I recall hearing in a documentary that filters were just yet another PR scheme by Big Tobacco to make smoking more appealing when studies started to show up about the health effects of cigarettes.

I don’t have a source in mind so don’t quote me on this, but I even seem to remember that those filters are designed to take a yellow/brownish colour when you smoke to make it look like they filter out all the nasty stuff that would otherwise end up in your body

Yup, I’ve been in my (heterosexual but not married) relationship for long enough that the word “girlfriend” doesn’t really feel like a good descriptor anymore.

I think it’s both, or rather that the word “partner” doesn’t fit in their very narrow view of acceptable relationships (heterosexual marriage)

I’ve just asked my partner to “grab me by the scruff of the neck and force me to take an appointment”, as soon as possible. Thanks for your message, it actually gave me the momentum I needed to get moving

Same, but I’m still stuck in the “I sent an email to an ADHD specialist 6 months ago to get an appointment but he hasn’t replied yet, I should probably look for another one” phase.

I was about to buy a new Xbox controller to replace my old 360 controller that’s starting to show its age, but I guess I’ll at least wait until the price reveal of the Steam controller’s price

After years hearing about how awful haggis is, I’ve been very pleasantly surprised when I finally got to taste it earlier this year. It tastes like mutton, which I love, and the oats give it a very pleasant texture. Definitely in my top tier of British food

I mostly do messer (based on Leckuchner’s treaty), a bit of arming sword and buckler (based on the 1.33 manuscript) and recently started 19th century sabre (based on Waite’s manual). They’re all really fun but my heart goes to messer, it’s such a fun weapon to use and the period really interests me.

What’s keeping you from getting back in?

So in May or June this year I had this idea about crafting myself a scabbard for a sword I use in HEMA. I bought power tools, plywood, wood glue, wood varnish, linen sheets, leather, a shit ton of leather making tools. Then it made me want to try out wood carving so I bought tools for that, as well as for wood whittling “to try my hand with smaller scale projects”.

6 months later, all I have to show for it is an unfinished knife sheath I tried to make to train myself and then lost interest in finishing

What I can say as a kinda new HEMA practitioner (only started 2 years ago) is that, while the mordhau/mordshlag isn’t that common in historical fencing treaties, a lot of them have other creative ways of using a sword. The most common one is half swording, which consists in placing one hand on the blade of your sword to make it easier to aim at smaller targets like the opponent’s visor or joints. It’s also really common to use the sword as a wresting tool, by using the pommel or the blade to put you opponent in an arm lock for example.

There’s even one instance of a fencing treaty describing the act of screwing off your own pommel before a fight and throwing it at your opponent to distract them while you charge.

Why … is she talking … like that … though … ?

They obviously had vested interests

Stop making my show about an alt-right villain with a god complex polical libruls

A toothpick or a needle work very well

Really? Do you have more info on that, it’s the first time I’m hearing about it and I’m genuinely intrigued

You can, but only once

Oh we definitely have tons of tautological names for places, France has a big history of different cultures mixing and old languages merging together. What I meant is we don’t tend to add nouns to describe things, like in “X river”, “Y mountain” or even “Z fruit”.

Not sure if that’s specifically an English issue or if other language work the same way, but I do know that, in French, I would just say “le Sahara” and would only say “le désert du Sahara” if I’m talking to someone who really sucks at geography.

Same for rivers, I would just say “l’Avon” unless I suspect my interlocutor doesn’t know it’s a river, in which case I would probably simply add “you know, the river in Great Britain”

At this point just cut the middle man and have battery 1 directly charge battery 2, then reverse it when it’s done. Same results with way less hassle

Better to be the one setting the standard rather than waiting for a new standard to emerge and having to update your production line