General Discussion Thread

[Róisín]

Sounds like one of those strong aromatic liqueurs? I've had spruce needle liqueur, and that was startling but delicious. Guess it can't be worse than retsina?

[DB (f.k.a. DaveBro)]

The only gift I brought back for me (as opposed for other people) when I was in Finland over the summer was tar liqueur.  Mmmm

How would you like to be Howard Tayler's New Best Friend? He bemoaned the fact that he's almost out...and hasn't found an importer.

I'll have you know tar is awesome!  >snip<

There's also a Finnish saying stating that a disease that isn't cured by the sauna, booze or tar will kill you, so tar is also one of our top three medicines.

Now I'm curious, & will have to sample it if I get the chance.  Laka was great...

[Haiz]

if I appear to be somewhat uncharacteristically absent the next couple days, it's because i'll be somewhere in the czech highlands with a bunch of friends and other people. we have a lot of Traditions to do, including hiking, playing board games, hiding from annoying siblings in a locked room (one year we got a lot of charming messages on papers shoved under the door, like a drawing depicting all my friends and me as toilets), me attempting to play along with a folk band on a borrowed fiddle, celebrating my parent's wedding day at some restaurant (and trying not to repeat the Story of Seven Fantas), getting czechs to taste some norwegian specialty food (last year was smalahove, this year we've brought whale meat), and of course - fireworks at new year's eve ("hey, before you go checking up on why they're not going off, what are your last words?" "i want fireworks at my funeral").
I should not spend a lot of time browsing the internet, even if there should be wifi in our room^^"

so yeah!! have some nice mostly-haiz-free days, you guys!

[Mélusine]

Enjoy your end of the year, Haiz It seems to be a nice program.

[Purple Wyrm]

Right, so tar liqueur is made of pine tar.

I had visions of Finns being so hardcore that they drank petroleum byproducts

[JoB]

Right, so tar liqueur is made of pine tar.
I had visions of Finns being so hardcore that they drank petroleum byproducts

Actually, and in spite of the British Navy having been the main buyer of Nordic pine tar in the age of wooden ships, the English term supposedly tends to imply coal tar as the default variant. Maybe some enterprising Finn should start to sell the liqueur to tourists with a (laquered) coal briquet in the bottle.

[Noodles]

Right, so tar liqueur is made of pine tar.

I had visions of Finns being so hardcore that they drank petroleum byproducts

Me tooo! And we have tarred wooden light poles here (to keep the woodpeckers/insects out), so I know what that kind of tar smells like and was really confused when people said they liked it.

[Noodles]

GUYS GUYS IT'S SNOW/RAINING AND WUNDERGROUND SAYS IT MIGHT TURN INTO A DUSTING* OF REAL SNOW
ok this is pathetic, but it's the first snow all year. 

*a centimeter or two :<

[Róisín]

Excellent! Snow on, yes!

[Mélusine]

Home *Falls on her back on her bed, arms open*

[Purple Wyrm]

Actually, and in spite of the British Navy having been the main buyer of Nordic pine tar in the age of wooden ships, the English term supposedly tends to imply coal tar as the default variant.

Ah! Good to know. I was actually thinking of asphalt, which is the most common "tar" I'm familiar with.

[Róisín]

Pine tar and other conifer tars actually have a lot of applications, in everything from dyes and plastics and varnishes and paper finishes to caulking and waterproofing compounds (which was its main use on ships), to medical applications such as anti-dandruff shampoos and medicated soaps for eczema and skin infections. Also firelighters, incense, perfume fixatives and the like. And food flavourings and preservatives; and, of course, liqueurs.

[starfallz]

I'm not really sure where to post this, but thought I might ask here. I need to knit another pair of SSSS mittens in a smaller size for the pattern I'm writing, but can't afford to buy more yarn just to test it out (and definitely don't need a set of mittens I can't wear).

Would anyone want to buy yarn and get a set of mittens (eventually) out of the deal?

The mittens would end up being in the small to medium size, and would be knit with wool yarn. Colors can be negotiated.

[DancingRanger]

I'm not really sure where to post this, but thought I might ask here. I need to knit another pair of SSSS mittens in a smaller size for the pattern I'm writing, but can't afford to buy more yarn just to test it out (and definitely don't need a set of mittens I can't wear).

Would anyone want to buy yarn and get a set of mittens (eventually) out of the deal?

The mittens would end up being in the small to medium size, and would be knit with wool yarn. Colors can be negotiated.

Ooo! I'd be interested, but I have no clue when the next time I'll be able to buy yarn will be. : / nor am I sure where I can get true wool yarn. (Without an hour long car ride)

[Noodles]

SDGJKGFFGHJHFFS I JUST LISTENED TO THE HAMILTON SOUNDTRACK AND THEN WENT TO SEE STAR WARS BACK TO BACK I AM OVERFLOWING WITH THE FEELS

Spoiler:  kinda spoilery? Font geekery ahead • show

the only thing I didn't like was the aqua Arial Black credits
But seriously, Rey is my new favourite person, with her awesome personality/opinion set, badass lightsaber fighting, and cool costume. The only annoying one was Ren and he was only there a little. Every dang character has a good character development, the droid is adorable, and there were more Easter eggs than you'd think possible. The plot was compelling, the CG beautiful, and even the extras in the background were fairly diverse in race, gender, and species. 10/10, would build a house from and live there forever.