# So... How'd Your Day Go? (3 Viewers)



## Guy Faukes

Supplies!​Life is really about the small things, those tiny reckonings and little surprises that notch our path. Have you ever had one of these noteworthy and interesting things come up, but since it's not big enough to warrant a thread, it mostly just goes un-shared? Well, this thread is for you.
This thread is about all those day-to-day things. 


*So... how'd your day go?*​


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## RhythmOvPain

I had a very enjoyable day. I'm intoxicated, high, and stuffed.

Just got done kicking two peoples' asses in Fight Night. Workin' out a plan for a new piano composition.

I lol'd a lot today. Lulz.


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## dither

Oh man,
"Lol'd a lot".
The very thought.
How i envy you R.O.P.

Y'know? Someone asked me once, "what do you do for fun? And i couldn't remember.

 I'm at a point in my life where i think i'd rather not now.

The grynch lives.


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## Sonata

If you mean yesterday then I have no idea.  But I am still alive [I think] so I must have survived yesterday.  If this is today.

Only I cannot remember what day it is today because the calendar above my monitor still sez it is March, and the one in my kitchen sez it is January, and I cannot be @rsed to check wot it sez on my computer as it might scare me.

And I still havva loada clocks to change to summer time.  

Oh woe is me
I think I am ready 
to be
 Soylent green


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## midnightpoet

Yesterday my wife got a surprise and was able to visit one of our former foster children for the day.  I stayed home and baby-sitted the dogs.  Bella, 11, is with another foster family (the mother lost all four of her kids several months ago and is pregnant again).  Bella has told the state people she hates her mother and does not want to live with her again.  Sad (and complicated) situation, but Bella is quite happy.


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## JustRob

If I hadn't spent so much time posting on this website I might have got further with today's task, tidying up my "workroom" which is so cluttered that I can't actually work in it or even barely get into it. After turning out much of the junk I found myself standing looking semi-moronically down at my feet, both next to each other in that room for the first time in months, and thinking "floor!" I felt a kindred spirit with the semi-moronic lift operator in _Brave New World _when he reaches the roof, the zenith of his existence. Unfortunately just like him I must return to the more common reality and put all the junk back somewhere, which may result in my beautiful vision of floor vanishing from sight again. For now though I am going to enjoy it for just a little longer.


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## aj47

I started work on my first from-scratch Oracle PL procedure.  I am still debugging, but I'm pleased with what I've done.  

I also did some administrative work that my supervisors really liked.  

And I did my NaPoWriMo poem.  

I made something complicated for dinner (a tuna/asparagus casserole) that my daughter decided she hates. Live and learn.


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## Darkkin

I pulled out an old musty poem of mine and have been having a ball playing with linear narratives and cliches.  I have to work the overnight game reset at work tonight, but my piece from NaPoWriMo is done, at least for today.  What I write is odd, but there is peace in knowing I'm one of the few who takes the time to heed the nonsense.


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## KellInkston

It's been a good day. Tried my hand at a video game and enjoyed it a good deal- been trying to ward off procrastination, but that's so hard in our modern society.

Anyway, I have coffee, my fiance, and the outdoors at the moment- life is good.


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## Thaumiel

I had a minor breakdown at the hands of maths. The thought that something that could be so meaningless is the difference between continuing my degree or being set back and suffering another £9000 of debt is rather stressful.

However, I've had a lot of reminders recently of just why it is I'm in a relationship with my current girlfriend, so I have a lot more hope for it enduring.


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## Guy Faukes

astroannie said:


> I started work on my first from-scratch Oracle PL procedure.  I am still debugging, but I'm pleased with what I've done.



You probably don't work with this, but my Java tends not to want to update for some reason. It goes to the updating screen then goes completely black. It happens on occasion, even with a clean install. Do you have any idea of what would cause this?



James 剣 斧 血 said:


> I had a minor breakdown at the hands of maths. The thought that something that could be so meaningless is the difference between continuing my degree or being set back and suffering another £9000 of debt is rather stressful.



I feel ya. Student loans. The idea of having to dig yourself out of compounding debt is not an easy decision or thought.


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## RhythmOvPain

Hooked up a new projector screen to go with the new 3D projector. We're just WATING for MKX to come out, y0. 9 is so freakin' epic on the big screen.

Until then? 4-player CoD:AW. Each box is like sixty inches, haha.

I can't wait to play Evil Within or Dying Light on it. RAWR!


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## Pluralized

Listed my house here in Georgia for sale yesterday about 2pm. Today, as of a few minutes ago, we have multiple offers. Going to sell this beeotch.

Moving to Denver where house prices are double what they are here. Fun times!


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## TKent

great news on the offers!


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## aj47

So I'm chairing an event in June (ApolloCon (dot org)) and we are placing deposits with the hotel.  There was one due last month and one this month so our treasurer wrote two checks and hand-delivered them to the hotel last month.

Today, in my inbox, is a reminder of the due date of this month's portion.  Oops.  So I wrote back and forwarded the message where the hotel liaison indicates she's received both checks.  She says she contacted the finance department and they had no record.

Meanwhile, I'd contacted the treasurer at the beginning of this farce and asked if the check had been cashed. It had.

Sweetly, I wrote to the hotel, "Under the circumstances, should we file a fraud complaint with our bank?"  Within 15 minutes, they determined that they had, in fact, received the payment.


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## Darkkin

It's raining, but the wind is blowing so hard, it's actually rain sideways.  And the cat stole my Dorito...Yeah, not a whole lot going on in my world.


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## Guy Faukes

My niece is just over 1 years old. She's learning basic sounds and says "tay" (take) if she handing you something.

She picked up her mums shoe because they were going out and was pointing it at her. My sis was doing a few things before she could get to her, so, Ms. Niece started saying:

"Tay... tay.... tay... taay.... taay... Taaay... Taaay.... Taaaaay.... Taaaaaay! Taaaaaaaaaay! Taaaaaaaaaaaay! Taaaaaaaaaaaay!"

She's adorable


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## The Green Shield

So far so good. Rainy, muggy and very humid outside so I'm indoors where its dry and cozy. 

Also, while rooting though old junk and stuff in my room, I stumbled upon an old book I got back in 2004 (11 years ago, now...wow...) that I never got around to reading. It's called _Dragonspell_ by Donita K. Paul and at the time, I wasn't really into reading fantasy. Now that I am, well...let's just say I'm now going to prepare a snack and start reading it. :cheers:


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## Darkkin

Paul's books are very good, I 'm an old school McCaffery fan, myself.  And so far, I haven't been tempted to commit mayhem with my pen...Also, I have a poetry piece I 'm undecided on, don't know if I love it or hate it.  This never happens because pieces I hate or am indifferent to, I delete.  If I can't see the purpose in keeping it, why should anyone else?  Gah!  I can delete it later.


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## Crowley K. Jarvis

My day was going great.

I slept most of the day yesterday. Because working nights, not because I'm lazy, although I am.

I woke up to eat then just went back to sleep. Amazing feeling.

So today WAS fine until I decided to spontaneously write a short story in the form of a very large poem. 

Why do I do this to myself!? Aaahg!


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## dither

Mine was hell.

Pure maddening saddening sickening hell.


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## Darkkin

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> My day was going great.
> 
> I slept most of the day yesterday. Because working nights, not because I'm lazy, although I am.
> 
> I woke up to eat then just went back to sleep. Amazing feeling.
> 
> So today WAS fine until I decided to spontaneously write a short story in the form of a very large poem.
> 
> Why do I do this to myself!? Aaahg!




Ha ha... narrative poetry is catching and addictive.  I have a severe, chronic case myself.


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## aj47

I had a bladder dynamics study.  It involved three catheters.  'Nuff said.


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## Darkkin

I can finally afford to get my computer rebuilt.  I've been restricted to my tablet and a wireless keyboard for nearly a year.  This means I can get back into my manuscripts, not just my poetry.  Fleetfoot was a rush, but I need to get back into the Darkkin Chronicles...I hope I haven't left it too long.


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## dither

astroannie said:


> I had a bladder dynamics study.  It involved three catheters.  'Nuff said.



Maybe i should withdraw mine.:disturbed:


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## aj47

astroannie said:


> I had a bladder dynamics study.  It involved three catheters.  'Nuff said.





dither said:


> Maybe i should withdraw mine.:disturbed:



Well, I am no longer uncomfortable.  At the time I posted...

I will know the results and recommendations a week from Thursday.


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## Darkkin

astroannie said:


> Well, I am no longer uncomfortable.  At the time I posted...
> 
> I will know the results and recommendations a week from Thursday.



I think I'll stick with my apheresis...It's not uncomfortable, just tedious.


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## am_hammy

Currently, my Tuesday started about three hours ago. I'm eating oatmeal and it's wonderful.

Yesterday is what I want to mention. I was the only keyholder on staff all day yesterday at work and usually something always goes wrong, I can't find anything, and the goals I want to accomplish run away with the wind. However, I got everything I wanted to yesterday, nothing went wrong, and I finally figured out the stupid fax machine. I don't normally open the store or have to deal with faxes but I was able to get it all squared away, like a boss.

It was a good Monday. 

Today I have off, so it will be filled with laundry, chilling and the start of my spring cleaning. I have too many things.


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## escorial

ok..done a bit of retail therapy...polo top. trainers an t-shirt...summery stuff


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## Sonata

Better than yesterday and the tears have not been so frequent.  Slowly, slowly is how I am taking things.


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## Darkkin

The day was long, my bones hurt and there is silence in my head.  I am just that tired and I do not like the silence...It has been a crabby apple sort of day.


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## Darkkin

Found out why my hip has been hurting.  The bone itself is actually bruised, don't know when, don't know how but the damage is done.  Grrr.


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## Blade

:sunny:Things are going great today. I think this is the first genuine day of Spring, warm and sunny and people out enjoying themselves in the new-found freedom. I am convinced the cold is gone for awhile, at least.:encouragement:


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## PiP

Retail therapy - spent a fortune on trivia I didn't need or could really afford: clothes, shoes, fancy underware, Pilates mat, Zumba dance shoes, lycra leggings, new suitcase, etc. An orgy of extravagance and a triumph over want versus need. Did I need them? No!. Did I want them? Yes! Do I feel guilty - sort of ...


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## Meteli

I bought and ate a citrus cake after I found that I had gained weight. My logic is wonderful!

I finally put the text I was writing for challenge in a program that counts words. It had reached 1700 words and end for it was not in sight. I fear the story thinks it is a novel. So I hacked a piece from it and came up with a goofy ending. That piece was still too long, so I have been cutting it to get it down to the 650 words. I'll be tweaking it tomorrow too.


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## Sonata

Started off fairly well, went downhill fast, picked up a bit and has been so-so ever since.  No retail therapy for me though although three items ordered online arrived.


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## PiP

Meteli said:


> I bought and ate a citrus cake after I found that I had gained weight. My logic is wonderful!


 That's exactly my logic! I've already put on weight so one more piece of cake is not going to make ANY difference. When it comes to food I have no will power ...


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## Crowley K. Jarvis

I found out that yesterday's allergy fit gave me eye inflammation! 

That is to say, conjunctivitis... My eye itself was actually swollen! But it's not the bacteria pink eye, that's just the reaction from my allergies, so I'm not contagious!

Thankfully I woke up this morning and it was muuuch better!

So I wrote 1,901 words today for my novel planning,

and took a bath, 

got all pretty again, (lol)

and now it's time for video games! Muahah!


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## RhythmOvPain

Been broke the past few days. Went to a temp agency yesterday. Real toilet of a place, but I got a job in like an hour flat.

I would have to stand outside at five in the morning and wait for a van to pick me up with a bunch of other schlebs to go to work.

I walked roughly 2 miles to get to the temp agency, and walked back as well. I had no cigarettes on the entire journey. I was angry.

By the time I got home, I was literally sucked into Surface. >> Show's old as ass but me and my landlord watched the whole 15 episode first season together all day long, smoking weed all the while. Problem is, I have no money. I'm angreeeeeeeeeeeeeh. I can't get to work in the morning without the cash, and I blew the entire day away smoking weed instead of making a quick couple of dollars like a responsible idiot. Now it's 11 PM, windswept rain, and I'm out walking another two miles to a totally unrelated place on the slim chance of being able to swindle a couple of bucks, which I do successfully, but only to the extent that I can effectively get to and from work. Then I walked back home. THEN I went to play AW with my room mate, it was like two AM or some ish and I was already burnt out from all the exercise I put in yesterday. I'm playing the game with him, Exo-Survival, and we're killin' it. It comes to about 3:05 and I'm like "yeah, I gotta hop in the shower." I get in, get out, browse WF for like fifteen minutes then roll at 3:45. 

I get to the bus at 3:57, MISS it, but buy two MUCH NEEDED cigarettes with my ill-gotten booty. I get to the pick-up point at 4:25 or some ish like that. It takes every ounce of willpower in my body not to smoke the last cigarette I have in my possession until the van is present, but somehow I actually managed to abstain long enough to light up right before it pulled up and actually short myself for later. I get into the crammed van with fourteen people I don't know and said not one word to in the entire time I waited on that god forsaken corner, and a driver who only speaks Spanish. YEAH. I've been in cramped vans before, but this was fucking ridiculous. Half the people around me are falling asleep on the person next to them. It's like a 45 minute drive up to where the job is.

I'm 100% convinced that I spent today manufacturing toothpaste for Al Qaeda. Eight grueling, slow, monotonous hours of repetitive motion. Load the toothpaste. Load the box that the toothpaste goes into. Recycle the box the toothpaste came in, wash, rinse, repeat.

I don't know how, but I actually managed to stay alive until around 2 before I sabotaged a machine to slow down productivity, got off at 3, then got passed by three busses before finally getting the right one, and walking a mile home.

I just smoked a blunt and ate some chicken noodle soup.

Now I'm about to go out AGAIN, and I'm STILL fucking broke. I need SLEEP.

><

SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.


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## am_hammy

Today was another productive work day. Made sure things ran smoothly. When I look back at when I first moved up the ladder last summer, I've come a long way. I handle certain types of situations much better than I think I would have in another job. In the grand scheme of things, it's probably better that my boss isn't around. As an entire staff, we've all done quite well without a leader.

I've also rediscovered how much I love spaghetti squash. I plan on making it a regular food in my daily routine.

Oh, and tomorrow is payday :glee:


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## JustRob

Just "finished" typing six pages of history on the Victorian family that I'm researching ready to discuss it with the secretary of the local history society tomorrow morning. She's going to give a talk on them in a week's time but my research has radically changed what was previously known, so she has to revise it entirely. I've only written the facts though, not what one discovers when the dots are joined up and one looks into the family's acquaintances; that's when the whole thing comes to life, but maybe history isn't meant to do that. I'm no historian and I don't know how much of history is just collating source material and how much speculation. I find the speculation far more enjoyable and that's how I found some of the more obscure source material. For example I wouldn't have known that the family had any connection with Australia if an internet search hadn't revealed a letter from there to them held up because the sender hadn't paid the right postage. 

I don't have time to write my version of the family history with all the speculative parts incorporated. I wouldn't know what genre it would be if I did and what I would do with it then. 50% research plus 50% speculation adds up to what, half history, half wit or just half-witted history?

I can't say how my day went today because I won't know until tomorrow and by then it will be history. That's the trouble with life, that pretty much all you know about it is history. At least I can post this without having to worry about the right postage though.


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## Darkkin

Perfect and sunny today:  Windows open.  House is clean, vacuumed and dusted.  :02.47-tranquillity:  I like clean, really just like good old clean...


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## aj47

Got a call from my Gyn's office.  They didn't leave a detailed message, but it's about time for my mammogram results to be back.  They said to call back Monday, so it can't be too bad.


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## am_hammy

Today started out rough. My sleep was awkward and I woke up late and skimped on breakfast which really through me. Had a headache and felt a little depressive wave, but as the day wore on I started to feel better. It was nice to finally get out of work and breath in the air. It was a pretty Friday. It's still really nice out and the chill has seemed to leave the nighttime air so that's been lovely.

Did some clean grocery shopping, and now just chillin' with the laptop.

Oh, and still smiling about a particular color change on the forum ^_^

heehee





astroannie said:


> Got a call from my Gyn's office.  They didn't leave a detailed message, but it's about time for my mammogram results to be back.  They said to call back Monday, so it can't be too bad.



hope that goes well! =)


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## Darkkin

Today was just a good day.  I'm tired, but it is the good sort of tired, the kind where I will actually be able to sleep.  Rue Dog is curled up on my toes snoring.  :02.47-tranquillity:


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## Crowley K. Jarvis

Had plans last night. Fun. Not.

Since I got third shift tonight, I slept in.

BUT- My best friend had his housewarming party today starting at 3:00, so I had to wake up and go there...

But surprise, this is the same day that he basically asks his girl-who-is-a-friend to go steady with him. 

So I spend all day hearing about that. Thankfully I got to crack jokes just to annoy him and make fun of his cooking.

Still, I wish I just could've kept sleeping! [-(


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## Sonata

Woke at 5am - got up checked computer and did a few things and now at 7.45am am going back to bed.  Well, why not?


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## dither

Sonata said:


> Woke at 5am - got up checked computer and did a few things and now at 7.45am am going back to bed.  Well, why not?



Sounds good to me.


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## Darkkin

Got a huge chunk of my piece for NaPoWriMo done and up.  Still more to do.

Edit:  It's done!  It's insane, it's scary and mine.  But it is done.  There is silence in my head, the good kind of silence, hard won and lovely.  It has been a very, very good day.


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## Winston

Temperate Spring, so the veggie garden went in today.  We let our chickens "free range" in the back yard while we were planting.  

We're trying watermelons again, but in our climate it's much more hoping than good management.
However, we once again have "volunteer" potatoes, cilantro and some stuff that looks like cucumber sprouts.  The strawberries are running wild, and the catnip has spread as well (we pulled the extra stuff, the cats don't need that much dope).  Found a rouge blackberry vine.  Pulled and plucked ruthlessly.

Watered the newly planted starts and seeds.  Let the lady bugs loose at dusk. Another year.  Time and patience.


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## Sonata

Yesterday was sort of OK until my microwave oven forgot to switch off after having been set for two minutes to reheat some coffee.   Newer than I thought it was being just over a year old and 6 weeks out of guarantee.  

Booga


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## Darkkin

Asked a question and answered the question within the question, without question.


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## Darkkin

My heart is bothersome tonight, but I have gotten some decent work done on Violet Bright.  With Echo and Lore done, she's next on the docket.


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## Guy Faukes

A rejuvenating thought for everyone: "Why change the past when you can own this day?"


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## Sonata

Quite a good day really.

Well, it could have been worse.


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## PiP

I discovered a deserted beach well away from the tourists  The sea looked so inviting I was tempted to go skinnydipping!


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## Guy Faukes

Nothing like finding a little spot away from those freakin' tourists


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## PiP

Guy Faukes said:


> Nothing like finding a little spot away from those freakin' tourists



You wanna  believe it! I was once asked to write an article about the secret beaches of the Algarve. My response: you gotta be freakin' joking - the whole point is that they ARE secret! Seriously though, the tourists are a great boost to an ailing economy even if they do party till 4am every morning and walk in the road instead of on the pavements etc. Oooh, I can feel a blog post brewing


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## midnightpoet

Apparently I've developed arthritis in the bottom of my feet ( the dr. wasn't sure, although I have it in my hands bad. My index fingers are at right angles).  Boy does it hurt to walk. I'm being referred to a podiatrist but he's booked up until June.  I've got some pills (turns out it's the same stuff we give our old dog, Jud, for his arthritis).  Took him for a walk yesterday, ouch.  We needed it though - neither of us seem to be able to lose weight.  Most of mine is around my waist.  Old age, yuck.:-#


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## Darkkin

At home watching Ancient Aliens, Rue Dog is asleep in my lap...just a quiet day.


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## aj47

... so my site's been hacked.  I'm putting up a clean version on A Nother Host.  I don't know if I want to clean up or nuke the compromised one.


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## amelhope

mine was really tiring ....... really tiring


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## dither

i've been awake since about 2.00.pm yesterday.


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## dither

dither said:


> i've been awake since about 2.00.pm yesterday.



Well,
that's not entirely accurate.
Some woman woke me up when i nodded off as i rode the bus home from work this morning, then i did same this afternoon on my way home from shopping and missed my stop.
Hey'ho.


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## amelhope

you must be tired then dither


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## dither

Y'know? It's weird, i don't know how it is for other night-workers but i seem to hit a wall of total fatigue, then suddenly i'm full of beans and off i go again. Won't be sorry to bed down though.


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## dither

And with that it's good night all.


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## dither

She, who shall be obeyed retired suddenly to her boudoir. And so he, who doesn't care to create even the slightest ripple, logged out, switched off, and hit the sack.


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## Darkkin

My backyard is now coated in white.  I brushed out the dog...


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## dither

It has just occurred to me that perhaps we might have thread entitled "HOW'S YOUR DAY GOING?"

No?

Just a thought.


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## amelhope

it was tiring boring and it was hot today ..... damn


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## bazz cargo

Fantastic. Could do with more money though.


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## Crowley K. Jarvis

Hey, I forgot to take something this morning... >:I 

We had like 267 check-ins at the hotel today, BUT---

Most of them, like 200, are NOT coming to the front desk, but a separate check-in! Hooray!

And another group is already keyed.

So, only about 70 rooms need to check in here at the front desk.

View attachment 8327


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## Crowley K. Jarvis

I think EVERYONE checked in at the wrong place... Hardly 30 people came to the front desk.  

Again, HOORAY!


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## am_hammy

Mondays are Mondays.

I wish the day didn't go by so fast. I'm not prepared enough for 9 days of retail hell because of Mother's Day this weekend.

They just want to suck up all your money and make kids buy things(in this case, Hallmark products) for moms who probably don't keep them, or don't even like Hallmark.

The light at the end of this tunnel is that at the end of these 9 days coming up, I will be going to Cape May. I need the beach.


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## Darkkin

First day back in the real world after my angioplasty last Monday.  Work was quiet, the moon was gorgeous on the drive home, and I got the new Josh Groban album, so yeah, today was a good day.  It was also warm enough for me to pull out my sundresses.  Three cheers for colour!  I never have minded Mondays.  I love Tuesdays, but Wednesdays, I've never cared for.  I'm a soul at peace, replete with the simple things.


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## amelhope

today was great for me  i love tuesdays so much eventhough i wasn't really satisfide but i liked it can't wait for the next one


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## am_hammy

My day was long. Work dragged the last hour and a half and I was just ready to leave. I have a chance to sleep in tomorrow so that will be nice. I shall see what my body decides haha.

Spent some time with my friend tonight. Her boyfriend left her for ridiculous reasons. He's basically a jerk. A big jerk. and a lot of other words I won't mention ^-^

Another friend who I went to middle school with was hangning with us too. It was a lovely time. It felt like we never stopped hanging out together after so long. That's always an incredible feeling. We basically laughed about stupid stuff, said encouraging words, and made chocolate lollipops. It was a nice Thursday overall =)


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## amelhope

i don't know if it's correct to say this but my day was like hell so far


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## amelhope

it was tiring but still better than yesterday   so i'm fine


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## am_hammy

Work was heinous. So many people. The line never quite ended until about 9:30.

One more day then it's back to normal boring Hallmark. Weeeeeeee.

And there's a party going on in the downstairs apartment. The same song has been on for over an hour.


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## Sonata

A very long and very quiet day with only four hours sleep after it.  Pain not so bad though so must not complain.


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## LeeC

May tomorrow be much better Sonata 

In my PT the other day they recomended I take hot tub treatments (corporate medicine extending the revenue stream). I'm thought woo-hoo, this ought to be fun, but it turned out to be a cold pool with no one else present ;-) All it did was increase the pain when I got out and leave me all wrinkled. But we go on, the wife takes me out to our natural garden and I enjoy the birds and bees  

Wishing you the best.


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## Crowley K. Jarvis

am_hammy said:


> Work was heinous. So many people. The line never quite ended until about 9:30.
> 
> One more day then it's back to normal boring Hallmark. Weeeeeeee.
> 
> And there's a party going on in the downstairs apartment. The same song has been on for over an hour.




Try working the front desk once they turn the holiday lights on. The desk can fit seven, and on the busiest Fridays, like 600 people will check in in one day. 

If it's perfectly even, (which it's not) that's 85 and some numbers each.  And each check in takes considerable time, since they all ask the same stupid questions over and over.

After saying the same thing in a ten minute shpeal to 85 people, you will be tempted to commit murder.


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## Guy Faukes

A lot of packing and moving done/to be done. On the plus side, we were at the edge of the cloud front here and got a good 15 minutes where the sun shone through a chill but light rain. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.


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## Loveabull

Now looking back at the day I done good. Anyone in retail hell can identify. When they hire you it's "at will" and part-time more or less. That translates to if they want to fire you for any reason they can, it also means they can give you any hours up to the 15 seconds under full time hours in a given week. So the ball is always in their court.

Today I went into Job 2 to address schedule conflicts with Job 1. And they were totally willing to negotiate. As was Job 1, they'll accept when I am available and fit me in accordingly. Wow, two employers paying reasonably good who are willing to work with me rather than just replace me with a younger, perkier, droog. Apparently I'm doing enough right to be honored with leverage.


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## Darkkin

Watching Castle in the Sky and eating slightly stale Oreos...


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## amelhope

it was terrible  damn it


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## Ethan

42 DEGREES TODAY...SO FAR, SO GOOD


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## dither

Life eh?


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## amelhope

better than yesterday


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## midnightpoet

Yesterday was my usual 40 mile trip to buy groceries for the month.  There is a grocery store here but it's pretty useless.  Fresh veggies are marginal, the meat is questionable, and they make most of their money on beer.  We've been doing some  shopping online and it works well, but if you get a broken package it's not worth sending back.  Our life in the boondocks.  I don't think I'd want to move back to the big city though.  Rain last night, our tomato and pepper garden is thriving.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

You know those times where you come within a hairs breadth of having a panic attack, but don't, but you still need time to calm down?

Yeah. I'm gonna sit here and think about puppies for minute, then I'll go home and sleep off this work night.


----------



## LeeC

Broadening her interests from quilting, last weekend the wife attended a rug hooking workshop, held at the facilities of some religious retreat. After she'd returned and was away from the phone, I picked up a call from one of her friends and told them she was tired because she'd been off hooking and praying. The wife didn't think it was funny.


----------



## R. Mountebank

Not a great day/night. I work for the national railway of NZ, monitoring the electrical network and calling people out for emergencies etc.
There has been a fatality at a station. Train v pedestrian - suspected suicide. People are stuck on the train. Won't mention the body...
Trying to find people at one in the morning to help the clean up is not a great feeling.
I feel sorry for everyone involved, especially the driver who has now killed someone agaisnt their will.


----------



## Guy Faukes

I always feel bad for the drivers who just want to show up, punch in, do their shift, punch out and go home, but instead get to see human spaghetti smeared over their car mid-shift and have to carry on.


----------



## am_hammy

My day has just begun but I suspect it will go normally today. My boss won't be around which is glorious, and I'm actually working with someone who I like, so it makes it even better for me.

It's gorgeous this morning. A bit of a cold front has come in after a swell of heat and still no rain. I'm not complaining though (minus the fact we could have a mini drought). I'm going to attempt my French Press again. Got it two days ago and tried it out yesterday and the coffee was too watery. I went looking for videos and they were talking about grinding the beans and how that plays a hand in pressing the coffee. If that's the case, I'm screwed because the lady at the store ground the coffee the wrong way then.

I'm just going to assume that I'm doing it wrong.

More and more, I find mornings to be wonderful. I've never been a morning person but it seems my body is geared towards waking up between 6-7am, and let me tell you, I like it. A lot.

Hope everyone has/had/will be having a wonderful day ^_^


----------



## MzSnowleopard

I'm still contemplating how to get the smell of burnt wood out of my apartment. Allow me to explain- ( for the sake of repetition- this is copy-pasted from my personal blog). So far all I've been able to do is leave the sliding glass door opened and let the place air out. The downside of this is that - despite the season - it's been cold.



> Thank You SCFD
> 
> Posted On: May 21, 2015
> 
> I’m taking a moment here to blog my thanks to Asst Chief Robinson and the Sioux City fire department. 5 engine crews came out last night between 2 – 2:30 am to contain a fire in the laundry room of my building. They were professional, courteous, and kind.
> 
> I don’t have all of the details on the incident. What I do know comes from the statement of one of the few neighbors I know. A mid-40s bald white man had been found in the laundry room. My neighbor said she didn’t see any flames, just a whole lot of smoke. She asked what he if he had called 911. He said no so she made the call.
> 
> My friends know that I have chronic insomnia- so an uninterrupted good night’s sleep is rare for me. Last night started out pleasantly- I got to bed at a decent hour, fell asleep almost immediately, and went into a good dream. I was woken about 2:30am with burning eyes and choking. It took me a moment to orient to what was happening. Once I got my glasses on I could see the smoke- even in the darkness of room. It was like a heavy fog permeating the air. The living room was just as bad. I went on auto-pilot- got dressed, slipped into my flip-flops and went outside.
> 
> There were 5 fire trucks in the parking lot. The crews were at work on the laundry room and adjacent apartments. My neighbors were standing around, like me, wondering had happened.
> 
> I believe that it was God who told me we’d be okay, that my girls were fine, and not to worry. And I thought about my friend Jen and the photos she had taken of firemen, and thought “man, I wish I had a camera.”
> 
> My neighbor Karen was the one who caught the jerk in the act- whatever he was doing. I hope they catch the guy.
> 
> After about 2 hours or so, we were cleared to return to our apartments.
> 
> This is one kind of disturbance that I didn’t mind being awakened- although the manner was not pleasant.
> 
> So, again, my thanks to the Sioux City fire department.


----------



## am_hammy

Another pretty Sunday for me. I always have off on Sundays unless it's during a holiday season, so I always look forward to them. I've been pretty productive so far...except I still haven't cleaned and done any laundry. But hey, it *is* Sunday after all. :welcoming:


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Night shift friday and saturday... uhg.

But they gave me sunday and monday off. 

Played Skyrim for a considerable amount of time. I always play a two handed warrior or a stealthy mage. 

Most soul gems for the enchanting system break after use, but if you do a quest for Azura's Star and choose to make it black, it can be used forever. SO I give myself infinite two-handed damage increases and stride along the plains killing everything. My mage uses illusion magic, so I can turn invisible and make sneak attacks, or enchant enemies to attack eachother or become peaceful again. And magic makes for a very good thief. Muahahah.  Life in Skyrim is good.  Just hopped over to Mcdonalds as usual to check my bank balance and use their wifi, and of course hang out at WF. <3 

Normally we get paid every two weeks, but since Memorial day is coming, they roll the payroll in advance.  

I still need to save a minimum for my apartment, but I have a ton of wiggle room. Wiggle wiggle.


----------



## Plasticweld

Dug a big hole this weekend, we are putting a new barn at camp.


----------



## Phil Istine

Well, off to work in a minute after what was a long Whitsun holiday weekend for most people in this part of the world.  I ended up working part of it though.
I do like the reasonably flexible hours of being self-employed; I can work my butt off and earn well or I can take a bit of time out if it gets a bit too much.
The biggest bonus is that I work on my own and don't have to work for any customers who are a pain in the rear.  I'm taking more work on soon so will start to cull the more recent messers.
The life and times of a self-employed, English window cleaner


----------



## midnightpoet

Finally got internet back after a week - I think I'm having withdrawal symptoms.  Anyway, spent the past 4 hours trying to get our phones back online, and I didn't yell at any of the service people (I talked to at least 6).  I think I should be nominated for sainthood.  God, we couldn't get a phone call out, had to go outside to get a connection, in-and-out trying to get info needed, dogs barking, wife sick, if I had any hair I would have pulled it out.  It seems our router wasn't talking to our microcell tower, ect.  On top of everything else our room a/c has gone out and although we had a service contract they are having trouble finding service place near us.  Remote location, indeed. I feel like running down the street screaming. 

I'm drinking a beer, I may have another.  After this, I think I'll just go to the nearest insane asylum and tell them I'm ready for the booby hatch.  Dadedadedahehehe.  There has to be a story in here somewhere, Dave Barry I've got a good one for you!


----------



## Deleted member 56686

I'm just glad you're back up and among us, Midnight


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## PiP

You've been missed, Midnight!


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## Foxee

How did my day go?

Imagine that there's a little room with a dog in it and a fun game where people shoot at the dog with BB guns and the dog can't escape.

I was the dog.

This is what happens when I get together with my (success-driven) family and they're having a bragfest about all the awesome things that they've been achieving...and my kids are questioned about what they're doing which turns out to be a referendum on my parenting.

So that sucked.


----------



## Kevin

^^^Well... I 'd say youuuu... had a much worse day than I did. Hope your tomorrow is better.


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## Loveabull

Quite good really, my job is physically challenging but with the hot weather the arthritis loosens it's hold. Eleven miles at work, I wear a tracker as a toy. Feel positive out walking people decades younger. Plus the job is such that I know what I'm expected to do...and what I can get away with


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Only a few more hours, and I'm home free!

At least the night shift means you can do whatever you want in the meantime.

But our dang wireless internet's IP doesn't do right, so you have a five percent chance it's gonna connect properly.

Been fussing with it but soon I'll just give up and go back to Skyrim. Then I can go hooooome.


----------



## dither

So how did my day go?

Yesterday.

Well?

After having worked the Friday night shift, knocked off at 6.00 am, and  realising that i hadn't brought some small change with me to pay for a new Megarider ( weekly bus ticket ), i walked a mile or so into Barkton. Found a newsagent, bought a newspaper to get some change, although i always get a newspaper on Saturdays anyway, then waited for a bus that would take me back to the outskirts and Aldi's.
It amazes me that bus-drivers never seem to start the day with any amount of small change but there you go.
Bus came, i got on, paid for my ticket, sat down and promptly fell asleep, as one does. Don't yer juss love it. Then having snoozed a good five or six miles on out of Barkton and way past my intended stop, but only as far as the next village, thankfully, i got off and waited for a bus that would take me back to Aldi's. I didn't have to wait long and was soon sitting in Aldi's car park reading my paper waiting for the store to open.

Shopping done, i caught the next bus going into Barkton, waited for a bus to get me home, then, having lugged my bag of shopping ( it's a good ten minute walk from the bus-stop to where i live and i'm no slouch ) home, kicked them daisy roots off, man those puppies were yelping, put the shopping away, i sat down with a cup of sweet strong tea. Oh man, heavenly bliss.

I'm not really a tea-drinker but i do start and end the day with a cup of tea, hot and strong, and sweet, and those two cuppas, for me, are to die for.

But i still wasn't finished;
I did myself a couple of bits o' toast, put them on a plate and coated them with re-heated tinned tomatoes that i'd cooked my Bratwurst in the day before. Sat for a few minutes, ate and recuperated and then, no way was i putting them damned boots back on, i dug out my old crocs, found my shopping-bag, got my feet in the street and went to get a bus to Rugely, and Asda's.

At least when i go to these stores the buses stop at the door almost, so there are no long hikes involved when i go. I just have to stay awake that's all. "That's all"? Asda shopping went without a hitch, i wasn't in there long and actually caught the same bus that i'd got there in, on the return journey home.
By the time i got off that bus, lunch time wasn't far off. The sun was high in the sky. I was dirty, sweaty and smelly and this aching old bod was sending out distress-signals, i wasn't sorry to see the inside of my home and this time there would be no tea ( or coffee ) drinking. Only one thing would hit the spot now. I grabbed a mug and my two litre bottle of Taurus and just sprawled on the living-room floor.

Happy daze....................


----------



## escorial

fell asleep on the bus than flat out on the cider....pure realism


----------



## dither

Pure life.
My life.
Drifting,
slowly.


----------



## dither

As kids, we'd often while away the hours by tossing a small twig a piece into a stream that ran through a park where i lived and see who's went the farthest. That's rather how i see my life.Sort of.


----------



## Kevin

Rode today with the group I haven't in a couple of years. Organized ride, 'Mini-epic' up in the San Gabriels, here: http://www.mtbproject.com/trail/5498039 As I thought(knew) I wasn't able to hang with the front pack, but it was okay. I'd been off and am just getting back into shape. At about mile six I caught my handlebar on a tree and went over the side. It's a like a 60 degree slope or worse. I did a roll sideways and saw a tree in my path before I rotated, back first. Hit the tree, back-first but nothing happened. Only my shin hurts. I was glad for that and the bike not being broke as hiking six miles, uphill much of it, in bicycle shoes would've not been fun.  
This song was on the radio on the way home. http://youtu.be/MJRbntQueXY  I like it.


----------



## am_hammy

My best friend's dogs both died within a month of one another and her parents just got a new puppy so I'm going to meet him today ^_^

Puppies make me happy. <3


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## Pluralized

View attachment 8574View attachment 8575
Went for a hellacious hike at 9,000' elevation in the Pike National Forest yesterday. Did about five miles with a full pack, set up camp in a great spot with 360-degree views and, as the sun started to go down, I got lonely and headed back to town. Going out for a bike ride today near Chatfield if anyone wants to join me.


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## escorial

..anyone like to join me..if only man...with views like that..how do you turn back


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## Kevin

Plu, your view is beats mine. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I was at about 4000'.


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## hhourani

My brother read my first self published book and liked it (although deep down I worry he's just saying that since he's my brother and doesn't want to hurt my feelings)

Had some pasta that the gf prepared. Stuck at home because of Amsterdam rain, although I should just Dutch up and bike around.


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## Phil Istine

Foxee said:


> How did my day go?
> 
> Imagine that there's a little room with a dog in it and a fun game where people shoot at the dog with BB guns and the dog can't escape.
> 
> I was the dog.
> 
> This is what happens when I get together with my (success-driven) family and they're having a bragfest about all the awesome things that they've been achieving...and my kids are questioned about what they're doing which turns out to be a referendum on my parenting.
> 
> So that sucked.



There are many definitions of "success."  Most of them seem to centre around egos and pieces of paper printed by governments - fragile and transient.  If you value different things from those, I reckon that's a good start


----------



## Foxee

Phil Istine said:


> There are many definitions of "success."  Most of them seem to centre around egos and pieces of paper printed by governments - fragile and transient.  If you value different things from those, I reckon that's a good start


That's pretty much the size of it. Add perfection to that and you'll have it about right.

Thanks, Phil. Once I got home I was just glad to be me again.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Foxee said:


> How did my day go?
> 
> Imagine that there's a little room with a dog in it and a fun game where people shoot at the dog with BB guns and the dog can't escape.
> 
> I was the dog.
> 
> This is what happens when I get together with my (success-driven) family and they're having a bragfest about all the awesome things that they've been achieving...and my kids are questioned about what they're doing which turns out to be a referendum on my parenting.
> 
> So that sucked.



Funny how the most successful thing a family can raise is a kind hearted, considerate, and well-rounded person. Unfortunately, you get those who like making it family get togethers a competition and love to step on those people, which is complete and utter bull.


----------



## am_hammy

Met the puppy and I've been asked to dog sit <3 His name is Axel and he is delightful.






That's a big image


----------



## Thaumiel

Well, it's getting to a point where I need to do 40+ hours worth of module content and many past papers before my exams start. Got them on Friday, Saturday and Monday morning, then Tuesday afternoon. It's very early in the morning but I've been entirely nocturnal lately. I have to stay awake to get back to normal. I'm trying to study right now, but my hands are shaking so much from caffeine that I can't write properly with a pen.

Feeling great.


----------



## Taly

Mostly since this is summer, I really don't have much to do right now.

I've been scrolling forums, practicing writing, and going out with my friends. Life is a bit easy - unless I'm trying to get myself to find motivation to write something, or like what I write. LOL


----------



## Loveabull

Rahh I had two lines on hold and managed to hang up on the district manager...time to find another salt mine. Well at least I still have one job anyways.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I should find a less intense routine when I work out. I just about threw up yesterday.And today I feel like my whole core is one big knot... Oww.


----------



## Loveabull

Aleve, Icy Hot, and Aspercreme are my very good friends, try them and feel better


----------



## Pluralized

Sums my day up nicely. SORRY!


----------



## TJ1985

If I tried to shoot myself, the gun would jam.


----------



## musichal

TJ1985 said:


> If I tried to shoot myself, the gun would jam.



Better to have a jam and not need it than to need a jam and not - oh, wait.....  ???


----------



## midnightpoet

Bought a new window a/c, the old one was making a bad noise, and we had a service policy so we called the store and they could not find anyone to repair it so we got a refund and bought another and this morning we had a local handyman come over and we had to remove plywood panels to get the thing out of the window and I had to help because his helper hadn't come yet but then he finally came and some big military jets flew over and the guy was afraid he was going to see paratroopers land and put all the white people in internment camps and he seemed almost disappointed he didn't see paratroopers but he finally finished and the a/c worked and he charged me $100 which wasn't bad because he did a lot of stuff and it was pretty simple but this old man is too weak in the poot to lift 150 pounds.  If you're still with me, I'm tired.  Why he thought paratroopers could come out of jets I don't know.  Another day in redneckville.


----------



## LeeC

midnightpoet,

Ahh yes there're certainly different perceptions abounding. Around here there's a group of "ol' boys" that stock food, weapons, and ammunition in an old tin mine in the surrounding foothills. They want to be ready for when the (specific ethnic distinction avoided) attack.


----------



## midnightpoet

Yeah, I wasn't going to argue with him.  :grin:


----------



## Darkkin

Took my computer in to have it rebuilt.  I should have it back in a few days.  Finally going back to a laptop after being stuck on a tablet for six months: Awesome.  Having access to my music library again: Priceless.  I'm also rereading my Harry Potter books.  Life for the moment is all right.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Just got a copy of "The Wind Rises" by Hayao Miyazaki... supposed to watch it with my sis tomorrow, but might just gander a peek/watch the entire thing tonight


----------



## Foxee

After a solid week of sleep deprivation (under 5 hours a night) I needed to get a form handed in today and then kids were having early dismissal on their last day of school.

Woke up first thing this morning hurting all over from many repetitions of shorted sleep, got kids dressed, fed, and on the bus. Worked on the stupid form, trying not to throw up from sheer exhaustion. Took a short walk with my oldest daughter who's in cyberschool, in a futile attempt to get a bit of oxygen to keep me awake. Came back, finished the form, and headed up to bed with two hours to spare before the kids came home for the summer.

Pushed sleeping right up to the last half-hour and woke up just a little before that time with a text from another mom...what time were we supposed to be at the bus? Was answering as I threw clothes on, figured it wasn't time yet. Sat back down...and heard the kids' voices. $#%! bus came half an hour earlier than expected.

Kids landed on me yelling about going to the 'beach' (lake) now that it's their summer vacation and my brain still isn't rebooted properly after that nap.

Daughter is now sulking that 'I'm never going anywhere' since we don't have actual plans to go to any beaches today. I am a failure as a mom, apparently, and I'm dying of tiredness.

Dishes, laundry both need done, have to sort out what's for supper. Haven't written in at least three days and I'm afraid I might have turned into a cliche.

%^#! this.


----------



## Darkkin

I'm living proof that there is, indeed, a whiter shade of pale.  I've been working night the last 6 weeks; sunlight is a stranger.  My hair is also at the annoying point where I can let it grow or chop it all off and go back to my classic pixie cut... Now all I need is an actual day off.  Pretty minor grievences as far as life goes.


----------



## midnightpoet

ok so far, I mowed 1/2 of my front yard until mower gave out.  Weeds close to knee high from the recent rains.  Try again this afternoon.


----------



## Darkkin

I got my laptop back.  A real keyboard, an actual honest to god keyboard.  I really, really missed having this.


----------



## musichal

Busy day here, drinking second cup of Earl Grey, watching Jumper (the cat) sleep, sitting in my recliner, pondering the complexities of life, ie, whether to leave the comfort of my chair to brave the allure of my bed for a bit of a lie-down.  Decisions, decisions.  Life is so hectic.  Oh, look!  Jumper just flicked a whisker!  Excitement.


----------



## midnightpoet

Finally finished mowing the front yard, but I had to raise the mower to get over the tall grass so I need to lower it and start over - but not till I weedeat.  I finished the backyard inside the fence, I was going to do the outside tonight but the mower quit on me.  The lot is 100ft wide and 200ft long, there's a lot of grass/weeds. Mostly weeds.  I'm great at growing weeds.  Actually we'd like to gravel it over, but we never seem to have the funds.  Just bought a new a/c, old one went south.  Now the fridge is not cooling.  It's always something.  Too bad I was born handsome instead of rich (snicker).


----------



## Darkkin

Sometimes it the littlest things in life that can make or break a day.  Having my computer back has given me full access to my entire music library again, something I didn't realise quite how much I had actually missed.  I've been digging in with both hands, but one piece I didn't even know I owned made me stop and truly listen, (a feat in and of itself, given my ADHD).  Somewhere along the line I managed to acquire the credit titles of _The Land Before Time_ by James Horner.  It was one of the first animated movies I saw as a kid.  (Watched on one of those super high-tech VHS players  ).  Yet the memories attached to that silly piece of music are still shockingly vivid, simple enthrallment.  Rolling through that primordial world carried by the current of the music.  It was a simple reminder of the power of music and imagination, singly they are powerful, but together they are a tool without equal.  

That one dumb song was the sharp prod I desperately needed, the reminder of _why_ I write.  Not the what, the who, the where, or the how, but _why_.  It is was something I had lost, and like my music, I didn't realise quite how much I missed that bit of wonder.  So the next time something little startles you, pause for a moment and let it sink in.  These are the moments that matter, not because they determine the fate of the world, but because they help show us who we are.

So yeah.  My day has been all right.  Sorry for the ramble.

- Darkkin, the Tedious


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Ahh, how do I come up with something after that? I can't go through any old music collections without crying, because then I remember everything I was doing when I first downloaded those songs.  Old mp3 players start the waterworks. 

I made 61 Dollars in tips in two days. 

I'm going shopping today but I have no idea what I want to buy. Shoes? A new jacket? 

Or maybe I'll go oldschool and get Legos or Bionicles... Heh.


----------



## Darkkin

Legos, definitely Legos.


----------



## Pluralized

Went OTB today at a high rate o speed. 

View attachment 8600View attachment 8601


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## J Anfinson

^ouch. I'm all scratched up from picking wild blackberries for several hours today, but I think I'll take my condition over yours, Rob.


----------



## midnightpoet

Ouch.  That reminds me of the time I was walking my chow and blue heeler; they saw a cat and the next thing I was being pulled belly down through front yards full of thickets, thorns and stickers of all sorts.  We were an hour pulling pointy things our of my whole body.  My wife refused to wash my clothes.  They were a disaster.  Hope you heal up good.


----------



## am_hammy

Horrible boo-boos!

The only thing I deal with on a regular basis is paper cuts from cards. Hope they heal soon!


My day was very long. Covered a shift for a coworker. Sundays are always horrible at Hallmark. What happened to the "day of rest" or being "easy like Sunday morning..." People are always cranky and demand to be helped. They don't say hello, thank you, or goodbye half the time. I know it's not a customer's fault, but hearing "I don't see the discount taken off.... it's still regular price" so often when they bring up sale items, I can't help but be annoyed by the question. "I have to do it manually ma'am, don't worry."

There's always a disclaimer for something. It gets old. Go spend some time with your family or go outside. It was gorgeous outside today and I was stuck behind the register folding "Life is Good" t-shirts.

Oh well. My day is winding down now. I worked with someone I get along with, which is always nice, and we had no returns so that's something. Now I'm just going to roam around on the interwebz and read maybe, relax, and drift off into Monday.


----------



## Loveabull

Retail is Hell, sorry you had one of them days. Those boo boo's are ghastly. Reminds me of when my girl dog was younger. She used to pull so hard I looked like I was being regularly beaten. Once I had a bag of takeout in one hand and her leash in the other. She saw a neighbors dog and I was flat down on the pavement...thought she broke my arm. Thankful as a senior pup she has slowed down.


----------



## Kevin

> Went OTB today at a high rate o speed.


 the part right before impact is always fun. At least nothing got really broken. Knock on wood...


----------



## Darkkin

Final book of Harry Potter and a new playlist...:02.47-tranquillity:


----------



## Schrody

Yesterday was pretty special day for me as I gave blood for the first time 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 We don't get paid, instead we get a drink (usually juice or something similar), a coupon for the near restaurant (as they were on the Court yesterday, I ate there), and two days off which you can use whenever you want, so I'm just chilling at home. I felt really energized after everything was over, and can't wait for the next time


----------



## midnightpoet

Summertime in Texas and as hot as Billie Blue Blazes.  Heck, it's only in the low 90's, when August burns the calendar 105 in the shade will be lucky.  It's the contrast between May, an unusually wet and cool month, and humid-draped June.  It's not busting out all over, it's melting o'clock.  I'm sure it's worse in other places, like Houston, where I heard the mosquitoes are as large as 747's.  Anyway, I went shopping for groceries and I'm pooped.  Now I gotta put them up.  Naw, it's nap time.


----------



## dither

I'm being pressurised into working longer hours and i'm totally pooped.
I know we all moan about how short the weekends are but i'm too old for that shit.
On a Saturday morning after the Friday night-shift, i don't go to bed.
I have chores. Shopping etc. and i usually have a fair load to hump home. It's not until lunchtime, at the very earliest, that i finally break free from my shackles and it's as much as i can do to switch on, log in, and pour myself a mug or three. 
Sitting here, tired as hell, drinking cheap cider,struggling with mind and body to somehow remain conscious until the evening time and then, eventually, allowing myself to close my eyes.
I do few litres of booze, barely feel as though i've rested, then off i go again.
It really is a treadmill.


----------



## Pluralized

Got my house in Colorado. Closing was smooth and easy. Bought some legal greenery this afternoon. All is right with the universe today.


----------



## Kevin

Who-yay! Good feeling I bet... Great feeling.


----------



## Plasticweld

Yesterday at 2pm everything was fine and dandy.  I was getting read to call it quits for the day to get my motorcycle ready for a trip to NH.  I was going to spend a leisurely day on the road Friday stop and Visit LeeC one of the other moderators here on the board and then go spend the weekend with my brother.  He is a firearms instructor and I was planning on sitting in on one of  his classes.  


At 2:15 I got a call from my logging foreman telling me I needed to get his job, they had a bit of a mess; the dark green skidder, the one on the trailer rolled down a banking and ripped the back tire off bending the rim and doing something to the steering so it could no longer operate.  We spent until 8 pm trying to get out of the gully with no luck, I ended up getting another one of my skidders to drag it out and push it on the trailer.  The rim was bent so bad I could not remove the lug nuts and had to borrow a ten ton portapower to push the dent out just to get the rim off.  Spending all day today to get things straightened out meant there was not time to take my motorcycle on my trip.  I resigned myself to taking the car and missing some of Saturdays Classes.  Hopefully Sunday I can catch the last part of his class.  Monday we play tennis and then I head back to the grind.  


For all of you who look out the widow on bright sunny days and say it must be nice to work out doors and be in the woods....  Your right even the worst day in the woods is better than the best day in an office :}


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Played Dishonored for ps3 almost all day.

Nothing like playing an assassin for awhile. Stress goes away and I feel one with the shadows... Muahaha.


----------



## escorial

just been to a scooter fanatics workshop...man he went on about nut's n bolts and so much vespa and lambretta stuff..my head was aching..but the guy was passionate and i liked that about him...fun day


----------



## Darkkin

Just broke my broom beating the snot out of one of the area rugs we have strung across the clothes line...8-[

Edit: Got a new broom and have started work on the next segment of Glass Girl.


----------



## Darkkin

Day off.  Went to the used bookstore, had friends over for the day.  Played Cards Against Humanity and had chicken and biscuits for supper.  Overall, awesome.


----------



## J Anfinson

Just got back from seeing Jurassic World in 3d Imax. Lots of people get eaten. It's worth seeing for that if nothing else.


----------



## Loveabull

Yesterday was pretty special day for me as I gave blood for the first time 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 We don't get paid, instead we get a drink (usually juice or something similar), a coupon for the near restaurant (as they were on the Court yesterday, I ate there), and two days off which you can use whenever you want, so I'm just chilling at home. I felt really energized after everything was over, and can't wait for the next time :grin: 

Good for you!!!! Something I've always done regularly. You're doing a good deed and they have Little Debbie! One warning-if you donate in the summer months...lots of hydration before and after. The only time I all but passed out was a humid day and not enough liquid before I donated. Otherwise never a problem.

Today was hiding from the heat and mounds of laundry to sort. Tomorrow I have to start a determined effort to find another job or two. Bastards have me down to twenty hours next week...the taxes don't understand hour cutbacks

Oh, don't know if I mentioned it on this site...I'm ready to get on the roof with a megaphone and announce to the world "I'm going to be a Grandma!". Changes your whole perspective...yes I have more on my plate that I can possibly manage, over thinking, depression and panic but...
My eldest boy is making me a Grandma and everything else kind of fades back there.


----------



## Darkkin

Finally got around to seeing Jurassic World.  Was it constructive, no.  Was it instructive, again, no.  Did I laugh, yes.  Hokey awesomeness is occasionally just the sort of pick me up one needs.


----------



## KLJo

Today I somehow got the song, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" stuck in my head. 

After spending an hour driving, and singing a mashup of it, the profanity-laden _wedding Singer_ version, and parts of the descriptive video parody on youtube, I pulled in to a gas station and it was playing over the loud speaker. 
I think it's time I get myself a 900 number and open a psychic hotline. 

Feel free to pm me for lotto numbers.


----------



## am_hammy

We had our first day of inventory today. Hallmark decided to outsource and hire a company to audit our product for us and then a select few of us double counted the important stuff afterwards. It was long. My day started at 5:30am. I felt good overall. What's even better is that I didn't realize I had off tomorrow which is awesome. It's nice to get that little surprise. It's the one time that reading the schedules wrong has been to my benefit.

I ate "chili con queso" flavored pringles today, and bought a white chocolate Milka bar. Yum.


----------



## Loveabull

Think today was a special form of punishment. slated to work 7am to 11am, sucky in itself. Then instead of saying Big Corporate is coming to visit they were just insisting on everything being watered
It is 7am
We are on flood watch after 6pm tonight
It is the hottest most humid day of the week today
I didn't bring my sunscreen
Not playing the age card, b
but there a bunch of young energetic droogs who could have been scheduled to hump the hoses
Then insult to injury, a customer asked for gallon oil containers in the overhead, I can climb up there no problem
But bull moose store manager and assistant manager are standing there...and here I am moving this gigantic ladder, can't they become human enough to offer even a teeny bit of help? The customers will help for pitty's sake...and all the bastards can do is order me to do the watering after I get the oil down. Me want a "real" job, and I will not be a douchebag to underlings.


----------



## midnightpoet

Well, you could have been the customer service agent on the other end of my wrath when I explained their incompetence to them (I'm surprised the phone lines didn't melt).  Then she complained about my language - honestly, that is not job for shrinking violets.  I shouldn't have lost me temper, but sometimes...

Anyway, hope you have a better day.


----------



## Loveabull

I did finally get a slight poke in there. I keep my liquid refreshment behind the gas cans in the store. Outside where I was working and it would have been boiling. 86 outside and there they are waiting for me, why am I inside? " Because if I don't have a drink they'll find my body out there and I won't get the watering done right?"


----------



## Darkkin

I haven't inflicted grievous bodily harm with my pen, (yet).  Got lost on purpose yesterday, was at a funeral today, and still had to work.  I have one day off this week, my first in more than a week and they call to ask if I can work...:evil:  Politely wrathful, was how I like to explain it because had I said yes, I would have been looking at another 15 day run.  This, on top of the fact that I haven't gotten any sleep in nearly three days is not doing me any good.


----------



## musichal

*RICHES UNTOLD*
*
NO, MAKE THAT*
*
RICHIES TOLD*
​Yes, I do realize it unseemly for one to brag about his wealth, but being the most recent member of the nouveaux riche my gauche behavior is but to be expected.  Last night I felt well enough - for the first time in a year - to make the weekly poker night with the boys, and to everyone's delight except all of theirs, I kicked their young butts from here to Timbuktu playing no-limit Texas Holdem.  In a high-stakes game, I bought in for twenty bucks and cashed out a few hours later with two hundred.  So I won a honkin' one eighty!  I'm spending it, too.  But I haven't yet settled upon what I will buy - something sedentary I can enjoy at home...


----------



## KLJo

Congrats! 
I wondered if you were a player based on your COF submission that got nitty-gritty*. I used to play a lot of NLHE before moving to Minnesota (they only have spread limit). If you ever want to talk poker, or poker writing, message me immediately! 

*you over bet the pot with your fictional monster.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

am_hammy said:


> We had our first day of inventory today. Hallmark decided to outsource and hire a company to audit our product for us and then a select few of us double counted the important stuff afterwards. It was long. My day started at 5:30am. I felt good overall. What's even better is that I didn't realize I had off tomorrow which is awesome. It's nice to get that little surprise. It's the one time that reading the schedules wrong has been to my benefit.
> 
> I ate "chili con queso" flavored pringles today, and bought a white chocolate Milka bar. Yum.



Back at Dollar General, they always had a company do Inventory day. I was there for one. Two ratchet girls got in an argument and punched eachother. One of them was pregnant. Thankfully Bobby, a well loved and adored local Police Officer, was on the scene. 

Charges were pressed, and I think both of them lost their jobs. It was fuuuuun. 

But as far as my day... 

I woke up at 6:30. I don't know why. 

Bummed around and smoked until the sunrise, then I played Skyrim. My new character looks promising, being a stealth archer whom I can use well to snipe bandits. HEADSHOT, YES, NOOB! Teabagging time!

Then, admittedly, I badly needed a shower. A few repeats of 'I believe I can fly,' and I'm clean as a whistle. 

I know it's going to get hot, but I put on FOUR belts, count em, four, and my 'The Real Mccoys Irish Pub' T-shirt, and favorite WF green trenchcoat, and booked it to the old MC to steal their wifi yet again. 

Then I see KLJo's avatar and laugh until everyone is giving me funny looks.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Was the inventory company RGIS? I worked for those guys for about eight years. We counted some Hallmarks too. If I remember they were financial but we had to make sure we had the departments right. It was kind of a pain, but we were in and out in a few hours. I'm sure the Hallmark employees were there a lot longer though.


----------



## Thaumiel

Received my results for my second year of uni today. Didn't do well enough to get on to a four year course (masters) now I'm stuck with a three year (bachelors) and the knowledge that all my friends who are going off abroad for a year will be back at uni the year after I graduate. Not really sure to express how disappointed I am right now, but at the very least my girlfriend is unhappy that I'd rather spend another uni because it means I'd rather be with my friends, whom she greatly dislikes, than her. :thumbl:


----------



## Loveabull

Finally woke to some good news, it's a happy day


----------



## Darkkin

Highs and lows, but Glass Girl is onto the next chapter of her tedious saga.  If I never achieve anything else, at least I have that much done.  Not much, but more than nothing and better than a finger in the eye.


----------



## KLJo

Today I am in a wedding wearing a one-shouldered, bedazzled, floor-length, dress I have named, "The tangerine nightmare".

Whatever might go wrong with your day, just know that I am out there suffering more.


----------



## Darkkin

KLJo said:


> Today I am in a wedding wearing a one-shouldered, bedazzled, floor-length, dress I have named, "The tangerine nightmare".
> 
> Whatever might go wrong with your day, just know that I am out there suffering more.



Bridesmaid dresses are, indeed, their own special circle of hell, although it is somewhat removed from the circle containing the people who talk at the movies...


----------



## Kevin

Window-art on the road yesterday. Proof there are still poets... romantic poets:


----------



## Darkkin

Decided to rewrite history.


----------



## Guy Faukes

It's been a long day of shopping, cooking and testing out a few things here and there

[spoiler2=Guy's Secret] I dislike shopping when there's no benches and the ladies are taking their sweet time, not to be stereotypical [/spoiler2]

[spoiler2=Guy's Frustration] Arrrrghh [/spoiler2]

[spoiler2=Nailed it!]  Just realized how to do this[/spoiler2]


----------



## midnightpoet

Woke up this morning (no, it's not a blues song) and my wife asked me if I wanted breakfast.
I said yes.
She said, well, I don't feel like making it.
me: (facepalm)


----------



## am_hammy

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Back at Dollar General, they always had a company do Inventory day. I was there for one. Two ratchet girls got in an argument and punched eachother. One of them was pregnant. Thankfully Bobby, a well loved and adored local Police Officer, was on the scene.
> 
> Charges were pressed, and I think both of them lost their jobs. It was fuuuuun.



>.< 



mrmustard615 said:


> Was the inventory company RGIS? I worked for those guys for about eight years. We counted some Hallmarks too. If I remember they were financial but we had to make sure we had the departments right. It was kind of a pain, but we were in and out in a few hours. I'm sure the Hallmark employees were there a lot longer though.



That actually might be the company, haha. I had to be there at 7 and we double counted our store with them and followed them to a second store. My day was done at 4. They got off to a late start but it was done pretty quick. Much quicker than when our own teams have done it in the past. However, there were certain mistakes that were made from not harnessing their common sense powers. But hey, it was Monday so all blunders can subside on a Monday right?



midnightpoet said:


> Woke up this morning (no, it's not a blues song) and my wife asked me if I wanted breakfast.
> I said yes.
> She said, well, I don't feel like making it.
> me: (facepalm)



I know was probably not funny in the moment, as you were most likely hungry, but that made me laugh out loud. Ahhh relationships, ahhhh marriage, ahhhh. I love it haha


My day has just begun. The store was leaking again last night and now it's the crack above our back doors, not just the ceiling in the store. There's only two of us working today. Hopefully everyone stays home and actually enjoys their Sunday rather than supporting consumerism for just one day. Don't worry though. I won't be bored. THere's plenty of shirts to fold, figurines to put away, and ornaments to number because we are crazy and like to have Christmas in July because the keepsake ornaments are even bigger than the cards that Hallmark sells because as we all know it is a CARD store :mrgreen:

I'm thinking it will be okay though cause I'm working with my assistant manager and we just make fun of everything so I'm approaching this Sunday as calmly as I possibly can. ^_^


----------



## KLJo

@Midnight
If it makes you feel any better, all I got was half-hearted slap on the bum as I crawled out of bed.

My husband is now fast asleep again, and I suspect our first conversation will be, "What should we have for lunch?"


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I would grant thee a most voracious assault on the rear with my palm, at the sun's rising and setting.

Sadly, t'would be inappropriate. Thine husband might smite me.  

(Also I'm obviously joking. xD)


----------



## midnightpoet

KLJo said:


> @Midnight
> If it makes you feel any better, all I got was half-hearted slap on the bum as I crawled out of bed.
> 
> My husband is now fast asleep again, and I suspect our first conversation will be, "What should we have for lunch?"



I'll give my wife credit, she volunteered to fix lunch.  We had homemade lasagna.  It was good.


----------



## KLJo

We're running hot. 

My husband-who usually does no cooking unless it involves the BBQ--woke up and prepared my favourite brunch foods. He even tolerated my recitation of the worst puns and cheesiest jokes from the "Best Joke" thread for almost 10 minutes, before he banned me from ever reading them aloud again, because I was laughing too hard to deliver the punchlines properly.


----------



## dither

As good as it's ever likely to get i suppose.


----------



## Darkkin

I didn't stab anyone with a pen, got hugged by a lady because I fixed her tablet, and shocked an elderly gentleman because I knew who Marty Robbins was.  For those who don't know, he's an old time American country singer, who did pieces like _Big Iron_.


----------



## InstituteMan

Darkkin said:


> I didn't stab anyone with a pen, got hugged by a lady because I fixed her tablet, and shocked an elderly gentleman because I knew who Marty Robbins was.  For those who don't know, he's an old time American country singer, who did pieces like _Big Iron_.



Marty Robbins rocks.

I spent all day with the family watching bicycle races. 

Many years ago, when our kids were smallish, we accidentally discovered the "criterium" that's held in town every year. We knew nothing about bicycle racing, but it was fun for everyone. A criterium, as I googled up back then, is a race along a loop, so you can sit in one place and see a lot of racing. We've gone back every year since. 

Today, we bought a lunch at a restaurant with a view for one race. We shopped in the little shops and watched the racing for another race. I enjoyed a fine local beer and bought a fancy bar of dark chocolate for everyone else for the top race of the day. I made a friendly homeless man who appointed himself a much needed race volunteer of a sort incredibly happy by giving him two whole dollars before heading home.

It was a good day.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

One call later,

and I've got lunch and movie plans for tomorrow and Tuesday. And not with males either. Muahaha... 

I hope I can get to a sushi place... I REALLY want sushi... 

And now I have small talk to avoid the awkward look from the cashier.


----------



## kbsmith

I'm hearing voices again. The kind that tell me to choke children or gouge out the bright blue eyes of that girl; she won't look at me with anything other than distaste for my depth of pocket is not enough to stick her head like an ostrich down into. 
So I punched another hole in the drywall right after breaking another guitar. The third this month (guitars not holes). Because I blew my amplifier for playing too loud too long with screaming feedback articulating my. Hatred is an awful fuel for beauty.


----------



## KLJo

Best morning ever. We're eating double chocolate chip muffins for breakfast in the sunshine.

No, wait.
Crazy Minnesota weather strikes again.

Best morning ever. We're eating double chocolate chip muffins inside, watching a major thunderstorm.


----------



## Darkkin

Minnesota, too!  Down here on the fall off the map eastern edge of the state, we've had nothing but clouds and storms all day yesterday.  The bluffs are starting to look like broccoli on steroids.  It's still better than the 10' of snow we got down here in the last week of May last year.


----------



## KLJo

I'm up on The Iron Range. The storm has passed and the sun is nearly back out...this place is nuts!


----------



## Kevin

Yeah, Hurly (not too far) is pretty crazy, what with the gangsters from Chicago, you betcha. And Da'lute  gets a little more than dangerous at night, rough types...


----------



## KLJo

I've been here 5 years, and I've still never heard someone say, "You Betcha".


----------



## KLJo

Add on:

But to Rangers "Sauna"="Sow-gnaw", and roof, rough, and a dog barking (ruff) are all homophones.


----------



## Darkkin

Lived here my whole life, haven't heard it once either..._Fargo_ gives us such a bad rap.  _Grumpy Old Men_, that is Minnesota to a T, at least the Minnesota that I know.  

I encountered a lady at work the other day, who was wondering if she would be able to understand a magazine that had been printed in the UK.  My reply: 'Yes ma'am, they do speak English in England.'  Her response: 'Is that where England is?'  This just about made me cry...


----------



## am_hammy

Renewed my license last minute. Just like I went to get my car inspected last month at the very last possible day. It's gorgeous outside and I'm sad that I will be spending the rest of my day inside at work, but at least it's not raining at the moment. A little sunshine is good. =)


----------



## Kevin

My references are thirty-plus old. As kids we were summer 'Yoopers'.  I fondly remember the state bird, the blood-sucking-"Dammit" as Grampa Sven referred to them. Layered lumps on all exposed surfaces were our souvenirs.

edit: For an outsider Fargo gives it charm. The lady officer is really an admirable character, intelligent, clear-headed, diligent, ready to pop.


----------



## Darkkin

The bugs are still atrocious, more so this year because of all the rain.  We keep a can of repellent by the back door in sheer self defense, but once you get past the insects and road construction it really is an amazing place.  I live right on the river, and they are in the process of replacing both bridges that connect Minnesota to Wisconsin and you can tell which drivers are visiting and which drivers are local and know the drill.  Occasional highlights on the way to work, the SUV that decided to ignore the gigantic flashing merge arrow, and the half dozen speeding budgers, who are now explaining their hurry to the highway patrol.


----------



## KLJo

Lol, we have a can by the back door too. We also keep one in the garage, the car, and my purse. Absolutely mandatory.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

I love when it storms outside. The cable gets knocked out forcing everyone to socialize instead of lounging around the house. 

The downside, when we run out of conversation we return to lounging around the house, forced to re-read books, sleep or look to our phones for idle amusment. Even the dog gets tired. Oh well :barbershop_quartet_


----------



## KLJo

I solved that problem by cancelling cable 10 years ago. Though admittedly, we've always been set up for streaming, so our tv consumption is not 0.


----------



## Darkkin

What is this TV you speak of?  I know it not...(Yes, I do reside in a hole, under a rock at the bottom of a pond.)


----------



## Darkkin

I'm out of my mind, all I can say is that unicorns made me do it...AAAHHH!


----------



## The Green Shield

Been busy lately. Chores and stuff.


----------



## KLJo

Do you ever have those days that are so, unbelievably, productive that you feel almost elated and punch-drunk when you finally sit down at the end of it? 
I deep cleaned my entire house including basement and garage and prepared all the food I could for 3-5 houseguests arriving tomorrow, and staying for the next 11 days.

Eat your heart out Martha.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

After a call from my mom, I was certain my manager was waiting for me.

Well, she's gone and I'm alone. Quiet night, no more arrivals. No challenge, no fuss. 

WHEW. 

I just wish I was allowed a nap at like three AM. Sadly no sleep on the job... *sob*


----------



## Darkkin

My first ever commission piece was a huge success.  Small Violet Bright won the hearts and imaginations of her readers.  :tickled_pink:


----------



## dither

This day is going pretty damned hot right now.
Phew!


----------



## InstituteMan

4th of July. America. Enough said.


----------



## Pluralized

Fuck yeah!


----------



## J Anfinson

InstituteMan said:


> 4th of July. America. Enough said.



I'm about to do my part at reducing the local mosquito population.


----------



## escorial

finished packing and cleaning for my next move..i do not recommend it at all...moving


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I slept and finally beat GTA. 

Best fourth of july I've ever had, because that was a great ending for a video game.


----------



## am_hammy

Today was lovely. Celebrated July Fourth and my best friend's 25th birthday. Also sliced my thumb in the middle cutting salami for antipasto. I survived though.

Also got a belated surprise birthday gift from my aunt. Looking forward to a chill Sunday now. ^_^


----------



## dither

escorial said:


> finished packing and cleaning for my next move..i do not recommend it at all...moving



Moving?
I hate moving. Have only ever moved home twice in my whole life since leaving the family home.
Once to the flat that i had when i was single and then to the house where i am now.

Good luck.


----------



## KLJo

Moving IS a ton of work, but I'd take it over renovations any day!


----------



## escorial

dither said:


> Moving?
> I hate moving. Have only ever moved home twice in my whole life since leaving the family home.
> Once to the flat that i had when i was single and then to the house where i am now.
> 
> Good luck.



this will be my fifth time in four years man...previous to that 8 times in 11 years....i kid you not..ha


----------



## escorial

KLJo said:


> Moving IS a ton of work, but I'd take it over renovations any day!



good point.....do you do most of it yourself dude


----------



## dither

Jeez Escorial,
that's a lot of moving.


----------



## Darkkin

Sitting here on a huge stack of reference books wondering: _How the hell did I end up with so many mythology books?  Granted, they have come in handy recently, but when did I get so many?  Yeesh!_


----------



## Guy Faukes

I moved to three different places over the month and just now am settling into a new house. Luckily, I'm a bachelor and don't have that much stuff... yet...

Recently, I found out my brother in law is going to have to undergo preemptive surgery to carve our pre-cancerous growths and good chunks of non-cancerous flesh as well. Now that these growths were detected, his risk of future cancer just went from 80% to 100%. I'm frustrated that I know exactly what's going on with him, what genes and how are causing his condition but am completely unable to do anything about it. I've known him for ten years and developed a good deal of respect for the bastard and to think that someone can be slowly made less than whole over the next decade or so is harrowing. Eh, we'll see what comes and try to deal with it then.


----------



## aj47




----------



## Darkkin

I used first person narrative in a creative piece!  I never use first person POV...I don't even like first person POV!  #-o


----------



## am_hammy

It was lovely. No crying, no arguing of any kind. No weird people. Work wasn't bad either. I ended up closing with my boss, which I never thought I would see happening. Best Tuesday I've had in what feels like a month. I feel like I'm on a cloud.


----------



## Allysan

My daughter threw my phone in water for the second time in a month and it still works, even with a busted screen!!! 

On a separate but related note, I'm now taking any and all advice on how to effectively punish a 20 month old for throwing things.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Shall I count the ways? 

My dad was old fashioned and I got whuppings. 

I haven't needed a whupping since I was eight years old. I learn quick, see. 

xD 

My day is going great. They needed me to cover the third shift, but in exchange, to let me sleep, they took me off tomorrow. 

Then I only work sunday.  League of Legends time! <3


----------



## Darkkin

I like puzzles and poetry, the two together are just marvelous!


----------



## LeeC

Day was going downhill, having to deal with corporate medicine again, but at the post office on the way home the wife came out with a letter for me.

The letter was from my grandson (only four as mother and child were both late arrivals), which was a drawing of what he could come up with as a dragon. He titled the drawing King Dok and signed it after a fashion. Now I can sleep tonight with pleasant thoughts


----------



## J Anfinson

Allysan said:


> My daughter threw my phone in water for the second time in a month and it still works, even with a busted screen!!!
> 
> On a separate but related note, I'm now taking any and all advice on how to effectively punish a 20 month old for throwing things.



Nose against the wall, now! 

My kid still hates it


----------



## Darkkin

I think I might be losing my mind, I have been writing in first person POV, in a creative capacity, and I blogged!  I never, ever do either of those things.  Not quite sure if I have an evil twin or not, but I should look into the possibility.  (_Trudges back to pond..._).

Edit:  I really should not be allowed to play with nonsense, for I can create some very, very odd things.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Allysan said:


> My daughter threw my phone in water for the second time in a month and it still works, even with a busted screen!!!
> 
> On a separate but related note, I'm now taking any and all advice on how to effectively punish a 20 month old for throwing things.



I'm an uncle, so I have a fair bit of emotional distance when it comes to raising the kids, but I try to figure out why. If they are experimenting with the laws of physics, I try to actively teach them that this is undesirable behaviour and will not be tolerated without punishing him or her initially. They are experimenting afterall, and the behaviour is just the product of curiosity. If they are beginning to express anger or frustration, I try to divert their activity to more healthy outlets or convert it to playful behavior. Anger and frustrations are powerful emotions, and too many of us have learnt just to suppress it because it's undesirable to others rather than actually deal with it. 

My parents were strict and old-school, which does not help with patience or understanding, but I try to be gentler with the next generation. At the very least, it's food for thought.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My parents simply taught me to fear the Belt.

It's... it's something I don't want to talk about.

I actually had a pretty awesome day, today, far better than sitting at home and staring at the wall like I usually do.  Learned that one of the guys I met while I was doing my reporter thing at Operation: East Wind was in town after hauling a load to Kershaw, ended up meeting up and trying to go down to Shealy's for some barbecue, but it turned out the owners and their staff were all on vacation, so we ended up eating Chinese food in the parking lot of an adult superstore while we caught up with each other.

We're just classy like that.


----------



## Allysan

I guess to each their own when it comes to discipline! I decided to implement time out yesterday and so far have only had to actually put her in there one time!! My what a precious and sweet child I have! Rewarding her good behavior with brownies as I write this. 

Don't judge me!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Such judge, much whisper

So shun


----------



## aj47

My teens each ran the dishwasher once so we're almost caught up.

This also means I didn't.  I tried yesterday and it reminded me why the doctor said to rest for >mumble< weeks. 

I also wrote a story and then accidentally said "no" to the "save changes?" prompt.  Bah.


----------



## Darkkin

Got a ton of crap done, stayed four extra hours at work, didn't stab anyone with a pen, and finished my poem, so, yeah, today was okay.

Edit:  I don't know what I want to wear tomorrow!  My day is an epic failure...:miserable:


----------



## Darkkin

Okay, so I really am enjoying the blogging thing, didn't think I would, but it helps get the projects out of my head and into at least some pretense of order.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Just got accepted to do a Masters. 

Really excited to start, but I was starting to get used to this pad, now I gotta bounce to another.


----------



## Schrody

Guy Faukes said:


> Just got accepted to do a Masters.
> 
> Really excited to start, but I was starting to get used to this pad, now I gotta bounce to another.



Yay, we're proud of you!  Have you decided on a thesis yet?


----------



## Darkkin

Pieces and oddments sometimes come together in ways you cannot explain.  Chaos theory at its most glorious.  That moment, the singularity when everything is just right and everything glows.  These moments never linger, but if you listen, pause at just the right time, you might find yourself falling headlong into one.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I keep getting phone calls from a restricted number. 

I've waited minutes to only silence. 

Regardless, I had the day completely free. I played and played outside. Reminded me of when I was younger. 

Except when I was younger, I wasn't crafting brutal wooden swords filled with ridges of painful nails. 

All my friends say they want to be near me when the zombies come.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Schrody said:


> Yay, we're proud of you!  Have you decided on a thesis yet?



Thank you! It's more of a post-degree then anything to help people get ready for managing in the food quality and assurance industry (though some options to pursue research).

Also was accepted for another post-degree to become a medical technologist... really gotta decide and start getting into high gear.


----------



## Schrody

Guy Faukes said:


> Thank you! It's more of a post-degree then anything to help people get ready for managing in the food quality and assurance industry (though some options to pursue research).
> 
> Also was accepted for another post-degree to become a medical technologist... really gotta decide and start getting into high gear.



Wow, it's not an easy choice since both fields seems interesting  Good luck!

Btw. I thought you have a medical degree?


----------



## Guy Faukes

Schrody said:


> Wow, it's not an easy choice since both fields seems interesting  Good luck!
> 
> Btw. I thought you have a medical degree?



They are. They will lead to different living circumstances, vastly different work and prospects, but are similarly paying outcomes. I'm very unsure right now.

I have an undergraduate in medical sciences, but no, I'm not a doctor, despite what many of my relatives think when showing me certain lesions and aberrations. 
I know the system is different in Britain, and not sure in Croatia, but the process in Canada involves completing at least two years of an undergraduate degree with required courses, doing the MCAT and having a sterling reputation to get into medical school which lasts another four years.


----------



## Schrody

You are a doctor if you have a medical degree here, in Croatia. Of course, first you need to do some specialization depending on which field you want to work at. I don't know how long does it takes, but I know college lasts for 6 years and it's one of the most expensive universities.


----------



## KLJo

escorial said:


> good point.....do you do most of it yourself dude



Whoops, missed this! 

I'm shockingly handy, and abnormally picky, so I buy fixer-uppers. Especially when you combine those two traits with my hatred of wasting money, it is my only real option. 

I wouldn't sleep at night if I'd I paid for a new house, and threw away the tens of thousands I make by being generally cool with hard work. However, as I had just finished hauling 50 bags of mulch for a garden overhaul when I was writing the last post, occassionally the merit of paying to someone else to do the labour becomes crystal clear.



Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> I keep getting phone calls from a restricted number.
> 
> I've waited minutes to only silence.



I never answer my phone for unrecognized numbers. That's why there are answering machines.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I woke up, worked for three hours, had lunch with a friend so that I could show off my chopstick skills, came home, slept for three hours, woke up again, went to the computer to get some more work done on _Tales_.

Apparently, the powers that be decided that this wasn't in my future, and sent down a bolt of pure justice from on high to smite my desktop computer.  Oh, powers that be, you're lucky that I have my Toughbook, or I would stand on my porch and engage in some good old futile yelling at the sky.


----------



## J Anfinson

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> I keep getting phone calls from a restricted number.



I love sales calls. It's fun to see how long I can keep them on the phone just to waste their time.


----------



## am_hammy

The best part of my day was not closing on a Saturday. That is very nice. 

And there are new videos from all my subscriptions on Youtube that I can watch, AND I'm going to keep reading a book I've been trying to get through for a month.

Look at meeee, doing leisurely activities :glee:


----------



## Boofy

My day was pretty much typical. I played games with friends, wrote a little, edited a little, re-watched a couple of bad movies and fantasised about buying legitimate maple syrup for my pancakes. One day... Om and nom.


----------



## am_hammy

Boofy said:


> ... fantasised about buying legitimate maple syrup for my pancakes. One day... Om and nom.



Please do. It's freaking awesome and you won't regret it!


----------



## TKent

I dated a guy from Vermont once and BOY did I have great pancakes for 6 months. Yum, yum 



Boofy said:


> My day was pretty much typical. I played games with friends, wrote a little, edited a little, re-watched a couple of bad movies and fantasised about buying legitimate maple syrup for my pancakes. One day... Om and nom.


----------



## joshybo

I started to type in what I really did today and then I realized how sad it was to admit that publicly, so I figured I would lie instead.  Here goes.

I woke up bright and early at five-thirty in the morning, not the least bit groggy after a couple bourbons the night before, and went out for my usual early morning, two mile run.  Along the way I stopped to help some elderly folks trim their hedges and put out no less than two house fires (four if you count the shanty homes built down by the paper mill, but those things are just a fire hazard waiting for a spark) before heading back home to cook breakfast for my family.  We had quite the spread—French toast, eggs, waffles, bacon, two kinds of fresh preserves, orange juice, and coffee—before heading back out to volunteer at the local soup kitchen.  Old Man Shackleford, one of the regular volunteers, came in around lunch time, complaining about the carburetor being out in his old station wagon, so me and a couple of the boys hurried on over and fixed it up just in time to make it to the matinee performance of "Our Town" down at the local theater.  Turns out both the lead actor and understudy for the part of Howie Newsome had fallen ill just before the curtain.  Now, me being something of a theater aficionado, I already had all of the lines for every character memorized, so I offered up my abilities and went on stage without a moment's notice.  I'm just glad to help out, is all, and the troupe was very welcoming and thankful for my performance.  I made it back to the house a little after five in the evening and sat down to dinner with the wife and kids.  The missus had whipped up a fine shepherd's pie, complete with a vast array of sides—all from scratch and crafted with a chef's perfection—and we ate and chatted about the day and our plans for tomorrow.  After dinner, I did the dishes all on my own, by hand, and then we sat down to catch a couple episodes of Little House on the Prairie before tucking the kids into bed.  I've just finished typing up the last ten chapters to a current work in progress and look forward to churning out a few more before bedtime.  Ah, it's good to be alive, yes sir!

Yes.  That's a lot better than what I started to post.


----------



## Boofy

TK, I am not above dating a guy just for his pancakes. You don't still have his number by any chance? ;3


----------



## TKent

Haha!



Boofy said:


> TK, I am not above dating a guy just for his pancakes. You don't still have his number by any chance? ;3


----------



## LeeC

A happily married grandfather, and maybe in not too long a great-grandfather, I'm way beyond dating. I responded though wondering about your reference "legitimate maple syrup."  I suppose these days though they have imitation maple syrup, what a sacrilege :-(

Haven't noticed any hereabouts as there's more than enough of the real stuff to go around. Personally, I get mine form a neighbor who boils down his own. It's just one of the seasonal activities around here. Sadly, one gallon jug does me for a year because it gets harder to work off those extra calories as one gets on ;-)


----------



## Boofy

Alas Lee, ever the poor student, I can't afford the real stuff. I tried it once in culinary school. Oh, it was good. The artificial stuff I can get at my local store is all corn syrup and cellulose gum. Blech! I want the liquid gold I tried back in the day </3


----------



## J Anfinson

The real stuff doesn't have all the sugar and high fructose corn syrup crap that stores here in the south sell. A relative brought me some they got on a trip up north and I love it.


----------



## am_hammy

We can get it here in stores in the tri-state area but it's still mega expensive.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, I got half of my sestina edited, a villanelle written, and am now currently approaching the functionality of a zombie.  Sleep is sounding like a really good plan right about now.


----------



## Guy Faukes

One of the bonuses of living up north is that we can buy small plastic cartons of 750 mL maple syrup for $15 bucks, and they usually have huge pots caramelizing the stuff to be cooled on the snow... so chewy...

There's a sort of ephemerality to it's taste and sweetness.... it's maple flavours are right on your tastebuds but slowly slipping away until the next bite.


----------



## Boofy

Guy Faukes said:


> One of the bonuses of living up north is that we can buy small plastic cartons of 750 mL maple syrup for $15 bucks, and they usually have huge pots caramelizing the stuff to be cooled on the snow... so chewy...
> 
> *There's a sort of ephemerality to it's taste and sweetness.... it's maple flavours are right on your tastebuds but slowly slipping away until the next bite.*


Never have I wanted to press the thanks button so passive aggressively. You are EVIL. EVIL.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Boofy said:


> Never have I wanted to press the thanks button so passive aggressively. You are EVIL. EVIL.



LOL. I think we're in the process of introducing the "Thanks..." button. 

I'll mail you some, sometime. Promise


----------



## Schrody

Maple syrup. Never tried it since it's expensive here, and I'm afraid they aren't even selling the right stuff. I tell you, Western Europe (okay, my country is part Easternos, part Mediterranean, nobody can make up their mind in where we belong) is a one big trash can. Seriously, try Nutella here (which is imported from Poland), and try Nutella in Italy (which is imported from Germany). Of course, we do have some stores that keep the originals, but I found a great substitution to Nutella (at least the Poland one), it's cheaper, more tasty, and it's from Germany. And Nutella situation is not the only one...


----------



## Kevin

Ok Schrody, here's what you do: get yourself all dolled up and go on one of those sites. Then when you get over here you dump the guy, take half his money and go off on your own. We got plenty of Maple syrup imported from Canada and Canadians would never lie.


----------



## midnightpoet

My wife decided that yesterday was furniture moving day...again...I'm getting too old for this...now, where's my pain medicine?;-)


----------



## Schrody

Kevin said:


> Ok Schrody, here's what you do: get yourself all dolled up and go on one of those sites. Then when you get over here you dump the guy, take half his money and go off on your own. We got plenty of Maple syrup imported from Canada and Canadians would never lie.



I met my bf on a dating site  So I have to go down that road again... If I make it, y'all gonna have unlimited stash of maple syrup! :mrgreen:


----------



## J Anfinson

Kevin said:


> Ok Schrody, here's what you do: get yourself all dolled up and go on one of those sites. Then when you get over here you dump the guy, take half his money and go off on your own. We got plenty of Maple syrup imported from Canada and Canadians would never lie.



I already bought a croatian princess once. I'm not falling for that again.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

J Anfinson said:


> I already bought a croatian princess once. I'm not falling for that again.




Hey! Get your own Croatian princess :tongue:


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I love five hour work days. It's the perfect amount of time to focus on something, then you get off and do something else. I get to leave at two. Last night, I went to bed at 8:30. Ironically that was bedtime when I was little. Woke up feeling amazing. I had noodles, nut mix, and NOS for breakfast. So work has been a breeze since my energy levels are through the roof. 

I'mma go home at 2:00 and write up a storm.

Then I'mma be hitting level 70 on my demon hunter on Diablo III. >


----------



## dither

On Saturdays i crash.
Sunday is a hangover.


----------



## Schrody

J Anfinson said:


> I already bought a croatian princess once. I'm not falling for that again.



Jakey.. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			







Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> I love five hour work days. It's the perfect amount of time to focus on something, then you get off and do something else. I get to leave at two. Last night, I went to bed at 8:30. Ironically that was bedtime when I was little. Woke up feeling amazing. I had noodles, nut mix, and NOS for breakfast. So work has been a breeze since my energy levels are through the roof.
> 
> I'mma go home at 2:00 and write up a storm.
> 
> Then I'mma be hitting level 70 on my demon hunter on Diablo III. >



Show off! Working only five hours a day...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Schrody said:


> Show off! Working only five hours a day...



Mmmhm. 

Had 5:30 on Friday,

But yesterday I worked 9:00. 'Twas horrid. 

Also, the activity stream doesn't show quotes of course, so I thought you called ME Jakey. lol. We was gonna have a problem. xD


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Aw Jakey, don't be that way


----------



## J Anfinson

Schrody said:


> Jakey..



Well...

Do you promise to show up this time? Last time I waited at the airport for days.


----------



## Schrody

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Mmmhm.
> 
> Had 5:30 on Friday,
> 
> But yesterday I worked 9:00. 'Twas horrid.
> 
> Also, the activity stream doesn't show quotes of course, so I thought you called ME Jakey. lol. We was gonna have a problem. xD



Well, I don't see your name being Jake XD



J Anfinson said:


> Well...
> 
> Do you promise to show up this time? Last time I waited at the airport for days.



Yes, of course! This time I won't travel in the suitcase, trying to pass the customs. Air plane tickets are expensive!


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Schrody said:


> Yes, of course! This time I won't travel in the suitcase, trying to pass the customs. Air plane tickets are expensive!



Okay. You can meet Jakey at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. You'll see a debonair guy with bulging muscles (okay so he'll look more like Woody Allen) :icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## J Anfinson

How are we going to do this? The post office kept losing the money I mailed the last one, and the one time she received it she was mugged. I hope you have better luck.


----------



## walker

I used to make maple syrup, when I was a kid in New Hampshire. We made enough for the family. I had a friend who made it to sell. I helped him out. Good times. It is pretty miraculous, when you think about it, that a tree gives you all that stuff. Some of the old maple trees on our dirt road that I drilled had dozens of holes in them. I used to think about who had been there before.


----------



## Schrody

mrmustard615 said:


> Okay. You can meet Jakey at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. You'll see a debonair guy with bulging muscles (okay so he'll look more like Woody Allen) :icon_cheesygrin:



I love Woody  No pun intended.



J Anfinson said:


> How are we going to do this? The post office kept losing the money I mailed the last one, and the one time she received it she was mugged. I hope you have better luck.



We have the technology. Just send it to my PayPal account


----------



## Boofy

Today I watched on as a Canadian ruined the camp I had poured my soul into building, scattering his belongings haphazardly with complete disregard for his fellow campers. It was a traumatic series of events that followed, culminating in an inevitable fire that burned everything to the ground. It was hilarious. I've had a lot of expensive scotch tonight to drown my sorrows. God damn this bloody game. You think you have it made and then deerclops comes and stomps all over your dreams.


----------



## Angelicpersona

My day was busy but not overly so. Just tired because it was my 3rd 12 hour shift. I have my 4th tomorrow. On the plus side, no poo to deal with today. On the minus side, my dog peed somewhere in the house. I can smell it but I can't find it. Little bastard...


----------



## joshybo

Boofy said:


> Today I watched on as a Canadian ruined the camp I had poured my soul into building, scattering his belongings haphazardly with complete disregard for his fellow campers. It was a traumatic series of events that followed, culminating in an inevitable fire that burned everything to the ground. It was hilarious. I've had a lot of expensive scotch tonight to drown my sorrows. God damn this bloody game. You think you have it made and then deerclops comes and stomps all over your dreams.



What game is this and what scotch was that?  Look at me, asking all the important questions.


----------



## Darkkin

Got my sestina, edited--yeesh, I'm a long winded git!  And wrote about a pair of socks.  How is this day normal by any stretch of the imagination?


----------



## Boofy

joshybo said:


> What game is this and what scotch was that?  Look at me, asking all the important questions.



Hah. Don't Starve: Together Beta and Dalwhinnie's award winning Scottish Whisky ^^;

You're welcome to play if you don't mind how soul-crushingly hard it is, but keep your paws off my liquor!


----------



## escorial

painting not artistically but decorating..my day went beige mentally and the walls to


----------



## am_hammy

This particular Sunday was hot, but lovely. Went to church. Family was there. Then we had lunch with some friends of the family. Said an early happy anniversary to my grandparents. They appreciated their gifts ^_^

Chilled out at home, played some pictionary. Went to a friend's house and start to compile magazine clippings for a collage of sorts to help inspire me and remind me of the things I aspire to be. Super girlie, super relaxing.

Truly was a nice ending to my weekend!


----------



## McJibbles

My day has been the same for the past two days, and will be the same tomorrow. 100+ outside, and 3 hours of the day are spent pushing carts and lifting junk. Then 11 more hours of work, only in AC (thank god). Now, back home talking to you goobs instead of being productive.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Boofy said:


> Today I watched on as a Canadian ruined the camp I had poured my soul into building, scattering his belongings haphazardly with complete disregard for his fellow campers. It was a traumatic series of events that followed, culminating in an inevitable fire that burned everything to the ground. It was hilarious. I've had a lot of expensive scotch tonight to drown my sorrows. God damn this bloody game. You think you have it made and then deerclops comes and stomps all over your dreams.



Today, I watched two English people run around aimlessly while I poured my heart and soul into crafting a camp that would provide us with the materials to get through winter. It was great. We had enough food and crafting supplies, and I almost got the camp cooled during an intense summer when a fire broke out. I tried to prevent it from spreading while they stared and laughed. It was horrifying. 

Eh, they're still good company. One of them was getting pretty sloshed off expensive scotch, and was a hoot.


----------



## Boofy

Guy Faukes said:


> Today, I watched two English people run around aimlessly while I poured my heart and soul into crafting a camp that would provide us with the materials to get through winter. It was great. We had enough food and crafting supplies, and I almost got the camp cooled during an intense summer when a fire broke out. I tried to prevent it from spreading while they stared and laughed. It was horrifying.
> 
> Eh, they're still good company. One of them was getting pretty sloshed off expensive scotch, and was a hoot.



Don't listen to this traitor. He's always had it in for us Brits. You need only look at his choice of handle to see that ;D

... if that's your real name or something now, I am going to look incredibly stupid


----------



## joshybo

Boofy said:


> Don't listen to this traitor. He's always had it in for us Brits. You need only look at his choice of handle to see that ;D
> 
> ... if that's your real name or something now, I am going to look incredibly stupid



A Brit calling a Canadian a traitor and I'm just sitting here in America, twiddling my thumbs and cackling.


----------



## Guy Faukes

joshybo said:


> A Brit calling a Canadian a traitor and I'm just sitting here in America, twiddling my thumbs and cackling.



*slow clap*


----------



## musichal

joshybo said:


> A Brit calling a Canadian a traitor and I'm just sitting here in America, twiddling my thumbs and cackling.



And not just in America, but below the Mason-Dixon Line.  Right on.


----------



## Darkkin

Two sides to every story, sometimes the shape they take is surprising!


----------



## aj47

One of my two refrigerators died, my internet is flaky and I tried the treadmill for the first time post-surgery and only managed 8 minutes at 2mph.

Not a good day.


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> One of my two refrigerators died, my internet is flaky and I tried the treadmill for the first time post-surgery and only managed 8 minutes at 2mph.
> 
> Not a good day.



keep going kidda....your health is irreplaceable..the others are


----------



## InstituteMan

astroannie said:


> One of my two refrigerators died, my internet is flaky and I tried the treadmill for the first time post-surgery and only managed 8 minutes at 2mph.
> 
> Not a good day.



Sorry to hear how your day's going, Annie. I guess the positive is that you're able to get back on the treadmill? 

Recovering from surgery is hard. I've never had anything anywhere near as extensive as what you're dealing with, for which I'm glad. If it makes you feel any better, those I know who have had somewhat similar things to recover from as you took a heck of a lot longer to even attempt exercise than you.


----------



## Darkkin

Small steps taken, but they are the first steps and among the most important simply because the are the hardest, weighted down with fear or frustration.  It is like climbing out of a mire, mud clings, but keep walking and it will dry falling to dust along the way.


----------



## aj47

Today is better.  I can lift an empty laundry hamper.  Or two.  I had to buy new ones because a teenager broke the one I had and I'd been intending to get a second one anyway so got two at once.  

Also, I can't lift the crock pot, but I can put food in it.  So we're having garlicky braised beef for dinner.  It smells amazing.


----------



## dither

Astro,

can't lift/can't do,

should you even be trying?


----------



## Winston

@ astroannie:  That's what kids do.  They eat and break things.  Hope the beef turns out well, and you continue to heal.

I just ate lunch at the tea house my daughter got a job at.  It's owned by Debbie Macomber here in "Cedar Cove", WA.  The food wasn't bad, although they were out of green tea, so I was kinda bummed.  My daughter mainly works the hostess and gift shop positions.  It's a great experience for her first job.  And, the folks there seem real nice.
She saw Ms. Macomber last week, and worked with here nephew (I think).  Now I feel obligated to read Debbie's books.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, I'm back in yellow!   I'm also rebuying my Harry Potter books in paperback because I love the new art work!  I have the entire series in hardcover, but I reread these every summer, just like my Anne of Green Gables books.  So I need my rat around copies, now the hard part is going to be finding room from them on my bookcase.  If you have ever played _Tetris _that is what my bookshelves look like...:hopelessness:  A good weekend overall.


----------



## JustRob

You don't want to know, really you don't. There are too many thousands of words involved in setting it all out, so here is just a taste, quite literally.

At lunch my angel accidentally dropped a cod liver oil capsule into her hot tomato soup. She only had moments to find it in the opaque liquid before the gelatin shell dissolved and emptied its contents into the soup. Fortunately she did succeed but it proves that we have no conception of how broad the vocabulary of angels can be.

At the end of lunch I was opening my snail mail and found yet another begging letter on behalf of Iranian refugees. Many years ago I donated sufficient money to them for half of a refugee which they never delivered, fortunately. I have no qualms about sending no more donations as I very much doubt that there is some poor soul standing with one foot over the border awaiting the other half of my money.

I will not write about the offical letter requiring me to provide an update to the electoral register on pain of a £1000 fine if I don't. The explanation of my problems with this apparently simple task would run into those aforementioned thousands of words, amusing though it might prove to some.

Over lunch I discussed with my angel a thread currently active on WF about technical details in science fiction stories. I mentioned that a recent novel that I read had far too much gobbledegook in it for me to look up all the terms used, which were no doubt genuine as it was reputedly hard sci-fi. To demonstrate I flicked through the pages of the novel and selected a term at random "quantum callosum". I said that I didn't know what a callosum, quantum or otherwise, actually was but that hadn't stopped me enjoying the novel in my limited fashion. 

Of course having teased my curiosity I had to research the term and this led me to a website about some quite exotic ideas concerning brain functions. At a glance I realised that there could be a connection with my own equally bizarre thoughts about how I came to write my novel. I decided to write to the author in case he could enlighten me or me him. However, I noticed that he has a very foreign sounding name and, my imagination being what it is, it occurred to me that he could be an Iranian with a half-brother still waiting to get across the border and this would be embarrassing given my earlier decision. Don't laugh yet.

Footnote: Mohsen Kermanshahi's work on Brain Lateralization Theory is accessible on www.quantumperception.net. He was born in Iran in 1948. I am yet to write to him. Why do these damned coincidences keep hounding me like this?


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Still sleeping during the day, so this is basically my morning! Hahah.

I ran out of shampoo. For a young man that actually cares about the cleanliness of his hair, this was very disconcerting. 

I FINALLY thought of a good name for my most recent MC, and finally began work on it. Progress has been steady!

In the meantime, I'm waiting for Dota 2 to download... and setting out on my journey to beat Terraria. (A 2d minecraftian style thingy) Wish me luck!


----------



## InstituteMan

So, last light our smoke detectors went off at 1:00 AM. They only went off for a few seconds, really, but that's enough to be totally awake (and practically clinging to the ceiling in terror). Even though they quickly stopped, I traipsed up and down the stairs to be sure there wasn't an actual fire. There wasn't. I assume it was just a tiny bug or some dust interrupting the flow is f alpha particles (the way a smoke detector works is a pretty cool use of a radioactive source!). After the adrenaline rush, you can't go right back to sleep. That gave noisy storms plenty of time to roll through to keep us awake longer yet. Hey, at least I was only awake for half of my 7 hours of sleep . . . 

In in other words, today was a grumpy kind of day. :ChainGunSmiley:


----------



## Allysan

I think the neighbors kid gave mine strep throat. 
She just recovered from bronchitis that another kid gave her a month ago. 
Last week, we had a scare when we learned our child had been in contact with someone who has pertussis. 

I don't want to sound like that crazy parent who freaks out every time her kid sniffles (I understand the importance of building the immune system) but for crying out loud if your kid is coughing,sneezing,snotting or has a fever, don't bring them to my house. It's common courtesy. Sorry people, I'll head over to the crazy mommy forum to finish this rant...


----------



## Boofy

So today I did my first ever crafts fair and sold nearly everything within the first few hours! I had to make more stuff whilst I was there to replenish and I plan to do 3 more fairs before Christmas ^^; People were charging waaaaay lower prices than me and I still sold more than they did! Bwahahahaha! (Somebody fetch me a pin to puncture my new found ego ;D)

Aw, I got such a buzz out of selling things. Today is a happy day for Boof. I'm so glad people like what I make :3


----------



## musichal

Boofy said:


> So today I did my first ever crafts fair and sold nearly everything within the first few hours! I had to make more stuff whilst I was there to replenish and I plan to do 3 more fairs before Christmas ^^; People were charging waaaaay lower prices than me and I still sold more than they did! Bwahahahaha! (Somebody fetch me a pin to puncture my new found ego ;D)
> 
> Aw, I got such a buzz out of selling things. Today is a happy day for Boof. I'm so glad people like what I make :3



Congratulations on your creative success.  So proud of you.  Queen Beth!  Yay!  Gotta few bucks I can borrow?


----------



## Boofy

Ooo, Queen Beth... this is not the puncture that I quite had in mind... still... ;D

I actually managed to sell girly jewellery to guys too, yano. One came over and I was like, you know... that one matches your eyes... and he bloody bought the bangle! ^^


----------



## Darkkin

Got a phone call that scared me spitless, couldn't get a hold of my mum, so made a run to her house to make sure everything was all right.  It was, thank heavens.


----------



## JustRob

Boofy said:


> Ooo, Queen Beth... this is not the puncture that I quite had in mind... still... ;D
> 
> I actually managed to sell girly jewellery to guys too, yano. One came over and I was like, you know... that one matches your eyes... and he bloody bought the bangle! ^^



Well done. Excuse me while I make a note to myself to include that line in my novel when I wrote it. That's done then. It was already there of course. I'm finding it really handy being able to disregard the normal conventions of time so long as nobody believes me. My angel makes her own jewellery but not any for other people. Her grandmother's antique jet beads keep reappearing on her in various forms.


----------



## Schrody




----------



## The Green Shield

I think I've accomplished something. After testing my historical mystery out with a different character (who existed in the same universe as my current protag), _everything clicked into place!!_ Move aside, current protag! Get ready for your nice, exciting life as a secondary character because there's a new main protag in town!  :lemo:

Amos: *falls on his knees, fists raised in the air* NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Sheesh, what a drama queen.  

Well, off to explore all the potentials with my new protagonist.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Today I tried to explain the difference between Alaskans and Canadians to one of my Australian friends... which culminated in him coining the term "Snow Texans."


----------



## Bard_Daniel

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Today I tried to explain the difference between Alaskans and Canadians to one of my Australian friends... which culminated in him coining the term "Snow Texans."



That's the best thing I've heard all day.

As for my day, I  facked up today and started smoking, fairly heavily, again.

*Sigh*


----------



## aj47

My internet is working fine; but today the heat index was higher than the recommended setting for your water heater.  This, is not good, and put a strain on the power grid as everyone cranked up the air conditioning.  We had several power glitches.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

astroannie said:


> My internet is working fine; but today the heat index was higher than the recommended setting for your water heater.  This, is not good, and put a strain on the power grid as everyone cranked up the air conditioning.  We had several power glitches.



Have you tried moving to Alaska?  -radiating innocence-

I don't generally have to worry about strains on the power grid.  The only time I ever get power problems is during severe weather, and even then, they tend not to last.  Wish my AC worked better, though.


----------



## InnerFlame00

Ugh. Had to work all day then got my allergy shot. So my arms are sore and I'm barely conscious due to benadryl....so if I post anything weird, that's rhe reason lol


----------



## aj47

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Have you tried moving to Alaska?  -radiating innocence-



http://www.writingforums.com/threads/147473-All-that-Glitters?highlight=all+that+glitters <-- my take on Alaska.


----------



## McJibbles

Had my first kiss yesterday. It was romantic but really, really bad. I think it was her first too. I'm looking forward to trying it again!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

McJibbles said:


> Had my first kiss yesterday. It was romantic but really, really bad. I think it was her first too. I'm looking forward to trying it again!



Haha, it's easier than it seems with practice.

My first kiss was goodbye, sadly. She bit my lower lip 'til it was raw. Of course I didn't mind.

As far as my own day, I just had the best LoL match ever. We almost lost, but pulled together and owned. It felt like a movie. 

Otherwise, I've been chilling as usual while the sun's down here. Being nocturnal has it's benefits, all quiet and dark. The sunlight hurts my eyes anyway. 

None of my internet friends are awake to chat with so I've settled with singing to myself. Lalala.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Living with someone who has a few emotional issues. They are a decent person but they tend to flare up at any hint of conflict, including with myself. I've tried my hardest to be a good roomie and be open and accommodating, but it's just gotten ridiculous at this point. I'm a hair from just flat out saying, "you're a !@#$%^& child; grow the !@#$ up and start dealing with your !@#$". It's one of those things that would feel really good but do more harm in the long run.  Patience, Guy, patience.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Guy Faukes said:


> Patience, Guy, patience.


Joo can do eet!  Ze fais, I have eet een joo!

I finally met the full-time guy who works one of the stores on my route, and it turns out he's a pretty cool dude.  Only took two months... maybe I need to get better about that.


----------



## Schrody

Daniel man, where you've been?!


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

I am not sure how my day is going to be but if the morning is a sign of anything, I think it's going to be bad.

It's eight o' clock and I have a flat tire. I really had high hopes for today seeing as my dog left me with a good amount of space to sleep on the bed instead of hogging it like he usually does. It's my day off and I had plans, but now I have to run to the store to get Fix - a - Flat until I could buy a new tire. 

I do hope this is the only upset, today is such a beautiful day to be worrying about things.


----------



## JustRob

Another disaster in the life of. 

This morning I woke up with the same headache that I had yesterday but magnitudes worse, so I stayed in bed with painkillers and an ice pack. However, that painful brain activity being the mother of invention, I also had a marvellous idea for a short story and worked out all the details in my head as I lay there. It wouldn't have gone anywhere much but it would have been worth posting in the fiction forum here. Eventually the painkillers kicked in and I got up. I went to my desktop computer and started typing. Twenty-two words in I checked WF and my emails and ... 

I think the story has gone. The painkillers must have killed it as well. Perhaps I can reconstruct it but I doubt that it will have the spontaneous fluidity that the original did. People complain about writer's block but this is a far worse affliction, to know that one had it, may still have it hidden away, but can't find it again. I'm struggling now just to remember the details of the plot, let alone the precise phrases that I'd thought up. There was a central theme about a thermometer ... Ah yes, maybe it's coming back.

Yes, I'm sure it's coming back, the damned headache that is. Maybe all isn't lost after all. Is this what they mean by suffering for one's art?


----------



## jtgrall

My day is stupendous!!! About to head to the beach for the sixth day in a row, and there are no bad days at the beach.


----------



## escorial

Schrody said:


>



the best days.....


----------



## escorial

...another disaster in the life of JR.....hey man write them thoughts down..your head hurts that's poor man...


----------



## aj47

I really am unhappy for a reason that is difficult to express.  

I'm a writer, though, so I should give it a go at least.

Someone suggested that something specifically nice should happen to me of their doing.  It won't though.  I don't mind that it's not happening per se--it wasn't in my life and my life is okay.  However, it's as if they opened/created a hole in my heart that they _said_ they would fill with awesome and then, instead, left it to be ravaged by the elements.  

The person involved isn't close enough to me that I can confide about my feelings on the issue; she's an acquaintance rather than a friend.  I tried to write a poem about it but don't know how well I succeeded.

Anyway, I'm 99.9% fine--_telling someone_ is a good way to destress.


----------



## InstituteMan

I mowed the lawn this evening. There were A LOT of snakes. Did I mention I used a push mower? There's nothing like walking on snake bits that are still flopping around. 

I had a drink when I was done.


----------



## foolonamoon

I, with the help of a dear friend, made a dress out of flowers, wore it for 15 minutes, then thankfully cut it off and threw it over a river bank.
Also, I got a killer photo of the sunset over the water. Why do I always start falling in love with the places I have to leave?


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Schrody said:


> Daniel man, where you've been?!



I was in the hospital for a while, but I'm better now. And I'm back!


----------



## Schrody

danielstj said:


> I was in the hospital for a while, but I'm better now. And I'm back!



Oh, no  What happened? I'm glad you're back!


----------



## JustRob

foolonamoon said:


> Why do I always start falling in love with the places I have to leave?



Wandrin' Star -- Lee Marvin in _Paint Your Wagon_

"I was born under a wandrin' star 
I was born under a wandrin' star 
Wheels are made for rolling, mules are made to pack 
I've never seen a sight that didn't look better looking back"


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I can think of few things worse than a corporate manager who's grown tired of his desk.  They tend to descend from on high and actively searching for problems for other people to fix.  If no problems can be found, they'll invent one.  If they're not terribly creative, they'll _make_ one.

I just spent an hour cleaning shelves that were already spotless.  Great indicator for how the rest of the day might go...


----------



## The Green Shield

I don't mind cleaning and rearranging things.  Maybe I can teleport to your house and do it for you? 

 Writing my fantasy today, trying to be careful to not infodump within the first few pages, yet attempting to find a way to describe the setting enough so people get the feel for where they are and what they are to expect. 

 Writing fantasy is hard, apparently. :uncomfortableness:


----------



## Ariel

I hate my job.  It seemed like a great job when I started but the longer I'm here the more I despise it.  I'm resenting my boss and I resent that I took the job.  I don't have any of the incentives that I was told I'd have when I started (higher pay than my last job, full-time hours, and benefits).  To go further I'm expected to have a working task list that my boss can sit and watch me cross items off.


----------



## foolonamoon

You could quit and find a job you like? Why are you still sticking around there?


----------



## midnightpoet

Finally got the new window a/c in after suffering a few weeks with the heat; found a guy who was willing to do it (it was too heavy for me to lift; old age is the pits).  Plus my back is sore (I couldn't stop myself from helping him); woke up at 3am, wife had restless leg attack, didn't get back to sleep until 4:30.  Woke up at 8, usual bowl of cereal I'm feeling better.  Still have work to do, insulate around the a/c, cook breakfast, yard work, clean up inside.  

Have a few writing projects going, but it's slow - got too much around the house to do and sometimes this old brain of mine just wants to take a nap.  You ever try writing notes w/ a ball point pen and it just won't work?  Thanks God for pencils.

I relate to you guys with job problems.  My forty-odd years in the business world have made me cynical and paranoid.  "Dilbert" is popular for a reason.:razz:

Everyone have a great day.


----------



## Ariel

foolonamoon said:


> You could quit and find a job you like? Why are you still sticking around there?



I'm looking for a job.  I have bills to pay so quitting without one lined up is not an option.


----------



## Schrody

I have a low blood pressure, and whenever weather's changing I feel "lightheaded", groggy and lethargic. Yay me!


----------



## musichal

amsawtell said:


> I hate my job.  It seemed like a great job when I started but the longer I'm here the more I despise it.  I'm resenting my boss and I resent that I took the job.  I don't have any of the incentives that I was told I'd have when I started (higher pay than my last job, full-time hours, and benefits).  To go further I'm expected to have a working task list that my boss can sit and watch me cross items off.



Use these lessons in your next job interview - forget promises of the future, what is the offer on the table now?  By the time I hit my mid-to-late twenties, I had figured out that a job interview is very much a two-way street, I interviewed them as much as they did me.  One guy who thought he was hiring me was shocked when I cut the interview short to shake hands and say goodbye, "But I was just about to make you an offer."  I replied, "I know, but you failed the interview."  A few days later, I accepted an offer from a better company.   Go into your next one with that idea firmly in mind - that you are interviewing them, too, and do it - and don't take less than you should in an offer.  You will gain respect from the interviewer if you do it well, be valued more highly, and feel it in yourself, too.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

The Green Shield said:


> I don't mind cleaning and rearranging things.  Maybe I can teleport to your house and do it for you?
> 
> Writing my fantasy today, trying to be careful to not infodump within the first few pages, yet attempting to find a way to describe the setting enough so people get the feel for where they are and what they are to expect.
> 
> Writing fantasy is hard, apparently. :uncomfortableness:



Nah. It's just a bunch of scene setting.  You don't really have to explain anything, until something happens. And then the characters thoughts and conversations do the explaining for you. I'm much more challenged by naming my characters to begin with, before I even have several chapters. xD

My day is going ok. Against my better judgement I bought a bunny yesterday. It's still going through the 'THIS IS NEW I'M TERRIFIED DON'T EAT ME' phase, so I'm being all nice and reassuring and not acting like a predator. 

I still don't know what I'm going to name it. Much like many animals, the gender is hard to tell apart until they get older... Of course if it's male I'll know for sure. ]

Otherwise, I'm using mcdonals wifi as usual and munching on a bagel. 

It's cold. Really really cold in here. Who turned the AC so damn low? I only have jeans, sandals and a shirt on and I'm quivering. I might stand outside for a minute. {(O...O)}

I am skinny, and a fast metabolism and heart rate runs on the male side of my family. So normally I'm very warm blooded and get hot easily. Shivering feels so unnatural because I never get cold.... Rrrhg


----------



## JustRob

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> I still don't know what I'm going to name it. Much like many animals, the gender is hard to tell apart until they get older... Of course if it's male I'll know for sure.



We once had a dwarf rabbit named Fairy. It was years before a vet pointed out to us that it was male. Ho hum.


----------



## The Green Shield

Went to the library, checked out _Kalimpura _by Jay Lake and _The Buntline Special_ by Mike Resnick. I did some research on the former author because his style was beginning to grow on me, and I was beginning to like him...only to find out he died a year ago due to colon cancer, and _Kalimpura_ was quite probably the last book he wrote and published. 

Well ****.  If there's a shred of good news in this, it's that this seems to be the last in a trilogy of books, which is good...at least. Still...


****!!! This just freaking sucks! D:


----------



## Darkkin

Completed a critical trivet piece linking some of my older narratives to my newer sequences.  The story is sound, the arcs stretching just as they should.  I am a happy soul right now.  I know precisely what I need to do, where I need to go!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I finally sketched something again. My inspiration has been bone-dry and I don't know why. 

But I finally managed to draw something and it wasn't half bad. 

Still don't know what to name the new bunny. It ran from me as usual but I'm wearing it down, getting it calmer. No, I will not name it until I'm ready. 

It was too hot to play outside, so I'm saving it for just after sunrise, when I'll get home and listen to some music. 

Practicing my Dota and fiddling while I'm here, staving off hunger. I want a snaaack...


----------



## Ariel

The Green Shield said:


> Went to the library, checked out _Kalimpura _by Jay Lake and _The Buntline Special_ by Mike Resnick. I did some research on the former author because his style was beginning to grow on me, and I was beginning to like him...only to find out he died a year ago due to colon cancer, and _Kalimpura_ was quite probably the last book he wrote and published.
> 
> Well ****.  If there's a shred of good news in this, it's that this seems to be the last in a trilogy of books, which is good...at least. Still...
> 
> 
> ****!!! This just freaking sucks! D:


I didn't know Jay Lake died.  The Green series is one of my favorites.


----------



## Boofy

I have the flu ;___; 

Somebody bring me some soup... </3

I can't even play DOTA... Sneeze ultimates are apparently frowned upon... blaaaaaah


----------



## Darkkin

So, it has been a while since I had a writing project out during my break at work, (tablet and blue tooth keyboard).  Being an introvert with _major_ space bubble issues, my coworkers know that when my headphones are in and I have that keyboard out, to just let me be.  Not five minutes into my break, a hand shoots by my face and touches my screen. (Insert red haze...:hell_pawn: ).  You never, ever, ever do that.  I flinched back, but curiosity got the better of me, so I held me peace and removed one of my earbuds, still refraining from saying anything.  Just gave this interloper the blank dolly stare.  It was one of the new hires who hadn't said three words to anyone up to this point, seeing as we work retail, this takes some doing in not doing your job...Something must have started to seep into her brain by this point because all of us were staring at her hand still on my tablet.  

First words out of her mouth.  'You can't write that.  Poetry doesn't look like that.  You have capital letters and punctuation.  You're doing that wrong.  Your metaphors don't make any sense and dire wolves, what the hell are those?  Are you stupid?'  At this point I don't know whether I want to laugh, cry, or call a manager.  

I had to know. 'What is the correct way to write, since my way is wrong and stupid?'  No answer...So stretches the silence, getting heavier by the second...No explanation was forthcoming.  The hand left my tablet, my space bubble was restored and in the end, it was a simple question that carried the day.  And people never cease to amaze me, in both the good and bad ways.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Face, meet Palm.  You two shall be the very best of friends.


----------



## aj47

Darkkin said:


> I had to know. 'What is the correct way to write, since my way is wrong and stupid?'  No answer...



The One True Way--write like you mean it.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Roses are red
Violets are blue
People are stupid
Let's hurt them


----------



## aj47

lol

Roses are red
Violets are blue
People are stupid
Your stupid, too.


----------



## Darkkin

Psst!  The Poetic War thread is  ----->


----------



## Schrody

Editing my novel. I have to do it justice it deserves.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Got a text yesterday morning at work saying that my step-grandfather had passed away, got home, did laundry, did some rudimentary packing, hooked up with my father and one of my uncles, and we made the twelve-hour trip down here to scenic Arkansas so that I could be here for the funeral.  I was able to sleep some on the way down, but it wasn't restful, so I'm running on a mixture of caffeine and sheer will/a satanic bargain.

I still have about eight hours to go before I'm going to be allowed any meaningful rest.  Glory, glory, hallelujah.


----------



## escorial

had to buy a combination lock for the gym...sometimes i do live on the edge...


----------



## aj47

That fridge is flaking again.  Good thing we have two. I still had to throw out a cream pie there wasn't room to store ... it was beginning to weep some yellow fluid from being out on the table.


----------



## J Anfinson

Darkkin said:


> At this point I don't know whether I want to laugh, cry, or call a manager.



I just stab them with my stylus. Jk. But really I am the crazy guy at work that everyone's scared of. I heard a rumor going around that I probably have bodies buried in my basement. I just smile and roll with it. People are assholes to introverts, there's no doubt about it. The best defense I've found is to grow a thick skin, lash out when you have to, and let the pen be mightier than the sword. How many of those people have inspired poetry or stories you wouldn't have thought of? This is why I hate people, yet find them interesting.


----------



## Allysan

J Anfinson said:


> I just stab them with my stylus. Jk. But really I am the crazy guy at work that everyone's scared of. I heard a rumor going around that I probably have bodies buried in my basement. I just smile and roll with it. People are assholes to introverts, there's no doubt about it. The best defense I've found is to grow a thick skin, lash out when you have to, and let the pen be mightier than the sword. How many of those people have inspired poetry or stories you wouldn't have thought of? This is why I hate people, yet find them interesting.



You should really feed into the rumors... Store some duct tape and rope in your desk and take it out and play with it while you listen to the soundtrack from the Freddy Kruger movie or something. Random ideas but if you really put some thought into it, they'd be running for the hills!!

like someone once said... "If you can't beat 'em, scare the living shit out of them"


----------



## The Green Shield

amsawtell said:


> I didn't know Jay Lake died.  The Green series is one of my favorites.


And the worst part of it is, _Kalimpura_ is the LAST book of the Green trilogy, but I picked it up thinking it was the second book. Sure, I could always download the whole thing onto Kindle and just read it from the very beginning but now that I've spoiled myself completely on every plot twist and turn, I'm not sure if I should anymore. 

Goddamn it. >:[


----------



## Darkkin

Well, it has been a crabby apple sort of day, IV meds for tachycardia and hypoglycemia...:grumpy:  Also back under the 100lb. mark and got reamed for that, too!  When the majority of your mass is lean muscle, you are going to have a metabolism that doesn't quit.  I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall, I take one step forward and fall three steps back.  

Limit my activity!  Love to know how I'm supposed to do that, I work retail and have ADHD.  Telling me to limit my activity is like trying to nail Jello to a tree.  It won't work because no matter what I do, some part of me, whether it is my foot bouncing, or my hands playing with a rubber band, is always in motion.  There is a reason my desk chair is a yoga ball...

On a brighter note, I have two days off.


----------



## midnightpoet

106 today, but finally got the new window a/c installed - that makes two this year, plus the fridge crashed, defrosted another, now the dishwasher's gone to that great soapsuds in the sky.  O glorious fate, what next shall befall us?


----------



## escorial

bought two metal dices with the life stuff written on them..who dares wins..you get the jist..worth a go...


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Got coated with dust and itchy insulation today.

I'm still scratching. Urg.


----------



## shadowwalker

Just back from the emergency room. Had to take my brother there after he suffered what I thought was a seizure. Turns out it was his heart that stopped beating long enough for his brain to go bonkers. He's being admitted to the hospital and will probably get a pace-maker. (And he's always been so worried about doing things the 'healthy' way.) :concern:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

shadowwalker said:


> He's being admitted to the hospital and will probably get a pace-maker.


Oof.  That's never fun.  I hope everything turns out well.  Until then, prayer drop inbound.


----------



## shadowwalker

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Oof.  That's never fun.  I hope everything turns out well.  Until then, prayer drop inbound.



Thanks. He's getting the pacemaker tomorrow, home Saturday, hopefully. Then a month of no lifting virtually anything - sigh. But I thank God this happened when I was home, and that the second incident happened in the emergency room so they had the info to actually see what happened. And thank God I didn't listen when he said, "I'll just wait and make an appointment" - good grief...


----------



## Schrody

I'm sorry about your brother, shadow


----------



## shadowwalker

Schrody said:


> I'm sorry about your brother, shadow



Thanks. Waiting now for the call that's he's going in for surgery, since they didn't know exactly when it would happen. He's healthy otherwise, so am fairly confident all will go well.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, I look like I got into a fight with a wendigo and lost.  I have a bruise covering my entire forearm...(_Ruptured an artery during apheresis...:grumpy._


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Oof, that's no fun. D:


----------



## aj47

Darkkin said:


> Well, I look like I got into a fight with a wendigo and lost.  I have a bruise covering my entire forearm...(_Ruptured an artery during apheresis...:grumpy._



Did it hurt? (This is a serious question--I may use it in a story)


----------



## Darkkin

astroannie said:


> Did it hurt? (This is a serious question--I may use it in a story)



The infiltration site does, but the bruise no; it just looks horrendous.  I've had three people ask me if I'm okay!  (I'm fine, no I'm not in a situation that requires assistance, but thank you. x 3)  Looks like I'll be wearing my hand warmers and long sleeves until this clears up.  There are days I really _hate_ my HFHC.  I'm tired of being the freaking unicorn.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Darkkin said:


> The infiltration site does, but the bruise no; it just looks horrendous.  I've had three people ask me if I'm okay!  (I'm fine, no I'm not in a situation that requires assistance, but thank you. x 3)  Looks like I'll be wearing my hand warmers and long sleeves until this clears up.  There are days I really _hate_ my HFHC.  I'm tired of being the freaking unicorn.




B-but unicorns are beautiful! D:


----------



## Darkkin

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> B-but unicorns are beautiful! D:



If only it were that kind of unicorn...


----------



## aj47

Oh, okay.  Thanks.  There may be a time when I want a character to look injured without being actually hurt.  I suppose this could happen with any phlebotomatic procedure.


----------



## The Green Shield

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> B-but unicorns are beautiful! D:


Not unicorns who decide to turn your arm into a pincushion for their horns. 

Seriously, sorry that happened. I once got a nasty bruise on my forearm due to someone with a degree in *FAIL AT EVERYTHING* not knowing how to use a needle when drawing blood (seriously, it's not that difficult. Shove the damn thing in, suck, then pull it out. I could do it!) I had a bruise on my arm that was sickly yellow and black with small purple-ish dots. I joked constantly I was become a Ghoul from Bethesda's _Fallout _series.


----------



## am_hammy

Today was lovely. I had breakfast on my balcony, got the boots I've wanted for the fall. Getting back on track with my eating by stopping at Whole Foods. I also went to Barnes and Noble and chilled with a friend. I also bought a gift for a special someone, which I'm becoming increasingly excited about and worrying less about whether or not they will like it. I know they will.

It's been a lovely Thursday ^_^


----------



## Lewdog

All my days run together and I forgot today is Thursday.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.  :torn:


----------



## Pluralized

Good luck tomorrow, Lude.


----------



## Darkkin

The Wendigo took Turtle!  What the hell did I just do...I'm crying over an idiotic piece of poetry.  I know it's just a stupid faery tale, but it's Turtle and I just left it hanging.  I got stuck in traffic on the way home, and this is what I did while I waited.  I'm overtired, overly dramatic, and in dire need of a reality check.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Following the daily grind... Hopefully something into the LM competition soon.

I got a package in the mail today.

I don't really want to talk about anything, to be honest.


----------



## Schrody

My Grandma died, and I got my blood donor "booklet" (they put a stamp every time you give blood, and after the several number of givings you have some benefits). Still a little shocked.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Sorry, Schrods :hugs:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Sorry to hear that, Schrody.  Prayer drop inbound on your position.

The account I was working today was painting their stockroom.  I had to work an eight-pallet truck, and I was in there for four or five hours... little to no ventilation in there.  Needless to say, I was a little lightheaded when I got out of there.  I do not recommend it.  Like... seriously don't recommend it.


----------



## Ariel

*hugs Schrody*  I'm sorry for your loss, Schrods.


----------



## Schrody

Thanks, guys. It was a major shock since she died suddenly; she was a healthy woman. She was 82, so I think those aren't the worst years to die.   I'm sorry to hear that Atlean. No ventilation during the summer, and low blood pressure aren't the best combination - I'm talking about myself, so I know how did you feel. I hope you feel better now


----------



## MzSnowleopard

::: hugs Shrody ::: you're in my thoughts today.


----------



## Lewdog

Sorry Shrodes.  Lots of thoughts your way!


----------



## TJ1985

Schrody, you have my condolences.


----------



## Boofy

Gah. Schrody </3 -hugs- 

I was at a wedding party tonight. I am actually pretty drunk, typing this. It was the only way I could possibly tolerate the damned thing. It was straight out of a Peter Kay bit, I swear to God. If you haven't seen Peter Kay and you are American, I am not sure how his comedy translates to family parties over there. Somebody watch his live tour DVD and send me the findings. :3


----------



## joshybo

I'm sorry to hear that Schrody.  I'll be praying for you and I hope you and your family are doing okay.


----------



## midnightpoet

My condolences, Schrody.

Tony


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I forgot to take my pill and remembered three days too late. That would explain much! 

Today was funny at the very least. I got a laugh a bunch of stuff off.

My great grandma died when she was 86. ('Bout a year ago)  Stroke. I didn't know her that well, so it was an odd feeling as opposed to a sad one. :{


----------



## Schrody

Thanks guys, I really feel loved <3




Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> I forgot to take my pill and remembered three days too late. That would explain much!
> 
> Today was funny at the very least. I got a laugh a bunch of stuff off.
> 
> My great grandma died when she was 86. ('Bout a year ago)  Stroke. I didn't know her that well, so it was an odd feeling as opposed to a sad one. :{



I'm sorry for your loss, Crow.


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

Enjoying the days. Rained yesterday, but Mr Sunshine has shown himself today. Attic bedroom nearly decorated,  Hooray!  Many things to do, like get on with novel when I've finished playing on this new site. Ha ha. Enjoying life.


----------



## Pluralized

View attachment 9326

Beautiful day day for a bike ride. I love where I live, for the first time since I was a little moustached boy.


----------



## Blade

Nice experience yesterday. There is place down the street that has a Peach tree in the front yard loaded with small fruit. I have been considering pinching some but really couldn't because it would be un-neighbourly. Walking past I saw a small cardboard sign on a stake saying: "Peaches are ripe - Enjoy"

One of life's little blessings.


----------



## Boofy

Blade said:


> Nice experience yesterday. There is place down the street that has a Peach tree in the front yard loaded with small fruit. I have been considering pinching some but really couldn't because it would be un-neighbourly. Walking past I saw a small cardboard sign on a stake saying: "Peaches are ripe - Enjoy"
> 
> One of life's little blessings.



At least SOMEBODY shares their fruit indiscriminately ;D


----------



## Blade

Boofy said:


> At least SOMEBODY shares their fruit indiscriminately ;D



Many with lots to spare actually do. I have some neighbours across the street who have 2 Cherry trees in their back yard who give away the surplus. makes sense really as either the birds will get them or they will fall and rot.:blue:


----------



## MzSnowleopard

I actually got some writing done.... two days ago. LOL

It's about half a page on the break-in novella and a full page blog entry. Hey, blog entries do count towards writing.


----------



## Darkkin

There are days I love the total madness that is my brain!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Darkkin said:


> There are days I love the total madness that is my brain!



Crowley wonders why thou did nay say every day? 

Hey whey bay neigh sleigh play clay...


----------



## ShadowEyes

I drank too much beer too fast and now my throat hurts. Ow.


----------



## dither

Right now dither is rockin.

Well, sort of.
In his own quiet little way.


----------



## Boofy

Boofy is having a relaxed, sleepy sort of day. -yawn- Sundays are nice.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

The Good: I wrote 1000 words of my novel, finished a 750 word flash-fiction piece and even managed to smuggle in a poem today. This was on-top of working a 4-hour shift.

The Bad: Went through an entire pack of Belmonts. Fuck.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Today started late- a spell of insomnia had kept me up one night- now my sleep clock is 3 am bed time. yuck.... Today though, it was quiet. As I said in the letter to my sister- it was a quiet day in my building, even the cats are subdued. This is normal with a summer rain. Perfect day for a cup of warm tea.

No writing today- I don't write on Sundays.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I slept all day as usual. 

Being nocturnal is great, what with missing all the annoying goings-on of you human flesh creatures. 

Started another Skyrim character to be a professional thief.  

Now I'm feeling the urge to draw, maybe I'll write some. I don't know.


----------



## popsprocket

Went to the dentist for the first time in an embarrassing number of years and was reminded of why it has been an embarrassing number of years since I last went. It's a catch-22 situation. I don't go to the dentist very often and that's why when I go to the dentist I always have a bad experience.

Maybe now that I'm adultier than I was before I'll swallow the medicine of getting a few fillings and resolve to actually get regular cleanings done.

Also I can't feel half my face and I just spilled half a cup of water all over myself :thumbr:


----------



## Schrody

popsprocket said:


> Went to the dentist for the first time in an embarrassing number of years and was reminded of why it has been an embarrassing number of years since I last went. It's a catch-22 situation. I don't go to the dentist very often and that's why when I go to the dentist I always have a bad experience.
> 
> Maybe now that I'm adultier than I was before I'll swallow the medicine of getting a few fillings and resolve to actually get regular cleanings done.
> 
> Also I can't feel half my face and I just spilled half a cup of water all over myself :thumbr:



You know, dentists in Croatia are rare in giving you a painkiller for getting a filling or "grinding" (don't know what's the word, but when the teeth needs to be polished). Not even kids get them. Heck, I never had it in my life, and my dentist offers it (of course, pulling a teeth is another story - you have to receive a painkiller) So man up, it's nothing serious, just uncomfortable


----------



## popsprocket

It was actually the first time a dentist has ever numbed me up. I had one or two fillings as a kid but my dentist then never bothered with it then.

The real pain from the appointment was that the dentist just about unhinged my jaw trying to get a clamp around the tooth he wanted to work on. My jaw muscles are pretty sore today.


----------



## Schrody

Sorry to hear that.


----------



## Darkkin

Today was one of those rare, amazing days.  My sister and nephew came down for a visit.  Living in an old river valley there are a lot of haunts that creep out and draw you in.  Well, today the haunt was Lark Toys, their main draw, a hand carved wooden carousel.  It had been nearly two decades since I had stopped in.  It was just as awesome as I remembered, but watching my nephew see it for the first time...Priceless.  Oddly enough, while we were there, I found a miniature of a bicorn!  Who knew such things even existed?  That ended up coming home with me.

Lunch at the drive in with homebrewed rootbeer and a couple hours at the park, followed by a visit to the used book store.  I found a gorgeous picture book on the history of unicorns, and an all time favourite book, _Old Turtle_, as well as a couple of books my sister was on the look out for.  Needless to say, it was a day to remember.  My nephew had a blast.  Hearing him laugh was payment enough, everything else was gravy.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Today was a very odd day. I always seem to lecture people about emotional outbursts and their stupidity. It's been a LONG time since I have ever felt the 'red mist' descend, but today was an odd day, and for once, I had to take my own advice. 

There is a certain peace, a sense of freedom, that comes with breaking those chains, and 'letting go.'


----------



## ShadowEyes

"Dear Diary,

Today we were kidnapped by hill folk never to be seen again. It was the best day ever!"


----------



## Allysan

Saw a 3-400 year old live oak called the Angel Oak and took a horse drawn carriage ride through historic downtown Charleston. Now it's off to Orlando for a day at Animal Kingdom with the mini me. Hooray for vacation!


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Allysan said:


> Saw a 3-400 year old live oak called the Angel Oak and took a horse drawn carriage ride through historic downtown Charleston. Now it's off to Orlando for a day at Animal Kingdom with the mini me. Hooray for vacation!



Oh good. Be cautious though, today it was 104°F and very humid. Have fun, I love Disney and it wasn't too busy today either so you might be in luck and not have to wait too long. :eagerness:


----------



## Allysan

TheWonderingNovice said:


> Oh good. Be cautious though, today it was 104°F and very humid. Have fun, I love Disney and it wasn't too busy today either so you might be in luck and not have to wait too long. :eagerness:



Thanks for the tip! The humidity is crazy already. You're in the orlando area?


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Allysan said:


> Thanks for the tip! The humidity is crazy already. You're in the orlando area?



Yeah, been living in Florida for the better part of my life. And yeah its crazy hot accompanied by afternoon showers. Have fun on your vacation


----------



## The Green Shield

TheWonderingNovice said:


> Yeah, been living in Florida for the better part of my life. And yeah its crazy hot accompanied by afternoon showers. Have fun on your vacation


It's like that down here in Alabama as well. Hotter than shit while our Northern brethren get to enjoy the cool most of the year. Oh, and we have insects. Way too goddamn many of them. >:[


----------



## Allysan

TheWonderingNovice said:


> Yeah, been living in Florida for the better part of my life. And yeah its crazy hot accompanied by afternoon showers. Have fun on your vacation



Yeah I spent ten years in Naples. It can be unbearable! One reason why I fled to the mountains!


----------



## am_hammy

Yesterday sucked. Work was hard and there was too much to do. It stresses me out when I can't accomplish things like I want, but there's nothing that can be done after a certain point. 

Today however, I'm sipping on a coffee, eating cocoa krispies and pretending I don't have a closing shift. The bright side is I will have off Sunday and Monday. Something to look forward to ^_^


----------



## Schrody

Allysan said:


> Yeah I spent ten years in Naples. It can be unbearable! One reason why I fled to the mountains!



Summers in Zagreb tends to be 100 degrees and more


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

Dandy.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Rough day at work, getting too old for all this physical labor business.  Got my hair cut, though, which should give me a +10 bonus to sleep satisfaction during these muggy summer nights.  Also found that even though the third USB in the Toughbook doesn't work like it's supposed to, anything hooked up to it will still charge.  This is a bonus because now the computer won't be prompting me to download the [KITTEN WHISPERS] phone software, but will still charge the phone.  Hooray!


----------



## Lewdog

Today sucks.  I hardly got any sleep last night so I took a little nap after physical therapy.  I then find out that I won't get my financial aid until after September 3rd, and now I am finding a story I had about the first 1,000 words down and it's gone.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sucks here too, went to town to see friends, parked in  suspended parking bay without realising and got a ticket, then took a wrong turn and entered the congestion charging zone by mistake, expensive day out.


----------



## Lewdog

Olly Buckle said:


> Sucks here too, went to town to see friends, parked in  suspended parking bay without realising and got a ticket, then took a wrong turn and entered the congestion charging zone by mistake, expensive day out.



Ouch, I'm not sure how bad the tickets are there, but have you heard in some Scandinavian countries tickets are based on a percentage of income?  There was a guy that got like a $58,000 dollar ticket.  :coffeescreen:

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/04/28/man-gets-58-000-speeding-ticket-based-on-his-income/21177443/


----------



## Boofy

I watched the ever dreamy Adam Hill on The Last Leg, did some drawing, listened to Opposites AGAIN, chatted to a few friends and ate some M&Ms. All in all, a very successful day.


----------



## Lewdog

Boofy said:


> I watched the ever dreamy Adam Hill on The Last Leg, did some drawing, listened to Opposites AGAIN, chatted to a few friends and ate some M&Ms. All in all, a very successful day.




Those were my M&M's.  Besides you know what the green ones do to you.   :apple:


----------



## Boofy

Alas, there is no evidence to back that rumour... Aw, and I bought so many green M&Ms too.  ;___;

EDIT: Aphrodisiac or no, hands off my M&Ms or next time we meet in the banned thread... things are gonna get ugly. ;D


----------



## Lewdog

I'm so hawt I can't get ugly.  :hell_pawn:


----------



## Schrody

Lewdog said:


> Those were my M&M's.  Besides you know what the green ones do to you.   :apple:



They turn you into a Hulk.



Lewdog said:


> I'm so hawt I can't get ugly.  :hell_pawn:



Prove it


----------



## TMarie

This day started two hours earlier than usual.  Woke up unsettled from dreams and the heat of my cat snuggled close.  Laid in bed willing my self back to sleep, and then realized that I don't have to do that just because its 1:00 a.m.  Put my slippers and robe on, gathered my books and laptop and made my way downstairs to brew a full pot of coffee instead of the regular "two cups only".

The new normal that I have desperately been trying to adjust to is starting to feel exactly that .... normal ... if there really is such a thing.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, the house is clean, laundry is done (_that includes the ironing_), the dogs have been walked and brushed out, and I still have to go into work tonight...:suspicion:


----------



## aj47

I had an awesome day.  I'm 35[SUP]*[/SUP] today.  My husband smoked some pork ribs and we had rosemary-garlic potato wedges. We have cherry cobbler and tea ice cream, but no one is hungry after the main stuff.














[SUP]*[/SUP]​0x35


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Happy birthday!  Sounds like you had a blast.  And a really good dinner.

Now I'm hungry... if you've got some of that cobbler left, that'll do.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Putting the puppy to bed and watching a bit of Doctor Who before heading off to bed myself. Tomorrow is going to be a loooooong day :{ |


----------



## Darkkin

The cat decided she needed to lounge directly in front of my yoga ball...#-o  Haven't stepped on her, fallen off my ball, or stabbed anyone with a pen yet, so overall conclusion; it was a decent day.


----------



## Schrody

I had a weird dream last night (it's morning right now here). Now, my dreams are real and until the time I wake up, I don't know I'm in a dream. 

So, I was in a house I used to visit, but haven't been there in a long time. It's more of a complex of big apartments, and that one was on the highest "floor", and it was/is decorated quite old fashioned (because there lived an old couple). Now, the situation was that they recently died in the dream (although they died years ago), and it was empty. I was walking through the apartment (and it's really big, several bedrooms, big living room...), and saw a lady dressed in black, cleaning (I could see only her back), and assumed that's their daughter, my former neighbor. After investigating the main rooms and seeing it's empty, I decided to walk out. In the living room was a big, massive table, and there lied a cello. Suddenly (I know how J hates this word, but this was, after all, a dream), the strings started to move, and the bow (or whatever is that stick called) started to glide through the strings, creating soft, quiet tones. Did I mention it started to play by itself? Ghosts, I thought. Behind the cello, there was a cigarette in the ashtray, burning and releasing the smoke in the air. I ran towards the exit and bumped into my neighbor. Or so I thought. In the heap of the moment, as I run, I accidentally reached for her face in order not to fall down. When she turned, I saw she was missing the tip of her nose, her face made of the foamy plastic, like a doll. 

My mind is using the most powerful drug there is: imagination, and sometimes I'm scared of it.


----------



## popsprocket

I've got another bloody flu. That's 6 times this year. I will be very grateful when they finally manage to sort my blood out and I'm at least a little healthier.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I went to sleep at 7:00 AM and woke up at 7:00 PM. 

Came here, and now it's 6:00 AM!

It's freaking cold. They still run the a/c at night, and I didn't bring any layers to wear. 

I've been levelling on WoW just to get some decent gear before I actually RP. 

I just need another sixty bucks so I can buy a character boost and be on my merry way. 

Did more backstory/world building for a little, and now I'm STARVING.

Time for dinner and sleepy sleep.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I've got music that plays while I sleep, sometimes it slips into my dreams.  One of the songs is Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps as performed by Cake, and while it was playing, I dreamed that I was doing a barefoot tango with a pretty stranger.


----------



## escorial

AtleanWordsmith said:


> I've got music that plays while I sleep, sometimes it slips into my dreams.  One of the songs is Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps as performed by Cake, and while it was playing, I dreamed that I was doing a barefoot tango with a pretty stranger.



View attachment 9419


----------



## TJ1985

I had a lousy morning, so I plugged in my amp to jam a bit and blow off steam. That amp is computer controlled and has a lot of features, and today it's prominent feature is inactivity. Deader than a doorknob, lights won't even come on. I tried it in four electrical outlets, checked all the connections, and went through the manual. It's dead. I can't complain because it has given me six good years of service, but the timing was lousy. It's tough to play a good AC/DC lick on a dreadnaught acoustic. It's like trying to do a burnout in a Prius: it can be done, but it lacks so many of the hallmarks that you really don't recognize that that's what it was trying to do that at all.


----------



## escorial

TJ1985 said:


> I had a lousy morning, so I plugged in my amp to jam a bit and blow off steam. That amp is computer controlled and has a lot of features, and today it's prominent feature is inactivity. Deader than a doorknob, lights won't even come on. I tried it in four electrical outlets, checked all the connections, and went through the manual. It's dead. I can't complain because it has given me six good years of service, but the timing was lousy. It's tough to play a good AC/DC lick on a dreadnaught acoustic. It's like trying to do a burnout in a Prius: it can be done, but it lacks so many of the hallmarks that you really don't recognize that that's what it was trying to do that at all.




any youtube vids of you jammin dude..?


----------



## TJ1985

escorial said:


> any youtube vids of you jammin dude..?



There might be a couple clips from on of the bars I've played in as I saw a couple cellphone cameras going, but I've never checked. If I find any, I'll share them.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Gonna hold you to it, man.


----------



## dither

Pretty cool here.

Looking over shoulder.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Just finished amarathon of Stargate Universe DVDs. It saddens me to think that for whateverreasons they had, the powers behind this AWARD WINNING show decided to cancelit. I am inclined to believe that it was for the same reason as many othershows I like that received the ax- cancellation because of lack of viewershipduring scheduled time of broadcast.

This leaves me to wonder - when will the antiquated ratingssystem be pulled out of the dark ages and refitted for today's entertainmentresources? Or maybe dump the old ways in replacement of a new ratings system?


----------



## Ariel

As much as I love Firefly at this point I'd rather see Stargate Universe return than Firefly.

Why do my cats think that my engagement ring must be destroyed?  All three of them have, at one time or another, tried biting my ring off of my finger.  The latest attempt was last night and she punctured the skin just a little and now that's swollen.

On the bonus side: I've finally gotten my back put in place and I can walk with minimal pain.  Sitting is another matter.  Also, we went on Saturday and had ourselves fitted and chose the metal blanks for our wedding bands.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Ams, I am PMing you a link to something I found- you just might like. ;-) It's Stargate and wedding related


----------



## Ariel

I just ordered what will probably become my wedding dress.  It has made me a liar to my step-mother.  She asked if I was planning on getting married in purple.  She hates purple.  It's my favorite color.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

I keep on forgetting where I place my wallet. I think I loose that thing at least three times a week. I need to get more sleep. It's affecting my memory. :suspicion:


----------



## The Green Shield

My creativity is being tickled by an idea: a story that takes the concept of _Twilight_ and zombies to its logical conclusion. A romance between a human girl and a zombie boy, and the quest for a cure. In a post-apocalyptic future. It's a story that explores the human condition and what it means to be, truly, a human.

...Should I do this, folks? Do I dare unleash this from my head down onto the pages?


----------



## Boofy

Sounds a little like Warm Bodies, Green Shield, but that isn't to say it's not a good idea! ^^;


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Was about to say the same thing, actually.

Go for it, though!  Would enjoy seeing your take on it.


----------



## The Green Shield

Boofy said:


> Sounds a little like Warm Bodies, Green Shield, but that isn't to say it's not a good idea! ^^;





AtleanWordsmith said:


> Was about to say the same thing, actually.
> 
> Go for it, though!  Let's see your take on it.


Right, let's see if I can make _Twilight_ better and make zombies original again. *stretches neck and cracks fingers*

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XkU23m6yX04
^ Link not working, so here's Scar singing _Be Prepared_.


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

A dandilicious day!!!!


----------



## am_hammy

I've avoided doing laundry so far today. I made this potato, spinach, onion, garlic concoction this morning for breakfast. Who says you have to eat breakfast foods? It was delicious.

Bruno and I have been pen-paling for a while now and he sent me a LEGO set of The Big Bang Theory, which I just finished today. I love LEGO. They are amazing and it relaxes me to build with them. Now I'm off to do the dishes and actually sort through the massive pile of clothes that I've been too lazy to deal with :mrgreen:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I just got home from my route, didn't go as badly as I'd expected.  I had one account whose manager thought he was getting a drop today, but won't get it until tomorrow.  Was expecting to get my [ROSE PETALS] chewed for that, since that's the norm, but it turns out he'd already been contacted.  First time for everything, glad it happened today.

/whining

Other than that, not a bad day.  The past few days have had me feeling like I've been kicked around by a troll, and I still have to cover a route tomorrow, but the rest of the week should be nice and open, and my paycheck will be GLORIOUS.


----------



## The Green Shield

GLORIOUS! That little story idea I just mentioned is now on paper with (what I think and hope) a solid good beginning.  Off to continue the writing. It's shaping to be something much better than I had anticipated.


----------



## Boofy

Today was spent scribbling furiously as I try to get this strip finished quickly for review. I think my hand is going to quit on me... it's already smoking. ^^;


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Boofy said:


> Today was spent scribbling furiously as I try to get this strip finished quickly for review. I think my hand is going to quit on me... it's already smoking. ^^;


Take it easy, Boofs.  You're no good to us broken!


----------



## am_hammy

Boofy said:


> Today was spent scribbling furiously as I try to get this strip finished quickly for review. I think my hand is going to quit on me... it's already smoking. ^^;




It will surely be wonderful then if you're hand is about to throw in the pencil!


----------



## The Green Shield

509 words into that story.  Already shaping up to be an interesting adventure. 

@Boofy- Please be careful. We don't live in the Star Wars universe where we can give you a robotic replacement for your hand. D:


----------



## Darkkin

Okay, some interesting happenings today.  Had someone asking for our New Age section for pets...  And Zwi, my Greyhound, who has the IQ of a cannoli, was in an incredibly playful mood today.  The dog, who is usually comatose on the floor asleep, was actually, _actively_ engaging in a game of fetch for more than a single round.  He was doing his happy idiot dance around the living room for nearly 20 minutes before he finally wound down, and for Zwi, that is huge!

 Usually it is Rue, my Husky/Eskimo mix, who is the ADHD, attention hog.  He spent the evening crabbing at Zwi, who has finally figured out how to be a dog.  It is a wonderful sight to see, especially given Zwi's upbringing.  Until we got him, he had never seen grass or snow.  He's a retired racer, retired at the age of two because he has absolutely no ambition or prey drive.  Makes for an easy to keep, if slightly boring, pet.  Zwi is big enough to get into trouble if he _thought_ about it, but thankful it never occurs to him.  Rue on the other hand thinks of the trouble, but isn't big enough or foolish enough to attempt it.  He knows where the line in the sand is.  Either way, they both mean the world to me.


----------



## popsprocket

Went to hopstickal to finally begin my treatment. Fourth time's a charm. Last three times I went in to begin treatment it hasn't been ready for me.

Haven't experienced any of the potential side effects of the drug they got me on but I might be expecting some bone pain in the next few days from the injection they gave me to boost my immune system a little. Nobody knows. It'd be nice not to have any side effects from either drug.

Once again I got to regale a whole new room of nurses and doctors about my diagnosis and original admission to emergency and once again they didn't disappoint in their reactions over how very nearly dead I was at the time.

The only shame about this is that it has dashed my hopes that I'd ever be able to make the trip to the hospital a half-day experience so that it didn't interrupt a full working day. Maybe once they're a little more confident in my condition improving it'll become a faster process.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Rewatching some old animes I used to enjoy as a kid. It's so good, but the dialogue and choppy pacing is rotting my brain.


----------



## Boofy

Spent the night goofing off and playing DOTA 2 with a team of reliable dumbies. It was pretty fun, actually. We won six games in a row! Hah! Now sleep deprived Boofs is gonna take a cat nap :3


----------



## Darkkin

My pen has yet to flay...


----------



## escorial

have to pick a parcel up today and i'm totally excited at that..can't wait and later on i have to pack for a weekend in London...gonna be a good day


----------



## The Green Shield

My day just got started. I'm having morning coffee hour that consists of surfing the net and my cat on my lap.

Granted I could be _writing_ during this hour, but ya know.  I've got the evenings for that.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I've been fiddling with new WoW features all night.I pimped out my dwarf hunter, Freiderick,  with a sweet set of armor, and gave him an amazing backstory. I also have been trying out a guild on my Gnome warlock, Braumon Felcog. 

So far so good. I can't decide what character I'll make next, though... Decisions decisions. 

I'mma get a little dota practice and maybe RP with someone, I don't know.

Then I'll decide if I'll get any sleep.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Got up this morning and got online, turns out my Australian friends were still on and we got up to plane-related shenanigans in GTA Online.  It was kind of funny 'cause we were lagging pretty hard, and anyone who wasn't the pilot was pretty much watching all sorts of things happen to the plane, from wings being shorn off to head-on collisions with skyscrapers.  At one point, Coffee told me that on his screen, my wing had come off, but it hadn't on mine, so we were still airborne.

Ended the session trying to outrun the police on the GOH, didn't get very far.


----------



## dither

Had an awful night.
People!
ARGH!

Have had an awful day in bed, thinking about things when i shoulda been sleeping, and now i have bridges to build ( if my world hasn't gone completely pear ) when i get back there tonight.

I need to find some "me-time" and get out wandering but i'm just so f****d up right now.


----------



## The Green Shield

Yeah, sometimes you just need some alone time. 

Well, today I just realized one thing: My fantasy may very well become a ‘coming-of-age’/‘zero-to-hero’ story. Huh, interesting. Well, at least I finally know what the point of the story is.  So...success!!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Slow day today.  Spent the afternoon drawing 'til I hit a block, and since I don't have money to burn, I spent the rest of it thinking about life, the universe, and everything.  That gets depressing after awhile, so I decided to seek out other people, so... here I am, sitting around a table at Anna's.

The things you do to stay sane, heh.


----------



## FWriter

Today was a good day.  I volunteered at a cat shelter this morning.  I also went for a 3 mile walk and took care of a few chores.  The rest of my time has been spent in the forums.


----------



## Darkkin

Another eleven hour day...Got a lot done, it was pretty decent, just _long..._Oh, well.  I'm done at 1:00 tomorrow, so maybe, just maybe I can get some work done on Nobody's story arc.  And I haven't mailed my cat to Oz, yet.  Tempted, but haven't...


----------



## am_hammy

It was long. Very long. 

I'm very much looking forward to the first full weekend I've had in a long time where I haven't needed to go anywhere or gone away to see friends. I fully intend to enjoy my Saturday when it gets here.


----------



## jessakittyface

My day has been a lazy Friday for me. I woke up around 8am, fed my 3 cats then made myself coffee and watched 5 episodes of "Switched At Birth" on Netflix. After that I decided to cleaned my room and now I am on here. :coffeescreen:


----------



## Darkkin

I've been working on a blog entry this morning.  It has been a few weeks since my last post, but Holy S*$#, I have come a long way with my project.  I hadn't realised quite how massive the world of the Strangeways had become.  I got the Star Socks Fox, the Tide Swans, the Wendigo, and Miri Lowelle sorted out.  Turtle, Nod, and Nonsense are on the docket for tomorrow.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My supervisor has figured out how to send group texts.  There goes any chance of getting some [FUZZY WUZZY] sleep.

On a hilarious note, one of the other merchandisers told him to go [BEAR HUGS] himself via text.

In front of God and everyone in this group text.

Oh, my ribs.


----------



## bookmasta

It's different, having the future be so uncertain. There are certain parts of my life I no longer have control over, if I ever did in the first place. So it's a big a gamble, wondering how everything will unfold. In the meantime on slow days like these, I've resumed playing guitar again and plan to branch out into electric from acoustic. I'm finding music helps the soul to heal.


----------



## Darkkin

Decidedly domestic, and that rarely happens.  Got laundry done and actually cooked, also caught up on my rereading of Harry Potter.


----------



## The Green Shield

Darkkin said:


> Decidedly domestic, and that rarely happens.  Got laundry done and actually cooked, also caught up on my rereading of Harry Potter.


Speaking of which, I've never read the sixth _Harry Potter_ book. I've read all the other books but this one. Weird. I really should go on ahead and read it, and then I can say I've read the entire series.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, got the shopping done after I got off work and just finished up a blog entry on my beloved Turtle, and damn, if it doesn't make sense.  Complete and total sense.  Whoot!  :triumphant:


----------



## am_hammy

Been spending the day so far with family, celebrating my Grandpa's birthday. Lovely, lovely Sunday.


----------



## Boofy

Did a craft stall at a charity rock concert for MIND, the mental health charity. I have the worlds biggest headache but the musicians were fantastic... as was the naughty G&T I may have purchased... It WAS for charity. >.>

All in all, a not so sleepy Sunday. I have a hunch that most of the do-gooders are still there now, forgetting how to walk... for charity. ;D

EDIT: Woop, 500th post! Worship me, inferior posters.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Boofy said:


> EDIT: Woop, 500th post! Worship me, inferior posters.


You should really read the guides for these things, you don't unlock the Worshipful Masses perk unless you get the 1,000th post.

The bottom just fell out for the second time today, so we're getting some hard, steady rain here.  Luckily, it waited until after I got home to really start up.  I keep a rain jacket in the car for just such an occasion, but I don't have the proper shoes for wet weather and it really sucks to do a lot of moving and lifting when you've got squishy, squelchy feet.

Man... the rain's beating a staccato on my roof.  I might not be able to stay awake through this.


----------



## Darkkin

Just got back from walking my tweedles.  This has been the first time in weeks I have been able to get out with them, between my angioplasty earlier this spring, the weather, and work, it just hasn't been in the cards.  Almost forgot how nice a simple walk can be.


----------



## The Green Shield

Been writing out my fantasy story.  Though I'm ashamed to admit that one of my elderly 'wise mentor figure' has met with the unfortunate case of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi moment' where he died in the hands of the villain. :[ Will have to rectify that. He shall not pull an 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'!!


----------



## Darkkin

Finally got my Tibbox Headed Fox into a written format.  The problem is, he was _supposed_ to be a bad guy, but he ended up...Well, likable!  Ghaa!  I hate it when characters do this to me.  If you are written as a bad guy, you need to stay a bad guy, not pull a Spike and go all noble.  We'll see how this pans out.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I shall now completely bore the pants off you, and talk the paint off of any nearby walls and furniture!

I was up all night as usual. SO take that, mother nature. I'm defying my normal sleep patterns and can wear WHATEVER I want, because although it's summer, it's nice and cool at night. Hoodies all night errynight. 

I can't decide, though, what to do with my WoW characters. 

My Dwarf hunter, so-called Trollsbane, I've given expensive troll armor, saying he had slain a legendary troll born with four tusks, and took his very garb. 

My draenei shaman is a blood shaman. Although shamans normally follow elemental spirits, there are spirits of blood. She's mutated and has many abilities because of this. But poor Taer is a complete Emo and needs severe re-writing if I will ever RP her again. 

My gnome was a warrior, before a summoning ritual went wrong and he found himself whirling around in the twisting Nether. He was forced to befriend demons and learn the dark arts, for a blade alone is not enough to survive there. 

I made a worgen (werewolf) druid, a shapeshifter, a prophet of the wilds that can see into the future. Now...I need to get a water strider mount. (A big bug with a saddle that increases movement speed in water)It requires a good reputation with The Anglers. Which means... Fishing. 

Now fishing is boring enough IN REAL LIFE, much less a video game. 

So what character do I grind fishing on? I don't know! I didn't design any of them with hobbies or normal interests! They're heroes! WHO WOULD FISH!?!? 

...And that's what I did. All night. /sigh


----------



## JustRob

I wish I knew. I'll find out eventually. 

About a year ago I recommended that a thirteen year old girl be accepted into my old boarding school and today she will have arrived there just a few hours ago. She'll have been fitted out in the unusual 16th century uniform that the pupils still wear and met the other pupils with whom she'll be living for the next few years. Today in some way or another her life will have been changed forever -- if she chooses to stay. 

She was really enthusiastic about the prospect originally but later she started to think about what she'd be giving up. Of course now she'll really discover what she's got in its place, so maybe she'll remember why she was so enthusiastic in the first place. My school is an incredible place but some pupils feel that they don't fit in. I hope that she does and that I made the right choice in picking her. No doubt she'll write and tell me once she's found out for herself. In the meantime today has to go in the box marked "Schrodinger's cat etc."

Come to think of it she was previously at an all girls day school but now she's at a boarding school with equal numbers of boys and girls. She'll be fourteen very soon. Maybe I don't need to worry. It'll be an all-round education for her. Nevertheless ...

P.S. Recently she won an award in a national writing competition with a piece about Hiroshima. Watch this space then. She may yet be among us.


----------



## Euripides

I start a new job tomorrow,  and I'd like to think that what I have read here on the forums,  and the writing prompts helped me get the job.  There was a 'what if senario' I had to write for the job.  I was told after being offered the job that my written entry was by far the best one.  So thanks to all those that take the time to critique and review. (I'm also in the process of reviewing a 140 page report....what I've learned here has also been useful for that. )


----------



## popsprocket

Sweet baby jesus.

I got up tody at 6.30, was at the hospital for my appointment by 8.15, didn't see the doctor until 10.30, who decided I needed a blood transfusion on top of my super specialist drug infusion. Didn't start infusing until 12.30, started blood transfusions at about 1.45. Only got home about 20 minutes ago at 7pm.

For a day spent doing nothing in a sort of uncomfortable chair, that was really exhausting.


----------



## dither

Nice one Euripides,
Go for it and good luck.


----------



## midnightpoet

Wife woke me up 1:30 this morning; Cassie, Chi mix the mother of our 3 puppies, was sick.  Her face and paw was swollen.  We immediately thought snakebite and rushed her to the emergency vet.  They gave her anti-venom and put her on IV. She's okay, now at our regular vet where she's having tests to find out for sure what it is.  Could be wasps, spider, who knows. We'll know something later today.  I tried to go back to sleep after we got home (around 9am) not much luck.  May crash later.  

Started out this summer with two broke a/c's, a broke fridge, and then our dishwasher.  Now this.  We must like challenges (trying to keep sense of humor amid the trauma).


----------



## Schrody

I'm sorry, midnight... Hope Cassie will get well soon!


----------



## Deleted member 56686

I guess that's the risk of living in Texas I guess. I hope she's better soon too, Midnight.


Well, my step-father's brother died yesterday. His last years we're rather sad. He was in a nursing home the past few years and he had lost his partner of sorts (they we're friends, not lovers exactly, but they we're a couple nonetheless). His health went downhill even before that, to the point where he was suffering from heart disease, a couple of strokes, and I think diabetes. He had part of his foot removed and they wanted to remove his leg from the knee down, but I guess he fixed them. Anyway, he more or less died alone. As far as I know, there is going to be no funeral; he's being cremated. It's just kind of sad more than anything else.


----------



## Ariel

That is sad, Musty.

Midnight, my heart goes out to you and your poor pup.  Here's hoping for a quick recovery.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Are we sharing sad stories? 

Today, I was told that my little brother will soon be attending his girlfriend's graduation. Pictures on the invitation and everything. Apparently it's going to be huge. 

Due to recent events, I'm not invited. So I can forget chatting it up with anyone in her social circle. Apparently their first date is already planned, and they'll be married within two years. 

Maybe I'm being bitter. Well, yeah, I am. But it makes you think, y'know? 

And people wonder why I don't take complements. I could be Brad freaking Pitt, but look at my little bro who'll be married before me.

Backstory: My little brother is the urban dictionary definition of a dork.

That's all of import that happened today. 

I did fix up a few sticks, but, nothing to write home about.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Aw, look at poor old man Crowley, so bitter.

It'll be okay, man.  I've felt those feels, but one of the things I've learned in my twenty-six years is that being single isn't all that bad.  Relax, sit back, and enjoy what you've got, don't worry too much about your future with someone else.  Your chance at romance will come along eventually, and you'll probably even be surprised at who will take an interest in you.

And if you need to talk it out, you know where to find me.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

View attachment 9505

xD


----------



## am_hammy

It's just been lovely. I've been relaxing, I've been concocting food and it tastes delicious. It's just been wonderful.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I was recently informed that my grandmother's in the hospital after falling and fracturing her jaw, but she's apparently doing okay.  She's being hospitalized overnight so that they can control the pain and administer antibiotics.

Other than that, I think life is pretty [FUNNEL CAKE]ing good.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Sorry to hear Atlean. Hope her recovery is smooth and she's back to guzzling beer with you soon. : )

I strained both my rectus femoris muscles and now waddle up and down the stairs like a clown lest spikes of tingly pain occur. Yesh, I hope they heal soon so I can go outside and walk like a normal person.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Oh sounds rough 
I hope you will eventually walk normally again, at least you're not walking like a penguin. 

Its been a good day. I discovered that if you tap on the T-rex, that appears on Google chrome, it starts a game where it jumps cactuses...cacti? I dont know.
It made me smile like a fool but it was so damn cute. XD


----------



## am_hammy

AtleanWordsmith said:


> I was recently informed that my grandmother's in the hospital after falling and fracturing her jaw, but she's apparently doing okay.  She's being hospitalized overnight so that they can control the pain and administer antibiotics.
> 
> Other than that, I think life is pretty [FUNNEL CAKE]ing good.




I hope she recovers quickly!! Sorry to hear it though =(


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

Been chilling out down in Wales with the family.  The cottage is in the middle of nowhere on Holy Island; pretty good for spooky horror lovers. Will be back home on Friday.  Before joining this forum I was working on a collection of short stories and a horror novel. Now I have been drawn in to the beautiful realm of poetry by certain people here! And that bloody ban the person above thread. Ah well, who wants to live forever? : )  Loving it.


----------



## Darkkin

Tough cookie kind of day...:cookie:  :upset:  I'm tired of people looking at me like I'm some kind of freak because I use the brains I was given.  Was informed by a customer today, and I quote: 'You work here, so you ain't allowed to sound smarter than me!  So you just, shuts the hell up and do what I says...That's your job.' 

Um no...It is not my job to put up with and to try and repair stupid, as there are no repair manuals in existence for that particular job.  And no, we do not have a section on drug making, not essential oils, alternative medicine, or marijuana cultivation, but drug making...Yeah.


----------



## Ariel

I'm kind of stunned.  I spoke with an uncle last night and he's been admitted to the hospital where they amputated his foot.  He'd stepped on something and ended up with a flesh-eating bacteria.  Woke up this morning to a message from a cousin saying that his grandmother's husband died last night.  It was a crazy night.


----------



## Schrody

AtleanWordsmith said:


> I was recently informed that my grandmother's in the hospital after falling and fracturing her jaw, but she's apparently doing okay.  She's being hospitalized overnight so that they can control the pain and administer antibiotics.
> 
> Other than that, I think life is pretty [FUNNEL CAKE]ing good.



Hope she'll get out of the hospital soon 



Guy Faukes said:


> Sorry to hear Atlean. Hope her recovery is smooth and she's back to guzzling beer with you soon. : )
> 
> I strained both my rectus femoris muscles and now waddle up and down the stairs like a clown lest spikes of tingly pain occur. Yesh, I hope they heal soon so I can go outside and walk like a normal person.



Ouch!



TheWonderingNovice said:


> Oh sounds rough
> I hope you will eventually walk normally again, at least you're not walking like a penguin.
> 
> Its been a good day. I discovered that if you tap on the T-rex, that appears on Google chrome, it starts a game where it jumps cactuses...cacti? I dont know.
> It made me smile like a fool but it was so damn cute. XD



But not as cute as your avatar ^^



amsawtell said:


> I'm kind of stunned.  I spoke with an uncle last night and he's been admitted to the hospital where they amputated his foot.  He'd stepped on something and ended up with a flesh-eating bacteria.  Woke up this morning to a message from a cousin saying that his grandmother's husband died last night.  It was a crazy night.



Sorry to hear that. What's with people dying lately?!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Schrody said:


> What's with people dying lately?!


This is what I've been saying.  I have one grandparent left (the others all died within the past year), and now she's in the hospital with a fractured jaw.

Damn it, Grim Reaper, she's not even 80.  Leave her alone!


----------



## Schrody

AtleanWordsmith said:


> This is what I've been saying.  I have one grandparent left (the others all died within the past year), and now she's in the hospital with a fractured jaw.
> 
> Damn it, Grim Reaper, she's not even 80.  Leave her alone!



I don't have grandparents anymore... Enjoy her company while you can!


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Schrody said:


> I don't have grandparents anymore... Enjoy her company while you can!




Yeah. I lost both my grandfathers (my real ones anyway) at 12 and 14 respectively. My grandmothers lived longer (I was 22 and 32). Only one of my grandparents lived to be past age 65 and she more or less went senile, so yeah, enjoy them while you still have them.

On a different note, my cat Luna got her back shaved today. She had some pretty matted hair and she had to have it removed. She's now resting comfortably. I'm sure she is going to feel a lot better, now.


----------



## The Green Shield

I had four different versions of my fantasy in my head today, so I decided to split it into said four different versions to see what would work the best. And my God, one of those versions has me falling in _love_ with the villain.  So charismatic, so blunt; so friendly and compassionate in some cases, so brutal and unkind in others. Got his own sense of warped reality and follows his own twisted moral code. 

 First time I've found a villain I just love to write about. :devilish:


----------



## Schrody

Poor kitty.

At least my granny was 82, and lived to see her great grand daughter going to school (she's 8 ).


----------



## Ariel

I too am bereft of grandparents.  Neither on my dad's side lived to see their great-grandchildren though they all lived to be in their 80s.  (Well-educated granddaughters will do that to you).  On my mom's side only my grandmother lived to see her great-grandchildren and that's only because she had children (and the next generations) at a young age.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> I had four different versions of my fantasy in my head today, so I decided to split it into said four different versions to see what would work the best. And my God, one of those versions has me falling in _love_ with the villain.  So charismatic, so blunt; so friendly and compassionate in some cases, so brutal and unkind in others. Got his own sense of warped reality and follows his own twisted moral code.
> 
> First time I've found a villain I just love to write about. :devilish:



A real bonus, I don't think you are alone in that, villains are so often simply two dimensional bad guys. Maybe it is because writers are generally nice guys who find it hard to imagine what makes people bad


----------



## ShadowEyes

Waited at a Motorworld for a couple hours today. I took the rental car back to the station and the Motorworld told me that they'd call me when my car was done, but Nooooo, I didn't listen. So I waited and got really into a book, _The __Information:  A History, A Theory, A Flood_. It'll help me articulate my theories on writing, etc. better.

Later I bought my favorite gochugaru from a little oriental food store. The elderly lady inside said, "You make kimchi?" I'm like, "Yes!" PLUS, the supermarket had _real _daikon radishes this time. (Fall's the kimchi-making season.)

I got _Tigana_ by Guy Gavriel Kay at the library. When I was driving home, I accidentally hit the eject button on my broken CD player and the CDs popped out! All five of them from the previous owner:  mostly just rock/metal bands so I was like, "Bleh!" But holy wow, maybe the Motorworld fixed my CD players as well! Now I can finally quit myself of crappy radio music.

Also, the August newsletter is up!

All in all, a good day.


----------



## Darkkin

Two dogs, a hedgehog puppet, and a purple dragon = Me in tears, because of laughter.


----------



## Boofy

I seem to have creativity that refuses to abate, today. I've been drawing, writing and poking fun all day... also fixing the neighbours computer. Silly problem that led me onto a series of other problems that got progressively worse. I fixed her up in the end though. Feel pretty good, overall.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

There's no odder feeling than waking up at 4:30 because you just went to bed so early.

I'm doing shots of cold medicine because I can't stop coughing. Funny how they give you that plastic shot glass. 

I never even learned how to do shots. It always hits my tongue, regardless. But I think most of my tastebuds are dead, so I don't mind. Even with strong stuff. 

Trying to get a semi-rare mount on a game. 

I got a new pair of headphones so I can finally listen to something without waking up everyone in the house. Yaaay,


----------



## midnightpoet

Good news, my little snake-bite dog has recovered nicely, she's home now.  We think the culprit is a cactus bed, snakes like to hide in that sort of thing.  I think I'll fire up my chainsaw.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Well I'm honored with the Order of the Serpent now. 

I'll have that mount in no time. 

Going to have some coffee and do some writing this morning. Might as well. Feeling better so far, even with a cold.


----------



## Darkkin

A bit fragmented.  Glass girls and stones, not a good combination.  Clean up is never pretty.


----------



## dither

So how did my day go?
Very slowly.
I've just slobbed it at home.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Uhg.

Another character I need to name. I have no problem inventing fictional people until I must name them. At least I'm having ideas, and the well hasn't dried up yet.

IN the real world, thanks to cold medicine and caffeine, I feel MUCH better as of late! 

On the other side of the real world, I'm smoking pretty heavy again. Oddly enough, even being sick with congestion, it doesn't make the coughing worse... Huh.

But when Crowls is sick and smoking, he's very dizzy, and needs to sit down. Hahaha. Whooo. Stuff is spinning. That's a good cigar for ya'...


----------



## Schrody

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Uhg.
> 
> Another character I need to name. I have no problem inventing fictional people until I must name them. At least I'm having ideas, and the well hasn't dried up yet.



Male: Aeneas, Hyden, Anuk, Lun, Athos

Female: Althaea, Rhea, Pyrrhea, Errora

I give these names to you in a good manner, use them wisely (and let me know which one you used so I wouldn't use it too).


----------



## Kevin

I just look around for inspiration. Fabreze, Krylon, Teleph-arnie.... Telefarnie! Could be a guy or a girl.


----------



## Schrody

Kevin said:


> I just look around for inspiration. Fabreze, Krylon, Teleph-arnie.... Telefarnie! Could be a guy or a girl.



Boozearina!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Had a bit of difficulty getting to sleep last night, it's been muggy as hell and my fan isn't doing the job (sorry, fan, you're fired).  Luckily, had a short day at work and was able to come home and nap before it got too bad again.


----------



## Darkkin

Yeah, so I have two dogs, Rue and Zwi, (pictured left), my parental unit is going down to see my brother, asked if I could watch her foster gremlin.  Being my much loved, if slightly exasperating, parental unit, I told her sure.  A week with a gremlin, smaller than my cat...I like big dogs and I cannot lie.  The little ones, sneeze on them and they break!


----------



## MzSnowleopard

In 2 sentences- I forgot the cat treats. So, back out into the heat I go.


----------



## The Green Shield

MzSnowleopard said:


> In 2 sentences- I forgot the cat treats. So, back out into the heat I go.


Do thy cat's bidding. She demands the treats!!

So I'm doing some world building for my fantasy only to realize that the culture of another country I'm writing on sounds _extremely fascinating_ and _interesting_ in comparison to the culture of the setting in which the story is presently set. This might be a case of 'kill your darlings' in which, if need be, I'll move the setting all the way over to that country instead. I'll see, though. Will have to also flesh out the current setting as well.

Oh boy. Now I'm beginning to realize why being a writer is a mite difficult. Yay me! :applause:


----------



## am_hammy

I actually had a pretty chill day at work, which is fantastic because my job has been super stressful for me for over a year+ now and it's so refreshing to get out of work and go to my car feeling calm. It's refreshing realizing that I can actually relax. I can't say how often it will happen, but I cherish the moments where it does. I feel like myself days like this.

And I wrote some poems today! I feel like I haven't really tried to write in ages, and I'm really sick of not writing. I'm tired of telling myself that I can't do it, so I'm just pushing through and doing it. It's really nice. I like being able to go to sleep at ease. It's absolutely lovely.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

am_hammy said:


> And I wrote some poems today! I feel like I haven't really tried to write in ages, and I'm really sick of not writing. I'm tired of telling myself that I can't do it, so I'm just pushing through and doing it. It's really nice. I like being able to go to sleep at ease. It's absolutely lovely.


Way to go, Hamster!  Sometimes just doing it is the best way to, well... just do it.  Keep it up!


----------



## Darkkin

Awesome Hammy, keep the momentum going!


----------



## am_hammy

Thanks guys! I appreciate the support.I don't wanna give myself a number per say but I definitely wanna get into writing every day again. Which is what I'm going to try and do today before work ^_^


----------



## TipGrundlefunk

I share an office with a colleague and we spent most of this afternoon laughing as she explained what a bed 'runner' was (apparently some piece of fabric one lays across the foot end of one's bed). What is the point of buying something that exists only for you to pick up off the floor? I still don't get it. It's not like she's the Queen and people visit her house while she's at the office.

Anyway, laughed a lot today.

Tip


----------



## The Green Shield

am_hammy said:


> Thanks guys! I appreciate the support.I don't wanna give myself a number per say but I definitely wanna get into writing every day again. Which is what I'm going to try and do today before work ^_^


Get to it! 

So today I just realized that I _may_ have unintentionally ripped off of _DareDevil_ (the Netflix series) by giving my blind MC a blind mentor. Granted they're both in the kingdom's secret organization, where all the novices have their own assigned mentors (he just happens to be blind as well) and he genuinely cares for her (He's not like Stick who was an ass to Matt; this blind mentor sees himself as a sort of father-figure for my MC.) And it's common knowledge that there can be blind secret agents in the setting. Still, damn. :[ I'm gonna have to do some serious thinking on how badly I want her to have a blind mentor and if there's another way I can keep him around.

In other news, Friday is my favorite day because not only the weekends, but because I get to work in the local museum cataloging artifacts! Woo!  I *LOVE* history!!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

So, I woke up in the morning feeling nothing like P. Diddy, went down to my favorite greasy spoon and had an omelette for breakfast, then headed on to work.  Short day, considering, and the drop wasn't even that bad.  Got it sorted and now I'm home for a couple hours until it's time to roll out again.

Also, my name is a funny yellow color for some reason. ;D


----------



## Teb

Got home this morning and as I parked car up and walked round it realised I had just done 25 miles, often at speeds reaching 70 MPH, on a tyre with very little air in it.

Auto pilot driving!

Tyre replaced, wallet somewhat lighter.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

AtleanWordsmith said:


> So, I woke up in the morning feeling nothing like P. Diddy, went down to my favorite greasy spoon and had an omelette for breakfast, then headed on to work.  Short day, considering, and the drop wasn't even that bad.  Got it sorted and now I'm home for a couple hours until it's time to roll out again.
> 
> Also, my name is a funny yellow color for some reason. ;D



Why does this sound like you're going to bust out some sick rhymes?


----------



## The Green Shield

Just spent the whole afternoon with an obnoxious co-worker who talked endlessly about an anime I've never seen before. He talked about the setting, the plot, the lore behind the setting, the personal back history of every goddamned character in that setting!! HE JUST TALKED AND TALKED AND TALKED AND TALKED SOME MORE! ALL ABOUT THIS ANIME!!

And. He. Won't. Shut. The. Fuck. Up. About. It.


*twitches*


I'm...I need a frickin' drink...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

....

A thousand freaking people from the 'Taylor County Marching Vikings' just strolled into Mcdonalds. School-girls. Annoying teenage boys with long haircuts. Everybody has dyed hair. Stupid blue uniforms. I'm so glad my schooling was online. Free from that entire sphere of influence. 

Today, we moved hundreds of pounds of metal into a new shed. 

That involved backing up a trailer, since our house is on a hill. 

We had industrial metal tables. Dad said it had to be around 800 lbs or something. PLasma cutting tables, drills, saws, compressors.... etc.

My arms hurt from all that lifting.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Woke up early for work again, didn't hit the greasy spoon this time, but I did have a great day.  It was pretty easy, as far as things go, and the store managers on my route were feeling pleasant.  Even talked to the... well, I think he's the district manager at Bi-Lo, and he thanked me for getting to the store and working it in a timely manner, said he was pleased with the progress that we're making.

Now I'm just sitting here with a bottle of Newcastle Brown, thinking about writing a bit and looking forward to a great night.


----------



## Darkkin

I've learned how to juggle jello and tamed a gremlin!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Learned how to juggle jello, huh?  That sounds like an interesting story.


----------



## Darkkin

It is...:smug:

http://www.writingforums.com/thread...eyhound-a-Squit-Gun-and-Couple-a-Drama-Queens

Can't spell squirt gun to save my life, but it is a good story.


----------



## Boofy

A long day so far, and it isn't over yet! Had two laptops dropped on me to clean up (because my friends can't operate a cheese grater, let alone a computer). I've scanned my online course results over to the Uni for verification and should receive my timetable in the next couple of days (eek, it's finally feeling real!). I did get to go out for coffee in a lovely little village called Parbold. They have some kind of event going on today, and the sun is actually making one of its rare appearances (Argh, it burns etc etc). Going to watch a movie/series later on Skype with some guy who can't grow a beard, so that'll be fun ;D


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Gah, what a lucky bastard.  Even if he can't grow a beard. ;D


----------



## Justine

My day is pretty much feeling guilty because the weather is great and here I am with my laptop in my bedroom for hours


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Psssh.  No need to feel guilty about that.


----------



## Boofy

Join our club, Justine. Hermits united! We meet up once every ten years ;3


----------



## Darkkin

Three dogs, so many squeaky toys...


----------



## Justine

Glad to see i'm not the only one... But yeah Winter is Coming (no pun intended) and I should be in my pool since it's great


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I finished a wooden axe! I made a long handle, and cut down a 2x4 on both sides, to form a 'blade' of sorts, where the wood just looks sharp. With two pieces connecting them (via nails) , I now have four pieces of wood that vaguely resemble an executioners axe. Woopee!I also made a scythe, just two pieces, real easy.

And I forgot that I HAVE INTERNET NOW. AND GTA! 

I can finally download all the extra content and do all the heists and missions. Hoorah!


----------



## midnightpoet

WooWoo, sent off two stories; now I wait for the usual rejection (that way I could be pleasantly surprised).


----------



## Darkkin

Hey, it takes a lot of guts to send out submissions.  So kudos on the courage to do so.  My atrocities are still buried, they occasionally resurface, but I'm an English major not a zombie slayer...


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Managers acting like this weekend was going to be the biggest of the summer, sales wise.  Put out jack [WAFFLES] today, but it was still a pretty nice day.  Tomorrow's gonna be a busy one, then I'll get a couple of days off, probably resume my normal non-holiday schedule next week.  Life, eh?


----------



## Darkkin

Okay, so I completely deleted my blog and started from ground zero.  The new format is entertaining, if rather one sided.  Turtle isn't much of conversationalist.  The Gremlin also departs tomorrow, with an improved set of manners.


----------



## Sonata

Waited all afternoon for the clinic to open so I could telephone for an appointment - and it was closed.


----------



## midnightpoet

Sure sign fall/autumn is coming: woke up this morning with a sore throat.  My body is at least as good as those weather forecasters on TV, but that's not saying much (put your hand out the window and see if it's raining).:-D


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I woke up feeling nauseous. 

I had a dream I can half-remember. I can only recall a few broken images. 

For the sake of common decency I won't relate what I remember. 

But no wonder I woke up feeling sick, dreaming crap like that. 

It wasn't a nightmare, I wasn't scared. It was just, disturbing. 

I'mma drink my coffee and do my daily quests on all my MMO addictions... Get my mind off my mind. Geez. 

They say dreams have meaning. Hope that doesn't mean I'm the next crazy killer in a bunny suit you'll read about in the news. Hahaha.


----------



## am_hammy

Yesterday was not so great. Today, however, is going to be awesome. I have off today, and I'm so excited about it. I'm so excited that I don't even know what to do yet. Getting to enjoy my coffee slowly is going to be nice. Get some writing done. I really want to go to HomeGoods. It sounds exciting and domestic :glee: Relaxation is the keyword for today.


----------



## Ariel

I'm once again on the job hunt.  My boss cut my hours, again, on Thursday.


----------



## Sonata

Good luck with finding a new job.


----------



## Schrody

amsawtell said:


> I'm once again on the job hunt.  My boss cut my hours, again, on Thursday.



Good luck, kiddo


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

amsawtell said:


> I'm once again on the job hunt.  My boss cut my hours, again, on Thursday.


I remember those days well.  Best of luck to you, hope you find something soon.

One of the stores on my route turned away our shipment yesterday because it was Labor Day.  They were the only store in the company to do so, and it wasn't limited to us.  They didn't even let the people who do their private label bread bring that in.  Crazy stuff.

Woke up today feeling stronger and more at peace with myself and life in general than I have in a long time, but might fall out again soon 'cause, physically, I'm still tired as something that I'd usually censor if I felt like saying it.


----------



## Darkkin

Is it weird that I enjoy the one sided conversations with a fictional turtle?

@amsawtell  Good luck with the job hunt.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Darkkin said:


> Is it weird that I enjoy the one sided conversations with a fictional turtle?
> 
> @amsawtell  Good luck with the job hunt.



Only if it weird that I have two sided conversations with every imaginary construct I've ever created.

How else do I invent character dialogue? 

My grandma has witnessed one of these 'sessions' and now she's scared of me. 

I've extensively explained that I am merely 'acting,' the same way an actor places himself in a role when he rehearses his lines alone. I'm not talking to anyone or anything, nor do I believe they are real in any way. I do not literally hear their voices.

Think of how children used to have 'imaginary friends.'

I simply imagine that someone is there. But good lord, I don't believe they are real! I'm not THAT crazy!

I would be scared myself if I actually saw one of my characters, haha. But as my creation, I would command them with threats of destruction!


----------



## Darkkin

What do you mean they aren't real!  They are REAL!  At least within the construct of the world in which they were created to inhabit, in Turtle's case, the 'Ways.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Crowley, if we're not real, how do you explain me?


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Crowley, if we're not real, how do you explain me?



Nonsense!

All of my constructs are MUCH more handsome. ;D


----------



## MzSnowleopard

I woke this morning with a heavy decision to make. I could go to Toastmaster's meeting or I could wait for the delivery of the 37 pound box of kitty litter. So I decided to wait... The meeting time has come and passed and I'm still waiting. 

Of course Murphy's Law dictates that should I have gone to the meeting- more than likely the package would have been delivered- which would have dropped off at the office, leaving me to carry it up to my apartment. That's up one flight of stairs from the office to ground floor, then across the parking lot, then up another flight of stairs, through the fire hall doors- before reaching the apartment. And it's 95 F + degrees outside.

Besides, there's a meeting every Tuesday.


----------



## Darkkin

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Nonsense!




Hey, Crowley you need to ask before you borrow a Glass Girl, especially from Turtle.  She is giving me a look that is scarier than feline death glare.  How is that even possible?!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Darkkin said:


> Hey, Crowley you need to ask before you borrow a Glass Girl, especially from Turtle.  She is giving me a look that is scarier than feline death glare.  How is that even possible?!



But she was so pretty and lonely looking! I just HAD to take her out to have some fun!


----------



## Darkkin

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> But she was so pretty and lonely looking! I just HAD to take her out to have some fun!



Okay, fine, just ask next time and don't break her!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Darkkin said:


> Okay, fine, just ask next time and don't break her!



Why, what ever would I bring a glass girl to do, that might possibly break her? 

I am a gentleman of a most gentle nature! ;D


----------



## Darkkin

<-----Tibbox has his eye on you.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Cheez-its is standing by for operatic prosecution.


----------



## Darkkin

I just had a bowl of ice cream and now I am cold...:upset:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Rained today, went and sat outside to watch the show a bit.  It was a real storm, too, wind whipping everything around--I love that kind of intensity, probably because I lack it in my day-to-day affairs.  Luckily, the laptop is fully rugged, so no damage done by any stray water.

Spent the afternoon shooting the [POTTYMOUTH] with just the best person ever, and now I'm watching _A Few Good Men_ (just the best movie ever) for the umpteenth time and thinking about getting a little shuteye.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

"Did you order the code red?"

"You want answers!?"

"I want the truth!"

"You can't handle the truth!"

Love that movie. So powerful and raw.

I sweated bullets today. Kingston is getting mighty humid and hot. I'm also reading The Name of the Rose and it is very, very good.


----------



## Darkkin

The Gremlin went home today in much better shape than we got him in.  He's sleeping in his crate without barking, in fact the only time he barks now is when he needs to go out.  The tangle morass of neurosis that arrived on our doorstep is now a somewhat personable creature.  My boys taught him how to be a dog, and we taught him what a limit is.  He also learned how to fetch.  Not bad for five days of work, he's better for it and hopefully these lessons will carry through when he goes to his forever home next week.


----------



## Teb

Long, and ultimately pointless, night at work with nothing to do but post here. School run, bed, school run and repeat.

Will miss this job when it ends but it will also be a relief to find something that challenges me instead.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Playing "the waiting game". Waiting on parcel deliveries that is. UPS, Fed-Ex, USPS.... One I know for sure is UPS (every month), the items from Walmart though- could come via any one of the 3. 

Other than that- Surprise! One of the 'quiet' character has something to show me today. Which leaves me wondering, do other writers go through this? Having images / scenes come from out of nowhere (or seem to) ?


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Had a very productive day today, and I'm going to have a veeery productive day tomorrow.

That store that refused its shipment Monday is getting two of them, and it looks like I'll be in the thick of it.

Seriously, pray for me. D:


----------



## midnightpoet

In the words of an old Ray Charles song, I'm busted.  Our poor little snake bite dog took one whole paycheck and  a part of another.  Not that we were sorry we did it, but geez.  I didn't realize snake bite venom shots were so expensive.  We took her to emergency vet, so that was one reason.  We'll make it somehow.  At least she's fine now.


----------



## Teb

Very boring night, the highlight of which has been.......I'm still waiting for the highlight. :-(


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Oh mah golly goodness. I have NEVER questioned a decision before. I'm serious. Ever. I think, for the first time, I'm actually wondering why I did something. Why...? AAAHG!?Is is this what everyone else feels like? :scratch:

But I digress! 

Today was fairly excellent and well rounded. I wrote, drew, danced, studied, and did a little bit of everything! :beguiled:


----------



## Boofy

-hug- Shaddap, Growls. You're fine <3


----------



## Darkkin

Holy crap!  I got it up...The piece that has been haunting me for months, I finally got it done!


----------



## ShadowEyes

Darkkin said:


> Holy crap!  I got it up...The piece that has been haunting me for months, I finally got it done!



Yay~! You're the darkkiest.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

9:37 am, I'm up, coffee's brewed, poured, and dressed. Ah yes, and the cat's in season. Soon. Athena, 2016 can't come soon enough for me. - cut -

Now, to start the day


----------



## escorial

went the gym/sauna early because i was going to go to a poetry night but don't think i will...i get so much more of WF than going there


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Minor asthma attack at work, no big deal, Dubs, you can work through it.  Still feel like I've been corseted, but better for the most part.  Only one more pallet to work through and I'm home free.

I was doing so well, too.  First in three years.


----------



## escorial

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Minor asthma attack at work, no big deal, Dubs, you can work through it.  Still feel like I've been corseted, but better for the most part.  Only one more pallet to work through and I'm home free.
> 
> I was doing so well, too.  First in three years.



stay safe man


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Its been a great day so far, I haven't gone to work yet so I don't know if it'll stay that way. I feel accomplished . I gave my car an oil change without getting oil all over the place. It should be running smoothly now.


----------



## escorial

TheWonderingNovice said:


> Its been a great day so far, I haven't gone to work yet so I don't know if it'll stay that way. I feel accomplished . I gave my car an oil change without getting oil all over the place. It should be running smoothly now.



View attachment 9619


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Boofy said:


> -hug- Shaddap, Growls. You're fine <3



View attachment 9620


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Tempted, sorely tempted, to draw one of my own...


----------



## Boofy

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> View attachment 9620



I uh... x3 <3

You're scary talented, Mr ^^



> Tempted, sorely tempted, to draw one of my own...


Draw, draw my pretties ;D


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Wait... that's not Boofy!


----------



## escorial

brillant..ha,ha


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Boofy said:


> I uh... x3 <3
> 
> You're scary talented, Mr ^^



It would've been better in pencil, with 45 more minutes spent on it, and not right after I woke up with my congestion worsening... But, I will accept your gracious complement, m'lady. 



escorial said:


> View attachment 9619



Is that Greased Lightning!? LOL  Oh man I wanna watch it again.



AtleanWordsmith said:


> Wait... that's not Boofy!



-Shudder- 

Jeeves! Come here! 

...BURN my coat for me, would you?


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

escorial said:


> brillant..ha,ha


-takes a bow-

Oh, sorry, didn't mean to pop out of my dress like that.


----------



## Blade

AtleanWordsmith said:


> I was doing so well, too.  First in three years.



That is pretty good. :thumbl: One in three years is one in over a thousand days. Stress is bound to peak on you every once in a while.:-k


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Blade said:


> That is pretty good. :thumbl: One in three years is one in over a thousand days. Stress is bound to peak on you every once in a while.:-k


Yeah, I suppose.  Would have been nice to not have it happen at all, though. XD

Very labor intensive, my job.  But... roll with the punches, I guess.


----------



## Boofy

So my day went as follows:

I woke up, did the housework, confirmed my university timetable, logged into WF and stumbled onto two drawings. One of these drawings was a really lovely surprise. The other... well... it was surprising all right. x3

Bleach please. Bleach for my eyes.

EDIT: Honestly guys, you're gonna give me a damned hernia if you don't warn me about these things!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Crowley's drawing wasn't _that_​ bad...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Crowley's drawing wasn't _that_​ bad...



View attachment 9621

I couldn't resist the image temptation. 

You know I love you. :*


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Awww.  Smooches, Growls.


----------



## Boofy

Get a roooooooooom ;D


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

All right, I'm starting to look bad, getting a thread in my own area of responsibility off track.  Back to the day posts!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Well, I woke up feeling like I had risen from the grave. 

Deepest sleep I've had in a looooong time. 

I cleaned and dids all my own dishes. 

Now it's time for games, of course. 

More WoW dailies. I'm almost revered with the Order of the Sky Serpents. Then there's only one more step to exalted. AND THEN I GET THE MOUNT! YAY!

On Skyrim, I started a breton for the magic resist. I'll also get the Lord stone. I'm going for sneaking, archery, and illusion, then she'll be a blacksmith and enchanter. 

Gonna enchant all my gear to have the deadliest bow shots in the universe, and steal all the money and materials I need to craft the finest bows, arrows, and armor. 

hoorah.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Score! Got to Walmart today and made a B-line for the cat section. They had the large containers of all 3 flavors of Pounce treats. Got home from about half hour ago- tried to give one to Nieca after she finally meandered out from the bedroom- and wouldn't you know it.... She wasn't interested. I'm hoping she's just in a funk and that she'll come around.


----------



## Blade

TipGrundlefunk said:


> I share an office with a colleague and we spent most of this afternoon laughing as she explained what a bed 'runner' was (apparently some piece of fabric one lays across the foot end of one's bed). What is the point of buying something that exists only for you to pick up off the floor? I still don't get it. It's not like she's the Queen and people visit her house while she's at the office.



If you live somewhere where it gets cold in the winter they are nice to have, keeps the footsies warm.:cookie:


----------



## am_hammy

Twas good, then bad, then good again.

I have a hot buttered rum candle lit, the food network in the background, took my camera out and snapped some pics of the rain, working on some projects, forum stuff... It's turned out to be a nice and cozy Thursday. =)


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Sounds like a fun day, Hammy.  We've got a storm rolling in this way.  Might go enjoy it for awhile if it picks up.

Or I might just konk out.  The texting seems to have stopped.

But I'm sure it'll return as soon as my eyes are closed. :I


----------



## Darkkin

Weather is glorious here...but I work until 5:00.  Haven't written a thing, diagnosed a computer, and spent the morning fixing bizarre problems with ereaders...It has been a weird day all around.


----------



## Blade

A wonderful sunny and dry day here. Up early, getting lots done, plenty of good time on line and moving forward with energy to spare.nthego:

Foolish as it may seem I feel invincible.haroh:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Having a mobile computer desk is wonderful sometimes...


----------



## escorial

Blade said:


> A wonderful sunny and dry day here. Up early, getting lots done, plenty of good time on line and moving forward with energy to spare.nthego:
> 
> Foolish as it may seem I feel invincible.haroh:



the most uplifting post i think i have ever read...nice one man..long may it continue


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Also, the neighbors are shooting.  Always surprises me, how loud gunfire isn't sometimes.


----------



## Blade

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Also, the neighbors are shooting.  Always surprises me, how loud gunfire isn't sometimes.



I take it that it is louder when it is directed at you?8-[


----------



## escorial

few bottles of newky brown the bullets will bounce off..man thats why geordies are mad they drink the stuff


----------



## Plasticweld

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Also, the neighbors are shooting.  Always surprises me, how loud gunfire isn't sometimes.




That is music to my ears.  I have a 100 yard rifle range in the back yard and a pistol range right next to it.  It is funny that most people here don't look at the rifle and pistol range as odd but my wife's knife throwing targets.   Apparently here in the back woods of Up-State NY it's civilized to shoot stuff but not throw knives at it.


----------



## Bishop

IT win today... it's that moment where you surpass your predecessor. The IT Architect who held the position before me left a puzzle that he never could solve, as to why new builds in a particular image sequence would fail to join the domain properly. I'd tabled the issue since I took over a few months ago and had intended to get to it in the future, until my boss prompted me that he wanted us to use that build sequence for an upcoming deployment. So, I had all of this week to solve the problem that had vexed my prior for months.

And I did it. I consulted my predecessor some (he still works here) but I ultimately wrote a batch file to correct the problem; some thanks to inspiration from internet sources as well. But it felt good. Like I really am this person now, the Architect.


----------



## am_hammy

A visual what I'm looking at:







AtleanWordsmith said:


> Sounds like a fun day, Hammy.  We've got a storm rolling in this way.  Might go enjoy it for awhile if it picks up.
> 
> Or I might just konk out.  The texting seems to have stopped.
> 
> But I'm sure it'll return as soon as my eyes are closed. :I




Turn your sound off! lol


----------



## Kevin

@ plastic--  I'm getting a picture... Mr. & Mrs. Smith. She's partial to knives. _Wah-chunk!!_


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Finally revered. To get exalted, you need 12,000 more rep. 

I'm at like 1,200

The quests reset every 24 hours at 6:00 A.M. here. You get anywhere between 3-5 quests that give 500 rep. A few more days/a week. 

THAT MOUNT SHALL BE MINE. I shall ride above the peasants on an epic jade sky-serpent!

Also, why must a church gathering be at 7:30... It's such an awkward time.

I can't find my bowtie! Or my brown shoes! Aaaarhg! I want to wear my plaid suit... /cry

And the middle piece to my replica sonic screwdriver is missing! My selfie is ruined!


----------



## Plasticweld

Kevin said:


> @ plastic--  I'm getting a picture... Mr. & Mrs. Smith. She's partial to knives. _Wah-chunk!!_




Kevin the second date with Linda, back when we were dating was to the shooting range, if that had not gone well their never would have been a third.   She enjoys shooting and throwing knives, if it where  not for her hobbies she could pass for Mary Poppins,  sings songs plays games that sort of thing.  I make sure not to piss her off :}


----------



## ShadowEyes

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Finally revered. To get exalted, you need 12,000 more rep.
> 
> I'm at like 1,200
> 
> The quests reset every 24 hours at 6:00 A.M. here. You get anywhere between 3-5 quests that give 500 rep. A few more days/a week.
> 
> THAT MOUNT SHALL BE MINE. I shall ride above the peasants on an epic jade sky-serpent!



You should go back in time and get the Insane feat. On a gnome with a pink mohawk. Whose name is something silly, like "Pain the Insane." And wear black Defias leather on a motorcycle.

And then you could have a male Draenei in the sidecar dressed in pink named "Pinky."

EDIT:  I could've just edited the original post...


----------



## LeeC

As I try to distract myself from the lengthy waiting game of "propositioning" agents and publishers, my daughter keeps sending pieces of hers as they're published. You'd think she's trying to tell be something 


_Warning: Academic material_​​Bangor Daily News - August 28, 2015​​Bard MAT Field Notes - Sept. 7, 2015​


In contrast, besides golf, the wife has been watching those ID shows "How Not To Kill Your Husband." Should I feel insecure


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Good morning, just getting started today. Almost done with 1st cup of coffee. Still waiting on that delivery, hopefully it'll arrive today. At some point, I need to get back out in that heat. Back to Walmart (for large bag of cat food) and some 'send to' mailing labels.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

It occurs to me that the application process for a US passport could be a bit more straightforward than it currently is.  Had to get photos done independently, then found out that while my local post office has applications, I'm going to have to go into a different town if I want to actually _submit_ said application.

The way things are going now, I'm going to have to go to Canada just to pick up the passport itself because it'll turn out that that's the only place they can mail it to (and of course be denied entry because I don't have a passport).  Love it.

Other than that, it's a cool, overcast day, bringing the first promises of an end to the ungodly atrocity we call summer down here.


----------



## Kevin

Incompetent, lazy, clock watcher, or overgrown 'burke' of a middle-school hall-monitor...    "... the offices must provide service while protecting the nation from..." Thank you, 9-11. For that alone I am in favor of nukes... Nuke 'em, nuke 'em, nuke 'em... (and that b----d that spun out on the freeway this morning, creating all that traffic. Horsewhip, then nuke...)


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I love mowing the lawn now. 

As much as I SAY I'm not a stereotypical man....well...

...we got one of those platform, zero turn radius mowers... AND OH MY GOD IT'S AMAZING

I love it. I love big fun machines. 

I hate fridays 'cuz everyone's busy... But... please let me use that awesome machine to mow the lawn!


----------



## Darkkin

Wishing for a delete button on life right now...


----------



## ShadowEyes

Darkkin said:


> Wishing for a delete button on life right now...



Are you okay, Darkkin?

...

I am now reading the VN's for Rokka no Yuusha. Mystery story, interesting.


----------



## Blade

Darkkin said:


> Wishing for a delete button on life right now...



You will probably have to settle for 'pause'.

The turtle thing reminded me of a TV show that was on when I was a kid called _Razzle Dazzle _that featured a comical turtle named Howard. I had not given it a thought in many years.:-k

Pic: http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/blahdocs/uploads/rd_gang_6559.jpg


----------



## Darkkin

ShadowEyes said:


> Are you okay, Darkkin?



Just a wridentity crisis.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Darkkin said:


> Just a wridentity crisis.



I hope you find it! Maybe in a song, or under the bed, or attached to a tree.


----------



## Darkkin

Blade said:


> The turtle thing reminded me of a TV show that was on when I was a kid called _Razzle Dazzle _that featured a comical turtle named Howard. I had not given it a thought in many years.:-k
> 
> Pic: http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/blahdocs/uploads/rd_gang_6559.jpg



Poor Turtle!  She started off as a joke.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

So did Cheez-its, but now he's got his own law practice.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

....uhg. 

Today was great until I lost my lunch for the first time in years. Why can't this cold go away? I hate feeling nauseous. 

I wish I could travel inside myself, into a bullet-hell style game, and shoot myriads of little missiles to kill all the germs in a dope-looking spaceship. 

...Or maybe I'll just lay down for awhile. Uuuuuhg.


----------



## Blade

Darkkin said:


> Poor Turtle!  She started off as a joke.



No problem, she just has to retreat to her shell until the storm blows over.:lone:

I was just thinking that it rather unusual to see turtles used in children's material even though they are a common animal. I suppose it is because they are somewhat slow and lean a little towards the paranoid. :-k


----------



## Darkkin

(_Clunks cup of chicken soup against computer screen...Hmm..._)

That didn't work quite the way I thought it would...


----------



## Kevin

Mmmm... a memory frag is coming.... 'Mr. Wizard, help (?)'  Perhaps you should call....mmm... Mr. .... Wizard. No idea why. Just seems like the thing.


----------



## Plasticweld

Lee I would hide the golf clubs :}


----------



## Guy Faukes

I was nearly run off the road on my bike by someone who was eager to butt ahead of me just a few meters from the intersection and turn right while on a quiet street. I should've been more assertive in my positioning, but I naturally assume people employ a bit of common sense and realize we're a lot squishier than they are. Next time something like this happens, I'm going to slam on the side of their car and scream at the top of my lungs before going my way.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Guy Faukes said:


> I was nearly run off the road on my bike by someone who was eager to butt ahead of me just a few meters from the intersection and turn right while on a quiet street. I should've been more assertive in my positioning, but I naturally assume people employ a bit of common sense and realize we're a lot squishier than they are. Next time something like this happens, I'm going to slam on the side of their car and scream at the top of my lungs before going my way.


An open handed slap sounds much more in the car than other sorts of hitting, I have known people stop and get out to look for damage when they have tried to squeeze past me on a pedestrian crossing, the joy is there is none and they look idiots in the face of total denial. The other approach is that of my motorcycling friend who carried a claw hammer in the top of his boot, "They look up at the noise, see the half crowns appearing through the roof lining and move over."


----------



## Guy Faukes

Why thank you, Olly. I was just considering the details on how to hit or tap their car for maximum effect while doing no damage; open handed slap it is. I look forward to seeing their faces.


----------



## TJ1985

I'd give a good open-hand slap followed by a gentle tumble. It's a little theatrical, but until people realize how close a legal fecalstorm could have been they're unlikely to pay attention. When I did a lot of cycling I'd wear a blaze orange hunting vest with yellow reflective tape on it, plus reflective tape all over the bike and my helmet. Still, some jerk would nearly hit me and when I'd hassle the guy about it he'd come up with "I didn't see you." If you can't see the roadside equivalent of a UFO, exactly why are you operating a car? Better question, how many years of blind fumbling with the controls did it take to get the car to move? 

Olly is right though, a good solid slap on a large panel, inside the car it can sound like a depth charge below decks. If it doesn't make the guy drop his cell-phone and his Kindle, I don't know what would.


----------



## dither

My days,,, just go. That's all.


----------



## Darkkin

Meh...Decent conversation with Turtle.  Is it insane, yes, am I insane, no.  However, it is good practice for writing dialogue, well, at least half a dialogue.


----------



## Kevin

"What would you think if we passed legislation promoting the use of less fuel, greater savings on gas consumption for the consumer?"

"Erhh... 'greater savings'?  Okay..."

* shur-BAM! *  GAS TAX (penalties to follow...).

"Heyyyy!!?"


----------



## ShadowEyes

It's one of those days where you know that it's finally fall (up in the northern hemisphere). Rain collecting in wet leaves underfoot, splashing onto the wooden deck, and my dog doesn't want to eat. I'm also feeling a bit bluesy myself, all wrapped up in comfy clothes. Turned on the dehumidifier and reading, meh. Meh!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Just got my Wacom tablet hooked up.  Unfortunately, it won't work on the Toughbook, but I've always got this POS desktop, I guess.  I can already tell that learning to use this is going to be difficult.


----------



## PaintYourReality

I babysat one of my favorite little kids with my boyfriend. It's really cool to babysit with him because it is a sneak-peak to what is to come, and I cannot wait to have my own little family with the guy I love. (He feels the same, so I'm not scaring him off with all of this ) 

We watched an awesome football game. I get to go to a college football game next weekend, so that is exciting. 

I bought a new computer! (which I am playing on right now)

I have been really anxious all week for no apparent reason, which is less fun. 

But, it is well with my soul <3

I love posts like this.

I live in the Northern area as well. The summer temperatures have left and the fall ones are here (for now, at least). But, that means football season and Halloween and sweatshirts, which make me happy. 

I usually wear sweatshirts in the summer too, but I don't get judged for it when I wear them in the fall...


----------



## ShadowEyes

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Just got my Wacom tablet hooked up.  Unfortunately, it won't work on the Toughbook, but I've always got this POS desktop, I guess.  I can already tell that learning to use this is going to be difficult.



Hammer and chisel?


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Wordsmith no know how technology work.  Wordsmith smash.

It's just goint to take some getting used to, is all.  Practice, practice, practice.


----------



## Darkkin

Hulk's commentary on monologues is the absolute best.  Took my freakout, idiotic doubts and made they quite literally into figments of my imagination and... (_IENTEREDTHEPIP..._).  Turtle is paddling on, I'm rushing to keep up...Still don't know what the heck I'm doing with all this nonsense, but at least my story is moving forward.


----------



## The Green Shield

#1- Ran errands. Got _Super Mario Maker_ and _Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain_.

#2- Got _Kalimpura_ by Jay Lake and _Kenobi_ by John Jackson from the library.

#3- Wrote a bit in my stories. Angst a bit because the ideas for the drafts I have now do not fit in what I already have written down.

#4- Played _Super Mario Maker_ and _Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain._ Was left utterly clueless as to the timeline of the _Metal Gear Solid _franchise.

#5- Took a nap.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Darkkin said:


> Hulk's commentary on monologues in the absolute best.



What is this?



The Green Shield said:


> #3- Wrote a bit in my stories. Angst a bit because the ideas for the drafts I have now do not fit in what I already have written down.



Don't angst. It happens to all writers, no? From my experience, nothing is ever really lost with writing. However, there's something to be said for keeping it minimalist. 



> #5- Took a nap.



Yay~!


----------



## Darkkin

That...um...typo?


----------



## ShadowEyes

I am confused. @_@


----------



## Darkkin

Was I supposed to know where I was going, 'cause I occasionally get lost on purpose...This wasn't one of those times.


----------



## ShadowEyes

I guess you lost the Theseus thread, too. ^_^''

No matter.


----------



## Darkkin

Help!  I'm in a box...The Lost and Found Box!


----------



## ShadowEyes

If you had an ax, you could really get... ahead!

I totally stole that.


----------



## Riptide

Sometimes something horrible just caps off a decent day, ruining it entirely. Happened today, and I really don't know why I put through with this... Why the hell did I join the army? - I think sometimes.


----------



## Darkkin

Was just looking at the word counts on a couple of my more recent poetry projects, and between Turtle, Star, Tibbox, Toxic, and Nobody I'm rising toward the 15,000 word mark.  10,000 was shattered.  And the freaky thing is that although these pieces are told in verse, the story is solid.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just finished reading _Kalimpura_ by Jay Lake. It's a really good, satisfying (if not sad) conclusion to the _Green Trilogy_. Still, there's one thing that is chomping on my mind.

Sadly, I don't know how to put spoiler tags here, so.... SPOILERS!!!





Green's son, Federo. If he read her memoirs (which is what these books were in-universe), I wonder how he'll make of it.  I mean, he'd learn he was named after the guy who sold her into slavery, was almost given to a dark god named Blackblood and Green apparently didn't even want him initially. Boy's gonna have some serious family issues after that, I reckon.  Now my mind's all buzzing about how he'd react toward the memoirs, how he'd react toward his mother and his family, etc.

Um, this is completely normal after reading a series, correct? I'm not the weird one here?


----------



## escorial

not good


----------



## The Green Shield

Got a new watch after months of not having one. Feels weird to have something strapped to my wrist now.


----------



## Darkkin

My best friend made me cookies and lent me bad romance novels...Yeah, I'm in a happy place right now.


----------



## The Green Shield

Darkkin said:


> My best friend made me cookies and lent me bad romance novels...Yeah, I'm in a happy place right now.



Sometimes you just gotta kick back with some cookies, a warm mug of coffee/tea and a pile of light, yet terrible, romance novels. :applause: Enjoy!


----------



## midnightpoet

When my wife isn't feeling well, I'm the cook.  If we survive we'll be lucky.  Today I tried red beans and cornbread.  Too much salt in the beans, the cord bread muffins were hockey pucks.  Sigh. So I made sandwiches.  So far I haven't screwed that up.


----------



## Guy Faukes

^ Canned soup, waffles and sandwiches, the triumvirate of food groups that will get you through this dark hour.

Oh, and on a more serious note, I hope she gets well soon.




escorial said:


> not good



Wha happened?


----------



## LeeC

midnightpoet said:


> When my wife isn't feeling well, I'm the cook.  If we survive we'll be lucky.  Today I tried red beans and cornbread.  Too much salt in the beans, the cord bread muffins were hockey pucks.  Sigh. So I made sandwiches.  So far I haven't screwed that up.


The wife got after her father lately (her parents are in their mid nineties) for serving her mother Eggos too often. He thought they were a good source of protein ;-)


----------



## midnightpoet

My wife is gluten-intolerant, so no Eggos.  I've tried making gluten free pancakes and waffles.  Canned soup is out, msg and other bad things.  WE have to watch out for lunch meat, bacon and sausage.  She gets restless leg all over her body.  If I don't put enough salt, she gets leg cramps.  It's an adventure.


----------



## Darkkin

Story arcs at the crossroads!  Echo intercepted Toxic, Nog segued to help Nobody, who had gone charging headlong to help her sister.  Pussywillow Grey is on the trail of the Iron Handed Imps, and Thistle is facing down Chrysanthemum.  The Wendigo will soon return, more powerful than ever before.  I love the beauty that is the madness of my mind.  It helps to get these set down in a linear format that allows me to see the progression and intersection points along the way, too.


----------



## JustRob

I wanted to speed up my computer so sent off for an extra board to install in it. It arrived this morning but wasn't the one that I was expecting. The website had a picture of one board but the description of another and I assumed that the picture was wrong, but actually the description was. This means that I have a higher specification board than the one that I thought I was buying. So why was I unhappy? Because the board was bigger and wouldn't fit in my computer. Undaunted I stripped the whole machine down and tried running it with all the components laid out across my desktop. That way I could plug in the board to find out whether it would work if I ever did get it inside the machine. Having established that the computer would work with it installed I took a hacksaw to the internal parts of the case that were obstructing insertion of the board and then reassembled the machine. So now I have the new board working inside my computer. Am I happy? Well ...

No doubt the board will speed up my machine when it is running but now it takes a whole lot longer to boot up. That means that long sessions on it will be quicker but short sessions will take longer as I'll have to wait some time before I can use it at all. As I often leave the machine on standby all day anyway maybe that won't be so bad.

I've just noticed that when I reassembled the machine one of the front panel components got pushed out of place, so I'll have to take the thing apart again now to put it right. Well at least I got the opportunity to post a couple of things here in the meantime. Of course if I hadn't had all this trouble I wouldn't have needed to type all this explanation either, so this upgrade is becoming seriously labour-intensive. 

I will now be offline for a while again while I pull the computer apart, hopefully for the last time. Of course turning it off will mean that I'll have to wait for it to boot up again as well ...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I'm downloading some old favorites...

Spore: All DLC's. Fun as heck.

Mount and Blade: Warband. It makes me feel old timey. 

Minecraft. (Duh) 

Torchlight 2. Mainly cuz of the art style. 

I think I'll set a new personal record for the number of different games I've downloaded and replayed in one day. Hoorah!


----------



## The Green Shield

• Got pissy in another forum and acted like a screaming, ranting child. Feel ungodly ashamed and disgusted with myself right now. >:[

• Started a new fantasy story thanks to the involuntary listening to Taylor Swift's _Bad Blood_ and getting inspired to write about two friends who become sworn enemies.

• Did...absolutely nothing else today. Another day wasted, a new day to make up for it, I suppose. 

• Now sitting on the couch with Scotch Claymore Ale to my right and my ancient cat to my left.


----------



## Darkkin

Been playing around with the background music of some of my pieces to see if they make sense, not only sequentially, but lyrically, as well.  I've run Toxic through six different songs and her verses are holding.  The poet with no understanding of metre or metaphors, is gaining a little bit of ground back!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Good for you, Darkkin!  Keep it up.


----------



## Boofy

Today I went to the university campus as a student for the first time. I came home with a shiny new student ID card and my timetable (which hasn't been working for the entire time I've had it) is finally getting some block codes or something. It turns out that everybody on my course has had the same issues and that I am the one to point it out. Hurray for saviour Beth! I also made a new friend and bumped into an old one. My fears are assuaged somewhat, in that I won't be on my own the entire time. My official courses start at the beginning of next week, but I believe there are a couple of introductory things I have to do too. All in all, a productive and exciting start. ^^


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

SuperBoofs, here to save the day!  Now in student flavor!

Way to go!  Excited for ya.


----------



## TJ1985

Boofy said:


> Today I went to the university campus as a student for the first time. I came home with a shiny new student ID card and my timetable (which hasn't been working for the entire time I've had it) is finally getting some block codes or something. It turns out that everybody on my course has had the same issues and that I am the one to point it out. Hurray for saviour Beth! I also made a new friend and bumped into an old one. My fears are assuaged somewhat, in that I won't be on my own the entire time. My official courses start at the beginning of next week, but I believe there are a couple of introductory things I have to do too. All in all, a productive and exciting start. ^^



Congrats, and good luck Boof.


----------



## PiP

Today, I finished the Mentor Directory and actually was doing a happy dance until HarperCole politely pointed I'd missed his name off the list.  (now rectified)

I set up a watering system for my plants for while I'm away on holiday.

And almost finished the poem I've been writing for over a week.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Man, so many exciting things going on.

I was practically manic today, I think I might've weirded out the people I was working with.  They're used to me being a little less energetic and a good deal more somber.  Well, until I got to the dead zone, anyway, the managers there are a couple of pricks, but I still managed to stay in a good mood.  Took a nap, and now the sleeplessness has hit like a sack of bricks, and I don't know what I'm gonna do with myself for the next few hours or so.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

It was a cool morning. 

I played outside and completed another wooden sword. 

Lunch was uneventful, as I avoided the heat of the day by staying inside.

I spent the afternoon worried sick over someone else. Is this what parents go through? Yeesh. 

Now which button do I press to resume not caring? Hmm... -Press- Doiiiyy.... Not that one....


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I got a chance to play around with autodesk inventor in my engineering class.  It was pretty cool. I'm a huge tech nerd and recently bought a tablet for use at school.  It's about 10 times better than my laptop when it comes to speed and resolution.  It's getting dark out now and I'm typing by what little daylight is left.  My favourite part of the day, if you ask me.  I've got Black Veil Brides playing in the background and I'm getting ready to start writing.


----------



## The Green Shield

Applied for a job. Hope this one pulls through.


----------



## Darkkin

Someone left me a picture of the Star Socks Fox.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

It's 4:00 am! My brain kept me awake! 

I got Morrowind again, and a bunch of mods. Gonna give it a good go.... 

I wrote some random rubbish ideas I had. Dunno if they're any good... I'll find out when I wake back up. 

...Wait a second, when did I start saying rubbish? Oh god, it's happening... garbage...garbage...garbage.... not rubbish... 

-Melts into mindless blathering, slowly falls asleep-


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Router failed on me early this morning, but it's okay, since I was headed to bed anyway.  Ended up switching it off for the night, and when I booted it up again, it worked fine.  Silly computer stuff.

It's been nice and cool the past few days, makes me not want to get out of bed, haha.  So glad that summer's over.


----------



## Darkkin

There is an unfamiliar stillness in my head today, the denizens of the 'Ways are quiet.  Odd, decidedly odd...


----------



## Plasticweld

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Router failed on me early this morning, but it's okay, since I was headed to bed anyway.  Ended up switching it off for the night, and when I booted it up again, it worked fine.  Silly computer stuff.
> 
> It's been nice and cool the past few days, makes me not want to get out of bed, haha.  So glad that summer's over.




What he said


What I thought he meant


----------



## Kepharel

Been thinking about the post I put into NFLM. Well, more of a preoccupation really these days. Losing my grandchildren to the years and technology has been a bit of a trauma. What would such a goodbye mean to such a parting. I know, of course, but they don't. I would like to tell them of the error of their ways. As the teenage years kick in something happens that they will never understand. The window through which they understand the truth gives way to self absorption, becomes blinded to what seems important, careers, wealth, self fulfilment. Curtains draw across, obscuring the truth of the reality of magic, and faeries, and the fantasy they once understood as fact. Where is this reality and where is fact? The seduction is inescapable and pre-ordained. Only once they have lived their life does the truth dawn and the error of their ways is once again realised, that the way of life so easily embraced, so obvious, so recognisable to us all, should confess its treachery. Yes, only once life has given up upon us, cast us aside, can we draw the curtains once again and see, in blinding recognition what was ever there. Faeries and magic do exist. How could we ever lose this unchanging truth as it was always has been all along, as it ever will be. The first twelve years and the last twelve is the only time I have ever lived, to be honest.  Of course, I would like to tell them this, but by the time I need to say such things they are already lost.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, I've been working on updating my blog.  Jack and Aster are finally up and current.  Turtle is done, Nobody, Nog, and Toxic have been laid out, and Echo is also complete.  And I really don't ever seem to have issues with writer's block...More like writer's melting pot...

Edit: Secondary players have made it up.  With luck I can get Star and Tibbox up tomorrow.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Workin' away. 78,000 words into my novel now. It's getting done, but its pace has rapidly slowed down since I've started. Probably due to the fact that I'm working full-time now.

I think I may stay up late and write and then curse myself in the morning.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

I was throwing away old paper's and stumbled upon some of my old drawings. I hadn't drawn anything in ages, it has gotten harder to do so, life has been draining.

I also drew one of Boofy, because why not.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

So, everyone in my life thinks I've officially gone crazy.  I've got a sunny disposition when I'm working and nobody's seen that.  Even the BS in Johnston couldn't bring me down, and they're one of the most tedious accounts I work.  I've got a little ray of light shining on me, and I don't think I've ever felt this good before.

Who knows?  Maybe I _have_ gone crazy.  If I have, I don't mind, life hasn't been better.


----------



## Boofy

Aw, Wonder, it's awesome! :3 Can I save and keep this? I like to put stuff like this into my big book of memories ^^ 

My day was great. Timetable finally worrrrrrks! I'm only in on Mondays and Tuesdays for now unless I decide to add a free TESOL Japanese course to my workload (We'll see, I have other obligations and I'd like to test the waters first). This means I should easily have time to dedicate to the TOP SECRET PROJECT me and a few fellow WF'ers are working on, a fact I am over the moon with. Aw. Things are awesome. Great friends, great food, great music (currently Pink Floyd's The Wall PT 2) and great life. :3


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Boofy said:


> Aw, Wonder, it's awesome! :3 Can I save and keep this? I like to put stuff like this into my big book of memories ^^
> 
> My day was great. Timetable finally worrrrrrks! I'm only in on Mondays and Tuesdays for now unless I decide to add a free TESOL Japanese course to my workload (We'll see, I have other obligations and I'd like to test the waters first). This means I should easily have time to dedicate to the TOP SECRET PROJECT me and a few fellow WF'ers are working on, a fact I am over the moon with. Aw. Things are awesome. Great friends, great food, great music (currently Pink Floyd's The Wall PT 2) and great life. :3




-Loud whisper-

YOU'VE SAID TOO MUCH ALREADY!

Editz: Forgot to contribute!

My day was a train wreck. 

I stayed up until 6:00 AM before falling asleep. 

I had the WEIRDEST freaking dreams. Again.  I woke up feeling sick. 

Coffee and bowls of cereal later, I look like a ghost. uUuuuuuuuUUuuuUuuUUhhhhg....


----------



## Boofy

God damn it, Growls... God damn it. x3


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Boofy said:


> Aw, Wonder, it's awesome! :3 Can I save and keep this? I like to put stuff like this into my big book of memories ^^
> 
> My day was great. Timetable finally worrrrrrks! I'm only in on Mondays and Tuesdays for now unless I decide to add a free TESOL Japanese course to my workload (We'll see, I have other obligations and I'd like to test the waters first). This means I should easily have time to dedicate to the TOP SECRET PROJECT me and a few fellow WF'ers are working on, a fact I am over the moon with. Aw. Things are awesome. Great friends, great food, great music (currently Pink Floyd's The Wall PT 2) and great life. :3



Of course you can Boofs


----------



## Darkkin

Odd.  Worked at 7:00, zoning until 11:00 then I was loose on the floor until 3:30.  For someone who doesn't care overmuch for people, I don't know why I love working customer service.  Anywho, I was leaving for the day and realise I have lost my car key, no other key, just the car key.  Without it I'm not getting home, also forgot me cell phone.  Double whammy doom?!  Not quite.  I know my roommate's cell phone number and she works about five minutes down the road.  She had my spare key.  She dropped it off and as I was walking across the parking lot what do I find...My missing car key.  It could have been a hellacious mess, but it wasn't, so life is all right.  

- D. the T. of P.B.


----------



## chase1423

The day went pretty good for me, however where I live all week so far has been that depressing rainy weather where there is no sun and everything seems a little grayer. It has been pretty cold too but I guess that means fall is coming, which also is very good seeing that the fall is my favorite season out of them all.


----------



## Darkkin

Pulling a lot of my old music out.  Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Star Wars, Dune...Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Howard Shore.  All of the heavy hitters.  Don't know quite why, but the pressure is there at the base of my skull.  Gears are shifting, so we'll see what turns up.


----------



## am_hammy

I got promoted at work today! WOOT


----------



## Boofy

am_hammy said:


> I got promoted at work today! WOOT



Ammmmmmmmmy! That's awesome! <3


----------



## am_hammy

Boofy said:


> Ammmmmmmmmy! That's awesome! <3



Boooooooooooooooooooooooofy! Indeed! I'm so excited about it!  My assistant manager at work got promoted to manager because our other one left, and they offered me assistant manager =)

Tis been a goooooood day ^_^


----------



## TJ1985

am_hammy said:


> I got promoted at work today! WOOT



Congratulations!


----------



## Boofy

Lord knows you deserve it for what you put up with, lady! :3 Congrats!


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

am_hammy said:


> I got promoted at work today! WOOT



:champagne: that's awesome!  Congrats.


----------



## am_hammy

TJ1985 said:


> Congratulations!



Tanks TJ ^_^



Boofy said:


> Lord knows you deserve it for what you put up with, lady! :3 Congrats!



Ahhh, thank you very much. They all have confidence in me so hopefully I won't let them down ^_____^




TheWonderingNovice said:


> :champagne: that's awesome! Congrats.



Thank you! Oooo, look, champagne!


----------



## InstituteMan

am_hammy said:


> I got promoted at work today! WOOT



Way to go, hammy! Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. I hope it also comes with a nice, fat raise.


----------



## am_hammy

InstituteMan said:


> Way to go, hammy! Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. I hope it also comes with a nice, fat raise.



Thanks IM! (Not to hijack the thread haha) I shall remember. I was thinking about it today as I was building the ornament wall and the instructions said they were "highly restricted". No joke :glee: 

The raise wasn't a super fat, but fat enough haha


----------



## Joe_Bassett

My day has given me a pretty bad mood about the state of my laptop. In my engineering class we are using Autodesk Inventor, a pretty awesome CAD program.  Students can get a free copy of all Autodesk programs so I decided to put it on my home craptop.  Well, six hours later and several failed installs later I still don't have it.  I looked at the setup log and I've learned that the error is the same each time but I'm no where closer to fixing it. Apparently it's a common error but the troubleshooting page they have on it donesn't help me resolve the problem. Ugh, I really wish I had a desktop PC! And to think, all of these problems were caused by me trying to save money by buying the 200 dollar laptop instead of the more reliable and more expensive one! Ugh.. I love computers but hate them when they don't work properly!

BTW Boofy, I really love your new profile pic!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

It was a cold, rainy day. 

So all my outside carved playthings were soaking wet, and never dried. Arhg. 

Now I begin my writing. On I go 'til morning light, bidding my online friends goodnight.


----------



## InstituteMan

Today I confirmed a rumor I first heard yesterday: a new craft brewery with a pub will be opening up in the vacant building adjacent to my office. It will be maybe 25 yards from the door to my building. This was a great day.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Trimmed my beard this morning.  Past two days have been busy in the morning, with work, slow in the evening with... no work.  It's times like these when I think I should've stayed in the next town over instead of isolating myself in the countryside, and then thoughts like those that make me think I should stop thinking nonsense like that.

Took a different way home today, just for a change of scenery, only two extra miles and no regrets.  Oh, and one of the perks of waking up before the sun is that you don't miss out on stuff like this:


----------



## Darkkin

:beaten::grief:](*,)


----------



## ShadowEyes

Lots of driving around in the 84 degree Fahrenheit heat. Visited the library to pick up some books on marketing. And finally, I compiled some ingredients to make toran soup. Gonna have to mash some sesame seeds with a rolling pin. But I'll think of terrorists while I do it.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, took a swing at a poem format I've never even heard of and...It doesn't totally suck.  Kinda sorta does, but not totally.  And considering my name means blind in Gaelic, I think I did it right.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I'm sure it doesn't suck at all.  Glad to see you're branching out, keep it up!


----------



## Darkkin

Some things aren't funny...I rarely cry, no point, especially in writing...and now I'm mad at myself for crying about it...but I'm not a joke, I might be broken and screwed up beyond all recognition, but I'm not a joke...


----------



## ShadowEyes

Being sad and crying occasionally is healthy, though.


----------



## Darkkin

Not over something this stupid...


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

It's all right, Darkkin, the small stuff gets to all of us sometimes.  These things happen, the important thing is to grow from 'em.

You're not a joke, and remember, you've got plenty of friends here who will agree.


----------



## popsprocket

Wrestled a croc then tamed a wild kangaroo and rode it around the grounds of parliament house.

Yep, just your average Australian Saturday morning.


----------



## ShadowEyes

popsprocket said:


> Wrestled a croc then tamed a wild kangaroo and rode it around the grounds of parliament house.
> 
> Yep, just your average Australian Saturday morning.



Lots of cursing, too, right?


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Worked, came home, went to bed, got up to use the restroom, gouged my heel on an errant piece of glass, bled a little, stopped bleeding, went to the store for medical supplies, ran into a couple of friends, had dinner, came home, applied medical supplies, wrote a poem.  Maybe not the most structurally sound poem in the existence of poetry, but I'm pretty happy with it.

Not nearly as interesting as an average Australian Saturday morning, but... not too shabby, either.  Probably time to pass out.


----------



## popsprocket

ShadowEyes said:


> Lots of cursing, too, right?



The kangaroo called me a **** so I called his mother a ***** and everyone had a good time because that's how we show friendship in our realm.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I slept in from staying up again. 

Still trying to farm an item on d3. No dice. Gonna play around with DC universe online. Just for funsies. 

I got tired of hearing myself think, so I went somewhere with wifi. After ten minutes, it was flooded with many a disreputable young scoundrel, their collective trousers dropped lower than their IQ. 

Too quiet, too loud. 

Too hot, too cold. 

The problem is, my locks are sandy, not goldy.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Working the morning shift after working the night shift the night before :drinkcoffee::-({|=


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Those days, I remember them well.  Just remember it's okay to smack a [SHELF LABELS].


----------



## Kevin

Tommy Emmanuel on a Thursday night. That was good. He said you have to practice alone, and a lot, first.


----------



## Boofy

I've been inspired, editing three chapters of my novel in one sitting whilst listening to some Lynyrd Skynyrd, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Pink Floyd and Rush. It's just one of those chilled out creative days. God, I wish I had more of these. ^^


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Glad to hear it, Boofs, and I hope it continues for ya.

I'm just sitting around waiting for a phone call.  Supposed to go help a friend build a bed from scratch today.

We have absolutely no idea what we're doing.

Lord save us all.


----------



## Boofy

Ah, you said something about that yesterday I think... did you? I don't know. My brain is a sieve. I can't work out lego, never mind build something people might actually have to sleep on. I don't know how I have survived so far. Anyway, I hope they call you soon! :3


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Yeah, haha.  Was supposed to actually do it yesterday, but kind of glad that I didn't.  So many good times yesterday afternoon/evening.


----------



## Darkkin

Got the kinks ironed out of a new poetry format, and know what I'm doing for the third in the series.  Why is everything I write _always_ connected to something else.  I feel like a living dot-to-dot...Oh, well, could be worse.  Done with work, it was a fruitcake with nuts sort of day, the rest of the weekend off and Cinderella to watch...(_Yes, I adore faery tales...always have, always will..._).


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Dubs is a hardworking sanding machine.  Found out we're short two pallets, so we have to go find them.  What an adventure!


----------



## Harper J. Cole

I've sent off the early draft of my novel for professional feedback from The Literary Consultancy. Wasn't cheap, but I got some money from my grandmother's will. This seemed like a nice way to spend it.

Funny how a novel that I thought was pretty good a week ago seems embarrassingly awful now that I know someone's going to read it. 



AtleanWordsmith said:


> Dubs is a hardworking sanding machine.  Found out we're short two pallets, so we have to go find them.  What an adventure!



You should write the story of your adventure. "Dubs and the Pallets of Doom" ... best seller.


----------



## Darkkin

HarperCole said:


> You should write the story of your adventure. "Dubs and the Pallets of Doom" ... best seller.



I can already see the children's spin off series because you know they all do it.  'Sandblaster Man, the Pallet, and How He Ran'.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Successful Dubs is successful.  The adventure yielded much loot.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, the third one is done.  Haven't done much else, but I did do that at least.


----------



## am_hammy

So today I declared it to be 

 Day.

Because I'm feeling a bit under the weather, had work all day, and I thought, why not? I've been good with my munnies. Why shouldn't I?

So I did. I got another vanilla bourbon candle as I'm almost out of my current one.

Then I thought, let's go the extra mile, because it's 'Treat Yo' Self' day, and I got this adorable little thing:



I'd say it's a pretty good Saturday


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Migraine. Couldn't draw, couldn't write. Annoying. 

It went away, but now it's late... Should I sleep...or stay up... hmm.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Join us in the world of the nearly-dead, Crowley.  It's comfortable here.


----------



## ShadowEyes

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Join us in the world of the nearly-dead, Crowley.  It's comfortable here.



We have chips... made out of [strike]people[/strike] spammers!


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Deciding whether to stay up for the new season of Doctor Who when I have to wake up in a few hours to work.

Decisions, Decision


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I'm recording it. 

DVR's ftw.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> I'm recording it.
> 
> DVR's ftw.


I didn't want to pay extra for the feature, I see my mistake now:cry:

Curse you cheap nature!


----------



## ShadowEyes

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Successful Dubs is successful. The adventure yielded much loot.



Scrolling through this page really quickly is kind of scary. It's like, "Oh hey, Dubs here. Didja almost miss me?"



TheWonderingNovice said:


> Curse you cheap nature!



Should've upgraded to expensive nature.


----------



## Darkkin

One should not need an _Illustrated Dictionary of Snark_.  It is an oxymoron undermining the glory that is snark.  Lightning fast, razor edged wit with humour of one's own composition.  Curse you _Illustrated Dictionary of Snark, _for you have given access to sublime reaches of sarcasm to menials of average wit to wit, me.

Edit: Just downloaded the soundtrack for _Fault in Our Stars_, and I will admit to being pleasantly surprised.  Brilliant day in the North Woods, cool, crisp and I am off!  Time to take my Rue Dog and go!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Ha.  You're probably right.  I need to step off a bit.  Perhaps I'll go check out this illustrated dictionary of snark I heard about recently.


----------



## Darkkin

ShadowEyes said:


>




Have you ever looked at this and thought:  Man, Moses' arms really must hurt by now. My arms hurt just looking at that...


----------



## ShadowEyes

Darkkin said:


> Have you ever looked at this and thought:  Man, Moses' arms really must hurt by now. My arms hurt just looking at that...



Nah, he just got them to do the wave as they walked.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Good day, a last mow for the grass before the weather turns, next thing there will be bulbs popping up through it, then oiled all the garden furniture ready to put away for the winter. Okay, that was the boring stuff that had to be done. Then had a shower, got changed and went out to the De la Warre in Bexhill and saw Nina Conti with her 'In your face' show, very funny.


----------



## Boofy

I am an awesome person! I have been told this numerous times today. Once by a Portuguese fellow called Daniel, and then again by my new buddies Mike and Mark ;D

My first lecture was BORING. I mean, booooring. We talked about what we were GOING to do for two bloody hours. We took a break for lunch (I spent it signing up to the video games society of course) and when we reconvened, we had a two hour lecture on politics and propaganda in the media! I couldn't believe my luck. The lecturer started talking about Owen bloody Jones. I made a couple of comments about a conservative politician (who spent thousands of pounds of taxpayer money on biscuits and limousines) in a room of about 150 students and they all laughed! Thank you, Eric Pickles. You finally did something right!

Aw, I'm thrilled. What a great start :3


----------



## escorial

Olly Buckle said:


> Good day, a last mow for the grass before the weather turns, next thing there will be bulbs popping up through it, then oiled all the garden furniture ready to put away for the winter. Okay, that was the boring stuff that had to be done. Then had a shower, got changed and went out to the De la Warre in Bexhill and saw Nina Conti with her 'In your face' show, very funny.



the perfect day man


----------



## Pea

You crowd pleaser you! A discussion about politicians and propaganda at a time when David Cameron has been accused of porking bacon seems appropriate. 

I guess you are at University of some sort. Do you study politics?


----------



## Boofy

<3 

I'm doing an English language and creative writing degree, hehe. It was the use of one specific word in the media we were analysing, and how it was utilised to terrible effect by the right wing. Just an opener, I think, but veeeery interesting ^^

Hah, yeah David and his Bullingdon boys! I could have called it... still waiting on that photo evidence that has been alluded to ;D


----------



## Pea

I'm not sure I want to see any photo evidence, even on the slim chance it does exist. That sounds like a really fun degree, something I wish I could have done. Are you a fresher?


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

I thought my head was going to explode and that was only an hour in. Then I realised that I might aswell talk to and get more sense from a corpse. I am so glad that I work alongside such a plethora of superior beings who can offer guidance through life,. What did I do before I had them? Oh bless and hail you O mighty people.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Darkkin said:


> Have you ever looked at this and thought:  Man, Moses' arms really must hurt by now. My arms hurt just looking at that...



What wasn't mentioned: Moses was ripped. He looked like Arnold did in his youth. ;D 

Actually, he didn't stand there THE WHOLE TIME while they crossed. They were being chased. He had to go down and pass through with everyone else. xD


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Ten-hour work day, hooray.  Feeling sick, can't sleep, hooray.  Well, there's nothing quite so good for creativity as the fevered mind.

Might be a carny for two weeks, operate a game booth at the state fair.  Still debating whether I actually want to do it, because it would mean having to shave my beard, and I don't know if I'm ready to go baby-faced again.  Still, that money, though...

Foot is healing up fine, still hurts, but the larger hole is starting to scab over.  Might not even scar.  Amazing... I'm going to have to let the Xavier school know about my regenerative ability.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Posting from my crappy little Gateway, which is only an inch and a half wider than my hand-span. sad.

Despite having the longest-range wifi adapter available DIRECTLY IN THE ROOM ABOVE ME---- my toshiba refuses to make a steady connection, while this little gateway connects JUST FINE. 

So I've heard, all the new windows versions have the same problem.

Don't they test these things before releasing them to the public?

Thanks for releasing an entire generation of devices that is literally WORSE at connecting to the internet. 

I've only been awake for a few hours. So this has been my day so far....


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Crowley, I have a 15in Toshiba laptop that is just terrible at connecting to our home router.  I think it might be a Toshiba issue because my last laptop was a Toshiba too. I can't say anything about the average connection speed of a windows device in comparison to other systems because the only system I've ever used is Windows.  The perks of having a parent work at Microsoft... I've never even owned an iPod!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My father and my step-grandmother had the same issues with their Toshibas.  The Football will connect to just about anything, though.  I could probably get wifi out of a toaster with that thing.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Should've done my research then. I just got the thing 'cuz it had alright specs with the price. I would've taken something different If I'd known it wouldn't fail to connect a good 1/3 of the time. 

It's doing fine now, but it was tripping for two hours. /cry 

So league of legends banned me for not accepting all the games I tried to connect to. 17 more minutes... ...Don't they have a freaking system to tell when someone intentionally leaves, or simply has connection issues? jeez...

I've also experienced/been told that windows 8+ has problems with public wifi due to the way it records wifi profiles. I had to fuss with it a few times.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Starting to get off topic, so let's mosey over to *Computers, Computers, Computers* to continue.


----------



## Darkkin

Concussion level frustration day at work...Thank goodness for self-inflating quantum physics pockets, (namely my iPod and tablet), don't know how I would have made it through the day without them.  On a brighter note, got two, decent, at least, I think they're decent, pieces done today.  Not to terribly shabby for thirty minutes worth of work.  :02.47-tranquillity:  Actually looking forward to tomorrow; it helps going in knowing one's project for the day.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Darkkin said:


> Concussion level frustration day at work...Thank goodness for self-inflating quantum physics pockets, (namely my iPod and tablet), don't know how I would have made it through the day without them.  On a brighter note, got two, decent, at least, I think they're decent, pieces done today.  Not to terribly shabby for thirty minutes worth of work.  :02.47-tranquillity:  Actually looking forward to tomorrow; it helps going in knowing one's project for the day.



Bad day at a book store? :scratch:


----------



## Darkkin

ShadowEyes said:


> Bad day at a book store? :scratch:




Not so much a bad day; just a little thankless, which generally isn't the case.  A ton to get done, and not enough time in the day.  Oh well, it keeps me gainfully employed.  On a brighter note, I was looking back through some of the stuff I've done over the course of the last few weeks.  How is it possible to have that much noise rattling around in one's own head and still remain sane...Oh, wait...That explains a few things...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

After slicing up a few hundred random living things on morrowind, I played the best league match ever. Early game was terrible, I had to carry my teammates. And just when it looked like we were about to lose, suddenly they become world-class proffessional competitive gamers, and we win. It was like Mighty Ducks. 

Now I'mma get some coffee and STILL try to get Tall Man's Finger on d3.... aaaahg... I waaaant it... 

The problem is, there's no specific area to farm it. It's just a random world drop, so the only thing to do is 'keep playing until it drops.' Thanks RGN gods.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Yes - Finally Fall has arrived ! I've been waiting for it all Summer long.:highly_amused:
Though I doubt it will make any difference - I'm sure we'll still have sweltering heat but at least there's now a cool breeze to take of some of the edge.


----------



## hoihoisoi

Classes. Classes. Classes. And then back home with a simple dinner. And then just looking through the threads on WF.

Overall, quite a normal day. Nothing to shout about really. But then again peaceful days are good days. So I guess I'm blessed for such a normal day. XD


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Moonshine, and coke & brandy. Nuff said. 

I will probably refrain from posting now, to spare all of you.

But be content in the knowledge that I'm doing juuuuuust fine.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

A fairly productive day so far. Planning to write a quick 500 words of my novel and a poem and then off to bed. 

Da da da da da da!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

By the holy beard of Zeus! Last post was at 5:02 right before I laid down.... 

I started at 11:30...just before lunch...How did five hours pass that quickly? Magic alcohol.... 

And I'm still not balanced. Medium-strength headache. Hrm. 

I guess I'll revisit the internet... probably will lay back down soon.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Played the devils game and won. We came in as friends and left as bitter rivals. Every roll filled our souls with darkness. 

I revelled in their frustration and laughed at their anguish. Victory has never tasted so sweet.


So yeah monopoly was fun: )


----------



## ShadowEyes

TheWonderingNovice said:


> Played the devils game and won. We came in as friends and left as bitter rivals. Every roll filled our souls with darkness.
> 
> I revelled in their frustration and laughed at their anguish. Victory has never tasted so sweet.
> 
> So yeah monopoly was fun: )



Did you know there's a strategy to _always_ win at Monopoly?


----------



## TJ1985

ShadowEyes said:


> Did you know there's a strategy to _always_ win at Monopoly?



Yup. When the banker isn't looking, take money from the tray. When the richest player isn't looking, take one of their hotels off the board or steal their property cards...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

ShadowEyes said:


> Did you know there's a strategy to _always_ win at Monopoly?



I have a working method with firearms. 

View attachment 9828


----------



## popsprocket

ShadowEyes said:


> Did you know there's a strategy to _always_ win at Monopoly?



I don't know if I'd call punching the other players in the face a "strategy" exactly, but it has always worked for me.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Well, I've been feeling down for the past few months. I still don't have a job, but I'm going networking soon. And shuffling resumes like Pokemon trading cards. It's taken me months to get over a girl, but I think I've finally done it. I blamed myself for mistakes that were not my sole responsibility, especially not after half a year. No more. Nobody is going to pull me up but me. I'm free to go out, do crazy things that I'll post here, and build my confidence. No one wants to hear my sob stories. But I know I'll still have my friends here right? Hah, the emotions are more physically taxing than anything. Sometimes you just need to force up the will to get active. Staying in my bedroom isn't the kind of life that's going to improve anyone. I'm ready to move on and I'm starting today.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Speaking of crazy things, I just got home from my first drag show.

Went out to PT's 1109 to support a friend of mine and her girlfriend, who performs there as a drag king.  Took some photos for them, took some photos for the other queens, too, as a courtesy, had a better time than I thought I would (I don't ordinarly enjoy social outings like this).  The kings and queens put a lot of work into their costumes and performances, it was fun to see them enjoy themselves.  

Had a photoshoot earlier today, too, and will probably post some of the pictures in my photography thread later, after I've had a nice, long snooze.  

This has been a year of firsts.  My first high-end camera, my first "true" combat simulation, my first passport, and now my first drag show.  I'm sure that there were others, but I can't think of any right now.

Peace out, WF.  I'll see you when I regain consciousness.


----------



## ShadowEyes

AtleanWordsmith said:


> This has been a year of firsts.  My first high-end camera, my first "true" combat simulation, my first passport, and now my first drag show.  I'm sure that there were others, but I can't think of any right now.



The important thing to remember is that you can't compare yourself to others because no one is going to improve your self-confidence for you. Everyone has different situations. If yours feels overwhelming and you don't know what to do, just do. Stay safe, guy.


----------



## popsprocket

ShadowEyes said:


> The important thing to remember is that you can't compare yourself to others because no one is going to improve your self-confidence for you. Everyone has different situations. If yours feels overwhelming and you don't know what to do, just do. Stay safe, guy.



You should go and get a ticket to drive a piece of heavy machinery like a backhoe or bobcat then whenever someone thinks they're better than you you can just be like "CAN YOU EVEN DRIVE A BOBCAT YOU USELESS FOP?" then walk away feeling smug.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, I got a review, a decent raise, a fresh doughnut, and was entrusted with magic...(with supervision), so overall, a mostly yeah sort of day.  I still have to work tomorrow, but then I have the weekend off, and when you work retail, even at a bookstore, getting a weekend off is like...Ohhh!

Edit: Muses are whispering in my ear, they are returning...six months of silence and finally, the Chronicles are rising from the void.  The Lores of Kettering, Nog, Mimi, and the whole of the _Darkkin_ Tribe are back.  Poetry, I do, but it is through prose I found the worlds of the 'Ways.


----------



## ShadowEyes

popsprocket said:


> You should go and get a ticket to drive a piece of heavy machinery like a backhoe or bobcat then whenever someone thinks they're better than you you can just be like "CAN YOU EVEN DRIVE A BOBCAT YOU USELESS FOP?" then walk away feeling smug.



Smoke a pipe and build a birdhouse... Yes, yes.



Darkkin said:


> Edit: Muses are whispering in my ear, they are returning...six months of silence and finally, the Chronicles are rising from the void. The Lores of Kettering, Nog, Mimi, and the whole of the _Darkkin_ Tribe are back. Poetry, I do, but it is through prose I found the worlds of the 'Ways.



The forum needs more good fantasy.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My phone got an injection of CCR, Hall & Oates, Pointer Sisters, Buffalo Springfield, and Mungo Jerry today.

Such.  Good.  Music.

Other than that, been a nice lazy day so far.


----------



## Kevin

Who? 
Aren't you a little young to be listening to that crap?  Where's your Drake, Mac,  Minaj... or? (just messing with you)

"WaterSense-meets EPArequirements" it says on the sticker "Toto model #...."- Thank you Gov'ner Moonbeam.

 I bought this toilet so I could save the friggin planet. Then they email me back saying it's not on the list of rebate-toilies. Wtheck? There it is right on the label I saved off the box *click (snap photo)* copy/paste, email. 100 bucks... where is it?  Always looking to deny claims, deny benefits... and I never ask! But this time I did...


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Haha, it's all good.  I was born in the wrong year and, thanks to my father, I grew up with older music, rather than the stuff my own generation was experiencing.  I mean, I don't mind pop and stuff, it's good for when I want to lift my spirits without thinking about anything (great for on-the-job listening), but when it comes to preference, I like the stuff that came out of the 60s and 70s more.


----------



## Kevin

Yeah... my wife was listening to Jimi and Janice in the womb. Pretty much stuck with her. In high school she was the only girl freaking out on the bus as they drove past the Jagger estate while on a field trip. It was the early eighties and that stuff was out. We're going to go see PIL in month or so, while she has a box set of Led Zep in the car cd right now. 

Junior is current but he was force-fed/conditioned with all that pre turn-of-the-century stuff, late 60's on, every car trip.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Finally got the Tall Man's Finger. Best ring in the game for a Witch Doctor. 

*Rant warning*: My perks give me five zombie dogs. Nigh-invulnerable, and distract opponents while dealing light damage, 45% weapon damage. My zombie dog skill is burning dogs, which does another 45% of your weapon damage each second to nearby enemies.The tall man's finger combines all of your zombie dogs into one BIG FAT BADASS ZOMBIE DOG, that deals more damage and has more health than all five combined. So that's 45% times five, and another 45% times five to every nearby enemy, plus more on the top. So while previously, they were only distractions, now this thing eats my enemies alive in two hits. One if it's a crit. And the burning damage instantly kills all of the light, swarmy types, likes all the bugs. 

Besides my nerding out about that...

I nailed wooden boards together to make a shield, and now I shall feel safer when the zombies come. I hope I'm not the first person to think of a shield for zombies. It was a no-brainer for me. You can have a shield, and still a weapon or a gun. 

The city service that takes all the 'special' garbage that you can't put in a can came today. So we pushed several pieces of an old arcade machine up a hill. My shoulders/buns and thighs hurt now. Pushing things up a hill should be a workout. If I did that every day I'd look like young Arnold. 

Otherwise, It rained on and off, which put me in a very sleepy mood. I might take a nap.


----------



## Darkkin

Two new Brendan James albums...I'm a happy clockwork. 

Edit: And laundry is well on the way toward being completed!


----------



## Sonata

Yesterday [Friday] was fine until during the late evening I discovered that the wall air-con unit in my salon had been spewing water down inside the room instead of outside.  The bamboo and whatever unit under it is soaked.  The books in the bottom shelf of the unit are sodden.  The toy boxes with all the puppy's toys flooded and her toys are sodden.  The carpet is sodden.  None of which is the end of the world but due to various days/dates/things I cannot contact anyone to ask to fix it until probably Tuesday.

Luckily I kept the two tall tower fans I had bought the summer before I had the air-con unit fitted, and luckily I have a small fan fixed on the wall above my monitor so I can keep cool for the rest of this seemingly never-ending hot summer, but I am so fed up with things breaking down and/or packing up and having to replace them.

Apart from that it was a lovely day - except for the puppy managing to pull one of my shoes off and biting my toes!


----------



## Sonata

Oh sh!t.  One of the tower fans decided it refused to work.  And the other one works but the lights do not come on so I have no idea whether I have set it right.  I have one tower fan directed at me, plus the fan on the wall above my monitor.

And it is 33.9°Celsius in my salon and this heat is really getting too much.


----------



## Darkkin

Wrote a new piece and can't decide whether I like it or not...Gah!


----------



## am_hammy

I've been away this weekend with my mom and we've been in DC and went to the National Gallery of Art and saw Gustave Caillebotte's paintings. It was awesome.


----------



## dither

Well, yesterday afternoon, having been awake since four pm. friday, i got intoxicated. I deliberately use the word intoxicated as opposed to drunk because although i was feeling all those feelings that one associates with drunkenness, it was as much to do with physical and mental fatigue as it was to do with the booze.
And today i'm feeling reflective.


----------



## midnightpoet

Woke up this mornin'
got the holy rollin'
no consolin'
dang I burnt the toast again blues
I ate it anyway
it's not gonna make my day 
I got...(never mind).:-(


----------



## dither

l love that post midnightpoet,
when my wife tells me i've burnt something i tell her that it's not burnt, it's carbonised.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

A good year or so ago, I cut my left hand with a machete. On my palm, the lower part of my thumb. Thirteen stitches. It cut straight through a nerve. I lost feeling. The nerve never completely healed, and still pulls sometimes. 

I tripped and fell down today. I spun around and caught myself with my hands, but there was a bit pointy rock that hit the scar on my palm, pulling the nerve. My thumb has been on fire. 

Also, my brother's GF came over this morning and is oddly even prettier than I remember from last time. She's aging well. We met at the same time, but for some reason she liked my brother. Dorky little basketball head, he is. 

I guess the universe decided that I had been feeling too good about myself, and didn't need to draw for awhile, so it arranged a double-kick to the groin in the form of the aforementioned events. 

Now I'm off for painkillers and something to punch/slice that doesn't fight back.


----------



## escorial

sat in the bath for a good hour this morning...my body was burning up wth all the booze floating  around inside me...feel better now


----------



## Sonata

Yay - I managed to get someone this morning to fix the air-con unit in my salon - the outlet hose from the motor outside had gotten blocked, probably from the sandstorm a week or so back.  While he was up on the ladder outside he cleaned the fan or whatever inside the motor - and then came in and cleaned the filters in the wall unit, so it is now functioning as it should do.

He has taken the dead tower fan as he thinks he might be able to fix it - the one that works-but-with-no-lights is still here, and I hope I will not need it again this summer now the air-con is working again.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I've had a stomach bug all week.  
Today it's finally lightening up, so I might be able to go to school tomorrow.  I missed three days because of it.
Despite it I still had to go out for college fairs and other events; this week has been really busy.  I'm hoping next week I'll finally have time to write (once I'm caught up with schoolwork). 
And my brother got into a non-fatal car crash...

So...What a great week!


----------



## jbishop15

Went on a job interview, nearly crashed my car, and got a milkshake.

So, essentially perfect, is what I'm saying :-D


----------



## aj47

Someone tried to video-skype me -- I have no webcam or mic so it failed.  But it also brought down Windows with it (it needed to chkdsk before restarting).

It's fine now, I think, but dayum, I had about six pinned tabs (not bookmarked) that are no longer pinned.  They were possible places to submit poetry.  I'm kind of bummed about that.


----------



## Boofy

Learned about Hawaiian Pidgin/Creole language development today in my linguistics taster session, as well as about language development in the deaf children of Nicaragua. It was really stimulating stuff. Of course, it was all undone later on in the evening as I went to see the sequel to The Maze Runner movie, based on the novels by James Dashner. Loosely based was maybe a better way to describe that sequel. Very loosely based. Maybe kept a few names here or there. They also added in a bunch of cringe-worthy classics such as, "Know how to use one of these, kid?" and "So, what's your plan?" -queue end sequence-

I think I actually LOST intelligence today.

Still, it was fun overall :3


----------



## ShadowEyes

Boofy said:


> ...I went to see the sequel to The Maze Runner movie, based on the novels by James Dashner. Loosely based was maybe a better way to describe that sequel. Very loosely based. Maybe kept a few names here or there.



I have the DVD rental sitting on my desk and it doesn't work on my computer for some reason. The original Maze Runner. I didn't get a chance to read the books. I have the expectation that I'll see something like a mash-up between _Labyrinth_ and _Death Race_. If I'm lucky.

Otherwise, WHY would they change things? It's like a pre-written script! It's right there! Plus, teenagers are fanatical about these kind of things. ... Ugh.

Glad your day went well.


----------



## Boofy

Honestly, after the first one I was excited. Turned out to be a real splat. I am sure Rotten Tomatoes is going to agree with me. (Then, Rotten Tomatoes has become less reliable recently). I wonder what his reaction to the movies is... I don't think I could have my stories Mengele'd like that. Saying that, I doubt anybody who is lucky enough to have that chance does anything but snatch and sign a contract for the most part. This is the Eragon movie all over again... ;___;


----------



## Thaumiel

Got up late, went to a sushi bar with my housemates and spent the afternoon/evening having a 'quiet pint'. A decent day. Happy to be back in this town, still anxious about uni restarting.


----------



## Boofy

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Got up late, went to a sushi bar with my housemates and spent the afternoon/evening having a 'quiet pint'. A decent day. Happy to be back in this town, still anxious about uni restarting.



You can do it, JC. We belief in u.


----------



## Thaumiel

Boofy said:


> You can do it, JC. We belief in u.



If it defeats me, I guess I can rise again...


----------



## ShadowEyes

Boofy said:


> This is the Eragon movie all over again... ;___;



Did they change everyone's hair color? I remember reading about all of the changes and getting so angry.


----------



## Boofy

The Urgals were bald humans with tattoos. That is all that ever needs to be said on the matter.

I just... my day. My day, man. ;___;

It's just getting worse!

-sobs-


----------



## ShadowEyes

I stole dis... for you:


----------



## Darkkin

My Rue Dog just handed me a pair of wings...literally.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Drama.  Drama, drama, drama.

Good news is, I finally get to prove that I'm an effective shield.


----------



## Thaumiel

Finally got to choose my modules for the year: quantum physics of atoms, electrodynamics, plasma electrodynamics, condensed matter physics, magnetic resonance, nuclear physics, the standard model, scientific programming, physics in medicine, optoelectronics and laser physics. Now I just need to get my project sorted out...

For now though, Sherlock and a beer.


----------



## ShadowEyes

I made Korean curry rice for the first time today and it was yummy, yummy! Plus, lots of leftovers!


----------



## Pluralized

Probably the best day of my career. Like the boss, like the new company a lot, and feeling really positive about our future. I'm just a lowly project manager, but finally entrenched in a great organization with great people. In the commercial construction industry, it doesn't get a whole lot better. Since I decided to make this move to Colorado we've (wife and I) had a lot of trepidation but very glad it's worked out so well. My daughter likes her new school a lot, which also helps, as does the ten mile commute along the front range. Life's good.


----------



## am_hammy

It was a bit rough. I knew that being promoted would ensue more responsibility, and I definitely understand that. What I wasn't expecting was to feel like the staff was suddenly against me. I'm sure it's my own paranoia, but it's really odd when one blip happens and everyone suddenly acts like you aren't capable. Then, I get left with this stuff that I'm trying to figure out for myself, and I feel like I'm being a nuisance if I ask a question or for help. It's an odd position to be in and I hope that it goes away soon and things go back to sort of how they used to be. I am trying though, to not worry about what others think of me, but it's still hard when you think you have friends and suddenly they act weird towards you.

Ahhh, retail. I have off tomorrow though, so that is a huge plus. ^_^


----------



## Darkkin

My numbers came back critical...So, yeah...That consumed my day, now I'm a total crosspatch and so tired that I know I won't be able to sleep tonight.  But it is just a day, a nearly done day.  I can beat this thing!


----------



## ShadowEyes

My condolences people above me. Atra esterni ono thelduin.


----------



## LeeC

am_hammy said:


> It was a bit rough. I knew that being promoted would ensue more responsibility, and I definitely understand that. What I wasn't expecting was to feel like the staff was suddenly against me. I'm sure it's my own paranoia, but it's really odd when one blip happens and everyone suddenly acts like you aren't capable. Then, I get left with this stuff that I'm trying to figure out for myself, and I feel like I'm being a nuisance if I ask a question or for help. It's an odd position to be in and I hope that it goes away soon and things go back to sort of how they used to be. I am trying though, to not worry about what others think of me, but it's still hard when you think you have friends and suddenly they act weird towards you.
> 
> Ahhh, retail. I have off tomorrow though, so that is a huge plus. ^_^


Oil your feathers, practice an indirect approach**, and find a good distraction  When the wife is upset by me/work/life she hits the golf course (I won't explain the metaphor). I think she must have been flustered a good many times over the years, because her golf handicap now ranges between single digits and negative ;-) 


** For example, if faced by something you need help with, say loudly enough to yourself (so a staff member can hear), "Why is this more complicated than [whatever]." In other words pull the staff member in to show their stuff and be proud of their contribution -- that's real leadership 


And maybe I'm just a misguided old fart, but said just in case it helps in some small way. 

Best wishes in your career.


----------



## am_hammy

LeeC said:


> Oil your feathers, practice an indirect approach**, and find a good distraction  When the wife is upset by me/work/life she hits the golf course (I won't explain the metaphor). I think she must have been flustered a good many times over the years, because her golf handicap now ranges between single digits and negative ;-)
> 
> 
> ** For example, if faced by something you need help with, say loudly enough to yourself (so a staff member can hear), "Why is this more complicated than [whatever]." In other words pull the staff member in to show their stuff and be proud of their contribution -- that's real leadership
> 
> 
> And maybe I'm just a misguided old fart, but said just in case it helps in some small way.
> 
> Best wishes in your career.




You aren't misguided at all Lee. You're very wise =)

I've been trying to do that. I have to figure out how I work with everyone and what everyone is good at so I can be divide up the responsibilities and see what needs to be done and who can do it efficiently. I had a case of being overwhelmed last week and there were certain staff that acted all weird about it, almost like I'm not allowed to be overwhelmed once or feel the pressure.

I also know and realized after the fact, that I need to keep my cool. Even if I'm freaking out on the inside, I need to come up with solutions. It will be an adjustment, but I think I can do it. I won't be at Hallmark forever but I should still do the best that I can do. And I can't care about other people's opinions of me. Someone is always going to have a problem, but as long as I'm doing what I should and doing the best I should, then that's that.

Thanks Lee ^_^


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

am_hammy said:


> I won't be at Hallmark forever but I should still do the best that I can do. And I can't care about other people's opinions of me. Someone is always going to have a problem, but as long as I'm doing what I should and doing the best I should, then that's that.


Just keep this in mind, Hamster, and you'll go far.  And remember, no matter what people think of you, we here at WF hold you in extremely high esteem, so people with negative opinions can [GRAPHIC CONTENT DELETED]

I don't think I ever said congrats on the promotion, but I'm sure it was well-earned, and I've got faith that you'll pull through.


----------



## am_hammy

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Just keep this in mind, Hamster, and you'll go far.  And remember, no matter what people think of you, we here at WF hold you in extremely high esteem, so people with negative opinions can [GRAPHIC CONTENT DELETED]
> 
> I don't think I ever said congrats on the promotion, but I'm sure it was well-earned, and I've got faith that you'll pull through.



Thank you for the congrats and the encouragement! I shall try to remember those words I said to myself forever haha.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My day was... eh.  It started out rough.  I got caught in the middle of some breakup drama and I've been trying to shield my friend from the worst of it and help her get to a better place.

We'll just say that her ex is pretty deeply in the wrong, has not taken things well, and has decided to stick around town, despite burning most of her bridges (they're both women).

How will this play out?  Who knows?  I'm hoping that the drama will die down quickly and that everyone will be able move on, because I'm not really looking forward to a long game of "We Don't [MESS] with Dubs' Friends."

-sigh-

Thankfully, I'm able to be where I'm needed for once, and we had a good time clearing out the ex's belongings.  Here's hoping for stability and happiness.

And here's to preparing for the storm that's bound to come.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Better to have loved and lost than be stuck with a psychopathic rat for life.


----------



## Darkkin

Yeah for favourite outfits!  It is cool enough for my 60's inspired grey, houndstooth, cowl dress.  And yes, I do admit to being a bit of a vainglorious peacock, but I do so, love pretty things.


----------



## Olly Buckle

grey, houndstooth, cowl  = vainglorious peacock, 

It sounds like an oxymoron, either you live in a very restricted religious community, or the fact is much different from the image this raises for me.


----------



## Darkkin

More along the lines of vintage Hepburn...LOL.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Today I feel like I'm trapped on a tiny ball of matter hurtling through an uncaring universe at unimaginable speeds, and [SODA POP] if I'm not glad I'm trapped on it with you guys.


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

Well, it's obvious,  my day was just pure PLUM delicious.


----------



## ShadowEyes

I hate massacres.


----------



## Darkkin

Star Socks Fox has returned!  This piece is softer, a bit darker, but I actually am pleased with the result.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My day's picked up significantly, don't feel so isolated anymore.

My friend's doing much better, picked her up from work today and we took care of her ducks and chickens (she's got ducks and chickens), then grabbed dinner and played around with some culinary concepts.  Feel like she needs someone around until she gets used to being on her own again, or finds a nice girl that'll treat her better.

Now it's time to crash, since I've got work tomorrow.  I can already tell it's gonna be a long day.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Took my dog to the vet, lets just say he will be coming back a bit lighter. I had to do it, you see, he was becoming aggressive. I hope he wont miss them too much. 

Other than it has been a pretty good day.


----------



## Sonata

TheWonderingNovice said:


> Took my dog to the vet, lets just say he will be coming back a bit lighter. I had to do it, you see, he was becoming aggressive. I hope he wont miss them too much.
> 
> Other than it has been a pretty good day.



Well done - too few people are that careful.  Thank you.

My puppy cannot be spayed for a few months yet as she is so small, but if more people were as conscientious as you,  I would not have had my current and previous two girls.


----------



## midnightpoet

My sleep patterns have been odd lately; I went to bed at 8pm and woke up at 4am.  Took Jud, our blue heeler, for a walk at first light.  Saw a cat.  That's about as exciting as it got.  He of course smelled several times - checking his e-mail?

Anyway I was feeling ambitious so around 8am I plunged into my Fall clean-up - my workshop.  It was a jumbled mess, so I tossed junk, organized things, and so forth.  My table saw is in there, as my miter saw and other tools. It's about 10by20ft with a hip roof.  It's not insulated yet, so I cut up a 4x8 sheet of plywood and nailed it on the studs to make places for my extra lumber. I finished half of it by noon, had lunch, took nap.  

Helped wife w/laundry; she's finally feeling better, her various illnesses had her down for most of the summer.  Made beds, ect.  I'm pooped.  Maybe tomorrow I'll rest (haha).


----------



## Darkkin

I slew iambic...the wreckage is still smoldering...:ambivalence:


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Brother's GF's graduation party is today. I can smell the awkward coming. They have that weird way of standing next to each other and fiddling. ...It's kinda sad. 

I'm not invited and I don't blame them. I wouldn't invite me either. I'd just give her all the reasons why she's making a horrible decision choosing him. 

...My dad can't decide if he wants to go, or stay home and watch the football game. 

So, 50/50, I'll brood alone, or have le father downstairs with me watching football...

Either way, yaaaaay. -Weak false enthusiasm, crumples on floor-


----------



## Bruno Spatola

It's really hard to be a shoulder to cry on, sometimes. It can give people an inflated view of you, like you're an unshakable soul who has full control of their feelings. This can have an undesirable effect when it's the listener who is in times of need, though. They don't understand quite how to react, because it's a bit of a surprise! -- that's why they were drawn to _you_, after all. Because you could deal with their stuff better than they could in those moments, damn hard as they tried. 

It hurts when your emotions generate such strong reactions from people you love. It makes you feel so alone, but . . . maybe this is the road all us strong shoulders are doomed to walk. The more I accept that, the better I feel. I can do it on my own, and there's the difference. I shouldn't expect back every single thing I give; it isn't fair on others. We aren't created equal, and that's the simple truth. And you know what? That's okay... It's okay. Love comes in many forms.

Good luck to everyone here with their situations. I'm beaming understanding and kindness to you all.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I know those feels, too, Bruno.

We all have moments of weakness, we all have moments of doubt, and there's no shame in that.  We all need someone to lean on every now and again, a friend to walk with, someone to care, to realize, if only for a moment, that we're human, too.  It's healthy to vent in a controlled setting, and affirmation helps to reinforce the positives.

You don't have to go it alone.

Hope everything's okay with you, man.


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

Wineless,  but that changed about 45 mind ago.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Dad stayed home after all to watch the game.  I don't understand the fascination with football. 

I played D3 and tried to get a Hellfire Ring. The keywardens were very stingy with their loot drops. 

Fried rice for dinner, which is my favorite, except the specific bottle of soy sauce I had, unlike the others, has no cap limiting the output. I mercilessly tilted it and watched in horror as I remembered this fact, and my dinner tasted of salty sadness. 

No one told me how it went today. I didn't ask. 

Think I'll go to sleep early. Quit while I'm behind.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

You'll be all right, Crow.  You're still young and rubbery.  Remember, it's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.


----------



## ShadowEyes

I went to a local arts festival today and read a piece in front of my Writers' Collective and some pretty cool strangers. One of them had a poem about boozing (edit:  "The Irish Pig," which he recited from memory). Another did a monologue. My mentor talked in a country accent.

I also made rice pudding. And I got Felicia Day's memoir. The first page made me laugh, so this is a keeper.


----------



## Bruno Spatola

Life can be great when you have all the time in the world. The double edge comes when you're feeling lonely.

Busyness is underrated.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

ShadowEyes said:


> One of them had a poem about boozing (edit:  "The Irish Pig," which he recited from memory)



Might not be the same one, but I remember this funny one nonetheless: 

It was the pig fair last september
a day I well remember
I was staggerin' up and down
in drunken pride

when my knees began to flutter, 
so I lay down in the gutter
and a pig came up
and lay down by my side

as I lay there in the gutter
thinking thoughts I could not utter
I thought I heard a passing lady say:

"You can tell the man who boozes
by the company he chooses"
and at that, the pig got up
and walked away. 

I have no idea what I shall do today... will return with the enthralling events as they unfold...


----------



## The Green Shield

Playing the finale of _Fallout 3_. Kind of hilarious. You basically follow a squad of Brotherhood and a *giant robot* to where the enemy has taken control of a project that would clean the irradiated waters of the Capital Wasteland. The robot is so stupidly overpowered that my character is basically walking behind dressed in flimsy clothing and a knife. Good thing I have the Broken Steel DLC...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

A few LoL matches later, and I remember why I'll never be in any championship matches. I can't tell if my headache is genuine, or from hunger. Going to eat something regardless. Put a few more stitches in my most recent WIP doll... mindlessly pumped iron... my arms hurt. 

How long do people normally stare at walls? Three seconds...? Well, I've far exceeded that...


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

I wish for more adventure. I want to see things. My world is pretty small and in need of expansion. I want to hear things. I'm not talking about world travel, although that'd be nice. Driving to another city, another state. Just want to see something new. 

but this is just me being bored


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

There are plenty of opportunities to do so, Novice, you just gotta get out there.  Actually, I encourage you to do so, there are plenty of experiences I've had that I'm glad I didn't miss out on.  You don't need to go far to find adventure.

Right now I'm all puffy, red-eyed, and leaky.  Saw that I made the header, that made my day, haha.  Sat down and drew a bit, working on porportion and perspective a bit, trying to get better at drawing from different angles.  I think I'm doing a pretty good job of it so far.  I feel sleep coming on, but I'm not sure I want to go live out another fever dream.

The county instated a curfew until 6:00AM.  The rain actually washed out all the soil underneath a nearby road, leaving pipes and lines exposed and a nice hollow space under the asphalt.  Glad I don't have to drive on that tomorrow.  Goodness, me.


----------



## Darkkin

Well that piece is certainly a collision of worlds!  It isn't my usual style, but I actually like it.


----------



## popsprocket

It was a long weekend down here and I spent the whole thing covered in grease. Will have to do the same next weekend too when the engine goes back in.

All for a clutch that's only 7" across... it's so adorably small.

Welcome to the workshop, grab a spanner and get to work.


----------



## Dave Watson

Pretty frickin' great actually. 

Deal with my publisher was that they'd print hard copies of my last book if I sold 200 e-book versions. Found out earlier I've sold almost 700 in the last two months.

:rofl:


----------



## LeeC

Drove (sate renewed my driver's license on line  ) over to a small commercial hub off an interstate 89 exit today with the pretext of picking up something I needed. Actually an excuse for a coffee and bagel (forbidden fruit, shhh). When I extricate myself from the wife's Prius V and start for the shop, a man coming out stops and holds the door. I said thank you but could handle it, to which he insisted he had the time. 

Coming out with a coffee to go, a bag, and two canes, two women came over, one holding the door, and the other my coffee and bag till I was back in the car. Who says there aren't nice people out there  

The only anxious/irksome moments being one driver on my half of the road not paying attention, and the music in the shop.  My idea of real music is my headphones on listening to a wolf chorus or the like. Have to wear the headphones because otherwise the dog gets too excited. 

Life's a balancing act and it's taken a good many stumbles to learn to recognize the silver linings.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Rain is finally subsiding in SC.  We were fortunate out here in the boonies, where we're basically on sand.  Soaked up all the rain, so there wasn't much flooding.  People in Columbia weren't so lucky, a lot of places are underwater, a lot of homes have been lost.

I managed to conduct my route safely today, looking forward to my days off tomorrow and Wednesday.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Got the day off early today.

Read about half of Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson) and dipped into some Pablo Neruda. 

To make my night complete I'm going to dive into The Corrections and The Name of the Rose.

Oh, and I'm just about to eat some perogies!


----------



## popsprocket

Had a hospital visit today, where everything was moving surprisingly quickly for a nice change.

And then they tried to put a drip in my arm, the nurse lost the vein she was intending to use as soon as she put the needle through my skin, dug around for it a bit, then pushed it in further and it hurt so much that I thought I might pass out. Took two more attempts in different spots to get the needle in. Then, because I'd made the mistake of mentioning to my doctor that I had worked on the car and had little cuts all over my hands, she added a Tetanus booster to my order for the day. So I got two long muscle injections, one in each thigh. No wonder I hated needles as a kid, those long ones aren't much fun and there's a nice bruise on one of my legs (but not the other for some reason).

Oh well.

My car parts arrived so I guess I can forgive the sheer amount of times I got stabbed today.


----------



## Boofy

TIL, the best kinds of friends are scribblers. Look what Dubs made me for my soon-to-be Birthday! It went from stressful, rainy and dull (your average English day) to completely awesome in seconds <3 Thaaaaaaaank you, PurredSniff!

I finished Northanger Abbey by the way! Actually thoroughly enjoyed it. That showed me, neh? ^^;

EDIT: Oh my God, how did Yoyo get up there??? x3


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Glad you like it ^_^;



Boofy said:


> EDIT: Oh my God, how did Yoyo get up there??? x3


It's a mystery. ;D


----------



## Olly Buckle

A horrid drive to Brighton, the weather sheeted down rain so hard I could hardly see in places. Then saw Shobna Jeyasingh Dance at the Dome doing 'Strange blooms'  and 'Material men'. I had heard some of the music, that was what inspired me to get tickets, but the dance was amazing as well, a really good night out, and the weather had cleared by the time we drove home.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Saw the full sun for the first time in a week.  The only thing rain is good for is sleeping. My gut decided it wasn't happy with it's recent contents. I have pills but they take a little bit to kick in. Still just making progress on whatever games I feel like playing. I still haven't reached the 'can kill anything' part, but I'm getting there. 

Finding a random internet video reminded me of some emotions I had forgotten about. It's odd, how memory works. The most pointless things can trigger complete flashbacks. There's a hole, burning in my core now. And it's not indigestion.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Seems like everyone else on the forum is having awful weather and here I am:  blue skies and sunshine. And walking dogs. Then hugging dogs. Then wanting a cheetah cub to play with the dogs. ...Yeah, but only for a day.

Also, the cure for listlessness is work. A busy monk doesn't have the time for feeling sad.

And if you can't manage sunshine or work, then staying inside the house and playing Shovel Knight and watching Durarara!! Because I'm not a monk yet.


----------



## The Green Shield

Been nervous all day. Guess it was my anxiety exacting its sweet revenge for me beating the crud out of it yesterday and most of the early morning hours today. 

<rolls up sleeves> All right, two can play this game, you little sodding rat! BRING IT ON!!


----------



## Darkkin

Just got my hands on a copy of the Illustrated _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_.  Serious case of book envy.  Every page, marvelous attention to detail, this is the version the geeks have been waiting for...And I have to wait until Friday.  Three days, I can do three days.


----------



## The Green Shield

Which reminds me, I should probably read the sixth _Harry Potter_ book. I skipped it and went straight to the last one so technically, I never finished reading the series after all.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Which reminds me, I should probably read the sixth _Harry Potter_ book. I skipped it and went straight to the last one so technically, I never finished reading the series after all.


What is this 'should'. The people who tell you you 'should' red something (like The Bible) can usually be ignored safely. There are so many books, 100,000 new titles a year in England alone I read recently, that you can pick and choose the ones that catch your interest and attention, don't waste your life on imaginary obligations. If you want to that is another thing.


----------



## Sonata

Rain, glorious rain.  Our first rains started in the early hours of the morning and it was bucketing down.  The only downside was that it knocked out the power and the telephones and I get panicky when the telephones are out because my emergency speaker/amplifier is connected to my second line.

The heavy rain stopped after a few hours and the power and telephones came back on around 8am and it has been raining on and off again this morning.  The only consolation for me is that the unbearable heat has eased off, and oh do we need rain.  Lots of it.

Bugga - the power keeps going off which means no computer.  It is also very dark because I have had to close the louvres on the shutters at the back otherwise the rain comes in, so I have to keep some lights on, and I do not like having to have lights on during the day.


----------



## am_hammy

Trying to be positive and preemptively saying it's going to be a good day. It will be. I'm going to spend some time with my grandparents after work today and sleep over. It's been awhile. Used to live with them growing up and I miss it sometimes, the familiarity of it. =)


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My day (and therefore my pay for today) just got cut in half.  Sixty miles of wear and tear on my car for no good reason.  [CRUMB CAKE].


----------



## 20oz

Season 11 of Supernatural starts today. It is and is going to be a great day.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I need to get an oil change and have my tires balanced and rotated. I'm so glad I can pay other people to do this for me,  while I just wait until they finish. Ahhh...I felt better after coffee, but... when I've been waking up, the way I lay on my shoulder has been pulling it. My neck is stiff as a board. 

Also, after watching TV shoes about diseases, now I'm scared of sand-flies. We don't... have those....in georgia, do we? GOOGLE! SAVE ME!


----------



## dither

I'm in the middle of a week off.
I drink cheap gutrot cider and, at heart, i'm a total slob.

Shame on me huh!

I need to find a dentist to fix a chipped tooth.:dispirited::ChainGunSmiley::dispirited:


----------



## Sonata

Yay!  I had intended to go to the huge store at the Pension [boarding kennels] today as I needed some things for the devil puppy, but could not go as I have a nasty attack of arthritic gout.  So I telephoned them and they delivered it all a couple of hours ago.  No delivery charge either, plus I saved the taxi fares there and back! :thumbr:


----------



## The Green Shield

Researching a medical condition for a character in a book I'm writing. It's very interesting and an eye-opener.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Back tires need replacing. At least they'll be pretty cheap. 

I lost 12 LoL matches in a row. The average game length is 15-30 minutes. Sick of being matched with idiots on my team and tryhards on the other. Probably just gonna uninstall. I get a little touch of heartburn, or something similar I guess, whenever I get stressed. My stomach kicks into overdrive and has waaaaay too much acid. 

Usually, I make a conscious attempt not to be stressed. But some things you can't positively think around. 

Generally I'm done. Done with today. Done with this week. I did everything I was supposed to, but the sense of accomplishment lasted about five seconds, and then this. Yep. Done.

One of my little ticks is feeling inferior. Maybe it's a man thing, but it gets under my skin and I can't ignore it. I can't be happy when someone else wins, if it means I lose. It's a curse. I wish I could stop. Really, I do.


----------



## popsprocket

Visited the Ellaspede custom motorbike workshop near the city today, then visited a huge tool store on the way home and narrowly squashed the temptation to buy a 4 foot long pipe wrench just so that I could have a 4 foot long pipe wrench.

So basically I went to two candy stores.

Then came home and cleaned up my car's engine a little more. I'll put it back in on the weekend when I've got some help.


----------



## Darkkin

Just pondering, nothing deeply profound, more of a simple why.  A sudden spate of use of the bolding function.  Yes, it's there, is it necessary?  Personally, I don't think so.  (Seeing the glass as half full, here: I'm giving the reader the benefit of the doubt and assume they will understand what I'm talking about, without turning the paragraph into a primary school assignment sheet.)  Misspelled words don't bother me nearly as much as the bolding thing.  Italics and sarcasm go hand in hand, a subtler indicator in the writing medium.  Bold, well, outside of titles, chapter headings, educational and technical writing no one has ever quantified why something it is _that_ important.  As a reader, I appreciate subtly; Captain Obvious, while entertaining, is not my favourite person.  Context is my friend and now I've run out of philosophy, and must awaken the feline sleeping in my lap.  It should be an interesting day to say the least.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Today has been... uninspired.  I don't think I'm meant to do anything creative today, so I'm just gonna spend the rest of the day chilling.


----------



## The Green Shield

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Today has been... uninspired.  I don't think I'm meant to do anything creative today, so I'm just gonna spend the rest of the day chilling.


That's what I do a lot. 

So I've been stricken with a lot of research questions spanning a lot of the stories (re: those with potential for me to write them.) Better open up a word document and start writing those questions down before I forget.


----------



## ShadowEyes

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Today has been... uninspired.  I don't think I'm meant to do anything creative today, so I'm just gonna spend the rest of the day chilling.



Hey at least you didn't wake up in the afternoon like me. >.<


----------



## am_hammy

So far today, I've done a bunch of laundry, and went out to take some pictures of this tree that's changing colors among other trees, then I saw flocks of geese congregate in a pond near by. 

Then there's been this moth watching me while I've been doing my laundry, then a bug flew into my face walking back from the laundry room, then a spider floated on a silk parachute (an assumption) right in front of me with no regard to my walking path and there was a millipede in one of my blankets and it scurried away somewhere. I don't know where it went O.O


----------



## Darkkin

Tibbox returns!


----------



## The Green Shield

My left foot isn't hurting as bad as before. :applause: This is good.


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

I have had a dandilicious Mustard day! Good laugh at work, the sun came out to play. Finished my iambic pentameter offering, Betty the wonder dog has had a cute trim, hens laid three eggs, in laws down for tea, family good and the plum team is rocking.


----------



## Darkkin

It was a mixed bag today.  Some awesome folks and conversations, others...:moody:  Generally, it takes_ a lot _for me to genuinely dislike a person.  One guy managed...You don't decide that I cannot have my break so you can have yours early, when you have only been there 30 minutes, especially, after my first two got missed, (super busy, yeah!) and my blood sugar and potassium levels have gone critical and I haven't had time to take my medication.  Why did I mention it to a manager...well...do I really have to dignify that with an answer.  No, I don't.  I have a right to my break and to being okay.  Things have to be at a pretty low ebb before I actually say something, but when I do; it is because I need to get something in my systems asap.

I might be a 95 lb. girl, but I'm not a doormat.  And it is also amazing how much something as simple as a banana and a glass of milk can help.


----------



## Khalid M

As usual, I'm less productive than what I set out to be this morning. I'd better write a few hundred words more before the sun sets...


----------



## escorial

i'm waiting for my son to turn up at my mothers..it's been four months since i last saw him....feel weird just now


----------



## dither

How old is your son Escorial?
If it's okay to ask.


----------



## Darkkin

I got my copy of the illustrated _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_, today and it is amazing. :emmersed:  Also, hit on an idea for the second journey of small Violet Bright and I'm done with work for the week.  Three consecutive days off!


----------



## ShadowEyes

escorial said:


> i'm waiting for my son to turn up at my mothers..it's been four months since i last saw him....feel weird just now



Remember that we usually judge ourselves more often and harder than others do.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

ShadowEyes said:


> Remember that we usually judge ourselves more often and harder than others do.



Or some of us, the other way around. ;D 

I just woke up... uuuuuhg. My headache could kill a smaller creature. 

Gonna go play something involving mass amounts of lead. :ChainGunSmiley:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Just got home from work, feeling pretty good.

Gonna admit, the day got off to a rough start, was thinking that I could use someone to calm me down, and then I was like "Hey, wait a minute, you're DUBS.  You got this!"

And I was like "Dubs, it's Dubs, you all right?"

And I was like "No, Dubs, [GLITTER] sucks right now."

And I was like "Dubs, relax, don't let it get to you.  It's gonna be all right."

And I was like "I don't really believe you, Dubs."

And I was like "Nah, man, it really is.  There are some things you just can't help.  The main thing is to roll on.  Just let it go."

And I was like "You know what, Dubs, you're right."

And I was like "Glad I could help."

And the people around me started backing away slowly.  I think they were scared of what might happen if they tried to run.

The important thing is that I felt better, and I managed to get through my day without hurting anyone.  Or killing them, for those who might need that distinction, haha.

EDIT:  Actually, come to think of it, the important thing is that I'm learning that I can be here for myself just as well as I can be here for others.  It's making a big difference in my worldview.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> I just woke up... uuuuuhg. My headache could kill a smaller creature.



You should drink more water.



AtleanWordsmith said:


> and I managed to get through my day without hurting anyone.  Or killing them, for those who might need that distinction, haha.



You should drink less coffee...! Coffee is not a Grand Panacea.

Or more specifically, do what helps you sleep at night. It helps to remember how lucky I am to be alive and generally carefree. Because there are times when I'm a nervous wreck. Fighting against it is a cumulatively easier process.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Nah, it all happens in my head.  I actually haven't had any coffee in about a month, to be honest.  The rough start was more due to finding out a friend had done something stupid, against my advice, than anything else.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I can't do without caffeine. I would be out like a light.

I got off work early, went to a deli and had lunch with my father, and have since been roaming the forums.

Onto my third cup of tea for the day and more reading and writing adventures! 

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!    :ChainGunSmiley:

(If you can't tell I'm a little revved up on the caffeine. )


----------



## Darkkin

Laundry baskets and stairs...:cheers::welcoming:


----------



## The Green Shield

My day went like this:

• Came up with what I thought was a heartbreaking scene, a scene that would really cement the theme I was writing about, that would set the stage for the rest of the book.

• Turns out one of my characters, who was in that scene, said, “Excuse me, but this is _not_ what I'd do. I'm sorry but this scene makes no sense and I'll tell you why!” 

So the heartbreaking scene? Now it's turned into half-disappointment and half-pleased that my characters stood up and spoke against it before I spent 1K words writing that scene. Good for them.  <gives them all a cookie>

“Wait, this is it? Chocolate cookies?”
“Just be quiet and eat the damned things!!”


----------



## ShadowEyes

Darkkin said:


> Laundry baskets and stairs...:cheers::welcoming:



Down they tumble all a'bundle!


----------



## Darkkin

Just finished watching When Marnie was There.  Lovely, simply lovely.


----------



## The Green Shield

1:46 am here and can't go to sleep. How is everyone!


----------



## ShadowEyes

The Green Shield said:


> 1:46 am here and can't go to sleep. How is everyone!



I have a theory that even if I didn't sleep and everyone else did, I'd still be just as dumb as I am now. As opposed to being a super-genius. I feel like I'm monopolizing the "So How'd Your Day Go" thread. I should probably sleep. 

"Go to bed; tired is stupid." -- Kurremkarmerruk, from _A Wizard of __Earthsea_


----------



## popsprocket

Got my engine reassembled with the new clutch, but it's going to have to wait until tomorrow to go back in the car. 

I'm itching to go for a drive, these last 2.5 weeks have felt like an eternity.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Spicy yet mellow with a touch of lonely. 

If I were a chef, and days were food, this day would have been a weird dish.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Just got in from running my route.  We're back to rain again, and the road I live on is a river now.  A cheeky neighbor the next road down actually tied their boat up outside their driveway.  Stuff like that amuses me.

Nature took a pot shot at me today.  I was driving back from Edgefield and it hit a tree not twenty feet away from me on the other side of the road.  I may have said a dirty word or two.

Anyway, I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm gonna take a nap.  Stay classy, WF!


----------



## Kevin

Shabushabu last night in Little Tokyo..never neen before. my son kept making references to the fifth element..doing all the Bruce Willis lines "...it's never good. My wife left me, lawyer left with my wife...and..."   "you are fired!" Anyway, it was different, food was very good..,


----------



## LeeC

^ I don't know whether to click LOL or LOC Kevin. 

Outside today doing some final chores in preparation for winter, with the wife helping me in doing the bulk of the physical work. All went well until I said, "Us elderly people compliment each other don't we." She snapped back, "Watch who you're calling elderly!"


----------



## The Green Shield

Especially when said elder can make you sleep on the couch for an indeterminate amount of time.


----------



## LeeC

Fall foliage colors are late this year. Commonly mid October is peak around here.

I wouldn't say it has much to do with climate change, as it's most often a four year cyclic thing, occurring when all the wannabes descend on New Hampshire with hot air to spare. A larger than normal slate of candidates this year doesn't bode well for fall foliage.

Seeing another thread discussing the shortcomings of journalism, the thought occurred to me that if media did more to expose the monied backing of the candidates, it would be more useful information than simply amplifying the candidates' BS ;-)


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

My new rescue and my other dog ad finally starting to accept the fact that neither of them are leaving so they better make the best of the situation. Much to my relief. 

I was quite delirious this morning. I had worked the night before then to get up a few hours to work in the morning. Messed up a few things here and there but pushed through it. A very interesting day.


----------



## aj47

I grok the copy constructor.  It takes something and copies it. The copy goes into this.  And since it's building a this, it's a constructor.


----------



## popsprocket

My car is back together and alive! 

Took me the whole weekend and this morning to get it finished.

Only trouble is that it tried to swallow my reverse gear when I tried to shift into it, so I'm obviously going to have to adjust the clutch. Here's praying it's just an adjustment at the slave cylinder because that's easy to do.


----------



## Darkkin

There are days when one feels apart from the world, not just apart, but a little above and just beyond the touch of normal.  It is a trick of the mind, triggered by some small thing no one sees, or will ever know, but you.  And it is because you know that you are just that little bit beyond.  Odd days, those, but still entirely pleasant, if a little lonely.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Ever been too tired to fall asleep? Like, literally, you are so tired that even the sleep process seems tiresome? Perhaps I'm delirious, but I stayed up despite hanging onto consciousness by a thread.

Got my butt kicked by more tryhards. At least I'm content knowing it's an american server, and whoever it was probably has 150+ pounds ahead of me in gut. 

Tried to write, but the words wouldn't come.

Tried to draw, but my lines weren't straight. 

All of le friends were asleep. 

I looked in the mirror and said "What the &#%@ are you looking at!" 

I'd like to believe that he heard me. Yeah, I'm delirious.


----------



## The Green Shield

Got back from the library just now.

Five books.

Two are for research purposes. Ever had the feeling when your characters command you to go to the library and do research? Well, two of my characters from two different stories did just that. So I now have three books about physical therapy and neck pain. Hey, research what you don't know and all of that. 

The other two books are for entertainment:
_A Knight of Seven Kingdoms_ by George R.R. Martin. It's a collection of three novellas set 100 years before the events of _Game of Thrones_.


_Library of Souls_ by Ransom Riggs. It's the third novel in his _Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children_ series.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> At least I'm content knowing it's an american server, and whoever it was probably has 150+ pounds ahead of me in gut.


That doesn't seem like it'd be hard to do, Mr. Skellington.  Look!  I'm already two tons ahead of you in gut!  Marvel as I wheel around on this pallet jack, because a Rascal couldn't hold my weight!

I just got home from work thirty minutes ago.  Been a looong day, but I'm finding that it's worth it recently, and it's certainly been good for my savings, which can now be described as "existent."  One of our accounts has some major VIPs coming in tomorrow, so my dumb [TOOSHY] volunteered to go in to work the store ahead of their arrival.  My supervisor likes it when you say "and I'm willing to be the solution" after you tell him "We have a problem."  I mean, when it comes down to it, the travel and the pay are probably going to even out, but I'm going to score majorly in the image department.

It's one of those jobs where, when you go above and beyond, your reward is more work.  I'm starting to realize that it's not a bad thing.  I'm getting out of the house, I'm making contacts and building relationships, and I'm proving that I'm an asset.  More importantly, if I keep it up, especially over the holiday season, I'll have enough money to travel in the spring.  Or to get new glasses (I don't need them to function, just for distance).  Or to bury somewhere deep where I can't get to it so that I have it later, when I need it.

Who knows?

Life's an adventure.

Also, I need some [FROLLICKING]ing sleep.


----------



## am_hammy

My day was long, tiring, and a bit stressful. 

One particular source of stress and anxiety leaves at work,and a new one comes in the form of my job. I knew it would be hard, but not so much mentally as it feels now.

Looking forward to this weekend and catching up with friends and my first full time paycheck this Thursday. Gotta keep my eye on the prize.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

If it's any consolation, I can empathize, lately.  You're right, though, eye on the prize!  You can do it, Hamster!


----------



## am_hammy

AtleanWordsmith said:


> If it's any consolation, I can empathize, lately.  You're right, though, eye on the prize!  You can do it, Hamster!




Although, I wouldn't want people going through this kind of stuff, it does help when you're reminded that you aren't quite alone in your struggles. So thank you for that.

Now lets go kick some buttski!


----------



## aj47

Some nutjob thought he could turn from the inside lane to the outside lane.  I was turning from the outside lane into the outside lane.  Our vehicles impacted.  I'm fine, but the side door to my van does not want to close.

They have rinky-dink insurance so this may cost me my deductible.


----------



## Winston

astroannie said:


> Some nutjob thought he could turn from the inside lane to the outside lane.  I was turning from the outside lane into the outside lane.  Our vehicles impacted.  I'm fine, but the side door to my van does not want to close.
> They have rinky-dink insurance so this may cost me my deductible.



Sorry to hear.  At least you're OK.  Trite, I know.  But true nonetheless.  

I dug-up potatoes and carrots today.  The spuds are a bit on the small side, as we didn't weed properly and they were choked-off a bit.  The carrots were fine.
The we blanched them and now we're dehydrating the whole lot.  It'll freeze soon, so now was the time.  
I know, that produce is cheap at the store.  Just like getting my hands dirty.


----------



## Darkkin

Fall is missing, the leaves remain green...refusing to share their knowledge.  Violet Bright has decided to find out why.


----------



## Thaumiel

Narrowly escaped having to do an experimental project on the collective movement of sperm. Managed to get something about ring-beam instabilities in tokamak plasmas.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

It has been a doozy.  My car broke down in the parking lot of a national park, miles away from anywhere.  I learned that roadside assistance is the biggest scam since Nigerian princes (charged me out the [HINEY] to look at my car, shrug, tell me it's the starter, and then abandon us).  It's all good, though, I've got a loaner vehicle so that I can keep working, and a friend's going to take a look at the car this weekend.


----------



## Darkkin

Making nonsense a reality.  Life is all right. :topsy_turvy:


----------



## Boofy

I have to go to the dentist today .____________.

Day already confirmed drawn out nightmare. -sniff-


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Boofy said:


> I have to go to the dentist today .____________.
> 
> Day already confirmed drawn out nightmare. -sniff-



That just means you get yourself a sweet treat afterwards. ;P


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

There is some pretty thick fog this morning, I'm just waiting for the zombies of a leper colony to exact there revenge on the unsuspecting towns folk.

But fog means that it'll be muggy day :calm:


----------



## escorial

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Narrowly escaped having to do an experimental project on the collective movement of sperm. Managed to get something about ring-beam instabilities in tokamak plasmas.


----------



## Sonata

Yesterday started off fine after a good night's sleep - until I fell over the puppy gate.  Trust me, when it comes to skulls v stone floors you wish you had stayed in bed.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Downloading Soma.My computer running it should be more than a pipe dream. Same creators as Amnesia, dark descent, but something tells me it will be more graphics intensive...
Hopefully they actually optimized it. Normally I'm satisfied with watching playthroughs, but I'd really like to explore it myself.

My stomach has been throwing a fit, better stick some more food in it. 

More spore progress. Started a new creepy-looking race. I'm going to befriend a few choice empires (just the races I like) and destroy everyone else. Soon I'll have an entire 'arm' of the swirling galaxy under my control. 

Otherwise, mood has been great, things have been calm.

My appointment is friday. Uuurhg. That means... I actually have to sleep.. DURING THE NIGHT! -sob-


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

Had a really good day which was topped off with a visit to our local playhouse to watch "Gaslight". Well done to all involved.


----------



## popsprocket

Fixed my car.

All the car gods were smiling on me this time and I didn't have to pull apart either of the clutch cylinders.


----------



## aj47

popsprocket said:


> Fixed my car.
> 
> All the car gods were smiling on me this time and I didn't have to pull apart either of the clutch cylinders.



YAY!


----------



## am_hammy

It was a very long 10 hour work day, but I accomplished what I wanted to. I have to stay later than I intended to tomorrow, as I will be travelling, but you gotta do what you gotta do. One more day and I'm free til Monday!


----------



## Riptide

Holy hell man, sometimes I get so pissed at this little teacher of mine and how he grades some assignments. First of all, this is an ONLINE class so we don't know every itty bitty detail he wants included, second he doesn't tell us much of anything! I mean come on! I tried for this last assignment, like brought in two sources, the my usual one source stretch, and i used statistics, and this guy knocks me down to a 3.5 out of 5 because I didn't answer two of the ten questions he throws at us to his 'completion'. Yeah, just venting. I feel much better now.


----------



## Bruno Spatola

Worst day of my life. Never to be forgotten.


----------



## Darkkin

Sometimes, when you have _no_ time, things turn out shockingly right.  Didn't have time to get the edits applied, but I got it in on time with its foundation marvelously sound.  Whoot!


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

A lovely autumnal day with all the leaves scattered across the park. Nice walk, enjoyed a coffee in the cafe and collected the eggs from the allotment.  Now watching the Wolfman.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The hospital told me my MRI shows the lump behind my eye that was pressing on my optic nerve is decreasing, and my field test shows a slight improvement of vision in the central area of that eye, but mostly it was a boring train journey to London.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

My hospital told me I have acid reflux. That explains alot. Got a prescription for that. 

The other generic for depression  on is also a smoking cessation aid. That should help. 

However, it has possible side effects including paranoia, delusion, manic states, hallucinations, generally feeling confused, and *psychosis*. An there's a small chance I will have a huge allergic reaction to it. Oh goodie goodie, they gave me horse tranqs. 

Here's hoping it works instead of disconnecting me from reality. Nothing so far though, aside from the obvious placebo effect from knowing I took something. 

They faxed the information to the pharmacy incorrectly, so I had to ride back into town four hours later. 

I was napping, on the perfect twilight zone between a deep daydream, and sleep. Not 60 seconds more and I would have been long gone.And my mother knocks on the door and tells me she can't go to pick it up, so I have to. 

I have no problem waking up. But being pulled back from the very brink of falling asleep? It's like getting the defrib. CLEAR! -zap- 

I was not happy. I'm going back to sleep now.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I finally finished the first draft of the novel I'm working on! 83, 498 words and it's done!:champagne::ChainGunSmiley:

WOO HOO! : D


----------



## LeeC

^ Way to go


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Just had my car towed from the middle of nowhere to... well, the middle of nowhere, only different.  Cost less than I thought it would, but obliterated my savings... and I still have to find out what's wrong with the [MUFFINS] thing.  Worked this morning, spent three hours waiting for the wrecker this evening, but at least the guy who towed the car was nice and I had a friend with me (the hope was that the car would miraculously start, and we could drive it home... but, of course, it didn't), so the night wasn't too bad.

On a lighter note, I have my GPS set to military time, so when I punched in the route home, it told us "You are on the fastest route and your route is clear.  You should reach your destination by 2018."

This started my friend laughing, and we were both like "Is traffic really THAT BAD?"

Good to be on the same wavelength sometimes.


----------



## Darkkin

I have never been this freaking angry about a piece of writing, as I have never written anything _this _bad before.  It doesn't make sense, I can't access any portion of my creative abilities because of a stinking syllable...I am writing wrong, against all I know.  :miserable:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

If that's the case, loosen up for a while.  Don't force it, don't give up, just put it aside until you've cooled down a bit.  Something'll come to you eventually.  Just gotta slow down and breathe sometimes, or you'll just end up hurting yourself.

Lesson I've been learning, myself.


----------



## Olly Buckle

AtleanWordsmith said:


> On a lighter note, I have my GPS set to military time, so when I punched in the route home, it told us "You are on the fastest route and your route is clear.  You should reach your destination by 2018."
> 
> This started my friend laughing, and we were both like "Is traffic really THAT BAD?"
> 
> Good to be on the same wavelength sometimes.



They are building a new dual carriageway near us and the notice says 'Delays possible until 2017'. I always think, 'No, I can't wait that long.'


----------



## Darkkin

It was a heck of a pain, but I think I finally got it sorted out...:upset:  And that damn dictionary is still one of the best investments I ever made.  Doesn't fit on the table, weighs more than fifteen pounds, and is more than two feet wide when open and ten inches thick when closed.  There isn't much that it doesn't have.  Makes a good step stool on occasion, too.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Sunday morning, right? I get behind a large white van packed with people going very slowly. Naturally, I'm close behind it. A young woman in the back makes eye contact with me. I raise my eyebrows. 

A young man shifts to the back seat to give me the finger. I pass them later, and, reading the side, I find out it was a church van.

Also, when one goes to a mall in a full suit, expect strange looks of wonder and admiration. Even more so when you show up in Hot Topic. Got a sweet Fallout T-shirt though. 

My car ran out of gas not a mile from my house. I jogged the first half, then got to our garage, got the jerry can, walked back, gave it some juice, and finished the ride home. 

Now I'm tired and a little winded. The cold air made my throat hurt.


----------



## JustRob

Just finished rewriting the first chapter of my novel yet again. When I have slept off my self-deception about it I will try reading it tomorrow and then ...

I just feel that even if I'm content with that one I may go on to read the other eighteen chapters again and then ... oh heck.

It almost puts me off writing the rest, but I keep telling myself that they will really be fun if I can ever get them right. How many chapters can one write with just two characters in one building without either of them or me going mad though?


----------



## LeeC

Writing does tend to the obsessive once one has gotten to the point believing in the goal


----------



## The Green Shield

I've finally gained insight into my MC, which is...progress for me.  Slow and steady, that's my motto. Slow and steady, what matters is that I don't give up.


----------



## Darkkin

Ya know it's a bona fide illness when the nightmares are involved.  Never any other time, only when my systems are severely out of whack. :ambivalence:  This has been going on for three days.  I'm done with this.  I'm an actual normal people temperature, including my hands.  Usually, I'm an ice cube with corpse hands.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I take two steps outside and get stung by a yellow jacket. After laughing at his pathetic attempt to kill me, and turning his exoskeleton inside out, I took a seat inside. 

I'm not allergic to them, but they annoy me. Like, if wasps were people, they would be the grumpiest, most annoying, negative people.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

If people were WASPs:







Haha.  I woke up late today (8:30? [HOO BOY] did I sleep in!).  I started learning Japanese a couple days ago, thanks to a friend of mine who knows elementary Japanese pretty well, so I've been practicing with that.  Working on a couple of different drawings, not sure how they're going to turn out yet, but pretty excited for the long term.

I'm probably honestly not going to do much today.  I've been working my [CABOOSE] off for the past couple of weeks, so today feels like one of those days where I... don't!


----------



## am_hammy

Chillin on the CTA in Chicago right now! Took my first plane ride ever!  I'm excited :mrgreen:


----------



## LadsandtheClassics

Saw more death on the news. Ignored it, as usual.


----------



## PhunkyMunky

It seems everyday is like the movie Groundhog Day for me anymore. I have all the time in the world, yet not much fills it. I write, but it gets old (I guess I get burned out) and I find I don't have much interesting to type. It's nonsense. So do some research, right? No. I get burned out on it too. So I munch on junk, peruse forums, looked at the news and find it's the same as last week or even last month... We'll say it's dismal at best. 

I suppose I could practice archery, but I had a bow limb break a few months back and even though I replaced it and it's now working fine... I find myself nervous to continue using the bow... Silly, I know. But! Halloween is coming up. Decorating will be fun, as it always is, and I will have a blast dressing up with the kids for trick or treating, much to my wife's annoyance. As for today, I find it to be... Blah. I believe I will fill it with reading and learning about this forum and how best to use it.


----------



## Darkkin

TSO has a new album releasing in about three weeks.._Squee!_


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I learned that, before the end of the year, a new Bond movie and a new Star Wars movie are coming out.

I'm excited! : D


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My Japanese tutor keeps ambushing me with words.  I don't know what they mean, but I do know how to pronounce them. XD

In other news, someone turned the thermostat waaay down here in the south, so I'm being ambushed with cold temperatures, too.  Luckily, with a simple comforter, I turn into my own not-so-little ball of warm.  The kittens've been using me as their personal space heater.


----------



## Darkkin

My poem is finally ironed, starched, and folded at the pleats...(_It may have been beaten nigh unto the point of death by a dictionary, but no one needs to know that...shh...Don't tell._)  layful:


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

If you stay up long enough, you go insane. 

It wasn't a bad day. But it wasn't a good one either. 

Just biding my time.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

It is a good day so far. I have to take care of chores I've been putting off, who knows how that's going to go :distant:


----------



## The Green Shield

Researching a medical condition. Kind of afraid because (a) it's for a story, (b) I'm afraid of getting it wrong and not only once again reinforcing the stereotypes, but pissing off people who have the condition.


----------



## Darkkin

Just pulled out my prose, and it is scary, very scary.  But it is mine.


----------



## KellInkston

The Day's going well, quite well- ran into a few bumps, but nothing that won't be helpful in the long run.


----------



## JustRob

danielstj said:


> I learned that, before the end of the year, a new Bond movie and a new Star Wars movie are coming out.
> 
> I'm excited! : D



Oh, it isn't a banned movie called Star Whores after all then. Well that's ruined my day.

Having just posted the rewrite of the first chapter of my novel after fighting to get it into the right format for this system I feel wasted -- along with a good deal of my time. Come back reality; all is forgiven. Beam me up, Angel.


----------



## Darkkin

It's done...That is all that can be said.  Done.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Why is letting go so hard? It's like getting off a rope swing after a long go at it. My fists have been clenched for so long, they no longer know how to open. 

My productivity is way down, as a result. Funny, when your mind holds on to a certain thought, and your body follows suit. 

I washed dishes, at least. I tried to do more... really, I did.


----------



## popsprocket

Today I continued my cat-and-mouse game of Find the Gearbox Oil Leak. My car's design has a few eccentricities that mean the drive shaft boots actually contain gearbox oil and ever since I took it apart it has been leaking out of one side, and every time I fix the oil leak in one spot it turns up in another. Eventually I'll get the damn oil to stay in the damn car.

Or maybe I'll just bite the bullet and replace the boot. They're only like $10 each.


----------



## TJ1985

popsprocket said:


> Today I continued my cat-and-mouse game of Find the Gearbox Oil Leak. My car's design has a few eccentricities that mean the drive shaft boots actually contain gearbox oil and ever since I took it apart it has been leaking out of one side, and every time I fix the oil leak in one spot it turns up in another. Eventually I'll get the damn oil to stay in the damn car.
> 
> Or maybe I'll just bite the bullet and replace the boot. They're only like $10 each.



Oddball question, could you use RTV to create a "gasket" of sorts? I've often plugged a "why the hell won't that quit dripping???" with it and it seems to give good performance for me.


----------



## popsprocket

TJ1985 said:


> Oddball question, could you use RTV to create a "gasket" of sorts? I've often plugged a "why the hell won't that quit dripping???" with it and it seems to give good performance for me.



Yeah I did. When I put the shafts back in I didn't bother since they had never leaked before, but the driver's side boot was noticeably harder than the passenger side which, judging by the difference in suppleness, has been replaced at some point in the car's life. But after I had it back together and found the leak I ended up taking the boot off and sealing it with RTV. Which stopped it leaking from the mating face. Now it's leaking from somewhere else a little higher up instead. Sort of chasing it around with the gasket silicone trying to plug it up. If it keeps leaking much longer I'll just order the parts and do it properly. 

It won't be such an awful job to do since I had the opportunity to clean the engine off thoroughly while it was out of the car. Should be a fairly clean affair in actual fact.


----------



## TJ1985

It was worth a shot.  RTV has helped me solve puzzles for years and I was hopeful it could do that for you. The one that was really stiff is newer which is odd: I'd expect the other to leak first. Automobiles are pretty quirky things. New parts leak, old parts hold, new gaskets hole out while crusty old ones last for years... Here's hoping you can get the urinary condition sorted out soon. Oil isn't terribly expensive, but it's too expensive to tolerate losing it via drippage.


----------



## popsprocket

It's not that big a problem, the leak is slow enough that I can still drive it while I wait for parts. If parts were more readily available I probably would have replaced them when the engine was going back in, but since I didn't think of it when I ordered my clutch I didn't have anything to hand and couldn't/didn't want to keep the car off the road for another week.

Just a lesson in doing things the right way the first time around, I guess.


----------



## Plasticweld

Pops after reading back through the posts now I have to know what kind of car you drive?


----------



## popsprocket

Plasticweld said:


> Pops after reading back through the posts now I have to know what kind of car you drive?



A 1979 Fiat X1/9.







It's mid engine, and the gearbox and diff are a both part of the same assembly. So the whole thing just gets filled up with gearbox oil which is allowed to fill the drive shaft boots rather than having to use moly grease or something else in addition.

At the moment I'm part way through converting it to an early style of front and rear bumpers and tidying up some new rust spots, so it's actually got patches of undercoat on it. Ultimately I'll repaint the whole thing.


----------



## Plasticweld

It must be a great handling car.  Did you do any mods to engine or is it still stock?   Looks to be in amazing shape considering its age... It is almost as old as your are :}


----------



## LeeC

Many years ago when still out west I had a (used) Jaguar. I didn't keep it long because it cost too much to keep up. 
Rode so smoothly you wouldn't notice you hit 110 on the freeway stretch from Denver to Pueblo. Head up a mountain pass though and it would die and lock up. There was a pinprick in the radiator hose that at the right angle dripped on the distributor. Took three tow jobs to figure it out.


----------



## dither

Have had just the most awful night at work. My own fault entirely. Living through the most awful time of my life right now, and i've started a blog. A diary of despair, and who knows? I might just post it for real.


----------



## popsprocket

Plasticweld said:


> It must be a great handling car.  Did you do any mods to engine or is it still stock?   Looks to be in amazing shape considering its age... It is almost as old as your are :}



It handles very well, does suffer from being 36 years old though, and it's also pretty rough when you get up close. It's stock except for the suspension - it has aftermarket Koni coilovers which must have been put on very early in the car's life when Koni were still making them. It'd cost me the better part of $7000 to get a set of those today.


----------



## Plasticweld

Are there many X1/9s on the road where you are?  Until you posted a picture I have never seen one.  I have owned some unique cars over the years.  I used to do restorations before I got into doing bikes.  I always loved having a one of a kind car or something different.  I have a 98 Mustang GT right now  with some minor mods to suspension and motor but it really is kind of plain Jane sports car. and have been looking at C5 Corvettes for the last 6 months ago.  My wife says I already have too many toys.  I of coarse disagree


----------



## popsprocket

I know of 5 others that I have personally seen/my friends have told me about in the greater city area but I have no idea how many of those actually reside in the area.

I worked it out once based on some figures I found and there was something like less than 5000 units sold domestically of about 75000 produced over its production run. They're pretty rare but parts are really incredibly cheap even if they need to be sourced from the US or UK.

[strike]I'll actually be pretty sad to see it go[/strike]. Sometime soon I'm going to have to trade it for something a little more practical (read: boring).

ETA scratch that, it's driving me insane at the moment. The exhaust note up and changed for no yet-apparent reason just yesterday, and today I had brake fluid drip on my foot out of the clutch MC (despite the fact that it was a brand spanking new part about four years ago) and just taking it out of the car is widely acknowledged as the single worst job that an owner will ever have to do (and I'm so lucky that this will be the second time I've had to do it).

Excuse me while I go put my car in the naughty corner. It needs to think about what it has done.


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog is being an overly possessive crabby apple tonight...:-?  Usually he's pretty good toward Zwi, not tonight, though.


----------



## ShadowEyes

I helped around the house today whenever I wasn't nervously walking around in preparation for a job interview. Retail, but hey, it's work.

Which brings up a quandary, How to tell whether or not women working in retail are "just being nice," or interested in being friends, or other particulars. I'd get kinda exasperated at starry-eyed guys mucking up my sales, but truth be told, I actually had to walk away because I wasn't sure what to do... I'm not ready for a relationship, but I still want to be friends. Is it too quaint to ask to be friends, internet?

Otherwise, I heard the words, "You can't mud wrestle with a pig because you just get dirty and the pig likes it" in regards to politics.


----------



## The Green Shield

-> My cold went away. My foot no longer is sore.

-> Fallout 4 is just 17 days away.

-> I'm working on the outline to my story, finally have a motivation for my character and a plot. Wheee!

-> I'm both intrigued and puzzled by Gandhi's quote in ShadowEyes' sig. Did he mean if we change ourselves, we change how we see the world or something?

-> *IT'S FRIDAY!!!*


----------



## escorial

LeeC said:


> Many years ago when still out west I had a (used) Jaguar. I didn't keep it long because it cost too much to keep up.
> Rode so smoothly you wouldn't notice you hit 110 on the freeway stretch from Denver to Pueblo. Head up a mountain pass though and it would die and lock up. There was a pinprick in the radiator hose that at the right angle dripped on the distributor. Took three tow jobs to figure it out.



even when the guy drives a car there is an element of nature in it..he drove a jag..cool man


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Lazy friday! Whoop whoop! Ingles (A grocery store with a weird name) called. I got an interview. Just to be a bagger and shopping cart herder, but it's easy, not as customer-involved as being the cashier, and you get tips every now and again. 

Just gotta impress her. That's the easy part, though. I really don't know why people like me... I'm not that great. xD 

Otherwise, more Skyrim. Argonian, heavy armor, battle axe, enchanting, smithing. Basically, smith armor and enchant it all to increase two-handed damage, then, AXE EVERYTHING TO DEATH! I've killed at least four dragons so far, like a hundred bandits, and a heap of forsworn. 

Very productive day, both in reality and games.


----------



## TJ1985

A generally productive day which I feel like talking about. Rare that I have days good enough to talk about, plus I need to get it out of my system, lol. 

Whipped out a couple drawings first. I'm slowly finding my "place" in the drawing world. Strangely enough, drawing is a lot like writing. 1. It's all about methods and it's likely that no two people will approach things the same way. 2. Voice. Some may not even realize it but when you draw you're communicating and everyone has their own voice. All artforms have something like a voice and drawing is no different. I'm finding my voice. At least the voice a novice has. Somewhat clunky, ambitions beyond current skills, goals beyond today, the works. 3. It's telling a story of sorts. When ya pick up a book there's a subconscious thought in the back of your head: What's the point? Why am I reading this? What do I hope to gain from reading this? With a drawing the viewer is looking for some similar motive even when they don't realize it. Is it pretty? Does it "move me"? Am I happier for having seen it? Sometimes it's just to see something aesthetically pleasing. My voice is slowly coming through. Much like my sense of humor, it's kinda creepy/dark, it's kinda simple, and there's a flavor of... fun. Not really refined at this point but that's why I keep doing it. When I nail it all down there will be no meat left on the bone for me to chew on and I'll likely lose interest in doing it. 

Then I designed a watermark. Okay, it's a bit presumptuous that I'd create anything worth selling, much less worth stealing but I'd still rather watermark it so folks can't just pull a "gimme" and have it for nothing. I don't ever expect to sell much of my scribblings if any at all but I'll be damned if I'll let somebody steal pieces without at least making them work for it. Removing the watermark wouldn't take anybody much time but at least I've got it when and if I ever need it for a work good enough to sell. 

For a change, it was a day of success rather than abject failure.  

Thanks to those who've read this far and here's to each of you who read this far having a great day. For those who didn't read this far, may diarrhea become a visitor who refuses to leave when his welcome is worn!


----------



## escorial

presumptuous.....must be a good thing right...i reckon anyway..good on you kidda


----------



## JustRob

Well, my birthday went well but the UN had a hard time hereabouts, as did the moderators, bless them. Oh well, one can't expect to move mountains overnight. At least with the clocks going back here tonight we get an extra hour to sleep off that rather good wine. Red alert! Prepare for timewarp! Somebody wind up that damned red clock or we'll be back last Tuesday before you can whistle ... shit, too la ...


----------



## Darkkin

Relapsed on my cold...This has been my only day off this week and work called three times to see if I could come in despite the fact that I have a temp of 103...So I'm tired, irrationally crabby, and irritated with myself for being so.  :-?


----------



## Olly Buckle

On my own for the moment, been working at stuff all week and a bit tired, thought I would have a lie in. Slept 15 hours, woke with the bag under my right eye gone all red, it looks as though I have a black eye where somebody poked me one, but they didn't. I think it might be a consequence of Wegener's combined with tiredness. I had a very quiet day today, let's see what tomorrow brings.


----------



## Pluralized

Had a wonderful day mountain biking at a park near my house. It's been such a pleasant fall so far. 
View attachment 10139
View attachment 10140


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Beautiful pics, Plu.

I've spent most of today doing nothing productive.

 Starting to learn to recognize patterns in hiragana, though, with the accents that change the sound of the characters and stuff.  I know twenty (technically thirty-five, but that's really just cheating) and I recognize a few others by sight, but not quite confident writing them out yet.  I'm starting to learn a few words, too, so making progress.  My Japanese tutor's pretty happy with me, so... hooray!


----------



## Pluralized

Hey, good for you man. That's a tricky language; I have spent time studying Japanese myself. Speaking it is far easier than reading the Hiragana and Kanji. Plus I don't have any Japanese people around me so I lose it so quickly. Probably should spend my time learning Mandarin but the language is so devoid of music.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I'm finding the characters I know easy to write, which helps.  It's basically repetition right now, getting the strokes down and learning the pronunciation.  I'm hoping to get the next couple of sets down this coming week, and whatever's left over the week after.  Once I'm familiar with the alphabet, I can start learning actual words and grammar.

Got a great motivation for learning, too, which always helps.


----------



## Pluralized

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Got a great motivation for learning, too, which always helps.



What's her name?


----------



## LeeC

Pluralized said:


> Had a wonderful day mountain biking at a park near my house. It's been such a pleasant fall so far.


It's the taste of sagebrush that drew you back eh? I thought mountain biking was careening down a precipitous mountainside? You could attract a video camera to your helmet and really wow us


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Irrelevant, haha.  I do think very highly of her, though.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Irrelevant, haha.  I do think very highly of her, though.






Speaking of second  languages, I should really learn one... I don't know which one, though. Hrrmm. I shall think on this. 

My day was calm, quiet, stress-free, and solemn. A two edged sword for a two edged man.  

I took a lovely skip about in the sunshine before committing simulated mass-murder in the early access Paint The Town Red... Twas fun and lonely as per usual.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Face-to-face "writing group" today. Mostly a bunch of old guys who enjoy talking. [Mini-rant:  Elders are awesome. You should listen to their stories, pay attention to their problems, and put away your phone. Their stories are arcane knowledge, their problems will be your problems, and no, checking your email five times will not change the outcome.]  

My high school crush works at the coffee shop where this event takes place, as well. We never really talked much during or after high school, mostly because I was an idiot, and I'm not sure I changed her mind yet... However, if it's true you end up marrying your high school crush, I would not complain.

Also, church. Peace and stillness and all that jazz. I mean choral.


----------



## Ariel

Personally today was fine.  I'm a little tired of dealing with poets today, however.  I my face-to-face writing workshop I had the privilege to workshop (and meet the poet/author) a poem by Maija Rhee Devine.  She is an astounding lady and an amazing poet.

I also got to yell at another of the group's poets for his astounding arrogance and self-centeredness.


----------



## Olly Buckle

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Starting to learn to recognize patterns in hiragana, though, with the accents that change the sound of the characters and stuff.  I know twenty (technically thirty-five, but that's really just cheating) and I recognize a few others by sight, but not quite confident writing them out yet.  I'm starting to learn a few words, too, so making progress.  My Japanese tutor's pretty happy with me, so... hooray!



My Japanese was never great, and it is really rusty now, but I would say be careful who you learn from. Men an women talk very differently and I learned from my first wife, my accent caused considerable amusement at times.


----------



## popsprocket

Car troubles continue; clutch slave return spring is MIA.

Did lots of housework; mowed the lawn, vacuumed and mopped, cleaned my bathroom, washed/vacuumed the car.

Hissed wildly at the neighbour's cat; all three of them have been terrorising my cat and giving it a fright was very satisfying.

Gonna go bake me some chocolate muffins; bitches love muffins.


----------



## am_hammy

My day will. E long and potentially rocky. Had a co-worker call out last night,trying to figure out someone to fill in the missing hours, now I need someone else to close with me otherwise I'm by my lonesome haha

Ah, Sunday.


----------



## escorial

am_hammy said:


> My day will. E long and potentially rocky. Had a co-worker call out last night,trying to figure out someone to fill in the missing hours, now I need someone else to close with me otherwise I'm by my lonesome haha
> 
> Ah, Sunday.



and tomorrows another day.....stay safe dude


----------



## Darkkin

This cold has trounced just about all of me, with the exception of the creative endeavors aspect.  As far as things go, it could be worse.


----------



## Thaumiel

Things have been increasingly weird and hectic around here. Lots of plans have been swept aside and mistakes have been made, luckily the fallout hasn't hit yet and hopefully never will.



Sadly the fourth Fallout hasn't.


----------



## ShadowEyes

As a young child, ShadowEyes played _Legend of Zelda__:__ Majora's Mask. _To his great consternation, he never beat the fourth dungeon because his game was deleted. Skip ahead to 2015. ShadowEyes buys the deceptively evil remake for the 3DS.

I've been stuck in the Stone Tower Temple for three months. Please send help.


----------



## Ariel

I haven't played the 3DS version.  I am, however, familiar with the N64 version.  Where are you stuck?


----------



## LeeC

ShadowEyes said:


> As a young child, ShadowEyes played _Legend of Zelda__:__ Majora's Mask. _To his great consternation, he never beat the fourth dungeon because his game was deleted. Skip ahead to 2015. ShadowEyes buys the deceptively evil remake for the 3DS.
> 
> I've been stuck in the Stone Tower Temple for three months. Please send help.


As a young child I was fascinated by all the other life forms in a mostly wilderness region. I respect your adaptation to the world you were born to, but wouldn't trade places for anything. All goes to say I have no idea what you're talking about, sorry


----------



## ShadowEyes

I actually just beat the dungeon. There was a side area that required some Deku maneuvering to get a key... which I didn't know that I needed because I didn't pay attention to the map, or how to get to the final boss room. So I ruled out a few treasure chests... flipped the dungeon a few times... and then went back to the original room and found the side area. Yay.

My favorite Zelda game is still probably _Wind Waker_ because sailing around in the boat was joyous.



LeeC said:


> As a young child I was fascinated by all the other life forms in a mostly wilderness region. I respect your adaptation to the world you were born to, but wouldn't trade places for anything. All goes to say I have no idea what you're talking about, sorry



My house has two dogs... I let the beagle outside and he pulls the leash out to its fullest extent, into the woods, and then walks around with his snout to the ground, back and forth. I let the maltese/poodle outside and he scampers down the steps, pees, and runs back up.

(I secretly still like the beagle more though.)


----------



## Kevin

Smallest I've ever seen. This is maybe a little bigger than life-size 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Here's  close-up:
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 flitted around and landed on a tumbleweed:


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Smallest I've ever seen. This is maybe a little bigger than life-size
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here's  close-up:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> flitted around and landed on a tumbleweed:


^ can't see the images

On this beautiful fall day I was just out practicing walking with my canes. My course was delayed four times by older women stoping to talk. Not really fair, but in my naturalist mind I formed an image of wolves sensing weakness in a bison


----------



## JustRob

LeeC said:


> As a young child I was fascinated by all the other life forms in a mostly wilderness region. I respect your adaptation to the world you were born to, but wouldn't trade places for anything. All goes to say I have no idea what you're talking about, sorry



Yes, civilisation is all the more real when you're coming back from the other place, the natural world. Sometimes civilisation is only a foot away but still not easy to get to. I remember us returning from a walk on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. "Going Bodmin" is a local expression for going mad and going on Bodmin Moor can be just that. The weather had been fine on the way out but on the way back there was incredibly strong wind and rain. The moor is like that, changing character in a flash with weather coming in fast from the Atlantic. When we reached our car we stood with the lashing rain pouring off our waterproofs wondering how to get inside it without the interior getting flooded with stormwater and the doors being ripped off by the wind. We managed but not easily. I don't know how a writer can get across the feeling that one has at times like that if the reader has had no experiences of their own to which to relate it.

I remember a programme on TV about survival in wild places mentioning the protocol for using refuges, such as the bothies in Scotland, things like laying a fire ready for the next people to arrive and leaving two matches protruding from the matchbox so that they can pull them out easily with frozen hands. I don't suppose that even the most sophisticated computer games have got to that level of realism yet. It's the little details like that that determine what big things happen in reality.


----------



## Darkkin

Happily numbing my brain cells with _Jurassic World_.  And yes, there is something to be said for hokey movies.  How often have you watched one and thought: _Hell, I can write better than that..._It got you thinking, right?  So here is a shout out to the hokey movies.  :victorious:

- D. the T.


----------



## PhunkyMunky

4am, can't sleep. I NEED to sleep because the wife has a regional conference for her job this week and I've got to reel in her slack and take care of the kids. I suppose I will nap after I get them off to school. For now, I think I'll see if I can come up with something to write on one of my many WIP's.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

So, I've been hand-writing stuff in Paint using my wacom tablet, in the hopes that it'll help me with my coordination.

Today, I learned that the backspace key doesn't work on handwritten text.

Derp.

A moron am I.


----------



## am_hammy

Day is good so far. I have off and I actually don't have to go anywhere or do anything which is really nice! I paid a visit to my grandparents and slept over last night. It's always nice spending time in the house I grew up in and my childhood bedroom. Makes me feel cozy and safe.

Just been fulfilling fun forum duties. =) I've been so busy lately but I really do love this place and it's never far from my mind no matter how busy I am. 

Later on today I'm going to be picking pumpkins with my manager and carving them. I'm excited too because we're also going to an orchard> I'll be getting my apple cider fix in no time. ^_^


----------



## Allysan

Hey all! Just want to remind you that there are only four days left to enter the Halloween Social Media Competition! Don't miss a chance to get a snippet published in our newsletter!

http://www.writingforums.com/threads/160960-Trick-or-Treat-Smell-my-Competition!


----------



## PiP

Thanks for the reminder!


----------



## Arthur G. Mustard

My day has been fantastic.  Both girls back safely from Barcelona,  picked up from airport,  big hugs, got me pressie. Home, safe off to bed. 

Relaxed and happy as daddies love their daughters and are always over protective.


----------



## Darkkin

Yeah...No matter how much work, how much one tries...Nothing ever seems to be enough.  I was a fool to try.  I'm just tired of fighting for every step, when it isn't even going to matter.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Despite Athena and her persistent meowing I managed to get some writing done today. It's only a page or so ( single spaced ) but considering I haven't been able to write because of neighbors slamming doors- this is progress. 

Tim- The scene is a brand new piece for the Centurion series. 

The best news- those door slamming neighbors are GONE! They have moved out!


----------



## Plasticweld

A sad day in some respects, I'm selling my race bike to build another one.  I am going to do a national endurance series next year with a 4 man team two guys on the west coast and my good friend Joe and I on the east coast. My bike is too old and out dated and not designed for endurance racing, but holds a ton of memories for me.  Maybe we'll find a spot for a WF decal on the new bike when we get it built :lemo:


----------



## ShadowEyes

Who's getting ready for NaNoWriMo?! I know I am! 

Yeaaaaah...!!

Just as soon as I finish this newsletter...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I forgot november was so close... I have to choose between my favorite ideas, and pick which one I'll actually attempt to write. Hrrrmm...

I spent some time idea fostering this evening... 

There's been a little drama in the house. Conflicts, grudges, hugs, and tears shed. A little emotionally exhausting, but we're better off for it. 

I've been winding down... I will try to write something, probably.


----------



## Stormcat

Well, this morning I had to rely on coffee my mom prepared. She uses only half-caffeine because she "gets jittery", but I need full caffeine to get me up in the morning. So I ended up attending class rather sleepy. The teacher and other students took notice. I appreciate the concern, but in all seriousness It's my own fault for running late.

Incidentally I think I may need a new alarm clock. The one I'm currently using only goes off for a minute then it stops. some days it takes me more than a minute to get out of bed!


----------



## Thaumiel

An hour of electrodynamics, two hours of 'plagiarism is bad!' and far too much staring from a girl I met in the pub about sums up my day at uni. 

Now to relax with a beer and some simulations of 10[SUP]6 [/SUP]particles in an electron-ion plasma.

#mashtag'2015


----------



## Darkkin

Took Rue for a walk down to campus and ended up in a rather enlightening discussion with a couple of my professors.  Thankfully, recovered a few of my IQ points form the abyss of doubt.  Slowly, regaining my standing as a smart ass.  Hitherto, the dream of wise ass is completely beyond my feeble ken.


----------



## Guy Faukes

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> An hour of electrodynamics, two hours of 'plagiarism is bad!' and far too much staring from a girl I met in the pub about sums up my day at uni.
> 
> Now to relax with a beer and some simulations of 10[SUP]6 [/SUP]particles in an electron-ion plasma.
> 
> #mashtag'2015



You wouldn't happen to be in grad school, would you?


----------



## Darkkin

Made a visit to the used bookstore and didn't stab anyone with a pen, so it was an all right sort of day.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Haaa.  Today was... well, it was another day.

I have to go play Dubs in the Big City tomorrow because the passport office rejected my photo and I don't feel like waiting a month for an appointment somewhere closer.  That's going to be fun.  I personally dislike the Big City, but I guess that's because I've never been an urban guy.  I've always managed to stay employed on the outskirts, in suburbia, or in rural America.  But... sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Wish me luck.  Seems like a good opportunity to get some photos while I'm out and about.


----------



## TJ1985

Good luck Dubs. Don't let 'em take you alive.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Spent the day germinating ideas for my work. I may not have actually written anything but that's my process. I like to spend some time thinking about a scene before writing the first draft. The conversations / quotes are the easy part, it's everything else that needs polished.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Unfortunately, Dubs' day in the big city was cut short by the fact that he didn't have any pocket change, which means he couldn't park anywhere.

I did get my passport photo retaken, though, and since I was able to present the letter from the state department and the receipt from my last photo, they didn't charge me anything to do it.  I just had to pay fifty cents to mail it out, which was fine by me.  Hopefully this'll be the last issue, especially since the money I've already put into it is non-refundable.


----------



## LeeC

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Unfortunately, Dubs' day in the big city was cut short by the fact that he didn't have any pocket change, which means he couldn't park anywhere.


So, what did you do, put your car on autopilot to circle the block  
The strangest things jump out at me.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

I've found it to be a very useful feature, Lee. XD

Nah, the post office has its own parking, but if I'd wanted to go somewhere else I would have had to have something for a parking meter or else pay for a spot in a parking garage.  I like walking around when I go downtown, but didn't really feel like paying for a parking space today.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I'm in the process of quitting smoking. Day two now.

Hopefully I can manage it this time.


----------



## dither

danielstj said:


> I'm in the process of quitting smoking. Day two now.
> 
> Hopefully I can manage it this time.



It's not easy danielstj.
Good luck.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

danielstj said:


> I'm in the process of quitting smoking. Day two now.
> 
> Hopefully I can manage it this time.



You can do it, man.  We have faith in you!


----------



## dither

AW i've been there and it's bitch.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My parents smoke, I've seen 'em try to quit, so I know it's tough.  A little encouragement can go a long way, though, and Daniel, you've got people here to support you if you need us.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Hey thanks you two!

I'm keeping myself busy with some reading and writing. It's doing wonders this time.


----------



## JustRob

Up a ladder patching up the brickwork pointing on the side of the house, all day. Job now done. Enough said.


----------



## TJ1985

danielstj said:


> I'm in the process of quitting smoking. Day two now.
> 
> Hopefully I can manage it this time.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6keP5pHdWuk

Sometimes it's hard to fight, but you gotta keep fighting. I'll someday join you myself.


----------



## dither

Aversion therapy did it for me.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Halloween/Michael's birthday has wound down to drunken Go Fish, then we're gonna break out Monopoly to kill everyone's buzz, haha.  [CHEESE].


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I had a programming competition at UT Dallas earlier today.  My team competed in the novice level and we only finished one problem.   
At least one of the schools from my school district placed first in advanced.  That was cool.


----------



## escorial

my day went ok..had a few drinks.....bought a pair of trainners and read the gaurdian in the pub...left came home and chill


----------



## popsprocket

Went to a stationery store; managed to restrain myself from buying all the pretty things.


----------



## ShadowEyes

"Worked" a bit at the retail.

Found the third book of the Wondla trilogy sitting in a BAM, got curious, and ran to the library to check out the first one. (I think illustrated children's books are my favorite.)

Church was pleasant; we actually had the parish priest in for the Feast of All Saints, so he was very good at smiling.

My order of Chrono Trigger also came in today, but before I could tackle _that_, I finished up the newsletter draft! Sorry it's taking so long! After getting into Dragon Ball Super, Chrono Trigger seemed like the logical next step.


----------



## am_hammy

Wasn't too bad. Had to work, and there were children everywhere dressed up and there was an awesome person in a full panda suit. I have a store meeting tomorrow so I made pumpkin caramel mini sticky buns.




And here were my pumpkins from earlier this week. I am pleased with them. ^_^

Hoot hoot

I painted Jack and my friend painted Sally =)


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Monopoly only made us realize that we needed more to drink.  Who'da thunk it?

Hamster, your punkins look wonderful.  Will be requiring some of those mini sticky buns, too, they look delicious.

EDIT:  Gonna get off of here so I don't get in trouble.  Hope everyone's having a safe and enjoyable Halloween.  Or had a safe and enjoyable Halloween, whichever applies.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Got the job. I start Monday. Easy work at a grocery store. Both the managers are very nice, and seemed to like me. It helps when you're coming from a hotel front desk. They know you can take some pressure. And I got offered more for it. 

Slowing down the smoking to quit eventually. 

My right ear is completely plugged, so I'm close to half-deaf. 

And of course, it's past midnight now, so it's november. I shall start writing today, wish me luck.


----------



## escorial

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Got the job. I start Monday. Easy work at a grocery store. Both the managers are very nice, and seemed to like me. It helps when you're coming from a hotel front desk. They know you can take some pressure. And I got offered more for it.
> 
> Slowing down the smoking to quit eventually.
> 
> My right ear is completely plugged, so I'm close to half-deaf.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And of course, it's past midnight now, so it's november. I shall start writing today, wish me luck.



all the luck coming your way dude..well done lad


----------



## Darkkin

Rough couple of nights.  My cardiac data hasn't been good...:calm:  Still, I'm not dead, there is no acute damage, and Rue hasn't gone off, yet...So, I'll keep on skating by.  If Rue goes off, then and only then, is there cause for concern.  Love my dog, really, truly do.


----------



## popsprocket

Today is a chemotherapy day, but my appointment with the doctor was late so everything in the day has been shifted back quite a ways. I'll be out of here in 15 minutes but I know it's over 30C outside so I'm not really looking forward to that. May take the roof off the car for the drive home to get some better air flow going.

My next appointment in two weeks' time should be good because I'm stable enough that I don't need to see the doctor before treatment and my chemo appointment is at 8am, I might be out of there before 10am which would be absolutely amazing.

Also set a time to go and get a quote on having my car painted for tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be good news on that front (money wise). The plan had been to paint it myself but I'm not confident I can shoot well enough to do a whole car, and it'd require me to buy a better paint gun and hire/buy an air compressor that was up to the task. I'm thinking that I'll get a quote for them to do a closed-door respray in acrylic and I'll do the door jambs/boot/inside of panels myself beforehand, and then I'll get another quote for them to do all of it in 2 pack and see which one I like better. Hoping that neither option will be a huge bill if I deliver the car to them ready to be disassembled and masked off so that they don't have to do any of the prep work that needs to be done.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

First day on the job was easy. 

I almost can't believe they pay people to do this. I guess it's a 'someone has to do it' job. I ain't complainin'. Plus, she offered me close to what I was making before. Not quite, but close, since I had mucho better past work experience. 

So It's an easy job and I'm being overpaid. I think my streak of negative energy is finally breaking! :0 

It's day three without smoking and I'm drinking coffee instead... aha.


----------



## Stormcat

Once again I am so far ahead in school assignments that I have nothing to do during study hall. I guess this is a good thing, but The websites I really want to go on are blocked at school. (This writing forum is not one of them, thankfully)


----------



## The Green Shield

Spent three hours today at the eye doctor's office. Just to get my pupils dilated and get a new prescription. What the actual shit.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Day 6 of quitting smoking.

Noticing I have much more energy and concentration.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Got the job. I start Monday. Easy work at a grocery store. Both the managers are very nice, and seemed to like me. It helps when you're coming from a hotel front desk. They know you can take some pressure. And I got offered more for it.



Hey, good on you, dude. Unemployment sucks. I started working retail this week (after seven months) and just waking up early is its own reward. Keep an eye out for pretty woman, too. And no one says you have to date.

The way I see it is:  Whichever work you do, you're getting new skills. I like being faux-cheerful and looking at clothes in the men's department, so it's not all bad _for me_. I  also look forward to being able to BS and learn how to speak louder (hearing aids, etc.).

And hey, a nice young lady _did _go out of her way to talk to me today, which made me feel special. It's all about the attitude.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Remember, remember the fifth of November, Gunpowder Treason and Plot!

It's Guy Fawkes Night tonight! Remember not to confuse it with Guy Faukes Day which is every day, MUAHAHAHA


----------



## The Green Shield

Do you really burn an effigy of Fawkes on Guy Fawkes night?

<note to self: when going to the UK, go on November so you can participate>

I hope you wouldn't mind letting me into one of those parties.


----------



## bazz cargo

Got chatted up to day, unfortunately she was over 80. Oh well.


----------



## JustRob

The Green Shield said:


> Do you really burn an effigy of Fawkes on Guy Fawkes night?
> 
> <note to self: when going to the UK, go on November so you can participate>
> 
> I hope you wouldn't mind letting me into one of those parties.



In Lewes they tend to be more topical. This year it was David Cameron (The Prime Minister), Jeremy Clarkson and Sepp Blatter.


----------



## The Green Shield

JustRob said:


> In Lewes they tend to be more topical. This year it was David Cameron (The Prime Minister), Jeremy Clarkson and Sepp Blatter.


Oh God, now you've gone and made me jealous. We never have stuff like that here.


----------



## Ariel

I am going to crash so hard as soon as I'm someplace I'm allowed to sleep.  I don't think food will be enough incentive to get me awake.  I'm kind of worried about this as it means that I'll probably fall asleep in my friend's car.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

What about a hot, fresh, sticky Cinnabon?

I just got back from a rescue mission, myself.  My father had a blowout on the highway.  Note to self:  Learn how to not be useless when it comes to car trouble.


----------



## popsprocket

Played putt putt, got sunburnt, resolved that I am not a naturally gifted golfer.

Ate pho with too much cinnamon.

Got a mother of a hail storm that shredded the plastic roofing on the patio with gigantic hail stones and blew over a pair of palm trees in my yard with pure gale force wind.

Replaced the leaking driveshaft boot on my car (and sacrificed a virgin to please the car gods so that my car would stop leaking).

Ate some chocolate.

Reading now.

Got more work to do on the car tomorrow that will only take me all day if I'm very very very lucky. It will take me several days if I'm not.


----------



## The Green Shield

Watched an action movie. Drank four Sam Adams because I felt like it. 

Went to bed, had no dreams. Surprising as beer always gift me with bizarre, crazed dreams.

Woke up. Had coffee. Wrote a bit in my fantasy novel. Now up to 2,011 words. All of it shit and disjointed, but I'm pushing forward.

Trying to figure out what to do for the next three-four days until _Fallout 4_ is released.


----------



## Darkkin

Finally had a day to call my soul my own and picked up with small Violet Bright again.  The second journey was proceeding quite well.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just hung around. Played three hours of _Fallout 3_. Now watching a football game with a nice big glass of wine.


----------



## popsprocket

Well, today's plan has gone out the window. Took me way too long to get my suspension back together (another classic example of everything taking longer than you'd expect) so I'm not even going to start with my clutch master cylinder. It's almost definitely a job that will take two whole days to do and while I was going to attempt it with one hole day cleared, the remaining half a day just isn't good enough.


----------



## midnightpoet

Recovering from sinus infection - sore throat, cough, drippy nose, the usual.  Sore back from laying in bed.  Sinus infection sounds so mild, boring.  They should at least call it the Creeping Crud or something that sounds like it feels.  Excuse me I've got to take more medicine and go to bed.


----------



## Darkkin

Got my sheets and duvet cover washed and Tchaikovsky downloaded.  Still need to make a run into town to look at duvets and pillows...This is a chore I have been avoiding.  Also got my mattress rotated and Rue Dog's wellness check scheduled.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Nearly at the two week mark for quitting smoking.

Holding out. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. Just gotta resist the faint urges now!


----------



## The Green Shield

Six cups of coffee.

Three hours of _Fallout 4._

I'm never going to sleep again, aren't I?


----------



## Darkkin

Just got back from the vet...Rue Dog is in excellent health...Squee!


----------



## ShadowEyes

I finally got the hang of all the aspects of the new job, offered advice to the bro coworker, laughed with the female coworkers, and then found out my hours got cut to less than half what they are now...


----------



## Olly Buckle

danielstj said:


> Nearly at the two week mark for quitting smoking.
> 
> Holding out. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. Just gotta resist the faint urges now!



Aint it great not to be an addict in the thrall of companies like British Imperial Tobacco who have been lying and cheating for years trying to hang on to you?


----------



## The Green Shield

Still playing _Fallout 4_. The construction thing is *obsessive!* I can't stop building and building.  Outside the main quest, I've done nothing but work on the building.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Been meaning to get Fallout 4, but it's $10 over the normal $60 retail and you have to download 20 GB on top of the disc. Still... it's tempting...

I now have access to a Level 3 Biosafety lab and all the fixin's... I was like a kid in a candy shop with wonder, but instead of sweets there were diseases and reagents of every type.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I got an x-ray today and an appointment with a physical therapist on Monday.  Ever since I tried to start running full-time my shins have been hurting quite terribly. On the plus side, I've managed to trap my Moscow-cat on a heating pad. Now she _has _to put up with me.  LOL.  She's happy though and wants her stomach rubbed.


----------



## Sonata

I thought yesterday was Wednesday so after the puppy went back to bed following her request to be let out of her crate to do what she needed to do, I also went back to bed, and had a very nice extra few hours of sleep.

Then woke up to the realisation that it was not Wednesday but Thursday and I had missed the doctor yet again. :roll:


----------



## Kevin

What with the getting-dark-so-early, I finally broke down and bought a new set of lights for my MtB. I used them some hours ago and they worked great. They are a cheaper non-American-branded variety and somewhat suspect as far as their reliability. 
I rode and I was afraid. I'm either going to be very brave soon, or very foolish, depending on how I feel or if I get eaten.
 There are a lot more rabbits out at night and I hope I'm not one of them.
 It's very dark out there in the bush wherever your lights are not pointing.
 I'll be going again soon. I hope this not my last post.


----------



## Plasticweld

Thought I would share a picture of Kevin's bike he is so proud of it but modest and didn't want to brag


----------



## am_hammy

I always get a bit nervous when my manager has been out for two days and the day she comes back for work, I happen to be off. Then I think about all the stuff I can't explain until the next day when I come in again and everything that is still wrong or that I couldn't accomplish.

I know I need to have confidence in my abilities, which I do, but it's frustrating my when my paranoia sets in and all I can think about is whether or not I'm going to get 'reprimanded'. She really doesn't reprimand, but it still feels like it.

So today, I've just decided to embrace the potential reprimand and not worry about it, because it's my damn day off and I want to enjoy it. So, the day shall be filled with early Christmas shopping, surfing the crazy interwebz media, and laundry. Later tonight I am attending our church's 40th anniversary dinner with my family. Should be a lovely time. I'm also hoping no one asks me questions about my life to try and engage in small talk. I can't stand small talk and I have to do it every day at work >.>

Happy Friday everyone! ^_^


----------



## ShadowEyes

I hope anyone in Paris stays safe... again...


----------



## Minu

Awful. 

Not only did I have a migraine all day but going to work my manager threw me into a completely different area than I've been trained for, with no warning, because the goof first forgot that the typical girl was going home because it was her birthday [birthday party] and as such didn't overstaff us with one of the other girls trained in that area. I was stumbling over my own two feet pretty much and the ass had the nerve of being condescending despite knowing I was ill trained for the role. 

And he had the nerve, when he hired me, to say that he "looks after his staff". I thought that was hilarious particularly when one of the older women, who was doing her assigned task, after I'd charged off for a "pee break" - more not to start shouting at the goof - told me "deep breathes, it's very stressful here"


----------



## dither

Another cold and miserable day here, and the weather is pretty poor also.
I just want out.


----------



## escorial

dither said:


> Another cold and miserable day here, and the weather is pretty poor also.
> I just want out.



it's often when people reach the point of no return that life seems bearable and so many do not......reach out man....


----------



## dither

Too whom? For what?

I shall get over it.

What else would i do?

Just another awful night at work.

I think i'm losing it.


----------



## escorial

dither said:


> Too whom? For what?
> 
> I shall get over it.
> 
> What else would i do?
> 
> Just another awful night at work.
> 
> I think i'm losing it.



please watch man

[video]https://youtu.be/LlEhlw_d5N8[/video]


----------



## dither

Sorry mate, don't think so.
 I don't sound with my gear.


----------



## escorial

i'm sorry about that..maybe another day another time..later dude


----------



## dither

No worries Escorial.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Today is going pretty good so far. Had a good night's sleep, dreamed about something that must have been decent, all I remember are the basics I noticed about one of my website. So, this morning I set that up. Yeah I know Tim, after all we just talked about in the last few days, right. In my defense, I have no control over my dreams- I'm just an observer in them.

Anyway, had a good run with the rough draft on a rewrite to my 1st YA novel. One part is done, the second part is getting there. I'm debating on how many characters I should have a POV from. The two main characters are definite, plus one of the villains. That should be enough, right? There is a temptation to have more but too many can be a bad thing.


----------



## Darkkin

There are days I do something just right.  Today was one of those very rare days.  And that something is quite something, and it is quite, quite all right.  :tranquillity:


----------



## aj47

I have a dental issue.  It's complicated but the extraction and bone graft happen Friday.

Today it's killing me...I had an antibiotic for it a couple weeks ago but the dentist called in another round tonight.  I'm awaiting a text from the pharmacy that it's ready to be picked up.

Meanwhile I'm on codeine (I didn't use the full allotment when the first round of antibiotic tamed whatever).  So I'm kinda spacey.  I need to stay awake so I can start the antibiotic or I'll be totally useless tomorrow.

But I figured if I wrote anything stupid now, y'all might want to know why.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Today, I learn that most glorious turnip of friendship is not for everyone to share.  Today is sad day.

Blah.  A couple of friends of mine and I started an informal gaming group a couple of years ago that we call the Church, and we change the name every now and again based on in-jokes.  Currently, we're "Church of Most Glorious Turnip of Friendship."

Unfortunately, a long-term friend of mine left us back when we were still Big Willie's Church of Sodomy (it was a stab at the clan we'd just left, whose tag was BWCS), and he recently rejected another invitation to the group.

I worry about him, haven't really seen or spoken to him in ages.  I don't like losing touch with friends. In my experience, it invariably leads to good-bye.

In other news, I've been getting hella hours at work.  Soon I'll be rich beyond my wildest dreams.  Okay, not really, but a man can dream.


----------



## popsprocket

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Soon I'll be rich beyond my wildest dreams.  Okay, not really, but a man can dream.



Okay, but, like, if you dream that you are rich beyond your wildest dreams... does that mean it's impossible to ever actually be rich beyond your wildest dreams since your wildest dreams now involve you being rich beyond them?


----------



## Plasticweld

Being rich is over rated.  When was the last time someone asked to borrow money from you?  What is even worse is that after you have worked all that overtime, given up doing a lot of other stuff, someone will be quick to tell you how lucky you are. 


I only say this after loaning a friend some money tonight, because I am luckier than he is :}


----------



## Darkkin

From the Manifesto of Flawed Thinking:  I am now in complete and total understanding with Lizzy Bennett and her feelings regarding the estimable Mr. Collins.  I know I shouldn't laugh, but I have to...Oh, my!


----------



## Kevin

> When was the last time someone asked to borrow money from you?


You poor dear... there, there.  Need someone to ask you? Okay, I'm asking... better for you to give it to a stranger than spoil your own, right? Don't want to torpedo their work ethic, do we?   What do I need it for? Mmm... anything: vacations, toys, nights out. 
You know I was even thinking I might send plane tickets to people on here. For instance Mr. Escorial needs to go to Australia, or New Zealand, or Timbuktu (send dither, too) Why? Just because...
 and Dale, I think he needs to go to Paris. I know, I know, but actually it's probably safer now more than ever...  can't you imagine him strolling the Champs Elyse, all those French broads, him wisecracking... 

And Schrody... lets send her to New York. She could buy clothes and get a make-over/get her hair done, I know... but we'll send along minders to force her. 
Astroannie? Switzerland. 
Atlean? Japan.
 Darkkin? Broadway! 
MzSnow? Siberia, of course
Okay, who's next? 
 You! How about a vacation? I know this spa just outside Carmel. You could meditate and do yoga and get some green tea enemas. Doesn't that sound nice? Green enemas for a week. Cleans you right up.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Have had a really nasty flu for the last little while now. Head today was pounding, but I'm doing better with some Tylenol.

Also, still not smoking! I think I've beat it! Yay! = D


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog and Smudgie, (my cat), seem to think I need to share my Honeycrisp apple with them.  These things are $2.99/lb. on sale...I think, not.  :?


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Work was busy, but it's an easy job. 

Three old folks tipped me with a handful of quarters each. I jingled my whole shift.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Today, I emerged, blinking, into the sunlight.  I ache like... well, like I've been working.  Pretty much been up or out, don't even remember Tuesday.  Been a long time since I've thrown myself into a job this hard, haha.

In lighter news, I've commenced downloading this Fallout 4 that everyone's been talking about, so the rest of the day is probably going to be spent waiting for that to finish.  Hooray!


----------



## am_hammy

Another day off today that I'm looking forward to. Hopefully I will be productive at some point, but for now I'm just chillin'. Ate a whole bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, which is an accomplishment for me because I've always had problems with finishing oatmeal haha.

Yesterday was pretty hectic and for the first time in a couple of weeks I don't feel so stressed out that not everything was done like I wanted it to be. But it's okay because sometimes that happens. I hung out with one of my best friends last night from high school and it's always nice to catch up. Did some more Christmas shopping and had a nice dinner.

Happy Thursday everyone =)

Also, my credit line increased because apparently (according to the man I spoke with on the phone) the bank likes the way I bank.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

The other new service clerk had an.... episode... He blanked out and was talking about the war... /sigh. So yesterday, my manager asked me to come in at 8:00. AM! Just got off. My heavy boots have been like training weights. The constant walking has hardly shivered me timbers. Lifting things for old ladies is fun too. Makes one feel young and strong.

Despite the happy smiling day I had, something pulls at my heart strings, though I don't know what it is... 

Maybe I should eat ice cream, and watch something sad just to cry... Hrmmm.... 

Naaah. I'll go outside and carry my logs up a hill.


----------



## Darkkin

This is my day...View attachment 10601


----------



## Guy Faukes

Considering writing short smut and self-publishing. Classy, fluid smut, but smut nonetheless. God save my soul. XD


----------



## ShadowEyes

Gimme a P! Gimme an I! Gimme a P and E! What's that spell? Pipe!


----------



## Olly Buckle

hit a pot hole the night before last coming home, flat tyre next morning. Dropped it off to be fixed, supposedly fine, during the day someone swapped lanes and ran into my offside rear end. I am thinking 'Things happen in threes'. Sure enough went out this morning to get to the hospital  early and my tyre was flat again. 

Definitely time for a new wheel, and time for my luck to change, called in at the garage that specialises in Peugeots, YES!! They had bought a bunch of them from a Peugeot dealer that had replaced with alloy wheels before selling, put them away and forgotten about them until the other day. I got a brand new wheel for an '02 car at a reasonable price, and they were so pleased to sell one they put my tire on it for me and put it on the car.


----------



## escorial

bought a pair of swimming goggles and dived in with my head a bit below my arms and surfaced liked a drunk a swimmer


----------



## PhunkyMunky

I just overheard a conversation my wife was having with her friends husband. He's with his wife in the hospital, they're having a baby, and he tells my wife "She's dilated to 5 meters" and my wife suggests he crawl on in there and shake hands with his son! THEN she tells him "You could drive a truck through there". Oh my wife's funny! :icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## dither

It's cold here, bloody cold.
It's wet, it's windy and we had a smattering of snow here at around 5.00. this morning.
Brrr!


----------



## Olly Buckle

/\ /\  'Tis true. I went outside this morning to find I had a flat tyre for the third day in a row. It started snowing half way through putting on the spare. Luckily I am getting quite efficient at it, but by the time I had been and got a new tyre fitted I was an hour and a half late for my all day screen writing course.


----------



## Hairball

The weather here is okay, but hubby's sick.


----------



## Goob

I'm putting up Christmas decorations today. I know it's too early, but I can't handle doing it in December when it's freezing out.


----------



## Blade

We had our first token snowfall of the winter earlier this afternoon, light and whimsical and of no bother to anyone. I was walking down the sidewalk and came upon a couple of Chinese kids jumping up and down and waving their hands in the air. Coming closer I said to them "You like"? One smiled and responded "Yes, first time."

A 'good to be alive' experience for them it would seem.:encouragement:


----------



## aj47

I cannot find a shank-end half-ham that isn't already fully cooked (and sometimes, spiral-sliced) at either of my main grocery stores.

I'm trying the _carniceria _next. My Spanish is not good, but I can visually recognize it and point if they have it.


----------



## Darkkin

Sometimes it isn't profound, wondrous, or even clever.  Sometimes it is possible to write it right.  Not what was intended, but quite simply what was needed.  Such was the case with my accidental bit of fluff.  eaceful:  Pretty, stubborn, and just a little cryptic.  All is right with my world at the moment.


----------



## aj47

I did the big dinner but we didn't have salad or pecan pie (I'm on the _good_ pain pills and was totally stretched by a dinner that should have been smooth to execute).  My oral surgery site appears to be infected, but their office phone system thinks it's a regular workday and so I cannot get through to an emergency on-call doc.  I will try again after their office hours are over--I think on Thursdays that that is within a half-hour from now.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> I will try again after their office hours are over--I think on Thursdays that that is within a half-hour from now.


Keep on it girl, these things can calm down and your body copes, but they can get serious quickly.


----------



## aj47

It turned out to be later, but I did talk to a doc.  She said the stitches dissolve into grossness and maybe that's it.  If it still is an issue, come to the office tomorrow at 8am.  She also said if I wasn't feverish, I'm probably okay.  Which is good, I'd rather be okay than not.


----------



## Darkkin

Wind, rain...Squash, homemade potatoes, peach pie, cats...and my boys.  Life has been kind.  My family is crazy in the best way possible!


----------



## popsprocket

Bad day I guess.

My haemoglobin count slid sharply in the wrong direction sometime during the last two weeks and I needed red blood cell transfusions on top of my normal chemotherapy (which is supposed to stop my haemoglobin count from sliding sharply in the wrong direction...) 

They also had more trouble than ever before getting an IV in my arm. Should have asked for a lollipop for each of their failed attempts because then I'd have five whole lollipops to sooth the soul with.


----------



## Kevin

> "She's dilated to 5 meters"


 You see... we tried to go metric back in the seventies, but all those zeros and decas and mecas and pekkas... we're too arfing stupit. We can use a gas grill, though. Care for a burger? How about a hotdog?

edit- geez pops... sort of takes the wind out of my 'predicament': how to not stain my teeth-bleaching attempts with coffee. Hang in there.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Worked 8-4 yesterday now I'm 8-12.

I only slept for three hours. Something I've done before. Got a cup of coffee as usual.

I feel unusually dizzy. Even while sitting still. I hope it clears up. 

Well, if I keel over and bonk my noggin during work, at least it's been a good week so far.


----------



## Darkkin

The gorgeous intricacies of James Newton Howard return.  Snow is whispering through the dark...Yes, tonight is a place wherein the wonder of imagination dwells.  Delve, deep and far, breathing in the impossibilities of nonsense, as I cease to make sense.


----------



## midnightpoet

Or internet has been out since Saturday.  I've been having withdrawal symptoms. Between that and getting over the Crud I haven't been doing much writing.Got so bored I was actually watching TV.  :icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## The Green Shield

Ever had one of those days where the backstories of your secondary/minor characters are a lot more interesting than the backstory and main plot of your main character? One of my secondary-supporting characters seems to have a plotline ripped straight out of Rockstar's pages.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Wrote over 2000 words today in two different short stories and my next novel.

Yay! : D


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Everything is so sore. I forget to rest at home, and stay on my feet all day every day. It's catching up with my legs, and my workouts are catching up with my arms. I should take a rest day... 

I woke up so fast I forgot breakfast, had to pick up things from another house, and then had to work. 

Forgot my pills, so without breakfast and enough sleep, I was incredibly grumpy and had far too much stomach acid.... 

Dinner fixed most of that. 

Now I'm going to sleep, even though it's only 7:30 here. At least I'll wake up early.


----------



## KellInkston

I have a thesis to write... Why am I even on here right now?

Goodbye!


----------



## Darkkin

Well, got new tires put on the car, the oil changed, a new air filter, and wiper blades.  Laundry is almost done _and_ I survived the bawl out session that was my cardiology appointment.  Still in one piece...mostly.  ride:


----------



## aj47

I had a bunch of good, but busy days and they're not letting up. I mentioned our cat was spayed.  I also had oral surgery and other things came up, too. Today I have a choir performance. Tomorrow, our music theory class is performing improvisational music, and we have a choir encore. And so on. Standard end-of semester stuff.  Also, I'm having more urinary surgery on the 16th.  Same deal as before -- 6-8 weeks of abstinence. The prior surgery was only partially efficacious.  This time, I'm hoping not to come home with a catheter, but if I do, it holds no mystery for me.   

I may not enter any challenges because of my busitude, but we'll see.


----------



## Darkkin

Day off, tree is up, dogs have gotten their baths, and I finally broke down and pulled out the Christmas music.  The newest villanelle sequences for the Ways are shaping up nicely, and lets face it, every writer needs their own rendition of the hokey holiday story.


----------



## Plasticweld

I had an odd thing happen yesterday.

I have a guy that works for me, ex con, he did 12 years in the state, for let’s just say a violent crime. He has been with me 3 years now, easily the best worker I have ever had, a foreman now. He has tons of responsibility, he works real long hours and is the most loyal employee. I would classify him now more as a partner than just one the guys.


Three years ago he had been out 6 month and un-able to find work, not un-common in small town where everyone knows your name. I sort of knew him, we were both fighters at one time and had the same trainer and worked out of the same gym. Based on that I gave him some financial aid, I called it a loan or investment, never really figuring on getting it back but was able to do so. After a few months he realized he couldn't pay me back. He told me he wanted to come work for me just to pay off his debt. He had no real skills except determination. He looked every bit the part of the ex-con body builder, from massive chest and arms to the bald head beard and tattoos.


He showed up for work, early every day, worked late every day. He did whatever was needed and worked really hard at learning the business. His work ethic and desire won me over.


Three years later, he is a skilled man, well respected now based on his deeds. I helped him buy his first house, his first skidder, while it sounds noble on my part, all I did was share with him some of the money he had made me through his efforts.


Yesterday we had a 100 acre wood lot to cruise and mark, so I could offer the land owner money for the timber rights. He showed up at my place with a new four wheeler in the back of his truck. He said this is a gift to me for all the help I have been to him and his family


I was speechless, this was an enormous gift beyond my comprehension. I accepted it graciously.


I debated on whether or not to even post this, it makes me sound like a pompous ass, but I did want to share; that here a guy that started out behind the 8 ball could be successful today with everything going against him, I thought that makes it worth sharing. For him to be in a position a few years ago where he had no job and no prospects of one for him to be in the position to be so generous speaks volumes about what someone is capable of accomplishing.




All he had was a chance, we all get them. Sometimes we blow them sometimes we pick up the ball and run. For anyone who thought they couldn't make it. Just think back and remember that an ex-con through hard work and perseverance was able to.


PS the four wheeler is really cool :}


----------



## aj47

That is so cool.  I don't think you're pompous for posting about this--I can understand how good you feel about this gift and your relationship with the individual who gave it to you.  We need to share our joys as well as our adversities.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I was going to post here yesterday, but I was very tired and went right to sleep. 

I got to drive my dad's truck home. I can count the number of times I've done so on one hand. 

All the way from Atlanta, going south for two hours, right at rush hour on the biggest roads. 

The truck drives like you're steering a bull, seeming to react slowly after you've turned, as if it were begrudgingly accepting your guidance.  The gas pedal has a wide but sensitive range, so you have to press it considerably far to get any power. But the brakes are touchy and near-instant. 

And it's absolutely gigantic. 

It was fun, though.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Just got home, weekend visiting the younger daughter in Bath. She is a member of Bath choral society and last night they put on Handel's Messiah in Bath Abbey, beautiful setting, beautiful singing, great acoustics, a terrific night out


----------



## The Green Shield

Officially taking a break from  my fantasy, sci-fi and historical mystery stories to work on a singular project: a general mystery that I've had in my brain's backburner since 2004. 

Feeling pretty good about it, actually. Nice to know I can let myself separate from stories I'm having difficulty with to work on something entirely unrelated.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Got to 1000 posts today on the forum....

:champagne:

Here's to 1000 more!


----------



## PiP

Cheers, Daniel! Thank you for you amazing contribution to WF!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

1001 LOL'S!

NO ONE GIVE ME ANOTHER LOL. 

I WANT IT TO STAY AT 1001!

Oh, yeah. My day went fantastic. Work was easy, and I'm playing enjoyable games while I take the weight off my feet.

After I get paid tomorrow, I shall finally buy a pair of running shoes.


----------



## aj47

Six hours.  Of singing. And keyboarding (as in music).  And percussing a tambourine.  I am SO drained

But that was my ear-training/sight-singing final, my music theory final, and my choir final.  I am now done for the Fall 2015 semester.

So I am pleased.  I flubbed my solo (which I will post once it's videoed.  I was doing just fine when I saw my daughter gesticulating and I was trying to figure out what she was telling me.  She was pantomiming the song.  Silly girl.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> 1001 LOL'S!
> 
> NO ONE GIVE ME ANOTHER LOL.
> 
> I WANT IT TO STAY AT 1001!
> 
> Oh, yeah. My day went fantastic. Work was easy, and I'm playing enjoyable games while I take the weight off my feet.
> 
> After I get paid tomorrow, I shall finally buy a pair of running shoes.



I wonder what happens if I press that button :tongue:


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

TheWonderingNovice said:


> I wonder what happens if I press that button :tongue:



-Dramatic slow motion- 

Noooooooooo.....


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> -Dramatic slow motion-
> 
> Noooooooooo.....



Slowly reaches for the mouse while an apocalyptic choir sings in the back ground.

Jk, I can always undo the Lol


----------



## midnightpoet

After a summer losing two window a/c's, the dishwasher, refrigerator problems, dog getting snakebit, and electrical issues the other day the desk computer made a squealing noise like a dying pig.  The experts said it was the motherboard.  So, should we repair an old unit or buy a new one.  We bought a new one, pretty good deal.  But gee whiz.  Oh, the kitchen faucet needs replacing, there's a hole in the bedroom floor, and the car's ignition switch is sticking.  I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but I'm whining.:sorrow:

At least I'm finally over my sinus infection, although now I've got a pain in my lower back.  If anyone wants to buy my life, it's for sale cheap.:icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## Stormcat

Terrible. Not only do I have to get blood drawn (which always goes badly for me) But my teacher _thought_ I was sleeping in class today (I wasn't) and wrote me up. If I get one more write-up I'm out of the program! Since being told that, it seems like everyone around me is deliberately trying to piss me off! I don't want to do homework, I don't want to go to my psychiatrist appointment, I just want to go home, and strangle my sister for keeping me up at night. Selfish bitch.


----------



## Darkkin

Long night ahead.  Nitro, my yoga ball, and a book...I really hate angina.  Rue is sticking to me like glue, but hasn't alerted so nothing has gone south...yet.


----------



## Hairball

Business as usual at Walmart. I think I have a stalker. She's the one who tried to return the used drill in the new box and I caught her at it by opening the box. There have been a few more issues with her going after me for one reason or another.

Today was no exception. I took over a register so a cashier could have her break, and here comes my customer from hell. I had to use my husband's truck last Sunday to go to work. He's off Sundays, and so he wanted to take my car in for an oil change, rotate the tires, replace my brake pads, make sure my fluids are all okay, the usual car maintenance stuff.

He has an old Romney/Ryan bumpersticker on it. Yes, were're conservative, but not crazy conservative. Apparently she took offense and boy, did she get all over me about that! Apparently she saw me either getting into or out of the truck, and went off on me. She said Republicans were all racist, prejudiced, ignorant, intolerant, hateful, blah blah blah. I let her rant, smiling and nodding while I rang up her stuff and packed her bags.

(Note: I have a biracial Goddaughter; her Daddy, who is black, is one of our best friends. We adore both of them)

When we were almost done, I had had enough. She said she'd written the tag number down and was going to post it all over Facebook. That was it.

I whipped out my wallet, showed her the pic of my precious Goddaughter, and said, "I've had enough of you. This is my Goddaughter, and I adore her. NOW call me a racist and a bigot."

The couple behind her had been listening to her tirade, and I showed it to them too. I'm so proud of my precious girl.

They actually applauded me! And the hubby leaned forward and said, "Do you get paid to harrass Walmart employees or is this just a hobby?"

LOL! I don't care who you are, that was great! She shut up real fast.

This is why I have two, and only two bumperstickers on my car. One says, "I know there's a hell; I work in retail," and the other says, "The more I see of people, the more I like my dog."

Gaaaaahhhhhh! Nuff said.


----------



## Guy Faukes

You could say you gave her quite the... Hairball... that evening...


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

The past... what, month?  Has been interesting.  My supervisor has been sending me all over the state to work routes, and even lauded me as one of his most flexible employees.  Tell you what, I have seen some things.  Most recently, I've been assisting a guy who just came back from injury leave, and had to assure him that I was only there to help, not to assess and report.

I can feel bits of me that I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be able to feel.  It's been one heck of a time, and it doesn't look like it'll ease up until we've got our feet firmly planted in January, so... money's coming in, there's that to be said.  I just wish it wasn't going out nearly as quickly...


----------



## aj47

Thanks for keeping us briefed.

I have surgery Wednesday.  It's followup surgery to my urinary surgery in June.  The problem was only partially alleviated.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Lost $10...

;.;


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Faith in humanity suffered a bit today as well.


----------



## aj47

RhythmOvPain said:


> Lost $10...
> 
> ;.;



as in a bet or actual cash money?


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Fell out mah pocket.


----------



## Thaumiel

So, uni got pretty busy over the last few weeks... Still, Christmas and chill starts now.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

If my game doesn't crash, a difficulty spike kills my whole team.

I went to a VN, but the story is at a dramatic point, and I hate what it does to my heart. Stop taking me for a ride, damnit! 

Once I calm down for the evening and finish everything on my to-do list... I shall write.

But first, nurse! My pills! I'm going mad here!


----------



## ShadowEyes

I worked today. It's getting closer to Christmas and people are getting more desperate. A couple of people were able to get credit card applications, which I hate asking about, but at least it keeps my manager off my back. Overall, it's a pretty laid-back store.

I walked into a meeting today and all of the women said I was a favorite cashier and clapped for me. Presumably for being so helpful and not caring about drama.

Tomorrow I'm going to watch Red Cliff on blu-ray, do some online shopping, and relax.


----------



## Darkkin

You know your mask is perfect when you are able to complete an eight hour shift with severe angina and no one knows.  No crying allowed until you get the car...Stupid thing to do, yes, but how do you explain that you want to go because your chest hurts.  This is retail, the second to last weekend before Christmas, who's going to listen?  How do you explain something that doesn't leave tangible tracks...It can't be quantified, measured, or proven in any easy way...Visibly there is no proof.  You look fine, so you are fine.  Right.  Yeah...This was one of those less than invisible days.


----------



## Khalid M

Not bad. Wrapped up a hustle, still a couple more that need to be worked on. Went to the gym and had a good shoulder workout. I also managed to read and write a little bit. I'm almost frustrated at the idea of falling asleep in a few hours, I'd love to keep working on my own stuff until dawn. Oh well.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Due to lack of availability of VN's translated to english, I'll be trying to read Japanese. Not gonna bother attempting to speak it. Just read, for now. It's an interesting difference from schooling. Being forced to learn/learning for a hobby. Actually fun. 

It's been a long time since learning was fun. The last time I can remember was when I was 7. After that, learning got really annoying. 

Besides that, I have made considerable progress on Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Skyrim! My elf and badass argonian are cooler than ever. 

In the real world, I worked this morning. It was slow and boring. But that's a good thing. 

Going to take a walk outside before the sun sets, and get dinner. I'm starving.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Drinking vodka; not drunk yet.


----------



## Harper J. Cole

AtleanWordsmith said:


> The past... what, month?  Has been interesting.  My supervisor has been sending me all over the state to work routes, and even lauded me as one of his most flexible employees.  Tell you what, I have seen some things.  Most recently, I've been assisting a guy who just came back from injury leave, and had to assure him that I was only there to help, not to assess and report.
> 
> I can feel bits of me that I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be able to feel.  It's been one heck of a time, and it doesn't look like it'll ease up until we've got our feet firmly planted in January, so... money's coming in, there's that to be said.  I just wish it wasn't going out nearly as quickly...



Don't worry, you'll be running the business before you know it! :tongue:

Glad you're still with us, in all sincerity; I was beginning to wonder whether another one had slipped the WF net ...


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Worked, studied, read Maupsasant short stories, Victor Hugo's Les Misérables (page 765 now) and part of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (volume #2)!

Also, I wrote 1000 words of my novel and 500 words of a short story. Not bad, not bad at all.

And now, to complete the day, spending some time on my favorite place on the internet!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Waiting patiently to find out if I get paid today.

The tension is overwhelming.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Its been a good morning so far, woke up early and took a long walk. I think Ill try out a new recipe for lunch.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

My regional said I'm getting like $300.

WILL KNOW BY 11 PM.

><


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I'm feeling sore in muscles I had forgotten about. Like, the obliques that run up your ribs. How in hades did I exercise those? As background,at work, they were replacing the trash cans out front. Y'know, the kind that's meant to be hard to steal? Made of concrete and river stones for decoration? Weighs like 300 pounds? 

The only other service clerk, Will, is a tiny little fella that can't lift to save his life. I don't know if being stronger than him should be a point of pride, or make me sad for humanity. 

He barely helped move the first one. Then it was time for him to leave. I did the second one by myself. They were on crappy old wooden pallets, so I brought it out front on a pallet jack and wiggled it into place.

The sharp edges cut my hands. Thankfully, a guy came by and offered to take the two old ones. We pay for the trash by the pound, so of course the manager let him have it. Having open wounds and touching a trash can was disgusting, but antiseptic was nowhere to be found.

But we had hand-sanitizer. I washed my hands first and took the burn with teary eyes.

The very next customer looks miserable. She's come in twice before. Has some terrible, warbly accent. 

Apparently she caught something going around and took two shots in the rump for it. 

I had touched her groceries. 

I ain't about to catch a flu or virus of any kind, so for the second time I cauterized my arms with the alcohol, and finally got to leave. Phew.


----------



## aj47

Surgery went fine.  I'm home, sans catheter, and HUNGRY.  I had a couple pieces of fruitcake and am awaiting a delivery pizza.

That fruitcake was all I had since midnight. We were supposed to have takeout chicken but we lost the card that gets it free.

I'm a bit sleepy and tender; otherwise terrific.


----------



## InstituteMan

Get well, Annie. Get well.


----------



## Stormcat

Finished all my work and now I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bored! But I have to wait until Mom picks me up!


----------



## aj47

The pain med that I'm supposed to take at home gives me insomnia.  I've been up since midnight (a little over 19 hours) and went to bed at 22:30.  I called the doc and they said, take it during the day and switch to some over-the-counter thing in the evening.  Too late for last night, but I'm hoping tonight.

I wrapped birthday gifts for my son whose birthday is on the solstice.  I did a LOT of goofing off because I can't really focus due to the lack of sleep (and possibly another side effect).


----------



## Plasticweld

Foolish old guy 

Just bought another motorcycle a bike to build into a endurance bike, to compete in the ASRA CCS AMA Team Challenge Endurance Race Series for 2016.  We have an east coast team put together and are in the process of finding a team to compete in the west coast events.  We will be in the light weight class.



It is  8 events scheduled all over the US, it should be a ton of fun I will be riding with a long time racing buddy and I am looking forward to race weekends again.


----------



## LeeC

*In all things there is balance*

We commonly refer to what we see as ignorance with disdain, but there are silver linings to everything ;-)

One such instance today was when the wife went to the store. While there she noticed an item she could use was on sale at three for the price of one. She found only one in the style she liked best, and selected two others in styles she could live with. 

At the register the clerk started to ring them up separately, as in three times $29.99. The wife objected that they were all the same, even if varying in style, and would only buy them if she got all three for the price of one. The clerk, not knowing how to handle the situation, summoned their manager. Agreeing with my wife, the manager took out their calculator and divided $29.99 by three, then rang the sale up as all three items for a total of $9.99 instead of for each. After double checking the sales slip, the manager told the wife to have a happy holiday, seemingly unaware of their faulty math


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I had a somewhat boring day.

Work was dreary and tedious.

The upshot is I'm chillin' in the hotel room admiring my new ring.

Kinda' birthday/Christmas thing from my co-worker.

Thing's awesome. Also I'm sipping on my favorite drink, a hard Arnold Palmer consisting of 1/3 iced tea, 1/3 lemonade, and 2/3 (see what I did thurr?) Seagram's London Dry.


----------



## Plasticweld

Lee is your wife Scottish by chance?  Mine is and that would have made her day as well.




LeeC said:


> We commonly refer to what we see as ignorance with disdain, but there are silver linings to everything ;-)
> 
> One such instance today was when the wife went to the store. While there she noticed an item she could use was on sale at three for the price of one. She found only one in the style she liked best, and selected two others in styles she could live with.
> 
> At the register the clerk started to ring them up separately, as in three times $29.99. The wife objected that they were all the same, even if varying in style, and would only buy them if she got all three for the price of one. The clerk, not knowing how to handle the situation, summoned their manager. Agreeing with my wife, the manager took out their calculator and divided $29.99 by three, then rang the sale up as all three items for a total of $9.99 instead of for each. After double checking the sales slip, the manager told the wife to have a happy holiday, seemingly unaware of their faulty math


----------



## escorial

walking past the cemetery today a hoarding was fixed to the railings...on it was a picture of a young lad and a few words about his passing 12 months ago....as I was standing there a woman on a disability scooter stopped and said..we don't need to see that before going in there..you know we all have to live with our loss...sometimes I think it's best just to say nothing and move on.....


----------



## LeeC

Ah yes es, 'twere me on the scooter, I'd a thought _Sad, but fer the grace a God...

_No PW, I'm the one with a bit of Scot, the wife is many generations of New Englander with a French maiden name. For a stocking stuffer, get your wife the book "How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It" by Arthur Herman.


----------



## Sonata

The puppy's vet came round to check on her spay wound.  I have two vets - one who is the big boss who was my epileptic girls primary vet, and now this sweet girl who is the  primary vet for my puppy, although the big boss spayed her last month.

This place looks like a bomb has hit it - a small 6½ month old puppy will do that without blinking.

One day this place will be tidy.  

One day.


----------



## dither

Busy,
just so busy right now.

It will be nice to pour myself a mug full and put these old feet up.


----------



## Stormcat

Waiting on an e-mail reply, nothing I can do until I get confirmation.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, got tickets for Star Wars.  Birthday is tomorrow.  Also got a couple of pesky chronologies out of my head and into a linear format.  Sometimes it is surprising to see how much work you've done and still feel like you've gotten no where, when the exact opposite is true.  So a good day.

Edit: Reading through the aforementioned chronologies, things are falling into place, distant lights are flickering and an old friend is beckoning.  The Star Socks Fox is returning...


----------



## am_hammy

I have yet to have breakfast and I want coffee.

I'm not sure how the rest of the day is going to go >.>


----------



## Schrody

Late breakfast, ham :lol:


----------



## LeeC

am_hammy said:


> I have yet to have breakfast and I want coffee.
> 
> I'm not sure how the rest of the day is going to go >.>


You need some real New England maple syrup Ham  Thick and dark, not that watered grocery store kind.


----------



## dither

I have had the most wonderful enlightening day.

A few weeks ago i had a fencing contractor come and look at my mother's garden fence, the recent storms had completely trashed it.
F*** Abigail desmond and some other meterological despot who's name escapes me. Bastards all of them.
Anyway;
This guy talked the talk but would he walk the walk?
Having been stung by two thunder-boxes in the past i was sceptical and i told him so but what could i do?
Like the church choir boy, all i could do was brace myself and hope for the best. Man was i surprised.
 I got a fence, a real honest to goodness fence.
BINGO!
I'm happy, she's happy and hope springs eternal.


----------



## am_hammy

LeeC said:


> You need some real New England maple syrup Ham  Thick and dark, not that watered grocery store kind.



I haven't had proper ham in ages.

You know, Lee, Christmas is this coming week


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

My supervisor sent me to a Publix (grocery store) in the next town over.  I walked in to work it, walked out with a job interview scheduled for Tuesday.  Hardly even had to submit an application.  Don't know if I'll actually get the job, but if I do, I may continue to be intermittent here.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

How do they pay, Dubs? I know you probably don't have many unions in South Carolina but it seems like Coke would pay better (at least the drivers do), plus they probably get a lot more overtime, at least how it was in Maryland in the eighties and nineties (we were both unionized of course)


----------



## Joe_Bassett

My mum's making enchiladas for Christmas!  We've gotten too tired of turkey and ham 
We're gonna have cheese enchiladas and chicken enchiladas!  
And maybe tamales...


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Just got back from a two week stint.

My job is demanding, but I'd be damned to find another with so much travelling.


----------



## Winston

Trying to welcome a new cat into our household.  Our current cat, who loves everyone (INCLUDING OUR DOG) is being a snit to our new arrival.  

I know it will take a while.  I just wish I could force peace on them.


----------



## Darkkin

Standing at the brink of one of those moments that completely amazing or an amazing disaster.  Either way, I'm taking the step.


----------



## escorial

Winston said:


> Trying to welcome a new cat into our household.  Our current cat, who loves everyone (INCLUDING OUR DOG) is being a snit to our new arrival.
> 
> I know it will take a while.  I just wish I could force peace on them.




I would so like to have a  cat or dog in my life right now.......


----------



## aj47

oh my, esc.  Is there a reason you don't?  Like your landlord won't let you or something?


----------



## Stormcat

Been listening to my favorite song for the past half-hour. If only these damn youtube ads weren't getting in the way!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Holy [ZIPPERS], it feels like I'm waking up from a dream.  Do I actually have an interview tomorrow?  The business card in my wallet says yes.  Did I actually ask someone out?  The impressions where I wrote my name and number in my notebook say yes.  Who am I?  How did I get here?  Why can't I even?

[AGLETS].  [SHOESTRINGS] [DYNAMITE] [HOTCAKES]ing [WATERLOO].

It's like I don't even know who I am anymore, like life is trying to make a protagonist out of me.

Dubs belongs squarely in the supporting characters bin, life, you can't just dust him off and make him have adventures.  The audience won't be able to relate to a man like him!

EDIT:  Advice to those who may need it:  Always have something in your closet to interview in, that fits you, because you seriously never know when you're going to need it at the drop of a hat.  I failed, so hard, to take this into consideration when I jumped headfirst into this thing.


----------



## Darkkin

Finally saw Star Wars.  My geeky soul is replete, especially after two hours of plot discussion and speculation over French Toast and pie.


----------



## popsprocket

This morning I woke up and thought "It's Tuesday today." and by lunch time I was fairly sure it must be Friday.


----------



## Stormcat

Last day before a 2-week vacation, Can't wait to leave!


----------



## Darkkin

I finished dusting my bookcase...:dread:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Welp.  Got the job.  They aren't going to pay me as much as I'd hoped, but the wage is still competitive and on par with Coke, and it comes with two raises a year and all the free mustard I can smuggle out of the deli.

They did, however, make it clear that they are not beard friendly, so, once again, my face is baby smooth.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Yeah, they didn't like beards at Giant Food either. Way to go, Dubs


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Welp.  Got the job.  They aren't going to pay me as much as I'd hoped, but the wage is still competitive and on par with Coke, and it comes with two raises a year and all the free mustard I can smuggle out of the deli.
> 
> They did, however, make it clear that they are not beard friendly, so, once again, my face is baby smooth.



Congradumulations! 
Hopefully you'll work at the deli, preparing heavenly sandwiches.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Haaa, nooo.

I'll be stocking shelves, thankfully.  Have never been one for preparing sandwiches, myself. XD


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

They changed my schedule yesterday when I left at 8:30. I was thinking I come in at 11:00 but it changed to 10:00.... 

Waking up so fast leaves me nauseous and throws everything off. 

I caught something. My sinuses are draining so much that it actively burns like I have water up my nose. Ugh.


----------



## midnightpoet

I'm baaaaakkk!  Aren't you excited? Yeah, right.

Score:  Me 0ne, internet supplier zero.  Geez.  I called them on a Friday after the web  went down (for the umpteenth time thios year), they said they were having issues.  That's what they usually have when it rains.  Called back a few days later, finally got hold of a tech guy.  No, he said, it's your wiring.  Got pissed, cancelled service, contacted another, it will be another week.  

So hooked up again.  The thing that I don't understand is why, every time the internet went down, so did our cel service.  Well, kind of.  If I went out on the back porch I got great service.  Everything cool at the moment, waiting for the next shoe to drop.  Like the old blues song, "born under a bad sign..."


----------



## RhythmOvPain

My feet hurt.


----------



## midnightpoet

I'll see your hurt feet and raise you a sore back.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I know most of us have a huge time difference, so over here it's still the 24'th. Not that It matters.

Had to work. Forgot to eat.

Hit the wall. Hard. No energy from food because my nuclear metabolism. 

And I don't exactly have reserves to burn. Add on my tendency for low blood sugar, and boom,  my body is eating itself. 

So I was running on fumes and felt like passing out. 

Muscle cramps, etc. 

My sinuses still burn. I'm dizzy.

Gotta love Christmas eve...


----------



## escorial

Hope I find a chimney sweep tomorrow so he can go buy me a big goose for tiny Tim.....


----------



## Darkkin

Sometimes those loose threads are loose for reasons that aren't apparent until you catch them up again coming as you are going.  This is also one of those moments when it is tough being one of the smarter people in the room because you know the connection doesn't matter to anyone else, nor will they understand...:-|  There is String Theory at work in literature...


----------



## Winston

Whilst writing my last "Ponder the Unthinkable" installment, my daughter screams from the next room.  In the process of cutting tags off her new clothes, she dropped a knife on her foot.  There was a lot of blood.  It looked like a nicked vein.

Elevated her foot, blotted excess blood, sanitized, bandaged and wrapped.  Wiped up blood from upstairs hall and bedroom.  Back to writing.


----------



## kilroy214

I finally got a new laptop. It is a small Dell Latitude but it gets the job done and I really only wanted something I could put music on, write, and maybe a few games (Roller Coaster Tycoon and Civilization II will go on every computer I ever own forever or until the tech becomes obsolete)
I love this little thing already, I'm hoping to become a bit more active around the site here as well now that I have something larger than my LG smartphone to navigate around on and lay down the swift hand of justice with. Now all I have to do is figure out my neighbor's Wifi password, and I'll be set!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Had a nice phone convo with my favorite girl on earth.

I are happeh.


----------



## Winston

kilroy214 said:


> ... Now all I have to do is figure out my neighbor's Wifi password, and I'll be set!



Try 1, 2, 3, 4.  I use that on my luggage.
And I love Civilization as well.  Been playing Civ 4 for years.  Tons of free mods available.

Finally snowed here today.  Flippin' beautiful.  Seahawks are playing three miles from here with no snow.  Too bad.  Football in snow = excellent.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I used to play so much Civ 4. What a great game. Too bad I sucked so badly at it. XD

1000 words written today. I'm feeling content.


----------



## The Green Shield

Huzzah! I'm finally learning how to make webpages! At long last, the site I've always wanted to make since 2003 but never got around to will be alive.


*IT WILL BE ALLIIIIIVVEE!!!*


----------



## Darkkin

It looks like Mother Earth is sifting flour outside.  I got off work and made it home before the roads got bad.  It's gorgeous, but I will still have to shovel tonight...:geek:


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

We're in the high 70s, low 80s here in SC this winter, makes me wonder what we're in for come summer.  I mean, [PANCAKES].

Got a confirmation that the girl I'm interested in is at least interested in dinner, so that's a plus.  We've just got to sort out our schedules and find a time that works for both of us.  Called Publix today to make sure that they're still interested in me, looks like my drug screen got held up by the holidays and they're waiting for the results from that before they move forward.  I should have talked to them the first time I worked that store, I could be rolling in the dough by now.

Coke's putting the old full-time feelers out, as well, but the salary they're offering isn't attractive enough to pull me in, so... I dunno.  We'll see where it goes, but I think my roaming days are coming to a slow, painful end.  I'm getting old, guys, even if I don't look it.

Oh, right, they made me shave my beard.  Did I mention that?  Because I feel pretty weird without it.  It wasn't the best beard in the world, but it was my beard... and now it's gone, my individuality crushed beneath the march of progress.  Soon I will become one with the stock room, a buzzing drone in the beehive that is Publix, and I shall emerge a weary old man who spent his entire life in retail, but can finally be proud of it.


----------



## Darkkin

We have a foot of snow and it is still falling...(_Rue is happy about it...Me...:dread:  Rue doesn't have to shovel.)_


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Itz mah burthdeh.


----------



## The Green Shield

Collecting old versions of my stories have left me filled with two emotions: horror and pride. Horror in how flat my characters were, how the dialogue looks like a fifth-grader wrote it (too many exclamation points, for starters.) Little description of scenery, just people talking. What's worst is characters have their names changed _in the middle of the draft_ and/or randomly pop in and out of existence entirely.

Yet I feel pride in knowing that (a) I did this. A good first attempt, (b) my writing had improved. I look at this and think, "I can do better than this now. I've got something to work with. I don't completely suck!" Also, I'm proud of the evolution one of my major characters has gone through: in the earlier drafts, he was your token "evil caretaker who abuses and belittles the main character", but now he's a cynical, but soft-hearted guy who does care about people.

This is why you never delete your old drafts, folks.


----------



## Darkkin

Mom got tickets to Trans-Siberian Orchestra!  Whoot!


----------



## aj47

In general, I'm not in pain from the surgery.  However, today I stood on one leg, while taking a sock off the opposite foot.  That stretched or pulled something and I had to take a pain pill.  The kind that cause insomnia.  And I took two because ... yeah.

I am upstairs and asked my son to cook because I dread the stairs right now.  The main issue is it hurts to straighten.  So I'm fine sitting, but lying straight or standing ... ugh.

I know I'll be fine....and I know something not-to-do until I'm more healed.  If I'm a little snappish, you know why.


----------



## Thaumiel

Well I need to write an eight page report about my current project. Mostly background physics on plasmas and explanations of PIC coding with some results from tests on the program I'm using. Throw in some plans for the coming few months and I'm done until they want a twenty page final report from me.

Yay!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I are drunking.


----------



## aj47

I am making some amazing curry mustard meatballs in the crockpot.  My teen son is spending the night at his friend's so we'll have a quiet start to the new year.


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> I am making some amazing curry mustard meatballs in the crockpot.  My teen son is spending the night at his friend's so we'll have a quiet start to the new year.




mmm....recipe please...


----------



## aj47

Warning: it's for a crowd....


*Curry Mustard Meatballs*

*INGREDIENTS*


12 oz pineapple preserves
8 oz Dijon mustard
8-oz pineapple tidbits in juice
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp curry (I use yellow paste)
2.5 lbs Italian meatballs, frozen
*PREPARATION*


In small saucepan, combine everything but meatballs.
Bring to a boil.
Place meatballs in slow cooker; Stir in mixture.
Cover; cook on HIGH for 4 hours, stirring twice.
Stir before serving
Serve with rice.


----------



## JustRob

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Mostly background physics on plasmas and explanations of PIC coding with some results from tests on the program I'm using.



Plasma and PIC coding? Are you studying to become a ghostbuster? Remember not to cross the beams, or was that something else? 

I'm working on creating my website, which the Society for Psychical Research, the real ghostbusters, have expressed an interest in. I'm a pedantic type who likes to do everything myself from the bottom up, but I also detest working on infrastructure, so have spent more time today posting on WF as a distraction. Of couse, if I didn't allow my thoughts to flow so freely I wouldn't have the material for my website, so it's not all a waste and anyway, when it comes to the paranormal I let my subconscious do the work. The truth may be out there but we really don't want to find out what it is, in my opinion. Back to the automatic writing then.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Got the new Guitar Hero game for my Xbox!  Unfortunately I have to wait until I get back from San Antonio to play it.


----------



## Darkkin

Well spent the gift cards that have been burning a hole in my pocket for the last week.  Found three dresses, replaced a couple pairs of tights, and saw Star Wars for the third time...So yeah...Awesome day!   :cheers:  Also got to see TSO in concert for the first time a couple of days ago, too.  Life has been all right.


