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[lake_wrangler]

Those chocolate eggs, if my 'net surfing is correct, are not allowed to be imported into the US.

The Wonder Ball? I remember seeing those in high school before they were banned.

Or, the Kinder Surprise.

The way Wiki describes the construction of the older two-part Kinder plastic egg with the latch-together construction, it sounds irresistable to amateur pyrotechnology experiments. The article says that the plastic egg was later changed to a hinged one-piece style; these would probably not have made as "useful" a grenade shell.

I was all ready and lined up to refer to the same wiki article, only to find out you beat me to it... The Kinder Surprise was my thought, as well, given the original description:

In Europe they have these chocolate eggs with a plastic capsule inside, which contains a small toy. The chocolate is of indifferent quality and the toys are very hit-or-miss, but I used to have great fun taking the little capsules and making them into conveniently portable mini-grenades that were a combination of burning itchy spray, dye, and stink bomb. I have some doubts about the legality of such things, though, especially these days.

[shadowinthelight]

Ahh, I guess the Wonder Ball was a sort of imitation.

[DinkyInky]

Which would so not be an issue if many American parents didn't fail so hardcore in common sense. I mean, how hard is it to watch your kid while they have those unopened? Crack egg on table, eat chocolate bits. Open surprise. Don't give them to tiny tots that like to taste everything they see! My goodness, that's not so hard, is it?

I loved Kinder eggs during Easter waaaay back when, and it would have been cool for my son to have them.


Sorry for rantzilla. Haven't had coffee yet, and fave things as a kid ruined for mine by idiots is a seeing red topic for me.

[Sgt. Howard]

It is amazing that a government that cannot take care of itself is soooo dedicated to taking care of us... against our will... I work in surgery- as such, I see incredable levels of oversight by people who have never set foot in an operating room except (maybe) as a patient.

[AnotherFairportfan]

World's coolest McDonalds.

In Rotterdam.
 



 


Not shown: the spiral staircase.

[DinkyInky]

Yes, but is the food any good?

[TazManiac]

'Royal w/ Cheese...'

[DinkyInky]

McDonald's...*shudder*

For years it was the occasional treat. Then I became a parent, and had to deal with the spoiled rotten brat mentality of kids my son's age who threaten CPS on parents for not buying it 21 times a week(yes, I've heard that sort of profanity spew out of "kids" before, and my urge to tan their fannies rose). He doesn't even order a meal if I get "that look", just gets me out of there fast.
I refuse to allow my son near them, if I let him have a treat and stay there, I make sure the play place is full of younger kids, usually on Sundays after second Mass. I then at least have about an 80% chance of not dealing with it.

I cook for my son. During school, I make sure he has a hot breakfast, a packed lunch when he doesn't like the choices at school(which is almost always), and a hot dinner. I keep 90% healthy snacks(and a few unhealthy snacks if he asks for them).
I cannot understand why someone who can cook, and can afford to cook, chooses instead to be lazy, and then is shocked when their kids are unhealthy, and addicted to eating junk.

Sorry for ranting. I've had to I.O.U. my son thrice this week due to rage inducing idiocy. Wonder if he'll take a hotwheels or Lego mystery pack instead, because I really don't wanna go there for at least a month now

[Catawampus]

I've never been to the one in Rotterdam. I did end up going to one in Paris because I was with a group of Americans who apparently couldn't live without it. From what I recall, the place looked not too dissimilar from the Rotterdam one. And the McDonalds in Moscow is rather swank, too, and considered a high-class restaurant by many.

[Jabberwonky]

The thing to me, at the various McD's I've visited in different countries is that the food always tastes the same. A Quarter Pounder in Thailand tastes the same as one in Germany and England and Texas. (Though it's hard to get me into a McD's when there are Wataburgers about)

[Dave]

The thing to me, at the various McD's I've visited in different countries is that the food always tastes the same. A Quarter Pounder in Thailand tastes the same as one in Germany and England and Texas. (Though it's hard to get me into a McD's when there are Wataburgers about)

I think that is, in fact, their biggest stock-in-trade: consistency. You know what you'll be getting.

Although not, necessarily, how you'll be greeted when you arrive.



That's a McD's in Bangkok, just outside the Asia Airport Hotel, about ten years ago. I kinda doubt it's changed much.

Denny's has the same schtick... no matter which Denny's in the country you go into, you know that the Purple Fringed Grand Slam Breakfast Tentacles are going to be just like the ones three states over... for good or for bad.

