleman and bad-boy. Riding leathers, dark night air, forest oakmoss scattered across an old dirt road, fine linen lace, a trace of campfire smoke, and a pinch of gunpowder.
- Alkemia, The De Ceylon (Tea) Layering Note
- BPAL, Artificer: Gleaming metal, gear oil, sparking wires, shattered glass, and a blue flicker of arcane power.
- BPAL, Shortbread Diamonds: Ruthlessly minimalist but dense with pleasure: a crumbly dough made with brown sugar and butter, rolled out and slashed into simple “diamond” shapes before baking.
- Death and Floral, Half-hoping to be eaten by a bear: Woody, sweet bare skin; the lingering scent of dry leaves on a cold morning
- Stereoplasm, La Mia Magia!: Velvet carpet, melting beeswax candles, dusty vials of dragon’s blood, gilded rosewood wooden mask, labdanum, crackling electricity, well-worn playing cards.
- Stereoplasm, Mourning Glory: Thick black velvet curtains, bruised Palmarosa leaves, Shanghai spice, wilted white carnations and bible leather
- Stereoplasm The Thirteenth Hour: Powdered henna, black chai tea, saffron, cauldron iron, bleached bone, a broken wax seal, a trapdoor hidden under dry hay
submitted by uninspiredun to IndieExchange [link] [comments]


2023.06.04 18:22 turster510 Dash mart, Concord, CA - $7

Dash mart, Concord, CA - $7 submitted by turster510 to toogoodtogo [link] [comments]


2023.06.04 05:06 XFerginatorX Halo MCC: Halo 2 - Donkey Kong on Ascension

Now publicly downloadable to play on Steam Workshop.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2984641302
This is a remake of Donkey Kong v3 for Halo MCC from Halo 2 Vista. http://h2v.halomaps.org/index.cfm?pg=3&fid=2282
Players: 1 - 16
Original Author: CrumbledCookies
Map Created by pop punk jon#4422
Vista Porting Shader Help enn#6330 Berthalamew#4304 ! SCRAPY !#0001 adumbass#9654
Music by Donkey Kong 1981 by Hirokazu Tanaka & Yukio Kaneoka Super Mario Theme - Metal Guitar Cover by Kfir Ochaion
Big Thanks to the Halo Mods discord community & Project Cartographer discord community
submitted by XFerginatorX to halomods [link] [comments]


2023.06.04 04:46 fourberrys Perfect Frappuccino alternative

Perfect Frappuccino alternative
About $5 for a box of three packets, although one serving size is half a packet.
submitted by fourberrys to aldi [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:11 Suitable-Ad8983 32 Team World League/Music Count

32 Team World League/Music Count
Just finished customization on the World Baseball League. 14 returning cities from SMB3. About to hop in a Shuffle Draft and play 160 game franchise(32 user played) with my San Jose Slime.
On a side note, this took a minute ngl I’ve heard every single track in this game multiple times. I wrote down counted 53 when I remembered to and still think there could be a couple I never write down(55?).
That being said my three favorites are: 1)”Break Away” by Heater 2)”I Kissed a Lie” by Cowlrick 3)”Cherry Blossom” by Row Bug
submitted by Suitable-Ad8983 to SuperMegaBaseball [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 15:20 Jakimcikas First time japan travel report 04.25-05.17

Alrighty, I'll describe my first time travel in japan, what went well, what didn't go well, my overall impression of Japan. We travelled trough quite a few cities, but I'll try to keep it as short as possible as I'm not much of writer. And we've visited quite a few places, so if you'd like more details, comment and I'll go more in-depth :).
A bit about the travelling party. Me(25M) and a work colleague(26M), Lithuanians(Europe) software engineers, reasonably fit and somewhat fluent in english, Omnivores(my colleague is allergic to cheese), our height is around ±185cm.

TL;DR

Cities/islands visited

Tokyo(Shinjuku) -> Osaka -> Nara -> Kyoto -> Onomichi Islands -> Matsuyama -> Hiroshima -> Miyajima -> Kumamoto -> Aso(region) -> Fukuoka -> Nagasaki -> Nagoya -> Takayama -> Magome -> Matsumoto - > Tokyo(Chuo) -> Tokyo(Shibuya) -> Tokyo(Teito) -> Hakone.

