# The Garden of PAIN! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2004, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298 "2004-09-27T14:21:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/101 "2004-09-29T20:12:37Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > What’s NCIS? The only tv show I watch regularly is “The Gilmore Girls.” It’s my secret shame. :o What’s _NCIS_? Hmm, sort of a cross between _CSI_, _Law & Order_, and _JAG_, I guess. The **N** aval **C** riminal **I** nvestigative **U** nit is based in Virginia and they investigate crimes connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel. They’re led by Mark Harmon (who only gets better looking as he gets older). He plays Jethro Gibbs. He has two side-kicks, Tony the womanizer and Cate the sensible one. They flirt a bit, but nothing’s going on between them. They’ve been joined this season by McGee, the goofy, geeky tech guy. He supposedly had a fling with Abby the Goth Geek who works in the lab doing all the funky science stuff with the evidence they bring back from their investigations. Then there’s Ducky, the quirky coroner who’s always ready with a cool story, but is often cut short by Gibbs. ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/102 "2004-09-29T20:48:20Z")
You know swampbear, you’ve got a lot of kitchen stuff. I say this with great longing in my voice, because I would like to have a lot of kitchen stuff only my kitchen makes an average man’s shoe look roomy in comparison. I’m making space for my new crock pot by having gotten rid of a pan for mini-bundt cakes. Stupid pan, never did anything except make the cakes stick and break. Cherish your spacy kitchen swampy, cherish it… **Lissla** , I think garlic would be good in the mashed potatoes but I have a problem with over doing things. My motto is that if a cup of cheese is good, four cups can only make it better. And since garlic is so small and so easy to add even more extra, well, pretty soon you have garlic mashed potatoes that could be classified as toxic waste. So it’s hands off on the garlic for me. And I have to say that I’m having fun imagining you as the goth chick from NCIS because the only picture of you I’ve seen, you were dressed as a belly dancer (or I think that was you) and so now I have little belly dancing goth chicks running through my head. **Susan** , you will be fine. There; so says I, so it will be. But I’m crossing my fingers just in case. And the snickerdoodle muffins were tres yum, though I unlightened them with real butter because well, see my motto above? Yeah, I don’t even know where they keep light butter in the store. Is that DiGiorno pizza actually any good? ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/103 "2004-09-29T23:40:02Z")
Yep it’s me. I went to see a CBG for a little while. His sinuses are buggin’ him real bad so I made sure he took some Benadryl[sup]TM[/sup] so he could go all sleepy then I came home. I’m like that. Nurturing and caregiving. A veritable angel of mercy I am. He was lookin’ mighty miserable and needed to go sleepy bye. No “dessert” but the pizza was good. **BiblioCat** thanks for the _NCIS_ explanation. I still have no clue what it’s about but I feel enlightened now. **Ashes[sup]2[/sup]** not all that stuff stays in my kitchen. The crock pots, oven thingies etc… reside in a storage building til such time as I make use of them. I also have some big ol’ stock pots and such that live in the storage building. The stand mixer, however, resides in all it’s dark green glory in its own little space on the counter. The toaster oven has it’s own spot too. As does the food processor. The microwave lives above the stove. The coffee maker lives underneath a kitchen cabinet cause it’s one of those space maker coffee maker. Likewise the can opener lives underneath a cabinet cause it is a space maker can opener. Other stuff lives in kitchen cabinets, the laundry room, the pantry or the storage room in my garage. DiGiorno pizza is best if you melt some shredded cheese on the box it comes in and eat the box. The pizza itself makes my garbage can nauseous. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/104 "2004-09-30T11:54:23Z")
Alright people! I found the MMP on page two this morning! :dubious: Slackers! Now get busy posting! SHEESH! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/105 "2004-09-30T12:06:32Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > I found the MMP on page two this morning! Well, who left it there? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/106 "2004-09-30T12:14:36Z")
My Threadspotting nomination was picked! I’m on the front page! This is even cooler than being cited in **Swampy’s** sig… ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/107 "2004-09-30T12:16:31Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > **BiblioCat** thanks for the _NCIS_ explanation. I still have no clue what it’s about but I feel enlightened now. It’s about an hour long. Less if you take out the openning credits, the closing credits and the commercials. But all in all, about an hour long. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/108 "2004-09-30T12:24:35Z")
