poppyfields cafe

@KeruboSk Loads of stuff that I use daily

Does anyone here have something in their house that’s over 20 years old?

@Her_Nonymous_D Well one and proper reaction from manager

was the customer and the boy messed up. But she didn’t budge. “He’s sixteen,” she said. “It’s his second day. He made a mistake. You’re an adult who chose to be cruel. Leave.” And just like that, it was over. The man stormed out, still muttering under his breath. The manager turned back to the boy, her tone completely different now. Soft. “You okay?” He nodded, still shaken. “I’m sorry I messed up.” She gently shook her head. “Everyone messes up. That’s how you learn. What you don’t deserve is abuse, not here, not anywhere.” At that point, the whole shop had been watching in silence. Then someone started clapping. And suddenly, everyone joined in. It wasn’t just applause, it felt like respect. For her. For what she stood for.

I saw something at a coffee shop that really stayed with me. There was this young guy at the register, couldn’t have been more than sixteen. A customer came in, placed an order, and the boy rang it up wrong. It was a small mistake, the kind anyone could make, especially on the job. But the customer completely lost it. Raised his voice, called the boy stupid and incompetent, making a whole scene while everyone watched. The boy kept apologizing, his voice shaky, eyes already welling up. Then the manager walked over. I honestly expected the usual apologies to the customer, maybe offer a refund or free drink just to calm things down. But she didn’t do any of that. She looked straight at the man and said, “Get out.” The entire place went quiet. The customer blinked, confused. “Excuse me?” “You heard me,” she said, calm but firm. “Get out of my shop and don’t come back.” He tried making a scene, saying he…

As the Sun goes down on Dublin tonight and elsewhere across Ireland the big question is will the Government call in the riot squads, the water cannon and the Army to clear the protestors and their vehicles, Now bus fleets have joined the convoy some giving the farmers a place to put their heads down for some sleep. Indications are tomorrow the protest is going to be ramped up. Reports are that numbers plates of vehicles are been taken for possibly punitive punishment later. There seems to be unprecedented support for this protest, Shops giving free coffee and food members of the general public arriving into town with trays of sandwiches and soup. I would say this could be a turning point for Ireland what ever happens they cannot jail all the farmers and truckers, I had a conversation with a trucker this evening he stood down his trucks and drivers on Friday leasing company had been informed to collect trucks who have said they will stall any payments until something is done for the truckers, farmers and the general public. His staff signed on today as they are officially unemployed after all under company law if a director is aware that the company cannot discharge its debts it is trading insolently so he is not going to run up any more debt. Spoke to a farmer he said his agri contracting bushiness will not be able to pay its debts or service the leases on his machinery, He said on a good day from sun up to well into the night his fleet consumes over 1000 liters an hour he said that is €1000 euros an hour more that it was last year €14000 a day. When asked what is he going to do his response was thankfully he has a company and he will hand the plant back "sure maybe its time to claim the dole, get a free medial card, morgage assistance and everything else that is going that I have been funding for since I started work followed by do you know where I would get a dodgy box and laughed" I spoke to a bus operator who does the CIE school bus run, He said they run school routes under fixed-price contracts with Bus Éireann, so they cannot easily pass on higher fuel costs He said any talk of doing so