Expenses

I was slightly more conservative with my spending so my expenses are on the cheaper side, my colleague spent quite a bit more, especially on food and booze.
Total amount spent: slightly more than 3k euros in japan + 1.1k euros flights back and forth.
EDIT: Daily food expenses: 30-40 eur or 5k-7k yen.
Daily food expenses: 3k-4k Daily travel fares(bus, metro), museums and other activities: 1k-3k
Average hotel stay: ~60euro
Food: - Breakfast - usually something from a convenience store. Chicken, power gels, chocolate, melon bread(my favourite), - Lunch - something from a convenience store or a restaurant - Dinner - restaurant usually a ramen place

Activities

Museums, castles, shrines, forests, mountains, walks around the city. We did a lot of walking, total around 400km of walking(at leasts that's what google fit shows)
Alright that's a brief summary, now for the more in-depth write up.

My key takeaways

This is it for the TL;DR part. I'll go more in-depth for the rest of the post.

Planning for the trip

We started planning the trip, where we'll go, where we'll stay, what we'll do, expenses, trains, all that you can plan was started to be planned around a month prior to the trip. We created a word doc as our itinerary, that was around 60 pages long. From what I've read on this page about you can't plan everything. Well I believe we did, we might've even over planned :D.
So we booked the following hotels: - Tokyo - Apa Hotel Higashi Shinjuku Kabukicho Tower(04.25-04.26) - Osaka - APA Hotel Namba Kita Shinsaibashi Ekimae(04.26-04.30) - Onomichi island - TOMARIGI Hostel(04.30-05.01) - Matsuyama - Hotel Patio Dogo(05.01-05.02) - Hiroshima - Wholeearth Ryokan Hiroshima(05.02-05.04) - Kumamoto - Hotel Wing International Select Kumamoto(05.04-05.08) - Nagoya - Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nagoya Shinkansenguchi(05.08-05.10) - Magoame - Magomechaya(05.10-05.11) - Matsumoto - Hotel M Matsumoto(05.11-05.12) - Tokyo - APA Hotel Ginza Kyobashi Tokyo Station Yaesu South Gate(05.14-05.17)
Extra things we bought in advance: - Water proof bags - Hiking boots and socks - Bigger backpacks - JP Rail pass, we booked the trains in advance, but honestly that wasn't necessary even during golden week - Bandages for foot blisters, medicine(for headaches, motion sickness, diarrhoea). - Ubigi eSim internet(10GB was plenty for me throughout the trip) - Sun screen(did not use and got sunburned to a point where I was shinning red) - Portable battery

The trip

Day 1(04.25)

We arrived at the Haneda aiport, exchanged some cash to yen(was at a better course than locally), printed out our JR passes(IMPORTANT TO DO SO HERE, only major stations let you print it out) and went to the metro. We took the train to Shinjuku, and walked to our hotel to check-in. We were quite tired, bought some chicken from lawson and went to explore a few places, a few drinks in golden gai district and ramen in a nearby place. Eventually we ended up at rock bar mother. Really cool place, for each drink you can request 2 songs to be played. After that back to hotel, visit the top floor onsen and sleep

Day 2(04.26)

Got up early, travelled to osaka. Left our luggage in the hotel, we were too early for a check in. We went to see Osaka castle(quite beautiful), tried takoyaki there. More city exploring, then we went check-in. After that we went to see the Umeda Sky Building in the evening(we bought the ticket in advance) very beautiful, it was very clear and beautiful. Got back to the city, got some ramen, went to the hotel and sleep.

Day 3(04.27)

Went to USJ, bought tickets(basic, no express stuff) in advance. We went there 30minutes before opening, and there was already a huge line. We went to Nintendo first, the zone looked very nice, but ride it'd say was okay'ish for me. After that the dinosaur rides, minion land, grabbed chinese food for lunch, went to the harry potter zone, at this point the lines got quite long around 1h to 1h 30min of wait time. After that we went to see Water world where they were doing a play, was really awesome, I'd say a must see even if you don't understand Japanese, the acting is very good. After that we went to Osaka aquarium(no lines, thank god), it was beautiful, cute chonks and other sea creatures.

Day 4(04.28)

Trip to Kyoto from Osaka. We went early by metro, to see the bamboo forest(7:40'ish), beautiful, few people. Walked around the park then climbed the mount a fed the monkeys(50 yen for a bag of fruits or nuts), very cute, tried petting the hand of one, didn't go well got an aggressive show of teeth. After that we visited Ryoanji temple, went to nishi market, we we're running a bit late so we took a taxi to Kiyomizudera, we saw the geish district on our way to there, looked interesting. After the temple we went to a bar and got back to Osaka and then after a bowl of ramen to our hotel.

