Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)

[Arcadia]

[Pseudonym]

:D

[Van Buren Supernova]

Hey! I want to know more about the biscuit..!!

[Pseudonym]

Biscuits, now there's a topic to get behind :D Are biscuits even that big a thing in other countries?

[Arcadia]

To me a better question is ... are they really that big a thing in Britain? Do people really expect to have them with tea?

 

Here, tea is much more likely to be an accompaniment to a meal, I think. Here in the south, ice tea in particular is common with meals. (If you're a true southerner, it's sweetened ice tea, to boot. )

[Pseudonym]

Yes! I've had quite impassioned debates about which is the best biscuit (dark chocolate hobnobs 100%), and given the choice I would always go for a biscuit. Generally I don't buy them because they are so calorific I try to stay away but yea, biscuits are a pretty big thing. Going over someone's house and being offered a cup of tea is great, being offered a cup of tea and a biscuit is splendid. Some people will even lay out a plate of biscuits with an assortment of different types to chose from. Biscuits are a serious business ;)

[Arcadia]

That's not unheard of here, but it's seldom specifically biscuits (or cookies, as we call 'em). Any little snack will do. Although now I've really got a hankering for going out and buying some English-style biscuits and having them with a cup of tea, because it really does sound splendid! Those little almond cookies with just a touch of crunch to them......

[Pseudonym]

Biscotti? They're Italian... I don't know that cookies and biscuits are really the same...? I've wondered this. A cookie here would be big, gooey centred and delicious, most often from the bakery section or a specific cookie stand. There are some in the biscuit aisle called cookies which are harder and more like a normal biscuit, but I never think of them as a real cookie. Are all biscuity type things called cookies over there? (Can't believe this has turned into an actual serious conversation... if I didn't just come back from a huge meal I'd have a serious hankering to nip to the corner shop and buy some!)  

[Carol the Dabbler]

Over here, the word "biscuit" nearly always refers to something like a scone (though nearly always plain, no fruit, sugar, etc.) that's served in place of bread or toast. The only exception I can think of offhand is a "teething biscuit," which is made for babies to chew on while they're cutting their front teeth. Those are hard and somewhat sweet.

 

What y'all call digestive biscuits are very similar to what we call a Graham cracker (except that ours are square).

 

Judging mostly by photographs, I'd say that your fancier biscuits would be called cookies here. I suspect the distinction you're making is of British origin. Since your biscuits are not soft and gooey, you borrowed the American term for those.

 

But over here, "cookie" covers everything from gingersnap (which are thin and crisp) to Mallomars (which are not).

[Van Buren Supernova]

Good God!

You guys are really talking about biscuit!!

 

Okay, what is the excuse this time?

Normally we always blame our nuttiness on the hiatus.

I think deep down, wait, not that, but high up on the surface, we are.. actually.. natural nuts. :D

:cowdance:

 

And of course, I would join the conversation! Biscuit is common, yes, big thing as well, as coffee or tea companion, quick food substitute or even munchies for formal occasions like meetings and events here. For me, nothing beats cake. Of course.

[Carol the Dabbler]

OK, OK, I have a rant, then!

 

I was driving on a three-lanes-each-way highway this afternoon, and at one point got hemmed in behind a cement truck (the kind with a big revolving container in the back that mixes concrete en route to the construction site). I've driven behind these before, and passed them, and had them pass me, with no problems that I recall.

 

But today! I'd guess they had already delivered the concrete and were on their way back to home base, because in that case they need to rinse out the concrete residue, lest it solidify and ruin the container. But this time, the truck was apparently spraying water out the back, because it was getting all over my windshield. And it was freezing so fast that my wipers wouldn't remove it, I had to keep spraying wiper fluid on the windshield too. I kept thinking what if I ran out of fluid and couldn't see where I was going?

 

Fortunately I was finally able to get past the truck. Whew!

[Arcadia]

Did you calm yourself with a nice tea and biscuit aftwards? xd

 

Pseud, I like tea and biscotti too, but what I was referring to was these little ovals called "tea biscuits" -- at least, that's what they were called on the box that was given to me. Not as crunchy as biscotti, and you don't dip them. But definitely not a gooey American cookie either. I've had them in lemon too, but the almond ones are divine.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

God, I hate shopping! First, there's the amount of choice you have that repeatedly overwhelms me and is 98% not my cup of tea. Then, you have find your size; clothes are okay, but bra's are a nightmare! Then, you have to que to see where whether it suits you. And then you have to que AGAIN to pay aaaargh!

