scootypuffjr

Thank you for the update. I hope things turn out okay for everyone involved.

Black Ice looked good as well - a simple, no frills, low slung machine that looked able to withstand just about any attack. It seems a lot of these battlebots can be a little too fancy for their own good. I remember watching a show years ago, where the object was to build a robot to fulfill some simple task, say, gathering ping-pong balls. It was always fascinating to me to see how different people had such differing ideas of how to best accomplish the same goal; it was neat to see how many options there are, and no one design is definitively the best. I find Battlebots interesting in the same way, not to mention the blood-lust thing being satisfied as well, with no one really getting hurt. Glad to see it's back, and looking forward to the rest of the season.

Disappointed by Nick and Sig, for the reasons stated above. Edgar has to feel like the most disrespected captain on the Bering Sea, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did the complete opposite of his original plan just to show who's boss, if you know what I mean. Edgar is not the first captain to pull bad numbers and he won't be the last. It's not like it's his first rodeo, either - no need to go behind his back and cry to "daddy" for help. Sig should have told the crew that Edgar is the captain and hung up. Impressed by Sean and Jake. I like the idea of giving greenhorns a chance to learn and grow without constant harassment. Sean seems like a nice guy, while still competent and staying in charge - a good captain to work for. I thought Jake handled a difficult situation very well, though it was clearly hard on him. I think Jake grew up some that day. Eta - a skateboard fish! Now I've seeneverything.

Perhaps you guys are right. Though we lived in an affluent area just outside DC, my family stayed in the same modest/average house while I was growing up, my dad always bought used cars etc, so my perspective might be a bit different. It was just an idea I had while watching this morning with my mom, and thought I'd share. Thank you for your responses - I always appreciate any input!

I swear, if I never hear that "happy wife, happy life" mantra again, it will be too soon. So dismissive of the husband's wants and needs, and I'm just sick of hearing it.

I think I wad - thank you! I knew someone out there had to have a better memory than I.

As much as I love complaining about these overly entitled young'uns (and I do!), I wonder if their demands are largely a matter of past experience and prevailing standards. Perhaps when the realtor says, "Here is the single bathroom and smaller closets," it's like he or she is saying to many of us, "And here is the outhouse and your hooks." My mother (born in '32) managed just fine growing up with an outhouse and three hooks for her clothes - her church dress, her school dress and her play dress. That was normal in her experience, and perfectly adequate for her needs. I (born in '63) grew up with a single bathroom for a family of four and small closets and considered that normal and perfectly adequate for my needs. When it came time to buy my house, I would never have even considered anything with an outhouse, though conceivably I could get used to using one if need be. But why should I? We all could learn to live with outhouses and hooks, but we don't want to. So if these kids born in the '80s and '90s (they're kids to me, anyway) grew up with big master suites with luxurious spa-like bathrooms, chef's kitchens and walk-in closets, that's their base-line and they'd find it somewhat of a hardship to accept anything less. They just have to understand those things will cost more and aren't necessarily an option in the older houses with charm and character. Am I making any sense, or am I overthinking things and just trying to make excuses?

Thanks, ClareWalks. My balance is kind of crappy - I can trip over literally nothing - so I might still consider getting one, but maybe a little less seriously. I appreciate your input.

I know at the moment there are a lot of complaints about yet another balance board, but I think I might could use one. The Spooner board reminded me of a similar product pitched by a mother and daughter team a while back, which they claimed strengthened the core and helped reduce fat around the middle. I looked on Amazon and found nothing, but I know some of you guys have amazing memories and might could help me out. On the other hand, my 20 year old son is slightly overweight and, imo, not active enough, and the Spooner board might appeal to him more. ClareWalks, I know you are a trainer - is this kind of product helpful? Would it really help improve core strength and overall fitness? Most of my exercise is only walking my dogs, though I do live in Western PA so that means a lot of hills, which I m sure helps a bit. I am seriously thinking about getting one of these products, but would like an expert opinion first. (Sorry the SheFit didn't work out for you, but that is one problem I'll never have to worry about!)

That was a good one, but personally I've got to go with "Those pants are not of the Lord." Also by Ken. Can't believe how much I grew to like him,seeing how angry and volotile he was on his original season. I think he's a winner, just from sheer personal growth. I liked his collection the best, so I knew he'd never win. It was attractive and actually somewhat wearable. It was nice to see Chris March again, if only briefly - he and Michael Costello are favorites of mine. It was fun to see the other designers from previous seasons as well. I'd also like to see a season of all winners and runner ups to make it more fair, though if they can bring together the talent and personalities to recreate the magic of PR Junior, I'd choose that every time.

If Mary wanted to expose to the world what a terrible person Paris is, she failed on an epic scale. Paris is no saint, but Mary is clearly bat-sh!t crazy and now the whole world knows that instead. Good work! Mainly posting to say how much I loved the recap, as usual. I wish the "thank you" icon was still available so we could tell all the recappers how much their efforts are appreciated.

To be fair, she was into photography and I assumed she wanted to preserve her photos and memories in scrapbook form. Who didn't guess they'd pick the over budget place with a view? And I don't know, but do people renting an apartment in your average American downtown city demand a view? Maybe they do, but I would expect it can get pretty crowded and I imagine a lot of views consist of other apartment buildings. What always gets me is how people feel they need a dedicated guest room, used only for the many people they expect to visit them, nearly every week of the year. Why can't a room be an office/guest room or a scrapbooking/guest room? Or if their friends and family can afford to fly overseas to visit , perhaps they could afford a hotel room as well. Perhaps I should have read the Pet Peeves thread first....