Day 5(04.29)

We went to Nara, took this hiking track saw the deer, bought some food, did the whole bow thing then fed them. One thing to keep in mind is to crumble the cookie and give it in small pieces, otherwise you'll run out of food to give quickly. They might be very "assertive" and try to take it from you, don't be afraid, just stick your empty arm out to get some distance and that's it . They're not gonna bite you. After that we went to see the Todaiji temple, it was beautiful, the buddha statue was huge. Got back to Osaka, got some ramen, went to the hotel, scheduled to send our luggage to our next hotel and went to sleep.

Day 6(04.30)

Got up early, went to Onomichi, rented some bikes and began our cycling journey through the islands. A lot of cool bridges, very beautiful nature. We cycled to north Omishima port, where we transfered to rabbit island pet and fed the rabbits, got back and cycled to our ryokan and straight to sleeping.

Day 7(05.01)

More cycling, more cool bridges, more beautiful nature. We arrived at Imabari, returned our bikes and took the train to Matsuyama. We ate some stree food, relaxed in the open hot springs for feet. Walked around and went to sleep. To be honest I'd say this was the favorite city of the whole trip for me. I liked the vibe, the people, the food, the nature, the onsen, the layout, the architecture. In general, beautiful city.

Day 8(05.02)

Early in the morning visited a public onsen nearby, then went to see the Matsuyama castle, it was beautiful, tried the orange juice there, it was really good, got back to our hotels, got some dango. Packed our stuff, got a taxi and went to the port and took the ferry to Hiroshima. Checked in the ryokan. Took a train to Hiroshima city center, visited the castle and then the nuclear museum. Get the english audio for best experience. It took me around 2hours to walk through everything, read it and take it in. It was very nerve racking, but I'd say a must see. After that we went out to eat some Okonomiyaki, it was delicious, then back to the ryokan and sleep.

Day 9(05.03)

Went to Miyajima island first by train then transfer by ferry. It was very beautiful, the mountain hike was also fun, the view on top was amazing. When we came down from the mountain there was a low tide, so we could go near the Itsukushima shrine. Got back to Hiroshima, went to the city center for a couple of beers, got back to Ryokan and went to sleep.

Day 10(05.04)

First day of the Golden week, wouldn't say that I've noticed anything different, maybe because we were travelling to the far south of Japan - Kumamoto. This is one of those cities that I also enjoyed more than the big common ones, it looked very nice, had a beautiful castle, was not crowded as Hiroshima, Osaka or Tokyo. We rented out bikes, cycled to Honmoji park(the place near Honmoji park is god damn maze, keep you google maps always open or you will get lost) found a place to eat, visited Lafcadio Hearn House and went to our hotel and then to sleep.

Day 11(05.05)

We rentend a car and went to Aso, highly recommend renting a car here, since the public transport is not that good. The drive was very nice, we went to see active volcano crater, luckily it was not erupting, so we were allowed to get close. Then we went around and climbed the other inactive mountain caps. Climbing that was one of the most fun hikes I've had. It was very windy, you could barely see past 5 meters anywhere, because of the fog. There was no smell of sulfur, so it was safe. We visited Mt. Nakadake, Mt. Takadake, overall the place looked like Mordor, the vibes, the weather everything. After that we visited Ayugaeno Falls, the ravines and everything was just majectic. After that we got back to Kumamoto, gave back the car and went somewhere to eat. Car rental cost around ~7k yen in total. So I'd say a good price. After eating, we went to our hotel and then to sleep.

Day 12(05.06)

We went to Fukuoka, by train, walked around the city, visited Tochoji temple, Fukuoka castle ruins, Ohori park and explored the huge ravine type shopping mall. Went to the science museum(big mistake, it's for kids...). After that we tried Ichiran ramen(originated in Fukuoka so we thought it be better). Was the same as everywhere else. It was rainy so we got back pretty early to our hotel and went to sleep.

Day 13(05.07)

We went to Nagasaki, by train, visited the atomic bomb museum, it was very interesting, just as good as the one in Hiroshima. We took a boat ride to see Gunkanjima, though we couldn't get on the island, because of the weather, it was still very interesting to see and hear the history of the island. Explored the Dutch district, walked around the shops, tried some whale meat. It was raining the whole day, so we also got back quite early and went to sleep.

