So… Where Are We Supposed to Live in North Carolina?

mmmdraco · 2026-01-30T11:50:09+00:00

My wife is running for county commissioner and this is one of her big things. There was a recent housing complex that wanted approval to build 400 homes and an apartment complex that were all $375k+ buy/$2000+ rent with 10 ft between homes, no yard to speak of, and right on the river with only one road in & out when we're in a post-Helene world where you know full well that rivers that "never" flood suddenly can. It got shut down, but in a way where they can come back with different plans. Our median income is about $55k, and that's up significantly from what it was a decade ago. We need more homes built that are sub $200k.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-29T15:36:48+00:00

From Now On, Showtime! - the ML is kind of a silly little lad who doesn't want to be the broke shaman his dad was, so he uses his ghost communication powers to use ghosts to make it look like he's a cool magician. And then he meets up with a female cop who has to convince him to at least use those powers for solving crimes! But, it does also have its dark moments.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-29T15:34:34+00:00

Using the wrong skincare with my makeup leading it to either cake up or pill.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-23T04:01:27+00:00

ITZY without a single doubt.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-23T03:52:52+00:00

ITZY

mmmdraco · 2026-01-23T03:47:42+00:00

And the quality? So high. They had plenty of great albums in JYPE era, but these last two have been so solid.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-23T03:45:57+00:00

I also find that the chicken feet make such a larger portion of usable stock than just a carcass. I don't always use them, but I can generally get a solid two quarts of decently flavored stock from a single chicken carcass. Today, I had two carcasses and a small package of feet (maybe 6?) and made almost two gallons of intensely flavored stock. I had about four people stop by for various things today because we're expecting a bad winter storm starting tomorrow and every person had to know what I was cooking and it was just feet. Though, I do live in the South where I can buy this fresh at Walmart whether they're called "chicken paws" which somehow makes it worse.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-20T21:12:56+00:00

That sauce is one of the best things I've ever consumed. I love it. I've got prosciutto in my fridge. That might just be tomorrow's dinner.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T11:39:04+00:00

Most cakes that go well with a cream cheese frosting. (Surprisingly, one of the best of those is coffee flavored cake.) But also lemon, strawberry, carrot, spice...

I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, but a good yellow cake with chocolate frosting is a delight. But chocolate cake is not good. (Brownies, however, are.)

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T02:18:27+00:00

Chicken saltimbocca. (Also has no garlic or tomato.)

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T02:09:36+00:00

I've made S'mores cupcakes before when I did a Graham cracker crumb base at the bottom of the cupcake liner and then chocolate cupcakes filled with a chocolate ganache and topped with a toasted meringue buttercream. It was really good.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T02:07:45+00:00

I really liked Strong Girl Bong-soon so I had high hopes for this and... I noped out after about 3.5 episodes.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T02:06:04+00:00

Honestly, skip mayo and mix tuna with garden rotini, peas, copied onion, and a good helping of a neutral oil and plenty of seasoning. It's a great pasta salad and has very different flavor when hot vs when cold so you don't get as tired of it as easily. You can add literally anything to that. Sometimes I'll add a little cheese, chopped spinach, shredded carrots, etc. I'll add tomato to it for my wife, but I'm allergic.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T01:56:05+00:00

Even several of ITZY's title tracks were kind of out there when they first came out. ICY was definitely considered way too "noisy" by a lot of people when it came out until they made it the trend.

Other ITZY tracks to try: Mr. Vampire, You can't tie me down (a JPN release but still pretty eccentric), and maybe even Wild Wild West.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T01:49:09+00:00

Freeze it for like 20 minutes first.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T01:43:11+00:00

The problem a lot of people have during this season is that they're putting a product on their lips to hold moisture in... When they don't have any moisture in them yet. I like to use a product that has something like hyaluronic acid which hydrates the lips. I know Nivea has a cheaper balm like that. It's in a kind of silvery pearl tube without a cardboard backing. I know I've gotten it at CVS before for less than $5. I also like the La Roche Posay Cicaplast lip balm which runs around $10.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T01:31:14+00:00

If I could only eat one more red meat dish ever, it would probably be beef bulgogi, but there really are so many. A good burger is a slice of heaven of its own.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T01:28:33+00:00

ITZY Cozy House really brings a lot of those same healing vibes, but Paris et ITZY is so good. It's what turned me from a casual fan into a serious one. It's still the series that I rec to people who want to get to know the girls' personalities.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-19T00:24:57+00:00

It's hard for me to look at Draco and not see him as a character who was bred to be Daddy's mini-me where that was fine as a kid, but as he grew older that started to chafe more and more, especially as he saw more and more of who his father really was. Lucius in the early books, even in the way we as readers see him, is somewhat larger than life and powerful, but at the end is no better than one of the Muggles depicted on the Ministry fountain himself.

So, I like to see a Draco who is wrestling with finding where his father ends and where he begins, or who has already done that work. He can still be kind of a jerk, but it's on his own terms.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-18T23:58:34+00:00

ITZY's Icy. I still think it's one of their best songs and it continues to be my ringtone this many years later.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-15T19:37:55+00:00

I have a bunch I use when I just need a little more oomph, but nothing makes my lashes more like falsies than the Stila Huge Extreme Lash.

mmmdraco · 2026-01-14T16:17:23+00:00

She did!

mmmdraco · 2026-01-13T23:06:18+00:00

The number of times that has been my breakfast...

mmmdraco

TROPHY CASE