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October 2023 Prompts - Part 1
1 – International Day of Older Persons: David Bowie once said that ageing is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been. Do you agree? I think that’s partly true, but I also think all of life is a process of figuring out who we are and what we want.
2 – World Architecture Day: Are you a keen observer of architecture, or do you mostly notice it when you see architectural oddities, e.g. a particularly ugly building, or a very unusual house design — that sort of thing? I’m very interested in architecture. I have definite preferences, e.g. I love the Federal style architecture in the Washington, D.C. area. And I am a huge fan of art deco, as anybody who has ever heard me extol the beauty of the Chrysler Building in New York can testify to. I also like Islamic architecture and some of the neo-moorish designs. The gentleman with whom I am conducting the world’s longest running brief meaningless fling and I have a running discussion about church architecture and, specifically, about spires versus domes. In short, we can never agree about whether men or women are more likely to prefer either style.
3 – Virus Appreciation Day: OK, so it's been almost three years since Covid rocked the world. Is there ANYTHING you appreciate about that particular virus — well, maybe not the virus itself, but the impact it had on workplace arrangements, or social norms, etc.? I do like the rise of zoom, which has enabled me to attend storytelling and other entertainment events (and to play board games) with people who don’t live near me.
4 – Improve Your Office Day: Whether it's your home office or your at-the-office office, what changes would improve your office experience? I need to get better lighting and get rid of a lot of clutter.
5 – Global James Bond Day: Are you a Bond fan (either books or films or both)? Who is your favourite Bond actor? Do you have a favourite Bond theme song? Most of the Bond movies I’ve seen blend together. The exception is Octopussy because it is set in Udaipur, India. Restaurants there show it nightly to bring in customers, so I saw it a few times, until I found the one place that figured out that people would like variety and started showing the Discovery channel instead. There’s also a amusing broadside with the chorus “Oh, 0h-0h-seven, will you kindly stop dispatching girls to heaven.” As for favorite Bond actor, I’ll have to go with Sean Connery. And for a song, the first one that comes to mind is “Skyfall,” though I absolutely loathed that movie.
6 – Mad Hatter Day: Mad Hatter Day celebrates the Mad Hatter, from Alice In Wonderland and is the perfect opportunity for you to bring out your daft side. Do you have a silly side? Is there anything or anyone who always manages to get you acting silly? My major manifestation of silliness is in my penchant for ridiculous puns. And probably my fondness for tacky tourist attractions. For example, I once drove about an hour out of my way to take a picture of the water tower in the town of Joe, Montana.
7 – World Space Week: October 4-10 is World Space Week. How does the exploration of space benefit society? Do you think the money spent on space exploration could be better spent on the myriad problems here on Earth? Space exploration helps us understand a lot of scientific issues. Satellite sensing makes key contributions to our understanding of the earth, including problems like climate change.
8 – International Podiatry Day: Do you try to reguarly take care of your feet, or do you tend to neglect them until something crops up -- dry, cracked heels, ingrown toenails, blisters, corns, etc.? Have you ever been to a podiatrist (or chiropodist depending on where you live)? Do you get pedicures regularly? I went to a podiatrist once for a foot pain issue and didn’t find her very helpful. I do get pedicures every now and then, which are a very pleasant luxury. I even did a fish pedicure once.
9 – Canadian Thanksgiving Day: Canadian Thanksgiving is associated with the European tradition of harvest festivals. Does your country celebrate the yearly harvest with a festival or other form of commemoration? We have Thanksgiving in the United States, too, though we do it in November. And, of course, the Jewish holiday of Sukkot is a harvest festival.
10 – Shift10 Day: SHIFT10 Day was created to encourage shoppers to shift 10% of their spending into their local economies to support local businesses, farmers' markets, and other alternatives to big box stores. Do you try to shop locally as much as possible or do the ease and convenience of big box stores and online juggernauts like Amazon win out more often than not? I try to use local businesses when possible. The ones I use include a coffee roaster, a couple of local bookshops, an excellent chocolate store, and a couple of yarn stores. I also see movies frequently at the Cinema Arts Theatre, an independent theatre a few miles from my place.
