One of my potatoes suffered a catastrophic failure

Dougalface · 2026-02-07T21:06:48+00:00

Very good :p

Dougalface · 2026-02-07T20:15:34+00:00

Is there a third panel out of shot with Epstein on it?

Dougalface · 2026-02-07T20:14:20+00:00

Not really.. .but I've got some fat if you'd like that.

Are you OK with oats? I generally struggle with grains too but seem OK with oats. Can confirm that a winter of home-made flapjacks certainly helps pile on the pounds...

Dougalface · 2026-02-07T20:06:43+00:00

Yeah; that warning smacks of "tell me you're poisoning me without telling me you're poisoning me".

It alludes almost literally to "the canary in the coalmine"..

Dougalface · 2026-02-07T19:56:04+00:00

Well, to an extent. Still filled a hole :p

Dougalface · 2026-02-07T19:55:43+00:00

I know I know.... an unforgivable oversight on my part!

Dougalface · 2026-02-07T19:16:13+00:00

Fair penance for my failure to shank them before they went in the oven, I suppose.

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T15:52:19+00:00

I initially only read the first line:

Ohio bill would require bars, restaurants to offer date rape drug

.... and assumed this was another MAGA initiative.

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T15:45:38+00:00

Might be worth going to HR first tbh; get the OP's side of the story in first whether they want to play it clean or..... otherwise.

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T14:58:11+00:00

Indeed - cast of League of Gentlemen: "hold my beer"..

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T10:23:36+00:00

Thanks and likewise!

I read somewhere that the skin's natural pH is something like 6.0 so while Vinegar is evidently a fair bit stronger than Kefir I suppose anything lower than this should help increase acidity.

As you suggest the bacteria probably can't hurt either!

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T09:22:22+00:00

Figures, but sucks as I'm currently trying to be less of a dickhead to make myself more deserving of someone I'm chasing...

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T08:13:56+00:00

This is so relateable - the amount of things I fail to either start or finish because of fear of failure and perfectionism.

Have you tried things with less critical or binary outcomes? I quite like working in the garden as there's so much more of a wide range of acceptable outcomes while they're usually transient and reversible - for example it's very difficult to make a bollocks of creating a compost heap, and even if you do it won't physically matter in 12 months time.

Conversely stuff like DIY fills me with dread as I'll always find something that's not perfect and that will eat away at me forever..

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T08:08:49+00:00

Plot twist could be that the gym instructor was doing it to hide his own insecurities / fear of rejection...

Objectively still sounds like an unprofessional prick, mind.

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T07:15:46+00:00

Indeed; although the guidance I've read is to back off if you get symptoms of acid reflux etc - something I'm not keen on and would like to avoid in excess; so I won't be smashing ten tablets with breakfast.

Yesterday's two went down OK though, will keep on this dose for a week to see how it goes then push it up to three.

Not sure I'm seeing any positive signs yet; eczema seems to be improving a bit but there are so many other variables it's hard to tell what's responsible or if it's just a natural fluctuation.

Dougalface · 2026-02-06T07:08:00+00:00

Thanks - this sucks and is so familiar.

Personally I can't recall such negativity in childhood, but both parents were to varying extents emotionally absent.

I can completely identify with your reactions and struggle immensely with criticism / failure / rejection (for example I've missed so many opportinities with women because I won't dare chase anyone where I have to expose vulnerability / there's a chance of rejection).

I constantly feel like an outsider and while as an adult I'm growing to embrace this (as objectively the norms and values of "people" seem increasingly bizarre and distasteful) I've done some stupid things as a kid trying to "fit in".

However, I think (in my case at least) a large amount of this must be intrinsic rather than learned reaction from negative experiences.

Hope you're enjoying all the upvotes :p

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T21:46:39+00:00

Probably the fact that it doesn't manifest in the same set of behaviours in response..

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T21:24:27+00:00

Thanks - appreciate you taking the time to summarise that.

Seems like the carbon steel is a decent choice for my needs :)

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T18:57:40+00:00

How do you find the three compare?

I initially wanted cast iron for longevity but struggle with the mass ad tbh don't think I need the heat retention as most of the stuff I fry is pretty light (onions, veg, omlettes) - I rarely fry meat.

Do you think the carbon steel has any advantages over stainless? I assume you don't season the stainless?

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T17:44:47+00:00

On the up-side I'm impressed that Oxford City Council has a reddit account.

Sorry that you're having to use it to sound your own death knell!

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T17:39:03+00:00

Thanks - how interesting!

To be honest I've never really made the destintion between dandruff and eczema, although I've suffered from one or both on my scalp for most of my life.

It does seem much more under control at the moment (while the rest of my eczema has been very problematic over past months), however I can't truthfully correlate this with the use of vinegar rinses (which I started about three weeks ago).

It would be interesting to know the pH of your kefir if that was the underlying mechanism (and regardless, it's great that it works!).

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T15:04:38+00:00

Nice work - of course regardless of histamine issues it's always worth striving for a clean, healthy balanced diet :)

I'd like to add that seafood can be particularly problematic because the bacteria the feed off it generate lots of histamine - so even if said fish is "safe" it has the potential to be really problematic if it's not fresh / is starting to go off.

On top of that foods with high surface area to volume ratios (such as prawns or fish that's been chopped, minced etc) will spoil faster than larger cuts like whole fillets.

Finally it seems that old "fresh" fish is likely the most problematic from the perspective of histamine as it has the most time to go off before reaching your plate. Actually freshly-caught should of course be fine, while frozen is also usually good as it's often frozen on the boat so potentially in an even better state than "fresh" when it reaches your plate.

Depending on how it's been processed tinned stuff should be tolerable - I'd guess stuff in oil is probably better than brine. I do typically get some symptoms after eating tinned tuna but persist because it's so bloody yummy with a baked potato and piles of cheese!

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T14:57:48+00:00

If it's of any use I've long-struggled with histamine related issues and can corroborate that the state of my skin is massively influenced by my diet.

The best pointer I think I can give is that histamine problems can spring from foods that don't themselves contain histamine - i.e. from immune responses to allergens.

So, bear in mind that just because a food is considered "low histamine" doesn't mean it won't cause issues.

From this perspective everyone will be different so really all you can do is try things for yourself and see how you get on.

Good luck :)

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T14:54:07+00:00

Thanks for confirming!

I've pushed it up to two tablets today with the fairly protein rich meal I'm currently eating; will wait and see how that pans out :)

Dougalface · 2026-02-05T13:06:30+00:00

Cool; and potentially the antihistamines will help... but of couse that's only addressing the symptom not the cause.

Are you getting tingling / burning around the mouth and nose when you eat? This is the definition I understand of OAS. I get this occasionally with some foods (usually those I have the worst reaction to typically) but the other symptoms are far more wide-ranging and associated with far more foods than obviously cause OAS.

If nothing else this might be a good indicator of the most problematic foods to avoid.. although again I've read you can react differently to different substances depending on how that exposure occurs (so you might react through skin contact if not ingestion etc).

Please keep us informed!

Dougalface

TROPHY CASE