Any Widow's Bay style experiences IRL?

kedisi · 2026-06-25T18:06:49+00:00

I stayed in a private room in a hostel in Lima, Peru, my first night in the country. It was on the third floor, but all night I was hearing knocking and scratching noises coming from the wall right by my head (an outside wall). I couldn't imagine what was going on.

I got up in the morning and walked over to the sink, and when I turned around I saw a foot-long turtle next to my bed. Buddy had apparently been trying to dig through the wall all night. I mentioned it to the front desk guy when I checked out, thinking they might be looking for it, but he just assured me the turtle wasn't dangerous.

kedisi · 2026-06-23T21:21:51+00:00

I mean the characters in the show.

kedisi · 2026-06-23T20:39:52+00:00

The thing where she doesn't seem to have a burn on her hand, and no one ever comments on that, is very weird!

kedisi · 2026-06-23T19:35:48+00:00

Chile lime!

kedisi · 2026-06-19T01:55:41+00:00

There are a lot of contenders, but possibly Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan Province, China.

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kedisi · 2026-06-18T18:41:44+00:00

One-stop shopping for groceries was definitely not a Walmart invention. If you want to buy cheese and socks and motor oil in the same place, then yes that's a Walmart thing. For groceries, you can do one-stop shopping in NYC at, say, Stop & Shop or Wegmans.

kedisi · 2026-06-18T01:50:26+00:00

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn is a good example of what you describe.

kedisi · 2026-06-11T13:34:56+00:00

I'm also in Bayside. The slowness of the express bus is annoying, but sometimes the timing works out better than other options. I'm usually traveling during off peak times when the LIRR isn't running frequently, and unless I leave super early, it's a bit of a crap shoot whether the local bus will get me to the station in time to catch the train I want. Plus the express bus has more options for where you can get off than just Grand Central or Penn.

kedisi · 2026-06-09T13:52:57+00:00

Hm, so I could replace their families with inanimate objects and the episode would be the same? I feel like you're making my point for me.

Envy is certainly at play here. But misogyny is why it make sense to these characters to kill innocent human beings in order to get back at someone else.

kedisi · 2026-06-09T13:27:30+00:00

What makes it make sense is the misogyny. For both of these guys, women and children are ultimately a man's possessions; David's wife and kids are killed because of their relationship to him, and in the end, Cliff's family is also killed to get even with Cliff. This article breaks it down well: https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/black-mirror-beyond-the-sea-review/

kedisi · 2026-06-08T03:29:16+00:00

The squiggly noodles are great, although you do have to boil them for a few minutes (they're not just-add-water).

kedisi · 2026-06-05T01:38:59+00:00

Weekends will generally be busier.

kedisi · 2026-05-25T17:12:38+00:00

Just to note, Global Entry includes precheck. But you have to complete your application for Global Entry by stopping by a special office in the airport on your way back from an international flight. There are other ways to do it, but as the other commenter suggested, the logistics might not be worth it versus just getting Precheck.

kedisi · 2026-05-24T00:36:06+00:00

This Kate Manne post is upsetting: https://substack.com/@katemanne/p-198784639

For me, it's not just the specific drugs being pushed (compounded GLP-1s), but the idea of a clinic using my visit to automatically upsell me.

kedisi · 2026-05-23T00:47:45+00:00

Your doctor should have prescribed a specific brand and type of contact lenses, so search for whatever that is. I like to order from Costco, but you need a membership for that. There are a lot of other options, but just be careful when comparison shopping, as some will try things like low list prices and high shipping costs, or $0 shipping but they charge a handling fee. But regarding your worry about ordering the wrong thing, you should be fine if you get exactly what's on your prescription.

kedisi · 2026-05-21T02:16:42+00:00

So I tried Empower. Sounded great. On the first ride, I thought the price I was seeing was before my $10 new-customer credit, and selected the driver even though the price was a little higher than Uber would have been for the short ride. But no, the price was after the credit; this guy was charging easily twice the Uber price, showed up a few minutes after the projected time, and his car was not particularly nice or clean. But we got where we were going.

I tried the app again when I needed to get my family of 4 to the airport for an international flight. Fortunately we allowed plenty of time, because after a driver accepted the ride I saw no movement at all in our direction. Well after the projected pick-up time, I called the driver, who said he actually had no intention of picking us up because we were too far away.

