A peacock’s tail is a flourish, something that adds to the whole without detracting.

A cocktail combines spirits with other flavors to make them something else.

I don’t really drink cocktails, but thr antiquated term makes sense in a particular context.

Now looking it up, apparently the origin of the term isn’t actually known and my interpretation isn’t even in the running, but I’m saving this anyway because it’s amusing.

9 looks like you could slap a G’oauld symbol on that forehead easily.

Older guy here, no kids, rarely dated at all but married now.

Always be up front about your kid. Not first thing, but I’d say during the first date or two.

A twelve year old is a bit easier for most men to accept, I think, as there’s less years of raising them and more of a developed person to get to know.

Any man you’re in a committed relationship with should be willing to help you out - that’s what committed means. So one that refuses is probably not the guy for you.

Lastly, you may not meet the one for a while, but letting them in to see how well they mesh with your son might help you figure that out.

Its not too much to ask for at all. It’ll be a balancing act, redefining your life (and to a large extent, your son’s) and letting someone in again.

I’m confident that you’ll find someone, and I hope you aren’t hurt in the process of finding him.

It’s most definitely not too late.

I was in a similar state about fifteen years ago, and older than you at the time.

The thing is that by not tackling the anxiety earlier, you’ve been learning how to live while anxious.

I have IBS and had a hernia that was making things far worse. I had no idea that’s what was going on with me. I lived that way for years.

Once it was fixed I needed to learn how to unlearn the anxiety. I’d wake up each day worrying whether it’d be a good day or a terrible ond. I’d stress about using the toilet.

Now I’m married and have a good life.

You’ve gotta start tackling that anxiety. Medication, therapy, self work.

I used to think I was depressed, now I realize I was depressed about what my anxiety kept me from doing.

Once you start to unravel the way you are, you’ll start remaking yourself into a more conscious person. It’s extremely worthwhile.

They don’t learn. They’ll just blame Democrats yet again.

I’ll have to give that a watch. Dinklage is always a joy to watch.

If each symbol on the edge of the rug is intended to be a cat butt, I thoroughly approve.

The term you’re looking for is dingleberries.

My feeling is that sex offenders should get life, and a relatively comfortable prison life, in exchange for no possibility of parole.

If you know what you are and choose to act on it, no second chances.

That’s it!

I’d forgotten it was a match 3.

So imagine you have two of the same color side by side with no gaps.

You have the same color on the bottom of your current piece.

You could slam that piece into the matching ones, hoping that they would bounce up and allow all three to match in a row.

It was the one linux game I had that most friends would ask to play when they came over.

An old game that never really took off, Orbz.

I was one of the best players in the world while it lasted.

Simple little game, you’re a ball and you throw yourself at stars. The more you hit in a row without missing, the better your combo and score.

Essentially pong, but you play the ball, and it’s on a landscape rather than somewhere you fall off and die.

I made a few levels for it.

Another was Triptych, which my friends and I called jelly tetris. Imagine tetris but the bits are springy and bounce a bit. It was a blast. Both were commercial games available on Linux at the time, early 2000s.

Yeah, I was never on Compuserve, just aware of it’s history.

1990, through a local dialup university system that had security issues.

Within a few years after that we had home dialup internet.

In 1998, cable modems came to town. My neighborhood was the beta test area, so I had friends in my living room playing Everquest almost daily.

It was an old dial-up multi user system that charged monthly fees. Once the internet became popular, Compuserve connected, but they predate the commercial home internet.

Thank you, very detailed reply!

Thank you!

I dunno why you’re being downvoted, but could you explain the differences, please?

Media has taught us that a first date involves drinking in a bar or restaurant, in part because of movie shorthand. (Dinner and drinks is a date, forget the rest of the evening, we just set the stage to imply the rest.)

As many others have said, your normal is your normal. Don’t let society or Hollywood pressure you into dating ‘their way’.

I met my wife on a date at a coffeehouse near here house. We then went to a pizza place across the street. No alcohol involved, but I did bring a board game into the restaurant with us.

And trying to scare us into not doing anything about it.

IQ is meaningless, but I support your ambition.