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. They seemed like such a nice, happy couple. Deepest condolences.

Heh. I remember someone praising Michael Jackson for inventing moves that I knew Bob Fosse had done back in the day, and for all I know, he hadn't invented them either. Nothing new under the sun, indeed - just new eyes to appreciate them, I guess.

Thank you for the clarification. I never get my thoughts right the first time when posting and if it was up to me, I'd keep editing forever. I tried but then I got quoted, and it was too late. What I should have said is I doubt Benji invented that move, but I can say that Mark did not. As a Steelers fan, I've been giving some votes to Antonio and some to Nyle. But next week I think I'll split them between Nyle and Paige. AB may be magic on the gridiron but not on the dance floor. It won't count for much, but I won't give votes to someone who doesn't deserve them. Eta - dang auto-correct!

I think Mark is an outstanding choreographer too, but Benji Schwimmer used to do that triple cartwheel often, including his audition, on SYTYCD way back on season two. I don't know if Benji invented that move, but credit where credit is due. LOVED the group dance!

Let's try posting for the first time after the upgrade and see how it goes. I was pretty disgusted by this episode but LOVED the recap, so I wasn't sure how to vote overall. I ended up voting negatively on the show, but didn't there used to be a "thank you for the recap" vote available? What happened to that? The recappers do such a great job, and I hope they know their efforts are appreciated. Ding dang auto-correct...

Wasn't it, though? That pool, that porch, trees *inside* the house! Magical. I doubt the King of Tablas (should there be one) would live any finer. I wasn't too impressed with the choices they were given, but they ended up choosing correctly and built their own freaking palace. Instead of making me appreciate what I have, that episode made me jealous!

I was somewhat surprised to learn that Micronesia seemingly was able to offer more modern conveniences and comforts than Bhutan. Given the choice, I think I'd rather live in Yap. Though it's tough to choose between poisonous centipedes vs tigers, leeches and snakes. I rather enjoy this new iteration of HH. At the very least, it's eye-opening, and helps me appreciate what I have. I don't particularly like where I'm living now, but now maybe I'll think twice before complaining about it - at least I have indoor plumbing, electricity and hot water! Eta dang auto-correct - as far as I know, centerpieces are not necessarily known to be poisonous.

I guess this week's theme was unspeakably horrible biological fathers. What a story Kris's mom Jeanette had! I must say that Kris took the news of her biological father being a kidnapper and rapist remarkably well. Thank goodness her mom was able to escape and go on to have a presumably happy and normal life. I don't blame Jeanette for giving up her baby for adoption, and obviously Kris didn't either. Wasn't there a mention of a two year old boy, which would have been Kris's older brother? What happened to him? Or did I misunderstand something? Benjamin really, really wanted to meet his biological mom, to a somewhat disturbing degree, imo. He really had some high expectations of her and luckily she was able to meet them, from what I could tell. It was nice that both moms gave up their babies out of love, trying to protect them, and both babies went to good situations. My dvr cut off while Benjamin and his mom were still talking. Can someone fill me in on the updates and how everything is going now? Eta - thank you for your reply, Jadzia, and I could not agree more with your entire post. Kind of a strange episode overall, and somehow less satisfying than usual.

She does something with autistic children, I believe, helping to prepare them for school.

Re: Atlanta to Okinawa couple: 1) It was nice to see somewhere a little different from the usual overseas venues. My best friends growing up were half Okinawan, so it was a bonus for me to see a bit of their mother's home country, though I'm sure it has changed a lot from when she was a child there. 2) $4200 went farther than I expected it to go - that's a lot of money, but I didn't expect it to be able to rent a four (!) bedroom house. In fact, I didn't expect to see so many three or four bedroom places available, period. Shows what I know. 3) It was refreshing to have the one person say, "This is the house *I* want, so *I* will inconvenience myself and drive the extra time in order to have it" rather than "This is the house *I* want, so *you* can inconvenience yourself so I can have it" which seems to be the more usual way. The house they chose was awfully nice, though somewhat bigger than I thought absolutely necessary, and the big, fenced in yard was ideal for the kid and the dogs. I wonder how long it took to figure out how to use the stove and the toilet?

Aaaaaaaaah! Your post gave me shivers go up and down my spine! It's horrible. Like I say, I don't know why that stick gives me the willies, but it is kind of nice to know I'm not alone.

I knew that was the house they picked when, in the preview, the wife said words to the effect that she hated split-levels and was ready to turn around immediately and walk out of the door once she saw all that carpet. Sometimes they try a little bit *too* hard to fool us! That said, I'd have picked that one too - I've never even been inside a split-level house, but it's hard to beat five bedrooms and three baths for that price.

It doesn't help that we used to have, say, pizza. Available in several sizes and with a fair choice of toppings. But then they came out with a super-sized meat-lover's pizza with bacon and ranch dressing on it, and the crust is filled with hot hogs and extra cheese, and maybe there is sauce on the side for dipping, and you can get a big, chocolate-y dessert at the same place to take home and enjoy afterwards. Everything seems so much *more*, so much richer, with chocolate and caramel and things that weren't there on so many foods when I was coming up (in the 70s). It's like TPTB in charge think people aren't fat enough and spend all day thinking of ways to stuff even more calories in everyone. It is funny to remember Curly was the fat Stooge - he wouldn't draw a second glance today. Many of the old timey Fat Men at the circus sideshows back in the day wouldn't be considered all that big today either. Times sure have changed. I don't know for sure if examples like this are a real factor, it's just a thought I had.