"It's an Earth food. They are called Swedish meatballs. It's a strange thing, but every sentient race has its own version of these Swedish meatballs. I suspect it's one of those great universal mysteries which will either never get explained or which will drive you mad if you ever learned the truth." ~Andreas Katsulas/G'Kar from Babylon 5 Ah yes, my inner SciFi nerd strikes again - this time, with trying a new recipe. Well, that, and considering the nature of the sense of humor Al and I tend to share, maybe I just wanted everyone to behold my glorious globular balls! That's right, step right up to get your eyes tea-bagged! I settled on this recipe from The Recipe Critic. Meatballs - 1 pound ground beef - 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs - 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped - 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg - ¼ cup onion, finely chopped - ½ teaspoon garlic powder - ⅛ teaspoon pepper - ½ teaspoon salt - 1 egg - 1 tablespoon olive oil - 1 tablespoon butter

Anyone else here play pool? Last night (4 months ago; old carry-overpost), I finally made myself go out alone. I'd never really been the "go to a bar alone" type before. Sure, used to do it a lot in my 20s going clubbing, but that's different. The focus then was the music and solo dancing, maybe running into people I knew/enjoyed time with... with the occasional hope to meet a new romantic partner. Never really drank alcohol since dancing already dehydrates you. One of the very few things my bio-dad got me into was playing pool. I also used to play with a former friend. Last time I played was probably 2019 - when my then-wife and I visited my family in Florida. Took my sperm-donor (that's about all he is to me) and met up with the then-friend at a sports bar, "Gators Dockside". Despite not playing for a long while, I kicked my dad's ass, then let my then-wife win. Was fun. Anyway, checked out a well-rated local bar downtown. Had been there since the 80s. Nice staff, above-average food for a bar. Sadly, the only dark beer they had was Guinness, but I had 2. Live music (first some rap-type group, then a group who mostly played Blues, which was a pleasant surprise). I actually didn't mind being there alone. I played two games by myself, which isn't as sad as you'd think. For me, it's actually kind of fun using my knowledge of geometry and physics applied in a practical sense; curious about the outcome, and knowing the more I play, the better I get. That, and as an aspiring writer, it's fun observing people. I interacted with one older (70s maybe) drunk lady who stopped while walking by me. She rambled on about her kids and grandkids... I was polite, listened, and offered kind compliments until she stumbled off. Only other person was some drunk guy who sat, watching me play, and eventually asked what I'm doing. Basically told him I'm curious what happens when I play with myself in public. Maybe if he had been sober, he would have laughed. He said he grew up and graduated from college here. I asked his major, "Business" he managed. I asked his name, assuming maybe he wanted to chat more and play a game.