11 – International Post Card Week: Did you ever trade or collect postcards? When was the last time you received one? When was the last time you sent a post card to someone? I did collect post cards for many years, including some that I sent to myself. The one I’ve gotten most recently was from a friend who sent it from Montana, if I recall correctly. As for sending them, I sometimes buy funny ones and use them to write a quick note to somebody.
12 – World Sight Day: How good is your eyesight? When did you last have an eye exam? Would you ever consider lasik surgery to improve your vision? My eyesight is terrible without glasses. I had an eye exam i August and now I am looking forward to getting cataract surgery, in fact, which will make a huge difference. First, I have to get the whole medicare kerfuffle finished with.
13 – Train Your Brain Day: Do you do any exercises aimed at (or claiming to) help keep your brain sharp and improve your memory? I don’t specifically do exercises to keep my brain sharp and improve my memory, but I do a lot of things that are said to have that effect, particularly puzzles and language study.
14 – Dessert Day! Who doesn't love dessert? Is a dessert a regular part of your evening meal, or more of a special occasion sort of thing? Or do you mostly indulge in dessert when you eat out? Do you have a favourite dessert to make? Do you have a favourite dessert to order when eating out? When I was growing up, we almost always had fruit for dessert and I do that a lot still. When I eat out, I tend to order things like creme brûlée. I also love gelato. In terms of making desserts, I make an amazing chocolate rum cheesecake. I also love to slice apricots, combine with blueberries, and marinate in apricot brandy. You can serve this on its own or serve it over ice cream or pound cake.
15 – Mushroom Day: Do you like mushrooms? Do you have a favourite type of mushroom? In what dishes are you most likely to use mushrooms? I love mushrooms, particularly chanterelles and morels. I didn’t eat them when I was growing up because my mother used awful slimy canned mushrooms. I use mushrooms in stir fries a lot. And I like them in pasta and on pizza. Or, just sautéed in butter with a little bit of garlic, cream and sherry.
16 – Liqueur Day: Amaretto! Grand Marnier! Kahlua! Creme de Menthe! A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage made from a distilled spirit. Distillers flavor the spirit with fruit, cream, herbs, spices, flowers, or nuts. They may have fallen out of favour due to the increasingly broad selection of spirits available in seasonal, fragrant, and often curious flavors (vodkas and rums in particular), but they haven't disappeared. Have you ever had a liqueur? Do you have a favourite? I like many liqueurs. My favorites include Grand Marnier, Frangelico, and especially amarula. The latter is a South African cream liqueur derived from the marula fruit, which elephants like to get drunk on when it ferments.
17 – Mulligan Day: Commonly used in games such as golf, the term ‘mulligan’ derives from the 1920s when Canadian golfer David Mulligan made a mistake during a game and retook his shot. Since then, to ‘call a mulligan’ means the chance to try again. Is there anything in your life you'd like a second chance at? There are many things I wish I’d done differently, but I made the best decisions I could at the time knowing what I knew then. So, no, there really isn’t anything I’d like a second chance at.
18 – International Legging Day: Do you wear leggings? If yes, do you wear them mostly when exercising, or do you wear them outside of the gym? I do wear leggings, primarily for dancing.
19 – Free Speech Week: There is a lot of talk about the so-called "cancelling" of individuals who are known for espousing controversial views. Would a better way of framing it be "accountability" rather than "cancelling", with the emphasis being on the reality that free speech isn't consequence-free? I think the key thing to keep in mind is that free speech depends on the context. There’s no requirement to give someone a forum for espousing views you find distasteful.
20 – Information Overload Day: We've all likely suffered from this at some point in time, if not almost daily. What do you do to limit the flow of information coming to you? Do you put your phone on "Do Not Disturb"? Log out of your email client? Avoid social media? Read a book or go for a walk instead of watching the news? I find that traveling in places with a lot to do helps a lot. When I go on vacation, I check my email quickly morning and evening, but otherwise limit my internet use to a few puzzles and keeping up my Duolingo streak.
21 – International Walk to School Month: Did you walk to school as a child? Are parents today too over-protective to let their children walk to school? I walked to school through 8th grade. It was a little under half a mile. My home town doesn’t have a high school. We went to a school about 7 miles away, so I took a bus.