[Arcadia]

Oh, yesss!!!! Especially shopping for jeans. I literally have to try on dozens of pairs before I find the right fit. And then I finally find a store that sells jeans that actually fit me, so all I have to do is walk in and buy my size ... and the store goes out of business.

 

Right now I'm in the process of killing off Macy's. Just another purchase or two should do it .....

[Pseudonym]

I hate shopping too, I buy everything online and hope for the best. Would rather have to go to the bother of sending things back than going to a shop and dealing with people.

[Van Buren Supernova]

I also hate clothes shopping, so I hardly do that unless I have to or see something I like unintentionally.

 

But I like browsing travel, outdoor, equipment shops and daily necessities. The department I dislike the most is ladies shoe and bag (and with that I alienate most ladies :p), because I don't use them and loathe their lack of function in the name of aesthetic that I don't understand. I prefer to stuck in computer shops with other geeks and dorks. I also wouldn't step a foot into a cosmetic area.

 

Yah, what is up with those jeans? Some jeans have so skinny legs that I suspect they are for flamingo only.

 

Normally when I find something comfortable, I buy quite a few of them because I also curse the business that I like.

[T.o.b.y]

I agree that buying jeans is one of the most frustrating shopping chores ever. Thank goodness they tend to last a while.

 

I don't really mind shopping in general, though. I like grocery stores (if they aren't too big) and drug stores, office supply places... That sort of thing.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I love browsing in natural-foods markets, especially ones I haven't been in before.  And I agree, office-supply stores are fun.  But clothing stores -- gaaaahh!  Nothing fits me properly, so I have to buy things too big in some dimensions and too small in others (so I end up in baggy clothes with the sleeves too short).  The only exceptions I've found so far are mail-order / online.

 

I finally found a pair of jeans -- in a STORE, wonder of wonders -- that fits me pretty darn well.  Probably should have bought more than one, but thought I'd see how I liked them first.  Of course, that means I haven't even worn them yet, because I'm saving them for special occasions.  :P

 

[Pseudonym]

I stick with one 'model' of jeans that I have in five different colours/styles. They are skinny jeans though, so apologies to VBS who expressed her distaste of them earlier :P

[Arcadia]

Well, that's the thing ... once I find I 'model' of jeans I like, I want to stick with them. But if the store that sells them goes out of business ... !!!!!! Because I'm never able to find a different store that sells the same brand.

[Pseudonym]

You're a curse. Promise to never shop anywhere I like. :P

[Pseudonym]

Ahoy rant thread. I bring you... a rant. 

 

It's cold, dark, hammering down with rain. I was in work all day, then I went to the gym, I am extremely hungry, very tired and all around couldn't wait to get home. I finally get home, only to find there is a sodding premiere league football match on in the stadium just down the road from my house meaning there is nowhere, literally nowhere, to park. I had to park a mile away from my own bloody house and then trek back with my laptop under my arm, my lunch dishes in my hand, and my heavy backpack on, getting absolutely soaked. I should be able to park outside my own house, it infuriates me!

[Carol the Dabbler]

No driveway, I take it?

 

Where I used to live, there was an old lady (or, to be more precise, an old woman) across the street who DID NOT want anybody parking in front of her house. Now mind you, she had a perfectly good driveway that she could (and did) park her own car in. She just didn't like cars parking (perfectly legally) along the curb out front.

 

The story was told that once a new neighbor, unaware of this, parked his car there, and -- it being a warm day -- left the windows rolled down. He returned to find his front seat covered with fish heads.

 

So there's a technique you might consider.

[Pseudonym]

No, I could have one, I have the room, but I'd have to pay for the council to drop my curb which would be really expensive. :(

 

That woman sounds like a nutter! Was she just hoarding fish heads waiting for the opportunity to use them?!

[T.o.b.y]

Ahoy rant thread. I bring you... a rant. 

 

It's cold, dark, hammering down with rain. I was in work all day, then I went to the gym, I am extremely hungry, very tired and all around couldn't wait to get home. I finally get home, only to find there is a sodding premiere league football match on in the stadium just down the road from my house meaning there is nowhere, literally nowhere, to park. I had to park a mile away from my own bloody house and then trek back with my laptop under my arm, my lunch dishes in my hand, and my heavy backpack on, getting absolutely soaked. I should be able to park outside my own house, it infuriates me!

 

Oh no. I sympathize completely. For a while, I lived in a city that expected you to consider yourself privileged for paying rent there; no resident parking to speak of and it was a daily battle with tourists and shoppers to find a place to leave my car for the night.