with CIE has been shutdow, He said they cannot claim the vat on the diesel and as the Mineral Oil Tax (MOT) is applied before vat is applied to the cost of the fuel. He said that while Diesel Rebate Scheme administered by Revenue is in place for diesel purchased from 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026. The maximum repayment of Mineral Oil Tax for qualifying road transport operators (including bus and coach operators on school routes) increased from 7.5 cent to 12 cent per litre. He said the truck operators also get their vat back he does not he said it will be cheaper drop the contract as he said if he continues April, May, June will bankrupt him if he continues. He is not the only one who may frop the service as thankfully they have force majeure included in their contracts, Other Operators (via the Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland and individual companies) have publicly warned that services could be disrupted or become unsustainable after Easter 2026 without extra support. The same applies for bus companies and tour operators, To fill a bus with a 600 liter tank there is a difference of €250 – €270 compared to January prices. Without rebate scheme meaning €360–€420 extra per tank. Most will use a tank a day as one operator said to me during the summer I have 26 buses he said it is costing him about €5000 extra a day as he put it he will not be running this summer as there is no point, this has a knock on effect divers unemployed, couriers and tour guides unemployed and the possibility of tours canceled. It is not just commercial operators that are affected, One person who drives from Ballinsloe to Galway City for work said she is down €40 euros a week between child care car repayment and now the price of a repayment going out in extra fuel each much she actually wants her boss to fire here as she thinks life on the dole being at home for her children when they get home from school or during the summer might be just want the doctor ordered, she also said her neighbors do not work and they have a new car, house provided by the state she said considering they only came to Ireland in January maybe that is the way to go she said they bought their house in the 2006 just before the boom both have worked hard its payed off so now its time to as she put it "if the government don't give a fck about me then no fcks give." She said she is looking forward to going to inteo getting a medical card and all the free stuff She said she is sick paying for her neighbors lifestyle who never contributed to Ireland where she has worked part time jobs since she was 16 and her husband since he was 14. When you hear Martin and Harris claim the country is not behind the farmers and truckers they are very very wrong and I suspect this is the rock the sitting government will perish on. I suspect if they move on the protest they will open pandora's box as a person said to me they locked down the country when it suite now we are locking it down, Followed by "if the government tried to bully us, it is going to be the most embarrassing EU presidency of the Irish state." Having looked at some of the big tankers on the tractors and the fact the tankers are set up for spreading slurry notwithstanding there is a lot of weight in them by the look of the bulging tires, I wonder what is in them ? Will Dublin be sprayed with slurry before this ends ? Oh and who brings track machines to a protest there are quite a few of them in Dublin sitting there on the back of Low loaders will it be 40 ton track machine against water cannon time will tell but I think on this protest the government is not dealing with elderly people camped on the side of the road those tactics will not work in this instance but who knows the arrogance of the present Government knows no bounds with that in mind We might see tanks on O'Connell street for the first time in 110 years, I hope not but nothing surprises me anymore.