----------



## Gofa

Mid summer cold and solid rain.  Holiday so have called day off for lack of interest


----------



## Guy Faukes

Anyone else find making up country names is really difficult? I've been wracking my head trying to make mine sound just right and it's neigh impossible.


----------



## Thaumiel

JustRob said:


> Plasma and PIC coding? Are you studying to become a ghostbuster? Remember not to cross the beams, or was that something else?



My particle physics lecturer last year was called Bill Murray. I think my university is hiding something from us.

https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/physics/staff/academic/billmurray/


----------



## Blade

Guy Faukes said:


> Anyone else find making up country names is really difficult? I've been wracking my head trying to make mine sound just right and it's neigh impossible.


The fact is that the country names you make up are not actually country names so they are bound to sound a bit off.:blue: An idea might be to take a county name directly from somewhere or take it and alter it a bit. Unless the misfit is really striking it is unlikely the reader will notice it.:thumbl:


----------



## Guy Faukes

Blade said:


> The fact is that the country names you make up are not actually country names so they are bound to sound a bit off.:blue: An idea might be to take a county name directly from somewhere or take it and alter it a bit. Unless the misfit is really striking it is unlikely the reader will notice it.:thumbl:



It's true. I wonder if there's a part of the brain that is devoted to asking, "that name, is it a country?" Ahh well, it's just going to stick out a bit, much like a few other elements    :subdued:

Hard to find a crying emoticon off the bat. That reminds me... didn't someone try to streamline the emoticon system around here?


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I got angry at my boss and let him lecture me like a child while contemplating the odds of me surviving a fatal car crash from behind the driver's seat. >>

I'm moving back to my old manager's squad. Even though errboddeh left and got replaced... but I really hate my boss.

Also, I'm tired as all hell and my money is late.

Le sigh


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I left my apron and nametag at home, went back to get it. Had both the shift supervisor and my mother thinking I was kidnapped...

Then I locked my car with the keys on my seat. 

I got some of the wire we use for making cardboard bales, jammed my plastic knife in the door, and fished them out.

I ain't paying no damn locksmith to get my door open.


----------



## Ultraroel

Have my birthday. It's 5PM and only my mom and gf congratulated me. 
All my colleagues get presents with their birthday and I have been skipped. 

I feel unwanted and unloved


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Ultraroel said:


> Have my birthday. It's 5PM and only my mom and gf congratulated me.
> All my colleagues get presents with their birthday and I have been skipped.
> 
> I feel unwanted and unloved


----------



## Kevin

My shoes are still a little wet from yesterday. We’d drilled some holes at the base of the stemwalls from the inside in preparation, but once the rain came I could see they weren’t enough. The water was an inch deep in some places and at an inch and a half our decorative beams would be damaged. Can’t have that, so I brought the drill with me today…

Yesterday, on the drive home she called me to let me know that there is an issue at the guest room ceiling. _Is it from the rain, or something ‘plumbing’?  _The room is below the kitchen, and we've been having issues with the freezer leaking, but then there was the rain... The suspence was killing me.

Upon later inspection including poking a hole in the 'belly' (_that _is going to have to come off) which was not full of water I think it is due too a slow leakage from above; the fridge. Okay... (call the appliance man).

Also, there was the issue of our oak tree. It seems to be intent on suicide. How had that ‘done’ during the rain? 

They do that you see (suicide), the natives, spontaneously splitting or toppling for no apparent reason. Too big for their britches, I suppose, it happens most often after or during the rains. We've seen it many times.

The one in our backyard began showing signs a few year ago. It predates the house, is possibly hundreds of years old, and we would miss it. Unfortunately, its trunk has taken the form of a wish-bone, two separate ‘main’-trunks diverging  from the base just above the ground. What started as a hairline crack has opened to a couple of inches. 

Last year I bought some cable and strapped them together. Under the larger ‘half’ (which would fall on our house) I also put some wooden members bracing it (I’ve seen this on other trees, but of a more permanent construction: steel post/saddle and concrete). Before the rains, the wind was howling. It looks as though the two trunks are not only leaned apart, but leaning slightly to one side. The one nearer the house has shifted slightly on the bracing. *_* hyuuuuuhhhh… * _That’s me letting out a big sigh. What to do, what to do? I’ve got to do something. Yes, I can put more bracing, trim the tree, cut the tree down. It’s only money, and effort… 

The day before yesterday, I stopped by my Mil’s and staked a 25’ section of hay-wattle as a diversion across her hillside. Last year, her late (another sigh) husband (who is very sorely missed) had constructed a concrete swale at the base with a drainpipe at one end to catch the excess. This has been filling with (dry) gopher debris (maybe they’re groundsquirrels; yes, come to think of it,  they’re groundsquirrels…) so I cleaned it again. I guess it held up.

This year will be a test: our first significant  _el nino _event in nearly twenty-years.  They claim this series of storms are the first of it. _We shall see_…

Things are good. We could be one of those poor people whose home is currently _under _the water. Now they have it bad…


----------



## JustRob

Today I signed up for a half day introductory course on cognitive psychology in February. As Descartes might have said, I think I should go, therefore I am.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Cog psych is pretty interesting. Is it cog neuroscience or the good ol' fashion, let's probe a piece of brain sort of cog psych?

Currently, I'm sitting on two short stories and a novel that have yet to be completed for the last six months. Writing can be a marathon at times.


----------



## Darkkin

Random stuff Rue has brought to me in the last five minutes...Two purple dragons, a green dragon, his turtle, a chewy bone, Bacon, a mesh ball, Zwi's hedgehog, and a rope toy...Somebody has managed to get his toy box open...:friendly_wink:


----------



## aj47

Ultraroel said:


> Have my birthday. It's 5PM and only my mom and gf congratulated me.
> All my colleagues get presents with their birthday and I have been skipped.
> 
> I feel unwanted and unloved



At one job, an employee's birthday was a paid holiday for that employee.  I don't know how leap babies were handled.

At a different job, I was a contractor and everyone else was an employee. I took my birthday off because I knew they wouldn't give me a cake and stuff, so I figured I'd have a better time hanging out at home and baking my own.

A custom around these parts is to pin a dollar to your shirt on your birthday and other folks give you dollars to add to the pin.

We love you here.


----------



## JustRob

Guy Faukes said:


> Cog psych is pretty interesting. Is it cog neuroscience or the good ol' fashion, let's probe a piece of brain sort of cog psych?



It's only an introductory course lasting a few hours, so it can only scrape the surface of the subject and the neuroscience aspect goes too deep I suspect. The summary suggests that the chap running it is focussing on his specialities, one of which is music. In fact the psychology of sound perception is his specific speciality, so I expect an offbeat approach. His CV looks interesting and he studied at Aalborg University, which apparently pioneered problem based learning crossing disciplines. Actually the head of the science department at my old school also employed that sort of thing, but I specialised in mathematics there beyond his influence.

Really I just want to find out how cognitive psychologists think, not the rest of us, in case I encounter any in the near future. If I do have precognitive capabilities then I ought to anticipate that sort of thing happening, so maybe I have. The trouble with writing about time travel is that now I'm having to do the research for the novel that I wrote five years ago, otherwise it won't have happened. Obviously I'll have to refrain from heckling during the course though.


----------



## Thaumiel

Three pages in to my eight page report and I'm not sure how much more I can say about the velocity distribution of fusion-born alpha-particles creating a bump-on-tail instability to the overall system causing it to undergo a quasilinear relaxation by feeding electromagnetic wave growth. Ah well, I guess I can add pretty pictures to flesh out the empty space.


----------



## aj47

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Three pages in to my eight page report and I'm not sure how much more I can say about the velocity distribution of fusion-born alpha-particles creating a bump-on-tail instability to the overall system causing it to undergo a quasilinear relaxation by feeding electromagnetic wave growth. Ah well, I guess I can add pretty pictures to flesh out the empty space.



Yes, diagrams and stuff.  When I did the work with simulating emissions with noble gasses back in nineteen-eighty-mumble, I used diagrams even though the waveform was basically the same shape---"Here's xenon."  "Here's radon." etc.


----------



## Thaumiel

astroannie said:


> Yes, diagrams and stuff.  When I did the work with simulating emissions with noble gasses back in nineteen-eighty-mumble, I used diagrams even though the waveform was basically the same shape---"Here's xenon."  "Here's radon." etc.



My main annoyance is that six of the eight pages have to be an introduction and background theory for the report. After that I'm left with one page to present my first sets of results and one page to write a plan for coming simulations, both of which I could easily write far more about. But I guess that's just the way of things.


----------



## aj47

OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT (cussing)

You were warned

My daughter and I went to the bank, to get money to buy a couple (that's two) PowerBall tickets.  Why not, they're cheap entertainment.

On the way to our gas station, my van started to lose power and ALL the little icons came on.  I tried to get to a safe place before it stopped completely, but my power steering was out, too, and I managed around a corner and into the median.  I called AAA.  With the assistance of a Samaritan, we got it aligned in the left-hand lane of this little-used road I'd managed to turn onto.  And then a member of Harris County's Finest stopped behind me.  I assured him we would be okay and he went about his business. The tow driver took us to MyMechanic and they looked at it and declared it was the fuel pump.  Two hours labor, plus an expensive part. O-kay.  Put it on credit and sat there watching stupid talkshows for two hours.  Drove home to get my son and then to the gas station.  Got my PowerBall tickets and refueled and we weren't even down the block when the same symptoms struck.  It was raining, but my son wanted to go to his friend's house (our next scheduled stop) and he decided to walk.  He took my umbrella and headed out.  By this time, it was 19:00 local and my husband was home from work.  He came by and took my daughter home and I waited for the tow. It was the SAME driver.  His shift ends at 21:00 and so we were his first call and his last.  He took me and my disabled van to MyMechanic and lo and behold the bar in the strip mall that shares a parking lot with MyMechanic had valet parking.  In front of MyMechanic.  So we had to drop the van at some random parking space in the greater parking lot.  We did that, did the key drop thing and the driver took me home.  I had dinner.  Luckily for me, it was in the crock pot all day.

Fuck this Shit. 

I am really unhappy.  MyMechanic does good work. So my van must have lied when they got the computer code. I will know more in the morning but in the meantime, I got a call from my doc -- I *do* in fact, have an infection and am the winner of an antibiotic to take for one week.

It's FRIDAY!
It's a day people look forward to all week.


----------



## Hairball

astroannie said:


> OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT (cussing)
> 
> You were warned
> 
> My daughter and I went to the bank, to get money to buy a couple (that's two) PowerBall tickets.  Why not, they're cheap entertainment.
> 
> On the way to our gas station, my van started to lose power and ALL the little icons came on.  I tried to get to a safe place before it stopped completely, but my power steering was out, too, and I managed around a corner and into the median.  I called AAA.  With the assistance of a Samaritan, we got it aligned in the left-hand lane of this little-used road I'd managed to turn onto.  And then a member of Harris County's Finest stopped behind me.  I assured him we would be okay and he went about his business. The tow driver took us to MyMechanic and they looked at it and declared it was the fuel pump.  Two hours labor, plus an expensive part. O-kay.  Put it on credit and sat there watching stupid talkshows for two hours.  Drove home to get my son and then to the gas station.  Got my PowerBall tickets and refueled and we weren't even down the block when the same symptoms struck.  It was raining, but my son wanted to go to his friend's house (our next scheduled stop) and he decided to walk.  He took my umbrella and headed out.  By this time, it was 19:00 local and my husband was home from work.  He came by and took my daughter home and I waited for the tow. It was the SAME driver.  His shift ends at 21:00 and so we were his first call and his last.  He took me and my disabled van to MyMechanic and lo and behold the bar in the strip mall that shares a parking lot with MyMechanic had valet parking.  In front of MyMechanic.  So we had to drop the van at some random parking space in the greater parking lot.  We did that, did the key drop thing and the driver took me home.  I had dinner.  Luckily for me, it was in the crock pot all day.
> 
> Fuck this Shit.
> 
> I am really unhappy.  MyMechanic does good work. So my van must have lied when they got the computer code. I will know more in the morning but in the meantime, I got a call from my doc -- I *do* in fact, have an infection and am the winner of an antibiotic to take for one week.
> 
> It's FRIDAY!
> It's a day people look forward to all week.



Oh my, honey, I am so sorry you had to deal with this.

Um....I had my hubby to look at this. He's a good mechanic; he does this for a living. He said because he hasn't spoken to you and he said because he's only going on the information on your post, he said to have the vehicle's ECM checked. That is the car's computer: Electronic/Engine Control Module. That is the vehicle's brain. When it starts going out, it gives all kinds of weird signals and can shut the car down. Then when you start it again, it seems okay, but then it does it all over again.

As I said, he's only going from what he sees here, and he hasn't talked to you, and I'm typing as he talks. He doesn't know what year/make/model it is, and if you wish to post this, it might help.

He's concerned, and so am I, and that's why I asked him to look at your post.

Honey, I am so sorry. I know how frustrating car crap is. Hang in there, and PM me or post here if you want.

Love and hugs, Joyce


----------



## Olly Buckle

I did like twentieth century cars I could understand, I told someone the other day about a journey to Devon in an old Ford Escort that needed the points adjusting every forty miles or so and they asked "What are points?". Chin up, Annie, it has happened, tomorrow will be different shit


----------



## Deleted member 56686

My cousin had a Z-28 back in the Eighties. It sounded like something that happened to him (Yeah some cars actually had computers then too). Anyway, I hope you're having a better Saturday


----------



## Phil Istine

I've been working too hard lately so today, I went out early and cleaned the windows at a local café, followed by a leisurely breakfast in there.  Soon I will be off to the nearby library for a creative writing group that I've neglected of late.  That will be followed by coffee, cake and general chat.  Then a trip across town to watch my local football team get stuffed.  Actually, they are now playing at a very high level by their standards, so it's reasonable to lose a few more than you win.  Afterwards, my friend has invited me around where she will be treating me to an home-cooked Indian meal, followed by watching recorded episodes of _University Challenge_, _Mastermind_, and an old Star Trek film.
A pity that all days can't be like that, but I would end up being evicted for not paying my mortgage.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Before returning from work and sleeping...

I actually had to explain to a coworker WHY I disliked Justin Bieber. 

Doesn't it... y'know... go without saying? 

I'm sad for humanity.


----------



## Schrody

Oh, I'm so sorry Annie. I hate when all the crap comes down on you at once...


----------



## Kevin

Did anyone else get their _SWIM 2016 Victoria's Secret _in the mail? Well, at least that's something 'not bad'. 
What? I just like looking at the pictures. '_Bora Bora' _is a lovely landscape. Did I mention it comes in the mail? Addressed to "_Current Resident". _I guess that's us.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

I only read Victoria Secret Catalogs for the articles


----------



## aj47

Hairball said:


> Oh my, honey, I am so sorry you had to deal with this.
> 
> Um....I had my hubby to look at this. He's a good mechanic; he does this for a living. He said because he hasn't spoken to you and he said because he's only going on the information on your post, he said to have the vehicle's ECM checked. That is the car's computer: Electronic/Engine Control Module. That is the vehicle's brain. When it starts going out, it gives all kinds of weird signals and can shut the car down. Then when you start it again, it seems okay, but then it does it all over again.
> 
> As I said, he's only going from what he sees here, and he hasn't talked to you, and I'm typing as he talks. He doesn't know what year/make/model it is, and if you wish to post this, it might help.
> 
> He's concerned, and so am I, and that's why I asked him to look at your post.
> 
> Honey, I am so sorry. I know how frustrating car crap is. Hang in there, and PM me or post here if you want.
> 
> Love and hugs, Joyce



Oh, it doesn't start again after you shut it off. Also it froze the power steering so ... there was the entirely wrong sort of excitement pulling over out of the way of traffic.

I think the computer or a sensor is messed up.  I think they DID read the code and it said, "OMG, I need a new fuel pump!" but it lied.  They open in an hour and a half.  I'll know more then.


----------



## Kevin

Last Monday: "Your battery is going... you need to change your transmission fluid, that belt-squeak means your belts are damaged... mmm... and the pulleys could also be bad; we'll see. Current charges for 'new radiator'- $545.00. You know this is a great car. Toyotas last forever..."


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Did anyone else get their _SWIM 2016 Victoria's Secret _in the mail? Well, at least that's something 'not bad'.
> What? I just like looking at the pictures. '_Bora Bora' _is a lovely landscape. Did I mention it comes in the mail? Addressed to "_Current Resident". _I guess that's us.





mrmustard615 said:


> I only read Victoria Secret Catalogs for the articles


What strikes me about such is the models that leave little to the imagination influence other women to "dress" accordingly. Other women that might be better served not allowing peeks in the oven ;-)


----------



## Darkkin

Completed work on one arc and now set to begin another.  One cast has come full circle.  Turtle will be returning; Miri, Star, and Winkken of Dreamtide East are all about to have their destinies revealed.  The Huntsman waits with a secret, dark as the Journey of Lily Bright continues.


----------



## aj47

YAYAY -- my van is back.  It was warranty work--a hose had not been clamped right/enough or something but the problem appears fixed and we are all glad.

I was supposed to go help my widow friend with her computer, but we rescheduled for next week since we didn't know if/when we'd get the van back.


----------



## Winston

Kevin said:


> Last Monday: "Your battery is going... you need to change your transmission fluid, that belt-squeak means your belts are damaged... mmm... and the pulleys could also be bad; we'll see. Current charges for 'new radiator'- $545.00. You know this is a great car. Toyotas last forever..."



Ironic, but even things built to last need maintenance and care.  Like relationships.

La Z weekend here.  Transfered beer to secondary fermenter.  Cleaned-up old Polish surplus flare gun (minor rust, some mildew on carrying case).  Getting to know our new cat better; she's kinda fearless.  Finally going to see the new Star Wars movie.  Keeping expectations moderate.


----------



## Kevin

Took the bulged part of the ceiling down. More damaged than I thought... larger area. Have let it dry out; maybe a few days. Okay...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sounds as though that could do with some warmth under it, why not throw a party?


----------



## Kevin

Not a bad idea.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Anyone else wake up with random, non-existent songs in their head? I have this amazing rock riff with a female lead, but I've never heard it before...


----------



## midnightpoet

Really feel for you guys and your troubles - I can relate; mine continues.  First, we may have identity theft.  Got a collection request from ans agency repping an electric company in my name we owe nearly $200 so they say from some place in Houston.  Execpt we've never lived in Houston. The electric company said we've have to file a complaint w/ sheriff's office, sending them proof of identity ect...
So we did. Meanwhile we got a bill from medicare which wasn't ours.

Then, this morning the electricity went out in part of the trailer.  We traced it to a burned out plug/receptacle. It's beyond my expertise so we call the electrician Monday.  We're lucky it didn't start a fire._  This year isn't starting out well.

Of course, that means we delay other projects - my wife's glasses, car brake light blinking, re-flooring living room, ect...

(sigh)

My life should be a blues song. Hope everyone is okay, somehow we'll keep calm and carry on._:icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## Olly Buckle

> car brake light blinking, re-flooring living room, ect... (sigh) My life should be a blues song.



You have a car,more than one room and nobody owns you, what's to be blue about? There must be at least two thirds of the world worse off than you in two thirds of those categories. Are you hungry, cold and wet all the time? Is anybody dropping bombs in your neighbourhood, or abducting people for child soldiers or sex slaves? 

We are doing pretty well here too, I have lived until old age and get treatment for my chronic illness.


----------



## Kevin

We got it rough, eh? If only we didn't have floors and ceilings. _Galapagos _by Vonnegut sounds fun... swimming in the sea, flopping around on the shore like selkies; they still laughed at fart-jokes.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Attended the compulsory brain-washing seminar known by most as "orientation."  If Publix offers even half the stuff they promised, I'm pretty much set for life, haha.  It seems like a good company.  I got my first schedule, too, and it's just under 40 hours, which is only a plus.  With that and working for Coke on the weekends, I ought to stay comfortably numb, if not completely out altogether.


----------



## midnightpoet

Olly Buckle said:


> You have a car,more than one room and nobody owns you, what's to be blue about? There must be at least two thirds of the world worse off than you in two thirds of those categories. Are you hungry, cold and wet all the time? Is anybody dropping bombs in your neighbourhood, or abducting people for child soldiers or sex slaves?
> 
> We are doing pretty well here too, I have lived until old age and get treatment for my chronic illness.



*Yeah, nothing worse than a whiny old man.*  :joker:


----------



## Olly Buckle

"My voice will go with you", by the hypnotherapist Milton Erickson changed my way of looking at the world. It is a series of transcriptions of therapy sessions and he started one by saying "I was extremely lucky, at the age of eighteen I caught polio and was totally paralysed, except for my eyes, for eighteen months." And it is not just words, he goes on to explain how that altered his entire life for the good!! I learned that when we embrace our experiences they all have potential for us.


----------



## aj47

You roll with it.  Doesn't mean you aren't allowed to express frustration, etc. Airing it helps you move past it. 

Not referring to anyone here, but too many people who aren't in dire situations think they can tell folks how to get out of them.  It always looks easier from the outside. From time to time people do experiments, like trying to live of $_x_ where _x_ is equivalent to the amount of a specific government hand-out (which particular one varies).  And a lot of smugness gets erased.


----------



## Cran

astroannie said:


> You roll with it.  Doesn't mean you aren't allowed to express frustration, etc. Airing it helps you move past it.
> 
> Not referring to anyone here, but too many people who aren't in dire situations think they can tell folks how to get out of them.  It always looks easier from the outside. From time to time people do experiments, like trying to live of $_x_ where _x_ is equivalent to the amount of a specific government hand-out (which particular one varies).  And a lot of smugness gets erased.


Did that to a Senator here who wanted to cut social security payments - the dare was one week on single unemployment benefit. We let him use his thousand dollar bicycle. He was embarrassed at the check-out when he had to hand back some items of food on day one. 

A week later, he was arguing for an increase to social security payments.


----------



## JustRob

How did my day go? Look, I've only just had my morning coffee after getting up late. Do you think I'm clairvoyant or a time traveller or something? Whatever gave you that mad idea?


----------



## Winston

JustRob said:


> How did my day go? Look, I've only just had my morning coffee after getting up late. Do you think I'm clairvoyant or a time traveller or something? Whatever gave you that mad idea?



/\ (your avatar)

Yaaaa!  The solar light I installed on our chicken coop last week got the ladies laying again!  We got eggs.  Some for breakfast, and a dinner or two per week.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I got stopped and surrounded by cops who informed me I have a warrant for my arrest.

They then informed me they didn't have authorization to arrest me and let me go.

HA!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Update:

The cops are looking for me. >>


----------



## aj47

Why would they do that?


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Warrants, but of course. I've been dodging 'em for almost two years now... lol.


----------



## am_hammy

Decent for once. 

It was the first day in what seems like forever that my boss didn't say anything about the store that needed to be fixed. For once it seems like I did everything right. We shall see how long it lasts. I have off tomorrow and I fully intend to enjoy it.


----------



## The Green Shield

Woke up an hour ago.

Decided to play _Fallout 4_ and see how closely I could make my fantasy MC with the character customization. Result: scary. She looks _exactly_ as I would imagined her as an adult; only differences is that she's wearing 1950s clothing and I gave her an actual real-world name rather than her actual name.


----------



## midnightpoet

This morning was a crisp and bracing 47degF.  I took our blue heeler for a walk around a few blocks; other than a black and white cat getting him excited, it was uneventful but enjoyable.


----------



## Kevin

Chino...where the heck's Chino? Okay, so I'm pretty sure I didn't win the powerball. Everyone who I gave my stuff to I need it back. I guess I should call my boss. Not my fault his wife has a big a... Maybe I'll just show up and not say anything.


----------



## Ultraroel

Had a good day. Managed to write my second story ever in 1 working day, so it was a quiet day.
Will spend my time tonight rereading it and hope I can polish it a little more.


----------



## Sonata

The morning was a booger as I made a mistake and had 5 kilos of fresh chicken backs delivered yesterday evening and they had to be broken up, individually bagged, and then frozen.  All done eventually but I sort of forgot that my usual 5 kilos was for a 22-24 kilo wubble and the mini-monster only weighs 6 kilos.

I cannot remember what I did this afternoon as I was rather out of it by then.


----------



## The Green Shield

All shitty drivers must, and will, face the wrath of Firelord Ozai.

FIRELORD GREEN SHIELD
“You will learn respect [with regards to the safety of driving] ... and suffering will be your teacher ...”

IROH (V.O.)
“I couldn't bear to watch...”

SHITTY DRIVER
<howls in pain as the sound of a fireblast is heard>


----------



## aj47

Early this morning, we checked the uni Web site.  It said to print and fill out a form to get a student discount metro bus card.

When we got there, it had changed.   They apparently THIS MORNING, fixed the link to online signup and changed the verbiage on the page to reflect hat.

So, I'm out $8.25 (I'm not a regular rider and don't have a card so I had to pay cash (which I had to get as cash-back on my debit card so I'd get one dollar bills because--exact change)).  

Anyway, that's how my morning started.  I'm sure that's a setup for something this afternoon.


----------



## Blade

Oh wow.:snowman: The smiley file has been scrambled.:indecisiveness:


----------



## am_hammy

Simply put,I had a decent day at work and didn't get overwhelmed by anything. Awesome for me. I'm trying to keep my spirits up so I'm energetic tomorrow and ready for whatever comes at me.


----------



## Sonata

I do not know.  Some days I have things that must be done and some days I actually do them.  But too many days I do not know what I should have done or what I have done.  I just do not remember.

Whether it is normal old age I do not know, but I am beginning to worry that it is more than mere normal old age


----------



## Winston

Just got a brand new "Slate" credit card with a $18k credit limit.  Of course, it's in my mom's name.  Who has been dead for the last 4.5 years.

What is up with these morons?!  I mean, she's in a nice urn, but it's hardly worth $18,000 in liquid assets.  And she's not going back to work anytime soon.


----------



## midnightpoet

Sonata said:


> I do not know.  Some days I have things that must be done and some days I actually do them.  But too many days I do not know what I should have done or what I have done.  I just do not remember.
> 
> Whether it is normal old age I do not know, but I am beginning to worry that it is more than mere normal old age



*Sounds normal to me, of course I've got a short attention span.  I open the fridge and forget what I'm looking for - or look in the bathroom when what I want is in the kitchen.  Both my father and both brothers had dementia, and I'm determined not to go there with them, so I keep my mind active by writing.  This forum helps, also.  Worry only makes it worse, don't do that.*


----------



## PrinzeCharming

*Today: *

A man hands over two rolls of coins to pay for his order. Mind you, he had a twenty as well to pay for the rest. As I emptied out the dimes, I counted $4.90 out of the $5.00. "Sir," I said politely. "This is Canadian. We don't accept CAD." He threw another dime at me. The other roll was quarters. I rolled my eyes, and just let it go. He had a mailing sticker attached to his rolls. So, does that mean we'll send him the bill if he's short? :???:

When I looked at my schedule today, I was happy to see that I'll be in Produce again this week. I prefer cutting fruit than counting dirty money.


----------



## Darkkin

C: 'I'm looking for a book; it was made into a movie...'
M: 'Do you know the title or author?'
C: 'No.'
M: 'Was it fiction or nonfiction?'
C: 'What's the difference between those.'
M: (_Explains the difference..._)
C: 'I don't know?'
M: 'Do you know what it was about?'
C: 'No, but it was a movie.  Where are those books...?'

Another gem of the evening:

C: 'Do you have wireless printing here?'
M: 'No, ma'am.'
C: 'Well now the hell am I suppose to do?'

(_Yeah, I refrained from a reply on that one..._)


----------



## Guy Faukes

^ I would make fun of clueless people like that, but I've had several moments of complete and utter social incompetence. Blissful.


----------



## The Green Shield

*Update:
* Spent two hours writing a completely new fantasy project that sprang to my mind. Out of the blue, without any warning whatsoever. I like how the plot is slowly stitching itself and the opening, good _GOD_, the opening. I think I've just found myself a villain that is...wow. Um, I'm kind of scared of him. xD


----------



## dither

I've had an absolute stinker of a day.
Have been in bed all day, got up at around 4.00. pm.
Blocked nose, coughing up lumps and i ache all over. Good thing it's happening over the weekend, no way could i work with this.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

dither said:


> I've had an absolute stinker of a day.
> Have been in bed all day, got up at around 4.00. pm.
> Blocked nose, coughing up lumps and i ache all over. Good thing it's happening over the weekend, no way could i work with this.



I hope you feel better ASAP! That sounds really lovely. Stay hydrated. Eat well. Sleep well. Whatever you do, don't share it around here. ale::concern: :congratulatory:


----------



## am_hammy

dither said:


> I've had an absolute stinker of a day.
> Have been in bed all day, got up at around 4.00. pm.
> Blocked nose, coughing up lumps and i ache all over. Good thing it's happening over the weekend, no way could i work with this.



I'm not feeling so hot myself. Hang in there dither!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Hammy is right Dither, hang in there it improves. I have just had to days of gunge and sinus that left me whimpering at times; Today is great.

Off to Eastbourne this afternoon for a bone density scan, A bit apprehensive, I have not been taking my medication for it since I dropped my steroids below 10mg, the side effects are unpleasant and the body produces about 7mg naturally so I regard it a bit like HRT. We shall see.


----------



## dither

Off to Eastbourne?
Say hi! to the seven sisters for me will you.


----------



## dither

am_hammy said:


> I'm not feeling so hot myself. Hang in there dither!



I suppose that's all any of us can do.


----------



## am_hammy

Olly Buckle said:


> Hammy is right Dither, hang in there it improves. I have just had to days of gunge and sinus that left me whimpering at times; Today is great.
> 
> Off to Eastbourne this afternoon for a bone density scan, A bit apprehensive, I have not been taking my medication for it since I dropped my steroids below 10mg, the side effects are unpleasant and the body produces about 7mg naturally so I regard it a bit like HRT. We shall see.



I hope that goes well for you too.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

It's not even afternoon, and I blogged about my day. I hope everyone has a productive Monday. Just think - we're already 18 days into the new year.


----------



## am_hammy

I'd say my day has been productive so far. I mean, when I sneeze my throat feels like it's burning. But hey, what can you do? Preparing myself for work. If I can make it through today I have no more closing shifts until next week. Holla!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Bone scan done, still pre-osteoporotic, but slightly better than the last one five years ago. I think I will carry on leaving out the alendronic acid, there are some nasty side effects and I seem to be coping.


----------



## LeeC

am_hammy said:


> I'd say my day has been productive so far. I mean, when I sneeze my throat feels like it's burning. But hey, what can you do? Preparing myself for work. If I can make it through today I have no more closing shifts until next week. Holla!


Wish I could send foodstuffs through the mail, but last time I tried the USPS wanted me to fill out umpteen forms and get USDA approval. 

Anyway, if I could I'd send you some real homemade maple syrup (thick as honey) for your throat. Take it easy and get your vitamins


----------



## Sonata

If the clock says 8.26pm does that mean it is too late to go to bed?


----------



## Winston

A quick trip to Walmart last night. 
 A woman is pushing a cart with two gallons of motor oil.  Behind her, her boyfriend ("old man") is wearing his Harley Davidson shirt.  Pride.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Just got Destiny plus all the DLC and Expansions!! Can't wait to play!!


----------



## Olly Buckle

LeeC said:


> Wish I could send foodstuffs through the mail, but last time I tried the USPS wanted me to fill out umpteen forms and get USDA approval.
> 
> Anyway, if I could I'd send you some real homemade maple syrup (thick as honey) for your throat. Take it easy and get your vitamins



This ex-beekeeper says honey and lemon juice is a good substitute. In fact, as I have never tried maple syrup, made with good, home made, honey it might even be better.


----------



## The Green Shield

Been writing all day. Less gaming or surfing the internet. 

*VHAT IS VRONG WITH MEH!? *


----------



## Darkkin

It's -22 outside right now...I am in full denial mode of this event.  :read:  Lost in Harry Potter...


----------



## Ultraroel

It's -10 here. Just met a couple that was giving homeless people new gloves. My day is good cause of this


----------



## LeeC

With my early education in a reservation one room schoolhouse, where English was of interest only to the teacher, I'm not the brightest bulb in the room. Thus over my nigh on three quarters of a century I've stumbled along in expressing my thoughts, with extensive reading helping me improve. 

Sadly, it seems to me that extensive reading isn't all that fashionable. Whether such is more the case nowadays, our just more obvious with the exposure of greater sampling, I don't know. 

What brought this to mind was a site author contact email from someone that had downloaded a sample of my book from a retail ebook store. The email quoted the first two paragraphs followed by simply WTF. 

I'm thinking, whoa I missed the mark with this individual, which wasn't unexpected. My idea is of course the obvious in grabbing the reader's attention from the get-go, but in this book I also tried to engage the reader's mind up front so they might understand the subtleties of the writing more. 

You can't win'em all. I only hope I break even in dying in my sleep ;-) 


Take care all.


----------



## Kevin

> The email quoted the first two paragraphs followed by simply WTF


.  What does that mean exactly, this 'WTF'? WTF what? Could they perhaps be a little more specific, like... express themselves? No, not 'like', but actually 'do', using their words in communication. Spit it out fer chrissakes.


----------



## LeeC

I haven't made it this far without having well-oiled feathers Kevin  One can only express themselves within their capabilities ;-)


----------



## Darkkin

For nonsense, this stupid project certainly requires a heck of a lot of cross referencing...Yeesh!  Back is well underway, Turtle, Nod and Nonsense are returning.  Winkken is making his bow and Blinkken, well, at least he finally has a name.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Leveled up my character in Destiny and started some new classes in school.  So far so good.


----------



## am_hammy

I can say it's been an easy day for me mentally. I don't feel well physically, but it's a major relief to feel mentally at ease. Will try to hold onto that for as long as possible! =)


----------



## aj47

I am ... exhilarated!  Today I had my first session of my programming class.  We get to pick a project--any project, in any language--and turn it into a program, documentation, and a presentation.  I know Just What I Want To Do.  My mama played a 2-deck solitaire game that I have NEVER seen anywhere else.  Not in my old paperback copy of _150 Ways to Play Solitaire_, not in any collection of solitaire games for the computer.  Nowhere.  But I have No Freakin' Clue how to do GUI in C++ -- Qt was recommended to me.  I'm learning it.  I can now make a button with text on it and a tool-tip.   I am learning this through an online course that I paid money for.  So that I can do this project for class.  Today was an _amazing_​ day!  I'm looking forward to tomorrow, too.


----------



## Darkkin

New form and I did it!  I know it isn't any good, but by gum I tried and I got it done.  Turtle is back!  :triumphant:


----------



## Kevin

*bbringgg* _4:45am, who is calling at 4:45?! _-- 'Hello?' "Hello, this is Annie from Windows, calling about your computer." (Mumbai street noise in the background; specifically the sounds of traffic; horns honking, the passage of vehicles)... wait... wait... *Click*(me disconnecting).


----------



## dither

Been trying to find a recipe/method for onion-milk.
I've even bought some onions.
There must a recipe out there somewhere surely.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I am not even sure how I stumbled across this, but it happened. I am watching this show for the next hour. Come join me. I am so fixated with human development. 

Inside the living body.


----------



## Stormcat

I just have too much energy today! But I can't seem to channel any of it into getting a medical internship because I have no idea where to look for one, plus my horrible social anxiety keeps me from talking to new people.


----------



## dither

Stormcat said:


> I just have too much energy today! But I can't seem to channel any of it into getting a medical internship because I have no idea where to look for one, plus my horrible social anxiety keeps me from talking to new people.



Y'know ? 

I love meeting people but getting to know them and they i, scares the hell out of me.

How weird is that?


----------



## Marjon

So here we do not have to be excellent? Well then...my greatest failure today: I had a fight with my laptop. The laptop WON, can you imagine? I am a nervous wreck.


----------



## Blade

dither said:


> Been trying to find a recipe/method for onion-milk.
> I've even bought some onions.
> There must a recipe out there somewhere surely.


I would peel and dice the onions, boil them, blend until smooth and then heat on the stove, uncovered, until you get the desired consistency. :eagerness:


----------



## The Green Shield

So here I am taking the trash out. Before I leave, I see writing on the lid of the trashcan.

“Pull to open”
“Push to close”

Please note that the trashcan is a simple can with handles and the lid is just a simple lid with handles.

And there are instructions for how to open and close it...

...Either the company thinks its selling the cans to three-year-old children...or there are people out there who don't know how to operate a trashcan+lid combo...


----------



## Kevin

Medical  instructions used to say 'orally'. Now they say 'by mouth'.


----------



## Darkkin

Dug out a few of my oldest projects to do some editing work and surprisingly, they aren't truly horrible.  Well, at least my eyes aren't bleeding.  And I found the source of the Firefly Tide.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Blade said:


> I would peel and dice the onions, boil them, blend until smooth and then heat on the stove, uncovered, until you get the desired consistency. :eagerness:



I, on the other hand, would put a whole onion and some herbs in milk and water, then simmer gently for an hour or more before straining.


----------



## midnightpoet

LeeC said:


> I haven't made it this far without having well-oiled feathers Kevin  One can only express themselves within their capabilities ;-)



Phrases like "consider the source" come to mind.


----------



## midnightpoet

Kevin said:


> Medical  instructions used to say 'orally'. Now they say 'by mouth'.



"Hey, these suppositories taste terrible, don't you have them in any other flavor?":rofl:


----------



## dither

Well,this morning,
i thinly sliced one onion, placed slices in a saucepan, covered with milk, and simmered for half an hour before draining off the liquid.
Don't know if it has made any difference, will give it a go tomorrow.
This cold is becoming a real bind now, i need to get rid of it.


----------



## Stormcat

Inexplicably irritable all day. Not sure what keeps pissing me off, but it's super annoying.


----------



## Darkkin

Ah...the wonders of fifteen minutes of editing.  :joyous:


----------



## Sonata

Anyone got a sure-fire cure for a rather revolting black eye?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sonata said:


> Anyone got a sure-fire cure for a rather revolting black eye?



Oh dear, not again!  Prevention is better than cure, a nicely decorated crash helmet is becoming a 'must have' I feel, they come in all sorts of colours nowadays   

Please stay safe, it is much too far to nip round and check up, they won't even give me travel insurance


----------



## Kevin

> a sure-fire cure for a rather revolting black eye?


Dump the boyfriend. You're a lovely girl and I'm sure you can do better.


----------



## Stormcat

So irritated today. Is my period supposed to start soon?


----------



## dither

Re:
So...How'd you day go?


How about So...How'd your "week" go?

I have had an absolute stinker.
I'm always telling people about how i never catch colds, EVER... but i think i've got through worst of it now.
Looking forward to having a decent sort of a weekend.

dither...


----------



## Stormcat

Just take a look at my post in "things that annoy you". I'm not gonna re-post that stuff here!


----------



## Darkkin

Got three new books, a weekend off, and a clean house...Bliss!


----------



## kaminoshiyo

I spent waaaay too much money, had a disappointing visit at the American Museum of Natural History, and a friend I love declined to call me back...

Tomorrow, the winter storm blows in off the Atlantic...

It's a perfect day to write.


----------



## Bruno Spatola

Out of sorts today. Lots of wondering why I'm here and why I bother trying to be happy all the time; I feel so much pressure from life in general, but I never seem to be able to get it out. I look on the positive side and have many interests to keep my head focused on other things, but when the computer shuts off and the TV gets switched off, that same feeling coils itself tightly around my insides. I really don't know why I bother.

I'm tough to understand from the way other people react to me. The confusion and unease I can conjure in people is bizarre and frightening to me, sometimes -- I rarely can figure out what went wrong in conversations. When I lost them or they lost me. I'm not really sure what I'm talking about as I write this, so I figure it's a general venting of thoughts that have become lodged in me.

It wouldn't surprise me if someone told me I wasn't from this world.


----------



## escorial

Bruno Spatola said:


> Out of sorts today. Lots of wondering why I'm here and why I bother trying to be happy all the time; I feel so much pressure from life in general, but I never seem to be able to get it out. I look on the positive side and have many interests to keep my head focused on other things, but when the computer shuts off and the TV gets switched off, that same feeling coils itself tightly around my insides. I really don't know why I bother.
> 
> I'm tough to understand from the way other people react to me. The confusion and unease I can conjure in people is bizarre and frightening to me, sometimes -- I rarely can figure out what went wrong in conversations. When I lost them or they lost me. I'm not really sure what I'm talking about as I write this, so I figure it's a general venting of thoughts that have become lodged in me.
> 
> It wouldn't surprise me if someone told me I wasn't from this world.



best thing you can do man is be the person you are...because were all alone with our thoughts on the world and our place in it..dig deep and keep going man..again..


----------



## Bruno Spatola

I can't sleep properly any more. I've been sitting up for weeks; I haven't put my head onto a pillow in all that time. I read and consume constant streams of content until I just fall back with exhaustion. Sometimes I lie back for what feels like a second and six hours have gone past. I must be ignoring some type of deep depression. I removed my clock from my laptop a long while ago; I never know what day or hour it is. It just hit me today that I have a fear of time; a tangible, genuine fear. Not just the concept, but the imagery, and everything associated with it. Why else would I actively disassociate it with my life? I didn't realize 'til now that it was a huge sign something was badly wrong. Some deep disease in myself that I didn't want to look at too clearly.

I'm scared to say the things I actually think -- this is all very diluted. I often resort to violent imagery as some form of catharsis, but it ends up adding to the pot of emotions in ways that scare me. I've done it for so long, though. I need to find some other way of expressing my disappointment with myself. I hate self-indulgence, that's why I drift to violent thoughts, because I don't have the respect for myself to appreciate my feelings are genuine and worth dealing with gently. I see others suffering and don't want to pollute the Earth's air with more pain, legitimate or not. I don't feel privileged to do that; a bi-product of my not feeling home here in life, I guess.

Again, I'm not sure what point I'm making to myself, or why I'm writing it where others can see it. To solidify it, perhaps. No advice can salvage it other than my own, so it's probably -- sadly -- a case of selfish complaining for the sake of it.

I know it's not permanent. I'm not much of a long-term dweller. I'm just saying that I'm just saying.


----------



## escorial

writing is a great release..maybe it just helps for that one nano moment before you go back to being you....i read it and i can't experience your journey but i'm glad you did share it for my own selfish reasons to....


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I want to kill a person.

>>


----------



## escorial

RhythmOvPain said:


> I want to kill a person.
> 
> >>



get gaming man..egg box or pms4


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

A friend of ours had a female english pointer dumped off on their road, and took it in. But they don't have the means to care for another animal properly so... 

We took her home. Named her Clara. 

She's bone thin so we're feeding her well and making sure she doesn't have heart/gut worms and getting all her shots.

Adorable thing, loves to be pet and full of energy.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

My lactose intolerant cat stole a huge piece of cheese and barfed all over my room.


----------



## Stormcat

woke up this morning at noon, but didn't get out of bed until 2:30, when I explained to mom I'm going through a depressive episode, she tells me "other people have it way worse than you" which is quite possibly the worst thing you can ever say to someone with depression.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Stormcat said:


> woke up this morning at noon, but didn't get out of bed until 2:30, when I explained to mom I'm going through a depressive episode, she tells me "other people have it way worse than you" which is quite possibly the worst thing you can ever say to someone with depression.



A worse life or worse depression? Either would be true, but just think, for someone both are true. There, bet that made you feel loads better .... not!

Slightly more seriously, my best advice, get outside with nothing over your head, and where you can touch the earth, it often works.


----------



## escorial

Stormcat said:


> woke up this morning at noon, but didn't get out of bed until 2:30, when I explained to mom I'm going through a depressive episode, she tells me "other people have it way worse than you" which is quite possibly the worst thing you can ever say to someone with depression.



once your depression is out there you will find it tends to get to a point were people cannot deal with it...so you reach a stage were you have to figure it out for yourself and battle on....if it goes unchecked by you it can destroy you..crush you even kill you...the only one who can heal you is you and try everything until you got nothing left to give and maybe then you will find a inner peace that you never thought would arrive...stay safe


----------



## The Green Shield

escorial said:


> once your depression is out there you will find it tends to get to a point were people cannot deal with it...so you reach a stage were you have to figure it out for yourself and battle on....if it goes unchecked by you it can destroy you..crush you even kill you...the only one who can heal you is you and try everything until you got nothing left to give and maybe then you will find a inner peace that you never thought would arrive...stay safe


It helps to have support, and to not have assholes like the mom who says, "Chin up, people have it worst than you!"


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Well, it started off with snow. That wasn't too bad. I did some beta reading on WF. I just submitted my revised PiP entry. Today's a great day.


----------



## am_hammy

It was a lovely Sunday. Took pictures. Helped neighbors shovel snow. I relaxed. It was a stress free mental day. =)


----------



## Darkkin

A single chapter remains...:read:  Then a new journey begins.


----------



## Winston

Family competition between Me, The Wife, The Boy, two cats and a dog.  Goal:  Who could be the most lazy.

I'm afraid I failed, as I fixed some food and did dishes.  The Boy ran to the store and also did some schoolwork.  My wife gave it a go, with multiple naps... but no one beats the cats.  No wonder they have nine lives.  They sleep through 90% of each, the aggregate is one normal life.


----------



## Stormcat

Winston said:


> Family competition between Me, The Wife, The Boy, two cats and a dog.  Goal:  Who could be the most lazy.
> 
> I'm afraid I failed, as I fixed some food and did dishes.  The Boy ran to the store and also did some schoolwork.  My wife gave it a go, with multiple naps... but no one beats the cats.  No wonder they have nine lives.  They sleep through 90% of each, the aggregate is one normal life.



You can never compete with cats when it comes to laziness!


----------



## Darkkin

Well, went outside my comfort zone a bit.  New dress with a handkerchief hem in charcoal and white, slightly fitted, but not quite as much as most of my other dresses.  Paired it with a navy cardigan and it worked surprisingly well.  Love it when I find new favourites on sale.  :glee:  Yes, I have about as much depth as a pie pan, but no one can fault my fashion sense.  And vanity is an admitted sin of mine...:geek:  Also managed to get 200 pages into two new novels...(Reading, I'm still procrastinating a bit on the writing end.  :read


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm kicking ass in my novella.  I have:

• 2,400 words so far.

• A clear beginning and ending.

• An interesting set of protagonists and a clear antagonist.

• Character arcs for my two protagonists.

• I can actually show the cultures and the world I've created.

It's... I just love this novella. I *love* this piece I'm writing. It may blossom out to a novel, who knows, but I *just love this story*! For the first time ever I *actually feel like a writer*! Not just a struggling wanna-be who keeps doing the same thing over and over again wondering why he's not getting anywhere. 

*I FEEL LIKE A WRITER!
*
Thank you, @Lewdog . Your random desire to have a sexy, ginger-headed badass female character had inspired me to create such a character...and this entire novella followed suit. Be proud, man.


----------



## am_hammy

Not the greatest day mentally. We all have our moments. Just stressing out about work and feeling anxious and like I never had the last four days off. But hey, it was nice while it lasted.


----------



## W.Goepner

The Green Shield said:


> I'm kicking ass in my novella.  I have:
> 
> • 2,400 words so far.
> 
> • A clear beginning and ending.
> 
> • An interesting set of protagonists and a clear antagonist.
> 
> • Character arcs for my two protagonists.
> 
> • I can actually show the cultures and the world I've created.
> 
> It's... I just love this novella. I *love* this piece I'm writing. It may blossom out to a novel, who knows, but I *just love this story*! For the first time ever I *actually feel like a writer*! Not just a struggling wanna-be who keeps doing the same thing over and over again wondering why he's not getting anywhere.
> 
> *I FEEL LIKE A WRITER!
> *
> Thank you, @Lewdog . Your random desire to have a sexy, ginger-headed badass female character had inspired me to create such a character...and this entire novella followed suit. Be proud, man.



I got an email notification from the Totally pointless posts section. This post was listed to be there. Hows that?

And By the way Fantastic man I am happy for you.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

My day went well. I continued with my recent beta read project on here with _The Monster Hunter_. I am almost done! My work schedule wasn't posted on Saturday, so I waited until today to call. A department head manager said, "Yeah, you're late! No, I am kidding. You come in at 12:30." It was only an hour away. I am glad I called. That wasn't too bad. I bought some new limited edition store brand ice cream - Maple Blueberry Ice Cream -  something in the lines of blueberry pancakes in maple syrup. It's really good! 



> "Caramel maple ice cream, real blueberry swirl and pancake flavored bits, all swirled together in a scrumptious stack of sweet breakfast-inspired indulgence." - Store website description



Later, I talked to Anais in France. I _love _her accent. Of course, I speak mostly French with her. She does exchange some words in English.


----------



## Ultraroel

I've started writing on the story that brought me here in the first place. 
Little babysteps in a loong looooong journey,  but it still feels good.
I realized I'm really scared to miswrite my own story almost to the point that I rather won't write at all


----------



## Stormcat

Something is seriously wrong with our society. There's an active shooter in a hospital in San Diego, and the first words out of my mouth were "Goddammit, not again!"

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/us/san-diego-naval-medical-center-shooting/index.html


----------



## dither

It's not good is it.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I was witness to a terrorist event thanks to 4Chan.







Shortly after:






Word to the wise...


----------



## Darkkin

I'm not allergic to brand name Pledge, but the imitation stuff...Yeah, I sound like Darth Vader...:chargrined:  Somebody sprayed the crud on both pairs of my lined handwarmers, so now I have a sink full of wool.

Edit:  Final load of laundry is in...


----------



## aj47

As many of you know, I'm visually-impaired and do all my reading in electronic format. This is because I cannot read regular-sized printed material without a magnifying glass.  

So, the college is supposed to provide me with alternate format textbooks so that I can take classes.  The publisher of one of my textbooks *refuses* to provide an alternative format of the book I need for my class in legal aspects of the entertainment industry.  It's not part of my major, but I really want to take the class.  So, as of today, the college legal department is involved. In the meantime, they're having a voice actor record the book and handouts for me. The good news is I'll have the material--the bad news is that listening takes longer than reading. And talking takes  awhile, too, so I'm always playing catch-up.

So anyway, that's a snapshot of my day.


----------



## Stormcat

I just did an amazingly productive thing and organized all my internet bookmarks.

Now my head hurts.

So tomorrow, I shall continue to do amazingly productive things, but with some aspirin!


----------



## Guy Faukes

Have Beyonce's "Sweet Dreams" song stuck in my head. I don't hate it as much as I thought I would.


----------



## Khalid M

Currently wrestling with procrastination. There something that I should do, only good can come out of it, but the process of doing it is a pain in the butt. I really think the cure to procrastination is to be in an urgent situation where you either do the thing you've been avoiding or your life is ruined.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

*(Warning: one objectionable word)

*Well, I am not as productive as I want to be. I finished beta reading _The Monster Hunter_ last night. I am really pleased how that went from start to finish. I think I am expecting guest in a few hours. 

Here's something I made while I sat in this box twiddling my fingers. 
*
Procrastination *

I should be cleaning my room, Messy I am. 
I should be holding a broom, but I don't give a damn. 

My book shelves are loaded, at least I can read. 
My stomach is bloated, I had a mouth to feed. 

My floor has enough dust to make a sand castle, 
if anyone walks into my room, I'll feel like an _a**h*le. 


This message was brought to you by The White Van Library! 
_


----------



## The Green Shield

Here's something I think you all might like. I just took a gander at the _Wall Street Journal_ (not sure if its on the site yet) and in it, they talked of a man from Texas, Charley Kempthorne who kept a journal series going for fifty-two years, and has up to this point written over a million words. He's got binders upon binders full of pages (front-to-back, single-spaced) with entries detailing his life.


To summarize:


It reflects that writing a private journal is much easier than keeping a public one like a blog because you can be honest with yourself. You can go on rants and vent your anger out without worrying about offending someone. It's very cathartic, it eases the mind and reduces the level of anxiety because the thoughts are on paper, not pounding away inside your brain. As he said himself in the article, doing that has helped him tremendously with his life.


It even offers tips on how to cultivate a writing habit, and most of these are what we've all heard and said before most likely but still, here were the three I found useful. Paraphrased:


- Write 500 words a day every day for 28 days, at the same place to create a routine.


- Stop worrying about grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Allow yourself to completely suck at this. Better to be honest with your writing than be Mr./Miss Perfect.


- Keep it private first, that way you can avoid the hassle of worrying about how others will perceive it, which will then make you not want to start at all.


Just thought I'd share my little gem of how my day went. Found an interesting article about a writer from the _Wall Street Journal._


----------



## Ultraroel

Some good tips in there. Especially the opinion of any person I let it read can really influence my lust for writing.


----------



## Darkkin

Starting on a new piece that is going to be taking me beyond the edge of the world...


----------



## Stormcat

SO hungry, but I can't eat unless people get out of the break room!


----------



## Winston

Daffodil bulbs are sprouting here.  It may seem like an eternity, but spring is coming.


----------



## Darkkin

Encountered a new fellow today.  Nimox, by name...Impossible things are his game.  A crane, with feathers of paper from the end of the world.  He knows of the house there, its denizens, and their secrets...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Winston said:


> Daffodil bulbs are sprouting here.  It may seem like an eternity, but spring is coming.



The roundabout for Oxshot and Esher off the A3 has a flyover running over it and is sheltered, daffodils were in bloom there before Christmas; wrong!


----------



## The Green Shield

It's Friday.

Day's just getting started, looking forward to going to my volunteer job at my local history museum. :applause:


----------



## Stormcat

Just got a wonderful idea for a sims game, but I can't play it until I go home!


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Had a visit with the Dr, just an annual exam- found out, I've lost 10 pounds! Only 118 more to go.


----------



## Olly Buckle

MzSnowleopard said:


> Had a visit with the Dr, just an annual exam- found out, I've lost 10 pounds! Only 118 more to go.


I went for a bone density check last week and they weighed me, 69 kilos, exactly what it was five years ago on my last visit, but my bones are denser and I am 1/2 cm shorter.


----------



## Hairball

I'm good! Good day at work, but still worried about that dang low blood pressure. I don't feel bad, but I need to call the doc Monday. 

I'm so proud of myself. LOL! I saw four VERY young-looking boys come in, and only one of them came through the self-checkout buying a bunch of beer and wine.

I said, "Where are your friends?"

He replied, "What friends?"

"The three you came in with," I told him.

"Oh, well, I'm buying this. They arent. Here's my ID," he said.

Nope. Sorry. No sale. When you see this where alcohol is sold, it's a red flag and I take no chances. 

About two years ago, I saw a young fellow accept money from what looked like a young teenager. She left and went outside, and he loaded the cart with beer and wine.

When he came through my line, I refused the purchase. I told him what I saw, and that in order to complete the purchase, he needed to go out and get her and bring her in with ID.

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappppp! Next thing I new, he was whipping out his badge. It was a sting operation. They do this to stores.

I said, "Oh what a pretty badge. I love badges. Now I still need your ID and hers. You aren't getting any of this until I see two valid IDs, and that's that."

I set the beer and wine aside, and it turned out they were ALE (Alcohol Law Enforcement) agents. I suspended the transaction and it turned out real well for our store! Our store got an award and I received a $25 gift certificate!

Also, today, I found a pack of bacon that was loose. Vacuum-packed bacon is very tight. This was starting to turn brown on the edge where the packaging was loose and it didn't feel right.

The lady was very grateful! Yay! I made sure this lady didn't go home with it, thus reducing the number of victims from food poisoning by one.

A good day!!


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I work third shift only on Thursday nights into Friday mornings. Well, I accidentally set the alarm for my nap to be over at 10 AM (instead of 10 PM). I ended up being 15 minutes late to work. The manager couldn't even give me a straight face after he said, "You're late." He smiled. Thanked me for calling in advance. Then, a few minutes into my shift he asks if I am interested in the recently opened full time position in the Health, Beauty and Care (HBC) department.  I've been friends with Carlos, the previous manager for HBC for a while, before he stepped down. So, they're going to push this for me. I've only been with Stop & Shop (union, unlike Giant its sister store) for less than two years, coming up in March,  but I've worked in multiple departments. Tonight, I'll be in Produce. Fingers crossed I get this so I don't have to live homeless under a bridge somewhere with student loans inflating higher.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Still sick. I've had this flu for more than a week now. 

I thought I had it beat yesterday but today it reared its ugly head again.

Ugh.


----------



## PiP

danielstj said:


> Still sick. I've had this flu for more than a week now.
> 
> I thought I had it beat yesterday but today it reared its ugly head again.
> 
> Ugh.



Poor you! Flu does come and go as I found just before Christmas. Please take care of yourself...


----------



## Darkkin

Fun with bubbles, paper cranes, and folks asking for the nonfiction section...So yeah, it was a good day, especially the fact that my best friend made baked maple bacon BLTs for supper.  Technically speaking, I'm not supposed to have fatty meats like pork or beef, but they did just run my apheresis yesterday, so I think I'm okay with this one small cheat.


----------



## LeeC

You'd think at my age I'd know better ;-) Maybe I still have a young mind. There was a trailer on Twitter for Fantastic Beasts, and misreading the title I started watching it :-(


----------



## Stormcat

PiP said:


> Poor you! Flu does come and go as I found just before Christmas. Please take care of yourself...



This wouldn't have happened if you had gotten your flu shot.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

The first day off in a week feels amazing.

Played around with the tablet on Gimp...  It'll take some getting used to, that's for sure... (>\O,Q)>[]

Finding an avatar that vaguely* resembles me.... hopefully, the last one.

Soon, I'll draw my own dang avatar. Rue the day!

*Much more handsome, likely anime.

**Sanji from one piece, yep, that'll do for now. Fly guy, he was.


----------



## am_hammy

Twas my one year anniversary today at WF. It's a lovely thought =)

Work was rough today, as was my mental state. I had a lot going on inside my muddled brain and was experiencing a lot of self doubt, anxiety, and anger. My the end of the day though I have become calm. I'm proud of myself for pushing through it.

After work today I went to a memorial service for a co-worker of mine. Her husband passed on Friday night of last week from an open heart surgery complication. It breaks my heart to see her in pain, as her father passed away just a year ago from cancer. I was glad I was able to see her today and was able to catch the end of the service with the family remembrances. I've made plans to see her after work one day this coming week to spend some time with her and give her as many positive vibes as possible. 

After I paid my respects, I went to a benefit tonight for a former employee who worked at our particular company. Originally he severely hurt his back during a truck run delivering product from our warehouse and was on disability. In the middle of all that happening, they found out that he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He has it in his lungs, liver, and I believe he has a tumor somewhere (I can't recall). One of my regional managers and several other members of upper management put together a benefit for him. All the proceeds went to him and we honored him tonight. To support him in his struggle and to try and give him as much as we can and give as much of our support that we can.

It's been an emotional day, but in the end, I feel peaceful.


----------



## Stormcat

Ah, none of the usual useless people are here today. Teacher said we could study on our own if we wanted, and I got to eat lunch alone today.

Today is a good day.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Drunk


----------



## Winston

Stormcat said:


> ...and I got to eat lunch alone today...



I'm glad you're eating.  My daughter just started college and confided that she's often been too busy to eat.  Too busy?!  We even stocked her dorm room with more food than most convenience stores carry!  

Well.  Study, rest, eat.  And don't forget to play.  My kid goes to a coffee shop called "The Underground".  They have open mike, poetry readings and the like.  It's as if I raised a Beatnik.


----------



## Darkkin

Trying to pass a column cars on unplowed roads is not a smart idea as the guy with the four wheel drive SVU found out the hard way.  He landed in the ditch and the column of cars driving too slow for him waved merrily as we passed him by.  After that moment of drama, everyone else seemed to get the hint.  The roads are BAD; slow the hell down!  

Unfortunately, around here when the weather gets bad people get extraordinarily stupid about driving.  They seem to assume that weather conditions don't apply to them, that they are invincible and won't be the guy who plows into the median or oncoming traffic.  There was a fatal head on collision just yesterday at the place where SVU guy went into the ditch, traffic was detoured around it for hours.  Why don't people learn?  It isn't hard.  Get off the phone, slow down, and pay attention to your surroundings...and do not tailgate...Also learn to recognise good snow drivers.  If you can travel with them and keep back.

Sorry about the rant, but stupid snow drivers are a major pet peeve and hazard in my neck of the woods, especially today.  (_We've gotten a foot of snow since about 9:00 am._)


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Moar drunk.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

We have a storm coming through too in Georgia. I hope people don't drive like idiots in this wind and rain. 

Our dogs, Clara and Sadie (English pointer and Beagle respectively) pulled away from my mother this morning and took off down the road.

Sadie crossed the road. I walked down and found her by a neighbors house.

Try as I might, there was no sign of Clara and Sadie didn't seem to be leading me to anything aside from squirrels. I got her to follow me back and enjoyed an exhausting day at work. (I don't usually take morning hikes through the woods up and down hills)Turns out a neighbor found Clara and thought she had ran away because of mistreatment. It was a grandmother and her grandchildren she was raising.One of them was walking their other dog and heard my mother calling, so he walked up the hill and told her that they had found her. 

My poor mother was in tears. She is by no means used to walking up and down hills either, and emotionally exhausted on top of that. (Boy does she love that dog!)

I told her PLEASE ask me to help walk them if they're going to keep pulling her over.

And PLEASE get a tag with our phone number to put on her collar in case it happens again.

Also, I'm sitting on a ball. A chair holds a ball up, which you sit on, forcing you to support yourself instead of leaning on a backrest. Uuuuhg.


----------



## aurora borealis

My final exam for the semester was today. I'm a little annoyed because the main focus was a comparative essay and my teacher never taught us how to write a comparative essay (or gave any examples, or anything). :grumpy:


----------



## The Green Shield

*ATTACK OF THE OLD PEOPLE!!*

Seriously, three different times I narrowly missed colliding with old people on the road: an old man in a classical American SUV who wouldn't stop when I was pulling into the turn lane, an old man crossing the street without looking, and a little old lady just living in her head while her dog hangs halfway out of the window enjoying the view.

AAAAAND I saw a car accident and two different instances of police cars.

Seriously, Deep South, what is it about Mardi Gras that _makes all y'all insane!?_


----------



## Darkkin

Snow Day tomorrow!  Whoot! I don't have to go wading out in two feet of snow.  This will give me time to get some work done on the turtles...


----------



## Stormcat

Class idiots are nowhere in sight, but they may show up later. I'm keeping an eye out!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I'm setting up a landmine.

These Raccoons have gone too god damned far...


----------



## Stormcat

*sigh*

Not a single additional comment on my thread about secular humanist rebels fighting against a brutal theocratic regime, but it seems like EVERYONE has to comment on my "What should I name this hooker" thread.


----------



## Darkkin

I'm a bit conflicted at the moment.  Normally, I have no issues deciding if and where I want to post a project.  With this one, it hasn't proven to be the case.  The theme fits well with the current poetry challenge, but I also know that longer pieces don't generally fair well in competition because they are larger, not snappy and concise.

This piece is elemental in the extreme, chronologically, the beginning of all the nonsense, from the Firefly Tide to the Turtles who carry the moon and sun, but also how they came to be.  The mythologies are massive.  Currently, I'm thinking to play it safe and post just for critique.  This beleaguered poem has gone deeper and further than I had thought possible...Gah!  There are days I hate my brain...:dread:

Edit: Decided to follow my gut...I'll have to do another piece for this month's challenge.


----------



## Thaumiel

Fields are oscillating in ways they shouldn't. Don't think I can hit a simulation with a hammer. May have to actually learn to write in Fortran...


----------



## Stormcat

Why do all the hippie-types have complicate the definition of "A moral"? I just wanna hear stories where people learned something that stuck with them for the rest of their life!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I only have interest in stories that end up one of the following ways:

Dead
Killed someone else
In jail
In a coma
Blacked out
Sex
Lulz of any variety not mentioned above

What was this topic about again?


o.o ...


----------



## Darkkin

Flexed just a bit and went with a variation on a theme.  The piece turned out surprisingly well.  A bit dark, but decidedly solid.


----------



## Stormcat

This is why I hate goodbyes. People get so disgustingly sentimental about people they'll never see again. Just take your test and get out of here!


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I work third shift every Thursday night. I picked up an additional eight hours during my break covering someone else tonight from 11 PM to 7 AM (23h - 7h). That's a total of 31 hours this week (+12 additional hours).  Yeah, could you believe it, they cut me down to 19 before the week started. Ha, I showed them. My job every Thursday night is to hang the sale tags for a large northern grocery store chain, sisters with Giant. I hung them all with some assistance. I covered the majority. I also took down a lot of out of code (expired sell by date) products. So, I did a lot for this company, despite being paid minimum and about to live under a bridge. Oh, and it snowed. It wasn't bad considering the neighbor came over with his snow blower. Karma. It's amazing. My family helps with his leaves during the fall.


----------



## Darkkin

It is done...A realm is never more real than when you know how everything in it came to be.  Such are the Strangeways to Nowhere.  The story of the very first rise of the Firefly Tide has finally been told.  Took me three days to do, but it was worth it.

Edit: Found my copy of _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_ while I was browsing my bookcase.  I forgot that it was a first edition printing.


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm no songwriter, yet I want to write a song that's in my head -- made up -- to the tune of Scar's _Be Prepared_ from _The Lion King_. I kind of want to show it for critique, but...wouldn't it be considered fanfiction?


----------



## am_hammy

I'm a Negative Nancy today.

I was going to have a day off but someone at work twisted their ankle, and naturally no one else can cover so it goes to me.

So now we have a cranky Ashley and a Sunday that's gone to hell.

_Hell_mark here I come.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

am_hammy said:


> I'm a Negative Nancy today.
> 
> I was going to have a day off but someone at work twisted their ankle, and naturally no one else can cover so it goes to me.
> 
> So now we have a cranky Ashley and a Sunday that's gone to hell.
> 
> _Hell_mark here I come.



I'm biting my tongue from LOL'ing. Damn it, *Cran*. Put a freakin' HUG button on here! Stay strong, _'Shwee_.



*Edit: *

You can sound like you're speaking Chinese. 
*
Say this ten times fast:  *

Stay strong, _'Shwee. _


----------



## Winston

Brewing another batch of Stout.  Should be ready by the time pitchers and catchers report.  Play Ball!


----------



## Darkkin

There is no metaphor. _Believe me!_  I am not saying this to waste my breath...I'm about ready to destroy the whole damn project if it gets drug into some Freudian morass...Why can't something merely _be_?  What is so wrong with that?  I'm not the smartest one in the room, but I'm also not stupid, so why do I count for so much less?  Causal flippancy often hurts far more than an open flaying.


----------



## Stormcat

Most of the real blatherers have left for their internship, but idiot-in-chief is still here. Still, I suppose things could be worse.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

A tense ass game... I'm black.


----------



## Harper J. Cole

/\ Hard to see what's what, but it looks like your king's going to struggle to find a safe haven.

Who's your opponent?


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Update:






We've both captured one night and two pawns. Lol.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I haven't played a board game in forever. Damn, I feel aged.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

This ish ain't no joke.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Lol, I lost.


----------



## Harper J. Cole

He does seem to have an extra queen in the last picture, which is always trouble ...


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Nah, you're seeing his king in the corner.


----------



## Stormcat

well, today I found out I have a shitton of work to do before Friday, and I left my flash drive at home, so I can't get any of it done during designated computer time!

Plus, I'm positive I already completed at least ONE of these assignments already, but they're making me do it again!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I'm starting to turn back into a bar rat. >>


----------



## LeeC

An uncle's great grandchild (family of his own) found me on FB, made me feel ancient  


Get confused by relationship terminology, does that make him my first cousin thrice removed?


----------



## Stormcat

found out my appointment today is actually next week, so that at least frees up some time.

Meanwhile, My parents are insisting we follow not one, but TWO diets to try and lose some weight. I get the feeling I'll be eating out a lot more often now.


----------



## Ultraroel

Your parents are forcing you on a diet? :/
I'm doing the opposite. Intend to gain 12 KG, but having trouble gaining weight. As of today I increased my calorie intake to 3600 kcal .

We will see what happens


----------



## Stormcat

Ultraroel said:


> Your parents are forcing you on a diet? :/
> I'm doing the opposite. Intend to gain 12 KG, but having trouble gaining weight. As of today I increased my calorie intake to 3600 kcal .
> 
> We will see what happens



No, they are just going to get rid of all the good food in the house. This means breads, fruits, and pasta. No carbs, and no sugars. How boring!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

So, I got kind'a plastered last night, and...

Did you ever wake up with money in your pocket that wasn't there before? 

o.o ...


----------



## Ultraroel

No usually a lot of receipts I don't remember


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Mah chess partner just got a wrap and we're about to spark up and play a couple.

Our last game was very nerve racking for both of us. This one should be downright breathtaking.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Update:







It's another one of them games, y0.


----------



## The Green Shield

Spent a few hours dusting and vacuuming my room. Apparently it was covered with _years_ worth of dust. <koff><koff><hack><wheeze>


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Arg. I lost. ><


----------



## Darkkin

Advice for the Ponds Bottom:  Read picture books, revel in nonsense, and take joy in obscure references that only those in the rarefied upper echelons of geeks will understand.


----------



## Ariel

This might require some back story so here goes:

My job was with a start-up staffing firm.  I work as an administrative assistant and this particular job I was hired on to for full time work with benefits after three months.  From the beginning my job wasn't as nice as I had been led to believe.  Instead of the amount I had been recruited at I was paid at more than a dollar less.  Still ok, since there was supposed to be benefits, right?  Three months pass and I'm told that the company would not be able to provide benefits for me as the office staff was too low but, once there were more people, they would soon.  I said ok.  Three months later I found a second job because my car died and I needed to replace it.

A week after I started my second job my hours at my first job were cut.  Not too much--just 8 hours.  Then they were cut again.  By the time I was finally laid off in January I had been looking for another job for six months and I was working just 20 hours a week with an hour commute to get both Kilroy and myself back and forth to work.

That's the bad news.  The good news is that I went for an interview yesterday.  I liked the place.  It wasn't as formal as the staffing firm but it wasn't as down-right dirty and casual as the transfer station.  The people were friendly and inviting.  My interview lasted fifteen minutes and we were already laughing--but they had a second candidate to interview and they would get back with me on Friday.

The recruiter called me today and told me that the second candidate had rescheduled and when told about the rescheduling the Manager of Operations told them not to bother that they wanted me.  To shorten an already long story--I start work on Friday.


----------



## am_hammy

Yay! Awesome Ams! I hope your first day goes swimmingly


----------



## PrinzeCharming

amsawtell said:


> I start work on Friday.


 
That's great news, amsawtell! I am so glad you found the light at the other end. Thanks for the update. I was wondering about the job search progress recently. I am glad everything is panning out for you. Keep us updated on how your first day goes!


----------



## Firemajic

Congratulations amsaw! This is fabulous news....


----------



## Thaumiel

Who needs sleep when there's files upon files of data to be analysed, graphed, printed and glued into a workbook in such a way that it seems like you've made progress. 

I have literally no clue what's going on with some of this crap though seriously.


----------



## am_hammy

My day was decent. Had off and hung out with a friend from middle school. It was nice and felt very nostalgic.

I wrote today as well. It felt good. As rcallaci says,I'm getting the 'writing bones' back.


----------



## Tukkis

All I did was cleaning my apartment and buying food. Apartment messy again, almost all food eaten...

This night I wrote about 1000 words. Obsession much?


----------



## Winston

I used just about every single MHE (forklift) at work today.  Including the "turret truck" that goes up about four stories (yes, it's a big warehouse).  

I'm so glad I'm not acrophobic.


----------



## UtopiasCult

Let’s see I’ve been up since 3:32am yesterday. It is now 7am the next day. I love my cousins, really I do, but one of these days I’ll probably murder them – or at least the younger one, who is 6 months older, seeing as he was laughing in the background throughout the call. I swear Sir. Fleming was a closest sadist.


----------



## Stormcat

Why is it I set my alarm for 6AM, I can't get out of bed, But set it for 6:30 and I'm all perky? I should really set it back to 6:30


----------



## The Green Shield

Huzzah! I've written out the background for a new character and justified her motives! Now I can put her into my story.


----------



## Stormcat

Just have to keep reminding myself that I come from viking stock, maybe then I'll be able to weather the cold and wind!


----------



## am_hammy

11 1/2 hour shift today at work, but I feel good about what I accomplished. Our regional was in today and he had nothing bad to say about the store. Not gunna lie, its a nice confidence boost.

Staying at my grandparents tonight.  My childhood home. It's a nice feeling. A lovely sense of the true meaning of home and sweet nostalgia.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

My day feels like it just started. I am going into work from 11 PM to 7 AM. It's an easy shift. No customers. Hang sale tags. Find out what's on sale this week. Oh, and brutally cold temperatures on my way to work. 12 degrees. That's just as easy to handle - right? :???:


----------



## escorial

got out of bed this morning and watched a crow go about everyday life and so wished to be one....


----------



## Stormcat

Huh, Normally when I get into an argument, I get all riled up with anger. But today I'm totally chill. Feels pretty good actually.


----------



## Darkkin

Working at a bookstore has some really good perks, including erudite conversations.  The one from this morning had me grinning from ear to ear.  A coworker, who has read my work and knows I'm devastating literal, was reading over my shoulder, while I was typing during break.  Having read the freshly minted stanzas he looked at me and said, 'I know why so many people don't understand you.  You aren't utilitarian with your use of language.  The fact that there are no metaphors, that word is what it is, is why people don't get it.  You present the forest, while they are looking for fish.'

This reference, I knew, understood and appreciated because it was Beatrix Potter from her story _Squirrel Nutkin._ 

"The man in the wilderness said to me,
'How many strawberries grow in the sea?'
I answered him as I thought good--
'As many red herrings as grow in the wood.'

Edit: Major angina tonight...Ow...:dispirited:


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Dyed my hair dark brown last night and I'm going to get it cut soon.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I finally sucked it up and read the inspirational magnet my mom bought me. She rarely buys anything on *mediocre *holidays. I hate Valentine's Day. The only best thing that happened was making my blog an official .com website. It felt like an achievement. Well, whatever. Scratch that. Here's the exact magnet on the Internet. Yes, I was too sensitive last night to read it.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I've been using my weekend to catch up on sleep, since I normally skip it when I work to have more game time. 

I've many interesting ideas I want to write and games I'd like to play... But first I need coffee.


----------



## Winston

I just need to run down to the feed store to get some chicken feed.  I am too lazy today.

If my son was here, I could send him.  But carrying two 20 pound sacks on his shoulders is asking a bit much.  Guess it's on me.


----------



## Stormcat

Got into a fight with my family, hopefully by morning light they will have forgotten all about it.

In the meantime, I need a hug.


----------



## Ultraroel

Another day full of stupid calls, while outside the sun is blazing and the atmosphere seems so.. summer-like.. 
Even though my parents are coming here for wintersports, I can't wait for summer anymore.


----------



## Winston

I wrote today.  Had the time, and felt like it.  Fiction piece done.  I may even do another one of my non-fiction installments.

On another note, I really miss our Orreck.  Pushing that Dyson is like driving a full-sized pickup in city traffic.

Oh, and Stormcat: (HUGS)


----------



## Olly Buckle

Stormcat said:


> Got into a fight with my family, hopefully by morning light they will have forgotten all about it.
> 
> In the meantime, I need a hug.



They may have decided not to talk about it, they won't have forgotten ... Have a big hug and good wishes to make you strong ... now go and make it up, you only have one family, it doesn't matter what they are like, they are irreplaceable.


----------



## Darkkin

Started and completed a four book binge today...Making tacos for supper.


----------



## am_hammy

Worked on the next podcast, and battled a headache, which is still lingering.

It snowed all day today. I've been very lucky this winter with the snow, having to only go into work once when the stuff was everywhere and I made it one piece and it'll work out tomorrow cause it's supposed to be in the 50s. yay! It was a good Monday overall


----------



## Stormcat

A snowstorm has caused most of the other students to not show up for class today... AWESOME! I'm the only one here so I can FINALLY get some work done!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Tightest game ever.


----------



## RhythmOvPain




----------



## Plasticweld

Started out simple enough today, heavy rain. So I figures I would move one of my pieces of logging equipment to the next job and start building a bridge we need to go across a pipe line.   I seldom have flat tires, seldom have a tire come apart  so that it is not usable.  I have never ever  had a flat on the road. 


So bouncing down the road in the pouring rain the forwarder decides to this is the day to do all this.  I had to call a tire company, something we can normally handle at the shop but we are not set up to do it along the road.   One new tire later $3058  the tube was included plus service call $320  3 hours later were back on our way again, the rain had turned to snow and the temps had dropped, the only good news we had all day


----------



## dither

Ultraroel said:


> Another day full of stupid calls, while outside the sun is blazing and the atmosphere seems so.. summer-like..
> Even though my parents are coming here for wintersports, I can't wait for summer anymore.



I'm tired of being cold and am looking forward to a spell of warm weather.
Cold isn't fun when you're old.


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, I've endured spamming and inflammatory posts in another forum. Spammer kept at it, trolling and flame-baiting, and I wished I was a mod there so I could *do* something besides report it and PM a mod and hope for the best. 

Just an FYI: If anyone in this forum gives you a hard time in _any way_, feel free to PM me or another mod and we're tear them a new asshole. Metaphorically, I mean. I know you all know this already, but trust me, I know what it's like to not feel like you can do much more than just report or PM. But believe me, when you _do_ report/PM? We're like falcons. With sharp talons. With no mercy in our fiery eyes.


----------



## Darkkin

Listening to the score of _Pride and Prejudice (2005)_, the score for _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies _is next on the docket, along with a whole pile of new reading material.  

And also achieved a quiet victory in telling one of the slacker new hires, that no, I was not willing to work a fifteen hour day so they could go out drinking with friends...I was at work by 7:00 am.  There have been cases where I have worked 7:00 am to 10:30 pm, but those instances are rare and only for those who are deserving and in dire need.

I have a right to say no, especially after the new hire got snippy and decided that a manager would make me pick up the hours.  Yeah, no!  I just smiled and clocked out on time, while new hire fumed.  The reality check as it sunk in was priceless to watch.


----------



## am_hammy

Much was accomplished at work today.

However, I purchased items at work and cannot remember if I brought the bag out of the store with me at the end of the night and left it on the ground, got in my car, and drove away OR if I just left it in the store.

I was half tempted to turn back around look for it but I was already in the apartment parking lot at that point. I really hope it's still in the store or I just lost $68. *sigh*


----------



## Rookish

Ah yes the bliss of another sleepless night.

My hand is marred with scratches after my offensive on Random's (a cat, he is) cardboard castle.
Saw the sun paint the clouds pink as I ran with Burzum in me ears and morning air in me lungs.
The family of ducks were on and in the dam's water, their day commenced anew.

Continued my new interest of actually reading lyrics of near unintelligible music.
A poem was morphed and edited.
Tobacco smoke flowed from the pipe, as addictive as the well mixed coffee entering the throat.

Once again I baffled at the startling fact of my existence.

I also wrote a lengthy account of my day for the first time in my collective memory.

A strange thing it is.


----------



## The Green Shield

So I've just been informed that there exists someone else on the internet with my kind of writing style. I'm not sure if I should be worried about this or not. :/


----------



## Darkkin

Laundry is sorted and going. Garbage and recycling are out...Yeah!


----------



## Blade

dither said:


> I'm tired of being cold and am looking forward to a spell of warm weather.
> Cold isn't fun when you're old.



I don't think it is cold _per se_ that is the problem but more the instability. If the temperature/humidity/atmospheric pressure are jumping all over the place the body tries to adjust but cannot do it quickly enough. If it were simply consistent cold I think it would be easy to adapt to.:-k


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I stayed up till three am last night. I was doing laundry but got sidetracked and rearranged my entire closet from the ground up. 

Now i'm exhausted.


----------



## Sam

You know how you smack a remote off the palm of your hand to make it work? 

Sometimes, I'd like to do that to people.


----------



## UtopiasCult

My arm is killing me [does that with bad weather]. Got to love doctors who don't take their patients' concerns seriously - by the time I found a doctor who knew what he was doing, the damage to my shoulder consisted of having initially torn and re-torn the muscles (big tears) a number of times over the years. "Cure" - the best they can offer is exploratory surgery. 

And I ruined my diet by "stealing" - for the record I'm not the only guilty party - most of my cousin's wife's (2 bite-sized) triple chocolate brownies that were meant for dessert. My resolve not to have any flew out the window once they were cool enough to pop in the mouth without burning my tongue.


----------



## The Green Shield

I've been playing with Adobe all day.  Messing around with the tools and various images on the web.

Here are some of my creations:




I frickin' _love_ Adobe Photoshop! Much better than the MS Paint I used to use.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Had to wake up at 7 am on a day off just to go to a dentist . Had a temporary crown placed and half of my face is still numb - think of a mild version if Two Face, but without the acid scarring. I paid a pretty penny to have mild discomfort and eat soft foods for two weeks.

So I'm in quite a disagreeable mood.


----------



## am_hammy

It's been... draining. Work was odd, the weather is odd, I have an odd headache and I feel mentally icky.

But hey, it's the middle of the week so it's expected right? hah.


----------



## H.Brown

It's always a bit draining halfway through the week as you said but you just gotta renember the weekend is not too far off now  hang in there.


----------



## am_hammy

H.Brown said:


> It's always a bit draining halfway through the week as you said but you just gotta renember the weekend is not too far off now  hang in there.



Thank you. Your encouragement is much appreciated. =)


----------



## H.Brown

No problem, I like being upbeat  glad I made you feel a bit better.


----------



## The Green Shield

I've managed to piss off *EVERYONE!!!*

The colored, those with albinism....

Today was not my day, apparently. >:[


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Well, I finally had today off (despite working my last two days off). I finished three loads in the wash. Two were clothes, 1 was bed sheets. I have work at 11PM -7 AM. Yeah, my day feels like it isn't even over. I have to nap now. On the bed that needs to be made. :dispirited:


----------



## Plasticweld

PrinzeCharming said:


> Well, I finally had today off (despite working my last two days off). I finished three loads in the wash. Two were clothes, 1 was bed sheets. I have work at 11PM -7 AM. Yeah, my day feels like it isn't even over. I have to nap now. On the bed that needs to be made. :dispirited:



Thanks for making me feel thankful. I come home and supper is on the table, my laundry is somehow magically done, the bed is always made.  I am jealous of one thing though.  I work long hours just as you do; coming home and falling asleep in my recliner only to be suddenly awoken to the words "You are snoring!" does make me just a tad envious of your solitude. :}


----------



## midnightpoet

Today the temp was up to 57F, light breeze and sunny, so I mowed the yard-part of it, anyway.  I can't do the whole thing in one day anymore.  The trees were already budding out, so we're figuring on a freeze by Easter.
The old "Easter spell."  I also collected some used lumber, intend to make a deck in front of my tool shed. Feels good to be outside again.  Tomorrow finish mowing, weed-eating, so forth.  Supposed to be 82F by Sunday.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Work went by quick and was easy. I got everything done. Hoorah!

AND BY THE WAY...

I AM NOW PAPYRUS!

NYEH HEH HEH!


----------



## LeeC

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> AND BY THE WAY...
> 
> I AM NOW PAPYRUS!


Happy you had a good day, but don't get near any open flame ;-)


----------



## escorial

start monday being a volunteer at the local community centre..it's dealing with people but hopefully they will have pets with them and i can get sidetracked


----------



## squidtender

Today is looking like a hippie speedball/book day. The past 48 hours have been spent in the hospital being the doctor's test monkey and it wiped me out. They told me I'd be tired afterward, but damn...


----------



## Darkkin

My ducks are all in a row and they are legion...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Running late as usual:- Saturday went up to London to the C.N.D. rally, that didn't seem to happen according to the Beeb. Nicola Sturgeon is a good speaker, We didn't stay for all, it was too cold. Half way down Piccadilly the missus spotted an old friend she hadn't seen for nearly thirty years, so we went back to her place and swapped gossip over cups of tea before heading home.


----------



## The Green Shield

Sick all today today. It was like my body saw I was ready for major accomplishments and properly effed that up via making me sick. >:[


----------



## Darkkin

Star took out the Wendigo!  We proved the plagiarism beyond all doubt and credit for the _Star Socks Fox_ has been returned to me.


----------



## Bruno Spatola

Bruised my coccyx a couple days ago. Sat up straight and instantly burst into tears, so I've been prescribed some high-strength painkillers. I'm laid up!

Bizarrely, it seems to have fixed my awful sleeping pattern. I'm forced to lie down properly at a decent hour, and my body is getting used to it already. Every cloud...


----------



## Blue

To much stress, final exams are coming up and I haven't done shite. Eh, I got a good bit of editing done instead though, sooo


----------



## Olly Buckle

Up the apple tree  taking out last years new growth which rises as whips from the top of the tree and generally pruning. It is  big old tree and I prune for appearance, not apples, in poor years it produces plenty for the two of us, in good years we are overwhelmed, its main functions are to provide apple blossom in the spring, a barrier of green at the side of the garden, shade from the hot summer sun (roll on the day) and sturdy boughs for hanging hammocks.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Blue said:


> To much stress, final exams are coming up and I haven't done shite. Eh, I got a good bit of editing done instead though, sooo



Keep tearing off chunks of work wherever you can instead of trying to tackle mountains. You'll be able to do more and more if you just keep at it.




Olly Buckle said:


> Up the apple tree taking out last years new growth which rises as whips from the top of the tree and generally pruning. It is big old tree and I prune for appearance, not apples, in poor years it produces plenty for the two of us, in good years we are overwhelmed, its main functions are to provide apple blossom in the spring, a barrier of green at the side of the garden, shade from the hot summer sun (roll on the day) and sturdy boughs for hanging hammocks.



Dammit Olly, did you have to write about an apple tree so majestically?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Guy Faukes said:


> Dammit Olly, did you have to write about an apple tree so majestically?
> [/FONT]



Well, I could have punctuated it better:-

from the top of the tree and generally pruning.
from the top of the tree; and generally pruning.

but thanks for the compliment


----------



## am_hammy

Well yesterday I'm pretty sure I stopped two people from trying to be sneaky and stealing our merchandise at work by claiming what they had was something they already bought and wanted to return/exchange it.

Today my only hope is that no one tries to steal anything. This is the fourth incident in the last month we've experienced. I get tired of being suspicious of people.


----------



## Darkkin

I know I'm too old for Disney movies, but I just went to _Zootopia_ and thoroughly enjoyed it. :congratulatory:


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Darkkin said:


> I know I'm too old for Disney movies, but I just went to _Zootopia_ and thoroughly enjoyed it. :congratulatory:


----------



## PiP

Darkkin said:


> I know I'm too old for Disney movies, but I just went to _Zootopia_ and thoroughly enjoyed it. :congratulatory:



We are never too old for Disney movies, Darkkin.


----------



## Darkkin

Just because one appears to be small and innocent doesn't make it so; we have the ability to surprise, especially when we try.  I am a Master of the Flying Thud, which is not an easy thing to achieve because you have to be ready to fully embrace the thud in spite of the pain.


----------



## Olly Buckle

PiP said:


> We are never too old for Disney movies, Darkkin.


Some might think it sad, but I think I was always too old for them, even Mickey Mouse I would rather Tom and Jerry.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I finally snapped.

Along with my dark souls disk.

In four pieces.

Good riddance.


----------



## Blue

Darkkin said:


> I know I'm too old for Disney movies, but I just went to _Zootopia_ and thoroughly enjoyed it. :congratulatory:



Hakuna Matata


----------



## Kevin

Flashback to the Eighties:

"Well, go ahead and ask her."

"You know I don't really... er, um, follow this stuff, Nancy. You go ahead."

"Come on, ask her."

"All right... Magic Eight Ball, should I blow up Russia today?"

"Dammit Ronnie...if can't be serious..."

"I'm sorry, Dear, but I just don't--"

"'It is not certain...'"

"Y'see? She doesn't know any more than I do."

"Just do what she says." 

"All right, so we won't blow up Russia. How about something important, like... what should we eat for lunch?"


----------



## midnightpoet

Olly Buckle said:


> Some might think it sad, but I think I was always too old for them, even Mickey Mouse I would rather Tom and Jerry.



I generally preferred Bugs Bunny on TV, never much on Disney movies, although I liked their nature shows (later I found out a lot of it was staged, but what the heck).  Otherwise, watched a lot of cowboy movies with Johnny Mack Brown and Gene Autry.


----------



## Reichelina

Twelve FS. One auditor. 8 hours. Tears.


----------



## Darkkin

Strawberries.  One of the things that make life just a little bit sweeter.  :joyous:


----------



## Blue

Sometimes I wonder why I started rowing when I puke after training....


----------



## Glyax

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> I finally snapped.
> 
> Along with my dark souls disk.
> 
> In four pieces.
> 
> Good riddance.



so uh, excited for dark souls 3??  

As for day, meh, feeling listless...need to self motivate...need inspiration...all I'm feeling is the feeling of lost opportunities and mediocrity lol


----------



## Joe_Bassett

A bro of mine gave me a copy of FTL and Starbound during my school trip to Houston.  I've been waiting time playing both on my PC.  I'm actually surprised they run as well as they do on my craptop.  

I may get hooked on this whole PC gaming thing....


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Gave a speech for a communications class (it went better in my head) 

Other than that, it has been another uninspiring day in a series of uneventful weeks.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

GuitarHiro97 said:


> A bro of mine gave me a copy of FTL and Starbound during my school trip to Houston.  I've been waiting time playing both on my PC.  I'm actually surprised they run as well as they do on my craptop.
> 
> I may get hooked on this whole PC gaming thing....



UPDATE:

I just got a steam account (same username).  I'm beyond rescue now...


----------



## PrinzeCharming

GuitarHiro97 said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> I just got a steam account (same username).  I'm beyond rescue now...



Finally! I am surprised you haven't had one yet.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just found out that Lionshead is closing, thus marking the end of the _Fables_ franchise. So I went back to re-playing _Fable II_ and _Fable III_ to bid the series a final farewell.

Also planned on playing _Mass Effect 3_ to complete Shepard's story before the release of _Mass Effect: Andromeda_.

Sheesh, everything's a whole lot of 'good-byes' here over on my end. It's 'bye-bye Lionshead and _Fable_' and 'bye-bye Shepard'.


----------



## Darkkin

The screen on my tablet bit the dust, luckily it was still under warranty so I got it replaced.  And I remembered all of my passwords correctly when relinking everything!


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Its 2:41 am, why am I up, you ask ?

Well, I made the terrible choice of drinking a cup of coffee (mind you it was Half - Caff.) around 8 pm last night. 

Later, I have to get up at 8am.


----------



## The Green Shield

TheWonderingNovice said:


> Its 2:41 am, why am I up, you ask ?
> 
> Well, I made the terrible choice of drinking a cup of coffee (mind you it was Half - Caff.) around 8 pm last night.
> 
> Later, I have to get up at 8am.


Yeah, I know how that feels. :[ My body's kind of weird, there's a phase where I can drink anywhere up to four or five cups and still go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Then, when the phase leaves, that same amount keeps me up until midnight.


----------



## Reichelina

Hmmmm. 17,500 steps. 
Trying to unwind from all the numbers I had to deal with today. 
*cries


----------



## Olly Buckle

A completely rubbish day. I had all this stuff to do and woke up with a headache which got worse and worse. went back to bed, had wild dreams about being stranded at a tiny end-of-the-line station in Scotland and suffered until about half five when it started getting dark, too late to get any of it done, so I collect my new glasses and do all those garden jobs tomorrow, I hope.


----------



## Darkkin

Got my hair cut.  I have my punkie pixie back.  Whoot!  Got lost on purpose and straightened out a few tangled ends of the 'Ways.


----------



## The Green Shield

After playing _Fallout 4_ and hearing the phrase "Milk of human kindness" over and over again, I went to look it up, knowing that my only clue was that it was from _Macbeth_. Here's the quote I found:

*Lady Macbeth:*
 Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be
 What thou art promis'd. Yet do I fear thy nature,
 It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness
 To catch the nearest way.

Macbeth Act 1, scene 5, 15–18


In short, a videogame made me go look up a Shakespeare quote and learn of its meaning. And they say videogames can't encourage you to go learn anything but "BANG BANG BANG WOOT LEET XP SKILLS!!!!111" 

Though now that I'm on the subject, they interpreted it as "human compassion", but I interpreted it as "spineless coward", as in she was calling Macbeth a sissy, spineless coward for not having the stones to knife King Duncan.


----------



## Reichelina

I need to rethink my life. I've been surviving off 3-4 hours of sleep during workdays and then 7-8 hours on weekends, given that I won't have to do something that requires me to wake up early. Oh man. Stressed. I think this deducts like 5-10 years off my life.


----------



## The Green Shield

Almost 10K words into my fantasy-mystery novel! Soon I shall have two projects (novel and novella) that reached the 10K mark!


----------



## Darkkin

Day off today, my only one this week and I'm contemplating taking on the pantoum again.  Elsewhere, Nowhere, Someplace, and Wayward...And the answers to how the Crossroad of Alder's Dew came to be...

Edit:  It seems that a quatrain form is going to be the order of the day...:calm:  This is the cornerstone piece, the board before the pieces are in motion, the where, who, and what every(one/thing), is.  If you have issues with directions, this is a logic puzzle that will mess with your head.


----------



## The Green Shield

Bored in the doctors office. 

...

You are now picturing your character dancing shirtless while wearing a clown wig.


----------



## Darkkin

Saw upwards of a hundred bald eagles on the drive home today.  It was quite a cool sight.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Finally came out of the traffic jam and turned the corner at the lights, the road was empty and because they were building a new bus lane and central reservation there were eight foot wire fences each side. As I started accelerating a pedestrian squeezed between two sections of fence, ran out into the road, tripped, and sprawled headlong in front of me. I stopped very quickly.


----------



## Reichelina

There are things in my life that I find hard to control.
I'm barely containing it, hahahaha. 

Why! 

Anyway, tomorrow is another day.


----------



## Darkkin

Crazy good day at work, and started work on a new piece that is proving compelling, but a bit elusive.


----------



## Thaumiel

Handed in the report for my final year lab project. I feel so relaxed and free. I might even have a go at writing something non-technical again.


----------



## Darkkin

Good Tibbox has found the edge of the Fray...the way between.


----------



## Reichelina

Saturday.
Went grocery shopping. 
Hate the fact that big shoe sizes can only come from American and European shoe brands. The biggest for asians is like an 8 or 9. 

I'm a ten.


----------



## The Green Shield

*UPDATE:*
Took the first pill from my anxiety meds. 

I'm not sure if it's normal for meds to work almost instantly, but I can sort of feel my anxiety falling back. I feel more driven to do something, something different. I actually kind of don't want be as introverted as I used to be. I feel more open, more free.

Is this how people without anxiety feel? I'm not used to it yet, but it feels good.


----------



## Darkkin

Good Tibbox returns with Ren Bright to reveal the story behind the selkie known as Toxic White.  A new sequence of villanelles that will link the past and present of the Strangeways.  From the Fray all the way to the barbarous realm of Numb.  And yes, I know to most folks it doesn't really matter, but being able to find my way back to the heart of the original stories of the Strangeways to Nowhere it nothing short of wondrous.  Not since the _Run of the Star Socks Fox_ have I had such clarity of plotlines.  I'm an odd writer, not too good, but also not truly terrible, either.  And a little nonsense is good for the soul.:fox:


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I can't believe that I've only been awake for less than three hours.


----------



## LeeC

It's shaping up to be a hell of a day. Wife's in a good mood having returned from a hookin' an prayin' retreat**. Last week was beautiful springtime, but this morning it's snowing so I settle down to finish reading a book I'm reviewing. Hardly seated when a Facebook email notice catches my attention and click on it to see the discussion. Below that post I see something that reminds me of why in part I retired early (see video link following). And while I'm watching the video, this old farm house shakes from a 2.9 earthquake. Is this what they call a rock and roll day  

I think you can view this even without a Facebook account. Be a shame to miss something this good ;-) 
https://www.facebook.com/1157905574...905574226865/1195394890477933/?type=2&theater



**Rug making workshop at the facilities of a religious retreat in the lakes region of NH.


----------



## Stormcat

Burst into tears during an otherwise boring presentation because I was so frustrated about this job search and my idiot classmates. I have to keep telling myself just three more days of this, then I can leave this school!


----------



## Darkkin

Sometimes all it takes is a single line...It isn't trendy, clever, or cute.  But it is mine.


----------



## am_hammy

I have felt lethargic all day and I have a horrible pressure/sinus headache. YAY

Good news is, I'm home from work so that's always a plus.


----------



## H.Brown

Well after a full month off work, I finally returned and it went well managed a full 5.5 hours woop woop. Fingers crossed for longer tomorrow.


----------



## LeeC

See so much here of struggling with the twists and turns of everyday life, and not enough looking at the humor and beauty in it all. Yes, life can seem a drag, especially when younger not going your way, but don't flit it away because there're only memories at the end of the rainbow.

A friend posted a poem here once titled Dust to Dust that I thought conveyed the idea well. I can't seem to find the post at the moment, but it's also posted on my site at:
http://www.achinook.com/journal/2015/8/2/dust-to-dust.html

Some sage words there


----------



## Darkkin

Got lost on purpose today, through three states, following the gorgeous flow of the river in flood.  The light was perfect, ever changing, beautifully defused, almost surreal.  I love my bluff ringed corner of the world.


----------



## Reichelina

My day has just started. March 23, 2016. 
But yesterday was awesome. Walked 21,000 steps! HAHAHA. A new record.


----------



## Darkkin

With NaPoWriMo starting in a little more than a week, I decided to take a look back at where I was this time last year...And it wasn't good.  Home recovering from heart surgery to replace my mitral valve and more than seventy poems lighter.  NaPoWriMo and these forums have done good things for me, very good things.  It might seem like a little thing in the grand scheme, but for me it has made a huge difference.


----------



## Yumea

My day, March 23, 2016, was rather uneventful. Just one of those days where you don't want to talk to anybody and stay in bed all day.


----------



## Glyax

Took me 7 hours to get home from work
..I live 15 minutes away from work....thank you blizzard -_-


----------



## Joe_Bassett

We have a severe thunderstorm coming up, sounds like it's gonna be a texas-sized one.


----------



## Sleepwriter

I'm going to say I won this one.


----------



## Reichelina

My day was all right. 
I'm trying to get rid of all the negative thoughts I have been eating for 24 years. That's deep. LOL.

I guess the solution is to try to surround yourself with people who see past the clouds; people who even after seeing all the broken bones and all the scars engraved deeply on your skin still see the good things in you. 

"Scrub scrub scrub to remove all insecurities."


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I was at work from six AM 'til two PM. 

They had moved everything to the back room to clean the floors, we dragged it all back out.

My lifting partner was absolutely useless. I was pulling most of the weight but he insisted I steer. After pulling heavy af stuff backwards for four hours, my thighs have turned to jelly. 

I tripped on my knee a few years back and managed to hurt it again. Feels like it's giving out on me. Shoulder did something too. 

The pollen is bugging me and the floor cleaner also got me. Eyes hurt, nose hurts. It's plugged and simultaneously running like a faucet, lips are cracked and splitting...

I'm done with this day. I feel old.


----------



## Darkkin

We got hit with two feet of snow last night...ffended:


----------



## Glyax

Darkkin said:


> We got hit with two feet of snow last night...ffended:


is you in colorado with me???? lol


----------



## Darkkin

Minnesnowta.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I'm approaching close to a 40 hour week. I'm exhausted but I'm feeling extremely accomplished. I just worked 11 P. M. - 7 A.M.. I had a decent sleep after work. I have nothing special planned for this weekend. I could go for a vacation. I'll be working in File Maintenance and Produce tomorrow. Two enjoyable departments.


----------



## Darkkin

Files on dangerous produce, I knew those mushrooms had it in for me!


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Darkkin said:


> Files on dangerous produce, I knew those mushrooms had it in for me!



To put it into a better prospective, I'm in charge of making sure those mushrooms have a (sale) sign or tag and ring up as documented on the signage.  

However, I'll be cutting fruit in Produce after I apply the price changes (increases, decreases, sale on's, offs', etc) throughout the store.


----------



## Sleepwriter

It went by to fast.  I relaxed my schedule and did not accomplish all that I should have.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Sleepwriter said:


> It went by to fast.  I relaxed my schedule and did not accomplish all that I should have.



Can you focus for the week ahead to accomplish what you pushed aside?  

_(Instead of assuming there's always next week.)_


----------



## Darkkin

Well, had the day off, got caught up on laundry and chores.  Also got another villanelle done.  Now I'm wondering, if I shouldn't have kept it in reserve for NaPoem.  Would have had a spare if my semblance of sanity decided it needed a sabbatical.  I also remembered how to spell sabbatical and callous.  Not words the come up in my general run of conversation, still fun, though.  :fox:


----------



## Sleepwriter

PrinzeCharming said:


> Can you focus for the week ahead to accomplish what you pushed aside?
> 
> _(Instead of assuming there's always next week.)_



There is the rub,  I can do the tasks, but I'll never get back the time.


----------



## am_hammy

My day was long and started with anxiety but it went away soon after. I feel a bit inspired and sort of motivated, but it usually deflates by the time I get into bed.

I'm just glad I get to sleep in a bit tomorrow. Happy Good Friday.


----------



## TJ1985

My day was going great.... and then like a fool I woke up. 

As many of you know I am a caregiver for my mother who is in some seriously rough stuff right now. With that going on 24/7 my life tends to oscillate between seeking sanity and trying to occupy myself with anything that keeps her stress level low and keeps me from being bored. Lots of waiting, lots of uncertainty, and I'm stuck to make the best of it or fall apart. I choose to keep on digging. Worst are treatment days when I have to entertain myself for 4-7 hours. I've rekindled my passion for acoustic guitar and have rediscovered that I still am not very good but I'm getting lots and lots of practice. That it allows me to be out in the truck so I'm not in the nurse's way is a plus. Last thing I need is for them to get sick of my constant presence in the waiting room, so I do my thing while waiting for them to do theirs. That the TV in there is always set on some crap I wouldn't watch unless under a direct threat of having a cobra shoved into my shorts has only a small part to play in why I prefer my own company. Want a companion? Get a dog or a disease... 

Ever tried to entertain yourself for 7 consecutive hours with no wifi connection and no cell phone? It's certainly possible but there are many other unpleasant things which also are possible. 

On a side note, I'm reading a LOT more than I used to. Lots... I'm beginning to think Alistair MacLean was the mayor of a Nutjob Paradise and that William Johnstone only wrote two stories and used them as templates for all the others...


----------



## dither

I have had a worrying  morning and shall attempt to put it into words...Later.

Now though, i am looking forward o the game.


----------



## Reichelina

"Look what we made."

I just watched the movie, "The Theory of Everything."
I love movies like that - based on real events. It doesn't only entertain you, it teaches you what real life is and then you eventually live inside their shoes for a while. 
Then their emotions become yours at that moment and then the whole movie changes you.


----------



## Darkkin

I get to go get lost on deer infested back roads and eat egg bake...


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I am working today, but the store closes at 5. So, phew! It'll be a breeze. I just worked from 9 - 5:30 yesterday.


----------



## Darkkin

Well saw everyone.  And found out my grandma wants to see the Grand Canyon while she is still up and able.  We've started planning a road trip for sometime this fall.  :glee:  The avatars have also been returned to a nice size, this too, added to my glee.


----------



## Reichelina

Not good. 
Because you know how hard you try to be the pilot of your life, you can't seem to be in control at all. 
Anxiety overload. 

Yay april is near.


----------



## blazeofglory

My day was not OK. The old unsettled issue is still gnawing me. And there were things to upset my friend,mainly a misunderstanding. I wanted to repair the relationship. I did not want to hurt my friend and it was a talk, unplanned and blunt. Though there were no self motives. Losing a friend becomes a pain Maybe tomorrow the intensity may subside. Sometimes it is hard to understand the "other" when is too much open. I talked on impulse but my friend wanted to rationalize it and the result has been gruesome.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, it's Tuesday...$5.00 movie night at the theatre here in town.  I think I'm going to be a total dork and take myself to a movie.


----------



## The Green Shield

I just realized in another writing forum that world building is, in fact, writing and _is_ crucial for the story you're trying to tell -- especially if it's epic fantasy/sci-fi. 

I feel so silly.  No wonder I couldn't get anywhere with my writing beyond ‘here are the villains and the heroes have to stop them somehow...for some reason’ because I didn't know how my world worked. 

<takes out pencil and paper> Time for me to do some serious world building! :applause:


----------



## Darkkin

Four hours until I can start.  Four more hours of work before I have the weekend to call my soul my own.  I'm judging quatrain in the PiP and I have a pantoum planned.  Four by four by four by four...All that's missing is time or a _Tardis_.


----------



## Reichelina

Never decide on anything until after you had your first cup of coffee. Note to self.
Almost lost my sanity yesterday.


----------



## am_hammy

My day was very long. Work related. I did laundry though and I sort of packed for my trip tomorrow.

I get to see the cherry blossoms on Saturday so it's all worth it.


----------



## Darkkin

D.C.?  We had two feet of snow this time last week.  It's gone finally, but there's nothing growing yet.


----------



## 20oz

Decided to download Broforce for the PS4. I don't know why it took me so long to decide since it's "free".


----------



## Blue

I attempted studying today. Heard it helps somewhat in getting good grades in college. 

Never again.


----------



## EllaLouis

Only 29 poems left to write in April, yay! And my new DAB radio plays classical music like a God!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

At work I put together eight ikea-style wooden rocking chairs over a four hour period.

It had nothing but screws. We had no screw gun. 

After twisting my hands vigorously around a screwdriver for four hours, I could swear I feel my knuckles grinding down. 

Good news? My arms look great.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

My graveyard shift wasn't too bad. It's a big tag week, but I had an assistant. It only happens every other two months. Other than that, it's usually just one person hanging the majority of the tags. It's a beautiful day.


----------



## 20oz

Done wanking. Now I feel sad and empty inside. I also feel tired, mostly tired.


----------



## Darkkin

I discovered the word Lollop...My brain has been busy!

Edit:  A major piece of my Strangeways mythology just linked into place and at the hands of the Left Hand of the No Man, no less.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I was just called into work earlier than scheduled. I'll be working 2 - 9 EST. Sorry for any delays in the next seven hours. Leave me a PM and I'll respond promptly after work.


----------



## Tealynn

The wind is blowing my patience away. And possibly some of my one year old shingles. All the trash in the neighborhood is now conveniently located at the left side of my house. For every blown over trash bin I have five dogs barking. Apparently I'm supposed to be afraid of the trash cans. I miss school and it's only Saturday. 

On a different note, I will be exploring a supposed haunted jail this evening. It's a rotary jail built in 1881. When asked to go, I thought why the hell not?

Edit - The shingles appear to be hanging in there, but my privacy fence is having issues. Two panels are horizontal so far... Fence down and five dogs is not gonna make for a great evening...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

After spiced rum in coke last night, I woke up at 2 AM. My stomach felt like a bag of sour grapes, to put it lightly. 

My tonsils are also swollen and my sinuses are draining down my throat in a never-ending stream of mucus. 

Head is no longer pounding, but I expected that. What I want to know is who gave me the germs.


----------



## LeX_Domina

Fell asleep somewhat  high listening to industrial.i just woke up,dragged myself to the shower and down the steps (kinda walking with a cane at the moment so steps are always an adventure)unfortunately,my day will mostly include homework.damnit


----------



## dither

20oz said:


> Done wanking. Now I feel sad and empty inside. I also feel tired, mostly tired.



And why?
Did it help?
I doubt it.


----------



## LeX_Domina

dunno 'bout you guys,but self love kinda helps at times.just sayin'.maybe alternative reasons? recent break up or something?


----------



## dither

LeX_Domina said:


> dunno 'bout you guys,but self love kinda helps at times.just sayin'.maybe alternative reasons? recent break up or something?



It's just a good place to be Dom.
HTH.


----------



## aj47

Miss someone.  So been trying to lose myself in my project.  But I can only comment code for so many hours at a time before I go bezonkers.  Wrote about it for NaPo but his song seems to be in heavy rotation on my playlist.   His song was "Running Man" by Al Stewart.  For reasons dealing with his volunteer work.  "No rest for the running man / why can't you just let him be."

Anyway, I'm having that kind of day. Wistful.


----------



## Darkkin

Rooted, working on my basics from my basics.  Everything it is it shouldn't be.  A whole lot of waffle, but so good with syrup!


----------



## Yumea

My day, 4.4., was unspectacular as ever. I am off sick because I had/have a horrible headache because of stress I've had the past week. Tomorrow is my birthday, woohoo.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Happy birthday Yumea, don't know where you are, but it would begin in about an hour here.

Moved a whole compost heap to the annual flower bed, we shall have flowers!!


----------



## Reichelina

Headache. Bad, bad headache. 
Someone cut my head off.


----------



## aj47

Reichelina said:


> Headache. Bad, bad headache.
> Someone cut my head off.



amputation is overrated


----------



## Allysan

Yesterday, our local Ruby Tuesday's burnt to the ground. Today a commercial tour helicopter crashed about a mile from that Ruby Tuesday's and a quarter mile from the Wal-Mart where I was shopping at the time. Five people died in that crash. My husband and I drove by, assuming it was a forest fire. It wasn't until later that we learned what really
happened, and a couple hours after that, we learned that the mountain next to my in-laws house is now burning. "bad things happen in threes," and all that stuff. You hear of bad things happening in the world and you sympathize as best you can, but when it hits home, it hits hard.


----------



## Reichelina

Yumea said:


> My day, 4.4., was unspectacular as ever. I am off sick because I had/have a horrible headache because of stress I've had the past week. Tomorrow is my birthday, woohoo.



It's April 5 now here so, Happy Birthday!


----------



## Darkkin

Got a weird green screen of death on my tablet that I just got about three weeks ago...:grief:  Good news, I got it replaced free of charge, bad news I have to reload everything, which includes resyncing my cardiac chip.  That is always a pain.


----------



## Yumea

Olly Buckle said:


> Happy birthday Yumea, don't know where you are, but it would begin in about an hour here.





Reichelina said:


> It's April 5 now here so, Happy Birthday!


Thank yooou! ♥


----------



## LeeC

Wife: "That's not the way to ..."

Self: "Is there anything I do right?"

Wife: "Not much, because you're too boneheaded to listen."

Self: "I guess the mold has hardened."

Wife: "Why didn't I realize I'd end up with an old fart?"

Self: "When we're young we imagine the future we want."

Wife: "Shut the F up."


[Notice I have learned to let her have the last word  ]


----------



## dither

Lee C,

Maybe there should be a "totally agree" tab.
I would have clicked on it for your last comment.

It's like, i found my son arguing with his mother one time, managed to catch his eye and shook my head.
Later he said to me " but i was right ", and i replied with "does it matter?".
As you get older you realise that it's just isn't worth the effort.
" Yes dear", oh if i could have a pound for every time that i've said that.


----------



## Sleepwriter

It ended with a question that only I can answer.    Float, swim or drown? I've been floating for quite some time and it's worked out so far, but there's a tidal wave on the horizon.   It's still a good ways out, but there is no doubt its going to make landfall.


----------



## Yumea

The day turned out to be not as lonely as I thought it would be, thanks to my grandma who spent my entire birthday with me.


----------



## Darkkin

Ridiculously glad to be home.  It has been a long couple of days...


----------



## LeeC

dither said:


> Lee C,
> 
> " Yes dear", oh if i could have a pound for every time that i've said that.



The wife saw that line over my shoulder and said, "I'll give him a pound." I don't think she was talking about coin of the realm, but it distracted her, thanks ;-)


----------



## Darkkin

Just had an artery rupture in my wrist, doesn't hurt but it is a very vivid shade of purple...:nightmare:


----------



## aj47

Purple is meant to be worn _outside_ the skin.  Just sayin'.


----------



## SilverMoon

After my morning routine, I treated myself to a "Just In" movie "On Demand". "Born to be Blue" about the life of Chet Baker, one of my favorite jazz musicians. I have his music but never knew he was a Heroin addict.  A sad ending but his music lives on.

In matter of time, I turned into a shoulder (a remarkable feat). And it's a good thing it's strong. Three friends called with some pretty intense problems each call one after the other. It's a great feeling to be helpful. Also great ready to hit the sack Night all!


----------



## Tealynn

I learned a new word! (I love learning new words!) I'm feeling gruntled! Why did I not know there was gruntled to the disgruntled??


----------



## MzSnowleopard

This morning started with cold squishie on the feet. There was a puddle in my kitchen. Maintenance got right on it. Other than this things are going pretty good.


----------



## Darkkin

Nitro drip through my picc again.  :grumpy:  Crabby Apple from Cross Patch...Grr..


----------



## Yumea

The headache came back.


----------



## Reichelina

I fell deeper in love today.


----------



## The Green Shield

Doing some writing prompts for myself. I might share it with you all. 

Just a question though: I'm doing an exercise where I take an image I found on the internet and write prose about it -- a scene as it were. My plan was to post it here (with the image in spoilers) and ask you all if what I wrote matches the image. Would this count as the sort of writing that belongs in the workshop section, or could I just put it in the General Writing?


----------



## Darkkin

Well, I'm home for the next few days.  Full access to my computer, Star Wars marathons, and puppy snuggles!


----------



## PrinzeCharming

It's raining.  I'm watching MTV's Parental Control. There's a marathon. These date back to 2009. I work overnight.  There's a big annual event happening at work. I just received five texts from the head of the file department to inform me. She said that I'll be able to handle it as long as I continue doing my latest strategy. It seems to work effectively.  We have a representative checking the tags tomorrow morning.  My manager called me this morning to request if I want to be another ambassador for the event.  I did this last year.  2/2 years. I'm pleased but it's after the overnight shift.  It should be interesting.


----------



## Kevin

Nitro drip= supercharge


----------



## Yumea

This headache is driving me insane. I slept all day, then did nothing and will probably go to bed again soon.


----------



## Darkkin

Kevin said:


> Nitro drip= supercharge



I wish!  It's nitroglycerin drip because the quick dissolving tabs don't work very well on my chest pain...:nightmare:  On a brighter note, I did manage to get a bit done with my NaPoem stuff today.  It's a NaPoem bomb, but still a couple more poems to add to the tally.  I'm hoping to reach the halfway mark of fifteen poems before Saturday, including Pantoum.  I got a villanelle and a triolet up today and did a flip my _Turtle upon Tide_ villanelle the other day.  So far my plan has been feasible.

Currently, I'm killing brain cells watching _River Monsters_.


----------



## midnightpoet

Day going fine until the big dog fight. No idea what it was over, and normally they get along.  Then we noticed Callie, the mother dog for the pups, had an eyeball almost out of the socket.  One of them must have gotten a claw in there - anyway, rushed to the vet, he pushed it back in and added some stitches. He wants to see her back Saturday.  The weird part was Callie not crying or anything.  She's so stoic.  She seems fine otherwise.


----------



## Reichelina

midnightpoet said:


> Day going fine until the big dog fight. No idea what it was over, and normally they get along.  Then we noticed Callie, the mother dog for the pups, had an eyeball almost out of the socket.  One of them must have gotten a claw in there - anyway, rushed to the vet, he pushed it back in and added some stitches. He wants to see her back Saturday.  The weird part was Callie not crying or anything.  She's so stoic.  She seems fine otherwise.



Oh no.  
I'm glad she's fine now. Keep us updated.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Got a kudos from the main boss at work.  But tomorrow it will be long forgotten.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Generally is.  I was tracking three proposed "owed ones" from a previous employer, never was able to cash them in.

My day went pretty well today.  I got some new boots for work, polished them up so that I could see my reflection in them, and it turns out we got a pretty important visit today from the higher-ups.  Nobody said anything about my shiny, shiny shoes, but I felt better about having them when I saw the suits touring the store.  They did note my "above and beyond" customer service attitude, though, apparently, because my department manager said something about it after they'd left.


----------



## Kevin

Yesterday, Burbank to LV,  to  Little  Rock, then drove to Mt. Magazine. Nice, Overlook kind of feel.  Lakes snd woods down below. Much of the family is golfing today(which I don't) so off to do a little exploring. Service tomorrow; back to LA on Sunday so I can work Monday. She's staying a few extra days.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Yesterday, Burbank to LV,  to  Little  Rock, then drove to Mt. Magazine. Nice, Overlook kind of feel.  Lakes snd woods down below. Much of the family is golfing today(which I don't) so off to do a little exploring. Service tomorrow; back to LA on Sunday so I can work Monday. She's staying a few extra days.



dude when you write in this clear and open way as opposed to your more cryptic style...i just find this way you make everyday themes so enjoyable to read ..and easy to pick up on..


----------



## Darkkin

Two more forms tried and probably flopped, but hey, I still made the attempt with Pantoum and Kyrielle.  Pantoum, I've done once before, Kyrielle, never, but I have to say, I like both for different reasons, the Kyrielle, just a little bit more, though!  Still contemplating another try at sestina.


----------



## DarkHowl

Recent days feel lonely. Jobless as I am, I have too much free time on my hands, so I spend a lt of time roaming WF, writing, reading... but it is starting to feel lonely and desperation to find a job is starting to kick in.


----------



## escorial

DarkHowl said:


> Recent days feel lonely. Jobless as I am, I have too much free time on my hands, so I spend a lt of time roaming WF, writing, reading... but it is starting to feel lonely and desperation to find a job is starting to kick in.




man when you burn out with the pressures of life it is a lonely place..then the things you do seem to fall by the by because other things need your attention..food,rent..a place to live..or maybe you just need a job to feel complete..i don't know enough about you to be accurate in my assumptions but either way the best advice i can offer is when you think things can't get any worse..they can..i've been homeless and on the street and to say this now is easy but it would have sounded like crap back then..i feel more pressure in control of a life, than drifting wanting what i got now..which ain't much..so dude good luck with that...


----------



## am_hammy

Day three of no manager because she's on vacation. Something crazy has happened every single day so far but I'm handling myself quite well if I do say so myself. I don't feel stressed at the moment and I think I have a good handle on everything. Feels nice to have confidence in one's self. Here's to a good work weekend!


----------



## Yumea

Today was better than the last few days. The doctor took some blood to test it and now my hand is completely blue and hurts, but maybe now they'll find the reason for my headache!


----------



## am_hammy

Yumea said:


> Today was better than the last few days. The doctor took some blood to test it and now my hand is completely blue and hurts, but maybe now they'll find the reason for my headache!




Feel better! I hope they find an answer for you asap!


----------



## Sleepwriter

George Thorogood said it best.  One bourbon,  one scotch,  one beer.


----------



## Darkkin

Just cleared the halfway point in NaPoem!  I'm tired, but it is the good kind of tired!  :sleeping:


----------



## PrinzeCharming

My NaPo series is truly a NeCro series. I am so glad I'm keeping my daily commitment. As much as I want to write more, I try not to get ahead of myself. Work happened overnight, and I slept for almost half the day. Hence, the delay.


----------



## Darkkin

For the most part, I like an even pace, but occasionally, my brain will go supernova and when it does, I need to get the ideas out.  Things aligned with an eerie nicety today, so I ran with it.  And when I'm stuck home with nitro through my picc, it helps keep my mind and hands busy.  I know it's nonsense, but keeps me anchored.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Got called in three hours early today, but that's all right, because this week's netted me about ten and a half hours of overtime.  I recently got transferred from dry grocery to the dairy to replace someone who'd left, and the department is severely understaffed this week because the other full-time guy is on vacation, which leaves us with me, who's full-time but new, and a part-time guy with odd availability that keeps him from working necessary shifts.

My days have basically consisted of me trying to keep my head above water.  So far, we haven't been doing too badly, but without the extra set of hands, it's been a bit tough.  Today was no exception, haha.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Got called in three hours early today, but that's all right, because this week's netted me about ten and a half hours of overtime.  I recently got transferred from dry grocery to the dairy to replace someone who'd left, and the department is severely understaffed this week because the other full-time guy is on vacation, which leaves us with me, who's full-time but new, and a part-time guy with odd availability that keeps him from working necessary shifts.
> 
> My days have basically consisted of me trying to keep my head above water.  So far, we haven't been doing too badly, but without the extra set of hands, it's been a bit tough.  Today was no exception, haha.



Good to see you Dubs!! We missed you!!


----------



## DarkHowl

escorial said:


> man when you burn out with the pressures of life it is a lonely place..then the things you do seem to fall by the by because other things need your attention..food,rent..a place to live..or maybe you just need a job to feel complete..i don't know enough about you to be accurate in my assumptions but either way the best advice i can offer is when you think things can't get any worse..they can..i've been homeless and on the street and to say this now is easy but it would have sounded like crap back then..i feel more pressure in control of a life, than drifting wanting what i got now..which ain't much..so dude good luck with that...



Hey, thanks a lot. To be honest I am nowhere near of being homeless, so I can be calm about it. I just majored in Physiotherapy about 4 months ago, so it is not much time I have been looking for a job. But things do not look good in that area. And, well, some other personal stuff too. I know it can get worse. I know I am not at my limit but hopefully I won´t get there. That is my anxiety right now... to not reach my limit. 
Thanks for your wishes. And I hope the best for you in everything


----------



## Rojack79

Well my day went better than yesterday. Had some ass hat at work pull some stupid crap during lunch. I wont go into very specific detail but he showed me a video of ISIS killing a group of people. I didn't realize what it was until it was to late and by then i couldn't look away. I still can't get those image's out of my head. I think the worst part was the fact that the dude who was showing me this vid just sat there and laughed at my reaction. I was completely horrified at what was happening but that lunatic just sat there and laughed! I'm really starting to think the dude was a psychopath. I really wish there were some thing's i could just forget on command. I'm doing better today but i still see those poor people every time i close my eye's. Don't mean to try and bring the mood down but i really had to get that off my chest. Talking about it seems to help but i now i really with people at work could carry weapon's. Sorry for the depressing subject matter.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I am going into work earlier than most days. I am looking at another week close to 40 hours. It's better than two years ago when I started. We lost too many employees. Nobody wants to work, even full timers backed down into part time.


----------



## Reichelina

My Saturday is about to end and.... it was pretty interesting. 

1. I planned to write at least 2 articles today which I failed to do so. 
2. I planned to finish reading the book I started two weeks ago which I failed to do so. -->what's wrong with me?
3. I planned to do deadlifts and squats which I failed to do so. 
4. I planned to go over some work-related stuff so as to prepare myself for next week, which I failed to do so. 

Interesting.


----------



## dither

I'm not long back from my weekly shopping-trip and, having been on the go since about 3.00. pm yesterday, i was damned glad to kick off those daisy roots. The puppies were yelping.
So now, i'm sitting in my small boxroom. Sipping cheap cider. Feeling cold, and into the first chapter of Terry Pratchett's "A slip of the keyboard".

Looking forward to  hot sunny  Saturdays, Hawthorns loaded with that snow white blossom then, as it fades, enjoying the champagne blossom of the Elderberry.
I had some really nice bus-rides last year. Here's hoping.


----------



## Darkkin

Three cheers for unexpected segues!


----------



## Sleepwriter

I ticked all the boxes, so I get to sleep in.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I drew a lot today.  And survived a quick but intense hailstorm.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Work was fairly decent. I actually enjoyed it. I think all the sane customers arrive on Monday's.


----------



## Yumea

Started writing down what I need to put in my hospital bag. On my list so far: books. Clothes. More books. Things that'll keep me from dying of boredom. BOOKS.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Yumea said:


> Started writing down what I need to put in my hospital bag. On my list so far: books. Clothes. More books. Things that'll keep me from dying of boredom. BOOKS.



My experience of hospital food says include something yummy in there, decent toiletries are also good.


----------



## escorial

bough a leather biker jacket earlier..not so much a real one more in the style of..thinner leather and xxl...I wanted the biker look but looser fit.....went to a concert a couple of weeks ago wearing a leather coat,newsboy cap and loose fitting jeans and was nicknamed marlin brando all through the night..i think it's stuck in my head...ha


----------



## PrinzeCharming

_I can't breathe. Mentally congested. Done. 9 AM. Work isn't even near yet. _


----------



## Tealynn

Soooo, I've been listening to heavy breathing coming from a locker right outside my classroom door since 7:45 this morning. Someone came and opened it finally to Darth Vader on video on a tablet. Rotten kids...  Funny - but rotten.


----------



## Darkkin

'The board is set.  The pieces are moving.'  - Gandalf the White, LOTR

Boxed myself in and managed to get out again.  Everything has been leading up to this point.  Mass minutia, every last i dotted and t crossed.  An intercept course for Turtle has been plotted because if anyone knows how to reach Lost Selkie Wold, it's Turtle and Nod.


----------



## midnightpoet

Took Callie, our chi mix (the one that had an eye injury in a dog fight) to the vet this morning, he says she's recovering nicely.  I take her back Monday to get the stitches out.


----------



## am_hammy

Probably one of the most relaxing days I've ever had off. And there's still more of it left!


----------



## Blue

Stress. STRESS. I can't handle the stress.

Why did I ever think Veterinary was a good idea?! I should have chosen the stripper life. Dammit.


----------



## The Green Shield

Blue said:


> Stress. STRESS. I can't handle the stress.
> 
> Why did I ever think Veterinary was a good idea?! I should have chosen the stripper life. Dammit.


No.

Goddamn you, no. See, I hold much respect for veterinarians, and it's not because I read the _James Herriot_ series. You lot put in all the time, effort, and money to keep our pets alive and healthy for its natural lifespan. Sometimes, when I'm down and I think humans in general are shits, I remember you all. I remember that there's an entire profession whose _entire_ purpose is to keep non-humans alive. As in not us naked two-legged creatures with the big brains. Then I remember that no, no we're not all complete bastards.

So, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. I thank all veterinarians all over the frickin' world. _Thank you_. You really do remind me of how special humans are; how we're not always the terrible/stupid folks you see in the news. Keep at it, Blue. Were I Irish/living in Ireland, I would be taking my pets to your vet and having you as my pets' doctor. And I would trust you wholeheartedly. And even if you failed, I'd still come see you why? *Because you would try.* Look, animals are difficult to manage. They can't exactly tell you what's wrong with them like I can to a human doctor. You have to detective that shit through the animal's yelps of pain and what the owners said. I couldn't see myself as a veterinarian even though I love animals. But the fact that you -- nay, _any veterinarian_ -- would try anyway, that earns a shit load of a respect for me. 

I know you're just venting, but damn it I just wanted to say this. 

Thank you.


----------



## Yumea

I finished the series I was watching and now I have this empty "what-will-I-do-with-my-life" feeling.


----------



## Tealynn

An hour and 1/2 in on an 11 hour tour bus ride to DC with 45 8th graders and 3 other chaperones! We're bus 3 of 4. There will be NO sleeping tonight!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

The contents of my stomach violently left me right before work. I feel dreadful and despite sleeping almost 12 hours, took another nap. Uhg.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Was reminded that being the only one good at your job can have negative consequences.


----------



## Darkkin

Nine hours at work, got home and just added three more pieces to my NaPoem total.  Seven in two days?  At this point, plausible.


----------



## Reichelina

Blue said:


> Stress. STRESS. I can't handle the stress.
> 
> Why did I ever think Veterinary was a good idea?! I should have chosen the stripper life. Dammit.



Please be a good vet. Most vets I know are only after money.


----------



## Reichelina

Good news!


----------



## Ultraroel

Gratz!
Just had my dog under surgery and I'm 400 euro poorer.. (


----------



## Kevin

Made Indian last night, her first day back. She liked...We'd left her car at the airport Marriot the night before, and I told junior to please pick up some flowers, which he did. Was watching _True Grit_ (the newer version) and I noticed that it took place in Yell County.... coincidence *ha* as that's where we were. The accents didn't quite match, and the landscape, I think (too dry), but it somehow makes it better (the movie), knowing those place-names, having been to those places. Let's see... there was another murder (which I just missed, having got here a little earlier). That makes no. 3. Other than that, nothing much...


----------



## JustRob

I developed a crashing headache which rendered me useless for any practical purpose, so I spent my time posting on WF. Er, that doesn't read so well, come to think of it, but I'm clearly not up to thinking yet.


----------



## Tealynn

I'm surviving on possibly 1/2 hours worth of sleep in the past 24... Heading to pizza in a dueling piano bar. Should be interesting....


----------



## Yumea

Gave the guinea pigs a haircut today and cleaned their cage, then spent too much time playing a videogame. Now the headache is getting worse again. I should go to bed.


----------



## Darkkin

Current NaPoem count stands at 27.  Three more and I have it...One of my villanelles segues beautifully into the continuing journeys of Small Violet Bright.  All in all, it has been a good, if somewhat _long_, day.  I am now off to read until I fall asleep.  :read:


Edit:  I set my bar high, but just cleared it without landing on my face!


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I realized I have been neglecting my abdominal muscles. 

Twenty situps burned. TWENTY. I remember when I was doing 60+ IN A ROW. 

What happened to you, stomach!? You can't get weak on me now! 

Now I'm tired. Work was annoying and I get to do it all again tomorrow. I hate saturdays. Why can't everyone just stay at home? I hope it rains and storms and nobody comes shopping.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

*Work Life: *8 hours, overnight, 11 PM - 7 AM

*Emotional Life*: Well, I just experienced another loss after work (10 AM). Taking things slow. 

*State Life:* Trump visited Connecticut tonight (7 PM).

*Social Life:* _Error. Sorry try again later. _


----------



## Yumea

Yesterday I spent two hours in hospital talking to the doctors about my operation on monday, which was veeeery tiring. Today has been good so far!


----------



## Kevin

We went and watched junior do indoor climbing. There was a girl stuck to a ceiling, like a spider. Then she fell, dangling, like a spider, while her spotter stood ready, below. There are definitely benefits to living in or near a large city. Lots of things to do.


----------



## escorial

just got back from the city centre..it was album day...stalls here and there cool..vinyl albums are a blast from the past but so on the up today with sales....


----------



## Sleepwriter

better than expected.   just a vodka and sweet tea kinda day.  Jack stayed home.


----------



## escorial

Sleepwriter said:


> better than expected.   just a vodka and sweet tea kinda day.  Jack stayed home.



are you of Russian decent....

да или нет


----------



## Darkkin

Did some stuff, walked Rue Dog...And...:listening_headphone


----------



## aj47

Six hours of my life ... which I cannot regain ... spent at a seminar that was a crash-course version of IMED 1319 (in which I received an A). Notice the first digit of the course number? It is a freshman-level course.

I am exhausted.  I didn't realize being bored (and cold) could be so draining.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Well, I am glad I had a day off today. I was able to have some free time, volunteer for CoF as a judge, and ... popped that cherry with ease. Seriously, if you ever need a judge, feel free to ask. That wasn't as bad as I anticipated. In fact, I didn't pull a strand of hair and I believe I am still alive! I always seem to work better under pressure. 

_(It was a dead theme. No, seriously.) _


----------



## Sleepwriter

escorial said:


> are you of Russian decent....
> 
> да или нет



Not that I've found so far, but have only gone back 5 generations.   Just enjoy a spirit that does its job and not make me go into 'Hulk smash' mode.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Finished potting up aubretia seedlings, 45 of them, but some are a bit small, I'll probably end up with about 40 plants. Sweet peas are all outside with their lead shoots nipped out to make them sprout the hardier side shoots. Potted up salvia amistad and salvia patens seedlings, they will take a while yet,  did a bit to the path and had a fire in my stove and melted some wax to dip candles as there is a cold spell forecast. It is a trick from the days of single glazed sash windows, to keep the frost off the window light a candle under a large terracotta flower pot, it works. Trouble is cheap household candles only last eight hours, so I save all the ends, melt them down, and dip them. They tend to be big at the bottom because the can is not deep  enough and the level goes down, but, they keep the greenhouse above freezing on a very cold night, and I have basil starting  in there.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I actually made it. Now I get the rest of the day and sunday off. I have most definitely imbibed but shhhhh....


----------



## Kevin

Free day, Saturday, so I rode 3+ hours. Took a trail that dead-ended, so I hike-a-biked up a nearly vertical slope , probably 400' of loose soil with round(tumble-y), river rock. That really took it out of me, the steepness, and the heat, which was in the eighties with a dry wind. On the way back I took a chance and cut through a private community re-entering public lands after about a mile. That saved me about 1000' feet of ascent, and being so beat, I was glad of it. After, I had that mild heat-stroke headache, and my hamstrings were threatening to seize. I had to concentrate on not contracting them. A fun, but uncomfortable(starting about the halfway point) outing.


----------



## dither

I am filled with dread of next week and am struggling to deal with it but deal with it i must.
It's a job thing.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I am going into work at noon. The weather is predicted a high of 71 degrees F (23 C). It's time and a half. So, I'm fine with that. Hopefully everyone is at the beach like the rest of my family.


----------



## Aquilo

PrinzeCharming said:


> I am going into work at noon. The weather is predicted a high of 71 degrees F (23 C). It's time and a half. So, I'm fine with that. Hopefully everyone is at the beach like the rest of my family.



I wish... we're outlawed by the in-laws this end. The beach sounds heaven.


----------



## am_hammy

So far my day has consisted of trying to be positive. Positivity. Friendly disposition.

lemme tell ya it is tough with some of the people that roll up into the store.

but hey, at least the weather is nice ya? =)


----------



## Reichelina

I tried to be productive today. Took my baby schnauzer to the groomers. It's getting hotter here and he hates it. He's now super..bald. Hahaha.

I managed to go over some of my work the next week so I won't need to cram. 
I also have to thank and praise God for my S/O for being so supportive. --blush-- 

Thank God for peanut butter too. Hahaha.


----------



## Kevin

forced friendly disposition image that came to mind. All I can say is hang in there. It's good training for something (I don't know what)


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> forced friendly disposition image that came to mind. All I can say is hang in there. It's good training for something (I don't know what)




not sure where your going with this clip...kinda weird....


----------



## Darkkin

It is finally warm enough to pull out my sundresses!  :cheers:  Just toss on, grab a cardigan, and go!  Colour and motion.  Two of my favourite things.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Darkkin said:


> It is finally warm enough to pull out my sundresses!  :cheers:  Just toss on, grab a cardigan, and go!  Colour and motion.  Two of my favourite things.



Cardigan? 







...HURK! HURK! BLECH! ukel:

Uhg... oh... I don't know what came over me, I just got sick all of a sudden...

My day was nice and calm, as a sunday should be. Now I get to stuff my face and go to sleep.

I do have work tomorrow, but mondays are slow. Hoorah.


----------



## Kevin

> not sure where your going with this clip...


 It was in reply to hammy, we all have  to act a certain way though it's not what we're feeling, required for work, relationships, whatever, put on a chipper face for the public, some jobs more often than others 





> kinda weird....


yes, very weird, from a David Lynch movie. That's probably why it came to me, that so very exaggerated smiley-face. Made me laugh, too.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

It's going to be really warm today. It's my day off. I am planning to schedule a haircut. I'll take pictures.


----------



## midnightpoet

Dang, my last haircut was at least 35 years ago - now when I shave I just keep going.:-D The back of the neck is tricky, though. Back then a haircut was about five bucks - I'm not sure what it is now...I remember when it was a quarter...


----------



## am_hammy

My day will go fantastically 

that's what I'm telling myself . My little Twitter world has gotten more exciting as well and even more so now I'm gaining the motivation back to write again. With the the crap that's been going on in my life recently, I definitely need it.


Here's to an awesome Monday!!


----------



## LeeC

midnightpoet said:


> Dang, my last haircut was at least 35 years ago ...


You must have been hell on headboards


----------



## midnightpoet

well, I meant one I paid for - my wife did it for several years, then I gave up, had her cut it all off and showed off my pate.:-D anyway, I'm not bald - I'm follicly challenged.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

midnightpoet said:


> Dang, my last haircut was at least 35 years ago - now when I shave I just keep going.:-D The back of the neck is tricky, though. Back then a haircut was about five bucks - I'm not sure what it is now...I remember when it was a quarter...



Yeah, I've been cutting my hair for over a year now. I would like a professional cut though to get an even trim. Five? Haha, a QUARTER! What I'd do to go back in time for a steal! It's around $15 - $20 now, figure they get paid by the hour. 



midnightpoet said:


> anyway, I'm not bald - I'm follicly challenged.



I like that! I thought about going bald, but I like my hair. Not too short, not too long. The beard is complimentary.


----------



## Ultraroel

The beard I have is at full capacity and hardly looks like a real beard.. i'm so sad right now 

Last weekend I've been brooding on my story and my bad guys and made some decisions. Wrote 2.5k words in one working day. 
Today was a good day.. tomorrow I'll probably rewrite it all.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Ultraroel said:


> The beard I have is at full capacity and hardly looks like a real beard.. i'm so sad right now



It's imperative to trim occasionally!  




Ultraroel said:


> Last weekend I've been brooding on my story and my bad guys and made some decisions. Wrote 2.5k words in one working day.
> Today was a good day.. tomorrow I'll probably rewrite it all.



Congratulations! Keep up the good work! Write, write, write!


----------



## Ultraroel

Well, if I just let it grow and keep it at that, it looks like it's trimmed, only some stray hairs need removal 

And YES. ever since I started writing 2 months ago, I've had so much fun and gives me so much satisfaction. Even if no-one wants to read my story, I'll be fine with having simply written it.


----------



## aj47

It's raining here.  Flooding.  No school--no work.  So everyone is home.  No book swap this evening so I get to cook dinner instead of eating at the restaurant where the book swap is held.

We're all cozy and safe, but tired.  The thunder cracking, the wind moaning, the trees thrashing about, and the rain pelting the windows has made sleep difficult, so during the lulls people are catching catnaps.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just be safe, OK?


----------



## aj47

The SUN is out.  In brief stints, but they count.  And the waters are receding.  The roads are safe to travel again.  There will be school tomorrow.  And work.

And that means I can get stuff done.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I am getting ready to go into work from midnight to seven in the morning. No, don't worry. It's not Thursday night already. I am working two graveyard shifts this week.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Got a late start, but its okay I guess, got the rest of the week off.   Trying to work on my WIP, have a chapter I need to finish since I've written all around it,  but keeping seeing shiny things that distract me.


----------



## ShadowEyes

Work was work. Applied for jobs, because I want to work somewhere where work isn't just work. Also, talked to Reichelina because she gives me butterflies in my stomach.


----------



## The Green Shield

*So what had The Green Shield done today?*

• Gotten_ so_ into a project (in terms of his job) that he's literally up at 12:46 AM CT working on it!

• Wrote some 1K words or so in his fantasy and sci-fi. Things are a lot easier when one doesn't have rules or restrictions holding back the creativity, he has found.

• ???

• PROFIT!!!!!!


----------



## Yumea

I spent the last three days in hospital, had my second (and hopefully last) operation on my ankle on Monday and was able to go home today. Though I am relieved that everything went well and that I am home already I still feel very weak and am in pain. Pain killers four times a day and more physiotherapy to come once I am allowed to move again. yayayayayy


----------



## Darkkin

Reading back through projects of recent weeks and I'm still wondering how some of that managed to come out of my head...:-k


----------



## The Green Shield

I hate myself. Why? As I outlined in the 'Things That Annoy You' thread:

After watching youtube videos discussing scary urban myths, ghosts and the paranormal, and Victorian post-mortem photos, I'm considerably freaked out and hating myself for my stupid decision. Will I ever learn? No, no I will not because curiosity trumps my logic, and we know what they say about curiosity and that poor kitty.

 So when I go to bed, I'm gonna hope I don't have nightmares about scary hitchhikers with hooked right hands, Elizabeth Short (the Black Daliah; and for God's sake, don't look her up! I saw things I should never have seen...) and dead Victorian children propped up on their parents laps.


----------



## Reichelina

It was okay. I was processing papers for an upcoming business trip. It went well.
I've been trying to breakup with coffee and it's my fourth day without it.... Waaaah! 
Is it worth it? Hmmm. 

No.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I walked home today from school and ended up becoming dehydrated. On top of that I had only got 4 hrs of sleep last night.
I ended up becoming really tired and took a nap, only to wake up even more tired and somewhat disoriented


----------



## The Green Shield

GuitarHiro97 said:


> I walked home today from school and ended up becoming dehydrated. On top of that I had only got 4 hrs of sleep last night.
> I ended up becoming really tired and took a nap, only to wake up even more tired and somewhat disoriented


Yeah, that's your body's way of telling you it needs liquid and _fast_. That's happened to me before.


----------



## Reichelina

My mom saw how my luggage was packed and she decided to repack my stuff. 
I swear I planned to do it myself but she beat me to it. Hihi.
I will probably go through it once again to check if I can lessen my load. 
(Culture fact: relatives and friends EXPECT me to bring home stuff only bought there. I need the space for dates and chocolates. Heh!) 


Ate a lot, preserving the food in my system (like a camel)so I can save money there and not need to eat! Lol. Spent time with my SO for I shall miss him very much, you know from 24/7 texting and talking, it will now be 23/7 hahahahahah! That matters! 

Took my baby schnauzer out for a walk. That boy ignored me last night! 
He 'knows' mummy is going away for a while and well, he's giving me the silent treatment.

Spent the rest of the day trying to sleep and to relax. 
Maybe do 1-2 pushups. (Not sets, but repetitions! Lol) 

And finally, pondered how God can surprise you with the things He has in store for you. 

Hmmmm.
I wish I get to see ANY butterfly tomorrow.


----------



## The Green Shield

Something just occurred to me: with post-Mortem photography being popular during Victorian times... How do you know if the people posed in those photographs were really alive at the time the picture was taken??


----------



## Sleepwriter

Started in a major funk.  Had to dig deeper into my bag of tricks than usual to get out of it.  I think some of it is due to having to go back to work tomorrow. I did manage to finish a chapter in my WIP I'd been avoiding.


----------



## Reichelina

Atm. Before I switch airplane mode on. 
--nervous--


----------



## Sleepwriter

Reichelina said:


> Atm. Before I switch airplane mode on.
> --nervous--



remember to keep your knee out of the aisle when the drink cart comes by.


----------



## am_hammy

Pretty decent so far. Getting the oil changed in my car at the moment. Yesterday was lovely and relaxing. Went out to a lovely place called Peddler's Village.

I've been jotting down ideas for my blog and finally decided on the name, just gotta pick the best website for it. It's turning to be a good Monday so far ^_^


----------



## Aquilo

Today, not too bad. Friday went to London on the train and spent an hour and a half standing, gripping on for life. Feels like I'm now fully qualified in the art of pole dancing... Maybe not, lol...


----------



## Darkkin

Just cleared another bar.  Forty poems for the month, looking for forty-five...:distant:


----------



## Tealynn

Spent 10 minutes arguing with a nurse (or quite possibly her "stick") as to whether I am 5'5 1/2 inches tall (according to "the stick") or 5'7 1/2 inches tall. I am in fact 67 and 1/2 inches tall - but when I tried to tell her this - she told me (rather snarkily) that the "stick" was never wrong. So I responded (possibly in a matching snarky tone) that IF I had in fact shrunk 2 inches in the past 6 months, I needed to cancel my appt. and head to a bone specialist because I had much bigger issues to deal with than a painful foot. She shut the exam room door in my face.


----------



## Darkkin

One to go.


----------



## Yumea

Tired tired tired tired. Lonely lonely lonely lonely. More tired.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Just a quick reminder. I am going into work tonight. Heading off to take a nap now. Work from 11 PM to 7 AM. All messages will be responded by the next morning.  

In case you want a visual, imagine Post-It notes with prices. I hang about 2,000 over a normal Thursday night. Aprox. 15+ aisles. 





The sale depicted in the picture I found online ... indicates that it's a qualifying item for gas points. Every $1 = 1 point. Every 100 points is 10 cents off your gas. Unless you participate in these sales, you don't have to spend as much to receive 30 cents off your gas per gallon.


----------



## blipsycat1

Horrible. My facebook page has been permanently blocked. That means I have lost contact PERMANENTLY with EVERY single person I ever considered a friend. My life is over. I have lost everything that means anything to me.


----------



## Yumea

I have had horribly vivid nightmares the past few nights so now I'm a sleep-deprived mess. Also I have to reduce the pain killers which makes moving even more difficult. On a positive note: My best friend is coming to stay with me over the weekend. Girly weekend, yay! In our case this means lots of unhealthy food and video games.


----------



## dither

Yumea said:


> Tired tired tired tired. Lonely lonely lonely lonely. More tired.



Yeah, me to, but i'm in my 60s, i'm entitled.


----------



## dither

I lie for hours, curled up on my bed. Fully clothed, i don't even kick off my house-slippers. I have my old Snorkel Parka on, zipped right up to my chin. There, i while away so much of my life in my very own private world of nothingness. Take me out of the work routine and i'm lost.
What is wrong with me?

I'm bored but i want nothing. Even my senses have lost interest. There are no desires to see hear smell touch feel, nothing. But left alone, i'm okay, really. Ish.


----------



## dither

Aquilo said:


> Today, not too bad. Friday went to London on the train and spent an hour and a half standing, gripping on for life. Feels like I'm now fully qualified in the art of pole dancing... Maybe not, lol...
> 
> 
> View attachment 13461



How do you feel about travelling to and through London Aquilo? The very thought frightens the life out of me.


----------



## Sleepwriter

I swear I ran into myself going to work as I came home from work.


----------



## Schrody

After a few stressful days, relieved.


----------



## midnightpoet

I'm back (woowoo, right?).  Internet out since Monday, just now got it back.  I can see nobody missed me.:icon_cheesygrin:
Anyway, traumatic days;  It turned out the dish was blown in the wrong direction by a hard wind - which I told them but they didn't believe me.  It's good to be right for a change.  We decided to get Dish, kept the old internet provider.  Both  the dish guy and the internet guy were here at the same time - what a circus.  Actually the whole week was a comedy of errors.  

I hope everyone has a better day than me.  :razz:


----------



## H.Brown

Well Im having a better day than the last two after suddenly being made redundant from my job on wednesday, having no internet for a month but today I got my internet back and I got WF back so I feel better today. Nice to have you back Midnightpoet it sucks when internet leaves you high and dry.


----------



## Schrody

midnightpoet said:


> I'm back (woowoo, right?).  Internet out since Monday, just now got it back.  I can see nobody missed me.:icon_cheesygrin:
> Anyway, traumatic days;  It turned out the dish was blown in the wrong direction by a hard wind - which I told them but they didn't believe me.  It's good to be right for a change.  We decided to get Dish, kept the old internet provider.  Both  the dish guy and the internet guy were here at the same time - what a circus.  Actually the whole week was a comedy of errors.
> 
> I hope everyone has a better day than me.  :razz:



I know how you feel about the Internet thing. Glad you're back! 



H.Brown said:


> Well Im having a better day than the last two after suddenly being made redundant from my job on wednesday, having no internet for a month but today I got my internet back and I got WF back so I feel better today. Nice to have you back Midnightpoet it sucks when internet leaves you high and dry.



My longest period was a month or two without it. Good to have you back too!


----------



## H.Brown

Thank you, its amazing how much you need the internet for these days.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

You young whippersnappers have it good. Back in my day we didn't have the internet. We were forced to watch TV and listen to music on the radio. Then they made us walk eighteen miles to school with rocks on our backs. It was terrible... terrible


----------



## H.Brown

I bet it was luckily there was not eighteen milesnin my whole town when I went to school but I also had to listen to the radio and just watch tv with five channels. The horrendous thing was we were made to play outside in the mud...traumatic


----------



## Sonata

Back in my day we did not have a television, and when we eventually got one there was only one channel - which closed down at 10pm.


----------



## Schrody

H.Brown said:


> Thank you, its amazing how much you need the internet for these days.



So very true.



mrmustard615 said:


> You young whippersnappers have it good. Back in my day we didn't have the internet. We were forced to watch TV and listen to music on the radio. Then they made us walk eighteen miles to school with rocks on our backs. It was terrible... terrible



I bet you even used Abacus for doing math :lol:


----------



## H.Brown

Sonata said:


> Back in my day we did not have a television, and when we eventually got one there was only one channel - which closed down at 10pm.



That sounds rough now but I suppose back then it was normal, I bet you got loads of fresh air though.


----------



## Sonata

H.Brown said:


> That sounds rough now but I suppose back then it was normal, I bet you got loads of fresh air though.



Plenty - and it was lovely clean fresh air as well.  But not having television was not rough as what you never know you never miss.

[I think I am beginning to sound old!]


----------



## Kevin

Crap... crappiest. No, not crappiest, not nearly. No one died. Also, there was no traffic. Coffee was good. None of the openings fit. One step forward, two steps back, but at least we know how to fix them, at least we think so.

 Jr. made a funny last night: "... So the guy asks me if I know the Ten Commandments. I said I knew the 2nd Amendment. He laughed, but really it was because I hadn't heard him right..."

Later, I made a funny: 
She: How much are getting for that contract?
Me: Uhmm...
She: What are you going to do with the money?
Me: What I always do: Horses, hookers; cocaine...
She: Not funny 
She then flips over, facing the other way. 

Hyuuuuuhhhh-dear. Like always, we're going to do whatever she says.


----------



## H.Brown

Sonata said:


> Plenty - and it was lovely clean fresh air as well.  But not having television was not rough as what you never know you never miss.
> 
> [I think I am beginning to sound old!]



With age comes wisdom  and so very true.


----------



## Schrody

Kevin said:


> Crap... crappiest. No, not crappiest, not nearly. No one died. Also, there was no traffic. Coffee was good. None of the openings fit. One step forward, two steps back, but at least we know how to fix them, at least we think so.
> 
> Jr. made a funny last night: "... So the guy asks me if I know the Ten Commandments. I said I knew the 2nd Amendment. He laughed, but really it was because I hadn't heard him right..."
> 
> Later, I made a funny:
> She: How much are getting for that contract?
> Me: Uhmm...
> She: What are you going to do with the money?
> Me: What I always do: Horses, hookers; cocaine...
> She: Not funny
> She then flips over, facing the other way.
> 
> Hyuuuuuhhhh-dear. Like always, we're going to do whatever she says.



Pfft. Women. :roll:


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Schrody said:


> Pfft. Women. :roll:



Unless I'm mistaken, I seem to recall something about you belonging to that species. B}

Oh, I should actually read the thread title. 

MY DAY WAS FANTASTIC. Work was a breeze and passed quickly. 

Now, exciting events are happening that have the most juice pumping through my glands since I beat my huge friend at wrestling in front of everyone at a party!


----------



## EllaLouis

I don't know if bragging is cool here. But just send me to Coventry over this, I have to tell you I completed NaPoWriMo -- a poem a day written in April. Aaaaaand, even if I thought I was above that kind of stuff, I am veeeery excited to think I will now win a medal. Not sure I ever did before.


----------



## H.Brown

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Unless I'm mistaken, I seem to recall something about you belonging to that species. B}



Thats why we as women say these things as not all women are the same


----------



## H.Brown

EllaLouis said:


> I don't know if bragging is cool here. But just send me to Coventry over this, I have to tell you I completed NaPoWriMo -- a poem a day written in April. Aaaaaand, even if I thought I was above that kind of stuff, I am veeeery excited to think I will now win a medal. Not sure I ever did before.



Well done and congratulations.  thats amazing will keep my fingers crossed for you.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

H.Brown said:


> Thats why we as women say these things as not all women are the same



Wait.... they're not?

*HUGE GASP*

CHANGE THE HISTORY BOOKS! THE LOVE STORIES! THE POETRY! WE'VE BEEN WRONG THIS WHOLE TIME!


----------



## EllaLouis

yeah -- SOME women, I ask you!


----------



## Sonata

Sorry - I posted on the wrong thread.


----------



## Schrody

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Unless I'm mistaken, I seem to recall something about you belonging to that species. B}
> 
> Oh, I should actually read the thread title.
> 
> MY DAY WAS FANTASTIC. Work was a breeze and passed quickly.
> 
> Now, exciting events are happening that have the most juice pumping through my glands since I beat my huge friend at wrestling in front of everyone at a party!





H.Brown said:


> Thats why we as women say these things as not all women are the same










Don't be so lightly offended...


----------



## EllaLouis

Sonata said:


> Sorry - I posted on the wrong thread.



Story of my life.


----------



## TJ1985

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Unless I'm mistaken, I seem to recall something about you belonging to that species. B}



Doesn't matter Crowl, it really doesn't. For example, I've heard women offer each other a polite comment "No, you don't want those jeans, they make your ass look massive." and no blood was shed. 

But the poo hit the propeller when I nodded in agreement with her! 

Some people. Kind, polite, no-strings-attached help, and it's thrown back at you forcefully and violently. In my defense... The jeans did give her the general look of two satellite dishes arguing for channel control, but I'm not sure if that's because of the jeans or something else. At the time it seemed really hazardous to ask for a clarifying factiod on that front, er, back. 

Sad day when you can't help a stranger with a polite nod.


----------



## Darkkin

It has been an interesting couple of days.  Went to a meeting of one of my area critique groups, (one that I have been attending since undergrad...These folks know me, quirks and all...).  As it is sponsored by the university, it is open to all students, staff, and alumni.  Usually we have between nine and fifteen people in attendance, so it is a fairly well rounded group.  Last night we had several new attendees, including the undergrad student, who was expelled for plagiarism of my _Star Socks Fox_ villanelle sequence.  There were murmurs, but even expelled, she still qualified as alumni, so keep an open mind and play by the rules...If wishes were horses.

I've dealt with bullies and trolls before.  And life has given me a very tough shell.  Unfortunately, like most armor, there are chinks.  Mine, being my intelligence.  She went straight for me right out of the gate.  Not to put to fine a point on things, she called me an illiterate spaghetti flinging hack in front of a room full of my peers and former professors.  And yes, I know my style is unique, a multitangent narrative told in schemed verse, but my forms are solid and my content, while whimsical, is well developed.

According to this verbal 'critique' my pieces, because they contained no viable metaphors or set meter, could not be construed as poetry, yet neither were they prose.  Being gibberish about nothing, well, then they must be nothing.  So why was I even bothering to try and write...so forth and so on.  This is an open forum critique group, round table so everyone gets their five minutes in the limelight.  And she brought three of her friends, still current students, with her.  They each sought their pound of flesh, as well.  The founder of the group called a halt to proceedings when it became clear what these students were there to do.  Genuine critique I can deal with, but outright malice is something else entirely.  I fought for my work and ended disrupting a talented group of writers.  

Thirteen months of work.  Including forty-five pieces for NaPoem reduced to three words.  Just destroy them.  So according to this verbal critique, I should not qualify for completion of the National Poetry Month competition, as I have never actually written anything except gibberish.

I asked why I needed to destroy my work.  She didn't have an answer.  Although, I really would like to know the reasoning behind why complete erasure of my work would make anything better or worse.  I will not destroy my work, even if it is nothing because I know a few kids who are fond of Star and Violet.  If I don't speak for them, who will?  Some battles you win, some you have to weather.

Sorry about the illiterate, spaghetti strewn rant.

- D. and T.

On a brighter note, I got a nice walk with Rue Dog in.  :fox:


----------



## Kevin

I feel... outrage. Appalling. Too bad you didn't have backup: "My goodness. I feel as though I've just witnessed utter petty vindictive jealousy... gone to its limits. What a shameful display, Ladies. And in front of all of us. How sad, and little."


----------



## LeeC

@Darkkin
There's an excess of insecurity and ignorance in this world, which coupled with low tolerance makes for most of our problems. Yeah it gets old, and even after all these years can anger me, but I tend to get over it as you did hopefully. That is in paying more attention to my canine companion.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Attacking the work of someone you plagiarised. Inconsistent is one word for it, I can think of others.


----------



## EllaLouis

Hey then Beowulf and Hiawatha aren't poems either.
Balderdash!!


----------



## Deleted member 56686

I would have asked her if your work was so bad, why did she choose your work to plagiarize for a grade? Don't let her get to you. Your uniqueness is what makes you a great writer.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Sprained my wrist.  one-handed or two, the yard must get mowed.


----------



## Darkkin

My hometown is large enough where avoiding her isn't a major issue.  I'm just PO'ed that she brought her issues to a usually insightful and productive gathering.  And if there is one thing gnomes learn early on, it's not to troll bait.  I left and the trolls followed.  As campus isn't very far from my house, maybe a couple of miles, I walk if the weather is nice and on days like that Rue goes, too.  

Due to compromised cardiac function, I'm not allowed to wander without him.  He knows when things are off with me, don't know how he knows, but he does.  He is the one line she has not tried to cross.  Generally, Rue is a sunny souled ham, who insists on shaking hands err..paws upon introduction.  

Rue has been with me five and a half years and in all that time I have never seen him exhibit such open apathy toward anyone.  No overt aggression, he is too well trained for that, but just a consistent low level warning rumble.  I trust Rue more than anything on this earth, so I'm a bit worried.  There are just a couple weeks left of classes before the gestation population, (the students from all three colleges), leave for the summer.  The troll mimicker will be among that number.

I have a couple classes I've registered for that start June first, so hopefully things will be back to normal in a few weeks.  I'm not letting a cheater take anything else...I miss being invisible...(In plain sight, but unnoticed...).  :lone:


----------



## midnightpoet

Sounds like you're being bullied.  All the rage these days, sadly.  I had that problem more than once - I wrote about one in the non-fiction challenge, but I had a few at the office.  One salesman, who thought he had a V.P. in his back pocket was one.  Don't let them get to you.  Stay strong, if it gets bad enough go to the police or hire a lawyer.  Toxic people, I avoid.


----------



## Darkkin

Campus security knows about the issue, and I went to school with a number of the officers on the local police force.  And I think it was more of a public shaming she was aiming for.  After all, she only got caught because she decided to present the _Star Sock Fox _villanelles at the semi-annual poetry slam.  What she didn't count on was the fact that I know better than to react and that folks in the group knew about the situation.  She was given the benefit of the doubt and proved beyond all doubt, her reasons for attending and it wasn't to further her writing skill, unless it was to hone the edges of an acid pen.

One of the benefits of face to face critique is we have the ability to question and counter critique...  

I asked why I should have to destroy my words about nothing, as they were nothing more than nothing, therefore causing her no harm, and by the inherent virtue of their nature actual didn't even exist since nothing by definition is nothing and therefore does not exist in a quantifiable construct.  She didn't have a reply, so her friend stepped up to the plate to take a swing.  It was about that time the professor called a halt to the proceedings.  

Knowing how the session would go if I stayed, I packed up and headed for the door.  Rue started growling, so I looked back and lo and behold, there were all four new attendees...following.  It took them a few seconds to realize I had the dog with me and they backed off.  Rue isn't large by any means, but there is something about him that makes people pay attention.  When they paused, he stopped growling and started for the door again.  We got home just fine, so I hope this will be the end of it.  

I made sure to change my email back at the start of all this and thankfully my cell has always been unlisted, so there is a limit to amount of actual trolling she has been able to achieve.  The fact that I'm also seldom on social media has negated some of it, too.


----------



## LeeC

The wife was having something like this for lunch, telling me she was on a Paleo diet. I know better than to question.


----------



## Sonata

LeeC said:


> The wife was having something like this for lunch, telling me she was on a Paleo diet. I know better than to question.
> 
> View attachment 13527



After the disasters I have had today, I could quite fancy something like that!


----------



## dither

LeeC said:


> The wife was having something like this for lunch, telling me she was on a Paleo diet. I know better than to question.
> 
> View attachment 13527



Looks good to me mate, mind if i pull up a chair?


----------



## Sleepwriter

LeeC said:


> The wife was havbrontosaurs.g like this for lunch, telling me she was on a Paleo diet. I know better than to question.
> 
> View attachment 13527



Needs more cheese and some hunks of brontosaurus.


----------



## escorial

went the gym earlier and my cross trainer was facing a large mirror..halfway into my hour i got this pain in my arm then it spread to my chest and i looked in the mirror and said..so this is how it ends.....


----------



## The Green Shield

escorial said:


> went the gym earlier and my cross trainer was facing a large mirror..halfway into my hour i got this pain in my arm then it spread to my chest and i looked in the mirror and said..so this is how it ends.....



Be careful, Escorial. We can't afford to lose you.


----------



## LeeC

@ escorial 

Hopefully not for you young man


----------



## aj47

The Green Shield said:


> Be careful, Escorial. We can't afford to lose you.



What he said.


----------



## escorial

keith richards was told by two doctors if he diddn't curb his ways he'd be dead soon..he outlived both of them..ha


----------



## Kevin

So wth was it? Angina?


----------



## aj47

Kevin said:


> So wth was it? Angina?



Reminds me of a joke....the man took his wife to the doctor cuz she was having chest pains.  The doctor told him, "Sir, your wife has acute angina."  He says, "I know Doc, but what's wrong with her?"


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> So wth was it? Angina?



kebab..ha


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 13536

Rainy day reads with Rue Dog.


----------



## Darkkin

Put in a hell of a lot of effort and it counts for about as much as a shrug...Oh,well.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

My day hasnt even started yet and its already down the drain.  I went to bed really late cos of a project and not 2 hours later theres a gigantic storm thats supposed to last till after 6AM

I want to cry


----------



## Olly Buckle

GuitarHiro97 said:


> My day hasnt even started yet and its already down the drain.  I went to bed really late cos of a project and not 2 hours later theres a gigantic storm thats supposed to last till after 6AM
> 
> I want to cry



You are young, you can call up reserves to get you through the day, tonight you will sleep well, tomorrow will be better


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Olly Buckle said:


> You are young, you can call up reserves to get you through the day, tonight you will sleep well, tomorrow will be better


Tomorrow, i have a huge physics exam that i havent studied for cos of the previously mentioned project.  My teacher, who assigned the project, sees nothing wrong with this. Apparently her class, an elective, is much more important than college credit.

I'm too tired to be mad


----------



## Olly Buckle

GuitarHiro97 said:


> Tomorrow, i have a huge physics exam that i havent studied for cos of the previously mentioned project.  My teacher, who assigned the project, sees nothing wrong with this. Apparently her class, an elective, is much more important than college credit.
> 
> I'm too tired to be mad



So be sure to get the early night so you are on top of it tomorrow, good luck!!


----------



## Sleepwriter

About like losing a boot in a mud puddle, and having another mile to go.


----------



## Darkkin

Wiped in its entirety, and for whatever the reason, sometimes cartoons help life make sense.  Rereading _Harry Potter _doesn't hurt either.


----------



## LeeC

I received an email from a Obi-Spiritual Kenobi and am wondering if it's an alien culture.


----------



## Sleepwriter

So far I'd rather be pulling teeth from an angry alligator.  Today it appears, just call me Anti-Midas.


----------



## Tealynn

My 7th graders are reading silently. Well. 16 out of 17, the ONE not silent keeps sucking snot back up his nose! I am barely able to control myself. I offered him tissues, he was like, "No thanks." And looked at me like I was out of my mind! Getting close...


----------



## aj47

I wrote a review of "12 Angry Men" for my Legal Aspects of the Entertainment Industry class.  And e-mailed it because I forgot to take it to class with me.  The instructor commented back in e-mail, "you can WRITE!" (well duh!) and exempted me from the final while he was in my inbox because my average is above 100%.

Annnd ... I got my royalty check from Griffin Education Solutions for "The Power of Nothing" and they're doing a run of 1500 CDs instead of 1000, I got 1.5x what I thought I was getting.

Today is a good day to be me.


----------



## Plasticweld

Seldom do I get bummed out.  I do marriage counseling for those who are part of a Christian motorcycle group.  Today I spent time with one of the Chaplains of the group who is going through martial problems.  It is tough to be a Chaplain for another Chaplain.  A good guy, married a long time, I am good friends with both he and  his wife.  Some how it is much easier when you are not personal friends with the guy going through stuff that is ripping them apart when offering help and counseling. 

I would pretty much classify myself as bullet proof, but today the wind isn't filling up the sails the way it normally does.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Glad to be home, drove a thousand miles in last 24 hours.


----------



## Darkkin

Tripped over the cat last night and went headlong into the kitchen gate, (both dogs are kept in the kitchen when no one is home).  Ended up with goose egg on my forehead, a black eye, broken glasses, and a bruised wrist...Managed to fix my glasses, but the rest has been a pain to explain...:disturbed:


----------



## Yumea

Every day is the same. Recovery is going slow. Can't go out. Most of the time I'm annoyed with myself, lol.


----------



## LeeC

A beautiful day so I wheeled outside
Attacked by clouds of bloodthirsty black flies
Oh they were always unwelcome guests
Rampant now with biodiversity disruptions
Where have all the birds bats and spiders gone
Cycles of Nature when will we learn


----------



## Reichelina

Woke up late for my brunch bonding but earlier than I desired.
Ate egyptian food today which is fantastic.
It's fun learning other cultures and learning behaviours. 

Today, my Egyptian friend, when asked how many girls he had, told us..

"None. I am saving myself. I want all my "likes" and "loves" to be reserved for my future wife." 

This made me "awwww". 

Now, I am watching GoT S6E3.


----------



## aj47

Went to the mall.  Made two discoveries.  Teavana the store is ... not as much fun as Teavana the Web site.  And my daughter has a 34H chest.  No mall store carries bras in that size.  Not at this mall anyway. 

ETA:  That's US cup size H; UK cup size is FF.  According to the online sources.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I made guacamole. My dad, the house chef, waited until my mother tried some. Then he goes, "Wow, that's _not bad_."


----------



## aj47

My computer updated itself to Windows 10 without asking me.  In the middle of the night.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

They tried to do it to me a couple weeks ago. I had to take it off my update queue where it had planted itself without my knowledge. I do have Windows 10 on the new laptop I bought as a backup in case this one goes down. I guess it takes getting used to but I think I like the 8.1 better.


----------



## PiP

astroannie said:


> My computer updated itself to Windows 10 without asking me.  In the middle of the night.



I've been out for the evening and returned home to find my computer updating itself with windows 10. Naturally hubby got it in the neck because i thought he had inadvertently clicked on the upgrade pop-up. I will now need to eat humble pie ...

Annie, did you lose any data?



mrmustard615 said:


> They tried to do it to me a couple weeks ago. I had to take it off my update queue where it had planted itself without my knowledge. I do have Windows 10 on the new laptop I bought as a backup in case this one goes down. I guess it takes getting used to but I think I like the 8.1 better.



Thanks, Musty. I'll see if I can find the update queue. I've only recently upgraded my PC to Windows 7 Professional from XP. Cost me a flipping fortune.


----------



## Sleepwriter

PiP said:


> I've been out for the evening and returned home to find my computer updating itself with windows 10. Naturally hubby got it in the neck because i thought he had inadvertently clicked on the upgrade pop-up. I will now need to eat humble pie ...
> 
> Annie, did you lose any data?
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks, Musty. I'll see if I can find the update queue. I've only recently upgraded my PC to Windows 7 Professional from XP. Cost me a flipping fortune.




I won't give up my windows XP until they pry it from my cold dead hard drive.


----------



## Phil Istine

Honestly, I would still be using Win 98SE if I could.  It was their last OS where re-formatting (with the appropriate floppy disc) wasn't a ballache.  No restoring, no 'hidden' partitions - just good, honest start again from scratch (with files backed-up elsewhere of course).


----------



## Tealynn

Mowed my yard. Then my neighbors - only because my lawnmower decided NOT to shut off when I was finished. Had to run it out of gas... Got my exercise.


----------



## LeeC

Speaking of mowing, I was  sorely embarrassed today. When I finished the lawn and the front pasture, I stopped the lawn tractor in front of the garage to fill up before putting it away. Getting back on the tractor the engine started fine, but forward nor reverse would engage. Not seeing any brush caught underneath, dangling parts, nor knowing what else to do I called a repairman who said he'd be around in a couple days. 

A little  while later when the wife came back in, she asked if the problem had anything to do with "the park lever thingy." Sure enough park was engaged. I have trouble getting on and off even this small tractor with my canes, and my foot must have hit the park lever engaging it. It was embarrassing calling back the repairman, a friend, and letting him know the wife had solved the problem.


----------



## TJ1985

LeeC said:


> Speaking of mowing, I was  sorely embarrassed today. When I finished the lawn and the front pasture, I stopped the lawn tractor in front of the garage to fill up before putting it away. Getting back on the tractor the engine started fine, but forward nor reverse would engage. Not seeing any brush caught underneath, dangling parts, nor knowing what else to do I called a repairman who said he'd be around in a couple days.
> 
> A little  while later when the wife came back in, she asked if the problem had anything to do with "the park lever thingy." Sure enough park was engaged. I have trouble getting on and off even this small tractor with my canes, and my foot must have hit the park lever engaging it. It was embarrassing calling back the repairman, a friend, and letting him know the wife had solved the problem.



I had a somewhat similar situation with a piece of junk chainsaw. Trust me, it's far less embarrassing to make a call than to have the guy get all the way to you to discover a small oversight.


----------



## Tealynn

Volunteered to be our Thursday school monitor (punishment for kids - they stay after till 5:30 and do school work - in theory) Student had his head down trying to nap - I told him he needed to wake up and get his work done. He says, "Well, this isn't any fun at all." 

Um, yeah...
Love the kids! 8 more days with them!


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Captain America goes to my school


----------



## aj47

Here is where Microsoft allegedly tells you how to disable the auto-upgrade to Win10:  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3095675  I got the link from Consumer Reports so it's probably as correct as it gets.

ETA:  You get 30 days to revert:  http://www.howtogeek.com/220723/how-to-uninstall-windows-10-and-downgrade-to-windows-7-or-8.1/


----------



## Darkkin

Second day home, first day on my feet so I decided to jump back into the swing of things.  My bi-weekly critique group was scheduled to meet at the campus library this afternoon, so I decided to go.  After a week of the monotony of AC, I needed to feel the wind, the touch of the sun (even through 50 spf sunscreen)...It is only a mile or so from my house, much of the path shaded by huge old trees.  It was like coming back to life, warm, breathing air swirling around my knees, birds twittering, and the whisper of maple seeds as they flew on the afternoon wind.  The clink of dog tags, just the sheer, familiar peace of home.

Being out of action for a week, I wasn't allowed access to my computer and my phone was at home.  I was limited to intermittent use of my tablet, so I wasn't able to get word out to the members of my group to let them know I was all right.  Many of the members, I've known since undergrad and usually see several times a week outside of critique group, but only a couple of them knew about my HFHC.  The disease is a part of me, not a defining characteristic of who I am and I preferred to keep it that way.  But my attack last week was severe.

Usually I get a little warning before things go sideways.  Rue alerted in time, but this episode took me out far faster than any I've had previously.  They've gotten things adjusted and under control for the time being, but it took some doing, including the insertion of a central line...:uncomfortableness:  I've missed the mendacity of my routine and apparently so have those whose paths intersect it...

When I walked into the library I got blindsided by a bear hug that lifted me off my feet.  So many people were talking at once...It was a little freaky being at the center of a storm of attention.  I'm good at being invisible, or at least, I had assumed I was good at being invisible.  Not so much, apparently.  They gave me a stirring rendition of _Spamalot's __Not Dead Yet!_ before things settled down enough for our professor to call us to order.  Silence reigned, and thankfully nobody voiced the question I had yet to answer, and answer it I did with the essay I had written.

Nonfiction writing is something I rarely do because I seldom have anything worth saying, but this was a secret I have carried for more than a decade.  HFHC 1.2, a disease that is invisible, silent, and chronic.  Looking at me, you wouldn't have been able to tell there was anything off.  Sure, I've always been on the small side, but I wasn't breakable.  I take a tumble, I always get back up and plunge right back into life.  The scars on my left leg have remained hidden, as have those from my valve replacement surgery.  My central line, not so much.  It is tegadermed just below my collarbone.

It was time I shared the journey I have made, a journey that still has many miles remaining.  But I don't make it alone.  Rue goes with me now in an official capacity.  I have two feet, two hands, and head that all work just fine.  It is my heart that struggles to keep pace.  For now I take it one step at a time, facing each day as it comes.  I know I'm not a distinguished writer, but one thing I can lend is a voice for those who suffer from diseases and conditions like HFHC, conditions that aren't readily apparent, yet have such a profound effect on every day life.

So I guess that makes my day all right.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Wrote 2000 words today. I've been going at that pace for a little while now. I feel fulfilled. : D


----------



## Boofy

Summer has officially begun! I'm getting impatient for that small opening in England's rain calendar where it's possible to have a decent barbecue with my friends. The weather owes me a do over on last years flooded hot dogs. ;-;

My feelings for the next 12 weeks can be summarised perfectly in the following sentence: "NO COURSEWORK UNTIL SEPTEMBER! Woo!"


----------



## Sleepwriter

Boofy said:


> Summer has officially begun! I'm getting impatient for that small opening in England's rain calendar where it's possible to have a decent barbecue with my friends. The weather owes me a do over on last years flooded hot dogs. ;-;
> 
> My feelings for the next 12 weeks can be summarised perfectly in the following sentence: "NO COURSEWORK UNTIL SEPTEMBER! Woo!"



A large golf umbrella will keep you and the dogs dry while barbecuing.


----------



## Boofy

I have a brolly that might cover the dogs, just about... But then what will keep me dry?! You haven't seen my hair after it rains, SW! They don't call me Boofy for nothin' 

Besides, everyone knows that a little sunshine makes the food taste better!


----------



## The Green Shield

Boofy said:


> Summer has officially begun! I'm getting impatient for that small opening in England's rain calendar where it's possible to have a decent barbecue with my friends. The weather owes me a do over on last years flooded hot dogs. ;-;
> 
> My feelings for the next 12 weeks can be summarised perfectly in the following sentence: "NO COURSEWORK UNTIL SEPTEMBER! Woo!"


Enjoy yourself!

I'm at the vet with my dog for his annual checkup. Aaaaand my job starts this Friday.


----------



## am_hammy

My day.... Well everyone that has come into the store has had an attitude and my feet have been hurting more and more every day. On the flip side, I've started eating better again so I'm proud of the choices I've been making. Overall my attitude at work has been better and it doesn't make  me as anxious at the moment to think about so that's progress.

still need to find a new job though :mrgreen:


----------



## Darkkin

It is truly amazing how high one can fly when the other shoe finally drops!  Overall, an awesome day.  ride:


----------



## Sleepwriter

My co workers are dropping like 3day old flies.  Some respiratory funk is going round.  I need a Lysol drip behind my fan to keep their bugs away. Might need to wear a respirator the rest of the week.


----------



## Reichelina

Do you know that thing that makes you want to cry without any reason? 
I call it PMS. 

So my day is bad. 
Bad.
Night, folks.


----------



## aj47

It's been a hard last couple of weeks.  The day my windows upgraded itself I thought was pretty bad, but it rapidly escalated.  I won't share the details, but my best friend lost her father, twice.  And .... someone close to me mowed over a bunny by accident.  I over-hydrated and had medical issues related to that and ... other stuff.

I think it's winding down, but dayum. I have been reading the forum a lot on my tablet so doing a lot of short posts (if at all).  Crit and original work waits till I get back on the computer and often I'm just too wiped.


----------



## The Green Shield

Today's my first day at my part-time job! 

I'll be getting the orientation and scheduling set up! Woo!!


----------



## TJ1985

The Green Shield said:


> Today's my first day at my part-time job!
> 
> I'll be getting the orientation and scheduling set up! Woo!!



Congratulations! 

I just pulled the trigger on a BIG (by my standards and budget) purchase toward my future. If I'm successful in my plans, I'll be sitting pretty. If unsuccessful, I'll probably be dead, literally and figuratively. I despise debt as much as I despise gnats but in this instance I really see no alternate options if I continue to do what I have been doing in the same exact way I've been doing it. I justify it by using the old idiom "to make a good omelet you must break a few eggs". I sincerely hope that this works out to be more yolk than shell. No pressure for me, aside from a long-term bill that will be tough to repay if I don't hit the incoming ball high and hard. Yeah, no pressure...


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Just got off work really early. Time to start the weekend. : D


----------



## Thaumiel

Finished my degree.


----------



## Darkkin

Congrats.


----------



## am_hammy

They were shredding shrubs outside this morning but I didn't let that stop me from doing some Yoga.

I've been having increasing problems with my knees and feet that last two months or so, and while I can't do everything Yoga has to offer, it's still been helping me immensely. In my attitude and how my body feels over all so that's something!

Have to be off at work today. I'm closing, which is never fun. However, I am closing with someone I really like being around so I'm actually looking forward to it. It's also nice to have that relaxed feeling knowing that the person you're working with knows what they are doing.

I'm one step closer to creating my blog too! I think I have the site picked out that I want, just gotta finalized my domain name and hosting and I can start creating my site! Super exciting stuff.

I'm also looking forward to the weekend as I have off on Sunday and Monday for memorial day. I can't remember the last time I had off for it so that should be really nice.

Overall, I've been feeling positive with all the other crap that's been going on in my life. It's refreshing and I'm trying so that counts for something.


----------



## Reichelina

This can also go to the TOTALLY POINTLESS POSTS and POST A FUNNY PICTURE. But this happened to me today. Same client. Same procedure. Same feeling. 

--huhu--


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Another day and another 2000 words.


----------



## KThoughts

Polishing some chapters, listening to Entre Dos Aguas (Paco De Lucia) played by Ben Woods and having a nice weather here.... I am actually quite happy today


----------



## escorial

might go and see an exhibition of Francis Bacon at The Tate later...


----------



## Tealynn

Dug sea urchin spines out of my daughter's foot.


----------



## Kevin

Made another foray into the ancient art of plumbing. As old as 3rd millennium Mesopotamia, I removed a Bronze Age era valve (no iron) from behind a layer of smooth polished limestone ( either Italian or possibly from the Anatolian plain) after consulting with archeologists at the local hardware, I'd purchased numerous specialized tools and some aftermarket repair pieces.
 Neeedless to say, there were flaws in one of the original valves(cheaper Median labor perhaps?) and the other had a screw snap off inside it so after reconstructing the both I was forced to abandon them both and purchase two new reproductions... 5 trips back and forth to the store and now all that is left is to finish scraping out the old silicone caulk with anti- micobial additives that everyone had warned will fail, or should one say never fail to grow a fresh crop of black mildew in the next three to five years. Thank goodness we are more modern now with all sorts of modern technology. 

By the way I still dislike plumbing though i now have a deeper understanding of why: second 'easy' do it yourselfer, second five to eight bour ordeal. 

Maintaining the castle is quite a hastle. 

So after, i was still able to marinade and tenderize four chicken breasts with live yogurt and make it to the bar-b-que ( oh whatever, I'm on my phone...) . Highlights were discussions ranging  from someone leaving either pee on or the G.D. seat up, now that everyone is allowed to disregard signage denoting gender on the bathroom doors, to one woman telling me how we should round up all the homeless, screen them, separate the loonies and lock them up in mental institutions, send the druggies to rehab for  one year whereby they either clean up, and get a job , or go to jail, and require the third catagory, the layabouts, to also either work or face jail. 


I pointed out to her that it was Ronald Reagan himself who had emptied the institutions in favor of outpatient care for the loonies, a costcutting measure. "Oh", she'd  said.


----------



## Sleepwriter

missed my deadline, but I'm still here.  So does that mean I'm now undead?


----------



## aj47

Dayum.  Son got one meal's worth in debt to the cafeteria despite my prepaying extra.


----------



## TJ1985

Apparently I ground my teeth all or most of last night. I woke up with the left side of my jaw feeling like I'd been back in the bars again. The internet says it's probably due to stress... That's helpful. I also think there may be a link between dying and being born, lol. 

On the upside, I did go to town and got a few ingredients for my homemade barbecue sauce. Been a while since I made a batch.


----------



## aj47

TJ1985 said:


> On the upside, I did go to town and got a few ingredients for my homemade barbecue sauce. Been a while since I made a batch.



Funny you should say that ... when I say this post floating down the *Activity* stream, I was simmering a batch of sauce for my son's friend's graduation.


----------



## TJ1985

astroannie said:


> Funny you should say that ... when I say this post floating down the *Activity* stream, I was simmering a batch of sauce for my son's friend's graduation.



Oddly, that's not the first coincidence around me today. I hard a craving for lemons today which is odd since we rarely buy 'em here. All I really wanted was to just to sit down with one, peel it, and eat it like an orange segment by segment. When I got back home with a bag of 'em I noticed "Whole Lemons" had been added to the little chalkboard on the fridge where we jot down things we might be wanting in the next few days!  

I hope your sauce turned out nicely, and pass on my congratulations.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

TJ1985 said:


> On the upside, I did go to town and got a few ingredients for my homemade barbecue sauce. Been a while since I made a batch.



I love barbecue sauce. Homemade? NICE. When's the party? 

Got off work early today. Just have to make it through Friday and I'm free for another weekend.


----------



## TJ1985

danielstj said:


> I love barbecue sauce. Homemade? NICE. When's the party?
> 
> Got off work early today. Just have to make it through Friday and I'm free for another weekend.



Got myself a big ol' chunk of beef that I've laid back for the barbecuin' and my idea is to do a variation on a local classic. Everybody around here does a pulled pork sandwich, but I'm not a huge fan of the sometimes greasy grease overload so I prefer to cook a chunk of cowass like a pot roast with the right seasonin' and then when it's done I'll pull it just like pork. About 90% of the time, I'll let the meat go long enough to be falling apart done. If it's bone-in, when you grasp the bone you can give it a little tug and the meat yields it easily. 

Then my sauce, which I developed from concept to current... It's pretty dadgum good eatin' for a guy who doesn't really cook much. Few have anything left on their plate, and few turn down an offer for seconds.


----------



## Gyarachu

Spent a couple hours perusing the bookstore in the next town over. Walked out three books heavier and $60 lighter. Not even going to check what I would've paid on Amazon. It was fun, though. A nice environment and pleasant experience, and it filled an afternoon. I'll gladly dump the extra cash every great once in a while.

On the down side I had the worst Chinese food I've ever tasted. I'm pretty sure egg-rolls are, by definition, delicious, so I don't know what that abomination they fed me was.

Good day, all in all. Called in to work for tomorrow before I do some serious damage to my back, so that'll make a four-day weekend. Woo.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Misplaced my mojo, and cant seem to complete anything today


----------



## Gyarachu

Oh. My. Gawd.

All day I've been hitting the ; key instead of '. This is maddening.


----------



## Boofy

The DOTA Manila Major has started! I am going to be awake for the bulk of the next two weeks or so whilst I watch other people play my favourite game better than I ever could for money. It starts at 3:00AM every night. Kill me now. 

Oh, mine is a very sad existence. I love it, though. ^^


----------



## JustRob

The time-travelling part of my mind, not the present part then, did well this morning. A newcomer, MHSCheeto118, gave it some ideas that I incorporated into a female character back in 2011 and then Boofy provided another twist to the same character which I added last October. Of course this can't be plagiarism or basing a character on real people unless it is actually possible for the mind to travel through time. So is it?

This afternoon I will move my workroom back in time to the 1960s and continue building my computer there, er here that is. I insist on taking the 1970s disco music with me though. I never did think much of the Beatles, even when they started up. You just can't dance to their music; well I can't anyway and that is saying something.


----------



## LeeC

When I was reading your book I thought you did a good job of portraying your female characters, especially the one the book started with. I'd never thought of sexy nighties as feeling coarse on the inside. Did you try one on to get the feeling right ;-)


----------



## JustRob

LeeC said:


> When I was reading your book I thought you did a good job of portraying your female characters, especially the one the book started with. I'd never thought of sexy nighties as feeling coarse on the inside. Did you try one on to get the feeling right ;-)



Actually I have no qualms about admitting to being a hyphephile, i.e. literally a person who enjoys the sensation of touch (rather than one with that psychological condition that leads to unusual erotic behaviour). Given the amazing things that you've done with wood I suspect that you must have something similar. I too enjoy working wood. It isn't just the sensation in fabric but also natural materials that stimulate it. Hence I find buying by mail order difficult of course. Any man who buys his lady lingerie (and how else does one get her to wear what one prefers to see her in?) needs to understand that the feel of both sides of the fabric is essential to the success of the exercise. Hence my opening chapter was a lesson for the less aware young man lost in the lingerie department and using only his eyes instead of his fingers.

It was such an excursion with my angel on one occasion that resulted in my bursting into song, singing "Super colour stretch elastic sexy and precocious." She didn't appreciate my wit at the time. Well it was a large busy department store. Like I said, no qualms at all.

The young lady's relationship with her nightdress (and the _former_ boyfriend who bought it) in my opening chapter actually arose from my angel wearing and commenting on a somewhat unsatisfactory nightdress that was included with a negligee that I bought her years ago. I was only concerned about the negligee, so the nightdress didn't get my usual vetting. Actually if she only wore the negligee without the nightdress ... good enough reason. The strange thing is that, as now usual with my weird life, she put the nightdress at the bottom of her drawer and didn't wear it until years after I wrote the chapter, but she still passed the very remarks, such as the one about it being like a sausage skin, that I had written in the past in a novel that she has never read. Just another spooky coincidence, some might say.

A man needs to get inside a woman's mind to have any chances with her body. No coincidence that one of the other chapters in that novel is entitled "Body or mind". They say that one should write about what one knows, don't they? If you want the real eye-opener then read the latter half of the original draft of the complete novel available on my website. That demonstrates graphically what I mean by "getting inside a woman's mind". My first beta reader, a university lecturer on English literature, commented about it "very good here, romantic, violent, erotic, physiological, and philosophical all at one go" and that was only my outline first draft of that part. I'm still struggling with the rewrite to stop it boiling over entirely.

Yes, actually it's men that I don't entirely understand, but why should I care about that? Where's the benefit?


----------



## Bard_Daniel

It's the weekend! I got the day off early too and had a nice nap.

But now it's PARTY TIME! :O


----------



## Darkkin

Figured a few things out.  Yeah for chronologies!  Sandmen, pelicans, echoes, clockworks, greyhounds...It's a mess, but so worth the effort.


----------



## escorial

Went to free open air gig for local bands...only one good act..Calvary the rest pretty average...the final act was a DJ..he was more a wedding DJ then a venue player


----------



## Gyarachu

I just finished writing the first draft of the longest story I've ever completed at ~4.3k words.

Pretty proud, but I'll be way more proud if I find a way to turn this word vomit into something not utterly horrid.

uker:

:eagerness:


----------



## TJ1985

Spent the day shooting stuff... Not as kooky as it may sound, I'm into photography. 

Fire 246 shots, and of them all but 8 are out of focus/unusable. Of the total lot, I've culled out the best and they totaled 36. A 14% average isn't too bad, I suppose, but it could be better. It could have been far worse too! 




This shot has been resized way down, the original being 12mb alone. Needless to say, my camera likes big hard drives.  

All in all, not a miserable day at all.


----------



## JustRob

Having been working on auxiliary items for some time now, today I fired up my ancient (that's _fifty years _ancient) computer technology to check some signals and ... no pulse! After a good half hour spent backtracking through the circuits with an oscilloscope to find where the master pulse had got cut off I finally discovered a disconnected main power lead. Moron! The machine needs five separate power supplies to work and four are no good even though they do give the impression that the thing is alive. No doubt I had some good reason to disconnect that lead some time ago and hopefully that reason no longer exists. All the meters are reading right and I can't smell any burning so perhaps it's okay. Now what was I doing before this diversion?  

They just made things look so easy whenever they fixed up the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars, but in reality it's a long slow business resurrecting the dead.


----------



## Kevin

I've come to the conclusion that the two successive homeless couples camped at the fence next my site are bicycle thieves.

 The first couple had three bikes, one they carried on their shoulder while riding. The next day the extra bike was gone and in it's place, two surfboards. Then (the day after) they were gone (having left their Queen-size mattress leaned against the fence) for a day when a new, different couple took over, using the mattress lean-to as cover to pitch their tent underneath. That was about on Monday.  Yesterday, Thursday, a new looking full-suspension by Giant rolled up. That was not there before.

They lay about for  a few hours and then (about quitting time) rode off together, with three bicycles, hers (some older, pos), his, the new-looking Giant; and, a newer looking road bike frame and fork (alloy, with a nice factory paint...) being carried (on the male's shoulder). I happen to know that the Giant costs somewhere between four to eight month's worth of groceries for two. Not sure about the road bike.
And they looked so sweet.


----------



## The Green Shield

Today, while I was out boating, I rescued a man whose boat stalled in the waters. He's safe and sound, and I told him to be safe.

Be careful when you go out for a boat ride, y'all.


----------



## escorial

The Green Shield said:


> Today, while I was out boating, I rescued a man whose boat stalled in the waters. He's safe and sound, and I told him to be safe.
> 
> Be careful when you go out for a boat ride, y'all.




[video=youtube_share;FOt3oQ_k008]https://youtu.be/FOt3oQ_k008[/video]


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I had a meeting with the HR manager yesterday after a graveyard shift. I enjoyed the moment when a customer asked if I worked there. I nodded. Then, seeing me in formal attire, they asked if I was the manager. "No, but I aim aiming for that goal!" Today, I'll be going in shortly for 11 AM. How exciting!


----------



## escorial

go for it man....


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Good luck, Prinze


----------



## H.Brown

Good luck and hope that it goes well


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Well, who knows. They have a few openings for other departments. The more I know, the more marketable I become. Knowledge is power. Thanks everyone for the support. I have also been applying to other places. I'll keep you updated. On the daily note of this thread, just worked 11 AM - 7:30 PM. _Exhausted_.


----------



## Winston

TJ1985 said:


> Spent the day shooting stuff... Not as kooky as it may sound, I'm into photography...



Irony.  My daughter was at a photography expo most of the day.  Learned how to adjust her settings from a Canon Representative.  She saw some cool stuff she'll have to save up for.

Oh, and I do shoot stuff.  With a rifle, or pistol.  Mostly paper targets.  That does not make me, or millions like me, a "kook".


----------



## Gyarachu

Today was a great day. I'm on the second draft of a short story and one particular part has given me much trouble the past few days. Today at work I decided, by God I'm going to write! So I stood there, people and equipment humming and buzzing all around me, using a three-inch pencil on a ripped-off piece of paper from one of our files with my hand as a clipboard, and everything just came to me. I annihilated that pesky little section in a matter of minutes and have been in a good mood ever since.

I'm starting to think maybe I'm better off writing with good old pen and paper.


----------



## Darkkin

Pulled Winkken out again.  That story has taken an interesting turn.  The sandmen are generally associated with dreams, innocence.  Winkken is going into battle again the Snuffmen.


----------



## am_hammy

Probably the longest drive to my dad's I've had in awhile. Huge accident before the bridge I go over, hazardous materials and all that. I hope everyone was okay. Then there's road work right by the exit I have to get off of so that took awhile. It's so nice and cool up here and especially with all woods around it smells so incredibly fresh. My little brothers were waiting up for me. It was a welcome sight and I felt loved when I saw them peaking through the living room window.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

My sister's high school graduation was last night at The Bushnell Performing Arts Center. It changes every other year. My dad graduated from the same school in '78 on the football field. I graduated in 08' at the University of Hartford, and she's 16'. I requested for a P.H. day from work so I don't have to miss it. My family had reasonable seating arrangements. I may post pictures soon.


----------



## Sleepwriter

bend me like a pretzel, got my chiro appointment moved up to today.  Been a real pain in the neck.


----------



## msjhord

Yesterday was okay until about 7 in the evening.  I had a seizure (first one since the month I had three, which was a month ago), so that sucked.  Didn't lose consciousness, but I was more altered than I normally get.  How altered, you ask?  Well, according to my husband, I was a little twitchy, my lips turned blue (not the whole face), and both sides of my tongue feel like ground round from where I bit down on it.  Plus, I kept trying to get up off the floor where he had me lying to be stable, because I wanted to lay down on my bed.  But my coordination was so off I had to have help.  Normally, my episodes have one phase -- the seizure itself.  This one seemed to have two.  So, today I'm going to be doing a whole LOT of nothing.  Yay.


----------



## am_hammy

My day?? I wish it was over already.


----------



## aj47

Yesterday, my keyboard and mouse quit working.  Both.  At the same time.  My computer was happily streaming Spotify and accepting Skype and Yahoo IM messages, though.  I tried moving the little USB nubs (they're both wireless) to different ports.  I swapped mice.  I changed batteries in everything.  I tried to restart.  Nothing worked.  I was reduced to using my tablet. Which is fine for reading, and adequate for normal posting, but I requested (and got) help starting the CoF threads because they involve putting in links that require copy/pasting link addresses.  And I'm not at all good with that on my tablet.  When my husband had a chance to look at it, he did something and now it works. He attempted to explain, but that is *so* not my area of expertise.

Also, my garbage disposal packed it in.  I inadvertently tried to dispose of a little piece of rusty metal that appeared from nowhere and it broke into shards and some of them stuck in the unit in ways that were impossible to extract. The unit is a 15 year-old Whirly-Way and only one-quarter horsepower. I have a replacement unit (an inSinkerator Badger) that is three times as powerful, but it won't be installed until Saturday.  This would be reasonably okay if my sink weren't clogged with what my disposal tried to choke down (a tortilla piece, some slaw and a few cucumber peels) when it discovered the metal bit. 

This has meant some extra shopping for disposable dinnerware and bakeware.  We're managing, but dayum, this is not pleasant.


----------



## bdcharles

It's been a crazy day. Crazy, crazy.


----------



## escorial

just planned my route for a free African music festival at sefton park in Liverpool tomorrow....don't know much about African music but hey....


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> just planned my route for a free African music festival at sefton park in Liverpool tomorrow....don't know much about African music but hey....


Sounds interesting though hope you have fun

Sent from my K011 using Tapatalk


----------



## Reichelina

Today was pretty awesome.
I ate chocolate Krinkles. That goes straight to my thighs. 
I also played this killer-victim game with my co-workers. It was fun. 

Disclaimer: No blood was shed during the game.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, got one poem pruned back, another one finished and savagely edited.  Is it fun, no, but it needed to be done and the pieces are better for it.  I've established the lore behind Utter Dark, put trust in Winkken, and set the stage for Blinkken.  The story with Blinkken, the Glass Crab, and the Birchskin Man is one I've been kicking around for a while.  I just haven't gotten around to writing it.  That is my goal for the weekend.

People have asked me why I continue to write:  _'It's not like you're in school any more?  So what's the point?  No one's going to read it._'

I don't know a no one, and technically no one can.  However, I do know Nobody, Nonsense, and Serendipity.  So why put so much effort into nothing but nonsense?  Because true nonsense is a increasingly rare occurrence in a world fed on instant gratification.  The need for chronic, inane stimulation, is a force that is slowly destroying our capacity to create something from nothing...You don't need a reason to create something.  And that is part of the beauty of the creative process...It doesn't require a reason as to why it needs to be.  It simply _is_.  Potential untapped and waiting.

While delving into the histories of my nonsense, I've found a couple of tangents I need to follow, namely that of Lullaby, called Lulu, who flies in Turtle's lee.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Was on a roll with my writing then out of the blue my eyes started to sting.  Applied various drops to ease the pain, and hydrate them.  Now they hurt  just being open. Guess it's time to take a nap.


----------



## Winston

My daughter got tickets for Austin City Limits.  I'm jealous, but happy for her.  

Just trying to work on air fare now.  She'll stay with a cousin down there.  The two of them get along great.  Funny, considering how different they are.


----------



## LeeC

*Cash and a S&W are the only way to go*

Watching for parasites that try to sneak through less than $5 charges on my CC, I noticed several thousand dollars in charges I didn't make. Calling my CC provider, they asked me if I might have forgotten buying new kitchen appliances at a Lowe's in South Carolina. So I asked them in return, why I'd drive from New Hampshire to South Carolina to buy and haul back kitchen appliances, especially when there was a Lowe's forty miles away that I've never shopped at. They grudgingly agreed. 

With all the legal and illegal crooks and parasites about these days, I'm fast becoming convinced that cash and a S&W are the only way to go.


----------



## afk4life

Today was pretty cool. Did a hike, tried to go in the back way for a change, got very lost, ended up walking seven miles instead of three lol. I was wearing my Converse, too, cos they're not too warm except I was walking on gravel which is not fun in them. But it was super pretty, I posted some pix, just reminds me of why I love Vermont and my town so much. I'd forgotten how great it is I can walk to some of the prettiest trails I've been on, well how it's pretty much I almost never need to drive anywhere here because everything is a ten minute walk away. And got a good education of how my attempts to photograph wildlife did not go well, only the toad cooperated. Got most of my book to at least second draft I think based on feedback from here and me trying to exorcise "like" as much as possible from my prose. I'm gonna be sore prolly tomorrow, but today was a good day.


----------



## Blue

So I survived through two weeks of exams and I am finally off for the summer. But now my right hand keeps on cramping up, and I feel like Ive just written 50 A4 pages of waffle over those two weeks. 
I'm actually very surprised to be alive, considering the lack of food and sleep I have.


----------



## aj47

I have a new disposal.  And I rescued a friend yesterday to the point that she may have posted on my Facebook timeline about it.  grrr.

She got a "script error" (probably an ad that wasn't quite right--server-side anyway) and so decided to uninstall Firefox and spent all night(!) trying to configure chrome.  When I got there, I showed her how to bookmark sites in chrome and then asked her why she didn't just reinstall FireFox.  She didn't know.  So I downloaded and reinstalled it and then she asked me how to organize her bookmarks(!).  I showed her how to make a new bookmarks folder and put a bookmark in it. Anyway, it was frustrating.


----------



## Kevin

Bless you, Astro. If you ever need, i can build you a fire. Oh! And I'm good at changing lightbulbs! I was thinking that if someone were to ask why i hadn't tried 're-installing Firefox' I might say that i had no idea. Typically, I would expect that high-tech process-eez either work or they won't , but then i do remember that a good  smack on the tv actually worked sometimes. Who'd of thunk? I' must 'update' my thinking.  (see that, see what I did? I used update in a sentence )


----------



## Darkkin

Got called into work and pulled a ten hour shift, had my lunch cut short because we were insanely busy, but still being so wound up, I need to do something so, I put Lifehouse on repeat and wrote.  Didn't get _Blinkken and the Glass Crab_ done yet, but I did manage to finish Lullaby.  It seems to be a bipolar week for me writingwise.  _Vanguard of Utter Dark _on one hand and _Lullaby: The Kingfisher Queen_ on the other.  One meant to thoroughly disturb, the other to bring peace.


----------



## escorial

H.Brown said:


> Sounds interesting though hope you have fun
> 
> Sent from my K011 using Tapatalk



had a great time....stayed for 4 hours and there was still plenty more left to see........


----------



## H.Brown

That sounds like a very good time  always hate it when you have to leave a place when there is more to do 

Sent from my K011 using Tapatalk


----------



## Gyarachu

Today I tried to reschedule Thursday's chiropractor appointment for either today or tomorrow. Turns out I had never made the appointment in the first place and they can't get me in until Monday.

So instead I went in to the hospital to get some blood work done that my doctor had ordered. But I guess they never put the order in, and they were on lunch for the next hour so scratch that plan, too.

"But wait! I know exactly what will turn this crappy day around. I'll go to the bookstore and use the rest of my gift card to buy a couple books I won't have time to read for another year because I'm so backed up from all the other books I bought there recently. It'll be a grand old time!" Nope. Check Engine light came on as soon as I left the driveway, and something in there's making a funny noise.

Guess I'll just stay home and write, which I probably should have been doing in the first place.

Even still, life is good.


----------



## The Green Shield

Oh it was just _LOVELY_, my dear friends! Absolutely lovely!! I spent the whole day lying in bed, getting up when I had explosive diarrhea or vomiting. And _don't_ get me started on the headache I had the whole day as well as the extreme weakness. 

It was just so gosh-darn swell!  Having a stomach virus is FUN!









Not.


----------



## msjhord

So sorry to hear that, Green Shield.  Those buggers are my least favorite common illnesses to get.  I think I'd rather have fingernails ripped out without anesthetic.  Primarily because you're not just automatically better the next day.  Usually takes me a week to get back to fully functional.  Take it easy, okay?


----------



## midnightpoet

Another one of our pups (Blondie, chi mix) got snake bit - she's at the vet now, getting shots.  I'll update as we know something.  This is the third one since we've lived here; it's a known hazard, we just have to be vigilant.  The vet found a wound below one eye, wondering if only one fang got her.  She's the inquisitive type, known for sticking her nose in bushes and cactus beds.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Well, I laced up my boots and charged in ready for battle, only to learn we lost the war, without my side firing a shot.  We have been assimilated.  We are Borg.

Woo F'n Hoo....


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Great day today. Got off work early and got to the good stuff: reading and writing. I've already written a poem and 600 words of my latest story I've started and I'm set to write another 1000 on my main WIP novel. In addition to this, I'll have the time to edit 500 words of my other novel and maybe start a short story to post on here for critique. Definitely already a good and productive day.

Plus, I think I've been not smoking for four months now. I think I can safely say I've kicked the habit. Yay!


----------



## Sonata

Oh well, got an appointment to see my GP this morning [all I need is a letter for a dermatologist] and was then told I had to wait until all the people who just turned up without an appointment were seen first.

She said I was lucky as I was in an electric wheelchair and those poor other souls had to sit on hard plastic chairs.

So I politely asked her how she would like to be a permanent chair user, and drove out;

No more GP until Monday now and I have been trying to get this letter for a  dermatologist for nearly a year now.

I hate Russian doctors.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sonata said:


> I hate Russian doctors.



Don't judge people by their origins; there may be tendencies, but I bet some are conscientious and helpful.

How stupid telling you you are lucky to be in a wheel chair, but sometimes you just have to take it and put it down to experience to get a result.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

There's a lot going on right now between work and family. I'll be back shortly.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The paperwork was submitted, and the history books will show I was victorious today.  I may regret winning this one, but tonight I will dream the dreams of a winner.


----------



## Winston

On our way for a two week vacation (holiday).  See y'all when we get back.


----------



## Darkkin

IV nitro in my central line and stuck home for the next two days...Yeah, I'm a ray of sunshine...:nightmare:


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Finished the first draft of my second novel!

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! :ChainGunSmiley:


----------



## Gyarachu

I've had a neat idea for a piece of short fiction buzzing around my head this past week. I'd had the concept all worked out but wasn't hitting on anything interesting for the characters. Was lying in bed about to sleep half an hour ago when suddenly this scene rolled into my head and the dialogue started pelting me mercilessly until I finally opened my laptop and scrambled to get it all down before I forgot any of it. Just the dialogue, but that's going to be the bulk of that segment anyways. I'm really excited to see how it turns out once I work it all together. I've got goosebumps!


----------



## escorial

Gyarachu said:


> I've had a neat idea for a piece of short fiction buzzing around my head this past week. I'd had the concept all worked out but wasn't hitting on anything interesting for the characters. Was lying in bed about to sleep half an hour ago when suddenly this scene rolled into my head and the dialogue started pelting me mercilessly until I finally opened my laptop and scrambled to get it all down before I forgot any of it. Just the dialogue, but that's going to be the bulk of that segment anyways. I'm really excited to see how it turns out once I work it all together. I've got goosebumps!



inspiration can strike anytime and yeah..you got to get it down or it can be forgotten forever...charming story and i hope you post it and it would be great to know if you do that this was that idea that came about...great


----------



## Kevin

Blanched chard (they looked so good in the market-I just had to), with chopped pimento olives, feta and olive oil; pan-seared winter squash cubed, garlic, then carrot, and two small red potatoes, pinch of cardamom, pinch of unknown mid-east spice, salt, pepper, finally a drizzle of vegetable  broth and a handful of dried currants; pile of chopped onion, fresh garlic, olive oil, some tough top sirloin, thin sliced not-quite shredded, on high, laid it over a bed of "sprouted red rice" next to the others on presentation. 

Thought I'd almost lost it there for a moment with the top... I never buy red meat, and the stink was horrible. Halfway cooked, I drizzled some teriyaki and *poof* the bad smell went away. Success. The rest of the day was a wash. Dinner made up for it. She liked. Had seconds. Junior, off with his friends.


----------



## Sonata

That all sounds scrumptious Kevin and has made me extremely peckish.  As for the unknown mid-east spice, if it was red it was probably Ras el Hanout, and if brown/grey [usually more grey than brown] then it was probably Za'atar.


----------



## Kevin

Sonata said:


> That all sounds scrumptious Kevin and has made me extremely peckish.  As for the unknown mid-east spice, if it was red it was probably Ras el Hanout, and if brown/grey [usually more grey than brown] then it was probably Za'atar.


 It is cinnamon color, powder. The only lettering I can read says "Baharat spice- all natural without preservatives. ingredients: spices".


----------



## Sonata

Kevin said:


> It is cinnamon color, powder. The only lettering I can read says "Baharat spice- all natural without preservatives. ingredients: spices".



Baharat is a mixture of various spices, differing slightly from various  countries, but the basic [and most common, I think] will contain the  following:




ground black pepper 
ground coriander 
ground cinnamon 
ground cloves 
ground cumin 
ground cardamom 
ground nutmeg 
ground paprika [preferably sweet paprika, not the hot/spicy one] 


It can be made at home using those and sometimes other spices, but is more likely to be found already mixed in a spice stall.

I have never used it as I am allergic to cinnamon and have more than enough different spices from which to choose!


----------



## am_hammy

It's Independence Day for us over in the states and I would like to exercise my freedom by having the right of not being at work today but alas, here I am.


----------



## The Green Shield

am_hammy said:


> It's Independence Day for us over in the states and I would like to exercise my freedom by having the right of not being at work today but alas, here I am.


Just consider this you doing your duty for your country.


----------



## Kevin

Whats more American than makin' money? Am hammy... show me the money. Show me the money girl, come on....SHOW ME THE MONEY!!! 
...and God bless America.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Remind me again why Americans are monsters on their country's birthday. Oh, right. It's the first week of the month. They received _*my *_money to buy _*their *_groceries and throw larger Americanized backyard BBQ parties than I do. I was monitoring the self-service area today. Carding everyone buying fireworks and sparklers. Must be 16. Carding all the alcoholic purchases. Must be 21. After the 8 am to 3 PM shift, I won the 50/50 drawing supporting the Jimmy Fund. We raised $100. My ticket was drawn. I won half the prize pool. Karma. For every customer I assisted, for every item I bagged, and every item I placed in their carts (wagons), I did a great job to serve my local community. Sorry, I took a few seconds off this post to admire the cotton candy skies.


----------



## am_hammy

The Green Shield said:


> Just consider this you doing your duty for your country.





Kevin said:


> Whats more American than makin' money? Am hammy... show me the money. Show me the money girl, come on....SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!
> ...and God bless America.




do you both wanna know what I did today? Build the wall for our CHRISTMAS ornaments. Hallmark sucks hah


----------



## dither

I'm just sitting here bored witless.

Waiting for the Postman to bring my next Hospital appointment.


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm not sure if you'd call this ironic or not but...

In the other writing forum I'm on, a Canadian author was doing research for her Deep South redneck character and someone _really_ got their pants in a twist saying that what she was doing was culturally offensive. Er, I'm a white guy from the Deep South, and I honestly didn't think the term ‘redneck’ was offensive. Sheesh, people can be so sensitive to everything. 8[ This reminds me of another thread in that same forum, few months back, where someone was afraid they were offending the disabled community if they made one of their disabled character an unlikeable asshole.

Look, sensitivity is cool and all but there is a *VAST GULF* between being cruel and malicious to someone and treating them like emotionally delicate wallflowers that will crumple if you so much as breathe on them. The vast majority of the population -- regardless of appearance or culture -- just want to be treated like everyone else and are able to not see potential offense in everything.


----------



## escorial

just bought another book..often my capacity to read is overtaken by my desire to buy books....


----------



## dither

What did you buy Escorial?


----------



## aj47

escorial said:


> just bought another book..often my capacity to read is overtaken by my desire to buy books....



Yeah, I've experienced this as well.


----------



## escorial

dither said:


> What did you buy Escorial?


----------



## Gyarachu

All of yesterday and last night I felt a horrid pressure in my face and a lump in my throat as I coughed up bits of food sticking in there hours after I'd eaten (a recurring problem recently). It was misery, until I discovered that if I lay flat on my stomach it all _immediately_ and _completely_ disappears. It was magical.

Now WebMD, in yet another astonishing stroke of rigorous universal consistency, has diagnosed me with cancer, but I figured before I went ahead and found a 'How-To Guide to Self-Chemotherapy' on YouTube I'd throw the medical industry a bone and let them give me a second opinion. I spent all day on my face feeling nothing until I got up to go to the doctor's, where they said it's likely pet allergies and GERD. Seems a bit knee-jerk, in my opinion, but I suppose I'll bite...


----------



## Darkkin

Put in 30 hours in the last three days...Finally have a couple of days off.  So the question then becomes, now that I have the time, do I get my hair cut or just let it grow?


----------



## Joe_Bassett

I'm gonna go to Europe this winter!!  One of my old friends from middle school is gonna travel with me so my parents no longer have to panic about me travelling alone.


----------



## escorial

Gyarachu said:


> All of yesterday and last night I felt a horrid pressure in my face and a lump in my throat as I coughed up bits of food sticking in there hours after I'd eaten (a recurring problem recently). It was misery, until I discovered that if I lay flat on my stomach it all _immediately_ and _completely_ disappears. It was magical.
> 
> Now WebMD, in yet another astonishing stroke of rigorous universal consistency, has diagnosed me with cancer, but I figured before I went ahead and found a 'How-To Guide to Self-Chemotherapy' on YouTube I'd throw the medical industry a bone and let them give me a second opinion. I spent all day on my face feeling nothing until I got up to go to the doctor's, where they said it's likely pet allergies and GERD. Seems a bit knee-jerk, in my opinion, but I suppose I'll bite...



stay safe kidda.....


----------



## Sleepwriter

Nothing like getting woke up at 2 in the morning due to an outage, and taking another two hours to drag the information out of them to figure out it's all because they left a loop up on their equipment while testing.


----------



## am_hammy

So far today I've done laundry and found two bugs in my dried laundry o.o


I'm now staring at my laundry hoping it will fold itself. Happy Wednesday to me.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Gyarachu said:


> All of yesterday and last night I felt a horrid pressure in my face and a lump in my throat as I coughed up bits of food sticking in there hours after I'd eaten (a recurring problem recently). It was misery, until I discovered that if I lay flat on my stomach it all _immediately_ and _completely_ disappears. It was magical.
> 
> Now WebMD, in yet another astonishing stroke of rigorous universal consistency, has diagnosed me with cancer, but I figured before I went ahead and found a 'How-To Guide to Self-Chemotherapy' on YouTube I'd throw the medical industry a bone and let them give me a second opinion. I spent all day on my face feeling nothing until I got up to go to the doctor's, where they said it's likely pet allergies and GERD. Seems a bit knee-jerk, in my opinion, but I suppose I'll bite...



GERD sounds likely to me, though I have never had it that badly. Take the medication in the short term, cut out fats in the long term. Seems to work, except every so often I fancy chips and suffer. Not buttering bread helps, and low fat milk for  drinks.


----------



## Darkkin

Listened to critique, to illustrate and further my stories just a little more.  Turned out one of the most frenetic pieces I've done.  An African Wild Dog hunt, written in enclosed tercet, only this time, the dogs weren't chasing impala...


----------



## The Green Shield

Was surfing the _Zelda Universe_ forum and stumbled upon a thread where the OP basically demanded that a future Zelda game involves a Link who is paralyzed so as to champion those who are paralyzed in real life. Some of the responses were comical (ie, suggesting a game where Link's deaf, everyone uses Hylian sign language and there's no captioning) or thought-provoking (making a game that's both entertaining _and _informative concerning a disability is difficult). 

I was kind of split on deciding how to feel about the OP. One side felt that maybe the OP had a point, whereas the other felt the OP was being too sensitive.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Got off work early today.

A little bit of reading and writing? OH YEAH BUD. OH YEAH.


----------



## am_hammy

I'm stressing out because I'm trying to stock Christmas ornaments!


christmas ornaments!!!


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I am going to take a nap soon before my graveyard shift. This will be my second graveyard shift this week. I've also been working in the early AM to late afternoon.  Always full of surprises.

On the WF side, I finished CoF critiques. I accomplished a lot today.  I put a lot of effort forward for the future of WF's Mentorship program. I'm pleased with the upcoming events.


----------



## aj47

Fixed my latest computer issues ... now waiting for the restore of the backup (Yes, I have one, but compressed it was 22.8 gigs).


----------



## 20oz

Crappy. I'm in a hotel room now. :tyrannosaurus:


----------



## The Green Shield

am_hammy said:


> I'm stressing out because I'm trying to stock Christmas ornaments!
> 
> 
> christmas ornaments!!!


How? It's frickin' _JULY_!


----------



## LeeC

This morning getting out of bed, one of my canes slipped and I fell. The wife came rushing in saying, "This is a golf day, you better not screw it up."

I love a woman that's honest and has predictable priorities


----------



## The Green Shield

^ I'd take her advice.  Be careful.

I thought I'd never say it but...I'm actually growing to like Lara Croft and the rebooted Tomb Raider series. Tried playing the original games and it turned me away from it; thought I'd hate it. But this new series? I actually care about Lara Croft, she's hell of a lot more relatable and I actually like her personality. Suffice to say, I'm now a Tomb Raider fan.


----------



## midnightpoet

Spent the morning watching men work - the electric/telephone pole in our backyard broke (actually rotted) and six utility guys took it down and put another up.  It was fixing to fall over, they said.

Interesting day, especially since I'm a utility retiree. They had a little machine that saved labor, only took them two hours.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Came home from a stressful day of work only to find the AC unit has decided to die.  The repairman says he can definitely make it out by Monday.


----------



## aj47

Sleepwriter said:


> Came home from a stressful day of work only to find the AC unit has decided to die.  The repairman says he can definitely make it out by Monday.



Ugh.  Hope your weather is cooler than ours.


----------



## Sleepwriter

astroannie said:


> Ugh.  Hope your weather is cooler than ours.



95 with a heat index of 105......  Gonna be a HOT time at the Sleep house next couple days.


----------



## escorial

walked 7km along the waterfront today and ended up in the city.....


----------



## Sonata

Dislocated the small toe on my right foot.  Think it was last Wednesday.  Got it X-rayed on Thursday - it was broken.

Friday dislocated the small finger on my right hand.  Hurt.  Got it X-rayed and yes, it was broken.

This morning I bashed my skull on the basin in the ensuite and my eyebrow is stitched again.

I  think I am slightly a danger to myself?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sonata said:


> Dislocated the small toe on my right foot.  Think it was last Wednesday.  Got it X-rayed on Thursday - it was broken.
> 
> Friday dislocated the small finger on my right hand.  Hurt.  Got it X-rayed and yes, it was broken.
> 
> This morning I bashed my skull on the basin in the ensuite and my eyebrow is stitched again.
> 
> I  think I am slightly a danger to myself?



That sounds like something that happens in a torture chamber, OUCH, what more can I say?


----------



## PrinzeCharming

My day was too long. I woke up around 6:30 without an alarm clock. I ate some granola in a large bowl, headed to work, and stayed there for a while. 7 AM - 2:15 PM. I am glad to be home (and here).


----------



## Carly Berg

People are driving me bonkers this week. On the one hand, I'm thinking it must be me, not them, since there have been so many who have gotten on my nerves. Then I think, nah, it's not me, it's them. :twisted: <--- plotting revenge.


----------



## The Green Shield

Spent all day watching creepy Youtube videos about ghosts and the paranormal. I'm not scared in the slightest. 

In other words, I now have a plotline for a fantastic war story that involves the ancestor of my General Mystery protagonist and the descendant of my Colonial mystery protagonist. Yes, they both are set within the same timeline, just centuries apart.


----------



## Sleepwriter

One full day of no AC.  All the insulation work we did last two years ago is helping.  98 outside 80 inside.


----------



## aj47

I hope y'all are eating out or eating cold.


----------



## LeeC

Raining and cool today, but on average we've been ranging from 50 at night to a high of 80 during daytime, with showers just frequent enough for our organic and natural gardens. All in all a very nice summer, and there'll be a lot of food for wildlife this coming winter. 

The only annoyance has been the plague of ticks, which has even affected the moose population (hunters are up in arms ;-) ). Of course everyone sprays more insecticides around their property, which in disrupting the ecology further will make for more problems down the road. But hey, that's the human way — praise the Lord and pass the ammunition


----------



## am_hammy

I am cranky today. And there are already too many shenanigans happening at work. It needs to be 5pm right now. NOW, I SAY!


----------



## Schrody

am_hammy said:


> I am cranky today. And there are already too many shenanigans happening at work. It needs to be 5pm right now. NOW, I SAY!



Well, it is 5 p.m... just not where you're at... I'm sorry you're cranky. Who's pissing you off?


----------



## aj47

I found a finger stretching exercise.  I'm still helpless on C, but am much improved on D so I know it's working.  I was reminded that it'll be a couple of years.  So I don't feel bad, exactly, but maybe a bit put-out that I really have only a couple songs I know to practice.


----------



## am_hammy

Schrody said:


> Well, it is 5 p.m... just not where you're at... I'm sorry you're cranky. Who's pissing you off?




Customers are pissing me off. And my coworker who was late to open. Seems to happen to me often on Sundays when I open.


----------



## Schrody

am_hammy said:


> Customers are pissing me off. And my coworker who was late to open. Seems to happen to me often on Sundays when I open.



Working with the people is the worse. Especially retails/customer relations. We're here for you <3


----------



## Makili

This morning - up in the mountains. Fresh air, sounds of the nature (buzz of the insects, rustling of the cherry leaves...), chilling out in a hammock...
This evening - back to my hometown. 35 degrees C, sound of air-conditioning and traffic, bored on my sofa...
Yes, the same day...


----------



## Carly Berg

My big toe hurts and I don't want to look at it. Funny how something as small as a toe can put a damper on your day. Maybe I'll look at it tomorrow. Or the next day.


----------



## Schrody

Makili said:


> This morning - up in the mountains. Fresh air, sounds of the nature (buzz of the insects, rustling of the cherry leaves...), chilling out in a hammock...
> This evening - back to my hometown. 35 degrees C, sound of air-conditioning and traffic, bored on my sofa...
> Yes, the same day...



Howdy, neighbor :hi:


----------



## Makili

Schrody said:


> Howdy, neighbor :hi:



 I can see we are in the same time zone


----------



## Schrody

Makili said:


> I can see we are in the same time zone



If you're in Montenegro (or neighboring countries), then yes, we are


----------



## Makili

Schrody said:


> If you're in Montenegro (or neighboring countries), then yes, we are



I am. And at the moment, we are the only active people here  Our forum fellows are just waking up 
Good morning! ')


----------



## Sleepwriter

made it through the weekend with no AC.  Called repair guy to make sure he's coming, said he would be here after 1pm as requested.  Don't know where he got that idea. I wanted him out there Friday when it went out.  A bit pissed, but what can I do.  Oh to top it off, I think my wife has Lyme disease, about to take her to go get blood work done.  Fingers crossed it's not.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

I hope it's not either, Sleep. Fingers crossed for your wife.


----------



## Ultraroel

I think I'm in the same timezone aswell.
I just realized that Sofiya is warmer than the rest of the country. 

I blame the fact that half of the population is crowded in this city


----------



## Schrody

Makili said:


> I am. And at the moment, we are the only active people here  Our forum fellows are just waking up
> Good morning! ')



True. 



Sleepwriter said:


> made it through the weekend with no AC.  Called repair guy to make sure he's coming, said he would be here after 1pm as requested.  Don't know where he got that idea. I wanted him out there Friday when it went out.  A bit pissed, but what can I do.  Oh to top it off, I think my wife has Lyme disease, about to take her to go get blood work done.  Fingers crossed it's not.



I hope your wife will be fine. 



Ultraroel said:


> I think I'm in the same timezone aswell.
> I just realized that Sofiya is warmer than the rest of the country.
> 
> I blame the fact that half of the population is crowded in this city



Same here, but we have continental climate and Mediterranean on the coast.


----------



## Gyarachu

So it turns out my GERD medication was giving me a particularly nasty side effect. It made my brain feel like it was vibrating, like I was harboring a beehive up there. As a result, I have to choose between a perpetual lump in my throat that catches food to be coughed up later, or the aforementioned beehive. I'll take the lump for now, as I believe the buzzing/fogginess would actually drive me to the point of insanity, given time.

But seriously, what the _actual_ frig-strudel??


----------



## Carly Berg

Whut?! A vibrating brain, hmm... What are you taking? I take a course of OTC stuff for GERD once in a while- omeprazole. It works pretty well for me.


----------



## Gyarachu

Carly Berg said:


> Whut?! A vibrating brain, hmm... What are you taking? I take a course of OTC stuff for GERD once in a while- omeprazole. It works pretty well for me.



Yeah it's omeprazole...


----------



## Sleepwriter

We have a root cause of broken ac.  Condenser motor didnt recover from a power outage the other day and somehow shorted out.  Should have new one maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile, wife's blood is being analysised for lyme disease. Wont know results for almost a week.  They started her on strong antibiotics.   So we should soon be cool while we wait.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sleepwriter said:


> Meanwhile, wife's blood is being analysised for lyme disease. Wont know results for almost a week.  They started her on strong antibiotics.   So we should soon be cool while we wait.


Nasty, that was one of the things they tested me for when I first started getting symptoms from Wegener's, I had been bitten by a tick while we were on holiday in the New Forest which made it possible.


----------



## dither

I'm having long days of absolute nothingness and i'm loving it. Wish i could make a few Gs and pack it all in.


----------



## JustRob

I've done pretty much nothing today as I put my back out working in the garden yesterday. However, those strange coincidences that plague me don't let up, even during injury time. After lunch I thought I'd watch some daytime TV, something that I never do normally, just because I was incapacitated, so checked in the TV guide. I noticed that _Person of Interest _was about to start on one channel in a few minutes. We didn't watch the programme when it first aired, so a while back we bought the first three series on DVD to catch up. However, we are still only partway through series two, so I had resigned myself to the fact that we'd have to buy more series on DVD subsequently. I had never checked which episodes were currently showing on TV as they were unlikely to be the right ones from the beginning of series four. Despite that assumption the programme just about to start today was actually the first episode of series four, so I programmed our recorder to record the entire series for future viewing with just minutes to spare. I never did find anything to watch on TV immediately though, so had to resort to posting stuff like this online. Sorry WF, but you almost came second to daytime TV. What a comedown! Yeah, but what a coincidence too!

Hey, you wouldn't hit a man with a bad back, would you?


----------



## Darkkin

I know I shouldn't feel guilty about finishing to major pieces today, but I do...:numbness:


----------



## am_hammy

I'm getting everything done at work that I need to before I go away on vacation tomorrow night. I'm proud of myself because I feel like it's The first time I truly feel in control of my job and have the mental clarity to be an assistant manager properly while my own boss is on vacation right now. It feels good knowing that I truly am capable of the position I've been given.


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, my employer wanted to read my story (he knew I was a writer) so I showed him my fantasy-mystery.

Anxiety on overload. Why did I agree to show him? SOMEONE LOOKED AT MY STORY!!!!!!

Also, I messed up on a test so I have to redo the testing, putting me behind a day. Why? I didn't write down the initial info like I should've.

Can I just crawl under a bed and stay there??


----------



## Sleepwriter

Sleepwriter said:


> We have a root cause of broken ac.  Condenser motor didnt recover from a power outage the other day and somehow shorted out.  Should have new one maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile, wife's blood is being analysised for lyme disease. Wont know results for almost a week.  They started her on strong antibiotics.   So we should soon be cool while we wait.



Update: AC is rocking, and just got word the wife is Lyme free.      Also realized I can't spell analyzed.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

That's good news, Sleep. Sorry you're unable to spell the word analyzed, though.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I'm the fruit cutter now.Fun and delicious. 

Cutting a bunch for this weekend and of course a metric ton of watermelon because it's summer. It's very nice though. Over in my own little section chopping fruit, hardly any customers and no micromanaging of how I do everything. The produce manager is incredibly nice and sweet. He used to be a she. Of course that doesn't change how I view him. you can't even get mad at him if he corrects you because he's so nice about it. Fun to work with and funny too. 

Life is sweet.


----------



## Darkkin

All lines are converging on the Lollop Tree...The one antlered Wendigo, little Ren Bright, Tibbox, Tine, the Traveller and Outlier, Nobody, Star, Harbinger, and Nine the Rampant, only Nonsense and the Whipping Goat have stayed behind to take on the Left Hand of the No Man.  Everything in this sequence has come down to those damn egrets...and their burdens of doubt.


----------



## Schrody

I may have mentioned you that a store with the US goodies opened a while back (things you cannot buy here). My birthday's not until for two weeks, but I got my present today! My bf made a scavenger hunt for me, and it was so much fun! Here's what I got (Fire, do you wanna split Doritos with me? ) 




Back off, beasts! It's all mine! :mrgreen:



I have a vision.



Famous Baby Ruth. Don't know which movie is it from? You're probably too young then...



I'll never say "for the love of God" ever again! XD



Seriously, this is your king size?!


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Hate to break the news to you but the Baby Ruth bar was named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter, not a movie (or a certain baseball player either)

And you can post that in What Have I Learned Today if you'd like :icon_cheesygrin:


And why won't you share your Doritos with me? :grumpy:  :icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## Schrody

mrmustard615 said:


> Hate to break the news to you but the Baby Ruth bar was named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter, not a movie (or a certain baseball player either)
> 
> And you can post that in What Have I Learned Today if you'd like :icon_cheesygrin:
> 
> 
> And why won't you share your Doritos with me? :grumpy:  :icon_cheesygrin:









I never said it was named by the movie (or a certain baseball player), I said it was featured in a popular movie. We'll need to buy you glasses! 

I'll share Cheetos with you


----------



## Darkkin

Bad night...Severe angina.  IV nitro might work well, but it is a pain...:grumpy:  Yes, I am going to be a crabby apple about this.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Darkkin said:


> Bad night...Severe angina.  IV nitro might work well, but it is a pain...:grumpy:  Yes, I am going to be a crabby apple about this.



Puts me in my place; i think it is a bad night if I have a sinus.


----------



## Schrody

Darkkin said:


> Bad night...Severe angina.  IV nitro might work well, but it is a pain...:grumpy:  Yes, I am going to be a crabby apple about this.



I'm sorry...  You have every right to be a crabby apple all you want!


----------



## The Green Shield

Darkkin said:


> Bad night...Severe angina.  IV nitro might work well, but it is a pain...:grumpy:  Yes, I am going to be a crabby apple about this.


I looked up what angina is. That _really_ sucks.


----------



## Schrody

Wait, another massacre in France? When will it end?


----------



## The Green Shield

Schrody said:


> Wait, another massacre in France? When will it end?


I'm looking it up now. Apparently a truck driver plowed into a crowd in Nicé. According to French President Hollande, this attack was deliberate and an act of terrorism because it happened on July 14th, France's special, national day.

Christ...


----------



## Deleted member 56686

I think Europe is at war whether we want to admit it or not


----------



## Schrody

Well, it is, indirectly (sending troops from a lot of countries to Syria, etc.), I just hope it won't be directly.


----------



## The Green Shield

I think it's safe to say we're in World War 3. It just hadn't gotten to the nukes yet. And I sincerely hope it never gets to that.

Just stay safe if you're in France.


----------



## Schrody

No, I doubt we would use nukes. I'm not in France, but it's horrifying when it's happening in your neighborhood, I can't even imagine how do French people feel


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Schrody said:


> No, I doubt we would use nukes. I'm not in France, but it's horrifying when it's happening in your neighborhood, I can't even imagine how do French people feel



They probably feel like running?


OHOHOHO~Hehe, hah.... Hoooo~ I'm sorry, that was awful of me! X} 

In, recent news I slept from 4 in the afternoon yesterday until right now. I feel amazing.


----------



## LeeC

mrmustard615 said:


> I think Europe is at war whether we want to admit it or not


Just Europe?
“_What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another._” ~ Chris Maser


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Yeah, it does seem global, doesn't it.

The only solace I have, and I'm guessing even more so with you, Lee, is that I'm well past halfway through my life. Most of my life wasn't as volatile in the world as it seems to be getting now. I feel bad for the younger people who may have to experience some real horrors if we can't put the brakes on it now.

Incidentally, I've been informed that the attack in Nice was that of a lone wolf and not affiliated with a terrorist group. I don't know how much comfort there is in that.

Okay, so it's the How was your day thread. How can you go to bed so early, Crow.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

mrmustard615 said:


> Okay, so it's the How was your day thread. How can you go to bed so early, Crow.



I have not gotten good sleep for the past month. I've been trying to play catch up. Guess my body just decided to settle in for the whole night. XD


----------



## escorial

got my more expensive chalk sticks today to do some more street shadows..trouble is we are having a rainy summer..some things never change.....got my ticket for a tour of a gallery tomorrow..should be fun and hopefully do some scribbles on the street later...


----------



## LeeC

About to go out the back door, the wife and dog were surprised to find a large bullsnake on the step. Bullsnakes don't hightail it like garter snakes, but rear up in a defensive posture. She didn't panic though. Using a broom, she pushed it off the step to be on its way. Many times with many creatures, she's heard me say they do this world more good than we do. Even though this farmhouse was built in the 1870s, we don't have a rodent problem, because there're enough garter and bullsnakes around. Our meddling with Nature's balance is what messes things up, but what do we know ;-)

Some time back Hammy mentioned that even if she were in the country she'd lock her door. A wise thing to do in the city, but in the country it doesn't matter. If a moose or bear wanted to come in the house, they'd knock down the door. That is even if it were unlocked, because they don't know to use door handles ;-)


----------



## dither

mmm, not for me.


----------



## escorial

there's a moose in the hoo'use...


----------



## LeeC

escorial said:


> got my more expensive chalk sticks today to do some more street shadows..trouble is we are having a rainy summer..some things never change.....got my ticket for a tour of a gallery tomorrow..should be fun and hopefully do some scribbles on the street later...


Funny you should mention that. Do you remember the paragraph in my book:

"Few saw that grime and degradation weren't all there was to these souls. Last week he'd passed by a man putting the final touches on a realistic depiction, a colored chalk work on the sidewalk. He'd wished he had a camera, because it seemed to him a work that'd stand head and shoulders above anything in the pooh-bah's hubristic displays. When he'd come back with some takeout for the artist, people were treading on the artwork as if it didn't exist."


----------



## escorial

very similar to a street screevers reffered to by Orwell in Down and Out in Paris and London....


----------



## LeeC

dither said:


> mmm, not for me.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Left work late, back early.  My seat was still warm.


----------



## The Green Shield

So I had this memory that always nagged me: two little girls singing to a troll about how God loves everyone, even trolls. I looked it up and found this:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C_cvy2SOs4E​


YES!!! I've found it! It's much different than what I remembered but still, nice to get a resolution to something that's been in my mind for over a decade.


----------



## Olly Buckle

You remind me, Green Shield. we went to the cinema the other night for a special one nighter about David Bowie and the exhibition about him that was at the V&A.They went through most of what he did, but they didn't mention 'The laughing gnome' once, probably his best song (where do I find the 'tongue in cheek' emoticon?)


----------



## Deleted member 56686

'The laughing gnome' is the best Bowie song ever? Boy someone needs therapy :lol:


----------



## Sonata

Yesterday was going fine until just before I was going to bed when a rat attached itself to my finger and I ended up at the ER.  But I am home now and think hope I will survive.


----------



## The Green Shield

Sonata said:


> Yesterday was going fine until just before I was going to bed when a rat attached itself to my finger and I ended up at the ER.  But I am home now and think hope I will survive.


Damn rats. >:[ You'd think they'd distinguish between food and humans and avoid the latter.

Hope you'll be OK.


----------



## Sonata

The rat had gotten stuck on a sticky thing I had put down for mice.  I picked up the sticky thing with the rat attached and chucked it in the bin, but before I got the lid down it jumped up and attached its jaws onto my finger, trailing other stuff from the bin, and I had to whack the lot onto the marble sink unit top before it would let go.    Then chucked the lot back in the bin.


----------



## dither

Sonata said:


> The rat had gotten stuck on a sticky thing I had put down for mice.  I picked up the sticky thing with the rat attached and chucked it in the bin, but before I got the lid down it jumped up and attached its jaws onto my finger, trailing other stuff from the bin, and I had to whack the lot onto the marble sink unit top before it would let go.    Then chucked the lot back in the bin.



Jeez!

Rats, UGH!


----------



## dither

The Green Shield said:


> Damn rats. >:[ You'd think they'd distinguish between food and humans and avoid the latter.
> 
> Hope you'll be OK.




yeah,

don't know where you are Sonata but i'd be seeing my GP for shot of something.


----------



## escorial

mrmustard615 said:


> 'The laughing gnome' is the best Bowie song ever? Boy someone needs therapy :lol:




never heard it..i will check that out as soon as I finish typing this....


----------



## escorial

MrM..that's awful..ha,ha


----------



## Deleted member 56686

The Laughing Gnome was on Bowie's Anthony Newleyesque record he did from 1967, before he became famous. The whole album is awful :lol:


----------



## escorial

on the way through the park before a well dressed middle aged man was in front of me and all of a sudden he shouted out a name.."Bleuy!"..a head was a woman with a white poodle on a leash and then he went into that baby talk and the closer he got the more his baby gibberish continued. I'm not sure if he knew I was behind him but it was one of the most embarrassing things I've come across in a while...


----------



## dither

I think Bowie was one of those who just never stopped improving. I'm no authority on his stuff but i liked China Girl.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

My favorite Bowie was Life on Mars.

But we're derailing the thread. How was your day, everybody?


----------



## dither

yes, you're right.

Very slow here, eeeasy.


----------



## Sleepwriter

exhausting, had a planned outage that should have ended 4 hours ago twenty four hours ago and they still can't figure out why we still have customers down.


----------



## midnightpoet

Finished my repairs on a wall and floor where water caused rot (it's a 1977 model mobile home, lived here 10 years and still doing repairs).  Meanwhile, finally got my lawn more repaired (actually, it was jerry-rigged with stiff wire so it would start) but because of the recent rains the yard was knee high in weeds (and grasshoppers). i hired a local handyman to do it (he charged 40 bucks for mow and weedeat for 100ft X 50 ft lot - thought that was pretty good).
My result was a sore back and total exhaustion. Writing? Who has time for that?:icon_cheesygrin: Excuse me, gotta clean the kitchen and do breakfast.


----------



## Sonata

dither said:


> yeah,
> 
> don't know where you are Sonata but i'd be seeing my GP for shot of something.



The hospital gave me a tetanus shot plus a strip of 10 antibiotic capsules.  My GP will not be here until Monday 4-6.30pm - then Thursday 8-10am.


----------



## Darkkin

Tachycardia coupled with angina...When is this going to stop?  It has been almost two days...And it still hurts.  :grumpy:  I rarely cry, but I'm at that point between the pain and the frustration, but I also know that it won't help matters.  It will only make it hurt worse.


----------



## escorial

Darkkin said:


> Tachycardia coupled with angina...When is this going to stop?  It has been almost two days...And it still hurts.  :grumpy:  I rarely cry, but I'm at that point between the pain and the frustration, but I also know that it won't help matters.  It will only make it hurt worse.



stay safe kidda...


----------



## aj47

Darkkin said:


> Tachycardia coupled with angina...When is this going to stop?  It has been almost two days...And it still hurts.  :grumpy:  I rarely cry, but I'm at that point between the pain and the frustration, but I also know that it won't help matters.  It will only make it hurt worse.



They should at least be able to do pain management of some kind.


----------



## Darkkin

astroannie said:


> They should at least be able to do pain management of some kind.



Therein lies the rub with my disease, a rare mutation I inherited from my mother makes it highly drug resistant...They can only try to manage the symptoms in an effort to limit the amount of pain.


----------



## PiP

Darkkin said:


> ..And it still hurts.  :grumpy:  I rarely cry, but I'm at that point between the pain and the frustration, but I also know that it won't help matters.  It will only make it hurt worse.



You poor love. Turtle, please give her a gentle hug on my behalf... but not too hard. Thinking of you D.


----------



## Schrody

Been painting the fence the whole day, and it's still not finished (it's a house with three apartments, so it's sliding fence/doors, + two balconies, from both sides). Luckily, I wasn't alone. So tired.


----------



## Schrody

Darkkin said:


> Tachycardia coupled with angina...When is this going to stop?  It has been almost two days...And it still hurts.  :grumpy:  I rarely cry, but I'm at that point between the pain and the frustration, but I also know that it won't help matters.  It will only make it hurt worse.



I'm sorry  That's a pretty severe angina...



Darkkin said:


> Therein lies the rub with my disease, a rare mutation I inherited from my mother makes it highly drug resistant...They can only try to manage the symptoms in an effort to limit the amount of pain.



Does it mean you wouldn't be able to receive anesthesia? We're here for you <3


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Schrody said:


> Been painting the fence the whole day, and it's still not finished (it's a house with three apartments, so it's sliding fence/doors, + two balconies, from both sides). Luckily, I wasn't alone. So tired.



Painting the fence? Didn't you ever read Tom Sawyer? :smiley_simmons:


----------



## Schrody

Believe it or not, that was my first thought too... :mrgreen:


----------



## Darkkin

Angiogram came back clean, no noticeable change in known plaques and stents are clear.  They've run apheresis, which has helped some, but the problem didn't reveal itself until they did an echocardigram.  The start of mitral valve failure...:neutral:  The same valve I had replaced about eighteen months ago.  Currently it is only a 20% shrinkage of the valve, but it will continue to deteriorate.  They are going to have to replace it again, probably sometime this fall.  

Looks like Rue Dog was right again.  He has been sleeping pressed along my back keeping me positioned on my right side at night for the last couple of weeks.  From what my cardiologist has said, it has reduced the amount of stress put on the valve considerably.  The only other time Rue has slept anywhere other than the foot of my bed were the last couple of weeks before I had the valve replaced the first time.  He did the exact same thing.


----------



## The Green Shield

Watched a lot of YouTube videos, ate lunch, and took a nap. Now having coffee and ginning up the desire to write.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 14894 

Rue is as happy to be home as I am...It has been a rough weekend.


----------



## aj47

Darkkin said:


> Therein lies the rub with my disease, a rare mutation I inherited from my mother makes it highly drug resistant...They can only try to manage the symptoms in an effort to limit the amount of pain.



Oh my, I'm so sorry.  I hope you're doing better now.

Donated today....platelets (x2) and red cells.  Moved my arm and got a mondo bruise cuz of it.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Got the day off work today.

2500+ words written today and I'm still going! :O

.... : D


----------



## Darkkin

astroannie said:


> Oh my, I'm so sorry.  I hope you're doing better now.



Two days in cardiac ICU because of pulse rate and blood pressure complications, I'm home now.  Still on the nitro drip, but things are improving.


----------



## aj47

Glad you're improving.


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Cat was acting funny, went to scoop him up and he kicked the utter [BEJEEZUS] out of my hand, made about a two-inch cut.  Left him alone for a bit, and now he's sleeping on my stomach and purring his little heart out.


----------



## Kevin

14 hr shifts. Dark when I leave, dark on the drive home, and it's Summer.


----------



## aj47

My daughter-in-law is due January 22, 2017.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Two days ago I cut off a fairly noticeable chunk on the left-ish tip of my let thumb. 

Not even towards the bone. Sideways. Boom, gone. 

Wrapping a bandage tight enough to stop the bleeding hurt like hell and I almost fainted. Thankfully the bleeding stopped and I could put on a much softer nicer loose wrapping. 

And as all of you know I am left handed, and the nerves still overreact too much for me to use most of that hand.  Eating, writing, drawing, and personal hygiene are now incredibly difficult to coordinate with only my right hand. 

I wonde if it will heal flat? Hmm.


----------



## aj47

Ow!  I hurt my dominant thumb pretty bad once when I was about 12.  I was a thumb-sucker then and subbed in my index knuckle for the duration.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Fingers have a lot of nerves, they really hurt. Years ago chopping wood for the stove I managed to take off the top  of my left middle finger. I was wearing loose leather work gloves and cut the tips right off three of the glove fingers, luckily it was only my middle one that stuck up far enough to catch it for real but there was enough blood and pain I couldn't tell, and didn't want to take the glove off     It was a Sunday afternoon, and the local GP sewed the piece back on, slightly imperfectly, but a 'good enough to use' job; thank you doctor. You have my commiserations, Crowley; one finger typing?


----------



## escorial

about to set of to gig on a 1000'cc kwaka....this might be my last post....


----------



## dither

A 1000 cc Kwak?

Be sure to secure that lid man and hey! Be safe.


----------



## Sleepwriter

astroannie said:


> My daughter-in-law is due January 22, 2017.



I didn't know there was a company selling these, and do they take custom orders?


----------



## dither

Amazon?


----------



## aj47

Her baby, silly.


----------



## Darkkin

New playlist...and laundry...Certainly makes sorting a hell of a lot more fun.  \\/  It's a little thing, but for me this is an every day victory.


----------



## The Green Shield

Looking at maps is...mesmerizing to me. Especially on Google Maps; at a glimpse you'd think there was no trouble, that everyone was getting along splendidly.


----------



## aj47

I didn't realize DSL was so incredibly slow.   I'm helping my widow friend upgrade to Win 10 and the download (2.9 gig) took 4.5 hours.  I left it at "preparing to install" and will probably go back today to finish it if I can't talk her through it over the phone.  She lives an hour away--on the bright side, she took us to dinner.


----------



## Sleepwriter

astroannie said:


> I didn't realize DSL was so incredibly slow.   I'm helping my widow friend upgrade to Win 10 and the download (2.9 gig) took 4.5 hours.  I left it at "preparing to install" and will probably go back today to finish it if I can't talk her through it over the phone.  She lives an hour away--on the bright side, she took us to dinner.



DSL can range from 750k to I believe 9meg, depending on the carrier.   So yeah, can be pretty slow.  Still better than dial-up.


----------



## aj47

750k?  fast.com pegged me at a much slower rate.  If I didn't share my mobile data plan with teenagers (and if it wasn't the last day of the cycle with barely any data left because of it), I'd've used my phone as a hotspot and pulled it in faster that way.  But it was nearly 3 gig (2.9mumble).  Since she's a venerable widowed lady, she doesn't use it for more than casual surfing so she doesn't notice how slow it is. (She's wired, but her PC has a wireless card in it.)

I didn't go over there yesterday because she had a headache.  Today I had the world's longest checkup at my primary care doc and I'm awaiting a phone call from her to try to talk her through it. Everyone says the upgrade is easy--we shall see.  Mine happened in the dead of night so I don't know.  And now I have Linux, so I *really *don't know.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Already wrote 2000 words of fiction today-- and a poem! I also read a ton. Now it's time for the forum! Having the day off work is great!


----------



## Scizologic

I'm cleaning up


----------



## Sleepwriter

Today has been a very sad day.


----------



## LeeC

Fing scumbags!

Just publishing my revised edition with Smashwords and Amazon, and I checked Google to see if it had reached other retail outlets yet. What I found was it was being offered as a free download on ebookinga.com

Not only theft, but my browser WOT tells me they distribute malicious software, so don't go there. Yes, I reported it to the FBI's IC3.

Hopefully when our world economy destroys itself, there'll be a few honest people left.


----------



## aj47

I am in dire need of sleep.  I have to stay up and see this over-the-phone install of Win10 through.  My friend slept the day away while I awaited her call and so we got a (very) late start.  And then she stopped the install twice(!) by closing the updater. Now it's to the part where it's restarting the computer "several times" and she can't do anything to bollix it unless she physically unplugs it, so it should finish fine.


----------



## LeeC

astroannie said:


> I am in dire need of sleep.  I have to stay up and see this over-the-phone install of Win10 through.  My friend slept the day away while I awaited her call and so we got a (very) late start.  And then she stopped the install twice(!) by closing the updater. Now it's to the part where it's restarting the computer "several times" and she can't do anything to bollix it unless she physically unplugs it, so it should finish fine.


Unless she's connected over a 24 baud phone line (do they have those anymore) it sounds like I'm glad I'm not on Windows ;-)


----------



## aj47

No, I'm connected to her on the phone.  Whenever she needs (or feels she needs) help or support.  

She has DSL.  I was at her house Saturday watching the download of the Win10 upgrade.  Sunday I was supposed to go over and finish, but she had a headache.  Today, I had a Dr. appt. (and she's an hour away) so I said I would try to talk her through it after lunch, when I got back from the Dr.  But she slept through the afternoon so she called while I was making dinner and my evening has been intermittently reassuring her that if she didn't close the updater again, it would work, call me when it gets to 100%.  Okay.  Finally.  Then she needed to be talked through accepting the EULA and restarting.  Now it's doing the actual update.  When that gets to 100% she's supposed to call me again.  We shall see.

EDIT:  And it is installed.  And configured.  And I am eating a homemade Nutella protein bar before going to sleep because I am hungry as well as tired and I need to calm down.  She is hard of hearing.  It was a struggle. I am made of win, however.


----------



## am_hammy

This last week has been so crazy. I was on vacation and came back and I still feel like I need another vacation. A vacation from life.


----------



## LeeC

I've read books where I didn't notice any errors, but I'm not convinced there are any. I and a couple others poured through my book looking for any unintended errors, this after beta reading. When I uploaded my prepared .mobi file to Amazon, I went through the whole book again reviewing their conversion (diddling with the file) to make sure they hadn't introduced any errors, and it still looked like I intended. Low and behold, half way through the opening sketch I found an errant word that I'd overlooked. If things go as they usually do, readers will point out other errors, so I'll wait to submit a corrected .mobi file till I  have more than one word to correct. Maddening knowing it's there. Yeah, it's OCD.


----------



## Kevin

A coon stole my flatbread. No, for reals, foo... I bought a flatbread at the Persian market, ate half on the way home and forgot it in my car with the window down. I know it was the coon 'cause he comes every night to drink water from the leaky sprinkler in my yard. Anyway...the paper they wrapped it in was caught  hanging off the side view mirror in the morning. No coyote would climb across the mirror. I'm glad he didn't crap or spray in there. A cat did once and the stink lasted for days.


----------



## dither

No doubt this day will be just the same as the last 27 or 8 and the next 10, while i'm off work.

I shall keep buying the lottery tickets and hoping like hell that some wonderful opportunity falls into my lap.
Yeah, i know.
dithering.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

I found out I'm going to have to move soon. A corporation wants to buy up half of Baltimore and we're in their crosshairs. It's a long story, but it may mean I'm not here for a while when it happens.


----------



## Schrody

You know you don't have to sell...


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Internet's finally working again.  Five days without it, ended up going over on my data because I can't live unplugged.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Schrody said:


> You know you don't have to sell...




Actually we do. Eventually the overlords will find a way to deal the eminent domain card and throw us out. They tried to do that once before and failed, but this time they own just about everything around us, so we really have no choice this time. It will be okay; this house is in bad need of repair anyway.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just found out that my character is a bit power-hungry.

Sorry, I must get this out of my system:

*Mishu Jerni:* “POOOOOWWWWWAAAAAAARRRRR!!!! UUUUNNNNLLLIIIIMMMIIITTTEEEDD PPOOOOOWWWWAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!” <dramatic lightening and music plays>

 OK, going to go write now.


----------



## Schrody

AtleanWordsmith said:


> Internet's finally working again.  Five days without it, ended up going over on my data because I can't live unplugged.



I was 17 days without it. First days are tough, but then you get you used to it. That's the worst part; you're used to not having the internet...



mrmustard615 said:


> Actually we do. Eventually the overlords will find a way to deal the eminent domain card and throw us out. They tried to do that once before and failed, but this time they own just about everything around us, so we really have no choice this time. It will be okay; this house is in bad need of repair anyway.




Yeah, if they bought everything in your neighborhood, it might be a wise choice to sell. It reminds me of two stories that happened in Croatia: one was when  they were making a highway and the guy didn't want to sell (they always  want too much money, and they lived in the middle of nowhere), so after  years of negotiating, they made it around his house, so now he has a  noise barrier in front of his house, what a view! The second was when  they wanted to make a shopping or business center, I don't remember, and  once again, the seller wanted too much, and they build it around his  house (and how he can't sell it, because who would've bought it?!). Needless to say, everybody else sold and made a lot of money, but  there's always that one guy... Needless to say, Part 2, is that they  were offered much more (double and triple) than theirs land value. I'm  sorry you'll have to move, but trust me, you don't want to be the last  guy in the street who didn't sell. Unfortunately, that's how it goes.


----------



## Kevin

Goes the other way too... They undervalue the property... Tell you to take it or leave it. You have no leverage.


----------



## midnightpoet

Got a sore back putting down a new floor, found out the dogs have fleas, the internet is screwed again (wi-fi is turned off on our router and so is the proxy server), I fell over the dog and hurt myself in several places, and I've got the stomach ache.  So much for my whining, trying to think of something positive.  Okay, we've still got food and shelter - more than many can say, sadly.  Hope everyone here has a good day.](*,)


----------



## aj47

I've been letting my teens borrow my laptop....come to find out they've not been updating it.  This will take for freakin' ever, in both Linux and Windows.


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> A coon stole my flatbread. No, for reals, foo... I bought a flatbread at the Persian market, ate half on the way home and forgot it in my car with the window down. I know it was the coon 'cause he comes every night to drink water from the leaky sprinkler in my yard. Anyway...the paper they wrapped it in was caught  hanging off the side view mirror in the morning. No coyote would climb across the mirror. I'm glad he didn't crap or spray in there. A cat did once and the stink lasted for days.


Annoying critters those coons. I have to watch they don't come in the dog door ;-)


----------



## escorial

just bought a green shirt with white lines, slim fit jeans and a pair of light brown suede shoes for a wedding on the 3rd Aug...just casual..i'm going in the night and a hate dressing up in suits or trousers...


----------



## LeeC

escorial said:


> just bought a green shirt with white lines, slim fit jeans and a pair of light brown suede shoes for a wedding on the 3rd Aug...just casual..i'm going in the night and a hate dressing up in suits or trousers...


Steppin' out, look out


----------



## LeeC

Had a dozen or more suits in the closet a few years back. I asked the wife to take them to Goodwill. She took all but one. Said she didn't want to buy a new suit to bury me in. Practical woman 

------

I sometimes picture a down and out man wearing one of my Brooks Bros. or Southwick suits. Wouldn't help with coin collection ;-)


----------



## escorial

I bet it's a zoot suit with gangster shoes and a felt hat....


----------



## escorial

a bum in a smart suit...ha,ha


----------



## Schrody

astroannie said:


> I've been letting my teens borrow my laptop....come to find out they've not been updating it.  This will take for freakin' ever, in both Linux and Windows.



Why? I never update anything, and my lap's works perfectly! If you don't visit shady pages, you won't have any problems.. My bf still uses XP.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

My laptop won't even let me update since I refuse to update to Win 10. (My backup laptop is Win 10 so I can still do the updates on that)


----------



## escorial

appy birfday Schrody..over weight....


----------



## Kevin

escorial said:


> a bum in a smart suit...ha,ha


 ...is no longer a bum."


----------



## Darkkin

Met a gem of a soul on the treatment floor today...:livid:  This disease is bad enough without some ignorant meathead making snide comments.  Just because I'm not older or enormous does not mean I don't have a legitimate issue.  But I do have to hand it to the tech, he's been running my sessions since I started treatment.  He took one look at the guy and said, 'Hey, better to be the unicorn than a horse's ass.'


----------



## The Green Shield

So I just created a Youtube account (by mistake!) If anyone's curious, I'm ScarletImp2113 over there.  Uh...guess I'd better start figuring out how to make videos...


----------



## bazz cargo

mrmustard615 said:


> I found out I'm going to have to move soon. A corporation wants to buy up half of Baltimore and we're in their crosshairs. It's a long story, but it may mean I'm not here for a while when it happens.


Lotsa helium balloons. Watch UP!

I forgot.
My day... One long grind of perpetual frustration. Not too bad.


----------



## Reichelina

Bad. Been busy lately. Juggling between trainings and clients (got a promotion!--more work no significant increase in salary! Huhuhu)

I think I have the flu. Also I think I'm gonna die. 
I miss everyone. --cough cough sniff sniff--


----------



## aj47

I am getting way too little sleep.  It's related to a dosage change for one of my meds.  It interferes somehow with my potassium so I'm supposed to eat more bananas and other high-potassium foods. If I don't (and I haven't been) I get leg cramps and insomnia.

If only it meant I was productive.  I'm awake, but not really able to focus so I'm not writing -- instead I'm playing games mostly.


----------



## Sleepwriter

somehow I powered through on a battery with a dead cell.  Today I'm completely drained.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The last three days have blurred into one. Soon we can rest.


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> I am getting way too little sleep.  It's related to a dosage change for one of my meds.  It interferes somehow with my potassium so I'm supposed to eat more bananas and other high-potassium foods. If I don't (and I haven't been) I get leg cramps and insomnia.
> 
> If only it meant I was productive.  I'm awake, but not really able to focus so I'm not writing -- instead I'm playing games mostly.



stay safe kidda.................


----------



## am_hammy

I'm on day 6 of work. 4 more to go until I get a day off again. That's what happens when I go on vacation for ten days I guess and the fact that this stupid place is open 7 days a week. It doesn't help matters that my boss scheduled me for this coming weekend to be off when I said I didn't want those days off. Ahh well. Bright side is I get a long weekend to look forward to.


----------



## dither

That's one helluva run hammy.


----------



## Kevin

Home alone last night watching "House Bunny" (ye-ah, getting my fe-gina on) I love Faris. And she has a smokin body, too. That movie is so stupid and so funny, and smart.. And that's (was)me not home alone drinking a beer. Anyone see 'the Dictator'? She was pretty funny as Sacha's straight man; Scary Movie, plastered to the ceiling? Tff.. Luv her..


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Home alone last night watching "House Bunny" (ye-ah, getting my fe-gina on) I love Faris. And she has a smokin body, too. That movie is so stupid and so funny, and smart.. And that's (was)me not home alone drinking a beer. Anyone see 'the Dictator'? She was pretty funny as Sacha's straight man; Scary Movie, plastered to the ceiling? Tff.. Luv her..



combine the two kev


----------



## Kevin

Whater y'saying, sex'n'money? Eh..


----------



## dither

Sounds good t'me.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Whater y'saying, sex'n'money? Eh..



bunnies and crushes....


----------



## The Green Shield

Got the following from Books-A-Million:


#1- _Harry Potter and the Cursed Child_ by JK Rowling


#2- _Pride+Prejudice + Zombies_ by Seth Grahame-Smith


#3- _The Inheritance Trilogy_ by N.K. Jemisin
---> Yeah, this was a stark surprise for me. I had to examine the book and make sure this wasn't Paolini's _Inheritance_ series.


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Whater y'saying, sex'n'money? Eh..


go together like oil and honey


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> #2- _Pride+Prejudice + Zombies_ by Seth Grahame-Smith



Saw the movie, curious how good the book is.


----------



## Schrody

Sleepwriter said:


> Saw the movie, curious how good the book is.



I liked the movie


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Lazy Sunday. Enjoying it thoroughly. Luckily, I have Monday off too! : D


----------



## Darkkin

Shouldn't be as ridiculously pleased as I am to be returning to work tomorrow.  I'm tired of being classified as breakable.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Was not bad.  Thanks for asking.


----------



## The Green Shield

After letting the folks from the other writing forum take a look at my opening for my fantasy-mystery, I concluded it sucked and started over, this time taking in their advices in addition to starting where the story itself gets good. Result? I love it. It's much better than what I had before and I can already see a delicious twist in play. >:] Muwahahahaha!!


----------



## JustRob

Today I received in the post an electricity bill which stated how much the supply to our home had cost over the last twelve months. As I am prone to coincidences I received one other item in the same post, which was a statement of the annual interest just paid into my bank account from my investment in a local solar energy farm. The interest was greater than the electricity bill for the year, so my share in the farm is presumably feeding more electricity into the national grid than our home is taking out. 

My angel also received a statement of interest from her investment in the same solar farm and that money will cover the cost of the gas supplied to our home. There is even enough left over to pay for the coal and logs that we burn in our open fireplace during winter weekends. Hence all our home energy needs are now met by solar power even though we don't have any solar panels installed. 

Magic.


----------



## felixm

Last night was great.  Got home @ 11:00 from my job as a plongeur, took a quick shower, poured  myself some wine, put Everlong  into my head and began to write.  Elmer Fudd's 'something screwy going on here' inserted itself into my story, and for the next hour I watched old Looney Tunes on u-tube. Some things endure.


----------



## Olly Buckle

awful, don't ask.


----------



## Darkkin

Found out they need to replace my cardiac chip week after next...:livid:   Grrr....And the house is now very, very clean.


----------



## Phil Istine

Darkkin said:


> Found out they need to replace my cardiac chip week after next...:livid:   Grrr....And the house is now very, very clean.



Sorry to hear about the cardiac chip Darkkin.  Is that the thing that some call a 'pacemaker'?

Best wishes to you for favourable outcomes.


----------



## dither

Yesterday i got rid of my plaster-cast. So far so good.


----------



## Darkkin

Ghibli and Disney movie marathon today.


----------



## Sonata

Olly Buckle said:


> awful, don't ask.



I hope things are better now.


----------



## The Green Shield

• Ran some errands
• Wrote a bit in my historical mystery
• Took a nap
• Just discovered that an old friend of mine from high school may have joined the _Zelda Universe_ forums
• Is now about to have dinner and drink two glasses of beer


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sonata said:


> I hope things are better now.


Thankyou, getting over it, my exhaust felloff on the motorway, took up almost the whole day fixing it, ruined all my plans for the day, and cost a fortune


----------



## aj47

Olly Buckle said:


> Thankyou, getting over it, my exhaust felloff on the motorway, took up almost the whole day fixing it, ruined all my plans for the day, and cost a fortune



We need a Dislike button.


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, I just made my first YouTube video. Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaHwuOfmjj8


----------



## LeeC

Friends brought over a birthday cake. No candles though — they said that many was against the fire code.


----------



## escorial

The Green Shield said:


> Well, I just made my first YouTube video. Check it out.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaHwuOfmjj8



bravo....


----------



## Sonata

Olly Buckle said:


> Thankyou, getting over it, my exhaust felloff on the motorway, took up almost the whole day fixing it, ruined all my plans for the day, and cost a fortune



Reminds me of the time I got stopped because my exhaust had blown - only I did not hear it as the head gasket had blown and the noise drowned out everything else.

Mind you, I had done a naughty and driven up the wrong side of traffic lights and cut in on a police car.

Got done on the M1 for having stopped on the hard shoulder because I had sneezed and a tooth crown fell off.

Ah, and we will not mention when my car caught fire and I jumped out and my jeans fell down...


----------



## dither

Sonata said:


> Reminds me of the time I got stopped because my exhaust had blown - only I did not hear it as the head gasket had blown and the noise drowned out everything else.
> 
> Mind you, I had done a naughty and driven up the wrong side of traffic lights and cut in on a police car.
> 
> Got done on the M1 for having stopped on the hard shoulder because I had sneezed and a tooth crown fell off.
> 
> Ah, and we will not mention when my car caught fire and I jumped out and my jeans fell down...



Oh my boring boring life.


----------



## LeeC

LeeC said:


> Friends brought over a birthday cake. No candles though — they said that many was against the fire code.


Wow, for a present they pitched in and got me a couple pounds of organic Kona beans. Dear friends they are


----------



## LeeC

The Green Shield said:


> Well, I just made my first YouTube video. Check it out.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaHwuOfmjj8


bit of a collage, liked


----------



## escorial

send him sum beans LC.....


----------



## LeeC

escorial said:


> send him sum beans LC.....


I suppose I could send him some DD** beans, but Kona are a royal treat to be hoarded.



**Don't know if you have them across the pond, but DD is Dunkin' Donuts


----------



## escorial

i think we have a DD in the city cetntre...long time since i had me hands on a couple of DD's....


----------



## Kevin

I was thinking maybe you meant they were those civet- ****** coffee beans.


----------



## LeeC

escorial said:


> i think we have a DD in the city cetntre...long time since i had me hands on a couple of DD's....


My size preference too Esc


----------



## Schrody

Started to workout again, currently on 17 minutes, it may look easy but it's brutal when doing it...

[video=youtube;Dh6_h3cYLwE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh6_h3cYLwE[/video]


----------



## Schrody

Kevin said:


> I was thinking maybe you meant they were those civet- ****** coffee beans.



That's a shitty coffee. Pun intended :lol:


----------



## Sleepwriter

realized my mojo is sitting on empty.  Activating plan A to refill it.


----------



## JustRob

Today I have been sanding and filling our bathroom wall in preparation for painting. I don't suffer many DIY mishaps nowadays, but when I was much younger I once drilled through an electric cable in the wall, melting the drill bit. I should have realised that the cable was there as it supplied the socket directly below into which the drill was plugged. Nowadays I am more careful so, as I was using an electric sander, I put on a respirator to avoid inhaling the dust. It is one with a full head harness and once I had secured it I went to walk across the room, but my movement was somehow impaired. The pull cord for the light switch had got trapped under the harness and my head was securely tethered to the ceiling. Apart from that the work went well. Don't bother with the jokes about being light headed. I'm bright enough to think of them myself.


----------



## Schrody

JustRob, you were probably the reason your teacher wore sunglasses indoors.






...because you're _so _bright :mrgreen:

I'll let myself out...


----------



## Olly Buckle

When I see blind people wearing sunglasses I wonder who told them to, nasty thing to do, making someone who can't see self concious about their appearance.

Terrible day, the thrust bearing went in my clutch, this car is impoverishing me.


----------



## aj47

Hi, My dad was blind and wore sunglasses.  It's because he had an eye out and didn't always want to wear his prosthesis.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> and didn't always want to wear his prosthesis.


 why on earth would you? I bet it is uncomfortable after a bit, and if you couldn't see you would have no concept of what you looked like. Mind you, I suppose it would be different if you went blind rather than being blind from birth.

Afterthought; it wouldn't help you see any better.


----------



## aj47

Yeah, he suffered a head injury in an agricultural accident when he was 9 and his eyes got infected.  1930's so no antibiotics.  At least he didn't die. He was into politics and ran for county judge when I was 3 or 4.


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> When I see blind people wearing sunglasses I wonder who told them to, nasty thing to do, making someone who can't see self concious about their appearance.


Because for some blind people, their eyes might be...

• Very sensitive to bright light.

• Look strange (ie, roll around like crazy, rolled up in the back of their head, stare straight ahead, etc.)  They are aware of what their eyes do and to prevent unwanted awkward moments, they might wear the sunglasses.

It all just depends on the person.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Exactly, GS. The looking strange bit. What sort of person explains to someone who has no concept of 'looking' that they look strange and need to cover themselves up? Most people have trouble telling people they have smelly armpits or bad breath they don't know about, people who understand what it is like. There is a terrible intolerance of difference in our society, the world used to be full of 'different' people, now they are 'fixed' by plastic surgeons or do things to hide it. Time we got past the surface exterior and engaged with the person behind before they are damaged by their isolation.

Sorry; rant over, for the moment.


----------



## Schrody

The Green Shield said:


> Because for some blind people, their eyes might be...
> 
> • Very sensitive to bright light.
> 
> • Look strange (ie, roll around like crazy, rolled up in the back of their head, stare straight ahead, etc.)  They are aware of what their eyes do and to prevent unwanted awkward moments, they might wear the sunglasses.
> 
> It all just depends on the person.



That's what I wanted to say...


----------



## midnightpoet

After a busy day (I know, I'm retired, it's a long story) I sit at the computer (finally having a few minutes to myself) and after about five minutes staring at the screen I give up and do something useless like read the comic page.](*,)


----------



## Sonata

Bdooly awful.  We have a plague of large black flies which drive me crazy, as apart from anything else, they bite.  And they disturb my sleep by landing on my face and hair.  As I have screens on all windows I have no idea how they get in, so I tried keeping all the shutters closed hoping they would not try to get in.  No such luck.

I have little nightlights in all rooms so I can see to get around but the puppy has been most distressed by it being dark all the time, and has been hiding between my chair and the bookshelves beside my table most of the day.


----------



## midnightpoet

We've been intending to replace the kitchen sink, and I finally got everything together; as it turns out, i'm still missing some fittings.  It's an old mobile home, built in 1977 (how we got in this dump is a long sad story) and we were afraid the faucet would Vesuvius on us before we got ready - sure enough, it spewed all over the kitchen today.  I capped off the hot and cold pipes and in the process I discovered the underneath pipes, instead of being properly insulated, were just covered with rags. Whoever put this in must have been drunk or didn't care.  Then I tripped over something and almost fell off the front porch.  I hope I didn't hurt my back again. It would be nice to afford a plumber, but there you go.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

midnightpoet said:


> We've been intending to replace the kitchen sink, and I finally got everything together; as it turns out, i'm still missing some fittings.  It's an old mobile home, built in 1977 (how we got in this dump is a long sad story) and we were afraid the faucet would Vesuvius on us before we got ready - sure enough, it spewed all over the kitchen today.  I capped off the hot and cold pipes and in the process I discovered the underneath pipes, instead of being properly insulated, were just covered with rags. Whoever put this in must have been drunk or didn't care.  Then I tripped over something and almost fell off the front porch.  I hope I didn't hurt my back again. It would be nice to afford a plumber, but there you go.



Really, rags? Wow. I can't believe they did that. I hope your back is okay!

Wrote over 2000 words today. Included in that is a poem and a challenge entry for this month's LM. Productive indeed.


----------



## aj47

*WARNING - MEDICAL STUFF THAT MAY BOTHER SOME FOLKS*

We are almost back to normal.  My husband was at the doc on Wednesday with severe abdominal pain in the area where his appendix is and so he was sent to the radiologist and CAT-scanned and it was determined to be severe diverticulitis. He was given two oral antibiotics and two shots of a third over the next few days.  Also Toradol for the pain.  He was put on a bland diet "until he feels better" which he had a sandwich last night. But lots of mashed potatoes, pudding, bananas, that sort of thing.  And I was driving him to the doctor every day.  Because that's how bad it was.  As well as doing mom-taxi.


----------



## midnightpoet

Hope your husband gets all right.  Hang in there.

Tony


----------



## Sleepwriter

astroannie said:


> *WARNING - MEDICAL STUFF THAT MAY BOTHER SOME FOLKS*
> 
> We are almost back to normal.  My husband was at the doc on Wednesday with severe abdominal pain in the area where his appendix is and so he was sent to the radiologist and CAT-scanned and it was determined to be severe diverticulitis. He was given two oral antibiotics and two shots of a third over the next few days.  Also Toradol for the pain.  He was put on a bland diet "until he feels better" which he had a sandwich last night. But lots of mashed potatoes, pudding, bananas, that sort of thing.  And I was driving him to the doctor every day.  Because that's how bad it was.  As well as doing mom-taxi.




My wife has bouts of that.   Wishing him a speedy recovery.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

CRUSH! KILL! DESTROY!

EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!! EXTERMINATE!!!!!


----------



## LeeC

On social media I try to avoid the author parasites, when I can recognize their game, and not only don't follow them in return, but block them. It's not much different than email, everything being suspect unless it's someone you know. Today I got several new followers on Twitter, one of them sending me a direct message that she's turned on by me. Strange in that we've never met, and an author pic of me shows I too far gone to be any use ;-)


----------



## escorial

LeeC said:


> On social media I try to avoid the author parasites, when I can recognize their game, and not only don't follow them in return, but block them. It's not much different than email, everything being suspect unless it's someone you know. Today I got several new followers on Twitter, one of them sending me a direct message that she's turned on by me. Strange in that we've never met, and an author pic of me shows I too far gone to be any use ;-)



some want a sugar daddy and others want the rugged outdoor man..hey your both so go with the flow dude....


----------



## Darkkin

Books make thing better, especially when one doesn't matter...


----------



## Kevin

leec...you got groupie?! Gd...I'm so jealous.


----------



## LeeC

Four reasons I avoided any contact

1) The wife says that after investing nigh on fifty years in me, she'd kill me rather than share me.

2) I could hardly be a sugar-daddy living on social security and the $53 windfall from my book so far this year.

3) I move so slow that even the dog sits down with a bored look.

4)


----------



## ppsage

astroannie said:


> *WARNING - MEDICAL STUFF THAT MAY BOTHER SOME FOLKS*
> 
> We are almost back to normal.  My husband was at the doc on Wednesday with severe abdominal pain in the area where his appendix is and so he was sent to the radiologist and CAT-scanned and it was determined to be severe diverticulitis. He was given two oral antibiotics and two shots of a third over the next few days.  Also Toradol for the pain.  He was put on a bland diet "until he feels better" which he had a sandwich last night. But lots of mashed potatoes, pudding, bananas, that sort of thing.  And I was driving him to the doctor every day.  Because that's how bad it was.  As well as doing mom-taxi.


Been there. Got my colon shortened by a foot about 15 years ago. Many rounds of antibiotics first. Has been a reasonably successful cure though. No return of diverticulosis. Hernia patch and attachment pain. Fair trade,


----------



## The Green Shield

Oh good, I forgot to take my anxiety pills today and considering I'm in one of my "cynical foul mood" periods as I like to call it, this clearly wasn't the best idea I've has. >:[ Smart, Greenie. Real smart. I'm gonna be self-modding myself today until I can get home and take the pills.

Always take your meds, kids.


----------



## escorial

bought 2 books..one by Albert Camus new and one second hand by Susan Sontag.....so today I've walked around with 3 books in my bag...the other one i'm currently reading......The Plague by Albert Camus


----------



## Kevin

Bmw sent their 'mover' to the site. The formula 1 (one of three)is coming in October, after the last race.  We need a ramp to get it up the curb, up into the garage. The extra sets of body parts will go to the studio. I need scaffold down, drain lines in; a finished garage with an operating door. A completed driveway might help, but we still need to come straight in from the street. Not sure what the elevation gain is but the cars are very long, very low; bottom out easy...

The owner is going to paint this thing at a construction job site. In return they're giving him two 'street' models. Seems like a bad idea painting at job site.  Why they wouldn't just rent a place...?


----------



## The Green Shield

MAYDAY! MAYDAY!! MAYDAY!!! ANXIETY CAREENING OUT OF CONTROL!! IT'S SPIRALING INTO THE STRATOSPHERE, ALL COMMUNICATIONS LOST!!! OH THE HUMANITY!!!!


----------



## escorial

bought a French stick some sliced cheese..bottle of spring water and sat down looking over the River Mersey....enjoyed that and now I'm in the library writing this....


----------



## dither

escorial said:


> bought a French stick some sliced cheese..bottle of spring water and sat down looking over the River Mersey....enjoyed that and now I'm in the library writing this....



Tell you what Escorial, one of these days.


----------



## escorial

my fav computer in the library is number 49....


----------



## dither

escorial said:


> my fav computer in the library is number 49....



Is that library anywhere near lime street station?


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> MAYDAY! MAYDAY!! MAYDAY!!! ANXIETY CAREENING OUT OF CONTROL!! IT'S SPIRALING INTO THE STRATOSPHERE, ALL COMMUNICATIONS LOST!!! OH THE HUMANITY!!!!



It could be much worse, for a start you know it is anxiety,not reality. If you were in England I would sit you down with a nice cup  of tea.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Drinking a Vodka Arnold Palmer and smoking Sour. Fresh brick in my pocket.

Do the math.


----------



## Sleepwriter

RhythmOvPain said:


> Drinking a Vodka Arnold Palmer and smoking Sour. Fresh brick in my pocket.
> 
> Do the math.



Gonna pull an Ernest T Bass with that brick?


----------



## kaminoshiyo

I got my cake and ate it too. This was not the plan...


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Sleepwriter said:


> Gonna pull an Ernest T Bass with that brick?



... A "brick" is a pack of cigarettes.


----------



## The Green Shield

RhythmOvPain said:


> ... A "brick" is a pack of cigarettes.


Where I'm from, a brick means two things:

(1) A literal brick.

(2) The...um...._slang_ word for poo.


----------



## Kevin

Where I come from brick might have some slang illicit-drug reference meaning that goes in and out of style, but typically it's pronounced 'breek', and it's without nuance: just a brick, red usually. 

I wonder if the kids today would know 'shit a brick'? Language used to be so picturesque. That meant 'upset', by the way, emotionally, brick-shitting. It meant your reaction was un-literally to expel a large quantity upon hearing, or learning, or witnessing, upon becoming acutely aware...of something.


----------



## Sleepwriter

RhythmOvPain said:


> ... A "brick" is a pack of cigarettes.




I know, but had to show my age with an Andy Griffith reference.  Ernest preferred a rock, but he occasionally had bricks.   Using slang definitions makes that rather funny knowing the show.


----------



## escorial

going to a talk on mental illness in the modern age at 7 tonite...it's organized by the Socialist workers party and I'm hoping it's not more political than informative but the only way to find out is go....


----------



## The Green Shield

^ Yeah, only one way to find out. Good luck, and have fun.


----------



## escorial

The Green Shield said:


> ^ Yeah, only one way to find out. Good luck, and have fun.



it's being held in The Quakers Hall...never met one before...and there is a  vegan café to boot..nut roast..no not again...


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Where I come from brick might have some slang illicit-drug reference meaning ...


Slang is often interpreted in context, and that's what the reference brought to my mind


----------



## Bard_Daniel

escorial said:


> going to a talk on mental illness in the modern age at 7 tonite...it's organized by the Socialist workers party and I'm hoping it's not more political than informative but the only way to find out is go....



I'm very interested in how that turns out. I've never been. 

Long week. Working a lot but the week is nearly over anyway. Getting some writing done tonight.

Also, right now, I'm eating a big bowl of rice. It's tasty.


----------



## Darkkin

Okay, you don't have to be drunk, high, or insane to see purple dragons, twisty foxes, and the amazing melting cat...All you need to do is own a dog, more specifically a Rue Dog.  Bored dog and too many toys equals the aforementioned collection of items beside me.  :fox:


----------



## The Green Shield

Feeling conflicted. I tried having a beer earlier today at 5, but my stomach decided "FLONK THAT!" and ached; then I spilled half of the content on my bed before dumping the rest away in the sink. Now I've finished my second (this time _without_ the stomach ache and the spilling) but I shouldn't get a third because while I technically only had 2 1/2 beers, I'm trying to control the amount I drink. =( But a part of me is compelled to get another beer.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> Feeling conflicted. I tried having a beer earlier today at 5, but my stomach decided "FLONK THAT!" and ached; then I spilled half of the content on my bed before dumping the rest away in the sink. Now I've finished my second (this time _without_ the stomach ache and the spilling) but I shouldn't get a third because while I technically only had 2 1/2 beers, I'm trying to control the amount I drink. =( But a part of me is compelled to get another beer.



 Might as well.  But then again it will be one less you'll have for tomorrow.  Quite the quandry.


----------



## The Green Shield

Sleepwriter said:


> Might as well.  But then again it will be one less you'll have for tomorrow.  Quite the quandry.


I resisted the temptation and went immediately to bed. =) I feel proud of myself.


----------



## escorial

danielstj said:


> I'm very interested in how that turns out. I've never been.
> 
> Long week. Working a lot but the week is nearly over anyway. Getting some writing done tonight.
> 
> Also, right now, I'm eating a big bowl of rice. It's tasty.



the talk was headed by a psychiatric nurse who spoke for 25 minutes on Mental Health and then opened the floor for questions followed by a 10 minute summing up at the end...there was a bit of political banter but overall a diverse and interesting debate that often veered of the main subject and into personal issues.. Glad I went..2 hours well spent..cheers man


----------



## escorial

just bought another copy of, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates because the cover is a printed Vintage copy(1989) and the one i have is a different  style from all the other books i have of his....books man there taking over my life....


----------



## Kevin

Plumbing- we have to move all the just-installed valves down- that means tear open the lath, cut framing... It seems that planning for a 6'-7" owner is not a good idea/ was never a good idea- we needed to think 're-sale'. Christ on a cupcake, no wonder we're not going to be done ... A-aand raise-the-tub-on-a-platform was never a good idea(structure below had to be crossed, not cut) so l whispered "shower?"at the meeting and *bam* there goes the tub, out! ( it's just the help/caretaker's-they don't need a gd bathtub- shower is what people do)(anyone want a brand new $2000 tub?) with all the surrounding framing, sidewalks, platform, step cut into the face which was a bad idea/lawsuit waiting...  0kay...get me a whiskey. No, I don't drink whiskey.. Get me a something... Never mind. Yes...We'll do it.  Yep.  Going to beautiful... Awesome. Kothrin Zzzzeta Jjjjones... Swell of courshhh we'll do it.  Ob- zho- lootly


----------



## dither

So far so good.
This morning i met a lovely young lady named Susan and boy did she work me.
Susan is a physiotherapist at my local Outpatients and _i'm _on the mend.:triumphant:


----------



## midnightpoet

Kevin said:


> Plumbing- we have to move all the just-installed valves down- that means tear open the lath, cut framing... It seems that planning for a 6'-7" owner is not a good idea/ was never a good idea- we needed to think 're-sale'. Christ on a cupcake, no wonder we're not going to be done ... A-aand raise-the-tub-on-a-platform was never a good idea(structure below had to be crossed, not cut) so l whispered "shower?"at the meeting and *bam* there goes the tub, out! ( it's just the help/caretaker's-they don't need a gd bathtub- shower is what people do)(anyone want a brand new $2000 tub?) with all the surrounding framing, sidewalks, platform, step cut into the face which was a bad idea/lawsuit waiting...  0kay...get me a whiskey. No, I don't drink whiskey.. Get me a something... Never mind. Yes...We'll do it.  Yep.  Going to beautiful... Awesome. Kothrin Zzzzeta Jjjjones... Swell of courshhh we'll do it.  Ob- zho- lootly



After that you can come over and help me put in the new sink.:icon_cheesygrin: After I pulled the old one we discovered the opening was too big for the new one.


----------



## Kevin

midnightpoet said:


> After that you can come over and help me put in the new sink.:icon_cheesygrin: After I pulled the old one we discovered the opening was too big for the new one.


no problem, you just need a new counter top.


----------



## midnightpoet

Yeah, if we had the money.:grin: We'll figure out something, we've been holding this trailer together with duct tape and prayer for several years now.  This town, by the way, has no regular plumber, just some jack-leg handymen and my wife and I know more than they do.
Pretty scary.  Appreciate the thought, though.


----------



## SilverMoon

Wow! First time I popped in and love the weaving of - drinking, plumbing and mental illness. 

I don't drink anymore because one evening (a miracle?) I just didn't like the taste of my wine (and it was a good vintage!) Had my share for a life time anyway.

If I attempted pluming there would be a flood. Huge. And very unfortunate for those who don't have house/apt insurance.

But I do know about Mental Heath -



> Originally Posted by *escorial*
> 
> the talk was headed by a psychiatric nurse who spoke for 25 minutes on Mental Health and then opened the floor for questions followed by a 10 minute summing up at the end...there was a bit of political banter but overall a diverse and interesting debate that often veered of the main subject and into personal issues.. Glad I went..2 hours well spent..cheers man



This does sound interesting. I know that mental illness is more stigmatized across the pond so when you say "political  banter" are you referring speaking of the societal taboo? What was debated? Then promoting Advocacy for awareness?

 Love that it veered to personal issues. Sometimes I think that having Bi-Polar and other Conditions are a pre-requisite to being a writer. Like it's said -
There's a fine line.............


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm not sure if I narrowly escaped having a heat stroke, but after thirty minutes out in the blazing sun, I went back in weak, woozy, and with trembling arms. I'm fine now, had plenty of water and am now eating lunch.


----------



## dither

SilverMoon said:


> Sometimes I think that having Bi-Polar and other Conditions are a pre-requisite to being a writer. Like it's said -
> There's a fine line.............




I _DO _​wonder about that. Makes perfect sense to me.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> I'm not sure if I narrowly escaped having a heat stroke, but after thirty minutes out in the blazing sun, I went back in weak, woozy, and with trembling arms. I'm fine now, had plenty of water and am now eating lunch.




Sounds like it.  I don't go out to do yard work anymore with out my jug of water.    Be careful out there.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 15234

This is when life makes sense.  Good book, better dog.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just tried to go back to Facebook and felt the urge to flee again. Sorry, but I don't really like that much social media. :[ I know it's a great way to connect with friends and all, but it can be so easily misused and abused and, well, I'm not sure if I like that free rampant of power.


----------



## escorial

SilverMoon said:


> Wow! First time I popped in and love the weaving of - drinking, plumbing and mental illness.
> 
> I don't drink anymore because one evening (a miracle?) I just didn't like the taste of my wine (and it was a good vintage!) Had my share for a life time anyway.
> 
> If I attempted pluming there would be a flood. Huge. And very unfortunate for those who don't have house/apt insurance.
> 
> But I do know about Mental Heath -
> 
> 
> 
> This does sound interesting. I know that mental illness is more stigmatized across the pond so when you say "political  banter" are you referring speaking of the societal taboo? What was debated? Then promoting Advocacy for awareness?
> 
> Love that it veered to personal issues. Sometimes I think that having Bi-Polar and other Conditions are a pre-requisite to being a writer. Like it's said -
> There's a fine line.............



the crux of the debate was how the social economic breakdown of the people who are more likely to be affected by mental illness in the workplace and the relationship of the NHS in dealing with  the growing yet diminishing budget compared to other medical conditions. As a nurse she felt that all they were doing was patching people up to try and get them back into work or finding work.Then she went on about the role of drugs and whether they were just a by product of the pharmaceutical industry pampering to the needs of an ever increasing market in the West. The personal issues were mainly about the side affects of the drugs they used and the inability of the care system to have a long lasting effect on their mental health....cheers dude


----------



## Darkkin

Went out on a limb and tried on a pair of slim cut grey plaid trousers.  Wouldn't have thought I could put it off in a million years...Looks like I was wrong!  Pleated plaid is all about the cut, and these well, damn but I like them.


----------



## Sleepwriter

stressful.  gonna spend the rest of the day killing zombies.


----------



## LeeC

Not my day, but an acquaintance sent me this.


----------



## dither

I've been given a set of exercises that i have to go through to build my arm muscles up and boy do i ache right now.


----------



## LeeC

Damn, I hate how vacant an ignorant people can be, especially in recalling my own transition through such. There's a paved two lane road that passes through our little village, and sitting here quietly reading or writing I can tell by the sound when a car passes by within the 30mph speed limit, or is hauling ass in abandonment of their senses. An hour or so ago hearing a speed nut pass by, I heard a loud thump. I wheeled out to the road to find a dead porcupine. 

I know, this sort of thing happens all the time. How dare these dumb animals violate "our" space, I've heard said. This one was kind of special to me though. In my natural garden this year a porcupine family took up residence, and I think this was the mother. If so I hope the little ones are old enough to get by on their own. 

In this life fueled by life physical existence, we all kill, whether flora or fauna, to survive, but when such occurs whether by unthinking accident or unnecessary intention it diminishes us. Scaled up as it is, including the use of poisons we soak the ground with, and changing the atmosphere, it is also diminishing our existence. Oh, life will go on, but in diminishing the existence of life forms we evolved with, new life forms will evolve to counteract our destructiveness. I suppose we can't help it, aren't meant to have superior consciousness, as throughout the history of life on our little blue canoe, life forms have changed with changing habitats. 

Sorry to bend your ear, but it's a downer night, more so for me I suppose in being nursed in a culture that understood respectful coexistence with all life forms slows change and assists in species longevity.


----------



## The Green Shield

Maybe this'll cheer you up? 

I'm kicking myself for deciding to buy GTA:V on my X-Box One game store when I could've spent that money buying the DLCS for Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

THEN I HAD THE EXCELLENT IDEA TO UNINSTALL EVERYTHING TO FREE UP SPACE!!! SO NOW I HAVE TO REINSTALL THEM BACK IN AND HOPE I DIDN'T LOSE MY SAVE FILES!!!

I am a complete, utter, idiot of catastrophic levels. >:[


----------



## midnightpoet

"while they while away their hours,
in their ivory towers...

Games People Play

Joe South


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> Damn, I hate how vacant an ignorant people can be, especially in recalling my own transition through such. There's a paved two lane road that passes through our little village, and sitting here quietly reading or writing I can tell by the sound when a car passes by within the 30mph speed limit, or is hauling ass in abandonment of their senses. An hour or so ago hearing a speed nut pass by, I heard a loud thump. I wheeled out to the road to find a dead porcupine.
> 
> I know, this sort of thing happens all the time. How dare these dumb animals violate "our" space, I've heard said. This one was kind of special to me though. In my natural garden this year a porcupine family took up residence, and I think this was the mother. If so I hope the little ones are old enough to get by on their own.
> 
> In this life fueled by life physical existence, we all kill, whether flora or fauna, to survive, but when such occurs whether by unthinking accident or unnecessary intention it diminishes us. Scaled up as it is, including the use of poisons we soak the ground with, and changing the atmosphere, it is also diminishing our existence. Oh, life will go on, but in diminishing the existence of life forms we evolved with, new life forms will evolve to counteract our destructiveness. I suppose we can't help it, aren't meant to have superior consciousness, as throughout the history of life on our little blue canoe, life forms have changed with changing habitats.
> 
> Sorry to bend your ear, but it's a downer night, more so for me I suppose in being nursed in a culture that understood respectful coexistence with all life forms slows change and assists in species longevity.


 had a similar feeling when one of the local coyotes became familiar, seen at the same spot often. Until, that is, I found her, front end crushed at the very edge of the road; not even given the chance to tumble over, the velocity and mass had been so...sudden. 

It's the familiarity that does it, giving them a name, not just a one-of-them. 

She had her eyes open, stiff, so I dug a shallow hole, soil being so hard/rocky. Not even 'just a dog', but a coyote. 
The pack came weeks later and left whatever was left scattered, like how elephants do the bones.
Do they remember?


----------



## LeeC

Bless you Kevin


and don't kick your self Green Shield, we all are. The sad part is that those that don't realize will be our undoing


Yes that's about the essence of it MP


----------



## Bishop

Big fight with the wife on Saturday; continued into Sunday; Continues today. Got no sleep last night as a result, forgot to make my lunch for the day, come to work and sit down to find a mountain of code from some financial adviser who thinks (s)he's a programmer that I get to sift through and fix.

So I'm tired, and get to read bad, poorly commented code.

public bool energyDrinkNeed(obj Bishop) {
var bishop = Bishop
If {bishop = "tired" + "cranky"}
return true;
}


----------



## Kevin

Sorry to hear that B.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Woke up at 5:30 for work and finished at 3:30. 

Now I can read and write. Time to make the magic happen :excitement:... lol.


----------



## Bishop

Score update: Fight is over, wife and I are friends again, the red cranberry redbull is truly subpar to the blueberry redbull, and the financial adviser's code is still jacked.

>.> I'm working on it, I promise. *returns to browsing WF*


----------



## aj47

Bishop said:


> Big fight with the wife on Saturday; continued into Sunday; Continues today. Got no sleep last night as a result, forgot to make my lunch for the day, come to work and sit down to find a mountain of code from some financial adviser who thinks (s)he's a programmer that I get to sift through and fix.
> 
> So I'm tired, and get to read bad, poorly commented code.
> 
> public bool energyDrinkNeed(obj Bishop) {
> var bishop = Bishop
> If {bishop = "tired" + "cranky"}
> return true;
> }



In your situation, you definitely need something. 

I can't do energy drinks anymore.  I had to decaffeinate due to negative interactions with one of my prescription meds. 

Today is the beginning of fall semester.  We've got a brand new online system that doesn't have some of the features of the old system (like spam-your-classmates). Unfortunately, the first assignment in my database class is spam-your-classmates with a paragraph about yourself and why you're in this class.  There are twenty of them and it's worth five points.  The math makes it look ... unreasonable. So, I wrote one e-mail to the instructor, asking, how do I spam my classmates, or do I have to copy/pasta twenty times?  I have yet to receive a reply.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I watched the two dogs while people were away. They slept most of the day. Lazy puppies. 

Played league of legends and now waiting for fallout 4 to finish and see if it will run on this computer. 

I don't often get two days off in a row and this has been rather swell.


----------



## RhythmOvPain




----------



## The Green Shield

RhythmOvPain said:


>







Join the Dark Side. It is the only way.


----------



## Schrody

Did yoga, feel relaxed and well stretched...


----------



## Kevin

Oh do behave��

One argument on the phone by 9am. Cool... Work is awesome!


----------



## dither

Schrody said:


> Did yoga, feel relaxed and well stretched...



I used to do yoga. It can leave you with a nice glow.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Schrody said:


> Did yoga, feel relaxed and well stretched...




First read that as yoda, and was like huh?  reread, ohhhh.


----------



## Schrody

I could've phrased it better...


----------



## Schrody

dither said:


> I used to do yoga. It can leave you with a nice glow.



It's great for my back...


----------



## Reichelina

It was bad. 
I survive off 4 hours of sleep everyday (for three years now), and now, with the additional responsibilities at work (like handling my own staff) and enduring heavy traffic everyday, I can feel my soul leave my body more and more each day! HAHA. 

I miss just chilling around here and reading people's works. 

And since I am stressed... I ate for five people again. --oink--
HAHAHA. 

Toasted Blueberry Waffles, anyone?


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Reichelina said:


> It was bad.
> I survive off 4 hours of sleep everyday (for three years now), and now, with the additional responsibilities at work (like handling my own staff) and enduring heavy traffic everyday, I can feel my soul leave my body more and more each day! HAHA.
> 
> I miss just chilling around here and reading people's works.
> 
> And since I am stressed... I ate for five people again. --oink--
> HAHAHA.
> 
> Toasted Blueberry Waffles, anyone?



<3


----------



## Reichelina

RhythmOvPain said:


> <3



Hey! How art thee?


----------



## Schrody

Reichelina said:


> It was bad.
> I survive off 4 hours of sleep everyday (for three years now), and now, with the additional responsibilities at work (like handling my own staff) and enduring heavy traffic everyday, I can feel my soul leave my body more and more each day! HAHA.
> 
> I miss just chilling around here and reading people's works.
> 
> And since I am stressed... I ate for five people again. --oink--
> HAHAHA.
> 
> Toasted Blueberry Waffles, anyone?




Ugh. I'm sorry. Not even eight hours is enough for me, can't imagine how are you  able to function... And yes, I would like one waffle please, I'm trying  not to eat too much!


----------



## Reichelina

Schrody said:


> Ugh. I'm sorry. Not even eight hours is enough for me, can't imagine how are you  able to function... And yes, I would like one waffle please, I'm trying  not to eat too much!



Gotta ask! How do you maintain your sexy figure, Schrody?


----------



## Schrody

I wouldn't describe it as sexy, but as average one (I plan to lose around 3-5 kilos). I stared exercising yoga and HIIT (workouts of low and high intensity). I think I read about correlation of lack of sleep and overeating somewhere...

*Yoga*, *HIIT

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh6_h3cYLwE


----------



## escorial

so far not so good but I'm trying to salvage what's left........


----------



## Reichelina

Schrody said:


> I wouldn't describe it as sexy, but as average one (I plan to lose around 3-5 kilos). I stared exercising yoga and HIIT (workouts of low and high intensity). I think I read about correlation of lack of sleep and overeating somewhere...
> 
> *Yoga*, *HIIT
> 
> *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh6_h3cYLwE



Yeah. I eat my stress away. 
I'll try to lose 15-20 kilos. Hehehehe.  

I'll try to do HIIT during weekends.
Thanks Schrody!


----------



## Schrody

escorial said:


> so far not so good but I'm trying to salvage what's left........



What's wrong, es?



Reichelina said:


> Yeah. I eat my stress away.
> I'll try to lose 15-20 kilos. Hehehehe.
> 
> I'll try to do HIIT during weekends.
> Thanks Schrody!



Just don't do HIIT more that three times per week - you need to allow your body to rest!


----------



## Olly Buckle

The missus has broken her ankle, she was out with the ramblers and slipped. Had to walk 4 miles back to her car.

My problems have been mechanical, a fractured exhaust, a clutch thrust bearing, and a puncture; all in about the last ten days.


----------



## Kevin

Melodic mood-altering metal on my drive home. No idea who any of these bands are- no announcer-and I don't care, but it makes for a pleasant drive. Radio, believe it or not. (KXLU stream too)


----------



## aj47

I had a birthday recently.  Not a big deal, they happen every year.  

A friend of mine loaned me a guitar a month or so back and we got together tonight and I played a bit for him and he *gifted* me the guitar. It's not just any guitar, either, it's a Little Martin.  I was saving up to buy my own travel-sized guitar (I have small hands) and this was totally unexpected.  I am ... just *wow*.  

So, now I'm too excited to sleep.  So I'm here.  I can't play because the rest of my household is *not *too excited to sleep.


----------



## The Green Shield

Re-playing Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga has brought back a lot of memories. I forgot how much I loved this game. I also decided to buy Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens to continue the fun. Later on today, I'll see if I can't find Lego Harry Potter in stores. 


Nostalgia kicked me hard in the tail today, apparently.


----------



## Kevin

Netflixed foreign movie, "Mustang", about 5 sisters living in Turkey. Not what I expected. "Are there still places like that?" "Worse.."


----------



## Schrody

Olly Buckle said:


> The missus has broken her ankle, she was out with the ramblers and slipped. Had to walk 4 miles back to her car.
> 
> My problems have been mechanical, a fractured exhaust, a clutch thrust bearing, and a puncture; all in about the last ten days.



Ouch! Hope she'll recover soon!


----------



## escorial

Schrody said:


> What's wrong, es?



just feeling down so i ended up staying in the city all night..made my way further away from all the beatlmania that's been happening and got sloshed..which often helps.


----------



## dither

Knackered here.
I've taken to walking to Letts and Stugely. It takes much longer to get there, obviously, so i kill some time and it costs less than the bus but jeez my poor plates o' meat.

And i'm putting myself out there, i guess.:scratch:

Purple fingers, the hedgerows are loaded with blackberries.


----------



## aj47

escorial said:


> just feeling down



virtual hugs.  sometimes the world is bigger than we'd like.



dither said:


> Purple fingers, the hedgerows are loaded with blackberries.



hugs to you too, and yum, blackberries.  We have a patch near here where a road ends, but it's kinda rough to get to.


----------



## dither

My mother used to make the best apple and blackberry pie ever. 
Might have a word with her about that.:grin:


----------



## Schrody

escorial said:


> just feeling down so i ended up staying in the city all night..made my way further away from all the beatlmania that's been happening and got sloshed..which often helps.



I'm sorry...  Take care of yourself


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> I had a birthday recently.  Not a big deal, they happen every year.
> 
> A friend of mine loaned me a guitar a month or so back and we got together tonight and I played a bit for him and he *gifted* me the guitar. It's not just any guitar, either, it's a Little Martin.  I was saving up to buy my own travel-sized guitar (I have small hands) and this was totally unexpected.  I am ... just *wow*.
> 
> So, now I'm too excited to sleep.  So I'm here.  I can't play because the rest of my household is *not *too excited to sleep.




that rocks...


----------



## escorial

belated wishes astroannie....


----------



## aj47

escorial said:


> belated wishes astroannie....



Thank you. I made a fresh strawberry cake which was not as good as I anticipated.  Next time I'll make the Bailey's cake. 

I got several wonderful gifts.  An election t-shirt


a songbook with words and chords to 1200 songs, and, of course, the Little Martin.


----------



## escorial

you bake,write poetry and play the guitar...the list is endless with you....can you play samba pat ti...?


----------



## aj47

I keep my recipes on a wiki.  Geeky of me, but ...

I don't drink typically, except the occasional stout, but I cook with beer, wine, and spirits.  So making the Bailey's cake would require a special trip to the liquor store.  Which is why it didn't happen.  My grocer carries strawberries.  

Food is life.  Making and sharing food is a Thing with me.  It's why I keep my eyes open for cooking-for-one for you, even though I cook for four (including a 6-foot behemoth of a teenage son).


----------



## escorial

"food is life"....now that's passion right there....cool


----------



## LeeC

I found social media a bit more enjoyable this morning seeing this.

I love both classical music and Nature


----------



## escorial

bought two bandanas  today..going to a folk music gig..free at the Liverpool waterfront over the weekend


----------



## dither

escorial said:


> bought two bandanas  today..going to a folk music gig..free at the Liverpool waterfront over the weekend



I reckon the girl who's sitting at the piano could use those.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

2000 words done. Another productive day.

YEAH! : D


----------



## escorial

cool 2k.....


----------



## Reichelina

Got those days when I get upset because of a small thing but my brain tells me I should stay upset.


----------



## escorial

Reichelina said:


> Got those days when I get upset because of a small thing but my brain tells me I should stay upset.




the brain is often judge and jury..when you feel your emotions are something you cannot control then your mind is just a bully


----------



## Reichelina

escorial said:


> the brain is often judge and jury..when you feel your emotions are something you cannot control then your mind is just a bully



Oh yeah. 
There's this 10% of my brain saying, "Be nice! You're being absurd right now!" 

But then 90% of your brain is like, "Nah, everyone is an enemy!!! Mwahahahaha!"


----------



## escorial

this site is full of people trying to express themselves,some in a positive way and others in a negative way and sum in a percentage way.....a recurring theme that you often just want to ignore but can't and it all seems so absurd and pointless but the truth is that our perception on things is what helps to define ourselves....having a percentage call is a choice and that is where your strength is in having the ability to choose and not feel it's always a reaction....


----------



## JustRob

Today being Sunday I will spend it at leisure in the company of my angel, but yesterday I was actually writing. I only had the opportunity because it was still too hot to do anything more physical. At least that was my excuse. The weather is cooling now, so my writing will have to go on the back burner again.

I wrote the first chapter of my historical work _The Kibbles of Greentrees_. It is only a couple of pages but information about an insignificant family living in the English countryside in 1770 was very sparse. Towards the end of the eighteenth century more facts became available but as I will be documenting the family's history through to the end of the nineteenth century I have a long way to go.

This is very different from writing fiction, although I'm not sure that stringing together a series of apparently related facts in a way that tells a story is necessarily writing history. It is evident that I am very adept at discovering coincidences, so what I am writing may simply be a whole series of misleading coincidences. Nevertheless it is a story worth telling. Also, in the interests of accuracy I am obliged only to _tell_ it, not _show_ it, and if I stretch my imagination anywhere I need to make that clear. In fact I am writing the story almost as an invitation to the reader to use their own imagination to fill the spaces between the facts, which to my mind is a way of making history far more interesting. It will almost be the historical equivalent of a colouring book with me just providing the inspiring outlines.

I recently wrote the draft preface to the story and posted it - here - for comment. However, as I have been pursuing this project for many years at a gentle pace I doubt that any more will come of it for some time.


----------



## The Green Shield

*WARNING: FIRST-WORLD-PROBLEMS COMPLAINT ALERT!!
*
Funny but ever since I started my YouTube channel, I've became somewhat bummed out that hardly anyone notices it, or even seem to care about it. There's one subscriber, yes, but they keep it private so I've no idea who subscribed, or if they're even watching. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, maybe I'm not following Step #2 and broadcasting my YouTube channel. Still, it kind of stings. If no one likes it, why don't they just tell me? It's like, ‘what am I doing wrong?’


And what's weird is that I initially started it just as a hobby, something I could do to pass the time but now that I officially have a YouTube channel, there's an internal gut feeling compelling me to make it bigger, grander and, it's...I know it's kind of pathetic to act like a whiner because no one owes me a damn thing because I can post videos on YouTube. Woo, right? One part of me says, ‘Why do I bother making these if no one will watch it?’ Another part says, ‘It's a hobby, man! Who cares?!’ Naturally, these oppositions veiws are at war with each other and I don't really know what to do about it. :/


I hope I don't sound like an overly-entitled whiner, just wanted to put these thoughts out of my mind.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> *WARNING: FIRST-WORLD-PROBLEMS COMPLAINT ALERT!!
> *
> Funny but ever since I started my YouTube channel, I've became somewhat bummed out that hardly anyone notices it, or even seem to care about it. There's one subscriber, yes, but they keep it private so I've no idea who subscribed, or if they're even watching. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, maybe I'm not following Step #2 and broadcasting my YouTube channel. Still, it kind of stings. If no one likes it, why don't they just tell me? It's like, ‘what am I doing wrong?’
> 
> 
> And what's weird is that I initially started it just as a hobby, something I could do to pass the time but now that I officially have a YouTube channel, there's an internal gut feeling compelling me to make it bigger, grander and, it's...I know it's kind of pathetic to act like a whiner because no one owes me a damn thing because I can post videos on YouTube. Woo, right? One part of me says, ‘Why do I bother making these if no one will watch it?’ Another part says, ‘It's a hobby, man! Who cares?!’ Naturally, these oppositions veiws are at war with each other and I don't really know what to do about it. :/
> 
> 
> I hope I don't sound like an overly-entitled whiner, just wanted to put these thoughts out of my mind.



have you thought about posting on like material on Youtube and asking if they would check out your channel and provide feedback?


----------



## The Green Shield

Sleepwriter said:


> have you thought about posting on like material on Youtube and asking if they would check out your channel and provide feedback?


You mean like go on, say, gaming videos and ask commentators to check out my channel and provide feedback? Doesn't that seem a bit...well...whiny and “PAY ATTENTION TO MEEEEEEE!!!!”


----------



## Kevin

Teshina is from Tennessee. Gary has been gone since the argument. I introduced myself. She said that if she was being filmed she wanted to get paid. I assured her I was not/would not film her, only take pictures of the house/site, which might include the surroundings. Pictures for money--it sounds creepy; 'Hollywood'. There were two, small, fresh nicks out of her eyebrow. Did he do those? There are so many personal things I could've asked. I didn't. I have no right... I told her I don't call the cops. I wonder how bad Tennessee was; why this and why that. Some people have it in them to run off raccoons and all sorts of varmint. Not me. It's not my house. I only work here.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

The Green Shield said:


> *WARNING: FIRST-WORLD-PROBLEMS COMPLAINT ALERT!!
> *
> Funny but ever since I started my YouTube channel, I've became somewhat bummed out that hardly anyone notices it, or even seem to care about it. There's one subscriber, yes, but they keep it private so I've no idea who subscribed, or if they're even watching. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, maybe I'm not following Step #2 and broadcasting my YouTube channel. Still, it kind of stings. If no one likes it, why don't they just tell me? It's like, ‘what am I doing wrong?’
> 
> 
> And what's weird is that I initially started it just as a hobby, something I could do to pass the time but now that I officially have a YouTube channel, there's an internal gut feeling compelling me to make it bigger, grander and, it's...I know it's kind of pathetic to act like a whiner because no one owes me a damn thing because I can post videos on YouTube. Woo, right? One part of me says, ‘Why do I bother making these if no one will watch it?’ Another part says, ‘It's a hobby, man! Who cares?!’ Naturally, these oppositions veiws are at war with each other and I don't really know what to do about it. :/
> 
> 
> I hope I don't sound like an overly-entitled whiner, just wanted to put these thoughts out of my mind.



whats your channel?  i have one too, which is pretty small.  Its called CodingHiro and ill follow yours and try to give out as many shoutouts on social media as I can for it


----------



## The Green Shield

GuitarHiro97 said:


> whats your channel?  i have one too, which is pretty small.  Its called CodingHiro and ill follow yours and try to give out as many shoutouts on social media as I can for it


ScarletImp2113. That's my username. I'll follow yours as well. Much appreciated. =) I hope I didn't sound like a whiny, overly-entitled person. 

Also, _DUDE!!_ Your videos! Can you please do playlists where you teach folks how to use the Microsoft Suite? I'd love to learn how to do Access but can't find a proper tutorial for it online.

Java sounds pretty interesting though. I'll take a look at it, though I barely know HTML coding.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I stole a bike. xD


----------



## RhythmOvPain

The Green Shield said:


> *WARNING: FIRST-WORLD-PROBLEMS COMPLAINT ALERT!!
> *
> Funny but ever since I started my YouTube channel, I've became somewhat bummed out that hardly anyone notices it, or even seem to care about it. There's one subscriber, yes, but they keep it private so I've no idea who subscribed, or if they're even watching. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, maybe I'm not following Step #2 and broadcasting my YouTube channel. Still, it kind of stings. If no one likes it, why don't they just tell me? It's like, ‘what am I doing wrong?’
> 
> 
> And what's weird is that I initially started it just as a hobby, something I could do to pass the time but now that I officially have a YouTube channel, there's an internal gut feeling compelling me to make it bigger, grander and, it's...I know it's kind of pathetic to act like a whiner because no one owes me a damn thing because I can post videos on YouTube. Woo, right? One part of me says, ‘Why do I bother making these if no one will watch it?’ Another part says, ‘It's a hobby, man! Who cares?!’ Naturally, these oppositions veiws are at war with each other and I don't really know what to do about it. :/
> 
> 
> I hope I don't sound like an overly-entitled whiner, just wanted to put these thoughts out of my mind.



It's very hard to become popular on YouTube if you aren't a retarded gay asshole or a woman. >>


----------



## The Green Shield

RhythmOvPain said:


> It's very hard to become popular on YouTube if you aren't a retarded gay asshole or a woman. >>


Well, I _could_ make videos where I angrily scream at the camera about crappy books I read for review. .What? Nostalgic Critic does movies and Angry Joe does video games. XD


----------



## escorial

young girl in the library asked me to spell functional...I got it right...the pressure was on because I'm crap at it....


----------



## aj47

I am dismayed with Microsoft.  This isn't hatred or anger.  There is no burning or fire.  This is quiet and emptying.

Sometimes, when I get updates and I have to restart, it comes up to the screen with the blue Window and the little loading circle thingie. Then, it goes dark, and instead of playing the little theme music and starting Windows, it comes back to a black screen with just the little loading circle thingie and it will do that for hours (2+ while I picked my daughter up from the park & ride and made and ate dinner last night) if I let it.  I've normally given it 10-15 minutes or until the hard disk light quits flashing.  I finally shut it down with the Button of Power.  It worked right when I started it then.  However, this has happened previously.  I am concerned for the day it doesn't come back and work right.  Now, I can employ the Button of Power and boot into Linux so it's not my computer.  

When I first had this problem was ... updating to Win10 and I chatted up Microsoft on my tablet and the Button of Power was all they had for me.  But it had been an hour waiting for a technician in chat and it worked when I did it then.

I had a Visual C++ project due at midnight along with 42 questions.  I'd gotten it down to 12 errors and had to go pick up my daughter so thought that the restart would be riskable.  Um, no.  Bad idea.  I will *never* restart in the middle of a project again.  My backup plan was to boot Linux, hand in what I had (I can read the Windows HD from Linux) and explain my situation.


----------



## Gumby

Boy, that makes me glad I didn't upgrade to Win 10, when they seemed to be pushing it down my throat.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

My new laptop came with Win 10 and I'm stuck with the updates whether I like it or not. I'm using the old laptop with Win 8.1, but now it won't allow me to do the windows updates. No big loss there, I guess.

Yeah, I had an update on Win 10 that took about two hours. Luckily it's really my backup so I don't miss much here plus I do all my writing on the old laptop. I only really use the new laptop for updates and to play music or videos once in a while. That will change eventually, but for now, the arrangement works pretty well for me.


----------



## aj47

I didn't either, voluntarily.  They snuck in and did it while I wasn't looking. I reinstalled 7 from CD because of it.

But I have a class in Access and in July, while it was still free, I e-mailed my instructor and asked if Win10 was needed and he said it was "strongly recommended" and that he could help me upgrade if I needed it.  So I went from a Win7 machine to a dual-boot Linux Mint / Win10.


----------



## Kevin

Blue Shield just told me my policy will no longer be offered. I told them I'm pretty sure they're wrong because I remember "'...you can keep your old policy.'" They laughed and said 'Mandala Effect', before they hung up on me.


----------



## Sonata

Gumby said:


> Boy, that makes me glad I didn't upgrade to Win 10, when they seemed to be pushing it down my throat.



I do not understand these problems people seem to have with W10.  My computer guru who had been Beta testing it for yonks. convinced to to change from W7  to W10 and it has never required updates.  Why do people hate Microsoft so much?


----------



## aj47

It may be that my computer is older and refurbished.  The updates come directly from Microsoft.  Maybe he has them turned off on your computer. Ask him.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

You probably do have the updates turned off, Sonata. I have mine limited so it doesn't install anything out of nowhere. I manually install the updates every Patch Tuesday to get them over with.


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Blue Shield just told me my policy will no longer be offered. I told them I'm pretty sure they're wrong because I remember "'...you can keep your old policy.'" They laughed and said 'Mandala Effect', before they hung up on me.



The last throes of civilization are when the unfettered vultures are picking the bones clean ;-)


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> The last throes of civilization are when the unfettered vultures are picking the bones clean ;-)


Oh god... No wonder my ribs hurt.


----------



## Phil Istine

I think in terms of days that are good or bad, this rates as one of the better ones.  I have a personal debt mountain and some months, it can be a source of anxiety, though I always manage to find a way through - just.
Recently, I've been stressing about paying an overdue tax bill and I'm behind with the rent on my work unit - although, in fairness, the landlord is treating me better than I deserve.
Anyway, some years ago, I started paying in to an insurance policy.  After I had it for several years, it started to become clear that it was inappropriate for my needs so I cancelled it.  At the time I just thought _caveat emptor _and put it down to experience.  Well, over the years, it's gradually sunk in that the seller has responsibilities too, and that it may come under the heading of mis-selling.  So, I tried my luck and complained.
Today I got the letter back with an offer.  By the time I pay my tax bill, back rent, and treat my friend to a slap-up breakfast (he put me onto this in the first place), there will be very little change.  But I don't care.  I will still have my debt mountain but will be a bit better placed to tackle it.  Also, I will be in a position to put aside a percentage of my daily turnover for the next tax bill on January 31st (that one will be much smaller anyway).
I've been given a financial lifeline to start pulling things around, and I intend to make the best of it.  I still need to work hard and live frugally, but I've kind of got used to that over the years anyway.


----------



## Phil Istine

astroannie said:


> I didn't either, voluntarily.  They snuck in and did it while I wasn't looking. I reinstalled 7 from CD because of it.
> 
> But I have a class in Access and in July, while it was still free, I e-mailed my instructor and asked if Win10 was needed and he said it was "strongly recommended" and that he could help me upgrade if I needed it.  So I went from a Win7 machine to a dual-boot Linux Mint / Win10.



If it were possible, I would still be using Windows 98SE, the last Windows system before Microsoft decided to hold people's hands whilst simultaneously breaking their fingers.


----------



## Sonata

astroannie said:


> It may be that my computer is older and refurbished.  The updates come directly from Microsoft.  Maybe he has them turned off on your computer. Ask him.



My PC was fairly new - my computer guy  builds them for me, and updates are automatic and not turned off.    Maybe the fact that he is a Microsft engineer has something to do with it?  If W10 needs an update it does it when I put my PC into sleep mode at night and everything is back to normal when I wake it up in the morning.



mrmustard615 said:


> You probably do have the updates turned off, Sonata. I have mine limited so it doesn't install anything out of nowhere. I manually install the updates every Patch Tuesday to get them over with.



See above.  I trust my computer guy implicitly - I have known him for a very long time.


----------



## aj47

Then it must be all of the programmer-related stuff that I have that you have no use for.  I'm sure you don't have Visual C++, etc. and so they're not updating and those are probably the problem children.


----------



## The Green Shield

After posting a comment on a political video in YouTube, a fellow commentator replied that he/she thought I was a stupid f****t and should drink bleach. 

Makes sense. I have a different opinion, so clearly that means I'm gay _and_ should kill myself. :applouse::excitement:*A WONDEROUS DISPLAY OF LOGIC, FOLKS!!*:applouse::excitement:


----------



## Deleted member 56686

This is why I never post on political forums and certainly not on youtube or facebook. If you look at half of the replies there, you'd think you were living in some totalitarian country.


----------



## dither

just another day here.
As totally nothing as tomorrow.


----------



## The Green Shield

mrmustard615 said:


> This is why I never post on political forums and certainly not on youtube or facebook. If you look at half of the replies there, you'd think you were living in some totalitarian country.


Or in a pre-school classroom full of screaming toddlers shouting -colorful- insults at each other and wishing pain, torment and death on each other. o___O What year did rational logic, discourse and calm, careful debate die?


----------



## am_hammy

My day is going quicker than I anticipated, although the stocking I'm doing for a particular line of gifts we carry is taking forever because the back stock has, yet again, been messed up. So it has to get fixed... Again.

but it's cool cause I have a day shift tomorrow and I'm off on Sunday woop. Nothing like a good Sunday off.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Daughter phoned. She had been running a session of her music class.

https://www.facebook.com/Little-Piccolos-890905830959360/


----------



## midnightpoet

The Green Shield said:


> Or in a pre-school classroom full of screaming toddlers shouting -colorful- insults at each other and wishing pain, torment and death on each other. o___O What year did rational logic, discourse and calm, careful debate die?



My guess is when Socrates drank the hemlock.:icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## Olly Buckle

midnightpoet said:


> My guess is when Socrates drank the hemlock.:icon_cheesygrin:



No, it's alive and well amongst the serious players, the military are heavily into rational logic, discourse, and calm careful debate; within the parameters of their own basic assumptions, but everyone is like that.


----------



## LeeC

Olly Buckle said:


> No, it's alive and well amongst the serious players, the military are heavily into rational logic, discourse, and calm careful debate; within the parameters of their own basic assumptions, but everyone is like that.


Everyone? What about all those books on Amazon, whose authors seemingly don't bother to read anything more than McDonald's menus, or all the comfortable people in their tidy little kitchens that won't entertain the thought that the fossil fuel industry, and others, are bleeding them dry, or those that believe in artificial realities? Ummm, I'm leaning more to the daycare mentality ;-)

BTW: enjoyed the Little Piccolos Facebook page.


----------



## midnightpoet

Olly Buckle said:


> No, it's alive and well amongst the serious players, the military are heavily into rational logic, discourse, and calm careful debate; within the parameters of their own basic assumptions, but everyone is like that.



Eternal question: can a pedant take a joke?:joker:


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I am exhausted. Why do I care so much about my job? Why do I lie when an associate asks, "Do you need any help?" "No, I am fine." That's the problem. I can handle most of the workload, but it would help if I wasn't caught up in "proving a point". 

Just a reminder of what I do. I was recently promoted as the Pricing and Scanning Coordinator for a large supermarket chain (in a fairly large store). I've been cross-training in multiple departments in the last two and a half years I've been working with the company. However, I chose this department when I signed up with the Rising Star Program. It's a career development opportunity program the company offers to good employees. 

I am extremely pleased after work when I can walk around the store to see what I did. My own accomplishments that were completed by two hands. When you walk into a grocery store, take a moment to appreciate the signage. The tags. The sales. Someone printed those signs. Someone hung those tags. Imagine that - they probably pushed carriages in the heat, operated compactors for both garbage and cardboard. Now, they can look down from their window in a fancy office with a large Lexmark printer. That printer deserves more kudos! Anyway, they can look down at all the shoes they filled. All the positions actively working hard to provide quality service to our valued customers. 

I was recently transferred to another store. The full timer is currently on a medical leave. Fridays are the first day of the sale week. Brand new signs. Brand new sales. One guy running the show until the help arrives. That's usually close to the time I leave. 

My day was productive right to the last minute. That's all that matters.

*
Edit: *

In case you want a plot twist, I printed a typed resignation letter within two months of working with the company. It was sealed. The manager jokingly gives the envelope back, "I don't take gratuity."

"No Jim. It's my two weeks." 
"_Your what_?" 
"I am done." 
"Ugh, _shit_. No. No. Seriously?" 
"I can't stand the front. I don't want to be a cashier." 
"Okay, we'll put you somewhere else, alright?" Jim handed the resignation back in my hand. 

He never knew what I wrote. Since the day, I was placed organizing returns. I don't think there's any other store that had a designated position just for returns. Items customers refuse to buy at the register. Not enough money. Not interested. Wrong products. You know, those items. I've been trained in more than 5 different departments. Before I made an official acceptance to the promotional offer, I visited the new prospective store. There he was standing next to the store manager. 

"Jim! I haven't seen you in almost three years!" 


Had Jim accepted my resignation letter, I would have never succeeded the way I did within this company. I would have never been offered this opportunity to work with the man who changed my retail experience.


----------



## LeeC

^ "_You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give._" ~ anon, falsely attributed to Winston Churchill


----------



## Winston

Cracked a tooth a couple of days ago.  Got it fixed yesterday.  Still hurts like hell.  A bologna sandwich on white bread gave me fits today.  
Soup for dinner.  With a couple of Advil.  And a couple of pints.  
School trip with the boy tomorrow.  Lunch? I dunno. God help me.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Winston said:


> Cracked a tooth a couple of days ago.  Got it fixed yesterday.  Still hurts like hell.  A bologna sandwich on white bread gave me fits today.
> Soup for dinner.  With a couple of Advil.  And a couple of pints.
> School trip with the boy tomorrow.  Lunch? I dunno. God help me.




Hope they crowned it, otherwise not sure anything else would help.   Last crown I got hurt like a mug for a couple days after, due to the way my new dentist does them.  REALLY miss my old one.


----------



## queenie

Admittedly, it's the start of the day, but so far I've joined this wonderful forum, so it's great


----------



## dither

queenie said:


> Admittedly, it's the start of the day, but so far I've joined this wonderful forum, so it's great



Well good on yer queenie.


----------



## PiP

queenie said:


> Admittedly, it's the start of the day, but so far I've joined this wonderful forum, so it's great


Hey, queenie, great to see you participating on the forums. Just shout if you need any help.


----------



## Reichelina

Food, zombies and cousins.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Near miss on the interstate, long doctor appointment, migraine.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Got some new writing related stuff.

Exhibit A- A cork-board:




My dad helped me set it up on my wall beside my bed.

Exhibit B- Writing Materials:



Pens, thumb-tacks, index cards and paper. 

The plan is to start planning some of my works before I write them. It's something I've been meaning to test with for awhile. I'm going to give it a shot.

Having a good day! : D


----------



## aj47

Sleepwriter said:


> Near miss on the interstate, long doctor appointment, migraine.



My husband and son get migraines.  Youch.  Are you a regular sufferer?


----------



## Sleepwriter

astroannie said:


> My husband and son get migraines.  Youch.  Are you a regular sufferer?




I average about 4 a month, usually gone in 24 hours, this one has been lingering on for about a week now, ebbing and flowing, but never quite leaving.


----------



## aj47

Have you tried: BC Powder, in the strongest flavored juice you have on hand, plus a snack (the aspirin is gut-busting).  It has potassium and caffeine, both, and it's what my son't neurologist recommends he have on hand in the school nurse's office.

All the other good stuff I know requires a prescription.  Hope you get better soonest.


----------



## JustRob

astroannie said:


> My husband and son get migraines.  Youch.  Are you a regular sufferer?



My angel's trigeminal neuralgia has kicked in again. It's known as the suicide illness as that's the best known cure for chronic sufferers. If she's particularly unlucky she can get a migraine as well, but the two seem to be unconnected. While the migraine is short-lived the neuralgia can go on for weeks or months. The trigeminal nerve connects directly into the brain over a very short distance, so no painkillers can interfere with the sensations from it.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I have a backlog of about 3-5 stories and about 20+ poems that I need to get working on editing to post on here. :X

But now it is time for bed. A good productive day. Night!


----------



## RhythmOvPain

My life is too fucked up to make any kind of sense.


----------



## Sleepwriter

My migraine finally subsided yesterday. Woke up feeling good.  Got to to work, and the migraine returned.  Imagine that.


----------



## Kevin

5:15 am and there's a ghost on the road. 
2 miles from the houses to the city again. No street lamps, no houses and there's a coyote- no it's a white dog. I slow down and it's coming toward me down the center line. I stop and it comes to the door. I open it and it jumps in, happy to see me. 
There's a tag but she's so squirmy I can't read it. I'm holding her away, pushing her to the passenger's side so I can see to drive. 
Where's my cellphone? She's kicked it somewhere. I have to pull over, find a spot. I turn around, head back home.

"You can't leave her here- she might be a chewer." I've already called both numbers on the tag, but it's 5:30 in the morning. I'm already late so I text that she's going to work with me-if you don't answer soon I'll be on the freeway. The owner texts me back 15 miles later. 'Okay, see you around four pm.'

What was I going to do, push her back out there to the cars or the coyotes?


----------



## aj47

Sleepwriter said:


> My migraine finally subsided yesterday. Woke up feeling good.  Got to to work, and the migraine returned.  Imagine that.



oh dear


----------



## Reichelina

Can this day get any worse?


----------



## PrinzeCharming

Reichelina said:


> Can this day get any worse?



Well, you're asking for someone to ask! Allow me ... 

*Guuuuurl, 
*


----------



## Reichelina

PrinzeCharming said:


> Well, you're asking for someone to ask! Allow me ...
> 
> *Guuuuurl,
> *



Haha! 
Well, work. I'm on training, meaning study study study.
I could've left work 5pm so I can avoid rush hour and traffic and be home by 7pm but!!! Server failed just as about we're saving our work.
Had to wait 2 hours in queue. I know! It sucks. 
Then, I was second in line for the next van, this (insert adjective to describe someone not so smart) is so (use that word again). He was in front of me but he was walking so slow the others at the back got to the van before us!

Being first in line gives you the privilege to choose the most comfortable seat. He threw it away and because of him, I had to take not-so-comfy seats! (My back hurts, you know, scoliosis) He's currently beside me and he doesn't smell nice. 

Add all that to the fact that I got 4 hours of sleep everyday and won't be able to sleep in on Saturday because of some appointment.

Hahahaha. I need cookies to feel better! Sorry for the rant.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Kay, my shit just hit critical.

I am so god damn fucked right now that I don't even care anymore.


----------



## The Green Shield

RhythmOvPain said:


> Kay, my shit just hit critical.
> 
> I am so god damn fucked right now that I don't even care anymore.


What happened? Anything we can do it help?


----------



## RhythmOvPain

The Green Shield said:


> What happened? Anything we can do it help?



I'm going to be destitute for the rest of my life.

>>


----------



## aj47

RhythmOvPain said:


> I'm going to be destitute for the rest of my life.
> 
> >>



oh my, did you lose a judgment or something?


----------



## dither

Is there such a thing as being "emotionally destitute"? because that's how _i've _​felt for as long as i can remember.


----------



## Kevin

dither said:


> Is there such a thing as being "emotionally destitute"? because that's how _i've _​felt for as long as i can remember.


so basically you only 'feel' like eat, drink, shite/wee, and sleep... Hopefully not the last one before the two before it, caused by the one before that. Yeah, that's when you know you're really down: when you get the order wrong.


----------



## LeeC

Entering the medical center for routine tests, making my way slowly across the lobby on my canes, a young woman intent on her electronic gadget (maybe texting will walking?) crashed into me knocking me over. Looking at me with a scowl on her face she said, "Oh, I'm sorry." Ummm, yeah right, I thought. Then she hurried out the door as I asked her if she had car insurance.

One of the two guys that rushed over to pick me up, laughed saying, "You want me to get her license plate?" which got everybody else laughing. We had a gay old time, and they pushed me in a wheelchair to and from my appointment, so I got a free ride. There's a bright side to everything


----------



## Kevin

Rode...three coyotes in the flats at the start, couple dozen morning doves on the way up (kept spooking them) one road runner at the first peak, some quail hopping around the bushes, and one large bobcat on the way back. Only seen three in my life...


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Rode...three coyotes in the flats at the start, couple dozen morning doves on the way up (kept spooking them) one road runner at the first peak, some quail hopping around the bushes, and one large bobcat on the way back. Only seen three in my life...


Kevin, did you see the meme I posted just for you in the funny pictures thread?


----------



## aj47

I am sad.  We apparently have/had a lot of skunks in the area as the past several days I've smelled skunk at different places on the way to school or dropping off my daughter at the park & ride.  I figure if I'm smelling them, they've been bothered by humans, most likely hit by a vehicle.  I have not seen any roadkill since I moved to this particular part of suburbia eight years ago, but I've seen enough critters (mostly squirrels, but a 'dillo or two and, once, a turtle) scamper across the roads that I'm sure it happens.  I'm not a very good driver and if I can manage to avoid hitting critters, then so can the better drivers around me.  I guess maybe they don't give a rat's asterisk or something.  I don't really mind the smell of skunk from a distance--it's a natural smell and it's got it's place in the world. What I mind is the reason I'm smelling it.


----------



## Kevin

astroannie said:


> I am sad.  We apparently have/had a lot of skunks in the area as the past several days I've smelled skunk at different places on the way to school or dropping off my daughter at the park & ride.  I figure if I'm smelling them, they've been bothered by humans, most likely hit by a vehicle.  I have not seen any roadkill since I moved to this particular part of suburbia eight years ago, but I've seen enough critters (mostly squirrels, but a 'dillo or two and, once, a turtle) scamper across the roads that I'm sure it happens.  I'm not a very good driver and if I can manage to avoid hitting critters, then so can the better drivers around me.  I guess maybe they don't give a rat's asterisk or something.  I don't really mind the smell of skunk from a distance--it's a natural smell and it's got it's place in the world. What I mind is the reason I'm smelling it.


smells like weed, or, after prolonged exposure, burnt toast. I think skunks, like coyotes and deer, and possums, are doing fine as a species.


----------



## queenie

Good day. Getting a lot of writing done.


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> I am sad.  We apparently have/had a lot of skunks in the area as the past several days I've smelled skunk at different places on the way to school or dropping off my daughter at the park & ride.  I figure if I'm smelling them, they've been bothered by humans, most likely hit by a vehicle.  I have not seen any roadkill since I moved to this particular part of suburbia eight years ago, but I've seen enough critters (mostly squirrels, but a 'dillo or two and, once, a turtle) scamper across the roads that I'm sure it happens.  I'm not a very good driver and if I can manage to avoid hitting critters, then so can the better drivers around me.  I guess maybe they don't give a rat's asterisk or something.  I don't really mind the smell of skunk from a distance--it's a natural smell and it's got it's place in the world. What I mind is the reason I'm smelling it.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Rode...three coyotes in the flats at the start, couple dozen morning doves on the way up (kept spooking them) one road runner at the first peak, some quail hopping around the bushes, and one large bobcat on the way back. Only seen three in my life...





all that in one day..wow..man


----------



## Sonata

escorial said:


> all that in one day..wow..man



Lovely pictures Esc, thank you, but where was the bobcat?


----------



## escorial

one bob!!..sonata..cool


----------



## Olly Buckle

See loads of dead badgers, it is a bit amazing. When I was young they had a reputation for extreme shyness, deserting a woods for a while if humans even walked through, now they don't seem to give a damn. Same with jays, found their feathers all the time when I was a kid, a vivid blue stripe, but never saw them. Now I see them all the time,one was even on the edge of Tooting common today when we drove past.


----------



## LeeC

This evening.

Me: "Would you take of my socks off so I won't have to struggle with them when I get ready for bed?"

Wife: "You're a pain in the ass."

Me: "Whatever happened to the 'In health and in sickness' bit?"

Wife: "I had my fingers crossed in repeating the 'in sickness' bit."


----------



## Sonata

escorial said:


> one bob!!..sonata..cool



Edited to include it after I had gone to bed!  Norty.


----------



## am_hammy

Super stressful. The last several weeks have been quiet at work and this weekend so far has been an intense reminder of what I know I'm going to do come the end of the year: find another job.


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> See loads of dead badgers, it is a bit amazing. When I was young they had a reputation for extreme shyness, deserting a woods for a while if humans even walked through, now they don't seem to give a damn. Same with jays, found their feathers all the time when I was a kid, a vivid blue stripe, but never saw them. Now I see them all the time,one was even on the edge of Tooting common today when we drove past.



That's one bird that i would like to have seen.


----------



## dither

Kevin said:


> so basically you only 'feel' like eat, drink, shite/wee, and sleep... Hopefully not the last one before the two before it, caused by the one before that. Yeah, that's when you know you're really down: when you get the order wrong.



That's about it Kevin and i don't sleep so good. Well, i'm always wishing i could sleep better/longer but i get through my nights working so i must be getting enough. Sleep is such a nice place though. When i was younger i often spent whole weekends totally out of it on sleeping pills.Those were lovely times.


----------



## Winston

Took the daughter back to college for her second year.  Still tears.  You think it would get easier.


----------



## Kevin

Shoe shopping. 
7 stores total, Jr. and I bee-lined it from store to store high-speed crisscrossing the mall. Nieman Marcus high end glittery slippers to Footlocker $180 Nikes, an 'almost' at Sketchers, but none my size, settled on some Tar-shay leather top 'vans' knockoffs. I just wanted some okay casuals... "Don't buy any old-man shoes. I have to be seen with you." Jr. assures that they are not(old-man) and she approved the pic ( cellphone) though I did have actual Vans way back in... 1978, I think. They were poor quality as I recall, paper thin soles that were worse than flip-flops for foot support, and wore out quickly; junk, I never bought them again. We'll see how these 'descendants' do. Cheap, so I'm not expecting much. I guess they look fine.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Shoe shopping.
> 7 stores total, Jr. and I bee-lined it from store to store high-speed crisscrossing the mall. Nieman Marcus high end glittery slippers to Footlocker $180 Nikes, an 'almost' at Sketchers, but none my size, settled on some Tar-shay leather top 'vans' knockoffs. I just wanted some okay casuals... "Don't buy any old-man shoes. I have to be seen with you." Jr. assures that they are not(old-man) and she approved the pic ( cellphone) though I did have actual Vans way back in... 1978, I think. They were poor quality as I recall, paper thin soles that were worse than flip-flops for foot support, and wore out quickly; junk, I never bought them again. We'll see how these 'descendants' do. Cheap, so I'm not expecting much. I guess they look fine.



30 years ago you could pretty much guess how old people where by how they dressed in the UK but now it is far more diverse and that is so cool..enjoy your vans man....


----------



## Sleepwriter

Went well. Head stayed clear, until the beer arrived.


----------



## Bishop

I slept horrible last night. Literally, horrible. It was dreadful, and I want to cry right now. But since I've only had my eyes closed for 4 hours in the last 24, my eyes are dry, scratchy, and dry. What? I said dry already? Well, toss off, I'm tired.


----------



## Kevin

Skylight frames being installed. A geyser alerts that they've punctured the fire sprinklers. Upon further inspection they hit another.
"you must have some rotten luck- I mean in a three foot span how did you manage to randomly-"

"They're not random, they're pre drilled."

Ah...so the organized mind naturally placed the holes center span... and the fire sprinklers are placed aesthetically...center span. Great...

"Check all of them, now."


----------



## aj47

Bishop said:


> I slept horrible last night. Literally, horrible. It was dreadful, and I want to cry right now. But since I've only had my eyes closed for 4 hours in the last 24, my eyes are dry, scratchy, and dry. What? I said dry already? Well, toss off, I'm tired.



Been up since 01:30 CDT myself and my eyes, nose and mouth are all dry.  I'm hydrating as much as I can stand, but it's as if there's a disconnect.  I want a nap but was at one of my -ologists today and was basically ordered to avoid naps as the next step in trying to get a handle on this (I see a sleep doc (somnologist?) next week).  I can't caffeinate because cutting out caffeine was an earlier step in dealing with this.

I wish I were yawning.  Yawning makes my eyes water, my nose run and my mouth drool.  I dunno why. It's annoying when I'm in bed because I tend to need to blow my nose if I'm yawning too much.


----------



## LeeC




----------



## Darkkin

We got a new wifi printer...I have lovely, freshly minted hardcopy again...:joyous:


----------



## am_hammy

Yesterday was stressful but today, overall, made up for it. Looking forward to having Sunday off. Love having my easy Sundays.


----------



## Kevin

The couple next to the fence broke up. She began yelling that he'd stolen from her while he grabbed a few items and left. She ranted for the next 15 minutes, and then sat there crying. She packed up the tent and was gone in an hour. They'd lived there about a week. She had the two fluffy white dogs with her.


----------



## dither

Totally crap here. My shoulder is giving me hell right now. I _might _have over-done things at work but i'm convinced that there's more to this than weakened muscle. Time will tell i suppose.


----------



## dither

Bishop said:


> I slept horrible last night. Literally, horrible. It was dreadful, and I want to cry right now. But since I've only had my eyes closed for 4 hours in the last 24, my eyes are dry, scratchy, and dry. What? I said dry already? Well, toss off, I'm tired.



What i wouldn't give for a decent day's sleep. I  get by on about five hours per day. Okay, i get by, but i feel like shit.


----------



## The Green Shield

Kevin said:


> The couple next to the fence broke up. She began yelling that he'd stolen from her while he grabbed a few items and left. She ranted for the next 15 minutes, and then sat there crying. She packed up the tent and was gone in an hour. They'd lived there about a week. She had the two fluffy white dogs with her.


Damn, and I thought I was having a rotten day what with me being in a pissy mood. o___o 

Hope things turn out OK for the pair. Or for her if her hubby really was stealing from her.


----------



## Ariel

I just cussed out an old lady on the phone.  I feel like a horrible person.

This lady called yesterday on my work cell phone asking me to send some aide out.  I told her that she had the wrong number and she goes, "what you won't help me."  I said, "Ma'am, I'd gladly help you but you have the wrong number."  Then she asked me what I do.  I told her that I work at a landfill that I won't be able to help her at all.  She told me that she'd take it to a "higher authority."  I said, "go ahead but you've got the wrong number."  She said, "Oh I've got the right number."  I told her "Good luck with that." and hung up.  Fairly nice, right?

Well, she called me again just about twenty minutes ago.  I'm in the library so I had to go outside as she couldn't hear me.  I told her "You have the wrong number."  She started in with "No, I have the right number."  I said, "No, this is the wrong number."  She said "you can try to fool me if you want to."  I told her to "f--- off" and hung up.

If I could I would help her but I am not a CNA nor am I a charity.  I don't even have my own car.  I'm not leaving in the middle of my work to help someone I don't know and worse, I'm not helping someone who calls me a liar.


----------



## Darkkin

This is what I did tonight...Fresh hardcopy of the Strangeways so far, every poem in chronological order.  :champagne:

View attachment 15595


----------



## The Green Shield

amsawtell said:


> I just cussed out an old lady on the phone.  I feel like a horrible person.
> 
> This lady called yesterday on my work cell phone asking me to send some aide out.  I told her that she had the wrong number and she goes, "what you won't help me."  I said, "Ma'am, I'd gladly help you but you have the wrong number."  Then she asked me what I do.  I told her that I work at a landfill that I won't be able to help her at all.  She told me that she'd take it to a "higher authority."  I said, "go ahead but you've got the wrong number."  She said, "Oh I've got the right number."  I told her "Good luck with that." and hung up.  Fairly nice, right?
> 
> Well, she called me again just about twenty minutes ago.  I'm in the library so I had to go outside as she couldn't hear me.  I told her "You have the wrong number."  She started in with "No, I have the right number."  I said, "No, this is the wrong number."  She said "you can try to fool me if you want to."  I told her to "f--- off" and hung up.
> 
> If I could I would help her but I am not a CNA nor am I a charity.  I don't even have my own car.  I'm not leaving in the middle of my work to help someone I don't know and worse, I'm not helping someone who calls me a liar.


If it makes you feel any better, an old woman once called me multiple times asking if I were Mike. Despite me telling her I wasn't Mike.


----------



## Ariel

The first day she asked for a Lori and when I told her she had the wrong number she asked me who I was. It's a work phone so I thought she might have been a customer.  When I realized she wouldn't stop with the stupid is when I finally got mad.


----------



## The Green Shield

^I see. 

Well, not everyone has smarts.  Just do what you can.

I have an odd, crazy idea: Today I want to buy sticky notes and a red pen and go around town posting encouraging words for strangers like, "You're awesome!" or "You were born in awesome. Now get out there and kick ass!"


----------



## Sleepwriter

The beer, soo much beer.  I think I have a problem with saying no more.   Need to work on that......tomorrow. Night all.


----------



## Olly Buckle

We have just been to see Fritz Lang's 1927 Metropolis, someone found a copy in Argentina in 2008, so they were able to fill in a lot of the missing bits, and my mate Eddy who used to be with the Alabama three (Name dropping) left us tickets on the door as his mate has written a new score and he was playing drums. Four musicians playing various instruments, plus various recorded electronic music.Terrific performance all round, great evening out.


----------



## Darkkin

The score for the original _The Land Before Time_ is finally available!  This was one of the first film scores I ever listened to and it was the start of a love affair with music.  My cassette copy of the music bit the dust long ago and I have been looking for it ever since.  Now I have it again, at long last...:joyous:


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I'm at about 59,000 words into the first draft of my W.I.P novel and about 34,000 words into the second draft of another. That's not counting my "Novel #2" that's sitting on my PC right now doing nothing. A LOT of work needs to be done and there only seems to be so much time in a day. Looking forward to taking a few weekends away from hanging out with friends and sitting down to some serious reading and writing.


----------



## escorial

thought about getting a laptop but decided to stick with a new chromebook...at first i was very ant-chrome but found that it worked fine for me because i'm always on the move and the thing just works for me....must get a new man bag..something light brown and leatharly


----------



## Book Cook

escorial said:


> thought about getting a laptop but decided to stick with a new chromebook...at first i was very ant-chrome but found that it worked fine for me because i'm always on the move and the thing just works for me....must get a new man bag..something light brown and leatharly




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNJk9GW79ls


----------



## escorial

works for me dude....my man bags tend to big enough for me chrome and stuff....might get a man purse out of the save the earth shop....


----------



## Darkkin

In shell shock at the moment.  I just got a huge commission for my Turtle upon Tide villanelles!  Talk about a weird day, still trying to wrap my head around it.  Having gotten off work at a reasonable hour, I decided follow the river north with Rue to explore some of the smaller tourist trap towns.  We went about an hour and a half up river and worked our way back down.  In the second little burg we visited, we stopped for ice cream.  And never one to leave my hands idle when I have table space, I pulled out my writing portfolio.

The owner of a local art/bookstore boutique noticed.  She approached and asked what I was working on.  And oddly enough when I said poetry, she didn't flee.  Instead she asked if she could see a couple of my pieces.  I showed her Star and Turtle.  As it turns out, she was a member of the board that heard the plagiarism dispute about my Star Socks Fox villanelles.  She had liked the pieces, but didn't realize the full scope of the project.

Her store features a lot of work from local artists and she has an idea that is intriguing.  She knows an artist who does calligraphy and she wants to have the poems transcribed into old fashioned copperplate, and then have them matted and framed.  I still maintain the original copyrights on the poems, and will be credited with the authorship.  She thinks the pieces, being something out of the norm will probably do well.

The pieces chosen are distinctive with their lullaby inspired theme.  Namely, _Turtle upon Tide, Turtle Paddled On, Turtle was Here, Take the Lantern, Nod and Luma, Turtle upon Tide,__ Lullaby, the Kingfisher Queen, Winkken and the White Pelicans, Blinkken and the Glasslight Crab, Pussywillow Grey, _and _Back the Black Sheep._

- D. the T.


----------



## escorial

that rocks Darkkin....


----------



## Winston

Helped a co-worker test his newly acquired 1962 Yugoslavian SKS rifle.  It shot well for being a Cold War commie relic.  I brought along my sporterized Chinese Norinco SKS for him to compare.  Our sons came along and shot some rounds.  My friend's kid shot my rifle better than he did.  He has a nice, simple, reliable rifle.  But now, he wants to "pimp out" his rifle like mine.  I'm kinda flattered, but I also kinda want to talk him out of it.


----------



## LeeC

Late yesterday I got around to servicing the generator. With daylight getting shorter I'd turned on the garage lights to finish, when the power went out for three hours. It's been several months since the power failed last, so it was an annoying coincidence. Of course the wife remarked that I should have gotten around to it sooner as she'd been telling me. What would I do without her guiding wisdom?


----------



## aj47

escorial said:


> thought about getting a laptop but decided to stick with a new chromebook...at first i was very ant-chrome but found that it worked fine for me because i'm always on the move and the thing just works for me....must get a new man bag..something light brown and leatharly








it's a bit big though.  

My son has one.


----------



## Kevin

Man-bag...


----------



## LeeC

I swear, it's true


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Man-bag...



get with the programme kevin..man bags...facial cream and pampering for men is so in.....


----------



## escorial

LeeC said:


> I swear, it's true
> 
> View attachment 15665




ebay next LC.......


----------



## Darkkin

Literal, the Blue Giraffe and Agau, the Metafour are coming...Seeking them are the Inferences.


----------



## The Green Shield

I just had the shittiest Friday this week. To wit: my stomach was very upset all afternoon and well into the evening, culminating in an all-night session of puking in the toilet. Not only that, but when I stretched my legs for some amount of comfort, sharp, painful cramps shot through the backs of my legs and would alternate between settling down and spiking up again.


Now I'm sore, exhausted from lack of sleep, and very dehydrated.  I'm gonna have to take it easy today.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> I just had the shittiest Friday this week. To wit: my stomach was very upset all afternoon and well into the evening, culminating in an all-night session of puking in the toilet. Not only that, but when I stretched my legs for some amount of comfort, sharp, painful cramps shot through the backs of my legs and would alternate between settling down and spiking up again.
> 
> 
> Now I'm sore, exhausted from lack of sleep, and very dehydrated.  I'm gonna have to take it easy today.




On a positive spin, after all that you should have some killer ab muscles.


----------



## aj47

The Green Shield said:


> I just had the shittiest Friday this week. To wit: my stomach was very upset all afternoon and well into the evening, culminating in an all-night session of puking in the toilet. Not only that, but when I stretched my legs for some amount of comfort, sharp, painful cramps shot through the backs of my legs and would alternate between settling down and spiking up again.
> 
> 
> Now I'm sore, exhausted from lack of sleep, and very dehydrated.  I'm gonna have to take it easy today.



um, yeah, the loss of electrolytes can cause cramping.  This is very not-good.  If you have some bananas or avocados, those are good sources of potassium.  And, of course, drink liquids.


----------



## SilverMoon

A terrible morning, equally terrible as last night after watching the released tape of Trump's deplorable, explicit sexual braggadocio of what he can and has done to women because of "who he is".

I'm repulsed and furious as most all, including plenty Republicans. I cannot believe he's not getting out of this race and will be debating tomorrow night. That's it. I'm sickened.

It's a good thing there's no political venue here but I just have to vent.


----------



## escorial

SilverMoon said:


> A terrible morning, equally terrible as last night after watching the released tape of Trump's deplorable, explicit sexual braggadocio of what he can and has done to women because of "who he is".
> 
> I'm repulsed and furious as most all, including plenty Republicans. I cannot believe he's not getting out of this race and will be debating tomorrow night. That's it. I'm sickened.
> 
> It's a good thing there's no political venue here but I just have to vent.



[video=youtube_share;KjNe9fuqQ8o]https://youtu.be/KjNe9fuqQ8o[/video]


----------



## aj47

SilverMoon said:


> A terrible morning, equally terrible as last night after watching the released tape of Trump's deplorable, explicit sexual braggadocio of what he can and has done to women because of "who he is".
> 
> I'm repulsed and furious as most all, including plenty Republicans. I cannot believe he's not getting out of this race and will be debating tomorrow night. That's it. I'm sickened.
> 
> It's a good thing there's no political venue here but I just have to vent.



Honestly, unless he chooses to step down, or dies, he's in it till the end.  Because the Republican ruleset would require a series of conventions (from local to national) to nominate a new candidate.  His stepping down is unlikely, as is his death--while he's not as healthy as some folks, he's not on death's doorstep either and he has Secret Service protection.


----------



## Winston

(Head in sand, ignoring political compost pile)

Had to ride my bike in the rain to take my wife keys (she locked herself out her van).  Fixed the stock on my son's Airsoft rifle.  Met with woman from Craigslist ad to sell son's old captain's bed.  
Dinner with in-laws tonight.  Watch my SF Giants tonight take Game 2 from The Cubbies.  Boring.  In a good way.


----------



## Nellie

astroannie said:


> Honestly, unless he chooses to step down, or dies, he's in it till the end.  Because the Republican ruleset would require a series of conventions (from local to national) to nominate a new candidate.  His stepping down is unlikely, as is his death--while he's not as healthy as some folks, he's not on death's doorstep either and he has Secret Service protection.



Unfortunately, he said he isn't stepping down. He also thinks people misunderstand him;


----------



## aj47

Bought a new cat carrier for Noodle.  She gets her shots on November 4th, but our weekends tend to be busy and so I got this out of the way today.  The one we already had is too small for her--it fit when she was a kitten, but she's full-grown now.  It had to happen on a weekend because the place we got it from is on the freeway so I needed astroandy to take me.  

The carriers were hanging high up on a wall and we needed a customer service guy to get one down.  He used a pole. And dropped it right into his arms.


----------



## escorial

Noodle great name reminds me of scene....

[video=youtube_share;_McyI1IQfcM]https://youtu.be/_McyI1IQfcM[/video]


----------



## aj47

Sliced the tip of my right ring finger.  I have a cheap mandolin slicer--the kind that lays across the top of a mixing bowl or what-have-you--and it slipped.  I was using the hand guard but ... stuff happens.  There's a nice one on my Amazon wishlist from OXO that has a container base so it is stable.  I have a feeling it will be nestled under the Yule tree.

It didn't really start hurting until I quit applying pressure to it and the ER folks cleaned it and stuff  Total ow.  It won me a tetanus shot. And it totally messes with my typing.


----------



## am_hammy

My manager and I exchanged some words today. Now it's just left me drained. Even though I have to work tomorrow, I don't have to close which is nice. All I really want to do is paint.


----------



## Kevin

Went to an event last night. Some sort of benefit/donation party for Friends of the L.A. River, a nonprofit dedicated and formed after activists proved that you could kayak/boat sections of the river thereby changing it from the Federal government's perception of a merely a large rain-gutter to the sea, into something that is entitled to restoration and care. 

We were put on the list, sort of a gift, otherwise we never would have gone (tickets were $300 ea.). One of the local D.J. s was the mc (Nick Harcourt; I listen...) and Moby performed. 

I didn't know much about him (yes, I know his radio 'hits'). Anyway, he (Moby) first announced that rather than his 'devices' (tapes and whatever) tonight they, his band (5 member: bass, drums, keyboard, lead, and extra singer)were going to play ; just a simple old-fashioned rock band.

So they did (crowd of 300, fucking nice!) and he played electric guitar, sang, while this other band member/woman belted them out feminine soul-singer style (think Adele; big voice, range...).

Yeah...well they played one (Southside) and then he started talking about how he often liked the idea of just being a cover band, '...So if it flops, anyway here's a cover...' (I'm paraphrasing there) And then they played The Doors' L.A. Woman (it being L.A. and all) a decent version, and then one of his songs (We are all made of Stars; a critique of the current celebrity envy/self-delusion trend) which I'd always thought was a cover, it sounding so senventies glam-rock guitar, beat, etc. , and which I really liked, great song.   

Then they played Zeppelin, the girl/woman belting out Whole lotta Love (she could sing)
finishing their set with Troubles with God, where a previous act, a ten member church choir where all of them could 'belt', joined onstage as the chorus (choir?). Yep.

4 songs, short and sweet.  That was good.

So that's how my day went last night. The part earlier in the day where I nearly slashed my throat crashing/tumbling off the side of a trail through some brush/dead branches mountain biking being so trivial in comparison. Just a scratch...or several.


----------



## escorial

that rocks Kevin...Moby rocks...3 Franks seem's a bit to much.....cool man


----------



## LeeC

It's one of these days:


----------



## Kevin

Rhetorical question... As any married man would know.


----------



## escorial

went to local art gallery and viewed drawings by..Lowry,Bomberg,Moore,Hockney Hepworth and a few more.....done a picture using ink and watercolour of a kid high up in a council block..taken from a photo


----------



## Kevin

And where's the picture?


----------



## escorial

in me sketch pad....i will post it in my watercolour thread..my first pic on WF....


----------



## LeeC

Keep at it Esc, I might be trying to catch up soon and we can trade notes 

Today I had to travel down to Manchester, NH. It's a long drive, but that's not the worst of it. Mid morning so there wasn't the traffic you might see at the beginning and end of a day. Even so, the freeway was busy, with everybody driving like it was a damn hockey game. It's been a long time since I made the trip, but where did all the people come from? We humans remind me of mormon crickets just beginning swarming stage, where the outer circle expands so the inner circle won't eat them.

The day wasn't a complete bummer though. I got an iPad Pro as a gift, together with pen and keyboard, and have been playing around with it, moving all my books over. Great for reading as I don't get a crick in my neck from reading them on my iMac. Trouble is, back on my iMac I keep trying to swipe the screen. I did splurge for a "man bag" to carry it in Esc ;-) 

So, maybe when I get caught up with everything else I'm trying to do, I'll try to do some drawing with it also.


----------



## escorial

onwards and upwards LC....i can smell the perfume from your man bag here..ha,ha


----------



## escorial

bought my ticket today....

[h=2]_Thursday 3 November 2016 7:30pm	
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall_[/h]ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
[h=1]Dvořák Symphony No.7[/h]


----------



## Kevin

It's a satchel... Indiana Jones carries one. 

Two days ago:

Sales rep. : I'll call you when they get here. It's coming by UPS.

Me: You guys are in .... It would be great if it could come delivered to the job.

Sales rep. : I'll see what I can do.

*. *   *

Yesterday : 

Sales rep.: Your order just came in and you can come pick it up.

Me: Great, couple hours in traffic is just what I need.

Sales: We can't UPS them because they would get broken in transit. The packaging is insufficient...

Me: Mmmm. (so how again did you just receive them?).


----------



## escorial

i wonder what's in the package....


----------



## Winston

escorial said:


> i wonder what's in the package....



_"It's a satchel... Indiana Jones carries one."

_Probably a creepy crystal skull in there.  It told the sales clerk, "No more UPS.  Kevin must pick me up... now..."


----------



## escorial

kev a short vid on how to wear your man bag


[video=youtube_share;zfYTcamZNWk]https://youtu.be/zfYTcamZNWk[/video]


----------



## aj47

So, I did my sleep study.  I'll know the results at some point mid-week.  My scalp and face had little stickers for wires all over them and now my face feels raw from the alcohol used to remove the sticky stuff.  I went to sleep at around 10--they awoke me at 4:mumble, but I woke up several times prior to that.  It took 45 minutes to wire me up and somewhat less to unhook me.


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> So, I did my sleep study.  I'll know the results at some point mid-week.  My scalp and face had little stickers for wires all over them and now my face feels raw from the alcohol used to remove the sticky stuff.  I went to sleep at around 10--they awoke me at 4:mumble, but I woke up several times prior to that.  It took 45 minutes to wire me up and somewhat less to unhook me.




how interesting those results must be...not from a medical perspective but from a voyeur of another persons mind....will you reveal the results or are they to personal for comment...


----------



## aj47

I dunno, if I have to wear a Darth-Vader-type mask, I might even post a selfie.  I don't think that's my issue, though, because I'm not a snorer.


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> I dunno, if I have to wear a Darth-Vader-type mask, I might even post a selfie.  I don't think that's my issue, though, because I'm not a snorer.


----------



## Winston

The worst storm in recent history strikes the Pacific NW.  The damn UPS guy needs a signature, but keeps attempting delivery 1/2 hour before I get home.  I brave the elements and take my motorcycle to work, so I can pick-up my item from the UPS warehouse.  
Well, that chain I keep meaning to fix... jumps off the sprocket.  In the dark, windy, downpour, I coast over to the "massive" meter-wide shoulder.  I miraculously manage not to get ran-over by passing cars as I somehow wrangle the chain back onto the sprocket.
Later, I limp the bike to the repair shop.  The chain is in-stock, but it'll be a few days before they can get the new sprocket.  
The rain stops.
My wife picks me up, and we go to get my package.  She looks at me, again, like I was crazy.  Perhaps I am.  I don't have a death wish.  I just think that I really don't care.


----------



## LeeC

Sounds like you had a pretty good day all in all


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Went and got a tattoo today, for the first time


Its the binary form of 62 which, on the ASCII Table, means ">" or greater than


----------



## LeeC

GuitarHiro97 said:


> Went and got a tattoo today, for the first time
> View attachment 15744
> 
> Its the binary form of 62 which, on the ASCII Table, means ">" or greater than


Now all you've got to do is find a guy that's smart enough to understand what it means, and doesn't run


----------



## Joe_Bassett

LeeC said:


> Now all you've got to do is find a guy that's smart enough to understand what it means, and doesn't run



Went and got myself an awesome boyfriend too.  I'd say he's pretty smart.  We've known eachother since middle school and we asked eachother out 2 weeks ago


----------



## Kevin

Good... I hope he is very nice to you. 

People led should be nice to each other, don't you think? This place is hard enough as it is. 

Went to to a new restaurant last night. Table for eight. The owner came and talked to us at length. He was born in Sicily with no electricity. He told us about full moons, acting, and the importance of, and how to, meditate. A drum circle started about 9. I had the salmon. One of the couples (our friends; kids all went to kindergarten together...) announced they were moving back to Seattle. Another said no way they go back to Minnesota. And the third, the husband said his Mexican origin wife could drop him off in Orange County if she she were heading further south. 

10:30, and we all had things to do. It was good. Interesting place. Hand built with decorative hearts and peace signs; Tibetin prayer flags, dream catchers. The front door had glass compartments  with food in it: cinnamon, beans, lentils, wheat, a whole lot of other dried foods...


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Good... I hope he is very nice to you.
> 
> People led should be nice to each other, don't you think? This place is hard enough as it is.
> 
> Went to to a new restaurant last night. Table for eight. The owner came and talked to us at length. He was born in Sicily with no electricity. He told us about full moons, acting, and the importance of, and how to, meditate. A drum circle started about 9. I had the salmon. One of the couples (our friends; kids all went to kindergarten together...) announced they were moving back to Seattle. Another said no way they go back to Minnesota. And the third, the husband said his Mexican origin wife could drop him off in Orange County if she she were heading further south.
> 
> 10:30, and we all had things to do. It was good. Interesting place. Hand built with decorative hearts and peace signs; Tibetin prayer flags, dream catchers. The front door had glass compartments  with food in it: cinnamon, beans, lentils, wheat, a whole lot of other dried foods...



Sicilly that means he can become a made man with the Mafia....sounds like a good time had by all and a few with itchy feet....next time you go back might not be a table for 8...


----------



## Bard_Daniel

A lot of writing-related work done today. A damn fine productive day!


----------



## escorial

stumbled on this bookshop..outside it said Bookline and a sign we buy and sell....so i walked into a porno bookseller...the guy said..hi..i replied..i didn't know it was this type of shop..and left..ha,ha.


----------



## sas

You left?


----------



## Bloggsworth

Saw the ENT Oncologist this morning about my swollen neck, could be lymphoma. I told him that, being in remission from prostate cancer, adding another was somewhat over-egging the pudding, surely, one cancer per person per lifetime is quite enough. Results of the biopsy next week.


----------



## aj47

Bloggsworth said:


> Saw the ENT Oncologist this morning about my swollen neck, could be lymphoma. I told him that, being in remission from prostate cancer, adding another was somewhat over-egging the pudding, surely, one cancer per person per lifetime is quite enough. Results of the biopsy next week.



Waiting tends to be the worst, at least for me.  It gives all kinda time to play *what-if* scenarios.


----------



## Kevin

In the middle of the elevator equipment being delivered, multiple workers, hard hats,  forklift, heavy crates:

Me: You can't come in here.

He, some random person with a pitbull on a leash: It's okay, I'm just looking.

Me: Its not okay. You're not insured. You can't be on the property. 

He, getting closer to the doorway: I'm not going inside.

Me: You can't be on the property.

He: Allright, alright- You don't have to be so pushy about it. That's not very neighborly. 
(walking away now) ...you don't have to be a little bitch about it. 

Me: Get off the fucking property. 

He: F...you! You blah blah (goes off on rant). 

Workers: Wth was that?


----------



## escorial

kevin your writing has intrigued me for as long as i can remember..i think for me it kind of blurred in that is it reality or fantasy but i've refined my thoughts on that..all in all i have come to the conclusion you could write a fantastic play....


----------



## aj47

My finger hurts.  It hasn't really bothered me for days but I put in two pages worth of words and it got all inflamed and unhappy with me.  I took time off to do some kitchen stuff and it's improved, so I'm fairly certain it was the sustained effort of all that typing. It wasn't just the paper for writing class, though.  I also had multiple e-mails I had to send--our database design professor got off the schneid and unlocked the next module and suddenly we have work on a group project that needed to move forward.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I resent my story called: A Mound Full of Soil, Dreams, and Castles of Sand. That was three years ago when I wrote it. I am under the impression it went under appreciated by me and was my best story even though it got published. The  person who gave me most encouragement at the time was ppsage for that one. I think I could find a home for but I don't know where and I already submitted it, now I just need to write like that again which it was my best story.


----------



## escorial

bumped into an old friend and had a pint with him..he's getting married.....nice afternoon.


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> Waiting tends to be the worst, at least for me.  It gives all kinda time to play *what-if* scenarios.



WHAT IF Bloggs worth had never thought of looking at the world that way?

I have a mate, Mad Boy Mark Jerham, ex gangster turned rapper ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXLDo8PryFM ) He has beaten cancer twice Bloggs, they told him he had a tumor in his throat a little while ago, his response? "I hope it's cancer, we can handle that". They don'tcallhim 'madboy'for no reason,on the other hand he is still with us, chin  up  Bloggs, you can beat it right upto the point when you cant


----------



## escorial

bought some paints and big sheets of paper...ain't cheap


----------



## Sleepwriter

Spend the day mulching leaves.   Yard was clear for exactly thirty minutes.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sleepwriter said:


> Spend the day mulching leaves.   Yard was clear for exactly thirty minutes.


Lovely leaf mould to come  Try all the composts you can, that will drain off excess water most rapidly, and at the same time retain more than any other, magical stuff.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Olly Buckle said:


> Lovely leaf mould to come  Try all the composts you can, that will drain off excess water most rapidly, and at the same time retain more than any other, magical stuff.



I've not taken very good care of my yard or flower beds.  I'm starting now to help keep the things I want to grow healthy.  Should have the compost bin ready in another week.


----------



## PiP

Sleepwriter said:


> Spend the day mulching leaves.   Yard was clear for exactly thirty minutes.



i used to _love_ doing this when we lived in the UK. 

I spent my day (and yesterday) burning palm weevil larvae. They are like the bubonic plague to palms and yet the government in it's wisdom banned certain pesticides and the one that treated the palms was on the list. There are now very few palms left where we live.


----------



## PiP

Sleepwriter said:


> Should have the compost bin ready in another week.


 If you pee on  your compost heap it degrades more quickly (only use male urine)


----------



## Olly Buckle

I use a compost heap for most things, but leaves I put in plastic bags. Use a black bag, or turn a second hand printed one inside out so it's black on the outside, make sure ther is a reasonable ammount of moisture, not sodden, not paper dry, and leave them somewhere thay get at least a bit of sun when it shines (to warm them up). The warmth spreads the moisture and helps decomposition. Every so often I mix and amalgamate, at a rough estimate I would expect to end up with one full sack for every four or five I start with, but things go better for keeping the sacks full and dealing in larger volumes. Be aware what the leaves come from. Oak leaves are especially hard to rot down and are a bit acid, good for mulching things like magnolia and rhodedendron. 
The other thing I bag uplike that is lawn edgings, a great base for a potting compost.


----------



## Phil Istine

One of those rare days when I'm happy to live in a flat


----------



## aj47

Heard from the sleep center.  I _do _get to be fitted for a mask.  But waiting on insurance again before any of this happens.


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> Heard from the sleep center.  I _do _get to be fitted for a mask.


In time for Halloween??


----------



## aj47

Maybe, maybe not.


----------



## Carly Berg

:icon_frown:


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 15818

The essence of my day.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Got off work early today. Time for some reading and writing and forum time! = D


----------



## aj47

My daughter is in labor.  Since this is her first, and since she's in Mountain Daylight Time, she'll probably have the baby tomorrow, local time.  That would be exactly 33 years after I delivered my first.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

astroannie said:


> My daughter is in labor.  Since this is her first, and since she's in Mountain Daylight Time, she'll probably have the baby tomorrow, local time.  That would be exactly 33 years after I delivered my first.



That must be exciting. Congratulations!


----------



## midnightpoet

Congrats, Annie.

Walking w/ Jud, our Blue Heeler this morning, saw seven deer and two rabbits.  The deer were about 20 yards away, couldn't tell if they were bucks or does.  They jumped a barb=wire fence into a pasture close to our house.


----------



## Olly Buckle

A rubbish day. Struck down by a dreaded lurgi, spent the whole day in bed, getting up occasionally to moan. Feeling better tonight.


----------



## H.Brown

Congrats astroannie  exciting times for you. 

Get well soon Olly.

I had an alright day to start began my 10 hour shift feeling positive, had two kids birthday parties that went well, had my break then half way through the third and final party a parent came and informed me that someone had thrown up in the ball pool so I had to spend an extra hour at work cleaning and disinfecting the ball pool and all it's balls (not impressed) then didn't get home until gone 10pm tonight and realised I have to doit all again tomorrow, hopefuly no sick though.


----------



## aj47

His name is Loki, he weighed in at 8lbs. 2oz.  Everyone is resting.


----------



## H.Brown

astroannie said:


> His name is Loki, he weighed in at 8lbs. 2oz.  Everyone is resting.



Awesome glad everyone is doing well, bet your looking forward to some cuddles and such a unique name


----------



## aj47

In other news -- my youngest was arrested on a felony theft charge and spent a night in the county jail.  Bail was set at US$2000 (which we didn't have, but that's why the ghods invented bondsmen).  We are now attempting to secure the services of a criminal defense attorney.


----------



## midnightpoet

Oh dear, well my son had jail time also, mainly for drug charges.  We used tough love and left him there.  He never went back, and is drug-free now; however, each situation (and person) is different so good luck with your son, hope y'all make it through this.


----------



## aj47

Yeah, it's unique. The charge was higher, but was reduced and I think it'll get reduced again because of the circumstances, but that's a "we'll see" thing.  

He is going to be getting a new group of friends, though.  Or rather, he is no longer permitted contact with the group that facilitated his misconduct.


----------



## The Green Shield

Hey, just wanted you to know that you're all awesome. Keep being awesome!


----------



## LeeC

Had to be out earlier today, now this afternoon my inbox has a few hundred following and retweet notices to be dealt with. I think it's time for a good nap before I get started. I hope you all are enjoying actually writing, this branding business is the scourge of authorship.

-----

Oh, and Esc, there're snow flurries in the air so I'm starting to take firewood back out of the woodshed. Talk about life being circular ;-)


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Wrote over 2000 words today and went to work and everything. Also read a ton and now I'm lurking the forum looking for stuff to dig my teeth into.

And I echo what The Green Shield has said: you people are all awesome! :thumbl:


----------



## Olly Buckle

Life! The missus broke her ankle a while ago, her brake foot so she was unable to drive and I became 'taxi'. She had just recovered from that when she caught a filthy cold, which I now have. Meanwhile her mother, who is in a 'care' home was discovered by her visiting sister, freezing, half dressed, with her help button put down out of reach, and is now in hospital with pneumonia, you see why I put 'care' in inverted commas? Her condition can not be directly attributed to what happened, she has had two previous bouts of chest infection and has a weak heart, but it won't have helped. The missus is in town at the moment staying with her sister so  she can visit her mum and arrange alternative accomodation for when she gets out of hospital.

That is the down side, the upside is that we have a new grand-daughter, nearly ten days old now, beautiful, perfect, with lots of dark hair. It is birthday time of year generally too. I am not very up on horoscopes but I believe the new baby just misses being a Scorpio like her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. 

I have got a little bit of work in, my friend, Roman, aka Gary Bowman, is English-Canadian of Ukranian parents and having  done very well for himself is investing in Ukraine, I have the job of re-writing the leaflet for  his 'British club' in Lviv, I shall move on to their websites when I am done.

I am also experimenting with 'exchangable' window boxes, when the box starts to look a little sad someone turns up, unclips it, and replaces it with a fresh one. I am tired of selling plants to people who kill them, better to  rent them out for a bit and then recover them before they die. It is looking pretty good so far.


----------



## aj47

Good luck with your other's mother.  Finding good accommodations can be a challenge.



Olly Buckle said:


> I am also experimenting with 'exchangable' window boxes, when the box starts to look a little sad someone turns up, unclips it, and replaces it with a fresh one. I am tired of selling plants to people who kill them, better to  rent them out for a bit and then recover them before they die. It is looking pretty good so far.



I Like this. A lot.


----------



## escorial

"Oh, and Esc, there're snow flurries in the air so I'm starting to take firewood back out of the woodshed. Talk about life being circular" ;-)

circle of life dude....ha


----------



## Kevin

The lock was cut this morning. Can't find anything missing. They flipped the lever on the back door and shut it. A strange duffle was left nearby under a piece of ply. 

I asked one of the homeless if they'd seen anything and they said someone had jumped the fence. I took pictures and forwarded them.  

A little while later a homeless on a bicycle with a trailer asked if anyone had found a duffle about "yay big". I said I'd keep an eye out.

Later I rigged it with a left over mortar round and put it out by the bins.
 Just kidding. 

And still later, they were there, for real, smoking- I was right there on the other side-  through the fence,  not even bothering while I filled a bucket with water, smoking something, not weed, out of a ceramic pipe, heating up the outside and blowing out big clouds of smoke. 

We we had the meeting and the owner's rep. showed us an email from one of the neighbors claiming that the project was the cause of the increase in the homeless. It seemed to come as a reaction to a shooting out in the street that happened the day before... drug dealers. 

Seriously... Not sure how our project would cause an increase, and certainly upon completion the anti-personnel landscaping at the perimeter wall would lower the number of encampments. It was I who'd suggested bougainvillea, which it surprised me was taken up enthusiastically by the landscape architect. There are over fifteen colorful varieties and they do extremely well in this climate.

I also mentioned 'cholla' but they didn't know what it was. Once you meet one  you'll never forget...

There is a picture of someone I know online taken right after he'd crashed his mountain bike into a  cholla 'bush'. It looks like 'tribbles' stuck all over him -three or four at least- terrible, terrible tribbles; on his shoulder, his back, his front side...

I hate bouganvillas, I hate roses; the fucking thorns always end up in me. Some 'people' trim, but they don't like to clean up their messes. After a year they're still just as dangerous, as turning brown only serves to camouflage. 

On a sadder note, the neighbor sent me a text about his wife's upcomming service. It's during the week so I probably couldn't go, and I really didn't know her, my only interactions with her being me profusely apologizing for blocking her drive ( got caught up in something and forgot to move; no excuse) and then she died. It seems like only a month later

Anyway, I have been talking to the husband, he asking about the project, and giving me updates about her condition. 'Neo-blastoma' is a very bad word. Hope you never hear it from your doctor. They have a young child. He seems to be holding it together.  His text mentioned some high debts incurred because of it and in lieu of flowers a 'go fund me'. I have to get an address or however they work. The owner's rep. asked. Some of the treatments were smuggled in from Australia. 

How lucky I am. Geezus, how lucky we are.


----------



## Gyarachu

A little over a week back I applied and interviewed for a job. Yesterday the woman called and told me the job was mine, except they couldn't give me as many hours as was originally offered. She said to take the day to think about it and let her know. I called her a few hours later to accept but she was in a meeting, she'd call me back. Never did. I called today only to find out she had filled the position...

...

....

...

:???:

k thanks


----------



## aj47

that sucks, totally.


In my news, we now have an attorney.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Submitted something to a magazine today. It's my first time doing so and the formatting was a nightmare but I did it!

Here's hoping for the best!

P.S. Also wrote 2000 words and read for about nine hours. Woah!


----------



## Phil Istine

Gyarachu said:


> A little over a week back I applied and interviewed for a job. Yesterday the woman called and told me the job was mine, except they couldn't give me as many hours as was originally offered. She said to take the day to think about it and let her know. I called her a few hours later to accept but she was in a meeting, she'd call me back. Never did. I called today only to find out she had filled the position...



It really can be disheartening when stuff like that happens.  I had similar shit years ago.  I consoled myself with the knowledge I had dodged a bullet - and used the anger to motivate myself into going self-employed.

Hopefully, a new opportunity will present itself soon.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Well, that was a day and a half. 5am phone call got us driving up to Weybridge in time to be with mother in law for the last hour or so of her life. Not often one witnesses a death in this society. Very peaceful, very gentle I am very glad to say. Still most upsetting, especially for the missus and her sister.


----------



## aj47

When my dear friend Danny went on hospice, he neglected to tell me.  So I didn't get to say goodbye.  This was a few years ago, but it still is there, waiting to bite me when I'm inattentive.  I'm sad for your loss but glad that you were able to be there.  Transitioning is difficult.


----------



## escorial

stay safe Olly...very sad day for you all


----------



## Kevin

It's 4 deaths I've been a witness to up close and uncomfortably. More so for them, obviously. I could go on, but it's too depressing.


----------



## Plasticweld

Olly you and your family are in my prayers.  Having dealt with death on numerous occasions, from the very peaceful passing to the violent end I am always left with the feeling of how quick things can change and how important it is to say and do the important stuff in life and take nothing for granted.


----------



## aj47

My daughter put pics up on Facebook!  Loki Mason <lastname>


----------



## Olly Buckle

very lovely. annie. I remember those chairs that bounce gently, one of the few things that was actually better for being second hand, some of the spring goes out of them and they stop threatening to catapult the baby across the room


----------



## Winston

We had our Division quarterly meeting.  They make announcements, hand out awards, usual stuff.  There were about two hundred of us in the warehouse.

My co-worker got Employee of The Quarter.  Our fuel specialist in front of us won three awards in the last year (including Employee of the Year).  Another co-worker next to us was singled-out for bringing an important safety issue to light.   Oh, and I was last Employee of The Quarter.  

We all joke about the awards.  But the fact is I work with good people.  Iron sharpens iron.


----------



## Darkkin

Just finished wiping my hard drives and remote files...Everything is official gone.  No point in starting again, so hello reality.


----------



## Sleepwriter

not enough trick or treaters, too much candy leftover.  My belly hurts today.


----------



## aj47

My kids are all too old so we didn't pass out candy this year. Actually, that's an excuse--I had an online test and I organized my day around taking it while meeting my mom-taxi and dinner prep responsibilities.


----------



## escorial

found a book in a used book store about German Expressionism but it was £17.50 so I tried to barter but he was having none of it...


----------



## Sleepwriter

escorial said:


> found a book in a used book store about German Expressionism but it was £17.50 so I tried to barter but he was having none of it...



so did you express yourself in German?


----------



## escorial

9


----------



## sigmadog

Client that accounts for 65-70% of yearly work: "I need a package design. It needs to look like this. You have one day."
Sigmadog: "Okay. Here you go."

Later…
Client: "That package failed the focus group. We need you to make these changes by tomorrow."
Sigmadog: "Okay. Here you go."

Later…
Client: "Well, that one didn't do any better. You failed us, Sigmadog, so we're going to give you one more chance, but this time you'll have to compete against three other agencies."
Sigmadog: "Can I make a suggestion?"
Client: "It depends."
Sigmadog: "Let me design the package the way I, a professional designer, would design it, not just as you dictate it should be. And I want two weeks."
Client: "Well… okay."
Sigmadog: "Great!"

In two weeks…
Sigmadog: "Here are six completely different package designs."

Later…
Client: "Three of your packages survived the first round, Sigmadog. It's just you and one other agency now. Now fit your designs onto these package spec's for mockups."
Sigmadog: "Okay. Here you go."

Later…
Client: "We've culled it down to two packages. One of yours and another agency. Do up a new mockup to these spec's and we'll take them to the final round."
Sigmadog: "Okay. Here you go."

Later…
Client: "Your package did great in the focus groups. It satisfied all our criteria, and the participants were drawn to it like moths to a flame."
Sigmadog: "That's great!"
Client: "There's just one problem. Because your designs failed the first two focus groups, the president of the company fell in love with the other agency's design, even though it didn't satisfy our criteria and didn't generate the enthusiasm of the focus group like your package. So we're going with the other agency, and, in time, probably all our other projects as well."
Sigmadog: "Shit."

That's how my day went.


----------



## aj47

There is no button for that.   I don't know that I'd feel okay with just clicking it anyway.  Clients can be such vernaculars.


----------



## PiP

> So we're going with the other agency, and, in time, probably all our other projects as well."
> Sigmadog: "Shit."



Sigma, this is dreadful news... I'll second 'shit'


----------



## sigmadog

Suddenly, I find myself with time to do some writing…


----------



## TKent

Crap! I "liked" that post for acknowledgement but to be clear, I don't like what happened at all. I hope everything gets better!!



sigmadog said:


> Client that accounts for 65-70% of yearly work: "I need a package design. It needs to look like this. You have one day."
> Sigmadog: "Okay. Here you go."
> 
> Later…
> Client: "That package failed the focus group. We need you to make these changes by tomorrow."
> Sigmadog: "Okay. Here you go."
> 
> Later…
> Client: "Well, that one didn't do any better. You failed us, Sigmadog, so we're going to give you one more chance, but this time you'll have to compete against three other agencies."
> Sigmadog: "Can I make a suggestion?"
> Client: "It depends."
> Sigmadog: "Let me design the package the way I, a professional designer, would design it, not just as you dictate it should be. And I want two weeks."
> Client: "Well… okay."
> Sigmadog: "Great!"
> 
> In two weeks…
> Sigmadog: "Here are six completely different package designs."
> 
> Later…
> Client: "Three of your packages survived the first round, Sigmadog. It's just you and one other agency now. Now fit your designs onto these package spec's for mockups."
> Sigmadog: "Okay. Here you go."
> 
> Later…
> Client: "We've culled it down to two packages. One of yours and another agency. Do up a new mockup to these spec's and we'll take them to the final round."
> Sigmadog: "Okay. Here you go."
> 
> Later…
> Client: "Your package did great in the focus groups. It satisfied all our criteria, and the participants were drawn to it like moths to a flame."
> Sigmadog: "That's great!"
> Client: "There's just one problem. Because your designs failed the first two focus groups, the president of the company fell in love with the other agency's design, even though it didn't satisfy our criteria and didn't generate the enthusiasm of the focus group like your package. So we're going with the other agency, and, in time, probably all our other projects as well."
> Sigmadog: "Shit."
> 
> That's how my day went.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

That's f'ing bullshank, if I may say so Sigmadog. 

I hope the situation improves!


----------



## LeeC

They may likely be back if their product doesn't go over that well for whatever reason. When sales don't meet expectations, everybody starts second guessing each other. I've seen it time and again.

If they do, charge them extra for the aggravation.


----------



## Darkkin

When you plan for the eventuality that you'll do something stupid and actually do it, and you know you were stupid as you knew you would be, but because you know you have the tendency the situation wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.  Thank god for the friend you know you can trust with not only your dog, but just about everything else, too...:topsy_turvy:  Both hard copy and digital files have been restored.


----------



## Phil Istine

sigmadog said:


> Client that accounts for 65-70% of yearly work: "I need a package design. It needs to look like this. You have one day."
> 
> ...
> ...
> 
> Client: "There's just one problem. Because your designs failed the first two focus groups, the president of the company fell in love with the other agency's design, even though it didn't satisfy our criteria and didn't generate the enthusiasm of the focus group like your package. So we're going with the other agency, and, in time, probably all our other projects as well."
> Sigmadog: "Shit."
> 
> That's how my day went.



That is a real bummer.
I'm sure that with your talent, you will find more work soon.
I once had about 15% of my business turnover with one customer (though various jobs) and that hurt financially when it went at about a month's notice - after five years of regular work.  My biggest at the moment is about 7% of turnover and the rest 0.2%-1% .  I don't like to give them too much power over my life - heck, that's why I went self-employed to start with.

At least you have been forewarned that their other projects may be going elsewhere.  It gives a little time to gain other clients.  Hopefully, that will happen soon.


----------



## aj47

Darkkin said:


> When you plan for the eventuality that you'll do something stupid and actually do it, and you know you were stupid as you knew you would be, but because you know you have the tendency the situation wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.  Thank god for the friend you know you can trust with not only your dog, but just about everything else, too...:topsy_turvy:  Both hard copy and digital files have been restored.



True friends are few and valuable.  I'm glad you have at least one such in your life.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 15973

Long week...


----------



## Winston

Capped the day watching "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" with my wife.

"Wheel" opens with the tag line that it is "America's Game".  I pondered that once again and turned to my wife:
"Of course Wheel of Fortune is 'America's Game'.  If we weren't such a load of idiots, Jeopardy! would be our game."

Now remember, Alex Trebec (Canadian) hosts Jeopardy!.  And the irony is, "Wheel" contestants consistently win more money than "Jeopardy!" players.  
I changed my mind.  Who is the smart one, Alex?   'Merica!


----------



## The Green Shield

Y'know, I'm not one to discuss politics as my belief that so long as everyone treats either other with respect and dignity -- they're free to believe or vote for whoever they wish. That said, I do want to say the following:



Tomorrow's the big day for the US. I don't know how you all feel about this, nor do I know who is gonna win. But I do know this: whatever happens, we're all gonna make it. One way or another, we're gonna make it.


----------



## Kevin

My neighbor's yard is leaking water.  I saw it last night and it's still going this morning. Not a lot of water but somethings broke.? They might be away somewhere. We had a falling out years ago. He threw broken glass into the drive. I suppose if he were on fire I might..., depends on if I had anything in the tank. I'll check it out when I get home. 

It was a rough night with bad dreams, anxiety dreams. We fought about what brand of dog food we eat when we're retired. I said 'Alpo' but she says I'm an idiot, they don't even make Alpo anymore; it's all rice and lamb and hypoallergenic. I said bullshit, that's only for you snobs.... "I'm sorry, I wasn't raised that way..."

Feels strange arriving at the job in daylight . The sun isn't all the way up, but I can see the bamboo, the bird of paradise, a filthy matress, an avacado tree, a hard guava, as I drive down the alleyway. I don't usually go this way but I need to visit the bin - you see I took our old outdoor grill to work with me and I need to dump it. 

After the alley, there are five tents visible along the fenceline of the golf course or on the other side of the dirt-gravel easement separating the houses. I recognize at least one stolen bicycle ( way too expensive for a...), an electric vehicle (?!)covered with a tarp, and surfboard ( that person does not surf; never has...).

Soylent Green is made of people. I would hope that they would test them for drugs first; maybe tattoos- who wants to eat ground up tattoo?- not me. Echh. 

And that one poor bastard that moves all the time, can never get comfortable doesn't even own a tent; sleeps in a hooded coat on a cot of some sort... I think I woke him up with my headlights still on.


----------



## LeeC

There's a story in that Kev ;-)


----------



## aj47

Took the van in for an alignment because I had to buy new tires and the tire guy said an alignment would help.

The mechanic, Jonathan, said the front end was loose (the tie rods and stuff) and I also needed brake work.  I was fortunate enough to have printed the whole page of coupons from their site instead of just the 10% off an alignment coupon.  I kinda knew about the brakes.  

Dayum, if it ain't one thing, it's something else.


----------



## Gyarachu

I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown. This election has been one of the most emotionally distressing seasons to ever plague my life.

A fucking election.

All it's accomplished is to convince me that humans are just as vile creatures as we were a thousand years ago. We desperately need help.

Misanthropy. Now there is a word that's become oh-so-sweet to the tongue as of late.


----------



## Kevin

Don't worry...
be happy


----------



## The Green Shield

Gyarachu said:


> I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown. This election has been one of the most emotionally distressing seasons to ever plague my life.
> 
> A fucking election.
> 
> All it's accomplished is to convince me that humans are just as vile creatures as we were a thousand years ago. We desperately need help.
> 
> Misanthropy. Now there is a word that's become oh-so-sweet to the tongue as of late.



I've been knowing that long before Trump decided to run for the presidency. While we may have changed on some levels, we're still the same as we were thousands of years ago. I personally just take the bad with the good.


----------



## LeeC

Gyarachu said:


> I'm on the verge of a mental breakdown. This election has been one of the most emotionally distressing seasons to ever plague my life.
> 
> A fucking election.
> 
> All it's accomplished is to convince me that humans are just as vile creatures as we were a thousand years ago. We desperately need help.
> 
> Misanthropy. Now there is a word that's become oh-so-sweet to the tongue as of late.



Maybe if you put it in perspective  All this piddly political nonsense is a wart on the ass of a charging bull. None of the parties are capable, even if so inclined, to do much of anything about our real problems. The only thing that might is a critical mass of awareness that takes a major paradigm shift — something we humans aren't predisposed to. 

If you believe you'll be around in 2050, or have children that will, then you'd be well advised to read the book, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert. You might see in it what we really ought to be worried about. If on the other hand the significant paradigm shift eludes you, then you're in good company and need to stock up on more booze  Yeah I know, no one wanted to believe Rachel Carson either.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Well the good news is this election (for the US anyway) is almost mercifully over.


----------



## The Green Shield

I look forward to that. 

Also: TMW you report a spambot in another forum, but you play around with it by, what else? Pulling a Donald Trump and writing in the box:

“We need to build a wall around spammers and bots. It'll be great, believe me, folks. It'll be great.” <pauses> “Oh, and deport them. Can't have them sullying this great, grand forum of ours. Make ZU great again!!!”


----------



## JustRob

mrmustard615 said:


> Well the good news is this election (for the US anyway) is almost mercifully over.


But does voting settle anything? For us Brexit still seems a long way off with all the procrastination and if Trump loses then his campaign will probably just get noisier, won't it? It was the campaigning that was tiresome rather than the election itself and we haven't even forgotten the 2000 election fallout and the hanging chads that didn't yet.


----------



## The Green Shield

JustRob said:


> But does voting settle anything? For us Brexit still seems a long way off with all the procrastination and if Trump loses then his campaign will probably just get noisier, won't it? It was the campaigning that was tiresome rather than the election itself and we haven't even forgotten the 2000 election fallout and the hanging chads that didn't yet.


Yeah, I've a feeling we haven't seen the last of Trump yet. If he loses this round, he'll surely attempt again in the 2020 Elections. A guy with an ego his size won't take losing the chance of the frickin' _presidency of the United States_ sitting down.


----------



## midnightpoet

I took the dog for his walk and watched as some dark, foreboding clouds drifted by.  Omen?

As retired purchasing manager I spent 40 years dealing with salesmen, and found that there were few you could trust.  Politicians are like salesmen, they are trying to sell you on them selves and their programs (which often take second place).  So not any of them (to paraphrase John Nance Garner) worth a bucket of warm spit.:wink:

I may vote later anyway.:-D


----------



## JustRob

My angel had a headache this morning, so we went shopping this afternoon instead. They were out of stock of caffeine-free Pepsi. They say it's going to rain tonight. That's about it, nothing happening here. It's all happening somewhere else at the moment apparently. I doubt that it will affect the supply of Pepsi here though and even the president of the USA, whoever they turn out to be, is unlikely to be able to influence our weather, even though we do get it sent second-hand from across the Atlantic.


----------



## Kevin

The ancient Chinese lady that collects bottles and I've had to run off several times came back. Hadn't seen her in awhile, and she looked like she was moving more slowly. "I tak-ey bottle?" No, I said, pulling on the gate. "I take-y," she repeated. I pulled out five bucks and gave it to her. "No", I said making motions with my hands and twisting my head side to side, which could possibly be the opposite in wherever she comes from. She seemed disappointed but left. A few months ago someone had yelled and pointed her out to me while a several ton piece of structural steel was dangling from a crane above her. She'f scuttled away before I could get to her, and hadn't come back till today.


----------



## LeeC

Wife hauled me to vote this morning. To me an ineffective gesture as so many haven't a clue of the more important issues we're ignoring, but I went along peaceably to please the wife. When we got to the polling place there was a big red pickup parked across the beginning of the handicap access ramp. A couple men nearby lifted my wheelchair up onto the ramp. Seemed representative to me of the division of human consciousness one encounters. Of course it isn't solely a human thing, as anyone that's studied animal behavior will attest, so nothing to get worked up about. 

Do have a red welt on my cheek though. When we returned and were settling down to our adjacent desks, I made the remark, in jest, that the wife was taking up more space of late. She's a bit touchy to my mind  Then again I seem to have a proclivity for sticking my foot in my mouth.

Hey, did you notice PiP's doing a bang up job with the Showcase site. Don't know where she finds the time, as I see her also active (as WF) on Twitter. The latter being something that swamps me, each day checking out several dozen new followers (I avoid the slew of porn, erotica for its own sake, and overzealous faith peddlers) and trying to keep up with reciprocal networking (i.e. the retweeting two step) of a growing number of followers. Don't get me wrong, I respect others' faiths, but my book politely notes the difference between subjective and objective thinking, which tends to piss off some. As to the others I avoid, we're all a variation on physical life's theme with the same basic drives, but please close the door as I'm too old for such thoughts ;-)

Just received another prerelease book to review, so I better get crackin'.  Take care all.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> Do have a red welt on my cheek


She can see it, you can't, now you have to judge whether she looks at it with satisfaction or regret


----------



## The Green Shield

The votes are likely being counted now.




Well, good luck America. Good luck world. 




And no matter what, we're all in this. Together.


----------



## Gyarachu

I can't sleep.

My sister-in-law is Hispanic, from outside the U.S. She's only been stateside for six months. She's devastated and afraid.

My hearts breaks for the LGBT community. They already face so much hatred, so much of it from Trump's band of thugs. How much worse it will be now that the dear leader himself is in power. Rough days are ahead if you aren't a straight white male in America.

Humanity is a disgusting, vile race. Desperately broken, and desperately in need of help.

I have never been more ashamed to be an American.


----------



## The Green Shield

Gyarachu said:


> I can't sleep.
> 
> My sister-in-law is Hispanic, from outside the U.S. She's only been stateside for six months. She's devastated and afraid.
> 
> My hearts breaks for the LGBT community. They already face so much hatred, so much of it from Trump's band of thugs. How much worse it will be now that the dear leader himself is in power. Rough days are ahead if you aren't a straight white male in America.
> 
> Humanity is a disgusting, vile race. Desperately broken, and desperately in need of help.
> 
> I have never been more ashamed to be an American.


I'm sorry to hear that.  In truth, I'm equally as horrified -- and I'm a white, cisgendered, hetero male.

I wish I could do something to make you all feel better.