22 – Colour Day: National Colour Day focuses on the impact colour has on each of us. Beyond having a favourite colour, are there colours that evoke specific feelings or memories in you? Colours you avoid or dislike because they remind you of something you'd rather forget, or give off "bad vibes"? Is there a colour that immediately brightens your mood, or calms you? Do you decorate your home with lots of bright colours? How important is colour in your life? Color (note improved American spelling) is very important to me. In general, I prefer bright colors and dislike pastels. I particularly dislike pink. I tend to be attracted to ocean colors - blues, greens, teals. I also like a lot of purples. I do like some muted colors, however. My den (aka the Black Hole of Vienna) is painted sage green. In an ideal world, that would go with a dark red carpet.
23 – iPod Day: Have you ever owned an iPod (or other portable media player)? Do you remember those first songs? Do you still listen to them? What have you become in the days that have past, and do you smile with nostalgia or cringe with embarrassment as you remember your favorites from ages gone by? I had a portable tape player if that counts. For his 50th birthday, I gave the gentleman with whom I’m conducting the world’s longest running brief meaningless fling an iPod with 50 songs on it. It was a lot of fun selecting songs I thought he would like. There was lots of 60’s nostalgia and several jazz / Great American Songbook classics.
24 – United Nations Day: Is the UN still an important international player? Do you think the UN Security Council membership should be expanded? I think the UN has been completely ineffective for many years. The membership of the UN Human Rights Council, for example, includes several countries that are enemies of women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, religious freedom, and freedom of the press, e.g. Venezuela and Russia.
25 – International Artist Day: do you have any art in your home -- paintings, sculptures, etc.? Do you ever visit art galleries? Do you dabble in any type of art yourself? I have lots of artwork. I have a lithograph by Susan Rios that I bought as a 30th birthday present to myself, for example. I had a few cousins who were well-known artists in Lithuania and I have a painting by one of them. And I have various other pieces I’ve bought in odd corners of the world.
26 – Mincemeat Day: Have you ever tried mincemeat (pie, or tarts)? Do you like it? Do you have an old family mincemeat recipe that gets dragged out in time for the holidays season? I have never eaten mincemeat and I am not planning to start. I dislike most dried fruit and mixing it with meat and spices isn’t going to help.
27 – Cranky Co-Workers Day: Do you have (or did you have if no longer working) any chronically cranky co-workers? Or maybe you were the cranky co-worker? When was the last thing you let yourself be cranky, and to voice your thoughts about something that annoyed you? I had some cranky coworkers, but I also had some who were terminally cheerful. In general, I think a key distinction is whether people were annoyed about things relating to projects we were involved with or whether they were cranky about bureaucratic issues. Much of my kvetching had to do with our corporate travel practices, for example.
28 – International Animation Day: What is your favourite animated film or TV series? I’ve always liked Rocky and Bullwinkle (and some of the other episodes included in it, like Fractured Fairy Tales). As for movies, I have to go for the classics, like Fantasia and The Aristocats.
29 – Internet Day and Cyber-security Awareness Month: Today is both national Internet day and Cyber-security Awareness Month. Are you, or do you try to be, fairly vigilant about how you use the internet, and keeping yourself safe online? Do you tend to use the same password across most sites? Have you ever suffered a malware infection? I try to keep in mind that anything I put on line can be found by somebody, so I don’t write about certain subjects. I also am careful about what sites I use. I don’t, generally, reuse passwords, though I do use a pattern with a base phrase (that I may reuse) plus an add-on for the specific site. So something like This%is%an%Example%LJDW.
30 – Haunted Refrigerator Night: Sometimes you forget about certain things that are in your fridge. And while you may have forgotten about them, they certainly haven't forgotten about you. Instead, they sit lurking in the back of the refrigerator waiting for you to delve into its darkest corners and unleash the disgusting rotten mess that lurks within those Tupperware sarcophagi. Is there anything lurking in the deepest recesses of your fridge that you're afraid to look at or deal with? I’m pretty sure there isn’t. I tend to buy perishables in small quantities. The thing I find most likely to go bad is cheese, because I don’t use a lot of it and it may get moldy before I can finish it.
31 – Magic Day: Have you ever seen magic performed live? Have you ever tried to learn a few tricks yourself? I think I saw a magic show or two as a child. It was the sort of thing that we would have had at a school assembly. More recently, I went with friends to see The Enigmatist which is David Kwong’s show, mixing magic with puzzles. That was very entertaining and even my friends who weren’t really into puzzles enjoyed it. I tried to learn a few card tricks as a child, but didn’t go very far with them.
