Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

[Smith1776]

LOL I love looking at the photos! I just feel like I'm already responsible for too many posts. As much as I do post, I'm actually holding back so that it's not my name all over the screen anytime someone selects New Posts.

Glad you made it back safe and sound.

Favorite meal eaten in Ukraine?

We definitely feel fortunate to have made it back safe and sound. Apparently we got really lucky. From what I understand, a lot of western Ukraine was bombarded before we arrived. The few weeks we were there were oddly quiet, and then the day we left there was a rocket that landed in one of the cities we were just in. In addition, my fiance's parent's city has as bunch of new air raid alerts. Bizarre timing.

Best meal? Does chocolate count? The chocolate shops in Lviv were truly insane. I felt like I was in a Willy Wonka movie.

In terms of actual food, it's definitely the cabbage rolls. Ukrainians are apparently famous for them.

[dualstow]

Does chocolate count? Some would say that only chocolate counts. Or at least, that's what Count Chocula says.
When my girlfriend and I lived in Moscow, it seemed like every apartment bldg also sold something on the ground floor. One had a bakery. Another sold chocolate from the famous 'Red October' chocolate factory. So good.
Never heard of cabbage rolls!

[Mountaineer]

Smithers, glad you two made it home safely. Gutsy decision for you to go voluntarily to a war zone. I can hear the clanging as you walk down the hall. . I also like the pictures you shared.

Dual, FWIW my wife had Hungarian friends a couple houses away from her where she grew up. Lots of cabbage rolls were made and consumed. She taught my wife how to make them. We still enjoy them occasionally.

[dualstow]

…
Dual, FWIW my wife had Hungarian friends a couple houses away from her where she grew up. Lots of cabbage rolls were made and consumed. She taught my wife how to make them. We still enjoy them occasionally.

Now I’m really ashamed that I don’t know cabbage rolls, as I’m Hungarian (3rd generation though).

[Mountaineer]

…
Dual, FWIW my wife had Hungarian friends a couple houses away from her where she grew up. Lots of cabbage rolls were made and consumed. She taught my wife how to make them. We still enjoy them occasionally.

Now I’m really ashamed that I don’t know cabbage rolls, as I’m Hungarian (3rd generation though).

No biggie. It could be worse, or better depending on your perspective. You could be of Scottish descent and not know about haggis.

[Smith1776]

All the cabbage rolls I tried were great, but by far the greatest were the ones made by my fiance's aunt living in Vinny(tsia).

In my humble opinion, the key to a good cabbage roll is to cook the cabbage to the point in which it's so soft that it's like dough. Cabbage rolls that have cabbage that is so stiff that it still has a crunch tend to have a slightly bitter flavour and off texture.

On another note, I have to say I'm incredibly surprised (and delighted) that the chocolate in Ukraine was better than the chocolate we found in Switzerland. I mean, aren't the Swiss known for incredible chocolate? Maybe we just didn't go to the right places?

[Smith1776]

This picture fully sums up my toilet and coffee shop adventure in Ukraine.

WhatsApp Image 2024-02-29 at 06.00.27.jpeg (35.97 KiB) Viewed 909 times

[dualstow]

Wait, you were in Switzerland?

Everyone knows about haggis, Mountaineer. It’s too extreme to not hear about it.

Smithers, you must be relieved, pun intended, to be back in your home bathroom.

[Mountaineer]

Wait, you were in Switzerland?

Everyone knows about haggis, Mountaineer. It’s too extreme to not hear about it.

Smithers, you must be relieved, pun intended, to be back in your home bathroom.

That toilet picture is what results from holding it too long. :-)

[Smith1776]

Wait, you were in Switzerland?

Everyone knows about haggis, Mountaineer. It’s too extreme to not hear about it.

Smithers, you must be relieved, pun intended, to be back in your home bathroom.

Home is where you poop most comfortably.

[Smith1776]

Wait, you were in Switzerland?

Everyone knows about haggis, Mountaineer. It’s too extreme to not hear about it.