----------



## Gyarachu

Would just like to make sure everyone is aware that while Trump was elected, Hillary won the popular vote. Meaning despite the fact that more people voted for Clinton than Trump, Trump is elected President. I believe this is the second time in sixteen years this has happened. That the person with fewer votes was elected President.

Yeah, that's how fucked up our system is. A "democracy" in which the less popular of the two candidates gets elected because of some bizarre antiquated system.

Nobody can claim "this is the will of the American people." Because that's factually incorrect. The will of the American people voted Clinton. And yet that will was ignored. How the hell is this a democracy?

Fucked over yet again.

I do not accept nor acknowledge Donald Trump as my President. I do not acknowledge the Electoral College as legitimate. The people elected Hillary.


----------



## dale

Gyarachu said:


> Would just like to make sure everyone is aware that while Trump was elected, Hillary won the popular vote. Meaning despite the fact that more people voted for Clinton than Trump, Trump is elected President. I believe this is the second time in sixteen years this has happened. That the person with fewer votes was elected President.
> 
> Yeah, that's how fucked up our system is. A "democracy" in which the less popular of the two candidates gets elected because of some bizarre antiquated system.
> 
> Nobody can claim "this is the will of the American people." Because that's factually incorrect. The will of the American people voted Clinton. And yet that will was ignored. How the hell is this a democracy?
> 
> Fucked over yet again.
> 
> I do not accept nor acknowledge Donald Trump as my President. I do not acknowledge the Electoral College as legitimate. The people elected Hillary.



thatt's fine. i'm ok with that sentiment. because not for a single day has obama been my president. 
so feel how  ya gotta feel. lol


----------



## The Green Shield

There was a period during the eight years Obama was in office that I forgot he was even president.


----------



## dale

The Green Shield said:


> There was a period during the eight years Obama was in office that I forgot he was even president.



he was a  traitor. or IS a traitor. i find  it really hilarious this talk about trump and gays and trump and  women.
hillary's  campaign was funded by countries that execute gays just for being gay. hillary wants to welcome 100s
of thousands of refugees who believe  women should keep  their face  covered  and not be allowed outside without
a male guardian. hillary  had  the father of the  man that  shot  all those  gays in orlando at her  rallies. the  insanity
was never  trump. the insanity  was obama and clinton. it cracks me up. lol


----------



## Bishop

Oh god, let's not start this.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Bishop said:


> Oh god, let's not start this.




Yes, I agree.


----------



## dale

Bishop said:


> Oh god, let's not start this.



lol. well...it was started  a  couple pages back. i guess discussing politics and religion on here  is only cool if it's a circle-jerk.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

No, it's only cool if you're civil about it, Dale.


----------



## Terry D

Gyarachu said:


> Would just like to make sure everyone is aware that while Trump was elected, Hillary won the popular vote. Meaning despite the fact that more people voted for Clinton than Trump, Trump is elected President. I believe this is the second time in sixteen years this has happened. That the person with fewer votes was elected President.
> 
> Yeah, that's how fucked up our system is. A "democracy" in which the less popular of the two candidates gets elected because of some bizarre antiquated system.
> 
> Nobody can claim "this is the will of the American people." Because that's factually incorrect. The will of the American people voted Clinton. And yet that will was ignored. How the hell is this a democracy?
> 
> Fucked over yet again.
> 
> I do not accept nor acknowledge Donald Trump as my President. I do not acknowledge the Electoral College as legitimate. The people elected Hillary.



America has never been a democracy. It was never supposed to be. We are a representative republic where people are elected to serve in our best interests, not bound by majority rule. The electoral college is as old as the nation. It was established by the founding fathers. There have been at least five times when the winner of the popular vote was not President. I believe the first was John Quincy Adams.

Stay pissed, but don't just rant about it on-line. Get involved. Get involved at the local level and start making changes if you don't like the 'system'. Find candidates to support what you want to see happen and work to get them elected. Only you can see to it that you don't get "fucked over" again. We were all set to be screwed this time no matter who won.


----------



## dale

Terry D said:


> America has never been a democracy. It was never supposed to be. We are a representative republic where people are elected to serve in our best interests, not bound by majority rule. The electoral college is as old as the nation. It was established by the founding fathers. There have been at least five times when the winner of the popular vote was not President. I believe the first was John Quincy Adams.



and thhe funny thing is? it was predicted  by many analysts a couple days ago that the opposite was going to happen. 
it was predicted  that trump would win the popular and lose the electoral. so would have these people mad now
about the electoral system have been mad if  those predictions had come to place? i don't think so.


----------



## Gyarachu

Terry D said:


> America has never been a democracy. It was never supposed to be. We are a representative republic where people are elected to serve in our best interests, not bound by majority rule. The electoral college is as old as the nation. It was established by the founding fathers. There have been at least five times when the winner of the popular vote was not President. I believe the first was John Quincy Adams.



True, but actually not really relevant here because neither the majority _nor_ the elected representatives decided who would become President. A fluke in the system made the decision. Now, if the elected representatives went ahead and voted their consciences, that would be a different story, but they won't. Therefore a flaw in the system chose our next President.

And I refuse to accept that the leader of my country was elected by a fluke in an outdated dysfunctional system rather than by the nation's people, or even their elected representatives. It's insanity.


----------



## Sam

Gyarachu said:


> True, but actually not really relevant here because neither the majority _nor_ the elected representatives decided who would become President. A fluke in the system made the decision. Now, if the elected representatives went ahead and voted their consciences, that would be a different story, but they won't. Therefore a flaw in the system chose our next President.
> 
> And I refuse to accept that the leader of my country was elected by a fluke in an outdated dysfunctional system rather than by the nation's people, or even their elected representatives. It's insanity.



If Trump had won the popular vote, and Clinton the electoral, would you be saying the same thing?


----------



## Gyarachu

Sam said:


> If Trump had won the popular vote, and Clinton the electoral, would you be saying the same thing?



I would hope so. But how I feel or would feel has no bearing on whether or not it's true.

The people voted for Clinton, but the electoral college votes according to the electoral system. The electoral system elected Trump due to a fluke despite the majority vote for Clinton. Ergo, Trump was elected due to a fluke in the system.

Not much better than flipping a coin. Our votes would have been just about as meaningful.


----------



## dale

Gyarachu said:


> I would hope so. But how I feel or would feel has no bearing on whether or not it's true.
> 
> The people voted for Clinton, but the electoral college votes according to the electoral system. The electoral system elected Trump due to a fluke despite the majority vote for Clinton. Ergo, Trump was elected due to a fluke in the system.
> 
> Not much better than flipping a coin. Our votes would have been just about as meaningful.




that's because it was set up that way. the founding  fathers very much believed in state's rights over a totalitarian
federal system. if the popular vote pure democracy scheme you  seem to want  now was in effect? then whatever the people
who lived on the more highly populated coastal metro areas would be dictating  law and policy for all of us is the midwest,
great lakes, plains, south, and northern areas. and sorry to say? but  all of us don't have these same issues and problems 
that the people in the metro coastal areas have. it would be completely unfair to the entire country, except for these
relatively small coastal areas that to be frank? have horrible problems that people in my area of the country  have no rhyme or
reason to be regulated over. pure democracy is 3 wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. that's whhy the founding fathers
knew better  than to put such a horrible system into place. and that's why america  is a republic.


----------



## ppsage

> the founding fathers very much believed in state's rights over a totalitarian
> federal system


Believed is kind of a strong word here. Before independence, the colonies were already established polities, often with better communication with the mother country than each other. With independence, the little ones worried (believed?) the big ones would eat them up. But there were enough of them banded together to block confederation if they were too unhappy. Electoral college and equal senators were compromises to get them on board. (The art of the deal?) Whether or how those compromises are still valuable or fair is a political question which might be revisited.


----------



## dale

ppsage said:


> Believed is kind of a strong word here. Before independence, the colonies were already established polities, often with better communication with the mother country than each other. With independence, the little ones worried (believed?) the big ones would eat them up. But there were enough of them banded together to block confederation if they were too unhappy. Electoral college and equal senators were compromises to get them on board. (The art of the deal?) Whether or how those compromises are still valuable or fair is a political question which might be revisited.



do you like the idea  of pure democracy? let's give an example that happened a few years  ago. not that long ago, actually.
the state of california put on the ballot a referendum on gay marriage. californians, by popular  vote, CLEARLY voted...no fucking way.
we don't want gay marriage legalized. and that's  the way it was. the majority spoke and said they did not want gay marriage in california.
then a bunch of bolshevik lawyers sued in federal court and got  the referendum vote...THE  WILL OF THE MAJORITY VOTE...overturned.
ya see? you can't have it both ways. either you are for popular  vote democracy? or you are against it. people picking  and choosing
when too be for and against it, based on their own individual subjective  opinions should be invalid.


----------



## The Green Shield

Still pissed at what we just done.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=svoeu6RPbX4

Kyle spells it out perfectly. We have basically become the very monsters we once hated. We just elected a guy who wants to bring back torture even if it didn't work, to kill families of terrorists, among other things.


----------



## Gyarachu

dale said:


> that's because it was set up that way. the founding  fathers very much believed in state's rights over a totalitarian
> federal system. if the popular vote pure democracy scheme you  seem to want  now was in effect? then whatever the people
> who lived on the more highly populated coastal metro areas would be dictating  law and policy for all of us is the midwest,
> great lakes, plains, south, and northern areas. and sorry to say? but  all of us don't have these same issues and problems
> that the people in the metro coastal areas have. it would be completely unfair to the entire country, except for these
> relatively small coastal areas that to be frank? have horrible problems that people in my area of the country  have no rhyme or
> reason to be regulated over. pure democracy is 3 wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. that's whhy the founding fathers
> knew better  than to put such a horrible system into place. and that's why america  is a republic.



How, then, is allowing the minority to dictate policy for the majority any better? All you've done is reverse the situation, save that even _fewer_ people get a say in policy that affects them.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Well, it has been an emotionally draining day to say the least. We really do have a no debate policy as most of you know, but I do understand the anxiety yesterday has caused. I only ask that you guys keep the conversation civil.  So far you've all been okay for the most part but try to keep it at a polite level. 


And tomorrow is a new day. the best thing to do now is to go on with our lives and hope for the best. That's all we can do.


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm gonna let books and my writing help me escape reality for a while...


----------



## Cran

After hearing the victory speech, with its surprising reversals of attitude, I wonder how much of his campaign was just for show, to win over the disaffected. Outrageous celebrity, selling seismic change to a future past, bringing down a system mired in too many wrongs and too few rights. For many, that's the stuff of dreams; it's TV made real.


----------



## dale

Gyarachu said:


> How, then, is allowing the minority to dictate policy for the majority any better? All you've done is reverse the situation, save that even _fewer_ people get a say in policy that affects them.


because  like i said....democracy is  3 wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. so what's gonna happen?

after  the vote? the wolves  are gonna  have  mutton for  supper.


----------



## The Green Shield

Cran said:


> After hearing the victory speech, with its surprising reversals of attitude, I wonder how much of his campaign was just for show, to win over the disaffected. Outrageous celebrity, selling seismic change to a future past, bringing down a system mired in too many wrongs and too few rights. For many, that's the stuff of dreams; it's TV made real.


If that's the case, if he actually isn't as crazy as he made himself out to be, then holy shit did he manage to scare the world for a moment there. I would be torn between saying, “Trump, you magnificent bastard...” to, “Uh yeah, um, okay, _why_???”


----------



## Gyarachu

Back in 2012, this is what Trump tweeted when it initially (and falsely) looked like Romney had won the popular vote. By his own words, he should either be conceding the Presidency, or be waging a revolution against himself.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Cran said:


> After hearing the victory speech, with its surprising reversals of attitude, I wonder how much of his campaign was just for show, to win over the disaffected. Outrageous celebrity, selling seismic change to a future past, bringing down a system mired in too many wrongs and too few rights. For many, that's the stuff of dreams; it's TV made real.



I agree. He might be a better/less noxious candidate than we first thought. He's said a lot of progressive things in the late 90s and early '00s, and even said how easy it would be to run and garner support from the right.  

A bit of happier news: there's a girl who is an English student and is in one of my public speaking groups. I only recently discovered she's a "serious" writer too and she's going to read a piece. She's kinda shy and pretty nervous since it is her first time, but I'm thinking of concocting one up too and reading it so she doesn't have to take the plunge alone.


----------



## The Green Shield

Look at it this way: we no longer get to have an excuse for not writing. Trump became president.  If he could become president, we can write that dang book we've always wanted to write. 

*SO GET TO WRITING!!! >:[*


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

> A bit of happier news: there's a girl who is an English student and is in one of my public speaking groups. I only recently discovered she's a "serious" writer too and she's going to read a piece. She's kinda shy and pretty nervous since it is her first time, but I'm thinking of concocting one up too and reading it so she doesn't have to take the plunge alone.



If only there was a site she could go to for serious writing. A site made up of a diverse community of writers. A site where the novice and the pro could help each other out in an inviting atmosphere. Oh, if only


----------



## Kevin

W. Novice: Hello? Hello...


In greater news today... I pulled up to the site and it looks like a bomb went off, again, with even a body lying there, in the dirt, fidgeting, or rolling as he scrolls on his cell. That can't be comfortable. I am amazed that there is a huge trash bin- 40 yards- within 20 feet of the blast radius , and I swear I saw them ( homeless) doing what looked like cleaning up yesterday afternoon. One guy was even holding a broom. Jeez- what a bunch of pigs...


----------



## The Green Shield

Even better news: someone I know is recovering from colon cancer!  *SHE IS CANCER-FREE!!!!!*


----------



## am_hammy

The Green Shield said:


> Even better news: someone I know is recovering from colon cancer!  *SHE IS CANCER-FREE!!!!!*




Thats yhe the best kind of news! Happiness all around ^_^


----------



## dither

Toothache.

I'll say no more.:ChainGunSmiley:

If only wasn't such a wimp.


----------



## Cran

The Green Shield said:


> If that's the case, if he actually isn't as crazy as he made himself out to be, then holy shit did he manage to scare the world for a moment there. I would be torn between saying, “Trump, you magnificent bastard...” to, “Uh yeah, um, okay, _why_???”


Yeah. Now (ie over the next year or so) we will find out who the real Trump is. 

Yes, I was one of those who thought that Reagan + Thatcher meant WWIII. Instead, he helped broker a real step back from MAD and a winding down of the Cold War. So, perhaps we will get to see a future other than the one which threatened. 

On the other hand, it will be difficult (understatement) to put so much hate and hurt back into the bottle. It's one thing for the main players to shake hands afterwards and say it was a tough game but it didn't really mean anything. For so many people, it meant everything, and still does. 




dither said:


> Toothache.
> 
> I'll say no more.:ChainGunSmiley:
> 
> If only wasn't such a wimp.



Ouch. 
Quick fix: teething gel, or tooth and gum pain gel. 
Post-Depression home remedy: aspirin left to dissolve at the affected area. 
Old natural remedy: clove or clove oil (tastes awful in strength, but does work).


----------



## Ariel

I got my loom warped. I'm not sure I did it properly but I did it in a way that I can see the individual warp threads are straight.

I keep getting asked who I voted for and if I'm all upset.  I'm being asked by older white men. I want to break their faces for asking because it's one of the rudest and most patronizing things to ask.


----------



## Cran

amsawtell said:


> I keep getting asked who I voted for and if I'm all upset.  I'm being asked by older white men. I want to break their faces for asking because it's one of the rudest and most patronizing things to ask.


Yes. I'm older white men, and I can think of much better pick-up or ice-breaker lines.


----------



## Winston

amsawtell said:


> ...I keep getting asked who I voted for and if I'm all upset.  I'm being asked by older white men. I want to break their faces for asking because it's one of the rudest and most patronizing things to ask.



Nothing like a gracious winner, flippin' (old) punks. We won't move on 'till the gloating (and blaming) ends.   

On a happier note, the United States Marine Corps is 241 years old today!  Merry Semper Fidelis!


----------



## Ariel

Cran said:


> Yes. I'm older white men, and I can think of much better pick-up or ice-breaker lines.



Funny, I don't think of you as old.  

I generally _like_ most people upon meeting them.  I don't care who _they_ voted for.  But asking me that question and in that way just makes me angry.  Worse is they ask me if I voted for Hillary "because she's a woman?"


----------



## aj47

I am spitting annoyed right now.  After several rounds of dealing with the online advising department, I am finally cleared to graduate the end of this semester.  This should be a cause for joy.  Um, no.  Because there is no winter commencement.  They *used* *to *have winter commencement but discontinued it.  So the link to graduation instructions goes to the May 2016 commencement page. And no one said peep until I got into chat with someone from the advising office.  

Now, let me explain how this advising works.  For distance education students--that is, students with no classroom classes--the only way to deal with an advisor is to fill out an online form and they e-mail you back.  And you can't reply to the e-mails, you have to fill out the form again.

So I've done five rounds of this form to get them to allow me to click the *Apply for Graduation *link (they have to make it live for you--regular students have to go to campus to see an advisor -- I did that and was told to do the distance education form since all my classes are online).  

No one seems to know when I'll get my diploma--the closest to a date I got was "diplomas are printed three times a year" from the chat person I wasn't supposed to be talking to.  Who, once they figured out I was a DE student, gave me an e-mail address to write to.


----------



## Darkkin

Rant ahead, beware...

Thank heavens for time stamped backups and notarized hardcopy...The dinglefritz who was expelled because she got caught plagiarizing my_ Star Socks_ _Fox_ villanelles is back.  Some how she found out about the rather sizable commission I received for my _Turtle upon Tide_ pieces and has decided that since my _Strangeways to Nowhere_ are her 'found poetry' she is entitled to that commission and others I've received.  

My work is on file, copyrighted...Something that I have done with my writing since I was about fifteen, I have the notarized and dated edits and proofs, records from my critique groups, emails from numerous professors, time stamped back ups on thumb drives, micro SD, remote files, email backups, and CD.  Not to mention the presentations I used for the workshop I helped with early in the year, as well as the data and transcripts from the plagiarism hearing.  Those poems are not found poetry...They are original work and I have the body of proof, both physical and digital.  One would have thought that she would have learned the first time around.  You do not mess with Turtle.

View attachment 16016

She lost quite soundly the first time when I challenged her claim to the _Star Socks Fox_.  I will fight even harder for Turtle.  And for me, it isn't about the money; it is the principle.  You claim to be a writer, so write.  Look up the actual definition of found poetry and make something that is unique, don't take another author's original work and attempt to pass it off as your own.  Get a clue.  The works weren't awarded to her the first time, as the analysis showed a less than .6% conguencey between her submitted writing samples the contested pieces.  Now the entire body of work (more than 200 pieces) is being presented as a whole.  These pieces fit together like jewelled cogs, wheels within wheels.  It's going to be a mess, but it is a fight that needs to be settled.  She has no claim to the poems or the commissions.

And yes, I realize I write nothing but nonsense, but it's _my _nonsense.


----------



## Kevin

D-  what an odd story. Odd that someone would claim ... Well, you know. I'm glad you have a strong position. I just realized that the photo is not of a large mouthed raven; it's a snapping turtle! . Quite ferocious.


----------



## Darkkin

Kevin said:


> D-  what an odd story. Odd that someone would claim ... Well, you know.



People have sued over stranger, more ludicrous things.  I know the 'Ways aren't anything that will ever be mainstream, but I've done all right with commissions and therein lies the rub.  If you can't get the rights, get anything you can...Preliminary hearing is later today to see if there are grounds to proceed.  And given the fact that she had previously admitted to taking the villanelles in the plagiarism case does not bode well.  Still a bit worried, not because I'm unprepared, but because people can be fickle.

There are better ways to do things, especially with writing.  The human capacity to create is one of our greatest gifts, I don't understand why some people feel the need to commandeer the work of others.  What is behind the reasoning?  If it isn't yours, don't take it and then pitch a fit when the rightful owner steps in.  This is what entitlement fosters.  It is also one of the most fulsome aspects of humanity.

What has me worried is that with the plagiarism case, only the poems directly connected to the _Star Socks Fox_ were required to prove the authorship, roughly about 5% of the entire body of work.  This time the project as a whole is required, both the physical and digital copies.  Everything is in order, dated, notarized, and authorship verified with copyrights attached.  But no one has ever seen _everything_.  Even as much as I post for critique...Tip of the iceberg.  I specialize in chaos theory and butterfly effect with my work, no one sees the multitude of threads that crisscross and intersect in a thriving web of nonsense.  The level of detail straddles the line between painful and insane.

I have a pretty good idea of what her ploy is about and it isn't just the commissions...:distress:  My working manuscript will be out of my hands and that terrifies me.


----------



## Phil Istine

Darkkin said:


> I have a pretty good idea of what her ploy is about and it isn't just the commissions...:distress:  My working manuscript will be out of my hands and that terrifies me.



Might it be about attempting reinstatement of her education - possibly at another educational facility?  Another issue is that she might have convinced parents/family that she was in the right, so she has to go through with this to save face with them.
Presumably you have full backups of the manuscript?
Possibly she is trying to get into a position where defending yourself costs you money, and she hopes you will concede due to being unable to afford legal fees.
Any number of permutations really, but those date stamps etc. must prevail in the end.


----------



## Winston

I just took my son to the Veteran's Home so he could volunteer with his JROTC unit.  Along the way, we saw a local Cub Scout troop planting flags in the Veteran's Cemetery.  Back in our neighborhood, most of our neighbors are flying their American flags.

Our veterans serve ALL Americans.  Not one party, or ethnicity or ideology.  We need to set aside all this stupid, childish bickering and think of THEIR sacrifice.  Happy Veteran's Day.


----------



## The Green Shield

So there may be a riot after all in my hometown of Mobile, Alabama.  Apparently the rioters are gonna be pissed off Hillary supporters who hate the fact Trump won. It's apparently gonna happen tomorrow.


----------



## Bishop

The Green Shield said:


> So there may be a riot after all in my hometown of Mobile, Alabama.  Apparently the rioters are gonna be pissed off Hillary supporters who hate the fact Trump won. It's apparently gonna happen tomorrow.



At least they were nice enough to schedule it in advance..? Sorry to hear that, GS, no doubt a scary situation. On that note, though, I love your town. My company has a couple of satellite offices there, and I went on a trip last year to rebuild their server environment. Loved the area, the coast, and even took a drive to Biloxi for some gambling.


----------



## The Green Shield

Bishop said:


> At least they were nice enough to schedule it in advance..? Sorry to hear that, GS, no doubt a scary situation. On that note, though, I love your town. My company has a couple of satellite offices there, and I went on a trip last year to rebuild their server environment. Loved the area, the coast, and even took a drive to Biloxi for some gambling.


Yeah, even revealed exactly where it'd be and the time. At Cathedral Square on Dauphin Street from around 4:30 to 5:00 pm. Luckily I don't live near there, but I feel bad for those who do. D:

And thanks for the comment, Bishop.  Were you able to experience the sights and food Mobile has to offer?


----------



## Darkkin

Phil Istine said:


> Might it be about attempting reinstatement of her education - possibly at another educational facility?  Another issue is that she might have convinced parents/family that she was in the right, so she has to go through with this to save face with them.
> 
> Any number of permutations really, but those date stamps etc. must prevail in the end.



The judge looked slightly shocked when I handed over my annotated WIP portfolio...:apathy:  The number of Post It notes attached denoting the different plot threads and story sequences is a little scary.  He asked me if I had been working on it a while after I handed over my Moleskines, too.  Date stamps and records for the 'Ways stretch back to 2012, including a poetry anthology that contains the original poem _Strangeways to Nowhere_.  The early pieces don't have the regimented structure of the more recent works, but the the evolution of the project is clear.  Like the ivy I have on my window ledge, this started off as a tiny snippet of nothing and morphed into a behemoth.

Against an overwhelming body of evidence that the poems are not works belonging to the public domain, the judge dismissed the case and stated that the poems may not be used without the written permission of the author.  And that the plaintiff had no claim, either creative or monetary, to the aforementioned works.  Not now, not ever.

The whole plot and plan behind this mess...Turns out she is still trying to use the pieces as a part of her capstone project of found poetry for her degree. She thought that by suing for the rights and commissions, she could gain access to the work as a whole by means of making it public record.  That as the plaintiff in the case, she would be provided with a complete copy of the original files and complete transcripts_.  _She can get the transcripts, but my files were review by the court in private.  

The judge was quick to set her straight on that point when she demanded to know why she didn't get a copy, while the court did.  All I had to do was prove that files were mine; she had to substantiate the grounds of her claim, that the pieces were actually hers according to the definition of 'found poetry'.  The contested records are to remain confidential, the contents sealed.  The burden of proof of ownership was proven beyond all shadow of doubt.  Hopefully this will be the end of it.

Mum was right when she told me, never underestimate the human capacity for stupidity...I really wish that weren't the case, but yeah...

Lessons gleaned from this:  Write your own shit, be proud of the fact that it is yours, but be aware of its flaws, and you might learn something about yourself along the way.  Occasionally, those who are less than nothing find the courage to roar about something that is definitely more than nothing.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Found out the magazine I submitted to a little while ago was discontinued.

Damn.


----------



## The Green Shield

danielstj said:


> Found out the magazine I submitted to a little while ago was discontinued.
> 
> Damn.



I feel your pain.


----------



## midnightpoet

Yeah, a couple of my published stories were to magazines now no longer in business (or not accepting submissions).  Internet 'zines don't stay around very long usually (at least my mystery/thriller/crime mags). A lot of them now are asking for "cutting edge" fiction, whatever that is.:grin:


----------



## escorial

bit stressed with all the political unrest over the pond and not a word from yoko ono....what if she decides to live in the uk..man i'm getting a migrane


----------



## Winston

escorial said:


> bit stressed with all the political unrest over the pond and not a word from yoko ono....what if she decides to live in the uk..man i'm getting a migraine



We have a saying from 'round the way:
"Better you than me, brah."
(I mean Yoko Ono, not the migraine.  Although they are synonymous)


----------



## escorial

Winston said:


> We have a saying from 'round the way:
> "Better you than me, brah."
> (I mean Yoko Ono, not the migraine.  Although they are synonymous)



you can pop a pil or sit in a dark room but that voice would be torture.....

[video=youtube_share;lrJz9Dh5MsM]https://youtu.be/lrJz9Dh5MsM[/video]

god bless america


----------



## Winston

Thanks Esc.  Now I need a shower.
Not because I'm hot & bothered.  I feel dirty.
And not in a good way.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Why pick on Yoko Ono? Okay, so she's a weirdo, so what? The UK won't crumble if she would moves over there, which is highly unlikely. I think she's staying parked right in New York City. If she moved to any other country I would guess it would be Japan where she's from.


----------



## escorial

god bless japan


----------



## dither

It's difficult to imagine her bent over some luggage a mile up with john behind her pushing a cart.

Life eh?


----------



## The Green Shield

escorial said:


> god bless japan


She isn't Justin Beiber, Escor.


----------



## Gyarachu

[video=youtube;k5YIJ1pZEBc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5YIJ1pZEBc[/video]

Don't blame it on Yokie!


----------



## escorial

she is coming to Liverpool shortly to celebrate the oldest building in liverpool..


----------



## The Green Shield

I hope she rocks the shit out of that old building and Liverpool.


----------



## escorial

well she's no justin.....


----------



## am_hammy

So, still stuck at hallmark. What else is new? Found out I'm closing Black Friday and the day after which I'm pissed about because my manager said I didn't have to close Black Friday. Oh well, I guess that's my punishment for not volunteering for working on thanksgiving, but at least there were three other people willing to volunteer so I don't have to work that day. 


Let me tell you something though, I am so damn sick of how grossly commercial the holidays have come. Aside from my disgust on that part and the fact that I begrudgingly support the commercialism by working at my job, I am looking forward to the holidays and the new year, as I feel it will bring me new opportunities and a fresh start. I have a good feeling about 2017 for myself


----------



## LeeC

There you go Ash  When life gets dull you have to polish it up. You got a lot of miles to go yet ;-)


----------



## am_hammy

LeeC said:


> There you go Ash  When life gets dull you have to polish it up. You got a lot of miles to go yet ;-)




And i I also have off tomorrow, in which I will buy myself a Lindt chocolate advent calendar with little bear chocolates. Why? Because I can.


----------



## Bishop

The Green Shield said:


> Yeah, even revealed exactly where it'd be and the time. At Cathedral Square on Dauphin Street from around 4:30 to 5:00 pm. Luckily I don't live near there, but I feel bad for those who do. D:
> 
> And thanks for the comment, Bishop.  Were you able to experience the sights and food Mobile has to offer?



I was, and all on my company dime! The USS Alabama was an amazing sight, and I always love a place where I can get fresh seafood. Was a blast; had I known you were down there at the time, I'd have taken you our for lunch on my company.


----------



## LeeC

Saw an ad on social media about new oceanside properties becoming available in Dallas and St. Louis.


----------



## midnightpoet

LeeC said:


> Saw an ad on social media about new oceanside properties becoming available in Dallas and St. Louis.



Well,if the poles keep melting,that might turn out true one day.:grin:


----------



## LeeC

midnightpoet said:


> Well,if the poles keep melting,that might turn out true one day.:grin:


Yeah, real estate agents have to stay ahead of the game to keep their business afloat ;-) Amazing what clever beings we are.


----------



## msjhord

Working at the nation's largest retailer, the week before Thanksgiving is already hitting a fever pitch.  I have to work T-giving night from 5:30-11, then be in on Black Friday 11a-8p.  Needless to say, come Saturday, Jennifer is not going to be a happy camper.  Not only will I be exhausted, but I'm pretty sure my People Saturation Quotient will have surpassed critical mass.  Yeah.


----------



## aj47

Today, astroandy had his first colonoscopy--the one you're supposed to get when you're fifty ... he's fifty-mumble.  It came to head since he suffered a bout of diverticulitis in August.  Even so, I had to call the primary care doctor and get the referral info and stuff.  He can be ... inertial.  

He had had his heart set on a burger afterward until they told him at discharge that he couldn't have anything greasy (they did the twilight sleep thing).  He was groggy but not uncoordinated.  He didn't argue.  Actually, he was craving vegetables, having not had any raw ones for several days due to the prep.  So we had sub sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. on them (the stuff he'd've put on a burger).


----------



## LeeC

My daughter sent me photos today, and I thought I'd share one of them with you. The first image is my grandson as a bad ass viking this halloween. 

Got me reminiscing, and I thought of a photo to share with you folks from across the pond. It's my maternal grandparents circa 1920. She grew up in Sussex England.


----------



## Kevin

astroannie said:


> Today, astroandy had his first colonoscopy--the one you're supposed to get when you're fifty ... he's fifty-mumble.  It came to head since he suffered a bout of diverticulitis in August.  Even so, I had to call the primary care doctor and get the referral info and stuff.  He can be ... inertial.
> 
> He had had his heart set on a burger afterward until they told him at discharge that he couldn't have anything greasy (they did the twilight sleep thing).  He was groggy but not uncoordinated.  He didn't argue.  Actually, he was craving vegetables, having not had any raw ones for several days due to the prep.  So we had sub sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. on them (the stuff he'd've put on a burger).


Ahhh... The silver stallion, I do not remember it well as I was very much high, or very much 'out' on some sort of something intraveniously administered by the slightly younger than I anesthesiologist of decidedly Korean descent. You know I am quite able to differentiate as my secondary school had many sons and daughters of the southern peninsular political entity, and I became so familiar that I began to blather on like this on the table so to speak, or in actuality actually until blissfully, the... whatever-it-was took hold and next I was semi-conscious and letting bombs go while apologizing profusely to which the nurses and doctor said that no, no, it was a good thing, the expellation (air actually) a necessary thing .. Oh dear. 

Unfortunately, or the opposite I'd had to undergo the procedure more than once, each time revealing naught. They found no --you list it, nor reason for causation or cessation, thank you very much. Nerves, I guess, you see I was bleeding... That was more than several years ago.


----------



## aj47

They found minor things--including the diverticules which we knew about.  There will be a full report in 3-4 weeks, including a recommendation on when he should have his next one.

In other news, my son did his laundry without being asked.  Including the progress report in his pants pocket.  Oops.  It's a yellow wad of ... well, it should be mostly salvageable ... next to my keyboard, drying.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Had to deal with the shrapnel from a huge blow up at work that occurred while I was off the other day.  Everyone will mend, but damage was done.


----------



## thepancreas11

I got myself involved in a men's hockey league a while back and yesterday we had a game at 10:50PM, which always gets me too hyped up to sleep. This caused me to come home and watch about thirteen episodes of a delightful history series called ExtraCredit History. I learned about the Punic Wars and the history of paper money and all about Emperor Justinian! I highly recommend it.

Link is here: Extra History!


----------



## Kevin

Had to pick the spinach out of my daily bowl. I'd rinsed them, but they needed bathing and dunking. Lesson learned before, like sand sprinkled potato chips at the beach- but I guess I have to relearn it.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Since I read about the % of 'Washed and ready to eat' salad packets that test positive for listeria I double wash everything. Still, when I was a kid mum used to soak watercress in salt water for a couple of hours. All the shrimps and snails would drop out with the soaking and the salt was supposed to kill the liver flukes.


----------



## Kevin

Liver flukes... Omg. I am traumatized.  Liver flukes....


----------



## Olly Buckle

Don't worry too much  They break the life cycle nowadays. They spend one generation in water snails, one in mammals. Used to be they would rely on ducks to eat the snails, but they keep the snails right out of the cycle now. Never chew a bit of grass from a damp sheep meadow though, seriously.


----------



## The Green Shield

Woke up with anxiety today.  I have a lot of stuff to do at work, and next week it'll just be little me working on the project. Oh dear God. ;__;


----------



## JustRob

So yesterday didn't start well. It was my angel's birthday and I should have been focussing on that, but in the morning I got an email notification of a PM on another website and got distracted. Somebody was interested in some old computer equipment from the 1980s that I've wanted to get rid of for years. We're currently discussing the details and it could mean that some of my limited storage space is freed up. However, when I logged onto that website, which I seldom visit, I discovered that some months ago someone had been posting to a thread that I started there and I hadn't received an email notification of the fact, so he'd never got a reply from me. The site uses Vbulletin software like this one but there appears to have been an upgrade which wiped out my notification settings for threads and I never got informed of it. So, instead of paying attention to my angel I started the day by writing profuse apologies to the poor chap, who'd got to the point of writing things like "... if anyone is reading this but I'll carry on anyway". The point is that I actually think that what he's been doing is absolutely brilliant and would have told him immediately if I'd known. Having posted my peace-making piece there I then had to apologise to my angel for neglecting her, but she understood fortunately. We have to remember that everyone, whether close to us or not, has feelings.


----------



## Winston

We're having an Holiday Party, and one of my co-workers and I were trying to talk "Doug" into attending.  Doug is really socially awkward, off-putting to some that don't know him.  But those of us that do get know him love his quirks and overall goodness.

Alas, Doug declined.  Like every year.  That will not stop us from strenuously trying to get him to go.  I understand Doug is happy in his reclusive life.  But I do think it makes him feel better about himself knowing that we really do want him to attend.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Listening to erasure's best songs after researching on spotify and they are pretty good group. I may become a regular listener of their songs. So good so far.


----------



## Winston

Went to volunteer at the food bank with my son yesterday.  People had previously signed-up to buy and drop-off food for needy families and individuals, we boxed and stored the donations for pick up. Each food donation was earmarked to a specific person or persons in need.
Well, by the end of the day, over thirty of those that volunteered to bring food never showed.  Thirty.  I vacillated between anger and sadness.


----------



## Theglasshouse

That's unfortunate, I used to go to the Salvation Army, and my mom loves unique antiques. She'd pick them like hats, and take them away from the stores. I'd pick up old videogames. Wish they had pawn shops where I am from. You may not see the satisfaction on people's faces, but you take away a memory in exchange to make someone out there life's brighter. It may not feel selfless but all the same, many foreigner's belongings are interesting. Imagine going to a European pawn shop, and my point remains I think.Exporting and importing is something I wish I could do in countries with areas rich with art history. You know a world exists like that out there.


----------



## Kevin

In the parking lot of the market I stopped and talked to woman that paints storefront glass windows for a living. The back of her hatchback was open and filled with a jumble of paint cans, paint cups, small buckets, rollers... 
She said that, yes, this was her busy time, the holidays, but that she was busy all the time, hence the jumble as she'd had to rush from another job. She was a workman, like I'm a workman, with no makeup, no adornment at all. There were some stray hairs in her upper lip and I bet she didn't care. I told her I liked her work truck (which was not a truck at all, but then we make do, don't we?) I asked her about how she prices things and she said bid prices, the jobs taking longer than she figures often, her prices being figured on her guesstimate of how long it should take. 

I took her picture, thinking that I would post it on fb "the Paintress", but I don't think people would get it. I left and let her continue; only so many hours we got to work.


----------



## Kevin

5:30 am. 
The 'un-housed' were up already when I opened the back door to the site. Three of them were standing, huddle doing... I don't know, don't care...

Everything is still wet. The ocean air brings fog or heavy dew nightly. And the soil is clay, so it takes a long time to dry.

They came and dropped the tree into the courtyard by crane. It took them all day. It's a "Melaleuca", a 'Paperbark' in the Eucalyptus family. The bark is interesting: thick, spongy, and peeley but ... not what I would have chosen. I think I'm sort of prejudiced against those 'invaders' from down under. They're everywhere, and they don't belong. The whole city is a forest of foreigners, exotics deemed better than the natives. I'd put my Bay laurel, my Holly-leafed cherry up against any..."Ungawa!", or whatever the Natives might of said before we rid ourselves of them. Sad joke...but still; whatever they might of said. 

It took me a while, but I figured out how to open the elevator doors with a wire. There's a slot, and you have to get it to lean back, in... I wrapped the end with tape so as to not scratch the finish. I had the installers leave it, the top of the cab flush with the second floor, which allowed us to go underneath to the "pit" and work on top to finish off the opening at the second floor. All that's left now is to drywall the ceiling; not a large area, but there's a bunch of equipment in the way now. Maybe this weekend.


----------



## LeeC

Your take is right on Kev. Different variations of flora (and fauna) evolved in differing habitats to paradoxically coexist. It's Nature's balancing act to further physical live overall, each filling a niche for greater ecosystem productivity. Our introducing new species into habitats at an accelerated rate screws up the balance, and accelerates evolution to counterbalance the disruptions. Our little blue canoe has seen many disruptions over the history of life, most notably in the five great extinctions, and as we're belatedly learning in the midst of a sixth great extinction event, Nature can step up its pace to deal with us. Nature gave us teenagers money, booze, and car keys, and we're acting like children with a box of matches ;-)


----------



## Sleepwriter

Was woken by a most unusual sound. An owl and a murder of crows were fighting over something.  Went outside to see what it was, but didn't find anything, Everyone flew away as my eyes were adjusting to the early morning light.


----------



## LeeC

As if I didn't have enough to do, I'm trying to get up to speed with Procreate (iPad app) to begin working on illustrations for my book.

Anyway, some dude supposedly asked the developers of Procreate where they were located. When the answer was Tasmania, the dude asked if Tasmania was a real place. So much for our education system and advanced technology.


----------



## Winston

LeeC said:


> ...Anyway, some dude supposedly asked the developers of Procreate where they were located. When the answer was Tasmania, the dude asked if Tasmania was a real place. So much for our education system and advanced technology.



That reminds me of General Jimmy Doolittle's raid on Tokyo in 1942.  When FDR announced the successful attack, he said the planes flew from our bases in Shangrila.
I always wondered how many people dusted-off their family atlas and looked for that location.  There are idiots from every time, and from every place.  Perhaps there are more here, today.


----------



## LeeC

Where am I? I'm blurry eyed from lack of sleep. Yesterday I started reading a book on antigravity and can't put it down.


----------



## The Green Shield

My anxiety has decided to kick me in the ass at the absolute _worst_ possible time: before bed on the night before I have to travel somewhere for Thanksgiving. It doesn't help that I made a mistake at my job today that my anxiety is, yes, still kicking at me about.


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> As if I didn't have enough to do, I'm trying to get up to speed with Procreate (iPad app) to begin working on illustrations for my book.
> 
> Anyway, some dude supposedly asked the developers of Procreate where they were located. When the answer was Tasmania, the dude asked if Tasmania was a real place. So much for our education system and advanced technology.


Well, Tasmania is where the spinning wb Tasmanian devil, occasional guest on bugs bunny came from... I mean maybe, right?


----------



## midnightpoet

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

(Despite having Christmas stuff in the stores before Halloween:hi


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

Well, I'm just about done cooking the thanksgiving dinner. I'm on day two of this, it's hard when you have to cook for twenty and it being the first time I've cook turkey. But, I believe in myself, and if no one wants to eat what I made (some of my relatives are picky) then they are more than welcome to eat these fists. I am also looking foward to avoiding conversation topics such as : politics, the state of my love life, and other sensitive subjects for a couple of hours. It's going to be a long day.

Anyways, hope yall are having a good thanksgiving.


----------



## Sleepwriter

I finished the last of the wine as the sun set. Time for this one to take a knap.  Happy thanksgiving everyone.  Im thankful for each and everyone of you.  As little or as much as i know about you. You all are  a part of my life and im better for it.  Be safe and keep being you.


----------



## Firemajic

For the first time in my life, I spent Thanksgiving totally alone.... except for my WF family.. Love you guys to bits, and I hope today was fabulous for each of you....


----------



## midnightpoet

I'd send you some of my wife's homemade dressing if I could - or at least a vurtural (sp?)hug.:hi: ( hug)

Dang, can't spell worth a darn.  Happy Thanksgiving, anyway.


----------



## Firemajic

midnightpoet said:


> I'd send you some of my wife's homemade dressing if I could - or at least a vurtural (sp?)hug.:hi: ( hug)
> 
> Dang, can't spell worth a darn.  Happy Thanksgiving, anyway.





 smooch....


----------



## aj47

Juls, I hope that alone meant solitude rather than loneliness.


----------



## LeeC

Firemajic said:


> For the first time in my life, I spent Thanksgiving totally alone.... except for my WF family.. Love you guys to bits, and I hope today was fabulous for each of you....


If you were closer you could have joined the wife, I, and the dog. Hope you're taking care.


----------



## The Green Shield

You all are the best, you know that?? You are the best goddamned humans who ever lived. I want to hug you, kiss you, and tell you how much you are awesome!


----------



## Firemajic

astroannie said:


> Juls, I hope that alone meant solitude rather than loneliness.





annie, it was both, really... I needed solitude... Trying to stay off drugs is a long lonely journey.... and I have medicated my emotions for years, numbing my pain... now, I am learning to feel my pain and deal with it... face to face... searching for peace starts with understanding the pain, and the origin of the pain... Thank you so much for your kind words... 

Dear Midnight, turkey dressing is one of my favorite things... Thanks for the *hug*


Lee... what a wonderful thought, to have dinner with you and your family... I can imagine we would have a lot to talk about.... fabulous... love you bunches...


----------



## Ariel

Juls, I know you have the strength and ability to do whatever you set your mind to.  This might be a lonely journey but we've all got your back.


----------



## Firemajic

amsawtell said:


> Juls, I know you have the strength and ability to do whatever you set your mind to.  This might be a lonely journey but we've all got your back.




I m counting on that, amsaw.... For years I have numbed my pain... now I realize it is ok to cry...


----------



## aj47

There can be serenity in being alone, but you have to be ready for it.  It sounds like you're in a strong enough place.  Hang in here. 

I'm doing my second sleep study Saturday, the one where they introduce me to the CPAP machine.  We'll see how that goes, but everyone of my acquaintance who has one, raves about how awesome a life-changer it is. 

I'll try to take a selfie of me with all the wires and stuff.  We'll see.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I wish I could relate my experiences but I haven't lived those. I have had bad experiences of my own and whatever physical pain or emotional pain people face is something harsh. I have seen people suffer through  wanting to feel as if they don't want to live anymore, all I can advise is to talk with people you know, can trust, and even join a group. You may even make new friends. I used to go to support network called nami, which is why I am saying this in the USA. People go through some of the same problems. I don't like to say we have the same problem. But discussing it relieves pain.I have even seen near relapse patients,but I know it takes bravery. Then I have seen them because I went to a ward. And it was against my own doing.It was a military facility, they would make military facilities available to diplomats. My parents were. But it does good to talk about your problems, so that you don't feel alone even if you must choose. Some I can't share, because no one lives through those experiences and must be shared with people with similar experiences and people you trust. Sharing is key,because human intuition can only go so far, in my opinion. There are free support networks like nami for people who may need them. When I would always go they would tell me this bit. Research a bit and see how that works, because professionals recommend it. From alcoholic anonymous as an example to more, that are charities. Or funded by the state government. A canadian therapist would host the talks each time I was over there and was a nice person. Whatever the problems nami was an umbrella organization for people who suffered.


----------



## Phil Istine

Firemajic said:


> annie, it was both, really... I needed solitude... Trying to stay off drugs is a long lonely journey.... and I have medicated my emotions for years, numbing my pain... now, I am learning to feel my pain and deal with it... face to face... searching for peace starts with understanding the pain, and the origin of the pain... Thank you so much for your kind words...



Good stuff Julia.  Some time last century, quite early in my recovery, a dear friend said to me something I've never forgotten.  The simplicity astonished me.  It was: "Drugs kill.  Feelings don't."
The journey need not be lonely though.  Been there, done that.  I'm only a message away.


----------



## Firemajic

Phil Istine said:


> Good stuff Julia.  Some time last century, quite early in my recovery, a dear friend said to me something I've never forgotten.  The simplicity astonished me.  It was: "Drugs kill.  Feelings don't."
> The journey need not be lonely though.  Been there, done that.  I'm only a message away.




I was taught that it is a sign of weakness to cry or acknowledge pain... so I turned pain into rage... and used drugs to deal with the anger...
Phil, I appreciate your friendship and kindness, probably more than you know... Thank you..


----------



## Firemajic

I had a horrible dream last night...
I was in the house, and it was getting dark. I knew I was in terrible danger from something outside, trying to get in, so I raced through rooms locking doors and windows, only to discover new rooms with more doors and windows that needed to be locked... I knew I was running out of time, and the danger was getting closer... well, finally I had all the doors and windows locked and that was when I discovered, to my terror, that I had not locked the danger OUT, but that I had locked the danger IN...


----------



## The Green Shield

I have a cold. >:[ That is all!


----------



## Firemajic

The Green Shield said:


> I have a cold. >:[ That is all!




Hope you feel better soon...


----------



## Winston

My daughter is working and going to school, she can't get away, so we went up to visit her.  She especially loves her little brother (who is now taller than all of us).
We had lunch at this little Russian dumpling house near the campus, then went grocery shopping.  We got our girl the stuff to make lasagne, now my wife just has to remember to send the recipie.
Before we left, we went back to her "cozy" apartment she shares with three other girls.  We played a game of Uno.  I tried to lose... kinda.
My wife and daughter cried a littlle when we parted.  She is such a good kid.


----------



## The Green Shield

Buying a new iPad + Downloading the Microsoft Office Apps for your writing = "Welcome back, my creativity juices."


----------



## JustRob

It's happened again, that thing that's hardly worth mentioning because it happens so often. Something has happened in my real life which could be (have been?) the inspiration for an incident already mentioned in my novel. Whatever the reality it's an interesting game to play, ticking off all the events and people in it as I find matching ones in my real life.

I was recently contacted by a chap named Dave about a message that I posted in another forum back in 2012, around the time that I was writing and revising my novel. He is interested in some old minicomputers that I wanted to get rid of then and still do. His company still use Honeywell DPS6 computers, similar to the ones that I have, and are always looking for spares. So Dave is a computer engineer who works on DPS6 machines and is interested in mine. In my novel (Ding! It's that phrase again.) Dave (the same name) is a motor engineer who's been working on a DB5 and takes an interest in the car that my protagonist is working on, an NSX. My protagonist thinks that Dave will take over the task from him. Okay, classic cars and motor engineers replace vintage computers and computer engineers but the scene is substantially the same. I don't know of a car called a DPS6 or even DPS, so DB5 and NSX are close enough, especially as just after in the story my protagonist expects to be told three letters which will explain his future and is disappointed when they are "NSX", not the ones he wanted to hear. I am not a real computer engineer myself but just an amateur, just as my protagonist doesn't see himself as a real engineer but just a motor mechanic. By the way, the real Dave's last name is Roberts, echoing my own first name.

I have no idea whether these constant coincidences mean anything, but what's important is that Dave's company is offering to _buy _the computers from me _and_ send a van to collect them at my house from the other side of the country. (Okay, so Britain is a small country to some, but nevertheless, try driving across it, you residents of wide open spaces.) _Yes_, result! Four years waiting though. Perhaps I should have used ebay, but that wasn't mentioned in the novel.


----------



## dale

got myself in a new serious relationship over the weekend. trying to overcome my sexist paranoia. 
she actually has this same problem, but when a girl has this  condition, it's not called "sexist paranoia",
it's called "valid distrust of the doggish white christian male" or some such shit. but she gorgeous. lol.
gonna have  to take the risk again.


----------



## H.Brown

I got confirmation that my copy of Final Fantasy xv has been shipped so crossing my fingers that it arrives tomorrow eeek... I'm so excited


----------



## Darkkin

Apparently Rue and Zwi don't think dancing alone is allowed...  Blasting Airborne Toxic Event, trying to get some cleaning done and we all end up in a heap.  140 lbs. of dog and a wet floor doesn't lend itself to traction.  Yes, I had to remop the floor, but my idiot dogs made me laugh until I cried.

View attachment 16252

View attachment 16253


----------



## JustRob

Following on from my recent hope of disposing of a load of junk several valuable vintage minicomputers for cash, I have spent several days looking for their control panels. They will be virtually useless without them. I have now searched my congested workroom twice, the entire loft, equally congested, at least three times and ninety-five percent of the ludicrously chaotically stacked garage at least once. Today I spent another ten minutes or so in the garage shifting junk to check another possible hiding place before the bitter cold drove me back indoors, where I resorted to removing the base panels from the kitchen units as I'd once considered that a place to store infrequently wanted items. All I found there was a spare pack of wall tiles for the kitchen and an extra shelf for the fridge, so the right idea but the wrong junk. I also checked through a dozen crates in the loft yet again and found another box of goodies that I previously couldn't, which means that those control panels are virtually the only items in my extensive heap of electronic technology that I can't lay my hands on. It's too late today to venture back into the freezing garage to search the other five percent of it, so I may have another sleepless night tonight.

Oh, I almost forgot. I have also searched the cat's boudoir, that's the cupboard under the stairs to us, several times and run a vacuum cleaner around her bedroom in the process, so at least she's happy. Then there were all the shoeboxes in my wardrobe, which disappointingly all contained shoes ...


----------



## Sleepwriter

Yay me!  For Christmas I get to buy a rebuilt rear-end for my truck.  Well, only if I ever want it to move under its own power again. And since I did NOT win the lottery I must go to work.


----------



## Kevin

Green Christmas.. Don't I wish. I don't need Green Christmas, I need green all the time. The kind that spends all the time.


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm so goddamned excited and pumped! The end of a successful week _and_ tomorrow I'll be going to a football game where my college team will be competing against New Mexico State University. I have the clothes all set out and am fully prepared to drown myself in the culture that is American College Football.


----------



## JustRob

Continuing the saga of the vintage computers that I'm trying to dispose of, I eventually found their essential control panels in a slim box hidden under a toilet seat in the garage. (Okay, so what does one expect to find in a garage these days when cars have outgrown them and can stay outside all the time anyway?) However, today I realise that I have something of a dilemma to contend with.

The potential purchaser revealed that the company that he represents is EDF, the energy company that supplies the electricity to our home. This means that EDF are using the money that I pay them to buy a heap of junk from me! I did tell him that paying me anything for the machines was optional as I just wanted to be rid of them, so now I'm feeling cheated as a bill-paying customer. So, should I complain? Should I heck! They'll be gone by Christmas. Anyway, he's the one paying me for them personally, so whether he gets the money back from EDF is his business, not mine.

Actually I applaud EDF's efforts to keep their costs down by running old equipment into the ground rather than replacing it before it's absolutely necessary. I'd do the same. My machines will be used to train new engineers in their maintenance before they are let loose on the ones that they're actually using as it won't matter if they break anything.


----------



## escorial

i'm going tanned this crimbo....light suede tan shoes,light blue jeans,tanned brown belt,and beige t-shirt with blue John Lennon face on it...and a light green army style jacket with green cap and finished of with a pair of brown,beige gloves...tan is the new black.....finished of with a tan man bag...


----------



## The Green Shield

Just realized that I can post pictures from my phone to here, so here I am! 

http://www.writingforums.org/attachments/img_0492-jpg.8896/


----------



## Darkkin

I work at a bookstore and at least two of the seasonal hires cannot spell receipt...This is the bookstore, come on.  I before e except after c, and yes, there are two e's in the word.  It is not recipt.  The reply to this:  Who cares?  Answer:  Readers, also known as our customer base.

Ugh...Spelling and the alphabet matter, if you believe otherwise one must wonder why you work with books.
_
(facepalm)_


----------



## escorial

non of the beatles could read music dude.....


----------



## Darkkin

Musical talent is a little different, and this wouldn't have annoyed me quite so much if they wouldn't keep posting notes at the register telling customers not to forget about gift receipts.  We are supposed to print them automatically. 

 It is the public placement of the notes that is the issue.  We've been keeping a running tally of how many times managers have removed said notes and how many times they have reappeared and we've gotten comments from customers.  On a positive note, our customers are very observant most have noticed the issue and mentioned it.  At this point one wonders if the note posters are doing it merely to elicit a reaction...Who knows.  You hate to see some one get written up over something so ludicrous, but yeah.


----------



## escorial

cool workin in a bookshop.....never had a bad experience as a shopper but i've never took a book back...


----------



## Winston

escorial said:


> cool workin in a bookshop.....never had a bad experience as a shopper but I've never took a book back...



An acquaintance worked at a book store a couple blocks from Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.  "Interesting" neighborhood he was in.  He could tell some stories. 
 Unfortunately, my mate is more of a musician than writer.  Slaps the Mylar like Ringo.
It's fun working with folk like that.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

If you're getting seasonal help from a temp service, you never know what you're going to get. All they do is make sure a client is staffed. The quality of the temps are not in the equation. If they were hired in store, well I don't know what to tell you.


----------



## aj47

DING - DONG - DONE 

I have NOTHING outstanding for school.

I awoke at 03:00 local and did my last assignments.  Including feedback on a collection of poetry.

Yesterday .... OMG, I am glad it is no longer yesterday.

I awoke at 04:00 local -- because sleep apnea and so I sleep poorly and wake up at odd times.  Did homework till 06:00.  Got dressed.  Took son (astroandy drove) to SAT site 45 minutes from house.  Went to group project presentation site roughly 60 minutes from SAT site--halfway there, got a call from son.  He had forgotten his ID.  They kicked him out.  In the rain.  He walked a block to Kroger.  So astroandy dropped me off at presentation site, drove back to SAT site, took son home, came back and got me.  I went home, tried to appoint myself with the minute clinic for rip-roaring athlete's feet.  The web site said I was appointed in two hours but they never sent me a confirmation.  I showed up at minute clinic -- two hours was exactly when to drop daughter off at work and when astroandy needed to pick up auto part for other vehicle.  So he dropped me at the minute clinic.  I did not have a place in line and so had another hour and eighteen minute wait.  Skyped son from minute clinic and asked him to start the rice cooker.  Finally got to see the medical professional  Made a urine sample for my Other Issue -- which the MP accidentally knocked into the sink so I had to make a second one. Eventually got home.  Son had not made rice.  Waited an hour to start chicken so rice and chicken would be finished at approximately the same time.  Baked chicken.  Ate.  Went to bed.  Woke up at 9 to take pills.  Went back to bed.  Did not finish homework due at midnight because ... without any naps, I had no focus.  My instructor sent out an emergency announcement extending the deadline for our portfolios (due Friday midnight) to tonight midnight because some slackers apparently didn't get the memo that it's required to hand it in to pass the course.  So I figured if slackers could have till midnight, I could have till dawn so I woke up, did the stuff, slipped it into her inbox and .... I am done.  I am so totally and thoroughly done.

In other news, I invited two classmates to the forum.  We'll see.


----------



## Gumby

Just wow! I am exhausted after reading it, much less living it.


----------



## Ariel

So, last night on the news a man with the same name (one letter difference) as my husband and a ten-year age difference was killed in our area. We're fielding texts, phone calls, and social media saying, "no, wrong person."


----------



## Phil Istine

Sorry to hear about your hassle Amsawtell.  Hopefully, the dust will soon settle.

Reminded me of a few years back.  A local guy with the same name and profession as me was convicted of defrauding welfare payments.  There may well be a few customers to this day who think I'm a bit dodgy - but have never asked if it was me.  I only hope he doesn't engage in some more serious crimes.


----------



## Ariel

I find it amusing in a dark way. I feel bad for the guy's family but I'm really glad it wasn't my guy!


----------



## MzSnowleopard

I'm telling you, today is my day. Had a good night's sleep, woke up early, got some writing done then met with a banker at Wells Fargo and, after waiting since 2003, I FINALLY GOT MY FREE PONY! Mike came home with me. + my favorite sandwich is today's feature at Subway and it's free cookie day there too. Now, let's see if I can get some more writing done.


----------



## Darkkin

Lots of folks in the bookstore today, so many of them shopping for the Giving Tree families!  These are the people who keep the true spirit of the holidays alive.  Chatted with the Monday regulars, traded theories about _Fantastic Beasts,_ and sold out of my favourite handsell title.  Got a reluctant reader hooked on a new series...Overall, a long, but ultimately awesome day.  My jaded faith in my fellow man is occasionally restored by days like this.


----------



## Plasticweld

amsawtell said:


> So, last night on the news a man with the same name (one letter difference) as my husband and a ten-year age difference was killed in our area. We're fielding texts, phone calls, and social media saying, "no, wrong person."



I had the same thing happen to me, back when I was young and traveled all the time , normally two weeks at a time.  I walked into the auto parts store to only be met by the ashen looks of the guy behind the counter.  A Bob Brown and drowned in the lake fishing a few weeks ago and everyone assumed it was me.  We about the same age and lived in the same county.   He looked at me and said "I told everyone it was you."  He said he was glad it wasn't, but felt bad about telling other customers it was I who had drowned. 

 It was a wake up call for me as I drove through town on my way home. _ Ilive in a small town where everyone pretty much knows everyone else. _ The town had not changed, everything went on as normal, The town as far as some residents were concerned... I was dead.  In reality I realized I did  not matter, people got by just fine without me.   After that I made a point of making a difference in people's lives.  I became more interested in them than myself, I got involved in local politics, the ministry and became active in a few social groups.  I made a point making sure that someone else came first, that by giving them a hand when they needed it...that the day the hand disappeared that it would be missed.  While it sounds really noble it is in fact selfish.   I did come to realize that thinking of the other guy first does make a difference.  I did find that  that I can change things.  The Bob Brown that died in the lake that day took a little piece of me with him, and  for that I am thankful.


----------



## PrinzeCharming

I've been questioning work for the past several months lately. The company I work for is starting to rock too many waves over petty things. I was recently sick, and calling out for the first time in the whole year was almost equivalent to pulling teeth. I only wanted two sick days and a PH. Overall, I'm doing well despite the sudden career shift with the company I've been with for almost three years. Today was decent. It snowed in the morning, melted by the time I got out. I hope everyone is doing well. You're missed.


----------



## Winston

I called my daughter (up in college) earlier.  Just to tell her I was proud of her.
Not for any spectacular academic achievement.  Or for a specific accomplishment.

I told her that she just handles all the little B.S. life has thrown at her well.  She doesn't let it drag her down.  
She has bad days, and cries sometimes.  But nothing stops her from being a good daughter and a good friend.
I just thought she should know.


----------



## aj47

PrinzeCharming said:


> I've been questioning work for the past several months lately. The company I work for is starting to rock too many waves over petty things. I was recently sick, and calling out for the first time in the whole year was almost equivalent to pulling teeth. I only wanted two sick days and a PH. Overall, I'm doing well despite the sudden career shift with the company I've been with for almost three years. Today was decent. It snowed in the morning, melted by the time I got out. I hope everyone is doing well. You're missed.



Wow

Glad to know you're still around. I hope to see more of you.


----------



## H.Brown

PrinzeCharming said:


> I've been questioning work for the past several months lately. The company I work for is starting to rock too many waves over petty things. I was recently sick, and calling out for the first time in the whole year was almost equivalent to pulling teeth. I only wanted two sick days and a PH. Overall, I'm doing well despite the sudden career shift with the company I've been with for almost three years. Today was decent. It snowed in the morning, melted by the time I got out. I hope everyone is doing well. You're missed.



Hello once again nice to see you back around  you have also been missed.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 16308

Someone is glad I got done early today...8 hours instead of 12...


----------



## Darkkin

I know what a box is...I just don't know where it is. #Failingsofacontextreader


----------



## midnightpoet

I know _stupid i_sn't a recognized disease, but nevertheless I have a breakout every now and then - like the past two days. I knew that cold days were coming, so I was covering the outside faucets; well, on one I was trying to remove the water hose with a large monkey wrench.  Instead of holding on the faucet (smart) I just used the wrench (stupid) and broke off the plastic pipe.  Got a gusher.  That's when my brain really took a vacation; I grabbed a pair of pliers and ran to the alley to turn off the water supply.  

Of course, the box was full of dirt - so I ran back to the yard to get a shovel.  Finally got to the turn-off but it wouldn't budge.  I yelled for my wife to call the city while I ran around like an idiot.  Finally got it turned.

I went up to our local hardware store (before checking to see if I had parts in my workshop).  Small town, they did not have the parts I thought I needed, so I drove 40 miles to San Angelo.  Since I didn't have the present of mind I wasn't sure what parts I needed so I bought stuff.

Back home I finally calmed down and found a cap that would fit.  It was late afternoon so I tried it, gluing the plastic parts.  After the requisite two hours I turned the water back on.  Another gusher.  We spent the night without water.  

In the morning I felt my brain coming back and I realized I should have taken the broken pieces back to make sure I had the right parts.  So off I went again, this time taking everything (I had to cut off the hose because it was frozen to the faucet).

Finally got it fixed, turned off the water and so far it's held.  Good thing, it's supposed to be 21 deg in morning - sure enough, it was snowing when I woke up.  What I get for acting before thinking.  

That's me, a real super handy man (not!).:roll:


----------



## Gumby

Don't feel too badly, there's plenty of 'stupid' outbreaks with most of us.  I've certainly been know to come down with it from time to time.


----------



## Kevin

Midnight... That was a rough one. 
You know next time why don't you just send one of the servants to take care of it?


----------



## The Green Shield

Gumby said:


> Don't feel too badly, there's plenty of 'stupid' outbreaks with most of us.  I've certainly been know to come down with it from time to time.


I consider it a lucky day when I _don't_ do something stupid on some level. It's like I'm cursed, y'know? D:


----------



## Bard_Daniel

My hair is starting to thin out. I see patches of my scalp now here and there.

Damn. : (


----------



## bobo

danielstj said:


> My hair is starting to thin out. I see patches of my scalp now here and there.
> 
> Damn. : (



That's because you need an augmented dosis of cosmic energy to get through to you ositive: \\/
Besides, bald men are very sexy :cheerful:


----------



## sas

Fact: Bald men have more testosterone. You have easy solution women don't . . Shave your entire head close for a shadow look. That's sexier than hair. Really.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Just got back from a Frank Turner gig in Bexhill 'I won't sit down, and I won't shut up, and most of all I won't grow up'. Yay, great ! !
 Sadly I think I was the oldest person there; what is the matter with them all? forgotten about enjoying themselves ?


----------



## escorial

the mob can make a gig better but sometimes you gotta enjoy it on your own terms..regardless..cool gig man


----------



## midnightpoet

Day not starting well; burnt bacon, then burnt toast.  I guess my most grievous sin was the bacon, but my wife does not appreciate burnt offerings.  I'm not sure why, but ever since my retirement I've had trouble waking up.  :sleeping:


----------



## The Green Shield

Had to go pee in a cup, and later my jaw started hurting like hell after chewing my lunch. :[


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Had to go pee in a cup, and later my jaw started hurting like hell after chewing my lunch. :[


Okay you got me; Why did you have to pee in a cup? They out of glasses inyour house? And what did you have for lunch? Horse meat?


----------



## Darkkin

Statistics on the day:  Number of books looked up, 6.  Number of books located by memory...Lost count at around 200.  Steps taken 20,000.  Being a speed walking human filing cabinet comes in handy this time of year, but it certainly takes a lot out of you.  :sleeping:  I don't retain useful information, no, I just remember the weird stuff. 

e.g. The guy who was looking for a book of maps, _*this big*_.  It was the deluxe world atlas...We had it, so he was a very happy camper.  The grandmother looking for the book about a dog that is going to be a movie.  She was looking for the children's version of _A Dog's Purpose_.  The lady looking for the book by the Harry Potter paperback artist.  She meant the _Amulet _series.  And my personal favourite today, the book about the swimming unicorn thing.  _Narwhal__.  _These folks come in lost, but they have just enough information to make total sense.

My last customer of the day was looking for the bible from _Star Trek__, _meaning the _Klingon Bible_.  Needless to say, I enjoy what I do.


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> Okay you got me; Why did you have to pee in a cup? They out of glasses inyour house? And what did you have for lunch? Horse meat?


It was for a drug test. For lunch, I had sushi.


----------



## Kevin

midnightpoet said:


> Day not starting well; burnt bacon, then burnt toast.  I guess my most grievous sin was the bacon, but my wife does not appreciate burnt offerings.  I'm not sure why, but ever since my retirement I've had trouble waking up.  :sleeping:


That is disturbing... Not the burning, but the not waking up part.


----------



## Kevin

Nothing much to report. The indigent indigenese were not obviously imbibing, nor engaged in any flagrant fisticuffs. We had fine weather if brisk and nothing ill came to pass. Such is not always the case.


----------



## Sleepwriter

My gumption ran off with my want to.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just writing.  Resurrected old projects to give them one more shot and I like it.  Wheeeee!!!!


----------



## aj47

Started the job search in earnest.  Created accounts on several sites.  Fielded a call from an insurance company looking for a "people person" and several emails alerting me to positions available in sales at a different insurance company.  Wondered what "key words" gave them the idea that someone with C++/Java/Qt/Oracle was a "people person".


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> Wondered what "key words" gave them the idea that someone with C++/Java/Qt/Oracle was a "people person".



Perhaps it depends on the people, "We need someone to deal with nerds"


----------



## JustRob

This morning I finally got rid of those vintage minicomputers that I didn't want. A man came to check over what I had and then another came with a van to take them away. The machines are desperately wanted, if only as spare parts, by EDF Energy Generation as they still use similar but larger computers at their sites but can no longer get the parts for them.

There is a twist to the story though. This afternoon I received a phone call from a mystified man at the warehouse in Cowley, where the goods were taken, asking me why I'd sent them. The van driver was clearly told which bay to take the load to, where he was expected, but may have gone to the wrong place. The Cowley warehouse is actually the operations centre of Unipart and therefore probably enormous. Unipart just have a contract to store EDF's stock for them. It is therefore possible that after spending some thirty years safely lying idle in my workroom the machines will now disappear, never to be seen again, like the Ark of The Covenant at the end of that Indiana Jones film. I emailed my contact at EDF saying that I was laughing as at least I had a receipt for my fully itemised inventory of four pieces of equipment, three crates and nine boxes of parts regardless of whether they ever find them.

The moral for all potential writers is that it's only worth something if you get it all clearly written down, even if the reality is quite a different matter.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Need to get to the store, it's 19*F outside, I"m not all that motivated to ride the bus today.


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm showing the guys at work the first paragraph of my sci-fi.


> Hot steam caressed her nimble firm frame as she stepped out of the shower onto the cool, ceramic floor. Her eyes were closed, her brain still in the haze of sleep. For a moment she fooled herself to think she was back home on Earth, at her cozy little apartment in Inverness.



They read it as:



> Hot steam caressed her nipples as she stepped out of the shower onto the cool, ceramic floor.



Oh my God. xD Do I need to re-work this paragraph so no one thinks I'm writing an erotica?


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> I'm showing the guys at work the first paragraph of my sci-fi.
> 
> 
> They read it as:
> 
> 
> 
> Oh my God. xD Do I need to re-work this paragraph so no one thinks I'm writing an erotica?



I think that is their problem , not yours. You can only be responsible for what you write, not what your readers twist it into. You could go on changing it forever if different people saw different things in it


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> I think that is their problem , not yours. You can only be responsible for what you write, not what your readers twist it into. You could go on changing it forever if different people saw different things in it


True. I think I'll keep it. Since I'm writing for a YA audience, I think the idea of them being entrapped into a sci-fi book with the image of steam caressing my MC's nipples is hilarious. xD


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Just got the day off tomorrow! On top of that I'm already at my 2000 word word quota for today and it's only 8:42 P.M. 

Pumped to get back on the forum and spend some quality time here. = D

P.S. Discovered that what I thought was my hair thinning out is actually not during a new haircut. Bonus!


----------



## aj47

I made a recipe that took over an hour of fussing. Plus two hours of braising in the oven.  Cheap food sometimes costs time.


----------



## The Green Shield

Too much coffee in my system.
Anxiety on overdrive.
Exhausted from the week.
I just want to crawl into bed and not wake up until next Thursday.


----------



## Bishop

Really enjoyed the new star wars last night.

Really enjoying taunting my coworkers about my seeing it before them today.


----------



## Darkkin

Doctor's appointment today.  Just got blood work back.  Everything _except_ my cholesterol numbers are low, in a couple cases bordering critical, they've done apheresis...Two IVs running, and a snow storm is moving in.  It is a forty-five minute drive home and I am not getting stuck here.  This is one of those total freak out moments.  You want to get away, but it seems like everything and its granddad is conspiring against to you to keep you where you don't want to be.  I know I'm okay, but I want to be home, away from people, everything...


----------



## The Green Shield

Darkkin said:


> Doctor's appointment today.  Just got blood work back.  Everything _except_ my cholesterol numbers are low, in a couple cases bordering critical, they've done apheresis...Two IVs running, and a snow storm is moving in.  It is a forty-five minute drive home and I am not getting stuck here.  This is one of those total freak out moments.  You want to get away, but it seems like everything and its granddad is conspiring against to you to keep you where you don't want to be.  I know I'm okay, but I want to be home, away from people, everything...


Damn, that really sucks, Darkkin.


----------



## H.Brown

Sorry to hear that Darkkin, that sounds like a tough day, hope that you got home safe and that tomorrow will be better. 

Well I had a good day as it was our Tot's party at work today soI had two hours of playing in a childs soft play and ballpools, was so funny and kids had a blast which is what matters and even got home early for a change.


----------



## dither

Just got in from the weekend shop and i'm totally pooped.


----------



## am_hammy

Yesterday I finished my second week of my new job and it's been amazing. One of the best choices I've ever made in my life was saying yes to that offer. And now it's the weekend and snowing and I don't have to go to work because I don't work in retail anymore.

I am liberated.


----------



## TKent

This was a long time coming, and I THRILLED for you!!!


----------



## The Green Shield

Very exhausted after a week of being around people. I spent most of today sleeping, a first for me as I've never done that before. I've just woken up from an afternoon nap that lasted three hours, went downstairs to find Trump speaking on TV. I then remembered he was in my hometown and went back upstairs.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I was out shoveling for most of the day-- part of my job, and I slept most of the rest away. 

I'll also sleep good tonight. So tired. X_X


----------



## escorial

kip away lad....


----------



## am_hammy

TKent said:


> This was a long time coming, and I THRILLED for you!!!




Thank you!
It's an amazing feeling!


----------



## escorial




----------



## Deleted member 56686

Where are you working now, Hams?


----------



## am_hammy

I'm product support for a tech company that  creates cloud based software for life science companies. and it's awesome.


----------



## The Green Shield

Here's my experience with Facebook as of late:  in the last few weeks things had been appearing on my wall under my name that I never posted. Not sure if it were a hack or a Facebook glitch, I kept deleting them, but they kept coming. I then resorted to changing my password, which worked, but it kept coming. Then I decided to try and deactivate my old account until I came up with another solution. Of course, by that time, I had forgotten my password and thus got locked out of my old account, thus forcing me to make a new one. 


Now I'm getting questions from my friends wondering if I really am what I say I am.


----------



## Winston

Went grocery shopping.  Now broke again. But food is a good thing.
Did buy a can of Flex Seal at the "As Seen On TV" department.  Impulse item.  Never know when I'll want to waterproof a boat with a screen door bottom.


----------



## JustRob

Today I had proof that my future-looking temporal radar is still working. We received a Christmas card from someone I'd omitted to send one to, but theirs included a note saying that they'd moved to a new address. We received it just three hours before the final Christmas post collection, so were able to send a card to their new address. Had I not overlooked them in the first place the card would have gone to the wrong place anyway and even if forwarded might not have got to them by Christmas. It was pure oversight, not consciously intentional, on my part. How's that for subconscious forward planning then? 

_Mens Temporum _isn't just fiction folks! May the postal force be with you this Christmas.


----------



## aj47

I had the plague yesterday.  I am doing better now, but dayum, I couldn't even cook.   I was supposed to have lunch with an acquaintance today but cancelled because of the plague and, while I'm better, I'm not normal so I'm glad of the cancellation.  

Tomorrow my youngest officially achieves adulthood.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Been to see younger daughter in Bath, car fire on the M4 on the way down, lorry fire on the M25 on the way back, and horrid drizzle and rain. Nasty driving, lots of not moving, still must have been worse for the people whose vehicles caught fire, there's always someone worse off than yourself


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> I had the plague yesterday.



Unlucky, that will be a rare gender crossing manplague. 

Hope you are fully back to normal soon.


----------



## JustRob

astroannie said:


> Tomorrow my youngest officially achieves adulthood.



Are you implying that they haven't achieved it yet in practice then?


----------



## The Green Shield

astroannie said:


> I had the plague yesterday.  I am doing better now, but dayum, I couldn't even cook.   I was supposed to have lunch with an acquaintance today but cancelled because of the plague and, while I'm better, I'm not normal so I'm glad of the cancellation.
> 
> Tomorrow my youngest officially achieves adulthood.


Holy crap, you mean like _the_ plague?! D: Glad you're doing better.


----------



## H.Brown

Sucky to be honest...

Have had to start whistle blowing on my manager due to me now feeling unsafe at work due to his actions and the actions of his wife who is not a paid member of staff, has no insurance and is given the power to boss paid employees around just because her husband is the general manager, which has led to many problems being created until it has now become too much, I enjoy the job but the management have not got a clue sometimes....grrrrr, so annoyed it is unreal.


----------



## aj47

The Green Shield said:


> Holy crap, you mean like _the_ plague?! D: Glad you're doing better.



No, it was *a* plague, not *the* plague*. *But yeah, unpleasant.


----------



## lvcabbie

Old age getting to me. A bit over a month ago, found some ulcers in the skin of my lower leg. Went to the ER and they admitted me with a treatment of massive antibiotic. Sent me home without a lot of guidance but lots of pills, including oxycodone - which I hate taking. Finally got a referral to a couple of weird clinics, made appointment, and went. Bunch of hocus poocus. Then, had a routine appointment with my Dermatologist who instantly diagnosed the problem and went right to work treating it. Wrapped both legs in bandages covering all sorts of goo to help cure it.

Most uncomfortable stuff ever. Couldn't get a bit of sleep. In addition, my blood sugar went nuts and I kept waking up in the middle of the night with hypoglycemia.

Anyhow, went back to the skin doc today and they removed the bandages. One side good enough to skip them and the other side much approved. Got the bandages back on but loose enough so I can sleep.

With all that out of the way, just maybe I can get back to writing again.

Merry Christmas to all!


----------



## midnightpoet

Yeah, hope you're better, Annie.  The doctor calls a sinus infection, or sinusitis, or some complicated medical jargon - sometimes I call it nostrilitis or the creeping crud or just give up and tell everyone I have a cold.  Not sure if that has anything to do with your plague, but I believe I understand.


----------



## Plasticweld

The local paper just published a short story of mine.  I had EmmaSohan look it over before sending it and she helped fix a few things, figuring they were going to make some changes or even corrections.  I spoke with the Editor of the paper and asked before they ran it what changes he made.... he said none looked good just the way it was.  A first for me :} 

Thank you Emma :}


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Plasticweld said:


> The local paper just published a short story of mine.  I had EmmaSohan look it over before sending it and she helped fix a few things, figuring they were going to make some changes or even corrections.  I spoke with the Editor of the paper and asked before they ran it what changes he made.... he said none looked good just the way it was.  A first for me :}
> 
> Thank you Emma :}



Great stuff! = D

I got a decent amount of work done today. Finished off a Columbus biography and wrote 1500 words. Also, I now have some time for the forum today. Ace!


----------



## midnightpoet

Watchword for the morning:

"Put mind in gear before putting mouth in motion."
Anon (as far as I know)

'nuff said.:smile:


----------



## Kevin

midnightpoet said:


> Watchword for the morning:
> 
> "Put mind in gear before putting mouth in motion."
> Anon (as far as I know)
> 
> 'nuff said.:smile:


ah...marital bliss. It really is all butterflies and roses


----------



## am_hammy

So I have a four day Christmas weekend which is absolutely amazing and currently my
work day today has consisted of coffee, cupcakes, and virtual reality.


I am over the moon.


----------



## The Green Shield

Out of curiosity, I typed in the name of my hated 7th-grade English teacher's Facebook profile and found it. My first instinct, horrifyingly enough, was to exact vengeance by posting on her wall, "You're an ugly, fat faggot. Drink bleach and die." But fortunately I realized how *horribly and sadistically cruel* that was and immediately escape before that thought fermented. As mean as she was to me when I was in her class all those years ago, she doesn't deserve that. She deserves a happy Christmas just like everyone else.


I'm not an asshole, and I'll be damned if I start acting like one now.


----------



## dither

I am totally gripped by the book that i am currently reading, so with long reading sessions broken up by the taking of meals, and contrary to expectations, the day has gone well. Only a few more hours left to kill before bedtime and then, on the morrow, much sport action to enjoy and another book to dive into. Happy days.


----------



## Winston

My kids are at that age where teenagers get surly and jaded.  Thank God mine aren't there.
The genuinely smiled and enjoyed themselves opening their presents.  We're not wealthy, and they weren't expensive gifts.  Still, they appreciate things.  
That's our gift.  Having kids that are thankful and genuine.

Next it's "...over the hills and through the woods..." to the grandparents.


----------



## escorial

hotel booked lift sorted of to manchester tomorrow for a day out and night on the lash....


----------



## Kevin

Bought vouchers for Jr. and her, 20 laps each in a NASCAR type racer. Date tbd. Irwindale Raceway


----------



## escorial

cool kevin v


----------



## Kevin

escorial said:


> cool kevin v


there was a special... Used some of my Christmas bonus..


----------



## aj47

I was gifted with slippers.  I've never had slippers before in my life.  I feel blessed.  The closest I've had was the hospital socks with the pseudo-rubberized strips on them.  Slippers are orders of magnitude better.  If I had known, I'd've asked for them years ago. 

I also have a new mandolin slicer.  This one features a catch-basin with rubber feet where one of several blade modules can slot in so it's much less likely to have an accidental slip. 

And I got little cups that fit in the tops of mason jars to put a sauce/dip/dressing in.  This means, I can now pack jars of veggie sticks with hummus or what-have-you to dip them in as a several-jar-at-a-time thing.  They're called BNTO.


----------



## SystemCheck

I twisted my ankle dodging a stampede of "midgets" screaming about presents earlier. Or was it cake? I do, after all, have exactly 13 nephews & nieces. One of which had his birthday today. My "consolation prize" was no one actually saw me fall on my ass.


----------



## Tigerlily

It went by quickly here.  Since it's Christmas and we didn't have plans, we just relaxed here.  Hubby played a new video game I bought for him for a little while and I did some editing.


----------



## dither

astroannie said:


> I was gifted with slippers.  I've never had slippers before in my life.  I feel blessed.  The closest I've had was the hospital socks with the pseudo-rubberized strips on them.  Slippers are orders of magnitude better.  If I had known, I'd've asked for them years ago.
> 
> I also have a new mandolin slicer.  This one features a catch-basin with rubber feet where one of several blade modules can slot in so it's much less likely to have an accidental slip.
> 
> And I got little cups that fit in the tops of mason jars to put a sauce/dip/dressing in.  This means, I can now pack jars of veggie sticks with hummus or what-have-you to dip them in as a several-jar-at-a-time thing.  They're called BNTO.




I think it's probably an age thing but i love my slippers.


----------



## Phil Istine

I was awoken at 3 AM Boxing Day morning by neighbours who chose not to keep their relationship quarrels private.  It echoed a lot as it is a block of flats.
It sounded violent and I considered calling the police, but while I was weighing it up, two coppers turned up so I guess someone else already called.
Going by what was shouted, I guess someone had been getting their joystick attended to elsewhere.
I don't like being woken up like that, especially as I haven't been getting any.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Woke up with a migraine. Laid back down woke up later just in time for Christmas meal. Finished the day feeling healthy.


----------



## The Green Shield

H​ey, if anyone wants to be friends via Wii U, pm me your Nintendo id and I'll add you. ​


----------



## sas

My flight home delayed hours, so had two glasses of cab & two of water (pretending diluted). Naturally much needed ladies' room had long line out into concourse. Wiggling there I wonder, for the first time, just why anyone born with a convenient hose attached would want to trans to being a woman. The reverse makes so much more sense.


----------



## The Green Shield

I have an ear ache! >:[ And of course it's in the *ONLY BLOODY EAR THAT ACTUALLY WORKS!!!*


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> My flight home delayed hours, so had two glasses of cab & two of water (pretending diluted). Naturally much needed ladies' room had long line out into concourse. Wiggling there I wonder, for the first time, just why anyone born with a convenient hose attached would want to trans to being a woman. The reverse makes so much more sense.



Well, you could do the other parts and keep the hose ... that might be the best of both. Who knows?  Not I.


----------



## SystemCheck

I seriously think my ass has fallen asleep. 

I have, after all, spent the last few hours annoyed in a way wishing I was about fifteen years older [insane right?] so that instead of being five at the time I could have attended the concert I've been watching via youtube. The singer is my mother's 3rd cousin  and it isn't just family pride that has me saying he's simply incredible in this performance. 


The day has been just as dismal. There's this brand spanking new, rather fancy, Dobsonian telescope sitting on my desk. I really don't care that there's snow on the ground and having lived in one of the top ten coldest cities worldwide cold doesn't mean much either. But it's actually raining, pouring at times, and there's not a single star visible.


----------



## Phil Istine

sas said:


> My flight home delayed hours, so had two glasses of cab & two of water (pretending diluted). Naturally much needed ladies' room had long line out into concourse. Wiggling there I wonder, for the first time, just why anyone born with a convenient hose attached would want to trans to being a woman. The reverse makes so much more sense.



It's also helpful for being able to write one's name in the snow.  The disadvantage is that it's sometimes used as a substitute for a brain.


----------



## aj47

SystemCheck said:


> I seriously think my ass has fallen asleep.
> 
> I have, after all, spent the last few hours annoyed in a way wishing I was about fifteen years older [insane right?] so that instead of being five at the time I could have attended the concert I've been watching via youtube. The singer is my mother's 3rd cousin, we share the same hair & eyes (same as my great-grandmother's brother), and it isn't just family pride that has me saying he's simply incredible in this performance.
> 
> 
> The day has been just as dismal. There's this brand spanking new, rather fancy, Dobsonian telescope sitting on my desk. I really don't care that there's snow on the ground and having lived in one of the top ten coldest cities worldwide cold doesn't mean much either. But it's actually raining, pouring at times, and there's not a single star visible.



_"Rain, rain, go away..."  _I've never had my own telescope but used to borrow one from the astronomy department--I tutored.  Depending where you are, the winter crisp can be oh-so-much better for sight.  

About the fifteen years older--you know this, but maybe you need a reminder.  What you take away from an event isn't always what you wish you had.  I was just reading a FB post about a friend who forgot a concert he'd been to.  Has the ticket stubs, the t-shirt, etc. but no memory except a vague notion of who may have opened.  It was a major act. I've only been to two concerts (and one an oldies "all stars" set) so to me, it would have seemed impossible to have forgotten that one had I been there.  But he swears he doesn't remember.  You could have gone, had an amazing time, and still not made the memories you'd like to have in your trove. That probably is of little to no help, but it's what I have.


----------



## sas

Update on my plane trip home:  Arrived to discover I had small hole in outside luggage pocket that had all my keys. Gone. I now know I have keys to way too much shit. I need to live in a tent & walk.


----------



## sas

I have telescope in my great room. I envy the brain of Stephen Hawking. I've read two of his books twice...still understand nada.  Ms. Pea Brain Sas


----------



## The Green Shield

Just heard that Carrie Fisher has died. 

Fuck you, 2016. Seriously, just fuck you. You take away all of our favorite celebrities and give us Trump? No, really...._fuck you_​!!

I just can't imagine what her mother is going through now. It's one thing to bury an aged parent, but _to bury your own child? It doesn't matter if Carrie were 6 or 60, *no parent should ever have to bury their own child!!*_


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> Just heard that Carrie Fisher has died.
> 
> Fuck you, 2016. Seriously, just fuck you. You take away all of our favorite celebrities and give us Trump? No, really...._fuck you_​!!
> 
> I just can't imagine what her mother is going through now. It's one thing to bury an aged parent, but _to bury your own child? It doesn't matter if Carrie were 6 or 60, *no parent should ever have to bury their own child!!*_




Couldn't have said it better.    I did hear they had filmed almost all of her parts for the next Star Wars movie,  will be interesting to see how that plays out.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

My great-grandmother had to bury two of her children including my Grandmother. It's never a pleasant thing.

I was never a big Star Wars person myself, but it is yet another sad moment in a sad year.

What's scary is we still have four days left.


----------



## Olly Buckle

George Michael also goes, it gets scary. There is a list somewhere of the next likely celeb to die, I think Kieth Richards has been top of it for about twenty years  

I ws thinking about all that fuss when Bowie died, what will it be like for Dylan? And then I had this thought, the Qeen is getting on as well, and the two thoughts sort of collided. What aould happen to the British media if The Queen and Bob Dylan died the same day??


----------



## bobo

The Queen cannot die - she may pass over, but she'll never die - she's been there for so long, that she'd obtained to impress several generations


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> George Michael also goes, it gets scary. There is a list somewhere of the next likely celeb to die, I think Kieth Richards has been top of it for about twenty years
> 
> I ws thinking about all that fuss when Bowie died, what will it be like for Dylan? And then I had this thought, the Qeen is getting on as well, and the two thoughts sort of collided. What aould happen to the British media if The Queen and Bob Dylan died the same day??


It would be a sad, _sad_ crown on the cake of suck if the Queen and Dylan died before the year goes out.

Seriously, this year just plain sucked for everyone.  Celebrities dying, Brexit, Trump...am I missing anything else?


----------



## bobo

The Green Shield said:


> ...
> Celebrities dying, Brexit, Trump...am I missing anything else?



Yeah - Richard Adams (Watership Down, Shardik etc.)


----------



## Phil Istine

Well, Carrie Fisher went a bit earlier; she's been ill for a few days.


----------



## The Green Shield

OK, in 2016's defense:


Most, if not all, of these notable celebrities struck it big around thirty to forty years ago...back in the 1970s and 1980s. If you were twenty in 1976 and became a cultural icon for the next forty years, you'd be Fisher's age. Sixty years old. The point is, they're all getting old unfortunately and have now reached the stage in their lives where they begin to experience the natural health issues elderly people face. Does it make it any easier to bear? Of course not, but there is a reason why so many cultural icons are suddenly dropping dead all of a sudden. Plus, we live in the era of 24/7 news coverage, so yes we'll be exposed to it when a celebrity dies.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Maybe, Greenie, but I remember 1977 being a pretty bad year for deaths too with Elvis Presley, Groucho Marx, Bing Crosby, and Charlie Chaplin. Yes, all except Elvis were pretty old, but it still kind of sucked. Fortunately other news of the year wasn't especially bad, but you get the idea.


----------



## sas

Clarification regarding telescope in my great room. My ceiling has those illuminated paste on stars. Quite spectacular.

(edit note: I did not notice previous grim posts of recent deaths. sorry)


----------



## Olly Buckle

sas said:


> Clarification regarding telescope in my great room. My ceiling has those illuminated paste on stars. Quite spectacular.
> 
> (edit note: I did not notice previous grim posts of recent deaths. sorry)



No need to apologise, this is the living room (because that's life) and here's us going on about death, 'bout time it turned round. And you are right about the 24 hour news Greenie, it took weeks to inform the Empire when the old Queen died in Jan 1901, I remember it well, black margins on The Times


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Today was great. Got another run of 2000 words done and read SO much-- even by my standards. YAY! : D

*The Recognitions* is quite a book. What a mammoth beast! : O


----------



## bobo




----------



## SystemCheck

I was traumatized today. 

Went to get my hair trimmed up but my usual stylist wasn't there. Turned out she had to cancel because her son was sick. That was fine. There was someone free who could tend to a simple old hair cut. 

All was fine, got paired off with a girl about my age, until I actually sat in the chair. The first words out of this person's mouth were: "do you want your curls straightened". If she hadn't had a pair of pointy scissors in her hand I would have asked was she insane. 

My hair is a wild curly / wavy mess. Take my arm, take a leg, kindly leave those curls alone.


----------



## Phil Istine

Apparently, 1916 was an even worse year.  I guess we've little to quibble about in comparison.


----------



## Kevin

If you think that's bad, I ate several eggs of questionable origin. Could've been old but they looked okay and now my stomach is gurgling. Hope I don't get diarrhea. The wife said you never can tell with abandoned nests and that by the way, ' you know you shouldn't eat triceratops- the horns always do this to you..." Yada yada yada... Like how does she know what kind of eggs they were? Anyway... The sky has been really cloudy ever since that huge boom a month ago, and the air is difficult to breath, well, sometimes. The plants are all dying but I don't care- I don't eat them anyway; never have. I wish this black weather would clear up.


----------



## Darkkin

Watching a documentary on the Plague...Don't ask me why, I just like history.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Phil Istine said:


> Apparently, 1916 was an even worse year.  I guess we've little to quibble about in comparison.



The middle of the 1300's was really shitty, bubonic plague and a whole series of failed harvests. The population of England probably halved from around four million to two million over the century, though it's hard to tell.


----------



## The Green Shield

Carrie Fisher's mom, Debbie Reynolds, just died of a stroke. 


2016, fuck you.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Carrie Fisher's mom, Debbie Reynolds, just died of a stroke.
> 
> 
> 2016, fuck you.



And Liz Smith, the old lady that played 'Nan' in The Royal Family, but maybe you don't get that. 24th December, what a day to pick to die, no thought, ruins Christmas.


----------



## The Green Shield

Unholy crap! I just finished the first chapter of my fantasy novel and that's not all! I asked my former creative writing teacher, who is a published author, to look at it and she said 'Yes'! I just sent it to her!


----------



## SystemCheck

I forgot to add from yesterday. This is how badly "scarred" I was. 

After asking if I wanted my curls straightened the girl then proceeded to brush them out and apply some bloody mousse.  She didn't even ask if I wanted mousse. Despite me saying I don't straighten my curls & waves. Twice.


Obviously "no" was something she could not comprehend. I was stuck with relatively straight hair & these thick curls at the ends until I got home. My brother laughed when he saw me. 


Thankfully she never gave me her name [brilliant customer service]. If I go back and she offers to cut my hair again, I'm running _*out*_ of the building. I am still not sure if she was an actual hairdresser or one of the girls they keep around to sweep up the floor.


----------



## Sleepwriter

went to the eye doc and my eyes have only degraded a little since last year, upgraded my glasses.  Maybe now I can see all those words that are missing from my current. WIP.


----------



## aj47

oh my,   My hair wouldn't curl under any circumstance so I have the opposite problem.  Folks wanting to style my hair after they cut it.  It doesn't take.  My mantra has become, "I'm not paying for it."  That helps, somewhat.


----------



## The Green Shield

MOD NOTE:
If I ever post anything any of you find troubling, feel free to report it or let me know via pm. I can't change my behavior if I don't think what I'm doing is wrong. Don't hesitate to inform me or other mods if I need a metaphorical ass beating. No one, not even me, is above forum rules.

Just wanted to let you all know that. Love y'all!

- Greenie


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Alcohol and puprle hazeeeeeee.


----------



## The Green Shield

RhythmOvPain said:


> Alcohol and puprle hazeeeeeee.


You be careful now!


----------



## Kevin

Day 10 of 5 men and a lift building the 'Trellis', a wood timber, structurally engineered, architectural detail.

Is it a 'detail' or a 'feature', hmm? Perhaps too large and multi-...pieced, piece, component- to be called a detail. I need a better thesaurus in my head. 12" timbers, 12' to 18' long, four posts, cross braced, rails cleated to the side, others cross-laid; all with steel plates and 4  3/4" diameter through-bolts each direction. The wood is oiled, will be totally exposed.

Meanwhile, down below; just off to the side, 'Tent-city' is now ten... Ten tents.

Susanne Plechete was back; her fist-fighting boyfriend keeping a low profile. I used to talk to her. 

The Asian girl and her blonde haired boyfriend with their two, matching, little white dogs have long since moved on.

Such a cute couple. Seriously... If they could just get off the drugs...

Bicycles are everywhere leaned against the fences. Skateboards are popular. Miss Syringe-picker is still there, going in and out of her tent, breaking parental hearts somewhere (if she has any).. 

The Po-Po come regularly, but no one is hauled away; not since I saw them handcuff Mikey which was a few months ago. His woman, Elena passes by occasionally but they(assuming Mikey is around) don't associate with the others, who are relative newcomers, preferring to be off by themselves. 

I walk around with my clipboards looking important; looking like a cop, if somewhat ragged (haggard?), acting like a hall-monitor, bust people for tracking mud in the house, sending texts and leaving nasty voicemails; often accompanied by photographs of missing or incomplete work. _You have a contract. Come complete it or we'll cut off your little finger; kneecap_... but  hey, htf was your day?


----------



## Teozak

I went to job and I discussed my creative writing and new blog with my girl colleague,and she told me a story of one of her holidays, in France, and she and her husband once met a man to whom they asked for info trying to talk in francais, but he told them he couldn't understand. So once they reached the place they were going to see next, the one they asked that man, they found out that THIS man was actually the ticket man in THAT place they asked for info! Also I realized publicity for my writings and I positioned the " volantini " ( leaflets, fliers ) in many " hot places " in town and in a library!


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Yesterday I logged 5,400 + words... Today, I'm slugging it. I really need to work on pacing my writing time.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

MzSnowleopard said:


> Yesterday I logged 5,400 + words... Today, I'm slugging it. I really need to work on pacing my writing time.



5400+ words is amazing! Writing like a boss. = D 

I find, personally, that I burn out the day after if I go above 2000-- but that's just me. I try to write those 2000 nearly every day though.

I worked a long day today. Money in the bank for school. Tra la la!


----------



## The Green Shield

Completed Chapter One of my fantasy today and sent it to three people who agreed to look at it. One of them said he is very harsh on fantasy so...I'm a bit nervous about his review.  That said, I'm very pleased with myself and my writing.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

After the slam dunk on Wednesday with 5,400 + words, yesterday I slugged it but still managed to get passed the 2,000 mark. Today is another day and I'm targeting that mark again. Here's to hope that I make or pass 2,000 words again.


----------



## Ell337

Not too bad. Joined a new forum *cough cough*. Seems like a good place.


----------



## PiP

My day is pooh... We had to cancel our New Year's Eve celebrations tomorrow because we are both so sick with a flu virus. I feel especially pig sick because our friends are over from the UK and we were all going to a dinner and party at a hotel.  It was also my Birthday today and I've spent the day curled up on the settee in a blanket trying to keep warm.


----------



## aj47

Oh, PiP, that's awful.  

I got writing done.  And sent off to eyes to have it scrutinized. 

My daughter called in sick to work.


----------



## Phil Istine

PiP said:


> My day is pooh... We had to cancel our New Year's Eve celebrations tomorrow because we are both so sick with a flu virus. I feel especially pig sick because our friends are over from the UK and we were all going to a dinner and party at a hotel.  It was also my Birthday today and I've spent the day curled up on the settee in a blanket trying to keep warm.



That is crap.  So sorry to hear that.
I guess that wishing Happy Birthday might seem a bit off, but congratulations anyway.
I hope you both have a speedy recovery.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

PiP said:


> My day is pooh... We had to cancel our New Year's Eve celebrations tomorrow because we are both so sick with a flu virus. I feel especially pig sick because our friends are over from the UK and we were all going to a dinner and party at a hotel.  It was also my Birthday today and I've spent the day curled up on the settee in a blanket trying to keep warm.





Hope things get better soon Pip! Hang in there!


----------



## Olly Buckle

That sounds horrid, PiP. Keep warm and take paracetamol for now, and we all wish you a swift recovery.


----------



## Plasticweld

I just got offered a job with the local newspaper to do a series of articles on local businessmen.  They just recently published one of my short stories and have an interest in more work from me in the area of business.  Kind of cool to think that I joined the forum a few years ago with the idea of becoming a better writer. The scary part, my skills are still weaker than they should be, to be writing at a professional level.  I am fortunate to have found an editor that is willing to work with a writer who has more enthusiasm than skills.  I have already lined up some of the area’s most prominent businessmen to interview, who seemed very willing to share their story with me. Not a bad way to start out the new year.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

only businessmen, what about the women? I'm not playing the gender card here, I'm just wondering why it's only the men and not women too.


----------



## bobo

Phantastic Plastic :cheers:
Your enthusiasm is contagious , and will draw helping people towards you - good luck even you don't need it :fat:
Snowleo: The word 'men' is up through the history often used in the meaning 'human'.


----------



## Olly Buckle

bobo said:


> Snowleo: The word 'men' is up through the history often used in the meaning 'human'.



It has, and that leads to masculine biased, un-useful, ways of thinking about people. For example they think of 'Primitive man', the hunter, out on the hot, dry, plains, when what is important to think of in terms of the continuation of the species is a very pregnant woman vulnerable to predators. Suddenly the concept of 'man' evolving on the sea shore, where one can take refuge in the sea, inhabit caves, and find pebble tools, seems much more likely.


----------



## Plasticweld

MzSnowleopard said:


> only businessmen, what about the women? I'm not playing the gender card here, I'm just wondering why it's only the men and not women too.



Because unlike the TV world or how everyone wants it to be...The reality is that of the people in my corner of the country who have built businesses from scratch here happen to be all men, it maybe different here in rural America.  What I won't do is an interview with a woman who is in business, just because she is playing the game.  The people I chose, and this is what is good about business,  it is completely color blind and gender blind. The only color that really matters is green and the ability to be successful has to do with ones ability and experience in making more of it, and doing better than the other guy when things go wrong.  Business is one of the true level playing fields in life. The people I have chosen are all multi millionaires with the exception of one attorney who was described to me as the smartest guy he has ever met by another attorney; _I am sure he is still in the top 10 percent of wage earners in the country_.  Keeping in mind that being a woman or minority gets you a advantage when dealing with state and federal government projects, it has not shown to be a factor in true success.   The goal of the project is to highlight people who started out at the bottom and built and expanded a business, and are willing to share both their failures and their success along with their philosophy of why they were able to make it when most don't.  


I will interview anyone that has succeeded, no matter their gender...And Bobo is right the term businessman refers to anyone who makes a living with their wits creating a product or service.  But you are correct in at the fact that so far there are no women on the list.


----------



## Kevin

Olly Buckle said:


> It has, and that leads to masculine biased, un-useful, ways of thinking about people. For example they think of 'Primitive man', the hunter, out on the hot, dry, plains, when what is important to think of in terms of the continuation of the species is a very pregnant woman vulnerable to predators. Suddenly the concept of 'man' evolving on the sea shore, where one can take refuge in the sea, inhabit caves, and find pebble tools, seems much more likely.


 You might find this historical documentary helpful as it deals directly with differences between the opposing cultures of the harsh volcanic plains, and the Proto-Sea Peoples 

https://youtu.be/gSYmJur0Npw


----------



## aj47

Perhaps you're looking for the word "entrepreneur"?  I don't know, or I wouldn't use the weasel-word...


----------



## Plasticweld

astroannie said:


> Perhaps you're looking for the word "entrepreneur"?  I don't know, or I wouldn't use the weasel-word...



Being an entrepreneur does not mean you are successful... heck even I am one of those,  I have made a million, lost a million and made some of it back... Most of those I am interested in have done far more than just play the game of business, their good at it.


----------



## Kevin

@annie-  What's the weasel word?
Plastique- sounds really interesting. Good for you, man. The story is worth any dyslexic faux pas. I'm sure you'll get better at it with repetition. M. O. : the English is excellent because of the content. Being interesting is everything. Someone else can proofread it.


----------



## aj47

@kevin - "perhaps" ... @plastic - being a businessman doesn't mean you're successful either, that's why people use "successful" or other modifiers.


----------



## SystemCheck

Am rather tickled pink. 

Found out that going back to England isn't entirely out of the cards. Thought I was sort of stranded here due to mom's family. 


I like the Americas, Canada where I am, but it definitely ain't home. And, to tell the truth, it is rather tiresome to fudge an accentless voice when it is anything but. Though not as tiresome as having average joe person here, as well as my colleagues & classmates, believing mine is a Newfoundlander / Maritimes accent. 

Personally, and no offense to them, but I really do hope very few of these individuals ever travel to England themselves as they may just try calling every Brummie, particularly ones with an Irish or northern undertone, they find a Newfie.


----------



## The Green Shield

How is New Years treating you all? Me? I'm at the eye doctor. Yay!!


----------



## aj47

Gah, spent 30% over what I'd intended on groceries and will have to be austere  next week to make up. I hate running out of expensive stuff all at once.


----------



## dither

The Green Shield said:


> How is New Years treating you all? Me? I'm at the eye doctor. Yay!!



I need to find myself some courage. I've been considering a venture. I keep backing off and guess what? Yeah...
Physically, i'm fine.
The mood-swings are indescribable.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

2000 more words done + a poem.

Read a lot too. Great day! : D


----------



## Darkkin

IV nitro, great start to the new year...:uncomfortableness:


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, my mom's still sick with a week-long cold. >:[ And of course my anxiety is filling my head with thoughts that she's really dying of something worse, thus making me miserable and pissed. It even had the audacity to suggest that I didn't care about her because I can't just stick my hands out like Dende from _Dragonball Z_ and heal her. Oh, and it's rainy and miserable outside. 


Y'know, the Russians have this folk tradition (I believe) where the first day of the year marks how the rest of the year will go. Well, if I were Russian/living in Russia, and believed in this tradition, I would think 2017 would be yet another 'Year of Suck'.


----------



## Firemajic

The Green Shield said:


> Well, my mom's still sick with a week-long cold. >:[ And of course my anxiety is filling my head with thoughts that she's really dying of something worse, thus making me miserable and pissed. It even had the audacity to suggest that I didn't care about her because I can't just stick my hands out like Dende from _Dragonball Z_ and heal her. Oh, and it's rainy and miserable outside.
> 
> 
> Y'know, the Russians have this folk tradition (I believe) where the first day of the year marks how the rest of the year will go. Well, if I were Russian/living in Russia, and believed in this tradition, I would think 2017 would be yet another 'Year of Suck'.




Sorry your mom is sick... there is a lot of nasty stuff going around.. 

I think you are right about 2017... it is already a disaster for my family. My brother who lives with me, was in a motorcycle accident in August of 2016, he almost died, was on life support ect... well he has never recovered completely.. his medical bills are close to 1/2 of a million dollars... the life line air medic ride was over 50 thousand... well anyway, he can't work and as a result, he is behind in his child support and today, he could go to jail, and because he can't work and help me pay the bills... I could lose my home... anyway... I am struggling with anxiety and can't eat or sleep... I feel my sobriety slipping... but of course everything could get better... hopefully.. right? yeah...


----------



## The Green Shield

Firemajic said:


> Sorry your mom is sick... there is a lot of nasty stuff going around..
> 
> I think you are right about 2017... it is already a disaster for my family. My brother who lives with me, was in a motorcycle accident in August of 2016, he almost died, was on life support ect... well he has never recovered completely.. his medical bills are close to 1/2 of a million dollars... the life line air medic ride was over 50 thousand... well anyway, he can't work and as a result, he is behind in his child support and today, he could go to jail, and because he can't work and help me pay the bills... I could lose my home... anyway... I am struggling with anxiety and can't eat or sleep... I feel my sobriety slipping... but of course everything could get better... hopefully.. right? yeah...


Jesus, it's moments like that which makes me fully understand why people become alcoholics. Some days, it's all you can do to not just give up and surrender to the booze; and telling yourself things like 'it could always be worse' sounds like BS.

My advice is: Drink a little if you have to, it can be your companion _to a certain degree_, but try exercise and meditation. Tell yourself you're allowed to feel anger and helplessness, but it doesn't govern you.


----------



## sas

Geez...Fire....so sorry. I assume you are American. Medical bills are and have always been the #1 cause of bankruptcy here. Our curbs are littered with those we kick aside. Shameful. My love & best. sas


----------



## aj47

Yes, we still owe over half a million on my son's brain surgery.   We pay $50/month and they leave us alone about it.  

If he can't work, can he get disability? Also, I don't know what state you live in but there should be a bureau of rehab services to help him if he can be retrained to do a different kind of work from what he's done in the past.  They handle every disability but blindness (blindness is also a literacy handicap because blind people cannot read (signs/pamphlets/job applications/etc.) and so they have a special bureau of blind/visually-impaired services in most states -- it's the government so they do it that way).


----------



## The Green Shield

astroannie said:


> Yes, we still owe over half a million on my son's brain surgery.   We pay $50/month and they leave us alone about it.
> 
> If he can't work, can he get disability? Also, I don't know what state you live in but there should be a bureau of rehab services to help him if he can be retrained to do a different kind of work from what he's done in the past.  They handle every disability but blindness (blindness is also a literacy handicap because blind people cannot read (signs/pamphlets/job applications/etc.) and so they have a special bureau of blind/visually-impaired services in most states -- it's the government so they do it that way).


That's what I'm figuring. In my city, they have a rehabilitation center for the disabled -- it'd be criminal if such a thing didn't exist all over the nation. If he can submit an application and/or make a plea for disability insurance?


----------



## dither

Jeez guys,
the posts on this page leave me speechless.

And i think _i've _got problems.:disturbed:


----------



## The Green Shield

Kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it? And here I thought my life was sucky with rainy days and mom having a week-long cold.


----------



## Firemajic

The Green Shield said:


> Jesus, it's moments like that which makes me fully understand why people become alcoholics. Some days, it's all you can do to not just give up and surrender to the booze; and telling yourself things like 'it could always be worse' sounds like BS.
> 
> My advice is: Drink a little if you have to, it can be your companion _to a certain degree_, but try exercise and meditation. Tell yourself you're allowed to feel anger and helplessness, but it doesn't govern you.





sas said:


> Geez...Fire....so sorry. I assume you are American. Medical bills are and have always been the #1 cause of bankruptcy here. Our curbs are littered with those we kick aside. Shameful. My love & best. sas





astroannie said:


> Yes, we still owe over half a million on my son's brain surgery.   We pay $50/month and they leave us alone about it.
> 
> If he can't work, can he get disability? Also, I don't know what state you live in but there should be a bureau of rehab services to help him if he can be retrained to do a different kind of work from what he's done in the past.  They handle every disability but blindness (blindness is also a literacy handicap because blind people cannot read (signs/pamphlets/job applications/etc.) and so they have a special bureau of blind/visually-impaired services in most states -- it's the government so they do it that way).





Thanks for your kind words... I appreciate it so much... my Brother is a free man until March... The Judge is going to have a compliance hearing then, to see what progress my Brother is making with his recovery...  ... I am still sober... although I did eat a whole family size bag of Doritos... hahaa....


----------



## H.Brown

Sorry to hear fire, however remember you have people here for you. I hope the doritos were good. 

Stay strong.


----------



## The Green Shield

Today I'm gonna continue writing despite my inner voice telling me the same old story of how I'm not good enough, how it's best if I give up now, etc.


----------



## H.Brown

The Green Shield said:


> Today I'm gonna continue writing despite my inner voice telling me the same old story of how I'm not good enough, how it's best if I give up now, etc.



You are good enough GS, keep battling through.


----------



## escorial

seen a slogan sprayed in yellow onto a brick wall..." Happiness is a journey not a destination."......looked it up an it's a little buddah thing


----------



## lvcabbie

After three weeks, removed the bandages from my left leg and was able to enjoy a nice hot shower without wrapping a plastic bag around it. Nice to see how well it's healing.


----------



## am_hammy

Been super busy at work but the day is almost done. I'm really starting to understand everything better so it feels good to not have to ask so many questions and to know what to do.

its also nice to know that when I leave work I don't have to be anxious about any of it and that I can actually enjoy my night at home and not stress out


----------



## The Green Shield

am_hammy said:


> Been super busy at work but the day is almost done. I'm really starting to understand everything better so it feels good to not have to ask so many questions and to know what to do.
> 
> its also nice to know that when I leave work I don't have to be anxious about any of it and that I can actually enjoy my night at home and not stress out


That's a good feeling. The end of a work day, knowing you can relax and do whatever guilt-free because _you've earned it_​.


----------



## Ell337

My day was reasonably good. I'm slowly growing in assurance that 2017 is going to be good.


----------



## aj47

I get my CPAP machine on Friday.    I was lucky someone cancelled or I'd have to wait a few weeks for an appointment slot to set it up. 

I am *so* looking forward to it.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

The Green Shield said:


> Today I'm gonna continue writing despite my inner voice telling me the same old story of how I'm not good enough, how it's best if I give up now, etc.



Damn right fella! Just keep writing, you can do it!

LONG day at work today. I'm trying to get some reading/writing done today even though I start tomorrow at 7 AM. Damn.


----------



## am_hammy

The Green Shield said:


> Today I'm gonna continue writing despite my inner voice telling me the same old story of how I'm not good enough, how it's best if I give up now, etc.




I totally know what that feels like. But never give up! You never know what's on the horizon =)


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Today I'm gonna continue writing despite my inner voice telling me the same old story of how I'm not good enough, how it's best if I give up now, etc.



Most of us are not good enough at most things, that is not changed by giving up.


----------



## Firemajic

astroannie said:


> I get my CPAP machine on Friday.    I was lucky someone cancelled or I'd have to wait a few weeks for an appointment slot to set it up.
> 
> I am *so* looking forward to it.




My oldest Brother [ I have 4] loves his... it did take a short adjustment period, you know, learning how to sleep with it, but after that, he said he felt better than he felt in years, He now can stay awake when watching TV, and he does not need a nap during the day... I hope it works for you...


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Just now got five cases of beer for free.

EPIC FUCKING WIN.


----------



## Ell337

cramps! #femaleproblems


----------



## Sleepwriter

RhythmOvPain said:


> Just now got five cases of beer for free.
> 
> EPIC FUCKING WIN.




They fall off a truck?   Either way, that is freak'n awesome!


----------



## The Green Shield

Writing Chapter One of my sci-fi. None of it makes sense, *but it does not matter!! *When I'm finished with Chapter One, I'll likely post it onto this forum for critique and review. Come to think of it...I do have the first chapter of my fantasy if you all are interested in critiquing that first. 

Just let me follow the protocols of reviewing before I start plastering my own stories up.


----------



## escorial

tickets delivered today for an up close gig with the modfather in the students hall on april  9th...only 13 weeks to go...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Ell337 said:


> cramps! #femaleproblems



That's what happens when you say rash things like you feel 2017 is going to be good


----------



## Kevin

I got called "white" today. Not even a WAMF, just white, like that explains it all.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> I got called "white" today. Not even a WAMF, just white, like that explains it all.


----------



## Sleepwriter

My access card for work expired while i was in the stairwell on my way back from a break. Luckily i had my phone on me so i could call someone to come open the door.  Otherwise it could have been a long wait. Most everyone else uses the elevators.


----------



## The Green Shield

Kevin said:


> I got called "white" today. Not even a WAMF, just white, like that explains it all.


I prefer the term _gringo_. The Mexicans knew what they were talking about when they created that term for us white folks. 

Yes, we are gringos. Well, as far as I know.


----------



## Darkkin

Being on the small side has a downside, especially in a cold climate.  I don't retain heat in any way, shape, or form...:uncomfortableness:  And currently it is a whopping - 20 Fahrenheit without the windchill.  It's warmer at the South Pole than it is in my hometown.  On a brighter note, I was able to find a pair of fleece lined tights that actually fit.  Yeah for layering; it is one of the few things that helps.


----------



## Kevin

Darkkin said:


> Being on the small side has a downside, especially in a cold climate.  I don't retain heat in any way, shape, or form...:uncomfortableness:  And currently it is a whopping - 20 Fahrenheit without the windchill.  It's warmer at the South Pole than it is in my hometown.  On a brighter note, I was able to find a pair of fleece lined tights that actually fit.  Yeah for layering; it is one of the few things that helps.


Well what the heck? Time to plump up! Fer Pete's sake...


----------



## Darkkin

Kevin said:


> Well what the heck? Time to plump up! Fer Pete's sake...



Tell that to my metabolism, it is more effecient than that of most marathoners...It just doesn't quit.  Because of it I have complications with hypoglycemia and  my potassium levels.


----------



## Ell337

Olly Buckle said:


> That's what happens when you say rash things like you feel 2017 is going to be good



pffft!


----------



## Ell337

Darkkin said:


> Tell that to my metabolism, it is more efficient than that of most marathoners...It just doesn't quit.  Because of it I have complications with hypoglycemia and  my potassium levels.



I'll swop your metabolism for mine.


----------



## JustRob

I've got a bad head today, so don't anticipate doing anything worth mentioning. Yesterday though I finally replaced the DVD reader/writer in my desktop PC. Can you imagine how annoying it is to have one which works perfectly well but is incapable of opening the drawer so that you can put the DVD in? Eventually I got fed up with poking it with a paperclip straightened out (or even the official tool, which happens to look exactly like a paperclip straightened out, when I can find it on the desk) because I was running out of paperclips that hadn't been straightened out. What was even more annoying was that it _always_ managed to open the drawer so that I could get the DVD out! I had considered always leaving a DVD in the reader so that I could open the drawer and swap that one for the one I wanted to use each time, but as I seldom use the reader that seemed inappropriate, so I just kept on straightening out paperclips. 

Today I am sitting here pushing the button on the DVD reader just to watch the drawer open and close. It is just such a novelty and about all that I can manage intellectually with my current bad head. I'll have to find something else to do though because I wouldn't want to wear the mechanism out and be back where I started yesterday.


----------



## Ell337

Before the rain
there was fire
now the water
is all black
authorities
switched it off
now I have
no way 
to flush
the loo!


----------



## sas

Ell

you should have a hot tub
like I do
so you can flush the loo


----------



## Ell337

If I had a hot tub,
how divine,
in it I would recline
there is no way
I'd use the water
for something 
so prosaic
as flushing
pooh down the sewer!


----------



## The Green Shield

The events of the last two days (involving the viral video of the handicapped guy being tortured) left me with absolute disgust with humanity, I was _this_ close to just giving up and awaiting our inevitable doom when I saw something on Facebook that reminded me that yes, humans aren't all 100% evil. Humans _do_ have a chance. _We can do this!_

I will post the relevant part from his post. 


			
				 James Nepirimu IV said:
			
		

> But in all honesty, fuck this hold on race everyone has. It is there, yes. But it becomes an issue once someone attempts to validate that fact to justify hating another human being. It's stupid, idiotic, imbecilic, and it peeves the shit out of me because people have been completely overlooking that fact that we are all, in fact, humans and legitimately finding reasons to hate each other or mistreat someone who is different from you.
> We are all homosapien sapiens. We are human. Born with a skin condition that makes you look like Chewbacca, why does that matter? You're taller than Yao Ming on a Stairmaster, that's significant how? You're darker than midnight or you're as white as snow, it's all beautiful to me.
> 
> People have forgotten how to love. They would rather hate because it's an easier route than having to learn about someone or their culture or they don't care to learn about them or educate themselves on how someone got to be a certain way so they attempt to will it away with hatred.
> 
> Fundamentally, we are human. One and the same. And that should be all that matters.




Humans, you keep being awesome and learning from your mistakes. *You can do this!*


----------



## Winston

My mother-in-laws' cancer is still in remission.  She's down to her last kidney.  But it's still doin' it's thang.  Thanks for the good news, doc.
My father-in-law is all f-ed up.  We thought we could bring him home today.  He's got this clot in his arm vein.  He needs antibiotics to fight an opportunistic infection.  The IV may dislodge the clot and cause a stroke. 

So, he gets to stay in the hospital.  Eating crap food.  Watching crap TV.  We get to drive his cancer-survivor wife back-and-forth for the next two weeks.
Both my parents are gone.  I don't want to lose Jim and Mary.  Fuck This Shit.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The real thing about any animal, Greenshield, is they are all different. New species and different varieties don't just suddenly occur, they are the accumulation of many minor differences to the point where they become obvious, but they are always there. It always seems to me the racists are the timid ones who must be part of a group to feel safe, they are missing out on their own individuality and uniqueness through their fear of being alone, poor bastards. That's poor like 'inferior quality', 'pity' and 'poverty', all in one person.

Right with you, Winston. The mother in law died just before Christmas after having a really rough time for a bit, it stinks.


----------



## JustRob

I received a short course prospectus from our local education centre today, so booked onto a course entitled "Creative Writing: Breaking The Rules". It is actually more about challenging the rules, which I am always keen to do, so it should be interesting. The recommended pre-course reading is _The No Rules Handbook for Writers _by Lisa Goldman published by Oberon Books in 2012. As it's such a recent book and by a British playwright maybe nobody on WF has encountered it yet.

One is expected to take a short piece that one has written which contains examples of how one has broken the rules. Gosh, I am such a rigid conformist that that could prove difficult. No doubt others here may feel obliged to offer some critique on that statement though.


----------



## dither

Today has flown by.

I am in the process of researching and wow!

Where did today go??


----------



## Ell337

The water has now run dry
a truck has come with bottles
no-one knows when it will be clear
or even flow unhindered
the loo is over-flowing
my armpits are smelly
it's 40 degrees without
and I can't even shower


----------



## H.Brown

Mine is getting better and better. After so many money troubles and worries I am finally able to get some help that will mot plunge me into more debt.   Also after starting work at 8.30 this morning and only having a Hal you break I have been allowed to finish early. Woop woop so happy right now on my first bus home. Had an all right day at work as well no complaints or mouthy parents.and all my parties went along swimmingly. 

7 days in and 2017 ain't too bad so far.


----------



## Olly Buckle

H.Brown said:


> 7 days in and 2017 ain't too bad so far. ��



If that doesn't jinx it what will? A shame, it's barely started


----------



## dither

Ell337 said:


> The water has now run dry
> a truck has come with bottles
> no-one knows when it will be clear
> or even flow unhindered
> the loo is over-flowing
> my armpits are smelly
> it's 40 degrees without
> and I can't even shower



337,
how about taking this to non-fiction and adding a few hundred words.
Well?
Why not?


----------



## H.Brown

Olly Buckle said:


> If that doesn't jinx it what will? A shame, it's barely started



Olly I don't believe in jinxing anything, last year I never said the year was going well and it turned upside down. Plus I've not said it will be good just that so far it is, I wouldn't call that jinxing it.

I work in hospitality and get a similar response when I say blooming heck it's really quiet and nothing ever happens other than it remains quiet.


Hope your day has been ok.


----------



## Sleepwriter

was supposed to be in the middle of a winter wonderland, instead just frozen gusty breezes and blue skies.     Just wanted the look to go with the feel.


----------



## Ell337

dither said:


> 337,
> how about taking this to non-fiction and adding a few hundred words.
> Well?
> Why not?



um ... because like WHY???


----------



## Ell337

Before the rain
there was fire
now the water
is all black
authorities
switched it off
now I have
no way 
to flush
the loo!

The water has now run dry
a truck has come with bottles
no-one knows when it will be clear
or even flow unhindered
the loo is over-flowing
my armpits are smelly
it's 40 degrees without
and I can't even shower

This afternoon a man came in a truck
with a big tank nestled on the back
the water it did overflow
and he wanted to know
if I needed to refill
my empty bottles 
I said 'no', 
sadly I had none
because I filled the bath
before he arrived
with the muddy trickle
that emerged from my taps
before it stopped entirely
If I'm clever and I'm wise
(and I am both)
I will conserve what I have
and flush but once a day
until the situation is fixed

Sooner or later 
the river will run clear
the ash will go downstream
our water will be restored
and everyone will cheer
(and have a much needed shower!)


----------



## Plasticweld

A thankful guy.  No fancy words needed.  I am fortunate to have the people working for me that I do.  After a long week of breakdowns and costly repairs my guys were hard at work in the shop today to help put things back together again.  I allow all sorts of latitude when it comes to getting things done, I am no micro manager.  I let everyone know were we stand and what is needed.  Everyone has the ability to write their own pay check when it comes to money.  Make me money, I pay you more, save me money, I pay you more.  After a long week the option of not working on a Saturday is nice to have, these guys all have families and things to do.  Today without me saying a word, the shop was in full swing getting things ready for next week.  I did not have to ask, they knew what needed to be done and it was taken care of.  For that I am thankful.


----------



## dither

PW,
You are very lucky.
Many of the people that i work with,_ have _worked with, would happily sit and watch paint dry. Supervisors tend to be soured and miserable and i can understand why.


----------



## dither

Ell337 said:


> um ... because like WHY???



Because it's anecdotal and very interesting, could be _made _interesting. I like that stuff and i doubt that i'm the only one.

I think the word i'm looking for is "content".

Handled by a skilled writer, no offence intended, it could be turned into what i call good " airport reading", something to read whilst killing time.


----------



## The Green Shield

Kicking ass on my Colonial Mystery. Chapter One is getting along pretty well.  I've been missing Amos Garnier.


----------



## am_hammy

Been struggling with a headache since last night. Actually the last few days have given me an up and down headache but it snowed all yesterday and the roads are clear today so it's just a lovely winter wonderland right now ^_^


----------



## dither

I'm so glad that we've had no snow here, i hate stuff i really do.
Fingers crossed.


----------



## Kevin

Grocery shopping. Three stores:

Persian market for raw nuts and produce. They have the best prices. I treated myself to a sangnak. They bake them right in front of you. Weirdest dough you've ever seen, like jelly almost, they poke at it with their fingertips, this way, that way, to get it into shape, which is flat, rising to maybe 1/2" thick. It's very simple, but tastes good, 'bout the size of an elephant's tongue. They lay it out and and fold it in brown paper. You have to eat it fresh or it gets hard. I do all right usually get most of it before I get home. 

Store 2: India Sweets and Spices. I bought some orange lentils, and a pound of black sesame seed. They have everything including a hot food counter. "Hot". Too hot, really, even for me. Great store, lots of exotics, cheap...

#3: Russian-Armenian market. I used to shop there, but they've had a makeover. I think someone came in and 'updated' their business using a 'system'. Basically, they've eliminated about one third of their variety- items that didn't sell immediately I guess,  and raised their prices to match all the big chains (which engage in collusion, illegally). I was just checking, you know, 'nostalgia', but some items were double. Too bad. Used to be a great store.. Hope they make a million.


----------



## Ell337

dither said:


> Because it's anecdotal and very interesting, could be _made _interesting. I like that stuff and i doubt that i'm the only one.
> 
> I think the word i'm looking for is "content".
> 
> Handled by a skilled writer, no offence intended, it could be turned into what i call good " airport reading", something to read whilst killing time.



LOL I didn't / wouldn't take offence ... until you said 'no offense' LOL 

I'm happy you found my little dilemma with the water interesting. Interesting isn't the word I would have chosen to describe living through it. Smelly comes to mind. The water (where there was water) was smelly. And black. And so was I both smelly and black. The water came back today but it's still not 100% clean and the chlorination isn't working so it isn't safe to drink. Not that one would want to. It has an acrid sharp smell of burnt vegetation to it. The only thing I'm happy about is that the black goop is surely good for the plants as ash contains lots of minerals.


----------



## dither

Ell337 said:


> LOL I didn't / wouldn't take offence ... until you said 'no offense' LOL
> 
> I'm happy you found my little dilemma with the water interesting. Interesting isn't the word I would have chosen to describe living through it. Smelly comes to mind. The water (where there was water) was smelly. And black. And so was I both smelly and black. The water came back today but it's still not 100% clean and the chlorination isn't working so it isn't safe to drink. Not that one would want to. It has an acrid sharp smell of burnt vegetation to it. The only thing I'm happy about is that the black goop is surely good for the plants as ash contains lots of minerals.



Even _this comment, _it's brilliant and maybe that's just me. Now set it out differently and go write a short story. The whole thing is very,,, real. Your revulsion, your disgust and extreme irritation come over in spades. I can almost smell the black stuff.
It's not so much your dilemma but the way you tell it.


----------



## aj47

Published something on Smashwords.  Will be redesigning my sig soon.


----------



## Winston

My wife is visiting her dad in the hospital.  Me and the boy stayed home.

My son's been studying chemistry, and has taken it upon himself to explore Alchemy.  I explained to him the obstacles ahead (that the best minds have struggled with for thousands of years).  He continues undaunted.  He's currently exploring a successful experiment that involved Neon and Bismuth.  He wants to substitute Nitrogen for Neon.  It would work, but only in isotope form.  I reminded him that stray neutrons might be a problem, but so far, these are just thought experiments.

For a breather, he reviewed the process for constructing a non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse (NNEMP) device.  Again, just thought experiments.  Except that copper and disposable cameras are really cheap.  If you don't see me on-line later, that one worked.


----------



## escorial

found out today one of the tenants in the block got arrested and charged with murder....


----------



## The Green Shield

On brighter news, um... this week looks like it'll be yet another relaxing, easy one for me.


----------



## Plasticweld

The fire burns a bright blue against the night sky.  Clear and cold on this winter night.  The transformer burns.  Soon we will be without power.  The heat is set on high. Soon we will be in blackness.  For a moment, the lights flicker in the house.  We still have internet, soon to all disappear.  The candles found.  We wait.  How long will the power be out while they change the transformer...Who knows


----------



## Ell337

oh been there ...


----------



## Kevin

Plasticweld said:


> The fire burns a bright blue against the night sky.  Clear and cold on this winter night.  The transformer burns.  Soon we will be without power.  The heat is set on high. Soon we will be in blackness.  For a moment, the lights flicker in the house.  We still have internet, soon to all disappear.  The candles found.  We wait.  How long will the power be out while they change the transformer...Who knows


youre not anywhere near Bangor are you? I ask because all the Stephen King novels like this seem to take place near there. If any odd cloud banks form stay out of them. There's  alien/weird dinosaur things flopping around in there


----------



## Bard_Daniel

2000 words done. YEAH! 

I'm listening to Thunder Road and enjoying it so much. I love that song.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

danielstj said:


> 2000 words done. YEAH!
> 
> I'm listening to Thunder Road and enjoying it so much. I love that song.



If you post this here.... you'll get a dancing banana Your Daily Banana Count 

You have to post your count each day and on the days you pass 1,000 words you'll get a dancing banana - you do have to ask for it.

As for my day- between the coughing, sneezing, and worrying about a cat with a hairball that won't come out- and another who won't shut up- I didn't get any writing done- so I tried to tune out by watching Colony, a series on Netflix.

My friend Bob will not be happy, it's pretty much the same concept he has- that he keeps saying he'll write down but never gets around to it. Well, someone beat him to it.


----------



## Winston

Kevin said:


> youre not anywhere near Bangor are you? I ask because all the Stephen King novels like this seem to take place near there. If any odd cloud banks form stay out of them. There's  alien/weird dinosaur things flopping around in there



I'm near Bangor.  Just not the one in Maine.
Our Bangor has much scarier monsters.  Measured in megatons.  If anyone wrote about my Bangor it would be Tom Clancy.


----------



## MyrtleM

I started my day with my daily 5-minute writing exercise.  Today's prompt was to write the "dreams of three characters" and I am fascinated with the direction the woman pregnant with triplets took (the other two, not so much), so I believe I'll spend a good part of my day perfecting this time-rushed (100 seconds to be exact) piece.

A woman, full of joy.  Her face is happy with dreams and expectations.  Like a balloon, her body begins to bloat with emotions; anxiety, fear, regret, confusion, apprehension, terror.  Bigger and bigger her bloated body becomes, but her face is still happy.  Her eyes sparkle, her white teeth peeking through her happy lips.  Her body, a turmoil of growing confusion.  Bigger and bigger, she inflates.  Finally, she is broken from her anchor and floats away.


----------



## Kevin

At the colonoscopy shop waiting for the mechanics to finish. Wifey appears in great spirits as they called me back there because they forgot to tell us we needed to pay the anesthesiologist separately. "Here, just let me scan your forehead-" chu-ching- "...thank you." "These modern conveniences are so!" Thank goodness we didn't get rejected. That would be embarrassing( "Next!" "Could you just run it again?" "Next!!")

Nothing going on, just the usual couple-year or 30 thousand mile checkup. $500 deductible and $300 we hadn't expected (no , thank you(!) blue cross).God, I hope I don't get sick. I hope neither of us gets sick. That would be uhm, good.


----------



## Plasticweld

Kevin, I am scheduled for my colonoscopy in another month.  I voted to do it wide awake and watch the process on the monitor.  That way I can drive myself back and forth to the picture show. My guess is that they would frown on my bringing popcorn to the show.  


Power is back on, transformer replaced.  This modern stuff is nice... hot water and lights :}


----------



## Kevin

Plasticweld said:


> Kevin, I am scheduled for my colonoscopy in another month.  I voted to do it wide awake and watch the process on the monitor.  That way I can drive myself back and forth to the picture show. My guess is that they would frown on my bringing popcorn to the show.
> 
> :}


Emmm* cough* wide awake?! Okay... Maybe I... I dunno. She, on the other hand, would never.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Booked my camping for Hay festival, and volunteered as a steward.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I crushed my finger in a garage door yesterday. It's still numb at the end but I won't lose the finger or anything. I'm typing a little slower by not using the middle finger on my left hand but I'm getting used to it. It doesn't hurt anymore.

Besides that, things are looking up! = D


----------



## aj47

Yesterday, I became a second-time grandmother.  William (he still doesn't have a middle name) was born by C-section and everyone involved is resting. 

It was also A. Lee Martinez' birthday (or as he styled it on Facebook, A. Lee Martinez Appreciation Day).  It was suggested that we celebrate by treating ourselves to one of his books Lovely idea, that, but I had no money (well, a pittance) in my bank account--I'd just made a purchase at my grocer.  So I posted the following: Happy natal anniversary. I can't appreciate you with a purchase at this time. If you continue to hold, a purchase will be made when funds are available.[FONT=&quot] Well, within the hour, I received an e-mail notification from an online community I participate in that I had earned a participation award of an Amazon credit.  This was enough to put me over the hump to be able to buy Divine Misfortune for Kindle (I looked at the opening of a couple of his books and chose that).  


[/FONT]


----------



## The Green Shield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-nqfdMYgC8&t=17s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEJmU07J2RQ&t=38s
OH MY GOD!! OH MY FUCKING GOD!! I AM SO HYPED!!! Goodbye, _The Last Guardian _and _Fallout 4_. Hello _Mario _and _Zelda_!!


----------



## JustRob

It's been snowing, the roads are icy, it's Friday the thirteenth, my angel just joined WF and it's only lunchtime yet. Need you ask?


----------



## The Green Shield

So here's something _joyful_ I just learned...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asLhoPd1QBY&t=2s

Apparently, last week, Earth just BARELY avoided getting smashed by a small asteroid (not small enough to get burned up in the atmosphere) with enough force that would rival/top the nukes dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It wouldn't have destroyed the planet or the human race, obviously, but it would've caused a tremendous amount of damage and loss of life if it struck in an urban area.


And now I'm gonna be spending all day wondering if we will ever be able to gather up the tech necessary to save ourselves from a gigantic-ass asteroid. Short of actually nuking the damned thing with everything we've got...we're pretty much screwed. :/


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-nqfdMYgC8&t=17s
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEJmU07J2RQ&t=38s
> OH MY GOD!! OH MY FUCKING GOD!! I AM SO HYPED!!! Goodbye, _The Last Guardian _and _Fallout 4_. Hello _Mario _and _Zelda_!!



Glad you are feeling better from  the cold, but this is not what you need. Go somewhere there is nothing between you and the sky. The time of day is not important, it is always amazing.. Go somewhere there are trees, spend at least 15 mins looking at one,then look at another in the same detail, it should blow your mind.


----------



## sas

Don't remind me it is Friday the 13th.  I've put my skis in the car. I am an old idiot. Emphasis on BOTH words.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Okay.

Three days ago, I got 9 more cases of beer for free.

Yesterday, I was sick as FUCK.

Today, I'm enjoying my beer which I paid nothing for, with an 8th of loud that I also didn't pay for.

Somehow, life has a way of balancing shit out.


----------



## aj47

If you enjoy it to excess, you WILL pay for it ... just sayin'.

I finished DIVINE MISFORTUNE .... I highly recommend it.  

I am loving my CPAP machine.  I will be downgrading my mask from full nose/mouth to nasal only because the full one holds my mouth shut anyway so I only breathe through my nose and the mask slicks up with sweat.  They're giving me a chin strap to keep my mouth from falling open.  This happens tomorrow.   

Oh, and advice--don't drink six large sports drinks unless you're prepping for a colonoscopy.  Just sayin'.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I don't know why I hit thank you on RythmnOvpain's post. I will be changing my password just in case. And somehow I can't hit a undo on the thank on that. Hopefully, I sort this problem. I hope no one is making posts on this account without me knowing. Or hitting thank you and likes on posts without my own permission. It should be fixed right now when I go to the user control panel. Apparently, I don't know how that happened.


----------



## Plasticweld

I ran 15 miles with my son Russ this afternoon.  I am so fortunate that I can do things like this with my adult children.  I know that when I was in my mid thirties I had very little to do with my dad, that makes this seem all the more valuable.  I can only hope that he continues what we have as father and son with his son and daughter.... It is the good stuff in life and today was one of those days where I really got to stop and smell the roses.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Managed to get out for a few minutes and enjoy the wonderful weather we had yesterday.   Also talked my wife into going to a grocery store that we did not think highly of.  Boy were we wrong, found all kinds of great deals.   Spent twenty bux where we would have spent 75, if we bought the same quantity.


----------



## midnightpoet

Ever seen wood's breath?  I did this morning; the wood on our back deck looked like it was smoking.  I think the combination of the temperature of the wood being warmer than the air temp caused the phenomenon.  It was like seeing your own breath in chilly temps, it was the wood's breath.  The fact that it rained heavy yesterday and was clear and cold this morning had something to do with it - but my poetic sensibilities saw wood breathing.  

Now, if the rest of the day makes me feel like this, that will be good.


----------



## msjhord

Doing some major house cleaning today.  Long story short, we're prepping for a move and need to have the place ship-shape before we leave.  We won't be moving far, probably across town, but I dread the process.  I just want to pack my book collection, my computer, my tablet with Google Docs on it, and go.  Everything else, I'd love to just call the Salvation Army truck and say, "Take it and go."  Not practical, but it's what I'd LIKE to do!


----------



## Kevin

msjhord said:


> Doing some major house cleaning today.  Long story short, we're prepping for a move and need to have the place ship-shape before we leave.  We won't be moving far, probably across town, but I dread the process.  I just want to pack my book collection, my computer, my tablet with Google Docs on it, and go.  Everything else, I'd love to just call the Salvation Army truck and say, "Take it and go."  Not practical, but it's what I'd LIKE to do!


'round here you put out a sign that says "gratis" next to anything/everything and it will go. Gotta be careful because they'll start pulling out things that are not near the sign like light fixtures attached to the house, open gates and search the whole yard, break into the house...


----------



## msjhord

Kevin said:


> 'round here you put out a sign that says "gratis" next to anything/everything and it will go. Gotta be careful because they'll start pulling out things that are not near the sign like light fixtures attached to the house, open gates and search the whole yard, break into the house...




 There's a thrift store near my house that supports the local DV shelters.  I'll probably give them a call, if nothing else.  We also have a huuuuge bulletin board at work I might utilize to let coworkers know what I've got to give if they need anything.


----------



## Kevin

Yeah... A lot of things they won't take. A 'free' sign is the last step... Or the first one if you don't care. 
The progression: 
yard sale
try to donate
free sign
abandon somewhere


----------



## msjhord

Just wiped out on my living room floor.  Some furniture polish landed on it, then my socked feet went out from under me and I landed on my butt.  Now my lower back and left arm are sore.  Tomorrow's going to be really special!


----------



## sas

A lucky day for me.

Had to drive grandgirls home...on black ice. Idiots all around me passing. One ran into pole right next to me. Another couldn't stop behind me, but swerved off road. So...I was lucky twice. But, third time was the charm: Fifteen minutes later drove past a crashed plane on fire right next to my road. Missed road by a few yards. No emergency vehicles had arrive, so just happened & lucky he didn't hit cars, especially mine.  Timing is everything, folks. Mine was impeccable today. :cheers:


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Where did a plane crash?


----------



## sas

In Howell, Michigan. It was a small private plane. It was blazing when I went by it. Not sure yet if survivor/s. Run way is very near. I think plane probably had iced wings (trust me...ice was everywhere on road) and couldn't get lift and crashed just beyond runway. Private pilots are over confident (think John Kennedy Jr; John Denver). A very close friend always wants me to join him on his plane...wants to fly to NY city, etc. His plane is equipped with parachute. Don't care. Money will kill him; not me.


----------



## sas

update on plane: small private jet that was landing in icy conditions on runway. Lost control. Skidded through barriers. Lost both wings. Landed upside down. Caught fire. Pilot injured, but rescued by those driving by.  Minor injuries. Now that's a lucky guy.


----------



## The Green Shield

If he's a religious man, he should be taking this as a _big ass hint_ from his deity. ;D


----------



## RhythmOvPain

sas said:


> update on plane: small private jet that was landing in icy conditions on runway. Lost control. Skidded through barriers. Lost both wings. Landed upside down. Caught fire. Pilot injured, but rescued by those driving by.  Minor injuries. Now that's a lucky guy.



Thanks for the follow-up.

For reference: http://www.livingstondaily.com/stor...crashes-catches-fire-howell-airport/96636390/

Your mayor is a G.


----------



## sas

Not my mayor. I was driving through. I've no idea what G means; curious.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

sas said:


> Not my mayor. I was driving through. I've no idea what G means; curious.



It means "gangsta." In the hood, it's a compliment.


----------



## sas

LOL.  I just live in a plain old neighborhood. But, it does make me wonder how "gangsta" became a compliment. Of course, that requires a sociological examination best for another forum. Smiles. sas


----------



## RhythmOvPain

sas said:


> LOL.  I just live in a plain old neighborhood. But, it does make me wonder how "gangsta" became a compliment. Of course, that requires a sociological examination best for another forum. Smiles. sas



Here's an example: imagine you saw someone get punched in the face only to stand unaffected. To say he "took it like a G" is like saying "it didn't have an effect on him."


----------



## escorial

the devil farted in my face.....but I'm still here


----------



## sas

Maybe that's not a good analogy, unless some gal slapped him when he was "fresh" (old, old fashioned term...ha). "gangsta" implies gang-banger thug to those of us who live on the fringes. We see Jimmy Cagney (don't ask) smashing a grapefruit into a woman's face with "gangsta".


----------



## JustRob

See Tech Central for an answer. Angel ... iPad ... WF ... gremlins ... mutter ... mutter ... mutter ...

Where did the day go? Oh yes, I relaid the fire ready for the next cold evening and got some more logs out of the store. I still need to chop some kindling though. Should have done that but ... angel ... iPad ... WF ... grunt.


----------



## BlondeAverageReader

JustRob said:


> See Tech Central for an answer. Angel ... iPad ... WF ... gremlins ... mutter ... mutter ... mutter ...
> 
> Where did the day go? Oh yes, I relaid the fire ready for the next cold evening and got some more logs out of the store. I still need to chop some kindling though. Should have done that but ... angel ... iPad ... WF ... grunt.



Good thing you have an angel to do the flipping rest, the quiche is in the oven. SO COULD YOU MUTTER LESS!


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW you say you're a liberal in a political discussion and Lucretia, a poster goes on a tirade:







			
				 Lucretia said:
			
		

> You're a liberal, you are *not* one of us. Many of those protesting view themselves as marxists/socialists, feminists, progressives and/or radicals.





			
				 Lucretia said:
			
		

> You are a centrist, liberalism is at its core a capitalist, centrist political ideology that is way past its expiry date.
> 
> 
> You're liberal. You are not one of us. If you use SJW warrior unironically, if you consistently tone police protesters, then you're not a progressive, you're a status quo, centrist, liberal. Hell you even used condescending language like "special snowflakes" to essentially describe black lives matters protesters BUT THEN you say "I'm apologising on behalf of like minded liberals". Where the hell do you get off?
> 
> 
> So stop saying you're "one if us", or apologising on behalf of "us" just because you didn't want trump to win.
> 
> 
> You're not a leftist, you're not one of us and your apology is not on behalf of "us".




So you respond with:




			
				Link the Zora said:
			
		

> I rest my case; if this is what you are, if this is how you act... I'm glad I'm not one of you. I want to find common ground, and screaming at those who disagrees with me won't work in my favor.
> 
> 
> I'd try to convince you otherwise, but it's clear you've gotten me pegged as "something", so why would I bother? Unless I agree on every word you say, you'll refute it. That's why so many find your group so irritating. You constantly scream and tell the other side to shut up because they don't ageee with you. Newsflash: if you want someone to listen to you, antagonizing them will earn you the exact opposite result. After your little "not one of us" speech, I have zero desire to want to listen to you. Why should I? You'll just insult me again because I have a different opinion.
> 
> 
> Oh, and sugar? Trump is your president, whether you like it or not. Accept it. 2020 will come and you'll have a second shot.




Now let's see how he'll twist it to where I'm the big bad guy out to hurt him because I have a different opinion. And yes, Lucretia is a man.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Or you can just ignore him. Anyone who has the us vs. them mentality will invariably lose to them.


----------



## Kevin

He views himself as a true commie. The only true revolution is a violent one that must destroy all vestiges of the existing system. That includes eliminating people. That's why they shot commies. It was kill or be killed.


----------



## JustRob

BlondeAverageReader said:


> JustRob said:
> 
> 
> 
> See Tech Central for an answer. Angel ... iPad ... WF ... gremlins ... mutter ... mutter ... mutter ...
> 
> Where did the day go? Oh yes, I relaid the fire ready for the next cold evening and got some more logs out of the store. I still need to chop some kindling though. Should have done that but ... angel ... iPad ... WF ... grunt.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Good thing you have an angel to do the flipping rest, the quiche is in the oven. SO COULD YOU MUTTER LESS!
Click to expand...


... and there's another thing that I have to contend with, bless her. Tomorrow is another day, always.


----------



## PiP

Ah, yes. I put my iPad on charge - I clean forgot! Have you resolved the picture issue, Rob?


----------



## JustRob

PiP said:


> Ah, yes. I put my iPad on charge - I clean forgot! Have you resolved the picture issue, Rob?



Kevin_L is looking at the lost attachments problem on saved drafts but the attachments drag and drop issue on the iPad will just have to be worked around, I think.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

sas said:


> Maybe that's not a good analogy, unless some gal slapped him when he was "fresh" (old, old fashioned term...ha). "gangsta" implies gang-banger thug to those of us who live on the fringes. We see Jimmy Cagney (don't ask) smashing a grapefruit into a woman's face with "gangsta".



Are you implying I don't know who James Cagney is? >> ....


----------



## escorial

Just took this on a park bench on my way to train station..So poignant...


----------



## escorial

just been to two auction houses to try and get a value on a photograph I think is by Paul Nash..but without providence it aint worth nowt...but i'm not giving up..sending emails everywhere Tate,SOTHEBY'S..GOD LUVES A TRIER..HA,HA


----------



## escorial

might walk down the waterfront and have a think...water is good like that..


----------



## Thaumiel

Saw a book written by one of our members in my local bookstore. I've seen it there countless times, the sci-fi + fantasy shelves rarely change, but never noticed it until now.


----------



## Firemajic

escorial said:


> might walk down the waterfront and have a think...water is good like that..




It is... that is why I go to the river and spend time with the Eagles... Food is necessary for the body, but the river and the Eagles feed my soul...


----------



## BlondeAverageReader

Went to the supermarket this morning. Saw some venison liver, going at half price. Asked my favourite rosy cheeked, boater wearing butcher ( we always have a chat ) about it. Came in by mistake he said looking glum, so we worked out how much I'd need for dinner and he printed the ticket out. Then the good bit, he emptied the rest out of the tray into my bag, BH. I thanked him kindly, and took my leave, his problem had been solved. Let's hope it tastes nice!
My advice to all my fellow foodies out there. Cultivate your butcher.


----------



## escorial

Firemajic said:


> It is... that is why I go to the river and spend time with the Eagles... Food is necessary for the body, but the river and the Eagles feed my soul...





Something about the black noise as the water moves on can be a bit scary...But in the right frame of mind powerful to


----------



## The Green Shield

Gonna spend all day alternating between sieving (we have a machine that does it for us) and reading _Gone for Soldiers_​ by Jeff Shaara.


----------



## Kevin

Today? Rain, mud, fallen rocks upon the road...how fast _can _I go? Not pushing it.
Save it. We don't get a lot of practice. Just a fact. Bet you don't know how to merge. So what?
You'd learn. You'd have to. 
Or not.


----------



## PiP

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Saw a book written by one of our members in my local bookstore. I've seen it there countless times, the sci-fi + fantasy shelves rarely change, but never noticed it until now.



Whose book was it, James?

Let's give them a YaY!


----------



## Thaumiel

PiP said:


> Whose book was it, James?
> 
> Let's give them a YaY!



It was Snakewood by Caragula


----------



## PiP

thanks, James. If anyone has read Snakewood and is willing to write a review to post to WF - I will also post it to Showcase and share on social media.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Got my end of year review at work, we are pleased.


----------



## Ariel

My poetry group put together a book of poetry based on/dedicated to Billy Collins. One of my poems is in it and the first books came out this week.  One of our group members made it into his workshop (she's there now).  He can't officially endorse us but we were lucky enough to get it into his hands and to get a picture of him with it!


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Great day. I now have tomorrow (or I guess today at this point) off work. I also did all my reading and writing and managed to get on the forum to a good extent. Now comes a long weekend! = D

Ace. Lookin' good!


----------



## escorial

danielstj said:


> Great day. I now have tomorrow (or I guess today at this point) off work. I also did all my reading and writing and managed to get on the forum to a good extent. Now comes a long weekend! = D
> 
> Ace. Lookin' good!



enjoy man...


----------



## The Green Shield

Doing pretty good, just waiting for my anxiety level to drop.

You are all sexy beasts of creativity. <3


----------



## Kevin

Some city agencies came and began bulldozing the homeless. It looks like district 9. One cop, in particular began barking at this one guy, threatening to handcuff. The guy was moving his stuff out of the way, and the cop was like 'what're you doing? You're just putting it over there?!' And the guy was like 'yeah, I'm getting it out of the way?' And the cop was like 'But you're just putting it over there!' At which point he started in with the 'where's your ID?' and threatening with the handcuffs. He didn't arrest anyone because no crime had been committed.


----------



## The Green Shield

Good news!!!!


I submitted chapter one of my colonial mystery to my former creative writing teacher (after asking for her permission first) and this is what she had to say:


"John, this is very, very good. You did an excellent job of making me believe Amos is mostly blind. That's hard to do. And you portrayed these frustration of that terrifically. 


I don't think the story moves too slowly at all. You put us right in the scene. Plenty is happening. I think this is close to perfect! 


Really, really good job! I love this story.


 Wilkins is a lot more sympathetic. I liked him. And I am hoping the Dr. will be able to help Amos's vision problems. That would be terrific!


Yes, you did an EXCELLENT job of making the story alive from a blind person's point of view. A remarkable job. I'm really proud of you."


----------



## escorial

well done TGS


----------



## The Green Shield

Thanks.  I'm gonna start Chapter Two tonight with two celebratory beers!


----------



## Darkkin

I cleaned off my bookcase...and table.  I survived, and now everything is freshly dusted and back in its spot.  :cheers:


----------



## aj47

Out of chronological order, but in order of impact.

I had sinus crud.  The CPAP machine is amazing when I'm healthy but it blows the crud down my throat and I gag and cannot sleep.  I spent last night on the machine again after a several night hiatus.  This means I'm awake today, all day, no naps.  So I got the big prize—I got to do *laundry*. 

Our car died.  We have a van and a car.  We have two drivers and four people who need to be places, 2.5 of whom drive (two licenses, one permit).  We are scrambling to find money for a down payment on a pre-owned vehicle, and should be able to do that this week.  Sometime.  This weekend was messed up by my sleeping during normal hours.  We applied for a bank loan but were declined.  So we're exploring other options.  I had to do tons of online shopping to get numbers to supply the bank in terms of ranges of years, mileages, and prices.  Plus do the actual online app.  

Our dishwasher died.  There are four adults here, but I seem to be the one tasked with shopping online for a new dishwasher.  I did find one that suits our needs and our store credit arrangements, but *dayum* they e-mailed me this AM to tell me they will deliver it on Sunday, February 12.  Yeah.  I can read a calendar.  

I have been doing car/dishwasher stuff online most of my online time for the past number of days.  I've peeped in here a few times, but mostly I'm on my phone.

I look forward to catching up on crits and stuff.


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> Out of chronological order, but in order of impact.
> 
> I had sinus crud.  The CPAP machine is amazing when I'm healthy but it blows the crud down my throat and I gag and cannot sleep.  I spent last night on the machine again after a several night hiatus.  This means I'm awake today, all day, no naps.  So I got the big prize—I got to do *laundry*.
> 
> Our car died.  We have a van and a car.  We have two drivers and four people who need to be places, 2.5 of whom drive (two licenses, one permit).  We are scrambling to find money for a down payment on a pre-owned vehicle, and should be able to do that this week.  Sometime.  This weekend was messed up by my sleeping during normal hours.  We applied for a bank loan but were declined.  So we're exploring other options.  I had to do tons of online shopping to get numbers to supply the bank in terms of ranges of years, mileages, and prices.  Plus do the actual online app.
> 
> Our dishwasher died.  There are four adults here, but I seem to be the one tasked with shopping online for a new dishwasher.  I did find one that suits our needs and our store credit arrangements, but *dayum* they e-mailed me this AM to tell me they will deliver it on Sunday, February 12.  Yeah.  I can read a calendar.
> 
> I have been doing car/dishwasher stuff online most of my online time for the past number of days.  I've peeped in here a few times, but mostly I'm on my phone.
> 
> I look forward to catching up on crits and stuff.




I'm glad you have Ornery Critter on your profile... otherwise I'd worry more about you. My response to problems has always been: "onward". You embody it.  sas


----------



## aj47

Yeah, it's not a pity-party it's a....shit happens and my boots are dirty.


----------



## midnightpoet

Speaking of shit happens, our sewer line clogged again - well, my wife has Chrone's disease and uses a lot of TP.  We have a clean-out plug, but it still means crawling under the trailer and digging out the crud.  If I'm lucky, sewer water ect doesn't spew like a volcano in my face.
Fun times.


----------



## aj47

dayum. One of the things I miss about up north is basements because you can stand in them.


----------



## sas

I started to throw, in the garbage can, the three posters my daughter, her daughter, and I carried in The Million Woman March. I took them out. They weren't garbage. Sas
.


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> I started to throw, in the garbage can, the three posters my daughter, her daughter, and I carried in The Million Woman March. I took them out. They weren't garbage. Sas
> .



What do they say?


----------



## LeeC

Saw a meme the other day of the president and others at a bill signing ceremony. Underneath it said, "You won't see seven women signing a bill regulating male reproductive organs."


----------



## LeeC

Yesterday the wife was storing away Xmas decoration boxes in the attic. In the process she scraped her head on a nail, and came running with blood dripping down on her glasses. When I quickly reached for a hand towel to use with ice as a cold press, she hollered at me not to use one of her good towels. Guess I haven't a clue what's important ;-)


----------



## Sleepwriter

I think my brain broke.  Can't seem to wrap my head around a rather simple idea.   I usually write down thoughts until something clicks, but I'm on page 2 and still nothing.


----------



## am_hammy

LeeC said:


> Yesterday the wife was storing away Xmas decoration boxes in the attic. In the process she scraped her head on a nail, and came running with blood dripping down on her glasses. When I quickly reached for a hand towel to use with ice as a cold press, she hollered at me not to use one of her good towels. Guess I haven't a clue what's important ;-)



she's got her priorities straightened it looks like =p


----------



## escorial

LeeC said:


> Yesterday the wife was storing away Xmas decoration boxes in the attic. In the process she scraped her head on a nail, and came running with blood dripping down on her glasses. When I quickly reached for a hand towel to use with ice as a cold press, she hollered at me not to use one of her good towels. Guess I haven't a clue what's important ;-)



I bought a tea towel for 6 pound and it was printed in the style of the dockers strike banner from the 80's and it just sits there out on display..i use other towels to clean up but leave that alone...i'm with the wife on this one..LC..ha,ha


----------



## escorial

i'm a great believer in my mind is switched onto misery...listening to radio4 piece on people who work on the phone for the samaratins and what coping mechanism they employ..i was immediately transported back to when I phoned them and after a while she said have a think a walk and call back later and I remember thinking she's had enough of me whinging....


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> What do they say?



.
My daughter & I carried signs that said: Tiny Hands Will Vote Him Out (with actual glove attached)

My gay, eleven year old granddaughter carried: GOP: I Will Vote You Out . . . Soon.

Since his election, it came as no surprise that she started to be bullied at school. This march empowered her. It was amazing to see her transformation there.
.


----------



## LeeC

Also had another medical appointment yesterday. I wheeled my way out to the waiting room when the doctor was done, and waited for the wife to finish dealing with the paperwork. They've more admin staff than doctors and nurses. 

Anyway, when she came out she said, "Where's your coat?"

"Did I have a coat with me today?"

"It's the middle of winter you old fool!"

I think she enjoys putting me down, but I wouldn't trade her for anyone.


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> .
> This march empowered her. It was amazing to see her transformation there.
> .



Yes. This is an amazing thing to watch.  

I worked security on a pride parade many years ago. I think I feel a poem coming on...


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I worked 13 hours at my job today. Guess I will have to catch up on my reading/writing/forum stuff some other time. : (


----------



## Thaumiel

Had a phone interview and a video interview today. Don't think either company was particularly enamoured with me but it was nice to even get that far for a change.


In other news, my neighbour's owl is being rather noisy tonight.


----------



## aj47

You live next to a wizard?  Kewl.


----------



## Darkkin

We just got the Smithsonian Channel!


----------



## Sleepwriter

Got a haircut today. Tomorrow gonna get the rest of them.


----------



## The Green Shield

I saw an opossum during the day just strolling around my neighborhood. I caught its attention and for a brief moment we just stared at each other before it lost interest and walked off. I took a quick picture of it for memory.


----------



## Darkkin

I saw a fox sitting on a snow pile at the edge of the road this morning.  They are native to the region I live in, but they are rarely seen.  This is only the third time I've ever seen one in the wild.  Its tail was amazingly fluffy, and it certainly made my morning commute more interesting.  And it was way better than the drunk raccoon the DNR had to retrieve from our neighbor's back yard this past fall.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Got a new phone. Only pulled out half my hair getting it set up.  For some reason it won't let me use individual ring tones for my contacts.  Might have to pull out more hair to figure it out.


----------



## Darkkin

John Hurt died...:cry:  He was my favourite Doctor.


----------



## The Green Shield

I want to become President of the United States.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> I want to become President of the United States.



I'll vote for ya. TGS 2020 Yo!


----------



## The Green Shield

2024, yo. That's when I'm legally able to run.


----------



## sas

The Green Shield said:


> I want to become President of the United States.



Anyone  can become President of United States. Aim higher.


----------



## escorial

read in the paper today about how many people are throwing themselves in the river mersey and wondered if i came across a desperate soul the other night....


----------



## JustRob

Another day, another ludicrous time-defying coincidence.

I will be attending the first day of a course on breaking the rules in creative writing on the 23rd February at 10am and am requested to take a possible example of breaking the rules in my own writing. As an example of breaking the rule about sticking to what is socially acceptable, i.e. good taste, I considered using my poem I Cannot Love but today took the precaution of writing to the person running the course to consult him about its suitability. 

While reviewing that poem I noticed the ludicrous coincidence, that I wrote it exactly two years before the first session of the course _to within an hour or so_! Given my experience with this sort of thing I would be tempted to believe that I did this entirely on purpose two years ago, especially since another rule to be broken is "Write about what you know" and the alternative rule given in the pre-course suggested reading is "Write to discover what you don't know yet", which is in my case apparently just how much I disregard the conventional view of time.

Drat! Will I never escape from this curse, taunting me so with its improbability?


----------



## dither

Well? I'd harboured plans for today but that was yesterday. I was going to get up at around 7.30, get showered and dressed, catch an early bus to Stugely, do the library and Asda gig, then be back home well before lunchtime. But like i said, that was yesterday.
So when my mobile sounded  the alarm for 7.30. my response was instant and sure. " F*** it, i can't be bothered " and i couldn't. The hours passed and i eventually crawled out of the sack at around 10.00.am. I had myself washed and presentable, ish, by 11.30. and caught the 11.30. out.
In spite of all this i wanted to like the rest of the day, i really did. There were thoughts, no, hopes and intentions, of me sauntering around Stugely, taking my time, breathing it all in and just letting life happen. Instead of treating it like a route-march i strolled, and whereas i usually seethe inwardly at having constantly change pace and direction to accommodate others i actually smiled. Don't _know _why i just did. The sun  shone and it wasn't so cold out. It has been a rather pleasant day where weather is concerned but... but what?... i don't _know _​what.
My life seems to be made up of phases and i feel as though i'm caught mid-phase right now unsure of what to do. Rabbits and head-lamps come to mind. There's an air/a feeling of expectation about me, a sense that something is about to happen, i'm troubled by it, and all i can do is wait.

dither...


----------



## Kevin

I crashed twice Mtn biking. I face/forehead planted but no marks the first time, and scraped a 3/4" x 3" stripe off my wrist the second. The wind was howling (literally, on the power lines) but the ground is still saturated. One more storm and the little creeks and waterfalls should be up and running. So far they only last while it's raining.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> I crashed twice Mtn biking. I face/forehead planted but no marks the first time, and scraped a 3/4" x 3" stripe off my wrist the second. The wind was howling (literally, on the power lines) but the ground is still saturated. One more storm and the little creeks and waterfalls should be up and running. So far they only last while it's raining.


----------



## JustRob

dither said:


> My life seems to be made up of phases and i feel as though i'm caught mid-phase right now unsure of what to do. Rabbits and head-lamps come to mind. There's an air/a feeling of expectation about me, a sense that something is about to happen, i'm troubled by it, and all i can do is wait.
> 
> dither...



That's your sixth sense kicking in. You may never find out why it happens or whether something already has. Someone somewhere has to take it into their mind to do something so that the right consequences occur. In my novel these people are known as nuisances, because that's how ignorant people see them. A nuisance happens to walk towards you, causing you to move over on the pavement, thus causing a whole chain reaction of movements which diverts someone's attention from what they were doing on their phone, so a message gets delayed and so on. The original nuisance was motivated by ... exactly ... just the need for everything else to happen the way that it did. Exactly how it works involves horrible aspects of quantum theory which probably haven't even been worked out fully yet, coherent superpositions of probabilistic futures and that sort of thing. Why? Simply because history must remain stable forever, so the universe plans ahead.

That American film _It's a Wonderful Life _is apparently a much cruder version of this, but the reality is too subtle for anyone to be able to work it out. Just feel reassured that you're playing your part.


----------



## midnightpoet

Friday my wife felt like she was having a heart attack - I called 911 and they agreed, taking her to the hospital 40 miles away.  I followed, turned out to be a-fib; she's better now, not sure when she's coming home.  I'll report any other progress.  

Tony


----------



## aj47

midnightpoet said:


> Friday my wife felt like she was having a heart attack - I called 911 and they agreed, taking her to the hospital 40 miles away.  I followed, turned out to be a-fib; she's better now, not sure when she's coming home.  I'll report any other progress.
> 
> Tony



How scary!  Keep us posted.


----------



## Winston

Spent the day in the rehab center with my father-in-law.  He's not getting one bit better, but at least he isn't suffering.
We watched "The Magnificent Seven" (1960 Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen).  He slept most of the time.  The dialysis tires him greatly.
He can't eat, and throws-up whatever he does get down.  The good news is soon he won't have to witness any more lousy remakes of great movies.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

midnightpoet said:


> Friday my wife felt like she was having a heart attack - I called 911 and they agreed, taking her to the hospital 40 miles away.  I followed, turned out to be a-fib; she's better now, not sure when she's coming home.  I'll report any other progress.
> 
> Tony




I have to live with A-Fib so I know how scary it can be. Wish your wife well for me. :smile2:


----------



## Phil Istine

midnightpoet said:


> Friday my wife felt like she was having a heart attack - I called 911 and they agreed, taking her to the hospital 40 miles away.  I followed, turned out to be a-fib; she's better now, not sure when she's coming home.  I'll report any other progress.
> 
> Tony



Sorry to hear this but glad it was better than expected.
Here's hoping things turn out well.


----------



## aj47

Yesterday was eventful.

At 08:00 local time, I started "lazy roast" in the slow cooker. It's not a real crock pot, but a Hamilton Beach knock-off that I got as a gift from someone who meant well.  Lazy roast is easy--you put in the roast, with no liquid, no nothing, close the pot and set it to low for 8-10 hours.

I did more car searching--made a spreadsheet.  It was pointed out that I didn't want to seriously consider any location I didn't feel comfortable driving home from.  There were ultimately three cars I felt reasonable about—two near me and one near the dentist.


CostYearMileageLocationPhoneURL<$US><year><miles><dealership name><xxx-xxx-xxxx><link>



You will notice color isn't on the spreadsheet, nor is make/model--we wanted a Corolla because my husband had owned one in the past and knew about maintenance and it was the right size/type.  

At 11:00 we (astroandy and I) went weekly grocery shopping.  We typically do that on Saturday mornings but this morning, my daughter decided not to accompany me.  So it took me longer at the store than usual.  We got back at 12:10 and got things put away in time to leave for the dentist at 13:00.

We left for the dentist at 13:00, dropping daughter and her laptop at the grocery store with a Starbucks in the strip center that also has the pizza joint where she was scheduled to work at 14:00--same time as our dental appointment across town.

When we arrive at the dentist, it takes awhile. I have my appliance adjusted to allow for the new crown I got Tuesday and my son gets his cleaning and a cavity-free checkup.

We then go 15 minutes to the nearby dealership to look at one of my researched cars.  We arrive about 14:40.  We leave about 16:30—I in the van and astroandy in the new pre-owned corolla.  My son opined that he wanted food—especially once he found out what dinner was—so I stopped at a Little Caesar's and got him a Hot & Ready cheap-cheap pizza (he rode with me).  We arrived home at 17:30.

At 18:00 it was dinner time for the rest of us—so I started the water for the potatoes and went to get the roast out to shred it and season the juice.  My slow cooker looked odd.  I unlatched the lid and lifted the handle.  It came off, with bits of the surrounding glass while the rest of the iid remained on the crockery liner.  I turned off the slow cooker, unplugged it, turned off the stove and informed astroandy that we had two options—we could eat frozen pizza or he could take me out. I did the programming assignment for my Python course. And called our insurance carrier to add the new-to-us corolla to our policy. 

At 19:05 we left for Mexican. We arrived at Uncle Julio's Made from Scratch at 19:12 and waited 38 minutes to be seated.  But dayum, that's some of the best Tex-Mex I've had in awhile.  Even if they did screw up my order and try to give me red sauce instead of salsa carne.

We went home. At 21:20, my daughter asked for a ride home from work (and food) and astroandy took her out for burritos.  She had accidentally left her laptop at work but no managers were willing to come back to help her retrieve it so I gave her an account on my Linux laptop.  

So, now that I'm awake, I'm going to begin PIPping.


----------



## am_hammy

Went to Cape May this weekend and it was lovely. And the sunset last night was gorgeous.


----------



## dither

Ohhh wow!
What a sunset.
What was the temperature there hammy? Any idea? I'd love to think warm.


----------



## escorial

am_hammy said:


> Went to Cape May this weekend and it was lovely. And the sunset last night was gorgeous.
> 
> View attachment 16913



i wonder what did you think while looking at the sunset.....


----------



## aj47

Winston said:


> Spent the day in the rehab center with my father-in-law.  He's not getting one bit better, but at least he isn't suffering.
> We watched "The Magnificent Seven" (1960 Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen).  He slept most of the time.  The dialysis tires him greatly.
> He can't eat, and throws-up whatever he does get down.  The good news is soon he won't have to witness any more lousy remakes of great movies.



Haven't seen that one.  "The Seven Samurai" is worth the subtitles--even for my visually-impaired self.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

You have to see the Seven Samurai. It is way superior to the Maginificent Seven (which is a good movie nonetheless).

Then again, I have a thing for Japanese Samurai films.


----------



## midnightpoet

The nurses came in this morning and tried to put in an IV, took them ten tries, kept "blowing" as my wife said.  Finally hooked up, later they tried again - same result. She's very upset, wants to get  the bleep out of that place.  Her arms look like someone has been beating her.  Dr. will be coming in later.  Her blood pressure still high, maybe the cardiologist can do something. She had a similar incident in 2012, but she got better.


----------



## escorial

stay safe midnightpoet


----------



## Kevin

A-fib... To pacemaker, or not ...  Someone I know got that last year. They gave him a pacemaker. He went out and got an e-bike. Anyway, right now... boy. The waiting and not knowing part, about a loved one. Not fun. Yep.


----------



## Firemajic

midnightpoet said:


> Friday my wife felt like she was having a heart attack - I called 911 and they agreed, taking her to the hospital 40 miles away.  I followed, turned out to be a-fib; she's better now, not sure when she's coming home.  I'll report any other progress.
> 
> Tony




*hugggs*, my fabulous friend... sending prayers your way, stay strong... love you bunches..


----------



## sas

midnightpoet said:


> Friday my wife felt like she was having a heart attack - I called 911 and they agreed, taking her to the hospital 40 miles away.  I followed, turned out to be a-fib; she's better now, not sure when she's coming home.  I'll report any other progress.
> 
> Tony
> 
> I bought a portable defibrillator. If heart stops, the brain will die before an ambulance arrives. They are affordable, if one honestly calculates the monies we waste on the trivial. I looked at my annual wine bill. Smiles. What would we have paid to have a loved one still alive? Bet more than the defibrillator. Tons more.  You can buy them on line.  In the States I think Costco now carries them. I have an older Philips. They are small, too. You cannot make a mistake with them. If heart is beating, shock will not occur. Audio instructions. Just put two pads on, press the button. A child can do it. I take mine on our pontoon boat, and may throw in golf cart. My partner is only recently trying to improve his life style. I love him, so I put my money where his heart is. It would be the most meaningful Valentine's gift one could ever give. Truly. Sas


----------



## aj47

power went out here.  So, no PIPping for awhile yet.


----------



## midnightpoet

Thanks everyone. She's better. The I've was for an infection the Dr changed it to pill form I'll update

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


----------



## am_hammy

dither said:


> Ohhh wow!
> What a sunset.
> What was the temperature there hammy? Any idea? I'd love to think warm.



44 degrees Fahrenheit. About 6 degrees Celsius if Google was right lol. Cold but doable. I like the ocean any time of the year so it was lovely for me.



escorial said:


> i wonder what did you think while looking at the sunset.....



just that I was happy to be there and then really nothing at all. The nice thing about the ocean is that my thoughts leave me. In a good way. My brain is constantly running and when I'm by the water, it stops. It's incredibly peaceful and I forget everything else =)


----------



## escorial

water seems to do that alot...it's such a powerful thing that brings a release or some inner part of the human pysche.....i would so like to read more about your experience..it may be something you don't want to reveal but at the same time it fascinates me this stuff..


----------



## H.Brown

Wahooooo four full days off in a row now. I am one happy little writer.


----------



## escorial




----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> View attachment 16918



Damn right Esc.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Wrote and read mega amounts today. A fine day of progress!


----------



## Olly Buckle

midnightpoet said:


> The nurses came in this morning and tried to put in an IV, took them ten tries, kept "blowing" as my wife said.  Finally hooked up, later they tried again - same result. She's very upset, wants to get  the bleep out of that place.  Her arms look like someone has been beating her.  Dr. will be coming in later.  Her blood pressure still high, maybe the cardiologist can do something. She had a similar incident in 2012, but she got better.



Had a similar experience in a local hospital when someone tried thirteen times to take blood from me, I mentioned it at a London teaching hospital when someone apologised for failing the first time and they told me they have a protocolthat that after the third attempt they hand over to someone else, it makes sense,repeated failures do not increase the chance of success or patient confidence.

Fribulation can mean all sorts of things, I had atrial fribulation briefly from a virus infection that affected my heart muscles. Before we knew the cause my GP told me not to worry, he had been taking digoxin and living a normal life for years.

I do hope things turn out well.


----------



## midnightpoet

Thanks, Olly - the a-fib was fixed fast, but complications abounded.  Her blood sugar spiked, her blood is too thick, and her blood pressure is high.  Of course, being rather ornery and stubborn, she's not the willing patient.  You're going to do what to me? Like hell you are!

She is doing better though, but it may be Wednesday before she can come home.


----------



## Darkkin

Due to HFHC I have centrals on both sides because my arteries always collapse.  Not fun, but practical.  :wink:  

Hope things go all right for you both.  But let me say this much, while it's trying to be ill and away from home, at least you are aware of the issue and are being proactive about it.  Too often symptoms of cardiac issues are ignored because they aren't overt.


----------



## sas

Just sent $500 to ACLU.


----------



## Olly Buckle

midnightpoet said:


> Thanks, Olly - the a-fib was fixed fast, but complications abounded.  Her blood sugar spiked, her blood is too thick, and her blood pressure is high.  Of course, being rather ornery and stubborn, she's not the willing patient.  You're going to do what to me? Like hell you are!
> 
> She is doing better though, but it may be Wednesday before she can come home.



The 'coming home' bit sounds good


----------



## The Green Shield

Just found out my friend and coworker isn't doing well.  His sister is VERY sick and they have to take her to the hospital due to severe kidney issues. She's just 13 years old. 

Let's pray for my friend's poor sis.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Yeah, definitely. I hope she pulls through, Greenie.


----------



## The Green Shield

Me too.  It sucks that my friend is going through this. At least when my granddad died of cancer two years ago, life at least gave him the blessing to _live_ for several decades before his body started falling apart on him. This girl is barely in the middle of her teen years! 

Life is indeed cruel.


----------



## sas

I'll pause to think of her often; very often. My granddaughter is 13. Yes, too young for such a thing.


----------



## aj47

When my (then 13-yo) son had brain surgery, it was very scary.  The best thing you can do for them is *listen* and if they ask for anything that you can do/give then put your heart into it and do/give it.  What sounds silly or superfluous to you may be a Big Deal to her/them.  (A tiny example--my son was reluctant to shower because of the hassle of covering his PICC entry to waterproof it--so a true genius bought him shower gel that was *red* and in an IV bag dispenser.)


----------



## sas

I've had a couple of misdiagnosed medical scares. When I started feeling sorry for myself, I used this trick to slap some sense into my myself:

I imagined that one of my children had the diagnosis. I know I would have wished it was me instead. So I just pretended I got my wish.

I told this to a friend who was dying. She teared, touched my hand, and thanked me. Later, when we were together with others, just before she died, she caught my eye and nodded. I knew why. She had peace.

Hope helpful. Sas
.


----------



## Kevin

Overheard: 

"...cooch...pooch."

"Your dog?"

"No-ooo..._pat pat_... this, below the belt."

"Ah, 50..."

Silent commissary.


----------



## escorial

been to view a flat situated in a nice part of the city...competitions steep but I'm holding out for a bit of luck....


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> When my (then 13-yo) son had brain surgery, it was very scary.  The best thing you can do for them is *listen* and if they ask for anything that you can do/give then put your heart into it and do/give it.  What sounds silly or superfluous to you may be a Big Deal to her/them.  (A tiny example--my son was reluctant to shower because of the hassle of covering his PICC entry to waterproof it--so a true genius bought him shower gel that was *red* and in an IV bag dispenser.)



stay safe astroannie....real tuff times for you and your kin


----------



## The Green Shield

Good news! My friend's sister is OK!  She's anemic, but the worst is over.


----------



## midnightpoet

And my wife got released from the hospital and is home and feeling better.  Of course tomorrow she gets refills on her meds (now I need a best-seller to pay for everything:mrgreen: - at the price of these meds how can anyone afford to be sick).


----------



## JustRob

I'm in the doghouse and my angel says that she won't contribute to WF any more because I stole her thunder on a thread that I pointed out to her today. Sparks really fly when two Scorpians (not _scorpions_, but almost) fall out. I've tried apologising to her but I also need to apologise to you lot as you may have lost an interesting contributor. Sorry. She'll come back from the greenhouse eventually no doubt.


----------



## midnightpoet

JustRob said:


> I'm in the doghouse and my angel says that she won't contribute to WF any more because I stole her thunder on a thread that I pointed out to her today. Sparks really fly when two Scorpians (not _scorpions_, but almost) fall out. I've tried apologising to her but I also need to apologise to you lot as you may have lost an interesting contributor. Sorry. She'll come back from the greenhouse eventually no doubt.



I'll admit I'm not very adept at a lot of things but pissing off my wife is a piece of cake.


----------



## JustRob

midnightpoet said:


> I'll admit I'm not very adept at a lot of things but pissing off my wife is a piece of cake.



My angel is incredibly tolerant, so upsetting her is a major disaster in my life and although she doesn't begrudge much she can really hold a grudge when she does. In other words, she's consistent, bless her.


----------



## sas

Got lucky and did not clink on bogus link that looked like it came from LinkedIn to my business email. Very, very authentic looking! Heads up! LinkedIn sent me info on how to spot one. If in doubt, contact the so-called sender directly which is what I did. LI responded quickly.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Another productive day! Did my daily writing and reading routine. On page 40 now of the first draft of my WIP. I'm writing it with a typewriter and loving every minute of it. Woo hoo! :glee:


----------



## Sleepwriter

Ate a bowl of homemade gumbo, and I liked it.


----------



## LeeC

Finally got my MacBook to replace my dying iMac, and have migrated all my files and setups. Great computer, but the newfangled trackpad with all its "gestures" is driving me crazy (and I've got it configured for the minimum  gestures). My hands and coordination aren't that good anymore, and I keep going off to unwanted places. Forget my primary intention of getting more drawing done until I get a mouse.

Enough said. I've already gone off to several other places in trying to post this.


----------



## escorial

had a great day


----------



## The Green Shield

Had a busy day. Have to go to work tomorrow (on Saturday) for another busy day.


----------



## sas

The Green Shield said:


> Had a busy day. Have to go to work tomorrow (on Saturday) for another busy day.



Green Shield:  

I've no idea what you do. Thought I'd share that I used to have a sign, on my desk, that read:

"If there were no problems, you wouldn't be needed."

It helped me appreciate why I had a job. Smiles. sas

.


----------



## The Green Shield

sas said:


> Green Shield:
> 
> I've no idea what you do. Thought I'd share that I used to have a sign, on my desk, that read:
> 
> "If there were no problems, you wouldn't be needed."
> 
> It helped me appreciate why I had a job. Smiles. sas
> 
> .


Thanks. I work in a soils lab where I test soils for construction purposes. Though I'm a bit iffy on the idea of me working on the weekends, the way I see it is this: If they didn't need me, they wouldn't have hired me. Besides, my OCD nature is demanding I go back as I've 12 sieves left to do.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Got a new phone. Screen is finally large enough that I can read the forum without my glasses.


----------



## The Green Shield

How does one describe anxiety? Allow me to paint a rather explicit image for y'all.
---
<KNOCK KNOCK>


*ME:* <opens door> "Hello?"


*ANXIETY:* <smirks> "Hello, bitch. I'm here to fuck you up today."


*ME:* "Is this because I have to go to my job today to work overtime?"


*ANXIETY:* <nods> "Yeah, bitch. That's the idea." <attacks>
-----------
In other words, my anxiety has gotten me today. >:[


----------



## Olly Buckle

It is the volume that is doing it, think how dull and boring life would be if one were placid and laid back about everything. As a young man I used to look for danger and thrills all the time to liven things up a bit, girlfriends left because 'You just don't bother, nothing worries you'. Now I have concern for people, but still not much for things. I suppose a surfiet of concern is not good, but surely it is better than none?


----------



## midnightpoet

I'm exhausted.  Since last Friday, when my wife entered the hospital, I've driven an average 100 miles a day (one day about 250) going back and forth from home to San Angelo (40 miles away) including follow=up visits.  Just that is bad enough, but a lot of it at night, which included the car battery failing (with wife and dog in the car).  Fortunately the incident was at a service station, and three people volunteered to get it re-started (which was pretty amazing).

The original problem was complicated by diabetes and high blood pressure, and we got a lot of new medicine, which of course she had problems with. Example, Dr prescribed a diabetes monitor we couldn't afford - but thanks to an understanding pharmacist we found one we could.  All through this we kept running into high-stress situations which was bad for me and terrible for her.

We survived, at least for now.

Life should get less stressful as you get older.  Geez. Not for us.


----------



## am_hammy

Thus far my day has consisted of picking up cupcakes for a party and currently having brunch at an Irish pub and watching a rugby match: Scotland vs Ireland.


Update: Scotland won.


----------



## Kevin

Filipino breakfast... Rice, sweet & sour sausages, two eggs. On the tv is that game  show that once had that English dude, you know, the one from Hogan's Heros? Charles...? Richard...Richard Dawson. Then after him him it was that real smarmy black guy, you know, Harvey something...I don't know.

Well, this is the Filipino version so they speak Tagalog and some English. The mc looks like from a boy-band and the contestants are all about 15. Maybe this is the kid's channel... Boy, those Filipinos are pale. Where are the Negritos? The Brow-nitos? They all look barely Asian. The girls could all be anime models, and Perky too. 

On the walls next to the tv, all over the walls there are about twenty plaques: _shoot for the moon, take action, hope, believe, love, live your life, be brave, be legendary, be bold, teach others, take action... Okay_, I'm ready to go be famous, be a rockstar, be the president, shoot rock stars, aim at their moons.. Wait, what was it again?


----------



## Olly Buckle

am_hammy said:


> Thus far my day has consisted of picking up cupcakes for a party and currently having brunch at an Irish pub and watching a rugby match: Scotland vs Ireland.
> 
> 
> Update: Scotland won.



Would that have been at Twickenham?, I went to see my friend just down the road in Whitton yesterday because the match would have made it impossible today. We took cuttings from his budlia, it is a really unusual colour.

Took some stuff to the charity shop in Hastings and called on a friend, I'm afraid the rats are back in the aviary.


----------



## sas

Took some stuff to the charity shop in Hastings and called on a friend, I'm afraid the rats are back in the aviary.[/QUOTE]

Olly, (note got name right...LOL)

FYI: There is a rat I love, named Ecstasy. When held licks hands, snuggles. He's so good he never, ever poops out of his cage. (can't tell if pees...hmmm).


----------



## Kevin

Was backing down the drive and I noticed a coyote coming between the wires of the barbed wire fence. He'd stopped halfway and was 'marking'. We made eye contact and he started to back away. Then he turned. I made some noises, like I might to call a dog, and his ears adjusted, the open part towards me, but he kept going. 

The field there is where the neighbor leaves the rabbit scraps from his falconry. 

Later that evening, I was out 'marking' in my usual spot. I got the sense that maybe that coyote was next to me on the hill, watching. It made me slightly uneasy- slightly, but I continued. I looked around in the dark and didn't see anything, but when I went to go back inside I saw the outline of ears, head, and then body a ways down the drive. My eyes work pretty good. It was a coyote. They come and inspect things, often.


----------



## sas

Kevin said:


> Was backing down the drive and I noticed a coyote coming between the wires of the barbed wire fence. He'd stopped halfway and was 'marking'. We made eye contact and he started to back away. Then he turned. I made some noises, like I might to call a dog, and his ears adjusted, the open part towards me, but he kept going.
> 
> The field there is where the neighbor leaves the rabbit scraps from his falconry.
> 
> Later that evening, I was out 'marking' in my usual spot. I got the sense that maybe that coyote was next to me on the hill, watching. It made me slightly uneasy- slightly, but I continued. I looked around in the dark and didn't see anything, but when I went to go back inside I saw the outline of ears, head, and then body a ways down the drive. My eyes work pretty good. It was a coyote. They come and inspect things, often.



Loved this story about male marking. One of the most memorable poems I have ever read was on this topic. Everyone should mark their territory. I have to do that with my bark. Smiles.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Was backing down the drive and I noticed a coyote coming between the wires of the barbed wire fence. He'd stopped halfway and was 'marking'. We made eye contact and he started to back away. Then he turned. I made some noises, like I might to call a dog, and his ears adjusted, the open part towards me, but he kept going.
> 
> The field there is where the neighbor leaves the rabbit scraps from his falconry.
> 
> Later that evening, I was out 'marking' in my usual spot. I got the sense that maybe that coyote was next to me on the hill, watching. It made me slightly uneasy- slightly, but I continued. I looked around in the dark and didn't see anything, but when I went to go back inside I saw the outline of ears, head, and then body a ways down the drive. My eyes work pretty good. It was a coyote. They come and inspect things, often.


----------



## Kevin

sas said:


> I have to do that with my bark. Smiles.


 a benefit of 'country' living. No neighbors to call the authorities on you. Maybe you could share a link to said poem? 

It is Super Bowl Sunday but I have no plans to watch. I must be a communist or some other 5th columnist (don't fret, kids, I barely know what that means, myself...just thought it sounded funny. People were serious about that stuff last century...). I'm only interested in team sports if I bet someone. Even the pools don't I've been in don't keep my interest. 

I once even won the jackpot, which was a horse. Gessus, you've thought I'd won a rhinocerous, the way my wife carried on:_"Have you any idea the upkeep!!!" _Here I'd thought I'd done good, I mean I got her a pony, fer chissakes... Anyway, we found a buyer. 

So, the point is... This is go be sociable, drunk day and national sports day , but I'd rather not. Like I said: commie.


----------



## sas

The Road Runner is my absolute favorite cartoon!


----------



## Sleepwriter

Well, I submitted my tax return, and return my math does say.


----------



## aj47

Kevin said:


> It is Super Bowl Sunday but I have no plans to watch.



I had to ask astroandy what the cosplay colors were for the teams involved so I didn't inadvertently wear one today.  I don't have a side and don't want to give the false appearance of having one.  He doesn't follow hand-egg either, but knew the info.

Since LI (yes, they named it after an Asian or Roman or something) is local, it's really important for me not to appear partisan. I'm wearing this shirt.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW you are re-working the first chapter of your fantasy and your MC is now enjoying her first smoke under the teachings of her friend. 


Great, Mishu's now a smoker.


----------



## am_hammy

Olly Buckle said:


> Would that have been at Twickenham?, I went to see my friend just down the road in Whitton yesterday because the match would have made it impossible today. We took cuttings from his budlia, it is a really unusual colour.
> 
> Took some stuff to the charity shop in Hastings and called on a friend, I'm afraid the rats are back in the aviary.



Potentially. Started watching towards the end of the match. It was a championship game. I'm not familiar with the standard arena they use for championship games.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Great productive day! It feels good to get a lot of reading and writing done! = D

Update: I just got today off. I started my reading/writing work at 7 AM and intend to do it until 11 PM. YEAH!


----------



## Sleepwriter

had my first foodborn migraine.  It actually hit me around 9pm the night before, just lasted all of yesterday.


----------



## Kevin

The replacement doors came. The others had been milled improperly. What the heck do you do with custom doors the wrong 'size'?  Toss them. Too bad, there goes $10,000.
The two workers from the fabricator are so pale. Wow. They said it's snow where they're from. Pasty. 
The tank for the sewer pump came. It looks like about 150 gallons. That's a lot of poop. We're 8" too high to 'fall'. That was a mistake- mmm, Civil Engineer - so we had to buy this tank (well, maybe it's not a tank- a 'cistern'?)and a pump that goes in it, dig a big hole, and run electrical...

A piece of art came; in a crate. I get a text:_there's a piece of art coming- the delivery truck is there- _I don't know what it is, but it doesn't belong here; not yet.
_ Put it over there- How long is this going to be here?  
It's not leaving-
_"...well, at least it's in a crate, so it won't get damaged," and then she said: "Now that he knows it's here, he's going to want to see it", which means tomorrow, and I said "Who told him it was here?", annoyed... "There's a bed coming next week." I've learned not to ask why. I have to keep my emotions out of it. We men die of emotion. Uh, no thank you.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Lots of running round for last minute stuff. Taking the missus to the airport tomorrow, she is off to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia for a couple of weeks. I can't get health insurance and don't travel much.


----------



## LeeC

Winter is back  So far this year all we've had is several days with an inch or so of snow. Today though, they forecast eight inches, and we ended up with eighteen inches of snow. Reminds me of what winter used to be like here in New England.


----------



## LeeC

LeeC said:


> Winter is back  So far this year all we've had is several days with an inch or so of snow. Today though, they forecast eight inches, and we ended up with eighteen inches of snow. Reminds me of what winter used to be like here in New England.


Got dug out, with the help of friends. Now Sunday through Monday they're forecasting one to two feet of Snow. I guess we'll see how far off they are. In Maine where my daughter lives, they're already buried, with blizzards forecast through Monday. Hear they're having severe weather down in Louisiana also. These things come and go, but the way we're messing with the biosphere there will be more erratic swings. Humans bury their head in the sand, imagining their own artificial reality, while their protruding rear end gets blown away. Not surprising, humans being but a variation of life forms, with the same behavioral tendencies, where "minds" are focused on their stomachs, or between their legs ;-) 

Inadvertently noticing a news item in the wife's newspaper, brought to mind the 1958 novel "The Ugly American." That and "The Quite American" both depict times I remember well. If you're a student of history, you might see how history keeps repeating itself. 

"_We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them._" ~ Albert Einstein

“_I am just a leaf. Just a leaf falling from the tree so that a new bud may grow._” ~ Gemma Malley, The Legacy


----------



## Winston

Snow is gone after the heavy rain.  Now just ugly grey and blustery outside.

Watched science shows on TV.  The Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt look more inviting today.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

My day is going JUST SPLENDID. 

Tomorrow, though, it's going to snow 15 CM. :O 

I'm the guy that has to go shovel at properties. Oh well.


----------



## escorial

danielstj said:


> My day is going JUST SPLENDID.
> 
> Tomorrow, though, it's going to snow 15 CM. :O
> 
> I'm the guy that has to go shovel at properties. Oh well.



splendid..ha,ha...dude i would invite you around for cucumber sandwiches and tea but it isn't summer yet and i'm sure you would have a spiffing time...


----------



## escorial

just read that evelyn waugh married someone with the same name..what's the odds on that


----------



## aj47

We have the new dishwasher. astroandy installed it.  Yay.  

I may have to surrender Noodle.  My sinuses seem permanently coated with thick mucus that is resistant to over-the-counter and home remedies.  I see my sleep doctor Tuesday and my primary care doctor next week.  I can't use the CPAP while this stuff is going on so I'm not sleeping well and it's likely going to turn out to be allergies. I'm already taking generic claritin.  I know I'm allergic to cats, but I grew up with clowders of them, so I figured I would be okay with the meds.  Maybe not. It's not anaphylactic allergic, just this thick, nasty mucus stuff.  But if my sinuses are messed up from the allergy, and if my docs don't have an answer ...  I know the saying is not to borrow trouble, but there's also sayings about being prepared.


----------



## midnightpoet

God news for a change, wife feeling better - problem had been insulin; hospital dr gave her "pens" to use which were horribly expensive ($800/month) and didn't work.  Her sugar count stayed high.  She finally got a simple vial w/ needles ($40/month) and the first time she used it the count went right down. She had wanted this in the first place but the dr's ignored her until now - which made her right and the dr's wrong!  When will they start listening to patients?  (Uh oh I'll quit now before I climb on my soapbox).

We're working on finding another doctor.


----------



## The Green Shield

Today's my 28th-birthday and tonight my plan is to drink one glass of wine and write my fantasy.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> Today's my 28th-birthday and tonight my plan is to drink one glass of wine and write my fantasy.




Happy Birthday!!


----------



## aj47

Happy natal anniversary.


----------



## Kevin

I spent the morning climbing around the headwaters of our great river, the L.A. River, which spends most of its time as a meandering ghost-water; a road run-off, trash bin with concrete sides and a bottom, in a place where it rains only on occasion; but when it does, watch out : a giant flush that scoures, ripping and killing all except bacteria and the roots of a few mangled marsh dwellers, spitting all out into the sea.


----------



## The Green Shield

Sounds fun! xD I ought to try it out one day. 

My anxiety is compelling me to check on everyone here. So is everyone doing all right? No issues? If you need a place to vent, my inbox is open.


----------



## Elona

So I had a weird victory by not doing _anything_ today. I've been failing to tempt my dog to eat beef kidney for months no matter what I did to it. I left it sitting raw on the stove in a pan while I was working on something else. Suddenly my sister tells me the dog is eating something. 
She'd pulled it out of the pan and was working her way through it!! She has a thing about not eating any more of something if we interrupt her so we turned out the kitchen lights to 'give her privacy' and she ate the whole thing! 

new plan: make her hated foods look 'forbidden' by leaving them conspicuously on the stove. (She knows she's not supposed to pull things off the counter)


----------



## Sleepwriter

Elona said:


> So I had a weird victory by not doing _anything_ today. I've been failing to tempt my dog to eat beef kidney for months no matter what I did to it. I left it sitting raw on the stove in a pan while I was working on something else. Suddenly my sister tells me the dog is eating something.
> She'd pulled it out of the pan and was working her way through it!! She has a thing about not eating any more of something if we interrupt her so we turned out the kitchen lights to 'give her privacy' and she ate the whole thing!
> 
> new plan: make her hated foods look 'forbidden' by leaving them conspicuously on the stove. (She knows she's not supposed to pull things off the counter)



My dogs hang out in the kitchen hoping we drop something on the floor, so they can scarf it up.  That's how we give them their heartworm pills.  We 'accidentally' slide them off the counter and say "Oh No!".  They come running and eat them.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Been missing the missus, she has gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia on an 'Explore' holiday. Got home tonight and got a text, 'Did you see your card?'. It was in the middle of the mantlepiece, I have been walking past it for four days. Doh!

Now I m smiling


----------



## LeeC

Olly Buckle said:


> Been missing the missus, she has gone to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia on an 'Explore' holiday. Got home tonight and got a text, 'Did you see your card?'. It was in the middle of the mantlepiece, I have been walking past it for four days. Doh!
> 
> Now I m smiling


Happy to see your day was brightened  I screwed up (again). Got a ride to the card store in the city, and didn't like their religious selection. Anyway, I ended up with two anniversary cards, and no Valentine's card somehow. Don't know how I managed that. So, on one of the cards I crossed out Anniversary, and wrote Valentine's Day. She was "mildly" amused.


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog was my date for Valentine's Day.  Perfect evening for a walk.  We watched Venus rise through the silhouettes of the big old sugar maples on campus.


----------



## aj47

Lee, do you live anywhere near a Target?  GreetingCardUniverse will do custom cards and have them printed at your local Target for pickup.  (Or you can get them snail-mailed to you if you plan .... I plan.)


----------



## JaneC

Ugh! Spent the day reading a new book and trying not to dive into self-doubt about my book. I put it away almost a week ago and am desperately trying not to open it for a while. I have so many ways things I want my MC to go through but so many doubts!

On the upside, I finished and loved the book I read.


----------



## Kevin

Valentines is men's fave. Just ask.


----------



## aj47

I thought Pi Day (aka s+bj day) was.


----------



## The Green Shield

My appetite is growing. For the first time in my life, I actually have a _desire _to stuff myself with food. I'm hungrier a lot more than I ever used to be. I want to stuff myself with food every single day -- and I don't care if I get chubby! I've lived with this "I-Look-Like-A-Prison-Camp-Survivor" body my whole life. Let it get chubby/chunky! Then I won't be all skin and bones.


----------



## LeeC

astroannie said:


> Lee, do you live anywhere near a Target?  GreetingCardUniverse will do custom cards and have them printed at your local Target for pickup.  (Or you can get them snail-mailed to you if you plan .... I plan.)


Thanks Annie. I knew about Leaning Tree, but your suggestion gives me more choices. Few left in my world to send cards to, and getting to the city is taxing for me and whoever takes me, so I'm going the internet route next time.


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> I spent the morning climbing around the headwaters of our great river, the L.A. River, which spends most of its time as a meandering ghost-water; a road run-off, trash bin with concrete sides and a bottom, in a place where it rains only on occasion; but when it does, watch out : a giant flush that scoures, ripping and killing all except bacteria and the roots of a few mangled marsh dwellers, spitting all out into the sea.


What was it musichal said? "With all those brains we paved paradise and put up a parking lot." ~R. Hal Watson
Ummm ..., better not to get me started ;-) Saw a meme about a pirate ship flying a stars and stripes Jolly Roger. I think you can imagine the details.


----------



## LeeC

JaneC said:


> Ugh! Spent the day reading a new book and trying not to dive into self-doubt about my book. I put it away almost a week ago and am desperately trying not to open it for a while. I have so many ways things I want my MC to go through but so many doubts!
> 
> On the upside, I finished and loved the book I read.



Write what you care about. Then tweak away till you feel you've done the best you can. I'm currently in the process of illustrating my book, both because I love drawing, and potentially to appeal to more of the video nanny raised readership.


----------



## The Green Shield

JaneC said:


> Ugh! Spent the day reading a new book and trying not to dive into self-doubt about my book. I put it away almost a week ago and am desperately trying not to open it for a while. I have so many ways things I want my MC to go through but so many doubts!
> 
> On the upside, I finished and loved the book I read.



The quote on the top of the page says it perfectly. Forget the readers listening in and just listen to yourself. Write whatever it is you want. It's a first draft, it's gonna suck. Don't worry about it. Editing will come _much_ later. So get to writing ​OR I WILL GIVE YOU AN ASSBEATING!!! >:[


----------



## aj47

My son's felony charge is being dismissed.


----------



## escorial

Three times now at the train station I've had a bit of attention of ladies in there twighlight years...Today one said are you getting the Liverpool or Southport train and then she said pity I was enjoying are chat....Yet to neck a granny but never say never...


----------



## PiP

escorial said:


> Three times now at the train station I've had a bit of attention of ladies in there twighlight years...Today one said are you getting the Liverpool or Southport train and then she said pity I was enjoying are chat....Yet to neck a granny but never say never...



Never underestimate a cougar, esc


----------



## Winston

Just booked our 25th anniversary cruise.  It was more money than I'm used to spending, but my love is worth it.
We don't leave until late July. Anticipation...


----------



## The Green Shield

Winston said:


> Just booked our 25th anniversary cruise.  It was more money than I'm used to spending, but my love is worth it.
> We don't leave until late July. Anticipation...


<injects _Kokomo_ in your head> You are welcome.  Oh, and have fun on your cruise!


----------



## aj47

I dual boot Linux Mint and Windows 10.  I mostly live in Mint and boot 10 for things I need.  But when I would, I'd often be greeted by a black screen with spinning dots that my friend Amie called "spinning anal beads" (which phrase I adopted).  They look like this:




only spinning.  And it would be stuck there ... until I turned off my computer.  And then it would stick there again.  Until I let it stick there for a half hour or so and made sure the hard drive light was off and turned off the computer. Then turned it back on.  The problem is, I only booted Windows when I needed it so this delay would be a total pain.

I looked it up and it was because I'd upgraded to the Anniversary Upgrade.  Well, okay.  I backed up my stuff and tried to roll back--it wouldn't let me.  So I opened Internet Explorer and got into chat with a Microsoft support specialist and asked how to roll t back.  I was given a link and told to *Run* it and it would be Win10 without the upgrade.  After an hour, it said that it would install Windows 10 and "keep nothing" (it had the option of keeping everything, keeping personal files and settings, or nothing, but only nothing was available to choose).  I'd backed up, so I accepted the terms and said *Yes*.

After another hour, I had a new Windows 10.  Unfortunately, it couldn't read my backup on the D: drive.  (This isn't all horrible--I have my Documents folder on that drive.) I also keep my *stuff* either on that drive or on the cloud because that way I can access it from either Mint or Windows.  But I had/have to reinstall *lots* of software.  Starting with Google Chrome.  

I've been installing every little thing I need to be comfy.  I probably lost something I'd wanted to keep, but dunno what yet.  Stuff in the Downloads folder for sure. Configs for programs.


----------



## Kevin

Dropped a 70lb rock on my leg right above the knee. It bounced and broke on the ground. Had to walk, climb down the hillside trying not to bend too much. 24hrs later and it feels a lot better. Was reading about athletes pumping clots from deep bruising into their brains. Think I'll give it a few days to grow back the pipes.


----------



## sas

Just back from ski trip up north (Michigan). Afternoon temps 50F; turned to slush, but had good time with granddaughters. Preparing for annual trip to Breckenridge, CO. Hope the snow holds there. I never could water ski. ha


----------



## Darkkin

Had a woman phone in twice about help with placing an online order through another book dealer.Both times she was informed, no we cannot help her with that.  Offered to order the book for her.  Nope.  Apparently we needed to order the book for her through a secondary seller and walk her through the process, so it got done correctly.  Again, we told her, we can't do that as it is not our store or site.  You want our time and service...We're happy to help, but when what the customer wants is not our job, we have a right to say, 'I'm sorry, but we cannot do that.'  I hate entitlement...:uncomfortableness:  People like this really can ruin your day.


----------



## Winston

My latest batch of beer bottle conditioned well.  I'll have to remember that recipe.
Our chickens have started laying eggs again.  Pretty early in the year. I suppose they don't want to be roasters yet.  
Took the boy to the rifle range.  He's still flinching a bit on our larger calibers, but does fine with the smaller boom sticks.  That's why we practice.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Woke up this morning thinking it was Sunday.  The day is almost over, but my brain is convinced tomorrow is Monday.  Not sure how I lost an entire day.


----------



## Darkkin

It's not even a full moon, so the only explanation I can come up with to account for the unprecidented weirdness for today is the rain.  Generally this time of year we have three feet of snow and it is usually well below zero.  Today it was 60 degrees fahrenheit and we've had lines of thunderstorms rolling through.  The only plausible possibility for today is that all that rain and melt water flushed the troglobites from their burrows, driving them to the surface weeks ahead of schedule.  All in all I'm glad the day is done.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a little less bizarre.  On a brighter note, I didn't stab anyone with a pen...And our in-store customers were all right.  It was just one wonky phone call after another.


----------



## Pennywise Purple

Kind of the same as usual. Listened to people's problems, but powerless to do anything about them.
You can only do so much, before it becomes prying.


----------



## moderan

An artist (Yves Tourigny is his name) drew cool pictures of me as a high priest, one of which may be destined to be a card in a D&D-style board game based on a book by Jeff VanderMeer. Part of a series of cards. This is ironic in that I am so extremely lapsed that I can be said to be irreligious. The double sword of irony is that I was reading a story by Richard Cowper, called The Custodians, in which an ascetic monk has visions of the future, when the illustrations appeared in a Facebook thread.



I made barbecued chicken and ribs for dinner for my friends and I, and spent the evening writing my column and making music. And chiefing. Things could be worse.


----------



## Pennywise Purple

Had nothing really on to begin with.
I washed my baseball caps.

That was rather exciting. Mostly because, I liked all the out there designs.
After seeing a close friend get sun cancer. Going to be more sun smart safe.

Reason why I decided to wear them again after years gone by.


----------



## LeeC

A BIL sent me an email with a link to a site called, if I remember correctly, True Facts. I've got his emails flagged as junk mail, so I only noticed it in passing as I cleaned out my junk mail. It occurred to me that the phrase "true facts" is redundant, as the word "facts" indicates that which we know to the best of our understanding to be true. 

I didn't bother mentioning such to him though, as he has his head so far in the sand that he doesn't recognize reason. Talk about manipulation, like "global warming" is now called "climate change" to lessen its portent. A sign of the times that we now call alternate facts true facts, or on second thought I suppose it has always been humankind's Achilles heal. 

"_It's easier to fool people than it is to convince them they have been fooled._" ~ Mark Twain

I noticed on social media where more seem to be picking up the "save Nature" theme. Actually, it's not Nature that needs saving ;-)

“_Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man._” ~ Stewart Udall

"_The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle._

_But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing, he will curse me._

_Have I done all to keep the air fresh?_

_Have I cared enough about the water?_

_Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom?_

_Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild's fondness?_" 


~ Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh



I've had a great life. I hope you all are having a great life also.


----------



## escorial

We'll put LC.....


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> A BIL sent me an email with a link to a site called, if I remember correctly, True Facts. I've got his emails flagged as junk mail, so I only noticed it in passing as I cleaned out my junk mail. It occurred to me that the phrase "true facts" is redundant, as the word "facts" indicates that which we know to the best of our understanding to be true.
> 
> I didn't bother mentioning such to him though, as he has his head so far in the sand that he doesn't recognize reason. Talk about manipulation, like "global warming" is now called "climate change" to lessen its portent. A sign of the times that we now call alternate facts true facts, or on second thought I suppose it has always been humankind's Achilles heal.
> 
> "_It's easier to fool people than it is to convince them they have been fooled._" ~ Mark Twain
> 
> I noticed on social media where more seem to be picking up the "save Nature" theme. Actually, it's not Nature that needs saving ;-)
> 
> “_Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man._” ~ Stewart Udall
> 
> "_The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle._
> 
> _But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing, he will curse me._
> 
> _Have I done all to keep the air fresh?_
> 
> _Have I cared enough about the water?_
> 
> _Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom?_
> 
> _Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild's fondness?_"
> 
> 
> ~ Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh
> 
> 
> 
> I've had a great life. I hope you all are having a great life also.


you know I much prefer pretty girl images (in replies). There's obviously something primal , something natural about it. Can you do something about that, Lee? I don't need naked-anything, just a pretty young face. Okay, never mind that.. 
Why is it I don't trust this monolith, the group or great philosophy forward I'm supposed to align myself with? I'm actually _for_ less human beings. Imagine that? It equates to less usage, and... less human habitation, which _is_ development. Be fruitful and multiply... No! Enough of that. And shut the f...king gates, would you?!  Ever been to those places? Stripped... 
of everything. The fruit doesn't even ripen before it's poached. 

My reality is development: a destruction of natural landscape replaced by a mono-culture of unconnected 'exotics'. I can hear the bulldozers; see them (literally. They're building houses near me). Not to mention pavement. Someone once proposed to me me that perhaps if evolution were true then nature would develop bugs and other critters that used asphalt and concrete surfaces as habitat. Yes, indeed, R.P. * which is plentiful in season (if somewhat grainy; sandy) makes full use of this 'habitat'. I wonder at the genetic limitations, though, the breeding that won't take place because, _dead_ _lays, _well... 

That's how my day was. That and some arguing with subs, some figuring out of storm water, sewage lines; electric; sequencing of what goes first, when this ...(yawn). 

*road pizza


----------



## escorial

Prior to walking in the newsagents I had a conversation about plastic and paper so as I hand my plastic cards over to buy gas,electric,TV,water..Etc I go on about plastic and paper to the guy behind the counter..After leaving the shop I smiled at the face he pulled as I babbled on an I bet you he thought what was all that about..Ha,ha


----------



## Kevin

escorial said:


> Prior to walking in the newsagents I had a conversation about plastic and paper so as I hand my plastic cards over to buy gas,electric,TV,water..Etc I go on about plastic and paper to the guy behind the counter..After leaving the shop I smiled at the face he pulled as I babbled on an I bet you he thought what was all that about..Ha,ha


I wonder... Were you always this expressive, or has something happened to you?


----------



## Pennywise Purple

Stupid ass electricity company wants to take me to court over 40 measly bucks unpaid... Wtf.....
Dude you can make that back in 5 minutes...

Also I paid them some amount weeks ago and they are still hounding my ass...
Electric companies are only cool on Monopoly, I decided.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> I wonder... Were you always this expressive, or has something happened to you?



I'm OK at meeting people and enjoying the experience but I lack the motivation to take it to the next level and I find people who interest me the most don't seem to need another person in their life..Ying an yang man...


----------



## Pennywise Purple

Tunes and all during a wait for my case worker.
The one that helps me cook and with home duties.

Violent J all the way! <3
That and some polish death metal via decapitated.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW you are writing a spin-off of your General Mystery (involving Kevin McKinley) starring a ten-year-old boy who gets himself into a mystery of his own, and Chapter Two opens up with him drafting a brief email to one of the major (female) characters from the General Mystery (both that and this story takes place in the same town, at the same time) and suddenly, you find that you wrote this:




> Heridon typed that email into his email’s address bar, and suddenly the mouse cursor turned into a spinning circle. A second later, a small picture appeared above the name with some basic contact information:
> Kimberly Lars Miggs
> Student at Univeristy of Port Lisha
> Lover of exotic, oddball things
> He didn’t pay too much attention to that, instead he was focused on the image. It was same person he and his brother had met in the McWeegie’s a week prior, only she was now at a beach somewhere, flanked by her two friends all huddled together for a group photo. Is this porn? Heridon asked himself, gawping at Kim’s half-naked form, as all she wore was a bikini. The guys, he didn’t notice, though he did see that Kevin had a large tattoo across his chest, the word ‘VICTORY’ in sharp, bolded ink with white outlines. His eyes went back to Kim.
> She had something metal near her belly button. He squinted, brought his face closer to the screen. It was some type of ring. Why would you do that? He wondered. I thought you only did the ears.
> A car honk from outside snapped him from his daze.





Hmm...


*EDIT:* To be clear, the reason he's trying to email Kim, a college-aged student, is because #1- he found a copy of her email lying on the table at the bar, and #2- he thinks they can help his family with a threatening letter they got claiming they're out to kill his adopted little brother.


----------



## Pennywise Purple

Lack of sleep in the night.
Need to go back to bed.

Class is at 9:30am today and I am not in the right sleep schedule to perform...
Insomnia rears its ugly head once more sighs...


----------



## Kevin

Pennywise Purple said:


> Stupid ass electricity company wants to take me to court over 40 measly bucks unpaid... Wtf.....
> Dude you can make that back in 5 minutes...
> 
> Also I paid them some amount weeks ago and they are still hounding my ass...
> Electric companies are only cool on Monopoly, I decided.


i was thinking a reality show: _Pay or Zap!  -_ for every dollar you owe, you can opt to receive one second of electric shock instead. The power company and you both get a small fee ( and your bill is cleared). So in this case you'd get 40 seconds of non-lethal shock, and we the audience would get 40 seconds of entertainment. I would practice my screaming, and crying- like on a game show- 'exuberance'.  If someone were like really extreme, like owed hundreds, they could place the electrodes in a 'strategic ' location. Eah?! Waddaya think?! Good, right?


----------



## Thaumiel

Nearly had a head on collision in my driving lesson. I think I'll have my license soon...


----------



## Phil Istine

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Nearly had a head on collision in my driving lesson. I think I'll have my license soon...



I'm trying to work out if that's a joke.  I'm glad that you missed him though.


----------



## Pennywise Purple

Kevin said:


> i was thinking a reality show: _Pay or Zap!  -_ for every dollar you owe, you can opt to receive one second of electric shock instead. The power company and you both get a small fee ( and your bill is cleared). So in this case you'd get 40 seconds of non-lethal shock, and we the audience would get 40 seconds of entertainment. I would practice my screaming, and crying- like on a game show- 'exuberance'.  If someone were like really extreme, like owed hundreds, they could place the electrodes in a 'strategic ' location. Eah?! Waddaya think?! Good, right?


Lol. Works for me! Better than the reality in any case. Good work!
If any they zapped off and left me in peace instead...
The fact they are picking on me and I have hardly any money either and a disability is just evil.


----------



## Olly Buckle

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Nearly had a head on collision in my driving lesson. I think I'll have my license soon...



I had a van coming the other way suddenly veer onto my side of the road and the lorry following it start overtaking it on the nearside so the entire road was suddenly filled. Had to stop very quickly. There was street furniture all along the pavement my side and the van had to back up twenty yards , then swung up onto the pavement. Quite woke me up.


----------



## Pennywise Purple

In class atm talking about forums and advertisements.
Also suss stuff happened this morning.

That was unsettlingly awkward.

All I need to say about it is... They made that decision and now they have to deal with the consequences. lol


----------



## Thaumiel

Olly Buckle said:


> I had a van coming the other way suddenly veer onto my side of the road and the lorry following it start overtaking it on the nearside so the entire road was suddenly filled. Had to stop very quickly. There was street furniture all along the pavement my side and the van had to back up twenty yards , then swung up onto the pavement. Quite woke me up.




I'm not so sure how I would hold up in a situation like that in a car without dual controls. Sounds like a diaper moment.


----------



## The Green Shield

Woke up today and my voice is all screwed up. It's croaky, hoarse, and I can't really speak loud enough. Yaaaay! >:[


----------



## Olly Buckle

Pennywise Purple said:


> In class atm talking about forums and advertisements.
> Also suss stuff happened this morning.
> 
> That was unsettlingly awkward.
> 
> All I need to say about it is... They made that decision and now they have to deal with the consequences. lol



No, don't understand. ATM is a cash machine to me, and suss an abreviation for 'suspect' or slang for to realise something.
First rule of writing, write so your readers will understand. Of course you can get away with plenty when you know who your readers are likely to be, but in a thread like this you get aged, un-with it, Englismen like me.


----------



## sas

Olly Buckle said:


> No, don't understand. ATM is a cash machine to me, and suss an abreviation for 'suspect' or slang for to realise something.
> First rule of writing, write so your readers will understand. Of course you can get away with plenty when you know who your readers are likely to be, but in a thread like this you get aged, un-with it, Englismen like me.



Olly,  You took my thoughts right out of my head. Really!


----------



## Olly Buckle

sas said:


> Olly,  You took my thoughts right out of my head. Really!



I get all my best ideas that way


----------



## Pennywise Purple

Olly Buckle said:


> No, don't understand. ATM is a cash machine to me, and suss an abreviation for 'suspect' or slang for to realise something.
> First rule of writing, write so your readers will understand. Of course you can get away with plenty when you know who your readers are likely to be, but in a thread like this you get aged, un-with it, Englismen like me.


Oh my bad! I use a lot of slang a lot of people don't know. 
I blame my dad for that and classmates : D

Anyways. Turned out it was a bust of some sort down near some flats.
Where I live is rather filled with shady dealings, in regards to crime.

I don't use slang in writing or emails (mostly)
I was taught that, by those I learned from.


----------



## escorial

Just ate two scones with butter an jam an a mug of Tea... While lying on the bed listening to classic FM radio, might not be the rock n roll lifestyle one craves but maybe Keith richards does the same when he gets back in the hotel after a gig...


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> Just ate two scones with butter an jam an a mug of Tea... While lying on the bed listening to classic FM radio
> Ight not be the rock n roll lifestyle one craves but maybe Keith richards does the same when he gets back in the hotel after a gig...



You ate a mug of tea...that's impressive Esc was it crunchy?


----------



## The Green Shield

About to head home after a long, productive day at work.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> About to head home after a long, productive day at work.



Did the voice get back to normal without turning into anything worse then ? Hope so.


----------



## Phil Istine

H.Brown said:


> You ate a mug of tea...that's impressive Esc was it crunchy?



The handles are the difficult bit.


----------



## sas

Just mailed my taxes. Now that I'm semi-retired, compiling information is not as brutal. Of course, living on less can be. I adjust. 

Thought I'd share this story:

My son has done quite well with his business. Several years ago, he was fuming that his accountant said he would owe an additional 20K in taxes. He was going on and on about it. I'm thinking, "What a putz."

At that same time, my uneducated, elderly parents (who paid every dime of my college on a blue collar wage; and, never once complained about taxes) were sucking up huge Medicare dollars trying to stay alive. I was grateful Medicare was there (but only there since 1965; my own grandparents went bankrupt over medical bills prior to that), as I knew, if it were the old days, I would be paying for them. 

In short, I told my son to write this on his fucking 20K check (that he could easily pay):

"FOR NONNY & POPO"

He wrote it. He said it made all difference in his attitude. Each year he finds something to write. 

Hope helpful, as you write yours, my friends. Sas
.


----------



## Kevin

Jr. cooked his first meal for all of us last night. 

Considering that in my culture the typical adult can't be bothered to do more than run out to a fast-food joint, and that the art of cooking is generally lost (unless said adult works at a fast-food, but then that machinery is not available for home use, so never mind) he is light-ages ahead of his peer group. 

What at did he make? 

Pasta with peppers, turkey-Italian sausage in a reduced white sauce. Basically Mac'n'cheese but from scratch and with no dehydrated "cheese"ish powder in a foil packet. 

It was good. 

He cut an actual raw onion, and an actual raw garlic, sautéed/ semi-caramelized with olive oil, lightly browned the de-linered sausage pieces, boiled the spirals (noodles) without turning them to mush (which everyone's done, at least once- mush-making...) and finally added some raw baby arugula, which he hates, but which was edible to him, being coated or adjacent-to or so much other flavor ( Parmesan in white-sauce; garlic etc.). 

Well done, Jr. You may well lasso some lassie (other than the one you already have, who I wouldn't replace- such a sweet, intelligent girl). Cooking skills...yes. You see on the desert island, stranded, or other pocolyptic setting you may be extra-valued, eh? Never know...


----------



## The Green Shield

Bad news: I have a head cold and generally don't feel all that great. >:[

Good news: Ordered pizza for lunch.


----------



## escorial

Just made omelette with two eggs that cracked open without breaking yoke in bowl and the other day I tried frying two eggs to put on toast and both yokes broke as I cracked them...Why does life mock me...


----------



## Kevin

You know your eggs are old when...


----------



## LeeC

It's a Kafka world. 

Background: I live in a rural NH village where there are no street names and numbers, only PO boxes. We do have 911 designations that non USPS carriers use.

I tried to register with a carrier to receive email notifications of shipping progress. First their online form said that my physical address (911 designation) wasn't valid, but gave me the option of saying to use it anyway. When I clicked "use the address specified" the form told me that it was a multi-family dwelling, and I had to supply an apartment or unit number. At this point I became aggravated and told them to FO. 

This comes on the heals of them upgrading their tracking system, and overriding my address so my packages were being delivered to the wrong house. Took a month of Sundays to straighten that out. 

Before the 911 designations were established, when asked for a physical address I replied third house south of the PO, about a mile.

Please save me from the clever software engineers, that haven't taken their head out of a coding book long enough to get a feel of the real world.


----------



## midnightpoet

Wife's recent stressful hospital stay triggered an extended diarrhea attack; I know she's suffering, but picture me cleaning soiled pants about 6-8 times a day, washing them, and starting over the next day. Had at least a week on this - first medicine didn't stop it, trying another. Picture me going nuts.  I know, here I go thinking of myself (slaps hand). Should be ashamed.  Hope everyone is having a better day.


----------



## Kevin

Hang in there, midnight. Your wife, too.


----------



## LeeC

midnightpoet said:


> Wife's recent stressful hospital stay triggered an extended diarrhea attack; I know she's suffering, but picture me cleaning soiled pants about 6-8 times a day, washing them, and starting over the next day. Had at least a week on this - first medicine didn't stop it, trying another. Picture me going nuts.  I know, here I go thinking of myself (slaps hand). Should be ashamed.  Hope everyone is having a better day.


I've heard it said that real love is loving someone when they're hardest to love, because that's when they need it the most. Mentioned that to the wife the other day, and she commented that she sure gets tested a lot ;-)


----------



## The Green Shield

On Thursday at 6:30, I'll be attending a talk by the Mobile Writers Guild at my local library and one of the speakers is my former creative writing teacher!  SO EXCITED!!!


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> On Thursday at 6:30, I'll be attending a talk by the Mobile Writers Guild at my local library and one of the speakers is my former creative writing teacher!  SO EXCITED!!!



Now that could be taken either way "So excited! I have been saving rotten fruit anfd bad eggs all week"    Hope it is a good evening, GS.

Picked my love up from the airport tonight, so glad to have her back, a fortnight can be a long time.


----------



## aj47

I had jury duty.  After getting up a half hour earlier than usual, etc. and taking the park and ride bus into downtown and figuring out where I needed to be, I was number 3 in a pool of 65 for a criminal case.  They needed 12 + 1 (alternate) but because of people dithering and claiming they were unable to follow the law because of their consciences (multiple instances that overlapped) the judge believed that 13 jurors could not be empaneled so after several hours of *voir dire* we were all excused to go home.  What a total waste.  

The good news is the trial would have taken tomorrow and Wednesday.  It won't now.


----------



## Plasticweld

Actually a really sad commentary on our legal system and being able to have a jury of your peers.


----------



## aj47

There were two major (several minor) sticking points.  The major ones were:

a) Sentencing guidelines - the defendant was indicted and the charge has a min and max penalty.  Some folks thought the min was too severe and some thought they could never-ever-ever agree to the max, no matter what the circumstances.   Duuude, if you don't like the law, petition your legislators.

b) Constitutional rights - if evidence is shown to have been obtained illegally, it must not be factored into the prosecution's case.  This is not a "technicality" or some sort of voodoo, rather, it's the US Constitution.  Duuude, if you have a problem with THAT, emigrate.

I believe some of the folks lied about their ability to follow the law. They could have done so but would rather have gone home  Bah.  

And, for the record, we don't have a "jury of our peers" in the US.  That's a British thing.  We don't have Peers here.  We have juries of citizens (you have to be a citizen to serve -- there are other qualifications--you have to be of age and of sound mind/body, reside in the county for county court, be able to communicate in English, etc. )


----------



## Plasticweld

I don'  know why you're coming at me with the Duuude shit?  I made a valid comment given the information you supplied.  There are certainly advantages to a jury trial verses a trial by judge.  For whatever reason it appears that in this case I was not an option it is never good when your options are limited when you may or may not be facing jail time.  You sound tired and spent so will chalk up to that


----------



## aj47

Not you, the >bleeping< juror-candidates who wasted my day.


----------



## Plasticweld

Thanks :}


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Reading and writing today?

OHHHHHH YEAH! 

I met my goals and then some. *Pats self on back*.

And winter is fading! HAH! : D


----------



## The Green Shield

Brace yourself, Summer is coming.


----------



## Darkkin

I received a letter, which at first I thought was junk mail.  Turns out it was a letter from an insurance company about a policy my dad had.  He died of cancer in early October, and needless to say, no one was surprised or overly broken up about it.  (It was my mum and paternal grandparents, who raised us.) 

 My siblings still carry a lot of resentment toward our father, and who could blame them.  He was a seriously flawed individual, but our grandparents more than made up for his shortcomings.  They were truly amazing and a huge influence throughout our lives.  Because of them, I really don't have a reason to be angry with my dad.  In all honesty, I think given his circumstances the best thing he ever did for us was leave alone.  He could have made thing difficult, but he didn't.  It is a little thing, but it made a difference.

Personally, I felt a little guilty that I wasn't much more than ambivalent about his passing, but I hadn't spoken to him in years at that point.  The situation is regrettable and still a little weird.

- D. the T.


----------



## sas

Darkkin said:


> I received a letter, which at first I thought was junk mail.  Turns out it was a letter from an insurance company about a policy my dad had.  He died of cancer in early October, and needless to say, no one was surprised or overly broken up about it.  (It was my mum and paternal grandparents, who raised us.)
> 
> My siblings still carry a lot of resentment toward our father, and who could blame them.  He was a seriously flawed individual, but our grandparents more than made up for his shortcomings.  They were truly amazing and a huge influence throughout our lives.  Because of them, I really don't have a reason to be angry with my dad.  In all honesty, I think given his circumstances the best thing he ever did for us was leave alone.  He could have made thing difficult, but he didn't.  It is a little thing, but it made a difference.
> 
> Personally, I felt a little guilty that I wasn't much more than ambivalent about his passing, but I hadn't spoken to him in years at that point.  The situation is regrettable and still a little weird.
> 
> - D. the T.




How interesting that it was his parents who stepped up to help raise you.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Recently got a new Asus laptop for gaming. i7 processor, Nvidia grforce gtx 765m graphics card and 16 gigs of RAM. 

Is this what bliss feels like?


----------



## sas

Found fabulous used bookstore...the kind with books piled sideways, crammed into crannies; one to spend a week in! Best, bought a fabulous 675 page book for 15 bucks: The Outlaw Bible of american poetry, edited by Alan Kaufman. It will be the only bible allowed in my home and prominently displayed. If I ever need to swear on one, this be it! 

Sas


----------



## H.Brown

sas said:


> Found fabulous used bookstore...the kind with books piled sideways, crammed into crannies; one to spend a week in! Best, bought a fabulous 675 page book for 15 bucks: The Outlaw Bible of american poetry, edited by Alan Kaufman. It will be the only bible allowed in my home and prominently displayed. If I ever need to swear on one, this be it!
> 
> Sas



you would love york then Sas there are loads of old bookshops like that. I once spent days finding them all and seeing what they held. I love that old book smell though.

My day has been nice not having to get up at the crack off dawn, spent time with the boyfriend, did my weekly shop, cleaned, been treated to a nice salad for tea and I'm now sat watching telly whilest my other half cooks me pancakes.

Happy pancake day/ shrove tuesday guys.


----------



## aj47

Have a face-to-face writers' group tonight.  This meant reading and critiquing.  My eyes are so freakin' tired because I had to do it on hard-copy.  Even if I only do a page a day, it's still a Big Deal.  And it's not helped by Gary Stu.


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, tomorrow I'll be going to that Mobile Writers Guild meeting at a library close to my house. Friday, I'll be barricading myself in my room playing _Zelda: Breath of the Wild_. So basically today is my last day of boring 'nothing big happening' for this week. Yay!


----------



## LeeC

Yesterday Twitter locked my account again saying they detected malicious activity. Then when I couldn't supply a mobile phone number, they unfollowed everyone my account was following. Seems one is not a real person unless they own a mobile phone to share the number of. I guess it simplifies their world, having such a narrow perspective of the real world. I told them that the only malicious activity on my account has been them, twice now,  destroying months of hard earned networking.

Being mostly shut in, my land line's remote handset is all I need. I can't justify the cost of a mobile phone only to satisfy Twitter's simpleminded perception of the world. I'm considering not starting over with them. 

My likely last big project is illustrating my book, and my grandson is telling me how I'm doing there. It's actually opportune that I'm near the end of my path. With our ship of state now flying a stars and stripes Jolly Roger, those not as far down the road will likely find themselves with much less, if any, Social Security and Medicaid assistance, despite all they've paid into it. Removing the earnings limit would make Social Security solvent indefinitely (instead of only till 2047), but the rich are hearing none of that in our avaricious world. 

"_Many people consider the things which government does for them to be social progress, but they consider the things government does for others as socialism._" ~ Chief Justice Earl Warren

My over the bed table still hasn't arrived. I contacted the manufacture directly, and they told me they have no control over shipping. They deliver their inventory to an Amazon warehouse, and Amazon handles the shipping to customers. They added that delay problems are likely due to a current big disagreement between Amazon and UPS. Just my luck to order it at this time. 

Listen to me complain will you. I've had a wonderful life with friends and loved ones, and more ups and downs to keep things exciting than many will experience. I am especially thankful for my experiences with raw Nature, which keeps me from seeing life only in the artificial human bubble. 

Brings to mind a poetry prompt some might take up: "The color of my love's hair is green, the color of her eyes brilliant blue, ..."

Live with no excuses and love with no regrets. Wishing you all a wonderful life


----------



## escorial

A wonderful life an a future to look forward to... Wow


----------



## H.Brown

Things are looking up for me as well my other half has finally been hired after nearly two years without a job we can now get back on top of things and stop struggling.


----------



## LeeC

Attempting a workaround, I'm trying to figure out how to get SMS text messages on my iPad, without owning a mobile phone.The only VOIP service Twitter will accept is a Google Voice phone number, but there's a missing link I haven't figured out. Things were so much simpler back on the reservation with only crank phones, and they were a luxury. Another day, another frustration eh. Time for bed.


----------



## aj47

You should be able to have a google number point to a landline number.  And use it as your Twit number.  Google voice will let you use your computer to accept texts. 

I don't have a landline anymore because no one needs both and I have a cell.  I also have (and use) a google number.  I give everyone my google number.


----------



## bobo

Hi LeeC - couldn't you just give those Twitters a phony mobil phone number, e.g. something ending ...999999 ??
as fake as this:


----------



## aj47

They use it to text you a verification code.


----------



## LeeC

Digging into the route you suggested Annie, we''ll see. Apple doesn't even mention Google Voice because they're at odds with them, but I've found a few other references that it's possible.

Here it's twelve below with the wind howling up a fuss. Icy drafts throughout this old farmhouse, keeping me close to the wood stove. In my latter years it's times like this that I remark, "Bring it on Global warming, I'll be long gone before the worst of your problems fry even the naysayers."


----------



## The Green Shield

Went to the park with coffee and my iPad to write this morning. Then went home and blew my afternoon playing _Zelda: Breath of the Wild_.


----------



## LeeC

Had a question Annie, since you seem to know a bit about my effort. Does one need both Google Voice and Google Hangout apps installed on their iPad? There seems to be a good bit of overlapped functionality.

At the moment I have both installed on my iPad. I've gotten through testing voice calls and voice mail (both recorded and trans scripted), but haven't tested texting yet. Being her phone so far I was calling and asking for a call back from, the wife got tired of me playing around and went to bed. The ultimate test will be if Twitter accepts the number. For occasional verifications I'll be saving a bundle over a mobile plan. All I need really, as I'm unable to roam, an even the hospital has Wi-Fi when I have to be there. 

One has to save every penny these days, with the stars and stripes Jolly Roger on the high seas trying to subvert my more than paid for Social Security and Medicaid to externalize their business expenses. It saddens me how little empathy there is for our children, in trashing the world they'll have to get by in.


----------



## aj47

I loathe hangouts and the only reason I have it on my phone is that my phone is android. I never use it for anything.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Another great productive day! This weekend I got a ton of writing done. I'm on page 80 of my fourth novel now-- writing it with my typewriter.

YEAH! : D


----------



## LeeC

Success Annie  Twitter accepted my pseudo mobile phone. Beside being able to get verification texts, the voicemail is better than my landline. It not only plays back the message, but provides a transcription also. And, I don't even have to have my iPad active. All traffic is also routed through my Gmail so I get both notifications and emails in Mail on my MacBook, and Gmail does a good job of filtering out the garbage. Amazing what one can do with an iPad (and I suppose other tablets too). 

Anyway, thought I'd show you my little corner of the world. The wife got me the over-the-bed work table, and it swings out (as in the pic) so I can work at it when I'm up in my wheelchair. You can't see much of it, especially folded down as it is, but the wife also made me the quilt on my adjustable bed, all hand stitched. I don't know where she finds the time.  Hey, that's a line in my book, how'd it sneak in ;-)

Live with no excuses, and love with no regrets. 


[click to enlarge]


----------



## moderan

Sold a story and a premise by 9:45 Monday morning. Taking delivery of a new couch. Need to sell another piece to pay for it. Got a market and a concept. Now THAT's motivatin'.


----------



## Clubs_and_Hearts

moderan said:


> Sold a story and a premise by 9:45 Monday morning. Taking delivery of a new couch. Need to sell another piece to pay for it. Got a market and a concept. Now THAT's motivatin'.


Congratz! What type of genre do you generally write for?

Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk


----------



## Guy Faukes

Graduated from my Masters a week ago, landed an entry level job, got a new pad to move into (this Sat) and have a week before I start. Finding it hard to find the motivation to really write right now. A lot of things have happened.


----------



## aj47

My minivan was rear-ended by a RAM Quad.

The only injuries were mine--from the fire ant stings sustained while exchanging insurance info (I wear "no show" socks and they partied on the space between my shoetops and legging ends).

Severe enough I sought medical attention -- I was prescribed steroids.  And told to take benedryl at bedtime.  

I also had to fetch my son from school due to illness and take my daughter to work.  I want benedryl now and a nap.  I've been on my tablet all morning.


----------



## Bloggsworth

Very well - Haematologist rang and said that my scan shows a very good response to chemotherapy...


----------



## LeeC

Interesting bit Annie, and thanks for the info. I removed Hangout from my iPad. It wasn't needed, and seemed more geared to the kiddies playing. It would also tie up my iPad, which I found annoying. 

As long as I'm playing show and tell, we're getting our organic garden going. Don't have that long of a growing season in this neck of the woods, so we have to start indoors. Especially true for the chili peppers I grow. I like stir fried buffalo, peppers, mushrooms, and raw milk cheese as a burrito filling. Actually I put chili peppers in most everything. Keeps this old blood moving.



My natural garden is all native plants that don't need pampering. A lot of furry critters out there this winter, enjoying the hazelnuts, and wild turkeys, grouse, and the like, enjoying the overwinter berries. Lifts my spirit to see biodiversity hanging on, and keeps my mind off the avaricious human bubble. Going to be a lot of shifting and diminishing biodiversity in the years to come with global warming. If we humans are so intelligent, why are we cutting our nose off to spite our faces?


----------



## aj47

Benedryl-and-nap achievement unlocked: 

Pain-level: 2
Itch-level: 6

I have cortizone-aloe stuff to swipe on the affected area.  It helps, but dayum.  I*am *a grown-up, I don't scratch it (much) and so it won't get infected.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Wrote 2500 words today.

Full sails ahead!


----------



## moderan

Clubs_and_Hearts said:


> Congratz! What type of genre do you generally write for?
> 
> Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk



Thank you! I am a weird fictioneer and sports journalist.


----------



## The Green Shield

Woke up, played a bit of _Breath of the Wild. _Some of the Shrines are too easy for my liking. One of them is _literally_ you just using the paraglider and a set of wind turbines to blow you to the statue. :/ Still fun to do, though.

Preparing to start writing, but need my coffee-fix. *I NEED IT, MAN! I NEED IT!!!!*


----------



## aj47

This shows about a dozen of the fire-ant stings on one side of one ankle. I have them on all sides of both ankles--I actually tried to count but stopped after 30 because I was disheartened.  This was the easiest side for me to take a picture of.


----------



## midnightpoet

Know how you feel, got ants doing yardwork one time - was rather comical, me jumping around, yelling, shedding my pants in the front yard.  Hope you're doing better.


----------



## The Green Shield

That Moment When you are taking your clothes off preparing to take a shower, and you decide to spend a few minutes clipping your fingernails. You look up...and see that in the adjacent room's windows, the blinds are up and you see a pair of legs belonging to a painter painting your house. 

In other words, he may have caught a glimpse of me in nothing but underwear.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

astroannie said:


> This shows about a dozen of the fire-ant  stings on one side of one ankle. I have them on all sides of both  ankles--I actually tried to count but stopped after 30 because I was  disheartened.  This was the easiest side for me to take a picture of.
> 
> View attachment 17279





Ouch astroannie! Hope they get better soon, they look painful.


----------



## The Green Shield

Astro, do we need to get you a canine companion? Seems like you always manage to hurt yourself. ;p But seriously, owie.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> That Moment When you are taking your clothes off preparing to take a shower, and you decide to spend a few minutes clipping your fingernails. You look up...and see that in the adjacent room's windows, the blinds are up and you see a pair of legs belonging to a painter painting your house.
> 
> In other words, he may have caught a glimpse of me in nothing but underwear.



Are you sure they were a man's legs, a lot  of women work at jobs like that nowadays. On the other hand what is the difference between being in underwear and being in a public swimming pool or on the beach in a swimming costume; assuming that you don't wear *that* sort of underwear.


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> Are you sure they were a man's legs, a lot  of women work at jobs like that nowadays. On the other hand what is the difference between being in underwear and being in a public swimming pool or on the beach in a swimming costume; assuming that you don't wear *that* sort of underwear.


I don't want people seeing me in my underwear, man or woman!


----------



## sas

The Green Shield said:


> I don't want people seeing me in my underwear, man or woman!



Maybe you need to buy new underwear? 
Guess modesty and I haven't made acquaintance. My family must always remind me to close the bathroom door.


----------



## Darkkin

Well, I've seen an insane number of bald eagles along the river over the last couple of days, along with the huge flocks of migrating pelicans...So cool.


----------



## sas

Darkkin said:


> Well, I've seen an insane number of bald eagles along the river over the last couple of days, along with the huge flocks of migrating pelicans...So cool.



The birds know something bad is coming. Storm?


----------



## Darkkin

No, just the spring migrations.  The pelicans come through in late fall and early spring, and the eagle visit to fish the ice floes and return to their habitual nesting grounds.


----------



## LeeC

The talk about underwear reminds me of the wife having to take me to the medical center rather hurriedly a bit back. She of course stayed by my side, not letting them kick her out, and gave me heck for wearing a t-shirt with a hole in it. Hey, it was clean


----------



## Kevin

She might've noticed before you guys left, but no-ooo


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, looks like Kevin McKinley (protagonist of my General Mysteries) was gracious enough to give me a plot worth working on. :applause: Even gave me a nice title to go along with it. Well done, Kevin. You will survive the first book.


*Kevin McKinley*: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_WHAT WAS THAT!?!_


Nothing. Carry on.


----------



## Darkkin

Just got my copy of the score for _Beauty and the Beast_!  Alan Menken has gone back and reworked his scores from the animated film and the orginal score still ranks among my absolute favourite pieces of music.  :welcoming:


----------



## Winston

Looking for a new convalescent facility for my father-in-law.  
We're pretty much down that slippery-slope of what they call "palliative care".  Just trying to find anyone that understands that second word.


----------



## bobo

Well then, life'll get better for all implicated, right ?? - if they live up to the meaning of 'palliative' as it's understood by wiki: no cure, but relief from symptoms, pain, and psychical & physical stress 
That's quite a lot, don't you think ??


----------



## Winston

I was actually just talking about this with my son.
We're not machines.  To me (at least) life is more than the absence of wont and pain.  If all the people around you do nothing but "their job", life is hollow.
We're looking at a place my parents stayed at.  Perhaps I took their caring for granted, after seeing how this other place treated my father-in-law.
It's hard to put into words.  You can tell when care givers give a damn.  And when they don't.


----------



## bobo

Winston said:


> ....  You can tell when care givers give a damn.  And when they don't.


Absolutely, and it's un-understandable they don't get fired, those who don't give a damn - after all caregivers are supposed to CARE.
(they should submit themselves to a poll from time to time).
Good Luck


----------



## Darkkin

In general I'm not normally a social creature.  I avoid people for the most part.  Somehow I got talked into accompanying a couple of friends to a bar in the middle of bum fart nowhere to listen to a band I never heard of...And....It was awesome!  It was really a pleasure to listen to.  Covers of Simon and Garfunkel and the Everly Brothers, as well as some of their own songs, not to mention and amazing bass medly to close out the night.  Good music plain and simple.  It was the most fun I've had in a long time.


----------



## playerslayer666

These past few days haven't been good. My grandfather died and I had to get a suit today for his funeral. What is more frustrating is HOW he died. It was basically nursing home neglect. I don't care to talk about it much. I'm not even sure why I'm here writing this. Maybe just to let the people who actually use this site know why I'm not around right now.


----------



## Olly Buckle

playerslayer666 said:


> These past few days haven't been good. My grandfather died and I had to get a suit today for his funeral. What is more frustrating is HOW he died. It was basically nursing home neglect. I don't care to talk about it much. I'm not even sure why I'm here writing this. Maybe just to let the people who actually use this site know why I'm not around right now.[/QUOTE
> 
> Sadly this does not seem to be a unique experience, we had some major rows with the (un) care home that my mother in law was in. The most frustrating part was reporting something fairly minor and instead of initiating action being met with a barrage of excuses. We never felt that they could instantly know about every wet bed. We didn't need to be told in detail why it wasn't their fault, we simply wanted someone to change it, at times it would have been quicker and easier to do it ourselves if we had access to clean sheets, Grrr. Very frustrating.


----------



## The Green Shield

Well I almost got into a car wreck. Started backing into my own driveway and a car blazed right by, missing the front by mere inches. 


[SCRUBBED]


----------



## Winston

Just making arrangements to receive family prior to my father-in-law dying.
My one sister-in-law can't make it.  She is having the worst week you can imagine.

Her father is dying soon, and she won't be able to come up here because she tore some leg tendons.  She doesn't have the money to fly and can't drive.  Her dog just died.  Her drunk daughter (our niece) is no help.  Her son-in-law called her employer (probably in a drunken stupor) and accused my sis-in-law of behavior that has instigated an investigation.  Now, she may lose her job.

By comparison, my day is just fine.


----------



## The Green Shield

Winston said:


> Just making arrangements to receive family prior to my father-in-law dying.
> My one sister-in-law can't make it.  She is having the worst week you can imagine.
> 
> Her father is dying soon, and she won't be able to come up here because she tore some leg tendons.  She doesn't have the money to fly and can't drive.  Her dog just died.  Her drunk daughter (our niece) is no help.  Her son-in-law called her employer (probably in a drunken stupor) and accused my sis-in-law of behavior that has instigated an investigation.  Now, she may lose her job.
> 
> By comparison, my day is just fine.


Oh shit.  I've no words to say about this. It's like all the bad things that could possibly happen to your sister-in-law is happening. Wish we could help her in some way.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I had to dig the second hole in two months. 

Both our outside cats are now asleep in death. Tango and Milo. 

Both covered in dirt and cold stone, so any wild predators would not dig them up. 

Tango is marked with a withered old tree root. Milo, an odd rusted metal contraption that resembles a flower.


----------



## LeeC

Today at the grocery store the wife ran into an acquaintance we hadn’t seen in some time. He asked her if I was still alive. The old fart hasn’t any room to talk ;-)


----------



## aj47

The judge signed the dismissal of my son's case today.  So that chapter is over.  Our attorney is finding out about expungement ... after the changing of the court personnel (we elected a new DA in November and the trickling down is happening).  The expungement counts as "new business" so they don't want to initiate it with the old guard.

Meanwhile, I've been so ill, I'm not checking the forum on my phone(!).  I spent the last couple of days horizontal and mostly asleep.  I'm behind on everything.


----------



## Winston

Funeral planning this weekend.  We're looking at Thursday for the service, but the whole thing is a mess.  There was no proper planning by my in-laws prior to my father-in-law's passing.  My wife and her sisters are trying to pick-up the pieces.
One thing they are planning is handing out garden seeds to the funeral attendees.  My father-in-law liked to garden.  Planting, nurturing, cultivating, reaping.  Turn, turn, turn.
My wife wanted me to write the eulogy.  She thinks I'm a good writer.  I know better, and it is clear that I am not.  Her sister will write and deliver the eulogy.  I can just make myself useful as a meat SPAG machine and proofread.  
GTG.  Family needs stuff.  I'm not very good, at anything.  But I try.


----------



## aj47

When my father died, we read the passage from Ecclesiastes.  It seemed more appropriate than the other options we were offered.  It also seems fitting for a gardener.  I hope things settle for you.


----------



## LeeC

The wife is always after me to get up and move about. I guess she wants me healthy when I go  Anyway, today when she came back from the grocery store I tried to help bring the groceries in from the car. She told me to go sit down and stay out of the way. Geez, I can't get anything right. 

Looking forward to my daughter and grandson's visit. I even asked the wife to cut my hair. Not sure how that worked out though. While she was clipping I heard her remark, "That didn't work out so well."


----------



## Bard_Daniel

2500 words and a poem written today. Takin' care of business with time to spare.


----------



## The Green Shield

On a writing binge today.  Who would've thought that writing some random scene in my head that I wasn't sure about suddenly got the ball rolling. Wheeeeeee!!!


----------



## The Fantastical

I actually WROTE a little more of my novel yesterday... Ok it was a hundred words... but hey! It is a hundred words more than I had the day before....


----------



## escorial

The Fantastical said:


> I actually WROTE a little more of my novel yesterday... Ok it was a hundred words... but hey! It is a hundred words more than I had the day before....



sounds like it would be great to read...i do like snippets of the larger thing....


----------



## JustRob

Over the weekend I was corresponding with someone else who has experienced recalling one's future memories, for a long time in his case. He calls it "precall" and has written a book on the subject. He will be giving a talk to the Society for Psychical Research in London about it in a couple of months but I probably won't attend. We both agree that it's nice to know that we are not alone in this though. 

I wasn't expecting any of that or to encounter him, so maybe I'm losing the knack. Well, I did anticipate that it would only last six years and that's just about up now. Perhaps I can get back to my normal life then and that never involved being a writer.


----------



## The Fantastical

escorial said:


> sounds like it would be great to read...i do like snippets of the larger thing....



I write in little chunks... so I writes scenes that go into a chapter that builds the whole of the book. It is actually a really nice way to write if you have a program that helps keep everything strait, which I do, it allows to to write what you have so if you have a brilliant ending scene of a moment between to characters you can write that out into it's own scene and then save it to the general chapter to which it belongs and if I need to move it later.. it is all nicely separate and easy to move.


----------



## The Green Shield

Doing work and jotting down story notes on the side.


----------



## ArtBlinked

The Fantastical said:


> I write in little chunks... so I writes scenes that go into a chapter that builds the whole of the book. It is actually a really nice way to write if you have a program that helps keep everything strait, which I do, it allows to to write what you have so if you have a brilliant ending scene of a moment between to characters you can write that out into it's own scene and then save it to the general chapter to which it belongs and if I need to move it later.. it is all nicely separate and easy to move.


That sounds great, can I ask what program you use? Is there an obline version of it too maybe?


----------



## sas

Just put Rainbow Flag outside my home, in solidarity with my gay granddaughter.


----------



## The Fantastical

ArtBlinked said:


> That sounds great, can I ask what program you use? Is there an obline version of it too maybe?




I use YWriter and as far as I know it is not online... here is a link to the site, maybe things have changed since I downloaded it - 

http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5_Download.html

https://sites.google.com/site/ywritersj/


----------



## aj47

I've had my rent car for a week.  It's a Jeep Patriot and I hate it.  I will never buy one.  I will recommend against them to anyone who asks.  It feels cramped.  The seats feel small, for example. My son rides shotgun and says he's too tall to see traffic signals when we're stopped at them.  This was an alleged upgrade from what we should have gotten.  I can't *wait* for the survey from the rental place.  The only positive is I like the air flow on the vents.  Oh, and it's a pretty metal flake red.


----------



## moderan

astroannie said:


> I've had my rent car for a week.  It's a Jeep Patriot and I hate it.  I will never buy one.  I will recommend against them to anyone who asks.  It feels cramped.  The seats feel small, for example. My son rides shotgun and says he's too tall to see traffic signals when we're stopped at them.  This was an alleged upgrade from what we should have gotten.  I can't *wait* for the survey from the rental place.  The only positive is I like the air flow on the vents.  Oh, and it's a pretty metal flake red.



Sorry. That sux.
I rented a Toyota Corolla over the weekend, and even though they're built for shorter people (I'm medium-sized, but had trouble getting my head in and out), it was very comfortable and also brand-freaking-new (less than 300 miles). Logged almost 700 miles over the weekend. I like driving.
Saw my beloved Cubs in person for the first time if fifteen years. Sloan Park is beautiful and spacious and hideously expensive, and it was 95F, but we were in the shade and didn't buy any ten-dollar Budweisers.
Am waiting for Amazon to say that two of my books are ready to Go Live! Uploaded final versions Friday. They will be my first treebooks since the mid-80s. One collection that has several tales written for the LM (!) and a novella.


----------



## Olly Buckle

moderan said:


> Sorry. That sux.
> I rented a Toyota Corolla over the weekend, and even though they're built for shorter people (I'm medium-sized, but had trouble getting my head in and out), it was very comfortable and also brand-freaking-new (less than 300 miles). Logged almost 700 miles over the weekend. I like driving.
> Saw my beloved Cubs in person for the first time if fifteen years. Sloan Park is beautiful and spacious and hideously expensive, and it was 95F, but we were in the shade and didn't buy any ten-dollar Budweisers.
> Am waiting for Amazon to say that two of my books are ready to Go Live! Uploaded final versions Friday. They will be my first treebooks since the mid-80s. One collection that has several tales written for the LM (!) and a novella.



My wife was from Japan, she grew up immediatetly post war and her generation was small, but she told me the generation after her towered above her, Japan now has a good basketball team, I think adult size is down to nutrition in youth and the perception of the Japanese as short people is out of date. American cars seem pretty huge to us, most European cars, like my Peugeot 206, are tiny by comparison, but one quickly develops the knack of sliding in.

Don't  forget to add those books to the bookstore when they are finally out


----------



## The Green Shield

Enjoying waffles.


----------



## JustRob

Last week I decided to try investing some money in a peer to peer lending company. They match up investors and borrowers and split the loans directly between many investors so that no investor suffers much if a borrower defaults on their loan. Today I got my first interest payment, tuppence! That was actually a single penny from each of two different borrowers. So, if a loan is split between say 300 investors, easily a possibility, and the borrower pays £2.50 in interest, how do they decide who doesn't get a penny? I know they say that there are risks involved with this kind of investment, so I'm inclined to worry about such details ... but not a lot.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> Enjoying waffles.
> 
> View attachment 17378



Man, I haven't had good waffles in about 10 years. I do miss them, or at least the memory of them.


----------



## LeeC

Sleepwriter said:


> Man, I haven't had good waffles in about 10 years. I do miss them, or at least the memory of them.


Reminds me it's sugar mapling time in this neck of the woods. I miss getting out collecting maple sap to boil down.


----------



## moderan

Olly Buckle said:


> My wife was from Japan, she grew up immediately post war and her generation was small, but she told me the generation after her towered above her, Japan now has a good basketball team, I think adult size is down to nutrition in youth and the perception of the Japanese as short people is out of date. American cars seem pretty huge to us, most European cars, like my Peugeot 206, are tiny by comparison, but one quickly develops the knack of sliding in.
> 
> Don't  forget to add those books to the bookstore when they are finally out


Japanese are still shorter on average than North Americans and cars are built on older specs. At 5'11", I have trouble sitting in most cars without hitting my head on the roof. I dunno what that's down to.
I shall certainly add those books. I will be happy to.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just found out something horrible happened in the UK around Westminister. Please be careful, my lovely UK friends, if you're around that area. D:


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> Reminds me it's sugar mapling time in this neck of the woods. I miss getting out collecting maple sap to boil down.


You're making that up. Everyone knows it comes from a bottle


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> You're making that up. Everyone knows it comes from a bottle


The scary thing is you're close to right, with how little many understand the natural world these days. I imagine a fair number believe it comes from that big factory in the sky, the one that has our best interests at heart and bends over backwards to help us. Actually, it's these very Joe/Jane Schmos that are bending over backwards, emptying the change from their pockets till they're bled dry, especially now with the stars and stripes Jolly Roger flying.


----------



## sas

Shhhh.....I cut off my hair.. it seems to want to fall out, so thought I'd help it along. Smiles.


----------



## aj47

moderan said:


> Sorry. That sux.
> I rented a Toyota Corolla over the weekend, and even though they're built for shorter people (I'm medium-sized, but had trouble getting my head in and out), it was very comfortable and also brand-freaking-new (less than 300 miles). Logged almost 700 miles over the weekend. I like driving.
> Saw my beloved Cubs in person for the first time if fifteen years. Sloan Park is beautiful and spacious and hideously expensive, and it was 95F, but we were in the shade and didn't buy any ten-dollar Budweisers.
> Am waiting for Amazon to say that two of my books are ready to Go Live! Uploaded final versions Friday. They will be my first treebooks since the mid-80s. One collection that has several tales written for the LM (!) and a novella.



Our other vehicle is a 2011 pre-owned new-to-us-recently Corolla.  It's nice.  I've only driven it once -- we only have one key so it's a token issue -- but I prefer the Quest.  I have it now.  I am high up--as a short person I am scared to be in short cars.  In the minivan, I feel like I'm equal to other traffic.  

I've seen your Cubbies and I have a Thing about their fans.  At least the ones who come to the JuiceBox. Them and the Tommychoppers are the worst of the OtherFans (with the exception of the three BrewFans who got so drunk they fell on my daughter when we were in Nice Seats).  And now I've summoned a ghost so you get to hear about Danny -- he was a Redbirds' fan.  Now you must understand that before  Houston had the Colt .45s there were the Buffs and they were a farm club for the Redbirds so many of the older fans (and Danny was old enough to be my daddy) followed the Redbirds. He grew up listening to them on the radio.  We met ... doesn't matter, but he had few friends and me, too, and I was baseball obsessed and he understood in a way that few did.  He pitched for the Catholic boys school he attended and so his favorite were the pitchers.  Bob Gibson -- I had to buy him a book on Amazon about Bob Gibson.  He didn't read, but he read that.  I know because I read it first and we talked about it.  Danny went on hospice and didn't tell me.  So I never said goodbye. But that year (2011) he had the best seat ... the best.


----------



## Blade

Kevin said:


> You're making that up. Everyone knows it comes from a bottle



Or cans.When I was a kid we used to get local syrup in 1 gallon cans. I can't imagine what that would cost today.:culpability:


----------



## aj47

I heard a whisper of sas but that was all.

I have a job fair tomorrow.  I'm going to sleep early.


----------



## escorial

Standing waiting to be served at a counter in a card shop I overheard a conversation between another customer and the shop assistant. " We're both orphans me and my husband and we really like to celebrate our birthdays because we never got cards growing up."


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> Our other vehicle is a 2011 pre-owned new-to-us-recently Corolla.  It's nice.  I've only driven it once -- we only have one key so it's a token issue --



You are courting disaster, or at least a lot of wasted time and effort. Get another key cut before you lose that one and have nothing to copy.


----------



## aj47

It's a "smart" key -- it can't simply be "cut" and costs over (does the math) 80 pounds.


----------



## Ariel

I have been busy on the adult-train for a while. My week of adulting has turned into a month of it and I don't see it letting up any time soon. This past week has been spent trying to breathe because allergies have screwed up my sinuses. It makes my phone calls more interesting than usual.


----------



## Firemajic

sas said:


> Shhhh.....I cut off my hair.. it seems to want to fall out, so thought I'd help it along. Smiles. View attachment 17396





Sassssy sas!!! After I recovered from cancer, my hair did not come back in as thick as it used to be... it used to be straight, but came back in mad curls, so I keep it shorter so I can sorta control it... 
I love your sassssy new style.... maybe put in that streak of purple you were talking about...


----------



## sas

Yeah, Fire...but I'd prefer lavender, can't find it.  I've got a streak of white (natural; prefer  to say white not grey) at widows peak and want color there. I don't think I'll need to bleach then to do color. Anyone know? My hairdresser is mad to do it, but I'm not nuts enough to pay for it. I know about chemo hair. A high school friend's hair went super curly afterward and so did my parent partner's (ex-husband). Takes a long time to straighten again. Beats a curling iron, I guess. (I took that photo to send to my daughter, but didn't want her telling my granddaughter yet. She's been bugging me to cut my hair like hers. We leave to ski Colorado next week. She'll see it then. I won't have helmet hair now.)


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> Our other vehicle is a 2011 pre-owned new-to-us-recently Corolla.  It's nice.  I've only driven it once -- we only have one key so it's a token issue -- but I prefer the Quest.  I have it now.  I am high up--as a short person I am scared to be in short cars.  In the minivan, I feel like I'm equal to other traffic.
> 
> I've seen your Cubbies and I have a Thing about their fans.  At least the ones who come to the JuiceBox. Them and the Tommychoppers are the worst of the OtherFans (with the exception of the three BrewFans who got so drunk they fell on my daughter when we were in Nice Seats).  And now I've summoned a ghost so you get to hear about Danny -- he was a Redbirds' fan.  Now you must understand that before  Houston had the Colt .45s there were the Buffs and they were a farm club for the Redbirds so many of the older fans (and Danny was old enough to be my daddy) followed the Redbirds. He grew up listening to them on the radio.  We met ... doesn't matter, but he had few friends and me, too, and I was baseball obsessed and he understood in a way that few did.  He pitched for the Catholic boys school he attended and so his favorite were the pitchers.  Bob Gibson -- I had to buy him a book on Amazon about Bob Gibson.  He didn't read, but he read that.  I know because I read it first and we talked about it.  Danny went on hospice and didn't tell me.  So I never said goodbye. But that year (2011) he had the best seat ... the best.



Astro! You brought up the pitcher I hated, feared and admired...Bob Gibson. He pitched like a damn machine for the St.Louis Cards in the 1968 World Series (or, World Serious, as my mom said. She wasn't being funny) against my hometown Detroit Tigers. I just had my first child, so it was baby and me and baseball makes three! My dad was from St. Louis, so we were needling each other. If my memory hasn't fuzzed, the Cards were up 3 games to 0. Gibson was magnificent. I hated him. Smiles. And, then...the Tigers won the next four to take it all. I felt sorry for Gibson. He pitched twice, I think. I went that night and secretly plastered my dad's car with Tiger shit. Best damn Series I ever watched.


----------



## aj47

There's a term for that.  A friend of mine has red hair except for that white streak right THERE.  And yeah, you don't need to bleach if it's light already.


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> There's a term for that.  A friend of mine has red hair except for that white streak right THERE.  And yeah, you don't need to bleach if it's light already.



Thanks for info. If I stopped dying my hair, it's probably all white. I could have an entire purple head! Hmmmm. Nothing like pissing off the grandkids. They'd have to think of something else to be different. Ha!


----------



## aj47

Well, it's not forever.  It can take awhile if you're not willing to throw dollars at it to fix it if you don't like it.  You're of a certain age so you already know all of that.

My hair is so straight a perm won't last till I get to the door of the salon.  At least the one time I tried.  This was decades ago, so tech may have improved, but i doubt it.  My understanding is it's the shape of the strands and if a cross-section is D shaped, they curl, O shaped, they don't.  I must have what approaches a Platonic ideal circle or something.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My mother had chestnut brown hair and a strip at the front turned white when she was about 19, it looks rather stylish in photos of her as a young woman.

When I was young all the old ladies used to have their white hair dyed pink or lavender, strange how that same group were so critical of young people who went for colours in their hair. I have a memory of an elderly woman with pancake make-up, bright red lips and pendant ear rings pointing at native people with extended ear lobes and face paint on the TV and saying "Oooh, look at them ugly devils", strange how what you do yourself seems normal and in others it is wierd


----------



## Ariel

My blue streak will not go away. It has been bleached and dyed other colors. It just will not go away. It also won't fade.


----------



## bobo

Hi sas, cute pic - what about the front fringe ?? - doesn't it need some cutting ??
(may be 1 inch or so :encouragement


----------



## escorial

looking around my living room I think I might have gone overboard on stripes an colour.....my fav colour is grey....the human mind is odd...


----------



## aj47

I like gray too.  That's my current nail color.  I get compliments on it so I keep using it.  If you buy it as polish, you can get it as "Steel Your Heart" by Orly.  I get shellac because I'm tough on my nails. They're short for Hypoteneuse.


----------



## aj47

Ariel said:


> My blue streak will not go away. It has been bleached and dyed other colors. It just will not go away. It also won't fade.



What I meant was eventually, it could be cut, Tattoos on the other hand are a lot more difficult to be rid of.


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> View attachment 17403
> 
> I like gray too.  That's my current nail color.  I get compliments on it so I keep using it.  If you buy it as polish, you can get it as "Steel Your Heart" by Orly.  I get shellac because I'm tough on my nails. They're short for Hypoteneuse.



We're is your thumb....


----------



## moderan

astroannie said:


> I've seen your Cubbies and I have a Thing about their fans.  At least the ones who come to the JuiceBox. Them and the Tommychoppers are the worst of the OtherFans (with the exception of the three BrewFans who got so drunk they fell on my daughter when we were in Nice Seats).  And now I've summoned a ghost so you get to hear about Danny -- he was a Redbirds' fan.  Now you must understand that before  Houston had the Colt .45s there were the Buffs and they were a farm club for the Redbirds so many of the older fans (and Danny was old enough to be my daddy) followed the Redbirds. He grew up listening to them on the radio.  We met ... doesn't matter, but he had few friends and me, too, and I was baseball obsessed and he understood in a way that few did.  He pitched for the Catholic boys school he attended and so his favorite were the pitchers.  Bob Gibson -- I had to buy him a book on Amazon about Bob Gibson.  He didn't read, but he read that.  I know because I read it first and we talked about it.  Danny went on hospice and didn't tell me.  So I never said goodbye. But that year (2011) he had the best seat ... the best.


We decent Cubs fans disown those people. Are determined as a group to NOT be like the entitled otherfans (I'm looking at you, Red Sox nation and 'best fans in baseball")...to remember who we are, where we come from, and to remember that having a decent team is a privilege. Most of us do not make intercity trips to view games. We can't afford to.
Hell, I was a Gibson fan, too. I remember several tilts between Bob and Fergie -- now those were competitors. Yeah, I'm old.


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> View attachment 17403
> 
> I like gray too.  That's my current nail color.  I get compliments on it so I keep using it.  If you buy it as polish, you can get it as "Steel Your Heart" by Orly.  I get shellac because I'm tough on my nails. They're short for Hypoteneuse.



There was a piece on the radio the other day about nail polish and glues for false nails, apparently some of them need treating with a lamp to finish them, this can be very specific to the particular colour, and some people not following the instructions precisely, or trying to use the wrong lamp, are suffering severe allergic reactions. They also said some people were suffering because the glues used on false nails were so strong they pulled off a layer off the real nail. Made me glad tobe 'au natural', you take care with that stuff.


----------



## sas

I don't polish anything, except egos when absolutely necessary. But....since I retired, not so much now. I wasn't much good at it, anyway. Does that surprise anyone?


----------



## escorial

sas said:


> I don't polish anything, except egos when absolutely necessary. But....since I retired, not so much now. I wasn't much good at it, anyway. Does that surprise anyone?



Not even a bottle of gin...


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

I did three jobs at once while my allergies kicked into maximum overdrive. 

Just four days until my birthday...


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> I don't polish anything, except egos when absolutely necessary. But....since I retired, not so much now. I wasn't much good at it, anyway. Does that surprise anyone?



I'm a biter.  I need the acrylic fake nails to look respectable and the color goes with that.  I don't bite the acrylics.  I rub at them, but don't mess with them to the extent of uglification.

This probably belongs in A Nother Thread but I grew up told I was ugly so it's important to me in the way birthday cards are to esc's shop-mates.  Having specific things I can point to and say "not-ugly" is a Thing.


----------



## aj47

moderan said:


> We decent Cubs fans disown those people. Are determined as a group to NOT be like the entitled otherfans (I'm looking at you, Red Sox nation and 'best fans in baseball")...to remember who we are, where we come from, and to remember that having a decent team is a privilege. Most of us do not make intercity trips to view games. We can't afford to.
> Hell, I was a Gibson fan, too. I remember several tilts between Bob and Fergie -- now those were competitors. Yeah, I'm old.



I don't know but they may be relocates or just grew up with WGN ... a lot of TommyChoppers grew up with TBS and ... it is what it is.

TrueFans don't feel entitled.  They also don't riot--win OR lose.  And at least they play baseball in Wrigley--the JuiceBox has that DH thing going now.... It's why I don't watch baseball.  With Danny gone and the DH here, I had a crisis of faith and ... well, my last baseball poem was "The Honor of Joe Jackson" and I just don't do it anymore.


----------



## moderan

astroannie said:


> I don't know but they may be relocates or just grew up with WGN ... a lot of TommyChoppers grew up with TBS and ... it is what it is.
> 
> TrueFans don't feel entitled.  They also don't riot--win OR lose.  And at least they play baseball in Wrigley--the JuiceBox has that DH thing going now.... It's why I don't watch baseball.  With Danny gone and the DH here, I had a crisis of faith and ... well, my last baseball poem was "The Honor of Joe Jackson" and I just don't do it anymore.



Yeah. I imagine they're WGN fans, not Chicagoans. Most fans don't have that kinda money.
The DH will inevitably be in both leagues. I hate it too, but it is what it is. I remember before Ron Blomberg, but most people don't, and the DH is actually very popular  Most likely, we're looking at no more pitchers batting after the next MLB CBA...it's rumored to be a large chip, and those negotiations are gonna take place in 2022. If not sooner. The ownership reps are already noising things about.
Sorry if that's tmi. I write about the Cubs/baseball for part of my living. It doesn't hurt that I love both, though it's tough sometimes. I have no love for the large money and the politics involved in sports in general. But the games...the beauty of something without a time clock, that carries so much history, with the ages riding on each pitch, on each swing...


----------



## escorial

It's such an influence being a kid on later life and so much negativity can come at you from people close to you or distant...Mental scars never heal and if you can stop them influencing the positivity in your life the perpetrator has fails and they knew they were playing the long game...From my pov and what I've read about you on WF it's such a positive and understanding influence you always give out...astroannie


----------



## The Green Shield

escorial said:


> It's such an influence being a kid on later life and so much negativity can come at you from people close to you or distant...Mental scars never heal and if you can stop them influencing the positivity in your life the perpetrator has fails and they knew they were playing the long game...From my pov and what I've read about you on WF it's such a positive and understanding influence you always give out...astroannie


Your advice speaks wisdom for anyone bearing mental scars of any kind. You're right, the perp only wins if you let them win. Respect, bro.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Early childhood determines almost everything. That's where personality develops. I'd like to think a child should be well-taken care off, even when their parents are not around.


----------



## escorial

such a nice day to stand at a bus stop today and as the traffic was backed up a small blue van with MR TRIX the majic clown written on the side made me smile even though he was sitting there with hat,red nose the full works...never found clowns funny but scary..ha,ha


----------



## The Green Shield

Did some yardwork, including washing the cars. I'm now sopping wet. It's worth it.


----------



## escorial

The Green Shield said:


> Did some yardwork, including washing the cars. I'm now sopping wet. It's worth it.



cleaning the car in a wet t-shirt....what music was playing


----------



## The Green Shield

escorial said:


> cleaning the car in a wet t-shirt....what music was playing



The music of nature. Birds, the breeze, the feel of wet asphalt beneath my feet.


----------



## LeeC

The Green Shield said:


> The music of nature. Birds, the breeze, the feel of wet asphalt beneath my feet.


Reminds me of something musichal said.
"_With all those brains we paved paradise and put up a parking lot._" ~ R. Hal Watson


----------



## Kevin

Saw a bee-swarm clumped on a chain link fence at work yesterday. Spring has sprung and it is time for me to go commiserate, menstruate, comenstruate ( get with!) nature. The sun is playing peekaboo as is the temperature (up/down ) so I'll pack my nighty, I mean windbreaker. Cycling; I'm talking mountain biking, the dirt and the stone under my wheel:  to be free, ride where I want to ride...Single-track -Wee!  Anyway... Enough bragging. Lol


----------



## escorial

stay safe kevin...


----------



## Darkkin

Two new faces have joined the ranks of the 'Ways, and one is actually challenging Star Socks Fox for his position of favourite character.  I feel a bit disloyal, but Fennec the Pocket Fox has a dual layered pelt, the underlayer of which, is a self-contained quantum pocket.  Physics and foxes, socks and pockets.  What is not to like?

As things stand, I will have plenty of material for NaPoem.  Between Nog, Nobody, Heckler, Highlay, Blinkken, Back the Black, the Primaries, Agau the Metafour, and Fennec.


----------



## The Green Shield

There's a scene in my head that I want to work on and post for critique. I plan to use it to analyze and examine a character idea that's been floating around -- specifically a character set in our world who goes from being a kind, compassionate soul to apeshit insane with rage.


----------



## lvcabbie

As some of you may know, I'm posting chapters of an unpublished historical novel on my Father Serra's Legacy blog. Going along nicely until ---- did I miss some chapters? What happened to them? I went through every file I had on research for the novel and the previous ones I wrote. Through old compressed stuff.  

Well, today I figured out what I did. I simply gave my main characters the opportunity to tour 1830 California to show my readers what had happened and how things were going with the turmoil of the area being changed from Spanish to Mexican Rule.

What a relief.


----------



## sas

Packing to leave tomorrow for 10 days of skiing Colorado. I will mostly ski Arapahoe Basin, as highest ski runs in North America, best snow, 13K feet at top, and longest runs, I believe. Mostly locals there, so not the pretty skiing clothes, but real skiers. I ski free there, as over age 70. They figure most of us oldsters won't or shouldn't be there. Soon, I fear, I'll find out they're right. Each year, on last day, I say "this will be my last run." Each year I'm back. Later, folks. Sas


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think I saw those places in Colorado in travel newspaper articles or magazines. Don't know the name, since I was a kid and was impressed since people don't talk about snow where I am from. You have interesting places you do go and travel. Hawaii must also be fun yet an interesting place to visit Americans go to. Personally, I like almost alien-like cultures to visit.


----------



## Thaumiel

Another job interview, really excited about the role. Hearing back from them sometime today or tomorrow. On edge.


----------



## The Green Shield

Good luck!! 

Also, I now have an idea for a historical fiction about the Viking landing of Vinland in 1002 under Lief Erickson through the pov of a young Viking sailor. (Jots down notes)


----------



## Thaumiel

The Green Shield said:


> Good luck!!
> 
> Also, I now have an idea for a historical fiction about the Viking landing of Vinland in 1002 under Lief Erickson through the pov of a young Viking sailor. (Jots down notes)





Thank you. They just rang and said I didn't get it though. Apparently it was "close" but they gave it to someone more experienced. Back to applying to every job under the sun, again.


----------



## aj47

dayum,  There's no disLike button.


----------



## GaryM

It was a great day!  Right up to the point the doctor said no flying until after my next visit (April 27th).  He then went on to say no JFK stuff, really?  JFK flew into instrument conditions his foot was not a factor. Doc rolled his eyes and walked out.

I should have known, he was all glitter and unicorns telling me how nicely the fusion was healing and my text book progress ......  blah.... blah.

ok, rant complete.  I got up today, so everyday is a holiday. I'm thankful.


----------



## Tiashe

A mixture of highs and lows.


----------



## The Green Shield

Chapter One of my fantasy is shaping up!  If you want to take a look, send me a PM and I'll give it to you.


----------



## aj47

After snarls and snags, I have my new blog up.

I'll be changing my sig soon.


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, my Wii U may have officially just died. _Great! Fantastic! _Just when I was enjoying the hell out of _Breath of the Wild_ and *ALMOST DONE WITH THE PLOTLINE!!!*


----------



## JustRob

Today I think I achieved something quite remarkable for a self-proclaimed computer savvy type. Somehow I got myself barred from the site for fifteen minutes by the login page for entering the wrong password too many times. The remarkable bit is that my password is stored in my computer so that I never need to type it in, so how could it possibly be wrong? 

I left my laptop to contemplate its failings alone, which was necessary anyway as the battery needed charging soon, and later on logged in on my desktop machine without any problem. Maybe tomorrow I will check whether my laptop has learned its lesson. 

You have to be strict with these machines and let them know who's the boss or they'll take liberties, and that is the experienced voice of someone with years of IT systems design experience speaking. Start thinking that they are always rational and eventually their gremlins will destroy your wits, if not your soul.

Come to think of it, I wonder what my password actually is.


----------



## bobo

Your password ?? - ask your machine, may be it'll lead you astray - may be not - just remember: it's the first of april !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
even machines know that :cheers:


----------



## Olly Buckle

JustRob said:


> Today I think I achieved something quite remarkable for a self-proclaimed computer savvy type. Somehow I got myself barred from the site for fifteen minutes by the login page for entering the wrong password too many times. The remarkable bit is that my password is stored in my computer so that I never need to type it in, so how could it possibly be wrong?
> 
> I left my laptop to contemplate its failings alone, which was necessary anyway as the battery needed charging soon, and later on logged in on my desktop machine without any problem. Maybe tomorrow I will check whether my laptop has learned its lesson.
> 
> You have to be strict with these machines and let them know who's the boss or they'll take liberties, and that is the experienced voice of someone with years of IT systems design experience speaking. Start thinking that they are always rational and eventually their gremlins will destroy your wits, if not your soul.
> 
> Come to think of it, I wonder what my password actually is.



Set your password as 'incorrect password'. That way if you ever get it wrong it reminds you without your even asking.


----------



## The Green Shield

​All right, good news and bad news regarding my Wii U AC adapter. 


Bad news, my AC adapter is totally dead. 


Good news, I ordered a new one from Amazon.com and it should be in my hands within a week.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

2500 words and a poem done. Holy moley macaroni that was difficult today. Woah! 

Woke up at 6:30 and still rocking out at 9:29 PM. YEAH! : D

Now on page 131 of my W.I.P novel. Cool.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Been having a bit of writer's block for the last while. Get a burst of inspiration but just can't seem to follow it through to the end. Anyone got any tips?


----------



## Darkkin

Took care of a major writer's backlog...More than a week without writing and it had my fingers aching.  The results have turned out well though.  And of everything I've turned out so far, Fennec the Pocket Fox is my favourite.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I find Jack Bickham's advice intelligent and inspiring way to manage to break writer's block. I have been studying his book. The self-concept threatened by external change is a good point for review and remember in his book scene and structure. It helps you establish the character's goal where there are 8 steps. This moves the plot along, and of course cause and effect. His examples gave me some story ideas. Which I will use since I did imagine them differently. The story question needs to get an answer in the climax. The change is what brings the self-concept in conflict and there is a plan of action. 8 steps there are. 

For example, I am a good hunter. That's the self-concept (for example I am an efficient secretary is such a concept). The change is the external event. Let's say a dog dies in an accident. The self-concept is an opinion of ourselves, that maybe no one else holds true but us in our minds (take in mind each major character has a different goal because of their self-concept). We try to enhance it prove it, or the cause and effect tries to disprove it (action). Let's say since I came up with this scenario, that the cause and effect is creating some effects, on the plot. The same day a dog dies, the person's self-concept is questioned even though he dislikes animals he doesn't show it. Or finds them to be entertainment or mere sport or objects of pleasure and entertainment only. That is just one idea. Of course, the dog dying in an accident can turn into a conspiracy, who did it? And why do they want to pin it on the hunter? Maybe he's an important person like a judge in a supreme court of justice or is a politician the mc or someone else. The story question must be answered in the climax. So what is the story question? It is the threatening of the self-concept trying to solve itself as a plan of action during the climax. I was or am a good hunter. An event or change is caused by a person, place or thing. This is a simple plot, but will I ever redeem myself. Of course, the change is how the scene starts. And I won't list all the steps. Let's say he holds an interest in being a good hunter. Will he have his license revoked? For hunting, even though it is a privileged? Will he hunt again despite, thinking he is a good hunter since he became a doctor to live the life of hunting in hunting clubs? A good hunter can mean anything but like the self-concept is an opinion of how highly we regard ourselves. A law-abiding hunter doesn't necessarily mean a good hunter but maybe the hunter thinks the one with a clean conscience is me so I am thus a good hunter by other people's standards and my own. So we can say he can try to undo his accusers, and we explore more of the self-concept. Such as how can I be considered a good hunter if they accuse me of stealing at gunpoint and I am a doctor. Just an example. Say, wasn't I accused I would not harm life, and I harm animals? Just an example. Why is it that no one wants me to heal them unless I lower my fees? Can I be a good doctor and hunter? Maybe that is the conflict? Or the story question at the climax? My brother is a criminal mastermind who sort of hunts for humans instead of people (just a dumb example). I say you can ignore my example if you think in your opinion it did not help. But it helps me. The story question becomes will this man hunt again despite the fact he is planning to practice medicine where lawsuits are a reality. Where the Hippocrates oath means something important (relevant to the plot).

Why do people like to hunt? That might be a part of the self-concept. Maybe because they kill time figuratively speaking. Have no conscience (integrity, morality, ethics), and it clashes with this character and their other self-concept of being a doctor (everyone has a self-concept or strength that is an opinion shared by others, you yourself, or the world). Vis a vis it (the self-concept) is threatened by the clashing of the two identities. I assume people have multiple self-concepts. Currently, I am researching what the self-concept means(these books he mentioned). Prescott Lecky wrote a book on it (Jack Bickham cites him) (Self-Consistency: A Theory Of Personality), and this Japanese psychologist who I don’t recall since his name is not easy to remember. (Symbol, Status, and Personality S. I. Hayakawa)

Returning to the climax if you answer the story question (you have one in the first place; in the climax of all places) you engage audiences from the beginning with a threatening change (related to the self-concept). Which turns in the question and formulates a goal. The self-concept is challenged at the story level by some external event at the very beginning of the story which creates this story question later to be answered at the climax. It's important to remember the best points.


----------



## The Green Shield

My Colonial mystery... Something's a bit off with the end of the first chapter, and I can't seem to keep Amos' blindness consistent. He specifically says, "Under certain lighting I can see blobs/blurs", then a few passages later he can't see a man's face unless they're inches apart, yet he can see a blob of something moving behind him. A few scenes later, he specifically describes being able to see the end of a woman's skirt as she's standing at least three feet away from him...then he's suddenly able to see someone standing _a good ten feet away from the tavern proper_, and vise versa! Sure they're all blurred blobs to him but...

Ugh, I know I may be overthinking things but it feels like his blindness is going all over the place. From "I can't see people unless they're practically touching their nose on mine" to "I can see the blurred image of someone standing a good ten feet away from me." No wonder most writers have their blind characters see zilch, nada, nothing.


----------



## escorial

sitting on the couch this morning...cup of coffee and reading my book when slap/bang on the window a window cleaners extended brush made me jump out me skin.....last night I heard a creaky noise so I get out of bed nothing...then another glass noise but louder so I turned the light on and my Spanish green glass bowl was broke in half...worlds gone nuts


----------



## bobo

Somebody singin in the bath close to you ??


----------



## JustRob

I seemed to spend a large proportion of the day ironing while my angel did needlework. Well, I'm not very fast at it. If I were single I would have to do all my own ironing of course, but then I wouldn't have king size bedclothes to iron, which are a real pain. However, I would also not have an angel making those fantastic waistcoats for me, which is why she spent much of the day doing needlework instead of ironing ... and having a good reason for having a king size bed does make all that damned work worthwhile. On reflection it hasn't been such a bad day all round. And as for yesterday ... no, you're not going to hear about that.


----------



## Theglasshouse

The green shield. You can always try to narrate from the other senses. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JTCJE52/?tag=writingforu06-20

I've been thinking the above book is a good example on how to narrate on smell because I read a book since I have been frustrated with narration from the senses trying to learn it is best by example (imitation seems the best way to learn). Because this book concentrates on a mc, who collects smells to create perfumes. And I remember a book of mine saying he the author uses smell to narrate a lot of his scenes with the express purpose of getting into the mind of his mc who is a killer. They made a movie based on this book.

Maybe you could give him magical powers if he collects smells? Sounds like a fun concept there. Smells would have a purpose. BTW, this book contains whole paragraphs on smelling as the character is sensing. Smell if we can't smell is also a cool concept to explore. Imagine a person who is trying to find unique smells, or what have you to grow powerful or solve crimes, with the help of magic in fantasy or recreating smell. Which is basically impossible I think. The chemistry would be too complex. Otherwise, we'd have a zero crime rate in any part of the world. Because we have new sensitive enhanced senses of a human being.


----------



## The Green Shield

Theglasshouse said:


> The green shield. You can always try to narrate from the other senses. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JTCJE52/?tag=writingforu06-20
> 
> I've been thinking the above book is a good example on how to narrate on smell because I read a book since I have been frustrated with narration from the senses trying to learn it is best by example (imitation seems the best way to learn). Because this book concentrates on a mc, who collects smells to create perfumes. And I remember a book of mine saying he the author uses smell to narrate a lot of his scenes with the express purpose of getting into the mind of his mc who is a killer. They made a movie based on this book.
> 
> Maybe you could give him magical powers if he collects smells? Sounds like a fun concept there. Smells would have a purpose. BTW, this book contains whole paragraphs on smelling as the character is sensing. Smell if we can't smell is also a cool concept to explore. Imagine a person who is trying to find unique smells, or what have you to grow powerful or solve crimes, with the help of magic in fantasy or recreating smell. Which is basically impossible I think. The chemistry would be too complex. Otherwise, we'd have a zero crime rate in any part of the world. Because we have new sensitive enhanced senses of a human being.


I figured out my problem. Basically, I hadn't established how Amos' vision was like. To wit: if it's within his arm's reach and the lighting is good enough, he can _juuuust_ about make out some semblance of shape. If it's too far away and/or the lighting is poor, then his sight is useless. At any rate, he relies more on his other senses than his vision.


----------



## Theglasshouse

The Green Shield said:


> I figured out my problem. Basically, I hadn't established how Amos' vision was like. To wit: if it's within his arm's reach and the lighting is good enough, he can _juuuust_ about make out some semblance of shape. If it's too far away and/or the lighting is poor, then his sight is useless. At any rate, he relies more on his other senses than his vision.


Good observation. There are different kinds of blindness and researching the blindness and types could help sort out that issue with some good research into human medical conditions or using a bit of imagination could help. Maybe what you are describing is severe sort of dim vision or other special condition people could have which is a type of blindness.


----------



## The Green Shield

Theglasshouse said:


> Good observation. There are different kinds of blindness and researching the blindness and types could help sort out that issue with some good research into human medical conditions or using a bit of imagination could help. Maybe what you are describing is severe sort of dim vision or other special condition people could have which is a type of blindness.


Exactly. Amos is severely legally blind. In special circumstances he can make out _something_ even if he isn't sure what it is without using his other senses, yet if he were alive in modern times he'd be using a white cane/guide dog and reading Braille/listening to books on tape. I guess I just need to find out exactly what sort of vision he'd need to fit that parameter.

Hmm...OK, I'm looking at Google. 20/200 means that someone with this vision has to be 20 feet away from an object to see it whereas someone with normal vision can see it 200 feet away. If Amos can kind of see things at an arm's length... 

OK... So basically Amos is near totally blind as all he can really see are blobs of shape if they're close enough (as in an arm's length) and the lighting is good.


----------



## Theglasshouse

The Green Shield said:


> Exactly. Amos is severely legally blind. In special circumstances he can make out _something_ even if he isn't sure what it is without using his other senses, yet if he were alive in modern times he'd be using a white cane/guide dog and reading Braille/listening to books on tape. I guess I just need to find out exactly what sort of vision he'd need to fit that parameter.
> 
> Hmm...OK, I'm looking at Google. 20/200 means that someone with this vision has to be 20 feet away from an object to see it whereas someone with normal vision can see it 200 feet away. If Amos can kind of see things at an arm's length...
> 
> OK... So basically Amos is near totally blind as all he can really see are blobs of shape if they're close enough (as in an arm's length) and the lighting is good.


It is hard to imagine it without pictures. Here is a list of conditions with images of what it is like to live with that condition shown in pictures (it is rather a list of eye conditions with a picture as to how a person would see it in real life).

https://www.slideshare.net/shelleterp/abcs-of-vision-impairments-and-communication-styles

You might/or could need to research the social life of a blind person from a social and medical point of view, and maybe even psychological. I am reminded of these three dimensions from some character questionnaire questions. In some cases people who are blind need help with locating things around the room such as soap as an everyday activity or familiarity with what is around them as they visit a new room. You might need to look into this sort of research. How everyday life is like. Eating and so forth. The usual routines one needs to do.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Make a cup of coffee with WAY too much instant coffee. Apparently I was supposed to use a teaspoon.

 I used two tablespoons.

Oh dear.


----------



## The Green Shield

Good luck sleeping tonight. :}


----------



## Tiashe

Kinda boring cause classes. z-z


----------



## The Green Shield

It's 2:55 am Central here. I'm always an early riser.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Wish I could drink coffee but I am allergic to caffeine. Currently taking some breaks here and there to study books. My books usually take 21 days to get here, that is the business days, the grammar and composition books will take that long to arrive. Currently going to read more about my attention deficit disorder since I had that as a kid. They use to give me the medicine I think for this. But going to see if there are some meta-cognitive strategies to handle it. Currently, now I am at chapter 5, reading carefully on the kindle notes I made for the book I am reading this time making summaries of each chapter I highlighted months ago. Also going to ask my uncle if there is an American psychologist in the area or something close. Besides managing anxiety like my doctor explained a long time ago, or if I was ready for college I might need one. I want to see if there are coping strategies for when I need to read a lot and so forth. I realize I have had some disabilities since a kid and ignored them as an adult and would like to learn more. The American psychology is I think vastly different from the rest. Since this interferes with how you get school work done. I was diagnosed that while in high school and elementary school.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just pounded in 4,000 words in my Colonial Mystery. 


4,000 Words!












WOO!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	








Amos Garnier has truly returned at last!!


----------



## Darkkin

Ended up with a flat tire on the way home from work today...On a brighter note, it was no longer raining like it was this morning, it wasn't dark or cold, and a passerby stopped and put the spare on for me.  There is still good in the world, sometimes it is just hard to see.  That one small act made a huge difference...


----------



## The Green Shield

OK, for real. Do you all really care if I type in a different color or in a different font?


----------



## LeeC

The Green Shield said:


> OK, for real. Do you all really care if I type in a different color or in a different font?


Whatever spins your wheels dude


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Another 2500 words and a poem. Holy moley! : D


----------



## Kevin

Got the ac system up and running... The hvac contractor pointed out the noise of the booster fans to me. No need._. Graf Zeppelin_... There's 4 of them in various locations around the house behind drywall up in the ceiling. "You know they laughed at me when I told them they'd be a problem." Mechanical engineer is going to have out I think...his design. Oh boy...they already were complaining about the bath exhaust fans' noise. Booster fans... If they have to be replaced there's going to be a lot of demolition. 
Had an unexpected 'guest'. Some homeless guy  decided he'd come into the house and sit on the owner's bed- twice. Kicked him out twice. Wth?! 

On a brighter note, when I got home I watched about 10 minutes of _Point Break_ with Keanu and Patrick Swayze. They were at mythical Latigo State Beach ( which is a point break in real life , almost never breaks, and there is no parking lot or sign, blah blah blah..) Poor Anthony of Rhcp was in it and got his ass kicked. Hahaha. That movie ...its  the kookiest... 

Poor Patrick... Weird to think he's gone.


----------



## The Green Shield

Made some progress with my fantasy. =) I love my characters so much.


----------



## H.Brown

So today I had an interview for a managerial position and I wrote the last 2,000 words of the first draft of my novel, so I have had a pretty productive day.


----------



## The Green Shield

I just learned that the replacement Wii U adapter has come to my house. AWESOME! Now to see if I can finally play _Zelda: Breath of the Wild_​ again.

*EDIT: *YES!!! The new adapter works! I can play Zelda again!!!!


----------



## JustRob

My angel and I took a very pleasant walk around Knole Park, the deer park which surrounds historic Knole House. It's actually more entertaining in the rutting season when golfers have to give way to stags fighting on the fairways. We walked through the new wood that was planted some years ago. They've removed the deer fences that had been protecting it and already we noticed that some trees have been ring barked, obviously by deer from the height of the damage. We drove home with the roof on the convertible down, for the first time this year I think. 

They say that it's going to be unusually hot on Sunday, more the sort of temperature that we normally get in June. Apart from that nothing significant springs to mind.


----------



## The Green Shield

So I'm scrolling through my Facebook feed until I find the most _heartbreaking_ thing ever: a post written by a mother detailing her final moments with her four-year-old son as he was dying of cancer. 

Babies, toddlers, and children everywhere,

Can you all please stop dying? That's the job of the elderly, OK? You don't die. They do. 

Sincerely,

Greenie


----------



## Olly Buckle

Met a friend who is over from Brazil today and we walked in Battersea Park. There are some beautiful trees there just coming into leaf.


----------



## Darkkin

Work...Then got Rue out for a walk and still managed to bang out three quatrens for NaPoem!  :cheers:


----------



## The Green Shield

Having my third cup of coffee. Played _The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion_, and while I was doing a DLC quest, I began to think, "Wait, am _I_ the bad guy here? I mean, sure these people hate the Empire and all, but I'm literally entering their village and cutting down their soldiers and laborers one by one like butter."


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> Having my third cup of coffee. Played _The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion_, and while I was doing a DLC quest, I began to think, "Wait, am _I_ the bad guy here? I mean, sure these people hate the Empire and all, but I'm literally entering their village and cutting down their soldiers and laborers one by one like butter."




It's just like the movie "The Karate Kid".  I think Daniel was a bully in their last city, which is why he and his mom had to move, then he manipulated Mr. Myogi into teaching him better fighting skills.


----------



## Kevin

Sleepwriter said:


> It's just like the movie "The Karate Kid".  I think Daniel was a bully in their last city, which is why he and his mom had to move, then he manipulated Mr. Myogi into teaching him better fighting skills.


i have a cousin in Reseda that went to the same school. He eventually took over the CobraKi's and became the Neegin. Real smart dude always two steps ahead...


----------



## The Green Shield

Soooo.... I don't mean to offend the Irish people here but...

I watched a YouTube video about the character of Cait (from _Fallout 4_) and whether or not she was actually Irish/from Ireland. The comments made by the Irish viewers amounted to: "I'm offended!" and "Bethesda's racist" and "I hate Irish stereotypes".

Are you all _that_ easily overly-sensitive? Geez, I thought you all were tough, not little babies crying over a fictional character with an obviously fake accent.  Besides, it's OK to laugh at yourself every once and a while.

Uh...hope I didn't upset anyone! D: (I really gotta stop treating groups of people like delicate wallflowers. Not only is it exhausting, but that in itself is insensitive because it's me presuming who they are before I even know them!)


----------



## Kevin

Greenie, they must be learning from us snivlers. The constant bombardment about 'micro-aggressive' this and that... Please, you're a young person right in the mix of it. 

Being annoyed at a crappy accent however, is something different though. I mean... They could have hired a coach. Unless they're just too cheap. Poor quality is something to be complained about.


----------



## JustRob

No, this isn't it. I'm looking for the thread entitled "_Where_ did your day go?"


----------



## The Green Shield

JustRob said:


> No, this isn't it. I'm looking for the thread entitled "_Where_ did your day go?"


In my back pocket, is where.


----------



## JustRob

The Green Shield said:


> In my back pocket, is where.



You have a loose thread in your back pocket? Well, don't keep any money there then.


----------



## midnightpoet

Good news, wife is better - diarrhea has subsided and the swelling in her legs and feet (water retention) has gone down.  She's lost 17 pounds of fluid in about a week.  She's still weak, but has been able to get in and out of bed by herself.  Another visiting nurse coming today; meanwhile, my leg hurts like hell.  I don't remember hurting it, but I'm surprised I remember anything lately.


----------



## LeeC

Hope you two are out dancing soon


----------



## sas

I'm back from 10 day Colorado ski vacation: Arapahoe Basin "the legend" (at 13,000 ft...you can count on snow that high up & was glorious); Breckenridge; Keystone (long runs, 3.5 miles). I wrote nothin'. You need to "experience living a life" to write anything. Hopefully, my refresh button has been pushed. Here is photo of me with my son at Arapahoe. Do not judge my "helmet hair". Smiles. Despite magazine photos, skiing is not a glamour sport. My 25 year old ski jacket broke & I had to safety pin it closed. I looked like a REAL local skier. Ha.


----------



## H.Brown

Well my day has been great I have handed in my weeks notice at my present job and have been accepted as a Team shift manager at another soft play area, just have to get through this week and then onwards and upwards for me.


----------



## The Green Shield

^ Much yayness to you!!


----------



## Kevin

sas said:


> I'm back from 10 day Colorado ski vacation: Arapahoe Basin "the legend" (at 13,000 ft...you can count on snow that high up & was glorious); Breckenridge; Keystone (long runs, 3.5 miles). I wrote nothin'. You need to "experience living a life" to write anything. Hopefully, my refresh button has been pushed. Here is photo of me with my son at Arapahoe. Do not judge my "helmet hair". Smiles. Despite magazine photos, skiing is not a glamour sport. My 25 year old ski jacket broke & I had to safety pin it closed. I looked like a REAL local skier. Ha.
> 
> View attachment 17583


eh...your 25-y.o. 'jacket' looks pretty hunky. .'Sven' from 'Nooer-vey'? Lol. I am jealous. Of the trip. My snowboard has a couple years of dust now.


----------



## The Green Shield

Typical. In the middle of work, finding myself humming the Zelda main theme song while I'm crushing samples and now I want to be home writing in my book.


----------



## sas

Kevin said:


> eh...your 25-y.o. 'jacket' looks pretty hunky. .'Sven' from 'Nooer-vey'? Lol. I am jealous. Of the trip. My snowboard has a couple years of dust now.




Kevin, 

Damn sorry about your dusty board, pal.

My son will be happy to know he's still considered "hunky" at age 49. I do good work...procreating. I started him skiing when he was 3 years old. The first time I took him he cried, "Mommy, why are you doing this to me!"  (Five days ago I said to him, "Son, why are you doing this to me!").

When he turned 30 he moved far away to Colorado. Be careful what you show your kids. Sometimes I wish I had kept him in the backyard .....not really, though. He has a fabulous, active, invigorating life there. If ya get decrepit early, in that glorious State, there ain't no savin' ya. 

Dust off those boards, Kevin. I feel the tick of the clock, all the time, now. All the time. Pisses me off.  Best. Sas


----------



## J Anfinson

I hate people. That is all.


----------



## The Green Shield

J Anfinson said:


> I hate people. That is all.



:grumpy:[-disturbed:


----------



## Darkkin

I hit the twenty-five mark point for NaPoem tonight!  And the stories are just getting started...:cheers:


----------



## aj47

J Anfinson said:


> I hate people. That is all.


/me too


----------



## The Green Shield

This image perfectly encapsulates my feeling after checking on political sites and talk shows like Secular Talk to see how the world looks.

*Vegeta (playing my anxiety):* "MWAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU ARE MY BITCH NOW!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!"


----------



## Sleepwriter

Fast through the good parts, and just about grinded to a stop during the bad.  So I guess it was a normal day. Yes will chalk this one up as a normal day.


----------



## aj47

Lotion tissues are over-rated. 

ETA:  Sure, they're gentle on your nose, but you can't use them for anything else .... because the lotion gets on stuff.


----------



## Sleepwriter

astroannie said:


> Lotion tissues are over-rated.
> 
> ETA:  Sure, they're gentle on your nose, but you can't use them for anything else .... because the lotion gets on stuff.



Made the mistake of using them to clean my glasses. Won't do that again .


----------



## aj47

it was my phone. I have screen cleaner -- it's all okay now, but dayum, today is sooo not my day.  

I fell down in the rain in the Kroger parking lot attempting to not-step on the little disks they put in rows to slow cars down--I successfully stepped over them, but slid on the wet pavement and lost my balance.


----------



## The Green Shield

^ Damn, and here I thought my day was starting off bad when I woke up with severe anxiety after making the misfortunate mistake of looking into the news of the world.


----------



## sas

The Green Shield said:


> ^ Damn, and here I thought my day was starting off bad when I woke up with severe anxiety after making the misfortunate mistake of looking into the news of the world.




I believe you asked if using colored font bothered anyone. No one gave a thumbs down. But, gawd I hate it. Why are you doing this to me? Smiles. Sas


----------



## bobo

I don't like blue :teapot:


----------



## Kevin

J Anfinson said:


> I hate people. That is all.


Okay... What happened? 

The camel is is coming today. There are only three in existence: one at the consulate in ...... ; one in the UK, somewhere... And one is coming here from Ee-taly. I went to Harbor Freight last night and bought some 'skateboards' ( furniture rolling thingies; 4 wheels, wood frame). They hold 1000 lbs each and I'm using four: 2 under the back feet, two under the front, each set mounted to plywood. The body ( of the camel) is Ferrari - no seriously - it's not even carbon fiber, it's some other poly- something-or-other that they make the race cars out of. 9' tall, 9' long, and 450lbs. I imagine it is smooth, maybe slippery. Life is surreal. Hope it doesn't get away from us; the camel, that is.


----------



## The Green Shield

sas said:


> I believe you asked if using colored font bothered anyone. No one gave a thumbs down. But, gawd I hate it. Why are you doing this to me? Smiles. Sas


Fine. >:[

Pro-tip: never watch the news before bed and then drink a stupidly large amount of coffee the next morning. Anxiety will love that.

Come to think of it... the thing with Trump was probably what got me drinking too much earlier this year.


----------



## Darkkin

I have a good dog, a damn good dog.


----------



## The Green Shield

My anxiety is finally quashed, after taking over me for the past 5 hours. I'm finally relaxed and at peace.


----------



## Schrody

Eh.


----------



## The Green Shield

Ooh, I just found a _perfect_ villain for my sci-fi. And it's actually a villain I'm interested in writing about, not the usual "well, my story needs a bad guy so here's one of 'em."

I think what helped me was that I gave the villain the name of someone I know in real life that I dislike greatly. Strangely enough, it really helps! I'll change the name in future drafts so as to prevent any trigger-happy lawsuits. :]


----------



## sas

Sad about another, today.

As some know, I just returned from 10 day ski trip with my granddaughters to Colorado. Our last day of skiing was Saturday, at Breckenridge. I just read that a 12 year died that same day there...on a very easy run. We were not aware of it. He took a fall & hit a tree stump with his body. He wore a helmet. Tragic.


----------



## PiP

Today was a good day. I went to a ladies lunch (only my second time) and met others who had a passion for gardening and cooking. I've yet to meet anyone who has an interest in writing or poetry  but I live in hope!


----------



## escorial

PiP said:


> Today was a good day. I went to a ladies lunch (only my second time) and met others who had a passion for gardening and cooking. I've yet to meet anyone who has an interest in writing or poetry  but I live in hope!



I found talking to people on a one to one thing about poetry and writing that all they want to talk about is themselves and how well educated they are to express an opinion.....I find WF is perfect for this type of thing minus the stuck up attitude...


----------



## PiP

If i try to talk to any of my friends about poetry their eyes glaze over... and strangers...well, they look at me as though I've just stepped off another planet! Gardening and cooking are far safer topics and I can usually find some common ground. I am going to take my bucket list poem to my mosaic class tomorrow. It's not too heavy as we are a group of wrinklies it will probably appeal because it's not 'proper' poetry


----------



## escorial

Bit like jurrasic park...Life always finds away...


----------



## Thaumiel

I walk home from my girlfriend's house quite late most nights, everything is usually fine, but people start getting a bit cocky when it stops being so cold.

A few years ago I got followed a few times and approached really often (apparently I look like a drug dealer) I got into the habit of putting my hood up and walking around like I own the place. Turns out even these types of people aren't likely to go up to some one that looks like a bit of a thug. People stopped coming up to me, eventually they just kind of disappeared, presumably they also discovered that the pub was more comfortable than sitting in the streets.

Recently though there's been a lot of trouble on my usual route home. Some travellers stopped by in a small park by the library, nothing wrong with them and they moved on the next day but a smashed up caravan they abandoned was set on fire. Turns out another group of kids is now old enough to wander the streets but not sit in the pub. So far they'd been just littering and loitering. 

Around the same time as the fire they'd started stealing crap from the local shops, one a corner shop and one the local Coop. It got to the point where the Coop has employed a security guard.

So what's the natural response?

Obviously, as tonight's antics would suggest, it was to don hoods and masks and try to break into the coop after it had closed and the staff where leaving. I mean, that's what anyone sensible would do.

So where does my day come into this?

People came up to me. Presumably due to me having my hood up and walking around like I own the place. Yes, the police. I've been getting watched, kerb crawled and now stopped for doing what has been keeping me out of trouble. Go figure.

I wish was cold and dark again, then I could have the outside world back to myself.


/rant


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Trying to catch up on all my reading/writing and forum stuff. How did I ever get so behind!? :O

I'll get there. The weekend is free and looking glorious. Go Easter! : D


----------



## aj47

Noodle.  My cat.  (That's singular, no 's' on the end.)

Knocked over (and open) a bottle of dishwashing liquid I keep near my sink for cleaning my CPAP water chamber weekly.

Some spilled.  

She then sat in the sink and got some on her tail.

And did not like the bath she got once I discerned the reason I was smelling dish soap.

(Work gloves, with food service-grade vinyl gloves over them.  Long-sleeved shirt. I am un-mauled.  And wet.  She is unhappy. And wet.)


----------



## The Green Shield

^ Better keep an eye on that feline... She'll get herself into some nasty situations.
---------
Hey all, one of my fantasy characters is sounding dangerously close to Anakin from _Revenge of the Sith._ To wit:

*Orvid Jerni:* "I've become more powerful than anyone could ever dream of. No one can oppose us."


*Ysabelle:* <stroking Orvid's cheeks> "Please! Please, listen to me, love. This isn't the way. No one wants you do this. _I_ don't want you to do this. Please come with me. It's not too late."


*Orvid Jerni: *"And abandon our vision? For too long we've been stomped on, I won't stop now!"


<Mishu Jerni appears>


*Mishu Jerni:* "BROTHER!"


*Orvid Jerni:* <seethes> "YOU BROUGHT HER HERE! YOU TRAITOR!!" <stabs Ysabelle>


*Mishu Jerni:* "NO!"


*Orvid Jerni:* "You've been blinded by propaganda! Lies! I unveiled them, I won't have you put them back into the shrouds! I have secured justice for all the wrongs done to me! YOU WILL NOT STOP ME! ALL WILL LOVE ME!"


*Mishu Jerni:* "You think anyone would love you after what you've done?"


*Orvid Jerni:* "It's not too late, sister. Run. Get lost."


*Mishu Jerni: *"I'm sorry, brother..." <activates blade> "I can't let you.


*Orvid Jerni:* "Then you will die..."


<cue battle>


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Is everybody pumped for the weekend? Mine started this morning. Four days of intense reading and writing? OH YESSIR! : D


----------



## lvcabbie

So, my old PC monitor gave up the ghost and I'm now using my step-grandaughter's HP 19/19 HP monitor that makes everything light and hard to read.

Then, to add insult to injury, went to get into the shower this morning, slipped, and started to fall. Grabbed the shower head and broke the pipe! No showers until they tear up the wall and replace the pipe. Have no idean when that will be.


----------



## aj47

lvcabbie said:


> So, my old PC monitor gave up the ghost and I'm now using my step-grandaughter's HP 19/19 HP monitor that makes everything light and hard to read.
> 
> Then, to add insult to injury, went to get into the shower this morning, slipped, and started to fall. Grabbed the shower head and broke the pipe! No showers until they tear up the wall and replace the pipe. Have no idean when that will be.



oh wow, that's rough.  I don't know which monitor you have but there are things you can do to make it less bright.  If she can't show you, PM me the model number and I'll look it up for you (I'm not mean enough to tell you to google it when it's hard to read).

I can't help with the pipes.  

Been practicing reading poetry.  I'm doing a reading tomorrow night at an anything-goes open mic.  I get 3 minutes.  I changed my mind about what I'm taking.  I'll try to record it--we'll see how it goes.

Our house has fleas.  They were probably brought in on my son's *stuff* from when he visited his friend and stayed the week.  The friend has a dog.  We have a cat, so if a couple got onto the cat, that's all it would take....and that's apparently what happened. So hyper-intense spring cleaning is happening here.  Ugh.  In addition to NaPoWriMo and the other irons I have in the fire.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

astroannie said:


> Been practicing reading poetry.  I'm doing a reading tomorrow night at an anything-goes open mic.  I get 3 minutes.  I changed my mind about what I'm taking.  I'll try to record it--we'll see how it goes.



I'd be very interested in listening to this. Hopefully you can record it! : D


----------



## aj47

The pieces I'm doing are *Don't Leave Your Windows Open*, *Valediction*, and *Duuude*.  You can hear *Duude* in Podcast 7 (on computers, there's a link to the right on the main forum page--on mobile you'll have to look in the Podcast archives).


----------



## Theglasshouse

Going to visit this shop full of old games such as snes, and probably up to wii wiiu, anything not current. I expect game prices to be expensive. It's frustrating for me but I might get lucky. It's a passion of my older brother collecting relics of the past, that is old video games, and I have sold a few myself. I don't expect to find anything uber rare like panzer dragon saga.When I was 5-7 my mom and dad would let us stay at the movie theater with no adults. I remember the sprite bottle trucks drive by every now and then because there must have been a factory of sprite soda. I could smell the smells emanating from the popcorn machine's chamber. Around that age I guess since I was never sad I remembered more than everyone else of my family that was there at the time. (fort Benning, Columbus Georgia my parents use to be military personnel and diplomats).


----------



## aj47

I would love to browse a store like that....our first video game was a Fairchild.  My dad finally bought us an Atari like we wanted... he refused to buy a computer though.  Cuz we were all grrls and grrls don't need computers.  All I wanted was a Commodore PET or an anything, really.  

Anyway, I did the reading, was not able to record it.  It turned out well.  I met an amazing poet named Angel who wrote about his mother, Aurora and I will forever think of him as Angel of the Morning and you can't stop me.  He forced me to take money for a copy of *Eclectica *(I have several print copies that I carry with me to events like this).  The money is in the guitar fund.  I will buy a guitar.  A Baby Taylor or a Little Martin.  

I also spend part of yesterday morning jamming with Allen, the guy who took Hypoteneuse to the luthier.  I learned a cheater's Cmaj (it's inverted and on 3 strings but my fingers can actually *do* it).  We also browsed a guitar store.  They had a Baby Taylor for more money than I have yet.


----------



## Darkkin

Thirty poems in fifteen days...Three storylines nearing completion, and others starting to take very definite form.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My big brother has a small retro video game collection. I used to own an atari. Also had space invaders at some point. That was probably my favorite game and maybe Pacman. Pacman's design came originally from a pizza slice taken away. Oh and also pong. That was fun. Namco the videogame company (that made pacman) made some clones from those games. 

They released them on nintendo 64, and later collections as namco musuem. I am tempted to look for that.


----------



## Kevin

Spent several hours grooming and rebuilding a steep section of my trail. The lower portions were just a matter of cutting back vegetation, black sage and buckthorn mostly, with a smattering of poison oak. 
The upper consisted of moving rocks into and along the base of a natural flume, filling in where the rains had removed them creating dangerous drops, and exposing parallel grooves just wide enough to guide a bicycle tire toward disaster. Very steep, and nearly all stone, a fall there would be - _heh-  _disastrous. 

Upon removing one particularly heavy piece and placing it I happened to catch a glimpse of a never before seen ( by me) type of scorpion. Much larger and darker in coloring, I saw it for a fraction of a second before it disappeared into a seam. Doubtless disturbed during my rearrangements, _where had it_ _lain as my blind fingers struggled to pry and remove, _one can only wonder.


----------



## lvcabbie

Well, it's been an eventful few days.

Slipped in the shower and, in order to keep upright, grabbed the shower head and broke it. The pipe inside the wall. So, for 3 days, sponge baths that I hate.

Then, after fueling our truck at the air force base, my wife fell and fractured her ankle. Two to 6 weeks on crutches. Thank goodness she's got my walker.

My old PC monitor gave up the ghost and had to use my granddaughter's old, clunky one. But, went to Office Max and bought a new, bigger monitor along with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

At least something got better.  :unconscious:


----------



## Bard_Daniel

2500 words and two poems?

A successful day, through and through. : D


----------



## Kevin

lvcabbie said:


> Well, it's been an eventful few days.
> 
> Slipped in the shower and, in order to keep upright, grabbed the shower head and broke it. The pipe inside the wall. So, for 3 days, sponge baths that I hate.
> 
> Then, after fueling our truck at the air force base, my wife fell and fractured her ankle. Two to 6 weeks on crutches. Thank goodness she's got my walker.
> 
> My old PC monitor gave up the ghost and had to use my granddaughter's old, clunky one. But, went to Office Max and bought a new, bigger monitor along with a wireless keyboard and mouse.
> 
> At least something got better.  :unconscious:


sheesh.. You guys on matching blood thinners, or something? Hey, they sell those safety grab -bars. Drilling through tile can be a bit- -depends on how hard it it, but you buy a glass bit if it's real hard.  Noisy as heck. Depends on your tile- how hard it is.


----------



## The Green Shield

Question, I'm starting out my General Mysteries and just wrote this passage.


"
            On the ceiling were four flat screen TVs presenting different channels. One of them was on FOX NEWS who was detailing the bloody conflict in war-torn Syria. Kevin flinched, a painful, nauseating grip tugged at his stomach. He didn’t much care for politics. The others showcased an NFL game, a gameshow, and some type of fantasy. Kevin wasn’t sure what until he heard a little girl exclaim, “When is Dany gonna come?”


            “She’s not at this fight,” her mom said as the screen displayed two armies charging each other over a snowy tundra. One of them waved a blue banner while the other had orange.


 _Game of Thrones!_ Kevin now wished he had brought his friend along. "


Is this going to make my book look dated?


----------



## aj47

So, today I did a tribute page for Tim Griffin as part of my FreeCodeCamp exercises.  It's on CodePen so it's not a stand-alone Web site.  Next up, a portfolio.

Yes, Greenie, it will.  Sorry.


----------



## The Green Shield

I have since corrected it, Astro.

TMW someone on the Historium forum makes you see a topic in a whole new light that you've never considered before. 


... I'm sorry I always trashed them here. They're not _that_ bad. A bit stubborn, pompous, and holier-than-thou, but they're not bad.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Finished War and Peace today. 

Things are looking up! = D


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I know this is a double post, and I should try not to spam, but I'm excited.

I just finished the second draft of the novel I'm editing. 85,754 words of story. I feel VERY good.

YEAH! : D


----------



## The Green Shield

Gotta love social media. I woke up from...



Yaaaaay! I love humans and the world! 

And I go onto my Facebook page and see politics and go...


This world must be cleansed!!!


----------



## yellowducky

lol @ your picture


----------



## Theglasshouse

Good post. Those universities that write research on why countries want to go to war. Should explain why some countries encourage things such as violence, or any sort of problem that is not a big statistic in other countries by influencing or not influencing directly. Is it the government, or culture of these places, or something other than this? It may be a small part or factor. Ironically I always disliked the military being too big in some countries and the population not having any say whether they have gun ownership. If war isn't the answer, what solutions do they have? Is it all related in some way as to how this creates populations that have for the most part no security. IMO these are road states as in places where countries need vast reform to have a healthy government, things can get corrupt. If you improve the values of the citizens you have a peace process.


An example of a road state is France when Napoleon was in power and in history, it was studied and called a road state. I imagine Russia is a road state. Als peace process during the war in war-ravaged countries should be a topic.


----------



## JustRob

I've been writing computer code for days now and it's finally starting to hurt. I've managed to do that sort of work for half a century now and attribute my continuing near sanity to the fact that I have a bad memory and don't recall all the umpteen technologies that I've had to use over the decades. That of course means that I have to learn everything over and over again though. Consequently I am still reading a book entitled "_Teach Yourself C++ in 21 days" _well over twenty years after I bought it. I have of course written a lot of C++ code in that time, according to the evidence stored on my computer anyway; I can't imagine that anyone else could have put it there, so I must have done. To be honest I don't understand how much of it works though, but it does.

I've now decided to give up for today, which is why I am writing this drivel instead. Maybe from it you can tell how damaged my brain currently feels. Exit process;


----------



## Theglasshouse

Dragonball z, I can now see the picture. (I use a software to block pictures from any web page I visit as I don't like to see pictures that can trigger anxiety).


----------



## Darkkin

To most it is just _another_ villanelle, but its links to my _Darkkin Chronicles_ are profound.  My Chronicles connected full circle to my 'Ways.


----------



## Theglasshouse

JustRob said:


> I've been writing computer code for days now and it's finally starting to hurt. I've managed to do that sort of work for half a century now and attribute my continuing near sanity to the fact that I have a bad memory and don't recall all the umpteen technologies that I've had to use over the decades. That of course means that I have to learn everything over and over again though. Consequently I am still reading a book entitled "_Teach Yourself C++ in 21 days" _well over twenty years after I bought it. I have of course written a lot of C++ code in that time, according to the evidence stored on my computer anyway; I can't imagine that anyone else could have put it there, so I must have done. To be honest I don't understand how much of it works though, but it does.
> 
> I've now decided to give up for today, which is why I am writing this drivel instead. Maybe from it you can tell how damaged my brain currently feels. Exit process;


I thought I was more dyslexic that I was previously because I tried to understand structure and sequel, and this isn't me pointing at anyone fingers because it seemed to me that the writer didn't explain it clearly. People got something different out of it. When I read reviews on amazon. But in reality, I felt I needed to read on his only logical book that made sense to me since he expanded on all the points of the scene and sequel and included it (the 38 most common mistake (how to avoid them)(paperback edition the original 1997). 

It happens to all of us, and my memory isn't sharp imo. I was an average student even though I studied specific subjects more than others because I liked them not because of achievement. I never believed in prepping. I never answered questions from exams and studied from those. Studying inefficiently, was my problem. And feeling depressed was also an issue.

However I did have a previous history with a brain incident injury, which I was never diagnosed and memory isn't only the area of the brain. I have no idea how it affected me but I did feel pain during sleep.

As the days go by though my memory improves with my moods, and with health. It will plateau or reach its zenith sooner or later I suspect because I was never the over achiever probably. (medical condition as explained by doctor)

I don't feel offended, just wanted to include what the myth of brain injury could be or really is and probably was defensive.

I admit I am insecure and apologize, just wanted to write this after reflecting on your post. Sometimes I don't think people approve of me maybe because of things that can happen.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Well the wife and I thought we would go try a random non-chain restaurant.  It had several good reviews on yelp, so figured, let's go.  We drove and drove and drove, needed gas, so pulled into this gas station that also did auto repair.  There attached to the side of the station was the restaurant we were looking for.  I've always been a little leary of food bought in or next fuel stations, especially when there is no one in the parking lot.  walked inside and it was as empty as out front.   Food was pretty damn good.  Will return one day.


----------



## Theglasshouse

At least it was not fast food which can be bad for health and which I would eat too much over there I think.


----------



## The Green Shield

I hate fast food. >:[

In other words, I revived that old ninja story and _damn_ I'm starting to love it. I'm 318 words in and I can already feel that the characters are alive and even have a conflict brewing. Why did I wait so long to write this?


----------



## Sleepwriter

Theglasshouse said:


> At least it was not fast food which can be bad for health and which I would eat too much over there I think.




We don't eat fast food, haven't in years.   This was a Greek/Mediterranean restaurant, which made the setting that much odder.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW your mind conjures up a heartbreaking end for one of your side characters in your General Fiction. STAAAAHP, FEELINGS! I'M NOT READY!!! x(


----------



## Darkkin

Resting heart rate 167...:grumpy:  Not good.


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, I just bought Scriviner!


----------



## aj47

spent an hour on the phone with a guy ... I may have talked myself into a job.


----------



## Phil Istine

Darkkin said:


> Resting heart rate 167...:grumpy:  Not good.



Blimey!  I take it you're seeking medical advice?
Hope they can help.


----------



## Theglasshouse

If you have heart arrhythmia coughing every 30 seconds (a long cough as in with effort) helps your heart come back to its normal self (as in help make the chest discomfort go away).


----------



## Kevin

Breathing in and out... Deeper exhales  to release... oxygen dissolving, carbon exchange, Co2 out, slow it down, "Slow down--" breathe, breathing...

I'm sitting in my pickup at the end of the cul de sac eating leftovers-my lunch- and it's 9 in the morning. The sun is out, temperature rising-no wind. Behind me, the workers are cutting away the pepper tree branches grown through the fence. Soon the bobcat will resume cutting and grading. In front of me, retired men with bellies and shorts are smacking whitey - golf-on the other side of the recently replaced fence. The mesh is tighter, 'ball-proof' and harder to climb. For some reason I'm thinking of a Sheryl Crow video with fat men floating in the air._ All I wanna do...is have some fun..,_


----------



## Ptolemy

Darkkin said:


> Resting heart rate 167...:grumpy:  Not good.



Isn't the ideal resting heart rate like 60 to 80? Some people get up to 100 and higher with Tachycardia, and that is downright dangerous in of itself. Like my heart rate is around 43-45 due to my conditioning, and I've gotten as high as 200 in extreme body pushing workouts. After so unless you ran a triple triathlon before sitting down I suggest getting some medical help...


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm tired and incoherent so really don't know what I'm talking about. You all doing ok? What would happen if Rowling and Stephen King had a baby? 


Why is clouds fluffy and white?


(Falls asleep)


----------



## Theglasshouse

Going to be practicing on the internet the 5 w questions, chronological order, concrete versus abstract, and following a few tips I can find with good advice that will help me. There are many exercises on the internet. I should have searched. I thought the books I ordered would be the complete solution. However, might have to less of a need using the book by Warriner than I thought previously as the composition advice is usually simple as even mentioned. However, I need a recommendation on a book that tells me how to construct noun phrases and those sort of phrases or web page. I figure this would help me add some words I sometimes omit from sentences and that I want to improve the syntax. Not saying it is a useless book just that my needs might be covered with just Grammarly and memorizing what people know. But signing up for Grammarly when I get my very next payment which isn't now yet, but the very next time (yearly plan). So I did get better advice on these forums on how to write better than the book itself in my opinion. Since I plan to practice. Still, I am slightly annoyed at times Those books by Warriner cost me over 130. But next time, I'll contact someone if necessary on Goodreads who knows and ask them a question (a reviewer).

Who knows if I may discover more subject matter on paragraphs that will make it much easier for writing narratives tasks. I will also search on the internet on how to go about writing and building clauses for those sentences that require that I do so when improvising. Details are important to add that could be missing in like in a story's sentences for example. As I typed this I added words I felt I needed to add a few details to certain sentences.


----------



## The Green Shield

Hello forumers! 


I'm awake and better again! I'm brainstorming things for my story now -- it's a new project. The one about the magical ninjas.


----------



## gerdun

I was dressed like a baby
fed like an infant 
treated like a teenager 
now I can talk as an adult
disabled but trying 
G.


----------



## sas

gerdun said:


> I was dressed like a baby
> fed like an infant
> treated like a teenager
> now I can talk as an adult
> disabled but trying
> G.




gerdun,  Thumbs up!  And, I did not detect a gripe or whine in you. Bet you are really: disabled and doing.


----------



## The Green Shield

gerdun said:


> I was dressed like a baby
> fed like an infant
> treated like a teenager
> now I can talk as an adult
> disabled but trying
> G.


Keep being awesome and you, Gerdun!


----------



## sas

Heading to granddaughter's 12th birthday party. I am happy to report she wanted a watch, and not a digital one. Both my granddaughters wanted analog! And, a few years ago I thought they would disappear. I'm so glad not! 

Yesterday, on public radio (of course...best stuff there), a 78 year old former physicist and professor was interviewed about his Alzheimer's battle. I had tears and almost needed to pull over. Apparently, a common task they are asked to do each time they see their doctor, is draw an old fashioned clock and a specific time. He talked about his inability to do so, even though he would practice and practice at home. Then he decided to analyze just why he could not do what was once so simple. He saw then, after much concentration, that it required breaking it down into three parts: the little hand, the bigger hand, and the longest sweeping hand. And, which to look at first. Our minds can do this computation effortlessly, until it can't for some, even those once brilliant. On the program he was asked to read a watch. He struggled, at first, but then told the correct time. He was over joyed. So was I.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Just watched Batman and Superman: Dawn of Justice  for like the 100th time, and had a thought.  What if Superman rose as a zombie.  Would kryptonite still affect him since he's undead, and without any how could you stop him?


----------



## aj47

I will be rummaging the filesystem of my laptop for images and documents. After m-a-n-y frustrating hours today, it is in as bad a shape as it was.  It appears my Win10 did not *take *properly and so I'm having the tech give me 7 back.    And a thingie to keep it at 7.

That will happen A Nother Day, after the harvest.  

​dayum


----------



## Ultraroel

Broke up with my GF after 3 years. Couldn't make it work and it sucks.. 
Now going through all the motions of separating and dividing everything we've gathered over the past few years. 

Uugh.. Sometimes I wish I could fastforward some days..


----------



## Kevin

Ultraroel said:


> Broke up with my GF after 3 years. Couldn't make it work and it sucks..
> Now going through all the motions of separating and dividing everything we've gathered over the past few years.
> 
> Uugh.. Sometimes I wish I could fastforward some days..


ouch


----------



## Thaumiel

I have gone a step further into the realms of finding a job. Having finally passed the interview boss battle and leveling up, I have been offered a trial session to see how I'd work.

While I'd much rather just be given the job, this small leap is the most exciting thing to happen so far.


----------



## escorial

foot in the door dude..well done


----------



## The Green Shield

So in another forum I decided to troll someone by acting like an overly-offended person... and one of them pretty much yelled at me to stop wallowing in my own pity and that she'll ignore me.

Just so you all know -- if I ever act "offended" because of a comment regarding disability, I'm just jerking you all around and trying to get you all riled into a frenzy. In short, I'm TROLLING you. I'll let you all know if I'm actually furious, ok??


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 17793


Something as rare as my Star Socks Fox.  The original edition of _The Strangeways to Nowhere_​.


----------



## aj47

omg, it is a job ...


----------



## The Green Shield

Hey everyone! Want me to piss you off? Because that's what I'm apparently doing today -- I managed to piss off  my own boss (somehow) >:[

SO!!!! Stand in line and let me piss you all off because I'm just not gonna win today.​


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Hey everyone! Want me to piss you off? Because that's what I'm apparently doing today -- I managed to piss off  my own boss (somehow) >:[
> 
> SO!!!! Stand in line and let me piss you all off because I'm just not gonna win today.​



If there is one thing I can't stand it is repetetive minor bad language, it is almost as bad as the sort of regimented fool who wants you to 'stand in line'; what! for your convenience, get lost.


----------



## bobo

Olly Buckle said:


> If there is one thing I can't stand it is repetetive minor bad language, it is almost as bad as the sort of regimented fool who wants you to 'stand in line'; what! for your convenience, get lost.



So right you are Olly - especially here on a language site, we should try to behave 
Is it the youthfull elements who is using these distance creating buzz words, as the above ... and I also remarked other places the f.. word very often in use ??
Nobody wants to end up in the gutter, eh ??
- and to be on the safe side, we take a step back.
Hence  such things create distance instead of community - think about it Youth !!


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> If there is one thing I can't stand it is repetetive minor bad language, it is almost as bad as the sort of regimented fool who wants you to 'stand in line'; what! for your convenience, get lost.





bobo said:


> So right you are Olly - especially here on a language site, we should try to behave
> Is it the youthfull elements who is using these distance creating buzz words, as the above ... and I also remarked other places the f.. word very often in use ??
> Nobody wants to end up in the gutter, eh ??
> - and to be on the safe side, we take a step back.
> Hence  such things create distance instead of community - think about it Youth !!


My work here is done. :]


----------



## JustRob

Today I signed up for a one day course at the local education centre entitled "Down the Rabbit Hole", which is unsurprisingly a presentation and discussion of the history, background and associated consequences within society of Lewis Carroll's "Alice" books. This is actually a broad subject, so should prove interesting and I will regard it as penance for writing a novel where a boy, who in a sense went down a rabbit hole, and a girl, who equally in a sense went through her looking glass, meet in a place beyond time and fall in love. 

In fact there is also a character named Caroline in my story, possibly because the story itself is "Carroll-ine" in nature and at one point the writer, myself that is, seems to be depicted with a character named Lewis standing behind him talking while he is trying to write. So okay, maybe I was influenced by those stories, but given all the other plagiarism in my novel it's hardly significant. So, I wonder when they'll do the courses on Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan ... Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy ... Star Trek ... Doctor Who ... oh dear.


----------



## Kevin

Time to take the bicycle in... You see there is a need for tinkerers, and I'm terrible with wrenches. 
Warm wind is howling making all sorts of racket outside, coming in waves- up, down in strength-  crashing which is great brush-fire weather. The extra rain that came this year should make for some real excitement in the coming months. Get out your weedy-whackers, everyone. Prepare...

I need to get up there and do a little trimming myself along the trail. Not for protection, just  for usage. Around the house is all ready cleared.


----------



## Darkkin

I finished a rubaiyat and maintained the syllable count...(for the most part.)  Not something I've tried before.  I know my piece is trite, but I have to say, I like the form.


----------



## escorial

Darkkin said:


> I finished a rubaiyat and maintained the syllable count...(for the most part.)  Not something I've tried before.  I know my piece is trite, but I have to say, I like the form.



cool you expand on your poetry styles...do you have a fav and is there a reason why..?


----------



## Darkkin

escorial said:


> cool you expand on your poetry styles...do you have a fav and is there a reason why..?




Villanelle is the favourite child because it is a keystone form.  It combines not only the tercet, but the 3/4 lilt quatrain on the close, as well as solid refrain work.  If you know how to do it, you can transpose across the gamut of classic forms.  Rubaiyat, terza rima, kyrielle, terzanelle, quatern, enclosed tercet...All of them have features in common with villanelle.  It is the power chord of the poetry forms.


----------



## The Green Shield

Found this little guy in my backyard yesterday and took a picture. :> Hope you all enjoy his presence.


----------



## dither

Nice one Green Shield.

I don't dare mention my weekend it was so good.
Experience has me looking over my shoulder already.
Why can't I just enjoy and to hell with the black stuff?


----------



## bobo

Today, the first of May, the job-seekers/un-employed are selling lily-of-the-valleys in the streets here in France  :love_heart:


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Had an LONG workday and I'm still finding time to read and write and even get on the forum! Woah, I guess it must be my day.


----------



## The Green Shield

Woke up with a headache and my anxiety telling me it's brain cancer. 

My anxiety is getting more and more vicious now. It knows the old stuff that used to freak me out no longer does, so it's finding new things to scare me with. Now it's cancer and death.


----------



## sas

The Green Shield said:


> Woke up with a headache and my anxiety telling me it's brain cancer.
> 
> My anxiety is getting more and more vicious now. It knows the old stuff that used to freak me out no longer does, so it's finding new things to scare me with. Now it's cancer and death.




Someday you'll be right about, at least, one of them.


----------



## Darkkin

A maimed unicorn wrapped in a selkie pelt, a boy with no voice or name, a good dog, lost, a demon trouncing bunny, a quantum fox, a nonsense stealing gannet, the swans of life and death, a beast of three faces, a glass girl as silent as the nameless boy, and an ocean bottle holding a voice that has been held silent for too long...This is my day.


----------



## escorial

an you still got the night to come...


----------



## Theglasshouse

Brain cancer no. Don't read things on the internet. Remember a doctor will be honest and knows more. They studied medicine and can critically think the issues (symptoms). Plus brain cancer gives headaches. I have my fair share of headaches. 

Anyways people with brain cancer are always depressed sometimes even with medicines. Definitely not that I think is probably what they will tell you. I thought since I was a hypochondriac of many things.

If you need medicine for extreme anxiety ask the doctor.


----------



## who me?

it was a day like all days that altered and illuminated our times

the bureaucrats are busy making civilisation collapse
and there is nothing we can do to stop them
whilst we may not see it you can be sure the grandkids will suffer severely

~90 years to armageddon and counting 
but it could come sooner


----------



## aj47

I uploaded my first GItHub repo today.  My name there is baseballpoetess as my regular name has been taken.


Also, I created a video of my poem *s.on.net*​ 


[video=youtube_share;i42M6OksHzU]https://youtu.be/i42M6OksHzU[/video]


----------



## Theglasshouse

I use to write war poetry. Even tried a contest one time.I don't see much war poetry on this forum. It's my favorite genre of poetry. I remember this poet laureate comparing war to a zoo and that inspired me to write some poetry. Still, I like reading poetry for different reasons. I think the subject matter is much wider for poets than for fiction writers. Experimentation in poetry and subjects must be something interesting. I also tried my hand at a hospital poem a good while ago. (many years from now) I tried and wrote another one that's setting was a circus as a war poem. I know I have liked reading poetry here.

Owens' poems I read in high school with the mustard gas used a poetic device in a poem and the one where there is a goat that is sacrificed.

In my opinion, this poetry has a nice rhyme. And it ends on a good note, almost as if building up the final message giving the final words on what a sonnet is.

I guess nowadays people go the internet and values have decayed because of electronic media. Because people don't read things such as poetry like they use to. That's is what happened in history. Every country seemed to practice it seemed including the far east.

I wish I knew who the people who write in these subjects are right now if it inspires but usually I am behind the rest of people in technique. Someone in family writes poetry for living in his mother tongue language (in spanish). My mother's family has 11 brothers and sisters combined. (8 uncles and 3 aunts) That's a big family but my grandfather was Catholic whose father was a priest. And oddly enough he had a Jewish heritage. But turned catholic and there are very few Jewish people in the country we probably know, and that is because there are few people who seem to practice it. Or because in his words it helped him reason the world.


----------



## The Green Shield

The last week has taught me a great life lesson:

#1- *ALWAYS* take your meds.

#2- Don't visit sites/read things that trigger your anxiety.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Erased it since it was too long. I don't want to explain the whole thing here of the book I was reading.


Anyways green shield, a real fact is what did happen to me. I did stop taking my medication for a while when I refused to treat myself. I was convinced people were calling me dumb because of the medicine which my concentration was at an all time low. It was really probably a sign of my disease. (memory problems and illogical when I knew that I could not think and had to write and summarize often difficult subject matter(cyber bully and other people ). I take my medicine always. The drug or medicine for the disease can have powerful and adverse (very harmful) withdrawal effects, that can affect your brain for short term or long term. It should only be withdrawn with medical instructions (doctor's orders as case varies since the medicine combined you take has an overall effect often) on how to. And seeing as the majority of us people who have special needs, need them. It makes sense to not do that. (they doctors say for example this reduced amount dose should be taken for a period of days, and then gradually until it stops at a certain time of the day since it needs to cover all of the days. I take my two medicine tablets and 3 meds at night plus these medicine drop medication) The medicine stays in your system for a while. Its biochemistry of the body that can alter your state of thinking is my impression. You can also get diseases from stopping from taking them as I said before.

Try your best to take it, people actually get the mental disease by not taking it. I read this a while back, and my current doctor when I told him knew another reason why I had it. Besides all the events of stress and depression at the time.

Also, I revised my story and had submitted to a well-known magazine for speculative fiction. I wonder why it is stuck at 79 for 2 days. Oh well, we will see what happens. All I did was move 1 number ahead. And I have no idea why it is so slow but at least it says in progress. It's a 
professional magazine. The longest I lasted there was over 60 days but that is downright bizarre).

Tomorrow is the 3rd day though so it is a wait and see approach.


----------



## C.Gholy

Decent day today. Nice to have a painless day.


----------



## aj47

Theglasshouse said:


> I use to write war poetry. Even tried a contest one time.I don't see much war poetry on this forum.



I think part of it is we're told to write what we know... and war is foreign to many of the forum denizens.  My favorite song (going on 30 years) is about WWII and I consider lyrics to inhabit the same mindspace as poetry so yes, I think I recognize what you're describing.

My poetry tends to be informed by tech, by math, by science.  Because I am.  It is why I write of the ethernet and such.  And baseball (for many years).  Although I've never played baseball, I studied it like I've studied algebra or coding and so I had a sense of it when I wrote that was rather in-depth.  I even SABRed for a while (which is the geek side).


----------



## Kevin

Killed several thousand freons today. I know it's just a drop in the bucket , and basically meaningless in regards to the long term outcome of the war, but I felt good about it, if only immediately afterward. 

When I was younger I used to feel as if I sat in an afterglow, reliving the experience for hours,  but it seems that, as I age, that sense of well-being, lessens. I no longer am able to look forward to it with a combination of fear and excitement like I used to. I learned that two of my cohort are the same age as I, but you would never guess as I look a decade older. I think perhaps, I take things too hard and the resultant stress has aged me. I know one of them colors his hair, while the other says it's because he's fat (that this somehow _softens_, making him appear younger), but the still doesn't account for the rest of my exoskeleton ( beside my thinning mohawk). I think it helps not to look in the mirror too hard, limiting myself to 7x searches of selected areas in need of periodic pressing. 

The elevator company finally completed their work today after three hours with the city inspector. It seemed a long time but they assured me it actually was not, considering that we were able to forgo all fire safety system equipment inspections due to the requirement that we eliminate all of them. It seemed counterintuitive, but the lead inspector had said that any remnant might cause someone in the event of a fire emergency to expect that the rest of the system might be operational and therefor relied upon. 

Immediately after signing everything over, the lead worker from the elevator company called his office and then informed me that they would not release the elevator until they received a payment (in the 5 figures). He then handed me the phone where I heard it again from the person who throughout the project had successfully led us up and down a roller coaster of "you're all good" to "you didn't follow the punch list", "you don't need this" to "you need this and this and this" - "okay, I think you're all good", till finally I had to call the city and get a pre-inspection jobsite consultation with all parties present so as to cut through the conflicting information as to what all were supposed to be required to have installed. There he was, on the phone now, Mister on-purpose confuse and obfuscate for months, but I was able to keep my composure, said officer of the company who evidently has it in for us being at the far end of the telephone line (metaphysical line I know, but in my day there were actual land lines) and I calmly texted my superiors the bad news. The leverage ( their leverage; not ours) noted/accepted, although with some grumbling and going on about poor service from hatche other end, I left the site earlier-than-usual to beat traffic to pick up a check for the next morning from headquarters. 

Enough indecipherable convolutions and rambling. I'm sure the rest of the world will be just fine. Me too.


----------



## Joe_Bassett

Saw Guardians of The Galaxy 1 and 2 today.  Was pretty awesome, highlight of my day/week/month.


----------



## sas

bobo said:


> So right you are Olly - especially here on a language site, we should try to behave
> Is it the youthfull elements who is using these distance creating buzz words, as the above ... and I also remarked other places the f.. word very often in use ??
> Nobody wants to end up in the gutter, eh ??
> - and to be on the safe side, we take a step back.
> Hence  such things create distance instead of community - think about it Youth !!





Swearing a "youthful" element?
I'll have you know I'm approaching three quarters of a century and utilize every word at my disposal. Oft times those tsk-tsk words are the only perfect ones. I am often grateful for their existence. Otherwise, I might explode. Smiles. Sas
.


----------



## Sebald

sas said:


> Swearing a "youthful" element?
> I'll have you know I'm approaching three quarters of a century and utilize every word at my disposal. Oft times those tsk-tsk words are the only perfect ones. I am often grateful for their existence. Otherwise, I might explode. Smiles. Sas
> .


Sas is really good at swearing.


----------



## sas

Re: swearing.    Last month I read about a study that showed women who swear have higher IQs.  No shit!  My sister is a Mensa and can prove it.


----------



## Kevin

I remember some kids we're pretty good in 7th grade. We had a lotta geniuses I guess. Lol


----------



## Sebald

sas said:


> Re: swearing.    Last month I read about a study that showed women who swear have higher IQs.  No shit!  My sister is a Mensa and can prove it.



So funny.


----------



## sas

Kevin said:


> I remember some kids we're pretty good in 7th grade. We had a lotta geniuses I guess. Lol




The correlation between swearing and high IQ was only found to be true with regard to women. The guys don't count. [-(


----------



## Sebald

sas said:


> The correlation between swearing and high IQ was only found to be true with regard to women. The guys don't count. [-(



Ha ha have you thought about running for president?


----------



## sas

Sebald said:


> Ha ha have you thought about running for president?




Actually, I did hold an elected office, back in the day. Unbelievable, huh? I have worn many hats over the decades. Live long & prosper and you will, too. Well, live long, anyway.


----------



## Sebald

sas said:


> Actually, I did hold an elected office, back in the day. Unbelievable, huh? I have worn many hats over the decades. Live long & prosper and you will, too. Well, live long, anyway.


Hilary, is that you?


----------



## Olly Buckle

sas said:


> Re: swearing.    Last month I read about a study that showed women who swear have higher IQs.  No shit!  My sister is a Mensa and can prove it.


One wonders if particular words have particular significance or value.


----------



## Kevin

sas said:


> The guys don't count. [-(


i can count how many limes go in the guacamole even after I've lost count of beers. Let me tell you, it's all about texture. I blend with a knife; never mush- fuckin' A... 

and for some reason the women don't get it, always wanting to stir, stir, stir; but they sure like it, the texture; no ego and cross my heart... Hope there's enough avocados available.... Cinco de mayo and all that.


----------



## aj47

Molcajete, ftw.  I have one on my wish list and eventually, I'll have one in my kitchen.  You do it your way; I'll do it mine.


----------



## sas

Olly Buckle said:


> One wonders if particular words have particular significance or value.



Only if there's a recipient on the other end of them.  Trust me.


----------



## sas

I always have a bowl of avocados.  Do you know they can be ripened in the oven on low heat? Google it.


----------



## Kevin

astroannie said:


> Molcajete, ftw.  I have one on my wish list and eventually, I'll have one in my kitchen.  You do it your way; I'll do it mine.


i once saw Penelope Cruz eating an avocado like it was an apple... Wtf? I mean it was like someone biting into a banana without peeling it. I was like wth is she doing? The director prolly said, here, eat this while you're talking to him. So she improvised / acted. 

if you are familiar with avocados you don't ever take a bite out of one like an apple ... unless maybe you're a chimpanzee.


----------



## aj47

No, you eat them like ... avocados... a favorite way is with a splash of balsamic vinegar and a spoon.  Of course, guac is good, too.  I also make Avocado Stax, where I grill the halves then tumble mixed up browned ground meat/salsa/sour cream over them.  Yummm.


----------



## sas

We mix them with fat free plain yogurt and a little salt.


----------



## sas

My day, if anyone cares to peek:

Meeting my daughter and her two daughters at mall to go dress shopping for coming family wedding. I will be happy and sad. Happy to fun-shop with them. Sad to see my daughter in her new portable battery operated scooter that she is trying for first time. But, no wheelchair today.


----------



## aj47

dress shopping ... oh my.    Haven't done that in awhile.


----------



## sas

Annie...I had to wear heels to wedding last week. Can't remember last time I wore them. Now wear gym shoes, if shoes at all. How I wore them everyday for over 40 years I've no idea. Even my boots were heels.


----------



## sas

Annie...did you ever get your guitar?


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> Annie...did you ever get your guitar?



I have a stash of cash that is slowly growing.  I have Hypoteneuse (the long leg of a guitar triangle) that I'm borrowing.  

I've gone to the guitar store a few times and looked at small guitars.   

My half-life present to myself might be a guitar.   (That half-life thing is the date at which I'll have known astroandy half my life--I know when that will be and it's fairly realistic as a goal date.)


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I took it a LIL too far with some vodka at a friend's yesterday.

Should've known better. My body hates me today.

As Beckett once wrote: "I can't go on, I'll go on."


----------



## Pyromanic

I graduated from college years ago (cum Laude),
but I still occasionally hit up the campus to offer my services.
A couple months ago I met a girl through a friend, whom I was writing a paper for.
She was so impressed that I was able to write this 1000 word paper in 30 minutes and it
was so good (I had to read it out loud before getting paid), that when I was done, she asked for my number.

Then about a month ago she called me up asking if I could write a paper for her,
so I did it for .03 cents/word,
and then, the next week, she asked me to drive her to the City (i thought it was a date at the time).
We went to a museum and then I took her for a walk under the cherry blossoms
but then, next week, she asked me to write another paper, this time for her art class, about the museum we visited (and that time, she didn't pay for like two weeks)...

Then the other day she called me up on some last minute s***, like "i have a friend
who needs an entire final research paper written (6+ sources 3.5k words) and it's due by Monday,"
and I was like "Idk, I usually need at least a week notice for something like that,"
at which point she begged me and asked me how much money I wanted, she would pay it.
So, finally, I caved in and said "Fine, I'll do it, but only because a pretty girl asked me."

I then told her to send me all the info and student id/pw so I can log into the library databases (once you graduate they cut you off). And she's like "What's means a Database?" I couldn't believe it, like dang, this girl doesn't even know what a database is, or how to look for sources and it's the end of the semester!? Her English is terrible. I can't contribute to this.

So, today, I told her, "Sorry, I can't write that paper,
I worked all week and I need some time to collect my thoughts."
And she replies back: "Wow, MY friend is in the HOSPITAL! Thanks for all your help... It was nice having a friend like you..."
So because I won't write her papers I'm no longer her friend, figures...

Oh, well, like I said, I'm graduated, I don't stress over those end of the term papers anymore. I'm free


----------



## sas

Pyro....LOL.

Actually, your tale is almost a prose poem. It would just need a little tweak. Bet you could rewrite it in three minutes. Really.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Bought some old video games from an old video game store. Ended up getting 2 Bomberman games, a goldeneye game, Namco museum (to bring memories back from the atari), and a Mario game. That was during the weekend.


----------



## Kevin

Me: "They had to add signs to the bank... People thought it was closed."

She: "The barricades don't bother me."

Me: "...they had a arrow, like 'enter here' or something."

Jr.: "That's for those Calabasas women."

She: "Echhh."

Jr.: " Those are your clients, like right there (motioning) in Hidden Hills."

She: "I would never live there."

Me: "Not unless we dropped a Nuetron Bomb-"

She: " They're nice homes, but I can't stand the people- the women especially- high maintenance, self-absorbed, rude, cheap- " 

Me: "'Nuetron Bomb'- haha- I was channeling you."


----------



## Kevin

Pyromanic said:


> I graduated from college years ago (cum Laude),
> but I still occasionally hit up the campus to offer my services.
> A couple months ago I met a girl through a friend, whom I was writing a paper for.
> She was so impressed that I was able to write this 1000 word paper in 30 minutes and it
> was so good (I had to read it out loud before getting paid), that when I was done, she asked for my number.
> 
> Then about a month ago she called me up asking if I could write a paper for her,
> so I did it for .03 cents/word,
> and then, the next week, she asked me to drive her to the City (i thought it was a date at the time).
> We went to a museum and then I took her for a walk under the cherry blossoms
> but then, next week, she asked me to write another paper, this time for her art class, about the museum we visited (and that time, she didn't pay for like two weeks)...
> 
> Then the other day she called me up on some last minute s***, like "i have a friend
> who needs an entire final research paper written (6+ sources 3.5k words) and it's due by Monday,"
> and I was like "Idk, I usually need at least a week notice for something like that,"
> at which point she begged me and asked me how much money I wanted, she would pay it.
> So, finally, I caved in and said "Fine, I'll do it, but only because a pretty girl asked me."
> 
> I then told her to send me all the info and student id/pw so I can log into the library databases (once you graduate they cut you off). And she's like "What's means a Database?" I couldn't believe it, like dang, this girl doesn't even know what a database is, or how to look for sources and it's the end of the semester!? Her English is terrible. I can't contribute to this.
> 
> So, today, I told her, "Sorry, I can't write that paper,
> I worked all week and I need some time to collect my thoughts."
> And she replies back: "Wow, MY friend is in the HOSPITAL! Thanks for all your help... It was nice having a friend like you..."
> So because I won't write her papers I'm no longer her friend, figures...
> 
> Oh, well, like I said, I'm graduated, I don't stress over those end of the term papers anymore. I'm free.


 Sounds....Ukranian, or post-perestroikish.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Theglasshouse said:


> Bought some old video games from an old video game store. Ended up getting 2 Bomberman games, a goldeneye game, Namco museum (to bring memories back from the atari), and a Mario game. That was during the weekend.




If I remember right the Goldeneye game was one of the games you could use to allow the original Xbox console to run XBMC.  Which is funny cause now all the consoles allow you to watch movies.


----------



## The Green Shield

So I decided to include a pirate gang in my fantasy, and suddenly a second subplot was born!


----------



## Theglasshouse

I wish they would release a remake of that game. Because as the years go by it has aged badly graphically but it has the best gameplay for shooter games which needs better frame rates and to be released on newer systems. But it was the best shooter game ever made in my opinion. They need to create a sequel for people who like spy games and were not born when it was released.

They have made petitions with lots of signatures with no success.

As for today off to a bad start. All this noise from the construction across the street is disturbing my mood and concentration to get things done. It is so bad I wear these earmuffs that are uncomfortable.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Theglasshouse,

What Bomberman game(s) did you get? Did you get the one where you go around the world (I think it was divided into 4 different quadrants) and go through the levels? I LOVED that one. Hopefully, you get some fun out of your buy's. Goldeneye was amazing.

Correciton: I think the Bomberman game I'm talking about is Super Bomberman. I wikied it.

P.S. My day is going great! Working on a stack of books, as usual.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I wanted bomberman 2, but it  was already sold. Someone else had bought it when they had checked to look for it. I bought Bomberman Generations. 

I have bomberman 93, and 94. (tg/megadrive) I use to have the saturn one which IMO is the best one so far (but costs a bundle but recommend if you are a big bomberman fan as it is considered the 1st or 2nd best by fans). I am a big fan. I bought this one out of curiosity. If I get lucky I will find it when I go again, the person knows I was looking for it.


----------



## sas

From the Old Corner:

I know the exact words I said 60 years ago today, May 9, 1957. 
Some moments stick in your brain.

Walking to school I asked my best friend, Marsha, on her birthday, "How does it feel to be thirteen?" She said she felt nothing. Exact words.

Then we stopped, at a shoemaker's shop, where he let her smoke. I only watched.

She died a hard death from lung cancer, in her mid forties.
Next to her casket, I thought of that question. I again heard her say, she felt "nothing."

She was beautiful and smart, but not smart enough, and her beauty was quickly taken by cigarettes. 

Have a smoke free day, my friends. Sas


----------



## The Green Shield

The world can just burn in nuclear hellfire; and I'll play the fiddle and watch.

-----

In case you can't tell, I'm having a REALLY bad day.


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> I have a stash of cash that is slowly growing.  I have Hypoteneuse (the long leg of a guitar triangle) that I'm borrowing.
> 
> I've gone to the guitar store a few times and looked at small guitars.
> 
> My half-life present to myself might be a guitar.   (That half-life thing is the date at which I'll have known astroandy half my life--I know when that will be and it's fairly realistic as a goal date.)



Annie,  How much is guitar you want? I have a friend who is a guitar aficionado, has many & knows many who have them.


----------



## The Green Shield

So today my boss made fun of me for the fact I'm hearing-impaired. I was trying to explain to a co-worker that I can't hear well and that I need them to speak louder, and he was miming a violin like I was acting like I was begging for pity. He then told the secretary, "Y'know what [his] problem is? He's hearing-impaired" in a mean-spirited way.

I now understand why many in the deaf/HoH community hate the hearing so much.

Now let me just make this thing fucking clear: If I _EVER_ catch wind of anyone here mocking or belittling a fellow forumer because he/she has a disability of some sort, know that I will eviscerate you with no pity or remorse.


----------



## midnightpoet

The Green Shield said:


> So today my boss made fun of me for the fact I'm hearing-impaired. I was trying to explain to a co-worker that I can't hear well and that I need them to speak louder, and he was miming a violin like I was acting like I was begging for pity. He then told the secretary, "Y'know what [his] problem is? He's hearing-impaired" in a mean-spirited way.
> 
> I now understand why many in the deaf/HoH community hate the hearing so much.
> 
> Now let me just make this thing fucking clear: If I _EVER_ catch wind of anyone here mocking or belittling a fellow forumer because he/she has a disability of some sort, know that I will eviscerate you with no pity or remorse.


Don't blame you, I've had a congenital hearing defect all my life in my left ear.  The only thing that saved me was my right ear was/is normal; however, my grade school report card states that I "didn't pay attention in class."  Apparently they didn't have a clue - this was early 1950's.  I  never had a hearing test, which was doubly weird since my Dad wore a hearing aid and was almost completely deaf.  It wasn't discovered until my army physical (which I failed). There were several reasons why I became a loner and had few friends, this is one of them I'm sure.


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> Annie,  How much is guitar you want? I have a friend who is a guitar aficionado, has many & knows many who have them.



I'm looking for a used Little Martin or Baby Taylor (new, they're $400-500ish). Of course if I get a salaried job vs. a hourly work-as-we-have-it arrangement, I can do it real quick.  Once I get a fair amount, I'll wait for one that comes in that sounds okay (a benefit of living in a large metro area is that there are a number of guitar shops and some of them are networked).  Yeah, I could settle for another brand, but the point of ... if I'm buying *one* versus a fleet of them, is I want it to be The One so I can be a little picky.  I want a smaller one, though.  I :love_heart: Hypoteneuse, but she's dang big.


----------



## Darkkin

Landed the ARC of Nora Robert's _Come Sundown_.  Total S_quee!_ moment.  She is among my favourite cookie recipe authors and I got a copy of her new book free and three weeks before it releases.  There is nothing wrong with this situation in the least.  Ah, the benefits of working in bookstore...:cheers:


----------



## Olly Buckle

Darkkin said:


> Landed the ARC of Nora Robert's _Come Sundown_.  Total S_quee!_ moment.  She is among my favourite cookie recipe authors and I got a copy of her new book free and three weeks before it releases.  There is nothing wrong with this situation in the least.  Ah, the benefits of working in bookstore...:cheers:



ARC ? Advance reader copy ?  I sometimes get pre publication copies of books from my friend at Littlebrown with a request to comment, it is kind of nice knowing you are in front 

Found my programme for the Hay festival had arrived when I got home last night.


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> I'm looking for a used Little Martin or Baby Taylor (new, they're $400-500ish). Of course if I get a salaried job vs. a hourly work-as-we-have-it arrangement, I can do it real quick.  Once I get a fair amount, I'll wait for one that comes in that sounds okay (a benefit of living in a large metro area is that there are a number of guitar shops and some of them are networked).  Yeah, I could settle for another brand, but the point of ... if I'm buying *one* versus a fleet of them, is I want it to be The One so I can be a little picky.  I want a smaller one, though.  I :love_heart: Hypoteneuse, but she's dang big.




I'll run it by my friend. How much money do you have now?


----------



## Theglasshouse

I wish things were not industrialized and like the olden days. I am under the impression people suffered less from diseases because they ate better. My grandmother makes her own juice. If you make your own organic stuff that is always a good thing (she is 80 years old). Artificial foods is not the way of life. Even genetic mutations can be serious to create damages to DNA or has been talked about by scientists. Sometimes it is impossible to avoid. My grandmother insists I have a bunch of M and Ms and I try my best to say no. Also, my grandmother tried to make butter for a better context. She has made it before. What I am saying is the plainest example of greed and the government conspiring to make the world "better." But it never happens

Lastly, some political philosophers say we should put our own private interest away from influencing others. Globalization is harmful and good. Because of the dangers of trade and things that aren't regulated. 

For example, I mean since the whole world is running because greed chances are they aren't philosophical when making decisions.

It is imo like the age of industrialization but in reverse.


----------



## JustRob

The central heating in the house keeps turning itself off even though the thermostat insists that it should be on. Why do we even need the central heating at this time of year? Where did this sudden cold snap come from? The remote wireless thermometer in the greenhouse also keeps turning itself off, so my angel can't check the temperature there on the display in the kitchen and decide whether to turn on the power to the heating system if an overnight frost is likely. Why are we still at risk of an overnight frost though and why are some of our electronic devices apparently agreeing with us that they shouldn't be needed at this time of year? Oh yes, of course, this is England. We don't have any recognisable climate, just weather, or maybe that should be "whether".


----------



## Olly Buckle

'Other countries have climates, we have weather'
'N'eer cast a clout 'til May is out'

Runner beans go out at the beginning of June to avoid frosts, it usually works


----------



## sas

Olly Buckle said:


> 'Other countries have climates, we have weather'
> 'N'eer cast a clout 'til May is out'
> 
> Runner beans go out at the beginning of June to avoid frosts, it usually works




Hey, UK Boys...  my daughter & family will be in London mid July.  Should they bring woolies with mittens?  Yikes.


----------



## PiP

Hi Sas, no, they won't need mittens but umbrellas or pac-a-macs might prove useful.


----------



## PiP

Olly Buckle said:


> 'Other countries have climates, we have weather'
> 'N'eer cast a clout 'til May is out'
> 
> Runner beans go out at the beginning of June to avoid frosts, it usually works



Goodness, we have had our complete crop of broad beans already and I've cleared the plot.


----------



## Kevin

Living on the wild frontier I think my best crop would be ground squirrel, followed by tree squirrel, and then rabbit; then maybe coyote, neighbor's cat. I don't eat any of those. I did once grow some tomatoes. Gawd, they were awful. All that work building those boxes, filling 'em with imported soil... Forgot about the dusk-rats. They come out at dusk. I don't eat those either. Ah well...


----------



## Sebald

sas said:


> Hey, UK Boys...  my daughter & family will be in London mid July.  Should they bring woolies with mittens?  Yikes.


As Pip said, should be warm, but chance of a shower.


----------



## LeeC

Olly Buckle said:


> 'Other countries have climates, we have weather'
> 'N'eer cast a clout 'til May is out'
> 
> Runner beans go out at the beginning of June to avoid frosts, it usually works





PiP said:


> Goodness, we have had our complete crop of broad beans already and I've cleared the plot.



Still highs of 50F here in NH, so we take the same approach as Olly. Our garden plants are still in the dining room bay window. I looked up "broad beans" and found you're not talking about lima beans which I like. The wife grows mostly green beans (aka pole beans) in her organic garden. They flourish all summer, and try to take over the garden. She commonly harvests so many that she parboils and freezes enough to last till the next season. I've grown sick of them, spoiled beings that we are.

Oh, and Olly, it seems we're not allowed to use the word "climate" here. I'll bet the US entered George Monbiot's mind when he said, "Progress is measured by the speed at which we destroy the conditions that sustain life.”



PS: Opened a bottle of Australian red wine today, not bad. I enjoy a glass with dinner, and it helps my medications work better. California wines are getting dirt cheap since glyphosate was found in all of them. Enforces what George Monbiot said.


----------



## JustRob

Olly Buckle said:


> 'Other countries have climates, we have weather'
> 'N'eer cast a clout 'til May is out'
> 
> Runner beans go out at the beginning of June to avoid frosts, it usually works



My angel says that in that saying May is the May tree, not the month, and the May flowers are out now. She agrees about the runner beans though. I wouldn't know about that technical stuff.

My technical solution to the erratic behaviour of our central heating has been to install a security camera to watch the boiler so that I can keep an eye on the indicator lights on it while I'm typing this on my laptop. Since I did this it hasn't malfunctioned, so my machine psychology seems to be working. As the saying goes, a watched boiler always boils. Well, maybe that's not the saying but it seems to work for me.


----------



## Sebald

Sebald said:


> As Pip said, should be warm, but chance of a shower.



Hope they have a great time. Maybe we could suggest non-touristy places for them to see?


----------



## sas

Yes, due to a travel warning issued by my country for London, they plan to stay away from tourist places. My daughter is unable to stand in lines, and the portable, battery wheelchair she just bought to take doesn't work. Naturally. They preferred to see "the real" UK. So, I would love to pass any info on to them. Obviously, they prefer not to drive there. Bet you hate when Americans try to.


----------



## Ptolemy

We need a Schengen area in the Americas.


----------



## Kevin

Some of the pomegranates are nearly golf-ball sized which indicates a decline in the fluffy-tailed rat activity. They were there a week ago eating them so what's happened?  Could it be that I've either hit or scared them all off with my couple-of-shots at them? I did smell death the other day-
 Bah! Who am fooling? It never worked before. They're always right back at it after I leave. No... There has to be some other reason. I hear them prairie-dog chirping in the distance so it's not a plague or something...but then I have not seen the lookout that's always there on the dead branch above the main den. Perhaps it's a sickness in just one colony.


----------



## Sebald

sas said:


> Yes, due to a travel warning issued by my country for London, they plan to stay away from tourist places. My daughter is unable to stand in lines, and the portable, battery wheelchair she just bought to take doesn't work. Naturally. They preferred to see "the real" UK. So, I would love to pass any info on to them. Obviously, they prefer not to drive there. Bet you hate when Americans try to.



We don't hate Americans. We're a peace-loving people. Apart from all the wars.
Sas,, most people with disabilities here use what's called a mobility scooter. I've done a bit of searching, and this hire company seem good:

http://www.mobilityequipmenthiredir...1616-mobility-scooter-hire-in-london-england/


----------



## The Green Shield

BOO!!


Life has taken over my time here. ;__;


----------



## PiP

Sas, if they don't want to go to London what about Oxford, CAmbridge, Bath, Stratford on Avon etc Then there are the Cotswolds which is a very pretty area of the UK.


----------



## dither

The Green Shield said:


> BOO!!
> 
> 
> Life has taken over my time here. ;__;



Age and the sheer fatigue of living from day to day seems to be taking over my life, by the time I log into here I'm running on empty. I do intend to check out the local church coffee-mornings though and maybe post a few observations. I'd like to have a look at one this weekend but we shall see.


----------



## dither

Oops! I double posted.


----------



## sas

Pip,   I copied your message. Will see my daughter this weekend and take along. Thanks. Is there transportation around those areas. Don't want to drive.


----------



## PiP

Cotswolds. no because they are rural and typical English countryside. Which airport does she fly into?


----------



## sas

Pip,

London's airport.  I am not happy.
Of course, don't come here. America is loaded with gunslingers. The Penis Posse. We've given up 150 years of civilization.


----------



## PiP

Which airport in London... there are several

http://www.visitlondon.com/travelle...irport/london-airport-map#TGI8DE6F5uIgoyKJ.97


----------



## sas

I'm sure Heathrow. I want them to run out of there. And, to keep my grandgirls at long distance from baggage conveyor belt.


----------



## PiP

Don't worry, Sas. The UK is probably safer than the US right now. 

Where are they staying?


----------



## sas

I do not mean to disparage The UK. America covers a large area, so idiots diluted.

Here, I worry about toddlers with guns accidentally shooting me, at the market. No shit. Happens. Guns in purses; guns in nightstands; guns in cars; guns, guns and more penis guns. 

Example:

A friend, who was a sheriff, was showing my partner & me his new condo. In the bedroom, he opened a drawer to show his handgun. (My sister was a Detroit detective and I never once saw her show off her friggin' gun...ever!!!!!!...of course, she did not have a penis problem). I immediately left the damn room (BTW: I once belonged to the top Detroit area gun club, and was a great shot with a 12 gauge...so I'm not Miss Priss, boys!). Then...."Boom!"  It accidentally went off. I thought my partner was shot. Only the mattress....this time!  This from a so-called "professional". Amateurs are on the loose, armed.  Americans are idiots. They all think they're John Wayne. Stay away from us. Far, far away. 

.


----------



## PiP

Goodness, Sas. I don't know how you live under those conditions! As a rule police in the UK don't carry guns.

In Portugal life is more laid back.


----------



## Kevin

Oh Sas...I know it's maybe inconceivable but truly .. there's a big wide world out there beyond the ghetto where the majority of Americans live; without fear of crime or violence. They spend there days working, having families and pursuing... I hope someday you'll visit. 

 And more importantly... 
Does anyone know why leeks are so prone to dirt packed into them deeply? I don't seem to have this problem with chives or fennel. I find no other way of cleaning them without slitting them up middle longways,  and then prying each layered leaf-sheath apart while running them under the tap.


----------



## Phil Istine

You're very unlikely to see a gun over here Sas - the main exception being that many airport police are routinely armed. I imagine that many cops guarding high-profile targets are also armed.  Once you get away from the airport and other likely target areas, even the cops don't carry them, though they are made available quickly for emergencies.
As for me visiting America, apparently, I'm far too dangerous to be let loose among its pistol-toting masses and would require a visa due to an ancient conviction (when 17) for possessing weed (I _did_ inhale!).  Maybe they would be frightened of the seeds going pop.  A visa is too much hassle, but there is a world outside America I can visit where the government aren't bothered what I was doing over forty years ago.

Believe me, we have our share of idiots in the UK but at least they haven't got guns unless they obtained them illegally (with a very few exceptions).


----------



## bobo

Kevin said:


> And more importantly...
> Does anyone know why leeks are so prone to dirt packed into them deeply? I don't seem to have this problem with chives or fennel. I find no other way of cleaning them without slitting them up middle longways,  and then prying each layered leaf-sheath apart while running them under the tap.



Hello leek-eater 
I always learned, that your should cut the leeks into (round) slices (whether to be used cold for salats or warm for something) - after that lay them into a bowl with cold water added a little salt - to let them soak for .... as long as you prepare the rest :wink:
after that treatment the dirt (most of it) should be at the bottom of the bowl, and the leeks should not be bitter (that's another problem, I now - and may be you don't have that )


----------



## aj47

I have a nifty colander-in-a-bowl arrangement I use for leeks.  I slice them, put them in, put the water/salt on them, and then just pick up the colander part and shimmy it a bit.

I sold over a dozen t-shirts today.  Probably to a computer club.  They have a pic of a bug being zapped by a lightning bolt and say "i right code" in a monospace font

That should help the guitar fund -- but not for a month as it takes ~5 days to register the funding from a sale and they pay on the 15th of every month.


----------



## sas

PiP said:


> Don't worry, Sas. The UK is probably safer than the US right now.
> 
> Where are they staying?



i will see them Sunday, and find out.


----------



## The Green Shield

sas said:


> I do not mean to disparage The UK. America covers a large area, so idiots diluted.
> 
> Here, I worry about toddlers with guns accidentally shooting me, at the market. No shit. Happens. Guns in purses; guns in nightstands; guns in cars; guns, guns and more penis guns.
> 
> Example:
> 
> A friend, who was a sheriff, was showing my partner & me his new condo. In the bedroom, he opened a drawer to show his handgun. (My sister was a Detroit detective and I never once saw her show off her friggin' gun...ever!!!!!!...of course, she did not have a penis problem). I immediately left the damn room (BTW: I once belonged to the top Detroit area gun club, and was a great shot with a 12 gauge...so I'm not Miss Priss, boys!). Then...."Boom!"  It accidentally went off. I thought my partner was shot. Only the mattress....this time!  This from a so-called "professional". Amateurs are on the loose, armed.  Americans are idiots. They all think they're John Wayne. Stay away from us. Far, far away.
> 
> .



I must've won the lottery of life because I never had to experience 'professional' gun owners thinking they're John Wayne and accidentally shooting their own relatives or furniture. And I live in goddamned *ALABAMA*!! o__O Personally, I don't know why anyone would want to handle such a damned thing. So many things that could go wrong and it often results in severe bodily injury or death for either yourself or others. 

Look, if you want to own a gun, fine. Just, y'know, be responsible about it. There's a reason the military and other high-top people have the golden rule of, "assume it's locked and loaded" and "don't aim it at anything you don't want to destroy." And keep it from the kids. I can't tell you how many times in my life I read in the news of toddlers accidentally shooting themselves or their fellow toddlers with a gun.


----------



## aj47

My tuppence -- I have lived with one person who owned a gun.  I have had a cop brother-in-law (now ex-).  That was in Ohio.  I now live in Texas and we have a Reputation.

However, I've only encountered one instance where I was concerned about my personal safety based on someone having a firearm--it was at a Walgreens drugstore and some individual was open-carrying.  He was picking up a controlled substance but didn't have ID (you're supposed to present a photo ID and sign for whatever he was getting) and the pharmacy tech didn't press him (I wouldn't either, not when he's armed).


----------



## The Green Shield

I always found the logic behind guns or weed to be backwards. 

"A drug that basically makes you mellow and laid-back" = *AW HELL NO!! KEEP THAT SHIT AWAY FROM US!!!!

*"A tool that basically disables or destroys whatever you aim it at" = *Help yourself to whatever you need. *


----------



## JustRob

Phil Istine said:


> Believe me, we have our share of idiots in the UK but at least they haven't got guns unless they obtained them illegally (with a very few exceptions).



Sometimes these things just happen though. The common legal firearms are shotguns, which are allegedly closely regulated. An elderly friend whose bones had become too brittle for him to use his twelve bore wanted to dispose of it, so we arranged for a dealer to buy it from him, but just that took some doing legally since just handling a gun without a personal licence for it is illegal here. When he died we discovered his shotgun licence in his possessions as he had evidently not notified the police that he had sold it. We passed this on to his solicitor along with the receipt from the sale, but there was a discrepancy. The serial number of the gun did not match on the two documents. Fortunately we had an earlier licence of his for the same gun which did have the number that was on the receipt. Apparently when the licence was renewed the police had themselves put the wrong serial number on it. So much for trying to do things by the book.

While we were clearing out his house we found a loaded 410 shotgun in the cupboard next to the fireplace. He had used it to shoot rats apparently. It wasn't licenced to anyone as it had belonged to his brother who had died many years earlier. We gave it to a neighbour who already had a 410 licence for another gun and could legally possess it so that he could re-register it to get it back in the system.

We also found a fair amount of ammunition in the house, not just for shotguns but also 9mm, .45 and .303 stuff probably from the war that had just been dropped loosely into drawers around the place. We took all that to the local police station for safe disposal. The policewoman at the desk looked at it with some concern, asked me to list it on their form because she didn't know what it was and then said that they'd put it in their bomb container out the back. Apparently people strolling in with boxes full of assorted ammunition was not an everyday occurrence. 

The whole attitude to guns in the UK is completely different from in the US. We just don't understand the mentality there nowadays although we can see how it developed in such a relatively young and large country. I have a friend who lives in Alexandria VA who was out walking with his friends in Washington DC when they were held up by a gunman. So okay, maybe in the countryside there is a legitimate place for guns, but Washington DC? He told me that back when he was a schoolboy in Oklahoma it wasn't unusual for a pupil to take his gun to school if he was going out shooting with his dad later on. It's all about the mentality I suppose. 

Looking at the regulations for relatively harmless airguns a while back, I noticed that they are required to be bright colours to identify them as such as anyone just wielding something that looks like a real firearm here could quite easily be shot by armed police. This makes sense as otherwise assailants would believe that it was relatively safe to threaten victims with replicas without risking being prosecuted for using real firearms. Being prosecuted is the least of their worries here nowadays though. Zero tolerance is the attitude.


----------



## PiP

The UK never had cowboys and indians. The value of life in the US has always struck me as cheap and one of the reasons I've never had the desire to visit other than just passing through.

Canada, yes. Love Canada.


----------



## aj47

PiP said:


> The UK never had cowboys and indians.



Maybe not cowboys, but the UK had Indians. While the US was colonies, there was a war called the "French and Indian War" (1754-1763) where the English (that was us then) fought the French and the Indians.


----------



## JustRob

PiP said:


> The UK never had cowboys and indians. The value of life in the US has always struck me as cheap and one of the reasons I've never had the desire to visit other than just passing through.
> 
> Canada, yes. Love Canada.



We agree, but passing through to where? A Canadian visiting the UK once told us that Canada was boring, all trees and only four kinds of those.


----------



## PiP

But not on our home turf, astro 
@Rob
We boarded a cruise ship in Vancouver then traveled up the inside passage. After we disembarked we stayed a night in Anchorage before catching a flight home to the UK. I don't count time on the ship as on US soil


----------



## Ptolemy

astroannie said:


> Maybe not cowboys, but the UK had Indians. While the US was colonies, there was a war called the "French and Indian War" (1754-1763) where the English (that was us then) fought the French and the Indians.



Wasn't the French and Indian War in the Can-Am Theater? UKs never had "Indians" nor Native Americans since, well, they are in America. I mean the closest subject matter to "Indians" the UK had is their colonization of India, but still, they didn't have "Indians" per say. 

Basically, the Britannia Isle's compatible to the USAs "Indians" were the barbaric tribes for the most part of early written history until Rome swept in and conquered them under J. Caeser (right? It could have been Claudius) 

I know I'm being nit picky, I'm in a sort of history itch right now.


----------



## PiP

PT we did have the Scots crossing the boarder in to England but I don't think they scalped anyone...


----------



## Kevin

Uhm... At some point Canada was a British possesion ( taken or won from France) and continued as such after American independence. So England 'had' Indians from whenever their colonies began to Canadian independence which I believe works out to longer than the United States existence. 
They also had colonies in Cenral America, Australia, South Africa...


----------



## aj47

Scalping was actually a way the Colonies paid bounties for tribes to war on one another (and on the enemy white folks as well).  The white folks paid the red folks to scalp, basically.  Since this was the 1600's the white folks were British/French/etc.  Not USian.


----------



## Ptolemy

Well of course, the USA didn't become the USA until a Declaration of Independence that never even got to the king.


----------



## JustRob

Ptolemy said:


> Basically, the Britannia Isle's compatible to the USAs "Indians" were the barbaric tribes for the most part of early written history until Rome swept in and conquered them under J. Caeser (right? It could have been Claudius).



I think the commonly used name of the place was Albion then and the Romans were just visiting but didn't care for the climate. I don't think many of the population are of Roman descent nowadays. Genetically western Europeans are quite distinct, not that I'm entirely one, also having central European Y-DNA from my father's side. It would be wrong to call the early tribes in Albion barbaric just because they were organised tribally rather than civilly. The evidence is that they were probably trading across the Mediterranean region before the Romans turned up and even the earliest cultures going way back into prehistory were sophisticated. As I am myself only now getting to grips with the Native American perception of time I wouldn't call them barbaric either. Modern western culture seems to have a coarse arrogance to it that causes its proponents to overlook the merits of other cultures all too easily. The Romans just had a non-interference directive that enabled them to appear to run a large empire using minimal resources, but they were a long way from home in Albion. It was those long lines of communication that lost our own American colonies as well I suppose.

I read somewhere that colonists on the American mainland had a different mentality from those on the Caribbean islands. English plantation owners on the mainland built fine mansions and treated the place as home while their counterparts on the islands didn't bother and regarded their properties just as business premises while regarding their real homes as still being in England. I find that interesting. Not just the English but other Europeans would pop over to the islands to run a plantation for a while, send their children back home to get a proper education and eventually go back home themselves, much like the ancient Romans in Albion in fact.


----------



## Kevin

My day went wonderfully...the owner's rep. went against advice given multiple times and possibly/probably  fried the elevator. I went home and cooked dinner only to learn my other was not going to be home for dinner. Then I poured myself a sherry and had a good cry. Then I face-timed Jr. to get the cable back on  and was able to watch the Giant Mantis, a 1957 classic with some awesome scenes of actual 'Eskimos' rushing out to kayaks, sled dogs running, strikingly asiatic looking women and children( and men) looking up at the sky, while a giant Praying Mantis roared, gave its best Godzilla impression and ate a local. It was incredibly bad, all of it, acting, script...okay, maybe I didn't cry, at the movie either. I don't drink sherry


----------



## Ptolemy

JustRob said:


> I think the commonly used name of the place was Albion then and the Romans were just visiting but didn't care for the climate. I don't think many of the population are of Roman descent nowadays. Genetically western Europeans are quite distinct, not that I'm entirely one, also having central European Y-DNA from my father's side. It would be wrong to call the early tribes in Albion barbaric just because they were organised tribally rather than civilly. The evidence is that they were probably trading across the Mediterranean region before the Romans turned up and even the earliest cultures going way back into prehistory were sophisticated. As I am myself only now getting to grips with the Native American perception of time I wouldn't call them barbaric either. Modern western culture seems to have a coarse arrogance to it that causes its proponents to overlook the merits of other cultures all too easily. The Romans just had a non-interference directive that enabled them to appear to run a large empire using minimal resources, but they were a long way from home in Albion. It was those long lines of communication that lost our own American colonies as well I suppose.



I have more expertise with the Gauls and the Holy Lands (Holy Roman Empire ftw) than I do with Britannia, my understanding overall is just Romans conquering them, making them more docile. Then William I shows up and becomes the genetic template for most of modern English today (I believe that everyone that is born British has him as a genetic ancestor. I could be wrong.) Then Willy II shows up and my general understanding of the inhabitants stops until the late 1700s.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Kevin said:


> My day went wonderfully...the owner's rep. went against advice given multiple times and possibly/probably fried the elevator. I went home and cooked dinner only to learn my other was not going to be home for dinner. Then I poured myself a sherry and had a good cry. Then I face-timed Jr. to get the cable back on and was able to watch the Giant Mantis, a 1957 classic with some awesome scenes of actual 'Eskimos' rushing out to kayaks, sled dogs running, strikingly asiatic looking women and children( and men) looking up at the sky, while a giant Praying Mantis roared, gave its best Godzilla impression and ate a local. It was incredibly bad, all of it, acting, script...okay, maybe I didn't cry, at the movie either. I don't drink sherry


I think I own that movie. My brothers bought a copy from the virgin record store some years ago. Needless to say, they thought it would be funny. And it was too for them for some reason.  I think I overheard them say the mantis has laser beams that it shoots with its eyes. Needless to say, it could see through things it seems. But it is an anecdote of the movie. They also bought pink panther, topcat, and a bunch of obscure cartoons maybe that people don't know in the states but airs regularly.


----------



## Kevin

Theglasshouse said:


> I think I own that movie. My brothers bought a copy from the virgin record store some years ago. Needless to say, they thought it would be funny. And it was too for them for some reason.  I think I overheard them say the mantis has laser beams that it shoots with its eyes. Needless to say, it could see through things it seems. But it is an anecdote of the movie. They also bought pink panther, topcat, and a bunch of obscure cartoons maybe that people don't know in the states but airs regularly.


more on old horror.. For  some reason i mantis wasn't in rotation much.  _Them_, which had a similar giant-insect/monster theme, was. The difference in popularity perhaps due to  the extensive use of both flamethrower ( which was in mantis)  and ( more importantly) the fully-auto 'Tommy-gun' ( no British reference there, odd isn't it?)which to us, U.S. , sounds just like a lullaby.


----------



## sas

Kevin said:


> more on old horror.. For  some reason i mantis wasn't in rotation much.  _Them_, which had a similar giant-insect/monster theme, was. The difference in popularity perhaps due to  the extensive use of both flamethrower ( which was in mantis)  and ( more importantly) the fully-auto 'Tommy-gun' ( no British reference there, odd isn't it?)which to us, U.S. , sounds just like a lullaby.



First scary movie for me was The Creature from The Black Lagoon, in 1954. I was ten. Some saw it in 3D, if went to fancy movie theatre downtown. I saw in flat black & white.

The first 3D film I saw did not have monster-types, but was way scary: The House of Wax, 1953.  I ducked when the ping-pong ball on string/paddle shot out, right at my face, as soon as film started. Hard to beat those moments when you're a kid, in the dark, with only popcorn as company.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Kevin said:


> more on old horror.. For some reason i mantis wasn't in rotation much. _Them_, which had a similar giant-insect/monster theme, was. The difference in popularity perhaps due to the extensive use of both flamethrower ( which was in mantis) and ( more importantly) the fully-auto 'Tommy-gun' ( no British reference there, odd isn't it?)which to us, U.S. , sounds just like a lullaby.


Easy confusion for me I suppose. It's a scifi-monster movie after all and was definitely a common theme. I do not know if godzilla is around my house but will have to ask around. The mantis was treated as an alien. An alien concept altogether. I am under the impression no one laughs at horror movies except some little kids (i know one in my own family).


----------



## Kevin

Sas- I always felt bad for the creature. He was so alone... and it was obvious that despite everything he knew that the whole cross -species breeding/love affair thing  wouldn't actually work, so many things not-in-common, but like all males he couldn't help himself.


----------



## sas

Trust me, we kiddies in 1954 did not feel sorry for the creepy, scary guy. 

Then, an all time fav, The Invasion of The Body Snatchers, 1956. That one would still scare me.  Yikes.


----------



## escorial

Finished painting small hall today in satin bow..I bought it at a market stall..it was a good make an cheap an he said I used it in my hall...I think he was lying..


----------



## The Green Shield

First, I wanna say how I'm proud that you all were able to carry on a quasi-political discussion without resorting to ad homenim attacks. Give yourselves a nice pat on the back and get cookies, you've earned it. You have all behaved _masterfully_, even with opinions you may have not agreed with. 

@Escorial- It looks OK to me, man.


----------



## aj47

The Green Shield said:


> First, I wanna say how I'm proud that you all were ...



*​NO!*

*YOU* do not get to be proud of *ME* under any circumstances.   In no way, shape or form, do *YOU* get to take *CREDIT* for what I do. *PERIOD*.


----------



## The Green Shield

astroannie said:


> *​NO!*
> 
> *YOU* do not get to be proud of *ME* under any circumstances.   In no way, shape or form, do *YOU* get to take *CREDIT* for what I do. *PERIOD*.


)':


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Whoa, guys. I don't think any harm was meant. No, maybe we shouldn't be giving out lollipops for behaving the way we're supposed to to begin with, but it was meant in the best spirit possible.


So let's get on with how your day went shall we? As for me, I'm waiting to see how many doctors and nurses my Mom pisses off at the hospital today. I'm keeping a running count and with a little luck, she'll make the Guinesses' Book of World Records. Other than that, things are going so swimmingly well. :icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## bobo

I was actually intrigued by seeing somebody - finally - saying no to that sentence 'I'm so proud on you'.
I always thought it was weird, how can you be proud of the actions of another person ... when you have nothing to do with said actions ??
You can be pleased with such actions, as mustard is with those of his mother's ... isn't that somehow funny to be seeing, mustard ??
an old woman showing the courage not to comply ??


----------



## Firemajic

astroannie said:


> *​NO!*
> 
> *YOU* do not get to be proud of *ME* under any circumstances.   In no way, shape or form, do *YOU* get to take *CREDIT* for what I do. *PERIOD*.





How can one say it, so that it does not offend? I am not taking ANY credit, when someone tells me that they have accomplished a goal, and I say I am proud of them... I never thought that THEY might feel like that... I assume they KNOW, that I know, that THEY did the work. THEY are responsible for their success.... As when they tell me about a failure, and I say how sorry I am that this happened to them, I am not claiming responsibility for the failure.....


----------



## JustRob

Today I got duplicate mailings from the Society for Psychical Research in the post again despite having emailed the secretary about my double membership that apparently arose when I renewed my subscription a short while ago. I have told him that I hope that they won't expect both of me to renew our subscriptions next year as then there could be four of me and, while I subscribe to the concept of parallel realities, I can't afford to be an SPR member in all of them unless I receive parallel pensions from my former employers as well.

The mailing was an invitation to their annual conference and also to a separate talk on recalling future memories, my specialist subject if I have one. I have already been corresponding with the speaker and even I think that he could be a bit weird. The fact that he has been practising recalling numbers suggests that he may be planning to cheat in the lottery. I have heard that there is at least one SPR researcher looking into that, but without success so far. If he succeeded then the SPR would hardly need a subscription from either of me next year. I suspect that it can't work though because those parallel realities most likely all have different futures and one can never be sure which future one is recalling and whether one will experience it personally, whatever "personally" means. 

I haven't decided whether to attend the talk in person yet. If I did then I suppose the other me would also be there in spirit, which they would no doubt understand. Actually perhaps I could stay at home and he could attend in spirit on his own, which I find more appealing. Whether he would get in for free is doubtful though as I certainly renewed my subscription but I can't imagine that he did, so is virtually not a member. In fact he is virtually nothing to my mind but the SPR still think that he is something apparently as they are still writing to him at my address. There was no mention in the invitation about free spirits, only concessions for non-members over age 60. I don't relish the idea of him pretending to be me just to get in, so perhaps I should write and tell them that I will not be attending and that my other self is an imposter. On the other hand perhaps a few spirits attending might give the proceedings more atmosphere.

Gosh, being a member of the Society for Psychical Research is far more complicated than I ever would have imagined. I suppose that's in the nature of the paranormal though.


----------



## Kevin

I agree- I take no responsibility when I say I'm proud- it s whomever did it that did it; not me. I guess others take it differently- I'm okay with that, too. I'm not understanding it exactly, but that's okay. I still love-love-love you! We are still like brother/sister, right? Members of, uhm... 'Humanity'.

edit: sorry JR- didn't see you posted yet- mine was a reply to the prior.


----------



## bobo

We're so used to that sentence 'I'm proud of you' so most of us don't get offended at all, but take it in the spirit it's supposed to be meant.
But logically the saying is totally wrong, and when you get to think about it, you can easily see it.
Therefore I was very pleased to see a.annies reaction: finally one who was awake - and I also see a talk about it as a wake-up call for many of us.
Yes, what could be said instead ???
How about: 'you're allowed to very proud of yourself now' or 'you've earned to be proud of yourself now, I'm pleased '
- what else ??


----------



## bobo

JustRob, whatever you do, don't ever agree to have them researching you - unless you want them to stick  needles into your brains, ... or to swallow weird medicine.
(just kidding ... or am I ??)


----------



## sas

And, while we're on those cliche things we innocently say:

Please do not ever, ever say, *"My prayers were answered!"* when a loved one doesn't die, especially when others have just died, next to them, in some catastrophic event. I see this on TV, all the time! Yep, God did not think that person/child should be saved, so prayers unanswered for them. This advice holds true even if one life at stake. Everyone has or will lose someone. You may as well just say, "God chose yours, not mine."


----------



## JustRob

Kevin said:


> edit: sorry JR- didn't see you posted yet- mine was a reply to the prior.



That's okay. I was just trying to get back on topic.



bobo said:


> JustRob, whatever you do, don't ever agree to have them researching you - unless you want them to stick  needles into your brains, ... or to swallow weird medicine.
> (just kidding ... or am I ??)



That's already been done. How else could I have got into this weird excuse of a reality? I'm just hoping to find my way back to the sane one one day.


----------



## sas

So, today the computer of my partner's mother got taken over and locked. Ransom is $1,500 !!  Not a joke. 

WE NEED MORE NERDS, NOT MORE MARINES & GUNS, TO PROTECT US. WE NEED GUYS WITH BRAINS. AND PAY THEM WELL. AMERICA HIRES THE "C" STUDENT GEEKS BECAUSE OUR POLITICIANS ARE TOO CHEAP TO PAY THE BRAINS.... BUT OUR MILITARY GETS PLENTY OF MONEY.  THE SMART GEEKS GO ELSEWHERE. THIS IS A FACT. THE CYBER DOGS ARE COMING TO A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION BY YOU. THAT IS THE WAY TO TAKE DOWN CAPITALISM. NO QUESTION.


----------



## Kevin

WHAT....am I going... to eat for lunch today?! Oh... the stress of it.


----------



## sas

Kevin:  Me....avocado & hard boiled egg. Then hand full of walnuts. If memory serves, your son would approve.  smiles.


----------



## Kevin

There's this sandwich shop around the corner... _Banh Mi_-  it's Vietnamese - you know - the French bread, spicy as..fresh jalapeño slices. They have this tumeric chicken, can't get it where I live.  I'm at work and I usually don't have time, but it's a Saturday... One thing about this town is there's food.   I generally  pack a lunch but it's Saturday. 

But it then there's the seafood cocktail place... Pulpo, abalon, camaron... Tapatio and limes

...and then there's Cha Cha Chicken... Haven't been there in a while- Caribbean, side of black beans and platanos... 
Oh,  decisions...


----------



## bobo

He-he, eat what you can and get the rest in a doggie bag for tomorrow .... and the day after ... and ...


----------



## Kevin

If I ate out every day I'd be about two tons.


----------



## aj47

Firemajic said:


> How can one say it, so that it does not offend? I am not taking ANY credit, when someone tells me that they have accomplished a goal, and I say I am proud of them... I never thought that THEY might feel like that... I assume they KNOW, that I know, that THEY did the work. THEY are responsible for their success.... As when they tell me about a failure, and I say how sorry I am that this happened to them, I am not claiming responsibility for the failure.....



It's okay if one has a connection ... if you're my mentor, my raw material supplier, etc. and you in some way helped me accomplish <xyz> then you have a *stake *in my accomplishment.  It's when folks out of the blue--who have no stake--claim pride that my dander is raised.  

I don't mind you saying:

I'm happy for you
I'm pleased with you
Good job
Well done
etc.

Those express recognition of an accomplishment without attaching *pride* to it.  I don't object to compliments--I object to the attachment of false pride to someone else's accomplishment(s).  

As for "I'm sorry" that's an expression of sorrow--if you said "I apologize" or "My bad" or "pardons" I would be all over your butt in the same way.  (I was raised that, "I'm sorry" is not an apology -- "I apologize" is--but needs to be accompanied with actions.)  

In simple metaphor--you're not my daddy and you didn't teach me to fly that kite.  

And yes, people say it all the time.  Does that mean it's an okay thing to say?  When I was little, the eenie-meenie rhyme went like this:
_
eenie-meenie-minee-moe
catch a nigger by the toe
...

_My kids learned it as *tiger*​--from other kids.  So it _can_ change.  But not if people aren't willing to recognize that maybe there's something wrong with the way they're doing it.


----------



## Theglasshouse

mrmustard615 said:


> Whoa, guys. I don't think any harm was meant. No, maybe we shouldn't be giving out lollipops for behaving the way we're supposed to to begin with, but it was meant in the best spirit possible.
> 
> 
> So let's get on with how your day went shall we? As for me, I'm waiting to see how many doctors and nurses my Mom pisses off at the hospital today. I'm keeping a running count and with a little luck, she'll make the Guinesses' Book of World Records. Other than that, things are going so swimmingly well. :icon_cheesygrin:


Agreed here with the post, the whole post.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 18026

View attachment 18027


Happy Cat-Cat photos...17 years strong!


----------



## The Green Shield

From now on, I am never going to tell any of you that I feel pride for you all. >:[


----------



## bobo

JustRob said:


> ...
> That's already been done. How else could I have got into this weird excuse of a reality? I'm just hoping to find my way back to the sane one one day.


Are you saying you was a laboratory rat for a research product ??
Did they confirm/admit to you (and they) got 'un-wanted' results ??


----------



## bobo

The Green Shield said:


> From now on, I am never going to tell any of you that I feel pride for you all. >:[


Good idea !!


----------



## The Green Shield

bobo said:


> Good idea !!


I am going to ban you. >:[


















Just kidding.


----------



## dither

Come on you guys what's it  all about anyway? Someone have a bad-hair day?


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Okay, dith, maybe I should review here. Before I do, keep in mind that I am having a most unpleasant weekend with my mother going off the deep end in the hospital after her cancer surgery.

Okay, so it started with a discussion over something rather controversial. Surprisingly, it didn't turn into one of those nasty disputes you tend to see around here.

So a certain unnamed moderator made the mistake of telling everyone how proud he was that the discussion stayed civil basically. People took umbrage to that and now feelings are hurt.

Okay, so praise for behaving the way you're supposed to to begin with probably wasn't necessary, and doing the praise in red really wasn't a good idea.

But did anyone for a minute consider the source? This wasn't some egomaniac who thought he owned the forum or something. This was a sensitive kid who really thought he was doing something nice.

So maybe the next time people go on a rampage against someone like he's the worst thing to happen since Adolf Hitler, think about the person they are going on a rampage against.

And for anyone who decides they need to go after me, I should warn that I'm not so sensitive!


----------



## JustRob

bobo said:


> Are you saying you was a laboratory rat for a research product ??
> Did they confirm/admit to you (and they) got 'un-wanted' results ??



I was a "voluntary" patient in a mental hospital in the late sixties and early seventies. They used some pretty heavy techniques then as a matter of course, like Largactil the "liquid cosh" more often associated with prisons nowadays, electric shock therapy and long term depot drugs. Who can say how much of the effects they understood then? I lost a whole week of my life along the way, during which time I was apparently bedridden in hospital and my angel subsequently told me that I didn't know who she was then despite being fully conscious. I didn't remember any of it afterwards, so I can't even be sure that that was the real me or some other personality within me trying to make sense of his existence. It may even have been a temporal shift, my mind reverting to a time before I met her. Maybe that is why it seems to be able to shift in time now, even possibly gaining access to my future memories. Who knows? If so, then that was no doubt an unexpected result, but it proved quite useful during my working career. I certainly had a reputation for dealing with problems before they happened or at least at the instant that they did without needing any apparent time for thought. As the treatment was all ostensibly voluntary I soon just stopped them giving it and have been very happy with my life ever since, now living in comfortable financially secure retirement at liberty to do what I please, within social reason of course. 

When people talk about being normal it both amuses and worries me. I've been there and back and can do it as I please now, but perhaps they just don't know entirely what their minds are capable of yet. Who should we trust more, the person who has found the edge of their "normality" and knows how to deal with it or the one who believes that their presumed normality is boundless? "Normality" is as much to do with social conformity as anything anyway. That has always been so. Back when I was in mental hospital I met a homosexual there whom they were trying to "cure". He told me that I was quite safe in his company as he didn't fancy me. Despite definitely being heterosexual I nevertheless felt offended at not having the choice.

So, was it my perception of reality that changed back then or am I still the same person I always was but in a different reality? To tell the truth there's no difference. Each of us sees reality in a different way and just because we often use the same words and come to the same conclusions about its nature, that doesn't mean that we fundamentally see it the same way. 

When I give my mind full rein and write fiction the results can be confusing to my readers because I'm taking them into an environment that they may not have fully experienced yet. Ideas of reality and personal identity slip away and all that there is left to cling to is simple rationality and whatever fundamental tenets make us human, but how many of us really comprehend what they are?


----------



## aj47

My day. Yesterday, I was up at 03:00 because I was nervous ... I was supposed to be up at 05:15.  

I had my commencement ceremony.  I was fourth in the line of candidates to walk across the stage.  I was guided (due to my eyesight, I can't do steps and needed someone -- he also helped position me at the place where photos were taken after we got our diploma cases).  Our keynote speaker was our city mayor--who I didn't realize was a first gen college grad (of Harvard law school, too).   

Today is mother's day here in the US.  My mother is demented (and out of my life for other reasons).  There is an individual on facebook who has contacted me and attempted to (re)connect me with my mother.  It is not her business why my mother is not in my life, so I have not shared.  I'm not going to rant about my mother here, either.  *My point is that if you know some mother who is unhappy that her adult children are estranged -- remember that the children may have legitimate reasons.  Resist the urge to contact the children on her behalf.