> [@Rue DeDay](#): > > It’s about an hour long. Less if you take out the openning credits, the closing credits and the commercials. But all in all, about an hour long. When’s it on? Are the commercials long enough for a pee break? How bout a snack break? Like, could I make a peanut butter sammich and get a glass of milk and be back in my chair by the time the show comes back on? Timing is all important. Oh and if it happens to be on at 8:00 PM Eastern (7:00 Central) on Tuesday I’ll never get to see it anyways cause that’s when my secret shame is on. **vunderbob** I had that happened to me once too. I almost wet myself when I saw it I was so excited. -swampbear (I said pee and wet in the same post. Wonder if this is a sign of posts to come today) ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/109 "2004-09-30T12:27:13Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > -swampbear (I said pee and wet in the same post. Wonder if this is a sign of posts to come today) That Depends… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/110 "2004-09-30T12:51:13Z")
> [@Kallessa](#): > > I’ve got scarring on my eyes, too. At first the doctor thought it was macular degeneration which was way scary! But the specialist ruled that out and chalked it up to some viral infection that I may never have noticed having and shouldn’t have ever contracted anyway (I’m in the wrong part of the country and not around birds much). The problem is that these little scarred places, for some unknown reason, sometimes develop little blood veins, and where there’s a vein, there’s no eyesight. The brain makes up the difference, so I don’t see little blank spots, but if the veins keep growing or if there are too many of them, I will have problems. Luckily, my scars seem content to just hang around on my retina without growing any veins. I have a grid thingy that I look at on occasion, trying to see if I have any blank spots. If I do, I’m supposed to go to the doctor who will laser the vein to keep it from getting worse. > > That was a long-winded way of telling **Susan** to not be too scared, the eyes are pretty adaptive, and if you haven’t noticed a problem, preventing it from getting worse is just as good as fixing it! Kallessa - thank you - this makes me feel a lot better. I have the grid thingy too - but haven’t seen any spots or waviness on it yet. And thanks to swampy & Lissla for the prayers & good wishes. I’m sure I’ll be fine - yesterday was full drama queen mode - today is let’s see what it’s all about mode. Susan ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/111 "2004-09-30T12:58:55Z")
> [@susan\_foster](#): > > Kallessa - thank you - this makes me feel a lot better. I have the grid thingy too - but haven’t seen any spots or waviness on it yet. > > And thanks to swampy & Lissla for the prayers & good wishes. I’m sure I’ll be fine - yesterday was full drama queen mode - today is let’s see what it’s all about mode. > > Susan FWIW, 3 years ago, an opthamologist was giving me the regular eye exam, and saw where I had a vascular blowout in the left retina. I never noticed a thing, so it was news to me. It was assumed to be related to diabetes and high blood pressure. Fast forward to this spring, after I moved cross-country and time had passed. A new eye doctor was doing the same exam, knew where to look, and could find no evidence that the blowout had occured. Eyes, fragile as they seem, are also remarkably resilient. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/112 "2004-09-30T13:36:40Z")
> [@vunderbob](#): > > That Depends… > > 😃 \ I’m gonna turn on my sig line just cause of this!\ ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/113 "2004-09-30T13:41:47Z")
That left me just _Poise_d with anticipation. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/114 "2004-09-30T15:29:17Z")
Well, I _am_ a belly-dancing goth chick, so it all makes sense. > [@](#): > > _originally posted by **Ashes** _ > well, pretty soon you have garlic mashed potatoes that could be classified as toxic waste. No, no, you just add lemon juice, cool them to room temperature, and serve them as skordalia, a Greek dip. Yum. It takes about a head of garlic a batch. In this household, I don’t think we understand the idea ‘too much garlic’. It doesn’t make sense. It’s like, ‘too much money’ or ‘too many books’. The words make sense on their own, but not together. I just ran a search for pics of Abby, and I can say with absolute certainty that she does not resemble me. I’m Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/115 "2004-09-30T16:55:11Z")
> [@Lissla Lissar](#): > > In this household, I don’t think we understand the idea ‘too much garlic’. It doesn’t make sense. It’s like, ‘too much money’ or ‘too many books’. The words make sense on their own, but not together. Yeah, none of those phrases make sense to me. Kinda like once when I heard someone say “too much chocolate.” ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/116 "2004-09-30T17:17:04Z")
Too much beer? Too many cookies, or for that matter, cockies\*? I don’t understand? What’s too much? \*The obligatory daily use of cockies just for **vunderbob**. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/117 "2004-09-30T17:25:14Z")