Then, of course, there are restaurants like Lyon's and Carrow's... places that have a dream that if they work really hard, and are very very good, then someday they may grow up to be Denny's.

[scantrontb]

Denny's has the same schtick... no matter which Denny's in the country you go into, you know that the Purple Fringed Grand Slam Breakfast Tentacles are going to be just like the ones three states over... for good or for bad.

then of course they had "The Seven Sacred Floor Plan's"... they have loosened up a bit on their adherence to Scripture, since there are many styles now days, but... "back in the day..." they literally had just seven different approved layout's for ALL the Denny's restaurants nation-wide (no clue if they were international that far back)

[Catawampus]

The thing to me, at the various McD's I've visited in different countries is that the food always tastes the same. A Quarter Pounder in Thailand tastes the same as one in Germany and England and Texas. (Though it's hard to get me into a McD's when there are Wataburgers about)

I think that is, in fact, their biggest stock-in-trade: consistency. You know what you'll be getting.

Hence the popularity of the one in Moscow, apparently. When you order something that is supposed to be ground beef, you know that it really is ground beef.

[DinkyInky]

The thing to me, at the various McD's I've visited in different countries is that the food always tastes the same. A Quarter Pounder in Thailand tastes the same as one in Germany and England and Texas. (Though it's hard to get me into a McD's when there are Wataburgers about)

I think that is, in fact, their biggest stock-in-trade: consistency. You know what you'll be getting.

Hence the popularity of the one in Moscow, apparently. When you order something that is supposed to be ground beef, you know that it really is ground beef.

Years later, knowing they aren't allowed to do it anymore, it still tastes like soy to me when visiting certain locations...usually the hoity-toity neighbourhoods.
I also have to say that there are franchises in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, California, and Texas that taste so foul, just driving by them brings back the memory of foulness, so nope, not the same.
That said, I still cannot bring myself to eat at Leave Jack in that Box, and Heading far Out due to horribad memories.
I miss Burger King, and Steak and Shake, Miner-Dunn, Jim Dandy's, and Schoop's.

Part of why I used to talk to locals at businesses while on Holiday and ask them for good places, because staples I'm used to, aren't. Pizza is just all around meh, because I'm so far from my beloved Chicago deep dish. It used to be a 45 minute trip, pick up my HUGE order, drive home, eat one and freeze the rest to be eaten weekly for a few weeks. Sadly, it seems like it's lost to me until I can afford to travel again.

[Alkarii]

My cat has learned what purpose my alarm serves, so almost immediately after I silenced the alarm, my 11 pound cat (not fat, just big) ran into the room and onto my chest. I thought he was hungry, but no, he just wanted attention.

[AnotherFairportfan]

This house is in the final descent path for the Milwaukee airport.

[Dave]

This house is in the final descent path for the Milwaukee airport.

[AnotherFairportfan]

Me and the camera went out for a little walk down the street yesterday:
 
Front steps across the street:


 
Wild grapes and briar intertwining:



Woods not more than a hundred yards from my front door:


 
I heard my pileated friend who chopped up my porch railing the other day giving some tree hell, but i couldn't spot him.  For such a big and brightly-coloured bird, pileated woodpeckers are amazingly hard to spot.
 
 This blue jay, OTOH, called attention to himself so that he could tell me how much he objected to my presence all the better:


 
An experiment in depth of field - top section at F 5.6, bottom at F 22.  Makes a difference:

[TazManiac]

This house is in the final descent path for the Milwaukee airport.

At one point, in the Early 1990's, I was married, w/ child. (That is, my then-wife had given birth to a young'n...).

We also had some good friends in both the Bay Area and L.A, at for a certain period I found myself, three weekend out of the month, driving some hundreds of miles back and forth to ferry a Mother to her two Daughters down south.

But this one day it was a Friday, I had a job interview to see if I could temp-to-perm, but I was blowing it and I knew it... when the phone range; (cue ominous theme music.)

I was pulled out of the otherwise-ill-fated interview to hear that my wife was calling. She had taken this weekends trip without me, it was getting routine and I had the 'interview'. But she was calling from the Hospital.

Drop what you're doing, accept the offer to drop me at SFO, catch the first thing smoking, making sure it was the right destination, (I NEED TO GET TO ORANGE COUNTY, RIGHT NOW) and after accepting two small bottles as medicinal nerve calming libations I look out the window during our scheduled decent,
only to see...




That. Is. Not. Orange. County.

[jwhouk]

Yep. That would be LAX.