2 – World Architecture Day: Are you a keen observer of architecture, or do you mostly notice it when you see architectural oddities, e.g. a particularly ugly building, or a very unusual house design — that sort of thing? I’m very interested in architecture. I have definite preferences, e.g. I love the Federal style architecture in the Washington, D.C. area. And I am a huge fan of art deco, as anybody who has ever heard me extol the beauty of the Chrysler Building in New York can testify to. I also like Islamic architecture and some of the neo-moorish designs. The gentleman with whom I am conducting the world’s longest running brief meaningless fling and I have a running discussion about church architecture and, specifically, about spires versus domes. In short, we can never agree about whether men or women are more likely to prefer either style.
3 – Virus Appreciation Day: OK, so it's been almost three years since Covid rocked the world. Is there ANYTHING you appreciate about that particular virus — well, maybe not the virus itself, but the impact it had on workplace arrangements, or social norms, etc.? I do like the rise of zoom, which has enabled me to attend storytelling and other entertainment events (and to play board games) with people who don’t live near me.
4 – Improve Your Office Day: Whether it's your home office or your at-the-office office, what changes would improve your office experience? I need to get better lighting and get rid of a lot of clutter.
5 – Global James Bond Day: Are you a Bond fan (either books or films or both)? Who is your favourite Bond actor? Do you have a favourite Bond theme song? Most of the Bond movies I’ve seen blend together. The exception is Octopussy because it is set in Udaipur, India. Restaurants there show it nightly to bring in customers, so I saw it a few times, until I found the one place that figured out that people would like variety and started showing the Discovery channel instead. There’s also a amusing broadside with the chorus “Oh, 0h-0h-seven, will you kindly stop dispatching girls to heaven.” As for favorite Bond actor, I’ll have to go with Sean Connery. And for a song, the first one that comes to mind is “Skyfall,” though I absolutely loathed that movie.
6 – Mad Hatter Day: Mad Hatter Day celebrates the Mad Hatter, from Alice In Wonderland and is the perfect opportunity for you to bring out your daft side. Do you have a silly side? Is there anything or anyone who always manages to get you acting silly? My major manifestation of silliness is in my penchant for ridiculous puns. And probably my fondness for tacky tourist attractions. For example, I once drove about an hour out of my way to take a picture of the water tower in the town of Joe, Montana.
7 – World Space Week: October 4-10 is World Space Week. How does the exploration of space benefit society? Do you think the money spent on space exploration could be better spent on the myriad problems here on Earth? Space exploration helps us understand a lot of scientific issues. Satellite sensing makes key contributions to our understanding of the earth, including problems like climate change.
8 – International Podiatry Day: Do you try to reguarly take care of your feet, or do you tend to neglect them until something crops up -- dry, cracked heels, ingrown toenails, blisters, corns, etc.? Have you ever been to a podiatrist (or chiropodist depending on where you live)? Do you get pedicures regularly? I went to a podiatrist once for a foot pain issue and didn’t find her very helpful. I do get pedicures every now and then, which are a very pleasant luxury. I even did a fish pedicure once.
9 – Canadian Thanksgiving Day: Canadian Thanksgiving is associated with the European tradition of harvest festivals. Does your country celebrate the yearly harvest with a festival or other form of commemoration? We have Thanksgiving in the United States, too, though we do it in November. And, of course, the Jewish holiday of Sukkot is a harvest festival.
10 – Shift10 Day: SHIFT10 Day was created to encourage shoppers to shift 10% of their spending into their local economies to support local businesses, farmers' markets, and other alternatives to big box stores. Do you try to shop locally as much as possible or do the ease and convenience of big box stores and online juggernauts like Amazon win out more often than not? I try to use local businesses when possible. The ones I use include a coffee roaster, a couple of local bookshops, an excellent chocolate store, and a couple of yarn stores. I also see movies frequently at the Cinema Arts Theatre, an independent theatre a few miles from my place.
11 – International Post Card Week: Did you ever trade or collect postcards? When was the last time you received one? When was the last time you sent a post card to someone? I did collect post cards for many years, including some that I sent to myself. The one I’ve gotten most recently was from a friend who sent it from Montana, if I recall correctly. As for sending them, I sometimes buy funny ones and use them to write a quick note to somebody.
