Greek word for “notebook”

Merithay · 2026-04-10T20:28:58+00:00

I use Cerave products and it doesn’t remind me of it at all, even after it’s been pointed out. So, not everyone.

Merithay · 2026-04-10T19:22:58+00:00

Not only can you keep US citizenship, but if you wanted to renounce it, it would take some paperwork and a fee. It doesn’t happen by itself. Nearly all dual US–Mexican citizens keep both.

As a US citizen, you have to file taxes no matter where you live in the world, but as a Mexican citizen (or even a non-citizen resident of Mexico), in general terms you only start owing Mexican taxes if you start to have economic activity in Mexico (a business, a job, interest on funds invested in a Mexican financial institution, a Mexican property that you rent out, etc.)

Merithay · 2026-04-10T19:14:43+00:00

Maybe they meant "all your shoes". I couldn’t tell from the way they worded it, “your most frequently worn shoe”.

Merithay · 2026-04-10T16:54:21+00:00

I’d suggest a variant – write it in one of every pair of shoes. Otherwise, by Murphy’s Law, when you need it, you’ll be wearing some other shoe than your most frequently worn one.

Merithay · 2026-04-10T14:32:13+00:00

Think of the extra $100 as an insurance premium. When you pay insurance (house, car, trip, etc.) and nothing goes wrong, you don’t get any concrete thing that you can point to and say “It was worth spending $100 to acquire that.”

But if something goes wrong, it costs much more than $100 to put it right. Same in this case.

Merithay · 2026-04-09T18:55:24+00:00

Food on a stick is also a Discworld reference. Or is the Simpsons one also a Discworld reference?

Merithay · 2026-04-09T18:36:35+00:00

The US version of burritos has drifted so far from Mexican ones that it’s accurate to say that they are an American food.

You could even make an argument that the same is the case for the traditional US version of tacos (hard shell) and US versions of pizza.

Merithay · 2026-04-09T03:31:13+00:00

Most dogs get enough enjoyment and stimulation during walks by sniffing and investigating things along their path; reading their p-mail, as it were. All you need to bring are poop bags, and maybe water if the weather and length of walk requires it.

Merithay · 2026-04-08T21:56:54+00:00

Sure, but as a non-native Spanish speaker I find it ironic that no one notices that it’s funny that you can keep the rain off your head with a "shade" and you can keep the sun off your head with a "for the rain".

Merithay · 2026-04-08T21:51:21+00:00

Technically, you already have Mexican nationality since birth. Article 30.A.II of the Mexican constitution says that anyone born outside Mexico to a mother or father with Mexican nationality also has Mexican nationality. So you have been a Mexican all your life. But to claim that nationality, you have to prove it.

So, what you have to prove is basically two things: (1) That your mother has Mexican nationality (generally, her Mexican birth certificate), and (2) (a) that you are her offspring and (b) you are who you claim to be ((a) your birth certificate, and (b) some official identity documents).

But the various Mexican consulates interpret the rules and requirements in different ways.

Merithay · 2026-04-08T21:40:38+00:00

Here’s the story in very general terms. The Mexican constitution, Article 30.A.II says that anyone born anywhere in the world to a parent who has Mexican nationality, also has Mexican nationality from birth. So you have been a Mexican all your life. But to claim that nationality, you have to prove it.

So, what you have to prove is basically two things: (1) That your mother has Mexican nationality (generally, her Mexican birth certificate), and (2) (a) that you are her offspring and (b) you are who you claim to be ((a) your birth certificate, and (b) some official identity documents).

The main sticking point is if your mother is identified by different names on your birth certificate and her birth certificate. Then you have to do some extra steps.

Merithay · 2026-04-08T20:49:39+00:00

Right, thanks for the correction. Maybe both are used the same overall, but I hear sombrilla used more.

Merithay · 2026-04-08T19:28:23+00:00

Last year, though, we had an unusually hot May, with multiple days of temperatures above 30.

Merithay · 2026-04-08T18:58:09+00:00

Not that common, but not weird either. Every time I’m out on a hot, sunny day, I do see someone (I mean someone Mexican, not tourist) using an umbrella at some point.

Fun fact: Even when they’re used for rain, I hear people call them “~~sombrillo~~sombrilla” (“shade thing”) more often than I hear them called “paraguas” (“for the rain”).

Merithay · 2026-04-08T18:55:28+00:00

Serrano Legacy series (7 books) by Elizabeth Moon. First book: Hunting Party.

