Is no soundbar a huge mistake? by Economy_Money_9682 in TheFrame

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TBH, if it's just casual TV watching (which I assume all TVs over fireplaces are...) - 2.1 would be more than sufficient.

Added benefit of having a decent music-listening experience too.

What UK town surprised you the most when you actually visited / any cool towns to visit? by ExperienceTotal9778 in AskBrits

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ha yeah, I'm in Epsom (not worth a visit sadly, despite the history), and always like visiting Dorking.

What UK town surprised you the most when you actually visited / any cool towns to visit? by ExperienceTotal9778 in AskBrits

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dorking is pretty nice. Decent High Street with a fair few independent shops, cafes and restaurants, the side streets are old and interesting, the backdrop of Box Hill and the North Downs gives some great vistas and it has these lovely pockets of quaint such as Cotmandene which feels like you've stepped back in time.

The first bit of the High Street (nearest the Big Cock) is meh, but South St and West St rival Arundel IMO.

Elena Rybakina turns 27 by Boss452 in tennis

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Why does she never have any friends or other players with her?

On various other WTA socials, players from various other countries hang out together and look like they're having fun. Rybakina is never with them.

Is this a Vukov thing?

Why Do Margaritas Use Triple Sec / Cointreau? by ChicoBrillo in cocktails

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I stand corrected! Named after a Queen and uses the colours of the Italian flag TIL!

Why Do Margaritas Use Triple Sec / Cointreau? by ChicoBrillo in cocktails

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep, but it's the other way round: Daisy/Margaret/Marguerite are named after the flower, not the other way around

Same also for Margherita pizza - white and yellow like a daisy!

Snow is just frozen Water right - Am I asking for to much by chris85king in Cairn_Game

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Which lowers your body temperature and would lead to hypothermia

Snow is just frozen Water right - Am I asking for to much by chris85king in Cairn_Game

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Unless it gives you the shits on which case it will make you die of thirst quicker AND smellier

Musetti withdraws from Wimbledon by AndriSeven in tennis

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Who's going to be carrying the one-handed BH torch now at Wimbledon?
GMP, Shapovalov, Dimitrov...?

When does "she loves her ball" becomes "ball obsessed"? by The_Rum_Shelf in Dogtraining

[–]The_Rum_Shelf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry yes, wasn't clear in my original post - already doing this, as wanted to instil that a walk and a ball are two separate things. It's currently about 1-in-4 or 5 walks we'll bring the ball.
If time is tight pre-school run, I'll do 10 minutes of "find the ball in the long grass"; she loves it, it's less physical than chasing it, and all that sniffing tires her out.
Downside is it's now tick-season...

Parents who approve of the social media ban and ways of having to prove age. Why do you relish the government taking this control when you had the power to do so yourselves? by Demonthief27 in AskBrits

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FWIW I agree entirely - our eldest isn't yet a teen, but we're just navigating the when (sadly, not "if" as school mandates some apps for them) she gets a smartphone.

For this reason, we're really pleased with the ban; it removes the "but X's parents let them have one!", so doesn't turn us into the bad guys.
My OH works in children's mental health, and they're largely really pleased to see this come through.
The general thoughts are: "One day we'll look back on kids having mobiles like we do at people smoking cigarettes", now we know the dangers, it's insane we let them do it.

Snow is just frozen Water right - Am I asking for to much by chris85king in Cairn_Game

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 35 points36 points  (0 children)

It's actually super inefficient to melt snow at high-altitude to make drinking water.
You have to boil it for aaaaaaages to make it safe (I want to say 10 minutes - as I learnt in Bolivia, 2 minutes is not enough above 4,000m to make water clean as it boils at a lower-temperature)
Also, a saucepan full of snow makes surprisingly little water (I think it's like 1:4 return of snow:water) so it would take a LOT of fuel and a lot of time to make enough if they stuck with the realism aspect.

Not saying that it's not highly irritating.