A powerful commentary by Sky News US correspondent, @jamesmatthewsky on the increasingly erratic and thuggish behaviour displayed by Donald Trump. It’s refreshing to hear a mainstream media journalist speak out like this rather than turning a blind eye.

@dublin_damo Thanks @dublin_damo for bringing us on the trip with you,

So long, Sifnos, some challenging weather, but still loved it. I'm aiming to visit at least one new Greek island per year, but can definitely imagine returning to Sifnos some day.

We are called "the elderly." But that quiet label hides something most people rarely stop to consider. We are the last living witnesses of a world that no longer exists. Look at us and you might see gray hair, slower steps, and the patience that time teaches. But listen to our story — really listen — and you'll realize something extraordinary. We are the only generation in human history to have lived a fully analog childhood and a fully digital adulthood. That's not a small thing. That's one of the most breathtaking journeys a human being has ever been asked to make. We were born in the 1940s, 50s, and early 60s, into a world still rebuilding from the rubble of World War II. Our toys were marbles and hopscotch and card games at kitchen tables. When the streetlights flickered on, that was it — childhood adventures were over, and it was time to go home. No smartphones. No streaming. No endless scroll. We built our memories in the real world. With scraped knees and laughter echoing down streets and friendships formed face to face. In 1969, we sat in living rooms staring at black-and-white televisions as Neil Armstrong took humanity's first steps on the Moon. Hundreds of thousands of us stood in muddy fields at Woodstock believing — really believing — that music and community could reshape the future. We fell in love to vinyl records spinning on turntables. We waited days, sometimes weeks, for handwritten letters to arrive. We learned patience because information didn't come instantly. Mistakes were fixed with erasers — not a delete button. Then the world transformed. Machines that once filled entire rooms shrank to devices lighter than a paperback. We went from rotary phones and party lines to seeing the face of someone we love on the other side of the ocean — instantly, on something that fits in a pocket. We watched the birth of the personal computer. The arrival of the internet. The smartphone. Artificial intelligence. And through every single shift — we adapted. Not because it was easy. Because that's what our generation does. We also carry the weight of history in our bodies. We grew up afraid of polio and tuberculosis. We watched science defeat them. We witnessed the discovery of the structure of DNA, the decoding of the human genome, the transformation of medicine itself. We survived pandemics across decades — and kept going. Few generations have been asked to absorb so much change in a single lifetime. And through all of it, certain things never changed. We still know the joy of a cold glass of lemonade on a hot afternoon. The taste of vegetables picked straight from a garden. The value of a long conversation that unfolds slowly, without a screen interrupting it. We have celebrated births and mourned losses. Carried the stories of friends who are gone. Watched the world become something our younger selves couldn't have imagined — and found ways to belong in it anyway. We are not relics. We are living bridges between two entirely different worlds. Our memory carries something the modern world needs — proof that progress doesn't have to erase wisdom. That speed doesn't have to replace patience, kindness, or reflection. So when someone calls us elderly, we can smile. Because behind that word is something remarkable. We crossed two centuries. Witnessed eight decades of transformation. Walked from handwritten letters to artificial intelligence — and never lost our sense of what actually matters.

If there is precisely one thing you watch today, make it this. French Senator Claude Malhuret. A microphone. And the most magnificently savage dismantling of the Trump administration ever delivered in a language they almost certainly don’t speak. He covers Iran. He covers corruption. He covers the kind of staggering, industrial-scale incompetence that would get you fired from managing a car park. And he does it with the calm, unhurried certainty of a man who has read every page of the indictment and found it, if anything, worse than expected. France has never pretended to like these people. But this is contempt elevated to an art form. The kind of refined, aristocratic disdain that takes centuries of civilization to produce and approximately ninety seconds to deploy. Malhuret sounds like he is four seconds from the button. Not out of panic. Out of sheer, exhausted disgust. Honestly? Understandable. Watch it. Share it. The adults are speaking. Gandalv / @Microinteracti1

@HannahIamthest1 He had a lovely funeral 😔

BBQ RULES: We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity . When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion: (1) The woman buys the food. Ensuring she is educated in the correct cuts of steak to purchase. (2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert. (3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand. (4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman. Here comes the important part: (5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL. (6) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery. (7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat Important again: (8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN. (9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table. (10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes And most important of all: (11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts. (12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ', and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women. 🤣🤣

Basic steps for honey glazed carrots , which we then made into a dish on its own or a perfect side or warm salad, fresh vibrant and one pan only used

A Cork Safety Alerts follower has reported spotting Hemlock Water Dropwort washed up on Front Strand beach in Youghal yesterday, Wednesday 18 March. A previous sighting was also reported at Mall beach in the town. This is one of Europe’s most toxic plants. Do not touch it and keep children and pets well away. If you or your pet have had any contact with it, seek medical or veterinary attention immediately.

How to choose and cook a steak well , sticking with basic principles only

I’ve been looking for this video since I saw it a while back. It’s one of the most joyous things you’ll see today. Discovering music you’ve never heard before for the first time. There’s nothing like it…enjoy…