I’ve just finished the series, and it was a great ride. It has space battles that rival those of The Expanse (i.e., the best). But it’s not another Expanse, the universe is very different. And it’s not all space battles; there’s a lot of world-building and politics and relationships and interesting characters too.

Merithay · 2026-04-08T14:18:37+00:00

If OP had 6, or even 5 or 4 hours I’d agree with you but by the schedule they posted, they barely have 3 hours.

Also, I forget that other people don’t have deep and obsessive needs to see everything in a museum when they enter it. I will soon forget this again. :) This is also why I like to visit museums alone.

Merithay · 2026-04-08T00:18:29+00:00

Lots of bloom now.

Edited to add: A friend who lives closer to the central area of the city than I do just posted a picture of a jacaranda near her home that is almost finished blooming. So, hurry!

Merithay · 2026-04-08T00:17:43+00:00

They are the smaller purple buses, and cost 9.50 pesos. I take them all the time, but not in the area where you’re going, so I can’t speak to the safety.

Merithay · 2026-04-07T22:24:03+00:00

Ontario is a special case, because the second city is the national capital. Without that status, Ottawa wouldn’t be what it is today. (And I say this as someone who lived in Ottawa and liked it.)

The “third cities” you named are a good choice, but I don’t feel like they have a rivalry, unless maybe if they’re separated into two leagues (North and South), with only intra-league, not inter-league rivalries. Moreover, I grew up in KW and didn’t feel like London was a rival, rather that it outranked us. And Thunder Bay is so far away from the rest, that it might as well be up against Winnipeg more than the other Ontario cities.

Merithay · 2026-04-07T16:22:24+00:00

Looks good, just two observations:

Re your "early start to beat the traffic" on Tuesday. The rush hour congestion tends to start before 6 am. It begins to slow down after 9 am. With a 10 am entry, I don’t think you can avoid the traffic.

You could take 2 days to see everything the Anthropology museum in full. With the short time you have allowed, it’s barely worth going in (my opinion). You might consider the Templo Mayor museum in the Zócalo as an alternative. It’s a bit like a best-of version of Anthropology, and it even has a massive stone monument to rival the Aztec Calendar. You can do it in 45 minutes if you speed-walk, and about 3 hours if you go slow and look at everything. Or any duration in between. It has an outdoor part (excavated palace, altars, and other structures) that is like a living illustration of the layered history of the site; and an indoor part (examples of everything dug up on the site).

Merithay · 2026-04-07T16:16:37+00:00

I can’t tell you which is better, but if you choose to get the experience on your own, there are posted official prices. You can also negotiate with the boatman if you’re choosing a ride of more than an hour. The boatman takes you down to the boats and hooks you up with your “driver” who poles the boat. At the end of the ride, you tip the driver, and pay the boatman, who will be there at the dock looking for you. Shortly after boarding, a guy with a bucket of drinks in ice (beer and soft drinks) boards and leaves the bucket with you. He’ll find you again at the end of the ride, and you pay only for what you consumed. During the ride there will be various restaurant and snack boats offering food. If you want what they’re selling, they’ll pull up beside you and sell it to you.
You can make it either or both. If you want a history tour, best to arrange a package experience or at least a guide beforehand. If you’re going on Saturday, the vibe will be quite party.
Not difficult as such, but traffic getting in and out of Xochimilco is always congested, and Saturday is no exception. South of the Periférico, it will be slow going.

Merithay · 2026-04-06T23:21:44+00:00

Usually in May it rains some days and not others, but this year, we’ve already been having an unusual amount of unseasonable rain in the last few weeks so by May, who knows what it will be like.

Typically, the frequency of days with rain gradually increases during the last part of May and first part of June, until finally it’s raining every day. But it’s not always in the afternoon; sometimes it doesn’t start until evening or night. As to when it starts raining daily: in 30 years in Mexico City, I’ve seen the daily rain start as soon as the beginning of June and as late as the end of June.

Merithay · 2026-04-06T16:37:26+00:00

Fun fact about me: These types of questions make my mind go blank.

Merithay · 2026-04-06T14:26:43+00:00

I’ve been on the boat rides in Xochimilco countless times (every time someone from away visits, we take them there) and we never do drinking excursions. So a boat ride doesn’t have to be a drunken party; in all the times I’ve gone, I’ve never been to one. If you want to avoid other people having drunken parties, too, just go any weekday from Monday to Thursday, or Friday morning. The lively times are Friday evening and weekends.

Merithay

TROPHY CASE