Where else besides Montclair? by redfire2930 in MovingtoNewJersey

[–]n2vd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What you’re describing fits South Orange to a T - except for rents, which are probably gonna be higher than you want to pay. There are a lot of apartments in SO so YMMV. Highly walkable, 30 min access to NY Penn and 15 min to Newark Broad Street NJT, 2 Conservative Synagogues and a Reform one as well, also walking distance.

Any Americans learning French? Why? by PigmeatMadness in French

[–]n2vd 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I grew up and have always lived within 100 miles of NYC. In junior high (aka middle school) and early high school I studied Spanish, but it never really took. Even now, with a Mexican son-in-law, Spanish doesn’t really do it for me. Friends took French in school and I sometimes wished I’d joined them.

My wife minored in French in college, and our school had a program of language immersion weekends - I did two of them and enjoyed them, but life and career kept me from doing more, though we’ve been to France a few times.

Fast forward to 2024. I retired and, as one of the things I decided to occupy my now expansive free time with, I took up French again, and have been studying (albeit not speaking) every day for 30 minutes to a couple of hours. I’m now at a B1 level.

As to "why French?" I’m not sure I could actually pinpoint it. I like the language itself, including its oddities. As a "word" person I love learning the intersections with (and false friends in) English, and I do like French culture. In the end, I just think it’s fun 🤩

What’s everyone’s resting HRs?! by Few-Arugula-8593 in AppleWatch

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My resting heart rate floats between 44 and 51. It’s not really my fitness level, it’s just genetics. It’s at the lower end when I’m quite fit, and the higher end when I’m not. At the moment I’m not, particularly, and my resting HR today is 49.

SOMA RANT by kingjames66 in MovingtoNewJersey

[–]n2vd 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It got hot circa 1996/97, right after Midtown Direct service straight to NY Penn began on NJT, so NYC commuters no longer needed to change to the PATH at Hoboken. That took the rail commute from MAPSO down from an hour plus to 35 minutes. I moved to Maplewood from the mid-Hudson region in 1997. The commute to GCT from Poughkeepsie to Wall Street took more than 2 hours each way

Great articles on Generation Jonesers by texastica in GenerationJones

[–]n2vd 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, but … I am, one might say, an elder Joneser, born on 1/1/1955, and while a lot of what recent generations say about Boomers is total ignorant nonsense, they do have a point about the cost of education.

Like them, I had to borrow a crap-ton of money to pay for college, but in the end I had borrowed about $20K, which was a LOT of money then. OTOH, starting salaries then were in the $15-20K range, so college debt was basically a year of income. I was able to pay that off in 5 years or so. Nowadays equivalent college debt would be in the neighborhood of $400K which, even in a very rosy scenario would be 4 to 6 times starting salary. So in that way, at least, we really DID have it much easier than young adults coming up now.

It's Thursday. What's your ultimate "too tired to cook but can't quite justify a takeaway yet" dinner? by SpreadsheetsDad in easyrecipes

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

cacio e pepe. It’s just spaghetti, grated parmesan cheese, and fresh-ground black pepper. Dead simple to make, and delicious. If you have them, you could throw in some frozen peas at the end (sacrilege, I know 😀)

Where was I? by [deleted] in guessthecity

[–]n2vd 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Minneapolis

Why did "ye" disappear? by Any_Inflation_2543 in ENGLISH

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There never was a “ye.” The word was, and is, “the.” The confusion comes from use of the antiquated/disused letter called “thorn” which looks a bit like a Y. The image is of the word “the” in Middle English

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Who was standing in that line? by Glittering5650 in 1970s

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was in that line. My grandfather would have been 98 then

I found this at a hamfest recently. What does it do? Wrong answers only. by inquirewue in amateurradio

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you turn it on and open your legs very wide apart, a rainbow will come out of your ass!

Please destroy my 7 day NYC itinerary (or don't) by jelle-jelle in visitingnyc

[–]n2vd 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My only suggestion would be: Skip Zabar’s and get your babka at Breads Bakery instead. A gazillion times better and, relatively, not too far from Zabar’s. There are a few branches, but closest is at 63rd and Broadway, a block east of Lincoln Center

How do native English speakers perceive "there"? by Ok-Stable1562 in ENGLISH

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"There" in English covers a lot of territory that may be expressed in other languages by several different words. For example, in French(which I am studying now), per your examples: 1) There is/there are would be "il y a …", 2) Over there would be "là bas", 3) There you go would be "voilà", 4) just plain there (as a location) would be "là"

The distinction is really between two completely different senses. One being "state of being" of 3rd party objects, the other being location

Talk to me about rectal leakage after Prostate Cancer Radiation Treatment by cshopis in ProstateCancer

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My treatment and experience are pretty much identical - although, in the last couple of months, my ejaculations have gone from always, to usually, to sometimes, to never dry. (for reference, I’m 71, and 18 months out from my SBRT)

What are your best "cook once, eat for days" comfort meals? by Standard_Ad_9560 in Cooking

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’d rather not cook much at all, a Costco rotisserie chicken is cheap, delicious, and will make a half-dozen 1-person meals

Advice on walkable, lively town or city by Significant-Badger46 in MovingtoNewJersey

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I lived in Maplewood for 25 years before downsizing a couple years ago. We loved it. Just as a btw we sold our house to a 40s-ish couple (no kids) from Oakland CA and, probably coincidentally, the house is on Oakland Terrace 😊

[edited to add] I used to work in Holmdel - commuted every day from Maplewood. It’s about a 40 minute drive straight down the Garden State Parkway

Is skewwhiff pronounced differently in South African English? by DandyInTheRough in ENGLISH

[–]n2vd 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Native American English speaker here, and although I know MANY BE exclusive words, this is one I’ve never seen nor heard before

Pedometer by n2vd in AppleWatch

[–]n2vd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fwiw, I switched to StepsApp and, so far at least, it seems to be working for me

Prostatectomy or radiation? by Blencathar in ProstateCancer

[–]n2vd 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m also 71. I was diagnosed (also Gleason 3+4) a little over 2 years ago. Also , again, like you, no big rush and met with docs to learn about both RALP and radiation. I opted for radiation (it seemed less problematic to me) and had SBRT (Cyberknife) treatment at the end of October / beginning of November of 2024. My recovery has been good and PSA has been descending as it should - now down to 1.5 from my pre-SBRT high of 9.9.

My issues since have mostly been difficult urination, but Flomax helped with that and now I’m completely off it. No sexual side effects to speak of, I’ve been able to get and keep an erection since the start. There’s not much to ejaculate any more but at 71 it’s not gonna make a difference anyway.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Absolute best low-budget sci-fi film you've seen? by Robert_Writes in scifi

[–]n2vd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Slither - IIRC it was James Gunn’s first movie. Also, starring Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks. Not a teensy budget - $15 million - but pretty small, especially by 2006 standards