Day 14(05.08)

We got up early and went got straight to the train station, and caught the train to Nagoya. The longest train ride by far. We arrived at Nagoya, checked in our hotel, went to the city center, visited the castle, it was very beautiful, then we wanted to explore the abandoned tunnel near Aichi. Apparently it was closed, we decided we're going to enter through the exit, like rascals, but apparently after we circled around there was a police officer that was guarding traffic through the bridge and wouldn't let us through. So our trip ended there. After comming back to Nagoya we visited the sky scrapper, it had interesting installations on the windows. We had our stay got back to hotel and went to sleep.

Day 15(05.09)

We went to Takayama, by train, one of the most scenic train rides so far. We strolled around the city center, visited the early morning market, bought some souvenirs, tried some white strawberries, mushroom tee and other local cuisine. Visited Takayama Showa Museum, which was 10/10. You could touch almost everything, the museum gave a great vibe, it was like you were in a house of a family that lived there. There was also an old nintendo with mario kart that you could play, put on a old yukata and take photos. Play pachinko(no money needed), watch an old-school movie. We visited a few sake tasting places, I've found a few flavours that I liked. After that back to Nagoya, eat ramen and sleep.

Day 16(05.10)

We sent out our luggage to Matsumoto, caught a train to Nagiso and then hiked the Nakasendo trail to Tsumago and then Magome where we checked in and stayed at the local ryokan. The hike was very nice and relaxing one of the easier hikes I've had, the places we saw we're quite old and beautiful. At ryokan we met people one American and one from Germany, they had a guitar so we chatted a bit, played the guitar and had a few beers. The dinner at ryokan was amazing, looked very traditional Japanese dinner. Was also very tasty, would definitely recommend this place. After that we went to sleep.

Day 17-19(05.11)

Got up early and took a bus to Nakatsugawa Eki-mae station where we travelled to Matsumoto. We left our bags and went to the RubyKaigi conference. Overall good conference, I've learned somethings, but most importantly I've had bit of time to rest and catch up on some sleep, since we weren't exploring new cities. So overall the following 3 days were wake up -> breakfast -> conference -> lunch -> conference -> drinks -> dinner -> sleep.

Day 20(05.14)

Slept in, had breakfast and travelled to Tokyo by train. Left our luggage at the hotel and moved on to explore the Chou region. Walked around the Ginza, Imperial palace, Yasukuni shrine and went to check in. After that it was getting dark, so travelled to Akihabara to experience the anime night life, was quite bright and interesting. Though the amount of requests to visit a maid cafe was too damn high. If your planning to buy a PS5, a new GPU or Nintendo switch, this could be the place, I saw PS5 with two controllers for 60k yen, with a 10% tax refund that is around 370 euros. After some exploration, got back to our hotel and went to sleep.

Day 21(05.15)

This was our Hakone day trip, we bought the 3 day pass for it, so we could use the train, bus, ropeway and boat. Was worth it, even for one day. We climbed Mt. Kintoki, thankfully the weather was great and we could see Fuji. The climb was very nice, the view was amazing, the weather was great, no bears to be seen. After climbing down, we played some golf that was near there. Travelled back to the station were we used the rope-way to get around the mountains, the view was just majestic, we saw the sulfur pits, the stench was, well strong to say the least, but overall enjoyed the experience. We didn't make it time to the boat, so we had to travel back by bus, which wasn't so bad, since the scenery was amazing.

Day 22(05.16)

Explored more Tokyo, so we went to Teito district, went to the Ueno zoo, National science museum. After that we went to Kaminarimon gate, Asakusa shrine and moved to Shibuya next. There we went to the Yoyogi park, Meiji Jingu shrine, paid our respects to Hachiko statue. The last activity was to visit TeamLabs Planets, which were amazing, one most interesting experiences, not gonna spoil any details, overall great experience, would do it again. As it was getting late we got back to Shibuya, walked around more, had a drink and went back to our hotel.

Day 23(05.17)

Last day in Japan was spent buying souvenirs, snacks and other stuff to bring back home. Packing our luggage, to accommodate for the extras, getting to Haneda airport and back to Lithuania.
I'm very happy I had the opportunity to go on such a trip, I enjoyed it a lot even though, I'm quite the couch potato so 3 weeks is a bit much for me, but nonetheless, wouldn't change a thing.
submitted by Jakimcikas to JapanTravel [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 03:44 ObviouslyOblivious90 50 Shades of Platonic - Round 22