Smithers, you must be relieved, pun intended, to be back in your home bathroom.

Oh, and yes! We were in Switzerland briefly as part of our connecting flight to Ukraine. Incidentally we also stopped in Frankfurt on our way back.

[Hal]

No biggie. It could be worse, or better depending on your perspective. You could be of Scottish descent and not know about haggis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pNswjoJsuM

[Mountaineer]

No biggie. It could be worse, or better depending on your perspective. You could be of Scottish descent and not know about haggis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pNswjoJsuM

ROFLMAO!

[Smith1776]

JavaScript still sucks.

[dualstow]

JavaScript still sucks.

Do you like Python? I’ve played with it a little bit. Just an amateur interest.

[Smith1776]

JavaScript still sucks.

Do you like Python? I’ve played with it a little bit. Just an amateur interest.

I love Python. Much like Ruby, it's a language that just gets out of the way and lets the programmer enter a state of flow and focus on the task at hand. With JavaScript I feel like I'm trying to herd a group of Vinny's cats.

What were you using Python for? Tinkering with AI?

[vnatale]

JavaScript still sucks.

Do you like Python? I’ve played with it a little bit. Just an amateur interest.

I love Python. Much like Ruby, it's a language that just gets out of the way and lets the programmer enter a state of flow and focus on the task at hand. With JavaScript I feel like I'm trying to herd a group of Vinny's cats.

What were you using Python for? Tinkering with AI?

I only have had 3! And, have not had more than that in over 30 years. And, that was only briefly.

[Smith1776]

I only have had 3! And, have not had more than that in over 30 years. And, that was only briefly.

You mean this isn't your house?

[dualstow]

That is definitely Vinny’s house.

What were you using Python for? Tinkering with AI?

Just playing with programming for the sake of programming. I used to enjoy it as a teenager, solving problems step by step. I never got good enough to cut it as a professional code monkey. Not even close. Suddenly, everything was about memory management and whatnot. I was lost.

So, after a multidecade break, finding Python built in on my used laptop, I borrowed an introductory book (and, ok, I do sometimes give chat GPT some prompts, haha).

By the way, got a PM about a pp-related python program and have encouraged the author to post the code here.

[Smith1776]

That is definitely Vinny’s house.

What were you using Python for? Tinkering with AI?

Just playing with programming for the sake of programming. I used to enjoy it as a teenager, solving problems step by step. I never got good enough to cut it as a professional code monkey. Not even close. Suddenly, everything was about memory management and whatnot. I was lost.

So, after a multidecade break, finding Python built in on my used laptop, I borrowed an introductory book (and, ok, I do sometimes give chat GPT some prompts, haha).

By the way, got a PM about a pp-related python program and have encouraged the author to post the code here.

Definitely encourage him to post.

That sounds really great. One of the things I've hated about finding actual employment in programming is that it often takes that fun spirit out of it. It becomes real work, and the same level of enjoyment just isn't there anymore.

[vnatale]

I only have had 3! And, have not had more than that in over 30 years. And, that was only briefly.

You mean this isn't your house?

I did live somewhere where we it was a "no pets" policy and we "only" had 2 dogs and 9 cats. But those cats were all allowed to go outdoors while mine have not since 1984.

But I'd love to be in that video you had! I've many times seen the pictures of the cat island!

[Smith1776]

What do you guys like to do for fun dates when you take your spouse out? Dinner and movie is nice, but it's overdone. Anything off the beaten path you guys like?

[dualstow]

What do you guys like to do for fun dates when you take your spouse out? Dinner and movie is nice, but it's overdone. Anything off the beaten path you guys like?

It’s not off the beaten path but my favorite thing to do is to take walks together.

[Smith1776]

What do you guys like to do for fun dates when you take your spouse out? Dinner and movie is nice, but it's overdone. Anything off the beaten path you guys like?

It’s not off the beaten path but my favorite thing to do is to take walks together.

Always a good one... and it's free!

[Smith1776]

Currently at the cat cafe here in Edmonton. Anyone wanna join me?

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