Aeration is a known factor in cocktails, it also requires some kind of protein or structure in the liquid to hold onto air for more than a few moments. Slurping a bit as you sip will impact the taste more than shake/stir (assuming equal dilution, temperature, and clarity) The other factor bruise-truthers trot out is Volatile Organic Compounds and the “top notes” evaporating out or oxidizing and I’m sure that would happen if you left a neat glass out on the counter for half an hour, but ten seconds of tumbling is nothing compared to the distillation and bottling process.

It’s like the “espresso dies in thirty seconds” thing that’s actually an efficiency training benchmark that got misinterpreted at some point. The chemistry just isn’t that fast.

I prefer mine a bit sweeter. I also prefer a coupe so I guess my champagne tastes are just two hundred years old.

This isn’t a real thing.

What’s subjective about supporting an authoritarian dictatorship, sexual assault, or believing someone is of lesser value because of their demographic?

“My position is so tenuous yet so important to my identity that I will not tolerate the slightest challenge.”

Alternatively, “That’s why my favorite book is Moby Dick, no frou-frou symbolism. Just a good simple tale about a man who hates an animal.”

Psychonauts is about trauma. Fallout is anti-war. FFVII is environmentalist. Samus as a woman was an intentionally subversive choice. Video games have had socual commentary for as long as it’s been able to be expressed.

My money is on ivy but there’s a chance they form a symbiotic mass.

Sweet, then we can secede and form new alliances with Canada, Mexico, the EU, and the rest of the civilized world.

Fun fact: you can peel and eat young raspberry canes! Harvest when green and flexible, eat raw or steamed. Same for most blackberries and such, as far as I know.

Well, “thrive” might be overstating it because they’ll be much more susceptible to drought with shallow roots.

Trading one invasive monoculture for another isn’t really an upgrade, though you may get more utlity from mint. And your neighbors may set fire to your property.

(Catnip is a type of mint)

It takes a real focused effort. Tear out as much rhizome as you can and cover the entire effected area in a smothering layer. I prefer cardboard or newspaper because inorganic root barriers were sent by Satan to destroy us, but it had to be a substantial layer. Hold it down with mulch and/or decent topsoil and watch it like a hawk. Sow native wildflowers the first year, something that will hold the layer together without requiring much maintenance because odds are high you’re gonna be back in there tearing it up and finding more ivy rhizome and there’s no sense destroying something you love. But you need something there because you’re also being assaulted from the air.

Birds spread ivy in their shit. They eat the berries, fly everywhere, and deposit noxious invasives wherever they go. You need aggressive natives to maintain the front line and keep those turd seeds from finding purchase. So you gotta be out there fortnightly to check for little English sprouts as well as hoping the subterranean menace is subdued.

When you have a year with no ivy bring in even more good soil and bury it good, then do whatever you want but never grow complacent.

This strategy applies to most horrible weeds but some cannot be reliably smothered and must be physically removed in their entirety so rent a Bobcat or something and try not to cry.

We used to say “Polack” but only in a derogatory way because people arw terrible.

You might, I don’t associate with them.

Yeah something like the Oblivion Crisis would be tough on the commoners. But if I could just chill in Vivec City or even Whiterun for most of history it’s pretty safe.

Yes, a true Rogue-like where every run is fresh.

Sometimes I wonder if moving dirt and shooting bugs is a good way to make a living…

You’re way more likely to be a random civilian pressed into service to defend Minas Tirith, if that helps.

The game was rigged from the start…

If you take them at face value and not as a gamified abstraction, sure. “Pallet Town” having three buildings is unlivable but it isn’t shown that way in non-game media.

The organized crime is rough but that usually gets sorted out by a child at some point so just keep your head down.