On 30 June 2025, two Metropolitan Police officers were called to what initially sounded like a "routine" domestic incident in Sidcup. A neighbour had reported a man assaulting his mother. When PC Adrienne Parmenter and her colleague arrived, the suspect was nowhere to be seen. With the situation appearing calm, they entered the address to help the victim gather her belongings. Then everything changed.... The suspect suddenly returned home. From the moment he walked in, his aggression was obvious. He shouted, swore, and made it clear he did not want police officers in his house. PC Parmenter later described him as the biggest man she had ever seen — physically imposing, highly agitated, and unpredictable. Sensing the risk escalating, she called for backup. But before additional units could arrive, the situation turned violent. As the officers attempted to detain him, the suspect launched a brutal assault. PC Parmenter was punched multiple times in the face, suffering deep lacerations before losing consciousness. While she lay on the ground, he kicked her in the face. Her colleague was also attacked. She was struck in the head, knocked unconscious, and then stamped on — sustaining serious injuries. Despite regaining consciousness, PC Parmenter tried to intervene and protect her colleague, but was struck again. Within moments, both officers were down, severely injured, and at the mercy of a violent offender. PC Benjamin Gregory and PC Jake Lodge arrived to what can only be described as a chaotic and harrowing scene. Without hesitation, they moved in. The suspect was restrained, taken to the ground, and handcuffed. But their work was far from over. Two colleagues lay nearby, both unconscious and covered in blood. While PC Lodge remained on the suspect to prevent any further threat, PC Gregory immediately began administering first aid. One of the officers was not breathing properly. He opened her airway, allowing her to breathe again, an action that would ultimately save her life. Both injured officers were rushed to hospital. PC Parmenter suffered significant facial injuries, including a deep laceration requiring stitches, as well as heavy bruising and a torn rotator cuff that continues to affect her mobility. Her colleague’s injuries were even more severe. She spent eight days in a major trauma ward and, like PC Parmenter, has been left with trauma-related amnesia and limited memory of the incident. In the background, Sgt Karen Cundy provided critical support. From attending the hospital to supporting families and coordinating care, she ensured that every officer involved received the help they needed during the aftermath of a deeply traumatic event. The suspect later pleaded guilty and, on 26 September 2025, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. The judge described it as one of the most harrowing assaults on police officers he had seen. After eight months of recovery, PC Parmenter has since returned to duty. Her focus remains simple; not allowing the actions of one vile individual to define her or stop her from doing the job she loves. This incident is a stark reminder of what frontline policing really involves. Unpredictable situations. Extreme violence. Split-second decisions. And officers who continue to step forward regardless. In recognition of their actions, PC Adrienne Parmenter, PC Benjamin Gregory, PC Jake Lodge, and Sgt Karen Cundy will attend the London Police Bravery Awards 2026. Because this is policing at its rawest. Courage under pressure. Teamwork in chaos. And lives saved when it mattered most. 💙

Probably the best #StPatricks Day message I’ve seen in a longtime- as a former resident of NYC myself - well done Mayor @NYCMayor

Real Irish tucker Crispy Bangers the way I likem, Jack Black pudding ,buttery mash, onion and stout gravy, All local all Irish Happy St Patricks Day 🇮🇪

@jobbyhorse @philipnolan1 @RTEOne @ITV @utv @hamnetmovie Gobshite

@philipnolan1 @RTEOne @ITV @utv @hamnetmovie Shes a crap actress, is woke, and disrobes on screen making her a disgrace to Killarney.

Just a reminder, if you’ve been living under a rock all year, that @RTEOne and @ITV/@utv have the #Oscar ceremony live at 11pm (and the latter has red carpet coverage at 10.15 too). Oh, and Kerry’s Jessie Buckley just might win Best Actress In A Leading Role for @hamnetmovie.

