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Alex's even longer post thread.

Started by Alex, March 19, 2020, 10:14:15 AM

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chefzombie

and now sidney has been tossed straight under the bus. i hope she has a decent amount of savings, since it isn't likely she'll work again. and the trumpkins in georgia are threatening to destroy the GOP and asking for a boycott of the january runoffs. the stupidity there never ceases to amaze me. it shouldn't by now, but it still does.
don't EVEN...EVER!

Alex

China is sending a mission to the moon today. I wonder when any other countries are going to try and compete with them or if space is meekly going to be given over to them? I know several other nations have space programs and that both the US and the old Soviet Union have done more than China, but with the rate they are achieving things I can see them moving into the lead there. I wonder if a base on the moon or man landing on Mars will happen first. Wouldn't that be something to see, someone actually landing on another planet.

Just don't send Matt Damon. Pretty sure the cost of rescuing him in his various films would have bankrupted several nations.  :bouncegiggle:

From what I am hearing Barri, it sounds like trump is starting to realise he has lost the fight and is accepting that a transistion of power needs to begin. Maybe his hand is being forced by events outside of his control. I would imagine since no evidence of the large scale electoral fraud he claimed has been presented that he is pinning his hopes on the electorial college doing something.

Back home Boris is facing a rebellion within his own party who are tiring of the restrictions. Seeing him struggle to do the right thing and facing people fighting against that is sort of funny in a karmic way. If it wasn't for the people who will die as a result I would be happy to see him squirm in this situation. Looks like they are going to loosen the rules over the festive period, mostly because they fear people will just ignore the rules anyway.

Funny how the less I am at work, the more onerous the time I do have to spend there feels. Oh well, I should get to it and remember it is only four hours.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

RCMerchant

^ It's like I been holding my breath underwater for 4 years.
Supernatural?...perhaps. Baloney?...Perhaps not!" Bela Lugosi-the BLACK CAT (1934)
Interviewer-"Does Dracula ever end for you?
Lugosi-"No. Dracula-never ends."
Slobber, Drool, Drip!
https://www.tumblr.com/ronmerchant

chefzombie

Quote from: Alex on November 24, 2020, 02:35:58 AM
China is sending a mission to the moon today. I wonder when any other countries are going to try and compete with them or if space is meekly going to be given over to them? I know several other nations have space programs and that both the US and the old Soviet Union have done more than China, but with the rate they are achieving things I can see them moving into the lead there. I wonder if a base on the moon or man landing on Mars will happen first. Wouldn't that be something to see, someone actually landing on another planet.

Just don't send Matt Damon. Pretty sure the cost of rescuing him in his various films would have bankrupted several nations.  :bouncegiggle:

From what I am hearing Barri, it sounds like trump is starting to realise he has lost the fight and is accepting that a transistion of power needs to begin. Maybe his hand is being forced by events outside of his control. I would imagine since no evidence of the large scale electoral fraud he claimed has been presented that he is pinning his hopes on the electorial college doing something.

Back home Boris is facing a rebellion within his own party who are tiring of the restrictions. Seeing him struggle to do the right thing and facing people fighting against that is sort of funny in a karmic way. If it wasn't for the people who will die as a result I would be happy to see him squirm in this situation. Looks like they are going to loosen the rules over the festive period, mostly because they fear people will just ignore the rules anyway.

Funny how the less I am at work, the more onerous the time I do have to spend there feels. Oh well, I should get to it and remember it is only four hours.

now he's trying to get states to change their laws and their electors so that only republicans would be voting in the college, FOR HIM. NOT gonna happen.
don't EVEN...EVER!

Alex

Many years ago (teenager / early 20's), I used to run a lot. My routine was 5 days a week I'd get up and go out at 4 am then run until 8 am. Then I'd get in the house, get cleaned up, changed and head off to school/work/college. On a Thursday and Friday, I'd do another run in the evenings for two to three hours. I'd take Wednesdays and Saturdays as rest days. After a couple of years of doing that I started running wearing boots to build up my legs further.

When I took my current job, I no longer had the time (or to be honest, by that age the inclination) to go out running quite that much and in all weathers.

Anyway, about 12 years ago I started to get pains in my feet when I was running, especially if I did my favourite run from my room to the lighthouse which was around a 10km run (6 miles, for anyone in the dark ages). I could still run in it, but I'd be in agony for 3 days and unable to walk. I went to the med centre about it and they referred to a civvy pediatrist. He treated my feet so I wasn't in constant pain, and got it down to a manageable level but told me I'd never really be able to run again.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago and when I told a doctor about this, he sounded somewhat surprised and told me that this wasn't how my condition worked. With the right treatment, it can be fully cured unless I had deformed bones or something. Anyway, I've got myself a referral to the station physio and he has had a look at my feet. The initial prognosis is that yeah I can build back up to being able to run again.