50 Shades of Platonic - Round 22
Oh, my dearest Polinators. What a few days it's been.
Can you even begin to comprehend that the prophesied Coming Weeks may finally be upon us?
https://preview.redd.it/0u5y3cx75p3b1.jpg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=506e793a4665e002d32b10b1983483f8e649df3f
You'd think after everything we've been through, I'd know better by now than to fall back into a spiral of actually believing we could be getting something. And yet here I am, clown shoes on and happily painting my face, whilst I wait for my curly wig and red nose to arrive in the mail.
https://preview.redd.it/xhasmcjy7p3b1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=1bfa820edf74b4d3e00a6182542bc18e8d391f90
Double Tudum, let's go.
And what does this have to do with the Platonic Gazes game, you might wonder? Well, just think. If we get a clip, or even a still, it could feature a whole new platonic gaze from Colin. My brain can't even process such a possibility. What would a S3 platonic gaze look like?! And we will even be able to survive it!?
Whilst we await our fates, let's turn back to what we do have. And what we have is Colin and his ridiculous gazes.
___________
Our most recent round was a difficult one indeed, with two dearly-loved races gazes going head-to-head. I found it especially painful, as both are particular favourites of mine. But only one could win and, with a convincing 65.4% of votes, We Didn't Have A Chance to Flirt This Morning stole the victory away from My Eyelashes Bring All My Besties To The Yard.
Apparently, you were all fans of the way Colin ditched his guy friends without a second thought. It's giving Colin 'My Wife' Bridgerton energy and we're here for it:
'This was a very difficult decision, but I do love to see Colin suddenly leave his inferior male friends to greet the love of his life that he currently thinks is just a swell friend who makes his heart leap.'
'I love how the moment he sees her, he just drops off everything and leaves his acquaintances to go to Pen. Guy knows his priorities even if he doesn't fully realize it yet.'
'he has spent probably about an hour or two away from her while they all got suited and booted for the horse-show down, and even, when all that time has passed, and he is (probably) engrossed in a convo with his pals, he still notices her, he still turns to face her, fully, he still calls her name, and he dumps his buddies for his (apparently 🙄) soon to be wife.'
For many, the highlight of the gaze was how 'his face just lights up', the 'little movement in the eyebrows' showing the 'moment he notices her and his face changes, so you know that look is for her.' We also had appreciation for Pen's role in the scene, as she 'fake-casually waits for him to notice her, and not only does he notice, his face lights up as he calls her name and makes a beeline for her.'
'I love it so much. I need this reaction every time he spots her,' one voter declared which once again has me spiralling over all the gazes we're going to get in Season 3. I have a feeling they won't be quite as carefree and breezy as this one though.
Of course, the Eyelashes were never going to go down without a fight:
'What would I give to have Colin bat his pretty eyelashes at me? EV-RY-THING. I'm surprised Penelope even held herself together!'
'I had to go with the fluttering races. I think it is just so cute. I mean, I can't handle how cutely awkward their whole vibe is at the races in general. However, his smile and fluttering actions like he is a school girl with his first crush is extra cute to me.'
Sadly, it wasn't enough. As always, our sweet and so-very-cursed KTKnits was left in despair: 'How does the one I love always seem to be trampled by maurading minotaurs? Mr. Head Tilt Eyelash Flutter is openly flirting and fluttering at Pen. It's adorable. Why is it losing by such a wide margin?'
KT was not the only one left bewildered by the turn of events, with another voter adding, 'I too am very surprised at the shellacking fluttering eyelashes is getting.' But that's the way the cookie crumbles, sometimes. Believe me, I'm not happy about it either (even though I did help vote it out.) And so we say goodbye to our much-adored Fluttery Eyelashes and pray that they may one day safely return to us in Season 3. 🙏
Until we meet again. 🫡 TFTM. x
________
But alas, our broken hearts must somehow beat on for the road, arduous though it may be, still stretches out ahead of us.
For today, it's:
And we're off back to the Featherington Ball! You might as well grab your glass of lemonade now because we'll be spending the next gaze here, too. It's an eventful evening, after all. And what do we have here to start us off? One Mister Bridgerton dancing with one Cressida Cowper!? Quelle horreur! But worry not, dear friends, as - mid-dance - Colin pauses for a moment to send a sneaky gaze over to Pen. It's his little way of trying to reassure her that he's got it all under control, telepathically saying to her: 'Give me one sec, Pen. I just need to charm this necklace off the décolletage of your mortal enemy then I'm going to swoop over to you and take your hand in mine and tell you to \"Come with me\" in the softest voice you ever did hear and then I'm going to pull you away from the ballroom in front of everyone and guide you by the hand all the way upstairs just in case you get lost in your own house and then I will give you the most thrilling geography lesson of your life and I'll save your family from ruin and everything's going to be perfect because we're such good friends and that's what friends do.' Did you catch all that, Pen? Something tells me she doesn't *quite* get this exact memo because Colin's sweet, steady gaze is met with an absolutely THUNDEROUS glare from Pen, who looks ready to commit murder. Bless him for trying.