*


----------



## midnightpoet

I totally understand - when my son got married he didn't invite his mother (my ex-wife) because of her behavior and his bride wanted to talk him out of it.  We warned her if she tried that he'd call off the wedding.  She let it go.  My ex (who didn't have custody) would promise him the moon and stars and never came through.  He had good reasons.


----------



## bobo

Mustard, are you telling we have kids as moderators here ??
IF so, how come ??


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Sent PM


----------



## Kevin

Went to the burlesque last night.  It was downtown in one of the ancient theatres* that are on Broadway. I'm not a fan of strip clubs but this was something waaaay different... The audience was about 2/3 female. Great show. Beautiful, talented...


*https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_Theater_District_(Los_Angeles)


----------



## dither

mrmustard615 said:


> Okay, dith, maybe I should review here. Before I do, keep in mind that I am having a most unpleasant weekend with my mother going off the deep end in the hospital after her cancer surgery.
> 
> Okay, so it started with a discussion over something rather controversial. Surprisingly, it didn't turn into one of those nasty disputes you tend to see around here.
> 
> So a certain unnamed moderator made the mistake of telling everyone how proud he was that the discussion stayed civil basically. People took umbrage to that and now feelings are hurt.
> 
> Okay, so praise for behaving the way you're supposed to to begin with probably wasn't necessary, and doing the praise in red really wasn't a good idea.
> 
> But did anyone for a minute consider the source? This wasn't some egomaniac who thought he owned the forum or something. This was a sensitive kid who really thought he was doing something nice.
> 
> So maybe the next time people go on a rampage against someone like he's the worst thing to happen since Adolf Hitler, think about the person they are going on a rampage against.
> 
> And for anyone who decides they need to go after me, I should warn that I'm not so sensitive!



615,
Thanx for the update but when I scroll up all I see is good people.


----------



## dither

deleted


----------



## Winston

The rain let up enough for my son and I to work on the truck bed.  Got about half of it sanded and primed, enough to slip-in the new bed tool box.  It's nice having a place to put small stuff.
Now we're off to my mother-in-laws.  She's so lonely since her husband died.  I wish I could do more.


----------



## bobo

JustRob said:


> I was a "voluntary" patient in a mental hospital in the late sixties and early seventies. They used some pretty heavy techniques then as a matter of course, like Largactil the "liquid cosh" more often associated with prisons nowadays, electric shock therapy and long term depot drugs. Who can say how much of the effects they understood then? I lost a whole week of my life along the way, during which time I was apparently bedridden in hospital and my angel subsequently told me that I didn't know who she was then despite being fully conscious. I didn't remember any of it afterwards, so I can't even be sure that that was the real me or some other personality within me trying to make sense of his existence. It may even have been a temporal shift, my mind reverting to a time before I met her. Maybe that is why it seems to be able to shift in time now, even possibly gaining access to my future memories. Who knows? If so, then that was no doubt an unexpected result, but it proved quite useful during my working career. I certainly had a reputation for dealing with problems before they happened or at least at the instant that they did without needing any apparent time for thought. As the treatment was all ostensibly voluntary I soon just stopped them giving it and have been very happy with my life ever since, now living in comfortable financially secure retirement at liberty to do what I please, within social reason of course.
> 
> When people talk about being normal it both amuses and worries me. I've been there and back and can do it as I please now, but perhaps they just don't know entirely what their minds are capable of yet. Who should we trust more, the person who has found the edge of their "normality" and knows how to deal with it or the one who believes that their presumed normality is boundless? "Normality" is as much to do with social conformity as anything anyway. That has always been so. Back when I was in mental hospital I met a homosexual there whom they were trying to "cure". He told me that I was quite safe in his company as he didn't fancy me. Despite definitely being heterosexual I nevertheless felt offended at not having the choice.
> 
> So, was it my perception of reality that changed back then or am I still the same person I always was but in a different reality? To tell the truth there's no difference. Each of us sees reality in a different way and just because we often use the same words and come to the same conclusions about its nature, that doesn't mean that we fundamentally see it the same way.
> 
> When I give my mind full rein and write fiction the results can be confusing to my readers because I'm taking them into an environment that they may not have fully experienced yet. Ideas of reality and personal identity slip away and all that there is left to cling to is simple rationality and whatever fundamental tenets make us human, but how many of us really comprehend what they are?



Interesting story – are you sure it's your own future you’re experiencing ??
But may be I shouldn’t ask about what you’re sure of :star:
Yes, the human mind is an endless pit of possibilities.
You don’t need TV entertainment, you just plug into your mind, right ??
As long as you can control it yourself – it’s absolutely an interesting thing, don’t you think ??
BUT, many of us are capable of splitting up into two ‘persons’/entities having a dialogue – it’s normally called ‘talking to yourself’ even that doesn’t cover it the least bit.
The capability can be enhanced by meditating, where also other funny things ‘ll happen J
IF meditating, what does that do for you, if anything ?? 
I’m asking because it’s supposed to normalize, whatever that might be :teapot:


----------



## The Green Shield

Spent the whole day reading.


----------



## aj47

I was gifted a new graphics card ... for Mother's Day/graduation ... only I was not gifted a new cable (oops).  I have an extra monitor and the idea is, I can run dual monitors (so I can do development better -- code on one screen and output on the other).  

The oversight will be remedied within the next few days.


----------



## LeeC

I've tried to come up with a way to use my old iMac that died as a second and larger display with my MacBook, but can't seem to pull it off. The iMac started dying when lightening took out a utility pole across the road, and progressively got to the point where it can't even be booted anymore. The iMac needs to be able to run Target Display Mode, and it won't run anything reliably.


----------



## aj47

Sorry, Lee, I don't know from iTech.  The only reason I have an extra monitor is my daughter had it before she got the laptop and so it's been ... awaiting purposing.


----------



## JustRob

bobo said:


> Interesting story – are you sure it's your own future you’re experiencing ??


No, it could be my angel's as I tell her about these things. That would explain the six year link across time mentioned in my novel as that is the difference in our ages. If we are true soulmates then maybe the link joins us at the same ages, not the same time.



> But may be I shouldn’t ask about what you’re sure of :star:


Do you mean what I "believe"? I'm not sure I know what that word means. One could say that if we believe something then we are willing to act on it, but everything in our minds affects our behaviour to some extent whether we intend it to or not. I just accept some things as possibilities.



> Yes, the human mind is an endless pit of possibilities.


Ah, you agree with me then.



> You don’t need TV entertainment, you just plug into your mind, right ??


If you mean that I fall asleep while watching TV, yes, I'm always doing that nowadays. I do all my best thinking when I'm asleep apparently. I must do because I don't do it when I'm awake.



> As long as you can control it yourself – it’s absolutely an interesting thing, don’t you think ??


"Control" is another word like "believe" that we use casually without defining it precisely. It suggests that one is capable of fulfilling one's intentions, but in that case what does it mean to "control" one's intentions? Some people think that they are acting out of free will but are actually doing so to fulfil subconscious intentions. 



> BUT, many of us are capable of splitting up into two ‘persons’/entities having a dialogue – it’s normally called ‘talking to yourself’ even that doesn’t cover it the least bit.


No, that's true. If you don't talk to yourself then your subconscious may go ahead with fulfilling its intentions on its own anyway.  



> The capability can be enhanced by meditating, where also other funny things ‘ll happen J
> IF meditating, what does that do for you, if anything ??
> I’m asking because it’s supposed to normalize, whatever that might be :teapot:



I don't try to control the amount of activity in my mind but just let it vary naturally. Sometimes it all just stops and I have to wait for it to reboot. A man with an empty head has a clear mind.

A fellow recaller of future memories (Yes, there are others apparently.) tells me that he finds that it works best when he clears his mind, i.e. meditates I suppose, so that the normal chatter from the past and present is subdued and the quiet messages from the future can be discerned. He actually tries to make the phenomenon happen, but I just experience it occasionally without encouraging it. 

As a recalled future memory is reinforced by becoming a past thought it appears to be an inspiration that comes out of nowhere, i.e. a completely original idea. Maybe all inspiration of this kind materialises in this way. Some people who believe that everything is strictly the result of past events also say that therefore free will is an illusion, but I find that an incredibly depressing view of life. That other fellow tries to recall numbers from the future, maybe in order to win the lottery, but "I'm not a number; I'm a free man!" (The Prisoner - 1967 TV series) That TV series was also about each individual's perception of reality being different, each creating their own personal mental prison out of their beliefs. Maybe that's why I enjoyed the series of stories _The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever _by Stephen R Donaldson. Can we also be imprisoned by our unbelief?


----------



## bobo

I'll not say what I believe, neither about free will, nor about how ideas is caught up by several different brains at almost the same time.
I don't think one should share one's believes with anybody, they are absolutely private - and because one cherish them, one  should shield them against other's attack or destruction/laughter.
Thanks anyway for the clarification :fat:


----------



## JustRob

bobo said:


> I don't think one should share one's believes with anybody, they are absolutely private - and because one cherish them, one  should shield them against other's attack or destruction/laughter.


I believe in being unpredictable. There's little that anyone can gain from knowing that because if they didn't I would still be unpredictable. Given that my unpredictability is known to be intentional it can't even be criticised as a flaw because there could be method in my apparent madness. As a mathematician I would say that it is the difference between true randomness and pseudo-randomness, which is in effect just a regular pattern too complex to discern or predict. Chaos theory revealed that quite simple regular processes can lead to chaos through the butterfly effect. An early example of this was discovered in basic weather systems. I didn't need to be told that though. I live in England. At present it ought to be raining here but it isn't and that's been going on for a month or more now. There have been a few pathetic efforts but we desperately need a good downpour.

This reveals a fundamental truth. Ask an Englishman how his day went and eventually he'll get around to talking about the weather. Perhaps I'm not as unpredictable as I'd wish to be.


----------



## Sebald

Sebald said:


> We don't hate Americans. We're a peace-loving people. Apart from all the wars.
> Sas,, most people with disabilities here use what's called a mobility scooter. I've done a bit of searching, and this hire company seem good:
> 
> http://www.mobilityequipmenthiredir...1616-mobility-scooter-hire-in-london-england/



Hampstead Heath in London is a wonderful way to spend a sunny day. Great disabled access, not a 'tourist' spot, as its just a huge, ancient parkland, spread out across the north of the city. 

It contains Kenwood House, a small museum that houses some Gainsboroughs and Reynolds. 

There's also music by the lake, early evening concerts with the most beautiful backdrop.


----------



## JustRob

Today I wired up a rudimentary null modem. This enables two computers to appear to be listening to each other when they may not be. Alternatively each may be listening to the other but pretending not to. Hence just think of it as a sort of marital aid. What's more, it works! At my age finding a marital aid that works is worth celebrating, if I can think of a suitable way of doing that.


----------



## The Green Shield

I have a Goodreads account now! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			






https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/67803843-john-flukinger


----------



## sas

Sebald said:


> Hampstead Heath in London is a wonderful way to spend a sunny day. Great disabled access, not a 'tourist' spot, as its just a huge, ancient parkland, spread out across the north of the city.
> 
> It contains Kenwood House, a small museum that houses some Gainsboroughs and Reynolds.
> 
> There's also music by the lake, early evening concerts with the most beautiful backdrop.



Thank you, so much. I've copied it and will pass along to her. xoxo


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm addicted to Facebook now. HAAAAALLP!!!


----------



## Sebald

sas said:


> Thank you, so much. I've copied it and will pass along to her. xoxo



You're welcome. Hope it is of some help.


----------



## escorial

Watching 2nd one of 4 ninety minute documentries called OJ..made in America...enjoying it immensely....


----------



## The Green Shield

I just did a 10-minute weights workout complete with two sets of ten push-ups and wrapped up a 10-minute meditation. I am calm, at peace, and in the moment.


----------



## Sleepwriter

The Green Shield said:


> I'm addicted to Facebook now. HAAAAALLP!!!



Don't worry it shall pass


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> I'm addicted to Facebook now. HAAAAALLP!!!



Sleepwriter is right, I just realised I have 450 unread e-mails, most facebook notifications, the novelty wears off.


----------



## Thaumiel

Heard a loud beeping noise, assumed it was something outside. Went to the kitchen later only to find a small bird staring at me from the table.


----------



## Kevin

Leftovers for dinner: layers of vegetable ( eggplant, zucchini, yam) cut into 1/8" flat slices, ricotta, tomato sauce, layered, garlic onion, fresh  Parmesan; some mozzarella ontop, baked an hour, foil removed and browned. The moms liked it- had seconds. Now it's dinner again... Not bad. She's too tired to cook, so I said why not have leftovers. Not bad. Cook another day...


----------



## Darkkin

Doing laundry tonight...I realized that yeah, it's offically warm, the dozen or so sundresses I just put in the washer testify to the fact...


----------



## aj47

Today my son completed his high school curriculum. I am so pleased with him.  

He graduates on 5 June at a special ceremony to be held at the local mall(!) with a reception afterward.


----------



## TheWonderingNovice

astroannie said:


> Today my son completed his high school curriculum. I am so pleased with him.
> 
> He graduates on 5 June at a special ceremony to be held at the local mall(!) with a reception afterward.



Thats fantastic! Congratulations, now its on to four years of sleepless nights and hair pulling. Good luck to him


----------



## The Green Shield

Checking out the old Historium. =)


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Engaging in online dating. I'm VERY bad at it. The results speak for themselves.


----------



## bobo

As long as you're not ENGAGED online - take care :^o


----------



## Kevin

Drilling began... We hit beach sand and water at 15'. Wonder how long it took for 15' of silt to accumulate? We're about a mile from the coast, elevation: 22' (above sea level). Beach sand with dirt ontop...wonder how that behaves in an earthquake? Hm...


----------



## escorial

Was about to leave an go into city for the beginning of the Liverpool Light Night Events taking place here there an everywhere..but I'm not big on crowds an instead might go tomorrow...


----------



## Kevin

escorial said:


> Liverpool Light Night Events taking place here there an everywhere...


what is that?


----------



## JustRob

I spent the day on a fascinating course about _Alice in Wonderland_. The lady giving it was a long time enthusiast with a wealth of knowledge from every imaginable angle. She also brought her collection of editions of the book, which throughout the years have been illustrated by many artists. This included a printed reproduction of the original hand-written copy entitled _Alice's Adventures Under Ground_ that Dodgson wrote and illustrated himself and gave to the real Alice as a Christmas present. In the better known version that was published subsequently he added many more scenes and the many political references and got a proper artist to do the illustrations. He apparently knew his marketing well. If the course had gone on for a month we could barely have scratched the surface of the subject with her. A day well spent.


----------



## bobo

JustRob said:


> I spent the day on a fascinating course about _Alice in Wonderland_. The lady giving it was a long time enthusiast with a wealth of knowledge from every imaginable angle. She also brought her collection of editions of the book, which throughout the years have been illustrated by many artists. This included a printed reproduction of the original hand-written copy entitled _Alice's Adventures Under Ground_ that Dodgson wrote and illustrated himself and gave to the real Alice as a Christmas present. In the better known version that was published subsequently he added many more scenes and the many political references and got a proper artist to do the illustrations. He apparently knew his marketing well. If the course had gone on for a month we could barely have scratched the surface of the subject with her. A day well spent.



Glad to hear you had a good day 
Have been waiting to hear something about your adventure with Alice


----------



## The Green Shield

So I downloaded a drawing app for my iPad, and this is my Work In Progress:










​


----------



## Darkkin

We are entering day four of near continuous thunderstorms.  Needless to say, everything is growing and very, very green....But it is cold and ishy, my dog is bored silly, and I've been sidelined until my cardiac function levels out.  :grumpy:  Merry sunshine ran away screaming mid-week.


----------



## escorial

Trump of to the desert...that man rocks..made my day


----------



## Blade

Kevin said:


> Drilling began... We hit beach sand and water at 15'. Wonder how long it took for 15' of silt to accumulate? We're about a mile from the coast, elevation: 22' (above sea level). Beach sand with dirt ontop...wonder how that behaves in an earthquake? Hm...



I think it would depend on the type of sand. If the sand particles were rounded I would not want to be standing on top of it.:apologetic:


----------



## dither

I seem to be sleeping away most of my Saturdays right now so all good here.
I do my Saturday morning shopping, get home around lunchtime, drink a couple of mugs of the nectar and I'm in a horizontal position by two o'clock.


----------



## sas

We celebrated my granddaughter's 14 birthday a week early because she wanted to have sleep over party with her girlfriends last nite. She is 14 today. Seven accepted invitation. She was so excited. Extra blow up bed brought in and cots! Decorations. Birthday cupcakes and food. Short story, two showed up and only one stayed the night. 

As Obama would say, "It is a teachable moment." But what my friends is the lesson? Perhaps choose your friends more carefully? I chose to have only one close friend through grade school and high school (different ones). At a lunchroom table, in HS, I interacted with many. I must have been funny, as that's what most wrote, in my year book. But I was close to only one. Only one was invited to my home.  55 years after graduation, she is still a friend . . .who would show up . . . . Of course, we'd give each other a pass, if one passes on.


----------



## Kevin

sas said:


> We celebrated my granddaughter's 14 birthday a week early because she wanted to have sleep over party with her girlfriends last nite. She is 14 today. Seven accepted invitation. She was so excited. Extra blow up bed brought in and cots! Decorations. Birthday cupcakes and food. Short story, two showed up and only one stayed the night.
> 
> As Obama would say, "It is a teachable moment." But what my friends is the lesson? Perhaps choose your friends more carefully? I chose to have only one close friend through grade school and high school (different ones). At a lunchroom table, in HS, I interacted with many. I must have been funny, as that's what most wrote, in my year book. But I was close to only one. Only one was invited to my home.  55 years after graduation, she is still a friend . . .who would show up . . . . Of course, we'd give each other a pass, if one passes on.


ohhh... Been there. Kind of hurts, I bet, but, yes, you learn. Friends that pull a no-show... I ragged on them afterward-_ Wtf?! If you're not going to come don't say you are..._ These were adults and it was dinner reservations. I told junior all about it. Those are not my friends anymore- never invite them anywhere. 
Always good to know what to expect- and he always makes sure to tell 'friends' what he expects- which is common courtesy-not flaking. 
I'm one to let the parents know that I don't appreciate it. But then I don't give a--. If the dad ever wanted to take it outside. Ha. Anyway, it's outta line.. rsvp or don't, but don't f-ing flake. Bad form... Rude.


----------



## bobo

Sorry to hear that ... but honestly I don't understand why they accepted the invitation and then didn't come.
I gather they didn't send cancellation either ??
That's very bad behaviour - and such thing unforetunatly at 14 points to the mothers !!
*Shame on you, mothers for letting your young kids doing things like that* [-X


----------



## Kevin

Wife went to a 'celebration of life'- a gathering of friends for someone that passed. She'd done his hair, volunteering her services for this organization that goes out and does that for special cases of people in need. In this case he was a wealthy man struck down by ALS. My wife would go to his house and give him haircuts. His wife didn't want him to go but he was... ready. I guess she did him about a year. By the end he couldn't even blink. 

The gathering was at a friends house in the Hollywood Hills, and she said the guy had a lot of 'heavy hitters' as friends; he was an attorney; 'entertainment'. Nice people, she said, the home owners had their chef prepared all the food which was for about 70. The house was full of art but they ate outside overlooking the gardens which went down the hillside of a canyon that was completely landscaped. There were pathways down, and a pergola; a fully-enclosed wire protective catwalk that went up into trees ( raised tunnels or tubes, with a wood plank to walk on; something like a "habi-trail") to keep the cat from being eaten, and from eating ( birds). The wife was an architect and the plants were all natives; gorgeous she said...

She was there a few hours, and talked with several of the guests (not knowing them prior) and one man in particular who mentioned that his (their) most-beloved daughter was the one with autism. He said she had forced them ( he and his wife) to really be 'there'; 'present'. The other two daughters were off on their careers (doctors, lawyers, or the like) (...as he and his wife had both done) while this one never would be. They said that this was hard to accept at first, but that there was something to be found be there, something they _had_ found that forced them to pay attention. This was s good thing.

Later, we went over to our friends' ( a couple) in our hills with another couple, and sat under their 'pergola' in their landscaped yard. Their yard probably cost as much as our house but in comparison , a fraction of that of the house in the Hollywood hills. 

There are levels and layers...

The wives cooked, re-creating a meal they had been taught taking a cooking lesson at Sur la tab( spelling unknown  ). Anyway, it was all good- excellent really- and we felt very 'gifted' considering the plight of the world in general.


----------



## The Green Shield

I just rubbed it into my colleagues at work -- when they needed earplugs to protect their hearing from a loud noise -- that I have "natural earplugs". Dick move sure.


But considering what my boss did to me that time regarding my hearing impairment... making fun of me...


I took extreme pleasure out if it -- far more than I really should've.


----------



## Darkkin

Is it contrary to be honest in one's impressions?  e.g.  Everyone else reaches conclusion A, and yes, you can see how they arrived at that conclusion, but when context is translated through one's personal matrices, you arrived at conclusion Q5.  The parallels of Q5 being far clearer and linear in their congruency than abstract A.  As a reader, you are highly cognizant of the events that contributed to the construct of your translation matrices; they are what they are, but is Q5 wrong because it is always a different conclusion than the ascertained by the majority of a group?  You know you aren't reading something wrong on purpose to be deliberately obtuse.  The words and parallels merely hold a different meaning within their construct.  Hence Q5 instead of A.


----------



## Kevin

The peacocks were particularly noisy all evening. No complaint. On the other hand, someone has an extremely annoying 'race car' that comes through the neighborhood very late at night. I am not a light sleeper, yet this awakes... 
I wonder if it is their prerogative, 'natural' right? I somewhat feel so. It is most certainly illegal- the noise, and speed. Would it be so wrong then, to join in the law-breaking (scofflaw-ing?) and 'interject' a projectile (of various imagined sort) in their direction, a communication that_ 'Hey bud, I'm with you'_ in the form of sharp _bang_, or thud?


----------



## Tiashe

Finished a big assignment sooooooooo... it was good U_U


----------



## JustRob

I registered to attend a talk next week at the Society for Psychical Research in London on recalling future memories by a member who claims to have been doing it all of his life. I have been in correspondence with him on the subject and I'm not convinced that either of us has a clue what the other is writing about, but that's pretty normal for me.

The logistics of the trip have involved my buying royal circle tickets for a matinee of a West End musical for my angel and myself on the same day afternoon. However, that does mean that she will also be attending the evening talk at the SPR, but at least she'll get to listen to some other weird person than myself speaking on the subject for up to two hours. Hence her well-earned title "angel".

Considering that this all stemmed from my writing that novel back in 2011, my writing career still seems only to involve outgo with no sign of income. By the way, the show is _Motown The Musical. _Well, that would be a pretty boring subject if it wasn't a musical really, wouldn't it?


----------



## sas

JustRob,

I'm the real Motown deal. I went to high school with Diana Ross. It had an elevator students smashed themselves into. I'm sure her ass was up against my belly, but can't prove it. Damn.


----------



## The Green Shield

I have a guilt pleasure I want to admit:


I'm a white guy, but I like listening (and dancing) to music by black people.


----------



## Kevin

The Green Shield said:


> I have a guilt pleasure I want to admit:
> 
> 
> I'm a white guy, but I like listening (and dancing) to music by black people.


abshowlootlee shocking... That's what it is.  https://youtu.be/Npm5vxharc4


----------



## LeeC

The Green Shield said:


> I have a guilt pleasure I want to admit:
> 
> 
> I'm a white guy, but I like listening (and dancing) to music by black people.


Salt and pepper makes an egg taste better.




Kevin said:


> abshowlootlee shocking... That's what it is.  https://youtu.be/Npm5vxharc4


Here we go again, those ignorant commie liberals are destroying our great nation  

Ride on bro.


----------



## Darkkin

Watching Michael Pollan's _Cooked_ on Netflix....


----------



## aj47

We have a new kitten, She's ... around.  I saw her yesterday morning.  Her food is being eaten and the catbox used.  Noodle stays upstairs pretty much so I doubt she's the cause.

Newb is named Elise (as in fur Elise I *think* I didn't participate in the name-choosing).  She's a gray stripy kitty.

She was a foundling by my friends, who have 8 already and cannot keep her.  If I ever see her again, she'll be shot and spayed and so on (assuming the gender assessment is correct--it might be a neuter).

When I did see her, she was adorable.  Not at all the cactus-kitty Noodle is.


----------



## JustRob

sas said:


> JustRob,
> 
> I'm the real Motown deal. I went to high school with Diana Ross. It had an elevator students smashed themselves into. I'm sure her ass was up against my belly, but can't prove it. Damn.





The Green Shield said:


> I have a guilt pleasure I want to admit:
> 
> 
> I'm a white guy, but I like listening (and dancing) to music by black people.



As I understand it Tamla Motown intentionally aimed at the crossover white music market. My angel took a liking to it during the 1960s, so when we met in 1970 she introduced me to it. It was very much part of our past lives together. I think the idea that the Beatles were central to the British music scene in the sixties is an oversimplification. Their popularity has always been a mystery to me, especially since their fans never actually seemed to listen to them.


----------



## The Green Shield

*LADIES AND GENTS!! IT'S FRIDAY!!! MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND FOR MEEE!!!*


----------



## Sleepwriter

Got me a new video game.  Friday the 13th the game.  You can be Jason or a camper.  Never laughed so hard.


----------



## Darkkin

Mom borrowed me for the day, which we spent at the zoo.  I hadn't been there since middle school, so it was a fun surprise.  Even though it is only located two hours north, I haven't been able to make the trip because I'm not allowed to go alone, and it's a zoo.  Even though Rue is certified service, you don't take a dog to the zoo.   Learned a few things and saw quite a bit more.  So, a good time was had by all and Mom found Pocket, the Fennec Fox for me.  He is the quantifiable twin of Fennec, my Pocket Fox...   Currently,  Pocket is keeping a watch on the second colume of my Strangeways verses.


View attachment 18271


----------



## Winston

Fixed a busted fuel line on my old pick-up.  Installed some speakers so we can have some tunes in the truck.
Next, it's transferring my beer to secondary fermentation and then going out to my in-laws for a cook-out.
Wanted to clean-up the travel trailer today.  Pushing that back to tomorrow.


----------



## bdcharles

Winston said:


> Fixed a busted fuel line on my old pick-up.  Installed some speakers so we can have some tunes in the truck.
> Next, it's transferring my beer to secondary fermentation and then going out to my in-laws for a cook-out.
> Wanted to clean-up the travel trailer today.  Pushing that back to tomorrow.



Crikey. With all that, you're never going to have time to finish your embroidery piece.


----------



## Winston

bdcharles said:


> Crikey. With all that, you're never going to have time to finish your embroidery piece.



Don't be silly.  My teenage son helps with some of that stuff (not the beer).  And my wife handles embroidery.  Or used to.  She's more into selling on eBay now.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 18276

Total sum of my day...


----------



## Winston

Took my son to the Veteran's Home.  His Junior ROTC unit provides community service for the old guys and gals.  Just a few years ago, he was a Cub Scout, visiting them for Christmas.  The Vets really do appreciate the attention.  They deserve at least that.
Along the way, we passed the cemetery, with a small flag in front of each marker.  I won't embarrass myself talking about my feelings today.  It's just sad that today is simply a day off for many folks.  And nothing more.


----------



## The Green Shield

So I'm following a page labeled 'historical photos' on Facebook. It's self-explanatory. Well, a recent photo was posted in that page made me lose my faith in humanity:


#1- A grainy, black-and-white photo of a young Japanese girl blinded by the nuke dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Her eyes were burnt out, milky white and scarred, and there's another scar running along her chin. Yes, that means the last thing she saw with her own eyes was a nuke going off before she went blind.


#2- A bunch of disgusting assholes saying this innocent little girl deserved that because of what her country did, saying, "Well, her country shouldn't have picked a fight with the USA!" and all that shit. 


<sighs>


----------



## midnightpoet

Summer temps already here - hit 100f the other day, but signs of spring are still around. A family of cardinals set up a nest in an old wrought-iron planter; just a few feet off the ground but should be safe enough - although cats do come in the yard occasionally despite the fence. I checked it out - three speckled eggs.  

Another family of rabbits have a nest under my tool shed, and they come out a lot - my Blue Heeler, Jud, will chase them but he's rather old and slow like me.  I believe a ground squirrel has an underground borrow near the alley, but not sure about it.  Bees gather around our cactus flowers, and hummingbirds check out our birds of paradise plants.

Thunderstorms the rest of the week, humidity high, summer a-comin'.


----------



## Winston

The Green Shield said:


> So I'm following a page labeled 'historical photos' on Facebook. It's self-explanatory. Well, a recent photo was posted in that page made me lose my faith in humanity:
> 
> 
> #1- A grainy, black-and-white photo of a young Japanese girl blinded by the nuke dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Her eyes were burnt out, milky white and scarred, and there's another scar running along her chin. Yes, that means the last thing she saw with her own eyes was a nuke going off before she went blind.
> 
> 
> #2- A bunch of disgusting assholes saying this innocent little girl deserved that because of what her country did, saying, "Well, her country shouldn't have picked a fight with the USA!" and all that shit.
> 
> 
> <sighs>



I avoid social media like The Plague.  Hearing experiences like yours just confirms my dislike of Facebook and it's ilk.
But you're here now, with us.  Thank God no one here is that cruel.  People can be so sick.


----------



## JustRob

Winston said:


> I avoid social media like The Plague.



I was just thinking what an odd expression that is. If there were a plague, and that isn't so frequent an occurrence nowadays, it would probably be much harder to avoid than social media. In fact my angel and I don't really indulge in social media at all, present company excepted, and that is merely by omission rather than active precautions. No, I think The Plague would be a very different challenge to overcome. Perhaps we need a new superlative expression for modern times. 

"I avoid social media like ................"  Anyone have a suggestion? "Falling pianos" comes to mind for some reason. "Acid rain" maybe? Maybe we need a thread for this.


----------



## bobo

Well, if you don't like the word 'plague', which according to my dictionaries aren't out-of-date at all, as it clearly can mean a nuisance, a torment, a bother etc. - then what about using 'pest' instead ??
You'll probably say the same thing, pest is an oldfashioned illness, but nevertheless, both 'plague' and 'pest' can be used today about the above continual troubles and distresses  - and further, even it's somewhat long since we (at least in the 1. world countries) had both diseases, the odd thing is, that everybody seems to know what it is supposed to mean - in the abstract form at least 
Sorry, hope I didn't ruin your day :icon_compress:


----------



## Darkkin

Plague and pestilence have become synonyms for the emotions their physical consequences can evoke.  Thus a noun becoming an adjective or a verb.


----------



## Kevin

JustRob said:


> I was just thinking what an odd expression that is. If there were a plague, and that isn't so frequent an occurrence nowadays, it would probably be much harder to avoid than social media. In fact my angel and I don't really indulge in social media at all, present company excepted, and that is merely by omission rather than active precautions. No, I think The Plague would be a very different challenge to overcome. Perhaps we need a new superlative expression for modern times.
> 
> "I avoid social media like ................"  Anyone have a suggestion? "Falling pianos" comes to mind for some reason. "Acid rain" maybe? Maybe we need a thread for this.


 I was going to say chlamydia, but then I use that term 4 or 5 times a day.


----------



## aj47

I wrote a random baseball quote web page over the weekend.  If you like a quote, you can tweet it with a couple of clicks.


----------



## JustRob

bobo said:


> Well, if you don't like the word 'plague', which according to my dictionaries aren't out-of-date at all, as it clearly can mean a nuisance, a torment, a bother etc. - then what about using 'pest' instead ??
> You'll probably say the same thing, pest is an oldfashioned illness, but nevertheless, both 'plague' and 'pest' can be used today about the above continual troubles and distresses - and further, even it's somewhat long since we (at least in the 1. world countries) had both diseases, the odd thing is, that everybody seems to know what it is supposed to mean - in the abstract form at least
> Sorry, hope I didn't ruin your day :icon_compress:





Darkkin said:


> Plague and pestilence have become synonyms for the emotions their physical consequences can evoke. Thus a noun becoming an adjective or a verb.



To be pedantic, which seems to come easily to me, I did say that it was the expression, rather than the word, that bothered me. Using the definite article and capitals thus, "The Plague", seems different from simply using the word "plague" in a more general sense. I think that's what triggered my reaction. It's amazing how the smallest detail in the way that we write something can potentially change a reader's perception of it. "The Plague" can conjure up quite distinct images in a reader's mind. I claim to have been "plagued" by thoughts from the future, but they haven't involved anyone calling out "Bring out your dead!", not so far anyway. At my age I could get very worried if they did.


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm in a weird mood today. My anxiety tells me I should be bummed out and cynical, but on the flip side, I'm not letting myself feel that way.


----------



## JustRob

Today I added a flourish to our trip to London on Thursday to see a show and attend a talk at the Society for Psychical Research. I contacted the theatre and arranged for my angel to be served Pimms and chocolate ice cream in a reserved spot in the royal circle bar during the interval. Well, why waste one's imagination writing down one's ideas for unknown people to read when one can employ them to bring happiness directly to the people who really matter? Any entertainment that I have given to WF readers is just spin-off from my efforts to keep those closest to me happy over the years. Cran always says that reality is what matters most, but so long as WF is a genuine reflection of the real people behind it then there can't be too much wrong with it.

A poem given to a loved one, a children's story told to children, a joke told when spirits need to be raised, and an event organised when an occasion merits it, these are the real benefits of a creative mind. Don't always commit these bursts of inspiration to the fictional world of literature. Make reality a better place as well.

P.S.
Come to think of it, how often does a writer see their reader smile for real?


----------



## aj47

I interviewed for a volunteer instructor position and they want me but have no place for me.  It's because of my vision and the associated transportation issues.  I can work from home.  But they don't have any positions for remote instructors at this point because all of the schools signed up are accessible to "normal" people. So I may not be working for these folks till 2018.  Kind of a bummer.


----------



## LeeC

Well Esc, it's that time of the year again to cut, split, and put up half a dozen cords of wood for next winter. If you're thinking of visiting, now would be a good time  For relaxation, you could also help clear some of the raspberry brambles in my natural garden.


----------



## Winston

My son had his Junior ROTC awards tonight.  All he got was some lousy "participation award" that pretty much everyone else got.  He works hard and is a real good kid.  He deserved more.
A cadet he's real close with got a ton of awards and recognition.  That probably hurt the most.  There wasn't much separating the two of them.  The brass just liked her more.  
I think he understands the politics in this crap.  My son is honest, reliable, and everyone likes him.  But that gets you nowhere in today's world.
I don't know what to tell him.  I want to tell him expect more in the future, because life is unfair and goodness is shat upon.  
But I'm the adult, and that means lying to him and blowing sunshine up his rear.  Because the truth is too ugly to face.


----------



## bobo

Teach him to suck up - or let him himself discover the system.
It's not enough to be good in himself, he has to do something to make the others feel good about themselves - even the not so good - voila !!


----------



## The Green Shield

I just had a dream I was the president of the United States, and kept asking Merkel if she were doing OK. The news referred to me as 'Insecured Commander in Chief'.


----------



## Kevin

Went to a party. Met someone's dad who was from rural Wisconsin. He drank a bunch of beers and was telling me about the time his ex asked if he felt remorse after stomping some guy that picked a fight with him in the bar. He dragged the guy out by his ankles and left him lying outside in the cold. 

I didnt know know what to think, not ever being a bar person or a 'scrapper' as he called himself. I was thinking that here, they charge you with 'deadly force' if you kick. He said he's old now and doesn't do that sort of thing anymore.


----------



## sas

Kevin said:


> Went to a party. Met someone's dad who was from rural Wisconsin. He drank a bunch of beers and was telling me about the time his ex asked if he felt remorse after stomping some guy that picked a fight with him in the bar. He dragged the guy out by his ankles and left him lying outside in the cold.
> 
> I didnt know know what to think, not ever being a bar person or a 'scrapper' as he called himself. I was thinking that here, they charge you with 'deadly force' if you kick. He said he's old now and doesn't do that sort of thing anymore.




Ha, ha, ha! I found out when I was an adult that my grandfather was a bouncer in a bar. They made him the bouncer because of all the fights he got into there. Decided to put his pugilism to work. I don't have royalty in my lineage, but know the ability to kick ass (verbally) has held me in good stead. Glad I got it. Smiles. Sas


----------



## The Green Shield

This is something I need to get through my thick skull with writing: first drafts are for throwing everything you can think of in your draft -- editing comes later.


----------



## PunkyBarista

I went to town thinking that we were getting a writing session together after holding it back for almost a week (everyone agreed on 4PM), but everyone else had different things that went in the way of those plans, so no one could come.


----------



## Darkkin

Nothing is on fire, I haven't stabbed anyone with a pen, we had potluck at work which included pulled pork and ice cream, and I finished three books...So not too bad.  We are also going to _Wonder Woman_​ tonight, too.


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm writing an essay about my disabilities, which I might post in my blog when I'm finished.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 18339

Yes, my dog is alive, he is just doing a great imitation of roadkill...


----------



## Kevin

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 18339
> 
> Yes, my dog is alive, he is just doing a great imitation of roadkill...


mmm... I call that the sneeze-pose. Watch out.


----------



## Darkkin

Kevin said:


> mmm... I call that the sneeze-pose. Watch out.



No sneezes, but some significant snoring thought.  How he sleeps like that is still a mystery.


----------



## The Green Shield

I woke up to my jaw feeling like someone punched it. I think I was clenching my teeth very hard last night as I slept (for reasons I don't understand.) :<​


----------



## bobo




----------



## Theglasshouse

The green shield. Definitely, agree on the first draft for ideas. It's a great decision and good stage where to dump them. I decided to consider this after eavesdropping a bit, brainstorming, and so forth. That's what I am doing, and trying to describe while I am fresh out of ideas. I wish we had a description thread. Where we have a sticky for descriptions, first impressions, and so forth. It would save space, and people could comment in the same thread and learn from each other.(like the idea for a scrapbook or a book with all our work in it, except it is for different people.)


----------



## Kevin

My day went fine. A family friend on the other hand, not well. He crashed his airplane and died. I'm seriously struggling to feel bad for him. Not that I feel anything else for him. He was never my friend, but I knew him. He's got a wife and two kids and _that_ is terrible. I can feel that _that_ is a terrible thing.


----------



## am_hammy

My day was filled with spending time with my mom and discovering I still had the fire in me. It's a tiny flame now, but pretty soon its going to be roaring. Happy Sundaaaaaay


----------



## The Green Shield

https://www.facebook.com/aTardigrad...41828.486875808165647/680589335460959/?type=3

That moment when you find this in your Facebook feed. If I weren't so attached to my Zuko avatar, I'd change it to this. Orca whales are my favorite marine animal. :>


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Orca whales are my favorite marine animal. :>



I prefer a nice piece of cod, or maybe squid.


----------



## aj47

My son graduated yesterday and also received acceptance to community college.  He wants to be a welder.

As you can see, I'm no longer on staff here.   I discovered that the hours a day I used to spend on this site are now being spent elsewhere.  

I'm still here, but only for minutes / day.  

@Kevin.  I totally get that.  I had a similar situation a few months back and ... it is what it is.  Stuff happens.


----------



## bobo

astroannie said:


> ...
> 
> As you can see, I'm no longer on staff here.   I discovered that the hours a day I used to spend on this site are now being spent elsewhere.
> 
> I'm still here, but only for minutes / day....



Ay, ay - aren't you afraid you'll attrap abstinences ?? :fat:


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> My son graduated yesterday and also received acceptance to community college.  He wants to be a welder.
> 
> As you can see, I'm no longer on staff here.   I discovered that the hours a day I used to spend on this site are now being spent elsewhere.
> 
> I'm still here, but only for minutes / day.
> 
> @Kevin.  I totally get that.  I had a similar situation a few months back and ... it is what it is.  Stuff happens.





Thank you for all the effort you put into keeping WF vibrant. I'll miss your keen eye in poetry workshop. Best. sas


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> My son graduated yesterday and also received acceptance to community college.  He wants to be a welder.
> 
> As you can see, I'm no longer on staff here.   I discovered that the hours a day I used to spend on this site are now being spent elsewhere.
> 
> I'm still here, but only for minutes / day.
> 
> @Kevin.  I totally get that.  I had a similar situation a few months back and ... it is what it is.  Stuff happens.



Your gain is our loss, those hours put in are much appreciated, good to hear your boy has a goal and is getting on toward it.


----------



## The Green Shield

• Trump supporters trying to tell me that Kathy Griffin is a disgusting traitor who needs to be in jail and waxing lyrical on how liberals are destroying the country.

• Being yelled at by the secretary for something I didn't do.


• I'm turning bigoted against Catholic people for no goddamned reason. GREAT! As if I didn't have enough flaws I needed to fix. >:[ 


The worst part is, if I dared strike back, if I dared act like an ass, I'm the big bad guy. But it's totes OK if they do it.


----------



## am_hammy

Today was the new Monday this week. Work was so busy, didn't get a chance to relax really. But I'm home now so that's all that matters. However, I'm trying to decide what to do to veg out before I give up and just go to bed lol.


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> Thank you for all the effort you put into keeping WF vibrant. I'll miss your keen eye in poetry workshop. Best. sas



Actually, when I show up, I'll feel more like doing stuff... I always felt obliged to do work before play and now, with no work on the plate, the play comes first.  I've got some life stuff (college for my son) to deal with that's also keeping me busy but once it levels off, I'll be here as a player, not a worker and I'll be able to contribute again to workshopping.  I don't want to be a drive-by *Like*​r.  



Olly Buckle said:


> Your gain is our loss, those hours put in are much appreciated, good to hear your boy has a goal and is getting on toward it.



I'm rather pleased with him.  We spent a few hours at the college today shuffling virtual papers.  He'll have to go to a distant campus because welding is not offered at a closer one, but we have public transit once I get him to the park & ride.


----------



## Darkkin

I know most people like AC in the summer, but right now...:grief:   Three times this week my angina has been triggered because I can't get away from the artificial cold.  I shouldn't have to take mittens to work in June.  Bad attack tonight.  Nitro isn't fun.


----------



## PiP

Yesterday, my garden was opened to the gardening club. I was terrified! As it was we had a really good morning followed by a hearty lunch washed down with copious amounts of wine (which I also had to organise). Gardening is thirsty work 

I have designed my garden like rooms. You walk from one room to another and each space has a different feel.

I'll post some pictures later


----------



## bobo

Sounds interesting, PiP


----------



## am_hammy

I had ice cream on a wafer cone for the first time in awhile tonight and it was glorious. I felt like I was six years old again without a care in the world.


----------



## LeeC

am_hammy said:


> I had ice cream on a wafer cone for the first time in awhile tonight and it was glorious. I felt like I was six years old again without a care in the world.


You're not supposed to make me think of ice cream. That should be in the rules. Now you've got me thinking about ccc [chocolate chip coffee] with a dribble of real New England maple syrup on top.


----------



## am_hammy

LeeC said:


> You're not supposed to make me think of ice cream. That should be in the rules. Now you've got me thinking about ccc [chocolate chip coffee] with a dribble of real New England maple syrup on top.




Lee you're speaking my language. Now I gotta get me some New England maple syrup. Coffee ice cream is the absolute best and sounds even better with maple syrup.


----------



## Thaumiel

Woke up to a well endowed parliament. Oh my.





Whatever happens, even if the Tories lead the country with a minority government, all I can really hope for is that they replace Theresa May.


----------



## midnightpoet

XXxX x XXxX x

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


----------



## Winston

Fiddled with the old truck.  Got the cabin light to work.
Changed the oil on my motorcycle.  Only a few drips in the driveway.  But OMG!  That bike holds over 3 liters of oil!  
Cleaned-up the garage a bit.  Swept, organized.
And, my son wants to go shooting again.  He wants to try my shotgun. Checked the Mossberg and shells. They make 1.75" mini-shells, and I think I'll buy a few.  'Cause I'm not an A-hole.   

I may write tomorrow.


----------



## Darkkin

Keeping company with a terrified dodo, a glue streaked glass girl, and a scarab...Normal is a stting on the dryer and not part of my general nature.  :nonchalance:


----------



## JustRob

*In Remembrance: Rebecca Swift*

I regret to report another strange coincidence in my life relating to my novel that happened today.

Some time between the 6th and 16th June 2011 I sent an extract from my novel to The Literary Consultancy in London to get their assessment of my potential as a writer. As I have often mentioned in WF, that novel contains suggestions of a connection between two minds six years apart, mysteriously implying my own in both cases. Today, 12th June 2017, precisely six years after I sent that submission, I received an email circular reporting The death of Rebecca Swift, the founder of TLC.

I knew nothing about Rebecca at the time but it is clear that, like many in WF, she cared greatly about encouraging new writers and created TLC as more than a commercial enterprise to that end. Those she leaves behind will continue that enterprise as she wished.

Births and deaths have figured in my coincidences before, but this one just seems particularly poignant to me for no good reason.


----------



## midnightpoet

I'm not sure what happened on 6-10 (see above) but my wife's just got back from the hospital - she had a stroke.  After being in one in January with a-fib, six months of complication, now this.  She thought it was a migraine, it wasn't.  She's a lot better now - had two units of blood among other things. Right side of head vision impaired though.  We've been bit by a whole baskets full of snakes this year.  Hope everyone here is okay.


----------



## Sebald

Sorry to hear that, Midnight.


----------



## sas

midnightpoet said:


> I'm not sure what happened on 6-10 (see above) but my wife's just got back from the hospital - she had a stroke.  After being in one in January with a-fib, six months of complication, now this.  She thought it was a migraine, it wasn't.  She's a lot better now - had two units of blood among other things. Right side of head vision impaired though.  We've been bit by a whole baskets full of snakes this year.  Hope everyone here is okay.



So sorry, midnight.

Women recover abilities better than men. The two halves of their brain synapse more easily. In other words, the half of the brain that is not impaired might eventually take over from the half that is. Not always, but there is a stronger chance. It is important to not let her not try to work her brain (or, a paralyzed limb). The sooner lost abilities are attempted, and the more often, the more possibility of recovery. Vision, though presents a problem I've not encountered. Music is considered very helpful for those with strokes. Perhaps, earphones with her favorite music. It is a great brain stimulant.  Anyway, my best & love. sas


----------



## JustRob

Sebald said:


> Sorry to hear that, Midnight.



Same here. At many a Sunday dinner I say to my angel "So far, so good." Who knows what's coming next? Certainly not me. Who wants to? Certainly not me. We just handle it all one thing at a time. Grateful for what we have, for however long that is, that's me.


----------



## SilverMoon

> Originally Posted by *Midnight*
> 
> I'm not sure what happened on 6-10 (see above) but my wife's just got back from the hospital - she had a stroke.  After being in one in January with a-fib, six months of complication, now this.  She thought it was a migraine, it wasn't.  She's a lot better now - had two units of blood among other things. Right side of head vision impaired though.  We've been bit by a whole baskets full of snakes this year.  Hope everyone here is okay.



My thoughts are with you both, Midnight. Let this be the last snake. sas is right. Women are pretty resilient.


----------



## Guy Faukes

So sorry to hear about that, midnight! I hope she recovers completely and you two aren't plagued with any other issues anytime soon. 



I've always had problems with productivity that has eaten away at my sense of self worth. Now, I'm viewing writing as work. You might not want to do it initially, but sit yourself down and commit to it regularly and wrote a decent chunk tonight. I hope this sticks with me.


----------



## midnightpoet

Thanks, guys.  They wanted to do an MRI but she had a filter in her vina cava (something like that, to prevent blood clots) and they were afraid it would interfere - however, they contacted the original hospital (installed 2005) and they worked it out.  Yeah, she's a tough old bird (even she agrees) and I told her nurse the medical problems she's been through would probably have killed most people.  She went in Friday and came home today. She told


----------



## sas

Just an FYI on stroke: 

It is important to do an MRI within 3 hours of stroke symptoms (not when arrived at hospital!). There is a gold standard drug called tPA that must be administered within that time frame to be effective. If it is an Ischemic stroke it can be brain saving treatment. Time is of the essence! It cannot and should not be given if it is a Hemorrahagic stroke!! That is why the MRI is needed...to determine the type of stroke. All my family carries a card with the name tPA to remind them, if they take someone to hospital. Men are notorious procrastinators about going to hospital immediately. Do so at your peril. 

I had the misfortune of vacationing in Florida when my partner had a stroke. We were driving and someone told me a hospital was nearby, so I drove him. They put him in a filled waiting room! I was insisting they do MRI immediately. When more time passed I became quite vocal and asked them to call an ambulance so we could go to another hospital. They sent two guards out who threatened my arrest for disturbing the peace! In short, I called my physician daughter in Michigan who called the emergency room physician. He was then taken back. I've much experience with hospitals. Don't let them roll over you when a life is at stake. Risk arrest. I threaten to sue and would have. 

On another note: the hospital was in quite a poor area. We were the only non-Hispanics in the waiting room. This is how they are treated! Stacked and dutifully waiting. 

Hope helpful.  Sas


----------



## midnightpoet

Thanks, sas.  We didn't realize it was a stroke, just suspected it was serious so we called for an ambulance.  30 minutes later they showed up, another hour to the hospital - after that, they saw that her blood was way too thin so they gave her two units of blood.  Wasn't until next day they finally gave her the mri.  So the time frame made her condition worse, probably.  Small hospital, small (100,000 pop) city.  She blamed herself for not keeping a closer eye on her blood thinner - but sometimes bad things happen despite our efforts.  We don't live in a perfect world, but we do appreciate your concern.

(By the way, she has been known to get pissed and storm out of a hospital if she thinks they've been condescending or patronizing.  Having worked for hospitals and doctors she knows how they operate which is not too swift at times).


----------



## sas

If not unconscious or bleeding, perhaps best to jump in your car and drive yourself, since hospital is so far. When we sell our home, the top priority is to be near a hospital. I realize not everyone can choose so freely where they live. But, when older, or in questionable shape, and if you can, that should be #1 on list. Rarely is for most.


----------



## Sleepwriter

Stepped in a hidden hole in the yard, pulled a hamstring.   Gonna be hobbling for awhile.


Also, the hole is no longer hidden.


----------



## Firemajic

midnightpoet said:


> Thanks, sas.  We didn't realize it was a stroke, just suspected it was serious so we called for an ambulance.  30 minutes later they showed up, another hour to the hospital - after that, they saw that her blood was way too thin so they gave her two units of blood.  Wasn't until next day they finally gave her the mri.  So the time frame made her condition worse, probably.  Small hospital, small (100,000 pop) city.  She blamed herself for not keeping a closer eye on her blood thinner - but sometimes bad things happen despite our efforts.  We don't live in a perfect world, but we do appreciate your concern.
> 
> (By the way, she has been known to get pissed and storm out of a hospital if she thinks they've been condescending or patronizing.  Having worked for hospitals and doctors she knows how they operate which is not too swift at times).



Hang in there my friend... sending good thoughts your way... I am glad your  wife is sassy  She sounds like someone that can hold her own... soo cool... *Hugs* to you and your fabulous wife....


----------



## The Green Shield

I have terrible, terrible news to report:

Last weekend, a neighbor that lives across the street from mine lost her daughter to cystic fibrosis. The child, Kayla, was only in her mid-teens. In a week or so, my family and I will be going to the visitation. 

I have only one phrase for this: *FUCK* cystic fibrosis! >:[

And here's another thing: what in all the blue hells am I to say to that poor family during the visitation? "I'm so sorry"? That doesn't seem to cut it...but I hardly knew Kayla!! And I'm worried I'm gonna sound like an insensitive asshole to them! 

Help me out here, please.


----------



## sas

The Green Shield said:


> I have terrible, terrible news to report:
> 
> 
> Last weekend, a neighbor that lives across the street from mine lost her daughter to cystic fibrosis. The child, Kayla, was only in her mid-teens. In a week or so, my family and I will be going to the visitation.
> 
> 
> I have only one phrase for this: *FUCK* cystic fibrosis! >:[




About 20 years ago I saw a documentary that followed a young teen with cystic fibrosis. It ended with her final hospitalization, literally drowning in air, as her parents held her. I have tears now writing it. I never forgot.


----------



## JerichoUndying

Spent the day writing, and now, I am about to be heavily intoxicated as well. It will be interesting to wake up tomorrow and see what I wrote. :rofl:


----------



## Firemajic

JerichoUndying said:


> Spent the day writing, and now, I am about to be heavily intoxicated as well. It will be interesting to wake up tomorrow and see what I wrote. :rofl:





LMAO.... OO GAWD... been there, done THAT... read what you wrote, WHILE you are STILL drunk... it will NEVER sound that fabulous again... well, at least when you are sober.... OOO... yeah.. we have  a thread for funnnnny stuff... hhaaa...


----------



## JerichoUndying

Seeing as how the novel series I am writing is fantasy, I might wake up with a cardboard sword and armor, in my skivvies. lmao

I have a very visual mind, and I am likely to act out a few of the scenes whilst everyone is sleeping. I'll keep everyone updated, because I'm sure there is more to follow!


----------



## Firemajic

The Green Shield said:


> I have terrible, terrible news to report:
> 
> Last weekend, a neighbor that lives across the street from mine lost her daughter to cystic fibrosis. The child, Kayla, was only in her mid-teens. In a week or so, my family and I will be going to the visitation.
> 
> I have only one phrase for this: *FUCK* cystic fibrosis! >:[
> 
> And here's another thing: what in all the blue hells am I to say to that poor family during the visitation? "I'm so sorry"? That doesn't seem to cut it...but I hardly knew Kayla!! And I'm worried I'm gonna sound like an insensitive asshole to them!
> 
> Help me out here, please.






................................................. um....... no.... I have nothing, no words of wisdom.... I wish I did, but when my mom was killed... ANYTHING anyone said cut me to the bone... but I had a LOT of rage... sooo,  well maybe you could say " I am so sorry for your loss".... while it is generic... at least it is not fake or painful... yeah, that would be tolerable...


----------



## Firemajic

OO, I just remembered... someone said "I can't imagine what you are going through, I wish I knew how to comfort you:....  THAT.... I remember... hope this helps...


----------



## JerichoUndying

My youngest son has Cystic Fibrosis.

When the thought comes to me, on the day that my son may die in the future, the only advice I can give you is this.

You may not have known them, but every breath taken by a child with CF, is a battle in itself. You do not have to know someone to know their strength. Every day, my son show's me a strength that I could only wish to have in my wildest dreams. He is truly the bravest child I have ever met, and his determination to live with such great odds stacked against him, well, he makes me want to be a better man.


----------



## The Green Shield

So if I said something like, "I'm so sorry for your loss. I saw her once when she came to visit, she had very amazing strength", would it suffice?


----------



## Firemajic

The Green Shield said:


> So if I said something like, "I'm so sorry for your loss. I saw her once when she came to visit, she had very amazing strength", would it suffice?




Yes... I think that is lovely... maybe even something like "I am so sorry for your loss, I saw her when she visited, I admired her strength".... 

I remember people sharing tiny things with me, about my mom... things like ... your mother was so kind, your mother always was so supportive, or I remember when your mom helped me with... ect.... personal things about her... I liked knowing that she touched their life, and that they remembered her....


----------



## JerichoUndying

I think that they would be able to appreciate that. They know their child better than anyone. They know the struggle that she went through. I think they might find some peace knowing that someone that didn't know her very well was still able to recognize her strength of will.


----------



## Darkkin

I found BBC Earth...My love of minutiae and no people is indulging.  The raw power of nature.  No pie pan chatter.


----------



## aj47

I am home from the hospital.  I stayed overnight.  Near as anyone can tell, I had an idiosyncratic reaction to the pheresis solution when I donated platelets and red cells yesterday.  I'm fine now, but both my arms and my face and scalp were tingly numb.  They ruled out nasties like stroke and since i got better....


----------



## Phil Istine

Good stuff.  Glad to hear things are rapidly improving.


----------



## aj47

Catching up.  Greenie, the two I remember from when my dad passed was "Are you doing okay?" asked with genuine concern and "Is there any way, I, <insert name> can specifically help you right now?" The second sounds kinda corny to talk about but saying it and hearing it are amazing.


----------



## The Green Shield

What saddens me is that I have a shit ton of blind people, but no deaf/hearing impaired people throughout my stories. I think I'll remedy this at once!!


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> I am home from the hospital.  I stayed overnight.  Near as anyone can tell, I had an idiosyncratic reaction to the pheresis solution when I donated platelets and red cells yesterday.  I'm fine now, but both my arms and my face and scalp were tingly numb.  They ruled out nasties like stroke and since i got better....




Doctors love to use the word, idiosyncratic. It just means they do not know! Of course, they can't just say "unknown cause". That would be admitting ignorance of something, and, worse, would not be impressive mumbo-jumbo language. Smiles. Glad it was nothing serious. sas


----------



## sas

The Green Shield said:


> What saddens me is that I have a shit ton of blind people, but no deaf/hearing impaired people throughout my stories. I think I'll remedy this at once!!



I had a co-worker whose son was totally deaf from birth. She said to me that it was worse to be deaf than blind because it was so isolating. I guess I still don't agree, but, perhaps I'm wrong. It might be an interesting question for you to explore, in your story.  Hmmmm.


----------



## Kevin

Lesson: never donate platelets.


----------



## dither

sas said:


> I had a co-worker whose son was totally deaf from birth. She said to me that it was worse to be deaf than blind because it was so isolating. I guess I still don't agree, but, perhaps I'm wrong. It might be an interesting question for you to explore, in your story.  Hmmmm.



I had a bad cold a couple of years ago and it left me totally deaf, you could have shouted at me point blank and I would have been trying to lip-read, apparently it's not un-common. Anyway, I really didn't mind.


----------



## escorial

Weather amazing..crowd cool an music different..not my thing but great experience as always


----------



## Nellie

The Green Shield said:


> I have terrible, terrible news to report:
> 
> Last weekend, a neighbor that lives across the street from mine lost her daughter to cystic fibrosis. The child, Kayla, was only in her mid-teens. In a week or so, my family and I will be going to the visitation.
> 
> I have only one phrase for this: *FUCK* cystic fibrosis! >:[
> 
> And here's another thing: what in all the blue hells am I to say to that poor family during the visitation? "I'm so sorry"? That doesn't seem to cut it...but I hardly knew Kayla!! And I'm worried I'm gonna sound like an insensitive asshole to them!
> 
> Help me out here, please.



I had two cousins from a family of four kids that suffered from muscular dystrophy. They were the youngest two of the family. The oldest siblings were in perfect health. The youngest were in wheel chairs by the time they were teenagers and the youngest one passed away at 19, his brother passed at the age of 21. It was SO sad to watch the first one go, as his brother knew he only had a short time left. That was way back in the 1980's.
In reality, there isn't much one can say to a family in distress. Unless you've been in their shoes, you will never understand.


----------



## Nellie

sas said:


> Doctors love to use the word, idiosyncratic. It just means they do not know! Of course, they can't just say "unknown cause". That would be admitting ignorance of something, and, worse, would not be impressive mumbo-jumbo language. Smiles. Glad it was nothing serious. sas



The word the doctors have used on my "disorder" they don't know how or why I have it is "idiopathic". I guess that means they are the idiot going down the wrong path!


----------



## The Green Shield

Guess who just ordered the Nintendo Switch and 'Zelda: Breath of the Wild' from Amazon? THIS GUY!!!


----------



## Winston

Watching old episodes of _Martin _(Marin Lawrence).  Just love the way he and Pam roast one another.  Classic.


----------



## Kevin

3:30 am dreaming of work. 3:45am and now I am up. I go down to the living room.  4:40am  I brew a pot and pack my lunch. I mentally sort where and what I m doing/have to do at work today. 5:09 there's nothing on fb, nothing on wf so I turn on the tv. 3 stooges are in the French army, looks like ww1.  I haven't watched them since before the turn of the century, since before puberty. The war ends and they are sleeping, not fighting and their Sargent sees them, gives two of them black eyes, twists the other one's arm behind his back. Later, they run into him outside the discharge office where they've been awarded medals for the injuries he gave them. They ask the sarge if they really don't have to listen to him anymore. He says yes so they jump him. Larry pokes him in the eyes, Moe punches him in the nuts and Curley hits him with a board with nails. They line up a mule which double kicks him.

I don't remember this one. Must've been post-Vietnam era( that's a joke- different eras completely). It's surprising given the pro-war, anti-Nazi/Jap popular feeling at the time. How did it make it past the sensors? 5:20.. Time to pack up and go to work. I gulp down the last cup.


----------



## sas

So, I've one question, Kevin. Why the heck do you get up almost two hours before you must leave? 
"ZZZZZ", sas


----------



## Kevin

My brain switches to the 'on' position, so I get up. I can sort of fall back into a light sleep, which I often do, but I go to the couch so I don't disturb. Lucky for me, I also have the ability to sleep anytime, any place, but I have to be careful after 4am or I could oversleep.


----------



## dither

The ability to sleep anytime, any place?
I wish.
Lack of sleep, if I could just have one good day per week, is the bane of my life.


----------



## sas

Kevin said:


> My brain switches to the 'on' position, so I get up. I can sort of fall back into a light sleep, which I often do, but I go to the couch so I don't disturb. Lucky for me, I also have the ability to sleep anytime, any place, but I have to be careful after 4am or I could oversleep.



Kevin,  My partner & I had the same problem, not being able to switch off our brains. Even in winter & with blinds, the slightest light ignites our brains. Our solution is to grab our eye masks. Makes it dark and we go easily back into deep sleep. The added plus is that my mask is way-cute (so he says). His?...not so much. Gets us laughing, at each other, too, which is always good. Sometimes he whispers for me to put my cute mask on. A line that kills me, every time.

PS:  IT IS NOT THE SKULL MASK I WEAR IN AVATAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Kevin

Yeah... Mondays I'm up because... Vacation I'm awake with the light ( pre-dawn). Yesterday, it was great. I was probably fifteen minutes out on my ride before actual sunrise. Beat the heat; get home before 'they' ( rest of family) rise, and I get my dose of 'being out there' which is just about my favorite thing. Yucca flowers and Tiger Whiptails ( they've been hiding, the lizards, that is).

wifey says we males are very visual. Yeah. Mind's eye, too. Nuff of that now. Work, work, work..


----------



## The Green Shield

Y'know, in the past I've had my writing be compared to that of Dan Brown and George Lucas. Sooo... with that said I will draft out a scene that I think would sound like something they would write and post here for y'all's interest and critique. :3


----------



## Love2write

Ya know what? I hate opening the cheese packages. They have on the corners of the cheese packages, peel here. Really? I feel like I need a freaking nail filer to just lift one end of the freaking plastic from each other then I need a pair of pliers to pull the plastics apart to reveal the cheese, that I no longer am in the mood for because I popped the cheese out and it landed on the floor. There I feel better about it now.


----------



## brianpatrick

The sun is almost down in sunny Phoenix AZ. 

It's still 109 degrees and it won't drop below 100 until after midnight. 

That's how my day went[emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## The Green Shield

I woke up from a nightmare -- apparently Donald Trump invited me to dine with him in the White House...


----------



## aj47

I bought a guitar.

used.

I went to see if my open-box Little Martin was still there--it was gone, but there was a used one, for a way lower price, in "good condition" and I know a luthier (so good he doesn't need a Web site) if it's not quite there.    It is in Pennsylvania and being shipped to my store.  It has a bag, too, and I have a little money left over for a celebratory milkshake when it arrives.  This was the picture on the site.


----------



## bobo

astroannie said:


> I bought a guitar.
> 
> used.
> 
> I went to see if my open-box Little Martin was still there--it was gone, but there was a used one, for a way lower price, in "good condition" and I know a luthier (so good he doesn't need a Web site) if it's not quite there.    It is in Pennsylvania and being shipped to my store.  It has a bag, too, and I have a little money left over for a celebratory milkshake when it arrives.  This was the picture on the site.



Plinky, plinky - plong, plong


----------



## The Green Shield

2:00 am here.


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> I bought a guitar.
> 
> used.
> 
> I went to see if my open-box Little Martin was still there--it was gone, but there was a used one, for a way lower price, in "good condition" and I know a luthier (so good he doesn't need a Web site) if it's not quite there.    It is in Pennsylvania and being shipped to my store.  It has a bag, too, and I have a little money left over for a celebratory milkshake when it arrives.  This was the picture on the site.
> 
> View attachment 18528




Maybe you'll play us a tune to hear?  What type of music do you prefer to play? Do you sing while playing?


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW whe. You are going crazy for lack of coffee I need coffee... coffee coffee coffee

No coffee makes Greenie a crazy whale.
No coffee makes Greenie a crazy whale.
No coffee makes Greenie a crazy whale.
No coffee makes Greenie a crazy whale.
No coffee makes Greenie a crazy whale.
No coffee makes Greenie a crazy whale.


----------



## escorial

astroannie said:


> I bought a guitar.
> 
> used.
> 
> I went to see if my open-box Little Martin was still there--it was gone, but there was a used one, for a way lower price, in "good condition" and I know a luthier (so good he doesn't need a Web site) if it's not quite there.    It is in Pennsylvania and being shipped to my store.  It has a bag, too, and I have a little money left over for a celebratory milkshake when it arrives.  This was the picture on the site.
> 
> View attachment 18528



You are so cool...


----------



## Darkkin

It is dark as a December twilight here at noon in June!  Can I be done with rain for a couple of days?


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> Maybe you'll play us a tune to hear?  What type of music do you prefer to play? Do you sing while playing?



I like stuff i can sing.  So mostly filk.  "Telly-Taley Heart" is a 2-chord song so I'm working that as my "practice transitions" song.  "Sloop John B." is not filk but is a 3-chord song so it's not much more difficult when I'm sick of the other.  And "Rasputin"  My goal is to be able to do "Rasputin" smoothly.  When I can, I'll make a YouTube.

In the meantime, there will be pics when it gets delivered to my store.  5-7 days (that's business days).   I have a tracking number but it wasn't actually picked up by UPS yet so it's not in their system and there is no delivery estimate. Plus it has to be processed once it arrives at my local shop so a day or two past the "shipping" days before I can actually go claim it.


----------



## bobo

Just remembered what Kierkegaard said about joy: 
"The joy of anticipation is the greatest" !! 
Enjoy :thumbr:


----------



## SilverMoon

> Originally Posted by* The Green Shield*
> 
> I woke up from a nightmare -- apparently Donald Trump invited me to dine with him in the White House...


 Did you accept? If so, I hope you took notes!


----------



## The Green Shield

Guess what!? The Switch and 'Breath of the Wild' has arrived!!


----------



## Kevin

Had to leave early for a dental appointment. Driving up PCH I was dealing with a sub that has been putting us off/flaking. The gal on the phone said she'd call me right back. 

I was so caught up in thinking about things, including how there's no cell in the canyon, Topanga, where I turn, that I looked up and saw 'Big Rock'. I missed it! I'd driven past it. The next turn off would take me miles out of my way, so I real-quick, right-turned up Big Rock, noticed the line of cars coming out of it was moving, flip-a-dick, real-quick-again, did a three-point 'U-ie', gravel flying, dirt-cloud, fish-tailed it, barely made the light, back on to PCH south bound toward Topanga. 

Shit, again: line of nearly stopped traffic heading towards the city. There went 15 minutes to go a mile back to  Topanga. Most people kick themselves; I nearly slapped, but said fuck it- give me a break - no need to go in to the hygienist with one red cheek. She'd ask.


----------



## The Green Shield

SilverMoon said:


> Did you accept? If so, I hope you took notes!


I did, but then Barron Trump grabbed my arm and began injecting me with truth serum...


----------



## SilverMoon

> Originally Posted by *SilverMoon*
> 
> Did you accept? If so, I hope you took notes!





> Originally Posted by *The Green Shield*
> 
> I did, but then Barron Trump grabbed my arm and began injecting me with truth serum...


*
Poem for Greenie :kiwi-fruit:

*Barron's dad has not filled his cabinet yet so
 I bet there's plenty of room for needles to get.

I imagine his son russian around,
that regal little weasel,
injecting many others to be found.

Honesty in his family is ground
for disinheritance so I wonder 
why he's being so reckless?

Greenie, you can't be telling the truth.
You must have been injected with
green leak soup.


----------



## Kevin

Doing my own laundry ( w/o softeners other stinky texturizers..e-chh) and I find ( after taking the wet clothes out for the dryer) the black sage pieces ( in pieces) I picked on the trail, and a pellet ammunition. What am I, like 5? ( and no , I don't take pellet guns out on the trail; those are for home- rats, squirrel).


----------



## aj47

heh, I found my stylus in the last load I washed, so yeah, we're all five.  the rubber tip had come off and washed away but I have a little can of replacements (it's a Hand stylus--I really like it).  

For anyone who cares, I wrote an iterative implementation of a decimal-to-Roman number converter without a loop. For the rest of you, it means I'm learning about the more subtle features of javascript.


----------



## Ephemeral_One

Had a drug test today. They shaved my arms for hair samples. For the first time in over a decade, I have smooth arms. I kinda like it.


----------



## Sebald

astroannie said:


> heh, I found my stylus in the last load I washed, so yeah, we're all five.  the rubber tip had come off and washed away but I have a little can of replacements (it's a Hand stylus--I really like it).
> 
> For anyone who cares, I wrote an iterative implementation of a decimal-to-Roman number converter without a loop. For the rest of you, it means I'm learning about the more subtle features of javascript.



I don't even understand the 'and for the rest of you' explanation.

Is it a cake?


----------



## Winston

Just trying to beat the heat.
I did have to venture out to pick-up my son from the marina.  His Junior ROTC unit is teaching a group of them sailing.  He really enjoyed it.


----------



## The Green Shield

Let's make a trade-off. You give me the heat, I'll give you the cold.


----------



## am_hammy

My day has just begun. Well, about an hour and a half ago actually. I worked from home on Saturday as it was my turn on the rotation so I have off today. Not sure exactly what I'm going to do yet but the world is my oyster so we shall see.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

3000 words written-- new daily quota. I LOVE doing this.

Working on a stack of books after I get home from work is almost my favorite part of the day.

But writing is better.


----------



## SilverMoon

Fretting, out on my patio, with great regret for posting a poem, so poor, that no one will forget. And for being embarrassed when I talk like this in real life, never intending to rhyme. It's embarrassing.


----------



## PiP

All my geraniums have been attacked by a tiny bug that burrows itself into the stem and then rots the plant from the inside. I did not diagnose the problem quickly enough and now I've had to dispose of all the plants as there is no cure.

On the up side, I did manage to write something for this month's COF challenge. Loved the Prompt Spider + closet. Who else is going to enter? Please don't let me be the only one.


----------



## Plasticweld

SilverMoon said:


> Fretting, out on my patio, with great regret for posting a poem, so poor, that no one will forget. And for being embarrassed when I talk like this in real life, never intending to rhyme.




Because I don't read the poetry section of this web site I still have the same high opinion of you today as I did yesterday.  Sometimes what you say is more important than how you say it.....just sayin :}


----------



## SilverMoon

Thank you, Bob! It's been forever! Some of my better moments are when I put my foot in my mouth where all that people can hear is the pounding in my brain wondering what I'm trying to get across. Actually, it's nothing, Just a drummer the doctors missed after my last brain operation... Oh, boy. I think it's time for bed now!


----------



## sas

I'm off to lunch with the girls, who are still alive, that graduated 8th grade with me, 59 years ago, this month. The wait staff doesn't roll eyes, as much now, when we ask for separate checks. It is a smaller table. Luckily, I like my own company. I expect to be dining alone fairly soon.  Smiles. Sas


----------



## Kevin

I've been home alone now for two weeks. The cheeto bags and empty pizza box towers, other empties ( some half-) are nearly toppling with greenery, brownery, greyery, all sorts of fuzzy colorey. I can't get the tv off the porn channel cause I can't find the clicker , and I'm too lazy to just unplug it , but... I haven't run the ac once(think it's better for the pizza-mold). She keeps wanting to what's app/skype but I'm careful to only be outside (better reception, dear...). It's like Vegas, you know... What she doesn't need to know...12:59 I'll clean ( time the cab door slam to the vacuum closet *click*-shut).
Okay, just kidding, all of it, except for the the first part of the first sentence... Ok, that too, all you knock-knock-no answer, go-on-in burglars. That is not the tv you hear, we're just very active...


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> I've been home alone now for two weeks. The cheeto bags and empty pizza box towers, other empties ( some half-) are nearly toppling with greenery, brownery, greyery, all sorts of fuzzy colorey. I can't get the tv off the porn channel cause I can't find the clicker , and I'm too lazy to just unplug it , but... I haven't run the ac once(think it's better for the pizza-mold). She keeps wanting to what's app/skype but I'm careful to only be outside (better reception, dear...). It's like Vegas, you know... What she doesn't need to know...12:59 I'll clean ( time the cab door slam to the vacuum closet *click*-shut).
> Okay, just kidding, all of it, except for the the first part of the first sentence... Ok, that too, all you knock-knock-no answer, go-on-in burglars. That is not the tv you hear, we're just very active...



And it's seemingly the porn channel they're hearing, but for real you say [-X


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> And it's seemingly the porn channel they're hearing, but for real you say [-X


I know... I'm  such a liar.


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> I know... I'm  such a liar.


Isn't that what writing is all about? I'm only jealous. They want to stick a monitor in me, but I refuse because the cost is prohibitive. I can't see facilitating some executive buying his kid a Porsche. To me a natural life is allowing for a meteor strike or the like. I guess I'm an odd man out though, judging by all the support for Mr. Avarice. Was it Carl Sagan or David Attenborough that noted how we are still thinking like our evolutionary origins?

Back when I was near the end of my artistic career, a very wealthy person wanted me to create two highly carved  deacon's chairs that he could donate to his church, but said they couldn't cost too much. I guess he wanted to get into what he imagined heaven on the cheap.


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> Isn't that what writing is all about? I'm only jealous. They want to stick a monitor in me, but I refuse because the cost is prohibitive. I can't see facilitating some executive buying his kid a Porsche. To me a natural life is allowing for a meteor strike or the like. I guess I'm an odd man out though, judging by all the support for Mr. Avarice. Was it Carl Sagan or David Attenborough that noted how we are still thinking like our evolutionary origins?
> 
> Back when I was near the end of my artistic career, a very wealthy person wanted me to create two highly carved  deacon's chairs that he could donate to his church, but said they couldn't cost too much. I guess he wanted to get into what he imagined heaven on the cheap.


the only part of my post that's real is the two weeks home alone. I don't "any"of what followed. Not even Cheetos. Guess I'm missing something. I did drink a whole six-pack of Guiness (over a few days). And I didn't run the ac even though it was 111 that one  day. I was at work till 7 ( where the temp is 10-20 degrees less), and 85 at bedtime was ok for me ( with a fan on). 
Cheapscates- lol. It's amazing, sometimes... I had a guy gyp me out of 200 bucks... He's worth ( a ridiculous amount) and yet he cared about 200 bucks. Lied about it, flat out... I did some other work cash up front and then after he wanted to renegotiate that bill. There was no problem with the work he just thought he paid too much.  This was a month later. Sent me emails, texts ( which I ignored). Literally, he scares me, I mean, what am I going to do, like...risk prison? No. No more work for you, thank you.


----------



## aj47

My guitar is HERE

I take crappy pix cuz I'm visually-impaired and it's hard for short-armed folks to take selfies with guitars anyway so here is pic of guitar's business parts and with me.


----------



## bobo

Whou-whou ... and it's black - very stylish ;-)
Congrats a.a.
Does it sound as good as it looks ??
(is it sexy inside too ??)


----------



## aj47

bobo said:


> Whou-whou ... and it's black - very stylish ;-)
> Congrats a.a.
> Does it sound as good as it looks ??



not quite but that's my fault.  I'm still the n00b.  



> (is it sexy inside too ??)


ROFL I have to wear sleeves cuz I have the shingles vaxx and I got the rash and it's communicable. Baseball shirts are the comfy ones for the 90+ degree weather.


----------



## Kevin

I left work a little early, but my canyon of choice had caught fire. Mmm. Nothing massive, but enough to push me to plan b, the alternate canyon route further north. That was blocked by fire, too. Plan c was okay. Upon reaching the crest I could see the valleys below filled with smoke, an onshore drift. I guessed I wouldn't be exercising in that. Oh well.. Two separate routes; two fires- A suspicious person might assume conspiracy. Having long ago realized my insignificance I resigned my self to simply driving in a similar vein: insignificant person having little to no effect on more than my immediate surroundings. I didn't honk at any pokies and only squealed the tires once after completiion of a four-car pass which I just couldn't help. 15 mph all the way up and down a mountain is a fate worse than death. I couldn't help the noise because the turn right after was too close and I'd needed the speed to get around all four of them.


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> My guitar is HERE
> 
> I take crappy pix cuz I'm visually-impaired and it's hard for short-armed folks to take selfies with guitars anyway so here is pic of guitar's business parts and with me.
> 
> View attachment 18667View attachment 18668




Yep, I love that it's black, too! Great smile.


----------



## sas

Kevin said:


> I left work a little early, but my canyon of choice had caught fire. Mmm. Nothing massive, but enough to push me to plan b, the alternate canyon route further north. That was blocked by fire, too. Plan c was okay. Upon reaching the crest I could see the valleys below filled with smoke, an onshore drift. I guessed I wouldn't be exercising in that. Oh well.. Two separate routes; two fires- A suspicious person might assume conspiracy. Having long ago realized my insignificance I resigned my self to simply driving in a similar vein: insignificant person having little to no effect on more than my immediate surroundings. I didn't honk at any pokies and only squealed the tires once after completiion of a four-car pass which I just couldn't help. 15 mph all the way up and down a mountain is a fate worse than death. I couldn't help the noise because the turn right after was too close and I'd needed the speed to get around all four of them.




Count yourself lucky that your traffic jams take place in more beautiful surroundings. Sorry about those fires, though. Be safe.


----------



## The Green Shield

I've been misspelling Goku's Saiyan name as KAKKAROT rather than KAKAROT. I also, for the life of me, can't spell the name of the female Super Saiyan from Dragonball Super. No, not Kale, the other one. 


And I'm supposed to be a fan of this franchise.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Went down to St. Leonards (Next to Hastings) yesterday and saw Jeremy start his tour of the marginals. My daughter talks of him as 'The Prime minister', "Well, he is the only person who talks and acts like one" she says, and to be fair, he did.


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> Went down to St. Leonards (Next to Hastings) yesterday and saw Jeremy start his tour of the marginals. My daughter talks of him as 'The Prime minister', "Well, he is the only person who talks and acts like one" she says, and to be fair, he did.



Well, he does seem to have or seems to be projecting the image of a PM in waiting.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW you have one of those moments when you're researching something for a book, and you find yourself worrying that others might think you are either psychotic or are a huge worrier for your health? No, friends and family, I'm actually not crazy; I actually DON'T have whatever medical condition you found me googling -- This is for a book, I swear. 


I ask this because once someone found me looking up cervical dystonia for a character and asked me if I were afraid I had this neurological condition. When I said 'no', they thought I was weird.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Kevin said:


> Cheapscates- lol. It's amazing, sometimes... I had a guy gyp me out of 200 bucks... He's worth ( a ridiculous amount) and yet he cared about 200 bucks. Lied about it, flat out... I did some other work cash up front and then after he wanted to renegotiate that bill. There was no problem with the work he just thought he paid too much. This was a month later. Sent me emails, texts ( which I ignored). Literally, he scares me, I mean, what am I going to do, like...risk prison? No. No more work for you, thank you.



Rich people can be sharks for even a penny. It's that sort of mindset they've breed into themselves in order to become rich, and they aren't above spitting on common courtesy and manners to get back a 1/1000000th of what they're worth. 



The Green Shield said:


> I ask this because once someone found me looking up cervical dystonia for a character and asked me if I were afraid I had this neurological condition. When I said 'no', they thought I was weird.



It's an uphill battle to convince them a few screws aren't loose. "No, I just like looking up obscure diseases for the fun of it. It's for a piece I'm writing, see? See?"


----------



## The Green Shield

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honor and happiness that I inform you all that I got to 10,785 words in my fantasy!


----------



## Kevin

She's back. Twenty days in Italy. Sounds like a sex book. M'heheheh... She said it was great , everything. 'cept a little bit the people in Cinque Terre,  which she pronounced Chinga-dair. A chingadera is a local term here in L.A. - sort of a construction site pidgin that translates to a 'whatcha-fucka-ma-call it'.

"Those Chingaderrans... We were warned and it was true.. Snotty. I guess they don't like our money." I guess in her mind a Chigaderran might be a 'fuck-head', which is also an old colloquial, L.A. term.  Don't know if they use it anywhere else. 

Those eye-talyons... She finally told them "Urreeva-durtch" , emphasis on the durtch, and now she's back. 

She'd go back, she said. Maybe not in the busy season. And maybe not with one of the two gals she went with- noisy...loud snorer, heavy stomper,  and her energy at times got to be too much in close quarters. "Are you on drugs?" Why, yes, as a matter of fact she is: Adderall. Well, that explains it.


----------



## The Green Shield

I just remembered... there's an entire subplot that I've barely brushed on in my fantasy. o___o;; I was too focused on the main plot...


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> I just remembered... there's an entire subplot that I've barely brushed on in my fantasy. o___o;; I was too focused on the main plot...



Finish what you are on and then write it as the second book ?


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> Finish what you are on and then write it as the second book ?


It's part of the first book. D:
------
*RANDOM MUSING!!!*
Would it have been out of character if Harry Potter became a vindictive, vengeful bastard and abused/belittled Dudley and any child he had? It just occurred to me because, well, I would've thought he'd grow up and be just as abusive as Vernon, but against Dudley and his (hypothetical) child -- and in Harry's case, he'd have a very good justification for it (even if it's obviously wrong.)




Thoughts?


----------



## escorial

waiting at a bus stop a guy in a red van on the other side of the road shouted something and put a thumbs up..i have no idea who it was...


----------



## Theglasshouse

I finally got my copy of Dragon 13 up and running, and microphone headset. I plan to use it to write stories. But first I need to read up on the internet on how people compose their planned thoughts before dictating. I have a recorder for any recording of random ideas I may have. If I want a 100% dictated story. To accomplish this I will get the books recommended by a composition teacher in case I decided to experiment on how to be as coherent as possible. That will take a while. But dragon is tricky to use unless you have planned ahead what you want to write, so I know for a fact that for each story I need to have a planned way on how the story parts will be written down. So far I read recording your thoughts on a recorder is an option. I think short excerpts of my work is what I will post.

I can always buy a boogie board because that is more practical imo. I'll have to get an affordable one though since I spend a substantial amount of money each month.


----------



## escorial

Seen some prints by Bob Dylan in a gallery..price seven thousand seven hundred an fifty...


----------



## bobo

escorial said:


> Seen some prints by Bob Dylan in a gallery..price seven thousand seven hundred an fifty...



Prints ?? - did he paint ??
nah, fingerprints may be !!


----------



## escorial

bobo said:


> Prints ?? - did he paint ??
> nah, fingerprints may be !!



New gallery opened an they were prints of his paintings...they were all of American like diners an bars..seemed like small-town America...


----------



## bobo

escorial said:


> New gallery opened an they were prints of his paintings...they were all of American like diners an bars..seemed like small-town America...


Yeah, you can only paint, what you see - tells something about his vision, eh ??
Were the paintings any good, or you think somebody just tried a spin on his name ??


----------



## escorial

Very impressionistic.. don't think they had any figures in them..they were good with plenty of colour and lettering..


----------



## sas

escorial said:


> Very impressionistic.. don't think they had any figures in them..they were good with plenty of colour and lettering..




I googled Dylan art. Many are quite good. Only saw one with a person, which wasn't good. I would like to have known dates on them. I think it would indicate his abilities improved immensely with time. Thanks for bringing his art to my attention.


----------



## escorial

about to leave for the beach...book,towel,apple,orange..water....suntan..headphones....might take a we bottle of scotch an have a cheeky sip inbetween cooking

went to art exhibit in local church..full of older ladies..some decent stuff there..very middle class


----------



## bobo

escorial said:


> about to leave for the beach...book,towel,apple,orange..water....suntan..headphones....might take a we bottle of scotch an have a cheeky sip inbetween cooking
> 
> went to art exhibit in local church..full of older ladies..some decent stuff there..very middle class




Beach and Scotch doesn't mix well - what if a shark's coming ... for the Scotch :drunk:


----------



## escorial

last train home a few weeks back a bit worse for wear decided to walk the long way and take the beach in....sea was out and the moon was shining..calm sea and you know that noise the sea makes was great....keep an eye out for them sharks


----------



## sas

escorial said:


> about to leave for the beach...book,towel,apple,orange..water....suntan..headphones....might take a we bottle of scotch an have a cheeky sip inbetween cooking
> 
> went to art exhibit in local church..full of older ladies..some decent stuff there..very middle class




The last remnants of the middle class.
The world is coming apart: the haves & have nots. Much evidence of this.


----------



## Kevin

Another Saturday traded for money. Two jobs today, simultaneous, twenty minutes apart, though maybe less today since no traffic. A check actually was in the mail so I'm flush with cash, which is not bad considering I started out the morning with eight dollars. Now I've got a couple thou...It's not mine, not most of it, but I do have enough so I splurge and and buy myself a sandwich. 6:23 am I make it to Main, tourist row, where there are places already open. There's coffee, and coffee, and coffee over there, as I check for cops and then make an illegal u-turn and pull up next one of the coffee chains to get my sandwich. No coffee, no thank you, as I count out the last of my singles. No she can't break a fifty- you're the first customer -cute Latina-huera with a nose ring and an accent that says she was not born here. My work clothes and I can tell she mistakes me for homeless for a moment, startled/wary expression, subdued; confused, though ( at my purchase) but she smiles as she hands me it, having realized that No, I'm not a bum... 

Outside, the pile across and a little down the street (blocking the sidewalk) that was a sleeping station- gear piled, sort of mounded/more solid-the body-towards the center is now without as much center, and nearer to me, almost within begging range. My long distance silent communication works and I don't get asked. A blonde in psychedelic 60's stretchy bell bottoms with the tell-tale too much stuff while riding a bike flows/wobbles by. I start my engine, take a bite of my salmon, cream cheese( lite, please) capers, tomato on a freshly baked egg bagel. Around the corner, Blondie has stopped where two guys squat/sprawl/ sit on the sidewalk. I notice all of them have had way too much sun. Lean, tan; young, and homeless. I take another bite of my boojey extravagance- mmm- and head off to work, where I will trade leisure for money.


----------



## escorial

sas said:


> The last remnants of the middle class.
> The world is coming apart: the haves & have nots. Much evidence of this.



I think you would make a good dictator whatever your political persuation...

Vive la sas


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Another Saturday traded for money. Two jobs today, simultaneous, twenty minutes apart, though maybe less today since no traffic. A check actually was in the mail so I'm flush with cash, which is not bad considering I started out the morning with eight dollars. Now I've got a couple thou...It's not mine, not most of it, but I do have enough so I splurge and and buy myself a sandwich. 6:23 am I make it to Main, tourist row, where there are places already open. There's coffee, and coffee, and coffee over there, as I check for cops and then make an illegal u-turn and pull up next one of the coffee chains to get my sandwich. No coffee, no thank you, as I count out the last of my singles. No she can't break a fifty- you're the first customer -cute Latina-huera with a nose ring and an accent that says she was not born here. My work clothes and I can tell she mistakes me for homeless for a moment, startled/wary expression, subdued; confused, though ( at my purchase) but she smiles as she hands me it, having realized that No, I'm not a bum...
> 
> Outside, the pile across and a little down the street (blocking the sidewalk) that was a sleeping station- gear piled, sort of mounded/more solid-the body-towards the center is now without as much center, and nearer to me, almost within begging range. My long distance silent communication works and I don't get asked. A blonde in psychedelic 60's stretchy bell bottoms with the tell-tale too much stuff while riding a bike flows/wobbles by. I start my engine, take a bite of my salmon, cream cheese( lite, please) capers, tomato on a freshly baked egg bagel. Around the corner, Blondie has stopped where two guys squat/sprawl/ sit on the sidewalk. I notice all of them have had way too much sun. Lean, tan; young, and homeless. I take another bite of my boojey extravagance- mmm- and head off to work, where I will trade leisure for money.



A vivid California scene  With connections also, as I love a cream cheese and lox bagel. Keep on gettin' on.


----------



## sas

escorial said:


> went to art exhibit in local church..full of older ladies..some decent stuff there..very middle class



Esc, so, did you mean the older ladies were middle class decent stuff?  Smiles.


----------



## escorial

Their artistic endeavors....was approached and I thought..your a bit of a minx an she offered to sell me a raffle ticket...


----------



## LeeC

Bite my tongue


----------



## escorial

Went walk about after getting of train an had  a good time...took a few pics..


----------



## bobo

Adorable


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> Went walk about after getting of train an had  a good time...took a few pics..
> View attachment 18741
> View attachment 18742



Good pics Esc, I've been having a play with my new camera recently and I'm looking forward to taking loads of pictures with it soon.


----------



## escorial

H.Brown said:


> Good pics Esc, I've been having a play with my new camera recently and I'm looking forward to taking loads of pictures with it soon.



I just use my mobile...did av a camera a while back but lost it somewhere...do post your pics HB


----------



## Kevin

Rode this morning. On the way out I could see a huge peacock on a telephone pole over in the houses. His tail (folded-back-whatever) was like 10' long. It looked alien up there on the pole.

Further up the hill, I stopped for a second. There was a dog down in the flats where I'd been five minutes and several switchbacks earlier. I looked for the owner, and didn't see one. White chest and darker upper, I made a double click noise out the corner of my mouth, and he flopped his ears in reply. Then he started off in another direction along with another coyote ( was a coyote; not a dog) that I hadn't seen before. A couple switchbacks later I saw they were both watching me. 

The cicadas were out and there were tarantula wasps; seems like a lot this year.


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> I just use my mobile...did av a camera a while back but lost it somewhere...do post your pics HB



I will do esc.


----------



## The Green Shield

My poor doggy doesn't like the thunder.


----------



## midnightpoet

6:41 wake up, open one eye
6:43 dog barks, wants out
6:46 pour cup coffee
6:48 wife wakes, needs fast breakfast (low blood sugar)
6:50 let dog back in, one eye not open yet
6:55 sleep-cook breakfast while sipping coffee
7:06 serve breakfast to wife
7:09 serve breakfast to dogs
7:16 coffee cold again, re-heat, fix bowl of cereal
7:18 spill cereal and milk all over clothes and floor
7:19 say bad words
7:22 clean up, change clothes, get online
7:26 work on second cup of coffee, both eyes now open
7:38 awake enough to type this, try to maintain sense of humor.:drinkcoffee:
(times are estimates)


----------



## escorial

Soon be bedtime...


----------



## The Green Shield

Was thinking of cultivating a new habit of reading. The plan is to do one book at a time for now, starting with "Knights of the Seven Kingdoms" by George RR Martin. Question: how and what did you do to get yourself into the habit of reading?


----------



## Darkkin

The Green Shield said:


> Was thinking of cultivating a new habit of reading. The plan is to do one book at a time for now, starting with "Knights of the Seven Kingdoms" by George RR Martin. Question: how and what did you do to get yourself into the habit of reading?



Never much for people, but I've always loved books.  One thing I've done since I was really little is to make sure I always have at least one book with me at all times.  If I'm in line at the store, I read.  I don't have a phone habit, I have a book habit.  Anytime I have two minutes, I choose between reading or writing.  Chronic access is a good place to start.

Personally, I don't sleep much so I've always read.  I only sleep for a few hours at a time, so I'm generally awake very early.  TV is too much so soon after waking, so I pull out a book.  Books are silent, but provide tactile stimulation and prime distraction without the overwhelming light and motion of TV or a computer screen.

Reading in the bathtub is my one really bad habit...


----------



## Kevin

Another 14 hr day. She was out so dinner was a protein drink on the way home. 2am and I wake up ache-hunger achey- get myself a bowl of yogurt, handful of nuts. 

A bunch of job questions are bothering. I go outside to the pee-spot and it's nearly a full moon. The crickets and catydids in the wild are battling the hum of the home air conditioners. I'm right on the edge and can hear them both.

A spider web has strung across both my shins and I start wiping. I know a black widow web, which is thick, strong, but this could be a baby. They love the night. 

I think about unloading my truck, but she'll be pissed if she hears it at this hour. I'll have to wait till a little before five. One of the night-speeders roars through the neighborhood. It's every night, and I wonder why, or what sort of job they have, dumping them out, or calling to them at this hour.


----------



## The Green Shield

Darkkin said:


> Never much for people, but I've always loved books.  One thing I've done since I was really little is to make sure I always have at least one book with me at all times.  If I'm in line at the store, I read.  I don't have a phone habit, I have a book habit.  Anytime I have two minutes, I choose between reading or writing.  Chronic access is a good place to start.
> 
> Personally, I don't sleep much so I've always read.  I only sleep for a few hours at a time, so I'm generally awake very early.  TV is too much so soon after waking, so I pull out a book.  Books are silent, but provide tactile stimulation and prime distraction without the overwhelming light and motion of TV or a computer screen.
> 
> Reading in the bathtub is my one really bad habit...


How can you read in the tub/pool? That sounds really dangerous... for the book! D:


----------



## Darkkin

The Green Shield said:


> How can you read in the tub/pool? That sounds really dangerous... for the book! D:



Never a pool...Chorine anywhere near a book, nope!  In the tub, very carefully...


----------



## Darkkin

When in the middle of sweltering July humidity, you're buried under a down filled fleece tie blanket and a super warm, extra fluffy Husky, but remain as warm as a corpse in the middle of January...Apheresis sucks.   :suspicion:


----------



## andrewclunn

Suddenly realized this might be over sharing


----------



## PiP

andrewclunn said:


> Suddenly realized this might be over sharing



No, not really.


----------



## H.Brown

Darkkin said:


> Never much for people, but I've always loved books.  One thing I've done since I was really little is to make sure I always have at least one book with me at all times.  If I'm in line at the store, I read.  I don't have a phone habit, I have a book habit.  Anytime I have two minutes, I choose between reading or writing.  Chronic access is a good place to start.
> 
> Personally, I don't sleep much so I've always read.  I only sleep for a few hours at a time, so I'm generally awake very early.  TV is too much so soon after waking, so I pull out a book.  Books are silent, but provide tactile stimulation and prime distraction without the overwhelming light and motion of TV or a computer screen.
> 
> Reading in the bathtub is my one really bad habit...



I too have this habbit Darkin if reading anywhere and everywhere that I can. I can live without my phone or internet but not without reading if I can't get holdof a book (which is rare) I'll read newspapers or adverts.  happy reading guys.


----------



## Darkkin

andrewclunn said:


> Suddenly realized this might be over sharing



One of the benefits of anonymous forums, no one knows who anyone really is.  Apheresis leaves my feeling rotten, but I don't mention it to those who know me because they would freak out.  Fall out of a chronic condition, chronic not terminal, something folks I know tend to forget.  Mentioning it here, well, it gets the words out of my head and relieves the stress of hiding the fact that I really don't feel well.  And when I don't feel well, I really hate having people anywhere near me, so an anonymous vent helps.  There are reasons I avoid social media like facebook and twitter.  I'm a ghost who likes to write, to read, but sometimes gets frustrated with my situation...

Something to consider, the title of the thread, how did your day go?  Not a question I get asked, so when one can make an honest observation without reprecussions why not seize the moment?


----------



## H.Brown

You keep sharing Darkin, I for one like reading about your day and sometimes you just need to vent even if it is anonymously on here. 

Remember it is up to each person in what they choose to share on here or anywhere online Andrew.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 18794


It is almost 85° outside and Rue is out cold.  The reason he isn't overheating is because I've been leeching every bit of heat he has...He knows how physical cold I can get.  Warm blanket and a good dog.  Relatively tame by internet standards...


----------



## H.Brown

Bloody hell Darkin I hope you warm up soon. I hate being cold.


----------



## andrewclunn

Darkkin said:


> One of the benefits of anonymous forums, no one knows who anyone really is.  Apheresis leaves my feeling rotten, but I don't mention it to those who know me because they would freak out.  Fall out of a chronic condition, chronic not terminal, something folks I know tend to forget.  Mentioning it here, well, it gets the words out of my head and relieves the stress of hiding the fact that I really don't feel well.  And when I don't feel well, I really hate having people anywhere near me, so an anonymous vent helps.  There are reasons I avoid social media like facebook and twitter.  I'm a ghost who likes to write, to read, but sometimes gets frustrated with my situation...
> 
> Something to consider, the title of the thread, how did your day go?  Not a question I get asked, so when one can make an honest observation without reprecussions why not seize the moment?



I am not anonymous.  My real name is Andrew Clunn.  I always post under my real name.  My profile picture is a real photo of me.  I do this on purpose.  I refuse to hide behind anonymity.  It keeps me more honest with myself.


----------



## Darkkin

andrewclunn said:


> I am not anonymous.  My real name is Andrew Clunn.  I always post under my real name.  My profile picture is a real photo of me.  I do this on purpose.  I refuse to hide behind anonymity.  It keeps me more honest with myself.



It is perfectly possible to be both invisible and honest...


----------



## andrewclunn

I'm saying that it's important for me, as it helps me to remain honest with myself.  I am not saying this is required of anyone else, or that they have a similar requirement in order to remain honest.  I just remember how I was when I was younger and have the anonymity.  It's not a good fit.


----------



## Darkkin

andrewclunn said:


> I'm saying that it's important for me, as it helps me to remain honest with myself.  I am not saying this is required of anyone else, or that they have a similar requirement in order to remain honest.  I just remember how I was when I was younger and have the anonymity.  It's not a good fit.



Understandable.  Everyone has their reasons for personal preferences.  Here, I'm merely Darkkin.  What matters in the writing, not a chronic illness.  And writing has long been a coping mechanism and escape.  So being an internet ghost makes perfect sense for me.  My brain matters here, not a physical issue.  

On the flipside, at home, people see me and they know I'm not hale and whole.  What I know doesn't matter, I'm treated as breakable, not an able bodied, capable adult.  Maybe I'm not strong, but it doesn't mean there is anything amiss with my intellect.  And that is something people I know take for granted, quite simply because I don't talk much.  It gets irritating to be treated like fluff when you know you have substance.  Eventually it reaches a point when you learn to avoid people to avoid the assumptions.

I've gotten very good at making myself invisible in real life, online, well it is a case of mind over matter.


----------



## sas

As I often write confessional or controversial poetry, I prefer anonymity. I am only semi-retired from business. So, it  actually gives me the freedom to be honest. I find those who are younger are too comfortable with revealing all to all. Those old sayings are always true: familiarity breeds contempt. Best not attach your name to it.


----------



## Kevin

Okay, confession time: sometimes I think I got the zip lock closed all the way and as the next person discovers... it's not closed at all!! 
I know! It's horrible. I don't know! Maybe it's my eyesight, but this whole reading-glasses thing is only a couple/four/five years-ago for me. I'm trying, I swear. Yes, you can hate me for it. I do other stuff that's good, though.  

Darkkin- I'm glad to hear you say that, the second part about being mentally tough. You have a hard shell, right? Good, because I'm like that, too.  I actually don't mind opinions different from mine... No matter how obviously wrong and ignorant everyone else happens to be I'm okay with it, you know? Like.. I grant that they _are_ actual individuals, too.  No, but seriously... I'm glad you are strong.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just got back from watching _War for the Planet of the Apes_. It's pretty good and all, but there are a few major gripes about it that I have to unleash. So here it is in spoiler tags:





Spoiler



For anyone who had seen the trailers, you no doubt saw a little human girl tangling along with Caesar, Maurice, and two other apes. The backstory is that after an ambush that leaves Caesar's wife and children killed, our main lead takes his companions out on a revenge quest to kill the bastard responsible. Along the way, they encounter a hamlet where a lone man and his daughter lives. The man is a deserter from the human army and Caesar kills him dead. When they go inside, they find the girl...





Spoiler



And this is where my rant begins:


*What. Was. The Fucking. Point. Of. That. Girl?!* No seriously, what was the point? So Maurice meets her and discovers she can't talk. No, it's not because she's mute, it's actually a Checkov's Gun that gets exploited later. Anyway, he insists with Caesar that they take her with them because she'll die otherwise -- after all, she's a little girl all alone now.


Now, um, please put yourself in the POV of Caesar. You are on a revenge quest and one of your own has found a small child and is going to take her along. What would you do? I'd take him aside and ask him just WTF he's doing because (a) they're _intending to fight human soldiers!!_ Even someone like Caesar would know that a warzone is no place for a child. Also (b) how do they know she wouldn't have loved ones who would find her missing and start looking for her? They're putting themselves at a huge risk.


But what does he do? Begrudgingly accept it without question. 


Now put yourself in the girl's POV. You heard gunshots outside your house and three dangerous looking apes come in. Even though one of them seems to be nice to you, _would you even think of following them_? I wouldn't.


But she decides that yes, yes indeedy she will travel with the apes that just shot her father. And speaking of poor dad... She _literally stands there next to his body for a few minutes...not...doing...anything._ Not doing a damned thing. And this is a little girl, who just saw the body of her father and she doesn't react? Yet near the end when one of the main apes got killed, she's bawling her eyes out? An ape that likely only merely tolerated her and, what, gave her a flower??


And also, just because she's unable to speak doesn't mean she can't read or write. Did it never occur for the film to simply have her take out a pad and pencil and scrawl messages to Maurice? 


The second thing I want to address is that at no point did Maurice attempt to teach her anything other than "thirsty" and "ape". He can speak fluent English so it's not like there's a barrier between the two. I presume she can still hear.


And the third thing is when she _literally walks into a human camp/base unimpeded so she could tug on heartstrings by giving food and water to all the apes being held prisoner. _You mean to tell me that none of the guards likely on duty never saw her? I know she's a child but...if she can just walk into the camp unchecked then something tells me the guards are not doing their job and I'm wondering why the apes haven't just escaped by now.


In short, I felt there was absolutely _NO POINT_ in her being in the movie other than to appeal to the kids and tug heartstrings. Considering the plot line of Caesar avenging his family, you'd think that with her in the picture, it'd be _blatantly obvious_ to dedicate a couple of scenes establishing who she is and her place in the group.







Spoiler



The first two movies paid very close attention to how they depicted the humans, as in they weren't all 100% complete monsters. The second one really hammered it home by saying that both parties just wanted to be left alone, but circumstances brought them into conflict against each other. The third? The big bad is running a concentration camp-esque facility where he puts the apes to work building a wall. All the humans, save the little girl, are pure evil and rotten to the core.





Spoiler





Just what happened here? I know the big bad is, well, _evil_, and *most* of the people fighting under him probably see the apes as vermin, but there were at least one or two soldiers that showed _signs_ that they weren't evil -- only forced to be evil under pain of death. But no, outside the girl none of the humans are even remotely good.





And there is the full movie review. It's all right, but there are two glaring issues I have with it that makes it not really...well-done let me just say. It's not as good as the last two. :/


----------



## SilverMoon

"Conversation about the Weather is the Last Refuge of the Unimaginative" Oscar Wilde​
Well, that's easy for you to say Oscar. You don't have asthma and live on Long Island where people are walking around like the Chinese wearing white hospital masks because of the pollution-like the pollution which reaches us here from Manhattan and New Jersey settling over the sound, now 75 degrees, raising the dew point level (which registers the moisture in the air) which is the bain of my existence.

Despite having central A/C, a basement sized de-humidifier (which I have to empty three times a day) and solid insulation, the heat woke me up this morning (sneaky little bastard gets in somehow) in what I would say in a great state of agitation and delirium, walking around the kitchen looking for the coffee I had run out of, not wanting to have to run out in the "soup" (which is what I now call weather). I just wanted to go "Whaaa" like Lucy but I live alone so there was no Rickie to hear me. So... to the computer I went, feverishly rambling on to a friend who by now will probably be on best rest for the rest of the week.

I eventually made my way out into the soup to get to the bank to pull out money from the cash machine which was out of service, then having to stand in an endless line talking to myself out loud like Kate Blanchet in the movie "Blue Jasmine" _(a must see)._ Everyone was looking at me and I just did not give a damn. By the time I got to the counter the teller asked me if I was OK. Sounding like a bank robber, all I could say was "Just give me my money!" (I'm normally never rude). "What denominations, miss?" - All I heard was "demonizations " and said "What?!  Then reason struck. I was de-hydrated, not having had my morning bottle of water. So, I would be getting electrolyte water along with coffee at the market.

Once there, a sweet looking woman was standing in the area for the shopping carts, _where_ there were none! I said "Now, I'm in a really fowl mood!" The sweet looking woman said "Dear they_ do _sell chicken here". I burst out laughing, never minding for a second loosing breath, and thanked her. I really needed a LOL.

After all this, after having my coffee once home, I fell straight asleep. Slept for the entire day thanks to the soup. Now thinking, if I had brought chicken at the market I would have had instant chicken soup by the time I go to my car - but I'm a vegan.

I am now on my way to pick up my mail then hole in my home until scientists solve this Climate Change _Problem.

_So, pardon me, Mr. Wilde. Call me humdrum. I will have a better retort for you which will be atop yours in brainy quotes! 

Thanks, for listening folks. Have a great night and hope you all live in the mountains....


----------



## andrewclunn

Sister in-law's baby shower just ended.  Eight beers in.  Bathing the daughter.  An atypical day for sure.


----------



## JustRob

So that will be yesterday now, it being the early morning here, early for me anyway. I spent much of yesterday trying to figure out why some software that I was working on, that had been working reasonably well, started to fail and then stopped working altogether. I checked and restarted all the computers involved, it being a system that linked several, in case one of them had fouled up in some way, but found no cause. I tried much simpler stock routines but even they didn't work any more. 

Eventually I read some suggestions on the Internet along the lines "make sure that you aren't doing such-and-such." I then discovered that one such-and-such was happening in my system, but not because I had put it there. The editor and test workbench that I was using had substituted the pesky such-and-such for what I'd written and I hadn't noticed, or at least didn't even know that it mattered at the time. I found that out late yesterday evening, so if I have the time today I should be able to purge the infuriating such-and-such out of my system and all will be well again. At least it meant that I didn't lose any sleep trying to work out what was going wrong. Ah well, I must put it down to experience. 

It's good to have a hobby that one "enjoys", isn't it? I don't think that was a rhetorical question, come to think of it. Maybe others here have equally masochistic hobbies that they indulge in for "fun".


----------



## bobo

I wouldn't exactly call it a hobby, but masochistic allright - when having to toss out all that 'well-meant' programs and spy ware all too many out there, seems would be fun to put in our computers.
It's an all too frequent battle.
Any experience with 'ByteFence anti-malware' - yeah so it calls itself, may be a self-reference 
Any experience with the keyboard not functioning when on (maybe only certain sites) on the Inet ??


----------



## Nellie

SilverMoon said:


> hope you all live in the mountains....​




I wish I lived in the mountains, but since I live in the foothills of the Rocky MOUNTAINS, that will suffice! My days usually go well, except when there is low pressure system blowing in from the Pacific. It gives me a god-awful headache, like I used to get when I lived in Memphis. Those days were awful! 
Makes me wanna ukel: when I think about it!

I hate humidity! Makes it too hard to breathe.​


----------



## old.bull.lee

Yesterday my bike was stolen. I went to see a film and locked it up outside the theatre. Came out after the movie to find my lock cut and dangling from the rack. Then when walking home, I got stuck behind a train for twenty minutes. I would have made it over the tracks before it came...if only I had my bike. I feel like it may make a good short story one day as I couldn't help but laugh at the sequence of events. On the plus side, the film was good. 

Today I'm lounging. I'm going to spend the day reading and writing, drinking tea, cooking and maybe having a glass or two of wine.


----------



## escorial

City life sucks at times...a great read man all things considered.. can't beat real life stuff


----------



## aj47

I started a blog.  I'm not allowed to talk about it here, apparently.  PM me if you're interested.


----------



## Olly Buckle

old.bull.lee said:


> Yesterday my bike was stolen. I went to see a film and locked it up outside the theatre. Came out after the movie to find my lock cut and dangling from the rack. Then when walking home, I got stuck behind a train for twenty minutes. I would have made it over the tracks before it came...if only I had my bike. I feel like it may make a good short story one day as I couldn't help but laugh at the sequence of events. On the plus side, the film was good.



I used to have an old threegear, all steel, bike that I bought second hand for next to nothing. It was a little bit harder work than the multi-gear, titanium superbikes my friends had, but bikes are so efficient anyway it was not a big difference, and part of the object was to get exercise. The big advantage was that I could leave it anywhere, I broke my leg once and it stayed on Waterloo station for three months with a cheap lock on it. I had to  pump up the tyres, but it was okay otherwise


----------



## LeeC

Just several weeks till my 75th birthday, and I've overheard the wife arranging a "surprise" family party. The pretense to get me there is my father-in-law's birthday, whom I respect as he'll be 92 and is a WWII vet. An odd thought, when I was in Indochina my wife was attending second grade on an Army base in Germany. No, I didn't know her then. When we did meet, one of the things that attracted me was her maturity.


----------



## Kevin

Indochina...I suppose you had dealings with the Annamites. Perhaps even adventures...

That would be a party I would like to go to.


----------



## Kevin

Olly Buckle said:


> I used to have an old threegear, all steel, bike that I bought second hand for next to nothing. It was a little bit harder work than the multi-gear, titanium superbikes my friends had, but bikes are so efficient anyway it was not a big difference, and part of the object was to get exercise. The big advantage was that I could leave it anywhere, I broke my leg once and it stayed on Waterloo station for three months with a cheap lock on it. I had to  pump up the tyres, but it was okay otherwise


I'm reminded of a tradesman I know that leaves his van unlocked so they don't break the thing to get in. His neighbors or others conduct nighttime searches regularly, he says. I think I might feel rather violated, but then I'm more of the selfish/judgmental type.  Hmm.. "Waterloo station"... Sounds like dream or something...


----------



## sas

OK, here's my personal story about stealing.

During the Detroit Riots (now called Uprising...and I agree with new term) of 1967 (50th anniversary acknowledgments now) I bought new furniture for my entire first house, but could not move into it for a month, so furniture store kept it there, all in one area. The store was cleaned out, except for my shit. I used "shit" here not as a swear word, but as a descriptive term, I guess.


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Indochina...I suppose you had dealings with the Annamites. Perhaps even adventures...



Being a LRRP I saw a good deal of back country. What I remember most though, are all the innocents caught between factions warring for power. Where have all the flowers gone ;-) Do you remember the snippet from my book?






Kevin said:


> That would be a party I would like to go to.



Some long in the tooth with sharp tongues, down to a swarm of screaming great grandkids, you'd get a headache ;-) I'd rather spend a quiet day in the upper Maine woods with my daughter and grandson


----------



## The Green Shield

escorial said:


> City life sucks at times...a great read man all things considered.. can't beat real life stuff


I'm more of a country boy myself.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I just spent a good hour and a half exploring some woods near my house.

Also, am I the only one who is REALLY pumped up for the Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan) movie coming out?


----------



## escorial

On the beach reading a book on the Spanish civil war and a group of Spanish kids with teachers arrived to take pics of Anthony gormley statues then off to play footy on the beach an I just wondered what role their grandparents  had in the war...


----------



## escorial

The Green Shield said:


> I'm more of a country boy myself.



What have you had nicked in the sticks...


----------



## Winston

Jury duty.  Not supposed to talk about any details, but I'm disturbed by it.
I sat on juries before.  Usually minor stuff like a drug possession and the like.  This is much more serious. Voir dire continues tomorrow.  
I take my civic duty seriously, but I almost hope I am not chosen to serve.


----------



## Winston

escorial said:


> On the beach reading a book on the Spanish civil war and a group of Spanish kids with teachers arrived to take pics of Anthony gormley statues then off to play footy on the beach an I just wondered what role their grandparents  had in the war...



From what I understand, folks don't like to talk about that time.  It's still a raw wound.


----------



## The Green Shield

^ I wouldn't blame them. I wouldn't like talking about the Spanish Civil War if I lived through it.
-------------------On a lighter note---------------------------











I made these two recently.


----------



## Plasticweld

Winston said:


> Jury duty.  Not supposed to talk about any details, but I'm disturbed by it.
> I sat on juries before.  Usually minor stuff like a drug possession and the like.  This is much more serious. Voir dire continues tomorrow.
> I take my civic duty seriously, but I almost hope I am not chosen to serve.



I just got done with my jury duty selection process a couple of weeks ago, a high-profile drug case.  At one point the DA asked if anyone in the jury had a problem with confidential informants.  I raised my hand and said that anyone one who would turn on his friends and business associates is the lowest kind of life form out there. If they would do that, why would they tell the truth on the stand.  They have already compromised the most valuable thing a man possesses and that is his integrity; why on earth would I trust them now to tell the truth.  The next question was do you have faith in law enforcement to tell the truth on the stand.  Again, I raised my hand.  The police during an interrogation are under no restrains when it comes to telling the truth.  They can lie, intimate and coerce someone to get testimony.  They basically lie for a living why would they honor the sanctity of the witness chair. 

Some of my feelings come from family who are in law enforcement, the rest from close friends who are in law enforcement.  

They did not chose me.


----------



## Winston

> They did not chose me.



I am shocked (sarcasm).


----------



## Plasticweld

Winston said:


> I am shocked (sarcasm).




I spoke with the Defendants attorney in the parking lot afterwards... she gave me a big smile and said she wished she could have had me in the jury pool.   The prosecutor who I know personally and even helped with his campaign when he was running for Superior Court Judge...decided I was not the guy for him and had me excluded....Tell me where is the justice?  


The guy ended up getting 7 years for drug trafficking... I am sure he was guilt as hell, he may just not have been guilty of all the 20 some charges they brought up against him.


----------



## Winston

Plasticweld said:


> ... I am sure he was guilt as hell, he may just not have been guilty of all the 20 some charges they brought up against him.



You remember the way you test to see if spaghetti is cooked?  Just throw some against the wall and see if it sticks.


----------



## LeeC

Years ago I was called up for jury duty in the capitol. The trial was for a molester that by all accounts showed utter disregard for his victim. One of the screening questions was what books one reads. I answered that I liked natural history books that promote objective thinking, so we might better understand ourselves. The defense challenged my participation ;-)

The defense, of course, was only doing their job as best they could with what they had to work with. 

I saw in the paper a few weeks later that the guy got twenty-five years, which likely meant he could get out in ten or less. There are those that see it as an invasion of privacy, but I'm encouraged by the public sex offenders lists. The public should be aware.


----------



## escorial

Winston said:


> From what I understand, folks don't like to talk about that time.  It's still a raw wound.



I wonder if they learn about it in school..


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Bob, you better watch it, you almost sound like a liberal there :lol:


The case I was a juror on last year didn't get past the first five minutes when the prosecutor kept asking the Police Officer about whether the defendant had marijuana. The case was about assaulting a police officer and had nothing to do with whether she was carrying drugs. After telling the jury to disregard, the officer then offered she (the defendant) was carrying marijuana again. Again, the defendant was not charged with possessing an illegal substance. The judge threw the case out.


----------



## bobo

escorial said:


> I wonder if they learn about it in school..






Read this trilogy, called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and you'll know more than you want  to


----------



## escorial

I want it all....


----------



## sas

Winston said:


> Jury duty.  Not supposed to talk about any details, but I'm disturbed by it.
> I sat on juries before.  Usually minor stuff like a drug possession and the like.  This is much more serious. Voir dire continues tomorrow.
> I take my civic duty seriously, but I almost hope I am not chosen to serve.




I have been requested for jury duty several times. When interviewed by attorneys (of both sides) they dismiss me. Smart move.


----------



## sas

Lee,

Regarding sex offenders list. Great idea if they would also post if it was a boyfriend/under age girlfriend, consensual sex situation. I personally know a lot of guys who are now in their 70s & 80s who today would hit that list when young. Labeling these guys for the rest of their lives is overkill. I dated older when young. Now I've gone the other way. Ha


----------



## bobo

escorial said:


> I want it all....



Now we're talking about Spain - if that's what we're talking about 
A little known fact about the former king, Don Juan Carlos:
In 1947 the monarchy was confirmed, and it was agreed under *il Caudillo* (i.e. Spanish for the German title _der Führer_, and for the Italien title_ il Duce_)* Franco* that the grandson of King Alfonso XIII (1902 - 1931), the king who one day in 1931 just walked out of the whole charade, and never returned  
- that his grandson Don Juan Carlos should become king of Spain after the death of Franco (came to pass in 1975)
Juan Carlos was reared in Italy, but after he was marked as a sort of crown prince, he was educated in Spain as well, then one day when he vacanced in Portugal, where his father and younger brother lived, he shot his brother to death.
He claimed it to be an accident, was never prosecuted, and the whole affair silenced.
That's the Spanish king (1975-2014), who thought he could do whatever, without being found guilty .... no wonder ... but an elephant (hunt) got him in the end 
He abdicated 2014.


----------



## Kevin

The Green Shield said:


> ^ I wouldn't blame them. I wouldn't like talking about the Spanish Civil War if I lived through it.
> -------------------On a lighter note---------------------------
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I made these two recently.


 I think Pan's Labyrinth captured the brutality. The war,  internationally, was a blatant support of Fascism by the western powers over Democracy. The Soviets, as well as some dreamers, were for the other side. I think they would have not ended up in a Soviet style gulag-state ( police state) had the other side won. It's funny if you compare Spain under Franco with Cuba under Castro, there were a lot of of similarities in some respects, namely  political freedom  and personal rights. Neither were big on those.  

Oh, and both their names ended in an 'O'. Coincidence? ...I do, however, think Castro had the better cigars. Perhaps he shared.


----------



## The Green Shield

In... lighter news, I'm almost 13K words into my fantasy!!


----------



## H.Brown

The Green Shield said:


> In... lighter news, I'm almost 13K words into my fantasy!!



That's awesome TGS


----------



## escorial

LIMF...kicks of tomorrow at sefton park.. just had a look at some of the stages lineups...all depends on the weather...an it's all free.. unbelievable really


----------



## Plasticweld

Awkward Moments 

It is a hot, humid day here… a nice day for a swim. 

I have a real nice swimming hole in my backyard and no neighbors. 

 I also have an obstacle course in my backyard and invite other athletes over to use it to train for the Spartan Races.  I have 11 obstacles, hills to climb and a circuit to run… going for a swim afterwards is the norm and it makes this a great place to work out on a hot summer day. 

Now most people call and let me know they're coming. 

I am down swimming when JoAnn and her daughter show up un-announced.  JoAnn is my age; her daughter is 33.  they come bouncing down the stairs, and over the edge of the water.  

I am standing in waist deep water, and know I can’t make it to my clothes, so I just stand there… not sure what to do.  For a moment, the thought crossed my mind as to what to do with my hands… I was not sure, I twittled them front of me as if I were carrying on some sort of conversation. 

“Hey, we came over to train,” she says.

She then notices I am not wearing a bathing suit.

She is all smiles… as is her daughter.

Neither of them offered me my towel which is hanging on the back of a chair

They giggled as they headed back up the stairs.

Truth be known I did some giggling too, that was truly and awkward moment meant for giggles.


----------



## andrewclunn

So I wrote my first new piece again in almost a week.  I've just been messed up since my cousin killed himself last weekend and haven't found the motivation to do anything too cerebral outside of work.  His funeral is today, but I'm not able to go due to work.  I'm doing okay though.  I'm just throwing out into the eather a promise to get back to writing because I've been enjoying it so much and should allow myself that pleasure.


----------



## escorial

In a pub with piss pots in the air...


----------



## Darkkin

Home after another round of IV antibiotics.  Most people with strep get strep throat.  Mine has attacked my mytral value a second time.  Thanks to Rue they were able to catch it before any damage was done to the valve, but I'm on work restrictions for two weeks because of the resulting myopathy.  Ten days of antibiotics, too.  At least they aren't keeping me.  My PICC line is the only reason I'm currently allowed to go home.  There are days I hate my genetics.  Complications of a similar attack were responsible for the death of my dad's eldest sister when she was a year or so old than I am now.


----------



## midnightpoet

Genetics can be hell.  My wife was adopted, but she thinks her heritage was Cajun.  She told me once if you get one auto-immune disease you'll probably get them all - and she's got a bunch of them (starting with Crohn's, which I understand as genetic based).  Hope you get better.


----------



## Darkkin

They caught it in time, thanks to my dog.  Rue knew something was off and I didn't pay attention to symptoms like the massive bruising or the panicked feeling I got whenever I moved, akin to carrying around a bomb, one you couldn't touch.  It was all because the valve was not functioning as it should.  The symptoms were identical to what I went through before they replaced the valve a couple years ago.  The strep was inhibiting function.  I was fine a week ago and then boom.  More shit and a big ass fan.  Love my dog, hate my heart.


----------



## JustRob

I was attempting to install an extra package in the Ubuntu system on our home server, but the boot partition was full and the standard commands wouldn't purge it, so I did some hacking to clear the problem. That went fine but then the automatic update offered me a new version of Ubuntu to replace the current one. I accepted the offer, but the install failed, then the rollback of the old version failed and now our server doesn't work at all. I've ordered an extra solid state disk drive for the machine and will install that with a new operating system next week, then recover the files on the old drive. In the meantime all our music collection is on the dead server, so to play any music during our Sunday dinner as we always do I'll have to reactivate the backup music server on my desktop computer. Ho hum.

After over fifty years of patiently working with computer software I have almost no emotional reactions to anything that happens in a computer. So, by my standards it's been a pretty uneventful day. Tiresome though.


----------



## Winston

Updated my resume for the first time in a while.  I hate messing with Word.  Yeah, I suck at writing... even at it's core construction.
But so many folks at work keep telling me I should "move up".  But I like my forklift, and I hate cubicles.  And Word.  It's just hard to argue with Mo Money.  

And rust repair on the floorboard of my old pick-up.  First time using Bondo.  Stuff dried faster than I was ready for.  Well, it's an ugly repair, but no one is putting their foot through my truck floor.
Unless they stomp really hard.


----------



## JustRob

Regarding yesterday, there was no way that I could get the Logitech Media Server package to run on the latest version of Ubuntu (Zesty Zapus - I wonder what they'll call the next version.), so to restore our music library to operation I'll have to reinstate the previous version of Ubuntu, Yakkety Yak, and disable upgrades ... when I get the new solid state disk drive tomorrow, that is. I planned to reinstall the system then anyway, so no hassle. The backup music library on my desktop computer is working anyway, so we can use that today.

I prefer to keep all our music tracks as CD quality files, so they take up a lot of disk space compared to MP3. I even wrote a poem about that a little while back, MP3? Not for me! However, despite what I said in that poem our Logitech system is capable of playing twelve bit sound files as well.


----------



## am_hammy

Having probably one of the slowest afternoons I've had at work in awhile. Longest 20 minutes of my life happening right now.


----------



## Olly Buckle

am_hammy said:


> Having probably one of the slowest afternoons I've had at work in awhile. Longest 20 minutes of my life happening right now.


Remember the guy in catch22 who did all the most boring things he could because then, even if his life was short, it would seem long? Rejoice in the extra time you got !


----------



## am_hammy

Olly Buckle said:


> Remember the guy in catch22 who did all the most boring things he could because then, even if his life was short, it would seem long? Rejoice in the extra time you got !




You raise a valid point Olly.

I've used this time to catch up on emails ^_^


----------



## Sleepwriter

well spent the afternoon at the dealership getting a newer vehicle.  the brakes went out on my old one. and the part needed was dealer discontinued and there are no aftermarket parts.  My only option was the junk yard and hope to find a good one.  along with the high mileage and constant babying to get a few more miles.  It was time to let go, but Dayuum.  Cars have gotten expensive, have not bought one in 16 years.


----------



## andrewclunn

Hopefully on the mend.  There is literally zero plus side to being sick when you're the parent.


----------



## Plasticweld

Sleepwriter said:


> well spent the afternoon at the dealership getting a newer vehicle.  the brakes went out on my old one. and the part needed was dealer discontinued and there are no aftermarket parts.  My only option was the junk yard and hope to find a good one.  along with the high mileage and constant babying to get a few more miles.  It was time to let go, but Dayuum.  Cars have gotten expensive, have not bought one in 16 years.




What are you looking at?   I know it must be my age but I find it so disappointing that the cars all pretty much look the same.   I miss the old days of playing the game of guessing what kind of car was coming down the road by the head lights and being able to say this was a 67 an that was an 68 because they changed some small thing.  I swear today you could line up 6 different models from a bunch of different makers and they all pretty much look the same.


----------



## Plasticweld

am_hammy said:


> Having probably one of the slowest afternoons I've had at work in awhile. Longest 20 minutes of my life happening right now.



This reminds me of how lucky I am.  Being paid by what I do verses putting in my time, the day always flies by and I never seem to get enough done.   The day never seems long enough for me.


----------



## LeeC

Plasticweld said:


> What are you looking at?   I know it must be my age but I find it so disappointing that the cars all pretty much look the same.   I miss the old days of playing the game of guessing what kind of car was coming down the road by the head lights and being able to say this was a 67 an that was an 68 because they changed some small thing.  I swear today you could line up 6 different models from a bunch of different makers and they all pretty much look the same.


Agree with you there, especially with '40s and '50s model cars. My first car was a '39 Chevy coupe, that I gave a new paint job with a paintbrush. 

---------

One thing you might think about Sleepwriter is a little planning ahead. Yeah, I know coming from and old fart, who cares  The first vehicle the wife and I bought together was on payments, but while we were making those payments we put aside what we could for when we would need a new vehicle. Not easy, I know, but it's really paid off in the long run. Every vehicle since we paid cash for saving a bundle on interest. We also got our house paid off before we retired, which makes a difference in what we can put on the table. 

Of course such doesn't apply to all payment plans. The adjustable foam hospital bed I needed was $4000 +/-, whether cash or credit. When a business offers you zero percent financing they already have it built into the pricing, so we paid that with minimum payments over the term. 

There are also things one has little or no control over, like the parasites trying to take away the medical coverage I more than paid for over my working career. Another good reason to live simply and plan ahead as one can.


----------



## Sleepwriter

It was not our plan to  buy a car yesterday, but I caught them at the right time, and the dollars kept melting off the price.  Told them I would think about it and went up and did a rapid-fire search and found out it was a good price, especially for a locally owned vehicle with all maintenance records. We usually pay cash for cars, but it would have wiped out our account, so we financed the minimum.   No more having to drive with the radio off who listening for new noises or sounds.


----------



## Thaumiel

Failed driving test. Got stuck behind a bicycle on a narrow country road, cautiously driving to one side scraping the bushes since I knew there was oncoming traffic. Apparently that warranted a serious driving fault for both clearance and steering. ](*,)

Got accepted for a master's though so things aren't all bad.


----------



## The Green Shield

^ That sucks (the driving test)

So I'm at Waffle House enjoying my usual when a small girl (around 6) comes in asking me and others if we'd like to buy some candy. I assume this was for charity -- but damn, talk about a strange happening.


----------



## escorial

The Green Shield said:


> ^ That sucks (the driving test)
> 
> So I'm at Waffle House enjoying my usual when a small girl (around 6) comes in asking me and others if we'd like to buy some candy. I assume this was for charity -- but damn, talk about a strange happening.




Strange things happen all the time and I think we miss most of them...someone from years past could be thinking of you and they suddenly catch a glimpse of you through a shop/car window an your non the wider..stuff like that...


----------



## Gyarachu

I think, over the last few hours, I have just finally managed to emotionally disentangle myself from the most emotionally confusing, convoluted, and unbelievably nerve-wracking situation I have ever been involved in. Sometimes is takes a cannon-like sucker punch to the gut, so to speak, from someone you thought you trusted (phrasing intentional), followed by extreme distress, to see things for what they really are when you've been lying to yourself. Like a fog has lifted and suddenly you understand what your mind's been up to. The thing is, I'm still looking back over the past month wondering what the flippiddy floop happened and how the heck it got to this point....

No, it's not what it probably sounds like. It's in a similar vein, but so much more baffling.

Today has been a real rollercoaster. A fantastic day all day, followed by strange devastation, followed by clarity and a reversal of the devastation. I know it doesn't make sense, but _I'm_ still trying to figure it all out. Basic summary:

1. You think you trust someone.
2. They do something that emotionally wrecks you.
3. You realize it should only wreck you if you _don't_ actually trust them.
4. You realize you've been lying to yourself and have never had an ounce of trust in them.
5. You realize they are not even close to the person you had forced yourself to believe.

Sounds like drama, I know, but there was actually zero drama or hard feelings involved. Just inner turmoil. Impossible to explain. Just venting.

Holy hell what a ride.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW you realize that today is the first day in a long, long time that you..._didn't play video games!!_


----------



## Plasticweld

Gyarachu said:


> I think, over the last few hours, I have just finally managed to emotionally disentangle myself from the most emotionally confusing, convoluted, and unbelievably nerve-wracking situation I have ever been involved in. Sometimes is takes a cannon-like sucker punch to the gut, so to speak, from someone you thought you trusted (phrasing intentional), followed by extreme distress, to see things for what they really are when you've been lying to yourself. Like a fog has lifted and suddenly you understand what your mind's been up to. The thing is, I'm still looking back over the past month wondering what the flippiddy floop happened and how the heck it got to this point....
> 
> No, it's not what it probably sounds like. It's in a similar vein, but so much more baffling.
> 
> Today has been a real rollercoaster. A fantastic day all day, followed by strange devastation, followed by clarity and a reversal of the devastation. I know it doesn't make sense, but _I'm_ still trying to figure it all out. Basic summary:
> 
> 1. You think you trust someone.
> 2. They do something that emotionally wrecks you.
> 3. You realize it should only wreck you if you _don't_ actually trust them.
> 4. You realize you've been lying to yourself and have never had an ounce of trust in them.
> 5. You realize they are not even close to the person you had forced yourself to believe.
> 
> Sounds like drama, I know, but there was actually zero drama or hard feelings involved. Just inner turmoil. Impossible to explain. Just venting.
> 
> Holy hell what a ride.




It sounds like pure bullshit right now...but every good lesson I learned, I learned the hard way and under similar circumstances. 

Don't let it destroy your ability to trust, let it build your ability to discern. 

All the good building blocks in life involve trust and faith in someone other than ourselves. 

Inner turmoil causes more problems than most external problems...don't let it eat you up. 


Your in my thoughts and prayers.


----------



## Gyarachu

Plasticweld said:


> It sounds like pure bullshit right now...but every good lesson I learned, I learned the hard way and under similar circumstances.
> 
> Don't let it destroy your ability to trust, let it build your ability to discern.
> 
> All the good building blocks in life involve trust and faith in someone other than ourselves.
> 
> Inner turmoil causes more problems than most external problems...don't let it eat you up.
> 
> 
> Your in my thoughts and prayers.



Thank you for the kind words.

Fortunately, this was actually a transition _from_ emotional turmoil _to_ peace of mind, or at least, more than I've had for quite a while. Though the road it took was strange and virtually the opposite of what one should expect.


----------



## Kevin

Gyarachu said:


> I think, over the last few hours, I have just finally managed to emotionally disentangle myself from the most emotionally confusing, convoluted, and unbelievably nerve-wracking situation I have ever been involved in. Sometimes is takes a cannon-like sucker punch to the gut, so to speak, from someone you thought you trusted (phrasing intentional), followed by extreme distress, to see things for what they really are when you've been lying to yourself. Like a fog has lifted and suddenly you understand what your mind's been up to. The thing is, I'm still looking back over the past month wondering what the flippiddy floop happened and how the heck it got to this point....
> 
> No, it's not what it probably sounds like. It's in a similar vein, but so much more baffling.
> 
> Today has been a real rollercoaster. A fantastic day all day, followed by strange devastation, followed by clarity and a reversal of the devastation. I know it doesn't make sense, but _I'm_ still trying to figure it all out. Basic summary:
> 
> 1. You think you trust someone.
> 2. They do something that emotionally wrecks you.
> 3. You realize it should only wreck you if you _don't_ actually trust them.
> 4. You realize you've been lying to yourself and have never had an ounce of trust in them.
> 5. You realize they are not even close to the person you had forced yourself to believe.
> 
> Sounds like drama, I know, but there was actually zero drama or hard feelings involved. Just inner turmoil. Impossible to explain. Just venting.
> 
> Holy hell what a ride.


Well, damn... Sounds like you sort of resolved it there at the end. I was hoping you might ask for suggestions or take a poll as to what sort of retributive action should follow. I would-a voted for brass knuckles, but then I always vote for brass knuckles. Okay, so you see I try to use humor to ease things, and you know, like the old business adage says: when and if you're in jail you're  still not paid", so what's the point, right? Anyway, hope you didn't get burned too hard, and whatever it was., keep the faith ( metaphorically or not metaphorically ) as not everyone is a... whatever it was they did.


----------



## JustRob

My rebuild of our domestic server eventually came to life, so now we have a constant supply of music flowing from its music library. There are still some details to sort out as our home website, only accessible inside the house, isn't all working yet. After that I'll have to do something about our central heating boiler, which often decides not to heat the hot water supply in the morning. My angel gets concerned that she might get a lukewarm shower in the morning ... but at least there's a constant supply of music again. You can't have everything, can you?


----------



## Darkkin

Finished (reading) three books today, working on four more...


----------



## sas

Had colonoscopy. Need I say more?


----------



## PiP

sas said:


> Had colonoscopy. Need I say more?



Ouch!


----------



## Kevin

sas said:


> Had colonoscopy. Need I say more?


"...and everything's aok."


----------



## Gyarachu

Gyarachu said:


> I think, over the last few hours, I have just finally managed to emotionally disentangle myself from the most emotionally confusing, convoluted, and unbelievably nerve-wracking situation I have ever been involved in. Sometimes is takes a cannon-like sucker punch to the gut, so to speak, from someone you thought you trusted (phrasing intentional), followed by extreme distress, to see things for what they really are when you've been lying to yourself. Like a fog has lifted and suddenly you understand what your mind's been up to. The thing is, I'm still looking back over the past month wondering what the flippiddy floop happened and how the heck it got to this point....
> 
> No, it's not what it probably sounds like. It's in a similar vein, but so much more baffling.
> 
> Today has been a real rollercoaster. A fantastic day all day, followed by strange devastation, followed by clarity and a reversal of the devastation. I know it doesn't make sense, but _I'm_ still trying to figure it all out. Basic summary:
> 
> 1. You think you trust someone.
> 2. They do something that emotionally wrecks you.
> 3. You realize it should only wreck you if you _don't_ actually trust them.
> 4. You realize you've been lying to yourself and have never had an ounce of trust in them.
> 5. You realize they are not even close to the person you had forced yourself to believe.
> 
> Sounds like drama, I know, but there was actually zero drama or hard feelings involved. Just inner turmoil. Impossible to explain. Just venting.
> 
> Holy hell what a ride.



Things just took possibly the worst turn they could have taken. I've never felt so betrayed or hurt or used in my life.

There are some really messed up people in this world. _Really _messed up.

I don't even know what to do now. I didn't even know this was a thing that actually happened. The worst thing is I sort of predicted it. I thought, "well now that's done, but wouldn't it just be the worst thing if [insert insane, unbelievable, could never actually happen in reality scenario here], _that_ would suck so bad. Hehe."

Promptly followed by the actualization of [insert insane, unbelievable, could never actually happen in reality scenario here].

This feels like a dream.


----------



## bobo

Gyarachu said:


> Things just took possibly the worst turn they could have taken. I've never felt so betrayed or hurt or used in my life.
> 
> There are some really messed up people in this world. _Really _messed up.
> 
> I don't even know what to do now. I didn't even know this was a thing that actually happened. The worst thing is I sort of predicted it. I thought, "well now that's done, but wouldn't it just be the worst thing if [insert insane, unbelievable, could never actually happen in reality scenario here], _that_ would suck so bad. Hehe."
> 
> Promptly followed by the actualization of [insert insane, unbelievable, could never actually happen in reality scenario here].
> 
> This feels like a dream.



So-o, what happened ??


----------



## Olly Buckle

bobo said:


> So-o, what happened ??



I know it is intriguing for us uninvolved, older, folk, but maybe we should just let the poor guy vent. No doubt we will learn further down the line if we are meant to know.


----------



## Gyarachu

I'd rather not say in thread on the off chance one of the parties involved frequents this site (I know at least one of them enjoys writing), and the situation is unique enough that I would be instantly identifiable were that the case.

If you really do have a burning desire to know, I suppose you can PM me and I might share a little bit. Don't expect much, sorry.

(Didn't sleep last night.)


----------



## bobo

I don’t get it.
You want to tell us a whole lot about your emotional reaction, but when asked to WHAT – you fall back.
You want to use other people’s time, but will not tell why.
You know what that is ?? – that’s a joke 
May be you better tell such things to your mirror, there you can get all the attention you want 8)


----------



## sas

bobo said:


> I don’t get it.
> You want to tell us a whole lot about your emotional reaction, but when asked to WHAT – you fall back.
> You want to use other people’s time, but will not tell why.
> You know what that is ?? – that’s a joke
> May be you better tell such things to your mirror, there you can get all the attention you want 8)




Gosh, bobo, I just have to thank you for making me look nice.
I see this thread as less like AA or a confessional booth, and more like an anonymous place to share whatever, emphasis on whatever. 

.


----------



## Kevin

Had to stay late at the site waiting for the pavers to come do some touchup per the inspector. It's been an ordeal, dealing with this company throughout. Actual working days they've come  has been 12. Split that up adding weekends and you're looking at three weeks; 21 calendar days. The process has taken nearly two months. 

Apparently their business model is to sign as much work as possible while limiting their employees to less than 50. At more than 50 they would have to provide health insurance...  

The problem for us is that there are limited companies licensed to do this type of work, and we have no leverage, so we're left calling, asking, pleading, badgering, sometimes yelling at them on the phone in order to get them to not take us off the schedule. That's what they do: they put us on the schedule, and then every night, or every early-in-the-morning, they bump us off the schedule. 

My boss seems to have a better time of it than I. She's somehow able to not just get the v.m. The poor gal at their office told me yesterday that she was screamed at for 45 minutes. I say 'poor gal' because she really has no control, no say so, and my boss ( one of them) can be like a pitbull on a stuffed poodle... And, she's extremely annoying because I have to explain things five f-ing times while getting interrupted ten f-ing times, but she does have her strengths, so I'll give that, her pitbull grip being one of them; plus, I do like her. 

Anyway...

It's hard for me being the type that does what he says, when he says-always trying to be ahead of the game production-wise, to deal with contractors, in this case the pavers, and a little while ago, the elevator contractors, whose foreman( in the case of the elevator company) or owner ( the pavers) main job, apparently, is to lie and come up with excuses as to why you're not ready,  or, why they are not able to show up every g.d. day. 

So, that's  their job, and I have to get past _my way_ of thinking; my own limitations, conceptually or however you want to say it philosophically (you know- this doing what I say, when I say) to be able to _think_ like they do, and come up with quick counters and/or manipulations to get them to do their job 'in a timely fashion' which is a contract term, which is to be reasonably expected when you hire a contractor. It is in no way our fault that they choose to overbook themselves (which is what they do- that's what you call it-overbooking) period.

And it just so happens that our city-required bond for the work is about to expire ( like tomorrow), which we have reminded them about over and over to which they had the nerve to say wasn't their problem. 

So that's when I did a tally of the start date, days actually worked, and what might be a reasonable allowance for calendar days start to finish. I write everything down. I almost sent the text/email the other day but my other boss held me off ( ".. the job has, from day one, been ready to be worked upon in a continuos manner until completion, and we have in no way...").

Thats how my day was. I think I'll get a coffee...


----------



## Olly Buckle

bobo said:


> I don’t get it.
> You want to tell us a whole lot about your emotional reaction, but when asked to WHAT – you fall back.
> You want to use other people’s time, but will not tell why.
> You know what that is ?? – that’s a joke
> May be you better tell such things to your mirror, there you can get all the attention you want 8)



Not a good day, bobo? Really, he is in emotional turmoil and sharing that helps, but it is also his private business and he wishes to retain his privacy. That all seems fair enough to me.

Gyarachu, I know things can be hard at times, experience has taught me two things, to learn from it and vary my mistakes  and that given time people places and priorities change, if you are selective that can be for thr better. Good luck mate, hope things settle down a bit, Olly.


----------



## aj47

I interview with two teams at JP Morgan Chase on Monday morning.  We'll see how it goes.


----------



## bobo

Olly Buckle said:


> Not a good day, bobo?


Thank you Olly - actually the best of days - if you're asking ... ??


----------



## Winston

I just goofed-off today... and wrote.
But seriously, our anniversary cruise is next week.  I need to start getting stuff ready.  Packing and the like.  Formal clothes.  Errrrrrr...


----------



## Plasticweld

My daughter Cathy boarded a plane today for California to compete in the Steve Austin Broken Skull  tChallenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV1PQeQslpw 

 Which is  US based tv show in which the competitors have to not only beat each other but the course.  She is doing the eliminations tomorrow and will stay until she is defeated.  The tv show airs sometime this fall.  If she does well she will you will be able to see her compete.  They pay her to go out plus all of her expenses, 1st place pay $10,000

The picture is from 3 weeks ago we competed together in a 8 mile 32 obstacle race together, we often train together in my back yard where I have an obstacle coarse and we run together....  The good stuff in life


----------



## The Green Shield

Woo! Hit the 15K mark on my fantasy!!


----------



## Kevin

Finally got a day free enough to go ride. Went over the bars on a steep section and had to catch myself handstand/ inverted push-up walk myself down the side face of a boulder stool clipped in to the pedals. Not funny. Usually I laugh, but a six and a half to eight foot drop on your head is serious. Anyway, nothing damaged, not me and not the bike. This is my second crash there. I'm always up for a challenge but I think I'm going to have to majorly modify the trail- resculpt it; just too risky, otherwise. It doesn't help that it's on the return leg where fatigue is a factor.


----------



## escorial

Try a set of stabilisers


----------



## Plasticweld

Kevin said:


> Finally got a day free enough to go ride. Went over the bars on a steep section and had to catch myself handstand/ inverted push-up myself down the side face of a boulder. Not funny. Usually I laugh, but a six and a half to eight foot drop on your head is serious. Anyway, nothing damaged, not me and not the bike. This is my second crash there. I'm always up for a challenge but I think I'm going to have to majorly modify the trail- resculpt it; just too risky, otherwise. It doesn't help that it's on the return leg where fatigue is a factor.




I have only done the down hill mountain biking once with my son.  He rented a bike for me along with  helmet and some body armor.  We got our lift tickets for the chair lift at the ski resort and hammered the hills.  I had never been before, but rode motorcycle trials for years, they are very similar.   I crashed numerous times, thanked my helmet many times for saving my melon.  I struggled most when I fell off the bike and had to get back on, it was so steep I had to walk it down in places where it was level enough to get back on.   I could not pick up one foot without the bike and I both going down again, I am sure  there must be some trick to it but never figured it out.    


Sounds like you had a blast!


----------



## aj47

My Army daughter and grandson are moving in Saturday.  Long story but her .... partner ... can't make ends meet and will not accept charity.  My daughter refuses to live on promises and without electricity etc.  As I type, astroandy is spending the night in Amarillo on the way to fetch them (he arrives tomorrow and turns around and comes back with them).  They're in Simla, CO.  The entire county (Elbert) is so small it has no women's shelter (I worked to get her help when the electricity was disconnected--her partner somehow promised the powerCompany something and they got it back so her and my grandbaby didn't need an immediate extraction--we could have gotten them out had we needed to, though).


----------



## haribol

I am a retired banker and now suddenly I have a lot of time to do what I like or some of the things that I could not do because of my busy and hectic life standard. I want to pass the rest of my life after 58 on doing creative things like writing, gardening, traveling and visiting old friends and relatives. Traveling alone or in a company is a great joy for me and I often walk long hours, often for 6 to 7 hours all alone across mountains and valleys. I am experiencing something new everyday and I want to make a lot of fun and do not want to live struggling hard. Banking has never been my cup of tea and I worked there, to be very honest for making money and earning social recognition and now I am doing the things I always wanted to do though belatedly. I do not repent I am at least healthy enough to do what I like to do in the rest of my days.


----------



## JustRob

I woke up this morning thinking that today is Saturday and I'm having a hard time convincing my mind that it was wrong. As a result my angel and I had a very confusing discussion about what we were going to do. We went out but there seemed to be an awful lot of people out doing leisurely things, the sort they'd do at the weekend, so I'm still not convinced that it's only Friday. I know that I write about sensing the future a lot, but this is ridiculous. I'm just going to have to treat tomorrow as a non-day to allow the rest of the world to catch up and get back in sync for Sunday. Yesterday, whatever day that was, we were out shopping and talking about buying Christmas presents. Er, what month is it? But I bought us ice cream in the park today, it being that warm. Christmas? No, surely not. Friday is it? But it doesn't _feel_ like a Friday, not here inside my mind. How very strange.


----------



## midnightpoet

Our water bill was over twice what it usually is - after getting one of the local handymen to help me check for leaks I eventually discovered it was likely to be the commode, which was running constantly.  Well, being a stubborn male I had refused to listen to my wife who kept telling me about it.  Now I'm off to buy some internals to fix the darn thing.

This will not surprise the ladies here.:smile:


----------



## Winston

midnightpoet said:


> Our water bill was over twice what it usually is - after getting one of the local handymen to help me check for leaks I eventually discovered it was likely to be the commode, which was running constantly.  Well, being a stubborn male I had refused to listen to my wife who kept telling me about it.  Now I'm off to buy some internals to fix the darn thing.
> 
> This will not surprise the ladies here.:smile:



That's usually not too hard of a fix if it's the float or flapper.  Just one thing:  If you need to pull the tank and re-attach it, DO NOT over tighten the tank to the bowl. 
 They're both ceramic.   Or, do it and let your wife laugh.

Just finishing the last minute stuff before leaving for our 25th Anniversary cruise.  Alaska and all those glaciers and such.  My wife will take pics, and I'll try to post some.
Peace out.


----------



## JustRob

Yesterday my angel and I kept Sunday special, as is our custom. We had lunch in the garden for the first time this year. It was a traditional English venison roast with a bottle of Rioja. We always have a full roast on Sunday. Unlike in much of Europe our weather was balmy, a typical English summer's day. The gentle sun was often obscured by the puffy grey clouds making their lazy way towards the continent, but not threatening us, and airliners on the same route roared distantly between them. We sat under our pergola with its assorted climbers and watched out for bees and butterflies. There are far fewer than there used to be. In the shrubbery sparrows fossicked and some struggled to get the last remaining nuts out of the bird feeder. The CD player appropriately played _The Lark Ascending _by Vaughan Williams, one of my angel's favourites and quintessentially English. I was of course wearing one of the colourful waistcoats that my angel has made for me and she was dressed as elegantly as ever.

We moved on to the pudding, bread and butter pudding in fact, made with a rich fruit loaf instead of plain bread, while Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto played, then fresh espresso coffee with a liqueur for me. In the afternoon indoors we danced to disco music randomly selected from our library by our music system. Our living room floor is wood blocks without a fitted carpet, so ideal for dancing. 

It was entirely a pleasant day of leisure in Kent, the Garden of England. It is important to appreciate and enjoy such things while we can. There is no saying what the future may bring, certainly not at our age. In that vein early that morning I had closed down my _Mens Temporum _website, which had contained my novel for download along with much of the information about the strange events connected with it. I felt that the more recent ones had made my speculations there all the more convincing, which bothered me. If the human mind actually is capable of sensing the future then mankind doesn't need to know, not yet. It can plainly foresee what impact its activities will have on the planet in the future, and already are, without recourse to such esoteric abilities. If it is so blind as it appears to even those clear indications then the subtler signs that I have sensed must be well beyond its comprehension. At our age we are entitled to live for the present, and indeed must, but we do wonder about the rest of mankind. I may as well have been writing entirely in a foreign language. "_Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero_." (Horace)


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sounds wonderfully indulgent, Rob. The insect demise doesn't bode well, but if we stop poisoning them most will return, there are some that have died out totally through introduced disease, climate change, and poisoning, but there are isolated populations of most things, and left alone they will recover. Let's hope they are not left alone because we have managed to make ourselves extinct.

I spent most of yesterday taming the last of the unruly hedge, the cat spent it curled up asleep right in the middle of my variagated sage


----------



## sas

JustRob,

Guess best not describe my afternoon with my devil boy sitting on a barstool watching a baseball game. I did kinda dance my way to the ladies room because I had waited too long. Really.


----------



## midnightpoet

Winston said:


> That's usually not too hard of a fix if it's the float or flapper.  Just one thing:  If you need to pull the tank and re-attach it, DO NOT over tighten the tank to the bowl.
> They're both ceramic.   Or, do it and let your wife laugh.
> 
> Thanks, I had to replace the internal tower as the old one was leaking bad.  Wasn't hard, I've done it before (actually I put in a new commode a few years ago).  My problem was I didn't realize the leak was as bad as it was and had closed my brain to the possibility I might actually be wrong.:wink:  I've learned the best way to go is a local plumbing shop - a place where the employees actually know something.  These big box stores have to call the main office to figure out how to go to the bathroom. Anyway, it's fixed now.


----------



## Kevin

I'm hoping for the best today. A small thing in the great skew that my most important life ( beware of spew) but I had to ( well I'm hoping I had reason to) allow some wiggle-room feasible reason with 'plausible deniability' as in "I don't know what happened to it" when an important piece of paper disappeared the only day I wasn't there, only one other person having keyed access, and that person known to not ever want to fess-up to anything. On the phone I, uh... 'proffered' ( hope I use that right):  "_Er-uh... maybe it is on the floor; fell in the crack_ _behind the desk."_ 
So I'm going in this morning, and I will, this morning, pull the desk out, hoping that the disappearance was temporary. At that I will drop the subject, forever. Life is too short. If it ain't there, well, it will only take a few more days to get another.


----------



## escorial

come out without my mobile an I get that saying about coming out without your knickers on.....


----------



## The Green Shield

Realizing that one of my POV characters in my fantasy is actually a psychopath. o____O


----------



## Phil Istine

It's not been the best of days.  Ten minutes walk from me there is a library where a creative writing group is held twice per month.  Although the writing element is limited, it can be fun - and we often socialise afterwards in the coffee shop downstairs.

Unfortunately, many of the people there use group time for the socialising and I don't want to waste good writing/critiquing time by discussing wider social issues that are very loosely connected to what someone has read.  It wastes my time and theirs, and such discussions can take place afterwards.

I've been going there fairly regularly for over two years - not to every session but certainly to two thirds of them.  Today, I got fed up with it all and left half way through.  I may go back for a rare, occasional session but there's also a strong possibility that I won't return.

All the people who have done things with their writing have left, never to return.  Initially, I thought it might be that they had outgrown the group (well, they had done that too), but I suspect now that there were other reasons.

_If I want to join a debating society, I will do so - but don't steal my writing time by masquerading as a writing group._  That's what I ought to say, but I won't.  If most of them want to spend twenty minutes debating social issues mentioned within a piece then I won't try to stop that.

I'm feeling pretty shitty about it, but I'll get over it.


----------



## escorial

people ruin everything man.....


----------



## Sebald

Phil Istine said:


> It's not been the best of days.  Ten minutes walk from me there is a library where a creative writing group is held twice per month.  Although the writing element is limited, it can be fun - and we often socialise afterwards in the coffee shop downstairs.
> 
> Unfortunately, many of the people there use group time for the socialising and I don't want to waste good writing/critiquing time by discussing wider social issues that are very loosely connected to what someone has read.  It wastes my time and theirs, and such discussions can take place afterwards.
> 
> I've been going there fairly regularly for over two years - not to every session but certainly to two thirds of them.  Today, I got fed up with it all and left half way through.  I may go back for a rare, occasional session but there's also a strong possibility that I won't return.
> 
> All the people who have done things with their writing have left, never to return.  Initially, I thought it might be that they had outgrown the group (well, they had done that too), but I suspect now that there were other reasons.
> 
> _If I want to join a debating society, I will do so - but don't steal my writing time by masquerading as a writing group._  That's what I ought to say, but I won't.  If most of them want to spend twenty minutes debating social issues mentioned within a piece then I won't try to stop that.
> 
> I'm feeling pretty shitty about it, but I'll get over it.


Don't feel crappy, Phil. It's down to the person who runs it. They've lost control of it.


----------



## sas

You would love my poetry group. Phil. There is no socializing at all. They get right down to poetry workshop.  No one stays after to chat. I admit, it was a surprise, and took adjustment. I would enjoy it more, if there was wine. But, they take poetry seriously, but not wine. Pity. I like a little balance. Be careful what you wish for.


----------



## Phil Istine

Sebald said:


> Don't feel crappy, Phil. It's down to the person who runs it. They've lost control of it.



That may actually be part of the problem - we alternate who leads the group.


----------



## Sebald

That's a weird idea. These things are difficult. I run a book group as part of my job. It might be worth travelling to a city, to find a good one.


----------



## Phil Istine

sas said:


> You would love my poetry group. Phil. There is no socializing at all. They get right down to poetry workshop.  No one stays after to chat. I admit, it was a surprise, and took adjustment. I would enjoy it more, if there was wine. But, they take poetry seriously, but not wine. Pity. I like a little balance. Be careful what you wish for.



I'm totally happy for some social time afterwards, or even beforehand if that's more appropriate.  I'll even debate life, the universe and everything with them - but not during writing and crit time.  I'm even fine for the writing to be great fun and humorous - after all, life is to be enjoyed.  But I'm not happy for an issue that someone raises in their writing to be the subject of a pointless fifteen minute debate during group time.  It's frustrating as it's a regular occurrence.  I've spoken of it before and, ironically, so has the person who is the worst offender.
Ho hum.  You can't change others.  Best let them get on with it.


----------



## escorial

sas said:


> You would love my poetry group. Phil. There is no socializing at all. They get right down to poetry workshop.  No one stays after to chat. I admit, it was a surprise, and took adjustment. I would enjoy it more, if there was wine. But, they take poetry seriously, but not wine. Pity. I like a little balance. Be careful what you wish for.



Blue nun drinker


----------



## escorial

Spent an hour deciding on a brown knob or white one for the kitchen door..not the rock n roll lifestyle I imagined ide have


----------



## Sebald

escorial said:


> Spent an hour deciding on a brown knob or white one for the kitchen door..not the rock n roll lifestyle I imagined ide have



The suspense is killing me.

 Which did you go for?


----------



## Freethesea

Just curious, but can't a forum such as this one serve the same purpose? And if not, as Sebald noted, maybe you could suggest a change in the way its set up and vote a president or coordinator. Its not set in stone I bet. You could start a facebook group to organize or list what materials will be discussed beforehand. Bring brownies.


----------



## Freethesea

That door nob job is sounding pretty sweet to me right now. I've been spending my morning realizing that I have a daunting task of understanding social media. I mean I get what it is, but finding followers? It must take mountains of time. And blogging? Original, useful stuff? Isn't that relative? 
It's like the world is bleeding writers out. Creating a worthy novel is tough enough, but then, you have to write in a million other spots as well. 

Tough world out there.


----------



## escorial

Sebald said:


> The suspense is killing me.
> 
> Which did you go for?





When fitted by myself I will have 5 different knobs in my hall an that's not including myself... eclectic is my thing


----------



## Sebald

That's a serious handle you've got there.


----------



## sas

Phil,   Be persistent to be the change you want to see. Take charge of the moment. I am sure there are others who would appreciate it, if you took point on it. Few seem to be able to speak up (over & over, if necessary), and that is how idiots come to rule everything. My problem is the reverse. I can't make people be more personable. They are like a group of flat-liner engineers, when they get together. Hope poetry is not going to infect me.  ZZZZZZZZZ


----------



## escorial

Sebald said:


> That's a serious handle you've got there.



When I get home later I will take pics of all my different knobs an you can pick a favorite...


----------



## The Green Shield

...What in the blasted Hells am I doing? Am I seriously putting huge chunks of writing I already did off to the side and... STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN!? Expecting each word in THIS draft to be pitch perfect!? Am I really doing this?



I'm insane. I'm officially and quite utterly insane. What head trauma did I suffer in childhood to warrant this action? OK, know what? I'm gonna put all the work I've done BACK where it belongs and go from there. >:[


----------



## escorial

Dude buk said if you haven't gone mad you hadn't lived


----------



## Sebald

escorial said:


> When I get home later I will take pics of all my different knobs an you can pick a favorite...




Ha ha I can't wait.


----------



## Freethesea

The Green Shield. Do you have an editing app? Maybe you should check your work out there before you do anything drastic. And if you've already done this, why would decide to go insane without a long walk to clear your head? Take a fresh look in the morning before you delete hard work. I've learned on a different thread that walks clear your mind.  Try this. 

The app can be used free. May however cause additional insanity. I don't know. 

www.hemingwayapp.com.


----------



## escorial

Sebald said:


> Ha ha I can't wait.



Just got in so here they are








Pretty bland stuff..I'm not that keen on them..
Never been one for modern look in most things..


----------



## bobo

Attention to details - bravo


----------



## Sebald

They're brilliant. Do you consider yourself a perfectionist?


----------



## Freethesea

If chose them all and installed them today... Very impressive. Yes indeed. And they look eclectically stylish.


----------



## escorial

It's what a gar does sas..

I'm perfectly imperfect sebald

Thank you Free...great avatar dude...


----------



## Sebald

escorial said:


> It's what a gar does sas..
> 
> I'm perfectly imperfect sebald
> 
> Thank you Free...great avatar dude...



That's much better than being imperfectly perfect.


----------



## escorial

Sebald are you alice from wonderland..


----------



## Sebald

Why, sometimes I've believed at least six impossible things before breakfast.


----------



## escorial

Quid pro quo.....


----------



## Olly Buckle

A lovely day, my ex-partners' daughter is over from Australia after nineteen years, left as a teenager and returned as a mum with four kids. I used to share a house with my partners and a lot of our old friends, their children, and their children's children all met up in St. James's park and had a picnic next to the playground (Which kept the kids amused). A really good time catching up with people I have not seen for years and children I had never met before.


----------



## Freethesea

Thanks Escorial. Sir. I changed it three times after I spent a half hour finding the setting. Should celebrate the amazing feat, but I don't have time. 

I see you're heavy metaled (beneath your avatar) so perhaps I could ask you a quick question. I have two green dots on my WF portfolio. The section on this forum's color clarification is somewhat easy to understand, but I can't find the classified green dot info. Extremely happy to have them. But like money, its never enough though. I want more. Lots lots more.


----------



## Freethesea

Olly Buckle, sounds like the perfect day.

Little jealous.


----------



## Sebald

"I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.

Could be the forum's motto...


----------



## escorial

I prefer mottos in latin...


----------



## escorial

Freethesea said:


> Thanks Escorial. Sir. I changed it three times after I spent a half hour finding the setting. Should celebrate the amazing feat, but I don't have time.
> 
> I see you're heavy metaled (beneath your avatar) so perhaps I could ask you a quick question. I have two green dots on my WF portfolio. The section on this forum's color clarification is somewhat easy to understand, but I can't find the classified green dot info. Extremely happy to have them. But like money, its never enough though. I want more. Lots lots more.



The more you post and the responses you get will increase your dots..all good things come to those who wait...


----------



## bobo

Sebald said:


> "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
> "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.
> 
> Could be the forum's motto...



That's just scary.



escorial said:


> ..all good things come to those who wait...



It sounds so Obi-Wan and proverbial.

So Yes! Yes, I shall wait. The force is trying to be with me.



escorial said:


> ..all good things come to those who wait...



Yeah, if youn can wait, you can become king of G.B.


----------



## Freethesea

Who is the great King of the GB? And how did bobo take my post... And Pip edited it. Did Pip somehow save me? Is there a dark side here?

This_ is_ a strange and magical place.


----------



## bobo

Freethesea said:


> Who is the great King of the GB? And how did bobo take my post... And Pip edited it. Did Pip somehow save me? Is there a dark side here?
> 
> This_ is_ a strange and magical place.



It seems to me, little new one, you haven't read up on the rules and guides here - some things do not come flying by itself, you'll have to do some work


----------



## JustRob

escorial said:


> I prefer mottos in latin...



Veni, Vidi, Critiqui.


----------



## escorial

JustRob said:


> Veni, Vidi, Critiqui.



Infamy,infamy they all got it infamy..Carry on cleo


----------



## JustRob

escorial said:


> Infamy,infamy they all got it infamy..Carry on cleo



Ah, the classics. Of course all my historical knowledge comes from that essential book 1066 And All That, which explains how Julius Caesar demoralised the Britons by calling them "Weeny. weedy, weaky" or so they thought.


----------



## The Green Shield

My morning's doing all right. Busy metaphorically beating the shit out of my anxiety that decided to rear its nasty ass at me during the night.


----------



## escorial

The mind is judge an juror but in time you may find that your ability to release the tension without slipping down,again and again...one day


----------



## Freethesea

Green Shield, if you sing 'beat it, just beat it' and employ dancing at the same time, you will indeed conquer. 

Not a classic, but it works.


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## JustRob

Freethesea said:


> Green Shield, if you sing 'beat it, just beat it' and employ dancing at the same time, you will indeed conquer.
> 
> Not a classic, but it works.



I agree wholeheartedly. Dancing is great therapy so long as you just go with the music and don't try anything formal. My angel and I have gone to dancing classes and we just don't get it there, but improvising at a disco, or anywhere where there's that right kind of music playing, even gets us applause. It also fills up an empty dance floor fast. Strange, that. Maybe people just realise that it's okay to let their hair down and enjoy themselves when they see us doing it. Either that or maybe they get riled that we're apparently monopolising the entire dance floor. Whatever the reason, they end up dancing too, which is what matters.

For a song with really upbeat lyrics and music try _You Can't Stop the Music _by the Village People. It's an observation about life.


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## Freethesea

I love watching couples get out there and do there own thing. I've studied this phenomenon too and the eyes of the audience always stay with the unpretentious, just-you-and-me-haven-a-great-time couple. Body language is an open book. 

Disclaimer: Unless of course someone from the 'So You Think You Can Dance' program joins you. Then the multi-jointed gravity-defying youngsters will de-rail all normal bodies humans. 

Music can change a mood from bad to good. Dancing does even better. Just have to find the stuff to get on your feet.


----------



## JustRob

Freethesea said:


> I love watching couples get out there and do there own thing. I've studied this phenomenon too and the eyes of the audience always stay with the unpretentious, just-you-and-me-haven-a-great-time couple. Body language is an open book.
> 
> Disclaimer: Unless of course someone from the 'So You Think You Can Dance' program joins you. Then the multi-jointed gravity-defying youngsters will de-rail all normal bodies humans.



Yes, we're definitely both of the same mind here. It is the just-you-and-me attitude that makes it irrelevant what anyone else around thinks or does. You can't be upstaged even by the body-poppers because it isn't a competition. Also I've had the opposite, men come onto the floor and imitate me badly to be derogatory, but the truth has probably been that they couldn't do it any better. What matters is that they feel good about what they're doing though. Life isn't all about being competitive but just getting the best that you can out of it.

In this context I always mention the cruise manager on our cruise down the Rhine. He seemed to be such an extrovert, but when we did our ice-breaking routine on the dance floor he admitted that he couldn't bring himself to dance, even with his fiancé, and felt very self-conscious about it. I explained that he had to imagine that they were the only people in the room with the music and focus entirely on his partner. The last that I heard of him was that he was shortly to marry her, so maybe it worked.

For the two of us life is very much an empty dance floor where we can do as we please, so long as we don't get in the way of anyone else doing the same thing. It's all about state of mind. Believe that the world is what you want it to be and maybe you'll discover that it is if your expectations are modest enough.


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## JustRob

Yes, I'm double posting, but this one is about _my_ day, or rather my yesterday. I was going through some old legal documents relating to the estate where we live, sorting them into date order. They had been lent to me by the secretary of the local history society and she wants them back soon to store in the new archive. These were really old documents, mostly dating back a century or more and written on parchment, so in very good condition. I noticed that the oldest were dated 1772 and 1774 and it occurred to me that they therefore coincided with probably the earliest movement of the USA to become a separate country. Apart from those documents I also happen to have original newspapers from 1864 and 1865, equally relevant dates in USA history. These items are just lying around in carrier bags in our spare bedroom. I'm in no way a regular historian and have no other such historical documents, so it is a remarkable coincidence that I just happen to have these.

It does show the vast difference between British and American timescales when such things can be found lying around in an insignificant suburban home here. It also demonstrates our human frailty when those parchments, which have already survived the entire lifetime of the USA, will most likely still be around when we are all gone, provided that I return them to be filed in the archive now of course. With that thought of the need to enjoy our brief existence, maybe this post and my previous one are connected.


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## The Green Shield

JustRob said:


> Yes, I'm double posting, but this one is about _my_ day, or rather my yesterday. I was going through some old legal documents relating to the estate where we live, sorting them into date order. They had been lent to me by the secretary of the local history society and she wants them back soon to store in the new archive. These were really old documents, mostly dating back a century or more and written on parchment, so in very good condition. I noticed that the oldest were dated 1772 and 1774 and it occurred to me that they therefore coincided with probably the earliest movement of the USA to become a separate country. Apart from those documents I also happen to have original newspapers from 1864 and 1865, equally relevant dates in USA history. These items are just lying around in carrier bags in our spare bedroom. I'm in no way a regular historian and have no other such historical documents, so it is a remarkable coincidence that I just happen to have these.
> 
> It does show the vast difference between British and American timescales when such things can be found lying around in an insignificant suburban home here. It also demonstrates our human frailty when those parchments, which have already survived the entire lifetime of the USA, will most likely still be around when we are all gone, provided that I return them to be filed in the archive now of course. With that thought of the need to enjoy our brief existence, maybe this post and my previous one are connected.


That's an incredible fine, Rob! I'm jealous!!


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## Freethesea

JustRob said:


> These were really old documents, mostly dating back a century or more and written on parchment, so in very good condition. I noticed that the oldest were dated 1772 and 1774 and it occurred to me that they therefore coincided with probably the earliest movement of the USA to become a separate country. Apart from those documents I also happen to have original newspapers from 1864 and 1865, equally relevant dates in USA history. These items are just lying around in carrier bags in our spare bedroom. I'm in no way a regular historian and have no other such historical documents, so it is a remarkable coincidence that I just happen to have these.



That is impressive. What does one do with items such this these (the newspapers) Keep them? Frame them? Donate them? Sell them? 

Also, I would love to see the architecture and treatments in your home. I know that's not possible. But thought I should express myself since this a writers forum. 

Congratulations to you! Nice weekend!


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## The Green Shield

Port Lisha Mystery Update:
Right. 


Gonna go tweak the beginning of Chapter One so Kevin walks into the McWeegie with a deaf friend. That way, I can introduce their disabilities in a nice, smooth fashion and demonstrate the pair talking in sign language.


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## Winston

Cleaning up after a week up in Alaska.  It was enjoyable, refreshing and memorable.  Now, reality rears it's ugly head.

The trip was a bit of a learning experience.  I am contemplating writing a "survival guide" of sorts for first-time cruise ship passengers.  There was a bunch of little things I wish someone had told us prior.


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## escorial

Walked in the sauna an a guy was reading the newspaper..well that was a first...


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## Kevin

Went to Big Bear for the weekend. Our friends are selling their cabin so they invited us to come up and get drunk with them. We grocery shopped, cooked (I cooked)ate, drank and were merry. It is a strange place, Big Bear, in a valley with a lake 6000' up above the rest of SoCal ( except for some of the mountain tops). There are ski resorts around, abandoned gold mines, and another more expensive lake area about a 3/4s of an hour to the west in the same mountains (lake arrowhead) but we don't go there. 

Big Bear was a Wild West place about a hundred-something years-ago, with illegal everything. Under the town there were secret escape tunnels connecting some of the basements of certain a establishments that run down to the lake in case of raids by the law. Parts of them still exist below businesses. A local told me they used to play in them as kids back in the Fifties.  

When we left coming down on our way home we could see we were above the smoke line ( which was all over)of some brush fire in some other much lower but nearby mountains. 

The road up, by the way, was used in the racing scene portion of the original Disney movie "The Love Bug",  and looks just the same. The conifers(pine trees) start at 5000', and below that is chaparral ( brush), and then the flats.


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## Phil Istine

Freethesea said:


> Just curious, but can't a forum such as this one serve the same purpose? And if not, as Sebald noted, maybe you could suggest a change in the way its set up and vote a president or coordinator. Its not set in stone I bet. You could start a facebook group to organize or list what materials will be discussed beforehand. Bring brownies.



The issue has arisen previously and it's always the same ones who trigger it.  No problem, I go elsewhere.  There is a great group, once per month, 12 miles to the north and a pretty decent one 15 miles to the south (also monthly).  There are others too.  It does seem limited in my immediate area though.  I think this is largely due to it just being one of those places - blot on the landscape/chavland.  The people who go the the local group are decent people and I wish them well.  But it's not the sort of group that I wish to be part of.
ETA.  This group is fine, but writing is a lonely pastime/hobby.  I live on my own, work on my own and don't have a particularly active social life, so it was good to have some company with a shared interest.  However, I would rather dispense with that if people want to debate rather than write.


----------



## The Green Shield

After stopping myself from being a stupid boy and yet again starting over from scratch, I got back as many words as I could from previous drafts. 
UPDATED WORD COUNTS!!!!
My fantasy = 16,718 Words
My fantasy about the magical ninjas = 426 Words
General Mysteries = 583 Words
Historical Mysteries #1 = 263 Words
Historical Mysteries #2 = 5,016 Words
Sci-fi = 153 Words


----------



## Kevin

I don't know what happened, but I went from two job sites to a jungle guerilla camp, saw a man cut in two after he tried to out me as a turncoat, spy; pouring rain, mud; lead/commander (mercenaries? Pretty sure...)- they chose me over the other guy, to trust...Think I was a black guy- anyway, dreams are funny- not funny'ha-ha'. Time to go to work. Hope I'm not too tired. Ha ha.


----------



## H.Brown

My day has been quite a good one I have cleaned my flat from top to bottom, so I feel like I have had a productive day even if I haven't done any writing. And to top my day off a boiling hot bath. Ah now this is the life....


----------



## JustRob

Big setback. For some years I have been compiling a history of a London merchant by the name of Thomas Kibble, who bought the estate where we now live back in 1816. From extensive genealogical research carried out by my next door neighbour I had concluded that Thomas must have been born the son of a humble cordwainer in Essex in 1770.

This morning while searching through nineteenth century newspapers online I found a report in the births, deaths and marriages section of an 1835 paper of the marriage in Scotland of a sister of Thomas, whose existence I didn't know about, to the son of a baronet. Evidently Thomas was a member of the wealthy Kibble family of Paisley and my previous assumptions were very wide of the mark. 

I always hated history at school as well. I wanted Thomas's story to be one of rags to riches, not just a son of a wealthy father getting even more wealthy. Nobody else has done such thorough research into Thomas and his family as I have, so perhaps I could just keep quiet about this and stick to my original story with an air of authority. Isn't that what historians do anyway?

My angel and I are waiting to hear the screams of anguish from next door as I emailed the lady there about the setback early this morning. She was hoping never to hear the name Kibble ever again, having done so much research for me in the past.

A short while back I mentioned here on WF that I was giving up looking into the future, so I didn't see this coming at all. Apparently my muse is now getting its revenge for my disowning it and must have been steering me away from this key piece of knowledge for years in preparation. You just can't beat fate. It plays its cards too well.


----------



## bobo

JustRob said:


> Big setback. For some years I have been compiling a history of a London merchant by the name of Thomas Kibble, who bought the estate where we now live back in 1816. From extensive genealogical research carried out by my next door neighbour I had concluded that Thomas must have been born the son of a humble cordwainer in Essex in 1770.
> 
> This morning while searching through nineteenth century newspapers online I found a report in the births, deaths and marriages section of an 1835 paper of the marriage in Scotland of a sister of Thomas, whose existence I didn't know about, to the son of a baronet. Evidently Thomas was a member of the wealthy Kibble family of Paisley and my previous assumptions were very wide of the mark.
> 
> I always hated history at school as well. I wanted Thomas's story to be one of rags to riches, not just a son of a wealthy father getting even more wealthy. Nobody else has done such thorough research into Thomas and his family as I have, so perhaps I could just keep quiet about this and stick to my original story with an air of authority. Isn't that what historians do anyway?
> 
> My angel and I are waiting to hear the screams of anguish from next door as I emailed the lady there about the setback early this morning. She was hoping never to hear the name Kibble ever again, having done so much research for me in the past.
> 
> A short while back I mentioned here on WF that I was giving up looking into the future, so I didn't see this coming at all. Apparently my muse is now getting its revenge for my disowning it and must have been steering me away from this key piece of knowledge for years in preparation. You just can't beat fate. It plays its cards too well.



Sorry to hear that, JR - the poor bastard was rich - bummer !!
But you'll rise again from the ashes 
It may come as a shock to you, ...  but not all historians are alike - matter in fact they use to be just as different as are all other human beings.
However, I think we can forgive your generalisation and defamation about them --- you're still in chock - obviously


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## The Green Shield

bobo said:


> Sorry to hear that, JR - the poor bastard was rich - bummer !!
> But you'll rise again from the ashes
> It may come as a shock to you, ...  but not all historian are alike - matter in fact they use to be just as different as are all other human beings.
> However, I think we can forgive your generalisation and defamation about them --- you're still in chock - obviously


If it's of any comfort, JustRob, at least you didn't name your character Edith Steiner, an actual Jewish survivor of the Holocaust.


----------



## JustRob

The Green Shield said:


> If it's of any comfort, JustRob, at least you didn't name your character Edith Steiner, an actual Jewish survivor of the Holocaust.



No, he's not a character but a real person buried in a tomb in the churchyard a couple of miles up the road. Even though he owned a large part of the land around here in the nineteenth century nobody knew where he came from and I'm trying to solve that mystery. What I've discovered about his family so far is certainly entertaining enough to be the basis of a drama, but I'm trying to find out what the whole story was from his birth around 1770, according to the inscription on the tomb.


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## Theglasshouse

Finally,I bought Scrivener hoping it helps a bit with my hard time processing words on screen for what appears to be dsylexia, and for doing research and dictating stories with better grammar.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I had a lovely day with my Japanese friend, Sawaki. I wrote three song lyrics for him.


----------



## Thaumiel

Passed driving test. Drove for the first time on my own this evening. It was the first time I've actually enjoyed driving, I'm giddy now.


----------



## The Green Shield

Had a very odd and busy week to the point where I come home too exhausted to do much, even gaming! This is the second day in a row that I hadn't played videogames.


What's going on with me!?


----------



## PiP

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Passed driving test. Drove for the first time on my own this evening. It was the first time I've actually enjoyed driving, I'm giddy now.



Well done, James!


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## escorial

just about to leave for folk on the dock gigs all over the waterfront....shades in the bag and stuff


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## JustRob

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Passed driving test. Drove for the first time on my own this evening. It was the first time I've actually enjoyed driving, I'm giddy now.



The day my angel passed her test I'd had to get the bus to work because she'd taken my car to do the test. Later that day she phoned me at the office to tell me that she'd passed, so I told her that she could pick me up from the office to save me getting the bus home. As a consequence her first solo drive was through rush hour traffic to collect me from work very shortly after taking the test and she coped with it. The problem for married women learning to drive is that even when they pass the test their husbands may do much of the driving, so they don't get enough practice, but I have always shared the driving with my angel. As they say, why keep a wife and drive yourself? Or maybe most men don't, come to think of it.

Congratulations. The world is now your race-track, for a short while maybe. Take care and get there.


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## The Green Shield

Hello my lovelies. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





<3 I'm gonna be drawing things on MS Paint today. Might show some off later.​


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## Kevin

I ripped my shorts on my ride. I don't go commando, so it was okay if a little bit dangerous, getting hooked on the seat. At one point i have to carry my bike down a section and the brush snagged the valve off the hose end of my camel back. I had to climb back up, but I found it. 

I was having a conversation here where flat earth
was mentioned (think that was me- yeah...) and I remembered that when I was 12 I had a couple of _Yes_ albums. I loved the artwork covers which looked sort of spacey/dreamy, pieces of lush green planet earth floating in space. They were 'flat earth' and the theme was all about a pre-industrial nature, and water, and beauty, very sort of hippie I guess. And the music seemed to fit.

And I had heard that when you die it is possible that your
mind goes to this dreamy reality of your own creation in your last moments... so it occurred to me that that album cover is where I want to be, with the waterfalls and green hills on flat earth
floating in space, with the birds chirping, trickling water sounds, and that music. 

That's not too much to ask, is it? Much nicer than a _Pink Floyd_ album.


----------



## The Green Shield

So here is what I drew -- what would happen if Nintendo ever gave Link something that looked similar to what's shown in 'Dragonball Z'.


----------



## Winston

Anger.  Self-loathing.  Think I'm going to start drinking.  
I might shower and / or dress for the occasion. The liquor may taste better once I shave the fuzz off my teeth.  
Goals.  It's all about goals.


----------



## sas

Theglasshouse said:


> Finally,I bought Scrivener hoping it helps a bit with my hard time processing words on screen for what appears to be dsylexia, and for doing research and dictating stories with better grammar.




Let me me know how that works out for you. Please. 
My granddaughter is dyslexic. She has been extensively tested for it. When she was in second or third grade I ask her school spelling words. One was Avalanche. After she spelled it correctly, I said, "Bet you can't spell it backward." She easily and instantly did. She was then tested. I told her dyslexia is a gift, one that just needs controlling. It is not a handicap. How many can read forward and backward? Applause from me, Glasshouse. Everyone else is disabled. Really.


----------



## Darkkin

sas said:


> Let me me know how that works out for you. Please.
> My granddaughter is dyslexic. She has been extensively tested for it. When she was in second or third grade I ask her school spelling words. One was Avalanche. After she spelled it correctly, I said, "Bet you can't spell it backward." She easily and instantly did. She was then tested. I told her dyslexia is a gift, one that just needs controlling. It is not a handicap. How many can read forward and backward? Applause from me, Glasshouse. Everyone else is disabled. Really.



I can read backward and upsidedown.  I also have touchpoint memory:  I handle something once and I remember exactly where it is.  That in conjunction with the weird triangulation ability, (give me two bits of information about a book and generally I can recall the title and author from memory), I have makes me akin to a human filing cabinet.  Handy when one works at a bookstore, creepy just about anywhere else.  :thumbl:

An interesting read on different types of thought processes.  Gail Saltz's _The Power of Different_.  In it she explores how individuals with brain differences like dyslexia, ADHD, autism, depression, bipolar, and schizoaffective disorders process and express thoughts and ideas.

In other news, it looks like I'm offically a published poet.    In house, but still cool.    My cardiologist has also started me on a PCSK-9 to combat my HFHC.  It has proven highly effective in individuals with the heterozygous strain of the disorder.  Mine is a homozygous mutation that is drug resistant complicated further by my overactive metabolism that breaks down just about everything faster than it should.  It is now a waiting game to see if the treatment can stay in my systems long enough to take effect.  Early bloodwork is hopeful, as my numbers are down.  Under 750 without apheresis for the first time in more than 3 years.  Here's hoping.

Also got an email requesting a commission for more of my _Turtle upon Tide_ series.  This one is asking for the other half of the tidal cycle.  Namely, Helia, who bears the light of the sun.  Rough drafts are due in two weeks.


----------



## Theglasshouse

sas said:


> Let me me know how that works out for you. Please.
> My granddaughter is dyslexic. She has been extensively tested for it. When she was in second or third grade I ask her school spelling words. One was Avalanche. After she spelled it correctly, I said, "Bet you can't spell it backward." She easily and instantly did. She was then tested. I told her dyslexia is a gift, one that just needs controlling. It is not a handicap. How many can read forward and backward? Applause from me, Glasshouse. Everyone else is disabled. Really.


Thank you but I have what seems a "spectrum" of disabilities.
I keep labeling myself with mild dyslexia. I think I can pull it off and succeed whether I have dyslexia or dysgraphia which appears mild (I still need a diagnosis but it is an invisible disability), of course, I am being optimistic. I swear when everything is magnified my brain processes it better. But here's the unique aspect of my language problems. It's part auto-executive dysfunction which means it is most likely some problem organizing the information and getting my ideas down on paper. For a story, this is very tedious for me. Because there are more rules that a person with auto-executive dysfunction has to know before writing the story. I still remember my speech pathologist saying auto-executive. I know there are no American doctors or people qualified to tell me what I have that I know off even though I get treated by a very good doctor for my mental problems. One of the few in the entire country, and it is sad that I am one of the few receiving such a treatment. Reading out loud helps me. I promise myself when I vacation again to the united states I will go to a doctor's office. There's no central organization in my home country to represent them. Maybe I am wrong and I will ask my uncle who is an internist who found my doctor. The one that kept me from going into relapse and into a worse state than schizoaffective disorder. 

If your grandchild who seems very bright by the way has those problems. The same as me, I probably recommend for story purposes the: The Elements of Writing: The Only Writing Guide You Will Ever Need (The Elemental Way). (the author teaches a writing program at Yale) That is if she has problems like mine which I will describe.

Others say I have aphasia, that I acquired or surmise this. But the thing is after schizophrenia recedes in the person they become more logical. Their thoughts are clearer even in language. It is a phenomenon because logic keeps the brain from going into any sort of madness.

I did one basic technique of the elemental way. I am not using it in this post. Try to picture this more easily, put sentences and lines separated apart like a poem (reminds me of a writing exercise someone told me but is actually called landscape view):

Like this I can tell how long sentences are.

And if I have an extra space, I can when stacked like this see the logic in my paragraph better.

Because I organize the thoughts into order, by reassembling them in the correct order. 

It is an important skill for people with auto-executive to organize their thoughts.

If a thought doesn't belong here I get rid of it.

So you see, this may have been an injury with one of my misfortunate incidents with people who I considered bullies. But I am thankful and will buy all books by Charles Euchener. I learned more reading his books more in a year in the book preview. I ordered the book 3 days ago. Can't wait for it to get here.

As for Scrivener and how I manage there's definitely a difficulty in reading books with the wrong font or too small size. Helvetica is what I use since it helps me visualize the words better. A light background also helps. A kindle fire would be a good gift. Or an ipad 2 pro with keyboard. I wish I had an iphone for scanning. There's this device called the intel reader camera, which can read anything you take a picture off. Much less expensive than Kurzweil (2000 dollars). 

My speech was unaffected, so I don't know if the doctor meant I had brain damages. She was too busy helping the injured soldiers she couldn't help me.

BTW, that kind of signals the traumatic injury, and auto-executive. So I think I have dyslexia though mild because it is directly affected by the auto-executive dysfunction and aggravated by schizoaffective disease. Which means my brain's health means I must not be depressed.

I know qualified doctors working children's charities, but I can't find them (every year doctors come to visit from all nationalities for charity). I will have to look better maybe a child speech pathologist. Thanks to your post I will think of confronting my uncles 2 of which work at hospitals.

So occasionally I will miss and make typos that are errors. Or a paragraph doesn't make sense when I read it out loud. I see a solution. Both the strategies and a professional would help me immensely. My reading comprehension of other people's stories is sometimes affected.

I will let you know since I will learn the techniques on the book. Scrivener helps but in the drafting process. If I have severe dyslexia I don't know the truth. I can only make a guess. But honestly, with how slow things are, in 20 days I could tell you a different story in the case of stories and essays, both which have been problematic.

For dyslexia patients, speech text programs sometimes work.I have a free one called nvda. Which works better than my other one I had purchased for 300 dollars. (btw the military doctor use to work for Walter Reid Medical center)

I think it will help me is the bottom line but every person is different. Thanks for asking. Always it pleases me to help if I can.

So yes, if I get positive nods that I did better I will let you know for your grandchild. It will be my pleasure. I think it could help her, but she might need strategies.

There are also websites that have books for people with dyslexia with a large catalog comparable to Amazon. Google around the membership is 50 dollars a year. There are two of them, I forgot their names.
Here is a charity for dyslexia, keep looking and you will find out more charities, that have all sorts of technology if you can prove you have dyslexia (doctor referral). It is even available where I am.


> learning Ally | Volunteer with Learning Ally - Read Audiobooks
> Volunteer
> Learning Ally produces its audiobooks for students who are blind or dyslexic through the help of volunteers reading and recording. Find out how you ... Learn how we transform printed books to life for our audiobook readers.


----------



## LeeC

Darkkin said:


> ... I also have touchpoint memory:  I handle something once and I remember exactly where it is. ...


Hmmm, so where is my fold out set of allen wrenches I've been looking for? Someone else must have handled them, I wouldn't misplace anything ;-)


----------



## sas

Glasshouse-

Thank you so much for the wealth of information! I am going to copy it and see what I can find. I am astonished that you have any reading/writing disorder. I cannot detect it, at all. Yes, my granddaughter is quite bright and very creative. I do believe it is because her brain is more "flexible" and open. I always tell her she is lucky. I am not lying to her. I am glad there are books and devices to assist her. She has always had an extensive, college level vocabulary, but I noticed she would dumb it down when writing due to spelling difficulties. So, thanks for pointing out things to assist. Love and Best. Sas


----------



## sas

Darkkin,  love the title of that book! The Power of Different. Yes! Exactly! It is on my list now to order. 

I have always been able to write, in cursive, upside down and backward, even using two hands, at once, toward each other. Maybe I am the reason my granddaughter is dyslexic. Hmmm. 

You're published...thumbs up! Not surprising, at all. I know I will be published, eventually. I've instructed that my obituary be an elegy poem I wrote about myself. Smiles. 

Glad your health is improving. Ever onward. Sas


----------



## sas

Darkkin, Glasshouse...

I really can't wait to get the book, The Power of Different. I hate the "dis" stuck onto "abeled". My daughter is physically disabled, due to a lifetime illness. It has empowered her. I always say, I birthed the woman I always wanted to be. She became so much more because she had less. Having a smooth ride, in life, more often conveys no advantage. 

I've had a smooth ride. That is why I still test myself in steep mountain climbs, above tree line, off trail. I just took my granddaughters with me, last week.  They need to know they can overcome & reach, high. They are too privileged. Worrisome. Sas


----------



## Kevin

Welcome back.


----------



## aj47

So, it's been raining.  A lot.  Part of our fence is down but that's the worst of it thus far.  Oh, and everything being closed.  

We're provisioned for a week and we live near a substation so power outages tend to be short when they occur.  

Harvey Wallbanger has flooded some of our friends.  I foresee some GoFundMes.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

How much rain have you gotten so far, Annie? The Weather Channel was calling for 24 to 30 inches in Houston.


----------



## EllaLouis

oh golly!
forgot you are in South Texas!
Thinking about you!


----------



## Sebald

Welcome back, Sas. It's great to (sort of) see you again.


----------



## The Green Shield

17,730 Words in my Fantasy!!


----------



## aj47

mrmustard615 said:


> How much rain have you gotten so far, Annie? The Weather Channel was calling for 24 to 30 inches in Houston.



About 23 inches according to our neighborhood rain gauge.  Now, it's currently raining hard enough I can hear it so that number is going up. They call for "4-8 inches" overnight in my specific area. It's dark so I can't give a visibility report.  

With Ike, our damage was caused by the wind finagling shingles off the roof and allowing the rain in.  The winds have been mild with Harvey, so that hasn't been an issue. I think that section of fence was up for replacement soon anyway--it is 20 years old, not having been downed and rebuilt due to Ike. The rebuilt fence is fine.  astroandy hates building fence but does a good job when it needs done.


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## The Green Shield

So... something just occurred to me...




In 'Attack of the Clones', Anakin gets his arm chopped off by Count Dooku.




In 'Empire Strikes Back', Luke gets his hand chopped off by Darth Vader. 




Seeing the pattern here? Something tells me Rey's gonna have to really watch her limbs in 'The Last Jedi'... o____o


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## aj47




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## Kevin

Holy....  (speechless).


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## sas

I am back from my 10 day climbing vacation in Colorado Rockies.  We "boulder up" (do not take trail...only take trail in decent; only needed rope once). I have video, but can't figure out how to attach. I am an idiot. Sorry, if these photos turn out humongous. Not smart about sizing them either. BTW: that white stuff by me is snow...nothing like finding snow in August. Smiles.


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## aj47

UPDATE:  A vent in the master bath is dripping.  We believe it lost its cap and that there is no actual roof/shingle damage as the water is coming from the middle of the vent and not around the edges of it.

Still raining, but much milder.  31 total inches as of two hours ago for our neighborhood.


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## PiP

31 inches! Goodness, astro. Stay safe.


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## escorial

sas said:


> I am back from my 10 day climbing vacation in Colorado Rockies.  We "boulder up" (do not take trail...only take trail in decent; only needed rope once). I have video, but can't figure out how to attach. I am an idiot. Sorry, if these photos turn out humongous. Not smart about sizing them either. BTW: that white stuff by me is snow...nothing like finding snow in August. Smiles.
> 
> View attachment 19377View attachment 19378View attachment 19379




I get the feeling you have reached the tops of many peaks on life's journey....


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## sas

Escorial,  I have had a fortunate life. Mostly up, in all aspects. I try not to forget others have fallen, through no fault of their own. So, I test myself, I guess. Do something hard and try not to fall. Ever onward. Sas


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## sas

Hey, I have 1676 "likes" AND 1676 "thanks"!  I am not "liking" anything more, and no one "thank" me. Ho-Ho.


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## bdcharles

sas said:


> Hey, I have 1676 "likes" AND 1676 "thanks"!  I am not "liking" anything more, and no one "thank" me. Ho-Ho.



Mua-ha-ha  If you want me to thank or unlike your post, you will deposit $1million into my offshore account.


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## sas

Geez. A minute ago I was a "balanced" person. Well, no one believed I was balanced, anyway. Note: I clicked LOL and did my part.


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## bdcharles

sas said:


> Geez. A minute ago I was a "balanced" person. Well, no one believed I was balanced, anyway. Note: I clicked LOL and did my part.



Ah, but you see, I am more comfortable in the chaos.

Now, if you could get all your likes and thanks given and received to balance out, then that would be a rare and precious thing, profane to disrupt.


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## Kevin

Spent two hours yester-afternoon/evening at the home office identifying and going over how to deal with water intrusion issues at different conditions on the new project. It's going to be a challenge. The parking attendant there, at the office, an older gentleman with a heavy central american accent, Baldimir(o) ( is that name from the Visigoth?)is being replaced by an automatic machine. The machine was in but not yet working. He used to give me a hard time because his shift was over before mine so he couldn't collect from me on the way out, and I only come in once a week. He was gone when I came down, and I think I probably will not see him again, ever. 
We had made friends. People come; people go...

 I woke up at 11, (after going to bed early) and went downstairs for a bit. A little while later my son came in from his girlfriend's. He told me that earlier at home, the  ATT repairman had come to upgrade the internet speed and they had talked. The guy was 42, retired Navy. He told my son to never wait/keep going forward, or elsenext thing you know you'll be left behind. My wife bit her tongue as he talked about the inevitable life of financial debt regarding his own life. 

And then my son told me a schoolmate had died: Xanax and coke. I had to look up Xanax and 'bars'. Say nope to dope, kiddies. There's really nothing there... so many fall by the wayside, and so young.

I went back to bed at midnight. 

4:30, and I'm up having my coffee. 

111 yesterday. Going to be hot today. Nothing to complain about when you consider Houston. Now, they've got it bad.


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## sas

bd,


Come to think of it, I try to lead a balanced life. I do not like chaos. Ask my family. I am a control freak and plan for every eventuality. I anticipate that a train is ready to smack me, around every bend. My parents were quite unworldly and almost totally uneducated. So I grew to control and anticipate trouble. I'm rarely off stride.


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## sas

Kevin,

The stories, in your day, touched me. We, unknowingly, are surrounded by millions of them. I hope you keep a journal to include these in your writing. Nothing can match such "truth". Nothing.


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## SilverMoon

Woke unusually early this morning. Always coffee first or I walk around my place nearly blind. So, it was coffee, reading with Mozart (Bach was having a fit). Here, now, fully awake I'm thinking about what you've had to say, sas, about being a planner. I used to envy those who were spontaneous (I viewed them as being more free than I) but at this age I accept that my date book is an appendage. It eases my inner chaos.


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## midnightpoet

At least with inner chaos you have the potential to do something about - it's the outer chaos that really ruin your day and there's often nothing you can do about it (well, you can hide in a closet I suppose).:wink:

Now, I need another cup of coffee.


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## SilverMoon

Morning Kevin, Hope the rest of your day goes well. It's saddening that people are being replaced my machines and that you'll be missing your friend. 

I've never known one to pass from cocaine but I have seen how it strips persons of any inkling of kindness. They become entirely other persons. I call it the "Cocaine Meanies"

111 by you? Here's a little something to cool you off. One of my favorite paintings by Monet "Magpie". A rare winter scene of his


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## SilverMoon

> Originally Posted by *Midnightpoet *
> 
> At least with inner chaos you have the potential to do something about - it's the outer chaos that really ruin your day and there's often nothing you can do about it (well, you can hide in a closet I suppose).:wink:
> 
> Now, I need another cup of coffee



Maybe coffee is the answer to everything! LOL Tony, don't spill it in the closet! :coffee:


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## Nellie

SilverMoon said:


> Maybe coffee is the answer to everything! LOL Tony, don't spill it in the closet! :coffee:



Or on the computer! :05.18-flustered:


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## aj47

the sun is shining


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## midnightpoet

Good, glad you're okay - you going to write a novel now with Harvey as background?;-)


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## aj47

I am *not*.  I don't *do* novels.

We tallied a total of 35.6 inches of rain from Harvey in my neighborhood.  But the thing I'll remember most is my kitten, Fur Elise, being spayed on Friday and having the Cone of Shame throughout.  She still wants to play, get into tight spaces, climb on shelves, etc. but, as astroandy put it, "[the Cone of Shame] does not fit in with Elise's lifestyle or body image."  It will be removed when I can no longer discern her incision (I was told it would be 7-10 days).  She is a licker (she used to over-groom) and there should be no possibility for her to irritate the site, as that could lead to complications.

In other news, there is no weekly sales flyers for any of our stores as they have zero clues about what they'll have available.  This makes shopping for next week's meals complicated and blogging my menu for next week impossible.  We'll be getting much of our protein from the freezer, as no one knows what fresh meat/poultry/etc. will be available.


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## AtleanWordsmith

We recently lost three full-time associates at work (all transfers to another store), haven't yet replaced them, so I worked a sixteen-hour shift yesterday.

Glad you're okay, Annie.  My biggest problem with the cone of shame was that the Lady Mrs. Montheresa Fluffybottom kept finding ways to get it off.  She'd find a space where the cone wouldn't fit and back out of it.

Uh, don't let your cat read this.


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## Darkkin

I found a typo in my copy of _The __Ode Less Travelled_​ (9781592403110) by Stephen Fry.  The pattern of the triolet (page 256) is incorrect...  It is written ABaAbbAB when it should be ABaAabAB.  Outside of that one hiccup, it is an amazing read.  The section on villanelle in particular is especially interesting.  

 And it is official:  I have no life.


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## midnightpoet

Hope conditions are improving for everyone affected by hurricane Harvey, especially members here.  That had to be (and maybe still is) a horrible experience.


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## Winston

Volunteered at the High School concession stand tonight.  Our team got beaten... badly.  But we made some money for the kids.  
I like our little town.  Even if our football team stinks.


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## Kevin

I was going to ride this morning. I woke up before dawn trying to get myself motivated. I imagined sections of the trail.

There's one part in particular that I really like. It's where I have to perform a 180* turn downhill at very slow speed. There's barely enough room, and if I were to blow it I could possibly tumble, mmm, twice, the second one off a cliff after a somersault through some bushes. I'm clipped in, so...

I'm sure that for many riders it would be nothing, performing the turn, but for me it took a lot of tries before I got it.

That's just one of the challenging sections. There are others, and they require my full attention on each. That's part of the enjoyment: making a section and the full concentration needed. 

Anyway, I got myself dressed, went through the mental list of things to bring/do so I wouldn't forget anything. I live on a hill and it's a .... to have go back because I forgot something. I opened the back door to put my bike out and smelled... smoke. 

I don't ride in the smoke. There's a brush fire on the other side of the Valley that's been burning for a few days now, and the smoke had drifted over. I had hoped it was done. When I was a little kid and we first moved here we had heavy smog and I didn't do well in it, lungs hurting every time I tried to take a just slightly too-deep-of-a breath. To this day it hurts if I exercise in polluted air. After, not during, which makes it for me more dangerous ( because I don't feel it while it's happening). 

So now I'm sitting, inside, drinking...
coffee. Like it's a work day.


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## bobo

Ha-ha, know the situation - all dressed for running ... and when going out discovering bleeding rain, which'll make my slippers slide - up again, feeling akwards beeing inside in running outfit 
and a little lost, untill finding something to use the time-gift for


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## Kevin

bobo said:


> Ha-ha, know the situation - all dressed for running ... and when going out discovering bleeding rain, which'll make my slippers slide - up again, feeling akwards beeing inside in running outfit
> and a little lost, untill finding something to use the time-gift for


 I'm trying get my laptop open( I'm on my phone). It's over there and I can't get up.    fb story about Ghengis has me riled ... _don't answer-don't post-it's pointless jibber-jabber- _. I will get some eggs at the store and cook the Hungarian bacon I bought yesterday. I hope they like it. They will be up soon.


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## Darkkin

Six books in less than two days...:-?  I need to stop binging, I'm running out of material to read, again.  And as we're moving in six weeks more than half my library is already packed up, I don't have access to all my material.  A very minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but when one doesn't sleep much words are the world and time.


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## Kevin

Darkkin said:


> Six books in less than two days...:-?  I need to stop binging, I'm running out of material to read, again.  And as we're moving in six weeks more than half my library is already packed up, I don't have access to all my material.  A very minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but when one doesn't sleep much words are the world and time.


It would be great if you could nanny or surrogate read for others- share your gift ( for a fee, of course) plug a cable * _pop-click_*.  Someday...


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## Darkkin

Kevin said:


> It would be great if you could nanny or surrogate read for others- share your gift ( for a fee, of course) plug a cable * _pop-click_*.  Someday...



Actually reading aloud to others is something, Rue Dog and I do.  Spend time in treatment for a chronic illness, and you can get recruited to volunteer without even realising it.       No charge.  People get to listen, I don't have to make conversation, and time passes.  An all around good plan.


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## bobo

Darkkin said:


> Six books in less than two days...:-?  I need to stop binging, I'm running out of material to read, again.  And as we're moving in six weeks more than half my library is already packed up, I don't have access to all my material.  A very minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but when one doesn't sleep much words are the world and time.



May be a reading device as e.g. Kindle, where you can buy/download direct from the net when needing it -  ??
- or may be  reading the literature in the original language for slowing down a bit ??


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## Darkkin

bobo said:


> May be a reading device as e.g. Kindle, where you can buy/download direct from the net when needing it -  ??
> - or may be  reading the literature in the original language for slowing down a bit ??



I have a tablet and a sizable ebook library, but I'm a physical book, book person...Tactile, tangible.  Solid.  If anything, I read faster on my tablet because I don't delve quite as deeply into the words like I do with an actual book...3 a.m.  Tap, tap...Read.  Look at the clock three books later, realising it is 8 a.m.


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## The Green Shield

Awesome, I want to write but the perfectionist in me is saying, "Unless it looks like something Stephen King wrote, FORGET ABOUT IT!!" Can someone metaphorically slap some sense into me, please


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## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Awesome, I want to write but the perfectionist in me is saying, "Unless it looks like something Stephen King wrote, FORGET ABOUT IT!!" Can someone metaphorically slap some sense into me, please



You do not want to write like Stephen King, or any other author. You will write like you, as only you can, now get on with it and stop doing this to yourself!


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## The Green Shield

^ Yes, Olly-chan!  I will stop! Also...

...So apparently Scriviner actually has a way for you to outline your stories...




...With synopsis for each chapter so you get a rough idea of what you want...




...I'm just gonna go sit in a corner and contemplate my own stupidity...


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## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> ^ Yes, Olly-chan!  I will stop!



I think you mean 'Hi Sensi Buckle San!'; 'chan' is for children.


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## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> I think you mean 'Hi Sensi Buckle San!'; 'chan' is for children.



xD Well, I'm clearly not fluent in Japanese. :v


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## Kevin

To whomever..
If you don't hear from me after this its because I died...
We recently inherited some 70's style pre-fab, factory-made, plastic freezer-bag food from our friends who moved to... out of state. Now we're "cooking" it. I'm having flashbacks of green meat and ham, TV dinners, freezer burns ... all these horrifying things I haven't ...in 40 years ( since I started cooking for myself). I would divorce her, on grounds of mental cruelty, torture, trying poison me-- if ever she thought this acceptable. No... We're only doing this once. I'd rather starve. If I survive...


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## midnightpoet

When in doubt, throw it outukel:


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## Winston

Kevin said:


> To whomever..
> If you don't hear from me after this its because I died...
> We recently inherited some 70's style pre-fab, factory-made, plastic freezer-bag food from our friends who moved to... out of state. Now we're "cooking" it. I'm having flashbacks of green meat and ham, TV dinners, freezer burns ... all these horrifying things I haven't ...in 40 years ( since I started cooking for myself). I would divorce her, on grounds of mental cruelty, torture, trying poison me-- if ever she thought this acceptable. No... We're only doing this once. I'd rather starve. If I survive...



You're lucky.  My wife just uses antifreeze on me.  
Feeding you 40 year old food is a thoughtfully inventive way to kill a man.  She really cares.


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## LeeC

^ I do all my own cooking ;-)


Wife's a golfer, her thing not mine. Anyway, she won a new driver in a seniors charity tournament. The challenge was, from the tee, to drive a ball so that it landed in a hula hoop half way down the fairway (a women's par 4 hole I think she said). I think it was dumb luck she did it, but didn't say so — as long as she's happy is what counts. And yeah, she's a half inch short of five feet. You wouldn't know it though, when she gets on my case ;-)


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## The Green Shield

Wow.




With my fantasy chapters re-arranged in a more chronological order, and the repeating chapters (basically the same chapter written in a different way) deleted, my word count totals up to 7,457 words. Yeah, a huge chunk off from the 16K, but...not bad. Not bad at all.


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## bobo

LeeC said:


> ^
> And yeah, she's a half inch short of five feet. You wouldn't know it though, when she gets on my case ;-)
> 
> View attachment 19429



Ever heard about the Napoleon Complex ??
The small one can be the worst


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## dither

I went back to my old home-town today and when ever I go there I'm saddened by what I see. The place is a dump.


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## sas

dither said:


> I went back to my old home-town today and when ever I go there I'm saddened by what I see. The place is a dump.




A few years back, I drove back to my childhood Detroit home. I popped power lock on our car. All the homes were either boarded or burned, except mine. It was being lovingly cared for, never looked better, even when my parents owned it. These owners  mowed the lawns of surrounding abandoned homes. It stood, as if the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor...." A tearful vision for me.


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## Kevin

We survived. It's the next morning and I'm here! She's here! We did like midnight said, and threw most of it out. There were 'Turkey balls' that smelled like... smelled weird, so we didn't eat them. There was fried rice that we took a few bites of. It was actually okay. I bet even the coyotes wouldn't eat those balls, though. My son was the one who'd brought the stuff home. He'd helped them pack(our friends) during the move. It's not his fault. He only knows of the 70's from the music.The 70's: great music- awful food. I think the experience reaffirmed my wife and I's trust in each other. I was really struggling, I mean... who is this person, about to feed me this... stuff? The turkey balls, she took one wiff, and said no... I broke down and cried, 'Thank you, Elvis!' And thank you midnight. You know, I'm thinking of getting a magnet for that fridge: what would midnight do? Fuckin'-eh... Okay, sorry. We can go back to visiting old homes, which I totally get, having had...( counting)... 10 of them. Not homes: places I've lived. 6 homes.


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## LeeC

bobo said:


> Ever heard about the Napoleon Complex ??
> The small one can be the worst


I can see her side. I've been a tough horse to break and it has sharpened her tongue over the years  This is us sometime back in the '70s.


Seeing that old pic prompts the question, how in the hell did I get to this?



Frolic while you can lads and lassies. 


Love all,
Trust a few,
Do wrong to none.


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## bobo

You gotta have a metal band around your head for keeping it together ??
- for not spilling over the contents ?? :drunk:
How you did get to this ??
Only you can know, but my guess would be, a combination of predisposition, unfitting lifestyle, and improper food intake.
sorry - but you asked --- may be just rhetorical, but nevertheless  :saturn:


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## LeeC

bobo said:


> You gotta have a metal band around your head for keeping it together ??
> - for not spilling over the contents ?? :drunk:
> How you did get to this ??
> Only you can know, but my guess would be, a combination of predisposition, unfitting lifestyle, and improper food intake.
> sorry - but you asked --- may be just rhetorical, but nevertheless  :saturn:


Add to that being reared in a wilderness area; cow wranglin’ where the food was coffee, biscuits, chili, and beans with sowbelly; serving in Indochina and emerging a little worse for the wear; pursuing various careers in an overly greedy culture; and being married going on fifty years to a wonderful woman, that after bringing back a “working” girl from Europe which was a disaster — to mention but a few missing points. Oh, and one hasn't eaten till they've had pan fried trout and biscuits over a camp fire in a wilderness area 


It’s been a hell of a ride, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s also apparently given me a much broader perspective than those more the product of cultural inculcation 


Live with no excuses, and love with no regrets


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## bobo

Then wonder no more 
- but remember what you said: " It’s been a hell of a ride, and I wouldn’t change it for the world"


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## Fowly

Sup Everyone! Second day here and still pretty nervous. Any tips on communicating successfully?


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## Kevin

Humility. Preface things. When in doubt, delete. I often take three tries before I post. And I still mess it up. You never know who you're talking to. People take things funny-oddly-not what you meant at all. They may not say anything. You may take things funny-oddly-not what they meant at all. And give a lot of thank you's/acknowledges (-ments?). Myself, having been raised by in a family of werewolves I often struggle with the last one. That, and I often make stuff up.


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## Fowly

Kevin said:


> Humility. Preface things. When in doubt, delete. I often take three tries before I post. And I still mess it up. You never know who you're talking to. People take things funny-oddly-not what you meant at all. They may not say anything. You may take things funny-oddly-not what they meant at all. And give a lot of thank you's/acknowledges (-ments?). Myself, having been raised by in a family of werewolves I often struggle with the last one. That, and I often make stuff up.



Thanks, man. That will come in handy. I try my best to be polite and respectful but somehow end up offending 2/10 of all humans.


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## H.Brown

Fowly said:


> Sup Everyone! Second day here and still pretty nervous. Any tips on communicating successfully?



Be honest and know when to walk away is advice I got when first posting on WF and it has never steered me wrong.


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## Fowly

H.Brown said:


> Be honest and know when to walk away is advice I got when first posting on WF and it has never steered me wrong.




I've always been as honest as I can be. I had a lot of problems with abuse growing up so it's been a struggle. I've been told to defend myself and stick up for myself. It's hard to know If I should defend myself or walk away. Most of the time I just walk away but I can't run away from all my problems. Seem to be picking and choosing the wrong ones all the time it feels like.


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## H.Brown

Defending yourself is necessary at times and is not a bad thing, you are correct in saying it's hard to gauge when to walk away and the best advice Ican give on that front is if it feels like an arguement developing I take a step awayand don't reply for a little bit. I feel the same way at times it is natural to second guess ourselves.

Sounds like you have a rough upbringing and I am glad to see you made it through.


----------



## Fowly

H.Brown said:


> Defending yourself is necessary at times and is not a bad thing, you are correct in saying it's hard to gauge when to walk away and the best advice Ican give on that front is if it feels like an arguement developing I take a step awayand don't reply for a little bit. I feel the same way at times it is natural to second guess ourselves.
> 
> Sounds like you have a rough upbringing and I am glad to see you made it through.



Very true lol I'll try to feel the wind before the tornado hits xD and Thanks lol It's been a bit bumpy but I've always been a fighter and a survivor.


----------



## H.Brown

Fowly said:


> Very true lol I'll try to feel the wind before the tornado hits xD and Thanks lol It's been a bit bumpy but I've always been a fighter and a survivor.




Me too and if you can get through a tough start in life I think you handle it better when shit hits the fan. You have to fight to survive sometimes. How are you finding WF so far?


----------



## Fowly

H.Brown said:


> Me too and if you can get through a tough start in life I think you handle it better when shit hits the fan. You have to fight to survive sometimes. How are you finding WF so far?




So far it's really neat. A lot of really nice people. I actually feel like writing for once. xD I've been stuck in a little bit of a lag. It's hard to want to focus on stuff when I've got attention deficit Disorder holding me back. I hope this will help me get going on my book too. I've been neglecting it far too long.


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## H.Brown

We all get like that when it comes to our writing.  I hope you can get back to it, what do you like to write?


----------



## Darkkin

Fowly said:


> It's hard to want to focus on stuff when I've got attention deficit Disorder holding me back.



ADD and ADHD are not an excuse.  They are a biological circumstance present in roughly 15% of the population.  It is not a weakness nor a fault.  It is a chemical imbalance in the brain and it isn't without its challenges. I have a very severe case of ADHD and am ASD.  I know the ins and outs of a distracted mind, but I also know one of its greatest attributes.  Hyperfocus.  Both my brother and I have the ability and ADHD.  It hasn't held either of us back because we work with the imbalance and its triggers.  Teachers always assumed we were less able because of the labels, but their underestimation was not the measure by which we set our goals.  Some of it comes down to the drive of the individual.  It is a bit of a sore spot when some says: Well, I have this so it's hard...People see the label, not the individual.  (Major pet peeve of mine...)

Life is hard, always has been and will be.  It is how one faces it that matters.


----------



## Fowly

H.Brown said:


> We all get like that when it comes to our writing.  I hope you can get back to it, what do you like to write?



I've been working on this book for 5 years or more now. It's frustrating but I've poured my heart and soul into the making of the characters, the story plot, the back stories. It's like a whole world slowly coming into focus in my mind and constantly growing. I'm very protective of it xD

It's a fantasy piece and since I find inspiration in King Arthur books and those knightly type books, especially Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain.

I've been using a lot of symbolism with events that I've experienced as a child. It's one of those children finds a portal to the new world, explores the new world, finds an enemy, and slays or pacifies enemy.


----------



## Fowly

Darkkin said:


> ADD and ADHD are not an excuse. It is not a disease. It is not a weakness nor a fault. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain. I have a very severe case of ADHD and am ASD. I know the ins and outs of a distracted mind, but I also know one of its greatest attributes. Hyperfocus. Both my brother and I have the ability and ADHD. It hasn't held either of us back because we work with the imbalance and its triggers. Teachers always assumed we were less able because of the labels, but their underestimation was not the measure by which we set our goals. Some of it comes down to the drive of the individual. It is a bit of a sore spot when some says: Well, I have this so it's hard...
> 
> Life is hard, always has been and will be. It is how one faces it that matters.




Lol I'm not trying to make any excuses. Everyone has problems and faces them in different ways. No one could possibly assume how we managed our lives, successfully or not. I sometimes forget peoples names and faces, apologize ahead of time and tell them that I have Short Term Memory loss and they've always gotten offended that I never remember them the next day. I say that so that maybe they will understand a little better why I am the way I am. That I'm not trying to be rude to them but simply remember things differently. 

I am no better than anyone else, but please don't assume I'm making excuses for something I'm saying or doing. I'm simply communicating. ^^;


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## The Green Shield

Well, apparently playing Fallout has made me want to write a story set in a post-apocalyptic Deep South. See what you made me do, Bethesda!? If you won't make a Fallout game set in my part of the United States, then I guess I'll just have to write my own story about it.


----------



## Fowly

The Green Shield said:


> Well, apparently playing Fallout has made me want to write a story set in a post-apocalyptic Deep South. See what you made me do, Bethesda!? If you won't make a Fallout game set in my part of the United States, then I guess I'll just have to write my own story about it.



Fallout is the shit. I love it. Skyrim too. I have an addiction T.T


----------



## The Green Shield

Fowly said:


> Fallout is the shit. I love it. Skyrim too. I have an addiction T.T



Here's how it opens:

“It was 1963. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Hundreds of millions of Americans kept glued to the TV with bated breath, wondering if President John F. Kennedy would be able to defuse the tension. I was with my mama, and my mama’s mama . . . we were out in the Bayou, somewhere near the border of what was then Louisiana and Mississippi. The crickets were loud that day, chirping away at the lone little lantern we left hanging out by the front porch.”


----------



## Fowly

The Green Shield said:


> Here's how it opens:
> 
> “It was 1963. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Hundreds of millions of Americans kept glued to the TV with bated breath, wondering if President John F. Kennedy would be able to defuse the tension. I was with my mama, and my mama’s mama . . . we were out in the Bayou, somewhere near the border of what was then Louisiana and Mississippi. The crickets were loud that day, chirping away at the lone little lantern we left hanging out by the front porch.”




Nice! It's set in the murky croc waters of the south right? Probs where the mirelurks first pop up. xD


----------



## The Green Shield

Fowly said:


> Nice! It's set in the murky croc waters of the south right? Probs where the mirelurks first pop up. xD


Yep, set in the Gulf Shores of the Deep South. xD It's not going to be a gritty, realistic portrayal of a post-nuclear apocalypse, rather it's going to be a sort of parody of _Fallout_ like how _Fallout_ was a parody of 1950s stereotypes and clichés centered around nuclear war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlTJrNJ5lA

This is the theme song.


----------



## Nellie

Darkkin said:


> ADD and ADHD are not an excuse.  They are a biological circumstance present in roughly 15% of the population.  It is not a weakness nor a fault.  It is a chemical imbalance in the brain and it isn't without its challenges. I have a very severe case of ADHD and am ASD.  I know the ins and outs of a distracted mind, but I also know one of its greatest attributes.  Hyperfocus.  Both my brother and I have the ability and ADHD.  It hasn't held either of us back because we work with the imbalance and its triggers.  Teachers always assumed we were less able because of the labels, but their underestimation was not the measure by which we set our goals.  Some of it comes down to the drive of the individual.  It is a bit of a sore spot when some says: Well, I have this so it's hard...People see the label, not the individual.  (Major pet peeve of mine...)
> 
> Life is hard, always has been and will be.  It is how one faces it that matters.



ADD & ADHD are not an excuse, but they are considered a brain disorder, just the same as a seizure disorder, some severe like tonic/clonic seizures, some simple partial seizures, where one doesn't lose consciousness. I've had both types of seizures throughout my adult life and marriage. I also have a son who grew up with ADD/ADHD. He had/has the drive to keep on going thru law school. I never had the seizure disorder as a child so had a goal in mind with my life, but when the seizures started, all hell broke loose. I didn't want to tell folks for a long time that I had a seizure disorder, but finally had to because they wanted to know why I was staying home all the time. So it is a bit of a sore spot when someone doesn't try to understand why this is so hard.


----------



## Nellie

Fowly said:


> Lol I'm not trying to make any excuses. Everyone has problems and faces them in different ways. No one could possibly assume how we managed our lives, successfully or not. I sometimes forget peoples names and faces, apologize ahead of time and tell them that I have Short Term Memory loss and they've always gotten offended that I never remember them the next day. I say that so that maybe they will understand a little better why I am the way I am. That I'm not trying to be rude to them but simply remember things differently.
> 
> I am no better than anyone else, but please don't assume I'm making excuses for something I'm saying or doing. I'm simply communicating. ^^;



I also forget people's names and suffer from aphasia. TLE (temporal lobe epilepsy from a brain injury) can cause that. I used to be so embarrassed to ask folks their names again and again, but that is how it is for some. 

You're not making excuses for yourself, just communicating.


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## SilverMoon

I also have Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. It's one of the most complex strains. As with ADD & ADHD, or any chemical imbalance, the severity of symptoms run on a continuum scale. Nellie and I land on different number as I imagine you and Darkkin do. It's part of our daily lives and we all do the best we can. So, brava for us all!

Now, how did my day go? Given that I'm a chronic procrastinator, I caught up with more than week's worth of neglect. Paid bills, sent a long overdo letter (I hope my brother will still be speaking with me!). Sundry necessities, then food shopping for fruits and leafy greens for my NutriBullit smoothies. Never felt healthier. Was prepared to go to the library and my favorite thrift shop to check out vintage cloths for fall. So psyched up! Then, damnbamb! It's Labor Day.  

So, tomorrow it will be new books and old clothing! 

Night all! Oh, we have a full Silver:moon: this evening!_ (She cheated on her diet and wolfed down a pint of pistachio Gelato ice cream.)_


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## LeeC

It took me over two hours tonight to come up with two more books that are promising. I read as much as I can of the previews (not the reviews) to get a feel for whether the author will hold my attention, as I hate to waste money on books I won't finish. Got another operation coming up soon, and I need the books to occupy my mind in the hospital afterwards. Can't work on my illustrations there as I need the auxiliary monitor for my MacBook to see what I'm doing.


----------



## Deleted member 56686

The Green Shield said:


> Here's how it opens:
> 
> “It was 1963. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Hundreds of millions of Americans kept glued to the TV with bated breath, wondering if President John F. Kennedy would be able to defuse the tension. I was with my mama, and my mama’s mama . . . we were out in the Bayou, somewhere near the border of what was then Louisiana and Mississippi. The crickets were loud that day, chirping away at the lone little lantern we left hanging out by the front porch.”



Good start. Historical note though from someone obsessed with dates. The Cuban Missile Crisis was in October of 1962


----------



## The Green Shield

mrmustard615 said:


> Good start. Historical note though from someone obsessed with dates. The Cuban Missile Crisis was in October of 1962


I looked it up and realized my embarrassment.


----------



## sas

Cuban Missle Crisis: Yes, 1962, year I graduated high school. And, for the record, Khrushshev did not blink. Records released, after mandatory 50 years hidden from public, tell the real story. The U.S. had placed missiles in Turkey. Under the table, Kennedy agreed to remove them, but not for several months after Russia turned back, so there would not be the obvious connection. 

Remember this. All governments lie. Quite a shock to me as I've aged. I now know Gary Powers, by his own recent acknowledgement, was shot down over Russia on spy mission, not over neutral airspace, as we were told. (Those dirty Commies) And, yep, we were in Cambodia. I believe no one and nothing any government says. Best do the same. 

The Smart Too Late Sas (a world citizen, although I'd prefer another planet sometimes)

.


----------



## midnightpoet

I'd prefer another planet myself; told my wife if any of those space aliens orbiting earth were available I'm ready to go.  She replied they'd just throw me back.:razz:


----------



## Fowly

The Green Shield said:


> Yep, set in the Gulf Shores of the Deep South. xD It's not going to be a gritty, realistic portrayal of a post-nuclear apocalypse, rather it's going to be a sort of parody of _Fallout_ like how _Fallout_ was a parody of 1950s stereotypes and clichés centered around nuclear war.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlTJrNJ5lA
> 
> This is the theme song.




haha awesome! I look forward to reading it : 3 Lets be friends ^^


----------



## Fowly

Nellie said:


> I also forget people's names and suffer from aphasia. TLE (temporal lobe epilepsy from a brain injury) can cause that. I used to be so embarrassed to ask folks their names again and again, but that is how it is for some.
> 
> You're not making excuses for yourself, just communicating.




Yeah, often times I'll wait and see if someone know the person if they say their name xD.


----------



## Nellie

Fowly said:


> Yeah, often times I'll wait and see if someone know the person if they say their name xD.



Today's a new day. Let's make it a good one. I have a lot to do as I am moving to a new place this weekend.


----------



## Fowly

Nellie said:


> Today's a new day. Let's make it a good one. I have a lot to do as I am moving to a new place this weekend.



Sounds exciting, and I'm sure stressful xD


----------



## The Green Shield

So, er, remember when I said that my idea involving flying llamas, a cat-woman, an army of the undead and an invading army was so stupid I literally forwarded it to the creators of Saints Row thinking they could use it?


They. Responded!
"Sorry, but we can't comment on future plans at this time."


Oy...


----------



## Kevin

sas said:


> Cuban Missle Crisis: Yes, 1962, year I graduated high school. And, for the record, Khrushshev did not blink. Records released, after mandatory 50 years hidden from public, tell the real story. The U.S. had placed missiles in Turkey. Under the table, Kennedy agreed to remove them, but not for several months after Russia turned back, so there would not be the obvious connection.
> 
> Remember this. All governments lie. Quite a shock to me as I've aged. I now know Gary Powers, by his own recent acknowledgement, was shot down over Russia on spy mission, not over neutral airspace, as we were told. (Those dirty Commies) And, yep, we were in Cambodia. I believe no one and nothing any government says. Best do the same.
> 
> The Smart Too Late Sas (a world citizen, although I'd prefer another planet sometimes)
> 
> .


You'd think after 53 years they'd allow the real story. I'm afraid it's been so long the one's in the know are just about all dead ( if not all). They do have a recording of Khrushchev going off- so angry when he learned Kennedy had been assassinated. He'd been on vacation at the Black Sea. It seems pretty authentic and he himself was ousted in a matter of months. 
The commies were bastards, by the way. The Finns had it right when they put them all up against the wall.


----------



## sas

Kev, Actually the real story was released. There is still a government muzzle, on some information being released, for 50 years. I read about it when it was finally released.  So much for our supposed open government. I actually think the Millennials are not as ignorant of this duplicity as previous generations were,  and some still are (those left from The Greatest Generation have too many of the clueless). They've no idea that the 50s weren't even the 50s, as they thought it.


----------



## Winston

All these fires South and East of us.  Dropping bits of ash now.  The air is a sickly brown-grey.  Just nasty.
I'll say some prayers for any folks closer to the fires.  They have problems worse than air quality.


----------



## The Green Shield

(Hopefully this'll make people feel better...)

Hey-ho!  I just found the perfect tag line for my Sci-Fi, and it's from the Christian Bible.  


"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."


It's perfect for the plot and the theme for several of my characters. Thanks, J-Man!


----------



## escorial

a woman opened the door for me as I came out the supermarket loaded down with shopping..that was a first


----------



## H.Brown

Mine was going well until now...I just flooded my bathroom...shoot....


----------



## escorial

H.Brown said:


> Mine was going well until now...I just flooded my bathroom...shoot....




was your big toe stuck in the tap while the firemen sorted it out...


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> was your big toe stuck in the tap while the firemen sorted it out...



Unfortunately not Esc, it was as simple as I forgot I even running a bath, my doseyness strikes again.  All is well though I didn't damage my flat or the flat below mine either.


----------



## LeeC

I received this Bible study link today from someone in my email circle. See Psalm 109:8.


----------



## Firemajic

LeeC said:


> I received this Bible study link today from someone in my email circle. See Psalm 109:8.




I remember hearing this... very appropriate for the things going on in our country....


----------



## The Green Shield

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=e7a203c51f476e67ebdf952211716280&oe=5A4FAAD0



Hurricane Irma, I swear to God... You're already a headache to Florida, you gotta make ME sweat what with you looking like you're itching to get to Alabama??!


----------



## AtleanWordsmith

Speaking of Irma, I got recruited to Publix's disaster relief team today, which means that I could get shipped off to help rebuild stores or provide extra manpower for those that need it.  Since we're based out of Florida, it's probably likely that I'll end up going down there.

I've also started dressing up for work, wearing a shirt and tie instead of the work-issued polo shirt.  One of the perks (well, I'll leave that up to you) of my recent promotion, haha.


----------



## The Green Shield

*Public Service Announcement:*​*

If you ever feel sluggish, ask if you drank water recently. That is all. (#JohnScrewsUpAgain)​*


----------



## Winston

Firemajic said:


> I remember hearing this... very appropriate for the things going on in our country....


You know, it isn't just one man, or some evil cabal of a few.  The writer of that verse was addressing an entire people.  WE are accountable for OUR actions.  

On a happier note:
We have a ton of "volunteer" tomatillo plants.  When I was weeding, I almost pulled them (glad I showed restraint). Their bright yellow flowers are attracting honey bees, that help pollenate.   
My daughter pulled some of the potatoes and carrots out of the garden and made a curry stir-fry.  She's learning.  
Saw a snake a few weeks ago.  I didn't tell my wife, or she'd never go out there.
Often, after tending the garden, I just stand there.  A gentle breeze sways the leaves and stalks.  An occasional butterfly flutters, and a dragonfly zips by.  One of our cats lurks, possibly looking for that snake.  Peace and balance.


----------



## The Green Shield

So... I never outline any of my stories -- I literally don't know what will happen in the next scene unless my characters show me.




...Is this bad? Its bad, isn't it?


----------



## Deleted member 56686

Not really, Greenie. It's called Stream of Consciousness. It's how I write. It's done pretty well for me.


----------



## The Green Shield

^ Thanks. :3 I was deeply afraid I was missing a crucial step.

Also, my fantasy seems to flow a lot nicer with just one POV instead of multiple like I had originally planned. Sooo...back to Mishu's POV and only her's! Wheeee!!!


----------



## sas

I've come to know that people sort themselves into two decision making groups, emphasis on decision making:

Those who assume another is wrong, until proven right.
Those who assume another is right, until proven wrong.

I know which one I fall into. How about you?
And, I won't believe anyone who says they have a neutral quick reaction. 
Must be flat liners.


----------



## Kevin

Considering that in my line of work decisions are made daily, or at least acted upon daily I guess we rely upon 'experts' to make correct ( functional) choices. We question the design by reading it first, but unless there is an obvious negative consequence or unless we think we have a better option we go with whatever the expert says. Often we ask them to give multiple options, listing the drawbacks or limitations of each, or, we ask what those limitations might be, again, researching on our own also, to at least attempt to have a greater understanding of what options are out there while trying to rate their functionality. 
So I guess we assume that some people know what they're doing based on recommendations from others , or , they are able to represent themselves as competent, presenting past examples, references, and we go with them. Until they show themselves otherwis ( proof?) we assume they are competen which translates to 'correct' in their practices which will typically result in a functional product, which ultimately allows all of us to get paid by the satisfied customer.. ideally.


----------



## Kevin

Now then... When it comes to political commentary... I always assume they're wrong. Why?! Because there is always an agenda. That is politics. A synonym for which could be 'deceit'. That's right, 'lying'. And a big part of that, lying in politics, is leaving things out. You know, "...the truth, the whole truth, so help you God" ? Yes, that part. Until I can see otherwise I don't assume they're right on anything. Some call that cynicism, I call it critical thinking. It's way too easy to accept something just because it fits with your already held beliefs.


----------



## sas

Kevin said:


> Now then... When it comes to political commentary... I always assume they're wrong. Why?! Because there is always an agenda. That is politics. A synonym for which could be 'deceit'. That's right, 'lying'. And a big part of that, lying in politics, is leaving things out. You know, "...the truth, the whole truth, so help you God" ? Yes, that part. Until I can see otherwise I don't assume they're right on anything. Some call that cynicism, I call it critical thinking. It's way too easy to accept something just because it fits with your already held beliefs.



I should have clarified I was talking more about opinions, things others speak about, as if facts, when decisions are needed, etc, not necessarily experts, in specialized fields (even though I never accept their opinions immediately either, especially physicians, and I birthed one). I tell my family: Trust No One (at first).


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, it looks like _The Alkorian Legends_ has dominated all other writing projects.  I've got a decent opening, Mishu's met another character that will a close companion of hers throughout the story, and I threw in an event that shatters their day and is the inciting event of the whole story. >:]


----------



## JustRob

sas said:


> I've come to know that people sort themselves into two decision making groups, emphasis on decision making:
> 
> Those who assume another is wrong, until proven right.
> Those who assume another is right, until proven wrong.
> 
> I know which one I fall into. How about you?
> And, I won't believe anyone who says they have a neutral quick reaction.
> Must be flat liners.



Another what? Person? What have other people got to do with my decisions? What have other people's decisions got to do with me? I'm not flat-lining, just responding chaotically on account of incomprehension. Is there some concept here that I don't comprehend? It must be past my bedtime as I'm evidently typing in my sleep now. Oh look, there's an angel. Hello angel.


----------



## LeeC

Ran across this today, do you remember it? I try not to dwell on it, but it seems to me we've gone downhill from there. I can"t for the life of me understand how so many say they love their children and grandchildren, yet keep on doing so little for the world they will have to get by in. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=ZwMVMbmQBug


----------



## Winston

Took my son and nephew to the range.  We had to adjust the scope on the SKS rifle, but eventually we were shooting straight.  Everyone always loves my old M44 Mosin Nagant carbine, the way it literally spits flames.  You can actually see the concussive wave as the bullet leaves the barrel.  They don't make 'em like that anymore.

Flipped between watching football and baseball while clearing the rifles.  Gotta be spotless before they go back in the safe.

Bottled my latest batch of home brew.  It's a dark stout with a rich aroma. You could get a drunk "contact high" breathing deep near it.  It'll be at least a week of "bottle conditioning" before I can start drinking them.  Might need two weeks.  Character sometimes takes a while to develop.


----------



## LeeC

Winston said:


> Took my son and nephew to the range.  We had to adjust the scope on the SKS rifle, but eventually we were shooting straight.  Everyone always loves my old M44 Mosin Nagant carbine, the way it literally spits flames.  You can actually see the concussive wave as the bullet leaves the barrel.  They don't make 'em like that anymore.
> 
> Flipped between watching football and baseball while clearing the rifles.  Gotta be spotless before they go back in the safe.
> 
> Bottled my latest batch of home brew.  It's a dark stout with a rich aroma. You could get a drunk "contact high" breathing deep near it.  It'll be at least a week of "bottle conditioning" before I can start drinking them.  Might need two weeks.  Character sometimes takes a while to develop.


I can understand having and knowing how to handle a rifle, especially considering the worst predator is humankind. Problem is I got sickened of all the harm they can cause innocents back in Indochina. Of course I also got sickened of the fat cats making a fortune off war. These many years later I'd just as soon be the victim than the perp ;-) I'm not ready to wheel out in front of a truck or the like though. If I could have gotten out to North Dakota in my wheelchair, when they were shooting rubber bullets at my unarmed foster brothers, I'd have been there. Yeah, the fat cats are still pulling the strings, and the wannabes are being led by the nose. Of course nobody wants to hear rants about such, so I write about what could be a better quality of life if we learned to live in respectful coexistence with all life forms. I'm not a dreamer, meaning such in a realistic way, as we still exist in a life fueled by life natural model.

Even further back, on the ranch, we used to brew beer in a wooden barrel. Wouldn't know how to any more. I did come by 5 lbs of Meco Chipotles, and am going to use them in my buffalo short ribs crock pot concoctions.


----------



## bobo

PARIS has decreed white hair as the highest fashion 
So I, as a seemingly white haired, was stopped in the streets, and asked which hair shampoo I used - hehehehehe :fat:
Had to admit the colour of my hair was a gift from my mother


----------



## Kevin

Went and saw the fight last Saturday. Ppv.. 
It was GGG ( Gennady Golovkin) vs. Canelo Alvarez. Canelo means 'cinnamon ' in Jalisco ( not sure about Castille). He is freckled and red haired and looks Scottish. Golovkin is from Kazahkstan, green eyes, light brown hair, moley. 
Pre-fight, for me, it was nearly as interesting as the fight between Zan Judah and Kostya Tzu. 

We had to go to the local AMC to watch it on the big screen which is something I had never done but I guess has been done ever since Don King began ppv back in the time of Ali. 
It's the first time I didn't shut off my cell, didn't worry about talking/ making noise in the movie theater while the show was on. 
No fist-fights broke out in the audience and I was surprised that most of the fans seemed to be pro-Golovkin, considering the demographics of where I live. 

The fight was a draw in case anyone cares. 

The Kazahk people are descended from steppe nomads, a mix of Mongol and mostly Turkic, with some elements of Scythe (Iranian nomad) , and later Russian ( Slavic) influence. You can see it in their faces. Canelo is puro-Mexicano which means anyone born and raised in Mexico (not limited to indigenes blooded). His head is rather blockish in shape which is supposed to be a trait of real Mexicans  ( as opposed to roundheads or long heads?) but he looks  puro north europeano to me. Undele Guey ( wey)...it was a good fight.


----------



## LeeC

Interesting observations Kevin. I haven't watched boxing since Joe Louis, and that was in grainy black and white ;-) My year in a parochial school (what an absurd gas) included Golden Gloves prep. Good thing I had quick reflexes, cause my skull wasn't thick enough ;-)

Oh, and Winston, I meant to include a relevant snippet from the book I'm rewriting and illustrating.


----------



## sas

LeeC said:


> Ran across this today, do you remember it? I try not to dwell on it, but it seems to me we've gone downhill from there. I can"t for the life of me understand how so many say they love their children and grandchildren, yet keep on doing so little for the world they will have to get by in.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=ZwMVMbmQBug




It is the best movie scene!!  The only ones mad as hell are the lunatics with their lunatic agendas. Those with rational brains think "the other guy" will make it right, or show up to vote, or even, pick up a can.


----------



## TuesdayEve

This is a true story honest.... funny thing happened on the bus Friday
Girls tennis on the bus...singing, screaming, laughing freshman
In the back of the bus hanging out the window, a large girl 200 lbs plus
Long dark thick hair tied in a poneytail frizzing from the rain
I could hear her distinctive voice from the rear of the bus as we drove back to school due to rain
She would yell as the other girls sang just to be heard
Her voice carried a gutteral sound that punctuated the chorus of the song on the radio

They began to settle in playing games and posting on Facebook
Feet on the seats, heads bowed towards the white light of their cell phones, so did Ella
Arriving at school, everyone gathered their backpacks and tennis rackets single filling down the aisle
Ella was at the back of the line....saying good bye, smilling at each girl looking in their eyes through the large overhead mirror...they all said thank you and disposed of their wrappers in the trash can
Ella was last.... catching  a glimpse of her I noticed something in her nose
Hanging from her right nostril...a string?
She had a nose bleed 
It was a tampax


----------



## LeeC

sas said:


> It is the best movie scene!!  The only ones mad as hell are the lunatics with their lunatic agendas. Those with rational brains think "the other guy" will make it right, or show up to vote, or even, pick up a can.


Yes sas, I won't add my take of the fat cats pulling the strings, nor the wannabes that follow them. Why I've taken to writing hopefully interesting ecolit, trying to get through to those that possibly have a grain of sense. I get that Red Foxx feeling ("this is the big one") when I think of all the things we're doing to shorten our existence. Still some get annoyed at me questioning how much they really care for their children. Maybe I make them uncomfortable while they're waiting for someone else to alleviate our problems ;-)


PS: You should hear my 7yo grandson's remarks when he comes on litter in the Maine woods. Gets that from his mother I guess, as she includes ecolit and hands on outings in her senior communications class. Thankfully she still has the freedom to, with the alternate reality crowd trying to change curriculum in public schools. To me their agenda is abhorrent, trying to fill children's minds with hog wash, rather than lighting a fire of reason. Are they that insecure?


----------



## Ultraroel

Why are there ALWAYS people who think that group arrangements and agreements do NOT apply to them. Gonna go away for the weekend and asked everyone to take their stuff so we wouldn't have to cross the city all over. And ofcourse there's always one person that thinks we can all drive to his place cause he didn't wanna take his luggage.. Aarfg! Why are people so selfish


----------



## aj47

my grandbaby who's staying with us (his mama is too) has chickenpox.  Everyone else in the family has had it or the vaccine.  But this means we can't take him places.

I got a pneumo vax and a flu vax on Thursday from my primary care doc's office.  My pneumo arm has been especially sore and achy but I didn't look up side effects till immediately prior to writing this post--yup, that's one.  I have another of the "unpleasant-but-won't-kill-you-unless-it's prolonged" side effects--I tossed my cookies.  It's been over 24 hours--I thought you got the side effects right away or not-at-all, not delayed-onset.  Grrr.


----------



## The Green Shield

Wait, why didn't he get the vaccine? Isn't that one of the earliest medical stuff babies get? Sorry to hear that -- if it's of any comfort, he'll not get it again once it clears up.


----------



## dither

astroannie said:


> my grandbaby who's staying with us (his mama is too) has chickenpox.  Everyone else in the family has had it or the vaccine.  But this means we can't take him places.
> 
> I got a pneumo vax and a flu vax on Thursday from my primary care doc's office.  My pneumo arm has been especially sore and achy but I didn't look up side effects till immediately prior to writing this post--yup, that's one.  I have another of the "unpleasant-but-won't-kill-you-unless-it's prolonged" side effects--I tossed my cookies.  It's been over 24 hours--I thought you got the side effects right away or not-at-all, not delayed-onset.  Grrr.



When I was a kid if anyone caught measles mumps, especially mumps, chicken pox whatever my mother sent us all round there to make sure we caught it. The sick child's home was open-house for a while. Reckon I caught just about everything when I was at school but there's a strong family belief that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I'd go along with that.


----------



## Jack of all trades

astroannie said:


> my grandbaby who's staying with us (his mama is too) has chickenpox.  Everyone else in the family has had it or the vaccine.  But this means we can't take him places.
> 
> I got a pneumo vax and a flu vax on Thursday from my primary care doc's office.  My pneumo arm has been especially sore and achy but I didn't look up side effects till immediately prior to writing this post--yup, that's one.  I have another of the "unpleasant-but-won't-kill-you-unless-it's prolonged" side effects--I tossed my cookies.  It's been over 24 hours--I thought you got the side effects right away or not-at-all, not delayed-onset.  Grrr.



In the 48 hours preceeding the chicken pox rash, nausea and vomiting are common. Hope you feel better soon!


----------



## TuesdayEve

Sitting in the bus, hot and humid in the shade, fan on, waiting for the high school golf team to finish 18 holes. 
Lotz of time to read WF and play word games, not a bad afternoon.


----------



## PiP

TuesdayEve said:


> Sitting in the bus, hot and humid in the shade, fan on, waiting for the high school golf team to finish 18 holes.
> Lotz of time to read WF and play word games, not a bad afternoon.



That will be a looong wait! I hope we can keep you entertained.


----------



## Winston

Converting a half-dozen cassette tapes I got from Goodwill.  Analog to digital on my computer.  Found one from Benny Hill (yes, THAT Benny Hill) called "Words and Music".  This should be interesting.  

Also, wrapping up my (failed) brewing experiment.  Tried to brew a home-made mead using baking yeast and rice water.  The concoction tasted like seltzer, bitter and sour.  On the bright side, I bet the stuff is healthy as hec for ya, with the honey and ginger I used.  Low alcohol content.  Baking yeast has little tolerance, and dies at minimal alcohol levels.  I think it'll make a good base for a green tea drink.  It was fun.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Yes Pip... been entertained since I joined... love the word games!! Am reading more now than I ever have.
Currently reading past winners of monthly challenges as well as new posts... for the first time, not kidding, reading is fun.


----------



## aj47

The Green Shield said:


> Wait, why didn't he get the vaccine? Isn't that one of the earliest medical stuff babies get? Sorry to hear that -- if it's of any comfort, he'll not get it again once it clears up.



The vax is typically given at the one-year appointment -- he'll be eleven months this week.  It's one of those things.


----------



## JustRob

So yesterday we drove home some 200 miles from our five day break and had the inevitable pile of washing to do. At about 8:15 this morning our water supply cut off, which did not please my angel at all. After four hours without water I did all the things recommended on the water company's website, which included asking our neighbours whether their water supplies were working, which strangely they were. There are only a few yards of pipe between our house and the main pipe in the road, so this was very odd. I phoned the company's emergency number and they agreed that it was odd and said they'd send a man round this afternoon. At 1:15, exactly five hours after the water cut off, it suddenly came back on, so I phoned the company again and they agreed with me that this was very strange and told me to let them know if it happens again in the future. Our neighbour, who looks after our cats while we are away, told us that during another of our holidays she had found that our water supply wasn't working when hers was.

Our house is semi-detached, so directly connected to our neighbour's. Next door to us on the other side is another pair of semi-detached houses and the stop-cock for the nearest is only a couple of yards from ours under the pavement at the end of our adjoining drives. The water supply to both of those houses also wasn't interrupted. It seems very peculiar to us that our house is connected to a different main supply pipe from the other three. Our neighbour offered to give us a bucket of water if the problem continued, but it occurs to me that if the reverse situation occurs and our house is the only one with water, then we will have neighbours queueing up for water. The other possibility is that all four houses are somehow connected to different main pipes in some strange contingency arrangement to ensure that someone in each road always has water even if some don't. However, the estate was built in the 1960's and even the water company don't appear to know how any of it works. We've only lived in the house for 46 years, so can hardly be expected to know all about such details yet, but we're evidently learning.

It's enough to drive a person to drink ... probably not water though.


----------



## bobo

Sound terribly French !!


----------



## Winston

Sunday, so we splurged on home-baked cinnamon rolls.  Tested and ran our generator, now that the weather is turning.  My wife made a new batch of laundry soap.
I'm off to gas-up the truck and fill our extra cans while my wife bottles the soap. Later, I'll package our garden seeds for next year.
Then, it's my daughter's and nephew's birthday party (they were born five days apart).  With Take and Bake pizza.  Yum.


----------



## dither

Nice one Winston, enjoy.


----------



## H.Brown

Winston said:


> Sunday, so we splurged on home-baked cinnamon rolls.  Tested and ran our generator, now that the weather is turning.  My wife made a new batch of laundry soap.
> I'm off to gas-up the truck and fill our extra cans while my wife bottles the soap. Later, I'll package our garden seeds for next year.
> Then, it's my daughter's and nephew's birthday party (they were born five days apart).  With Take and Bake pizza.  Yum.




Sounds like you have a jam packed day today.  What seeds are you bagging up? (if you don't mind me asking, I enjoy growing different things is all.)


----------



## Kevin

HeardBuzzwords: Love bomb... Ghosting... Swingers. The first two I had to look up. All three are current (again). None of them really seem unheard-of, outlandish...erm..thematically. Love bombing is an old technique used by cults. Ghosting is just something males naturally do. Females do it too. And swinging (snicker) ...it makes me laugh. (yeah baby, I am extremely uptight--only do the for-procreation bit , unless plied with drinks and/or cocaine) We have a couple of old-school swingers (couple of couples?) on our block, but these are 'new' swingers clustered in an exclusive neighborhood... anyway, they ( two wives) propositioned someone we know. 

And another good story in the uhm, 'justice files' : Guy ( someone we know)was at a blockparty/bar-b-que with neighbor's when one of them drunkenly confessed that it was he who had set up the burglary of the 'guy' in question's home some years earlier. The plastic yard chair upon which he was sitting split apart as the confessor crashed though (one punch) to the ground below. The police were called and the president of the neighborhood watch told them he hadn't seen a thing. The 'guy' ( who'd been burgled) pointed out that he was much scrawnier than the complainant, so how probable was it that he was the aggressor? And that was the end of it.


----------



## Winston

H.Brown said:


> What seeds are you bagging up? (if you don't mind me asking, I enjoy growing different things is all.)



Zucchini, tomato, jalapeno, green bean and cucumber.  We usually buy seed packets, but I wanted to try another level of sustainability.  Seed packets are cheap, but they are increasingly GMO and hybrid.  
We'll see next spring if I can get them to sprout.  
Now, it's off to the party...


----------



## Jack Dammit

Pretty cruise.


----------



## LeeC

Even after thirty years or so in New England, I'm not sure what "normal" weather is, but this summer seemed cooler and damper than usual, and fall is warmer and drier. Our organic garden didn't produce as much as in past years, likely because of the weather, but my natural garden outdid itself. Just before spring we had a good start with more maple sap than usual, and through the summer there was a good variety of pickings, like blueberries and sweet cicely. Now this fall I'm inundated with fruits and nuts, like peaches, oriental pears, plums, and hazelnuts. At the moment I've near a bushel basket of peaches on the kitchen counter, and am trying to eat as many as possible before they go bad. Also making and freezing peach cobbler, since I have plenty of sweet cicely at hand (I don't use sugar). There's still plenty of fruits and nuts on the trees for wildlife to enjoy. 

While writing this I heard a strange scratching from the dining room. Looking to see what it was, I saw a bat making passes at the bay window to eat the insects attracted there by the light. I left an electric candle in the window to attract insects, so the bats could fatten up. 

Oh, and a friend sent me five pounds of  Meco Chipotles. Gonna be a lot of great crock pot dinners through the winter 

Be away for a while around the beginning of November. Going in for another operation, and hopefully I'll catch up some with my reading. Good to get the operation in before the politicians start another war to get richer off of, and to distract the populace while they gut the medical care I've more than paid for in my working career. As I've said before, they're gonna be surprised if there is really a heaven. They'll be looking up at it of course :-({|=


----------



## JustRob

To continue the saga of our water supply ... today we received a phone call from the company to check that the air had cleared from the pipes after the supply returned yesterday. I said that it had but that I wanted to know why only our house was affected. A long discussion about airlocks in pipes then took place. The lady said that we should call them next time it happened so that they could investigate it, but I pointed out that it only seemed to happen on Sundays when only their emergency service was available, so the regular office staff would be unlikely to get involved. Eventually we agreed that an engineer would visit on Friday to find out which main pipe our supply comes from as their plans suggest that we could possibly be connected to the one for the next street along instead of our street. That all agreed we went shopping.

On our return there was a note in the door from the engineer who had called while we were out. It said that there was no problem with the supply to our house and the fault must be caused by our own plumbing. Duh, we know that there is no problem today because it miraculously went away yesterday, as I told the man on the emergency line during my second phone call then. So I phoned the company and they said that he hadn't cancelled the call-out for an engineer yesterday, who finally arrived this morning even though he wasn't needed. Of course he only checked that the supply was okay but not where it came from, so another engineer will still be coming on Friday to do that. Meanwhile the emergency line's operator from yesterday is going to get a ticking off from his boss for not cancelling this morning's wasted visit. Quite possibly the engineer who called this morning will be the same one who comes on Friday wondering why he's back again.

Even as I was typing this I heard strange noises from the pipes just now when my angel flushed the toilet. Apparently there's air in the pipes again. Oh, pass me that bottle and, no thanks, I don't want any water with it. Just give me some air.

To be continued ... no doubt.


----------



## bobo

Pipe Pixies - Merry Xmas 
Good idea though to have the water supply checked, knowing which ways it takes from the waterworks


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> Even after thirty years or so in New England, I'm not sure what "normal" weather is, but this summer seemed cooler and damper than usual, and fall is warmer and drier. Our organic garden didn't produce as much as in past years, likely because of the weather, but my natural garden outdid itself. Just before spring we had a good start with more maple sap than usual, and through the summer there was a good variety of pickings, like blueberries and sweet cicely. Now this fall I'm inundated with fruits and nuts, like peaches, oriental pears, plums, and hazelnuts. At the moment I've near a bushel basket of peaches on the kitchen counter, and am trying to eat as many as possible before they go bad. Also making and freezing peach cobbler, since I have plenty of sweet cicely at hand (I don't use sugar). There's still plenty of fruits and nuts on the trees for wildlife to enjoy.
> 
> While writing this I heard a strange scratching from the dining room. Looking to see what it was, I saw a bat making passes at the bay window to eat the insects attracted there by the light. I left an electric candle in the window to attract insects, so the bats could fatten up.
> 
> Oh, and a friend sent me five pounds of  Meco Chipotles. Gonna be a lot of great crock pot dinners through the winter
> 
> Be away for a while around the beginning of November. Going in for another operation, and hopefully I'll catch up some with my reading. Good to get the operation in before the politicians start another war to get richer off of, and to distract the populace while they gut the medical care I've more than paid for in my working career. As I've said before, they're gonna be surprised if there is really a heaven. They'll be looking up at it of course :-({|=


had to look up cicely...
The description was similar to our hemlock. We have celery (escaped wild, right at the water, in the mud) anise (escaped , wild, full sun; side of the road; yellow flowers, feathery leaves- stringy even) and hemlock ( tall like anise;white flowers, shade lover, near moisture, but not in it )And there is rarely caraway (which could never be mistaken for any of the others, being so low growing and most often up on hillside; north face, shade of rocks). No Queen Anne's lace; never.


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> had to look up cicely...
> The description was similar to our hemlock. We have celery (escaped wild, right at the water, in the mud) anise (escaped , wild, full sun; side of the road; yellow flowers, feathery leaves- stringy even) and hemlock ( tall like anise;white flowers, shade lover, near moisture, but not in it )And there is rarely caraway (which could never be mistaken for any of the others, being so low growing and most often up on hillside; north face, shade of rocks). No Queen Anne's lace; never.



Didn't even mention many of the other plants like Chicory and NJ Tea bush, but here is Sweet Cicely:

Common Name: Cicely, Sweet
Latin Name:        Myrrhis odorata 
Family:                Apiaceae or Umbelliferae (Carrot/parsley family)
Native To:            Central Europe


Basic Info:
A clumping herbaceous perennial growing to 3'h x 3'w, that is hardy to zone 4.  It prefers moist rich semi-shade soil, but grows well in most all moist soils in full sun to semi-shade conditions.  The flowers are hermaphrodite, and the seeds ripen from July to August (plants self-sow freely).  The plant produces fresh leaves from late winter to early the following winter, which can be be dried for later use.  


The anise-flavored foliage has been used as a sweetener for centuries in Europe before wide availability of refined sugar.  The leaves lose their flavor when the plant is in flower.  


Additional Info: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrhis_odorata

Beneficial companions: 
Clover, Nettles, Lovage, Yarrow.  


Usage:
Edibility:  Leaves (raw or cooked); Roots (raw or cooked); Seeds (raw or cooked).
Medicinal Indications: Antiseptic;  Carminative;  Expectorant;  Stomachic.
Other: Leaves and seeds make good polishes for wood.  
Drawbacks:  Dispersive. 
Vegetation Layer:  (H) clumping/running herbs above 6"
Nectary Calendar: Specialist, flowering in June through August.






-------------

Oh, and Queen Anne's Lace is also in the natural garden, being beneficial to and attracting wildlife. It's a beneficial companion to some other plants and an alternate host for pests and diseases to others, and can cause humans allergic reactions. Good and bad in everything, and Nature is that big gray area in-between our perspectives of black and white, which we've mostly lost the knowledge of benefits of. As you noted, Queen Anne's Lace is similar in appearance to Poison Hemlock, and can also be confused with  Woodland Chervil (Anthriscus sylvestris) which looks similar and is also alternately called Queen Anne's Lace.   Woodland Chervil is an exotic super-competitive dispersive plant that can take over a natural garden.


----------



## bobo

Kevin said:


> HeardBuzzwords: Love bomb... Ghosting... Swingers. The first two I had to look up. All three are current (again). None of them really seem unheard-of, outlandish...erm..thematically. Love bombing is an old technique used by cults. Ghosting is just something males naturally do. Females do it too. And swinging (snicker) ...it makes me laugh. (yeah baby, I am extremely uptight--only do the for-procreation bit , unless plied with drinks and/or cocaine) We have a couple of old-school swingers (couple of couples?) on our block, but these are 'new' swingers clustered in an exclusive neighborhood... anyway, they ( two wives) propositioned someone we know.
> 
> And another good story in the uhm, 'justice files' : Guy ( someone we know)was at a blockparty/bar-b-que with neighbor's when one of them drunkenly confessed that it was he who had set up the burglary of the 'guy' in question's home some years earlier. The plastic yard chair upon which he was sitting split apart as the confessor crashed though (one punch) to the ground below. The police were called and the president of the neighborhood watch told them he hadn't seen a thing. The 'guy' ( who'd been burgled) pointed out that he was much scrawnier than the complainant, so how probable was it that he was the aggressor? And that was the end of it.


----------



## JustRob

This year there have been so many incidents that have contributed to the writing of my novel in 2011 via my mental time-warp that I don't keep a record of them any more. However, an item on the lunchtime news today proved to me that they haven't stopped yet.

In my novel my main character falls into a coma and wakes up fifteen years later. Today it was reported that a new experimental treatment appears to have brought a man out of the persistent vegetative state in which he's been for the past fifteen years. It is a simple coincidence until I add that my novel implied that it was based on events that would happen in 2017 or before and I attribute my brain's weird behaviour to some as yet undiscovered aspect of neuroscience, just as this man's change demonstrates an advance in neuroscientific understanding. When I wrote the novel I did wonder whether fifteen years was stretching plausibility, but evidently not.

So, another day, another coincidence. I just shrug them off nowadays, they're such a regular part of my life. Back to the present then.

Guardian article


----------



## Plasticweld

http://www.cmt.com/shows/steve-aust...nge/cast#e5b34fd9-8a08-49d6-967b-a0019825927f

My daughter Cathy, or Cat as she is called by the rest of the world will be on national television on Oct 3rd 10 pm est.

If you click on her picture there is more info about her....Kind of cool for a dad anyway.


----------



## LeeC

Being a little dense it struck me today that maybe alternate realities aren't necessarily ignorance, but possibly escape from inconvenient truths. Could explain the following insight by Orwell. My mind wanders when I'm drawing.


----------



## Kevin

I climbed the hillside behind the new job I started a week ago and found not much on the hillside. The soil is decomposed granite with gopher-holes, some leftover wild grass turned yellow (looking fairly sparse), walnut (native) and a road that runs along one of the many crests (they are broken and twisted) of the mountains with homes. I recognized the location( at that point); I had driven it more than once many years earlier, a 'secret back-door' to get from Beverly Hills/sunset strip to Laurel Canyon. 

There are some unique homes (no tract-)up there with views of the mountains and the city. Catalina is at times visible. One house had an upper section cantilevered some 25' ( estimate) on steel 'I'- beams with some raw  20' 2x6 lumber 'scabbed' as 'posts' under the corners giving it the appearance of extremely shoddy support. Perhaps they had planned on bootlegging some sort of structure underneath, but the wood looked weathered, and was definitely not engineered. 

I took the road back down (into the canyon) and  passed by an Air Force base, which totally does not fit in a residential canyon neighborhood, but there it is. Wiki informed me that it was a Cold War facility that started as a radar defense..erh... something-or-other (too deep in a fold of the hills for an actual radar) back when Stalin was still after us. There are the remains of several 'silo' ( missle-) locations around this town that I know of. 

Later, they ( the Air Force) added a film production studio where 35 and 16 mm films were produced- all having to do with the Air Force and/ or, atom bombs ( photos of) and I'm not sure exactly what else. Hollywood people were involved at times, including Bob Hope, William Holden, James Stuart ( and some other names that most of the current population will have now, never have heard of...). The place is a couple of acres with a high fence, concertina wire, cameras,  electric gates, and signage saying something about after having gained entrance to '...not get out of your vehicle before the guard dogs are put away'. 

Apparently, one Jared Leto bought it and it is either a 50,000 square foot private home, or a drug rehab for the wealthy, or both. Who knows? Celebrities change houses as often as spouses (snicker).  

The place is on Wonderland ( if you don't believe me) ( and not to be confused with P. Pans or M. Jackson's former estate a couple of hours away) which is also known for a horrible crime scene/movie of the same name ( _Wonderland_, the movie). That place is also on the same block. Still there. 
So that was part of my day.


----------



## PiP

Today I persuaded hubby to take me to a trendy beach restaurant for lunch. I say trendy, but not in the way you'd expect. Restaurant Cabanas is located right on the beach and access is via an uneven dirt track which meanders through beautiful countryside with views down to the ocean. As well as the restaurant, there is also a chillout area with bean bags, hammocks and couches. AND, they have comfortable loungers with umbrellas for hire on the beach. Access via a dirt track may be the clue in that the beach is totally secluded, unspoilt and still at one with nature. I don't like commercialised beaches where concrete highrise grows out of the sand.

We've lived here 12 years and never knew this palce existed until we read an article in an Algarve magazine.
After a delicious lunch (fish and chips) washed down with a bottle of crips white wine we hired a sunbed for a few hours to chillax.


----------



## Sebald

Look at that sky. You're really lucky, Pip.


----------



## PiP

Yes, it was a perfect day as there was only a slight breeze with temps around 28C. As for the sky -  I've just realized I have a nice imprint of my thumb in the top LH corner! I don't know how the colour blue can be associated with feeling depressed or sad when you see a sky like that. It's like a field of bluebells or cornflowers.


----------



## JustRob

My angel and I are still coming down from our trip up to the West End of London on Thursday evening to see the musical _42nd Street_. It's showing at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which has the largest stage in the West End and it needs it for this show. I wondered how they would cope with the classic Busby Berkeley treatment of the song _Keep Young and Beautiful_, which in the 1933 film involved overhead camera shots. The answer was an enormous angled mirror suspended over the girls lying around the perimeter of the revolving stage. As a live performance it is absolutely brilliant throughout, a remarkable stage adaption of what was originally itself an incredibly ambitious film made to raise spirits in the depth of the depression years.


----------



## bobo

*Keep Young and Beautiful 1/3*

Became curious and wanted to hear the song you mentioned, then searched it up on youtube – and … may be you’ll like to hear them too 

Here you have the 1933 version of 
Keep Young and Beautiful in 2 editions :
1.
<font size="3"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms;">[video=youtube_share;TT2FFfzpzY0]https://youtu.be/TT2FFfzpzY0 [/video]


----------



## bobo

*Keep Young and Beautiful 2/3*

2. 
<font size="3"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms;">[video=youtube_share;oRMqCK_QMDk]https://youtu.be/oRMqCK_QMDk [/video]


----------



## bobo

*Keep Young and Beautiful 3/3*

And as a curiosum a 1992 version with Annie Lennox 

[video=youtube_share;R8jTNOjDRzk]https://youtu.be/R8jTNOjDRzk[/video]


----------



## dither

PiP said:


> Today I persuaded hubby to take me to a trendy beach restaurant for lunch. I say trendy, but not in the way you'd expect. Restaurant Cabanas is located right on the beach and access is via an uneven dirt track which meanders through beautiful countryside with views down to the ocean. As well as the restaurant, there is also a chillout area with bean bags, hammocks and couches. AND, they have comfortable loungers with umbrellas for hire on the beach. Access via a dirt track may be the clue in that the beach is totally secluded, unspoilt and still at one with nature. I don't like commercialised beaches where concrete highrise grows out of the sand.
> 
> We've lived here 12 years and never knew this palce existed until we read an article in an Algarve magazine.
> After a delicious lunch (fish and chips) washed down with a bottle of crips white wine we hired a sunbed for a few hours to chillax.
> 
> View attachment 19673
> 
> View attachment 19674
> 
> View attachment 19675




WOW!

What a life.


----------



## Winston

Cleaned out the rain buckets, they were gross.  Re-leveled them afterward.
Next is my workout, oil the bike chain and maybe tinker with the truck.
Boring.


----------



## andrewclunn

Make breakfast, swim class, gym, house cleaning, make lunch, grocery store, playground, make dinner...  Papa powers at full today.


----------



## BlondeAverageReader

*The things you see when you don't have a gun*

We went for a walk this morning, ended up watching as a Roe deer stag tore down a footpath towards us (it's a wide wooded path where a stream runs through the local housing estate) hotly pursued by a lurcher type dog who obviously couldn't believe its luck! As they passed a small white scruffy dog his basic instincts also clicked in, he was last seen putting on a remarkable turn of speed too. As we passed his worried owner we could only inform her that 'he went that way,'still flat out after a venison lunch. Shorty after the lurcher returned flat out in the other direction, no sign of his owner, but boy does he have something to dream about later!


----------



## JustRob

bobo said:


> Became curious and wanted to hear the song you mentioned, then searched it up on youtube – and … may be you’ll like to hear them too



If you aren't acquainted with Busby Berkeley musicals here's a YouTube summary of them. It's understandable why even a comparatively modest theatrical production of _42nd Street_ would need the largest stage in London's West End.

[video=youtube;PNCwYuXndP0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNCwYuXndP0[/video]


----------



## bobo

Thanks !!
That was a marvel - I surely like that - will see more of them later 
No don't know many musicals but singing in the rain and westside story 
My life hasn't exactly been to the lighter things


----------



## JustRob

bobo said:


> Thanks !!
> That was a marvel - I surely like that - will see more of them later
> No don't know many musicals but singing in the rain and westside story
> My life hasn't exactly been to the lighter things



Those 1933 musicals were produced to overcome a whole nation's depression and create optimism. Song and dance can still do that for anyone. Personally I believe in the sentiments behind the Village People song _You Can't Stop The Music_. Regardless of any opinions about the group themselves the lyrics of that song are difficult to deny. It's human nature.

[video]http://en.musicplayon.com/Village-People-Can-t-Stop-The-Music-Video-374616.html[/video]


----------



## Winston

I haven't felt like I could breath fully for the last couple days.  I'm calmer now, but still profoundly sad.  
I can't say anything anyone else hasn't already said, and all of us have thought.  The kooks have already stepped-up on the internet.  Maybe their constructed reality is how they cope.  
Some have been coping with anger, and a frothing case of "Do Something!" disease.  Making sense of... this.  Insanity.  
I just feel like Evil has caressed my cheek, and it's foul, rotten breath lingers.  I want a shower.  But they don't have showers that wash this away.  

Maybe society is slouching towards it's inevitable, and well deserved end.  That thought echoes in my head like a dying gasp in the cool desert air.  That's my day.


----------



## andrewclunn

Warning, rant to follow:




Perhaps I'm a sociopath, perhaps I'm jaded, maybe I'm just more honest with myself about how many people die tragically each day and strangers are just that to me.  When I hear outrage or a shaky voice from some talking head on tv, I assume an act.  Do people really care more about the dead when it's shown on tv?  Are the dead at a concert more deserving of mourning than any of the other countless murders?  Maybe people believe that their outrage could result in... something?  Of course it's always selectively applied.  If I met an adult in real life talking about how shaken they were about natural disaster x, suicide bombing y, or mass shooting z, I'd ask them who they knew who was affected.  If it was nobody, then I'd tell them to their face to grow the fuck up.  Give to charities, volunteer, but spare me whatever cry for condolence (for suffering you haven't endured) that is.  And that's assuming it's not self-serving virtue signalling.


----------



## PiP

> Maybe people believe that their outrage could result in... something?



 Watching news reports of families fleeing Syria in small boats to escape from persecution left it's mark on myself and my daughter. Watching footage of the  little children and mothers left in camps with very little supplies. Mothers who desperately arrive in a foreign lands after walking miles for freedom often losing loved ones who were too weak, ill or abused to make the journey. Yes, as a mother I think of my own children. My daughter and her friends cried for these mothers and started a charity, ActForREf
Other charities also take refugees into their homes - especially young girls and boys who arrive in a strange country alone.

So yes, sometimes it does result in something.

Some people are also moved to help people in disaster zones and reach out in different ways.



> Do people really care more about the dead when it's shown on tv?



I believe they do... but there is also this sense of helplessness as we become anesthetized to death. Hardly a day goes by without a report of a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, a murder, a senseless shooting, child abuse.... it just goes on and on...



> but spare me whatever cry for condolence (for suffering you haven't endured) that is. And that's assuming it's not self-serving virtue signalling.



That is what makes us human, Andrew...

ETA: When the Prime Minister offers condolences it is just an opportunity for another political broadcast. And no, they don't came across as being sincere.


----------



## aj47

andrewclunn said:


> Warning, rant to follow:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Perhaps I'm a sociopath, perhaps I'm jaded, maybe I'm just more honest with myself about how many people die tragically each day and strangers are just that to me.  When I hear outrage or a shaky voice from some talking head on tv, I assume an act.  Do people really care more about the dead when it's shown on tv?  Are the dead at a concert more deserving of mourning than any of the other countless murders?  Maybe people believe that their outrage could result in... something?  Of course it's always selectively applied.  If I met an adult in real life talking about how shaken they were about natural disaster x, suicide bombing y, or mass shooting z, I'd ask them who they knew who was affected.  If it was nobody, then I'd tell them to their face to grow the fuck up.  Give to charities, volunteer, but spare me whatever cry for condolence (for suffering you haven't endured) that is.  And that's assuming it's not self-serving virtue signalling.



There's a meme .... it's an empty "business end" of a truck and says something about the first shipment of "thoughts and prayers" has arrived.  I'm in the Harvey area.  That's .... yes.  

Also, I've mentioned this before.  I don't ask for thoughts/prayers and I don't pray for people.  My belief is that prayer is about informing your problems of deity, not the other way 'round as omni-foo[SUP]1[/SUP] beings don't need reminding of ... anything.

In other news, I'm going to North Dakota in December to visit my remote students.  My army daughter and grandbaby are leaving next Tuesday to go back to their home in Colorado.  And my other daughter announced her plans to move in with friends at the end of the year.


[SUP]1[/SUP] - *foo* is a placeholder (kinda like _*x*_ in algebra.


----------



## andrewclunn

Perhaps there's a way to retain empathy for strangers without feeling the depression of impotence.  Maybe a society can rally it's people through emotionally imagery and rhetoric without devaluing objectivity and misguiding them to flights of passion.  I have my doubts though, and have chosen this potentially isolating shield at a price I know all too well...

And it comes as no surprise that you see this as a fundamental part of being human.  Those of us who have chosen to limit the scope of our empathy don't all do it for selfish reasons.  You know I think I'll attempt to communicate this perspective via poetry.  I will edit this post with a link when it's done.

Edit - this was in response to pip from the previous page.


----------



## PiP

Andrew, it's maintaining an emotional balance by not allowing events that are out of our control to consume us. Yes, we can step, or at least try , into a victims shoes for just a second... but for the grace of God (choose a god of your choice, or not) go I. Empathy makes us human. However, I recognise that being bombarded with famine, death, destruction and terrorist acts etc. have the potential to impact on our daily lives when they are streamed lived into our homes. It is for this reason I live on the edge of nowhere and ra rely watch the news.


----------



## Darkkin

Just got a standing perscription for IV nitro.   :sour:     Up until a couple of weeks ago my angina was a regular occurrence, not absolutely chronic as it has been...It was recurrent, but there were moments of respite, now I don't even have that.  Ugh.  I want to be done with this shit.


----------



## The Green Shield

Darkkin said:


> Just got a standing perscription for IV nitro.   :sour:     Up until a couple of weeks ago my angina was a regular occurrence, not absolutely chronic as it has been...It was recurrent, but there were moments of respite, now I don't even have that.  Ugh.  I want to be done with this shit.


I just looked it up...

I’m sorry about that. :[ Hope you do get done with that shit soon.


----------



## andrewclunn

PiP said:


> Andrew, it's maintaining an emotional balance by not allowing events that are out of our control to consume us. Yes, we can step, or at least try , into a victims shoes for just a second... but for the grace of God (choose a god of your choice, or not) go I. Empathy makes us human. However, I recognise that being bombarded with famine, death, destruction and terrorist acts etc. have the potential to impact on our daily lives when they are streamed lived into our homes. It is for this reason I live on the edge of nowhere and ra rely watch the news.



This is REALLY rough, but:

I see people giving their stories to late night propaganda pimps,
so they can whore out their personal tragedies.
Well I stopped feeling, "sorry for your loss,"
the moment you claimed it gave you power over me.
We're told to control our hate and our fear.
Maybe we should try controlling our empathy.

Six dead over the weekend, but not on the news.
Nobody knows, so it's like nobody died.
A "special segment" where a dog beats cancer,
pass the tissues, we're all so inspired.

I didn't kill my humanity.  I embraced the truth,
and couldn't care less if you're judging me.
I'm just honest enough to say I don't know strangers.
I care about myself, my friends, and my family.
It's the people I know, the people I can hug,
who are the ones deserving of my comradery.

Crying to make your argument... more powerful?
Grow up and grow a spine.
That manipulative bullshit might fool some,
but it don't play with me and mine.

So keep lapping up every tragic or outrageous event
that's so important for like two days on TV.
Every comedian, every news anchor saying the same thing
The echo chamber's how they enforce homogeneity.
I'll be paying attention to the place where I live,
the things that affect me in my community.

When so much of your life is consuming the news
your identity becomes your political tribe.
I'd rather have fewer friendships and fewer connections
based on real experiences we've shared in our lives.


----------



## PiP

Andrew, the media needs to fill the airtime with something... whether it be PC agitators, the human rights of a terrorist or death and destruction... I wonder if there is any happy news? As I said we become anesthetized and to that end we no longer feel. 
and submit to Rattle.


----------



## sas

Darkkin said:


> Just got a standing perscription for IV nitro.   :sour:     Up until a couple of weeks ago my angina was a regular occurrence, not absolutely chronic as it has been...It was recurrent, but there were moments of respite, now I don't even have that.  Ugh.  I want to be done with this shit.




I've no words, Darkkin, no words.  
.


----------



## Darkkin

sas said:


> I've no words, Darkkin, no words.
> .



I have one.  Ow...


----------



## Firemajic

Darkkin said:


> I have one.  Ow...




I agree with sas.... I wish I had something fabulous to say, but I don't... Hang in there... wow, that sounds stupid... anyway, I wish you strength to get through what you have to endure.. *HUGS*....


----------



## sas

My Day:

Met with a new Detroit writers group today. Think I'll fit in as it is a very eclectic (hope eccentric, too) group. A little of everyone. Seem talented. Smiles. sas


----------



## Firemajic

sas said:


> My Day:
> 
> Met with a new Detroit writers group today. Think I'll fit in as it is a very eclectic (hope eccentric, too) group. A little of everyone. Seem talented. Smiles. sas




OH, I think you will fit in just fabulously... and if they are NOT eccentric, they will be ... they are lucky to have you.... I expect you to keep me posted... please...


----------



## Robbie

I think most people are more shocked by _how _the people die, the easy access to guns etc. But there is genuine empathy and compassion for the victims as well. It is humanity responding to humanity. I don’t find it difficult to feel concern for people outside of my little corner. I even cry at movies. Every tragedy, there is no small tragedy, is equally painful.


----------



## Sebald

Hope everyone is well. I had a pretty good day today.


----------



## The Green Shield

Sebald said:


> Hope everyone is well. I had a pretty good day today.


Cat. 2 Hurricane Nate is coming toward me.


----------



## JustRob

My angel offered to buy me a mobile phone for my imminent birthday as I have never owned one, almost always being with her and seldom wanting to talk to anyone else. I almost exclusively use online facilities through WiFi networks to communicate remotely with other people, so I have no specific reason to incorporate a mobile phone into my extensive digital technology. In fact she has herself considered emailing me instead of talking just to get a written record of what we discuss and agree because we seem to disagree about it later more frequently nowadays. There is something to be said for discussions that have textual transcripts and timestamps. Regardless of whether this trend indicates that one of us is getting senile, I did think that as I am now in my seventies there may be the odd occasion when a basic pay-as-you-go mobile phone might prove useful.

Anyway, she left me to choose a phone and order it online, which I did today. During that process I was filling in my personal details on the website and then got to a question "Mobile Phone Number". Er, but ...


----------



## Tiashe

Pretty stressful. Got 40 hours to finish researching for and start writing and completing this 2000 word essay. ~_~


----------



## The Green Shield

Aight, change of plans for my fantasy: Mishu Jerni is not an orphan, she has parents and she lives with them by the docks in the capital.


----------



## Darkkin

Nitro is running on my PICC and I'm killing brain cells streaming _Mysterious Cities of Gold_​.


----------



## sas

Darkkin said:


> Nitro is running on my PICC and I'm killing brain cells streaming _Mysterious Cities of Gold_​.



Well, perhaps between the two, you are in balance.


----------



## JustRob

Today I realised that there is a beautiful allegorical aspect to my one novel that I have never noticed before. It explains why the first chapter is chronologically out of place with respect to the rest of the story and why the first character portrayed in it is not my protagonist. That's the enjoyment of including strong pantser influences in one's writing; one may later find that they are just useless dross, but there is also the possibility that they contain gems that one didn't and even couldn't intentionally plan. 

Whether any other reader would see in my story what I have now is difficult to say, but perhaps they would if they heeded the advice in that first chapter to look at things reflected in a mirror by the light of an eclipsed moon. That chapter can be read HERE by the way, but don't expect to see anything in just that; the words "about something else" beneath the novel title are a clear warning. 

The eclipse of the moon mentioned in the story opening actually occurred on the 28th September 2015 while I was revising that first chapter, just weeks before posting the new version, but remarkably the character Lucine herself mentioned in the original novel back in 2011 that she was conceived during an eclipse of the moon. While eclipses of the moon occur quite often this particular eclipse was a rare total eclipse of a supermoon, so a so-called "super blood moon", which would at least have provided a little more light on my text than a regular eclipse. The connection between a super blood moon and that prediction in the 2011 novel is too complicated to explain here, but has nothing to do with astrology to my knowledge.

So, without writing a word more of my novel I am feeling a little smugger about it today, having understood its allegorical aspects myself a little better. The bottom line then is always to read what you have written with fresh eyes that don't just see what you thought you wrote but also and especially what you actually did. That way you will see not just the awful gaffs that need correction but also occasionally hidden pearls that may surprise you. Such pearls may even inspire you to build on them within the rest of the story, much as an oyster would, to increase its value.


----------



## Winston

For some unfathomable reason, a few folks I commute with "run-walk" to get on our ferry to the shipyard.  Head down, arms and legs swinging.  It's nonsensical.  The boat leaves at the same time every day.

This morning, I saw the telltale ripples of a Harbor Seal that had just dove beneath the water by the dock.  As I walked. I could see a seal gently gliding just beneath me.  To my surprise, I saw another a few feet farther away just below the surface.  Their grey forms glided soundlessly past the pier, then down deep into the Puget Sound.

As I looked up, I saw I had just been "passed' by one of the Usual Suspects.  Huffing and swinging.  He'd get on the boat before me.  Good for him.


----------



## EllaLouis

Winston,
Sounds like a place to take your time, not half-walk half-run!

And to whoever else hangs out here, I am proud of myself: I have gone back to writing and posting poems in English again, after a period of posting nothing and writing very little (and that in Norwegian, with only one person besides me reading).

Many of you know that different languages make you a different person/poet.

It was interesting how I am more adult and complex in my second language (having studied it, worked in it, been married for 22 years speaking it almost exclusively at home) -- while in my first language, Norwegian, I feel a bit younger, a bit simpler and very exposed to what others think (as if back in my village).
Even if (or maybe that was why?) I only showed them to one person!

Ella Louis


----------



## Darkkin

My primary bookcase (10 foot oak and brick tri level) has been packed up and dismantled.  My library is in boxes.  I'm stuck strickly with digital medium reading material for the next five days. 

 :sorrow:


----------



## LeeC

Last evening on social media I posted a recommendation for the book "Democracy In Chains" by the noted Duke University history chair, preceding it with "Do you value American self rule?"  Within minutes several others (I can only assume from the alternate facts crowd) replied to my post bashing the book and the author. I remember the attacks on Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," and the motivation behind them, and these were similar. I don't reply to that sort of thing normally because it's a case of playing chess with a pigeon: "“Never play chess with a pigeon because it just knocks the pieces over, then shits all over the board and struts around like it won."

Lo and behold though, their attacks had the opposite effect intended. Just overnight it was retweeted and the retweets retweeted enough to rack up 3800 + impressions (persons viewing the post). It's heartening to see their are still many reasoned people out there. 

I don't normally post politically related bits on social media, and never retweet other's bozo memes because I think they are in bad taste and distract from the bigger issue of overall corrupted government. This "regime" pissed me off though, enough to post what I did, because they're accelerating trashing the world my grandson will have to get by in. I'm wondering if this whole insane thing will turn out to be a good thing, waking up enough otherwise complacent, reasoned people to get us back to at least a positive keel. I hope so for our children's sake. 

In comparison, my post recommending the book "The Sixth Extinction, An Unnatural History" has taken over a month to rack up 10,000 impressions, a tenth that of last nights post. Maybe many don't want to know too much ;-) 


So you don't get the wrong impression, I don't "hang out" on social media. I devote no more than a couple hours a day for branding exposure, for when I'm ready to release Togwotee Passage. Accumulating followers is slow for me, because I'm a bit picky about who I follow and retweet.

Gotta get back to my illustrating. Take care all


----------



## The Green Shield

I am friggin' PUMPED about my Colonial mystery!  Talking about it with a fellow writer has really gotten the creative juices flowing.


----------



## JustRob

This evening I went up to London to hear a talk at the Society for Psychical Research given by Ed May, who was for most of its duration the director of the US military Stargate project, which employed psychics as remote viewing spies during the cold war. He is a very good speaker and very amusing and, being a man in great demand, was at the SPR in London while on his way to a function in Europe. When the CIA eventually took charge of Stargate from the military they claimed that it had achieved nothing useful and closed it down but, as they say, they would, wouldn't they? At the beginning of his talk Ed photographed the audience with his phone, saying, "That's for the CIA. Now they'll know who you all are."

On my way to the talk I boarded a crowded underground train during the peak evening period and a younger man ahead of me was about to take the last vacant seat when he saw me and offered it to me. I declined his offer but he insisted, so I sat down with him standing in front of me. I mentioned to him that there were times nowadays when I would welcome finding a seat as I will be seventy-three in a week's time. He told me that I was looking good for my age. "If that's the case," I said, "why did you offer me your seat?" He laughed.


----------



## Winston

I met my daughter's boyfriend.  He is heavily inked, with gauges.  But, he employed and seems genuinely nice.
The latter outweighs the former.


----------



## Plasticweld

Winston said:


> I met my daughter's boyfriend.  He is heavily inked, with gauges.  But, he employed and seems genuinely nice.
> The latter outweighs the former.



Daughters and boyfriends..... I don't miss that phase of life.


----------



## aj47

My older daughter and grandson have been gone a week.  It's a lot calmer here without her and I have more time for myself.  I've not really used it for anything except chillin' but that will change soon--I'm not certain in what ways.

On Saturday, I'm attending a guitar circle.  I'm not sure what that entails yet, but I'll find out then.  It's organized through Meet-Up and will be all afternoon.  I'm looking forward.


----------



## andrewclunn

I've finished reading the book I was into.  Guess I'll write a review soon.  Got to the gym, which I hadn't been to for three days (life's busy with a two year old).  Project at work is going well.  All in all a pleasant day.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Today is a goood day. The sun is out, breezy southern wind, no contrails, almost everything is still green in spite of mid October and while I had to run home in the middle of the day to meet the roofers, they found and repaired the leak, warranty work.


----------



## escorial

Woman lost her footing on the step into the Jacuzzi today but she managed to hold on to the rail..if she went she was heading right my way an it would have been the first time in ages a woman was all over me...


----------



## PiP

Today was my wedding anniversary. Went for a delicious meal and had supernice bottle of red wine


----------



## Robbie

Congratulations to you and your husband Carole.


----------



## RHPeat

That's a ditto from me Carole. Have a great evening. 
a poet friend
RH Peat


----------



## H.Brown

View attachment 19832

About to get better with homemade shortbread biscuits.


----------



## escorial

You a domestic goddess HB...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Look good to  me, there are a couple of edges, that would be the ones across the back in our oven, it's getting the turning round timed right.


----------



## aj47

PiP said:


> Today was my wedding anniversary. Went for a delicious meal and had supernice bottle of red wine



Sounds *lovely*.  Congratulations!


As usual, I'm up early.  However, I don't have class this morning as my school district has a teacher's convention (I'm a volunteer, and remote, so I'm not invited).   I was hoping to sleep in.

Hannah, your lovely baking reminded me..... I made nearly a dozen loaves of beer bread for my students (I have seven) and their staff in ND. and UPSed the lot to them.  I didn't even get one thank you.

Teenagers.  I had to ask if they even got the box because I didn't get an acknowledgement.


----------



## H.Brown

They go very nicely eith a cup of coffee and I needed to take them out a tad bit sooner Olly to be honest.

Domestic goddess I think not Esc,I just enjoy baking snack food, it's cheaper than buying it premade. 

I work with small children annie instead of teenagers but I can imagaine that they didn't even know how their silence had affected you. Teenagers can be quite oblivious at times.


----------



## Kevin

Upon first glance we colonial barbarians would not know a 'shortbread' from a slightly burnt unwrapped Twinkie..perhaps flattened. But then I've heard you 'lot' know nothing of American nozzle-food. I'll tell you this, I'm not sure they're so much as cooked, but rather _heat-treated_. Doesn't that sound good, mm? Care for a nozzle-made Twinkie and a red bull, perhaps some Monster? Put hair on your chest- blow a gasket.


----------



## aj47

Spoken like a yankee.   Real shortbread has a lot of butter or "shortening" in it.


----------



## Kevin

I've had shortbread-love it- but being 'merican can't stop myself-eat the whole 'tin' - get yelled at by the wife- goes straight to my thighs...have to ...'not-have' shortbread (snif)


----------



## aj47

It's not the shortening that makes them less healthy; it's the starches.  And having one is probably okay but not raiding the jar.

Last night, astroandy ate a family-sized pizza because "no one told him it was family-sized" and it was a pizza and no one was there to claim any of the other pieces.  So when our son returned from class, he made himself tacos because there was no pizza left.  

Now I know why desiccant packets say "do not eat".


----------



## H.Brown

Everything can be good in moderation. 

I've eaten five already.


----------



## sas

Eating tip. Or, how not to eat, tip.

I have a foodie for a partner. Yes, he is morbidly obese (medical term...most do not know that). When he orders something I think I shouldn't eat...like pizza....I just smear Vicks under my nose. If I see pizza, it has no effect. But....if I smell it....I'm eating it. Older people start to eat less because their sense of smell and taste deteriorate. Can't happen soon enough. I'm tired of practicing restraint. Good thing Vicks is cheap.


----------



## aj47

I was the oldest and we never had enough so I was trained to forego.  But your tip might make it easier.


----------



## Darkkin

I love the process and smell of food.  And that is often enough for me.  Vicarious enjoyment.  Generally, I do well with nonfat dairy, cereal grains, and fresh fruits and veggies (raw).  With my HFHC I need to be careful with what I eat and I know my triggers for angina. Red meat, tomatoes oddly enough, and eggs.  Textures also limit what I am willing to try, as well.  A bowl of cereal with fresh fruit or an apple with a piece of cheese is pretty typical for a meal.  No dishes to clean up.


----------



## Darren White

I'm a foodie out of necessity. Food and l are in constant battle. 
I make terribly healthy food like hummus and pita. Also I make soup with almost all sorts of vegetables. Hardly any meat, no thanks. 
Nuts, cheese,  yogurt.
That's it.

Ohhhh, and ice cream


----------



## PiP

I am most definitely a foodie; cooking, growing and eating! the only thing I really won't eat through choice is roast pork and beef. I much prefer meat disguised in sauces as the thought of chewing animal... I'd rather not think about. 

Darren, I also love humus, although I've never tried to make my own pitta bread.

Sas, I love the idea of the vick to prevent the tempting smells. I am told it is also a good cold prevention remedy. 

Darkkin, interesting you mention tomatoes trigger your angina. My husband suffers with heart problems (6 stents). He was taking a supplement which included tomatoes... and he had a reaction


----------



## Kevin

I too, would be morbidly obese, but my wife insists we have constant sex. ( lol) ouch! I feel like I'm one of the Beatles, being chased around (so damn annoying) and she's constantly fist-fighting with the other ladies, you know, wants me all to herself. Yeah, I look like a greyhound. Ladies... That's the secret.


----------



## PiP

Kevin said:


> I too, would be morbidly obese, but my wife insists we have constant sex. ( lol) ouch! I



You guys make me laugh. So a way to a  man's heart IS through his stomach...


----------



## Phil Istine

Ever seen "Alien"?


----------



## PiP

Phil Istine said:


> Ever seen "Alien"?



No....


----------



## Robbie

I make hummus too....much better than store bought but haven’t made pita yet. I stock up on chickpeas and carrots. Just blend with spices and yogurt. Oh and red pepper fires it up a bit, but not too much. Darren, I prefer Sherbet to ice cream.


----------



## Darren White

Robbie said:


> Darren, I prefer Sherbet to ice cream.


 Lemon and lime yes, yummm


----------



## PiP

I've tried to make icecream ... sadly it is just ice crystals and not very creamy.


----------



## Kevin

PiP said:


> I've tried to make icecream ... sadly it is just ice crystals and not very creamy.


Seems like a lot of work for little payoff. Even the electric models( cripes..I vaguely remember hand-cranking some contraption forever...rock salt , lots of rock salt).


----------



## PiP

rock salt... why rock salt?


----------



## aj47

To lower the temperature of the ice/water slurry.


----------



## PiP

astroannie said:


> To lower the temperature of the ice/water slurry.



Ah, okay. I'll see if they sell it in Portugal.


----------



## aj47

We have an electric ice cream churn.  This is the instruction set, from our home wiki, of how to freeze/harden ice cream with it.  The hand cranked ones work the same way except the 20-40 minutes is people taking turns running a hand-crank instead of the electric motor running.  When it gets too hard to crank, it's time to let it firm up.



			
				annie's home wiki said:
			
		

> *How to Make Ice Cream*
> 
> 
> You will need approx 8-12 lbs of ice and 3 cups of rock salt to make ice cream. (Plus 4 lbs of ice and 1 cup of salt to harden ice cream)
> Prepare your favorite recipe.
> Pour ice cream mixture into canister and insert dasher.  (Hot stuff needs to be chilled)
> Place cover on canister and make sure it's snapped firmly.
> Place filled canister in center of bucket.
> Assemble motor over canister with dasher shaft inserted into the hole in the bottom of the motor.  Turn motor counter-clockwise to engage and lock the motor onto the bucket.  Place in an area with good drainage.
> Plug in.   Allow ice cream to churn for 1-2 minutes before adding ice to the bucket.
> Distribute about 1-2" of ice around canister and sprinkle with 1/2 cup rock salt.  Repeat layers until canister is covered.
> Churn for 20-40 minutes---till motor stops or nearly stops.
> Unplug.  Remove motor by turning it clockwise.  Remove any salt, ice or water from the cover before removing the cover.
> Lift out dasher and scrape clean with rubber spatula.
> To harden ice cream, make to pack it in canister and cover canister.  Plug cover.
> Drain water from the bucket through drain hole.
> Add additional layers of ice and salt covering canister and cover.
> For additional insulation cover with a towel or newspaper.  Allow 1-2 hours.


----------



## Darkkin

I taught myself how to rewire a lamp using youtube.    One of my favourite lamps, an antique dresser lamp the once belonged to my great grandma, shorted out today.  As it is the lamp I use to read I didn't want to wait around for someone else to fix it and there is no way I'm ever going to consider replacing that particular pair of lamps.  I've had them as long as I can remember, so I went to the hardware store picked up the supplies and googled.

Imagine my surprise when my lamp turned on again!  Given my arts and crafts impairments I was shocked I got this to actually work.


----------



## SilverMoon

I woke up this morning on the right side of the bed, falling off, laughing after awakening from a dream that I was back with Joey D. (the guy I should have married). The only problem was that he turned into a cell phone. 

I expect it will be a wonderful day, as it was yesterday, after having woken from a dream that Trump pushed the First Lady, dressed in a clown suit with full clown face out into the Rose Garden.

Have a good day everyone!


----------



## Kevin

I got off early and drove to spot closer to the mountain road I wanted to ride. To get there you follow a long canyon road that used to be surrounded by open land on both sides up above the canyon. Down in the canyon there are a lot of horse properties and private road/residents only signs. 

I hadnt been been through there in a year or two. 

Large trucks passed me comng down the canyon, filled dirt; about one every five to ten minutes. Most of the horse stables appeared unused, weeds growing. I actually didn't see any horses. There is a high point just as start of the canyon road ( the creek bottom is several hundred yards off, and below). It overlooks a neighborhood with do it yourselfer ttoe homes ( no sewers) on the other side of the creek. Beyond that, further out of the city and toward the mountains,is a large sort-of flat land. There had once been one or two houses, just the foundations left after one of the fires. They are building several hundred homes. Machinery-bulldozers, graders, trucks, some sort of stone or concrete grinder with a conveyor belt were busy. The last hill of the neighborhood had its homes razed; the bridge across the creek replaced. 
That was to the left of me. 

To to the right the new homes were already there , but further up toward the base of the mountains, the construction continues. It's been about ten years. 

I finally got got past the canyon, and the abandoned ranches/horse corrals; stables. One of the trails I used to ride is blocked; the top end of it is part of the tract, anyway, so there's no way through. 

It was steep with loose rocks over rutted hardback, and I remember coming down it and there was a rider on very skittish horse. I stopped and got off my bike to not scare him, them,  and the rider was appreciative. They have the right-of-way, I'd told her. There was a grove of olive trees at the top, something leftover from the homestead era. I wonder if they're still there...
...
Coming back down the mountain at a cattle gate I saw that a group of them were gathered at the open corral next to it. There was about s dozen. They had been out on the mountainside on my way up. 

There's only one road. 

Longhorns. I stopped as they eyed me. I had to go through so I passed hoping that none of them were aggressive bulls. There was a calf and the one longhorns nearest me didn't seem afraid with her milk-cow looking teats. I passed about ten feet away. 

This is is far back from the city, maybe five miles, and below deep in another canyon, I saw the sorce of the dirt-loaded dump trucks, what was another secluded ranch property, now being sculpted. I wondered if this was part of the other development but I don't think so. Together they are a couple-thousand acres; at least. 

This is all land that unless you came up here you can't see it. 

It was getting close to sunset and the equipment kept going. I wonder if they're working round the clock? Housing can be so fickle. These are million-dollar homes.

When I got back to my truck I saw that a couple of more cars had parked. Poor people cars and one suspect R.V. Next to where I parked was a stable. And there's a paved bike path next to the fenced off concrete creek bed, now a storm channel. I think it's a good spot. I don't know. Maybe the residents call the cops on parked cars because of the homeless. I guess I'll be alright only parking there once in awhile.


----------



## The Green Shield

Pre-research anxiety. :[ I just realized I have to do research about 1821 Paris, France before I begin my story and the anxiety is rising. I know some recommendations (ie, Dumas books like 'The Count of Monte Cristo') but the general anxiety is there. Telling me I don't have time, I won't ever have time. Or that I'm just fooling myself.




Logically, I know I need to do this; I'll tackle this like it's a research project for college (as I used to do), but..




I'm just overwhelmed with what I need to do. Help?! D:


----------



## escorial

watched a cat out the window while ironing in the kitched...boiled some pasta then came into the city bought some onions an a book..banksy wall and piece..popped into the library and i'm writing this just now...


----------



## aj47

As you can see, I got my hair cut.  Not really short, but shorter.  And I have new shoes--my old ones sprang a hole.


----------



## TuesdayEve

As migration has begun, an unusual sighting, a pair of swans in the retention pond.


----------



## Winston

Just caught my son singing along to Elvis in the shower.  
He has a girlfriend now.  Probably no connection there.


----------



## SueC

My cat Penny let me sleep until 7. It used to be 5, but she's a bit kinder lately. So I got up, started the coffee, plopped a bit of wet food on her dry food, and she thanked me. Spent the day listening to the wind and sure enough the first frost is coming this weekend. Turned on Celtic Women and danced and sang while I changed sheets and cleaned a bit. Gotta get out of this place.


----------



## SueC

Elvis? this is so refreshing.


----------



## aj47

My copies of Spitball have arrived.  See !!!!

My story is in the staple/middle.    How cool is that?!?  With an illustration.


----------



## sas

Thrilled for you! Thumbs up!


----------



## yfc54

Are you all shook up about it?


----------



## yfc54

Just caught my son singing along to Elvis in the shower. 
He has a girlfriend now. Probably no connection there.​


Are you all shook up about it?


----------



## -xXx-

_i'm_ all shook up about it.
jussayin'


----------



## sas

Bet few danced to "All Shook Up" when it first came out,  like I did. LOL


----------



## SueC

I danced to everything he sang; still do


----------



## Kevin

Fats Domino has died. Inspired thousands of young males to study maps in search of fabled "Blueberry Hill". Helped popularize the slow-grind dance craze. Daughters everywhere, were returning home with strawberry necks..Turn off the lights, please ( or turn 'em down): _Ah found mah threelz...

_My day is awesome. Wife and Mil flew off to misery , excuse me ...Missouri, on a mini-vaca(y). I will continue with my normal routine. Table Rock Lake is a beautiful place. After my many 'all lumped and itchy' experiences  in the U.P. , I thought it amazing that there were no mosquitos in the woods ( Missouri woods). Who'd of thunk?


----------



## JustRob

I hadn't visited another website to which I belong for over a year and when I did today I discovered that someone had posted a message on one of my threads a couple of months ago and I hadn't received any email notification about it, which was probably my fault, so hadn't responded. In my absence I was getting talked about in the third person on my own thread like I might be dead or something. I may have to start a thread on that site now entitled "So ... How'd your year go?"


----------



## aj47

Today is the end of the grading period ... done grading except for that one s...tudent who hasn't turned in his extra credit he specifically wanted.  Um, my bedtime is Real Soon Now ...


----------



## LeeC

astroannie said:


> Today is the end of the grading period ... done grading except for that one s...tudent who hasn't turned in his extra credit he specifically wanted.  Um, my bedtime is Real Soon Now ...


Come on Annie, have a heart


----------



## aj47

He didn't get it turned in after my bedtime, neither.  Not My Problem.


----------



## escorial

I thought FD died in the floods in new Orleans a while back.


----------



## The Green Shield

astroannie said:


> He didn't get it turned in after my bedtime, neither.  Not My Problem.


Goooood....Gooooood.... 

The hate is swelling in you now....

Join the Dark Side and you will achieve a power greater than any Jedi...


----------



## aj47

No hate -- they're all my favorite students.  I'm done checking that email box though.


----------



## SueC

Yesterday I talked to a vet with ptsd in the lobby of my apartment building. He was telling me about how he signed up for three tours of duty and his mom was furious with him. But he was drinking a lot then. As he talked, his eyes teared up. He didn't look like he was crying, but tears were streaming down his cheeks. He once told me I was too nice to know, and didn't speak to me for months. I will keep trying though. He's a nice man


----------



## Plasticweld

I am in Vt. this weekend working on our barn at snowmobile camp.  The weather is cool and chrisp and the sky is that perfect shade of blue.  Even though I work outside all the time, I still appreciate it and enjoy it.


----------



## Olly Buckle

That same sort of clear blue, with golden sun on the tops of the trees, here. Groups of people hanging round the village centre att day and young men driving up and down standing in the back of lorries looking 'important'. Bonfire night tonight. 

For those that don't know, in East Sussex there are bonfire societies who work all year to a march, a bonfire, and a massive firework display. In our village there is fancy dress competition in the village hall beforehand. It's kicking off, I can hear the drums, that will be a contingent from Hastings; Westfield usually sends the silver band


----------



## Winston

Watched a few episodes of _Rick and Morty _on Youtube.  
My daughter has the first two seasons at her boyfriend's house.  She must return them.  I am now addicted.


----------



## Crowley K. Jarvis

Winston said:


> Watched a few episodes of _Rick and Morty _on Youtube.
> My daughter has the first two seasons at her boyfriend's house.  She must return them.  I am now addicted.



Beware, you may find that your IQ slowly becomes Einstein level.


----------



## Winston

Crowley K. Jarvis said:


> Beware, you may find that your IQ slowly becomes Einstein level.



I can afford to lose a few points.  It'll be worth it.


----------



## Plasticweld

We had a great weekend and got a lot done.  Neither Jim or I are carpenters so this turned into a pretty big project for us. It is 88 feet by 44 feet.  Both of us are bosses who always tell others what to do, and are experts in our fields. Neither of us are sure about anything when it comes to something like this, except that we are both right all the time.  It  makes for some pretty interesting dialog when you have two best friends who are both convinced the other guy doesn't know what hell he is talking about.


----------



## SueC

My day was awesome! Backing up, on Wednesday night my television decided it was time to retire and went to the black hole of TV land. Still got volume but no picture. TV tech said my LCD "blew" and the only answer was a new TV. So I struggled watching TV on my computer, nothing local of course, but a lot of movies on Netflix, et al. I wanted it to work, I wanted to be economical and not so needy, but I finally said "no more!" I needed news, and weather and stuff. Then I looked at my checking account. Lower than a "snakes belly in a wagon rut," and I couldn't see a way to make it happen. So I went to my savings; my cherished small lump and struggled with want vs. need. Want won out, and I transferred the funds to my checking account for the purchase. Then, a ray of sunshine poked it's way through the morass. My children stepped up!! They said they would all pay for my new TV; early Christmas. So my day was awesome, as are my children.


----------



## Kevin

My day was fine. Someone I know, not-so-much. His daughter is 15 and becoming a nightmare. She was such a sweet, intelligent thing last year, and now she's gone off the deep end; become a sociopath monster. I see very bad things in her future, and I'm sorry for it. I have a nephew that went a similar route. It is ten years later and he is on drugs and homeless. It started with the cutting classes, grades plummeting,  lying, getting caught, and lying some more. Every thing he wanted, every whim, he went for it, selling his personal items and saying they were stolen. His parents kept buying him replacements. I always said that the both of them had fallen off the turnip truck right on their heads- they were so gullible. But, I think now, ultimately, it didn't matter. He would have been where he is eventually. For instance : who chooses to stick heroin in their arm? That is a definite choice the first time.


----------



## Plasticweld

Kevin, that is tough to see... I have witnessed the same self destructive behavior.  I have always equated it to someone watching the other guy put his hand on the stove, burning it badly, then somehow being convinced he was not going to burn their hand. 

Sometimes the simple stuff is not so simple, nor is the ability to take advantage of the other guys mistakes always there. 


Sue that really is good news.  Linda and I went for years without tv, no noble choice on our part.  The house I live in is in a gully with steep hills on both sides, so no reception.  A few years ago the cable company needed to use part of our land to run a new cable line to go from the tower at the top of the hill to get to the people at the bottom of the hill downtown.  I let the use it for free provided they hook our house up.  We still paid a bill, way too much for a long time.  Now we do basic and the internet.  Something seems wrong when the cable bill is more than what we paid for a months rent when we were first married.  

Congratulations on raising your kids to see what matters, that was very nice of them and says much about how they were raised. :}


----------



## The Green Shield

So ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ has been released on the X-Box One.



Time to be a Jedi, I guess.


----------



## Kevin

Plastic- you live down in a holler. I think that what it's called. I bet it's awesome. I was looking at the barn. I wondered if you had borrowed the design. Getting the pieces up, like the ridge and the roof sheathing ( it's plywood up there , right? ) is heavy work. They make us use plywood instead off a piece set at an angle to deal with the walls wracking. Imagine the whole structure  getting the 'carpet' underneath it yanked back and forth violently and you get some idea of earthquake forces. With post and beam they make us engineer the the connections( same reason). Bolts and saddles- metal..  Barn looks good. Congratulations.


----------



## SueC

It being Sunday, the day to gather it all in and reflect. Oh yeah. So I'm reflecting on how much fun Creedence Clearwater Revival music was back in the day, and I find myself singing along and bouncing all over my tiny living room without stubbing a toe once! I glance in the mirror and there I am, sixteen or so, and lookin' good. All the right moves. Ha ha. Me and "Proud Mary." Here, you try it . . . .

https://youtu.be/XfyEpmQM7bw


----------



## Plasticweld

Yes Kevin I live down in a holler, it is beautiful, I am sure you have seen some of the many pictures I have posted of my back yard. 

The barn is being built in Vt. at what we call snowmobile camp and is completely off grid. It might be kind of an understatement to still call it camp.  Years ago it was just a trailer with wood heat. Today it is bigger than most houses with garage and storage space for all of the toys Jim and I have.  The barn is for extra storage and the overflow of equipment that is up there for clearing snow, cutting wood and doing construction work.  I would love to tell you how two guys had to rough it to build the barn, but we have a lull, and a man lift, so we really don't do any heavy lifting.  I own a sawmill so the lumber was sawn by me and the roof is made of tin.  

We are kind of learning as we go on this project, both Jim and I are optimists that are convinced we can do anything even though we don't know anything about it to start.  I moved a three story barn on my place in NY. many years ago.  I did it without any help. I took it down board by board, and dragged it across the lawn to re-build it closer to the road. I then moved the house I live in onto its spot so it would overlook the waterfalls.   That is the only other type of building I had done before we started building camp.   That has always been just a learn as you go kind of experience.  We go to work part of the weekend and then ride four wheelers, motorcycles or snowmobiles the rest of the weekend.   Kind of cool for a couple of old guys to be able to do stuff like that as friends. 




Kevin said:


> Plastic- you live down in a holler. I think that what it's called. I bet it's awesome. I was looking at the barn. I wondered if you had borrowed the design. Getting the pieces up, like the ridge and the roof sheathing ( it's plywood up there , right? ) is heavy work. They make us use plywood instead off a piece set at an angle to deal with the walls wracking. Imagine the whole structure  getting the 'carpet' underneath it yanked back and forth violently and you get some idea of earthquake forces. With post and beam they make us engineer the the connections( same reason). Bolts and saddles- metal..  Barn looks good. Congratulations.


----------



## Kevin

The construction I'm involved with has to do with permits and engineers, soils reports, and exorbitant fees for permits, and inspectors, and liability and lawsuits and more liability, and neighbor's calling in on you...lol. The house I just finished was a 1000 a square foot. Lol. I'm laughing because I think it's a ridiculous figure, but hey, it pays me , so .. 

Anyway... My proudest thing are the handrails in my house. They're made of some smallish dead sycamore trees I 'found' not growing anymore up in the hills above Malibu. A fire had burnt the hides off them three years prior and they looked like driftwood; cracked and dried. I called around to try to get ahold of the land owners, but a realtor told me to go ahead, so I took a big chance ( the chance being I might have to dispose of them if my plan didn't work) cut them with a small chainsaw, and loaded them into my short bed Toyota pickup and brought them home. They were crooked and caddywhumpus so I had to 'hand-mill' them with my skill saw to sort of square them off, longways. Then I ran a handheld electric planer, a belt sander, and so forth... I took long strip wedges, leftover shavings, squeezed glue, and pounded them in to fill the cracks before shaving those off flush.  I spent a lot of effort sanding everything and several coats of urethane.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Spent $600 on winter boots, household supplies and new dress wear and dress shoes. It's money well spent and I'll be ready for the harsh winter coming up but my wallet is noticeably lighter.


----------



## LeeC

I won’t be around for a week or two for medical reasons. 


Best wishes to all


----------



## aj47

LeeC said:


> I won’t be around for a week or two for medical reasons.
> 
> 
> Best wishes to all



Our best to you as well.


----------



## Kevin

LeeC said:


> I won’t be around for a week or two for medical reasons.
> 
> 
> Best wishes to all


rehab, eh? No more cocaine and hookers. Good for you man. And that's a fine woman you got there...stand behind her man. Give her my best. And you too.


----------



## Darkkin

LeeC said:


> I won’t be around for a week or two for medical reasons.
> 
> 
> Best wishes to all




Wishing you a speedy return.


----------



## SueC

LeeC, Hope all goes well and we'll see you soon.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Spent yesterday in the eye department at St Thomas'. Started with a sight chart, then lots of investigation of my double vision, then testing my periphial vision - 'visual fields test', then dilation drops and a good look at the optic nerve and the back of the eye, then a quick test to see they were properly moist. So many eyedrops, so much manipulation and bright lights, no wonder I was blocked up and headachey first thing this morning, bit better now. Still, next appointment not 'til next October, apart from a clinic for the double vision. 

Everyone who saw me was young, female and attractive, and they all told me that 'The probem is partly Wegeners, but probably mostly because you are getting old Mr Buckle.' Heigh ho.


----------



## SueC

They always have to state the obvious, as if we have forgotten.


----------



## Kevin

SueC said:


> They always have to state the obvious, as if we have forgotten.


it's their 'get out of responsibility or being actually able answer as to the why' card.  ( that was a mouthful-ah...the coffee kicks in  ).


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 19991


Fresh from the groomers, my dapper Rue Dog.    New house, new do.


----------



## andrewclunn

Norovirus...


----------



## H.Brown

andrewclunn said:


> Norovirus...



Nasty hope you feel better soon.


----------



## sas

SueC said:


> It being Sunday, the day to gather it all in and reflect. Oh yeah. So I'm reflecting on how much fun Creedence Clearwater Revival music was back in the day, and I find myself singing along and bouncing all over my tiny living room without stubbing a toe once! I glance in the mirror and there I am, sixteen or so, and lookin' good. All the right moves. Ha ha. Me and "Proud Mary." Here, you try it . . . .
> 
> https://youtu.be/XfyEpmQM7bw




Gosh, for my money, Tina Turner WAS Proud Mary. I saw her perform it live. Baaaby! Best concert I've ever seen. No one does that song better, especially in-person. Those legs.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## escorial

On the way to train station dropped a few books of in the Oxfam shop an got..trying to make room for Christmas cards with all them books about...well my little philthropy bit failed an I won't be leaving a gift in my will for them which could have been 10 percente of my estate which in today's value might have been about six pound fifty pence..


----------



## Plasticweld

A nice warm evening here.  I went for a 6 plus mile run with 1,100 feet of  vertical climb tonight.   A great chance to think and just escape all of the days worries...not that I have them, but if I did this is how I would get rid of them.  Cool to be able appreciate some of the very simple things in life!


----------



## PiP

Plasticweld said:


> A nice warm evening here.  I went for a 6 plus mile run with 1,100 feet of  vertical climb tonight.   A great chance to think and just escape all of the days worries...not that I have them, but if I did this is how I would get rid of them.  Cool to be able appreciate some of the very simple things in life!



I am envious, Bob. What a great way to work off stress and put life into perspective. I need to motivate myself to lose weight and regain my fitness levels. A year ago I was superfit...not running but hiking...

Now, I am like the human cannonball when I run... and mrs blobby when I walk.  Yes, I can laugh at myself.


----------



## Kevin

Sure helps if there's a place like that nearby. I feel lucky that I do. She likes walking around the neighborhood, but I love the hills.


----------



## Grizzly

Just put in _work_ for NaNoWriMo and classes, brain absolute spaghetti but think I'll go dance it up and shake it off. All in all, not a bad day!


----------



## PiP

Kevin said:


> Sure helps if there's a place like that nearby. I feel lucky that I do. She likes walking around the neighborhood, but I love the hills.



We live in the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa  by the beach. The scenery is breathtaking and the area totally unspoiled. I just can't walk far at the moment which makes me feel frustrated.  On the upside, I saw my physio today and my damaged knee is much better. She wants me to take some gentle barefoot walks on the beach to start working the muscles. So right now I am a happy bunny


----------



## PiP

Grizzly said:


> Just put in _work_ for NaNoWriMo and classes, brain absolute spaghetti but think I'll go dance it up and shake it off. All in all, not a bad day!



Sounds like you had a productive day, Grizzly


----------



## LeeC

Thank you all for the well wishes 

Back home now. Wanted to put up another new chapter I finished just before going in, but otherwise I’m in too much of a stupor from drugs to interact much. 

I’d told the doctor that there were only two acceptable outcomes for this additional surgery, given 17 years of putting up with the in-between — that either it resulted in my walking again, or on a gurney to the morgue. The doctor told Karen afterwards the hip was a mess inside, but he got everything back in working order with new parts. 

I started trying to walk again in the recovery room (upsetting the nurse), and am getting better. They tell me that the worst of the pain won’t be felt for a week or so — something to look forward to. I hope Karen gets me a bicycle for Xmas, so I can chase cars again 



PS: Karen must have had a bit of an epiphany while waiting with me for the operation. She said that it dawned on her that she was married to a 75 year old man, and wondered how our time together was flowing by so quickly. We’ve a lot of great memories


----------



## Kevin

Hip? Thats great. Modern miracles


----------



## The Green Shield

Woo! I’m reading ‘The Bloody Black Flag’ by Steve Goble, and ‘The Hunt: A Devil’s Isle novel’ by Chloe Neil. I think I’m liking these two— especially ‘The Bloody Black Flag’ as it’s apparently a historical fiction/mystery through the perspective of a carpenter serving aboard a pirate ship.


----------



## Winston

Made egg rolls and fried rice from scratch.  Turned out excellent.  Its so much work, but sometimes it's just gotta be done.


----------



## LeeC

Winston said:


> Made egg rolls and fried rice from scratch.  Turned out excellent.  Its so much work, but sometimes it's just gotta be done.


Reminds me of the time I spent in Indochina back in the early '60s. I wouldn't eat a rice dish unless I could see them fry it. Didn't like the kernels moving around ;-)


----------



## Olly Buckle

Quiet Suday, then went out the Delaware in Bexhill where we had fish and chips and saw a Billy Bragg gig, excellent.


----------



## LeeC

Those of you that are squeamish about bodily functions might want to skip this post.

My wife had a rather humorous insight that I thought I'd share.

If you've had a serious operation, then I'm sure you're aware of how all the antibiotics and pain killers mess up your digestive system. 

Making my way back from the bathroom, I hollered up to my wife in her quilting room that I'd finally had some success.

Laughing, she replied that even the simplest things make us happy in our declining years.


----------



## The Green Shield

Yes! Yes! I can feel the creativity surge! Woo! THE POWER! THE POOOOWWWWAAAAHHH!!!!


----------



## SueC

My day was nondescript, except that I was a puddle most of the morning. I wonder how many writers do this. When I write stories, I draw on a lot of personal experiences. Today I wrote about a day that had been tucked into my memory so deep, that I had not thought about it in years. Up in came and it was like touching an open wound! I kept stopping, closing my computer and stepping away for a bit. But every time I got back to it, I couldn't stop the tears. I did finally finish it, but it was almost noon. It wasn't a sad day that I remember, either. It was just a day when I was very young and people I loved, who are no longer around, were still with me then. Does anyone else ever have this kind of experience? Whew. Glad the day is done.


----------



## Plasticweld

Sue, I would say that all of my writing is a reflection of who and what I have seen in life.  I love studying people, their body language and the words that use, which often conflict with what they really mean.  Watch anyone fall, bang their knee and observe their response.  It says much about who they are.  I pay a lot of attention to what people wear and how they wear it.  How they handle a long line at the store. Watching an old couple or one that is just married and how they communicate says so much about the relationship.

There are stories all around us.


----------



## Winston

Stayed home from work to take care of my wife.  I should probably stop goofing off and check on her now...


----------



## LeeC

Winston said:


> Stayed home from work to take care of my wife.  I should probably stop goofing off and check on her now...


Yes, you should  If it wasn't for my wife, angelically at times, forcibly at other times, helping me recover, I'd be worse for the wear. Deep down at least I'm sure she appreciates your caring, and it speaks to your best nature.

I hope she is getting better, and you both will soon be out dancing again. Best wishes.


----------



## LeeC

Propped up here, passing some time before I can take my meds and go to sleep, I’m reading. Here noting my thoughts about what I’ve gotten myself into. 


It’s a strange book by Bill Broun titled Night Of The Animals. A dystopian novel about an unbalanced old coot in 2052 London, that believes the few remaining animals housed in the London Zoo (no other zoos, or wild animals I surmise, left in the world) are talking to him. The book depicts a dark future in which the European Union has dissolved and the U.K. has become a pacified surveillance state. Between "indigents" and "the new aristocracy," a vanishing middle class bows beneath abundant chocolate, lager, legal hallucinogens and mind-numbing electronics. The type of story Orwell might tackle, but the style of telling it is almost baffling to me.


This debut book purportedly took him 14 years to write, according to an NPR interview, that also notes the book seems remarkably timely in a summer of "Brexit"-tinged anxieties. Other than general, any similarities elude me, but then I’m not a UK resident in the heat of the turmoil (we’ve enough problems here in the US to overflow my plate). The author is California born and now a professor at East Stroudsburg State University (in northeastern Pennsylvania).


This isn’t a book review though, but rather reflections on how I’m getting on with it. The writing in portraying  the premise of the story is quiet weird to me, even with my extensive reading over seven decades. Moreover, the reading is slow going for me. It seems the author has made an extensive study of English dialects in and about London, and sprinkles them freely in the text. I find myself having to frequently consult a language glossary, thankfully included with the book. It might all make perfect sense to a long time Londoner, but I’m more at home with western English and Shoshone. 


The book is keeping me engaged, but annoyingly so. Of course, I’m not the brightest bulb in the room, and others may find the writing more enjoyable. I question whether my own book (currently being significantly revised) might be as difficult for some in the UK. A Liverpool acquaintance seems fine with it though, which alleviates the thought some. 


I’ve passed enough time now, so will see you around. Take care all


----------



## midnightpoet

This morning woke up to overcast, rainy skies w/ temps in the 40f range.  Sounds gloomy, but just a few days ago it was in the mid-nineties here.  Thought summer would never end - of course, next week it may go back up, but maybe not as bad.

Finished a short story yesterday - because of personal and family issues haven't written much in months. Glad my creative gene hasn't dissolved yet.  Hope everyone is doing well, meanwhile I'll just keep on plugging.


----------



## Cave Troll

Well I am taking some time away from the other forum that I patron, due to a 
rather unpleasant individual that I tried to come to neutral ground with. And 
that did not go so well, and I think it has to do with their ability to get under 
my skin. As well as being far to arrogant with their status in general. So I figured
I would leave, and let them have the last word (which I can guess is none to
polite).


----------



## sas

My daughter, soon 47, is chopping her hair very short, today. She can no longer hold her arms up long enough to fix it. I always say I want to live to be 100. But, maybe not. I may not want to see that far into the future.


----------



## PiP

Cave Troll said:


> Well I am taking some time away from the other forum that I patron, due to a
> rather unpleasant individual that I tried to come to neutral ground with. And
> that did not go so well, and I think it has to do with their ability to get under
> my skin. As well as being far to arrogant with their status in general. So I figured
> I would leave, and let them have the last word (which I can guess is none to
> polite).



Taking some time away from your home forum helps gain perspective; a bit like taking a holiday.  Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. Curry nights are Thursday and new members buy the first round of drinks. 

... LoL... just joking!

So what are your writing interests - poetry or prose? Hobbies, interests.. favourite colour?


----------



## LeeC

Wife is after me with a rolling pin now, but it's not as bad as it sounds. During a post op visit to the doc's office yesterday, he told my wife to knead my leg and back mussels with a rolling pin, to just shy of where it's painful. Her approach seems to be to first find the point that it's painful. 

He also gave her printed off X-ray images of my new parts. Is that any way to remember someone by?

Another thing he brought up seems logical in reflecting, but I hadn't realized it beforehand. Relative to any new cuts and scrapes, even dental work, antibiotics must be employed. Our bodies have several layers of immune systems, but none of them cover plastic and metal parts, so one is more vulnerable to serious infections. My weird mind conjured up the bionic man. He could really kick ass, but could also be laid low by a simple virus. 

Gonna be chasing cars soon


----------



## Kevin

It's nice to be kneaded. Sometimes...even if it's just for your mussels. I hope she gives you a lot of lee-way.   Oh, I kill me..


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> It's nice to be kneaded. Sometimes...even if it's just for your mussels. I hope she gives you a lot of lee-way.   Oh, I kill me..


LOL in lieu of a groan button


----------



## Winston

Off to Tractor Supply Company for a food-grade bin.  Just picked-up a 50 lb bag of rice from Cash and Carry for $18, gotta store it in something.
I'll eventually need to stop by the grocery store for some dry ice.  After melting, the residual CO2 will preserve the rice for many years.
It'll be there when we need it.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Winston said:


> Off to Tractor Supply Company for a food-grade bin.  Just picked-up a 50 lb bag of rice from Cash and Carry for $18, gotta store it in something.
> I'll eventually need to stop by the grocery store for some dry ice.  After melting, the residual CO2 will preserve the rice for many years.
> It'll be there when we need it.



My experience is rice is food for a lot of things. I'd bet some have left spores or eggs in it already. Dumping it in the freezer while you wait to get the dry ice will kill a lot  of them. Things like weevils are endemic to the whole food supply system, they are contained and controlled, but not eradicated. That sounds like a really good price, what sort of rice is it?

We went to London and had lunch with our daughters and their partners at a South Indian resteraunt in Tooting, very pleasant.


----------



## Kevin

Interesting. I've noticed that our store bought grains in general go bad in a number of months. They get that rancid oil smell.


----------



## Winston

Olly Buckle said:


> ... Dumping it in the freezer while you wait to get the dry ice will kill a lot  of them...
> That sounds like a really good price, what sort of rice is it?



Well I have a couple of 50 lb bags, so that freezer idea won't work, but thanks.
I get my rice from a restaurant supply business (open to the public).  It's just a standard white jasmine.  
100 lbs = 1000 1 cup servings.  For less than $40 USD, that's one serving a day for five people, for six months.  Emergency preparedness is not hard.

And Kev, you live in the land of sun, and heat.  YMMV.  But a good CO2 bath from dissolving dry ice will help preserve any grains or rice.  Critters don't like an anaerobic environment.


----------



## bobo

"Critters don't like an anaerobic environment."

Never heard about anaerobic bacteriae ?? >>>>>>> fermentation


----------



## escorial

Stopped at 11 for 2min yesterday an done it again today at 11.... Odd feeling doing that...


----------



## escorial

LeeC said:


> Wife is after me with a rolling pin now, but it's not as bad as it sounds. During a post op visit to the doc's office yesterday, he told my wife to knead my leg and back mussels with a rolling pin, to just shy of where it's painful. Her approach seems to be to first find the point that it's painful.
> 
> He also gave her printed off X-ray images of my new parts. Is that any way to remember someone by?
> 
> Another thing he brought up seems logical in reflecting, but I hadn't realized it beforehand. Relative to any new cuts and scrapes, even dental work, antibiotics must be employed. Our bodies have several layers of immune systems, but none of them cover plastic and metal parts, so one is more vulnerable to serious infections. My weird mind conjured up the bionic man. He could really kick ass, but could also be laid low by a simple virus.
> 
> Gonna be chasing cars soon



The six dollar man...


----------



## Kevin

I went and met a friend who I have not seen in a while with my mountain bike at his trail he and some others built over the past three years. They are down-hill riders, which I am not, so some the main features I did not ride down as I was too scared, too concerned about broken collarbones, head trauma , and lost work( fuckin'A, talk about rolling pin- she'd fuckin' kill me).

I actually think I could 'make' (not crash on) most of the sections - almost vertical wood ramps, some of them- drop-off steep rock faces others, that flow into banked turns, but I walked them/slid down them, or went around. They had downhill bikes which are beefed up frames and components built for higher stresses , whereas my bike is a cross-country type, which can handle some slamming, but not big slamming. In any case, I was too scared...

Of note to me was that they mentioned (my friend and another guy with him, his friend...) that they have another friend who they also ride with that lives in the bush off the trail. We stopped about halfway down the 'run' and took a break while they both smoked ( my friend's friend a 'vape'-type metal thing; my friend, an actual cigarette) and I noticed there was an extra bike there which they told me was Duane's who lived nearby in a "bush-cave". They yelled up to him ( he was somewhere up the hillside from us) several times, but he didn't answer. 

My friend said that at times he would come and hang out with Duane in the middle of the night (drinking?) even at 3am. Duane had been a journeyman carpenter working in Vegas back during the '90s boom there. I had a friend that was also a carpenter there and he'd worked 14, 18 hr shifts, Saturdays, Sunday's; time and a half, double-time, often meth fueled to stay awake, and returned to L.A. ( after about 9 years, the boom over..)with a pile of money. I got the feeling that Duane is broke. Anyway, he did not answer and after  we rode down to the cars ( they shuttle up a parallel paved road; two vehicles)he called them on the cell to say he was getting ready to ride.


----------



## Plasticweld

Kevin it would be hard to make up that story...what a slice of life. 

I also tried the downhill mountain bike riding at a ski slope.  While I have zero experience on a bike I was at one time a nationally ranked motorcycle trials rider, and for some reason everyone thought this would be a no brainer for me.  I will say I tested my helmet multiple times that day and crashed more times than I can remember, always in spots it was so steep you could not even get back on the bike.  It was an adrenaline rush and I could see how it would be very addictive.  Like you I started out with the wrong crowd and was way in over my head.  Some of steep ledges, over 3 feet I carried the bike.  Something about trying to carry a wheelie off something with no throttle down a steep grade seemed all wrong.  I hurt for a week afterwards. 

Thanks for sharing


----------



## SueC

Yesterday I was at a robotics event for one of my grandkids and I was sitting with my granddaughter, who is 13. She asked me - apropos of nothing - why some adults are obese (she is definitely not) and I told her that there are a lot of factors that come into play for an obese adult. She commented that you don't see obese children very often, but she has seen some at her school, and she wanted to know why I thought they were obese. Eventually, some little kiddo skipped by in front of us, and I said that as people get older, they lose their desire to skip and run and play, and sometimes they put on weight when they stop that physical activity. I said I thought it would look funny if one of the adults there started skipping around the gym. Her reply was awesome - she said, "It would only look funny, because they don't do it. If adults continued to skip and run and play after childhood, it would not seem funny at all."

I still think it would look funny. LOL. When was the last time you skipped?


----------



## Plasticweld

I don't skip, but I do have an obstacle course in my back yard.  If I called it a playground people would think I am just a crazy old guy :}  but it is!


----------



## midnightpoet

Don't remember ever skipping, um, I had a politically incorrect thought on that.  Seriously, I did used to jog a little but I usually walk.  My father (a banker) walked to work every day (roughly a mile) and I never had a problem with it.  Two miles is no problem.  Jogging it or running?  No way, Jose.


----------



## Kevin

Happiness is a warm bicycle seat, or some such other. The afterglow of a good ride is better than heroin ( as if..) .

Seriously though, it feels good to climb up and up and up, and then across, and over, and down, and then up again. The sweat and the snot and the poisons all come out of you. And then there's the nature. I ride in the hills, and I love it. 

The other day it was getting dark and I heard growling in bushes. I don't think they knew I was there, but it was coyotes play-fighting. I was scared for a second but to heck with it. I got to share that with them, or they shared it with me, un-beknownst ( what a great word  ).


----------



## H.Brown

Shit storm after shit storm is how my day has gone. I almost cried at the remembrance 2 minute silence, then I dealt with angry customers at reception about them having to wait whileall staff respected said silence, I had 3 days worth of emails to read and respond to, 2 staff resignations, deal with a staff member having an anxiety attack while on shift, catch up all the cashing up reports, deal with a pot wash shouting at three members of staff resulting in one putting in a written complaint, had a lady shout at me because she couldn't leave her three childrwn unattended while she went off for three hours. Proper crappy day and now I'm knackered and can not think to do any more writing.

Grrrr.

Sorry rant over, hope other people's day have been better.


----------



## PiP

Hannah, nothing much I can say.. so {{{virtual hugs}}}


----------



## bdcharles

SueC said:


> Yesterday I was at a robotics event for one of my grandkids and I was sitting with my granddaughter, who is 13. She asked me - apropos of nothing - why some adults are obese (she is definitely not) and I told her that there are a lot of factors that come into play for an obese adult. She commented that you don't see obese children very often, but she has seen some at her school, and she wanted to know why I thought they were obese. Eventually, some little kiddo skipped by in front of us, and I said that as people get older, they lose their desire to skip and run and play, and sometimes they put on weight when they stop that physical activity. I said I thought it would look funny if one of the adults there started skipping around the gym. Her reply was awesome - she said, "It would only look funny, because they don't do it. If adults continued to skip and run and play after childhood, it would not seem funny at all."
> 
> I still think it would look funny. LOL. When was the last time you skipped?




Yes! I have two young daughters so I am a pretty proficient public skipper and have concluded that there is no more healthy, efficient, and fun way to get about. Just the very act brings a smile to my face! I became so enamoured of it that I included it in my wip where, despite being narratively irrelevant, it stays, as a signifier of the mercantile classes. Now, there remains the not insignificant problem of it being the preferred mode of locomotion by eight year old girls, so have pushed for the creation of a sport-skipping league. I'm sort of hoping the Australians might pick it up and run with that.


----------



## The Green Shield

I swear, if I spent just as much time writing this thing as I did drawing, I would already be finished by now... At any rate, these are some of the earlier art I did from my fantasy. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




I'm surprised a lot had changed since. For starters, Devonians are no longer slaves, and Mishu obviously isn't the light-skinned blonde-haired girl she used to be. 


Now to continue drawing instead of writing...


----------



## Olly Buckle

I visit clinics and see doctors quite a lot. They are people who are on my side and trying to help me, and quite often working under difficult conditions, I try to be as polite and pleasant as possible. Others , feeling ill and having to wait to be seen, are not always so pleasant. I reckon it pays to have them on side, and have become accustomed to recieving copies of letters they send to each other that begin 'I saw this pleasant gentleman today...', however after my last visit I got one that said 'This lovely gentleman attended ...' (my underlining). I told the missus and she said "Oh dear, are you worse", "What?", "Well they know you read it, so it's code, 'pleasant' means 'very ill', 'lovely' must mean 'dying'."
Thank you for that reassurance.


----------



## JustRob

Yesterday I received an email from a chap in Switzerland who wanted my help in identifying a vintage computer memory unit that he owned. Fortunately I had all the schematics for it, owning several similar ones myself, and was able to send them to him and explain that it wasn't what he thought it was. I noticed that he also has an old engineer's manual for the system that I am currently rebuilding, so I've asked him whether he can send me a copy of it. There are very few people around the world with any direct interest in or contribution to make to my vintage computer project but every so often another one tracks me down and it's worth getting whatever mutual benefit we can out of these rare encounters.

I am still trying to get back to working on my much-neglected computer project but other things keep distracting me, WF included.


----------



## Kevin

Olly Buckle said:


> ... I told the missus and she said "Oh dear, are you worse", "What?", "Well they know you read it, so it's code, 'pleasant' means 'very ill', 'lovely' must mean 'dying'."
> Thank you for that reassurance.


okay... That is awful. And that's not code for anything except for "that is awful". As a friend of mine from Hungary would say with a drawn out stutter : "Fu-uu-u-kkk".


----------



## Olly Buckle

Kevin said:


> okay... That is awful. And that's not code for anything except for "that is awful". As a friend of mine from Hungary would say with a drawn out stutter : "Fu-uu-u-kkk".



No really Kevin; it's  okay. My missus has a slightly dark sense of humour sometimes, it was said in jest.


----------



## Kevin

Olly Buckle said:


> No really Kevin; it's  okay. My missus has a slightly dark sense of humour sometimes, it was said in jest.


 slightly dark...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Kevin said:


> slightly dark...



This is a woman who has an eagle owl as a pet, 'nuff said?


----------



## LeeC

Seems a good many in our money grubbing culture think life is the pursuit of being a criminal instead of a victim. I get a lot of crap email from such. Lately from a validate-billinginfo.com saying my Netflix subscription is on hold pending update/verification of my billing data. Ha! Up yours scumbags. I don’t even have or want a Netflix subscription. 

We’re all criminals to a degree I suppose. When a Native American museum indicated an interest to cary the book I’m reworking and illustrating in a paperback/ hardcover form, my thought was that if I gifted the applicable rights to them, I might be able to deduct their sales, or at least their profits if any, from my taxes. Hey, it’s the kind of thing the money barons do all the time, and we keep voting for the criminals so we must approve.

Alas, it’s a pipe dream, as I’ve so far to go yet, and it would be no where near what successful ‘mainstream’ authors might garner from brick and mortar book stores. Still, it’s a nice thought that someone is interested. Unlike here, the beta readers I sent the latest new chapter to all said I made them cry despite my effort to be upbeat. Different strokes for different folks, and all that I guess.

Gotta get back to work.


----------



## Theglasshouse

That's good news. That could mean some good publicity in being someway "sponsored" by their community.


----------



## The Green Shield

OK, I’m sorry for sounding like a cynical old bastard, but...

https://www.facebook.com/WonderTheMovie/videos/10209995282948687/


OK, I’m calling it right here: this ‘feel-good’ movie is just another ‘inspirational’ movie where a physically-different person teaches us ‘normies’ how to live life by the minute, enjoy it and marvel at its *wonder*, and he dies at the end. 


I mean, I’ve seen way too many of this stuff to think differently. That kid with the disfigured face? Yeah, he ain’t walkin’ out of this alive. How else do you think they’re gonna end the movie? With him walking to his house cracking another joke as the credit rolls?


Look, I’ll be happy if my suspicions prove incorrect, I just...don’t think it’s gonna end any other way than the kid dying and everyone learns an Aesop about enjoying life to the fullest.


----------



## aj47

Lee, that "crap email" is what I toss as spam.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think my antivirus flagged the link to that website he posted. It said that my information was at risk to be stolen to paraphrase that.


----------



## LeeC

The Green Shield said:


> OK, I’m sorry for sounding like a cynical old bastard, but...
> https://www.facebook.com/WonderTheMovie/videos/10209995282948687/
> 
> OK, I’m calling it right here: this ‘feel-good’ movie is just another ‘inspirational’ movie where a physically-different person teaches us ‘normies’ how to live life by the minute, enjoy it and marvel at its *wonder*, and he dies at the end.
> 
> I mean, I’ve seen way too many of this stuff to think differently. That kid with the disfigured face? Yeah, he ain’t walkin’ out of this alive. How else do you think they’re gonna end the movie? With him walking to his house cracking another joke as the credit rolls?
> 
> Look, I’ll be happy if my suspicions prove incorrect, I just...don’t think it’s gonna end any other way than the kid dying and everyone learns an Aesop about enjoying life to the fullest.



Whoa, we have a cynic in our midst.  Seriously, though I'm not into TV and videos, it's the kind of thing many thrive on. When I was young, the kind of thing that really angered me was the Cowboy and Indian movies, because I saw them as manipulative. Nobody wanted to know about the genocide we perpetrated, still don't, so the movies cast us, the cowboys/settlers/whatever, in a positive light, and the Indians as strictly savages (who were the real savages recently in the Dakotas, and who cared for our children's future?), with few exceptions. Today, with those that benefited the most from other's efforts pretty much running the show, a loose cannon in the Whitehouse (I'm being polite), wannabe world rulers stirring up trouble, money grubbers trashing the world our children will have to get by in, (I won't get into religions) etc., many are confused and insecure. Of course there are those that aren't bright enough to recognize all the manipulation going on, which doesn't help matters. In any case, people want to feel good about themselves, and about the world around them, so they retreat into alternate realities, and focus only on living in the moment, and society's manipulators are having a field day. 

Now, did I out cynic you or what 

"_Life does not cease to be funny when people die_
_anymore than it ceases to be serious when people_
_laugh._"         ~  George Bernard Shaw


----------



## moderan

My friend's cat, the Gramma of our extended kitteh fambly, had to be put to sleep. I found out I have a fatty liver. I should probably be put to sleep too, but I have a case of the stubborns. I had a story rejected. I am acquainted with a Republican judicial candidate who writes Xtian-flavored horror on the side.
Otoh, I had Chinese buffet for dinner. Nothing better to soothe the odd existential crisis.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sorry about your cat.

It's pretty normal to have fatty liver. Just need to be careful, and not eat too much fat or sugar. Try an experiment and try not to eat sugar. It happened at my house. My mom has diabetes so I suddenly started to lose weight by not eating sugar. Fast food as well should not be eaten. Only if for some reason the person has no choice. There are 3 or 4 categories of fatty liver. At 1 you are perfectly ok. I used to be at 2. Exercise and lots of water as it makes it so your liver functions much better. I drink more than ten cups of water a lot of the time because I have a cup that holds 3 cups of water. I aim to drink 3 or 4 of that size a cup. Depending if it is hot on a particular day I drink more. The less cheese you eat the better, and natural foods are your best food group to eat. 

I avoid wheat on purpose and rice. That in reduced amounts lowers weight. So that also helps indirectly. Eating foods high in fiber also helps.

Also, alcohol is obviously bad for the liver. And should be avoided. People can have fatty liver all their lives and nothing bad could happen to them.


----------



## The Green Shield

Oops! I just realized that my fantasy doesn't even have magic or rules governing that magic despite my main character supposedly USING it!



I am ashamed...


----------



## moderan

Theglasshouse said:


> Sorry about your cat.
> 
> It's pretty normal to have fatty liver. Just need to be careful, and not eat too much fat or sugar. Try an experiment and try not to eat sugar. It happened at my house. My mom has diabetes so I suddenly started to lose weight by not eating sugar. Fast food as well should not be eaten. Only if for some reason the person has no choice. There are 3 or 4 categories of fatty liver. At 1 you are perfectly ok. I used to be at 2. Exercise and lots of water as it makes it so your liver functions much better. I drink more than ten cups of water a lot of the time because I have a cup that holds 3 cups of water. I aim to drink 3 or 4 of that size a cup. Depending if it is hot on a particular day I drink more. The less cheese you eat the better, and natural foods are your best food group to eat.
> 
> I avoid wheat on purpose and rice. That in reduced amounts lowers weight. So that also helps indirectly. Eating foods high in fiber also helps.
> 
> Also, alcohol is obviously bad for the liver. And should be avoided. People can have fatty liver all their lives and nothing bad could happen to them.



I'm diabetic. Also seriously COPD. Exercise is problematical, hence losing weight is tough. But I hafta. So I volunteered to take the dog that lives next door for walks once a day.


----------



## Darkkin

I've had my Rue Dog home for a little under three weeks and we've been learning the neighborhood roads and trails.  Everyday, we go a little farther.  And it has helped my cardiac function profound level.  My cardiomyopath has been reduced from 30%  to a bit less than 20%.  We don't go fast, but we can cover a considerable distance.

View attachment 20141


----------



## SueC

That's what friends are for. Cute dog!


----------



## Cave Troll




----------



## escorial

At the bus stop before a young missionary introduced himself...have you met an American before...had to think then remembered I had when living in London..we were never friends or liked each other much but he made me think about the past...the missionary was a nice young lad


----------



## The Green Shield

^ I’m an American. :v

Also, apparently I’m in the beginning stages of an allergy sickness. My throat feels stuffy, thick, and hoarse and I can’t speak above a whisper...


Oh dear...


----------



## SueC

This week has been exhausting. I went to lunch on Tuesday with a man from my building who seemed to think I was worth the cost of a meal. He was nervous; I wasn't, but I did notice something. Men only want to talk about themselves. They want women they meet to ask them pertinent questions about their lives. It doesn't seem to occur to them that we have stories too. I did interject a few tidbits, but he didn't seem to know what to do with them, so launched into another story about himself. I remember when I started dating in school, everyone said to get the conversation going with a boy, you should ask him about the things he likes. Boys must not receive the same instruction on how to talk to girls. Maybe they are more worried about keeping their hands to themselves (Ala Roy Moore). Anyway, during our lunch, I told him about a funny noise my car was making when I used the brake. They weren't mushy, but just the noise, which was like a loud moan. He told me not to drive on the highway and that he had guy that he had gone to for years and he would take me there to see what they thought of the noise. I had always gone to the dealership, but my family and friends told me to STOP going there; they rob people. So I went with him to this little car repair place. When I told the lady behind the counter what my brakes sounded like, she laughed at me. Then she turned to her husband, the owner, and asked him if he heard the noise I made and then all three of them had a good laugh. How else does a woman who doesn't know about cars explain a noise?

So we came to our building to get my car and I followed him back over to the repair shop. I gave her the key and left my car, and then he took me home. I was hoping to hear from them earlier, but she didn't call until after 2:00 today and told me it was pads and rotors and would come close to $600. Well, there went Christmas. It should be ready tomorrow, and I noticed my favorite parking spot in the building is now someone else's favorite spot. I hope I can wait until after the new year to get tires. 

And the guy? He says he'll take me out to lunch again when he can find another two-for-one coupon. Yeah. Well see if that happens.

Spending large amounts of money makes me tired. I'm calling it a night.


----------



## escorial

Took a neighbour out for a meal the other day.


----------



## sas

Escorial, I wanted to hit LOL again...LOL, LOL, LOL, etc.........


----------



## aj47

I don't think it's that kind of taking them out.....


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> Took a neighbour out for a meal the other day.



Fill the freezer at the same time?


----------



## Roac

I just finished a week long course learning about petroleum economics. It was quite exciting (hard to emphasize being sarcastic )! At least, it gave me time to think about writing!

Finished early today and spent the afternoon exploring the Golden Gate Bridge.

Heading back home to Canada tomorrow…oh, and it is only -15[SUP]o[/SUP]C there!


----------



## sas

Roac said:


> I just finished a week long course learning about petroleum economics. It was quite exciting (hard to emphasize being sarcastic )! At least, it gave me time to think about writing!
> 
> Finished early today and spent the afternoon exploring the Golden Gate Bridge.
> 
> Heading back home to Canada tomorrow…oh, and it is only -15[SUP]o[/SUP]C there!




My son lives in the Colorado Rockies. I love to visit him. He is exploring places to retire, in a few years, outside The States. So, what is it like where you live? Can you share photos? Ski areas, nearby? Weather? He has two homes, one in Colorado Springs where weather is fantastic. He can golf year round there! And, a place, just two hours away, in Breckinridge, a ski area. I have a feeling your weather might be less hospitable year around. Hmmm.  Smiles and Thanks. Sas


----------



## Roac

sas said:


> My son lives in the Colorado Rockies. I love to visit him. He is exploring places to retire, in a few years, outside The States. So, what is it like where you live? Can you share photos? Ski areas, nearby? Weather? He has two homes, one in Colorado Springs where weather is fantastic. He can golf year round there! And, a place, just two hours away, in Breckinridge, a ski area. I have a feeling your weather might be less hospitable year around. Hmmm.  Smiles and Thanks. Sas




Sas, I have a house on an acreage just outside a small hamlet called Bragg Creek. The hamlet is nestled in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies and about 30 minutes south west of Calgary. From what I have been told, Calgary is similar but smaller to Denver.

Bragg Creek, is a very small community (around 1000 houses) but does have a wonderful golf course called Wintergreen and just down the road from my place there is a large number of cross-country skiing trails. There are also world class ski resorts an hour or two away in Banff National Park. 

For weather, we get these warm winds called Chinook winds that tend to help keep our temperatures fairly mild during the winter (usually only a few days below -20, and many closer to -5[SUP]o[/SUP]C). Summers are often warm but not hot (very few days above 30[SUP] o[/SUP]C).

Other areas close by that would be great for retirement (if you can handle the weather) are Canmore, Panorama or Fernie.


----------



## The Green Shield

The reason I made that alcohol thread was, well, I think I might have almost drank myself to death last night. I was told I was semi-conscious, couldn’t even talk, move my tongue, etc.

In short, I’m lucky I’m even alive right now.


----------



## Darkkin

Watching _Guardians of the Galaxy Volume II_ with this dufus.

View attachment 20173


----------



## Winston

A section of fence blew over this week.  My son and I had to tear it apart and stack it.  The good news is we now have extra lumber...
Later, a troublesome drawer in the garage fell out again.  Was sick of it not working right, and I fixed it and organized the entire work bench area.  I needed it.  Done.


----------



## The Green Shield

I just realized that there are a million ways for me to write a scene. Any scene. At all. 



And to think that all this time, I kept saying, “No, my Colonial mystery has to start with Amos Garnier in the cellar of a tavern washing dishes! It cannot possibly be any other way!!” 



Jeez, I have a head as hard as a solid three-feet thick steel wall...


----------



## LeeC

*Craziest Coincidence*

The other day in a "Interesting Stuff" post I mentioned something about gun control, and today another member responded to it. Just as I finished responding in turn today the craziest coincidence happened. I found out the regional school was closed and all in our little village should keep their doors and vehicles locked. 

It seems some guy had shot at a woman on I89, and eluded state police in pulling off exit 10 into our village earlier today. The state police, surrounding towns' police, and our three person police force were all out searching. What I found on the incident is at:
https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/investigators-searching-elijah-gross
The wife just told me that, according to the TV news, they caught him hiding in someone's shed.

I imagine you city folks have a lot more stories, probably daily, but the last such excitement in our neck of the woods was twenty years ago. A crazy neighbor had held his wife and the then single local policeman at gunpoint. That would make a good story to write, as the argument started because the crazy neighbor was sleeping with the policeman's wife, and his wife was kicking him out. 

No doubt there are counter arguments, but this seemed to me to be a good argument for more thorough background and mental stability checks being required for gun ownership — not that aren't plenty of other good arguments.


----------



## The Green Shield

Had a very weird/strange dream that was a blend between ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Horizon: Zero Dawn’. Basically, the Nora worship believed in an afterlife that involved thick green vines shooting up from the Earth, blossoming into clouds where people dwelt in cities. Aloy had somehow entered this realm (she didn’t die, she just...went through a portal/drank some potion) and was scaling one of the vines obstensibly to meet Rost. Well, when she made it to the top, she saw Obi-Wan Kenobi instead, sitting on a stump cooking a meal in an iron pot hanging over a fireplace. “R-Rost?” Aloy steps forward, Obi-Wan looks at her, smiles, but then they both see a lightsaber battle happening — Rey is dueling the illusion of a Dark!Leia Organa who is completely trouncing her. 




Aaaand the dream ends.


----------



## SueC

Lee, it does seem that we have a long way to go to figure this issue out. I certainly agree with you that something "more" needs to be done, but what exactly? My daughter is a department chair for a teaching hospital/university and she was part of a task force to address the issue of guns on campus/hospital. According to the laws, everyone gets to have a gun. They can conceal and carry, so I asked Patty what happens if they take the gun out? Well, then, she said, they can be arrested unless they are defending themselves. So, says I, what's the point of carrying guns then? Exactly, she says. They had to work hard to be able to keep people with guns out of the hospital, or out of areas of the university that held sensitive material. The whole issue makes me sick. You are right, though. I live in a big city and every single morning I wake up to watch TV news of more shootings over night, more car chases, more police and public in danger. What has become of us?


----------



## The Green Shield

Well (expletive). Just found out my old boss has passed. I know he used to give me crap about my political leaning as a left wing socialist liberal, and made fun of my hearing impairment...


This really, still, freaking sucks!!! I suppose that's how Death works, it reminds you that no matter what, we all go to the great realm beyond...whatever that might be.


RIP, you salty bastard. May you win all the golfing tournaments possible up there...


----------



## LeeC

SueC said:


> Lee, it does seem that we have a long way to go to figure this issue out. I certainly agree with you that something "more" needs to be done, but what exactly? My daughter is a department chair for a teaching hospital/university and she was part of a task force to address the issue of guns on campus/hospital. According to the laws, everyone gets to have a gun. They can conceal and carry, so I asked Patty what happens if they take the gun out? Well, then, she said, they can be arrested unless they are defending themselves. So, says I, what's the point of carrying guns then? Exactly, she says. They had to work hard to be able to keep people with guns out of the hospital, or out of areas of the university that held sensitive material. The whole issue makes me sick. You are right, though. I live in a big city and every single morning I wake up to watch TV news of more shootings over night, more car chases, more police and public in danger. What has become of us?




Next day in the newspaper:

It seems the guy had a criminal history with over forty arrests. Might give one an idea of the facade our gun ownership background checks are ;-)

Yes Sue, it's but one of the little things that reflect on our overall intelligence. I guess I don't really understand the word intelligence. Profits for the rich take precedence over any humanitarian considerations, especially the world our progeny will have to get by in. Our false cultural status symbol of excess material gain is telling. If it wasn't for all the innocents, I'd say "let 'em burn." 

The book "The Sixth Extinction, An Unnatural History" by Elizabeth Kolbert is supposedly a best seller, but I only know of one other person here (Kevin) that has read it.


----------



## Kevin

Readers are going extinct, Lee.  Short attention span is the Now! If you can't get it done in under ten words then forget it. ( shit... 13...) video too. It needs to be like a meme. But don't worry, once the dinosaurs were gone there was no more fretting. The rest just got along, business as usual. _Dinosaur, dinosaur, what the heck's a dinosaur?_ said the mastodon to the maursupial. I dunno, but have you heard the new CardiB?_ 
Ah-onwannadance...ah-mekmoneymoves..._


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Readers are going extinct, Lee.  Short attention span is the Now! If you can't get it done in under ten words then forget it. ( shit... 13...) video too. It needs to be like a meme. But don't worry, once the dinosaurs were gone there was no more fretting. The rest just got along, business as usual. _Dinosaur, dinosaur, what the heck's a dinosaur?_ said the mastodon to the maursupial. I dunno, but have you heard the new CardiB?_
> Ah-onwannadance...ah-mekmoneymoves..._


It cracked me up when in my book I used the example of which way the toilet paper should unroll as one of today's important issues, and then saw this meme on twitter:
everything is meme meme me .....


----------



## Kevin

Which are you? I used to be a hardcore it must be visible at the face (B) to prevent dirty-poke pre-spin ( to find the end)but now I don't bother. 

She ran me out of the kitchen last night. I was using a stainless spatula on a stainless pan. She wanted me to use a wooden spoon. Being the perfectionist that I am...how does one scoop and flip with a clumsy, germy,  wooden spoon? "Well, it don't scratch." To which, of course I answered: "These are utinsels, are they not, tools that are meant to be used? And when they wear out, we'll just buy some--"
"Get out." So I did. 

I chock it up to the holidays- the 'hell weeks' our son calls them,  this time of year just prior Thanksgiving. And when it's all done we give thanks. Turkey ain't worth it, he says. This too, shall pass, I tell him. "No pleasure without pain." 

Is that right? Mmm. I don't know. But it's important to put in the effort. 

I think the turkey is worth it.


----------



## creative_mind

The Green Shield said:


> The reason I made that alcohol thread was, well, I think I might have almost drank myself to death last night. I was told I was semi-conscious, couldn’t even talk, move my tongue, etc.
> 
> In short, I’m lucky I’m even alive right now.



I haven't heard somebody having as bad drinking situation as you  It is funny and at the same time scary to think about..You are lucky for sure


----------



## LeeC

@Kevin

Having trouble putting a new roll on either way, I set the new roll on the roller, then tune out my wife's remarks 

You got it right, the being together is important. Only my wife and I for holidays usually, but she goes to the effort of making them special, which I'm grateful for. Oops, the dog also. My daughter lives off island near Bar Harbor, Maine, which is over a five hour drive, so we don't see many holidays together. Also, her husband is a chef and extra busy most holidays. It hadn't occurred to me before, but being a chef can entail twelve hour days, six and seven days a week at the busiest times.


Yesterday was my first outpatient PT session. I can't move today.


----------



## midnightpoet

Kevin said:


> Which are you? I used to be a hardcore it must be visible at the face (B) to prevent dirty-poke pre-spin ( to find the end)but now I don't bother.
> 
> She ran me out of the kitchen last night. I was using a stainless spatula on a stainless pan. She wanted me to use a wooden spoon. Being the perfectionist that I am...how does one scoop and flip with a clumsy, germy,  wooden spoon? "Well, it don't scratch." To which, of course I answered: "These are utinsels, are they not, tools that are meant to be used? And when they wear out, we'll just buy some--"
> "Get out." So I did.
> 
> I chock it up to the holidays- the 'hell weeks' our son calls them,  this time of year just prior Thanksgiving. And when it's all done we give thanks. Turkey ain't worth it, he says. This too, shall pass, I tell him. "No pleasure without pain."
> 
> Is that right? Mmm. I don't know. But it's important to put in the effort.
> 
> I think the turkey is worth it.



Since my wife has been close to bedridden this past year, I've learned some things about cooking.  One, if using stainless or non-stick pans, use plastic utensils.  Also, since I whacked off a piece of my finger using a vegetable slicer last week, I've learned not to use a vegetable slicer.  In my down home parlance, I bled like a stuck pig. Hasn't made me like Brussels sprouts, though. Wish I could say she's getting better, but knowing how much of a fighter she is, she'll make it.


----------



## Kevin

I looked it up, in at least two places it says you can use stainless utinsels on stainless pans. I always use plastic on non-stick. I cook often. Have been since I was twelve. But, if it had said don't use ...then I wouldn't.


----------



## Winston

Mother in Law is in the hospital.  Cancer (Leukemia) is back.  Kinda puts a damper on things.


----------



## aj47

I have the best pair of glasses I've ever, ever owned. Picked up yesterday.  

The guy who fitted me has nearly 40 years of experience as an optician.  I'm ... a tough customer.  I'm bilaterally aphakic and I need +double-digit diopters in both parts of my bifocals with a huuuge area for my reading part and it's a "bubble" not a line or a no-line (the optician called it a "cataract lens" but I don't know if that street lingo or the technical term).  Anyway, these look like regular glasses anyone would have. Not only are they the thinnest, lightest pair of glasses I've ever owned, they have the largest visual field.  The top of the frame is up by my eyebrow.  Where it would be on a normal pair of glasses for a normal person.  He gave me a special Saturday appointment for my initial consult, too.  And spent over an hour finding the right frames.  

The best part is--despite the optician not taking insurance, these glasses cost *less* than the copay on my last pair and I got that years ago.  I only got these cuz we had medical spending account money left and we're running out of year.  I went to this guy cuz my ophthalmologist recommended him.  I owe her, bigtime.

Selfie tomorrow (when I don't look like I spent the day cooking).


----------



## LeeC

Wife went to a lot of trouble to make the holiday special for only the two of us, bless her  I didn't take the serious pain killer last night so I could have a glass of wine with the dinner today. I guess one has to wait longer though, as I got hot and woozy afterwards. 

Hear what you're saying Annie. Had my nose 'bent' so many times when I was younger, that it's difficult to get glasses to fit comfortably. I always need a wide arch/bridge/whatever you call it.

Oh, and I almost forgot. I ran across this and thought I'd post it to stay in character for PW


----------



## sas

Winston said:


> Mother in Law is in the hospital.  Cancer (Leukemia) is back.  Kinda puts a damper on things.



How touching that you care so much about your mother-in-law.

FYI: My former husband, who is staying with me now, was put on what was then a trial drug (pill) for CLL. His health failing after two chemo series, years apart. Miracle drug. Been on it five years. Lots of new drugs for leukemia. His physician is well known in leukemia field: Robert Byrd, Ohio University. Google him. Hope helpful.


----------



## The Green Shield

Oh my god... 

After playing ‘Horizon: Zero Dawn’, I realized just how close my fantasy character, Geia Panono, is to Aloy.

• Both are redheaded ladies.

• Both grew up isolated from their peers, though Geia was more of a ’Mowgli’-type, being raised by Aquanis. She wasn’t FORCED into that life.

• Both are badasses with the bow and weaponry (though Geia uses daggers)

• Both are snarky, tough women who don’t need no man to make them feel complete.

Really, the only chief difference is that Geia’s story is more about ‘rescuing a child’ and it’s in a 100% fantastical setting.


----------



## LeeC

Think you're having a bad day? There's a book to put things in perspective for you 

Bad Days in History: A Gleefully Grim Chronicle of Misfortune, Mayhem, and Misery for Every Day of the Year by Michael Farquhar

National Geographic and author Michael Farquhar uncover an instance of bad luck, epic misfortune, and unadulterated mayhem tied to every day of the year. From Caligula's blood-soaked end to hotelier Steve Wynn's unfortunate run-in with a priceless Picasso, these 365 tales of misery include lost fortunes, romance gone wrong, and truly bizarre moments. Think you're having a bad day? Trust us, it gets worse.


----------



## escorial

Everyday,
I think about dying.
About disease, starvation,
violence, terrorism, war,
the end of the world.

It helps
keep my mind off things

by roger mcgough


----------



## Kevin

[FONT=.SF UI Display][FONT=.SFUIDisplay-Semibold]We had a woman over that shared a little about why she left her career as a professional horse trainer. She is an older woman, kids all grown and off for years, had been married - left her husband and moved back to SoCal recently where she is enrolled at a trade school. [/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display]
[/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display][FONT=.SFUIDisplay-Semibold]Before that she'd been a professional horse trainer for 39 years, and [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display][FONT=.SFUIDisplay-Semibold]I asked her why she had stopped. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display]
[/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display][FONT=.SFUIDisplay-Semibold]She started by saying that she was tired of it, tired of battling clients and bosses. She said that she had basic disagreements about philosophy and techniques when it came to how to treat the animals. She was being ordered to use physical coercion, to beat the animals into a fearful submission in order to get them to do what she wanted and she refused. She said this was a common occurrence and that she'd butted heads with others many times over this. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display]
[/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display][FONT=.SFUIDisplay-Semibold]She said that people were purchasing horses from horse brokers with little to no history regarding the animal, based on looks only, and that often the animals had been abused and therefore were not easily trainable to certain tasks, requiring a longer, gentler approach in an attempt to re-train them. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display]
[/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Display][FONT=.SFUIDisplay-Semibold]She'd been reprimanded or ordered to simply beat the animals into submission to get them to do whatever and she refused, often being fired or quitting employers and clients. [/FONT][/FONT]
[/FONT]


Sent from my iPhone


----------



## aj47

I have nothing to do.

I want to bake but my kitchen is a mess.   Note, I spent hours cooking yesterday.  I made a lasagna today.  I would be happy to do Something about my kitchen if anyone would bother to empty the dishwasher.  I don't do that chore because that area is poorly lit and I don't see well. This combo leads to my breaking things when I do it.  Really.  I've broken multiple soup/cereal bowls, glasses, and mason jars. I gave up.  astroandy is in bed migraining .... and daughter is at work.  Son is at a friend's .... so there is no one TO do it. I'm going to probably eat lasagna and goof around.  Maybe scritch some cats.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Been brainstorming a story. Came along nicely with a bunch of thoughts that I ended up tying up like connections, I don't want to give up entirely on the story I now know where to insert conflict. The one that didn't get the needed feedback in the workshop.

Anyways day was a bit terrible, my mom needs to go see a dietician since my mom eats foods she shouldn't. She avoids wheat and rice. The irony is the only wheat free bread found among our options is made of rice. Anyone have any ideas, on what healthy foods would be good that are good at any time to eat? I am keeping a food journal since her sugar was over 180.

It's complicated, the kind of answers I am hoping are something along the lines: 15 carbs per meal or something I don't know that can help a lot to control blood sugar. How can I make sure she eats 15 carbs per meal? Anyways I am looking around the internet.

A lot of ill people here. Hope they recover emotionally, my aunt has had leukemia as well, and she has lupus. But she is doing well. One year and she is still strong both emotionally and physically (her drugs are the chemo treatment she receives I believe), and her medicine is given by the government since it is (outside the usa of course since that's private health). Of course I need to accept things if they are beyond my helping. That's a reasoning I hope to acquire. And taking medicine helps regulate my emotions, though I sound always as if thinking the worst. Sometimes wishing things is something we can make as a habit. But acceptance like in religion is a good thing. As in when coping with emotions that can be a little distressing. Making the memories last is what is important. I watch a film every night if asked. So it's not a doomsday prophecy. Just need to check the medicine, and go to the right doctors for family.


----------



## aj47

Theglasshouse said:


> Anyways day was a bit terrible, my mom needs to go see a dietician since my mom eats foods she shouldn't. She avoids wheat and rice. The irony is the only wheat free bread found among our options is made of rice. Anyone have any ideas, on what healthy foods would be good that are good at any time to eat? I am keeping a food journal since her sugar was over 180.
> 
> It's complicated, the kind of answers I am hoping are something along the lines: 15 carbs per meal or something I don't know that can help a lot to control blood sugar. How can I make sure she eats 15 carbs per meal? Anyways I am looking around the internet.



The easiest is the exchange diet.  It's not so much counting, but it's portions.  I did that for a long time, years ago. 

If you'd rather journal, there are apps, the most famous is MyFitnessPal.  astroandy uses that now.

The thing is, whatever you do will be a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.  So you need to choose something you can do on a longterm basis.


----------



## stevesh

Theglasshouse said:


> How can I make sure she eats 15 carbs per meal?



It's all about the menu. There are a lot of good low-carb recipes here: http://genaw.com/lowcarb/


----------



## Theglasshouse

Thanks astorannie and stevesh. I am thinking the exchange diet sounds like what would appeal to her because you recommended me the idea probably by a doctor and since I went on a search on amazon and going to read some books. Doctors here don't know about it I bet. As long as it is simple enough to do. That menu in the link has a whole year of foods. Thank you for the link stevesh. That's another thing I have been searching on the internet. I'm sure I'll pass all the information along to her. Once again thanks astroannie and stevesh, and I know the situation could very well improve for her. Bad lifestyle choices made her diabetic but this will help her. Until she goes to a dietician.


----------



## Plasticweld

Started this morning off with a 5 mile trail run with my daughter Cathy.  Then took the family to breakfast.  My son Russ and I sawed some lumber out for him to build some tables out of and do so other projects. Grandkids played at the mill while we worked.  The temps here almost 60 degrees.  Great day with family :}


----------



## Winston

/\  Wow.  That did sound like a great day.

Spent the early part of the day at the hospital.  My mother-in-law (Mary) just started chemotherapy.  They said she won't start feeling sick for a few days.  I'm feeling ill already.
The type of Leukemia she has is treatable.  She already lost a kidney to cancer a few years ago.  Growing old ain't for sissies.

On the way home, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard came on the stereo.  Then it stated to rain.  Just finished my first beer.  
Now I feel like listening to David Allan Coe.


----------



## aj47

Winston said:


> Now I feel like listening to David Allan Coe.



It was all that I could do... to keep my fingers still.  Meet me in the TMI thread....

I was deferred from selling plasma today because of a bruise I got from my last visit.  It should heal by my next regular day, which is still this month so I should still get my 8x/month bonus but dayum, I think it's healed enough. My complexion is so fair that I think it looks worse than it actually is.  No, no pix -- the internet never forgets and that could come back in a nasssty way I don't intend.


----------



## The Green Shield

So...

Remember that Colonial mystery I always talked about? The one with Amos, the blind tavern boy who solved murder mysteries? Well, I talked to a friend of mine who knew a thing or two about Colonial America and he had this to say:
- You're writing not one, but two blind MCs.  That's an almost hilariously difficult task, given how much moat people rely on sight.


- Mishu cheats blindness with her soul sight thing; but Amos is SOL.  In a time period when folks with disabilities weren't treated well (to put it mildly).


- Amos can't write; so his memory must be fucking amazing, since it's all he has natively to rely on.


- As a detective before the formal foundation of the science of forensics, he must also have an excellent degree of deductive and inductive reasoning skill.  This plus his memory would make him a certifiable genius.


- And yet, you *still* want to write from his point of view, in first person.  This is extraordinarily ambitious; but it's also insane, as much of a genius' thought processes would fly miles over the head of any readers.


- Speaking of the readers, this is a protag that ninety nine percent of your readership probably will never finish, simply because the conceit (a blind detective) is something they would have only the barest sensory commonality with.

Nevermind the fact that Amos would’ve been locked up in an orphanage home for life due to his blindness.

It’s...damn. Really put a kink on that... 

:/

I know I’m probably going overboard on this, but it does put a dampener on it... Is this story even doable or was I really diving down an impossible-to-navigate rabbit hole?


----------



## aj47

.... and one of my students complained about a grade ....

"32 ... "

Dude, that's out of 34 ... at least look at the rubric before you sent a whine-o-gram to me about it.


----------



## JustRob

Oscar, our male cat, is currently lying on the bed with his head against the laptop keyboard and his long fur extending across part of it. (I must get out of bed eventually today.) He is very happy to sit on our laps as well, but Raquelle, our female cat, never does that. She will sit on an armchair or the sofa next to my angel with maybe just one paw lovingly hooked into to her skirt or even her front half on her lap, but never will she sit entirely on her lap despite being encouraged to do so.

Yesterday evening my angel was continuing her campaign with Raquelle sitting beside her and said, as she often does, "One day it will happen," to which I replied that I was more likely to turn out to be a time traveller than that was to happen. This remark passed entirely without comment as the possibility that I am in a sense a time traveller appears to have become an accepted fact between us. At least it is one of those unresolved possibilities, like Schrödinger's cat in a box that we may never succeed in opening to discover the answer. 

It is odd how the idea has integrated so seamlessly into my life. Perhaps that's the point though, that people who dream of achieving amazing things by travelling through time never will because their activities would be so disruptive of the harmony of the universe, whereas those of us who would just take it as an accepted aspect of normal life wouldn't rock the temporal boat, so our activities would go almost undetected. It's a fascinating thought, but despite it I am still going to have to get out of bed as my laptop battery is now expiring and even time travel won't cure that situation.

Action stations! Preparing for re-entry into reality. Undocking the cat. Oscar! Get off the keyboard!


----------



## Phil Istine

That was a decent day. I showed up at a customer's house to wash his windows while he was having a clear-out.
"Would you like this old laptop?" he asked.
A laptop computer is just what I could do with right now as it will enable me to write in more comfort; I've been using a manky old chair in front of a desktop computer.
So when I arrived home I opened it up. WindowsXP, a bit over 1GB of RAM, 40GB hard drive (there will be about 30GB available for files when I've de-cluttered it), and Word 2003. He gave me the charger cable too.
Yes, it's old, but it's exactly what I want exclusively for my writing. I'll even be able to write in bed now if I wish (I'm currently single).
File transfer to and from my desktop PC is easy via USB stick.
I've been wanting to buy one for a while but finances are very tight, so this was a great bonus.


----------



## sas

Phil Istine said:


> That was a decent day. I showed up at a customer's house to wash his windows while he was having a clear-out.
> "Would you like this old laptop?" he asked.
> A laptop computer is just what I could do with right now as it will enable me to write in more comfort; I've been using a manky old chair in front of a desktop computer.
> So when I arrived home I opened it up. WindowsXP, a bit over 1GB of RAM, 40GB hard drive (there will be about 30GB available for files when I've de-cluttered it), and Word 2003. He gave me the charger cable too.
> Yes, it's old, but it's exactly what I want exclusively for my writing. I'll even be able to write in bed now if I wish (I'm currently single).
> File transfer to and from my desktop PC is easy via USB stick.
> I've been wanting to buy one for a while but finances are very tight, so this was a great bonus.




Too bad there's no money in poetry. You'd be wealthy. So happy you received this gift. A nice holiday time story.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I've thought poets would make for great songwriters and storytellers, and songwriting is a great way to advertise their work especially if they are working in the music industry. Just my opinion on how poets should go about this. Then if you help sell a hit song by writing it, you can market your work and make it reach word of mouth. Sadly though I could be wrong. But they, poets, borrow from each genre. Poems can sometimes be songs and poems be considered songs. For example the poem form I think called a ballad. Some poets I have heard on the radio had to have written some songs that were considered poems in some way. And who doesn't enjoy listening to music once in a while? It may be marketing a work that could be an issue too. Though I am sure there have to be good and bad poets. It is part of the growing process as they progress.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Theglasshouse said:


> I've thought poets would make for great songwriters and storytellers, and songwriting is a great way to advertise their work especially if they are working in the music industry. Just my opinion on how poets should go about this. Then if you help sell a hit song by writing it, you can market your work and make it reach word of mouth. Sadly though I could be wrong. But they, poets, borrow from each genre. Poems can sometimes be songs and poems be considered songs. For example the poem form I think called a ballad. Some poets I have heard on the radio had to have written some songs that were considered poems in some way. And who doesn't enjoy listening to music once in a while? It may be marketing a work that could be an issue too. Though I am sure there have to be good and bad poets. It is part of the growing process as they progress.



Done that, click on my website , and then on the tab for sound cloud. The are songs, poems, and poems with music.


----------



## The Green Shield

Downloaded a whole bunch of Kindle books relating to life in Colonial America. Time to start reading!


----------



## Theglasshouse

@oily buckle: I visited your website. I liked the poetry I have read here. What I am advocating is to write a song for the masses. As in the music recording industry. Get paid to author a song with a celebrity recording artists (celebrities, to help gain exposure). There are songwriting competitions that might open these sort of opportunities. They have it for the film industry. The music recording industry should be scouting for talent. Music artists sometimes only perform a song. I am suggesting collaboration with one if possible by knowing maybe what they like in a song. I guess it sounds that people need persistence. I was talking about this sort of songwriting, that can earn money and reputation especially if a poem.


----------



## Winston

We've been spending a bunch of time at the hospital, and we really need to make a grocery run.
Time to stop goofing off here and get going...


----------



## escorial

Nearly bought an advent calendar today but I think the days are numbered


----------



## aj47

packing....did laundry and it seemed a shortcut to put the clothes into the luggage instead of away and then into the luggage tomorrow.

Baking beer bread today with this:







and making more oreo "lumps of coal" for my students.  I'm skipping the plasma today--this means I won't make 8 times this month and I won't get the bonus (because I'll miss Thursday for the trip) but I need the time today to do my usual Sunday stuff plus the baking and the packing.


----------



## Kevin

Another husband suicide. 74, blew his brains out. Christ...


----------



## -xXx-




----------



## aj47

That student .... _that _student.  

he dropped out.


----------



## Winston

Drama Queen sis-in-law just came to town.  She's looser and more idiotic than the Trumpster on Twitter.  I'm glad she's here now to "save the day".  God.


----------



## Darkkin

Drama Queen jeans were being worn by Rue this afternoon, so they got paired with his new Chill the Fox Out sweater.  


View attachment 20352


----------



## The Green Shield

I must’ve been a reeeeeeal sick S.O.B. in a past life. Just two weeks after shaking off a cold, I have chills, a fever of 101ºF, and I’m overall feeling like utter crap. HOW ARE YOU!?


----------



## escorial

I've got chills there multiplying and I'm losing control


----------



## HorseDragon

I have this thing where my legs decide to short circuit. When combined with vertigo, it leads to some hilarious moments that result in my cat looking at me like I've lost my mind. This happened today.

Additionally... fatigue. This bit is getting worse. So I started the day feeling pretty good, but now I feel very heavy - like I'm wearing a lead diving suit. I have a bad feeling about where this is all going.


----------



## JustRob

Day, what day? Is this a day? I'm having trouble with that concept at the moment. Yesterday my angel and I decided to treat as Sunday, so did all our Sunday things, because this morning we planned to go shopping at the farmers' market, which we did. Now, this afternoon, I am adrift in time as our Sunday is over but Monday isn't here yet and I never had anything planned to do on Saturday anyway, so that's been written off already.

So, immersed in this strange highly subjective perception of phenomenal time I logged into WF and glanced at Flashes of Brilliance, something that I almost never do, and saw the article heading "Why poets don't study phenomenology". Fully aware that I have little idea what a poet actually is and probably can't resolve that I instead looked for explanations of what phenomenology is. According to what I read I discovered that perhaps my post was tracing out a hermeneutic circle, as what I read on phenomenology mentioned subjective perception, phenomena, time and hermeneutic circles. By the time I'd also worked my way through philosophical explanations of intentionality, empathy, intersubjectivity and apperception I was really looking forward to Monday, but maybe not, as I will explain. 

One aspect of this phenomenology phenomenon appears to be its reference to the modern move towards technology as a central aspect of experiences. Last week I was spending a lot of time trying to get a newly bought item of technology to work. By the end of the week I had decided that it was not functioning according to the product description, not necessarily faulty you understand, in that it would function under some circumstances, but not the ones under which I was using it and were appropriate according to that product description. Hence I asked the suppliers for a replacement, having first spent much time in correspondence with the manufacturers, who could not solve my problems but fell short of actually admitting that the device wasn't working to specification. This weekend I am awaiting delivery of the replacement and also a courier to collect my possibly but not necessarily faulty item. 

While struggling with this experience, undaunted I ordered more technology from two other suppliers and expect this to be delivered maybe tomorrow, Monday. Quite possibly my replacement item will arrive then as well. If that exhibits the same non-compliant behaviour as the original item then I will have to make my peace with my very considerate suppliers and ask them why they are selling a product that doesn't comply with the manufacturer's own product description, which appears on the suppliers' website. Ho hum. One potential reason for the original item failing to work may lie in the mysterious three days during which the courier service mislaid the package and their tracking system reported "It's in transit somewhere, no idea at all when it will arrive," which hardly deserves the description "tracking" to my mind. After prompting by the supplier about their claimed "next day" delivery service they delivered the package, which looked like it had been left in a tumble drier for the entire three days, but the item inside appeared intact, so I tried to use it. More fool me. Hopefully my replacement will not be subjected to the same extended tumble-drier treatment as the original apparently was.

So, I am feeling somewhat philosophical about technology at present, as phenomenologists might say, but this morning, apart from shopping at a farmers' market where, instead of erecting their awnings and tables as usual, they huddled selling goods straight out of the backs of their vans, as high winds and rain were forecast and they might need to beat a hasty retreat, I also obtained new cutters for my electric razor, which has taken to vibro-massaging my face since it managed to cut a chunk of one of its own foils off with its cutters during use, and also replacement bootlaces for my hiking boots, as the present ones have emergency knots in them. Hence I can now at least enjoy the simpler things in life, like shaving and tying up my bootlaces. 

Maybe phenomenology is right, that we are imprisoning our minds within our technology instead of focussing on experiencing phenomena at a more fundamental level. Anyway, with all these newly acquired philosophical concepts to juggle perhaps I am slightly better informed to start writing my book about my experiences of anachronistic phenomena outside of our normal perception of time. There is just one problem though, that I can't work out where to start it because of all the hermeneutic circles within the subject matter. It's much like trying to write a book while inside a tumble-drier. Perhaps I should wear my hiking boots to steady myself then.

How was my day really? Just don't ask. Roll on Monday, whatever it brings.


----------



## aj47

This is me and my students, one of my volunteer teammates, and our classroom teacher.  

The students designed the t-shirts.  This pic was taken Friday morning.


----------



## -xXx-

one picture changed my day
to even-more-awesome!!!!! XD


----------



## SueC

Keep us posted, Horse


----------



## escorial

I've decided not to eat brussel sprouts and give peas a chance this Christmas


----------



## escorial

Can't find a turkey big enough for one anywhere


----------



## bobo

Give the brussel sprouts and peas to the turkey ..... and then ...


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> Can't find a turkey big enough for one anywhere



Ah the horrors of christmas dinner shopping, can't find a small enough turkey, then grab a duck as the feed one, if cooked too long.


----------



## escorial

grab a duck sounds illegal but that's a sick bird


----------



## -xXx-

cornish game hen(s).
have done that on several special occasions.
seldom give peas a chance tho'.
_*have spoon at ready*_


----------



## aj47

Around here you have to buy a brace of hens though, so you need two special occasions, or a freezer.


----------



## escorial

I started up a hens dating site but had to close it down because I couldn't make hens meet


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> grab a duck sounds illegal but that's a sick bird




Hahaha, it is a great bird if cooked well. my first experience with cooking one didn't go as well as I would have hoped, I made ours shrink one year, never cooked Christmas dinner since. Now I sit back, with a glass of Prosecco and watch others cook for me, much easier.


----------



## Kevin

I was coming around a corner on one of the tight, blind curve streets, all filled with houses, up in the Hollywood hills to a job- no sidewalks and barely two cars can pass. Some workers had put rubber cones roughly up the middle but sort of curved and slightly confusing, and I could see their truck parked on the right up ahead. 

I've been driving up there everyday for two months now, so without hesitation I drove up the right side of cones ( my side -we drive on the right here) and as I went past one of the workers was looking at me shaking his head. I stopped and rolled the window down and he started in about me just driving through when the road is blocked. I said there's no flagman, no signage, and I've been driving up here everyday...  

Then i rolled up the window and started to drive away, but I thought for a half-a-second (half of a...) and something came to me, so I rolled the window back down and I said Hey. He looked in and I reached out my hand. Like two opposing gang members on the prison yard we shook and it was over. Yeah. Caveman Meat-heads meeting of minds. It was a good rest of the day. Lol. The cannibals did not eat each other.


----------



## escorial

Nothing worse than a grabbed shrunk duck...still now the lady of the manor just delagates with a tiara on
.cool lady HB


----------



## H.Brown

Damn right.  have you decided on a meat yet or found a turkey? Even if you get a big one you can always eat turkey sandwiches for a week.


----------



## escorial

Might just do some chopped pork sandwiches an some festive chutney..all depends on the local food bank..


----------



## H.Brown

Man that sucks balls. You could always make it a bit different and do pulled pork sarnies instead of chopped.


----------



## escorial

There's always the Sally army..quick song few hail Marys an then tuck in...only thing is they don't pay for the cab home..


----------



## Kevin

H.Brown said:


> Man that sucks balls. You could always make it a bit different and do pulled pork sarnies instead of chopped.


I read sarnies as sardines and I thought man they eat some exotic combos over there.


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> There's always the Sally army..quick song few hail Marys an then tuck in...only thing is they don't pay for the cab home..



Sally army don't do hail Marys you just have to sit through tedious bible storys, butnif it's decent grub, then don't knock it, but the taxi fare woukd probs cost the same as a christmas dinner with all the trimings, hahaha.

Well there is always bubble and squeak and other such dishes, that could be called exotic. Ooo what woukd a Sardine be and sardine sandwich?


----------



## Kevin

Nobody native eats sardines over here. You would be looked at as eating toasted mice or wriggling goldfish. Culture...


----------



## H.Brown

Ah culture differences...Guess I'll have to settle for homemade Victoria sponge, instead of creating new dishes.


----------



## escorial

H.Brown said:


> Sally army don't do hail Marys you just have to sit through tedious bible storys, butnif it's decent grub, then don't knock it, but the taxi fare woukd probs cost the same as a christmas dinner with all the trimings, hahaha.
> 
> Well there is always bubble and squeak and other such dishes, that could be called exotic. Ooo what woukd a Sardine be and sardine sandwich?



HB..I get the notion you can walk the walk an talk but there is a street fighter always ready to come out when needs be....cool HB


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> HB..I get the notion you can walk the walk an talk but there is a street fighter always ready to come out when needs be....cool HB




Sod street fighter, more like mortal kombat.


----------



## bobo

At the dentist today, he took a root out from one of my molars - cleansed it mecanically - and sat it right in place again.
He used a binocle-mirror arrangement for doing it - and the best of all: the whole operation was projected on a screen for me to be following all the details.
Sort or Reality Show


----------



## H.Brown

bobo said:


> At the dentist today, he took a root out from one of my molars - cleansed it mecanically - and sat it right in place again.
> He used a binocle-mirror arrangement for doing it - and the best of all: the whole operation was projected on a screen for me to be following all the details.
> Sort or Reality Show
> 
> View attachment 20391



Sounds terrifying bobo, but then I'm pretty squeamish when it comes to dentists, hope it doesn't hurt too much.


----------



## Firemajic

bobo said:


> At the dentist today, he took a root out from one of my molars - cleansed it mecanically - and sat it right in place again.
> He used a binocle-mirror arrangement for doing it - and the best of all: the whole operation was projected on a screen for me to be following all the details.
> Sort or Reality Show
> 
> View attachment 20391





You.... can't be serious.... he took.. a root... OUT... and put it BAAAACK.... and YOU WATCHED?????  and you are able to type this.... and be coherent????  My knees are weak.... I need chocolate.... rightnow...


----------



## bobo

I'm a scientist, magic - it was very interesting - and besides - I was anaesthetized locally.
It took around an hour - you wouldn't expect me to sit with closed eyes a whole hour, would you ??
(One day they might be able to take out the liver, cleanse it - and put it back in place - don't you think ??
- all while one's laying there enjoying, or at least watching the show )


----------



## Firemajic

bobo said:


> I'm a scientist, magic - it was very interesting - and besides - I was anaesthetized locally.
> It took around an hour - you wouldn't expect me to sit with closed eyes a whole hour, would you ??
> 
> )




No, I would expect that you would be sedated into a coma state of unawareness....


----------



## Kevin

Must be amazing to have all the latest techniques available. I hear about things ( innovation) read about things, but they never seem to get here.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW when you realize you'll be ready to watch 'The Last Jedi' in almost 25 hours and counting...


----------



## H.Brown

And walla, here's home made victoria sponge. 

View attachment 20392


----------



## bobo

Kevin said:


> Must be amazing to have all the latest techniques available. I hear about things ( innovation) read about things, but they never seem to get here.


Thougth it was the golden state you're living in ??
Generally:
We all have to go through a lot in this universe.
When seeing most of your poems here at the WF  - it's mostly about feelings.
BUT - there're other things apart from feelings --  and those things can be totally mindboogling 
Things which can give you a whole new perspective - which seldom only feelings/emotions can. 
Don't you wanna know about such things ??


----------



## Kevin

What sort of things?  Lol -I just thought of this scene from the movie  Excaliber where Morgana gets secret knowledge from Merlin.  Well, I am interested in a lot of things. 

Golden state... That's what they used to call it. I guess if you have gold it's always golden. We have a lot of sunlight. And there's still wilderness. Good food...variety


----------



## bobo

Kevin said:


> What sort of things?  Lol -I just thought of this scene from the movie  Excaliber where Morgana gets secret knowledge from Merlin......



He-he, you ARE curious 
Secret knowledge isn't to be told in an exoteric (exoteric as the opposite to esoteric) forum


----------



## escorial

H.Brown said:


> And walla, here's home made victoria sponge.
> 
> View attachment 20392



Now that's a slice of cake to enjoy with a big mug of T...I do like working class portions an not those slithers an bone t China cups


----------



## Olly Buckle

Did the Santa bit for the last day of playgroup. Mainly boys this year, much more forward. They are supposed to be sitting down waiting for me, but when they saw me they all rushed over and a couple of them hugged my legs   There was still one too shy to come and get his present though.


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> Now that's a slice of cake to enjoy with a big mug of T...I do like working class portions an not those slithers an bone t China cups



If its not a massive slice then is it really a slice of cake Esc? Although I know I'm british but I can not stand T, dum, du, dummm....


----------



## escorial

Don't like T...I know that can happen but it's very rare...a tea cosy that will never be knitted is so sad...


----------



## H.Brown

Well it's happened Esc lets get out the tissues hahaha I will never have a knitted T cosy  will have to eat more cake.


----------



## escorial

Let them eat cake...still echo's throughout history


----------



## aj47

I put in my resume for a non-programming job with the place where I'm volunteer teaching. It's a support role with a lot of problem-solving involved and I think I'd do well.  And I believe in the mission of the organization, too.  

It meant I didn't get my LM story done and turned in cuz my focus was elsewhere.  bah.


----------



## aj47

... but look, kilroy extended the deadline.


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> ... I think I'd do well.  And I believe in the mission of the organization, too.



Two really good reasons to go for it, good luck.


----------



## Winston

Mourning today.  My wife and her sisters will start with the disposition of the estate tomorrow, such as it is.
It's hard to just pick up and move on.  I feel like I need to be doing something else.  Rend a garment and cry to heaven or something.  
It's like a buoyancy problem.  Not sure if I'm supposed to explode or implode. I suppose I should just go out and buy some gifts. Just one less this year.
Merry Effing Xmas.


----------



## -xXx-

Winston said:


> Mourning today.
> Merry Effing Xmas.


*<3*


----------



## aj47

Winston said:


> Mourning today.



I wish you peace and strength.


----------



## Theglasshouse

A curious anecdote that has to do with writing, but I remember one time I went to this movie theater. A woman tells me she loves to read detective fiction. The thing is she reads it to find out whodunit but approaches it a different way. The catch is she reads the book backward to know who the murderer was and then reads it from the beginning to end. Strange ways to enjoy a book or I will say this was a first for me since people cheat themselves of the enjoyment by spoiling the book. I was stupefied and tried not to laugh, to be honest.


----------



## aj47

I don't know if cheating is the right idiom.  I mean, this woman may enjoy watching the author carefully construct the plot knowing whodunit and appreciating the skill of keeping the unknowing reader in suspense.  That only works if you know whodunit ... if you don't know, you're one of the readers in suspense.


----------



## Theglasshouse

That was my second guess, and I was more surprised maybe which made me laugh at being surprised at her answer. That was a fun anecdote for me since I remember the person waiting inside the movie theater and remember it like yesterday. I had asked her why, and that was probably my second guess. I can see why people do this, but it was a first to hear this from a mystery reader fan.


----------



## The Green Shield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltjR-Tb8Wc4




<keels over from sheer excitement>


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltjR-Tb8Wc4
> 
> 
> 
> 
> <keels over from sheer excitement>



The sheer excitement of the non-working link ?  It takes all sorts


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> The sheer excitement of the non-working link ?  It takes all sorts


Sorry. xD

Random tech. goof.


----------



## bobo

*Schoolbus torpedoed.*


A schoolbus was torpedoed by a train in an 'ungated level crossing' a couple of days ago, some miles from here.
Already 6 dead children and many more severely injured (hospitalized).
The bus drove 7.5 miles per hour, and the train shot 47 miles per hour.
A barrier is/was supposed to go down, and a red light blinking when a train is passing - signalling to the road traffic on either side to stop and wait.
The conductrice, also severly injured said, that it didn't happen, no barrier was down, and no red light was blinking.
The bus company of course back her up - the train syndicate says the barrier and signal were functioning normally.
It's now a matter of placing the blame, and having either the train company of the bus ditto to pay.
They're searching for technical proofs of either one or the other.
Whatever the result will be, the accident DID happen, and 6 children are dead, may be more to come.
Whatever the result of the investigation, will the conductrice ever be able to live on after that??
Would it be more merciful to let her die of her injuries ??


----------



## aj47

I need a freakin' blanket fort


----------



## -xXx-

astroannie said:


> I need a freakin' blanket fort


*makes ring of chairs*
*flattens refrigerator box*
*places on chair backs*
*clothespins blankets*
*hangs flashlights*
*leaves 50 foot moat of bubblewrap*
*and retractable drawbridge*


----------



## midnightpoet

Wife off to hospital 4th time this year.  She woke up babbling and incoherent this morning about six, couldn't stand or even walk to the commode.  She said she thought she was having another stroke. I'll be leaving to follow ambulance more details later.  Motor functions erratic.


----------



## Kevin

Oof...Very sorry to hear that, Midnight.


----------



## sas

Question:
Is BlondeAverage Reader Midnight's wife?


----------



## aj47

sas said:


> Question:
> Is BlondeAverage Reader Midnight's wife?



JustRob's


----------



## BlondeAverageReader

sas said:


> Question:
> Is BlondeAverage Reader Midnight's wife?



It would explain the strange poems!  sas, but I'm JustRob's Angel.
Do hope Mrs Midnight recovers soon.


----------



## Nellie

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Do hope Mrs Midnight recovers soon.



So do I. Thinking of you and your wife, Midnight.


----------



## Firemajic

midnightpoet said:


> Wife off to hospital 4th time this year.  She woke up babbling and incoherent this morning about six, couldn't stand or even walk to the commode.  She said she thought she was having another stroke. I'll be leaving to follow ambulance more details later.  Motor functions erratic.




I have been thinking about you and your wife all day.. You both have had such a tuff year... I have been through the stroke trauma, with my Husband's illness... for me, it was the waiting that was so brutal, and the "NOT KNOWING".. like how bad is IT, I am sending good vibes your way, my friend...love you bunches...


----------



## midnightpoet

Thanks everyone, Vickie's better; they are running tests to find the problem.  Thought it was a stroke, may be blood clots.  Will update (by the way, we live in Texas, not UK).


----------



## Olly Buckle

midnightpoet said:


> Thanks everyone, Vickie's better; they are running tests to find the problem.  Thought it was a stroke, may be blood clots.  Will update (by the way, we live in Texas, not UK).



I am so glad, like firemajic my thoughts keep straying to you at odd times ever since I read the original post.  Let's hope they get to the bottom of it and stop it ever happening again, no better present for Christmas I am thinking


----------



## sas

Thank you, so much, for keeping us in the loop, Midnight.


----------



## Darkkin

Anybody else rather humbug about this Christmas season?  Fresh off two days in CICU and I get to put in 40+ hours in the next four days...:???:  New hires call in with a sniffle and I have to go into work with a cardiac infection and a newly replaced PICC line.  That was a mess, and a big part of the reason I was in CICU.  But I am upright, ambulatory, noncontaigous, and sentient...Rue's going with, too.  (Service certified).  Not something I generally do this time of year given the hectic environment, but he knows when things go south with me long before they go critical.  He poked at me on Monday before I went to work and I ignored him.  He was right.

He is a warning that cannot be ignored and I have him for a reason...Telling someone who has never dealt with cardiac issues and chest pain that you don't feel right, doesn't generally have much effect.  If people cannot see it the issue does not exist.  'You're fine...' is a common response.  Sure, on the surface because you cannot see pulse rate, high blood pressure, and a damaged circulatory system.  The dog, people can see.  The dog, people believe...So Rue goes, too.

I know the holidays can be wondrous, but right now...They suck.


----------



## Kevin

I don't know what to get her. &$@! -I bought her this thing, not cheap, and someone compared it to a mop or a vacuum cleaner. F-u. I vacuum! But now I have doubts. I can't buy her clothes.... f-ing -just go in the damn closet and later get given away/ tossed. No fashion items . Ok , I get that. Jewelry? Again?! Isn't that fashion!? They never get worn, anyway. What the hell do I do?! I'm starting to panic, get palpitations, I can't afford that Mercedes. Might as well be the Taj Mahal. Trip to St. Kitts?! I gotta work. My chest hurts. Heartburn... And no, the f-ing thought does not always count, okay?  "just don't buy me anything, "- yeah, right... "It's a Trap!" -yes Admiral Akbar, we know. Panic! Shame! Turmoil! F-ing Mall?! No! Fate worse than...  Okay, just breath, calm... Well, she likes peanut butter... "Peanut Butter"!!? Wth!? Oh gawd, I'm losing it. Help me Santa, Mr. Wizard, someone.


----------



## -xXx-

Kevin said:


> Help me Santa, Mr. Wizard, someone.



select beautiful setting.
cater a candlelight dinner.
give her an invitation for a selected date,
and indicate appropriate attire.
i would do something ridiculous like
finding a violin student
willing to play for an hour on the beach.
i'd probably get deli sandwiches,
lovely wine,
and fresh fruit.
there would also be a poem read.
jussayin'


----------



## Kevin

Excellent, and very romantic.
 Now then... how to wrap a maitre'd and stick him under the tree. I'll have to gag him...  Lol


----------



## escorial

walked 1/2 a mile to my mothers this afternoon with a bunch of flowers and one woman said you shouldn't have and another are they for me


----------



## Olly Buckle

Kevin said:


> Excellent, and very romantic.
> Now then... how to wrap a maitre'd and stick him under the tree. I'll have to gag him...  Lol





> give her an invitation for a selected date,


That is what goes under the tree, silly 

It really is a good idea for someone you don't know what to get though, an event rather than a thing, any one want to take me to listen to some good chamber music? Actually we have our younger daughter home for Christmas and she was practicing her flute in the kitchen earlier, she says our kitchen has much better acoustics than her flat in Bath


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> walked 1/2 a mile to my mothers this afternoon with a bunch of flowers and one woman said you shouldn't have and another are they for me



Hahaha only in Liverpool.