12 – World Sight Day: How good is your eyesight? When did you last have an eye exam? Would you ever consider lasik surgery to improve your vision? My eyesight is terrible without glasses. I had an eye exam i August and now I am looking forward to getting cataract surgery, in fact, which will make a huge difference. First, I have to get the whole medicare kerfuffle finished with.
13 – Train Your Brain Day: Do you do any exercises aimed at (or claiming to) help keep your brain sharp and improve your memory? I don’t specifically do exercises to keep my brain sharp and improve my memory, but I do a lot of things that are said to have that effect, particularly puzzles and language study.
14 – Dessert Day! Who doesn't love dessert? Is a dessert a regular part of your evening meal, or more of a special occasion sort of thing? Or do you mostly indulge in dessert when you eat out? Do you have a favourite dessert to make? Do you have a favourite dessert to order when eating out? When I was growing up, we almost always had fruit for dessert and I do that a lot still. When I eat out, I tend to order things like creme brûlée. I also love gelato. In terms of making desserts, I make an amazing chocolate rum cheesecake. I also love to slice apricots, combine with blueberries, and marinate in apricot brandy. You can serve this on its own or serve it over ice cream or pound cake.
15 – Mushroom Day: Do you like mushrooms? Do you have a favourite type of mushroom? In what dishes are you most likely to use mushrooms? I love mushrooms, particularly chanterelles and morels. I didn’t eat them when I was growing up because my mother used awful slimy canned mushrooms. I use mushrooms in stir fries a lot. And I like them in pasta and on pizza. Or, just sautéed in butter with a little bit of garlic, cream and sherry.
16 – Liqueur Day: Amaretto! Grand Marnier! Kahlua! Creme de Menthe! A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage made from a distilled spirit. Distillers flavor the spirit with fruit, cream, herbs, spices, flowers, or nuts. They may have fallen out of favour due to the increasingly broad selection of spirits available in seasonal, fragrant, and often curious flavors (vodkas and rums in particular), but they haven't disappeared. Have you ever had a liqueur? Do you have a favourite? I like many liqueurs. My favorites include Grand Marnier, Frangelico, and especially amarula. The latter is a South African cream liqueur derived from the marula fruit, which elephants like to get drunk on when it ferments.
17 – Mulligan Day: Commonly used in games such as golf, the term ‘mulligan’ derives from the 1920s when Canadian golfer David Mulligan made a mistake during a game and retook his shot. Since then, to ‘call a mulligan’ means the chance to try again. Is there anything in your life you'd like a second chance at? There are many things I wish I’d done differently, but I made the best decisions I could at the time knowing what I knew then. So, no, there really isn’t anything I’d like a second chance at.
18 – International Legging Day: Do you wear leggings? If yes, do you wear them mostly when exercising, or do you wear them outside of the gym? I do wear leggings, primarily for dancing.
19 – Free Speech Week: There is a lot of talk about the so-called "cancelling" of individuals who are known for espousing controversial views. Would a better way of framing it be "accountability" rather than "cancelling", with the emphasis being on the reality that free speech isn't consequence-free? I think the key thing to keep in mind is that free speech depends on the context. There’s no requirement to give someone a forum for espousing views you find distasteful.
20 – Information Overload Day: We've all likely suffered from this at some point in time, if not almost daily. What do you do to limit the flow of information coming to you? Do you put your phone on "Do Not Disturb"? Log out of your email client? Avoid social media? Read a book or go for a walk instead of watching the news? I find that traveling in places with a lot to do helps a lot. When I go on vacation, I check my email quickly morning and evening, but otherwise limit my internet use to a few puzzles and keeping up my Duolingo streak.
21 – International Walk to School Month: Did you walk to school as a child? Are parents today too over-protective to let their children walk to school? I walked to school through 8th grade. It was a little under half a mile. My home town doesn’t have a high school. We went to a school about 7 miles away, so I took a bus.