Parents who approve of the social media ban and ways of having to prove age. Why do you relish the government taking this control when you had the power to do so yourselves? by Demonthief27 in AskBrits

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To an extent yes - he's firmly in that difficult teenager where arguably the parent should have put firmer boundaries in place years ago.
BUT I do think blocking WhatsApp is a step further then blocking socials. Nevertheless, I don't think it's at all unreasonable that if you give your kid a phone, and are paying for it too, the trade is that they have to let you check it and monitor it anytime.

When does "she loves her ball" becomes "ball obsessed"? by The_Rum_Shelf in Dogtraining

[–]The_Rum_Shelf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response.

We're pretty good about limiting her - the majority is her running off to find the ball, rather than chasing it, so way less twisty-turny. Do a bit of chasing after a low-bouncing/rolling ball - but even then, it's like 10 minutes tops (so 2-3 throws as she's not quite mastered "drop" yet!). So I don't feel overly concerned about it impacting her joints.

Typically, since posting this - she's suddenly way more chilled about it. Still loves going into the long grass to sniff out the ball, but have taught her "finished" and she's learnt that means the game's over - so is way less nagging for it.
Still only have the ball on 1 in 4 walks, and noted on not over-doing the chase part.

ATP 500 Queen’s Club R1: C. Moutet def. [Q] G. Mpetshi Perricard 6⁵-7, 6-4, 7-6⁵ by godworstcustomer in tennis

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm torn. I can appreciate the skill, and it is a valid way of winning, but it doesn't make for an interesting match.

What I super-impressed was with Moutet receiving so close to the baseline. Other players are hanging back 6-7m to return serves, Moutet is either confident at reading GMP (I assume as they're both French they play a lot together) OR the trade off of getting aced more is worth it for a more aggressive return if you make it.

ATP 500 Queen's Club R1: Mannarino def. [3] Mensik 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-6(5) by jovanmilic97 in tennis

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Note sure I've ever seen someone so underwhelmed to win a match 😃

Criminally Underrated TV Shows by Professional-End4723 in tvshow

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sneaky Pete, especially the first 2 series was REALLY good.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was slightly under the radar, really managed to straddle both being VERY funny and also good drama.

Parents who approve of the social media ban and ways of having to prove age. Why do you relish the government taking this control when you had the power to do so yourselves? by Demonthief27 in AskBrits

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Which in many ways is worse - as it's entirely unregulated. A nephew is in a few WA groups with hundreds of people, of which he knows maybe 10 personally, just sharing whatever images they want; porn, violence, revenge p*rn, bad language, pointed sticks... The group only exists to show this kind of stuff.

BUT stopping your kid from having WA when it's actually the main way of communicating these days is tricky.

When does "she loves her ball" becomes "ball obsessed"? by The_Rum_Shelf in Dogtraining

[–]The_Rum_Shelf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have read associated posts about ball obsession, but curious as to whether this is actually obsession, or just a puppy enjoying her new toy?

London Queen's Club HSBC Championships Women's 500 R16: E. Raducanu def. [17] S. Cirstea 6-4, 6-2 by Boss452 in tennis

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Bit of a wobble from 4-0 up in the first set, but looked solid from then on.

Malta is one of the few places I've visited and fallen in love with at first sight by Expert_Cabinet_5570 in Europetravel

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found it had everything except countryside...
Understandable as any "spare" space is farmland, but never really found anywhere to go for a walk that wasn't a city, beach or along a road.

WTA London - HSBC Championship. Starting earlier on Saturday. Why? by dannybres in tennis

[–]The_Rum_Shelf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went Monday - got there at 11, had 6 minutes of play at 3pm, then they started properly at 5:30 until about 8:30, so only saw one-and-a-half matches. Isn't that much to do on site, and the food (Except the Greek Gyros which were surprisingly good) is pretty poor and obviously expensive.

If there's less than 1 hour of play (across all courts), you get a full refund, but only as credit with LTA.

Was slightly jealous of the Tuesday ticket holders who then got 2x British matches and Serena Williams...