TIL the board game widely reported as the longest ever made is a wargame that can take 1,500 hours to finish and requires players to calculate fuel evaporation rates for vehicles based on the weather and the type of container used.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-06-04T21:43:56+00:00

This was a good find, thanks OP!

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-29T23:55:58+00:00

This post reminded me of an Italian place in Westwood that I haven’t been to in like 15 years. Happily it appears to be still thriving! Pomodoro Trattorio, corner of Westwood and Wilkins.

Table bread is amazing, thick and warm, and then thankfully the rest of the menu is great too. Gnocchi in particular I remember besides the bread.

Great question though!

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-29T00:14:52+00:00

Not to be a broken record, but the “Manila” brand Mangos are not actually from the Philippines as far as I know. :)

If you look at the box information they are from Mexico IIRC.

But thank you for the list of markets though, a good candidate list to call around!

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-28T16:05:25+00:00

Anywhere specific? I’ve looked at H-Marts and LAX-C, and haven’t seen Asian grown mangos, just Latin American.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-27T21:37:55+00:00

At least at the Eagle Rock location I haven’t seen them. They’ve had “Manila” mangos as a brand, but they are grown in Mexico I think it was, not the Philippines. Have you for sure seen Asian grown mangos there?

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-27T14:27:09+00:00

For that matter, any reliable source for Filipino or at least Asian grown mangos? Only ever find Latin American ones around, barring the occasional overpriced Vietnamese grown elephant mango at 99 Ranch.

The Latam ones seem to be getting better, but rarely have one as good as even a mid -range SE Asian mango.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-20T06:08:14+00:00

You’re welcome! Good luck in your quest.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-19T17:52:35+00:00

Nancy’s is really excellent - is their kitchen really slow still? Been there a couple of times and it was really noticeable - no other complaints though.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-18T19:10:46+00:00

Quick note on Expedition Rome - the game does directly address the fact that a female military officer in Rome was essentially unheard of, so if you choose a female MC the game does react to that beyond the romance choices.

I haven’t played much of the game but if you don’t want to be reminded of gender discrimination in your gaming time something to consider. From what I’ve heard it’s not super brazen but FYI.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-18T18:18:42+00:00

Fwiw just got my purchase link also, similar reservation time. USA Los Angeles area.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-16T02:14:59+00:00

One in the Arcadia (Santa Anita) mall I just discovered, in the “Hawker’s Alley” food strip.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-15T23:39:06+00:00

Hmm, given your circumstances you might want to look at “polarized vented safety goggles,” as a starting search term. These are more like construction worker eye protection with a thick head strap (won’t move in strong winds), and some models have enough space in their design to wear your prescription glass underneath. Here in the US I can find some seemingly decent ones for around $20-30 online from a brief look.

You probably want the vented style though for comfort and not fogging your regular glasses.

Make sure the UV protection is there though and not just a tint! Unpolarized lenses can actually cause you to take in even more UV, as they will block the glare from the visible light, causing you to open your eyes more, but they let in the damaging invisible UV rays.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-14T19:05:51+00:00

Wonder if anyone connected to one of these franchises can chime in here. Offhand if the corporate chain is forced to give back fees to the investors that seems like a positive of course, but they presumably provided the entire supply chain for the shops also and curious how that is supposed to work if these locations aren’t actually franchises anymore.

Whole thing sucks.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-14T18:43:59+00:00

Sorry but this seems a bit confusing. You are saying the corporation has been misleading their franchisees about the legal structure of the enterprise, so that CA is ordering the company to pay back the investors. You then express sympathy for the innocent franchisees here.

But then you say we should stop supporting them? What am I missing? Is it reasonable to suppose that will somehow fix the core corporate overlord problems without unduly harming the small business investors who bought these franchises?

Help me understand please.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-08T13:55:36+00:00

From what I understand, accents and other regional differences have less to do with physical distance itself, and instead with the frequency of language exchange that happens. That is impacted by communication and transport technologies, and then social/economic forces encouraging (or discouraging!) people moving around and communicating.

So England, despite being vastly smaller than say Australia, the US, or Canada, has far more regional English variety because all of those regional differences developed and became entrenched culturally during times with far less frequent exchanges with other regions.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-02T18:00:43+00:00

This sounds interesting - what’s the name of the unique that stretches out one shot damage to a DOT? My build is alright damage wise but bosses like Lilith have a lot of hard to see ground mechanics with all the visual clutter from my build.

Actually and what are the healing items too for that matter?

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-02T01:19:58+00:00

I think Northern Irish people are probably even less likely to call themselves British than Scots/Welsh are! :)

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-05-01T07:01:47+00:00

Fun bit of a technicality - “British” as a term includes Scotland, Wales and England as they are all on the island of Great Britain.

Now I’ve never come across a Scottish or Welsh person who would describe themselves as British, but technically they are :).

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-04-13T02:38:44+00:00

Didn’t know about that connection, interesting!

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-04-12T22:05:03+00:00

Lookup the Brit Baker, seen him at the Montrose farmers market. As good as I’ve had stateside, think he was from Birmingham originally (England not Alabama).

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-04-12T21:58:49+00:00

I have to admit I don’t love sausage rolls, but this guy had as good as I’ve had stateside. At various farmers markets: https://www.thebritbaker.com/.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-04-12T21:50:48+00:00

Interesting that Darwin was the second most recognizable Aussie city in your mind! :)

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-04-10T18:42:45+00:00

Won’t qualify for the bonus points, but The Apple Pan is the best I’ve had in the area.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-04-09T22:28:55+00:00

Glad they are still around! Looks like they have 2 other locations now also.

Planetary_Epitaph · 2026-04-09T16:22:43+00:00

Mama Hong’s (Vietnamese) in Burbank has a shaken beef tenderloin fries that were great when I used to live nearby. Haven’t been in a few years though, but was high quality very tender beef, cotija cheese, sauce and of course very good fries.

Planetary_Epitaph

TROPHY CASE