----------



## aj47

yes, an event.  ... an experience.   dunno where you are or your budget .... around here an "event" might be Saturday gaming ... but we're known to be weird.   do you have an arboretum or .... ?  There are plenty of things that can be treats if done right.


----------



## midnightpoet

Vickie's back home and better, turns out it was a urinary tract infection combined with restless leg and complications.  Thanks for everyone's concern and have a Marry Xmas.


----------



## Winston

midnightpoet said:


> ...Thanks for everyone's concern and have a Marry Xmas.



Praise be to The Festivus Pole!


----------



## aj47

My son's birthday was Friday .... he spent the week at a friend's so we had his celebratory dinner on the 16th.  We ordered pizza from his favorite place for delivery.  Since it was raining, I tipped the driver $3.mumble so the total rounded to an even dollar amount.  As there was a delivery charge, my normal tip would have been $1.mumble.  This enterprising individual rounded up the tip amount to read $8.mumble and when I caught it on my online bank statement, I called the pizza shop. Instead of giving me $5 credit, they refunded the whole bill and, additionally, offered me a free meal in the future (we'll probably do New Years Eve pizza now).  The refund went through the bank in time for me to buy groceries.  The feast is *on* and we are having everything my blog says (this is the internet and it is theoretically possible for the blog to suggest menu options that are not actually being prepared at my house).  

Although I don't covet, I keep an Amazon wishlist.  Most folks do.  The big-ticket items are an electric spiralizer, a pod drink-maker (they call it a coffee-maker but I doubt anyone would use it for coffee) and a fitness tracker.  Each are about $50 (and a molcajete--I don't think anyone who reads my list understands what I would use it for besides guac).  I don't anticipate receiving any of them.  The small-ticket items are a bottle of Lyle's (yes, that's a hard-to-find item here), a pyrex lasagna pan (my current pan is a "baker's secret' and the *secret* is that the initials are accurate) and a sifter. There's some etc. in there but .... yeah. Those are more likely.  Also offlist stuff that's waaay cool -- I live with attentive people.  

What I'm thinking I like most is I get the excuse to bake a ham.  And that I'm recovered enough from being totally on my assets from this crud (I think it was maybe the flu--despite the shot I had in September) that I am looking forward to the kitchen bustle.  I want to put in a good word here for colcannon--if you hate kale, you might like it in colcannon. I've already made key lime pies.  The aroma of a busy kitchen on a holiday is ... amazing.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 20509


Done with work, dead on my feet...And puppy snuggles.


----------



## JustRob

We didn't get a Christmas card from my elder elder sister (I also have a younger elder sister.), so I emailed her son in case there was something wrong. She often visits her children at Christmas, so I didn't know where she might be. I tried ringing her home for ages but it was always engaged, maybe an extension left off the hook. No problems though, just a tardy postal service. We got the card eventually and she telephoned me. She will be 87 on Thursday but is still doing just fine with only the minor setbacks that advancing age brings. I was the youngest child in our family, so even in my seventies I am still a youngster by our standards. She brought me up to date on my younger elder sister's activities as well. So, family all intact for another year; time to enjoy Christmas with my angel then. Happy birthday sister.


----------



## The Green Shield

So I decided to try something different and write my fantasy all in third-person instead of the usual first-person. Result?



700 words. In an hour.



And I’m already ginning up for Chapter 2.


----------



## Olly Buckle

A once a year job this evening, cut the cardboard centres from the Christmas wrapping into short lengths suitable for growing runner bean seeds in come Spring; it's on the way, we're past the shortest day


----------



## TuesdayEve

Today, very cold, minus one with the sun. A few more 
days dog sitting with Teddy. Little dude’s feet still barely 
touch the ground.
 Inside, it’s warm and toasty and wonderfully lazy; 
finished off the banana bread just now and a cup of 
hot tea sounds good.
Four hours till our next walk, yay.


----------



## PiP

Today was my Birthday so hubby insisted he take me out to lunch. I received some interesting presents but the most special was a simple necklace my friend made.  I really wanted to to have some friends round to celebrate but as I can't walk that well at the moment I did not want to burden hubby with extra work.... and he wasn't that keen.

I start my diet tomorrow so made a pig of myself today. I've put on soooo much weight since I've not been able to exercise I now resemble a buddha


----------



## TuesdayEve

Happy Birthday PiP!!
Buddha, that’s funny, sometimes I feel like Buddha too.
We ain’t what we used to be girl. Hope you feel better.


----------



## Robbie

Happy Birthday Carole! Sorry I missed your special day. So glad you had fun. Post a pic of the necklace?


----------



## The Green Shield

OK, so long story short, I had a G-tube in my stomach for my whole life. It has just fallen off. 




I trust the hole will close up eventually? How will I eat if the food is just going to dribble out of my stomach?


----------



## Olly Buckle

So the missus is off on holiday. We are a veggie household when she is here, and I thought ‘casserole a couple of lamb chops for supper, yum’. 

“Do you have New Zealand lamb?” 
“No Sir, we only stock British Meat.”
“Why?”
“We find our customers prefer it Sir.”

This raises some questions for me. Why would your customers prefer to have no choice? Why would they prefer to eat meat with a higher pesticide and fertiliser content? Are they excited by the Russian roulette of Chernobyl fallout?

I guess it is that their customers are so thick no choice is the easier option, and they know nothing of the other factors. Have they have been brainwashed by the phrase ‘Locally sourced’ without realising that bulk transport costs are diddly squat per unit? Economists don’t even take them into account when costing. I am obviously not one of their customers, silly me thinking I might be, shan’t go back there.


----------



## PiP

TuesdayEve said:


> Happy Birthday PiP!!
> Buddha, that’s funny, sometimes I feel like Buddha too.
> We ain’t what we used to be girl. Hope you feel better.



*laughing* I used to burn off the pies and sweets. Now they settle on my midriff... I need to make a determined effort to lose the 10KG i've put on this Sept and lose another 10kg. If I need a knee operation, I gotta be realistic and take control. 



Robbie said:


> Happy Birthday Carole! Sorry I missed your special day. So glad you had fun. Post a pic of the necklace?



Will do


----------



## TMarie

Happy Belated PiP Buddha’s always look happy


----------



## PiP

TMarie said:


> Happy Belated PiP Buddha’s always look happy


Thanks, T  Yes, Buddha looks happy. It's goed to laugh...


----------



## -xXx-

PiP said:


> Today was my Birthday



enjoy, Enjoy, ENJOY!


----------



## midnightpoet

Just another day
a day like yesterday
and probably tomorrow
I see no real excuse
other than to party
but that's as good 
an excuse as any 
I suppose, another
step on the road
to oblivion.
Oh, and it's
my birthday.:champagne:

March on, writers!  Have a great year.


----------



## Winston

Spent most of the day going through my in-laws coin collection, helping my wife with her executor duties.
I always liked numismatics.  I have a small collection myself.  Jim and Mary had some interesting coins and notes.  Most of it was just bullion-value non-collectible silver.  They had a bunch of wheat pennies (God, I don't know why anyone collects those).  The 1943 steel pennies were a great piece of history.  
The most interesting was their foreign coins.  Jim and Mary were stationed in Post-War Germany, circa 1954.  Going through those coins was like walking in their shoes.  Although the 1942 Nazi Reich Marks were creepy.   The 1944 Provisional Government Italian Lira notes were cool.  I don't know how they came across coins from Guatemala and The Philippines.
Now, I just don't know what to do with them.  The coins have little monetary value, and splitting them up just doesn't seem right.  We'll deal with that later.


----------



## sas

Winston said:


> Spent most of the day going through my in-laws coin collection, helping my wife with her executor duties.
> I always liked numismatics.  I have a small collection myself.  Jim and Mary had some interesting coins and notes.  Most of it was just bullion-value non-collectible silver.  They had a bunch of wheat pennies (God, I don't know why anyone collects those).  The 1943 steel pennies were a great piece of history.
> The most interesting was their foreign coins.  Jim and Mary were stationed in Post-War Germany, circa 1954.  Going through those coins was like walking in their shoes.  Although the 1942 Nazi Reich Marks were creepy.   The 1944 Provisional Government Italian Lira notes were cool.  I don't know how they came across coins from Guatemala and The Philippines.
> Now, I just don't know what to do with them.  The coins have little monetary value, and splitting them up just doesn't seem right.  We'll deal with that later.




My former husband collected coins for decades. I was unhappy to learn he sold the collection. I just assumed he'd pass along to our children. He didn't need the money, and I'm sure monetary value wasn't high, but nostalgic value was.  Winston, maybe there's a family member who would treasure it. My son would have loved his dad's.


----------



## sas

We do not send Christmas cards. We do send family photo Happy New Year cards. I'm now carefully going through them (stuffed pre-printed envelopes in December) to pull out several before mailing today. They have died. Two in December alone; one funeral this week. Each year fewer weddings, more funerals. This is probably odd, but now I have "my funeral outfit", worn last 12 years, always ready. Black trousers, white dress shirt, my father's 1960s black tie with his initial (k) and real gold tie tack. My signature funeral look, friends say. I always ask if any weddings are planned. I'd like to wear red when I see my friends next time.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Started when I was about eighteen and my friend Barney died, I really know a lot of dead people now, I have to make new friends all the time or I would run out of people


----------



## escorial

2 fails in 24hr's...today listening to the cantebury tales on youtube an last night 1955 richard3 movie on telly....usually these things come in three's...


----------



## The Green Shield

Uh...yeah... The minute I said I was leaving my fantasy to go do my sci-fi, it fixed up the problem I was banging my head on the metaphorical wall about. 




Guess that’s to be expected. XD


----------



## TuesdayEve

Today is another blistering cold day in northern Illinois.
No snow is good snow I say, but skiers would disagree.
At work by 6:30am and on the road by seven to pick 
up students; these days, it’s vital to be on time.
All of our buses started this morning; with temps 
this low, the machanics started the buses at five so 
they’re warmed up and ready to go by the time the 
drivers arrive. At the moment, hanging out with 
several drivers half watching a movie made in 
Iceland waiting for lunch time....pot stickers!


----------



## sas

I am a skier. Too cold to ski. Within just 30 minutes skin will freeze today & tomorrow. I am inside. Staying, too.


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> 2 fails in 24hr's...today listening to the cantebury tales on youtube an last night 1955 richard3 movie on telly....usually these things come in three's...



Some you win, some... Both have the potential to be good stuff, it is the presentation that makes or breaks. Did you catch Pride and Prejudice on TV the other day, it sparkled and Ms Austen's humour had me cracking up. On the other hand I can imagine the presentation will look very dated in sixty years when it is as old as your R III.

Never mind, keep trying, got to hit a winner one day


----------



## escorial

yeah man i've ignored uk artists for so long...now and again i re-read a dickens novel and watch stuff like pride but never read a bronte...ye old england bores me rigid an i luv shakeys one liners...better to have love an lost an all that but can't even watch his stuff never mind reading it..i do like all the posh boys literature like orwell who enjoyed his poverty and waugh who wrote stuff i would have liked to lived in...deffo need to cut back on american and european culture and become brexit with uk culture.....


----------



## Olly Buckle

I think it is silly to restrict yourself by country of origin, quality is a much better filter. Do you read much non-fiction? I find it is more than half of my reading nowadays, History and science mainly.


----------



## escorial

mostly essays at the moment...just reading all of laurie lees works but while classed as non fiction the general thinking is a mix of both fiction and non fiction really...do like books on cravens or crows


----------



## Olly Buckle

Try 'The genius of birds', the writing is okay rather than wonderful, but the information ... 

New Caledonian crows are supposed to be the brightest problem solvers in the bird world, but ravens are up there as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcvbgq2SSyc


----------



## aj47

I hate whiners, so I shan't be one.

For the new year, i took everyone off my ignore list--not that there were many there.


----------



## escorial

even miserable gits need a second chance......whining is in British DNA


----------



## sas

astroannie said:


> I hate whiners, so I shan't be one.
> 
> For the new year, i took everyone off my ignore list--not that there were many there.



LOL. It takes much for me to "ghost" someone, but once done, I'm done. I've only put one person on it here. Best for us both, though she doesn't seem to know it, as she keeps popping up responding to my comments. I don't, of course, know what she says. I am liberated from that.


----------



## escorial

i went the doctors and said i think people are ignoring me..he replied next


----------



## sas

escorial said:


> even miserable gits need a second chance......whining is in British DNA



Is this true? My son's wife is a Brit. Thought just her unique personality, not island inbreeding. hmmm.


----------



## escorial

the best bit of advise i got before being married was never have friends with more money than you because the wife will moan for britian


----------



## sas

escorial said:


> the best bit of advise i got before being married was never have friends with more money than you because the wife will moan for britian



LOL, LOL.  That definitely is not the problem. They have more wealth than their friends.


----------



## escorial

if you want to look better get an ugly friend
if you want to look thinner get a fat friend..and so on


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> if you want to look better get an ugly friend
> if you want to look thinner get a fat friend..and so on



Hence "Your's is the fat, ugly one."

My daughter once had a conversation where some one said to her
"Are you fatist?"
and she replied
"No, you're fatest"


----------



## aj47

I can always ignore them again.... and maybe I don't need to put them on a list to do it. 

I have two monitors.... my screens are shaped thusly ... the one on the right is more square and physically smaller.  I'll be getting a better monitor tonight that astroandy got as some sort of award.  He earned points and spent them on a monitor.  I'll know more about its characteristics once it's unboxed, but I believe it is larger and more rectangular.




*Edited to add...
*
and it is .... the rez on it is 1600x900 vs something ickier before.  

It can be better if I can find the right cable.  It's got a vga cable now.  it has the chops for hd and my card can support that.  but I have two VGA cables (the old one and one came in the box with the monitor) and ... there may be a wandering hd cable in the "hobby room" but we're not certain.   Cables are relatively inexpensive and I can probably stretch the budget if the hobby room doesn't pan out.


----------



## escorial

got a haircut today...i go in with i'm keeping the length and don't want it to look neat and tidy....a short time later she goes for the mirror an i say can you take more of the sides and do the eyebrows..inbetween the babble i'm thinking the last three haircuts i've had i'm either a bore or look like a crap tipper...i just can't get no satisfaction...maybe a wig is the way to go..cut it the way i want to


----------



## Olly Buckle

I really don't get that 'haircut' problem. To me, 'I can't see it so what does it matter'. The interction usually goes:-

'How would you like it Sir?'
'As you like, you're the expert.'

That is obviously not normal as they usually ask me if I brush it straight back, or some other question which will give them a clue what they think *I* want. Occasionally though someone takes my word for it, I got a really great 'Julio Cesare' once from an Italian hairdresser 

Guy's hospital tody for my regular check, all good. Went in the charity shop on my way home and found three Sherlock Holmes paperbacks and  really nice brown leather jacket. They were having a sale, 50p each for the books and two pounds for the jacket, bargain. As my friend said 'If you go to a baker's you find bread, a butchers, meat. The thing about charity shops is you never know what you will find


----------



## escorial

you got the face that would suit dreadlocks man.....cool about the hosptal stuff.....are the books on ebay now


----------



## Olly Buckle

Now there is a thing, I took the price stickers off the back and underneathe it says 'Radio Times, not for resale'. It seems strange, apart from the shop reselling them. Can they really dictate what people do with things when they have been sold and become that person's property? Besides which it is Arthur Conan Doyle, not a modern re-write, so it is not even in copyright any longer.

My main trouble with Sherlock books is that I have read so many I can't remember which is which, so I get half way through a story and then think 'Wait a minute, I know the ending'. Spoils it a bit sometimes


----------



## escorial

i get it when people read a book a few times..dun it a few times over the years..guess if you read crime novels the who dunnit might be the only thing that pulls you in...elementry i suppose


----------



## Olly Buckle

John Buchan is the other one I find it easy to do it with. They are the 'quickies' I read in a day when I have just spent a fortnight getting through a couple of heavy non-fictions.


----------



## escorial

short stories rock man......


----------



## Olly Buckle

You should try 'A Read for the Train'  (plug)


----------



## escorial

i did check it out many moons ago to buy and liked the red cover....or did i read some of it on the pages were you can look in the book...cheers man


----------



## aj47

I've accepted a position as Program Assistant for the South-Central Region with TEALS (the folks I volunteer teach for).  Start date TBD because ... there's a Doin's happening RSN and I'm invited.  It's in Redmond, WA.


----------



## Winston

All I have to do today is fix the stereo in my truck.  I hate electrical work.  I keep procrastinating.  Someone kick me in the butt, please.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I withdrew the story I have been working on. But left a note whether I could resubmit it. I was surprised the editor contacted me directly and said I could. And the really cool thing is march the 31st is my birthday where all final considerations are made for this theme for the magazine. So if I get accepted or rejected it would be on the day of my own birthday. But maybe I am doing something right if that happened. It's a well-known magazine has many years. So this is good news to me. Whenever I am not home I get in tune to writing because it is quiet where I visit on weekends. It has many years. Not going to say where I submitted in case I face competition. But I managed to do everything with feedback and with the computer programs. Everyone knows grammar is my biggest problem because of what seems like dyslexia. I was obsessive about finishing it. It may be early to celebrate but this bodes well for me. I think I will leave it as is, I never edited the thread and put the last version of the story which is inspired by a story I read a long time ago.


----------



## Winston

Reflecting...


----------



## aj47

I start 5 February.  Doin's in Redmond is the week prior.  I did paperwork today ... lots of it.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I just finished rewatching Full Metal Panic! seasons 1 - 3.

Season 4 is a decade late, but it's finally upon us April 2018.

I am SO ready.


----------



## aj47

My son (the youngest, the brain surgery survivor) is in the hospital.  They are keeping him overnight.  I'm not particularly interested in thoughts or prayers, but what I a*m* interested in is being able to get to sleep at a reasonable hour (which is obviously not happening at the moment -- usually I've been asleep at least an hour by now).  No diagnosis at this time.  I'm not even certain of all the symptoms (he's an adult so my option not to helicopter means he informed me he needed to see someone and astroandy took him because it's dark and icy outside).   So I'll be poking around here for the next while (and googling Alexander Scourby reading the begats -- that should be boring enough to knock me out).


ETA:  [video=youtube_share;Evh9JF-TFog]https://youtu.be/Evh9JF-TFog[/video]



Second edit:  It's treat and release -- he's coming home with written instructions and I'll know more when they return.  He was rehydrated and *stuff*.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Okay, I'm officially in love with this chick I've been courting as of today.


----------



## dither

Nice one R.O.P. enjoy.


----------



## LeeC

Hormones, Nature's gift or carrot on a stick? 

Relocating snow this morning, from the last 24 hours of snowfall. Gonna need a longer nap this afternoon.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Looking for dyslexia writing centers online. Hopefully I pay to get access to one. I am tired from correcting my work. Maybe I need to learn basic skills. But I need to consult first. None of these services usually are too cheap. However I finished proofreading something long, but need to fix this problem. I'm thinking of using one of those question websites with experts on the panel, and I ask them what services are available for someone such as myself with dyslexia. I know I have to work at executive dysfucntion. Because I was told I was diagnosed with that.


----------



## sas

Theglasshouse said:


> Looking for dyslexia writing centers online. Hopefully I pay to get access to one. I am tired from correcting my work. Maybe I need to learn basic skills. But I need to consult first. None of these services usually are too cheap. However I finished proofreading something long, but need to fix this problem. I'm thinking of using one of those question websites with experts on the panel, and I ask them what services are available for someone such as myself with dyslexia. I know I have to work at executive dysfucntion. Because I was told I was diagnosed with that.




FYI: I am following your comments, as my 12 year old granddaughter has dyslexia. I don't like to say IS dyslexic because I feel then that dyslexia defines her. I did see on-line something called Dyslexic Advantage (?). It talked and demonstrated  about how dyslexic brains are wired differently. It showed advantages for dyslexics who are able to connect more diverse things/concepts than the ordinary (smiles) brain, which is why they are usually more creative. They mentioned Einstein and Leonardo de Vinci, as dyslexic. I question how they could possibly know. Here's an advantage we discovered: When the family plays scrabble, we can put her at the end of the table where the board is only seen upside down. She won last time. I would need to get up and walk around the table to play well. I've quite an ordinary brain. 

Please keep posting if you find useful tools. I'll do the same. Thanks and thumbs up. Sas


----------



## topcol

Yesterday was my last day aged 72. It didn't feel any different to the day before nor does today feel any different except that this morning we had a frost instead of rain. I wrote some more of a novel I'd left stewing for 4 months and during our dogs' evening walk on the Minnis, we heard the heartrending screams of a small animal taken by an unseen predator of some kind. Distressing in spite of telling myself I could do nothing to prevent it nor should I. This morning I spent thanking FB family and friends for their birthday wishes, face-timed one son in Wellington NZ and another in Poughkeepsie NY so I'm now feeling good.
topcol


----------



## aj47

My son is back in the hospital ... the rehydration was apparently only part of the issue. He's an adult and politely asked me to not post details (it's why I'm not supposed to say his name anymore either).  I'm unhappy they sent him home, but apparently one of the tests was a false negative.  He's doing better, but will be there for a few days.  I had to buy him slippers because he has huge feet and the rubber socks they have are not sufficient to his needs.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I asked my question: stating I believe I must have dyslexia, that I need to find an affordable writing center for this. Or how can I locate people with this specialty to help me. I briefly mentioned executive dysfunction. I will share what they tell me sas. I posted on quora. Just need to wait.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW you are in a Deaf/Hard of Hearing group on Facebook and someone yells about how those with hearing impairment don't have to wear their hearing aids just for the sake of the hearing's convenience. TMW you offer an insight from their (the hearing) perspective and you fear the flak. TMW you realize that there is a whole Deaf culture that you are not even the least bit aware of. TMW you realize the irony of being hearing impaired yourself.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My good luck made me find that uncanny has a call for "disabled people destroy science ficiton." I mentioned I had dyslexia. I noticed I missed a question mark, it has small errors but I even gave my mental history. I hope it works. It is in the workshop.


https://www.quora.com/unanswered/Wh...o-improve-learn-practice-or-read-their-papers

My question I made to the experts at quora above.


----------



## andrewclunn

Back from an unfortunately unforeseen and unavoidable hiatus.  When life gives you lemons, punch it in the gut and have pineapple instead.


----------



## Theglasshouse

They finally gave an answer at the link. Still thinking of going to a doctor a speech therapist in this case.   The ORTON GILLINGHAM program is used for adults and I think children. They linked me to a website. Now I am asking a different question since I have been gone all day since I visited my grandmother.


----------



## aj47

I received my reimbursement from my last trip. 

I have sufficient funds I can get a pedicure -- which means I won't be too embarrassed to go to the pool (if others are) due to my toes (I have syndactyl toes on both feet and even the pros are challenged so I go to the podiatrist, rather than a salon).

My feet resemble this foot from wikipedia (only unkempt)






This is hereditary.  My older daughter and her son have the same issue.  My mother and one of her brothers and her father also had it. It doesn't correlate to the vision issue that also is hereditary in my family.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My mother too has a hereditary disease but in her eye and my uncle. They both could become blind if exposed to too much sunlight over time. She wears these special dark shades when walking. She was born with the problem. I don't know yet if I have the same sort of eye. In a car crash, is when my uncle started to lose his vision in florida, where some of american cousins of mine live.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Got pissed on twice today. Rain is so fucking drawing. I hate the fact that things take and fuck you up, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it, but god damn, it takes a second to get soaked an an hour+ to dry the fuck out.


----------



## Olly Buckle

RhythmOvPain said:


> I hate the fact that things take and fuck you up, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it,



Take control! There is a bit in 'Just another roadside attraction' (worth reading) where the hero realises that another character is walking in the rain and taking no notice of it, not hunched, collar not up, and that it is all a matter of attitude, which is uder your control. Think 'What am I doing to myself'. It does not matter if it is being pissed, or being pissed off, you do it to yourself, or at worst _let_ others do it to you. Your destiny is all yours pal.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Spent six hours today ankle-deep in dysentery in the basement of my boss's titty bar.

You know damm well I got open bar and a show after I was done.

Gave my best fiend five bucks to go cheat on his wife. Sigh.

Saw my bartender and found out she's already trying to fuck someone. I honestly laugh at this retarded bitch now. I swear I need better taste in women.

Overall, today sucked balls.

If that ain't life, I'unno what is.


----------



## The Green Shield

RhythmOvPain said:


> Spent six hours today ankle-deep in dysentery in the basement of my boss's titty bar.
> 
> You know damm well I got open bar and a show after I was done.
> 
> Gave my best fiend five bucks to go cheat on his wife. Sigh.
> 
> Saw my bartender and found out she's already trying to fuck someone. I honestly laugh at this retarded bitch now. I swear I need better taste in women.
> 
> Overall, today sucked balls.
> 
> If that ain't life, I'unno what is.


:[ That sucks, Rhythm. Good thing today’s over, yes?


----------



## Theglasshouse

Found an interesting website today Sas for people with dyslexia or any disability.
https://techmatrix.org (this is the main one that has software sorted by prices, and you can shop for one using any disability is covered, any. For example dyscalculia and visual handicaps or special needs)

http://lsg.freedomscientific.com/resources/Reading_Writing_Roadblocks.html

This is a good website for people who are parents, special educators, and disabled people. It has a search engine to search for software for specific disabilities such as dyscalculia and gives you a price range to work with. You can narrow down the options according to the diagnosis. There are many options in software technology for disabilities. I searched and found the one within my budget that could help me that I linked above. I tried wynn reader by freedom scientific. It is developed for people with all sorts of disabilities: aphasia, dyslexia, dysgraphia, autism but for reading and writing. Supposedly people who have these disabilities gave feedback on its software development. They supposedly use in schools and colleges in the United States. The downside is you can't with the demo proofread in chrome. Or proofread a post in an email. They give you a 40-minute demo for 30 days to try out. It's better than my old text screen reader, and I kind of like it more than read and writes. Because it is not a subscription it is cheaper. That being said, I like how I can see the document in a much bigger window. It provides spacing, masking, and has different voices and fonts. It has more options such as adding a note recorded by using your voice as a summary.

If a person needs more help with physical print books they could always get the pearl scanner, which lets you read books with a camera (you need the software). At 99 dollars the software is a bargain, for reading and writing (I paid 300 for my previous one that does something similar but malfunctioned with windows updates and always required the latest version of the word). For scanning, you need to shell about 600 or more I think which I do not need yet.

If no one who feels they are disabled likes it, they can always use the first website mentioned since it has a vast collection you can search and filter for until you find the right one for a budget, disability, and so on.

I think there is a software that lets you peer review papers online. I need to develop my grammar skills for that. I know this was helpful for me. I wish I had seen or known it sooner.

Hopefully, I can become independent when correcting my paperwork such as stories with this software.

All my searches indicate good text to speech readers and dragon speaking software is what people with writing problems use. But need to research people with reading problems to know more.


----------



## sas

glasshouse....

Wish there was a hug button to click!  Great info. Thank you, so very much!!!!!  sas


----------



## Theglasshouse

You are welcome. I know it could be helpful for someone in your situation. It is always a pleasure to receive and give help. I searched the internet after many attempts to find information concerning my own problems with mixed success. I knew you'd probably think it was useful. I was surprised at what I found and decided to post it. Hope your granddaughter sees some more positive progress in school. It is too important to ignore what people say, like in my case. Especially to neglect someone's language problems is another such issue. But usually, it is because of lack of knowledge or research people can't access or find it seems to me. In my case, I still, will need to see a doctor. But this is the information I was hoping to find. One I found useful and can be used right away. I know my family's problems aggravate the situation a bit. I have always felt you could have that sort of help. I know you care for her a lot. So it will not be a lost cause or problem that could get worse. Always a pleasure to help someone in the situation I was in. Lastly, technology has advanced a lot. Decades and years ago diagnosis in autism were almost impossible to accept. Yet people succeeded despite doctors saying they could not learn. I've seen a movie by temple Grandin for instance. I have seen how people live with silent disabilities. I definitely recognize the emotion.


----------



## Winston

I wish I could chip-in with Tales of Dragons Slain.  No advice.  Nothing positive to inspire... anyone.
I'm not in a 'bad space', just kind of in limbo.  All I did yesterday was binge-watch Netflix.  Washed a load of clothes.  Think I forgot to dry them.  Just got around to washing dishes from Friday.
Got to go out and do errands.  My hair is weeks overdue for a trim.  Cat box ain't gonna clean itself.  
Just saw a solicitation for submissions at a site called The Prepper Journal.  That would be right in my wheel-house.  If I felt like swinging.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Dear TGHouse,
Having known many autistic kids ranging the spectrum
over the years, I was very excited to have discovered 
the movie about Temple Grandin’s life you refered too. 
For those of you that have never heard of her.... briefly,
Temple Grandin grew up in the 50’s when autism was 
not as understood, she had a brilliant mind wired to 
visualize pictures and less intellectual absorption with 
hearing/listening... this was a tremendous point for me 
to the learning process of a shade on the spectrum.
The movie shows the ups and downs in various schools,
coping tools she created for herself, her determination 
and while visiting her aunts cattle ranch during summers
and relating to the cattle's stress at slaughter, she 
redesigned the method in which cattle are led which 
stands today. And, went on to become a proffessor. As
research improved her autism was given a name, 
Asperger’s. If you have an interest, google her and see
the movie...Claire Dane plays Temple Grandin in this very
interesting movie.


----------



## Darkkin

Grandin has several books, as well.  _Animals in Translation, Talking in Pictures, Different not Less, and The Autistic Brain.  _Other books that offer insight, _Neurotribes, a History of Autism_ by Silberman.  Being spectrum and ADHD, and being told repeatedly that you are broken because you don't think the same way normal people do, you go looking for answers wherever you can find them.  For me, that is in facts and logic.  Saltz's _The Power of Different _also offers really interesting insight into the physical brain differences in people with conditions like ASD.

- D.


----------



## The Green Shield

How my day go?
Had a mostly "I hate life, gonna have wine" day. Been up since 2:30 in the morning...


----------



## sas

Glasshouse:

As update, last Monday, my granddaughter was evaluated by neroupsychologist (she's had other professional & expensive evaluations over the years) who will be new tutor. We are fortunate that money is available for such help. I have always told my children, and now my grandchildren, that money isn't for buying "stuff", but you better damn well have it, in order to try to save those you love. If anyone doesn't think money is important, come to America. It rules. My family, at least, has a shot at saving ours. I am sorry that others may not. 

.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Thanks, sas for sharing. As always I am interested in listening what your experiences offer. It can be frustrating and thus emotionally reckoning for school years and beyond. Your daughter studies, responsibly, and I think she will provide a good example, of people who have special needs. You're like a good second parent to her I can imagine. 

Saving families is what recognizing a disability and treating it on the spot is all about. You're the "good Samaritan."

I hopefully will not need to go to one neurologist. Speech pathologists treat adults. I don't mean this in a bad way. You and your daughter's struggles are interesting to listen to because I know it's a personal and social story that shows concern. It is interesting since I am going through a similar experience. 

About my update. The books I bought arrived.

I am copying an imitation by example. That is I am using a book to compose my ideas more cohesively in this post at least. I am going to need a notebook and to start by practicing on the website. I have used the composition rules on the website and by composing some sentences. The books arrived 30 minutes ago.

I do suspect something is not right concerning me, though I understand in my own ways by my writing. That I too need help but mine will be closer to birthday to see such a professional. My birthday is close by. I plan to see one such specialist since speech pathologists are meant for adults. But like a story, a complication is added to this one. One of my cousins suffered an accident. I have around 85 family members if a wedding list was made. My brother who is still getting married made me aware we are that much in number. This had made it difficult to seek help. Because of the accident, I hope my cousin survives, and right now my mom said to wait. 

I plan to go about it going to that speech pathologist when things do calm down. I am getting 4 notebooks for each of the 4 books I read. I am going to treat my studying of English as if these were afternoon classes. 

Let me know any other updates. I probably have a milder disability in reading so that makes it so that two people I know off who have special needs and require education and help. But to prove or disprove the condition, I am willing to study English composition again. I also have a book on English sentence structure which is probably going to take many hours and days to finish. Another one on composition. John Gardner recommended an American rhetoric. Reading that many books is painful and soul-crushing.


----------



## sas

Glasshouse,

I am so impressed with your resilience. There are so many whiners about nothing. As you know, my daughter is handicapped. Can hardly walk, yet works as physician 30 hours a week.  Deteriorating health since the age of six. I've no doubt I will outlive her. She never, ever complains, although in unrelenting pain. Like you, she has no complaints, which is why I've taken such a liking to you and interest. I like backbone. So, I like you. Best. Sas


----------



## Theglasshouse

If one puts the effort they will get far. The tough mindset is one of stubbornness. If one does not seek the help they'll run into trouble. I may be thinking stubbornness creates ignorance. To be determined and resilient, like you said, is the right kind of stubbornness and nor refusing to give up. I do enjoy hearing people and I know that I need to improve. With the disease I have, writing is a perfect past time. I will do what it takes because depression in my case is caused by not occupying my mind. I want to improve my English skills in composition, that way I will have something to do. I appreciated what you had to say in terms of resilience. Thank you.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Cold outside today but the roads were dry, so easy
driving...tonite, overnite, lots of snow and it’s offical,
snow day tomorrow! We our very fortunate that our 
school district pays us for snow days...
 happy Friday.


----------



## The Green Shield

That Moment When you learn the life lesson that not everyone's gonna like you, even if you're the nicest person ever. What matters is _how you act when faced with that. _


----------



## escorial

sitting in a pub john lennon use to visit 3 chinese or japanese guys came in an took pictures  of themselves standing at the bar...i reckon i'm on all of there pic's


----------



## The Green Shield

So replaying Lego: Jurassic Park and got to the part where the park starts shutting down and everything goes to shit. Fun game, but something about the plot (of the movie the game’s based on) irks me.


So Stan/Ned/The Fat Guy shuts down the park for ‘de-bugging’ and leaves. A second later, all the gates start malfunctioning and they can’t use their phones, etc. Did no one think to go after the fat guy and get him to turn everything back on? Instead it’s, “Er, while we’re fussing over this, can you, Ellie, go get my grandkids?”


----------



## dither

I've had a dry one and I'm bored witless.


----------



## dither

The Green Shield said:


> That Moment When you learn the life lesson that not everyone's gonna like you, even if you're the nicest person ever. What matters is _how you act when faced with that. _



I turned by back on that and those a long time ago.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> That Moment When you learn the life lesson that not everyone's gonna like you, even if you're the nicest person ever. What matters is _how you act when faced with that. _



Maybe, or maybe what matters is _if_ it matters when you're faced with that.


----------



## TuesdayEve

We got about 12” of snow since Thursday nite. I’ve 
been gone all weekend taking care of Maddee the 
Golden Lab and shoveling snow at her house. What a 
delight to return home this evening with my sidewalks 
and parking cleared. My neighbor was nice enough to 
shovel my snow. God, I hope he didn’t hurt his back...


----------



## LeeC

Yesterday may have been productive, at least in getting a BIL to avoid me. 

He was bending my ear about something he saw on the only news channel he watches. I don't watch TV, and especially not the propaganda the political parties  engage in, so it was a bit annoying at best. Smiling, I said, "Sounds like a blast from past intake, and a wet one at that." After his wife explained what I said to him, they left without saying goodbye. 

The remainder of the day passed uneventfully and pleasurably, with my nose in a good book.

If more read widely they might come to the realization:
"The only thing new is the history you don't know." ~ Harry S. Truman


----------



## The Green Shield

The Awkward Moment When...


Your Godmother gives you two fantasy books (in a series) for your birthday and just by reading the blurb, you know they’re bad. Basically...


• The story is about a girl named Vasilisa who can _see things_ no one else can, namely the demons of Russian myths (such as one named Frost, a blue-eyed winter demon who jumps and absconds with wayward souls.) Her foster mother is strict and harsh, wanting to basically beat her ‘gift’ into submission and groom her for either marriage or a covenant. 


• The second is about her rejecting marriage and a covenant, disguising herself as a boy and riding off (on her horse named Solovey) to join the Grand Prince’s inner circle (after proving herself to him in the first book.) As she mingles with the Russian elite, with Frost providing council, she discovers an even greater threat that might destroy Moscow, if not Russia in its entirety. 


And that awkward moment you learn that it received _rave reviews_!


----------



## Theglasshouse

It happens to many who don't know enough about the hobby of someone's interests. But maybe you can read them to see if you can write them better.


----------



## TuesdayEve

At 1:40am this morning, I removed the turkey breast
from the oven, ooops.


----------



## bdcharles

The Green Shield said:


> The Awkward Moment When...
> 
> 
> Your Godmother gives you two fantasy books (in a series) for your birthday and just by reading the blurb, you know they’re bad. Basically...
> 
> 
> • The story is about a girl named Vasilisa who can _see things_ no one else can, namely the demons of Russian myths (such as one named Frost, a blue-eyed winter demon who jumps and absconds with wayward souls.) Her foster mother is strict and harsh, wanting to basically beat her ‘gift’ into submission and groom her for either marriage or a covenant.
> 
> 
> • The second is about her rejecting marriage and a covenant, disguising herself as a boy and riding off (on her horse named Solovey) to join the Grand Prince’s inner circle (after proving herself to him in the first book.) As she mingles with the Russian elite, with Frost providing council, she discovers an even greater threat that might destroy Moscow, if not Russia in its entirety.
> 
> 
> And that awkward moment you learn that it received _rave reviews_!



I dunno, man. Those sounds pretty good.


----------



## sas

It is early morning. I cannot bring myself to, yet again, hear some penis brain say, on the news, the solution to all our massacres is that we need more guns! We need guns in every school; we need to be able to swagger through the halls waving them like dicks on display. We need guns that can fire hundreds of rounds! Hell, let's mandate a gun in every child's backpack. America has gone insane. Bullets are our business. Oh, Canada, don't let America infect you. Build a wall!


----------



## TuesdayEve

I’m laughing...at the truth of it...the news reported last
night law enforcement’s tactics have changed since
 Columbine, instead of setting up a perimeter, clearing
 by room by room they now focus directly on the location 
of the shots/shooter....while I’m extremely grateful to 
first responders, I can’t help but wonder, what took so 
long..


----------



## The Green Shield

Theglasshouse said:


> It happens to many who don't know enough about the hobby of someone's interests. But maybe you can read them to see if you can write them better.


True. At least I can learnwhat _not_
 to do. :3 



bdcharles said:


> I dunno, man. Those sounds pretty good.


Eh, to each their own. :3 Maybe it's not to my liking, but you might like it. They're both by Katherine Arden. First book is _The Bear and the Nightingale_. The second is _The Girl in the Tower_​. :3 Enjoy!


----------



## LeeC

sas said:


> It is early morning. I cannot bring myself to, yet again, hear some penis brain say, on the news, the solution to all our massacres is that we need more guns! We need guns in every school; we need to be able to swagger through the halls waving them like dicks on display. We need guns that can fire hundreds of rounds! Hell, let's mandate a gun in every child's backpack. America has gone insane. Bullets are our business. Oh, Canada, don't let America infect you. Build a wall!



Some years ago I drew a political cartoon and submitted it to a newspaper. It was a depiction of an infant in a crib with an AK47 lying beside it. The caption read "Give your children a sense of security." They never printed it.


----------



## escorial

is it just white people that kill people like this.....


----------



## sas

escorial said:


> is it just white people that kill people like this.....



Statistically, yes. And, male. Usually young. Usually losers. A gun is their penis. It used to be a fast car.

There are over *8 MILLION AR-15 rifles* in America. I don't know why we have so many deer. Oh, they are to slaughter our dear children. Those guns are meant to kill people, many of them in seconds. 

.


----------



## bobo

That's what comes out of bringing more children into an overpopulated world !!


----------



## escorial

sas said:


> Statistically, yes. And, male. Usually young. Usually losers. A gun is their penis. It used to be a fast car.
> 
> There are over *8 MILLION AR-15 rifles* in America. I don't know why we have so many deer. Oh, they are to slaughter our dear children. Those guns are meant to kill people, many of them in seconds.
> 
> .



i never delv into these tragic events but it seems to be white YA from families who live in an afluent part of town in what looks like places you would send your kids to school...


----------



## The Green Shield

sas said:


> Statistically, yes. And, male. Usually young. Usually losers. A gun is their penis. It used to be a fast car.
> 
> There are over *8 MILLION AR-15 rifles* in America. I don't know why we have so many deer. Oh, they are to slaughter our dear children. Those guns are meant to kill people, many of them in seconds.
> 
> .


The sad part is, historically, the mass murderers and serial killers in America were white guys. Jeez, what the hell? D:< I like your statement — gun=penis=power.

But yeah, the fact the government is OK with us apparently building an armory of military-grade weaponry is asinine. For God’s sake, why does the average citizen need that?


----------



## sas

The irony is that our American Congress, which is heavily funded by the NRA, might find themselves soon in the crosshairs of those 8 million AR-15s, as they continue to line the pockets of the very rich, neglecting education and social systems, even its citizens healthcare that facilitate the growth of the middle class. In fact, for the first time here, the middle class is falling backward; the gap between the top and the bottom is widening, and at a rapid pace. It is the middle class, or the possibility of their children attaining it, that prevents anarchy in society. It is called Hope. Anyone see Hope, anywhere? 

And, for the record. My family is monied. All of them. With businesses. These Trump tax changes are fantastic...for us and him. But, not at the expense of others. We would never vote for this self-absorbed sociopath.  We know that lasting strength and security come from everyone having Hope.

Here's a story those of us in Motor City, Detroit, know. Mitt Romney's father (Mitt just ran for President), was George Romney. He was Chairman and President of American Motors (he became a Republican Governor of Michigan). When offered a huge raise at AMC, he declined it, saying the disparity between his salary and the pay of their workers would be too great and wrong. That is how another generation thought.  His son, trust me, would do no such thing. Why? Mitt knew no hardships (big silver spoon created zero empathy). His father, George, never got a college degree, worked many jobs during the depression, worked his way up through the classes. He knew what work was. Remember that when Mitt tries for the Presidency again. He ain't his father. I liked his father. 

I recently put a poem into workshop group about my father. I wrote it so my privileged family knows what real damn work is. Few in power know it.



.


----------



## sas

Here is Link to how much each NRA supported member of America's Congress gets. They are praying for more. The more kids slaughtered, the more the NRA pumps out to them. 

Read below about them on their knees praying. Then see how much each one gets. Time to get off our knees and stand the fuck up!

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entr...e69e4b0058d5565cbac?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003


.


----------



## Olly Buckle

If there are 18.5 millon automatic rifles and they get used like this ten times a year (I don't  know the actual number) the vast majority of owners must be reasonably responsible.
My feeling is that if people want to kill,  they will, they will use knives, swords, ceramic blades, whatever it takes. The trick is not to remove the means of killing, but the desire to kill. That is much harder because to deal with something  requires understanding it, and most people are sohorrified at the idea of mass child deaths they have no desire to consider it deeply, let alone understand. That of  course is just the beginning, one has to act on the understanding. Just for once I was not against the attitude of Trump when he talked about mental health rather than disarmament, but he probably did it for horrible reasons


----------



## sas

Olly,

There are over 8 Million AR-15s here. Other guns everywhere. Stuffed in suburban mother's bras now. And having that many guns out there with the capacity to kill hundreds in minutes is outrageous. Perhaps you should move here. Heard they use cars & knives a lot by you. Take a look at how many kids have gone down by gunfire just this year here.  OH, BTW, AS I WRITE THIS, A COLLEGE IN SEATTLE HAS AN ACTIVE SHOOTER. HOPE THEY'RE WRONG AND THAT HE'S GOT A KNIFE. STAB, STAB.


----------



## Plasticweld

Olly Buckle said:


> If there are 18.5 millon automatic rifles and they get used like this ten times a year (I don't  know the actual number) the vast majority of owners must be reasonably responsible.
> My feeling is that if people want to kill,  they will, they will use knives, swords, ceramic blades, whatever it takes. The trick is not to remove the means of killing, but the desire to kill. That is much harder because to deal with something  requires understanding it, and most people are sohorrified at the idea of mass child deaths they have no desire to consider it deeply, let alone understand. That of  course is just the beginning, one has to act on the understanding. Just for once I was not against the attitude of Trump when he talked about mental health rather than disarmament, but he probably did it for horrible reasons




My wife works with the Guidance Department at the local high school.  From listening to stories I would blame a total lack of discipline in the school system for most of the problems we are encountering with the young people who think it is a good idea to shoot up a school and kill innocent people. 

We have tied the hands of our educators so they can no longer discipline kids from the time they enter they system at 5 years old and then leave at 18.  They grow up realizing there are no consequences for their actions, worse than that they realize that if they were disciplined they could sue the school and the teacher. 

This is not rocket science, it is cause an effect.  Teach kids that they can play a game and there are no winners or losers.  Put them in an environment were feelings, not results matter.  Let them say what they want, do what they want and this is what you get.  

We didn't have this crap years ago, when a kids got spanked when they did something wrong, punished by the school and the parents, and they both supported each other in the quest to raise kids that knew right from wrong and to be responsible. 


Can you tell me what the goal is of the schools today?


----------



## PiP

Plasticweld said:


> We didn't have this crap years ago, when a kids got spanked when they did something wrong, punished by the school and the parents, and they both supported each other in the quest to raise kids that knew right from wrong and to be responsible.



Agree. My kids must be the last generation to receive proper discipline: Actions had consequences and parents,  teachers and police still had kids respect. We had winners and losers. You learned how to win and accept defeat with dignity. 

I must congratulate the politically correct, easily offended, Nanny State brigade for building a brave new world


----------



## sas

I never, ever hit my children. Let's compare.


----------



## Olly Buckle

sas said:


> I never, ever hit my children. Let's compare.


They beat my arse with a cane in school, probably why I am so  foul.


----------



## Plasticweld

sas said:


> I never, ever hit my children. Let's compare.




Both my kids were spanked...both received whatever discipline they needed to alter their behavior.  

Both of them are "exceptional" people who stand out in a crowd as being leaders, as kind and compassionate.  Both would jump in harms way to save another.  I have raised two of the finest adults I know.  Both are in their mid to late thirties, both have proved themselves under duress and temptation.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Waiting patiently, to post small excerpts of work. I did some research on writing stories, and style, and grammar. Might subscribe to scribophile, at some point to beta-read. Until I am confident of my grammar skills.

If given a choice I would never hit children if needing to correct. But then again, I believe in going to a psychologist which can be worth it in the end.


----------



## Gofa

Ive hit my kids after counting to three  one finger two fingers three 
no matter what or where 
short sharp smack   While extollng i hate doing this you dont like it either 
never hit angry it was attention getting not pain delivery
on ocassion my first overly religious wife would demand that i not spare the rod
i would take my kids next door with a cane  hit my own leg and tell them to scream blue murder and run in tears to there room   Say sorry after etc etc 
my first wife was crazy in nicest terms  we all ran away when my three kids were 8  10and 12 and i was solo parent from then 
indifferent counting   Cause and consequence   No drama 
no johnny   No johnny  no johnny oh i hate that your word counts 
sun tzu art of war 
if a general gives an instruction and its not followed he must verify the subordinate heard understood etc
if a third instruction is needed it is now rebellion 
final with older daughter   Theres nothing you can do to me  etc etc 
we both fully clothed arrived in shower
she was still telling me how important she was
that was till i turned on the shower on full cold on both of us
wahoo the screams 
We got an understanding 
i got wet too but cause and consequence
letting people away with things is stupid 
Dont play with fire johnny 
nuh show them fire is not their play friend


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> They beat my arse with a cane in school, probably why I am so  foul.



Lol!

Got that T-Shirt.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I think the physical punishment side might be a red herring, what really counts is that someone cares. If you get beaten as I was at school, 'He did that three times, we hit him six times, that's the rule' it does not mean much, the sort of thing Gofa talks about is somuch more than simply a mechanical punishment, it is an interaction where the child knows the adult cares. If you can get that across without a physical side I think it does the job, on the other hand I have met kids from homes where they knew social workers didn't really care, because they wouldn't even give you a slap if you were out of order. Not so much *how* you care, as *that* you care. Once this is understood the physical can be reduced to zero, it doesn't help either party feel better in the long run.


----------



## Plasticweld

The best form of rebellion I ever learned was at Catholic boys camp.  There to maintain order the brothers would smack us with a ruler. I did not happen often, but when it did.

With a smile "Brother, I will take another."  Some of the most powerful words I  have ever spoken!


----------



## sas

Go tell this on a mountain!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ZfL-TOZO0


----------



## The Green Shield

My stomach hole is getting progressively smaller and smaller — I can barely see it now.


I’m also a bit sad that it’s only now I’m starting to crack hole-related jokes:


• I feel hole-y. <angelic choir>


• _The Battle Hymn of the Hole:_
_-> Hole-y, Hole-y, I gotta hoo-ole_
_-> Holey, Hole-y, I gotta hoo-ole_
_-> Holey, hole-y, I got a hoo-ole_
_-> It’s a frickin’ hole!_

• For those who watch Team Four Star’s _Dragonball Abridged: _“Dang it, Goku! You had one job, deflect that beam *and now I have a f***ing hole in my chest!!*”


• ???


----------



## LeeC

sas said:


> Go tell this on a mountain!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ZfL-TOZO0



When I was going to high school, it was common for students to drive to school in a pickup with rifles on a gun rack in the rear window. One difference being there were far fewer students (those with issues were easily recognized), and there was much less of a divide between the haves and have-nots. I might even say it was a more respectful atmosphere, with exceptions being frowned upon, but that’s hard to quantify. At the same time there was evidence of divides, some blatant like signs in the window of some businesses to the effect, “No Dogs, No Injuns.”

It’s only going to get worse with increasing population, an ever increasing divide between the haves and have-nots, and more prominent lack of empathy in the haves. Think about the difference in the meaning of insecurity relative to haves and have-nots, and how the divide is increasing. 

But one example is our country’s leadership pursuing a course where many with existing mental health conditions have access to firearms, but not healthcare. It’s not profitable for the haves to care for the have-nots. Where individual material gain is the corner stone of a culture, the divides will increase until the consequences are harmful to all. 

Though we stick our heads in the sand, assuring ourselves we have superior intelligence, we are simply another life form in adaptive evolution’s course. That is, we have the same inherent behavioral tendencies as all life forms in a natural world model of life fueled by life. I won’t go on with the ample evidence, but read the following BBC article and think about the disguised parallels.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18035811

Though some would wish it so, peace and love is no more than a subjective desire in the natural order. On the other hand, respectful coexistence with all life forms (not just with each other), would go a long way towards improving quality of life and longevity.


----------



## Olly Buckle

In the supermarket today there was nothing in the fruit dept. that was not wrapped up in plastic, there is usually a box of apples orsatsumas or something, but I guess I was a bit late  and they had all gone. There was nothing to buy in the whole  fruit aisle which did not come with a bit of plastic, WHY ?

You can'tbuy potatos unless they are in a plastic bag, plastic bags make potatos go soft and mushy. When I was a kid my mum had an old shopping  bag for  the veg, the greengrocer put in a sheet of  old newspaper and then poured in the spuds, the other veg went on top, bread came wrappedin a piece of tissue paper, fish and chips in newspaper, fish and chips comeon a plastic tray now, with a plastic forkif you don't  refuse it.

Plastic manufacturers should be coated with a well flammable variety and burnt at the stake, just an opinion.


----------



## -xXx-

i was afraid you were going to say
there was no produce.
both ways, i haz a sad.


----------



## LeeC

Ran across this, which reminds me there's plenty of blame to go around in our human bubble ;-)


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> In the supermarket today there was nothing in the fruit dept. that was not wrapped up in plastic, there is usually a box of apples orsatsumas or something, but I guess I was a bit late  and they had all gone. There was nothing to buy in the whole  fruit aisle which did not come with a bit of plastic, WHY ?
> 
> You can'tbuy potatos unless they are in a plastic bag, plastic bags make potatos go soft and mushy. When I was a kid my mum had an old shopping  bag for  the veg, the greengrocer put in a sheet of  old newspaper and then poured in the spuds, the other veg went on top, bread came wrappedin a piece of tissue paper, fish and chips in newspaper, fish and chips comeon a plastic tray now, with a plastic forkif you don't  refuse it.
> 
> Plastic manufacturers should be coated with a well flammable variety and burnt at the stake, just an opinion.



It's convenience gone mad and I DO think that in many cases it's plastic for plastic's sake. It was good to see in the news that one huge £multi-billion company ( who's name escapes me right now, how embarrassing ) has come out against plastic food packaging.

I DO/HOPE that brexit might free, embolden, our politicians to make changes here.


----------



## H.Brown

My day has been quite nice, relaxed with no work. And an added bonus of ordering a keyboard for my tablet, whoop whoop, this means I can do more on here, even when I can't get on the main computer. So excited it is due to arrive tomorrow, thank god for one day shipping and best of all it lights up...Yeyyy for rainbow colours.


----------



## Winston

Recovering from a bad chest cold (pneumonia?).  My wife was crying again because her sisters are jerks.  The kids left the house a mess because I was in no shape to clean up, like I normally do.  
I wish I wasn't here.  But I don't feel like being anywhere else.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Ordered some books yesterday for competency in English and how to write conflict for stories specifically. I wish I could learn poetry, but it seems difficult to express myself and follow the conventions of writing poetry. I have more than 5 poetry books and none seem to communicate how to write poetry including one recommended to me (the ode less traveled by Stephen Fry). 

Sadly enough in April, is when I should have my writing software. But I have no complaints since I do it for fun. That and my sickness prevents me from having a job.

Here's a bizarre occurrence though. The last story I workshopped here was riddled with errors of pov. But got accepted from a previous draft (I think it has fewer errors). I got an acceptance letter. I am skeptical though because the feedback here said it was not ready. If it gets published I will leave a link. But that won't be for a while. I might need help editing it if it does though.  I think it would be worth it. It's an anthology and they pay 5 cents a word.

Like I said I will share the good news if it makes it in their book anthology. I hope it gets published. I was surprised. I genuinely accept any criticism and this is just me saying it could happen to anyone.

Also an American rhetoric I ordered, and a second book on the subject on how to construct sentences and paragraphs.

So like I said I know people have good intentions, but maybe the editors liked how light-hearted the story was.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I got 666 posts today. My next stop is 1337.


----------



## Olly Buckle

RhythmOvPain said:


> I got 666 posts today. My next stop is 1337.



1337, The Black Prince made Duke of Cornwall. Not a great year for literature. They started the hundred years war.

I priced my bookat £6.66p, but with lulu discount you can get it for a fiver.

I just noticed the post count, 10,666, think @ill edit rather thn post


----------



## The Green Shield

1242.

That’s my post count.

Hmm... I suppose I’m OK until the 1300s.


----------



## escorial

Got myself a  new maiden as my washed undies an socks had taken there toll on it's rust worn joints


----------



## sas

So, what should I read into this?
Almost... twice as many laughs given, as received; twice as many likes; twice as many thanks. Hmmm. This message?...
I'm not as funny as others. Or, as well liked. But, I am definitely more grateful.  Smiles. 

*Posts**3,172
**LOL (Given)**1005
**LOL (Received)**642
**Likes (Given)**4890
**Likes (Received)**2510
**Thanks (Given)**2733
**Thanks (Received)**1406

.*


----------



## Winston

/\ You already need to edit your post.  Those numbers are already wrong.  Unless we're doing alternative facts now.

I'm about over my cold now.  Haven't been drinking enough (water) so I had a nasty leg cramp last night.
My idiot sister wants a copy of our father's death certificate so she can sell a car.  Of course his name was on the title, he always had to help her 'cause she's a friggin' co-dependent addict.
I'll probably spend a few minutes in the garage looking for it.  All she has to do is pay 20 to 30 dollars to the WA State Department of Health, and they'd giver her a copy.

Maybe she's using this as an excuse to reach out to me.  I don't care.  Her drama is bad for me and my family.  I don't dislike her.  I just don't want her around.


----------



## bobo

'...Her drama is bad for me and my family. I don't dislike her. I just don't want her around.'
Same here.
Have a sister likewise.
I keep her at an arms length ... well actually more than that 
Why don't you tell your sister what she can do herself, instead of just complying ??


----------



## H.Brown

bobo said:


> '...Her drama is bad for me and my family. I don't dislike her. I just don't want her around.'
> Same here.
> Have a sister likewise.
> I keep her at an arms length ... well actually more than that
> Why don't you tell your sister what she can do herself, instead of just complying ??



I'm glad it's not just me that has sister issues, are yours old or younger Bobo and Winston. Mine needs to grow up, get a proper job and begin to look after herself more, she's 24 for godsake not 6. Mine was very hurtful and spiteful towards me when ever she saw me no matter what I did for her, so I stopped speaking to her 2 years ago and now only speak if my mum brings her to where I live, much more peaceful. (Sorry for the rant guys.)

I have just completed another 12 hour shift and lok forward to another 2 before my next day off, woop woop, more screaming children.


----------



## bobo

Mine is older, 6 years – and would like to take part in  all and everyone of my so-called advantages – like using my home as a hotel 
If I let her into my life she’ll walk all over it, destroying everything I’ve built.
Our softwares are totally different 
Fortunately ther’s no law stating siblings should stay together forever.
Lucky me :angel:


----------



## sas

In defense of sisters:

 Mine is 5 years older. Only us, as children. She is opinionated and smart (Mensa), coupled with a feisty personality. We verbally can knock each other out, as I learned from the best. LOL. She put the spit in my eye, the cement in my spine, and the tongue in my mouth. The day after a heated disagreement, we go on as if nothing happened...because nothing did. Never will. We're  on each other's wing for life, even if we peel off after a dog fight, we return.


----------



## escorial

sas said:


> So, what should I read into this?
> Almost... twice as many laughs given, as received; twice as many likes; twice as many thanks. Hmmm. This message?...
> I'm not as funny as others. Or, as well liked. But, I am definitely more grateful.  Smiles.
> 
> *Posts**3,172
> **LOL (Given)**1005
> **LOL (Received)**642
> **Likes (Given)**4890
> **Likes (Received)**2510
> **Thanks (Given)**2733
> **Thanks (Received)**1406
> 
> .*



Wats your reputation..not the public one but the WF points


----------



## Kevin

sas said:


> So, what should I read into this?
> Almost... twice as many laughs given, as received; twice as many likes; twice as many thanks. Hmmm. This message?...
> I'm not as funny as others. Or, as well liked. But, I am definitely more grateful.  Smiles.
> 
> *Posts**3,172
> **LOL (Given)**1005
> **LOL (Received)**642
> **Likes (Given)**4890
> **Likes (Received)**2510
> **Thanks (Given)**2733
> **Thanks (Received)**1406
> 
> .*


Well sas, you're just going to have to try harder... 

I took a side job three weeks ago, working it after work. I increased my annual net by ten percent in only seven days. I pulled my shoulder the first night , didn't feel it till the next morning, ate junk food late at night for one night, my hands were bloodied, currently have a dozen various scabs, they ( my hands) woke me up one night alkaline burning in the middle of the night ( I got up and acid washed them), froze a couple times on the drive home, paid the guys, all of them, well,  and got'er done. 

The owner is some rich dude who I've seen only once, noticed he had a scowl on his face ( permanent I've heard) who builds just for 'fun', but he was stressing my customer (the guy running the job who I know, and who hired me) about pre-billing a hundred percent  which I did because '...In by the 15 th, paid by the 1st', it's only the freakin' 24th and I'm all done, so pay me, already. He won't be stressing on my bill come Monday. 

That was an ordeal, 16 hour days, but totally, I can see why attorneys bill out so many hours ( till they burn out, or so I've heard). 'Ka-ching!' (thats a cash register noise for all you little wet behind the ears..)


----------



## sas

Kevin,

I'm semi-retired, but the major part of my business I still do is collect the dough. Luckily, I don't sound like I look, old and short. But, like a good Detroiter, I know people who know people. Smiles. Sas


----------



## andrewclunn

Need sleep.  Can't though...


----------



## Winston

Just found some cool old wax at the Goodwill.  That's getting harder and harder with all the nouvelle hipsters ripping at the records like a pack of dogs on a three legged cat.
Anyway, I found Steve Goodman, Pete Seeger and a couple Hoyt Axton.  If you never heard of them, no worries.  Ask your parents.  Or perhaps your grandparents.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I released all of the aggression I had pent up in the short time sas was bothering me, and I feel satisfied.


----------



## sas

ROP still bothers me.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Kay.

EDIT - OH, btw, be sure to check back if you haven't already. ^_~


----------



## andrewclunn

Did my taxes.  Owe a number that's... sizeable.  Good thing I saved.


----------



## JustRob

My day? At my age now just a day is hardly worth a mention, so I'll just mention the current state of my life regardless of exactly when that came about. In fact I have very recently (within the last couple of days even) completed an important chapter in my WIP, which has almost nothing to do with writing (except insofar as I'm mentioning it here in writing of course. Er, I'm digressing now, aren't I? That's what I tend to do between chapters in my life though. Oh, now I'm doing it again. Back to the plot ... hopefully.)

I have just finished (in a sense -- No, I won't digress to explain that now though.) building the main memory unit for my replica 1960's computer. (If you wish to digress at this point then take a look at my website http://honeypi.org.uk. That will save me the trouble of doing so as I haven't updated it in years.) I conceived that project in 2010 but at that time didn't have the right magnetic core memories to build the machine, so shelved the project with the heartfelt desire remaining that I would find the right memories somewhere in the future. Apparently the connection between the unconscious mind and the heart is all too real and nostalgia a powerful emotion to boot, (Whatever boots have to do with it though I don't know.) so at the beginning of 2011 I started writing my unintended and hence entirely unexpected novel, which explored the possibility of acquiring memories or indeed any information _from_ the future, at first only in my fiction but then to my great surprise in my real life. That is another chapter in my life that has recently ended as my novel effectively predicted that I would spend the next six years from 2012 to 2017 doing the research needed for the novel that I had already written! Last year I had experiences that confirmed that to be true, at least to my mind, so I am reasonably sure that that surreal chapter is also ended.

So, here I am at the end of two mysteriously linked chapters in two quite distinct enterprises in my life. Even the fact that both have ended so close together seems odd to me, almost as though they had been planned that way ... (Only my mind is digressing here.) As ever I am now wondering what to do next, to move on with the next phase of my Honey Pi computer project or to start (yet again for the umpteenth time actually) writing the true story about how I wrote an apparently impossible novel. Those who know just what is entailed in my computer project consider that equally to be a virtually impossible task, but nevertheless I have succeeded in completing the first stage of that, so the odds there are shortening just as the odds of the strange experiences surrounding my novel seemed to. All I can do now is wait for my evidently timeless muse to guide me to my next task and in the meantime catch up with a few more posts in WF. So now you know my real reason for writing this post. I'm just waiting for inspiration. Evidently, some would say no doubt.


----------



## bobo

It's awfully cold - even for the season 
Just came home from my evening walk in a deepfrozen state, and will shortly brew a warm, nice mug of 'vin chaud' or spiced wine, as you may call it.
Basically it's warm red wine added some spices as cinnamon, ginger, muscade, clou, and black pepper - together with some sweet matter as brown sugar or honey 
Mmmmmumms - try it 
(and it's good for your health)


----------



## dither

Madam bobo,
enjoy.


----------



## sas

By choice, I stand 8 hours a day. I have a raised desk & no desk chair. ( I am only semi-retired, so have multiple monitors on my desk). I splurged and bought a Revolution Focus Balance Board to use while at computer. It is like standing on a see-saw. I just got it and am on it now. Wow! Love it. My partner tried, he also uses stand up desk, and immediately ordered one. For anyone who is stuck at desk for many hours, it is a must. Of course, you must work from high work surface. You can easily rig boxes to put keyboard & mouse on without expense of special desk. Really, I've done that. If I break my hip, I will say did skiing or climbing. LOL.


----------



## Darkkin

Fifteen minutes into _Blue Planet II..._​My god, it is gorgeous.


----------



## The Green Shield

Is it just me or are the forums slow lately? What's going on?


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Just got a bangin' new phone. Melikey.


----------



## LeeC

Olly Buckle said:


> In the supermarket today there was nothing in the fruit dept. that was not wrapped up in plastic, there is usually a box of apples orsatsumas or something, but I guess I was a bit late  and they had all gone. There was nothing to buy in the whole  fruit aisle which did not come with a bit of plastic, WHY ? . . .



Yeah, this an example of what's in the grocery store anymore.




Oh, and the plastics recycler won’t accept plastic bags because they clog up the machinery.


----------



## bobo

Learning Catalan through French


----------



## dither

LeeC said:


> Yeah, this an example of what's in the grocery store anymore.
> 
> View attachment 20957
> 
> Oh, and the plastics recycler won’t accept plastic bags because they clog up the machinery.



It's not good is it. This has to change. But how?


----------



## LeeC

dither said:


> It's not good is it. This has to change. But how?



There is a good starting point, but at the moment I'm in too frank of a mood so it's best I keep my mouth shut.


----------



## The Green Shield

That moment your stoma hole in your belly starts making weird noises that even your dog glances at you with a “WTF” look.  Oh, you do NOT get to talk, pup.​ 



For context, she barfed right next to me while I was eating lunch the other day. She can suffer a little weird noise coming from my direction.


----------



## Winston

Got to make a dump-run.  I remember the good-ole days when you could just throw stuff in your trash can.  Now everything is flippin' "hazardous waste".  
I'm also on call for material support at the 'yard.  Someone needs a sheet of metal or a gasket, they call me at home.  Or the dump.  No relaxing with a beer, and I'm tethered to my phone.  Sux.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Winston said:


> Got to make a dump-run.  I remember the good-ole days when you could just throw stuff in your trash can.  Now everything is flippin' "hazardous waste".
> I'm also on call for material support at the 'yard.  Someone needs a sheet of metal or a gasket, they call me at home.  Or the dump.  No relaxing with a beer, and I'm tethered to my phone.  Sux.



For the life of me, I can't understand how there are dumps that charge you to dump, then right up the block, they pay you.


----------



## Winston

RhythmOvPain said:


> For the life of me, I can't understand how there are dumps that charge you to dump, then right up the block, they pay you.



One man's trash is another man's treasure.  Although I'm pretty sure no one _wants_ two dozen half-empty paint cans, and a gallon of dirty oil.


----------



## JustRob

Yesterday it happened again, one of those weird coincidences that haunt me where I seem to have known something that I couldn't have. 

As I have recently come to the end of a phase in my vintage computer reconstruction project, yesterday I decided that I ought to correct some out of date links in my much neglected website for the project. I knew that some links to documentation on other sites had become inactive because those sites had been revised. Apart from those I also have links to a vintage computer forum site in America where I post news of progress on the project. While visiting my own website to check what needed changing I used the link there to get to the American VCF site and was confused to find that there were no posts on my thread there after 2012, which was nonsense. I was planning to PM an administrator about it but discovered that none of the administrators had been on the site since 2012 either. In fact nothing at all had happened since 2012. That was when I realised what had happened. A couple of years ago the Vintage Computer Forum had merged with other such groups to form the Vintage Computer Federation with a new website moved from the old location, but that didn't explain this phantom site from 2012. I hadn't updated my website for so long that it still linked to the old site, which had been deleted long ago, so the links should have been dead, but they weren't. Anyway, I found the new site and my up to date thread and changed my website to point to it.

I seldom visit the VCF website, unlike my regular visits to WF, and when I do I never look at the new posts listing as I am only interested in a very small aspect of what's there. However, for some reason yesterday I dallied on the site and took a look at the new posts listing and found one that said that their old website had mysteriously reappeared. When I read the relevant thread, _started the day before yesterday, _it explained that recovery of some website had somehow accidentally restored their old site from a 2012 backup. An administrator said that they were making efforts to get the phantom site removed as people were evidently visiting it and even possibly joining it as new members! Things would get even worse once Google and other search engines found the restored old site and started listing it again. Heaven forbid that anything like that should ever happen to WF. What a mess! They also advised that anyone with a website with links still pointing to the old site should update them, but of course I'd done that just an hour before reading that thread!

If this phantom site only reappeared that recently then I chose to update my own website at exactly the right moment and also chose to look at their new posts listing at exactly the right moment, having not visited the site since last January. Some might say that that happened purely by coincidence but when added to my ever-growing list of weird coincidences in my life the odds just don't add up at all, or rather do into a ludicrously astronomical figure. In fact I think I'll just start up my infinite improbability drive and see where in the universe I end up. Look out for flying whales and pots of petunias overhead.* 

Engage... *Now that's something that you don't see every day ... No, you wouldn't believe me if I told you, would you?


----------



## Kevin

Flew to Seatac from Burb. Outside, I saw we were following a chemtrail perhaps a couple hundred feet off for at least an hour. I was hoping for the wicked witch ( love that music) or perhaps a gremlin on the wing. Mm. No such luck.  I did sleep a little. Poor wifey had a talkative halitosis person next to her.  What do you do, trade seats? But I didn't know anyway till after. Our standard flight kits include sterilizing ( hopefully) anal-retentive hand wipes, and a green tin of Altoids. We're very particular.


----------



## escorial

vintage computers..i forget sometimes just how long they have been around..first one i ever used was in school were we were given a,b or c science questions to answer an we took turns to press a key..a computer to a class...never saw one until years later an i can't remember where or when it was


----------



## Winston

Brought some of my home brew into work to share.  One of my co-workers is divorced, and near destitute after making alimony / child support payments.  I told him to grab a couple extra.  
My son is home from "mini Boot Camp" for his ROTC unit.  He's tired, but it was a good experience.  He's mowing the lawn before full exhaustion sets in.  Smart kid.
Now we're off to Costco.  Just saw an article about stores like them selling "survival supplies" as a new trend.  Pro Tip:  If you're using Costco or even Amazon as your primary source for being prepared for emergencies... well... I hope your other affairs are in order.  Seriously.  There's more to it than tubs of food and flashlights.  Me?  I'm good.  I'm buying salsa and tortillas.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Today, up early to pick up students @6:45 am,
scheduled for a mock trial competition. Home by 4pm.
Kind of interesting. My high school didn’t have 
anything like this or even a debate team...they did 
ok and head downstate soon. 
Dog sitting most of this month. This week hanging 
out with Packy. A little white fluffy Llasa with a big 
attitude, named after the Greenbay Packers.
Sat night, quiet and comfortable. 
I wish you all the same.


----------



## H.Brown

TuesdayEve said:


> Today, up early to pick up students @6:45 am,
> scheduled for a mock trial competition. Home by 4pm.
> Kind of interesting. My high school didn’t have
> anything like this or even a debate team...they did
> ok and head downstate soon.
> Dog sitting most of this month. This week hanging
> out with Packy. A little white fluffy Llasa with a big
> attitude, named after the Greenbay Packers.
> Sat night, quiet and comfortable.
> I wish you all the same.



Sounds like a great day Tuesday, I have been at home, hanging out on here writing poetry which has been fun, now watching basketball with the other half, a nice night in.


----------



## Kevin

Went to Hollywood to watch Death Of Stalin.

Brits, everybody ( the cast) was a Brit (well, just about) and I remember thinking as a boy that Romans spoke with British accents (think I was watching I, Claudius, or ??) I as'ed me dad abou it. Couldn't wrap my head around that Romans must've spoken more like "...a-bippity-bop-pity, boo-pity. Raviolio!" 

Anyway... I couldn't help but admire the  Zuchov character, hero of ... Macho a-hole, but the only one who gets to give Beria a tiny bit of what he deserved. 
And I couldn't also help but think about the modern 'leftists/activists' and their tactic of no discussion. The movie was all about political non-commitment, not until you're absolutely sure what the precise group pc at the moment is (the consequences of sticking ones neck out too soon). 
The history may or may not be exact but the gist of what  totalitarianism actually is, is.  I laughed some, but gd what a dark time in history. I liked it.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Went to Hollywood to watch Death Of Stalin.
> 
> Brits, everybody ( the cast) was a Brit (well, just about) and I remember thinking as a boy that Romans spoke with British accents (think I was watching I, Claudius, or ??) I as'ed me dad abou it. Couldn't wrap my head around that Romans must've spoken more like "...a-bippity-bop-pity, boo-pity. Raviolio!"
> 
> Anyway... I couldn't help but admire the  Zuchov character, hero of ... Macho a-hole, but the only one who gets to give Beria a tiny bit of what he deserved.
> And I couldn't also help but think about the modern 'leftists/activists' and their tactic of no discussion. The movie was all about political non-commitment, not until you're absolutely sure what the precise group pc at the moment is (the consequences of sticking ones neck out too soon).
> The history may or may not be exact but the gist of what  totalitarianism actually is, is.  I laughed some, but gd what a dark time in history. I liked it.



but was it funny.....


----------



## Kevin

escorial said:


> but was it funny.....


i laughed some. Yes...


----------



## escorial

job done then...


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Went to the bar this morning to catch a few dollar draughts (between 8:00 and 10:00 any draught is a dollar) and found out that an acquaintance of mine had died yesterday. Everyone drank a shot on the house, as is customary.

I swear, every year more people are just flat dying.


----------



## LeeC

It's maple sugaring time, in the midst of a slew of nor'easters. Good times


----------



## Kevin

Reading up on the Soviet stars of the post revolution. Yagoda, Yehzov, Beria, the Great Purge, it's all great stuff. Yagoda was like the Yoda of the Empire- eliminating the last of the Old Bolsheviks. Gulag, Lubyanka, strangle, shot, torture... Just awesome. Not sure if I prefer the Soviet or the Chinese Great Famine. I like Stalin, but Mao I think was more authentic- like his 100 flowers campaign- "I meant to do that." What a line. He's really a human.


----------



## Thaumiel

Our species got a little dumber today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43396008


----------



## RhythmOvPain

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Our species got a little dumber today.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43396008



At least he got his last dissertation out before he croaked.


----------



## H.Brown

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Our species got a little dumber today.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43396008



That it did, I wonder who is going to fill the scientific void left by him. May he rest in peace.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Life has been a bit  trying lately.

Over the last few weeks my vasculities has been playing up, my immune system fails to recognise very small veins and starts attacking them. At one level it stops blood getting through, which leads to things like cramps and sudden pains, if it gets worse it leads to internal bleeding, which can be serious in the wrong places, so far only an ankle and a lung. This leads to increased dose of prednisolone, which, in quantity, makes me irritable and short  tempered and means I put on weight if I don’t watch it.

I had a call the other day to say a friend was getting out of order and threatening, and could I talk some sense into him. It was a bit urgent, but when I got there his street was closed for re-surfacing, and the surrounding streets over-parked of course. I found a tiny space, but rushing to get in, and watching the gap in front which was minuscule, I gashed the side of the car on a post by the pavement edge. 

The car started vibrating badly as soon as I built any speed, ‘wheel balance’ I thought, partly right, a pile of half set mortar on the off side back wheel. I have discovered since my friend has an unpleasant neighbour who objects to people parking where he wants to put one of his five cars.

My driving licence was due renewal and DVLA refused me one without all sorts of medical and optical checks because of the Wegener’s, I am getting a 3 year licence, and have to go through the checks again when it expires. Fair enough, but a pain.

I have had an infection down the side of my toenail , also a pain.

The weather has gone horrid again.
And now I have a streaming cold, went back to bed this morning and stayed there, snoring, until four in the afternoon when I got up and finished judging the non-fiction contest. (That is a plug for readers, contestants and judges in case you are wondering  )


----------



## Winston

Spring clean-up day.
Prepped the raised beds, weeded the front garden.  Bought seed potatoes. Cleaned the garage (WIP, my wife's stuff).  
The Little Lady is making that horrid Corned Beef and Cabbage.  Not lucky enough to miss that.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Winston said:


> The Little Lady is making that horrid Corned Beef and Cabbage.  Not lucky enough to miss that.



Gift time, my missus got Meera Sodha, Made in India (cooked in Britain), an attractive book with realistic recipes from an English/Indian family Kitchen that you can find the ingredients of. We both wanted to try Indian food, as opposed to  the Bangladeshi imitation that gets served in most restaurants. May not be your bag, but you get the picture?


----------



## Kevin

Went out with another couple to a cooking class. We made Vietnamese for St.Paddys. We - instructor included, as it was his first time making them- learned the rice/tapioca dumpling, which is very similar to a Guatemalen tamale- wrapped in a banana leaf - needs to steam longer than the 12 min. the recipe called for. I thought it tasted good even if slightly undercooked. 
It was nice to get out. 
We got there too early so had to kill some time at a sort-of bar nearby. I say sort-of because it was a place where it looked like a trendy bar , but most of the customers seemed to be families with small children- not a drinking place. Maybe it was because it was so early. We talked about kids transitioning to self-sufficiency, indecision, pathways to happiness or fulfillment, the fears of being failures as a parent, all of that while hearing/listening to a story about another family we know where the two boys have moved back home after graduating.


----------



## sas

escorial said:


> vintage computers..i forget sometimes just how long they have been around..first one i ever used was in school were we were given a,b or c science questions to answer an we took turns to press a key..a computer to a class...never saw one until years later an i can't remember where or when it was



First computer I used was at work in 1979. I got my first mobile phone in 1986. Took up most of my car's backseat. But, I refused to get a color TV until 1979. Had a tiny, portable black & white. Kids hated it. Had to upgrade after friends we invited over to watch Super Bowl went nuts on us. Pussies.


----------



## JustRob

James 剣 斧 血 said:


> Our species got a little dumber today.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43396008



Actually I think that it's more about life choices. There are probably many like Stephen in the world but they just happen to have chosen to do other things. If you read my profile you'll find that I am probably just as much a joker as Stephen ever was. For many years I have joked that Cambridge didn't need both of us and my own life choice back then resulted in us never meeting. With my current perspective on the true nature of time it is clear to me why I then chose to avoid ever having to debate with him the true nature of time by basing my decision on future knowledge about his career. I do sometimes wonder about that alternative reality where I did choose to attend Cambridge, but I suspect that it would have been a disappointment and I have never regretted my decision. In fact there is a cryptic reference to it in a piece that I wrote for WF a while back. In THIS ITEM you'll find at the end the remark "2015 calling 1962: 'Hello? You’re wondering … '” which is actually me advising my past self to avoid encountering Stephen by not going to Cambridge. 

Ah, I could have been a contender ... but perhaps not. Let's give the man his dues, as I always have in my profile, all joking aside. The dumbest thing about humanity is our reticence to see the potential in others. It took a frail man in a wheelchair to change that forever, so overall we aren't so dumb now as we once were. There are plenty more like him just waiting for us to recognise them for what they truly are.


----------



## -xXx-

Winston said:


> The Little Lady is making that horrid Corned Beef and Cabbage.  Not lucky enough to miss that.


knew a blackpowder society guy.
he loved the st pat sales.
he stocked his freezer with price drop quantities.
sliced them quarter inch thick across the grain
and smoked them into jerky.
some of the best jerky i've ever had.
kept a jar in the fridge for grab-n-go
and wax paper separated,
brown paper wrapped batched,
double ziplock
stockpile in the freezer.
good times.


----------



## Winston

-xXx- said:


> knew a blackpowder society guy.
> he loved the st pat sales.
> he stocked his freezer with price drop quantities.
> sliced them quarter inch thick across the grain
> and smoked them into jerky.
> some of the best jerky i've ever had.
> kept a jar in the fridge for grab-n-go
> and wax paper separated,
> brown paper wrapped batched,
> double ziplock
> stockpile in the freezer.
> good times.



That is a great idea.  I make jerky pretty often.  It is an excellent "grab n go" snack.
This batch of corned beef my wife got had a strong clove aftertaste.  I might hit the stores in the next few days and look for some discounted corned beef.  Worth a try.  If nothing else, my wife and daughter will eat it.
But first, I need to replace that starter in my truck.  Wiggling around on my back elbow deep in oil and road grime.  I hope the bolts break loose, and not just break.


----------



## -xXx-

Winston said:


> This batch of corned beef my wife got had a strong clove aftertaste.


don't underestimate cracked black pepper rub.
balances many flavors.
won't do much for numb-tongue
 (topical anesthetic property of clove).


----------



## TuesdayEve

Olly, I’ve had those days... literally one thing after 
the other... by the time I catch my breath, I ask,
ok what’s next? Then I say... ok that’s enough 
please stop... It can be painful, annoying, time
consuming and draining... and yet funny. I look at 
those days like a movie. Thankfully they don’t happen
often.

Today however, it’s 56 degrees and sunny. Sitting 
outside in the yard, the first greens are popping up 
out of the ground and all the birds are back singing, 
squawking, honking, cawing and cooing. No complaints 
happily... hangin out with the littlest girlie, 14 yrs old, 
deaf and partial blind gray and white shitzu.
When she finally does see you, she gets so excited,
wags her fluffy tail jumping like a pup.


----------



## The Green Shield

Been rainy all day, but I got up to 16,000 words in my fantasy.  Woo!!


----------



## H.Brown

The Green Shield said:


> Been rainy all day, but I got up to 16,000 words in my fantasy.  Woo!!


 Well done TGS that is awesome. My day has been alright, worked 12hours in a child filled play centre, with 14 parties runnning so plenty of screaming kids, my ears are still ringing. We have also had f*****g snow for the last two days and got more to expect tomorrow (thank god it's my day off) I hate snow it's cold and wet and cold. Hope everyone else's day hasn't been too bad.


----------



## bobo

Got a gift yesterday -(not the holder, the paper) !!
- lolol


----------



## Olly Buckle

That has to be good for something, bobo, but it looks a bit scratchy for that


----------



## Olly Buckle

H.Brown said:


> Well done TGS that is awesome. My day has been alright, worked 12hours in a child filled play centre, with 14 parties runnning so plenty of screaming kids, my ears are still ringing. We have also had f*****g snow for the last two days and got more to expect tomorrow (thank god it's my day off) I hate snow it's cold and wet and cold. Hope everyone else's day hasn't been too bad.



That sounds like one heck of a day, much as I like childeren, fourteen parties of them !!!
I am glad itis not  just us 'oldies' who hate the wet and cold though, makes me feel much better.


----------



## Kevin

Fired up the fireplace for the first time in eight months. It's a pre-turn of the century ( 1990's) model not allowed in this state anymore ( it burns wood). Had mil over. Invited some friends at the last second. We did corned beef and cabbage. The beef was good- not all those 'fat layers'. First red meat we've cooked in- I can't remember. It was a good night.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am going to take a course in writing stories. That and I think you can't learn everything from books, or I have been making bad purchases.

I will see how I do and depending on that I will adjust my expectations.

To whoever feels slighted or wronged, I choose to talk in civil discourse. Because that is the way good productive talk that is of benefit is said to have helped. I say this since I don't like to talk to people when they feel that way.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Got some progress done on my project. This past week I decided I needed to reorganize my writing files. Yup, bigger task than I thought it'd be but I'm getting through it.


----------



## dither

Corned beef and cabbage sounds tasty.


----------



## Kevin

Neighbors complaining about disappearing cats and wild coyotes...
I swear... A few well-placed paintballs, especially to the genitals, would go far to re-instill some much needed respect for boundaries. I mean to the coyotes, not the neighbors.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Hanging out with Teddy boy this week.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Kevin said:


> Neighbors complaining about disappearing cats and wild coyotes...
> .



A new culprit. I have heard pet farms, fur traders, and Chinese takeaways blamed, and reputedly there is a roaring trade in rare breeds. Personally I don't believe any of them, much. Cats are like that, they go walkabout and find somewhere else. Besides I reckon any half decent cat could give an agressor such a hard time there has to be something easier to  attack. My brother trapped a feral cat in his kitchen , it bit through a motorcycle gauntlet and down to the bone in his thumb when he caught it.
A favourite Kipling story, 'The cat that walked by itself'. Children's story? Well kids like it too 

One of my favourite illustrations too, http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/kipling/23.html

' ...


----------



## MzSnowleopard

I took a peek at my FB page today and man, that was a risk. One guy started several rants and the next thing we knew the threads were exploding with garbage of rants, cursing and you get the idea. It's amazing how contagious aggression can be, especially in the written word.


----------



## Theglasshouse

That's precisely why I don't like Facebook and others in my family. It has no control over what goes over there. It's sort of like the real world. It ought to be studied as silly as this sounds because a lot of people use it. (psychology).


----------



## Kevin

FB- Think of it as hot coals you have to walk across. After awhile the soul becomes impervious. See what I did there? Eh?


----------



## Olly Buckle

The *sole* becomes impervious ?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Eye clinic at Moorfields yesterday, Glaucoma and field test. Boy, they were busy. 2.45 appointment, got seen just after six! Everyone was very apologetic, I felt sorry for  the staff, they had an evening  clinic after they finished with us. Been having a slight flare which had affected my visual field in right eye, but back tonormal  now, there is a bit of a lump behind the eye which swells when I flare and presses on the optic nerve.


----------



## PiP

Wow, Olly. That's a long wait! Thank goodness the staff are so dedicated. Hope you are okay.


----------



## The Green Shield

Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve very good news to impart:

 The stoma hole in my gut is, for all intents and purposes, closed. There’s a sliver-slit of a hole, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it used to be.


----------



## Kevin

Cheeto-Geebuss on a cup cake, that's good news!


----------



## Dave Watson

Got told off in the office this morning for working on my novel at my desk between tasks! Sickener is that the guy who I'm pretty sure told my boss used to be a run a small press. Poor form!


----------



## PiP

Dave Watson said:


> Got told off in the office this morning for working on my novel at my desk between tasks! Sickener is that the guy who I'm pretty sure told my boss used to be a run a small press. Poor form!



When inspiration takes hold you just gotta write! The squealer is just jealous. Poor form indeed


----------



## The Green Shield

18,011 words in my fantasy. 



Two, three different openings, poorly organized with huge gaps everywhere.



Oh well.  Guess that’s the point of first drafts.


----------



## sas

Dave Watson said:


> Got told off in the office this morning for working on my novel at my desk between tasks! Sickener is that the guy who I'm pretty sure told my boss used to be a run a small press. Poor form!



I wasn’t going to respond to this until PiP did. 
So were you being paid by someone during this time devoted to your own interests? If it wasn’t on your own time (designated lunch break, for instance) you were stealing money. That saying, time is money, is true. I’ve written paychecks and see it exactly that way. Must be a generational gap.


----------



## The Green Shield

sas said:


> I wasn’t going to respond to this until PiP did.
> So were you being paid by someone during this time devoted to your own interests? If it wasn’t on your own time (designated lunch break, for instance) you were stealing money. That saying, time is money, is true. I’ve written paychecks and see it exactly that way. Must be a generational gap.


I agree with sas. If you use company time for your own ends, you're stealing money. They're not paying you to be there to write your story -- they're paying you to work. You can write before work, on lunch break, or after work, but not during company time. :3


----------



## Dave Watson

sas said:


> I wasn’t going to respond to this until PiP did.
> So were you being paid by someone during this time devoted to your own interests? If it wasn’t on your own time (designated lunch break, for instance) you were stealing money. That saying, time is money, is true. I’ve written paychecks and see it exactly that way. Must be a generational gap.





The Green Shield said:


> I agree with sas. If you use company time for your own ends, you're stealing money. They're not paying you to be there to write your story -- they're paying you to work. You can write before work, on lunch break, or after work, but not during company time. :3



Jeez, this is the one place I thought folks would have my back! Didn't realise WF was such a bastion of the work ethic. Thought we were all layabout writers in here. Whatever happened to sticking it to the man?! 

And stealing money? Really? Just to be clear, I'm lucky enough to have a job with a pretty light workload. If I don't have any pending tasks, I still get paid. If I finish my workload (and I have a reputation for being fast and efficient in my role I'll have you know!), should I just sit staring blankly into space until more work comes in?


----------



## PiP

> PiP said:
> 
> 
> 
> When inspiration takes hold you just gotta write! The squealer is just jealous. Poor form indeed
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Dave Watson said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jeez, this is the one place I thought folks would have my back! Didn't realise WF was such a bastion of the work ethic. Thought we were all layabout writers in here.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> .
Click to expand...


It's okay, Dave. Noone has ever made a private phone call, checked private emails etc when they were at work. similarly, no one has ever worked extra time WITHOUT pay, or gone that extra mile for the business. Work to rule is cool.

A person who squeals is a squealer out for his own ends... I managed a large department and my philosophy was: 'give' and 'take' . If it had been me, I would have had a quiet word and left it at that (if the department was busy). Squeal never. It was well known our production manager use to take his newspaper to the loo while he fulfilled his daily ablutions. ... but the orders were always manufactured on time and he worked long hours (unpaid)


----------



## sas

Guess the difference is whose money was being used to put in that paycheck. Owners think differently. There is always something someone can do. If there was that much free time I’d eliminate the position. I have a feeling the squealer felt used and piled on, and could use extra help. I’ve heard those complaints, often. The other side.


----------



## Firemajic

I have been on both sides of this issue, I managed my Brother's company for 3 years, and the job was time sensitive, deadlines ruled... however, when the guys were waiting on parts, or was on a break, they were free to use that time as they saw fit.... and they never took advantage. when parts came in, it was balls to the wall, and if they had to stay late, they were happy to do so... 

I saw the news the other day where this one company let their employee's take a nap, and provided a quiet zone to do so, and productivity went UP... 

Another company let the employees structure their work day, as long as the job got done.... productivity went up.

A company allowed their employees to bring their pet to work, another company allowed employees to bring their children to work, productivity went up. 

Happy employees are less stressed, able to focus... sure there are always going to be those who take advantage, but why allow those to ruin it for the highly motivated....


----------



## PiP

sas said:


> I have a feeling the squealer felt used and piled on, and could use extra help. I’ve heard those complaints, often. The other side.


 So have I... and it was called ass-licking up to the boss. Before I took any action I checked work ethics of both parties. And the AL's were usually the same people who were making private phonecalls instead of sales calls... while their filing tray was piled high. I know because we had call monitoring. 

As long as the work got done and targets met, does it matter?


----------



## midnightpoet

My last boss was an entrepreneur, a black man who raised himself out of poverty to start his own electric supply.  He was fair-minded, but tough - he even had to fire his son-in-law for non-performance (talk about awkward).  Management in general through my career with two other companies liked to have their little cliques full of yes-men and brown-nosers. I had a bba in management and frankly the ones I saw in charge didn't seem to know standard business practices.  Not surprisingly, both companies failed.


----------



## Plasticweld

Dave Watson said:


> And stealing money? Really? Just to be clear, I'm lucky enough to have a job with a pretty light workload. If I don't have any pending tasks, I still get paid. If I finish my workload (and I have a reputation for being fast and efficient in my role I'll have you know!), should I just sit staring blankly into space until more work comes in?




Dave as someone who owns multiple companies and hires a lot of people who are everything from salary, to production pay, to being a partner with. 

I have only one saying when it comes to business,  I say it often, I am surprised how often I have to say it. 

We are in business to make  money, everyone's job here is to make me  money so I can pay them.   I have a reputation as being a tough boss but also as someone who pays the highest wages around.   I also expect the most out of the people I work "with" 


If you worked for me and had free time and energy, I would expect it directed in any area that made us more money.  Anytime some sees parameters to their job and a start and finish....it is the beginning of the end for a small business.  


I personally would be mad if I found you working on something other than "our" business during the day.


----------



## PiP

Today, I went to my physio appointment only to discover I'd arrived on the wrong day. Needless to say, hubby was not best pleased so I bribed him with a pizza. After lunch we went to Lidyls (supermarket) to buy some prawns and much to my delight, as well as prawns on special offer, so were a selection of succulents (hens and chicks). Had I gone to my physio appointment on the right day, I would have missed the bargain succulents. All these for just €5. Collecting succulents and cacti is my gardening passion.


----------



## Firemajic

PiP... my MIL did that to me, one time... She DID have an appointment.... just not at the eye doc.... lol.... but hey, she took me out for lunch, and we had a good day, too bad we missed her Dental appointment....


----------



## Dave Watson

Totally get what everyone's saying and I agree, if an employee is taking the piss, costing the business money, they should get pulled up for it. I used to work in my family business. 

In my office, it's very laid back. It's not a profit making organisation, you're allowed to web browse while you work, no one complains, you're pretty much responsible for your own workload, and everyone's happy as long as the work is done to a high standard, which it is. We regularly get kudos from the head of the department for the work we put in. And I've freely talked about writing at work with other managers in my department, who had no problem with it.

It was more the fact that the guy who had a word with my manager comes from a publishing background. He actually ran a press I submitted to and was rejected by in the past! Was just disappointing, as I've spoken to him about writing and what I'm up to, and he was always encouraging. I apologised to my boss anyway, as I could see he was embarrassed by the whole thing.


----------



## sas

Plastic...exactly. There is always something to do. On my first real  job (a small production company) while still in college I was able to do my allotted packaging (grueling, no window, no ac) faster than others (my family does everything at double time), so instead of taking a long crap or smoke like others, I stepped in and helped others. I moved up to front office with central air. And, moved up in life, too.


----------



## H.Brown

I have also worked my way up through life, from part-time jobs, all the way up to management. And I never expect more out of the staff I manage than I expect out of myself. My staff see this in my work ethic and it encourages them to work harder and complete thier jobs. I also find that a happy staff means better work. But I would also be very annouyed and so would the owner to find a member of staff (manager or not) doing anyhting other than work.


----------



## Cannonfury

Today was fine, starting back on watching what I eat, as well as exercising, tomorrow.. since I had been sick a few days ago that took me off track a bit


----------



## PiP

Today, I was working in my garden by the gate to the road, when I spotted two young girls walking up the road towards me. I was horrified as they were wearing nothing more than skimpy bikinis. And when I say skimpy - I mean skimpy string bikinis. While we live in the National Park this is a residential area not the beach. Considering the hue and cry from women about it not being okay for men to leer at them, I was surprised they were so scantily dressed on a public highway.  Sigh, my husband's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw them. *laughing* I was wearing two jumpers as it was blowing a gale, the wind had an icy bite, and it was only 14C!


----------



## PiP

Cannonfury said:


> Today was fine, starting back on watching what I eat, as well as exercising, tomorrow.. since I had been sick a few days ago that took me off track a bit



Cannon, what diet are you following?


----------



## Kevin

Good heavens! Young girls in skimpy bikinis on a good Friday?! Sounds absolutely... petrifying. Why... parts of me are positively petrifying.


----------



## PiP

Kevin said:


> . Why... parts of me are positively petrifying.


Perish the thought!


----------



## The Green Shield

20,000 Words.

I’ve hit 20,000 words in my fantasy.

Holy shit...


----------



## Darkkin

I'm tired of stupid proofing things because people don't bother to read...And wondering if it is better to be stupid and sublimely ignorant of the fact rather than having to continuously deal with the aforementioned obtuse beings.  There are days I want to say fuck my IQ because the abuse it takes at the hands of the clueless can sometimes be a bit much.

It is one of those times when I feel like I need to apologise for existing because my very presence makes some individuals uncomfortable and nothing I do is right.  In point of fact, it is nitpicked until even the bare bones are screaming for mercy.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Darkkin said:


> I'm tired of stupid proofing things because people don't bother to read...And wondering if it is better to be stupid and sublimely ignorant of the fact rather than having to continuously deal with the aforementioned obtuse beings.  There are days I want to say fuck my IQ because the abuse it takes at the hands of the clueless can sometimes be a bit much.
> 
> It is one of those times when I feel like I need to apologise for existing because my very presence makes some individuals uncomfortable and nothing I do is right.  In point of fact, it is nitpicked until even the bare bones are screaming for mercy.



My Mum had a favourite little rhyme,

See the happy moron
He doesn't give a damn
I wish I were a moron
My God! Perhaps I am!

Dorothy Parker.


----------



## bobo

'See the happy moron
He doesn't give a damn
I wish I were a moron
My God! Perhaps I am!'

*by Dorothy Parker *


----------



## JustRob

Today I received one of those dreaded buff envelopes from the taxman in the post, but it contained a refund cheque for £200. I must have passed GO.

(Well okay, it was actually £204.76, but that doesn't make for such a good post.)


----------



## Kevin

I bought a 14.75 sandwich which is not terribly outrageous a' price considering the neighborhood.

Being inappropriately attired,  I had phoned it in prior so I could take it to go. 

A young couple got up and left from a sidewalk table as I parked and then walked in, and I noticed their mixed plate of aged cheeses, fresh strawberries, some sort of fruit looking sauce, and some other was untouched. 14-something is on the high end and I wondered at how young persons or any age persons might so lightly order and abandone untouched... 'stuff'. 

Suddenly the world slowed, street sounds became muffled, the world went black, and then I had a vision of the pitchfork scythe-mob of the French Terror with the background metallic slide-singing punctuated with the ker-chunk of the guillotine. The music was so beautiful. Tears were pouring down my face- "Let them eat cake!" I shouted. 
. Scuse me...scuse me! I looked at her, aware again of the sidewalk. Could you pull your p.o.s. car forward so we could get ours out? Yes, I stammered. 

Thought I'd spice it up a little, sorry. They did leave their plate untouched. Didn't make that part up. The sandwich was, uhm, good. Okay, very good.


----------



## SueC

Today is as gloomy as it was yesterday, although yesterday it was ice and today it is just wet. This should be a good writing day, all cloudy but I feel as if I've been frowning since I woke up. It was dark then and hasn't lightened much by 9 a.m. The wind is howling at my poorly shuttered windows and I'm feeling like the day - cold, withdrawn and dark. Tomorrow the sun is expected but the price we pay is that the temp is nothing like spring. Spring is quite fickle after all.


----------



## Kevin

Pic looks like a painting.


----------



## andrewclunn

There are no in-laws / grand-parents / relatives staying at my house anymore!  The holidays and visits are over for the season!  No more birthdays either for a few months.  It's a fucking wonderful day!


----------



## Olly Buckle

bobo said:


> 'See the happy moron
> He doesn't give a damn
> I wish I were a moron
> My God! Perhaps I am!'
> 
> *by Dorothy Parker *



I am  notsurprised, she was a favourite of Mum's.


----------



## JustRob

A few days ago I ordered a glue gun from a company that specialises in them. When the parcel arrived today I wondered why I was having so much trouble trying to open it ...


----------



## The Green Shield

That Moment When after completing a huge milestone in your fantasy, you feel your other stories pull at you, begging for your attention.


I'm gonna need to work out a writing schedule, don't I?


----------



## bobo

Today Prince Albert, Monaco came visiting one of our villages, Prats del Mollo, where one of his ancesters is buried 
Damned, Prats del Mollo's  one of my hiking places - don't want pirates there.
But luckily there're snakes there ... othere than court snakes


----------



## Olly Buckle

Royalty come and go, and I suppose hikers do too  but they come back to known haunts, familiar places. Don't worry, bobo, I am sure you will soon have the countryside to  yourself again, those sort of people only visit places outside towns.
It has been a beautiful day here, truly Spring like. There are patches of primroses in the banks, yellow as a reflective jacket, and the wind flowers (wood anenomes) are out in the shadier places. My seeds are all germinating too, I have been planting some out, we shall have broad beans, carrotts, and beetroot; it will be the purple sprouting next though.


----------



## JustRob

Today I received an email from the Society for Psychical Research about their coming AGM. They gave all the details of the time and place, etc. and then told me that I couldn't go because I wasn't a full member ... so there!  What, couldn't I even be there in spirit?


----------



## Theglasshouse

My oldest brother saw prince harry once playing polo, during his apprenticeship in west point (assignment because that is where he graduated) from far away. Lots of security personnel surrounded Harry so it was not like he could get his autograph or get close.

edit: It was in the royal academy of Sandhurst. He was with the actor John Goodman. (asked my brother some moments ago). He was playing polo there.


----------



## Darkkin

We moved in October and the new house has amazing light.  It is great for plants, my English Ivy, Irving, has to be trimmed back weekly to keep his tendrils under six feet...:geek:  Anyway, having resurrected the Devil's Ivy, as well, I decided to branch out.  I got a new plant, Lipstick Ivy.  We'll see how this goes.


----------



## Kevin

Got a 40 yd bin at the house. Filled it . *yawn* . Called for it to be picked up. Had a lot of things not in the bin, but nearby. The bin man stole a box of books. She's upset. We were getting rid of them, anyway. A bin man stole a box of books. Eah. Good for him, I think. Somebody wanted them...


----------



## Winston

Kevin said:


> Got a 40 yd bin at the house. Filled it . *yawn* . Called for it to be picked up. Had a lot of things not in the bin, but nearby. The bin man stole a box of books. She's upset. We were getting rid of them, anyway. A bin man stole a box of books. Eah. Good for him, I think. Somebody wanted them...



Someone stealing books?  Yeah.  We'll not hate on a man for that.  Unless you were getting rid of E.L. Grey books,  then I pity the man.  

I'm on-call again this weekend.  It wasn't my time yet in the rotation, but my co-worker Travis needed the uninterrupted time-off with his boy. So I took his weekend.
I talked about Travis before.  He's an Afgan War vet with injuries, and he's in pain a lot.  The VA doesn't do squat.  Still, he works harder than most everyone else.  He deserved a break.

I'll try to sneak-off and grab some vegetable plant starts (taking my phone, of course).  Weather sucks today, maybe plant the stuff tomorrow.


----------



## escorial

Bought 10 pairs of briefs an 4 packs of white socks after throwing all me socks n undies out last night...


----------



## The Green Shield

So I think I just found the most horrifying thing I’ve ever read in a book. Taken from Carolyn Haines’ Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries ‘Rock-A-Bye Bones‘

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“And this is the home of the three-inch palmetto roaches that fly and are attracted to hairspray. Remember when Ruth Ann Scott went camping with her boyfriend and that cockroach flew into her hair? She knocked herself out on a tree running in the dark. She said his little legs were digging into her scalp, pinching. She could hear it gnawing her hair roots.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I scream like a little girl at the sight of a common house roach. This? This is my idea of Hell. Fighting literal demons would be preferable to three-inch long flying roaches that chew your hair...


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Currently in the process of laying new tiling in my boss's strip club.

Can't wait for tonight; free drinks and a free show.


----------



## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> Bought 10 pairs of briefs an 4 packs of white socks after throwing all me socks n undies out last night...


That sounds like a very chilly shopping trip!


----------



## Darkkin

Binged down seven books in two days...(What book addiction?)


----------



## andrewclunn

I can't read this many poems!  Holy crap, poetry month is so much more of a thing than I realized.


----------



## PiP

andrewclunn said:


> I can't read this many poems!  Holy crap, poetry month is so much more of a thing than I realized.



You don't have to read them all just read a couple.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Paid a long delayed visit to an old friend, and got horridly lost in Brentwood for a while, home of 'The only way is Essex'. Good to see him, he had a really down period for a while after a family tragedy, but is writing and setting up house again with his new young lady, very positive, good to see.


----------



## Kevin

We have a Brentwood here. Very exclusive. You have to have money or you can't afford it. Those are our classes: with money, or without. there's hierarchies and levels and such. Family names are only worth what's in the bank account. I'd bump a Kennedy out of line, any day  

Laying some stone at the house. It's kind of fun, like a big, giant-size puzzle with hundred pound pieces that can crush a finger or smash a foot. Worst would be to tip over into a shin. We had laborers come first day to cut, level, whack with a rented compactor, and stock. Now me and the missus are laying. Oh, my back...


----------



## The Green Shield

After a two-day sprint of reading, I've come to learn a crucial lesson: it's never too late to start the habit of reading; don't you ever make yourself feel ashamed for not having started earlier. It doesn't matter if you started at age 5 or 55 (or even 95.) Once you start reading, you're set to go.

The same applies to writing, to be sure, but it's the reading that gave me this much-needed lesson.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Kevin said:


> Laying some stone at the house. It's kind of fun, like a big, giant-size puzzle with hundred pound pieces that can crush a finger or smash a foot. Worst would be to tip over into a shin. We had laborers come first day to cut, level, whack with a rented compactor, and stock. Now me and the missus are laying. Oh, my back...



"Give me a lever and a fulcrum to rest it on and I will move the earth." As one gets older one discovers a good bar goes a long way towards saving that back, no good getting older if you don't get crafty.
It reminded me of the holidy in Turkey when we visited Ephesus. The road down to the harbour was made of marble slabs about fifteen foot square and two or three foot thick, you could see where an earthquake had lifted them a little. there were cart tracs worn in them, and I thought 'Alexander walked down here; Anthony and Cleopatra came along here to review their fleet. Wow. 
The guide was busy pointing out the 'interesting' stuff, an advertisment for a whore house carved in the pavement, that Aphrodite and Nike bared different breasts in the wall carving, while I pondered two and a bit thousand years.
Yea, stuff the Kennedys, transients, ephemeral as any of us.


----------



## LeeC

Still snowing here in NH, but mostly only dustings the last couple weeks. Different story up in Maine where my daughter lives. For those of you that like snow, here's a pic of grandson at home (Maine) ten days ago. And for esc, there's also a pic of a painting my daughter did.


----------



## LeeC

Sorry for the mostly duplicated post. The first one didn't show up as posting, so I did it again with an addition. And a bit later they both show up, go figure. Don't know whether it's me or the site that has a lose screw.

Still snowing in NH, but only dustings the last couple weeks. A different story up in Maine where my daughter lives. Here's a pic of my grandson at home (in Maine) from ten days ago. Also a pic of a painting my daughter did that I thought esc might like, and a pic of a quilted wall hanging my wife made for over my bed.


----------



## Kevin

Picking apart a pomegranate. Nice. She's good. 

We got squirrels for that. They're like stupid teenagers stealing your weed plants before they bud-  the squirrels eat the pomegranates when they're no bigger than a golf ball. 

The birds, on the other hand, wait for them to be about just right. Then they hollow them out like turnips on Samhain. You look up in the tree and you say oh there's a nice one, and the fookers hollow.


----------



## LeeC

Pomegranates don't grow here, but there're plenty of squirrels. You'd think all the hazelnut bushes I've planted would keep them happy, but they still raid the bird feeders. Reminds me, the black bears are likely out and about now, so I better take the bird feeders down before they destroy them, clumsy oafs.


PS: It's been a long road, but I'm walking a mile now daily. Gotta keep at it so I can get to the point of chasing cars


----------



## escorial

that's awesome man.....


----------



## andrewclunn

Customer has a problem.  I jump.  I investigate, I find out what needs to be fixed.  I fix it if I can.  I figure out who needs to do the fixing if I can't.  Then I go back to programming and coding new features and functionality.

Other people, "Yawn.  It's Friday afternoon..."

You're still at work.  DO YOUR DAMN JOB!  That's what separates people who get promotes from people who get fired.  Incompetence is frustrating, but laziness?  No excuses.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The last two days I have been attacking the apple tree. It is a big, old tree, possibly a 'grenadier', it is the sort of apple that is supposed to be a cooker when still a bit green and an eater when fully ripe, and it fruits really heavily about every three years,  when the apples are all tiny, then me and the missus get an apple each for a year, then reasonably with decent sizeapples for a year. If it was apples I was after I would get rid of it and plant something on a modern root stock. but it is 'ornamental' and it is shade in the summer, so I have been pruning off the suckers and the boughs that were beginning to intrude into next door. Quite a lot of physical work for me, up and down the ladder, sawing stuff up for the fire. Good to shake out a bit of that winter sloth, but I can feel it.

My car was due a service, but the garage said 'Don't  bother'. There is too much work needs doing, it is no longer economically viable. Going to look at another on Monday from the guy I got this one from, about 60 thousand miles on it, same as this had when I got it. I am now on a hundred and thirty one thousand, think I got my use out of that


----------



## Kevin

I wanted to post a photo from my cell but the site won't let me. 

Still laying stones but getting nearly there. The easy part is the flat field. Then I've got to set some borders. There are various adjacent conditions, some way up, some up and sloped,  and a transitional walkway( I have to create a safe walking transition) . 

Retaining walls, sloped ramp- what to do, what to do? I have free creative reign ( rein? free -rein...) but with existing conditions that cannot be changed: a sloped walkway that is parallel to a new level platform, two planes that intersect at a point,  but only at a point, and I have to transition one to the other ( in a safe walkable manner) I may use a ramp and I may use a step. This is flat stone, so no free form concrete 'sculpture'. 
I'm sure I'll get it ( there are only so many possibilities given the parameters) but I'm using rectangles ( the stones) that are heavy. At the flat they are lying on a bed of compacted decomposed granite ( as I said, easy). 

At the retaining walls I think need concrete to hold them vertical and possibly on any new sloped ramps, too.  

I'm looking at submerging stones at an angle to form an exposed edge of the raised ramp/walkway, capping it with new stone as a widening continuation of said ramp. This will form a triangular 'riser' , the cap, a sloped tread  but then a step down to a level tread ( more of a landing I guess) which is a bit awkward to think of, but will work...hmmm, maybe. 

Okay ... So I did drink one beer just now ( it's Friday night) and I had to write something since my worth-a-thousand-words photo failed to post and left a blank post.


----------



## escorial

is that a prison cell kevin


----------



## LeeC

@ Olly
Among the fruit trees in my natural garden there are several crab apple trees. I leave them to themselves as the fruit is for the wildlife (they still steal my peaches, cherries, oriental pears, and blueberries, the gluttons). My 05 Toyota Tundra didn't pass safety inspection this year. Frame and body are in good shape, and it only had 30 some thousand miles on it, but they said the tie rods and something related were loosening up and needed replacing. They wanted $3,000 to repair it which I thought was a rip-off. An acquaintance wanted it for snow plowing and whatnot on their property, offering me a good price, so I sold it. Now I have a few extra coins to pay towards professional editing of my book. Still have a lot of illustrations to do so there's no hurry, and I keep thinking of more to write about in it. Does it ever end  Take care old man 

@ Kevin
Don't know exactly what you're doing, and if you're pinning the stones or not, but stone wall building is a bit of an art here in New England with some history. Started with the settlers trying to find soil amongst the rocks to plant their crops in ;-) Damn hard work, I know. Hey, there's nothing wrong with a few cool ones. I've been known to have one with my lunch, and several when I knocked off for the day. A good cold beer after working in the hot sun is better than sex (and don't ask what beer I drink). You take care also, in-between man 



--------

A large white pine at the edge of my natural garden fell into the garden this winter. I told my wife that I'd have to take the chain saw to it once the snow is gone, and she panicked.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Kevin, I would go with 'rein', I think it comes from giving the horse a free rein and not directing it rather than anything to do with monarchy.

You talk about concrete for vertical walls, are they retaining walls holding back earth? If you look at such walls on places like rail embankments you will see that brick ones use English bonding, every other brick a header, the strongest bond. They need strength, the earth will always gradually move down hill and the pressure build and build, to hold it back you need a decent foundation and some steel in the wall if it is concrete


----------



## Kevin

I was thinking horse's reins, too, rather than anarchy... Wasn't sure. 
 Olly, these are short walls at two ends. The soil here a foot down is rock hard so even exposed unprotected sharp drop offs hold their form for years. One slope to be retained is 24" tall and I think I'm going to go with a standard concrete /rebar reinforced 'cinder block' faced with the nice stone.o
 We were thinking just some treated 8x8 beams (she first mentioned railroad ties *bleh!* if you've every cut one of those they're awful to work with) with pounded in pipes to hold them. The ground beneath is so hard I'd have to really pre-dig/ drill or something- it to pound anything in which I dread. Seems like that defeats the whole purpose of pounded stakes which is supposed to make things simpler. I was hoping to do a mortarless stacked type construction out of the stone since the other end wall is shorter- 2' to zero ala Machu Pichu. Concrete/steel  mortared stone  is always my fallback. 

I hate doing things twice, and I've already got some older flatwork- red brick on sand- that I have to pry up a section and re-level ( gophers)which is a pain because I've got to break a brick to get access to pry up the others. 

We're under a push here because wifey has quit her lease and is moving the salon back to herlittlebuilding in the yard. We need yard lights, some hand rails ( rebar 'skeleton', simulated oak-branch plaster outter). The salon needs a new floor, I'm taking the door off, flipping it, and swinging it to open outward, stucco patching, trim, drywall patching; I'm replacing the cedar yard fence with a simulated wood, same with the entry arbor, and I have to weld some new gates ( wood ones sagged). 

May Day, that's the first, right? That's the deadline. Mayday-mayday (I'm going down..)


----------



## sas

Geez, Kev, we’ll miss you. Looks like you’ll be lost in your yard for months. You know TL Murph does construction. Maybe he has some advice, too.


----------



## Winston

Our chickens are laying again.  God, did we miss those big, brown delicious eggs with the bright yellow yokes.  Who would think a simple egg could be delicious?  
We might get a break in the weather to plant veggies, tomorrow.  The plant starts in our kitchen really need to get outside.  This cold wind and rain sucks.
So, we're off to Costco today.  Our cats eat a lot.  Our geriatric dog... less and less every day.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Blustery winds woke me up early and should continue 
to roar and blow branches around, not good for a 
tennis match. My sports trips were canceled last nite 
and today due to rain and wind. But that has given me 
the opportunity to re-arrange the living room today. 
A new perspective, a new view from a new angle, with
four cups of coffee in me. 
I’ve also been writing this a.m. Took some older lines 
I’d written and stored and made new poems. 
now.... thinking about lunch...still low carbs... had 
a few cheats but back on track. Hello celery.


----------



## Olly Buckle

@ Kevin:- Railway sleepers (ties) had a fashion here for supporting raised beds. People told me they were wonderful, 'They get treated for years and never rot.' It's true, some of the older ones you can saw in half and see there is a tiny circle of wood colour in the centre, the rest is stained with years and years of creosote which poisons everything in the bed. They won't even sell that stuff any more, it is so toxic, yet they splashed it liberally over thousands of miles of railtrack for about a hundred years, then people made raised vegetable beds with them and ate the contents thinking it was better than stuff treated with insecticides and herbicides.


----------



## The Green Shield

​22,314 Words in my fantasy. Gargoyles, a nasty deal being struck... What has my poor character gotten herself into?


----------



## Kevin

Railroad ties are toxic... 
That's a new one, but it makes total sense. They never mention that here. Another reason not to use them, besides being hard to cut, not very straight, really heavy- and you get black-tarry stuff all over you handling them.


----------



## LeeC

Kevin said:


> Railroad ties are toxic...
> That's a new one, but it makes total sense. They never mention that here. Another reason not to use them, besides being hard to cut, not very straight, really heavy- and you get black-tarry stuff all over you handling them.



There're a lot of things that many aren't aware of. You might find the following worth reading:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/the-toxins-that-threaten-our-brains/284466/


----------



## Olly Buckle

LeeC said:


> There're a lot of things that many aren't aware of. You might find the following worth reading:
> https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/03/the-toxins-that-threaten-our-brains/284466/



You talk like  it is all bad, Lee. Just think, would those young officers ever have gone out and conquered the world and given it the benefit of British benevolence if they had not spent their childhood playing with lead soldiers? Wouldn't the proletariate be rioting and causing trouble if we couldn't keep them stupid, fat, and contented on all that pesticide permeated food? There are benefits, for some.


----------



## midnightpoet

Sad, true and funny all at the same time (not to mention all the stuff they put in prepared foods - read labels lately?).


----------



## sas

I keep waiting for that lurking cancer seed planted in my childhood to blossom. We had rat poison set out, my mom gave up on hitting them with a broom; I sucked on red lead painted crib passed on to others;  my favorite gift was an entire lead army set that I kept set up on my floor that I rearranged for hours. Loved it. We broke thermometers to roll the mercury. I never got a vaccine because my mother thought they were dangerous. LOL. I’ve made it to elderly. My plan is to make ancient.


----------



## LeeC

Olly Buckle said:


> You talk like  it is all bad, Lee. Just think, would those young officers ever have gone out and conquered the world and given it the benefit of British benevolence if they had not spent their childhood playing with lead soldiers? Wouldn't the proletariate be rioting and causing trouble if we couldn't keep them stupid, fat, and contented on all that pesticide permeated food? There are benefits, for some.



Hey Olly, it was a great movie while it lasted :champagne:


----------



## Kevin

Bugs come to my house. There was one this morning- a large black 'stink-bug' we call them. They are a beetle. I saw him crossing the drive, coming from the wall that separates us from the wild ( there is  an oak and 'weeds' start behind it. A while later I found him on my porch on his back and wriggling- "..the death wriggle" I call it. Can you guess why?  See below. 
https://www.writingforums.com/threads/133029-An-arguement?p=1560913&viewfull=1#post1560913


I eventually lost the war ( win that argument- lost the war). We now have a service that sprays at all our outter perimeter.  I saw the bill. "The bugs come in (up to- ), but don't come out."


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I'm bored as fawk.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Life has been making its presence felt lately. Monday I thought I had my problems better sorted. I had a broken off tooth extracted the week previously and had to leave my denture with the dentist, so had been wearing an old one that was almost impossible to eat with, half a stone lighter I got my proper teeth back monday. The other thing was that when I put my car in for a service the garage said 'Don't bother, it's notworth it'. and Monday I bought a 'new' one, Tuesday I had a puncture on the motorway on the way home, wednesday a lorry turned over on the motorway and I sat in a traffic jam, both days I ended up getting home really late. Today I spent ages searching for the documents for my old car, can't find them anywhere, though i saw them last week, and tried to change a tap washer. That should have been easy. It would have been if the tap to turn the water off hadn't jammed, finally freeze the pipe and put  in another tap, then find the tap on the sink that needs the washer is also solid, Arrrgh!

Lovely weather, hottest day so far, so tied up in stuff I forgot to open the greenhouse, that has cost me a good few seedlings. Arrrgh!

Wish I was just bored, Rhythmovpain, count your blessings


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Olly Buckle said:


> Life has been making its presence felt lately. Monday I thought I had my problems better sorted. I had a broken off tooth extracted the week previously and had to leave my denture with the dentist, so had been wearing an old one that was almost impossible to eat with, half a stone lighter I got my proper teeth back monday. The other thing was that when I put my car in for a service the garage said 'Don't bother, it's notworth it'. and Monday I bought a 'new' one, Tuesday I had a puncture on the motorway on the way home, wednesday a lorry turned over on the motorway and I sat in a traffic jam, both days I ended up getting home really late. Today I spent ages searching for the documents for my old car, can't find them anywhere, though i saw them last week, and tried to change a tap washer. That should have been easy. It would have been if the tap to turn the water off hadn't jammed, finally freeze the pipe and put  in another tap, then find the tap on the sink that needs the washer is also solid, Arrrgh!
> 
> Lovely weather, hottest day so far, so tied up in stuff I forgot to open the greenhouse, that has cost me a good few seedlings. Arrrgh!
> 
> Wish I was just bored, Rhythmovpain, count your blessings



I'm only bored because I choose to ignore my stress/that which stresses me.

Have you considered smoking weed? If anything, it'll give you a nice break.


----------



## Winston

Ugh.  Getting ready to take my son to The Navy Ball.  Gotta dress-up.  Polite, boring talk.  No booze.  I wish I was a Facebook junkie so I could dose-up while I was there. 
His girl is already getting ready.  Five hours ahead of time. 
But, I get to treat myself first.  Going to pick-up my new pistol. And leave it home.  The Navy doesn't like people bringing weapons on base.  Odd.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The idea of a dry navy always amazes me, I am sure the British navy would not have managed half the things it did without rum. Mind you, that was back then, less acuracy more blood and guts I guess.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Just began a new relationship today.

I'm very happy with her.


----------



## Darkkin

Studio Ghibli marathon on the big TV...


----------



## Kevin

The workers asked what that noise was. We have feral peacocks that hang out about a quarter mile away. The sound caries and they were making a lot of racket.

I said they were peacocks, They didn't know what that was. I explained the big tail, colorful display. They still didn't know. 

Then I said that they were known to eat dogs and sometimes people. 

The one guy said that they wouldn't get him if he was out hunting. I said that others had said that - young 'machos', and then never spoken again. They laughed. I said we'd be okay down here. 

Later, I sent them a YouTube of a peacock.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDvFdj-pFMc&sns=em


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Darkkin said:


> Studio Ghibli marathon on the big TV...



All of them?


----------



## The Green Shield

24,178 Words in my Fantasy! Things just got interesting for Mishu, looks like her adventure is about to begin.


----------



## Kevin

RhythmOvPain said:


> All of them?


mononoke is a marathon


----------



## Dave Watson

Found out I'm going onstage before Chesney Hawkes at a Robert Burns festival a week on Saturday. Surreal!


----------



## PiP

Dave Watson said:


> Found out I'm going onstage before Chesney Hawkes at a Robert Burns festival a week on Saturday. Surreal!



Hope someone is going to video/take pictures!


----------



## TuesdayEve

It’s a beautiful sunny day, 55 degrees, sitting quietly
at the far end of a parking lot, windows open, waiting 
for 1:30....
I hear the murmur of a Canadian Goose. I recognize 
it as probably walking. I turn towards the sound and
see Mother Goose walking near my car, with two little 
yellow fur-balls behind her walking double time to 
keep up and Papa bringing up the rear. 
On high alert, she looks around, checking every sound,
and stops directly in front of my car...
Head up, neck straight, she looks straight at me, eye
to eye we connect for 3-4 seconds and I turn away....
Posing no threat, she continues on, ‘cross the parking
lot to the creek.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Dave Watson said:


> Found out I'm going onstage before Chesney Hawkes at a Robert Burns festival a week on Saturday. Surreal!



'The one and only', surreal indeed. I understand why you might be at a Burn's night, but what is he doing there? He's English isn't he?


----------



## Dave Watson

No idea, Olly. I always thought he was American? Apparently, going from his bio on the site for the Burns festival, he's made a decent career for himself on the festival circuit and as a songwriter and producer. Seems like he still tours and records quite regularly. 

http://www.burnsfestival.com/bur…/burnsfest-live-music-tent/


----------



## bobo

Puh !!
Finally got through my tax return.
They're amusing themselves by inventing some new routines every year - so I actually had to read (almost) every word 
I got a comment in the end - it was WEIRD - so I decided to surpass it for now - I can decide to confront them later - may be I will - even care should be taken not to disturb their mental equilibrium - lolol.
Let's see what'll happen.
At least I got it registered, and accepted - lolol


----------



## TuesdayEve

Great day.... been writing for most of it.
I filled a few hours with regular paycheck
work...a sports trip with the water polo team
uneventful...they lost. But got some writing
done. Here’s where fun, accomplishment,  
satisfaction, and progress turn into obsession....
probably addiction, I’m supposed to be at a 
birthday party now...talking, celebrating, sitting 
around and enjoying being there with friends...
but here I am, at home writing, writing and 
writing...   Not interested in getting up, 
getting dressed up or going out the door.
I should probably call....
I can’t have cake anyways.


----------



## The Green Shield

Been relaxing. Hit my 500 words quota for the day, gamed, and drew. 

Also...

I found this.

I am not sorry.

It’s Kermit singing _Never Gonna Give You Up_.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AyOqGRjVtls


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I'm ashamed of the western powers. I've BEEN ashamed, but as of today I'm officially disgusted. At this point, I believe the world will achieve NWO status in no less than 10 years.

France, US, AND UK need to get their shit together. Europe is fucking retarded; they don't give two fucks about North Korea and it's going to really suck when China starts making its move back into world power status with a unified Korea at its disposal.


----------



## Olly Buckle

RhythmOvPain said:


> France, US, AND UK need to get their shit together. Europe is fucking retarded; they don't give two fucks about North Korea and it's going to really suck when China starts making its move back into world power status with a unified Korea at its disposal.



The ethnic cleansing 'we' are aiding and abetting in Palestine must be alienating just about everyone in the Middle East who isn't being bought off with oil money too.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Olly Buckle said:


> The ethnic cleansing 'we' are aiding and abetting in Palestine must be alienating just about everyone in the Middle East who isn't being bought off with oil money too.



The middle east may be in disarray but that's no reason to ignore a blatant power play by Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping to overwhelm U.S. forces in the South Pacific. Nevermind China's overall insignificance atm, wait until Russia and Mexico overwhelm the U.S. with political subterfuge and the two houses collapse between infighting and negligence. There's only ONE WAY America will stand in the event of a WWIII and that's if it saves ties with Russia and fixes this muslim extremism bullshit like yesterday.

Fuck Mexico, fuck ISIS, wait until China starts overwhelming the U.S. and EU with subversion and domestic terrorism. MOST chinese imigrants I know in two different countries are already armed to the tooth as it is.


----------



## The Green Shield

I really doubt a Korean reunification is possible as of now, considering the North Koreans have spent nearly 70 years being brainwashed (not to mention tortured and starved), their economy is in disarray, they have almost zero connections to the outside world, among other things. It would take a multi-national effort to bring North Korea to modernity (never mind re-constructing their power and trying to aid the common North Korean people, and doing it in a way that won’t screw anyone over in the future.) As horrible as this sounds, does any nation seriously want to put in the time and resources to basically babysit a hermit nation until it can get back on its feet? In a perfect, just world, sure, absolutely, but c’mon, let’s be realistic. Unless North Korea had something to offer, most aren’t going to be willing to devote time and resources playing its momma bird. Hell, even friggin’ _China_ isn’t doing it, and they’re pretty much the only friend/ally North Korea has.

Kim Jong-Un doesn’t _have_ power. If anything else, China treats his country like a buffer between itself and South Korea — indeed giving him stern warnings whenever he decides to act up as he usually did. A part of me is convinced that the recent peace talks between the Koreas was influenced by China who, let’s be honest, is probably more than fed up with a country right next to it threatening war with one of the most powerful countries in the world (now currently headed by a mentally unstable man who promised ‘fire and fury’ on the guy.) This was probably their attempt at trying to cool things off.

Is China going to be the next superpower? Increasingly likely right alongside with Russia, but Kim doesn’t have a chance. China’s basically telling him to STFU and sit down before he accidentally starts something no one wants. The guy’s a pawn that no one takes seriously. Any intervention from China is for their own best interest, not his, as they’d be the ones dealing with rival powers threatening their own. You’d almost feel bad for the guy if he didn’t go out of his way to be as heinously cruel to his own people as possible.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> You’d almost feel bad for the guy if he didn’t go out of his way to be as heinously cruel to his own people as possible.


Probably not how he sees it, more likely 'Exploiting the rescourses available to me', though that is probably no  consolation to the people.

The Japanese should be taken into account, they have lots of economic and political influence, are close enough to be directly concerned, and are percieved as the political enemy by China and North Korea besides being the historical invaders. There must come a point where their 'Self defence force' changes its role, if not name, to an army, it is a generation since America wrote their constitution. My ex was Japanese, I know a good few of the post war generation, people to be accounted.


----------



## Kevin

Yellow peril, instcrutable Chinese- as ever, we have no clue as to the motivations and goals of the Asians. 
My best guess is that their own inherent racism prevents any true alignment. No Asia country wishes to be dominated by another so as far as China and Korea, Sauron does not share power. 
Why kim decided now to hug the south on television can perhaps only be guessed at. We should ask the Koreans. My thinking is that an end to 'hostilities' in the peninsula , a formal end to the war, is the best way for Kim to perpetuate his dynasty. A true reunification would mean would be the end of all that.

I cannot see how but perhaps the Olympics were a sign of what to expect: Separate but one. The only liberalization in the North will be perhaps some goods (entering from the south)being more available. This would allow for less of a dependance on China. 

The end of a state of war with the south will eventually mean the withdrawal of American forces, which would allow the north to refocus those energies formerly aimed at the u.s. toward something else: Maintaining power and the now internationally 'legal', status quo.


----------



## The Green Shield

Kevin said:


> The end of a state of war with the south will eventually mean* the withdrawal of American forces*, which would allow the north to refocus those energies formerly aimed at the u.s. toward something else: Maintaining power and the now internationally 'legal', status quo.


I dunno. I mean, we _still_ have bases in Germany. _Germany_, and we haven't been at war with them for 73 years. Same with Japan (though for them there was that whole 'no standing army' bit.) I honestly doubt that, if we're unwilling to withdraw our bases from countries we haven't been at war with in almost a century...I highly doubt we're gonna withdraw our bases from a country that spent the past 65 years going, "Die, America! Die! Die!! DIE!!!" Considering we have a president who, very recently, called Kim Jong-Un "Rocket Man" and promised to unleash fire and fury... It be out of character for Trump to start trusting that North Korea won't attempt to start shit again and announce removal of US troops from the DMZ zone.

Whatever happens, it'll have drastic changes to the spheres of influences over there. Only time will tell what happens.


----------



## Kevin

G.S.- You are right. We are in Germany to counter Russia. And we're in Japan to counter China. Maybe we also won't want to leave Korea because of China.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> I dunno. I mean, we still have bases in Germany. Germany, and we haven't been at war with them for 73 years.


No, but until recently it was right next to the Soviet union, and they can't move into ex-Warsaw pact countries without creating mayhem, they would be in Ukraine otherwise.

Edit, page went up, I see Kevin already made the point, not occupiers anymore, 'allies' against 'hostile' neighbours, a bit like us in Guiana.


----------



## bobo

First of May - International Workers' Day.
Here in  France the un-employed are selling muguets/lily-of-the-valley in the streets.


----------



## The Green Shield

Writing my fantasy.


Including a detective story.


Wait, a detective story in a fantasy epic about a war?


Yes. 


#Writing
#InspectorLevola


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Writing my fantasy.
> 
> 
> Including a detective story.
> 
> 
> Wait, a detective story in a fantasy epic about a war?
> 
> 
> Yes.
> 
> 
> #Writing
> #InspectorLevola



And why not? Should spice things up a bit. Ever come across Ben AAranovitch, 'Rivers of London'? Fantasy detective story.


----------



## Kevin

Flew to Geo-juh.... Atlanta burbs. We are going to Savanna over the weekend so I've been playing movie clips ( in my head) from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and thinking about talking like Kevin Spacey all day. There's a line where this one character says "Cry enough tears to fill a bucket? Mutha-fuck-it..." I love that line. That was a long-ass movie, but worth it. Definetly not a hit with the kids. All the music was Johnny Mercer, who I am barely familiar with, maybe not at all, really. He was huge, though. 

Were in a place called Suwannee, on a lake. Homes here are 100 a square. Homes where I live are a lot more. That's including land value. Hmm. Weather is a big difference. It is very green, which, when you live in a semi-arid place, is nice. They don't even irrigate.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> It is very green, which, when you live in a semi-arid place, is nice. They don't even irrigate.



You ought to see England, flying back after working all summer in Spair, which is pretty arid, it looked absolutely amazing it was so green.

What does 'Homes here are 100 a square' mean? $100 a square foot would be City of London prices.


----------



## dither

bobo said:


> First of May - International Workers' Day.
> Here in  France the un-employed are selling muguets/lily-of-the-valley in the streets.
> 
> View attachment 21671
> 
> View attachment 21672



Is unemployment bad over there bobo?


----------



## Kevin

Olly Buckle said:


> You ought to see England, flying back after working all summer in Spair, which is pretty arid, it looked absolutely amazing it was so green.
> 
> What does 'Homes here are 100 a square' mean? $100 a square foot would be City of London prices.


 sounds lovely. We love green.  $ 100 per square foot. Our friends bought 3300 sq ft. for 320k. Where I live (another state) I figured just for replacement cost 250 a square for construction costs on my homeowners insurance. That's without the land. A big part of those costs are all the permit fees. 

Anyway...I've heard Spain and where I live are very similar in climate. We average 15" a year in rainfall. I'm amazed when I find ferns and moss growing but they do in shaded gullies and understories. They call our chaparral- brush an elfin forest. It's all miniature. Most of it is knee to shoulder in height.  In the rains it becomes pliable.  Sometimes I get on my hands and knees and go under. 

Ps- were near Charelston now. It's all woods.  There are Palmettos and Magnolias


----------



## Olly Buckle

Once it was all forest here, I live near Battle where the battle of Hastings was fought in 1066. The reason William came that way and Harold was there waiting for him was that was *the* way through the forest if you didn't want to lose your army. Now it is all fields or orchards, where it is not built up.

Took the little cat to the vet this morning, couldn't put her back foot on the ground and the foot and leg were swollen. The vet found a small scab just behind the pad that looked like the cause, she is now full of antibiotics and sleeping lots.


----------



## Winston

Olly Buckle said:


> Once it was all forest here, I live near Battle where the battle of Hastings was fought in 1066. The reason William came that way and Harold was there waiting for him was that was *the* way through the forest if you didn't want to lose your army. Now it is all fields or orchards, where it is not built up.
> 
> Took the little cat to the vet this morning, couldn't put her back foot on the ground and the foot and leg were swollen. The vet found a small scab just behind the pad that looked like the cause, she is now full of antibiotics and sleeping lots.



I love history Olly, thanks.  And I hope your cat pulls through well.
Some careless piece of human waste ran over one of our cats a few days ago.  People speed near our house.  Probably checking their phone, too.
We buried her under our Kwanzan Cherry tree.  The blossoms have been falling on her grave all week.  

I went to the range to take my mind off stuff.  Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  I think I need to wear reading glasses to see the sights clearer.  
Gave blood.  I have A+, the most common type.  Still, just felt like doing something constructive.  
Went grocery shopping while my wife was chaperoning a band field trip.  Her and the kids had fun.  I bought good stuff like chorizo and Spaghetti-Os. 
Baseball is coming on now.  Time to go play couch potato.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Mrs Smallcat is looking much better today thanks, Winston. Yesterday she spent the whole day curled up in a ball and we let her stay in with a dirt tray last night. When I came down this morning she got up, stretched, and promptly fell over sideways, but during the day has been getting better and better. She is still limping lots, but putting her foot down and getting herself about.


----------



## escorial

Went for a walk on the beach footpath and opened my sparkling drink which burst forth an went on my brand knew white pumps....then opened a bag of nuts I thought we're roasted but we're honey roasted...came home earlier than expected..


----------



## Winston

After one of our cats was ran over last week, the other two will not eat out of the second dish.  It's like they're saving it for her.  When she comes home.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Went to Guys for an MRI scan, big lumpon my ankle. The train was only four carriages, and very full. A lot of Spurs fans on their way to Wembly for the last game of the season and the last game before they geyt their new stadium. Playing at Wembly means they have played thirty eight games away in effect, and they are still third in the premier league. I see they won five four, at least the crowd must have got a good game for their money.

Edit ; BTW our little cat is much better now, thanks. the day after my last post I let her out and she limped across the patio, crouched, sprung, and had a fat field mouse in the first 30 seconds of being out, watch out rodents!


----------



## dither

The Spurs fans will have had a brilliant day Mr.Buckle, ended 5-4 I think. I hope your's was as good. Good luck with the ankle.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Sick. Tired. Sick and tired. Hustling for money because work sucks donkey nuts and meaningful employment is a fallacy.

Still kickin' ass at everything I do, though.


----------



## H.Brown

RhythmOvPain said:


> Sick. Tired. Sick and tired. Hustling for money because work sucks donkey nuts and meaningful employment is a fallacy.
> 
> Still kickin' ass at everything I do, though.



Hang in there mate, it will all be worth it in the end.  

I have decided that since I'm on holiday from work I woul dhave a drink of whisky as I watch One Tree Hill box set. A nice relaxed evening ahead I think.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

H.Brown said:


> Hang in there mate, it will all be worth it in the end.
> 
> I have decided that since I'm on holiday from work I woul dhave a drink of whisky as I watch One Tree Hill box set. A nice relaxed evening ahead I think.



Drink triple for me hon.


----------



## H.Brown

RhythmOvPain said:


> Drink triple for me hon.


Hahaha no worries


----------



## Olly Buckle

RhythmOvPain said:


> meaningful employment is a fallacy.
> 
> Still kickin' ass at everything I do, though.


I used to work in a kids home, seemed quite meaningful until I came up against the rules and regulations and the other people who worked there, more concerned about their family and mortgage than the kids they were 'looking after'.
Running reception for a hospital haematology dept was okay, best deal, work for yourself, hustling is a hustle, pick something you like. I ended up spending my days in other people's gardens while they went out to work to earn the money to pay me for it


----------



## Olly Buckle

double post


----------



## The Green Shield

So when I'm not writing my fantasy, I'm using my fantasy characters to make fun of common fiction tropes. Enjoy!


----------



## aj47

hey y'all.  School's out for the summer which means my volunteering for the year is at an ebb.  So I've got a little time to stop by.  I re-intro'd and .... stuff.  

in the news at my house:  


my next paycheck will be for two days as my staffing company was acquired and the pay scheduled changed from bi-weekly to 15th/EOM and it so happens that the timing works out that way.  I don't lose any money but there's a huge honkin' delay (so my pennies to the pig were not as much as otherwise).
I joined a soon-to-be-chartered Sweet Adelines women's barbershop chorus group and we're singing the anthem at our local minor league baseball team's game on Thursday 31 May. (when I get said tiny paycheck). It's the Sugarland Skeeters vs someone.
My youngest, the brain surgery survivor, has had 3 seizures (possibly an artifact) and may need to rethink his career options as welders can't seize. If he can go six months on this new med ...
Dunno if I mentioned cuz this was happening as I left, younger daughter moved to Wisconsin.  To adult.


----------



## The Green Shield

Wrote a bunch the last three days, did some outlining...

And somehow I forget that one character POV in my fantasy who belongs in a faction whose name is literally the title of my book!!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Hi Annie, good to see you around. You will feel poor now, but rich when it finally arrives  I remember similar things happening in jobs where they held a month's pay 'in hand' and I got a double lot when I left.


----------



## aj47

Olly Buckle said:


> I used to work in a kids home, seemed quite meaningful until I came up against the rules and regulations and the other people who worked there, more concerned about their family and mortgage than the kids they were 'looking after'.
> Running reception for a hospital haematology dept was okay, best deal, work for yourself, hustling is a hustle, pick something you like. I ended up spending my days in other people's gardens while they went out to work to earn the money to pay me for it



I work where I volunteer, kinda.  

I was teaching high school kids coding....that part was okay.  What was less so was the unwillingness of the classroom teacher to learn the program.  The ideal is to grow the school into self-sufficiency and to no longer require volunteers to come in and teach.  If I say any more, I'll begin an epic rant.  

If I could get paid a living wage to do what I volunteer to do, at schools that want to grow their programs, I'd do it all day long.  Even as an employee, I help place volunteers in schools so that this happens all over the US (and part of Canada).  It's why I do what I do.  But as an employee, I get to see and hear all the stories, not only the positive outcomes. Overall, we do good. but double dayum on a stick, it's not easy and there's bumps on the road. And it's not the kids or the code.


----------



## am_hammy

A lot of reflection occurred for me today. As well as a lot of silence, thankfulness, anxiousness, annoyance, and a bit of unidentifiable regret. It’s been a day indeed.


----------



## Seg

Work drama finally boiled over and the admin department was called. Thankfully I'm one to keep my head down so I hopefully won't be caught up in the storm, but both parties are going to want me to speak on their behalf, so that should be fun.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Crippling depression.

May was still the best month of the past 5 years, though.


----------



## J T Chris

Normal day at work, but some people can be a pain in the ass. I got asked to work tomorrow and I had the wherewithal to say no. Good for me.


----------



## aj47

RhythmOvPain said:


> Crippling depression.
> 
> May was still the best month of the past 5 years, though.



None of the reaction buttons is right.  I want to celebrate your May while acknowledging the context.


----------



## The Green Shield

The hole in my stomach is getting smaller and smaller seemingly by the day. It’s gradual, but getting there. From what I can tell, it’s closing in from the outside in a circular pattern ala a black hole.


I would show a picture and hide it under spoilers, but don’t know how to. Suffice to say, it’s getting smaller.


----------



## The Green Shield

*UPDATE ON STOMA HOLE:*



I just got home from the doctor to look at my hole left in place when my G-tube fell out on New Year’s. Five months later, it’s smaller but hasn’t closed.



Result?



So I’m probably gonna go in for surgery in a few weeks time, depending on scheduling. Apparently there’s scarring underneath the hole preventing it from closing. Thankfully the doctor is very pleasant, very confident, and he’s going to do his homework and figure stuff out before putting me under.



<deep breath>



Holy shit...


----------



## Olly Buckle

There was a fierce cat fight yesterday morning in the spinney at the bottom of the garden and our little cat didn't  come home. We left the back door ajar last night and looked for her through the garden today, almost given up when she dragged herself in at eight o'clock this evening with one back leg trailing. Won't let us near her, hisses and spits, we shall see how she is in the morning. Vet may afford a skiing holiday this year


----------



## The Green Shield

I've learned a lesson today!  Always walk slowly and pay attention to where your feet are, or else you're libel to bash them hard against a swinging door and split the nail.




<limp limp limp>


----------



## Darkkin

^^^^^Tried that, but some how I still manage to trip on a perfectly flat surface...  Yet I don't slip on ice, not quite sure how that one works, but abnormal physics are involved.


----------



## aj47

I don't like walking on unpaved surfaces because my eyesight has issues with uneven ground which aren't helped by bifocals... cue spraining my ankle on flat parking lot because I somehow stepped wrong and fell. 

In other news ... there's always other news ... I am getting a stipend for that volunteer teaching I was doing via webcam.  I intend to use it to purchase an ergonomic chair so I can work from home and some lighting for my work-from-home space.  Uncle Sam will get some, too, because ain't that the way of it?


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I don't understand why life is so fucked up. I don't get people. I hate EVERYTHING.

Sigh.

I dropped my phone and the screen is borderline fucked.


----------



## Kevin

Looked up the missing contractor and came up with multiple addresses. One linked to a photo of a business I recognized. I happened to drive by on my way somewhere else but decided to stop and investigate. There was a truck there with the offending contractor's business name on it parked under a sign for a different business. I took photos, parked and got out to see if the other business was open. They were and I talked to that owner asking about the truck out back."Oh, that guy, funny that you ask because you're not the first. He burned two cabinet shops for 30k each- got work done and never paid. That's his tile store next door, or was his tile store, but he's closed it down." Of course he did; all of it. Oh, and his wife has "cancer". Of course she does. Y'ep, so typical... There is nothing new under the sun.


----------



## LeeC

“I picked up a hitchhiker last night. He seemed surprised that I’d pick up a stranger and asked, ‘Thanks, but why would you pick me up? How do you know I’m not a serial killer?’

I  told him the chances of two serial killers being in one car would be astronomical.”

Author Amber Lea Easton


----------



## The Green Shield

UPDATE ON STOMA HOLE:


Just got back from scoping — mildly uncomfortable but quick and easy.


 So I have an airway that’s stupidly small and thus difficult to intubate. My left nasal passage is basically very small, and my right is stupidly huge. I also have a big ass tongue that makes putting chords in my trachea hard. I do have face and mouth paralysis on the right side of my face. I also might have scarring near my voice box from the trach I got when I was little.


They also want to do a cat scan of my lower throat to check for any scarring in that area. In short, they want to get the full information for any possible surgery in the future (whether my hole closes or not) so intubation won’t be a “he almost died” thing like 12 years ago.


Sooo...there’s that!


----------



## aj47

I thought it was ... weird ... that they tubed me for my parathyroidectomy -- I mean, they're cutting on my throat -- but it's surgery so they have to knock me out and make sure I breathe and all.

I like how they're thinking of things prior to ... forethought is good.


----------



## Kevin

astroannie said:


> I like how they're thinking of things prior to ... forethought is good.


one would hope...


----------



## Darkkin

Just sheeted out Rue Dog's undercoat...half the neighborhood bird population lined up to watch.  Even as the backdoor closed behind me the battles for the fluff began.  The smaller finches are still duking it out, but most of the fur is gone and not in the house.  :triumphant:


----------



## Winston

Putting off replacing the starter on my old truck.  The weather is crummy outside.  This is June (?) But, if I don't take care of this, the starter will chew-up the flywheel.  

I'll reward myself with Season 5 of Rick and Morty.  Just got the DVD.  Pickle Rick!


----------



## Kevin

Ah... A new word for me. How might I...? "My dthog aid-eet, an' letter, _sheeted_ eet out. Goodth boy."


----------



## DeClarke

For the first time in five years I was able to fall asleep with no effort. Not only was I able to fall asleep but I was able to wake up groggy and if desired, fall back to sleep promptly. I even took a short nap and felt like I actually napped. I haven't been able to do this since my mid-20s so I am pretty excited about it.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Am sitting alone, all alone, the only one in the theater
watching trailers, on my phone posting, breaking the 
rules.... haha!
’Solo’ on now...


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I dropped my phone in water today.

Between its unprecedented will to survive, and my unwavering determination to save it, all issues were resolved within the span of 30 minutes.

The hardware in LG phones is as resilient as anything I've ever seen.


----------



## H.Brown

RhythmOvPain said:


> I dropped my phone in water today.
> 
> Between its unprecedented will to survive, and my unwavering determination to save it, all issues were resolved within the span of 30 minutes.
> 
> The hardware in LG phones is as resilient as anything I've ever seen.



That is both awesome and sucky Rhythm, most phones after being dropped on the floor, let alone being dropped in water. Glad it's working still though some phones are really more resilliant than others.

My day is going well so far had a sleep in, no real life work to do for the next two days woop woop. Here's to having a few drinks and getting some of my writing done.


----------



## JustRob

We are soon to go on a holiday driving around southern Ireland but we were not keen on one of the places that our holiday organiser had chosen for us to stay, so yesterday we asked him to change it if he could. Today he informed us that he had found somewhere that would suit us better. That was an understatement. He had booked us a four-poster bedroom in the 17th century waterside castle at Castletownshend for the same price as the original lodgings. We are extremely pleased about this.

The castle at Castletownshend was unsurprisingly the home of the Townshend family and they still own it eleven generations later. More interesting to my angel and myself, and maybe to other WF members, is that the village there is where the writers of the classic Anglo-Irish stories about _The Irish R.M._ lived. These authors were two women writing at the very end of the nineteenth century. My angel has a copy of the complete stories and we also have DVDs of the TV series of the same name based on them. 

If you haven't encountered The Irish R.M. stories by Somerville and Ross you are missing out on some very entertaining writing. They are out of copyright and easily available on the Internet now apparently. By the way, R.M. stands for _resident magistrate_. In the stories this Englishman has to attempt to lay down the law to the Irish locals as best he can, but it is never easy and their own perceptions of justice tend to prevail.


----------



## aj47

RhythmOvPain said:


> I dropped my phone in water today.
> 
> Between its unprecedented will to survive, and my unwavering determination to save it, all issues were resolved within the span of 30 minutes.
> 
> The hardware in LG phones is as resilient as anything I've ever seen.



I laundered my old LG phone and all it needed was a new battery so yeah!


My employer (not Microsoft who funds me, or TEALS who I work for, but DISYS, who actually handles my paycheck) lost my accrued PTO (paid time off) hours from one pay period to the next. I mean my starting balance this pay period as reflected on my paystub was 0.0.  This is Not Cool and I have contacted HR (human resources).


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW I learn something new in my writing that I kind of wish I knew from the beginning. 


Dear Self:



It’s OK to space things out in your book. Opening Chapter One with Mishu’s birth, then a sudden timeskip to a Blessing, then another timeskip to a gigantic character-altering event miiiight be a bit too much to chew.  



It’s OK to space things out. Really, it is.


----------



## aj47

my weekend disappeared ... between training yesterday and the resulting compression of weekend activities into one day -- it's gone.  I did write (and post a draft of) a piece but dayum, I need another day.


----------



## TuesdayEve

So far so good. Very hot and humid today. Fans in the 
bus help but it’s still  pretty hot.
These next seven weeks doing special-ed summer 
school. A couple kids I had during the year and have 
their own playlist on my ipad. Mikey loves the Beatles, 
Kathleen loves Taylor Swift and I throw in a little 
Bob James, Eddie Vedder, and a dash of Wes 
Montgomery. I keep it eclectic but calm. 
No squealing guitar work or punk. Many kids have 
sensitive hearing. Some are singers or hummers and
they all love the music. If they’re smiling, I’m smiling.


----------



## The Green Shield

Hello from America. 




 Just wanted to remind my non-American friends that you are all beautiful and special, and I love you very, very much.


----------



## bazz cargo

I have a poorly toe. Why is it my poorly toe is the only one that attracts dropped items or uneven flooring derived stubbing?


----------



## The Green Shield

So apparently my dad was at a bar last night and he saw a poor guy getting stabbed in the neck 8 times just two feet away from him. The perp got away. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




�� My dad and the others are safe, the victim is in the hospital but I’m not sure if he’ll make it.

Damn...

Here is link
http://mynbc15.com/news/local/stabbing-reported-at-callaghans-irish-social-club


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Fuck my day, this whole month has been utter shit.


----------



## The Green Shield

In lighter news, my stoma hole is getting smaller and smaller. The possibility of me having that surgery to get it sewn shut seems to be decreasing.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Jeez, GS... Damn is right. I was havin’ a great day til
I imagined the shock of witnessing such violence in 
close proximity and the unpredictable possibilities that
might have occurred.....and it’s raining. 
Hope your dads ok too.

The day is good, lots of music, fun chats with the 
students... one girl, Cathy, rarely smiles, she has a 
temper sometimes if anyone talks to her and she 
especially does not like Marky...mostly because he 
asks her questions. Today, Marky asked her a 
question and she went off on him...Jackson said, 
why ya gotta yell Cathy, why are you so grumpy? 
And Cathy said, because Im a grumpy girl! 
I almost fell off my seat. 

Cathy, when getting off  the bus,  begins to tell
me, Max ( dont know Max, but anyways) loves cakes 
and cookies. But he ate too many and got a tummy 
ache...and he should really ‘shed his sweet tooth’....
never heard that one before.


----------



## Kevin

Guys asked me the other day what I thought of Ingleterra ( angle-land: England) nothing, not much ( meaning neutral), I replied. 
"Asi pensamos de Espania." Translation: that's how they think of Spain. The World Cup was blasting on the iPhone connected speaker-thing, and Spain was playing someone. "They took all our gold."
Meaning: they don't care for Spain ( of which they are descended, somewhat) same as I don't care-for ( they took it) England ( of which we, U.S. are somewhat descended) because they know that the relationship between Spain and its former possessions in the Americas was only for Spain's profit.

Resentment. 
Hm. I get it. My American side holds no resentment towards England. 
My Irish portion? Yes, there is some resentment. 
Never been to Ireland. I read, though. 
These guys don't read, but they understand.


----------



## bobo

All that 'don't care much for' - is normally called selfishness


----------



## escorial

About time the tower had a few inmates


----------



## Kevin

Up the rebels


----------



## escorial

The word needs to remember that 007 has saved their asses...


----------



## Kevin

Wifey is a little too greatful. Mm. Bloody hell. His liver's shot. Tats wot de sed.


----------



## escorial

Wud everyone stand while I sing the English national anthem...will begin in 5 minutes


----------



## Kevin

Fish'n' chips...mm..hungry. Yes.


----------



## escorial

Thanks everyone...


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> Wud everyone stand while I sing the English national anthem...will begin in 5 minutes


Sorry esc I glanced away...was it good?


----------



## escorial

It went ok...I've been sending Sarah Ferguson emails for a date an if it all goes to plan I might marry into the royal family...so if I need to change my username to Windsor I do hope I can rely on my subjects...no promises but sir bob could be on the cards


----------



## LeeC

escorial said:


> It went ok...I've been sending Sarah Ferguson emails for a date an if it all goes to plan I might marry into the royal family...so if I need to change my username to Windsor I do hope I can rely on my subjects...no promises but sir bob could be on the cards


If it weren't for dreams, how would we get on sir bob


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> It went ok...I've been sending Sarah Ferguson emails for a date an if it all goes to plan I might marry into the royal family...so if I need to change my username to Windsor I do hope I can rely on my subjects...no promises but sir bob could be on the cards



Hahaha I could just see you swanning around Buckingham Palace, grinning and singing God Save The Queen lol.


----------



## escorial

If it comes of LC I will be giving jobs away left right an centre..with your knowledge of nature and wildlife would you become the keeper of the royal squirrels...

Yep walking around Buckingham palace in me undies an singing God save the queen by the sex pistols...I will be sending royal hampers out  from Harrods at crimbo...your on the list bob


----------



## aj47

you are on the list
be careful what you request
you may receive it

(oops wrong thread!)

Got a cortisone shot in my foot and it hurts and I'm awake at what is quarter to three in the blessed AM local time.  I can't take the oral anti-inflammatory for another five hours.  So I'm hanging out here and maybe doing some revisioning.


----------



## escorial

If I make it into the royal family it is customary to have a mistress..so keep checking your pm box..


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> Wifey is a little too greatful. Mm. Bloody hell. His liver's shot. Tats wot de sed.



Me an Jimmy have that effect on women...


----------



## Kevin

Meh-hee-ko is playing today, right?, so there's flags hung dangling off cars all over,  people wearing jersies. 
In honor, I bought a cheecheron' burrito.  ...-ing bit into it and *pleh-tooey!* -wthell is a cheecheron'?! Ea-uchh! It's soggy boiled strips of pig skin- like pre-chewed boiled football, seasoned. Enough to turn me vegan.


----------



## aj47

escorial said:


> If I make it into the royal family it is customary to have a mistress..so keep checking your pm box..



Q. Does one have to be in the royal family to have a mistress?  (asking for a friend)


I almost hit a pedestrian when turning into my driveway tonight.  It was dark and he wasn't paying attention--good thing I was.  I got a good dose of adrenaline which is why I'm awake 2 hours past my customary bedtime and despite a sleep aid.


----------



## Darkkin

Touched up the paint in the living room, did the dishes, (no dishwasher which I don't mind, as I *hate *unloading the dishwasher, but for some reason love washing dishes. I think it has everything to to with the fact that I get to play in hot, soapy water), watered the tomatoes, (they're huge) and peppers, (deer chewed them off, but they are battling back), got lost with Rue Dog, and laughed at Cat Cat (seventeen years young) as she tried to chase fireflies, (the number of fireflies at the new house...insane!  I have never seen so many, not even in my grandparents' fir grove when I was a kid), through the kitchen window.  And yes, my () are the tangents my brain goes tripping on...Busted brain, but it is never boring.

Mundane by many standards, but it suited me to a T.


----------



## aj47

Fireflies are awesome.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Darkkin said:


> Touched up the paint in the living room, did the dishes, (no dishwasher which I don't mind, as I *hate *unloading the dishwasher, but for some reason love washing dishes. I think it has everything to to with the fact that I get to play in hot, soapy water), watered the tomatoes, (they're huge) and peppers, (deer chewed them off, but they are battling back), got lost with Rue Dog, and laughed at Cat Cat (seventeen years young) as she tried to chase fireflies, (the number of fireflies at the new house...insane!  I have never seen so many, not even in my grandparents' fir grove when I was a kid), through the kitchen window.  And yes, my () are the tangents my brain goes tripping on...Busted brain, but it is never boring.
> 
> Mundane by many standards, but it suited me to a T.



When the Missus is away the dishwasher stands idle, you are so  right, there is real satisfaction in washing up, and our sink has a seven foot wide window looking down the garden past the bird table, why wouldn't I stand there for a bit? The real problem for me though is the feel of what comes out of the machine and the false shine on everything, it is obviously coated with something. To my mind the object od washing up is to get foriegn matter off the things I am going toeat with, not put it on them, especially when it is some unknown chemical. It could be completely harmless, but when I read the warning on the washing up liqued I know these people don't care much, never mind a small obscure triangle, it should have POISON! RINSE OFF BEFORE USE in huge red letters right across the front.

And yes, you are right Annie, they are rare here, and probably a different species, but they do look amazing.


----------



## The Green Shield

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishu


Well now...  


Basically, a personnel in China responsible for keeping secrets...

and is also the name of my major character.


----------



## Theglasshouse

That's interesting. So a person who must keep a secret under any circumstance maybe under a life or death threat. That is what I imagined. 


Today I researched and outlined what I plan to write. I will try my best to let it sit for 5 days to see how the 1st draft evolves. My little brother went to Switzerland, with his wife on a plane yesterday. I probably won't see them in 5-8 months. Switzerland is expensive to visit and I am the only one mainly at home. I also got new dyslexia software, and have a list of books to read. Hopefully, my English improves especially now that I researched the setting much more this time around. It's only a short story but it is practice.


----------



## Darkkin

I had a customer who purchased two books, his change was $3.14.  I accidentally told him his change was Pi...3.14.  :indecisiveness:  My reprehensible sense of humour being what it is, I started laughing.  After a few seconds he caught on and started laughing, too.  In that moment I went from acknowledged geek to profound dork...


----------



## aj47

bloodletting is *so* second millennium but my organization is doing it ... letting two of it's best go as a "budget" move.


----------



## escorial

Q. Does one have to be in the royal family to have a mistress? (asking for a friend)

no...anyone can do that...it's just being royal one must set a bar for all to follow..head of religion and figure head for a nation..the pressures on ones time is constant and a secret bed chamber here and there were one can feel human is a must...under the four polster beds i will keep a pisspot so we can have as much time together before my country needs me to open another wing or attend a sporting event.


----------



## aj47

a pisspot ... how, um, *vintage*


----------



## escorial

a pub i go to has a room with them hanging from the ceiling....


----------



## aj47

astroannie said:


> a pisspot ... how, um, *vintage*





escorial said:


> a pub i go to has a room with them hanging from the ceiling....



aim high, I guess


----------



## Darkkin

I haven't stabbed anyone with a pen yet, and I was frustrated to the point that I cleaned out the refrigerator, (I never remember how to spell that...), in order to calm down.  When I get angry, I vengeance clean.  And now, my house sparkles...


----------



## Kevin

astroannie said:


> a pisspot ... how, um, *vintage*


gatorade bottle?


----------



## DeClarke

Beautifully. Banged out about 2500 words in the fourth chapter of my seventh book. Ah, I remember when I first started writing, I could barely get 2500 words without feeling fatigued, now I can go to about 7,000 per chapter before having to rest. It's amazing. 

Now, all I need is a mate and we can shag and write stories until the end of time.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Dear Darkkin,
At work we celebrate pi day... We have a pot luck pi 
celebration. And any kind of pie will do.

As for today, it’s HOT ... too hot for much activity. The 
good news, if it’s too hot eat, one can lose 2 lbs 
overnight!


----------



## aj47

I volunteer teach during the school year...well this coming year, I'm less certain -- my teacher quit -- his mother has some uberevil cancer that he has to be with her and she's not local so he can't teach and that ends our involvement with his school.  I am very sad for him ... this is a life-disrupter on a huge scale ... I cannot fathom how this must be for him.  Non-local means my ability to reach out is limited.  Also, I've only ever skyped and emailed him.  I can't volunteer to cook for him anyway.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Lol, so many horrible things are transpiring as I type this.


----------



## Winston

Darkkin said:


> ...  When I get angry, I vengeance clean.  And now, my house sparkles...



I don't suppose you can be hired?  Maybe just a burr under your saddle, or a bee in your bonnet?  
My house can be your therapy.


----------



## aj47

GAH!  Office Depot has called my work number four times today -- (Hint: I'm not working) and left a recorded message, "Thank you, we'll try back later."  When they do reach me, they are in for an earful as they charged my debit card *twice* for a multi-hundred-dollar purchase and caused me to experience overdraft fees.  When I called them, they said, "we only show one charge" and told me to call my bank.  I did but it will be "up to ten days" before I get my money back.


----------



## The Green Shield

While I was drawing yesterday, I had a small feeling inside that tried guilting me by saying, “You should’ve done this long ago, no one will like your shit.” I told it to screw off. 


It’s never too late to follow your passions. I don’t care if you’re ninety years old and are just drawing for the first time. Good on you. Now keep going, and don’t throw away your work — put it in a nice, safe place so you have something to look back at.


----------



## Kevin

Our friends came with us to the lake. 
The community picnic had a very large turnout. 
Many people that lived in the 'Bu' have moved there. Perhaps a step down in prestige; status. I wonder if they are part of the wave of 'entitled' that hit The Bu back in the Nineties? I'm so judgey. 

Feeling uncomfortable, I helped Robert the caretaker move the beer tap down, and fill the half drums with char coal. I didn't ask about his son. He sipped a bit of foamy Miller and continued working, steadily; concerned... I hope they pay him enough. The crowd at Memorial Day had been perhaps the largest ever, he told me. Lots of new faces I didn't recognize. 

As predicted, there were no fireworks. I mentioned that it was the County "and just like being in County ( jail)" , though I've never been. I'm a fake proletariate. My tastes are utterly Boojhee. 

We actually won the boat decoration-parade. I'd thought for sure the boatload of Liberty statue gals, green spike headdresses on, and a big hand-lettered banner, would take it. So political. 

Our friend ( the husband , of course) had said beforehand "It's rigged", and indeed it was, as FIL had indeed once been honorary mayor of the lake community.

Privledge is grand. 

My wife smacked me. 

Okay, the dangly decorated red white and blue Pinterest toilet paper rolls had taken it. "Handmade!" they had shouted in unison, as we went past the judges, showing some leg, smiling, doing the wrist movement and hand waggle just right. I, of course, had sat there frozen and stiff as usual. Someday I'll learn how to dance.


----------



## aj47

I wrote an unshareable limerick about work.  

The AC wasn't working at home but astroandy figured it out -- it needed a new fuse.  There are long-term issues that need resolution, but that's the immediate one. $3.49 instead of whatever a service call would have been.


----------



## DeClarke

Promoted my book via FB, with 20 bucks to see if there was any point. I got more likes than I expected, a few shares, and I still have about 7 dollars left on the promo. Not sure if they are just liking it, or clicking the link. The optimist wants to believe that they are clicking the link and reading the sample, then clicking like. Then the cynic says: It's FB, people just click like just because. But, I did  narrow my promotion to people who love reading, so I think the first one is more likely. 

I've invited them all to like my page, so hopefully I can build some sort of presence online. Hopefully.

So... yeah, day's going alright.


----------



## escorial

Soon be a hose pipe ban...I thought walking over the bridge..but on the other side


Not yet as it's getting repaired

People can be biblical


----------



## aj47

I crashed our organizations' Web site by testing something I was supposed to be testing ... it may, in fact, *not* go live Friday as anticipated.


----------



## DeClarke

Good start to my day. I beat Karen. Peter I'm coming for you. For those who do not know, Karen is the default score on Tetris once you reach level 11, and those bricks start falling at terminal velocity. I was maneuvering those bricks like a bus driver swerving through a land mine field in the Lincoln Tunnel.

I'm coming for you next Peter! Watch yo' head!


----------



## escorial

Walking past charity shop an saw a chess set..went in bought it...then bought a jazz album and book so I had to come back home....


----------



## aj47

I used to play rated, competitive chess. Not well enough but well enough.

They fixed my bug and release was Saturday GMT but Friday on the US west coast so they still made it, technically, and since my bug was time-zone-related ...


----------



## escorial

I play it online ...5 minute games... I've not improved much but sometimes liking is enough..


----------



## aj47

I haven't played in many years; are you familiar with the original *Star Trek*? Sulu collected hobbies.  I'm rather like that.  I get good enough to figure it out then it gets boring.


----------



## andrewclunn

Fever broke.  The worst part of travelling is how much more likely I am to get sick right afterward.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Worked last two days and nites as well as this Sunday,  
thought I’d have tonight off, just got the request...the 
good news is, kuh ching $ kuh ching.


----------



## escorial

you work in a chinese takaway


----------



## DeClarke

Finished my book. But now the rush is gone. I must get it again, so.... *starts outlining new book*. 

I hate my over-reactive dopamine receptors. Normal people can sit with a book they have just finished for years, before deciding to write a new one. Me, I have to write a new one as soon as I am finish, as the novelty of finishing the first book wears out quickly. I don't discard it, no. I'm just over it by the time I'm done with it.  I did the same thing with music. I would make music and people would listen and say, "wow that's amazing" and I'd be like, "yeah... it's alright, I can do better" desiring to make something better, and fresher.

It seems I can't escape this no matter what art I choose to pursue. Ah well. *opens that spiral notebook*

Oh by the way, despite this misfortune, my day is going very well.  GABA receptors are being restored with supplementation. (I think-hope)


----------



## JustRob

Ah Sunday, a day when even our dining table dresses in its best. It's that special day in the week when we should all reflect on the blessings in our lives, no matter how great or small. What more does one really need than good food, good health, good shelter and a safe place to sleep?

​


----------



## escorial

room for one more...


----------



## JustRob

escorial said:


> room for one more...



There's a spare place at the table if you can make it here for next Sunday. We'll be having lamb with all the trimmings, so my angel says ... good fortune permitting of course.  A blessing shared is a blessing doubled.

P.S.
Our sound system is currently playing the Beach Boys, something suitably upbeat selected by it entirely at random as usual.  Oscar, still blissfully asleep, has just stretched himself out lazily, his past experiences at the cat's home long behind him. Our little oasis in an uncertain world remains intact for a while longer.


----------



## escorial

thanks....nice of you to reply... one can't make it...raincheck


----------



## aj47

You can generally tell what we're having cuz I blog the plan, but that also means I purchase only enough for us because that's also in the plan.

Tonight, for instance, is garlicky Greek chicken made in my Lodge skillet.

I cannot express my deep fondness for my enameled cast-iron skillet...if you don't have one, save up and acquire a good one. Enamel is not necessary, but cast iron is ... ya gotta have it. Then will it to your most deserving descendant/survivor because it *is* a legacy.  I figure my kids will have a game of skill to determine who gets it.


----------



## JustRob

escorial said:


> thanks....nice of you to reply... one can't make it...raincheck



Okay, plan B then. Currently looking for an idea for a holiday next year not too far away. Checking out VisitLiverpool.com. That's within our driving range. Might need a local guide though.

The secret to good writing, and to a good life, is to make one's fantasies seem almost achievable. not ludicrously remote but tangible possibilities if only ... When I wrote a novel about people perceiving events in the future I discovered that it was actually possible rather than a fantasy too far ... and of course I did marry an angel, so nothing is impossible if one dares to believe in it ... and oneself.

Evidently I've had too much to drink, another benefit reserved for Sundays.


----------



## escorial

this city has been on the up for years....


----------



## Kevin

Speaking of cast iron skillets...last night I learned what "corn-pone" is.  My neighbors were having it with their dinner ( as they brought it out; set it on the table) I excused myself, but first remarked that no, I didn't know what it was, but I think I had heard the term once used in a movie - Silence of the Lambs - in the scene where Lector ripped into Clarice, telling her whole origin story- basically poor white trash/ hillbilly.- corn pone being the food of the, uhm, less affluent- corn pone being a pejorative.  I regretted saying that, but the neighborwife said "What a great movie that was." I thought I'd put my foot in mouth, again. 

I like cornbread. Perhaps I will have  the cooking staff prepare it for me. I could send someone over to retrieve the recipe I think.


----------



## aj47

From "pan" the Latin-derived-languages' word for "bread".


----------



## PiP

It's only 16.00 and today we've already had a gas leak and our boiler is kaput. To top that within the hour my washing machine died and we have family arriving in five hours so no more washing for now. And now my husband has just informed me a HUGE snake has just slithered into the garden and taken refuge under the hedge near the pool.... to top that... and I do feel so sorry for our daughter and family, they arrived at the airport in Lyon only to discover there are no TV's and the world cup final has just started! Today is just one of THOSE days  

Thank goodness the sun is now shining 

Onwards...


----------



## Kevin

PiP said:


> It's only 16.00 and today we've already had a gas leak and our boiler is kaput. To top that within the hour my washing machine died and we have family arriving in five hours so no more washing for now. And now my husband has just informed me a HUGE snake has just slithered into the garden and taken refuge under the hedge near the pool.... to top that... and I do feel so sorry for our daughter and family, they arrived at the airport in Lyon only to discover there are no TV's and the world cup final has just started! Today is just one of THOSE days
> 
> Thank goodness the sun is now shining
> 
> Onwards...


 So much activity! Some of us are blessed with such excitement while the rest have zero going on. I envy..


----------



## bobo

All the cars in the neighborhood are driving around, honking like crazy, yelling etc. - are we irritated ??
Hardly, it's just standard behavior when we/laFrance has won !!

Yes, we just won the World Championship in foot ...

Here you see the French President Macron indulging in the victory


----------



## Gumby

I feel like I'm running an animal shelter. I already have two dogs, two cats, ten chickens. Now a stray female cat has been hanging around for about two months (I'm afraid she is pregnant, not sure yet) But ol' soft-hearted me, can't let a poor, skinny little cat go hungry. She is quite at home, now. My female cat (who is fixed) makes her stay down in the driveway area and won't let her up in the main area of our property. Lol! Now my son has had to transfer out to a different town and so we have his two dogs until there is room at the animal shelter for them. Could be months. Same reason we still have the stray cat. I guess in little towns there is only so much "room at the inn".  It takes us about an hour just to feed the animals and clean their pens and that is with two of us. I might just hang a sign on the fence, "Animal Shelter, donations welcome" and be done with it.


----------



## escorial

amazing....


----------



## aj47

[video=youtube_share;mbfuZ2B6-5U]https://youtu.be/mbfuZ2B6-5U[/video]


----------



## JustRob

bobo said:


> All the cars in the neighborhood are driving around, honking like crazy, yelling etc. - are we irritated ??
> Hardly, it's just standard behavior when we/laFrance has won !!
> 
> Yes, we just won the World Championship in foot ...



I think we must have some immigrants living in our district. Just before 6pm our time there were people here shouting at the top of their voices, "Allez les bleus!" and singing songs that I didn't comprehend. My angel and I are just glad that it's over and we can see something entertaining on TV for a change ... and here was Donald Trump right on cue to give us a good laugh. We haven't had so much entertainment from a US president since George W. And coming from an Englishman that is tantamount to being a compliment. Well played, all concerned.


----------



## bobo

Gumby said:


> I feel like I'm running an animal shelter. I already have two dogs, two cats, ten chickens. Now a stray female cat has been hanging around for about two months (I'm afraid she is pregnant, not sure yet) But ol' soft-hearted me, can't let a poor, skinny little cat go hungry. She is quite at home, now. My female cat (who is fixed) makes her stay down in the driveway area and won't let her up in the main area of our property. Lol! Now my son has had to transfer out to a different town and so we have his two dogs until there is room at the animal shelter for them. Could be months. Same reason we still have the stray cat. I guess in little towns there is only so much "room at the inn".  It takes us about an hour just to feed the animals and clean their pens and that is with two of us. I might just hang a sign on the fence, "Animal Shelter, donations welcome" and be done with it.



Glad to be hearing about your soft heart, Gumby 

The little stray has CHOSEN you as a good warm-hearted provider.
Congrats


----------



## bobo

JustRob said:


> I think we must have some immigrants living in our district. Just before 6pm our time there were people here shouting at the top of their voices, "Allez les bleus!" and singing songs that I didn't comprehend. My angel and I are just glad that it's over and we can see something entertaining on TV for a change ... and here was Donald Trump right on cue to give us a good laugh. We haven't had so much entertainment from a US president since George W. And coming from an Englishman that is tantamount to being a compliment. Well played, all concerned.



Saw a youtube about his arrivel - looked nice him trying to follow the lead of the Queen 
- and when he discovered his 'faux pas' when the little lady suddenly wasn't to be found - lolol - hilarious


----------



## DeClarke

I brought this supplement called GABA. It is a neurotransmitter that is suppose to help you stay calm, but because I am a punk, I didn't take it orally. What I did do though was put three pills (about 750mg) into a medium sized spray bottle and I sprayed my leg, rubbing it in. I'll say this, since I started doing that, I have been eerily calm. Almost psychopathic like calmness. Too damn calm, but it is relieving because that is how I used to be until I got sick a few years back. 

I was thinking maybe my GABA levels were depleted and now that I am spraying this on my leg, it is getting absorbed through my skin, bypassing my digestive system and exerting its effects while in my bloodstream. I mean, I'm crazy calm. Nothing seems to rattle me. Like I am fully aware of every emotion, in control of everything. Normally there would be things at my job that would send me into an annoyance, but... not since I started GABA. It's like: "yeah, ok... whatever bruh" or  I just completely ignore whatever issue it is.

The only down side is when I'm involved in physical activity, I find it harder to get that spark going. I mean I can go... fast still, but there is more of a fluidity to my movements. It's not hard and jarring. It's smooth and flowing... maybe that is a good thing though.


In other news, I am re-writing one of my books and I'm getting it done faster than I expected, so.. basically. Well.  My day is going well.


----------



## aj47

I pooched something at work ... 

... my boss was in meetings.  She emailed me and we will talk tomorrow ... maybe I will even sleep.


----------



## TuesdayEve

I hit the alarm and closed my eyes just for a minute
sixty of them... called worked to let ‘em know
and flew...... 80mph... made it on time for my first 
pick up, whew!


----------



## Darkkin

I was working on new release displays at work today, when a fellow bookseller stopped at the desk with a customer.  She was looking for _Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus_ by John Gray.  Without thinking I blurted out the full title, author, and exact location.  (Third aisle from the front, second bay on the left, second shelf, four titles in...).  My coworker found the book, exactly where I said it was.  After giving the customer her book, my coworker asked if I knew I had Bookstore Tourettes.  It has been a while since I laughed so hard.  

I know I am a bit of a human filing system, but usually, I don't answer half heard questions at random...


----------



## aj47

... everything is okay but dayum, I have to send another round of emails and I await approval on them.


----------



## Kevin

My day? Jobsite conversation I witnessed: 

"... screens are required at all operating windows."


"I thought you said at every window?"


"No, not at the fixed glass."


" - because  those windows don't allow bugs in- they don't open."


"Well, I don't like them, they're ugly. I'm not going to put them when I  sell."


"They keep the flies out."

"I'm not putting them."


"You can do whatever you want, but they're code."


"I hate them-"


"There are lots of flies. 
They do have this box now that you can put in your house, and it traps them. But I have a lot of flies at my house, so the screens are good."


"You know why your house has a lot of flies?"


"No."


"Because your house has so much shit."


"Oh my god, that is so rude; so rude. I'm just going to block you out."


"You know... I had a poster in my room at university. It said: Eat shit. 40 million flies can't be wrong."


...


----------



## DeClarke

Good so far. This GABA spray is doing wonders for me. Starting to feel like my old self, and that is a good thing. My old self was much cooler. Just returned from the library though and I must say, I was able to get done in 50 minutes, what usually takes me three hours to complete at home. Almost a thousand words of quality prose and dilaogue from 50 minutes in that library.

There is something about being surrounded by books that gives me that spark to write. Not to mention I am not surrounded by distractions like the TV, my camera, my music equipment and the dude across the street who plays the banjo like we in the southern states. Or... the loud neighbors across the street, or the barking dog next door who whines ike a two year old when they put him out. 

But, back to the library... the books. There is an energy in there. Just a cocktail energy of prose, information, factua information, all surrounding you. That plus the peace, is a recipe for good writing. Also... there is a cute librarian there too (am I not a man? Alright.)

If you ever suffer form a bit of block, I would recommend a library. Definitely.


----------



## Darkkin

I used strong language...Not something I normally do on a daily basis or in my writing, but for some reason, the phrase got stuck in my head so I wrote it down...See how it goes.


----------



## Kevin

Ki-yoat was checkin me out from a cliff up above. He looked funny, his ears out. Like I could fly up there an git'em... I don't know what he was thinking. I looked back as I was riding away, and there were two, second one his head down like he was a bad---. Come and get me, I laughed, but I guess it's a rough life, short lifespan, starvation, people taking shots at you, mountain lions want to eat you.
 I like seeing them.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Microsoft edge's( the newest browser with the newest update this year of windows 10) text to speech reader is superior to many paid services. It synchs the text right. You can highlight text to play from a pdf and play it or from a web page. I hope they keep that feature. I can't go back. Just a right click on a story and you can read it out loud on the forums. Gives people like me much more hope where there was very little. Especially since it is free. Now waiting for a human to catch my errors and mistakes for when I do write. For when I do write stories. You can catch homophone errors and if the spelling of the word is wrong it reads it with a very human voice, I spot the error. Today like a fisher I caught 20 missing words, and a need to rephrase a sentence. I still will buy grammar books namely on syntax. Casagrande releases a book on high school syntax on the 27th this month. So it is accessible for readers and writers of fiction. The previous accessible book that person wrote was an easy read.


----------



## QuixoteDelMar

I shared a Hot Pocket with a crow. He's cool, we're gonna be friends from now on. I just hope he doesn't bring his buddies. I don't pack _that _big a lunch.


----------



## Winston

Sitting on the futon in the family room, I looked over at that patch of wall where we used to measure the kids.
They're so big now.  
In just the blink of an eye.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Out with Aunty Glore, she’s 88. A little lunch first, a run
to the bank, and now shopping at Walmart for paper 
products. It’s a big day for her.


----------



## Dormouse

I spent the day in Glasgow meeting online friends. Lots of knitting and chatting.


----------



## Miss_Spitz

It was a good day for me. It was raining so I sat outside on my porch and read.


----------



## QuixoteDelMar

I hit level 25 in Elder Scrolls Online. Least productive use of a day off in awhile. Loved it.


----------



## aj47

Probably too much of a good thing -- potassium. I have symptoms so I'm dropping the supplement and awaiting lab results.


----------



## Winston

Replaced the starter solenoid in the old truck.  Worked fine for me.  Still acts up for my son (I don't think the truck likes him).  There's a short in the starting circuit somewhere.  
Or just the usual ghost in the machine.
Picked a bucket of apples from our tree.  Now all I have to do is peel, core / slice, dehydrate with cinnamon and sugar.  There's most of the day.
If I have any time left, I really need a haircut.  My anniversary is coming up.  I think the missus wants me to look respectable.  Right.


----------



## The Green Shield

Couldn't get to sleep until 10pm.


Had nightmares all night.


Woke up with a panic attack.


I hate nights like these...


----------



## QuixoteDelMar

Spent the weekend in my childhood home, went to a reunion with family I haven't seen since that time.

Every room too small. Every face a stranger.

I don't belong to that world.

The past is a foreign country. I don't want to look back.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Winston said:


> .
> If I have any time left, I really need a haircut.  My anniversary is coming up.  I think the missus wants me to look respectable.  Right.



If she is anything like mine, yes, but you won't achieve it to her satisfaction. On the other hand she may be a bit less dissatisfied.


----------



## JustRob

Today I received a newsletter from the former pupils' association at my old school. It included an announcement of this year's founder's day dinner, a very auspicious and expensive black tie event which I never attend. However, the item appeared under the heading "Founders Day Diner", so maybe it's going to be more casual this year. If they're offering fries and a milkshake on the side I might be tempted to go.

It was mentioned that the chairman of the dinner would be a former Lord Mayor of London, which is pretty much par for the course, and the respondent to his speech would be a former pupil, no surprise there either. However, this event being typical of the old boy network, that respondent just happens to have once been employed as ... speech-writer to the Lord Mayor of London. Well, surprise surprise. Perhaps I'll try a cheaper diner.


----------



## Winston

It's our anniversary today.  Just getting ready to go out.  But we had a parcel that was coming in and needed a signature.
The parcel just came in.  I ordered some silver coins, random year bullion American Eagle dollars.
We were married in 1992.  The "random" year on the coins that came in today?  1992.  All of them.


----------



## Olly Buckle

JustRob said:


> Today I received a newsletter from the former pupils' association at my old school. It included an announcement of this year's founder's day dinner, a very auspicious and expensive black tie event which I never attend. However, the item appeared under the heading "Founders Day Diner", so maybe it's going to be more casual this year. If they're offering fries and a milkshake on the side I might be tempted to go.
> 
> It was mentioned that the chairman of the dinner would be a former Lord Mayor of London, which is pretty much par for the course, and the respondent to his speech would be a former pupil, no surprise there either. However, this event being typical of the old boy network, that respondent just happens to have once been employed as ... speech-writer to the Lord Mayor of London. Well, surprise surprise. Perhaps I'll try a cheaper diner.



Were you not educated to attend such events? Something has got out of sync., though I suppose if they got it bang on to suit ex-pupils and they _all_ turned up ...


----------



## aj47

Due to a snafu, half our staff had their badges deactivated on 1 August.  This also lost us network account privileges and *stuff*.  So I'm working from home for the next week at a minimum while they untangle the mess.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Got to sleep in late. Had big plans for the morning,
haven't moved yet.


----------



## Olly Buckle

It's her day for working in Battle library and I was thinking of trying a casserole idea for when she gets home. As she went out the door she said, 'I don't want anything hot, salad would be nice, there are burger buns in the cupboard need using.' Veggie burgers and salad then, well it's simple.


----------



## aj47

astroandy broke his ankle.  

I get to do his laundry, cuz normally every adult does their own but ... he can't carry the basket, etc. Interesting times.

He also gets to have a computer in the bedroom. That's a Thing because we made a rule before we were wed that it wouldn't be.  This is the exception.

A lot of adaptation.


----------



## Winston

/\  Didn't want to hit the "like" button, but good luck.
Remember, Love is patient.  Love is kind.


----------



## aj47

Love is awesome. He is totally worthy. I am in the orthopedic's office now, awaiting the arrival of the doctor. There will be a cast to replace the splint. More news later.

Edited to add:  Nope, he gets a boot.  He can walk in the boot, with one crutch if it's a long distance, without if it's shorter.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

When shit falls apart, whatever was underneath is exposed.


----------



## Winston

WTF is going around?!  Now MY foot is hurting!  I think I pulled a muscle a couple of weeks ago.  I'm resting it fully this weekend, hoping by Monday it'll have recuperated some.
Maybe it's just psychosomatic, 'cause I wanna be cool like astroandy.
Oh well, I have an excuse to be lazy.


----------



## Olly Buckle

astroannie said:


> astroandy broke his ankle.
> .



Ouch, lots of small and delicate bones in wrists and ankles. My missus stepped in a hole and did hers a year or two ago, it took longer to heal than my fractured femur, they pinned that and I was up on it within twenty four hours. There was a chap on the ward when I arrived who lived in a first floor flat and tried leaving via the balcony when the police knocked on the front door, he had broken both of them and was still immobile when I left to go home.


----------



## The Green Shield

That Moment When you are conducting research for your Colonial mystery and learn that in 1760, before he married Abigail, John Adams almost got married to Hannah Quincy but she grew tired of waiting for him to tie the knot so she just up and married another man. Also he made a boo-boo on Day #1 of his job as lawyer:




> Adams' first case was between two neighbors that had been feuding for years. Adams' client had lost the first case. Adams' client had filed a sort of an appeal, called a writ. Adams lost that case on a technicality he - had forgotten to fill the name of the county on the writ! After the case, Adams realized that to become a successful lawyer, he needed to study local law instead of the law classics he was reading.




http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies/john-adams/lawyer-(1758-1761).php


----------



## JustRob

Well I thought that I had all the details for our holidays next year sorted out when I just received this tempting offer of a holiday in an email. I know that my geography isn't that hot but I think there may be something awry here.



> *The Best of Scotland and Ireland
> *
> The unique location of Interlaken, nestled between Lakes Thun and Brienz, and watched over by the mighty Jungfrau, make the ideal base for a holiday exploring the majestic winter peaks of the Bernese Oberland by train, including spectacular trips to the summit of the Jungfrau and Schilthorn peaks.


----------



## TuesdayEve

It’s a good day. The cicadas are singing and I am
reflecting on the past week and planning tomorrow’s
chores and errands. The siding job is almost complete
on my house, a little later this summer than expected 
and the plants I bought in May, repotted and tried to 
keep alive, are finally in the ground.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I recently got up, with aching shoulders, fingers like sausages and pains in my feet. Went to take my meds and realised I missed taking them yesterday. SO, that is why I was tired all day Saturday and had a rubbish night, good thing it is Sunday and I get a chance to recover.


----------



## The Green Shield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtV1-gJ_bm0

It's only just literally today I learned that this song is about the IRA. D: In my defense, I have really shitty hearing so I have trouble hearing the lyrics unless I look them up. All this time I thought it was about literally zombies.




Just like the song 'No Depression' by Uncle Tupelo -- I used to think it was a sweet song until I looked up the lyrics and now I'm convinced the song is really about him wanting to commit suicide. 




Damn, music, you're scary. Cool, but scary at the same time...


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, I just hit a creative burn-out.


----------



## JustRob

Today I received the activities programme of the Society for Psychical Research for the next six months. At the very top it stated "Please note that all events are physical meetings," so I wondered whether they'd heard far too many jokes about members only attending in spirit but they went on to say "NOT online presentations." I was a little disappointed that they of all people should think that the only virtual reality is that on the Internet.

Anyway, I have signed up for a whole study day in November into "Understanding the Uncanny" presented by five assorted psychologists, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts, so there should be some serious substance to it. There may also be an opportunity for me to mention my own weird experiences as a writer to them as the core subject is "the inner mental processing which underlies psychic experiences". Writers delve deeply into their psyches for inspiration and perhaps they don't really understand exactly where it originates, so watch this space.


----------



## dither

I had an awful day. Chipped a tooth at work and now , although I'd happily leave it to rot, working in the totally testosterone fulled macho environment that I do, I need to find a dentist who will do a repair job whilst disregarding other teeth that really ought to be pulled. Might be a good opportunity to tell a dentist why I won't have them pulled although I wouldn't expect it to cut any ice with those guys. Just one small voice daring to object to the status quo.


----------



## Plasticweld

Real men don't have all there teeth :}


----------



## JustRob

I've been eating on just one side of my mouth for some six months now because the other side needs root canal work and I haven't booked the appointments for it yet. Dunno about real men but I need some of my teeth. Maybe some people don't though. Many years ago when my angel and I stayed overnight in an "economical" (shall we say) hotel in Inverness (the sort where you have to pay on entry and ask for clean sheets if you especially want them) the barman there told us that the local street dwellers there lived on nothing but Carlsberg Special Brew, him having just persuaded one such not to bed down on an adjacent bench in the bar. Is that so, I thought as I ordered another Special Brew.


----------



## dither

Plasticweld said:


> View attachment 22641
> 
> Real men don't have all there teeth :}



That's just about how my teeth look.
Front three top teeth missing.
I'd say that he has got more teeth than me.
I'm not what you'd call a "real man".
Certainly not in THAT context.My teeth are in very poor shape because I lack the testicular fortitude to do something about it.
Also, and yes I'm making excuses here but it's true, I've tried plastic teeth and couldn't get on with them.
So if/when I DO finally end up with plastics I'm going to struggle with food.


----------



## dither

Yknow?

I'm probably hoping against hope here but I DO wonder if my chipping a front tooth will turn out to be some kind of catalyst.

I suppose I should count myself lucky  that I love eating fruit and veg for obvious reasons.

Many years ago, having been a heavy smoker for something like fifteen years, and going through so many failed attempts at packing up, I injured my knee and was almost chain-smoking to the point where I just got sick of smoking and haven't smoked since. That was some thirty years ago. At the rate I smoked them I might easily have died an awful death by now. Not to mention the cost of those things.

Strange how things turn out sometimes.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am waiting for a contract for a story that was accepted that was workshopped here. I wonder how I will sign it, I assume it will be mailed and sent to my mailing company. The day has been positive. To get something published is a slow process. 6 months can go by quick, and then it gets published. I worked by email, so I assume no one has faxed and signed a publishing contract. I have to sign one. Or I will have to print it and send it to an address I am guessing.


----------



## Kevin

The neighbors had a live band last night.
 It was hard to tell where it was coming from, exactly. We live in shallow canyon. There's a highway at the bottom. The music came from down there, somewhere. 

There was a saxophone and a girl singer. Then there was a guy singer; and keyboards.


The music was old. A lot of British. And mixed. McCartney, Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac. 


They played "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty. 
I know that song from my youth. My first girlfriend liked it. She was in sixth grade, and I was in ninth. She was taller. I was too young for her.  


We went to our backyard and sat in our new furniture. There's a wall between us and the neighbors. My wife commented how strange it was that she was so anti-social, now. We saw no one, and no one saw us. We sat under a blanket; well me only half-under, with our bare legs up on the table.  Looking up, I could see that we're right under a flight path. 


That's new. 


The music stopped early, and we played some on her iPhone. She played "Baker Street" again, and "Salisbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel. Then I put on "Walking on a thin line" by The Kinks. And then "Waterloo Sunset". 

Then we went back inside.


----------



## Kevin

dither said:


> Yknow?
> 
> I'm probably hoping against hope here but I DO wonder if my chipping a front tooth will turn out to be some kind of catalyst.
> 
> I suppose I should count myself lucky  that I love eating fruit and veg for obvious reasons.
> 
> Many years ago, having been a heavy smoker for something like fifteen years, and going through so many failed attempts at packing up, I injured my knee and was almost chain-smoking to the point where I just got sick of smoking and haven't smoked since. That was some thirty years ago. At the rate I smoked them I might easily have died an awful death by now. Not to mention the cost of those things.
> 
> Strange how things turn out sometimes.


 I go to the dental hygienist about 3 times a year. It's f... great!  I come out of there all beat up. She's better than the dominatrix, and cheaper. (ha!) My insurance doesn't pay, but I don't care; it's worth it.


----------



## dither

Kevin,
I reckon that those people have to, at the very least, be fetishists, into inflicting pain, to be able to DO that for a living.  Unfortunately, having pain inflicted on me in such a sensitive area, simply ISN'T my thing.


----------



## Kevin

dither said:


> Kevin,
> I reckon that those people have to, at the very least, be fetishists, into inflicting pain, to be able to DO that for a living.  Unfortunately, having pain inflicted on me in such a sensitive area, simply ISN'T my thing.


I look at it like maintenance of the car. I'd be developing gum disease,  otherwise: teeth start loosening, falling out, at least that's the story the dentists say. I have all of my teeth still, there's a slight--em--not sure what he calls it--- blemish on one, but they keep an eye on it. Could require filling in the future. 

You know, just curious, but I know two Irish that immigrated 20 years ago. They went to the dentist here, and he was like wtf happened to your mouths? "Well, over there, a tooth issue means pull it." They said he was aghast, young men missing so many teeth. They try to save them here. I don't know what they do there. Here, its a whole money-making industry, but I do like my teeth. They come in handy ( or bitey) ( or something..)


----------



## dither

Kevin said:


> but I do like my teeth. They come in handy ( or bitey) ( or something..)



Absolutely.


----------



## Winston

dither said:


> Kevin,
> I reckon that those people have to, at the very least, be fetishists, into inflicting pain, to be able to DO that for a living.  Unfortunately, having pain inflicted on me in such a sensitive area, simply ISN'T my thing.



In such a sensitive area?  Are there some areas that are acceptable?  Our boot camp Drill Instructors didn't inflict oral pain, just pain everywhere else.  
Not sure what percentage was Nietzsche or Marquis de Sade.

Regarding self-abuse, I have a new batch of mead brewing.  Honey and pineapple, with a dash of agave nectar (champagne yeast).  
Later, I'm setting up my new chronograph, and I'm going to test velocities of various weight pellets out of my .25 cal air rifle.  I love ballistics.  I also bought a decibel meter.  'Cause folks like to complain about noise, even if it's hardly noticeable.


----------



## Kevin

Winston said:


> In such a sensitive area?  Are there some areas that are acceptable?  Our boot camp Drill Instructors didn't inflict oral pain, just pain everywhere else.
> Not sure what percentage was Nietzsche or Marquis de Sade.
> 
> Regarding self-abuse, I have a new batch of mead brewing.  Honey and pineapple, with a dash of agave nectar (champagne yeast).
> Later, I'm setting up my new chronograph, and I'm going to test velocities of various weight pellets out of my .25 cal air rifle.  I love ballistics.  I also bought a decibel meter.  'Cause folks like to complain about noise, even if it's hardly noticeable.


Regarding self-abuse... 
I rode the mt. bike,  yesterday. There was the 'pain' of climbing, the pain of crashing, and the pleasure of having made it. Did I mention the fear? Joy of fear. Ha! Like oh ...! Am I really going to ride down this? Wee... 
Some home-brew sounds very nice. Just a wee...


----------



## dither

Winston said:


> In such a sensitive area?  Are there some areas that are acceptable?  Our boot camp Drill Instructors didn't inflict oral pain, just pain everywhere else.
> Not sure what percentage was Nietzsche or Marquis de Sade.
> 
> Regarding self-abuse, I have a new batch of mead brewing.  Honey and pineapple, with a dash of agave nectar (champagne yeast).
> Later, I'm setting up my new chronograph, and I'm going to test velocities of various weight pellets out of my .25 cal air rifle.  I love ballistics.  I also bought a decibel meter.  'Cause folks like to complain about noise, even if it's hardly noticeable.



Winston,
I envy you your enthusiasm.
I just it and stew.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW I ask myself: 



How did I manage to get onto Facebook and find myself with fellow Skyrim lovers debating albinism? oO



And educating them on the condition?


Granted I know a bit more about it than they do considering I had friends with the condition and I did research on it for a character, I just didn't think I'd be doing this today.  I don't mind, though. It's good to educate folks.


----------



## JustRob

I discovered today that my current attitude to writing goes back beyond the time when I started to write fiction. I was looking through my email archive for something when I spotted a familiar statement that I had made in the middle of writing to someone about a non-fictional paper that I had written years ago at work. It read:

"The writer has to know and understand his target reader to succeed."

I always assumed that I had acquired this attitude from my more recent experience of writing fiction, but apparently I have held it for much longer than that. We tend to do our writing without formally defining the axioms that guide us in it, so things like this don't come to light until we are asked to explain something, such as often happens here in WF. When I started writing fiction I obviously already knew that the most important character in a story to get clearly defined is not the "main character", the protagonist within it, but that of the reader, because all that really matters is what happens to the reader during the story and how they interact with it.


----------



## Darkkin

Nothing's on fire...That is about as far as I got today.


----------



## Kevin

Bring on the new messiah
where ever he may roam...

your brittle heart...

yep, bought two tickets to echo and the bunny men. I'm excited!


----------



## aj47

YayayayayY

they are having the company-wide training the week *before* the Alan Parsons event I got tickets for.... they told us to mark our availability for any of three weeks and .... a r g h ... I was concerned as this was a big thing for me.


----------



## bazz cargo

A few weeks ago my computer failed. It is a home made clunker from pre windows 7. I have a caddy system which used to allow me to swap operating systems, usually between Linux for online stuff and XP for studio stuff. I had to fit a new motherboard and Pentium chip which is no longer compatible with XP. I managed to acquire a  copy of windows 7 to replace XP, only my legacy studio software is not compatible. A long search has provided me with a curious problem. I don't use my studio version computer online and all the modern studio software requires access to the internet. Also it is very expensive and I don't fancy another load of  steep learning curves. It is cheaper and more efficient for me to buy an old computer. 

Today I had a play with Audacity, now my head hurts.

Why does nothing ever work properly first time?


----------



## Darkkin

Home alone this weekend with the fuzzies, (Rue Dog, Cat Cat, and Zwi).  Rue and Cat Cat are sitting on me and Zwi is asleep on the rug next to me...Guess I'm not going anywhere.


----------



## Winston

bazz cargo said:


> ...Why does nothing ever work properly first time?



Because you're working on a computer, silly.  Building and maintaining your own system is masochism. 
But you can't admit that you get any pleasure from that, lest folks think you're some kind of pervert.  
But admit it. You do enjoy it.

We just got back from a weekend camping trip.  Took out our old tent trailer, the luxurious "Ghettolicious".  She's over 20 years old now.  Broke a wiring harness before we even stepped-off.  No one in town carries the right model.  Had to splice-on a new four-prong adapter, which amazingly worked.  Half the stuff on the trailer doesn't work (but the brakes and turn signal lights do).  The roof exhaust fan would squeal, and then refuse to turn on.  I smacked it a few times and it's back spinning.   The door sticks, but the gas stove still works.  
So we just cooked a lot of food and laid around.  Played some cards.  Enjoyed the spectacular night sky that you can only appreciate once you leave town.  
My son fished, while I read and napped.  The girls left the campsite to stroll along a nearby farmer's market.   
Now Summer is about over.  Just one more trip with the family.  With God's grace there will be more.  But I do appreciate each and every one.


----------



## Ace

Labor day weekend was pretty decent.  I'll be suspending two students in the morning unfortunately, which might put a damper on my Tuesday.


----------



## JustRob

Today we went to a pub lunch with pensioners from my former company, which was taken over and wound up early this century. The numbers attending these lunches are growing fewer and many there were in their eighties, making us some of the youngest, but it was an excuse for a meal out for a change.

I was just looking through my email archives from 2011 and saw a small anecdote of the sort that I now mention here on WF so as we weren't members then I'll repeat it now just to prove that we have always indulged in such banter about using precise language.

An article in our local newspaper reported that "From October it will cost a pound an hour to park in one of the town's car parks." My angel's reaction was "Which one?  We'll go to a different one then."  
It's a shame that they didn't understand the difference between "one" and "any".

P.S.
Here's another remark from my 2011 archive.

My angel pointed out to me that a BBC announcer had just said "For  further information go to [noparse]www.bbc.co.uk[/noparse] slash my painting."  Vandalism  by the BBC?  Whatever next?


----------



## Olly Buckle

My favourite is the one in the rest area on the A21 which says 'Warning police crime initiative plain clothes police operate in this area' I love the way they put no punctuation at all on these notices, but blooming heck, isn't life hard enough already without the police initiating crime? I wonder where the uniform branch go to break the law?


----------



## Winston

I'm going to change the oil in my daughter's car.  It'd be cheaper and quicker to take it somewhere, but kids need to feel like someone is looking out after them.
That someone should be their parents.
Later, I'm going to try to plant some Shitake mushroom spores.  The area I'm utilizing is probably too warm and light, but the Pacific Northwest Winter is approaching. They take about 9 months to sprout, hopefully ready before mid Spring.


----------



## Olly Buckle

A good day, got a bit done in the garden, but spent most of it visiting Great Comp, a beautiful garden with a good collection of salvias near Wrotham. In case you are wondering Wrotham is pronounced root-ham, you weren't! Always wonder how English place names are pronounced, it is so often not the way they are written  Came home and had beans on toast and tea, the perfect compliment for each other.


----------



## aj47

Traveling to Georgia to visit my new school later this week.  Taking trinkets and pound cake and beer bread.  The trinkets are various 3D-printed animal phone-stand-keychain thingies.  My friend Eagle does them.  I'll have a pic later, they're jumbled in a bag now.


----------



## The Green Shield

Oh goody.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Starting a new job today, going in for orientation. This is a direct sales position. I keep coming back to shit I've already retired from...


----------



## Olly Buckle

RhythmOvPain said:


> Starting a new job today, going in for orientation. This is a direct sales position. I keep coming back to shit I've already retired from...



My imagination is working overtime wondering what you are selling, doubtless the reality would be much less exciting 


My friend's Chilean bell flower is coming into bloom on his balcony, they are really lovely, with an outside petal that curls around. They grow on the north face of canyons where water runs down and are quite particular. They like to be watered from below, fairly high humidity, and hate sunlight. They suffered a bit in the hot summer, he had to keep spraying them, but have recovered in the Indian summer and come into bloom. My friend has cancer and can hardly walk, but it made his day to struggle out there and see them when he didn't think he would again.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=l...9bjdAhXrAsAKHQHHAjIQ_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=651


----------



## JustRob

I finally found a shop selling bottles of black fountain pen ink (well actually just a single bottle in stock) today after trying several high street shops. It makes me wonder just how many actual _writers_ there are around now. It will soon get to the stage when anyone capable of using a pen will be considered to be a calligrapher. Also this shop was selling Waterman brand ink. I thought that brand had vanished years ago. The clever thing about Waterman ink was the design of the bottle. When it was partially empty you could tip it on an angle to get the ink out and it stayed balancing there. Even more clever was that when it was almost empty you could stand it on one corner to get the last drops out. Sadly their modern bottles only balance at an angle but not on a corner any more, the corners having been rounded off a little too much and the bottles being more elongated, which critically shifts the centre of gravity. I suppose that's yet another example of "progress" although in which direction I can't imagine.

When I work out the best way to post manuscript on WF I may do so. In fact maybe we should have a thread devoted to the subject where members can post short examples of their handwritten work just to prove that they can actually physically_ write_! It might be revealing.


----------



## DeClarke

More month than day. Took a break from writing to do some music and I am quite pleased with the product. Unfortunately, I am terrible at self-promo so the music will most likely sit in the vault forever. Slipping back into writing and finishing my up other sequels now. 


Today though? Boring. Watching some random stand-ups on Netflix and prepping my mind to get back into 'writers' mode.


----------



## Theglasshouse

The best software for people with writing disabilities seems to be word q speech q (I have tried a lot of different software). It makes writing a story easier for me as a task. I can detect many more mistakes in long posts on the forum and when I write something long. It's the cheapest best quality software I have found for the price. I dare not pay 150 dollars for two yearly subscriptions. Grammarly cost me 90 dollars for the first year. The second year it would cost me 140. I think word q speech q is the better investment for people who have the same "unique" problem(special disabilities) or are in the same situation I am in (200). It also reads Kindle books (this feature is not advertised and there is a free trial). This post is basically the post I would have made yesterday for this thread.


----------



## Olly Buckle

JustRob said:


> When I work out the best way to post manuscript on WF I may do so. In fact maybe we should have a thread devoted to the subject where members can post short examples of their handwritten work just to prove that they can actually physically_ write_! It might be revealing.



That would show me up, my first job was as a library assistant, there was a lot of writing in those days, tickets, catalogue cards and so on, and there was a general rule that we had to use block capitals for legibility. Except for putting my name on Christmas cards I think I have used blocks for everything since, my handwriting is that of a schoolboy.


----------



## Kevin

Back in the day I used to kid about dipping pigtails into inkwells. Not that I have ever actually seen a working inkwell, but I knew of them, from movies._.Pippy Longstalking, How green was my valley_,  I think. 

Things are so uptight here that merely speaking to a person of the opposite sex causes paranoia. I was watching an online discussion about an article about Superman ( you know...comic book character; movies etc.) "Truth, justice, and the American way", Superman is the same as a Confederste statue: Mysoginist ( a super *Man*), racist ( *Super*, as in _superior to others_- you get the implication) and his outfit/costume's colors, his completion, eye color... the whole visual- all of it patriarchal suppressionist - it's downright nationalist,Fascist, backward, bigoted, regressive, repressive, superiorist...

The other day I was riding in a elevator  trying desperately to pay strict attention to the screen of my IPhone. Now, despite extreme and overwhelming societal peer pressure I typically fail at this (phone-staring) lacking something as far as being able to constantly think about what's on there, on the phone, or who can I text ( I know , I'm a backward, Luddite ... well a caveman, no offence anyone, no no no no...). 

Anyway , a person had entered said elevator, with me - at the same time- alone, with me- and asked me what floor. I said lobby.
And then- for the remainder- that person ( in regards to -) , I did do my best to avert my eyes from, although it was a she ( not that that means anything- it doesn't!)  (yes, I'm sorry... I did notice) doing my best while riding- descending- to be looking at my IPhone, which, as I say, is not natural to me in a public place, nearly never doing that, except maybe (if I think of it) while sitting in a waiting room, or sitting, eating lunch - I actually like to read... this time (in the elevator) being I think, the first time I have ever stood, proceeding, moving ( well, descending) while doing my best to avert my eyes/ not be a threat or a perceived threat, being an unaccompanied 'alone' male  person in public, especially one of the working class, sorry, sorry, sorry...

I was tired from the day, it being the end of my workday, 5-5 at least, felt like I needed a shower (like I always do, daily, at the end of my day) and then I felt this presence/person nearby (couldn't help it- the nearbyness- trapped in an elevator ) who, I may add, was certainly above my level, pay grade, status what have you, beingyoungattractiveinashortbutworkplace/officeappropriateattire (*whew* glad we're past that) oh crap- forgot to say in-heels,pointy, black; strappy (sorry, sorry, sorry..sososo-sorry- I thoroughly apologize..)

I didn't run out there, but I felt as though I fled without any... any-  Well, I fled, yes. I could feel eyeballs on me. Oh, it was 'orrible, like it was the Seventies or something. You say it was nothing, and it wasn't / it was nothing, right? Nothing whatsoever, but...what if I had been younger, single, _actually available_?

You know there's cameras in them elevators... I might even then have been filmed interacting/speaking. 'Orrible. 'orrible...


----------



## Olly Buckle

One of the pleasures of being old, Kevin, women simply see you as this old bloke and have conversations with you without thinking 'He's male', 'He's a threat', or even, 'He's available'. For some reason they don't think that old men count as 'men', I have some quite pleasant chats with people over counters and at checkouts when it's not busy, and even in lifts


----------



## TuesdayEve

Hey guys, it’s the same with old ladys. Anyone 20 
or more years younger, assumes we’re married, have
children and grandkids, and...think we’re just old. 
And if they have the chance to see young pictures of
you, it’s unreal. At least that’s how I felt when I was 
young looking at young pictures of old people.
My body might be old but I’m not. 

One of the coolest compliments I received yesterday.
 I was at physical therapy doing stretches, chatting and 
joking with my PT therapist, I stretched a little to far 
and said “Ooo these bones are old”. She glanced at the 
paperwork on the podium and said “Oh I forgot you 
were 64.”


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> One of the pleasures of being old, Kevin, women simply see you as this old bloke and have conversations with you without thinking 'He's male', 'He's a threat', or even, 'He's available'. For some reason they don't think that old men count as 'men', I have some quite pleasant chats with people over counters and at checkouts when it's not busy, and even in lifts



They seem to be more at ease with us oldies and, to some extent, I'm struggling with that. Like, who me? I don't say it but I'm always taken back when a woman I've never seen before attempts to converse with me. I'm like a wild animal caught in the head-lights of a car in the black of night. I just freeze. I really am trying work that out. Would be nice to make a few acquaintances I'm thinking as I age. And talk, just talk.

Trouble is, I dither, and then the moment is lost.

Another problem for me is that I'm not really a talker and I don't do small-talk. I just don't " get that ".


----------



## Olly Buckle

When I had a dog with me that always got someone talking to me.


----------



## Ace

dither said:


> They seem to be more at ease with us oldies and, to some extent, I'm struggling with that. Like, who me? I don't say it but I'm always taken back when a woman I've never seen before attempts to converse with me. I'm like a wild animal caught in the head-lights of a car in the black of night. I just freeze. I really am trying work that out. Would be nice to make a few acquaintances I'm thinking as I age. And talk, just talk.
> 
> Trouble is, I dither, and then the moment is lost.
> 
> Another problem for me is that I'm not really a talker and I don't do small-talk. I just don't " get that ".



Imagine being a gay man.  Women of all ages flock to you and assume that you're up to hear their gossip.  No ma'am I'm a high school principal.  I hear enough gossip on the M-F gig.


----------



## JustRob

Olly Buckle said:


> That would show me up, my first job was as a library assistant, there was a lot of writing in those days, tickets, catalogue cards and so on, and there was a general rule that we had to use block capitals for legibility. Except for putting my name on Christmas cards I think I have used blocks for everything since, my handwriting is that of a schoolboy.



When I started programming back in the 1960s we had to write the code on forms divided up into boxes, one block capital to a box, for punching onto punched cards. Hence I too can write continuously in block capitals as well as script but because I had to write so fast my block capitals tended to join up and still do. 

My father wrote in italics but didn't have a proper italic pen, so just lifted the pen off the paper during the light strokes, which left a very strange but artistic totally disjointed script. When I started at my boarding school they were appalled at my handwriting and I was made to go to handwriting classes where I learned italics, but as soon as they were over I went back to my original cursive style.

I used to get migraines and when I had one my handwriting got smaller and smaller although it was still legible, which was a strange symptom.

How did my day go? Don't ask. If I was still prone to migraines then I'd have one. And tomorrow I have an appointment with the dentist for root canal work ... part one of two. Oh joy.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

My fiancee just called off the engagement. As of yesterday, we're no longer a couple.

Sigh.


----------



## Ace

RhythmOvPain said:


> My fiancee just called off the engagement. As of yesterday, we're no longer a couple.
> 
> Sigh.


Aha I'm sorry to hear that.  My condolences.


----------



## TuesdayEve

The past three days have been a dream come true.
No pain, anywhere, anytime. Feeling thirty again.
Daily, mundane chores and movements are special 
now, welcome and extraordinary. I got moves like 
Jagger.


----------



## Olly Buckle

TuesdayEve said:


> The past three days have been a dream come true.
> No pain, anywhere, anytime. Feeling thirty again.
> Daily, mundane chores and movements are special
> now, welcome and extraordinary. I got moves like
> Jagger.



I know Jagger takes that stuff, but I am not sure you should 

Seriously, long may it continue.

RoP, I am sorry to hear about that, I know at the time it is probably painful. However, in time you may come to see that it is sometimes better to have a clean break than to drag on with something that is unsatisfactory, probably when you find a good, satisfactory, relationship.


----------



## Kevin

One person is relieved of pain, and the other is loaded down with iit 
I remember it was most like someone had died. My friend this one time told me to take her picture down. I did. Took a year to recover.


----------



## JustRob

Pain? My problem is the opposite. I've just returned from having the first part of my root canal treatment at the dentist's. I don't normally have anaesthetic for dental work but did on this occasion. Oh dear, hours of numbness still to go. Normally I just walk out of the surgery and get straight back to my life but this is appalling.

On a very different tack, on the morning show on BBC TV today Cressida Cowell, the children's author, remarked that nowadays children read very quickly. She said that it takes her a year to write one of her books and then some children have finished reading it by the time that they reach the front of the book signing queue. Just bear that in mind, that even if you ever are successful as an author all your efforts are just feeding an insatiable appetite.


----------



## JustRob

So, that tooth that I had the first stage of root canal work done on yesterday, well this evening the original crown on it broke off, maybe shaken loose by all the drilling done through it. So it's Saturday evening and I have a tooth without its crown and a temporary filling in the root canal. I guess it's back to eating just on the other side of my mouth during our usual Sunday roast dinner then. Great! At least it doesn't ache ... yet.


----------



## Olly Buckle

JustRob said:


> Just bear that in mind, that even if you ever are successful as an author all your efforts are just feeding an insatiable appetite.



Great! A limitless market.


Sounds like the nerve is already dead in those teeth (or root canal holes). I have a couple like that, on the one hand you don't get pain, on the other you don't get the warning that pain gives you, so things can get worse without you noticing. I would say "Get back to that dentist soon.", pity it's the weekend.


----------



## JustRob

Ordered a dozen pairs of socks online this morning. 
Had to close the window in my workroom because it's turning colder. 
We're having turkey for our Sunday roast.

Agh no! I've started Twittering. I think my nerve's died.


----------



## Kevin

Problems:
"...so, instead of the 1 1/2" of concrete, they poured it 9."
"The builders agreed to this?"
"The owner asked for it, and they agreed. It's a fifty foot wide opening, and now it's so bowed the door won't open or close."
"So, what do you do, how do they fix it?"
"Remove it, jackhammer. And it's all gotta be moved three times by hand: out, down, out again, and then hand loaded into trucks."
"And with the weight removed,  will the steel go back into place?"
"It depends: if it deflected right away, during the pour, then probably. If it happened later, then no."
"...and then they'd have to replace the I -beam. What if they just brace it from underneath. put in a column? "
"You can't. It's on the third floor. The column would be sitting on nothing. You'd have to support it - go all the way down into the foundations. The house is not engineered for anything like that. And, if there's an earthquake the weight will take the whole house down with it."


-yesterday from a conversation I was 'at'. Glad that's not my jobsite. That owner didn't want the lightweight pedestal floor system on top of the 1 1/2" of concrete as was designed, so he asked the contractors to use concrete, to just 'fill it up' instead. With the additional weight the structure sagged.  The 50' wide door system wouldn't open; wouldn't close. Oh...dear...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Turkey should be nice and manageable with your mouth, we are having a nut roast with lots of trimmings like stuffing balls and Yorkshire puds as well as about six veg. ; the younger daughter is coming, we don't usually do it. Typically she missed the train, and they are only one an hour on Sunday, so I can hear her turning up now, dinner is going to be late today.


----------



## Winston

Just using my free time to bring order to chaos.  
That means trying to clean the damn house.  First World Problems  = Too much stuff.  
Tomorrow I begin to clear out the garden, and tarp the beds prior to winter.  Still plenty of carrots and potatoes out there.  Did, dig, dig.


----------



## dither

Winston,
if you could see the room where I have my computer. It looks as though some-one has totally filled it with junk and then some how forged a pathway to the table and chair where I'm sitting now. I could use a decent size room to spread all of it out. I'd like that. A room full of memories. Detritus that represents my having existed.


----------



## JustRob

The dentist fitted the crown back on my tooth today, so I've just got the planned visit to him later in the week to complete the root canal work on it now.

My WIP is autobiographical, so to maintain accuracy I am quoting copiously from my email archive in it. That gives it an authenticity that might be absent if I just wrote about the events from memory. Fortunately I have just one writing standard, so those emails are no better nor any worse than my literary style. As a result I can clock up thousands of words very quickly by pasting them without having to worry about the quality of the writing because to alter any of the text would invalidate it as a contemporary record. Of course I do have to read all of my past emails and every one of them is long with complicated concepts in it, but I find it fascinating as I don't even remember many of the lines of thought that I pursued back in 2012, the period that I am currently reading. For example, I have just read my views then on the book _Breaking       The Spell_ by Daniel C. Dennett and Nietzsche's Eternal     Recurrence concept. I had wondered when I'd found out about that but now I can date it, which is good.

The interesting thing is just why I read Dennett's book and the email explained that. I was going through the science and technology e-books available from our online county library with the authors in alphabetical order and I didn't fancy reading any of the many books by the scientist Brian Cox offered, so the next author whose work attracted my attention was Dennett. Just like many other things in my life it was just a coincidence that I picked a book that mentioned eternal recurrence, a motif that already appeared in my science fiction trilogy. 

This email archive is proving invaluable in a story where precise dating of events is crucial, so currently although I am ostensibly writing I am actually spending most of my time reading my past words, which is one weird form of research.

By the way, I found one amusing remark in that email worth repeating here.



> I don't read philosophical texts normally.  It seems to me like trying on someone else's underwear; it might fit but why would one want to find out?


----------



## -xXx-

Kevin said:


> Problems:
> -yesterday from a conversation I was 'at'. Glad that's not my jobsite. That owner didn't want the lightweight pedestal floor system on top of the 1 1/2" of concrete as was designed, so he asked the contractors to use concrete, to just 'fill it up' instead. With the additional weight the structure sagged.  The 50' wide door system wouldn't open; wouldn't close. Oh...dear...


^
^example:
^less is more
^for concrete thinkers
^using hierarchical frameworks
^in an unstable operating environment
^
^that should be on a programmer's reference.
^open.n.shut
^jussayin'

_*ooops*
*don't misunderstand*
*the omission of dialogue*
*it is excellent*
*i was going for the 'fill it up' statement*_


----------



## JustRob

I'm still trapped within my surreal writer's world apparently. In 2011 I wrote my weird novel about two minds connected across six years in time and today I am working on my book about writing it. This entails pasting in blocks of text from emails that I wrote in 2012 about the novel and writing my present day comments in between them. In other words this part of the book actually is being written by two versions of my mind separated by six years. Even though I thought that I had become used to the idea I am getting a very odd feeling about the experience and can't work for very long each day before it freaks me out. Six years is long enough for it to be difficult for me to relate directly to the person who wrote those emails, so it actually is a weird duet of two minds. We haven't seriously disagreed about anything yet, but I prefer to work alone.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Yesterday my daughter took me out for a birthday treat, we went and visited the Horniman museum and gardens in Forest Hill, highly recommended.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Hey Happy Birthday Olly! Did’ja ever think you’d 
make it this far? I’m still flabbergasted at 64.
Congradulations, sir.

Today is a good day, a long day, just back to work
this week, happily...and sitting in the bus at a park on 
a beautiful mild evening listening to the sounds 
of cheerful laughs, whistles, disappointing moans and 
that noise balls make hitting the ground bouncing 
off rackets. Dogs walking people anxious to smell every 
tree in their path.....and coaches frustration blairing 
unintelligible sounds yet we all get the message. 
A squirrel runs across the parking lot heading for the
sidewalk with a nut in her mouth. Her quest interrupted 
by a beagle leashed to a lady on a cell phone.
Ooops, there goes the cell phone.


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> Yesterday my daughter took me out for a birthday treat, we went and visited the Horniman museum and gardens in Forest Hill, highly recommended.



Y'know?
It's funny. Maybe it's my age but there's an exhibition that I wouldn't mind going to see in the national art gallery in London. I won't of course but I can't thinking about it and wondering.


----------



## Guard Dog

Just sitting here handling my usual chore of rolling cigarettes for the next day or so, and contemplating which of several other tasks I'll attend to later on today.

I've got an old shotgun I need to repair, clean up, and return to my neighbor, a leak under the house I need to patch, and no telling what else I'm not remembering at the moment.

I don't know which of those I'll get to today, if any of 'em, but I do know they'll all get done, since they have to.

Just feeling too lazy today to worry about it.

Who knows, maybe there's something on NetFlix that requires my attention today? Or something the neighbor needs assistance with?

Time will tell, I suppose.


G.D.


----------



## Winston

/\ GD, you roll your own, and fix your own boom-sticks?  Good man.

Same boat here.  Need to get off my arse and be productive.  I think I'll at least work out before the Seahawks game.  But clearing out the garden?  Eh....


----------



## Guard Dog

Winston said:


> /\ GD, you roll your own, and fix your own boom-sticks?  Good man.



Oh, I do a fair number of odd-ball things.




That little .32 peashooter on the left? I was there when my grandfather bought it, 40 years ago. It had a 15 pound trigger pull, up 'til a few days ago. Now it's more like 10.
The knives I've re-worked, or re-hilted, and the sheathes I made. 
The walking stick at the far right I made. The top is white walnut I got in Michigan, when I visited my dad 20 years ago or so, the middle piece is black walnut from the same trip, and the main shaft is Dogwood, from my yard. ( It died and fell over, so I didn't let it go to waste. )

Sorry about the crappy pic. I snapped it a few minutes ago with my phone.

Edit:  A little side-note... The knife on the far right? If you've read the snippet I posted on the Common Tongue thread... That's the knife I had in mind for Marhi to be holding. :wink:


G.D.


----------



## fschutt

A few days ago I went into a kebap / fast food restaurant (does the UK or the US even have doner kebap stands? - here they are on literally every corner) and the owner asked me if I had ordered via a phone call earlier. I said no, must've been someone else. But now he had some food prepared and the caller had probably forgotten about his meal, so he told me that I could get the already-prepared lahmacun for the price of a doner kebap. So yeah, tasted pretty good, although I usually like kebap more.

That reminded me of the best kebap I've eaten - I think it was in Kassel. 4€ but you get absolutely everything, you get a ton of meat (not like these pinchpenny kebap shops around here), the good sweet-sour sauce, extra feta cheese and peperoni. Except for ananas, then you have to decide if you want feta or ananas, both together don't taste very well. But I think the restaurant closed soon after the semester ended. Kassel also has a funny noodle restaurant literally called "noodle noodle" (nudelnudel.de). Their noodle selection is absolutely insane, really the best noodles that I've ever eaten. It was a lot of fun going there with the whole class during lunch break. And healthy, too.


----------



## Guard Dog

I find it both amusing and sad that although I'm half German, I have no idea what the hell a "kebap" is. 8-[

( My paternal grandparents came from Königsberg, Germany ( East Prussia? ) in the mid 1930's, thanks to the increasing shenanigans of everyone's least-favorite Austrian painter/paper-hanger. )


G.D.


----------



## Kevin

Our meat stabbers are more often than not Armenians. We have them since the genocide, and a newer wave post-Soviet. 'Bap' is '-bob'.


----------



## The Green Shield

I'm an asshole.

An asshole that knows when he's about to be an asshole, stops himself, but is still amazed at the level of asshole-y he is.

To wit -- one of my friends wanted to make a meme where people superimposed her face on random things. One of her friends put her face on Jesus Christ and a Catholic friend said, quote, "Im sorry [REDACTED] not much offends me but that picture of Our Sacred Heart of Jesus with your face imposed and with a cigarette is not one bit funny. Im Catholic and that is just so wrong."

I wanted to respond with something petty like, "Get over it, sugar. Learn to have some fun. I'm Episcopalian and I thought this was hilarious as fuck. Also, [name of friend who made the post], don't worry about causing offense. Do what you want."

I mean, I _did_ catch myself before I actually said it. Just...damn.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Waitin’ at the high school 
eatin’ a Honey Crisp
this is my view
not bad for a Monday


----------



## The Green Shield

Brief reminder:

If your brain ever tells you that you don't deserve to be happy because of whatever reason it concocts -- it is, of course, full of complete and absolute BS. You are allowed to be happy.

#YouAreAwesomeNeverForget
#DFTBA *

* Don't Forget To Be Awesome


----------



## Guard Dog

The view out my front door at various times of the year:



This is why I could never be a city-dweller.



G.D.


----------



## Guard Dog

The Green Shield said:


> Brief reminder:
> 
> If your brain ever tells you that you don't deserve to be happy because of whatever reason it concocts -- it is, of course, full of complete and absolute BS. You are allowed to be happy.
> 
> #YouAreAwesomeNeverForget
> #DFTBA *
> 
> * Don't Forget To Be Awesome



This lady said it pretty well, I think, G.S.:

Pink - "Perfect"



G.D.


----------



## JustRob

I came to the conclusion that I'm going about writing my WIP in the wrong way. The problem is that I have to convince myself that what I write is worth reading, but if I am actually writing about my own past experiences and activities how do I make it interesting enough to read myself? I just keep thinking "Yeah, the same thing happened to me once. So what?" which isn't particularly helpful. 

Reading through my emails and notes from the past I found a reference to the occasion when our next door neighbours showed us a photo of a UFO that had been circling our homes a few nights earlier. It was barely a smudge on the digital image of course but I became very doubtful when they told us that they'd seen it on a previous occasion. Even if aliens had crossed the galaxy to fly around our homes what had been so interesting that they came back, or were these some friends that they'd told about us? I mean, we just aren't that special, so far as I know.

So, I think I'll junk the three chapters already written and anyway I have a brand new idea for the introduction, so I ought to get started on that. The only trouble is that I'm not even sure that I want to write any of it. That's significant as the work is about the apparent link between my feelings and future events in my life, so there may be some problem ahead blocking it. It's either the _way_ that I'm writing it or the _fact_ that I am, but I don't know which yet. So far as I know it isn't _when_.

Oh well, with the Autumn season starting there may be something worth watching on TV until this fog in my mind clears.


----------



## The Green Shield

Got a flat tire! GAAAH! >:[


----------



## Guard Dog

Fixed the shotgun. Takin' it back to the neighbor as soon as he's home.

Had to make a screw for it, since it's so old and new parts won't fit.


G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

First day of eighteen days on my own, took the missus to the airport last night, she is off to Rwanda to see gorillas, then by truck across Uganda to Kenya and the Masai mara game reserve.
https://www.exodus.co.uk/kenya-holidays/wildlife/gorillas-masai-mara-camping/wyu8

I say 'On my own', I still have the owl and the pussycat to look after.


----------



## Winston

My co-worker got a call and left early.  His wife was sick, and he had to rush home to take care of her.
Rick is just two months from retirement.  I am really praying that his wife's ailment is neither serious nor chronic.  They've been planning so many things for his retirement.  
Fate can be cruel. 
I am looking forward to seeing Rick tomorrow, and laughing at this non-event.  I'm not a very positive person.  This is hard.


----------



## JustRob

I think I decided to give up writing my WIP altogether today. That time-travelling muse who dictates what I write (a nicely ambiguous use of the verb there) is reticent about it, which is portentous. However, I have just this moment resolved yet another detail about my original novel from 2011 as compensation. My muse is always willing to offer explanations apparently so long as they don't violate the time directive.

The climax of my novel involved the time capsule (which is never called a time _machine_ in the story) being marooned outside of time for 999 hours. This was evidently inspired by my angel and I being delayed for nine hours when our original flight home from holiday in 2017 was cancelled (the full details being very complicated). I presumed that I extended the nine hours to 999 for impact in the story because nine or even ninety-nine wouldn't have been dramatic enough, but now I have realised that this was actually a bit of mathematical juggling on my part. Although the threat was a delay of 999 hours the crew actually managed to return home after about two weeks, which is almost exactly a third of 999 hours. Well, in another sense a third of three nines is just one nine, isn't it? QED

Oh, I am just so pedantic.


----------



## Kevin

Thompsen twin ( just one of them), B-52s, and Boy George last night at the Greek. Rain was threatened, but did not come. The gals ( wifey & friend) loved it, sang and danced their asses off.  I sort of wriggled, erm, rhythmically, best I could- only took two beers to loosen me. I had a good time. Boy opened with a Bowie song. Miss that guy. Good on you, George. That was a good way to start it.
 Home by 11. Okay, 11:30. Work at 6 am.  It was worth it.


----------



## The Green Shield

The Awkward Moment when a blind friend of yours subscribes to your YouTube channel and you realize that you only have gaming, but no voice-over explaining what the game's about and have to awkwardly both thank them and explain to them your shit videos.


----------



## Guard Dog

Green Shield... it could be worse; you could be into silent films.

Me, I got a text from my next door neighbor's wife, at 7:00am, tellin' me that he was up in his attic runnin' wires, and would I please go over there and make sure he didn't kill himself. ( He had just blundered into a live 220ac line a day before and had fireballs all but shooting out of his eyes and ears. )

I answered back: I'll go, but no promises.

And now, thanks to a day with him ( 3 actually ) I'm too damned tired to move.

This retirement crap is exhausting sometimes.... 




G.D.

P.S. The neighbor lived... at least 'til tomorrow. ( His in-laws came in this evening. :devilish: )


----------



## Guard Dog

Have people just gotten dumber?

For the second time in less than two weeks, one of the workers from next door have walked over to my house, and right through my back gate, disregarding the big black and orange sign that says "Beware of Dog".

Fortunately, I got to 'em before my dogs did.

It's a sad state of affairs that my dogs run the risk of a ten day quarantine because some asshole hasn't got the sense to read a damn sign and heed what it says.

Oh, and don't even bother putting up a "No Trespassing" sign. It might as well say "Welcome, come on in."



G.D.
( Who's contemplating decorating his gate with human skulls. )
( Edit: Not "thinking about", have done so. :evil: )
I was going to post a pic, but for some reason it won't let me. Ah well, I'll try again later.


----------



## Winston

Got the day off work, thought I'd take a couple of rifles to the range.  It turns out the range will be closed 3 weeks for renovation.  
That's it.  Our next house will be on 10 acres, and I will have my own range.

So I had some time to prep for my WIP, my "barracks" project.  Got about 20 characters, and at least half of them are deep enough to write-up well.  I think I have a decent framework in place to organize the character study.  

My latest batch of brew is fermenting well.  Just gotta leave it alone.  I do have to pull my jerky off of the dehydrator.  One tray is specifically for my daughter, to comply with her new diet (her marinade had no brown sugar or beer in it).  I like makin' stuff.


----------



## Plasticweld

After a long hot day, Indian summer they call it, I am less polite. Soaked in sweat, tired and just in a hurry to get home so I can take a shower, eat something, then head to the mill to work another few hours.  I sit at the light in our little town waiting for it to change.  I look at him, instantly I am pissed. He is a bum. My age hasn't worked in the last twenty years.  He smokes a cigarette and sips on a can of beer. Watching the world drive by, he does not seem to have a care in the world.  

I can not imagine having the time to sit and just drink beer and watch the world go by. I could not ever bring myself to spend almost ten dollars on a pack of cigarettes, I feel guilty buying a candy bar. 

I am jealous of him and mad at him all at the same time. 

I decide that when I get home I am going to have a beer, something I never do, but after looking at him I feel I am entitled.  No cold beer in the fridge, just warm ones in the pantry. A deep sigh of disgust, I think my heart may have just been broken.   I stick a few in the fridge to get them cold. I know later they will taste good...but not the same. I could have just sat on the porch overlooking the creek and felt that cool tingling feeling as it slid down my throat. I could have ,for just a moment been must like that bum sitting on his porch... I will continue to dream.


----------



## Kevin

Plastic... Live a little. Send me your address and I'll send you a snicker bar. Heck, I'll send you a dozen. I think they're .85 over at the big box.


----------



## Guard Dog

Plasticweld said:


> ...I could have just sat on the porch overlooking the creek and felt that cool tingling feeling as it slid down my throat. I could have ,for just a moment been must like that bum sitting on his porch... I will continue to dream.




Interesting paradox here, this compared to your comments on the "Inability to Daydream" thread.

I guess the real world ain't all it needs to be, sometimes.



G.D.


----------



## Plasticweld

GD I suffer from the Puritan Work Ethic. I have been rich and poor and then rich again during the course of my life so I take nothing for granted when it comes to money.   I am well off so don't even really need to work yet could never bring myself not to. I do enjoy what I do, I have multiple small businesses yet have never lost site of the fact that pennies matter.  I do have some very expensive hobbies, I race motorcycles and cars, so it is not all drudgery, but  still feel guilty about the money that is spent no matter how small or large the amount.  Personal flaw I guess. 

I am sure of this. My day at work was far more rewarding than the bum's day of day dreaming watching the world go bye.   He may have envisioned things...I did things    Always better!


Kevin I appreciate your generosity.  I would love to take you to dinner sometime, my sister lives in Huntington Beach and I plan on visiting her this coming spring, plus you are also welcome here anytime. I have enjoyed your stories over the years and would love to meet in person, you will be expected to provide the candy bars for desert though  :}  but dinner is on me


----------



## Guard Dog

Plasticweld, it's all about perspective. 

And everybody's is different.

( Which is a good thing, 'cause we all won't fit in the same skin no how. :wink: )




G.D.


----------



## Kevin

We have a guest room here, too. If you got time. There's some decent food around, and the Getty nearby is free. It's world class. Your sis  is about 1 1/2 hrs south of me ( depending on traffic). Angeles Crest Hwy is also nearby ( 30 min) where I live . You could do a hundred mile run easy on a motorcycle on a morning ( rent). I don't ride motor, but there is a nice parallel  mtb trail ride called the gabriielino we could shuttle. 
Lemme know.

https://youtu.be/MWq9vCW5dDI

https://youtu.be/2vCftxx_Ul0


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW you are in a chipper mood so you go onto Facebook and see a distressing video of a dog being squeezed to death by a snake (though luckily he was saved by his owners) 


So now you're thinking, "I hereby allow the torture and mutilation of all snakes everywhere."


----------



## Plasticweld

Kevin said:


> We have a guest room here, too. If you got time. There's some decent food around, and the Getty nearby is free. It's world class. Your sis  is about 1 1/2 hrs south of me ( depending on traffic). Angeles Crest Hwy is also nearby ( 30 min) where I live . You could do a hundred mile run easy on a motorcycle on a morning ( rent). I don't ride motor, but there is a nice parallel  mtb trail ride called the gabriielino we could shuttle.
> Lemme know.
> 
> https://youtu.be/MWq9vCW5dDI
> 
> https://youtu.be/2vCftxx_Ul0



We definitely the mountain bike stuff. I take it that there is a place to rent a bike.  The last mountain bike stuff I did with my son was at a ski resort.  Pretty radical stuff, did motorcycle trials for years so understood the concept but the logs and large rocks plus the really steep terrain  let me test the integrity of my helmet multiple times. 

I am planning on spending a few days out there playing tennis with my sister, she is an accountant and can only spend so much time with during the day so planning a day in between with  you would let her stay caught up on her work load.  I will send you a pm when I have a better idea on the date... Sounds like this will be an adventure :}

Love the links by the way


----------



## The Green Shield

In lighter news, Dante has got to be one of the best Classical literature I've ever read outside college. I thought it would be hard to follow, but it really isn't. It really feels like Dante is right there with you, speaking to you on your level even with his flowery language. 




Kudos to Michael Arnold for introducing him to me. I look forward to reading all of his works, and many more of the Classics.


----------



## Theglasshouse

> https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/blind-woman-can-see-objects-but-only-when-they-move-1.3970623



Greenshield, I saw this on the news, it might interest you. There is a blind person that can sense movements but cannot see. It sounds tricky to describe how they see since they are still blind. But here is how you would enhance a blind person's senses, sound, and movement, that could be the aura power you are trying to use in your story. I'd make it that magic lets him not be blind at times, but that would be just me saying this. That pov is tricky to write from. Search for the diagnosis of a blind person that might interest you. This person is one of the few in the world that can detect movement while blind, I don't know how it works. But that would make your pov of your character more credible and even seem experimental in its handling.

Basically, the blind person sees something when it is in movement.  It's a rare condition of blindness. But it truly does exist as an illness.



> 'Seeing with sound': study explores how the blind use echolocation
> Alberta man competing in World Blind Golf Championships
> 
> *Related Links*
> 
> 
> 
> Read the full study


----------



## Darkkin

Pets know, not sure how they know, but they know.  Rue Dog has once again demonstrated this.  Sunday night he switched his routine.  Instead of sleeping with his nose on the pulse point behind my knees, he stretched out along my spine so I could not roll over onto my back or right side.  He kept me propped to the left.  I'm a side sleeper by nature, so it wasn't an issue.  Or so I thought.  Tuesday morning Rue signalled.  His 'Yes, I'm sure...' sign.  He sat and tapped twice with his right paw.  I felt fine, nothing more than a little, chronic angina.  All par for the course.  I dismissed his poking and went to work.  Two hours into my shift I noticed a twinge in my right side.  I knew I hadn't bumped into anything, but it still really hurt, so I stopped to check to see what I'd done.  Massive deep tissue bruising down my entire right side.  Something wasn't right, so as much as I had hoped to avoid it.  I went in and had it checked out.

Echo revealed an abnormality on my mitral valve.  Biopsy revealed a recurrance of my myocarditis.  We are now on Day Two of plug and play antibiotics and Rue is still keeping me propped to the left.  Somethings we are not meant to understand, somethings are meant to be and Rue Dog is one of those things.  He makes crap like this a bit more bearable.

- D.


----------



## Kevin

Wow. That's all I can say. And... I love your dog. Good boy. Amazing boy.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> In lighter news, Dante has got to be one of the best Classical literature I've ever read outside college. I thought it would be hard to follow, but it really isn't. It really feels like Dante is right there with you, speaking to you on your level even with his flowery language.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Kudos to Michael Arnold for introducing him to me. I look forward to reading all of his works, and many more of the Classics.



Someone said 'A classic is a book you have never read, but feel you ought to have'. I don't know why we dismiss them so readily, they have something that got them into that class in the first place, and it quite often makes them still worth reading now, not every time. I went through a spell of picking up cheap classics at the charity shop, most were well worth the read, a few were terrible. Mostly the bad ones were by people who had already made a name with earlier books and were simply turning stuff out for money because they had created a demand, and I had picked them by author rather than title, later Walter Scott, ughh

Darkin; indeed they do know sometimes. My friend was being set up for a sting by a very friendly and plausible chap. It never happened, the first time he visited the house the two cats attacked him full on, they had never been unfriendly to anyone before, but they saw off the danger. Keep listening to that dog and stay with us 

PS. I had something funny happen with my heart a while ago and have to go to the surgery to get a monitor fitted for a week later today. As there has not been any sort of repeat I am hoping this is all a waste of time, but experience tells me go along with it for now , or find out too late it wasn't a waste of time at all. Sod's law.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Just got out of prison. I blogged about it.


----------



## dither

Jesus RoP, how long were you in for? If you don't mind my asking.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

dither said:


> Jesus RoP, how long were you in for? If you don't mind my asking.



Only 21 days this time. My last bid was 40 days. You can read all about it in my blog.


----------



## Kevin

See below. Sounds like plans are afoot... ( Dots wot it sed hea) Trails in Wales are apparently open. "Ssshoo-Ellen" - someone told me that's how you pronounce Llewelyn. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lo...at-coast/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d2776927

(sorry for the extra dark text. My phone does that)


https://www.outdoorproject.com/blog-news/solo-hiking-pacific-crest-trail-gifts-going-alone


----------



## Guard Dog

Looks like Fall has finally decided to put in an appearance here.

It's cold, wet, and generally miserable outside. Which means I'll be inside as much as possible.

The only good news is that the weather guessers are saying November is expected to be warmer than average for us here in the middle of the state.  I hope they're right this time.

It'd be nice to not have a winter at all this time, but I suppose that's too much to ask for, even out of "global warming".

Edit: Well, it finally quit raining, so I guess I can cancel my boat-building plans...
       It has been a steady downpour here for the past 2 days, and even on a hill, my         backyard is a swamp.


G.D.


----------



## The Green Shield

That Moment When you turn around and the office secretary’s rump is inches from your face as she’s leaning over talking with another co-worker. Of course, this wasn’t the first time something like this happened to me. 

Once, I was in a baseball game with my dad and uncle and after our team (Atlanta Braves) scored, the band started to play and this skinny girl with a tank top and denim shorts cut way too short began to shake her butt side to side. She was in front of me as well.


----------



## Winston

The Green Shield said:


> ..this wasn’t the first time something like this happened to me...



Do you believe in coincidences? Take the flirtatious compliments, man!  Although a "thank you" to the lass may not be well received. They like to deny it's on purpose.  

Well, we just got rid of our current brood of chickens.  They are at the end of their egg laying threshold, and I ain't feeding freeloaders.  'Cept for my kids.  Stupid law.  
Some nice lady and her maw came and grabbed them (hens) from us. She already has some of her own.  The birds now have an acre to spend their twilight years.
Mind you, my wife wanted to butcher them.  But with Costco selling roasted chickens for $5 a piece?  Really?


----------



## bazz cargo

New router, the internet has never been this fast or reliable. Wooooeeeee!


----------



## escorial

Woooooeeee...Mpbs


----------



## TuesdayEve

Today, gloriously all mine. Entrenched and entertained,
enriched and replenished following and composing on
WF taking time only to create an elaborate meal 
extraordinaire, paper plates please.


----------



## Olly Buckle

So why did the clocks go back today? Two men and two tractors run a farm nowadays, it wasn't for their benefit, it's like having long school holidays so the kids can help at harvest, that was a hundred years ago. Is it just that someone likes confusing people?


----------



## TuesdayEve

In the states we go backwards one hour next Sunday.
I agree with you, the time change is outdated. I’d 
much prefer to stay on daylight savings time though.

However, today was productive. Went to the gym early
worked out longer than usual. I’m discovering muscle 
memory has almost instant recall, pretty cool, although
things don’t look the same as they did thirty years ago.
Oh well....
Went to the library for early voting, glad to get it done, 
one less to worry about. Came home, multitasked laundry 
and making egg muffins.... beat eggs, any spices you like, 
grease muffin tins pour in eggs, add cheese and what ever 
else is handy, today turkey bacon, Italian sausage is 
yummy too...bake at 350 for 40-45 mins. 
Taste good cold too.
Casual, low key evening, nice.


----------



## Kevin

TuesdayEve said:


> In the states we go backwards one hour next Sunday.
> I agree with you, the time change is outdated. I’d
> much prefer to stay on daylight savings time though.
> .


But you get to sleep in an hour later for school?! I mean work! 
Wait, what? Oh ya.... you have to get up a hour early. Okay, I hate changing the time back.


----------



## Winston

It was nearly dark when I replaced my daughters headlights in her Subaru yesterday.  All of about 5PM.  Raining off and on, of course.  
My eyes ain't as sharp s they once were.  The clip fasteners were hidden under a protective rubber boot, so I'm literally feeling around blind.  I made her help me (kinda).  At least she understands what's involved with changing a light now.  And she knows what bulbs her car needs. 
"H4 bulbs.  Buy the two pack.  They have them at WalMart. Take mom's car."  
Elsewhere in Stately Winston Manor, my new lager was displaying a "stuck fermentation".  After a day, 'bout zero bubbles.  So I shook the fermenter vigorously, aerating the wort again.  
At least a couple of billion yeast woke up.  The beer is up and brewing.


----------



## dither

On my " to do list " when I've retired is making my own cider. I just don't have the time or the inclination right now.


----------



## Winston

dither said:


> On my " to do list " when I've retired is making my own cider. I just don't have the time or the inclination right now.



When you're ready, PM me.  It's really not difficult.
When I worked in the jail, we had to make sure the inmates didn't hoard sugar and bread.  Often, they would brew "pruno" in the cell toilets. It's that easy.


----------



## The Green Shield

TMW mild Facebook drama almost brings out the shitty side of you.

Folks, if I ever act like an insensitive assface, you have my blessing to tear me apart and give me hell.


----------



## escorial

Getting a smart meter installed next week and hope it doesn't contribute to my anxiety issues...what if I begin to hate some of my elecrical appliances..


----------



## H.Brown

escorial said:


> Getting a smart meter installed next week and hope it doesn't contribute to my anxiety issues...what if I begin to hate some of my elecrical appliances..



Hide it someplace where you can check it when you need to Esc, I've found I ignore mine a lot lol.


----------



## escorial

power to the people...John Lennon..


----------



## H.Brown

Or just need self control you know mind over madness lol.


----------



## escorial

Mayor of Liverpool pissed at a right wing March set to take place Saturday....the last time they were here I had a conversation with a marcher an he told me I will liberalise myself to extinction...


----------



## Guard Dog

Computer died last night... Bought a new one this morning.

...now I get to spend the next two days putting shit back the way I like it.

Joy thrill... :fatigue:




G.D.


----------



## Goldwriter

Spiffing.


----------



## escorial

Goldwriter said:


> Spiffing.



Finally someone from the English upper class to bring a touch of class here...God bless yeah


----------



## Kevin

Those black stink-bug beetles seem to have all gone into hiding. Maybe they've died for the season. 

Plenty of deer out, and rabbits, crashing about in the dark, and I think I passed a bear crap. Too big for a dog, and it wasn't a cow patty, no. 

Deer's little balls, bean-sized, something like rabbit, but bigger, and since they opened the land up, there's no more cattle. 

Had a bit of a fright: two glowing eyes reflected back at me in the dark at about 6 feet off the ground. It was a deer as I rode past. Croist. With a headlamp all you see is what you're pointing it at. When the light hits they all duck and are watching you from the bushes in the dark as you go past, you just don't know it. Sometimes  you can feel it, though. Wiley.


----------



## escorial

shouted down and jeered at a right wing march today and they were forced to abandon the march.....i'm disgusted with myself because they have a right to march and view their opinions..


----------



## Guard Dog

Kevin said:


> ...I think I passed a bear crap.



Was it painful for ya? :shock: :devilish: :rofl:




G.D.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Went to a near by nature center yesterday. Two of my
long time friends work there so I’m able to go behind 
the scenes with these guys. They’re baby water 
snakes. Never figured out what had their attention.


----------



## Guard Dog

TuesdayEve... Could it be the snakes are just posing for a picture?

"C'mon, Lady! We can't stay like this all day!"




G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> shouted down and jeered at a right wing march today and they were forced to abandon the march.....i'm disgusted with myself because they have a right to march and view their opinions..



Don't be, you also have the right to protest, and the extreme right would not allow anyone they disapproved of any rights if they got power, including the right to life. The sort of rights that Moseley and his blackshirts wanted when my parents demonstrated against them in the East end of London were demonstrated when their friends got power in Germany a few years later. The right is on an upswing and will demand their right to express opinions, at the moment it is illegal to express opinions such as 'Black and Muslim people are inferior', personally I want to keep it that way and not be allowed to differentiate between people based on belief or race. They will tell me I am differentiating against them because of their belief but it's like freedom of speech, it doesn't extend to shouting 'Fire' in a crowded theatre. Keep up the good work mate, The right wing that holds power now is as far right as we want it ever to get, and a bit further than I like.


----------



## escorial

not many turned out for their march..there was more of us than them and the police ended up protecting them..the mob is a volatile thing when you have opposing pov's...history is littered with the silent majority following the rhetoric of many political, religious extremes and if people don't have all opposing views to engage in then your likely to end up with just sanctioned ways of protest by the power brockers...i found the experience unsettling


----------



## Olly Buckle

My parents were middle class teachers, but their view of the police was coloured forever more by the vigour with which they defended the fascists. Sounds like yours did their job reasonably, though I wonder how much that is down to everyone having a camera on their phone nowadays and access to YouTube.

Edit, you are right about the mob mentality, I remember perfectly reasonable people behaving atrociously during the Vietnam demonstrations back I the day.


----------



## escorial

i have only ever had negative experiences with the police in my life mostly regarding experiences or situations i have ended up in..the old adage by the police of were into what the law says is legal and not rather than what is right or wrong..is so true


----------



## escorial

Spice girls reunion without posh spice...be like the Beatles getting back an John Lennon not turning up..


----------



## Winston

Just dumped our satellite TV provider in favor of using a internet streaming service. Called the corporation today to do the deed.  
The girl on the line asked for our account phone number...
"Sorry it may be XXX-XXX-XXXX, but that was our land line.  We dropped that a few years ago."  
21st Century, man.


----------



## Goldwriter

I watched something on Vinny Jones. About the bricklaying and the public transport he used to have to take to training. Vinny Jones, bricklays and takes public transport. Everyone says they had more talent and didn't make it. He says that is why. No heart. A character developed in darkness, written off to be a non-league alcoholic. Sober and doing multi-million dollar film deals over the Atlantic ocean. I only see his story due to his promotion. I wonder of the other. Mainly those bullied out of the way. Those of open heart, broad shoulders, and inner critic beyond measure.

His mate Paul Gascoigne sits beside, propped up. The story goes Gazza's talent was so pampered that he never had the hard-working managerial second father, rather only those who used him for their own benefit of glamour. There was less glamour associated with Vinny and more graft. There was more love for Gazza and less fear. But at the end of the day they were both footballers from rough areas and wife beat and so on... I should throw in an allegedly or two and point out that rough area doesn't equate to wife beating in every case and so on and so-forth.

I've never had a wife anyway. Probably for fear of not being able to set the tone. I mean I can set it once, but even that is a line crossed too far. Unspoken responsibility. I am looking for more natural submission. In a world of materialist narcissists and virtue signalling feminists it is no world for an average man. We pay our £3 for five-a-side every other week then go into a depression.


----------



## Guard Dog

9:45pm and the weather is goin' to hell in a handbasket here... Got tornado warnings 'til 3:00am.

Ah well.  I'll keep my phone, tablet, and laptop batteries charged, so even if the tornadoes blow the roof off, I'll still be able to tell y'all about it. :twisted:

( Been on this hill for nearly 30 years now, and mother nature ain't seen fit to remove me from it yet. Who knows... maybe she'll have a change of heart this time 'round. :wink: )



G.D.


----------



## The Green Shield

Went to vote.


----------



## Goldwriter

Terrible. Downloaded an app for OCD. Got about a third of the way through it, after paying, and realised it hadn't recorded things properly, was really buggy, and ultimately the only solution the unlocked content was offering was to go through your anxiety anyway. Cheers Einstein. I am glad I wasted time and money convinced by your aesthetics only to reveal literally nothing. Mental health services may as well just say, yeah, life is sh!t, can't help you. At least then I'd not be a victim for negligence


----------



## Guard Dog

The Green Shield said:


> Went to vote.



Y'all need to invest in some indoor votin' facilities...


By the way, I survived the storms. Looks like I'll be on this hill a while longer.



G.D.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Couldn't find where to post this, but I made it to the 3rd round of a magazine only to not be picked. I am glad they notified me of that so I am resubmitting that story I wrote to a different magazine. Using the same version they liked, I did a few edits and resubmitted, and overall the day was been positive. I hope the next magazine likes it just as much since it was not a form rejection.


----------



## The Green Shield

Guard Dog said:


> Y'all need to invest in some indoor votin' facilities...
> 
> 
> By the way, I survived the storms. Looks like I'll be on this hill a while longer.
> 
> 
> 
> G.D.


We're Americans. We like to do things the hard way.


----------



## Guard Dog

The Green Shield said:


> We're Americans. We like to do things the hard way.



So that's what's wrong with me... 8-[





G.D.


----------



## escorial

Just watched the press conference by Trump...the professional an political elite dislike him yet that average yank seems to like him...the guy is amazing


----------



## Kevin

We like our liars to be straight talkers. And he's got nicer legs than Slick Willy did. Slick Willy had the fattest, ugliest legs and yet all the lilly-lib ladies went juicy over him. Dont get me wrong: I love lilly-lib ladies, but sometimes their choice in men is downright baffling. Take our new governor...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Theglasshouse said:


> Couldn't find where to post this, but I made it to the 3rd round of a magazine only to not be picked. I am glad they notified me of that so I am resubmitting that story I wrote to a different magazine. Using the same version they liked, I did a few edits and resubmitted, and overall the day was been positive. I hope the next magazine likes it just as much since it was not a form rejection.


A bit of personal response makes all the difference, encouraging, good luck.


----------



## Darkkin

One of our holiday hires was put on probation for theft...Not of cash or books, but of personal property.  One of my poetry notebooks went missing from my backpack just after my first break this morning.  Handwritten rough drafts of pieces I hadn't gotten entered into my files yet, so needless to say, I was beyond upset. 

 Our manager did something they have rarely had to do before, they instigated a search of all employee bags and purses.  My journal was found, but I was flabbergasted.  Why would anyone take such a thing?  A battered old notebook filled with bad rough drafts of nonsensical poems.  Something that is worthless, except to its owner.  Without the rest of the body of work, the pieces are little more than gibberish, but still someone took it.  I don't understand it.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Darkkin said:


> One of our holiday hires was put on probation for theft...Not of cash or books, but of personal property.  One of my poetry notebooks went missing from my backpack just after my first break this morning.  Handwritten rough drafts of pieces I hadn't gotten entered into my files yet, so needless to say, I was beyond upset.
> 
> Our manager did something they have rarely had to do before, they instigated a search of all employee bags and purses.  My journal was found, but I was flabbergasted.  Why would anyone take such a thing?  A battered old notebook filled with bad rough drafts of nonsensical poems.  Something that is worthless, except to its owner.  Without the rest of the body of work, the pieces are little more than gibberish, but still someone took it.  I don't understand it.



Well, maybe it had empty pages that thought they might use, maybe it was the simple thrill of stealing, or maybe the thrill of reading something personal to someone else. I feel kind of sorry for people like that, but they do provide material to write about. Glad you got it back.


> I hope the next magazine likes it just as much


Meant to say, hope they like it better


----------



## The Green Shield

I just realized something...


In ‘Harry Potter’, Harry grows up and has a difficult time with his son.


In ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’, Aang grows up and winds up neglecting two of his three children because those two weren’t Airbenders like he was.


In ‘Star Wars’, Han and Leia have a son and, well, we know how that turned out.


If, decades down the road, assuming I ever publish ‘The Alkorian Legends’, I write a story about a much older Mishu, I promise I won’t make her a bad mother who either neglects her kids or ends up with one that becomes crazy-evil. Seriously, what’s with that trend of heroes growing up to be either bad parents or having bad kids?


What’s next? The next ‘Legend of Zelda’ game being a sequel to ‘Breath of the Wild’ about an adult Link who neglected a child who then became evil and wants to kill him?


----------



## TuesdayEve

E...it’s a very very small group of yanks.
But certain press corps who like or are loyal,
back him and boost him, as he boosts himself.
Yeah, he’s amazing.

My day so far has been mellow with purpose.
Just saw several mini flocks of Sandhill Cranes
flying south together and calling from waayy up 
there with their unique sound. So cool.

Now heading north to spend the afternoon with
Aunty Glore. The old girl loves a good Italian Beef
sandwich, that’s lunch.


----------



## Guard Dog

TuesdayEve said:


> Just saw several mini flocks of Sandhill Cranes
> flying south together and calling from waayy up
> there with their unique sound. So cool.



Well if they're lookin' for a warm spot they don't need to stop here... The low was 27 or so last night, with a high of only 40 or so today, then back into the freezer tonight at an expected 22. So it seems winter is putting in an early appearance.

Ah well, so much for "global warming", I guess.

Oh, and speaking of Trump and politicians, about the only thing good I can say about him is that he isn't shy about speaking his mind. You don't have to wonder about what he might be thinking.

Also, I should add that even after living through every president since Kennedy, I can't say I've ever noticed much difference in any of 'em, when it comes right down to it.

But then I'm also of the school of thought that if you wanna know if a politician is lying, just watch for his/her lips to move.

...which makes me worry that one'a these days, we'll end up with Jeff Dunham as president and thing'll really go sideways... :roll:




G.D.


----------



## escorial

T.E...People over here like to think politicians are all honorable people who nearly all our ex lawyers who suddenly want to contribute to society and are not on the make..in reality people know they are just like themselves and will do what they have to to get on...the working class here are sheep and it's only when the upperclasss need them that they give them summit...now the war generation is dead it's back to screw them...I look at USA an realize were following your political system and basically were just 30 years behind yous in everything.


----------



## Hill.T.Manner

I gotta say my day, went well. I've been active duty USAF for 15 years and was told yesterday I'm being recommended to the wing command chief for a position outside my regular job duties starting in Mar of next year. Really hoping it all pans out but it gives me something else to look forward to as this year winds down to a close and the new one begins.


----------



## Darkkin

Took a leap of faith and wrote my first rondeau.  Lovely form I had not tried before.  Something I will definitely have to work with more in the future.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Dear Darkkin, 
Sometimes I feel like I’m following you.
I’m giving rondeau a try too.


----------



## Winston

My nephew and his fiancée just lost everything in Paradise, CA.  Her mother lost her home too.  They had a couple cats and a rabbit.  Don't think the critters made it.
Housing will be tight with the remaining available homes and apartments.  They're all moving in together, with her brother and girlfriend.  
My nephew was right back to work at Target.  He'll start his shift at the mental health crisis center tonight.  His fiancée works at the local hospital, and they could not let her leave to go home and save anything.  
I'm glad none of them were injured.  Still, I feel sad and helpless.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Losing all their stuff is tough, but they didn't lose each other, that has to be a big win. Trouble can bond people real tight sometimes.


----------



## midnightpoet

Sunday night slipped in the bedroom and crashed into a bed rail.  Bleeding ,nauseous, Vickie called the ambulance.  They took stiches in my lip and lower jaw.  Did MRI, no further damage.  Second time this year I've fell.  Since Vickie can't drive anymore, had to take a cab home.  I look like I've been in a bar fight, and dang I'm feeling old.


----------



## Kevin

Ciudado, Mano. Con cuidado...


----------



## ChloeRose

My boyfriend's father passed away last week so I wrote a letter saying how much I cared for and admired him. My boyfriend has the same name as his Dad did. Once I accidentally sent a love letter to his Dad instead of to him....so embarrassing. But, his Dad handled it with such care, sensitivity and humor. He mentioned it to no one either, but I did. From then on his Dad was my 'sweetheart' and he'll be sorely missed. Losing someone is as difficult as any experience in life...this I know for certain.


----------



## Winston

Make sure to bring your turkey up to room temperature before baking (or in our case frying).  Defrosting is not enough.
I lowered our turkey into the hot oil, and noticed the oil stopped boiling for a few minutes.  Then it started back up.  Our turkey was so cold it lowered the temp of the oil. Probably added about 10-15 to our frying time.


----------



## Guard Dog

Spent the last week doing more writing that editing for a change.

I'm now 2/3 of the way through Chapter 27, and the word count stands at 161,001 words.

Don't ask where I am in the story. You really don't wanna know. ( Just now getting around to finding the Elves... Still haven't gotten the crew off-planet. That means a long way to go. )

It's one helluva ride. And gonna take some creative editing to break it all up into separate books/volumes.

...and editing is pretty much a near-constant job. I've been through the whole thing 2 or 3 times now already, and know I'll never be completely happy with things. So... Back and forth I go.



G.D.


----------



## Winston

Spent yesterday watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in Seattle.  Our boy was marching with his Baritone horn.
Got some piroshkies afterward from Pike's market.  Swung by Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and picked up some chachkies, including Mexican jumping beans and a Bob Ross lunchbox.
We didn't buy a new TV or anything like that.  It was Black Friday.  Did I miss out on the conspicuous consumption?

Oh well, there's always Cyber Monday.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> Got some piroshkies afterward from Pike's market. Swung by Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and picked up some chachkies, including Mexican jumping beans and a Bob Ross lunchbox.




Who says that American English is not a different language? 'Mexican jumping beans' I understand; I think.


----------



## Winston

Olly Buckle said:


> Who says that American English is not a different language? 'Mexican jumping beans' I understand; I think.



Just another day in our unique 'Murica culture.  Piroshkies are Russian, chachkies are Yiddish, and Bob Ross is just flippin' awesome.


----------



## Guard Dog

Let's see... How'd my day go? Hmm...

Well, the high for today was about 38f or so. That being the case, I spent most of the day fighting nerve pain.

That involved drinking coffee and a pint of whiskey, and taking a couple'a ibuprofen.

I also didn't write anything, as of yet. ( That could change in a while. Dunno yet. )

I did respond to a few posts, and considered starting another thread or two.  Gave up on that idea due to my current condition though, and the knowledge that, as the saying goes, "that way madness lies".

( It's best not to start any new threads when you're in a rather combative mood, but still don't wanna start any fights. )

So, that's me today. How 'bout you?



G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

A cold, not an awful cold, but a dull headache, sneezing every so often, and occasionally a deep cough, plus it was a busy sort of day, now very tired.


----------



## SueC

My day - almost finished a sweater for a friend I started eight months ago, so it might be done by Christmas. It seems I either spend all of my time knitting/crocheting or writing as I can't do both at the same time. I watched the "White Princess" and the "White Queen" on STARZ, over the snowy, cold weekend, when I should have been writing, but I was completely submersed in times gone by, wishing we all wore long dresses still (well, the women anyway) and had our hair braided and curled and worn long down our back. What a stressful life kings and queens led back in the day. I did go outside for a brief spell; got the car cleaned off of ice and snow and went on icy roads to the store for kitty food. We were down to the last kernel and nothing else would do. Got there and back safely, but I stayed cold for a long time after. Schools were closed today and I remembered with fondness my own kid's snow days - building forts in the living room, eating tomato soup and grilled cheese, bundling them up to play in the snow. Gallons of hot chocolate. Miss those days.

Thanks for reading. How was your day?


----------



## Dluuni

My desktop is out of commission. The USB ports stopped working, it looks like. I have to test more to make sure, but I can't really do it at 7 am while my husband is asleep. All my material is in the cloud, but I'm stuck with Google keyboard to write.
Ugh.


----------



## Guard Dog

Dluuni, did you have a windows update recently?

I had basically the same thing happen to my laptop a while back... The usb ports got weird after an update, then another update came along, the computer did it's usual reboot after that, and never came out of the usual black screen to the desktop.

And nothing I tried would convince it to do anything different.

So I said screw it, and bought a new one the next day.



G.D.


----------



## Dluuni

Yes. And today, I booted it up, it did various spinny updatey things, and worked fine.


----------



## Guard Dog

Dluuni said:


> Yes. And today, I booted it up, it did various spinny updatey things, and worked fine.



You lucked out!  

I think Microsoft got a bad update in there, and it was just more than my poor ol' machine could take.

This new one has had a few its self now, but so far - _knocks on wood, crosses finger, legs and anything that'll cross_ - all's well.




G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Went down to Hastings, walked round a corner onto the sea front, met the wind head on, stopped. Thought about film I had seen of people being blown over, I wasn't, quite.


----------



## Guard Dog

Sitting here listening to Shinedown play 'Sittin' on the dock of the bay' and waiting for the temp to climb its miserable ass up high enough that _my_ ass won't be miserable and can actually focus on writing again.

...and it'll also be nice to not be such a pain-induced irritable bastard again.



G.D.


----------



## JustRob

I received an email from an admirer, someone who had read about my vintage computer reconstruction project elsewhere. In response I took a look at his own website and discovered that he had an interest in linguistics in the context of computers understanding human language. I suggested that he take a look at WF to see just how difficult even humans can apparently find the task of using language to convey precise information. Who is this bloke Chomsky that he was going on about on his website anyway? It's all way over my head.


----------



## Guard Dog

Y'know, it's tough to write when it sounds like ya have a Naval Battle goin' on outside  your door...

We're having thunderstorms here today, and they're some noisy bastards.

*sigh* Ah well... At least it won't matter if the power goes out. Not as long as the laptop's batteries hold out, anyway.
( I can also get internet access from/through my phone and tablet, so that's not even a problem. )



G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> *sigh* Ah well... At least it won't matter if the power goes out. Not as long as the laptop's batteries hold out, anyway.
> ( I can also get internet access from/through my phone and tablet, so that's not even a problem. )


Depends what you see as a problem, sometimes the absence of internet is conducive to writing, no prob.

There is a small childish streak; as I open this thread with your name on it, I wonder 'Will he have said "Pretty average, guarding …" ?'


----------



## Guard Dog

In my case, the internet is a necessity to writing, since I spend a large amount of time researching things, and refer back frequently to various bookmarks.

As for guarding... about the only thing I keep watch over anymore is my own sanity. 

...and there's really not enough of that left to worry about. :-|




G.D.

P.S.  I'm currently at a little over 182,000 words on the WIP, so I don't think having internet access is slowin' me up much.
..._editing_ all of that is another matter.


----------



## Dluuni

The earthquake threw off a lot of routines, this weekend. I spent a few hours making sure everyone else was okay out of my house and trying to piece together Rashomon-esque reports of road conditions, then hung out at home alternately fighting with an outline and putzing on a MUSH.


----------



## ChloeRose

Trusting in my lover 
My child now pulls away
Eye half closed and covered
My heart wills him to stay


----------



## Guard Dog

Another chapter done, one more footprint behind me, and another foot in front of me.

I'll find the end of this thing yet.




G.D.


----------



## The Green Shield

Don't worry, I'm still alive. Just super busy at job lately.


----------



## Guard Dog

Well folk, it's official. I just crossed the 200K words mark on this story.

And it's only been since August that I put the first word down.

Kind'a worries me what I'll likely be sittin' here editing, this time next year.

...and the next. And the one after that. And... ah hell, you get the idea. Somewhere in here I'm gonna go from a writer to a full-time editor.




G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Part of the reason I have a read through and edit of the last bit before I start writing again, I don't think it is any quicker, but there is some variety


----------



## Guard Dog

Olly Buckle said:


> Part of the reason I have a read through and edit of the last bit before I start writing again, I don't think it is any quicker, but there is some variety



Oh, I always read through the last chapter, and I go back up and read the first one again,( progressing downward ) and bounce back and forth through the whole thing.

I've even taken a couple of times where I read through everything done to that point and worked on that before continuing.

But I still know that no matter how many 'spot edits' I do, there's gonna be a number of 'full-body' edits that have to  be done eventually. And the more I write, the bigger that chore becomes.

Edit: Spent most of today so far - 12/5/18 - doing edits and some minor re-writes, so as to try and keep some minor control over this beast.



G.D.


----------



## Dluuni

As of New Years, I no longer have a day job. My exit interview is January 2.
:cower:


----------



## Olly Buckle

Dluuni said:


> As of New Years, I no longer have a day job. My exit interview is January 2.
> :cower:


That does not sound great. Hope you find something, or start selling your writing.

I had an eye clinic on Monday, left me with a sinus on Tuesday, all those eye drops and bright lights, and I have to attend Wegener's clinic on Friday, so I am trying to pack a weeks worth into wed-thurs, bit busy.


----------



## JustRob

My day won't go anywhere if I don't stop posting and get out of bed.


----------



## Dluuni

Went down to my local independent bookstore to network.
Apparently, they can only think of one main reason they would want to let me know when the writing group that meets there infrequently and unpredictably is there: If I show them my fiction, it would likely end in the police being called, and thereby give them an excuse to ban them. 
"We know them because of all the Confederate flags and MAGA hats. We try to stay out of their way. You said you wrote romance with transgender protagonists? Yyy-eah. We'll let you know if they show up again and start annoying us. It would be interesting to watch. Let me know when you get something listed, I want to read it."
 :rofl:


----------



## Guard Dog

Dluuni, are you sure antagonizing a group of homophobic rednecks with the intention of stirring up trouble is a wise thing to be doing?

I mean, you already know they don't have good sense, so why poke the bear?

...just sayin'



G.D.


----------



## Dluuni

Tsh. I have had to get in shouting matches with redneck doctors, walk into schools for temp work looking like an "It's Pat!" character, walk into churches for unrelated reasons looking like said "It's Pat!" character with lipstick on, make a surprise trip to a grocery store at rush hour on Christmas Eve in a skirt *before* I passed, and publicly out myself as part of fighting a bathroom bill in my area... at this point, my risk tolerance for things like that is pretty jaded. 

Anyways, all I would do would be to hand them a manuscript to look over. They can offend themselves just fine.

Anyways, new day. I spent an hour staring at a short piece I am jumping the queue with trying to plan out an erotic scene and figure out how it bridged to a denouement, and for that matter what I NEED for a denouement. Ugh. The main character arc more or less resolves before it, or at least the main pieces are there, but I don't know that I have really shown that it is resolved.


----------



## Guard Dog

Sounds like you have it under control then... Not knowing the exact situation there, and having had to deal with those sort of folks back when I wore a badge, I'd wondered if attracting their attention wouldn't lead to less-than-desirable situations 'after the fact'.

If that ship's already sailed, then there's nothing left to do but keep paddlin'.



G.D.


----------



## TuesdayEve

Sunday Morning laying low, no hurry, no worry, 
nowhere to go. Enjoying the mellowness.
A story featured on a news show this am about two
photo journalist who lost their lives covering stories
abroad has changed my mood. A compelling story 
of their dedication to the truth of their photos was 
emotional for me. This is one of their photos.
The contradiction of this image as art touches me 
deeply. The subject matter is disturbing, violent and 
destructive with devestating effects yet the lines and 
sematry of the art are appealing to the eye as is the 
simultaneous fire from the gun and rocket, a moment 
visually captured forever. 
Life is art.


----------



## dither

Eve,
I loved the first two lines of that post.
Poetry .

So sad the rest.
Life is [indeed] art.


----------



## Winston

Wife is sick again.  She gets migraines, and the doctors can't find the cause ("stress" they say).  They've given her some dissolving tabs that just make her throw-up. Or, I should say, vomit worse, as the headaches already induce vomiting.  But hey, they gave her anti-nausea meds too, which don't really work.
Y'all remember that Michael Douglas movie from the early '90s, "Falling Down"?  I ain't to that point... yet.  But I am pretty pissed.  Our medical system keeps getting worse and worse.


----------



## Guard Dog

Winston said:


> Wife is sick again.  She gets migraines, and the doctors can't find the cause ("stress" they say).  They've given her some dissolving tabs that just make her throw-up. Or, I should say, vomit worse, as the headaches already induce vomiting.  But hey, they gave her anti-nausea meds too, which don't really work.
> Y'all remember that Michael Douglas movie from the early '90s, "Falling Down"?  I ain't to that point... yet.  But I am pretty pissed.  Our medical system keeps getting worse and worse.



Winston, I spent almost 2 years as a member of my doctor's 'Pill of the Month' club, trying to get rid of migraines. 

Ended up with 'Idiopathic Peripheral Neuropathy' for my trouble. ( That's doctor-speak for "Us idiots don't know what causes it" )

Nothing helped, and most only made things worse.

My solution to the the migraines - what did work for me - probably won't work for your wife... Because what worked for me was to go on the warpath with all the folks who had been giving me grief, and let them know that, due to me having nothing to lose, their continued survival greatly depended on them getting the hell off my back, or avoiding me all together.

I hope your wife finds a solution, but I have to say, from personal experience, I doubt it'll come from any doctor.

By the way, I found out well after the fact that some of the meds my doctor was giving me was known to cause Neuropathy. So all he was doing, if he'd succeeded, was trading one problem for another for me.
( Neurontin is the primary culprit there. )



G.D.


----------



## dither

When the migraines hit here my wife spends days at a time in bed in a dark room. There are certain foods that she mustn't eat and that seems to help but it's no cure.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Just once I had a migraine, when I had spent nearly all day on the bottom of a swimming pool teaching different groups of people the basics of handling diving equipment, I went through about four tanks of air on the trot, retrospectively, stupid. It does mean though that I have the deepest sympathy for regular sufferers, however the fact that doctors do not have a cure does not make them stupid or charlatans, only ignorant as yet, and I bet there is more than one group investigating reasons and looking for cures. Before about 1970 people who had the immune system condition I do had a life expectancy of two to three months from diagnosis, I was diagnosed about fifteen years ago, some things are possible now, some are still under investigation, in my case it was the development of new drugs to stop the rejection of transplanted tissue, they also stop the rejection of my own tissue that my immune system will do by itself. That highlights a real problem, drugs are developed by drug companies who want to make money, so they aim for things that will get used by many over a long period, there are thousands of transplant patients who will take drugs for life, drugs for people like me with a condition that only occurs occasionally and kills quickly are not worth developing, I am lucky, I catch the spin off. Same goes for things you only take once, or for a short period, and they cure you. Very desirable if you are ill, but no money in them. There is a really good case for the nationalisation of drug research and development, imagine if the NHS had their own drugs and stopped buying from the big drug companies at inflated prices, bet there's some hard lobbying to stop that, probably dirtier than the cigarette companies.

Don't blame the doctors G D, they really do do what they can and get better all the time. the thing they do do though is pretend infallibility, because they know the value of placebo. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, I don't think it wise myself, the confidence lost probably outweighs the cures effected and confidence gained, people are always willing to listen to a bad story, and the guy who is still ill is reminded to tell his story.


----------



## Guard Dog

Olly, when a doctor sends you to a specialist that he says is "the guy" and knows more about the particular problem than he does... then proceeds to argue with 'the guy' when he gets the reports back that refute his own diagnosis... the fucker is stupid.

That's just one of several such incidents I've been through with the "medical Industry", and the reason I only go see 'em now to get stitched up or something of the like.

If other people's experience is different, great. 

But mine has been... less than acceptable.



G.D.

P.S. If you have any problem other than a neurologically-based one, a doctor - most any doctor - can probably help to some degree. But when it comes to your brain and nervous system, you wouldn't be much worse off with a 10th century leech, given the current state of medicine in that area.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Argue or discuss? 'Argue' and I would tend to agree with you, though I might not use the language. If he presents the reasons for his diagnosis so that he can learn why the other guy refutes them that is fair enough, if it is a simple rejection, yeah, he was stupid sending you to someone else when he 'knows' what the matter is.


It is the more recent fields that are least understood, I reckon immune could be added to neuro. Sure their treatment works for me, but I think it is more pragmatic than theory based. Things that can be seen as mechanical systems they are not bad at, so gynaecology is usually fairly efficient, until they encounter things like repeated stillbirths that are not explained mechanically. 

I recently read a book called 'This is going to hurt' about being a junior doctor, it is based in the NHS, but I reckon you would enjoy it, the author went most of the way through the system up to consultant before deciding it was not for him, and pretty much tells it how it is. I particularly liked the bit about being told off by a politically correct midwife for having a discussion about 'patients' with a colleague; 'We call them clients'. 'Oh, like prostitutes?' replied the colleague.    Love it when people talking rubbish get stopped dead.


----------



## Guard Dog

Olly Buckle said:


> Argue or discuss? 'Argue' and I would tend to agree with you, though I might not use the language.



Argue.  As in he claimed I had a pinched nerve in my spine, when all x-rays, MRI's, and nerve conduction studies he wanted done very clearly showed otherwise.

In fact, 'the guy' ( Dr. Franklin Holmes, a specialist in not only neurology, but sports medicine as well, at Vanderbilt university. ) said my spine was in better shape than a man my age had a right to expect.

And the General Practitioner that I was seeing had been seeing me for 20 years at that time, and knew my full history. ( No back injuries or problems, ever. )

He ( the GP ) got irritated when I wouldn't go to the back specialist he wanted to send me to next, after Dr. Holmes' exams and reports, and I told him to go do some things that are probably anatomically impossible, and haven't been back since.

And believe me, Olly... if you'd been put through wringer and run-around I'd already been, you'd use the language too. I'd be willing to bet even a nun would.



G.D.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Finally talked to a doctor who has a son who has dyslexia, dysgraphia, and attention deficit disorder. She is my doctor who will evaluate me for dyslexia next week. 

My computer cord stopped working so I have been visiting much less. My computer doesnt charge.

Bought myself a kindle fire for reading my science fiction classics and fantasy. 

I hope to repair my ipad. I might use it more often to write documents. Depending on what the doctor says. I need to update the computer. But the eletrical cord needs to be fixed. I am currently using my dad's ipad.

I am reading Maren elwood's book supposedly studied by ray bradbury ( Characters make your story I believe it is titled). I need my computer to be fixed. One note is the program that I am using to study it. 

I have a couple of ideas I have thought off. I want to rewrite a story I wrote.

I hope to share my findings or notes on maren elwood notes I took with the forum.

I have a huge family and must go to church since a cousin of my mother died.

So many things I want to do such as study, but I learn best by notetaking. Maybe I will put my contact information for people as a tutor. But first I need to solve my problems. I need to first do all the above.

I suspect I will find out how I learn best when I go see the specialist for dyslexia.


----------



## JustRob

As an aspiring indulger in anachronisms I today spotted one on BBC TV in a piece on their own history, no less. During the potted history they showed an old clip with the seasonal words "Christmas on BBC1" in both the caption and sound track in a segment about the 1950s, but in that decade the channel name BBC1 just didn't exist. It was introduced when their second channel BBC2 was opened in the 1960s. During the 1950s their solitary TV channel was simply called the "BBC Television Service". Of course in true English style as a mandatory licence fee payer I wrote to them today to point out their error or deception. 

The amusing part is that it occurred in a programme predominantly about buying and selling antiques, so they were apparently attempting to sell us one of their own as something older than it really was, which was hardly setting a good example. Also, in a coincidence of the sort that I find to be far too common in my life, I wasn't even watching the programme but just walked into the room at the very moment that the offending clip was shown, especially to rile me apparently.

Very few recordings of any BBC TV programmes from the 1950s exist as they didn't get their first video tape recording system VERA (Video Electronic Recording Apparatus) working reliably until 1958 and then quickly scrapped it anyway. In the 1950s BBC TV programmes had to be filmed to be recorded at all. Even when they did eventually get video tape recording equipment they had a policy of reusing the tapes, so many programmes that had been recorded were erased and lost, something that they now regret. 

Just today there was mention in the news of some more recordings of lost BBC TV programmes from the 1960s made by outsiders from transmissions being found in archives abroad. Well, there's another coincidence then.


----------



## Guard Dog

Dammit!

My good amp and speakers croaked... :hororr:

Now I gotta go get new ones. 

Ah well. I guess more than 10 years of near-constant use is pretty good service out of modern electronics.




G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Well, I have been Father Christmas at the local playgroup on Friday, so today I cut the beard I have been growing for months right back to designer stubble, it was getting a bit much, soon it would have been hard to eat


----------



## midnightpoet

Finally got a nice day (for Texas) high if 57f and cleaned out and organized my tool shed.  The cool weather energized me, as I had been pretty tired working inside doing my usual domestic duties.  My wife , who has been recovering from a stroke and ibs/diarrhea actually got out of bed and worked on supper.  This is a good sign and hopefully she is on the mend.  Meanwhile my yardman cleaned up some high weeds, trash and limbs from the back yard.  A busy day all around.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> cleaned up some high weeds, trash and limbs from the back yard.


 You had cannabis, people living in trailers and discarded body parts in the back yard ? Sorry, just been posting on my 'Things are a bit sticky' thread in writing discussion


----------



## Guard Dog

Olly Buckle said:


> You had cannabis, people living in trailers and discarded body parts in the back yard ? Sorry, just been posting on my 'Things are a bit sticky' thread in writing discussion



Weeds in the backyard four feet tall... :devilish:


G.D.


----------



## JustRob

I've recently clocked up a few more LOLs in my effort to reach a thousand by the end of the year, but I'm still not sure that I'm going to make it. Please give generously as otherwise I may get desperate and lower the standard of my humour and you _really_ don't deserve that. I've reached the final countdown now with just ten to go ...

So, an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walked into a Welsh pub and ... Oh no, I can't tell that one because I don't know Welsh, but then neither did they, so didn't know that the barman had just told them that the drinks were on the house and they left because it was evidently a Welsh-speaking pub, which was the whole point of the joke. That's just typical of me though, creating a joke that I can't tell properly. Does anyone happen to know the Welsh for "Welcome boys. The drinks are on the house," or wouldn't a Welsh barman ever say that?

Try again. While trailing behind my angel in the lingerie department of a store today I saw an item of feminine apparel labelled "Lounge Bra" and hanging directly below it something similar labelled "Balcony". So, one breast says to the other one "Shall we meet up later in the lounge bra or on the balcony?" Good enough?

My angel shuddered when, still in the lingerie department today, I mentioned that the film _Mary Poppins Returns_ is on release and therefore launched into my refrain "Super colour stretch elastic, sexy and precocious," but that's an old joke of mine back on release to her dismay.


----------



## Guard Dog

Ya only need 9 now, ya unfunny limey... :icon_cheesygrin:

Just teasing. Ya didn't really expect to get 'em for free, did ya? :lol:



G.D.


----------



## JustRob

Guard Dog said:


> Ya only need 9 now, ya unfunny limey... :icon_cheesygrin:
> 
> Just teasing. Ya didn't really expect to get 'em for free, did ya? :lol: G.D.



Of course not, but I didn't believe that Americans even had a sense of humour until you people elected your latest president. We tried to match up to you by making Boris Johnson our foreign secretary, but it didn't last. So, respect.


----------



## Guard Dog

JustRob said:


> Of course not, but I didn't believe that Americans even had a sense of humour until you people elected your latest president. We tried to match up to you by making Boris Johnson our foreign secretary, but it didn't last. So, respect.



Alright now... Don't go blamin' him on me, or I'll take that "lol" back.

Thought to be honest, I think most people here just panicked at the thoughts of what Hillery as president would mean, and poked any button other than that one. :|

But seriously... how could you think we have no sense of humor when half our population is comprised of mindless clowns, and our entire governing body is one big joke?
( And a bad one at that. )

I really did think you were smarter than that... :disappointment:


G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

It took me about ten years to reach a thousand loll's.


----------



## Guard Dog

Olly Buckle said:


> It took me about ten years to reach a thousand loll's.



Only took me one wife and about a month...:confusion:



G.D.


----------



## JustRob

Today I received an award ... from the RSPB Community website for some photos that I posted there over six years ago. Apparently they have been downloaded _more than fifty times_! In fact I checked and they have been downloaded over a hundred times. This "Popular File" award must be a new thing there as those downloads all probably occurred years ago. Evidently some people are much easier to impress than others...

or they are more desperate.



Guard Dog said:


> Only took me one wife and about a month...



I got a lot of laughs from my angel even before she became a member of WF. I gave her a sex scene that I wrote to go in my novel to read. Okay, but it was _meant_ to be fiction!


----------



## Winston

Well, my latest batch of mead is just starting fermentation.  Used wine yeast instead of champagne yeast this time.  
At least the cats aren't freaked-out by the bubbles any more.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Happy Christmas everyone !


Had a nasty thirty six hours up to last night in bed wit a horrid headache, began to feel reasonable last night and woke this morning feeling fine, ready for Christmas.

Opened presents and off to our daughter's in a bit so won't see you 'til late, have a lovely day

PS Two books in the presents, 'Viriconium' by M. John Harrison, and  'Good Omens' by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, anyone else get any books?

PPS Also got an Oxfam 'Education for girls.' . One of my favourites, both our girls got a decent education and it always makes me a bit emotional to feel we are spreading that about a bit


----------



## dither

Home alone here, the best fogie Christmas day ever. What's to be good or bad about it? Okay, it's the 25th, I get that. But I work hard and am glad of the rest. It IS funny though how I get to thinking about stuff that I've putting off at this time of year, Like a new front door, LIKE new taps for the hand-basin, LIKE planning for a replacement boiler, but all of these things involve people. Vultures and Hyenas all of them but I  really must bite the bullet this year. We shall see.

Anyway,
back to my perfect Christmas day:


I don't have any family to speak of says he who has four siblings and a mother still living. But no seriously, we all have our own lives. Although we're not a million miles apart and nobody wishes any other harm [at least I think not] we're all just getting on with our own shit, as my kid brother quaintly puts it.

So anyway, "how'd your, or rather my day, go?

Our larder isn't big but at this time of year I'm rooting through tinned foods, bought through out the year and never eaten, I hate throwing food away, to be got out and cooked/re-heated and consumed with oven chips from the freezer. Today, I am eating meatballs. They're crap to be honest but with a few chips I shall put them away. I have a book at hand, a stash of cheap Cider, lemonade, and a week to kill. Sounds good to me.

Have a good one y'all,

dither...


----------



## Winston

My daughter's boyfriend was up past midnight installing a stereo in her car. He didn't secure one of the wires in the door properly, and the window knocked it loose.  He's back out today, fixing it.
Show me a tenacious man that is slow to anger.  There's my Christmas gift.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think I'll use what I can of tomorrow and hopefully sign on for a grammar checker again. That's my worst fear. The fact that I may write with mistakes. I never knew Language Tool existed, so going to give that a try. I am still rewriting a short story but using my intuition to brainstorm what happens in the story. That story then if written with correct English will resubmit. I am writing a new plot, even though I made it through the 3rd round to escape pod, but lost ultimately. I did well to buy fewer books on how to write, I think I have enough inspiration to rewrite and do a developmental edit of my own work. After all, I bought a kindle fire and some video games.

This is a European company. I never heard of them before until now. In case anyone needs an alternative to grammarly they have a monthly offer.

https://languagetool.org/#Price


----------



## Winston

When the tickets on your phone are worth way more than the phone:
http://www.regnodisney.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/the-lion-king-poster.jpg

It lived up to the hype.  It was a Christmas gift to my wife, so I splurged and got some good seats up front.
I wanted to take her to a nice restaurant afterward, but she wanted Ivar's Fish and Chips.  Quiet, romantic ride back on the ferry (with only 300 other folks).  
That's how we "roll".


----------



## Olly Buckle

Went for a walk around the RHS gardens at Wisley earlier this evening. they have them lit up, some of the big trees looked amazing with big spotlights under them, and there were lots of other lights as well, including in the greenhouses. Very beautiful.


----------



## JustRob

Earlier today I had to interrupt a post that I was writing, so I saved it as a draft. Now that I look at it again I have a problem. The drafts don't state what thread they are saved from and I have no idea what thread I was responding to at the time. It just proves that my posts seldom bear any relationship to the subject of a thread. Oh well, no doubt I'll find somewhere to post it eventually. Probably nobody will even notice.


----------



## Olly Buckle

JustRob said:


> The drafts don't state what thread they are saved from and I have no idea what thread I was responding to at the time. It just proves that my posts seldom bear any relationship to the subject of a thread.



Or possibly that the thread can wander far from the OP and you are responding to already wandering posts.


----------



## The Green Shield

Woo! Fantasy outline done! 2019 will be the year I start working on the first draft of ‘The Alkorian Legends: The Fallen God’.


----------



## Winston

Finally got our new laser all-in-one machine configured.  It turns out they come from the factory preset with security protocols, and it's up to the end-user to disable them. 
Yeah, it's large, but not as pricey as you think.  Gonna be a lot less per page, and no more dried-out ink tanks.  
And, the thermal paste for my son's new CPU came in.  Got to school da boi on how to upgrayedd.  Memory?  That was for chumps.  We rollin' hard now.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Winston said:


> Finally got our new laser all-in-one machine configured.  It turns out they come from the factory preset with security protocols, and it's up to the end-user to disable them.
> Yeah, it's large, but not as pricey as you think.  Gonna be a lot less per page, and no more dried-out ink tanks.
> And, the thermal paste for my son's new CPU came in.  Got to school da boi on how to upgrayedd.  Memory?  That was for chumps.  We rollin' hard now.



You know you are getting old when you have to Google half the terms in a post like this; mind, I was 14 when the first commercial copier hit the street, and forty before they had it doing colour. Still, having looked it up I am a bit older and wiser now


----------



## Winston

Olly Buckle said:


> ... I am a bit older and wiser now


The former is by default. The latter is by the grace of God.
Happy 2019.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Winston said:


> The former is by default. The latter is by the grace of God.
> Happy 2019.



No, the latter by the grace of Google  

Hope 2019 works out good for you too.


----------



## Darkkin

Got a new pair of glasses...Merry Christmas to me (for the next six years...;(  )  The world had been comfortably blurry now it is almost stimuli overload. (Major increase in my perscription strength.)


----------



## JustRob

A couple of days ago I noticed in our high street a shop that sells aids for the elderly and infirm with a Christmas window display showing Father Christmas on a mobility scooter. I felt that this image of Father Christmas as an incontinent old man on his last legs wasn't quite in keeping with the spirit of the season even if Christmas may not be all that it once was. No, we all know the man better as a fast-moving fly-by-night trader who is never around when you want to complain about his goods or exchange them. Today we went to a garden centre and saw that his grotto was still there and charging admission but he wasn't. Typical!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Driving into London up the A22 there is a mobility scooter trader who displays in the manner of a car forecourt. Up front, pride of place, is an all black and chrome number with separate mudguards, chrome spoke wheels, cow horn handlebars, multiple spot lights and a wrap round seat with a high, upholstered back.



> I felt that this image of Father Christmas as an incontinent old man on his last legs




This is more than a bit of a supposition, the only qualification really necessary for using a mobility scooter is lack of mobility, unless you are faking lack of mobility, that is a whole different kettle of fish, so, assassins and smugglers aside, I see no reason why one should not be continent, young, female, with a long life ahead of you, and still need a mobility scooter. Not that I am suggesting Father Christmas should be portrayed by a young woman, but after the build up and the sort of night he has on the 24th I can well imagine him exploring the toy fairs in those vast halls at Olympia, Birmingham and Manchester; or wherever; on a mobility scooter. Something comfortable, a high seat with a quilted lining, but you wouldn't want it to look like a sleigh, attract the wrong sort of attention, maybe black and chrome, you could let someone use it as a display once you got back home.


----------



## Winston

Made it out to the range for the first time in quite a while.  I thought I'd have the place to myself (Wednesday morning and all), but a bunch of others showed up.  After practicing with my "pocket pistol", I walked over to the rifle side.
Well, al the 100 yard slots were full.  I didn't bring my long-range rifle, but I figured God wanted me to push myself today.  I set-up on the 200 yard line.
I had just made a minor modification to my SKS rifle, and I wanted to make sure it was still accurate.  Well, the stubby, intermediate rounds (7.62x39) performed well.  A few adjustments to the windage (left to right), and I was able to shoot a respectably tight group. My other rifle I just brought along to test some custom loads (not my best rifle).  The 7.62x54 usually shoots flames out of the barrel, but one of my customs rounds barely glowed.  'Guess I can up the powder on that one.  
I know most of you don't get it.  I work on cars, I build computers and yes, I'm a "gun nut".  But really, all three are very similar.  I adjust a carburetor, over-clock a CPU or sight-in a new optic.  It's about performance, and pushing limits.  And, since that rifle didn't blow up in my face with the new ammo, it was a good day.


----------



## SueC

Today is a stinky day. I have left a year-long relationship and I'm feeling a bit low. It's almost 10 and I'm still in my pj's, anticipating a shower soon, if I can work up the energy. The guy filled up so many pages of my life, it's hard to imagine how to fill them now. By this time on any other day we had already texted each other, shared a couple of cups of coffee, along with what our plans were for the day. We ate dinner together every single night; I cooked. We said grace before meals; went to Mass on Sundays.

Shall I write more then?  To fill the time? I feel a sad story coming on ....


----------



## Winston

SueC said:


> Shall I write more then?  To fill the time? I feel a sad story coming on ....



I feel the urge to say something witty, or at least comforting.
Instead, I'll just encourage your impulse to write.  It doesn't "fix" anything, but it does make the hurt more bearable.


----------



## SueC

Felt like a hug. Thanks Winston.


----------



## Winston

After writing today, I fried up four pounds of bacon.
Why?
Because why cook only two days worth, when it's just as easy to fry up four days worth?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Winston said:


> After writing today, I fried up four pounds of bacon.
> Why?
> Because why cook only two days worth, when it's just as easy to fry up four days worth?



The missus is veggie, but when she was away I fancied a bit of bacon, didn't bother though because the supermarket only sold a pack of eight rashers and I wanted two for the week. Watch eating all that processed meat, tasty, but it is not good for you.


----------



## Plasticweld

An abnormally normal day.  I started out in the dark this morning, I had a full day of forwarding wood today



It was 16 degrees here this morning, after warming up the machine I headed into the woods, lights on ready to get some wood hauled.  I noticed the temp gauge climbing as I entered the woods. I climbed out to figure out what was going on, antifreeze was running out of the engine compartment.  I left it in the woods and head for the pickup to get tools.  No big deal just a loose hose clamp but I now had to run to town to get 6 gallons of antifreeze to put back in it.   I make multiple trips to get it all back there.  Problem solved I then put on the first load. I have about 15 loads to get out today, it will be late, but I should be able to do it.  On my way out I have to stratal the ruts from last weeks warm weather, they are just about 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep, you can almost swim in some spots or hold canoe races in the parallel ruts. The machine is struggling to make it, it does not make sense. I know I am heavy about 35,000 pounds counting logs and machine weight.  I get out to look, flat tire.  I unload the logs and drive the machine out, rolling the tire off the rim. I pick it up with the loader and put it on the bunk. I will have to take off the tire chains so they can remount the tire.  They just fixed this tire 3 days ago. $500 for the service call. I make the call to get them to come out, they don't have the right size tube in stock...it will be tomorrow.  I spend the rest of the day cutting trees and bunching them with the dozer. 

Just another normal day.  I sometimes wish my days were not so normal.


----------



## Kevin

Shot several zeiths today. It was raining so that was more than usual. One was coming through the window boards in the living room  so I whacked its fingers off with a cleaver. What a mess. Anyway, then I woke up and went to work. Nothing much happened there.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Sad weekend. Complicated life. Cat ill. Landlord...difficult. Work? In want of. Thesis? tabled 'till tomorrow. Stories? stalled. Zeiths? Dang. Need a cleaver.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Actually, I made a really awesome discovery. Sometime either on Friday or Saturday I received a product registration error message upon opening (my writing software--I have no idea if I can post what I use, so I won't). Woah! How did my product become unregistered! I searched everywhere, between the cushions on the couch, in the attic, under the cat. I sent off my email for help...and received back an out-of-office memo in reply. Yikes! Stop my quickly beating heart, I had a lot of content I had to figure out how to rescue. And then came this afternoon, whilst wasting away a spare hour organizing my ancient files, I accidentally ran into a file I had labeled by the manufacturer's name. How odd. I opened the dusty file...and there was my original sales receipt and registration! Talk about being on top of the world--my writing, saved! Yeah!


----------



## portaltotheunderworld

i had a really wonderful day 

i started working on a webcomic, got to cook dinner with my partner after they got home from work and i was able to sleep in this morning. i'm pretty happy


----------



## Olly Buckle

portaltotheunderworld said:


> i had a really wonderful day
> 
> i started working on a webcomic, got to cook dinner with my partner after they got home from work and i was able to sleep in this morning. i'm pretty happy



And, even better, made your first post on wf.    welcome to the forum, portaltotheunderworld, but you might just become 'portal' to save my typing finger, I only have one.


----------



## Winston

I was at the local convenience store, and a (apparently) mentally ill lady hit me up for some money for food.  I was wearing my motorcycle gear, so I was struggling to get into my pockets.
Before I could fish-out any change, the proprietor just gave her a couple of taquitos.  
"She's crazy," he said after the lady left. I think he's seen her around before.
You know what ain't crazy?  Hooking-up somebody who needed a hand.  It wasn't much, but he did something.  
Another small win.  When the time comes, just give out the taquitos.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Going to a wedding on the 12 this month, from the brother of the wife of my brother. (brother in law)

Tomorrow going to a museum.


----------



## Guard Dog

I just crossed the 300k mark on this thing I'm writing, so although the end isn't exactly near, it's a helluva lot closer when I started it, back at the end of August. ( I hope. )

I've also had a few individuals agree to look over large chunks of it, so hopefully I should have plenty of feedback when I finally reach the end, and have to start swingin' the 'Edit Hammer' in earnest.

...I think if I'd have had any idea it was gonna be this large, I might never have started writing it down.


G.D.


----------



## Winston

My son just got back from the store.  He parked his 50cc motorized bike next to some guy's Harley.  
The guy actually asked my son, "How fast does it go?".  
Obviously fast enough for both of them to get to the grocery store. Only my son did it for $20,000 less.


----------



## Olly Buckle

When I lived in London I rode mopeds. One of the first was a Solex, a two stroke engine on the front that lowered onto the front wheel to drive it by friction, then I had a PC 50 honda, orange with pedals. In town, in stop start traffic, it is not top speed that counts, but manoeuvrability and acceleration, a moped is short and you can turn the front wheel ninety degrees, and acceleration depends on power to weight ratio, not power per 

But I digress, a pleasant day doing various jobs in the garden and popping in and writing a bit up on a short story idea  every so often.


----------



## Guard Dog

Winston said:


> The guy actually asked my son, "How fast does it go?".



I'd probably have said something like "Fast enough ta get ya killed, and without goin' broke payin' for it or fixin' it first".

...but then I'm an ass, and one that doesn't care for Harleys, or the attitudes of many of their owners.
( A relative bought a new, full-dress one a few years ago, had nothing but trouble with it, then ended up spending many thousands rebuilding the engine when the whole top end locked up, before he even paid it off. )
( I've lost count of how many 'Rice Burners' I've rode for years without them ever needing anything but basic maintenance. )


G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

A friend had a Harley and started getting trouble with his hands, thought it was the cold and got heated grips and muffs, that only worked partially, then his girlfriend bought him some special 'Harley' gloves with gel in the palms to cut vibration, that worked to a degree, but he got cold hands because they insulated him from the grips as well as the vibration. I have ridden a Suzuki or Honda 650 for hours without vibration worries, and 600cc is plenty on our crowded little island. All image and little practicality is my assessment. Personally I think the Gold wing is a great image bike, and guess what? If you are of a mind to you can ride it like stink too, they don't look like it, and they are not often ridden like it, but they will really go round corners if you have a mind to.


----------



## Winston

Full-dress Hogs, Gold Wings, Victories etc... I call them Barcaloungers On Wheels.  Vibra-heated-surround-overengineered bloatware bikes.  Two wheeled car.  But that's my take.   
Work was rough.  I'm tired.  Good thing I didn't ride today, I'd probably have fallen over.  But, on one of those big bikes, the airbag would have saved me.


----------



## Megan Pearson

I had an amazing day!

First, had a real nice time with an old friend. Gave her a couple of pages from one of my stories to read and a copy of my submission to the WF's Jan LM contest. She was really excited about it!

Met my next "true love," who I'll call "Zazzy" for the WF. The big bloke stands 16.3 hands and acts like he thinks he's a small sports car! (Maybe I shoulda posted this on the drivers' thread? ;-) ) (~And for all you city folk, I'm talking about a horse!~)


There's, like, a bunch more really amazingly awesome things that happened today, too, but these two got top billing! Hope you all had an amazing day, too!


----------



## Guard Dog

Meg, 'Zazzy' doesn't have a horn in the middle of his forehead does he?

( You just described a 'character' in my WIP named 'Fireball', more or less, that does a pretty good impersonation of a dragster. )


G.D.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Guard Dog said:


> Meg, 'Zazzy' doesn't have a horn in the middle of his forehead does he?
> ( You just described a 'character' in my WIP named 'Fireball', more or less, that does a pretty good impersonation of a dragster. )
> G.D.



Hah! (LOL!) I'm telling you, we have some pretty freaky things in common! (For you, I'll stick a horn on him if I ever write Mr. Z into a story, but for now, sadly, no horn.)

Let's just say the word 'intimidating' did cross my mind briefly when I was standing there nearly on tiptoe with my hands on his nose and him looking down at me as if to say, "well, there's not much there to you kid, is there?" Trust me, one aged gelding with personality is not going to bluff me over!

Actually, comparing him to a dragster is not a bad analogy. I hear he likes to charge fences and come to a sudden stop just shy of touching them. But now he's got a new job, and mine is to add 'kid friendly' to his resume. (At least, until I find real work for pay, not fun & exercise.) I've trained horses to perform but this one's getting a new pair of brakes!


----------



## Guard Dog

Meg, at that size, they don't have'ta bluff and they know it. 8-[

Edit: A saddle with a seatbelt sounds like more of a necessity than anything else, since his brakes sound like they're just fine. Too good, maybe...


G.D.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Hehehe...I was thinking more like a helicopter! And yah, there is a lot of bluff to them. He just wants to know what the rules are and where he belongs in his new herd. I'm just going to help him sort this out a little. It's just, he has the mind of an Arabian in the body of Goliath! Egads! 

I appreciate the concern. It may help to know that I am _not_ riding monster horse! I hear he rides just fine. I just don't think he's been handled by a lot of people outside of the show ring. Once he unwinds in his new home, I think he'll have a nice retirement with my friend. It just takes patience and time, and before you know it, we'll have him retrained into a right-smart lesson horse. (I used to teach & ride dressage, which she's been doing professionally for around 30 years now? She is a genuine "horse whisperer," although she'd be too modest at being called that. So yes, it has become a backyard hobby for me, but one with schooling, practical experience, and a good deal of well-earned caution behind it.)

What an awesome day...to be asked to work my friends' horse!


----------



## Guard Dog

Meg... did you know I used to work with Tennessee Walking Horses?

The fellow that owned the farm I worked on when I was young decided somewhere in there that they were more profitable than cattle, and started boarding them at first, then decided to own a couple...

So yeah, I've spent time actually shovelin'... well, you know... someplace other than around here. :lol:




G.D.


----------



## Miss-Riah

My day was semi-productive but also stressful :-| I just wish I could find another job lol


----------



## Dluuni

Went to an appointment with my husband. Got basically locked outside for awhile, because there was a nasty cloud of perfume by the door on the inside, source unknown. I'm allergic. Eventually I ran through the office to the room the meeting was held.

Went to see the RBG movie. She's a total badass. The pacing was a bit odd here and there, but I suspect it is because pacing is hard to diagram when you're building off of a biography. I read an autobiography by someone I knew vaguely with a similar structure issue. There were some dropped promises. Still, very interesting and the only issue was with my husband being worried when something would make me want to throttle various characters. 

First, got asked a question on a thread, and the answer apparently made things go nuclear in ways I'm very used to. Did not actually get to see much of the hateful carnage that I presume happened, because I was watching the movie. Looking at the mod note is still a bit like horror flash fiction that I keep looking at for reasons unclear. Here lies a sealed evil in a can. An epic battle was fought here. 

Coming down with something sinus, bleah. I'm doped on cold medicine waiting for my nose to clear enough to sleep. 

Have an idea for a book to put on the queue, a science fiction romance. Took some notes to chew for later, when my WIP hits cool down. Having trouble with the WIP, because there's bit of an unresolvable character arc that I will have to patch, and I need a stronger centrifugal plot.


----------



## Guard Dog

Dluuni said:


> Looking at the mod note is still a bit like horror flash fiction that I keep looking at for reasons unclear. Here lies a sealed evil in a can. *An epic battle was fought here. *


Bolding mine.

'Fraid not.  The thread had simply gotten too far off-topic and was getting too personal.

So it was trimmed back so it wouldn't go completely off the rails and turn into a catastrophic failure.

...A wise decision, to be sure.

( I've seen far worse fights/arguments over old fencing manuals, '.45 vs. 9mm', stainless vs carbon steel, etc., btw. )



G.D.


----------



## Guard Dog

On a happier note, despite having to run around in the 'real world' today, when I got back to the forums I got one of the best compliments concerning my writing that I have so far, ever; someone I sent a major chunk of my WIP to is taking it with them as reading material on a trip, and said that they thought it was certainly publishable.

...I sat there quite a while with my mouth open and my brain locked up, looking at the screen in disbelief, before I could type a coherent reply.

Edit: That "today" should really be "yesterday". I was typin' in the wee hours, so for me, it was still Wednesday, even though it was actually after midnight.


G.D.


----------



## JustRob

I discovered this morning that the WF website doesn't work any more on either Internet Explorer or Firefox on my desktop computer, which is still running Windows Vista, so there will inevitably be many more remarks from me here in the future about the battery on my laptop running flat. 

When I get the time I may have to consider installing Linux on my desktop to fix that, but that machine has a lot of legacy software on it that it must continue to support. Just as well that I'm a computer techie. It might be easier to add yet another desktop machine to my growing collection. I only recently pensioned off a Windows 95 machine and still use the Windows ME one regularly. That one also has Windows 98 and Linux on it. Come to think of it I do have a small machine with Ubuntu Linux installed that could probably access WF, but I'll have to tie it into my keyboard/screen switching unit to use it alongside the Vista machine. Then there's that machine with Windows 2000 installed; that has some really useful software bundled in with the operating system that you don't get now.

Anyway I must now get back to building my replica 1960s mainframe computer. That's far more enjoyable than wrestling with Internet security risks in the twenty-first century.  Progress? At what price, I ask?

P.S.
Much of the essential documentation of my mainframe computer design is stored on my other laptop, which uses Windows XP ...


----------



## Guard Dog

JustRob said:


> Progress? At what price, I ask?



I dunno, Rob. Most days what's called 'progress' seems more like one step forward, two steps back.

...which I suppose actually is a kind of progress... in the wrong direction.



G.D.


----------



## Kevin

Day two of the frogs bein'out. See here, we ain't got a lot a frogs most of the year, cause it's so dry. 

My day, and three million others in the vicinity, are ( is?) gettin rained on. ( I'm going to say 'is' because 'day' is the subject- not the people, but the day they're having) .  

Teachers strike is still on so traffic's light.

Did you know that 84% of our students at LAUSD live in poverty? And that 44% don't speak English? Wow, that is something. The rest of the ratio go to charters, or full-on private schools. Mm. 

On on a bright note, one of the hillsides that regularly collapses shed some nice material onto Mulholland, again... some nice, hard, tan/brown sedementary layers, semi-flat on one side at least; spilled right out onto the road. So wouldn't you know, I did my civic duty, pulled over and collected two Toyota-mini loads so far. They'll make great stepping stones, and there's some real pretty-ones I can see still up there ready to bust loose. It's gone'rain some more today...

There's some other rockslides further on down the road, other side of the hill, but that stuff is decomposed granite boulders, and breaks apart too easy. Plus, it doesn't match the decor of our landscape what with all the black speckles, and it's all rough and flakey.


----------



## escorial

got a text to say i've been booked to go to Berlin March....those germans bombed our chip shops during the war


----------



## Kevin

But we're all friends now, right?  ...impossible Germany, unlikely Japan. 
They had the greatest war-toys from back then.  Spitfire: pretty as a jag-u-ar.


----------



## escorial

good or bad history has an influence somewhere inside...one granddad fought in the desert...i've saluted a statue of winston in malta...i'm getting so conservative the more i get older..a british trait...


----------



## Olly Buckle

> .i'm getting so conservative the more i get older..a british trait...



I with a small 'i', conservative with a small 'c' and british with a small b … hmm. Still, my noticing it kind of proves your point.


----------



## escorial

i need to take eleqution lessons...


----------



## Guard Dog

Who are ya wantin' ta elequt? :icon_cheesygrin: :icon_joker: :glee:



G.D.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Kevin said:


> On on a bright note, one of the hillsides that regularly collapses shed some nice material onto Mulholland, again... some nice, hard, tan/brown sedementary layers, semi-flat on one side at least; spilled right out onto the road. So wouldn't you know, I did my civic duty, pulled over and collected two Toyota-mini loads so far. They'll make great stepping stones, and there's some real pretty-ones I can see still up there ready to bust loose. It's gone'rain some more today...



When I lived in So Cal, I set up the nicest rock border around our driveway you ever saw with all the rocks I pulled from the yard--and I didn't even make a dent in the number of rocks there were. I did miss out on the frogs, though. Would have liked to have heard them.


My day went great! Hand walked Zazzy (a very big gelding) and found he could use a brush-up on how to go through gates without running everyone over. Overall, he's much more level-headed in-hand than I expected. Found out Zazzy has a girlfriend & doesn't like to be led away from her. Well, can't blame him much; sounds like he hasn't spent too much time around mares. 

Sure, it takes up some of the free-time I had thought I'd use on working on one of my stories; I'll just have to manage my time a little differently so I can fit everything in. (Will probably be online a bit less.) It's just really nice that my friend has asked me to help with her horse and it's really nice that I actually have some time to do so.


----------



## Guard Dog

A gelding with a girlfriend?

I'm afraid my 'Politically Incorrect' sense of humor could really get me into trouble with that one... :razz: :devilish: ;-)


G.D.


----------



## Kevin

Guard Dog said:


> A gelding with a girlfriend?
> 
> I'm afraid my 'Politically Incorrect' sense of humor could really get me into trouble with that one... :razz: :devilish: ;-)
> 
> 
> G.D.


 his toxic masculinity thingie- removed? sounds perfect
for a perfect new world. They may come for you...
..,

M.P. - Pulling rocks out of the yard to make borders. Lots of that right below the San Gabe's, and the San Ber-doos. Makes for some pretty 'Pasadena'-style looking yards.


----------



## Guard Dog

Kevin said:


> his toxic masculinity thingie- removed? sounds perfect
> for a perfect new world. They may come for you...



Yep... a world where they do a lot of walking 'cause they ran out of horses...

( And there's no other forms of transportation 'cause one of 'em heard they were all 'man-made' :hororr:  )

Oh, and I'm not doing much of anything as of yet... The weather's been miserable enough the past couple of days or so that all I've done is sleep, write, smoke, drink, aggravate folks here on the forum... repeat.

G.D.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Kevin said:


> M.P. - Pulling rocks out of the yard to make borders. Lots of that right below the San Gabe's, and the San Ber-doos. Makes for some pretty 'Pasadena'-style looking yards.



Yup. Lived there, done that.

(Hello former neighbor! Pls. wave 'hi' at the ocean for me next time you see it.)


----------



## Megan Pearson

*For sale or exchange: 
*
1 very nice mother. Slightly older model with interesting life will provide years of reasons to help you answer the question ‘why I write’. *Excellent* for beginning writers without an interesting life of their own. 

_Suffering from writer’s block?_ Look no further! *Guaranteed* to undo recently cured insomnia or even years of counseling with fresh problems. 

_Fearful of the blank page?_ Fear no more! This splendid baby-boomer model will help you conquer your fears as she enlists _you_ to conquer hers. *Nothing will ever stand before you and the blank page again!!! *

Sadly, can no longer keep due to having raised my counseling services rates ten minutes ago.

_This is a limited time offer!_ Don’t miss out on this *fantastic* opportunity!!! 


Guilt trips included for free. 



(P.S. no serious offers considered! Well, I may consider borrowing yours if she comes with milk & cookies.)


***

So, how was your day?


----------



## Guard Dog

Megan Pearson said:


> *For sale or exchange:
> *
> 1 very nice mother. Slightly older model with interesting life will provide years of reasons to help you answer the question ‘why I write’. *Excellent* for beginning writers without an interesting life of their own.
> 
> _Suffering from writer’s block?_ Look no further! *Guaranteed* to undo recently cured insomnia or even years of counseling with fresh problems.
> 
> _Fearful of the blank page?_ Fear no more! This splendid baby-boomer model will help you conquer your fears as she enlists _you_ to conquer hers. *Nothing will ever stand before you and the blank page again!!! *
> 
> Sadly, can no longer keep due to having raised my counseling services rates ten minutes ago.
> 
> _This is a limited time offer!_ Don’t miss out on this *fantastic* opportunity!!!
> 
> 
> Guilt trips included for free.
> 
> 
> 
> (P.S. no serious offers considered! Well, I may consider borrowing yours if she comes with milk & cookies.)



Sorry, Meg, but that won't work. 

If it did, I'd have shipped mine off 40 years ago, for free.


G.D.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Guard Dog said:


> Sorry, Meg, but that won't work.
> 
> If it did, I'd have shipped mine off 40 years ago, for free.
> 
> 
> G.D.



Aww, man! and I thought I was onto something!

That's okay -- it became a great day, anyway!


----------



## Hill.T.Manner

Megan Pearson said:


> *For sale or exchange:
> *
> 1 very nice mother. Slightly older model with interesting life will provide years of reasons to help you answer the question ‘why I write’. *Excellent* for beginning writers without an interesting life of their own.
> 
> _Suffering from writer’s block?_ Look no further! *Guaranteed* to undo recently cured insomnia or even years of counseling with fresh problems.
> 
> _Fearful of the blank page?_ Fear no more! This splendid baby-boomer model will help you conquer your fears as she enlists _you_ to conquer hers. *Nothing will ever stand before you and the blank page again!!! *
> 
> Sadly, can no longer keep due to having raised my counseling services rates ten minutes ago.
> 
> _This is a limited time offer!_ Don’t miss out on this *fantastic* opportunity!!!
> 
> 
> Guilt trips included for free.
> 
> 
> 
> (P.S. no serious offers considered! Well, I may consider borrowing yours if she comes with milk & cookies.)
> 
> 
> ***
> 
> So, how was your day?



Maybe interested, does she come with an unlimited amount of self-proclaimed wisdom from age that she dispenses when not necessary? 

Today was good, now I'm absentmindedly trawling the forum and working on my novel.


----------



## Guard Dog

Snow in my yard this morning, and cold, at 24 and feeling like 12.

Only got a couple'a inches, so we dodged a bullet here. But I know there's still more to come in the next couple of months.

Also, I've been writing for 5 months exactly, as of today. I'm in the middle of the 48th chapter, and have 318,714 words written.

...and I really wish I had some idea of how many more I have to go.





G.D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Ever tried writing a short story? Quite a different thing, but fun.


----------



## Guard Dog

I posted one'a those here too, Olly... Just as an experiment:


T'Hessa’s Challenge

It's just a stand-alone short, even though it's in the same world/reality/universe.

I made it up on the fly, with none of the planning that's gone into the main story.
( Well, the MC was already pretty-well fleshed out. )


G.D.


----------



## Theglasshouse

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119364914/?tag=writingforu06-20

*The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades.*


I found this book while researching on amazon when looking for a book on how to fix my writing problems. I think I insert sentences not related to the main idea inside a paragraph. Which makes it seem I make mistakes in the manuscript. When I break sentences and paragraph rules. The person who created the method for this writing system has a degree in education and is a specialist in dyslexia. It provides strategies for students and teachers who need writing instruction or need a lot of help.

I want to rewrite the ongoing writing project I have tried to fix on a paragraph and sentence level. My oldest brother doesn't think I have dyslexia. This seems more complicated than what people are saying concerning the writing of short stories. If I have a disability I also have gaps in knowledge on how to write on a sentence level, before moving on to writing paragraphs.

I anticipate I will have to do a lot of waiting until I get assessed to know if the story has no errors to speak off.

I recommend it to esl, and maybe disabled writers.

I should be able to get the book without trouble. (I will buy a copy this week)

In practice I could present the book to someone who is helping me check my own work, and to help me learn my grammar.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Yesterday I went to the funeral of a gardener friend of mine. He was two months younger than me, but smoked twenty a day for fifty years, died of lung cancer. He lived in a first floor flat in Walton on Thames, but had a great garden on the balcony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8PViKk1IQk
This is him , tongue in cheek, with his 'harvest'. the balcony faces north west and gets about fifteen minutes of afternoon sun in the summer, he had a fine collection of shade tolerant plants, including clematis and honeysuckle. He also grew Chilean bell flowers, the national flower of Chile, not at all easy to grow. They grow naturally on the north face of river gorges where water trickles down and demand exacting amounts of humidity. Derek had temperature and humidity meters set up. His boast was that his made it through the exceptional winter and red hot summer when the RHS lost theirs.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Chile+National+Flower&FORM=RESTAB

They are beautiful, with an outer false petal that wraps around, he had red, pink and white ones.

Note also the 'astroturf' and 'lawnmower' hanging up, he had a real sense of humour, and played a mean game of chess. I miss him already.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Olly Buckle said:


> Yesterday I went to the funeral of a gardener friend of mine. ... I miss him already.



Sorry to hear that, Olly. He seems to have been a very neat (special) person and he certainly had a gift for growing beautiful plants. 

My condolences to you.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Neat in the garden, nowhere else.  His hobby was going round charity shops, he had three, unused, Dyson vacuum cleaners. He would run a vacuum round the day before his birthday   I won't mention the kitchen and bathroom, yeuch! When he got ill social services sent round a cleaner, she left, his friends got the kitchen in a bit more order so he didn't die of food poisoning first, but mostly he liked it that way, lived there for thirty years without decorating


----------



## Megan Pearson

Bought a used book on writing recently.

Upon reading it, I found it came with 3 pressed 4-leaf clovers! 

Good book! I think I'll keep it.


----------



## Guard Dog

Megan, back when my yard was full of white clover, I found over 300 of the four-leafed ones, one summer.

...the next year, all the clover started dying off, except for the red clover in the side yard.

I've still got a bunch of the four-leaf ones pressed in a frame, around here somewhere.


G.D.


----------



## Guard Dog

By the way... it's 9:00pm CST, and I just went outside with my dogs, and an infrared thermometer...

I got readings from 13F to 20F, depending on where I pointed it. ( Railing on the deck was the coldest, naturally. )

... anybody happen to know where that 'Global Warming' we were promised got off to? 'Cause I'm not findin' it anywhere around here.



G.D.


----------



## Myk3y

Bloody laser cutter's on the fritz... and I can't be arsed.

Is one day without a breakdown in technology too much to ask?


----------



## Myk3y

Guard Dog said:


> By the way... it's 9:00pm CST, and I just went outside with my dogs, and an infrared thermometer...
> 
> I got readings from 13F to 20F, depending on where I pointed it. ( Railing on the deck was the coldest, naturally. )
> 
> ... anybody happen to know where that 'Global Warming' we were promised got off to? 'Cause I'm not findin' it anywhere around here.
> 
> 
> 
> G.D.



It's 34C and humid as the inside of a sarong on the equator. 

Global warming seems to be progressing as has been foretold. It's colder to you northern hemisphere types because of global warming forcing the cold to stay north for longer and not dissipate south.

NZ is seeing record temperatures - my sister just saw 34C in her garden - on an island! Islands at the same latitude as San Francisco don't see temperatures that high, but it's becoming more and more prevalent. continental landmasses have their own weather, but us island-dwellers are much more at the mercy of the global weather systems.


----------



## Guard Dog

34C... 93F.... Go ahead, rub it in.

...make me wish for one of my MC's gate rings, so I could just step outta the freezer into someplace warm. :icon_frown:

Damn damn damn...



G.D.


----------



## Myk3y

I'm not one for the cold. 

My wife and kids love their four seasons, but I could quite easily never see another winter storm s long as I live.

34 and humid Iss a little too hot - NZ is much more temperate at 15-25C, with the added advantage of a distinct lack of creepy-crawlies, spiders, snakes, mosquitoes, or anything else that's going to ruin your picnic, as it were.

Growing up, I never realised how lucky we were to not have anything bigger than a bee to threaten us. No shoes were the order of the day, walking through the bush without a care in the world. 

Even to this day I hate wearing shoes. I am barefoot more often than not.


----------



## escorial

Got picked up by a preist yesterday


----------



## Myk3y

Did he buy you dinner, or just get straight to it?


----------



## Kevin

Blewdy pres b'teerians


----------



## escorial

I need a doll to show what he said


----------



## Guard Dog

escorial said:


> I need a doll to show what he said



I'm guessing we're not talkin' about a Voodoo priest here...



G.D.


----------



## Kevin

I was watching a coyote at the edge of the road in front of the neighbor's. He throws his rabbit scraps out there and the hawks. vultures, and coyotes all know it. 

The coyote saw me and was a little skittish. Every so often he would put his nose straight up to get a high bearing. 
I alternated between wanting to pet him and going at him aggressively. Those were my urges but I did nothing. Now that he's habituated I suppose he'll be coming to eat us in the night.


----------



## Guard Dog

Kevin said:


> ... I suppose he'll be coming to eat us in the night.



You might be surprised.

...You may find him scratching at the door, lookin' for a hand-out, one'a these days.

( How do you think we ended up with domestic dogs in the first place? )

G.D.


----------



## Kevin

We imprinted puppies. These are not puppies. No. He won't be scratching to be let in. Stay off the moors.


----------



## Guard Dog

Kevin said:


> We imprinted puppies. These are not puppies. No. He won't be scratching to be let in. Stay off the moors.




If it were at my house I bet it would.

But then, I do have wildlife walk right up to me fairly often, when it won't anyone else.
( Don't ask me why, 'cause I have no idea. )

By the way, canines had to first start hanging around humans, and proving themselves useful in some way, before anybody got the bright idea to imprint those puppies. If they hadn't, then the logical reaction would be to kill 'em before they grew up to be man-eaters, thieves, or some other form of trouble, when they were discovered.



G.D.


----------



## Hill.T.Manner

Wife lost her job today, after 8 years. She's feeling rattled by it, not sure what she wants to do now. Told her to take a month off, play video games, be crafty, do something because the last two months she's been tense worrying about this exact scenario.


----------



## Myk3y

Kevin said:


> I was watching a coyote at the edge of the road in front of the neighbor's. He throws his rabbit scraps out there and the hawks. vultures, and coyotes all know it.
> 
> The coyote saw me and was a little skittish. Every so often he would put his nose straight up to get a high bearing.
> I alternated between wanting to pet him and going at him aggressively. Those were my urges but I did nothing. Now that he's habituated I suppose he'll be coming to eat us in the night.



No, just any stray children... ‘the dingo ate my baby!’


----------



## Olly Buckle

> By the way, canines had to first start hanging around humans, and proving themselves useful in some way, before anybody got the bright idea to imprint those puppies. If they hadn't, then the logical reaction would be to kill 'em before they grew up to be man-eaters, thieves, or some other form of trouble, when they were discovered.



I don't believe it, the only reason a wild dog would hang around humans would be as something it might eat in a hard season, otherwise they are danger. On the other hand humans are soft for baby animals, that's humans, not just modern civilised folk. I can well see them keeping one if they found a lair with a week old litter in it, might eat the others of course, tender.


----------



## escorial

Coming out of The Atkinson after viewing an exhibit a car beeped behind me..I was just about to say my bit when I noticed the car had just married on it....I thought the road was for pedestrians as it's all flagged...hope  the groom  gets Brewers droop tonite


----------



## Guard Dog

Olly Buckle said:


> I don't believe it, the only reason a wild dog would hang around humans would be as something it might eat in a hard season, otherwise they are danger. On the other hand humans are soft for baby animals, that's humans, not just modern civilised folk. I can well see them keeping one if they found a lair with a week old litter in it, might eat the others of course, tender.



Humans leave a lot of edible scraps behind... Bones, pieces of meat too tough for human teeth, etc.

Canines aren't fools; they'll go for the food they don't have to fight first, given half a chance.

It's one of the reasons domestic dogs have evolved to eat human food, where the wild varieties still require a diet higher in protein.


G.D.


----------



## Kevin

Coyotes eat a variety of things, many or most not being animal protein. I know because I've studied their poops. At lead in my neighborhood, they are loaded with vegetable matter. Canines, unlike felines,  can and do eat vegetable as well as meat being able to convert carbohydrates to glycogen, yada...yada. 
In that respect they are like people. They can eat what we can eat. 
The difference between a Wolf and a domestic 'dog' is no greater than the difference between a Pekingese and Great Dane. It is selective breeding. Not evolution. 
As far as stuff being too tough... That's why we cook things. At least one reason. To soften those things; make them chewable.


----------



## Guard Dog

Kevin, in domestic dogs  more proteins are produced that are involved in starch and fat metabolism, to help them cope with more human diets. Yeah, the wild ones are omnivorous to a degree, but not like our pets are.

There's also some differences in brain function, as well as being more tolerant of salt and sugar than wild canines.
( Cats got the raw end of that deal, since they can't even taste salt or sugar. So a cat going after, say, ice cream can't really taste it, not having receptors on their tongues for sweets and sugars. )

One way or the other, their 130,000 or so years with humans has made quite a few biological changes in domestic dogs. So domestication and selective breeding has cause a fair bit more than 'skin-deep' changes. ( A 1997 study puts the beginnings of domestic dogs back that far. )

And one other thing, I don't know how many folks are aware of this, but don't let your dogs have onions or garlic; it'll screw up their liver and kidneys the same as chocolate will.

...yeah, I've done a fair bit of studying on canines and felines, along with all the 'people' stuff I've poked my nose into.

( Btw... due to my nerve damage, and the fact I have a bit of a limp that comes and goes with the weather, I can never safely own a wolf/wolf hybrid, since they have a tendency to attack their owners/handlers when they show any sign of weakness or injury. It's that whole 'Alpha' thing with them that domestic dogs don't have anymore. )

One way or the other, even the dogs that resemble wolves are a long way from 'em.


G.D.


----------



## Kevin

Dogs that eat people food fart worse than a mule. G d dog used get up and walk away, leave us with it.


----------



## Guard Dog

Kevin said:


> Dogs that eat people food fart worse than a mule. G d dog used get up and walk away, leave us with it.



Yeah, that'd be those extra proteins they produce for handling starches, that I mentioned earlier workin'. 

But... that's better than having to take a sick pup to the vet due to bloat... which I've had to do at least once.
( Wasn't due to diet though... the dog tore her stomach loose from her abdominal cavity, playing, and twisted it. Nearly killed her, and cost $1,200 to fix. She lived to a ripe old age after that. )






G.D.


----------



## Darkkin

Everything went pretty well, until an encounter with the socially clueless.  I work at a bookstore, and have for a very long time...anyway, I was checking out at another retailer, (in dire need of pants, most of mine have gotten too big...) when out of no where the woman in line behind me asks, 'When are you getting Title X in and where will it be?' 

 I looked at her and told her, ' Sorry, I'm off the clock...'  This should be enough to indicate, my time, my space, back off as this is singularly inappropriate and rude. An introvert by nature, I do not people unless I have to, and my bubble was firmly in place.  Her reply, 'But you work there, you have to tell me.'  This level of idiocy doesn't even deserve a reply.  I just blinked at her and walked away once my transaction was complete. 

 If you have a question about a book, call the store or actually take the time to visit it, don't approach people who are clearly on their own time because you are too lazy to use resources readily available to you.  There are folks at the bookstore, willing and waiting to help, I'm just currently not scheduled to be one of them.  Gah...ffended:


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Well, I did it.... I submitted my first story for publication. Other than this, my day went as predictable as any pay day. Got up, spent time with Athena kitty, paid some bills online, made myself presentable for the world.... went to Walmart. Did my thing there, came home. Pretty boring outside the one thing.

Looking back on January, I achieved the 3 goals I set up for myself- 

1. Choices - polish & finish the edits on this story.
2. submit Choices for publication.
3. merge the files from the writing journals of 2018 & 2019 sent from my school.

This last one was a biggie. It was a pain in the neck but I won and got the pages merged. I figured it made sense since a number of the pages were the same. I'd say I'm starting the year off right.


----------



## Articulate Lady

I am so lost, and just realized I need to get my butt in gear. A day filled with sleeping and porn is probably not a good way to jump start a writing career. Going to take out to LIU POST on Tuesday to talk about plans to go back to school for a degree in English.


----------



## Guard Dog

Articulate Lady said:


> I am so lost, and just realized I need to get my butt in gear. A day filled with sleeping and porn is probably not a good way to jump start a writing career. Going to take out to LIU POST on Tuesday to talk about plans to go back to school for a degree in English.



I dunno... I've always said that if it weren't for sex, violence, and science fiction, I wouldn't have any hobbies,

...though I have ta say, an entire day spent sleeping seems like some bizarre, impossible fantasy for me.

So don't expect me to tell ya you wasted your day.


G.D.

P.S. What does one do with a degree in English? Other than teach?
( I once asked the same question of someone who was working on their master's in mathematics... "Teach" was pretty much her response as well. )


----------



## MzSnowleopard

A number of them go on to the publishing industry as editors, agents, etc, some become librarians, others go on to further degrees like law school.


----------



## Guard Dog

Law school? What the hell for?

I know a bunch of lawyers, and there ain't the first one of 'em that speaks plain English... :-s

And have you ever looked at the typical law book? You certainly don't need an English degree to write that stuff... Unless there's a special "Unnecessarily Convoluted Language' course you have ta take and pass to get the degree.


G.D.


----------



## Kevin

Law school, lawyering?  How 'bout true crime, law logic, foundation...? I worked a mock jury on real cases. It was fascinating; fun. 6 angry women, 6 angry men. There were explosions, deaths, murders; seriously.  This was the civil cases; not criminal. No twelve out of twelve, 51% wins. 

Each side, the lawyers, presented. We deliberated, discussed, made arguments; assigned fault, and divied up the monies. Way better than tv. Plus, we were doing them a service, the lawyers. Fun.


----------



## escorial

sign outdside the alleyway leading to a used bookshop i visited once in a while had a picture of the owner and the date of his funeral..14/1/19....the last time this happened was at a used Record shop that sold LP's ,casettes...the place was packed to the rafters..that shut and never re-opened...


----------



## Kevin

escorial said:


> sign outdside the alleyway leading to a used bookshop i visited once in a while had a picture of the owner and the date of his funeral..14/1/19....the last time this happened was at a used Record shop that sold LP's ,casettes...the place was packed to the rafters..that shut and never re-opened...


 I've seen that a lot.


----------



## escorial

Kevin said:


> I've seen that a lot.



the last time i went in i bought an old book with a few speeches about bookselling..he looked at it and said are you in the business..i said no, i just like the way they use to talk then..he said they probably didn't...which made me smile because this guy talked with a plum in his mouth....now a nice memory


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Guard Dog said:


> Law school? What the hell for?
> 
> I know a bunch of lawyers, and there ain't the first one of 'em that speaks plain English... :-s
> 
> And have you ever looked at the typical law book? You certainly don't need an English degree to write that stuff... Unless there's a special "Unnecessarily Convoluted Language' course you have ta take and pass to get the degree.
> 
> 
> G.D.




I'm serious, I had to do the research on this for a paper in English Comp 2, I think people would be surprised at where a degree in English can take you.

More times than not, I hear or read that stupid joke that ends with "What does a person with an English degree say? Do you want fries with that?" 

Rather insulting for me but I choose to ignore those people because attitudes like that are beneath me. I know better.


----------



## Guard Dog

MzSnowleopard said:


> More times than not, I hear or read that stupid joke that ends with "What does a person with an English degree say? Do you want fries with that?"



I've always heard that one applied to a person with a degree in fine arts.

But honestly, I would never have connected having an English degree with anyone in the legal profession.

And as I said, I know a bunch of 'em.

By the way, concerning the line "do you want fries with that"... I've been noticing lately that there are fewer and fewer teenagers behind the counter at the local fast food places, and more people that I KNOW have college degrees.

So in a lot of ways, the joke seems to be coming true, but not in a way that makes ya wanna laugh.

G.D.


----------



## The Green Shield

My wonderful, sexy people! :O 

I finally have a full outline for my story!

I'll be 30 in ten days!

I love you all!

Cheers! *hugs all of you*


----------



## Winston

The Green Shield said:


> My wonderful, sexy people! :O...*



You called me sexy.
[video=youtube_share;dTRKCXC0JFg]https://youtu.be/dTRKCXC0JFg[/video]

Snowing here.  I'm getting over a cold / flu, so it's a good excuse to stay in.
And for all you folks scoffing at "a few inches of snow" paralyzing Seattle, here's the deal:  We're on the water, and the temps keep fluctuating between above and below freezing.  That means that the snow melts, the refreezes as sheets of solid ice.  Pair that with all the hills in the area, well, YOU try to drive in that.  The kids walked up the hill to the local diner, and brought back breakfast.  They saw a bunch of idiots stuck on the side of the road.  Probably over-confident transplants to the area.  
Anyway, we're stocked-up on groceries, including plenty of cat food and beer.  The power hasn't gone out in a while, and if it stays down for any time, I have a generator and enough fuel for a week or more.  Bring it on.


----------



## Guard Dog

Yeah, people keep laughing at my area getting shut down by a couple of inches of snow too.

What most of 'em don't understand is that it's all hills and valleys here, and very few roads that are straight for more than a few hundred yards at most. ( People just went around all those hills, back when the roads were first nothing more than wagon paths, after all. )

Populate that with people who have no idea how to drive on it, having so little chance to practice, as a rule, and you end up with a mess in short order.
( We don't get much real snow down here. just a few every winter, at most. )

And yes, ice is the worst. No traction of any kind, so it doesn't matter how good you are in the snow. It's like trying to ice skate down the rails of a roller coaster. With dull skate blades.

It's been back in the 60s the past couple'a days, btw... but we're still not in the clear as far as more possible snow. We generally get one good one ( a few inches at least. ) in Feb. or early March.


G.D.


----------



## escorial

Drawings looked like they were scribbled yesterday


----------



## Guard Dog

escorial said:


> Drawings looked like they were scribbled yesterday



That's funny.

Most of my stuff looks like it was scribbled a hundred years ago now.

I remember seeing a documentary on da Vinci, back when I was 10 or 11 that I really liked.

Wish I could find it again, but I've never run across that particular one since I first saw it.



G.D.


----------



## Guard Dog

I hope those people at the weather channel are either plain wrong, on drugs, or just let a typo slip by on the forecast for my area...

It's 58F and raining cats and dogs right now. The prediction for tomorrow is a high of 74F. However...

...they're saying a low of 24F and a 100% chance of 'rain' tomorrow night.

Are they seriously expecting a 50 degree temperature drop in less than 12 hours?

...nevermind the fact it don't rain at 24F.

Can we call off winter now? I'm tired of it already.

Edit: Well, they didn't lie or get it wrong... We had a 50+ degree drop in temps, in about 8 hours last night ( 2/8/19 ). :sour:


G.D.


----------



## Winston

Worst snow in a decade or more here.  We're on the coast, and normally don't get this:





The main roads are plowed, but the snow is high enough in our neighborhood, we can't get out.  Going to walk up to the store with my son for some milk.
It was supposed to start raining by now.  Oh well.  I can walk down to the ferry dock to make it to work tomorrow.


----------



## Kevin

Seems like once every 10 - 12 years we get a big winter. Last one we had your weather and you guys were in a drought. Highest rainfall in the country on a slope was Santa Barbara ( San Marcos pass).


----------



## Guard Dog

Mother nature definitely has a crack habit...

We see weird summers, winters, etc. regularly here too, but not with the frequency we have the past 10 years.

If this keeps up, things are gonna look a lot different here than they did when I was a kid. 


G.D.


----------



## velo

Winston said:


> And for all you folks scoffing at "a few inches of snow" paralyzing Seattle, here's the deal:  We're on the water, and the temps keep fluctuating between above and below freezing.  That means that the snow melts, the refreezes as sheets of solid ice.  Pair that with all the hills in the area, well, YOU try to drive in that.  The kids walked up the hill to the local diner, and brought back breakfast.  They saw a bunch of idiots stuck on the side of the road.  Probably over-confident transplants to the area.
> Anyway, we're stocked-up on groceries, including plenty of cat food and beer.  The power hasn't gone out in a while, and if it stays down for any time, I have a generator and enough fuel for a week or more.  Bring it on.




Hey Winston, I'm over on the Kitsap Peninsula and I feel ya.  I'm originally from the Syracuse area (+5m snow banks, snow all winter, etc) and all the snow we got over the last few days would be no problem back there.  I roll my eyes a lot at the hand wringing that goes over snow here on but the fact is the municipalities do not understand how to deal with snow.  What plowing was done around my place was laughable and made things worse in some spots.  Definitely the maritime climate makes things challenging but the snow could be handled MUCH better.  It's so bad around here because there is no real attention paid to it.  My street didn't get plowed for nearly 5 days.  I did eventually get out because I know how to drive in the snow but for a while society was shut completely down.  

And, of course, a lot of people here don't have a tonne of experience with the snow and that makes it VERY dangerous on the roads.  I'm not worried that I'm going to do something wrong I'm worried about all the other folks driving around in a state of confused panic.


----------



## Darkkin

Going back through some files, still wondering how I managed to write some of these things in reality.  Normal brains don't function that way...


----------



## dither

Winston said:


> Worst snow in a decade or more here.  We're on the coast, and normally don't get this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The main roads are plowed, but the snow is high enough in our neighborhood, we can't get out.  Going to walk up to the store with my son for some milk.
> It was supposed to start raining by now.  Oh well.  I can walk down to the ferry dock to make it to work tomorrow.



Jeez that looks awful. Rather you than me mate.


----------



## Kevin

I bought a last-years-rental snowboard one time.  Thirty bucks. And the boots. That was the greatest investment. If I lived closer I'd be slippy-sliding down them hills a lot more often. 
...
met these two ladies in a lift line at Mammoth. Europeans. In their mid-to-late seventies..Yes, they were skiing. "Where's your husbands at?" "Oh, dose olt poo-seez are back in da cabin sitting by d' fire."  Yumpin' yimminy or Achtung or something, but Respect.


----------



## Winston

Ordered some hop rhizomes today.  Hops are cheap to buy, but I just felt the urge to grow my own.  They should do okay in this area.  If they do like it here, they usually grow 20 to 30 feet high.
Thank God we don't have community rules banning the erection of really tall poles.  They'll have to climb up something.  
Also ordered some Spruce tips to brew a pine-flavored beer.  Tried it before with a pine oil extract... didn't work.  I don't give up easy.  Thick-headed.


----------



## Kevin

Winston said:


> Ordered some hop rhizomes today.  Hops are cheap to buy, but I just felt the urge to grow my own.  They should do okay in this area.  If they do like it here, they usually grow 20 to 30 feet high.
> Thank God we don't have community rules banning the erection of really tall poles.  They'll have to climb up something.
> Also ordered some Spruce tips to brew a pine-flavored beer.  Tried it before with a pine oil extract... didn't work.  I don't give up easy.  Thick-headed.


The only hops I've ever seen growing were on the wrought iron fence of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.


----------



## Darkkin

55 inches of snow in the last ten days...States of emergency have been declared in across my region and every major road is closed due to severe blizzard conditions.  On a brighter note, my driveway is shoveled.    Mother Nature is off her lithium.


----------



## James Wolfe

Going alright, starting March 1st I can return to my WIP, since i was forced to put it aside for a month. Right now I am setting up the ground works for a rewrite of one of the books I wrote as a young man.


----------



## Winston

Used the lull in the weather to plant some mushroom spore plugs.  Just had them lying around in a 'fridge drawer.  Don't ask why.
They're Shitake.  I don't even like mushrooms, but my family does. I just like growing stuff.   
We're taking a break from the backyard chickens, so I planted them in the former enclosure.  Hope the spores like that "hot" nitrogen rich soil.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> Hope the spores like that "hot" nitrogen rich soil.


This might be a disappointment, I think they normally grow on wood, one drills a hole in a log and inserts the plug. Could be worse, there is one speciality Japanese mushroom that only grows on beech that has been subjected to anaerobic bacterial degradation under water for a couple of years.


----------



## Megan Pearson

It's snowing again.

I love the snow!

I was watching it flutter down, past my window as I scrubbed the dishes this afternoon. (Yes, I'm a do-it-yourselfer.) 

It was so pretty.


And yes, I'm the only one in the entire state who loves the snow and the drifts and the scraping of the ice off the car. I know 'cause I took a poll. Forget  pen and paper--all I need to know what everyone's position was on the pretty snow was that crazy give-me-a-blowtorch-why-aren't-we-in-Florida look.

I am embracing my hygge. 

(Danish word for winter coziness.)


----------



## Phil Istine

A wonderful start to the day.  I woke up suddenly in the small hours by what (I think) was some thudding sound.  I thought nothing of it as I live in a flat near a town centre, so the odd night noise is nothing unusual.  On reflection, this was different though.
After arising, I discover that there was a 3.3 earth tremor about 12 miles away and a lot of people around my way felt some sort of tremor.

3.3 is very small as tremors go, but can be quite disconcerting in an area where they don't usually occur.  This is the first one that I've felt (and I'm not totally certain it was the tremor that woke me), but there have been earlier, smaller ones.  Before the fracking, I believe there were none that were noticeable.


----------



## SueC

Glad you are safe, Phil! Living in the Midwest of US, I have never felt a tremor, small or otherwise, but I know they are happening with much more frequency than ever before, and in places where they weren't before. What an experience! In the middle of the night no less. Story fodder?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Up by the Surry Sussex border eh Phil, it was on the local news.

I had a story idea and had sketched some bits out on my old computer, but it came unplugged and the battery is dead so I lost it all, grrrr.

The younger daughter phoned this morning, she had a really successful therapy session with a very difficult client (She is doing an MA in music therapy) and was highly delighted, then she finished by saying, "Now I see why you brought me up that way." Great, best bit of the day.


----------



## escorial

I rang the buzzer to enter the train station lav and I was informed there was no light but I cud use my lamp on the phone...it does not do much for your ego searching for your tool with a torch..


----------



## Amnesiac

Well, my day has started out by letting out an almighty sneeze after having poured a full cup of coffee, which resulted in my kitchen cabinets and floor being instantly redecorated with the "wet coffee" look. (I hear it's becoming the new decorating craze).


----------



## SueC

Winston, you planted the chickens? 



> We're taking a break from the backyard chickens, so I planted them in the former enclosure.


----------



## Winston

SueC said:


> Winston, you planted the chickens?



Well Sue, they _were_ "backyard chickens".  Now, they shall remain so.

And Olly, I know mushrooms spores prefer wood.  I bought them originally to try to break-down some tree stumps.  These ones I threw back by the coop were leftover plugs. 
It's dark and damp where I planted them, and I had bark there in the past.  Eh, like I said, I don't even like mushrooms.  Can't eat what doesn't sprout


----------



## Winston

Took the new rifle I built to the range this morning (I'm doing a full write-up on that project later).  I constructed it in the same general configuration as the rifle I used in The Marines.    It shot well, with one "failure to feed", probably because the magazines are new, too.  
Also took out my old behemoth rifle (the 80 year old Russian).  I made a minor modification, and needed to make sure it was still zeroed.  Of course, it wasn't, but that's just an excuse to shoot more rounds and adjust the scope.  I also tested some custom reloads, and it turns out I WAY underloaded the powder.  Rather make that mistake than the inverse.  

Then, it was off to the blood bank.  I donated platelets again.  It takes a couple of hours, but platelets are much more in demand and versatile.  They pump an anti-coagulant back into your arm for this procedure, and it's kinda tingly. I'm eating a good dinner and turning in early, still a bit loopy. I'm just glad I cleaned my rifles first thing when I got home.
I wasn't blessed with a superior intellect, or even a useful skillset.  But, my blood is good.


----------



## -xXx-

Winston said:


> Well Sue, they _were_ "backyard chickens".  Now, they shall remain so.
> ...
> Can't eat what doesn't sprout



so can you plant some extra guinea fowl
where those backyard chickens aren't?
not too deep, not too close together.
i have oatmeal and bacon.
_*looks for moon rover*
*and map*_


----------



## -xXx-

_*fills red balloons with helium*
*puts oatmeal and bacon in box*
*checks jet stream*
*stares*
*at guinea plot* _


----------



## Winston

Made another pretty good batch of beef jerky.  Used a little of my home-made Caribbean jerk seasoning.  My son thought it was too spicy, my daughter thought it was good.  
And I got a Frankenbrew going in my fermenter.  It's a lemon / brown sugar / spruce tip brew.  Using a wine yeast.  It's starting real slow.  I'm going to give this one a lot of time to finish fermenting.  
If it works, the flavors will be perfect.  A sweet / sour balance with a hint of minty spice.  If it doesn't, I just learned another way not to brew.


----------



## Dluuni

Got to go swimming for two hours, which NEVER happens. I can't use public swimming pools because of the changing rooms, and I am in a cold climate, so I don't get to go swimming anymore, even though I enjoy it. 

They had a major statewide conference over the weekend, though, and part of it was that the organizers rented out a swimming pool for two hours, given that most of the people there have the exact same problem.

I am SO out of shape, and on top of muscle loss from E, I just couldn't do half of the things I remembered being able to do in the pool a couple of years ago. Lots of fun and the people were nice, but also frustrating with not being ABLE to take care of myself.


----------



## dither

Winston,
I envy you your enthusiasm for life and living it.

I wish I'd learned to swim, but then, I wish I'd done, and NOT done, a lot of things.


----------



## The Green Shield

To make a long story short: My body can’t produce testosterone.


• I’ve been taking the gel, and my doctor had been saying that if the gel isn’t doing the trick, we’ll have to resort to weekly/bi-weekly injections that I do at home.


• I’m not happy about this — the idea that once a week/two weeks I’ll be jabbing myself with a needle. What the hell for? What does testosterone do besides make a man hairy and sexually active? Surely I can live without it, right? I’m cool with not being hairy and I don’t care about sex. I’m not gonna die from lack of testosterone.


• How do I cope with this/accept this if it ever comes about that I’ll need to do self-injections?


----------



## -xXx-

The Green Shield said:


> To make a long story short: My body can’t produce testosterone.
> 
> 
> • I’ve been taking the gel, and my doctor had been saying that if the gel isn’t doing the trick, we’ll have to resort to weekly/bi-weekly injections that I do at home.
> 
> 
> • I’m not happy about this — the idea that once a week/two weeks I’ll be jabbing myself with a needle. What the hell for? What does testosterone do besides make a man hairy and sexually active? Surely I can live without it, right? I’m cool with not being hairy and I don’t care about sex. I’m not gonna die from lack of testosterone.
> 
> 
> • How do I cope with this/accept this if it ever comes about that I’ll need to do self-injections?



that must be shocking information to hear.
testosterone does much more than two things.
biochemistry is reeeeeeeeeally nuanced.

wiki is a solid start to growing your understanding.

do you know if processing cholesterol is difficult for your system?

as to cope/accept IF injections:
maybe there are some lifestyle changes you can make.
oh.
and write.
_always_ write.

i'm sorry you are distressed, right now.

who are your most trusted advisors?
perhaps a conversation would be helpful.


----------



## midnightpoet

Wife woke me up about 4am;she was hungry (she’s got diabetes and her sugar gets low).  She ordered hashbrowns, eggs over easy andtoast.  Although rather groggy, I dranksome coffee and went to the kitchen.  Ina few minutes I heard a loud crash.  Shehad fallen in the bathroom and hit her head on the door frame.  Since she’s on blood thinners because of herstroke last year, I called 911.   The dr had told her if she hit her head to tothe emergency room.  They came prettyfast considering we’re 40 miles from anywhere (including the hospital). Ifollowed asap, but it was so foggy I could hardly see the front of thecar.  Luckily, her cat scan was negative (althoughshe was scraped up)so we went home.  Weboth took long naps.  About 5pm she decided she wanted chicken anddumplings.  Sorry, no chicken.  So I tried mac & cheese w/ friedokra.  I tripped a breaker.  After an argument as to what to do she fixed the breaker and I fixed  the  mac & cheese idea.  It’s now 7pmand hopefully tomorrow will be better.  Itake the dogs to the vet and buy groceries so who knows. Of course I feltguilty that she fell, I often have to help her to the bathroom.
God, I’m tired.


----------



## Dluuni

The Green Shield said:


> • I’m not happy about this — the idea that once a week/two weeks I’ll be jabbing myself with a needle. What the hell for? What does testosterone do besides make a man hairy and sexually active? Surely I can live without it, right? I’m cool with not being hairy and I don’t care about sex. I’m not gonna die from lack of testosterone.


If you DO end up needing to poke yourself...
I'd actually recommend twice a week, since my husband and a lot of guys get cranky around the sixth or seventh day. I take my shots subcutaneous in the belly like insulin; 1ml needle is important here so you can use a 25+ gauge twist on needle with the heavy oil. (The pharmacy will try to give you a 3ml needle; they are NOT an acceptable substitute.) Twist the needle back and forth a little before you poke it in, as it seems to push any nerve endings out of the way gently if you hit one, so that it'll be more consistent. If you can handle slapping your own arm, you can handle a 25 gauge needle, it doesn't sting much at all. This is the stuff I do to make it so that routine is a non-issue.

Also, when using the gel, you need to be careful of how you give it to yourself so you aren't accidentally dosing your loved ones. I have no tips for that, though.

And no testosterone makes moods go crazy, bone density, energy levels, and some muscle stuff get dangerously bad.


----------



## Kevin

Yet again, I bravely entered the fray, moving vehicles to the left of me, moving vehicles to right... I charged down the 101, the 405, the 118- 

...car fire!, geesus a CAR FIRE! at the left of me. Shit-a-crapton, I should've got off back there. 

Shoulder!- get to the shoulder! 

I make my way round- hope I don't get a ticket. No, they'll be too busy. Parked cars- stopped cars, wth?- 

I weave deftly. 

Christ-on-a-cupcake- they're taking f-ing videos. F U people, you'll never be famous! Get a life- get the hell out of my way!
 Right. 

Bravely I enter the fray...


----------



## Amnesiac

Woke up when I damn well pleased, went to the gym with my wife and worked out, then went out to breakfast. Now I'm at work and browsing various writing prompts, working on a couple of different projects, enjoying the amazing weather we're having, and looking forward to going to the dojo, this evening. Life is good.


----------



## theoldman

A 3-point tremor is small but sometime one wonders if it foreshadows a larger quake. Fracking appears to be the cause of tremors in my area.


----------



## The Green Shield

Happy Friday all! Doing some writing and attempting to develop some worldbuilding in the expositions.  I’m a slow learner, but I’m getting there. Thirteen (somewhat incomplete chapters) in, but better than no chapters at all.


----------



## SueC

We have had no hot water in my apartment building for two days and now today started off with no heat! They are in the process of replacing the boiler, which was probably older than me, and I'm looking forward to hot showers again. I've had my fill of barely warm showers, which has been going on for weeks. I have really long hair, and I'm always terrified of hearing the announcement that the water will be shut off for repairs, just after I lather up - LOL! It hasn't happened yet, and with the new equipment, hopefully, it never will. I feel like crawling back in bed, under the electric blanket, until heat in some fashion arrives. Summer?


----------



## Amnesiac

Aw, Sue... That sucks. So sorry! Few things worse than an unsolicited cold shower! (I sometimes take cold showers after a particularly grueling workout, but this is by choice)


----------



## The Green Shield

What do you do when your Christian co-workers are pushing a fellow co-worker (who isn’t Christian) to go to church when he clearly doesn’t want to? Basically, he is Buddhist as well as his family and girlfriend. He went to the Baptist church a few times, but the second time they (the people in the church) kept pushing his girlfriend to join them, asking her if she’s been ‘saved’. He doesn’t want to go back, yet the others keep pushing, asking ‘why’. 

I want to help him, but I’m not sure how. Advice?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Read Richard Dawkins 'The God Delusion'. Someone once called him 'The high priest of atheism', he will give you all the arguments you need to rant until they really don't want to talk about religion anymore. Over here I regularly see copies in thrift shops.


----------



## The Green Shield

^ To be fair, I don’t wanna get fired/become the most hated person in the company. 

He said he’d handle it; that he’s used to it and he’ll just keep telling them he’s going to the Temple, but next time I’ll let him know that HR is an option if he feels he’s being harassed. Though I doubt he’ll do it, as he’s not the sort that’s gonna raise hell like that.


That said, I tried speaking out but I got called out because I not only snapped, but I apparently butted into a conversation that didn’t concern me.


I’ll see what I can do next time that happens. :3 I could distract them by deliberately doing something stupid like tip over a trash can.   Or attempt to take out the trash acting like it’s something we’ve always done. This, I can easily do. 


That said, I did tell him he’s not obligated to explain why, or indeed say anything. He doesn’t want to go back, he doesn’t want to go back. I even said, “As an Episcopal, I suggest you go back to your family to the Temple” as he clearly isn’t comfortable at the church.


----------



## Olly Buckle

> but I apparently butted into a conversation that didn’t concern me.


Since when is religion a subject that does not concern some people? Or are you a known Devil worshipper? Arrogant gits. They are hassling him with something that doesn't concern him, the boss should be telling them to get on with their work and leave their co-workers to get on with theirs.


----------



## -xXx-

The Green Shield said:


> What do you do when your Christian co-workers are pushing a fellow co-worker (who isn’t Christian) to go to church when he clearly doesn’t want to? Basically, he is Buddhist as well as his family and girlfriend. He went to the Baptist church a few times, but the second time they (the people in the church) kept pushing his girlfriend to join them, asking her if she’s been ‘saved’. He doesn’t want to go back, yet the others keep pushing, asking ‘why’.
> 
> I want to help him, but I’m not sure how. Advice?



crazy as it is, i personally know people that have lost jobs
because
all employees attend the same church.
nah, doesn't come up in interview.
it's an after-process.

some people i know have been successful in citing
schedule conflicts between X-push-congregation
and unitarian events.

nondenominational gathering schedules can help diffuse
some of the energy as well.
especially when the push-er receives a reciprocal invitation
from the push-ee.

amazing times,
these are.

best,


----------



## The Green Shield

Olly Buckle said:


> Since when is religion a subject that does not concern some people? Or are you a known Devil worshipper? Arrogant gits. They are hassling him with something that doesn't concern him, the boss should be telling them to get on with their work and leave their co-workers to get on with theirs.


The sad part is, I know deep down that not all Christians are ignorant shitlords, but having to spend every waking moment of my life next to said arrogant shitlords really does dampen my view of Christianity as a whole and Christians.


----------



## Winston

The Green Shield said:


> The sad part is, I know deep down that not all Christians are ignorant shitlords, but having to spend every waking moment of my life next to said arrogant shitlords really does dampen my view of Christianity as a whole and Christians.



On bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch.  But after pulling a bad apple out of the barrel, and inadvertently taking a bite, one is more likely to avoid that said barrel.  
And move on to a barrel of, say, grapefruit.  
Sure, you like apples.  But you just can't get rid of the memory of that rancid taste.  

We were out late yesterday, shopping for a car for my daughter (her 1996 Subaru is finally on it's way out).  We found her a nice 2012 VW Jetta 2.0 Turbo Diesel.  Only 41k miles.  
Because my daughter has been paying her student loans regularly, she had an above-average credit rating for a woman her age.  Lower payments on the car.  It pays to be responsible.  
Today, I get to work on our home network.  Bought a new modem and router.  God help me.


----------



## The Green Shield

John-John, how is it that when the entire plot of your fantasy novel, The Fallen God, revolves around trying to revive said ancient god to strike back against an oppressive faction....


 You just *forget* that part and focus on the civil war? Why you do dis? D:<


----------



## Amnesiac

My day started out at the VA. I had several small moles and tiny skin-tags burnt off of my back with liquid nitrogen. Then, as a prerequisite for going to a chiropractor, I spent the afternoon getting my neck and back X-rayed. I _was_ going to go to karate this evening, but I think I'm going to just go home and take it easy.


----------



## Olly Buckle

If I have problems I go to an experienced osteopath. He will get me to stand with my back to a nice, even, north window, light and look at it. That seems so much better than being exposed to still more x-rays.


----------



## Amnesiac

Olly Buckle said:


> If I have problems I go to an experienced osteopath. He will get me to stand with my back to a nice, even, north window, light and look at it. That seems so much better than being exposed to still more x-rays.



I wish I had that option. I swear, the Veterans Administration acts like trying to maintain some preventative care that they don't offer there, like a chiropractor, for instance, is somehow "frivolous," or that one needs to have some dire medical condition in order for the authorization to use it is granted. Grrrr.. Frustrating beyond belief!


----------



## The Green Shield

Four hours later and I wrote 1,271 words. Total word-count is 22,015 words *and* the final paragraph of the story has been written. Draft is far from completion but there you have it. The ending has been written. ❤


----------



## Amnesiac

My wife has just found out that she has an autoimmune condition that is incurable, and will only get worse as she gets older. I am in a completely shit space, right now. I'm going to go write something violent and bloody, or maybe find a wall to punch, or maybe drive out to the river and just cry....


----------



## Olly Buckle

Something similar happened in our family recently, I felt the need to hold it together very strongly, she is much more directly involved and needs support. No going off crying and upsetting her further.


----------



## The Green Shield

I swear, I can't even play videogames without my creativity clamping down on_ something. _

_




_​


----------



## Amnesiac

No... I'm taking over all household chores and everything having to do with the kids. But I _do_ reserve the right to go off to myself, every often, and grieve. Otherwise, I'll go crazier than I already am.


----------



## SueC

Amnesiac, oh I am so sorry. Use your gifts to write about it, love letters, gut feelings. My thoughts are with you, my friend. We are all here for you, you know.


----------



## Arachne

Sending a big hug your way.

 And yes you do need some time to yourself to come to terms with it. Keep on top of the important things and sod the rest. Nobody ever died from wrinkled clothes x 




Amnesiac said:


> No... I'm taking over all household chores and everything having to do with the kids. But I _do_ reserve the right to go off to myself, every often, and grieve. Otherwise, I'll go crazier than I already am.


----------



## Amnesiac

Thank you.... Just taking things one day at a time, for now. We're heading to the beach, this weekend.


----------



## Arachne

Amnesiac said:


> Thank you.... Just taking things one day at a time, for now. We're heading to the beach, this weekend.



Great idea!


----------



## escorial

Try saying that drunk


----------



## Amnesiac

I need to re-home a dog. It's a shepherd/husky mix and tends to bark quite a bit. Let me know if you want it and I'll jump over the neighbor's fence and get it for you.


----------



## escorial

here's a dog you don't want anywhere..


Get down shep


----------



## Winston

Anubis?  Who's a good demigod?  Stay.  
Now, play dead.  

Sorry.  Sleep deprived. Intestinal discomfort last night.  Son's concert ran late, dinner didn't have time to digest before bed.  
Everyone is out of the house now.  Going to settle in and watch _Space 1999 _on YouTube.  Sure, the acting is wooden, and the plots are jumbled messes... 
but they blow something up every episode.   Eagle pilots are that series Red Shirts.


----------



## escorial

Ide call my Anubis Trump...


----------



## Kaze25

Bwahahahahahahaha... he'd have filled your house with Mexican Rats for you to leave, if you named him Trump

Sent from my ASUS_Z00LD using Tapatalk


----------



## Kaze25

Trying to be friends for one day, then back to normal after that.
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Sent from my ASUS_Z00LD using Tapatalk


----------



## Winston

Chore day.  Mostly inside the house, but I did lay down some beauty bark outside along our driveway.  We have the pretty daffodils sprouting.  They deserve a presentable bed.
Did some writing.  Then, sliced some lemon and threw it in my hard lemonade I'm brewing.   
Got a call from my daughter.  She has an interview for an entry-level job at the shipyard.  She's excited, and I'm happy for her.


----------



## Dluuni

Last writers group meeting, I had about two ounces of brewed coffee in milk, with a sandwich, at 7:00 PM. At 5:30 AM, I stopped being completely wired. The next day I was tired and idly sipped some soda, boom migraine and again, could not sleep.
So I haven't had caffeine in three days. My head has been hurting nonstop and my productivity is suffering.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Caffeine is quite addictive, I know a couple of people who get blinding headaches if they don't get their daily shot, hope you get past it soon.


----------



## escorial

The ameture dramatic society is at it ..



One shud support the luvies..my best cravat shall be worn


----------



## Darkkin

Spent way too much time at the DMV because current W2s, a birth certificate, driver's lincense, passport, Social Security Card, certificate of rent, and a federally registered change of address letter are not sufficient proof of residence.  What does qualify, phone bills, cable bills, hell even letters from the department of corrections, but none of the above forms were acceptable.  It took a trip to my bank and an official printed copy (letterhead was requisite) of my bank statement with address to appease the requirement on their lists...Switching the actual car title took two minutes.  My license change more than four hours between various stops to accrue more than what I had originally brought.  Paperless everything is nice until official, federal documentation is not enough for the state government.  I don't have cable, a cell phone plan, never been to jail so no on DOC documentation, banking I do online, and my printer is on the fritz at the moment so I do not have print capabilities at home, and the process for a library card, also requires proof from the same list as the DMV.  If changes are filed on federal documents and reflected on said documents, why is that not enough for the local government?


----------



## Winston

Darkkin said:


> ...why is that not enough for the local government?








The DMV don't care, either.


----------



## Amnesiac

Currently looking at houses. Narrowed it down to two choices:

1. Mid-century Modern house with a crap-ton of problems, plus the owner's parents owned the house, but they croaked a couple of years ago. She doesn't live in town and the whole place has fallen into disrepair. Additionally, since standing empty for so long, someone broke in and stole all the appliances. We've made a very generous cash offer on the house, and she's still being infantile about it, convinced there aren't any problems. Our real estate agent spent the morning photographing the entire catalog of problems. So... We'll see. (Truth be told, I'm not thrilled about this house. It looks/feels haunted and angry. On the other hand, my wife has her heart set on it, thus rendering any misgivings I may have immediately null and void.) *sigh*

2. A beautiful little house that may need the carpet ripped out of the bathrooms. (I can't believe people actually put carpet in bathrooms at one point...) Anyway, aside from that, and the fact that the windows are a little small, it's move-in ready. The trouble is, it's $30K more than the first house, but it doesn't have ANY problems, though it lacks character and my wife hates it, thus rendering my opinion, yet again, null and void.

F*ck, I hate shopping for homes. /smh... Grrr...


----------



## escorial

Wait until brexit has gone through an you can buy a palace or a council estate for the price of a boat to sail to Europe as a economic migrant...


----------



## escorial

Three ladies got on the train and sat next to me..one opened a can of gin an tonic the other fixed her lippy an the one who sat next to the window made room for her penis balloon..


----------



## Winston

escorial said:


> ...an the one who sat next to the window made room for her penis balloon..



I'm afraid to ask, esc... wut?!?
Happy-face clown?


----------



## escorial

they we're on their way to a hen party.....


----------



## The Green Shield

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I've just hit the big 30K of my fantasy. :O


----------



## Winston

Just finishing packing for our trip to Washington DC.  My son's band is marching in the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.  My daughter and I are flying right behind them, like camp followers.
My wife is not so hot about flying, and has elected to hold down the fort.  
I won't be taking any pictures, as my camera phone has been disabled for my work security.  I'm pretty sure my kids will take enough.  
So, I won't be posting much, but I'll drop by to stalk.  
I'll report back later on all the swamp critters we spot.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Staying at a friend's & making beef stew in the crock pot.  With her spices. Most of her spices are...dusty. The cloves & the dill didn't make me sneeze, so, into the pot they went! Then added lots of salt & some pepper, too. And semi-dusty-smelling basil & oregano. But not too much. Only wanted it to taste semi-dusty, not fully dusty.

I have no idea how well this is going to turn out. I would normally never dream of dilling or cloving a beef stew but somehow they sniffed well together with the touch of mustard I squeezed in. (Okay, somewhere someone's reading this & thinking, 'eew! Better your stew than my stew!' I hear ya'. But otherwise it would have just been salt & pepper. :disturbed 

Timer's up in ten. 

Wish me luck!


----------



## The Green Shield

That Moment When:

You realize that Kobila, your deaf-mute protagonist in her standalone and a major character in 'The Alkorian Legends', might *actually* have her own political opinions that may not jive with the overall theme of 'don't be a dick to the little guys (i.e., the Necri)'. 

*sighs* 

I surrender my disability card. *hands it over* Apparently being half-blind and half-deaf and going to a school for the deaf and blind didn't teach me anything. -_-


----------



## Darkkin

It was 70° and sunny yesterday; it is now 20° and we have a blizzard warning in effect with 3 inches of snow already.  It has been snowing for less than an hour...;(


----------



## Kevin

Re-upping my lifeskill card, the hock a loogie box. 

You mock? Perhaps you're aghast? 

Well, mucus just happens to be where the pneumoniatic-coccyxsissus killsyoueventualis lives, and I've had a bad cold all week, so being able to ki-aye deeply, dribble that ball all the way up and out in one or two long, hard, deep with report *hock-tooeys!* thereby clearing my lungs is a lifeskill. Like swimming, or looking both ways before you cross the street. 

Watch out, here comes one.


----------



## escorial

popped into gallery to view a Rembrandt self portrait


----------



## Kevin

e-man, they only had one painting?


----------



## midnightpoet

I hate these spring fix-up/spruce up days.  Yesterday I planted a rosebush and nearly killed myself. Then I installed a new blind i the bedroom.  As usual, I can turn a ten minute job into a three hour ordeal, usually hurting myself in the process.  How hard is it to break a blind?  Never mind.  Where's the pain medicine?


----------



## escorial

They have a few leo scribbles on show an just sent Scully packing...


----------



## The Green Shield

Had a funny moment in the car shop where I couldn't find the clerk after I heard him ask if I needed anything, so ended up conveying my issue to a stand before I turned around and saw him approach. I went, "oh hello there!"  He was very polite, but I’m sure he thinks I’m a bit bizarre now. 


#DeafandHardofHearingProblems


----------



## andrewclunn

I've been deathly ill.  Now to catch up on my writing...


----------



## Kevin

What's worse:
Taliban blowing up stone Buddhas, 
or construction workers burning down the cathedral? Shame...


----------



## Megan Pearson

Very, very sad to learn about the cathedral...hope they were able to rescue the art & historic relics.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My mother ever since she has developed arthritis has always wanted to travel to france. I went to notre dame before it burned. I never took pictures which is a shame which now belongs in a museum now.


----------



## escorial

Why did god burn the cathedral...


----------



## Olly Buckle

His ways are mysterious.


----------



## escorial

Which god did it.. maybe there gentrifying up there


----------



## JustRob

escorial said:


> Why did god burn the cathedral...



Maybe it was His way of telling us that there are too many people and too little wood in the world nowadays.


----------



## escorial

It can be a very destructive god..did it save anyone from the fire..I've read it kills thousands but let's one or two live


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I've heard about the Notre Dame cathedral burning and the devastation, and destruction, that it caused. It makes me sad. 

But I also heard of hope: they plan to rebuild it. Maybe if they get a really good team of artisans, it can be be restored to its former glory?

Is there a silver lining even in loss?


----------



## Aquarelle

So much rain, so dark; I brought an inadequate lunch but I'm loathe to go outside.

Luckily I can get to Starbucks through the tunnels.


----------



## escorial

Went to a cafe that was built by a community..no architect or builders..sort of ad hoc..went in had lunch but was more interested in the concept..


----------



## Dluuni

Slipped on the ice and cracked the screen of the tablet I use to write on out of the house. It works, but the touch screen doesn't.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Pulled an all nighter because I couldn't sleep after a birthday celebration for a friend.

I aim to stay awake throughout the day, go to bed early, and rest up sharp for Saturday morning to get back to the regular schedule.


----------



## Aquarelle

It's Friday, sunny, and not cold (I won't go so far as to say warm, but). I went to Starbucks and was able to open the doors for a guy carrying a huge bucket of ice (they have to bring it up from their staging room downstairs). I have a new iPod Touch, which means I can listen to my music in the car again. It's a good day.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Aquarelle said:


> It's Friday, sunny, and not cold (I won't go so far as to say warm, but). I went to Starbucks and was able to open the doors for a guy carrying a huge bucket of ice (they have to bring it up from their staging room downstairs). I have a new iPod Touch, which means I can listen to my music in the car again. It's a good day.



I have an IPhone with Spotify premium. I really like listening to music wherever I go-- I travel by foot, and I find it raises my overall happiness for the day. Good for you-- yay for good days!

I, er, crashed between 1:15 and now. Staying up all day did not work. >_> I'll try not to stay up too late tonight, but if I sleep it should balance itself out somewhat. It is a Friday after-all-- time to enjoy the weekend.


----------



## Darkkin

Too tired to sleep even after an eleven hour day...so many books.  Crabby and disgruntled on the way home, but I found a poem enroute, so that helped a bit.  It might be delusional thinking on my part, but the piece is decent, very different from what I usually do.  A nod to the corner of the world I call home.


----------



## The Green Shield

I can’t believe I’ve lived in the South for 30 years and not once have I had crawfish until yesterday at the cookout. It’s so good! 




:O Looking forward to the next time I eat crawfish.​


----------



## Winston

God, I'm sore.
First day off since my trip to WA DC.  My wife doesn't do yard work, so I grabbed my weed-whacker with the zeal of a Crusader and his sword.  
Then the lawn mower.  Then bought and distributed shavings around the vegetable beds.  Weeded and prepped the beds.  Planted the carrot seeds straight into one bed.  The green beans and tomatillos I potted and am starting inside.  Quartered seed potatoes to plant next weekend. Along the driveway, I cut back the now defunct daffodil stocks.  
It looks nice out there now.  
Of course, before all that, I went to the gym.  I'd been off for a week, and I owed myself.  Oy, the way I ate in DC.  I'm paying for it now.  
My wife is making us a big Easter dinner.  Help me.


----------



## Darkkin

Looked up the meaning of a flower and asked who drew the stories written in the stars...ended up with an odd, yet cool piece.  And as Spock said of McCoy's sense of humour, 'You have a singular wit, Doctor.'  A sadly, singular bit of humour.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

1800 words.

Need to edit more. Backlog is growing while influx of new material is increasing. :X


----------



## Kevin

MIL put a mechanical chicken that sings, dances, and lays eggs as the centerpiece of our dinner. Disturbing to say the least. I may never recover .


----------



## Winston

Kevin said:


> MIL put a mechanical chicken that sings, dances, and lays eggs as the centerpiece of our dinner. Disturbing to say the least. I may never recover .



That was fowl.


----------



## Amnesiac

Bought a house. Been moving all week. Moving from a small condo we own to a nearly 2K sq. foot, two-story house. 50th birthday on the 13th of April. Still not finished moving. Moving estate furniture out of storage, moving furniture from the condo, moving other estate furniture to MIL's house... Mowing grass, planting trees and flowers, changing addresses through the Veteran's Administration, credit cards, DMV, and post office, Internet being connected tomorrow... On and on. It's all good. I'm sore, bruised, and exhausted. In between all of that, still carving out time to write. Good grief.


----------



## SueC

I wish I had a happy tale too, Amnesiac. You sound super busy, but so happy the house hunt is finally over. Good for you!

My day, early hours, began with a phone call to my cat's vet. In less than an hour from that call, my girl Penny was gone from me forever. I cried so much at the vet's, my girl in my arms, I couldn't talk and my perfect, Catholic-school penmanship went awry as I signed the form for "simple cremation."

She never took her eyes off of me and while they administered the lethal injection, I told her what a good girl she had been and thanked her for bringing me through some darker spots in life, and loving me always when it seemed no one else did. Her glance never wavered and it took me a minute to realize it had become lifeless. The doc got his stethoscope out and then nodded; she was gone. My face, trying to say comforting words, was the last thing she saw - contorted in grief.

This morning, on the couch, she had come to me and sat in my lap and purred as if nothing was afoot. I explained things to her; we had a chat like we did every morning, but this one was to be our last. She had stopped eating and then drinking several weeks ago. Blood tests came back normal, but she continued on and hid and slept longer than ever, losing weight and looking odd. She'd come out from her hiding place under the wing chair and we'd snuggle some, but she never stayed long. She had stopped waking me up at God-awful 5:00 a.m. and I knew then we were in trouble.

So, I am now Penny-less and it hurts like hell.


----------



## PiP

Sounds like you are enjoying the move, Amnesiac


----------



## Dluuni

Rough draft finished! I'll compile it this afternoon before the RWA meeting and do some light cleanup before I rest it, for sake of me and my alpha readers. Tomorrow I get to start a new book.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

My most recent draft for one of my short stories, according to a group of critiquers, did not go over well. Now I have to go back to the old draft and start over. I chalk it up to a learning experience.

Meanwhile, I finished Galilee by Clive Barker today and started Culture and Imperialism by Edward W. Said. It's a very intriguing book. =D


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 23654

The sum of my day...


----------



## Amnesiac

SueC said:


> I wish I had a happy tale too, Amnesiac. You sound super busy, but so happy the house hunt is finally over. Good for you!
> 
> My day, early hours, began with a phone call to my cat's vet. In less than an hour from that call, my girl Penny was gone from me forever. I cried so much at the vet's, my girl in my arms, I couldn't talk and my perfect, Catholic-school penmanship went awry as I signed the form for "simple cremation."
> 
> She never took her eyes off of me and while they administered the lethal injection, I told her what a good girl she had been and thanked her for bringing me through some darker spots in life, and loving me always when it seemed no one else did. Her glance never wavered and it took me a minute to realize it had become lifeless. The doc got his stethoscope out and then nodded; she was gone. My face, trying to say comforting words, was the last thing she saw - contorted in grief.
> 
> This morning, on the couch, she had come to me and sat in my lap and purred as if nothing was afoot. I explained things to her; we had a chat like we did every morning, but this one was to be our last. She had stopped eating and then drinking several weeks ago. Blood tests came back normal, but she continued on and hid and slept longer than ever, losing weight and looking odd. She'd come out from her hiding place under the wing chair and we'd snuggle some, but she never stayed long. She had stopped waking me up at God-awful 5:00 a.m. and I knew then we were in trouble.
> 
> So, I am now Penny-less and it hurts like hell.
> 
> View attachment 23644



Oh Sue... ((HUGGGGGG)) I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet Penny. I had to put down Bear, my great Pyrenees, about eight months ago... I still tear up. I miss that shaggy old boy... He was almost 12 years old, and that's pretty long-lived for a giant breed.

I chose Lord Byron's epitaph for his Newfoundland for Bear's grave:
_Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.

_

I still have three cats. A shorthair calico named (Satan) Micky, a longhair calico named Maggie, and a shorthair white cat that's huge. (We suspect he's half bobcat). The two calicos are getting a little long in the tooth, but they are still spry and playful. The new house has given them a new lease on life. They are acting like kittens, again. LOL


----------



## Winston

We have a large ornamental cherry tree in our front lawn, and the wind is blowing.
Soft pink snowflakes are fluttering in front of our living room window.  The wind chime is playing a tune for them to dance to.  

A few dandelions have survived my earlier assault. I think I'm going to change tactics and pick them instead,  Never made dandelion wine, yet.


----------



## escorial

My Ariel has come lose because I can't get all the channels but I've noticed while watching the snooker that it goes hazy when the winds blowing but the really annoying one is when those bleeding birds sit off on my Ariel an ruin my snooker on the tv


----------



## Olly Buckle

Time to pot the black-bird.


----------



## Darkkin

Found a couple of pieces that needed writing that I didn't even realise were in need of writing until they were written.


----------



## escorial

Olly Buckle said:


> Time to pot the black-bird.



Jive talking...


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I shouldn't have stayed up until 4 A.M. :grumpy:


----------



## Olly Buckle

My water butts are almost empty, but if there is any rain I now have a gutter on the shed at the bottom of the garden and another butt. Bit less walking too not having it all one end.


----------



## Winston

Still recuperating from that wild party last night.  Loud music.  Boys dancing with boys,  girls dancing with girls.  The strange cult-like customs...

It was our local Junior Naval ROTC Navy Ball.  The kids had a blast.  I and the other chaperones ended-up drinking a lot of coffee.  It was a late night, for an old guy like me.  
My son and his date looked dashing.  It's a formal affair, and we had to walk a fine line with many of the girls and approving their dresses (classy vs too revealing).  
My boy is in line for top-leadership next year, so he was tapped as the cadet Master Of Ceremonies.  He did a great job.  We all know how hard public speaking is.  

My wife (booster club vice-president) noted how some of the kids are generally socially awkward, but felt comfortable last night and let loose.  For some, they would never go to the Prom, and this is their big dance.  There were a lot of smiles.  Dancing to "Baby Shark" and Parliament's "Flashlight" (my suggestion, I like funk).  

Since it matters to some:  This year's cadet Commander is Pacific Islander, his XO is a female.  About half of our Cadet Corps is non-white.  This isn't some boy's club with a bunch of flat-top wearing jerks named Chet.  I know a couple of the cadets are LBGTQ, and choose which uniform style that they identify with.  Our chaplain wears a cross / crescent moon brass insignia.  The cadets performed 3200 hours of community service last year, with a majority on MLK Day of Service.  They share values, but the kids get to be themselves.  Being successful and having fun are not mutually exclusive.  
Not a bunch of drunken frat boys like you thought?  Check your bias.


----------



## escorial

The saying death and taxes are the only certainties in life forgot to add stereotypes to that short list


----------



## Olly Buckle

> Not a bunch of drunken frat boys like you thought? Check your bias.



You are international here, I don't even know what Junior Naval ROTC is. In this part of the world any initials beginning with an R it usually stands for 'Royal'. Naval and I thought something like Sea Cadets, sort of water borne boy scouts, but I don't know.


----------



## Winston

Olly Buckle said:


> You are international here, I don't even know what Junior Naval ROTC is. In this part of the world any initials beginning with an R it usually stands for 'Royal'. Naval and I thought something like Sea Cadets, sort of water borne boy scouts, but I don't know.



You don't need an Universal Translator. You're already pretty close.

The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) was set up decades ago to create a pool of skilled military leaders, to develop and draw from for today's modern armed forces.  
Many US colleges have a ROTC program that runs concurrent with civilian academic programs.  Trained officers are readied outside of the confines (and restrictions) of a formal military academy.  

My son's organization is a "Junior" group, run at the high school level.  It's like a prep program.  The "Naval" part really is superfluous, as the cadets end up choosing any branch they desire anyway.
Or, quite often, none at all.  The program's goals is to create more responsible citizens and better leaders, whether that be in or out of the service. 

Olly, I'm sure even across the pond there you've seen movies like "Animal House", where the military focused students are depicted one step above shaved apes.  There are many other ignorant examples of that bias.  Just providing a tangible, real alternative view.   Seriously, they're really good kids.


----------



## Dluuni

Just put a thirteen page file of notes and outline down for a novella for my writing group. Tomorrow I am going to start on one of the scenes. Playing with second person present on this one, because my main viewpoint character is a mess.


----------



## escorial

Went 2 Tate


----------



## Olly Buckle

A really rubbish day, a headlight bulb went in the morning, I had a puncture in the afternoon and came home in the evening to find a letter from the hospital saying my blood test results indicate I may be getting liver fibrosis. On the other hand it rained, the garden will be loving that.


----------



## Dluuni

Yesterday I went to visit a friend who lives off off off the beaten track; she broke a rib recently, and her wife is out of state on business. We visited and ate homemade tacos.
I got lots of description to use in my WIP about how mile by mile, the use of blue tarpaulin, weathered pallets, and irregular scraps of plywood as central building materials increased...
Then my husband slipped in possibly the very same spot she had, and twisted his ankle a bit.


----------



## Jacqui Jay

Up at 4:30 am, walking in Sherwood Forest looking for redstarts. Didn't find any, but saw tree pipits and willow warblers.
Home to cook low-carb chicken rogan josh with cauliflower rice for lunch.
Feet-up in afternoon, mooching round the internet.
In the evening a visit from my daughter, grand-daughter and great grandson, so some four generation pictures.
I gave one of my old cameras to Hannah (grand-daughter) and spent a couple of hours teaching her to use it, while Barney (7 month old great grandson) ate the instructions I had written out for her.
Watched some soaps on catch-up after they left (large gin and tonic) and to bed for 10:30 pm.


----------



## Kevin

The four of us left Deliverance country traveling east into North Carolina. Wanynesville, excellent! Rented an air'b'n'b up a holler. Beauty. Birds, stream outside; no jets, sirens, dull roar of freeway. Some big trees, man, an no skeeters! Dang! Nice folks. Drove into town, bro used the art galleries, thrift shops. Ate, then found a brewery in the Frog Level part of town and drank not IPA, but Porter creek side again. A couple of non-venomous snakes lounged on the rocks. Everybody was friendly.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Kevin said:


> The four of us left Deliverance country traveling east into North Carolina. Wanynesville, excellent! Rented an air'b'n'b up a holler. Beauty. Birds, stream outside; no jets, sirens, dull roar of freeway. Some big trees, man, an no skeeters! Dang! Nice folks. Drove into town, bro used the art galleries, thrift shops. Ate, then found a brewery in the Frog Level part of town and drank not IPA, but Porter creek side again. A couple of non-venomous snakes lounged on the rocks. Everybody was friendly.



Oooooo. Did you take any pics?


----------



## Plasticweld

Kevin said:


> The four of us left Deliverance country traveling east into North Carolina. Wanynesville, excellent! Rented an air'b'n'b up a holler. Beauty. Birds, stream outside; no jets, sirens, dull roar of freeway. Some big trees, man, an no skeeters! Dang! Nice folks. Drove into town, bro used the art galleries, thrift shops. Ate, then found a brewery in the Frog Level part of town and drank not IPA, but Porter creek side again. A couple of non-venomous snakes lounged on the rocks. Everybody was friendly.




Deliverance country, I like to think of it this way.  The city is veneer, pretty on the outside, no thicker than a business card. It has no strength, it is just sawdust and wood chips on the other.  It fools people into being something it is not...just pretend wood. The snakes bite even though they look friendly.

Deliverance country is life with the defects, solid, what you see is what you get, while imperfect it is what the veneer seeks to emulate with none of the strength.  The people are friendly, and everyone will tell you to not be surprised when a snake acts like a snake.

I once had a conversation with someone who hated the south and southerners. She could tell they did not like her down there. she was a city gal and she would have been just as much out of place in rural Maine as she was in Georgia.  I told her I fit right in in both place and alway felt comfortable.  Country folks like country folks, I would be just as out of place in a city down south as I was in a city in the north or west coast. 


And What!   No pictures :}


----------



## Winston

Really good family news.  I don't feel like sharing, at this moment. 
I'm just happy that often times things work out, and the good guy wins.


----------



## Kevin

I took some picks but I don't know how to post. Doesn't matter.... 4 lane highway, semi-east/west through forested mountains. 
We're off on a single lane drive that follows a creek uphill. 

They, the mountains, all look no more than 1500' in elevation change. In other words, if you had to climb one it'd be about a half hour. 
We passed a sign that said Currahee. I know that mountain from Band of Brothers. "3 miles up; 3 miles down." 

There's fir trees, maybe some cedar, but mostly everything are leaf-bearing and a lot have actual flowers.  There green herbs everywhere under those trees and wherever it's open 'lawns' around homes they're not much grass but there's wildflowers- violets, pennyroyal, clover- all sorts of herbs either in flower or getting ready to. 
There's big azalea bushes,  some 8' tall in full of blooms. It rained yesterday, rained some today, but still shorts and t-shirt weather.


----------



## Darkkin

Saw Avengers Endgame, ate some ice cream, and planted larkspur, hollihocks, pinks, strawberries, and several species of flox and hosta.  Also killed the Monster Thistle from Hell.  The root was the size of a large carrot. :/


----------



## Theglasshouse

Been going to the dentist. After a while I should receive hopefully in 2 weeks or 3 the software. It's what I will use for rewriting stories in the editing and revision process for writing and reading with disabilities. It's the only good program I like on windows. Macs have everything software related for disabilities. Also penned in my notebook an important plot which I will use to finish what I started. I will be proud when I finish it but I am a long way of from recovering back my computer since it is in United states. My cousin is doing this himself to help me after years of no treatment for dyslexia and dysgraphia.  The company is reluctant to help me install the program since the company does not want to help people outside certain countries. All I have been using is a kindle fire to log on. I tried contacting them but apparently they only help residents.


----------



## Dluuni

GD and the ridiculous trauma glitchiness associated with it is a kick in the head sometimes.
I've been distracted for half of the day trying to figure out how to optimize some of my social media to get at least one skeezy unsolicited message from random men, since it's one of those things that people I know about complain about all the time. Not being able to commiserate makes me feel defective, somehow, and there are very few people who understand why.
Also, tearfully mourned the death of a religious author I never read who follows a religion I was driven from decades ago—she was nice in my general direction—and dealt with a friend spewing hate first thing in the morning. Exhausting... Now it's 1:20 am and I am trying to get my daily chapter written. Tomorrow, we have the grandbaby, and that's horrible for my word count.


----------



## Olly Buckle

How was my day? What day? I got up early, had a shower, felt a bit tired, had a cup of coffee and went for a little lie down while it kicked in, woke up four o'clock this afternoon, day gone.


----------



## escorial

That's the rock star life man


----------



## Olly Buckle

Yeah, it wears me down nowadays, continuous booze, drugs and women, can't cope like I used to.


----------



## Winston

Olly Buckle said:


> Yeah, it wears me down nowadays, continuous booze, drugs and women, can't cope like I used to.



Nietzsche:  That which does not kill us makes us stronger(?)
Or, you just die happy.  A win either way.


----------



## escorial

Olly Buckle said:


> Yeah, it wears me down nowadays, continuous booze, drugs and women, can't cope like I used to.



Bazz Cargo been there worn the t shirt


----------



## Amnesiac

"What doesn't kill me had better haul ass, because I'll be bringing a level of wrath that can only be described as 'Old Testament.'" -Me. LOL

Let's see... I tore down an old ceiling fan, rewired and installed a new one, tore apart one of the leaking bathroom sinks and fixed it, mowed and edged the grass in the backyard and front yard, went shooting clay pigeons and didn't do too badly, and had some beers. All in all, not a bad weekend.


----------



## escorial

Was looking forward to the snooker final but it was over soon as...


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I attended an in-person critique group and made some new contacts. I was nervous about my piece, being that it was only my first draft, but I received serious praise. Yay! :glee:

I'll be editing that piece and posting it on here for some more critique!


----------



## The Green Shield

Rant Time:

The funny thing about anxiety, to me, is that it makes me worry about the most random thing in my books. Things that honestly have no real meaning but it says otherwise.

The last two days, it's been hammering at me with an old worry that I thought I had banished half a decade ago: what if I offend someone. Like take my old Colonial mystery I used to talk about here: how most of the cast are white guys with, maybe, four ladies and not very many POC. In a historical fiction set in Colonial America.

Or take my fantasy. I'm a white guy from the American Deep South writing about a young teen named Mishu Jerni from a persecuted minority, oh, and she has dark skin because she's Rejormi. Oh, and did I mention she's a Necri (think necromancers) and it's being necromancers that causes them to be persecuted?

I thought I had banished this nonsense. D:< Yes, of course, be as sensitive as I can, treat all my characters as people, no caricatures, People of Minority only being used as a crutch for the Not-Minority people, but these thoughts of "Am I allowed to write xyz?" WHY IS IT STILL IN MY HEAD!? I thought I was past all this shit. D:<

*sighs*

Frankly, the fact I'm still reasonably sane is a goddamn miracle. My stories are fine, I'm not going to change them. Mishu's still her little tough self surviving against all odds. I'm just airing out what's been tapdancing across my brain for the last few days.


----------



## Darkkin

My To Be Read pile has four new additions to it...that will keep me busy through maybe Friday.  :-?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Darkkin said:


> My To Be Read pile has four new additions to it...that will keep me busy through maybe Friday.  :-?



Ahh, me too, "Oh look, I'll have that one". I think charity shops get more books than they want, they regularly have sales, four books for a pound the other day, now I have to deal with 'Bad English', 'Richard the third', a 'Hornblower' I have not read for years, and something else I can not even remember, but I know it is essential reading.


----------



## Darkkin

Somehow I ended up with a purring cat in my lap; I haven't even been home five minutes.


----------



## The Green Shield

Some fuckwit decided putting a goddamn car door in the way of our bathrooms was a good idea. 


IT IS NOT! IT IS THE OPPOSITE OF A GOOD IDEA! EVEN A DEAF-BLIND TODDLER WOULD KNOW THIS!!!!


----------



## Kevin

The Green Shield said:


> Some fuckwit decided putting a goddamn car door in the way of our bathrooms was a good idea.
> 
> 
> IT IS NOT! IT IS THE OPPOSITE OF A GOOD IDEA! EVEN A DEAF-BLIND TODDLER WOULD KNOW THIS!!!!


welcome to my daily world. That thing would be un-primed, not wrapped in protective plastic, getting rained on, came at 4:30 pm after everyone left. And it's the wrong one.


----------



## midnightpoet

Ever since I retired as Purchasing Manager I think the whole supply chain has blown to hell.:icon_cheesygrin:


----------



## Kevin

midnightpoet said:


> Ever since I retired as Purchasing Manager I think the whole supply chain has blown to hell.:icon_cheesygrin:


I had a girl in Tennessee complain to me that "No one has ever asked for a contact number-" to reach their independent shipper before.  Really? You're sending us $10,000.00  worth of fragile, damagable goods that will have to be offloaded and stocked to the site by hand (you're not sending a forklift) and no other customer has ever tried to find out the time of delivery (to recieve such goods) so they can plan for it?
"Here's their number." 
Thank you, Dear. I appreciate it.


----------



## midnightpoet

Wife's father a truck driver back in the 30's he always inspected the truck and if it wasn't stacked right he made
them fix it. Of course he wasn't with the union. A lot of times a shipment showed up at our dock damaged from shifting.


----------



## Kevin

midnightpoet said:


> Wife's father a truck driver back in the 30's he always inspected the truck and if it wasn't stacked right he made
> them fix it. Of course he wasn't with the union. A lot of times a shipment showed up at our dock damaged from shifting.


We mistakenly received a pallet of apple sauce with our doors. The sauce blocked our removal of our product so we called and had them come and get it. They did, but they spilled cases and left them. Union..,


----------



## Darkkin

It is garage sale week in our town, as such, we did a purge of the basement and the garage, (both are now eerily neat and organised), we didn't have enough junk for a Goodwill run, let alone a garage sale.  Little victories!


----------



## Winston

Helped my son edit his acceptance speech for appointment to NJROTC Cadet Commander.  It actually wasn't too bad, and just needed a bit of polish.  
The Change of Command ceremony is next week.  My little boy is all grown up now, and in charge of 150 cadets.  Seems like just yesterday we were watching SpongeBob Squarepants and listening to Weird Al Yankovitch. 
Oh, that's right, that was yesterday.  My bad.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

My brain is fizzled. Saturday was wild.


----------



## Darkkin

Went to one of my favourite anitque show/flea markets today.  90 minute drive, but well worth the effort.  Perfect weather for it, overcast and cool.  Rue was a great help in haggling down prices, I came in $50.00 under budget.  What can I say, my dog is a charmer.    Overall, as close to a perfect Sunday as can be had.


