(I didn't know where to put this post; it seems too frivolous for GD, but not jokey enough for the Lounge, so if somebody wants me to move it, please let me know)

and looking at Charles's British Twit face I began to wonder how many of his school notebooks, starting around age 12, were covered with doodles like "Charles Rex" and "King Charles the Third" and "Charles R"--like teenage girls practice writing their married names. I wonder how many different writing styles--fonts, even--he tried out, for all those decades.

I wonder if he planned his coronation the way some girls dream about their weddings, what to wear, which crown--"does this one make me look fat?"--and who would be seated next to whom at the reception. "Oh Mummy do I *have* to have the Breaazers there? And Diana's brother?" and the Queen rolling her eyes and pretending she didn't hear him.

And how many years has Camilla been forced to listen to mix tapes?

Not all Republicans are stupid, but all stupid people are Republicans.

Settings? I can't find any way to get rid of these annoying pimples.

Has anyone else had problems with eggs that will not fully incorporate into batter? During this egg shortage, I bought a dozen of an unfamiliar free-range brand. I tried to make brownies, but these eggs (especially the whites) refused to blend into the batter, no matter how hard I beat them. I went ahead and baked the pan of brownies, but it came out with streaks of cooked egg white throughout. These streaks were unpleasant; they were chewy and just generally tasted like overcooked boiled eggs. I ended up throwing those eggs away after I couldn't get them to amalgamate into a mixture for scrambled eggs.

Then I was able to get my usual eggs, and all was well. Then a shortage again, and I bought Eggland's Best, and guess what? Brownies again (I have a weakness) and the first egg out of that dozen did the same damn thing--it just didn't want to mix in.

Is something going on with eggs? Have I lost my batter-beating touch? I'm interested to hear if anyone else is experiencing anything similar.

Those who warned me there was a learning curve were not kidding. I'm accustomed to cooking on gas, and I generally turned the flame up high just to warm the pot and contents, then after a minute or so turned it down until I got to the stage of gurgling I was looking for. This worked fine.

The induction cooktop's "high" setting takes about two seconds to attain hellfire temperature. If I turn away to put the milk back into the refrigerator and then put the wooden spoon in the pot to see if we're where I want us to be before I turn the heat down, the bottom of the pot is already scorched and its contents curdled. Obviously I need to learn to respect "high" and not turn my back on it for one second.

Yesterday I wanted to heat up a can of tomato soup. I turned the stove to "high," stirring constantly, until I could tell the bottom was hot. Then I turned the stove down to "med" and stood there watching and occasionally stirring. It took forever to warm up! I moved the dial to between "high" and "med," and it still took a really long time.

This was not acceptable. I need to learn how to toggle down from "high" to "high enough but not too high." I need a tutor.

Thanks to all this group for the help and advice. You guys are great.

Drag queens reading stories is arousing. People totally change their lives so they can go to the bathroom of the opposite cis sex because that's so hot that it puts the original users in danger of sexual assault. Banning abortions will clog up peoples' sex hormones so they won't have illicit sex any more. Gay people, especially gay men, do nothing but fuck each other, and that's just not right. And on and on.

Mike Penis is the epitome of the sex-mad Republican. He can't even be in the same room with a woman who is not his wife without getting a raging hard-on.

I have a problem with "well wishes." Are your wishes themselves healthy? I understand where this comes from--"I wish you well"--but it doesn't change the fact that "well" is an adverb (the "to be" in "I wish you well" is understood). And to say "I'm sending you good wishes" really doesn't convey the same spirit as "well wishes," except that "well wishes" is screechingly wrong.

I love Jimmy Carter. I loved it that he insisted on carrying his own luggage onto Air Force One, and that Nancy Reagan sneered at him for doing it. I love it that he is a kind and modest man who doesn't just talk the talk. I love it that he follows his faith.

His death is going to elicit "well wishes" for his wife and family, and I am girding my loins.

NHK is my favorite TV channel. It is from Japan and in English or subtitled, and it covers all aspects of Japanese culture. Many of its shows are only five minutes long! No commercials.

There's a series called Time Scoop Hunters which I sometimes watch--its format is cutesy-poo--but when I saw the title of the latest episode, Substitute Farters of Edo Japan, well, that was a must-see. You can watch the episode at https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/timetide/20221203/3022019/

In 18th century Japan, a fart could ruin a young lady's chance of marriage, if one happened to slip out when she was introduced to potential in-laws (arranged marriages), humiliating her and her family by her poor manners. So a new occupation emerged, that of the substitute farter. This was a woman who dressed like a nun (so she could go anywhere unnoticed, I guess) who accompanied the young farting lady to all social occasions. If her employer farted, the substitute farter became embarrassed and fell all over herself apologizing for her behavior, saving the young lady's reputation.

I bet everyone knew who had really farted, but the substitute farter provided a socially acceptable way to overlook her slip in etiquette.

why do somebody else's parents get to decide what *my* kid reads in school?

It is, as several of you guys warned me, a slow learning curve, and it doesn't help that my husband, enamored, has not let me close to the stove for 10 days now.

I do like its speed, and I like the circles which show you how to center your pans--I had trouble with the gas range getting the pans in the right place. I like the warming area, which I've used so far to warm the cast iron skillets after I clean them.

Two problems: All our skillets that aren't cast iron (and I've inherited a bunch of them) are aluminum, so I'm going to need to buy a couple of lightweight skillets with steel bottoms. I am old, and frankly the cast iron ones are way too heavy for me. I checked out a few on the internet and was shocked by the price. I'm going to go to Marshall's, where I've found nice pots before at a reasonable price. Any advice on skillets?

My second problem is that you're not supposed to drag the pans across the cooking surface, and I have some good recipes that call for browned butter, which I make by sliding (jiggling sort of) the pan on the cooking surface. And what about omelets? Any suggestions about this?

And yes! Cooking on a paper towel works! The problem is that the paper towel covers the rings of the smaller burners, and I can't be sure I'm centered. But if nothing else, this is a great parlor trick.

Again, thanks to all of you who helped me get over my fear of the new!