Fighting it out against:
Chaos Colin really truly entered the chat that night, didn't he? After disappearing from the ballroom hand-in-hand with Penelope for a solid five minutes, Colin returns by himself and downs a glass of champagne. (Geography lessons are thirsty work, after all.) Pen rushes back over to him and instead of acting calm and collected, Colin quite literally leans into the chaos. Remember the time at the Hastings Ball when Pen rejected his dance and ran off? Colin most certainly does and he ain't risking that again. \"Good, because we are dancing,\" he tells her with a delicious grin, before he pulls her straight into a dance. The satisfied little 'hmm' he makes as they head to the dancefloor? Exquisite.
Unfair advantage or not, I can't resist including this gem(stone mine) of a photo:
This isn't the angle that makes the final cut but it's been used enough in publicity for it to count. Look. At. Those. Hands. We're not just dealing with a normal gaze here. It's a gaze where he leans in super closely (is the closest they've ever physically been to one another?), in front of everyone in the ballroom, takes BOTH her hands in his and then pulls her straight in for a dance. And all this is taking place just after the two of them have had a private rendezvous in one of the Featherington rooms? I love Colin more than I can ever say but wtf is going on in his sweet mind? No matter how you cut it, Mr Platonic with all his gazes, handholding and intense dancing really sealed their fates that night. Because, yeah. If I was Fife, I'd have questions too, pal. Just normal friend things, Colin? Give me a break.
*screams, dies, no further comment required*
There you are, my clowning friends. Happy voting. I'm off to curl up and die now because it's 2:30am, I'm at work in the morning and I'm currently so ill that I feel as though I belong in one of those classic hurt/comfort one-of-them-is-at-death's-door fics you find on AO3. Those happen to be some of favourite fics, actually, but I'd rather read them than live them, you know?
Love,
Obvs x

View Poll
submitted by ObviouslyOblivious90 to PolinBridgerton [link] [comments]