Me estoy divirtiéndo mucho con los post que me llegan de los Australianos. Están sembrados: .Alright. Let’s talk about this absolute geopolitical shitshow for a second. So picture the scene. You’ve got Spain, right. A normal country. Tapas. Siestas. People arguing about football and drinking wine in the sun. And suddenly they wake up one morning and Donald Trump is on television basically screaming: “IF YOU DON’T HELP ME BOMB IRAN I’M CUTTING OFF TRADE.” Mate… what the fuck is this? Is this foreign policy or a drunk bloke threatening to leave a group chat? And Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez comes out and says the Middle East escalation is a “disaster.” Which, by the way, is the most polite European way possible of saying: “THIS IS A FUCKING TRAIN WRECK.” Because Europeans don’t scream like Americans do. They just calmly sip an espresso and go: “Yes… this situation is extremely concerning.” Which translates to: “WHO GAVE THE TODDLER THE NUCLEAR CODES?” Now here’s the bit that makes this whole thing even funnier. Spain said no to letting the U.S. use joint military bases on Spanish soil for the strikes on Iran. And suddenly Donald Trump is like: “FINE. NO TRADE WITH SPAIN.” Mate… that’s not diplomacy. That’s a bloke flipping the Monopoly board because he landed on someone else’s hotel. Can you imagine the conversation in Madrid? Spanish officials sitting around a big table going: “So the Americans want to use our bases to bomb Iran.” And one guy at the back just slowly raises his hand like: “Maybe… we DON’T join the Middle East apocalypse today?” And everyone goes: “Yeah. That sounds reasonable.” Meanwhile Trump is pacing around the Oval Office like a bloke who just lost a bet at the pub. “You guys don’t wanna help bomb Iran? FINE. NO PAELLA FOR YOU. NO OLIVE OIL. NO TOURISTS.” Mate, Spain’s entire national reaction was probably just: “Okay.” Because here’s the reality nobody in Washington seems to understand. The rest of the world is exhausted with this cowboy shit. You bomb someone. Then you threaten someone else. Then you scream at your allies. Then oil prices explode. Then the global economy starts coughing up a lung. And then everyone acts surprised like: “How did this happen?” HOW DID IT HAPPEN? Mate it happened because the global strategy right now looks like it was written on the back of a fucking napkin at a steakhouse. And Spain just looked at the whole thing and went: “Nope.” Which honestly might be the most adult response anyone’s had in this entire mess. Because while Washington is running around lighting geopolitical fireworks, countries like Spain are standing there going: “You realise we have trade routes, energy markets, and 450 million Europeans who would quite like NOT to start World War Three today, yeah?” But of course Trump’s response is: “Cut off trade!” Mate Spain exports $20 billion worth of stuff to the U.S. Wine. Cars. Machinery. Food. You’re gonna cut that off because they wouldn’t let you use their backyard to launch missiles? That’s like threatening to divorce your wife because she won’t lend you the car to rob a bank. “YOU’RE NOT SUPPORTING MY VISION!” Your vision is a fucking felony, mate. And here’s the funniest part. This whole tantrum actually makes Spain look like the only sober bloke at a 3am house party. Everyone else is smashing furniture, lighting fireworks inside, punching holes in the wall. And Spain’s standing in the kitchen holding a glass of water going: “Guys… maybe we should all calm the fuck down.” So yeah. Pedro Sánchez calling this a “disaster” might actually be the most accurate understatement of the decade. Because when the adults in the room start using words like disaster… It usually means the rest of the room is on fire and someone’s trying to fix it with a fucking flamethrower. ~Gman

In #Westmeath, the Best Casual Dining award goes to Poppy Fields Cafe @DolanGeraldine @MusgraveMPlace #FoodOscars

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart. We had a very good month. Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace. By mid-February, we had something. Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green. That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma. Here is what they said, in the order they said it. February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday. February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive. I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach. February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses. February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters. Not happy with the pace. We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway. Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years. Not happy with the pace. February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens. I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses. February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications. February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump. Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production." Rejected. Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman. The President said they rejected it. I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed. February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment. February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school. I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that. February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning. February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse. February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement. The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."

@dublin_damo 60 on boarding and feeling like that

My 20s were great, my 30s largely horrific, my 40s a recovery period, and my 50s, so far, my sweet spot - finances finally under control, more self-assured, zero fucks given anymore about so many things, or people, I've found my true self.