Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

In France, there are "pharmacies" everywhere, all marked with a green cross.  And, they are all small and mostly seem to sell "junk", stuff to make you look younger and feel better, silly homeopathic garbage.

I've looked in vain for Pepto Bismol, they don't carry it, nor do they carry Nyquil, though they have Vick's products, one had only guafensin, the Nyquil here has that and two other adjuvants.  They seem to do a bang up business, but give me a Walgreens or CVS any day.

In Rome, after a bunch of travel in airplanes with very dry air, I was looking for Chap Stick. It was the day leaving Rome for the Cinque Terre, so I was in the train station...

With the language barrier [they don't carry the Chap Stick brand I guess] and with some pantomime, they eventually realized I was asking for lip balm and not lipstick and gave me a tube of something called LaBello if I remember correctly... Got the job done. 

Always interesting to see which brands carry over and which don't.

In Rome, after a bunch of travel in airplanes with very dry air, I was looking for Chap Stick. It was the day leaving Rome for the Cinque Terre, so I was in the train station...

With the language barrier [they don't carry the Chap Stick brand I guess] and with some pantomime, they eventually realized I was asking for lip balm and not lipstick and gave me a tube of something called LaBello if I remember correctly... Got the job done.

Always interesting to see which brands carry over and which don't.

I'm amazed at how little is available OTC in Italy. They are pretty strict over there. And then there's Mexico, where you can get just about anything.

You can buy anything in Bratislava.

ANYTHING.

I did did an undergrad study abroad in Bratislava. The most rundown of the 10 or so European Capitol cities I’ve visited. Our dorms were former Soviet soldiering quarters and even the other foreign students housed in the wing of my barracks/dorm from Poland and Romania were surprised how “rundown” Bratislava was. But I liked it - kept everything dirt cheap which I needed as a broke undergrad.

Speaking of buying things, picked up the Lindy’s College Football Annual, which is a big offseason ritual of mine around every June 1.

Bratislava is definitely run-down compared to even other Eastern European capitals.  It used to be dirt cheap, but like anything else, once the far western Euros and Americans "discovered" it, the prices skyrocketed.  Even so, it's still cheap compared to Prague, and incredibly cheap compared to cities in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.

I may have mentioned this, but I'm pretty sure Prague is my single favorite city on the planet.  I adore that place.

Vogtle, it's near Augusta, GA (30 miles south of).

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Alvin+W.+Vogtle+Electric+Generating+Plant/@33.1430634,-82.7057858,8.88z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x88f9965753cde4fd:0x1f30e36ea47c9832!8m2!3d33.1306224!4d-81.7713527?hl=en

Augusta is sort of somewhere.  They have a golf tournament each year.  And a Medical School.

They already have two power reactors and are building two more, projected completion in 2021 and 2022.  It will then be the largest nuclear power station in the country.

https://www.southerncompany.com/innovation/nuclear-energy/plant-vogtle-3-and-4.html





Units operational

1 × 1150 MW 1 × 1152 MW

Make and model

2 × WH 4-loop (DRYAMB)

Units under const.

2 × 1117 MW AP1000

Nameplate capacity

2302 MW

Capacity factor

95.09% (2017) 91.25% (lifetime)

Annual net output

19,176 GWh (2017)

My dad was working at that site, but left after they expunged a bunch of people because they were behind schedule and over budget, among other things.
The problem is that there was a good 20-25 year dead period on nuclear power in the US, and so all you have qualified to pick up where they left off are some near-retirement age guys and newbies out of school with zero actual experience. 
So one company involved, Westinghouse, files for bankruptcy.  Then two other companies come in to resume, both of which retained my dad, until his portion of the job was done.  

Planning on attempt #2 at french fries today.

Last Monday, the missus and I wanted to have a nice simple "at home" day to lounge around. She mentioned something about making french fries, and then I thought "hey I can do that, and I can bake my own hamburger buns, to go with the lamb I ground for burgers, because I can never do anything halfway!"

So the buns were a complete miss and I had to buy buns, but the first attempt at french fries worked. I used the mandolin to cut them to 1/4" fries (the largest the mandolin goes), and used the Joel Robuchon method to fry them. Then tossed them in salt, garlic, and oregano. There were some learning points--they came out a bit more brown than intended and that in turn made them shrink more like shoestring fries--but it was a good first attempt and they tasted good.

We've got the kids back this weekend, so we're going to do burgers tonight. Planning on cutting the potatoes by hand to shoot for somewhere between 3/8" and 1/2" fries, because I frankly like them a little bigger anyway. Still using the Robuchon method, but will try to pull them slightly earlier so they don't over-brown. Will omit the oregano because it's not "Greek" theme like last weekend. Using my burger grind (brisket point + chuck). Wife will caramelize some onions, I'll grill some corn, and she and the eldest are planning to make S'more monkey bread for dessert.

What do you fine folks have on the menu?

I fried some 80/20 burgers in a skillet on my electric stove.  Some steak seasoning on the burgers and then fried them in some soy sauce.  Sharp cheddar melted on tops, med rare.

pared them with some coleslaw from the store

don't need the carbs from the fried taters