2023.06.02 23:12 EatinSLOCal SloDoCo - Foothill Location - Review

SloDoCo - Foothill Location - Review
Background:
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, my teen years were spent around these fancy modern doughnut shops (we spelled it with the traditional “doughnut,” not “donut,” to distinguish it from a Krispy Kreme or a Dunkin’, so hip) like Voodoo Doughtnut with their fun designs and innovative flavors. It took a decade, but it finally spread beyond our hipster borders and things like a bacon maple bar finally spread across the country. I was elated in October of 2010 to learn that there was a new doughtnut spot selling bacon maple bars in town. So in honor of #NationalDonutDay, we dropped by SloDoCo’s original Foothill location to celebrate.
Dozen Box
Setting:
📍Foothill Plaza, 793F Foothill Blvd, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
SloDoCo is located in Foothill Plaza with additional locations in Sunshine Donuts’ former location at the corner of Higuera and South street as well as one in Atascadero. The Foothill location has become a popular place to study with a good amount of tables and space to sit at. The doughtnuts are on display as you walk in with a secondary case to the side with the vegan and gluten free options. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (at both SLO Locations, 5AM-9PM in Atascadero).
Assorted Dozen Doughnuts
Menu/Selection:
SloDoCo makes over 100 types of doughtnuts a day! That’s amazing! I’ll do my best to write out the menu, but I may miss some. The buttermilk bars and old fashioneds come in plain, glazed, chocolate, and maple. Cake doughtnut options include plain, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, crumb, snickerdoodle, and then the following four flavors chocolate, maple, strawberry, and vanilla either by itself, with sprinkles, chocolate chips, peanuts, or coconut shreds. Devil’s Food Cake doughtnuts come topped in chocolate, chocolate with sprinkles, chocolate with peanuts, chocolate with shredded coconut, mint frosting, and mint chocolate chip. Raised doughnuts come in chocolate, glazed, maple, sugar, crumb, coconut, lavender, chocolate sprinkle, strawberry sprinkle, vanilla sprinkle, and circus animal cookies. Filled doughtnuts are filled with either Vienna cream, lemon jelly, chocolate dobash, raspberry jelly, crème brulee, and espresso. Bars are the classics – chocolate, maple, and maple bacon. Twists come in glazed, chocolate, cinnamon, and sugar. Pillows options are chocolate chocolate chip, maple chocolate chip, Nutella, peanut butter & jelly, strawberry cream cheese, boysenberry cream cheese, pumpkin pie, cream cheese, chai cream cheese, peanut butter, and milk & cookies. There are two types of bear claws, regular glazed and crumb, a blueberry cake, cereal topped raised with Fruity Pebbles, Captain Crunch, and other options, their Galaxy marshmallow, “Do Cros” and an apple fritter. They do croissants as well – plain, ham & cheese, jalapeno ham & cheese, chocolate, and strawberry cream cheese. Finally for out Gluten Free friends there is chocolate, lavender, vanilla, and maple, and for the Vegans there is vanilla, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, maple, and chocolate.
On top of all those, they have monthly specials, for June there is a Gluten Free or Vegan Strawberry Donut Sando, an Apricot Mousse Filled Glazed Raised, Pride Rings, Matcha Old Fashioned, Hedgehog Donut Holes, Spring Flower Raised, Slice O’ Melon Raised, and 3 Monsters, Inc. inspired doughtnuts, a Monster Mike cake, Silly Sully raised, and Boo’s Door bar. There’s also a Drink Menu with the usual hot drinks coffee, tea, cocoa, cider, espresso, lattes, etc, as well as cold drinks from the cases.
Orange Pride Ring Raised Doughnut
What I Had:
I grabbed an assorted dozen of my choosing – Fruity Pebbles Raised, Glazed Blueberry Cake, Strawberry Sprinkles Cake, Monster Mike Vanilla Frosting Cake, Bacon Maple Bar, Orange Pride Ring Vanilla Frosting Raised topped with whipped cream and sprinkles, Glazed Buttermilk Bar, Chocolate Old Fashioned, Galaxy Marshmallow Frosting Raised, Cinnabomb, Slice O’ Melon Watermelon Frosting Raised, and a Nutella Filled Pillow. I got a mix of my favorites and the June specials. Focusing on the June Specials I got, let’s start with the Pride Ring, which was a raised ring doughtnut with vanilla frosting that came in all the colors of the classic Pride Flag, and topped with whipped cream and sprinkles, which was really fun! I noticed the Galaxy Doughnut, which is a raised with marshmallow frosting in a swirled rainbow, also has the sprinkles on it. The Slice O’ Melon is a triangle shaped raised doughnut dipped in watermelon frosting decorated like a slice of watermelon, which was weird. Watermelon is a weird frosting flavor, it tasted correct, but it was a strange combo with the rest of the sugar. The Monster Mike was fun, I like cake doughnuts, and the vanilla frosting was a pretty good Mike.
Marshmallow Galaxy Doughnut
As for some of my favorites, the Bacon Maple Bar is a classic, if you haven’t had one, you need to. My only note about the SloDoCo one is that it they super crumble the bacon, which is great for not having to bite through a bacon strip like on Voodoo’s but the crumble doesn’t totally stick to the maple frosting and falls off everywhere. Blueberry cake glazed is another one of my favorites, having first had it through Top Pot Doughnuts in Seattle, SloDoCo does an amazing job with theirs, I get one every time. Their Cereal Raised are always fun, I often switch between the Fruity Pebbles and the Captain Crunch, the contrast of textures is key. The Cinnabomb started out as a special and I think is a staple at this point, it’s like having a cinnamon roll stuffed in a raised glazed. Finally, the glazed buttermilk bar and old fashioned are always on point, can’t go wrong with them. SloDoCo might make some crazy fun doughnuts, but they also make the classics well.

Would I Have It Again:
Yes, of course. Doughtnuts are always fresh. They’re always open. I occasionally will drop in here late at night since they’re one of the only places left open. SloDoCo is a staple in this town, and their monthly specials keep things fresh and innovative. So with all of this in mind, SloDoCo – Foothill Location gets an Eatin’ SLOCal rating of – Take-Out Now!
submitted by EatinSLOCal to EatinSLOCal [link] [comments]


2023.06.02 14:37 Inglonias Is it possible to bake a cookie that doesn't create crumbs?