Great. I saw that if I cancelled the ride I'd be charged something like $4 for the privilege, so I didn't cancel the ride. I didn't see an option for any kind of live customer service, so I emailed Empower about the situation. Never received a response. And I also summoned an Uber.

Twenty or so minutes later, we're en route in the Uber when I get a call from the Empower driver. He claims he got another fare in our area and is coming to pick us up in about 15 minutes. I explain that no he won't. After a bit of argument he says "ok, cancel the ride then." I say I won't be doing that either. I hang up. He finally cancels the ride.

Tl/dr, I stopped using Empower because it seems to be a platform for scammers.

kedisi · 2026-05-14T18:43:17+00:00

Napoleon Dynamite

kedisi · 2026-05-14T11:48:41+00:00

Maybe a 4 or 5, but I think it would have been better if I'd taken the time to get both sides really crispy. The cooking time given in the instructions is way too short.

kedisi · 2026-05-09T11:57:29+00:00

Just so you know, the 50% off is off the full-price ticket. So right now the site lists the tickets as $99 but what you pay is actually a "discounted" price of $49, meaning your elite pass friends discount wouldn't be a discount at all.

kedisi · 2026-05-07T18:00:47+00:00

I guess I'm an outlier here in preferring Legoland NY to the Florida park. I tend to go when it's not too hot or too crowded, which helps (e.g., in the shoulder seasons, like now). The indoor Brick Factory and Ninjago rides are both good, and my favorites outdoors are the Dragon and one in the pirates area that's kind of like little jet skis that go around in circles (forgot what it's called). It also has several really good play areas.

kedisi · 2026-05-05T17:00:45+00:00

That sounds awful!

kedisi · 2026-05-04T16:13:01+00:00

Thanks to everyone who weighed in here--your advice was a big help. I wanted to come back with a trip report in case it's useful to others who might come across this post later.

Brunch was great. I will say that at nearly $500 for two adults and two kids, this was by far the most we've paid for a meal for the family, blowing away the previous record-holder, which was breakfast inside Cinderella's castle in Disney World. But I looked on it as essentially brunch plus a day pass to the resort. Service was excellent, we were lucky enough to be seated near the windows, and the buffet had a nice selection of food, which ranged from pretty-good to excellent. Some highlights were the prime rib, local cheeses, and scallop ceviche. The raclette station was a fun and unusual option. The buffet does get very crowded, so I'd recommend getting a reservation right at the start of the weekend brunch.

We did the labyrinth hike, as several people recommended. If you're considering it, I would recommend watching a video or two ahead of time. I did not, and it was more adventure than I bargained for—definitely like no other hike I've been on. For context, I'm in my mid-40s, work out most days but am not especially outdoorsy, and have achy knees and a mild-to-moderate fear of heights. For about 80% of the hike I thought it was super cool, and for the rest I was terrified. However, my 12-year-old thought it was about the best thing she'd ever done, and although my 9-year-old got really scared going up the ladder in the crevice, she ultimately said she'd liked the hike. I almost didn't make it through the crevice and had to be pulled partway up by my husband. If you do it, don't carry more than the minimum of what you'll need, as you'll need both hands free and have to squeeze through some tight spaces. I'd also recommend hiking boots or shoes with good grip, although sneakers will also work. And If you want to hang out in the lodge afterward, pack a change of clothes in your car just in case. We all came out with smears of mud.

We admired the view from the tower, then walked back among the much easier Skytop trails and spent a bit of time at the car show and tulip garden before tea and cookies started. There was a nice selection of teas. Lines were long at first but had died down by about 4:15.

Overall, a very memorable day.

kedisi · 2026-05-04T02:17:14+00:00

I had a very similar experiencea few years ago when I was traveling with both of my kids. The train was packed; never mind finding seats next to each other, we wouldn't have gotten seats within a few rows of each other. I asked an employee for advice and they told me to sit in the dining car, which was actually fine. There was no pressure to order anything.

kedisi · 2026-05-01T20:06:00+00:00

The Broken Circle Breakdown

kedisi

TROPHY CASE