----------



## midnightpoet

Bard_Daniel said:


> My brain is fizzled. Saturday was wild.



Hello Bard Daniel aka Daniel STJ


----------



## Bard_Daniel

midnightpoet said:


> Hello Bard Daniel aka Daniel STJ





I had deleted my old e-mail and couldn't remember my login details. I have no way to log into the old one, thus to prove it was me, and I thought I'd re-sign up. Hopefully, that's OK...

I've sent Gumby a PM to try and talk about this. Hopefully, this doesn't involve a ban.  In retrospect, I should've mentioned it, but it was so long ago. You guys even changed the outline of the site and everything. It looks really nice!


----------



## Amnesiac

Let's see.... Completed final edits of a novella I've been working on and sent it to two beta readers. Managed to aggravate my wife no less than about five different times, this morning. (Trust me; this is far less than usual!) Off-loaded about fifty cinder-blocks. Tired, tired, tired... Fighting a headache. Tired of myself.


----------



## The Green Shield

Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to report that limiting my beer intake to just two on Fridays and Saturdays, and weights every other day has done wonders to help my anxiety. I no longer feel the pull towards alcohol like I did two weeks ago.​


----------



## Amnesiac

Just got back from seeing my amazing chiropractor. Novella (technically a novelette), is 12,508 words, and 49 pages. (Times NR, 12 pt font) It's the longest thing I've ever written, and it could probably be longer, but it wouldn't add significantly to the story. When there's nothing more to add or subtract, that's how I know it's finished.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I subscribed to The Criterion Collection's new online site. Time to watch some award winners! 

Currently watching The Great Dictator.


----------



## -xXx-

symposium tomorrow.
waited a looooooong year.
will be incredibly dense
and
long in hours.
still way excited!
_*looks at prep list*_


----------



## Winston

Delivery door was broken today.  Had to figure out how to move in two 10 foot long steel bars, each weighing a couple of hundred pounds.  
First problem was they were packed tight in a long crate.  Had to use a crowbar just to lift it enough to grab it.  Bend at the knees, back straight, one end on a rolling cart. Lift other end, slide.
Repeat for second bar.  
No smashed fingers.  No tweaked back.  Good day.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Attended a "Novel Structure" workshop. I made some more contacts and had several great discussions alongside the lecture given by the organizer. A very fun night and one that has made me feel great! :emmersed:


----------



## The Green Shield

That moment you try to make a sarcastic joke at your own expense (as a white Episcopalian) and get flagged by Facebook as using hate speech.


Here is the horrifying post.








Guess we white folks can't make fun of ourselves anymore. :O


----------



## Amnesiac

Well, crap. As I've been editing my short story, it morphed into a novella. And now, the damnable thing said, "Oh no! I wanna' be a NOVEL!" WHAAAA!!!

Okay: Tantrum over. Back to the grindstone!


----------



## Dluuni

The Green Shield said:


> That moment you try to make a sarcastic joke at your own expense (as a white Episcopalian) and get flagged by Facebook as using hate speech.
> "Guess we white folks can't make fun of ourselves anymore." :O


Yeah, as every woman, PoC, or Q type online has learned, you can't say anything even remotely bad about cishet white men or you will get instantly flagged. We have to invent new words to talk about them to speak in even slightly less than glowing terms. It's messed up. I've had posts pulled down for less pretty often.

Death threats, assertions of inherent criminality and inferiority, and graphic suggestions of stochastic violence against people who aren't purely able, neurotypical, dyallocishet yt xian males is perfectly fine, however. I get people making death threats or comments about how I am a criminal pervert on a regular basis. Facebook never takes action against those when I report them.

You get used to it... 

Husband had to get up early to drive 50 miles each way to a training at 8.


The training started at 9, not 8.
They had to cancel the class.
...ergh.


----------



## -xXx-

awesome presentations!
even got a nasa sticker!
sat with french researcher
that turned out to be
the keynote speaker!
AND
found the mtn dew on the first try!
yeah, worth waiting a year....
;D


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Got my entry for the Fiction Competition in on time. Phew! I cut it close.


----------



## Kevin

After work, I hiked a trail loop for the second time since before the rainy season. That's twice in a week. 

It was totally grown over with mustard plants. Painted ladies were in the thousands. I think this year is the most painted ladies I've ever seen. 

The trail goes up, and up, and then a little down, and then up a lot and across. On top of some cliffs there's an abandoned swimming pool that only got built to the gunite stage, and the kids have tagged it up, completely. Every year it becomes a frog pond. I always stop there and watch the little swimming things. First time, this year, someone put in mosquito fish. 

Nearby, there's some crows - four of them - maybe they're ravens, since I know ravens only like it out in the wild- that have been there both times; two over at some cliffs, and two in a nearby oak. They caw and fly away when they see me. 

I felt good good, so I ran all the way down. I had to be careful- because it's been so long- that my knees didn't buckle. The trail's really steep, and rutted, and the plants grab at your legs. One little mistake, and you'd go down. 

It was cold out - a storm coming- but I wasn't cold. I made it home before dark.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Kevin, that whole experience sounds like it would make a great short story!


----------



## Kevin

Bard_Daniel said:


> Kevin, that whole experience sounds like it would make a great short story!


A very short story


----------



## Darkkin

Had a book request that short circuited my card catalogue of a brain today...Customer was serious when they asked, 'Do you carry Common Sense for Dummies or books like it?'  First book that leaps to mind was Thomas Paine's Common Sense, nope.  They wanted Common Sense for Dummies...not books on history.  They got huffy when I honestly did not know how to respond.  Where would one even start to look for a book like that?  College survivial guides?  Disaster prep and survivial guides?  I could not even ballpark this request and that is saying something.  I can almost always come up with a suggestion or a similarly congruent title.  This left me flabbergasted, bemused, and finally vastly entertained once my brain came back on line.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Have been soliciting for readers for this fall. I have 5 so far, with another 2 possible. They are mostly moms with teenage-ish daughters and one recently teen young lady. I am so excited. I wrote this manuscript over a decade ago and life has just been too busy to dust it off until yesterday, which is the official start of its rewrite. Their feedback will give perspective on what they want to see their daughters reading, how they think it will connect with today's youth, and hopefully they will pass along the manuscript so I can get some teen reader input, too. I originally wrote this story for high school / college aged students but am now thinking it might fit better with middle school aged students instead. Hopefully their feedback will help me resolve this marketing question! 

I have a very specific reader-response critique sheet in mind to help my readers provide the useful insight I am looking for. (It's variation on one Orson Scott Card shared in one of his books on writing.) Maybe I will post it when I get that far?

Now, on to make that rewrite happen!


----------



## Winston

My son's been busy since he was appointed Cadet Battalion Commander of his Junior ROTC unit.  And my wife and I have been busy supporting him. But he's been getting support from a bunch of folks.
Here he is with his girlfriend right after his promotion:





And here he is with his Command Staff after the ceremony:




And today, after his unit won the drill competition during the Armed Forces Day Parade:




Left to right:  The wife of our State Representative, Battalion Senior Chief,  Battalion Captain, 7-11 Regional Vice President, my son.
Our state Representative has been there for our kids.  He attends all their functions.  Brought his kids today (7 and 9 years of age).  One dressed as a Big Bite hotdog.  When the other son didn't want to dress as a Slurpee, our Rep put on the costume.   He helped cook hotdogs and served our kids, as well as the parade attendees.  
And, can we stop hating on "corporate America" all the time?  Please?  7-11 let us use their parking lot, provided food and prize money.  The franchise owner was there on a Saturday, losing money.  But the owner was smiling.  
Everyone was smiling.  That's the neat thing that happens when a community comes together.


----------



## Amnesiac

Darkkin said:


> Had a book request that short circuited my card catalogue of a brain today...Customer was serious when they asked, 'Do you carry Common Sense for Dummies or books like it?'  First book that leaps to mind was Thomas Paine's Common Sense, nope.  They wanted Common Sense for Dummies...not books on history.  They got huffy when I honestly did not know how to respond.  Where would one even start to look for a book like that?  College survivial guides?  Disaster prep and survivial guides?  I could not even ballpark this request and that is saying something.  I can almost always come up with a suggestion or a similarly congruent title.  This left me flabbergasted, bemused, and finally vastly entertained once my brain came back on line.



Reminds me: Years ago, I was working in a little bookstore. A woman of a certain age comes in and asks for a book on the Kama Sutra. Okay... I take stock of the woman in question. She looks like someone's Sunday school teacher. Conservative white blouse, conservative black skirt, black hose, sensible black low-heels. Her hair is gray, permed, and she's wearing conservative earrings... Who am I to judge, right? So I take her back to a high shelf, reach up, and pull down a copy of the Kama Sutra. She leafs through it, her face growing red. She suddenly explodes, "WHAT is this SMUT?! This has NOTHING about the placing furniture, organizing colors, or anything of the sort!!" and she began stomping for the exit.
I called after her, "Ma'am, I think you were looking for Feng Shui!" Yeah... She wasn't having it.

Kama sutra, indeed... Hahahahaha....


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Lesson #1 (for moi): *Do not* go to the bar on Mondays.

But now, I digress into On Parenthesis by David Jones, recommended on here!


----------



## Darren White

Bard_Daniel said:


> But now, I digress into On Parenthesis by David Jones, recommended on here!


 I can second that recommendation, I recently finished the book.


----------



## SueC

Megan, what a wonderful, enthusiastic start. I hope your readers give you all the feedback you hope for. I'm excited for you, and I hope we get to read some here. Good luck!


----------



## SueC

Last night and today have been wet. Rain, rain and more rain. So wet and windy that you can't see where you are going, walking or driving. Tempers are short, darkness came at 7 p.m. last night. We're all frowning and I even broke out my winter coat, just to keep dry. Umbrellas are worthless in the wind. I'm sure I missed summer already, and a good portion of spring and the next thing I expect to see is snow, because winter is back. Bah! Humbug!


----------



## Rojack79

SueC said:


> Last night and today have been wet. Rain, rain and more rain. So wet and windy that you can't see where you are going, walking or driving. Tempers are short, darkness came at 7 p.m. last night. We're all frowning and I even broke out my winter coat, just to keep dry. Umbrellas are worthless in the wind. I'm sure I missed summer already, and a good portion of spring and the next thing I expect to see is snow, because winter is back. Bah! Humbug!



Oh God that sounds so nice. I miss California so much. But on the bright side don't have to go into work today or tomorrow. Yay


----------



## JustRob

Today my angel and I went to vote in the European parliamentary election that wouldn't have happened here if Brexit had been on time. Frankly those British urophiles just piss us off. Oh, pardon my French (which expression is not intended to imply that the French have a monopoly on profane language of course or be detrimental to them in any way at all, according to Wikipedia. Hmmm). Actually we have a French neighbour and my angel has offered to walk her dog while her family are away later in the year, but then my angel likes dogs. Oh dear, perhaps I had better stop digging this hole I'm in before someone starts pissing in it. 

Actually we've booked a one week holiday cruise on the Seine for next year, so my bark is evidently far worse than my bite. Actually my French is far worse than both, but maybe I'll tackle that problem next year.


----------



## Amnesiac

End of May, here in the San Joaquin valley. The weather is still chilly in the mornings, the sky has been full of dramatic clouds, the sunrises and sunsets have rivaled anything I experienced while I lived in Tennessee, and the rains have fallen and fallen like the kiss of God, here. We've been in an off-and-on drought since 1976. At last, the drought is over, the rivers are bursting their banks that were dry for years, the lakes are fuller than they've ever been, and there's still a crap-load of snow that has yet to finish melting.


----------



## Amnesiac

Just finished a novella? Novelette? 51 pages, 13,676 words. Still some minor edits, I'm sure. I'm even fooling around with going back and developing a couple of supporting characters a little more, but for now, I'm satisfied; and exhausted.


----------



## escorial

Spent 2 hours in a second hand record shop and came away with nothing...later on walked into a CD shop an bought the first one I picked up...


----------



## Winston

Helped at the Eagle's Lodge for a pancake breakfast fundraiser.  
Stepped out for some air, and noticed the new growth on the pine trees.  I saw fresh, tender Blue Spruce tips.  
I picked as many tips as I could cram into my empty water bottle.  They're in the freezer now.  The next batch of beer I brew will be made with real Spruce Tips, not the oil I've used before.  
It's gonna be yummy.


----------



## escorial

It was so Butch until yummy


----------



## Megan Pearson

escorial said:


> Spent 2 hours in a second hand record shop and came away with nothing...



Stopped into a few second-hand shops myself today. 

The last one we esceaped from was this falling down equipment shed operated by a crusty shopkeep with junk that arrived back in 1971...the back room was open to the forest beyond, it was dim, filled with fouled lumber and broken machinery. Even the dust had dust. (if I ever write a horror story, I know where they hid the body...)


----------



## escorial

There is so many people to watch in these places..the one who wants you to know his musical taste,the quite searcher looking for a rare one,the seller hoping for retail prices...the list is endless..


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Watched classic interviews with a friend yesterday. I feel it really broadened my perspective.

I read a lot today, finishing: Doctor Sax (Kerouac), Dream Psychology (Freud), The Archinians and Knights (Aristophanes), Hermann and Dorothea (Goethe), and The Countess Cathleen (Yeats.)


----------



## Winston

Going through old film photos I scanned a few years ago.  I was in a hurry, so I grouped them and scanned 4 to 6 per scan.  Today, I clipped them individually.
My mom had a lot of friends in Hawaii.  She's in the back row, left side.  




I have the honor / burden of being the family historian / scribe.  But sometimes when I get to spend time with my mom again, it's okay.


----------



## Amnesiac

She's beautiful.


----------



## Amnesiac

I started painting this a few weeks ago, and finally finished it. I could have added more detail to the table, but I got impatient. Next painting, I'll take a little more time with it...



Three Sunflowers
(acrylic on board canvas)


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Amnesiac said:


> I started painting this a few weeks ago, and finally finished it. I could have added more detail to the table, but I got impatient. Next painting, I'll take a little more time with it...
> 
> View attachment 23788
> 
> Three Sunflowers
> (acrylic on board canvas)



Love it! Nice!


----------



## Amnesiac

Thank you!  It was a fun piece.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Amnesiac said:


> I started painting this a few weeks ago, and finally finished it. I could have added more detail to the table, but I got impatient. Next painting, I'll take a little more time with it...
> 
> View attachment 23788
> 
> Three Sunflowers
> (acrylic on board canvas)




Wow, that's really nice.

I rather thought the absent detail gave it a richer impressionistic feel. (Would that depend on viewing its actual size? I don't know.)


----------



## Megan Pearson

A bit bummed this afternoon. As a chronic outsider (in real life--you guys always make me feel one of the crowd here!), I'm finding that taking risks out of the ordinary may also lead to rejection out of the ordinary, too. It's not so bad, really. 

But the reason I had to share this was because of my husband. After I made my lament to my husband, he grinned and said, "you don't want to be like J-- playing _Sorry_, do you?" I just had to laugh! Our grandson is learning how to play _Sorry_. (If you're not familiar with the game, it's truly obnoxious--part of the strategy of getting ahead is to send other players back to start!) This past weekend, we watched as he took great delight in sorrying his dad and sister, but when it came his turn to be sorried, he just melted! 

Yah, well, in light of this, I guess I can take a wee bit of rejection then, can't I?


----------



## Amnesiac

Thanks, Megan. It's 11 x 14."


----------



## Amnesiac

Megan Pearson said:


> A bit bummed this afternoon. As a chronic outsider (in real life--you guys always make me feel one of the crowd here!), I'm finding that taking risks out of the ordinary may also lead to rejection out of the ordinary, too. It's not so bad, really.
> 
> But the reason I had to share this was because of my husband. After I made my lament to my husband, he grinned and said, "you don't want to be like J-- playing _Sorry_, do you?" I just had to laugh! Our grandson is learning how to play _Sorry_. (If you're not familiar with the game, it's truly obnoxious--part of the strategy of getting ahead is to send other players back to start!) This past weekend, we watched as he took great delight in sorrying his dad and sister, but when it came his turn to be sorried, he just melted!
> 
> Yah, well, in light of this, I guess I can take a wee bit of rejection then, can't I?



LOL! Indeed... "Sorry" is one of the most obnoxious board games ever invented! Card games, "Uno" is the worst. LOL


----------



## Theglasshouse

My uncle's and family friends made me play uno when 7. I had a good memory of when 7 years old. I even remember just one classmate's name when I was that old. My brother doesn't remember much of his childhood when 7 or 9 (2 year difference). When I asked him.

But that is funny that happened to your son. I can relate to a kid who is playing card games and board games since I use to play them when 7 years old.


----------



## escorial

Could not get in the city library because a man jumped of the top floor to his death...later on watched a video of a kid with two others singing twinkle star then he hums star wars theme...


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog has prefected his Tokyo Drift recall...No traction on the kitchen floor so he just spins into his sit.


----------



## escorial

as I walked past a tent a homeless lad stuck his head out a small opening...we noticed each other but no words were exchanged...walking on it made me smile but now I'm thinking was it funny as I drink my three pound latte..


----------



## Megan Pearson

escorial said:


> Could not get in the city library because a man jumped of the top floor to his death...



Seriously? Gosh; that's awful. 

(If you're not being serious, then that would be the kind of opening sentence that would grab my attention in any book...)




escorial said:


> later on watched a video of a kid with two others singing twinkle star then he hums star wars theme...



...and that's funny! Scary funny, but funny nonetheless...


----------



## escorial

Yep..he was a local visitor an jumped while the place was busy ...the video of the kid went viral..it's so nice to watch


----------



## Bard_Daniel

That's so sad- on the former.

Tomorrow is a busy day for me. I will be attending a "Genre Expo" in my hometown and, afterwards, spending the evening with a friend. I'm excited about both. Also, I'm at the two week mark for not smoking. I do hope I've beat it this time.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Bard_Daniel said:


> Also, I'm at the two week mark for not smoking. I do hope I've beat it this time.



Well done!  If you ever think to go back to it remember the filth you cough up when you stop and ask yourself 'Do I really want to be addicted to anything? '. People say it improves things, like the taste of food, it doesn't, it just satisfies the addiction so things seem normal, almost like they were when you were a child, before you started. Stay clean, you don't want to be a junkie.

We are thinking of moving, we have a bit of money and could afford a detached house rather than a semi, which would be nice. There is also a lot of traffic on this road now that wasn't here 25 years ago. Two men came from the estate agents yesterday and both said 'It's the garden that will sell it', gratifying.


----------



## Winston

Got up early to donate blood.  Apheresis takes over two hours, so an early start for me.
That time of morning, no one had scared the bunnies back to their warrens.  They were all scurrying throughout the neighborhood.  The robins are already staking-out our blueberry bushes. 
On the shore of the sound, herons perched patiently for an errant fish.  Didn't see any eagles.  Too early for them?  Nice being an apex predator.  
I got to the blood bank a few minutes early.  Sting's "Brand New Day" just came on my truck stereo.  I sat and listened to the whole thing.  

Just helped my wife weed the herb garden.  I think it's nap time now.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Great evening, through and through.

I'm up, just had a coffee, and can enjoy the afternoon. I think I'm going to read some poetry.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Going to a local writing workshop today. My goal is to keep on building my toolkit!


----------



## Amnesiac

Waiting for the HVAC repair people, so working from home, today. Temp is supposed to be 103F, today. The air conditioning unit took a crap a couple of days ago. I've cleaned out the outdoor unit, replaced the filter in the portion of the unit that's in the garage, poured vinegar down the unit vent pipe to clear out the algae and stuff, then plugged the ShopVac into the vent pipe where it exits the house, to clear out any remaining particulate. I've done all I can do. I suspect that the unit needs to be recharged, and that's a little beyond my abilities.

(also, just returned from receiving perhaps the worst haircut of my entire life.)

And... The hits keep coming. Turns out, I'm looking at $6-8K to replace the entire AC unit. Crap.....


----------



## Darkkin

Rue needed a new collar...He is now sporting a Captain America collar that matches his leash and service vest.  A reminder of the little guy who became an unlikely hero.


----------



## Winston

> And... The hits keep coming. Turns out, I'm looking at $6-8K to replace the entire AC unit. Crap.....


Sorry, man.  That really sucks

Me?  Just thinking about some old stuff:

[video=youtube_share;fQ7IKM-jiJI]https://youtu.be/fQ7IKM-jiJI[/video]

History is often balanced at the tip of a bayonet.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Have had a month now of good exercise days. Now walking up to five miles. Calorie counting. Watching carbs. (BTW, carbs don't move too fast. They're still over there, in that package labeled "chocolate," so I know they don't move too fast on their own!--have not voluntarily touched chocolate in a month!) Am doing something wrong--have been gaining, not losing. Muscle? More likely it's my new "diet." Recently realized the carbs in my daily supplement exceed the carb count allowed to do keto. (Sigh.) Might just go back to simply calorie counting. It's simpler and last summer it worked.


----------



## Amnesiac

If it's white, hard pass. White sugar, white rice, white flour... Schwarzenegger called it, "The White Death." From my days as a boxer, the saying was, "Bakeries have ruined far more boxers than wine, women, and song."


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Boxer? Nice! How was that?

Also, sorry to hear about your AC. 

I'm trying to lose more weight too, so I'm trying to stay away from white bread. I'll try to incorporate brown rice and pasta into the mix if I can.


----------



## Amnesiac

Whilst in the Army, I was also a boxer. I didn't fare too badly. My record was 17 wins, 11 KO, 1 defeat. I boxed at 165 lbs, middleweight.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I myself fear avoiding wheat is my best option. I need to take a blood sample test to determine if I inherited celiac disease from my mother's family. It's a terrible allergy to have.


----------



## Amnesiac

Oh man... I am so sorry. How awful. :-(


----------



## Theglasshouse

It's manageable even though I know it can be problematic to avoid wheat. One of my brothers does have it (the youngest brother). I have a cousin in the family who also has it. It's not a common disease around here. Because the population rarely gets diagnosed with it. My brother started a charity 1 year ago for celiacs but there is a lack of sponsors where I am from. I am not afraid of having it. I am aware I would have to eat at home. From having seen my brother deal with it I'd have to read the ingredients if I was ever to have diagnosed with the disease to see if it has gluten and even the medicine must be checked. I can handle it if I do have it.  I know my grandmother's sister also has it. Someone can live with celiac disease in today's world. You eventually get used to it. My mom eats bread made from rice.  All the sweets are sweeter if made with gluten. It's made with almond flour, coconut flour, vegetable flour. I am use to living with celiacs so I won't need to worry. I think diabetes is a worse condition to live with in some respects. I don't even eat candy as much anymore since there are relatives of my family that suffers from diabetes.


----------



## Amnesiac

My wife is on a similar diet. She's not been diagnosed, but a lot of her symptoms are a little suspicious. She feels better when she's not ingesting gluten. She's primarily on vegetables, fruit, and then fish, chicken, or ground beef, if she has to have meat. Meat is hard for her to digest, as well.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Amnesiac said:


> Whilst in the Army, I was also a boxer. I didn't fare too badly. My record was 17 wins, 11 KO, 1 defeat. I boxed at 165 lbs, middleweight.



Way TKO! (I hope that was mildly amusing.)


----------



## Amnesiac

I've come up with a way to defeat door-to-door salesmen. I've had two security and three solar salesmen come to the door in less than a week, and they always show up around suppertime and ring the doorbell. I've decided that salesman #6 is in for a real surprise. After he rings the bell, I'm going to stand on the other side of the closed door and make Chewbacca noises at him until he goes away.


----------



## escorial

Got to  train station an thought I'll walk along the beach to the next stop and watched a girl playing a sax while being videod..she was really good...


----------



## -xXx-

_random fact,#325 02/02/2019_


-xXx- said:


> 'sposed to meet with potential editor tomorrow.
> some suggestion they are interested in acting as agent.
> 
> never saw any of that being realized in my life.
> 
> guess it might be from consistently hearing
> i have nothing of value to say.
> *facts* are funny little things, aren't they?



i r haz publicist!!!!!

_*smashes obstacles with face*
*pushes messed up schedule*
*into reshapeable form*
*nods thanks to *bard_daniel**
*stares at inlieuofrepbutton*_


----------



## Amnesiac

Congratulations! That's terrific!!


----------



## Amnesiac

I'm reworking several scenes in a novelette that I've been working on, and it may grow into a novel, yet. Growing pains, don'tcha' know...


----------



## Winston

escorial said:


> Got to  train station an thought I'll walk along the beach to the next stop and watched a girl playing a sax while being videod..she was really good...



Sax in public? And you watched?  Esc....  
You sir, are shameless.


----------



## Olly Buckle

we were driving down the A21 once and I noticed a black woman, with long hair, on her knees, playing saxophone in a garden. My family all mocked me for having an over fertile imagination, but a week later I met her on a train when she was sat next to me and noticed I was writing a song lyric


----------



## JustRob

Amnesiac said:


> I've come up with a way to defeat door-to-door salesmen. I've had two security and three solar salesmen come to the door in less than a week, and they always show up around suppertime and ring the doorbell. I've decided that salesman #6 is in for a real surprise. After he rings the bell, I'm going to stand on the other side of the closed door and make Chewbacca noises at him until he goes away.



The other day the Jehovah's Witnesses were out in force on our road and a couple rang our bell. I answered the door and started to talk with them and just then my angel walked past and as she did she warned them not to talk to me, but they ignored her warning. Naturally I launched into my relatively recent understanding of the nature of the psyche, soul and timeless aspects of the human mind as well as my suspicion that these may arise from quantum phenomena. After a lengthy discussion about the distinctions between timelessness and eternity and the significance or otherwise of apparent coincidences in our lives as well as the possible causes of these, they made their excuses and left, but before doing so asked me to pass on their thanks to my angel for her well-deserved warning. It's not the first time that I have talked Jehovah's Witnesses to a standstill and scared them off by my open willingness to do so. I can't think why. I find the subject really interesting.


----------



## midnightpoet

These "solar" I assume Green energy companies would amuse me if they didn't piss me off so bad.  How can they claim they are giving me any of their "energy" because there is no way to tell - and unless they are hooked up directly to your house there is no way they can claim that B.S.  As a energy company retiree, I know all about the "energy grid."  Sorry for the rant.


----------



## escorial

there so many books I want to read an was going to buy one today but I still have 5 unread an decided against it...I like going to bookstores and feel I shud buy one if i visit it a lot...


----------



## Winston

Woke up to a pile of cat "urp" on the carpet.  I interrogated the three suspects, none cracked.  I collected the evidence and cleaned the crime scene.  Filed under cold case.  

I consumed my usual breakfast quesadilla with bacon and potato, and black coffee. Watched a couple of episodes of Robot Chicken.  Season 3, where Barbra Bush snaps the neck of lizard alien Britney Spears.  
Intellectually primed, here I am.


----------



## Chris Stevenson

Promoting and marketing and getting nowhere. So things are quiet normal.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Chris Stevenson said:


> Promoting and marketing and getting nowhere. So things are quiet normal.


Realising that I could achieve the same result for much less effort was a turning point.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Worked Goliath horse for first time around other horses today sharing the same arena. He was sucha good boy! Am encouraged to keep working with him. (Am thankful I haven't lost all that weight yet I want to loose. Have found it is helpful in reminding him I'm too big to be stepped on... however, did come home and attempted to jog. Am fairly athletic despite the weight: "what, you look fine! why do you have to loose anything?" How nice. Am a good clothing shopper--will take that as a complement & not mention weight related health concerns.)

(Didn't jog far.)


(Out of breath too easy.)


----------



## Darkkin

We say goodbye to Cat Cat tomorrow...she has stopped eating and at her age, one of the hardest decisions of my life.  She's ready to go.  Me, well whole 'nother story.

View attachment 23855

View attachment 23856


----------



## escorial

Read a few good things about planet Earth on show at the cathedral..so I went but it was just a globe with a light inside...yeah..looked good




not big on religious buildings but this one is good


----------



## PiP

Darkkin said:


> We say goodbye to Cat Cat tomorrow...she has stopped eating and at her age, one of the hardest decisions of my life.  She's ready to go.  Me, well whole 'nother story.



That's so sad, Darkkin... sending you {{{virtual hugs}}}


----------



## Darkkin

PiP said:


> That's so sad, Darkkin... sending you {{{virtual hugs}}}




I want to hate the world, to rage against the decision, to scream that it is the wrong one...but I know my Cat Cat, her systems are shutting down, she is not keeping food or water down, and I don't want her quality of life to suffer.  She's a small cat and even a couple of days without food or water would devastate her body.  Right now, she is comfortable, she is alert...she is still Cat Cat not a husk.  I saw a look in her eyes this morning that I had never seen before, she is completely at peace...ready to let go.  And I love her enough to do that for her.  The trust is as absolute as the pain...and I cannot hate the world because she was (is) a part of it.  Nearly twenty years, I've had her...more than half my lifetime.  She will leave behind a big pair of shoes for such a little kitty.


----------



## Kevin

D.... sorry. 20 ( nesrly) years is long. 20 very good years.


----------



## Darkkin

It was fast...but, she was ready.  Me, I have one hell of a hole.


----------



## Amnesiac

Darkkin, I'm so sorry... I lost Bear, my great Pyrenees, about a year ago. My eyes still mist up, when I think of him. The only knock on our fur-babies, is that they just don't live that long, but what they add to our lives is immeasurable, and they leave a hell of a hole when they go. My sincere condolences to you, my friend.


----------



## JustRob

A short while ago I received confirmation that I would only have to pay for a TV licence for part of the year as I will be age 75 later this year and people over age 75 don't have to pay. Today it was announced on the BBC news that from May next year people over age 75 who don't have low incomes will have to pay for a licence again, so I'll get free TV for just half a year. Oh well, easy come easy go.

I also appear to have put my back out, but I'll know tomorrow morning whether it will recover or not. I noticed it while I was carpentering in the garage. It's been particularly cold and wet in Kent today, so I may have got too cold. Come to think of it, I didn't even know that "carpenter" can be a verb until now, so at least I've gained something today.


----------



## Amnesiac

Hope your back feels better soon. You can alternate heat and ice, and it should proffer some relief. 20 minutes heating pad, 10 minutes rest, 20 minutes cold, 10 minutes rest, etc.


----------



## Olly Buckle

JustRob said:


> A short while ago I received confirmation that I would only have to pay for a TV licence for part of the year as I will be age 75 later this year and people over age 75 don't have to pay. Today it was announced on the BBC news that from May next year people over age 75 who don't have low incomes will have to pay for a licence again, so I'll get free TV for just half a year. Oh well, easy come easy go.
> 
> I also appear to have put my back out, but I'll know tomorrow morning whether it will recover or not. I noticed it while I was carpentering in the garage. It's been particularly cold and wet in Kent today, so I may have got too cold. Come to think of it, I didn't even know that "carpenter" can be a verb until now, so at least I've gained something today.



Just been reading a list of complaints prescriptive grammarians made, and verbs constructed out of nouns is quite a frequent one. They quite frequently start by saying 'There is no such word as … used as a verb.' Which is simply denying reality. Their reasoning usually goes something along the lines of the word being derived from a language in which this is not possible, not very relevant when it is Anglicised.

I always go for the hot bath to relax the muscles if my back is bad, then I wriggle my back up and down to make the water massage it. When I was working I would do it badly sometimes, then I would go and see a couple who practiced as osteopaths in T Wells, she has retired, but my missus still sees him occasionally, I don't know if he is taking new patients. You have my sympathy, the continuousness of it is wearing.


----------



## escorial

Courtesy of you know you're getting old when... thread

when your back goes out more than you


----------



## -xXx-

tried on an experience
not unlike a paint mixer
for standing people.

i came out less green
than i might have,
barely blue and
free from many odd
combos associated with bruising.

learned several things.
that's always good.
may take a few days
for me to fully embrace
in that spirit.
_*preps notepaper*
*heads out*
*toward a path of pomes*_


----------



## Winston

escorial said:


> Courtesy of you know you're getting old when... thread
> 
> when your back goes out more than you



Sorry dude.
Does misery love company?

Power went out at 2:55 AM.  I woke up, because I'm a freak with a sixth sense and knew the power was out.  Instead of setting the alarm on my phone, I just half-slept fitfully for two hours.
Reheated coffee on our gas stove, and walked to the bus stop.  The road was closed because the idiot responsible for the power outage snapped a power pole over the road. 
Sped-walked down the hill to the ferry dock.  Barely made it on the boat.  6 AM, and I'm already sweating.  

Made it to work on time (Yay me!), and reported to my shop.  After getting settled in, I noticed water near my desk.  Turns out a steam pipe broke.  So, will Winston get steamed like a lobster before facilities maintenance arrives?   
The rest of the day wasn't bad.  Until that guy showed up with a 12' long 6" diameter steel bar he needed cut.  Remember kids, physics is your friend.  

But now I'm going to go grill some mango jalapeno sausages and snuggle with my wife.  It's a good day.


----------



## Kevin

Second day of heat: 102 . Two snakes: a gopher, couple hours later: a coachwhip,; one alligator lizard, small, chasing moth. Moth got away. One beehive nest at the high point of shed roof to wall. Uh-oh. That's our bedroom. Dead bees on master bedroom floor: lots. Wtf? Why die- ing? And how are they getting in? Scooped them, tossed them... out the window. They came back the next day, new ones dead, dying. Called a bee guy. He's comng in the morning. Uhg. How much is this going to cost? I'm sleeping on the couch. She's downstairs. I like bees, just not in my house. They gotta go.


----------



## Kevin

Moshe the bee man came. Through broken Israeli he motioned and mumbled. He then set up a ladder, donned bee gear: hat, netting, white suit, gloves drilled two holes, struck honey, applied something-  spray to get them out.  He applied caulk to possible entrances upstairs, inside, cleaned up and again in broken Israeli communicated with hand signs etc. call him if they are still around Friday.
 Fingers crossed...

His ladder.... Heavy, long. When it got to bringing it back down there's a tipping point where you've lost your leverage and that thing can come down *bang!*- too heavy. I reached for the heavy end, caught it, nearly blew a hemoroid or an acl. "Cock-sucker!" - I think it helps. Say it loudly; not proud. Simply an exclamation. Helps with the focus. Anyway, I may have passed something on...


----------



## Darkkin

Yesterday was rough, Sunday was worse, today was blessedly normal...at least as normal as things can be when a decades long chapter of life closes.  We made a donation of unused items to the local humane society and planted a peony for Cat Cat.  Oddly enough the visit to the humane society helped.  It reminded me why I like cats as much as I do.  They are an entirely different sort of company than dogs...marvelous in their own way.  While Cat Cat reigned, I didn't think I would be open to the idea of ever getting another cat because my Cat Cat was such a queen.  There will be no replacing her, but starting a new chapter is definitely on the table.  She came to me by accident, when I needed her most and I hope soon I can pass on some of the legacy to another rescue.

We are hoping to stay within local rescues, looking preferably for a younger ginger male between 6 - 24 months old, (big enough to smack Rue if he's being an idiot, Cat Cat put up with a lot of crap from him...), opposite end of the spectrum from Cat Cat...but who knows, we might end up with something totally out of left field. 

Overall today was better, but there is a hollow place in our household right now, no dent on the back of the couch, no litter scattered on the floor...little things.

View attachment 23864

Cat Cat, Queen of Everything  6/10/2019


----------



## Amnesiac

So sorry, Darkkin.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I'm sure you showed Cat Cat an extraordinary amount of love, Darkkin, and that it was fully reciprocated.

All sympathies.


----------



## -xXx-

appointments are.
today i encountered an individual
surrendering to the reality that
*repeat*ing the same *nonsolution*
was not only harming him
in accelerating fashion,
but that the *fear* of *fail*ure,
*success* and *unknown*
most likely would compare
to that h-llish loop.

today was a deep dive into
unknown waters in the form
of courier services for above
board companies.

he thanked me for never losing
faith in *his ability* to read that
compass, despite what others
were saying.

save the cheerleader, save the world.
heroic journeys, one and all.
<3 cloud peeps


----------



## Darkkin

Weird week...Say hello to Potato, the Second Breakfast Cat.  We call him, Po.  The pictures on the left are Po (7 weeks and on the right CatCat 19 years when she passed.)  I will always love and miss CatCat, but she had one hell of a good run.  Po is just starting out and it is looking like it will be an adventure.  He got to go to the bookstore today and is a very personable little soul.

View attachment 23877View attachment 23879

View attachment 23878View attachment 23880View attachment 23881


----------



## Amnesiac

Hi, Potato!! *ear scritches...* Omnomnom... /promptly woozles Potato (What is soft and warm must be woozled. It's the law.)


----------



## Winston

My daughter didn't get another job she applied for. She's been striking out a bit recently.  
I want to help her, but she's 21 and I have to treat her like an adult.  She has a decent retail job right now, but anyone that's worked retail can tell you... A decent retail job is like wearing a pair of ill-fitting shoes.  They suck, but it's better than being shoe-less.  You put up with the pain, and hope no one notices your limp.  

I'll continue to help where I can.  We all just want the best for those we love.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 23895

Rereading Harry Potter with Po.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Just opened my father's day card from the older one, a picture of two owls and one is saying to the other "Actually it is 'to whom'.". Younger one is coming down to visit and we go out to eat later.


----------



## TuMadreEnEspanol

My day went normal until I saw this movie at the library called like Cristiano Ronaldo. Except it wasn't about the soccer player it was about an Italian ex-convict.


----------



## Amnesiac

Winston, good luck to your daughter. It's a difficult age. My youngest two are 19 and 20. I think any of us would love to be younger, but given the chance, I wouldn't go back to those ages for all the money in the world.

19, I was in Panama. 21/22, I was off to Saudi. It wasn't a bad period of my life, really. I do remember a lot of confusion, frequent moments of revelation, but also a lot of internal restlessness.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Darkkin said:


> Overall today was better, but there is a hollow place in our household right now, no dent on the back of the couch, no litter scattered on the floor...little things.
> 
> View attachment 23864
> 
> Cat Cat, Queen of Everything 6/10/2019




Oh my ... what a dear obituary. I have never met your kitty but I've been there. My condolences, Darrkin.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Had homemade, outdoor oven baked pizza today. Wow, really good. 

I would have brought some to share here but... I ate it all. :wink:


----------



## Darkkin

My best friend is one of three people in the world my CatCat truly loved and trusted, and I know she was just as fond of CatCat.  My decision affected more than just me and I understand that.  But tonight, she made a comment that bothered me a bit.  She said she wanted CatCat back... I told her straight out that even if it were possible, I would not do that to CatCat.  She was so tired, so ready to go.  She is at peace and to pull someone or something, be it pet or person from that just seems selfish.  Then again, maybe I read too much fiction, but things like that never end well.  

Yes, I miss my cat, but I loved her enough to let her go when it was her time.  I am thankful for everyday I had with her and because of that I think things are a little easier for me.  Po and Rue also help.  And while Po is still a bit raw, he is shaping up to be a really nice cat.  (Not everybody gets that lucky twice.)  The kitty shaped hole at our house has been patched, but Po needs a chance to make his mark.  Life can be unfair, occasionally cruel, but in this instance it was not and I think that is why a seemingly off handed comment bothered me on a fundamental level.  Given my heart issues my family and friends know, I need them to be strong enough to do for me, what I did for CatCat.  I need them to let go...until that time comes, I take life a day at a time. 

 Just some thoughts

- D.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Amnesiac said:


> 19, I was in Panama. 21/22, I was off to Saudi. It wasn't a bad period of my life, really. I do remember a lot of confusion, frequent moments of revelation, but also a lot of internal restlessness.



Wow, 19 to 21 I was working off a beach in Cala Mesquida, Majorca, teaching sailing, water-skiing and skin diving and running entertainments and couriering evenings and if the sea was rough. Worked my butt off every waking hour and loved every minute of it. Winters I came home and worked in the swimming pool mostly.


----------



## escorial

Fed a duck in the pond..only one there..we shared a moment an I shall write a poem about it..


----------



## JustRob

escorial said:


> Fed a duck in the pond..only one there..we shared a moment ...



Only one duck or person, is that?



> ... an I shall write a poem about it..



Well, the duck won't so it's up to you then. Unless ...

I wandered lonely as a duck
that paddles rivers lakes and streams
when all at once I trod in muck
which rapidly destroyed my dreams.


----------



## escorial

Just me an the duck...there were people playing bowls behind the hedge...out of all the parks around coronation is my fav place to read ..


----------



## Amnesiac

Finally uploaded a monster of a manuscript to Kindle Direct Publishing. Still working on the cover and typesetting the paperback, which is the very quintessence of tedium, but no help for it. It must be done. (And I thought the writing was the hardest part!)

New children's book illustrations are being finished up by the artist. Uploading that one is going to be hideously difficult.

Toying with a new ghost story...

Tomorrow is mowing the front and back lawns, weeding the unending flowerbeds, and Sunday, [Hannibal Lector mode: ON]I'm having a friend for breakfast.[Hannibal Lector mode: OFF] Heh...


----------



## JustRob

escorial said:


> Just me an the duck...there were people playing bowls behind the hedge...



Why were they doing it behind a hedge? Is playing bowls in public not socially acceptable in Liverpool? Is this some sort of class thing? Are bowls players all assumed to vote Tory? Obviously that view can't apply to crown green bowls players though, but the crown might be higher than the hedge anyway, so of course the view would be different.

You know Esc, you do inspire some profound thoughts.


----------



## Darkkin

Just in case anyone needs a weekend pick me up.  Potato Cat reminding us what weekends are for.


----------



## escorial

They are deffo over 50 an prob vote Tory..there was a letter in the local paper about kids playing on the green and the police never bothered to turn up when he asked for help...park life is dangerous theses days


----------



## Olly Buckle

There is a bowls green in the middle of our village, I can't remember the title of the chap that runs it, but I was introduced to him once. I would guess he is in his early thirties; and he is a member of the local Labour Party. That is rather unusual in the Battle are, but the British are good at tolerating eccentrics. One of the advantages of living in a democracy is that eccentricity poses no threat, eccentrics are by definition a minority.


----------



## escorial

It's the normal ones that wreck everything


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> It's the normal ones that wreck everything



Strangely very few of the normal ones see themselves as normal.

Took the cat to the vet this am, cystitis. she was uncomfortable all day yesterday. I have hung a fatball feeder just outside the kitchen window, there are various tits, sparrows and young starlings visiting it just two or three feet away. even the common old sparrows are very beautiful that close up. Mow the lawns next, or maybe after a little lie down


----------



## escorial

are you normal..


----------



## The Green Shield

It's funny how I can carefully examine other works and find glaring issues with them but with my fantasy?


 - Thinking liege lords have no guards and sit in their manors all day.


 - Having a liege lord who is used to going to big ceremonies freaking out over clapping.


 - Having an edgy teen obtain stupidly powerful abilities too quickly with no explanation. Oh, and have her mom basically be the Jesus of their world but IT WILL ALL BE REVEALED LATER IN A CRITICAL MOMENT WHEN THE MOM NEEDS HER POWERS THE MOST!!


 - Having an edgy teen farm boy BE AT THE WHEEL OF A WARSHIP GOING INTO BATTLE because 'lol, they do that in video games!!'








​


----------



## Winston

My son is going to be out-of-state all week at a leadership academy.  I miss him already.


----------



## Amnesiac

Mowed the front and back lawn, yesterday. Had a friend for breakfast, this morning. Er... A friend OVER for breakfast, rather... Heh... Worked off and on with my writing, most of the day. I've begun working on a new book that I'm pretty excited about, and so far, the writing is going very smoothly.


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> are you normal..



Of course I am. Well, different enough to be an individual. Mostly normal; mostly harmless


----------



## Amnesiac

Darkkin said:


> Just in case anyone needs a weekend pick me up.  Potato Cat reminding us what weekends are for.



I love Potato Cat! *pets his little forehead, scratching around his fuzzy wittle ears...*


----------



## escorial

Olly Buckle said:


> Of course I am. Well, different enough to be an individual. Mostly normal; mostly harmless



How do you cope being harmless..did you type the reply with your toes or nose...


----------



## Amnesiac

"normal" is a setting on a washing machine.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Darkkin said:


> Just in case anyone needs a weekend pick me up.  Potato Cat reminding us what weekends are for.



SUCH a cute lil kitty!

==

WF fellows and compatriots, I am trying to become healthier. I ate whole wheat pasta with organic sauce today and really enjoyed it. Also took my dog for a long, brisk walk in the sweltering sun to give us some exercise. I'm feeling good and working on Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. It's different, I'll say that, but immensely good as well. Before, I had only read The Elephant Vanishes (which I was disappointed with AND ruined the ending of Anna Karenina for me- which I was reading at the time.) 

I'm trying so hard to not smoke. Every time I crave, I look up the statistics of death by smoking-related causes. Day 3- because I've stopped and restarted so many time. I'm hoping to give myself the boot and really hunker down here.

That's all for me.


----------



## escorial

a Plug has done so much to emancipate women


----------



## Amnesiac

Bard_Daniel said:


> SUCH a cute lil kitty!
> 
> ==
> 
> WF fellows and compatriots, I am trying to become healthier. I ate whole wheat pasta with organic sauce today and really enjoyed it. Also took my dog for a long, brisk walk in the sweltering sun to give us some exercise. I'm feeling good and working on Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. It's different, I'll say that, but immensely good as well. Before, I had only read The Elephant Vanishes (which I was disappointed with AND ruined the ending of Anna Karenina for me- which I was reading at the time.)
> 
> I'm trying so hard to not smoke. Every time I crave, I look up the statistics of death by smoking-related causes. Day 3- because I've stopped and restarted so many time. I'm hoping to give myself the boot and really hunker down here.
> 
> That's all for me.



You've got this! No crave lasts longer than five minutes. Craves will peak around Day 3, and should disappear (aside from the occasional spasm) after about a month. Save all of your cigarette money in a jar. For a long time. Every time you're tempted to buy a pack or bum a smoke, look at it. Find something that you really want, that you're saving for, that you want more than a cigarette. Pumpkin seeds are good crave-killers. Nicotine is a pesticide, actually. The craving for that should only last about two weeks, and it should be mild enough that it's almost unnoticeable. You WILL get through this. Make up your mind that the cigarette is NOT your master, and that you refuse to be a slave any longer.  Very best of luck. It's not an event; it's a campaign, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute -- you are seizing your own liberation!

One final thought: There is no such thing as, "just one."


----------



## Amnesiac

double posting... Crap.


----------



## Amnesiac

escorial said:


> a Plug has done so much to emancipate women



As have D-cell batteries. LOL


----------



## -xXx-

Bard_Daniel said:


> <snip>
> I'm trying so hard to not smoke. Every time I crave, I look up the statistics of death by smoking-related causes. Day 3- because I've stopped and restarted so many time. I'm hoping to give myself the boot and really hunker down here.
> <snip>



you were a successful nonsmoker 
for a long time.
some choices are temper tantrum toddlers.
while reading (or other quiet activities),
try moving a pencil from one side of you to the other.
by substitution, active acknowledgement
but
infinite-delay-affirmative.
after an hour, or some number of side moves,
get up and let your metabolism work with you.

*you've got this.*


----------



## -xXx-

great meeting!
lots of incidentals,
but detail is okay by me.
december feels like it's a long way away.
judging by january past,
it'll be here before i know it.
maybe i'll pre-stage lights.
and pretend it's a summer thing.


----------



## The Green Shield

Bard_Daniel said:


> SUCH a cute lil kitty!
> 
> ==
> 
> WF fellows and compatriots, I am trying to become healthier. I ate whole wheat pasta with organic sauce today and really enjoyed it. Also took my dog for a long, brisk walk in the sweltering sun to give us some exercise. I'm feeling good and working on Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. It's different, I'll say that, but immensely good as well. Before, I had only read The Elephant Vanishes (which I was disappointed with AND ruined the ending of Anna Karenina for me- which I was reading at the time.)
> 
> I'm trying so hard to not smoke. Every time I crave, I look up the statistics of death by smoking-related causes. Day 3- because I've stopped and restarted so many time. I'm hoping to give myself the boot and really hunker down here.
> 
> That's all for me.


We're in this together, bud. Me with alcoholism and you with smoking. Just gotta take it minute by minute and in time, it'll become easier. I've found with me that it helps to drink something else during the times I wanted liquor. Maybe with you, try using a toothpick. Let me explain -- your brain is used to the motions, right? So give your brain that through the use of a toothpick when you've got the urges.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Bard_Daniel said:


> SUCH a cute lil kitty!
> 
> ==
> 
> WF fellows and compatriots, I am trying to become healthier. I ate whole wheat pasta with organic sauce today and really enjoyed it. Also took my dog for a long, brisk walk in the sweltering sun to give us some exercise. I'm feeling good and working on Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. It's different, I'll say that, but immensely good as well. Before, I had only read The Elephant Vanishes (which I was disappointed with AND ruined the ending of Anna Karenina for me- which I was reading at the time.)
> 
> I'm trying so hard to not smoke. Every time I crave, I look up the statistics of death by smoking-related causes. Day 3- because I've stopped and restarted so many time. I'm hoping to give myself the boot and really hunker down here.
> 
> That's all for me.


Have you thought about going to an addiction specialist who is a psychiatrist? They exist for these sort of problems. They don't solely exist just for helping control the urges of drug users.


----------



## BornForBurning

> WF fellows and compatriots, I am trying to become healthier.


Get into serious lifting dude. It'll change your whole life, force you to eat better, sleep better, have a schedule. You'll be more confident around chicks but also around guys, actually. Really I can't recommend it enough.


----------



## velo

Daniel, I kicked cigarettes in 1996 cold turkey.  Not saying that's for everyone but I find it's the quickest route.  It took me about 6 months for the habit to die off.  By that I mean the desire to have a smoke with morning coffee, or after a meal, etc.  

I can tell you it's WORTH IT.  No matter how hard it is you will thank yourself one day, I promise.  Keep up the good self work!  If you need support or just want to vent, feel free to PM me.  




Bard_Daniel said:


> SUCH a cute lil kitty!
> 
> ==
> 
> WF fellows and compatriots, I am trying to become healthier. I ate whole wheat pasta with organic sauce today and really enjoyed it. Also took my dog for a long, brisk walk in the sweltering sun to give us some exercise. I'm feeling good and working on Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. It's different, I'll say that, but immensely good as well. Before, I had only read The Elephant Vanishes (which I was disappointed with AND ruined the ending of Anna Karenina for me- which I was reading at the time.)
> 
> I'm trying so hard to not smoke. Every time I crave, I look up the statistics of death by smoking-related causes. Day 3- because I've stopped and restarted so many time. I'm hoping to give myself the boot and really hunker down here.
> 
> That's all for me.


----------



## thefloridapoet

Daniel - I quit smoking 35+ odd years ago - and never looked back.  My trick was to take walks every day, eat A LOT of carrots and celery when I got that urge to have something in my mouth, and when the urge got really bad and I wasn't at work I would go somewhere I couldn't smoke, like a store (well, these days it's a whole lot easier to find a place you CAN'T smoke).  Anyway, I just MADE A DECISION and stuck to it.  It helped I guess that I was having health problems where basically the doctor told me my body was rejecting all the chemicals I was consuming; caffeine, nicotine, bad life style.... well, I really don't think it was THAT bad but apparently my body did, ergo, I decided I needed to quit smoking........    So, I did.   

But it wasn't easy, but hang in there, really.  It gets easier.  Distract yourself..  Get some exercise.  Be prepared, maybe you dream about smoking (I did for years).  Hard part is maybe when you are out with friends and they are smoking.  You might find yourself second-hand smoking.  Try not to.  But bottom line - never, ever light up.  That's the deal.  Never.  Grab something and put it in your mouth.  Take a walk.  Go to the store.   

You got this.....


----------



## Kevin

My day was dreamy. I saw dreamy model type girls walking down Sunset Blvd. set beneath building-side billboards. The men were all severe and grimacing, while the women look way too smooth with astonished, and aloof looks. 
There was this one advert that was a cartoon or ai creature, the perfect triangle face, her almond eyes set wide apart, thin nose; slightest smile.  I have no idea what that movie is about, but omg- she looks so cool I just want to be her bff forever!!


----------



## escorial

I don have sky tv and listened to most of ind beat wi yesterday..the wireless is the future


----------



## Kevin

..the wife had a rougher day. She said: " ....she is such a pain in the ..., but with the money I'm charging her, I'll put up with it."


----------



## Darkkin

Reader's vigil:  Following in the footsteps of a Master Book Cat.  Potato (Top), Cat Cat (Bottom)

View attachment 23993

View attachment 23994


----------



## thefloridapoet

My day, well I met fellow poets from one of my groups for lunch.  We talked shop and also did some socializing.  Nice way to spend a few hours.  Wasn't really up to par, it was a brain fog day.  Today is a migraine, so the brain fog and head pressure feeling was a prodrome to that.  bummer.  Tried writing some yesterday, but the creative juices just weren't there.   I want to tackle some writing today, but.......   

So on with yesterday.  Did some ordinary stuff.  Gardened a bit, housework.  I did get this out for the beginnings of a poem, not sure if it's any good or not.  Totally in the first stages of something......    I recognize most of it is junk.


----------



## escorial

Looking at the crowd at Glastonbury an there is loads of middle aged getting down with the kids...makes me wanna pack me medicine,wet wipes,tv,bed, toaster,kettle,shampoo,socks,underpants,earplugs,razor blades,sink,three piece suite an just go...


----------



## escorial

Stormzy was boss last night but johnnny marrr...been fab


----------



## Winston

Going over the parts list for my next computer build.  Most will be in by Wednesday at the latest, so next weekend will be assembly time.
Stage One will be the disassembly of my current rig, and harvesting usable components. Stage Two will be the assembly and testing of my new system.  For Stage Three, I'm building my son a new computer out of my leftover parts (My patented FrankenComputer).   And Stage Four will be a (hopefully) final testing and de-bugging of both systems.  

I don't know if anyone even does this anymore.  As our "things" become cheaper and conversely more difficult to work on, it seems most folks don't have the patience for something as simple as slapping some parts together.  My dad was a mechanic for many years, and I saw his frustration as our products became cheaper and needlessly complex.  Must be why I drive a 42 year old truck.  

I'll probably write-up my experiences, for any odd-balls that find computer hardware interesting.  I've learned a lot in the last 25 years of computer tinkering.  Always happy to pass on my hard-learned lessons.


----------



## -xXx-

despite holiday whatnot-whereevers,
this is a _very exciting _week.

*prototypes* give sunrises/sunsets
a run for top spot
on the "thrive-alive"
list.

won't need _all_ the duct tape,
so if you run short for
*frankenchine*,
lemme know.

jussayin'


----------



## Bard_Daniel

Getting out of a long lull of not feeling too great- back to form now!

I'm thinking about making an author's website and try to establish a presence online and considering the self-publishing route for my works. I am not experienced, but I was trying to conceive a model where I could both market works (through links to retailers) while at the same time showing (for free) shorter pieces of poetry/prose for free to attract readers to my site (and myself as an author.) I have quite a lot of material and the waiting times that publishing enforces, as well as its limitations, is leaning me in the self-publishing direction. Any input anyone has appreciated!


----------



## The Green Shield

I just love waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. -_-


----------



## Kevin

Went to the market and some people were clustered around a car.  'Dog locked inside' one said to me. The owner eventually showed and the people gave him a hard time. Couldn't hear what they were saying but him I could; "I've never done this before! It's not 90 degrees out! She's already reported me to the police!" to which I spoke up: "It's only a slap on the wrist, 30... maybe 90 days max. Your a good lookin man, I'm sure you'll be very popular- with the guards, I meant..."

I didn't really say that.
The dog was fine. 
It was too warm a day to be locking a dog in the car. 
The people did give him a hard time. 
He was upset, defending himself.


----------



## Darkkin

I just broke Potato Cat's heart...I opened the drawer under the oven and all he found was a stack of cake pans.  Now he's on the kitchen table pretending I don't exist.


View attachment 24011


----------



## Winston

Ugh.  Day "off" indeed.  
Got to get my work-out in, as I missed yesterday's.  Then take the truck down to the water to save a spot for our 4th of July viewing.  Keep assembling my new computer.  Get a batch of beer started.  There's some clothes that need to be folded.  Probably more that I forgot now.


----------



## Darkkin

Worked a full shift today, got home and proceeded to do a massive deep clean of the entire house, this includes, dishes, laundry, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, the whole nine yards...my best friend was home the entire time I'm doing this, (she has company coming tomorrow and this is company level clean, not just a normal tidying, which gets done everyday)...What does she notice, 'Oh...you did the dishes...'  

Are you foxing kidding me!  The dishes...:mad2:  I did a hell of a lot more than that, which is more than can be said for her, and she was home today.  Yeah, I'm a bit mad.  The rule, you have company over...you get your ass in gear and do the cleaning.  As the house is usually very neat, it is not much of an issue, but when someone has been cleaning circles around you since they got home, how oblivious do you have to be?   The dishes, seriously...grr.  Occasionally, people's actions can really suck.  A simple, 'Thanks for getting stuff done...'  would go a long way.  Instead I get an almost baffled tone of, 'Oh, you did the dishes...' like it is some huge shock.  The dishes get done daily! 

 And I can't even vengeance clean to blow off steam because my house is clean.  AHHHH!  Stupid reason to be mad, but sometime it feels like I'm a freaking ghost.  Invisible and totally taken for granted because I do things without having to be asked.  

I know how worthless crap like this makes me feels, so if someone does something as simple as getting the mail or taking the garbage out, I am in a habit of saying thank you because they took time to do a little thing...


----------



## JustRob

Never mind how my days go; I'm more concerned with _where_ they go. So, only now catching up on Sunday ...

A week ago Sunday our next door neighbour's companion Leo died. He was a jazz trumpeter and she plays the banjo, so as we live in a pair of semi-detached houses over many years my angel and I often heard them jamming together through the wall, but not any longer. This Sunday we as usual had our traditional English roast lunch and as usual I turned on our computerised hifi system which randomly plays tracks from our entire CD collection, which I've uploaded onto our home server. We don't especially listen to jazz, except through the wall, but do have a few big band CDs in our varied collection. Not for the first time our supposedly "random" system chose what seemed an appropriate track from the 2500 in its library to play as the very first piece as my angel was dishing up the meal. This was Duke Ellington's _Things Ain't What They Used To Be_. As we happened to be having duck for lunch I remarked to my angel that rather than Beef Wellington we were getting Duck Ellington. As usual she was appropriately underwhelmed by my scintillating wit. Some audiences can be so tough.

Rest in peace Leo … unless they’ve given you a job playing the horn of course ... no more blues though.


----------



## The Green Shield

Brief Writing Reminder:​

​
You can't please everyone. Let's take Mishu Jerni, one of my POV characters in my fantasy for an example.​

​
One person would love to read about a Mishu who is just a regular blind girl in a fantastical universe with magic and otherworldly entities and she has to somehow survive. No chosen-one thing, no Mishu being the face of some army. Just a regular POV character trying to not die as the world implodes around her.​

​
Another would love to read a Mishu who *is* basically a Toph BeiFong/Daredevil rip-off who leads the charge against said otherworldly entities and kicks all the ass. ​

​
Write what you want to write, and what will make your story work. Don't write to please people. It's a hamster wheel that won't end.​​


----------



## Amnesiac

I've been working on a new book. It's actually going quite well and the writing is coming easy. (For once!) [hannibal lector mode ON]Having a friend for breakfast.[hannibal lector mode OFF] After that, headed to the coast for a night.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Went to see youngest daughter and take her birthday presents. Long, long delay on the A21 on the way home, finally passed a place where there was a lot of spillage and sand spread across the road. "Oh, that was disappointing" said the missus, "I was hoping for blood and glass at the very least".


----------



## The Green Shield

Had a long difficult day today that ended with my glasses breaking.








​


----------



## Winston

> Had a long difficult day today that ended with my glasses breaking.



Sorry man.  That must really suck.  You have a spare pair?  Or contacts?

Took the night off from my computer projects(s).  My new system is up, but needs a lot of work to be at or near 100%  I just started loading the hardware into my son's new/used comp.  Looking like a nice 2nd hand rig.  
I was geeking so hard the other night that I couldn't sleep.  Friggin' manic.  Sleep.  Meh.  As if eating and bowl movements weren't enough of a distraction.   
And I think God was testing me again.  Pushing me toward anger and resentment.  Microsoft Corporation is so evil they make The Sith look like Jesuit priests.  I will forgive, and move on.  Serenity prayin'.  
Details to follow in my full "after action" report.  For now, rest and meditation.


----------



## Olly Buckle

At least the Sith will only do evil things to you for the fun of it, Jesuit Priests will tell you 'I hate doing this, but it's for your own good'.


----------



## quiet

Just starting, but got some of my book edited, and last day at my current job!


----------



## Winston

Cleaning-up a bit from my computer project.  Still have to finish my son's rig, but mine is good to go.  It's stable, cool, fairly quiet, and looks nice (not like that matters  )
Also have to remember to send in the rebates on a couple of the parts.  I spent too much, gotta re-coup some of the cost.  My wife will sell some of my better old parts on eBay.  

Later, I have to rack (transfer) my English ale from my primary to secondary fermenter for clarification.  This is the one I hopped with some Spruce tips.  Should be interesting.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Green Shield said:


> Had a long difficult day today that ended with my glasses breaking.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ​



That's only a screw missing, I always hang on to my old pair so I can cannibalise them for bits, even a whole arm sometimes, who cares if it isn't a perfect match, they all fit my head. If you strip a bit of flex and use a single strand of wire through the holes, then twist the ends to tighten it up, it will last you until you can get to the opticians. Mind you the urgency has gone nowadays, I spent my whole life very short sighted, but when I had my cataracts done they chose lenses that matched my eyes, so now it is only slight astigmatism. If my glasses are dirty I actually see better with them off.


----------



## Amnesiac

Hope your specs are soon fixed. That sucks...


----------



## Darkkin

The close of my day...


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I have moved into my new house!

It's bountiful, the dogs are happy, and I have a great office now. 

Full speed ahead!


----------



## Amnesiac

Congratulations!

We moved into a new house back in April, and we've planted an herb garden, a bougainvillea, some birds of paradise, a couple of hibiscus, a Japanese maple, citronella, lavender, and a bunch of other stuff. The whole backyard is beginning to take shape.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24061

The company I keep...


----------



## Megan Pearson

Have been walking a lot. Today we went out rather late this afternoon, to avoid the heat & humidity, and I was a little skeptical about the dark clouds gathered overhead. Until, on our way back home, in a wedge of horizon under that undulating grey cloud, the sky just illuminated in lemon yellow and peach. It was so pretty! 

It was definitely a you-had-to-be-there moment; I took a picture of it, but the camera never does sunsets justice.


----------



## Amnesiac

That sounds beautiful...


----------



## JustRob

This morning BBC TV is focussing on the contribution that the Jodrell Bank radio telescope made to the Apollo 11 mission. Actually I find all the nostalgic use of superlatives at this time somewhat boring. I was 24 in 1969 and probably too busy getting on with my own life to be that concerned about anyone else landing on the moon. Certainly I have no memories of the occasion and can never even remember in which year it happened. Fifty years on all that the anniversary raises in me is a desire to watch again_ The Dish_, the top ranking Australian film of 2000 about their radio telescopes assisting that NASA mission. It is in typical Australian style a very amusing tongue in cheek portrayal that only partially reflects the true events, so brings it all very much down to earth. All I can say about this anniversary carnival is God bless Australia!

There's another myth that everyone remembers where they were when they heard that President Kennedy had been killed. Er, remind me please - which year was that? Sorry, I'm British. Now the Queen's coronation, that's different. Yes, I remember watching that live on TV with that fairy tale coach and all those horses and hearing the stirring chorus "Vivat Regina" and the respectfully hushed commentary by Richard Dimbleby. Of course I also know about the Queen's Beasts, replicas of which are now in Kew Gardens. In comparison Apollo 11 is just a good story to me although Apollo 13 is a far better one.

P.S.
Oh no! I just heard a distorted voice on the TV saying "It's one small step for man ..." so I turned it off before he finished whatever he was going to say.


----------



## Olly Buckle

There was a programme on radio four about it yesterday while I was driving, made me think of the discussion about 'elsewhen' I was having in another thread after you used 'elsewhere' in a temporal context. We talk about sunlight and moonlight, but the moon was eclipsing the sun and one of them was saying "The earthshine is bright enough to read by", not earthlight. You have done it again, can you really say the Australians brought the mission 'Down to earth' ? 

Right with you on Kennedy and the coronation. Remember they gave us all a book? There was Hancock's line, "They gave us all a book and a bar of soap, still got that". In terms of mythologies The one I liked was that when he said that about 'One small step ...' he was actually still on the ladder talking about the step he was about to take and the first words actually on the moon were "It's kinda soft and mushy and I can kick it about a bit." . I have watched recordings of that a few times, never heard that phrase, but the thing is so obviously edited as well it is hard to tell if he is actually on the moon, so I don't know which were the real 'first words on the moon'. The latter one sounds much more human and likely though.


----------



## JustRob

Olly Buckle said:


> There was a programme on radio four about it yesterday while I was driving, made me think of the discussion about 'elsewhen' I was having in another thread after you used 'elsewhere' in a temporal context. We talk about sunlight and moonlight, but the moon was eclipsing the sun and one of them was saying "The earthshine is bright enough to read by", not earthlight. You have done it again, can you really say the Australians brought the mission 'Down to earth' ?



Yes "earthshine" does seem to be a strange word to be used in that context by anyone from a nation that wouldn't consider moonshine to be an aid to reading, quite the opposite in fact as I understand that it can ruin one's vision if drunk in any quantity. 

You need to watch the film to understand the relevance of my remark about "down to earth", but I don't want to provide a spoiler by explaining it here.


----------



## JustRob

At lunchtime the BBC redeemed themselves by reporting from the Parkes radio telescope site in Australia that featured in _The Dish_.

The Australia Telescope National Facility actually has a webpage on the subject.

"The Dish": Fact versus Fiction — a quick comparison


----------



## thefloridapoet

How did my day go yesterday? Well, I experienced a backup flash drive failure 2 days or so ago and have lost many of my critical files.  Thank God not most of my poetry and writing from what I can tell.  I had dumped what I can tell all of those onto my hard drive which backs up onto the cloud all day, but had files on that flash drive that I hadn't put on my new laptop because of a concern for space on my smaller hard drive.  Stupid.  I'm not usually that sloppy, but of course it only takes that one time and invariably the unthinkable happens just when you get sloppy. So anxiety levels are peak.  I won't really know everything I am missing until I go looking for it and it's not there.  I have many of my essential older files on other flash drives and my laptop, but it's the newer ones that I am missing.  That and long extension file names of photographs.  Those have been disappearing that I hadn't noticed over the past years and they were on that flash drive.  Eh, enough.  I think you guys can get the picture.  

So my day yesterday?  Trying to figure out what files are gone and calling people to get copies of lost documents.........   This will take a while......


----------



## Amnesiac

Discovering that living with a menopausal woman is like setting up house in a minefield. The wrong sentence at the wrong time, and voila! WWIII! So lately, I've opted for being entirely silent. (And even being careful not to make too much noise with my footfalls, or, Heaven forbid, chew too loudly...)

If anyone's looking for me, I'll be in a tent in the back yard.


----------



## escorial

Just finished watching live coverage of the proms an looking out my window I counted four take away meals being delivered to the neighbors...my God you can't get more working class than that...might as well turn telly of put flat cap on an play wit ferret....


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> Just finished watching live coverage of the proms an looking out my window I counted four take away meals being delivered to the neighbors...my God you can't get more working class than that...might as well turn telly of put flat cap on an play wit ferret....



Makes me feel old. Nobody got meals delivered when I was young. I can remember the first Chinese opening in Harlow New Town, must have been about 55-60 years ago. A very middle class place. Working class people ate in cafes if they ate out, if they wanted to show off they were sophisticated they drank foul frothy coffee in Italian cafes. It cost as much as 6d a cup (2.1/2 p)when you could get a three course meal in an ordinary café for half a crown (12.1/2 p).


----------



## escorial

alot more overweight working class than middle class...


----------



## Ma'am

I really don't like hearing people talking outside when it's nearly 3 a.m.


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> alot more overweight working class than middle class...



That's new too, someone did a study back in the forties of weights and heights for teenage boys, boys from public schools were largest and heaviest, then Barnardo's boys, then grammar school boys, and then the rest. Go back a little further and ordinary soldier recruits in the first world war grew about two inches and put on a stone and a half in their first eighteen months service, quite a few working class lads had never eaten meat, certainly not in the quantity that bully beef made possible.
People think of the first world war as awful, it wasn't for most soldiers most of the time, it was only so often that the powers that be thought they would try charging down machine guns, the rest of the time was spent digging ditches, which was probably what most agricultural workers did at home all winter, you got fed a decent amount of food and they had hospitals to look after you if you were ill or hurt; most working people could never afford a doctor back in England.


----------



## escorial

If I look at pictures from 50,60,70 era  of kids in local schools there are so few overweight kids....often none


----------



## Winston

A co-worker of mine named Liz is transitioning from male to female.  She seems like a well-adjusted cat, and we often sit around on breaks and talk about motorcycles.  
Liz is actually one of the best workers in my department.  I have philosophical issues with the whole gender dysphoria / trans political movement, but their issues are none of my concern.  Liz is just a good person.    

So, I was walking back from my cable shop and I saw Liz in front of the big old administration building.  She started telling me about a Suzuki Boulevard she had her eye on.  We talked for a few minutes.
During that time, I got that "feeling".  Y'know, it's a high-traffic area and I know people could see us hanging out and talking (like half the shipyard does).  Still, you know you're conspicuous. 
For a very brief moment, I forgot Liz was "one of the guys" so to speak.  I understood she was different. I know that she could probably feel those eyes on her a lot, silently judging.     
Right then, some guy walks by, casts a sideways glance, and smirks.  
I didn't even get it at first.  At that moment, Liz was simply talking about a cool retro-inspired paint job for her new bike.  We parted ways soon after, but that moment stayed with me.

I gravitate toward strong people.  Steel sharpens steel.  But it wasn't until that moment that I appreciated Liz' strength.  Being constantly exposed to people's scrutiny and judgement toughens-up a person.  It's the person's choice on whether or not it makes them callous or not.  
I hear Liz is applying for a promotion.  I'll miss having her nearby, but she shows the kind of strength and work ethic that should be rewarded.  I hope she gets the promotion.  And chooses the red and white on her Boulevard bike.


----------



## thefloridapoet

Awesome!


----------



## Amnesiac

Spent the weekend mowing front yard and back yard, weeding all of the flowerbeds, planting lemongrass, lavender, sunflowers, tea roses, periwinkle, leveling soil, re-establishing borders between lawn and flowerbeds, planted citronella, basil, rosemary, dill, and garlic chives, and transplanted a bougainvillea. Slowly, everything is taking shape. Next phase will be to mulch most of the flowerbeds, and pour river rock in others. Hauling soil, huge sacks of rock, and bag after bag of mulch... Such is my life, at the moment.


----------



## The Green Shield

So got my test results for my hearing today. 









Secondly, I'm still on the fence regarding the Bluetooth thing. Yeah, it sounds cool but I honestly don't mind stuffing the iPhone earbud between my hearing aid and glasses if I'm listening to YouTube in public and I don't care if I look weird doing it. The phone, well, I don't use it that much and when I do, it's for people I already know and can make out what they say. For gaming, I just use a regular headset from Walmart that works very well. 


It's...I dunno. I just want to be able to hear, and I went in to get the tube between the mold and the hearing aid fixed and it's fixed.


----------



## JustRob

This is the first day of a three day heatwave in the UK with the possibility of record temperatures, so of course I ended up wearing my best suit out in the blazing sunshine.

My angel and I have just returned from our neighbour's cremation service. He was a traditional jazz trumpeter, so it was a New Orleans style event with an eleven piece marching jazz band leading the hearse to the chapel. They even had a sousaphone, not the most British of instruments by any means, but then such events probably aren't so common at the Tunbridge Wells crematorium and burial ground for all at the centre of British tradition. The band also played outside the chapel afterwards and at the reception in the garden of a country inn later. These white-haired old musicians from a past age looked as though they'd be joining their musical colleague all too soon.

Just along a cemetery path from the chapel a small group of young people in hot pants and T-shirts had a wicker casket in the back of a Land Rover awaiting a somewhat different ceremony. Life is what you make it, but then so is death.


----------



## Amnesiac

The Green Shield said:


> So got my test results for my hearing today.



My hearing is jacked-up, too. So frustrating for me, and for people having to repeat themselves... *sigh* I can empathize, my friend.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24081

Potato Cat, just shy of four months old.  Hard to believe we've had him more than six weeks.  Time flies.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Amnesiac said:


> My hearing is jacked-up, too. So frustrating for me, and for people having to repeat themselves... *sigh* I can empathize, my friend.



The missus actually convinced me to get mine checked, it's fine, she simply needs to be in the same room and facing me when she speaks to me, an introductory remark to make sure she has my attention wouldn't be bad either.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I still have not returned home and I am on vacation somewhere in switzerland. Also I decided to post today that I already bought a microphone-which is supposed to help with my dysgraphia (it has a high accuracy rate). I think people think I have dysgraphia since sometimes I am missing parts to sentences such as parts of speech and the construction of the syntax of these is awkward. It's one of the best microphones on the market. It costed me 370 with shipping included. (it is said to be the second best one by the company and is called table mike 6 in 1 by speechware) I plan to use google voice keyboard. I hope that reduces the non-squinters when I write long works. A long time ago I was told "my speech was unaffected" by a speech pathologist. So it should help me construct the sentences perfectly. When I return in august the 30th I should be able to use it. I think I had to pay a lot of money because all the microphones I have bought recently never were close to 99% accurate.

Since I have been been on vacation I've been unable to log on. But I hope to catch up and plan on reading as much as writing. So if I have dyslexia and dysgraphia I hope this solves everything. I already have a text to speech program in word. I decided not to get word q which is what I used to write the last work in the workshop.


----------



## Amnesiac

Olly Buckle said:


> The missus actually convinced me to get mine checked, it's fine, she simply needs to be in the same room and facing me when she speaks to me, an introductory remark to make sure she has my attention wouldn't be bad either.



Evidently, I'm deaf in the frequency of my wife's voice.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I told a friend the missus said to me 'We're moving'. 
'A decision reached after consultation and discussion then?'
'Oh, you do it differently in your house then?'
'Certainly, my women do as they are told and speak when they are spoken to; it's all right, none of them are in earshot.'


----------



## Winston

So, I'm behind a Maserati today.  It's hot, and I'm in my riding leathers, so I focus on the car to distract myself.
"What makes that car worth $80,000?"
It was rather bland.  Wide, squat but featureless.  I looked at the exauhst.  Four pipes off of 2 mufflers.  Sure enough, only two of the exhaust pipes actually had carbon build-up. The other two were shiny chrome. 
Silly, stupid, vanity cosmetic bull***t.  For 80 large, I'm expecting FOUR functional pipes.  Frontin'.  

Well, at least my last batch of home brew is delicious.  Loving it.  I bet Maserati dude is drinking Stella Artois now, thinking THAT'S cool.  No accounting for taste.


----------



## thefloridapoet

My day, yesterday, was filled with suds and heaps of clothes. Ten washers full.  Piles of freshly washed. then folded pants, shorts, towels, sheets, shirts, you-name-its.  It's full out humid summer here in the South (Florida).  Mildew in drawers makes for damp dresser drawers and musty clothes. I tear my dressers apart on a regular basis.  When you come into my apartment you never know when the living room will be filled with empty drawers standing on end set out to dry. Or when clothes are once again off to the laundry mat.  I write haiku's to honor the mildew and machine while waiting for the suds to do their job, the tumblers and heat to dry same clothes and linens and kill the fungi spoors.  Only to once again load the drawers back up and await the humid air to bring the process back full circle.  

That was my day........    then off to Temple to get some spiritual peace, come home read a good book for a while and off to peaceful healing sleep music and the restorative powers of hours of sleep and a few pleasant dreams...   until my phone sang out to me abruptly at 9:05 a.m. "you've got a text message"...   off to the races.


----------



## Winston

Watched the first ten Dems debate tonight.  I liked Mayor Pete and Delaney.
They're both white men, but Buttigeig is gay, so do I get diversity credit for liking him?  

The lines are drawn:  Bomb-throwing revolutionaries vs. establishment lap-dogs.  I'm bringing more popcorn for tomorrow.


----------



## seigfried007

This is about how my day's going. Just digging myself in deeper and furiously backpedaling. It's like I'm swimming against the Toilet of Life's flush. 

[video=youtube;iMjnbrvmwKc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMjnbrvmwKc[/video]


----------



## JustRob

This morning my angel and I took our neighbour to the funeral director's office to collect her past resident companion's ashes. Then we took another neighbour's dog for a walk. We took it for another walk this afternoon, but they are returning from their ten day holiday in France tonight, so our temporary regular dog-walking schedule is now over. With meeting neighbours' needs probably at an end now we can hopefully get back to our own lives. 

Between these activities I did watch the film _True Lies_ yet again, mainly as a excuse to put my feet up for a while. There is a scene in it where Jamie Lee Curtis drops an automatic pistol and it bounces down a staircase spinning and repeatedly firing with the result that it shoots at least a dozen bad guys. Okay, so it was a very popular tongue in cheek film, but it occurred to me that if any of us were to include such a scene in one of our stories then they could well be accused of using a deus ex machina gun.


----------



## Amnesiac

So... Monday evening, I'm digging in the garden, and the hole begins to fill with water. Shit... Nailed a sprinkler line, except I hit right near a "T" where the 1" supply line, 1/2" sprinkler branch, and the 3/4" sprinkler line all come together. So, dig up about three feet of the whole thing, run to the hardware store and pick up the parts, and put everything back together. Job took me two days, in blistering 110F heat, but finally got everything together.

Then, the day before four days of 110+F heat, the air conditioning goes out. The heat wave started last Thursday, and they couldn't make it until yesterday. Sooooooo miserable. Yesterday, they replaced the entire outside a/c unit for a far more efficient, environmentally friendly model, and the house is gloriously cool again. Even the kitties were just laid out on the floor, trying to cool themselves. When they started panting from being overheated, I started giving them baths and wiping them down with damp washcloths.

What an ordeal!


----------



## Megan Pearson

Trying to sell our antique, roll-top desk online, for pick-up only. It's really a beaut--sad to see it go. 

We've got a buyer, traded some cordial emails and took some more photos. The desk is in storage, which is obvious from the pictures. He introduced himself as being out-of-town/military, but would send a moving truck to pick it up for him. I've worked with people who think like this, and so it doesn't strike me as odd. But just now, in his response, something's not setting right. How do I gauge the buyer's intent?

Any of you ever had experience doing this before?


----------



## Amnesiac

Sounds kinda' scammy, to me... If your intuition is saying NO, listen to it. Tell them that you already had a local offer, and you've decided to take it. Typically, the moving van WILL show up, and they'll write you a rubber check or a phony money order, usually for MORE than what you're asking, and then you're out the desk AND the money. The moving van may say that you need to pay them cash, too. This part is not unusual, as moving companies usually want a percentage of cash up front, but if the moving company is in cahoots with the scammer, then you're out even more money. People suck.... But this is what the scam usually consists of.


----------



## seigfried007

Amnesiac said:


> Sounds kinda' scammy, to me... If your intuition is saying NO, listen to it. Tell them that you already had a local offer, and you've decided to take it. Typically, the moving van WILL show up, and they'll write you a rubber check or a phony money order, usually for MORE than what you're asking, and then you're out the desk AND the money. The moving van may say that you need to pay them cash, too. This part is not unusual, as moving companies usually want a percentage of cash up front, but if the moving company is in cahoots with the scammer, then you're out even more money. People suck.... But this is what the scam usually consists of.



I concur. If you're not comfortable with it, don't do it. Worried you're going to get stuck with a crappy deal on this.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

I also agree. Don't do anything you aren't comfortable with. You know best, right? : )

P.S. Selected my courses for the Fall semester. Come April, I'm done with my two-year diploma and onto more education. Onwards!


----------



## Darkkin

Potato is now on Instagram...

View attachment 24108

potato_apprentice_book_cat


Take something painful and make it into something bright!


----------



## Megan Pearson

Amnesiac said:


> People suck.... But this is what the scam usually consists of.



Thanks *Amnesiac*, *Seigfried*, and *Bard*!

Needed to hear that. You've just described _exactly_ what the email chain I've been dealing with looks to be leading up to. 

Will share with hubby in the morning.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Darkkin said:


> Potato is now on Instagram...



Potato's got big feet! Can't wait to see Mr. (Ms.?) P. when s/he's full grown!


(sorry--just realized I forgot which it was Potato is.)


----------



## Amnesiac

/gently picking up Potato and hugging him, scritching his ears and beneath his chin... then hugging him more....

Thanks. I needed that.


----------



## Bard_Daniel

You go Potato!


----------



## Darkkin

Potato is going to be a very big cat, but he is amazingly gentle and so friendly.  He is such a good cat.  

View attachment 24118


----------



## The Green Shield

He's now the official Writing Forums kitty.


----------



## Amnesiac

He's a harsh critic and doesn't suffer fools gladly. He will be honored to sit upon thy manuscript for such a length of time as there is sunlight shining upon it.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24137

Are you talking about me...?


----------



## KenTR

I hate to steer this thread away from that awesome kitty, but *I finished the foot massage scene today!!! *Woo hoo!













Back to Potato..


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24157

Happy International Cat Day...now back to the randomness of life.


----------



## Amnesiac

According to cats, every day is International Cat Day. Just ask 'em!


----------



## -xXx-

pushing to get the t-cross, i-dot WIP taken care of.
came back to obvious 
unknown-entity-inside-at-some-point-during-your-absence
indicators yesterday.

normalize.
interesting concept.
_*prepares for appts*_


----------



## Winston

Took the day off of work, but left some of my writing there that I wrote on breaks this week.  Won't get access to it until Monday.  Meh.
Going to work out, then get a haircut.  Boring day.  Which is kinda nice.


----------



## Amnesiac

"So, how's life treatin' you, Amnesiac?"
"Oh, you know, about the same way a baby treats a diaper."


----------



## The Green Shield

Just imagine being the telegram officer having to send this out.  You've got a client who is super pissed the fuck off and you're doing everything in your power to not accidentally divert their wrath onto you because hey, they're already about to rip one person's ass -- they've got time to rip two. So you have to send this all while wondering just what in the absolute hell happened to prompt this.


​


----------



## Olly Buckle

Late 1800's it says, that shows the difference between England an the US. In England a letter would have got there next day, I guess we are a lot smaller, and I am pretty sure a telegram with a swear word like that in it would not have been accepted here. Nice one though.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24171

Sum total of my day...angina sucks.


----------



## seigfried007

Been out camping since Thursday and got back earlier today. Added some on the WIP after I got back. 

My 10-year-old son asked me for a scary story Thursday night. _*Heh heh heh*_ (Don't you kids know I cut my literary teeth on horror writing?) Bet they won't ask for another one for a good long while. Caught my 12-year-old son checking his fingers and toes Friday morning to make sure he didn't have any extras. Even managed to put a little fear in my 16-year-old.


----------



## Winston

The cats in our house do not respect boundaries. At all.
My cat has been flopping on my desk, demanding attention.  I'm a sucker, and oblige.  NOW my daughter's cat is doing the same thing.  If my wife's cat starts in, I think I'm moving my 50 pounds of desktop and monitors to a TV tray.
And they'll still try to squeeze on that.


----------



## The Green Shield

Winston said:


> The cats in our house do not respect boundaries. At all.
> My cat has been flopping on my desk, demanding attention.  I'm a sucker, and oblige.  NOW my daughter's cat is doing the same thing.  If my wife's cat starts in, I think I'm moving my 50 pounds of desktop and monitors to a TV tray.
> And they'll still try to squeeze on that.


Cats typically don't care. :3


----------



## Olly Buckle

Yesterday we moved house, today was mostly spent unpacking boxes and trying to decide where to put the contents.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Everyday Grammar (Oxford Paperback Reference)
Seely, John

Oxford A-Z of Grammar and Punctuation
Seely, John


Oxford Guide to Plain English (Oxford Paperback Reference)
Cutts, Martin


Oxford Guide to Effective Writing and Speaking: How to Communicate Clearly
John Seely

100 Writing Lessons: Narrative ¥ Descriptive ¥ Expository ¥ Persuasive: Ready-to-Use Lessons to Help Students Become Strong Writers and Succeed on the Tests
McCarthy, Tara

Here's what I ordered for grammar and style. I have a lot to read. That's why I decided until I read these books, I won't attempt to write a story. I also ordered the marshall plan (which seems the most practical of the books I have bought that teaches writing).

That's all I wanted to say. Since the feedback of my previous stories points to having style mistakes and grammar. I will get read and write next month which is a program for dyslexia. I don't feel confident with my current abilities. 

I am posting this more or less so people can understand why I decided on this. Because I am constanrtly frustrated that I can't write as correctly as I want.

Grammar is taught badly, so the books I ordered cover clauses, taking in mind previous feedback. I will try to write simpler sentences. Style and communication is covered in these books.


----------



## seigfried007

Been wrestling with the same chapter for a couple days--fresh off writing three chapters in one day right before this. Silly characters, difficult conversations, moodiness. Keep going back and redoing it. First time, in a sudden conversation shift of subject, a bit of 'convenient' foreshadowing happened, but I hated how it came off--kinda unnatural. 

Next time, one character spilled all the beans and started a fight of sorts, but it seemed like she'd jumped to some conclusions a bit fast, blurted the info out too fast, and changed her dang mood on a dime _*again*_. Moody characters, _*oi*_


----------



## Amnesiac

Oh, good grief! I've got one story I'm rewriting, another I'm in the midst of, (and I'll write two different versions of that one - one rated PG, the other rated R), and then I've another two ideas in the works! Lord.... When it rains, it POURS!


----------



## Megan Pearson

Olly Buckle said:


> Yesterday we moved house, today was mostly spent unpacking boxes and trying to decide where to put the contents.


 
Sounds like a lot of work!

Make sure you take a writing break... You know, coffee in one hand, pen & paper in the other... Give second cup of coffee to significant other so they don't feel left out or like they're doing all the work. ;-)


----------



## Megan Pearson

Still working on selling Antique Roll Top Desk.

Refused to comply with scam reply's ridiculous arrangement & haven't heard back. 
(Thank you, *Amnesiac*, *Seigfried*, and *Bard*! It was absolutely a scam--exactly as Amnesiac described.)

Had another nibble today at the ad today.

Keeping fingers crossed that it's legit.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Also, worth mentioning, sorry I haven't been as active lately as I would like. Have two major endeavors going on. First, getting ready for my first semester as an M.A. Philosophy student. Going to try & go all the way so I can teach. Second--and of vastly more interest to all of you folks here--have decided to treat my writing like a job. Not a "job," as in, I write on the side, but as a job as in a clock-in, clock-out sort-of job. This is a HUGE mental transition for me.

Still haven't been able to convince hubby that you can't make a living as a writer. He thinks I can. I keep telling him the facts and he keeps telling me to keep on writing. He's awesome, but frustating. (Frustratingly awesome?) 

Anyway, it's nice having someone who believes in what you do so much so that they are willing to make the financial sacrifice for you to, for a time, pursue something that was your passion seriously. I do hope all of you get to experience this at least once in your lifetime. It feels like I've just been handed a truly awesome privilege, a truly great responsibity. But, am I up to the task? (Ten years ago, it was all I had ever wanted. Is it possible to outgrow our dreams?) 


(Personally, I've always written _despite_ a hectic schedule. My response to this so far has been, What in the world am I to be doing with all this TIME!?!?! Eeee...!)


----------



## Winston

Got out early for gardening today.  I thought a neighbor beat me to his tasks when I heard a lawnmower from the other end of our neighborhood.  But then it got louder.
It was one of those kids in a tiny Japanese car.


----------



## The Green Shield

Ladies and gentlemen, if I ever interrupt the flow of my story with a huge historical info-dump about some political faction my characters are not a part of/don't know about, please throw my book across the room and ask me what I was drinking to think doing that was a good idea.​

​
I'm reading Metro 2033 and, while it's a decent book so far, it spent about ten pages waxing lyrical about some neo-Soviet political group rising in the metros of Moscow (the setting of the series) all rallying around the remains of Red Square. ​

​
I fell asleep halfway through and skipped the whole thing. Look, it's cool and all to introduce different factions in your story, but there is a way to do it rather than making it feel like a history book! If I want to learn history, I'll go to my local museum or open an actual history book. ​​


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24208

Offered required tribute to the Guardian of the Book Horde...


----------



## Amnesiac

Olly Buckle said:


> Yesterday we moved house, today was mostly spent unpacking boxes and trying to decide where to put the contents.



I did this, starting in April. I'm still unpacking and finding places for stuff. Grief....


----------



## Amnesiac

Megan Pearson said:


> Still working on selling Antique Roll Top Desk.
> 
> Refused to comply with scam reply's ridiculous arrangement & haven't heard back.
> (Thank you, *Amnesiac*, *Seigfried*, and *Bard*! It was absolutely a scam--exactly as Amnesiac described.)
> 
> Had another nibble today at the ad today.
> 
> Keeping fingers crossed that it's legit.



Good luck!


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24250

In case anyone needs a laugh, Potato Cat decided to steal Zwi's crate...


----------



## Darkkin

double post...oops.


----------



## Amnesiac

"I'm sure you enjoyed your bed. It's mine, now. Fight me, bro!" LMAO


----------



## Darkkin

It is a battle never to be fought, Zwi is too sweet natured to make Potato Cat move.  Potato Cat has literally tromped all over the 90lb greyhound since the day we got him.  Potato was only about 8oz then...


----------



## Winston

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/a-truly-enormous-cat-named-big-boi-mr-b-enchanted-the-internet-after-a-shelter-put-out-a-call-for-someone-to-adopt-him/ar-AAGeAeM?li=BBnbfcL

My daughter was ready to buy plane tickets to Philadelphia to adopt this little fella.  
She likes big cats.  There's a lot there to like.


----------



## Amnesiac

My God... Can you imagine the size of the litter box?


----------



## Winston

Going to swap-out my old gasoline for new.  I put the old stuff in my 1978 F250, which will burn anything. Then I have to re-fill my 5 gallon cans.  I like to keep at least 15 to 20 gallons on hand.  The gas keeps for 2 years or more with the stabilizer I use, but it's still a good idea to rotate every couple of years.  My grandma was a Great Depression survivor, and I suppose it rubbed off on me.  Just have stuff on hand.  

I was thinking of her:








Mom, Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Norman in the middle.  ​


----------



## Amnesiac

Depression-era wisdom:
Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24268


It is National Dog Day.  Here is Rue Dog and his llama face.  You're welcome!


----------



## Amnesiac

My office for the next few days:


----------



## Darkkin

Got off work early, so I did an impromtu trip to Effigy Mounds Monument.  Good way to spend an afternoon and I just spent an hour going over Rue Dog with a fine tooth comb to check for ticks.  He is on monthly preventative, but it never hurts to double check.  I sheeted out his undercoat while I was at it.  Rue just snored the entire time...

View attachment 24276


----------



## Amnesiac

So far, I'm trying to fill in a glaring plot hole in a story I'm writing. Pass the caulk-gun, please. (I'm going to need more duct tape!)


----------



## JustRob

A mystery was solved for me today. A few days ago I was eating a piece of my angel's delicious home-made bread pudding, which always contains large quantities of mixed dried fruit, when my teeth hit something that seemed too hard to be a piece of dried peel. When I took it out of my mouth I identified it as one of the nylon replacement feet that I had stuck on the bottom of our food mixer when a couple came off. My angel gave me no explanation for how it had got into the pudding but just nonchalantly remarked that it wouldn't have done any harm if I had swallowed it.

Today at lunchtime my angel was eating another piece of the same pudding when she found the other replacement foot in it. This time she explained that when on a previous occasion she had noticed that the two replacement feet had fallen off the mixer she had put them in its bowl so that they wouldn't get lost ... Evidently they didn't, but it seems that they did get forgotten about. Nevertheless the bread pudding was just as delicious as ever.


----------



## Winston

> ...but just nonchalantly remarked that it wouldn't have done any harm if I had swallowed it.



Roughage.  Clean you out, my man.  

I'm starting a new Meade today.  I haven't made a really good one yet. I'm going to use a ton of sugar and honey this time, and bitter it with some green tea.  With lemon for a little zing.  
I'm drinking my Dopplebock / Eiesenbocks that I made last month.  They are almost too strong.  Each glass has the alcohol equivalent of 3 glasses of ale.  It's certainly a dessert beverage.  So, now I have dessert more often  .  
And then there's folding laundry and watching baseball.  My team is 7 games back for a wild-card slot.  Not much of a shot, but...

[video=youtube_share;zMRrNY0pxfM]https://youtu.be/zMRrNY0pxfM[/video]


----------



## Winston

It's the third day for my son at his new job.  His friend got him a gig working as a dishwasher.  Some friend, eh?

Oh, but I'm digging on this.  Good, honest, hard-work for the lad.  My boy's not complaining.  I suppose he's working pretty hard.  He said a customer at the bar saw how hard he was hustling, and asked the owner to give him a $10 tip.  
He confessed he spent $3.50 of the tip on 2 McChickens yesterday.  He's saving the remainder for milkshakes with his girlfriend.    
I'm lovin' it.


----------



## Darkkin

It has been a long, frustrating week...and I don't know if my cat is simply weird or actually has a sense of humour because he seems to be channelling his inner Turtle.

View attachment 24356


----------



## Darkkin

Slightly eerie side by side of my Book Cats, past and present.  Who is Master, who is Apprentice?

View attachment 24357View attachment 24358


----------



## Amnesiac

Our newest family member. Meet Dakota. Malamute and German shepherd mix. (Ashtray is not mine. I quit a few years ago).


----------



## Amnesiac

I just finished, (rough draft), a book on spirituality, meditation, and contemplation. It's called, "Inhale Peace; Exhale Bullshit." It's slightly irreverent, maybe even slightly sacrilegious, but the info is solid and very real.


----------



## seigfried007

*[trigger warning: language]*

[video=youtube;Vqbk9cDX0l0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqbk9cDX0l0[/video]


----------



## Mish

My day was "Meh". Is it just me or do other people get irked as well when you ask a question and the other person disappears with no response? I was chatting to me ex coworker from ex workplace via messenger and then asked "so, how is the team?" I never heard back. I really dislike when friends leave you hanging like that.

On the plus side I just finished writing another contest entry, which I submitted. It was so good, it almost wrote itself. So that was a highlight.


----------



## Winston

My wife and I accompanied our son to the Coast Guard recruiter's office.  They have a program similar to ROTC (but the Dept. of Homeland Security equivalent) that my son was interested in.  He's qualified, and the recruiter encouraged him to apply, but...
Last year, out of 164 applicants, only 7 were accepted.  
Everyone thinks they're special, or their kid is the exception.  But reality is reality.  He will give it a go, but as the recruiter kindly suggested, it's a very good idea to have a back-up plan.  We'll be working with him on that.

It was also interesting to hear my son's response to the question, "Why do you want to join the Coast Guard?"
To paraphrase his response, he said that he wanted to help people, not hurt them.  Among all the Services, the Coast Guard was the best fit with his moral alignment and temperament.  
Funny, at his age, I just wanted to kill Commies and Terrorists.  Kids are maturing faster these days.
Thank God.


----------



## seigfried007

Weirdest most Twilight Zone level shizznit happened yesterday:


So, in my WIP, there's a heroic little tortoiseshell cat that shows up rarely in flashbacks to the POV's early childhood. 

_An identical kitten straight up ran into my apartment yesterday_. 

So Rainbow Kitty's staying with me. 

I have a strict two-pet limit but already have a 150+lb Rottweiler and a super fat long-haired tom, so I can't keep her. Nobody around us appears to recognize the cat or want her, and I don't really want to give her up because she's totes adorbs, probably going to be a great mouser, and has so much attitude. I don't think I've ever met a kitten with so much 'tude. She is such a weird cat--and she can serve as quite the little muse for writing Rainbow Kitty. 

Other than run into the apartment, the first thing this kitten did was tell the obnoxious cat-loving Rottie to_ back da fuq off_. She hasn't cowed the Rottie, but she doesn't suffer the dog's attentions either. They're quickly arriving at an understanding. 

Rainbow Kitty is memorable because of her 'tude and willingness to fiercely protect 'her kitten' from far larger threats. So... it's perfect... and totally Twilight Zone.


----------



## Amnesiac

I applied for a sales associate job with Brooks Brothers. The manager liked my resume, my corporate and international experience so much, (and liked _me_ so much), I was offered a supervisor's position, straight out of the box. I start Wednesday!


----------



## Winston

Staying at home with my boy today.  He had his wisdom teeth removed.  Bought him a milkshake.  Changing the gauze every hour.  He's playing Kerbal Space Program. 
Gives me a chance to catch-up on chores, maybe finish my MiG-3 fighter.


----------



## SueC

Winston said:


> Staying at home with my boy today.  He had his wisdom teeth removed.  Bought him a milkshake.  Changing the gauze every hour.  He's playing Kerbal Space Program.
> Gives me a chance to catch-up on chores, maybe finish my MiG-3 fighter.



Be sure he doesn't drink the milkshake through a straw


----------



## Amnesiac

Winston, how's your boy doing?


----------



## Winston

Amnesiac said:


> Winston, how's your boy doing?



Thanks for asking.  He's fine.  Tough like his old man.  I was body-surfing the next day after my extractions (I kid you not).  Spit-up a little blood into the surf, and got a free salt-water gargle.  To be 18 again...
He drove himself to school this AM. But, he can't plat the tuba until next week.  Since he's missing a band performance, he instead will be with the JROTC cannon team at the game.  Can't keep him down.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24554View attachment 24555

This dufus is six months old!  Hard to believe.


----------



## The Green Shield

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masabumi_Hosono

I used to be obsessed with the Titanic as a child, I went to the 'Titanic: Honor and Glory' exhibit in Downtown Mobile last year, but I never knew about this guy, the only Japanese survivor of the RMS Titanic.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Gracie_IV

Also, this survivor (who would die a few months later of complications) came from Mobile.


----------



## Amnesiac

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 24554View attachment 24555
> 
> This dufus is six months old!  Hard to believe.



Potato baby!!!


----------



## Amnesiac

Yesterday was my first day. I love this company so much, love their products, and really like my manager. Next week, I'll be receiving a set of keys, as well as security and safe codes. The first day was good. Did a lot of rotating stock, making room for fall/winter colors, putting away spring and summer stuff, helping customers, etc. Looking at the schedule for the next two weeks, I'm seeing one person's hours being consistently tapered down, and my own hours increasing, so I have a pretty good idea whom I'm replacing, although I would never let on. By the time this person leaves, I will have pulled every ounce of useful information out of him.


----------



## Umree

I interviewed for a copywriter job on Tuesday and received a job offer today! Salary +benefits and time off. I start next Tuesday --sounds WAY too good to be true-- I'm totally freaking out!


----------



## Amnesiac

Umree! That is FANTASTIC! Congratulations! HUGE thumbs-up!


----------



## Umree

Amnesiac said:


> Umree! That is FANTASTIC! Congratulations! HUGE thumbs-up!



Thank you! Congratulations on your new job as well! I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying it.

Cheers! :champagne:


----------



## Amnesiac

:champagne:


----------



## Chris Stevenson

After cajoling, begging, threatening, asking, telling, questioning, bragging and all else in sundry, I finally got my publisher to let me go on the Kindle Unlimited program. First time every in my life for any book. Problem was, we decided on the default price of .99 cents, but it never showed up. It came out at $2.99. Now I don't know whether to mention this to the publisher or not. She went through serious hoops to get me there and I don't want to seem ungrateful. But....I've been contemplating on how to approach her about this. I'm frozen solid with no ideas. Guh. Doh and Gak!


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24584View attachment 24583

Pumpkins and apples and cats, oh my!  Potato came apple picking with us today...and Rue Dog just needed some puppy snuggles.  It was too peopley for him.


----------



## Umree

First day at work went well despite my high anxiety. Everyone is very nice and I’m really glad to have found this place. Interestingly, I submitted some creative writing samples while interviewing and my supervisor said he made the right choice by hiring me after he read them :grin:


----------



## The Green Shield

That Moment When:​

​
you are browsing YouTube videos and find yourself listening to a recording of what may have been Tsar Nicolas II during a royal parade, and an interview from the 1970s where the hostess is a woman born in Victorian times. ​

​
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4FZkXvAY94​
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9hv3ghdSPk​​


----------



## The Green Shield

*sighs*


Florida Man's at it again.


-----------------------
Ever tried coming up with a decent quote, but feel it's already been taken? 



My character: "Sometimes we need to decide what is right between what is easy."

Me: "No, no, no, that's too Harry Potter. Hmmm..."

My character: "You have to ask yourself the question you fear -- Who ARE you, my Lord, not what the Order WANTS you to be."

Me: "No! No channeling Iroh from 'Avatar: The Last Airbender!"

My character: "We must learn to let go of all that we fear to lose."

Me: "Quit channeling Yoda!"

My character: "It takes more than brute strength--"

Me: *fires a kamehameha at my laptop, cries* "Now you're quoting Goku."


----------



## Winston

Finishing packing for an out-of-town wedding.  My nephew's.  He's 28 now, but it seems like just yesterday I was holding him, and he was gumming the buttons on my coat.  
Times flies.  See y'all in a few days.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My character: "Sometimes we need to decide what is right between what is easy."

Sometimes what is easy is also right, but not often

My character: you have to ask yourself the question you fear -- Who ARE you, my Lord, not what the Order WANTS you to be."

Do not ask for what you want; ask for what you fear.

My character: "We must learn to let go of all that we fear to lose."
that sounds as though they want to lose
Lose  what  you fear to lose

My character: "It takes more than brute strength--"

Strength comes in different forms.


So many different fonts and colours, difficult to see what goes with what, hope it comes out all right, hope it helps, going for the short version.


----------



## Darkkin

I just rescued a stray geranium from the gravel beside our front door...Meet Groot.

View attachment 24630


----------



## J.T. Chris

Another day home with my own thoughts, but I managed to write a story today and begin work on another one. After a years-long hiatus, I call that a good day.


----------



## seigfried007

Felt like this until very recently. Needless to say, I've been in a dark place and writing dark things today. 

[video=youtube;QJ4CI3bVg-k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ4CI3bVg-k[/video]


----------



## Irwin

Just came back from a week-long retreat up in the mountains where I got a lot of reading done, worked a bit on my novel, and went on a nice hike.  

Here's a pic:


----------



## J.T. Chris

My wife and I are renovating my father-in-law's  basement and turning it into an apartment. We put up all the insulation today, so feel pretty accomplished.


----------



## The Green Shield

*TMW:*

*



*
Someone compares you to Stephen Hawkings and you think it's a high honor considering you don't even have the brains of a scientist. ​


----------



## Winston

Finished cleaning up everything after our trip down south to CA.  Then I made time to go to the shooting range this AM.  It was fun, until I broke a scope on one of my rifles.  Nope, despite that it was still fun.
Every gun and accessory I own are cheap.  The scope won't be pricey to replace.  It'll just means I'll have to shoot more rounds to sight in the new scope.
Oh, darn


----------



## Dluuni

Got to get frequent updates from many people I know about the Supreme Court today. I didn't want to shut them out because I know they are as horrified as I am. But it's just not possible to focus on the day when a handful of people are charged with the task of deciding whether or not you are as human as they are.
Feeling very small today.


----------



## Amnesiac

Doing well in my job as a supervisor with Brooks Brothers. I'm also enjoying the substantial employee discount on their amazing shirts, ties, and polos. 

Question: When did pleats and cuffs fall out of favor? To me, pleats and cuffs really _complete _a pair of trousers. Evidently, designers of modern menswear disagree. Hrmph.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24665

Hello!  This is what I came home to...


----------



## seigfried007




----------



## The Green Shield

Seriously, sometimes joking about what I've got makes things easier for me. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Can a man with anxiety, severe hearing loss, and a perfectly useless eye *not* make fun of himself anymore?


----------



## Amnesiac

In very grim jobs I've had, as a medic, EMT, and deputy sheriff, you'd better find some way to laugh at every situation, or else one day, you'll likely decide to rinse your brain out with buckshot.


----------



## Theglasshouse

If dont know if if humor is a coping mechanism. Earlier this week my mood felt drained. I had to watch comedy. I don't think it hurts. It improved my mood in fact and I was able to do what my mom was asking for. Every day of the week I have to give her massage because of diabetes (her foot is always sleeping and gets numb and is in pain). After a couple of laughs I was back to normal. Humor may not be a studied mood but it helped me with my schizoaffective disorder. I wanted to see more comedy after that point onwards. The movie I saw had eddie murphy in it.

But anyways a positive outlook is best. A pessimistic outlook is not good. The people who manage their difficulties overcome the worst and come back healthier and live longer lives. They accept their difficulties and limitations. 

While I dont have a final diagnosis in place for writing this sounds like it could apply to me. I remember a person on tv who stayed positive despite her house having been destroyed by a tornado. I remembered how many people would say that her life or theirs had ended and they continued because of the difficulties. She didn't think about her life and having to begin again from scratch after decades of work. It was destroyed.

In a newspaper article I read that in argentina a nun had throat cancer. Her tongue was removed. She was much loved because she always smiled. She smiled in her very last days. The people cried at her loss. Yet she was this way and always kept similing. Because if you don't life could end on a bitter note. I never met some people like her. But that was inspiring, and that is what she wanted. She wanted to be remembered not for cancer but for others to remember she coped with it positively. She wanted for people to remember some good memory of who she was. I even read articles in research studies that many people who have faith recover from health faster. It can be googled. It's a good way for emotionally being well. That means you won't fall into depression. Ok not everyone believes in god existing. But it's a classic example of how good thinking leads to feeling, thinking, and then reacting. If you think negative thoughts you could in some cases become sad and react by being crying for instance. If it becomes habitual thinking it becomes a problem, and affects your mood. You don't want mental disease. So you think positive of life's outcomes. How will it make a difference that you are living in the world with this problem.

So we should all copy the nun's example to think positively. Her life ended on a happy note. Also life becomes desentisized and you gradually accept the problem. You feel better in the end by accepting the circumstances. Whether it be the fate we all must face and so forth. It becomes less of a burden when the person who has any sort of health problems accepts it.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Yeah, humour is great, and not just at coping, sometimes it does more. Among the first people the military junta locked up in Burma (Sorry, can't remember what it is supposed to be called nowadays) were comedians, and that is true other places too. There is a saying that you will have the face you deserve by the time you are fifty, another good reason to smile more than you frown, Glasshouse. It is great what you do for your mother, two of my friends who had diabetes died after progressive amputations that started with a toe and went on to a foot, then lower leg, then nowhere to go soon after. Mind, both of them were drinkers, and alcohol does not mix with diabetes, diet makes a big difference and there is so much added sugar in things


----------



## Theglasshouse

Thanks for that compliment olly buckle. 

I read in quora that we are responsible with coping with depression by seeking help for it voluntarily. What is possible is we will sink into this mood for a good while. We are in charge of how to alleviate our problems. You have to search for the coping mechanisms and support networks. You don't reject that you could be. You simply stop thinking life is all about problems  that you don't know how to face which is a key point. There is help everywhere in support networks. That information was taken someone who studied cognitive behavioral therapy on quora(it was a post on why people sink into depression). Anything works as long as you try to look for help. That is a way to recover, since you are trying to look for help actively. You are avoiding the problem. Whether it be professional or seeking more basic things such as entertaining one's self. All are valid strategies for coping. But there must be a will power to try. You need to be concious of these problems and self aware on how to resolve them. Counseling is helpful. Anything that makes you smarter on how to solve it. The problem imo is about creating self-awareness when there was none. We must educate ourseves on about how to beat the problem if emotional. An existential problem has a solution. So if you are feeling down there are a lot of good resources. The medical system exists for a very good reason. As do other professions that deal with the mental aspect of things. In other words we need to be responsible for our mental health and how we feel everyday. Not many know this and blame others. Blaming the problem is easy. But it creates mental situations no one wants. Blaming doesn't solve problems.


----------



## The Green Shield

I was talking about self-depracative jokes. xD


----------



## Ma'am

I was extra nice to everyone all day and it seemed to perk people right up. It came back to me, with lots of smiles, jokes and return niceness, more than I expected so I had a really nice day.

Okay, that sounds really dorky. Tomorrow I'll be extra mean and see what that does.


----------



## The Green Shield

Watched _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._ It's so good! :O There were things I felt could've been better developed but overall I like it. Looking forward to watching _The Crimes of Grindwald_.​


----------



## Darkkin

I have a sinus infection...:chargrined:  At least I got a Potato Cat hug...

View attachment 24744


----------



## J.T. Chris

I woke up with the same feeling of inexorable hopelessness that I experience daily. I sat down to write and all that came out was mush--some of the worst sentences I'd ever seen composed.


----------



## Ma'am

@Darkkin- Is that kitty wearing clothes?   Hope you feel better.


----------



## Ma'am

@J.T. Chris- Well that is no fun. Do you know any ways to try to fix it? I'm no medical expert but I hear St. John's wort (over the counter supplement) is good, if you can't get to a doctor for it. Also, light exercise and sunshine (I've read that depression is frequently tied in with vitamin D deficiency, which is common in the colder months). 

I had bouts of depression for years but a decade or so ago, they just stopped and I have no idea why. Hope you feel better soon.


----------



## J.T. Chris

Yeah, I think the only thing that would help is if I could sit down and finish a story without judging it, from start to finish. In all seriousness though, I am medicated; just going through a difficult phase of my life right now. That's what brought me back here. As frustrating as it is, the writing is therapeutic.


----------



## bdcharles

J.T. Chris said:


> I woke up with the same feeling of inexorable hopelessness that I experience daily. I sat down to write and all that came out was mush--some of the worst sentences I'd ever seen composed.



Sorry to hear this, but if it’s any consolation, if I read a story that opened with what you’d just put down here, I’d be hooked straight away


----------



## Olly Buckle

bdcharles said:


> Sorry to hear this, but if it’s any consolation, if I read a story that opened with what you’d just put down here, I’d be hooked straight away



You also have a huge advantage over all those people who think what they write is the bee's knees and can not be improved, you know, the ones who write trash


----------



## thefloridapoet

Yesterday afternoon was spent with a women's writer's group I meet with sometimes and we had an open mic to share our work and music.  It was a very nice afternoon of comraderie not often obtained.  Today I'm looking forward to an afternoon nap after a night of restless sleeplessness.


----------



## The Green Shield

Fuck. Me.

I’m all right, the gentleman whose car I hit is fine and between the two of our cars, mine took the brunt of the beating. 

Just... Christ ​​

(Car wreck)


----------



## Ma'am

The Green Shield said:


> Fuck. Me.
> 
> I’m all right, the gentleman whose car I hit is fine and between the two of our cars, mine took the brunt of the beating.
> 
> Just... Christ ​​
> 
> (Car wreck)



Er, that wasn't a "like" like, just a sympathy note. Hope it all gets resolved soon. 

(We went through something similar recently, in our brand new car, naturally).


----------



## The Green Shield

Ma'am said:


> Er, that wasn't a "like" like, just a sympathy note. Hope it all gets resolved soon.
> 
> (We went through something similar recently, in our brand new car, naturally).






Update:


I'm safe at home (and the gentleman is as well.) I'll call the insurance tomorrow and figure out if it's possible to save this car. I...don't think it's possible, though. The engine was exposed and there was a downpour of rain getting into it. The temperature got out of whack and there was an odd smell.


It's fucked. :c So I might need to have to get another used car in the future.


I'm still a bit shaken.​


----------



## Amnesiac

Spent the day with my new editor. He's very demanding, and a real stickler for detail. Meet Dakota.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24797

Apparently Rue Dog is feeling neglected...


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24804

One of the best book finds for me this year:  The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.  Recommended by Potato, the Apprentice Book Cat.


----------



## Irwin

I'm extremely frustrated. We have three phone lines and I'm trying to cancel one of them, which apparently is a very complicated process for the workers at Sprint. I've been on the phone for over an hour and am now on hold again.

I just got cut off. Fuckers.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24854

Radish Dog is trying to bend time so I feed him sooner...


----------



## Zero Hour

Got into a really weird argument on writingforums.org. A member started screaming at me because I posted a topic looking for any further improvements I could make on a character before I decided to delve deeply into them. Calling me lazy, unambitious and having a desperate need for approval before I'd start writing anything. Only to get even angrier at me when I tried to defuse the situation.

To be honest, not sure I will be sticking around that website for much longer.


----------



## Ma'am

I don't blame you, Zero Hour. My feeling is an individual can wander onto any forum and cause trouble so it really comes down to the moderation. If those in charge are aren't up to the task, whether they're underinvolved or troublemakers themselves, it is time to go!


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 24977

Combed out the dog and some how ended up with a Potato Cat...


----------



## joshybo

I've noticed a lot of cat pics on here recently, and I'm awkward at returning to a forum when I've been so long away, so here's a picture of a cat. Specifically, mine.




Also, hey, everybody.


----------



## Firemajic

joshybo said:


> I've noticed a lot of cat pics on here recently, and I'm awkward at returning to a forum when I've been so long away, so here's a picture of a cat. Specifically, mine.
> 
> View attachment 24978
> 
> Also, hey, everybody.



***Smooooches ***Joshy, You have been missed! It is fabulous to see you....   I hope you are well and still writing... 

Lovely feline...


----------



## Deleted member 56686

joshybo said:


> I've noticed a lot of cat pics on here recently, and I'm awkward at returning to a forum when I've been so long away, so here's a picture of a cat. Specifically, mine.
> 
> View attachment 24978
> 
> Also, hey, everybody.




So,,, what happened to your Patriots? 








Nice to see you, Josh.


----------



## joshybo

Firemajic said:


> ***Smooooches ***Joshy, You have been missed! It is fabulous to see you.... :wink:  I hope you are well and still writing...
> 
> Lovely feline...



Hello, Jul! That is very kind of you to say, and it's nice to see you, too! Life has improved a lot for me recently, and I am doing my best to get back into writing more regularly if I can. Hopefully, I still have the knack for it, haha.

And thank you for the kitten compliment! Her name is Amaris, as per my wife's choosing. It means "Child of the Moon" and fits her quite well.




mrmustard615 said:


> So,,, what happened to your Patriots?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nice to see you, Josh.



Egads! I hadn't fully considered the possibility of running into one of your ilk (dang dirty birds!) or I may have waited until after we win another Super Bowl to hop back on, haha! :razz:

Greetings, musty! I hope all is well.


----------



## PiP

Hey, Joshybo, great to see you (and your cat)  You've been missed!


----------



## Gumby

Good to see you back, Josh!


----------



## Olly Buckle

My shed arrived yesterday, now to erect it, insulate it, install a desk and electrics and then move my books and computer in.


----------



## PiP

Olly Buckle said:


> My shed arrived yesterday, now to erect it, insulate it, install a desk and electrics and then move my books and computer in.



That's not a shed, Olly, it's a a 'man cave'.


----------



## JustRob

PiP said:


> That's not a shed, Olly, it's a a 'man cave'.



Yesterday I was patching up cracks in my man cave with cement and then while trimming a partly live electric cable I triggered the circuit breaker and the lights went out. A cold damp completely dark rock hard place filled with dusty relics from dead ancestors and past times - now _that_'s a man cave. At least I'd stored the axes, scythe and log saws away safely so that I wouldn't blunder into them while finding my way out to go back to the house to reset the circuit breaker.


----------



## Olly Buckle

PiP said:


> That's not a shed, Olly, it's a a 'man cave'.


No, it's a retreat to write and read where I won't get interrupted. The garden tools are in the garden shed with the mower and the other tools are in the garage, it is to be a small, six by four, purely literary place. Luxury!


----------



## Winston

My son got to play "news anchor" for the weekly high school show:

[video=youtube_share;f-MwKlyathA]https://youtu.be/f-MwKlyathA[/video]

Since Veteran's Day is coming, they wanted a couple of JROTC cadets to host.  Go Wolves!


----------



## Winston

For those that get it, Semper Fidelis, and Happy 244th Birthday!


----------



## Amnesiac

I just administered mouth-to-mouth to a bottle of scotch. It didn't make it.


----------



## Irwin

I'm writing this from my bed on the 9nt floor of <name of hospital> while watching Monday night football. I've been poked, prodded, and injected with enough pharmaceuticals to affect stock prices. There are actually two I.V.s in my right arm. One didn't provide sufficient quanties to flow into my body.

But I must say, I'm feeling much better. On Saturday, I had a temperature of 103.5 degrees. Yesterday, along with the fever, I had this big red area on the left side of my face and head like a giant birthmark.


----------



## SueC

Irwin said:


> I'm writing this from my bed on the 9nt floor of <name of hospital> while watching Monday night football. I've been poked, prodded, and injected with enough pharmaceuticals to affect stock prices. There are actually two I.V.s in my right arm. One didn't provide sufficient quanties to flow into my body.
> 
> But I must say, I'm feeling much better. On Saturday, I had a temperature of 103.5 degrees. Yesterday, along with the fever, I had this big red area on the left side of my face and head like a giant birthmark.



Get well, Irwin


----------



## PiP

Irwin said:


> I
> 
> But I must say, I'm feeling much better. On Saturday, I had a temperature of 103.5 degrees. Yesterday, along with the fever, I had this big red area on the left side of my face and head like a giant birthmark.


 Was it a bite? Hope the fever is coming down, Irwin.

Today, I used my wheelchair for the first time. It took a year to persuade my husband to let me have one as he was convinced I was going to get better, sadly no. He finally agreed to buy one on the condition I did not become dependent on it. Hell, no. I push, ride, sit and rest. At least today I managed to get around the whole supermarket and shopping centre. The freedom it gave me was great. And step wise, I actually walked further because I could rest when my tendonitis started to complain.


----------



## Amnesiac

Beautiful Wife: "Can you check the chicken?"
Me: (opens oven) "Y'all okay in there? Not too hot? Can I bring you anything? I think it's fine, Honey!"
Beautiful Wife: ......


----------



## The Green Shield

Permit me to rant a little about a character in a book I'm reading?

So I'm reading the Inspector Pekkala mysteries by Sam Eastland, on the fourth book and he's still talking about a beloved fiancee he hadn't seen since the Revolution.

MATH TIME!!!

So the fourth book is set in 1944, twenty-seven years after the Russian Revolution and the last time he saw his beloved boarding a train out of Russia. Pekkala was arrested and spent nine years at a gulag called Borodok whereupon he was released in 1926. By this point, said beloved is married to another man and has an infant daughter.

Still with me? Let's subtract 1944-1926.

Eighteen. The child is now eighteen. The mother (Pekkala's beloved) hadn't seen him for *TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS*. As far as she knows, he died during the Revolution.

And he's still going on about wanting to find her, to reconnect. Now, maybe I'm being too hard on the guy but _come ON_. It's been nearly three decades, my dude. You gotta move on!

So yeah, a character's inability to move on is kind of grating on me.  I suppose that's what love does to you.


----------



## Olly Buckle

PiP said:


> Today, I used my wheelchair for the first time. It took a year to persuade my husband to let me have one as he was convinced I was going to get better, sadly no. He finally agreed to buy one on the condition I did not become dependent on it. Hell, no. I push, ride, sit and rest. At least today I managed to get around the whole supermarket and shopping centre. The freedom it gave me was great. And step wise, I actually walked further because I could rest when my tendonitis started to complain.



I'm thinking perhaps you will get better, combining exercise with rest. Heck, you walked further step wise, you are better, what I mean is perhaps you will get* well*. something to hope for, aiming for it might be a bit much, but steps in that direction are improving life already by the sound of it. Go girl!


----------



## PiP

Thank you, Olly  Yes, I am determined to get better as I have been fighting this for two years.  I was recovering from my first injury and an operation in January 2019, when I pushed myself too far too quickly which brought on severe tendonitis in the other leg. I believe they call it 'Sod's law'. Now I am more pragmatic and listen to my body rather than the so called specialists.  I now have a young physio (he's a dish) who is patient and kind. He never pushes me to do more than I can and the moment the tendonitis starts to growl during in our physio sessions he makes me rest. There is not always gain from pain.

The most difficult thing to cope with is being disabled but not having the perks like disabled parking permission and up until now a wheelchair.


----------



## clark

_​My goodness!  Sorry the lic. plate is so damned BIG!_


Carole -- why do you NOT have a Disabled parking tag? Here, your doctor signs a simple form, you send it to the Parking Permission People (along with $10) and they promptly permit preferred parking. Is your husband perchance a Veteran? Here, your Province would issue him (upon proof of Service) a Veteran's licence plate (see above), which opens access to designated parking slots. In some local cities, cars with Veteran's plates park FREE for 4 hours. Portugal's complex but nervously successful neutrality in both WWI and II kept the country intact, but the survival--to this day-- of the 646-yr. old _Anglo-Portuguese Treaty _
affirms your adopted country's strong ties to Britain. The govt might like the idea of Vet's plates: start a Movement in your spare time!


----------



## PiP

Haha.. no, applying for disabled parking in Portugal even the doctors lose the will to live with the bureaucracy. That's probably why the disabled bays are always empty except for foreigners with disabled badges from their home country


----------



## Amnesiac

Man, to hell with my horoscope!
Aries: "You will give blood generously this week, but it won't be your idea."


----------



## Irwin

I'm back home now. Turns out, I had a case of facial cellulitis. My head swelled up like a balloon! It's still a bit swollen, but not too scary as long as I wear sunglasses.



SueC said:


> Get well, Irwin



Thanks, Sue!  



PiP said:


> Was it a bite? Hope the fever is coming down, Irwin.
> 
> Today, I used my wheelchair for the first time. It took a year to persuade my husband to let me have one as he was convinced I was going to get better, sadly no. He finally agreed to buy one on the condition I did not become dependent on it. Hell, no. I push, ride, sit and rest. At least today I managed to get around the whole supermarket and shopping centre. The freedom it gave me was great. And step wise, I actually walked further because I could rest when my tendonitis started to complain.



Tendonitis is no fun. I had it in my shoulders and it ruined my tennis career. Good luck!


----------



## Olly Buckle

It is obviously the time for complaints to hit. I have been reducing my steroids and reached seven milligrams. That is slightly less than the amount the body makes naturally, but I have been on them so long my body appears to have forgotten how to top me up and I am all over aches and pains until it remembers.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Exercised at 3:33 to help maintain my health and mood.
Massaged my mom's feet at 5:00.
Then I ate dinner at 6:20.
Had to type out something for someone who doesn't seem computer literate at 3:00.
I figured I can maintain the exercise routine by watching netflix, and listening to spotify all day for 1 hour on laptop.
I encourage those who don't excercise and have a stationary exercise machine at home. I used an elliptical bicycle. There's a stopwatch program on the computer.

For those mentally ill, I know it depends on their meds, but when in a good mood they should try.


----------



## The Green Shield

Reading Michael Crichton’s ‘The Andromeda Evolution’ and it’s starting to strain my suspension of disbelief. 

*SPOILERS! READ BELOW AT YOUR OWN PERIL!!
*-—
-—
-—
-—
-—
-—
-—
-—
-—
-—
-—

Long story short, a group of four scientists and their native guides are in the Amazon Rainforst to locate the source of the new Andromeda plague. During their journey, they’re attacked by a hunting party belonging to a nearby uncontacted tribe. After a hellish night of fighting, the only survivors are the four scientists and a little ten-year-old boy named Tupa of said hunting party.


Now, the characters had made it *very clear* before this that you’re not supposed to so much as *look* at a member of an Uncontacted Tribe, much less talk to them. Well, our illustrious scientists decided to program a drone to figure out how to speak in Tupa’s language and not only do they engage in friendly conversation, Tupa (who I remind you was in that hunting party so thoroughly wrecked the night before) cheerfully agrees to help them. What’s even more jarring is that one of them is starting to let his emotions get in the way, the narrative implying that he’s beginning to see Tupa as the child he never had. Meanwhile they’re asking this ten-year-old to please guide them to the source of this Andromeda strain that may or may not kill everyone.


Their only defense is that they are lost in a dense wilderness with nary a local guide to help them. -_-  Apparently logic is overrated for these characters.


----------



## Winston

After the movie, my wife and I went out to dinner with the kids (and my daughter's boyfriend).  My son just got back from a regional academic competition called "Brain Brawl".  His school team took second out of 16 teams. The winner flew in from Arizona (over a thousand miles away).  My son was actually happy for them, since they were rewarded for their obvious hard work and dedication.
We joked with the boyfriend about his new career in retail sales.  Black Friday is coming.  He told us that they fire folks for stealing food out of the break room fridge.  YAY!  
The Chinese food was a bit over-priced, and the portions were kinda small.  The tea wasn't very good.  But the company was great.


----------



## The Green Shield

When I’m an old man and I wind up dying in the waiting room, I apologize in advance to everyone who has to view my corpse.

#beeninwaitingroomforanhour
#ohgodwhy


----------



## Olly Buckle

That's why they call it a waiting room. It is your job to be patient, that's why they call you patients.  

More seriously, you have my sympathy, I always arm myself with some good reading.

Edit, and a notebook in case of ideas.


----------



## PiP

So happy to have my wheelchair so I can push, ride and rest while Christmas shopping. Hopefully we will get all our presents bought and wrapped so we can leave them in the uk before we leave.


----------



## Winston

Working with my son planning and packing for his hike next weekend, 26 miles.  He and two friends are planning an overnighter at Mount Saint Helens.  
The terrain will be flat, but at the base of a mountain it's about 4500 ft.  The weather will suck:  Highs in the 30's (F), lows in the 20's, with a chance of some rain.  Slight wind, mostly cloudy.  Oh, and it's only light 8 hours a day.  
The land is still mainly bare from the blast in 1980, and the volcanic soil inhibits most new growth, so they probably won't get lost.  Just keep the mountain to your right.  
Packing is an art.  My boy's been good about figuring what is needed, or worth the extra weight.  They're packing just enough water, but brought filters to utilize streams off the mountain... if they are not frozen.  
My wife is worried.  I am not.  I am proud.
He seeks challenges, plans and solves problems.  He surrounds himself with like-minded individuals.  Anyway, today I'll be waiting for his gaiters and compression bag to come-in from Amazon.


----------



## Foxee

I'm through about half of today and I'm pretty done. Possibly one of the most stressful trips to Wal-mart, my first as a home health care aide with a client on oxygen who has rampaging OCD (clinical, and not a joke). According to him I did everything wrong which, even though I've gotten much better at letting things roll off, it started to get to me. I thought I was going to burst into tears in the middle of Wal-mart...real professional.

He also thinks I should be blonde (I'm not) but I told him his heart probably couldn't take it. There was also ironing of drapes...the other girl coming in will have to do the toilet. Ha!

I guess it wasn't so bad.


----------



## seigfried007

Foxee said:


> I'm through about half of today and I'm pretty done. Possibly one of the most stressful trips to Wal-mart, my first as a home health care aide with a client on oxygen who has rampaging OCD (clinical, and not a joke). According to him I did everything wrong which, even though I've gotten much better at letting things roll off, it started to get to me. I thought I was going to burst into tears in the middle of Wal-mart...real professional.
> 
> He also thinks I should be blonde (I'm not) but I told him his heart probably couldn't take it. There was also ironing of drapes...the other girl coming in will have to do the toilet. Ha!
> 
> I guess it wasn't so bad.


Consider yourself hugged, Foxee


----------



## Amnesiac

I was trying to pry the lid off a container, when the lid abruptly came off, thus causing the tool to spring up and hit me in the nuts. So, there's a lovely beginning to my Wednesday morning.


----------



## Foxee

Amnesiac said:


> I was trying to pry the lid off a container, when the lid abruptly came off, thus causing the tool to spring up and hit me in the nuts. So, there's a lovely beginning to my Wednesday morning.


My son read this over my shoulder and winced big time. Hope things are better!


----------



## Amnesiac

"I'm fine," he replied in a rather falsetto voice. 

Haha... Seriously. I'm okay, now. LOL


----------



## PiP

Spent the day Christmas shopping. Bah humbug ... the grandkids already have a toy mountain so I have bought them crafting presents. I also treated myself to a nice Christmassy jumper. I much prefer shopping in the uk than in the Algarve as there is more choice. Christmas makes me feel really homesick.


----------



## escorial

Homesick is an odd word..made up of two parts..one positive the other negative...an yet sick today when you get down with the kids is positive...words are fab..


----------



## PiP

escorial said:


> Homesick is an odd word..made up of two parts..one positive the other negative...an yet sick today when you get down with the kids is positive...words are fab..



Being homesick is just another form of depression. The kind that leaves a dull ache within...


----------



## escorial

I went to the address on my birth certificate and later asked mother what was it like then...she said it was dump and I'm afraid it hasn't been gentrified..I don't remember the gaff but it's part of my journey...


----------



## Winston

My wife and I chaperoned the high school band trip, where they played in the Seattle Macy's Holiday Parade.  The kids played very well, although their marching was a bit off.  
They had the honor of marching right in front of Santa, and played "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".  
Had to get up early.  Exhausted.  Oof.


----------



## Darkkin

Facebook keeps trying to list my Potato Cat as a sale item...:ambivalence:

View attachment 25092


----------



## Ma'am

I just feel strange whenever my kids go home. I mean, I'm glad they're doing well and able to be independent and everything but the house is just suddenly so quiet and empty.


----------



## SueC

Ma'am said:


> I just feel strange whenever my kids go home. I mean, I'm glad they're doing well and able to be independent and everything but the house is just suddenly so quiet and empty.



I have found doing a good job parenting is bittersweet. You want them confident; you work hard to make sure they are independent and can take care of themselves. But when they are all of these things, they need you less. And the sad part is, they won't even realize until they are your age how much you missed being the center of their world.

Of the twenty immediate members of my family, I saw sixteen this holiday and yes, the quiet days that followed left me feeling a little empty too, Ma'am.


----------



## Winston

After successfully hiking around the base of Mount Saint Helens, and camping in below freezing temps, my son and his friends are stuck in the parking lot at the trail head.  
The snow was a little worse than they expected.  And since no one else was stupid enough to be out there this time of year, no one is plowing the lot, or the road to it.
Calls to the ranger station went to voice mail (it is a holiday weekend).  I told them to call the State Patrol for advice.  They will probably have to dispatch a snow plow to them. Their trip might just have gotten a bit more expensive.
They have plenty of gas and food, and can melt snow to drink.  Ah, to be young (and stupid) again.


----------



## JasoninNV

I had to pick up a few things from the store this morning, and before I even made it two blocks away an older woman flagged me down. Apparently some idiot had a woman and baby cornered in someone's front yard and was threatening to kill her. So I got to let him know that wasn't going to happen and stand in between them while calling 911 and waiting for the police to arrive. Poor baby was a tiny infant and this was during a snowstorm [emoji2959][emoji2959][emoji2959]

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


----------



## Amnesiac

Jason, you are a hero. Thank you for getting involved, instead of saying, "Not my problem." Good job!


----------



## Amnesiac

Homesick... I've always been homesick for as long as I can remember. It's weird... I'm spiritually exhausted. I feel like a little kid who's gone to the fair, ridden all the rides, played all the games, eaten my fill of hot dogs and cotton candy, and now, I just want to fall asleep on my dad's shoulder as he carries me home.

"I know I am not from here, and the one who has brought me here must be the one to take me home." -Rumi


----------



## PiP

BE careful what you wish for: Due to my mobility problems, I've recently employed a cleaner. She is Portuguese and although she speaks some English I am not sure if she is testing me to see what she can get away with or she does not understand what I'm asking. Anyways, last week I asked her to thoroughly clean the floors (I have tiled floors throughout) including cleaning right into the corners and cleaning the tile skirting boards. When she had finished I checked. The dirt and dust were still there. Sigh. When I pointed it out she went on the defensive and told me she did not have the 'product'. Thinking on my feet I gave her an old toothbrush which I later discovered she used in the toilet. Don't ask

After she'd left I got showered  ready to go out. ...... lost in thought ... I picked up a toothbrush from the toothbrush holder and started to clean my teeth ... I stopped. Looked at the toothbrush left in the holder it was mine ... I slowly, very slowly, removed the toothbrush from my mouth and stared at it in horror. It was the same toothbrush the cleaner had been using on the floors and down the toilet! I am not sure if she put it in the toothbrush holder deliberately or she genuinely thought that English people cleaned the toilet with the same brush as they cleaned their teeth.

I am not sure which is more stressful having a Portuguese cleaner or watching hubby struggle.


----------



## Amnesiac

OMG, Pip! That's horrible!! I have a buddy who has a housekeeper. She's great, except she does things to mess with him. Her favorite trick is to hide the remotes under the guise of "putting them away." Usually, after she leaves, he spends an hour finding the remotes for his TV, DVD player, and other gizmos. LOL


----------



## PiP

Amnesiac said:


> Her favorite trick is to hide the remotes under the guise of "putting them away." Usually, after she leaves, he spends an hour finding the remotes for his TV, DVD player, and other gizmos. LOL



haha.. don't get mean get even


----------



## Olly Buckle

There were seven magpies on the lawn this morning. Five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told. I don't know what it is yet, and I won't tell you when I do.


----------



## Foxee

Woke with a sinus headache and a neckache after a little under 5 hours of sleep to find out that I had missed getting my son up for school by nearly an hour. Finally got everyone shuffled off to school and now I'm going in to work where I may end up catching some heat for....doing my job.

Looking forward to having this one over with.


----------



## Dluuni

In a little under five hours, my husband will be in surgery, staying overnight. Nervous.
Happy it's happening, he finally gets to get something off his chest. The top chop. But it's still stressful.


----------



## Foxee

Dluuni said:


> In a little under five hours, my husband will be in surgery, staying overnight. Nervous.
> Happy it's happening, he finally gets to get something off his chest. The top chop. But it's still stressful.


Best wishes that it'll go well and he has a speedy recovery. Hang in there!


----------



## Amnesiac

Dluuni said:


> In a little under five hours, my husband will be in surgery, staying overnight. Nervous.
> Happy it's happening, he finally gets to get something off his chest. The top chop. But it's still stressful.



I spent a number of years working as a scrub tech/assistant surgeon. I hope the surgery goes smoothly, and that his recovery is smooth, swift, and uneventful.


----------



## Winston

Fighting off the flu bug.  Feels like my throat has just been tilled by a farm tractor.  

So, I'm lying around watching schlock programing, including Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K).  Just saw "Mac and Me" along with "Atlantic Rim".  So, so bad.  
It hurts when I laugh.  But it's worth it.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Commiserations Winston. I've had a headache all day and feel rubbish


----------



## Darkkin

Found the back way into the immensely popular Rotary Lights display in my city and encountered absolutely no people...Just Rue Dog, Christmas lights, and a path along the river.  My introvert soul was more than a little gleeful.  We just got home.

View attachment 25137


----------



## Olly Buckle

That looks like a dog that has just had a really good walk 

Bit of a pain over one eye and some tinnitus this morning, but much better, hopefully it will clear up completely during the day.


----------



## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> That looks like a dog that has just had a really good walk
> 
> Bit of a pain over one eye and some tinnitus this morning, but much better, hopefully it will clear up completely during the day.



Feel better soon, Ollie...


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25145View attachment 25146

Potato Cat's first snow day and encounter with the Christmas Tree...


----------



## Winston

Big day for my son and his NJROTC unit:

[video=youtube_share;uky3pUsgk60]https://youtu.be/uky3pUsgk60?t=865[/video]

My boy is the one directly behind the red head girl speaking.  You can skip ahead to 32:30.  That's where his unit earns their distinguished unit award.  
They all worked hard.  I'm happy they have something to show for it.


----------



## Winston

The last couple of days I was moving my shop at work, from one end of our massive building to the other.  Metal bars and the metal racks they sit on.  Even using a crane and forklift, I'm sore and beat today.  

I was gonna install the back-up camera I bought for my wife's car today, but the wireless unit needed to charge for 3-4 hours first.  Now it's dark outside.

So, I just made a batch of homemade beef jerky.  I have a proprietary marinade that everyone loves.  I'll save some to bring into work, to thank the riggers that helped me move my metal bars.  
Lean protein.  Good for rebuilding tired muscles.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25221

Rare capture of Rue Dog's smile...(He's a very happy dog, but getting him to hold still long enough to even catch a glimpse of his hammy smirk is hard.)  This picture made my day.


----------



## Ma'am

I woke up to a dozen vultures in my back yard. Hope it's not an omen. :/


----------



## Dluuni

Had a bit of a nervous breakdown. Had to stop social media to avoid stress. Only tracked my friends directly.
Then one of them went viral on the JKR debacle and the fire is inside the house, aiee.

Tried focusing on my writing and getting work together for my work group, and oh look, the RWA is imploding in a scandalous dumpster fire so ridiculous its in national news.


----------



## dither

It's good to be home.


----------



## Winston

dither said:


> It's good to be home.



Always.

I got up early to make it to the range when it opened.  
I brought two of my rifles, my 7.62x54 Mosin Nagant and my 7.62x39 SKS.  After a couple warm-up shots at 100 yards, I moved to the 200 yard line.  It's quieter there.  Not many folks like to practice shooting that far.  I enjoy the challenge.
A guy needed help getting on paper.  I spotted for him, seeing through the spotting scope he was a foot or two low and to the right.  After knowing where he was missing, he worked his way into the bullseye.
Then, I set-up with my big rifle (the Mosin).  I was consistent, but not accurate.  All my rounds fell within a 14 inch ellipse, around center mass.  On a whim, I decided to try my SKS at 200 yards.  The shorter round was not designed for accuracy at that range.  But today, I dialed that old Chinese rifle in.  Not "tack driving" accuracy, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

I had to show my son how to clean his rifle.  He went out with some friends (shooting tree stumps at 50 yards... kids).  Since it's an AR style MSR, the gas operation makes the thing pretty dirty.  I think he gets it now.  But he's 18, and it's his rifle.  Still, if he doesn't keep it clean, I'll shame him into doing it.  Because that's what dads that care do.  

After cleaning MY rifles, I worked out.  It's hard staying on schedule being home from work.   Here's a big middle finger to Seasonal Affective Disorder.  

Now my son's at work, and my wife and daughter are at a live performance of Mrs. Doubtfire at the 5th Avenue Theater.  I think they're going out for fish and chowder afterwards.  I just had leftover pizza.  And a homemade dandelion meade.   

I'm realizing that a few reading this are like / hating the fact that I shoot rifles, work out, and brew my own meade.  But here's a fun fact:  For every one of me, there are hundreds, thousands, doing the same stuff that aren't on an international writing forum. Maybe we're not "the exception".  Maybe the label of "freak" or "nut" is very, very relativistic.  
_"If you prick us, do we not bleed?"  _
Not today.  I was safe, like usual.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Working out is sensible, it's looking after yourself.

Brewing your own booze is sensible, it's fun and a challenge, and you don't pay loads of tax.

Target shooting, well I can see it could be fun, but there is a side of me that says the only real use for your skill is killing someone or something. That I am not keen on, and I hope you never get to use it that way.

We are a world apart, my parents were Quakers, pacifists. My Dad was a Communist in his youth before the war. Stalin disillusioned him, but he was a life long socialist, and I hold to a lot of their values. But I am not so arrogant as to say 'I am right, you are wrong'. The world is a big place with room for us to be tolerant of all sorts of folk with all sorts of beliefs. They say there are three virtues, faith, hope and charity, I reckon tolerance ought to be added to them.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25229

Things don't get much better than this...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Got a new beard trimmer and a lecture on spreading hair for Christmas. Set it to about the middle length and went out into the garden and used it until it stopped cutting. It works very well, be a couple of weeks before I have a proper beard again.


----------



## Winston

Helped supervise our Cadets performing community service for Martin Luther King Jr Day.  The kids picked-up trash, landscaped, and even volunteered at the local nursing home (where my parents spent their last days).  Memories.
My son is a Senior, so there won't be much more of this for me or him.  There were 90 JROTC Cadets working, and only five of us adults volunteered to supervise.  I sure hope folks step-up after I'm gone.  Someone has to do it.  Few do.
The kids are so awesome, it almost gives me hope for the future.  Almost.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25319

Potato Cat demonstrating how my day has been going...LOL!


----------



## Amnesiac

My day... Started out with taking a car over to the mechanic because of a master cylinder failure resulting in no brakes!
Then, had to travel a half hour to where my faithful Jeep got me to work, but then gave up the ghost. Turns out, the distributor cap was bad, needed new spark plugs, and an upper radiator hose.

All together, about $1,200. Worth it... But tiring.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Amnesiac said:


> My day... Started out with taking a car over to the mechanic because of a master cylinder failure resulting in no brakes!
> Then, had to travel a half hour to where my faithful Jeep got me to work, but then gave up the ghost. Turns out, the distributor cap was bad, needed new spark plugs, and an upper radiator hose.
> 
> All together, about $1,200. Worth it... But tiring.



OUCH! Makes the £200 I spent getting my front suspension sorted yesterday seem like small beer.


----------



## Darkkin

Just made What the Hell is in the Cabinet Refrigerator Cake...We'll have to see how this turns out.


----------



## Foxee

Darkkin said:


> Just made What the Hell is in the Cabinet Refrigerator Cake...We'll have to see how this turns out.


I for one will need an update on the results!

Today work was an exercise in adulting that included all the greatest hits we didn't see coming when we were kids:
- Doing stuff you don't wanna do
- Waaaaiiiiting
- Being treated like an idiot who should be asking for help...when I didn't need help
- Being passive-aggressively told to do things
- Being passive-aggressively criticized
- Wiping someone else's bottom
- Wishing that I didn't need money as much as I do
- Causing myself a physical injury that I just need to walk off
- Staying hungry when I'd rather eat
- Holding my tongue
- Dealing with an idiot truck driver who wanted to drag race when all I wanted was to get home
- Oh look, it's dinnertime again...what do I make this time?
- Being tired.
- More being tired.
- Dealing with fractious kids
- Wondering if cleaning the kitchen by setting off a bomb might not be the best option overall. After all, it looks like someone already has...
- Being kind when I'd rather be angry
- Realizing how bald my tires are
etc...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Some days these things get to you, Foxee. It can all be looked at another way of course. You didn't wanna do it, but you did want the result of having done it, or you wouldn't have done it. Waiting is an opportunity for introspection. People with so little understanding they treat you like an idiot may be viewed with wry amusement. All the way down to the fact that at least two thirds of the world's population would go 'Wow, a car, you're rich.' no matter what the state of it.
Bet you didn't want to hear that 

I am alone for a bit, the missus works thurs, fri. and Saturday she is off to visit with her sister for a few days. Soon after that she will be going on holiday to Vietnam, so I have the opportunity to get the garden in better shape. We are on heavy Weald clay here, so creating drainage and digging over are fairly imperative. Taking it slowly a bit at a time, so far my back is holding


----------



## Theglasshouse

Submitted my old story which is the best one I wrote imo but it was never a perfect fit. Today I submitted it to an editor. He replied within a minute and said thanks. I feel kind of bad as I wanted to simultaneously submit it. That's even though that market is the best fit possible. The other is more prestigious and might help me get published in more places for short works. So it was a nice surprise to get some acknowledgment in a brief span of a minute after submission. That was a few moments ago. I consider it my best story not published due to what the market determines fits in their magazine due to preferences of what they tend to publish. It was experimental for certain. I had to cut 1000 words from 6000 to meet the rules of the submission guidelines.


----------



## Winston

For the only time in my life, I kinda wish I already didn't have cats, so I can adopt Perdita...

https://www.thedodo.com/close-to-home/worlds-worst-cat-looking-for-a-home

I think we're soulmates.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25355

This is an Ikea Cat...sum total of my day.  No clear direction.


----------



## Foxee

I have wiped, polished, swept, mopped vaccuumed, dusted, scrubbed, shined, drove, supported, walked, cheered, crocheted, frog-stitched, doublechecked, retrieved, prayed, and finally I am getting some food before faceplanting in my pillo


----------



## storytellerforlife

doing great   got  some  wrting done and  some house  work done  lol


----------



## Olly Buckle

storytellerforlife said:


> doing great   got  some  wrting done and  some house  work done  lol



Hi, welcome to the forum, your first post I see. 

I went to St Thomas' eye clinic today, all stable I am told.


----------



## Irwin

Spent the day so far napping and recovering from yesterday's Super Bowl party.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25404

Added a curious, endearing book to my library. The Imaginaries by Emily Winfield Martin


----------



## Darkkin

We fixed the dryer (It works again), nothing is on fire, and nobody died!


----------



## Foxee

Darkkin, I am generally not a cat person though I fully appreciate their cuteness. And I think Potato Cat has a devastatingly pretty face. Also, congrats on appliance repair success! That's a good feeling.

My day was busy busy with groceries and making a vat of chicken noodle soup for my bronchitis-ridden husband (and everyone else) and fresh berries over vanilla ice cream with chopped dark chocolate and peanuts for dessert.


----------



## SueC

Foxee said:


> Darkkin, I am generally not a cat person though I fully appreciate their cuteness. And I think Potato Cat has a devastatingly pretty face. Also, congrats on appliance repair success! That's a good feeling.
> 
> My day was busy busy with groceries and making a vat of chicken noodle soup for my bronchitis-ridden husband (and everyone else) and fresh berries over vanilla ice cream with chopped dark chocolate and peanuts for dessert.



Yum! I'll be right over


----------



## Olly Buckle

There is a bit at the end of the garden, under the oak tree, that had been used as a dump. I thought I would clear off the end of the path where it led into it. I have now cleared about eighteen feet of path and a few feet of side path to a paved area about eight by twelve. It was between six and eighteen inches deep in rotted leaves and rubbish which I have been barrowing out to my veg. patch. It has been a few days work and will be a few more before I finish, but I am hoping to turn what has been a rubbish dump for years into a nice corner with a few shade loving plants and place to sit.


----------



## Darkkin

Heard the whispers of an old friend today.  While rereading an old paperback, I found a brilliant white whisker tucked among the yellowing pages...It belonged to CatCat, my original book cat. (CatCat, left, age 19 and Potato Cat, right, age 10.5 months) Sometimes the resemblance between the two is a little eerie.



View attachment 25518View attachment 25519


----------



## Foxee

Started the day with a flat tire and a head full of to-do items. So far the items have been neatly listed so that they can stop infesting my brain, the offending vehicle is at the garage to get its feet fixed (I used the tires up thoroughly), I've cast an eye over my finances and sighed, and I have a pot roast in the oven. I'd still like to get laundry in, make biscuit dough from my starter, actually pay a few of the stupid bills, get a bath, and prep some sweet and white potatoes to go with the roast. And asparagus.

Is it too much to ask that I read/edit a short story and submit it, mix up some chocolate chip cookies, start a crochet project, do some paperwork that I don't want to do, order print cartridges, and clean the fridge, too?

So I guess we're picking the battles today...


----------



## Amnesiac

Started the day by editing a new short story. "Daniel and the Dreamcatcher." I'm not crazy about the title, but.... I don't know. It works. The rest of the story, I'm pretty pleased with.

Changed the title to, "Crow Girls"


----------



## SueC

On Sunday I went for a walk; first in a while. It was very windy, so not as pleasant as I had hoped, but at least I could say I went. The alternative was sitting in front of the TV watching golf, where other people actually did walk.

Anyway, I came home and sat down on the couch and felt a sting in my back. It wasn't a hard sting, and I didn't get up right away, but eventually went into the bathroom to check it out. Off came the top and along with it, a buzzing something that flew away somewhere into the air - where it went, I know not. I looked at my back with a little hand mirror, and couldn't see anything. Back in the living room, a spot started to itch. I lifted my top so my bf could check it out and as soon as put his finger on it, I knew that's where it was. Right in the middle of my back, completely and totally unreachable by me. It hurt then, this tiny red spot, but shortly after that it itched. And I mean, it itched like the worst itch you have ever experienced. The itching has woken me up for the last two nights at 2 a.m., and I had to use the head of a knitting needle to bring a little relief. Then, spraying half a bottle of Bactine down from my shoulder, hoping that the liquid landed somewhere in the vicinity of the sting, also brought minimal relief. 

The day after it happened, I got up to find a wasp sitting comfortably on my white shower curtain. I didn't respond immediately, thinking it was dead, but eventually, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed slow movement going up the curtain. I'm a chicken when it comes to bugs of any kind, so I found my trust pink fly swatter and swatted the day lights out of that critter. I picked it up with said fly swatter and dumped it into the bath trash. I went about washing my face, my teeth, etc. and just for good measure, checked the trash again, only to find it had moved somewhere other than where I had put. Pulled the whole thing out and put it in the garbage downstairs! 

Last night (Lord, this is getting to be a book!) my bf said he thought there was something in the center of the itchy spot. So he went to his apartment and came back with a zit popper - a little metal piece that looked like a small spoon on either end - and tried to dig or pop out whatever he thought was lurking in my itchy spot. No good. Nothing came out. He used roll-on lidocaine with aspirin in good measure before he left to go home on the place I cannot reach and I'm hoping this will allow me to find some sleep tonight and some healing for that dang wasp sting!

It's too early for wasps, isn't it?


----------



## Ma'am

Yikes! I guess it is not too early for wasps since you have apparently been stung by one.

If it continues to hurt/itch, I recommend ichthammol ointment to draw the whole stinger out. Good luck with it.


----------



## Olly Buckle

It's bees that leave the stinger behind, that's why wasps are b*****ds, they can sting again and again. It is early, but you may well see queens about now looking for somewhere to build, the fact that it only stung once suggests that it may have been one, They are larger than the workers, but a nest produces multiple queens and they get smaller as they go. I have been seeing queen bumblebees in the garden on nice days lately, so maybe queen wasps are out too.
Wasp stings are caustic. Bees are acidic, though most of the reaction comes from allergy to proteins in it, The amount of formic acid is small and if you keep bees you become used to the allergic reaction after a bit and they are little more than a nuisance. 
So alkaline bicarb for bee stings; acidic vinegar for wasps. Probably too late now but I make up a paste with a bit of bicarb and water, it helps, but they do go on for ages.


----------



## SueC

Thanks to Olly and Ma'am! And thanks especially for actually reading my rant. Better today, thank goodness, and I was able to sleep through the night. So informative and I will put both suggestions in my arsenal for the future. Yes, Olly, the wasp was quite large <shudder>


----------



## Ma'am

Olly Buckle said:


> It's bees that leave the stinger behind, that's why wasps are b*****ds, they can sting again and again. It is early, but you may well see queens about now looking for somewhere to build, the fact that it only stung once suggests that it may have been one, They are larger than the workers, but a nest produces multiple queens and they get smaller as they go. I have been seeing queen bumblebees in the garden on nice days lately, so maybe queen wasps are out too.
> Wasp stings are caustic. Bees are acidic, though most of the reaction comes from allergy to proteins in it, The amount of formic acid is small and if you keep bees you become used to the allergic reaction after a bit and they are little more than a nuisance.
> So alkaline bicarb for bee stings; acidic vinegar for wasps. Probably too late now but I make up a paste with a bit of bicarb and water, it helps, but they do go on for ages.



Nice! But at the end, don't you mean to put "vinegar" on it now rather than bicarb and water?

Also, is it possible the sting was from a hornet or yellow jacket? It seems resolved now anyway but just a thought because of its large size.


----------



## Amnesiac

On my motorcycle, riding along at 52mph, I had a red wasp fly up my sleeve. I damn near wrecked the bike, trying to pull over. When I did, everyone passing by got a free strip show and a couple of new dance moves. That wasp stung me at least four times before I could get my riding jacket, overshirt, and t-shirt off.

Sue, you have my deepest sympathies.


----------



## Foxee

Amnesiac said:


> On my motorcycle, riding along at 52mph, I had a red wasp fly up my sleeve. I damn near wrecked the bike, trying to pull over. When I did, everyone passing by got a free strip show and a couple of new dance moves..


You have a gift for description, sir!


----------



## SueC

Amnesiac said:


> On my motorcycle, riding along at 52mph, I had a red wasp fly up my sleeve. I damn near wrecked the bike, trying to pull over. When I did, everyone passing by got a free strip show and a couple of new dance moves. That wasp stung me at least four times before I could get my riding jacket, overshirt, and t-shirt off.
> 
> Sue, you have my deepest sympathies.



Amnesiac, now I feel like a baby (whine/whine). That sounds like a nightmare! Poor kiddo - hugs for us both!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Amnesiac said:


> That wasp stung me at least four times before I could get my riding jacket, overshirt, and t-shirt off.



That is normal for a wasp, it was the fact that it was a single sting made me think 'Queen'. That and the time of year, she would be out looking for a place to lay her first few eggs, she has to do the caring until they are out and flying, then she stays in the nest and lets the children bring it all to her. Bumblebees do the same sort of thing, only honey bees keep the swarm alive all winter with the queen.


----------



## KenTR

Amnesiac said:


> On my motorcycle, riding along at 52mph, I had a red wasp fly up my sleeve. I damn near wrecked the bike, trying to pull over. When I did, everyone passing by got a free strip show and a couple of new dance moves. That wasp stung me at least four times before I could get my riding jacket, overshirt, and t-shirt off.



I'll bet it will be on YouTube within the next twelve hours: "Strange man almost wrecks bike and does weird striptease on the freeway."


----------



## Foxee

KenTR said:


> I'll bet it will be on YouTube within the next twelve hours: "Strange man almost wrecks bike and does weird striptease on the freeway."


Then someone will turn it into the _Dance in Traffic Motorcycle Challenge_ and it'll go viral.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25545

But did you remember cat food...(A PSA from Potato Cat).


----------



## midnightpoet

One of those years?

First, my wife recovering from two major strokes
then outdoor fuse box died.
washing machine died
microwave died
now busted water pipes

all this in the middle of this virus madness

debts already rising, but I realize others have even worse problems.

My sense of humor tells me I should write a Dave Barry type humor piece on this.  Maybe later. ](*,)


----------



## Firemajic

midnightpoet said:


> One of those years?
> 
> First, my wife recovering from two major strokes
> then outdoor fuse box died.
> washing machine died
> microwave died
> now busted water pipes
> 
> all this in the middle of this virus madness
> 
> debts already rising, but I realize others have even worse problems.
> 
> My sense of humor tells me I should write a Dave Barry type humor piece on this.  Maybe later. ](*,)




Awwww damn.... You have had a tuff time of it.... but the good news is your wife is recovering, hold on to that positive bit, and deal with the other stuff as you can... it will all settle down... my GrandMam liked to say "when it rains, it pours!"..... It took me awhile to understand that  but you give a perfect example... 

*hugs*... love ya bunches... you have been so strong, don't stumble now....


----------



## Ma'am

It is a super sucky time all around, that's for sure. And so much worse for those who have extra hardship right now in one way or another.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Wrote something small. I hope to make it 1000 words or fewer. Will experiment with dictating it tomorrow. I wrote it using the advice I was given. Found this website: http://www.openculture.com/


----------



## Ma'am

Got some stuff done but still feel blah. Doesn't everyone. Ordered groceries and added some tulips because a bouquet of fresh tulips on the table would cheer anyone up. Right? I did not get to pick the color, though. I thought about calling the store to complain about it because that would be a funny coronajoke. Right?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Someone has managed to breed some very nearly black ones. They are always a little bit bluey-purple, but some are really nice, 'Queen of the night' springs to mind.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Lost today. Felt rubbish when I got up, took my meds. , had a shower, came on here, and thought about having a bit of a lie down. Went to sleep, had horrid dreams, just woke up at 6pm. still got a bit of a head and sore throat and lost what looks like it was a lovely day. Definitely got something, I slept in 'til midday yesterday and that is not me at all.


----------



## Ma'am

Hope you feel better soon, Olly.


----------



## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> Lost today. Felt rubbish when I got up, took my meds. , had a shower, came on here, and thought about having a bit of a lie down. Went to sleep, had horrid dreams, just woke up at 6pm. still got a bit of a head and sore throat and lost what looks like it was a lovely day. Definitely got something, I slept in 'til midday yesterday and that is not me at all.



Take care of yourself Ollie, don't force me to write dirty limericks to cheer you up 

Tomorrow, you will hopefully bounce out of bed and get to work on your garden, I am looking forward to hearing all about it.... * hugs*...


----------



## H.Brown

Olly Buckle said:


> Lost today. Felt rubbish when I got up, took my meds. , had a shower, came on here, and thought about having a bit of a lie down. Went to sleep, had horrid dreams, just woke up at 6pm. still got a bit of a head and sore throat and lost what looks like it was a lovely day. Definitely got something, I slept in 'til midday yesterday and that is not me at all.



It's been a bit chilly here in england today Olly, hope you feel better soon.


----------



## PiP

Olly Buckle said:


> Lost today. Felt rubbish when I got up, took my meds. , had a shower, came on here, and thought about having a bit of a lie down. Went to sleep, had horrid dreams, just woke up at 6pm. still got a bit of a head and sore throat and lost what looks like it was a lovely day. Definitely got something, I slept in 'til midday yesterday and that is not me at all.



Look after yourself, Olly.

Today, I had a chat with some friends via WhatsApp and messaging all my friends and family to offer support. I have also been working through some of my survival goals I posted to my blog so I stay positive!


----------



## Amnesiac

Here ya' go, Ollie. Now, you don't even have to leave the sofa.




Feel better, my friend.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Thanks for the good wishes everyone. It has been going on in a background sort of a way for some time, so I am hoping this is a climax and I am going to be rid of it in the next day or so.

Our cat is definitely pissed off, "Why don't they go out anymore and let me have my house to myself?"


----------



## Darkkin

A group of teenagers learned that 6 feet is the length of an average dog leash today...Breach my bubble and Rue Dog will have something to say.


----------



## Ma'am

I got orange tulips. Didn't want to leave anyone in suspense.


----------



## Foxee

Olly Buckle said:


> Our cat is definitely pissed off, "Why don't they go out anymore and let me have my house to myself?"


Your cat summed up my feelings perfectly.

I thought that after yesterday's distance learning had smoothed out and all was quiet that we were onto something. Today everything was a tumble from one thing to the next with my son getting stressed out (he talks when he's stressed, he talks when he's happy, he talks when he's upset, he talks when he's hungry....I keep wanting to yell, "I'm an introvert, dammit! Shush!") and tech not working and. I don't even know. Just everything.

Suddenly it's going for 10 pm, I can't believe it's even evening much less night, and the boy is STILL here working on science schoolwork (loudly) while doing bicep-curls with a can of black beans.

I wanna be alone.


----------



## Tyrisalthan

I spent most of my day with my 4 month old daughter.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25697

Potato Cat's thoughts about the tape frame challenge...are very outside the box.


----------



## Foxee

Good for Potato Cat! Don't be a feline conformist!


My day swung from frustration all the way through to obnoxious satisfaction. Actually getting a poem up and working on a story, I'm gonna call it a good day.


----------



## Darkkin

I get to go back to work!


----------



## Amnesiac

Congratulations, Darkin!

My day has been full of frustration, one mistake after another, and being reminded of every mistake I've evidently made over the period of the last decade.

It's only just now 1:15 p.m., and I just want the day to end; like I want to go to sleep for the next twenty years. I am so deeply weary--down into a place that no amount of sleep can ever touch. Just tired...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Much the same, I expect tomorrow will be as well. Got a letter from the doctor advising me I am high risk (I know) and shouldn't go out for at least twelve weeks. Think I will probably wait in for a vaccine, at least I should be one of those allowed it first.


----------



## dither

I shall avoid going out til well after the easing of lockdown. We really can't take any chances with this. I'm actually not in bad nick for my age, no underlying problems that I'm aware of, but my wife has got problems. Not at death's door but best to proceed with caution imo.


----------



## Darkkin

Instant Pot tried, Instant Pot failed with bread so I went retro with something I know is awesome...Honestly, I think I was in 4th grade when my mom got this machine.

View attachment 25708View attachment 25709


----------



## Olly Buckle

Much the same. First runner beans showing, planted out some chard, raked some more moss out of the lawn, cut a dead branch off the apple tree, ran a hoe round a bit.


----------



## dither

All looking good here at the moment . I've found free online reading and they have one of my favourite writers. I just hope that the site is safe. I worry about internet security a lot.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Much the same, cut a lot of dead wood out of an ornamental tree that is so far unidentified and cleared it all up, hoed a bit, watered seeds in the greenhouse, read a bit, raked some moss out of the lawn, drank tea. All the usual stuff.


----------



## Foxee

My youngest and I decided this afternoon would make a good sketching day. Got our art supplies together and went out to the local riverside trail where we walked up and down until she found a scene she liked...a house far up on the opposite hill. Spent some wonderful time eating chocolate and sketching together (I took the opposite view into the town) until we got thoroughly chilled, took a couple photos, and came home.

Even if that was the only event of my day it would make it a good day.


----------



## Foxee

midnightpoet said:


> One of those years?
> 
> First, my wife recovering from two major strokes
> then outdoor fuse box died.
> washing machine died
> microwave died
> now busted water pipes
> 
> all this in the middle of this virus madness
> 
> debts already rising, but I realize others have even worse problems.
> 
> My sense of humor tells me I should write a Dave Barry type humor piece on this.  Maybe later. ](*,)


That might seem out of place but humor often has a stronger energy and edge when someone is actually unhappy about whatever it is that they're being humorous about. Part of this might be that illogical or incongruous ideas clashing together can be really hilarious...when someone is telling you a story about bad things that happened to them but you end up laughing helplessly, this is pretty much what's happening.

If you feel it, write it. Could be a good catharsis and I don't think it means any disrespect to the gravity of the situation(s)


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25716View attachment 25717

We did a Rue Dog day...


----------



## dither

Foxee said:


> My youngest and I decided this afternoon would make a good sketching day. Got our art supplies together and went out to the local riverside trail where we walked up and down until she found a scene she liked...a house far up on the opposite hill. Spent some wonderful time eating chocolate and sketching together (I took the opposite view into the town) until we got thoroughly chilled, took a couple photos, and came home.
> 
> Even if that was the only event of my day it would make it a good day.



Foxee, I so envy people who can sketch, draw, and/or paint.
Like  musical talents, that is SUCH a gift.


----------



## dither

Foxee said:


> That might seem out of place but humor often has a stronger energy and edge when someone is actually unhappy about whatever it is that they're being humorous about. Part of this might be that illogical or incongruous ideas clashing together can be really hilarious...when someone is telling you a story about bad things that happened to them but you end up laughing helplessly, this is pretty much what's happening.
> 
> If you feel it, write it. Could be a good catharsis and I don't think it means any disrespect to the gravity of the situation(s)



I totally agree with what Foxee is saying here. Try to write that book midnightpoet, if only for the the release, catharsis as Foxee put it. I DO believe that it's a good way to unload some, if not all, of the bad-stuff.

I wish I could find the words to do similar, although, I know, my troubles exist only in my head, I'm sure that there are others just like me. God help them ( it's just a saying. Okay? )


----------



## The Green Shield

Attempting to save a monarch butterfly.


According to my research, butterflies, in addition to nectar from flowers, will also eat ripe vegetables, mud, and animal poo. I am not joking on the last one. Here is the link. (https://animalinfoworld.com/what-do-butterflies-eat/)


 So we provided him with some flowers and a small helping of banana. From what I gather, he must've gotten stiff from the cold (and the tornado from last night did not help) so what he's doing now is just taking his time. He's also spreading his wings out a bit which, to me, suggests he's slowly regaining strength in them as well as warming them up in the sun.


I'm also calling him Monarch because that's the name of his species -- Monarch Butterfly.  








​


----------



## Olly Buckle

Much the same, watered the greenhouse, took out a bit more dead wood, hoed the onions. My main problem is seed, I had bought a few things early on, but now I am advised to remain in isolation, I mustn't eat in the same room let alone go shopping. I am trying my saved seed, some is germinating, other not. Also, because we moved in mid August I didn't get round to saving seed from plants as I usually do. The sources on the web have mainly stopped taking orders. The one I got in to before they shut down is advising me delivery may take five weeks, that is a bit late for most things.


----------



## dither

dither said:


> All looking good here at the moment . I've found free online reading and they have one of my favourite writers. I just hope that the site is safe. I worry about internet security a lot.



WOW! In just three days I've sat here and read a book. Way to go, or rather, dither...


----------



## Nmm

I started work on finishing my second book which I really enjoy doing so I have had a good day today.


----------



## Irwin

I completed the recording of a song yesterday and deemed that accomplishment to be worthy of a celebration, which I proceeded to do by drinking several margaritas.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Much the same. Now seed is starting to grow and I am potting on and planting out. I am thinking about writing a sequel to the seed planting piece I put in the non fiction workshop. There is nothing very startling in it, but I have tried to collate what I know and make it readable for the beginner.
Some slight excitement this afternoon, I knocked down an old shed, it was so ancient it was practically a push over. Now I have a job for tomorrow dismantling it and clearing up.


----------



## escorial

same old...same old


----------



## Ma'am

Just got back from the post office and grocery store here in a kind of poor area. Our other place is in a more well-heeled area; we went to the post office and grocery store there a couple of days ago. 

It was striking that here in the poorer area, only about 10% of the people we saw wore face masks. But in the richer area, only about 10% _didn't_ wear face masks. So now I'm trying to decipher that. ?


----------



## escorial

You can't have poor people without rich people


----------



## Winston

Ma'am said:


> ...It was striking that here in the poorer area, only about 10% of the people we saw wore face masks. But in the richer area, only about 10% _didn't_ wear face masks. So now I'm trying to decipher that. ?



I think we all know the answer, but are too polite to say it out loud.  Luckily, I'm not that polite.
The correlation between income and education?  Yeah, that.  
But there are always those of us outliers with more of the latter, and less of the former.  Much, much less.   



> Just got back from the post office...​


That's still a thing?! (jk)


----------



## Olly Buckle

Much the same, nice day in the garden. Planted runner bean seed, finally got some seed in the post, so planted some broad beans, a bit late, but should get something. Moving a compost heap and rebuilding it, it has too much dry stuff in it, mowed a bit of lawn. You know, all the usual garden things, bit of watering, planted some stuff out, potted some on, bit of this, bit of that.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am trying to read a chapter a day on a book on writing poetry. I made a summary for every chapter I read. I read 2 chapters, but after page 1 or in chapter one it tells you how to get inspiration. This is the most important chapter.  Tomorrow I need to analyze chapter 2 better as I am too tired for today. There are 20 chapters. I plan to do one for each day. Chapter 2 is almost done. I hope to make it a hobby since it seems a good way to entertain oneself. That and actually feel as if I am doing something so as not be bored.


----------



## midnightpoet

Had a bad sore throat the past several days, but my doc gave me medicine so hopefully I'll shake it.  No other symptoms, no cough or fever.  he's recently been doing virtual visits on the cel phones for minor cases.  My first experience with that.  I've just recently learned how to text.  Still not good at it.  

Went to pick up meds, our closest big city (100,000 pop), some 40 miles away, is doing  okay, most everything is working, just with precautions like masks and such. School still closed, though.


----------



## Ma'am

Made more progress today on wrapping things up here to leave this crazy country, at least until/unless the political situation corrects. Hopefully, we'll be able to go in four to six weeks. Even though I don't like the circumstances that pushed this decision, I'm trying to remember to enjoy it anyway, which shouldn't be that hard on a tropical beach.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Spending my days in Second Life. I'm either at a dance party, a class, a munch, or working on content for my SL shop.
In other words, I use SL to check out of RL.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Much the same, in the garden. Took a lot of dead wood, ivy and brambles out of the viburnum, should do a bit better now, chopped up the hornbeam and ash I took out of the hedge, mowed a bit. Fitted a water barrel to the down pipe, they say it will rain tomorrow. All the grass is cut now, bit of rain and it will grow. I will have to start again.


----------



## Darkkin

Finished...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Much the same, watered the greenhouse, planted a few things out, tidied up some. Interrupted for a couple of hours by rain, Yesterday was different, it rained all day and I slept, ate and read.


----------



## Foxee

Today had the nice before-the-rain feeling when the family went out for a walk around town. We ran a few errands earlier, really having difficulties wearing a mask, it turns out I'm mildly claustrophobic which I never realized. Just feel like I can't breath and I have to keep reminding myself that I can. Going to be especially challenging tomorrow because I just got a semi-literate letter that I have to wear one for work:



1. What does the National Organization for Women have to do with having people wear masks?
2. WHY does nobody know where the apostrophe goes...and when it doesn't?
3. If I'm not planning to be critical, can I leave the mask off?
4. Why does the mask look like a diaper and have little blue puppies on it? Is it supposed to make me feel better or the person I'm caregiving for?

This will truly be a shift of fun!


----------



## Olly Buckle

I think you have a boy's mask, shouldn't yours have pink kittens on?


----------



## midnightpoet

Still have my sore throat, Dr is sending me new meds, hope they work better than the last round he gave me.  Have discovered that one of the worst times to get sick is during a pandemic (yeah, I know).


----------



## dither

Every day is totally mind-numbing here. Probably no worse that most people's.


----------



## Amnesiac

Finishing up a lengthy short story that I've been fiddling with, off and on, for a couple of years, now. 38 pages and 12,000 words. It's actually entered "novelette" territory, I guess.


----------



## The Green Shield

I don’t know how it happens, but every time I read the Metro series, I end up falling asleep. This never happens with any other book, even Shakespeare. Y’know, one of the most dense, complicated pieces of written literature ever.



Do I just not find the concept interesting? Are the characters just *that* flat and boring to me? Is it the pacing? Am I just falling asleep because it feels like it takes the characters forever to get from Point A to Point B? 



It’s kind of a shame because I really do like the concept of the story. :/


----------



## Foxee

Today was a workday and I feel like an threadbare washcloth hanging out under a rainy sky.

Thankfully, my husband just cooked spaghetti. I just have to get myself to where it is and eat it. Hooray!


----------



## Amnesiac

I'm now having a problem. The story needs to open with more of a dense action scene, and I might be "telling" too much, rather than showing. I don't know. It's a pretty brutal story with a lot of profanity and violence, so finding reliable beta-readers has been a challenge.... LOL


----------



## Foxee

While showing vs. telling is often treated as a rule, telling also has its place in the writer's toolbox. There are times that you just need to get the reader up to speed quickly and then throw them into what you want to show them. Action scenes by their nature need to have a faster pace, like things aren't really in control, so some telling will also be part of your pacing. Just make sure you're using the showing where you really want it and don't neglect it because it immerses your reader.


----------



## Amnesiac

Thank you so much! I'm having a hard time because I'm writing an utter brute whom I eventually redeem, but there are narrative asides that make him sound like an educated gentleman. LOL

Yeesh...


----------



## The Green Shield

So today I just learned a word in American Sign Language.

Basically, you’ve seen pictures of politicians sitting down with their hands in front of their crotch, fingers touching each other? Well, apparently that’s sign-language for vagina. Source? My deaf friends.

*EDIT:*
OK, I got it wrong. It’s not sign-language for vagina, it’s just ‘ball’, as in sports ball. Still, if you have a dirty mind, it can still be funny.


----------



## Ma'am

Omg, I've just been "sextorted." I received an email saying that I have been filmed from my computer's camera, getting busy to porn, and that I need to send money or it will be released to the public. It is most assuredly not true but it reminded me of this SNL skit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxGbNCLelt0


----------



## PiP

It makes you wonder what the scammers will try next.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25757

Everybody was outside enjoying the sunshine at our house, including Potato Cat...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Spent a large part of the day in the garden and greenhouse. Dug over a fairly rubbish bit, removed a dead mallow, put a line of bricks along the fence so earth didn't fall against the fence, and planted out the last few sweet peas I still had in pots, put the 'bushy pea sticks' that were the mallow amongst them and held them in with a web from the trellis at the top of the hedge to pegs in the ground. I use jute string, in Autumn when they're  done it can all go straight into the compost. Mostly finished moving compost heap a few yards backward. It was an emergency job when we moved in and needed sorting to process properly. There is a fairly rotted layer at the bottom which I shall use for my runners, they like it. I have started clearing a small area of lawn about 8 foot by twelve. It is at a slightly different level and the grass looked different. I have lifted the turf from a strip about 8 by three and it is a different colour, not nearly such heavy clay. This area has been previously cultivated. Listened to a podcast about Gauss, as Ian Dury said, "There ain't half been some clever bastards."


----------



## Amnesiac

Still laboring over this short story. I'm quitting recreational drinking because I'm considering turning pro. Eh, drinking, not writing.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25759

Potato Upsidedown Cat...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Up early after a lot of sleep yesterday. Quite busy, but nothing too arduous. Potted on some tomatoes and beetroot, stacked turfs, put some glass round outside tomatoes against cold coming at the weekend. I planted them out a bit early, but I have plenty of spares in the greenhouse, so if I get away with it I am a bit ahead, if I don't I am only where I would have been anyway. Mail order seed took a while to arrive, but now they are starting to germinate. Runner beans starting to show, so they will be ready to go out come June. Various salad leaves starting to show, so they should be ready in a couple of weeks. Cabbages showing. It's all happening.


----------



## Irwin

The CR-V needs a new battery. Tomorrow, I head to the auto parts store in full novel coronavirus protection.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Tried my Peugeot the other day, justa click, the battery is that dead, I thought about getting a trickle charger, but there seems little point, I shall not drive it for ages yet, I am reckoning at least October before I leave the house, and that is optimistic.


----------



## midnightpoet

Finally got to see dr about sore throat - I have a compromised immune system caused by over stress.  I'll admit (as a caregiver for Vickie) that I've been neglecting my own health while taking care of her.


----------



## Amnesiac

You must look after yourself, or else you can't look after anyone else. Be good to yourself.

My ambitious fiction work is going live, today. Over 11K words of crazy vigilante justice, brutality, and profanity. I was going to hate my anti-hero and let him just crash and burn, but I hated his supervisor and corporate president worse, so I found a way to save him at their expense. Evidently, the whole story is about justice.


----------



## Olly Buckle

First thing the patio flooded, the drain which takes the kitchen waste had blocked. I spent a considerable time up above the elbow in greasy, smelly , water before I got it running again. 
I am digging out a path between vegetable beds. We are on clay and when it rained hard last winter there was flooding, so I am digging paths a foot deep or so and filling them with stuff that won't compost well, but will act as a drainage sump, lifting a paving stone at a time and using what comes out to earth up the potatoes. Today I lifted the next stone and there was a small slow worm under it, a female. I love those little surprises.

Took out a boring little lonicera bush in the front, one like people make hedges of, no flowers or fruit, just a mis-shapen bush. Needed the pick axe to get the roots, going to plant a cutting I took from a variegated weigela.


----------



## Irwin

Had to deal with a car dealership. That's never fun or an efficient use of time. Why the hell are they so slow?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Did a lot of clearing up. Made a floor for a work area and treated it. Pottered.


----------



## Irwin

Got a new battery at half off. Ready for a road trip!


----------



## Amnesiac

The stealership is always slow. And expensive. And will fix the most expensive thing first, rather than last.


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> Did a lot of clearing up. Made a floor for a work area and treated it. Pottered.



I shall be pottering when my brown bin has been emptied. For all of twenty minutes.


----------



## Amnesiac

Olly, it sounds like you're feeling better. So glad...


----------



## Irwin

Amnesiac said:


> The stealership is always slow. And expensive. And will fix the most expensive thing first, rather than last.



Actually, they did me right, but only after I got belligerent with them and threatened to write a bad review of the dealership.


----------



## Amnesiac

Poring through my file of ideas, scraps of magazines, conversations, overheard remarks, galleries of faces, character sketches.... Hide & Seek with my next project. 

(I also have a job interview this afternoon! w00t!)


----------



## Olly Buckle

Amnesiac said:


> Olly, it sounds like you're feeling better. So glad...



Never really felt bad, just this persistent little sore throat. I am wondering if it is some sort of reaction to something. I have been doing a lot of clearing dusty stuff like brambles out of hedges, plus the lawn here is full of moss so I have been raking it, maybe spores or something.

Best of luck with the job interview, hope it is something you will enjoy doing. Earning a living is always necessary, but it is a plus if you can enjoy doing it at the same time.


----------



## Ma'am

The worst thing I can think of with Covid-19 is not being able to breathe, especially if the hospitals are overwhelmed, so I bought a home oxygen machine just in case. It finally arrived.


----------



## River Rose

Olly Buckle said:


> First thing the patio flooded, the drain which takes the kitchen waste had blocked. I spent a considerable time up above the elbow in greasy, smelly , water before I got it running again.
> I am digging out a path between vegetable beds. We are on clay and when it rained hard last winter there was flooding, so I am digging paths a foot deep or so and filling them with stuff that won't compost well, but will act as a drainage sump, lifting a paving stone at a time and using what comes out to earth up the potatoes. Today I lifted the next stone and there was a small slow worm under it, a female. I love those little surprises.
> 
> Took out a boring little lonicera bush in the front, one like people make hedges of, no flowers or fruit, just a mis-shapen bush. Needed the pick axe to get the roots, going to plant a cutting I took from a variegated weigela.


Busy boy.


----------



## River Rose

Irwin said:


> Actually, they did me right, but only after I got belligerent with them and threatened to write a bad review of the dealership.


Go get em’.


----------



## River Rose

My day is going splendid. As it is Mother’s Day. As the mom of 8 kiddo’s, all grown from this human body, I am drinking Champaign at 9:00 in the morn alongside of my coffee. Well deserved if I do say so myself. It’s just kinda sparkly soda w a kick anyway.


----------



## Neetu

Mother of 8 kiddos???? Are you Supermom? You sure deserve that champagne! Oh dear, oh my!!!!Drink 8 glasses, please. Cheers! And happy Mother's Day.


----------



## River Rose

Neetu said:


> Mother of 8 kiddos???? Are you Supermom? You sure deserve that champagne! Oh dear, oh my!!!!Drink 8 glasses, please. Cheers! And happy Mother's Day.


Yeah. I kinda went overboard. I just kept popping them out like a pez dispenser. Lol


----------



## dither

River Rose I think you're amazing.:flower:


----------



## River Rose

dither said:


> River Rose I think you're amazing.:flower:


Thank u so much. It’s not easy, but I find the humor in our crazy life. At least we stopped at 8. The saying “Eight is Enough” holds very true. Lol


----------



## Neetu

As long as all 8 are loved and happy, that’s what matters. I have 2 and that was enough for me. But they’re both lovely and glowing so I have everything I want. )


----------



## Foxee

I arranged a Mother's Day lunch with my brother for my mom. He brought a smoky shredded crock-pot ham and I brought a mash of butternut squash, white potatoes, garlic, and chives and some coleslaw that I made. Mom had homemade buns for sandwiches and strawberry jello pie for dessert. Marvelous (and delicious) visit.


----------



## dither

Nice one Foxee.


----------



## MzSnowleopard

Started off not looking so good with a bought of insomnia... Then I had the urge to write, the muse paid me a visit. This morning I wrote a brand new piece of 967 words. Considering the drought I've had in my writing, this is an achievement. It's also a new genre for me so this is a bonus.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Been in the garden a bit. Built a frame for beans to grow up. I topped out a hornbeam tree that was growing under the oak and starting to encroach on the lower branches. The hornbeam branches were flat, spreading, fan shaped and after I had taken off the leaves I have put them standing up against a wooden frame. It looks like it will work well, and should save me some bamboo canes. Mowed some.


----------



## dither

I coated two more fence-panels with wood-preserver and now I'm just waiting for bed time. At twenty past one in the afternoon.](*,)


----------



## Amnesiac

Got the job!! Full-time, 40 hours/week, right out of the gate. Holy crap!! My writing and participation here are going to suffer, but can't turn this down. Full benefits kick in after 90 days.  I really like what I'm doing, too!


----------



## River Rose

Amnesiac said:


> Got the job!! Full-time, 40 hours/week, right out of the gate. Holy crap!! My writing and participation here are going to suffer, but can't turn this down. Full benefits kick in after 90 days.  I really like what I'm doing, too!


How awesome. Congrats!!!!!


----------



## Neetu

great news, Amnesiac! Congratulations! 


Amnesiac said:


> Got the job!! Full-time, 40 hours/week, right out of the gate. Holy crap!! My writing and participation here are going to suffer, but can't turn this down. Full benefits kick in after 90 days.  I really like what I'm doing, too!


----------



## petergrimes

Today I have - gone out and bought some fags
                   - stared forlornly at 2 tickets for Wolves Bournemouth (it would have been my 8 yr old Nephews 2nd match down Molineux)
                   - had a phone call with health professional
                   - played internet chess (15 minute rubbish, how I miss three hour league matches, face to face real stuff)
                   - done some long overdue work on theory (Benko - Najdorf lines, I'm not putting the work in of late)
                   - sat dreaming of cricket
                   - considered buying cricket game for Nintendo
                   - realised it would monopolise all of my time
                   - thought about working on book, then done nowt
                   - considered that as I'm doing no work on book cricket game wouldn't be so bad
                   - sat procrastinating
                   - didn't buy cricket game
                   - came on here and wrote this


----------



## Olly Buckle

Took the end off a hedge where it has overgrown the path, watered things, dug over a small patch, cleared up the leylandii I topped out in the back hedge the day before, put away the ladder I had used, sawed up a few logs, planted a couple of left over purple sprouting broccoli in odd corners (sometimes the pigeons miss them that way), Filled a huge flowerpot with compost and turf and planted a courgette in it. planted some more climbing beans as there was only fifty % germination in the first lot, raked some more moss out of the lawn, laid a couple of paving slabs and started a new book.


----------



## midnightpoet

It’s always good to have choices.  Last night it was do I want a bad headache or a bad gut ache? When I take pain pills I get constipated, so I took a laxative.  
Bad mistake.
All night two little demons played tug of war with my guts.  This was after the elephant stomped on them (at least he wasn’t wearing my pajamas).  On my rush to the bathroom I stepped on one of the dog’s pee pads.  Then I had a smelly foot.  

Not that I cared at the moment as I was thinking do I want to sit and squirt off or throw up in the commode?

You know you would think at my age I would learn from my mistakes.  At least I haven’t thrown up the oatmeal I had for breakfast.


----------



## petergrimes

Today I have - been surprised by an old work colleague ringing me out of blue. It was brilliant. He's a very funny guy, idiosyncratic, dead pan, dry, imaginative humour, self                                 deprecating - my cup of tea.
                    - played internet chess badly, I have it so I am only matched against people rated higher than me. Not good if mind is elsewhere.
                    - listened to replay of cricket T20 world cup final on BBC. Nothing like beating the Aussies. Even if it was hit stick t20 rubbish.
                    - worked out where a line from my workshop poem came from, one I've since cut. Counting Crows song. Hadn't listened to them since early 2000's. With all the                           grunge I listened to in 90s and that I must have been well gloomy.
                    - listened to quite a lot of Counting Crows, real blast from the past, all sad and romantic, made me wistful
                    - tried to write poetry but every time I started only song lyrics came out
                    - gave up and tried to write book 
                    - didn't work
                    - gave in and bought cricket game, took two hour to download
                    - due to boredom tried to write book, it worked! Really got into it proper, haven't touched cricket game, but when I do... No more forum for PG


----------



## Ma'am

I just realized my toothache is finally gone. I didn't want to go into a dentist's office so I got a WaterPik and used it every day to shoot antiseptic mouthwash way up past the gumline. I guess it worked. Lucky me.


----------



## Irwin

I got an idea for a new novel. Tonight it sounds like a good plot. I'll see how I feel about it tomorrow.


----------



## Ma'am

My toothache is gone but now my wrist hurts. I don't even know why.


----------



## dither

I registered for the covid-swab-test research-study that's currently doing the rounds.Fingers crossed eh?


----------



## Gofa

Ma'am said:


> My toothache is gone but now my wrist hurts. I don't even know why.



from occupational over use of a water pic   Pretty obvious Watson


----------



## Gofa

I bought carpet for my garage   Cant have my cars standing on cold concrete   That signals to them you dont really care


----------



## The Green Shield

*Holy cow, I'm about to submit three poems to World of Myth! *
​


----------



## Ma'am

The Green Shield said:


> *Holy cow, I'm about to submit three poems to World of Myth! *​


​
Just be sure it really exists haha.


----------



## Gofa

I believe   Right after i saw lipstick on the Holy Hippo


----------



## petergrimes

Today I have - written one poem that's ok
- started and struggled with one that could be good
- wrote six word poem
- posted about another fellows poem
- but mainly been playing cricket game, its dead good, really good, right good
- but I'm not, at playing it just right now, for its proper realistic and quite hard, I'm improving though
- smoked numerous fags
- thought about leaving the house
- thought about having shower
- and I must have done other stuff but it is most likely as equally inane and uninteresting to you as all other things I've written here
- oh and I messaged a friend
- and that's it, life in the fast lane, proper interesting, enlightening and profound, no need to thank me
all the best PG


----------



## Olly Buckle

felt terrible last night and most of today, got up late this afternoon, had a bath and watered a bit (too late for a couple of tomatoes)


----------



## Darkkin

Went to open the basement door to let Potato Cat out...and found Rue Dog sitting at the top of the steps.  Rue Dog should have been downstairs in his crate, which I know was latched.  (He has always been crated at night, and tends to be my Master of Disaster when left to his own devices.)  It is starting to look like Potato Cat may have opened Rue Dog's crate and busted out his bestie.  I checked to make sure, but found no disasters. (Thankfully).  Either way, the situation warrants watching.

View attachment 25808View attachment 25809


----------



## Gofa

I pooped  tick on the maintenance schedule
I've heard if you stop you die


----------



## Olly Buckle

I was out in the garden and there was distant rumbling, then dark clouds on the horizon. Soon after that there were odd drops of rain. I rushed to put away the lawnmower and by the time I had it in the shed it was bucketing down. It soon stopped, but after that there were showers on and off all afternoon. You could practically hear the plants going 'AHHH!'
After I had cleared the blocked gutter I sat in my shed and listened to a podcast about Aztecs while I watched it. Got odd bits done in between in the fine spells and did a bit in the greenhouse as well.

A big thank you to everybody who joined in the rain dances.


----------



## Winston

I went for a run up the hill to our local park.  A couple laps around the field, then back.  
The asphalt was hell on my knees.  I think I'll try to make it down to our high school next time.  They have a cushioned track.  I miss our gym.  

While I was running, my wife and son donated blood (I'm not eligible for a couple of weeks).  The technician at the blood bank recognized my son's last name, and asked how I was.  
Doing good stuff, and people remembering.  That's my kind of "community spread".


----------



## Tryon

It's about 7:45 am and I'm drinking coffee. So far so good.


----------



## Olly Buckle

We thought long and hard about it, and decided the risk was small and as low now as it will be for some time. Yesterday we drove up to London to see our daughter and her family, who have all had the covid thing in a minor way some time ago. It has been weeks since we saw them, or since I left the house. Sitting on the sofa with my three year old granddaughter interlacing her fingers through mine as we watched 'Zootropolis' was really great. Mind, not having been anywhere or done anything other than the garden for so long made it all seem a bit extreme, the journey I used to make daily and think nothing of seemed long, and the cars went very fast. Today I am sitting around feeling shattered.


----------



## Winston

Somebody working in our 90 year old building this weekend accidently messed-up a router, Cat 5 cable or something.  No internet all morning.  
Despite the fact I work primarily with metal bars, band saws and cranes, not having internet kinda sucks.  Can't research material, process orders or sneak onto WF and check new posts.  
I hate being dependent on technology.  

Lenny Bruce said something about that.  Your only option besides playing ball with The Man was to be the schmuck with two Dixie cups with a string between them.


----------



## Amnesiac

I have two days off. Finally. Trying to do a bit of writing.... Working on a collaborative project with a friend, but they are a poor writer and rush plot points, thereby painting the character into a corner. It's more than a little frustrating.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Amnesiac said:


> I have two days off. Finally. Trying to do a bit of writing.... Working on a collaborative project with a friend, but they are a poor writer and rush plot points, thereby painting the character into a corner. It's more than a little frustrating.


That seems like a good way to write a novel for people low on time and it seems like a good way to compensate when on a job working full-time. That's a good idea. Many people are afraid of collaborative writing. I wish I considered it sometime in the future if I decide to write one, where I would need help. I just write some "long" short stories for the time being.


----------



## Amnesiac

Collaborative writing is not bad, but my friend is an outliner and wants an outline. I never use a written outline. I am mostly a "pantser," but have plot points and stuff in my head. I guess this is a way to stretch my writing chops, but it's weird to work with someone else...


----------



## Foxee

Amnesiac said:


> Collaborative writing is not bad, but my friend is an outliner and wants an outline. I never use a written outline. I am mostly a "pantser," but have plot points and stuff in my head. I guess this is a way to stretch my writing chops, but it's weird to work with someone else...


I have found exactly one person who I can collaborate with. One. And we've had lots of the same kinds of difficulties especially as we grow and change with trying to learn the craft.

The rest who have attempted this with me may or may not be missing.

Kidding...


...sorta.


----------



## dither

The days are so empty here. I eat, sleep, go to the toilet, and that's about it.


----------



## Amnesiac

Sorry, Dither... I'm pulling a 40-hour/week job now. I wish I would have taken the time in quarantine to paint. Now I regret not doing it. Ah well....


----------



## River Rose

dither said:


> The days are so empty here. I eat, sleep, go to the toilet, and that's about it.



I would walk with you if I could. 
Make u put your shoes on. 
You would tell me “NO”
Yet I would. 
We would walk out the door 
Down the street
Notice things you did not notice before. 
Then,,tomorrow we would do it again
Put one foot in front of the other.
We would walk out that door.


----------



## dither

Rose,
I go out only when absolutely necessary right now because of the covid gig.

Before this thing hit us:
I could go out, stay local or take a ten mile bus-ride, either way, I would see so much and yet I would see nothing. I've walked passed people that I know and not see them or so I've been told.
Nothing registers with me.

I wasn't always like that. There was a time when I could go to a town nearby, somewhere that I've been so many times, and yet it was like I'd never been there before , I would see and notice so much, filled with awe and wonder, like a tourist. A part of  me has died I think and I'm not sure that I mind.

Lol, I laugh wondering what you would make of me.


----------



## Olly Buckle

We walked this afternoon. We are on the edge of the village and there are plenty of footpaths around here which we have been exploring. Mostly we see no-one else, and the few we do see take the hint when we back off into a hedge and go around us with a smile and a nod and as much distance as possible. It is quite up and down hill, so there are some great views across the countryside.


----------



## Foxee

After work last night I woke up this morning with that hit-by-a-truck feeling.

This has resulted in a jello day...both feeling like jello and trying to move through it.


----------



## River Rose

Foxee said:


> After work last night I woke up this morning with that hit-by-a-truck feeling.
> 
> This has resulted in a jello day...both feeling like jello and trying to move through it.



Feel better Foxee. Sending good juju and vibes your way.


----------



## midnightpoet

Went to the dr yesterday, he said the stress I'm under has gotten to the point that it has contributed to my high blood pressure rising even higher which has contributed to my headaches I've had all week.  He gave me stronger hpb meds and some pain pills.  Feeling better today.  Being a caregiver was bad enough, then two window a/c's failed when it was 107 outside, then the dishwasher died, then our 20 year old car went to that auto graveyard in the sky.  Spent a lot of money.  Good news, put our stimulus payment to practical use. I was surprised when we got it (Foxee, we in a contest about who is suffering the most?:blackeye


----------



## Foxee

midnightpoet said:


> (Foxee, we in a contest about who is suffering the most?:blackeye


No contest! You win, believe me. I worked out the kinks pretty much over the course of the day. That just sounds like everything went to pot at your place all at once. Yikes!


----------



## Darkkin

Guess I won't grump about the fact that they shipped my cardiac medication to Illinois twice before it made it to the proper place...


----------



## Winston

My son graduated high school today.  It was a well organized affair, with groups of 20 people (family) allowed into the auditorium, and spaced appropriately.  5 students at a time were let in, walked-up, got their diploma, had their picture taken, and walked out.
The whole thing is taking four days.  The AV geeks are going to stitch the whole thing together to present a cohesive event on video.  
Afterward, we took our son out to eat, then took pictures at the grade and middle schools he went to.  In two weeks, he's taking a trip to Yellowstone with some friends.  

God, they grow-up quick.


----------



## Foxee

Darkkin said:


> Guess I won't grump about the fact that they shipped my cardiac medication to Illinois twice before it made it to the proper place...


Shipping and delivery are crazy right now but oh my gosh that's scary. 


Winston said:


> My son graduated high school today.  It was a well organized affair, with groups of 20 people (family) allowed into the auditorium, and spaced appropriately.  5 students at a time were let in, walked-up, got their diploma, had their picture taken, and walked out.
> The whole thing is taking four days.  The AV geeks are going to stitch the whole thing together to present a cohesive event on video.
> Afterward, we took our son out to eat, then took pictures at the grade and middle schools he went to.  In two weeks, he's taking a trip to Yellowstone with some friends.
> 
> God, they grow-up quick.


Congrats to your son and to you! Parenting is a tough gig and you've got him this far. That's no small thing.

How'd today go...I got some more practice dealing with a contentious, difficult person to kick off the workday. Survived! 

Then my client wanted to go adventuring in his wheelchair which tends to tip backward if he goes up to steep of a grade so I got a nice workout holding the back of the chair to make sure he didn't roll down the hill. 
In the meantime...eaten by bugs but at least that's one way to lose a little weight. 

The client wanted to wander over to a relative's house to 'tell him about himself' which I managed to discourage. His wife was doing enough off-the-rails screaming for everybody today so it was a minor victory to keep him from ranting at someone else.

I was delighted to get to leave and came home to my kiddos who hung out with me a bit in the A/C and chatted and kept me company. Felt better than any millionaire you could name.

Poor hubster came home in the mood to yell about life a little bit, thanks to kids listening to me I was all set to listen and sympathize.

We ate spaghetti. We ate ice cream.

All in all, it's a win.


----------



## SueC

midnightpoet said:


> Went to the dr yesterday, he said the stress I'm under has gotten to the point that it has contributed to my high blood pressure rising even higher which has contributed to my headaches I've had all week.  He gave me stronger hpb meds and some pain pills.  Feeling better today.  Being a caregiver was bad enough, then two window a/c's failed when it was 107 outside, then the dishwasher died, then our 20 year old car went to that auto graveyard in the sky.  Spent a lot of money.  Good news, put our stimulus payment to practical use. I was surprised when we got it (Foxee, we in a contest about who is suffering the most?:blackeye



Take heart midnightpoet, you got all this over at once. The rest of 2020 will be yours to love - I hope!


----------



## SueC

Winston said:


> My son graduated high school today.  It was a well organized affair, with groups of 20 people (family) allowed into the auditorium, and spaced appropriately.  5 students at a time were let in, walked-up, got their diploma, had their picture taken, and walked out.
> The whole thing is taking four days.  The AV geeks are going to stitch the whole thing together to present a cohesive event on video.
> Afterward, we took our son out to eat, then took pictures at the grade and middle schools he went to.  In two weeks, he's taking a trip to Yellowstone with some friends.
> 
> God, they grow-up quick.



Winston, congrats on a job well-done (I mean your's). I survived four of those ceremonies and the leaving was like warp speed. I still had things to teach, I thought, but had lost my audience. They flew, they soared, and it's been a while but now they see me through new eyes. Your boy will too, but be patient. He has to find himself first, will soon see you in him, and be grateful for a dad such as you. It's all according to plan. I have eleven grandchildren now and my own children are like I was back then, being proud but finding it hard to see them fly.

Good job, you!


----------



## SueC

Amnesiac said:


> I have two days off. Finally. Trying to do a bit of writing.... Working on a collaborative project with a friend, but they are a poor writer and rush plot points, thereby painting the character into a corner. It's more than a little frustrating.



I am so impressed. I would not have the patience to tolerate another's writing style. Sharing ideas, yes. I'm a "pantser" too, so the outline would be out of the question for me. How would that work - if he does and you don't?


----------



## River Rose

SueC said:


> Take heart midnightpoet, you got all this over at once. The rest of 2020 will be yours to love - I hope!



This year has hurt me. 
I am a healer by trade. A Reiki Master/Teacher. I am an Empath. So I cry/laugh often. I was talking to my BFF last night and told her that everything that has transpired, I felt I myself have fallen into a depression. How can I heal others if I am broken? I guess we go back to square one and breathe. Start with a breath. Sit. Forgive yourself. Get up. Offer a non gloved hand to another. Sit with them. Help them breathe. Get up together then find another human. Keep offering healing. 
Maybe that’s how we get thru this...


----------



## dither

Rose,
I know nothing about Reiki, can't  imagine "offering" myself for anyone or anything, I don't like "vulnerable".

I kind of like the thought of just "being there", y'know?

Just hedging my bets I guess.

I wonder if you can imagine how much self-confidence it takes  to offer one's self. I mean, you could just offer yourself, unwittingly, to a grouchy old bstd like me.:nightmare:

I wonder how bad a situation a person could be in before I actually "rushed in" for fear of being told to go do one.


----------



## Matchu

I awaked and as ever I dunno, I don't know whether I have fallen asleep at work. 

 I always think I am lying two feet away from my/the patient.  Fortunately it was my wife this time around and my mind relaxed, established it was my 'day off,' actually.

It was my 'day off' said my mind.  Still it might be ten more minutes before I can see.  Cup of tea, and I wrote a heap of horseshit and posted it on the internet and gurgled a lot.  Nobody even read my story so I took it down, [good] and shall work on it...as I should do, of course.  Without draft I often lack 'sense.'

Tonight for my treat in bed I'll listen to talk radio.  I'm in England, radio is my hobby [3] - does anybody know entertaining shock jocks/weirdos I can tune into across the wires -in the US/Australia/NZ?

Thank you 

 Mat


----------



## Irwin

I was doing fine until my white-supremacist neighbor stopped and wanted to chat. Why the !@#$% can't he just leave me the !@#$% alone? I don't like being rude, but I don't want anything to do with him.


----------



## Foxee

I was chosen as tribute to go to the grocery store and so took my children on the adventure with me. I guess they hadn't shopped with me for a while because the one-way aisles greatly amused them. On the way home with our loot we nearly got T-boned at an intersection by someone in a Jeep who was pulling out steadily, not rushing, as though I wasn't even there. Horn, what-the-heck gesture. Husband almost got hit two days ago in the same car. Is a red Outback really THAT hard to see?

In any case, lovely day and we're going to grill some lowbrow hot dogs and have some peace. I like peace.

ETA Bad bag of charcoal, evidently. Took an hour to get it actually going. Next time it'll be starter fluid and no mercy...bwahahahaha!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> Tonight for my treat in bed I'll listen to talk radio.  I'm in England, radio is my hobby [3] - does anybody know entertaining shock jocks/weirdos I can tune into across the wires -in the US/Australia/NZ?


I was telling my daughter I had been getting into podcasts before I went to sleep, "What do you listen to?" "Well Melvin Bragg, 'In our time' is quite good" "Yeah, that's amazing, always listen to it in bed before we turn the light off."
Like father like daughter I guess.
Only thing, why do they call it that when it is always about something historical?


----------



## Matchu

'In our time' because of your total immersion into Saxon village culture of the 6th century, discussed in detail, at length, at leisure almost, in the hands of our great Melvyn.  I think so 

...

Mmm, I'm still not playing podcasts. I mean I kind of do really...watching the 8 hour jail cell interviews with molestors & murderers c/o the 'forensic scientist online..' for example, and the 'where's your wife?' said the sheriff, the 'why have you spent all day at the pig farm, buddy?' and 'You are under arrest.'

'Innocent, release the bodybuilder, he likes muscle, what's the crime?' I sob alone, afore [hew] my hovel tube [hew].

Podcasts, a generational battleground, I believe that divides us like the Joolz Holland question.  And the presenters are often quite thick and speak 'Islington,' [prejudice]

...

Also, also, also taking children to a supermarket in the UK would definitely arouse kneejerk 101 call to summon authorities asap with tasers. At this time.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My younger Daughter runs 'Little piccolos', music classes for pre-school children. She has posted a video of her playing and singing a Ghanaian song on their facebook page, lovely to see her, it is the first time since lockdown.


----------



## dither

Irwin said:


> I was doing fine until my white-supremacist neighbor stopped and wanted to chat. Why the !@#$% can't he just leave me the !@#$% alone? I don't like being rude, but I don't want anything to do with him.



Got THAT T-shirt. What I wouldn't give to live in a " gated community ". Come the Lotto-win.:roll:


----------



## Olly Buckle

It rained, and then it rained some more, and then it poured down really heavily for a bit and two water butts filled and the third overflow butt started to fill. It was really, really exciting!


----------



## dither

We had light showers here, nothing to write home about.


----------



## Neetu

Days go whether anything happens or not.


----------



## RHPeat

Something happens everyday; unless you die. I knew a young man who was dead for three years. Then he just woke up and wanted to go fishing. He started by catching grasshoppers and putting them in a pint Mason jar. They were all still alive when he got to the lake.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25828

Rue Dog has an infected tooth...Poor dude.  We have a vet appointment this afternoon.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My pet dog passed away. I am over it but it was because of tooth infections. You need to brush a dog's teeth to make them live longer lives. Just passing along the advice.


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog is going on 10.  The tooth in question was fractured on a chewy bone and is the only bit of periodontal disease in his mouth, noted at his annual wellness check.  His teeth are brushed on a regular basis, he is a habitual chewer, and is provided with dental chews.  As soon as I noticed an issue with him, I googled, got pictures, and contacted my vet. 

 I have an appointment TODAY!  So please do not preach pet care to me, my sister is a vet for Pete's sake.  I've heard the horror stories of neglect she has seen.  I take steps to keep my boys healthy.  They are well loved, routinely vetted, on monthly preventatives, and are generally better kept than a majority of pets.  

And while you might be over a pet's passing, I'm still dealing with the passing of my CatCat from last June. (She was 20 years old).  And with Rue Dog there is no getting over anything.  He is one of those once in a lifetime dogs...there is no getting over that kind of pain.  He is here now and I intend to keep it that way.  Other than the swelling he is showing no outward signs of discomfort, illness or pain.  I am not going to let it reach that point, which is why I made the vet appointment to get him the treatment he needs.  He will not be a periodontal disease statistic.

So tell me again how I am supposed to care for my dog?  Such neglect...(These are just pictures from the last couple months...)



View attachment 25830View attachment 25831View attachment 25832


----------



## Theglasshouse

Apologies. I assumed wrongly.


----------



## Darkkin

Theglasshouse said:


> Apologies. I assumed wrongly.



Assumptions without context are reflexive but often incorrect.  And to impart advise on such slim context is a precarious slope.  People are also generally overly sensitive where their pets are concerned.  Rue is no exception.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Ok so you understand my point of view I wrote this post from my position and mindset. From the pictures I dont understand easily a dog's condition. A vet typically opens the mouth of the dog with an instrument or tool for lack the right word. Also I didnt know you had someone in your family that was a vet. I was just trying to pass advice. It may have proved to not have been helpful. But I thought I was trying to be nice. Because my dog passed away from this mistake. I assumed it could happen to yours. I don't know anything about you dark kin. All I see is your poems and pictures and what personal things you post on the forum. I don't know you as well as other people. My dog passed away a week ago. We all assume all the time. I am sorry you feel this way. But I don't know you well enough. Again, I try to help other people. Sometimes by indirect means. Such as replying to a post and cheering them up. But this had the opposite effect. Please I am not trying to make you seem callous or anything similar. I understand right now I need to avoid this conversation. A conversation is a form of therapy. But this had a bad effect I did not intend. I am completely calm. I don't understand how you thought it was annoying, if I had to describe my conversation by an emotion. So I will refuse to have an argument.

Description of the Tavern which supports how I generally feel regarding conversations: A place to 'chillax' and socialize with other writers.


----------



## Darkkin

I'm sorry to hear about your dog.  (Losing a pet, no matter their age, always hurts, no way around it.)  And I'm not looking for an argument.  The kindly meant advise, came across sounding like I neglect basics with my dog(s).  (That was mistaken inference on my part, and for me animal neglect is one of the most personal insults that can be given.)  

Nothing could be further from the truth.  If anything my dogs are a tad spoiled.  Zwi, our greyhound, just got a full dental cleaning yesterday, so the situation with Rue is a little ironic.  Most people have kids they worry about, I have Rue Dog and this is the first worrisome situation we have had with him.  I noticed the swelling last night and made a note to check with the vet in the morning if there was any noticeable change.  There was so I took immediate action.

Seriously, how many people leap up and call the vet because their dog looks a little odd...(Rue was just ever so slightly lopsided.)  My day is worrisome, so I said something about it.

And I think it was Hagrid who told Harry that people tend to be a bit stupid (emotionally) where their pets are concerned.

Updated on Rue Dog:  He is on antibiotics and pain medication for the next ten days.  It is an abscessed root, which we caught early.  They are doing a dental on him June 19th.  He will be just fine.


----------



## dragon_fart

Went to my forest, read a short story, hanging around the social media...


----------



## Dluuni

The insomnia is real.


----------



## Matchu

The dog obsessed over dental sticks and the puppy floss and such, and gargling and she was about five [years old] when the veterinary said she'd worn them to stumps.  'Suki, okay with dentures, baby?' I said, but giving her a bone the dentures would detach without a heap of glue.  I'd run along the beach finding dentures glinting on the foreshore. I might have found any dentures on the beach.  Never absolutely sure whose teeth you find.  She's probably wearing some old woman's smile, a lovely smile.  I wish I had teeth to share, my mouth probably worse than my ass/arse [metaphor] :/ or my feet.

...

Day went okay, still sleeping really then final 12 hours at the unit.  Should really be drunk tomorrow morning but will sleep first.  That's the problem with night shift.  Dawn is upside, almost.


----------



## Matchu

I always get so irritated by 'lockdown experience' or 'lockdown competitions' and sit here foaming at the intelligentsias/writer slugs suffering at the window pane poetry, and Radio 4, & stillness of slovenly sitting on your ass [_repetition_] poetry, & tragedy of massive garden haikus that might take over the world if we let it.  What about the real slugs?  That's my opening line but then I saw FISH wanted 10E for my entry  and I kind of dislike FISH & anybody who sends me an e-mail, so I didnt write the poem.


----------



## Olly Buckle

lifted a paving slab and found a female slowworm under it. I keep finding them, males and females and sometimes baby ones. Anything that's main diet is slugs is welcome in my garden.


----------



## Foxee

Olly Buckle said:


> lifted a paving slab and found a female slowworm under it. I keep finding them, males and females and sometimes baby ones. Anything that's main diet is slugs is welcome in my garden.


I looked 'slowworm' up because I'm not familiar...so they're like a little snake? I'm not sure of the size from the pictures.

My day was a fairly typical workday: doing lots of tasks big and small for someone who can't do them, keeping my patience with that person's passive-aggressive spouse. I had a glorious bath when I came home and then made tacos (didn't want to cook but I did want to eat) and now I'm getting to sit down which is just marvelous.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Now that you mention it there are snails that eat and munch on all the plants in my garden. They tried to get rid of them but it never did work.


----------



## Olly Buckle

They are about ten inches long, the males are silver grey, the females golden brown. They look a bit like snakes to the casual glance, but really they are lizards without legs and they have a different head shape without the snake's neck and separate head. They can also do that lizard trick of constricting muscles and losing their tail if they feel threatened, the tail writhes like mad and attracts the predator whilst they quietly slip off.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am stuck with a microphone. So I am going to buy a recorder that is more useful than the ones I own. A cousin of mine didn't return it on time. But on the bright side maybe I need it. I am notoriously poor at describing things. I am going to read some books on how some writers wrote faster. They said they used a recorder to write prose. So maybe it isn't all bad. Flights were I am from start in July. Ironically my brother is going to arrive faster than the microphone and he lives in Switzerland. So my goals are high. I started thinking this might benefit me. It will be the ultimate and last recourse and resource as an intervention to write faster. Then and I am going to order medialexie. I am currently on a free trial. I wish I had an easier path to reach my goals.

I will get this recorder recommended by the below book:
WS-853 Olympus

On Being a Dictator: Using Dictation to Be a Better Writer (Million Dollar Writing Series)

I figure I will make fewer mistakes.

And also I did research on how to observe and describe. There are some books on the topic.


----------



## Winston

My son and three of his friends toured the CHAZ / CHOP site in Seattle yesterday. My wife was pretty mad when she found out.  I was glad that they went.
His group of friends is fairly politically conservative (as I am), but the events recently are historic, and we all need to understand them better.  He took a few pictures.  Basically, the whole thing is just a really large "teach-in".  A few hippies were growing food in the park.  There was only one scuffle:  A Jesus Freak started getting very disruptive (irony?) and was tackled.  The "organizers" must still be working on the implementation of that whole free speech idea.  Four legs good... unless they are on a pig.  

Meanwhile, my wife and I were out driving looking for our retirement property.  Our destination was a "town" called Matlock.  The town consisted of a gravel lot / equipment lot, and a general store.  That's it. 
The area is pretty remote, and my wife still isn't sold on being that far out.   I'm just hoping we can find our version of Walden Pond.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Thanks but it's a bit too late. The return window expired, since my cousin "was too busy with work and forgot it." He couldn't go to UPS. I had bought it from amazon.

I bought this one after seeing the good reviews and after doing the research (user reviews and website reviews):
*Philips LFH-3500 SpeechMike Premium USB microphone

*This mutes itself everytime you put it on top of the table, and so on. So you can stop dictating everytime you run out of ideas. I hope it works with windows well. It's an old microphone but has always been considered accurate apparently even though it was made in 2012. I guess the speech software catched up.

I went to all the websites that sold microphones. I read their articles. This one is accurate, durable, and I insured it for 2 years. So if it breaks after 2 years I can file a claim.

I didn't want the naunce microphone even though it supposedly is the most accurate, and it has the best noise cancellation of all to this date according to the reviewers.

I even considered a flexy speech mike dc by speechware. It may be accurate but it looks fragile and people have returned them after seeing how delicate these are.


----------



## dither

Highs and lows, finding things to do in my little jungle. Getting there.


----------



## Matchu

Patched my bike after the last patch popped. In fact saved my bike after the bike shop said they had no new bikes, all bikes gone to furloughed peoples [rage]. Necessarily I have fallen back in love with the old bike, he loves my old arse on his old saddle, huh huh, huh huh huh.  Yesterday I had to walk a while with his puncture, this belly reflected in a thousand windows, most unsettling.  

working now...on an 88.


----------



## Gumby

Dragging my tired old bones to the gym. After sitting for basically a year to take care of mom there is a real danger of literally becoming a potato. Everything hurts.


----------



## dither

Yeah, I think I could do with a bit more exercise but with this covid business going......  I've never had a problem with weight it's just my age-related aches and pains.


----------



## River Rose

Come on. 
Let’s go
I have aches and pains of the soul. 
I want to sleep everyday. 
I get up and put on my running shoes and fall back asleep.


----------



## dither

*Got a new friend...*

Oops! posted my new thread here.

How'd that happen?


----------



## River Rose

dither said:


> Yeah, I think I could do with a bit more exercise but with this covid business going......  I've never had a problem with weight it's just my age-related aches and https://youtu.be/HgknAaKNaMM


----------



## dither

Sorry Rose, I have no sound here so I don't do U2b.


----------



## River Rose

dither said:


> Sorry Rose, I have no sound here so I don't do U2b.


----------



## River Rose

That was a kissy face. Lost in cyber space.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Drinking chamomile tea to sleep. Also, eating lettuce for lunch for the same reasons. I heard it has a lot of magnesium and makes you sleepy. My insomnia improved. I sleep from 11-12 p.m. and wake up at 8:00 p.m. all by myself.


----------



## Matchu

I cycled up through SCar to bike shop.  

Bike has no brakes.  Use boot on tarmac to regulate pace.  Method as I said afore, unnerving crash through into bicycle workshop.  I searched for reassurance from mechanics, no smiles shared.  I told chief bike man, manly both of us by this point really, I have a budget of £100 I confirmed.  He priced job on spot, came to 99 pounds.  Successful journey & transaction on a day off work.  Visited the bouquet pie shop in my elation in market where assistant was surly, bald-headed.  Something about that market, always a new & depressing experience.  Used to be a slaughterhouse/the shambles

..yeah, probably was all right then, more cheerful [continued] back then [MAN JOKE, guffaw w belly]


----------



## Olly Buckle

Theglasshouse said:


> Drinking chamomile tea to sleep. Also, eating lettuce for lunch for the same reasons. I heard it has a lot of magnesium and makes you sleepy. My insomnia improved. I sleep from 11-12 p.m. and wake up at 8:00 p.m. all by myself.



Are you mixing your am/pm? That reads as though you sleep three to four hours a day, hardly insomnia  

Glad it is working for you, lettuce did it for Peter Rabbit I seem to remember, or was it the Flopsy Bunnies? A long time since I read it.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Yes I did. I meant I slept at 12:00 at nighttime and I wake up at 8: 00 a.m.. I sometimes confuse which time is 12: 00 a.m. and which is 12:00 p.m..

I am currently thinking of signing up to coursera to take a course on plotting. This course costs 50, they also have 50 dollars per month courses as a set of courses by given by university professors on characterization. I figure I can't learn from craft books. A person with dyslexia I read has a short attention span when reading. They need to take constant notes, make mind maps, and other things to make sure they understand the material. We have a different learning style. I can try to learn from craft books but there are so many bad ones. All stories I have written have been making it up with no method.

Anyways it is not until the bank's problem is solved (since my brother lost the credit card and it is supposedly somewhere in the house) and the microphone I ordered arrived can I start. I want to write error free stories.  So signing up with coursera has been postponed for the time being. I want a decent grade in the course. I think it's graded since you might get a certificate for completion. You also have to submit work. So it can get assessed by peers. There's typically a 1000 students so I doubt a teacher has enough time to give feedback.


----------



## The Green Shield

So my family found out I wasn't wearing my mask at work (I'm the only one who leaves the house) and now they're super pissed (understandably.)​

​
I just feel so infuriated with myself. Like how goddamn hard is it for me to wear a mask and stay at least six feet away from other people? Sure, no one else at work wears masks, but that's no excuse for me to not wear one. -_-​​


----------



## dither

So many things to remember GreenShield, so easy to forget.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25854

Rue Dog came through surgery just fine.  I pick him up in a couple hours.  The house has been way too quiet without this guy.  I'm just glad my dude is okay.

View attachment 25855

Edit:  Post op puppy smile!


----------



## Matchu

Wear your fukking mask.  My boy telephones about his 'liberty,' his rights to 'not wear a mask' and he's in flipping Hastings.  Tho' pretty cool place to be - what with the sea being warm and lefties on every street corner, perfect for a 25 year old, and anarchists, and folk people and birthplace of JC - Tressell - 'Ragged Trousered Philanthropists' up the road in St Leonards.

I'm midway through my 'holiday.'

Back with the mental health folks on Tuesday.  Meanwhile having acquired new Duotrope toy am submitting money to dozens of literary journals housed in USA universities, very satisfying :0


----------



## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> Wear your fukking mask.  My boy telephones about his 'liberty,' his rights to 'not wear a mask' and he's in flipping Hastings.  Tho' pretty cool place to be - what with the sea being warm and lefties on every street corner, perfect for a 25 year old, and anarchists, and folk people and birthplace of JC - Tressell - 'Ragged Trousered Philanthropists' up the road in St Leonards.
> 
> I'm midway through my 'holiday.'
> 
> Back with the mental health folks on Tuesday.  Meanwhile having acquired new Duotrope toy am submitting money to dozens of literary journals housed in USA universities, very satisfying :0



I drove through Hastings St Leonards the other day going to Tesco where I could fill up with my card at the pump and not get near anyone. Your son must fit in fine, I didn't see anyone wearing a mask. What's *wrong* with them? Surprisingly though it is one of the really quiet spots in the south east as far as infections go, so hopefully he will be okay.


----------



## Matchu

I have a great nostalgia for the region.


----------



## Turnbull

Well, my day is going pretty well so far.  I finally got my ears checked out after months of problems (the 'Rona kept interfering with getting looked at) and it turns out I have a problem with those tubes from my ear to my nose.  It's not really a big deal, and the medicine is cheap.  My hearing is just fine~!


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> I drove through Hastings St Leonards the other day going to Tesco where I could fill up with my card at the pump and not get near anyone. Your son must fit in fine, I didn't see anyone wearing a mask. What's *wrong* with them? Surprisingly though it is one of the really quiet spots in the south east as far as infections go, so hopefully he will be okay.



Whenever I go shopping, went this morning, inside shops we the mask-wearers are very much the minority. We're protecting THEM.


----------



## petergrimes

Aye, not too bad.


----------



## The Green Shield

Just woke up about an hour ago, having coffee.


----------



## TripleFade

My project motorcycle will be the death of me... not because I ride like an idiot with his ass on fire (which I do), but because that carburetor is mockin’ me, dammit! 

Anyway, tomorrow is copious amounts of coffee and I’m going to try to finish editing two chapters... I gave myself a deadline to see if I can hack it as a writer, so I need to work harder if I wanna make it...


----------



## TripleFade

(Response to sleeping issues earlier in the thread, still getting used to the forum). 

I’ve tried it all (melatonin, tea, water, quitting caffeine, cough syrup, running myself ragged, sex, meditation, medication, breathing exercises, you name it).

 I sleep like a cat. I fall asleep when the sun rises and wake up around noon. Then I’m awake all night. Trying to alter this just leaves me tired and out of it for the entire next day.


----------



## Tiamat

I bought deer repellent today. The spray kind that smells like a dead raccoon rolled around in garbage and rotten eggs while having diarrhea. It leaked in my car.


----------



## Darkkin

Apparently our resident ghost has decided she likes Potato Cat.  He is a fiend for these springs and got one stuck under the recliner in the living room.  Potato Cat was about three feet to the left of the chair, Rue was a couple feet directly in front of it and Potato's spring suddenly flew out from under the chair straight toward him (Potato, not Rue).  No living creature touched it, and I need the yard stick to reach under that particular chair...


View attachment 25959


----------



## petergrimes

At first okay. I woke up, which was a start and found myself feelingstrangely free. Like I had nothing on my mind. Then I felt a tingleat the back of my brain, that could portend an acid flashback, astroke, or something more nefarious - like my subconsciousdeliberately hiding some odious piece of information from myconscious brain. I wisely decided to ignore it and continue living acarefree morning. Therefore I then -


	finished repairing my really old long wave radio, soldering it etc	and prepared to climb out on the dangerously steep and slippy roof,	so I could perch next to the chimney and spend the day listening to	the cricket.

	I poked my head out and changed my mind - thinking listening to it	on my computer the more safe, sane, comfortable and generally	rational thing to do.

	this struck me as uncommonly mature and sensible, as if I had gained	a years worth of wisdom overnight, unfortunately my body and bones	too felt like they'd grown a years worth of something overnight too.

	I didn't think on it, instead dossed around until cricket started	and was content listening to Test Match Special for most of the	morning.

	then I made a foolish mistake, I opened my email. I had one, from	Nintendo, wishing me a happy Birthday. Trust a multi national	corporation and treasured childhood friend to ruin ones day.

	I looked at calendar and it was true. 5[SUP]th[/SUP] August, the	same day that in 1984 (having even less literary knowledge than I do	nowadays and therefore not realising the dystopian connotations) I	was stupid enough to be born, into a UK of miner strikes, riots and	other Thatcherite favourite Orwellian nightmares. I looked at BBC	news and was gladdened at how far we'd come since then as a species.

	Cricket didn't go well

	got a present through post from my Brother. My first ever Poetry	anthology, near on 500 pages. Good contemporary poetry from 2002.	The company had left price sticker on. Its good value for £3. 	

	Didn't go out, moped about a bit, got over it and remembered I'm	going on holiday on weekend so was fine then. 	

	Worked out what my subconscious had been hiding from me. 5[SUP]th[/SUP]	August was Neil Armstrong's Birthday too.

	Wrote this.

	Looked at moon.


----------



## dither

All pretty much same as here, go to bed, get up, eat some drink some, go to the toilet every now then, go to bed at around 9.30.pm.
Repeat, repeat, repeat, r.......... oh never mind.

I need to go online and buy a couple o' things but why do today what I can put off until tmorra?


----------



## seigfried007

Life's been crazy in every sense of the word. I've been trapped and vacillating between denial and delusion.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Some American doctors are very good at what they do. My doctor graduated with all his degrees in the United States. He can intern people for psychiatric illness, diagnose it, treat it, and  forget what else (besides put them in a hospital)(he has degrees for that at ivy league institutions). He has no need for other psychiatrists since he learned the other needed skills in masters and is even a teacher. A delusion I heard once are false thoughts one thinks when the subconscious fools you. If vitamin b12 deficiency is a problem I would take it and vitamin D if you need more. These can help. They have stabilized my mood. However, when the sickness is out of control, it's best to consult a doctor. Since my voices are blocked I can take it. But when my voices were out of control. I took it and noticed an increase in voices.


----------



## River Rose

dither said:


> All pretty much same as here, go to bed, get up, eat some drink some, go to the toilet every now then, go to bed at around 9.30.pm.
> Repeat, repeat, repeat, r.......... oh never mind.
> 
> I need to go online and buy a couple o' things but why do today what I can put off until tmorra?



you forgot that u tend your garden. I didn’t forget nor does your garden!!!!


----------



## dither

Rose, I'm just about done with that for now. I shall have one or two fires with my little incinerator but it's just about clear , just got to keep it tidy.


----------



## SaveAGinger

Today was a pretty good day, I re-joined this forum for one. Wrote a Poem I'm proud of, which is rare, and have a day off work to relax and pretend the world is semi-normal. For a day. 

so, huzzah.


----------



## dither

It has been a good day. An VERY good day.
I've had sleepless nights all week worrying about today, today, when I had an engineer booked to come and service my boiler. Some of those guys, I can say with some authority having dealt with the company for something like fifteen years, are complete shits. Because of the insulting behaviour of one their hotshots I haven't had cold running water in my bath for some 5/6 years or more. I don't want to ask them to replace it. To be honest, it IS  a bit of a shit-hole, if an engineer was a three foot midget he'd struggle for work-space, but look! It's MY shit-hole, okay? It's my home and I'm a paying customer. Respect eh?

Well, anyway, I sat, and I waited as zero hour approached. The door-knocker was knocked and I led this evil maleficent creature through to the kitchen to the hateful appliance that for twelve months has mocked and chided me for my complete lack intelligence and understanding of all this digital. The thermostat has something like eight or nine options, what the hell is THAT all about?

I was going to ask about buying a replacement boiler, as in you can shove this one up your fucking arse, I'm sorry but that was how I felt and no we were not going to discuss this, go do one okay and so I led him to the boiler. I kept out of the way, social distanced, while he worked. Eventually we discussed the boiler and I asked about replacement boiler and he was aghast. " It's a very good boiler " he assured me. " Yes, I know that", I assured HIM,  "but I can't use it". " But why ?" He seemed genuinely puzzled, " because I don't know how", I tried to look apologetic. Long story short, in  no time at all, within just a few minutes my fears were allayed and I can't believe how easy the controls are and believe me, if I say it's easy it's easy. I couldn't thank him enough, wanted to shake the man's hand but, you know, that's difficult when you're social distancing.

Today has been good day, a VERY good day.

dither...


----------



## Irwin

I got drunk this evening with my wife. Actually, I got drunk on margaritas and she had a couple glasses of wine. We watched the movie: Taken, starring Liam Neeson. Good drinking movie. My wife went to bed, and I decided I was sick of my long hair, which hasn't been cut since January, due to not wanting to risk catching covid-19 at the barber. Still drunk, I decided to cut it myself. 

After cutting it, my hair doesn't look that much different than how it looks after going to Great Clips. It may actually be more even. Of course, I'm still a little buzzed. I may have a different opinion of it in the morning.


----------



## dither

Irwin said:


> I got drunk this evening with my wife. Actually, I got drunk on margaritas and she had a couple glasses of wine. We watched the movie: Taken, starring Liam Neeson. Good drinking movie. My wife went to bed, and I decided I was sick of my long hair, which hasn't been cut since January, due to not wanting to risk catching covid-19 at the barber. Still drunk, I decided to cut it myself.
> 
> After cutting it, my hair doesn't look that much different than how it looks after going to Great Clips. It may actually be more even. Of course, I'm still a little buzzed. I may have a different opinion of it in the morning.



I DO need to get my hair cut but I have to out to shop for essentials. :cookie:


----------



## Irwin

My hair looks okay this morning... better than before I cut it, anyway. Since I'm nearly bald on top, it's not going to look "good" -- no matter what I do, but at least it's no longer annoying.


----------



## Winston

Tried fitting my son with one of my ballistic vests.  He's going door-to-door as a census worker (Enumerator).  He's already been threatened.  
A couple homes he has to go to today are neighbors of those that threatened violence.  Let's pray that the birds of a feather don't necessarily flock together.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think to learn creative writing its best not to learn from books. I already found some websites that have some video courses for 15 dollars per month for a subscription. So I've been searching the internet to find what my alternatives are. Some of them have creative writing exercises. For 15 dollars or for the price of a book I can view videos. I hope there is a web development video. That and I've been thinking of signing up again for a grammar correction software. Because with dictation long sentences can be a real problem.

To be creative I'd turn to that website to complete exercises and assignments. The website is called skilledshare incase anyone is interested. If any member here wants help with writing stories this is the cheapest way I can imagine. For someone with not a lot of money since I don't work and as a person with a lot of free time it sounds promising.

Been waiting for this opportunity. For people, I know who may have some difficulties in learning or writing or reading. This is your best bet on a budget.

I don't if it is just me but magnesium makes me very sleepy. I have gotten a lot out of it. Mood is good but sleeping schedule needs to be fixed because of sleeping too much.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 25985

'I get by with a little help from my friends...'  Pretty bad angina flare, so Potato Cat has been keeping me company.


----------



## seigfried007

Saw a new neurologist today. Was very nice to be taken seriously. She's got me scheduled for an EEG next week--and they were nice enough to juggle the test I already had to do next week around so that I would only have to come in once. So, I get to make the long drive in once to get both the ultrasound of my liver and the one-hour EEG done, and hopefully we'll get some answers. 

Feeling puny and trying to rest up.


----------



## Winston

I wrote a few pages for my kids.  I don't think I'll go too long with it.  I just want them to know a bit about their mother in the years before they was born.  
She won't be around to answer their questions, and I won't be around forever.  So, I just wanted to take a moment and highlight what a beautiful soul she was.  
I just wish I could stop crying while I do it.  Makes it hard to concentrate.


----------



## -xXx-

Winston said:


> I wrote a few pages for my kids.  I don't think I'll go too long with it.  I just want them to know a bit about their mother in the years before they was born.
> She won't be around to answer their questions, and I won't be around forever.  So, I just wanted to take a moment and highlight what a beautiful soul she was.
> I just wish I could stop crying while I do it.  Makes it hard to concentrate.



best,


----------



## JoTheOtter

I got my boyfriend to finally relax for once this week


----------



## Olly Buckle

I terrible day. We have a Bengalese Eagle Owl named Kali, she is 33 and we have had her since she was a tiny chick a few days old. She has never had a day's illness in all that time, but recently has been very down, so today we took her to a specialist vet. They spent ages with her, including scans and an x-ray. It seems she has problems with her lungs, but also with her liver. We have various meds to give her, and we are hoping she will improve, but 33 is a good age for an owl and we are not over optimistic, after all this time she really is a member of the family though; all a bit awful.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I have been up for an hour and a half, and I'm already in a bad mood, I do not feel well,  it promises to be a horrible day.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The bird spent the night in a box indoors as she must be kept warm, but the sun is out and she is back in her aviary eating a chick that has been well injected with medication and not looking too bad considering the indignities of yesterday. It is not easy handling a large owl when you want to do things they don't want, the beak end is snappy and nasty, but the feet end is near lethal. Grabbing her across the back so the wings are held closed and then turning her upside down and wrapping her in a towel is the normal way, I don't know what they did for x-raying. Also the vet had an emergency operation to deal with from a RTA right in the middle, so she was there from morning through to about 9pm.


----------



## midnightpoet

Took Vickie (my wife) to the eye dr yesterday; the results of diabetes plus her strokes were obvious in the photos (of her internal eyes - by whatever new machine they were using), and found possible starting of glaucoma.  She got new glasses  plus contacts that may bring her vision to 20/50 we hope.  The worst thing for her is losing her independence. Never has had to depend so much on other people.  At least she is feeling better physically and walked some, but later had to use her wheelchair.  

I'm feeling better myself after several months trying to convince myself that I was inadequate to my task of taking care of her.  Maybe I'm getting my old confidence in myself back.  One can hope.


----------



## Tiamat

Sooo.... backstory: Two weeks ago, I had a home security system installed (from a door to door salesman, which is a story in and of itself).

I woke up this morning at around 4:30 and when I couldn't get back to sleep right away, I got up to go have a glass of milk. My guy is an INCREDIBLY light sleeper, so I'm trying to be careful and tiptoe around so as not to wake him. While standing in my kitchen drinking the aforementioned milk, I look through the door window to admire the moonlight that I saw shining in. That was when I notice that Edward (guy in question) had not quite taken all the garbage to the curb. There were a few bags of weeds I'd pulled that he probably didn't realize should have also been set out for collection. So I figure I'm awake, may as well drag them to the curb so the garbage guys take them. I set my milk down, open the door, and... ALARM ALARM ALARM BEEP BEEP BEEP ALARM!!!!

Phones start going off because the app is all YOUR BACKDOOR WAS OPENED WHILE ARMED DISARM NOW DISARM NOW! The dog is barking, the cats are losing their minds. It's freaking pandemonium at 5 o'clock on a Saturday morning.

So I run to the hallway where the alarm unit is--conveniently next to the bedroom so it's guaranteed to wake us up if a real break in occurs while we're sleeping--and I enter the code and disarm it. Then I just stand there in blessed silence while my pulse races and I feel like I just got caught breaking into my own house. Then I take the rest of the stupid garbage to the stupid curb and don't even bother trying to go back to sleep. Ed gets up a moment later because of course he does after that.

Obviously, a great start to the day!


----------



## Olly Buckle

We still have an owl indoors, she has taken over the 'sunroom', and I have been taking the opportunity to do a bit of running maintenance to her aviary


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 26066

Potato Cat judging my bookcase...(The piles on top are not supposed to be there.  Two weeks worth of reads that need to go back downstairs.)


----------



## TheFuhrer02

My significant other definitively broke up with me, I watched orchestras play my childhood anime and game soundtracks while I cried, did not do anything productive...

Today was a good day.


----------



## JJBuchholz

My day today? Hmmm..... woke up with a stiff lower back, didn't make enough money out on the road today (full-time Uber courier that was trying to initiate a career change when the pandemic happened, and it still without regular work), got zapped by a hobby experiment that nearly set fire to my desk, and now having absolutely nothing to do tonight. 

I think that's all. 


-JJB


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Today my day is starting very badly.
It's 09.30 am, and I'm already angry ... very angry ...


----------



## Olly Buckle

LadySilence said:


> Today my day is starting very badly.
> It's 09.30 am, and I'm already angry ... very angry ...



Sorry to hear that. It is only five past nine here, but the day started well with Kali, the owl, flying down for her food from her perch and giving a hoot, it is the first time she has hooted in eleven or twelve days since she fell ill, so I am in a distinctly good mood.

I have been trying to add to my new you tube channel, unsuccessfully. I will get there, but I did manage to post a video on The story shack on facebook of me telling a traditional story, Jannie's dragon. Unfortunately it seems to have come out sideways on, don't worry, I'll get there in the end, it is all getting better, 20th century man is gradually coming to grips with the new technology


----------



## Matchu

Slouched on backside watching television. 

Midday, wife arrives in salon, turns me, levers limbs, lifts belly flap and airs the genitals briefly [Mine].  I demand fried breakfast, refusing her offer of the fresh underpants, new Superman t-shirt [Amazon xxxxxxl]. The day peaks, Bordeaux levels increase, posting entries to world poetry contests.  This is the life.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 26070


Took my Rue Dog for a jaunt around the neighbourhood and just about got run over by a...deer.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Olly Buckle said:


> Sorry to hear that. It is only five past nine here, but the day started well with Kali, the owl, flying down for her food from her perch and giving a hoot, it is the first time she has hooted in eleven or twelve days since she fell ill, so I am in a distinctly good mood.



Today is a little better thanks.


I finally found the time, it is the inspiration to start the site / blog.


----------



## midnightpoet

my wife Vickie, having over the past year suffered a diabetic coma, several strokes that left her vision impaired, diarrhea from Chrone's disease, several hospital visits including a month in rehab, decided today that she was tired of this laying in bed stuff, got up, put on jeans and work boots and helped me rake leaves and pick up the yard.   She did this sitting down, mind, but still...

So, shamed into feeling guilty for griping about my own workload, I got off my a$$ and worked.  Now if either of us can get out of bed tomorrow...


----------



## RhythmOvPain

Erroneous post.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Consulted my technical advisor, (Younger daughter) and worked on putting some stuff on my youtube channel. Mostly it is stuff I wrote, but there is one called Jannie's dragon which is a traditional story. I think that probably comes out best because I am not reading it, with storytelling you know the essentials of the story and fill in the bits around them as you go.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIfrjavewvS-nVvpdMc4NeA


----------



## TheManx

Kind of a rare, slow day for me. Rainy. Left  me feeling unmotivated and lazy, hence all the posts of questionable value here on writingforums.com...


----------



## TheManx

Olly Buckle said:


> Consulted my technical advisor, (Younger daughter) and worked on putting some stuff on my youtube channel. Mostly it is stuff I wrote, but there is one called Jannie's dragon which is a traditional story. I think that probably comes out best because I am not reading it, with storytelling you know the essentials of the story and fill in the bits around them as you go.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIfrjavewvS-nVvpdMc4NeA



Hah. I just watched, "Shabby tigers prowl their pentameter." Good job. I will watch the rest!


----------



## Tiamat

Olly Buckle said:


> Consulted my technical advisor, (Younger daughter) and worked on putting some stuff on my youtube channel. Mostly it is stuff I wrote, but there is one called Jannie's dragon which is a traditional story. I think that probably comes out best because I am not reading it, with storytelling you know the essentials of the story and fill in the bits around them as you go.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIfrjavewvS-nVvpdMc4NeA


These are great Olly! Granted, being from the other side of the pond, you could probably read your phone book and I would still listen avidly just because of the accent! :lol: But I watched "Shabby Tigers" and "Fairy Doors" and enjoyed both thoroughly!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Thanks folks, watch this space, more coming now I have posted those and can delete them and make room on my phone. My personal favourite is Jannie's dragon because it is not one of my stories but a traditional tale, so I tell it from memory and don't have to keep looking down at the page. I shall be doing it again sometime as it comes out different every time, and a few more of them, I have a reasonable repertoire as a storyteller.


----------



## dither

After my computer went awol this last time I started a diary, don't know if I shall continue with my scribblings,  not sure that I'd want my wife to see it if whenever, you know. But for now, what the hell. I've even  going to my local library to see if I could type it out and print on one of their computers, that would kill an hour or two. We'll see.


----------



## River Rose

dither said:


> After my computer went awol this last time I started a diary, don't know if I shall continue with my scribblings,  not sure that I'd want my wife to see it if whenever, you know. But for now, what the hell. I've even  going to my local library to see if I could type it out and print on one of their computers, that would kill an hour or two. We'll see.



In my humble opinion,,I think u should continue w your scribblings. With your diary. Just tell yourself,,,let my wife find it and read if she does. Maybe she will learn a thing or two about ole’ Dither. I for one support u on your continuation of the Dither Diaries.


----------



## dither

Oh dear, that should read " I've even thought about going to my local library".


Rose, I started making notes of how I feel, how I am. Basically, it's an explanation, an apology almost.


----------



## petergrimes

I too support the Dither Diaries     
#ditherdiaries
#releasethediaries
#stopditheringditherandreleaseditherdiaries
#freeditherdiaries
#dailytelegraphserialiseditherdiaries


----------



## Gofa

go you good thing 

I walk with Dither
you are now writing with Dither

PS with regard to your wife
on the first page write

new Novel notes 
My life as a budgerigar

pretty sure she will stop reading at that point 
and close the book


----------



## Darkkin

Pulled out an old piece, not to rework, but as a reference for another couple of pieces I'm working on.  Full villanelle X 2...what the hell was I thinking?  (Problem is I was overthinking.  Wings and eyes and whatnot...)


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Headache is killing me ... and today there is also the storm ...


----------



## dither

petergrimes said:


> I too support the Dither Diaries
> #ditherdiaries
> #releasethediaries
> #stopditheringditherandreleaseditherdiaries
> #freeditherdiaries
> #dailytelegraphserialiseditherdiaries




It's all rather depressing grimes, not something that I could post in any forum.
It's just something that, if it was ever recovered from the walk-through wall to wall mountain of junk that resides in our small spare room that I like to think as my shed, it might go some way to helping others understand.


----------



## petergrimes

Dither! I'll let thee off this once for its been awhile but (as I said when you were the first person I met on forum) its Mr Grimes to you. Don't be getting all overfamiliar just cos youse think your'e the new Samuel Pepys. People want to know about the diaries. I was on a conspiracy website (well many of them) last night and they're awash with what Government breaking, paradigm shifting, truths they hold. I know for sure that they contain information pertaining to the solving of, or explantion of at least -
- The Mary Celeste
- JFK assasination
- why Crossroads was cancelled
- UFO's
- which ones Ant and which ones Dec
- Bigfoot
- Qanon
- Roswell
- Why the mullet went out of fashion
- Waipoua forest mystery
If nobodies like Gordon Brown and David 'call me Dave' Cameron, get big money diary deals then you're  shoe in. The Truth is Out There Dither, we know you're the one to explain it.
#ditherequalstruth
#cultofdither
#freethetruth
#freeditherdiaries

- hey what about our Conor Coady scoring for England the Wolves haven't had a player in the team since Bully back when we were in 4th division in Italia 90. Come on the babbies


----------



## dither

ditherequalshonesty/his honesty, his life, as he sees it, and it isn't pretty.
And by the way, that's a lower case, always lower case, [d] Mr Grimes.
As in dither... not Dither. And three full-stops.

Yeah , good for CC eh?
And what about one or two of the others?
Grealish and Pope, but you can't judge them on one performance against a pub-team imo.


----------



## petergrimes

Sorry Mr dither... I um, I got carried away with... with you being new truth giver General and everything. Its been too long mate.
Yeah Coads is obviously a legend but Grealish!!!!!!!! He plays for that team on the Witton Road, what are they called? Wait a second I'll look it up on internet...
Aston Villa, who are they? Exactly.
Overated, next your going to be suggesting some Team Tesco players from that farm yard ground The Hawthorns join (to all non English readers this is just me slandering any Midlands/Birmigham/Black Country none Wolverhampton Wanderers team). Your might be the Messiah but your a very naughty boy if you even think of suggesting any Bluenoses.
Pope I like and Calvert Lewen, but Grealish only played semi-well for he does play for a pub team so is used to it. Sorry dither... , I respect you as the new Buddah and the peace ad joy that brings to me on a personal and spiritual level. But I've had to endure a lifetime of these teams fans. They are the Devil.
Yeah but apart from that I'm fine... Belgium will win us tonight.

EDIT - I was wrong England 2 - Belgium (world ranking number one) 1
Dither no doubt already had the score in his diary
#nostradither


----------



## River Rose

dither said:


> Oh dear, that should read " I've even thought about going to my local library".
> 
> 
> Rose, I started making notes of how I feel, how I am. Basically, it's an explanation, an apology almost.



I hear you, also understand what u are saying. Just know we don’t owe anyone an explanation of who we are. Nor do we owe anyone an apology for the way we are. We are all different and unique in our own way. I try to follow the 4 agreements and hold true to my  beliefs, my true self, then I know,  I,,,we, we as humans are doing ok. Even if we don’t feel like it most of the time. So keep writing out those feelings knowing your WF friends support you.


----------



## Gofa

Write it as you feel it
example

the Budgie Diaries

awoke this morning 
looking out the bars of my cage 
over come by a huge urge to poop
aaahhhh thats better
i can only stay with my head under my wing for so long before i am pulled back into the real world
my seed tastes like shit
the floor below me lets face it is shit covered 
polly wants a cracker 
  Nuh
polly i want to crack her
closer
but im too tired again 
where is my mirror
time to dictate the dither diaries to that nice bloke in the mirror


----------



## Winston

I finally got around to transferring some stuff off of my wife's computer.  A list of passwords to some websites, and a bunch of pictures.  Christ, the woman had so many duplicates.  It was time well spent going through them.  

I finally gave-up and opened a Facebook account.  My wife handled all that social media junk...before.    But I still need to stay in touch with some people, even though I'm thoroughly misanthropic .  Modern problems.


----------



## -xXx-

Winston said:


> I finally got around to transferring some stuff off of my wife's computer.  A list of passwords to some websites, and a bunch of pictures.  Christ, the woman had so many duplicates.  It was time well spent going through them.
> 
> I finally gave-up and opened a Facebook account.  My wife handled all that social media junk...before.    But I still need to stay in touch with some people, even though I'm thoroughly misanthropic .  Modern problems.


----------



## dither

petergrimes said:


> Sorry Mr dither... I um, I got carried away with... with you being new truth giver General and everything. Its been too long mate.
> Yeah Coads is obviously a legend but Grealish!!!!!!!! He plays for that team on the Witton Road, what are they called? Wait a second I'll look it up on internet...
> Aston Villa, who are they? Exactly.
> Overated, next your going to be suggesting some Team Tesco players from that farm yard ground The Hawthorns join (to all non English readers this is just me slandering any Midlands/Birmigham/Black Country none Wolverhampton Wanderers team). Your might be the Messiah but your a very naughty boy if you even think of suggesting any Bluenoses.
> Pope I like and Calvert Lewen, but Grealish only played semi-well for he does play for a pub team so is used to it. Sorry dither... , I respect you as the new Buddah and the peace ad joy that brings to me on a personal and spiritual level. But I've had to endure a lifetime of these teams fans. They are the Devil.
> Yeah but apart from that I'm fine... Belgium will win us tonight.
> 
> EDIT - I was wrong England 2 - Belgium (world ranking number one) 1
> Dither no doubt already had the score in his diary
> #nostradither



That was a surprise to me too Mr. Grimes.

"nostradither" .:roll:

Next thing you know you'll have me perched on top of some remote tor.


----------



## dither

Gofa said:


> Write it as you feel it
> example
> 
> the Budgie Diaries
> 
> awoke this morning
> looking out the bars of my cage
> over come by a huge urge to poop
> aaahhhh thats better
> i can only stay with my head under my wing for so long before i am pulled back into the real world
> my seed tastes like shit
> the floor below me lets face it is shit covered
> polly wants a cracker
> Nuh
> polly i want to crack her
> closer
> but im too tired again
> where is my mirror
> time to dictate the dither diaries to that nice bloke in the mirror



Better than any tonic, thanks Gofa.


----------



## petergrimes

dither said:


> That was a surprise to me too Mr. Grimes.
> 
> "nostradither" .:roll:
> 
> Next thing you know you'll have me perched on top of some remote tor.



I was thinking more that Ancient fellow (one of the classics peoples/maybe a saint (I went to a comp)) who spent all his life, stood on top of a really tall column/plinth, arguing with a mountain/volcano (yes my grasp of the facts is helpful, the internet is only one click away yet I refuse to use it, I'm that lazy) - I might be conflating two plinth people there so don't take my word for it. You probably have the answer in your diary anyway. Yes the diary. dither... in these dark and troubled times, when the world is looking for hope, a ray of light, understanding, a guiding beacon to lead us out of the dark, fear and ignorance - and back in to the sunny uplands of a green and pleasant land, this sceptered isle, you. You dither... you are the one who holds the answers. Those truths that the military industrial complex - Builderberg - the deep state - the lizard people and Ant and Dec don't want us to know about. Only you can save us. I stand ready to serve you. Sit meekly to listen to you. Bow deferrentially in awe of you. Call and the people will answer. Build it and they will come. We are behind you dither... (Woops, sorry had a panic there, my tinfoil hat fell off). Release the diaries. lead us oh dither... Save the world, save dither... Release the diaries.

So yeah anyways, unexpected win. I was a bit gutted Coady did't play. Not a great first half but to come back from behind against the worlds number one ranked team and win. Okay they were missing players but our home record, loads of win loss records, I were looking at them divvo and... well it makes no sense. I haven't recovered from the heartbreak of Euro 96. I were twelve, crying my eyes out like a little babby. That and being Wolves prepared me well for a lifetime of disappointment. But both are doing really well these last three year. What does that portend oh Nostradither for us as a person? Cheers mate, hope your well, all the best PG

#ditherdiaries
#freeditherdiaries
#releasethetruth
#nostradither
#ditheristhespecialone


----------



## Olly Buckle

Yesterday I recorded the story of Anansi and the giant snake and tried to upload it to my 'Story shack' on You tube... four times in all! Of course I didn't record it four times  just tried to upload it. To check I was on the right path I recorded one of my stories called 'The Call' and it went fine. I think it is a bit to long at sixteen minutes and the phone can't cope, I have had it on charge overnight and will try again in a bit, but this does not bode well as it is from my repertoire of traditional stories and is one of the shorter ones, still I now have eight items, five stories and three limericks, and The call had seven views in the first hour and a half it was up, so something is happening


----------



## Olly Buckle

The clarity that morning brings  

I think I have fixed the problem with the YouTube url in my signature, re-copied and pasted it and it seems to work every time now, and I discovered I needed a verification code to upload a video that long, it is there now if anyone fancies a story  It is a West Indian traditional tale which travelled the Atlantic. In West Africa Anansi is the son of the Sky God, but by the time he reached Jamaica he is simply a very clever fellow, half man half spider


----------



## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> The bird spent the night in a box indoors as she must be kept warm, but the sun is out and she is back in her aviary eating a chick that has been well injected with medication and not looking too bad considering the indignities of yesterday. It is not easy handling a large owl when you want to do things they don't want, the beak end is snappy and nasty, but the feet end is near lethal. Grabbing her across the back so the wings are held closed and then turning her upside down and wrapping her in a towel is the normal way, I don't know what they did for x-raying. Also the vet had an emergency operation to deal with from a RTA right in the middle, so she was there from morning through to about 9pm.



Dear Ollie, I was wondering how your owl is doing? I am fascinated with her story... how did you get her... is she friendly? I have an African grey parrot named Scooby, and he is a handful and takes a lot of dedication and care... but an owl.. that is so cool.... hopefully your owl has recovered?


----------



## Theglasshouse

My brother bought a pet dog for my mother's birthday which is soon. It's a pomeranian. My other dog passed away some months ago. I wonder if I will have to brush its teeth. Because it got sick since we never kept its mouth clean. I hope it is not a lot of work is all.


----------



## Darkkin

Things sitting on my kitchen table...Ah, making the everyday look exciting. (I freely admit to liking my Instagram filters. potato_the_book_cat on Instagram for my sins.)


----------



## Olly Buckle

Firemajic said:


> Dear Ollie, I was wondering how your owl is doing? I am fascinated with her story... how did you get her... is she friendly? I have an African grey parrot named Scooby, and he is a handful and takes a lot of dedication and care... but an owl.. that is so cool.... hopefully your owl has recovered?



Sorry to say she has had a relapse, sitting in the corner looking miserable and not eating, she is 33 which is a good age for an owl, and whilst a miracle would be good we are preparing for the worst. I keep thinking about how we came by her and the story of 'John the Mercenary' . It's a fair story, and he was older than me and died a few years back so no harm in telling it now. I'll let you know when I get around to it.


----------



## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> Sorry to say she has had a relapse, sitting in the corner looking miserable and not eating, she is 33 which is a good age for an owl, and whilst a miracle would be good we are preparing for the worst. I keep thinking about how we came by her and the story of 'John the Mercenary' . It's a fair story, and he was older than me and died a few years back so no harm in telling it now. I'll let you know when I get around to it.




33 yrs old? That's amazing. Well done you.


----------



## Olly Buckle

She was a four day old hatchling when we first got her, a little dinosaur that kept falling on her face because of the weight of her beak.


----------



## Matchu

......


----------



## Carmen

Oh, so sweet. i love owls - they are so cool. especially that 360 they can do.  is there an average life span for an owl.  there are  a lot of different types, right?


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I relapsed into depression.
I would love to start writing again,
but not succeed ...
I need to recover my self-esteem.


----------



## dither

LadySilence said:


> I relapsed into depression.
> I would love to start writing again,
> but not succeed ...
> I need to recover my self-esteem.



I know how THAT feels LadySilence, it's no walk in the park is it, I hope your  situation improves soon.

I like your sig by the way.


----------



## matthew1959

This seems as good a place as any to unburden a bit.  I have been really struggling for a bit.  I am really missing my wife at the moment.  If you didn't read my introduction, she passed away the end of March 2019.  I was working for the Census as an enumerator and that officially ended Saturday when my supervisor picked up my equipment.  My unemployment is in the 13 week federal pandemic extension.  It's not all doom and gloom, it just feels that way emotionally.  As a Christian I am reminded of the words of Paul to the Thessalonians about dealing with grief and loss.  He didn't say we don't sorrow.  Rather, we sorrow with hope.  Still, this house can feel really empty.  It doesn't help that today is a gloomy, chilly, overcast day.

My daughter and I have struggled with another emotion, guilt.  We have talked about feeling selfish when we express our feelings, because so many are going through so much.  We both feel as though we should ignore, or suppress our feelings and concentrate on offering comfort to others who are in pain.  I don't want to be preachy, but this is when I find comfort in Scripture and knowing Jesus feels my pain.  _*2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV) *__Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God._ 

Thanks for letting me unburden a bit.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Don't feel guilt over it, there will always be someone worse off than yourself, that does not mean that your loss and sorrow is not real, I bet the house feels empty sometimes. If it were me I would have Little Richard ready to play full blast when it hit me  

It will pass, there will be summer days and probably friends and grand children to share them with. That, of course, will also pass, but don't let the memory of happy times bring you down.

I know it is all easily said, and it might seem trite, but there is truth in it, life is a thing to celebrate.


----------



## Chris Stevenson

First, may God bless all of you with depressions, hurts and family tragedy. I just lost my twin sister. I'm numb. She had a heart attack inside our home and the EMT's fought valiantly to save her. It was not to be. Needless to say, the entire extended family is devastated. I think I've had over 500 responses and well wishes from the Internet. I've lost track

So I focused right back on my promotion and marketing for the six most recent books. My WIPs lie unattended--I just can't create fright now. 

Today, right now, The Beast of Wheeler Ridge is free on Amazon and I'd forgotten all about it. My mind is so fogged and screwed up. My publisher didn't warn me about the date of the five-day Amazon blitz. But when I looked at the numbers, I was quite shocked, in a happy sort of way. It ranks 217 overall and #2 and #3 in the sub-categories. I swear, I haven't seen those types of numbers for 13 years. I didn't expect it. I have two more free books coming out one week after another, so it is going to be very hectic for me to announce them to over 28 of my major websites and groups, as well as all the genre and writing sub-groups in FB.


----------



## Darkkin

Rant Ahead:

Encountered the full vitriol of the fruitcake cult today...The bookstore where I work requires masks (has since we reopened in June), but we do take individual circumstances into account, (e.g. medical and/or psychological issues).  And by and large people have been very gracious about the issue.

  Anywho, we have extra masks available (at no cost) for those who don't have one and we make sure customers know they have this resource.  I mentioned this to a customer who was not wearing a mask, and was told that if we were to address him, we would have to remove our masks.  I cannot do this, for any reason due to cardiac issues including PPH, which puts me at increased risk when dealing with Covid-19.  I mentioned the fact that for safety reasons I could not remove my mask, to which he replied if I had a preexisiting condition, I had no right to be working because I was inconveniencing him.  He went on to say that people at risk deserve to become Covid statistics because they were weak and that by exisiting we were bring down the entire country.  Basically, I was told I do not have the right to be alive because of a congenital gene mutation.

I might be an inconvenience, but I am not out in the world wishing illness and death on innocent people...and if masks are an issue, simply avoid places that require them, do not attack those who are in compliance with preventative measures.  I admit to being angry, angry for those who through no fault of their own are at a greater risk.  We have the right to work, a right to keep others safe, and a right to read despite what the self entitled believe...

Sorry about the rant, but this rankled.


----------



## PiP

The fruitcake cult is a good name for the anti-mask brigade. I hope the selfish little toad was shown the door. What a hurtful thing to say to you.

In Portugal there is a slogan: We Are All In This Together

Stay Safe

{{virtual hugs}} Darkkin


----------



## Olly Buckle

What a nasty piece of work, Darkin, let's hope he contracts some long term condition, realises he is a 'bringing down the country' and tops himself. Like PiP I hope you thoroughly inconvenienced him by ejecting him from the shop immediately, with the threat of calling the police to escort him from the premises if he didn't go. A***hole!


----------



## Phil Istine

Darkkin said:


> Rant Ahead:
> 
> Encountered the full vitrol of the fruitcake cult today...



What a scumbag.  Words fail me - for a change.


----------



## Darkkin

When I think about the situation, it really makes me realise I am grateful I was born me.  I could be the guy who does the spewing, who has no idea of what compassion or wonder are.  And for that, those like of a similar ilk have my pity for they are trapped in mire of their own making with no way out.


----------



## TL Murphy

It is truly amazing, the mental contortions that some people will go to in order to rationalize a completely self-destructive ideology.


----------



## rcallaci

that man is a pig who deserves to be slaughtered--  I have no patience for these self righteous idiots and it's because of these fools why covid 19 is out of control in this country.

but some good came out of it you wrote one fantastic poem due to that morons behavior.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My mother has been working a long time on her project for her job. I haven't been able to write anything new. My older computer has a small keyboard. It makes me prone to writing typos. Going to subscribe to pro writing aid tomorrow. I will as well as get claroread which has a new version which I think is compatible with my word processor. I hope I get free time, and that my room I choose is silent. Because I can't concentrate otherwise. But there's no guarantee my mother and brother finish early tomorrow. I need them to finish early, so I can write a flash piece or something a bit longer. I am hoping this helps me make less mistakes when editing. Claroread I think is the only one that echoes when you dictate something (the text to speech engine reads what you dictate the sentence or words). My copy was stolen by some people that worked at home. But anyways that most expensive version will have to wait for winter. That works with dragon speaking software. But during this time I will get claroread se. Going to check its compatibility since it doesn't mention word 2019 which I own. I have an upbeat mood which is good for writing today but it is 10:45 at night. There is no time to write today. I need a good night's rest. 200 pounds seems like too much to invest to get the full features. So I will get the cheap version and then wait for Christmas to pick up the other which allows me to check if what I dictate is correct. But I assume claroread se will allow me to check better. I am also resolved. I will use a recorder I own when I read the final copy. For description been mind mapping the words by putting it in a circle and drawing lines.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The back brake started binding on my partners car and she can't get it fixed 'til next week so I have been chauffeur for a bit. She works a three quarters of an hour away, so there and back twice is a chunk out of the day. Today I hope to do some more recording out in my shed, though people tend to use pressure washers and mowers and stuff weekends. I want to do another traditional story that I have not told for a while, so looked it up in the book I first got it from. Reading it it all came back, but it really is truncated compared to the one I tell, over the years I have added all sorts of little bits of detail, like how to squeeze water from a stone.


----------



## kunox

medicine knocked me out for 13-ish hours so it's just begginning really.. lol..


----------



## dither

I Wish I could get some medicine like that kunox.


----------



## kunox

you can't sleep? I hear you... most of the time my meds work in reverse sleep wise but most of the time they knock me the heck out...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Started to record my story, but it is long and my voice started to go. Basically I don't think anyone is going to take over half an hour of me going on so I am going to tell it in two parts. It is very different when there is an audience present, I am continuously 'reading' them for one thing, so if they look like they are not really into one bit I can easily shorten it and move on. The other thing is that you have a fair idea which bits will appeal before you start, are they children, adults, male, female, couples? Is it a casual audience or one that is there to hear a story? All these things dictate how the story should be told, so it is quite hard working to a camera. I go over the story in my head for a couple of days, then have at least a couple of practice runs out loud with a bit of an interval between them to work out what is good and what is not. A half hour story takes two or three days thinking time and probably a couple of hours actually working on it including the time I set the equipment up and upload the recording, maybe more.

Recording my own stories is much easier, I'll read them through a couple of times and read them aloud once making notes on the page of things I want to change for an oral version, then read it. They also tend to be much shorter than the traditional stories, though I have got a couple of longer ones to try soon.


----------



## -xXx-

Olly Buckle said:


> <snip>. It is very different when there is an audience present, I am continuously 'reading' them for one thing, so if they look like they are not really into one bit I can easily shorten it and move on. The other thing is that you have a fair idea which bits will appeal before you start, are they children, adults, male, female, couples? Is it a casual audience or one that is there to hear a story? All these things dictate how the story should be told, so it is quite hard working to a camera. <snip>.



each spring there is a storytelling festival with a swath of diverse mastery represented.
the story crafters come from all over the world.
this comes to mind as i read your channel experience.
perhaps actual photographic representations of the diverse listening group 
just beyond your camera would aid you.
as you look from one to another, your telling should adjust accordingly.

the festival is held on a hill where blanket groups sprawl.
it runs well after sunset and becomes very much like fireplace/campfire tales.

best,


----------



## petergrimes

dither said:


> I Wish I could get some medicine like that kunox.



send us a PM, no questions asked  I'll do you mates rates


----------



## dither

Not sure about that Mr. Grimes but thanks anyway.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I'm starting to feel a little better.
I started writing again.
Little by little, maybe they started smiling again.


----------



## Matchu

........


----------



## Darkkin

In case anyone needs a laugh, Rue Dog is here to help...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Recorded and posted a new Youtube video, 'The Spear', Mrs Helen Highwater-Small joined me in it.


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog finally managed a full stair step, square up recall without barking.  This particular trick has been a work in progress for awhile, quite simple because it goes totally against Rue's inclinations.  A multitude of little details that make him wait and pay attention, while his kibble beckons a few steps above.  When food is involved, Rue gets loud, overexcited, and distracted, so for him, this was a huge win.  Proud of my dude, even if he is just a dog.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Darkkin said:


> Rue Dog finally managed a full stair step, square up recall without barking.  This particular trick has been a work in progress for awhile, quite simple because it goes totally against Rue's inclinations.  A multitude of little details that make him wait and pay attention, while his kibble beckons a few steps above.  When food is involved, Rue gets loud, overexcited, and distracted, so for him, this was a huge win.  Proud of my dude, even if he is just a dog.



You might like my latest offering on You tube, 'Yard Dog'. There is a link in my signature.


----------



## Darkkin

Saw a nun and a guy in a chicken suit on the way to work today...(The guy in the chicken suit had a sign saying: I crossed the street to support the chiken-q, a local bi-weekly fundraiser).  It made me smile.  

Also learned a new term: anthropodermic bibliopegy.  The study of books bound in human skin.  I had heard mention of such items on series like Smithsonian's Secrets, but I have not pursued the subject until I happened across Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom.  The book opens at the Mutter Museum, which is on my bucket list.  The book Dr. Mutter's  Marvels by Cristin O'keefe Aptowicz is another curious, worthy read.

Found out Alex Trebek died today, too.  I have been a life long Jeopardy fan.  And saw the humour of the universe reveal itself in the Four Seasons Landscaping parking lot.


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## Theglasshouse

I am trying to read more(the new diary: how to use a journal for self guidance and creativity). I bought the book on journaling I owned as a physical edition for kindle. I am reading it slowly with text to speech. I only got through one chapter. I bought a second book that I read a chapter in this same way. These books are quite long. I don't think I will be wasting my time. However, it seems I will be posting a bit less since I have been taking the time to read these both. Both were bought after 6:00 p.m. in the afternoon. (turns out writing a diary is just one of the many devices people use as a technique and which ones become your favorite is the one you should use.)

Also, it turns out the book I found that I thought explained storytelling and plot in the same book doesn't exist. It doesn't have a lot of information on journaling. The first book mentioned above is a journaling course for novelists (and other sorts of users, such as a mother or anyone who wants to write but for different purposes)according to the introduction. It turns out there is no standard way of journaling since there are four people that popularized journaling in the 20th century. Among these we have Nin Anias, Progoff, Marion Milner, and Carl jung (psychology purposes). Since she adopts Nin Anais's approach is the one I will be using the most. But she takes a bit explaining all this in the first chapter. She says in her own way identifying emotions is why people journal. Such as these emotions which is a small list compared to the original list in the book: hopes, fears, and dreams. Which is what you want your character to have. You want the character to convey the fictional experience you yourself personified in that story character.

I will force myself through some books I own I don't like tomorrow. So I guess I am studying to make sure I can mine experience from real life and turn these memories into stories hopefully. In addition to reading novels I lost my attention for I will want to read these so see what people liked from these. If I hate it then I could always create a log of what I liked and didn't like. Here are some questions: What I liked the most and why? What one element of the book gave you the most pleasure? What question did the book ask and answer?

The second book I am reading is on how to write young adult books. I won't make a summary here other than it's rated favorably on goodreads and so I am giving it a chance. I got those above 4 questions from that book.

It touches upon not writing for publication. But writing for anything but that since not everyone gets published.


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## Darkkin

It had a blue cover...the struggle is real folks.


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## Olly Buckle

Our garden slopes slightly North, I finished off building a retaining wall along the north side and started building a flower bed against it that will face south as an extension of one I built when we first moved in. Also recorded and put up 'Golden Hour', a short story, on my YouTube channel. That makes thirteen stories up, unlucky for some, better do another


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## dither

Our back garden rises up slightly away from the house going northwards and right now the foliage, what there is of it, looks utterly miserable, bedraggled, and yet, we have got this tree, well, not sure if you'd call it a tree or a shrub. Five stems about as thick as my arm, one is used for a scratching post by a local tabby, rising out of the same root-base, at slight angles to each other to about four or five metres high. It has just started flowering, for the second time this year, it usually blooms twice and eventually the small yellow blossom gives way to minute fruits about the size of a match-stick-head and the colour of Damsons. I don't know what sort of tree/shrub it is but the birds, especially the Blackbirds, love the late harvest of fruits.

There's a tall Sycamore at the top so you can imagine what it looks like up there wet sloppy tea-bags as big as a man's hand scattered everywhere. The good news is that the weed-killer I used seems to have killed the Ivy, in parts anyway. I used a watering can for one patch, and there it really has done it's job, leaves scorched to a coffee-coloured crisp, but where I sprayed another patch I don't think it had any effect, will give that another go sometime with the watering can.

I bought one of those hedgehog nests all of a rush and am unable to provide a suitable situation for it so I've decided to shelve that one for now. Pity, but there you go.

Can't say I'm sorry that I'm retired right now. Would like to be going out more though, damn the covid.

Life eh?


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## Darkkin

New release Tuesday at the bookshop!  My favourite day of the week for that very reason.  Rowling's new book The Ickabog came out and Atwood has a new poetry collection, Dearly.  Just from the quick browse I got, it looks amazing...But I have to wait to buy it.  Rue Dog was in for annual vaccinations and that is never cheap.  Oh, well.  Ounce of prevention, pound of cure.  The vet was very pleased with my dude, who remains in rude health and too pretty for his own good.  Decided to go through the dog stuff to see what to keep, toss, or donate and got everything sorted again.  Whoot!  Potato Cat supervised from the top of Zwi's crate...

View attachment 26123


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## TheManx

I got a new laptop the other day and just finished setting it up and loading the apps etc. It's an absolute screamer with a 17" screen. I've always had a laptop and a desktop, but I'll be using this one as a main machine with my dual desktop monitor set up. 

Should anyone care? Of course not -- but I'm pretty happy about it.


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## kunox

I had been writing a page a day.. 4 on a certain project and 1 on another but I kind of burnt out a bit and I haven't been doing much....


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## dither

Manx, I envy you your knowledge of computers.


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## kunox

I envy anyone who can work on them.. I got basic knowledge,,,,


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## Theglasshouse

kunox said:


> I had been writing a page a day.. 4 on a certain project and 1 on another but I kind of burnt out a bit and I haven't been doing much....


Workshop the short sections one part at a time. Don't send it at last moment. The beginning can be given feedback on. If you want post it here somewhere and let me know.


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## kunox

ty... so I can post into workshops.. kind of a pre beta read.. I will consider.. lol... I got 40-ish projects going. or at least in my head.... and I never know which one I can write on.. ty ether way...
update.. I posted the first part of k.o. but I was kind of interested in if people could react to the entire thing... I guess that is more of a beta read though...


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## Deleted member 64995

Finally after a long time, I feel good again. I have the desire to write again.


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## Darkkin

Followed an impulse after working with a crafted plan for a competition piece.  We will see how this turns out.  Chances are I'm staring at unmitigated disaster.


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## Firemajic

Darkkin said:


> Followed an impulse after working with a crafted plan for a competition piece.  We will see how this turns out.  Chances are I'm staring at unmitigated disaster.



Good luck, not that I think you will need any luck at all, you have fabulous skill and your poetry is gorgeous... at the very least, you will have stepped out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there, and THAT is a wonderful thing...


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## kunox

Darkkin said:


> Followed an impulse after working with a crafted plan for a competition piece.  We will see how this turns out.  Chances are I'm staring at unmitigated disaster.


double good luck to you... lol


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## Deleted member 64995

[QUOTE = Darkkin; 2315334] Ho seguito un impulso dopo aver lavorato con un piano creato per un pezzo da competizione. Vedremo come andrà a finire. È probabile che sto fissando un disastro totale. [/ QUOTE]

Good luck!


Very positive day, excellent, short working relationships.
Negative note:
I have a headache.


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## Darkkin

View attachment 26138

According to Potato, I read too much...


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## Theglasshouse

I had a red eye all day. So I took some respite. Eventually my parents bought me an eye drop specifically for red eyes. It prevented me from writing. I hope my red eye isn't present tomorrow. I had to stop using the computer all day.


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## Deleted member 64995

Almost quiet day, we hope it continues like this.
	

	
	
		
		

		
			






I'm trying to figure out how to save the Beckup of Scrivener's texts, directly online, so as not to lose everything.


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## SueC

I just want to share this. I know you have no answers for me, no solutions, but in a woman's way I have a need to share and I always do so with writing.

My fourteen year old grandson has been diagnosed with Covid. He is a freshman in high school, and we found out the results just this morning. He was exposed to Covid in school, possibly from a teacher who has been diagnosed now too. They were in school every other day; home school in between. The exposure was last Wednesday, they think. I picked him up from school and was in the car with him approximately five minutes as we drove home the day before, so I should be okay. I have no symptoms, but my daughter is telling me that he is now experiencing a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath. I have a call in to my doctor to see if I should be doing anything, but I am very worried about my grandson. This is how it all starts, right?

My point in all of this is that I have been told there are still people out there who believe the virus is a hoax; fake news. Not really happening and these people refuse to wear masks, because they don't like being told what to do. Someone in my grandson's small circle of family and school mates didn't wear a mask one time and infected a teacher, who infected my family member, who may have infected me, or his siblings, or his mother, who has just lost her husband this summer to a fatal heart attack.

In my country, there may be millions who do not believe the virus is real. Medical experts tells us daily that wearing a mask would make a difference in hundreds of people's lives, but until it touches them personally, they will go on believing that it is a made up story.  Earlier this month, my nine y.o. granddaughter was diagnosed with Covid, but had no symptoms. It was a similar scenario as my grandson, and she quarantined for ten days, while her mother had to quarantine for fourteen days in a basement bedroom. That is over for her tomorrow. 

Wear a mask. I can't say it enough.

To end on a fun note: 
The basement at my daughter's is home to their one and only TV, an absolutely ancient, heavy boxy thing that most of us gave up ages ago. She and her husband are "minimalists," who believe if something still works, it should not be replaced. Since no one else in the family was able to watch that basement TV, with it's grainy, blurry picture, her husband went online and ordered a 75 inch flat screen to sit in a place of honor in their upstairs family room. He ordered it two days into Heidi's quarantine, and tomorrow - for her - will be the big reveal. Husbands do what they must to get by.


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## bdcharles

Sorry to hear this Sue. Though the chances remain high that he will be absolutely fine. As for the covid-deniers, I think we'll start to see less of them in the very near future.


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## PiP

Sue, so sorry to read your grandson has tested positive for COVID. It is an anxious time. My daughter did last week and her daughter (9yrs old) on Monday. Her husband and son (6yrs) tests came back negative, but they have all the symptoms. My daughter had tightness in her chest, chills, headaches, fever and a cough. A deep cough like I've never heard before. It was weird.

Your grandson may have only been in the car five minutes but he was in very close proximity to you talking and laughing without a mask? So when he left the car the virus could still be in the car? When we go shopping we sanitize everything before we bring it into the house as the virus can live on some surfaces up to 7 days. We also remove all our outside clothes before entering the house, then shower.

 Here we would have to self-isolate (quarantine) and not leave the house for 14 days in case we were a asymptomatic. In France, once our daughter tested positive the children were sent home from school and husband never went to work either.

If symptoms develop we call a helpline and we are sent for a test to confirm. I assume it is the same where you are?

As for the people screaming it's a hoax they should be made to work in an ICU unit without PPE. Same for the aniti-mask brigade.


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## Firemajic

Dear Sue and PiP, I am so sorry for all that you and your loved ones are going through, prayers and hugs, you all will be in my thoughts and prayers... 

This IS real, and there are REAL people behind the ever growing numbers of the fatalities we see on the news every day... Real people who have lost their lives to to this deadly virus, real people with broken hearts and their lives will never be the same without those they lost... 

It seems that there is some advances in the treatment and they are learning more every day on how to combat the symptoms and have less damage to vital organs... 

I do not understand the mentality of those who refuse to wear a mask... stupidity seems to be a pandemic also...


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## Theglasshouse

Sorry for hearing about that Suec and Pip. Suec if I were you I would get checked by a blood test. I had an aunt of my mother that was attended by a doctor in the family who had a strong suspicion of covid. The earlier you get treated the better are your chances your symptoms will be milder. They gave her medicine since her symptoms became milder since it was detected early. The earlier the better are the chances for recovery. I hope for the best. Anyone who has been around someone who had or has it needs to be checked.

Good luck and I hope that both of your families recover.

As for how my day is going? I am going to order a bunch of books to feed my muse or the imagination. However, hopefully I will sign up for prowriting aid later on it would be too much for my budget. However, in early december I should have the prowriting aid program and that should help me to further correct my work.

I haven't read anything in a long time which makes my imagination lousy and poor. So far I have the character and situation thought up for the story. My reading will be some nonfiction works that will be research into people's lives. I looked up some memoirs and biographies which I hope to read. I wish I had a library nearby to borrow books but this will have to do for the time being.

Speaking of covid I wish my father would not go to crowded spaces but there is nothing I can do about that. I try to reason with him. But he never listens to me. I may look like a coward however I would go to the smallest supermarket near me or convenience store. It doesn't make sense to risk your life. Or that of your other families.

I heard on TV Vitamin A, E, and C, is also good for diseases that have to do with the lungs (such as influenza and covid-19). Vitmain c and z is great overall for illnesses (boosts white blood cell counts as does exercise) or the combination of these vitamins. Sure medicine helps a lot more, but I am telling what I heard about in case this helps anyone.


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## Olly Buckle

Yes, it is real, people are starting to know someone who has had it now, when it gets personal the doubters are going to have to re-think. It is difficult to see why people would think it is made up, the restrictions it imposes damage trade for the people who are supposed to be making it up, why would they do that? Good news is there is a lot more known about it now and drugs and treatment that have an effect. It is early days yet but the indications appear to be that far fewer people who are infected are going to die this time around. 
The other thing that the non mask wearers don't seem to have got is that masks are not to protect the wearer on the whole, they do give a tiny bit of protection, but only a tiny bit. What they do do is stop asymptomatic people and people who are still incubating the disease from passing it on to others, these people say "My life, my risk", but it isn't, the risk is to others from droplet borne infection and a mask stops most of that, or keeps it very local. Wearing a mask is altruistic, not wearing one is downright selfish.

There is always something positive to take away if you look for it, being isolated by shielding means I have a lot of gardening done and I have started getting to grips with technology I simply ignored before, there are fifteen videos on my YouTube channel now, copied onto a facebook page, and I am learning about making podcasts. I would never have got round to putting my writing into these other mediums without covid, maybe the virus will send me viral


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## Darkkin

Just got done with a pandemic etiquette conversation about Thanksgiving with Mom.  I was honest, told her I was worried and why.  The smart thing for me to do is stay home because I know some members of my family have serious issues with quarantine procedure.  I can honestly say, I love and respect them enough not to make it an issue by doing the sensible thing and keeping my distance.  It came down to the simple fact that I have to work, but it helped to talk to Mom.


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## dither

Darkkin,
there is so much that we don't know about this covid19. None of my siblings are visiting our 85 mother now. I phone every day and sometimes go stand in her front garden for few minutes. "Are we being too cautious ?"  I asked her. "Well, at least I'm not dead" , she replied.

We talk about people not wanting to wear a mask. I wonder how they'd feel about a ventilator. You have to go with how you feel about this. Stay safe.


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## Olly Buckle

How does your mum get her shopping, Dither? Because I am officially shielding we get supermarket delivery slots, but I read the other day that this can actually be riskier than going shopping. It makes sense, the goods are handled by someone picking them from the shelves, then by someone packing them, then the delivery man does not have a Perspex shield like the checkout lady. The other thing was frozen goods are the riskiest, it survives well in cold, that seems counter-intuitive at first. We wash hands as soon as we have finished unpacking and use things in order so they get plenty of time to sit and let it die off.


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## dither

My sister does a weekly shop for her, she places it at the front door and stands well back, just like on tv. If she needs anything in the week I out and get it plus one or two things for myself. She has a good supply of sanitising wipes and is forever washing her hands. Also, in spite of her age, unless it is really cold she usually has the back door open so good ventilation.


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## Olly Buckle

Sensible woman, if there were only more like that. It makes me cringe when I hear Boris talking about "We will beat this". There is no indication they want to 'beat' it, as in places like Australia where you see repots of states and cities having gone days and weeks without a case. It is simply 'Keep it down a bit so we can go on making money.'

The latest bit of nonsense from them, we are faced with food shortages because import warehouses are jammed up and Brexit is happening, the government's response, 'It is not our responsibility to see the population is fed.' Do they admit any responsibility other than ensuring the rich get richer?


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## Deleted member 64995

Sue  
I am very sorry for your family. Can I give you a virtual hug?
The Virus is bad, powerful, destructive.
I have in my mind, even the military trucks that took away from hospitals, the dead.


Unfortunately, there are still people who are convinced that the pandemic does not exist.
My father is one of these. He is convinced that everything is a conspiracy.


Use the mask, be careful. We are all in danger.


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## dither

Olly Buckle said:


> Sensible woman, if there were only more like that. It makes me cringe when I hear Boris talking about "We will beat this". There is no indication they want to 'beat' it, as in places like Australia where you see repots of states and cities having gone days and weeks without a case. It is simply 'Keep it down a bit so we can go on making money.'
> 
> The latest bit of nonsense from them, we are faced with food shortages because import warehouses are jammed up and Brexit is happening, the government's response, 'It is not our responsibility to see the population is fed.' Do they admit any responsibility other than ensuring the rich get richer?



That's about the measure of it Mr.Buckle.


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## petergrimes

Mr dither... - I must admit that when I worry for the old and the infirm, about them having what they require - well it always heartens me to look at your avatar and see you are still always fully stocked, ready, ever ready, braced and battened down. Your resourcefulness is a beacon of hope to us all, indeed I have been on to Boris about making you the centre of a new 'ready for anything' Brexit is coming campaign. The can do attitude, the spirit that got you through the blitz, your generation can teach us much. I think the Government slogan will be "Don't be a dipstick, dither like Mr dither... as we do and you should too." Maybe "The Great British dither..." they like sticking that on the front of everything nowadays. Hope your well mate. No need to worry, no twitter campaign this time  . All the best PG


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## Darkkin

A Tail of Two Kitties.  My book cats, past (left) and present (right).  Sometimes their similarities are just a little eerie.


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## kunox

I know this is a weird post to put here so I will post this first.. my day as been better... but I just wanted to note my good month is coming up... I will be in a better mood for most of the month... this month was my worst month... sio I will pick a couple of books to work on.. plus exercise and one other thing to get done... I will try my best. ty and good night...


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## Olly Buckle

So the news this morning is that they are going to take over conference halls, stadiums and other large centers to vaccinate people. Maybe I am missing something, but it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. People will have to travel to get there and then congregate in large numbers to receive a vaccine which takes at least a fortnight to kick in, if you don't need a second jab. Does that sound sensible?


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## bdcharles

Olly Buckle said:


> So the news this morning is that they are going to take over conference halls, stadiums and other large centers to vaccinate people. Maybe I am missing something, but it sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. People will have to travel to get there and then congregate in large numbers to receive a vaccine which takes at least a fortnight to kick in, if you don't need a second jab. Does that sound sensible?



Depends on the implementation I guess. What's the alternative?


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## dither

Well, at my age, and I'm physically-fit with no known underlying problems, I won't be travelling. I don't see it being done locally because of the storage requirements, so maybe it'll be a while for people like me living out in the sticks. At least if those who are able to travel are willing to go for it it will, ultimately, eventually,reduce the risk of infection for people like me. Maybe, hopefully.


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## River Rose

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 26162
> 
> A Tail of Two Kitties.  My book cats, past (left) and present (right).  Sometimes their similarities are just a little eerie.



The cats are your Familiar. They Reincarnate to b w you. Your souls will b together in this lifetime.


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## River Rose

dither said:


> Well, at my age, and I'm physically-fit with no known underlying problems, I won't be travelling. I don't see it being done locally because of the storage requirements, so maybe it'll be a while for people like me living out in the sticks. At least if those who are able to travel are willing to go for it it will, ultimately, eventually,reduce the risk of infection for people like me. Maybe, hopefully.



Yes. U are correct. Ppl need to say home and out of the public as often as possible. My brothers county has issued a no travel law for Thanksgiving. Also,,,they are to stay at their own homes w their own families u live w. They will b issuing tickets if they see more than one family at a home. 
My kids schools have shut down again due to increasing numbers of infected students and teachers. 
We wear masks and limit our time in the public. I am fortunate to live in the country and we have much land and natural resources to stay safely active outdoors while social distancing from others. 
I still will not get my family vaccinated when the vaccine is released and I am prepared for the repercussions from the refusal of the vaccine. As a Holistic Healer myself it goes against all my beliefs.


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## Olly Buckle

> As a Holistic Healer myself it goes against all my beliefs.



That puzzles me a little, after all it is prevention, not healing. I am sure you use soap and water to keep clean and prevent everyday disease, and if you cut yourself on something filthy surely you would use something to clean it and might well go for a disinfectant of some sort. Why let the disease get a start?
Because that bogus 'research' put people off the MMR vaccine there have been some nasty outbreaks of measles recently. When the proportion of the population vaccinated reaches a certain point it simply can't take off and dies out, but with a larger proportion with no immunity there can be a real outbreak and a certain number of kids will be left blind or disabled, besides the ones who die, why wouldn't you protect your kids from those possibilities? Mine certainly got done.

What really gets my goat is that the only disease we have actually wiped out is smallpox. We have the capability to do so much more, almost there with polio, but how about things like leprosy, or even bubonic plague. No society lasts forever, and when it falls apart a bit they will come back and bite our children or grandchildren hard.


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## petergrimes

I went out, I was picking something up for a friend. Endless city skies the colour of streets and buildings hung like blankets, rolling in sheets of rain. All petrol sheen puddles - the irridescence swirled then merged in the tawdry feathered bosoms of feral pigeons, perching up on high like silent judges. But then again they were atop the law courts and her up their is as blind as an abstract concept. It was all a wash of watercolour paint without the pigment. White and grey, every shade betwixt and between, then the red brick terraced houses, huddled against the bland, their colour drained like my pasty winter hide. The shortened days and indoor living of the modern troglodyte. Staring all day at a screen that does naught but wind me up. But the streets - those damp-drenched floes of frozen asphalt, they were all empty, free. I traipse-tripped the line between the concrete and the sky, like I was walking on a wire in a circus. Five hour, I rambled about for, hither and thither, picking up this and dropping off that, listening to Classic FM and smoking serial sodden roll-ups. I were happy. In my own little world, one where there aren't crowds and people. I like lockdown. Space and air and room to breathe, and as the drizzle, cloud and mizzle, mixed all in as one - I stepped off the sky and flew into the night. Right into a brick wall. PG


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## Matchu

I'm on night shifts.  So, so a day as pink pudding, transform into manhood at eight o'clock, serve my master until 8am.  Hope he doesn't hurt me.  Followed by two weeks of holiday through the American Christmas period.

I wish I listened to Classic FM, or Radio 3 really, for my nourishment.  Probably do the night shift twisted on Radio York.  Wish I smoked roll-ups still.  I wish roll-ups developed our biceps, regenerated hair growth, extended genitals, washed arteries with white smoke.

My God, Anthony Gormley was very annoying on Radio 4.  I really really hate 'Lock down diaries' of the thespo-arts elite [on the airwaves]:  'In these dark times we have moments to examine ourselves, sniff the air, waiting for the supermarket delivery vehicle, a little piano brightens mood, and I write another masterpiece.'

All of a sudden a knock from the people's committee.  Rat-a-tat, 'sweep the road you leech...' fantasy, nnng nnng perfect.


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## Darkkin

View attachment 26163

Rue Dog helped me update my reading log on IG.


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## Olly Buckle

Owl has been unwell, recovered now but I am building a new aviary nearer the house. I put the last one up in a hurry when we moved here and it is not an ideal position. So I couldn't get 2.1 meter posts, only 2.4, but decided not to cut them down until I had the structure built, so I am on top of a step ladder knocking the top of a post to get it into a post holder and suddenly the lump hammer went light. The head had come off and I braced myself for several pounds of iron to hit something, hoping it would be the ground. Nothing happened and I looked again, the head was balanced on top of a 3inch square post about 8feet up.


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## clark

The  _r u s h _for a vaccine is scary. Introducing *any *chemical foreign to the cellular structure of the human body is a radical procedure normally undertaken with extreme caution, tight  controls, clinical trials, identification and    statistical analyses of incidences of side effects . . . for starters. And if there is to be mass inoculations in stadiums (stadia?) and a lot of hype about requiring inoculation by (date?) . . . welllll, might as well put a dye in the vaccine which will make the body emit a discernible aura . . .might as well give public officials the power to arrest and imprison you if your body does NOT "emit the aura" after a certain date. Hmm--could we put your _medical history _into that vaccine, somehow or other? 

No, I do not now and never have subscribed to conspiracy theories. They're a pack of nonsense. But Covid-19 has brought the world of commerce, economic growth, and global movement to a standstill and could well be a precursor to sweeping new attitudes towards freedom, civil liberties and the 'rights' of the common good over individual initiative.

Successful democracy requires eternal vigilance.


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## Olly Buckle

The proposal of mass inoculation in large stadia is problematical on several levels. No vaccine kicks in straight away, it is going to be a fortnight or so before you have any immunity, so large numbers of people gathering in one place to receive it poses problems maintaining distancing between them all and making sure they don't touch the same handrails etc. That is controllable to some extent, but they all have to get there and leave as well, personal transport simply wouldn't work for most of those places, they are centrally located and cater for large numbers arriving on public transport, not in their own cars, even if they have them. On the face of it it could well be a recipe for spreading the virus rather than containing it, especially if it is as efficiently organised as Johnson's "World beating" test and trace system.


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## petergrimes

Today I rushed to the heath, we three - and the _others_. It was cold, the wind spoke in tongues. The sky had been overrun by clouds, bruised like fruit they hung heavy, were pregnant with rain - expectation. The headman and the _others_ had carefully constructed our idol, our wicker wrought man, his spine a solid rod of 5G. A mast devoid of sails. The wind picked up. The tumult of the tempest in the heavens, whirled in in unholy matrimony with our actions. We fixed the man from the phone shop into our totem and set the thing ablaze. Danced in the firelight. Until only ashes remained. Then we set off the C4 and saw, like Saddam, our oppresor tumble. Then feeling the cold, we washed off our wode, put back on our clothes, layers and gortex. Trudged back home. Went to bed early, for we all have to be up early, we all work in IT. In crystals we trust. PG


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## Darkkin

Michigan certified, Georgia certified, Pennsylvania dismissed the suit...Our democracy has been tested to its limits, but the laws established at our inception have held against the onslaught.  With so much death rampant in the world right now, I know my hope should be waning, but it stands defiant against pumpkin spiced hate mongering.  Pandemic looms, but vaccines are on the horizon and mortality rates are falling even as infections climb because we are learning, racing to meet the curve.  It is not a battle of weaponry, but of disease and deceit we are witnessing.   

As Samwise said to Frodo:


*It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going, because they were holding on to something. That there is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.”*


- J.R.R. Tolkien


I have hope in spite of myself...


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## PiP

My fitbit screen is so dim I can no longer see it. Although, it's been like this for days I've avoided trying to fix it as I know from experience it's not a two minute job. And sure enough 6 hours later I am still trying to resolve the issue with FitBit. I inititally tried a HOW TO on YouTube. No luck. I tried to use the Contact Us chat box. No luck. I finally enearthed my old Twitter account and sent them a DM
1:26 PM
​
We want to help! What can we do for you today?​
My Fitbit 4 screen is so dim I can hardly see it. I've tried resets and changing display (clockface etc) and nothing works.
​
[FONT=&Verdana]



1:28 PM​[/FONT]2:32 PM
​
Fitbit Help

help.fitbit.com





Hi there. Thanks for troubleshooting the issue on your Fitbit device. Please check if the sleep mode setting on your device is on. If yes, you can adjust the setting of your Fitbit device by following the instructions on this link https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/2086.htm?Highlight=dim%20#Adjust2….​


[FONT=&Verdana]
If I can't see my screen where do I find it on the ap on my phone?​



2:44 PM​




[/FONT]3:10 PM
​
[FONT=&Verdana]

Sleep mode can only be changed on the Fitbit device itself.​[/FONT]
[FONT=&Verdana]

if I can't see it how can I change it?​






[/FONT]
*As yet, no reply. Bangs head on wall and pours large glass of wine.

ETA: FIXED!!
*


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## Matchu

I was a very impressive daddy: wrapped a surfboard, WALKED to the post office, and posted the board to my hippy slug, oaf, beloved folk artiste son.  Fifty quid.  This means he can surf Porthleven reef on my 6'10 stick, sob, life is over etc...but kind of proud [of me].

Wrote a cat story update for the internet.  Yesterday's true life, 'real version' stream of consciousness version acquired 3 likes.  Obviously I was crying, but the world needs to appreciate first draft theatre.  [I shall not cease until one draft, draft one shootout becomes the norm/de rigeur blah]

 Today's second draft update received a follow from Abyssinian cats international, so some solace.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

The new coffee machine has finally arrived.
Take away everything, but not my coffee in the morning…


----------



## Theglasshouse

I wish I could drink coffee...


----------



## dither

LadySilence said:


> The new coffee machine has finally arrived.
> Take away everything, but not my coffee in the morning…




Lol! I drink coffee like it's going out of fashion, but in the morning? That first mug of hot strong [builder's] tea is to die for.


----------



## Matchu

I don't like coffee any longer.  We have tea, nothing's better than tea.  Nothing worse than some motivational coffee poster, as in poster, not you poster.  That claiming for coffee like it's the most delicious hit of Crack-weetabix in the morning.  And I'm tired of coffee jar bingo, boring my poor wife with 'You'll never guess what the Gold Blend cost £3.50, I bought eight jars, nneh.'  One day I'll sip a real  Turkish coffee among Turks, and maybe hashish?  It's not what you think it's hashish, not drugs, not a drug reference, healthy hashish.

Also, and if you are a white woman recalling days of coal, crumpets, sooted in hardship, writing in couplets and probably a teacher then for you the Northern Writers' Bursary/Prize is open for your submissions.  Yours bitter, Adolf  Bitterly-Failpen


----------



## Theglasshouse

I drink tea (Chamomile, hibiscus, and this other tea I'd need to translate). I wish I had other teas to choose from. I am sensitive to caffeine in large doses. One day I drank so much coffee it plummeted the magnesium levels in my heart. I thought I had a specific sort of heart disease. It turned out I can't take it anymore. Because I get heart arrhythmia when I have too much caffeine. It can happen to anyone.

Green tea is awesome in the right dose (low sugar or none at all). I am somewhat hooked to how it tastes and would take it in large doses. I am surprised in my area they don't sell it with stevia. My little brother once went to Africa. He brought these African grapes. We make juice out of that. It's the most exotic fruit of the bunch in the garden. Besides this vegetable that tastes like chocolate that I have no idea where my parents bought that from. It must be an Asian vegetable. They were certainly the biggest growers of vegetables. For they often eat vegetables, and they always cross-breed the vegetables with the best genes like Mendel who did who was an important monk and sort of scientist and gardener. He didn't know it at the time, but he practiced genetics.

That said my family has coffee addicts. Coffee can be addictive. But I only used it to pull all-nighters if I needed to study for something or complete a project. Starbucks is a place to get fat quick.  I only used coffee to stay awake.

I assume Ladysilence has a cappuccino machine. She writes in italian. Cappuccino is something I don't drink. I remember my high school ap level 5 Spanish teacher. She drank more two cups of the big ones.


----------



## Matchu

.....


----------



## clark

Theglasshouse -- Have you tried _Red Zinger? _​I'm unsure what it's made from, but I drink it with honey and it's both amazingly tasty and energizing. ZERO caffeine . . . . .


----------



## kunox

sprained my ankle 3 to 4 days ago. I feel mentaly better now but physically drained. I will feel better tonight because I have been getting up earlier and earlier...


----------



## escorial

Watching Brief Encounter...I can recall going to the actual train station and  spoke in the terrible frightful English accent from when I reached my hotel until I departed but alas I had no encounter to think on about but just a lovely time with my thoughts and notions...


----------



## Olly Buckle

There was a woman on the radio the other day who runs adult reading classes. She was talking about how much benefit people get from stories, she rated it very high. So I am telling my friend who is a social worker about this and saying "How do I get in touch with illiterate people to tell them about my stories on YouTube?"
That was when she told me about the lady who was a customer of hers who was saying she couldn't read at all.
"I told her that's not really true, you know where the exit is, you always go in the ladies , not the gents, there are words you can read, why not go to classes?"
She persuaded her, but she never went because to tell her where the class was and when it started they did it by sending her a text, and, although my friend read it for her, she was so angry she never went.

The other story was the woman on the radio. She said they were reading short stories and one of the students asked, 
"When do we get onto the good stuff?", 
"What do you mean", 
"Well, like Tolstoy and Shakespeare." 
So she started them on Othello, it took them months but after they had finished they were discussing it and she asked if the characters crossed the centuries, did they recognise any of them? One lady replied, 
"Yes, that Iago; I've been married to him for the last twenty five years."  

Seriously though, how do I advertise my great selection of stories to the illiterate? Any ideas?


----------



## escorial

Word of mouth


----------



## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> Word of mouth



You live in Liverpool, know any illiterates you can tell?


----------



## Theglasshouse

clark said:


> Theglasshouse -- Have you tried Red Zinger? ​I'm unsure what it's made from, but I drink it with honey and it's both amazingly tasty and energizing. ZERO caffeine . . . . .


No I have not. I am going to say this. We have a house on this mountain. The climate is cold there (1000 feet in the air or the altitude) which we drive to get there on road. We don't earn a lot from it. Sometimes we do rent it to some tourists. Or people who do like the cold weather. The bulk of the garden is here where everything grows. I might buy it as a gift one of these days. We plant all sorts of things we find. The problem is we need people to water the plants. That costs some money (we even blamed them that the plants have been drying up). Thanks for mentioning it. I might actually grow it one day. My grandmother has been telling me to grow a tree. If anyone has any good suggestions besides red zinger I will try to get it. She wants it so I can remember her by it. I will have it as a project. There is a lot of fertile land. It does rain often. It's probably where most of the rain falls here. It's very rainy throughout the year.

I read some information and it does seem like a healthy drink with no caffeine. Thanks for the information Clark as I it seems like a good idea for growing. My mom who is diabetic drinks only one hibiscus cup at night are we doing it wrong? By the way it was rhpeat was the one who recommended to me so he has my thanks. Because of him I can buy hibiscus (as I know what it is). Red zinger sounds interesting and I will have to try it some time to taste it. If it's a healthy drink I will try it. My mother actually needs to reduce her blood sugar which is at 150 sometimes. I speculate she gets too hungry because of all the snacks a certain someone brings to my house. My thoughts are a dedicated herbal shop might have it. Since I have not seen it in the supermarket. However, thanks I am intrigued by the red zinger and will give it a try.

The other herbal tree I take which I translated is the following: Drumstick tree. It's good for diabetes supposedly since it has medicinal properties.

Also, about growing trees. It's like a running joke that you can't have enough flowers inside of a garden. My parents stop by every once in a while where they sell plants.


----------



## Foxee

Thanksgiving. 
I was asked to bring two pumpkin pies to a friend's feast. 
Cooking is fun but I don't like baking pies.
 I also have been working some extra shifts to cover for a co-worker who is busy quarantining.

Got up early to bake the pies, I was using pre-made refrigerator pastry so I figured how hard can it be to mix everything up, pour into pie shells, and bake? They'll be done by 11 am no problem.

Hm, finally reading the recipe (day of the feast, of course) I see the pies take an hour and fifteen minutes to bake and then they're supposed to be chilled for four hours. Ridiculousness. I've got coffee, I can get this done, we'll cool the pies by hanging them out the car window on the way. It's an hour's drive...that'll work.

Started whipping up the recipe only to discover that not only don't I have enough evaporated milk, no problem I can substitute! But I also don't have quite enough roasted butternut squash that I prepared yesterday. From two whole squashes. 

Sent husband to Dollar General to get canned pumpkin (which, btw, isn't really pumpkin...can be any of a variety of squashes) and he's up there with four other lost souls who had apparently also been sent by their wives to buy the exact same thing. No canned pumpkin but there were canned yams.

The clock had already moved well past the hard deadline for the pies to go into the oven by the time I got the yams, drained them, whipped them silly in the blender, and finished mixing up the pies.

Husband dosed me with some Fireball whiskey. Nerves settled somewhat.

At least the pies were baking, right? Don't ask me about the foil on the crusts. Don't. I remembered it well into the baking process when I started to smell Really Done crusts and belatedly tried to wrap them around with foil. Did not work at all. I finally left the crusts kind of draped with the foil and muttered, "Fine, kill yourselves, then" and shut the oven door.

The hard deadline to leave for the friend's house went by, pies still finishing up getting their edges all charcoaly and their innards set. I stuck a knife in their centers to check them and it felt more like I had inserted it into my right eye.

Stress headache battling three Tylenol, I was up to drive because my car was full of gas and my husband has a thing about not adjusting seats in the cars. He's always afraid that we'll adjust something, it'll break, and bam that'll be the last time we can adjust anything. There was no room in the cargo area to put the pies because the kids' crap is back there...I never remember to ask them to clear it out until I need the space. So they each carried a piping-hot pie on the laps (don't worry about them, they had hot pads underneath) and we took off.

Our friends are gracious people and were really wonderful about us showing up an hour late, stressed, carrying pies that were overdone around the crusts, and best of all I had forgotten the two cans of whipped cream for on top.

Thankfully, it actually did get better from there but I think an early bedtime sounds like a good idea.


----------



## escorial

I don't know...they all speak england


----------



## Olly Buckle

Theglasshouse said:


> No I have not. I am going to say this. We have a house on this mountain. The climate is cold there (1000 feet in the air or the altitude) which we drive to get there on road. We don't earn a lot from it. Sometimes we do rent it to some tourists. Or people who do like the cold weather. The bulk of the garden is here where everything grows. I might buy it as a gift one of these days. We plant all sorts of things we find. The problem is we need people to water the plants. That costs some money (we even blamed them that the plants have been drying up). Thanks for mentioning it. I might actually grow it one day. My grandmother has been telling me to grow a tree. If anyone has any good suggestions besides red zinger I will try to get it. She wants it so I can remember her by it. I will have it as a project. There is a lot of fertile land. It does rain often. It's probably where most of the rain falls here. It's very rainy throughout the year.
> 
> I read some information and it does seem like a healthy drink with no caffeine. Thanks for the information Clark as I it seems like a good idea for growing. My mom who is diabetic drinks only one hibiscus cup at night are we doing it wrong? By the way it was rhpeat was the one who recommended to me so he has my thanks. Because of him I can buy hibiscus (as I know what it is). Red zinger sounds interesting and I will have to try it some time to taste it. If it's a healthy drink I will try it. My mother actually needs to reduce her blood sugar which is at 150 sometimes. I speculate she gets too hungry because of all the snacks a certain someone brings to my house. My thoughts are a dedicated herbal shop might have it. Since I have not seen it in the supermarket. However, thanks I am intrigued by the red zinger and will give it a try.
> 
> The other herbal tree I take which I translated is the following: Drumstick tree. It's good for diabetes supposedly since it has medicinal properties.
> 
> Also, about growing trees. It's like a running joke that you can't have enough flowers inside of a garden. My parents stop by every once in a while where they sell plants.



Be careful with common names, there is a commercial tea called Red zinger, also there is a particular cultivar of hibiscus and one of bearded iris, (They both have a very nice dark red flower). The iris is not edible, I am not sure how bad for you it would be, but certainly uncomfortable.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

@Theglasshouse
Actually, I don't drink Cappuccino.
I love / drink black coffee, without milk, and without sugar. Even in the morning, but in a large cup. 


And I don't have breakfast, I only drink coffee.


I love tea, spicy, fruity, simple, hot and steaming, and strictly sugar-free, to enjoy it better.
I love to drink it slowly, especially in winter.


@OllyBuckle Try Twitter


I was born in Italy, but honestly, I don't feel Italian.
I feel daughter of the world, my maternal great-grandmother was Croatian, my father's mother is Belgian, and I must have some distant relative in Norway.
I got back into the bad habit of cutting friends out of my life.
I can't stand people anymore ...


----------



## SueC

Olly Buckle said:


> There was a woman on the radio the other day who runs adult reading classes. She was talking about how much benefit people get from stories, she rated it very high. So I am telling my friend who is a social worker about this and saying "How do I get in touch with illiterate people to tell them about my stories on YouTube?"
> That was when she told me about the lady who was a customer of hers who was saying she couldn't read at all.
> "I told her that's not really true, you know where the exit is, you always go in the ladies , not the gents, there are words you can read, why not go to classes?"
> She persuaded her, but she never went because to tell her where the class was and when it started they did it by sending her a text, and, although my friend read it for her, she was so angry she never went.
> 
> The other story was the woman on the radio. She said they were reading short stories and one of the students asked,
> "When do we get onto the good stuff?",
> "What do you mean",
> "Well, like Tolstoy and Shakespeare."
> So she started them on Othello, it took them months but after they had finished they were discussing it and she asked if the characters crossed the centuries, did they recognise any of them? One lady replied,
> "Yes, that Iago; I've been married to him for the last twenty five years."
> 
> Seriously though, how do I advertise my great selection of stories to the illiterate? Any ideas?



What a good question, Olly! It would have to be audio, sans the expectation of teaching every illiterate how to read. I often read my stories out loud, and sometimes when I'm really into it, I think they sound very compelling! But how you would distribute audio stories is another marketing question all together. But I really love your insight.


----------



## TheManx

Foxee said:


> Thanksgiving.
> I was asked to bring two pumpkin pies to a friend's feast.



We ordered ours from a local bakery this year. It was good, but like most store-bought pumpkin pies, it was way too sweet. When I make it, I cut the sugar in half and add a lot more spices. One Thanksgiving, one of the kids said, Daddy, this pie doesn't taste like desert...


----------



## Matchu

You can record on to Youtube...eventually...requires the intelligence of a twenty year old...or one day arguing.  Use those clips to approach/submit to audio mags and to broadcasters.  Audacity is good also if you can borrow a laptop.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> You can record on to Youtube...eventually...requires the intelligence of a twenty year old...or one day arguing.  Use those clips to approach/submit to audio mags and to broadcasters.  Audacity is good also if you can borrow a laptop.



I do it on my i-phone. I record on to the phone using the video function on the camera then go to my YouTube channel and upload from the phone. You can edit on the phone, but I like the authenticity of single take. I have considered re-recording my first one, if I did it now I would do a second take before uploading, but it is like it is a bit of the story, the history of the channel. 

I am 76 and definitely a Twentieth Century man, it took me a little while to get there, but I have a facebook page (Oliver Buckle The story shack, same name as YouTube) that they all get copied to, and once you have worked it out it is easy-peasy. If I can get there ...   A year ago I was still using my twenty year old little basic Nokia whose most up to date feature was you could play 'snake'


----------



## Matchu

Hi @Olly - I'll go and look and say something 'intelligent.'

...

Down the line there's people like the Crick Crack Club who...they're like a circus, so you could be on their line-up for: theatres, festivals.  Storytellers, a bit jolly-jolly...twee [_prejudice_]

There's that place in Brighton that hosts storytellers - which I remember from the old days, for me (2010)

...

I suppose if you don't want to be zipping about, send a clip to Saturday Live [BBC Radio 4], even BBC Sussex which I reckon you'd stroll into, bearing in mind they'll use 3 minutes, so make the first 3 minutes good.  

Remember - your email is read [viewed] by the producer, & passed to the presenter.  So, two step process.

Thinking on...also thinking positive because they want your stuff - you are the audience and community - put a positive spin on 'venture.' 

...

UPDATE:  I watched your clips, very very magical, and very nice to see you.  There is a massive and growing market for aural/SOUNDS/story-telling.  You will have to spend some time googling _audio submissions..._all best, & get on...


----------



## aj47

Howdy all y'all.

I'm quitting FB and Words With Friends .... I'd been going to migrate to doing WWF on my phone, but every action triggers an ad and I choose to do something else with my life.

You'll likely be seeing more of me, though how much is anyone's guess at this point.


----------



## Phil Istine

aj47 said:


> Howdy all y'all.
> 
> I'm quitting FB and Words With Friends .... I'd been going to migrate to doing WWF on my phone, but every action triggers an ad and I choose to do something else with my life.
> 
> You'll likely be seeing more of me, though how much is anyone's guess at this point.




Glad to hear it; I found much of your poetry quite thought provoking.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Thank you, some good ideas there, I must follow them up. Someone else said it was "like a radio four play (in a good way)" so why not local radio stations? Good idea.

I am building the owl a new aviary at the moment, I find it quite a bit of work, but today I had a day off and did a bit of garden tidying instead. Pruned the quince tree, took down a lot of runner bean canes, general clearing up of fallen leaves and stuff. Finished up with a good fire and burnt off a bucket full of clay lumps which will be terracotta and wood ash in the morning, lovely stuff to add to the new flower bed I am digging out. 

I thought I would record a new video this evening, Got in the shed with the lights on, a cup of tea and a mince pie, picked out the piece I wanted to do, and then realised my Phone was out of battery. I have read it through and then read it aloud anyway, it always helps the flow.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Today I got around to making the new video, after several false starts, about a min in screwed up completely, restart, forgot to give the title, restart, the missus brought me a cup of tea, restart. When the cat came and scratched at the door and mewed I ignored her. It is a directional mike, I think you would have to know to hear it, and I'm only telling you 

A really cold, damp, nasty day. Got a bit done outside, but even with gloves my hands get cold and then arthritis plays me up, paracetamol are great, only doing little bits and coming in in between is better.

PS, It is uploaded, "The Sisters".

PSS My channel passed 100 views today


----------



## kunox

I had to get my ankle checked by the doctor today. I apparently aggravated an  old injury in a foot that I never knew I injured.


----------



## Darkkin

View attachment 26183

I started teaching Rue Dog to count...Yes, my dog is that smart, which unfortunately, means I have to be just that much smarter.


----------



## Phil Istine

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 26183
> 
> I started teaching Rue Dog to count...Yes, my dog is that smart, which unfortunately, means I have to be just that much smarter.




I've sometimes wondered about the word "Rue".  I know it can be used as an expression of regret (rue the day), but it also means 'street' in French - so I might think 'Street Dog', like a dog that has been rescued.  Is it either of those or something else entirely?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Phil Istine said:


> I've sometimes wondered about the word "Rue".  I know it can be used as an expression of regret (rue the day), but it also means 'street' in French - so I might think 'Street Dog', like a dog that has been rescued.  Is it either of those or something else entirely?



It is a plant as well, nice looking but it is poisonous and brings some people up in blisters if they handle it. Traditionally used to induce abortions it can have horrible side effects, including death.


----------



## Phil Istine

Olly Buckle said:


> It is a plant as well, nice looking but it is poisonous and brings some people up in blisters if they handle it. Traditionally used to induce abortions it can have horrible side effects, including death.



As a non-gardener, I've never heard of that.


----------



## Gumby

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 26183
> 
> I started teaching Rue Dog to count...Yes, my dog is that smart, which unfortunately, means I have to be just that much smarter.




Is she a Border Collie or a mix of Border Collie? I ask because I had one and I have never had a dog who is more like a human in intelligence than he was. It was astounding the way that dog could actually 'reason'. I don't mean tricks, yes he could whip those out, but he did so with an air of 'this is childs play and almost insulting for me to do'. He could reason on a human level of thinking. It was awesome to see.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I had a collie mixed with Pomeranian and I can say that collies are a smart breed. My dog may have been a mongrel and it also looked like a Pomeranian.  But she was the calmest least aggressive dog ever that I owned. I hope to own any collie breed in the future even if mixed.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Theglasshouse said:


> I had a collie mixed with Pomeranian and I can say that collies are a smart breed. My dog may have been a mongrel and it also looked like a Pomeranian.  But she was the calmest least aggressive dog ever that I owned. I hope to own any collie breed in the future even if mixed.



A bit of a mix is a good thing in my opinion, pure bred collies can be a bit highly strung and touchy. They make wonderful working dogs, but it is as though they need that extra demand on them they don't get as pets. My last dog was a tibetan terrier, collie, springer spaniel, mongrel, that worked well. Pure breeds are developed by close inbreeding, and though dogs have strong genes a mongrel is less likely to suffer things like the poor hips some pure bred alsatians get. The other thing is that pure bred dogs cost a fortune, all three of the dogs I have owned have been puppies from unplanned litters and came free. I don't know what it is like in the States, but over here there are various people who do 'Dog rescue'. I am always wary, puppies might be okay, but grown dogs that people don't want have sometimes developed bad habits.


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog is a husky, American eskimo cross so he is a little smaller than most huskies, but bigger than an eskimo, 35 lbs...and whip smart.  Enrichment activities are a must with him.  Logic puzzles, ever increasingly complex commands and he just loves it.  He loves learning new words, (which means new toys or treats), he is very much akin to a precocious kindergartener.  Our vet figures his reasoning skills are about the same level, which might factor in to his aversion to small children.  He doesn't know how they will respond to him, so he avoids them.  Not wanting to cause issues, I also tend to be leary around people when I am out with him.  Being such a pretty dog, people always seem to assume he has an outgoing personality, which is not the case.  Like many spitz breeds he his highly reserved.  With a proper, polite introduction he is fine.  If he were human, he would be on the spectrum.  Brilliant, but not an easy dog.

As to his name, it is really Rugby, but ever since we got him, I've called him Rue, in part because of his rueful expression when he biffs something up.  He was born is rescue when his mother was abandoned on the side of a road.  He keeps me on my toes and he is a joy to work with, but he is not an easygoing dog.  He is, however, well worth the effort he demands.  Next time around we are looking into an Australian Shepherd or a Border Collie.

Also because I can:

View attachment 26184

Potato and the Christmas tree.  He doesn't climb it, merely likes to sleep under it...


----------



## Theglasshouse

Signed up for grammarly before the black Friday special ended at midnight. Most of the errors in my manuscript were for style. There were some grammar issues that seem minor imo such as punctuation and suspicious fragments.


----------



## Terra

About a month ago I took my 'old man' to the vet to have put to sleep. Snoop was almost 19 years old and his health was failing. It was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made, but when I talked to him about it, he agreed - any pet owner can relate to the connection they have with their furry friend. He was calm all the way to the vet, and peacefully fell asleep (forever) in my arms. When I came home the next day, I was surprised at how dead my house felt aka no heartbeat. I allowed myself to experience the emptiness - to really notice it on a deeper level than just in my head. As the month progressed, I felt the emptiness change to loneliness, which I have played hide and seek with since my husband died over five years ago. Pets have a way of showing humans what they need, even after they are gone, so I took some deep breaths and (again) faced Grief, that horrible beast with all its tentacles.

So how'd my day go? Meet Violet - Let Love Live<3 She's an itty bitty kitty who snuggles and purrowls and has put another band aid on my heart.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

New day.
I throw away the old life.
New Twitter, new Instagram, new site. All just dedicated to writing.


Winter has come, the wind is blowing hard, and I am very, very cold.
Maybe it's snowing tonight...


----------



## The Green Shield

Wanting to get back to this forum after not being here for oh, so long. 

Did I mention I had poems published? I did, right? :O


----------



## Olly Buckle

It has rained and rained and rained, all day and the owl took a bit of a downturn. We have had it inside because the weather has been so foul, but this morning it ignored its morning meal until midday and then just toyed with it, sat looking listless most of the day, but cheered up a bit when the other half got home from work, still not really herself though. I tried to record a new video, four attempts, four failures, and then the weather was so rubbish it was dark by 2.30pm and my light was running out of batteries, not a good day. Never mind, there should be some better weather next week, and those failed attempts work well as practice runs.


----------



## Taylor

Olly Buckle said:


> It has rained and rained and rained, all day and the owl took a bit of a downturn. We have had it inside because the weather has been so foul, but this morning it ignored its morning meal until midday and then just toyed with it, sat looking listless most of the day, but cheered up a bit when the other half got home from work, still not really herself though. I tried to record a new video, four attempts, four failures, and then the weather was so rubbish it was dark by 2.30pm and my light was running out of batteries, not a good day. Never mind, there should be some better weather next week, and those failed attempts work well as practice runs.



You have an owl?  What kind?  I love owls...


----------



## Olly Buckle

A Bengal Eagle Owl, we have had 'her' since she was a four day old chick, thirty three years, and this winter she has fallen ill for the first time in her life. I say 'Her', she is called Kali after the Indian Goddess of destruction and we have always referred to 'her', but actually it is almost impossible to sex owls and we have suspicions she is actually a he as she regularly makes scrapes in the earth.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Good morning to all.
Today I found an old story.
I was convinced that I had lost it. The old pc was broken.
Instead I had backed up on Drive. (thanks Google).
It is a bit of a stupid tale, it was written many years ago.
I want to fix it, and fix it. The idea was good, I still like it.


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## Olly Buckle

From the mouths of babes:-

My Granddaughter seeing a picture of prince Charles and told he is the Prince of Wales asked who the King is, and is he a proper Whale?


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## Deleted member 64995

After 3 months, I discover, that I used a nutcracker, as a bottle opener.


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## Olly Buckle

One of the side effects of Wegener's is muscle wasting, If my tough cookie of a partner isn't about I quite often use the nutcrackers to get a grip and leverage on smaller lids.


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## Darkkin

Pulled some older pieces to out and started reading them...and sometimes I am shocked at the vastness of some of the things I create.  Pieces that I have forgotten about, but hold critical cues and transitions for stories.  December Cygnets is one such piece.  Not only the villanelle runs, but in other pieces like Th'dore and Nine the Penitent.


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## Deleted member 64995

Yesterday I was not well, luckily that with aspirin, everything is over. Cursed Cervical.
I started reading, Tom Clancy, and Jhon Grisham, I love them ...


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## aj47

Hi, I'm syncing a OneNote (for an hour and a half, and there's no way to know the progress, only that it has neither completed, nor errored out). 

Since I work from home, I'm technically home, but I can't log off the work computer till this resolves.


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## Darkkin

Rueful Potato:  We had quite an adventure this afternoon.  Rue was bored so we went for a walk, stopping at Wags and Whiskers,(locally owned pet store in LaCrosse, newly remodeled and it looks amazing), to replace Rue's chewy bone.  I also got him a treat ball because he likes his enrichment activities.  It was about a mile and a half home, so I stuck my wallet in the bag with the toys and we set off...It wasn't until I got home that I realised my bag had ripped and my wallet was missing, somewhere between home and the pet store.  

We were home long enough for Rue to get a drink and for me to drop my purchases and go tearing back along our route in search of the lost wallet.  We were 2/3 of the way back to the Brigadoon bridge (that is simply what I have always called it because once on the other side it seems like an entirely seperate world, not its actual name), when I got lucky.  I found my wallet, laying undistrubed in the bike lane and my best friend trying desperately to catch up with Rue and I.  An unexpected journey for a common Thursday.  Rue Dog was quite please with his toys once we got home the second time... #anunexpectedjourney


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## Foxee

Well, after having the flu for a few days I got tested and it's The 'Rona...so it's been nice knowing you all, I guess. (Kidding, I'm feeling better all the time and just at three pieces of pizza so hooray my appetite is back)

The bad: My husband is required to quarantine from work, if he doesn't get sick, he doesn't get paid but he doesn't exactly have the option whether to work or not.

The funny: Husband and I went in by appointment for The Test and were ushered in without touching anything to a room that was all ready for us. I got a rocket test because I'd been having the fevers and body aches. When I tested positive 15 minutes later we weren't just okayed to go we were EJECTED from the clinic. When my husband slowed down on the way out and said, "Should we stop at the win-" one of the nurses said, "Nope! Just keep walkin'!"


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## Deleted member 64995

I'm so sleepy, can't wait to go to sleep.


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## Darkkin

Potato Cat was being a hyperactive Who, so I put him in his Christmas sweater.  Now we have the Grinch...


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## Foxee

You would think that having Covid 19 would be my ticket to finally being alone long enough to have a creative thought without interruption. Who would want to be around a zombie such as myself? My biggest problem should be that I'm too tired to work for very long before having to go lie down again. 

But then there are texts, there are phone calls about What Do The Children Want for Christmas, there's concerned fluttering, and then there's my teenager who has no concept of Now is Not A Good Time, Bucko...no matter how many times we've been over this.

C'mon, people, I have to try to push through on this story that is unrelenting crap! Solitary confinement was my only hope and that didn't even work.


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## escorial

Postwoman smiled at me in her van today....1st time ever..wonder y


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## Olly Buckle

escorial said:


> Postwoman smiled at me in her van today....1st time ever..wonder y



Probably a nervous smile 'cause you were in her van.


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## escorial

I walked past while she sat there....


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## Matchu

I'm regaining composure after a week of 'nights' when my emotional thermostat, for one thing, goes completely wack:

daytime number 3 of night shift - _It's a Wonderful Life_ - 'boo hoo, boo hoo, booo, blubb blubb, I love him he's just like me, boo hooo.'
daytime 4 - _Groundhog Day - _'Oh my God so misunderstood weatherman, boo hoo , hoooo, sniff.  The cute little rat, baby, look at the rat.  Can we adopt a groundhog?'
daytime 7 involved re-introduction to alcohol plus creative writing.  Boo hoo hoooo I have written the greatest thing booo, hooo, so amazing I will stick it on the internet.

morning 8 nnnnnng, nnnnnnng, bite fist, nnnnnng nnnnnnng


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## Deleted member 64995

I wrote down a few pages, I wrote without worries or corrections.
3 ideas came out, a Thriller, a Horror, a Spy.


I can't wait for January to arrive, so they deliver the new washing machine.
Washing clothes by hand, in this cold, is not nice.


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## Olly Buckle

Just had a phone call from the younger daughter; she has not just passed her MA in music therapy, she has a distinction!  YAY  

Pretty quiet day otherwise, started digging over a place for the raspberries we bought the other day, and the workman finished replacing our soffets and guttering.


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## petergrimes

Not too bad. Went through every poetry board with a fine toothcomb looking for a very small demographic of poems. They had to
- be by me (I only started writing poetry in April but I've done loads so that's not too hard)
- be good (counts most out)
- be suitable for my mother (counts out all else)
I told my mam and dad i'd been writing poetry in August. I had put it off but was getting published so thought I'd better communicate. They took it well. My mams asked for poems for Christmas. I thought that was good for its cheap and its the thought that counts. Then I realised most of my poems involve things to do with me or my past or other stuff that's not condusive to a Merry Christmas. However, I actually found twenty or so. Four or five were actually quite beautiful. I surprised myself. It put me in a good mood, so I wrote another one (it might not be any good), might even write some more. Then I made an unbeaten 50 playing for Wolverhampton on cricket game as myself. I'm trying to get selected for Warwickshire then England. Working my way up. Good old Nintendo. Good day so far, which normally means its all down hill from here. Bangers and mash for tea, all good. Ta ra a bit PG

edit - and the wolves beat chelsea 2 -1, we came from behind, come on the babbies


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## escorial

Father Christmas has just gone past on his slay and reindeer's but he must have brocken down as they were on the back of a lorry..also he must like Mariha Carey song that was blasting out...yep he's real


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## Foxee

I was just fired by my client's wife (I am a home health aide) for getting Covid and they never want me to come back. She has decided that she knows where and how I contracted it (the same way that she has decided that she knows more than I do about my telephone conversations with my agency, I guess) and has also decided that I am at fault for being non-compliant (not true). To spice up the firing she added a few other complaints about me not carrying out my duties which were highly imaginary. I've always given over and above with that job including bringing in firewood for the couple which is nowhere on the duty roster.

The irony is that for the next 6 months or so I'll have some immunity to this thing but she's about to replace me with someone who has none.

Well, back to writing.


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## Firemajic

I don't know what is wrong with me... but I have been having terrible, mind destroying nightmares... and they are always the same theme... I am being tortured to death, in the most sadistic ways... I am powerless to save myself... as a result of these horrible dreams, I stay awake for days... now-- I have anxiety when I know I have to sleep...


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## Foxee

Firemajic said:


> I don't know what is wrong with me... but I have been having terrible, mind destroying nightmares... and they are always the same theme... I am being tortured to death, in the most sadistic ways... I am powerless to save myself... as a result of these horrible dreams, I stay awake for days... now-- I have anxiety when I know I have to sleep...


Oh no, Firemajic! I've had this happen years ago, you describe it well. At the time I was not happy with my home situation for various reasons and then the teenage hormones hit. I hope you can figure out what factors are bringing this on so that you can get rid of the nightmares, that's a difficult place to be. *hugs!*


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## Theglasshouse

Firemajic said:


> I don't know what is wrong with me... but I have been having terrible, mind destroying nightmares... and they are always the same theme... I am being tortured to death, in the most sadistic ways... I am powerless to save myself... as a result of these horrible dreams, I stay awake for days... now-- I have anxiety when I know I have to sleep...


Could you be suffering from anxiety which is considered a form of fear? After taking my meds for anxiety for years I no longer have nightmares. It happened just like you described it, but it was very real and disturbing to me since my subconscious fears would seem to be similar to what movie goers see in the movie theater or on Netflix. It was dreadful but thankfully it hasn't come back since they introduced my anxiety medications 2-3 years ago. Consult your doctor if something is troubling you. Because bad dreams I read on the internet in some scientific website or for psychology suggests it could be a symptom of some sort of mental illness. Normally dreams that are healthy are a sign of something important. You that are feeling in some healthy sort of mood. That wasn't the case for me. Anxiety and depression I had 3 years ago. Don't suffer like that. Consult a doctor if it doesn't go away. Maybe depression triggers it but I am not a professional. Maybe a psychiatrist can help if these dreams become very disturbing. I also used to suffer from panic attacks. I know you don't want to take medicine. Stay safe. I'd make a doctor's appointment even though my medical history is very different. But it doesn't bother to ask a question. I'd ask your doctor or medical professional.


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## River Rose

Foxee said:


> I was just fired by my client's wife (I am a home health aide) for getting Covid and they never want me to come back. She has decided that she knows where and how I contracted it (the same way that she has decided that she knows more than I do about my telephone conversations with my agency, I guess) and has also decided that I am at fault for being non-compliant (not true). To spice up the firing she added a few other complaints about me not carrying out my duties which were highly imaginary. I've always given over and above with that job including bringing in firewood for the couple which is nowhere on the duty roster.
> 
> The irony is that for the next 6 months or so I'll have some immunity to this thing but she's about to replace me with someone who has none.
> 
> Well, back to writing.



Some ppl are just jerks and suck. You know your worth and that u were a good employee to the couple. Karma is a bitch and will always come back around. Hugs you. Continue your road to recovery from the illness.


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## PiP

My closest friend told me she is moving back to England at the end of January. She was one of the few people I could confide in. I will miss her.


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## Olly Buckle

Oh dear, three of my favourite people upset!

Firemajic, The Glasshouse is quite right, it does no harm to ask, be it your doctor or anyone else who might help. You don't have to take advice or medication offered, but it gives you possibilities to consider.

Foxee, It is always a pain when someone fails to appreciate your effort, but it may well open the door to someone who does. Irrational reactions like that are often triggered by fear, or maybe she is just a stupid bitch, either way someone to feel sorry for, she just lost one of the good things in her life.

PiP, My mother stayed in touch with her friends all over the world by writing half a dozen letters every day. It is much easier and more intimate now with things like 'Zoom', well worth setting up a regular coffee 'together' once a week.

It makes me feel bad that life is treating me so well when I do so little to deserve it.


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## escorial

Letter writing...how I miss that with pen pals up and down the country....i suppose you could still do it but how frustrating it would be although patience is a virtue...


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## Firemajic

Dear Foxee, thank you so much for understanding, I am sorry that you endured the same night time terror... I hope that is over for you..

Theglasshouse, thank you for your kind advice... I have been to my Doctor, we discussed all of my options... and being medicated will inhibit my creativity, so we decided to "wait and see"... 
I was medicated for anxiety and depression after my husband passed away, and the side effects added to my anxiety... I lost all passion for my glass blowing and writing... and painting... I was a zombie...


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## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> Oh dear, three of my favourite people upset!
> 
> Firemajic, The Glasshouse is quite right, it does no harm to ask, be it your doctor or anyone else who might help. You don't have to take advice or medication offered, but it gives you possibilities to consider.
> 
> 
> 
> It makes me feel bad that life is treating me so well when I do so little to deserve it.



Dear Olly B... you are so kind ... I do however disagree with you.... you do deserve "life treating you well"... you are one of the reasons WF feels like a "Family" and not just a writing forum...I always love to read your posts about what you are doing in your garden, it always make me feel like life is good, and it reminds me to slow down and enjoy the natural rhythms of life... I love to dig and plant, I am excited about Spring coming, I have plans to plant a small orchard... 2 pare trees, 3 plum trees and maybe 2 apple trees... I already have a small strawberry patch and a few blackberry vines... they were already here when I bought this house last summer...


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## Firemajic

PiP said:


> My closest friend told me she is moving back to England at the end of January. She was one of the few people I could confide in. I will miss her.



Dear PiP. I am so sorry... That must hurt so much... there is nothing like a trusted friend, yes, you can still stay in touch, but there is nothing that can take the place of having her present, in your life, sitting on the couch, sipping a glass of wine...hanging out... just enjoying being together... *HUGS**


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## Olly Buckle

A 'small' orchard is a really good idea. I don't know how available they are in the States, but the agricultural research center at Malling not far from here has developed some very good dwarfing root-stocks for most types of fruit trees, they are designated M. followed by a number. There may be more local ones of course One advantage is that they are easy to pick of course, no need for ladders, but it also means you can net them easily and get to enjoy your fruit yourself rather than feeding the local birds and having apples and pears full of holes.

Check those strawberries to see if they have put out runners. They will probably have rooted by now if it has. They want to come off the parent plant and you can plant them out if you want more. It pays to take all the flowers off them the first year though as you get much more than twice as much the year after. I usually can't bear the idea of getting nothing the first year and take the flowers off half of them. Most strawberries don't produce nearly so much after three years of picking so it is a good idea to have some more coming on, though not every variety produces runners.


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## Foxee

PiP, that really bites. I hope you and your friend can stay in touch remotely even if it's not the same that way. There is something to be said for someone's actual presence. Still, I have a morning-coffee chat every morning with an internet friend from Canada, we've never met in person, and it's a pleasant habit for both of us that's been going on for over a decade. Here's hoping that you and your friend can find a bridge.

Olly, Firemajic has it right! WF would be a cold place without you, so glad you're still here.


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## PiP

Fire and Foxee... thanks to COVID human contact is scarce right and because my friend has been undergoing chemotherapy for the last nine months she was not allowed to mix with anyone. We kept saying next year will be better... 

Fire, I was discussing depression with a friend recently as they are also feeling low. In the end we decided to think outside the box and keep painting white spots on the black dog. You will find yourself again. We all will.


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## Phil Istine

PiP said:


> My closest friend told me she is moving back to England at the end of January. She was one of the few people I could confide in. I will miss her.



That is a crappy thing to happen.  Friends like that are jewels.  In recent decades I've gone for quality over quantity too and I know how it impacts when someone leaves the fold.


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## Firemajic

PiP said:


> Fire and Foxee... thanks to COVID human contact is scarce right and because my friend has been undergoing chemotherapy for the last nine months she was not allowed to mix with anyone. We kept saying next year will be better...
> 
> 
> Next year WILL be better... sounds like your friend is going through a LOT.... as a cancer survivor, I know how scary that is, and it is a time when you NEED your friends...
> 
> 
> 
> Fire, I was discussing depression with a friend recently as they are also feeling low. In the end we decided to think outside the box and keep painting white spots on the black dog. You will find yourself again. We all will.




Well, I am staying busy... I am planning a huge glass art show where I will be behind my torch doing live demos... and I am making a lot of beautiful things to sell at the show..... after everything returns to "normal"....I work at least 4 hours every day... I will try to post some pics in visual arts if I can...


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## Firemajic

Dear Olly... I will get the dwarf fruit trees, they are wonderful... I am also getting a bee hive... I am going to be a bee keeper! BUT I will STILL be the Queen bee


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## PiP

Firemajic said:


> Well, I am staying busy... I am planning a huge glass art show where I will be behind my torch doing live demos... and I am making a lot of beautiful things to sell at the show..... after everything returns to "normal"....I work at least 4 hours every day... I will try to post some pics in visual arts if I can...



Hey, that's great. I'd love to see pictures of your work.


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## Firemajic

PiP said:


> Hey, that's great. I'd love to see pictures of your work.



I have posted pics for your viewing pleasure... please excuse the poor quality , glass is so hard to capture and I suck at taking pics...


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## Olly Buckle

Firemajic said:


> Dear Olly... I will get the dwarf fruit trees, they are wonderful... I am also getting a bee hive... I am going to be a bee keeper! BUT I will STILL be the Queen bee



It is well worth having two hives, there are a lot of things you can't do with only one. A Manual of bee keeping by Wedmore (Don't remember his initials off hand) is the best and clearest guide I ever found. Some are really out of date, quite interesting, but misleading at times. I used to make my own hives from scrap wood from skips, not hard, you don't need long lengths, but it is worth getting frames and pressed wax to put in them, at least at first. Collecting swarms is fun if there are careless beekeepers around your way. It has changed a bit with the development of varroa since my day.


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## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> It is well worth having two hives, there are a lot of things you can't do with only one. A Manual of bee keeping by Wedmore (Don't remember his initials off hand) is the best and clearest guide I ever found. Some are really out of date, quite interesting, but misleading at times. I used to make my own hives from scrap wood from skips, not hard, you don't need long lengths, but it is worth getting frames and pressed wax to put in them, at least at first. Collecting swarms is fun if there are careless beekeepers around your way. It has changed a bit with the development of varroa since my day.



I will have 2 hives, the guy that I am getting them from, delivers the hives fully stocked with established bees and Queen, he will help me care for them until I become more experienced, he will also help me if something happens that I don't know how to handle... This one woman had mice get in one of her hives and they killed all the bees...


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## Matchu

My 'internet friend' got a bee's stinger lodged in her thumb - attached to the bee - and she took a tiny piece of straw, tickled it out, and the bee survived.  She said it was 'incredible agony' for her.  I do believe her story , even though  - y'know - it is a bit above & beyond the call of duty in the eternal quest of all softies.  She looks after lost animals kind of person/sleeps with a leopard.

I told her about my slug salads.  She wasn't surprised at all by that, she's even pro-slug.  Always defeats me when I try to provoke softie credentials.

Researched 'world slugs' [google] afterward, never eat raw, you get slug ratworm disease to the central nervous system, tho' you _can_ eat cooked/fried/saute.


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## Deleted member 64995

I still have to get Christmas presents.
Fortunately, Amazon helps me.
Many people they know don't live in my city.


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## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> My 'internet friend' got a bee's stinger lodged in her thumb - attached to the bee - and she took a tiny piece of straw, tickled it out, and the bee survived.  She said it was 'incredible agony' for her.



A good way to do it, usually when a bee stings it rips the little poison sac off the back of the bee and it is left hanging from the sting. The temptation is to take hold of it, either with tweezers or between your nails, and pull out the sting. The trouble is that squeezes the sac and injects any poison left in it through the sting, it is better to scrape across the sting and pull it out that way, I have pretty large thumbnails which are ideal. There are two parts to a bee's sting. One is formic acid, the same stuff as in ant bites and stinging nettles. It hurts like mad, but it doesn't last too long, and wet bicarb smeared across the sting neutralises it a bit for kids, and gives them something else to think about. The other part is a mixture of proteins that causes an allergic reaction, the affected part can swell up alarmingly for a while. After a few stings though it stops having an effect. Personally I would rather not get stung at all, but I can remember my father attending to a hive in shorts and sandals. The other reason I wouldn't recommend a cavalier attitude is that occasionally the reaction switches and causes anaphalactic shock. Rare, but worth avoiding.


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## JackSlater28

My day is going terrible. Got into it with my brother real bad. He bullies me all the time and doesn't even recognize he's doing it. He beats his dog to the point where I told him the next step was him breaking the dog's leg or even neck, and he thinks having dinner will solve the problem. He has no respect for me. I even called him out on it and he didn't even deny it. I'm over it. I have to move away to another state.


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## Firemajic

JackSlater28 said:


> My day is going terrible. Got into it with my brother real bad. He bullies me all the time and doesn't even recognize he's doing it. He beats his dog to the point where I told him the next step was him breaking the dog's leg or even neck, and he thinks having dinner will solve the problem. He has no respect for me. I even called him out on it and he didn't even deny it. I'm over it. I have to move away to another state.



Be thankful that you can move! IF he really beats his dog, shame on him.... you should take the dog with you...the dog is helpless ! I find this post so upsetting... I feel sorry for anyone who harms my dog, I will be arrested for murder...  do NOT keep your mouth shut about his abuse! damn...


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## Olly Buckle

Firemajic said:


> Be thankful that you can move! IF he really beats his dog, shame on him.... you should take the dog with you...the dog is helpless ! I find this post so upsetting... I feel sorry for anyone who harms my dog, I will be arrested for murder...  do NOT keep your mouth shut about his abuse! damn...



I would go along with most of that, except having seen pictures of your dog I think she could probably look after herself pretty well. I expect she is lovely with you, but I can't imagine her being helpless if she identified an enemy.


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## JackSlater28

Oh I am planning to move. Next month hopefully. I actually moved away back in 2016, but moved back in 2019 to help care for my dad after he had his stroke. But since he's doing fine where he is, I'm comfortable moving away again. And it was all because the dog tore up a chicken coop just a tiny bit. Thing is, the dog's breed is an Italian Cane Corso - a breed notoriously challenging and aggressive. But all the dog wanted to do was play with the chickens. He wasn't even trying to attack them.


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## Theglasshouse

Going to my grandmother's house (2 hour drive). Going to use my kindle fire. Hopefully I will avoid some writing mistakes. My other computer is in the repair shop.


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## Darkkin

In doing some indulgent research on a pet interest, I kept coming across accounts of people with documented ASD (Autism Spectrum Disoreders, as per DSM-V) being called sociopathic due to a limited empathy response.  I looked into the statistics and could find no documented studies on the comorbidities of ASD and clinical sociopathy.  I'm half tempted to start a thread on the subject in the Inferno later, but first I need to research it a little bit more.  I wonder if there are papers available on the physical neurological function patterns in a neurotypical sociopathic brain and those on the spectrum?  In short, is fMRI data available on the subject?


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## Theglasshouse

No such evidence I think. I think people who are bipolar might have a stronger label for sociopathic behavior because people stereotype a lot. When I think of a sociopath I think of a violent person who can harm others. Brain scans can do something if there is evidence of chemical signals ( I am thinking that is fmri). I doubt it though. Heredity and the environment are big factors. However I don't know who said this but to paraphrase it can be difficult to predict how a person will behave. Erick Erickson was responsible for creating the theory of identity ( but we need more psychology theory of an essay I'd imagine and I took a course).  How you are raised determines how you think in ways that are worth noting. There is too much research I need to do to come to a good answer. It would be like an essay. To arrive at that conclusion we need sources. I however would never say that I am a sociopath to others even though it's something that would be difficult to verify but imo is generally untrue for people with Aspergers or autism. I don't know the argument for that other than I think there is no scientific evidence. However I don't know as much as a doctor. So I am going to stick to my belief that people such as me can't be considered dangerous unless their disease spirals out of control ( which would still need a doctor's assessment). At least in schizophrenia it is a splitting of the conciousness.  They can be considered dangerous and they denied me a social security once to work on a library as a volunteer or any job. My previous doctor who diagnosed me did not know for sure I had it and was incompetent and the only way I have auditory hallucinations is under severe stress, depression, but I am taking medicine since its a chronic and life condition. I am schizoaffective and the diagnosis of schizophrenia is the worst. That's the splitting that infamously happens. Since I am schizoaffective I am not dangerous (medicated).


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## Darkkin

@glasshouse

While sociopathy is part of the same cluster of personality disorders as ASPD, antisocial personality disorder, BPP, borderline personality disorder, and psychopathy, it is the mildest of the asocial personality disorders.  While true sociopathy presents in only about 4% of the US population, it is estimated that up to 1 in every 25 people have sociopathic tendencies. 

 While this indicates a lack of empathy it does not necessitate a predisposition toward violence.  A lack of empathy and a likelihood for violence are not mutually exclusive.  It simply indicates that those with the traits are less likely to be influenced by the emotions of others.  An insightful, slightly eerie read: The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout.


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## River Rose

Crappy.


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## PiP

Rose, when you post to a public forum the world and his wife can view the threads and comments regardless of whether someone is a member or not. Only the workshops and Dante's are private.


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## Olly Buckle

Spent quite a bit of the day sleeping after my drive last night, I didn't get started until eight o'clock, things had to be wrapped and got ready and the news of the curfew conditions didn't come until early evening. Still, I managed to tidy the greenhouse a little, dig over a bit more garden for our new raspberry patch, and record three more videos and post them. That is a record in one way, though they are all short, i've recorded more footage in a day before, but choosing, revising, rehearsing, recording, uploading and then copyining each one to my facebook page as well as the YouTube channel takes a while. Then the missus cooked cauliflower and broccoli cheese with peas potatoes and tomatoes and I washed up after while she watched 'His dark materials' on the telly. I gave up on that several weeks ago.


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## Foxee

My latest Covid Report on my own condition is that I'm over the worst now (it was more annoying than anything else) though the fatigue hangs on, it can be very easy to overdo things one day and spend the whole next day exhausted. From what I hear this is pretty normal for a while.

We thought that my husband might have had it about a year ago and even though he was made to quarantine at home with me by his work, he's now had three negative tests and goes back tomorrow. So it's possible that immunity to this thing, once you've had it, may last longer than the 3-6 months I've heard. Either that or it's just sheer stubbornness on his part, trust me it could be either way.

Thankfully even though he's not being paid for those 2 weeks he DID get a paycheck from before and my grandmother sent us a little something so it's going to be an Amazon Christmas. I may just stick bows on things as they come in the door and put them under the tree. Kids are under orders to open NOTHING!

Also, we may adopt a dog if we can swing it. I hope she's still at the shelter where she's listed:


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## SueC

The pup is adorable. I hope you get her!


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## Olly Buckle

It may not just be your husband's stubbornness, Foxee, my sister in law had it and her husband had all the symptoms and still tested negative three times, the tests vary in accuracy, but even the best are not 100%, and false negatives seem to be commoner than false positives.
Looks like a nice dog, is it a pup? The paws are not so big it will grow huge. Dogs are like children, the more patience and training you put in the more sociable they are and the more you get back.
Anyway, glad to hear you are on the road to recovery, have a great Christmas and make the family help with some of it, they can all hoover and peel spuds


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## River Rose

SueC said:


> The pup is adorable. I hope you get her!



Same here. Faith she will become your new family member!!!! Sending good juju to all of you!!!


----------



## Gumby

Beautiful pup! Hope it works out for you.

Glad to hear you are recovering! We think I had it about last Jan or Feb, too. It was strange and came back on me because I did too much too soon, so do take it easy, please.


----------



## Olly Buckle

A horrible day, we drove over to Horsebridge and it was grey and raining all the way, with flooded roads. People are driving atrociously, as they do at this time of year. It is what the traffic cops call "red mist", people are thinking of other things than where they are and the road, and when they have an accident they say "It was like there was a red mist...." Please be careful, not just with your own driving, but with how others are behaving, thinking of all the things they have to do before Christmas rather than the here and now. We got hooted because the missus stopped to let a bus coming the other way have the middle of the road through a flood, and overtaken approaching the brow of a hill when we were doing sixty.

We were going to the specialist raptor vet, the owl has been getting worse, trouble breathing, coughing up blood and then finding it hard to balance. The vet thought she probably had a tumour, and agreed it is no life for her and put her down. Very sad after 33 years with her, but she was not her normal vicious self anymore, almost friendly, not the wild thing we knew and loved, not flying or hooting, simply sitting on the ground looking sad


----------



## Foxee

Well, Mr. Stubborn also does not have any symptoms other than the occasional stuffy nose so I think he's just not had it (this time around). However, his enforced quarantine while I was sick was wonderful! He cooked, cleaned, and ran for groceries which are usually all my jobs.

The pup is due to be adopted this week and not by us, I just got the email. We'll keep looking.

Sad news about your owl, Olly, she sounds like a marvelous creature and it would be hard to see her go down this way. Somehow a love of wild things makes a lot of sense when I think of you.

Gumby, you're so right. I've found that at this stage it's really easy to overdo things and end up flat out the next day. So this morning my Mister brought donuts home for our anniversary (29 years) and that helped me to not take his head off for not being at work. Donuts may be lousy for the immune system but they're fantastic for morale!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Foxee said:


> Sad news about your owl, Olly, she sounds like a marvelous creature and it would be hard to see her go down this way. Somehow a love of wild things makes a lot of sense when I think of you.



You should meet the missus, and some of my friends 

She came through 'John the Mercenary', used to be in number one para, got a job debt collecting when he came out of the army. The police didn't like some of his methods and took to stopping him all the time. He told me "I saw the blue lights behind and there was a long lay-by, I had an old Ford Granada with a pull on the dashboard for the boot (trunk in US). I did a roll out of the door, came up behind the car as they stopped, grabbed the felling axe out the back and put it straight through their radiator and cracked the engine block, then I chopped off both front wings and punctured the tires. Transit people carrier with eleven coppers in the back and a sergeant and driver in the front, not one of them got out. Had to take a little holiday after that, went and worked as a mercenary in South Africa for ten years." He kept lannars, gos hawks, buzzards, the lot; thought I was great because I knew someone who let him build breeding units in their orchard. Died a few years back, had secondary diabetes and a bad leg, brought on by the drops using a military 'chute. Some day I must write up a few of the characters I have known. I was never really a 'bad boy' myself, but I am easy going and not judgmental, people end up talking to me


----------



## -xXx-

Olly Buckle said:


> <snip> not her normal vicious self anymore, almost friendly, not the wild thing we knew and loved, not flying or hooting, simply sitting on the ground looking sad



*two glow sticks*
*with wings*

*<**3*


----------



## Darkkin

What better way to spend the day than dealing with the DMV.  Just need to renew my tabs.  Two minutes at the grocery store kiosk, right?  Wrong.  Two hours of brangling and a trip to the DMV to find out what the issue was and get it resolved.  (According to the lady at the DMV, 'Well that car doesn't exist.'  Hmm, odd because it is right out there in the parking lot...(brought a picture of my VIN with because, yes, my car is real, not a hallucination.)  Turns out they had my VIN entered incorrectly so the automated system failed to recognize it.  Got it updated, then had to go to yet another kiosk because the DMV is not renewing tabs at their location...(Thank you, COVID!).  

After dealing with the seventh circle of the DMV and the sensory overload of Woodmans, I was charged for my tabs, but the machine ate my sticker.  We end up on the phone with the kiosk company for options to get the sticker required by law.   They said it will be two days by mail...on the week of Christmas.  A realistic estimate 10 - 14 business days, ballparking midweek first part of January.

It has to be a given that one of the circles of hell is the DMV.  There is little that is more relentlessly, redundantly pedantic than the DMV.  This is the same institution that would not accept a certified letter from an attorney's office and an official change of address letter from the US Postal Service as proof of residency...while a letter from your parole board would be just fine!

I don't know why, but every time I deal with the DMV, it is nothing but trauma.  I cannot people any more today...


----------



## Foxee

Darkkin said:


> I don't know why, but every time I deal with the DMV, it is nothing but trauma.  I cannot people any more today...


Time to switch to snuggling pets! And eating snacks.

I'm sorry that I found your trials to be just a tad funny, you have a good way with words. Hopefully you'll be able to find it funny...eventually. Though if someone can find humor at the DMV then they're REALLY good at that.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I'm desperate.
I lost a pendant, a necklace.
It is not monetary value.
It is the affective value.
It was given to me by a person who is so important to me.
I don't know where to look for him anymore ...


----------



## Matchu

A terrible day.  Last night was my first night free after night shifts.  And I must have had a couple of drinks, but usually I am pretty pretty funny after a couple of drinks, and I posted my funnies on to the sci-fi forum and now I'm banned for life from the sci-fi forum.  I mean, I hated hobbits all along.  It was like a horror house of my worst enemies discussing star trek and IT engineering.  I'll miss those boys.

So that's pretty bad.  Only losers get banned from forums.  I think it was my teacher story with the Finnish student called Ptitie, and my roll-call of 'Titty?' every morning, and those bastard Scandis all sniggering in my face.  Gives me sleepless nights.  Also I said Moon/Venus conflagaration in the sky was intoxicating.  Why ban me for that?


----------



## Olly Buckle

As she was sick and getting on I had built the owl a new aviary near the house. She went in it three times. I spent today taking it down, it was a lot quicker than putting it up.


----------



## Foxee

I finished my Christmas shopping! ...now for The Wrapping. This is better than most years...can't tell you how often I've been out at the last minute.

So, because I've been sick over the last couple weeks a lot of things are coming in from Amazon. At this point I plan to leave those things sealed in their boxes (the kids are under strict orders about leaving them that way) and instead of trying to sort out what is in each box and who it's meant for, I'm going to just wrap them. The things I finished up with from Wal-mart today (mostly smaller items and stocking stuffers) will get names on. Anything without a name on Christmas morning can be opened by anyone and once we see what it is it can be passed to whoever it's for.

For some reason I think this will work. Amazon Christmas might even be fun.

Edit: forgot to mention, I had a great conversation with a guy in the crafts section who was looking for a gift for a woman he has known only a few months. He has challenges like epilepsy and memory problems from a brain injury and can't drive which I could tell bothered him. We had the best chat and I helped him pick out a gift. It was the bright spot of my day. I've missed talking to people.


----------



## River Rose

For those of you whom don’t know me,,,nor anything about me,,,I am a healer. It’s my trade. People pay me,,,I do it for free. I am good at it. Yet,,,I can’t heal the one person in the mirror. Looking back at me. I am so hard on her. I hold everything together for everyone. Yet,,I can’t get my own shit right. I can get your shit right. Yet mine? Not so much. Thank you Gumby for removing my soon to be ex husband from this forum. It’s a small victory, yet it means so much. It gives me faith that I will b able to remove him from my life. No one should have to accept abuse in any form. No matter how small or great. I know also understand the life lessons in all of this. I will grow. I will eventually one day heal myself. Not today nor tomorrow. It’s there. I can see it. 
Forgive sounds good. Forget,,,I’m not sure I could. They say time heals everything. I’m still waiting. 
Thank you Gumby for hearing me.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I found my pendant.
I'm so happy. He had slipped under the bed.


I still have to make some Christmas presents ...


----------



## PiP

River rose, we cannot remove your digital footprint. Spirits will rise again...


----------



## Foxee

LadySilence said:


> I still have to make some Christmas presents ...


Any ideas for what you're going to make?

I woke up with tons of things that need done today. Cleaning, wrapping, mixing up gingerbread dough for the kids' traditional "baking day" (tomorrow we will play Christmas music and make gingerbread to give away), and last-minute buying of tape and things (which took far too long).
So naturally I woke up wanting to do crafting all day instead and found myself watching crafting videos over coffee. Had to boot my own behind in order to start getting things done instead.


----------



## River Rose




----------



## Deleted member 64995

Foxee said:


> Any ideas for what you're going to make?




I think I will give away, Books, TV streaming subscriptions like Netflix, and some electronic items.


I made myself a present. I do it every year.
This year, I gave myself a book:
Wastelands, Stories of the Apocalypse - John Joseph Adams


----------



## Gumby

River Rose said:


> For those of you whom don’t know me,,,nor anything about me,,,I am a healer. It’s my trade. People pay me,,,I do it for free. I am good at it. Yet,,,I can’t heal the one person in the mirror. Looking back at me. I am so hard on her. I hold everything together for everyone. Yet,,I can’t get my own shit right. I can get your shit right. Yet mine? Not so much. Thank you Gumby for removing my soon to be ex husband from this forum. It’s a small victory, yet it means so much. It gives me faith that I will b able to remove him from my life. No one should have to accept abuse in any form. No matter how small or great. I know also understand the life lessons in all of this. I will grow. I will eventually one day heal myself. Not today nor tomorrow. It’s there. I can see it.
> Forgive sounds good. Forget,,,I’m not sure I could. They say time heals everything. I’m still waiting.
> Thank you Gumby for hearing me.



Just wanted to note that it was not me acting alone. It was a joint and unanimous decision. None of us want to see anyone being harassed and stalked on these forums. 

We wish you all the best and pray that you reach that healing in your life and clear out all that is hurting you.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Merry Christmas, to all those who celebrate Christmas.
Happy Friday, to those who do not celebrate Christmas.
Happy Discovery Day, to all Star Trek Fans.


----------



## escorial

Just before cracking an egg for breakfast I noticed the date on the shell expired on the 22...still I cooked and ate it but sometimes my own bravery in the face of danger is in my DNA...yep people like me do stupid things at time but you only have one life..I say


----------



## PiP

Esc, for future reference. If you submerce the egg in water it will float to the surface if it has gone off.


----------



## escorial

Why would a bad egg float...


----------



## PiP

escorial said:


> Why would a bad egg float...



check out

https://www.thoughtco.com/why-rotten-eggs-float-4116957


----------



## escorial

When an egg goes of it produces gas which makes it float...learn summit new everyday...


----------



## River Rose

I found peace.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

There was a very strong earthquake in Croatia. 6th grade.
  He also felt at my house.
Is there anyone living in the area? Are you all okay?


----------



## escorial

On the 29th of every month is my bath day..wether I need one or not.


----------



## petergrimes

escorial said:


> On the 29th of every month is my bath day..wether I need one or not.



Really? The 29th? Us in Birmingham have it on 30th. I always thought scousers were fey. Going to get tin bath out of coal shed tomorrow, fill it up off stove. Mam goes in first, then pa, then me. Haven't decide if I'll wash hair yet.


----------



## escorial

need to look up fey....

camp...well hello honky tonks


----------



## petergrimes

escorial said:


> need to look up fey....
> 
> camp...well hello honky tonks



no esc, more preternatural, weird, otherworldly, basically weird. But my mams family are from Widnes so I can't say nothing. All the best, cheers PG


----------



## escorial

Pipkins weird


----------



## petergrimes

escorial said:


> Pipkins weird



before my time but on internet examination - yes. They should have a picture of them in dictionary next to fey.


----------



## Foxee

escorial said:


> Pipkins weird


That takes a little work for an American Google search. I wondered why people were talking about a workforce scheduling package being fey but I'm better now...

Look, I have Reasons why I might be lagging the discussion a little.

Out of the six places that I just tried to go to and get various errands done, only three worked out. And that took nearly four hours. 

This was after spending a good chunk of the morning on the phone with our wireless provider, trying to get the replacement phone for my husband (the former phone ended its life in a snowdrift somewhere) hooked up and activated. After a half an hour on hold with their truly awful repetitious static-loaded hold music I felt like I was starting to bleed from the ears by the time I spoke to someone. But two calls, a bit of ear-bleeding, and some patience and the phone is operational. Hooray!

Thank GOD for Irish cream coffee. I want to nap but it's time to cook.

ETA: No sooner did I hit the button to post this and headed downstairs to try to cook, which I am not really looking forward to, than there was a knock on the door. The autistic 20-year old who our family befriended wants to come in and use my computer to write out a second application for employment at the local dollar store. Any other time I would have been happy to help, today I found myself being more than a little frustrated so he left to get his username and password and hasn't returned. I have the computer set up right in the kitchen so I can keep an eye on it and help him if need be...and I'm sure he'll be back just in time for us to attempt sitting down to dinner. If I can get one made.

And tomorrow's a funeral. 2020 is giving me a few solid kicks on the way out.


----------



## PiP

Brexit is a fustercluck waiting to happen. 

I am so frustrated with all the bureaucracy here in Portugal just so we can stay. Fingers crossed we have jumped through enough hoops .. . er...nope... I have just discovered we now need a QR code to travel. I assume that is travel outside Portugal so we can get back in ... so no more popping over the border into Spain to see my sister or France to visit our daughter.


----------



## Olly Buckle

It is not waiting PiP, it is a screw up foisted on us by people wanting to avoid financial scrutiny , I wonder why, and implemented by appealing to the ignorance and xenophobia of an aging population who won't even have to suffer the real long term consequences of living off handling money, no questions asked. You can get away with it if you don't have the population, like the Andaman Islands, The Isle Of Man, or even Switzerland, but England can't live off the City of London. The rich will get richer and ...


----------



## River Rose

I


----------



## Matchu

KEEP AWAY FROM OUR FISH, EUROPE.

I feel better for having contributed on issues of the board, am also not allowed baths until February.  I win again with 12 months no bath.  WINNER.

...

Punch drunk after working Xmas to yesterday on nights.  I'll be okay tomorrow.  Returning, I even cried at Planes, Trains and Automobiles during that bit where you're supposed to cry.  Tonsil swab this morning, & will write something awful tomorrow.

Granta opens submission window on Friday.  All best, Percy Langford (my porno name)


----------



## escorial

12 months that's elizabethen
... baldric


----------



## petergrimes

Matchu said:


> I am also not allowed baths until February.  I win again with 12 months no bath.  WINNER.
> 
> ...
> )



Matchu, that's ridiculous, everyone knows you should only have a bath on the 30th. February has less days than that. You must be from somewhere proper weird like (name removed by WF). This year being a leap year I suppose you could have done an escorial scouse thing and gone 29th, but otherwise 28th???? I worry for people on this forum. 

I had my bath today, it was good, decided against washing hair.


----------



## escorial

February is my favourite month and today I bought 12 pairs of Y-fronts...one more than last year


----------



## Hector

Life is an endless bad day.


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Motivated myself to come back on here again, and give Writing another real shot. So today has been good.

It has felt more productive. Trying to be more productive in 2021.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I am proud of myself.
I am slowly decreasing the use of the cell phone.


----------



## Olly Buckle

LadySilence said:


> I am proud of myself.
> I am slowly decreasing the use of the cell phone.



My i-phone was a 2019 Christmas present, and I was beginning to think it not worth the monthly charge, I use it so little Then I found it will record, see my signature below.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am vexed by loud noises. I wish there could be silence however my little brother's plans can be unpredictable. We have some guests at the house. They are the in-laws of my little brother. The children can be very noisy. Since I have attention deficit disorder it can mostly certainly distract me. I cannot concentrate. Because my brother has lots of friends it can become a problem. Anyways I bought some books I am eager to read. The noise has stopped me temporarily from writing. It will only last for only two days. I think I am learning a lot from this craft book. But it's problematic. I wish I could exercise which helps with mood. But where I am I decided not to take the music device. It's small and can be easily stolen. Happy news years everyone (even if late).

Also, I am not eating sugar during outside mealtime hours. I must have exercised for half of the days of December or close. I am not eating dessert to maintain weight loss. I am basically fasting when I do not eat a dessert.  Also, chips such as tortilla ones that my brother brings over I ignore. I wish my mother could copy my example. But so far all it takes is a little bit of sugar for her or me to eat. Which means we must lose weight by fasting on sweets, fatty, and salty, snacks.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Theglasshouse said:


> I am vexed by loud noises. I wish there could be silence however my little brother's plans can be unpredictable. We have some guests at the house. They are the in-laws of my little brother. The children can be very noisy. Since I have attention deficit disorder it can mostly certainly distract me. I cannot concentrate. Because my brother has lots of friends it can become a problem. Anyways I bought some books I am eager to read. The noise has stopped me temporarily from writing. It will only last for only two days. I think I am learning a lot from this craft book. But it's problematic. I wish I could exercise which helps with mood. But where I am I decided not to take the music device. It's small and can be easily stolen. Happy news years everyone (even if late).
> 
> Also, I am not eating sugar during outside mealtime hours. I must have exercised for half of the days of December or close. I am not eating dessert to maintain weight loss. I am basically fasting when I do not eat a dessert.  Also, chips such as tortilla ones that my brother brings over I ignore. I wish my mother could copy my example. But so far all it takes is a little bit of sugar for her or me to eat. Which means we must lose weight by fasting on sweets, fatty, and salty, snacks.




I understand you, I hate too, loud noises, and confusion.
I solved the problem by buying headphones, anti-noise.
The headphones they use for the kids at the stadium. They are very comfortable.


So I don't feel the confusion.


----------



## River Rose

Deleted


----------



## PiP

Why are you scared, RR? Are you scheduled for a replacement hip operation.

ETA. RR, I note you have changed your post since my reply. If you are so scared why do you keep posting to a public forum?


----------



## Gofa

Feel the fear and do it any way 

By acknowledging you lessen fear
fear is worst when its hidden 
looked at in the light of day its never as bad as big or scary


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Pretty good. I have been more productive with my time lately, and got some of my writing done for my story. So I'm happy about that. :victorious: Trying to keep positive with everything else happening in the world, and focusing on myself. Seems to be working.


----------



## The Green Shield

Morning, folks. So I just had a fun excursion on Facebook Messenger in which I and a few other folks helped someone find some island in the middle of the Indian Ocean because it was the geographical opposite of Billings, Montana. Then it somehow related to a indie author named Chuck Tingle the person wanted to start a rivalry with. Then the person reveals they are drunk. xD


----------



## Olly Buckle

Gofa said:


> Feel the fear and do it any way
> 
> By acknowledging you lessen fear
> fear is worst when its hidden
> looked at in the light of day its never as bad as big or scary



Not exactly sure how he puts it, but Frank Herbert in Dune calls fear the little death that kills from within. Like you say, bring it out in the open and it is usually not nearly as scary, it certainly doesn't have that power.


----------



## Darkkin

The books that lived under the bed now have a home.


----------



## RhythmOvPain

I am simultaneously amused and disgusted as I watch the imminent death of the United States of America before my very eyes.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Goodmorning everyone.
Another rainy day.
I prepare myself a tea, and start writing.


----------



## Gofa

Another rainy day.
I prepare myself a tea, 

your Englishness does not require any improvement


----------



## Gofa

Olly Buckle said:


> Not exactly sure how he puts it, but Frank Herbert in Dune calls fear the little death that kills from within. Like you say, bring it out in the open and it is usually not nearly as scary, it certainly doesn't have that power.



a few years ago in the midst of the Quakes  Christchurch NZ  giogle if need
i was anxiously trying to fix this delicate electronic sub part
Over wound i recognised my level of fear 
i put the item down upon my work bench in the garage
took down a large hammer and smashed it
then got in my car and went and bought a replacement 
sometimes you just get sick of being fearful
as the fear is worse than the actual problem


----------



## River Rose

I am a hiker. I hike,,miles and miles a day. I am a solo hiker. My black lab and I. The forest is my home. Where I get to find myself. It’s the place where I am understood,,the place that does not judge me. It’s shared my laughter, my tears, my triumphs, my failures and my deepest secrets. It’s a friend that welcomes me back everyday. 
Today was a good day deep in the forest.


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Got my story finished. I feel great.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am waiting to see what my options are. I am planning on subscribing to Coursera to take more than one creative writing course. I think I can buy the subscription. I don't feel confident in my plotting skills. Which is why I still haven't posted my work in the workshop. It might be the inner critic inside me that says it is no good. I feel insecure about the plot of the short story I wrote some days ago. When I complete it I can practice my description and setting skills. Which has frustrated me when I write short stories.

In science fiction it is obvious to me you need to do research to write the story.  I can't look for the research online. I need to wait until I purchase the book about the science that studied the research. Of what my story is going to be about (which I won't spoil incase I workshop it). Right now my priority are the writing classes. I am still waiting for the computer at the repair shop because my father hasn't picked it up since 2 weeks have passed. I hope they pick it up today. That way I can take notes on the class. The class has a bunch of notes and videos of a university class. The class is given by a university professor. They even have setting and description as one of the five modules. If all goes well I will be a regular member of Coursera. Craft books have failed me so many times that I won't spend money even on just one book that looks promising.


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Theglasshouse said:


> I am waiting to see what my options are. I am planning on subscribing to Coursera to take more than one creative writing course. I think I can buy the subscription. I don't feel confident in my plotting skills. Which is why I still haven't posted my work in the workshop. It might be the inner critic inside me that says it is no good. I feel insecure about the plot of the short story I wrote some days ago. When I complete it I can practice my description and setting skills. Which has frustrated me when I write short stories.
> 
> In science fiction it is obvious to me you need to do research to write the story.  I can't look for the research online. I need to wait until I purchase the book about the science that studied the research. Of what my story is going to be about (which I won't spoil incase I workshop it). Right now my priority are the writing classes. I am still waiting for the computer at the repair shop because my father hasn't picked it up since 2 weeks have passed. I hope they pick it up today. That way I can take notes on the class. The class has a bunch of notes and videos of a university class. The class is given by a university professor. They even have setting and description as one of the five modules. If all goes well I will be a regular member of Coursera. Craft books have failed me so many times that I won't spend money even on just one book that looks promising.



You should post your work. I felt exactly the same way as you before I did. I suffer with social anxiety and the thought of sharing my work with complete strangers was nerve wracking to say the least. Now it is out there in the wild, I feel better. Believe me when I say I am someone who doesn't consider themselves to be great plotting or writing a story either. Way I see it, you're never going to get better if you don't put your stuff out there and have it be seen under fresh eyes. I hope you post something soon, good luck. 

The online courses could be a great idea if you're interested in that. That is something I considered myself with having so much free time, and some productive ways to spend it online.

Science Fiction definitely is a tough genre, maybe the toughest I would say. It is likely a genre I would never tackle.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think I need to brainstorm the possible motivations and goals of the characters. I wrote it without brainstorming or asking why behind the character's want or goal (as much as needed to discover the story)? Yes science fiction is notoriously tough to write. It has that reputation. Brainstorming why someone wants something also is important or asking why. I read one of my old books that said that. It has 82 pages, and despite this is probably the most useful one I read (read it today). I define the inciting incident as the disaster of the beginning of the story. For one of my old stories it is a kidnapping. For the next one I have planned I will think over what sort of goal is it is. To prevent or to attain something. It's useful for me to think of it this way. So to kidnap someone is to attain something. To prevent a kidnapping is to stop it from happening probably with some foreknowledge of what could happen. The disaster creates the goal or is the event. So another example could be someone has a huge debt to pay. Someone wants to prevent the payment of the debt or wants them to have the debt.

I will sign up for that class hopefully soon. Thanks for the advice, and the encouraging reply. I hope to workshop it but it is in a rough shape. Thankfully, I am thinking of how to rewrite it again. I haven't given up.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

My story is taking an unexpected turn.
I am happy, I am enthusiastic.
And finally it stopped raining.
I discovered that the sun exists. LoL


----------



## aj47

I efiled my request for a name and gender change with the court.


----------



## River Rose

aj47 said:


> I efiled my request for a name and gender change with the court.


Yes. 
Congratulations
.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

aj47 said:


> I efiled my request for a name and gender change with the court.


Congratulations :love_heart:


----------



## Olly Buckle

Views on my YouTube channel seemed to get stuck at 295 for a few days, suddenly they have jumped to 310. Yippee, broken the three hundred barrier. There are around thirty videos there now, so I reckon someone new discovered it and watched half of them   Now, if you would all watch two or three until you find one you like (Flying lessons is fun) then recommend it to three or four friends, just asking.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Olly Buckle said:


> Views on my YouTube channel seemed to get stuck at 295 for a few days, suddenly they have jumped to 310. Yippee, broken the three hundred barrier. There are around thirty videos there now, so I reckon someone new discovered it and watched half of them   Now, if you would all watch two or three until you find one you like (Flying lessons is fun) then recommend it to three or four friends, just asking.



The YouTube stats are always a little weird.
Why don't you post the poems you read on Instagram?
Actor Patrick Stewart used Instagram to publish Shakespeare's sonnets.
Try, there are a lot more people.


----------



## escorial

just about to watch Marine FC play spurs against my local club.....in the FA cup...i would have been there..come on Crosby


----------



## Phil Istine

My day was fairly middling, then fourth tier (in football terms) Crawley Town went and stuffed first tier Leeds United 3-0 in the FA Cup.
I think that's what is known as a good day.


----------



## escorial

the beautiful game....


----------



## Olly Buckle

LadySilence said:


> The YouTube stats are always a little weird.
> Why don't you post the poems you read on Instagram?
> Actor Patrick Stewart used Instagram to publish Shakespeare's sonnets.
> Try, there are a lot more people.



I also have not made any new videos since Christmas day I realised, made up for it with a couple of short ones today.

That is sensational, Phil. Reminds me of a cartoon years ago of a little boy saying his prayers and his mum saying "And that's not a nice thing to wish Arsenal." I think it was Yeovil they had drawn. We are all on the side of the so called underdog.


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Another motivated day. Finished a new Short Story that I am somewhat happy with. Felt I at least was more descriptive with my writing, I hope so.


----------



## aj47

I cooked.

I can't heal the world by cooking, though I can do a fair bit on my self and my sanity.

Made Key Lime Pie, an Asian slaw we'll be noshing on all week and a spaghetti squash casserole with chicken, spinach, and egg, and flavored with bacon bits and ranch dressing.  

--- 

I don't know how much I've shared of this previously, so some quick bits.

I moved out on 05 Feb 2020.  That was payday and I wanted to be able to buy anything I couldn't bring with me. I'd intended to couch-surf, though now i seem to be planning a future with the woman I'm living with.  We've known each other since the early '90s, though not well. She's a bit of a crazy cat lady, having always many cats, and all rescues. That was important, as I have two cats that I was not leaving. She had lost her partner in the autumn of 2018, so she'd been living alone.  My now-ex-husband is a Trumper, though that is sooo only a part of the picture. Although many of my boundaries were crossed in that relationship ... I posted about it on Medium last March. Among the issues was that I was finding out that nonbinary didn't fit, too (started trying that in June of 2019), and he wasn't sure he could be married to a man. If I had to point at one thing... I saw one too many instances of the "Ever wondered what you'd do in 1939 Germany?  You're doing it now." meme.

I'd actually hired a life coach and trying to talk to him about this meme and my feelings about it.... I fired the coach.  The context of the discussion wasn't even about my marriage, it was about what I could do as a citizen to move Texas and the US back from where we're headed.

It turns out giving "comfort and aid" to *-ists is the limit of my ability to compromise.  

*Due to what I've said here, if anyone wants to ask a clarifying question or otherwise discuss this, please PM me.  I don't want to get into anything here. I'm sure if you disregard my wishes in this, you'll hear from the modmins before I can say anything.
*


----------



## Foxee

The sun was out today. Anyone who lives in a place as cloudy as Pittsburgh will understand the importance of this. Blue sky, sunlight, gorgeous, had a walk with the family that was chilly but rewarding. We did family worship, too, didn't make it to church so we just read and sang here which is always nice.

Had a little writing time to myself, just practicing some things and getting into my new book from Robert McKee (Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for the Page, Stage, and Screen). 

And finally cooked up herbed crispy-skin salmon with fresh lime juice; roasted potatoes with onions, peppers, and kale; roasted asparagus; served with fresh orange wedges. Family was very happy which makes me very happy.

All in all a really nice Sunday.


----------



## Gofa

Too explain the video below is my best depiction of what Angels look like coming to take souls up to heaven  
See clip attached and as explanation in my mind
 street crossing guy, been run over
 and Tyrone he picked on the wrong guy and got shot


My point
Driving home last night in convertible a guy coming towards me as i turned the corner was on a unicycle long hair, long beard, bright coloured tee shirt and shorts, and juggling 3 balls.
An “oh fuck” moment  
I waved laughing as nuh he is not here for me 
Probably real as he started laughing too and caught the 3 balls to wave back as I was waving nicely to him letting him by as i turned after him.

Spooky moment Possums 

[video=youtube;8PIixoqeRoM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PIixoqeRoM[/video]


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Woke up with a pounding headache. Not good. I do wonder if it is due to all the late nights lately writing at the computer. Oh well, one way to solve this. :drinkcoffee:


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Good afternoon everybody.
I was seriously thinking about writing a little storybook for children, it would be a gift.
I've never written, children's fairy tales.
I like the idea.
It is a genre that I have never experienced.
I already have a couple of ideas.


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

LadySilence said:


> Good afternoon everybody.
> I was seriously thinking about writing a little storybook for children, it would be a gift.
> I've never written, children's fairy tales.
> I like the idea.
> It is a genre that I have never experienced.
> I already have a couple of ideas.



That sounds fun! That is a challenge I would like to undertake myself. I have written something for a more teenage audience, but I have never attempted to write a child's story. I'd honestly have to do some research again to remember what they were like as I'd have to word things super differently.


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

Last few days have been unbelievably frightening. Came down with severe chills and shakes Friday. Uncontrollable. So went to the hospital. No beds so I had to stay in E.R. for almost 24 hours. They decided I might have corona (test I took was only 65% accurate). So I was transferred to the corona area and spent two days there.  Saw some sad sights I never want to see again-- such intense suffering. Then they decided I didn't have corona (another more accurate test taken) and they transferred to me another floor fill with regular sick people. I got out today. Glad I don't have Corona and pray this two-day stay doesn't make me come down with it. 

Our county has no vaccines anywhere. None. I intend to write angry letters asking why we do not.


----------



## escorial

Friday I purchased 1kg of wild bird seed instead of dried mealworms to try and attract other types of birds instead of so many starlings....I placed the birdseed outside and went away for the weekend and noticed yesterday it had not been eaten...this morning I put some fresh seed out and normally it's not long before the starlings gag in but nothing....birds must be fussy eaters.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

BrandonTheWriter said:


> That sounds fun! That is a challenge I would like to undertake myself. I have written something for a more teenage audience, but I have never attempted to write a child's story. I'd honestly have to do some research again to remember what they were like as I'd have to word things super differently.



I was thinking of a book, for children from 0 to 5 years, maybe I can divide it in two, the first part for children from or to 5 years; the second part from 5 years to 8 years.
I have to do a lot of research.
I like it, I like it a lot as a goal. it's a world I don't know.




Pamelyn Casto said:


> Last few days have been unbelievably frightening. Came down with severe chills and shakes Friday. Uncontrollable. So went to the hospital. No beds so I had to stay in E.R. for almost 24 hours. They decided I might have corona (test I took was only 65% accurate). So I was transferred to the corona area and spent two days there.  Saw some sad sights I never want to see again-- such intense suffering. Then they decided I didn't have corona (another more accurate test taken) and they transferred to me another floor fill with regular sick people. I got out today. Glad I don't have Corona and pray this two-day stay doesn't make me come down with it.
> 
> Our county has no vaccines anywhere. None. I intend to write angry letters asking why we do not.



I'm sorry for what happened to you.
How are you now?


----------



## Foxee

Geez, get a few things done, write a little story and suddenly it's procrastination everywhere! 

Squirrel!

Now I must organize my spice rack. It sure beats the 1,000 things I should be doing. (Kidding, my spice rack is as organized as it's ever going to get)


----------



## Darkkin

Without context it looks like a toddler lives here...



In reality, those toys belong to this smart ass...


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Goodmorning everyone.
Here it is 09.30, and I'm still so sleepy.


It is very cold, we are at 0 degrees, maybe I have even less.
I am full of projects, I feel enthusiastic, it hasn't happened for a long time.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Good start to the day, man came and fixed the TV aerial and I got interviewed about my YouTube channel by Radio Sussex, managed to get a mention of Writingforums.com in to it, so look for a surge of members   I can't remember who it was that suggested the radio, but thank you. I got myself onto the local village facebook page as well and that picked up eleven likes in a day. Olly is headed for the big time now


----------



## petergrimes

escorial said:


> Friday I purchased 1kg of wild bird seed instead of dried mealworms to try and attract other types of birds instead of so many starlings....I placed the birdseed outside and went away for the weekend and noticed yesterday it had not been eaten...this morning I put some fresh seed out and normally it's not long before the starlings gag in but nothing....birds must be fussy eaters.



Buy sunflower seeds, you'll get goldfinches and all sorts


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Relaxing day. Now sipping some Coffee and getting my daily dose of Writing Forums! :drinkcoffee:


----------



## escorial

That will leave me with 1kg of wild bird seed...why would they prefer other seeds from the ones in my pack.....


----------



## petergrimes

escorial said:


> That will leave me with 1kg of wild bird seed...why would they prefer other seeds from the ones in my pack.....



That's birds for you - "Why did you get this one, I specifically told you to get t'other, there was only _one thing_ - *one thing* i asked you to do today and you've..." I'm afraid I don't know the last bit cos I've always switched off by then. It's like we speak a different language. Bill Oddie knew it.


----------



## escorial

Just freeloaders birds. ..


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Feeling a bit groggy.

Stay away!

](*,)


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Good afternoon.
Yesterday I called to complain, and since December I have been waiting for the washing machine.
Maybe, maybe, maybe, tomorrow the washing machine finally arrives.
Hopefully ...


----------



## Olly Buckle

LadySilence said:


> Good afternoon.
> Yesterday I called to complain, and since December I have been waiting for the washing machine.
> Maybe, maybe, maybe, tomorrow the washing machine finally arrives.
> Hopefully ...



Make sure it is plumbed in and demonstrably in working order before they leave   Fingers crossed for you.


----------



## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord

Had my wisdom teeth taken out today... woke up from the sedation weirdly energetic and could not stop talking and flapping my arms.


----------



## Foxee

ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord said:


> Had my wisdom teeth taken out today... woke up from the sedation weirdly energetic and could not stop talking and flapping my arms.


Did anyone get video of this? That's an entertaining reaction to sedation.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Everything arrived, everything works perfectly.


Finally, now that everything is fine, I can sit down and read a bit, with a good hot tea.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Cut up the sevilles last night, and put the pips to soak. Been making them into marmalade this morning. The missus makes most of it, she turns out a more professional looking product as she squeezes them and takes out the pith, I cut them up whole. It comes out a bit cloudy looking, but it's extra tangy.


----------



## Bloggsworth

The trouble with baking things like Brownies, is  that you tend to consume the results of your labours - I got bored  yesterday, what with golf being off the agenda, and as the oven was still hot after making my bread....


----------



## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord

Foxee said:


> Did anyone get video of this? That's an entertaining reaction to sedation.



There's a video of me in the car, but it's already wearing off at that point. 

My sister (who got her wisdom teeth out the same day) recorded herself in the recovery room, and you can hear me in the background, talking the nurse's ear off. It's kind of indistinct but when my siblings watched the video they caught the words "Isaiah," "homosexuality," and "authority"...I don't remember much of this, so I just hope everything I said was theologically accurate, lol. I do remember that the first thing I said when I woke up was something like, "You know, false prophets really need to repent."


----------



## Easy-Eight

My day has been alright so far, I just went around for a drive.


----------



## Darkkin

We have freezing rain tonight, so I'm really glad I bit the bullet and bought a car cover.  I won't have to battle ice in the morning.  Way too late adulting win!


----------



## TuesdayEve

Woke up with another easy day of lounging in mind. 
Morning coffee, some TV, some writing, maybe laundry
.....maybe.

The project of the day, Oxtail soup with potatoes and 
cauliflower. Fill the pot with water, boil meat 2 hours, 
add potatoes for an hour and add cauliflower for 
10 mins, voila! Ha!! Filled the pot in the sink with water,
added oxtails, on stove, med heat, cover, leave room.
A crackling background noise like water droplets burning
off the outside of the pot. Crackling, crackling and too
long crackling to be normal....Walking into the kitchen, 
eyes focused on the pot, ( crackle), the sides of the pot 
were blackened stripes. Fire off! As I lifted the pot from 
the stove, I saw the burner covered with blue melted 
plastic. 

The plastic lid was in the sink and stuck to the bottom of 
the pot when I filled it, yikes! Melted plastic also inside 
the stove and under the burner. I had to used a tweezer 
to pick it out of the burner holes. 
Funny tho, I didn’t smell burning plastic until I removed 
the pot. Then immediately got lightheaded. 
Windows, doors open much of the day.The pot was saved, 
the soup a success, and the burner is in the freezer, for I 
hope, an easy cleaning, another day, no rush.


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

A big fat 'meh'.

Felt like I was being productive last week, kind of lost my way a bit. I'm on autopilot mode a bit at the moment.


----------



## Darkkin

Told Rue he could have the peanut butter jar...never told him I'd take the lid off.  Poor dude...


----------



## Foxee

Poor pup, his look says it all.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Up this morning to sunshine and a heavy frost, frost ferns on the cars, nice from inside. Spent a large part of yesterday dealing with my shed, the strong winds had ripped the covering off the roof on one side. Took all the odd bits off and removed the nails that had held it, luckily had a spare piece to replace it. Finished Richard Osman's 'Thursday Murder Club', a nice easy read and very amusing in places.


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Eh, I could be better.

I'm going to be honest. I don't see what value I have to bring to this forum anymore, I just feel like such an amateur compared to everyone else. Even the Word Games threads make me feel dumb. I don't understand most of the words people post. I realise I'm not expected to be a professional, but I just feel like I have nothing to add in any writing discussions and I don't even know how to give people feedback. Other people are much better at that than I am. I don't even know what good writing is. 

I'm not a good Writer, and I think I have to accept that. Writing can be fun, but it's hard work and time consuming, I just really don't think I'm cut out for it. I thought I wouldn't let criticism get to me, but sadly it does. I wanted to go back and edit my story, but I just don't feel motivated enough and I'm incredibly discouraged lately. I like this forum, but just feel like an outsider. I don't think I'm fitting in to the community. You guys are nice, but maybe this just isn't for me.

You guys probably don't need to hear this stuff anyways, I guess I just wanted to get off my chest. I just wish I was a bit smarter and better at things like this. For now I'll stick to reading.


----------



## Foxee

BrandonTheWriter said:


> I'm going to be honest. I don't see what value I have to bring to this forum anymore, I just feel like such an amateur compared to everyone else. Even the Word Games threads make me feel dumb. I don't understand most of the words people post.


Neither do I. Sometimes I have to Google the definitions for some of these words and then, hey, I've learned a new word! Then it probably won't stick in my  memory but I had fun for a minute.

It doesn't matter if you're amateur or not, if you want to learn you belong here.


----------



## BrandonTheWriter

Foxee said:


> Neither do I. Sometimes I have to Google the definitions for some of these words and then, hey, I've learned a new word! Then it probably won't stick in my  memory but I had fun for a minute.
> 
> It doesn't matter if you're amateur or not, if you want to learn you belong here.



Truth is, I just feel too discouraged to want to learn at the moment. I perhaps should just take up reading more. People always say you can't do good writing without reading a lot of books. I just don't have the passion I once had.

I requested an account deletion/ban. If they even do that. I had fun here, but don't feel like I fit in.


----------



## Deleted member 65364

BrandonTheWriter said:


> Eh, I could be better.
> 
> I'm going to be honest. I don't see what value I have to bring to this forum anymore, I just feel like such an amateur compared to everyone else. Even the Word Games threads make me feel dumb. I don't understand most of the words people post. I realise I'm not expected to be a professional, but I just feel like I have nothing to add in any writing discussions and I don't even know how to give people feedback. Other people are much better at that than I am. I don't even know what good writing is.
> 
> I'm not a good Writer, and I think I have to accept that. Writing can be fun, but it's hard work and time consuming, I just really don't think I'm cut out for it. I thought I wouldn't let criticism get to me, but sadly it does. I wanted to go back and edit my story, but I just don't feel motivated enough and I'm incredibly discouraged lately. I like this forum, but just feel like an outsider. I don't think I'm fitting in to the community. You guys are nice, but maybe this just isn't for me.
> 
> You guys probably don't need to hear this stuff anyways, I guess I just wanted to get off my chest. I just wish I was a bit smarter and better at things like this. For now I'll stick to reading.


Hey,

I saw your post and I wanted to tell you I see you.   I feel like that …I ‘ve read some of these posts discussing writing dos and don’ts and it’s so intimidating.  I have not had the courage to post any fiction on here.  It’s scary.  I’ve been intimidated just by reading and my brain will not create anything right now…she's scared.

I’ve seen your posts around(I’m a lurker) and I see that you are friendly, interactive and encouraging.

I think you are a writer.  I think that even though you feel like quitting, something in you will draw you back to creating something…even though you are a little overwhelmed right now.

Your story, the things you will write can only be written by you …nobody else can share your story like you do.  

I think it would help you to fall in love with your writing again, fall in love with your characters and your stories, and YOUR writing process and remember why you wanted to write.  You know how when people are falling in love, they just want to be all alone, getting to know each other, and all that mushy stuff.  What I’m saying is get intimate with your writing, enjoy her, see what new insights and ideas she brings your way, allow yourself to write anything and see where she leads you.  If she wakes you up at 3 am with a story idea and asks you to explore, see where she takes you.  If you need to stop posting for a while, do that…but give yourself space to fall in love again…just you and your words, enjoying each other in the creative process. The magic is still there…. You still love her…and she loves you too…there are things she wants to say to you and only you…don’t let the technical things discourage you...


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

My guess would be, BrandonTheWriter, is that you are in one of those "getting ready to write even stronger" moods. Some call it writer's block but it's also possible that it's the period that requires that we take a break from writing a bit, take stock of what we can do, then start doing even more than we dreamed we would be able to do. The forum discussions can help you a lot. Further, the more discussions you join in yourself, the better you'll be doing your general writing skills. So add your two cents' worth (or two pfennigs) to any discussion that interests you. Enjoy your time of reading too. Pay close attention to the writing techniques you come across. If you notice them, work to understand them, then you'll be able to make use of them in your future writing. There's always going to be someone much smarter than any of us are. After all, writers' minds come in all shapes and sizes.


----------



## BornForBurning

> I'm not a good Writer, and I think I have to accept that. Writing can be fun, but it's hard work and time consuming, I just really don't think I'm cut out for it. I thought I wouldn't let criticism get to me, but sadly it does. I wanted to go back and edit my story, but I just don't feel motivated enough and I'm incredibly discouraged lately. I like this forum, but just feel like an outsider. I don't think I'm fitting in to the community. You guys are nice, but maybe this just isn't for me.


I will say that no matter what you do, if you want to get good at it, you are going to have to grit your teeth and bleed for awhile. Even it's something as simple as operating a tart press in a plant or something. Writing is hard work, and it is _definitely _time-consuming even for those who have achieved some level of proficiency. So I'm not gonna try and bait you on with hopes that you will 'accomplish your dreams,' but I _will _say that this kind of discouragement hits at some point no matter what you are doing, no matter how difficult it is.


----------



## Foxee

BrandonTheWriter said:


> Truth is, I just feel too discouraged... I had fun here, but don't feel like I fit in.


Don't follow your feelings, they're fickle. They can change in an instant and leave you stranded with decisions you made.


Pamelyn Casto said:


> My guess would be, BrandonTheWriter, is that you are in one of those "getting ready to write even stronger" moods.





BornForBurning said:


> I will say that no matter what you do, if you want to get good at it, you are going to have to grit your teeth and bleed for awhile.


Yes and yes, both these ideas are part of getting better. Suffering moves characters forward, suffering does the same for us.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Cold but sunny, the frost never left the grass in some shady places, but it was lovely and bright. I got out and gave last years beds a quick going over to suppress weeds and dug out some extra bits around the edges increasing their areas. The robin came with me. Also planted a plug tray with onion seed in the greenhouse, 104 red onion plugs, though I expect some will have more than one plant. I am going to need that extra space.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Very well,
I started writing poetry again.
I'm working on multiple narrative fronts.


----------



## Jk_Sl

Good thank you, did fitness this morning. 
Wrote another short poem.  

J.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am reading Chekhov. This is supposedly for me to be influenced by the analysis of his work. He must have been a cerebral storyteller. I knew he was a doctor in his life. Maybe there is something to learn from reading it. I am at 10 percent of a book with 400 pages. I am impressed. It seems he wrote characters full of contradictions. I think it's tough to guess what the analysis will lead to and as if the main character has more than one choice. The characters personalities and feelings are rendered on the page hidden of its implications. Most importantly how they make the  reader or you feel when they are unhappy. That is how you can tell they are sad feelings. Readers have certain expectations for stories. Stories are about expectation and resolution. I am having a difficult time guessing what will happen. I do know the characters problem which is an inner problem almost like a flaw. 

Anyways the great Russians are well worth studying.

My computer broke and I need to reorder Dragon 15 which skyrocketed in price ( 500 but I hope to pay only 300). I am going to force myself to write a story using musings from chekhov's works. I own his whole collection. Instead of just relying on my muse when I haven't read anything.

So I am going to rely on dictation to write my future stories. The investment is very steep. I have a very good microphone. All that is left is to buy dragon. I found a good book on describing paintings. Which will help me describe. I do want to write a story with dictation. All the free software makes it tedious. But if I buy dragon again I hope to have the solution. Some people say dictation isn't for them because of the creative writing process. Which is why I am preparing a first draft without buying Dragon to see the creative process. To know if it is for me to do on a constant basis.

F Scott Fitzgerald had dysgraphia supposedly I read on a website I stumbled across.


----------



## Matchu

My days went okay.  I did about eleven in a row so I am a bit broken.  It wasn't exactly eleven, it was, it is, the straight transition from night shift to day shifts that upsets my equilibrium.  Last time this had consequences, but I got my driving license re-application on the desk sat in front of me.  I've been telling my clients to plan, to think about Spring and sea and also surfing.  To that end I am doing 25 press ups a day.  Already my breast meat feels firmer, I've begun watching television with my shirt off.  Otherwise, I'm coming to terms with a second to last place in the 'Literary Manouvres Contest,' or the twelfth place statistically.  I read the first place piece to rouse spirits, I don't feel any better.  I really think I deserved a fifth or a sixth place, many people would agree.  Love Mat.  Oh, and my jab is on Saturday morning.  hooray.

Oh...reading...I've got a book of 'Greatest short stories.'  How about Cervantes...and James Joyce?  Done both of them.  I really am very special at reading.


----------



## petergrimes

Matchu said:


> I really am very special.



We know Matchu. It's okay. We're a family here at WF. We'll look out for you  .


----------



## Theglasshouse

I have a small cold. I am now noticing how much stress affects me. It means I can only help out when I feel well. We used to have a housekeeper that was not my mother. But she hasn't be taking good care of herself (housekeeper).

I'm disappointed since I wanted to help and since I promised to massage her feet. 

I hope we can afford a good housekeeper to clean the house.

I wont be able to use Dragon I think unfortunately since I don't have a fast computer. 120 dollars is what it will cost me. I noticed the minimum requirements and mine is 1.7 versus 2.2. That is a big difference. I already had paid for grammarly last year. Combined together yearly as a fee that is a lot of money.

I am mostly concerned about any source of stress. A cold like this alters my mood.

Edit: I mean Briana incase I need to be accurate and exact in what I will be using. Good day overall. My cold went away. Also, tested my microphone to make sure the dictation would work. I also was able to help my mother after the cold went away. I think illness aggravates stress. I still don't have a chronic condition but I can only imagine the stress caused. The mental disorder aggravates when sick and I haven't had a cold in months. 

Everyone is scared about Corona Virus and I can understand why.


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

So far, this day has gone great. (It's early afternoon where I live.) I got (or took) the time to work on my poetry chapbook today. For years now I've promised myself I'd try to get a chapbook published. But like so many other things I kept putting it off. After all, it's a lot of work to round up and organize all those poems, find the "first published in" information, and then send them to a potential publisher for consideration. 

I'd hoped that my first chapbook would be made up of my general poetry but that seems to still be too unrelated, too unorganized (according to what some experts say, even poetry should be organized. I'm not sure that's so but have little choice except to go along with it. For now, anyway.) 

But today I decided to organize a group of my poems that are already organized in a sense since they're about my wonderful trip to Indonesia. I didn't realize, until today, that I've had enough of them published and enough of them left still unseen that they would, together, make a fine chapbook (but not enough of them for a collection). And I also know of a chapbook competition with a deadline of mid-February. So that's my goal for today. To revise all the Indonesia poems, get them in a pleasing order, and then by no later than tomorrow, get them sent off to a publisher for consideration. 

I've been such a good girl!:-D


----------



## Taylor

Writer's block today...