At the moment I am concentrating on the get running part of that, not the specialist who told me I couldn't. Got some exercises to do that are the kind of positions that we are not allowed to keep prisoners in for long periods.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

chefzombie

Although I've never been able to grasp the joy of running, i'm really happy for you! i hope this can lessen the pain even more and give you that joy back. :cheers:
don't EVEN...EVER!

Alex

I got into running as a big FU to one of our physical education teachers at school. I was told I was running in an interschool competition, then I wasn't on the team, then I was and then I wasn't again. On the day of the contest, I was told I was on the team (400-meter relay race as I recall), but when I couldn't get home to get my running kit the teacher decided to scream in my face about it. After that, I took it up just so I could compete against my school as an independent runner and to show her that I could beat anyone she could train. Even today I hold P.E. staff in contempt (with one exception), an opinion that has only strengthened the more I've had to deal with them.

Started playing classic World of Warcraft. I am completely ignoring the new expansion that came out last week and playing as close to the original game as I can get. Hit level 40 at the weekend which means instead of running everywhere I could pick up a mount and ride around in comparative style. Kristi is playing too. Because I've done this game before and know what I am doing I am making a lot of money (not the richest player in the game type money, but more than enough for my needs). As a result, it looks like I'll be funding Kristi's mount. We've formed a regular 5 man group for doing dungeons and I've been giving the others hints and tips on how to make money but they are still lagging behind quite badly. This means that either I can go anywhere quickly, but then have to wait for them to catch up with me, or I pay for their mounts too, which would stretch my in-game finances. 500 gold is a lot in classic. Besides, one of our group does seem to be a fairly selfish individual and I am not sure I want to pay for a mount for him too, so I guess I can cut that down to 400. Strangely enough, he is the one who would need the help the most.

Ash has a head cold atm which he has shared with his mum. She didn't get much sleep last night and I figured what the hell, I have plenty of leave so I booked the week off work to spend some time with them.

Doubtless, by the end of the week I'll be sharing in that cold.

My older brother got back from Saudi and we met up at the weekend. He was saying that there has been a lot of scandal within the higher up Saudi's and what happens is they load them onto the back of a Herc, go for a flight and whoever has p**sed off the wrong person gets dropped off in the desert. The Herc doesn't land to drop them off and they don't give them a parachute either.

Aren't you glad we have such wonderful allies in the middle east?

Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

Not exactly sure how this happened, but yesterday I noticed that Elsa wasn't hanging around me constantly looking for attention. After a while I went looking for her and discovered her sitting on our bed, with the last four inches or so of her tail stripped down to the bone. I got her out to the vets right away. They are going to have to amputate about half the tail, but she'll survive. I found where the skin and fur were lying, but there was no blood around or anything to indicate how the injury happened. My best guess is that it got trapped in the kitchen door, but I am not sure that explains the entire thing being off. I mean it looked like the tail had been skinned. I left her overnight in the vets. Her and Ash normally play a lot and he wouldn't understand why he can't. Waiting on a phone call from the vets once she has recovered from the operation so I can go out and collect the poor mite.

Of course, the vet immediately brought up the subject of having her spayed while she was out there. I don't believe in giving animals unnecessary medical procedures just for the convenience of the owners. Don't even get me started on people who get their cats declawed. Anyone doing that should have their fingers broken and cut off at the last joint just so they know what they are putting their animals through.

Bastards. If you aren't prepared to accept what pets do and deal with it, then you shouldn't have them.

Most of the group I am levelling within World of Warcraft hit 40 last night while I got there on Sunday night. I did give a couple of them enough money to get their mounts (they weren't hugely short) and them travelling at the same speed as me makes my life easier. I'll hit level 42 today and in the meantime, I am farming for herbs to sell in the auction house to make up for the money I've handed out. Be damned if I'll fund their epic mounts though. That is way above my earning potential. The only one who hasn't hit 40 is the whiny member of our group and his constant whinging has left me disinclined to help him out with a handout. I got fed up of listening to him last night and just logged out of voice chat so I didn't have to hear it any more. Got enough real things to worry about with my mother-in-law and her husband having trouble breathing with Covid, Else at the vets, Kristi and Ash being ill, an aunt who fell over, broke her arm and was stuck there for 9 hours before anyone found her and all the other problems that everyone has swirling around in daily life.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

chefzombie

for the record, i am completely against declawing. also for the record, she SHOULD be spayed unless you are willing to raise every litter she has, and deal with the health issues that come with unspayed female cats. and deal with her in heat, and the resulting toms gathering that could be harmful to your family. it IS necessary.
  and now i'll shut up. for now.
don't EVEN...EVER!

chefzombie

no i won't, i forgot to say that i hope she's okay.
don't EVEN...EVER!

