1801

Lunch? You’re in Madison, the stores have to be full of hiking boots, hipster boots, etc.

H.

1802

Congrats – may your marriage be long and pleasantly eventful :)

1803

Yay, congratulations!

1804

Hur Hur Hur!

Hope you left “The Hat” at home ;)

I know what you mean about it being addictive. Thankfully I don;t have enough spare cash right now else I’d also be down there.

The boobs smell so damn GOOD!!

1805

i’m still rich, bitch!

just checked online: $133,000. i wonder, if i get interest do i have to give it back?

tomorrow i will make a phone call and ask them how long they think it will take to fix.

1806

Recently got back from a 12-day vacation in Germany & Austria. I had never left the North American continent until my mid-30s, so having two European vacations in three years is exciting. A brief assessment of Germany/Austria versus Italy:

  • food - Italy by a landslide; the stereotype of German food as pork products & potatoes is fairly accurate. On the upside, I’ve now tried blood sausage, head cheese, black pudding, & pork knuckle. I’d eat all of them again. Biggest disappointment: currywurst. A hot dog with ketchup sprinkled with curry powder? That’s late-night street food? Bah.

  • beverages - Germany by a hair; much better beer, arguably better white wines. Italy dominates in red wines. I hear both countries serve non-alcoholic drinks too, but I think that’s a myth.

  • variety of terrain - Germany, although might be biased because we toured more German cities then we did in Italy (didn’t go to southern Italian beaches).

  • weather - Italy. Germany was basically the same cloudy, rainy mid-spring we get in Michigan; Italy was gorgeous & not yet scorching in mid-to-late May.

  • sightseeing experiences - Equal. Majesty of ancient Roman architecture versus the poignant solemnity of Dachau’s concentration camp.

  • willingness to identify ourselves as American tourists - Germany. Far more American tourists in Italy than Germany, including many more loud-talking idiots who thought that Godfather impressions were the height of hilarity. We began telling people we were Canadian by the end of the Italy trip. Locals were great on both trips.

I love exploring new countries. We’re already planning our next big trip - I’m pushing for China, but we may have to do one more European one (either United Kingdom or Eastern Europe) before I convince my wife to take a 13 hour flight.

1807

Congrats man!

1808

Congrats Salwon, have fun and best wishes!

1809

Spent the week restarting water wells in preparation for increased summertime demand for cool refreshing water.

1810

Just got back from a public viewing of Orgasmic Birth. Great movie! It’s all about empowering your birth experience and taking back natural childbirth.

1811

I wonder how long you have to wait before you can just keep it :)

1812

In Chicago, at the top of the Hard Rock. Awesome view.

1813

That sounds like filthy hippie talk. Childbirth is ugly, undignified, messy and painful. The bits between the water breaking and holding that baby for the first time are best forgotten.

1814

We never wanted it, you can have it. FFS, make up your mind and pass the cigars.

H.

1815

I’ve read a little about the Orgasmic Birth thing, sounds like a winner if you can achieve it!

1816

It’s worse than that, it’s dangerous hippie talk that damages children and mothers who aren’t getting adequate medical attention because their birth isn’t a hospital and isn’t attended by doctors.

1817

This is exactly the kind of crap that’s dangerous to mothers. Numerous studies have shown that, for example, 90% of mothers that get c-sections didn’t actually need them, and that just being in a hospital greatly increases your risk of other unnecessary interventions such as Pitocin augmentation, just because medical professionals are impatient. There is no medical reason for intervention rates, among healthy mothers with healthy babies, to be as high as they are.

1818

Yes, what fire said. Also, if someone does want to have a natural childbirth with the comfort of knowing that doctors are available, there are birthing centers close to or in hospitals where women can have natural and even unassisted births.

1819

This sounds like a dangerous decision to make without your doctor telling you what to do.

1820

Birthing centers attached to hospitals are great, total best of both worlds for parents who want a natural child birth experience. I totally agree about the overboard rate of C sections and how it has a lot more to do with doctor scheduling than health needs.

That said – Home birth? It’s like people don’t realize how astronomically high infant (and mother) mortality rates were through most of human history. If something goes wrong, the wait getting to the hospital might well kill you and/or your kid. I don’t think it’s justifiable and I think it’s really kind of selfish.