Hey folks–my Mom came through surgery just fine, other than it being surgery for colon cancer instead of lung cancer. The colon cancer turned up in another test, and it made sense to go after it first. She’ll still need surgery to get the lung cancer, but that will most likely wait until after Christmas. I’m going down on Sunday to stay with Mom after she gets out of the hospital for a week or so. As when I’m on vacation, I don’t have computer access (and the library always has long wait times) so you won’t hear much from me for a while. **vunderbob** seems capable of keeping up the pun level, so you shouldn’t suffer to much by my absence. Thanks for all the good thoughts, and please keep them up! ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/118 "2004-09-30T19:02:20Z")
Another confession; my mom hates garlic so we never had any around, hence I have weakened garlic sensibilities. I like it just fine, but it’s not natural for me to reach for it. Plus, I fear smelliness, sad, huh? Today I’m getting that crockpot and trying out a pot roast I think. Goodness, I don’t believe I’ve had pot roast since I went away to college and that’s a bazillion years ago. How could I have denied myself so long?! Okay, a church I drive past every day has a marquee out in front with an inanity-of-the-week dealy going. The past couple of weeks they’ve had the same one “Have you opened your bank account in heaven?” and it’s making me nuts because I just can’t figure out what they’re talking about. It can’t be actual money because I didn’t think you’d need any cash, it being heaven and all, never mind logistics of deposits. So what do they want people to start saving and how will it be used? Usually this church’s stuff makes sense, even if they’re eye-rollingly simplistic. Of course, the point might be to bug the hell out of me, heh. You know that Clean Sweep show where they rid people of clutter? Every time I watch one where they make people give up some of their books, I feel faint. Too many books?! There is no such thing, books are your friends. But sometimes too much chocolate makes me nauseus, so the trick is to _pace_ yourself. Yay for **Kalley** ’s mom! ---
**Author:** ![Tupug\_Anachi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@Tupug\_Anachi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tupug_Anachi)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/119 "2004-09-30T19:29:16Z")
> [@Kallessa](#): > > Hey folks–my Mom came through surgery just fine, other than it being surgery for colon cancer instead of lung cancer. The colon cancer turned up in another test, and it made sense to go after it first. She’ll still need surgery to get the lung cancer, but that will most likely wait until after Christmas. I’m going down on Sunday to stay with Mom after she gets out of the hospital for a week or so. As when I’m on vacation, I don’t have computer access (and the library always has long wait times) so you won’t hear much from me for a while. **vunderbob** seems capable of keeping up the pun level, so you shouldn’t suffer to much by my absence. Thanks for all the good thoughts, and please keep them up! Poor **mom** , many betterer puggy wishes headed her/your way. Take care of yourself, too, **kalley**! ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298/120 "2004-09-30T20:09:58Z")
> [@Ashes](#): > > Okay, a church I drive past every day has a marquee out in front with an inanity-of-the-week dealy going. The past couple of weeks they’ve had the same one “Have you opened your bank account in heaven?” and it’s making me nuts because I just can’t figure out what they’re talking about. It can’t be actual money because I didn’t think you’d need any cash, it being heaven and all, never mind logistics of deposits. So what do they want people to start saving and how will it be used? Usually this church’s stuff makes sense, even if they’re eye-rollingly simplistic. Of course, the point might be to bug the hell out of me, heh. > > You know that Clean Sweep show where they rid people of clutter? Every time I watch one where they make people give up some of their books, I feel faint. Too many books?! There is no such thing, books are your friends. But sometimes too much chocolate makes me nauseus, so the trick is to _pace_ yourself. > > Yay for **Kalley** ’s mom! I second the yay for Kalley’s mom! Prayers & thoughts definitely continuing. And I am guessing the bank account in heaven thing relates to the lay up treasures in heaven quote in the bible: Lay Up Treasures in Heaven 19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. " (as copied from [http://www.biblepath.com/beatitudes.html](http://www.biblepath.com/beatitudes.html)) As for me - went to second opthamologist today - and she said she didn’t see anything. First opthamologist is at conference today - second said she would check with him and find out what he saw, and get back to me. And that’s two days in a row when my pupils get dilated. Susan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-garden-of-pain/266298.md?page=7)