Alex

She seems to be happy to be a housecat (which to be honest, I'd prefer. I had hoped Dagon would be a housecat, but he was too adventurous and was never going to be kept inside all the time). I've had cats most of my life and I've only had one spayed, and that was because she had quite a bad case of cancer. She survived though and went on to live until the pretty old age (for a cat) of 18.

Got the last of the xmas shopping done last night. The local shopping mall had a fayre on with lots of local crafters selling at pop up shop type stalls. Sign of the times just how many empty lots there are in it for them to do that. When I was a kid I remember local retailers complaining about supermarkets and malls putting them out of business. Now it is their turn with the internet putting those who fail to adapt and evolve to the new market model who fall by the wayside. Three major high street retailers have collapsed in the last week in the UK as part of that. You could argue that it is Covid that killed them, but they were on the way out anyway and Covid was just the final nail on outlets that were going bankrupt sooner or later.

It seems to be the mid-range clothing retailers that struggle the most. The ones doing really expensive clothes, well their customers aren't as affected by the ups and downs of the economy and have a comfortable pad against such tides of misfortune. The cheaper outlets there will always be a market for, but the ones who try to place themselves in the center-ground have it tough.

Ain't that always the way though?

Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

One more week of work to go and then the holidays. When we go back in the new year it is a return to normal working hours, but hey I've enjoyed the last 9 months of extra time off and am not going to complain about that.

Been wondering recently how much things will change when we get back to what we'll call normal. Some scientists are saying that facemasks will have to become a permanent thing, although the politician standing beside him (boris the incompetent) recoiled at that idea as doubtless he would at the suggestion that it will take 2 years to get to even that point.

I doubt those in charge will let those sorts of precautions be taken.

Brexit finally becomes a practical reality in a few weeks and it is not looking good for a trade deal. I wonder how people will react to the inevitable price rises? If you are a currency speculator then expect the £ to crash on the 1st of Jan should the no-deal situation continue.

Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

Got treated to more conspiracy theories today. One involved an F-16 that had crashed in Maine. Apparently, although F-16s are normally two seat aircraft. but this one only had one crew on board and there was an earthquake that rated a 3 on the scale so the plane must have dropped a bomb and that caused the earthquake and their is all sorts of funny stuff going on.

Yeah, unless its a trainer version, an F-16 has but a single aircrew on board.

Three more days of work to go and then the holidays, presents and all that jazz. It will be a welcome end to this year for most I'd imagine. I am not going to complain about the bonus time home with my family I've had for myself. The people we've known who have caught covid appear to have recovered.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Alex

'Tis the day before christmas leave begins and all throughout the building no one wants to be here.

Only one in the office at the moment. In theory I am here to answer the phones. If they ring I plan on pretending to be a Chinese laundry service. Listening to music on my phone and typing this on it at the same time. Let's be glad they moved away from rotary dial phones. Imagine trying to type using a wheel with every letter of the alphabet, not to mention numbers and symbols.

Messaging Kristi too. Elsa is out at her final vets appointment. Yay for a £400 bill for pet treatments. Still, it makes me appreciate our socialised healthcare. Can't imagine the extra stress having to come up with money for medical treatments must cause people on top of the fact they are already ill.

Apparently (according to my local conspiracy theorist), the USA is currently under martial law. Doubtless if you are from there you can see tanks on the streets and the military are on every street corner, enforcing a curfew. Also, trump is going to be the last president of the US. The office is about to be abolished and replaced by some other titled leader.

I look forward to seeing this all play out as the world is consumed in the fire of a thousand bloody revolutions as people discover how their leaders have lied to them and rise up against them

The word fruitcake springs to mind.
Hail to thyself
For I am my own master
I am my own god
I require no shepherd
For I am no sheep.

Zapranoth

I assume Elsa is a cat.   Cats are tricksy, tricksy when it comes to being sick.  My cat (Nico, a male American ragdoll) got a foot injury last year.   No idea how, he's an indoor cat, but he had some sort of foreign body lodged in one toe in a hind foot.

So it abscessed, and it was probably a couple of days before I noticed, because he started sleeping in weird out of the way places.  He slept on my youngest's upper (unused) bunk bed, and was out of line of sight for much of two days.  I finally noticed that he was doing it and hauled him down and examined him and found the problem.  He got off with antibiotics and a toe amputation and is none the worse for it, but it was a good reminder to keep an eye on him and if he goes under the radar for a day, to find him and figure it out.

The Dumpster Fire is pouting and doing nothing, and the Senate is pondering actually doing some work toward financial relief, and in my part of the US (the state of Washington on the west coast) we're starting the first round of covid vaccinations (mostly the Pfizer).  I'm still waiting on official word as to where / when it'll be for me.    Only 71% of the med staff (includes MA's, support staff, non-doctors) said that they definitely would take the vaccine on the survey.  f**king blows my mind.  Probably the number that will take it is going to be higher than 71%, so perhaps I just need to abide.