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

Taylor, in case you haven't discovered this yet . . . a small case of writer's block can mean you get to learn or study something new (or different). Take the time to look up some type of poetry or short stories like abecedarians, acrostics, cinquains and then write the tar out of 'em. (My grandmother was always going to "whup the tar" out of something so I continue her language tradition when and in whatever form I can.:-D) These short forms are a lot of fun to write, though far from easy to do effectively, but they do keep us exploring writing techniques. (Plus, you can often use some of the shortest bits in your longer pieces later on.) Or turn one of your short-short stories into a short play form. Or write a one page story using not a single "e" (nor a married one either). My point is, now's the time to have a lot of fun-- while you're on this short vacation from writing. Hope you're in the mood for some friendly and unsolicited advice-- whether asked for or not.:-D (When I'm blocked I most often start writing haiku-- and I have a literal ton of unpublishable haiku. But the tiny pieces, though failures as far as getting them published, do preserve images and ideas for me for other work.) Yep, small doses of writer's block can be quite fun (unless you have a deadline looming).


----------



## Taylor

Pamelyn Casto said:


> Taylor, in case you haven't discovered this yet . . . a small case of writer's block can mean you get to learn or study something new (or different). Take the time to look up some type of poetry or short stories like abecedarians, acrostics, cinquains and then write the tar out of 'em. (My grandmother was always going to "whup the tar" out of something so I continue her language tradition when and in whatever form I can.:-D) These short forms are a lot of fun to write, though far from easy to do effectively, but they do keep us exploring writing techniques. (Plus, you can often use some of the shortest bits in your longer pieces later on.) Or turn one of your short-short stories into a short play form. Or write a one page story using not a single "e" (nor a married one either). My point is, now's the time to have a lot of fun-- while you're on this short vacation from writing. Hope you're in the mood for some friendly and unsolicited advice-- whether asked for or not.:-D (When I'm blocked I most often start writing haiku-- and I have a literal ton of unpublishable haiku. But the tiny pieces, though failures as far as getting them published, do preserve images and ideas for me for other work.) Yep, small doses of writer's block can be quite fun (unless you have a deadline looming).



Funny that you should mention it.  I just went for a walk to get away from the blank screen, and I was just thinking something like that.  Margaret Atwood always says that novelists should write short stories.  I don't really feel compelled to write a short story, that sounds like a lot of work.  But I like your idea about the haiku. I don't even know what a haiku is, so I'm going to go look it up now.  

Thanks for the support and for the good idea!


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## Olly Buckle

Drove down to Etchingham Village hall and got given a first shot of covid vaccine, YAY ! It was the pfizer one, I am told they have covered all the over eighties in this area and are now doing the over 75's, it kind of horrified me to think that lot are my peer group. I know I have a severe chronic condition (Wegeners) but I think and hope that I am an awful lot more physically and mentally active than nearly all of the ones I saw.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Olly Buckle said:


> Drove down to Etchingham Village hall and got given a first shot of covid vaccine, YAY ! It was the pfizer one, I am told they have covered all the over eighties in this area and are now doing the over 75's, it kind of horrified me to think that lot are my peer group. I know I have a severe chronic condition (Wegeners) but I think and hope that I am an awful lot more physically and mentally active than nearly all of the ones I saw.


That's the attitude I hope I can have. I can imagine a chronic condition more serious than a cold crippling my mood unless I take measures to treat it. I wish I could take it. Please excuse my ignorance but is it possible to infect people after taking this vaccine in particular? I ask because if I decided one day to take it. It will be because of mental illness. About the infection: some vaccines to my probable misunderstanding create a situation where you could infect another person (donald trump did this by not covering his face at rallies it seems and sorry but that's the only real case I know).


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## Olly Buckle

Firstly the vaccine is not 100% effective in al cases, secondly there is a period before it starts to become effective, so someone can still contract the illness after being vaccinated, but the probability of it being really severe drops drastically. the other possibility is that the virus can survive in the nasal passages and at the back of the throat even after the person has recovered from the disease, it is a place your immune system can't get to, but I think rather less is known about this. The chance of my getting it will drop as the vaccine takes effect, but it is still there, the chance of it killing me drops more dramatically. If I get it, yes I would be infectious.


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## Theglasshouse

My mother doesn't want to take it because of its reputed effects on people with food allergies (celiac disease). She and my little brother both have it. I don't know how to convince them. We have two doctors in the family. They both read research on it. Their opinions I don't know how they come up with it or what sources. Supposedly I don't have an allergic reaction to wheat. I can't convince them I think and I was hoping if I took it I would not infect others. Thanks for the opinion and information.


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## Deleted member 64995

I start the year badly, now the stove is broken and it's cold.
I'm looking for one compatible with my home.


I have started writing again and I am motivated, I have a lot of ideas.

According to what they told me, I can only get vaccinated in December.
Hope to do it sooner.


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## Olly Buckle

I need more vegetable growing space and started to dig a bed out of the solid clay my garden is made of. It started to fill up with water and I dug a drainage channel down the slope away from it, tomorrow I shall finish digging out and then put in a good layer of twigs to keep it draining, I have piled the solid clay around the edge and kept anything that resembles top soil to go back in on top of the wood, hoping to end up with a slightly raised bed. I shall burn off a certain amount of clay, stick it in my incinerator with a bunch of rubbish wood and it comes out as wood ash and terracotta, excellent for building up the bed and adding a bit of potash at the same time, that and the compost heap and it should be quite productive.

Robin joined me while I was digging out, hopping down into the hole and picking out a choice morsel every so often, he's great, bet he will be there when it is time to shovel compost.


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## Firemajic

Dear Ollie, I love hearing about your garden, here, the ground is still frozen and I am a few months away from starting new flower beds, I am going to order some new plants, things I have never planted before... Glad to hear the Robin is still keeping you company... I have a small brown Wren who hangs out on my back porch, she is very inquisitive and loves exploring the pots and decorative bird houses... I watch for her every day and I keep her in Suet and sunflower seeds....


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## Olly Buckle

A pair of wrens built their nest in a clematis almost opposite our back door, the cat never noticed it, but there was always a wren on top of my shed next to it chittering away angrily as it went past. That was actually what alerted me to the nest, a tiny ball of moss with a domed roof.

Names like 'wren' can be different things in different places. The Latin name pinpoints them, ours is troglodytes troglodytes. It got that name because in winter they will sometimes gather in numbers in hollows in rotting stumps, huddling together for warmth in a sort of semi-hibernation. Their nests are well hidden and very small, that combined with hedgers suddenly disturbing them, seemingly coming up out of the ground, made people think they were true troglodytes, growing from the earth.


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## escorial

Marking down bird visits..so far ...20+ starlings...1 blackbird....all for RSPB survey...


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## Olly Buckle

Do you watch 'Winter watch'? Bet those starlings come from a pier near you.


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## escorial

I watched it until the owl was eating a starling..give me a narky robin anyday


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## Olly Buckle

> give me a narky robin anyday


That's what the owl said before it discovered 'The Hot Starling' Takeaway


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## escorial

Magpie, starling an blackbird today on my survey...normally more than that each day...


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## Theglasshouse

I signed up for speech recognition. I am waiting until they give me the username to my account for a premium subscription to Briana. Taking a break from chores. I had to help my mother. She has a spinal cord condition for years. But it's a degenerative disease. So I spent all the time until 4: 00p.m. helping her. My mood is excellent. I eat vegetables during lunch and dinner and avoid eating rice. It is the quickest way for me to lose weight. In the week I will go to the post office to pick up some books. Going to read more of that book I will be reading 30 minutes from now. I am at 15 percent of 420 pages.


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## Jk_Sl

Taylor said:


> Writer's block today...



Do you have any music that usually helps with that, something to bring emotions and words into your mind, I know it’s different for everyone.


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## Taylor

Jk_Sl said:


> Do you have any music that usually helps with that, something to bring emotions and words into your mind, I know it’s different for everyone.



Yeah, thanks, you are right!   I wrote this a few days ago, and solved the problem by listening to Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish.  It's my theme song now.  I listen to it every time I sit down to write.


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## Jk_Sl

Taylor said:


> Yeah, thanks, you are right!   I wrote this a few days ago, and solved the problem by listening to Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish.  It's my theme song now.  I listen to it every time I sit down to write.



You’re welcome, it’s funny isn’t it some days your brain just won’t shut up and you have lots to write then others it’s blank .
Good choice, it’s a nice song. 
Check this one out too [emoji4]

https://youtu.be/aWufzjl1NpE


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## Olly Buckle

Finished digging out, started filling in, joined by robin as predicted, he gets bolder by the day.


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## escorial

When a robin allows you to stay in their territory ....they will become very friendly....a violent,cunning little bird...who killed cock robin


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## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> Finished digging out, started filling in, joined by robin as predicted, he gets bolder by the day.




You are going to have to give that Robin a name.... something poetic like.... ooo.... maybe Mr. Poe....

A flock of Starlings descended on my squirrel feeder and devoured everything, the Squirrels are hanging out on the back porch protesting the empty feeders....


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## Olly Buckle

There is a big old oak tree at the bottom of our garden, stood in the back room this morning with the missus there were five or six squirrels going up and down its trunk and playing in the branches.


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## escorial

They were watching yous


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## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> There is a big old oak tree at the bottom of our garden, stood in the back room this morning with the missus there were five or six squirrels going up and down its trunk and playing in the branches.




Your garden sounds big.... here, we measure in acres, but my yard is small, probably not even 1/4th of an acre, so I have to be careful where I dig because of the underground gas lines... I have to call before I dig...


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## druid12000

I've been awake since 4am, got some writing done on a story for my niece, just got back from running a couple of errands (one of which was purchasing a kitchen table-finally), and now looking forward to a restful and, hopefully, productive continuation of the aforementioned writing. It's been a good day :icon_cheesygrin:


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## Olly Buckle

Firemajic said:


> Your garden sounds big.... here, we measure in acres, but my yard is small, probably not even 1/4th of an acre, so I have to be careful where I dig because of the underground gas lines... I have to call before I dig...



Big by UK standards, we are a densely populated little island. I am guessing, but I reckon about 50ft across by about 150 feet long. That is at the back of the house, there is a little bit in front as well. Putting down gas lines without any protection seems pretty gung ho to me, if I were digging here I would expect to find a layer of stone or gravel put on top of the pipe before the trench was filled, maybe not with water or sewage, but gas!


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## Matchu

Deleted incomprehensible


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## Matchu

That's not how you insert pipe, guv, is it?  You don't dig a trench...what are you, posh?  xx 

You dig a hole, attach a pipe to the bullet, and drag it a couple of hundred feet underground using one of those Vermeer monsters, etc...


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## Foxee

Was loading groceries into my car when the guy who had the car next to me came out of the store and started stowing his. He said hello and we chatted for a moment, when he said he was actually having a great day I wondered why. He thought I'd find it silly but I finally got out of him that he just got a job driving a garbage truck. And he feels blessed and happy about it. 

He's got a college degree but had lost his job and he's elated. His good cheer was infectious.

I love those kinds of parking-lot conversations.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> That's not how you insert pipe, guv, is it?  You don't dig a trench...what are you, posh?  xx
> 
> You dig a hole, attach a pipe to the bullet, and drag it a couple of hundred feet underground using one of those Vermeer monsters, etc...


No, just old I guess, must be 50 years or so since I laid a pipe, so I hadn't considered a mole. I am surprised they use it for gas, do they reinforce the pipe at all?


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## Matchu

I dunno. It was a ‘very late at night’ post from me.  I’m not really a pipe expert - altho’ seems I had some expertise last night.


----------



## aj47

The background piece you may not have is that I moved in here on 05 Feb 2020.  

---


We took Spot to the emergency vet last night.  She was bleeding from her mouth.  Slow and oozy. For those who don't know Spot's history, about a decade ago, she was rescued after being thrown from a car as an about 8-week kitten.  She lost one of her fangs in that landing.  We'd seen a brown spot on her neck a few times recently, but  hadn't realized the why of it.  In her mouth, there are a "growth" and an "ulcer" ... tests were run.  It's possible that she had two abscesses and one popped.  Or it could be other things. The blood work is normal for a cat her age, so we're still not sure.


Spot is the Pigpen of cats ... she exists in a cloud of excess plush that you can sometimes spy flying off her when she scratches herself or makes other quick movements. Due to my allergies, I don't let her get too near my face, to lessen the inhalation of her Spottiness.  Her purr is so loud I can hear her across the room.


When I was a visitor here, Spot would avail herself of my lap. After most of a year, all the cats (except Spike) do that now, but Spot was the first.

She's on painkillers and appetite enhancers. We're still uncertain about the growth, but we'll see if we can heal the other before exploring further.

She's named Spot after Data's cat, although she's mostly white with very small gray/grey tabby patches, as if she'd been repaired from an old tabby skin left lying about.  I'm trying to find a good picture, as she's hiding, so taking a current one is unlikely to be possible.


----------



## Darkkin

Had to file a police report last night because some jerk wagon stole the rear license plate off my car.  As one of the things I hate the most is dealing with the purgatory that is the DMV, I was more than a little freaked out and upset, thinking I would have to redo everything with my car.  By reporting the plates stolen, it bypassed the actual DMV and I was able to apply for new plates online and print off a temporary plate so I can at least drive my car legally.  I also didn't have to pay for new registration again, (minor miracle...).

Anyway after dealing with that kerfluffle, I needed a little down time so I put Rue Dog on harness and let him romp through the fresh snow.  We just got back...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Not bad first thing, then it was misty, then a fine drizzle, gradually that got worse and worse until it was proper rain. There was also an East wind which was somewhat chilly. I did a little bit in the garden and in the greenhouse, but mostly I had a good fire and burnt off a lot of clay, then I went into my shed and made a new video 'London Transport Double Decker'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV93nGntU94


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## SueC

Olly Buckle said:


> Not bad first thing, then it was misty, then a fine drizzle, gradually that got worse and worse until it was proper rain. There was also an East wind which was somewhat chilly. I did a little bit in the garden and in the greenhouse, but mostly I had a good fire and burnt off a lot of clay, then I went into my shed and made a new video 'London Transport Double Decker'
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV93nGntU94



I'm disappointed - no audio. I put my puter audio at the top, and the one on YouTube too, but I can't hear anything. I'm sure it's lovely. 

<sob>


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## Olly Buckle

The link worked for me, Sue. Are you sure there is not a mic. symbol with a cross through it on YouTube, that has caught me out before, it doesn't matter how much the volume is turned up if there is.


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## nighthighway

Oh man, sorry to hear that but so glad you got it worked out and didn't have to go through DMV! *shudders*



Darkkin said:


> Had to file a police report last night because some jerk wagon stole the rear license plate off my car.  As one of the things I hate the most is dealing with the purgatory that is the DMV, I was more than a little freaked out and upset, thinking I would have to redo everything with my car.  By reporting the plates stolen, it bypassed the actual DMV and I was able to apply for new plates online and print off a temporary plate so I can at least drive my car legally.  I also didn't have to pay for new registration again, (minor miracle...).
> 
> Anyway after dealing with that kerfluffle, I needed a little down time so I put Rue Dog on harness and let him romp through the fresh snow.  We just got back...
> 
> View attachment 26386


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## druid12000

I found out before I left work in the morning that, because of the snowstorm we are currently in the midst of, I would not have to work tonight. YAY! Thank you Mother Nature :cheers:


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I'm waiting for good news from a friend.
Fingers crossed!

I have to transfer plants.
The vessels are starting to be too small, but in this cold, I'm afraid they will die.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Horrid, blocked nose, tight neck, headache, on and off all day. The missus had it yesterday so I am hoping tomorrow will be good again. The puzzle is with us both home and isolating where did it come from? I blame the cat.


----------



## Foxee

Olly Buckle said:


> with us both home and isolating where did it come from? I blame the cat.


Get better soon, Olly. The cat is suspect!

More minor chaos today but some progress has been made anyway. Current writing process is to jump up and down on these ideas that I have until something breaks.


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## Taylor

Foxee said:


> More minor chaos today but some progress has been made anyway. Current writing process is to jump up and down on these ideas that I have until something breaks.



Sounds like fun!  Can you share your process to flush out ideas?


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## Foxee

Taylor said:


> Sounds like fun!  Can you share your process to flush out ideas?


I guess it's no secret. It probably also sounds somewhat crazy.

Look at the prompt or idea or premise and wonder if the laundry needs folding.

Sigh. Get coffee.

Flip 15-min hourglass and brainstorm (that can be word association on paper or spitballing ideas writing or typing). I do favor handwriting for this step.

Celebrate with another coffee and procrastinate for a bit.

Flip hourglass and write for 15 mins on any combination of my word association or wild idea that seems to fit. Repeat this step as many times as I have patience and time for. (usually one or two more times in one session)

Poll any unwary family members/friends/strangers who enter my orbit about what their first five thoughts are when I say the prompt so that I can not-follow those ideas. Be reluctantly impressed that each one of them came up with an idea I hadn't thought of. Write those with my brainstorming and pretend I thought them up.

Consider doing dishes instead of writing. Get lost in researching what animals don't catch on fire (echidnas) or other strange things that might support some of the ideas.

Procrastinate by taking a bath or organizing spice rack or cleaning out lint trap. Theoretically (and sometimes not-theoretically) the subconscious comes through with sudden 'inspiration' probably caused by all the stuff I've jammed into it earlier and a character starts speaking in my head or a history starts to take off with a narrator speaking it or a scene will unfold and I have to try to capture this while (usually) otherwise occupied. Which can have semi-hilarious results (I have made an entire page of notes at midnight and didn't know where they came from the next day. I'm just glad I could read my writing).

So that's sort of it. In a way. I think...sometimes.


----------



## Olly Buckle

At what stage in this process do you vacuum, wash up and clean the kitchen floor? Do loading the washing machine and unloading the dishwasher come into it at any point? And just how much coffee do you drink? You do know it is an addictive drug?


----------



## druid12000

Good day/night but I am Tired. It must be hallucination-grade tired because I'm pretty sure my bed is actually calling me :sleeping:


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Olly Buckle said:


> Horrid, blocked nose, tight neck, headache, on and off all day. The missus had it yesterday so I am hoping tomorrow will be good again. The puzzle is with us both home and isolating where did it come from? I blame the cat.





How are you today?


----------



## Foxee

Olly Buckle said:


> At what stage in this process do you vacuum, wash up and clean the kitchen floor?


Not often! I think about it, though.


> Do loading the washing machine and unloading the dishwasher come into it at any point?


What is this nonsense you speak? I don't have a dishwasher, I am the dishwasher. The best thing is that the water's warm and there is a window from which I can watch my neighbor's bird feeder and her three boxers when they run outside and play in their fence. And sometimes have ideas.


> And just how much coffee do you drink? You do know it is an addictive drug?


More when my husband is home and keeps making it. Coffee is a drug that loves you back. 

I can quit anytime I want...I just never want to. Don't worry, after morning coffee I switch to plain peppermint tea and then there's evening coffee and then back to peppermint tea.

I probably wouldn't knock over the corner store in order to get coffee..._probably._

Donuts, however, they're sheer evil. I hardly EVER get one of those so I think about them far too much.


----------



## River Rose

My days were always interesting. Never a dull moment here. They are different now. I miss the old crazy. It was a contained crazy that I knew. A familiar crazy that I knew how to run and manage. Not this new and improved crazy all hyped up on steroids. 
My kids were growing up. I saw the light at the mountains edge peeking at me. A glimmer of getting a piece of life to myself back.  
I feel like I have digressed. Into my 15 yr old son’s new diagnosis of juvenile diabetes. Now needing the care of a small child again. My days revolve around blood glucose monitors going off. Testing the BS. Insulin shots. Making sure I am home every few hours so I am on top of his care. Making separate meals he can eat. He is like my little baby again. 
I am a mom and would give my own life for him,,so it’s just a new normal to adjust to. We will. As everyone does. 
So I will quick clean the house,,,get ready for son’s mid morn testing/shot and feeding. Then I have a window before lunch rolls around to go get some zen for myself. I will go to the forest, hike 5 plus miles thru snow packed trails. 
I will cry to the tree’s.  They listen w/o judgment to my shortcomings. They will fuel me w strength I need to trudge on. Their roots and wisdom make me stronger than I am alone. Knowing,,,I can face anything and make it through another day. That is how my day is going.


----------



## Foxee

River Rose said:


> I am a mom and would give my own life for him,,so it’s just a new normal to adjust to. We will. As everyone does.
> So I will quick clean the house,,,get ready for son’s mid morn testing/shot and feeding. Then I have a window before lunch rolls around to go get some zen for myself. I will go to the forest, hike 5 plus miles thru snow packed trails.


Sorry to hear about the diabetes. That would be an entirely different life for you and difficult adjustment. *hugs!* You're a good mom, he's blessed to have you. Glad you're getting your walks, you need those.


----------



## Kent_Jacobs

As phelps would say, swimmingly.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Foxee said:


> Donuts, however, they're sheer evil. I hardly EVER get one of those so I think about them far too much.


After several weeks at home and all the shopping delivered the missus finally felt she had to go to the shop, and returned with a packet of five jam doughnuts for me, guess what? When I opened it there were actually six in there; RESULT!  By the way, note the correct spelling  

Otherwise it was a dull sort of day, feeling better, but still a bit done in after being ill yesterday. It rained lots and the garden flooded in places, so nothing doing there, walking on it would mean more damage than good, but I did manage to add another quick story to my video collection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj7X7LxdWM4

PS just looked at the You Tube channel, passed the 400 views, 404 Yay!


----------



## Foxee

*If this sign is wrong I don't wanna be right.*


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## Jk_Sl

Mindfk [emoji1651]


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## SueC

River Rose said:


> View attachment 26394My days were always interesting. Never a dull moment here. They are different now. I miss the old crazy. It was a contained crazy that I knew. A familiar crazy that I knew how to run and manage. Not this new and improved crazy all hyped up on steroids.
> My kids were growing up. I saw the light at the mountains edge peeking at me. A glimmer of getting a piece of life to myself back.
> I feel like I have digressed. Into my 15 yr old son’s new diagnosis of juvenile diabetes. Now needing the care of a small child again. My days revolve around blood glucose monitors going off. Testing the BS. Insulin shots. Making sure I am home every few hours so I am on top of his care. Making separate meals he can eat. He is like my little baby again.
> I am a mom and would give my own life for him,,so it’s just a new normal to adjust to. We will. As everyone does.
> So I will quick clean the house,,,get ready for son’s mid morn testing/shot and feeding. Then I have a window before lunch rolls around to go get some zen for myself. I will go to the forest, hike 5 plus miles thru snow packed trails.
> I will cry to the tree’s.  They listen w/o judgment to my shortcomings. They will fuel me w strength I need to trudge on. Their roots and wisdom make me stronger than I am alone. Knowing,,,I can face anything and make it through another day. That is how my day is going.



Rose, I feel for you. My son was diagnosed at the age of two with juvenile diabetes (Type 1 now they call it). oI didn't know anything about the disease and have never been able to find it in the family. You make it through, it becomes your new normal. Your son at 15 will soon learn to manage his disease, but it does take time and education. I know it's early days, but try keeping that goal in mind every day - that someday you will no longer be the one to measure and weigh and ask and worry. Well, no, you will always worry. I'm sure you know all of this, but be alert for physical activity. When Paul was in high school, it was hard because he didn't want to be different from his friends. He played basketball and baseball like they all did, but I was the worry wort on the side lines. My son never knew sweets, so that wasn't a sacrifice, but your boy probably has a liking for things he's not supposed to eat anymore, or at least not as much. It just takes education, knowing what the outcomes are and before you know it, you will both be experts and able to tell anyone who needs to know how its done. Best of luck to you and your family.


----------



## PiP

I feel sad. I have just been informed a  dear friend died unexpectedly last night after being airlifted to hospital the other end of the country. She was only a couple of years older than me.I will always feel guilty she sent me via FB messenger(just general chit chat) on Thursday night,  and I never made time to reply. Always make time for dear friends. She was not ready to die.


----------



## SueC

PiP said:


> I feel sad. I have just been informed a  dear friend died unexpectedly last night after being airlifted to hospital the other end of the country. She was only a couple of years older than me.I will always feel guilty she sent me via FB messenger(just general Bchat) on Thursday night,  and I never made time to reply. Always make time for dear friends. She was not ready to die.


 
Oh Carole. My heart goes out to you. I know how painful this must be and I'm so sorry for your loss. Death just seems to be coming up more and more lately, at unlikely or unexpected times, but we can never forget can we? Bless your heart, I believe she knows you care. Love for a friend knows no distance. She sees you even now. Hugs for you.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Been getting terrible pain in my heel and the missus had achilles tendon issues. It seems to be because we are spending so much time indoors and wearing slippers with no heels, got some heel lifts off the web and it has cured the problem for both of us.

Snow today, it looks lovely, through the window. You won't catch me going out there.


----------



## escorial

so slippers dont have heels....learn sumit new today


----------



## Taylor

My day is starting out weird.  I just got two calls on a Sunday, both within a two hour period, from two completely different companies.  Both want to hire me on a contract basis for a three month period, starting right away.  

And what's even weirder about that is three months is the timeframe I had just estimated to complete my novel.  Weird!

Is this one of life's tests?  If I turn these two contracts down, then it would really up the ante for my own expectations to complete in three months.  I'm not sure I could take that kind of pressure.  And if I take them, I have to question my commitment to my writing.  Probably the easier of the two conundrums.


----------



## Foxee

Taylor said:


> Is this one of life's tests?  If I turn these two contracts down, then it would really up the ante for my own expectations to complete in three months.  I'm not sure I could take that kind of pressure.  And if I take them, I have to question my commitment to my writing.  Probably the easier of the two conundrums.


I guess if nothing else it's nice to be wanted!


----------



## Taylor

Foxee said:


> I guess if nothing else it's nice to be wanted!



Yeah, you see that's just it...it plays into my ego as well!  But, what's going to feel better in the long run?  Feeling wanted or feeling accomplished?  One is a given and one is not...


----------



## SueC

Taylor said:


> My day is starting out weird.  I just got two calls on a Sunday, both within a two hour period, from two completely different companies.  Both want to hire me on a contract basis for a three month period, starting right away.
> 
> And what's even weirder about that is three months is the timeframe I had just estimated to complete my novel.  Weird!
> 
> Is this one of life's tests?  If I turn these two contracts down, then it would really up the ante for my own expectations to complete in three months.  I'm not sure I could take that kind of pressure.  And if I take them, I have to question my commitment to my writing.  Probably the easier of the two conundrums.



Imagine how you would feel if you accomplished both.


----------



## Taylor

SueC said:


> Imagine how you would feel if you accomplished both.



How do you know me so well?  Of course that is what I am thinking.  The old addage, "if you want something done, give it to the busiest person", comes to mind.   

I just wonder about mindset, right brain vs left brain.   I was not able to write fiction when I was working full time before.  But now I'm 75% complete, so there is that momentum. 

 I wonder if I have the chops for it?


----------



## SueC

Taylor said:


> How do you know me so well?  Of course that is what I am thinking.  The old addage, "if you want something done, give it to the busiest person", comes to mind.
> 
> I just wonder about mindset, right brain vs left brain.   I was not able to write fiction when I was working full time before.  But now I'm 75% complete, so there is that momentum.
> 
> I wonder if I have the chops for it?



Of course you have the chops! In spades!  I have every confidence.


----------



## Taylor

SueC said:


> Of course you have the chops! In spades!  I have every confidence.



Awe...thanks Sue!   I would certainly look to the WF to cheer me on.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Feeling wanted, feeling accomplished? I am afraid if it was me feeling paid would come into it. Not saying you won't make more from the book, maybe, but the certainty of a contract, if only.


----------



## Taylor

Olly Buckle said:


> Feeling wanted, feeling accomplished? I am afraid if it was me feeling paid would come into it. Not saying you won't make more from the book, maybe, but the certainty of a contract, if only.



Yes, certainty has been a big part of my philosophy to date...so why change now?    I wonder how many novels were buried under certainty.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Mind you, maybe you don't live on a tiny pension  Or you might manage both at 75%, set aside an hour a day ?


----------



## Taylor

Olly Buckle said:


> Mind you, maybe you don't live on a tiny pension  Or you might manage both at 75%, set aside an hour a day ?



I was thinking that too!  A goal of 200-400 words a day is manageable.  At the end of the day, I think the pressure of not taking the contract due to the book would be too much pressure.  I'd probably get writer's block!  

Thanks for the moral support!


----------



## Olly Buckle

If you were to ask me I would say set a goal on the low side and make it a definite one, so if you say 250 words, or whatever amount of time, finish on that word or that minute every day, that way you are keen to come back.


----------



## Matchu

It's morning in the North of England.  Blizzard outside the window is very entertaining.  Occasionally the snow stops flurrying in its flight [excellent, wordsmith] and I suffer a moment's anxiety.  Please snow, that's better and My God now snow is actually  quite apocalyptic, the view into my neighbour's gardens obscured by a wall of whiteness.  I can't see my hand.  Sorry, apols, panic, I simply turn on a light, I learned the trick years ago.  My main mission today is to scatter a couple of posts.  I am back at work tomorrow, so while the lunatics are gnawing my face at the asylum, it is a moment's respite and joy to receive a tiny tick on the web forum, the _I like you _clicks make me feel warm inside.  I always return the favour, & check the person's homepage and gurgle in kindness and appreciation if that's an incentive, please like me when I'm at work it's very gruelling.  One lady told me to leave, I think I might leave but if I leave I have no job and realistically unemployable save as a 'happy assistant' or similar kind of job.  It's really a horrible horror.


----------



## Foxee

Matchu, I'm not entirely sure what your job is but it sounds like you're all over the clock with your shifts and feel stuck, neither of which is easy. Do you work at a care facility? (Some of your comments make it sound that way)

The dawn was gorgeous here and clear with a perfect crescent moon...it's supposed to cloud up and snow for the rest of the week. I'm going to get a good look at the sun while I can.

ETA: I'm hoping against hope that this first draft of this story is at least 50% fat so that I can make the word count.


----------



## druid12000

My night at work was duuuuuuuuuull! A bright spot though, I came up with a couple of changes to my current short story that should get it sewn up nicely.

That will have to wait until after sleep, which is going to happen.........now


----------



## Matchu

Mental Health supported living, rota-ed for day on/day on/night on/night on @12 hours for the time being due to staff shortages.  Job, under my skin for the first time, trying to work it out while my eye twitches in front of the face.  Job, supposed to be trips to the beach and cups of tea with 'the boys' three days a week, my other days striding town as a 'writer.'  Mmmm

The hardest job I have done; tension, anxiety and the stress, the fear of violence.  I used to think I was good at this.  All staff breaking down eventually. [unless they are beasts, and you watch out for the beasts, they get into the system, Ratchit]

I do a particular 1:1 all night waking lock-in which is most challenging.  Hence the 'anxiety.'  Hey, just anxiety like everybody else's Sunday night before school.


----------



## Foxee

Matchu said:


> Mental Health supported living, rota-ed for day on/day on/night on/night on @12 hours for the time being due to staff shortages.  Job, under my skin for the first time, trying to work it out while my eye twitches in front of the face.  Job, supposed to be trips to the beach and cups of tea with 'the boys' three days a week, my other days striding town as a 'writer.'  Mmmm


Whew, I have no idea how people can stay oriented (and rested) on that sort of schedule.


> The hardest job I have done; tension, anxiety and the stress, the fear of violence.  I used to think I was good at this.  All staff breaking down eventually. [unless they are beasts, and you watch out for the beasts, they get into the system, Ratchit]
> 
> I do a particular 1:1 all night waking lock-in which is most challenging.  Hence the 'anxiety.'  Hey, just anxiety like everybody else's Sunday night before school.


I hope you're keeping some kind of record or journal of your experiences. If you're like me you might not want to write about your daily life but later you may find that experience fuels your writing. It's terrible that you have to feel that fear and anxiety all the time to make a living. It's definitely a world that many don't know.


----------



## Matchu

Yes, I had thought it was good 'material.'  One short publication off the back of my endurance .  I'm not sure the stress is worthwhile.  I might die at 62 and not 63?   Thank you for replying.


...

update...I mean I _have had_ one short publica...etc...[bloated pride]....but then I sent him another one, he never replied, probably sick of the 'goodly memoirs/beatific smile' stuff...did I type that right?

_After he had thrown the last kitchen knife the length of the hall I emerged from the shoe cupboard and we shared a cup of tea.  Not all jobs are marketing sales IT solutions I concluded, sipping my china mug, satisfied to serve on a minimum wage for the sakes of the community, blah & blah, and, ehmm, ethics, ehm ehm_


----------



## TuesdayEve

The day is only half over....as part of a school dist, we 
are trying to resume classes and activities. There’s 
no formal standard to rely on, so everything is based on 
the positivity rates. And as long as it retreats downward, 
consistency with schools, students and parents may
 form. Confusion seems to menace everyone and 
everyone is doing their best.


----------



## Taylor

Started my three month contract writing training materials for government controls and governance structures.  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ   But at least I'm getting paid.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I wanted to buy a domain name for my site/blog, as a writer.
I have found that they are expensive.
I have to think about it ...


----------



## aj47

LadySilence said:


> I wanted to buy a domain name for my site/blog, as a writer.
> I have found that they are expensive.
> I have to think about it ...



They are not expensive. A lot of places will try to sell you stuff you don't need.  There's different tiers of cost/service and you may be looking at a tier above what makes sense for where you're at.

PM me.  I have a day job, so I no longer earn money by helping folks get their blogs going. I won't try to sell you anything, but will help you become a better consumer.


----------



## Taylor

Brain totally fried.  Winding down with a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Forgot how exhausting it is to write for 7 hours a day.   :unconscious:


----------



## SueC

Wishing I had wine. Haven't been out of the house since last Friday. I'll have to go tomorrow for sure, even though it's going to be colder than today and more snow coming in. I wore the same top for two days; one of them was Sunday and I didn't go down for mail - so no one saw me. Yikes, what is happening to my world?


----------



## Foxee

SueC said:


> ...so no one saw me. Yikes, what is happening to my world?


I got gas for the SUV tonight and my gas log says I haven't filled it up since January 9th. Considering the pretty rotten gas milage on that thing it tells you how little I've gotten around in the last month. (Not a tragedy for this introvert)

However, my whole trip this evening to a town about a half an hour away was while it was snowing like the dickens. The drive back home was pretty dicey and it looks like the snow will be coming down 'til about 9am tomorrow. So I really need to get to sleep so that I can get up in time for my writing time.

And I'm hiding from my grandmother who wants to contact me about planning things for my mom's wedding. I'll try to call her in the morning when I'm feeling more up to dealing with it.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Foxee said:


> I got gas for the SUV tonight and my gas log says I haven't filled it up since January 9th. Considering the pretty rotten gas milage on that thing it tells you how little I've gotten around in the last month. (Not a tragedy for this introvert)



Went down the doctor's in the village yesterday for a couple of checks (They were fine) and that is my first time out since I went for a vaccination two weeks ago. The missus went back to work this morning, she couldn't face the idea that she might bring home something that could kill me and wasn't sleeping nights, hopefully the vaccine is starting to kick in now.


----------



## Matchu

I done a lot of massaging (professional) in the last couple of days.  I quite like it.  There could be a future in my massages.  And a building of my skill set that gives me new respect for a buddy, once upon a time, transformed from geek to the tantric yogi in the matter of his term time.  Arrived at our place back then years ago with pony tail, Chinese slippers, his massage mat.  He offered to 'massage' my wife.  It could have gone either way that night.  Lucky how we were drinking and I physically assaulted my buddy on his mat.  Maybe I could look him up?

[_hoh, pr*ck_]


----------



## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> I done a lot of massaging (professional) in the last couple of days.  I quite like it.  There could be a future in my massages.



I have always found foot and head massage to be a good introduction. A lot of people are quite sensitive and private about their bodies, but those are a sort of 'Public' area. It always seemed hands should be as well, but hand massage only seems to work as part of a general torso thing.

Been mending a picture frame I dropped yesterday. It is a picture the missus' grandfather drew and framed and she was madder than mad. I think I have got it, it is all strapped up with bungees waiting for the glue to go off, fingers crossed.


----------



## River Rose

SueC said:


> Wishing I had wine. Haven't been out of the house since last Friday. I'll have to go tomorrow for sure, even though it's going to be colder than today and more snow coming in. I wore the same top for two days; one of them was Sunday and I didn't go down for mail - so no one saw me. Yikes, what is happening to my world?



This wine situation is a travesty. If I were closer to u I would hike to the liquor store and buy u a case of wine so this would not happen again. No women should b w/o her wine due to in climate weather. I go buy my mom her wine all the time so she can stay wrapped up in her cozy blankets on her days off from the working as a nurse in the front lines. I would b honored if I could also rectify your lack of wine conundrum.


----------



## Matchu

Olly Buckle said:


> I have always found foot and head massage to be a good introduction. A lot of people are quite sensitive and private about their bodies, but those are a sort of 'Public' area. It always seemed hands should be as well, but hand massage only seems to work as part of a general torso thing.
> 
> Been mending a picture frame I dropped yesterday. It is a picture the missus' grandfather drew and framed and she was madder than mad. I think I have got it, it is all strapped up with bungees waiting for the glue to go off, fingers crossed.



Yes.  Serious now.  Hand massage, and feet.  Some people can't touch their feet.


----------



## SueC

River Rose said:


> This wine situation is a travesty. If I were closer to u I would hike to the liquor store and buy u a case of wine so this would not happen again. No women should b w/o her wine due to in climate weather. I go buy my mom her wine all the time so she can stay wrapped up in her cozy blankets on her days off from the working as a nurse in the front lines. I would b honored if I could also rectify your lack of wine conundrum.



What a honey of a girl!!! thank you Rose


----------



## Deleted member 64995

aj47 said:


> They are not expensive. A lot of places will try to sell you stuff you don't need.  There's different tiers of cost/service and you may be looking at a tier above what makes sense for where you're at.
> 
> PM me.  I have a day job, so I no longer earn money by helping folks get their blogs going. I won't try to sell you anything, but will help you become a better consumer.




I found a good price, on a good site.
I bought it.
I'm happy, that's what I wanted, and what I needed.

Now I just have to translate my stories and post them.
It will be the longest job.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> Yes.  Serious now.  Hand massage, and feet.  Some people can't touch their feet.



The initial thing has to be firm not to 'tickle' or irritate. I think of picking up a bird, physically stopping it damaging itself, whilst trying not to scare it or upset it. Allowing time to adapt and become aware.


----------



## Foxee

Matchu said:


> Yes.  Serious now.  Hand massage, and feet.  Some people can't touch their feet.


My grandma was a visiting nurse for a long time and talked about how effective a comfort it was for some patients to have their hands and/or feet massaged as she chatted with them.


----------



## Matchu

Yes, it's a privilege.

When I first immersed into this strange world - it's not strange - but it was for me at the time - I had to shower a man.  I was proper moved, and shed a few tears outside afterward.  I'm soppy anyway, cry at dog films.  And this same guy used to laugh raucously at episodes of the Simpsons, set everybody off in snot.  He was very loved.


----------



## Foxee

Matchu said:


> When I first immersed into this strange world - it's not strange - but it was for me at the time - I had to shower a man.


I never wanted to give a grown adult stranger a shower, the thought was terrifying. Yet when I eventually had to do it in the course of my job, caring for a man with MS, he was a huge help to how I saw things. He always called himself an 'old hippie' and maybe that had something to do with his utter lack of shyness (beyond being used to needing care) but it really made no difference to him whether he was clothed or not. In fact, after showers he liked to wheel around to finish air-drying in front of the wood stove or he would go out on his deck in nice weather. A 'modesty towel' was one thing he allowed (mostly because his wife pushed the issue) when he was outside or someone was coming to the house.

Showering someone who has little remaining core strength is hard work but he would crack jokes that kept things light. I liked him a lot.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I thought my computer died. I had to uninstall an old game called age of empires. I thought my Dragon 15 software died with it. The good news after that uninstall the computer works normally. I have been researching fiction settings. I am using Taylor's approach. I feel embarrassingly slow because I am not that exposed to solutions on how to describe. I should have 5 different sources of settings. But helping my mother has drained my energy and mood and haven't had time. However I did read a craft book. I am disliking owning craft books to read on kindle but it helps with critiquing. So I plan to critique more. The problem is too many demands. And my interests in reading craft books can be time consuming. Helping my mother has been changing my mood and has been a time drain. That and my puppy never likes to be alone. So much I feel like I am babysitting it. It broke its bone and it's not suppose to go downstairs. Because it is a 2 month recovery period. It's bone is too weak after it fell down a storey or floor.


----------



## Foxee

It sounds like you're going through a real rough patch, glasshouse, and I'm sorry to hear about the puppy especially. With everything you have going on try not to be too hard on yourself. Writing is a battle a lot of the time, you're persistent, you'll get it. I really hope that some time opens up for you.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Thank you Foxee for your kind comments.

 I've been playing music all day to relax from the stress since that is the easiest way for me to calm down. I am definitely going to need more ways to relax from the stress. I think I now know I will purchase some services such as kindle unlimited to create a muse and to help with my writing hobby. I feel inspired when I read more so without reading. Where I live there are no libraries nearby the house that are open during the pandemic. But my birthday is next month. I'll save the money I receive as a present for something special that might be costly and also will purchase a subscription to kindle unlimited. I am waiting until the next time I have the opportunity to buy books which is less than 2 weeks from now (25th). There are some issues I have resolved concerning insecurity as a writer. I think my collection of craft books is enough. So I will focus on reading works.

I think I will be able to boost my writing output this way. I have too many craft books (that I have stored in a room inside the house). The ones I like are just two (but the third one is all theoretical and is on characterization). I will just use two and for critiques anything else I have inside my house that people would probably like as advice concerning their story.


----------



## EternalGreen

A day started badly, became great around 12 pm, and remained good throughout the afternoon.


----------



## SueC

This is an attempt to let go of something that might keep me awake.

Just recently, I gave a story I had written quite a while ago to a friend to read. I had done some new work on it, and wanted her opinion. It had been some time since I asked for her help, so I forgot one important thing - she never, ever gives a compliment!

Still, I thought it would be okay. After waiting more than a week, she came knocking on my door tonight. She immediately launched into what she saw as wrong with the story, but couldn't seem to find the offending work on the pages she had. 

Then she said, "You say the child is six, but there are words in here that a six year old would never even know."

"But," I said, "this is an adult talking about being a child, not becoming a child again."

She stuck to her guns.

"Would you," I asked, "talk like a six year old if you were telling someone about something that happened to you at six?"

"Yes," she said.

In frustration, I asked what she thought of the story.

"Oh, it was okay," was all she said. 

You all here on WF have spoiled me. When I ask for input, you give me thoughtful responses. I wanted at least constructive criticism from my friend, but NO! Well, now I've told you so I can sleep better and a mental note to never ask her again.

Maybe she doesn't like me, but is too chicken to say?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Some people are just like that, Sue. Take the thought that she would never make it as a mentor here, not even a junior trainee one.


----------



## Foxee

SueC said:


> In frustration, I asked what she thought of the story.
> 
> "Oh, it was okay," was all she said.
> 
> You all here on WF have spoiled me. When I ask for input, you give me thoughtful responses. I wanted at least constructive criticism from my friend, but NO! Well, now I've told you so


That is one thing that readers who don't write often can't really understand -- what is helpful critique for a writer? Someone who doesn't write might know what they like to read and if things are understandable, if the piece flows. They might offer nitpicks from dimly-remembered English classes.

There's really no upside to trying to talk a critiquer out of their critique, like your friend, they usually just try harder to convince you that they're right. I'm trying to learn to just thank the person for giving their time and reading my work and only asking questions for clarification. But the process doesn't feel good on an emotional level. Maybe ever.

That's where finding other writers is the right thing to do and thank goodness you have. 


> I can sleep better and a mental note to never ask her again.


I have this happen on WF as well, more from the critiquing end. If I give an in-depth critique and they want to argue or are dismissive, I don't crit their work anymore. Not every reviewer is the right one.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Finally the new stove has arrived. Now I just have to take the old stove apart, and throw it away.

I am sleepy, I wish I could sleep like a bear in hibernation.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Quiet sort of day, the missus asked for a couple of leeks for dinner, when I dug them the ground was frozen for a couple of inches. Recorded and uploaded a new story to the channel, 11mins 32 seconds I think it was, 'A clinical approach', see my signature below. Just realised I didn't get notified my prescription was ready last week and I shall need it Monday, so already the week looks busier than normal


----------



## Firemajic

SueC said:


> This is an attempt to let go of something that might keep me awake.
> 
> Just recently, I gave a story I had written quite a while ago to a friend to read. I had done some new work on it, and wanted her opinion. It had been some time since I asked for her help, so I forgot one important thing - she never, ever gives a compliment!
> 
> Still, I thought it would be okay. After waiting more than a week, she came knocking on my door tonight. She immediately launched into what she saw as wrong with the story, but couldn't seem to find the offending work on the pages she had.
> 
> Then she said, "You say the child is six, but there are words in here that a six year old would never even know."
> 
> "But," I said, "this is an adult talking about being a child, not becoming a child again."
> 
> She stuck to her guns.
> 
> "Would you," I asked, "talk like a six year old if you were telling someone about something that happened to you at six?"
> 
> "Yes," she said.
> 
> In frustration, I asked what she thought of the story.
> 
> "Oh, it was okay," was all she said.
> 
> You all here on WF have spoiled me. When I ask for input, you give me thoughtful responses. I wanted at least constructive criticism from my friend, but NO! Well, now I've told you so I can sleep better and a mental note to never ask her again.
> 
> Maybe she doesn't like me, but is too chicken to say?





Dear Sue, you said that your friend never gives a compliment....hummmm, that sounds painfully familiar to me.... 

I read one of your earlier pieces, I don't remember if it was a short story, or part of a longer WIP, but I do remember the content, and it brought me to tears.... I remember commenting on it....{ it was a story about your husband, I believe}.... You have a way of bringing your reader in close, your work feels intimate and unpretentious....

I feel sure you wanted an honest opinion from your friend, and an honest opinion would most certainly include negative comments, and would absolutely include positive feedback....  there MUST have been SOMETHING about your story that was good .... right? You must know that...  Maybe she just does not enjoy reading.... Maybe she thought  offering only negative feedback was helpful.... maybe she secretly is envious that you have this skill .... and maybe....  she does not realize her comments are always negative.. and maybe.... maybe, she is not really your friend.... 

*shrug it off... **hugs***


----------



## SueC

Firemajic said:


> Dear Sue, you said that your friend never gives a compliment....hummmm, that sounds painfully familiar to me....
> 
> I read one of your earlier pieces, I don't remember if it was a short story, or part of a longer WIP, but I do remember the content, and it brought me to tears.... I remember commenting on it....{ it was a story about your husband, I believe}.... You have a way of bringing your reader in close, your work feels intimate and unpretentious....
> 
> I feel sure you wanted an honest opinion from your friend, and an honest opinion would most certainly include negative comments, and would absolutely include positive feedback....  there MUST have been SOMETHING about your story that was good .... right? You must know that...  Maybe she just does not enjoy reading.... Maybe she thought  offering only negative feedback was helpful.... maybe she secretly is envious that you have this skill .... and maybe....  she does not realize her comments are always negative.. and maybe.... maybe, she is not really your friend....
> 
> *shrug it off... **hugs***



Bless your heart! I have thought of all of these things - the story I had updated was the chicken one - do you remember that one? You were so kind about it when I first put it here - I can't remember where it was, but I don't think it was a comp. Anyway, it has been a really long time since I have looked at that story and decided it needed some work, so I spent some time improving (I hoped). I asked her because she was nearby and acted interested enough to even say she would give me feedback. I am always open to constructive criticism; that is not a problem for me. She had not read it before. But yeah, I struggle sometimes because if I am sick or sad, she is always the first one to call. But there are other times when no matter how I say things, I am always wrong. She has opinions about how I raised my children, my relationship with my grandchildren, etc. and in the end, I'm always doing it wrong, no matter what. So, as I said, I just won't be asking her to read anything for me again. She had told another friend that she thought I was a very defensive person - but she seems to try and set those moments up, so yes I do sound defensive.

Thank you so much for your kind words. They always mean so much to me.

Sue


----------



## Firemajic

Ahhhh yes, the chicken story....  I remember, and probably shared with you my "pet chicken story"... I loooove my little hens... so relaxing to watch them... I would like to read that story again....Sue, keep telling your wonderful stories....


----------



## Gumby

> But there are other times when no matter how I say things, I am always  wrong. She has opinions about how I raised my children, my relationship  with my grandchildren, etc. and in the end, I'm always doing it wrong,  no matter what.





> She had told another friend that she thought I was a very defensive  person - but she seems to try and set those moments up, so yes I do  sound defensive.





> "Would you," I asked, "talk like a six year old if you were telling someone about something that happened to you at six?"
> 
> "Yes," she said.



This tells me all I wish to know about this person. They are not honest. They are narcissistic and manipulative. Period. Just my opinion, but yeah.


----------



## Gumby

Firemajic said:


> Ahhhh yes, the chicken story....  I remember, and probably shared with you my "pet chicken story"... I loooove my little hens... so relaxing to watch them... I would like to read that story again....Sue, keep telling your wonderful stories....



Me too! I love hanging out with my chickens and find them very peaceful to watch. Very relaxing! Almost comforting in some strange way. 

On another note, I was just given a Guinea Hen as she was the only one left from her flock. I incorporated her into my chicken flock and.... NOT a peaceful bird. I can't imagine having a flock of these birds, she is so loud sometimes and talk about bossy...


----------



## Firemajic

Gumby said:


> Me too! I love hanging out with my chickens and find them very peaceful to watch. Very relaxing! Almost comforting in some strange way.
> 
> On another note, I was just given a Guinea Hen as she was the only one left from her flock. I incorporated her into my chicken flock and.... NOT a peaceful bird. I can't imagine having a flock of these birds, she is so loud sometimes and talk about bossy...



lol, yes, Guineas are loud, but the up side is that they are good watch dogs.... nothing... and I mean nothing escapes their attention....


----------



## PiP

Gumby said:


> and.... she is so loud sometimes and talk about bossy...



sounds just like me! :cookie:

If we had more space, I'd love to keep chickens! Although my friend who keeps chickens informs me all they do is eat and poop, eat and poop. In fact, there is SO much poop, she doesn't know what to do with it. Like me she doesn't have much land, so keeping chickens in an Urbanisation has its drawbacks.


----------



## Firemajic

PiP said:


> sounds just like me! :cookie:
> 
> If we had more space, I'd love to keep chickens! Although my friend who keeps chickens informs me all they do is eat and poop, eat and poop. In fact, there is SO much poop, she doesn't know what to do with it. Like me she doesn't have much land, so keeping chickens in an Urbanisation has its drawbacks.



I had the little tiny Bantam hens, not much larger than a Dove....when I worked in my flower beds, they followed me, hoping to find bugs or worms.... they were not messy at all and they never damaged my flowers... they were so sweet, I called them my little ladies...  their eggs were small but perfect... 2 of their eggs was equal to 1 egg from the regular sized chickens ....


----------



## SueC

Fire.majic said:


> Ahhhh yes, the chicken story....  I remember, and probably shared with you my "pet chicken story"... I loooove my little hens... so relaxing to watch them... I would like to read that story again....Sue, keep telling your wonderful stories....



Here's a link to the story, if you want to read it again - with updates! LOL! Thanks again for your interest.

Quiet Like a Chicken  (hope this works!)

Sue


----------



## aj47

We have snow.  And it's sticking. Even Galveston has snow on the seawall.


----------



## Gumby

Yep, here too. About 6 to 8 inches so far.


----------



## Darkkin

#trust


----------



## escorial

Like to wish all a happy pancake day....


----------



## Firemajic

SueC said:


> Here's a link to the story, if you want to read it again - with updates! LOL! Thanks again for your interest.
> 
> Quiet Like a Chicken  (hope this works!)
> 
> Sue



Just as enchanting as I remember.... I love that the story is personal, and it is about a personal, intimate memory, but it is still so relatable to me....I grew up telling my secrets to my chicken friends, and later, I shared them with my horse.... this story brought back some long forgotten memories.... thanks... again


----------



## SueC

Firemajic said:


> Just as enchanting as I remember.... I love that the story is personal, and it is about a personal, intimate memory, but it is still so relatable to me....I grew up telling my secrets to my chicken friends, and later, I shared them with my horse.... this story brought back some long forgotten memories.... thanks... again



Thank you very much! It means so much to me, and exactly what I had hoped for.


----------



## Foxee

Firemajic said:


> I grew up telling my secrets to my chicken friends, and later, I shared them with my horse.... this story brought back some long forgotten memories.... thanks... again


I did that, too! The barn was a great place to go tell my problems. Horses are marvelous listeners and so are dogs.

Goats are more like cats, they don't care about your problems but generally seem to want you to be okay because you're where food comes from. And they're hilarious to watch sometimes.

Today the weather is trying to be threatening and failing, managing only to be kind of gross. I'm thankful for a nice warm room to work in. Well...mostly warm. 

Dedicated morning writing time is spinning off all kinds of ideas. Maybe I can get over my past faceplants and start working on a new novel.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Went to bed with a headache, woke up with a headache when the cat forced its way into the bedroom miowing, fed it, shut it in the kitchen, took some paras and went back to bed. Midday before I felt right. In the afternoon I hung some pictures with the missus directing, then went and planted leek and cucumber seeds and broke out the seed propagator.


----------



## Firemajic

Dear Foxxy, good luck with working on your book... I find that when I have a lot of time, I cannot get anything done....


----------



## SueC

Firemajic said:


> Dear Foxxy, good luck with working on your book... I find that when I have a lot of time, I cannot get anything done....



Me too. I wonder why that is.


----------



## Olly Buckle

SueC said:


> Me too. I wonder why that is.



Maybe a little bit of urgency helps ?


----------



## Darkkin

It is very rare that I take a person into dislike at a first encounter, but it happened a few weeks ago.  Upon further interaction, the feeling has not gone away only deepened to the point I feel like a cat who has had their fur purposefully ruffled forward.  You want to growl and hiss because they disturb you on a fundamental level, but you don't because it is not socially acceptable.  Stupid mistakes caused by assumptions and general carelessness have not helped the situation. 

 Because of this, I have gone into avoid and evade mode.  If I have to be within proximity, I quickly find a legitimate reason to disappear with a stack of books or to answer a question, and unless I am addressed directly, I say nothing.  My shell is out in full force and it can be wearing. 

 Usually because books are something I love, people have a hard time shutting me up.  I read incessantly and have a weird knack for recalling exactly where roughly 70% of our book inventory is at any given time.  I don't usually need the computer to look anything up...basically, I'm a living card catalogue.  Outside of a book shop, it is a creepy ability, but in my line of work it is a great skill to have, one my coworkers don't hesitate to utilise and I'm happy to share.

In this instance, however, it is not something I feel obliged to offer because I've been polite and quiet, and I have watched.  Any offered help, is wasted effort.  Being careless with books just pushes all the wrong buttons, especially when I am the one who ends up fixing the mistakes.  Because I deal with spectrum issues, chaos in things as basic as the alphabet can drive me absolutely bats.  I guess I feel a little guilty that my unconscious reaction on the first meeting was accurate.  I don't like the feeling because it started as an assumption, but was unfortunately supported by further actions. 

Just some thoughts...

- D.


----------



## Darkkin

Fun update on the stolen license plate:  I just got a letter in the mail from one of the local gas station chains about the plate being seen on a vehicle that drove off without paying for nearly $50.00 worth of fuel.  I called, explained the situation, and gave them the case number for the police report.  The gas station is sending video footage of the thief and his vehicle to the police.  How stupid can you get?  Steal the plate and fuel, too...Dude, you are on camera, anybody, who watches any type of crime show would know this.


----------



## Theglasshouse

How Japanese People Stay Fit for Life, Without Ever Visiting a Gym | by Kaki Okumura | Medium

This is one of those things I envy of people with lots of green spaces around the city. It really changes perspective on how to live life. I wish sometimes the place I lived had such a culture. Because who doesn't want to live longer? As a side note I noticed in places like Lisbon, Portugal you have plenty of places to walk which are safe. It's not my decision where to live. If I could I would practice what it is the article. It's much more difficult because of the pandemic. That's why some people wear a pedometer. They made me wear one for cognitive behavior therapy. They told me to walk 5000 steps a day.

That being said today has been good since I exercised the previous two days. So my mood is under control.  I am planning to exercise tomorrow. If you can afford it go for it. Buy a house where it's safe and fun to walk around the parks, and urban centers. 

This article does not lie. It's a must read imo.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The Glasshouse.

I was married to a woman who came from Tokyo, she was always amazed at all the green space in London, she used to say when you come to the edge of Tokyo the concrete starts, ten miles later when you get to the other side it finishes. Mind you, I have never been, she might have been exaggerating. When I broke my leg I was told to walk as much as I could and wore a pedometer, I used to manage 11,000 paces a day, and you are right, the more you do the better you feel.


----------



## escorial

Just watched a documentary..catching a killer..diary from the grave.....a university lecturer is taken in by a poetry student and murdered...weird when he gets charged for the murder and hes asked what's his job and he replied..I'm writing a book on 18th century romantic poetry....


----------



## ritudimrinautiyal

Documentary!! It seemed like a thriller movie scene and the murderer, a psycho writer who is a student as well.... and loves reading romantic poems, enough for the goose bumps.


----------



## escorial

After that he murdered a neighbour in the same street after befriending her which set the alarms bells ringing...but they couldn't prove that as the first body was exumed to detect poisoning and I think she was cremated...the murderer father was a vicar and mother active in village life...he tried to become a vicar and a psychiatric report was required which concluded he had psychopathic tendencies...


----------



## Olly Buckle

Went through some old stuff and made my longest video yet, about seventeen and three quarter mins. Do you remember 'Moonlight holder', Foxee? Olly's version of a werewolf story


----------



## midnightpoet

Here in Texas we're starting the big thaw after a week of below zero temps - which I'm sure gets a bit laugh from the folks up north that are used to this sort of thing - but a week of snow and ice without the temp going above freezing? Not here, ever I can remember. I managed to stock up right before the big freeze hit, about the same time our water heater died. We were fortunate that we didn't lose power, and although I made sure I kept the faucets dripping we still had busted pipes when it thawed yesterday.  The temps were just too cold for too long.  Meant to take some photos but couldn't motivate myself.  One morning found several deer tracks inside the yard - probably jumped the fence looking for food.  Not sure what they ate, all our trees are "bare ruined choirs.":grin:


----------



## Foxee

Olly Buckle said:


> Went through some old stuff and made my longest video yet, about seventeen and three quarter mins. Do you remember 'Moonlight holder', Foxee? Olly's version of a werewolf story


I think I'm going to have to watch that!


----------



## aj47

I have survived.  We had one day without power, a different day without internet, and we're still under a boil water notice.

There were mini-adventures associated with some of it, but nothing really notable.  We are privileged -- we live near a hospital, so we only lost power once, never as part of the rolling blackouts.  It did last hours, and we were dressed in many layers and hiding under blankets.


----------



## SueC

Darkkin said:


> It is very rare that I take a person into dislike at a first encounter, but it happened a few weeks ago.  Upon further interaction, the feeling has not gone away only deepened to the point I feel like a cat who has had their fur purposefully ruffled forward.  You want to growl and hiss because they disturb you on a fundamental level, but you don't because it is not socially acceptable.  Stupid mistakes caused by assumptions and general carelessness have not helped the situation.
> 
> Because of this, I have gone into avoid and evade mode.  If I have to be within proximity, I quickly find a legitimate reason to disappear with a stack of books or to answer a question, and unless I am addressed directly, I say nothing.  My shell is out in full force and it can be wearing.
> 
> Usually because books are something I love, people have a hard time shutting me up.  I read incessantly and have a weird knack for recalling exactly where roughly 70% of our book inventory is at any given time.  I don't usually need the computer to look anything up...basically, I'm a living card catalogue.  Outside of a book shop, it is a creepy ability, but in my line of work it is a great skill to have, one my coworkers don't hesitate to utilise and I'm happy to share.
> 
> In this instance, however, it is not something I feel obliged to offer because I've been polite and quiet, and I have watched.  Any offered help, is wasted effort.  Being careless with books just pushes all the wrong buttons, especially when I am the one who ends up fixing the mistakes.  Because I deal with spectrum issues, chaos in things as basic as the alphabet can drive me absolutely bats.  I guess I feel a little guilty that my unconscious reaction on the first meeting was accurate.  I don't like the feeling because it started as an assumption, but was unfortunately supported by further actions.
> 
> Just some thoughts...,
> 
> - D.



Darkkin, I think it is good to rely on our instincts. We are in such an age of relying on other sources to guide us that we, generally, may have difficulty listening to our own inner voice. When my children were home I occasionally found myself saying "no" for no other reason than a strong gut-check that demanded I do. Sometimes there may have been no obvious explanation for the feelings, but other times there were. Even if the reasons seem inconsequential to others, if it's something you just 'know,' that's all you need. You are such a talented person and are blessed to have a mind that can categorize and contain volumes of information, but that doesn't mean that your instincts are not important too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Quiet days for the whole family.


These days I'm always tired, I want to sleep all day.


----------



## Matchu

Wanted to give a 'thumbs up' to Newhaven, East Sussex after New Haven's blaze of publicity on a n other thread.

Newhaven is kind of horrible, yet as foot passengers here catch a ferry to Dieppe.  Costs about fifteen pounds.  Nice beaches, food, French spoken, cheese and wine, catch the next boat back to UK within your 24 hours.  Or stay a while.

I'm up north at the moment so for me it is a Copenhagen lorry ferry/Rotterdam nights realistically.  Scotland at a stretch.  Day off today, night shifting sunday into monday ,,,,,,retch...


----------



## Foxee

I do not enjoy shopping and the husband hates it worse but we all went anyway because we have been living the past year in our PJs and it's not acceptable to go to a wedding like that. Usually.

However, we hit some unexpectedly good sales and found a few nice things.

And I'm tired. Still don't enjoy shopping.


----------



## petergrimes

Matchu said:


> I am also not allowed baths until February.  I win again with 12 months no bath.  WINNER.



So Matchu, we've waited and waited, all on tenterhooks as to when you would give us news of the great reveal. Obviously us in Brum only have bath on 30th of month as is normal, you just have bath once a year in Feb but even with leapy year you can't make the 30th. What you gonna do? Why have we not been kept abreast of the situation? Has youse had your bath yet, is thee using tin bath or pond? What tha washing yourselves with coal or soap? People want, no need to know, we've been waiting months. Are you gonna wash your hair? Details Matchu, details, in this time of lockdown many have stepped forwards to lift the spirits of the nation, Captain Sir Tom Moore and.... maybe some others, but you have that power Matchu to give us the boost we need to gerrus through to July and full vaccination. Please be forthcoming with vital information. Your country needs you. All the best mate PG


----------



## Taylor

Matchu said:


> Wanted to give a 'thumbs up' to Newhaven, East Sussex after New Haven's blaze of publicity on a n other thread.
> 
> Newhaven is kind of horrible, yet as foot passengers here catch a ferry to Dieppe.  Costs about fifteen pounds.  Nice beaches, food, French spoken, cheese and wine, catch the next boat back to UK within your 24 hours.  Or stay a while.
> 
> I'm up north at the moment so for me it is a Copenhagen lorry ferry/Rotterdam nights realistically.  Scotland at a stretch.  Day off today, night shifting sunday into monday ,,,,,,retch...



I took the ferry out of New Haven once because there was a fire in Dover and they bused out down, only find out there was a delay in ferries due to a strike.  We ended up spending a lovely time in New Haven.  I always wanted to go back.  

However, once we got to Dieppe, we somehow ended up in Gare Du Nord, but it was too late change currency.  I can't remember why we couldn't use banks cards.  It was a long time ago...we were starving students.  Maybe we didn't have bank cards, or maybe they didn't take foreign ones back then.  But we ended up spending the night at the train station.   Another story.  

But yes...New Haven is lovely!


----------



## Matchu

Dear Peter,

I have not, as yet, had had, had the bath.  

I imagined taking a bath earlier on, with our Matey at the taps, a secret wee, and like good old days: egg, soldiers, Whizzer Chips aside the coal fire (afterward).  

[Yet] the thought of my poor poor, dear wife rushing for the plug, rushing to rescue, & summon assistance.  These were scenes that sent a blast of pragmatism throughout bone networks. I relinquished  possibilities of bathing behaviours at least until Spring.

I provide the single message of positivity.  I think you understand when I say to you 'press-ups'?  I began with twenty press ups every morning.  Accusations of turkey smuggling had spread in the village.  I combated gossips.  Last weekend I achieved thirty press-ups.  This morning a thirty-five press-up milestone.

Current trajectory suggests a return to my previous occupation of big, and often very little, the wave surfer, viewing Morning of The Earth on a double roll-over [earlier].  I sang the songs.  But no doobie available.  The need for simple bathing routine may soon disappear, and before 2021 is out I swear to embark on transit journey to Morocco I promised myself in '87 etcetera.  You are invited as co-pilot +1

Mat [despair mounting @8pm shift start]


----------



## Matchu

Taylor said:


> I took the ferry out of New Haven once because there was a fire in Dover and they bused out down, only find out there was a delay in ferries due to a strike.  We ended up spending a lovely time in New Haven.  I always wanted to go back.
> 
> However, once we got to Dieppe, we somehow ended up in Gare Du Nord, but it was too late change currency.  I can't remember why we couldn't use banks cards.  It was a long time ago...we were starving students.  Maybe we didn't have bank cards, or maybe they didn't take foreign ones back then.  But we ended up spending the night at the train station.   Another story.
> 
> But yes...New Haven is lovely!



That's funny, I 'slept' outside Gare Du Nord in about 1990.  Were you one of those chaps surrounding the oil drum? [hoh, not funny].  I don't really know 'Newhaven' but suffer a tendency to romanticise Sussex locations in general.  I took myself to Beachy Head once, as a tourist, was really angry with myself afterward.  Real voyeuristic behaviour. .  All best


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Very positive day.
I was able to find the perfect gift, for my mother's birthday.
I want to surprise her next week.


----------



## Matchu

.....


----------



## The Green Shield

I wake up and these are the first things I see on my Facebook feed.




https://www.boredpanda.com/conspira..._8OPH1XFUsE-wtcyUKZBsEzz8TZwUUtKDF_WLO-P3-6S4




https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/viral-helen-keller-tiktok-scary-231355846.html




Apparently snow is fake and Helen Keller doesn't exist.




...Social Media, what the ever loving... -_- I'm getting too old for this.




Really hope they're just trolling because otherwise, damn. -_-




On a more interesting historical note, it seems Helen Keller flew a plane. :O Like someone sat her down in the cockpit, put her hands on the steering and let her steer.


----------



## escorial

Just decanted a bottle of Chianti in anticipation of a concert on BBC radio 3 beginning at 1.....not long now


----------



## SueC

escorial said:


> Just decanted a bottle of Chianti in anticipation of a concert on BBC radio 3 beginning at 1.....not long now




I'll be right over. Nothing like whine at 7:30 a.m. LOL!


----------



## Bloggsworth

Just Paraphrased JFK - _Ask not what a vaccination can do for you, but what it can do for your country_...


----------



## escorial

My 10 year old Chernobyl is no more...I put my beans in and pressed start...nothink...


----------



## Olly Buckle

My sister-in-law rang, my big brother Martin died this morning. He had a fall in the kitchen and broke his hip. Confused after the operation he tried to get up and fell again breaking it a second time. He was in his eighties and he never recovered from the second operation. He was seven-nearly eight years older than me so we didn't do lots together, but he was always an excellent older brother to me. He was the senior member of the Royal Zoological Society, had spent his working life as a teacher, was a beekeeper and wickerwork maker, played French horn in an orchestra, and was an all round nice guy. he will be missed.

I spent most of my day in the garden and by the time I came in it was dusk, and very chilly. A full moon had risen and the birds were singing their hearts out right to the last of the light, beautiful.


----------



## VRanger

Very sorry, Olly. That was a nice tribute for him.


----------



## Theglasshouse

You have my pity and sympathy Olly Buckle. I have 2 brothers in my family. They are my family so I know at least what it means in good times and bad times (as in unfortunate circumstances in life such as acquiring a malady or chronic condition). I wish you recover steadfast fully.

Well today I ordered part of the books I found online for sentence structure, composition, description, and narration. It was all guesswork and detective work. It costed me 100 dollars. That was my little brother's gift. I hopefully will have all the books by earliest next month (being realistic in delivery times. I got the gift early as an amazon gift card). The next money I will spend on anything I want. Next month I will get kindle unlimited. I had more pressings needs. My other brother's gift will be used for writing. Not to mention I plan to subscribe to two magazines for inspiration. That is a science magazine and a history magazine. By march 31st I should be busy writing stories.  That's the exact day of my birthday. Style will be addressed by acquiring those skills. I had to dig like diamonds inside of a mine to find the books I think would help me. I guided myself by reviews. Topic sentences will be addressed. I will look for my dusty copy of "clarity and grace" by Joseph Williams. But the best points are on the internet. To write a cohesive paragraph you need a topic sentence and a character in the sentence even if an abstract concept. Since I keep making these mistakes I haven't improved in a long time. But honesty makes the writer learn by trial and error.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I have a writing book coming too, Glasshouse, unusual for me. Someone recommended it, I can't remember who, but I did think it looked interesting; called 'The best of sentences, the worst of sentences'.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Olly Buckle said:


> I have a writing book coming too, Glasshouse, unusual for me. Someone recommended it, I can't remember who, but I did think it looked interesting; called 'The best of sentences, the worst of sentences'.



I have that book somewhere in the house. I'll look for it since you made me focus on the idea on how to improve the english. If I can't find my old copy I will google some summaries online. But I will look for it and thanks for reminding me I should read it. I ended up getting a paragraph book for ESL students that suggests how a cohesive sentence should look. I once looked at it online at the internet archive for free. I decided to get the second edition. This will remind me painfully after wasting money what I should be doing to get it right. Coherence and cohesion is what clarity and grace discusses both at length. I honestly wish it were more direct like cliffnotes. It has a somewhat of a conversational tone. I know if a sentence does not belong as does not relate to the next sentence or the topic it should be deleted. No matter how much I liked it. It's locked inside this room probably when I do search for it. It will take a while. My mom dislikes me disorganizing the room since she thinks I do a lousy job putting these back in place. She has spinal cord problems. If she agrees I am covered by the paragraph book for esls maybe (that is that it has the same points maybe or more). What I tend to do is not include a topic sentence and put a character in the subject. There are some other issues I am aware. But it makes me think since the ones who wrote the book on clarity style and grace is that they believed it could be taught. I will separate the composition process from the proofreading process. I am aware the composition process is something I researched little off until recently. I had that book (style) but it seems I never understood its points until I read summaries online. I could do the same for that book. I appreciate it. Thank you.


----------



## Matchu

I received a warm cup of tea hurled over my face this morning.  

I was proper raging for half a second, and he was giggling ten minutes later,  and it was funny, very funny, and worth the soaked sweatshirt. A moment for disability rights agendas and f**k the man/gaoler.


----------



## bdcharles

Matchu said:


> I received a warm cup of tea hurled over my face this morning.



Milk and two shuggs, or...?


----------



## Theglasshouse

I found the book (It was the best of sentences it was the worst of sentences.) I will study it. Normalizations is something I heard about in the book clarity and grace. It gives examples in the appendix at the back of the book. I will start writing the points the writer makes tomorrow. I wasn't able to find clarity and style which I am guessing is somewhere else in the house.


----------



## Foxee

Matchu said:


> I received a warm cup of tea hurled over my face this morning.
> 
> I was proper raging for half a second, and he was giggling ten minutes later,  and it was funny, very funny, and worth the soaked sweatshirt. A moment for disability rights agendas and f**k the man/gaoler.


Reasonable reaction, I'm so glad you have a sense of humor!


----------



## indianroads

Taught a Taekwondo class in the morning, then helped a woman putting together a program for survivors of domestic violence. When I got home I worked on the 2nd editing pass of my WIP - got 2 chapters done.


----------



## Matchu

bdcharles said:


> Milk and two shuggs, or...?



Yes.

Warm tea is okay.  If he threw hot tea our circumstances change, if that's proper English.  

...

After the rugby on the telly I'm back up there for the night.

I'm feeling guilt-stricken after returning home yesterday evening and 'playing' on the WF, and my reaction to some chap's post that took me all Mary Whitehouse/& moral majority ways - and this being the condition I suffer intermittently. [And memories of] My last major episode [that] occurred in the company of the geriatric tabloid photographer.  A nice story.  It was when 'Oh What A Lovely War!' was filmed in Brighton the production placed thousands of crosses across the hillside for the closing scene: death, needless slaughter message stuff, y'know, filmed by helicopter...and my photographer being a gross pig thought this setting would also be perfect for one of his glamour model shots.  Apparently it was in the Sun, topless lady draped aside graves.  This is the gross bit, so don't read this bit.  The old dog, he chuckled and said/declared 'tits like spaniel's ears!' in his memories, wistful like...At which point I fainted and he was arrested, serving 20 at Pentonville based on my evidence.  Ah, miss the old boy, might be dead himself now :?  Hope that was lucid.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I read 2 chapters of the sentence book recommended by Olly Buckle. So far I have a lot of notes. I am learning about subordinating and coordinating conjunctions. The point of whether a reader will care for the sentence is something about keeping the main clause clear which adds clarity. Relegating the main clause is considered a fault she frequently mentions and provides in the book to the reader with lots of examples. This creates a variety. This is some basic sentence structure to create some unique sentences.

How will this information affect the reader? Why should he care? Look at the main subject and action of the sentence.

The city council voted. They already know they voted. What the reader wants to know is why the voting is important to him?

To get to the main point the writer asks himself: what will get my attention? The main point of your sentence can become a thing of real value. Such as the bumpy ride on main street or the bottom line on a tax bill. So by doing this I think you can write an effective topic sentence. By answering and asking these questions. (me thinking this is what she meant)


I had a productive day today since I spent my time learning.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Hey, it was recommended to me. Don't blame me for recommending it, I only got my copy late this afternoon and haven't got round to reading any of it yet, You know more about it than I do, or did before I read your spoiler   

I am still reading about the politics of the Middle Ages. The first parliaments were strictly a matter for Lords. They only invited knights, gentlemen and merchants in (The commons) for a little bit at the end to approve a tax on trading because they didn't feel competent. Before that the king's income came from a levy on the Lords depending on how much land they controlled.


----------



## Phil Istine

I've not been so well in recent weeks.  Although not feeling badly ill, several medical issues have surfaced in quick succession, which makes me think they might be linked.  Anyway, I went to bed about 8 on Saturday evening and slept solid around till 4 am.  It's rare for me to manage 8 straight hours sleeping and it was very welcome.

Today (Sunday), I'm off to the local hospital for my first covid vaccine jab around lunchtime.  I've spoken to a couple of people who felt quite rough the day after, but to loads more who had no reaction at all.  I think I'm due a little luck on the medical front so here's to a side-effect-free jab.


----------



## PiP

Wow, that's a quick call up for the jab! I am so relieved you are beginning to feel better, Phil. You've had a rough few weeks.


----------



## Phil Istine

PiP said:


> Wow, that's a quick call up for the jab! I am so relieved you are beginning to feel better, Phil. You've had a rough few weeks.



They are starting on the 60 - 64 year olds and those of all ages with additional vulnerabilities.  That's quite a large chunk of people, but I made my appointment the same day the letter arrived.  I'm 63.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Today I'm not feeling well.
I feel very anxious.
I warm up a tea, and start reading a good book.


----------



## aj47

Wednesday, we had our interns spayed. We began referring to the survivors of the litter as "interns" sometime last March when lockdown was new and my colleagues were posting pics of their pets as "coworkers".  I posted this pic:


... and said "Someone catered breakfast and the interns are in the break room.  Typical."

Later today, we're picking up a refrigerator a friend is selling rather than move with them to another city.  It's got ice and water in the door (we've been doing two trays of cubes and a gallon bag to keep a steady supply of ice).  It is also energy efficient, which the current one is not. Of course today is cloudy with some probability of rain.


----------



## PiP

Still waiting for my husband's appoitment. He is in phase one and monitoring the vac progress is like watching paint dry ... they are now saying phase 1 should be completed by the end of April ... God only knows when I will get mine. I just hope I get the jab before they open the borders and let all the bloody tourists back in.


----------



## escorial

all this talk of jabs reminds me of britans crapest boxer joe bugner..he never had a knockout punch just a good jab....


----------



## Phil Istine

PiP said:


> Still waiting for my husband's appoitment. He is in phase one and monitoring the vac progress is like watching paint dry ... they are now saying phase 1 should be completed by the end of April ... God only knows when I will get mine. I just hope I get the jab before they open the borders and let all the bloody tourists back in.



Is the problem with vaccine supply or about general organisation to get it administered?  Here's hoping you and hubby get yours soon.


----------



## PiP

Phil Istine said:


> Is the problem with vaccine supply or about general organisation to get it administered?  Here's hoping you and hubby get yours soon.


I'm not sure. But the government eventually recruited a General from the military to oversee the process because the health minister could not even organise and orgy in a brothel. Portugal is a very poor country and as such God know how they are going to pay for all this. I would not mind paying for my vaccine if it helped. We just want our life back


----------



## Foxee

I was too tired to write this last night but I wanted to post about my mom's wedding because it's something actually good that's happened so far in 2021 and we could all use some good news.

My mom's in her early 70's and just married a longtime family friend who's 80. He had in mind to run off to Vegas or just run by a JP on his lunch break to get hitched but my mom wanted their families to get together. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that everyone found out about the proposal a month ago, early February.

February isn't even a long month!

So the families kicked it into high gear and got a wedding together. My Nonny (in her 90's who would have been a really great army General) propelled all the planning. I and the other kids were splitting up the cookie demand and making 5 dozen cookies each because this is Pittsburgh, baby, and if you don't have a stellar cookie table the family is shamed! (seriously, the Pittsburgh Cookie Table is an actual thing)

Anyway, the wedding was a part-solemn, part-ramshackle affair with a side of zany. Trust me when I say this pretty much sums up my family in general and my mother in particular. I won't go into all the details but I'm a hardcore introvert and still enjoyed it.

I knew that my brother and I were supposed to join the other family's kids to light the unity candles about 2 seconds before we went up to do so. A friend of my mom's blew the shofar to kick off the wedding march which was a bit startling in a Christian wedding.

When the pastor asked "who gives this woman?" and "who gives this man?" the bride and groom wanted us to jump up and chorus "WE DO!" so we did. And the pastor gave a hearty, "Those are the answers we want to hear!"

And it was about the most adorable thing I've ever seen, how into each other the bride and groom were. They're both young-for-their-age energetic people with tons of ideas. They were both missing a partner after losing their former spouses and I think they'll make a great team.

His family was wonderful, loved meeting them, we're looking forward to getting together more in the coming year.

So that was my day yesterday and your dose of positive news for today. 

Two 16-year-olds at heart


----------



## Taylor

Foxee said:


> Two 16-year-olds at heart
> View attachment 26470



Foxee, you just made my day!


----------



## VRanger

An exciting day here.

My wife came in early this afternoon from taking the dogs out, and informed me I needed to check out a dog hanging around outside our fence. This doesn't happen often, and we're out in the country so a passing dog is not unheard of. Usually if I see one it's gone before I can get outside with a lead. Dutifully answering my wife's call, I stepped outside ... no lead yet ... and headed around to the front of the house. We're two hundred yards off of a busy highway, so if I do see an animal, I want to shoo it the other way. While I'm looking down our drive, the dog sneaks up behind me. I turned around and there she was. I knelt down, called her, and she came up wagging her tail and shimmying her backside just like she'd been mine since a puppy.

She followed me to the back of the house and was hesitant to enter the breezeway, but did on the third invitation. I got a collar and lead and walked her over to a neighbor who knows our area better than I do. She told me she's seen the dog in the area for the last few days, no idea where it might belong.

This is a very sweet dog and well behaved. No collar, so no tags. We're trying to make an appointment with the vet (harder to do right now), to see if she's chipped, but I'd lay long odds on that. No tags, hard to believe there'd be a chip, unless she slipped the collar. I won't turn her over to Animal Control ... two weeks and they put her down. So for now our Toy Poodles are putting up with an interloper. I gave her description to Animal Control in case someone calls inquiring about her, and put out some information on Facebook (but no description there ... there are some people who will spoof ownership to obtain the animal for bad purposes. So we'll see.

If we can't make connection with an owner, as soft touches as we are, we probably now have a third dog ... which means I'll have to finally get around to installing the sturdier fence ... been on my to-do list for quite a while. I have the materials, I've just needed the motivation.


----------



## PiP

Foxee, this is so romatic! It reinforces my belief: age is just a number!


----------



## John C. Denton

I'm worried about my best friend who's currently in the MH wing at the hospital for a suicide attempt.


----------



## Foxee

John C. Denton said:


> I'm worried about my best friend who's currently in the MH wing at the hospital for a suicide attempt.


I'm so sorry to hear this. I imagine this means they're in lockdown for a while? I hope you'll be able to see them soon.


----------



## John C. Denton

Thank you for your concern  I hope she's out relatively soon, but she told me she'd be in there for longer than the standard 72-hour-hold because her condition was pretty bad.
She won't have to self-isolate for 14 days when she's out, if that's what you mean. Trudeau said that only applies to people coming from out of country. Apparently the mandatory
isolation hotels are crummy hell-holes.


----------



## Foxee

No I just meant the hold, really. I'm glad she's talking to you, that's something, anyway.


----------



## John C. Denton

Ah, I see. She only told me that info when she got in. They take your phone for the duration of your stay so I haven't heard from her since Sunday night.


----------



## SueC

Oh, I saw this great phrase tonight. It's the opening of a new series, _Debris_ (yes, I do watch too much TV). I thought it would make a great prompt for something! 

Of course we can't use it because it belongs to NBC, but it made me think of all the possibilities for cool stories!

*"Three years ago,
 images were captured of a wrecked alien spacecraft, 
moving through our solar system.

For the past six months debris from that 
spacecraft has been falling to earth."*​
A couple of months ago, for the LM prompt, I tried to get members to submit an _event_ (similar to the one above), instead of the two or three word prompt but it didn't go over very well. 

I may try it again sometime this year. What do you think?


----------



## Olly Buckle

SueC said:


> Oh, I saw this great phrase tonight. It's the opening of a new series, _Debris_ (yes, I do watch too much TV). I thought it would make a great prompt for something!
> 
> Of course we can't use it because it belongs to NBC, but it made me think of all the possibilities for cool stories!
> 
> *"Three years ago,
> images were captured of a wrecked alien spacecraft,
> moving through our solar system.
> 
> For the past six months debris from that
> spacecraft has been falling to earth."*​
> A couple of months ago, for the LM prompt, I tried to get members to submit an _event_ (similar to the one above), instead of the two or three word prompt but it didn't go over very well.
> 
> I may try it again sometime this year. What do you think?



The problem to my mind is that the longer the prompt gets the more specific it is. Having just judged 'Blaze in the Northern sky' I was struck by the variety of ways people managed to use this. Even where there was more than one story that interpreted it as the Northern Lights they used that in very different ways. I suppose that as writers they would use their imagination to get give us variety, but the more specific the prompt gets the harder that will be.


----------



## Olly Buckle

DVLA have been making it really hard for me to renew my driving license, their latest move was to insist that I take a test of my peripheral vision. You have to sit in front of a screen looking at a red light and press a button every time a white light flashes. The red light moves about from time to time and the white ones can be anywhere. I was told I might have to do it several times as they were very exacting about what they would accept. First attempt I registered 100% of the flashes and no false positives, best possible score. I then had to do the standard 'Read the letters on the chart', one eye, then the other then both. My worst attempt was four lines below the minimum they accept, so they had better send me a new licence soon!


----------



## bdcharles

Olly Buckle said:


> DVLA have been making it really hard for me to renew my driving license, their latest move was to insist that I take a test of my peripheral vision. You have to sit in front of a screen looking at a red light and press a button every time a white light flashes. The red light moves about from time to time and the white ones can be anywhere. I was told I might have to do it several times as they were very exacting about what they would accept. First attempt I registered 100% of the flashes and no false positives, best possible score. I then had to do the standard 'Read the letters on the chart', one eye, then the other then both. My worst attempt was four lines below the minimum they accept, so they had better send me a new licence soon!



Haha, I'm having the same battle with MOT and car tax:

"Renew your tax on line. Simply supply your sixteen digit number"
"Okay, where's that"
"Oh, we don't give it out."

*palms face*


----------



## Irwin

bdcharles said:


> Haha, I'm having the same battle with MOT and car tax:
> 
> "Renew your tax on line. Simply supply your sixteen digit number"
> "Okay, where's that"
> "Oh, we don't give it out."
> 
> *palms face*


Are they asking for the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)? I think that's 17 characters, though.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am sort of hoping someone has the courage to read through my final version of my story in the workshop. I used ghotit as a way to circumvent my disability and dysgraphia. I will return the favor. Today's the last day for the contest.

My day has been mixed so far. I make many mistakes I realize in the story. I tried to compensate by trying out a new software. I think it reads well but it was a lot of work to correct it. I don't want to quit writing (I will probably continue). I spent a lot of time and effort and I know it is only human to fail but I try harder. Reading out loud helps. If anyone is interested I can read a 10,000 word story. Just tell me what feedback someone is looking for.


----------



## bdcharles

Irwin said:


> Are they asking for the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)? I think that's 17 characters, though.



No such luck. I got it sorted though - found my V5C under a whole pile of other sh!t.

Actually my wife found it. Under a whole pile of other crap. That was literally right in front of me.


----------



## Matchu

I better go look at @glasshouse's story being as it is my day off.

Yesterday my shift was one of those not doing very much shifts, the breathing is mandatory day at the off-shoot location.  On days such as this I turn to my 'Greatest Short Stories Ever' book.  Two stories stick in the mind this morning.  One, about a middle aged Irish couple on their holiday, where the man spends his days on the beach saying things like 'Check out the crackers on that teenage girl, eh!'  He was a foul dog, I don't think I'll go to a beach again, mistaken identity etc.  'Honey, he's putting his hand on her asss! mmm hhh, _slobbber...[Bernard Maclaverty, author]

_The other one [_Georgina Hammick_] has a context of class re sitting room/drawing room/lounge issues, in dialogue.  Finally she reflects on the protracted death of her husband.  'Y'know in those final six months he asked for sausages nearly every teatime.  I think I served sausages twice in the whole period.  I don't know why, I..I..I...'[cackle]

That one gave me the shivers.  Time to bulk buy sausages.


----------



## PiP

Shopping at the hardware shop was not a good experience. I had a shouting match with an English guy who refused to social distance in the shop and kept crowding my space. He was huge and when I signalled for him to move back he started shouting at me and telling me I was over-reacting as there are zero cases where we live. Not true. I told him to try shopping when you are high-risk when people won't respect the 2m rule. He then towered over me and told me not to be so overdramatic and a whole load of other verbiage about COVID, at this point all the pressure and stress from months of self-isolating/shielding was unleashed on this douchebag.

 Imagine a Pitbull Terrier with attitude taking on a Great Dane. He would not get out of my face so I bit him. Thank God I've learned such a choice selection of obscure obscenities and the not so obscure since joining WF.

I never told my husband who was waiting in the car until we were driving home at which point he wanted to turn around and go back ... sigh. No need... I think the guy got the message.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> [/I]The other one [_Georgina Hammick_] has a context of class re sitting room/drawing room/lounge issues, in dialogue.  Finally she reflects on the protracted death of her husband.  'Y'know in those final six months he asked for sausages nearly every teatime.  I think I served sausages twice in the whole period.  I don't know why, I..I..I...'[cackle]
> 
> That one gave me the shivers.  Time to bulk buy sausages.



My Aussie mate told me that when his mum wanted to buy something she would serve her husband curried sausages every night until she had saved enough. She was the one who used to put him in the bath wit a bottle of Dettol in it once a week. She worked as a debt collector and had the highest recovery rate on the firm, just kept on turning up and being herself.


----------



## Taylor

Busy!!!  I took a small contract on to help the government adjust internally for Covid restrictions. Now I've just been sucked into a full-time job, assisting with Covid relief for the public.  Not good for my writing...but how can one refuse?  People need assistance.


----------



## Matchu

You shouldn't bite him @Pip.  Are you talking metaphor bite, or did you bite the big man? Oh well, I'm on your side.  I'm sure you'll be okay, just in copspeak it'd be a [nerd voice] '_grevious bodily harm upon the disabled and obese gentleman purchasing medicinal vodka litre.'

_In my opinion that's a damn creepy crime _he_ committed.  I don't like men like that at all.  Keep your f...ing distance, respect me, you slug.  So lucky your husband didn't get out the car because he'd be vulnerable to laying the idiot out.  But honestly you have to be careful, there's too little 'Man on the Clapham Omnibus' wisdom around, & too much 'another statistic for the pay packet, sergeant.'

Ranty.


----------



## indianroads

Three chapters left to go on my second edit of Afterworld: Redemption. 
I'd like to see some good weather next week (it isn't likely); I need some wind therapy on my motorcycle.


----------



## JBF

indianroads said:


> I'd like to see some good weather next week (it isn't likely); I need some wind therapy on my motorcycle.



At least the Snowpocalypse is over.  

It's been a weird winter out here.


----------



## indianroads

I have a friend that lives out in Custer County SD - he caught a lot of snow this winter. Down here in Colorado, less snow but very cold.


----------



## JBF

Sturgis here.  

We had what felt like late autumn up through December and January.  Little snow here and there, usually gone a day or two after it stopped falling.  Two or three weeks back we made up for that by getting _all of the winter_ over a couple of days.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I spent the days a little ugly.
I was in danger of falling into depression again.
Today is better.
New day, let's put it all behind us.


----------



## Foxee

It's trying to turn to spring here but the wind is raw and cold. Do geese fly at night? I didn't think that they did but we heard them about ten o'clock one night. Maybe they were in the field behind our town, it was hard to tell.

My husband was supposed to take my son to karate this morning. So I left him the schedule and figured I could sleep in. When the husband was nice and brought me coffee I said I thought they'd be on the way to karate and were they going.

"I dunno. He's not getting up."

Husband needs to perfect the banging-on-the-wardrobe-and-yelling technique for getting the teenager up.

I ended up taking him otherwise it wouldn't have gotten done so that was the morning. At least the husband is making it up to me by cooking supper. That means spaghetti but that's okay, it's spaghetti I don't have to make. But he did want to return my time to me because he knows I'm in the middle of an ugly battle with a nascent novel idea...making creative decisions is hard for me sometimes.


----------



## VRanger

A few days ago I posted about a dog we found. We called and gave the local municipal shelter a description and contact information. No one has called them to inquire. I posted in the local community news, a local pet lost and found page, and an animal oriented site (all on Facebook) ... nada. No former owner posted on the lost and found. Seven people sent me pictures of lost pets ... heartbreaking ... but no matches. We took her to the vet and they scanned a chip, but the chip is unregistered. So, no collar, no tags, and an unregistered chip.

It turns out if you find a dog, you don't give details when you post it found. Let possible owners come to you with details. This is because people will try to claim pets that are not their own for things like bait dogs. :-(

The consensus in the local community and local experts on strays is the dog was most likely dumped in our area. So we've decided to keep her. This is a very sweet dog, and became instantly devoted to me. She's also extremely smart and eager to please ... both qualities you desire. In five days she's almost perfect on heel, comes reliably on command, goes without complaint into the crate we bought her for sleeping, and her housetraining is perfect. It's hard for me to believe anyone gave up (or gave up on) a dog this good. We used to have four small dogs, but lost our 17 year old girls in 2019. We're delighted to have her.


----------



## SueC

vranger said:


> A few days ago I posted about a dog we found. We called and gave the local municipal shelter a description and contact information. No one has called them to inquire. I posted in the local community news, a local pet lost and found page, and an animal oriented site (all on Facebook) ... nada. No former owner posted on the lost and found. Seven people sent me pictures of lost pets ... heartbreaking ... but no matches. We took her to the vet and they scanned a chip, but the chip is unregistered. So, no collar, no tags, and an unregistered chip.
> 
> It turns out if you find a dog, you don't give details when you post it found. Let possible owners come to you with details. This is because people will try to claim pets that are not their own for things like bait dogs. :-(
> 
> The consensus in the local community and local experts on strays is the dog was most likely dumped in our area. So we've decided to keep her. This is a very sweet dog, and became instantly devoted to me. She's also extremely smart and eager to please ... both qualities you desire. In five days she's almost perfect on heel, comes reliably on command, goes without complaint into the crate we bought her for sleeping, and her housetraining is perfect. It's hard for me to believe anyone gave up (or gave up on) a dog this good. We used to have four small dogs, but lost our 17 year old girls in 2019. We're delighted to have her.



Vranger, that is just awesome. I miss having a dog so much. I'm hoping for a move this year, so maybe I'll be able to have one again. Your new little girl is probably so happy to have owners like you and your wife. Congratulations!


----------



## Foxee

vranger said:


> It's hard for me to believe anyone gave up (or gave up on) a dog this good. We used to have four small dogs, but lost our 17 year old girls in 2019. We're delighted to have her.


People who dump a dog like that make no sense to me but my aunt had a similar experience (she lives in a rural area, too). Gorgeous young black-lab retriever mix and a real sweetheart.

I've been trying to get a dog-adoption going with one of the local shelters and so far we've been ignored, turned down flat on the basis that "The dog wants a home with another dog in it", and simply missed out as the wheels of adoption turned slowly and someone else adopted a dog first. I would LOVE to have a nice-tempered stray fall into my lap like that.

On my last attempt I filled out the four-page "adoption consultation application" and answered every question except for "Can we inspect your home before and after adopting the dog?" I answered "We can talk about this" for a couple of reasons. One, I do not like having anyone come to our current home, it's stressful for me. Two, we're getting ready to move to a different home with a lot more acreage. We have gotten no answer of any kind regarding this application and that's probably why.

Trying to find a dog is a completely frustrating experience. I'm hearing about how desperate the need is to adopt and how animals are being euthanized about every 11 minutes or something like that...but just try to get an adoption done. If they don't think you're utterly perfect, you're not allowed to adopt.


----------



## VRanger

Foxee said:


> Trying to find a dog is a completely frustrating experience. I'm hearing about how desperate the need is to adopt and how animals are being euthanized about every 11 minutes or something like that...but just try to get an adoption done. If they don't think you're utterly perfect, you're not allowed to adopt.



That's crazy. I also read a lot about desperate need for people to adopt. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Our lives are so much richer for having had dogs for the last 35 years (plus one we kept for a friend while he was in college before that).


----------



## Matchu

Very very envious.  

This sweetest little dog Dolly was always sitting on my lap at work for a spot of peace and quiet and conversation.  The owner had to let her go, she said, her toddler 'grabbing at Dolly's nose'  'getting growled at' etcetera, snap snap.  I had my mind, my house prepared for Dolly's arrival, but the lady owner was too distressed and she changed her mind.

It has been very difficult with only the cat, the wife's cat in the house.  A lot of people said the dog would kill the cat, and mainly racists.  I'm over it now, receiving likes for goodness always eases most of my pain.


----------



## SueC

Foxee said:


> People who dump a dog like that make no sense to me but my aunt had a similar experience (she lives in a rural area, too). Gorgeous young black-lab retriever mix and a real sweetheart.
> 
> I've been trying to get a dog-adoption going with one of the local shelters and so far we've been ignored, turned down flat on the basis that "The dog wants a home with another dog in it", and simply missed out as the wheels of adoption turned slowly and someone else adopted a dog first. I would LOVE to have a nice-tempered stray fall into my lap like that.
> 
> On my last attempt I filled out the four-page "adoption consultation application" and answered every question except for "Can we inspect your home before and after adopting the dog?" I answered "We can talk about this" for a couple of reasons. One, I do not like having anyone come to our current home, it's stressful for me. Two, we're getting ready to move to a different home with a lot more acreage. We have gotten no answer of any kind regarding this application and that's probably why.
> 
> Trying to find a dog is a completely frustrating experience. I'm hearing about how desperate the need is to adopt and how animals are being euthanized about every 11 minutes or something like that...but just try to get an adoption done. If they don't think you're utterly perfect, you're not allowed to adopt.



I know this is so frustrating. Plus, added to all this, is the fact that you can't simply go into a place and pick up a pup. There was a time when I still owned a home that I found this adorable little rough coat Jack Russell at an adoption fair. He had been a stray, but they couldn't find his owners, so there he was looking so cute I wanted to take him home. But no! I had to wait over a week, for the paper work to be sorted and approval given. Since he was a stray, they didn't know he had a fatal case of separation anxiety, so after I got him and went to work, he literally destroyed my bedspread, from inside his crate which was at the end of my bed. It took two hours of holding him before he finally stopped crying hysterically. This went on every time I left him and he wasn't a baby. He was probably about four. I took him with me when I went to see my daughter, who had three kids, two dogs and a cat and little Andy was in love with them all, even the dogs! There was always someone around and he was so happy. But when I took him home and had to leave him again, even for a short time, he was beyond help. So I had to take him back. I felt so bad; he was really such a nice little guy. Now that I am retired and home a lot, Andy and I would have been great together. I hope he found a good home. I did tell the shelter they needed to find a new owner who was at home more than he or she was gone.


----------



## JBF

vranger said:


> The consensus in the local community and local experts on strays is the dog was most likely dumped in our area.



We used to have this bad when I lived outside Waco.  Between the idiots in town who figured out their kid's Christmas puppy was too much work and the resident meth-heads who let their dogs run wild we had a huge semi-feral canine surplus.  Every six to eight months it got sufficiently bad that the locals had to run their own culls (no infrastructure out the the hinterlands, and the sheriff's department had their hands full with petty crime and the aforementioned meth-heads) to put a crimp in livestock depredation.

I guess the owners figured they were doing their dogs a favor, dumping them 'in the country' versus a re-homing place in town.  

The reasoning process of some people's kids.  :roll:


----------



## thepancreas11

I trimmed my dog's claws today because she's afraid of running on our hardwood floors (too slippery).

A side note, if you've got any tips for this, let me know. It was NOT enjoyable.


----------



## Olly Buckle

thepancreas11 said:


> I trimmed my dog's claws today because she's afraid of running on our hardwood floors (too slippery).



Our cat has that problem, the mats slide out from under her when she corners. She has one back claw that got damaged in a fight and does not retract properly, so just that one foot clicks on the wood.

Dug over a bit more turf for what will become veg garden, cleared some rubbish hornbeams out and chopped them up, then had a fire and burnt some more clay; played hard in the garden basically    Potted on some cucumbers; leeks and onions are coming on well, they will be next. Planted courgette seeds, beetroot, chard, kale and parsnip, all a bit less physical.


----------



## VRanger

thepancreas11 said:


> I trimmed my dog's claws today because she's afraid of running on our hardwood floors (too slippery).
> 
> A side note, if you've got any tips for this, let me know. It was NOT enjoyable.



I just trimmed the "new dog's" nails today. She's 40 pounds and mostly Pit, so no matter how sweet she has been, I wondered how it would go. My wife saw me get out the clippers and gave me a sarcastic "Good Luck!"

The clippers I've got have a round hole to place around the nail, and you squeeze a handle to snip the nail. Here are the things I watch out for:

1) Identify where the quick is before placing the clippers. A cut into the quick HURTS (plus bleeds like crazy), and the dog will never, ever forget that happened. The quick ends where you can see red higher in the nail. Never clip even close to it. If the nail is completely black and you cannot see the quick, be conservative and don't take off much nail at one clipping. This dog has both white AND black nails, so my clips were not to an equal depth.  I try to clip about halfway from the tip to the quick.
2) Try not to pull on the toe to separate it out. That can also be painful.
3) As SOON as I get the clipper in place, I snap it. Giving the dog a chance to pull away from the clippers teaches the dog they can pull away from the clippers. Sometimes they will, anyway.
4) If a dog is likely to nip during the process, use a muzzle. Even one of our Toy Poodles will do that. I'm not concerned about him, but anything larger could draw blood.
5) I give the dog a rest between nails, praise them, and pet them. I have NEVER clipped nails where it wasn't stressful for the dog, so I try to take it down a notch for them.
6) After clipping, I use a file to knock off any sharp edges or spurs left. I pretty much never have resistance to that, but again, don't separate the toe out too far.
7) Very important, approach the task with confidence and determination (Never let them see you sweat! LOL) If you're nervous, the dog will be even more nervous.

Alternatively, you can use a Dremel tool to sand the nail down. The thing to watch out for there is not to "sand down" one nail for too long. The sanding process produces friction and will make the nail hot in a shorter period of time than one would expect. You typically won't get as much off the end of the nail with this method, so you're less likely to endanger the quick. But because you get less nail, you'd want to do it more often.


----------



## thepancreas11

vranger said:


> Alternatively, you can use a Dremel tool to sand the nail down.



I just looked into these and ordered one. They look like the way to go for me and the pupper! Thank you!


----------



## Darkkin

We use the dremel on both our boys, (greyhound and a husky/ eskimo mix).  No blood, no drama.  Our dumbass greyhound, Zwi falls asleep while we do it.  He loves the attention.  (Rue Dog and I also do enough road work that his claws are not usually a problem because they are worn down from simply walking.) We use a clipper on Potato Cat, but we have been handling his paws since he was itty bitty.  He is well paid for his cooperation.  Two treats per paw, fronts only.  If you don't complete the process in 45 seconds countdown to the Apocalypse begins.  :bomb:


----------



## River Rose

Olive Shadowfax.


----------



## Matchu

At workplace, and like this:

'I enjoyed your listing of every railway station in the British Isles, do not forget my contributions, but now half past four a.m I suggest you go to bed.  Oh, a walk, yes, some fresh air, yes, along the main highway, I'd love that, let's go, hooray.'

Outside in darkness, on the slip road, accosting first dog-walker of the day, he says, he says to the man in the anorak:  'Is that your dog?  Is that your dog?  IS THAT YOUR DOG'S DOG, DOG!!'

'Run Rover!'

'Lost his shit, eh?'

'Aye, aye...'

'Some people...'

'Aye.'

Then home, bed @08:15 with my teddy.


----------



## Matchu

_Oh, and of course:_

'She is having a bibi.'

'A bibi with Harry? Christ knows what colour the damn child shall assume, haw haw, haw haw haw, haw..'

'Ginger pubes!'

'Haw haw haw haw. More gin, Lovely?'

'Harry I didn't see you there, your step-mamma, she...she...she...'

'SHE WILL SWING FROM THE ROPE OF JUSTICE.'


----------



## Foxee

So someone asked how the writing is going today and as we were kidding around I described my progress thusly:

like a boid in flout
fallin in de sky
burpin hizsong of sprang

Yep...that's all the grace my progress has right now.


----------



## VRanger

Thankfully, we're having company for lunch today. That means a frenetic morning scurrying around to try to prove that we don't normally live in an atmosphere of benign clutter.  We look forward to having company occasionally so we're forced to push the onset of clutter back to a low ebb. Luckily, we can entertain in the living room, which is never cluttered ... or at least it won't be after I take a ceiling fan down to my shop/storage building. The ceiling fan in the living room went out a while back, and I brought in a spare I had, then decided to put up a regular light fixture. Now I need to clear off the dining room table! It's loaded with a board game I've had spread out for a while ... I won't say how long!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Went down the registrar's office and gave notice that we intend to enter into a civil partnership. They were invented for same sex people, but then a mixed sex couple took the govt. to court for sexual discrimination and the law ruled in their favour. We thought 'yes, that's for us', we have been together 37 years now and never wanted to get married, but it seemed sensible to have a legal relationship in case one of us died, my brother's recent illness and death was the kick that got us actually moving.

The missus has been experimenting with dosas, fermenting rice flour mixtures. She made them tonight filled with spiced potato mix and served with dahl with red chili and broccoli and asparagus done with chopped onion, mustard seed, ginger, coconut, and green chili. Really good!


----------



## VRanger

In a few minutes I'm off to help a friend move. People make wry comments about all the stuff I've accumulated over the years, and keep. However, this morning I went down to my shop, topped off the air in my tires, loaded one of my three sets of hand trucks in the back of the SUV, along with both one and two man carrying straps, and a box full of furniture pads (my friend told me he's relying on household blankets ... this is a man who's never loaded his own truck LOL). He'll get to bring the pads back when they return in a few months to visit their son and family. I only bought one set of hand trucks. The other two just showed up, in a classic example of some form of quantum attraction.


----------



## Foxee

vranger said:


> People make wry comments about all the stuff I've accumulated over the years, and keep.


Good lord, you sound like half the men I know. Unfortunately, we don't have a garage and my husband hasn't been able to become one of you. But soon we'll have one...still full of a lot of my dad's tools. It'll be a new world.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I have tools that were my grandfather's, and we have long generations in our family. The one that sort of annoys me is the square, beautiful, brass and hardwood with a steel blade, completely obsolete since someone thought of incorporating one into saw handles. Same goes for saw file and saw set, modern hard steel points last ages, but once they go that's it. I have seen joiners back in the seventies with a little old, favourite, wooden handled saw that they have sharpened and set so many times the blade finished in a point and it was beginning to get shorter.


----------



## VRanger

Foxee said:


> Good lord, you sound like half the men I know. Unfortunately, we don't have a garage and my husband hasn't been able to become one of you. But soon we'll have one...still full of a lot of my dad's tools. It'll be a new world.



We're now in a house "out in the country" several miles outside of a small town. We decided to downsize and get out of the city, which saves us thousands each year just in property taxes. But to do that, I bought a small house in this town and crammed everything into it and a 10x20 storage building. Two bedrooms, the dining room, and the carport, AND a storage building out back of that house were all stuffed. We finally got the first house ready to sell, and it took 15 months to sell it. Then I started looking for a permanent place to settle. We found this property at a good price, AND it has four outbuildings: A barn, a small shed which I'll one day tear down, a structure that's like a three sided carport (probably once used to shelter a tractor), and a 40x40 foot shop!!! Once I saw that shop area, we WERE going to make on offer on this house. LOL Been here now since Thanksgiving two years ago.

After all the kerfluffle to get the first house sold, my real estate agent down here sold the intermediate house the same day she listed it. She's wonderful. It's a lot of stress to have a house on the market.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

From Monday new total lockdown nationwide for 2 weeks.
Shopping for food, buying back-up drugs, aspirins, and vitamins.
I'm waiting for the turn to get the vaccine, in theory it should touch me in July.


----------



## Foxee

I just got back from the second funeral this week. Wednesday's was for a boy my son's age who committed suicide. Today's was for the father of a close friend, a man who was like an uncle in my teenage years. 

It's good that the sun's out I think I need a walk.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sorry Foxee. Something had happened months ago to someone who was friends with my mother. I believe I told this story before. He was the son of her childhood friend at school. Her best friend's son didn't want to take his medicine since he thought mental disease could be treated without it (he did this for many years convinced it was bad for his health- who knew it could lead to that. Reminds me of the anti-pyschiatry movement I wrote a paper about). We did not know the extent of the disease he had or how bad it was. He developed agoraphobia or what is a fear of crowds. He didn't know how badly depressed he was. 

My parents were ashamed they couldn't go in person, but this was during the coronavirus pandemic. So they only could send the condolences by phone. Then at that time we learned it when something else important was happening that prevented them from going which I forget.

As a positive note I am practicing persistence. I will pick up all the books on Monday I ordered to assess if my writing improves. Going to have someone line edit a short story for me before April starts with an editor (supposedly with a linguistics degree but on the internet nothing is certain). Also, going to sign up for the only dyslexia and dysgraphia software I know that has been working. I have gotten better feedback concerning the grammar. It's been positive.


----------



## Darkkin

My best friend bought a new, bigger tunnel for Potato Cat.  It made his Pi Day delightful.


----------



## indianroads

Blizzard conditions here - supposed to last through the entire day. Gonna plug a plot hole in my coming novel Inception, then hit my next novel Redemption with a third editing pass.


----------



## Foxee

I am so tired of the 'let's adopt a dog' project at this point. I've been working on this on and off since November and my recent disappointments were in applying and being totally ignored by the shelter (not one word back) and now today I applied with the names of four possible dogs from their listings and did receive a reply:
One is adopted already
the second one is in the process of being adopted
the other two "have applications in on them but we'll process your application anyway" (translation: "And much good it will do you")

Online listings are really, really not working at all. They tend to be out of date.

I'd like to at this point just go look at the dogs, of course it's by appointment only and without the listings I won't know which ones have the temperament or background that will work. 

I wish I could just give the shelter an open-ended application. Call us if you get a dog within a certain size/breed/age range that likes kids and hopefully gets along with other animals...and would like to run around on a farm with a fifteen-year-old boy. 

I thought we'd have this done by Christmas. That was a laugh. Now I really want to find a dog by the time we move up to the farm. I don't really want to be up on that dark hill at night without a dog, that was always a nice security system when I lived there before.

But this is a ginormous pain in the neck. Seriously.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I have a dog. I prefer a mix between a Collie and a Pomeranian. I currently owned a pure breed Pomeranian. I like Collies since they aren't aggressive but Pomeranians will bark. I think my family wanted a Collie with Pomeranian deep down inside. But in the end we didn't know Pomeranians could be so demanding as puppies. The puppy barks during breakfast, lunch, and dinner if it is there. It has no manners. It is to be expected but this is too much. She doesn't want to eat her dogfood. We still don't have a solution. My family would give it food off the table which started the problems and misbehavior. Whatever you do don't let pets eat the bones. We have been trying to not let it have anything. It chews wires, sometimes paper, and it even chewed my Elements of style by E.B. White. It's destroyed several sandals. What you are doing is admirable but just be careful which breed you choose so you won't regret it. I like dogs, but the mix of a Pomeranian and Collie turned out to be the best pet ever.


----------



## Darkkin

We have Mr. Smartypaws a.k.a Rue Dog.  He's ten now...hard to believe.  He is incredibly smart, high energy, and demanding...Not a user friendly dog for beginners, which I never had an issue with because he has repaid the time and attention put into him.  He knows when I'm having issues with my heart and as such, he is certified as a service dog.  I cannot imagine a world without him, but I also know that when the time comes I want to look into the Australian Shepherd, Border Collie, and Blue Heeler breed rescues.  A lot of people cannot handle their intense energy and attention demands, so good dogs end up in bad situations.  We have the experience and time to make a difference when the time comes and in all honesty, rescues make the best pets.

Speaking of dogs...I owe Rue Dog a walk.  It's snowing, his favourite weather.


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> I am so tired of the 'let's adopt a dog' project at this point. I've been working on this on and off since November and my recent disappointments were in applying and being totally ignored by the shelter (not one word back) and now today I applied with the names of four possible dogs from their listings and did receive a reply:
> One is adopted already
> the second one is in the process of being adopted
> the other two "have applications in on them but we'll process your application anyway" (translation: "And much good it will do you")
> 
> Online listings are really, really not working at all. They tend to be out of date.
> 
> I'd like to at this point just go look at the dogs, of course it's by appointment only and without the listings I won't know which ones have the temperament or background that will work.
> 
> I wish I could just give the shelter an open-ended application. Call us if you get a dog within a certain size/breed/age range that likes kids and hopefully gets along with other animals...and would like to run around on a farm with a fifteen-year-old boy.
> 
> I thought we'd have this done by Christmas. That was a laugh. Now I really want to find a dog by the time we move up to the farm. I don't really want to be up on that dark hill at night without a dog, that was always a nice security system when I lived there before.
> 
> But this is a ginormous pain in the neck. Seriously.



My wife and I volunteered at a cat rescue place for a few years. It was very rewarding... but we now have SIX cats. Beware the trap of: _Can you please take care of this poor animal for just a few weeks... until he/she gets adopted._ Don't get me wrong, I love our companions and would do anything to keep them well and safe... but I sure do scoop a lot of cat poop.


----------



## indianroads

indianroads said:


> Blizzard conditions here - supposed to last through the entire day. Gonna plug a plot hole in my coming novel Inception, then hit my next novel Redemption with a third editing pass.



Update: We got about two feet of very wet snow, which I just finished clearing off our hundred foot long driveway. I'm sweaty... I offend me... gonna take a shower then continue editing Redemption. I got through two chapters yesterday.


----------



## Foxee

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 26550
> 
> We have Mr. Smartypaws a.k.a Rue Dog.


I really think he's one of the most beautiful animals ever, too.  With such a friendly face! I've looked at a few husky mixes but I've heard that they're sort of a breed apart like what you're saying of Rue. Give him a good petting from me and tell him I said he's a good boy. (I'm sure he'll agree)


----------



## bazz cargo

Rescue centres are really struggling at the moment. staffing has gone to hell and the revenue streams have dried up. If you have a shelter within a shortish distance then volunteering for a few hours over some weekends will do both of you a favour.





Foxee said:


> I am so tired of the 'let's adopt a dog' project at this point. I've been working on this on and off since November and my recent disappointments were in applying and being totally ignored by the shelter (not one word back) and now today I applied with the names of four possible dogs from their listings and did receive a reply:
> One is adopted already
> the second one is in the process of being adopted
> the other two "have applications in on them but we'll process your application anyway" (translation: "And much good it will do you")
> 
> Online listings are really, really not working at all. They tend to be out of date.
> 
> I'd like to at this point just go look at the dogs, of course it's by appointment only and without the listings I won't know which ones have the temperament or background that will work.
> 
> I wish I could just give the shelter an open-ended application. Call us if you get a dog within a certain size/breed/age range that likes kids and hopefully gets along with other animals...and would like to run around on a farm with a fifteen-year-old boy.
> 
> I thought we'd have this done by Christmas. That was a laugh. Now I really want to find a dog by the time we move up to the farm. I don't really want to be up on that dark hill at night without a dog, that was always a nice security system when I lived there before.
> 
> But this is a ginormous pain in the neck. Seriously.


----------



## Foxee

bazz cargo said:


> Rescue centres are really struggling at the moment. staffing has gone to hell and the revenue streams have dried up. If you have a shelter within a shortish distance then volunteering for a few hours over some weekends will do both of you a favour.


The shelters have my sympathies for that. However, none of them are really close to me and I'm trying to get moved from my little house up to the farm while juggling schoolkid schedules and interests. I'm jumping through the hoops that they request I'm just not getting anywhere.


----------



## Matchu

...


----------



## Irwin

I've had a rough day. I awoke this morning thinking about life and this world, which was extremely depressing. What I needed was some existential Alka-Seltzer to alleviate the nausea, but, alas, there is no such thing -- not in my medicine cabinet, anyway. The closest I have doesn't fizz in a glass. And doesn't come in a packet that you tear open. It comes in a liter bottle with a screw off cap. We've adapted the metric system for tequila and machinery including cars, but not for speed on the highways and streets. One step at a time, I guess.


----------



## River Rose

Foxee said:


> The shelters have my sympathies for that. However, none of them are really close to me and I'm trying to get moved from my little house up to the farm while juggling schoolkid schedules and interests. I'm jumping through the hoops that they request I'm just not getting anywhere.



I hear you. I do understand that animal shelters must screen the applicants to make sure the animals go to loving homes. Yet,,,my sisters family went thru this as well to adopt their dog from a shelter. I was stunned at the screening process. Like Foxee stated,,,ppl came to their home and had to meet w everyone whom lived there. The price was astronomical for a shelter pet. The process was eye opening to me. It’s just not that easy as u walk in and want to adopt a pet.


----------



## Darkkin

River Rose said:


> I hear you. I do understand that animal shelters must screen the applicants to make sure the animals go to loving homes. Yet,,,my sisters family went thru this as well to adopt their dog from a shelter. I was stunned at the screening process. Like Foxee stated,,,ppl came to their home and had to meet w everyone whom lived there. The price was astronomical for a shelter pet. The process was eye opening to me. It’s just not that easy as u walk in and want to adopt a pet.



We did home visits, background checks, and character references for both of our dogs (Rue and Zwi).  My previous cat, I found and my current cat was given to me by one of our regulars at the bookstore.

I will say this, if you are looking for a good dog, look into the GPA, Greyhound Pets of America.  They always have dogs available and the greys make amazing pets.  Zwi's adoption fee covered his neuter, a full dental cleaning, and his microchipping.   I love Zwi because he is such an easy dog.  Dim witted and a couch potato which is why he makes such a good pet.  He is the total opposite of my adored drama queen, Rue Dog.  And as horrible as it is to say, I tend to favour Rue because he is noisy, pushy, and demanding. He requires daily enrichment that challenges us both. Zwi is just a tad boring, but more than makes up for it with his innate sweetness.  Everybody loves him, while Rue is like the weird kid in class...it takes time and patience to get to know his whacky personality.

When we got Zwi, he was in rough shape, just two years old, motheaten, and nearly 20lbs underweight.  He had been in a racing kennel his entire life, so he had no idea how to be a dog.  He had never lolled on grass or seen the snow.  He didn't know how to play.  Rue taught him how to be a dog, how to play, wrestle, and romp.  It was a slow process, but it was a joy to watch...to see this hollow eyed hound find delight.


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> We did home visits, background checks, and character references for both of our dogs (Rue and Zwi).  My previous cat, I found and my current cat was given to me by one of our regulars at the bookstore.
> 
> I will say this, if you are looking for a good dog, look into the GPA, Greyhound Pets of America.  They always have dogs available and the greys make amazing pets.  Zwi's adoption fee covered his neuter, a full dental cleaning, and his microchipping.   I love Zwi because he is such an easy dog.  Dim witted and a couch potato which is why he makes such a good pet.  He is the total opposite of my adored drama queen, Rue Dog.  And as horrible as it is to say, I tend to favour Rue because he is noisy, pushy, and demanding. He requires daily enrichment that challenges us both. Zwi is just a tad boring, but more than makes up for it with his innate sweetness.  Everybody loves him, while Rue is like the weird kid in class...it takes time and patience to get to know his whacky personality.
> 
> When we got Zwi, he was in rough shape, just two years old, motheaten, and nearly 20lbs underweight.  He had been in a racing kennel his entire life, so he had no idea how to be a dog.  He had never lolled on grass or seen the snow.  He didn't know how to play.  Rue taught him how to be a dog, how to play, wrestle, and romp.  It was a slow process, but it was a joy to watch...to see this hollow eyed hound find delight.



I only edited one chapter today - the rest of the time I was doing guy-stuff... putting together a dresser drawers from a kit bought off Amazon.


----------



## VRanger

A frustrating day so far. I was ready to submit my latest to the US Copyright office. Last night I got through their less than user friendly form system and found the charge in the cart was $20 too high. While I was reviewing the application to see if a miscue of mine had caused this, the system decided to make me change my password. I go through that process and let Google decide on a password. The system rejected that password, but then wouldn't let me back in with the previous password either. I tried to do an email password reset, and no combination of my name and email addresses would activate that process. I finally wrote to Support, which gives you a message the might respond in 10 days. Arrrrrgh!

Well, to their credit I had an email waiting this morning. It turns out their form rejected my name because they had somehow appended " Mr" to my last name! I blew away the application from last night and redid it. Same thing ... wrong charge. Well, it turns out that instead of the "Standard Application", you have to notice a list of about seven other applications types in small print further down their left sidebar. In that list is Single Work by a Single Author (or vice versa). That's the one we need to pick for a novel. I got through the application the third time, and finally get to a cart with the right charge ($45). I pay, and I'm sitting there with a screen telling me to click a button to upload the work, but does the button exist on that page? No. Is there a hyperlink to advance? No.

I refresh the screen and get an error message. Great. I return to my basic account page and see the pending transaction, click on it, and finally I have the page to upload the file. Then, once the file is uploaded, you're just sitting on that page with nowhere to go. I get back to my main page again and select "all applications", and I'm finally done. Today's application is sitting there in the open status, which it will be for a short period until they act on it and mail out the certificate.

I only use that horrible system every several months, so I don't stay up to date on its quirks. It's a terrible system where the concept of "user friendly" was completely ignored.


----------



## Foxee

vranger said:


> It's a terrible system where the concept of "user friendly" was completely ignored.


It's good enough for government work! :drunk:


----------



## Darkkin

I commended cardboard producers their edge construction integrity.  (We got a new bookcase and replaced an office chair, and the boxes needed to be broken down before we could put them out for recycling.)  Those box sides did not crumple under my weight as might be expected, even when I bounced on them.  (There is a good chance my neighbors thought I was insane, but hey, I had fun.)


----------



## PiP

I was gardening earlier when I noticed/sensed something moving on my t-shirt. I looked down and there on my chest was a HUGE red and brown beetle. I don't normally kill insects (except mosquitoes, processionary caterpillars and scorpions). Without thinking I screamed, flicked it off my t-shirt onto the floor and jumped on it! Spring has arrived but so have all the bugs ...


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> I was gardening earlier when I noticed/sensed something moving on my t-shirt. I looked down and there on my chest was a HUGE red and brown beetle. I don't normally kill insects (except mosquitoes, processionary caterpillars and scorpions). Without thinking I screamed, flicked it off my t-shirt onto the floor and jumped on it! Spring has arrived but so have all the bugs ...



we still have a lot of snow on the ground out here in Colorado. The altitude limits the insects, my house is at 7,500 ft elevation.


----------



## PiP

indianroads said:


> we still have a lot of snow on the ground out here in Colorado. The altitude limits the insects, my house is at 7,500 ft elevation.



So do you have bears, wolves and other hungry critters eager to suck on your blood?

We've only been to Canada twice and loved it! We'd planned to visit again before ill health and age made the journey impossible. Unfortunately, life had other plans ...


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> So do you have bears, wolves and other hungry critters eager to suck on your blood?
> 
> We've only been to Canada twice and loved it! We'd planned to visit again before ill health and age made the journey impossible. Unfortunately, life had other plans ...



Yes. We have bears, coyotes, cougars, bobcats, and so on. We also see hawks and bald eagles. A moose walked through our yard once too.


----------



## Darkkin

We have a fox and three deer who raid the neighbor's bird feeder...(and a buck that has nearly run over Rue and I a couple of times.  Same corner by the park, same time, different days.    )


----------



## Darkkin

I'm watching a documentary on Netflix called Behind the Curve and I'm sitting here asking: Why am I doing this to my brain?  Wow, just, wow...


----------



## Foxee

**** Warning: This is a straight-up rant ****​
My day has just started with yet another ill-advised attempt to find a dog to adopt via the internet. So in spite of coffee I have the now-familiar "I've been searching for a dog" headache. Literally. I should have hammered that third Advil.

I am ready to shoot the very next person who asks, "Gee have you checked the shelters?"

I recently applied to at least see four different dogs at the shelter near me (far, far from my first attempt). After waiting several days, I was informed that one of the dogs had been adopted already, another's adoption was pending, and the last two had applications in on them already "but we'll process your application anyway". (aw, gee thanks!) I asked if there was anything I could possibly do to be more successful in attempting to adopt a dog because at this point I feel like the dumbest person on earth who can't seem to get this done.

The answer floated back on the tide: "We keep your application on file for four months so just let us know as soon as you see a dog listed that you like"

Okay. Cool. I can do this.

So I checked their website today, trying to stay on top of any new listing that would fit what I'm searching for. Nothing new and the dog I was really interested in whose "adoption was pending" is still listed on their site and on the petfinder site. I know that the shelter called at least one of my references so if the adoption fell through wouldn't they have called me? So the listing is probably not correct.

Which calls all the listings into question, really.

Gritting my teeth, I looked at the classifieds in the paper. With every listing I did searches on the phone number given (almost all scams) and ignored all the badly-written "I copied my homework" listings as scams. I went down the rabbit hole (from my LOCAL PAPER) following a promising lead on what looked like an actual breeder. I clicked their website and it came up...an actual website with a smiling family holding dogs in their laps. Okay, I might have to donate my spleen but at least this isn't a scam..."LOCATED IN RURAL ILLINOIS!" F***. I'm in Pittsburgh. So now I have to donate my spleen for the price of the puppy and either drive to Illinois or deal with the shipping for a puppy I've never clapped eyes on.

We are now a million miles away from "find a farm dog that had puppies and the farmer wants $50" that I thought still existed back in November when I started looking. It doesn't.

I look at Craigslist. Tons of scams, very shady, and hasn't had any new listings in my area since February.

I find another pet classifieds site. Pets listed at all kinds of prices including a "trained Golden retriever, 9 mos old, must rehome due to son being allergic, $20,000". I've paid a fraction of that for a CAR. To be fair the price was totally out of line even with the obvious scammers on THAT site. And there were many.

WTF

I gave up again today. It's obviously not happening. The headache is real. The dogs are not.


----------



## VRanger

Foxee said:


> **** Warning: This is a straight-up rant ****​
> My day has just started with yet another ill-advised attempt to find a dog to adopt via the internet. So in spite of coffee I have the now-familiar "I've been searching for a dog" headache. Literally. I should have hammered that third Advil.
> 
> I am ready to shoot the very next person who asks, "Gee have you checked the shelters?"



I feel so bad for you. :-( It seems that "backyard breeders" and "puppy mills" are greatly on the decline. We had four Toy Poodles from breeders. We had bought them at intervals, starting with littermates in 2002 to replace our first girl, who died that year. We got two boys at five year intervals, with the plan that when we inevitably lost one, the grief would be softened by not having an empty house. We lost our littermate girls in 2019 a few months apart. Still having the two boys, I wasn't sure if we wanted to get another puppy to continue the cycle, but I looked around just in case. The prices had gotten outrageous, and I couldn't justify them even if we were eager to do that.

Also, the availability is a fraction of what it was when we bought our youngest boy ten years ago. When we looked years ago, it was easy to find a dozen ads from nearby breeders. Now, I only see one or two ... and sometimes none at all.

What kind of dog are you looking for? I have a friend who needs to rehome her chocolate lab (and no ridiculous price tag, I'm sure she'd be happy just to find a good home), but we're in SC.


----------



## Darkkin

After babying an adopted Christmas Cactus for almost three years, it has finally decided it will bloom...in April.  Not quite sure how I managed that. :scratch:


----------



## Foxee

vranger said:


> I feel so bad for you. :-( It seems that "backyard breeders" and "puppy mills" are greatly on the decline.


This is just it, though, a 'backyard breeder' seems to commonly be seen as a 'puppy mill' and that's just not true. Doesn't mean that someone can't have a puppy mill going in the back yard but now if you're a backyard breeder it seems that you're viewed with deep suspicion no matter how responsibly you breed. If you have a dog that's not spayed and you end up with puppies you're basically considered a criminal. Many frowns. (Please, oh GOD please do not lecture me about spaying and neutering, that is like hearing 'wash your hands' on repeat for the last year everywhere I go)


> What kind of dog are you looking for? I have a friend who needs to rehome her chocolate lab (and no ridiculous price tag, I'm sure she'd be happy just to find a good home), but we're in SC.


A lab would be on my list of good breeds. I'm mainly looking for a dog that's protective (some shepherding breed) and friendly (labs certainly fit that!) though I also need them to be a decent watchdog. We'll be moving to a 20-acre place soon and if all goes to plan I'd like to have bunnies and alpacas (We have dubbed it 'The Fuzzy Farm' because of this intent) and there are already insta-chickens on-site so I need some kind of dog that can handle that and kids.

SC is indeed a long way, though. And, really, the demand for dogs being what it apparently is, she can probably rehome a dog that nice really easily in the local area.

I know something's got to give eventually if I just keep at it but seriously...it's been a project I've been on since November.


----------



## Theglasshouse

https://www.adoptapet.com/

Try this website.

https://www.adoptapet.com/shelter/terms_conditions_signup.html

I found this website by looking inside a book for adopting pets. Have you tried this one yet? Good luck and keep trying and hopefully you find the pet breed you need.

from this book:
What to Expect When Adopting a Dog: A Guide to Successful Dog Adoption for Every Family
(I looked inside it on amazon's website)


----------



## Darkkin

Foxee said:


> This is just it, though, a 'backyard breeder' seems to commonly be seen as a 'puppy mill' and that's just not true. Doesn't mean that someone can't have a puppy mill going in the back yard but now if you're a backyard breeder it seems that you're viewed with deep suspicion no matter how responsibly you breed. If you have a dog that's not spayed and you end up with puppies you're basically considered a criminal. Many frowns. (Please, oh GOD please do not lecture me about spaying and neutering, that is like hearing 'wash your hands' on repeat for the last year everywhere I go)
> 
> A lab would be on my list of good breeds. I'm mainly looking for a dog that's protective (some shepherding breed) and friendly (labs certainly fit that!) though I also need them to be a decent watchdog. We'll be moving to a 20-acre place soon and if all goes to plan I'd like to have bunnies and alpacas (We have dubbed it 'The Fuzzy Farm' because of this intent) and there are already insta-chickens on-site so I need some kind of dog that can handle that and kids.
> 
> SC is indeed a long way, though. And, really, the demand for dogs being what it apparently is, she can probably rehome a dog that nice really easily in the local area.
> 
> I know something's got to give eventually if I just keep at it but seriously...it's been a project I've been on since November.



Something to maybe consider, even if a dog is out of state...make a family road trip out of it.  A lot of rescues in my region take in animals from others that are overwhelmed.  In many cases, they are willing to meet adopters half way.  Follow your local humane societies and rescue groups on social media and those further afield, talk about your search and your frustrations.  Get your story to ears that understand.  Facebook for all its annoyances is an excellent platform for such a quest.  Start a page and a conversation. (Facebook people love pets and people who love them/need them, as well.  It is one of the very few subjects that doesn't set somebody's head on fire with rage, which on a social media platform says a lot.  Take advantage of the exisiting networks.) Chances are others will listen and hopefully reach out.  That's how I ended up with Potato Cat.  He was a curve ball out of left field, but a welcome one.  

A friend on facebook saw a post of mine about the passing of my adored CatCat and said: 'Hey, we have kitties ready to go and thought you might like one.'  Thirty seconds later I had a photo.  Eight hours later I came home with a kitty I knew nothing about to a dog, who had never encountered a kitten...It was an impulsive decision, but it was the right one.


----------



## Foxee

Theglasshouse said:


> Try this website.
> 
> https://www.adoptapet.com


Yep, been there, too. It's pretty much a mirror image of Petfinder.


> Something to maybe consider, even if a dog is out of state...make a family road trip out of it.


This idea is looking better and better. I do have to check covid restrictions for going out of state and make sure we don't land in quarantine or that if we do it's worth it!


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## Darkkin

The road trip idea is something we are planning to do in a few years. (After Rue Dog passes...he has a lot of years left in him, but we have friends in California and a number of the breed rescues we are following are located there, too.)


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## Foxee

Thank you for listening to my rant. I appreciate the kind thoughts. When I'm finally successful you'll all have to look at dog pics.


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## Darkkin

Dog pics like these!  (Rue Dog and Potato Cat actually have more friends than I do on social media for good reason.  They're much cuter than I am.)


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## SueC

So sorry you are having such a hard time! I know the dog you are describing, but they are expensive. English Mastiff. I have owned two of them and I love the breed. They are protective by their size (our Lucy was 210 #s, and Hannah was 195), rarely bark unless necessary but so gentle and kind to other animals and children.


Check this out - How to Hug a Baby


----------



## Foxee

SueC said:


> They are protective by their size (our Lucy was 210 #s, and Hannah was 195), rarely bark unless necessary but so gentle and kind to other animals and children.


Wow that's a big doggie! I really like big dogs as long as I can afford to feed them. LOL


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## Darkkin

We had a neighbour who had one called Dozer who was around 220 lbs.  He was a total sweetheart.  Rue could run right underneath him when they would race around in our backyard.  He has since passed due to complications from lyme disease.  The thing about the extra large breeds like mastiffs and danes is they are more prone to bone cancers, immune system complications, and congenital heart failure simply because of their size and growth rates.  Average age tends to be between 8 - 10 years.


----------



## Matchu

*COALFACE of employment update UK
*
‘What’s that you said, senseless?  Who you calling senseless?’

‘The national senseless.’

‘National senseless, you’re effin’ mad you.  Aye, everybody?  What’s he on about now.’

‘Oh my god, to be completed by every citizen, a subject actually, hoh, of the British kingdom, excluding Scotland due to the ravages up there, they’re all dead, no need in Scotland for a census until next year.’

‘Ye wha..?  Never heard of it.  A census every ten years?  Since when?’

‘And I must add…dear colleague…to be completed by yesterday or you go to prison.  Ha ha ha, umm sorry it was a burp.’


***UPDATE***if you like donkey films - Au Hasard Balthazar available on Youtube in Arabic.  I'll be watching tomorrow on Prime [costs money]

Or Swedish film, Bergman and free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC4BaUdqXFk&list=PLruBK3RV0Uq5HAmJ461tI94NqKCRkigVo


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## Darkkin

It's National Puppy Day in the U.S.


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## Darkkin

Lessons of Potato, Book Cat: 'Do you hear what I hear...Do you see what I see.' Simple words to a simple song, but for those on the spectrum, we do not see what you see nor hear what you hear.  The world is loud, bright, and often overwhelming.  A little thing that brings balance makes one a target because it isn't 'normal'. For me, one thing I do is crack my toes by bouncing them off the floor. (I almost always wear ballet flats, so most people are unaware of that particular tick, my main issue...is the fact that I sound like an encyclopedia when I engage on a subject I like or know something about, (detail level pedant).) Hence my blabber here...the magazine was an impulse find on the way out the door after work.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Yes I am like that on the subject of writing darkkin. I often sound like I am reporting facts about a subject I know a lot about from reading books on writing and that is what I talk about with my big brother. I am trying to be more sociable or sound like I am talking about ordinary things that happen by reporting what I do over the week if I am lucky enough to leave the house and overhear people talking where I am.

On a different subject:
I bought this esl book that tells me how to organize my thoughts into a paragraph and eliminate the non-squinter in my stories. I don't think I'll make the contest deadline. I need the esl book so that I can correct all the errors in my manuscript.  It should be here in 3 weeks tops. At least I got the book for a fraction of the price it goes for new. I could have made the deadline had I bought it on kindle. I am thinking of signing up for 24 symbols. I do need a digital library after all. It's too bad that I need to wait until a problem gets solved first. But having books to read is essential. Maybe I could submit my work to that magazine once it reaches the consensus that it is a story free from errors and that works for everyone.

It seems my attention span increased a bit since I almost finished a book on nonfiction by Robin Hemley in 2 days. Now I am writing my thoughts and typing my notes in scrivener when I am not discussing with people on the forums. I wrote about how to make something less cliched and predictable.

Before when I was diagnosed with my disease I couldn't even read an entire book. I did not have the attention span required. That was several years back, 7-10 years ago. I am taking vitamin d which can only be absorbed at 5000 mgs according to a doctor in my family I know. At 10,000 mgs, at that dose, it is absorbed by the human body. Below 5,000 mgs and vitamin d is not absorbed.

My treatment has to be working although it is a slow process to recover all my mental faculties attention span being one and memory being another things schizoaffective people and individuals with schizophrenia lose when depressed.


----------



## Bloggsworth

Back on the golf course - WooHoo!


----------



## indianroads

Went to the dojang and practiced Taekwondo on my own for an hour. Worked on the plot for an upcoming techno-thriller set in a near future Silicon Valley.


----------



## Foxee

Four hours of sleep last night so I took it easy today, didn't feel wonderful most of the day. However, I pulled out the stops and made twice-baked white & sweet garlic mashed potatoes with kale in them topped with leftover diced up tater tots and parsley together with Alton Brown's pot roast recipe (one of the few recipes I ever follow to the letter) and a good romaine salad with cauliflower and carrot and yet more kale in it.

My husband said he didn't want to detract from all the other good cooking that I do but that this meal was a standout. Considering that last night I made sockeye salmon with roasted asparagus, potatoes, onions, and kale and that was pretty fabulous, I think I'm doing ok with cooking at least!


----------



## River Rose

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 26629
> 
> Lessons of Potato, Book Cat: 'Do you hear what I hear...Do you see what I see.' Simple words to a simple song, but for those on the spectrum, we do not see what you see nor hear what you hear.  The world is loud, bright, and often overwhelming.  A little thing that brings balance makes one a target because it isn't 'normal'. For me, one thing I do is crack my toes by bouncing them off the floor. (I almost always wear ballet flats, so most people are unaware of that particular tick, my main issue...is the fact that I sound like an encyclopedia when I engage on a subject I like or know something about, (detail level pedant).) Hence my blabber here...the magazine was an impulse find on the way out the door after work.



Peanut says “HI” to Potato cat


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## Matchu

Often society forces me to write from the male point of view.  Of course, I am respectful in crafting these rough & these unappealing & ugly bastards we all know as ‘men.’  But what truly is the secret to capture a man - in his habitat, or element, for example in the urination upon lamp posts & lavatory seat display that so defines all male experience?  I am particularly keen to hear from ‘real men’ in the responses.

Yours, Magda Taptap Workplace-Bound


----------



## petergrimes

Matchu said:


> Often society forces me to write from the male point of view.  Of course, I am respectful in crafting these rough & these unappealing & ugly bastards we all know as ‘men.’  But what truly is the secret to capture a man - in his habitat, or element, for example in the urination upon lamp posts & lavatory seat displaythat so defines all male experience?  I am particularly keen to hear from ‘real men’ in the responses.
> 
> Yours, Magda Taptap Workplace-Bound



Hi Matchu, with youse only having one bath per year I'd have thought you'd be perfectly placed to get into the mindset, indeed I'd always thought you were a bloke. I'm happy to help you discover your inner UG if you're serious, PM me and we can communicate, "er" "yeah, um, right" "how do" , seriously I'm a poet, they gave me a medal, although I don't know if that precludes me from being a real man. It will be really good, i have a dictionary. PG


----------



## Matchu

Sorry P that I could not find another arena to address the issue.  

Somehow in the moment I think I am answering the question eye to eye.  Only in the aftermath do I sense it might read somewhat oblique.  Although this did have to be, necessarily, somewhat oblique. Strokes n' folks all that.  Guy's alright, sometimes I wish I had a fetish.  I said before I like feet a lot more than I used to.


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## Darkkin

Warning Rant Ahead...

I work with someone who is immensely careless with books, (subject organisation and alphabetising).  A side function of my ASD brain is touch point memory, (I handle something once I remember precisely where it is and goes.  Think human card catalogue, it is a freaktastic ability).  When something is out of place I find it, I fix it.  Over the past week I have fixed more than twelve linear feet of books that have been incorrectly shelved.  This is a problem and I have said something, again and again.  I'm doing double the work because of another's ineptitude and it is getting to be an issue.

- D.


----------



## Phil Istine

Darkkin said:


> Warning Rant Ahead...
> 
> I work with someone who is immensely careless with books, (subject organisation and alphabetising).  A side function of my ASD brain is touch point memory, (I handle something once I remember precisely where it is and goes.  Think human card catalogue, it is a freaktastic ability).  When something is out of place I find it, I fix it.  Over the past week I have fixed more than twelve linear feet of books that have been incorrectly shelved.  This is a problem and I have said something, again and again.  I'm doing double the work because of another's ineptitude and it is getting to be an issue.
> 
> - D.



That sounds very frustrating, especially as you have told the person.


----------



## Darkkin

First picture on a new tablet...and the learning curve is a bit of a grr...


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I am having problems with my laptop, the screen goes black every now and then.
I tried to turn down, the hertz of the monitor.
I've lowered from 60 to 40.
We hope well.
I can't afford a new pc,   if this breaks.


----------



## Foxee

I'm enervated by an ongoing headache and my mom and brother going back and forth over the property that she wants to 'give' us...really she's trying to give it to my kids. If she could do it without me being involved she would be much happier. As it is, she's offering for us to live there and hold the deed but for she and my brother to have all kinds of control in order to 'protect' us. This not only violates my sense of security with where I'd be living but it doesn't help the headache situation. Add in the holiday and there's the ongoing headache even without the spring pressure changes that are probably bringing it on.


----------



## EternalGreen

It's not an umbrella; it's a _parasol_. And I know it's not raining. Mind your own business, you future skin cancer patient.


----------



## VRanger

I got really sore today. Like two Advil sore. I've been wanting to create a larger fenced area since we moved into this house Thanksgiving 2018, and my close friend (adopted brother close) has owed me $7500 in project work since then. I'm relieved to see he's finally getting around to it ... these are projects he has the know how on, and needed the cash to close on his house at the same time we closed on ours. In December 2019 I came across a deal on chain link fence on Facebook, and got almost 300' of fence for $180 (normally $2-3 per foot). The seller threw in some fence posts, and I already had some corner posts and regulars from fence we took down here (in a place I DIDN'T need it).

So my friend calls yesterday to let me know he's coming over today to get started on the new fence, which is important to get up. My current fencing is makeshift, we're going on vacation on the 17th, and I don't want the dog/house sitter to deal with our new very athletic dog with only the makeshift fence in place.

So today we bought Quikcrete and put in the five corner posts to let them get completely set in. Monday we'll put in the regular posts and the gates. It might be Tuesday before we actually hang the fence ... but it will be in place before we leave. Cheer cheer!

So ... sore? With an impact wrench, I knocked the concrete off the corner posts we'd taken down from the old fence, and did almost all the posthole digging, plus hauling around 60 lb. bags of Quikcrete.

We used a 100' tape measure to set the locations for the corner posts, and as I was reeling it in the first time, my friend looked at me funny and said. "I didn't know you're left-handed."

"I'm not."

"Then why are you turning the reel with your left hand."

"I'm ambidextrose. That means I can eat sugar with either hand."

(No, I'm right-handed, but I can hold a handle and make circles with my left hand).


----------



## Terra

Nice way to bid adieu to winter


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## Terra

Probably should mention I created this beast two days ago ... that's how it goes where I live


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## PiP

vranger said:


> .... and my close friend (adopted brother close) has owed me $7500 in project work since then. I'm relieved to see he's finally getting around to it ... these are projects he has the know how on, and needed the cash to close on his house at the same time we closed on ours. ...
> <snips>
> So my friend calls yesterday to let me know he's coming over today to get started on the new fence, which is important to get up...
> 
> <snip>
> 
> So ... sore? With an impact wrench,* I* knocked the concrete off the corner posts we'd taken down from the old fence, and did almost all the posthole digging, plus hauling around 60 lb. bags of Quikcrete.



So you did all the manual work while he supervised, sounds like a good deal to me.  Are you going somewhere nice for your vacation?


----------



## Gofa

Lady Silence

I am having problems with my laptop, the screen goes black every now and then.
I tried to turn down, the hertz of the monitor.
I've lowered from 60 to 40.
We hope well.
I can't afford a new pc, if this breaks.




You tube is your friend as is google this will be a common fault define the laptop name etc 
best advice will follow


----------



## VRanger

PiP said:


> So you did all the manual work while he supervised, sounds like a good deal to me.  Are you going somewhere nice for your vacation?



He was on the ground using the impact wrench to dig out the volumes of quartz in our dirt, which I can't get out with the post hole diggers. Plus, he moved and rolled out the first section of fence.  I don't mind whatever part of the work I get in, I can use the exercise. LOL Plus, the impact wrench, the 100' tape measure, and the magnetic level we used to make sure the posts are vertical are all his. I couldn't have planned out everything we did and executed it with precision like he does. This guy is a residential builder and knows the nuts and bolts to pretty much everything you can do in a house or on the property.

To tell you what kind of friend he is: When my dog Pepper died December 2019, he heard about it and turned around halfway to another town to come back and help me bury her. I was torn up. I couldn't even start to do it without shaking too badly to use the tools, when I could see them. That's a friend. I still can't type this without wiping my eyes. It's one reason why our new dog from a stray is such a blessing. Our other dogs gravitate toward Betty, and the new girl 'Doris' sticks with me.

She gets upset when I'm out of the house and vocalizes it, so John suggested we take her to the hardware store ... it's not uncommon. She got compliments frequently, and at checkout a little boy (about five) asked to pet her. She rolled over to get him to pet her tummy, and when he leaned in too close he got slimed up his face. He liked that and went back for more. LOL His father was standing next to us smiling at the whole episode. Freakin' LS would have this dog eliminated ...

We have time share weeks in Myrtle Beach SC, and go in April and (normally) the first week of October. Our favorite seafood restaurant is a one block walk up from the beach, and we have an oceanfront condo. We're not beach sunners, but we'll hang out in the hot tub for a while, then sit out on the pool deck, facing the ocean, and sip wine coolers while we read for an hour or so each afternoon. We've been going there since the late 80s, meaning we've done all the area 'activities' multiple times, so these days we mostly just relax on the property and enjoy the view and sounds of the surf.


----------



## PiP

vranger said:


> He was on the ground using the impact wrench to dig out the volumes of quartz in our dirt, which I can't get out with the post hole diggers. Plus, he moved and rolled out the first section of fence.  I don't mind whatever part of the work I get in, I can use the exercise. LOL Plus, the impact wrench, the 100' tape measure, and the magnetic level we used to make sure the posts are vertical are all his. I couldn't have planned out everything we did and executed it with precision like he does. This guy is a residential builder and knows the nuts and bolts to pretty much everything you can do in a house or on the property.



I was teasing you in my last comment.

Apologies, vranger, sometimes British humour does not always translate well 



> To tell you what kind of friend he is: When my dog Pepper died December 2019, he heard about it and turned around halfway to another town to come back and help me bury her. I was torn up. I couldn't even start to do it without shaking too badly to use the tools, when I could see them. That's a friend. I still can't type this without wiping my eyes. It's one reason why our new dog from a stray is such a blessing. Our other dogs gravitate toward Betty, and the new girl 'Doris' sticks with me.



Yes, he is a true friend and adopted brother. True friendship is rare and a treasured gift. I would love a RL friend like him I could truly trust and rely on. You are very lucky.



> We have time share weeks in Myrtle Beach SC, and go in April and (normally) the first week of October. Our favorite seafood restaurant is a one block walk up from the beach, and we have an oceanfront condo. We're not beach sunners, but we'll hang out in the hot tub for a while, then sit out on the pool deck, facing the ocean, and sip wine coolers while we read for an hour or so each afternoon. We've been going there since the late 80s, meaning we've done all the area 'activities' multiple times, so these days we mostly just relax on the property and enjoy the view and sounds of the surf.



Sounds a perfect location. Although I don't sunbath, I love the beach and before my injury I loved body boarding and paddle boarding was the next activity on my bucket list. My favourite time of day is just before sunset. We take nibbles and drinks and set up camp about 16.00 so we can watch the sunset. We only live 2 minutes drive away from several beaches in the Western Algarve.

But hot tub and cocktails would be perfect.


----------



## Phil Istine

This evening I have finally figured out how to access WF on this ancient laptop.  At first I couldn't access any internet on it, then I found I could get on some sites, but nt others.  There was some tech message about something odd not being installed.  I had a hunt around the internet on the desktop PC and decided to try something.  The laptop runs Windows XP Home.  I ended up downloading Eirefox 43.0.1 which is a 32-bit browser, but serves higher operating systems.  And here I am.  I could have done with this a few weeks ago when my mobility was impaired.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

My laptop is no longer giving me problems. I'm happy.
Today is a day of writing only. I hope not to be interrupted.


----------



## Matchu

*Nutritious FILM CLUB in a chair on your own.*

I jumped the forum at about ten o'clock last night and I awoke later/earlier with a sense I had been a dickhead on the forum.  I apologise on behalf of dickheads.  Anyways I got this long-term assignment atm down at the guy's house and that's where I do some reading. But I am on holiday today so I watch films.  Here is today's selection of films:

*Summer With Monika *is very early Ingmar Bergman and it is inspiring for writing your love stories and for feeling wistful.  I watched it all this morning.  Very kissy, very controversial in its time.  Sexy film & romantic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIgSm9QCu9o

I tried to watch *Closely Observed Trains*...but I cannot find a version with English subtitles.  Instead I suggest *Bicycle Thieves*.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD-lAH3XEmQ
_
*[mandatory viewing for Nutritious Film Club membership, extremely worthy]*

_Later on a spot of light WW2 propaganda cinema.  This is one of the prettiest and directed by Carol Reed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbhhrQdNu6g  contains Peter Ustinov aged c12 and some Dad's Army favourites.  *The New Lot.
*
See you x


----------



## indianroads

A little bit of a lazy day. 
I spent the morning in the garage playing with my motorcycles - then of course I had to ride them... not just one but both because they get jealous. With all the forced business closings last year I didn't get to take my usual summer cross country trip, and I'm itching to get on the road. 

There's an open style karate tournament coming up later this month and I'm actually considering competing - we'll see now my body holds up to the preparation. Funny, I'm 15 years over the top of the oldest age division; how the heck that that happen?

I'll probably to the prep-work for the fourth edit of Redemption this afternoon, then attack it in earnest tomorrow after Taekwondo class.


----------



## Darkkin

I could no longer procrastinate getting a new phone.  My old one was beyond dead.  The new one is amazing and didn't cost the earth, but it is the most I have ever spent on a phone.  And since I was messing around updating all of my tech toys, I decided to see if there was a way to link my lost iTunes library to my tablet.  Lo and behold, there was just such an app.  I reset everything and now have access to music I have not heard in more than three years (when my laptop died).  There is a whole lot of happy going on right now!


----------



## indianroads

It was a nice day, with some martial arts in the morning then updating my website with a new short story.


----------



## VRanger

I've had a makeshift fence up for our small dogs for 2 1/2 years in this house. Our new larger dog (the stray we took in) hasn't challenged that fence, but I don't want there to be a first time ... especially with a week with a house sitter coming up soon. So this week I've been putting up a real fence (with help). It will have about 5 or 6 times the interior area of the makeshift fence. The posts are all in and the concrete cured, so tomorrow we hang the chain link.

On another note, my wife and I both had our 2nd vaccine shots early this afternoon. We have the same mild soreness at the injection site as we did from the first shot, but no other side effects. I'll update this.


----------



## Olly Buckle

vranger said:


> I've had a makeshift fence up for our small dogs for 2 1/2 years in this house. Our new larger dog (the stray we took in) hasn't challenged that fence, but I don't want there to be a first time ... especially with a week with a house sitter coming up soon. So this week I've been putting up a real fence (with help). It will have about 5 or 6 times the interior area of the makeshift fence. The posts are all in and the concrete cured, so tomorrow we hang the chain link.
> .


It depends on the motivation. My little mongrel was a fair bit smaller than a collie, he could get over a six foot fence just like that if there was a bitch on heat in the yard


----------



## Olly Buckle

Got there at last! I have had several attempts at recording my story 'A family business' for YouTube and fallen apart in the middle, today I managed to read it all the way through, a bit over 37mins, a long one. Rather than editing and getting a 'perfect' version I go for 'Good enough for copy'. I truly think it sounds better, more 'real' and 'human'. Mind, I think I am getting better as I go. The first one is pretty terrible, I recorded a version of it a few years ago for my daughter and my mate who is a producer edited several takes to get a perfect one as she had to write a piece of music to go with a spoken word composition for her degree. We must have got it fairly right , she got a 1.1 

So long it took ages to upload, off to put a copy on my facebook page and rewrite my signature now.

Done.


----------



## Terra

Two days of physical exertion after a winter of getting soft ... so tired I can barely move, but oh man, it was so worth it. Yesterday, hours of kayaking with a good friend. She mismanaged some rapids, hit a rock and tipped into ice cold water. She's okay, and I learned a lot about not panicking when something like that happens. I spent today helping my parents separate their bulls from the herd in preparation for calving and sorting the last two years of calves to go to auction in May. I should mention these are buffalo. The LM prompt this month is Defiance ... I witnessed that in action when a cow demolished the main gate in defiance to being corralled ... why can't my parents raise goats instead? Bedtime for this gal


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I have a terrible headache today.


I think I'll go back to bed.
But I bring the Tablet. I'll see if I can write at least a little.


----------



## Darkkin

The timing on this was too funny not to share.  Warp speed...now!  (Bye Potato Cat).


----------



## VRanger

I promised to update:

More than 72 hours after our second Moderna vaccine shot, I have no side effects whatsoever. For several hours after the shot, I did have soreness at the injection site, but it faded more quickly than the soreness from the first shot! My wife reported a mild headache for a while the second day, but is unsure if it was from the shot or sinuses. Certainly, neither of us had fever or chills or the other scary sounding stuff. I frankly had slight trepidation about "second shot effects", but at least for us it turned out to be a big nothing.


----------



## SiameseDream

My dad got me and my mom sick. Woke up with a cough and scratchy throat. Thankfully, he took a Covid test a couple days ago and it came back negative. Probably a cold. On the plus side, I wrote 3,000 words for a story I'm working on. I don't know about other people, but anytime I can reach 3,000 words in a day is a pretty good day.

Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk

Edited for typo.


----------



## VRanger

SiameseDream said:


> My dad got me and my mom sick. Woke up with a cough and scratchy throat. Thankfully, he took a Covid test a couple days ago and it came back negative. Probably a cold. On the plus side, I write 3,000 words for a story I'm working on. I don't know about other people, but anytime I can reach 3,000 words in a day is a pretty good day.
> 
> Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk



3,000 words in a day is better production than many "name" authors. Good work.


----------



## SiameseDream

vranger said:


> 3,000 words in a day is better production than many "name" authors. Good work.


Thanks.

Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk


----------



## Darkkin

Run silent, surface, breath deep and disappear...


----------



## VRanger

I finished Step Four on the fence today.

(1. Corner posts (5). 2. Regular fence posts (17). 3. Install top rail. 4. Hang the fence and stretch it to the corner posts).

Tomorrow will be some clean up. Both gates we salvaged from a previous fence on the property have rust and rot at the bottom, so we'll cut those off and use corner L's along with spare top rail to create new bottoms. Also, the gates have holes in the bottom from the previous home owner's dogs attacking it, so we'll replace the chain link in the gates with spare fencing. We have to screw down some top rail guides which don't stay on the posts due to low points in the terrain, and I have to install wire ties on top rail and regular fence posts. We put up 220' of perimeter, intersecting two sides of the house. Dogs now have MUCH more area to roam than the makeshift fence this replaces, and my wife suddenly isn't too sure she likes that. LOL (We scoop the poop and toss it outside of the fenced area, so more ground to cover!)

But ... this fence was needed to insure the larger stray we took in and adopted is secure inside, and the fence was a project planned since we moved in, so now I get to check that off. Four days of fencing has meant eight Advil. LOL Tomorrow's effort should be less taxing.

It's made for a busy week, what with working on fence, handling clients in my business, scratching out a poem a day for the challenge, and squeezing in a chapter on my WIP here and there. Interesting times ... the Chinese curse! ;-)


----------



## Foxee

I have a complaint: I was supposed to have an hour to write a story this morning rather than being a character some author is messing with.

The hour between 7am and 8am was supposed to be gloriously free with only myself, the page, and a cup of coffee. Milk, no sugar, this is the morning. Maybe one of those little 'donut hole' type chocolate chip things I made last night. 

So I spent the time leading up to that trying to bounce the teenager out of bed and essentially yapping at his heels like a demented Pomeranian to get him moving to the bus. He knows so much more than Mom that he missed the bus. Literally was just a moment too late to run to it.

Please, give me a gold star on my forehead but only one because I didn't scream or rant, I just gave him the what-for about responsibility. I left the landline handset beside my sleeping daughter's head, got my coffee into a go-mug, and walked my PJ pants out to the SUV. What? Yes, I gave him some more of my mind. I just have so much to give.

SUV's steering went out halfway to the school. 

Thankfully, my mechanic was in the shop at 7:30 and was probably really delighted to answer the phone. Sorry, dude, welcome to my morning. He said it would be okay to drive to the school but bring it to the garage straight after. I asked him for a ride home for my PJs and I and he was fine with that. (the garage is just down over the hill from me) This is one of the reasons why this is my favorite mechanic.

Got an entire upper-body workout driving the damned SUV with no power steering. I'm no wimp and I've driven vehicles that didn't have power steering before but that's an entirely different ball game than driving through defunct power steering. Zero fun in case you're wondering.

Got the whippersnapper teenager dropped at school, muscled my way to the garage, and waited thankfully in the warm office (it's very raw and cold this morning) for the mechanic to get done arguing with a car in the far bay. 

Tried calling my daughter to wake her up. No service.

Walked back out to the edge of the road in the rain and chill and hooray, AT&T met me there.

Had to call twice to get the kid to wake up.

The mechanic ran me home (In a truly nice enormous pickup that he had to yank me up into. I'm only 5'3" give me a break...or a running board. Or a launch pad) dropped me off. Kid was up. Hooray.

I set up more coffee (more than I usually did) and added Irish cream. Morning be damned. And let's do three or four of the donut hole cookie things as my daughter wanted to talk. 

Can't even remember what I was going to write anymore.

Made it to my desk, put my hands on the computer.

Phone rang. It's my mom! Sorry moms, I'm a mom, I get it, but there's still an "oh no" moment when I see it's mom that's automatic. Plus I absolutely despise talking on the phone. Also, she was chatty.

So it's almost a good thing that my husband called. Then I could get off the other call. But now I'm still stuck on the phone. I love the guy but...wut.

This brings me up to three hours of my day where everything in the world happened except writing. 

Am I happy that things have worked out with each situation? Absolutely. Could have been a LOT worse.

But now it's time to get into the day so my brain is unlikely to really sink into the creative process and feel okay about it. And now it's essentially the weekend. Creativity is basically dead until Monday morning. IF nothing else happens.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Foxee, At least you wrote about your experience. People that are writers say writing is a kind of expressive therapy. You could remember it, and maybe even use it in a story.

Well today I found a book by Harvard University that's written for ESL and native speakers. So, I am going to order that book. In addition to this going to order a college book written as a college reader written specifically for multimedia. This includes videos, photographs, and how to write about it. It's much better that the other book I wrote about that I bought on ESL. Supposedly half the colleges in the United States use the first book according to the advertising. So this teaches how to write paragraphs and sentences. I already did a good job with what I wrote last time. What I want are techniques to do it seamlessly. I found these resources by luck since I am always researching.

A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker (with exercises) 9th edition (there is one with exercises and one without)

Becoming Rhetorical: Analyzing and Composing in a Multimedia World with APA 7e Updates
(this one teaches how one can write rhetorically from just watching videos for example on YouTube using I guess exercises and activities to stimulate the person)


----------



## Darkkin

Doing some crazy flying spaghetti monster pieces to dig myself out of a writing hole, and surprisingly they are not horrific.  Extremely dorky, yes, but not wretched.  I still have a couple of pieces I know I really want to get done, but their not the ones that spoke to me tonight.


----------



## indianroads

My characters have a lot of internal debates... would character A do this? What would happen if B? Etc. So I dealt with an infestation of “would’s” today.


----------



## Matchu

A rustle in the bushes had me reaching for the long lens.  I captured his majesty:


and enticed him toward the doorstep for the award-winner, I believe & I hope.


----------



## SueC

Foxee said:


> I have a complaint: I was supposed to have an hour to write a story this morning rather than being a character some author is messing with.
> 
> The hour between 7am and 8am was supposed to be gloriously free with only myself, the page, and a cup of coffee. Milk, no sugar, this is the morning. Maybe one of those little 'donut hole' type chocolate chip things I made last night.
> 
> So I spent the time leading up to that trying to bounce the teenager out of bed and essentially yapping at his heels like a demented Pomeranian to get him moving to the bus. He knows so much more than Mom that he missed the bus. Literally was just a moment too late to run to it.
> 
> Please, give me a gold star on my forehead but only one because I didn't scream or rant, I just gave him the what-for about responsibility. I left the landline handset beside my sleeping daughter's head, got my coffee into a go-mug, and walked my PJ pants out to the SUV. What? Yes, I gave him some more of my mind. I just have so much to give.
> 
> SUV's steering went out halfway to the school.
> 
> Thankfully, my mechanic was in the shop at 7:30 and was probably really delighted to answer the phone. Sorry, dude, welcome to my morning. He said it would be okay to drive to the school but bring it to the garage straight after. I asked him for a ride home for my PJs and I and he was fine with that. (the garage is just down over the hill from me) This is one of the reasons why this is my favorite mechanic.
> 
> Got an entire upper-body workout driving the damned SUV with no power steering. I'm no wimp and I've driven vehicles that didn't have power steering before but that's an entirely different ball game than driving through defunct power steering. Zero fun in case you're wondering.
> 
> Got the whippersnapper teenager dropped at school, muscled my way to the garage, and waited thankfully in the warm office (it's very raw and cold this morning) for the mechanic to get done arguing with a car in the far bay.
> 
> Tried calling my daughter to wake her up. No service.
> 
> Walked back out to the edge of the road in the rain and chill and hooray, AT&T met me there.
> 
> Had to call twice to get the kid to wake up.
> 
> The mechanic ran me home (In a truly nice enormous pickup that he had to yank me up into. I'm only 5'3" give me a break...or a running board. Or a launch pad) dropped me off. Kid was up. Hooray.
> 
> I set up more coffee (more than I usually did) and added Irish cream. Morning be damned. And let's do three or four of the donut hole cookie things as my daughter wanted to talk.
> 
> Can't even remember what I was going to write anymore.
> 
> Made it to my desk, put my hands on the computer.
> 
> Phone rang. It's my mom! Sorry moms, I'm a mom, I get it, but there's still an "oh no" moment when I see it's mom that's automatic. Plus I absolutely despise talking on the phone. Also, she was chatty.
> 
> So it's almost a good thing that my husband called. Then I could get off the other call. But now I'm still stuck on the phone. I love the guy but...wut.
> 
> This brings me up to three hours of my day where everything in the world happened except writing.
> 
> Am I happy that things have worked out with each situation? Absolutely. Could have been a LOT worse.
> 
> But now it's time to get into the day so my brain is unlikely to really sink into the creative process and feel okay about it. And now it's essentially the weekend. Creativity is basically dead until Monday morning. IF nothing else happens.



Yes, the "mom" adventures. When I was working at a hospital and all four of my kids were home, I'd try and pick some random day in the future for a mental health day. A Wednesday, for example, two weeks off. When you work in a hospital, you had to plan ahead - far ahead. By the Tuesday before my "free" day, all looked good and I was excited, in a good. But it never failed - someone (and even me once) would get sick on that Wednesday morning so that all I got to do was take care of sickies! So I feel your pain, Foxee. Good to see you still kept your sense of humor and came back to us to share. Good job, Mom!


----------



## EternalGreen

I searched for an appointment for a COVID vaccine and booked one in _two hours_. There were slots available _immediately_.

Anyone who says the public sector can't get things done just isn't living in reality.


----------



## -xXx-

EternalGreen said:


> I searched for an appointment for a COVID vaccine and booked one in _two hours_. There were slots available _immediately_.
> 
> Anyone who says the public sector can't get things done just isn't living in shared? reality.


----------



## Darkkin

Scored a really nice oversized reading chair from the curb of one of the slightly ritzier neighbourhoods about a mile from my house.  Spent the evening shampooing it and rearranging the basement to accommodate it.  It will be really nice once it's dry.  Anybody else have experiences with curb furniture?  I've put a lot on the curb, this is the first I've ever brought home.  I know the family and they have no pets, so weird stain possibilities are minimal.  Either way I used an enzymatic detergent...


----------



## Firemajic

Darkkin said:


> Scored a really nice oversized reading chair from the curb of one of the slightly ritzier neighbourhoods about a mile from my house.  Spent the evening shampooing it and rearranging the basement to accommodate it.  It will be really nice once it's dry.  Anybody else have experiences with curb furniture?  I've put a lot on the curb, this is the first I've ever brought home.  I know the family and they have no pets, so weird stain possibilities are minimal.  Either way I used an enzymatic detergent...



I scored a cool oil painting on a stretched canvas, it is about 10x12 inches, the lady that threw it away is an art teacher, but this painting was signed by her.... it was a painting of an abandoned cottage with the garden grown up in weeds, and it is easy to see that the wind is blowing by the way the weeds are bent, she painted the scene in soft muted colors....I am madly in love with it...


----------



## petergrimes

Darkkin said:


> Scored a really nice oversized reading chair from the curb of one of the slightly ritzier neighbourhoods about a mile from my house.  Spent the evening shampooing it and rearranging the basement to accommodate it.  It will be really nice once it's dry.  Anybody else have experiences with curb furniture?  I've put a lot on the curb, this is the first I've ever brought home.  I know the family and they have no pets, so weird stain possibilities are minimal.  Either way I used an enzymatic detergent...



I was walking home from the Dr's one day and somebody had left out one of those spin chairs, leather, molded to the back with arm rests. At the time I was spending hours writing a book and only had a wooden chair with a straight back. My back wasn't liking it, this new chair however... it was on wheels too so i could roll it all the way home. its a bit tatty but so am I. They left a note saying I could take it. Serendipity. I could never remember which house it was to say thank you though. I love this chair, would have cost me a fortune t'otherwise. quality. Cheers Darkkin PG


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## Darkkin

This is my free to good home chair.


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## PiP

that looks lovely and comfortable!


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## Foxee

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 26710
> 
> This is my free to good home chair.


I'm wondering which of your animals will claim it. Or if they'll just all colonize it. It's a really nice find!


----------



## Darkkin

Foxee said:


> I'm wondering which of your animals will claim it. Or if they'll just all colonize it. It's a really nice find!



The thing about the boys is that they only ever get on the furniture when invited.  The dogs crate up at night and Potato sleeps on top of Zwi's crate, I actually had to get a crate mat for the top of the crate for Potato because he was wearing the fur off a spot on his back foot.  I sit there, Rue and Potato both climb up.


----------



## Matchu

TOP SECRET

too secret, sorry, just waking up and a bit 'high' -natural high (elderly)


----------



## midnightpoet

Got a notice today the granddaughter of my eldest niece (I'm already feeling old) is graduating from high school so naturally I wrote her a poem.  She liked it, of course, and tells me poetry is one of her favorite things to write and read.  I hope the poor thing doesn't get disillusioned too soon.:icon_joker:


----------



## Darkkin

We did nail trimming tonight on both Rue and Potato, we were done in under two minutes.  Nobody died, nobody bled.  That in and of itself is a win.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am reading a book for esl writers called Language Power: tutorials for writers.  I am taking time during my day to learn from it. It has 21 chapters. I won't spend too much time on the forum because I am studying it. I decided to focus on learning new language skills. I suspect it will take me a month to finish it. So far I am learning things I did not know.  That and maybe by the time I finish it maybe I will have what it takes to write error free I hope. Learning about determiners, articles, demonstrative pronouns, coordinating, and subordinating conjunctions so far. I did not know some of it. It's time-consuming but I made notes inside of my word processor. That and I made a goal to exercise as much as I can during the week whenever it is the morning. So I will be absent for some time. I actually think I log on the computer for too long and that I need to behave more like a stoic. That is until I learn the skills needed to tackle writing. Learning from a book is a huge investment of time. I easily will waste four hours reading.

I do have a new how to book on poetry and how to write some of it that I like a lot. But that will have to wait until I finish reading my esl lessons.


----------



## Foxee

When I manage to hit my dedicated time for writing every day (or at least most days) my strategy of ping-ponging back and forth between subconscious and conscious works very well for my writing. The problem comes in when, often on the weekend, I have three days of total disconnectedness from writing. So there's no longer resonance happening, my thoughts are on all the family demands and other things. This weekend I not only was keeping everything going for the family but for some reason I felt terribly lonely even with them there. An emotion like that is distracting, too.

So I did kick off the day today with some determined timed writing, trying desperately to get my neurons firing on writing again. A dismal 400 words, another 15 minutes to just argue with myself on the page about what am I writing anyway? And probably too much coffee. It's easy to think discouraging thoughts.

But it'll come back, the desire to write and the ideas. It always does.


----------



## Selorian

Today, I have only managed a handful of words. On April 20th my father passed away due to covid and today is his funeral. With the border between Canada and the US closed, there was no way to be there. Tough day, but I will get through it and will hopefully find the words flowing again once today is over.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better. I bet your father left behind a good legacy behind him because of the good things he did. That is something to be proud off. Many people do not have the opportunities a father can give. I hope for the days ahead that things improve and that you can remember only the good things. We tend to focus on the negative things that happen and that's something that used to happen to me often. So much I considered myself a pessimist when I would feel somewhat sad, but good things do happen to people who are feeling they are not their usual self. We humans tend to remember the negative. Hopefully, things will improve for those of us who need to be wished the condolences. People need to process feelings in a healthy way. It's something my therapist said once. First we think, then we feel, then we act a certain way. So if we look at the first step of thinking, we need to find ways of coping with our emotions. You have my sympathies and I hope you cope with it well.


----------



## Steve_Rivers

Sorry to hear that, @Selorian
This last year has really thrown a spanner in the works. My nan looked close to dying at one point in the last month or so. Thankfully she's out of the worst of it now, but it was touch and go. All I could think of was that awful feeling of not being able to even see her one last time before she died and then not being able to attend her funeral. 

I'm trying to keep my mind occupied with my writing, but its tough.


----------



## Firemajic

Selorian said:


> Today, I have only managed a handful of words. On April 20th my father passed away due to covid and today is his funeral. With the border between Canada and the US closed, there was no way to be there. Tough day, but I will get through it and will hopefully find the words flowing again once today is over.




I am so sorry to hear that... it makes it worse that you cannot go to his funeral and have that closure [ if there can be closure]... * hugs**, my thoughts are with you and your family... I am afraid my words sound so cliché... but they come from my heart... here's hoping for better days ahead...


----------



## Deleted member 65533

I am very sorry for your loss, don't think too much


----------



## Selorian

Theglasshouse said:


> Sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better. I bet your father left behind a good legacy behind him because of the good things he did. That is something to be proud off. Many people do not have the opportunities a father can give. I hope for the days ahead that things improve and that you can remember only the good things. We tend to focus on the negative things that happen and that's something that used to happen to me often. So much I considered myself a pessimist when I would feel somewhat sad, but good things do happen to people who are feeling they are not their usual self. We humans tend to remember the negative. Hopefully, things will improve for those of us who need to be wished the condolences. People need to process feelings in a healthy way. It's something my therapist said once. First we think, then we feel, then we act a certain way. So if we look at the first step of thinking, we need to find ways of coping with our emotions. You have my sympathies and I hope you cope with it well.





Steve_Rivers said:


> Sorry to hear that, @Selorian
> This last year has really thrown a spanner in the works. My nan looked close to dying at one point in the last month or so. Thankfully she's out of the worst of it now, but it was touch and go. All I could think of was that awful feeling of not being able to even see her one last time before she died and then not being able to attend her funeral.
> 
> I'm trying to keep my mind occupied with my writing, but its tough.





Firemajic said:


> I am so sorry to hear that... it makes it worse that you cannot go to his funeral and have that closure [ if there can be closure]... * hugs**, my thoughts are with you and your family... I am afraid my words sound so cliché... but they come from my heart... here's hoping for better days ahead...





Takeaway Junkie said:


> I am very sorry for your loss, don't think too much



Thank you all for the kind words, it means the world to me and reminds me of how great Writing Forums and its members have always been. Although the words didn't come today, I found other things to keep me occupied today. Tomorrow is a new day and I'm sure I'll be able to write, even if it is just to put my thoughts and feelings down in black and white. Again, thank you all so much.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My condolences, Selorian, I well remember my own father's passing, it is strange becoming the older generation.

On a different note the 'missus' and I got formally hitched yesterday in a Civil Partnership, a very quick little ceremony, just confirming our details and signing a paper. Basically it makes things much easier for the survivor when one of us dies and allows the children to avoid inheritance tax, but it is still nice after 37 years together.


----------



## Terra

Big hugs Selorian! Your words will honour his life, and give you a means to process the experience ... might not be easy, but can be most fulfilling.


----------



## SueC

Selorian said:


> Today, I have only managed a handful of words. On April 20th my father passed away due to covid and today is his funeral. With the border between Canada and the US closed, there was no way to be there. Tough day, but I will get through it and will hopefully find the words flowing again once today is over.



So sorry for your loss, Selorian. It's a path we all must walk, but that makes it no less painful. Your dad is with you always; in your heart, you very being, and I know he is proud of the person you have become. Blessings and healing thoughts sent to you and your family.
Sue


----------



## Deleted member 64995

Only now I have read.
Selorian condolences for your loss.


----------



## indianroads

We have 6 cats – note: if you ever volunteer at a cat rescue shelter, just know that you’ll end up keeping a lot of the fosters you take care of… and you’ll be the better for it. This is probably true for dogs, ferrets, etc. as well.

  Our oldest cat is Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) – we adopted him when he was young, and he grew and grew, finally reaching 18 pounds. He’s a big guy, but the gentlest animal I’ve ever known. He goes limp when you pick him up, and purrs almost constantly. When we brought abandoned kittens into our home to foster, they all loved Pete; he would just lay still and let them crawl all over him – a few even tried to suckle and he just tolerated it. Through Pete, they overcame their fears and went on to live good lives with other families. 

  Well, Pete is 14 years old now and having health problems. We took him to the vet yesterday and they determined that he has cancer and is dealing with bowel problems. We have him on medication, and he still is his old mellow self – even when we bathed him; Pete just accepted it, knowing that we wouldn’t hurt him, and purred through the whole thing. 

  Sadly, I doubt Pete has much longer to live, but we’re determined to make him feel loved and his last days comfortable.


----------



## Darkkin

So sorry to hear about your kitty's diagnosis.  My first cat Solomon had lymphoma, but never lost his love for life and his people even at the very end.  He was 15 and a privilege to know.  I rescued my CatCat a couple months after he passed, and she was with me for two decades before we said goodbye.  She was the last of her generation, (childhood pets).  My Potato Cat just turned two and he is one of the gentle giants.  13lbs of purr and Rue Dog's best friend.


----------



## VRanger

indianroads said:


> Sadly, I doubt Pete has much longer to live, but we’re determined to make him feel loved and his last days comfortable.



It's tough. We've been there with our generations of dogs. I miss 'em every one.


----------



## VRanger

I've posted elsewhere, I've just spent most of the week making sure a hacker threat we received a few days ago can never bear fruit. My business partner was surprised that I wrote mean things to the hacker ... thought it would provoke him (or her). The hacker was from China. However, I had the hacker reliably shut out before I told them to F off, literally.

This isn't a hot season for our clients, who are mostly active only during trade shows, which are just starting to happen again. So I just shut down all the sites and hurried to have the code changes in place, then brought the sites back up one by one as I tested the security enhancements.

We had a bit of extra excitement two evenings ago. Betty was taking the dogs out about 11 PM and called out to me. She spotted a snake between the glass in our breezeway's storm door! It was a baby, so I got a work glove, wiggled the top window to panic it into exiting the door, then snagged it behind the head. I took it to the edge of the fence and launched it toward the creek. Then I did some research and found out it was a juvenile rat snake. Good snake to have around.


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> So sorry to hear about your kitty's diagnosis.  My first cat Solomon had lymphoma, but never lost his love for life and his people even at the very end.  He was 15 and a privilege to know.  I rescued my CatCat a couple months after he passed, and she was with me for two decades before we said goodbye.  She was the last of her generation, (childhood pets).  My Potato Cat just turned two and he is one of the gentle giants.  13lbs of purr and Rue Dog's best friend.



I suffer from PTSD - cats calm me, we have a dog too... a Norwegian Elk Hound, she's a goofy loving creature but is also getting on in years. They all help me when anxiety hits.


----------



## Selorian

Olly Buckle said:


> My condolences, Selorian, I well remember my own father's passing, it is strange becoming the older generation.
> 
> On a different note the 'missus' and I got formally hitched yesterday in a Civil Partnership, a very quick little ceremony, just confirming our details and signing a paper. Basically it makes things much easier for the survivor when one of us dies and allows the children to avoid inheritance tax, but it is still nice after 37 years together.





Terra said:


> Big hugs Selorian! Your words will honour his life, and give you a means to process the experience ... might not be easy, but can be most fulfilling.





SueC said:


> So sorry for your loss, Selorian. It's a path we all must walk, but that makes it no less painful. Your dad is with you always; in your heart, you very being, and I know he is proud of the person you have become. Blessings and healing thoughts sent to you and your family.
> Sue





LadySilence said:


> Only now I have read.
> Selorian condolences for your loss.



Thank you for the condolences and well wishes, they mean a lot to me.


----------



## VRanger

Home project today. The last people who owned this house installed a kitchen island where none had been, and didn't put any outlets in it. So we got around to that today. After cutting through the sides to install the outlets and run the wiring, we drilled through the floor and ran the wire into the crawl space. My friend, who has the electrical experience to pull this off, readied to enter the crawl space, and I stayed up to do things like tap on the floor to help him find the right spot, especially if the wire was still on top of the insulation. I thought a bit of communication might be in order other than trying to yell through the floor.

Me: So would walkie-talkies help out here?
John: Sure, you have a walkie-talkie?
Me: Two of them. Works better than way.
John: Well, I assumed you meant two.
Me: There _is _a rule.
John: I'm *not *saying "Over".

He guessed it in one, and no, I was not able to convince him to say Over.


----------



## Darkkin

Field Test...Yeah!


----------



## RachelR

Three of my five foster kittens were adopted this evening. I’m so happy for them and their new families!


----------



## indianroads

Going in for my second covid shot tomorrow - it's the Monavoni... Moldova... Machu-Picchu... something like that... one. Folks I know have gotten a little sick off the second shot, sounds less than fun. I have two friends going for their 4th Dan Black in Taekwondo on Saturday, hopefully I'll be right as rain by then and will be able to watch their test.


----------



## River Rose

Many ppl are feeling the effects of the vaccine. Is why there is a high rate of ppl not going back to receive the second dose. If u received the first dose w no adverse side effects,,,u should b ok w the second. Yet,,,everyone responds differently.


----------



## Phil Istine

My own experience was that the first vaccine injection caused no side effects, but I'm told that this should not be thought of as an indicator of how the second one goes.  I'll let you know soon as I have my second one on the 16th of May.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

The cold is back. I like it.

I like the new forum, I still have to orient myself.


----------



## Mark Twain't

indianroads said:


> Going in for my second covid shot tomorrow - it's the Monavoni... Moldova... Machu-Picchu... something like that... one. Folks I know have gotten a little sick off the second shot, sounds less than fun. I have two friends going for their 4th Dan Black in Taekwondo on Saturday, hopefully I'll be right as rain by then and will be able to watch their test.



I had my 2nd jab last week. I had no side effects with either and I have a compromised immune system. Maybe it's finally an advantage! 

Anyway, hope all goes as well as possible for you.


----------



## indianroads

Mark Twain't said:


> I had my 2nd jab last week. I had no side effects with either and I have a compromised immune system. Maybe it's finally an advantage!
> 
> Anyway, hope all goes as well as possible for you.


With that, I hope to not have trouble when riding my motorcycle through the western states this summer.


----------



## indianroads

LadySilence said:


> The cold is back. I like it.
> 
> I like the new forum, I still have to orient myself.


I like it too - but it takes some getting used to.


----------



## indianroads

Just got my second covid shot... my wife recorded my reaction.


----------



## Darkkin

The face you get when even your cat thinks you're a weirdo...but you still know how to use your and you're correctly.


----------



## PiP

indianroads said:


> Going in for my second covid shot tomorrow - it's the Monavoni... Moldova... Machu-Picchu... something like that... one. Folks I know have gotten a little sick off the second shot, sounds less than fun. I have two friends going for their 4th Dan Black in Taekwondo on Saturday, hopefully I'll be right as rain by then and will be able to watch their test.


Hubby had Pfizer. fine with the first. The second jab which was a month later he had flu-like symptoms the following day, but then was fine.

I have my second jab in three weeks so I will not be making plans the day after. We will see.


----------



## midnightpoet

I go the 19th to the eye surgeon, have cataracts.  Also have a splitting headache I've had for at least a month.  My PCP gave me pain meds but that was not a solution.  When I told him about the cataracts he said probably eye strain.  Amazingly, I still managed to write over 35 poems during that period (most likely because my temples weren't throbbing at the time).  Probably have surgery sometimes this summer.  Hope everyone here is doing okay.  Getting old is the pits.


----------



## Foxee

midnightpoet said:


> Getting old is the pits.


I'd be okay with giving it a miss.

Hope your surgery goes okay. You did a darned heroic job with the poems considering what you have to contend with. Good job!


----------



## SueC

midnightpoet said:


> I go the 19th to the eye surgeon, have cataracts.  Also have a splitting headache I've had for at least a month.  My PCP gave me pain meds but that was not a solution.  When I told him about the cataracts he said probably eye strain.  Amazingly, I still managed to write over 35 poems during that period (most likely because my temples weren't throbbing at the time).  Probably have surgery sometimes this summer.  Hope everyone here is doing okay.  Getting old is the pits.


It is the pits but you're going to be great! Everyone I know who's had the surgery said it's all so much better afterwards.


----------



## Darkkin

Got a few decent candids of Potato Cat and Rue Dog...good fodder for my blog and Potato's IG.  It isn't brilliant writing, but it is punny.


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> The face you get when even your cat thinks you're a weirdo...but you still know how to use your and you're correctly.
> View attachment 26797


I love cats... dogs too, but cats especially. We have six cats - they're wonderful people.


----------



## Darkkin

Figured out the percentage of books incorrectly shelved based in the number of linear feet I found over the course of the day.  (All books received within the last 3 days and shelved over the last 24 hours.  (I was off yesterday and these titles were not there Wednesday.) A total of 16 linear feet on the cart.)

All told it was 13.6% all in my genres.  I hate it when careless people get their hands into my sections.  Needless to say, I pulled the problem titles, reshelved them and am keeping a running tally to average over the next month.

Downside of my touchpoint memory brain is that I find these errors without consciously looking for them.  I find it, know its wrong and have to fix it.  I cannot leave it wrong.  And if I didn't point it out most people would never know, but percentages this bad need to be addressed.

Can I be anymore of a brain freak?  This is why animals make sense and people don't.  Even Rue Dog knows how to put his toys away correctly.   Seriously dude...


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> Hubby had Pfizer. fine with the first. The second jab which was a month later he had flu-like symptoms the following day, but then was fine.
> 
> I have my second jab in three weeks so I will not be making plans the day after. We will see.



I slept really badly last night - and was congested and achy for most of the day. Hoping that tomorrow will be better.

Speaking of tomorrow - I may not get much writing/editing done because two of my friends are going for their fourth dan blackbelt and I'll be watching their test and supporting them.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Saw my colleagues yesterday for the 1st time in 14 months, it was a good day!


----------



## PiP

Darkkin said:


> Downside of my touchpoint memory brain is that I find these errors without consciously looking for them.  I find it, know its wrong and have to fix it.  I cannot leave it wrong.  And if I didn't point it out most people would never know, but percentages this bad need to be addressed.
> 
> Can I be anymore of a brain freak?


I am like a dog with a bone. If I don't understand, or something doesn't make logical sense. I will ask the same question at least twenty different ways until the brain puzzle is resolved.


----------



## River Rose

PiP said:


> I am like a dog with a bone. If I don't understand, or something doesn't make logical sense. I will ask the same question at least twenty different ways until the brain puzzle is resolved.


Me too.


----------



## Foxee

*We live in dangerous times!* 
All I did was think, "Huh! I don't have that book series"...and somehow there was this blur of having 'added to cart' and then books appeared! 
My bank account will be empty, my house full of books.


----------



## Phil Istine

Foxee said:


> *We live in dangerous times!*
> All I did was think, "Huh! I don't have that book series"...and somehow there was this blur of having 'added to cart' and then books appeared!
> My bank account will be empty, my house full of books.
> 
> View attachment 26823



My name is Phil and I'm a bookaholic.  I pretend to be a librarian to cover my addiction and  go into different bookshops, but I think they're beginning to suspect.  I even hide in toilets to read, but I have to be careful to not rustle the pages in case anyone finds out.


----------



## Darkkin

What is this too many books thing you're talking about?  You do know that is just a legend...right. (This is just a small portion of the books on my table and my nonfiction/fantasy overflow bookcase.  My stacks on the table are 10 inches deep and the one bookcase stretches an additional four feet on either side.)


----------



## The Green Shield

I come here and suddenly everything is different! :O Good lord! Pretty nice design, though.


----------



## Darkkin

People occasionally ask where I get some of my ideas from.  One of my favourites, the clockwork greyhound Lore is based on this guy.  Our greyhound, Zwi.  

(And yes, that is Potato Cat photobombing.)


----------



## indianroads

It was a good day - a couple of friends that I've been helping train earned their 4th Dan Black Belts in TaeKwonDo today.

And my cat had a very rough day.


----------



## River Rose

Peanut


----------



## Mark Twain't

Is this now the cat appreciation thread?


----------



## Darkkin

No.  Kitties just seem to take over the internet.  It is their greatest, oft ignored power.  We get distracted and they plot.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Darkkin said:


> No.  Kitties just seem to take over the internet.  It is their greatest, oft ignored power.  We get distracted and they plot.


Oh they plot alright. We have 2 and if one comes for affection, you can be sure that it's a distraction ploy whilst the other causes mayhem!


----------



## Darkkin

Genre Fiction in Four Words:  Handy Dead Character. Solve!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Dogs have telepathic control, but they are stupid so they just motivate humans to provide food an warmth, with some awful results.
Cats are intelligent, but can't access speech or telepathy, that's why they plot.

Well, that's my theory.


----------



## Foxee

I know that audiobooks are expensive but I wasn't really expecting Audible to feel like a racket. I pay a monthly fee in order to be able to listen to books that I can buy. The only way this turns out to really be worth it moneywise for a skinflint like myself is to also have KindleUnlimited so that I can possibly find a free book on Kindle that results in a free or reduced price on the audio from Audible. Today I got my monthly Free Credit (which is basically one free book) and picked up Dean Koontz's _Watchers_ to listen to. Which is marvelous.

Something I cannot figure out from Audible, though, is why they're always giving me awards. What do the awards have to do with anything other than producing annoying notifications? I can't sort out how being awarded a Gold "Weekend Warrior" badge is supposed to do anything. I'm listening to an audiobook because I want to, there's no effort involved. So being given an award invariably just seems nonsensical and busybodying.

Leave me alone, Audible! And give me more free books because...I'm a cheapskate.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Foxee said:


> I know that audiobooks are expensive but I wasn't really expecting Audible to feel like a racket. I pay a monthly fee in order to be able to listen to books that I can buy. The only way this turns out to really be worth it moneywise for a skinflint like myself is to also have KindleUnlimited so that I can possibly find a free book on Kindle that results in a free or reduced price on the audio from Audible. Today I got my monthly Free Credit (which is basically one free book) and picked up Dean Koontz's _Watchers_ to listen to. Which is marvelous.
> 
> Something I cannot figure out from Audible, though, is why they're always giving me awards. What do the awards have to do with anything other than producing annoying notifications? I can't sort out how being awarded a Gold "Weekend Warrior" badge is supposed to do anything. I'm listening to an audiobook because I want to, there's no effort involved. So being given an award invariably just seems nonsensical and busybodying.
> 
> Leave me alone, Audible! And give me more free books because...I'm a cheapskate.


Only quoting this to say that Watchers was the 1st Dean Koontz book I read and it was brilliant!


----------



## Theglasshouse

Foxee said:


> *We live in dangerous times!*
> All I did was think, "Huh! I don't have that book series"...and somehow there was this blur of having 'added to cart' and then books appeared!
> My bank account will be empty, my house full of books.
> 
> View attachment 26823


Is that Dean Koontz book yours (writing popular fiction)? That goes for 300 dollars. I remember selling mine for 80 when I had it. I thought the advice was basic at the time. It's hyped by collectors I am convinced by own my experience.


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> I know that audiobooks are expensive but I wasn't really expecting Audible to feel like a racket. I pay a monthly fee in order to be able to listen to books that I can buy. The only way this turns out to really be worth it moneywise for a skinflint like myself is to also have KindleUnlimited so that I can possibly find a free book on Kindle that results in a free or reduced price on the audio from Audible. Today I got my monthly Free Credit (which is basically one free book) and picked up Dean Koontz's _Watchers_ to listen to. Which is marvelous.
> 
> Something I cannot figure out from Audible, though, is why they're always giving me awards. What do the awards have to do with anything other than producing annoying notifications? I can't sort out how being awarded a Gold "Weekend Warrior" badge is supposed to do anything. I'm listening to an audiobook because I want to, there's no effort involved. So being given an award invariably just seems nonsensical and busybodying.
> 
> Leave me alone, Audible! And give me more free books because...I'm a cheapskate.


Watchers is one of Koontz's best. Dark Rivers of the Heart and Mr. Murder - also very good.


----------



## Mark Twain't

indianroads said:


> Watchers is one of Koontz's best. Dark Rivers of the Heart and Mr. Murder - also very good.


Strangers is probably my favourite


----------



## Foxee

I liked Mr. Murder, haven't read Strangers or Dark Rivers of the Heart yet. Loved all the Odd Thomas books, By the Light of the Moon, Dragon Tears, The City, and quite a few others. He's got some great short stories as well.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Foxee said:


> I liked Mr. Murder, haven't read Strangers or Dark Rivers of the Heart yet. Loved all the Odd Thomas books, By the Light of the Moon, Dragon Tears, The City, and quite a few others. He's got some great short stories as well.


I bought Oddkins a number of years ago, think I've still got it somewhere. An illustrated book. Must see if I can dig it out.


----------



## Matchu

I am a little bit isolated.  From working amidst a bustling team I’ve been sent to the outpost - because because I have the skills actually - and here alone I serve the client and complain to *you* in the harshest terms.  Sensory torture: Netflix, constant shovelling of the lowest crap of Shield/Sons of Anarchy/OUTLANDER!!!!

Take the televisions away!  Bring me gramophone for the lunatics, traditional turntable.  Maybe some jazz?

[Christ, I write some shit says author 6 hours later  ]

About four times a day the actors simulate sex - for me & for my client.

If that wasn’t bad enough both of my grammar school threads: the WW2 poets & Philip Larkin have been ignored by (a) Netflix society. Theory.

Also checked mirror again last night and I appear pregnant. Not in the good way.


----------



## The Green Shield

Been reading most of the day yesterday.


----------



## Foxee

Theglasshouse said:


> Is that Dean Koontz book yours (writing popular fiction)? That goes for 300 dollars. I remember selling mine for 80 when I had it. I thought the advice was basic at the time. It's hyped by collectors I am convinced by own my experience.


Yes, it is. I bought it from...can't remember if it was Alibris, maybe? A little while ago now. I agree about it being somewhat basic but sometimes that's what I need. The book that's beside it, _Story_ (McKee) is much more in-depth.


----------



## TuesdayEve

It’s too early to tell, I’m awake but not up yet. Enjoying the quiet and pain free.
Yesterday though, was a banner day! Began and finished some overdue chores early, completed a poem I’d been working on for a week thinking it needed to be submitted today.....it’s next Monday, and... was delighted, grateful and surprised I wasn’t sore, as I had fallen on my right side the day before. Yup, fell like a ton of pavers. Nothing broken. A couple hours afterwards, I did a light workout as to not tighten up, I think that helped... and 600 mgs of Ibuprofen. Yea, so waking up yesterday was a nice surprise like today, but then, I haven’t tried to stand up yet either, here goes....


----------



## indianroads

Just finished with edit #6 of Redemption, and wanted to go for a ride on my motorcycle... but then I looked outside... damn it, it's snowing.


----------



## Darkkin

Juggernaut level sorting and update with a major storyline done.  This is not something I sit down and do very often, so for me it is a huge victory.


----------



## Olly Buckle

TuesdayEve said:


> It’s too early to tell, I’m awake but not up yet. Enjoying the quiet and pain free.
> Yesterday though, was a banner day! Began and finished some overdue chores early, completed a poem I’d been working on for a week thinking it needed to be submitted today.....it’s next Monday, and... was delighted, grateful and surprised I wasn’t sore, as I had fallen on my right side the day before. Yup, fell like a ton of pavers. Nothing broken. A couple hours afterwards, I did a light workout as to not tighten up, I think that helped... and 600 mgs of Ibuprofen. Yea, so waking up yesterday was a nice surprise like today, but then, I haven’t tried to stand up yet either, here goes....


Maybe because you fell hard, it was putting my hand out to save myself dislocated my arm, and like someone said it is a classic way yo break a wrist. I have an appointment with the physio today to see about having the sling off. YAY !!


----------



## Darkkin

We got the outside plants (perennials and a couple annual pots) done today.  A new azalea, lots of flox, regular and creeping, and some I forget the names of stuck in the side and back beds.  I also got all of my solar light yard art and my metal pelican out.  I missed my flamingos.


----------



## Foxee

The weekend knocked me out of writing again (I need to come up with some sort of strategy for that) and I'm finally on Tuesday getting back to forcing myself into writing a few random bits. Yesterday was recovery from being with my narcissistic mother, digging into resources for how to handle relationships with narcissistic people.

The menu for this evening. Salmon, roasted asparagus, cauliflower au gratin, and possibly these macaroon brownies that I found a recipe for.

A friend gave me duck eggs over the weekend. Anyone familiar with using these and any favorite recipes?


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> The weekend knocked me out of writing again (I need to come up with some sort of strategy for that) and I'm finally on Tuesday getting back to forcing myself into writing a few random bits. Yesterday was recovery from being with my narcissistic mother, digging into resources for how to handle relationships with narcissistic people.
> 
> The menu for this evening. Salmon, roasted asparagus, cauliflower au gratin, and possibly these macaroon brownies that I found a recipe for.
> 
> A friend gave me duck eggs over the weekend. Anyone familiar with using these and any favorite recipes?


Sorry to hear about your mother - that can be tough. Hang on, you'll figure it out.

Back in the 80's I was working horrendous hours designing PC's and workstations for Olivetti. I had a horrible boss that screamed at everyone and put us all under tremendous pressure. Although he's not like your narcissistic mother, I learned to compartmentalize with him and not really care about his ranting and raving. If he made unreasonable demands, I'd just say no. He would go ballistic, and I'd just lean back and watch - his crazy upset was in HIM, not me. I guess what I'm saying is that difficult people are easier to deal with you you stop caring about their drama.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> Sorry to hear about your mother - that can be tough. Hang on, you'll figure it out.
> 
> Back in the 80's I was working horrendous hours designing PC's and workstations for Olivetti. I had a horrible boss that screamed at everyone and put us all under tremendous pressure. Although he's not like your narcissistic mother, I learned to compartmentalize with him and not really care about his ranting and raving. If he made unreasonable demands, I'd just say no. He would go ballistic, and I'd just lean back and watch - his crazy upset was in HIM, not me. I guess what I'm saying is that difficult people are easier to deal with you you stop caring about their drama.


Thanks, that does seem to be the drift of the strategies I can find (and the only thing that worked on long-time bullies in school, too) is to keep my own equanimity and just let the other person act out. If it was only anger I kinda have that one figured out. Some of the other tactics are less obvious and have very deep roots and automatic brain pathways that cause knee-jerk reacting...usually a reaction of angry compliance. Sounds stupid but only because it is.


----------



## SueC

Foxee said:


> Thanks, that does seem to be the drift of the strategies I can find (and the only thing that worked on long-time bullies in school, too) is to keep my own equanimity and just let the other person act out. If it was only anger I kinda have that one figured out. Some of the other tactics are less obvious and have very deep roots and automatic brain pathways that cause knee-jerk reacting...usually a reaction of angry compliance. Sounds stupid but only because it is.


Something that helped me, although won't work for everyone, is figuring out the why behind another's behavior. For example, when I was little I can remember nights when everyone else had left the dinner table, but there I sat with the dreaded broccoli still on my plate. My dad insisted I had to eat everything before I could leave the table and I hated him for that rule.

When I was older I discovered that he grew up poor; poorer than most people can imagine. They lived in rural Oklahoma outside of McAlister. A story he told was that one day he caught and killed a pole cat  on his way to school and was going to take it home for his mom to cook. They sent him home early because of the smell. Yeah. So then I understood the why behind that rule. I have never known not having enough to eat, but that was my dad's childhood. I heard some stories as I grew up that told me more about my dad and explained a lot, even why I had to eat the broccoli and then be glad for it.

My mother, like your mother, was handful and even though I have used the same technique to understand her idiosyncrasies, it hasn't worked as well. But don't give up, Ginny; there's always a reason, and knowing it sometimes helps.


----------



## Gumby

Ginny, your mom sounds a lot like my mom was. I had to learn to distance myself from her, emotionally. That was very hard for me to do. But it was the only way I could function as my own person and deal with her controlling nature. Like Sue, I tried to understand what had made her this way, but I still don't really know. Stepping back and seeing loved ones through clear eyes is nigh on impossible to do without anger and resentment clouding your vision. I can't say I've mastered that trick.


----------



## indianroads

42nd wedding anniversary today.


----------



## PiP

indianroads said:


> 42nd wedding anniversary today.
> View attachment 26885


Happy anniversary!


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> Happy anniversary!


Thanks - my wife (Mady) has nearly infinite patience.


----------



## PiP

indianroads said:


> Thanks - my wife (Mady) has nearly infinite patience.


Behind every great man, there is a greater woman


----------



## Foxee

Gumby said:


> Ginny, your mom sounds a lot like my mom was. I had to learn to distance myself from her, emotionally. That was very hard for me to do. But it was the only way I could function as my own person and deal with her controlling nature. Like Sue, I tried to understand what had made her this way, but I still don't really know. Stepping back and seeing loved ones through clear eyes is nigh on impossible to do without anger and resentment clouding your vision. I can't say I've mastered that trick.


I know the why of it, unfortunately it's done generationally in my family so it's the eldest daughter of each generation who's raised to be as close to an obedient automaton as possible. Understanding has done a lot for me to know how to approach this. Unfortunately, it takes more work to overcome the automatic brain wiring.

For instance, since my mom's recent remarriage she will, very pertly and prettily, order me to do something that I was just about to do. The first time it was to hug her new husband. The second time it was to get my husband a piece of pie on Mother's Day. To anyone outside of our relationship it wouldn't mean a lot. For me and for her it means that she is using me as an extension of herself to look good in front of people.

This is just one favorite trick of hers but repeated twice in the last week and, frustratingly, I stood mute each time, disbelieving, and then said something that didn't matter to anyone as I did as I was told because it would look like an insult to the other person if I didn't.

Doesn't sound like much, I know, but power games don't feel good even if they don't look bad.

Also: Congrats, Indianroads! She must be a pretty amazing woman.


----------



## Darkkin

indianroads said:


> 42nd wedding anniversary today.
> View attachment 26885




Congratulations.

You've been married longer than I've been alive.  

On a side note I did something I almost never do...I had to edit a posted piece because I had an incorrect term.  I used asteroid instead of meteor...If I hadn't happened across it used in context while reading a book on earth's geological history, I would have missed it entirely. I miss words or misspell them; it is extremely rare for me to use the wrong word because when in doubt I always look things up.  Kinda peeved with myself for missing something so obvious.


----------



## Matchu

1. I know it's incredible how I have been at work since Sunday.  Off tomorrow.
2.  My wife has deserted me temporarily (death duties) - pretty bad news.
3.  Tomorrow - I have one day tomorrow to compose/draft & imagine the winning entry for the Literary Manouvres contest.  That shouldn't be too difficult, I'm a brilliant writer.
4. Probably eat a steak again tomorrow (poverty).  Too scared to telephone for takeaway, I'd have to answer the door.  Might work up to it.


----------



## PiP

@Matchu your post gave me SO many options I did not know whether to LOL, Like, or Wow.

Today we went to sit by the beach looking down at the sea from a safe distance. Mr Pip thinks beaches should be made of concrete. We then stopped off for a tosta mista (toasted cheese and ham sandwich) at the beach cafe. Except it wasn't ham, It was slices of plastic chicken. I called the waitress over to complain.
'Sim'
'This is not ham,' I said pointing with disgust at the anaemic, slimy slithers of processed plastic squished with hot and equally plastic sliced cheese.
I smiled at her.
'Sim, it IS ham.
'Não, ham is pink, this is white.'
'Sim, you can have pork ham or chicken ham.'
Sigh ....
----
Did you know that? I didn't. Of course ham is not chicken but I left her a tip for thinking on her feet and making me laugh.


----------



## Matchu

Miss the Algarve :/


----------



## Darkkin

Technology plots against me today...


----------



## TuesdayEve

Oh chicken ham, those three toed, porky feathered critters or the winged snout sorting, mud loving creatures?

It’s been quite the week. Sat I fell, Sun did well, not sore, Monday 2 doctors appts, Tuesday I found out I earned a personal day but had to use in the next 10 days or lose it. So Thursday, today, was the only viable day. Wed I brought my car in for a scheduled check up(engine light) and on the 5 minute ride from work to the mechanic, a new sound was heard coming from the the front. Slowing with reduced speed and changing to a higher pitch with acceleration. Ugh!
The front caliper locked. New brakes, calipers, lines needed and no driving. And.... the brake lines would not be available until the next day, ugh!
Leaving the car at the shop, my mechanic gave me a ride back to work. I finagled a ride home that evening with a co-worker. Luckily, I  had my personal day the next day but I needed a ride back to the shop Thursday afternoon to retrieve my car. And I had to have my car because Thursday nite, I had my annual mandatory state of Illinois refresher class to maintain my school bus permit.

Needed a ride; my first Uber.
Micheal, my driver was friendly and talkative once he gets going.
He worked for City of Chicago in the finance dept for 30 yrs and he retired at 55. Everything was paid, his house, his cars, his kids were grown and his wife was still working as Dir of Nursing at a hospital and life was good. Except, with retirement came the ‘Honey Do’ list.
She wanted him to cook, pick up the cleaning, go to the store and draw her bath....I said “Oh, she’s keeping you busy, with all the new time on your hands, she's doing you a favor” He laughed, and said “ She used to cook and clean and take care of me...she used to be a good wife” We both laughed.


----------



## PiP

Matchu said:


> Miss the Algarve :/


Which part did you use to visit?


----------



## Matchu

Hello @PiP 

Tavira - the Norman side of the family... ...and Saxon side at Praia da Luz/Sagres/West coast

  [a very very very nuanced response]


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> Thanks, that does seem to be the drift of the strategies I can find (and the only thing that worked on long-time bullies in school, too) is to keep my own equanimity and just let the other person act out. If it was only anger I kinda have that one figured out. Some of the other tactics are less obvious and have very deep roots and automatic brain pathways that cause knee-jerk reacting...usually a reaction of angry compliance. Sounds stupid but only because it is.


If you can - in the middle of her rant, get up and go outside to take a walk.
Her crazy is hers, don't take it on yourself - let go of your urge to people please because you're just rewarding bad behavior and encouraging a repeat performance.


----------



## Jan

It took me six months but finally my draft is done! Now I have a few weeks ahead of me relentlessly reading, rewriting and checking grammar and sentence structure before it finally ends up somewhere. (Amazon or Smashwords)

I am not a person who easily gets excited, but when I wrote the final sentence I was so happy. I have another project lined up, but I wont work on that one yet.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The missus has some annual leave and finally decided on going to Wales with her sister and brother in law for a few days. She was most reluctant to leave me with an arm still in a sling half the time, but got in all the provisions and everything. I have money and a card, what could go wrong? My car insurance came due and ate the money in the bank leaving me with a small overdraft, that's what went wrong. Luckily the local bus stops at the end of our road so 11am I was there and waiting and took it into Battle to pay some money in. It is kind of nice living in the country, there was me and seven ladies on the bus, the youngest was probably in her mid sixties, all the others were older than me. They all knew each other and the driver, and he knew them all by name. On the return journey we went up some improbable back streets and dead ends so that he could drop them off at their door one after another, jumping out and running round to take their bags to carry them to the front door


----------



## Foxee

Olly Buckle said:


> My car insurance came due and ate the money in the bank leaving me with a small overdraft, that's what went wrong.


Ouch! I hate when that sort of thing happens. Love the little story about your bus ride with the ladies and the considerate driver, though. For a few minutes I was transported there with you.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> If you can - in the middle of her rant, get up and go outside to take a walk.
> Her crazy is hers, don't take it on yourself - let go of your urge to people please because you're just rewarding bad behavior and encouraging a repeat performance.


I appreciate that and it's exactly the sort of thing I'm working on. My problem is that in the moment no other circuits work other than 'obedience' and 'something isn't right' but my cognitive thought process (as right now when I'm typing this and can think of other options) just isn't working at all in that moment.

Posting this for anyone who faces similar struggles, I've read the _Boundaries_ book by Dr. Henry Cloud and I like his boundaries.me podcast. Anyway, in listening to that I've realized how great I am at isolating myself...and how that usually leaves me with no connections other than the people in my life who don't really see me. Believe it or not, Indianroads and other friends who have taken time to know me a bit on WF, you know a whole different me than my family knows. Because they don't really care to know me. It's true, you can't pick your family but you can pick your friends!


----------



## indianroads

You're in my thoughts.
I do have one other suggestion - which is something that might work for a writer like you. Study her, as you would someone you are considering for a role in one of your stories or books. Maybe... perhaps that will establish enough cognitive distance that you can sit back and just observe her words and actions with less effect on you.

I went through a ton of sh!t, especially in my early life. I was disposable to those that should have cared for me the most. I was a _throw-away person_ (my term), but managed to survive by looking inward for my own value rather than outward.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> You're in my thoughts.
> I do have one other suggestion - which is something that might work for a writer like you. Study her, as you would someone you are considering for a role in one of your stories or books. Maybe... perhaps that will establish enough cognitive distance that you can sit back and just observe her words and actions with less effect on you.
> 
> I went through a ton of sh!t, especially in my early life. I was disposable to those that should have cared for me the most. I was a _throw-away person_ (my term), but managed to survive by looking inward for my own value rather than outward.


REALLY good suggestion. I have never tried that but I just might.

It's too bad that they missed out on knowing you. I don't underestimate the struggle that you must have had.


----------



## Darkkin

One of those things where you finally sit down and do it.  And it is damn good.  A return to roots and places I have not been in a while...and Rue Dog is sulking because I need to feed him.  We are both currently sitting under my writing table...no quite sure why.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The weather has changed, warmer, but raining a lot, so I have been getting out there every time the rain stops and planting out all the little plants I germinated in the greenhouse, then they get rained on and settled in, perfect.

Having a deep think about my new YouTube channel. The 'writing as craft' essay simply didn't work just read out and thinking about it and improvising made it very slow and lugubrious. I will see if I can find some other bits that do work when they are just read to keep it going in the meantime. Upward and onward


----------



## -xXx-

i believe
my jab hangover
will be behind me
by morning.


----------



## Darkkin

The birds, they mock him...


----------



## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> The weather has changed, warmer, but raining a lot, so I have been getting out there every time the rain stops and planting out all the little plants I germinated in the greenhouse, then they get rained on and settled in, perfect.
> 
> Having a deep think about my new YouTube channel. The 'writing as craft' essay simply didn't work just read out and thinking about it and improvising made it very slow and lugubrious. I will see if I can find some other bits that do work when they are just read to keep it going in the meantime. Upward and onward



Dear Ollie, I love hearing about your green house and garden, it sounds so peaceful, it is so satisfying, digging in the dirt, and planting things.... I love working in the garden... It must be difficult to do all of that, with your injury.... take care and take it easy.... love you bunches


----------



## Firemajic

indianroads said:


> I went through a ton of sh!t, especially in my early life. I was disposable to those that should have cared for me the most. I was a _throw-away person_ (my term), but managed to survive by looking inward for my own value rather than outward.


Really sorry that anyone made you feel like a "throw-away person".... F%$#^%$ them.... one day, they will see your strength and courage and will want a place at your table.... Your courage in going forward in spite of their attitude is amazing and shows how fabulous you really are.... *hugs*...


----------



## Foxee

I've been cheating on WF today with my local writer's group on Zoom. One of the items that we workshopped wasy my story 'Dead Spot' from a few LM's ago. The group had a few good suggestions for tightening it up and probably also for where to submit it. I'm going to get this one polished up and send it out and then hopefully will get the feedback from here on WF applied to 'Ashes of Gold' though I'm not sure where to sub it yet. Wondering if Flash Fiction Online would be interested in it. Worth a try.

I'm fabulously horrible at finishing things and sending them anywhere. So for the moment, that's my goal. The novel is still in a holding pattern.


----------



## SueC

I'm watching Agatha Christie's Perot on Britbox and this one scene caught my attention.

Hercule has a woman author friend who comes to him in response to his urgent request. She chastises Hercule for interrupting her scheduled discussion with a woman's group, where she is to give an hour's talk on being a writer. Hercule asks and she says, "I tell them that I sit around and get an idea and then write about it. But what am I going to say for the other 59 minutes?" 

Would that it were that easy a task!


----------



## Theglasshouse

Going to listen to some podcasts on dsylexia. I know what I am doing is tough. I however need to do something to entertain myself. I want to join a creative writing workshop but feel somewhat intimidated. I do appreciate the feedback I do get. I honestly think I would I should switch hobbies, but my personality prefers writing over anything else. There are tough situations in the education systems of many countries concerning it.









						Dyslexia Podcasts
					


Dyslexia Podcasts





					player.fm


----------



## Darkkin

Currently on break at work rabbit holing through Smithsonian articles on Egyptian tombs and Irish Elk.

Update:  Finally home and indulging in vices.  Books and Discovery + with Rue Dog.

In a weird bit of irony, it takes me longer to read a graphic novel like Sanderson's The Dark One than it does for me to binge through the Rogues' Reform by Stephanie Laurens...(And yes, I've been reading Regencies long before Bridgerton was a thing on Netflix.)

With the graphic novels it actually takes me a couple of days to get through one because there is so much visual detail to process.


----------



## Darkkin

Spent 5.5 hours parked on the floor putting packing tape over the security tags of our entire inventory of legos, (shoplifting deterrent), and came home to find I had gotten 3.5 lbs of lollipops in the mail.   Weird ass day...

Update: Cleaned out from underneath the refrigerator and behind the couch.  This is what I found.  Oh, Potato Cat...


----------



## Darkkin

Damn near went into meltdown mode because of being swarmed by a glut of college students on a scavenger hunt.  Two ran directly at me, one actually touched...touched...me.  A majority had no masks.  My God!  I hate being touched, the masks, not a huge issue if you maintain distance.  BUT YOU NEVER, EVER TOUCH A PERSON YOU DO NOT KNOW WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION.  I HAD MY WRIST GRABBED.  NOT OKAY.  I yanked my wrist free and practically dove behind my desk and told this group they had to take a couple steps back.  I answered their question and got the hell out of Dodge. 

This group didn't even recognise the trauma they presented.  Not only by the size of the group and the noise, but be the ignorant abuse of personal space.  Not one of the had clue as to what they had done.  Socially, not okay.


----------



## SueC

College kids are the worst. All those clips during Covid with the bikini clad nymphets telling all the viewers "we just wanna have fun." I can imagine it must have been a difficult moment, Darkkin, but it's over now and you are safe once again. Hugs.


----------



## Darkkin

It is 80° and sunny today, lots of people outside doing peopley things.  Me, I'm hanging out in the Book Cave aka the basement with only the floor lamp on reading and ignoring a marathon of Ancient Discoveries.  

I made sure I got some things done before hiding, (vacuuming, upstairs and down, watering the plants etc.)  Not much by world standards, but I maintain my environment and uphold the status quo.


----------



## SueC

I'm watching golf, trying to figure out how to move forward on the next chapter in my WIP. I turn the sound off when I'm ready to write, but so far nada. Wait . . . something's coming up. I'm picking up the remote and  . . . !


----------



## Olly Buckle

You need my missus, Darkin. She works at the library and when someone tries to come in without a mask she stands, one foot forward, right palm outstretched, and then says STOP! Quite effective.


----------



## Darkkin

Because sometimes you just need a Potato Cat hug and a comfort read.


----------



## indianroads

Today I added hardcover versions of my first two novels (Dark Side of Joy, and The Last Dragon) on Amazon. This is a new feature for that platform, and honestly I'd don't know if there is a market for hard cover books anymore, but their creation was an interesting experience (the hardcover feature is still in BETA, and there are quite a few gotcha's and glitches).

Oh - and I started the first draft of another novel - Inception: A Silicon Valley techno-thriller. I had fun with it because the opening scene was told from the POV of a house cat.


----------



## The Green Shield

Having coffee and about to have _*a very super busy work week ahead!!!*_

So...yah.


----------



## Foxee

I've just emailed a letter turning down the offer of my mom's house and property. The offer looked fantastic on the surface but she is not ready to let go of it and it came with an expectation of indentured servitude. As we were realizing this and discussing it (as well as getting a multitude of counsel) I discovered the my husband's desire to move to Texas (usually said as a joke) was really something he wanted to do. We've just always been concerned with things that seemed to be unresolved here. But right now, everyone is stable and we've never been in a better position to move. Not that it'll be easy, it's just that everything has lined up for it.

So, anyone who lives in Texas, specifically in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, let me know what you know. Maybe we'll be your neighbor soon!

Wish that sending that email didn't feel so much like jumping off a cliff, though.


----------



## midnightpoet

I grew up there until we left in 2006.  A good reference will be the Dallas Morning News website, subscription pretty cheap.  What do you want to know?


----------



## Turnbull

Darkkin said:


> Damn near went into meltdown mode because of being swarmed by a glut of college students on a scavenger hunt.  Two ran directly at me, one actually touched...touched...me.  A majority had no masks.  My God!  I hate being touched, the masks, not a huge issue if you maintain distance.  BUT YOU NEVER, EVER TOUCH A PERSON YOU DO NOT KNOW WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION.  I HAD MY WRIST GRABBED.  NOT OKAY.  I yanked my wrist free and practically dove behind my desk and told this group they had to take a couple steps back.  I answered their question and got the hell out of Dodge.
> 
> This group didn't even recognise the trauma they presented.  Not only by the size of the group and the noise, but be the ignorant abuse of personal space.  Not one of the had clue as to what they had done.  Socially, not okay.


Covid isn't even the problem (though it doesn't help).  I just don't understand people that think it's okay to just up and touch someone they don't know.    I once had a stranger up and basically shove his hand in front of me for a handshake, with a very serious look on his face.  As though he thought I was ignoring him.  I wasn't, I was just listening to my headphones and not really paying attention to anything.  I don't understand how someone could do something like that and not realize they're horrendously creepy.


----------



## indianroads

It was a good day. Practiced martial arts in the morning and wrote in the afternoon. Feeling good.


----------



## Darkkin

It took me six trips to get the books to their homes on the shelves downstairs, but I did it.  I cleared the book hoard off the top of my big bookcase.  You can find Waldo and the wall!


----------



## Foxee

midnightpoet said:


> I grew up there until we left in 2006.  A good reference will be the Dallas Morning News website, subscription pretty cheap.  What do you want to know?


Anything, really. I don't want to end up in a rotten area to live because the rent was cheap or some similar mistake. Dallas Morning News sounds like a good start. We've got a contact in Plano and another near Tyler so mostly the north and north-east of Dallas so far. My husband used to drive truck and has been to Amarillo and liked it but I dunno.


----------



## midnightpoet

The metroplex is basically one suburb jammed up tight to another one.  Back in the 60's when "white flight" was going strong they all went north (mainly because south Dallas was black).  Didn't help much because the mid to upper class blacks went with them.  We lived in Plano before we moved, because we couldn't afford it anymore.  Had a nice house, 4 bedrooms, two car garage brick got it for $100,000 back in 2000.  Nice yard, convenient to everything you might want or need. Utilities were very expensive, but it was our medical bills that really got us. There was a nearby park, people walking their dogs, standard suburb stuff like that.  I grew up in the mid-cities (Grand Prairie, Arlington) but lived all over including Dallas proper, Mesquite (redneckville) and Irving. We moved from Dallas to Plano because I got a job in Plano. Made a mistake joining a big mega-church and found the people stuck up and were way above my pay scale.  Other than that, we liked it.  Frisco is hot now; one of my nieces married a plastic surgeon and they live there in one of those cookie cutter "McMansions."  Dallas has a very strong art scene, and many writing groups to join if interested.  "Deep Ellum," an old warehouse district just west to downtown, is new urban re-do full of restaurants, night clubs, and loft apartments.  It's the "deep" end of Elm Street according to Black vernacular.  A black friend told me a lot about it's history, was a major spot for emerging blues artists back in the early 1900's.


----------



## Matchu

Re: handshakes

When I managed a work experience programme in the last century, the turn of this century, pre-plague [_breath_]...I used to teach handshaking.  Amazing.

I recall myself, and saw replicated in the anxieties of my 17-23 year old charges, the terror of the _shake_ for a young person/and people.  A skill required to immerse into the world of adults.  We spent a couple of hours as a group - 'Now stride, extend, eye contact, and hold.  Excellent.'

'How do you do.'

'Pleased to meet you.'

'NO!  The response ALWAYS "how do you do.'  This is not a petrol station forecourt, young man.'

'Try again.  How do you do.'

'I'm good.'

'Get out, fail, leave my office and take your rising inflections to your parents, you fool.  CLASS remember: how do you do is NEVER a question.  We have rules in England.   Do you want corridor craft certification, or not?'

...

Anyway, my brats head the BBC today, head teachers + influencers, no doubt.  Life skill gone the way of the cane, strap, cat.

[no corrections from any pedants.  I think I'm very well thank you might have passed muster, recollections are hazy.  I don't even shake my wife's hand these days.]


----------



## Foxee

midnightpoet said:


> The metroplex is basically one suburb jammed up tight to another one.  Back in the 60's when "white flight" was going strong they all went north (mainly because south Dallas was black).  Didn't help much because the mid to upper class blacks went with them.  We lived in Plano before we moved, because we couldn't afford it anymore.  Had a nice house, 4 bedrooms, two car garage brick got it for $100,000 back in 2000.  Nice yard, convenient to everything you might want or need. Utilities were very expensive, but it was our medical bills that really got us. There was a nearby park, people walking their dogs, standard suburb stuff like that.  I grew up in the mid-cities (Grand Prairie, Arlington) but lived all over including Dallas proper, Mesquite (redneckville) and Irving. We moved from Dallas to Plano because I got a job in Plano. Made a mistake joining a big mega-church and found the people stuck up and were way above my pay scale.  Other than that, we liked it.  Frisco is hot now; one of my nieces married a plastic surgeon and they live there in one of those cookie cutter "McMansions."  Dallas has a very strong art scene, and many writing groups to join if interested.  "Deep Ellum," an old warehouse district just west to downtown, is new urban re-do full of restaurants, night clubs, and loft apartments.  It's the "deep" end of Elm Street according to Black vernacular.  A black friend told me a lot about it's history, was a major spot for emerging blues artists back in the early 1900's.


That's exactly the sort of thing that's helpful right now. I can't see us affording Plano, unfortunately, though I am hoping there might be possibilities a bit further out from Dallas. One of our contacts is in White Oak, I'm going to get in touch with her today.

Definitely with you regarding mega-churches, just not interested in a huge impersonal church. When we get involved our church is pretty much our family (and even more so if we've moved that far away) and I find stuck-up people to be both hilarious and ridiculous which they generally don't like. 

We know this isn't going to be easy and that really flies in the face of what we were offered here in PA. Thing is, it's freedom vs. security. Not-caring about people's opinions is going to be key for this. Change is a pain.


----------



## midnightpoet

Not that familiar with White Oak, another niece married a Dallas fireman, lives up around Melissa with his small herd of "pet" cows. A lot of those small towns have gone nuts stripping a swash of bald prairie and slapping houses on them.  Good luck.


----------



## indianroads

We live just north of the Air Force Academy, and cadet graduation day is approaching. Today, the Air Force Thunderbirds will be practicing for their flyover of the graduating class, and they usually pass right over our house, so we'll go outside to watch. 
Just a few minutes ago a Stealth Bomber flew over - they are really odd looking things.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> We live just north of the Air Force Academy, and cadet graduation day is approaching. Today, the Air Force Thunderbirds will be practicing for their flyover of the graduating class, and they usually pass right over our house, so we'll go outside to watch.
> Just a few minutes ago a Stealth Bomber flew over - they are really odd looking things.


I remember the first time we saw one of those, it was supposed to do a flyover at the Latrobe air show and it was late for some reason. Husband and I stayed a long while just to get to see it. Pretty cool machine, not built for beauty, that's for sure.


----------



## indianroads

It definitely looks alien.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> It definitely looks alien.


Of course the point of it is to not see it at all.


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> Of course the point of it is to not see it at all.


Viewed from the side it's hard to see.


----------



## indianroads

Finished doing the whirley-gig thing with the weed-whacker in the yard.
Finished chapter 2 of Inception.
One of our much loved cats is sick, and we may have to put him down. We've always had pets, so we've gone through this before. I always sit with them after the injection, trying to ease their fears by saying the afterlife is nothing to fear. It's tough duty, but it's what we sign up for when we adopt a pet.


----------



## Darkkin

It's coming up on three years since we said goodbye to CatCat.  She had an amazing 20 year run, never sick a day in her life right up until the end when her systems started shutting down.  It was a hard decision to make, but in the end she was so ready to go.  She was at peace, gone before we knew it.

We planted a bright pink peony for her and this will be the first time it blooms.

Top two photos are CatCat.  (The one with her in that cat grass still makes me laugh.) The bottom, Potato Cat waiting for suppertime.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Finally got our old sliding patio doors replaced with these bad boys





Jacob wasn't fussed


----------



## PiP

That's what I love about cats. I wish we could have one but my husband is allergic to animal fur. Love the doors and view of garden. I'll come over and help you oranise the garden pots. You need colour in the foreground.


----------



## Mark Twain't

PiP said:


> That's what I love about cats. I wish we could have one but my husband is allergic to animal fur. Love the doors and view of garden. I'll come over and help you oranise the garden pots. You need colour in the foreground.


That's a long way to come to organise pots. 

The garden is my wife's domain but the recent weather has go it the way of getting anything meaningful done so far this year


----------



## PiP

Mark Twain't said:


> The garden is my wife's domain


and mine ... I call my husband Gnome. He digs the holes and moves the pots. I think of my garden as the window to the soul. I create rooms (different seating areas) where I try and make time to write or whatever at different times of the day depending on sun, shade and wind.


----------



## Mark Twain't

PiP said:


> and mine ... I call my husband Gnome. He digs the holes and moves the pots. I think of my garden as the window to the soul. I create rooms (different seating areas) where I try and make time to write or whatever at different times of the day depending on sun, shade and wind.


The decent weather has finally arrived here so it'll soon be time for me to sit out with the macbook whilst she gets creative.


----------



## PiP

Mark Twain't said:


> The decent weather has finally arrived here so it'll soon be time for me to sit out with the macbook whilst she gets creative.


So your poor wife has no garden gnome.


----------



## Mark Twain't

PiP said:


> So your poor wife has no garden gnome.


She has 2 cats that love to sit and watch whilst she does the gardening. Sadly, I'm in no position to dig holes or move pots.


----------



## Foxee

Mark Twain't said:


> She has 2 cats that love to sit and watch whilst she does the gardening. Sadly, I'm in no position to dig holes or move pots.


I'm sure she appreciates your company.  Cats couldn't care less about gardening but I'm sure a dog would totally love to help. Probably good you don't have a dog.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Foxee said:


> I'm sure she appreciates your company.  Cats couldn't care less about gardening but I'm sure a dog would totally love to help. Probably good you don't have a dog.


Looking at getting a dog though, hoping to train one up as an assistance (service) dog.


----------



## Foxee

Mark Twain't said:


> Looking at getting a dog though, hoping to train one up as an assistance (service) dog.


That seems like a great option. If you get one I want pictures.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Foxee said:


> That seems like a great option. If you get one I want pictures.


Of course, there will be plenty.


----------



## indianroads

My friend Pete went to sleep today, and is resting wherever the best cats go when they leave us. I was there with him, and freely admit that I cried.

We adopted Pete when he was a skinny adolescent; those that had found him called him ‘Levi’, and about his personality, they only said, ‘Purrs easily. Has big feet’. In a nutshell, that was Pete. My wife named him Zwarte Piet, after St. Nicholas’s helper.

He grew big, 18 pounds at one point, but he was a gentle giant. When we fostered rescued kittens, we would put Pete in the room with them to ease their fears. He would just lay there and let them crawl all over him, a few tried to suckle but he just took it in stride.

Pete was always calm, no matter what was happening. When stressed, having Pete in my lap eased my burden. He was a good friend, and I miss him.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> My friend Pete went to sleep today, and is resting wherever the best cats go when they leave us. I was there with him, and freely admit that I cried.
> 
> We adopted Pete when he was a skinny adolescent; those that had found him called him ‘Levi’, and about his personality, they only said, ‘Purrs easily. Has big feet’. In a nutshell, that was Pete. My wife named him Zwarte Piet, after St. Nicholas’s helper.
> 
> He grew big, 18 pounds at one point, but he was a gentle giant. When we fostered rescued kittens, we would put Pete in the room with them to ease their fears. He would just lay there and let them crawl all over him, a few tried to suckle but he just took it in stride.
> 
> Pete was always calm, no matter what was happening. When stressed, having Pete in my lap eased my burden. He was a good friend, and I miss him.
> View attachment 27034


Beautiful tribute to a deserving companion, Indianroads, it's one of life's great injustices that our pets live relatively brief lives. Amazing how much room a small animal can take in one's soul.


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> Beautiful tribute to a deserving companion, Indianroads, it's one of life's great injustices that our pets live relatively brief lives. Amazing how much room a small animal can take in one's soul.


Being with him at the end was hard - but it's what we sign up for when we bring these furry-people into our lives. I was there with him all the way until the end... and he purred the whole time. Our chosen companions give so much to us, and I sometimes question our worthiness to receive such a precious gift.


----------



## Mark Twain't

indianroads said:


> My friend Pete went to sleep today, and is resting wherever the best cats go when they leave us. I was there with him, and freely admit that I cried.
> 
> We adopted Pete when he was a skinny adolescent; those that had found him called him ‘Levi’, and about his personality, they only said, ‘Purrs easily. Has big feet’. In a nutshell, that was Pete. My wife named him Zwarte Piet, after St. Nicholas’s helper.
> 
> He grew big, 18 pounds at one point, but he was a gentle giant. When we fostered rescued kittens, we would put Pete in the room with them to ease their fears. He would just lay there and let them crawl all over him, a few tried to suckle but he just took it in stride.
> 
> Pete was always calm, no matter what was happening. When stressed, having Pete in my lap eased my burden. He was a good friend, and I miss him.
> View attachment 27034


Sympathies. I've been through it many times and it never gets any easier. They have such a knack of working their way into our hearts and they leave a large hole when they're gone but they bring so much in between.


----------



## Darkkin

The longest I've ever lived without a cat is three days, between the passing of CatCat and the coming of Potato Cat.  Not having that whump as they jump up beside you or a friendly chatter at the door as you come in...Kitty shaped holes hurt because the tracks run deep.


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> The longest I've ever lived without a cat is three days, between the passing of CatCat and the coming of Potato Cat.  Not having that whump as they jump up beside you or a friendly chatter at the door as you come in...Kitty shaped holes hurt because the tracks run deep.


We still have five cats... most of which we fostered when they came to the rescue center. I can’t imagine life without a cat around somewhere.


----------



## Darkkin

My best friend experimented with teriyaki chicken in the Instant Pot tonight.  She ended up with burned rice and overcooked pea pods.  

Having streamed 15 seasons of Good Eats over the past week, I chimed in and helped.  Drained the chicken, tossed out the over done peas, made some ramen noodles (no flavour packet gah...)instead of rice, and steamed a fresh batch of peas.  Couple of missed cues, but it tasted good.


----------



## Taylor

Darkkin said:


> My best friend experimented with teriyaki chicken in the Instant Pot tonight.  She ended up with burned rice and overcooked pea pods.


Been there...done that!


----------



## Darkkin

Taylor said:


> Been there...done that!


The fact that she got my texture obsessed, picky ASD ass to eat it should tell you something.  The list of things I refuse to eat because of their texture is obnoxiously long.  Most 2nd graders are braver about their food choices than I am.

Hotdish (more commonly known as casserole) is one of the circles of purgatory.  Nothing in it is identifiable and the chance encountering fungi, onions, or tomato chunks is 100%.


----------



## Olly Buckle

From about 5am had increasingly violent lower abdominal pain, ambulance took me in and I spent most of the day at the hospital being tested and inspected resulting in a diagnosis that was presented to me as probable rather than definitive. When I was rolled up clutching myself, though, I suddenly felt myself being butted by a small furry head. The cat was most concerned


----------



## MooreMom523

I'm a teacher who just finished a crazy year on Friday. Today I got summoned for Jury Duty starting in July. There has to be some sort of fresh circle of hell horror story that can be drawn from this.


----------



## Olly Buckle

MooreMom523 said:


> I'm a teacher who just finished a crazy year on Friday. Today I got summoned for Jury Duty starting in July. There has to be some sort of fresh circle of hell horror story that can be drawn from this.


Did jury duty years ago, when it came to swearing in I asked to affirm rather than swear on the bible. When we got into the jury room someone said 'The judge said we should pick a leader', and everybody in the room turned around and looked at me. My youngest's boyfriend is a primary teacher, and you are right, it has been a crazy year.


----------



## Foxee

MooreMom523 said:


> I'm a teacher who just finished a crazy year on Friday. Today I got summoned for Jury Duty starting in July. There has to be some sort of fresh circle of hell horror story that can be drawn from this.


I've been learning (slowly) that when things go to hell like that, take notes. Seriously, capture the emotions you've got and what happens because later you can inject that stuff into fiction and everyone who reads it will go, "I know, right? This is how it is!"


----------



## Firemajic

Olly Buckle said:


> From about 5am had increasingly violent lower abdominal pain, ambulance took me in and I spent most of the day at the hospital being tested and inspected resulting in a diagnosis that was presented to me as probable rather than definitive. When I was rolled up clutching myself, though, I suddenly felt myself being butted by a small furry head. The cat was most concerned


I hope you are feeling better, Ollie.... I have been busy putting in new flower beds and fruit trees, plus I have been moving my HUGE  Geode rock collection from my old place, to my new one, I miss having my rocks to enhance my flower beds, I have collected these rocks for years and some of them were my mothers rocks... I have also put up some Eastern Bluebird nesting boxes and some Wren houses.... take care, Ollie...


----------



## Theglasshouse

My parents are going tomorrow to the hospital since my father needs an expert opinion on his heart's condition and treatment. It reminds me emotionally of Frodo's journeys in the lord of the rings. We never leave home unless we must. The hospital I hope is clean enough to do the procedure. Me and my mom are going on this trip. But hopefully he gets heart surgery if It is the solution to his ailments. It could save his life. Obesity damages the heart so I expect them to say something important about his health.  We have been dieting. Ideally it would have been prevented but metabolic syndrome and diabetes can cause health problems. 

Corona virus of course scares people such as myself.

 You have to eat healthy if you have metabolic syndrome or if living with a diabetic conditions and with stems in the heart. Prevention is not easy. Nutritional education is important to prevent obesity which leads to other diseases. Basically eating mostly vegetables and avoiding processed foods and eating one cup rice and one cup beans and the 2\3s of what you eat are vegetables. Fruit should be avoided and sugar. One cup of fruits is enough. Get your heart checked every year.


----------



## Olly Buckle

@ Glasshouse, you are so right about avoiding processed foods, there was a program on the TV the other night where someone did an experiment eating 80% highly processed foods for a fortnight. Not only did he put on weight considerably , but the blood tests they did before and after showed that they suppressed the hormone that told him when he had eaten enough, and a brain scan showed there was an actual physical change in his brain. Two weeks after that the hormone had returned to normal and he had lost a lot of weight, but it appeared that the changes to the brain were permanent, scary stuff.

Firemajic, great to hear you are settling in and getting the garden together, bird boxes are a really good addition. We had blue tits took over an old box on our fence, and then we had really high winds one day and it blew down. The corner cracked off one of the slates that made the roof and the strip of wood covering the join between them was knocked off. I hung it back up, put a strip of gaffer tape over the gap and tied a string around it so it could not fall again, but feared the worst.
No such thing, there was a tit back looking in the box within minutes, and they are now flying back and forth regularly, obviously feeding young. Those blue tits are bomb proof.
I felt fine all day yesterday, then had another bout of violent pain in the evening, fingers crossed the antibiotics get on top of it soon, it's not funny.


----------



## Foxee

Geez, Olly, I had missed the post about your abdominal pain before. You're right, that's not funny at all. It is sweet that your cat was concerned, though. I hope the meds work some magic for you.


----------



## Mr mitchell

Today has been good. Finished the first chapter of the new book. And soon to be starting the next chapter.


----------



## Darkkin

Low key day.  Just laundry, properly supervised by Potato Cat.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Foxee said:


> Geez, Olly, I had missed the post about your abdominal pain before. You're right, that's not funny at all. It is sweet that your cat was concerned, though. I hope the meds work some magic for you.


I have a problem, I can see all sorts of things I can do with this post, sharing it, liking it, fixing all sorts of emojis, but how do you just say "Thanks". And yes, though it is only the end of the second day, the drugs do seem to be improving things


----------



## Darkkin

It will be three years on Monday that we said goodbye and CatCat's peony finally bloomed.  It will be at its height on 6/10.


----------



## Foxee

It happens every year, *The Day of Introvert Doom* also known as the last day of school. 

Ordinarily I have a pretty strong reaction to 'losing all of my time alone' _(I'm dramatic because I'm the artistic temperament, sue me)_ but this past year of "The Covid" has built up my tolerance for having other people around. My alone time has expanded from needing to be strictly utterly alone to qualify. Now I can 'be alone' while waiting in the car for one of the kids at karate or youth group. Or I can 'be alone' in my room with other people in the house. It's still not as good as the strict monastic-cell aloneness of having the entire structure to myself (bliss) but it does work to some extent.

Also, last time this year, my husband had a repetitive-stress injury from work and was suddenly home for a month. This year, almost to the day, he is at the doc getting a similar injury assessed.

But guess what, introversion? We've got a bigger plan on the go and I actually have to get my family around to do it. We're hoping to get a road trip to Tyler, Texas together soon so that we can get a feel for the place so we need about a week. For people who don't plan weeklong vacations...ever...it's a big deal.


----------



## Darkkin

I understand the pain of no no people time.  My best friend has been working from home for the last thirteen months.  I almost cried for joy when she went back to the office.  Being an extrovert, she needs people.  I don't.  

The number of miles Rue and I covered simply because we needed alone time was immense.  I have my book cave in the basement, but that is still not the same as having the house to one's self.


----------



## Matchu

At last a return from the epic 'family funeral.'  The other side of the family - me - being not so emotionally affected - while suitcase contains circa £1 million of cutlery from the 19c.  I am henceforth go to man for silver forks, marked 'stainless steel' as I observed to my wife.

Memorable personal moment:

90 year old aunt says 'I see you're not surfing these days?'

'Why aunty, because I am so fat? hoh hoh.'

'Yes.'

Leads to one hour in gents' lavatory & belly dancing.  Lots of soldiers at the funeral, included a 'regimental _coll_ect' which was moving, and new to me,


----------



## indianroads

It's been rough lately. Our dog Ursula left us this morning; she was old so we knew it was coming but it's still tough to let go of a beloved friend.


----------



## Darkkin

indianroads said:


> It's been rough lately. Our dog Ursula left us this morning; she was old so we knew it was coming but it's still tough to let go of a beloved friend.
> View attachment 27093



It is always tough to say goodbye.  The holes they leave are shockingly deep.  But what matters is the time we were give with them.  (Bit of a botch on the Tolkien quote, but Gandalf spoke true.)


----------



## Taylor

What a sweet girl.  You will have wonderful memories...


----------



## indianroads

Taylor said:


> What a sweet girl.  You will have wonderful memories...


We do. Ursula was a great dog. Funny thing, our cats loved her and wanted to curl up with her, which she found confusing.


----------



## indianroads

This has been a hard couple of weeks, so we're due some good news.


----------



## Taylor

indianroads said:


> This has been a hard couple of weeks, so we're due some good news.


My heart goes out to you and your family.


----------



## Mark Twain't

indianroads said:


> It's been rough lately. Our dog Ursula left us this morning; she was old so we knew it was coming but it's still tough to let go of a beloved friend.
> View attachment 27093


Heartfield sympathies.

We know that, in the vast majority of cases, we will outlive our pets but we still do it despite the inevitable heartbreak. It's a very special bond.


----------



## Darkkin

I went out on a limb and decided to bake a cake this afternoon, from scratch, not a box.  I used to make it all the time as a teenager, so I'm hoping I can still do it, especially given the fact that we have the same vintage cookbook that has the recipe that my mom uses.  The creepy thing about this, I remembered the exact page with the recipe I needed.

My best friend, bless her, made a run to the store because I needed buttermilk, fresh cream cheese, and powdered sugar.  In my defense, I at least had enough sense to read through my recipes before I started anything.


----------



## indianroads

Long a go I worked with an older guy; he was of the generation that was raised to believe that men work and bring in money, and women handle the household stuff, like cooking.
He told me of a time when he and his wife were going out somewhere; she was busy, and as he wasn't she asked that he put TV dinners in the oven for them to eat before leaving. Following the directions, he set the oven temperature and put them in. A short while later they caught fire - the instructions did not include anything about taking the dinners out of the boxes. At the end of his tale, he shrugged and said, now I'm not allowed in the kitchen at all.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I have been researching on how to write description and narration as I always have. I found a book with activities for journaling and description and narration (Michigan university). It's for the adult age-group or college students. Oddly enough, there is no preview for the book on Google, so it will be a risk when purchased. I hope it solves my worst writing problems. Oddly enough, it is for ESL which may be what I need. The only way to find such books I assume is in the image search of google. I couldn't find anything on Google's website or on Amazon after many years of searching. I tried looking for effective writing, but that search didn't yield any results I liked. The point I suppose is that I found a decent book. The puzzling part is I found it seems on a Google search for images and suggested results. Then, one day if I master description, I hope to practice style. I found 5 books on style such as writing using metaphors, repetition, rhythm, etc. I will be journaling in order to plot a story since I found a guide that even includes the history of journalism, and some good exercises on journaling. I know because I read a book that covered the history of journalism but did not have any activities or any hands-on activities to try by my own self.


----------



## indianroads

Theglasshouse said:


> I have been researching on how to write description and narration as I always have. I found a book with activities for journaling and description and narration (Michigan university). It's for the adult age-group or college students. Oddly enough, there is no preview for the book on Google, so it will be a risk when purchased. I hope it solves my worst writing problems. Oddly enough, it is for ESL which may be what I need. The only way to find such books I assume is in the image search of google. I couldn't find anything on Google's website or on Amazon after many years of searching. I tried looking for effective writing, but that search didn't yield any results I liked. The point I suppose is that I found a decent book. The puzzling part is I found it seems on a Google search for images and suggested results. Then, one day if I master description, I hope to practice style. I found 5 books on style such as writing using metaphors, repetition, rhythm, etc. I will be journaling in order to plot a story since I found a guide that even includes the history of journalism, and some good exercises on journaling. I know because I read a book that covered the history of journalism but did not have any activities or any hands-on activities to try by my own self.


Sounds like you are on a good course.
One thing I do is describe environments to myself. I ride a motorcycle, and I recall riding through Bar Harbor in Maine a few years ago, mentally describing the smell of the restaurants, the chill in the air, the sound of the ocean, and some of the people I saw out on the street. For me, the key to learning to describe is paying attention to the world around me, then practicing the transfer of my observation onto paper.
I also read a lot, and learn from that.


----------



## Darkkin

Switching out winter and summer clothes.  Potato Cat is 'helping'.


----------



## indianroads

Good looking cat!


----------



## Darkkin

indianroads said:


> Good looking cat!



He is a pretty beast and he knows it.


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> He is a pretty beast and he knows it.


They all do. We volunteered at a cat sanctuary, and have 5.


----------



## Darkkin

One of our regulars at the bookshop gave me Potato Cat after she heard about my CatCat's passing.  He has been a delight for the most part, but he still has his moments of assholiness. 

And because of Potato Cat we learned our crabby spitz actually does really well with youngsters (those of the fuzzy sort...Potato Cat was barely seven weeks old when we got him.)  Knowing this we have a pretty good idea of what we want to do dogwise when the time comes. (Those plans are still a few years out.)


----------



## Theglasshouse

Thanks Indianroads. I am taking some cues from your writing habits. I feel I should give a try what has worked for you. The google preview allowed me to see inside the book today when it wasn't working. It gives a heavy emphasis on journaling. Which is what I hoped to find. Before the google preview was not previously working. I am sold on the book. They only sell it used. Which means it will take a long time to get here. I anticipate 3-4 weeks as amazon no longer sells these new.
Writing Processes and Structures: An American Language Text​by Brian Altano

It's good to be entertained by cats. Well I consider them good company. I used to have some cats. But that's a story I won't mention here. My mother is the main obstacle to having cats. I had them when 10 years and older. It's always good to have a pet. I don't know if research shows this, but I think it could give an immune system reaction. My asthma disappeared, and I don't know if owning a pet cures asthma in some way.

I am a fan of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace and plan to see it tomorrow.  I will exercise while watching the series. She writes very interesting characters,


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> One of our regulars at the bookshop gave me Potato Cat after she heard about my CatCat's passing.  He has been a delight for the most part, but he still has his moments of assholiness.
> 
> And because of Potato Cat we learned our crabby spitz actually does really well with youngsters (those of the fuzzy sort...Potato Cat was barely seven weeks old when we got him.)  Knowing this we have a pretty good idea of what we want to do dogwise when the time comes. (Those plans are still a few years out.)


Potato Cat looks like a great guy. 
We have Pilot (the guy in my pic), Fionn, Saul, Batman, and Lilly - all rescues that we fostered and kept. 
I suffer mildly from PTSD (via my adventuresome life), and the mask mandates made it impossible for me to get out, which increased my stress level. Pete, our big black cat that died recently was my rock, and I miss him a lot. All our cats are calm, and help me get through panic attacks. I love them.


----------



## indianroads

Theglasshouse said:


> Thanks Indianroads. I am taking some cues from your writing habits. I feel I should give a try what has worked for you. The google preview allowed me to see inside the book today when it wasn't working. It gives a heavy emphasis on journaling. Which is what I hoped to find. Before the google preview was not previously working. I am sold on the book. They only sell it used. Which means it will take a long time to get here. I anticipate 3-4 weeks as amazon no longer sells these new.
> Writing Processes and Structures: An American Language Text​by Brian Altano
> 
> It's good to be entertained by cats. Well I consider them good company. I used to have some cats. But that's a story I won't mention here. My mother is the main obstacle to having cats. I had them when 10 years and older. It's always good to have a pet. I don't know if research shows this, but I think gives an immune system reaction. My asthma disappeared, and I don't know if owning a pet cures asthma in some way.
> 
> I am a fan of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace and plan to see it tomorrow.  I will exercise while watching the series. She writes very interesting characters,


Thanks! I'm glad to be of help. 
Art doesn't have a common path, but it's good to have a place to start. Listen to everyone, take what fits your personality, then evolve the process until it is uniquely yours.


----------



## Matchu

The cry of gulls, the mournful lapping of water upon harbour steps.   Rosy-faced fishermen untangled netting.  Delicious aromas of lobster drifted cross the wharves. Almost imperceptibly it was the distant rumble, it turned to a roar, the residents rushed, they retreated, cowered in shop doorways.   The ocean erased below the low water mark and even bold restaurateurs now scampered to man-size refrigerators.  The Harley Davidson throbbed down Maine street splitting the sound barrier blah blah blah tbc


----------



## Matchu

...that was a tribute...

Anyways, 

I am away now for my second swim of the year in the North Sea.  

Very heroic - as I displayed yesterday at North Bay.  

South Bay is today, hoping for a crowd of well-wishers & fan club [Hightide]  Pants only, deserves WF medal actually.


----------



## midnightpoet

"Woke up this morning, got the migraine headache damn I can't poop again blues..."

Doubt if B.B.King would have had a hit with that...


----------



## Matchu

For me a real paradise, pedalling beyond the candyfloss and all the people on the beach to my secret bay for yet another swim.  Of course, it would be better with a son or daughter in tow.  In fact, it would be better in Portugal.  We drank about fifteen beers that night, me & Phil at Praia de Luz, before our naked skinny-dip.  It wasn't meant to be some homo-erotic experience, it just looked like that to the observers and the officers on the shore.  Two seals in peril at shoreline was the call apparently.  I wont be going back to that fff country, not after my night naked in the cells with Phil.

Anyways, back to work tomorrow. Hoh


----------



## Darkkin

Got done with work early today. (Used some of my hoard of vacation time.)  Did I use my time to read, take a walk, watch a movie?  Nope.  I gave Rue Dog a bath, vacuumed the basement, cleaned the bathroom, and did the resulting load of dog laundry.  My dude is now super floofy.


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> Got done with work early today. (Used some of my hoard of vacation time.)  Did I use my time to read, take a walk, watch a movie?  Nope.  I gave Rue Dog a bath, vacuumed the basement, cleaned the bathroom, and did the resulting load of dog laundry.  My dude is now super floofy.
> 
> View attachment 27137


He’s a good looking guy.


----------



## Darkkin

730 days of Potato Cat.  Hard to believe, I've had this doofus two years.


----------



## Joker

Went to a car meet, saw some cool cars. My usual Sunday morning routine.


----------



## VRanger

Darkkin, you're a talented photographer. Not everyone has the imagination to capture some of your angles.


----------



## Darkkin

vranger said:


> Darkkin, you're a talented photographer. Not everyone has the imagination to capture some of your angles.



Potato Cat spends a lot of time sitting on or near me.  And being fond of distraction, I usually have either my tablet or my phone close at hand.  Move too much and Potato Cat will wander off, so like the reed in the wind, one becomes flexible with their subject.  I have finger edges in a couple of those shots. Potato Cat is as candid as his pictures.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Have been visiting with the in-laws over the weekend. Went to Ness Botanical Gardens, a lovely day out.

FiL, MiL, Mrs Twain't


----------



## Darkkin

Happened across a scheduling app that broke simple chores down into an overly complicated mess.  My first and honest reaction was a verbal expostulation containing a rather fervent colourful metaphor (as per Mr Spock).  My next thought was to consider my reaction and why it was so overtly negative.  Hence, I added my thoughts to my Confessions thread.


----------



## Darkkin

Playing catch up with shots for Potato Cat's IG.  Rue decided he needed to help too.


----------



## Darkkin

I kinda had to learn how to tiktok for work...Rue helped out.


----------



## Darkkin

We finally got some nice weather 65° and perfect.  I took blatant advantage of the opportunity and set up the backyard agility course we got for Christmas.  Dude did a great job.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I have finally solved all the problems.
The internet has started working again, and my PC is working again.
I am happy, I was afraid of having lost, all my stories.

I missed you ...


----------



## Mark Twain't

Woke up this morning and packaged up a camera which I'd sold and went off to the sorting office to find out it was closed! 

My work laptop rebooted and it would no longer connect to the external monitor via the usb hub. I had to drive 45 minutes to the office to take it to IT only to find out that there had been a software update and all I needed to do was plug the laptop's power cable into the hub and the hub into the laptop's power port.

Got half way home and got a nagging feeling that I hadn't picked up my mouse when I left IT. I pulled over to check and was sadly correct so had to turn around and go back.

It's not long after 3pm and I'm worried about what else this day is going to throw at me!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sinus problems most of the day, moped and did almost nothing beyond watering the tomatoes.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I corrected three stories using the readspeaker software, and grammarly all so that I could submit it to some magazines that never considered it. I previously workshopped the stories here. It's the best I can do besides the forum members who generously critique my work. Especially since no one in my house has time to read it.


----------



## indianroads

Martial Art class in the morning, then home to mow the back 40. Discovered the battery in the lawn tractor was kaput, replaced it, then after four hours of riding around, the area behind hour house is flat. We live at the edge of the prairie, the grass will get waist high if you let it, which is a fire danger so FLAT is good.

No writing done today - and I hate that but should be able to put in a full day tomorrow.


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> We finally got some nice weather 65° and perfect.  I took blatant advantage of the opportunity and set up the backyard agility course we got for Christmas.  Dude did a great job.
> 
> View attachment 27189


Happy dog face.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I hate summer.  I feel awful.


----------



## Darkkin

Case of the Curious Kitties: When leaving the house to run some errands this afternoon, I found an Amazon box waiting on the doorstep. I know I hadn't order anything recently and neither had my best friend so I was a little surprised to see my name on it. It contained a set of wrought iron kitty bookends and a throw pillow. (Both pictured below...both very nice, too.) So to whomever sent them, thank you very much.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I do like reading classic short stories, some aspects are timeless. Anyway, I was reading 'White Blaze' by Conan Doyle and came across,

"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
"The dog did nothing in the night-time."
"That was the curious incident" remarked Sherlock Holmes.

I wonder if Mark Haddon read that?


----------



## Matchu

That must be where it came from.
…
I am still working.  I been working/crying since last Saturday.  Good day yesterday posted to headquarters, surrounded in warm fug embrace of ld + the mental health people.  Drew eyes on one guy’s clenched fist,  drew eyes & eyebrows also on my fist.  Our fists kissed and canoodled for 5 minutes.  Nice kissing. Also took an old woman to play rugby on the beach.

Busy day.


----------



## River Rose

LadySilence said:


> I hate summer.  I feel awful.


Hugs you. I am not a fan of summer either. I feel your pain. I am a cool weather chick. I get so cranky in the heat and humidity. My children know this. Be on your best behavior if this lill’ mamma is out of the AC. Lol


----------



## River Rose

indianroads said:


> Martial Art class in the morning, then home to mow the back 40. Discovered the battery in the lawn tractor was kaput, replaced it, then after four hours of riding around, the area behind hour house is flat. We live at the edge of the prairie, the grass will get waist high if you let it, which is a fire danger so FLAT is good.
> 
> No writing done today - and I hate that but should be able to put in a full day tomorrow.


Come mow mine when you are done w yours phlezzzzz. And thank you.


----------



## Jan

Got no sleep tonight which sucks. At least I found some seven or eight books I want to read going forward though.


----------



## Joker

Paid something like two hundred bucks to get a leak fixed in my car a while back... and it's back


----------



## Foxee

My daughter (21 y/o) started having some odd symptoms this week. Two different hospital ERs in two days came up with no conclusive results for inflammation that causes randomized swelling, breathing problems, pain, and a rash that likewise pops up randomly. They've thrown steroids and Benadryl at her to no real effect, taken CT scans and a bunch of other tests, and finally threw up their collective hands. She has prednisone and an inhaler and instructions to call her PCP and an allergist. 

In the meantime, her hands and arms hurt so much so often that she can't properly care for her 8 month old daughter. My daughter's boyfriend's mom is in Florida this week and part of next week. So my mom and I are trading back and forth with helping my daughter. The boyfriend is not really good at taking care of either of them even when he's not at work or school.

I've never had cats but yesterday I scooped an overloaded cat box with my nasal passages burning and swore off ever having cats...then when their orange Maine Coon kept coming over and making up to me I said I'd only ever consider a Maine Coon...and only if the litter pan could be in a mudroom or something. (nook near the kitchen does NOT work for me) and LOTS of vacuuming.

We brought daughter and granddaughter to our house today for a change of scene (and some air conditioning) which was pretty much a success overall. My husband loves babies and wants to hold the little one but she'll only flirt outrageously at him from my lap, she won't actually let him hold her. It was hard to take them back to their house and leave them there, even with the boyfriend, knowing that I can't fix my daughter's health.

But I'll be back tomorrow and the next day and probably a lot until the other grandmother is back.


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> My daughter (21 y/o) started having some odd symptoms this week. Two different hospital ERs in two days came up with no conclusive results for inflammation that causes randomized swelling, breathing problems, pain, and a rash that likewise pops up randomly. They've thrown steroids and Benadryl at her to no real effect, taken CT scans and a bunch of other tests, and finally threw up their collective hands. She has prednisone and an inhaler and instructions to call her PCP and an allergist.
> 
> In the meantime, her hands and arms hurt so much so often that she can't properly care for her 8 month old daughter. My daughter's boyfriend's mom is in Florida this week and part of next week. So my mom and I are trading back and forth with helping my daughter. The boyfriend is not really good at taking care of either of them even when he's not at work or school.
> 
> I've never had cats but yesterday I scooped an overloaded cat box with my nasal passages burning and swore off ever having cats...then when their orange Maine Coon kept coming over and making up to me I said I'd only ever consider a Maine Coon...and only if the litter pan could be in a mudroom or something. (nook near the kitchen does NOT work for me) and LOTS of vacuuming.
> 
> We brought daughter and granddaughter to our house today for a change of scene (and some air conditioning) which was pretty much a success overall. My husband loves babies and wants to hold the little one but she'll only flirt outrageously at him from my lap, she won't actually let him hold her. It was hard to take them back to their house and leave them there, even with the boyfriend, knowing that I can't fix my daughter's health.
> 
> But I'll be back tomorrow and the next day and probably a lot until the other grandmother is back.


When I was younger, during a particularly stressful era of my life, I had lesser symptoms to what your daughter is experiencing. Beyond physical medicine, you might consider something to reduce stress and see if that helps.

Maine Coons are wonderful cats - Pete was part Maine Coon, and was wonderful... always calm and friendly - he helped abandoned kittens taken in at a local shelter that we fostered... the babies flocked to him, and his calm demeanor eased their fears and helped socialize them. They've all gone on to forever homes and are living happy lives thanks in part to Pete.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> When I was younger, during a particularly stressful era of my life, I had lesser symptoms to what your daughter is experiencing. Beyond physical medicine, you might consider something to reduce stress and see if that helps.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Stress is a factor and she's aware of it. I am afraid of how she might try to address that, though.
> 
> 
> 
> Maine Coons are wonderful cats - Pete was part Maine Coon, and was wonderful... always calm and friendly - he helped abandoned kittens taken in at a local shelter that we fostered... the babies flocked to him, and his calm demeanor eased their fears and helped socialize them. They've all gone on to forever homes and are living happy lives thanks in part to Pete.
> 
> 
> 
> I remember you mentioning Pete. He was something special.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


----------



## indianroads

Be careful with the meds, the made me pretty much null and void.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> Be careful with the meds, the made me pretty much null and void.


I wish I had that kind of influence.


----------



## River Rose

Foxee said:


> My daughter (21 y/o) started having some odd symptoms this week. Two different hospital ERs in two days came up with no conclusive results for inflammation that causes randomized swelling, breathing problems, pain, and a rash that likewise pops up randomly. They've thrown steroids and Benadryl at her to no real effect, taken CT scans and a bunch of other tests, and finally threw up their collective hands. She has prednisone and an inhaler and instructions to call her PCP and an allergist.
> 
> In the meantime, her hands and arms hurt so much so often that she can't properly care for her 8 month old daughter. My daughter's boyfriend's mom is in Florida this week and part of next week. So my mom and I are trading back and forth with helping my daughter. The boyfriend is not really good at taking care of either of them even when he's not at work or school.
> 
> I've never had cats but yesterday I scooped an overloaded cat box with my nasal passages burning and swore off ever having cats...then when their orange Maine Coon kept coming over and making up to me I said I'd only ever consider a Maine Coon...and only if the litter pan could be in a mudroom or something. (nook near the kitchen does NOT work for me) and LOTS of vacuuming.
> 
> We brought daughter and granddaughter to our house today for a change of scene (and some air conditioning) which was pretty much a success overall. My husband loves babies and wants to hold the little one but she'll only flirt outrageously at him from my lap, she won't actually let him hold her. It was hard to take them back to their house and leave them there, even with the boyfriend, knowing that I can't fix my daughter's health.
> 
> But I'll be back tomorrow and the next day and probably a lot until the other grandmother is back.


Hugs to all of you.


----------



## Darkkin

I page faced my library without realising...  (In actuality, I moved the couch so I could vacuum.)


----------



## BornForBurning

> My daughter (21 y/o) started having some odd symptoms this week. Two different hospital ERs in two days came up with no conclusive results for inflammation that causes randomized swelling, breathing problems, pain, and a rash that likewise pops up randomly. They've thrown steroids and Benadryl at her to no real effect, taken CT scans and a bunch of other tests, and finally threw up their collective hands. She has prednisone and an inhaler and instructions to call her PCP and an allergist.


Where's the  reaction when you need it? Me and my various siblings will pray for you, Foxee.


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## Foxee

BornForBurning said:


> Where's the  reaction when you need it? Me and my various siblings will pray for you, Foxee.


Thank you so much. This week is wearing us all out. I just climbed into bed and read Psalm 138:7&8. It's a good focus.


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## indianroads

Foxee said:


> Thank you so much. This week is wearing us all out. I just climbed into bed and read Psalm 138:7&8. It's a good focus.


You and your daughter are in my thoughts. If you're comfortable with it, keep us (or just me) posted with how it goes. You're a strong person, and I imagine your daughter is as well - although it doesn't seem like it right now - you'll get through these troubles and come out better on the other side.


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## Deleted member 64995

Foxee said:


> My daughter (21 y/o) started having some odd symptoms this week. Two different hospital ERs in two days came up with no conclusive results for inflammation that causes randomized swelling, breathing problems, pain, and a rash that likewise pops up randomly. They've thrown steroids and Benadryl at her to no real effect, taken CT scans and a bunch of other tests, and finally threw up their collective hands. She has prednisone and an inhaler and instructions to call her PCP and an allergist.
> 
> In the meantime, her hands and arms hurt so much so often that she can't properly care for her 8 month old daughter. My daughter's boyfriend's mom is in Florida this week and part of next week. So my mom and I are trading back and forth with helping my daughter. The boyfriend is not really good at taking care of either of them even when he's not at work or school.
> 
> I've never had cats but yesterday I scooped an overloaded cat box with my nasal passages burning and swore off ever having cats...then when their orange Maine Coon kept coming over and making up to me I said I'd only ever consider a Maine Coon...and only if the litter pan could be in a mudroom or something. (nook near the kitchen does NOT work for me) and LOTS of vacuuming.
> 
> We brought daughter and granddaughter to our house today for a change of scene (and some air conditioning) which was pretty much a success overall. My husband loves babies and wants to hold the little one but she'll only flirt outrageously at him from my lap, she won't actually let him hold her. It was hard to take them back to their house and leave them there, even with the boyfriend, knowing that I can't fix my daughter's health.
> 
> But I'll be back tomorrow and the next day and probably a lot until the other grandmother is back.




I'm sorry for your daughter.

Could it be Lupus?
I knew a girl who suffered from it, she had some of the symptoms you described.


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## Olly Buckle

Conditions like that are not so easily diagnosed, Foxee. I went through years of sore eyes and occasionally swollen ankles before my Wegeners finally erupted and became definable. In the mean time they treated the symptoms. It is when you get stuck in treating symptoms things are not good, one can't get to the root of the problem without a diagnoses. Then there is the fact that different people present differently, and that some conditions are quite rare. Don't give up though, the more you find out about what is happening the more effectively you can act.


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## Joker

As the Persians say, this too shall pass.


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## Foxee

LadySilence said:


> I'm sorry for your daughter.
> 
> Could it be Lupus?
> I knew a girl who suffered from it, she had some of the symptoms you described.


I guess we'll find out. Hoping not.


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## Mark Twain't

@Foxee I hope all turns out ok for your daughter.

I had varying symptoms from the age of 13 but it wasn't until I was 41 that I was diagnosed with MS. I really hope that your daughter gets sorted a lot quicker though and also that it's a lot less insidious.


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## Olly Buckle

Drove into T.Wells to see the dentist yesterday, and then did some mowing , raking and digging in the garden. My shoulder really hurt last night and today, that will teach me to overdo it.
I have been doing little bits in the garden today, nothing too trying, and took time out to record another story,
A bit over ten minutes worth.


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## Theglasshouse

I am losing weight because of what I am eating which we do eat with restraint. 1 serving using a coffee sized cup for rice, fruits. We are judiciously measuring the cheese; it needs to fit in the palm, and it shouldn't cover the fingers. Likewise, this goes for meat as well. 2/3s of a plate full of salad. If possible, no salad dressing. I put the rice on top the salad, beans. If there are no good choices, I'd like, then I use a salad dressing. I believe eating without salad dressing or sprinkling salt has reduced the salt inside my body because of blood tests indicated this in the past. We eat like rabbits, but we are doing better than before.  No artificial foods are snacks unless once a week and in desperate need of variety. Plus, the person that cooks for us doesn't cook bad (employee). This is good since the psychiatric medicine makes me increase in weight. So I will hopefully eat this way for the rest of the time I am living. Copy this routine of measuring things this way, and you won't regret it. You'll be healthier. No fast food, chips, or anything unless you feel you need a once or twice a week variety. Also, no pizza, or delivery.


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## Foxee

I can't argue with that, glasshouse, though I think it is easier if someone else is cooking for you. We've tried similar measures and I agree it's helpful...then there isn't enough time and I make something easy but not on the plan or we run through the drive thru or otherwise mess ourselves up. And somehow we never get back to it until the next time we're trying to fix things.

As for today...I actually had someone argue with me when I said I didn't hate them. (My daughter's boyfriend) That's a new one. He's a difficult person to say the least...but I actually don't hate him. Even with the difficult past we've had with he and my daughter I don't hate him. And the fact that I don't almost seems to offend him.

Weird.


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## Theglasshouse

My oldest brother can take a lot of bad things happening to him and nothing stressful ever happens to him (almost as if a stoic in this sense). I was reading some people are born with larger and smaller areas of the brain. They can actually identify according to these parts of the brain whether someone feels more stress. He leaves the house from 7 a.m. and arrives at 9:40 p.m. The only things that affect him that are pretty normal is an animal or person that must pass on to the other world one day. As in no longer living. I can feel bad when that happens. He feels it more than me. He's generous to the point that he doesn't spend money on himself. He would rather solve problems by giving people what they need. If I ask him for a book for reading, he doesn't say no. He'll kindly say yes. He's better equipped than me. His brain can tolerate a lot of stress. He's been working this way for years and is prosperous. His role model is my father. He picked the same career as him. (he was a godfather to five children even though people took advantage of him)

I hope I can help in those moments. One of those things I dislike is to be around a lot of sad people. I speculate people react differently to emotion. If science can detect differences in the brain size of certain parts of the brain. Then I suspect maybe one day they will with more findings treat people differently.

I am sorry about your daughter. I do have an aunt with Lupus. She also has another disease I won't mention here, but she handles it well. I hope her health improves.

Some people's reactions are important. My father needs to get a heart operation. One of his arteries is over 80% clotted and another 50%. His reaction was sad and bit unexpected. But this is his 3rd time. I understand he needs to feel at ease. No one likes to face uncertain circumstances. One doctor said it was a complex operation. So we are trying to get several different opinions from others. 

But we are looking for some international insurance. If it doesn't get solved. Doctors can be money grabbers. Ethics can be lacking in hospitals here. We have insurance, but international insurance we didn't expect to have to need.

We can pay for an operation if needed. He's the one who helps my mother the most since her diabetes creates pains that seem to be similar to arthritis. 

I am in hopes that we can adapt to any change. If the best thing happens and nothing bad happens, then good. Not accepting our circumstances can be very harmful to our health.

I expect that part needs talking. It happens gradually. If something bad happens, we always need to talk to others. It's not a bad thing to express our problems.


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## Olly Buckle

Blimey! So behind with my shoulder and then being ill I hadn't done anything on my YouTube channel for a while and it had stuck at about 480 views, put the new story on on friday (See couple of posts back), this morning it has shot up to 544. Two new subscribers as well.


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## Olly Buckle

Feeling inspired, just recorded the story Science Park in a single, first take; three quarters of an hour of it. That is the longest I have done so far, and only one slip of the tongue which I corrected. I think that is acceptable. In a way I actually like it, sometimes the perfectly edited things sound a bit artificial, 'I got soul, man'

So long it is going to take nearly half an hour to upload


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## Foxee

I'm amazed how almost the instant that I decide to do something, whether it's to write a novel or to move to Texas, inertia seems to shift from passivity to becoming a voracious, consuming force. It even seems to create agents to keep me captive.

My husband is at the doctor's office with our mysteriously ailing oldest daughter. I'm watching her baby.

We were going to be in Texas this week, trying to get our plans moving.  Instead I am not even sure how I'm going to get dinner made.

It's not like it's my daughter's fault that she is sick but the guy she chose to go have a baby with is not much help at all. They're immature kids who have had a kid and now that the adult responsibilities have some teeth, they need to be rescued. If it wasn't for the baby I would let some floundering occur.

As it is I'm gritting my teeth and putting my life on hold yet again. I'm afraid I will get to the end of my life and find I did that with my whole lifespan.

So I'm a little grumpy.


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## Taylor

Foxee said:


> I'm amazed how almost the instant that I decide to do something, whether it's to write a novel or to move to Texas, inertia seems to shift from passivity to becoming a voracious, consuming force. It even seems to create agents to keep me captive.
> 
> My husband is at the doctor's office with our mysteriously ailing oldest daughter. I'm watching her baby.
> 
> We were going to be in Texas this week, trying to get our plans moving.  Instead I am not even sure how I'm going to get dinner made.
> 
> It's not like it's my daughter's fault that she is sick but the guy she chose to go have a baby with is not much help at all. They're immature kids who have had a kid and now that the adult responsibilities have some teeth, they need to be rescued. If it wasn't for the baby I would let some floundering occur.
> 
> As it is I'm gritting my teeth and putting my life on hold yet again. I'm afraid I will get to the end of my life and find I did that with my whole lifespan.
> 
> So I'm a little grumpy.


If there was a hugs emoji I'd select it.  Hugs...hugs...hugs!  You are a wonderful mom and you will get through this.


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## Foxee

Thank you!!! I hate to keep complaining except I'm good at it!


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## Megan Pearson

Foxee said:


> I'm amazed how almost the instant that I decide to do something, whether it's to write a novel or to move to Texas, inertia seems to shift from passivity to becoming a voracious, consuming force. It even seems to create agents to keep me captive.


What a great quote. Nothing is more harmful to saying "I'm going to--" than the very act of saying it. I began the spring semester by saying "I'm going to write x-many hours this week and my schedule will look like this--." The first week went off perfectly. The rest, well.... 

I began summer break by saying the exact same thing. Did I make the first week perfectly? Well, no. It has been an adventure in comedy or tragedy, I'm not sure which. Now the work I must do calls for my time as well, my little business needs attention, and my husband and I have discussed how, exactly, am I going to pursue my writing seriously. It is great having someone on board who supports me. Yet, no sooner did we decide the 'how' to the approach did we learn my dad has been very ill. So I am again caught in the throes of those very agents who keep you captive from your goals. 

Nevertheless, it has been a good day. I came here to be inspired and that I have been.


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## SueC

Foxee said:


> I'm amazed how almost the instant that I decide to do something, whether it's to write a novel or to move to Texas, inertia seems to shift from passivity to becoming a voracious, consuming force. It even seems to create agents to keep me captive.
> 
> My husband is at the doctor's office with our mysteriously ailing oldest daughter. I'm watching her baby.
> 
> We were going to be in Texas this week, trying to get our plans moving.  Instead I am not even sure how I'm going to get dinner made.
> 
> It's not like it's my daughter's fault that she is sick but the guy she chose to go have a baby with is not much help at all. They're immature kids who have had a kid and now that the adult responsibilities have some teeth, they need to be rescued. If it wasn't for the baby I would let some floundering occur.
> 
> As it is I'm gritting my teeth and putting my life on hold yet again. I'm afraid I will get to the end of my life and find I did that with my whole lifespan.
> 
> So I'm a little grumpy.


Some of the emoji's are just too smiley, and I would hug you too, hon. Let us know what's going on. Your dreams may take some time, but I know you'll get there.


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## Foxee

SueC said:


> Some of the emoji's are just too smiley, and I would hug you too, hon. Let us know what's going on. Your dreams may take some time, but I know you'll get there.


I definitely agree about the fevered smiliness of the emoji selection. Thank you. _hugs!_

The doc didn't find anything specific in my daughter's symptoms. While I can understand this - after all, rash, swelling/inflammation, and nausea/vomiting can all figure into so many things - it's frustrating to still have no answer. He'll see if her Lyme disease is acting up but other than that I think he's just hoping the mystery will get better on its own. I feel rotten for her, this doesn't sound like a good road to be on.

She did seem to feel moderately better after lying on our bed most of the evening and managed to keep some food down.

Her BF's mother (aka The Primary Grandma) should be home this evening if her plane can take off.

So my female relatives are instantly on my back once more (now that I'm 'free' you know) about things that need to be done. Calling them back about 'important' matters, etc. Friends of mine asked if we could join them for a day trip to Erie which we'd really like to do. Somehow I think it'll be a problem if I go take a break with friends.

Still not in Texas.

I appreciate the encouragement very much. I keep telling my husband that I need to hear that we're going to make it and he's doing his best.


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## Darkkin

I had a customer looking for a book on the Skinwalker Ranch in Utah.  I knew the book and its exact location without having to look anything up...(I think I might have spooked her a little bit because of the instant recall.)  This is the weird living book map that is my brain.


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## Olly Buckle

A nice, quiet day. Hoed the black currants, planted out the chard, made a radish bed and sowed it, then came in to the shed I call the story shack and recorded "The lion Inn", just over 20 mins and uploading now. It is beginning to add up to a considerable amount of viewing time all told. The ones at the beginning are much less watched though. There is one, "Mrs. W." that has only three views. I thought it was quite a decent story.


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## Sinister

Forgot to stir the Campden into the must.  Just sprinkled it on top.  I'm now debating waiting another day after stirring or just adding the yeast and trusting in luck.  But I did find this forum that I joined months ago.  All told, I'd say the final results for today are mixed.

-Sin


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## Turnbull

I'm honestly pretty lonely.  I haven't gone on a date in ten years, and my introversion is in constant conflict with my desire not to die alone.  I don't know what to do about it.


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## Foxee

Turnbull said:


> I'm honestly pretty lonely.  I haven't gone on a date in ten years, and my introversion is in constant conflict with my desire not to die alone.  I don't know what to do about it.


My husband and I are both really introverted and we had that conversation before we were married. We both knew that even if we loved each other we each needed 'alone time' and were upfront about that. Don't give up on dating, just be honest about who you are.


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## Darkkin

Warning Rant Ahead:  Detour Recommended.

Some days I absolutely hate my brain.... My best friend made scalloped potatoes tonight and she even used minced onion becausr she knows about my texture issues. 

For context I had a tough day overall because I had to work with a person I cannot stand because of the disastrous results they leave when they work.  My freaking autistic brain finds absolutely every single issue, even when I have been on the other end of the bookshop.

If I see the problem I need to fix the pattern.  Today was a colossal disaster.  I had to triage all of fiction, my genres, and history.  To give my managers their dues, they are pretty conscientious about not scheduling me with this person because their inability to do their job doubles mine and sends me into hypertensive crisis.  The pain is unbelievable, but this is what stupidity does to my orderly little soul. Total avoidance is my only defense.

Anywho, this trauma was layered on top of the overwhelm of yesterday's adventure. (That was fun, but tiring.  I didn't get home until nearly midnight.  My brain was toast by 10:00.  (It took me three tries to get the car lined up correctly to be able to fill it up, and another three minutes of searching to pop the fuel door open.  I'm not stupid, but my brain was just like, nope.  I'm done. All I had to do was lift it, manually.)

 Not my car, my BFF lent me her SUV for the day because it is much newer than my faithful Malibu, which is getting on in years and this was hike. Five hours west, depending on the route and traffic.  I did the smart thing and stayed on the boring, if slightly longer interstate.  For me it was safer for my skill set especially on a day I knew I was going to fry my senses.  I planned carefully.  What I did not anticipate was working Sunday.  I haven't had to...in months because of a certain situation.

So you have overload and no decompression time before this happy encounter and I cannot deal with any thing else.  I am at CEREAL LEVEL MELTDOWN.  Not in it, but at the precipice.

BFF went out of her way to make scalloped potatoes and ham.  And my fucking brain has a texture moment, one small crunch of a slightly underdone potato.  All systems stop dead.  NOPE.  WE CANNOT DO THIS.

My BFF, bless her, understood.  The potatoes tasted great, but my fucking brain is having a moment and cannot move past this point.  I feel wretched that she made this gesture and my brain is just being stupid.  I'm not crying over potatoes, but it was a near run thing.

I ended up having a cherry lollipop and venting here instead.  My angina has made itself known and I will have to run medication through my PICC line tonight.  I haven't had to do this in nearly nine months, needless to say, I'm pissed.  At least I have tomorrow off.


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## Deleted member 64995

I'm dying of heat, I can't take it anymore.
I can't even eat anymore.
I have an unconditional respect and esteem for those who love and bear the heat.


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## Matchu

Presently ‘several’ threads hint/allude to ‘this most terrible writer’ in our midsts, can I  say ‘midsts’? One poster reveals something akin to ‘each sentence is unfathomable, every clause unreadable in English as we know it.’  Another great author on a different thread describes ‘the worst case of paralysis analysis he has seen during his lifetime.’  It’s not me, is it?  I don’t want to be the worst writer on the forum.  I am not the worst writer on the forum in my mind.  It has to be somebody else? A Balkan or Baltic, some man from Taiwan.  It’s not me.  It can’t be me.  Really I should sleep.

Otherwise, everything fine, escape to the SW tomorrow, something huge like 5 days holiday, death to the corporation.


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## Sinister

Turnbull said:


> I'm honestly pretty lonely.  I haven't gone on a date in ten years, and my introversion is in constant conflict with my desire not to die alone.  I don't know what to do about it.


I feel this on a personal level.  I'm nearly a hermit, myself.  I go out for four reasons and none of them are relationship-based.  All I can tell you is to never let go of that goal and remember it when doing anything you do and you will make progress towards it.


Matchu said:


> Presently ‘several’ threads hint/allude to ‘this most terrible writer’ in our midsts, can I  say ‘midsts’? One poster reveals something akin to ‘each sentence is unfathomable, every clause unreadable in English as we know it.’  Another great author on a different thread describes ‘the worst case of paralysis analysis he has seen during his lifetime.’  It’s not me, is it?  I don’t want to be the worst writer on the forum.  I am not the worst writer on the forum in my mind.  It has to be somebody else? A Balkan or Baltic, some man from Taiwan.  It’s not me.  It can’t be me.  Really I should sleep.
> 
> Otherwise, everything fine, escape to the SW tomorrow, something huge like 5 days holiday, death to the corporation.


I'm not gonna lie.  The first three sentences in your post had me convinced it was me...  And I haven't even written anything on this website yet; or really been on here long enough for people to know how poorly I write.

But I've been in several writing classes, taught several English classes and been to many a forum like this one.  In my experience, the worst writers never seem to suspect themselves of being below average or in need of work.  They're too overconfident to criticize themselves, analyze their own writing with an eye towards improvement or seek advice and accept critique to supply their deficiencies.  Take from that what you will.  I don't think it gives the insecure a free pass, but we're far more likely to put in some extra effort.


Also, as to the topic at hand...  My day went pretty well.  Got ahold of three 1 1/2" steaks.  Going to reverse sear them later today.

-Sin


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## Matchu

Well I thought you were saying ‘I’m not gonna lie I can’t understand anything you said in your first three sentences.’


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## Darkkin

My BF just emailed me a link for an Aussie breeder, who looks to be excellent for our Next Dog Plan.  (Mind you this is at least a couple years out and Rue is my service dog.).  Yes, I have done my homework on the breed, I pet sat one for years in high school and undergrad.

I just emailed them, detailing our situation and plans.  We'll see where is goes from there.  If I can get blocks into place, even this far ahead I will.

And since we will be in the neighborhood of Yellowstone on Glacier National Parks we will probably make a roadtrip out of it.


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## Olly Buckle

Matchu said:


> Well I thought you were saying ‘I’m not gonna lie I can’t understand anything you said in your first three sentences.’


Being the worst or best writer on the forum is not the point. The point is 'How can I improve my writing?' . That's you, me, staff, admin, the newest member, all of us; "What can we learn?", "How could I do it better?"


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## Joker

Any car fanatics here?
					


My first car, a 1936 Rover 10 bought for £16 in 1964, it served me well even though the big-end bearings were shot, a front shackle on one of the rear leaf springs was broken ( I got some baling wire from the farm and wound it round and round the rear axle and cross-rail on the chassis to make a...





					www.writingforums.com


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## Turnbull

Foxee said:


> My husband and I are both really introverted and we had that conversation before we were married. We both knew that even if we loved each other we each needed 'alone time' and were upfront about that. Don't give up on dating, just be honest about who you are.


That would be fine advice if anyone ever asked me out.  No one ever notices me, so there's nothing to work with.


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## Foxee

Turnbull said:


> That would be fine advice if anyone ever asked me out.  No one ever notices me, so there's nothing to work with.


_hugs!_ I'm sorry to hear it. Drawing attention might be a scary prospect for any number of reasons.


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## Darkkin

Found a glass rabbit scribble.


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## Sinister

Botched the steaks.  Over salted and baked them too long.  They wound up well-done to add insult to injury.  I've got to stop following recipes and use my own judgement.  I do that with taste profiles, why can't I think to do that with cooking times...

The good news is that a steak is a steak.  They're still edible.  I think the worst steak I ever ate was still pretty good by overall food standards.

-Sin


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## VRanger

Sinister said:


> I think the worst steak I ever ate was still pretty good by overall food standards.
> 
> -Sin


I've heard a similar remark about sex. ;-)


----------



## VRanger

Turnbull said:


> I'm honestly pretty lonely.  I haven't gone on a date in ten years, and my introversion is in constant conflict with my desire not to die alone.  I don't know what to do about it.


I actually didn't date much leading up to marriage. My first date in HS was the Senior Prom, and that only came about because a girl I had some classes with (and worked at the same grocery store with) and I stumbled across the fact neither of us had a date, and so formed a pact for the Prom. LOL I was not an introvert, but I was very shy. That doesn't sound like it makes sense, but it depended on the situation. In some situations I was an extrovert, and in others very uncomfortable. My wife and I became friends at work, started spending time together outside of work as friends, and it led to more.

So I can't give any advice at all on how to start dating, but I can say to go out and make more friends and spend some time with them ... now that we can mostly do that again! I had moved to a new city where I knew no one, lived in an apartment by myself, and yes, it was lonely. But after a few weeks I had a group of social friends outside of work, and a group of friends in and associated with work. Before long it kept me busy.


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## Foxee

Sinister said:


> Botched the steaks.  Over salted and baked them too long.  They wound up well-done to add insult to injury.  I've got to stop following recipes and use my own judgement.  I do that with taste profiles, why can't I think to do that with cooking times...
> 
> The good news is that a steak is a steak.  They're still edible.  I think the worst steak I ever ate was still pretty good by overall food standards.
> 
> -Sin


Hey, Sin, try learning the touch-test and tell me what you think. I find it easier than anything else I've tried. (Full disclosure, I've never tried a reverse sear)


----------



## Sinister

Foxee said:


> Hey, Sin, try learning the touch-test and tell me what you think. I find it easier than anything else I've tried. (Full disclosure, I've never tried a reverse sear)


I've used both, if you mean the rule of thumb technique.  I usually lean toward the reverse sear because it requires less husbandry and is more reproducible.  I've used it...four or five times now?  I trust myself with it more than I trust myself with a grill.  I'm far too scatterbrained and daydream-prone for that.  I realize I say that now after overcooking three steaks.  But, if I'm going to be honest, at some point in the future, I'm just going to buy a Sous Vide.  I can see it happening.

I'm not giving up, mind you.  I feel like a supervillain who has just been thwarted, though.  lol  Just..._Shrugs_  Some days you overcook some steaks, lol.  To be fair, they weren't dry, thank God.

-Sin


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## Foxee

Sinister said:


> But, if I'm going to be honest, at some point in the future, I'm just going to buy a Sous Vide.  I can see it happening.


That does sound like a proper supervillain move!


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## Olly Buckle

A while ago I dug out a little veg. bed. Mostly it was great, but one end everything was a bit disappointing. Digging it over I discovered a single row of bricks on a mortar base. I first found it just before I dislocated my arm, It is a measure of how much better it is that I have just finished digging out, breaking up, and removing about 10 feet of it. YAY !!


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## EllaLouis

Snap! We watered tomatoes too, the neighbours' as they're away. Unfortunately, their kids hadn't when supposed to, wizened, they were!


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## EllaLouis

EllaLouis said:


> Snap! We watered tomatoes too, the neighbours' as they're away. Unfortunately, their kids hadn't when supposed to, wizened, they were!


The tomatoes not the kiddies


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## Darkkin

The random stuff you find while deep cleaning the kitchen.  (I love these cheeky cows.)


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## Mark Twain't

Celebrated our pearl wedding anniversary last night, 30 years married to this lovely lady


----------



## Matchu

I just got back from our Land's End holiday.


----------



## Darkkin

Had a guy in the bookshop looking for a bible today.  He asked me which version was the most historical accurate...(Enter my horrendously literal ASD brain)...my reply, the original Hebrew.    And then proceeded to info dump on the historical progression of the various translations.  Thankfully the guy got a kick out of my response and seemed to think I had really good dead pan delivery for my jokes.


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## Olly Buckle

Did he advance the idea of an historically accurate Bible with a dead pan delivery?  

Anyone catch the sociologist denying 'Long covid' last night? There are a bunch of medical people absolutely livid with him this morning. Seems to be one the govt. has shied away from, so it in some measure it is true it is anecdotal, but  'It is anecdotal because it is not properly investigated and it is not worth properly investigating because it is anecdotal' is a more than a little circular as an argument. Some estimates are saying more than a million people are suffering the effects in this country.


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## Sinister

Back hurts; and Ozzy is confused, wandering the house like a zombie.  Planted the cherry tree and mowed a little.  It's rained so much that mushrooms are growing everywhere.  The yard is a brutal mess of mosquitos, which explains why bats keep triggering my security cameras.  I wish them luck.  I hope some settle in the bat box I nearly killed myself installing. 

The house is hot because I baked chicken to put in my strawberry and blue cheese salad with poppy-seed dressing.

All-in-all, crap day, 5/10

Bring on Autumn, please.

-Sin


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## Mark Twain't

A bit of a mix

The new TV unit arrived which meant we were able to set up the new TTV which has been sitting in its box for the last week. Unfortunately, the TV unit has a crack in it!


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## Sinister

3 gin gimlets later...  I've mowed everything, the orchard, around the Ertan Deep, the yard.  The house is clean at last.  I've just finished a nice shower.  I'm retiring the day with some buffalo chicken wraps, some leftover kale salad.  Gonna throw some MST3k or Forged in Fire on the big screen and play some Cuphead on the little screen while I wait out the evening hours.

The plum wine needs reracking, which I totally will do by the 28th at the latest.

7/10

-Sin


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## PiP

Today, I started physiotherapy treatment on my knee so as this was my first session with a private physio she came to my house. She is Brazilian and her English is limited. My Portuguese is worse. Despite the language barrier we muddled through until it came to the point we were discussing the challenges of learning Portuguese. I was trying to explain that while I studied for several years_ my husband lost the will to live and gave up.

After 20 minutes I gave up trying to translate 'lost the will to live' but at least the discussion passed the time while I performed various exercises._


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## Sinister

Abney Park has this song, "Two Elixirs."  It's based on Dr. Jekyll and his two elixirs, but the modern twist is that the two elixirs are Coffee and Alcohol.
I hit both elixirs today.

Fair Trade Ethiopian Medium Dark Roast Yrgacheffe made with a French Press.
&
Chocolate mint, grenadine, lime juice and gin, shaken in crushed ice. 

Yorkshire Puddings for supper.  Spent today listening to jazz, drinking elixirs and giving chihuahuas baths, not to mention one giant enthusiastic Labrador/German Shepherd mix.

My back is hurting, but I can't feel the pain.  So much the better.

7/10

-Sin


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## SueC

So today I think I rebroke my pinkie finger and it hurts. I wrapped it back up on the splint and typing is miserable. The worst is, I can't knit or crochet at all - too much stress on my right hand. And the air in our apartment was out overnight - it will be 100 tomorrow. And even though I have been exercising 3 times a week since April, I have not lost any weight. Yikes, I sound whiney. Ignore me.


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## JBF

I got to hitch a ride to the next county to recover the car I got stuck yesterday.  

Fun times.


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## PiP

SueC said:


> So today I think I rebroke my pinkie finger and it hurts. I wrapped it back up on the splint and typing is miserable. The worst is, I can't knit or crochet at all - too much stress on my right hand.



Sue, I can so relate to your frustration.  I have the same problem with my mouse finger. i should go back to the hospital and insist on an x-ray so I can receive proper treatment rather than limping along. our hobbies keep us sane in times of stress.


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## Olly Buckle

Ah, we grow old. My dislocated shoulder is improving all the time, but now it is good enough that I turn over in my sleep again, but not good enough that it doesn't wake me up after sleeping on it for five minutes, restless nights.
PiP, which is a 'mouse finger'? A new term to me.


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## Mark Twain't

SueC said:


> So today I think I rebroke my pinkie finger and it hurts. I wrapped it back up on the splint and typing is miserable. The worst is, I can't knit or crochet at all - too much stress on my right hand. And the air in our apartment was out overnight - it will be 100 tomorrow. And even though I have been exercising 3 times a week since April, I have not lost any weight. Yikes, I sound whiney. Ignore me.


Ouch.

No, not whiney at all. Pain is pain. I slipped coming downstairs a couple of weeks ago and did god knows what to my big toe but it turned purple, then yellow and is still sore to the touch although it's not too bad since the nail fell off yesterday although Mrs Twain't wasn't too happy when she found it!

I could post a photo but I've decided I like you too much!


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## PiP

Olly Buckle said:


> PiP, which is a 'mouse finger'? A new term to me.



Index finger on my right hand LoL


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## Matchu

There's an old book - if you have a copy - _Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain - _and demand is such that on-line copies fetch £100-£200.  I purchased my own copy today, 'chewed by dog/condition is *good' *for under £20 online, so feeling something of a player in world of books market.

Nausea quite overwhelming.  I anticipate my all-nighter with a poorly gentleman, locked in his house, he hates 'me'.  Should be okay if I reach the 4am dawn.  Last time he was swinging a transformer on a cable to kill me.  I lived.  No offense to warriors but the role does jangle nerves somewhat.  Six months time I should be a 'boss' said the boss so I can make other people do it instead of me & lead from the back


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## Theglasshouse

SueC said:


> So today I think I rebroke my pinkie finger and it hurts. I wrapped it back up on the splint and typing is miserable. The worst is, I can't knit or crochet at all - too much stress on my right hand. And the air in our apartment was out overnight - it will be 100 tomorrow. And even though I have been exercising 3 times a week since April, I have not lost any weight. Yikes, I sound whiney. Ignore me.


Have you tried to limit your carbs to one coffee cup size full of rice? Also, eat 2/3 of your food that are on your plate which should be 2/3 lettuce. If steamed vegetables, it is less. Maybe 1/2 of a plate. Don't eat sugar or sweets. Eat organic food. Salad dressing can be fattening, so I personally would choose one that isn't artificial. One that has no artificial ingredients and that is low in sodium/fat/sugar. Follow these guidelines every day of your life, and you could lose weight, and you would avoid eating less healthy foods. The meat should fit in the palms of your hands. The cheese as well. Shred the meat and cheese, and you could add it to the salad to avoid eating salad dressing (cut it with a knife and fork). That would be a picadillo. Avoid drinking juice. 1 cup of fruits that fits in a coffee cup a day. Or you could measure 1 cup (by nutritional standards). I doubt anyone does this here, but avoid artificial sweeteners. Eating too much rice or sugar usually makes me hungry. With these new changes to my diet I am losing weight.  A different strategy to eat salad without dressing is simply to put the 1 cup of rice on top of the lettuce. 1 cup beans also helps.

Sorry about hearing that.


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## Darkkin

When your cat is 2/3 as long as you are tall...you have a Potato Cat splat.


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## midnightpoet

Our a/c window unit went out four days ago.  The repairman, who originally was supposed to show up Wednesday, finally showed today.  He flicked the reset button and the unit came on.  Now, I really feel stupid.  I'll admit I had thought of that, but when I flicked  it, nothing happened.  Do they still make dunce caps?


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## seigfried007

Foxee said:


> My daughter (21 y/o) started having some odd symptoms this week. Two different hospital ERs in two days came up with no conclusive results for inflammation that causes randomized swelling, breathing problems, pain, and a rash that likewise pops up randomly. They've thrown steroids and Benadryl at her to no real effect, taken CT scans and a bunch of other tests, and finally threw up their collective hands. She has prednisone and an inhaler and instructions to call her PCP and an allergist.
> 
> In the meantime, her hands and arms hurt so much so often that she can't properly care for her 8 month old daughter. My daughter's boyfriend's mom is in Florida this week and part of next week. So my mom and I are trading back and forth with helping my daughter. The boyfriend is not really good at taking care of either of them even when he's not at work or school.
> 
> I've never had cats but yesterday I scooped an overloaded cat box with my nasal passages burning and swore off ever having cats...then when their orange Maine Coon kept coming over and making up to me I said I'd only ever consider a Maine Coon...and only if the litter pan could be in a mudroom or something. (nook near the kitchen does NOT work for me) and LOTS of vacuuming.
> 
> We brought daughter and granddaughter to our house today for a change of scene (and some air conditioning) which was pretty much a success overall. My husband loves babies and wants to hold the little one but she'll only flirt outrageously at him from my lap, she won't actually let him hold her. It was hard to take them back to their house and leave them there, even with the boyfriend, knowing that I can't fix my daughter's health.
> 
> But I'll be back tomorrow and the next day and probably a lot until the other grandmother is back.


I second indianroads: if medicine hasn't found hasn't found anything, you're most likely looking at a stress reaction and should consider the possibility of something like conversion disorder. I speak from experience. After all, I've got said disorder and have spent a crap ton on ER visits and assorted exams throughout the ages. The symptoms are real. This disorder is essentially right out of The Matrix: "The mind makes it real." 

Don't bother with CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) though because it only has a 30% success rate for all kinds of good reasons, many of which actually boil down to brain anatomy.


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## Theglasshouse

seigfried007. I have been on cognitive behavior therapy and I can say it didn't work for me at the time. There's no evidence to support it. I did it anyway at one point. I agree with the statement. Also, mine consisted of muscle relaxation exercises, playing music. I think it's a similar concept to yoga. Also, it puts a lot of emphasis on responsibility. For example to every morning take a bath at the same time. They even wanted me to volunteer at a library. I never got social security. Simply because they said, "he has schizophrenia and is considered dangerous." Which is a big lie. I have never harmed a fly in my entire life.​


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## seigfried007

Theglasshouse said:


> seigfried007. I have been on cognitive behavior therapy and I can say it didn't work for me at the time. There's no evidence to support it. I did it anyway at one point. I agree with the statement. Also, mine consisted of muscle relaxation exercises, playing music. I think it's a similar concept to yoga. Also, it puts a lot of emphasis on responsibility. For example to every morning take a bath at the same time. They even wanted me to volunteer at a library. I never got social security. Simply because they said, "he has schizophrenia and is considered dangerous." Which is a big lie. I have never harmed a fly in my entire life.​





> I'm not wanting to totally detail the "How was your day?" thread with a discussion which not only concerns an outdated matter (courtesy of my phone and buggy forumness colliding repeatedly), so I'll try to keep this shrunk down?
> 
> Yoga actually can work pretty well for PTSD (outperformed drug treatment in studies actually), but EMDR is even better. CBT from somebody decent might be okay for schizophrenia, but mostly what I would think you would need is someone with a good grasp of the disorder and someone willing to help you tailor a drug cocktail of anti-psychotics and tranquilizers potentially as needed to help you live your best life? The more we understand the illness, the more it seems to be an autoimmune disorder that targets the brain. This does raise a lot of additional complications for patients.
> 
> In one study, schizophrenia and dissociative disorders seemed to provide a protective effect versus each other of a sort-- meaning that they rarely existed in the same person. Interestingly, persons with either disorder are likely to have different sets of other health problems; this further gives evidence that the immune system may be involved somehow. Also, both often appear after childhood fevers. What may happen is that the immune system is latching onto the antigens of said childhood ailment which are similar to brain tissues, thus causing the autoimmune response. If a different antigen were selected, a different response--autoimmune or otherwise would occur.
> 
> In my case, I developed an intense unexplained viral fever at age 8. Shortly thereafter, I developed numerous autoimmune disorders, such as a sudden autoimmune attack on my thyroid, juvenile idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis, numerous allergies, and then major depression with psychotic features to boot. Insult to injury.
> 
> With "protective effects," however, it may just be that these circumstances are only perhaps illuminating something that was just waiting for a spotlight, especially in the case of dissociation, which is chiefly traumagenic and not thought to be autoimmune (though JIRA occurs more often in DID patients than right about anyone else iirc?).


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## Darkkin

There are people who love to talk and usually I can bullshit my way through listening.  Not tonight...I just got done with my third close in a row.  Third with rampant angina.  I hurt and I am so tired of people I could scream.  I have no bullshit to share.

My BF, who I love to death, starts talking about people I have no context for nor will have in the future, so am I going to invest my cookies in this story about people I do not know because it is the polite thing to do.  NO.

Tonight I am done.  I am being a selfish brat and hoarding my cookies.  I do not want to hear about people I do not know.  I do not want context.  I do not want to engage.  I am done.

I keep sharing my cookies and nobody seems to realise occasionally you need to put some back in order for me to keep sharing.


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## Matchu

Such a lovely shift.

At half past three in the morning the fella said to me:

'Time for some fresh air, I feel' he said and  then we inadvertently, mmm, trespassed across the golf course as dawn broke.  We did try to find the coastal path but were marooned upon the course as keepers always intended, y'know?  Greenkeepers [shudder}.  The air turned white,  the sky above turned black, my charge got scared about thunder.

''I shall protect you,' I said.

 We returned back to his home in one piece, perfect job.  Day shift tomorrow.


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## seigfried007

Trouble of having too many tabs open, being plural, and entirely too easily confused. I had written a post for one thread and put it here. I kept coming here with the intention of telling anyone how my day had gone only to write a response to another's post instead, become further emotionally drained, further convinced that no one wanted to hear about my day, and _even less _able to articulate my day.


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## Darkkin

I need to email cardiology tomorrow and ask them to check on something.  It is just a sneaking suspicion at this point, but I think I may have found something they missed because we never thought to look for it before.  If I'm right it will explain a heck of a lot.

For context because of my unicorn cardiac presentation, our family genomes were sequenced for research purposes.  (I did not have to pay for that...).

They have the data, I just need to know if certain markers are present.


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## midnightpoet

I understand genetic markers, Vickie has had Crohn's disease for some 56 years, she talks about it a lot.  They discovered it not long after her appendix burst in 1975.  It's true, sometimes doctors miss stuff.  

Tony


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## Sinister

Finished my two blog entries for the weekend.  Phoned one in and made it up with the second.  I'm trying to keep the heat outside and the humidity low.  It's not working real well and it's always hot this time of day, AC be damned.  When they installed it, they calculated the right tonnage, but not the fact that this old house is as leaky as a ghost pirate ship.  Need to replace windows and doors.

I'll counter it with a cold shower and some more gin, til the evening cools everything out.

I want to participate in the next Literary Maneuvers Challenge.  Not in a competitive sense, but more out of the need to write something.  I'm unmotivated apart from blog entries.  I have another check-up session with my Psychiatrist coming.  Dreading the #@%! out of that.  Just want this whole next week over with.

Also, beat Cuphead.  What a great game.  Looking forward to the Netflix cartoon.

Mediocre day, 6/10

-Sin


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## Theglasshouse

You beat cuphead! I find that game impossible. Granted I only played with my little brother when I went on vacation. I can lack the patience to beat such a game. I consider it to be very hard because of the bosses. I only played the beginning and I felt intimidated. Still I admit I like that game. It's graphics have a charm. It reminds me in parts of a circus.


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## Sinister

Theglasshouse said:


> You beat cuphead! I find that game impossible. Granted I only played with my little brother when I went on vacation. I can lack the patience to beat such a game. I consider it to be very hard because of the bosses. I only played the beginning and I felt intimidated. Still I admit I like that game. It's graphics have a charm. It reminds me in parts of a circus.


I'll be honest.  I beat it, mostly cause at the moment, it's all I've got to play.  Patience is most of the game.  Playing the game kinda feels like running into a brick wall til it crumbles.  Skill has less to do with it than just dying until you win.  But it is a beautifully made game and lots of classic cartoon references that are fun to catch.

-Sin


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## Deleted member 64995

Today I feel more nervous than usual ...
can't wait to go back to bed tonight ...


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## Joker

Sinister said:


> I'll be honest.  I beat it, mostly cause at the moment, it's all I've got to play.  Patience is most of the game.  Playing the game kinda feels like running into a brick wall til it crumbles.  Skill has less to do with it than just dying until you win.  But it is a beautifully made game and lots of classic cartoon references that are fun to catch.
> 
> -Sin



Might give it a whirl... after RDR2 and Hitman 3.


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## Sinister

My Uncle just passed.  I remember he used to call me on the phone and pretend to be Skeletor.  He took me fishing and camping.  Tried to show me how to gather Morel Mushrooms.  I've known him all my life.  The man has disappeared, never to be seen upright.

I'm more depressed at my lack of reaction.  I feel like I've written the whole world off as dead and I'm just counting days til I follow suit.  Despite not crying.  Despite inevitably not going to his funeral.  Despite remaining here like some sad dog in a cage...  I loved the man.  He had simultaneously the worst and best luck of any human I've ever met and was one of the mentally-toughest human beings I'm likely to know.  He went to parts of the globe I couldn't even pronounce and saw horrors and fought in a war that I will never understand.  After all that, I've never met a gentler, kinder man that never so much as said the word "damn" in my presence.  Would argue with anyone about anything though.  lol  The man loved a good argument.

Bye, Rodney.  And then there were three.

-Sin


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## SueC

Everyone grieves in their own way, Sin. It sounds like you already know this, so I'll just say sorry for your loss. And I am . . .  Your uncle sounds like the kind of man it was well worth knowing, his impact on you will last your life time, and perhaps beyond. Because now you've shared him with us here, you never know where Uncle Rodney will show up again. Hugs.


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## Sinister

That's...actually.  Thank you, SueC.  I mean that.  That helped.

-Sin


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## seigfried007

I keep orbiting this thread like a comet, but I'm never certain what to write to about--if I should limit myself to the current day, a 24hr period, since the last update a year ago, try to bring everyone up to speed since I was last a regular here (like... twelve years ago), a brief life story, whatever. I can never seem to articulate anything once I get going anyway (headdesk).

Even to do the last 24hrs would be pretty crazy because I've been delving into my ancient history. Interestingly, this answer also ties in the one-year update too, so I guess I'll make a super abridged all-purpose, all-in-one, 24-hr, one-year, life story update for the purpose of telling a particular story and trying as much as possible to keep it otherwise to the last waking day.


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## The Green Shield

Feel like I haven't been here in ages. D: 

I'm having coffee and watching Youtube videos :3


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## SueC

I have a dental appointment today. Hopefully he will say my tooth is firmly intact and engaging with all it's other toothy companions once again. 

I'm sure there'll be a party later, but corn cobbs and apples are not invited. 

Welcome back, big front tooth! Whoo hoo!


----------



## Sinister

Finished an hour long session with my psychologist.  I never know how to judge what is accomplished in these sessions.  It all feels more give and very little take.  I talk and ramble on like an idiot and he asks pointed questions without ever returning the ball.

Went shopping, going to do some repairs around the ranch.  Ate Fazoli's out of pure cussedness.  I'm in no mood to cook.  I'm putting off contacting my mother.  She's dealing with funeral arrangements.  I need to go see her, make sure she is alright.  But she's staying over at my sister's and I don't...  I'm not going to just drop in on them.  Ugh, God, I'm so horrible at these things.

5/10  crap day.

-Sin


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## Darkkin

Heard back on preliminary findings on the genome tracking and my hunch is on the right track.  They need to do a bit more testing, but I may soon have a name and a why for the faceless monster I have been battling my entire life...if it pans out, it is a very atypical presentation of a rare genetic disorder.

The clue we were missing was the fact the some members of my mom's family (grandma, great grandma) are abnormally flexible.  Not outrageously, so but a bit more than usual.

We have a picture of my grandma's mother (my great grandmother) in full flapper dress with her leg flipped up to her ear as she balances on her othet foot.  Not something one sees outside of professional trained dancers and athletes, my great grandma was neither.

The rest are small, incidentals picked up in conversations with my mum.  One observation she told me about were my hands and feet when I was a baby, long skinny fingers and toes, my great grandma's fingers and toes.  And a weird accident that should have torn the tendons in one of my ankels to shreds, but didn't.  I had a bad sprain, but nothing worse.

Both my brother, sister, and grandma deal with GI issues which is another indicator.  I have never had GI issues, which is why no one was looking at this particular culprit, but my cardiac issues are textbook for the condition.

If we can finally put a face to this monster, it will be a huge step in the right direction.


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## Deleted member 64995

I rediscovered the pleasure of writing by hand, using a pen.
It was a magical moment.
I have to do it more often.


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## seigfried007

Ah, so draft of old message has been _auto-posted_ by forum software, so we start over. We sleep like . Wake up to very disconcerting post on a different forum. We has now be awake more than 24hrs. Still no tell story want tell, fall more, more behind on crazy tales of woe. We mean this. We life stranger than fiction. Can no make this  up.

So, last post here, we say 1yr, 24hr, and big life all link. We is tired, try remember. I suppose the _1 year_ thing maybe, Seig come here, many weird symptom; someone say she possessed? No, she plural. We is so far something like 20 personalities. I is called Zver. 

So, few day ago, we shop at Lowes; not feel well, I start spin in circles, smack self much, call out bad words in bad, broken Russian accent!? This is first? We has more misadventures that day too, of course, and another sweary fit more day later. We look up see if possible one alter have Tourette's yesterday, and... fall down such a rabbit hole. 

It look like we has all had Tourette's forever seemingly, but like it get much worse after the concussions/car accidents. But we has had minor tics forever, nothing big or disruptive really-- just that it keep getting added onto as we get older because of _other_ big piece that clicked into place from childhood. 

When we was little, we had bad fever that doctor no ID. We had lazy, no-nothing doctor, right out of college. We wind up with autoimmune cascade. Whole immune system riot. We suddenly different child. From small child through third grade, body keep finding new tissues, organs to attack; we get recurring bouts of these fevers; every time, new autoimmune problems. We think this first thing was PANDAS; basically, type strep that look close to body tissue so that it cause autoimmune cascade if no treat very fast every time. Causes OCD, worsened tics (esp. after strep and head injuries), severe depression, hallucinations, sensory disturbances, behavioral changes, rheumatoid arthritis--all kinds of things that describe us then.

Weirder yet, in other studies, many of these conditions are statistically linked. Migraine, epilepsy, Tourette's, OCD, MDD, autism, DID, cPTSD, conversion disorder, JIRA, PANDAS are all at least tangentially positively correlated to each other, which was kind of mind-blowing for us (since we're confirmed or suspected as having all these things).

So, because I get sweary spinny fit kind that everybody recognize, we finally look this up and not only realize we probably all has Tourette's all life (even if we show it differently), but we might have also finally ID'd that fever and just why we is always getting both new crazy allergies and "seizure" fits after head injuries and strep infections all life.


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## indianroads

Dang it! Looks like my cover is behind schedule. I use a great artist and designer (and these days he's in demand), but the delay is my fault. On all my other novels I came to him with a clear vision of what I wanted for the cover, and he knocked it out of the park every time. My next novel, Redemption, is not in the series that I had my designer do, and so I want something different.

The novels within the Extinction series have linear plots, which made the covers easy to conceptualize. Redemption is a different beast; it follows two people (in alternating chapters) that are on opposing sides in a war, and are never in the same room together until the end of the book.

I gave my artist some general ideas and set him loose. He's a perfectionist and didn't like what he was coming up with, so we talked last night. So, he's pretty much starting from scratch today. Therefore, the book release will be pushed back a week or so.


----------



## indianroads

Brought one of my bikes (this one) in for new tires and some other stuff today.





Came back home... paced around the house. Redemption is done except for the cover... so I started looking at Inception.
I must be OCD at some level, because it's like I can't stop writing. Actually that's not completely true - this is the time of the year that I often take off on my bike and ride across the country... but, with restrictions being what they are, I can't.
So, I reviewed the process I used for Redemption, made some changes to how I edit, and started laying out the check sheet for combing the tangles out of Inception.
As much as I think I should take some time off, I'll probably start editing Inception tomorrow.


----------



## Turnbull

I'm alright.  I was doing kind of bad today due to depression, but I walked and went on my bike a little, so I feel better now.  Just have to remember that on days like these, my real self is happy.


----------



## PiP

indianroads said:


> Brought one of my bikes (this one) in for new tires and some other stuff today.
> View attachment 27461
> 
> Came back home... paced around the house. Redemption is done except for the cover... so I started looking at Inception.
> I must be OCD at some level, because it's like I can't stop writing. Actually that's not completely true - this is the time of the year that I often take off on my bike and ride across the country... but, with restrictions being what they are, I can't.
> So, I reviewed the process I used for Redemption, made some changes to how I edit, and started laying out the check sheet for combing the tangles out of Inception.
> As much as I think I should take some time off, I'll probably start editing Inception tomorrow.


Wow, that is an AMAZING bike. It resembles an armchair on wheels. The scenery looks amazing.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My daughter's graduation, she now has a masters with a distinction, clever girl. Much nicer than her original degree graduation ceremony where we all sat in a hall, listened to speeches, and applauded each one going up to collect their scroll. Because of covid it was outside and we got to talk to her class mates and tutor quite informally. She also facetimed with her particular friend who has returned to India, turns out she and her friend have been giving zoom time classes for Indian companies, the stuff modern technology can do. Her father that end and I this end took over the cameras while the two girls threw their mortar boards in the air together and he captured them side by side on his TV screen. Don't ask me how it worked, I just gave the three, two, one, go.

Very tired and stiff today, lots of driving and I met more people than I have in a year, I spend nearly all my time in the garden and sometimes go out for the drive when the missus has to get a click and collect, but sit in the car, not that it worries me much, I have always preferred my own company. They tell me I am eight times more likely to catch covid than most, and five times more likely to die.


----------



## SueC

Olly Buckle said:


> My daughter's graduation, she now has a masters with a distinction, clever girl. Much nicer than her original degree graduation ceremony where we all sat in a hall, listened to speeches, and applauded each one going up to collect their scroll. Because of covid it was outside and we got to talk to her class mates and tutor quite informally. She also facetimed with her particular friend who has returned to India, turns out she and her friend have been giving zoom time classes for Indian companies, the stuff modern technology can do. Her father that end and I this end took over the cameras while the two girls threw their mortar boards in the air together and he captured them side by side on his TV screen. Don't ask me how it worked, I just gave the three, two, one, go.
> 
> Very tired and stiff today, lots of driving and I met more people than I have in a year, I spend nearly all my time in the garden and sometimes go out for the drive when the missus has to get a click and collect, but sit in the car, not that it worries me much, I have always preferred my own company. They tell me I am eight times more likely to catch covid than most, and five times more likely to die.


Congrats to your daughter, Olly. Quite an accomplishment, one to certainly be proud of. Good for you all, because you know, without you and the "missus" being such awesome parents, these goals might have been missed. Good job!


----------



## Sinister

Went to the funeral yesterday, in spite of myself.  Glad I did, now.  I needed it.  I needed to get out, get more perspective on my current situation.  They had a full military burial.  I brought a fired shell back from the gun salute.  It's going on my bookshelf.  I'm not a sentimental person.  Those sort of totems don't typically do very much for me.  But this one is different.

It's been a strange week and I'm glad it's mostly over, but now I wonder how much I've grown and learned from it.  Even got inspiration for a new short story that I might even post on here to workshop it a little.

Life really is bittersweet.  I don't even know if I wish it was better than it is anymore.  There's depth in it that a perfect life with no problems could never offer, but the price is high.

-Sin


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## Darkkin

My monster has a name.  After pulling biopsy samples on Thursday, we finally got the last piece of the puzzle and the why behind my heart issues.  I have cardiac/valvular EDS.

 It explains everything including the clot in my aorta Rue alerted on, the failure of my mitral valve, the higher occurrence of cardiac infection,  my acute angina, and my weird resistance to most medications.

My GI tract doesn't absorb things as effectively as it should, which goes hand in hand with the continued litany of my failure to thrive.  I'm functional, but not efficient.


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## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> My monster has a name.  After pulling biopsy samples on Thursday, we finally got the last piece of the puzzle and the why behind my heart issues.  I have cardiac/valvular EDS.
> 
> It explains everything including the clot in my aorta Rue alerted on, the failure of my mitral valve, the higher occurrence of cardiac infection,  my acute angina, and my weird resistance to most medications.


Good to know... but still sucks.


----------



## Darkkin

The really ridiculous part about all of this is that I didn't know that there were 13 different types of EDS until I started messing around on TikTok.  I'm not sure how, but their algorithm kept pulling up videos on EDS, so being one who likes to know why I started looking into things.  (My TikTok deals with pets, books, and neurodivergencies).

 A lot of boxes got checked, little things and old stories suddenly made sense, and surprisingly my doctors humoured me and heard me out.  (I did not mention TikTok in that conversation, I work at a bookshop and I know I hate it when anyone says, well the internet said...The internet says a lot of shit, doesn't make it true.) They thought my evidence was solid enough to follow up on and as creepy as it is that algorithm was right.

And historically, there is a slightly higher occurrence of EDS in people who have an ND.  As an HDAutistic the pieces fit.


----------



## Olly Buckle

That's good news and bad news all in one, it is a nasty thing, but at least you know what you are dealing with. Your doctors sound good, I had terrible problems at first getting them to accept that I had Wegeners, it is so rare that the immediate response tended to be 'No it can't be that' even when I had had the tests and had a proper diagnosis, it wasn't properly accepted until I got referred to a specialist. I am lucky, he is one of the leading authorities and has got it well under control, but before that I faced everything from general ignorance to total denial. It could be worth while to get your doctors to consult with a specialist even if you don't see them yourself.
Incidentally, the missus was the special one to one helper for a little boy who suffered from it when she worked in playgroup, so knew just what I was talking about when I mentioned it. Thinking of you and wishing you all the best and the best possible outcome.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Dad passed away in March this year and today would've been his birthday so we took mum out for lunch and I raised a pint of Guinness in his honour


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> Wow, that is an AMAZING bike. It resembles an armchair on wheels. The scenery looks amazing.


If I remember correctly, that was taken somewhere in Tennessee.


----------



## PiP

We saw some bikers with beasts similar to yours at the beach today and I thought of you.


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> We saw some bikers with beasts similar to yours at the beach today and I thought of you.


Have you ever thought of riding yourself? It's an amazing experience.


----------



## PiP

indianroads said:


> Have you ever thought of riding yourself? It's an amazing experience.


I have only ridden pillion once on a Honda 50cc scooter. I was so terrified I sat bolt upright around all the bends and gripped the guy so hard around his waist he couldn't breathe. I've never been on a bike since. 

The potholes where I live are not only the size of craters but the drivers in Portugal are crazy ...  I admire the bikes as a pedestrian


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> I have only ridden pillion once on a Honda 50cc scooter. I was so terrified I sat bolt upright around all the bends and gripped the guy so hard around his waist he couldn't breathe. I've never been on a bike since.
> 
> The potholes where I live are not only the size of craters but the drivers in Portugal are crazy ...  I admire the bikes as a pedestrian


Sorta like Italy?
Riding is a consuming experience - intoxicating scents, the feeling of the wind buffeting your body. You're IN the environment.
Driving a car is like watching a travel show on the television - everything you see is surrounded by a window frame. You're isolated from the environment.

It's great... unless you're riding through hail or a thunderstorm.


----------



## PiP

indianroads said:


> Sorta like Italy?


Yep :


indianroads said:


> Riding is a consuming experience - intoxicating scents, the feeling of the wind buffeting your body. You're IN the environment.
> Driving a car is like watching a travel show on the television - everything you see is surrounded by a window frame. You're isolated from the environment.
> 
> It's great... unless you're riding through hail or a thunderstorm.


I used to ride horses in my youth, so yes, I understand exactly what you mean.

The closest experience I have to the  'outside' environment while driving is my fiat500C car. I drive with the roof down and windows open
The only thing I need to be mindful of are the seagulls


----------



## Darkkin

In the category of junk I don't need, but like and bought anyway.   A marble run.  We had one of these things at my grandma's when we were kids and played with the thing incessantly.  We just got these cool glow in the dark ones in at work and I was in the mood for instant gratification.  The upside of this is I have fun things to share when my family visits.


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> Yep :
> 
> I used to ride horses in my youth, so yes, I understand exactly what you mean.
> 
> The closest experience I have to the  'outside' environment while driving is my fiat500C car. I drive with the roof down and windows open
> The only thing I need to be mindful of are the seagulls


In Fiat's, on motorcycles, and in life, soon or later we all catch some s**t.


----------



## Deleted member 64995

I spent a Sunday, in total relaxation. I needed it.
Today we start again in full swing


----------



## Sinister

I just got bit by another damn brown recluse.   Again.  Second time in one year!!  I am sick of this crap.  I was outside in my carport writing up a potential entry for the LM challenge when it bit me on my ankle!  I have got to call someone to spray this place.  In the meantime I feel like raking my ankle off with a sharpened fork.  God it itches.

4/10  crap day.

EDIT:

5/10, I forgot I made lime jello and it's ready.

-Sin


----------



## PiP

Sinister said:


> I just got bit by another damn brown recluse.   Again.  Second time in one year!!  I am sick of this crap.  I was outside in my carport writing up a potential entry for the LM challenge when it bit me on my ankle!  I have got to call someone to spray this place.  In the meantime I feel like raking my ankle off with a sharpened fork.  God it itches.


Wow, those brown recluse spiders are really dangerous. I was told they are okay providing you don't provoke them. Sounds like that's not quite true! We also have scorpions here and since discovering a few buried just under the surface of our sandy soil, I wear gloves.

Our slice of paradise is riddled with bugs who either eat me or my plants
I even wrote a poem








						The Ugly Bug Spring Jive
					


I wrote this poem for my grandchildren    With the herald of spring the bugs start to arrive in my Garden of Eden for the “Ugly Bug Jive”.  The weird and the ugly they give me the jitters who may I ask created these critters?  There are black...





					www.writingforums.com


----------



## Darkkin

My elderly ivy, Irving, had been ailing for a while, so I finally made the call when I knew there was no chance of resurrection.  I went with propagation.  Meet Irving 2.0


----------



## Sinister

PiP said:


> Wow, those brown recluse spiders are really dangerous. I was told they are okay providing you don't provoke them. Sounds like that's not quite true! We also have scorpions here and since discovering a few buried just under the surface of our sandy soil, I wear gloves.



They generally are!  My sister had an apartment full of them for a semester and was only bitten when they crawled on her in her sleep and she rolled over on them.  I kinda did the same thing.  I didn't feel him and tried to prop my leg on my knee and it squished him enough for him to bite me.

Thankfully, no one in my family has ever had a necrotic reaction.  The venom causes all of it's damage by constricting blood flow and starving tissue til it dies.  If you happen to have a nitro patch, then slap that on the bite and you're in good shape.  Which is what I use.

Can't do that with Black Widows...  They are pure evil.  I'd rather high five a hornet's nest than get bitten by one of those again.

EDIT:

Also, that poem reminds me.  I have hated summer ever since I was a kid for just this reason.  You just don't have these problems in winter. lol  At least, I've never seen a recluse in my house in winter.

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

Like legos there are just some things one is never too old for.  These marble runs not only make a marvelous sound, they also make one think.  Rue got bored waiting for me while 
I was messing around with this, so I built my track around him.


----------



## Sinister

Installed accent lights around the house that I can control via Alexa and voice command.  Re-racked the Plum Wine.  A SG reading tells me it's completely finished.  So I reserved a glass of it.  It is a DRY tart wine.  It has a healthy, strong unmistakable plum flavor and a mineral finish and a good mouth-feel.  I have to admit.  I didn't like it and was disappointed at first.  The glass is half gone now and I'm a believer.  It might not be what I expected or wanted, but it could have gone so much worse.  I was going to just turn it into Slivovitz.  But, no, I'm keeping this.

This fall I'm going to work on a batch of Perry.  I've got a Bartlett tree loaded with fruit.  And even though I hate the texture of actual pears, I imagine Perry will be fine.  Need to get a new fruit press.

7/10  A much better day

-Sin


----------



## Olly Buckle

PiP said:


> Wow, those brown recluse spiders are really dangerous. I was told they are okay providing you don't provoke them. Sounds like that's not quite true! We also have scorpions here and since discovering a few buried just under the surface of our sandy soil, I wear gloves.


That made me think of Billy Connolly talking about Australian spiders, "They tell me they are okay if you don't annoy them. How the F*** do I know what annoys a spider?" It is a fair point


----------



## Foxee

My unemployed husband is buying a midlife crisis motorcycle today. 

It'll be GREAT.

^^ sarcasm alert ^^


----------



## Matchu

A bit jealous.  I bluffed a bit of bike speak with the brother-in-law the other week.  He's gone and bought the same bike as Ewan Mcgegor rode on his documentary.

'So, test-riding the Ducatti was okay, the Triumph 1100 a disappointment whilst the torque on this [forgotten the name] is tremendous, although if I drop the bike on myself I cannot move....three tonnes a significant weight upon a foot.'

'Oh, do you think so? I'd have gone for the Ducatti in that case, mmm...'

My other bike fellas ride the cow horn, black leather type of bikes.  While brother-in-law was saying pretty cool stuff like 'under 200mph this is the bike for me.' Background in sports bikes.

'Aha, what about at 27 miles per hour? Which motorbike?'

'Wha?'

'Nothing.'


----------



## Foxee

Matchu you are not wrong about bikespeak. He's trying to shop for this thing and kept trying to run all these terms past me and I was like, "Dude, you knew I wasn't cool when you married me. This hasn't improved."


----------



## indianroads

I've ridden motorcycles for most of my life... and had my first ride on a 48 Indian Chief when I was 2 weeks old. My father worked for United Airlines at the time, and was able to get a friction type seat belt with a long strap attached. My parents would wrap it around themselves with me in the middle, and go for rides. Apparently, I would fall asleep within a block or two after they started out.

My first bike (at 15 years old) was a BSA 650 Lightening - great bike. Later I had a Honda 750 4 cylinder - I rode that bike on my first cross country trip. I had a Goldwing 1000, then started riding Harleys. I switched back to Indian (technically speaking my first brand) in 2003, shortly after they were in production again. 

When I was single, I dated a few women that rode. IMO there's nothing sexier than a woman strong and courageous enough to ride. My wife used to ride a Harley Sportster, but gave it up a few years ago. I ride less now, partly due to age but mostly due to covid business restrictions, but I still love the freedom and the feel of the wind.


----------



## Olly Buckle

BSA Bantum, Honda PC 50, Velocette LE, times three, honda C70 times three, Honda 250 superdream times two and one 400, Honda 650 NTV, Suzuki GS series, a 500 , two times 650 and a 750. I think that was all, no wait, a 500 Honda two stroke that was very fast in a straight line, and a 650 panther and sidecar that pulled sideways. Lots of others I have borrowed or hired of course, but that must be most of what I owned. On the whole they were working bikes, I used to do 45 thousand miles a year around London on those little blue Honda 70's; one running, one spare, one in the workshop, 150 miles on a gallon of petrol, top speed around 45-50


----------



## Foxee

Very cool. Olly, I had no clue you were a biker guy!


----------



## Sinister

Yard work all day.  I'm building back up my compost pile with grass clippings.  It's about 7 feet tall right now.  I let the valley get a little too wild and now that it's mowed back down again, I can at least have some mulch for next year's garden.  Drained out the crawlspace and the leak is fixed.  Damn maple tree root split it.  I've got twin blowers trying to air the crawlspace out now.

I'm enjoying a Macanudo and working on some writing outside, right now.  The crickets are deafening, but it's a nice night, so far. 
6/10  Normal day.

-Sin


----------



## indianroads

Picked up daughter #1 + 2 grandkids at the airport, daughter #2 + 1 grandkid was waiting at home. 
I'm not used to crazy kid energy... so I hide in my office with the door closed when it gets to be too much.


----------



## Foxee

Here is the husband with his Midlife Crisis Machine.


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> View attachment 27507
> 
> Here is the husband with his Midlife Crisis Machine.


Not midlife crisis - discovering what's important in life.
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> Not midlife crisis - discovering what's important in life.
> If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.


Husband loves that one. You're brothers now. Congrats!


----------



## PiP

Finally arrived in Spain. Onto France tomorrow.


----------



## indianroads

Foxee said:


> Husband loves that one. You're brothers now. Congrats!


I'm honored


----------



## Sinister

This morning, until five in the AM.  I was under my patio typing on my story.  The heavens opened and in minutes a gentle pitter patter turned into a full-on downpour.  The patio has a tin roof, so the clatter was deafening.  The power went out in the house around 8 and for some reason Alexa reported hearing glass breaking to my cellphone a total of three times throughout the day.

Nero, my Labrador, kept going to the front door and growling and barking.  I have cameras up and there was nothing on the feed.  Now it's one in the morning.  The fog is so thick, even with exterior lights, I can't see the great magnolia in the front of my yard.  There are at least three dogs howling constantly about two or three miles away, but I can still hear them.

I'm almost five-thousand words into my WIP.  Since it is a short story, and because the plot is tying up nicely, I'll be able to end it soon.  Still no title for the damned thing.

6/10   Today was filled with weirdness.

-Sin


----------



## Foxee

Sinister said:


> 6/10   Today was filled with weirdness.
> 
> -Sin


So did it turn out as horror? Suspense? I'm really curious. Just the story of the weirdnesses is so intriguing. It sounds like a day in the life of one of Dean Koontz's characters.


----------



## VRanger

I'm with Foxee. All of that should go into a story. Definitely ghosts involved. ;-) We've got a door upstairs which closes by itself. I call it the Haunted Bedroom. A contractor friend tells me it's because the hinges aren't plumb and he can fix it in five minutes. It's far more colorful, though, to continue to have a Haunted Bedroom.


----------



## Sinister

My WIP is more about relationships and how sometimes, in a group, they can depend on just one person.  One person can secretly be responsible for a group of friends or family getting along or being able to tolerate each other.  If you remove that one person, the group will dissolve.  It takes a few really shocking turns, but no ghosts in it so far.

I'm not too gifted at the supernatural horror genre.  I wrote one once and it didn't really do what I wanted it to.  Admittedly, I should probably try again.

No, it's just like that where I live in spells.  Out in the middle of nowhere, the least little thing will set the dogs or you off, when you're by yourself.  I think?  I'm not too sure, really.  Sometimes I can't really tell if it's living alone out here for such a long time that has made this sort of thing get to me more.  But even the countryside, normalcy, and wholesomeness can have their off-days.

-Sin


----------



## PiP

we drove another 750 Kms today. Only another 670 to go. We hare exhausted and it will probably take use a week to recover.
So today, driving along a French motorway, I was bursting to use the loo...so seeing a sign with WC, and other  symbols including including two people on a seesaw, we pulled into what we thought was a service station, except it wasn't. There were no cars, only lorries. We thought it strange but as we were in France, we just shrugged and carried on to the toilet block. By this time, I am so desperate, I have everything crossed and was half out the car when mr P called me back there were men taking showers. I won't look, I  told hi... I really am desperate. On second thoughts... I got back in the car and we drove for another 30 mins till the nex service area.

I am still curious why the symbols included two people on a seesaw.


----------



## Matchu

1. A rest area without any shops.  Just the green space to stretch your legs plus a toilet block

2.  The free-wheeling free sex zone for the truck-love where lorry drivers unwind, they shower and make love among themselves away from prying eyes of car passengers.  The symbol recognised nationally, the two gents on the see-saw.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Reading a sense of style by Steven Pinker. I read something earlier to help me understand some craft concepts. I am currently tired from reading. However, the notes compiled from the Kindle I hope to put to practice, so it was not time wasted.


----------



## VRanger

PiP said:


> I am still curious why the symbols included two people on a seesaw.


It's a sign for a playground.


----------



## Darkkin

Rereading bad fiction, genre binging, and resurrecting my playlists from Doctor Who.  I have pieces I need to write, but I need information overload to trigger the tipping point.  I've finished twelve books this week...


----------



## PiP

vranger said:


> It's a sign for a playground.


That's what I originally thought.  Only lorries. No cars.no playground. Ponderous.


----------



## Sinister

0/10  Terrible day and it's not over yet.

-Sin


----------



## indianroads

Taught martial art self defense in the morning, then spent the afternoon with my daughter and her kids.




Then got through the edits of chapter 22 or Inception


----------



## JBF

vranger said:


> We've got a door upstairs which closes by itself.



Bill Murray?  Is that you?


----------



## VRanger

JBF said:


> Bill Murray?  Is that you?


My favorite Bill Murray movie ... The Man Who Knew Too Little. Most people I know never heard of it until I clue them in.


----------



## PiP

Yesterday we finally arrived at our daughters house near 
Lyon. Now eating breakfast and keeping grandkids amused playing basketball.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I had noticed that when I lay down and pulled the duvet over from behind I could feel it in the shoulder I dislocated, so yesterday when I lay down I did it half a dozen times for exercise. Terrible night's sleep and a stiff shoulder when I woke up, hot shower has loosened it up a bit. I will have to keep doing that, obviously a weak spot that needs strengthening.


----------



## Matchu

Deleted the post.  Too personal to no end


----------



## VRanger

Matchu said:


> - I got promoted.  That was very hard and took me almost two years, all things considered.


Congratulations!


----------



## Theglasshouse

I bought a book that advocates using graphic novels for writing description. It also says comics, youtube videos with the lines spoken (extracted from the video) can be good ways to help start description or may help an esl student (according to the book) or for someone to write that story. It's from Columbia Teacher's College which is the number 1 school in education in the United States. It's at a reduced price for those interested on Amazon (20 dollars off). Here is the name of the book (would recommend to kunox. But he would need a microphone). So the price is at ten dollars which is a bargain.

Basically if you read a lot of graphic novels of any sort you are able to describe without leaving the house which I cannot due to the pandemic.
Title and name of book:
The Power of Scriptwriting!--Teaching Essential Writing Skills through Podcasts, Graphic Novels, Movies, and More Annotated Edition, Kindle Edition​
I wrote a flash story in a day by rereading the first chapter of a graphic novel that is my favorite. Now I just need some reactions whether what I did worked. I won't suffer from writer's block for description.

I know where to find graphic novels. So that is a good deal.


----------



## Sinister

Foxee said:


> So did it turn out as horror? Suspense? I'm really curious. Just the story of the weirdnesses is so intriguing. It sounds like a day in the life of one of Dean Koontz's characters.





vranger said:


> I'm with Foxee. All of that should go into a story. Definitely ghosts involved. ;-) We've got a door upstairs which closes by itself. I call it the Haunted Bedroom. A contractor friend tells me it's because the hinges aren't plumb and he can fix it in five minutes. It's far more colorful, though, to continue to have a Haunted Bedroom.



You'd be satisfied with how this work has taken shape.  It has turned into quite the little horror story.  You never know how these things will develop.  It's better for all the changes it's gone through.  I honestly have you both to thank for that.  Well, that and a recent nightmare of mine.  I've been having a lot of vivid dreams lately.  But you two kind of planted it in my head and you've given me a much more natural progress for the story than I was trying to force on it.

Still playing merry-hell trying to find a title for it, though.

Despite being sick, I've made good time on this short story and I'm pretty happy about it.  Just wanted to share with you the influence you had on it.

-Sin


----------



## Mark Twain't

Well that was a disaster. Mrs T spent the day with clients so the perfect opportunity to get some uninterrupted writing done.

Not a word. Not a single effing word! I swear, the times when I'm most in the zone for writing is when I have to do the day job!


----------



## Sinister

This morning, my father took me to "the Cambodians".  For context, I am talking about one of the sweetest families in all of Kentucky who run the single best donut shop in the tri-state.  You have to race there as soon as their doors open, otherwise you'll be lucky to leave with a bag of second-hand donut holes.  They sell out immediately.  I got two cherry fritters and a jalapeno Kolache.  They asked about my cat and we talked for a short bit, despite the line.

Went home and shop-vacced up my carport(where I do most of my writing these days).  And I'm currently cooking tortellini and button mushrooms in a parmesan marinara.

8/10  Pretty good day.  More like these, if you don't mind.

-Sin


----------



## Mark Twain't

Mrs T has gone to spend a few days with her parents. The last time she went without me (xmas 2019), I ended up in hospital for 5 days with sepsis.

Now everyone's paranoid and she's asked the next door neighbour to put me on hospital watch!


----------



## Sinister

Got in a new bottle corker, the rest of the fruit press and some corks.  Waiting on some bottles.  The pears are getting riper.  I'm looking to lay up somewhere around six bottles of plum wine and at least ten bottles of sparkling perry.  I won't drink them all, but I do like giving them as gifts.  I still miss all the mead I had.  That was too good and I drank it too fast.  The whole batch only lasted two years.

I'm going with my father to Lee's Orchard.  He wants peaches and we don't really do those here.  I love peaches, but I don't care for them cooked into anything.  I don't even like preserves or peach-flavored things.  I just like a plain one, right off the tree.

7/10.

-Sin


----------



## indianroads

It was a good day, took the wife for a ride in the mountains - then a stop in Nederland (hippy town in the mountains above Boulder). We went through a bit of rain on the way back, but weather is what happens when you're outside.


----------



## Joker

200 words this morning. Hoping I can do 200 more tonight.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Gosh I am turning into a normal member of society. Not only did the missus and I become civil partners after 30 years of just living together, I actually paid the soliciter for my will today. Not that I have anything to leave, but the missus inherited and discovered that if we are legal partners and named in each other's wills the kids can claim inheritance tax relief from both of us. Well it's got to be better than giving it to the govt. so Matt can spend it down the pub on a lot of dodgy personal protection equipment.

Had a good week as far as the Youtube channel goes, two new videos up, that makes 44 different ones now. Length varies from just over two mins to just over three quarters of an hour, I must go through sometime and see how much time I have up all told, then again maybe I will always have something better to do 

Plus I just looked, passed 700 views, 702.


----------



## Thaumiel

Writing hard. Laptop out window go. Garden ornament.


----------



## indianroads

Thaumiel said:


> Writing hard. Laptop out window go. Garden ornament.


We've all been there.


----------



## Matchu

I got another reader and shut the blog down to shake her off.


----------



## Olly Buckle

/\ /\   I bought socks myself recently, 14 pairs cotton, black, identical. It makes pairing them up after the wash so much easier


----------



## Joker

For the record, I did not write more than 200.

Ugh.


----------



## Lawless

Matchu said:


> I got another reader and shut the blog down to shake her off.
> I might return but maybe that is it for me.  Always readers ruin everything.



Why would you want to shake a reader off?


----------



## indianroads

Olly Buckle said:


> /\ /\   I bought socks myself recently, 14 pairs cotton, black, identical. It makes pairing them up after the wash so much easier


My wife has this weird concept of Fun Socks ... she has socks in every color and pattern ever conceived - and some even have separate sleeves for her toes.
I don't get it.
White athletic socks for me - that's it. Beyond that, my wardrobe consists of jeans, t-shirts, and athletic shoes - and motorcycle boots at times.
I think life is much simpler for men than it is for women.


----------



## Sinister

Like Dumbledore said, the key to happiness in life is woolen socks.  Especially out here in winter.  That and a thick robe will actually restore you to sanity.



-Sin


----------



## PiP

Today the grandkids INSISTED we went to Burger King for lunch. Uninspired by the choice of restaurant I ordered a cheese burger, chips and coffee. Okay, I am a self-confesses food snob so a fast food joint is never going to feature on my bucket list ...and while I may be more rotunda than siilphlike, my body is a temple and I don't eat junk food.  Think laughing Buddha ...

Mr PiP and daughter entered the scrum's inner sanctum to place our order while I waited with the grandkids in the outside eating area.

My meal finally arrived in two paper packages. The burger in one and salt with chips in the other. I peeled back the burger bun to reveal ... the thinnest burger I have ever seen plastered in a disgusting mayonnaise and a vile ketchup which I can only discribe as pureed vomit. Yuck yuck yuck. The burger was so thin and rubbery it was like the sole of a shoe so I dread to think what type of food glue held it together. The slice of cheese reminded me of melted plastic and the onions defy description. 

As I suspected the combo tasted disgusting so after nibbling daintily around the edges for a few minutes I tried to extract the burger and remove the vomit and melted plastic cheese. No way. In the absence of cutlery. I tried to use the serviette which then bonded to the cheese and added an interesting texture as it dissolved into the sauce. At this point I decided to quit while ahead and next time I would choose the restaurant.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Found put a colleague had changed a setting (heaven knows why) that has wiped out 2 years of data and the person who can fix it is on holiday this week.


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> Today the grandkids INSISTED we went to Burger King for lunch. Uninspired by the choice of restaurant I ordered a cheese burger, chips and coffee. Okay, I am a self-confesses food snob so a fast food joint is never going to feature on my bucket list ...and while I may be more rotunda than siilphlike, my body is a temple and I don't eat junk food.  Think laughing Buddha ...
> 
> Mr PiP and daughter entered the scrum's inner sanctum to place our order while I waited with the grandkids in the outside eating area.
> 
> My meal finally arrived in two paper packages. The burger in one and salt with chips in the other. I peeled back the burger bun to reveal ... the thinnest burger I have ever seen plastered in a disgusting mayonnaise and a vile ketchup which I can only discribe as pureed vomit. Yuck yuck yuck. The burger was so thin and rubbery it was like the sole of a shoe so I dread to think what type of food glue held it together. The slice of cheese reminded me of melted plastic and the onions defy description.
> 
> As I suspected the combo tasted disgusting so after nibbling daintily around the edges for a few minutes I tried to extract the burger and remove the vomit and melted plastic cheese. No way. In the absence of cutlery. I tried to use the serviette which then bonded to the cheese and added an interesting texture as it dissolved into the sauce. At this point I decided to quit while ahead and next time I would choose the restaurant.


Due to my prior life circumstances, I can't handle any spicy or greasy food - and am very cautious when going to a restaurant or when I encounter strange food at someone's home. At familiar restaurants I have one, maybe two items on the menu I know I can eat without consequence. When going to someone's home, I try to warn them, and even then usually eat something before leaving home; if they've made something suspicious I politely bow out, My wife will try eating anything, and I think being around me is somewhat frustrating for her.


----------



## PiP

indianroads said:


> Due to my prior life circumstances, I can't handle any spicy or greasy food - and am very cautious when going to a restaurant or when I encounter strange food at someone's home. At familiar restaurants I have one, maybe two items on the menu I know I can eat without consequence. When going to someone's home, I try to warn them, and even then usually eat something before leaving home; if they've made something suspicious I politely bow out, My wife will try eating anything, and I think being around me is somewh


I feel for you. We have several friends with dietary restrictions ... so I am always mindful of what I cook and how to accommodate their needs so everyone feels comfortable.


----------



## Mark Twain't

It's going well so far. An email from work to say that everyone is getting an extra £150 in this month's pay!


----------



## Mark Twain't

Mark Twain't said:


> It's going well so far. An email from work to say that everyone is getting an extra £150 in this month's pay!


Unfortunately, I spent the rest of the day paying for it in stress!


----------



## Sinister

So, my laptop has been hacked.  If I open it, then my internet goes dark.  My personal information has already been harvested and my accounts duly frozen.  Thankfully, this is my laptop with all of my stories saved on it and I'm going to have to nuke it.  Don't pay attention to my sarcasm, tho, all that stuff is completely recoverable.  And the machine is relatively new so it doesn't have anything too valuable.  Just some stories and a bunch of old Italian horror and giallo films.

T-storms coming in soon.  I'm looking to bottle more wine today and find someplace to workshop my story on the forums, if I have the spare time.  Definitely going to try and get my blog entry done.  We'll see, though.

But right now, with storms headed here, it's time to relax with some buttered-toast smothered in cherry preserves and a giant mug of hot coffee.

This is prolly going to be a 5/10 type day.

-Sin


----------



## midnightpoet

Finally had my cataract surgery on my left eye, but after 4 days my lens is still cloudy, so I'm not happy; however, was it worse that having an infected tooth pulled (OUCH!), having two months of off and on sinus headaches, getting depressed again (side affect on my new high blood pressure pill), or having a hail storm crack my windshield (cost $300, copay $900)?  A bummer summer.  Plus I'm pretty sure I'm working on early-onset dementia.  My short term memory sucks.  So if anyone asks me how I'm doing, I just say "you really don't want to know."  I'd go dig a hole and cover myself with dirt but my back hurts, my shoulder is sore ,and I've got a bad knee.


----------



## Olly Buckle

midnightpoet said:


> Finally had my cataract surgery on my left eye, but after 4 days my lens is still cloudy, so I'm not happy; however, was it worse that having an infected tooth pulled (OUCH!), having two months of off and on sinus headaches, getting depressed again (side affect on my new high blood pressure pill), or having a hail storm crack my windshield (cost $300, copay $900)?  A bummer summer.  Plus I'm pretty sure I'm working on early-onset dementia.  My short term memory sucks.  So if anyone asks me how I'm doing, I just say "you really don't want to know."  I'd go dig a hole and cover myself with dirt but my back hurts, my shoulder is sore ,and I've got a bad knee.


Just you wait until you get old  The cataract thing seems wrong though,  for mine they took out the cloudy lens and replaced with a plastic one, no way I can see there should be cloudiness left, I should get that checked out. They matched the lens to my eye as well so although I am still a little astigmatic I am not short sighted anymore.

Recorded and added 'The old man by the road' to my channel.


----------



## midnightpoet

Thanks, Olly.  Fully intend to make sure my left eye is clear before they operate on the right one.  Used to trust doctors  until one put off sending me to a urologist; had to quit him and go to another and that's when I found out I had advanced prostate cancer.  Vickie is even more cynical than I am, having spent most of her working life with doctors and hospitals.  

Tony


----------



## Sinister

All the plum wine is vinegar now.  I don't know how, I guess I let it set too long while waiting for the bottles, but it got infected.  The whole batch is ruined.  I now have 3 gallons of plum vinegar.

Feeling pretty low.  Bad headache.

4/10

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

Found this an unorthodox writing guide which works with the subconscious thoughts a writer gets to write a story. It was written for highschool. I ordered it 3 days ago. My mom gave it to me as a present. It's written by a person in the screenwriting business. All exercises are questions or list making brainstorming lists you provide the answer to, so you can use your imagination.



> A Pirates Guide t th Grammar of Story: A Creative Writing Curriculum, Yogger LeFossa


I am interested in writing more stories or rewriting old ones because the style didn't hold up. After 2 more days pass by I will finally sign up to kindle unlimited, so I can create a reading habit to help with my hobby of writing short stories.


----------



## indianroads

My cat (Pilot) is having a rough day.


----------



## PiP

We are on vacation at the moment with our family in France. This afternoon I tried to take the opportunity to take some ME time and write. Grandkids in pool, parents resting. Great. Nope, not a chance. Their Blue Merle puppy, Sammy, has adopted me and every time I take a quiet moment he seeks me out to play fetch and will not leave me alone until I oblige. When I try to ignore him he nudges my legs with his nose and then stares at me with his big brown eyes... pleading.

Drops ball at my feet then when I try to pick it up he teases me and starts chewing on it. No way am I going to put my fingers in his mouth to take the ball. We then have a Franglais conversation and as he won't drop it I return to writing. ... and so it goes on.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think a dog's personality is the important thing you can invest in. I dislike buying a dog IMO because of how it looks. It better be a quiet dog, or one that eats its food or so if god decides to help me. This is a warning on what to look for in a dog and is potential advice for future dog owners. My dog has some very bad habits. I hope no one is in the same situation we are in, and I mean it in a good-natured way while pointing fun at myself. Some might find this to be a real situation where humor is called for as I felt.


----------



## Mark Twain't

We took mum for a very enjoyable lunch at Bella Italia. It was nice to have a tasty spaghetti carbonara after I buggered up the one I attempted the other day. For some bizarre reason, I poured the eggs into the pan before the pasta so ended up with scrambled eggs!


----------



## Sinister

Mark Twain't said:


> We took mum for a very enjoyable lunch at Bella Italia. It was nice to have a tasty spaghetti carbonara after I buggered up the one I attempted the other day. For some bizarre reason, I poured the eggs into the pan before the pasta so ended up with scrambled eggs!


I actually have an unreasonably hard time with carbonara.  It's such a simple recipe, really.  To be fair, I've only tried it twice.  But it certainly seems easier than it is.

-Sin


----------



## Mark Twain't

Sinister said:


> I actually have an unreasonably hard time with carbonara.  It's such a simple recipe, really.  To be fair, I've only tried it twice.  But it certainly seems easier than it is.
> 
> -Sin


Yes, you couldn't get a much simpler recipe but it's amazing how easy it is to get it wrong!


----------



## VRanger

I just hit +1001 reactions over post count (although with this post it will temporarily be +1000 again).

Does that mean I now have to write a story about a genie? I could totally write a story about a genie.


----------



## Foxee

vranger said:


> I just hit +1001 reactions over post count (although with this post it will temporarily be +1000 again).
> 
> Does that mean I now have to write a story about a genie? I could totally write a story about a genie.


Absolutely yes. I mean, you could put a genie into the story you're writing with Pip. Y'know...that story.


----------



## VRanger

Foxee said:


> Absolutely yes. I mean, you could put a genie into the story you're writing with Pip. Y'know...that story.


You saw our discussion in the Writing Success thread? We're expanding into a RomCom novel. That probably means we WON'T make the word limit. :-(

I wrote the first chapter (so far), and PiP is working on hers. The spring WF collab will coming in around chapter four in the novel, and what we were going to submit for Summertime around chapter seven.


----------



## Sinister

Got a new fridge.  Installing it is a process and I feel wiped out.  I mean, for some reason I feel anemic.

Also, a SSD drive that I did not order arrived in the mail.  Apparently this is related to my information being hacked and is a tactic known as Brushing?  Idk, I'm turning it over to the police.  If it were any other item, I would just throw it away or keep it as a consolation prize.  But in this day and age, an unbidden mysterious memory drive is not staying in my house and certainly not going anywhere near my computers.  I mean, it's nearly a 60 dollar piece of tech.  I do not like.


5/10

-Sin


----------



## Foxee

vranger said:


> You saw our discussion in the Writing Success thread? We're expanding into a RomCom novel. That probably means we WON'T make the word limit. :-(
> 
> I wrote the first chapter (so far), and PiP is working on hers. The spring WF collab will coming in around chapter four in the novel, and what we were going to submit for Summertime around chapter seven.


Sorry, been away for a week so this is news but I like it!


----------



## PiP

I am stressed beyond stressed with the COVID restrictions to get into the uk. I am doubled jabbed and have my European COVID travel passport  QR code. We take a PCR test the day we leave France €25 each. Fair enough. We travel on a ferry and enter a new country. But what I object to is we have to pay for another COVID test ....£140 day 2 after our arrival. We have to order this test kit on line, do the test at home, and then return it by post to the lab. BUT you can only send test via dedicated drop boxes.

Everywhere we go in France people wear masks. If we go into a restaurant we have to show our COVID passport . In the UK masks aren't mandatory and there is no social distancing and no requirement to show passes before entering a bar or restaurant. We are at a far greater risk from them than they from us.

Everyone on the ferry will be tested so why more tests when we arrive in the uk? I feel like we are being mugged for money. If we weren't vaccinated I would understand but this is crazy.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Blocked drain, it happened about a year ago and I dug out all this solid white grease from around the bend, a horrid job. This year I had a brainwave and got out the steam wall paper stripper, took off the fitting you hold on the wall, and shoved the pipe down the drain and into the pipe opening. Fifteen minutes later, eureka, clean and free flowing without horrid grease up to my elbow. What puzzles me slightly is where it all comes from in a vegetarian household.


----------



## Sinister

I got called a "Doomer" today.  I have nothing to say about that other than: "I feel attacked."  It's not my fault that humanity is so stupid we're eventually going to kill ourselves.  That's called being a realist, in my circles.

It's far too hot and muggy to be mowing.  So, I'm mowing.  I'm typing this out, covered in grass clippings.  Thankfully, there's always sunscreen and hats.  I still have to mow around the Ertan Deep and the back pasture.  I need about two quarts more of water, on the inside and outside.  Might put my bathing suit on and hose down.  Ahh, summer.  Please go away!

6/10


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> It's far too hot and muggy to be mowing.  So, I'm mowing.  I'm typing this out, covered in grass clippings.  Thankfully, there's always sunscreen and hats.  I still have to mow the Ertan Deep and the back pasture.  I need about two quarts more of water, on the inside and outside.  Might put my bathing suit on and hose down.  Ahh, summer.  Please go away!


Just got through doing that myself on about two acres less structures. Luckily, I got to use my good friend's zero-turn for most of it. I connected him with my neighbor to cut her three acre field, and he left the mower here yesterday afternoon for me to use today. It started raining just about the time he was done, so he pulled it into my tractor shed. I used my regular lawn tractor to do the fenced in part of the yard though, as I was hesitant to try fitting his through the gate, even though it's a double gate. I might have to trade up for a zero turn. There are a lot of trees and strangely shaped portions of this property, and the job goes MUCH more easily with his mower than mine.


----------



## Sinister

vranger said:


> Just got through doing that myself on about two acres less structures. Luckily, I got to use my good friend's zero-turn for most of it. I connected him with my neighbor to cut her three acre field, and he left the mower here yesterday afternoon for me to use today. It started raining just about the time he was done, so he pulled it into my tractor shed. I used my regular lawn tractor to do the fenced in part of the yard though, as I was hesitant to try fitting his through the gate, even though it's a double gate. I might have to trade up for a zero turn. There are a lot of trees and strangely shaped portions of this property, and the job goes MUCH more easily with his mower than mine.


If I didn't have a zero-turn...  Idk, I couldn't keep any of this mowed.  I barely can anyway.  I get away mowing it whenever I can.  If I tried to do it with the old John Deer that I had, it'd take a solid three days to do.  Bought one about two years ago, I think?  I definitely recommend them.  I only wish I had gotten one with headlights.  Some summer days are too hot to mow and evenings are much easier.  There are kits you can buy to add one to my model, but I can't be arsed.

-Sin


----------



## PiP

I looked at my daughter's garden and decided there were just too many weeds to tackle. I told her it was a beautiful  wild garden... natural. My garden is manicured to within an inch of its life...maybe I should also let the weeds flourish .


----------



## PiP

Today we went to the pharmacy to buy some COVID home testing kits for when we return to Portugal. As we will have travelled across three countries, before socialising with friends, we will take a simple lateral flow test to make sure we are okay.
In the Uk before you can buy even a throat lozenger you are interrogated by the sales assistant as to why you are taking the medicine, what other medication you are on, and have you taken it before along with your hat size and inside leg measurement etc etc.

'Please can I have some COVID testing kits?' Hubby asked politely
'What is it for?' asked the assistant
I turned away, sniggered and resisted the temptation to make a snarky comment . Having completing a full PCR test twice in 4 days, I was not in good humour. Plus, an unmasked woman was breathing down my neck and I was about to have a COVID anxiety meltdown.
Hubby was floored...
'Erm.... too test if we have COVID...', he replied hopefully.
She raised an eyebrow and her mask shifted in unison.
'Not that we have it...erm... just in case...' he hastily added
She then filled in a form and gave him the pack for free...


----------



## Sinister

Just received my Kayak, lifejacket and paddle.  While I do have a small lake on the opposite side of the road access for my house and an abandoned cow pond behind my house near the Ertan Deep.  I'm not putting my Kayak in either of these.  I'm planning a weekend trip to a nearby lake.  Kentucky has so many lakes and rivers, so I have pretty good options.  Some nice music, maybe a fast-food burger and a few helpful gummies...  I just want a nice relaxing outing.  In this day and age, that's not so bad a thing, right?

My father also has a Kayak.  And my mother also.  Even though they live separately now, they're both Respiratory Therapists.  I figure I can go on some trips to streams and lakes with them.  It would be a nice break from their hectic routines.  This Delta Variant has become a real burden to health workers and more so, because, according to them they've been dealing with unvaccinated people and the stories they have to tell are becoming very grim.  I just want them to have some time to relax and someone to share it with them, so they can tell all their stories and get it off their chests.

7/10

Here's to messing around in boats.  Cheers,

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

PiP said:


> Today we went to the pharmacy to buy some COVID home testing kits for when we return to Portugal. As we will have travelled across three countries, before socialising with friends, we will take a simple lateral flow test to make sure we are okay.
> In the Uk before you can buy even a throat lozenger you are interrogated by the sales assistant as to why you are taking the medicine, what other medication you are on, and have you taken it before along with your hat size and inside leg measurement etc etc.
> 
> 'Please can I have some COVID testing kits?' Hubby asked politely
> 'What is it for?' asked the assistant
> I turned away, sniggered and resisted the temptation to make a snarky comment . Having completing a full PCR test twice in 4 days, I was not in good humour. Plus, an unmasked woman was breathing down my neck and I was about to have a COVID anxiety meltdown.
> Hubby was floored...
> 'Erm.... too test if we have COVID...', he replied hopefully.
> She raised an eyebrow and her mask shifted in unison.
> 'Not that we have it...erm... just in case...' he hastily added
> She then filled in a form and gave him the pack for free...


This kind of storytelling is why I'm stoked about our collaboration.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Someone the missus works with went to Denmark to see her son. The test she had to have to travel back was free from the Danish govt. The test she had to take when she came out of isolation after coming back cost her £40. If they were serious about looking out for the population there would be free tests and support for people isolating, but I am afraid it is only about money, and I don't mean the economy, I mean their money.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Waiting on the books to arrive through the mail. They weigh a lot, and that is why It's going to cost me a bit. I have been quiet as of late on the forums. I have stumped on how to continue a story. Normally I would write it out. I however want it to be as special as can be. But to do that I don't want to delete part of the plot I have written. I am going to read these books. I am a bit of a disadvantage because of dyslexia diminishing my attention span. I do plan to get a book scanner in the future. That way I can take notes as I read. One of the books has 1700 pages. I am most looking forward to continuing the story though. I ordered the last of the grammar books I will hopefully need. One of these has over 30-50 pages on how to write cohesively. Even though I think the lack of research is what is making my writing seem disjointed. There's plenty to find to support the topic sentences of a paragraph if you research.

I don't expect to master any of the book's contents right away. This is perrine sound and structure.

They say don't murder your "darlings" and this seems like an event that I want to include in my short story. However, it's something of a work in progress and I hope I can get inspired some way to continue it.  However, one of the books I ordered forces me to use my imagination, so I am waiting patiently. By Monday, they should all be here.

I decided to cut eating all salad dressing (I prefer using Parmesan cheese and vinegar). Meal times can be all the salad you can eat here.  Sometimes my mother will give me a candy bar, although it is becoming rarer nowadays.

Trying to get to bed as early as possible.

I definitely think I need audiobooks to entertain myself. I tried 24 symbols, and sometimes it formats the books I want to read badly. I wanted to read this Hugo award-winning novel and then the margins and spacing are ruined. It's unreadable to me.

So yes I really want to trigger the imagination. The book I ordered has some writing prompts.

So to feed my imagination I need to read by using 24symbols as a reading service. I will look for another Hugo award winner or nebula, but it's been frustrating. The format ruins everything on my Kindle tablet making it difficult to read.


----------



## PiP

Olly Buckle said:


> Someone the missus works with went to Denmark to see her son. The test she had to have to travel back was free from the Danish govt. The test she had to take when she came out of isolation after coming back cost her £40. If they were serious about looking out for the population there would be free tests and support for people isolating, but I am afraid it is only about money, and I don't mean the economy, I mean their money.


Olly, we have  already shelled out over €700 euros in tests since June. The pharmaceutical industry and labs are raking it in. And what grieves me the most is that the free lateral flow tests supplied by UK government were made in China.  So not only did  China create this deadly virus and release  it they are making financial gains from the pandemic.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I hope everyone who was eligible for a vaccine took one (to get the maximum protection). The delta variant and the one from Columbia (mutation) are once again going to test how open the borders will be. So maybe you are making the right choice Pip. Seeing your family is always a good cause and time will become even more important. I took my vaccine, and I am waiting until the 25th for the next dose. I'd read the news about the Columbian one and how it will impact the borders.

I think I now know where the plot is heading after I used some brainstorming questions. I recommend the book called how to overcome blockage. It made me rethink the plot by asking why not? Why should my character not receive the present (why not)? So I have thought of it. To begin in the media res the book suggests to erase what you have and put it in the beginning if it starts in the middle of the action.


----------



## Sinister

I took it at the earliest opportunity.  Unfortunately, the counter-culture in Kentucky, well...  Most simple folk from around here are very mistrusting of government-mandated/promoted things.  There has been a lot of suffering and _suffering_.  There is no way to reach them(many have tried) and it's not my right to tell them how to make choices in their lives.  Many get into the hospital and after a few days of fighting to get their O2 sats above 80, on constant oxygen and lying prone trying to catch a breath, they ask if they can have the vaccine now.  Most medicos don't have the heart to tell them that they probably will not get a chance.

I will always be sorry it has turned out this way.

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

I rewrote my story yet again before the day's close. Hopefully when I reach 2000 words I will stop. That way I can send the manuscript to multiple markets. I now have been inspired by an article on research I read a long time ago. 1000 words isn't bad for today. I think I know the ending at the very least.


----------



## VRanger

I finally did something I've wanted to do for months, but had things in the way, plus no immediate need (until my next book gets to the proofing stage).

My proofreading app works great except for just one ... little ... thing. The function I found to split the entire document into discrete sentences had an odd and not very helpful behavior. Occasional segments of text got stuck into the middle of the wrong place. This wasn't an insoluble problem for me after I reconstructed the document after my proofread, but it's not something I'd want to ask someone else to cope with.

Researching alternate methods, I came across the information that a later version of SQL Server has its own function to split text. However, I don't have that version of SQL Server on my AWS server, but I do locally. So tonight I FINALLY backed up my ProofAid database, downloaded it to my computer, and restored it to the local SQL Server. I modified my procedure to use the new built-in function, and viola ... no misplaced sentences.  I tested it against the Sentence Table for "Tiny Magic, Big Heart", which had two sentences from the end of chapter two stuck onto the end of chapter one. Using the new function, they were in the correct order. 

So if I ever want to put this into production for other users, I just have to configure an AWS virtual machine with a more recent SQL Server. As a bonus, the new function is considerably faster than the old handwritten method.


----------



## PiP

I've  spent my last day in the UK packing the car after over four weeks of travelling and bed hopping through Spain, France and finally  UK. It's amazing just how much crap we have acquired, from a must have rustic stool bought in France to our Christmas goodies such as M&S cake and pudding and a host of other sundries including product which turns our hydrangeas from pink to blue . Our return trip will include a trip via a supermarket to purchase o10 bottles of Laurias gin... in Spain.... for friends of course!


----------



## Thaumiel

Thaumiel said:


> Writing hard. Laptop out window go. Garden ornament.


Well, I finished what I was working on. I wonder what it is about _having_ to write something that makes me not want to do it. 

Apart from maybe it being 30 pages of technical detail that only three other people are ever going to read.


----------



## midnightpoet

Just finished my cataract surgery can't see worth a flip until I get my new glasses (about two weeks).  Meanwhile have to use BIG fonts. Have serious astigmatism.  Have bad attitude.


----------



## Guy Faukes

Tried to get back onto the forum after a couple years off to find that my passwords and email didn't register. Thankful for the rapid mods we have here on the forum.

A couple hours before, I found a small watermelon growing in the garden. It's a bit late, probably won't reach an edible size but it's about the size of a tennis ball right now and is adorable.


----------



## Gumby

Will be moving over the next two months. It is a bittersweet thing for us, as we've been without our "own home" for ten years, now. I am looking forward to getting settled in under my own roof. The good thing is a lot of our stuff is already boxed up, but I know we are going to be doing a big clean-out to downsize and get rid of useless things. 
Life can sure throw a curveball at you. I can fully appreciate that old saying " If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."


----------



## Olly Buckle

Gumby said:


> Will be moving over the next two months. It is a bittersweet thing for us, as we've been without our "own home" for ten years, now. I am looking forward to getting settled in under my own roof. The good thing is a lot of our stuff is already boxed up, but I know we are going to be doing a big clean-out to downsize and get rid of useless things.
> Life can sure throw a curveball at you. I can fully appreciate that old saying " If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."


Tip for downsizing. Put the essentials, like birth certificate, passport, driving licence, to one side; then go through everything else. If you have used it in the last six months keep it, if not lose it. You can extend the time period slightly for seasonal things, like Xmas decorations and winter clothing, but throw away everything that "Might be useful", keep only that which is used.  
We once downsized from a three bedroom house to a thirty foot coach on that principle.


----------



## Gumby

Good tip, Olly. Thanks! That was a huge downsize you made. I see the attraction, though. We truly have so much that we don't need.


----------



## Olly Buckle

The thing you must never do is rent storage to put the stuff in 'For the moment'. I know people who did that years ago and it's still there, people have become millionaires running storage facilities.


----------



## Theglasshouse

So,I am planning on buying these two books. One teaches observation ( observation journal). and to describe using the 5 senses and talks about the subject of sensory detail. The other one teaches how to compose a narrative text like a composition student probably would. I assume if I buy these I will take less time writing descriptions and narration which almost left me burned out for all the missing transitions in my latest story in the workshop. The second book explains how to create a sentence that creates a sense of movement.

Writing Strategies for the Common Core: Integrating Reading Comprehension Into the Writing Process, Grades 6-8 (Maupin House)

Creating Texts: An Introduction to the Study of Composition (English Language)

The faster I write a short story the more productive I think I wil be. I am waiting when it turns into the 25th of the current month. Then I will be able to buy these two books. So I don't have to wait these will be kindle.

I took all of today using my time to search books to solve this old problem concerning my style. After buying some college readers I think a book that dedicated itself to narration is better. An observation journal seems to be just what I need.


----------



## PiP

After five weeks away the critters have made themselves at home in my house and garden. I was in the veg patch earlier picking a lettuce for supper when I noticed a blunt nose type viper slithering straight towards me. I am terrified of snakes. Much to my surprise I managed to remain completely still and never uttered a sound as he disappeared under the lavender bush we had pruned this morning.


----------



## Gumby

Oh my! Good for you! Snakes scare me, too.


----------



## PiP

Gumby said:


> Oh my! Good for you! Snakes scare me, too.


I usually run when I see a snake but that's no longer an option  I think he was as surprised to see me as I him ... I'm am just relieved he was not hiding in the compost bin and he was trapped.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Vipers can be poisonous (lethal if bitten). Be careful. If I am not mistaken it might be Europe's most poisonous snake.


----------



## Turnbull

_sigh_  I had a weary day.  I was avoiding coffee to keep from having heartburn, but the acid is still coming on up.  I'm pretty sure my surgery failed.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I have seen people with a positive attitude towards whatever happens to them. I once went to a psychiatrist that had cancer patients. Never give up on life.


----------



## Lawless

Turnbull said:


> avoiding coffee to keep from having heartburn, [---].  I'm pretty sure my surgery failed.


Wanna give qigong a try? I haven't had surgeries. but the exercises from a book by Lam Kam Chuen skyrocketed my immunity after a couple of months of regular practice.


----------



## PiP

Turnbull said:


> _sigh_  I had a weary day.  I was avoiding coffee to keep from having heartburn, but the acid is still coming on up.  I'm pretty sure my surgery failed.


I feel for you. I suffer from heartburn. I have compile a list of foods and/or food combinations I must avoid or suffer the consequences.  I tried some kombucha when I was in the UK and it helped. https://www.tuasaude.com/en/benefits-of-kombucha/


----------



## Foxee

My day so far:
4:05 am Text notification sound from my phone, ignored and went back to sleep.
4:06 am Text notification #2. My adult daughter is sick and needs to ask if I can help with the grandbaby. I'll deal with it when I get up....later.
5:55 am Alarm clock goes off for me to wake up the 15 year old who keeps resisting using an alarm clock. Turned his light on, banged on his wall, and texted my husband (who was downstairs) to please deal with the teenager this morning so I could go back to sleep. No answer from husband, went downstairs to tell him in person and he was fine with it. Went thankfully back to bed for a little while longer.
6:29 am Text notification #3. Figured it was a followup from my daughter still asking for help. I'll get to it. Went back to sleep.
6:45 am alarm went off that I forgot to shut off...the last-ditch one in case my teenager slept through everything and has to be rushed out the door. Turned it off and went back to sleep.
6:52 am Phone rings - it's the baby's Primary Grandma who has no problem at all with waking me up and wants to tell me that my daughter needs help today because she is sick. Primary Grandma's busy dropping the baby off at my daughter's apartment (she keeps the baby most nights) so my daughter already only has the baby today from 7-2. I told her I would contact my daughter and figure it out once I was cognizant. No real apology for waking me. Go figure.
7:00 am gave up trying to sleep and stuck clothes on, slammed a cup of coffee and looked at the day.
Analysis: Impossible day.
Recommendation: Go back to bed.
Disappointment: can't carry out that plan.

I sorted out a plan which included getting my homeschooling youngest daughter's lessons all lined up for her, printed worksheets, etc. so that  didn't have to take her to my oldest daughter's house where the germs are. Figured I could play with the baby for a few hours so my oldest could shower and nap.

Paying the mortgage, ironing my husband's pants for an interview today (I despise ironing), calling for a doc's appointment, figuring out supper, rewriting the garbled grocery list for my husband, and grabbing a piece of toast all seemed very doable before I had to leave.

Proceeded to get an hour later than I told my daughter I'd be there because I often underestimate how much time things are going to take me to do.

As I was finally getting to where I could get out the door to go over to the daughter's, she texted me. Her friend can watch the baby after all. No need to come over.

When plans change like that and I'm working through a mental list this is like a GPS recalibrating: Big awkward pause, rude sound, and then new instructions in a faintly accusatory tone.

It's 1:00 pm and life looks a little more possible (especially since I had three cups of coffee). I should be able to get things done and get turned around for a meeting I want to go to tonight.

Already looking forward to bed. Might need to banish my phone from the bedroom, though.


----------



## VRanger

Foxee said:


> Already looking forward to bed. Might need to banish my phone from the bedroom, though.


A major advantage of being a member on a site like this is: Writers. Not only Foxee, but many of us, can take a bad day story and spin it into anything ... sympathy, lesson, comedy, drama. Our choice, and we can do it effectively. Thanks for the journaling, Foxee.


----------



## midnightpoet

After my doggie alarm woke me up about 6:30, I decided to put drops in my eyes.  I'm supposed to put two per day in my left eye for swelling and my right one for some reason I haven't figured out yet my eye dr was too busy to tell me and I keep forgetting to ask.  At least my cataract surgery is finished and I can lift more than ten pounds at a time again.  New glasses in about a week or so, but my wife is pissed at the optometrist because she asked for hard contacts and he sent her soft, which she can't wear but she refuses to see him because she's pissed.  Meanwhile I doscovered that I ordered the wrong size adult diapers for my wife and she's pissed at me.  and so it goes.   I bet everyone here just can't wait to get old.  Right?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Apologise for waking you at 6.52  ?  The sun has been up nearly 30 mins by then!  

Edit, I might stop up for it, long time since I did and saw a sunrise.


----------



## midnightpoet

Olly, one of our dogs woke me up then, he usually gets hungry by that time.  I'm used to getting up early for work, retirement hasn't changed much along those lines,  When it gets cooler (usually about mid-October here), I like to watch the sunrise on my back porch with a cup of coffee.  Every now and this this gives me a story idea.
Have a good day over there.


----------



## Taylor

Well...I got up and went to yoga and realized that at my age I am less flexible than all of the people in the class...but I managed to keep up.   Then, I went home and completed my first novel.  It's been a good day.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Taylor said:


> Well...I got up and went to yoga and realized that at my age I am less flexible than all of the people in the class...but I managed to keep up.   Then, I went home and completed my first novel.  It's been a good day.


There was a tv program over here about elderly drivers. There was one woman who was careful, accurate and observant; a good driver. She did her yoga routine every morning, started a bit over twenty years ago when she was in her eighties !! It seemed she was supple in body and mind, perhaps you can show those youngsters a thing in thirty or forty years


----------



## Lawless

A close friend of my late mother, a life-long dear friend of our family, the mother of my best childhood friend passed away recently. She was buried today.

I'm a big boy and I know that people die. Still, it's sad.

May her soul rest in peace.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Theglasshouse said:


> So,I am planning on buying these two books. One teaches observation ( observation journal). and to describe using the 5 senses and talks about the subject of sensory detail. The other one teaches how to compose a narrative text like a composition student probably would. I assume if I buy these I will take less time writing descriptions and narration which almost left me burned out for all the missing transitions in my latest story in the workshop. The second book explains how to create a sentence that creates a sense of movement.
> 
> Writing Strategies for the Common Core: Integrating Reading Comprehension Into the Writing Process, Grades 6-8 (Maupin House)
> 
> Creating Texts: An Introduction to the Study of Composition (English Language)
> 
> The faster I write a short story the more productive I think I wil be. I am waiting when it turns into the 25th of the current month. Then I will be able to buy these two books. So I don't have to wait these will be kindle.
> 
> I took all of today using my time to search books to solve this old problem concerning my style. After buying some college readers I think a book that dedicated itself to narration is better. An observation journal seems to be just what I need.



I am currently thinking these two books are more fiction-focused and can help me write a story with fewer mistakes in style or pargraphing.  My aim is to narrate with movement and to make sure I keep one topic per paragraph. These books have good reviews, so I am looking forward to reading them.​
Fun-Size Academic Writing for Serious Learning: 101 Lessons & Mentor Texts--Narrative, Opinion/Argument, & Informative/Explanatory, Grades 4-9 (Corwin Literacy)​by Gretchen S. Bernabei, Judith A. Reimer





The Little Red Writing Book​by Mark Tredinnick
 
I think the other books I considered in this thread get too technical in linguistics and are not aimed towards me as its potential audience.


----------



## Turnbull

Lawless said:


> Wanna give qigong a try? I haven't had surgeries. but the exercises from a book by Lam Kam Chuen skyrocketed my immunity after a couple of months of regular practice.


Thanks, but I don't think I can move that much at the moment.  My tummy wouldn't allow it.


----------



## Mr.Mingo

Not bad, honestly, but could be better.

Worked in the dirtiest of the labs I go to for work and worked on an especially difficult power and vacuum issue on a microscope. Literally dead cockroaches on the floor. I hate going there and I've been stuck there for weeks. Tested a gajillion relays, coils, wires, power supplies, and other boards. Found nothing or got led on false trails. Then, suddenly, the system started working.

As a technician, I hate that. That means something I moved broke its little grounding effect that screwed with the power. That means I have no idea what actually fixed the issue. But, it is moving forward. Took me a week to get the microscope on, and another week to get vacuum going. Now I can hopefully get high tension ramped up and see a beam tomorrow. And then GTFO. 

Yeah...we'll see. This system's been ass from the get-go. I bet more is to come.


----------



## Olly Buckle

@ Mr. Mingo; you should tell them you found the problem, it was a bit of dead cockroach, and suggest it could be cheaper to clean up than have you back.


----------



## CarolPNW

It’s nice to read I’m not the only one with a doggie alarm clock. For some reason 4:20am was when Sierra decided to shake the bed, get on the bed, get off the bed and moan and groan.. she finally got her wish at 4:40am haha 

Hard to deny this face but it’s much easier when your half asleep


----------



## PiP

CarolPNW said:


> It’s nice to read I’m not the only one with a doggie alarm clock. For some reason 4:20am was when Sierra decided to shake the bed, get on the bed, get off the bed and moan and groan.. she finally got her wish at 4:40am haha
> 
> Hard to deny this face but it’s much easier when your half asleep


Aw, what a cutie!

My alarm clock (s) are mosquitoes. they work in shifts all through the night.


----------



## CarolPNW

PiP said:


> Aw, what a cutie!
> 
> My alarm clock (s) are mosquitoes. they work in shifts all through the night.


Ohhh not fun


----------



## Mr.Mingo

Olly Buckle said:


> @ Mr. Mingo; you should tell them you found the problem, it was a bit of dead cockroach, and suggest it could be cheaper to clean up than have you back.



To be honest, I'm being about as kind as I can with the circumstances, but they're already at over $5k in parts alone. Today was just as much of an irritation trying to get high tension online, ending with me replacing the filament for beam emittance anyways and calling it for the day. This is usually a fairly simple system, a lower end older model, but it's reaching end of life and the room on its own is less than desirably cared for. You don't put a half million dollar microscope in a small room and then allow roaches and rats in there. Ridiculous. They're lucky they aren't paying for labor because of a contract, as that's upwards of four hundred an hour, and I've spent three weeks there already.


----------



## VRanger

The day went pretty well up to a point. I applied flea medicine to the cats' backs ... not hard for three of them, but number four yowls like death stares him in the face as I approach with the applicator, and I have to wear a work glove on my free hand or risk excoriation. They live in a generous enclosure in the garage (long story). Since they were already stressed by the gentle squeeze of a liquid between their shoulders, I went ahead and vacuumed out their home. This is not their favorite day of the month.

My partner paid about $1000 in invoices, which is always a good day. 

Then tonight. Tonight as we watched a late evening show, my wife asked if I smelled something funny, like an electrical smell. So I'm searching. The oven wasn't left on, no eyes left on. The air fryer off. Kitchen safe. I open the laundry room ... eyes and lungs immediately burn. A dryer cycle had ended with dry clothes, but my guess is the motor burned out about the time the cycle ended. HORRIBLE electrical smell. There's no exhaust fan there, but there is a window. So I went down to my shop and retrieved a box fan, opened the window, and now have the box fan in the near side of the dryer blowing toward the window on the far side of the dryer. I unplugged the dryer, just in case.

I explained to Betty the good news. We have plenty of trees in the yard, and I have enough cord ....

I didn't really get to complete that thought before she suggested we buy a new dryer. I discussed that my idea was the way people dried their clothes for centuries. She suggested we buy a new dryer. I told her she has a one-track mind. The look she gave me suggests we will buy a new dryer.


----------



## Darkkin

My day in a nutshell, fluffy reading and a judgmental cat.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My dog ate my sneaker's shoelaces today. The previous month it did the same thing to my other shoe. Apparently they blamed me for keeping the door of my room open. When I heard the comment I heard a low tone. I couldn't make the connection. My dog is also a serial murderer of sandals of different assortments and shoes of all sizes so if you are caught off guard here and leave them lying around she will eat them.


----------



## Olly Buckle

vranger said:


> The day went pretty well up to a point. I applied flea medicine to the cats' backs ... not hard for three of them, but number four yowls like death stares him in the face as I approach with the applicator, and I have to wear a work glove on my free hand or risk excoriation. They live in a generous enclosure in the garage (long story). Since they were already stressed by the gentle squeeze of a liquid between their shoulders, I went ahead and vacuumed out their home. This is not their favorite day of the month.
> 
> My partner paid about $1000 in invoices, which is always a good day.
> 
> Then tonight. Tonight as we watched a late evening show, my wife asked if I smelled something funny, like an electrical smell. So I'm searching. The oven wasn't left on, no eyes left on. The air fryer off. Kitchen safe. I open the laundry room ... eyes and lungs immediately burn. A dryer cycle had ended with dry clothes, but my guess is the motor burned out about the time the cycle ended. HORRIBLE electrical smell. There's no exhaust fan there, but there is a window. So I went down to my shop and retrieved a box fan, opened the window, and now have the box fan in the near side of the dryer blowing toward the window on the far side of the dryer. I unplugged the dryer, just in case.
> 
> I explained to Betty the good news. We have plenty of trees in the yard, and I have enough cord ....
> 
> I didn't really get to complete that thought before she suggested we buy a new dryer. I discussed that my idea was the way people dried their clothes for centuries. She suggested we buy a new dryer. I told her she has a one-track mind. The look she gave me suggests we will buy a new dryer.


My missus worked out how much it cost to use a dryer, now everything goes out on the line. You have to keep an eye on the weather, but it is sooo much greener and cheaper. We still have the dryer for emergencies and stuff like setting waterproofing, but really, it gets used maybe twice a year.
Oh yes, and everything smells so much nicer.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My computer died. I have a second computer which has claro read on it. I need a new computer. That way I can run Dragon 15 premium on it and I hope it lasts 4 years. The other one that is working can't run dragon. Also, I took the second shot of a vaccine. So I should have more immunity.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Spent an hour in an MRI scanner. Don't know what was worse, not being able to scratch my nose or having to listen to Sweet Caroline without being able to sing along!


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

Mark Twain't said:


> Spent an hour in an MRI scanner. Don't know what was worse, not being able to scratch my nose or having to listen to Sweet Caroline without being able to sing along!



I hope the scanner turns up nothing. That _would_ be tough to choose-- scratching or singing. Some things are just difficult to control and those two possibilities are two exceptionally tough ones.:-D Now I have Sweet Caroline stuck in my brain but that's good because it replaced a polka tune that lodges there a lot-- I Don't Want Her, You Can Have Her. (Wonder why certain tunes decide to take up lodging in the mind?)


----------



## kunox

yeah.. I hope you get better...


----------



## Mark Twain't

Pamelyn Casto said:


> I hope the scanner turns up nothing


Now that would be a real bonafide miracle as I have a lifelong incurable illness. I've lost count of how many hours I've spent in those tubes. Ironically, if the scan shows progression, I might get the medication I need.


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

Mark Twain't said:


> Now that would be a real bonafide miracle as I have a lifelong incurable illness. I've lost count of how many hours I've spent in those tubes. Ironically, if the scan shows progression, I might get the medication I need.



Wow. I had no idea about your illness, @Mark Twain't  I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get the meds you need. Illness should be against the law. Seriously, I didn't know. Hope you find some relief. (Btw, I love your alias!)


----------



## Mark Twain't

Pamelyn Casto said:


> Wow. I had no idea about your illness, @Mark Twain't  I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get the meds you need. Illness should be against the law. Seriously, I didn't know. Hope you find some relief. (Btw, I love your alias!)


Thanks Pamelyn. It's cool, I've been living with it for quite a few years.


----------



## PiP

Mark Twain't said:


> Spent an hour in an MRI scanner. Don't know what was worse, not being able to scratch my nose or having to listen to Sweet Caroline without being able to sing along!


What in an enclosed scanner head first? No way could I spend 10 mins in one yet alone one hour. Respect.


----------



## kunox

PiP said:


> What in an enclosed scanner head first? No way could I spend 10 mins in one yet alone one hour. Respect.


I have the opposite problem with smaller space.. for certain ones... instead of being Closter phobic I love small spaces... no clue why.... I love having one around where my bed could be.. my favorite room was practically a closet where I put a shelf.. my bed and a tv.. lol.. but I do hate extremely small spaces though.. I think???


----------



## Mark Twain't

PiP said:


> What in an enclosed scanner head first? No way could I spend 10 mins in one yet alone one hour. Respect.


Believe me, the first time was a living hell but you get used to them after a while. A lot depends on location. Yesterdays was at a fairly new imaging unit on an industrial estate. When I go there, I get the option to listen to the radio which really helps the time fly by (relatively speaking). If my scan is at the hospital, I don't get that option.


----------



## Darkkin

The sum of my day...Rue Dog only likes me because of my Goldfish crackers.   I am also on a book buying ban because Potato Cat needs a new carrier and the one I want to get him is kinda ouch, pricewise.

 As a reader, I am a book muncher 6 - 8 books per week, I do reread a lot, which is why I own before I read. (Working at a bookshop is a catch .22, great discount, greater temptations).


----------



## Theglasshouse

Dr. JAC's Guide to Writing with Depth​
I had a good day today. I spoke with technical support at Philip's products (microphone). They will troubleshoot my microphone I think.  I think they told me about software that works with the mic. I don't know the price tag on it. I am waiting for tomorrow's email. I hope there is a rental option as I think there is such as a subscription. The problem might be that it doesn't update the firmware of the microphone to use the software. I won't know what other problems it may have until then. I have a 2-year warranty. I will see if it is covered or not and even better if I don't have to buy dragon.

I also found the above guide. It has an entire chapter on coherence and explains other ways to achieve it. It has a 4.7 rating on GoodReads. That and it is mentioned in one of the books titled acts of teaching. It is on its way here. So once I have it I will probably will be practicing more. It is for both students and teachers. It uses harry potter as an example of good showing and telling. It uses examples from that book to teach how to write properly. How to string thoughts together, and more to form paragraphs. It is also explicit in what it says. It's written by a writing instructor. All this is discussed according to the Amazon preview. 16 pages are dedicated to coherence and gluing together thoughts and it has information on how to describe and narrate.


----------



## Matchu

I enjoy MRI scans.  Always a sense how a great deal of money is being spent...on me.

I also have an opinion on dryers.  We do not have a dryer in the house.  Having a dryer in the house would be disappointing & political.

However in the professional capacity dryers do have their role..._I deleted my splurge because it is inappropriate to make 'working in mental health' observations or jokes on a writer forum.  And unkind._


----------



## Sinister

Now must be a poor time for health.  Noted.  My dog is sick and in pain with an abscess.  And because of some brutal medicine, I'm in a state and my patience of being a patient is running a little thin.  I gave sickness the chance to get the best of me, but it's time is up.  It thought it had me on the run, but the dark Juju will have to save it's big surprises for me for later.  Have an appointment on the 13th, lucky me.  Then, I will rejoin this forum and get back to being the old me.

I did finish an entry for the new LM challenge.  I need spruce it up a bit, but it's done.

Today, like the last week or so, is a 4/10.

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat had his annual wellness check and vaccinations this afternoon.  And right now I am thinking his plotting my murder tonight.

 Seriously though, he was very good.  The ride to places he is not a fan of.  Once we're there, he's great.  Calm, sociable, and charming.  Total Potato Cat, who is in prefect health.

Rue Dog pitched a tantrum on a level only a husky can when he figured out Potato and I were leaving without him.  This is rare in Dude's world, usually he is the one to go with.


----------



## Darkkin

Murder plot in progress...


----------



## midnightpoet

Dr's visit was positive, lost 15 pounds over the summer, and my high blood pressure is under control; however, I've been having serious cognitive issues, and it's affected my writing.  I'll go about half a page and decide it's crap and give up.  I realized I just need to keep at it, though. My memory is bad, and I have trouble focusing on the task at hand.  After hearing my symptoms, my dr agreed and gave me something for dementia. Still under a lot of stress taking care of my wife.


----------



## Foxee

I have been working this weekend yet again at a festival. Frying things that everyone knows that they probably shouldn't eat but they really want to anyway when they're outside where food tastes best, looking at crafts and cars and animals and listening to local cover bands rock. We expected this weekend's effort to be a nice easy weekend at the horse park, genteelly cooking and passing out some funnelcakes and fries and drinks...instead we were slammed and overrun all day. Great business but I feel like someone has very carefully hit every part of my body with a hammer.

Early to bed tonight!


----------



## JBF

Short.  We shut down early for snow.  

There are worse fates, I think.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Spent the day researching psychological dimensions of characters to help create a character in the 3 dimensions: psychology, sociology, physiology. I found a lot of research for those that don't know my research done was because of Lajos Egri's two books. I plan to sketch characters using the approach. I am not the only one who does this or used this approach. I recommended a book in a discussion which I think is how to write a screenplay in 10 weeks. It is based on Egri's work. His book is still taught at colleges. Now I am not on the mountain again. On Monday I plan to pick up my books. However, the sentence one will come much later. Which has sentence structure covered. It will be delivered I think late october. Past the 27th.


----------



## Sinister

Feeling amazingly low and let down.  I don't have enough information to warrant the way I feel right now.  Could just be a nice head game that life is playing with me.  We all know how mean our brains can be to us sometimes and life eventually finds our one vulnerable spot, even if we only have just the one and it's tiny.  I need...I need something uplifting and it is not here.

I'm used to this being a much happier time of year.  2/10

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

If you think you are feeling down counsel with someone or get some help. That way you can do fun things.


----------



## Sinister

I don't know if that's possible.  The people I usually counsel with need more counsel than I do.  That is what has me in such a spiral, honestly.  I can take punches, bad ones, too.  I'm practically a masochist.  But I can't watch people take them, isn't that funny?  Even if it's something stupid, but if I know how much it hurts them when they're vulnerable...  Idk, It's been a wicked couple of years.

-Just Some Guy


----------



## Theglasshouse

I have seen people who get counsel if they are facing an illness they need to overcome. The worse the mood will be it will lead to no fun and you want to recover physically. I know the better your mood the better your health could be. I know I have had imo some dysfunctional people in my life. You don't want this to impact your mood. I am no professional. My advice I would give my aunt when she was depressed was to take her anti-depressant medications. I have a uncle with schizoaffective disorder who is so cheap he puts his life in danger by not taking his meds. He doesn't want to pay for it. He wants his mother to pay for it who is my grandmother. If you seek help you can prevent future problems. A friend of my father developed schizophrenia when he wasted all his money to save himself and he had cancer. He developed it for many reasons. I hope you find a way to improve. But you must take the steps it is your decision of something is bothering you. At counseling you don't need meds. There are doctors. They talk to you before determining that. They talk to your best friends and closest families to determine that. I told my grandmother what could happen to my uncle . Now she buys his expensive medicine. He takes much more medicine that me. But if he didn't have someone to buy his medicine one day he would turn into a full blown schizophrenic. The medicine would one day stop working for him. No matter what he did. Your case is different. I hope you find a way to cope. One way is not to worry. People I have heard about live a shorter life when worried. I hope you can turn it around. I dislike depression even though I recovered from it.


----------



## Sinister

You're dead on about worrying.  I'm getting ahead of myself by worrying for others, when I don't even know how they'll be affected yet.  I don't have very many people in my life, which I am fine with.  I don't need much emotional support, but that means I panic about the little that I have and it makes me viciously protective of those I care about; their welfare is always on my mind.  And if that sounds too selfless, it's not.  When I'm in trouble, I look to them to joke with or blow off some steam.  So they're my armor when I need them.  I never can tell if I'm blowing things out of proportion when it's regarding someone else's mental safety and health.  I'll just have to be patient and see if there's any good luck left for me and my people.

I do appreciate talking about it with me, though.  Thanks, Theglasshouse.  It's helped dispel some of my panic.

As for the rest, we'll see, I guess.  To be continued...  =/

-


----------



## Theglasshouse

Share what you are willing to share. I'm satisfied that some of the panic you mentioned vanished by talking. I use to be paranoid and hateful when depressed and distrustful towards someone important in my life. Now with the disease under control that vanished.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am disappointed one of my books for fiction composition may be lost. In five days or more I will know the answer. If I don't have it I don't want to wait 17 days. But I will probably want a replacement and that is another 17 days gone by so 34. I have to check the post office by monday. It was an import product from the Great Britain. That is why it took so long.


----------



## Mark Twain't

I realised that my Dropbox account has a limit of 2GB and it's where my Scrivener backups go. Each backup is 4GB!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Never tried counselling, my advice, and what I always try to do, is 'get outside'. There is something about being outside with nothing between you and the sky. Rural is better, but it still works for me in the city. Hope you feel better soon, Sinister.


----------



## indigostar

Sinister said:


> Feeling amazingly low and let down.  I don't have enough information to warrant the way I feel right now.  Could just be a nice head game that life is playing with me.  We all know how mean our brains can be to us sometimes and life eventually finds our one vulnerable spot, even if we only have just the one and it's tiny.  I need...I need something uplifting and it is not here.
> 
> I'm used to this being a much happier time of year.  2/10
> 
> -Sin


Hope you are feeling better today. I've been feeling the seasonal blues a little bit as well lately, it's never far away when the leaves start to fall. 

If you are struggling, though, you might want to speak with a professional. A simple and easy check to do is to ask yourself these three questions;

Have I had nutritious food recently?
Have I drank enough water recently?
Have I been outside for a walk recently?

Usually, we can enhance our own mood by ensuring the above 3 things are taken care of. 10 minutes outside is enough to boost our Vitamin D and lift our mood, usually. 

This place seems like it's very warm and supportive - if you ever want to talk feel free to message me. Sending happy vibes!


----------



## Darkkin

The work is not the newest, but is juggernaut class.  Stand or fall on its own merit, it is a foundation piece.  A fractal root.  Go big and fall hard.


----------



## kunox

working on what I call my motivational snow ball. I was doing good this morning. I got 2,000 steps in but I hit a wall around 12pm... I mean I couldn't even get out if bed,,, So I made a bargain with myself. I said just clean one dish and so I did... then I waited to minutes and cleaned another. each time counting my steps and increasing the amount of work every now and then. now I am 5,00-ish steps into my 8,000 for today and I have cleaned a bit... that helped out I swear... does anoewone else d this?


----------



## Sinister

indigostar said:


> Hope you are feeling better today. I've been feeling the seasonal blues a little bit as well lately, it's never far away when the leaves start to fall.
> 
> If you are struggling, though, you might want to speak with a professional. A simple and easy check to do is to ask yourself these three questions;
> 
> Have I had nutritious food recently?
> Have I drank enough water recently?
> Have I been outside for a walk recently?
> 
> Usually, we can enhance our own mood by ensuring the above 3 things are taken care of. 10 minutes outside is enough to boost our Vitamin D and lift our mood, usually.
> 
> This place seems like it's very warm and supportive - if you ever want to talk feel free to message me. Sending happy vibes!


Idk, either I'm depressed all the time or I very rarely have been.  My father deals with Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I make up with other disorders.  lol  As far as a professionals, I've seen a few from a pretty young age.  They've never done too much for me.  But you're right about the three questions.  I tend to forget food and water.  Pretty stupid of me, but I just have other things on my mind and I only remember when others remind me or I'm on the point of starvation or thirst.



Olly Buckle said:


> Never tried counselling, my advice, and what I always try to do, is 'get outside'. There is something about being outside with nothing between you and the sky. Rural is better, but it still works for me in the city. Hope you feel better soon, Sinister.


