February 12 2023, 10:14

Well done, eh. That’s how it should be done. Bought a kettle with cups for 35 dollars in December. Was surprised to see a 2-year warranty on it. Recently, a crack appeared near the handle. Don’t know why. Might have hit it, or it could be due to temperature changes. Just one message in a Facebook chat — and a second kettle arrives. No conditions and no requests to write a review.

February 11 2023, 09:45

“Jim Carrey wrote himself a $10 million check in 1983 and, years later, put the check in his father’s pocket after his death in 1994.” – can someone explain how you can part with money if the check was not cashed by the recipient? Well, it’s assumed that the father didn’t make it to the bank posthumously. Though, of course, if the bank was, say, Lehman Brothers Bank, then after about 15 years, the father might have had a chance to visit. But the check stayed here.

February 10 2023, 12:13

Today, dumplings for lunch and ice cream for breakfast. This is what remains from a previous life – taste preferences formed in childhood, often not very compatible with what is sold here in the USA. For example, I have never seen a clear fish soup here. I have to cook it myself, thankfully it’s quick. I plan to visit a local Georgian restaurant. I miss khachapuri adjaruli and kharcho.

I love dried fish. It goes well with beer. And I remember when I was in Thailand, I went into a local supermarket and saw huge, multi-meter shelves filled with all sorts of fish. I spent a long time deciding what to buy. Then I realized it looked beautiful because it was not salty but sweet. There was no salty fish at all. So, I didn’t buy anything.

Nadya and I shared the ice cream.

February 05 2023, 20:17

Eighth attempt to paint something with oil. Noticed one very important thing: mistakes are more visible when photographed with a phone. Essentially, it is equivalent to stepping back five meters, but from five meters, I can’t see anything without glasses. The lips need to be redrawn. Soften the edges. Adjust the eyes. The nose too. Overall, should have taken a picture earlier; so much comes to light. But now, it will have to wait until later. We are learning.

February 04 2023, 11:56

Received a joke saying that the majority of Russians dream about two things: defeating America and winning a green card. Apparently, after that interview with Kuchera, who went to the US to have his wife give birth, they believe there are enemies everywhere and all that. I have no idea what they really dream about. Decided to ask ChatGPT what its sarcastic AI side suggests on this matter. The answer is in the screenshot.

February 04 2023, 00:46

I’m testing a program here for creating bilingual books, and decided to start with Cipollino. Well… the first thing that came to mind. And it turned out that it’s not available in English, neither in digital nor in print form. That is, in the English-speaking world, they generally don’t know about Cipollino.

It turns out that Gianni Rodari was a journalist at the Communist newspaper “Unita,” and the communist party appointed him as the editor of a children’s magazine, where he published himself. And he also plays himself in the Soviet 1973 movie Cipollino. And eventually, a whole country grew up on the Italian fairy tale imported into the USSR.

Meanwhile, the story imported into the USSR was “interesting.” Well, for those who haven’t read it. It’s about a young onion (yes, a vegetable) named Cipollino, who lives in a kingdom where unjust and tyrannical leaders of vegetables and fruits rule. Cipollino unites with other oppressed citizens to overthrow the corrupt government and establish a fair society. In the end, he and his friends ultimately triumph and bring happiness and equality to their kingdom. (Actually, OpenAI gave me this summary, I was too lazy to think of it myself).