This is more of a hypothetical than anything. I don't need a recipe for this, but it would be interesting to know if one exists.
Because I'm a space nerd, i was thinking about how food is handled on the ISS. One thing I know about space food is that crumbs are a big no-no - they can get into equipment and cause unpredictable behavior, which is the last thing you want when that equipment is keeping you alive.
I was also thinking about cookies, because I'm hungry. I know they use tortillas instead of bread on the space station, but I'm curious what it would take to create a space-safe, crumb-free cookie. Is it even possible to keep a cookie from crumbling?
submitted by Inglonias to Cooking [link] [comments]


2023.06.02 14:28 Im_Just_Browsing Got to be the first customer at a new Crumbl location!

Got to be the first customer at a new Crumbl location!
Ross Township, PA. Woke up at 7:30am, got there by 7:45am, doors opened at 8:00am.
Used a free birthday cookie code and got the Confetti Cake cookie. Literally the first cookie their store ever produced. Tasted pretty good.
Got a free cookie cutter with my purchase!
submitted by Im_Just_Browsing to CrumblCookies [link] [comments]


2023.05.31 14:12 bitch_is_cray_cray The Ultimate Aussie Goodie Box - a list of what would be in it

My sister has been living in the UK nearly a year now and I wanted to send her a goodie box so she can get a taste of home. I know she can get some of these things in the UK (e.g. Tim Tams but IMO they're not as good as the ones here because they're 'export tim tams'). Anyways, here's a list I've come up with in case anyone else wants to shower a friend, family, or guest with some Aussies goodies :) Feel free to share below anything else I might have missed!
submitted by bitch_is_cray_cray to australia [link] [comments]


2023.05.30 21:13 YpsitheFlintsider Cookie Butter Ice Cream and Triple Berry Cobbler

Cookie Butter Ice Cream and Triple Berry Cobbler
Cookie Butter Ice Cream (4/5) - This was a simple yet fulfilling cookie. I loved the crumbles on top. I think the brown sugar base is a little too basic for my likes, and the cookie butter on top will melt and become less sturdy fairly easily. Mine also seemed really underbaked. Like the whole middle was fairly dense. I still think I liked the Cookie Butter Lava cookie more. I still enjoyed it though and I think it's well worth the price.
Triple Berry Cobbler (4/5) - I actually may have liked this one more. I'm a fan of jams on top of cookies, and the oatmeal base added a richness to the cookie. Though I will say that the cobblers I've had didn't have an oatmeal crust. I do think the richness of the cream cheese frosting took away from the jam, and probably added a little too much texture to the base. I chilled half of the cookie and I think it was even better.
submitted by YpsitheFlintsider to CrumblCookies [link] [comments]


2023.05.30 04:37 Automatic_Key56 Finally!!! It’s happening!!

So I went to Crumbl Cookies this evening because the new cookie flavors for the week come out on Mondays AND there was a mystery cookie this week - Cookies n Cream. 🍪I know I probably shouldn’t grub out on cookies, but… warm fresh cookies!! 🍪Duh!! So I get home, take one bite, and I don’t want it anymore. It finally happened!!! I finally don’t want to eat the sweets! 🥳 Now I want my $14.00 back. 🙁
submitted by Automatic_Key56 to WegovyWeightLoss [link] [comments]


2023.05.30 04:36 Automatic_Key56 DUDES! It’s happening…

So I went to Crumbl Cookies this evening because the new cookie flavors for the week come out on Mondays AND there was a mystery cookie this week - Cookies n Cream. 🍪I know I probably shouldn’t grub out on cookies, but… warm fresh cookies!! 🍪Duh!! So I get home, take one bite, and I don’t want it anymore. It finally happened!!! I finally don’t want to eat the sweets! 🥳 Now I want my $14.00 back. 🙁
Posting in Wegovy sub, just in case you see it there😉
submitted by Automatic_Key56 to Semaglutide [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 21:50 Rude-Ad8141 YALL! I found Shays grocery list.

YALL! I found Shays grocery list. submitted by Rude-Ad8141 to applestorequeenv2 [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 21:09 MillieBirdie My store is also selling last week's flavors!

My store is also selling last week's flavors! submitted by MillieBirdie to CrumblCookies [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 21:05 thetango Crumbl Cookies opening June 9th

Crumbl Cookies opening June 9th
Just drove by it!
submitted by thetango to Waltham [link] [comments]


2023.05.29 12:48 SPvsTheWorld Price increase

Price increase
Just went on to check the weekly flavors and I just don’t know if the price is even justifiable anymore when I can get a cookie for cheaper from a local bakery/deli and support a small business…
(Definitely using the birthday reward though)
submitted by SPvsTheWorld to CrumblCookies [link] [comments]