22 – Colour Day: National Colour Day focuses on the impact colour has on each of us. Beyond having a favourite colour, are there colours that evoke specific feelings or memories in you? Colours you avoid or dislike because they remind you of something you'd rather forget, or give off "bad vibes"? Is there a colour that immediately brightens your mood, or calms you? Do you decorate your home with lots of bright colours? How important is colour in your life? Color (note improved American spelling) is very important to me. In general, I prefer bright colors and dislike pastels. I particularly dislike pink. I tend to be attracted to ocean colors - blues, greens, teals. I also like a lot of purples. I do like some muted colors, however. My den (aka the Black Hole of Vienna) is painted sage green. In an ideal world, that would go with a dark red carpet.
23 – iPod Day: Have you ever owned an iPod (or other portable media player)? Do you remember those first songs? Do you still listen to them? What have you become in the days that have past, and do you smile with nostalgia or cringe with embarrassment as you remember your favorites from ages gone by? I had a portable tape player if that counts. For his 50th birthday, I gave the gentleman with whom I’m conducting the world’s longest running brief meaningless fling an iPod with 50 songs on it. It was a lot of fun selecting songs I thought he would like. There was lots of 60’s nostalgia and several jazz / Great American Songbook classics.
24 – United Nations Day: Is the UN still an important international player? Do you think the UN Security Council membership should be expanded? I think the UN has been completely ineffective for many years. The membership of the UN Human Rights Council, for example, includes several countries that are enemies of women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, religious freedom, and freedom of the press, e.g. Venezuela and Russia.
25 – International Artist Day: do you have any art in your home -- paintings, sculptures, etc.? Do you ever visit art galleries? Do you dabble in any type of art yourself? I have lots of artwork. I have a lithograph by Susan Rios that I bought as a 30th birthday present to myself, for example. I had a few cousins who were well-known artists in Lithuania and I have a painting by one of them. And I have various other pieces I’ve bought in odd corners of the world.
26 – Mincemeat Day: Have you ever tried mincemeat (pie, or tarts)? Do you like it? Do you have an old family mincemeat recipe that gets dragged out in time for the holidays season? I have never eaten mincemeat and I am not planning to start. I dislike most dried fruit and mixing it with meat and spices isn’t going to help.
27 – Cranky Co-Workers Day: Do you have (or did you have if no longer working) any chronically cranky co-workers? Or maybe you were the cranky co-worker? When was the last thing you let yourself be cranky, and to voice your thoughts about something that annoyed you? I had some cranky coworkers, but I also had some who were terminally cheerful. In general, I think a key distinction is whether people were annoyed about things relating to projects we were involved with or whether they were cranky about bureaucratic issues. Much of my kvetching had to do with our corporate travel practices, for example.
28 – International Animation Day: What is your favourite animated film or TV series? I’ve always liked Rocky and Bullwinkle (and some of the other episodes included in it, like Fractured Fairy Tales). As for movies, I have to go for the classics, like Fantasia and The Aristocats.
29 – Internet Day and Cyber-security Awareness Month: Today is both national Internet day and Cyber-security Awareness Month. Are you, or do you try to be, fairly vigilant about how you use the internet, and keeping yourself safe online? Do you tend to use the same password across most sites? Have you ever suffered a malware infection? I try to keep in mind that anything I put on line can be found by somebody, so I don’t write about certain subjects. I also am careful about what sites I use. I don’t, generally, reuse passwords, though I do use a pattern with a base phrase (that I may reuse) plus an add-on for the specific site. So something like This%is%an%Example%LJDW.
30 – Haunted Refrigerator Night: Sometimes you forget about certain things that are in your fridge. And while you may have forgotten about them, they certainly haven't forgotten about you. Instead, they sit lurking in the back of the refrigerator waiting for you to delve into its darkest corners and unleash the disgusting rotten mess that lurks within those Tupperware sarcophagi. Is there anything lurking in the deepest recesses of your fridge that you're afraid to look at or deal with? I’m pretty sure there isn’t. I tend to buy perishables in small quantities. The thing I find most likely to go bad is cheese, because I don’t use a lot of it and it may get moldy before I can finish it.
31 – Magic Day: Have you ever seen magic performed live? Have you ever tried to learn a few tricks yourself? I think I saw a magic show or two as a child. It was the sort of thing that we would have had at a school assembly. More recently, I went with friends to see The Enigmatist which is David Kwong’s show, mixing magic with puzzles. That was very entertaining and even my friends who weren’t really into puzzles enjoyed it. I tried to learn a few card tricks as a child, but didn’t go very far with them.