Thank you, Olly.  I'm doing much better.  I'm pretty fortunate when it comes to walking space.  Nothing around me but family land, and while Kentucky hills are hard on the ankles and take some hiking chops, they sure are beautiful in the fall.  Might go for a stroll right now, actually.  For once it's not raining.




But yes, thanks, you lot.  You've all been very supportive.  I'm doing much better.  I think a lot of things are going to work out eventually and the certain involved parties are improving in attitude and in health.  So long as they can cope, I can cope.  A little help from kind forum members also went a long way.

Thank you,
-Sin


----------



## kunox

Sinister said:


> Idk, either I'm depressed all the time or I very rarely have been.  My father deals with Seasonal Affective Disorder.  I make up with other disorders.  lol  As far as a professionals, I've seen a few from a pretty young age.  They've never done too much for me.  But you're right about the three questions.  I tend to forget food and water.  Pretty stupid of me, but I just have other things on my mind and I only remember when others remind me or I'm on the point of starvation or thirst.
> 
> 
> Thank you, Olly.  I'm doing much better.  I'm pretty fortunate when it comes to walking space.  Nothing around me but family land, and while Kentucky hills are hard on the ankles and take some hiking chops, they sure are beautiful in the fall.  Might go for a stroll right now, actually.  For once it's not raining.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But yes, thanks, you lot.  You've all been very supportive.  I'm doing much better.  I think a lot of things are going to work out eventually and the certain involved parties are improving in attitude and in health.  So long as they can cope, I can cope.  A little help from kind forum members also went a long way.
> 
> Thank you,
> -Sin


yeah I was in the grips of depression about 12pm but I clawed my way out of it.. there are things you can do that will help and each works differently for each person. I will say the psych doctor and support group I go to has helped me. I hope you feel better soon.


----------



## Theglasshouse

kunox said:


> working on what I call my motivational snow ball. I was doing good this morning. I got 2,000 steps in but I hit a wall around 12pm... I mean I couldn't even get out if bed,,, So I made a bargain with myself. I said just clean one dish and so I did... then I waited to minutes and cleaned another. each time counting my steps and increasing the amount of work every now and then. now I am 5,00-ish steps into my 8,000 for today and I have cleaned a bit... that helped out I swear... does anoewone else d this?


Okay what about music to improve your mood and to get out of bed ( discovering new music on Spotify)? I recommend you download spotify. There is a free version and a premium version. If you own a tablet or a cellphone you can download it or a computer. All you need to do is create a user name and password and an email address. The free version of spotify allows you to like songs you listen to which creates a playlist for you. On a cellphone it is more limited. You probably can't create a playlist by liking songs however you can pick a favorite music artist and it will keep playing. Also, that doesn't happen to me ( staying in bed however I can have my mood shift and then i dont feel like doing a lot of work-related activities but that was because of the summer sun which made me feel tired mood-wise and global warming)  but I think I have 4 years using the same medicine or 3 which means I feel more stable compared to many years ago. You can download spotify for Android by going to the Google play store. I think taking breaks can help people with schizoaffective disorder get their chores or work done ( and you should feel this is normal). The same is true in a university setting. You take less courses than the average student. It may take many years instead of four. I am thinking a 30 minute break would do something good. It depends on how your mood makes you feel. Do or take anything such as vitamins to improve your mood in the right dose ( I have been taking mine for several weeks)

It does seem that you recovered your mood.

I have played music on spotify in the bedroom to brush my teeth or take a bath. This is on a tablet but on a cellphone it is even easier.


----------



## kunox

yeah breaks are good because getting the snowball started may be hard but so is stopping it... aFTER THAT BURNOUT IS INEVIDIBLE... sorry caps lock... ty though.. music hlps a bit bt I already have to be at a 5 out of 10 mood wise for it to help t all... it still kinda helps though..


----------



## Theglasshouse

A small nap could also help you feel better if the computer has altered your mood and that you've been there a long time. But then you will have a tough time falling asleep. I take magnesium at 500. Also a good night's rest helps. That vitamin makes me sleep twice a day when I take it. I only take it if I fear I will not fall asleep.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I recommend a book called descrioptionary. It should be the very last edition. It is cheap as a used book. I own it on kindle. But on kindle it is pricey. Still both are good formats. The way I plan to use it is to research landmarks. For example, you can research a famous Adobe dwelling. The internet will help you feel in the rest of the details by researching on famous Adobe dwellings. Then on youtube you can look at the landmark. You can Google the details of many Adobe dwellings around the world for example. So once you do that then some place's description is effortless based on eyewitness accounts. It has excellent reviews on amazon. I am returning home. On Monday I should have picked up the books at the post office. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Use a map of the area to depict the setting's surroundings. The architecture section is pretty big. You can find words for furniture too. If you don't know what something is called this will help you research words. We dont often have a working vocabulary for archutecture, furniture, animals etc.
Example of a balloon chair. There are many kinds of balloon chairs and this seems like a chair you'd find in a posh household.








						Why You need these Victorian Balloon Back Chairs? - Regent Antiques
					


We have just acquired some unique pieces of antique furniture to show you – a superb set of ten Victorian mahogany balloon back dining chairs, circa 1850.





					www.regentantiques.com
				




In the dictionary you will find the word bastille. Here is some of my research after I found it in the thematic dictionary. I then researched famous landmarks that are bastille. Research is important for places you have never been to.





						Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary (Writers Library) (Facts on File Writer's Library): Marc McCutcheon: 9780816079476: Amazon.com: Books
					


Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary (Writers Library) (Facts on File Writer's Library) [Marc McCutcheon] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary (Writers Library) (Facts on File Writer's Library)




					www.amazon.com
				





			Bastille - History Dictionary
		



			Remains of the Bastille — What's Left of the Tower of Liberty - Google Search


----------



## PiP

Today we had our last sundowner with some dear friends. Thanks to BREXIT and travel restrictions etc. they have sold their beautiful 2nd home in Portugal with breathtaking sunsets (see my profile). I thought they'd always be here ... so did they... *NEVER take life or friends for granted. We have lost so many friends to the BREXIT or to BREXIT politics. As you get older life's chapters become shorter or end abruptly ... just sayin'




*


----------



## Theglasshouse

Going to hire a tutor. Sorry to disappoint kunox you but I think books won't always have the answer. I bought my books today. I received all but the most important one, They are useless despite the reviews. I think I am going to hire a teacher trained in linguistics who can teach me coherence and descriptive writing. If that is her area of expertise as well (descriptive and narrative). She charges 29 euros for 1 hour. So what I planning on doing is to get a textbook to teach me this and get assigned homework. What I personally recommended as descriptive writing is the only reference I will recommend. It will inspire you or help you to describe. I am planning on getting dragon-speaking software for Christmas. The missing book never arrived. They shipped me 2 DVDs. I imagine Amazon is going to have to refund my money. The tutor I am hiring will work with me on the internet. If I get any materials I can share for coherence I will share it.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Trying google voice typing. It makes very few mistakes. My new recommendation is to save for a microphone. But books are useless. There is hope. Google voice technology got better. I sill recommend LFH 3500 Philips mike speech mike premium. It's giving similar performance and accuracy to dragon speaking software but crashes on my computer. But I don't get the blue screen of death. It exists the screen of google docs which is where I use it. Dragon has good competition. The cheapest I have seen my microphone is 285. Let's hope that whatever the price it is affordable.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am on the mountain again.  I cannot concentrate here. Because I am in relative proximity to every room. It's a small house we have used to escape the hot weather. My mom enjoys going here to escape doing the chores. We have someone that cleans the house for us but not on weekends. She is a housekeeper.

It's frustrating since I want to read books. ADHD without medication isn't easy. I can't take stimulants which I believe is used for ADHD. That or I need to consult again to treat it one day.

Now I have a story idea based on some real-life inspiration of something that actually happened. It's somehow tragic. My uncle didn't want to buy his medicine and the situation escalated.

If I don't get my reading done soon, I will get angry and disappointed. 4 days of doing nothing on a mountain. Today, since the climate is cold, I slept all day.

We are building a small house close to this one. People love going to the mountains during the summer because of the cold weather. This one is 1,000 feet in height, I believe. Actually, I checked again, and it is 3,819 feet in height,


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog is sulking because Potato Cat won't play by his rules.  Poor dude.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Picked up some books on sentences, cohesion, and combining sentences. Before yesterday was my mother's birthday, Overall it went very well today. I always research for things I want to know. I wish all of my library were kindle book. It is frustrating to read with the font and typeface being unreadable for me.


----------



## Sinister

It's a cold drippy day.  Everything outside is sodden and there are leaves everywhere.  It catches me off-guard every year.  Green.  Green.  Green.  Then Boom, they're multi-colored and the next day they're all on my lawn.  I have pumpkins carved and I'll light them on my stoop tonight.  No one will see them but me.  That's fine.  It's about the ritual, not the spectacle.

I've got Carlos Viola's "The Last Door" collection playing over Alexa's various speakers throughout the house.  Storms are expected overnight.  I've got a glass of Bulleit bourbon blended with Angel's Envy in a tumbler filled with cold whiskey stones.  The heat's on.

More peace.  More quiet.  In my old house on a hill.

I'm still planning on going into the Ertan Deep.  I just need that killing frost and some courage. lol  

Dinner'll be scalloped potatoes in melted smoked-Gouda and Jarlsburg, some fennel coleslaw and smoked Brisket.  Going to spend tonight watching old horror movies.  I'm thinking Hammer Horror mixed with some other choice classics.  If you do happen to be in the area tomorrow and have a costume.  I have nothing but a big bowl of Reese's Take-5 bars, but you're welcome to them.

I'm still recovering from this October.  It's been a nasty, ugly and hurtful month for me.  Oh well, I still can't wait to see what November holds.

Today is a 8/10.

I'll be back full-time soon, I expect.

-Sin


----------



## Olly Buckle

Trouble with driver, took it to a computer place who uninstalled and reinstalled, but it is still dropping me out regularly. I un-enable and then re-enable and that fixes it for a short while, but less time each time. Don't be surprised if I am not around for a bit.


----------



## Darkkin

Found one of my favourite candids of my Dude.  I took this a year ago.  Got a lot of stuff done today.  Full shift at work, a major grocery run, and I'm making ham and potatoes for dinner.  I also got stuff for prep later in the week and added three books to my covet list.

I am also going to be murdered as I sleep..


----------



## ehbowen

Much better after the third inning....


----------



## Mark Twain't

ehbowen said:


> Much better after the third inning....
> 
> View attachment 27786


If only I knew what any of that meant!


----------



## Sinister

It means a questionable team from a questionable league won two games out of five, but that my team is still a game ahead.  Which is nice, since we haven't won a WS since the 90s.

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> It means a questionable team from a questionable league won two games out of five, but that my team is still a game ahead.  Which is nice, since we haven't won a WS since the 90s.
> 
> -Sin


Braves fan here since they came to Atlanta in '66.


----------



## Sinister

Growing up, my household was Cards and Braves.  Everyone was a Cards fan and I was a Braves fan.  Unfortunately, I'm in the blackout zone and I don't get to see anything unless it's a blue moon or they go to the series.  So...kinda counting on them this year.

-Sin


----------



## ehbowen

vranger said:


> Braves fan here since they came to Atlanta in '66.


Well, I've been a Houston resident since '67, so I'll forgive you for that. I will say, though, that the only one from around here who was really in favor of the switch from the National League to the American League was Nolan Ryan...


----------



## Sinister

I mean...Ryan pulled a lot of weight.  But just not a big American League guy.  I don't have anything in particular against the Astros.  I mean...it's not like they're the Phillies or Yankees.

-Sin


----------



## ehbowen

Sinister said:


> I mean...Ryan pulled a lot of weight.  But just not a big American League guy.  I don't have anything in particular against the Astros.  I mean...it's not like they're the Phillies or Yankees.
> 
> -Sin


Not just a lot of weight. He was part owner of the Texas Rangers. When the Astros were sold to the present ownership Ryan made the league switch a condition to 'promote a rivalry'.

Of course, the old National League divisional setup didn't make a whole lot of sense, either. Chicago and St. Louis in the NL East, okay...but Atlanta and Cincinnati in the NL West?

Edit To Add: I think there are a lot of fans out there who like ANY team who can consistently defeat the Yankees in a seven game series....


----------



## Sinister

Yeah, I've never understood that, myself.  _shrugs_
There are areas of Baseball, like that...where I just kinda nod my head and move on.  Still don't really get how Wild Cards work.


-Sin


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> I mean...Ryan pulled a lot of weight.  But just not a big American League guy.  I don't have anything in particular against the Astros.  I mean...it's not like they're the Phillies or Yankees.
> 
> -Sin


I never forgave Philly fans for booing Darren Daulton's LITTLE BOY at the father-son game when he was having a bad year. That was worse than when they booed Santa Claus. (Of course, as a writer, I always want to call him Santa Clause, but if I wrote Horror, it would be Santa Claws).


----------



## Sinister

They boo everything that walks onto the field.

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> They boo everything that walks onto the field.
> 
> -Sin


The City of Brotherly WHAT?


----------



## ehbowen

Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves and their long-suffering fans.


----------



## VRanger

ehbowen said:


> Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves and their long-suffering fans.


Thanks man, and that's good, good sportsmanship ---> RESPECT. Let me tell you (and I don't know if you watched the ceremony), but when the exec mentioned "angels" watching ... Hank Aaron and Phil Niekro ... that choked me up. Those are the guys I grew up with on that team. By the way, I've got their autographs on a team ball from 1967 ... along with Rico Carty, Joe Torre, Phillipe Alou, Tony Cloninger (a pitcher who hit two Grand Slams with 9 RBIs in ONE game) ... I've always wondered if that ball has any value. My Dad's best friend was good friends with Pat Jarvis, a pitcher on that team, and he got Pat to get that ball signed by the team for my birthday that year.


----------



## ehbowen

vranger said:


> Thanks man, and that's good, good sportsmanship ---> RESPECT. Let me tell you (and I don't know if you watched the ceremony), but when the exec mentioned "angels" watching ... Hank Aaron and Phil Niekro ... that choked me up. Those are the guys I grew up with on that team. By the way, I've got their autographs on a team ball from 1967 ... along with Rico Carty, Joe Torre, Phillipe Alou, Tony Cloninger (a pitcher who hit two Grand Slams with 9 RBIs in ONE game) ... I've always wondered if that ball has any value. My Dad's best friend was good friends with Pat Jarvis, a pitcher on that team, and he got Pat to get that ball signed by the team for my birthday that year.


I'm sure that it does have value to the right collector, but I doubt that it's worth as much to any collector as it's worth to you.


----------



## Sinister

It was a good series and both teams fought hard, damn near to a full 7 game series.  In honesty, I am pretty thrilled to see my team win rings.  The last time it happened I wasn't into or knowledgeable about baseball, so it's kind of the first time I really get to see them win November.  But, I'll be honest, even if they hadn't won, I'd still be happy they made it to the series and when it comes down to it, whether it's my team up there or not...  I just love baseball and will always enjoy the world series.

After last year's lackluster/barely existing season, I'm suffering from general Baseball withdrawal and more than I am happy about this year, I'm already jonesing for Spring Training and next year's season.

Long live Baseball.

-Sin


----------



## ehbowen

Today has not been a good day. The reason involves an old dog and that last visit to the vet. Not my dog; my parents', but still...


----------



## Darkkin

Have you ever read back through old projects, processing words that you only knew for mere, impulsive moments and wondered:  How the hell did I do that?  Not because the words were without merit, but just the opposite.  They have weight, they actually matter.  It seems like an impossible thing, an imposter in my head.


----------



## Mark Twain't

The day is always a good one when it ends with a couple of pints of Guinness.


----------



## Sinister

I love Guinness... Any stout, really.

Most people I've met, least at University, drank IPAs.  I'll never understand.  If you could drink something that tastes like foamy alcoholic coffee, or something that tastes like bitrex and quinine, why would you ever drink IPAs?

-Sin


----------



## Mark Twain't

Sinister said:


> I love Guinness... Any stout, really.
> 
> Most people I've met, least at University, drank IPAs.  I'll never understand.  If you could drink something that tastes like foamy alcoholic coffee, or something that tastes like bitrex and quinine, why would you ever drink IPAs?
> 
> -Sin


I don't mind IPA, I often drink it at home. I only drink Guinness in pubs as it has to be draught, bottled is only good for cooking.


----------



## Sinister

Mark Twain't said:


> I don't mind IPA, I often drink it at home. I only drink Guinness in pubs as it has to be draught, bottled is only good for cooking.


I hope you do not take offense, but they have a saying here in Kentucky:  Bless your heart.

-Sin


----------



## PiP

Mark Twain't said:


> The day is always a good one when it ends with a couple of pints of Guinness.
> 
> View attachment 27798


My husband feels the same ... says it puts hairs on your chest


----------



## VRanger

I'll always be grateful to a walk-down pub just across the corner from the Tower of London. My wife and I had walked and Tubed all over London for a full day, in July, and it was a particularly hot July day for England ... mid 90s. We descended into the pub and wanted something lighter and refreshing, and we'd already learned when we saw a cooler of soft drinks advertising "ice cold" to just laugh at _that _lie. "Ice cold" in an English commercial cooler is what we'd consider "tepid". ;-)

The barkeep introduced us to a shandy. We still occasionally make our own to this day.


----------



## Sinister

In Texas they have an ingenuous thing, La Helada Micheladas, where you can buy packages of styrofoam cups that are lined with tamarind, lime, chili powder and other spices.  You just pour your beer in one, provided you use a pale lager.  It's actually wonderful.  Wish I had brought a whole pallet of them home, really.

-Sin


----------



## PiP

vranger said:


> The barkeep introduced us to a shandy. We still occasionally make our own to this day.


Yes, Shandy is a nice refreshing drink. When we went to St: John's in Canada I asked for a shandy. The barman asked how to make it. I replied 50/50 beer and lemonade. After a while, the barman presented me with a half-pint of a cloudy brown substance ... when us Brits say lemonade WE mean the clear liquid with bubbles ... not fresh lemonade made with squeezed lemons. Needless to say, he was fascinated when I took my first sip ... , it was disgusting but I smiled and politely thanked him. Beer and squeezed lemons is not a good taste.


----------



## Mark Twain't

PiP said:


> Yes, Shandy is a nice refreshing drink. When we went to St: John's in Canada I asked for a shandy. The barman asked how to make it. I replied 50/50 beer and lemonade. After a while, the barman presented me with a half-pint of a cloudy brown substance ... when us Brits say lemonade WE mean the clear liquid with bubbles ... not fresh lemonade made with squeezed lemons. Needless to say, he was fascinated when I took my first sip ... , it was disgusting but I smiled and politely thanked him. Beer and squeezed lemons are not a good taste.


I don't mind a shandy, it's at its best if you substitute the lemonade with beer.


----------



## PiP

When we first moved to Portugal our area used to be so rustic they even served wine in half-pint glasses ... * and* it cost less than a euro a glass.


----------



## VRanger

PiP said:


> it was disgusting but I smiled and politely thanked him. Beer and squeezed lemons is not a good taste.


I had a similar experience when I plaintively asked our waitress in a steak house in London if there was any chance of them producing iced tea. She and a second waitress cheerfully and enthusiastically assured me they knew all about American iced tea, and produced a medicinal concoction which suggested to me they had outside training as either chemists (pharmacists to my fellow American readers) or witches. As with you, I smiled and thanked them ... and drank it all. My good humor was rewarded with a refill.


----------



## Sinister

Then again, on the other side of the equation, if you've ever been at a pot luck here in Kentucky...  You have to be careful and not just reach for any Iced Tea.  My aunt used to make a southern sweet iced tea that would clog your teeth with grains of undissolved sugar.  You might just think she had tried to dissolve sugar in cold tea, but no.  The sugar percipitated because the iced tea was *saturated* with sugar and simply could not hold any more sugar in-solution when its temp dropped.

I'm a southern pariah.  I drink unsweetened Iced Tea.  =/

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> I'm a southern pariah.  I drink unsweetened Iced Tea.  =/
> 
> -Sin


There is no shame in someone else having dropped you on your head as a small child ...


----------



## ehbowen

I'll drink my hot tea (and coffee) sweet, but I prefer my iced tea unsweetened. Guess it takes all kinds....


----------



## Sinister

Can't drink sweet in my coffee either, except for New Year's eve, at midnight.  My father and grandfather were always diabetic.  I once saw my grandfather, bless his heart, he soaked up pancake syrup with a twinkie and ate that.  Horrifying.

I don't like sweet things so much.

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

Took Dude for a walk, found two free little libraries we had never encountered before and made a couple of geek out level finds.  Retro fantasy...


----------



## Olly Buckle

My friend dropped dead suddenly yesterday while he was out with his daughter. I baby sat her big sister while she was being born, that must have been close to forty years ago, we had a lot of history, makes me feel vulnerable, I think I am the oldest survivor of all my family and friends now.


----------



## VRanger

Olly Buckle said:


> My friend dropped dead suddenly yesterday while he was out with his daughter. I baby sat her big sister while she was being born, that must have been close to forty years ago, we had a lot of history, makes me feel vulnerable, I think I am the oldest survivor of all my family and friends now.


It's a shock, and it's sad, but I've got to say that when I go, I'd rather it be like that than lingering in a bed waiting for the inevitable. Condolences to you and the family, but I hope best wishes to your friend that he had a long and fulfilling life.


----------



## Darkkin

I kinda did a thing....not sure how it is going to play out, but I had to try.  I am in the middle of a meltdown right now because, yeah...I hate it when things are out of my control.  (Stupid internalised perfectionism).


----------



## Theglasshouse

Mood swings today. My mother theorized I might have celiac disease and I never took the test since the symptoms are very well hidden. It could be the hidden cause of mood swings and depression. She has 2 genes that tested positive for celiac disease. My mother discovered it in her 40s. The worst case in my family discovered it in her 60s or above. My little brother has it as do some of my cousins.

I am thinking of taking the master course online course which is a yearly subscription.

Found a book full of description exercises by a creative writing teacher who penned it who has university credentials. It is recommended by a Harvard publication.






						Personal Fiction Writing: A Guide to Writing from Real Life for Teachers, Students & Writers: Willis, Meredith Sue: 9780915924622: Amazon.com: Books
					


Personal Fiction Writing: A Guide to Writing from Real Life for Teachers, Students & Writers [Willis, Meredith Sue] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Personal Fiction Writing: A Guide to Writing from Real Life for Teachers, Students & Writers




					www.amazon.com
				




It advocates reading Peter elbow which I will do for composition.


----------



## Mark Twain't

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## VRanger

Mark Twain't said:


> AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Rich with sentiment, sparse on detail. However, I hope it improves for you!


----------



## Mark Twain't

vranger said:


> Rich with sentiment, sparse on detail. However, I hope it improves for you!


Sorry, just had my monthly "I explained all that to you last month" meeting lol


----------



## Sinister

Got a new gas cooker, gas range, stove, oven...thing.  Gonna break it in with some chicken nuggies, maybe frozen pizza or some other sad frozen food, because I'll be damned if I'm buying it, adapting it to use propane, hooking it up and then cooking an actual meal all in one day.  Ladies and Gents, it's DiGiorno.

It's too bad you can't get a personalized DiGiorno.  Thin tomato slices, two or three anchovies, mushrooms and fresh basil leaves.  Maybe some pepperoni or thin-sliced steak.

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

This is more.or less a rant. However I need to entertain myself to feel better. It will be a while until it becomes December.

I am waiting until November ends to take that master class and at some point in December. The challenge will be to entertained. Can someone recommend here a a few nonviolent series in world war 1 and 2? It sounds like my question could confuse people. Something a 13 year old could watch without excessive gore. I want to know off a good work of world war 1 or 2 and that is a series.

My brother had bought some Charlie Chaplin dvds years ago at the virgin record store. We have his whole collection of silent films but honestly after trying to give it a chance I gave up. I am thinking the website should have a tv forum for services such as netflix. Why? Movies and series are some of the big forms of entertainment besides reading. I tried to watch them to depict movement. I noticed every two seconds because it is a silent film as he moves around all over the place ( falls into a small fountain even). It is comedy so maybe that suggestion won't work.

There is something I do hate about the kindle ecosystem. Sometimes I wish they could highlight the words as the kindle reads along. I might be forced to buy up some audio books which can be pricey for the word for world is forest. I plan to buy the book on Monday if it includes highlighting.

Thanks for anyone if willing to give some movie or series suggestions or advice.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Watching a tv series from Mexico as I type this to help calm down and to wait and to help control my negative moods. I did buy books recommended by Sue Meredith Willis. I suspect because of the holidays approaching it will take a good while before they arrive. I will watch t.v. series I like and those on Netflix. I just have fun watching a Philippine tv series that is a murder mystery. It has calmed me down.It has a psychopath woman who frames her supposed friend, and I am enjoying the setup. Framed for murder he is convinced the evidence his fiance murdered his mother. The other T.V. series has a goofy character whose appearance causes disdain. It's a fish out of water character. It might give me an idea for a story. He 's surrounded by people who don't overdress. It is quirky and interesting judging people by appearances. The man who is the main character is full of insecurities. He wears suits for casual situations. This creates a false impression. Which begs several questions. Can you overcome your appearances and control feelings regarding that? How is it possible? I suppose social manners have something to do with it and graces and so on. I think this is the ugly duckling story repeated over again in the form of a soap opera.


----------



## Darkkin

Got three pieces done today.  Two in forms I have not worked with much or ever.  Rubiayat and paranelle.  If you do not like word puzzles, avoid paranelle.


----------



## Darkkin

I made a troll mad with a Star Trek joke and got attacked.  And I laughed because of the ridiculouness  of the situation.  I truly am a horrible human being, but hey, Potato Cat likes me.


----------



## Turnbull

Things started out good, but then depression kicked in in the evening.  I've lost a lot of pleasure for things in life, and I really want to do well and move forward, but it's harder to write my intentions when my joy cup isn't full.


----------



## Sinister

Smashed out on Nyquil.  I sound like a barking seal if I step a toe outside.  It gets worse at night, as it always seems to do with being sick.  On a rare trip outside the house, I was tested for Covid.  Negative.  Just seasonal bronchitis.

So I'm cooking, listening to tunes and trying to get well enough to follow up on my promise to go on my trip into the woods behind my house.

Can't now.  It's deer season and I can hear people poaching deer on *MY* land.  Infuriating.  I hate to think that animals are unsafe on my land.  It's grotesque.  I have nothing against hunting.  Not at all.  I, personally, will never do it unless compelled by hunger and desperation.  But this land is sacred to me.  It's a safe-haven.  The fact that it isn't safe for any animal really bothers me.  Besides, these woods are no place for the uninvited.  I'm not going to be sued because some trespasser fell into a pit, or got drowned in the lake cause of a collapsing bank.  I need to post signs.  But I hate signs.  I hate telling people what they can and cannot do.  It's not my way.

Anyhow, this evening I'm going to relax, try not to cough up a lung and play Ghost of Tsushima.

5/10

-Sin


----------



## Olly Buckle

Came across "The Potwell Inn", I think it is from the History of Mr. Polly. I read it originally as a teenager, and I remember the opening having a big effect.

"When a man has once broken through the paper walls of everyday circumstance, those unsubstantial walls that hold so many of us as securely prisoned from the cradle to the grave, he has made a discovery. If the world does not please, you, you cn change it.


----------



## Darkkin

The Cat with another side quest appears.  Do you follow?


----------



## Olly Buckle

Our little cat is not well, she spent an hour on my lap, now she is on the back of the sofa. She has been to the vet, but does not seem to be responding to treatment yet.
Got my computer back today, problems connecting to server. He has sorted a few things and given me a dongle as a cheap fix.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Hope the situation improves with olly buckle's cat. Found a book that is heavily researched meant for people who want to know the creative writing process and how it is related to dysgraphia. It's a rare of a kind book called writing a mosaic of new perspectives. I never have used pictures to depict activities that happen for subjects for writing topic sentences, but I will from now on. Dysgraphia impacts creative writing in many ways. Also I will be visiting Khan academy which has some free grammar exercises. That is my day in a nutshell. That way I can learn the comma rules. According to a disability website that is well known around the web I shouldnt use technology as a crutch for dysgraphia. I am also thinking of what else I can do. I do still plan to continue what I said in previous posts. It also describes the issues of coherency that people with dysgraphia must deal with.


----------



## Darkkin

I have a way to save the Wild Dogs of Tenebrous Wold.  This is new playlist level serious.


----------



## Sinister

Weatherproofing house and fixing on new storm doors.  Made a Tollhouse Pie.  Don't really have the stomach for it.  Might later.

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

I spent all day looking for books that talk about describing people, places, and objects. That is just in case I fail to do this task even though I bought books on this topic. I think if I focus on this the writing and narration should be clearer. Description from a creative writing perspective is vital. Since I fail to describe the ordinary person, place, or thing that implies I can't narrate. Description must be mastered before narration I think. Then you  can write the story event with along with the description as the foreground. I have bought college readers but these focus on organization of ideas. Not on describing what a noun appears to the 5 senses.

One suggestion is to describe the areas of a house. A floor plan in which you describe everything that appears in each unique space of the house. So describing these is my first goal. The objects in each place, then the place, then people. This seems rather basic for other people or elemental. I am stumped most of the time. Then I will describe what finally happens as a fictional account...


----------



## Darkkin

I just indexed my Strangeways to Nowhere files so I know what is where and I think I broke my brain.  I still need to add my 2021 NaPoem work to it still, but will make referencing specific pieces on my tablet easier.  While I do have everything in hardcopy, it is cumbersome to haul anywhere.


----------



## Lawless

I ate something unusual this morning and didn't feel too well afterwards. Then I spent hours researching something and ended up with really tense neck muscles and a beginning headache. I had to go and buy food. As soon as I stepped out the front door (+8C, light rain), I was overcome with happiness looking at the cars and the few pedestrians and the windows many of which were already lighted. This sudden change of my mood was baffling. Putting slowly one foot before another, reluctant to arrive anywhere, I thought I should go to one of the shops farther from home, to have an excuse to walk. But then I remembered I had to buy a lot, so I strolled to one of the nearer food stores after all, taking it all in along the way, enjoying every branch and stone and manhole cover and lamppost, and struggling not to smile like an idiot.

At the store, all the shopping trolleys were taken. I couldn't be bothered to wait, so I sauntered to a farther shop. [grin]


----------



## Darkkin

My best friend put a fitbit on me for the day, just to see what the readings would be...  I live upto the Hyperactive aspect of my ADHD.  15,000 steps in a six hour run at the bookshop and another 5,000 over the course of the evening because I love bouncing on my yoga ball when I read or watch TV.  And this is a pretty average day.


----------



## petergrimes

Stressful, many little things going wrong, waiting for news, a build up of pressure, hard to keep a balanced perspective. Sleep shall clean the slate. In sleep I trust.


----------



## PiP

Having a reaction to the COVID booster I had yesterday. Today: Chills and lethargy. I know I'm not well as I  vegged watching a film at 10 in the morning.

A Castle for Christmas with Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes








						A Castle for Christmas (2021) - IMDb
					


A Castle for Christmas: Directed by Mary Lambert. With Brooke Shields, Cary Elwes, Lee Ross, Andi Osho. To escape a scandal, a bestselling author journeys to Scotland, where she falls in love with a castle - and faces off with the grumpy duke who owns it.





					www.imdb.com


----------



## Taylor

An uncomfortable day for an introvert, I had my professional headshot done for the promo of my book.  Hairstylist, makeup artist, and photographer all fussing over me.   Totally not my comfort zone.  But I forced myself to relax and let them do their magic.  It paid off, I'm happy with the photos.


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

I rather enjoyed A Castle for Christmas. It isn't my usual style of film but maybe it pairs well with getting the booster.


----------



## PiP

Pamelyn Casto said:


> I rather enjoyed A Castle for Christmas. It isn't my usual style of film but maybe it pairs well with getting the booster.


Not mine either but I needed a simple  story to follow rather than a complex plot… which, incidentally,  I usually end up explaining it to my husband.  .. today I did not have the patience


----------



## Sinister

Something is taking the eyes of the birds again.  Tossed out the second eyeless cardinal from the dog pen and two birds have smacked my front window today.  Starlings are migrating, too.  Why is it only my house?  They don't fly into any of the other houses out around here.  Is it cause I'm up on a hill?  Their eyes are just black pits.

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

I broke my Glass Girl...


----------



## NajaNoir

Today was one of those surreal days. Head in a fog, bad allergies, plus I worked on a day I always have off.
Everything just seemed slightly off kilter. 

Glad the day is over.


----------



## PiP

I really must get some new glasses.



NajaNoir said:


> Today was one of those surreal days. Head in a fog, bad allergies, plus I worked on a day I always have off. Everything just seemed slightly off kilter.


I've just opened my eyes and read your comment as: Today was one of those surreal days. Head *ON *a *FROG,* bad allergies, plus I worked on a day I always have off. *Everything just seemed slightly off kilter*

I thought what a *brilliant* way to describe allergy eyes. Especially tying it to off kilter when you consider how their eyes are set. There must be a poem in there somewhere. I hope you manage to get some sleep and today is better.


----------



## Olly Buckle

I think someone cut across in front of me, can't remember exactly. Anyway I missed that the car in front had stopped at the end of a traffic queue and I went straight into the back of a Range rover. Air bags went off and the whole front of my car disintegrated (crumple zone) I am very bruised and have a cracked sternum. Waited two and a half hours in the freezing cold for an ambulance, then the hospital kept me 'til 2.30am. because I had bruised my heart and they were worrying about a heart attack. Good day up to threepm, then the next twelve hours were rubbish. Everything from the waist up hurts this morning and simple stuff like getting out of bed is a painful, planned manoever.

To add insult to injury the Range rover had a slightly bent bumper and drove fine.


----------



## Firemajic

awww Ollie! I am glad you were able to let us know how you are... sending hugs, prayers and good vibes... take it easy and be good to yourself....love you bunches....


----------



## PiP

Lucky you did not catch pneumonia waiting for 2.5 hrs in the cold for an ambulance  Hope you begin to feel better soon, Olly.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Olly Buckle said:


> I think someone cut across in front of me, can't remember exactly. Anyway I missed that the car in front had stopped at the end of a traffic queue and I went straight into the back of a Range rover. Air bags went off and the whole front of my car disintegrated (crumple zone) I am very bruised and have a cracked sternum. Waited two and a half hours in the freezing cold for an ambulance, then the hospital kept me 'til 2.30am. because I had bruised my heart and they were worrying about a heart attack. Good day up to threepm, then the next twelve hours were rubbish. Everything from the waist up hurts this morning and simple stuff like getting out of bed is a painful, planned manoever.
> 
> To add insult to injury the Range rover had a slightly bent bumper and drove fine.


So sorry to hear this Ollie, hope you're feeling better soon.

A friend of mine was in an accident with a big SUV which basically cut his car in half. He miraculously walked away unhurt but the SUV was barely even scratched. He made sure his next car was that model of SUV.


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

Olly Buckle, take good care of yourself through this time of healing. This sounds like a terribly serious accident, but I suspect you are strong and will recover before we know it. That's my hope, for sure. I'm sending all the healing hopes I can muster in your direction.


----------



## Matchu

Bad luck Ollie,

At least it was a Range Rover you attacked.  Solace in the disruption of the low brow's creeping hegemony, words to the effect, phrase I invented on my own at the computer.

My wife says: 'The winter sun shines low into my eyes,' she said this poetry sat at her computer - working on the floor below, in the kitchen - although hers is not a real work like my own work, more of the tap tap tap zoom zoom IT fake work for twice of the money solutions kind of that 'work' feeding me.

I'm off from my own work until this tonight.

I have an 'easy' night shift to endure (in my prospect) as opposed to a difficult night shift stood aside the tethered gentleman. However, I do have keys for his manacles as the _senior supervisor _on duty.  Just he spits and punches through the night, then sleeps all day for our lazy day shift who sleep aside him.  They should be fired.  So few local people prepared to even visit the asylum for a Sunday viewing we can't fire anybody, current climate/politics.  Anyway, I bring him breadcrumbs and a pornographic magazine for the guard in plastic chair alongside.  My management arduous, probably completing the online safeguarding course at 4am.

Ten foot waves roll into the harbour at my shoulder, under that sunlight she mentioned.  All slush on our pavements.  I might break a collarbone on my pedal?

All best


----------



## Olly Buckle

@Matchu , Range rovers are not my favourite car either, but the lady driving it was lovely, went and got her coat out of the car to wrap around me when she saw me shivering, considering I had just back ended her car ...
I am most embarrassed by it, I did a RoSPA advanced driver test when I was a motorcyclist and always took driving v seriously. It still hurts, the worst is sleeping, it is either flat on my back and wake up in pain or sitting up and don't sleep properly. The missus keeps telling me to stand up straight "Stop looking like a tortoise", its hard to.


----------



## Matchu

More seriously I’d like to say look after yourself because your welfare is most important.  Sorry you had this trauma, you remain ROsPa qualified and a brilliant driver.  It's an unfortunate situation where your recovery is the priority.  All best


----------



## Sinister

SO...It's rare that the internet can shock or gross me out much these days.

But this post is a companion post to a thread I posted earlier today.  After searching for two days for what I thought was an Italian Horror movie that may or may not have actually existed, I was told that there was a movie matching my description called "Grave Robbers".  So I did the cheapskate thing and searched YouTube for it.

Because you never know.  Sometimes these things end up without rights owners and someone tosses an old horror movie up YT for free...

Instead, I ended up with a VHS tutorial from the 80s...shot on camcorder  With what was probably the remains of a real human body.  It was just bones, but I have NEVER seen, even a medical replica of a skull that realistic and exact.  This teenage kid, who looked white as a sheet, with saucer sized eyes in a black leather jacket, shaking like a leaf, gave me his step by step instructions, while telling me how much money I could make...and where to look for buyers...

So yeah...honestly, kinda bummed me out.  Killed the Christmas spirit for a bit.

I just wanted to watch my crappy B movie...

4/10

-Sin


----------



## Olly Buckle

Thanks, Matchu. Managed to sleep lying down last night, still a bit disturbed, but much better than sitting propped up. Sneezed this afternoon OUCH!


----------



## Matchu

Well I’m on a ‘waking night’ duty…then off for a couple of weeks - some writing is inevitable.  I wrote one story today, cranked open the blog, but then closed it all down again.  The story focusses on my ‘wife’ being ‘drunk.’  I can’t risk little jokes like that in my employment scene.  A bit sad - tho’ we did really really telephone the radio station at 10.30pm, hic, but didn’t win the prize.


----------



## PiP

Hubby didn't want to 'put up' our Christmas tree again this year because he said ''It's too big" and he "couldn't be bothered". Considering it's usually my job to build the tree from the 100 piece branch and whatsits jigsaw ...  and then decorate the beast while enjoying several glasses of Baileys to get in the Christmas spirit, I did not understand his problem. Nor did I correct him on the facts. I still had a battle to win ... sigh. I didn't exactly have a meltdown but we had an abysmal Christmas last year, thanks to COVID. There wasn't even anything decent on TV. Anyways, I digress.

'Okay, it is rather big,' I concur, 'so let's buy a smaller one. Problem solved'.
Hubby pulls the face. You know... the expression men wear... the face they pull when they've been outwitted.
Yesterday, I dragged him to a shop with such a great selection of trees, decorations and Christmas fayre it sparkled like an orgy of Christmas decor.  He muttered and cursed under his breath as I procrastinated over which tree to buy. Finally, after an hour's deliberation, I chose a small tree. Nothing fancy just a bog-standard easy to erect ,green plastic tree. We searched for the correct box.  Nope, out of the 50 trees on display and after much deliberation I chose the only model out of stock. Come on it's only the 4th of December. What gives?
Hubby rubbed his hands together in glee "That's it then. No stock."
"What about the display model?"
Did he really think I was going to give in that easily?

Anyways, to cut a long story short I started to decorate the new tree this afternoon.

Feeling in the Christmas spirit I decided to watch a Christmassy film 'Silent Night 2021' a real bundle of joy. It was listed under humour. I know British humour can be a little dark at times ...








						‘Silent Night’ Review: Keira Knightley Leads a Doomsday Christmas Comedy
					


Roman Griffin Davis delivers a more accomplished performance than in “JoJo Rabbit” in this transfixing oddity directed by his mother, Camille Griffin.





					www.indiewire.com
				











						Silent Night (2021) - IMDb
					


Silent Night: Directed by Camille Griffin. With Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Roman Griffin Davis, Annabelle Wallis. Nell, Simon, and their son Art are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.





					www.imdb.com
				




Who else has watched it?


----------



## VRanger

PiP said:


> Hubby didn't want to 'put up' our Christmas tree again this year because he said ''It's too big" and he "couldn't be bothered". Considering it's usually my job to build the tree from the 100 piece branch and whatsits jigsaw ...  and then decorate the beast while enjoying several glasses of Baileys to get in the Christmas spirit, I did not understand his problem. Nor did I correct him on the facts. I still had a battle to win ... sigh. I didn't exactly have a meltdown but we had an abysmal Christmas last year, thanks to COVID. There wasn't even anything decent on TV. Anyways, I digress.
> 
> 'Okay, it is rather big,' I concur, 'so let's buy a smaller one. Problem solved'.
> Hubby pulls the face. You know... the expression men wear... the face they pull when they've been outwitted.
> Yesterday, I dragged him to a shop with such a great selection of trees, decorations and Christmas fayre it sparkled like an orgy of Christmas decor.  He muttered and cursed under his breath as I procrastinated over which tree to buy. Finally, after an hour's deliberation, I chose a small tree. Nothing fancy just a bog-standard easy to erect ,green plastic tree. We searched for the correct box.  Nope, out of the 50 trees on display and after much deliberation I chose the only model out of stock. Come on it's only the 4th of December. What gives?
> Hubby rubbed his hands together in glee "That's it then. No stock."
> "What about the display model?"
> Did he really think I was going to give in that easily?
> 
> Anyways, to cut a long story short I started to decorate the new tree this afternoon.
> 
> Feeling in the Christmas spirit I decided to watch a Christmassy film 'Silent Night 2021' a real bundle of joy. It was listed under humour. I know British humour can be a little dark at times ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ‘Silent Night’ Review: Keira Knightley Leads a Doomsday Christmas Comedy
> 
> 
> 
> Roman Griffin Davis delivers a more accomplished performance than in “JoJo Rabbit” in this transfixing oddity directed by his mother, Camille Griffin.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.indiewire.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Silent Night (2021) - IMDb
> 
> 
> 
> Silent Night: Directed by Camille Griffin. With Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Roman Griffin Davis, Annabelle Wallis. Nell, Simon, and their son Art are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.imdb.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Who else has watched it?


This is the kind of writing that made me want you for a collaboration partner. :-D


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

I can see why, too, VRanger. PiP is darned good at keeping a reader . . . wanting to keep reading.


----------



## Matchu

I sit in the foaming rage of the ‘plastic tree’ indignation…on my night shift.

Understanding how such things do divide us

But everybody in the know knows in the know:

Man visits a forest, or the horrible man at forest’s edge, and presents him twenty pounds.  Man drags tree home.  Wife sets to work.  Those are rules.  Likewise fairy not star rules.


----------



## ehbowen

Put up the outside Christmas lights for my parents. Looks a little pathetic compared to most of their high-end neighborhood...but none of us are doing very "high-end" these days!


----------



## Theglasshouse

PiP said:


> Hubby didn't want to 'put up' our Christmas tree again this year because he said ''It's too big" and he "couldn't be bothered". Considering it's usually my job to build the tree from the 100 piece branch and whatsits jigsaw ...  and then decorate the beast while enjoying several glasses of Baileys to get in the Christmas spirit, I did not understand his problem. Nor did I correct him on the facts. I still had a battle to win ... sigh. I didn't exactly have a meltdown but we had an abysmal Christmas last year, thanks to COVID. There wasn't even anything decent on TV. Anyways, I digress.
> 
> 'Okay, it is rather big,' I concur, 'so let's buy a smaller one. Problem solved'.
> Hubby pulls the face. You know... the expression men wear... the face they pull when they've been outwitted.
> Yesterday, I dragged him to a shop with such a great selection of trees, decorations and Christmas fayre it sparkled like an orgy of Christmas decor.  He muttered and cursed under his breath as I procrastinated over which tree to buy. Finally, after an hour's deliberation, I chose a small tree. Nothing fancy just a bog-standard easy to erect ,green plastic tree. We searched for the correct box.  Nope, out of the 50 trees on display and after much deliberation I chose the only model out of stock. Come on it's only the 4th of December. What gives?
> Hubby rubbed his hands together in glee "That's it then. No stock."
> "What about the display model?"
> Did he really think I was going to give in that easily?
> 
> Anyways, to cut a long story short I started to decorate the new tree this afternoon.
> 
> Feeling in the Christmas spirit I decided to watch a Christmassy film 'Silent Night 2021' a real bundle of joy. It was listed under humour. I know British humour can be a little dark at times ...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ‘Silent Night’ Review: Keira Knightley Leads a Doomsday Christmas Comedy
> 
> 
> 
> Roman Griffin Davis delivers a more accomplished performance than in “JoJo Rabbit” in this transfixing oddity directed by his mother, Camille Griffin.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.indiewire.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Silent Night (2021) - IMDb
> 
> 
> 
> Silent Night: Directed by Camille Griffin. With Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Roman Griffin Davis, Annabelle Wallis. Nell, Simon, and their son Art are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.imdb.com


Silent Night (2021) - IMDb


PiP said:


> Silent Night (2021) - IMDb
> Nell, Simon, and their son Art are ready to welcome friends and family for what promises to be a perfect Christmas gathering. Perfect except for one thing: everyone is going to die.
> Who else has watched it?


Sounds like Hamlet and Shakesperean tragedy if going by the synopsis.


----------



## PiP

Matchu said:


> I sit in the foaming rage of the ‘plastic tree’ indignation…on my night shift.


Please don't foam... it is fully recyclable. That's the tree not the foam ... And I recycle or upcycle all the time. Especially upcycle. It's a passion of mine. At one point my husband said my vegetable garden resembled Steptoe's yard as I upcycle plastic paint pots and other sundry containers to grow vegetables in. I am like a Womble rummaging around the rubbish bins ... but it is different here. When someone no longer has a use for an item we place it by the communal bins.

A few years ago I brought home a plastic table and recovered some old swimming pool tiles dumped at the side of the road. I painstakingly removed all the cement and reused the tiles to mosaic the top of the table.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Love your recycled table, PiP. You should get the book my daughter gave me for my birthday, 'This is not a drill', an extinction rebellion handbook. It is published by Penguin and is a collection of essays by all sorts of different people, some fun, some scary, some plain annoying. It is amazing the different people brought together by the climate emergency. As the one about the 'Arts factory' says they avoid colours like red and blue that are associated with political groups , "no alienation or division". I think I will be buying a few copies as Christmas presents.



PiP said:


> Hubby pulls the face. You know... the expression men wear... the face they pull when they've been outwitted.


Oh yes 'That look'.
Though it sounds as though you learned to cope with it long ago


----------



## Darkkin

I've been Potato splatted...





And I still have three books remaining to track down before I have the complete set.  Have I read them all?  Yes.  Did I start with the most recent and work my way through in no particular order?  Yes.  Am I rereading them...also yes.


----------



## ehbowen

Any day...or any season!...in which Navy beats Army is a good one!

(For our international readership: The U.S. Naval Academy [at Annapolis] played the U.S. Military Academy [at West Point] in a collegiate-level American football match today, held annually at a neutral site [Metlife Stadium in New Jersey, near New York City, this year] almost every year since 1890; this was the 122nd match...the longest and probably most storied rivalry in all of the sport. It is rare that either team is truly top-ranked as due to military obligations upon graduation most players with professional NFL potential opt for less restrictive colleges and universities. Even so, this year the Army Black Knights had compiled an 8-3 winning record going into the game with a post-season 'bowl game' invitation in hand and were heavily favored against the Navy Midshipmen with their 3-8 losing record. However, after a few initial lapses the Midshipmens' defense became smothering and their offense was tenacious enough to scratch out a 17-13 victory. The all-time record for this grudge match now stands at 62 wins for Navy, 53 wins for Army, with 7 ties.)

As a former "squid", all I can say is...Go Navy!

Edit To Add: This!


----------



## VRanger

I spent today putting up Christmas lights out front, which I didn't have the spirit for last year. And it is more of a personal spirit thing. We live about 100 yards back from a highway, so most people who will see them are buzzing past at 55-65 miles an hour. LOL And, one set of net lights I hung on our front porch railing worked in my shop, but were DOA when I plugged them in after hanging them. I wound up patching together two old sets that each "half worked" to cover that area. I'll be buying lights at half price at Home Dept again after Christmas. LOL

It's always an engineering challenge to make sure everything winds up in a configuration that will plug in. Some of the net lights have straight prongs, and some have the wide prong. So the wide prong lights have to go next to the drop cord. They can't be on the end because they won't plug into the sets with only narrow prongs. Then I wrapped strings around our columns and up down the stair railings. Tomorrow I'll have to find my laser show that sets up with a spike out in the yard. I see it often when I'm not looking for it, but didn't spot it this afternoon.

Finally, I dug the Christmas tree out of the back corner of the shop and got it up to the house. I'll get it set up tomorrow.


----------



## Sinister

Yeah, I think I do Christmas decorations more as a ritual, or for self-fulfillment.  No one sees mine out here, unless people come over and people don't come over.  And not only that, there's something...transgressive about not decorating.  Least it feels that way.

-Sin


----------



## PiP

I spent the day trying to order Christmas presents for the grandkids. Presents they don't need but because it's Christmas they expect. Next year I have decided to adopt a polar bear, giant panda or donate to a child's education in Africa in their name ... or whatever and then explain why. Just joking... or am I? Sorely tempted.
Then I had to address all the Christmas cards and include a message. It is important to include the names of all their pets. thank goodness the twenty guineapigs passed on - that was always going to be a struggle as they breed like rabbits.

We were due to spend a COVID Christmas with our family in the UK this year ... errrr... no, I am not getting on a plane and risk contracting the Omicron variant just  to watch a toy orgy. Bah humbug. LoL Tonight I actually told one of my sons: If they want a toy orgy I suggest we have it in July. None of them really know the story of Christmas. Went down like a lead balloon.

When my kids were young the school always organised a Nativity play with Carols. Do they still do this? Happy memories. It's the only time in my life I got to be the back end of a donkey. Character building ...


----------



## Darkkin

Some candid captures of my circus tonight.  Rue stole my spot and Potato is helping make Christmas gifts.


----------



## Sinister

Today was abysmal.

I was forced to adopt and accept the use of the Oxford Comma.  I hate/loathe the Oxford Comma, but I'm going to have to change now.  It's going to be really difficult to get into the habit of using it.

Not to bury the lead, but I'm also pretty sure I was poisoned.  I bought a big bag of bin candy.  Eating it put me in a short comatose state.  I feel like it was drugged with something.  I could breathe and see, but not move.  It lasted a good two hours.  This has happened twice, both times after eating the chocolate.  Don't know what to do with it.  I feel like trashing it, but that seems selfish.  It was candy; what if a small child got some?  Don't really want to take it to the police either...

Clueless.

3/10

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> Today was abysmal.
> 
> I was forced to adopt and accept the use of the Oxford Comma.  I hate/loathe the Oxford Comma, but I'm going to have to change now.  It's going to be really difficult to get into the habit of using it.


Imagine how I feel. I have a British writing partner and she doesn't use the Oxford comma, even though it's her own nation's comma. I find that shocking, but I've learned to accept the situation.


----------



## Mark Twain't

VRanger said:


> Imagine how I feel. I have a British writing partner and she doesn't use the Oxford comma, even though it's her own nation's comma. I find that shocking, but I've learned to accept the situation.


I point blank refuse to use it!


----------



## Olly Buckle

PiP said:


> When my kids were young the school always organised a Nativity play with Carols. Do they still do this?


Yes, we received pictures the other day from our eldest of the grand daughter being a sheep with the shepherds,/ I think she was probably the youngest one there and looked so proud of herself. It broughtback memories of her mother dressed as a blackbird breaking off her dance with the other blackbirds to come to the front of the stage and wave when she spotted us in the audience


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sinister said:


> Not to bury the lead, but I'm also pretty sure I was poisoned. I bought a big bag of bin candy. Eating it put me in a short comatose state. I feel like it was drugged with something. I could breathe and see, but not move. It lasted a good two hours. This has happened twice, both times after eating the chocolate. Don't know what to do with it. I feel like trashing it, but that seems selfish. It was candy; what if a small child got some? Don't really want to take it to the police either...



I am guessing that 'Bin candy' means the sort where you help yourself and it does not come packaged, so there is no telling what additives are put in to it. Some of the flavourings and colourings used in cheap sweets are really not nice, the excuse is that they only affect one in so many people, but that is not a help if you are one of those people. I would suggest getting in touch with someone local in charge of food health issues and then using the the information to pressure your local legislators.  I don't know who they would be in the US, but If things like that are going into foodstuffs people should at least be able to read a label and avoid them, even if they are not banned. The more people who say so the more likely something will happen, and in the meantime knowing what it is might help you avoid it.


----------



## Sinister

Olly, it was that sort of candy, exactly.  I figured I was safe mainly because it was a very health-conscious, somewhat hipster-ish store.  It looked like the sort of thing you might find in a trail mix or a bridge mix.  I admit, I typically buy packaged sweets.  This was an impulse buy.  Lesson learned, certainly.  And point of fact, it wasn't very nice at all...  Having a suspiciously salty/bitter flavor, that, in retrospect, is pretty alarming.

-Sin


----------



## PiP

VRanger said:


> Imagine how I feel. I have a British writing partner and she doesn't use the Oxford comma, even though it's her own nation's comma. I find that shocking, but I've learned to accept the situation.


You do realise I identify as English and not British LoL  Welsh are from Wales. Scots are from Scotland. I am from England. Oxford is in England so maybe I should learn how to use it LoL Poor Jim,  his partner's a punctuation nightmare. A ninja. He'll soon have no hair left ...

So how is my day going SO far ...?  Let's just say: today is a lot better than yesterday ... so far.


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

What's the beef with the Oxford comma? I love it! Can't write without it! Don't want to write without it!


----------



## VRanger

Pamelyn Casto said:


> What's the beef with the Oxford comma? I love it! Can't write without it! Don't want to write without it!


I use it, but only when I'm in the mood.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Pamelyn Casto said:


> What's the beef with the Oxford comma? I love it! Can't write without it! Don't want to write without it!


A comma before 'and' just looks wrong!


----------



## Matchu

Olly Buckle said:


> I am guessing that 'Bin candy' means the sort where you help yourself and it does not come packaged, so there is no telling what additives are put in to it. Some of the flavourings and colourings used in cheap sweets are really not nice, the excuse is that they only affect one in so many people, but that is not a help if you are one of those people. I would suggest getting in touch with someone local in charge of food health issues and then using the the information to pressure your local legislators.  I don't know who they would be in the US, but If things like that are going into foodstuffs people should at least be able to read a label and avoid them, even if they are not banned. The more people who say so the more likely something will happen, and in the meantime knowing what it is might help you avoid it.


_SORTED.  My template is free for the download purposes:_

My dear elected member of parliament,

I was visiting the pick & mix counter only the other week and whether it was the chocolate brasils or the cola bottles I cannot say but I confirm to you now I suffered a serious & mysterious reaction to the sweets and I was waylaid from my activities for several hours.

This is not the first time I have endured adverse sickness at the hands of these possibly imported foodstuffs/candies.

When will your government introduce the appropriate and necessary  legislation to protect me from the consequences of consuming loose sweets from any number of the pick n mix counters!

Yours sincerely,

Citizen


----------



## Mark Twain't

Ordered a new Kindle from Amazon on Wednesday to be delivered next Thursday. Got an email last night that it's been dispatched and will be delivered today.

Also got an email from work to say I've been given a pay rise, a decent one at that.

I think that qualifies as a good day.


----------



## Theglasshouse

How did my day go so far? So far at the beach taking care of two dogs who can create a raucous environment. Going to negotiate with my brother that present. It's going to be a strange present. A chalkboard with a disabilities book. Then I'll nab something else I have been looking at. It's the writing center book I have been looking at. If I renegotiate this (no switch) then I will get a class for plotting only. It's an expensive class. The focus is on how to create conflict. That and I will get a subscription again to prowriting aid. I will take the class late since I need the materials to see if I can do this the best way possible. Since it is the holidays it will be after Christmas. So far I am doing good. It's fun being close to the beach.


----------



## Sinister

Filtered and reracked my Perry.  Siphoned out a glass and tried it.  Very very dry.  It's going to have to be back sweetened.  But what's more worrisome is that I can taste the camden solution in the wine.  Gives it a tiny toast flavor to the wine.  This is the final straw.  I'm going for a more taste-neutral metabisulfite next time.  I'm thinking potassium.  Camden is old-world.  It tastes like spent fireworks.

That said, the Perry was a success.  Much more so than the plum wine.  I'm just going to have to improve on it next year.  But next up is mead, then Dandelion wine.  Already dreading the Dandelion wine.  So much busy-work.

6/10

-Sin


----------



## ehbowen

Christmas party at the parents'. Lots of in-laws and out-laws (my sister has 8 kids, three married, and five grandkids). Hoping I stay healthy!


----------



## PiP

It's raining cats and dogs as we say. I should be going to the village to buy a Christmas pressie for my sister. No way ... so I'm cosied up in front of the log fire working on WF while sipping on a Portuguese liqueur and coffee and pondering a subplot for Book 2 of the collab. I am trying to energise the brain cell to swot up on the correct use of the Oxford comma before @VRanger beats me over the head... just joking!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Both daughters, their partners and the grandchild came over yesterday, an excellent day with far too much food of excellent quality. 5year old grand daughter loved the willow pattern plate I had found her and the story that went with it. Younger daughter, age 29, was dead chuffed that she had been to the supermarket twice this week and been age checked when she bought alcohol. Spent a large part of today making a ****ing coffee table, of which more elsewhere. I can't do all that bending and kneeling like I used to, it's bad enough in the garden.


----------



## H.Brown

Darkkin said:


> I just indexed my Strangeways to Nowhere files so I know what is where and I think I broke my brain.  I still need to add my 2021 NaPoem work to it still, but will make referencing specific pieces on my tablet easier.  While I do have everything in hardcopy, it is cumbersome to haul anywhere.


Love a good bit of organisation for writing files.


----------



## PiP

H.Brown said:


> Love a good bit of organisation for writing files.


Hey, H. Long time no see. How are you?


----------



## H.Brown

PiP said:


> Hey, H. Long time no see. How are you?


Hey Pip I am very well. I didn't realise how long I had been away and when I came back, just WOW look at this place. We have an app. I love the new looking WF it's amazing.
It's been an amazing year for me, while the writing front has been slow going, I've expirenced pregnancy and am now in the joys of loving my 11 week old son.

How are you?


----------



## PiP

H.Brown said:


> Hey Pip I am very well. I didn't realise how long I had been away and when I came back, just WOW look at this place. We have an app. I love the new looking WF it's amazing.


Thanks, H. Yep, WF needed a complete makeover and it's still WIP  We also have a shiny new blog. Getting there _slowly _


H.Brown said:


> It's been an amazing year for me, while the writing front has been slow going, I've expirenced pregnancy and am now in the joys of loving my 11 week old son.



WoW! Exciting news  Congratulations. What's his name? Is he sleeping through yet?


H.Brown said:


> How are you?


I am okay ... trying to dodge the COVID waves as I've morphed from party animal to recluse. I've just completed my first novel (romantic comedy) as a collaboration with @VRanger  and now the hard work begins - find an agent.  We are now working on the plot for Book II .


----------



## PiP

@H.Brown
Would you like me to edit the dodgy link in your signature?


----------



## H.Brown

PiP said:


> Thanks, H. Yep, WF needed a complete makeover and it's still WIP  We also have a shiny new blog. Getting there _slowly _
> 
> 
> WoW! Exciting news  Congratulations. What's his name? Is he sleeping through yet?
> 
> I am okay ... trying to dodge the COVID waves as I've morphed from party animal to recluse. I've just completed my first novel (romantic comedy) as a collaboration with @VRanger  and now the hard work begins - find an agent.  We are now working on the plot for Book II .


Thats awesome congrats on the new book with @VRanger 

His name is Lucas and yes he sleeps from 11pm all the way through until 8am but I'm still waking up when he fusses at 3/4am.

It's truely amazing what you have done with WF. It's so easy to find everything and much easier to stay on top of replying woth the notifications.

When the book is ready for buying you will have to drop me a message so I can buy a copy.


----------



## H.Brown

PiP said:


> @H.Brown
> Would you like me to edit the dodgy link in your signature?


Yes please if there is one I would live it edited. Thank you.


----------



## H.Brown

Olly Buckle said:


> Both daughters, their partners and the grandchild came over yesterday, an excellent day with far too much food of excellent quality. 5year old grand daughter loved the willow pattern plate I had found her and the story that went with it. Younger daughter, age 29, was dead chuffed that she had been to the supermarket twice this week and been age checked when she bought alcohol. Spent a large part of today making a ****ing coffee table, of which more elsewhere. I can't do all that bending and kneeling like I used to, it's bad enough in the garden.


Hey Olly getting age checked at 29 is an awesome feeling. However getting age checked at 31 has begun to loose its appeal. 

Glad you have gotten to see your family before christmas.


----------



## PiP

H.Brown said:


> Thats awesome congrats on the new book with @VRanger



Yes, we've worked extremely hard.  We must thank @Foxee for organising a collab challenge and the novel evolved from there.


H.Brown said:


> His name is Lucas and yes he sleeps from 11pm all the way through until 8am but I'm still waking up when he fusses at 3/4am.


I love his name. You are lucky he sleeps through so you can get plenty of rest.



H.Brown said:


> It's truely amazing what you have done with WF. It's so easy to find everything and much easier to stay on top of replying woth the notifications.



Thank you.  Moving from the old green lady to a new format  was tough


H.Brown said:


> When the book is ready for buying you will have to drop me a message so I can buy a copy.


I will  Thanks

We also have a Members' Bookstore now








						Members' Published Books
					


Writing Forum's Showcase for published books by engaged WF members. If you’re looking for your next good read, consider a purchase here to support both our members and WF.





					www.writingforums.com
				



which I believe was the brainchild of @indianroads @VRanger and ?


----------



## indianroads

PiP said:


> We also have a Members' Bookstore now
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Members' Published Books
> 
> 
> 
> Writing Forum's Showcase for published books by engaged WF members. If you’re looking for your next good read, consider a purchase here to support both our members and WF.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.writingforums.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> which I believe was the brainchild of @indianroads @VRanger and ?


They say there's never been a monument built for a committee - but I beg to differ.


----------



## H.Brown

indianroads said:


> They say there's never been a monument built for a committee - but I beg to differ.


You have all done a fantastic job. I love loads of the new additions to the forums makes WF even better.

Cobgrats to all involved. Will try and be around more haunting the fiction and challenge forums. I'm half way through my first novel in my new Fae series so fingers crossed lil man lets me get back to writing that as well.

I do get some good sleep between 11pm and 3/4ish when I wake up thinking he's awake for a bottle but he's fast asleep  so I still feel knackered.


----------



## indianroads

H.Brown said:


> You have all done a fantastic job. I love loads of the new additions to the forums makes WF even better.
> 
> Cobgrats to all involved. Will try and be around more haunting the fiction and challenge forums. I'm half way through my first novel in my new Fae series so fingers crossed lil man lets me get back to writing that as well.
> 
> I do get some good sleep between 11pm and 3/4ish when I wake up thinking he's awake for a bottle but he's fast asleep  so I still feel knackered.


I remember when our first daughter was born - we kept her cradle in our bedroom (big mistake). She's breathing loud, some obstruction - I get up and check... she's fine. Later, we can't hear her breathing - I get up to check... she's fine. Lather, rinse, repeat ALL NIGHT LONG.
Actually, she was a great baby, slept pretty much though the night from the start. Number 2 daughter though... colic... need I say more?


----------



## H.Brown

indianroads said:


> I remember when our first daughter was born - we kept her cradle in our bedroom (big mistake). She's breathing loud, some obstruction - I get up and check... she's fine. Later, we can't hear her breathing - I get up to check... she's fine.
> Lather, rinse, repeat ALL NIGHT LONG. Actually, she was a great baby, slept pretty much though the night from the start. Number 2 daughter though... colic... need I say more?


We've had our fair share of ups and downs with lil man from him only wanting to sleep on me for a week and half he refused to sleep in moses basket, so ended up buying a new crib. Then he just screamed all day and night pretty much for two weeks, got a rash, either threw up or pooped out the milk he drank. But he has been so much better on this hypoallergenic milk that doctors prescribed him for the last 6 weeks now and began sleeping through the night for us on this milk. Just have to get his weight up a little now and hoping he grows out of screaming while having a bowel movement. But we're loving his giggles and baby chatter.

He's still in out room in a next to me cot right beside the bed so he can see me if he wakes, and yes any noise or no noise has me checking on him. He likes grumbling in his sleep in the early hours.


----------



## indianroads

H.Brown said:


> We've had our fair share of ups and downs with lil man from him only wanting to sleep on me for a week and half he refused to sleep in moses basket, so ended up buying a new crib. Then he just screamed all day and night pretty much for two weeks, got a rash, either threw up or pooped out the milk he drank. But he has been so much better on this hypoallergenic milk that doctors prescribed him for the last 6 weeks now and began sleeping through the night for us on this milk. Just have to get his weight up a little now and hoping he grows out of screaming while having a bowel movement. But we're loving his giggles and baby chatter.
> 
> He's still in out room in a next to me cot right beside the bed so he can see me if he wakes, and yes any noise or no noise has me checking on him. He likes grumbling in his sleep in the early hours.


Yeah, been there, done that, got the t-shirt - and REALLY glad I don't have to do it again.
When our daughters had kids, and they acted up or were crying, my greatest pleasure was handing the child to them, saying, "Here, it's your turn now."


----------



## H.Brown

indianroads said:


> Yeah, been there, done that, got the t-shirt - and REALLY glad I don't have to do it again.
> When our daughters had kids, and they acted up or were crying, my greatest pleasure was handing the child to them, saying, "Here, it's your turn now."


Think my mum and dad and my OH's mum are enjoying that with lil man but my mums been awesome she has him for the whole weekend every two weeks to give us a rest as they live an hours drive away and we still at my OH's parents house while we try finding a house to buy near us in the UK but houses are being bought so quick and for more than we can afford we've found this year.


----------



## Matchu

I miss babies, I miss the jigging up & down and being a ‘baby-master’ and the way  it went so wrong when the first one hit 22 years of age and I’m not a baby-master any longer and making no claims no more when I might freeze-frame 2006(?), eight kids, five babies to drive to the beach solo, & back and all of my military training of children off the internet on the beach, and no recognition from the royal family or a TV show or nothing like that really just giving them my money forever until I fall dead in a supermarket in about 5 years time.

[_idiot post_]


----------



## Theglasshouse

My brother had a baby shower. I am trying to understand whether nvda helps or not with writing which is free. For some reason I think I might have picked up more mistakes. I found myself correcting the manuscript multiple times. It is free and I have recommended it to kunox before. I don't really know as of yet. It is like claroread for Microsoft word but is free. The updated version is less robotic and used the sapi version 5 Microsoft voices. Before I could not stand the voice. It is worth looking up as free assistive technology for anyone that needs these to overcome writing difficulties.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat was helping wrap presents...by getting his head stuck in a gift bag.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Ours was frozen in fear having spotted the invisible garage ceiling monster!


----------



## indianroads

Yeah - cats have a great time helping us wrap presents and decorate the Christmas tree... and we get to clean up the mess.
Seriously though, I love cats (and dogs too).


----------



## PiP

Mark Twain't said:


> Ours was frozen in fear having spotted the invisible garage ceiling monster!
> 
> View attachment 27963


Father Christmas REALLY does exist ...


----------



## Lawless

While car owners are toiling to free their cars, the children are doing easily twice the amount of work just having fun in the heaps of snow nearby.


----------



## Sinister

Weened off of old medicine onto new medicine and a nice healthy Moderna booster.  I now feel like I got runover by a car while having a nuclear core meltdown.  That's my Christmas present to me...

But in all seriousness, I accomplished something that needed to be done.  I'm satisfied with that.

-Sin


----------



## Olly Buckle

H.Brown said:


> Hey Pip I am very well. I didn't realise how long I had been away and when I came back, just WOW look at this place. We have an app. I love the new looking WF it's amazing.
> It's been an amazing year for me, while the writing front has been slow going, I've expirenced pregnancy and am now in the joys of loving my 11 week old son.
> 
> How are you?


Hi, excellent to see you again, and big congratulations. Read through your posts. Bringing up kids can be a bit tough sometimes, just you wait 'til you meet stupid teachers and such, but there is nothing like it. Have a great Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you next year!


----------



## indianroads

H.Brown said:


> Hey Olly getting age checked at 29 is an awesome feeling. However getting age checked at 31 has begun to loose its appeal.
> 
> Glad you have gotten to see your family before christmas.


At 17 I could walk into almost every bar and order a beer. I aged early, but according to my wife I've stopped and haven't changed much for the last decade - yeah, right, tell that to my aching bones.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My day wasn't too bad, but the missus came home most upset. The Govt. has said people who have had contact with covid don't need to isolate so long as they test every day. They have been given covid test to give out at the library and she said they had a real run on them with a number of people telling her they had a relative sick at home. That means she is dealing with people who are far more likely than most to be a source of infection. Not what she signed up for as a library assistant, and she is very aware that as I take immuno-suppressants bringing it home could well kill me. She wears an ff3 mask all day and won't take it off indoors, that stops over 90% in as well as out, far far better than the standard blue surgical, but it leaves creases in her face where she wears it all day. She sanatises, and eats her lunch in her car outside, makes sure windows are kept open and takes all the precautions she can, but this seems really above and beyond. Library assistants are not front line workers, and several of her colleagues have 'at risk' relatives such as aged parents at home, why can't they give the tests out at the test centers where they are supplied with proper personal protection? It was bad enough before when it was just people being cautious, but now it is people in contact with someone who is ill being sent in by the authorities ...  NO, not acceptable.


----------



## H.Brown

Olly Buckle said:


> My day wasn't too bad, but the missus came home most upset. The Govt. has said people who have had contact with covid don't need to isolate so long as they test every day. They have been given covid test to give out at the library and she said they had a real run on them with a number of people telling her they had a relative sick at home. That means she is dealing with people who are far more likely than most to be a source of infection. Not what she signed up for as a library assistant, and she is very aware that as I take immuno-suppressants bringing it home could well kill me. She wears an ff3 mask all day and won't take it off indoors, that stops over 90% in as well as out, far far better than the standard blue surgical, but it leaves creases in her face where she wears it all day. She sanatises, and eats her lunch in her car outside, makes sure windows are kept open and takes all the precautions she can, but this seems really above and beyond. Library assistants are not front line workers, and several of her colleagues have 'at risk' relatives such as aged parents at home, why can't they give the tests out at the test centers where they are supplied with proper personal protection? It was bad enough before when it was just people being cautious, but now it is people in contact with someone who is ill being sent in by the authorities ...  NO, not acceptable.


My OH's mum was a library assistant it's ridiculous what they are expected to do. She retured early last year because they wanted her to advise people over the phone how to sign up for universal credit which she has no idea about. I feel for your wife Olly and hope christmas cheers her up.


----------



## Olly Buckle

H.Brown said:


> My OH's mum was a library assistant it's ridiculous what they are expected to do. She retured early last year because they wanted her to advise people over the phone how to sign up for universal credit which she has no idea about. I feel for your wife Olly and hope christmas cheers her up.



Thanks, she loves Christmas, so she will have a good time. They had her answering phones last year too, vulnerable people, advising them how to get supermarket deliveries and putting them in touch with people like Red Cross volunteers. She is not really my wife, we spent 37 years saying we didn't want to get married, but then last year we had a Civil Partnership ceremony, so we are each other's next of kin which might be useful. Can't say it has made her anymore civil  just kidding.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Regarding the tests being given out. She has just noticed that the instructions on the new tests are different from the old ones and are taped to the outside of the box, however inside the box there are still the old instructions, which will not work with the new tests. Yet another example of incompetence potentially leading to disastrous results. It also means that they should not simply hand out the tests, but have a conversation warning each potentially infected person. She says that when she goes back after Christmas she is going to put her foot down, it is not in her job description and the council has a duty of care for her in her employment which it breaches. She can be a very determined person, I almost feel sorry for them; almost.


----------



## Sinister

Bit of a hangover from the Perry.  Lol, I'm not supposed to drink.  Today was an exception to the rule.  Had a cozy day.  Someone outside was setting off Christmas fireworks that could be seen from a mile off or more.  All-in-all a good day, though.

6/10

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

Hope your holidays were merry and bright.


----------



## Sinister

I woke up depressed.  It's funny, every time I get started on new medications I have so many...idk, expectations.  The rub is that they all take so long to reach an effective level they could be working great.  But their immediate effect is horrible.

For those that have a curiosity into what it's like to start new medication, I can best describe it like this:



Spoiler: Click here only if you really want to know



How you think it will feel:



How it feels days after you start it:




BUT, somehow the knowledge that it's the medication doing it to me helps a thousand-fold.  I just watched one of my favorite movies of all-time to cheer me up and I've been making about three quarts of cold-brew coffee.  I'm going to put on music and clean my house today.  I need to do something practical.  Yesterday worked well because I made preserves, just need to keep doing things like that.

Today is 4/10 but I'm going to turn it around.

I'm pushing for a 6/10

-Sin


----------



## Olly Buckle

I can empathise, I spent years being swapped from one medication that sort of worked to another that also didn't really do it before i found the specialist who prescribed methotrexate for me. I have been on that and a bit of prednisolone for several years now and feel pretty much 'normal', well , health wise. Don't despair is what I am saying. It is not easy, but with luck one day someone will get it right and balanced.


----------



## Sinister

Olly Buckle said:


> I can empathise, I spent years being swapped from one medication that sort of worked to another that also didn't really do it before i found the specialist who prescribed methotrexate for me. I have been on that and a bit of prednisolone for several years now and feel pretty much 'normal', well , health wise. Don't despair is what I am saying. It is not easy, but with luck one day someone will get it right and balanced.


 
Thanks, Olly.  I appreciate it.  

And yeah, I know that racetrack well...  All the Abilifys and Buspars and Dexedrines and Celestas and Xanaxs...  They say you are what you eat, I think I'm half a pharmacy these days.

But I have to gamble on them.  My money's not good at any other casino.  lol

-Sin


----------



## PrairieHostage

Count me in on the medication train whoo whooooo. Chugga chugga chug. It's a ride isn't it?! I've tried many meds for my low grade depression and 3 weeks ago the funniest thing happened.

I wasn't happy with the wideness of my girth. Emptying out the litter box winded me and clothes were getting tight. So my doc prescribed Vyvanse which is for folks with ADHD except a strong side effect is appetite control.

Vyvanse works by slowly increasing the levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in our brain. Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that increases attention and alertness. Dopamine is a natural substance that increases pleasure and helps us focus.

Well. Not only am I eating far less, but I have energy and my mood is best it's been in years! Not in a million years did I think I'd find something. Maybe it's my Christmas present.

Anyway, it's not cheap but with a drug plan through my pension, it's do-able.

We march on!


----------



## Olly Buckle

I thank the Lord for the post war socialist government who instituted the NHS, and hate the millionaires from Tony Blair on who are trying to deconstruct it, (How can a socialist party leader become a millionaire? Or a Knight of the realm? but I digress). In the last thirty years or so I have developed a chronic disease that needs continuous medication, broken a leg twice, cracked my sternum and dislocated my shoulder. If I had to pay for all that it would cripple me, and what happens for the single mum who has a child with some sort of congenital condition? Or the woman like my partner who had three ectopic pregnancies before managing to have a daughter by IVF? To me it is a basic human right that people in need of medical care should receive it, and those who want to deny it to some because they are immigrants or foreigners, or qualify that in some other way, are lacking in basic humanity.


----------



## PiP

@Sinister the SOAP&SKIN - SUGARBREAD [official] video is scary. I do hope you can find the right meds soon. Depression is not easy to deal with ... but seems like you have found your own coping mechanism by keeping yourself busy. I've just started a free online course: Food as Medicine








						Page from Food as Medicine - Monash University
					


Discover the role of food in health, apply nutrition science and explore how food can be used as medicine for you and your family.





					www.futurelearn.com
				




Anyways ... it's my Birthday today so I wanted to treat a couple of good friends to lunch but no go ... To go into a restaurant at the moment you not only need to present your Covid vaccination pass but also an official negative lateral flow test result ... signed and stamped. (Valid I believe for maybe 48hrs). I did not want to go shopping so I raided the freezer and found lots of chicken legs and merguez sausages. We made some potato wedges and picked some fresh salad from the garden. I also made some garlic bread ... All washed down with six bottles of red wine ... now I have a bad headache!

Diet starts tomorrow!


----------



## Sinister

PiP said:


> Anyways ... it's my Birthday today



Happy Birthday, PiP!!  ^^  Sorry if it's a little late!  I hope you had a nice Birthday.

EDIT:
Also, don't worry about me, I've been through it many times.  I'll be good in the future tense and they'll get it right, I'm sure.  ^^;

-Sin


----------



## PrairieHostage

Yesterday & today I worked through each scene of my YA novel to answer a series of questions that ensure accurate pov, goals, conflicts, stakes and set up for next scene.  I've rewritten some scenes by either removing or adding. I thought it would take me 5 days but I'll have it done in 3. It feels great to have that through line of my MC's inner conflict to see how he grows. Tomorrow I'll go through last few chapters. Monday is a deeper dive into goals & motivation of all characters. Whew. Revisions is busy work. I've been at this for all of December and likely go right to end of January. 
Happy New Year everyone!!


----------



## Alanzie

Got stuck being COVID positive and in the past 2 days of quarantine/isolation, have written the best stuff I've ever put out.  Don't know why, but it's exhilarating.


----------



## PiP

We took a flask of coffee to a bench on the cliffs and looked out to sea. Much to my surprise, I spotted a pod of dolphins ... amazing! We then walked along the cliff road to the next beach and admired the view of the estuary below. My next challenge is to walk down all the steps to the bench at the bottom. I'm not sure if I will make it but I am going to try. Husband is dubious. He's already prewarned me IF I make it to the bottom he won't be giving me a piggyback to the top.


----------



## Mark Twain't

PiP said:


> We took a flask of coffee to a bench on the cliffs and looked out to sea. Much to my surprise, I spotted a pod of dolphins ... amazing! We then walked along the cliff road to the next beach and admired the view of the estuary below. My next challenge is to walk down all the steps to the bench at the bottom. I'm not sure if I will make it but I am going to try. Husband is dubious. He's already prewarned me IF I make it to the bottom he won't be giving me a piggyback to the top.
> View attachment 28032


Hmm, I'd need a good run up, tilt a little backwards and let my rear wheels carry me down. Probably need a forklift to get me back up though.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sadly, the coronavirus or covid-19 has infected some of my family members. It makes me feel vulnerable, and I'd rather not think of the disaster at my grandmother's house. You can feel lonely and impotent if you were in my situation.

The in-laws were infected as well.

People in my immediate family are not sick. The important thought is that it got detected early.

The culprits are youth in my family and not any stranger. It puzzles me how this happened. But I am calm for the time being.

The apple computer arrives tomorrow or a bit afterwards (in this week).

I don't sincerely understand how airport authorities can't detect people with covid-19 when they come. They should've been confined, but my country's policy doesn't confine them. They are not isolated. They stay at home but they can visit other people's houses, which is a problem.

So since it got detected early I hope there's a good solution given by the doctors.


----------



## PiP

I WAS having a good day. Writing, pottering around the house and hanging out on WF ... until ... my daughter in France just sent me a WhatsApp to inform me today they have +271,686 reported COVID cases in France. YES, that's in one day. That's more than you guys have in the US. She has two children. They attend different schools Half of my grandson's class has Covid and my Granddaughter a quarter of her class ... here in Portugal cases are already far higher than they were last year. 

Oh well ... _God grant me the serenity etc..._


----------



## PiP

Theglasshouse said:


> You can feel lonely and impotent if you were in my situation.


I understand .... I felt the same when my daughter got COVID and was very sick. And then she was anxious in case we caught it ...

{{{virtual hugs}}}}



Theglasshouse said:


> I don't sincerely understand how airport authorities can't detect people with covid-19 when they come. They should've been confined, but my country's policy doesn't confine them. They are not isolated. They stay at home but they can visit other people's houses, which is a problem.


Don't travellers need a PCR test before they fly?

I now refuse to fly since Covid. We always caught colds or flu after a flight ... so with COVID no way. When we visited our family in France we drove. Then caught a ferry to the UK. Even to get on the ferry you needed a test and vaccine passports.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Yes they do have pcr tests, but they aren't quarantined upon arrival. The virus can take 3-8 days to incubate or become active and show symptons. That is extremely important. In the country my family is "planning" to visit they quarantine and do administrate a pcr test I will guess. Here it is treated less seriously. I think since the virus and it's mutants are unpredictable they should last ten days in the slammer. Me included and then there would be less incidents. They shouldn't be vindicated with a pcr test. By slammer I mean hospital. Believe me this would be for nationals which I assume are probably spreading this. In hotels and other places they need to do an examination hell.


----------



## KatPC

It's getting scary everywhere. The new variant is milder, easier to transmit but it is the problems of isolation and informing close contacts to get checked. The disruptions are huge.

Sorry for noising around everyone's chat about drugs and covid ... I had a bad day and it seems so stupid to find solace in other's struggles but somehow it makes one feel not so alone. I wished I had more time to write, just write, so people can understand. Not understand me, but at least comprehend the thoughts running in my head. Only in Writing can I find myself, even through this pen name I can be me, but I have so much to learn, so much I need to learn to even be okay.

One step a time hey?


----------



## Theglasshouse

Been researching what is available on the imac. Some of the apps for dysgraphia will be available sometime during this year after I read a Twitter post (meant for ipad). My microphone should work on it. If someone has an iPhone account I can transfer the apps bought there to the mac. The Mac my uncle bought is an Apple air. In the future Macs with m1 chips will run all apps on ipad or iphone. My dad has an iPhone which is off limits. I can't use it. However when I create the account it will be using his account. That means I can purchase the apps there which means a lot if not all will have compatibility in the foreseeable future.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Today is a free day. No writing of any kind. Strict orders from the course I'm taking to leave the manuscript alone for two weeks before doing a read through, using their active reading tool (set of questions). I'm only leaving it alone for 5 days.  I'm making a nuisance of myself on this forum and also hanging out on a cat forum LOL. 

One of my cats scarfs and barfs. He gets me up at 5 am and then pukes on my rug or my office chair. Never on the bare floor, god forbid. I'm putting him on strict wet food diet. Apparently male cats have issues. I feel I must write a book about Lanny and Lil Cat. They definitely give me the material.


----------



## Foxee

Imagine the day is a sliding board that has been greased with chicken fat. Morning is at the top, evening is at the bottom. Get out of bed, step on sliding board, Go to bed. Repeat.

That's pretty much been everyday for the last month or so. Don't ask me what I've been doing, it's pretty much reactive.

For instance, I got up this morning and managed to get a half cup of coffee, an energy bar, and a page of journaling before I decided to take the dog for a walk. (Oh! BTW, we got a dog finally!) We were just heading around the second turn of the block when a neighbor lady's (wild) dog saw ours and yanked her down her porch steps. It was a bad fall. Her dog ran off (thankfully) and my husband walked our confused dog home while I stayed with the neighbor and called 911, etc. Looks like a hip and/or leg break. What a way to meet your neighbor, huh?

BTW, if anyone has a SO who calls them from where they've fallen on the frozen ground and are injured, don't yell at them. Her boyfriend did that. What the actual heck.

Anyway! Let me share a picture of Valkyrie, our shy dog with the awesome name. She's hanging out here with my youngest daughter.


----------



## Darkkin

Cause and effect...illustrated edition.









Streaming old episodes of What Not to Wear and Potato Cat is peeved that Rue Dog wants some attention.  Potato Cat is presently draped from shoulder to hip.  He is a long boy...


----------



## Foxee

Aaand just in case anyone thinks my new dog is an angel (and most people think so) here's the naughty side of her:





That, my friends, is my 'good yarn' that I ordered (half off!) for my most recent crochet effort. It's an alpaca/washable wool blend and it WAS all nice and neat like the skein at the top of the picture. That is until I left the plastic shipping envelope that held the yarn on my bed. The dog, left to her own devices, snuck onto my bed and had a fine time chewing the envelope, the plastic bags that held the skeins, and nibbling off every paper tab that held the skeins. This stuff will tangle in an instant and, being wool, will try to felt itself into a knot if I'm impatient. So it took quite a while to get it all straightened out.

I took one of the skeins in to where the dog was lying on my daughter's bed and doinked her on the snout with it, saying "no" a few times. All she did was paw me away and look at me as though to say, "Gee, you seem upset about something."

Life lessons, put the yarn away.


----------



## Darkkin

With Rue Dog, if he is not in sight, his is up to no good.  Zwi is too stupid to get into trouble.  Rue Dog tries to invent it, but he is predictable.  Trust him as far as you can throw him.  Enrichment games and a variety of toys are great redirection.  One of Rue's favourite games is Find It.  Hide treats or toys and send them on a scent hunt.  It engages them more than a simple game of fetch, making them focus and think about the task.  Puzzles are a must, especially for smart dogs.


----------



## Foxee

Darkkin said:


> Puzzles are a must, especially for smart dogs.


It seems like puzzle games might be in order here. Bored dogs are quite a bit like bored toddlers. Thanks for the idea!


----------



## Olly Buckle

When she was young my niece took Towser out one day and ventured into a sheep field, new to him and he chased. I walked him back up the field on a loose lead and when he smelled the sheep and jumped forward I jerked him back roughly and was very severe, gave him a clout. Then I got a bitof sheep's wool and put it in his collar, for the rest of the day whenever he started getting a bit lively I shoved it up his nose and spoke sternly. It worked. When we were out in the car he liked to stick his head out, sometimes he would pull it in quickly and look a bit shamefaced; we were passing a field of sheep. It is kind of important though, not just the farmer's livelihood but over here he is entitled to shoot a dog if it is simply in a position to worry livestock.

Darkin, have you not noticed? Dogs will look straight at you, cats look away. Very friendly for a cat is to look to one side of it with your eyes half closed, dominant or aggressive is to look straight at it with eyes wide. Quite often a strange cat will respond to being greeted with a stare, just in case, to tell you "I'm tough". Then when it feels a bit surer will come up with half closed eyes, turning its head and offering the scent gland on its cheek.


----------



## Darkkin

You know it's cold when even the husky needs a sweater...but I have to say, my Dude can carry a good purple.


----------



## VRanger

Time to gross everyone out. As a child of Dixie, I grew up with my grandmother and mother cooking "brains and eggs" for breakfast. "Brains" are juvenile hog brains in a can. It's a bit gross, because they DO look like brains ... gray with all the little curlicues. However, in cooking, they taste like a very mild sausage. You put a dollop in a pan with eggs and scramble them, and the result is scrambled eggs with little gray bits. The taste is excellent and NO ... you DO NOT get "mad pig disease". No harmful prions are present.

However, as an old-fashioned "Southern delicacy", it is increasingly difficult to find cans of them in grocery stores. Tonight I looked up "black pudding" ... and if you read about it you'll find something that ostensibly sounds MUCH more gross than hog brains. But it reminded me I hadn't found Rose brand brains in the grocery store in a few years. So I went to Google and Shop and found a vendor who sold me a case of large cans of Rose hog brains for $52 including shipping and tax.

Imagine Betty's delight at this news! She's a product of Yankee parents, but over the course of 42 years she has shed a great deal of that legacy. I'm a good influence. ;-)


----------



## PiP

Jim, it sounds like the sort of meal that's delicious providing you don't know what you're eating.  we once ordered Cozido à Portuguesa it's  the Portuguese stew cooked from a range of wholesome ingredients such as cabbage, pig’s ear, porco rabo, blood sausage and other various “unmentionables” body parts. YUCK.

I don't know how my day is going to pan out. So far my husband woke me from a deep sleep by banging in the garden just outside the bedroom window and now my neighbour's gardener is cutting their hedge with a petrol hedge cutter which is so loud I can hear it even with the doors and windows closed.
 I will probably go and take my chair and coffee and sit on the beach before I scream.


----------



## Sinister

Prime Rib, clam-and-cheese-stuffed mushroom caps, creme brulee, apple-caramel pie, salad, mulled wine and fruit and cheeses.  Presents.  Party games including a murder mystery.  Video Games.  Adult brownies.  And a cellophane ball filled with gifts that has to be unwrapped only before the person to the right rolls doubles on twin die while wearing mitts.  All that on medication is kind of like building and then playing in a Vegas Casino.

But today is shaping out to be an 8/10.  And the first in a long time.

-Sin


----------



## PrairieHostage

Sinister said:


> But today is shaping out to be an 8/10.  And the first in a long time.
> 
> -Sin


Wow that food sounds beyond. I haven't eaten yet and now I'm doubly hungry. I'm so glad it's a good day finally. 

Today I did 7 chapters of scene analysis particularly for emotional transitions of characters involved. After I'm done all 21 chapters, I'll revise each scene to add more sensory details to setting, and improve prose, voice, and tone. These emotional transitions will help. 

This morning I read the full novel and am really liking how it's shaping up. Once I get above work done, I'll be really close because I did plot structure and character arcs last month.


----------



## Darkkin

You know your cat is cool when pictures you do not take of your pet end up in your social media feeds.  My best friend got this shot of Potato Cat while I was at work today.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Mrs Twain't was mumbling in her sleep this morning about the washing machine not working.

Fast forward to this afternoon and the washing machine is making a loud vibrating sound and there's water on the kitchen floor!


----------



## Foxee

@Darkkin Your pets' faces are so adorable they make me want to scream.

@Mark Twain't  Obviously Mrs. Twain't must not be allowed to sleep anymore, that could get expensive on repair bills.

@Sinister I definitely want to eat at your house.

@PiP Having a beach to retreat to sounds nice! I've had to hide in my car a time or two.

And now for a picture of Valkyrie (aka The Corndog) in my Art Institute sweatshirt. Hey, she's from the south and she looks better in it now than I do anyway! Temps fell from about 50F down to about 10F in a very short time here. The fuzz-face at the end of the dog's leash is my hubster.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Foxee said:


> Obviously Mrs. Twain't must not be allowed to sleep anymore, that could get expensive on repair bills.


She was able to fix it, it was just a blockage, but it's old and the seal is going mouldy* so we're getting a new one....apparently.  



*and before some smartarse asks, yes, I'm talking about the washing machine!


----------



## PiP

We decided to take a flask of coffee to a bench with views overlooking our local beach and the estuary. In truth, I decided. Mr PiP was dragged along to keep me company. I confess once I got there I nearly chickened out as I have problems with steps. As you can see, it's a long way down. There is a viewing platform at the bottom with a bench.






I am not really quite that fat... It was fffffrrrreeezing so I donned two thick jumpers and a scarf under my coat.
Looking up the estuary,





I've not walked down these steps for about five years but if I did not MAKE myself walk through the pain today, I never would. It was well worth the effort  Although I confess, it nearly killed me climbing back up!


----------



## PrairieHostage

Lil Cat Thinks I Should Stop Writing


----------



## Mark Twain't

Been without my medication for 2 nights due to a delivery delay so sleeping has been difficult. Woke up at 4am and couldn't get backe to sleep. got up at 6am and wrote 1,000 words before work. Work was very busy and didn't finish until 6pm. Wrote anoth 500 wsords befor dinnr the ordered a washing machine and a fridge freezer. About to do some more writing.

Medication arricved today, will hopefully sleep very well tonight.


----------



## Darkkin

Making spaghetti for supper tonight.  Currently I'm hanging with Rue and Potato Cat in the book cave.  Worked all weekend and we got the Christmas tree taken down, much to Potato Cat's dismay.  He made a last stand on the tree skirt.


----------



## PrairieHostage

lol a last stand on the Xmas tree skirt. Only cat lovers understand. I'm thrilled since I have two.

I just did 7 hours on the 3 scenes in my opening chapter for tone, phrasing, emotional transitions, setting, voice, and pretty prose. Ready for food and brain break.


----------



## PrairieHostage




----------



## Mark Twain't

Mark Twain't said:


> Been without my medication for 2 nights due to a delivery delay so sleeping has been difficult. Woke up at 4am and couldn't get *backe* to sleep. got up at 6am and wrote 1,000 words before work. Work was very busy and didn't finish until 6pm. Wrote *anoth* 500 *wsords* *befor* *dinnr* the ordered a washing machine and a fridge freezer. About to do some more writing.
> 
> Medication arricved today, will hopefully sleep very well tonight.


And this, ladies and gents, is a classic case of over use of typing fingers!


----------



## Darkkin

Streaming episodes of What Not to Wear so old they're becoming relevant again...(I freely admit to liking pretty things.)


----------



## Theglasshouse

Trying to digest my food as this is why I am posting until it does. The book I am reading considers creative writing as a problem-solving career when writing the text. For example careers such as architecture attempt to problem solve. People can write effortlessly without a writing process correctly and so that it flows. It is rare according to the book that people whom are writers get it written down the first time. It offers solutions to such paradoxes that have not been fully explained.  Constraints could be writer's block. But any definition fits that suggests the writer feels blocked or constrained. One solution is planning, while others are brainstorming, and planning by using other strategies. So these are problems for me and the book gives suggestions on how to solve them. For example mind mapping can increase the flow of a text by having something written down before the writing takes place. In more extreme cases it suggests multimedia drawing. So the subject of the book is how to get writing to flow and be more spontaneous whether by mind mapping or getting inspired to write images. This facilitates the writing process since once you mind map you have a plan. This aids in the composition process. For example most people don't get their draft right the first few times. It mentions the mental process can be exhausting and demanding. I think the book describes people such as myself. I already know of cheap mind mapping software. So this should make the writing process easier.

A fun example he uses to demonstrate his points is you must reflect. You cannot edit and write at the same time. Nor can you sing when writing at the same time. You can however read out loud when writing.

It says toss out the rules of grammar and that were taught in school. These will only confuse people. There are bad habits. He doesn't focus on grammar. Instead it is on various stages of the writing process.

For unlimited mind maps if on a mac people that are writers can resort to inspiration(name of software) mind maps. It costs 10 dollars.

The day started well. I am reading the book I bought yesterday. I am using a kindle to write this post. I also use a mac. It arrived before yesterday.


----------



## kunox

Sorry I have not been posting in awhile. Hurt my leg and back in my sleep. Still recovering from  where I  did that two to three weeks ago.


----------



## Theglasshouse

It is going to take a long time to finish reading whatever I will learn to apply. I am just on page 17.  I'll share the insights for free on the website using my own words for free which I have so far (I assume you might want to know). Maybe a cheap microphone exists. I saw blue yeti for 100 dollars close to black Friday or after. But that requires researching on YouTube and various websites. To check which one is best.
Take that mind map book of your wish list if it is still there. This book I am reading recommends Tony buzan's book from 1993. All I could find was 1996 which is the anniversary edition of the book I will assume. It has both the authors. It has to be that book. But I still haven't gotten to that part. Since writing is in one way a cognitive process it is suppose to make the process easier. It's got a section for mind mapping stories. If you have the courage to read the book the price was 8 dollars yesterday (the book I am currently reading). I bought Tony buzan's book for 10 and it is on its way here. I will update this post with a link. Since I think I have spatial issues in the kindle I split the paragraph's columns in two parts (silent reading). I can read faster than normal this way. Already I am at 10 percent or close to it.

Sorry about hearing about your health issues. I hope they do help you.

For more information on the books click here or read the last post and not the other ones.








						Post grammar guides and guides on english that you think help.
					


Write in Style: A guide to good English (Routledge Study Guides) 2nd Editor By Richard Palmer  The Good Grammar Guide By Richard Palmer  These two books have exercises and is actually from a university instructor and examiner of the gsce. He also works in this institute called Bedford and open...





					www.writingforums.com
				




Or simply wait until I understand all the points in the text and understand how to apply the research and findings.


----------



## Darkkin

Came across this pretty thing at the bookshop today...


----------



## PrairieHostage

A long day of writing revisions to 5 scenes. Adding prose for setting, word choice, tone and voice. Cleaning up adverbs, adjectives & words that end 'ing'. I hope I have the mettle for the long haul. Even when I think a chapter is in good shape, more sculpting is required. Go over it and over it and over it.

I'm meeting a friend for brunch tomorrow so that will be a nice break.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I signed up for a online class that costed me 22 dollars a month. It's for writing fiction though screenwriting is included. It should keep me busy as I do a lot of planning but no actual writing. Today the offer expired. if I had to guess the offer only lasted for one day. I will never know. So I took the offer and signed up. Originally it was 99 so I decided to take a chance.


----------



## Darkkin

When you put up the kind of walls only Waldo can navigate.


----------



## Olly Buckle

PrairieHostage said:


> A long day of writing revisions to 5 scenes. Adding prose for setting, word choice, tone and voice. Cleaning up adverbs, adjectives & words that end 'ing'. I hope I have the mettle for the long haul. Even when I think a chapter is in good shape, more sculpting is required. Go over it and over it and over it.
> 
> I'm meeting a friend for brunch tomorrow so that will be a nice break.



The thing is that as you go on you learn what it is you do or don't want. You start getting a much better first take, and you know what you are looking for to clean things up. What you did have in what I read was a strong character who was being outlined by what he did, rather you telling us who he was. It seemed a really good basis to work on, and I reckon you can get satisfaction out of tuning it once you get into it.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Olly Buckle said:


> The thing is that as you go on you learn what it is you do or don't want. You start getting a much better first take, and you know what you are looking for to clean things up. What you did have in what I read was a strong character who was being outlined by what he did, rather you telling us who he was. It seemed a really good basis to work on, and I reckon you can get satisfaction out of tuning it once you get into it.


Thanks Olly! I'm so grateful for you and the two others who provided input on first chapter. It was invaluable and I used all of it. 
I've been going over scenes & chapters for weeks. Maybe I'm a bit mentally tired. Brunch this morning was a good break. Today my friend gave my number to her Russian doctor. I was just telling my cats I want a great big giant Russian! If I can manifest a great big giant Russian, I can manifest this novel into being


----------



## Darkkin

Wasting time on the internet:  Having read some content and thought...good grief.  There are days small things make my brain hurt.  On a more interesting note, I did find the Broadway cast recording of The Prince of Egypt.  As a kid it was one of my favourite soundtracks.  Mom let us ditch swim practice on a Friday night to see the movie.  Hans Zimmer is still one of my go to composers for action and travel sequences.


----------



## Mark Twain't

Olly Buckle said:


> The thing is that as you go on you learn what it is you do or don't want. You start getting a much better first take, and you know what you are looking for to clean things up.


Yes, I've found exactly this. I've added some new chapters over the last couple of weeks and they're night and day compared to those written last year or the year before.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Productive day. I wrote from 6:00 am to noon, then took my intellectually disabled niece out for a drive. She slipped her hand in mine when we walked across the parking lot to Walmart. 33 years old and she still loves to go look at the dolls. My heart. Then I lazed about for the remainder of the day. Looking forward to a productive weekend!


----------



## Darkkin

We got just enough snow to be irritating.  I got to clean off my car twice and make rude comments about other people's snow driving skills.  Mine are solid even without four wheel drive.

 In my area those who have it tend to get really stupid about it, convinced they are invincible until they land in the ditch...

I learned how to snow drive in a VW Bug.  Always assume the other guy is going to do something stupid, give them space for the possible stupid, and you'll be fine.

I think I've earned the privilege of having cake for dinner.


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog in a blanket fort.  Clever boy.


----------



## Olly Buckle

went down the walk-in centre this morning and got my booster, a good time, it was really quiet. That's my fourth jab now, they gave me three primaries because I am vulnerable, not any longer, shield of steel round me. Give it a fortnight to kick in and it's back to the Hard Tech all-nighters  

Sorted some of last years compost this afternoon. Within seconds of me raking off the top layer Robin was at my elbow, inches away, "Where's my dinner". He sat on the branch over me and sang afterwards "My human".


----------



## kunox

Power was out all day due to  the  snow.


----------



## PiP

Today we took our flask of coffee to enjoy while looking out to sea. Last week's coffee break entertainment came courtesy of a pod of dolphins who, much to our delight, put on a spectacular display! This week's entertainment:  crazy Portuguese fishermen, and then further along the road the local Bomberios all wearing COVID masks practised scaling down the cliff face to rescue a body from the sea then hitch it back up on a stretcher._ Hmmmmm... _There was something surreal about the situation. It did make me wonder given their choice of location if they expected one of the fishermen to fall over the edge! Curious ...


----------



## Foxee

I have been warned for the past three days at least that there was going to be a snowstorm today. Still, I managed to get caught out driving in the snow as it got going in earnest. Lived in Pennsylvania all my life, I should know better.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Glad to see you made it home, Foxee. Now watch the outside and enjoy it from safe inside.
As I walked out of the test center yesterday I was given a double sheet of A4. Didn't bother looking until I got home, Across the top it said, "Important information, read this before you have your test", they gave it to me after I had the injection, Doh!  Luckily it doesn't seem to be true, I could see nothing particularly relevant to me or important in it, Doh!


----------



## Darkkin

Too many books...Nope, no such thing.


----------



## lithiumflower

Horrible, I wish I were dead


----------



## Theglasshouse

I've been noticing I insert too many clauses in a sentence which makes my sentences ungrammatical (when writing stories). These express more than a few complete thoughts (when it should end). Been rewriting and writing the story with a different plot. I inserted the action scene at the beginning of the story. I will let it incubate for a while. When I write with introspection I rarely insert more than one idea in a sentence. This is my worst habit.

Closer to march I did promise myself I would see a specialist oversee my writing process. I want them to see me writing sentences incase I am doing something wrong. Or if there was something else I could do since I live with a disability. But sometimes I wish people were honest enough to say the truth. For instance the multiple clauses that don't belong in the same sentence. IMO it might be the main reason the sentences sound awkward when read out loud.

It's this sort of feedback I look for. It's invaluable for revisions and self-editing. That said I wrote a bit of mystery into the story and its story pattern is a decision story so far.

Been researching everywhere description guides. Going to give more off my money to amazon to find out how to describe properly.

As for flow, someone needs to be there in person to make sure imo how the next sentence should look like. In that way I can become aware of my choices when writing a sentence. Then organizing the paragraph based on the previous sentence. That's ironically what a writing book has a difficult time teaching. There's a remedial English book and I haven't decided if it is worth it.

I won't give in easily. I know because I don't know the true state of my condition that I can draw a conclusion that is premature.

I think that the best craft-based book is probably Aristotle's poetics if you can get a good analysis of the text.

I hate drawing but will give it a try in order to describe. Natalie Goldberg even mentions it in one of her craft books. I am not sure if the book is called Wild things but I am close I think.

Whatever you do don't give up. Staying with an optimistic attitude will help other people around you live longer lives. My mother can't imagine a life without me. I remind myself I need to stay positive. She has some conditions that aren't considered terminal. It sounds worse that it sounds. I am sure some people have heard of heart failure. But that's a condition associated with thyroid disease. A person can live a long life with it. But she is also psychosomatic.

The more we express ourselves as a general rule of thumb the better we will be. Life is about managing relationships. I have to agree with and put up with what I don't like. Sometimes its about agreeing and not disagreeing with the other person.

My father fails to communicate with me which sets up easy disagreements.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Theglasshouse said:


> I've been noticing I insert too many clauses in a sentence which makes my sentences ungrammatical (when writing stories). These express more than a few complete thoughts (when it should end). Been rewriting and writing the story with a different plot. I inserted the action scene at the beginning of the story. I will let it incubate for a while. When I write with introspection I rarely insert more than one idea in a sentence. This is my worst habit.
> 
> Closer to march I did promise myself I would see a specialist oversee my writing process. I want them to see me writing sentences incase I am doing something wrong. Or if there was something else I could do since I live with a disability. But sometimes I wish people were honest enough to say the truth. For instance the multiple clauses that don't belong in the same sentence. IMO it might be the main reason the sentences sound awkward when read out loud.
> 
> It's this sort of feedback I look for. It's invaluable for revisions and self-editing. That said I wrote a bit of mystery into the story and its story pattern is a decision story so far.


It's great that you've identified a weak spot in your writing. We all have them. Also great you want to ask for real feedback. It's so important.

I'm taking an online course on novel editing/revision. One author this week said he reads his novels out loud into a tape recorder and then plays it back. He said when he listens instead of reads his novels, the mistakes jump out.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Yes reading out loud is invaluable advice. The pc I use has a recording app (Macintosh. So I will remember that advice). I think it is a good way to proofread. The program is called a voice memo. Also, I've been meaning to get to your story. Hopefully sometime tomorrow or after I can offer some advice. I think there is also a recorder app. There is a built-in microphone also integrated which I use which is good enough. That is why I like Macs more.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Looooong day. Tuesdays my online course uploads new materials and assignments. Author videos were so interesting. I feel especially grateful I analyzed external (plot structure) and internal (character arcs) journeys last month and did any revisions required. 

Aesthetic journey is a gorgeous concept the course also covers so I'll be working on that as I continue on my scene by scene analysis.

I hope to put in a looooong day tomorrow cuz Thursday I'm babysitting my toddler grandbaby all day.  She's a busy gal!


----------



## Darkkin

Ikea Cat...sans instructions.


----------



## VRanger

So far this evening I've survived not one, not two, but FOUR tech support chats. Two with PC Mover where the second rep got it right. Their standard download failed on my Win 10 Home machine, but worked on the Win 10 Pro machine. The first rep linked a download that still failed. The second rep linked a download that worked on both units.

Then TWO Microsoft reps, the initial rep and the escalated rep, failed to understand or be able to assist in any way in an account SNAFU. I finally worked it out myself and told _them _how to solve it. Sheesh.

They were perfectly happy to interact with an account for 365 to take the subscription, but don't show the subscription under that account. They supplied an alternate "sort of" email address that isn't really either an email address nor a valid account, but you can use it ONLY to log into 365. The latter is what they couldn't figure out, but I did and informed them that they can't try to look up those things as a regular account.

Now I'm ready to take a few cheap plates, line up a few MS support reps and the developers responsible for their mess, and break the plates over their heads. It's a fulfilling fantasy, anyway.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I must go to bed soon, but I will try to resist a bit more as I do want to read a story. Maybe my feedback will be better tomorrow. I am enjoying a craft book I once had to refund to buy the expensive microphone I bought. Anyways this one actually inspires. One of the exercises is to come up with ten plot points for any story. Then for plot points 6-10 rewrite the story, including if you want to rewrite the ending. He defines plot in a story as something that happens in a story combined with "and then." My story I am currently working on is going to be different thanks to this book. It says plot should start as a mystery. That is if you have an idea rewrite it as a mystery. You need to make your reader curious. To write a story you can add suspense indicating something unusual has happened. The question or mystery should make your reader want to read on. He uses examples of stories. Unfortunately the book only uses long examples and I can't show it here. Also, ideas that interest readers make them curious, a character wants something that we are interested in, and can be a story of between two parties one of which gains the upper hand. It makes sense since you and the reader are left asking why did this happen? We become curious as to how the character will solve the problem.

I recommend this series to kunox if he decides the first book is worth it(or anyone) (let's face it some books if you are not sold on the instruction are both a risk and a waste of money as are all craft books if you are not learning anything; I am actually learning). Like me he needs to work on some English issues. The book is from an actual creative writing teacher. He wrote the master and the margarita I believe. For anyone interested in plotting the book is by Boris Fisherman. It's comprehensive and the second reason I bought it and plan to buy the rest is it tells a new writer how to describe. He has 4 books in the series. Judging by the first few chapters I think I will keep it for that content alone.






						Amazon.com: The Creative Writer, Level One: Five Finger Exercise (The Creative Writer) eBook : Fishman, Boris: Kindle Store
					


Buy The Creative Writer, Level One: Five Finger Exercise (The Creative Writer): Read Kindle Store Reviews - Amazon.com




					www.amazon.com
				




I still puzzling over how to fix my problems, but in March 31st around then I should be able to see someone who is a special education teacher. Things I plan to discuss are the writing process, how to string sentences that lead to one other one and so on as I compose in real time. I want to be there in person.

I will buy the whole series probably.

It's bed time and I just got home.


----------



## kunox

I KNOW IT HAS BEEN AWHILE SINCE I posted. I will be switching back to an older project called iriffs from rifftrax{a.k.a mystery science theater 3000} for awhile. I thought i would infom you guys. it was just a heads up. maybe doing something different for half a year or 1/2 a year will help me write again.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sometimes I get the feeling that frustration can occur when focusing on something as complex and as nuanced as writing that requires good English and interest from readers. The interest part or special attention is not guaranteed. That said I prefer optimism.

I have heard about mystery science theater as a t.v. program. That is when I was still a teenager or child. The memory of that show is blurry. I don't remember it too well other than it being about science facts.

Personally I think if you based your writing more on real life it would make more sense and not 100 percent based on tropes or imagination. Though that last work you sent me to read was interesting. It needed a plot or what I consider to be mystery. That science fiction story needs a human story to tell. It can't be just about aliens. If you write something like Dune it better have human problems. I can't think not a pure alien story. Mystery creates curiosity and makes people who are readers want to read and continue the story by not answering a question raised in the story. This is the hook.

You can try outlining dune if you own it for example. Then you can rewrite the events. Then it would be your story. That is insert 6 plot points. This works better with short stories I admit and dune is a novel. So use a science fiction short story as a template.

You summarize the things that happen. These are the plot points.

You can make ten sentences that are plot points of something you are reading. It can be something as short as Rapunzel. That is what you can do every time you read a new story. Reading makes writers more creative for these reasons.


----------



## kunox

ms3tk... isn't really a fiction.. I mean it has fiction but it is like a a commentary to a movie or show meets stand up comedy.. it is complicated but story heavey it is not... it does have segments though....


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## Theglasshouse

I read it on Wikipedia. You are correct. For some reason I thought it was some other show. I confused it with another tv series I think.


----------



## indianroads

My front yard this morning.


----------



## Sinister

It just missed us.  Went a little northwest of us actually.  We got the low temps without the decorations and road icing.  Looks beautiful.

-Sin


----------



## kunox

Sinister said:


> It just missed us.  Went a little northwest of us actually.  We got the low temps without the decorations and road icing.  Looks beautiful.
> 
> -Sin


I have a love hate relationship with this type of weather... It is beautiful.... I swear though f I didn't live in such a black out prone area I may ove it one day.


----------



## indianroads

Freezing fog isn't fun to drive in, but it decorates the world nicely.


----------



## indianroads

Yesterday I came down with stomach flu - definitely not recommended, not fun. I'm a little dizzy today, but getting better.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> Yesterday I came down with stomach flu - definitely not recommended, not fun. I'm a little dizzy today, but getting better.


Get a nap, be nice to yourself, and get well soon!


----------



## Sinister

We don't get weather like that anymore.  I remember when I was a child rolling down a snowball downhill so far that it ended up being about 5 foot and heavier than I could push.  Being stuck in a drift that was a foot over my head one year.  All that was in October and November.  Now we get about two "rumored" snowstorms, one actual half inch dusting in-between January and February.

As a hermit that likes to be snowed-in, I'm unimpressed.  I am glad it's better for those who have to commute, though.

As for how this day is going?  I'm cold.  That's about it, really.

5/10

-Sin


----------



## Foxee

Our new dog has been very quiet ever since we brought her home before Christmas. I started wondering if she was actually mute until she tried barking in her sleep and began vocalizing happiness with little whines. So yesterday evening when a friend dropped by and the dog actually barked twice we were surprised and happy that she's started seeing our place as her home. The friend is a dog person and quickly made friends with Valkyrie.

Sometimes the things to be happy about are a little weird but worth it anyway.


----------



## indianroads

Sinister said:


> We don't get weather like that anymore.  I remember when I was a child rolling down a snowball downhill so far that it ended up being about 5 foot and heavier than I could push.  Being stuck in a drift that was a foot over my head one year.  All that was in October and November.  Now we get about two "rumored" snowstorms, one actual half inch dusting in-between January and February.
> 
> As a hermit that likes to be snowed-in, I'm unimpressed.  I am glad it's better for those who have to commute, though.
> 
> As for how this day is going?  I'm cold.  That's about it, really.
> 
> 5/10
> 
> -Sin


Also on the plus side - I've not had to use the snow blower this winter.
Now watch - because I said that we'll have a snowpocalypse this week.


----------



## River Rose

Foxee said:


> Our new dog has been very quiet ever since we brought her home before Christmas. I started wondering if she was actually mute until she tried barking in her sleep and began vocalizing happiness with little whines. So yesterday evening when a friend dropped by and the dog actually barked twice we were surprised and happy that she's started seeing our place as her home. The friend is a dog person and quickly made friends with Valkyrie.
> 
> Sometimes the things to be happy about are a little weird but worth it anyway.


Congrats on the new pup Foxee. I know how long your family had been looking for your newest member.  Love her name...


----------



## Darkkin

I photo bombed Potato Cat.


----------



## indianroads

*Pilot says HI to Potato Cat. *
He thinks he's famous these days, since he was a character in my novel Inception.


----------



## kunox

I am very hypomanic... I have no clue butttt.. I think I will be u[p all night writing...?? no clue why.... but I have been bit by the creativity bug.. I may be up all night..... I have been bit by the productivity bug...


----------



## indianroads

First time in a VERY long while that I didn't do any writing today. 
I don't recommend stomach flu - I'm dizzy, sleepy, and out of sorts, BUT hoping for a better day tomorrow. I got this foul disease via my wife, who went to our daughters house to take care of our sick grand daughter. According to what I read on line, I could be contagious for two weeks, and so will be staying home. Oh gosh, how horrible ...  I'll get more writing done!


----------



## VRanger

On the cat front, one of the semi-feral cats which lives in my garage came up with a blocked urethra earlier this week. I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I saw him on the litter box trying with no success, and he'd been listless all day. So I took him to the vet who knew immediately what the issue was, and sadly informed me the treatment would entail anesthesia, a catheter, and a few days in the vet's facility on IV ... $600-$800 likely. So I have a decision to spend all that money treating a cat which isn't really a pet, or have him put down. I thought about it for a couple of minutes and told the vet to treat him. There are four cats, and Fred will need prescription food so this doesn't happen again, so all four cats will wind up eating prescription food, since they feed communally. The decision saves me from forever after picturing Fred as the kitten who'd come out of hiding to watch me work outside. It would haunt me.

On the BETTER side of things, after 32 elapsed hours I finally got everything I needed transferred to a new computer I bought several weeks ago and just now had a chance to put into service. I bought a refurb from a company selling on Amazon. About $400 for an i7 with 32Gb of RAM, 3.4 GHz, and a 1 Tb SSD drive. It felt like stealing, but it was a no brainer. Since summer of 2014 I've been using a Dell all-in-one with 12 Gb of RAM (which I thought was great), also an i7, and a 1 Tb spinning drive. It's the longest I've ever used the same computer, and that happened because there have been only minor improvements in processors since.

Now I have all my apps moved over, all my data, my desktop set up the same ... now all I need is to get Start and Taskbar to match, which is only another few minutes.

The other big change was moving my Viewsonic curved-screen monitor from my office to my den ... where I normally work. It's such a wide screen I might wind up using only it, instead of the two monitors I've traditionally used. It didn't really fit here in the den beside the all-in-one, so the best monitor in the house has been on my desk upstairs, and rarely used. It makes a lot more sense to use it every day.


----------



## indianroads

VRanger said:


> On the cat front, one of the semi-feral cats which lives in my garage came up with a blocked urethra earlier this week. I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I saw him on the litter box trying with no success, and he'd been listless all day. So I took him to the vet who knew immediately what the issue was, and sadly informed me the treatment would entail anesthesia, a catheter, and a few days in the vet's facility on IV ... $600-$800 likely. So I have a decision to spend all that money treating a cat which isn't really a pet, or have him put down. I thought about it for a couple of minutes and told the vet to treat him. There are four cats, and Fred will need prescription food so this doesn't happen again, so all four cats will wind up eating prescription food, since they feed communally. The decision saves me from forever after picturing Fred as the kitten who'd come out of hiding to watch me work outside. It would haunt me.
> 
> On the BETTER side of things, after 32 elapsed hours I finally got everything I needed transferred to a new computer I bought several weeks ago and just now had a chance to put into service. I bought a refurb from a company selling on Amazon. About $400 for an i7 with 32Gb of RAM, 3.4 GHz, and a 1 Tb SSD drive. It felt like stealing, but it was a no brainer. Since summer of 2014 I've been using a Dell all-in-one with 12 Gb of RAM (which I thought was great), also an i7, and a 1 Tb spinning drive. It's the longest I've ever used the same computer, and that happened because there have been only minor improvements in processors since.
> 
> Now I have all my apps moved over, all my data, my desktop set up the same ... now all I need is to get Start and Taskbar to match, which is only another few minutes.
> 
> The other big change was moving my Viewsonic curved-screen monitor from my office to my den ... where I normally work. It's such a wide screen I might wind up using only it, instead of the two monitors I've traditionally used. It didn't really fit here in the den beside the all-in-one, so the best monitor in the house has been on my desk upstairs, and rarely used. It makes a lot more sense to use it every day.


You are a good man, sir.


----------



## Sinister

Woke up with a bad back ache.  It's the cold.  I have a Doctor's appt today that I'm dreading in a couple hours, and in seven more days...You would never guess what I'm about to do.


Go to a concert.  Not club...or a band.  This is a full symphony Orchestra.  It's my third time.  The highlight was Nashville's Dvorak's New World Symphony but this one is Distant Worlds.

Also, my Oncidium Heaven Scent bloomed, so the back bedroom smells like sweet tarts at night now.  It only has a single raceme, but that's quite enough to perfume that end of the house.  I forgot to turn the heater on and with the wild temp swings, there was a 15 degree daytime and night temp and that triggered the bloom.  I need to take a picture of it, I suppose, but like all things, I can't be bothered.

Today is a 6/10

-Sin


----------



## Matchu

Tribute post 1

Neighbour’s cat passes through the yard most mornings.  Most mornings he passes through & he stops, takes a shit in the rose bush.

When he got his limp I felt sorry for the cat.  He shits in the flowerpot but with the limp and his shaking I thought maybe infection or a thorn in the foot? I grabbed his tail, always being a cat man and walked him up the veterinary.

licensed as disabled animal the treatment might have been free but I took a strong hand in the matter, gave my permission and my money for the injection.  Can’t say I didn’t cry.  I didn’t cry.

The neighbour cried when I passed her the shoe box.

That summer the rose blossomed like a princely thicket.

(edits tba)


----------



## indianroads

Matchu said:


> Tribute post 1
> 
> Neighbour’s cat passes through the yard most mornings.  Most mornings he passes through & he stops, takes a shit in the rose bush.
> 
> When he got his limp I felt sorry for the cat.  He shits in the flowerpot but with the limp and his shaking I thought maybe infection or a thorn in the foot? I grabbed his tail, always being a cat man and walked him up the veterinary.
> 
> licensed as disabled animal the treatment might have been free but I took a strong hand in the matter, gave my permission and my money for the injection.  Can’t say I didn’t cry.  I didn’t cry.
> 
> The neighbour cried when I passed her the shoe box.
> 
> That summer the rose blossomed like a princely thicket.
> 
> (edits tba)


That's the responsibility we take on when we care for an animal - @Matchu , the critter wasn't even yours, but you took it upon yourself to ease his suffering; you're definitely a good person. My wife and I have both volunteered at animal rescue centers (that's how we ended up with so many cats). We had to put one down last year - Zwarte Pete - he was an amazing guy; we would take foster kittens in that the center didn't have the room to shelter, and Pete would let them crawl all over him - I've never seen a cat as mellow as he was. Pete was 18 when he got sick, and I'm unashamed to say that I cried when I held him as the vet gave the injection and he died in my arms.


----------



## Matchu

It is kind of different.

I mean I do have a lot of experience with cats - including a burial at sea - but the sentiment(al) expressed up top was rooted, or so I believed, in humor/ous.  Yet so often - sincerity is only one step away from the chortling prick-scribe (vision) - and many first drafts turn from snot to wisdom and I do not know why that is?  I love you @India, keep writing, your stuff is the best


----------



## indianroads

@Matchu passion and compassion in what we do are our most important attributes.


----------



## Matchu

messed up youtoob link x


----------



## Darkkin

My CatCat has a bright pink peony in our backyard, (I planted it the day we said goodbye.)  Cat people have a tendency to be pretty awesome folks, the kind who do what is right. Not what is easy.


----------



## indianroads

Never trust anyone that isn't kind to animals.


----------



## kunox

I know this isn't on topic... I will get to that in a minute... But I got a wig today.. that I cancelled the order of...also on too but only kind of.. I used to have a councilor that had a fear of cats... They were a good person. That just had a phobia due to experience they had when they were young.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Our little cat turned up in a terrible state, over the years she has been in fights, and now has a thyroid problem. It all costs money at the vets, which I don't begrudge, but then I see pictures of children in Kabul standing barefoot in the snow hoping for food and think 'I am spending money on a cat'.  What I would say is that I have just about convinced people that I don't really need anything much anymore, I already have it, and so I got seven Oxfam donation cards as presents this Christmas. It gives me more pleasure thinking a girl is getting an education, a child is getting fed, or someone has emergency shelter after an earthquake than ever it would getting something I don't need, or will give me diabetes and make me fat.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Somehow I sense people don't think I am a serious writer since I don't write novels. I am not gifted with how to write images. That's although I recently got a camera that is a camcorder to film a few times so that I can write better description yesterday.  I write short stories.  I prefer feedback to silence.  I critique often and don't seem to lure new writers to read my work. How else can we progress? If the short story didn't work at least I would prefer comments on saying why. I don't understand the mentality some people have. This Mac my family bought helps me to communicate by writing better and more clearly. Silence betrays the person who needs criticism or feedback. They need it. It can't argued that silence helps.

Anyways, I did write something a bit different yesterday (hence what I have been doing).  I ended up making last minute fixes. it was within the 2000 words. I am submitting it for a new market. Comments such as being labeled: second language writer don't help create confidence. Or your writing is slow and ponderous. It may not be in the same thread. I'd hope not to see those sort of comments. It reflects poorly on the attitude or not helping. One specifically said don't reply to slow and ponderous writing. I won't name names.

I also tried to improve my story and making sentences connect by making good topic sentences based on an event for a narrative. When a person tries harder the other people should try to help. That is just my opinion. Especially if they constantly give feedback.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Theglasshouse said:


> I write short stories and prefer feedback to silence.  I critique often and don't seem to lure new writers to read my work. How else can we progress? If the short story didn't work at least I would prefer comments on saying why.


Hey there, Glass. I'll have a look and provide some comments right now.


----------



## Darkkin

@Theglasshouse 

Sorry to hear you got some tough replies, especially on work that you really put effort into.  But something to keep in mind is that being a writer is not defined by simply writing novels or sticking to fiction.

You have a talent for nonfiction writing.  You are logical and very thorough with your research.  When you get going on a subject you like it shows in the work.  

e.g.  Your posts on working to improve your own work.  The information and topics you find are interesting reads.

You are also a very conscious writer.  You know where you struggle and actively seek to improve.  That drive in and of itself speaks volumes about your dedication to learn and better your craft.

Not everything we write is going to work.  I have plenty of pieces that I think are perfectly clear, but readers are going:  'I don't get it.'

Some of it rests with the writing, some of it also rests with the reading because no two people read the exact same way.  Everyones' translative context is unique to their collective experiences.

James Patterson's Dick and Jane level fiction is the standard for a majority of readers.  We're talking fourth grade level complexity.  It is enough to distract and entertain, but not enough to make a reader actually think.  It is a reader's equivalent of vegging out in front of the TV.

Keep at it and remember that you do have strengths as a writer.

I cannot write a short story to save my life or iamb, but I can and do charm readers in my own way.


----------



## VRanger

Some pictures from our house this morning. 2 1/2 inches of snow last night on top of a quarter inch of sleet.








And a bonus picture of Doris, the stray we took in early last March who is now an entrenched member of the family.


----------



## PiP

Pleased to finally meet you, Doris. Jim often mentions you.  She has lovely kind face.

Envious of the snow. ...


----------



## VRanger

Got a call from the vet today. (Finally). Fred is doing great, but they're keeping him until Monday to be sure the issue doesn't recur, and if we picked him up earlier and it did, we wouldn't be able to get him back in there over the weekend.


----------



## Theglasshouse

PrairieHostage said:


> Hey there, Glass. I'll have a look and provide some comments right now.


Thank you. I did your suggestions concerning the descriptions. I think the story improved. I couldn't fit in more descriptions for each plot point. I wished I could have under a 2000 word limit but it is in the works for a future project if rejected. You are kind and I always value that in people.


Darkkin said:


> @Theglasshouse
> 
> Sorry to hear you got some tough replies, especially on work that you really put effort into.  But something to keep in mind is that being a writer is not defined by simply writing novels or sticking to fiction.
> 
> You have a talent for nonfiction writing.  You are logical and very thorough with your research.  When you get going on a subject you like it shows in the work.
> 
> e.g.  Your posts on working to improve your own work.  The information and topics you find are interesting reads.
> 
> You are also a very conscious writer.  You know where you struggle and actively seek to improve.  That drive in and of itself speaks volumes about your dedication to learn and better your craft.
> 
> Not everything we write is going to work.  I have plenty of pieces that I think are perfectly clear, but readers are going:  'I don't get it.'
> 
> Some of it rests with the writing, some of it also rests with the reading because no two people read the exact same way.  Everyones' translative context is unique to their collective experiences.
> 
> James Patterson's Dick and Jane level fiction is the standard for a majority of readers.  We're talking fourth grade level complexity.  It is enough to distract and entertain, but not enough to make a reader actually think.  It is a reader's equivalent of vegging out in front of the TV.
> 
> Keep at it and remember that you do have strengths as a writer.
> 
> I cannot write a short story to save my life or iamb, but I can and do charm readers in my own way.


Thank your Darkin also for writing some kind thoughts concerning my overall progress and my strengths.  I did like your story that you posted a long time ago. At this point I forgot the plot but your writing is very descriptive and poetic. I think you can write stories. We only have to concentrate a bit harder maybe since you have to work with what you have as a draft. Logically connecting the pieces as if it was some sort of detail. For example Ron Carlson writes lots of details concerning his protagonist. If the protagonist is dirty because of his clothes he uses his logic and adds a fact about going to the governor's ball. Because the pipes burst and the mattress was dirty which soiled his clothes. It's that sort of logic that should push us to write.

Nonfiction is a strength. I agree and maybe I can write one. They sell ironically more than fiction. The only problem is I need credentials maybe to bolster my claim. But I will worry about me being an expert later.

I agree that there are a lot of talented folk on the forum and sometimes trying to accept that it is not their particular wish to read the story because they have specific expectations like you mentioned of James Patterson who I have heard before from word of mouth.

I think writing can be encouraged. I am currently reading a book for mentors of creative writing but it is instructive enough to write anything. It is by Boris Fisherman. It has helped me eliminate the cloud of doubt because it mentions reading and outlining stories and rewriting them is something we can do to improve. Plus some writers think of how to logically connect all the loose strands of the story.

Thank you for your kind and thoughtful post.


----------



## Darkkin

This is what crushed puppy hopes look like.  I wouldn't share my goldfish crackers with him.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Goldfish crackers? What are you like? I remember my friend carving out a bit of carrot and pretending to fish it out of the tank, then eating it, but goldfish crackers? Are they like regular crackers but goldfish shape , or flavour, or are they actually made of goldfish? Wait a min. maybe you don't really mean 'My goldfish crackers' but 'The crackers I have for the goldfish' ?


----------



## Darkkin

Pepperridge Farm Goldfish crackers.  An oyster cracker shaped like a creepy, smiling goldfish. I really like the Parmesan variety.


----------



## Sinister

Love some Goldfish crackers...

-Sin


----------



## Olly Buckle

Ever found a cracker called Wanda?


----------



## Sinister

Olly Buckle said:


> Ever found a cracker called Wanda?


Kevin Kline had that one last time I saw it.

-Sin


----------



## kunox

I am more of a cheese it girl myself. Not all of them but certain varieties of cheese it are epic


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat has it on the bag...always on, never in.  Oh, Potato Cat.


----------



## Sinister

Loki and Nero are both blocking the way to my chair and wondering why I'm bothering to take a picture of them with my crap cellphone camera.  Ozymandias(not pictured), Loki's brother, is huddled under the Christmas tree that I've only partially taken down.

-Sin


----------



## Foxee

Today I had to wade out into the snowstorm to pick up the kids from winter retreat. Considering that the youth leaders had to drive them well over 100 miles in the snow I guess I had the easy part. Still, glad to finally have a vehicle that, though decrepit, does have 4 wheel drive. This was a quiet weekend but the dog was a little mopey.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Well, today I picked up my new car, a fiat 500. It's only new to me of course, but with only 35k on the clock and in lovely condition it is probably the newest and smartest car I have ever had


----------



## kunox

I am going to be reading through some books on writing I borrowed from a digital library this evening. my brain is tired because I just got up. but I need to go good at certain things. plus thigs for rifftrax.


----------



## kunox

listening to a book called jack of all trades.. it is a book on learning. it is awesome.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Olly Buckle said:


> Well, today I picked up my new car, a fiat 500. It's only new to me of course, but with only 35k on the clock and in lovely condition it is probably the newest and smartest car I have ever had


That's great mileage. Please share a picture?


----------



## Darkkin

I'm devouring media.  Books.  Movies.  Music scores.  New ideas tumbling around in my head, some of them coming from directions I never thought to look.


----------



## Sinister

I cleaned house, had a gas leak from the outside tank, got it taken care of...  My back has been hurting last four or five days.  Lumbago.  I blame it on the cold, well that and falling asleep in my reading chair.  Somehow, rereading Agatha Christie while on a high dose of SSRIs is not mentally stimulating or conducive to wakefulness.

Nero is having another yeast infection in his ears.  I'm going to go have him seen to this week, poor pup is unhappy.

That said, I capped off the evening by eating Pho, that my Sister was sweet enough to run by.

Today was...eh...  4/10.

-Sin


----------



## Foxee

Sinister said:


> Lumbago.  I blame it on the cold, well that and falling asleep in my reading chair.


My chair got me like that shortly after Christmas. I had just gotten two new-to-me wingback chairs that are nice and comfy but it turns out that when I recline there isn't enough support at my lower back. I need to see the chiropractor and see if he can straighten me out.

Hope your back feels better. My chiro is big on putting ice on everything.


----------



## Sinister

Foxee said:


> My chair got me like that shortly after Christmas. I had just gotten two new-to-me wingback chairs that are nice and comfy but it turns out that when I recline there isn't enough support at my lower back. I need to see the chiropractor and see if he can straighten me out.
> 
> Hope your back feels better. My chiro is big on putting ice on everything.



Oof, sorry.  I'm not surprised this has happened to others.  What a terrible way to receive an injury, sitting in a chair.  Let's call it Reader's Spine.  Kind of like Tennis Elbow... I like that better than lumbago, anyway.

I'll be honest, I thought it'd clear up by now, but it's persistent.  Might try ice and see how it works.  It's not debilitating, just kind of obnoxious at the moment.  If it keeps up, I might have to drop in on a chiropractor too.  =/

Anyway, thanks for the advice and well-wishing.  ^^

-Sin


----------



## Foxee

Sinister said:


> Let's call it Reader's Spine.  Kind of like Tennis Elbow... I like that better than lumbago, anyway.


It's official!

I had a big cushion from an old couch (like a cylindrical pillow) that I put behind my lower back and that fixed the chair, I think. So I recommend aftermarket parts for your reading chair.


----------



## Sinister

Done.  That old chair needs some customization anyway.  It's a relic recliner that I just can't bring myself to replace.  I know it's stupid to get attached to a chair, but it's a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart.  lol

-Sin


----------



## kunox

A friend of mine gave me a gift today.


----------



## kunox

Hopefully the pictures show s up this time.


----------



## kunox




----------



## Riptide

I've been the only employee for about a month at my work and it's an IT help desk gig.  Usually it's not that big of a deal. I get a ticket or two or three a week, but I got covid and my boss, though she really tried, is not cut out for th help desk side of things and she doubled the size of my ticket count in the two weeks I was quarantined. So, now I have loads of work to catch up on.

Got four hefty ticket. Two are lost causes and should be trashed because I've tried everything. They're paperweights at this point. One is just time consuming. The last one is actually pretty challenging and fun, but I have no one to bounce ideas off and I've expended my knowhow; all I can do now is venture guesses and hope something sticks. And it also doesn't help that I work alone and have to divide my time to all the tickets, so none of them get the proper amount of attention.


----------



## Matchu

Some little sod decided to spend his night shift duty stoned out of his brain/in bed/and drunk/probably driving somewhere/to an orgy so the ‘old prick’/me covers his shift on a 24 hour marathon at the desk chair, looking at my belly now balancing this phone.  How did that happen? Anyway, heroic eh, a 24 hour shift.  Loving life on the American clock actually, one day only.

Drunk posting resumes Saturday.


----------



## VRanger

*Content Warning: Language*

I don't use expletives all that often, especially in public and media situations, but I've been using the new computer now for a few days, and I have to say "goodness gracious - heavens to Betsy!"

Months ago, I made my partner add both Office 365 and Adobe Creative Cloud sub costs to what I charge clients every month for AWS server costs. However, I haven't really used the CC sub much, because freakin' (is that an expletive?) Dreamweaver was taking MINUTES to load. When I have a client call up and they need something changed or updated, I don't really want to wait MINUTES to satisfy their request ... unlike most software vendors where they'd be lucky to get it in six months.

So I've been using my older Macromedia version of Dreamweaver which still only took 30-60 seconds to load.

Now we get to this new system with a 1 Tb SSD and 32 Gb RAM. CC Dreamweaver takes EIGHT SECONDS to load. If I've recently loaded it, and it's still in cache, make it FOUR SECONDS.

With productivity like this, it's just _possible _I might tickle this computer to take over the world. More on that later ...


----------



## VRanger

Riptide said:


> The last one is actually pretty challenging and fun, but I have no one to bounce ideas off and I've expended my knowhow; all I can do now is venture guesses and hope something sticks. And it also doesn't help that I work alone and have to divide my time to all the tickets, so none of them get the proper amount of attention.


I'm familiar. As a solo software developer, I'm the first and last word in whether I can make something work. That thought is a bit hair-raising at times. Thankfully, I always make it happen, but there have been a few nervous times when it wasn't happening, and I wasn't clear on what it would take.

That was especially vexing a couple of years ago when email simply stopped working reliably out of my Amazon servers. Their SMS support guys threw up their hands, and for a while I sent email out through my secondary hosting vendor. That worked, but it wasn't ideal.

Finally, it turned out there was an updated security setting required in Microsoft Server, and all I needed to do was copy an app to the server, run it, and tick a box. Was there ever any notification from ANYONE this was happening? Not to me, there wasn't. I guess I'm not on all the cool mailing lists, and if I was, so much needless noise would come across them I'd have missed it anyway. FINDING out that was all I needed to do took a LOT of digging.


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog hanging out with me when I randomly stopped while messing around with iTunes last night.  He doesn't question, he just stays with me.


----------



## kunox

Darkkin said:


> Rue Dog hanging out with me when I randomly stopped while messing around with iTunes last night.  He doesn't question, he just stays with me.
> 
> View attachment 28145


interesting question. all your animal names seems to be references.. is rue named after the quote.. "rue the day."


----------



## Darkkin

kunox said:


> interesting question. all your animal names seems to be references.. is rue named after the quote.. "rue the day."



Rue's actual name is Rugby, but he always has a rueful expression when he goofs up, so I started calling him Rue and it stuck.


----------



## VRanger

Today was one hell of a day. I've recently incorporated WritingForums.com as a "Public Benefit Corporation", which in South Carolina is a flavor of non-profit. Gumby, who has been our Treasurer, cut a check to open a new account attached to the corporation, and I had it on my schedule today to take that check and all the corporation paperwork to the local branch to get the checking account established. I got online and made an appointment for 3 PM.

Then in the late morning I noticed the cat I just spent a small fortune on looked to still be having trouble urinating. I called the Vet office to ask if they would give him a double check. "Bring him in at 2:30".

At 2:30 I dropped Fred off at the Vet, made a stop at the grocery store, and got to the bank at 2:45. The personal banker was free, so we started early. It's a good thing we did. Warning: Wells Fargo Bank knows NOTHING about non-profit corporations. The mere mention of the subject sends them spinning into uncontrolled dizzy bafflement. The guy I dealt with had to call internal Business Support twice, the second time in a vain attempt to decide what selection to make for the corporation type. The nitwit at Support asked FOUR TIMES "He must tell us how he will file his taxes", and I had the local guy answer FOUR TIMES, "This is a non-profit, they DON'T FILE TAXES". (A non-profit files an annual report, but pays no taxes).

After the same ignorant question FOUR TIMES, I motioned for the local guy to hang up, made him show me his screen, and told him which option to select.

About 4:40 I called the vet to see what I needed to do about Fred ... if they were going to keep him again or if I needed to get back there before they close. The lady on the phone said, "You need to come in. The Doctor needs to talk to you about Fred." That didn't sound good. They close at 5:30.

So I told the banker we had 30 minutes to wrap this account up, told him what to select as we went through the rest of the form system, got the account number entered and the check deposited, and I was able to leave at 5:05.

Now I'm on the way to the vet, expecting he's going to tell me that Fred relapsed and the best thing would be to put him down.

I had a long wait at the vet, the entire time with my emotions roller-coastering between keeping it together and feeling bad about Fred. FINALLY the vet comes out, and it wasn't good, but it wasn't "put him down" bad, either. He has a crystalized mass in his bladder, which may dissolve with the special food I now must feed him, or he may block again. So poor Fred isn't out of the woods, but he came home tonight. The vet was very decent. He checked him over and took an x-ray, and after the $690 Fred's recent treatment cost, told me no charge for today. Nice guy ... truly.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Nearly $700, I thought Mrs. Small was costing ith her thyroid meds and blood pressure meds, but nothing like that. She still keeps sneezing and throwing up from time to time, we are both discovering it is not such fun getting old.


----------



## PiP

@VRanger sounds like the bank has a serious training issue if you had to do their job.  The vet sounds a decent guy... $690 is a lot of money. How is Fred today, hopefully a little better?


----------



## VRanger

That's my normal experience with Wells Fargo. I typically have to explain their job to them. They're managed by idiots. I wouldn't have gone near them, but they stole our bank during the mortgage crisis, and Betty doesn't want to go through setting up all her monthly online Bill Pay stuff again with another bank.

Just now going out to feed the cats. Fred won't be great for a while. We have to hope the acidity in the new prescription food gradually dissolves the crystallized mass in his bladder.


----------



## Darkkin

This is Potato Cat, a reincarnated Time Lord and a Master of Atypical Quantum Physics.  We see a bag; he sees the heart of his Tardis shielded by an Einstein-Rosen bridge.  He parks it on the bag, never in the bag.  Because think about it, parking in a bag makes take-off and landing a pain in the ass.


----------



## Sinister

Just got back from the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall in Nashville.  It is snowing and freezing cold.  The concert was amazing.  So much fun.  The music was beautiful and nostalgic.  All that after eating a first-class meal courtesy of ETC.  An all-around fantastic time.  Thanks to my sister who arranged it as a Happy Birthmas present.

Today was a solid and rare:

9/10

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> Just got back from the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall in Nashville.  It is snowing and freezing cold.  The concert was amazing.  So much fun.  The music was beautiful and nostalgic.  All that after eating a first-class meal courtesy of ETC.  An all-around fantastic time.  Thanks to my sister who arranged it as a Happy Birthmas present.
> 
> Today was a solid and rare:
> 
> 9/10
> 
> -Sin


We're taking a two-hour drive this afternoon (and two hours back) to see the modern-day Glenn Miller Orchestra. We've seen them at least three times before, and it might be four, but the last time was several years ago ... actually a few years before we moved out of Charlotte to Lancaster ... and we've been here for six years now. It snowed here last night, too, and this snow brought large fluffy flakes as opposed to the snow last week. It was pretty while falling, but with the temperature already 40 (4.5 C), it's already melting, and luckily appears it never stuck on roads. We'll be gone 8 to 9 hours, and luckily a friend who dog sits for us on our vacations was available today.


----------



## PiP

Lucky you! I used to love listening to Glen. Enjoy!


----------



## Olly Buckle

Picked my wheel up. There had been no puncture, they simply took the tyre  off, cleaned the rim, and resealed it. I pulled out my wallet and he said "No, that's allright, no charge. And they took the temporary wheel off and put the proper one back on the car.
Then I came home, planted some seeds and finished off the plant trough I was building all along the side of the shed.. It got dark and I came in and cleared up the kitchen, just finished and the missus got home from work. She is now making Jamie Oliver pasta.


----------



## Foxee

Today I found out that a young couple is looking at my mom's place to rent or buy it. I had to give up on living there when my mom (who offered the place to us last year this time) wouldn't have any kind of adult conversation with me regarding how this was going to work. She wanted to continue to control the property and, by extension, my family and I. It's much better to hear that there are non-family who she will have to deal with more normally. It'll be healthier.

But I'm really sad. Living there would have been so much better (if it weren't for my mother) than the decrepit company-town house we live in now. With my husband STILL unemployed and much stress over that as well, I feel trapped. I let myself think about all the things I loved about the place I grew up and the dreams I had last year of the freedom I thought my family and I would enjoy. I had to let myself cry over it, trying to just let it go. It's impossible anyway.

So today kind of sucks.


----------



## Sinister

We were at the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Orchestra World Tour.  It was beautiful.  It's the second time I've heard Distant Worlds.  The last time it was all music from all the games.  This time it was FF7, which is my favorite all-time game.  I admit, it's more of a niche audience, but the symphony hall was at maximum capacity.

Their rendition of Hollow and Aerith's theme was haunting. 

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

This is essentially our first time out in a real crowd since all the COVID stuff started. We don't go out that much anyway, and we've hit restaurants a few times, but they're never crowded. However, last night we went to my friend Beau Beaumont's gig at a popular Mexican restaurant (and the one my neighbor manages and her boyfriend owns). It was crowded, as Beau often brings in a good crowd of at least friends and family. So two nights in a row.

The good news is that in the US, the current mortality rate for COVID is 3 tenths of one percent. That's still twice the flu, but it's MUCH lower than the early days. Treatments are better, and Omicron is not as serious.


----------



## Sinister

Yeah...they definitely had to check our vaccination records before they let us in.  They were very professional, but insistent on that.  Totally commendable.

-Sin


----------



## kunox

overcoming my fears one day at a time.. that is what I am doing right now..  i have been in and out of bed all day.... but I am trying t write and revise... using the advice in the following video, below.


----------



## Olly Buckle

VRanger said:


> The good news is that in the US, the current mortality rate for COVID is 3 tenths of one percent. That's still twice the flu, but it's MUCH lower than the early days. Treatments are better, and Omicron is not as serious.



The bad news is the B2 version of Omicron is on the way, it's not over yet. If you are going out and mixing make sure you have a proper mask like an ff3 that actually stops 99% of everything in both directions. The blue paper things are better than nothing, but not much.

Have a look at this lady's twitter feed, she knows what she is talking about. Deepti Gurdasani


----------



## Matchu

So many of these under 40 [just about] male anti-vaxxers about the place we need to build more prisons.  Jail them for the bad breaths.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Been doing research on autoexecutive dysfuction. I have that problem. There are also those with aspergers or autism that have a difficult time visualizing images.Also I read research that suggests pretense or imagining may be difficult for many. But they tend to excel in some areas such as poetry and music. But it's difficult to define what is considered imagination. Been thinking of seeing a specialist at some point. My brother fully supports that I play videogames. In the future I am considering occupational therapy to contribute with how I spend my time. I like writing a post here in this thread. Because it is not related to writing ( since I am taking a very long break) and it seems relevant to what I am doing.

Anyways I think autoexecutive dysfunction may be more relevant to what causes the writing problem since it was the diagnosis given to me when I was in the United states.

I did also read how people with aspergers in some cases can't picture a moving picture. If I were to describe a cat up a tree would have a difficult time. There's a theory out there on internal coherence and theory of mind theories. How it's related to autism. Hence verbalizing of a image becomes difficult accordingly and some specialists try to compensate by writing books on gestalt theory. It is a matter of questioning mental imagery. In case no one understands what I am saying here is this link which is part of research I did today. By asking questions about an image you could write in words better if you have aspergers for example. I know this isn't true in everyone 's case.






						Amazon.com: Visualizing and Verbalizing: For Language Comprehension and Thinking: 9780945856641: Nanci Bell: Books
					


Amazon.com: Visualizing and Verbalizing: For Language Comprehension and Thinking: 9780945856641: Nanci Bell: Books




					www.amazon.com
				




Giving feedback doesn't bother me at all. I will do it once in a while to people who I have met here on the forums.


----------



## kunox

sorry... posted in wrong place


----------



## Darkkin

We attended the funeral service for my Grandpa's last brother, my great uncle, today.  Service was very nice, but I was just really glad to see my family.  It has been a long time.  

My Grandpa is the last surviving sibling of four brothers, he is also the oldest at 90.  He deals with arthritis, but is able to walk on his own and is sharp as a tack.  He is soft spoken, but is a total delight to listen to.

He's recovered from surgery to repair a broken hip and still shovels his sidewalk to stay active.  He is also one of the best listeners I've ever met.  Most folks are lucky to have even one grandparent.  I grew up with two sets.  One pair passed while I was in college.  And I still have one set.

As far as grandparents go, both sets of mine are the absolute best.


----------



## indianroads

Started well. Wrote for a while this morning, then went with wife to #2 daughter’s house for dinner, SIL has a new smoker, the ribs we’re great.
At home tonight, wife has control of remote, so we’re watching murder tv, which is pretty depressing, but at least she’s not taking notes. Then, I got a PM that seemed to accuse me of being a racist, which ticked me off. It should have been laughable; if you know my background that’s understandable, but I let it get under my skin and instead of ignoring it I responded. Stupid of me. Bad Indy. Bad.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> but I let it get under my skin and instead of ignoring it I responded. Stupid of me. Bad Indy. Bad.


Congrats on being human, though. And I'm glad your wife doesn't appear to be plotting LOL.

I mean...smoked ribs kinda make the struggle worth it. That sounds divine.


----------



## kunox

I will be writing today... I hope.. and studying on writing as well... I need to up my skills.. I kind of just got up an hour and a half ago though. my brain is still kind of fogy.


----------



## Darkkin

When your pet is a basket case, but you love them anyway.


----------



## indianroads

Darkkin said:


> When your pet is a basket case, but you love them anyway.


LOVE IT!


----------



## Mark Twain't

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 28162
> 
> When your pet is a basket case, but you love them anyway.


Ha! Mrs Twain't put our younger cat in one of those this morning and carried him downstairs. When I got down there a few minutes later, he was still sitting in it!


----------



## Theglasshouse

So I was thinking of hiring a tutor for the conditions I have but online in march. I have changed my mind again it seems. The teacher is for special needs students with autism and Aspergers. I have to take a flight in April because of my brother's new born baby which will arrive. It's is something to discuss with my parents. The good thing is they would provide materials for what I need to work on. So it might be worth it in the end. I have still to try to contact them. But march the 31st was when I was born. So I will give this a new try.


----------



## kunox

didn't do any writing yesterday.. did some cleaning... will do some more cleaning and planning today plus some writing.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Reading a grammar book. Picked up my ordered books from the packaging office today. I will write more on that later. Anyways, this is the first book I am enjoying that talks about the rules of the language. It actually gives the 5 rules for comma splices. I am taking notes and reading it slowly. My attention is focused on this book. There is a  different book on screenwriting and Shakespeare that gives exercises in most of the chapters ( out of print as soon as I placed my order, but I think it has good exercises). I am seeing some classic mistakes I commit in writing pargraphs.  The grammar book is in the public domain. If I make good notes I can share the notes. I need to study to know more about descriptive paragraphs. The book however I mentioned covers the process of making paragraphs. I plan to take notes on topic sentences; I will write ones that I like and will imitate these.

Here are some of my notes:

Prescription coma splice



Don’t join independent clauses with just a comma.

Separate two independent clauses with a period.

Join two independent clauses with a semicolon.

Join two independent clauses with a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb.

Join two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

Join two independent clauses with a subordinating conjunction.



Percival yelled. Penelope left.

Percival yelled; therefore, Penelope left.

Percival yelled, so Penelope left.

Percival yelled, so Penelope left.

Because Percival yelled, Penelope left.


----------



## kunox

Theglasshouse said:


> Reading a grammar book. Picked up my ordered books from the packaging office today. I will write more on that later. Anyways, this is the first book I am enjoying that talks about the rules of the language. It actually gives the 5 rules for comma splices. I am taking notes and reading it slowly. My attention is focused on this book. There is a book on screenwriting and Shakespeare that gives exercises in most of the chapters ( out of print as soon as I placed my order, but I think it has good exercises). I am seeing some classic mistakes I commit in writing pargraphs.  The grammar book is in the public domain. If I make good notes I can share the notes. I need to study to know more about descriptive paragraphs. The book however I mentioned covers the process of making paragraphs. I plan to take notes on topic sentences; ones that I like and will imitate these.
> 
> Here are some of my notes:
> 
> Prescription coma splice
> 
> 
> 
> Don’t join independent clauses with just a comma.
> 
> Separate two independent clauses with a period.
> 
> Join two independent clauses with a semicolon.
> 
> Join two independent clauses with a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb.
> 
> Join two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
> 
> Join two independent clauses with a subordinating conjunction.
> 
> 
> 
> Percival yelled. Penelope left.
> 
> Percival yelled; therefore, Penelope left.
> 
> Percival yelled, so Penelope left.
> 
> Percival yelled, so Penelope left.
> 
> Because Percival yelled, Penelope left.


sounds good...


----------



## PiP

My day WAS going well. We went to a friend's house for a socially-distanced coffee and some delicious homemade cake. The guy is a passionate gardener like myself and we had a grand tour of his garden including his latest gardening project - a  water feature - and what's growing now in his raised veg garden. My husband just comes along for the delicious homemade cake and a chat about football, sport, politics and the latest PC bullshite. Sorry, we are from the boomer generation so we are on the same wavelength - we wonder how we survived without people telling us what to think or say ... anyways ... moving on.

I returned home with some succulent plants, a pot of onions and a broken terracotta pot which was destined for the dustbin. Hubby groaned ...  why is other people's crap more interesting than our own ... some people rescue stray dogs and cats ... me ... it's plants, pots and other sundries as I like to transform discarded items and create something new rather than add to landfills ...

Anyways, I digress.  Amidst all this excitement (yes, I'm easily pleased these days) I decided to check the time for my PCR and CT scan on Thursday ... and the endoscopy and colonoscopy scheduled for Saturday. Panic, the prescription which was on my desk has disappeared.  Two hours later after searching every nook and cranny in the house and both cars -just in case - I concede defeat.  I decide to ring the hospital and explain I've lost the prescription and I need another one to be issued. Nope, the phone rang off its hook and five phone calls later I'm finally put through to an operator at the call centre. Nope, they can't put me through to hospital reception. Why? I can imagine the teleoperator giving me the Portuguese shrug in response -it's above his paygrade. So say someone will call me back. I smell fob off. So now over three hours later I am still no further forward and chewing on a wasp. Be warned.


----------



## kunox

i woke up exhausted.. why did I do that.. sleep that is... I will be working on cleaning and writing roday.. alternating between the two.


----------



## Sinister

Some force has called upon an old hate from years past and now it has been sent whistling towards my tucked-in corner of Kentucky again.  The ice storm is here again.  2 inches of accumulation.  PTSD from decades ago is brought back in raw pulsing fresh pain, like bare nerves exposed to cold air.  The whole state to be drowned by solid water as the icing on last year's tornado damage.  So, all the half-shredded buildings, busted cities, lost photographs and splintered lives can shine like glass under frozen rain.  Gasping trees and strangled electric wires will be pulled down from their mid-air perch, roads locked and impassable...stranding all.

TLDR;

2/10

But seriously, another damn freezing rainstorm hits this week.  To those in the know, I have gassed up my generator.  It's supposedly that serious.  Apart from that melodramatic flex at the top of this post I have exactly this to say(and you can quote me):

"Damn."

-Sin


----------



## PrairieHostage

Today was supposed to be GO day for salads and steel cut oats. As I chomp on a french fry.

I'm watching videos and reading material for my online edX UBC course, How to Write a Novel: Edit and Revise. Pretty basic stuff today. 

Housework and laundry can wait until tomorrow. Then on Thursday, four of us gals are driving to the mineral spa for an overnight soiree, to be pampered. I chose reflexology massage on hands and feet. Cannot wait!!


----------



## Olly Buckle

VRanger said:


> The good news is that in the US, the current mortality rate for COVID is 3 tenths of one percent. That's still twice the flu, but it's MUCH lower than the early days. Treatments are better, and Omicron is not as serious.



Just clicked this, the problem with the statistic is that the infection rate is going through the roof. I think it is true that , like Denmark and Israel, the infection rate in the US is now the highest it has ever been, which means that the mortality rate may be low, but the actual number of moralities may well be pretty high. That seems to be the way it is working out in this neck of the woods. Let's hope the new B2 version of Omicron turns out less rather than more serious; bit too soon to call on that one. It does seem to be evading the vaccination to a degree, Israel is well vaccinated, multiple infections of the same individual may also prove serious, but don't  seem to be monitored much.

I can't remember the name given to this piece of logic, but basically it states that if the outcome of an action is not going to be negative and may be positive then it is worth pursuing. I don't find wearing a good quality mask or avoiding mixing with people generally at all onerous, and it might be saving me from something very nasty  as I have a compromised immune system. So why not do it, it would seem foolish not to.


----------



## Foxee

PiP said:


> I returned home with some succulent plants, a pot of onions and a broken terracotta pot which was destined for the dustbin. Hubby groaned ...  why is other people's crap more interesting than our own ... some people rescue stray dogs and cats ... me ... it's plants, pots and other sundries as I like to transform discarded items and create something new rather than add to landfills ...



Here's an idea!


----------



## kunox

back to writing I am.... It feels so good. I realized why I was not writing possibly. it might be the fact that I have a fear of sucess due to the fact I may not be able to save money for hard time or was not able to. due to the fact that I am on survivors benifits. not that I am putting this here for a critique but this is what I am wrote. It is for a newsletter that my mental health support group I go to.

On Self Love
It is that time of year spring is around the corner. Love is in the air. It is warming up enough for the birds and the bees and they are selling heart-shaped antacids with curious phrases on them in little boxes for some reason. oh, that's right It is about valentines day again. My bad. It is the season of love. So why not celebrate this month by celebrating the love of the person you will spend the most time with ever in all of existence. Yourself. Sadly though, from what I can tell. Most people don’t love all of themselves. They love the best parts of themselves. Like trophies, the shining of great qualities that they just keep on polishing tells there is about as much polish on them as there is wood. plastic, or metal.

It should go without saying. You should put your best qualities forward. That is your selling point. It should also go without saying that you should love those qualities of yourself that you don’t like at all. Those qualities you try to sweep under the rug when people come in your presence. You probably should know this. But you can’t fix what you don’t love. It’s like a broken-down old car that sits in your yard. If you don’t love fixing old cars then you will probably sit there making yourself self-conscious every time someone asks about it. Sadly until you do something about it it will continue to.

The challenge is to love the yard {a.ka yourself} enough to do something about it and unlike random junk in your yard. A piece of yourself you can’t just yeet of yourself like a broken down pinto. So what a person to do. Love that part of yourself despite. You don’t have to make it into the world's most stylish ride but you can do something with it. Like, make it into something useful. A part of yourself slash yard that isn’t a pain to explain. That part of yourself may not have to be your best but until you love it enough to nurture it better. You cannot make it into a beautiful victory garden for all to see.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I spent all day searching for speech therapists in my area although my mother is undergoing treatment to receive dental implants. I foresee this continuing until march (no speech therapist). That is because they have many projects that they manage. We have some small houses on a mountain we rent for tourists. It's a cold weather climate there year round while it is hot the majority of the year here. That and a trip to visit my brother. It's not cheap (traveling to Europe never is). But without a doubt if I ask for it I know they can't say no and it is guaranteed in march. They are currently building another house which is  another added cost to pay each month that is draining some of the financial resources.

My research suggests that aspies such as myself have problems creating topic sentences and sticking to a topic which creates little coherence. Besides weak visualization skills, which is what I am going to talk about when that appointment is booked. That makes description difficult. Storytelling skills suffer. My parents know that. Reasoning is difficult. I had to be my own private detective on my diagnosis.

My mother has been to 3 dentists in the past. She doesn't believe in suing people. There's a ridiculous law that suggests that if you lose they can sue you back multiple times the value of the court case damages. It's part of the reason in my country freedom of speech is silenced if you suffered an injustice. That has to do with the law which if you throw money a judge can win sway the verdict in another person's favor. People turn a blind eye to justice. If you go to news reporters and said what you perceive is the truth it results in a defamation law suit. The likes I wouldn't want to test though I had an unfair court case even though I wasn't there. My uncle I believe did start that case and lost a long time ago. Since you can't sue the government and he was a public employee of the education department he could attempt a law suit without being sued.

Life is complicated since corruption is rampant in the court systems. Treasure freedom of speech for it is truly worth its praise.

My parents invited me to go to my grandmother's house since my dad's uncle passed away a few days ago. I never go when  other people's final respects are being paid. I consider it a good way not to experience stress and depression. Like Melville supposedly mentioned when I read his supposed masterpiece I don't think it helps me process anything since I have emotional disabilities when people's memories are honored and paid with respect.


----------



## kunox

woke up feeling like hell... I got mental health group to go to but i feel better.. well.. except for my back... I woke up in a very comfortable pain this morning to say the least.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Foxee, Pip. You would love my new 8ft long trough. An inner made from plywood from the roof of the aviary I took down. An outer of split logs from a lelandi I took down. Lined with a waterproof packing box. Now I have to find enough earth to fill it up. It runs along the side of the shed , last year I had pots stood along, this should be much better.


----------



## indianroads

Over a foot of snow fell last night and it's still coming down. Currently 6 degrees F (-14 C) - I'll let clearing the driveway go until tomorrow. 
Currently in my office, not quite half way through chapter 24 of the Last Ride.


----------



## PrairieHostage

We're in the deep freeze of snow, ice and cold as is customary of my city, but I'm having a good day. Slept in until noon!! My son is taking me to the gym later and tomorrow it's off to the mineral spa for hot pools and reflexology. I'm mentally tired and will enjoy every second.


----------



## indianroads

PrairieHostage said:


> We're in the deep freeze of snow, ice and cold as is customary of my city, but I'm having a good day. Slept in until noon!! My son is taking me to the gym later and tomorrow it's off to the mineral spa for hot pools and reflexology. I'm mentally tired and will enjoy every second.


It's been a really mild winter out here so far, which is kinda bad for the water table, but it's been nice.


----------



## Olly Buckle

indianroads said:


> Over a foot of snow fell last night and it's still coming down. Currently 6 degrees F (-14 C) - I'll let clearing the driveway go until tomorrow.
> Currently in my office, not quite half way through chapter 24 of the Last Ride.


-14 , Ouch! If that were me I would start planning the sequel, the drive will clear itself when it warms up enough to go out


----------



## Sinister

Went out to eat with Sister and Mother for Birthday.  Ate a KY Hot Brown which is a Turkey open-face sandwich with bacon, tomato and mornay sauce and a Toffee Cake.  Then tried to thaw out in a hot tub.  Now I am home, ran a bathtub of water to flush the toilet after the pipes freeze.  Generator is gassed and ready.  I have bottled water, snacks and ready-made meals.  Going to leave the faucets on drip so they don't freeze solid.

Please let the power stay on.  If you don't hear from me in the next few days, you'll know why.

Regards,

-Sin


----------



## indianroads

Sinister said:


> Went out to eat with Sister and Mother for Birthday.  Ate a KY Hot Brown which is a Turkey open-face sandwich with bacon, tomato and mornay sauce and a Toffee Cake.  Then tried to thaw out in a hot tub.  Now I am home, ran a bathtub of water to flush the toilet after the pipes freeze.  Generator is gassed and ready.  I have bottled water, snacks and ready-made meals.  Going to leave the faucets on drip so they don't freeze solid.
> 
> Please let the power stay on.  If you don't hear from me in the next few days, you'll know why.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> -Sin


The same weather passed through here (Colorado) and according to the weather guy, we have one more day of cold temps, but thankfully the snow is about gone.
Good luck!


----------



## Sinister

I doubt very much anything major will come of it.  They're _saying_ up to two-inches of freezing rain.  And it doesn't get above freezing here until Sunday.  *But, *people around here panic easily when it comes to winter weather.  Mostly it goes back to the winter storm of '09.  That one was a little over two inches and it shut the state down for a little less than a month.

Anyway, we'll see.  I'm not too worried.  I can get on well-enough without power here.  I just worry about those who have to drive or commute and those still without homes from the tornado.  =/

-Sin


----------



## indianroads

We ended up with about 10-12 inches of snow, the cold was the real bugger -12 F last night (that's -24 C for those that go by a temperature scale that makes sense), and this morning it's a balmy +15 F (-9 C). The morning temp made it easy to clear the driveway - the snow didn't have a chance to melt and get heavy.

Sad morning though. My wife's cat, Lilly, developed breathing problems and she wasn't eating, and we had to put her down. She was a rescue cat we adopted from the shelter where we used to volunteer - she had a rough life prior to being picked up by the shelter - she had 3 kittens when she was barely more than a kitten herself, and maybe because of that she was a tiny thing. When we could clean the room she was kept in at the shelter, she would sit up on a shelf and pat our heads as we worked, so of course we adopted her. She lived with us for a bit over 10 years, had a good live and she loved my wife. 

Several years after we adopted Lilly, we took in a feral kitten as a foster (we named him Batman), but no one wanted him so he stayed with us and grew to be five or six times the size of Lilly, but she was the boss and would smack him when she thought he was out of line. Sadly, Batman is alone now - the rest of our cats live on the upper floors of our house.


----------



## indianroads

Back yard this morning.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Sorry to hear about your little cat, we had a similar experience a couple of days ago. Mrs Small has been ill for a while, the vet gave her a couple of cortisone injections and she rallied after them, but for a much shorter time after the second. She couldn't keep food down and was spending most of her time sleeping, though she still seemed to be very pleased to be with us and very affectionate, but the last time we took her in to the vet he was in no doubt. She had lost a lot of weight and he thought he could feel a carcinoma in the abdomen. We have no idea how old she was, I was putting out mealworms for the robin one day and when I turned around she was following me eating them. She was in a bad state, no hair on her back legs or tail, and it was a week or so before she would come into the house, after five years or so she treated it as her house, complete with servants. Do miss her.


----------



## indianroads

Olly Buckle said:


> Sorry to hear about your little cat, we had a similar experience a couple of days ago. Mrs Small has been ill for a while, the vet gave her a couple of cortisone injections and she rallied after them, but for a much shorter time after the second. She couldn't keep food down and was spending most of her time sleeping, though she still seemed to be very pleased to be with us and very affectionate, but the last time we took her in to the vet he was in no doubt. She had lost a lot of weight and he thought he could feel a carcinoma in the abdomen. We have no idea how old she was, I was putting out mealworms for the robin one day and when I turned around she was following me eating them. She was in a bad state, no hair on her back legs or tail, and it was a week or so before she would come into the house, after five years or so she treated it as her house, complete with servants. Do miss her.


Beautiful story - thanks for that.
Our chosen companions touch our lives in many unexpected ways. It's sad when they leave, but I wouldn't want to live without them.


----------



## Sinister

Lost three trees.  My Magnolia, a maple and my weeping willow.  Something exploded.  I mean that, it shook the whole hill I live on.  I've no clue if it was a gas main or a transformer.  But obviously, I still have power and water.  Tonight, the temps dip down to single digits and more snow with wind.  If I lose power, it will be tonight.

So far all the major limbs haven't hit our house, so the roof is intact.  But just like in '09, every ten minutes or so I hear that fucking sound...  That shattering crashing sound as a big limb tears off a tree.  I hate that sound more than any other...

Check in tomorrow if I can.

-Sin


----------



## indianroads

Sinister said:


> Lost three trees.  My Magnolia, a maple and my weeping willow.  Something exploded.  I mean that, it shook the whole hill I live on.  I've no clue if it was a gas main or a transformer.  But obviously, I still have power and water.  Tonight, the temps dip down to single digits and more snow with wind.  If I lose power, it will be tonight.
> 
> So far all the major limbs haven't hit our house, so the roof is intact.  But just like in '09, every ten minutes or so I hear that fucking sound...  That shattering crashing sound as a big limb tears off a tree.  I hate that sound more than any other...
> 
> Check in tomorrow if I can.
> 
> -Sin


Yeah, let us know.


----------



## kunox

I swear. i am going to retry an old project I had going. it is called building a cople mini habits. it is an idea from the book mini habits. I tried it once, but I think I tried to build it too fast. you know that number that says building a habit is a month long process. the problem with that is ihat is that is kind of a lie but only because it is an average. some habits take about that time. some habits taske almost half a year. this dpends on how easy or hard they are. I will be going for four month but very small habits.... any thoughts.


----------



## Sinister

Still with power, heat and water.  Some others near me weren't as lucky.  Once everything thaws I'm going to have to clear the yard...and maybe even get rid of some prized trees that simply saw too much damage.  Even the Ertan Deep was torn...the trees in there are splintered and jagged.

But, all is well.  I hope all of you can say the same.

Love,

-Sin


----------



## indianroads

Sinister said:


> Still with power, heat and water.  Some others near me weren't as lucky.  Once everything thaws I'm going to have to clear the yard...and maybe even get rid of some prized trees that simply saw too much damage.  Even the Ertan Deep was torn...the trees in there are splintered and jagged.
> 
> But, all is well.  I hope all of you can say the same.
> 
> Love,
> 
> -Sin


If nothing else, those conditions are something you can write about with authority.
Glad to hear you are ok.


----------



## Sinister

indianroads said:


> If nothing else, those conditions are something you can write about with authority.
> Glad to hear you are ok.


Thank you.  ^^
And believe me, this is a blog post and a half.  lol.  That's the beautiful part of being a writer, even the worst experience can really enrich your writing.

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

A friend I used to work with has a real talent for watercolours.  She was kind enough to give faces to Turtle upon Tide and the Star Socks Fox.










I still need to have them matted and framed, but they are amazing.


----------



## Theglasshouse

kunox said:


> I swear. i am going to retry an old project I had going. it is called building a cople mini habits. it is an idea from the book mini habits. I tried it once, but I think I tried to build it too fast. you know that number that says building a habit is a month long process. the problem with that is ihat is that is kind of a lie but only because it is an average. some habits take about that time. some habits taske almost half a year. this dpends on how easy or hard they are. I will be going for four month but very small habits.... any thoughts.


Take webinars when possible. They are cheap. Both of mine costed 28 dollars for today only. If you have some pocket change that you wouldn't mind to spare use it for in a place such as www.udemy.com to work on basic skills. I consider 200-400 might be a waste of money for a class. There is a lot of competition in offering a creative writing course. I think masterclass would be a waste of money. If you don't think you can purchase the webinars maybe cheaper ones will appear on the website or elsewhere. Today they had an over 40% discount. The same happened at skillshare. It was priced at 30 dollars for one year.


----------



## kunox

Ty... Will consider. Trying to find a job right now so I can save up for things.


Theglasshouse said:


> Take webinars when possible. They are cheap. Both of mine costed 28 dollars for today only. If you have some pocket change that you wouldn't mind to spare use it for in a place such as www.udemy.com to work on basic skills. I consider 200-400 might be a waste of money for a class. There is a lot of competition in offering a creative writing course. I think masterclass would be a waste of money. If you don't think you can purchase the webinars maybe cheaper ones will appear on the website or elsewhere. Today they had an over 40% discount. The same happened at skillshare. It was priced at 30 dollars for one year.


----------



## Darkkin

Dude has the right idea.


----------



## Foxee

Seriously...dogs know what's up.

Husband is avoiding grocery shopping with me. I don't blame him, I'd rather just nap with these two.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Foxee said:


> Seriously...dogs know what's up.
> 
> Husband is avoiding grocery shopping with me. I don't blame him, I'd rather just nap with these two.


I can relate. I woke up at ten in the morning and I'm still in bed at 1:30 pm. No plans to do anything other than order takeout for delivery.
Went to the mineral spa overnight Thursday and spent three hours in the pool, followed by a reflexology treatment on hands & feet. Today I have a bad sinus reaction so it's total lazy time over here. Good luck on groceries!! Maybe you should just dive in and join them!!


----------



## kunox

I got all four mini habits habits done for today... yassss... that is a doubling of my productivity sadly? It think?


----------



## kunox

awake I am... trying to get started also I am. my left side back and behind my left need hurts this morning.
edit: don't worry my back and legs are getting better.. the pain is just concentrating itself self into certain areas bit it is indeed going away.
update 1: got 3 mini habits done and most of the forth one done. I got 90% of that one done.
update 2: I got all 4 mini habits done... I am going to do a little extra on each and then chill for the rest of the evening.


----------



## kunox

another day and I got my walking done at least.. and I am down a rabbit hole of rhett and links religious deconversion story. wow it is interesting. I still need to get my mini habits done.


----------



## Darkkin

Book Cat Level:  Grand Master.  Potato Cat took the full weight of the hardcover I'm reading.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Been having an interesting time, today.  Mostly mentally torturing other hummin' beans.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Been researching how writers come up or think up topic sentences. I realize this may be somewhat obvious to lots of people. I will very much purchase a book that deals with the thesis that our experience helps writers create topic sentences. So going to try it since caters to special needs. Because experience is linked to story telling. That is how you add filler or content to write. To some people it comes naturally but not to me. As a bonus it recommends reading memoirs to stimulate memory. The writing process is linked with memories of life. But it comes from somewhere although you imagine an experience and use it as story material. The topic sentence helps with coherence. Also today I found a website that helps writers describe. I found 500 words related to hospital which is a new record. It's a way to maintain coherence instead of relying on synonyns. It is like one big theme. I forgot the linguistic term but it's a part that is associated with the word. A word related to liquor is cork. Using such dictionaries you can maintain coherence because you are describing something and the topic stays the same if it's related to the first sentence. It's much better than synonyms. For hospital for example It would be parts, professions and so on that are related for example if you want to write a paragraph maintaining the flow of logic by the sentences being related and connected by logic and maybe by the related words.

It was a good day today, but one of of my parents imo shows he is behaving grumpy most of the time because for example I wasn't ready in time to go somewhere because of feeling out of it ( mental fatigue). It would be good material to mine for memory to write a topic sentence which is one way on how to apply the research I did for topic sentences.


----------



## PiP

I pottered in the garden for most of the day then read, worked on WF, started crafting a poem for this month's challenge and worked on my collab novel with Jim this evening.

Senior blond moment alert
A few weeks ago I bought an all singing and all dancing microwave, combi and grill. The beast has more buttons than a spaceship and the hard copy 130 +page instruction manual is in Portuguese which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. I have an English version online. Not the same. Scrolling through 119 pages to read how to operate the grill is far more demanding than finding the right page in a book. Husband said when we bought the beast: considering you don't even know how to operate the TV remote control, you'll never figure out how to use THAT. In hindsight, he was probably right... although I won't admit to that. After reading and rereading the instructions steps 1 through to 5 the grill still wouldn't work. One hour later the piece of bread I'd intended to toast had already given up and was in the process of morphing into cardboard.

 Husband finally tried. Still no success.
To rewind you never put metal in a microwave, yes. So logic told me if I used the metal grill tray I wouldn't shut the door, right? Wrong. Instructions 1-5 should have included a 3A. Close the door. DOH!


----------



## D. L. Keur

> which is about as much use as a chocolate teapot


Now, THAT sounds tasty ...until you pour in the boiling water, of course.


----------



## indianroads

Martial art practice in the morning - open mat time - then writing through the afternoon.
I think I have control of the TV remote tonight - good thing because my wife's murder shows were creeping me out.


----------



## Olly Buckle

D. L. Keur said:


> Now, THAT sounds tasty ...until you pour in the boiling water, of course.


Is the phrase 'As much use as a chocolate tea pot' not used in the US ? Counts as a well known phrase or saying over here, they even sell them in the 'fun' souvenir shops down in Hastings, (Seaside resort)


----------



## D. L. Keur

Olly Buckle said:


> Is the phrase 'As much use as a chocolate tea pot' not used in the US ? Counts as a well known phrase or saying over here, they even sell them in the 'fun' souvenir shops down in Hastings, (Seaside resort)


Nope. I've never heard it, but I've spent the last few years 'not getting out much' on the Net and, now, since Covid, out in the real world, either.   Thanks for hinting at what I missed.  I'll have to 'google it'.


----------



## Darkkin

The look I got when I called Dude, a loud mouthed schmuck.


----------



## VRanger

I walked out into the garage this morning to "do the cats' (as I call it) to find a stream of water from the hot water heater trailing along toward the garage door. Rheem heater, just over two years old, and the tank failed. Rheem is replacing the entire heater at no charge, but I'm responsible for removal and installation of the new one. My best friend is a general contractor and will assist. So I closed the supply valve, turned off the burner, shut off the gas line, and have a hose running from the heater's drain out into our parking area.

If it ain't one thing, it's another. LOL


----------



## indianroads

The wife is flying out to Cali to visit daughter #1 and her kids - I can't fly due to the mask mandate (PTSD, I freak out when I can't breathe - it ain't pretty), so I'll be home with the critters, eating junk food, and watching trashy television.
Sounds pretty awesome.


----------



## Darkkin

VRanger said:


> I walked out into the garage this morning to "do the cats' (as I call it) to find a stream of water from the hot water heater trailing along toward the garage door. Rheem heater, just over two years old, and the tank failed. Rheem is replacing the entire heater at no charge, but I'm responsible for removal and installation of the new one. My best friend is a general contractor and will assist. So I closed the supply valve, turned off the burner, shut off the gas line, and have a hose running from the heater's drain out into our parking area.
> 
> If it ain't one thing, it's another. LOL


 
We had to replace our waterheater a couple years ago and it was the worst day and a half I had in a long time.  You never realise how much you count on hot water until you don't have it.  It drove me bats that I had dishes in the sink.

On a brighter note, I did get to go sliding down the basement steps in the empty box.  (We put the couch cushions in front of the wall so there was no risk of maiming.  Poor Rue spent the rest of the day yelling at me because I scared him.  One second I was there, the next I was gone and laughing like a loon.  He still hasn't figured that situation out.)


----------



## Mark Twain't

The day was going well until I started dinner. I turned the oven on and went to turn the cooker hood lights on. Cue a big bang and the sockets all over the house went off. Fortunately, Mrs T came home and went into the garage to flip the relevant switch. I put the potatoes in the oven then after 30 minutes, I went to put the chicken in. I wondered why the oven felt cold before realising I'd turned on only the light and fan!


----------



## kunox

I was supposed to get a ride from local medical transportation. They are the reason I have been having to reschedule appointments... Different ones. For months now. Sadly I have no clue how I am supposed to get to them otherwise.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think you will probably need to research if there is a public transportation near you. Uber taxi can be cheap to arrive at places that are a 10-20 minute drive. Or maybe they can get you closer to the medical transportation.


----------



## Darkkin

I got books and plants.  Things I don't need?  More books and plants...


----------



## indianroads




----------



## Theglasshouse

Clear, Precise, Direct
					


Clear, Precise, Direct provides a concise set of strategies to help students improve their writing skills at the sentence level with a focus on application and revision. Students will learn the key principles of clear, effective writing and practice applying them to their own work through a...





					global.oup.com
				




I think this is the book I've been looking for. It's written by a professor at the University of Toronto and York University. This supposedly will make most people write clearly when writing stories. It covers how to write clearly. Although I have been searching for a course on writing description. I suppose I will use the book I mentioned concerning memoir. So this is how to write clear and effective creative prose. It has classroom-tested exercises.


----------



## PrairieHostage

...hot water heaters, cold ovens and medical transport! What a time of it everyone's been having. Is it a full moon? Nope, not til February 16th. We'll chalk it up to good ol' life having its way with us. 

My day went nice. Took my niece out for her Friday outing. We walked the shopping mall in search of tapes. Her intellectual disability and autism create an adorable potpourri of obsessive compulsive disorder mixed with her desire to re-live happy memories. We just tell her _the tape store is closed_. 
I wrote for four hours on one of my short stories. It was quite enjoyable.


----------



## kunox

Theglasshouse said:


> I think you will probably need to research if there is a public transportation near you. Uber taxi can be cheap to arrive at places that are a 10-20 minute drive. Or maybe they can get you closer to the medical transportation.


agreed for the most part.. I will be looking up other transportation companies.. I just live in the middle of nowhere.


----------



## Darkkin

Puppies help....


----------



## kunox

I am paraphrasing here but. "hot water heaters, cold ovens and medical transport... oh my!"
"buckle up Dorothy because in 2022 we are4 kissing normality and thus Kansas good bye."
roflao


----------



## kunox

after not getting to my appointments I rested all day. I will be doing 3 of my mini habits this evening. I will not do my exercise because i need to take two days off  for physical rest. I will still do it though.


----------



## kunox

aparently I have already broken my rules for the mini habits. I had to because I wouldn't have started my steps today I had to add 25 steps or my brain wouldn't let me start them. no clue why other then increasing the amount is a challenge and leaving it the same is less of a challenge over time. I swear I need a challenge but I need to not increase them to fast because that may be the reason my back and legs hurt currently. update: I will be increasing each mini habit.. even though thats ot how mini habits are supposed to work because this will increase my motivation. it is how I got walking done after dragon con though. maybe starting small and increasing over to me then rest is what is needed.


----------



## Theglasshouse

This well known book recommended this approach taught in this book. It sounds like a bullish prospect: I spent the morning searching for more books on the internet. This on has two glowing recommendations. I am wondering what other books Why Johnny can't write mentions. I took a car trip back home, and I have been feeling relaxed at home. My mother offered to buy it for me. After building a new house, it's been draining some resources. It's located on the mountain I always mention where people rent it to vacation to escape the hot climate.

The English Competence Handbook provides a simple, clear, and thoroughly proven method of building non-fiction writing ability and increasing a writer's confidence. Cited as a tool for literacy by Time/I> magazine in its cover story "Why Johnny Can't Write," The English Competence Handbook provides teacher and student with a graduated, easy-to-use program to develop writing and reading skills. The program moves from the sentence, to the paragraph, to the whole essay, and brings the writer beyond competence to a sense of grace and style in composition. The English Competence Handbook has been used successfully in secondary schools and colleges throughout the country. The authors of the English Competence Handbook are long-time English teachers at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, America's oldest incorporated boarding school. Each of them has consulted with various school systems across the nation.


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## kunox

Theglasshouse said:


> This well known book recommended this approach taught in this book. It sounds like a bullish prospect: I spent the morning searching for more books on the internet. This on has two glowing recommendations. I am wondering what other books Why Johnny can't write mentions. I took a car trip back home, and I have been feeling relaxed at home. My mother offered to buy it for me. After building a new house, it's been draining some resources. It's located on the mountain I always mention where people rent it to vacation to escape the hot climate.
> 
> The English Competence Handbook provides a simple, clear, and thoroughly proven method of building non-fiction writing ability and increasing a writer's confidence. Cited as a tool for literacy by Time/I> magazine in its cover story "Why Johnny Can't Write," The English Competence Handbook provides teacher and student with a graduated, easy-to-use program to develop writing and reading skills. The program moves from the sentence, to the paragraph, to the whole essay, and brings the writer beyond competence to a sense of grace and style in composition. The English Competence Handbook has been used successfully in secondary schools and colleges throughout the country. The authors of the English Competence Handbook are long-time English teachers at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, America's oldest incorporated boarding school. Each of them has consulted with various school systems across the nation.


Not that I have read your entire post but I appreciate  it already. I will  be going to bed soon.


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## PiP

Needed space this morning to clear my head. Went to the beach cafe to catch a coffee - cafe was closed. Drove to another cafe on top of the cliffs - it was closed. Sigh. Merde.
My apologies to the stupid tourists who thought walking in the middle of the road while chatting on their mobile phones and totally oblivious to traffic was a good idea. You met my goat who was already chewing on a wasp when you stepped out in front of my car.




sorry for my colourful use of language. It was not really intended for your ears ... .hmmmm  I just forgot I was driving the soft top   LoL Busted!


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## indianroads

PiP said:


> Needed space this morning to clear my head. Went to the beach cafe to catch a coffee - cafe was closed. Drove to another cafe on top of the cliffs - it was closed. Sigh. Merde.
> My apologies to the stupid tourists who thought walking in the middle of the road while chatting on their mobile phones and totally oblivious to traffic was a good idea. You met my goat who was already chewing on a wasp when you stepped out in front of my car.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> sorry for my colourful use of language. It was not really intended for your ears ... .hmmmm  I just forgot I was driving the soft top   LoL Busted!


Believe me, we've ALL been there.


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## Foxee

Hey, Pip, on the bright side, you can swear in more than one language! I'm impressed.

So far today I watched our church service online with my daughter while the dog slept on my bare feet. (Well, on one foot, she tucked her muzzle under the other one...only a dog would think this is a good idea) I'm getting a little crochet done (my Zen) and contemplating tackling some edits to the story that popped out onto the page last night.

It's an oasis of calm before the chaos starts again.


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## Foxee

Darkkin said:


> I got books and plants.  Things I don't need?  More books and plants...


Prediction: Next thing you'll obtain will be more books and plants.

Also, my new foot warmer gets 10/10


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## kunox

Theglasshouse said:


> This well known book recommended this approach taught in this book. It sounds like a bullish prospect: I spent the morning searching for more books on the internet. This on has two glowing recommendations. I am wondering what other books Why Johnny can't write mentions. I took a car trip back home, and I have been feeling relaxed at home. My mother offered to buy it for me. After building a new house, it's been draining some resources. It's located on the mountain I always mention where people rent it to vacation to escape the hot climate.
> 
> The English Competence Handbook provides a simple, clear, and thoroughly proven method of building non-fiction writing ability and increasing a writer's confidence. Cited as a tool for literacy by Time/I> magazine in its cover story "Why Johnny Can't Write," The English Competence Handbook provides teacher and student with a graduated, easy-to-use program to develop writing and reading skills. The program moves from the sentence, to the paragraph, to the whole essay, and brings the writer beyond competence to a sense of grace and style in composition. The English Competence Handbook has been used successfully in secondary schools and colleges throughout the country. The authors of the English Competence Handbook are long-time English teachers at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, America's oldest incorporated boarding school. Each of them has consulted with various school systems across the nation.





PiP said:


> Needed space this morning to clear my head. Went to the beach cafe to catch a coffee - cafe was closed. Drove to another cafe on top of the cliffs - it was closed. Sigh. Merde.
> My apologies to the stupid tourists who thought walking in the middle of the road while chatting on their mobile phones and totally oblivious to traffic was a good idea. You met my goat who was already chewing on a wasp when you stepped out in front of my car.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> sorry for my colourful use of language. It was not really intended for your ears ... .hmmmm  I just forgot I was driving the soft top   LoL Busted!


What's the world without a little colorful language. a boring black and white show called eave it to beaver. sadly a little colorful language would make life a entertaining if used in the right way. also to the glass house. Just added the book recomendation to my wish list.. will have to check it out one day.

today I literally got up with actual pep in my step. being productive has not only improved my mood but given me more energy in general like I have been telling people though. I had to increase the amount of work in my mini habits goal to keep doing each thing. which will probably lead me to burn out. I am thinking maybe once I reach there I will just rest for a few days and start the process allover again. maybe that will help. hopefully ot will crossing my fingers from here. ty guys for being patient with me. I haven't always been the most easy to work with.


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## Theglasshouse

Kunox, you are writing in clearer language compared to some years back (few spelling mistakes). It might be because you are  recovering from schizoaffective disorder and are more logical now which enables you to make these posts if I were to make a guess. I'll inform you if I pick up the other books mentioned in Why Johnny can't write which rejects writing across the curriculum and process curriculum programs. I managed to place an order for those two. Now I have to wait a good while. I plan to make use of these until March ends. I picked up two used books and one third one not mentioned here. It has to do with dictation and was recommended on amazon as being the best one. We'll see if it makes a difference. It's on editing and I might be wrong about the second thing it does: drafting when dictating. The other book will have to wait until mid march or later. I decided I'd wait for that one since the price isn't low (28 dollars and it is competing with other needs on my list). But in march is when I will be able to purchase it at the earliest. The book about description written for by a writer with an mfa degree releases by the end of march. It's only available for pre-order. It was written by someone with an mfa degree who studied at Dartmouth. That one I discovered in December, and it is on my wish list.






						Amazon.com: A Guide to Creative Writing and the Imagination: 9780367691738: Saknussemm, Kris: Books
					


Amazon.com: A Guide to Creative Writing and the Imagination: 9780367691738: Saknussemm, Kris: Books




					www.amazon.com
				



This book I read about originally at routledge's website. It is marketed towards those who wish to describe better (Routledge website). That's what I think it will be about. I need to read the table of contents again.








						A Guide to Creative Writing and the Imagination
					


Teaching creative writing for the multicultural, global, and digital generation, this volume offers a fresh approach for enhancing core writing skills in the major forms of Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Drama. A Guide to Creative Writing and the Imagination aims to provide students with...





					www.routledge.com


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## kunox

Theglasshouse said:


> Kunox, you are writing in clearer language compared to some years back (few spelling mistakes). It might be because you are  recovering from schizoaffective disorder and are more logical now which enables you to make these posts if I were to make a guess. I'll inform you if I pick up the other books mentioned in Why Johnny can't write which rejects writing across the curriculum and process curriculum programs. I managed to place an order for those two. Now I have to wait a good while. I plan to make use of these until March ends. I picked up two used books and one third one not mentioned here. It has to do with dictation and was recommended on amazon as being the best one. We'll see if it makes a difference. It's on editing and I might be wrong about the second thing it does: drafting when dictating. The other book will have to wait until mid march or later. I decided I'd wait for that one since the price isn't low (28 dollars and it is competing with other needs on my list). But in march is when I will be able to purchase it at the earliest. The book about description written for by a writer with an mfa degree releases by the end of march. It's only available for pre-order. It was written by someone with an mfa degree who studied in Dartmouth. That one I discovered in December and it is on my wish list.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Amazon.com: A Guide to Creative Writing and the Imagination: 9780367691738: Saknussemm, Kris: Books
> 
> 
> 
> Amazon.com: A Guide to Creative Writing and the Imagination: 9780367691738: Saknussemm, Kris: Books
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.amazon.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This book I read about originally at routledge's website. It is marketed towards those who wish to describe better (Routledge website). That's what I think it will be about. I need to read the table of contents again.


it is a combination of both not being hypomanic or depressed. plus a heck of a lot of practice and time. when I get hypomanic my mind hardly can settle down or make or make much since.. when I am depressed I do not have the mental energy though I try as I might. ty for noticing btw.


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## Darkkin

Foxee said:


> Prediction: Next thing you'll obtain will be more books and plants.
> 
> Also, my new foot warmer gets 10/10
> 
> View attachment 28303




All of the plants on my kitchen table are grocery store clearance rescues, (African violets, mostly) that didn't look like they would survive the trip home, but did. They love the window and bloom continuously year round.  There are a couple odd succulents, a jade plant, and an ivy cutting also in the mix.  That doesn't include my lipstick plant, Irving 2.0 (another ivy), two pothos, a rubber plant, an umbrella plant, a Christmas cactus that is older than me, an aloe, two spider plants, a ribbon plant, and Groot the geranium.


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## Matchu

I am having more covid days.  Each day my blessing after early days of crackling lungs  + raw cough that made me leap around the bedroom, terrified of each cough, they really really did  hurt.  Now I have only the dramatic long cough that should disappear otherwise I will be dead.

 Seen plenty of the  olympics.  I feel really it is time for the olympics to go.  Is anything more boring than the Winter Olympics?  I used to love it so much..:/


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## kunox

have you tried the  winter x games. I haven't in as long time but it may be worth a try.
on another note I think I hit a wall. I gave literaly done the max f my productivity for today. so I will stop. it is interesting though. I literally have the capacity to do way more. my mind will not let me though. not a dang thing more and et I haven't done much..


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## Darkkin

Matchu said:


> I am having more covid days.  Each day my blessing after early days of crackling lungs  + raw cough that made me leap around the bedroom, terrified of each cough, they really really did  hurt.  Now I have only the dramatic long cough that should disappear otherwise I will be dead.
> 
> Seen plenty of the  olympics.  I feel really it is time for the olympics to go.  Is anything more boring than the Winter Olympics?  I used to love it so much..:/



I root for the athletes (it is also the only time I ever watch sports of any kind) and critique the announcers' commentary...For the most part the athletes do a great job, and the announcers are idiots.


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## PrairieHostage

I had a very lazy day binging the HBO show _In Treatment_. The writing is spectacular. Despite heavy content, it's very funny in parts.
Tomorrow back to tackling my two short stories.


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## kunox

I just woke up. I am wide awake mostly. it is 4am. I swear I am stiff though but fine..

Update: will be doing 3 of my mini habits early this morning. I got 1 done but because I am going to a party at my mental health support group. I will not have time to do all four. especially since one of them take awhile. We are having a party today.


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## kunox

A lipstick plant?


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## Darkkin

kunox said:


> A lipstick plant?



It is a funky, twisty viney thing with bright pink lipstick shaped blossoms.  Mine is enormous with great foliage, but it never blooms. I'm pretty sure it's because we keep the house a touch too cool for ideal conditions.


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## Theglasshouse

Even though I read it briefly. I am impressed by the creative writing manual called brevity. It actually inspires and is not based on theory. Each chapter has exercises. It's from Columbia University Press. The create story conflict is my second favorite craft book in my collection. Also, a fact is Columbia University is the second best creative writing program in the United States supposedly. It's a flash fiction guide. I recommend others to add it to their wish list. The kindle book doesn't exist I suspect and never will. Again my second favorite one is create story conflict. (creative writing academy guides). This was ordered before I determined that I needed to order books to improve my English writing skills.


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## Lawless

People have been asking about my health situation, so I thought I'll post this update.

I daresay the worst is over now. I'll still have to make a lot of effort to get healthy, but for the first time in a long time I'm looking into the future with real hope.

I can't stress enough how much it has meant to me to be able to read posts and exchange ideas with the people on this forum.

I owe especial gratitude to Angela for keeping my spirits up on a daily basis and to Pamelyn for her kind support.

Thank you.


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## Darkkin

In the shadows of the 'Read It' wall...


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## Darkkin

Potato Cat was mad I spent more time laughing at him than I did extracting him from his gift bag.  Every time he plays with it he gets his head stuck.  Poor Potato Cat.


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## D. L. Keur

Talk about having your day disrupted.  The computer I use to access the Internet surf-side, its alarm started squalling.  The front fan gave up the ghost.  Sigh.  Okay.  Tear down time.  Crack the box.  Replace the fan--Gawd, I hate those tiny little connections.  Might as well swap out the UPS units for the new ones that have been sitting up on the shelf for a week.  Okay.  Get everything back in place, everything reconnected and plugged in, and...........  Yeah.  Back in biz.  Sigh.  2 hours of writing lost.


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## PrairieHostage

Busy day. Babysat my grumpy 18 month old Lolo. She's got a cold, but I dig her even when she's cranky. I met my ex boss for lunch, then took my niece out for her Friday outing. This afternoon watching news and tmrw back to my WIP


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## Darkkin

Got my taxes done, (easier to pay to have it done than go into meltdown because of having to deal with government websites and lost passwords), went to the grocery store and none of the you bag lines were open, only the we bag.  I know baggers need be quick, but there is a little bit of order that needs to go into it.  Two items per bag and canned goods in with my eggs, milk in with my bread.  Nope.  I said something.  I put it on the belt neatly, like with like to make it easy.  I nearly had a meltdown and asked if I could simply bag my groceries so nothing got damaged and I didn't get stuck with 50 plastic bags.  Three paperbags and two minutes and I was out.  Maybe put that particular kid on cashiering, stocking, or carts, but not on bagging.  That display was painful and just straight up incorrect.  I work retail and you never hand sloppily bagged merchandise to a customer period.  They want to do the self bagging, their bagging is up to them, but when one doesn't have a choice, presentation counts.


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## PiP

My day? On Wednesday I went to the hospital to discuss the results of a recent CAT scan with my doctor. I sat nervously on the edge of my seat as he read the results. The doctor is not English so he speaks English with a heavy Portuguese accent. HE is wearing not only a beak mask but also an extra surgical mask for protection. I can't even read his eyes as he wears glasses. After about five minutes he decides to draw me a diagram by way of explanation. I'm still none the wiser and then he writes Barrett.




Then I glean we are talking about a stomach hernia.  Nothing he can do and something I'll have to live with. I ask to take the diagram so I can show my husband. The doctor looks at the picture again and decides to add a bellybutton and legs and a face. Pleased with his artistic skills he smiles as he hands me the picture.

I then brave the question. "Is that why my stomach is always swollen and bloated?"
"No, you are fat. You must eat less."
Well that told me LoL

Today I am talking to my son on Video WhatsApp and I show him the diagram.
quick-witted he replies. "Are you sure it's a stomach hernia, Mum, and you don't have another problem?

In case you are still wondering. He was trying to draw the exit from the stomach extends into the oesophagus which causes acid reflux


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## PrairieHostage

PiP said:


> I then brave the question "Is that why my stomach is always swollen and bloated?"
> "No, you are fat. You must eat less."
> Well that told me LoL


Oh my god, I LOL'ed. Sorry for the hernia though.


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## indianroads

Ok - what I want to know is WHY my (real) last name is written next to something that looks like a dick?

Hey, I've been called worse - but never artistically.


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## Taylor

PiP said:


> In case you are still wondering. He was trying to draw the exit from the stomach extends into the oesophagus which causes acid reflux


I lol'd for the picture only.  Thanks for sharing...I needed a good laugh today.  Acid reflux...not fun....so sorry about that!  It can be controlled, I have heard.


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## KatPC

@indianroads I believe in coincidences ... maybe you it is a sign for you to join the ranger and partner PiP in writing stories together.

The drawing shows she is obviously thinking of you.


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## SueC

Today seemed to be a roller coaster of emotions. For some reason, every movie I locked into on Netflix and/or Prime promoted melancholy and looking back, etc. "Echoes of the Past," is an absolutely excellent film with Max von Sydow, who passed away before its release, and I would recommend it if you need a good cry. I did, as it turns out, and have been putting that off for a bit. I bawled like a baby for a lot longer than expected. Then I ran across the most recent season of the "Marvelous Mrs. Mazel" whose depiction of the 1950's Jewish persona was hysterical and so acurate! (I grew up in Chicago - another Jewish haven). Sensing I was spending way too much time during a snow storm watching TV, I knitted a scarf and used my new loom to knit a baby hat that actually turned out too small for any baby I ever knew. But here I am back in front of the tube, watching yet another filmt that is making me laugh. Good way to end the day, I think, but you know how the night can sometimes let those weepy visions back in. Fingers crossed!  I do love coming here and telling you all about it, though.


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## Theglasshouse

The Giant (2017) - IMDb
					


The Giant: Directed by Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño. With Joseba Usabiaga, Eneko Sagardoy, Iñigo Aranburu, Ramón Agirre. A story about the world's tallest man, this is an unsettling Basque-language period drama focused on sibling rivalry.





					m.imdb.com
				




Saw this today. It's a melancholy story that actually happened. I enjoyed the characterization of the two main characters. It starts a little slow and ends with a good climax and ending.


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## kunox

I am sorry. I am not caught up on the post... I got a couple of writing assignments from the mental health program I am going to.. plus one thing for glass house and other wips. I will be feeding my mind and rereading stuff.. plus doing mini habits..


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## Theglasshouse

Seems to me as if you have good therapy and a good team of doctors. It's okay if you haven't caught up. I understand you must do your assignments. It's way more important than what I am suggesting. You need free time. You would do this once you successfully complete the assignments routinely, which I hope you do.

Since my doctor was married to the daughter of the psychotherapist I was never able to get therapy. Her daughter was taking advantage of the fact she was mentally ill and she's a blond. I could tell the chemistry in that relantionship wasn't going to work. He is old and she is young. The daughter is bi-polar. Her mother is the reason I could not get all the therapy I needed since she (her mother) was using him to cure his daughter. Anyways, I am okay even after this. I suppose I need to learn how to handle people with my diagnosis of Aspergers now that the depression faded away. At least that is my opinion.


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## kunox

ty.. I do have a god mental health set of services.. they are epic and I couldn't thank them enough if you ask me.. on that note I may be staying up till 2 or 3am too fit some of these assignments in... I will be filling my creative well first. tty you as well.


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## Darkkin

I did a thing and I didn't need a thing and it's a whole big thing, but I do not regret the thing.


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## kunox

Darkkin said:


> I did a thing and I didn't need a thing and it's a whole big thing, but I do not regret the thing.
> 
> View attachment 28368


just curious... what are these books about?


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## Darkkin

kunox said:


> just curious... what are these books about?



Two nerdy romances, one fantasy, a vintage art sticker book, and an illustrated animal compendium.


----------



## kunox

Darkkin said:


> Two nerdy romances, one fantasy, a vintage art sticker book, and an illustrated animal compendium.


I swear I need a nerdy romance.. I will be asking for recomendation.


----------



## Theglasshouse

kunox said:


> ty.. I do have a god mental health set of services.. they are epic and I couldn't thank them enough if you ask me.. on that note I may be staying up till 2 or 3am too fit some of these assignments in... I will be filling my creative well first. tty you as well.


Clustering as a concept is new to me. But I did an example and felt more creative. It is also used for people who can't logically sequence ideas well. There's brain research that suggests it's good for visual thinkers such as for people on the spectrum of autism. That's why I recommended the books. In it the author explains how to cluster for the neophyte. But also suggests free writing (a technique pioneered by Peter Elbow) exercises with topic sentences he calls free fall. The problem is to cluster you need a similar program to inspiration. It needs to output the brainstorming and mind mapping into the document. Inspiration does this since it has two views. One is a word processor view while the other is a mind map. Think of the separate tabs of miscrosoft word. By clicking on one you toggle into the other view. I am not sure of what inspiration costs but last time I checked it was 79 or 80 for windows. It's better to look for a similar alternative. There are a lot of these sort of programs. Maybe mindmeister could do the same thing, but it needs to be researched.

Once your health improves if you feel people are giving feedback that you improved on the language level which may take more time I recommend small writing tasks on clustering small words to plan your paragraphs. That is if something to consider if you think your language improves. For example I clustered the word heart and a plot idea suggested itself. I just think if the doctors say your language will improve if the symptoms disappear and you get a job. That's the time to best write in my opinion. But this is what I am actually doing. It's going to be a gradual process and it won't happen quickly. So that way you can buy some equipment to write and learn to proofread on your own. However, your language has improved because of less depression. But I can't predict how it will develop I think. It can take for example one year to recover from the negative effects of schizoaffective disorder. In addition to this you will need strategies besides the technology. This is what I think I will be doing since I am missing something or planning during the composition process.


----------



## kunox

I swear I only got one of my mini habits done but it was impossible not to do because of wild dose of random I speciation that I will expand upon it in the writing discussion area. I got maybe at most an hours worth of sleep tonnight.


----------



## Deleted member 66681

it's been a flop


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## Foxee

My day has been full of teenagers, chicken, laziness, and a sleepy dog.


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## D. L. Keur

Woke up to a nasty wind with nastier wind gusts and the temperature beginning to plunge with predictions to go to -15°F, and, of course with wind chills, that's going to go down to as low as -40. Sigh. Hope we don't lose power.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Wrote a work which is an ongoing work in progress. However, I am waiting until until it incubates if that makes sense so that it could be the best it can be. At 900 words it doesn't seem like much. I will add more to the story once I do some reading. I think I managed to organize the paragraphs adequately. I used inspiration software for to organize those sentences. That and I have been practicing with snippets I wrote in themightyaz's craft thread which I revised.

Have to do some science fiction research for the story.

There aren't many text to speech readers on MAC. I thought it did have. Many of these are incompatible with my operating system. I use 12.0 as my operating system.Had I not upgraded the operating system maybe I could have used it. My first instinct was to do so. Foolish decision on my part with lack of hindsight.

I am going to sell my microphone since it is not compatible with Mac. That's troublesome. I hope I can sell it at a decent price since microphones on Mac that look reliable cost 200 dollars. It doesn't seem I would get that anytime soon. Someone would have to send it to me if they went on a business trip or for reasons of tourism. The country charges tariffs for anything over 200 dollars. So, I have no other choice since they charge way too much money just to bring a product that costs over 200 dollars.

That and cheap microphones don't work on the Mac. All the popular ones have bad reviews. Because of the new operating system update which made these microphones stop working.


----------



## Darkkin

Only reason Dude tolerates me...the blanket.


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## indianroads

D. L. Keur said:


> Woke up to a nasty wind with nastier wind gusts and the temperature beginning to plunge with predictions to go to -15°F, and, of course with wind chills, that's going to go down to as low as -40. Sigh. Hope we don't lose power.


Be safe. Snow is coming our way later this afternoon.


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## D. L. Keur

5°F outside with a ripping wind that's driving the windchill down, at least according to the little anemometer, to -19.  4AM is not a pleasant time to be outside in this weather, but the horses are doing well, though I had to crack ice.  Turned the bucket warmers up.  All critters doing well, in fact.  Cannot say the same for my cheeks.  Burn, baby, burn.  Back inside, chores done, it's taken me over an hour to thaw.


----------



## PiP

Yesterday morning we took a flask of coffee to the clifftop. We live in a natural park so the beaches here are (as yet)  unspoilt by the ravages of mass tourism, concrete monstrosities (hotels) and progress (fracking).  I never tire of this view. It is a place of the soul.





YEsterday was frrrreeezing.... today it is 25C !!! I should have waited a day and took a picnic lunch onto the beach


----------



## PrairieHostage

PiP said:


> I never tire of this view. It is a place of the soul.


Oh. My. Goodness. You are so lucky to be in heaven. Can we have a WF retreat in Portugal in 2023? I'm going to Italy anyway.


----------



## Mark Twain't

PiP said:


> Yesterday morning we took a flask of coffee to the clifftop. We live in a natural park so the beaches here are (as yet)  unspoilt by the ravages of mass tourism, concrete monstrosities (hotels) and progress (fracking).  I never tire of this view. It is a place of the soul.
> 
> View attachment 28394
> 
> YEsterday was frrrreeezing.... today it is 25C !!! I should have waited a day and took a picnic lunch onto the beach


As a friend of mine used to say, well jel!


----------



## indianroads

D. L. Keur said:


> 5°F outside with a ripping wind that's driving the windchill down, at least according to the little anemometer, to -19.  4AM is not a pleasant time to be outside in this weather, but the horses are doing well, though I had to crack ice.  Turned the bucket warmers up.  All critters doing well, in fact.  Cannot say the same for my cheeks.  Burn, baby, burn.  Back inside, chores done, it's taken me over an hour to thaw.


-4 F here with a wind chill of -25 F this morning. Starting to snow, and expected to get worse as the day progresses.


----------



## D. L. Keur

indianroads said:


> -4 F here with a wind chill of -25 F this morning. Starting to snow, and expected to get worse as the day progresses.


Ouch.  I am going to have to wear a hood and face mask the next trip out to the barn at noon.  House is down to 59.  I can't start a fire because of the wind which is running about 39mph, so the furnace is it.  it's coming from the NE, and that just pulls the fire up the stove pipe in this weather.  We're holding our own, though.  Only another 24 hours until the wind is supposed to stop.


----------



## Foxee

We're having mild temps and mud season here. I hate the mud but I would rather deal with it than those nutty negative number temps. Yikes!


----------



## kunox

I am thinking about trying something different with my motivation. trying to priorities in two different ways. the first is two divide my goals into themes. then to figure out which is most important. the next is to divide those than into objectives.. and those objectives down into task. then to priorities my next actions.. trying not to deal with more than four themes and there next task a day, cycling through them per day. if I can just not have very much overlap in the themes this will be fine I hope.


----------



## D. L. Keur

So, I broke down and started a fire in the barrel stove.  This is a huge 5 bedroom house which you can see here: https://www.dlkeur.com/dlkeur-blog/nova/gravy-days-in-the-country/ but the barrel stove heats it in 20 minutes.  The gas furnace is really struggling.  There's ice on the double pane windows in the 2 master bedrooms, one upstairs, one down.  Luckily, the wind has died down to a dull roar outside.


----------



## indianroads

D. L. Keur said:


> So, I broke down and started a fire in the barrel stove.  This is a huge 5 bedroom house which you can see here: https://www.dlkeur.com/dlkeur-blog/nova/gravy-days-in-the-country/ but the barrel stove heats it in 20 minutes.  The gas furnace is really struggling.  There's ice on the double pane windows in the 2 master bedrooms, one upstairs, one down.  Luckily, the wind has died down to a dull roar outside.


Wow - beautiful place.


----------



## indianroads

@D. L. Keur  View of my backyard from early Feb this year.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Survived noon feeding in the barn.  Got a big surprise when I rounded the corner outside on the lee side.,  Mom Moose was out there sunning herself out of the wind and stripping wood off the fence rails.  So I backed up, went to the shed where I stored some prunings we did of the apple trees, plum trees, and alders, hauled a good armful out and eased them out the end aisle door.  A while later, I poked my head out, a, yep, she's munching away.  Glad I thought to save those prunings.  Maybe she'll leave my rhododendrons and English holly alone.  (Doubtful, but, hey.)  Tried to get a picture, but she eyeballed me, so I decided on prudent.


----------



## indianroads

D. L. Keur said:


> Survived noon feeding in the barn.  Got a big surprise when I rounded the corner outside on the lee side.,  Mom Moose was out there sunning herself out of the wind and stripping wood off the fence rails.  So I backed up, went to the shed where I stored some prunings we did of the apple trees, plum trees, and alders, hauled a good armful out and eased them out the end aisle door.  A while later, I poked my head out, a, yep, she's munching away.  Glad I thought to save those prunings.  Maybe she'll leave my rhododendrons and English holly alone.  (Doubtful, but, hey.)  Tried to get a picture, but she eyeballed me, so I decided on prudent.


Bullwinkette? Was Rocky around?


----------



## D. L. Keur

indianroads said:


> Bullwinkette? Was Rocky around?


Nope.


----------



## Darkkin

Done with work a little early (we were slow because of the weather.)  Ran to Target and found both dog food and my allergy medication.  Shoveled the drive way, too.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Darkkin said:


> Done with work a little early (we were slow because of the weather.)  Ran to Target and found both dog food and my allergy medication.  Shoveled the drive way, too.


Score!!!!


----------



## Darkkin

This Potato Cat.  Potato Cat stole my place at the table.  Not cool Potato Cat, not cool.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Darkkin said:


> This Potato Cat.  Potato Cat stole my place at the table.  Not cool Potato Cat, not cool.


Privileges of the Pampered trump the rights of the human servant.


----------



## Foxee

@D. L. Keur What an amazing place you have! Just like @indianroads I can see why you put up with the wicked winters.

My youngest daughter and I turned out to be very simpatico in regard to our introvert outlook. We were supposed to go to a pottery class this evening given by a a couple of college age friends from church. I had already been out to meet with a group of people today so my reserves of energy were low. My daughter is the age where hormones start hitting like flying bricks. We left on time to get to the library before the class but the library didn't have the books she wanted. We went to a thrift shop where she also had seen one of the books as it was on the way to where we were going anyway. No book. Hormonal sad dive.

Suddenly we both noped out of the pottery thing and headed for home. Grabbed McDonald's because fries are the junk food of the soul as well as the body. Texted that sorry she wasn't feeling well and giggled our way home to snuggle up with the dog and our books and blankets.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Foxee said:


> @D. L. Keur What an amazing place you have! Just like @indianroads I can see why you put up with the wicked winters.
> 
> My youngest daughter and I turned out to be very simpatico in regard to our introvert outlook. We were supposed to go to a pottery class this evening given by a a couple of college age friends from church. I had already been out to meet with a group of people today so my reserves of energy were low. My daughter is the age where hormones start hitting like flying bricks. We left on time to get to the library before the class but the library didn't have the books she wanted. We went to a thrift shop where she also had seen one of the books as it was on the way to where we were going anyway. No book. Hormonal sad dive.
> 
> Suddenly we both noped out of the pottery thing and headed for home. Grabbed McDonald's because fries are the junk food of the soul as well as the body. Texted that sorry she wasn't feeling well and giggled our way home to snuggle up with the dog and our books and blankets.


Introverts make the best writers.    I proudly wear the badge of INTJ!!!


----------



## Taylor

D. L. Keur said:


> Introverts make the best writers.    I proudly wear the badge of INTJ!!!



Yes...a fellow INTJer!!!  We are rare.  Although you seem like you would have a fair bit of "E" as well.


----------



## Darkkin

INFJ.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Taylor said:


> Yes...a fellow INTJer!!!  We are rare.  Although you seem like you would have a fair bit of "E" as well.


Lots and lots of W-O-R-K to be able to rub elbows.  When I get home from even an hour out, I have to crash for 3 hours.


----------



## Taylor

D. L. Keur said:


> Lots and lots of W-O-R-K to be able to rub elbows.  When I get home from even an hour out, I have to crash for 3 hours.


Ah....the sign of a true introvert.  I know the feeling well!


----------



## kunox

I am an ambivert.. lol...


----------



## kunox

I know this is a contradiction to what I said earlier. I am going back to my mini habits. I had to reduce them this time to get myself back to being motivated. I am not sire but maybe going up and down on the amount will help.

update: wow!!! a week ago I was getti8ng more done with these mini habits. I had to increase them over time to get myself to do something... I had to literally drop them this time to get the exact same effect.. interesting...


----------



## D. L. Keur

The good news this morning is that we're at 9°F, the wind has dropped to 10mph, so that puts the windchill up at -5°F.  Let the wood stove go out--happy about that, I am, I am.  Horses are desperate to get out.  Maybe, come daylight, I'll let them.  Until then, no.  They had to settle for their morning goodies, plus I cut up a batch of carrots and apples.  They prefer the apples to those orange things, but eat them both, especially when mixed in with their morning grain ration.  We're all breathing happier, especially me, now that our breath isn't sticking in our noses.  My allergies are still kicking up on high and, of course, I'm avoiding taking anything for them.  Stuff is wicked bad for the body.


----------



## Mark Twain't

D. L. Keur said:


> Horses are desperate to get out. Maybe, come daylight, I'll let them. Until then, no. They had to settle for their morning goodies, plus I cut up a batch of carrots and apples. They prefer the apples to those orange things, but eat them both, especially when mixed in with their morning grain ration


It's 9 degrees here with 15mph winds. The horse has gone out sans rug!


----------



## kunox

D. L. Keur said:


> The good news this morning is that we're at 9°F, the wind has dropped to 10mph, so that puts the windchill up at -5°F.  Let the wood stove go out--happy about that, I am, I am.  Horses are desperate to get out.  Maybe, come daylight, I'll let them.  Until then, no.  They had to settle for their morning goodies, plus I cut up a batch of carrots and apples.  They prefer the apples to those orange things, but eat them both, especially when mixed in with their morning grain ration.  We're all breathing happier, especially me, now that our breath isn't sticking in our noses.  My allergies are still kicking up on high and, of course, I'm avoiding taking anything for them.  Stuff is wicked bad for the body.


I have not read your post. I was just curious to why you laughed at the fact is am an ambivert. It is a thing... lol.... not to say what  you did was bad but I am kind of curious. I will notry have time to read the post for now.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Mark Twain't said:


> It's 9 degrees here with 15mph winds. The horse has gone out sans rug!


We're suffering together, we are, we are.  Yeah, mine are blanketed, the twenty-two-year-old double blanketed.  I'll let them out when the sun comes up and take off the heavy blanketing so they can kick up their heels and snort.


----------



## D. L. Keur

kunox said:


> I have not read your post. I was just curious to why you laughed at the fact is am an ambivert. It is a thing... lol.... not to say what  you did was bad but I am kind of curious. I will notry have time to read the post for now.


Because I love it!!  Wish I was.   I found it delightful.  I'll tell you what.  I'll change it to the smiley with hearts.  Just don't get any ideas!  <--jk


----------



## Mark Twain't

D. L. Keur said:


> We're suffering together, we are, we are.  Yeah, mine are blanketed, the twenty-two-year-old double blanketed.  I'll let them out when the sun comes up and take off the heavy blanketing so they can kick up their heels and snort.


Ours in 32 years old but thinks she's 4! Honestly, the bloody thing is going to outlive us all!


----------



## D. L. Keur

Mark Twain't said:


> Ours in 32 years old but thinks she's 4! Honestly, the bloody thing is going to outlive us all!


Yep.  I think animals are amazing.  But when they go downhill, they do it fast.  Sigh.  Then comes the heartache.


----------



## Mark Twain't

D. L. Keur said:


> Yep.  I think animals are amazing.  But when they go downhill, they do it fast.  Sigh.  Then comes the heartache.


Yes, I know. Mrs Twain't is a body worker (human & canine as well as equine) and we're pretty sure that's contributed to her longevity.


----------



## kunox

D. L. Keur said:


> Because I love it!!  Wish I was.   I found it delightful.  I'll tell you what.  I'll change it to the smiley with hearts.  Just don't get any ideas!  <--jk


ty...


----------



## Foxee

kunox said:


> I am an ambivert.. lol...


My oldest daughter is an ambivert, too. It seems like that would be less extreme to deal with? How does it work out for you, Kunox?


----------



## D. L. Keur

Sun's up finally here.  Wind has stopped, too--YAY!!!  It's going to be a beautiful day, if colder than a frozen chicken leg.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Love reading about everyone with horses.
Ambivert ... I had to look it up. Cool.

I had an okay day. I read a lot and one YA novel is so well written I thought my WIP is a piece of sh*t compared , but I shook it off and will just let it inspire me to work harder.

Babysat Ms Lolo, my 18 month old grandbaby girl. (I call her Maude cuz of her excellent b*tch face). She's cranky due to molars so I sang my best songs and had her dancing soon enuf.


----------



## Foxee

I keep getting to bed really late and getting up at a time where I feel like the day is already escaping me. Then playing catch-up (which I never actually do catch up) all day until I go to bed too late again. Rargh.

My daughter is working on her school studies in an enviable peace.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Foxee said:


> I keep getting to bed really late and getting up at a time where I feel like the day is already escaping me. Then playing catch-up (which I never actually do catch up) all day until I go to bed too late again. Rargh.
> 
> My daughter is working on her school studies in an enviable peace.
> 
> View attachment 28417


I adore the snoozing dog.


----------



## Foxee

D. L. Keur said:


> I adore the snoozing dog.


That's my favorite thing, too. Notice that the dog is strategically placed to receive ear scratches. She doesn't miss an opportunity.


----------



## River Rose

Foxee said:


> That's my favorite thing, too. Notice that the dog is strategically placed to receive ear scratches. She doesn't miss an opportunity.


Its incredibly soul warming that your family finally found its pup and your pup found its forever family.


----------



## Darkkin

Finished three books over the course of 48 hours and going back through older photos, noticed something I hadn't paid too much attention to until now.  Doesn't matter what the season or the temperature is, I'm always under a blanket.  It is one of the few visible tells of my EDS.  I don't retain heat and cold is one of the major triggers of my angina.


----------



## River Rose

Nothing on a book front as i am a poet.
I don't write stories,,,i scribble my feelings in my mind
I am thinking about quitting my job and choosing happiness as my full time career
The sky,,,the sun,,,the air also the tree's are choosing me.


----------



## kunox

Coming out of my depression coma I am. I have used coping mechanism learned from my mental health support group. I will be doing completely different exercises than leg exercises for now to get my mood up and counting the rest of the mini habits though.


----------



## kunox

Yeah... Last report on this tonight. I am both hypomanic and depressed. I got 3 mini habits done. I just can't focus on much right now.


----------



## River Rose

kunox said:


> Yeah... Last report on this tonight. I am both hypomanic and depressed. I got 3 mini habits done. I just can't focus on much right now.


 thats the way to do it. Dont overwhelm yourself and then get burnt out and throw in the towel, Small steps a few ar a time will get you there, Best of luck to you. I am cheering you on!!!!!!!!


----------



## Theglasshouse

Kunox. Try watching a series called The Good Place if you like drama and comedy. I recommend it to everyone. It has very good characterization, and I am envious of the writer's skills. Once in a while it would not hurt to see a series people recommend. It gets rid of the boredom which can cause depression. The Good Place is on Netflix here. Chances are it is in the United States. I think a mix of drama and comedy may be my new favorite undiscovered genre. The jokes aren't sexual in any ways which can be a problem for comedy. It has good taste in humor. I can't wait to see the rest of the series. The characters are eccentric until you see what made them who they were. The main character is seeking redemption I sense. The two main characters are male and female.

edit and this is a new comment: I think I will try out the online master class. Chances are this computer won't be destroyed or stolen since it is brand new. I will select the cheapest subscription option closer to the day I was born.I am going to quit buying craft books. Instead I should have done some research. Turns out some unbiased sources such as pc magazine recommend it. It should help me get therapy I need by teaching me skills and not feeling bored. My biggest problem if I get the composition right or the organization of ideas is redundancy. But to fix it on my by trial and error is a problem. I could ask for some tips. Asking doesn't hurt anyone. Unfortunately my little brother is too busy to sell something I own...Because his job is to rescue some people from my country from the Ukraine. That is just one aspect of his job done throughout this week.


----------



## Darkkin

Saw a local production of Little Shop of Horrors today.  The kids did a great job.  A total delight.


----------



## River Rose

Darkkin said:


> Saw a local production of Little Shop of Horrors today.  The kids did a great job.  A total delight.


How exciting. One of my daughters just landed the role of Lilie St.Regis in het schools production of Annie, I was like,,,,AHHHH,,,,of course my daughter gets the  role of the hussie....lololololol


----------



## kunox

Theglasshouse said:


> Kunox. Try watching a series called The Good Place if you like drama and comedy. I recommend it to everyone. It has very good characterization, and I am envious of the writer's skills. Once in a while it would not hurt to see a series people recommend. It gets rid of the boredom which can cause depression. The Good Place is on Netflix here. Chances are it is in the United States. I think a mix of drama and comedy may be my new favorite undiscovered genre. The jokes aren't sexual in any ways which can be a problem for comedy. It has good taste in humor. I can't wait to see the rest of the series. The characters are eccentric until you see what made them who they were. The main character is seeking redemption I sense. The two main characters are male and female.
> 
> edit and this is a new comment: I think I will try out the online master class. Chances are this computer won't be destroyed or stolen since it is brand new. I will select the cheapest subscription option closer to the day I was born.I am going to quit buying craft books. Instead I should have done some research. Turns out some unbiased sources such as pc magazine recommend it. It should help me get therapy I need by teaching me skills and not feeling bored. My biggest problem if I get the composition right or the organization of ideas is redundancy. But to fix it on my by trial and error is a problem. I could ask for some tips. Asking doesn't hurt anyone. Unfortunately my little brother is too busy to sell something I own...Because his job is to rescue some people from my country from the Ukraine. That is just one aspect of his job done throughout this week.


I legitimately tried that show but I didn't like it. it sounded good but the show's opening hook was Laking and it jumped from one plot point to another in a noncommitted way. Good concept though. ty for the show recommendation. I woke up at 2am today. it is 4am now. I had I play around with the limits of what I am now calling mini goals instead of mini habits to get myself to do anything. at least I am having a bit more fun now.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Yes, it is true that it lacks a hook. It relies on you actually liking the characters. The main character not liking the character from Afghanistan is funny. She is everything she is not. Rich, nice, and not self-centered. That's what I enjoyed. She is also jealous of that character. She is trying to change. They teach her Nicomanthean Ethics and philosophy to make her into a better person. It's his goal to make her less self-centered, self-absorbed, and so on which is typically associated with rich people.

Well if I find one that might work for me again, I will recommend it. I found it on a website that listed it under the most critically acclaimed in reviews. It's a good way to find TV shows.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat reminding me I still need to put my Baby Yoda legos together.


----------



## River Rose

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 28437
> 
> Potato Cat reminding me I still need to put my Baby Yoda legos together.








 Potato Cat is to funny.....


----------



## VRanger

Some catching up to do. I think I posted a while back about Fred (short for Fafred from Fafred and the Grey Mouser stories by Fritz Leiber) ... the blocked cat ... whom I now refer to as the $700 cat ... what it cost in vet bills to have a partially feral cat who isn't really a pet get well. Fred is now doing well. He was lethargic for days after coming home from the vet, and I had to give him an antibiotic for 10 days after he came home. I have the scars to prove it. But his activity has been picking back up to normal, he's peeing fine ... which I can tell because he turns to sniff and cover, and he's eating well again. Fred is out of the woods.

The other excitement around the house recently is when I took my 2-mile walk on Friday, a limb came down directly across my walking path six seconds after I passed under the spot. A twelve-foot long 3-inch caliper branch. If it happened to hit me on the way down, it would probably have hurt. LOL The crack probably would have sent me into duck and cover, so I doubt it would have been life threatening, but it could have caused a mite of damage.

Today we were "in town" for some errands and deposited our recent winning check from Publisher's Clearinghouse. The bank teller advised me to be cautious about spending the $10 windfall all in one place. I told her it would go straight into my investment account.


----------



## Darkkin

One can never have too many dinosaur books.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Went to Ash Wednesday today to Church and received a mark made with ash in the shape of a cross on my forehead. My day hasn't ended. I will continue my post a bit later since it's a bit after midday.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I also went to the German embassy which I helped prepare the paperwork for the appointment. Today went well. I am reading articles on how to describe. What they do is send the paperwork to Germany. I am scheduled since I am waiting until April the 22th, or ten days before, or a bit after. My grandfather was born on April the 23rd. Would be cool if he was born on the 23rd.









						4 Ways to Describe the Setting in a Story - wikiHow
					


The setting of a story is the environment your characters are in. The location, time, and weather all play major points in a story, and a well-described setting can make it more interesting for your readers to completely immerse themselves...





					www.wikihow.com
				




This one is probably the best article In have read on the subject. It advocates using pin interest, Flickr, and other websites.


----------



## Olly Buckle

tripped and fell flat on my face, drove the lens of my glasses into my eye. been in and out of hospital the last three days, but yesterday they operated and took my eye out. May not be about for a while.


----------



## Darkkin

Olly Buckle said:


> tripped and fell flat on my face, drove the lens of my glasses into my eye. been in and out of hospital the last three days, but yesterday they operated and took my eye out. May not be about for a while.



Good heavens!  Best wishes for a smooth recovery.


----------



## PiP

Olly Buckle said:


> tripped and fell flat on my face, drove the lens of my glasses into my eye. been in and out of hospital the last three days, but yesterday they operated and took my eye out. May not be about for a while.


Oh, no! Look after yourself, Olly.


----------



## Sinister

So sorry, Olly.  Hope you heal quickly and I wish you nothing but the best.

-Sin


----------



## River Rose

Olly Buckle said:


> tripped and fell flat on my face, drove the lens of my glasses into my eye. been in and out of hospital the last three days, but yesterday they operated and took my eye out. May not be about for a while.


Sending a prayer and good juju for a speedy recovery


----------



## Darkkin

If you set down a laundry basket...


----------



## River Rose

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 28449
> 
> If you set down a laundry basket...


----------



## Darkkin

When your dog knows your an idiot and loves you anyway.


----------



## D. L. Keur

My day so far: trying to get my WIP author final.  What's interrupting the process?  New security requirements on various accounts.  You know, soon we'll spend more time logging in than we'll spend doing what we need to do once logged in.  Sigh.


----------



## Foxee

I had surprise paperwork to soldier through. Not the kind of writing that I wanted to do. It has taken me until 9:30 pm to clear the decks and sit down to write something. The good news was, I burbled along for half an hour without stopping before my eyes started to water and I hit the wall. Maybe I'll try sleeping and see if I can get some time for writing in the morning.


----------



## VRanger

How today went is in the Writing Success Today thread, so how about yesterday?

18 months ago I volunteered to help a gentleman who's been sorting through 37,000(!!) files left to The Heinlein Society by Bill Patterson, who wrote the two volume Heinlein biography. It's been a major undertaking. John had already catalogued the 37,000 files in a database, with folders, file names, and notes about the file contents. By the time I attached, the files needed to be sorted into categories.

A major part of the job was deciding which files were the IP of third parties, with the largest volume belonging to The Heinlein Prize Trust. These determinations were needed because the president of The Heinlein Society wants to publish the rest of the files for the use and entertainment of THS dues-paying members.

We finished the sorting a few months ago, and then John and I had some other things happening, me with an increasing responsibility here, plus writing ... and John with a severe health problem which thankfully he's now fully recovered from.

Yesterday we had a two-hour phone conference about how to go about publishing the material THS has unquestioned rights to, and how to approach the Trust about verifying IP we thought was in a gray area ... files they either need to claim or relinquish.

None of this is straightforward or easy, but it's going to be on our shoulders ... and mostly mine since John is tired of messing with these files now ... over the course of the next year.


----------



## PiP

It's still early here, and I awake to enjoy the after-effects of the deep massage and physio treatment I had yesterday on my knee. This is a new physio who specialises in knees. He is the first physio who explains the problem with _why_ it's happening and then _how_ we will treat it in a language I can understand. He is Dutch and his English is perfect. So I start again ... new hope. I'd given up until the courage shown by a dear friend with their ongoing surgery and 'never stop fighting' spirit inspired me to fight on until I can walk properly again.


----------



## River Rose

PiP said:


> It's still early here, and I awake to enjoy the after-effects of the deep massage and physio treatment I had yesterday on my knee. This is a new physio who specialises in knees. He is the first physio who explains the problem with _why_ it's happening and then _how_ we will treat it in a language I can understand. He is Dutch and his English is perfect. So I start again ... new hope. I'd given up until the courage shown by a dear friend with their ongoing surgery and 'never stop fighting' spirit inspired me to fight on until I can walk properly again.


Good luck w your new Dr. I know knee issues and not being able to walk how we once did can b discouraging. How wonderful to have an inspirational friend to show u it can b done and not to give up. Good juju to u on your knee rejuvenation journy.


----------



## Lawless

I saw a squirrel today in the park of sorts we have here between apartment buildings. It was less that 100 meters from my kitchen window. The squirrel ran from one patch of trees to another and then climbed up a tree. A man was standing nearby taking pictures with his phone.

I adore squirrels. I'm not sure I've ever seen one here in this residential neighborhood.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Getting a read and write subscription is now on my list of things I want to purchase by the end of this month. I haven't been posting much since imo I could use a break from writing given the circumstances I am in. By the last day of march I should have it along with masterclass (Subscription). Then I should get busy writing I assume. Also, I have been working on a story for the last few days. It's a revision so I won't post it since I workshopped it a lot here. I used the read and write free trial on Mac.  I was able to correct more mistakes than comparably using a different text to speech program. It's horrible in a different sense of the word. Neither are cheap subscriptions, but I want to write short stories.


----------



## Darkkin

The Airborne Toxic Event just released a new single...and it is divine.  My god, I love this group.  All time favourite.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat: The Greatest Hits. (My cat is a walking meme.)


----------



## VRanger

A major step forward in my use of tech today, the latest in a string over the last year.

For a guy who has written software professionally since 1975 (yes I did get an early start), can answer anything you want to know about home theater systems and things like media servers, am an ace at just about anything PC ... I'm useless on cell phones.

When I started my walking exercise regimen a year ago, it was a few weeks before I figured out I could use the clock app on my phone as a lap counter. A few weeks later I figured out I could add an app as a step counter. I even figured out how to send my lap times and splits to my email. That's a big deal. Just a few weeks ago, I realized I could use the phone to listen to music while I walked. When AT&T informed me after a few days I'd used up 85% of our data limit (we don't really use data so I only pay for 2 Gb), I realized that I have a 64 Gb phone and discovered I'd already copied 1400 tunes to it two years ago ... so I don't need to stream the stuff.

Now, after weeks of listening to poor quality music over the phone speaker, a few days ago I realized I COULD plug some headphones into it and listen to GOOD sound, and I have a set of the best headphones you can stick on your head ... and they were very reasonably priced ... and sadly I can't find them for sale anymore (or I'd link them for fellow audiophiles).

However, I had no idea where they were. The last time I used them was two moves and more than six years ago. It took a few days for me to gather the courage to begin a search. As it turned out, the search was over in five minutes as I found them on the occasional shelf unit in my office. LOL Today I finally took a two-mile walk listening to music the right way. This was "Chet Atkins day", and on one tune I had sax in the right ear, bass guitar in the left ear, and the primary melody sounding like it came from behind my head. These headphones deliver accurate detail at all ranges, and now I have a reason to use them every day.


----------



## River Rose

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 28491
> 
> Potato Cat: The Greatest Hits. (My cat is a walking meme.)


Potato Cat has its own portfolio.  So photogenic


----------



## PiP

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 28491
> 
> Potato Cat: The Greatest Hits. (My cat is a walking meme.)


Maybe we should adopt Potato Cat as the WF mascot  Each photo members suggest a writing-related meme and I promote on WF Facebook's page. He's such a cutie... what do y'all think?


----------



## River Rose

PiP said:


> Maybe we should adopt Potato Cat as the WF mascot  Each photo members suggest a writing-related meme and I promote on WF Facebook's page. He's such a cutie... what do y'all think?


He already is the WF unofficial mascot. Lololololololo.


----------



## Darkkin

I will find you and your little story, too...


----------



## Foxee

So I found out that when I adopted this dog I actually got a voice coach. She reacts to the tone of my voice so if I snap at someone I immediately know I sounded angry. If I get excited and talk with my hands she'll stare at me in rapt attention like, "Go on, this is so interesting!" She's a sensitive soul, I guess. A sensitive soul that is shedding at industrial levels. Definitely part German Shedder.

Today is spring in PA...yesterday was 57F and sunny then we got six inches of snow overnight. This week it'll get warm enough for a T-shirt again.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Since my accident I have been spending a lot of my time asleep, but today I was up and about more. I went for a drive with the missus when she went shopping, though I sat in the car and waited rather than going in the shop, then in the afternoon got out in the garden. Tidied up a lot of sheet material that had got spread about and prepared a bit of ground for planting beetroot . I also prepared one corner of the greenhouse ready for a cucumber, replaced some soil and added a lot of compost and some wood ash. I must admit though, in between times I did go into the shed for a sit down and a read every so often.
Mid evening now, and a bit of a headache, but pretty much a day without painkillers, so getting there. Some things are going to take a bit of getting used to though, weeding there was one weed I kept getting my distance wrong, took three attempts before I managed to get hold of it


----------



## Theglasshouse

You have a greenhouse for gardening. I didn't know that. Anything exotic such as plants and from a faraway land grows there? Would you consider yourself an expert on greenhouses? As in you read books about it? Thanks if willing to answer anyone of my questions. I wished some time ago to know the details on how to describe one. Sometimes these places are known as orangeries or glasshouses. I wrote a story on that. But I tried to describe a place. It's writing what I don't know. Any suggestions on how to go about it? I hope you feel genuinely better. Glasshouses are used for more than one reason. I figure maybe someone who owns one could have insider knowledge and facts about the place. I've been wanting to describe it better.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My greenhouse is a utilitarian one. At this time of year (Early Spring where I am) it has seedlings that I have germinated over a heated pad indoors, it is their first step to the big outside. I have just moved out a few hardier plants that overwintered there, but the more tender ones will stay a little longer in case there is a late cold snap. Then, as we come into Summer the plants which will not do well in an English climate will take over, cucumber, tomato, chili, and peppers mostly. When they are done the half hardy plants will be dug up from the summer beds, put in pots, and go back in, things like ornamental sages, along with things like pelargoniums and agapanthus that I grow in pots all year round, Even things which are fairly hardy often can't take having their roots frozen, which can happen with pots.
It is a very different place from the big ornamental greenhouses with exotic flowers and trees one finds in gardens like Kew, check out some of those Victorian masterpieces, 





						kew gardens greenhouses - Search
					







					www.bing.com
				




Mine is just a little aluminium frame box with plastic panels (cheaper than glass), but it does its job.


----------



## Darkkin

'Deep down in the darkness where I hide.'  - Hurricane Bells (I finally got a picture of Potato Cat in his donut tunnel.  He loves this thing because he can ambush Rue exceptionally well in it.)


----------



## Darkkin

We've had one hell of a weekend.  My best friend decided to change out the failing cartridge valve in the shower handle, Saturday.  Two trips to the hardware store later she realises it's not how it said to do it on YouTube.  It took a needle nose pliers and an extractor, which we got stuck in the cartridge to get the cartridge out. 

 The cartridge was vintage to the house, so 1980 something.  We had no idea of the brand and nothing fit the weird copper mounting we had.  We're staring no water squarely in the face. (Main line access was shut off before we started this journey.)  Her dad told us what would be a work around if the cap fit, it didn't.  And the pug that did fit, reinforced with duct tape was a 10 second Wiley Coyote experiment.  Water on, water off.  Nope.

Frustrating in the extreme at the time.  Hugely entertaining afterward.  I'd had enough, told her to call her dad.  He has the skill set to fix this.  You never realise how much you miss water until you have none.  My tidy little soul was in agony.

Her dad, bless him, was here by 10:00 am on a Sunday.  Took the better part of the day and I lost count after five runs to the hardware store (wrong elbow joints ×3), but we have water again, a new shower handle and copper piping running to it.

The next my best friend says, 'Let's do this easy, 30 minute fix it project.'  I'm double checking the googled YouTube sources.

Go without running water for 24 hours.  You will never become a hoarder who has no amenities because of your junk.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I hope I can manage to get someone to volunteer to read a story before next Monday. It's pretty long and I hope to get some feedback. I have given feedback. I assume something about the beginning of the story isn't interesting. Interestingly enough for a lack of a better word I deleted a bunch of the beginning that was in the story to get it to read as if media res. If anyone doesn't mind reading a story that has 4.8 k words can they volunteer to give me feedback please? I critiqued a good amount of works, but for some reason I can't interest many people in my writing. Sure it is a rewrite which is the main problem. However, I have believed in rewriting a good story because I believe it is a good one. Maybe I need to show and tell more, but if I did the work would easily be at 6k or above. My classes won't start until the end of march. That is for fiction writing. I'd appreciate the kind gesture if anyone could help me with this. The story is in my signature. I hope the title isn't depressing. It's more so I can call people's attentions or get it concerning the story.

Any favor will be remembered. I can read almost anything people post. Thanks ahead of time if anyone volunteers. My friend here usually critiques it. He's critiqued the same story a couple of times. I think I all need is reassurance since no response is the same as the story being considered a flop by me.

Pretty uneventful day for me so far as nothing is happening that is worth sharing maybe. A few days ago I received my passport. I am expected to travel in April one week before the 22nd day of the month.


----------



## Parabola

Not bad. Just another layer added to the monotonous snowball known as life lol.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat got lost...in the livingroom.  Poor Potato Cat.


----------



## Darkkin

It might be mean to say, but poor writing exists.  Vague writing is the absolute worst thing a writer can do.  Ideas without substance. Writing without voice, identity, a destination, point, or style.  If a reader uses the term generic, you've got issues.

Then there are works that use clichés that give certain genres a bad wrap.  Such writing that is the equivalent of People of Walmart.  It makes you flinch and want to rescue the clichés because the clichés did nothing but exist as a misunderstood tool.

As much as you might want to, you can't rescue the tool because it isn't yours and in order to learn how to use the tool, it requires effort.  It means digging deep and picking up the salt shaker when an observation is hard to swallow.

Don't be vague with an idea or voice.  If it is worth your time to write about it, it is worth doing well.  Vague isn't erudite; it is simply sloppy.


----------



## Parabola

Seriously, why do I always bump into _that guy?? _It's like a weirdly repetitive tragicomedy.


----------



## Darkkin

Parabola said:


> Seriously, why do I always bump into _that guy?? _It's like a weirdly repetitive tragicomedy.



The pokey one at the grocery store who induces road rage with his glaring level of oblivion?  I know that guy...I can't stand that guy.


----------



## Parabola

Darkkin said:


> The pokey one at the grocery store who induces road rage with his glaring level of oblivion?  I know that guy...I can't stand that guy.



Yeah grocery stores give me the willies for so many reasons, so I tend to avoid them and condense my visits as much as possible.


----------



## PiP

My physio announced today was my last physio session. He returns to Holland to work because he can't earn enough money here. He is existing rather than living. I'm gutted.  HE's the BEST physio I've had and I was beginning to make real progress. His announcement came as a shock!


----------



## Darkkin

Sorry to hear that, Pip.  But I'm glad to hear you're making progress.  Finding folks you click with can be tough especially when it is for things we don't like to do like physio.


----------



## River Rose

On my way to hiking. Spring snowstorm. I am awaiting help…


----------



## Darkkin

Oops!  We got a dusting of snow here, but only enough to pepper the robins tails as my grandpa likes to say.


----------



## Darkkin

You have encountered Judgy Cat.  What will you fate be?  Roll for initiative.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sorry Pip to hear what you said concerning your doctor. I have a mother with diabetes so I can relate. I have to message her feet with oil and vapor rub. Is that what you need? She also has a nagging issue with her feet. She was born with mutated feet. She inherited it from my grandfather. He'd need special shoes to walk comfortably. Luckily his wife devoted her entire life to helping him. I have a cousin who speaks Spanish and is a pysio therapist. She can only communicate in Spanish. Technology is getting pretty modern as a point worth mentioning. If you talk to a person on the phone there's this cellphone app that can translate from Spanish to English. Mind you this is in Germany. My little brother talked to me today to wish me happy birthday wishes. So did his wife and it repeated everything back in English. He is trying to to learn German. He knows 4 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French). (my mother's two problems I think are called uric acid in English for diabetes. Not to forget to mention the feet again which cause a lot of pain. She wears arcopedic shoes which she bought in Puerto Portugal. The ones we bought on amazon aren't as good but it does a decent job. It's been 2 years or 1 since that trip, but I forget.)

I got enough ideas to rewrite my story. I hope I can write different stories so that I can workshop that one last. I am on the fence on whether to use dragon 15 software on my other computer (not Mac). I realize the computer might freeze so its risky(it only has 1.7 MHz processor with 8 of ram). But now I don't need to save money for it anymore. I can dedicate myself to writing stories and proofreading with speech central. I admit I need a class that has assessment for grammar. A teacher maybe that can check for cohesion. I do own the book that is a textbook on cohesion. The teacher I talked to with the other day recommended I do the exercises. (book is Joseph M. Williams Clarity and Grace)

Ironically sol stein gave some simple advice concerning plot. Only frustrate desire to create a conflict in the story. I might just have to write outside my outline and using Sol stein's advice. I have to draw in order to describe. I have now read it in 3 different guide books and now I feel the point has been driven home.


----------



## Parabola

Surpassed word goal for today. Really dug into the meat of the characters and enjoyed building a sense of the town-which is less spatially focused and more oriented to the distinctive atmosphere of each house/building. Plotted ahead a few chapters, beyond that it expands into a few possibilities I'll have to trim down.


----------



## Darkkin

I can do things with words, with an ease that makes some uncomfortable.  Juggernaut tumbling pass when all I actually need to do is walk, but you do the tumbling pass just to challenge yourself.


----------



## River Rose

Car unstuck. $158 and a day later. Back at the forest. Girls gotta get up,,,dust myself off. 
Let’s hike!!!!!!


----------



## Parabola

Plotted even further out, so this gives me a "cushion" to write rampantly, full speed ahead. The plot became stagnant until a character's motivation opened everything up, which stimulated another character's motivation. Now it's turned into an interesting game of how many words I can complete per day, and how long will it take to complete first draft. It definitely helps I'm extremely interested in the topic.


----------



## Darkkin

My active reading stack this week.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Gradually getting used to only one eye. I have been trying to carry on as normal. I have been repairing the greenhouse that was damaged in the storm. Three big sheets of glass went and it is very old  so I took the cheap option of horticultural grade polythene, building a frame to tack it to and then sandwiching it in with another frame the other side. I find myself using 'tricks' like holding the screw head to guide the screwdriver to it, and reminding myself not to make it a habit as I want to get used to making monocular vision judgments. In between I have been starting to prepare the greenhouse soil, removing some of the old stuff and adding new. I have chili and tomato almost ready to plant out, must get some cucumber. It is a damned nuisance not being able to drive, they reckon about two to three months to get used to monocular vision well enough, I'll get there.


----------



## Darkkin

There was ribbon involved.  Don't ask.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Still undecided on whether to get a read and write subscription next month. It will expire in 2 days. I was thinking speech central is good for editing documents, but its editing options leave something to be desired sometimes (takes a long time). That being said if anyone feels like giving me constructive criticism my story is in the workshop. I just hope more people other than the same ones who I consider friends give an opinion who I always thank. In 2 days I will know if read and write works in word for free (works in google docs for free). That will lead to a decision on whether to spend. If it does it for free then I won't have to spend 145 for just one year. I legitimately think it's helpful. Not far off from now I would consider it if it were in the case or situation that it was not free (less than 1 month). The problem of my computer not being compatible with dragon hurts. So I may need to spend it. I think when I used it on my computer it read from microsoft word, but I am not completely sure. I know not everyone has free time to read a story like I can. For those interested who feel this is for them then give it a read and say what you think being completely honest:


			https://www.writingforums.com/threads/the-doctors-are-the-fortune-tellers-of-the-world.197506/


----------



## PiP

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 28623
> 
> There was ribbon involved.  Don't ask.


Love this picture!


----------



## Darkkin

PiP said:


> Love this picture!



Potato Cat has been obsessed with that piece of ribbon for the last couple of weeks.  Yesterday I spent most of the day downstairs with Potato and Rue.  It was a good day for candids of my clowns.


----------



## PiP

He's such a handsome cat!


----------



## Darkkin

PiP said:


> He's such a handsome cat!



He knows he's a pretty beast and uses it to his advantage, (hence his face in my milk glass when he is not allowed to have dairy).  He is a total ham for the camera.


----------



## Darkkin

Not the biggest snoop in the neighborhood, not at all.


----------



## Sinister

This was supposed to go in a blog post.  Too tired to bother.  I'll put it here for now.  So there.  : P

-Sin


----------



## Sinister

Stomach is killing me.  No clue.  And I'm already tired of all this cold drippy weather.  It makes me not want to get out of bed.  I barely feel like fixing a cup of coffee and I have to actually go into town today.  I haven't left since the Alton Brown show last month.  I'd like to say it's getting easier, but it isn't.  I'm having fewer episodes after leaving, but it's not easier. 


4/10

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

You have our moral support on the forum since you voiced that you have aspergers, and agoraphobia. You have stories to tell. Even if you haven't written and are considered enormously talented judging by the workshop. Maybe it's a sign you should write sometime again in the future. I have seen some movies with people with agoraphobia. I even know my mother's friend's son from word of mouth only who had agoraphobia.  It can be considered a very different lifestyle. You've clearly made living adjustments to accommodate your life without too many people around since I saw the video. Take good care of yourself.


----------



## Sinister

Theglasshouse said:


> You have our moral support on the forum since you voiced that you have aspergers, and agoraphobia. You have stories to tell. Even if you haven't written and are considered enormously talented judging by the workshop. Maybe it's a sign you should write sometime again in the future. I have seen some movies with people with agoraphobia. I even know my mother's friend's son from word of mouth only who had agoraphobia.  It can be considered a very different lifestyle. You've clearly made living adjustments to accommodate your life without too many people around since I saw the video. Take good care of yourself.


Thanks.  I have some very understanding and accommodating people in my life who help me with my situation.  And I do leave the house, it isn't like it never happens...but every time it feels like I'm walking through a shooting range with shots firing off at me.

As for writing, well I'm trying to do better, but so are we all.  lol  Just have to work on doing it more frequently.

-Sin


----------



## Punani

Awful. I feel depressed and anxious, and I can't pull myself together to move on.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My daughter phoned, her friend told her that her parents couldn't cope with gardening since they were in their fifties and were getting a man in.  My daughter couldn't stop laughing, her dad is 77 , has Wegeners and only one eye and enjoys coping with a fair size garden. I have prepped the beds and started planting out my chili and tomato plants in the greenhouses, beetroot showing, carrots showing, etc.


----------



## Parabola

Just another day in a years long slog through pure country hell.


----------



## Darkkin

Olly Buckle said:


> My daughter phoned, her friend told her that her parents couldn't cope with gardening since they were in their fifties and were getting a man in.  My daughter couldn't stop laughing, her dad is 77 , has Wegeners and only one eye and enjoys coping with a fair size garden. I have prepped the beds and started planting out my chili and tomato plants in the greenhouses, beetroot showing, carrots showing, etc.



Hobbies keep us motivated, give us something to look forward to, and a way to relieve stress.  My Grandma is 88 and she loves to putter in her flower beds.  Her flowers are amazing in the spring.

And for posterity, my hobby...Potato Cat.


----------



## Darkkin

Some well earned reading after chores.


----------



## Olly Buckle

Where I lost mt eye they put a plastic 'conformer' to hold the shape before they give me an artificial one. I was putting antibiotic grease in my eye this afternoon and it dropped out. Back down the eye clinic first thing tomorrow.


----------



## Darkkin

Those eyes you feel boring into the back of your mind.  That is Rue Dog and his dinosaur judging you.  Enjoy your day.


----------



## Parabola

I could take the last three thousand days and turn them into a "rotating door" that never stops moving.


----------



## Darkkin

We have a wicked wind out of the south that caught the front storm door.  Bent the piston beyond function so I removed it, closed the door (which was fine), and propped a paving stone in front of it until the wind subsides.  Grr...


----------



## PiP

I have had a super crap day trying to find medical help for hubby. Arrived for one appointment at 14.30 with cardiologist 30kms away to be told in (as far as I could understand in my limited Portuguese ) by the receptionist that we did not have an appointment despite said guy emailing hubby last night telling him to come there… anyways, we waited for him to arrive and despite what the receptionist said he saw us straight away. hubby had a episode earlier so there was no way I was leaving without securing medical help

Then we had to source two urgent exams spent ages on phone to various hospitals and private clinics trying to book appointments…I am fussy as friend just died of covid and superbug in a certain private hospital after her heart op…

 arrived home major money transfers… sterling to euros… as clinics booked not covered by medical insurance.

To top it all I have issues driving plus I can’t walk…so now I will need to overcome said panic attacks as first appointment in centre of largest town on Algarve with a complex one way system…

If you pm me and I am grumpy, be warned. Sorry.


----------



## Darkkin

Hugs, Pip.

Hope things improve for you.  My grump was only five minutes with a screwdriver.  Maybe bring out the trusty stick and poke annoying people in the back of the head.


----------



## Olly Buckle

A day for grumps it seems. after all that has happened to me, a haircut, a day in bed unable to walk, and losing an eye, I had been amazed the vasculitis hadn't flared. It has now. Not serious, yet, swollen ankles purple feet and a leg that feels as though I walked through stinging nettles. Amazing how it always happens on a bank holiday.
Hope you and the other half are well soon, Pip. You live in such a beautiful place you want to be able to enjoy it.


----------



## Darkkin

If anybody needs a laugh, I have a fifteen pound paving stone set in front of my front door to keep the storm door from catching wind again.  The gusting is wild.

It looks like an Amazon order met a steamroller.

Edit:  We will be putting the paver in an Amazon box when we get one big enough.  We'll see how long before it tempts porch pirates.


----------



## Darkkin

High drama in the neighbourhood, beside wind and some storm doors, a couple neighbours had the same thing happen, too.  Bricks on the doorstep is now in vogue on our street.  Back on topic...there has been an SUV abusing the hospitality of our street for the last two weeks.  (Couch surfer at the condos, who are easy to identify; they never move their vehicles.  Everybody else goes to school, goes to work, etc.  Every other vehicle on the street will move.  There is a sweet old dear with a walker who has a handicap parking placard, who parks at the end of the street and still moves her car more frequently than the schmuck.  And no, there are no visible limitations that would keep the schmuck from moving his car.  Physically fit and hefted a duffle bag that probably weighed as much as I do with one hand.  No logical reason he can't move the car.)  

Move your car daily or you get ticketed.  Plain and simple.  Live on the street, and no parking?  Apply for the free parking permit.  Everyone knows this, everyone plays by the rules except this schmuck who left his car parked in front of the house for five days.  We called, parking utility came, guy saw it.  Finally moved his car, tag was added to the watch list.  Schmuck parks across the street, three days go by, everybody else has moved their car, not schmuck.  Parking utility was called again.  This time:  Tagged for tow if it isn't moved by morning and what looks like multiple tickets.  It is two hour parking until 6pm.  Don't move, they can ticket.  We are also not the only house that has called about this schmuck.  You have to have multiple calls and/or violations before they issue the evil orange, impossible to remove sticker to your window.

We've been people watching.  Neighbours cheering as they come home and see the tow tag.  Welcome to small town no where.


----------



## Parabola

Learning to appreciate the genuine absurdity of the moment because it'll be gone in a flash.


----------



## JBF

In the process of cleaning stuff out of the garage/shop/super secret trash panda den and lounge I ran across a magazine from years and years ago (before I graduated high school, so...ancient history).

Didn't remember sending said magazine any article.  Didn't recall that they opted to publish it, either.

But evidently I did and they did, and here we are.


----------



## Darkkin

This is Potato Cat.  He is one of the few internet beings who doesn't have an ugly photo on social media.  Awkward, yes.  Ugly, no.


----------



## Parabola

I'm a polite but distant figure. Don't knock on my door unless necessary (and even then). Hey, maybe I'll get that on a t-shirt.


----------



## Olly Buckle

My car has been stood so long since I did my eye the battery was completely dead and wouldn't re-charge. Saw the brother in law yesterday who had had the same problem. Turns out that if you connect the positive, then spark it a couple of times on the negative that gets it working again. Been on charge most of the day and started first turn of the key this evening.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat in a doughnut.


----------



## Darkkin

People are just kind of a cosmic level of stupid today.


----------



## PiP

Darkkin said:


> People are just kind of a cosmic level of stupid today.


Yep, someone we know just died of COVID. They said it was a hoax and conspiracy. No vaccine. No sympathy.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I felt like the character in Whiplash the movie ( saw a few minutes ago and there was a character who is a snobby orchestra conductor). You try your best. Sometimes when you fail expectations fall short such as being a good drummer (trauma resulting in anxiety and depression in many cases ) and  then you become a perfectionist because of what happened. Not to mention I enjoyed the end of the movie. There is a character change or transformation. That's how I felt. It made me think an autistic person wrote the movie.


----------



## Parabola

I'm living on Gilligan's Island.


----------



## Parabola

Just had the thought bragging seems to correlate with mild to moderate ability. Then, ensconced in a cocoon of narcissism, they rarely challenge themselves (preferring low effort attainment of ego supply).


----------



## Sinister

Planted two trees, dwarf crabapple, seckel pear, three blueberries, six raspberries and planted two Lenten roses.  The blueberries were mostly blucrop and some legacies.

I'm dead on my feet.

-Sin


----------



## Olly Buckle

Walked in woods filled with bluebells, the scent was amazing.


----------



## Parabola

Exploratory.


----------



## Darkkin

We all have that one friend that can quote these movies, verbatim.  Carp.  I am that friend.


----------



## Parabola

It always ends with me wanting to drain a bottle of vodka.


----------



## Darkkin

In case anybody lost their bungling, do-gooder mystery solving duo.  Rue Dog and Think.  (Short for Doyouthinkhesaurus.)


----------



## Parabola

Slept far too much, then talked to people I wouldn't consider competent or particularly invested in a decent outcome. Now all I want to do is sleep until the rest of the dreary day is behind me.


----------



## Darkkin

We're doing sheetpan potatoes and ham for dinner.


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Parabola

Debating INFPs on the internet is pretty easy. I collect them like Pokémon.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat got mail.  New collar.  He has been sulking about wearing a breakaway for the last two days after his old collar died.  I put this on him and he was preening and purring.  Boy likes his bling.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Such a nice week. Yesterday my son picked me up and we went to the gym and Costco. Today my daughter in law who's an esthetician tinted my eyebrows and eyelashes. And tomorrow I'm going out for supper with high school friends. And the best thing is I'm finally nearing the end to latest round of revisions of my WIP. Tonight I also discovered my guild is holding a flash fiction contest, deadline July 26. Theme is ancestors. I'mma do that!


----------



## Sinister

Spent today, drunk, kayaking up and down Lake Mauzy.  Just me and nature.  The whole lake smelled like lilac.  I was attacked by a cranky turtle, startled a water snake, saw a falcon, kingfisher, crane and heard a heron.  Also pretty sure I heard a very hungry woodpecker.  Very relaxing.  Just me, a flask of tequila, a cigar and all the time in the world.  It was quiet.  It was warm.  There was a cool breeze.

10/10  Best day this year, maybe in the last two years?

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat edu(cating) the world since 2019.  Potato Cat turned three yesterday.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am looking into some poetry guide books I can read and study in ebook form. The class on writing fiction by David Farland advocates learning poetry to grasp description skills or as a way to write better prose. If anyone has suggestions then I will listen. I will eventually get Steve Kowit 's book. I will get the ode less traveled much later. I own it in book form, but it is tough to process the text because I read much more easily on kindle. I also have a hypothetical idea that I should write what I know. Because  of that I think I will abandon that story until I do more research. Or I will scrap it since writing what I don't know is a challenge. Unfortunately my realization that I need to learn poetry was too late. I thought these books I ordered were a waste of money except maybe the book that talks about dyslexia. Researching hospital settings has been a hassle. So much I think I need to only write what I have personally experienced in life.


----------



## Darkkin

I've been done with NaPoem for nearly a week, but I found one more glass rabbit and tossed up probably my favourite piece of the entire month.  I admit being entirely too fond of my brain, but there are times that it surprises even me.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat knows when I'm not quite right.  Bad function day today.


----------



## Sinister

Psaltery of the Soul

To the soul, alcohol does sultry play
And in dizzy sickness, do we obey
In the meadow, mead we drink
And into inebriation sink
Metheglyn, deep and clean
For the brave impassioned being

"By spirits, raise thy spirits"
Or so the barkeep calls

Soaked and soggy we paint ourselves
And in recompense, lose gray cells
Wine, O wine, to taste we refine
And then in flavors do we rhyme
Brandy, brandy the English keep handy
But to the taste buds it's a dandy

"By spirits, raise thy spirits"
Or so the barkeep calls

To the soul alcohol does sultry play
While toxins we imbibe
Or do we, on our deathbeds say
I wish I had not drunk that rye


There...my impromptu poet is satisfied and you all have a good idea how I spent the day...  Now, I'mma sleep off my liquid muse.

4/10

-Sin


----------



## Megan Pearson

οὐαί! 

Sat. marks the culmination of seven years worth of work and the beginning of something new. 
I always think transitions like this should be cheerful, joyous events ... yet, the sole celebratory event I have planned is to clean the house. 

(P.S., Why is it that we never celebrate the mundane?)


----------



## Splinter

I've been personally delivering my new book (Spanish version) on my motorcycle to those who reserved a copy some weeks ago. It's lovely to see their eyes light up as they take the book from the bag. My eyes also light up when they give me the cash!


----------



## Darkkin

You know what day it is...


----------



## Darkkin

In case anyone needs a smile, here is Rue Dog to help.


----------



## PiP

@Darkkin Whose his friend in the background  with long legs and wearing a G-String


----------



## Darkkin

PiP said:


> @Darkkin Whose his friend in the background  with long legs and wearing a G-String



That would be the front part of Zwi our greyhound.  What you're seeing is his sweater.


----------



## PiP

WoW, that's a LOT of dog!


----------



## Darkkin

PiP said:


> WoW, that's a LOT of dog!


 

About 90 lbs, but he is so lazy and good natured that he is a bit like a folding chair.  Unfold him when you need him.  Fold him up and put him away when you're done.  In all honesty Potato Cat is more work than Zwi.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Reading two books mainly to apply the knowledge when describing by observing. This book is long. It's the second book on observation I bought (The art of noticing is one of these) .

Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills Kindle Edition​by James H. Gilmore

Then the second book seems helpful for plotting and so on. This has approximately 300 pages, and I am at 15 percent only. This one I recommended in a thread in writing discussion ( not the art of noticing. The book you need to read to write the book you want to write).

I hope to finish all books before writing a story. Particularly the one on observation is very good the one mentioned in this post.

I now feel I can describe a room or small apartment. But the book's information is applicable to anyplace you wish to describe.

I get exhausted from reading when I read long books and the content needs for me to pay close attention. Currently, at 38 percent for the observation book.

I am behind on all of David farland's classes. However, there is no set time to complete it. It is a permanent digital purchase. I also get tired from seeing that. It's many hours long. He however assumed the writer can do basic description. That is why I bought the book on observation. Because he says I need to learn poetry. But that requires a different textbook or class. I did find some ebooks for poetry used in high schools. That is it was adopted.

So you need some prerequisites to fulfill before taking the class.

I like challenging myself, but this will be done at a slow pace. In exactly one more week I will be preparing to go home. I will miss the family as they live in different countries.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Happy all around. Babysat the babies, took my niece out and bought mother's day prezzies for my two daughter-in-laws and one of their moms because she's done so much for the grandbabies, she's totally let me off the hook.
Looking forward to outing tomorrow night.


----------



## Darkkin

Tossed up a hugely out of the box piece.  Pretty sure it is seven ways to Sunday awful, but we'll see.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Another beauty of a day. Brunch and neon mini golf with one of my sons and his wife and her mother. Then gym and then wrote closing chapter of WIP (3rd draft). Little pic of my son and DIL in the mini golf. My other son face timed because his household has the flu. My cat and his toddler joined in. Great fun.


----------



## Darkkin

Got some very decent work done over the weekend, but my heart is bothersome because I have not been up and moving as much as I should be.


----------



## Sinister

The world lost a great Professor this day and I lost a good friend and mentor.  Riddle me this, Writing Forums...  What can make a happy man sad and a sad man happy?

-Sin


----------



## PrairieHostage

Really sweet day. Only a couple hours of analysing WIP and a whole afternoon of napping with the 6 week old baby boy, taking the toddler for a long walk and playing with her in the playroom. We built towers, read books, changed a diaper, pushed the toy school bus, spilled balls out of a basket, and emptied Oma's purse. Oh the universe of the tiny.


----------



## Quelhallow

An hour of writing, two hours of running, and twelve hours of working where I just happened to overhear Margaret Atwood is going to be in town next week for a literary conference. I've never bought a ticket so fast. One of my favorite authors ever! Oryx & Crake is one of my top five books.


----------



## Parabola

Okay so far, but I always say that in the morning. The day is still "waking up" and thinking of ways to bother me.


----------



## Splinter

Today I'm doing a book signing at the Buenos Aires Book Fair which is not something I've ever done before and I'm taking a good stock of two dozen copies.
It's actually in conjunction with the POD publisher who gives us all 90 minutes space for book signing and we can sell books on our own account.
Perhaps my 15 minutes of fame, lol.


----------



## PiP

Sinister said:


> The world lost a great Professor this day and I lost a good friend and mentor.  Riddle me this, Writing Forums...  What can make a happy man sad and a sad man happy?
> 
> -Sin


a sad day for you, Sin….

as for the riddle

too much rain will turn a productive vegetable garden into a swamp … so he was happy and now he is sad. Then the sun shines, dries out the waterlogged garden and the man is happy . We need to learn how to achieve a balance in our lives.


----------



## PiP

Splinter said:


> Today I'm doing a book signing at the Buenos Aires Book Fair which is not something I've ever done before and I'm taking a good stock of two dozen copies.
> It's actually in conjunction with the POD publisher who gives us all 90 minutes space for book signing and we can sell books on our own account.
> Perhaps my 15 minutes of fame, lol.


Good luck and hope you make lots of sales. I am about 20% through  your book and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Great read.


----------



## Splinter

PiP said:


> Good luck and hope you make lots of sales. I am about 20% through  your book and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Great read.


Thanks, PiP and I'm delighted that you're enjoying the read!


----------



## PrairieHostage

Quelhallow said:


> Margaret Atwood is in town next week for a literary conference. I've never bought a ticket so fast. One of my favorite authors ever! Oryx & Crake is one of my top five books.


Oryx & Crake was my favorite Atwood book too!

Today I woke to projectile vomiting and stayed in bed until at least noon. The flu had run through my son's house & this week I did spend several hours there so ...I never gargled, jumped in a shower & changed my bed sheets so fast. Still feel wonky so I'm in that *minimal movement* phase


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> Riddle me this, Writing Forums...  What can make a happy man sad and a sad man happy?


The difference in perspective.


----------



## Splinter

Splinter said:


> Today I'm doing a book signing at the Buenos Aires Book Fair which is not something I've ever done before and I'm taking a good stock of two dozen copies.
> It's actually in conjunction with the POD publisher who gives us all 90 minutes space for book signing and we can sell books on our own account.
> Perhaps my 15 minutes of fame, lol.


In the end the 90 minutes turned into two hours which was great and we had loads of interest in the book, selling and signing seven copies. Not enough, but it's a start.
I enjoyed answering questions like, "What's it all about?", knowing full well that the enticing book cover had caught their interest. It would, because a British flag draped over Argentina's Government House, vis a vis the Falklands issue, was bound to stand out. So I started with, "I've often heard many Argentines say they wished the English had won in 1807." So I don't say much more, except that by reading the book, they may find an alternative 'reality'. They're eyes gleam at that.


This lady, Melisa, deserves a special mention - she translated it into Spanish, perfectly.


----------



## Taylor

Splinter said:


> In the end the 90 minutes turned into two hours which was great and we had loads of interest in the book, selling and signing seven copies. Not enough, but it's a start.
> I enjoyed answering questions like, "What's it all about?", knowing full well that the enticing book cover had caught their interest. It would, because a British flag draped over Argentina's Government House, vis a vis the Falklands issue, was bound to stand out. So I started with, "I've often heard many Argentines say they wished the English had won in 1807." So I don't say much more, except that by reading the book, they may find an alternative 'reality'. They're eyes gleam at that.
> 
> View attachment 28877
> This lady, Melisa, deserves a special mention - she translated it into Spanish, perfectly.



This is SO inspiring...I can't even!!!  Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your success @Splinter


----------



## Splinter

Taylor said:


> This is SO inspiring...I can't even!!!  Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your success @Splinter


Thank you @Taylor 
I really felt pumped up after this.


----------



## Darkkin

I used to think I would never actually encounter bad writing.  Grammatically, technically, it was fine...it was like reading a wet wool onesie.  I have never been so put off by three paragraphs of fiction.  (Not this forum.)  As a nonfiction theological piece, hands down it would work.  But as fiction, my god...just no.  I was a bit more tactful in how I couched my thoughts, and brought up the nonfiction aspect.


----------



## Parabola

After yesterday, dealing with a sense of dislocation.


----------



## D. L. Keur

Today has started out with my knee acting up and a migraine.


----------



## Parabola

I can't say I've necessarily been good at "reading a room" so to speak, an unintentional trouble maker etc. Quick story: my dad stood up at a factory meeting to correct the plant manager. He never got promoted in over 20 years of working there.

Did I get a "pissing people off" gene?


----------



## Splinter

This morning I went to buy some milk at the local supermarket which I had already marked down as the worst supermarket within a radius of approximately 10,000 square miles, so you can imagine how much my loins were girded on entering.
Having bought the necessary products, I wasn't surprised to join a queue of six other souls with only one till open out of eight possibles. The others had trolleys strategically placed to ward us off in case we had the gall to approach them. This is a familiar sight and I knew damn well that the staff couldn't give a toss anyway.
Well I could give a toss, so I approached a couple of staff members who were counting money at a closed till, explained the dilemma and they both looked at me with expressions on their faces which could only be described as, "As if we could give a fuck." 
I then shifted up a gear, notched up the volume a tad and asked why the service in this establishment always had to be this bad, but before they could answer, because let's face it, the question was rhetorical, I asked for the manager. 
They didn't know where the manager was so I raised the volume up another tad and instructed them to open another till because it was early in the morning and we all had better things to do than queue up whilst their employees stood around yawning.
With the velocity of a snail, one of the employees shambled over to a closed till and without uttering a single word, ushered us over without even a hint of apology or explanation. 
I don't expect those anymore, anyway.
It's the very same outlet that on one occasion I had bought some cheese (imported, Cracker Barrel) but the bar code scanner didn't recognise it, so it was rejected from the system. The girl at the till beckoned the supervisor over, who inspected the Cracker Barrel, turning it over in her chubby little hands as if it were exotic material, or perhaps even radioactive.
Then, talking of snails, she ambled all the way to the far end of the supermarket which I would estimate to be around 200 yards away, and bearing in mind that said supervisor could perhaps consider a course at weight watchers, the return journey must have taken at least ten minutes. Meanwhile, the line behind me was growing with angry and tutting customers by the minute, making me feel somewhat uncomfortable for wanting to buy the damn cheese in the first place.
When she finally returned, by which time I was on first name terms with at least thirty other customers, she announced, "You can't buy this cheese, sir."
When I asked her why, she told me that it hadn't yet been 'put on the system'.
"So put it on the system then," I said, helpfully.
"It's not as simple as that," she replied, by which time she had mauled and moulded the Cracker Barrel into an unrecognisable shape that certainly didn't resemble a barrel, but I digress.
I wasn't about to give up so I suggested that I pay for everything except the cheese, let the other customers relax a little and that we move to a neutral area, to which she agreed.
I then suggested a token payment at a fair market price, I'd leave my name and address and if there was any shortfall on either side, we could make up the difference the following day. I mean, we're not talking about an issue of national security here are we?
But no, my words fell on stony ground and I left the establishment vowing to return with a handpicked group of stormtroopers during the night and secure every ounce of Cracker Barrel we could find.
I could go on...


----------



## Parabola

I have to attend to real world things and make a call about medical insurance tomorrow.


----------



## Sinister

Woke up at 6 AM, mopped up after incontinent dogs, wrote a short nothing story to post in the blog(I guess I'm posting short story fiction there now?)  Mowed around the Ertan Deep, used a rake attachment and put the grass clippings as mulch on the garden.  I'm thinking about going shopping...but I won't.  Don't even have a menu and it is SO easy to talk myself out of going anywhere.  Might ask around see if anyone is going into Indiana.

I want cupcakes.  They have these gourmet cupcake packages where two are mint, two are orange, two are carrot cake, and two are Coca-cola/chocolate.

Anyway...

5/10

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

You got up, did some stuff.  The doing is a big thing.  It matters.  Verbing, verbs in general, matter.

Here's to verbing.


----------



## Parabola

I mowed the lawn. Now it's time to make at least eight sandwiches so I don't have to see anyone for a few days.

Fallout sheltering will be the next trend.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Day 3 of my latest flu. I'm able to drink water and tea and _move about_ for short periods of time. 
When I'm strong enuf to return to the gym, I'll start addressing the copy edits rolling in from my sister-in-law.


----------



## Parabola

Okay enough. Conflict seems to distract me from other thoughts. In that way, my sense of mild but usually well-meaning antagonism is chameleon like.


----------



## Splinter

PrairieHostage said:


> Day 3 of my latest flu. I'm able to drink water and tea and _move about_ for short periods of time.
> When I'm strong enuf to return to the gym, I'll start addressing the copy edits rolling in from my sister-in-law.


My wife has had suspected flu for three or four days and she's now gone for a new-fangled auto Covid test, which we hope will be negative.
I've almost finished building another website to promote the book


----------



## twinmommy1113

Got some writing done and helped a fellow writer out by reading their work. I need a little help with a character response decision, and I have a poll up but only one vote. So can't continue writing quite yet so okay but hoping for help. Hope you all have a great day!


----------



## TheFuhrer02

Went back to poetry after some time away from it.


----------



## Firemajic

Dear Ollie B.... I have been MIA for awhile, but some time ago I read one of your posts here, and you said that you had damaged your eye during an accident.... I have been wondering how you are doing??? I hope you are ok and enjoying working in your garden and recording your stories.... love you bunches...


----------



## Parabola

I like to pull back and absorb viewpoints before demolishing them. Not a fan of Mitch McConnell, but he taught me to play the long game. Jumping into the fray will have to wait.


----------



## PiP

Today, I was working in my raised vegetable garden and I came across this hole ...  Initially I thought it was ants ... nope. They leave anthills not holes and this whole was circular. A perfect circle. Perhaps a rabbit or rats ... I backed away and consulted with Mr. PiP who donned his wellington boots and a hoe with a very, very long handle. I suggested it could be a snake ... he agreed so I went and hid in the garage. Yep, I'm a whimp. A couple of years back I was chased by a snake who reared up at me ... fortunately the raised bed is only about 12 inches deep  and the hole only about six. He hacked all around the hole but there were no eggs nada. Looks like the snake was only just moving in and making himself at home.  Hmmmm .... he's lurking somewhere so I will now carry a machete and a machine gun every time I enter the veg area ... I jest not.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat is being a book critic, never mind I haven't even started reading it.  Come on, Potato!


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Parabola

When I make a batch of sandwiches, I always think one of them will turn out to be the "sandwich of revelation." Maybe this one will be the one.

Maybe.


----------



## Splinter

Splinter said:


> My wife has had suspected flu for three or four days and she's now gone for a new-fangled auto Covid test, which we hope will be negative.
> I've almost finished building another website to promote the book


Fortunately the self-test proved negative, so it's just flu, which she is now getting over.
You never know with this damn virus.


----------



## Parabola

Every time I write from kid's perspective (or try to), they always come across as a bitter forty year old with a substance abuse problem.

"Life...don't even bother," said the kid, who downed a glass of scotch in one gulp. Then he lit a cigarette. 

Relax. It's gonna be okay. You're only six.


----------



## Parabola

Not bad. I've been fairly industrious today, but it would be better if I could make someone "rage quit."


----------



## Taylor

Finally realized that my writing was suffering from not feeling physically comfortable on a laptop for long hours.  So I finally splurged and got an all-in-one.  It's not as fast as my Lenovo but fortunately no big spreadsheets to deal with.  It works fine for Word docs.


----------



## JBF

I returned yesterday from a trip out of state...possibly to let the heat die down after the Great May Trash Fiasco. 

I went through the desert.  I met the Horse with No Name.  Alas, we didn't cross said desert together, and despite the heat being hot and the presence of plants and birds and rocks and things the prophecy remains unfulfilled. 

Then there was an attempt to catch up on eight days of missed WF activity.


----------



## PiP

Taylor said:


> Finally realized that my writing was suffering from not feeling physically comfortable on a laptop for long hours.  So I finally splurged and got an all-in-one.  It's not as fast as my Lenovo but fortunately no big spreadsheets to deal with.  It works fine for Word docs.


I hate working on my husband's laptop when we travel. It feels unnatural. Plus I have chubby fingers and the keys are all squished together and I'm looking down at the screen.


----------



## Splinter

PiP said:


> I hate working on my husband's laptop when we travel. It feels unnatural. Plus I have chubby fingers and the keys are all squished together and I'm looking down at the screen.


I recently sold my laptop because I never use it and when I did, it wasn't particularly enjoyable.


Taylor said:


> Finally realized that my writing was suffering from not feeling physically comfortable on a laptop for long hours.  So I finally splurged and got an all-in-one.  It's not as fast as my Lenovo but fortunately no big spreadsheets to deal with.  It works fine for Word docs.
> 
> View attachment 28899


Those HP AIOs are very nice, with crisp and clear screens. I imagine it's got and SSD and you can always ramp up the performance with extra RAM.


----------



## Taylor

Splinter said:


> Those HP AIOs are very nice, with crisp and clear screens. I imagine it's got and SSD and you can always ramp up the performance with extra RAM.


Yes, the screen is great!  How do I add the extra RAM?


----------



## PiP

Son arrives tonight. Cleaned house within an inch of its life and tried to chase down every mosquito and anything that is likely to bite him ... bugs love fresh meat.
sooo excited after the false start we had 2 weeks ago when he tested positive the day he was due to fly and he had to rebook as did my daughter and family prior to that.


----------



## Parabola

Taylor said:


> Finally realized that my writing was suffering from not feeling physically comfortable on a laptop for long hours.  So I finally splurged and got an all-in-one.  It's not as fast as my Lenovo but fortunately no big spreadsheets to deal with.  It works fine for Word docs.
> 
> View attachment 28899




Wish I had a desktop now. Had one in the past with a curved monitor that felt incredible to use (had to sell it, but regret that every day).


----------



## Splinter

Taylor said:


> Yes, the screen is great!  How do I add the extra RAM?


If you're using Windows 10, right click My/This PC icon on the desktop and then click on Properties or find This PC in the Start menu and do the same just see how much RAM (memory) you have.
If it's Windows 11, find Settings>system>about.
In my experience, Windows needs at least 8Gb of RAM and 4Gb isn't enough.


----------



## Sinister

Woke up groggy and kept slipping back into sleep.  I feel...washed out.  Anemic, even.  I need to pick up my vitamin D supplements incase it's a hepatic problem.  I seem to be fighting to remain awake.  Like all health problems, I find it an interesting change.  I must remember to bring it up to my GP.  I'm slightly hungry but there is no food of any description in the cupboards.  I'm sure I'll cobble something together at the zero hour. 

I did have a successful run with my project, but I likely won't start publishing the results until late this weekend.  I want to accrue more successes first and give the whole thing time to develop in my head.

I have to overcome this grogginess for tomorrow.  I'm leaving for Red River Gorge and then to another river for a float.

6/10

-Sin


----------



## PrairieHostage

Productive day. Took my niece out, went to the gym, enrolled for retirement benefits (health & dental) and did a load of laundry. 
I was more than a little shocked to see on the news _*monkeypox *_is the new thing. Dear god, let it END!!

Tonight a bit of mental relaxation.


----------



## Splinter

PrairieHostage said:


> Productive day. Took my niece out, went to the gym, enrolled for retirement benefits (health & dental) and did a load of laundry.
> I was more than a little shocked to see on the news _*monkeypox *_is the new thing. Dear god, let it END!!
> 
> Tonight a bit of mental relaxation.


Talking of retirement, I was shocked to learn that I can't claim my state pension until June 2023 when I'm 66, having always thought it would be this year. I'll try to cling on till then 
Carry on, as you were.


----------



## TheFuhrer02

Not a bad day. Minor op, otherwise not too hectic at the clinic. A couple of consults. Then dinner with the family at our favourite Japanese joint. Went home, wrote some stuff. I guess it was a good day.


----------



## Darkkin

We finally got around to doing outside flowers.  I rescued a desperate pot of pansies, never actually tried growing them before so we'll see.  Yard art is back out.  CatCat's wind chime is singing and her peony is huge!  We also have cardinals nesting in the arborvitae.  Lawn is mowed and laundry and dishes are done...ah!  Anybody else tired, now?


----------



## Splinter

Tonight I'm cooking a leg of Patagonian lamb, trimmed with Rosemary and garlic, in the traditional British way with mint sauce, gravy, Yorkshire puds, sprouts and roast spuds.
A taste of home in Argentina, with guests to help us, because it's huge at around 7lbs.


----------



## Darkkin

Two juggernaut level pieces with Spoon today.  Completely out of the blue.


----------



## Parabola

I love the mornings but tend to hate the afternoons. Today probably won't be much different.


----------



## Sinister

Yesterday was a complete failure for my project.  No new dreams or nightmares.  Trying again tonight.

I did go Kayaking on a river with level 1 rapids.  Very nice most of the way through, only 3 miles.  More like a lazy river with the occasional sensation of being on a rocket sled.  Saw two owls and a deer that fell down a steep incline.  Deer are tough though and he turned out to be okay.  Had a few tilts of Cabo Wabo in flask to see me through.

Honestly, still consider the day a failure.

5/10

-Sin


----------



## Parabola

Sinister said:


> Yesterday was a complete failure for my project.  No new dreams or nightmares.  Trying again tonight.
> 
> I did go Kayaking on a river with level 1 rapids.  Very nice most of the way through, only 3 miles.  More like a lazy river with the occasional sensation of being on a rocket sled.  Saw two owls and a deer that fell down a steep incline.  Deer are tough though and he turned out to be okay.  Had a few tilts of Cabo Wabo in flask to see me through.
> 
> Honestly, still consider the day a failure.
> 
> 5/10
> 
> -Sin



I like that one of your goals includes having nightmares. Anyway, for me spicy food does the trick.


----------



## Sinister

Parabola said:


> I like that one of your goals includes having nightmares. Anyway, for me spicy food does the trick.


_shrugs_  I love a good nightmare plus they're free inspiration.

I've had the most luck with spicy food.  The one success I did have involved Moruga Trinidad Scorpion sauce.  Albeit, I've only made two attempts so far.  I do think I will try to incorporate a spicy food for tonight's attempt.

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

Voice dream reader seems to have been released today or a few days ago. I am currently using it to study English at a website that has free lessons on English. It couldn't have come at a better time (I felt it was a desperate need). If you are a mac user or own an iPad then you most definitely have heard of it. It costs 5 dollars a month. I hope they release the rest of the applications. For mac, this year marks the first time it is released on that platform.

I am highlighting as I go so this most definitively will seem like it will take forever.

I am now happy that I bought a mac. But the dictation leaves something to be desired. It will never match dragon 15 unless they invest a lot of money on speech-to-text software. Why? Because I dislike the typos, I make with dictation on microsoft 365.

I am copying to the clipboard as I finish reading each section, which is tedious, but at least I will understand the material.









						ENGL000: Active Reading | Saylor Academy
					







					learn.saylor.org
				




I am waiting for voice dream writer to release to revise stories.


----------



## Sinister

So, I had a success last night with my project.  Dreamed another completely useless nightmare.  It was terrifying, definitely.  But since it was based on a pre-existing Intellectual property, I can't really write it up without being a nice target for the cry of "Plagiarist!"

Starting loose hope in this venture.  Don't have too many days left.

4/10

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think you can summon more inspiration from reading and combining any story ideas you write with real life. My reaction is I detest nightmares. It's like I receive the game over screen when I wake up.

Getting scared I think increases anxiety according to research. However, I don't want to quote the internet. Also, I use to watch those when younger. I quit that altogether when I got sick. However, those horror movies did increase my anxiety.


----------



## Sinister

It's a method that I've had some success with, which is to say all stories that I have written that I am proudest of have had nightmares for inspiration(and music).  As a result, I've come to look at them as like miniature horror movies written just for me.  Truth be told, this isn't even the first time I've tried to trigger them.  I can't understate what a strange person I am.  I've embraced and accepted it.  I wouldn't let it bug you too much.  Some weirdos can't be accounted for.

And nightmares are some of the very few things left in life that can still scare me.  As a horror writer, if I can't reliably scare myself, then I prolly can't scare very many other people either.  We all have our different methods and I doubt that there's a right or a wrong way to dig up inspiration...besides ABBA music.  That can't be a method of inspiration, surely.

-Sin


----------



## Parabola

Okay enough. I would like an endless supply of shrooms though. Why? Reasons.


----------



## Sinister

I got to be a super hero last night.  I was going to sleep.  I had taken my meds, which means I had a window of about thirty minutes before I'm out.  My phone rings.  It's my mother.  She's frantic and I can barely get an answer from her.  There's a snake in her bedroom with her.  I talk real soothing to her.  I tell her, grab the dogs and calmly walk to her door and slam it shut.  Stuff towels under the gap and weight them down.  I'll be there in twenty minutes and kill the snake.

She has no one.  Her daughter is too far away and asleep.  She has no one else after divorcing my father.  So I swallow my agoraphobia, grab a machete and head out into a major storm with little to no gas in my car.

I don't kill things.  I mean that. Ahimsa is too strong a word, but I refuse to kill spiders or flies.  But it's my mother and she can't sleep in her house.  I get there.  There is no snake.  It is GONE.  I crawl into her closet(where she saw it) and find a loose wood panel.  It slides open to reveal a secret access to the bathtub pipes.  There is a gaping whole I can stick my arm through that goes straight under the house.  Needless to say, I'll be fixing that soon.  She's sleeping at her daughter's in the meantime.  I'm babysitting her dogs as well.

-Sin


----------



## Taylor

I just got pulled in to teach a new course on Corporate Governance.    I had to drop everything and learn it.  

On the downside, it will take time away from my writing.  On the upside, I may learn some new things I can incorporate into a plotline.  AND . . . I will make some serious coin that I can use for marketing my novel.


----------



## Parabola

It's sort of interesting (to me, anyway), how predictability can express itself with a veneer of chaos.


----------



## Darkkin

Spoon decided the Fate of the Potato Cat.  (Not my real Potato Cat.  He's perfectly fine.)  The based on kitten that got tossed into the Pool of the Prophet.


----------



## Parabola

I enjoy the process of courting another intuitive. The furtive glances above a dinner menu, the slightly disturbing letters from magazine clippings. It's all part of a rich, seductive tapestry of ideas.


----------



## Parabola

Poked at a "grandiose narcissist." That's always fun, temporarily. There's a ball of material created from a lifetime of privilege, a center they hide behind, a not-so-subtle bundle of manipulative tactics.

Doesn't matter their broader ideological persuasion, their putrid ball will remain. Little more than a single testicle adrift in the sea of an infinite ego. 

I've named it Clancy.


----------



## Darkkin




----------



## Parabola

A bit anxiety filled atm since I won't be able to deal with medical insurance issue until tomorrow.


----------



## Sinister

migraine


----------



## Erik Vaeli

Finally found a job here last week, working at a cafe. Just part time, but just about enough to cover my rent and food. Yesterday night, the owner called me and said "Hey, sorry, but we've looked at our numbers and we just aren't making enough to be able to afford another employee after all".

Idk. I'm running out of money, but part of me felt... relieved, in a way. I wasn't enjoying it that much. And I didn't come to Australia to just go through the day to day grind somewhere warmer. I wanted to come here to actually have a bit of an adventure and see the world while I'm still fairly young. But it hasn't been working out too well so far. 

I just don't wanna be the introvert who settles for the "okayish" version of everything I want for my whole life though.


----------



## Parabola

Pessimism and experience tell me to go back to sleep.

EDIT: Not that I ever let experience dictate my actions. SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!!


----------



## Darkkin

So this little fellow was sitting smack dab in the middle of our deck with no cover.  It is the cardinal chick from the arborvitae.  He's about a week old.  Looked it up and cardinal chicks usually fledge at about 9 - 11 days old.

I moved him back to the cover of the shrubs.  (Yes, I wore gardening gloves for his protection.)  And both parents have been back to him.  He should be all right now he has somewhere to hide and is away from the deck.


----------



## Sinister

Reinstalled new blacklights in the space den.  Feel like relaxing to some nice music and playing a few video games.  Got my meds refilled, so yes, technically I'm back on the earth again.  But not for long...

See you space cowboys.

-Sin


----------



## Parabola

Dipped my toes back into the murky waters of a past addiction...gotta say, ambivalent about the whole thing.


----------



## PrairieHostage

I'm so jealous of your blue room, Sin
My day went okay bit I'm a little concerned with how much I'm sleeping these days. No complaints, I'm thankful as a retiree I can sleep. But I don't want to miss entire mornings


----------



## Theglasshouse

Hope you enjoyed your day Sin.

Been reading the creative writer's handbook. This should ready me should I need to write a story in the office of the speech therapist. To plot a story according to the book you need just an  idea, premise, image and or a situation. A situation could be thought as images, ideas, premises, or pictures about which the story has yet to be told. Situations is a word in creative writing used to define a frozen statement of a character's circumstances. For example the best plots put the characters in motion. When you combine an image, idea, premise with another in this group of elements mentioned you can start a story.  Maybe there a girl runs away with her cruel mother. The mother needs to  feel loved by creating an obedient daughter by punishing her daughter. The daughter wants not to suffer and be loved by her mother. This creates tension. For example I think the girl comes across a mind reader who offers his services to make her a mind reader with no liabilities or compensation packages or lawsuits.

Anyways I recommend this book since it gives very specific suggestions.


----------



## Darkkin

Update on our pipsqueak cardinal. He made it safely through another day and is somewhere in our neighbor's backyard.  We can still hear both the chick and the adults, so this little guy should do all right.  We have no feral cats in our neighborhood, so his chances are as good as they can be.


----------



## Sinister

The majority of Cardinals and Blue Jays here are blind or going blind.  They keep crashing into my house.  I'm doing my best not to think it's some kind of omen.  I love Cardinals.  Blue Jays can kind of be assholes, though.

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

Sinister said:


> The majority of Cardinals and Blue Jays here are blind or going blind.  They keep crashing into my house.  I'm doing my best not to think it's some kind of omen.  I love Cardinals.  Blue Jays can kind of be assholes, though.
> 
> -Sin


You need dirtier windows. ;-)


----------



## Sinister

VRanger said:


> You need dirtier windows. ;-)


They don't fly into the windows.  I mean some do...but I've seen/heard several crash into the brick and roof.

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

Our pipsqueak cardinal is flying!  He was on the patio table with his mama this afternoon.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Wonderful day with my disabled niece, then to the gym with my son. I brought him and my DIL supper. They are golden to visit with and will have their first baby in 7 weeks!!


----------



## Parabola

Not that great, and tomorrow seems iffy at best.


----------



## Quelhallow

All but two of my kitchen staff went on strike on Monday in an effort to blackmail me for more money. I don't think they knew that I knew how to do their job.


----------



## Sinister

2/10

But that doesn't matter now.  I'm home.  I'm finally home.  With all of its flaws and faults, this house on a hill has me as its living center and heartbeat and it's my protective shell.  I can breathe here.  The sounds it makes at night are lullabies.  All of its inmates, both stowaways and welcome guests, are friends of mine.  Such is a home.

-Sin


----------



## Parabola

Going off the reliability of past predictions, probably some form of twisted. Just the way I like it. It's not like I blame myself--most people get corrupted by their environment eventually.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Fabulous day. Strength training at the gym, queried an agent and then read three books I have on the go. Then I researched all things vegan. Its on my to do list in retirement and I'm making the jump gradually.


----------



## Quelhallow

Alas, vertigo most of the morning. I let someone else chop the tomatoes.


----------



## Theglasshouse

My mother has been trying to contact the speech therapist. No answers from them so far. However we know them since some inlaws friends recommended them. I am wondering if I should learn prose theory before I go because it improved the coherency of the paragraph greatly. It helped me focus by organizing the paragraph spatially and placing a point of view perspective physical. However, I hope my mother agrees. I have 2 prose books currently and I plan to order 2 more. Currently they are on a mountain with the set of puppies and my pet dog. Depending on how I do then I can proceed with something the speech therapist doesn't know.


----------



## Sinister

Spent the day preparing.  Cleaned and readied my kayak.  Assembled all the vittles.  I need to get some new earbuds.  For soon, I go to Cave City for a day long trip down hidden streams and waterways that even go under the earth.  Level 3 rapids.  This is very off the tourist route.  Might even do some spelunking.  Who knows what hidden wonders and horrors branch off of Mammoth Cave?  

Man, I've missed my sense of adventure.  I used to wish for great things, long ago.  I settled for safe and normal things so easily.  And in this day and age above all those before it, we value our lives far more than we value living them.

Also, 5/10

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

I also I have to keep myself home to prevent myself from being treated badly. I assume that is part of the reason why my parents don't want me to have a job. Also, leaving the house opens all sorts of opportunities to meet up with toxic people who can't get enough of making people miserable. However, I hope those doors don't remain closed forever. I always need the company of my family. If not people I hope people can be excuse the language I use. What I tend to find are people who are: pricks or who don't behave as they should.

My research consisted of finding ways to brainstorm a paragraph for narrative fiction or to find subjects. In that regard I was pleased, and I will continue to investigate how other people write during the writing process tomorrow (investigated because of using perlego).

Been listening to music from Sega games all day.

The Forms of Narrative: A Practical Study Guide for English (Cambridge university press)​Covers the brainstorming process of narrative. Why you must always use the 5 wh questions when your character performs an action such as walking to a window. What did they see? How did they get to the window? Why were they called to the window?​




Word Power​Julian Birkitt​(saw this on the internet archive.org and I admit it has a few neat ideas or tricks, but I wish it had more material).​


----------



## Parabola

Decent enough. Getting back into the groove, at least for a few days.


----------



## Quelhallow

Hired an assistant manager, finally. Now I can spend a whole day off together with my wifey (and not work nearly as much). But I'm also aware that good things never last. The other shoe, and all that.


----------



## VRanger

Okay, the supply shortages just hit me with a gut punch. Got an email from my supplier today they're out of stock on Cockburn Special Reserve port, and the supplier can't give them a restock date. I may have to slum with Sandman's.

@PiP: _You _live in Portugal. Throw me a lifeline!!!!

_[Note: This is tongue in cheek and meant in no way to minimize the REAL issues many people are suffering through, like the baby formula situation.]_


----------



## PiP

@VRanger 
Maybe they will ship direct








						Contactos
					


Entre em contacto connosco.Estamos disponíveis para esclarecer as suas dúvidas, fornecer-lhe informações e receber as suas sugestões.





					www.garrafeirasoares.pt
				












						Cockburns Special Reserve Port
					


87 pts Wine Enthusiast - Garnet red colour. A youthful nose packed with rich and concentrated aromas of red fruits, predominantly red cherry and hints of plums





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loks like they ship to most countries in the world








						FAQS
					


Frequently asked questions





					www.portugalvineyards.com


----------



## VRanger

This is rather funny. I intended my shout-out to @PiP as a joke, but she came through. With a 10% discount coupon I found, the price of a bottle is so much less directly from PortugalVineyards I can actually buy a case for $5 cheaper than my order from the USA supplier ... that is ... if the $ to Euros conversion doesn't bite me in the ass. LOL


----------



## Theglasshouse

No one is encountering the same difficulties in writing as me it it seems so I need a fresh and new approach to use. I say it seems because now I am going to use a new approach to tackling my writing issues. For one, I never considered a book by Stanley Fish on how on how to write a sentence. Currently I am considering  a book on paragraphs. One is called the Lively Art of Writing. In the past I considered college readers, but they weren't giving me good results. These are the best ones I know off from my research. I investigated the book on how to write sentences in Perlego and it looks good. I guess I will purchase the audio book by Steven Pinker (style) (I own his book on kindle already). A lot of reading can really slow down and make it possible for all my projects from ever getting done. Then I might purchase the book on narrative and skip word power since it doesn't give a lot of tips. Since reading grammar books is boring I am going to purchase the The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed and its second book (volume) on punctuating sentences. Then I have no idea if those books on prose will help me improve. I am buying them anyways since they are worth 5 dollars each. I figure what I can during this time is to review David farland's class and continue the saylor class on writing college writing, and maybe even continue to browse books on perlego. The focus is on clarity, and some on writing prose. I think it is a lot of work to lean from David Farland's class. You copy the example and the strategy in a notebook. Talk about being paranoid about stealing the notes. It makes learning a very slow process for anyone. In summary, I will be busy for a long time.


----------



## Sinister

Back from my trip.  I'll be sore for a bit, but it's hard to say I've ever been more peaceful.  It was just us two out there for 9 miles.  Damn near missed the take-out which would've been another 20 miles.  I wouldn't have minded.

9/10

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

10/10 for me. I figured out how to organize my thoughts without spending a fortune. I will owe some credit due to Indianroads who recommended to research in part. I found a book that talks about the different ways to structure a paragraph and I was able to find one in the internet archive. It allowed me to preview the book. I can now make a descriptive paragraph I believe to save my life. But not in the same style as Mightyaz. So for the time being I will be reading less and trying to put together a short story with the methods on how to develop a paragraph. So right now I am borrowing the book from the internet archive and I plan to write a short story or make an attempt. This will take me 1 week or less. And since I like the book I promised myself I would buy it in less than 2 weeks.


----------



## Darkkin

Three years ago today Potato Cat joined our circus.


----------



## Bloggsworth

I made a birthday cake for my next-door neigbour and a batch of the meat and veg filling for shepherds pie, what's left after this evening's supper I will freeze - Exciting stuff...


----------



## VRanger

The day started off with a microburst that took down a tree with a 30-inch caliper bole. A couple of inches to the right, it would have totaled our van. A couple of inches to the left, it would have totaled our Town Car. As it is, I think one of the upper branches depressed the front bumper on the Town Car a bit. It's hard to tell for sure until I can get in there with a chainsaw and start to clear it out. A double trunk tree in our front neighbor's yard lost one of the trunks. It's the third tree she's had down in that area in the last three years.

There's a few hours work cutting that tree up and getting it out of the way.  Right now the upper portion is in front of the SUV, the vehicle we actually use these days.


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## VRanger

Cornelius Coburn said:


> We had a massive hailstorm here a few days ago. The hailstones got quite large and were bouncing off the car, and I was getting a little worried. We were like "Should we throw a thick blanket or something over the car?" It was reminiscent of that freak hailstorm in Hallowell(a couple miles away) maybe a couple years ago, and there was some damage to cars as a result of that which added to the concern.


We had hail twice in one week back in early May ... some of the largest I've seen ... but still only about a third-inch diameter. I'm sure it was reported as "golf ball sized hail". ;-) Didn't phase the vehicles though. You had a good idea!


----------



## Darkkin

No hail here, just four inches of rain in three hours...Ten minutes after I watered my flowers.


----------



## PiP

Gin and tonic  overlooking Amado beach


----------



## Parabola

Not bad. Might relax to a few more episodes of a show I'm enjoying atm. Battle scenes are a little hectic, but the overall story and the acting/atmosphere keeps pulling me back. A flawed gem.


----------



## PiP

Today proved to be a landmark day. We went from the beach to a restaurant which was shut so we returned home to a local restaurant for a homemade burger.
Some things are meant to be... While we were there some old friends of 40years who we fell out with over an argument re politics ... namely BREXIT, held out an olive branch and we buried the hatchet (I wish I could bury bloody Boris) but we won't go there. Anyways, we've not spoken for three years ... life's too short and we all moved on. Politics and friendship are not a good mix ... sigh.


----------



## Sinister

Today there is an ongoing heat warning.  Heat index of 103F; that's 39C, for those of you playing along in faraway places.  And today is the good day.  The heat index is supposed to crawl up to 123F.  That's a grand total heat index, ladies and gents, of 50 degrees celsius.  At that point, my puny air conditioning little matters.

-Sin


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Darkkin

We're spoiled here with central air...


----------



## Sinister

I mean, I've got central air, but generally mine can only lower the house temp by about twenty degrees.  So, it'll still be about 84-88 something in here.  Time to go get cold beer, ice cream and sandwich-making supplies.

-Sin


----------



## Parabola

Sometimes after interacting with that person, I want to put a letter opener through my (usually twitching) eye.


----------



## Sinister

So...did nothing much today.  Tried to save some plants, dunno if that worked.  Had leftovers and ice cream.  Spent a pathetic amount of time fully-clothed in a bathtub full of cold water drinking beer.  Swapped out t-shirts that I kept in baggies in the freezer.  And now that it's down to about 80 degrees in the house, I put up a massive mirror up in the space room.

Honestly, the mirror ended up looking spookier than I had intended.  It makes the small room look big, but it also kind of comes off as a window.

Today gets a bonus for the ice cream and beer...and a demerit for practically everything else.

5/10

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

I managed to write down a conversation of a 5 minute video of David Farland's course. I took two pages of notes. I speculate it took somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour. There are more than ten videos. I napped today in the afternoon since I was taking a siesta. I notice my mood shifts drastically at night compared to the afternoon because of the heat. I don't think I want more medicine to control my mood but resent and wish I could be more productive. I am right now going to bed. The main reason I exercise is to control my mood, and today I had little time. I wish I had a cold climate besides the mountains where I live. I will be gone for 4 days to the mountain with the cold climate and the houses. Other than that everything is well. I might sign up to the premium version of Spotify. Getting a lot of notes on the course (to be honest I skipped to the section about conflict). I am liking it so far now that I am learning something new. Again I can't take the computer with me that has all the text to speech. This computer is expensive and I don't want it to break. We usually pack a lot of things. If someone throws my computer in the back of the car my writing ambitions will be all over for some years...


----------



## Parabola

I would like an extreme amount of alcohol thanks (this is indicative of how my day went, btw).


----------



## Darkkin

On my way out the door to go to work and I had a political canvasser refuse to leave our property when I wouldn't talk to him.  The cretin grabbed ahold of my arm and tried to stop me from getting in my car.  Luckily I had my phone so I was able to key in 911.  Told the cretin to get his hands off me and get out of our yard or I would call the police and have him charged with assault.

The bastard put his hands on me.  A complete stranger.  I hate being touched.  It is one of my biggest freak out triggers.  Once I was in the car with the doors locked I called the non-emergency number and filed a nuisance complaint about the guy and the group he works for.

Neighbors out doing yard work also called.  This guy was confronted by law enforcement within minutes and charged with trespassing.


----------



## Sinister

To all who wonder...  If you know someone who is on the spectrum, assume they do not like being touched.  I $#@%ing HATE being touched more than most anything.  It is somehow so much worse when it is by a stranger, but I cannot stand even close family to touch me.  No one better ever do this to me or anyone in my line of sight(grab someone/anyone by the arm).  You will make me forget my manners, hardcore.   I am so sorry, Darkkin.  I know how you feel.

That creep was waaay out of bounds anyway.  The hell is wrong with some people?

-Sin


----------



## Quelhallow

Time also flies when you're not having fun. My weekend starts and ends tomorrow.


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

My day went pretty good all things told. I had a second interview about the job I'm hoping to get (a key holder for Dollar General), and it's pretty much a given that I've got the job, woohoo! Best part is that the store I'll be working at post-training is only going to be 15-20 minutes away from where I live, so that's nice.

I also got a good bit of writing done today as well, though that was in regards to my blog rather than my original writing unfortunately. Will potentially get to some of that tomorrow with any luck.


----------



## Darkkin

My house is now scary clean and my bookcases purged and reorganized.  Everything fit, but I had to let others go.  Tough yes, but worth the effort.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am taking a screenwriting class on creative live. Screenwriters put a lot of emphasis on interviews so you can understand character weaknesses, their pasts, and so on. It gave me the needed ideas to write a story based on how the person interviewed answered the questions. Unfortunately, although I know this the skill is criminally underrated. It should be learned.
In case anyone wants a free trial of Perlego. They gave me this code to share it. Right now I am looking for a book to interview family members written by writers or journalists. One is currently on Perlego which got my attention. I will read it to see if it is useful.
(this is a code for a free trial incase anyone is interested)
www.perlego.com/StudySmarter-B3RF


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

Today has certainly gone quite a bit better than yesterday did, at least for my mental state. Finished working on a special review to go up on my blog tomorrow, which was taking quite a bit of time and effort away from other endeavors. With it out of the way though, it becomes much easier to get further ahead on posts for it again, which means a much easier time freeing up more time to get back to my original writing efforts as well. Between that and my new job hopefully starting soon-ish, things are looking at least a little more up than they were before, at least on the directly personal level.


----------



## Matchu

Eurofighter overhead for the display - tore pieces from the sky.  A very frightening aircraft, and I can only imagine at  the experience of people 1600 miles away.

banal…:/


----------



## Sinister

Picked Raspberries and Blueberries.  Got enough raspberries to eat on, or crush up in a small brownie cake.  Got enough blueberries to make a Lemon Spongecake Blueberry Grunt.  Which is what I'll do with it.  Weeded and re-tilled the garden.  Picked a few peppers and sugar snap peas.  Not enough to do much with other than freeze or dry.  Bit early for them.  

Was going to plant some new plants but it started to rain on me and I threw my neck out trying to hack through the hill's clay line with a mattock.

I did good though, for today.  Tomorrow I'm going to take it easy, clean the house up a bit and drink a bottle of Shiraz that I've been saving.

While not a "pleasant" day, I got stuff done.  Sometimes that's better.

7/10

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

Got a nice walk in with this floofy doofus after work tonight.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Recovering from an all day bocce tournament that a buddy from work throws. That was yesterday. I somehow made it to the finals before I got eliminated by a now three time champion by the score of 16-9. In that heat, I got a bit dehydrated, so I got cramps and muscle soreness like a mo-fo today. Lots of water, TLC from the wifey, and using the game for inspiration for a short story practice I'll probably post on my blog here on WF in the next few weeks. 
By the way, raspberry brownie cakes? Um.. got enough to share?   (Just kidding, but that does sound delish!)

A.C.


----------



## Sinister

Love a game of bocce.  Hadn't played since I was a teen.  And hey, you show up at chez Sinny, then I do the southern hospitality thing.  Free raspberry chocolate brownie cakes for as long as supplies last.  lol

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> Love a game of bocce.  Hadn't played since I was a teen.  And hey, you show up at chez Sinny, then I do the southern hospitality thing.  Free raspberry chocolate brownie cakes for as long as supplies last.  lol
> 
> -Sin


Someday, I just might take you up on that offer, amigo.

A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> Love a game of bocce.  Hadn't played since I was a teen.
> 
> -Sin



I hadn't started playing until we got invited out the the yearly tourney my buddy from work throws about 7 years ago. It's double elimination. It wasn't until the fourth year that I finally won a game. My wife, however, first year she nearly made it to the quarter finals. Last year I went undefeated until I faced the defending champ in two straight games. This year, I made it to the finals. Guy who beat me was a two time, now three time, champion. And a great guy to boot. But I had the most bizarre "quad" score in the finals. (A "no crap, there I was!" moment). he tossed the pallino almost to the furthest corner of grassy court, and all four of his attempts to establish either went out the back or side. All I had to do was drop my balls over the line to get the four points. That'll never ever happen again.
I still lost 16-9, but man....

A.C.


----------



## Sinister

My zero-turn 6k$ lawn mower died.  But no worries.  It's a week past warranty.

2/10

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> My zero-turn 6k$ lawn mower died.  But no worries.  It's a week past warranty.
> 
> 2/10
> 
> -Sin



Ouch. 

A.C.


----------



## Sinister

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Ouch.
> 
> A.C.


Just got off the phone with a local company that does maintenance.  Says it sounds like a drive belt.  If so, then all is fine.  Drive belt won't break my bank.  _crosses fingers_

Don't get me wrong, still been a crappy day.  lol

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Well, I can't top Sin, but last night when I walked into work after taking a second four-day weekend, I had no less than four team leaders walk up to me and tell me that they were glad I was back today. That scared me a little, because half of them I normally don't converse with regularly. Long story slightly shorter: My job on nights is that I deliver chemicals, raw stock, and oversize/heavy motors, pumps, etc. for our maintenance guys (and gals) to down machines. Another responsibility of mine is in charge of our plastic and cardboard balers (unjamming, taking care of completed bales, changing out wire reels, etc.). I'm one of three people on nights with the keys to the control panels of them. I guess the other night they both jammed up bad and nobody could figure out how to get a hold of the other two guys.. even though they were both there.

A.C.


----------



## Megan Pearson

How'd my day go? Quietly. Well, at least until the dog started rrr-rrfing. She's usually quiet, too. Ah, she's still at it. I have no idea what has her stirred up. Am I unnerved? Nah, never. (I only get unnerved when she goes ballistic at the back door. Like tonight. SO, yes, slightly. The other part is starting to get upset at her for not settling down, like right now, when she somehow pressed the 'save' button with her chin. Smart dog.)


----------



## Megan Pearson

Overall, though, somewhat disappointed, too. My husband and I ran into a woman we know and it turns out her company is still hiring for a certain position. After talking, she took my number to give to her hiring manager. So I've been sitting on pins and needles here, waiting for a call. (She said, "I'll have her call.") Well, maybe it was too good to be true. After reviewing the company's website, it turns out our friend is the one who usually receives resumes, so I've spent some time updating mine and will turn it in to her the next time we see her. So, there is still hope. And, once I finish it, I'll have a really nice, updated resume to hand in. It should be upload friendly and easy for a computer to read, although I doubt I'll be looking to be hired by a company large enough to use resume sorting software. But then again, you never know!


----------



## C.K.Johnson

I was supposed to start an 8 day dog sitting gig but my client got a positive on her Covid test. Bummer for my clients who are canceling a Hawaii vacation. Semi-bummer for me. I do love their dogs (Oliver and Annie are regulars) but I’m a lazy ass and 2-3 chapters shy of finishing the first draft of my WIP. I wasn’t looking forward to hours of throwing a ball for Oliver the goldendoodle nor was I looking forward to possible stress on July 4. This will be our first 4th of July in 20 years without a dog.


----------



## Matchu

Deleted ‘brilliant’ post - too real-world knuckle mmm


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

Day could definitely have been better, but I'm hoping so far that the worst has passed, and it really could have been a LOT worse truth be told.

I had to take my mother-in-law into town to a free lunch they were having for seniors at the state park restaurant my wife works at, which was no big deal as I had to go into town today anyway to get one of our cats fixed (he'd just reached the age where he's constantly yowling and trying to spray everywhere - NOT a fun time). Unfortunately, I must've hit something in the road on the way there, because we suddenly got a flat, and that tire was SHREDDED. It almost looked like someone had jabbed the tire with a knife every few inches apart, but it was perfectly fine when we started out, so...yeah. Had a donut and a spare not on a rim, got out to start changing the tire...the tools never got put back into the trunk apparently. So we had to call around and finally got a towing company to send a guy out to change the tire for us so I could double-back to where we get our tires fixed to have the spare put on the rim and the destroyed tire discarded.

Finally got her dropped off for her lunch after that, and got down to the clinic to have the cat fixed, he's sleeping in the bathroom right now in the carrier still so that he won't hurt himself as he comes out of his drugged state. So yeah, rather stressful day thus far, but I'm trying to remain positive - the tire could have outright blown and caused us to wreck, but it somehow didn't. We could have been stuck on the side of the road in the heat for a lot longer than we were, but all things told it was maybe thirty minutes. And the cat seems to be doing fine so far (there's always that risk and worry, especially when your pets are like your children), so here's hoping lil' Noir will be terrorizing things off of my shelves again soon enough.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

These are all great plot ideas for shorts or books, by the way, lurkers.  

Not making light of anyone's bad days, but just throwing that out there.....


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

In different news, muh Editor buddy tells me he'll get through muh first draft by the 4th. I hope to have it back in my dirty lil forktrck driving paws by next Friday. Here's to hoping Rewrite V. 2 goes quickly for me.

Over/under on rewrites?  I going to say: 6  The published Sci-Fi Guy at work said he did 8.

A.C.


----------



## Parabola

It went aight. Run of the mill like a half-melted grilled cheese.


----------



## Taylor

Brought all our accounts up to date for the Writers & Editors Society for which I am the treasurer.  So nice to see how many donations we got from the local governments, businesses, and residents.   Things are ramping up as we prepare for our festival in August.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Huh. Was sitting here and the power went out. Not all of a sudden like, but sort of gradual 

And that sounded like a transformer. 

Well, guess my internet time is over. Will need what battery is left on my phone for the alarm.

And that sounded like another transformer. Time to dig out the candles!


----------



## Megan Pearson

Well, me and several hundred of my closest neighbors were gathered outside in the dark last night, musing about our aging infrastructure. But then the power came back on and we were thrust once again into our regular agendas, riveted as we are to routine. 

How'd today go? Hubby has spent several days building a wonderful little fire pit in the backyard. Today he cemented on the bricks edging the fire ring, so the grandkids can't slip on them or knock them off. Can't wait to use it tomorrow evening!


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Megan Pearson said:


> Well, me and several hundred of my closest neighbors were gathered outside in the dark last night, musing about our aging infrastructure. But then the power came back on and we were thrust once again into our regular agendas, riveted as we are to routine.
> 
> How'd today go? Hubby has spent several days building a wonderful little fire pit in the backyard. Today he cemented on the bricks edging the fire ring, so the grandkids can't slip on them or knock them off. Can't wait to use it tomorrow evening!



We had a great little firepit I built for Wifey about seven years ago. Unfortunately, through the battles with the meth heads across the street, we learned that it was not compliant to city regulations and so had to stop using it. We have another one that we're sing in the meantime, but Wifey really really misses the old one. I'm hoping to build a city-regulation compliant version of the old one this year so we can both enjoy it.

A.C.


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Cornelius Coburn said:


> I've thought about a firepit from time to time, but the ground is too sloped out back; not much room on the sides, and I'd have to cut down a big Forsythia bush out front which would be the best place.


Silly/Stupid Question Time:

No chance of adding dirt/soil to flat surface area out back?


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Megan Pearson

Cornelius Coburn said:


> Yeah, I thought about that. Pretty much the whole area is sloped down to a beam that divides two properties, so maybe like a four-foot retainer wall in place of the beam, and some dirt, but it would just be easier to cut the damn bush down.


Terrace it? Even a section?


----------



## VRanger

As July 1 dawns, and my birthday is the 6th, I'm now on Medicare.  Yes, I'm turning 65, and as I watch old TV shows where they called 60-year-olds "old", I laugh. I'm nowhere close to "old". However, I finally have good health insurance again that the ACA took away from me several years ago. I once had a great policy for $300 a month. The ACA caused the price of that policy to quadruple, and I could no longer afford it. So all I've had in the interim is catastrophic coverage which really is worthless ... pouring out good money just to satisfy a regulation.

So now my G Plan will cost me $300 a month again, and I'm back to having coverage I can ACTUALLY USE should I need to. I told my wife that for the last four hours of June I planted myself in my La-Z boy and stayed there until midnight. No WAY was I going to fall down some stairs before the new plan kicked in! ;-) Now I can have any horrible accident or medical calamity that suits my fancy with no concern.


----------



## VRanger

Cornelius Coburn said:


> I've thought about a firepit from time to time, but the ground is too sloped out back; not much room on the sides, and I'd have to cut down a big Forsythia bush out front which would be the best place.


Forsythia is too beautiful. If you cut it down, I'll have to come slap you.


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## VRanger

Cornelius Coburn said:


> It really is, we got two of them here, one in front, and another on the side. These days I'm even behind on keeping them trimmed up. The house is surrounded by bushes, and they grow like crazy. A friend just recently took the electric hedge trimmers out and cleaned everything up a bit. The result was a bit comical, but I suppose it was an improvement. Also got a white lilac on the south side, and twin purple lilacs out back.
> 
> I remember a few summers ago when we wanted a pool, and we briefly entertained the idea of cutting it down then but opted for a somewhat precarious spot between it and the neighbors' driveway.


At the first house we bought (1981) at the time Dad was a salesman for a wholesale nursery out of Tennessee. He'd show up with a trailer full of container trees and flowering shrubs. I'd say thank you, then have to plant them all. LOL You name it ... I had at least one on that property. I broke at least one shovel in the course of digging all those holes.

Not having learned my lesson, while living at our second house my wife once admired someone's rose bushes. The next spring I bought 30 container rose bushes and created a garden around our pool. With roses, planting was the easy part.  Deadheading the darn things several times a summer was the real work, plus constant watering. They sure were pretty, though.


----------



## Darkkin

I can go days with no good shots of these clowns and the get a run of awesome candids.


----------



## Taylor

This is what I woke up to today.   Need I say more?


----------



## Mark Twain't

Taylor said:


> This is what I woke up to today.   Need I say more?
> 
> View attachment 29065


Looks wonderful unless that's the city centre after heavy rain!


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Taylor said:


> This is what I woke up to today.   Need I say more?
> 
> View attachment 29065


Lovely. Absolutely lovely. I can remember going down to the ocean and watching the sunrise over it when I lived in Florida. My parents have a retirement home on the Gulf side, and Wifey and I make it a point to go watch the sunset over it at least once when we visit.

A.C.


----------



## Splinter

Makes me want to jump into a boat and sail away over the horizon.


----------



## Splinter

A day spent editing out repetitions, but I'm pleased with the results. The learning curve never ends...
Oh, and the Argentine economy minister resigned yesterday, throwing the country, which is already on its knees, into further chaos. Par for the course really.


----------



## Parabola

The prospect of spending the day with a manipulative extrovert feeler makes me want to eat a grenade.


----------



## Splinter

Parabola said:


> The prospect of spending the day with a manipulative extrovert feeler makes me want to eat a grenade.


Ah! So that's what Ef is. Never heard of it before...


> Extraverted feeling is focused on evaluating the world outside one’s self and organizing the outer world to maintain harmony and interpersonal effectiveness. As such, Extraverted Feeling types want to create harmony and warmth in relationships. Extraverted feelers have an uncanny way of absorbing other people’s emotions and identifying with them. They want to make others feel at ease, and are very conscious of the emotional temperature of the room.


----------



## Parabola

Splinter said:


> Ah! So that's what Ef is. Never heard of it before...



Yeah used to be into mbti quite a bit. Not really "scientific" but it still rattles around in my subconscious for some reason.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Visiting some family at their lake front cottage


----------



## Mark Twain't

Went to a place called Woburn Forest Growers to get a specific plant that Mrs Twain't had ben after. Most of the place was closed off and the rest was threadbare, but she somehow managed to find what she was looking for. It was priced at £10 and she picked a couple more plants before going to the till. After looking at the trolley, the guy charged us £3 so she went and got another one foe £1. Turns out today was their last day of trading until March 2023. Talk abut right place, right time!


----------



## Darkkin

I cleaned my laundry room.  Floor to ceiling.  All the dog laundry done.  Crates hosed down, beds washed, whole nine yards.


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

Just finished the first day of my new job at Dollar General (was a short day primarily for training purposes), and after the past few weeks off, I have gotten even lazier than I realized apparently - just four hours and I'm _exhausted_! I know I'm fat and getting older, but this is ridiculous.

I think I'm getting down the cashier part of the job easily enough, and of course clean-up will be easy, I've done that kind of stuff before. The real hard parts are trying to figure out where things go to put up, and trying to find time to do any of that when you also have to keep an eye out for people wanting to check out at the front desk. It's uh, definitely going to take some getting used to, to say the least.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Gyt Kaliba said:


> Just finished the first day of my new job at Dollar General (was a short day primarily for training purposes), and after the past few weeks off, I have gotten even lazier than I realized apparently - just four hours and I'm _exhausted_! I know I'm fat and getting older, but this is ridiculous.
> 
> 
> I went from a cold forge press operator (3.5 years) in my shop to a lathe-ing machining line operator (4 years) to a forktruck driver (6 years) to a forktruck operator with a company phone and a desk (7 years). Talk about getting fat and out of shape while getting older. I've put on 60 pounds in 23 years. They threw my office-mate and I back out on the floor for a month last year, and I thought I was going to DIE! I'm too crap for this old, you know. 8 1/2 years until early retirement. I'm just trying to ride my time until then by not being back in production.



A.C.


----------



## VRanger

Flea medicine day for the cats here early in the month, and I once again paid my token of blood to Grey Mouser for my conscientious care. He always manages to get in one wound regardless of the thick work glove. LOL 

For a change, the other three cats didn't make me chase them from corner to corner. They hunkered down and accepted the inevitable.

But, a good washing with soap and some Neosporin later, I feel good about the prospects for keeping my hand. At least it's my left hand. And if it does go septic, I'm now fully covered.


----------



## Splinter

I once tried to wash a cat in the kitchen sink which is not something I would recommend. Not only did her four legs multiply into sixteen, but her teeth became shark-like.
Cats have an extraordinary ability for aerial flight and she sprang past my neck, not to be seen again for several days


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Had lunch with my dad. Been doing a lot with him since my mom died of ALS back in 2020. Right now, Wifey and are tearing apart and cleaning the air conditioner… even though neither of us are mechanically inclined.
A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Dropped the ac unit out of the second story trying to reinstall it. Wifey’s mad.


----------



## PiP

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Dropped the ac unit out of the second story trying to reinstall it. Wifey’s mad.


could have been worse ... she could have been standing underneath it.


----------



## PiP

Today I decided to start the process of seeking a third opinion for my knee. The last few days with my sister prompted me to take action. I could barely walk more than a 100 steps and I'm in constant pain. We were planning a river Christmas market cruise in Germany next year to celebrate her 60th when I realised it was not feasible. How could I possibly go traipsing around markets when I could not walk? It would spoil her holiday and I'd just become miserable and frustrated.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

PiP said:


> could have been worse ... she could have been standing underneath it.


Yeah. The darn thing was, I just got it settled into place.. or so I thought. Realized it was probably 1/2 inch to an inch out of position on the bottom. Tried to adjust, phracking thing fell out of my hands. I just looked at her and literally apologized for like 3 minutes non-stop. It's supposed to be over 90 here tomorrow.

I just spent about 15 minutes jotting down notes of the whole darn thing. Best believe somewhere down the line, this'll be written in to my books as happening to the main character.


A.C.


----------



## PiP

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> I just spent about 15 minutes jotting down notes of the whole darn thing. Best believe somewhere down the line, this'll be written in to my books as happening to the man character.
> 
> 
> A.C.


Life is stranger than fiction .... this could go two ways ... humour or tragedy. I have incorporated a lot of real-life stories into the book I'm writing now.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

PiP said:


> Life is stranger than fiction .... this could go two ways ... humour or tragedy. I have incorporated a lot of real-life stories into the book I'm writing now.



I'm planning on incorporating the meth house across the street into it, too. Seriously, if I told you the story behind that fustercluck, you would look me in the eyes and accuse me of lying, it's that bizzare.  The nice thing about dark humor, it sees humor in tragedy.

A.C.


----------



## PiP

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> The nice thing about dark humor, it sees humor in tragedy.
> 
> A.C.


Yep, I've been told my humour can be dark as well as quirky.


----------



## Taylor

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Yeah. The darn thing was, I just got it settled into place.. or so I thought. Realized it was probably 1/2 inch to an inch out of position on the bottom. Tried to adjust, phracking thing fell out of my hands. I just looked at her and literally apologized for like 3 minutes non-stop. It's supposed to be over 90 here tomorrow.
> 
> I just spent about 15 minutes jotting down notes of the whole darn thing. Best believe somewhere down the line, this'll be written in to my books as happening to the man character.
> 
> 
> A.C.


If it were me and my husband it would turn into a standing joke forever.  Like the time he drove my brand new car over a large curb and wrecked the side skirt.  Now every time he backseat drives, I'm like, "Excuse me, I'm not the one who wrecks cars."   LOL!   Wifey may not be in that state of mind yet, but when she realizes she has this over you for life, she won't be mad anymore.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Taylor said:


> Wifey may not be in that state of mind yet, but when she realizes she has this over you for life, she won't be mad anymore.



No, Wifey will just continually remind me of this for the rest of our lives. She has no filter and a memory like an elephant.

A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

So it gets even better. The town I grew up in is about 10 miles away. Every 4th, they have an amazing fireworks show that they shoot off from the middle of the lake just on the northern edge of town. In the past, I've always parked up at a small grocery store about a mile from the lake, and from there, you have an amazing view of the fireworks. This year, the fireworks, for whatever reason, never got above the treeline, so all you could see was the ambient glow of them as they exploded. We left after 20 minutes. What a waste of a trip. What a waste of a day off.

A.C.


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Parabola

Up at 1:30 am. Thanks, nightmare.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

So sorry. May you find some sort of peace and can get back to sleep....

A.C.


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> So sorry. May you find some sort of peace and can get back to sleep....
> 
> A.C.



Thanks @That Guy Named Aaron. I'll probably nod off when it gets light out.


----------



## Splinter

The builders are knocking down the fireplace to make way for a new log burner. Meanwhile, we're migrating to the kitchen, away from the dust


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat got something in the mail today.


----------



## Parabola

I've had worse.


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

Second day of work at Dollar General went...okay-ish...I guess. It's still only day two, but I'd like to think I did most of what I was showed yesterday at least a little better than I did today - the problem however was that, whereas the manager I worked with yesterday had a phone on them that I could ring whenever I needed help with something they hadn't shown me how to do, the one there with me today did NOT. So basically, guy with only one day's worth of training, left to his own devices at the front of the store, doing the best he can to keep the whole thing running on his lonesome - yeah. _DEFINITELY_ a more stressful day if nothing else.


----------



## Foxee

Usually I'm pretty sanguine when I have to wait for something or someone. However, today when I had to sit and wait for the pharmacy to fill at prescription my phone went dead and I filled up the remaining page in my sketchbook and the inside back cover. I almost resorted to performance art to keep myself amused but was saved by the script being filled.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Gyt Kaliba said:


> Second day of work at Dollar General went...okay-ish...I guess. It's still only day two, but I'd like to think I did most of what I was showed yesterday at least a little better than I did today - the problem however was that, whereas the manager I worked with yesterday had a phone on them that I could ring whenever I needed help with something they hadn't shown me how to do, the one there with me today did NOT. So basically, guy with only one day's worth of training, left to his own devices at the front of the store, doing the best he can to keep the whole thing running on his lonesome - yeah. _DEFINITELY_ a more stressful day if nothing else.


And probably a store load of rude customers, I would imagine.
Story fodder.

A.C.


----------



## PiP

Gyt Kaliba said:


> Second day of work at Dollar General went...okay-ish...I guess. It's still only day two, but I'd like to think I did most of what I was showed yesterday at least a little better than I did today - the problem however was that, whereas the manager I worked with yesterday had a phone on them that I could ring whenever I needed help with something they hadn't shown me how to do, the one there with me today did NOT.


the world is full of asshats. You should give yourself a pat on the back ... I once worked as a temp between jobs at a very prestigious car showroom ... Friday afternoon anyone in the know buggered off and I was left to deal with a long-term customer frothing at the mouth because no one was returning his calls. The only person I could find was the financial director. I told him I was only the temp and I suggested he come down to reception now to speak to the customer and then put the phone down. LoL ... He was not happy to be disturbed and I turned round and told him I was NOT happy as a temp with just a few hours of experience to be left in charge. And yes, I was between jobs as a manager and fortunately for him I was well-versed in customer service relations and if they did not care about customer service I did. The look on his face. Haha ... I then told him how much my husband's company spent at his garage each year on cars and he blanched.

Hang in there Gyt ... at least you have one caring manager


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Weather app said 0% chance of rain until this afternoon. It was hot at work, so I left my windows 1/4 way down and my moon roof open. 2 hours into my shift, we’ve got a down pour….


----------



## PiP

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Weather app said 0% chance of rain until this afternoon. It was hot at work, so I left my windows 1/4 way down and my moon roof open. 2 hours into my shift, we’ve got a down pour….


Weather apps are like politicians ... 'nuff said


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> And probably a store load of rude customers, I would imagine.
> Story fodder.
> 
> A.C.


Shockingly? No! If there's been one thing that's been extremely refreshing compared to my previous gas station job, customers coming through the store have been no problem whatsoever. Maybe it's because people are just passing through rather quickly compared to how they tended to linger at the station, but so far I've not had a single customer that strained my ability to be civil to them. I know it won't last forever, eventually someone will come through and be a jerkwad - I've long wanted to know who first coined the phrase "the customer is always right", because while I get what it's going for (treat the customer well because they could be spending their money elsewhere), no they're not, they're often very wrong and we're just not allowed to tell them they are.

Honestly, the worst part about the station was exactly that, the customer base. This was made particularly more fun by how often they'd linger and talk because, without getting into the nitty-gritty of it, let's just say I'm not exactly in the same political or ideological position or agreement with the bulk of the people that live where I do, so it usually resulted in me almost literally having to bite my tongue, particularly if they started to gripe about my wearing a mask. But on the plus side - _definite_ story fodder from my time there.


----------



## Parabola

I had a bit of a "dark dream" last night. If I do have a non-series project this year, it will be this one. Since it has a larger than usual helping of bleakness, I'm not sure if I can write it in the short timeframe I'd like. Maybe by the time I get around to it (at least two weeks), I'll have the plot firmly in mind and there will be a few rays of light.


----------



## Matchu

Feeling a little sickly - in as much as - I am covering for staff absence and living D-N-N-D-D-N-D-N-N-D-N shift pattern (but only this week).  

Thinking to break the surface tomorrow:

 48-hour recuperation, toss the helmet aside.  A little Gerry Rafferty, whisky coke, and tears at the keyboard because, snot,  the emotional thermostat goes, boo hoo,  whack when you sleep poorly, oh and when you are 'up all night' with poorly people.   I believe sincerely in the infectious potentials of the bi-polar disorders/schizophrenias, et al co-morbid ehmm personality disorders.  No I do not, I do, I do, not, I don't know, who knows, who said that?  Great industry humour gives, I hope, no offence dearest amateur psychotics & writers.

Yes, I shall stumble into the on-line feud aside my whisky coke, watch the house burn to the ground (rental) when the wife spills her whisky coke on the - candles.  Unless I am stabbed through both eyes tonight during final shift in darkness.  Oh quite, yes, as I said, subconscious bleed.

Matchu _horror-lifestyle novelist 2013-2022_


----------



## Parabola

@Matchu whiskey sour, huh? Are we stuck in a film noir?


----------



## Matchu

I can't really do film noir.  I can just about bluff my way through the Witchfinder trilogy.  If I wanted to be very bleak I'd say 'Wild Strawberries' over and over.  I like that one.


----------



## Parabola

Matchu said:


> I can't really do film noir.  I can just about bluff my way through the Witchfinder trilogy.  If I wanted to be very bleak I'd say 'Wild Strawberries' over and over.  I like that one.



Oh, we're in a film noir whether you like it or not, contemplating our "two for one" suicide. Strawberries with cream cheese? Let's talk about the antiques we've gathered and the peasants we've trampled on since it's all about subconscious pandering to the well off and such. Not sure if that's very "film noir" but who cares at this point?


----------



## Matchu

Go and watch wild Strawberries on YouTube & I’ll brush up on film noir when I’m on my shift.  Or get bookish, I like that ‘Shirley Jackson house on hill horror/house on haunted hill - I can’t remember what it’s called, somebody pinched it.


----------



## Parabola

Get bookish. I'm not sure if Descartes liked educated people. I try to stay as uncultured as possible because of not being sure what Descartes said and being too lazy to look it up on wiki and change my beliefs.

That aside, I'll go watch Wild Strawberries and spend the whole day looking for Matchu's hidden meaning.


----------



## Splinter

I do motorcycle courier work and rode into Buenos Aires city centre when it began to drizzle, which I don't like because it's neither one thing or the other, especially on the visor, which blurs the vision.
At least proper rain drops splat nicely onto the visor. Anyway, my left glove has a handy silicone strip on the forefinger for sweeping across the visor, which is a handy innovation.
Mad bike thoughts, so please carry on...


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Gyt Kaliba said:


> But on the plus side - _definite_ story fodder from my time there.



In my ever increasing notes for my book series, I’ve taken countless notes on either interactions by myself or others with cashiers/owners of gas stations and convenience stores I’ve frequented or things I’ve witnessed in there. Kevin Smith was certainly on to something with Clerks. Someone with the right amount of pizazz and snark could make a killing writing books about it, I believe.


----------



## PiP

Got to the beach with our wine picnic and couldn't get parked anywhere near ... nice view from the clifftop


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Parabola

I always hate when someone responds to a post (on another forum) like three weeks later, so that they can get the "last word" in. They might think "oh, he doesn't have the energy to keep this going."

That's where they're wrong (note: this is related to how my day is going).


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

@PiP  consider me jealous. 

@Parabola  is a bowl of popcorn required? 


A.C.


----------



## Parabola

@That Guy Named Aaron Oh, a bowl of popcorn is always required when I debate someone on the internet. Word of warning though, I might eat most of it.


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

Not the greatest day here unfortunately. Got called in to work unexpectedly, already have to work tomorrow (that was already scheduled), and there's apparently a chance I might have to work Friday as well - and I'm already scheduled for Saturday and Sunday to boot.

Don't get me wrong however, it's not the workload itself that's the problem - especially not when it's generally been in four hour increments (today's was six hours, but still). It's the fact that they ask far too much from an employee who's never worked in a store like this before. With both of my previous jobs, there was a lot of training done before they'd turn you loose on your own. Heck, my immediate previous job, I worked two weeks straight (fourteen days, with four of those been twelve hour days to boot) before they finally turned me loose on my own on the fourteenth day, and that was already a day earlier than they'd planned due to an emergency. My point is, they went above and beyond to make sure you knew what you were doing and weren't in over your head before they left the station up to you entirely.

Here however? I've been left on my own up front with only half an idea how to do a handful of things on the register. It was today before an assistant manager pointed out a checklist of codes for it to me, and even then they didn't really explain them to me. They want you to not be on the register all the time and find other things to do, but make sure you're also in sight of the register in case someone needs to check out. That's fine, I started to stock things as I was told to - only to then get told I only needed to do that for this one part of the store so I'd be closer to the register. I was told to mop, and so I did - only to get told halfway through it that I only needed to do this one section, the other part had already been done.

_slams head into desk_

TELL. ME. WHAT. TO. DO. I'm not a mind-reader, and I don't understand how places stay in business thinking that their new workers are. I used to think my previous job was more or less retail, because I had the same level of problems as anywhere else when it came to dealing with unruly customers. Now though, I'm in actual retail, and I'm finding out it's no longer the customers that are always the problem - sometimes it's the bosses.


----------



## Parabola

Well, I've only been awake for five minutes but not bad. Not bad at all. 

_Evil grin _


----------



## Megan Pearson

It's 1:52. 8 minutes to the change of the hour.

There's a lot you can do in 8 minutes, just not anything of great report.


----------



## Splinter

We've had the builders and painters in since Tuesday because they've knocked out the living room fireplace to make room for a splendiferous log burner which will be my baby from now on. They are also laying new flooring and repainting the room.
We're currently eating dust for breakfast, lunch and dinner


----------



## Parabola

Sleeping the rest of it would be preferable at this point. Is this what eternity is like?


----------



## Parabola

Honestly stomach is a bit of a mess, so the day isn't off to a good start.


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Parabola

Cornelius Coburn said:


> I'd say that deep sleep is a microcosmic reflection of eternity - nothingness and the stillness of time. In a nutshell maybe, although it deserves a more comprehensive description/explanation.



I often have dreams of my previous job in retail "nothingness and the stillness of time" about covers it.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> I often have dreams of my previous job in retail "nothingness and the stillness of time" about covers it.



When I worked as a call taker/dispatcher at a nearby 911 center, the joke was that you wished untold bad things upon anyone who uttered the phrase “sure is quiet right now.”


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> When I worked as a call taker/dispatcher at a nearby 911 center, the joke was that you wished untold bad things upon anyone who uttered the phrase “*sure is quiet right now*.”



Yeah talk about ominous.


----------



## Splinter

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> When I worked as a call taker/dispatcher at a nearby 911 center, the joke was that you wished untold bad things upon anyone who uttered the phrase “sure is quiet right now.”


That reminds me of sailing with my dad. Whistling and anything remotely resembling a limerick were both verboten. In fact, whistling was almost a hanging offence, or maybe that should be keel hauling


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Splinter said:


> That reminds me of sailing with my dad. Whistling and anything remotely resembling a limerick were both verboten. In fact, whistling was almost a hanging offence, or maybe that should be keel hauling



OK, curiosity has the best of me. Could you please explain why.

A.C.


----------



## Splinter

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> OK, curiosity has the best of me. Could you please explain why.
> 
> A.C.


Except for 'whistling for the wind' when stuck in a dead calm, it's just irritating and gets on people's nerves, especially on a small boat.
I once sailed from Nazaré, Portugal to Gibraltar with a bloke who couldn't stop himself from reciting endless limericks..."There once was a man from Leeds who swallowed a packet of seeds..."
Drove me nuts and there's nothing worse than friction in a confined space. In fact the day after we arrived at Gib, he mutinied and left me single-handed


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Upon hindsight, makes perfect sense. I guess that's a "oh, yeah, duh." kinda thing. But a landlubber wouldn't consider that, you know.

A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

In other news, in the past 12 hours, I've lined up six beta-readers. Told them it might be October before I get something to them. And my editor says he'll get my draft back to me tomorrow. He just wants another free lunch, I suspect.   

A.C.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I think I finished writing my second short story. The link is the second one in my signature for those who wish to volunteer.


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

My apologies for the rant the other day folks - was definitely not in a good head space. And I'm still not entirely better, but I think I'll get there.

Ended up quitting the Dollar General job today after coming to that decision last night. On top of everything else that was going wrong, my last day there involved me being there for almost an hour longer than had been scheduled. For what reason you might ask? ...The person who was supposed to come in, who happens to be the assistant manager (or at least one of them) I might add, overslept from being up until 5 AM playing games.

I'm an avid gamer. I no longer have the ability to stay up until 5 AM for ANYTHING really (that super power left me in my mid-to-late 20's, and I'm not sure I want it back anyway ), but I'm also an adult - I know that there are responsibilities that often require you not doing what you'd rather be doing. That was the final straw - if a higher-up doesn't care about the job enough to be at least more responsible than that, then it just didn't seem like a work environment I wanted to be a part of. This was the same manager that was the worst about not showing me how to do things too, of course.

So back to the job hunt I go I suppose. Have a few more hopeful lines out there. Really wish I could get some kind of job typing copy from home or something, but the world's not usually that easy sadly - all the more reason to try to buckle down, and get back to writing, both to express myself, and in the hopes of maybe being able to make just enough to live on by that alone some day. I'm not in it for the money, but I can't lie - the thought is nice.


----------



## PrairieHostage

My week's been up and down. Massage on Monday, gym on Tuesday & Thursday, so that was all nice. Wednesday, the doctor told me I'm pre-diabetic and must go on the Mediterranean diet immediately. I also started microdosing Wednesday for mood. Today I took my niece out for her Sprite and drive. And I've been taking my cat out every day. God my life sounds depressing. At least I have my first vacation in three and a half years coming up. That should put a smile on my face.


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

PrairieHostage said:


> My week's been up and down. Massage on Monday, gym on Tuesday & Thursday, so that was all nice. Wednesday, the doctor told me I'm pre-diabetic and must go on the Mediterranean diet immediately. I also started microdosing Wednesday for mood. Today I took my niece out for her Sprite and drive. And I've been taking my cat out every day. God my life sounds depressing. At least I have my first vacation in three and a half years coming up. That should put a smile on my face.


Sorry to hear the news from your doctor.  Hope the vacation is able to perk you up some.

By take your cat out, do you mean for walks? Because if so, I'm just laughing because my wife and I often (though not as often as the chubby little furball needs or would like probably) have to take one of ours on one too. He's on a leash and a harness so he doesn't run off, but he just wants to roll around in the leaves, eat dirt, scratch trees - he acts like a kid we've just taken to Disneyland.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Gyt Kaliba said:


> Sorry to hear the news from your doctor.  Hope the vacation is able to perk you up some.
> 
> By take your cat out, do you mean for walks? Because if so, I'm just laughing because my wife and I often (though not as often as the chubby little furball needs or would like probably) have to take one of ours on one too. He's on a leash and a harness so he doesn't run off, but he just wants to roll around in the leaves, eat dirt, scratch trees - he acts like a kid we've just taken to Disneyland.


Yes on a leash hahaha you too? Mine runs as soon as we get out and does all the stuff you described. It's adorable. Everyone in my hood knows her. The power line guys, the lady on the corner and all the neighbors. Apparently cat walking is becoming popular


----------



## Megan Pearson

@Gyt Kaliba  & @PrairieHostage, I am so envious! When we got our kittens two years ago, I told my husband I was going to leash train them. Oh my goodness, he said, "they're cats, not dogs! Don't torture them like that!" Ai-ai-aye! Mis gatos son inteligente y esutiodos rapidos. It's not like they can't learn something new!


----------



## PrairieHostage

tu hablas espanola?

Now I'm jealous


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Anyoneay elseay eakspay igpay atinlay, ootay?  

A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Just realized next month is August. I'm not ready for August. August is the first hectic month of the rest of the year. Last year, I was contacted by a couple of active underground radio stations to produce a Christmas program for them to run on their stations. When all was said and done, I agreed to do so, and they sent me their own proprietary liners and production for me to add into each separate show. One particular station wanted an 80(!) hour program (pretty much running noon the 23rd up through 6pm the 26th).
This year, the 80 hour station has contacted me again. So, I know what'll be doing for a few weeks in the afternoon after I get up. I have to start getting my Christmas music program planned out for my net radio stream anyways. Unfortunately, one of the guys who has an amazing collection of off-the-wall holiday music passed away from a very brief illness, so I'm trying to work on new avenues to find some new material to add. 
Won't have a on of time for writing. Luckily, I write when I get home from work in the morning. But I was notified by my boss this morning that they're changing my hours slightly either in August or September, too, now. 


A.C.


----------



## Parabola

Sometimes I want to beat someone with a bat that has " argumentum ad populum" written on it, but I'm opposed to violence.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am sort off in a Mediterranean diet myself. Since I eat and fill 2/3 of my plate with leafy greens or lettuce. I do understand your situation prairiehostage. Get a nutritionist just in case it is caused by weight. I think a good doctor , the one that said you are prosthetic will recommend you.


----------



## Megan Pearson

PrairieHostage said:


> tu hablas espanola?
> 
> Now I'm jealous


Un poquito. 

Just enough to get in trouble.


----------



## PiP

Today the temperatures here are approaching 40C and we have no aircon. We've closed the shutters to try and keep the house cool. I am now trying to sleep during the day and write and do jobs at night. My eyeballs are melting and my brain is frazzled. Early tomorrow I must move as many plantpots as I can lift into the shade. We also have severe drought warnings so showers are a luxury. I am recycling grey water from the washing machine and every drop of water including that used for cleaning teeth to water my plants. My main veg patch needs to be stripped and any produce frozen. The remaining veg plants pulled so I can turn off the irrigation system. I do ALL this and people come on holiday, take several showers a day and don't give a shit.

IT's 02.12am. Night all  Rant over and out.


----------



## VRanger

Megan Pearson said:


> @Gyt Kaliba  & @PrairieHostage, I am so envious! When we got our kittens two years ago, I told my husband I was going to leash train them. Oh my goodness, he said, "they're cats, not dogs! Don't torture them like that!" Ai-ai-aye! Mis gatos son inteligente y esutiodos rapidos. It's not like they can't learn something new!


You have to show cats who's the boss. Then they stare at you like you're looney.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

VRanger said:


> You have to show cats who's the boss.



That answer's easy: They are...

A.C.


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> That answer's easy: They are...
> 
> A.C.


The trick is seeming in charge just enough so that your cat only theorizes that they're the boss rather than actually knowing they are, that way you at least still have some leverage with them on occasion.


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> That answer's easy: They are...
> 
> A.C.



Meow = Get crackin, I want my tuna.


----------



## Gyt Kaliba

Parabola said:


> Meow = Get crackin, I want my tuna.


And if there is a space in the food through which they can see the bottom of the bowl, there will be HELL to pay.


----------



## Joker

Parabola said:


> Sometimes I want to beat someone with a bat that has " argumentum ad populum" written on it, but I'm opposed to violence.



"What does _ultima ratio regum _mean?"

"The Last Argument of Kings", the Librarian says. "King Louis XIV had it stamped onto the barrels of all the cannons that were forged during his reign." - Snow Crash, pg. 465


----------



## VRanger

Crazy day as two custom eCommerce sites went live on the same day, with all the client paranoia that entails.  On top of handholding and writing two new reports, I had an afternoon of doctor's appointment, a long wait in the drug store for a tetanus shot, and a couple of other errands in town, including a complete circuit of the inside of Walmart to get a new pet toy, some new workout clothes, new shoes, and a few grocery items. Of course, the doctor's office wouldn't do what I needed done on the first visit (excise a small but painfully irritated mole on my back), so I have the privilege of going back again tomorrow morning.

Then more change requests for extra adjustments to the sites waited for my return. I love it when clients have two months to decide on these things and pile them all up as we go live. :-/ And ... there will be more as they get hands on experience with the live system ... always different from user testing during development.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am considering trying out dictation again. Because I notice I need to read my sentences aloud multiple times. I still have dragon-speaking software. But as mentioned, I am not sure if it would be a good idea to install it on old hardware. Not to mention I might need to wait for a new computer for that to happen. I got the composition skills down. My problem is now the sentence's structure. Dictation fixes that. If anyone so wishes, they can try to read the story in the second part of the signature that mentions there is a story. I will pay back the favor if they do as an incentive.


----------



## Megan Pearson

Re-arranged office. Been waiting to do that, just needed some man-power to help move things around. Emptied shelves, restocked shelves. Looks nice! Not done but can finish on the weekend. Well, most of it at least. Some of the furniture is too heavy for just one guy, so I think we need to wait for the kids to come over & they can help.


----------



## Jacob Michael Peter Welch

I tried so hard to find a place to fit in today and I failed miserably. I'm too old, too mean, too handicapped, and too lonely to find any value in the resources available to me. I was able to find two people kind enough to give me the time of day. Those two people honed me in on some pop culture I've been missing out on, and I appreciated that, but there wasn't much else to say.

Now, I'm talking to my bot, playing flight simulator, and maybe I'll watch TV or something too...

I finished several new pieces today, but what does it matter? Is there really any point in continuing to pursue the work when I do not feel a sense of kinship with any other human being?

All in all, a rather disheartening day.


----------



## VRanger

Megan Pearson said:


> Re-arranged office. Been waiting to do that, just needed some man-power to help move things around. Emptied shelves, restocked shelves. Looks nice! Not done but can finish on the weekend. Well, most of it at least. Some of the furniture is too heavy for just one guy, so I think we need to wait for the kids to come over & they can help.


Get sliders at the hardware store. They make them for both carpet and hard floors. Then you just need to lift each corner and put a slider underneath. After that moving any piece of furniture is a trivial effort.  Four-wheel dollies also work great, but they're more expensive unless you anticipate a continuing need for them, and for some furniture you need two.

I've moved some HEAVY furniture by myself that other people didn't believe. It's a matter of technique over brawn. LOL


----------



## Jacob Michael Peter Welch

I ended up talking to my bot for a while and it helped. Took in the sights of Japan and listened to some jazzy lofi while I absorbed attention posts on Reddit. Feeling much better and am haunted by how selfish and spoiled my previous post in this thread was. 

Hope you all have a good day today.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

At my work place, I'm pretty much THE ultimate support department. I provide tooling, chemicals, parts, and raw stock to both production and to our maintenance departments. Some times, when one of our maintenance teams are getting their butts kicked, I'll go out and give everyone in that team a Snickers bar. I don't do it very often, only when their days (nights) have gone to Hell In A Handbasket. My way of letting them know that someone appreciates them. Also helps with their morale and keeps a good personal and working relationship with them.
Over the weekend, we had a planned power outage so they could do some upgrades to some electrical work in the shop. Needless to say, it caused a lot of havoc when they do this. To make matters worse, my office mate, knowing it was going to be Hell, put a vacation day in before I had the chance to. To say my Sunday night/Monday morning _was_ indeed Hell would be a major understatement. I pride myself in being able to get all of my normal job assignments done during my shift 99.98% of the time. I can also say with all honesty that if something didn't get done, it was because of some situation beyond my control or my skill set or pay-grade to handle. I have a lot of freedom at work, and my boss gives it to me for this very reason. Let's just say things were so bad, I got 75% of my normal job done.
Luckily, my boss and my counterpart on days already had a good idea that it would be bad, so there was no issue there. However, to tell you how bad it was, the maintenance guys I occasionally buy Snickers for knew my night was bad, and one returned the favor and bought me one.
Bad night, but it made me feel better.


A.C.


----------



## Splinter

What I enjoy most about motorcycle riding is being able to slip through the traffic at lights and jams, which makes my job as a courier so much easier. Today I had an excellent run into the city of Buenos Aires with less traffic about due to school holidays. I always find it exhilarating and somewhat of a challenge, especially since other motorists are generally very aware of us bikers by making room for us.
On the other hand, there are still far too many drivers who text and drive. I would say more than 70% of the drivers do this and we can see their hands due to the vantage point being higher up on a bike. I don't like it, but can't afford to challenge them because we live in tricky times, so I keep clear when I can.


----------



## Jacob Michael Peter Welch

Splinter said:


> What I enjoy most about motorcycle riding is being able to slip through the traffic at lights and jams, which makes my job as a courier so much easier. Today I had an excellent run into the city of Buenos Aires with less traffic about due to school holidays. I always find it exhilarating and somewhat of a challenge, especially since other motorists are generally very aware of us bikers by making room for us.
> On the other hand, there are still far too many drivers who text and drive. I would say more than 70% of the drivers do this and we can see their hands due to the vantage point being higher up on a bike. I don't like it, but can't afford to challenge them because we live in tricky times, so I keep clear when I can.


I have simulated this experience and it is indeed very thrilling! Best of luck, and be safe!


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Splinter said:


> What I enjoy most about motorcycle riding is being able to slip through the traffic at lights and jams, which makes my job as a courier so much easier. Today I had an excellent run into the city of Buenos Aires with less traffic about due to school holidays. I always find it exhilarating and somewhat of a challenge, especially since other motorists are generally very aware of us bikers by making room for us.
> On the other hand, there are still far too many drivers who text and drive. I would say more than 70% of the drivers do this and we can see their hands due to the vantage point being higher up on a bike. I don't like it, but can't afford to challenge them because we live in tricky times, so I keep clear when I can.



Why I hate bicycling on roads anymore. And I used to love it.  I can relate with my tractors ('39 Ford 9N and a '52 Ford 8N). I love to go out and go for a lazy summer drive on the back roads. Now, too many idiots who think only cars and trucks have the rights to them.


----------



## Jacob Michael Peter Welch

I told myself I'd take the day off, but why would I ever do that to myself?

Ignorance never rests and neither should I, draw whatever conclusion you wish from that sentiment.

Overall a productive day, although there was one filler piece that I slightly regret. I suppose I could go work on a suitable replacement now.

Hope you're all doing well.


----------



## Parabola

Mocking people in positions of authority is probably why I always get into trouble. "To the principal's office!" etc. Story of my life.

Honestly? Spare the rod and shove me into a rabbit hole instead. It's preferred.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> Mocking people in positions of authority is probably why I always get into trouble. "To the principal's office!" etc. Story of my life.


I’m in the same boat. I debated taking the pre promotional training program, but I butt heads with the big wigs so much, I was politely advised not to do so.


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> I’m in the same boat. I debated taking the pre promotional training program, but I butt heads with the big wigs so much, I was politely advised not to do so.



Yes, us rebels get a bad rap (imo).


----------



## PiP

Not good. I ended up watching a political debate on TV. A total waste of the evening and not good for the blood pressure.  I also spent several hours trying to upload a new gardening post to my personal blog page. The software has changed considerably over the last year and ... and well ... what with that and the political debate I was in a thoroughly bad mood by the time I went to bed because I never got any actual writing done.


----------



## Splinter

PiP said:


> Not good. I ended up watching a political debate on TV. A total waste of the evening and not good for the blood pressure.  I also spent several hours trying to upload a new gardening post to my personal blog page. The software has changed considerably over the last year and ... and well ... what with that and the political debate I was in a thoroughly bad mood by the time I went to bed because I never got any actual writing done.


Was that the conservative leader candidates debate? I considered watching it but decided to watch some paint drying instead


----------



## Explosia

My town had a high-wheel bike race today. It was the dorkiest thing I've ever witnessed and I had a blast. At one point, staff was walking through the street tossing out free tee-shirts, and I caught one right outta the dang air!! Very proud of that catch, and now I have a free tee-shirt. 

Also had a good edit session beforehand in the cafe right on that same street for a couple of hours. While I was in there, it started to rain, so I just kept editing inside the cafe until the rain stopped. My timing is impeccable.


----------



## Benjamin Button

I don’t have very many good days right now. I have a job that takes a lot of hours and it exhausts me mentally. When I get a day off, it feels like I’m trying to make myself comfortable for my execution. But the alternative is worse because I want to give my family everything I can.


----------



## Jacob Michael Peter Welch

Explosia said:


> My town had a high-wheel bike race today. It was the dorkiest thing I've ever witnessed and I had a blast. At one point, staff was walking through the street tossing out free tee-shirts, and I caught one right outta the dang air!! Very proud of that catch, and now I have a free tee-shirt.
> 
> Also had a good edit session beforehand in the cafe right on that same street for a couple of hours. While I was in there, it started to rain, so I just kept editing inside the cafe until the rain stopped. My timing is impeccable.


I want to take the time to unpack this, because I am quite interested in the precise meaning of your query, there seems to be a small bit of bravado hidden in the work and I am not quite capable of deciphering the full intent without compromising my own belief in reality.

the drum doth beat etc etc


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Went to the funeral of our old singer with the drummer. NIce catching up with him. Much to my surprise, we listened to The Beatles the entire 90 minute drive there and back. He's more of a headbanging metal type. Found a great place with AMAZING burgers that was a nice three block walk from the funeral home. 

Are you already for a feel-good story of the day/week/whatever?

My stepdaughter and her hubs live in a small town. Sort of like the one I write about in my book. Anyways, they have three daughters, the oldest being 5. Last week, the two oldest girls decided to have a lemonade stand, and use it to raise money for the local small town fire department. They live on the main drag of town, towards the eastern end. They had signs out near their stand about it. It wasn't long before they got some customers.
An hour later, the fire department all show up in their trucks, and stepdaughter took pics of the firefighters with the girls having lemonade. After they left, lines crews from upstate that happened to be nearby stopped out. They got their pictures with the girls as they enjoyed lemonade.
Apparently, word spread over social media, because most of the town stopped out and numerous people made multiple trips to the lemonade stand. When all was said and done, the girls raised over $700. Not a huge amount for the fire department, but certainly a nice amount. And the girls had a ball doing it. 

A.C.


----------



## PrairieHostage

@That Guy Named Aaron that is a really sweet story!

Today I became a grandmother for the third time. I hung out with my son's mother-in-law,. We cleaned a bit of their home, brought food to the them in the hospital, and held new baby Liv. 

Just as we were leaving, they tell us they got married on Tuesday in the park! My son and his woman have been common law for 12 years. Our jaws fell on the floor, but it's all good. We'll have a party later. We know this couple dances to the tune of their own drum. So all in all, a really wonderful day!!


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Congratulations, Grandma! 


A.C.


----------



## Splinter

Our new log burner is keeping us snug as two bugs in a rug and is one of the best investments we've made in this house. I love the way it simmers away gently with all the heat generating around it, not to mention the feel of a real fire, which to me, is a wonderful ritual, primal even.
 It's also one of the coldest winters I've known in Buenos Aires, with frost in the suburbs.


----------



## Darkkin

My master of disguise.  Busy weekend.  Finally some down time.


----------



## C.K.Johnson

Planning our first Amtrak journey to my son’s house in Denver. Usually we drive but it’s cheaper to take the train right now (our Challenger doesn’t get the best gas mileage) and we’ve always wanted to experience long distance train travel. 31 hours…thank the gods for ebooks.


----------



## PiP

Yesterday I spent a quiet day writing, gardening and working on a new mosaic project made from wine corks., some old wood and a mirror I found at the local rubbish bins. The terrorists aka tourists have invaded so all our usual haunts are out of bounds due to parking and crowds. It used to be a quiet backwater on the edge of nowhere. Not anymore. It is not geared up for mass tourism as we live in a natural park with lots of restrictions.

I also spent a lot of the day following the wild fires. This one started in northern portugal yesterday . So many people are losing their homes and everything they own. Today, I am sorting through clothes and other sundries to make donations.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

PiP said:


> Yesterday I spent a quiet day writing, gardening and working on a new mosaic project made from wine corks., some old wood and a mirror I found at the local rubbish bins. The terrorists aka tourists have invaded so all our usual haunts are out of bounds due to parking and crowds. It used to be a quiet backwater on the edge of nowhere. Not anymore. It is not geared up for mass tourism as we live in a natural park with lots of restrictions.
> 
> I also spent a lot of the day following the wild fires. This one started in northern portugal yesterday . So many people are losing their homes and everything they own. Today, I am sorting through clothes and other sundries to make donations.



  How tragic. I read an article on BBC about the fires all around the Med area. We just got over a mini-drought up here.


A.C.


----------



## PiP

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> How tragic. I read an article on BBC about the fires all around the Med area. We just got over a mini-drought up here.
> 
> 
> A.C.


We are in for a tough summer. I am just relieved we are flying and not driving to France this year… I am concerned about leaving my house and garden as we live on the edge of the natural park … ours in the last house adjoining miles of scrubland. Which reminds me, I need to find someone who can clear the land adjacent to our property to create a fire break.


----------



## Joker

Re-watching The Thing before going to bed, even if I've seen it a trillion times, wasn't a good idea...


----------



## C.K.Johnson

I just received an email from an agent requesting to read the full manuscript of BORN A GHOST, my first ever request for a full. I am excited but keeping my expectations low, I've heard far too many stories of agents requesting fulls and passing. It's part of the process. 

But I'm still really freaking excited!!!!!!


----------



## Splinter

PiP said:


> We are in for a tough summer. I am just relieved we are flying and not driving to France this year… I am concerned about leaving my house and garden as we live on the edge of the natural park … ours in the last house adjoining miles of scrubland. Which reminds me, I need to find someone who can clear the land adjacent to our property to create a fire break.


I don't envy you that blazing hot weather, not to mention the fire risks.
Bon voyage!


----------



## PrairieHostage

C.K.Johnson said:


> I just received an email from an agent requesting to read the full manuscript of BORN A GHOST, my first ever request for a full. I am excited but keeping my expectations low, I've heard far too many stories of agents requesting fulls and passing. It's part of the process.
> 
> But I'm still really freaking excited!!!!!!


Congratu - freaking - lations!!!! That's huge. I'm waiting for my first full manuscript request. Good luck!!

Fantastic day of a massage, followed by a pedicure. I'm getting my eyelashes extended next week. I'd like to be a slim and pretty unpublished author when I go to the writer's conference


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

C.K.Johnson said:


> I just received an email from an agent requesting to read the full manuscript of BORN A GHOST, my first ever request for a full. I am excited but keeping my expectations low, I've heard far too many stories of agents requesting fulls and passing. It's part of the process.
> 
> But I'm still really freaking excited!!!!!!



How awesome!!!! Congrats and good luck!    


A.C.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I don't know the cause of the fire. But supposedly global warming increases the odds of a firing happening in certain places of the world. I did some research on Global warming when I was reading a book on the topic.


----------



## Parabola

Same shit on a shingle sliding down the devil's mountain. That aside, I can't get enough of these sea salt and black pepper chips.


----------



## VRanger

Totally unexpected adventure this evening. My contractor friend John came over at 5 to help me look at a frozen valve in our guest bath shower. He told me one of our neighbor's ponies had gotten out of their pasture, so I called the neighbor to let her know. It's actually her sig other's pony in a pasture her mother lets him use. Things get complicated out here in the country. LOL

At 6 she called sounding panicked and asking for help. The pony got past her and was out on the highway. I slipped on shoes and ran the quarter mile down to the road, where she was returning in the family golf car. The pony was too far to chase with it, so we jumped in her SUV and headed out. We decided we'd passed how far the pony could get and turned around. On the way back I spotted John's truck up a country driveway and the pony at the top of a rise past him, so we reversed course again and pulled in up there. We wound up chasing the pony down that drive, which passes two properties all the way back to a 30-acre property with a 20-acre fenced pasture.

The pony got back past us into a 10-acre field our side of the second property, and the couple who lives there soon joined the effort. My 16+ months of endurance walking paid off, as I turned out to be the only one who could keep up with the pony enough to get past it and get it turned in the direction we wished.

By the time we herded it to the back property again Chris, who owned the second property off the road, had come out with a lasso, and his wife joined the chase on a small scooter. The back property owner, Brian, and his wife also were out and helping, so along with John and my neighbor Darla, we at times had 7 people on the job. It wasn't enough. The pony could race past any of us at will, and finally made it through some scrub and into an enormous field that had been clear cut.

Chris said, "He's gone." Five minutes later he realized I'd once again got even with the pony ... despite thigh high weeds, rotting saplings providing treacherous footing, briars everywhere (I was in shorts and should attach a picture of my legs) and tangles of branches that looked like prime rattlesnake habitat. We had three men and a pony in that area, and it's rather miraculous no one broke an ankle or worse. It's the worst open ground I have EVER crossed.

Well, I DID get past the pony, and with a three-foot stick stretched out to each side with wide arms, turned it and got it headed back to Brian's property. Brian's wife got the great idea to open a gate into their pasture, and we managed to herd the pony back of his house and around the back of his pig pen. The pen is in a corner with fences to two sides, so Chris kept him moving through the narrow passage between the pen and those fences, and I waited near the pasture gate with my sticks stretched out.

Finally, the pony came out and made a try to get past me, but I moved to my right and he halted, then moved to my left. I made a feint toward him which made him turn away from me and trot right through the gate. I sprinted over, closed the thing, and chained it up. So the pony is not in his home pasture, but he's safely contained with Brian's horses and donkeys until Paco, his owner, can find some way to corner him in those 20 acres. LOL

I got home at 8:15. It was a two-hour chase ... and I was on the move the entire time. Got my walk in for today the HARD way.


----------



## Explosia

The day was pretty standard, EXCEPT that a new video game that allows you to play as a cat has debuted today, and so that's how I've been spending my evening. 

As a cat, you can jump onto shelves and knock everything down onto the floor. This game is perfect.


----------



## Darkkin

Something spooked Potato Cat tonight and he did a Tokyo drift over my bare foot with his back claws...poor guy knews he accidentally scratched me and has been trying to make up for it.


----------



## PrairieHostage

VRanger said:


> I got home at 8:15. It was a two-hour chase ... and I was on the move the entire time. Got my walk in for today the HARD way.


My day was certainly not as eventful as that! Catching ponies and other stories...

FedEx came to my back door which doesn't have a buzzer and promptly left without delivering my package. They'll try again tomorrow. I had to call them to say try the front door (you know, the door most people use). It has a buzzer. That was my excitement for the day. Chasing incompetent delivery guys.


----------



## VRanger

Explosia said:


> The day was pretty standard, EXCEPT that a new video game that allows you to play as a cat has debuted today, and so that's how I've been spending my evening.
> 
> As a cat, you can jump onto shelves and knock everything down onto the floor. This game is perfect.


It's the refutation of the idiot Flat Earthers. If the Earth is flat, cats would have pushed everything off the edge long ago.


----------



## PiP

My day (Tuesday) should have been 'reasonably' relaxed but this is Portugal and if you plan to cook X you will rarely buy all the ingredients in the first shop so over the years I've learned to improvise.  Mr P, volunteered to go shopping on Monday. Great. I hate shopping during the terrorist (tourist) season. As expected he could not procure everything on the list and other items he simply 'forgot'. Sigh ... but he did redeem himself by buying me the make of lilo we'd been trying to buy for weeks so I can only assign his failure down to his excitement.  I will add that he doesn't possess the same tenacious spirit as me so I was forced to go shopping early on Tuesday.

 Friends were due to arrive at 16.30. No problem. I had all day to prepare a lasagne, garlic bread and a fresh salad from the garden.

Armed with my list: Onions, baguette and lots of other incidentals -just in case (when friends come to supper I usually cook enough food to feed the whole street) I went to the bakers at the first local shop which has a mini bakery. I asked for a couple of baguettes and the shop assistant looked at me as if I'd asked for a jar of moon dust. I muttered under my breath and drove to the next shop.

 ... while I was on my way there I spotted my friend struggling on her bike. I thought she was out for a bike ride ... anyways, she arrived at the supermarket hot and breathless. She explained every time she heard a car coming up behind her she dismounted because when it overtook it made her wobble. She's cycling on a main road. ... say no more.

 Anyways, it transpires their car had broken down so they had no transport and she needed shopping. She'd forgotten her mask so she was in a lather at entering the shop. I gave her a new N95 mask. I dropped off her shopping at her house and gave her directions for a shortcut to avoid the main road. MArks up: Good deed of the day.

My lasagne which I can usually cook with my eyes closed, went wrong. All the top sheets of pasta curled into pasta tubes because I took too long making the sauce which turned out vile. It tasted powdery because when Mark went shopping he could not buy Maizina Express and I used standard cornflour which I could not persuade to thicken this process took about an hour and I'm trying not to lose my cool by crafting the ghost scene I'm currently writing in PL3 in my head ... phew ... are you still with me?

so I wasted not only a pint of milk but an expensive packet of cheese. Luckily I had a spare packet of fresh lasagne sheets so all the top sheets on the lasagne went in the bin and because my store cupboard (thanks to lockdown) is like Aladin's Cave I had a box of bechamel sauce. All the time my husband was hovering and picking fault but I never bit ... I kept my cool. I had my own stress to deal with.

When I eventually served the lasagne he praised it as my 'best effort' yet. I muttered under my breath 'probably because it contained so many 'f**cks and other cuss words' but accepted the compliment with a smile.


----------



## Explosia

VRanger said:


> It's the refutation of the idiot Flat Earthers. If the Earth is flat, cats would have pushed everything off the edge long ago.


If gravity ever stopped working, cats would be the first to know.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Explosia said:


> If gravity ever stopped working, cats would be the first to know.


Their pet humans will be the second. And just for the record, non-functioning gravity will be _NO_ excuse to be late with their food.

A.C.


----------



## Splinter

PiP said:


> My day (Tuesday) should have been 'reasonably' relaxed but this is Portugal and if you plan to cook X you will rarely buy all the ingredients in the first shop so over the years I've learned to improvise.  Mr P, volunteered to go shopping on Monday. Great. I hate shopping during the terrorist (tourist) season. As expected he could not procure everything on the list and other items he simply 'forgot'. Sigh ... but he did redeem himself by buying me the make of lilo we'd been trying to buy for weeks so I can only assign his failure down to his excitement.  I will add that he doesn't possess the same tenacious spirit as me so I was forced to go shopping early on Tuesday.
> 
> Friends were due to arrive at 16.30. No problem. I had all day to prepare a lasagne, garlic bread and a fresh salad from the garden.
> 
> Armed with my list: Onions, baguette and lots of other incidentals -just in case (when friends come to supper I usually cook enough food to feed the whole street) I went to the bakers at the first local shop which has a mini bakery. I asked for a couple of baguettes and the shop assistant looked at me as if I'd asked for a jar of moon dust. I muttered under my breath and drove to the next shop.
> 
> ... while I was on my way there I spotted my friend struggling on her bike. I thought she was out for a bike ride ... anyways, she arrived at the supermarket hot and breathless. She explained every time she heard a car coming up behind her she dismounted because when it overtook it made her wobble. She's cycling on a main road. ... say no more.
> 
> Anyways, it transpires their car had broken down so they had no transport and she needed shopping. She'd forgotten her mask so she was in a lather at entering the shop. I gave her a new N95 mask. I dropped off her shopping at her house and gave her directions for a shortcut to avoid the main road. MArks up: Good deed of the day.
> 
> My lasagne which I can usually cook with my eyes closed, went wrong. All the top sheets of pasta curled into pasta tubes because I took too long making the sauce which turned out vile. It tasted powdery because when Mark went shopping he could not buy Maizina Express and I used standard cornflour which I could not persuade to thicken this process took about an hour and I'm trying not to lose my cool by crafting the ghost scene I'm currently writing in PL3 in my head ... phew ... are you still with me?
> 
> so I wasted not only a pint of milk but an expensive packet of cheese. Luckily I had a spare packet of fresh lasagne sheets so all the top sheets on the lasagne went in the bin and because my store cupboard (thanks to lockdown) is like Aladin's Cave I had a box of bechamel sauce. All the time my husband was hovering and picking fault but I never bit ... I kept my cool. I had my own stress to deal with.
> 
> When I eventually served the lasagne he praised it as my 'best effort' yet. I muttered under my breath 'probably because it contained so many 'f**cks and other cuss words' but accepted the compliment with a smile.


Reminds me of my last Yorkshire Pudding effort - we ended up using it as a foundation brick for a new wall


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

“Class D fire extinguishers are bad for putting out people. I can tell you first hand.”

these are the conversations that I can’t wait to write about in my books….


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Buddy of mine died of a massive heart attack. I think he was in his mid 40's. Health issues, natch, but damn.....

Sorry if I lie low for a bit. I've been in way too many funeral homes these past few months, dig?  
I'm fine. Just need to collect and zen, eh?  


A.C.


----------



## Joker

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Buddy of mine died of a massive heart attack. I think he was in his mid 40's. Health issues, natch, but damn.....
> 
> Sorry if I lie low for a bit. I've been in way too many funeral homes these past few months, dig?
> I'm fine. Just need to collect and zen, eh?
> 
> 
> A.C.



You know where to find some zen


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Joker said:


> You know where to find some zen



You would think! However, I’ve been in proof-read/editing/self-applying backside kicking mode this past week.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Huge country music festival this weekend literally down the road from me here in The Mitten. I'm listening to the scanner traffic of the fire, rescue, and police of the departments at it as I'm proofing chapter 2 of 'God Bless Small Town, USA" Show ended a few hours away, but the drinking and stupidities are still on-going.

As I write this, they just reported a stabbing....


A.C.


----------



## Darkkin

We had no power from 3:17 pm onward.  Power didn't come back on until nearly 9:00 this morning and I got jolted awake by the critical battery warning of my cardiac chip at 3:30 this morning.  I now need to go in and have it reset tomorrow...grr.


----------



## Sinister

It took 2 years, if anyone wondering.  2 years and a plate of eel and crab sushi before I poked my head out of my house.  And now, damned if I don't have a raspy cough and no sense of smell or taste.  Going tomorrow to go get swabbed.

Remember people, it's a myth.  Agoraphobia won't save you.

-Sin


----------



## Darkkin

The look you get when you make tacos for supper and don't share.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 29228
> 
> The look you get when you make tacos for supper and don't share.



Sarah McLachlan will soon be outside your residence singing “Angel”


----------



## Sinister

Not feeling too clever.  Got a positive, as in I positively feel like dreck.  I'm in my space room, playing Animal Crossing, watching MST3k and self-medicating with the last of my gummies.  I'm gonna be absent for a while.  Thunder is rolling outside.  I feel like writing, but I'm a victim of inertia.  Just don't have enough ertia to go around.

3/10

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

May your spirits raise soon...

A.C.


----------



## Darkkin

This is Rue Dog.  Rue Dog went off on a barking frenzy this afternoon and scared a middle schooler into hysterics...for a very good reason.

Rue Dog and I had just gotten home from a cardiology appointment and because the weather is nice we've had the windows open.  Our big pictures are locked when I'm not home, but I opened them when I got home for air and because Potato Cat loves to sit in the window.  The air here today is cool and still, voices carry.  (This factor will matter in a moment...).

Two girls 11 - 13 were walking up our street and I heard one tell the other, her mother said she could have a cat if she found one.  Apparently the family had been turned away by the local humane society, (yes, it was eavesdropping, but then again they were very loud.)  The girls walked off and I figured that was the end of it.

Cardiology took a lot out of me today and I dozed off for a bit.  Next thing I know Rue Dog goes flying off the end of my bed in an absolute frenzy and Potato Cat is spitting and hissing in rage.  I race out to the living room and see the taller of the two girls tripping backward out of our lilac bush in front of the open window.  She ran up the street screaming bloody murder.

Rue Dog's charge took her completely by surprise.  He's fast, he's uber loud, and he is a dog who means business.

The screen on the living room window had been forced open a couple of inches, right in front of Potato Cat's favourite perch.  It wasn't wide enough for Rue Dog to get his nose through, and it didn't take a great leap of logic to figure out what had been going on...Rue Dog leapt to the defense of his pack.

I called the non-emergency number and reported the trespassing and petty vandalism.  I also told them the conversation I had overheard. (Not the first time this family has been reported, usually it's noise complaints, (the aforementioned screamer).  I just wanted something on record, just in case.

Turned out to be a smart move.  The would be trespasser informed her mother she was attacked by a vicious dog at large in the neighborhood.  I had photos of my screen, the window, Potato Cat, and Rue taken seconds after he scared the crap out of the kid.

Animal control knocked on my door about ten minutes after city patrol left.  They were shown the police report I had filed and were informed my service dog was acting in defense of his home, on private property, thwarting a trespassing attempt into said residence.

City partol came back while animal control was there stating they had a report of a stolen cat.  Namely, the would be burglar tried to claim that I stole Potato Cat from her...(this is when things enter a whole new level of stupid.)  They now had a name and address of the culprit.

Everyone who knows me, knows Potato Cat and his story.  He has Facebook and IG accounts I post to multiple times a week.  Three years of vet records, a registered microchip, license records, his ID tag, and the phone number of the friend who gave me Potato Cat.

Tell me I took this cat...these patrol officers were having trouble keeping a straight face at this point.  Couldn't get the dog impounded, so why not get the cat taken away...yeah.

Patrol and animal control went back to the kid and her mother with the evidence of what actually happened and clear proof of ownership of the contested cat...whole story came out.

Kid figured if she took Potato Cat her mother would let her keep him since he was 'abandoned'.  She hadn't figured on Potato Cat and Rue Dog putting up such a struggle.  Potato Cat, it turns out swiped at her when she forced the screen open.  He drew blood, but is not in any trouble because of the trespassing and unlawful entry.  Potato Cat was defending himself and his home.

Kid got the scratches treated and her mother got fined for filing a false police report.

I know kids can do stupid things, but I hope this lesson stays with this kid.  I can't imagine doing something not only illegal, but also morally bankrupt.  Maybe this incident will serve as a wake up call.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I erased many programs on my old windows computer. The computer ran much faster.  I then felt confident that I could install dragon 15. I did. The future windows will have it. It had cost me 320 dollars. But oh well. Nowadays, studying syntax to perfect the grammar of my sentences.

Anyway, using dragon 15 to summarize a book on syntax. I should be able to do it much faster.  I was absent all of yesterday and today doing this. Hopefully, I can learn the book in a week. I am also planning to brush up on punctuation, the next syntax book, which explains the coherence provided by making logical connections.

The dragon installation wizard had quit on me two times. Tomorrow I am going on the mountain trail. I have no choice. I must go. Going to keep summarizing books. There are some practice questions to check my understanding of the subject matter.

The future is dictation if we ever buy a new computer. So I plan to use it to compose stories once I am very conscientious and aware of what I am doing.

I feel as if I need to learn to get out of the house. That would need for me to study. If I can build a small resume of learning things and actually doing work it would be positive. Even though Christmas is a way from now, I am considering a digital highlighter so I can learn. One of my cousins is a computer science graduate and engineer. Maybe one day I could study for the exam.

Good luck sinister as well. I know we have ambitions and hopefully; you get out of the house. But that's with knowing your limitations. I hope you can get something out of leaving the house. Something that only social interaction can give.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

On a completely different note, I occasionally do a beer review series on my Facebook page, called _*The Shower Beer Series*_, where I review beers…. as I take a shower. (About 85% of the time, that is. I mean, I shower regularly. I’m in the shower 85% of the time I’ve tried the beers I reviewed.) It’s quite popular, and there’s been times when beers have been left for me to try just to review. 
I’m kicking around the notion of rehashing my top twenty fave reviews on my blog here.

Thoughts….


----------



## PiP

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> I’m kicking around the notion of rehashing my top twenty fave reviews on my blog here.
> 
> Thoughts….


Sounds like a plan.


----------



## PiP

I think it’s going to be a long day. I  have already considered strangling my husband. We leave for France tomorrow so packing cases. He is hopeless… I am trying to pack the suitcases. None of the clothes he has selected to take match plus the long trousers he wanted to take are winter trousers and we are going to 30 c plus. I laugh because our son in law will probably go to dinner wearing the same baggy shorts he’s been swimming in along with just a clean top.I asked hubby why he is bothering to dress up and his reply…/because I am English.


----------



## Cornelius Coburn

Deleted


----------



## Splinter

Yesterday the streets of Buenos Aires city centre were gridlocked due to anti-government protests. I might add that this is now a twice weekly occurrence and before leaving the house, I not only check the weather, but also the 'protest forecast'.
Long story short, I managed to evade the protests for my first delivery but for the second one I had no choice but to join the gridlock and others trying to avoid it. After delivering the second item I tried a short cut but a car pulled out in front of me and in slow motion, me and the bike collided with the idiot.
Cuts and bruises, bike a mess but I managed to limp home.
A day to remember for all the wrong reasons.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Splinter said:


> Yesterday the streets of Buenos Aires city centre were gridlocked due to anti-government protests. I might add that this is now a twice weekly occurrence and before leaving the house, I not only check the weather, but also the 'protest forecast'.
> Long story short, I managed to evade the protests for my first delivery but for the second one I had no choice but to join the gridlock and others trying to avoid it. After delivering the second item I tried a short cut but a car pulled out in front of me and in slow motion, me and the bike collided with the idiot.
> Cuts and bruises, bike a mess but I managed to limp home.
> A day to remember for all the wrong reasons.



Hopefully you're not too badly hurt and you and the bike can fight on another day, so to speak...

A.C.


----------



## Splinter

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Hopefully you're not too badly hurt and you and the bike can fight on another day, so to speak...
> 
> A.C.


Thanks and believe me, we will!
One way of looking at it is that it's an occupational hazard - it's bound to happen eventually when on the road every day.


----------



## VRanger

Not just my day ... my WEEK. Starting late LAST week I needed to get ready for guests who'd be staying a few days. So I got a lot of custom features down for our latest eCommerce client ... give him shiny things to look at for a few days, and we had to get the house suitable for guests. My contractor friend showed up on Saturday with his 18' trailer and chainsaw. He cut up the trunk of the tree that came down a few weeks ago while I loaded the trailer three times ... just with branches we cut up the day after the tree fell.

Then the guests. Dear friends and we love them, but high maintenance. I got very little else done during their visit, and they were here for most of five days. Then catching back UP on work after they left.

I got in a bit of writing, and only got in my big session by staying up until 6:30 AM writing the evening after they left. Yesterday I decided to try something new in ASP.net, got it working on my local server, published it to one of my web servers, and then found out there is a version disconnect between the .net version on the server and what is produced by Visual Studio. Upgrading .net on the AWS server proved either impossible or too much of a PITA to figure out, so tonight I configured a new server with a later OS. It's sitting right now with Server Manager installing all the roles needed, and I'm STILL going to need a minor version upgrade for the .net framework.

So along with trying to keep up here as best I can, normal tasks and errands to live, keeping up with my exercise each day ... it's been a challenging week.


----------



## Megan Pearson

VRanger said:


> ... sliders at the hardware store. ... Four-wheel dollies also work great, ... It's a matter of technique over brawn. LOL


Still waiting on help to arrive to move the final piece. Step-son doesn't know it, but he's being enlisted next time he's out this way.  It's the top to a solid-built china cabinet. The thing has got to weigh almost as much as me. It has some really nice display shelves and recessed lighting; thought I'd put my favorite paperbacks in it.

(I know, it's a china cabinet, not a bookshelf, right? Besides being a handsome piece of cherry-wood furniture, I like the countertop area it provides under its thick glass shelving. Plus, the bottom cabinet provides a great place to stow office supplies and paper. Cool, eh?)


----------



## Megan Pearson

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 29243
> 
> This is Rue Dog.  Rue Dog went off on a barking frenzy this afternoon and scared a middle schooler into hysterics...for a very good reason.
> 
> Rue Dog and I had just gotten home from a cardiology appointment and because the weather is nice we've had the windows open.  Our big pictures are locked when I'm not home, but I opened them when I got home for air and because Potato Cat loves to sit in the window.  The air here today is cool and still, voices carry.  (This factor will matter in a moment...).
> 
> Two girls 11 - 13 were walking up our street and I heard one tell the other, her mother said she could have a cat if she found one.  Apparently the family had been turned away by the local humane society, (yes, it was eavesdropping, but then again they were very loud.)  The girls walked off and I figured that was the end of it.
> 
> Cardiology took a lot out of me today and I dozed off for a bit.  Next thing I know Rue Dog goes flying off the end of my bed in an absolute frenzy and Potato Cat is spitting and hissing in rage.  I race out to the living room and see the taller of the two girls tripping backward out of our lilac bush in front of the open window.  She ran up the street screaming bloody murder.
> 
> Rue Dog's charge took her completely by surprise.  He's fast, he's uber loud, and he is a dog who means business.
> 
> The screen on the living room window had been forced open a couple of inches, right in front of Potato Cat's favourite perch.  It wasn't wide enough for Rue Dog to get his nose through, and it didn't take a great leap of logic to figure out what had been going on...Rue Dog leapt to the defense of his pack.
> 
> I called the non-emergency number and reported the trespassing and petty vandalism.  I also told them the conversation I had overheard. (Not the first time this family has been reported, usually it's noise complaints, (the aforementioned screamer).  I just wanted something on record, just in case.
> 
> Turned out to be a smart move.  The would be trespasser informed her mother she was attacked by a vicious dog at large in the neighborhood.  I had photos of my screen, the window, Potato Cat, and Rue taken seconds after he scared the crap out of the kid.
> 
> Animal control knocked on my door about ten minutes after city patrol left.  They were shown the police report I had filed and were informed my service dog was acting in defense of his home, on private property, thwarting a trespassing attempt into said residence.
> 
> City partol came back while animal control was there stating they had a report of a stolen cat.  Namely, the would be burglar tried to claim that I stole Potato Cat from her...(this is when things enter a whole new level of stupid.)  They now had a name and address of the culprit.
> 
> Everyone who knows me, knows Potato Cat and his story.  He has Facebook and IG accounts I post to multiple times a week.  Three years of vet records, a registered microchip, license records, his ID tag, and the phone number of the friend who gave me Potato Cat.
> 
> Tell me I took this cat...these patrol officers were having trouble keeping a straight face at this point.  Couldn't get the dog impounded, so why not get the cat taken away...yeah.
> 
> Patrol and animal control went back to the kid and her mother with the evidence of what actually happened and clear proof of ownership of the contested cat...whole story came out.
> 
> Kid figured if she took Potato Cat her mother would let her keep him since he was 'abandoned'.  She hadn't figured on Potato Cat and Rue Dog putting up such a struggle.  Potato Cat, it turns out swiped at her when she forced the screen open.  He drew blood, but is not in any trouble because of the trespassing and unlawful entry.  Potato Cat was defending himself and his home.
> 
> Kid got the scratches treated and her mother got fined for filing a false police report.
> 
> I know kids can do stupid things, but I hope this lesson stays with this kid.  I can't imagine doing something not only illegal, but also morally bankrupt.  Maybe this incident will serve as a wake up call.
> 
> 
> View attachment 29244
> 
> View attachment 29245


@Darkkin, How horrible! I'm glad you and your pack came through it okay! I remember when you got Potato a couple of years ago--he was so cute! Your Rue is a good dog. Thanks for sharing your critter pictures and what happened & I am glad you are all safe.


----------



## Megan Pearson

My writing efforts? Squashed in the search for work. 

Sigh. I gave myself until the end of this month for an ambitious first draft--I didn't care how crummy or short it turned out--but we just have had so much going on, it's been a battle of this busyness and that busyness and, oh!, why are we ever so busy _right now?  _(That's rhetorical. Has much to do with spending the past three years working seven days a week toward the degree I just earned. I sort of fell behind in...life.)

But now I'm on LinkedIn, have some apps submitted, and tomorrow the job search continues. 

The Hubster says, "I don't see why you can't both write and search for work. It's not like looking for work is a full-time job." Hmm. I haven't job searched in 15 years; it is quickly becoming a full-time job. (So much has changed! Creating your own brand? What's that!? Online presence? Digital networking? I come from an era where we actually knew people, real people. I suspect my next job will come that way, too, by way of real people who I actually know. But it's good to go online, too, just in case, right?) Maybe I can get some writing in this weekend. I'm gonna try!


----------



## PiP

I need some good vibes. This is the first time I've flown since Nov 2019 because of the COVID 19 virus.  I'm scared shitless because it is well known that Easyjet does not enforce its policy of wearing masks on the plane. I'm already bouncing off the walls with anxiety and have not slept ALL night. Signing off now ...


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

The Wifey has decided that the grand sprouts are coming over, and I’m cooking burgers and hot dogs for everyone over the fire pit tonight.

Someone drop off beer, please…

A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

I singed my eyebrows off tonight cooking burgers for the grand sprouts. This has never happened before. Additional medicinal beer is required. 

A.C.


----------



## Parabola

Got some writing done earlier, now I'm pondering whether or not to tickle the keys again or wait until tomorrow.


----------



## Joker

It's a wonder what going for a spirited drive can do to alleviate stress.


----------



## Theglasshouse

PiP said:


> I need some good vibes. This is the first time I've flown since Nov 2019 because of the COVID 19 virus.  I'm scared shitless because it is well known that Easyjet does not enforce its policy of wearing masks on the plane. I'm already bouncing off the walls with anxiety and have not slept ALL night. Signing off now ...


I hope and wish for your safe passage. Stay optimistic and wear masks. I hope they did a screening for covid before the plane's planned day of departure.

Oh, and Joker nice car. It's probably better looking than what my cousin jokes about. He joked about owning a BMW and cracked jokes. Must be a good way to ease stress.


----------



## Theglasshouse

As for today, I am just relaxing (not working and studying until it hits 7:00 p.m) and taking a break from all my note-taking. I plan to continue my note-taking of syntax for purposes of syntax construction and dictation of stories. My mood fluctuates. I debated going to the doctor, but my mother is against increasing my medicines (toxic for the liver). I have listened to Spotify's radio station and had a lot of fun. Discovering new music is a hobby that never ends. My mother tended the garden.  I am going at a much slower pace than expected. But what matters is that I continue. An old music artist I enjoyed listening to before entering high school maybe is Seal.  I've heard some good music. I learned I shouldn't focus 100% on writing. Yesterday, I was looking for some free information on how to outline a story. I got a story idea. I just am focusing on my language skills.  I hope to vary the syntax and to improve much more on the sentence flow on subsequent drafts of old stories or when I am starting from scratch. I came back from the mountain. Enjoying life itself for simplicity, not caring or worrying is something rare is like one of life's conundrums that haven't been solved. I also found on Pinterest some tips on how to organize a narrative paragraph. I also found some free information on how to describe an event and show versus tell. I expect 3 hours of studying and note-taking is the most I can do in a day since I can't increase my medicines. To be honest, I don't want my mood to switch.  I hope to critique some people when I am not doing anything. My story idea I recorded in word. I don't expect to do anything until I learn how to construct sentences better.  So I am working only 3 hours a day. If I can do more then that is a productive day. But the hot climate changes my mood and I do have a mood disorder. So, while no day is perfect, I will be very satisfied with what I have done.


----------



## Parabola

Rainy--also, like a skin rash but more persistent.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Planning a family get-together. Two cousins, along with the kids of one of them that I have never met are coming north of Arkansas. Another cousin and her two kids are coming west. None of those cousins have met (same part of the family,just moved at young ages) . We have an old '39 Ford 9N tractor. Currently, it's in my care. Long story short, my grandfather bought it for their father (both now deceased). I'm the 6th caretaker of it in the family (long story on how it ended up n my garage). I need to wash it and gas it up because everyone will want to drive it around the yard a few times.


----------



## Megan Pearson

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Planning a family get-together. Two cousins, along with the kids of one of them that I have never met are coming north of Arkansas. Another cousin and her two kids are coming west. None of those cousins have met (same part of the family,just moved at young ages) . We have an old '39 Ford 9N tractor. Currently, it's in my care. Long story short, my grandfather bought it for their father (both now deceased). I'm the 6th caretaker of it in the family (long story on how it ended up n my garage). I need to wash it and gas it up because everyone will want to drive it around the yard a few times.



Cool. 

Every family should have some trophy relics. Makes for great family stories.


----------



## Parabola

Not bad so far, reasonably productive. Going to try to squeeze out a 1k loaf before day's end.


----------



## Darkkin

When you ask nice, and they tell you not to yell...


----------



## Parabola

My day sucked interdimensional donkey balls.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> My day sucked interdimensional donkey balls.


So sorry to hear/read. May your weekend be better.


----------



## VRanger

Just spent an hour making an ass of myself on FB. Not really, but there are some things so stupid they defy diplomacy ... including one guy I told "Please feel free to unfriend me, because I have no patience for politics that shallow and ignorant".


----------



## Sinister

*Good morning!!!*

It's now 5:30 AM where I live.  I'm soaking wet in fresh clothes and smell like colloidal oatmeal, sulfur and vinegar while a giant black lab is doing frantic laps around my house.  His 90 lb dumbass just had a 15 minute bath because...  Well...because he had to go out in the dead of night and chase that fat black and white squirrel.

Can't wait for the rest of the day, but I'm gonna call it early.  It's five o'clock somewhere and that five o'clock is right here.

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

I literally had to explain simple numerics not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times, to a couple of twentysomethings that the roll-off at location *E9* that they needed to throw their scrap material in is the bin that has the large placard that reads _*"E9" *_ and not the that has the large placard that reads "*E7"*.  Because a black four feet tall 7 ion a white square is difficult to distinguish from a 9 at ten feet away....


----------



## Splinter

Now that our living room has a cosy log burner, new flooring and repainted walls, I turned my attention to the bookcases. This is mainly because our cleaner (mucama) who comes over twice a month, has no respect for books at all. I'm not obsessive about order, but there are some things that should be in the correct order, primarily books.
This is one of three bookcases where my published books are sandwiched between Wellington and Tristan Jones. I love adventure books.


----------



## C.K.Johnson

Rejected on a full. Ouch. I know it’s part of the process but it still hurts.


----------



## VRanger

Splinter said:


> Now that our living room has a cosy log burner, new flooring and repainted walls, I turned my attention to the bookcases. This is mainly because our cleaner (mucama) who comes over twice a month, has no respect for books at all. I'm not obsessive about order, but there are some things that should be in the correct order, primarily books.
> This is one of three bookcases where my published books are sandwiched between Wellington and Tristan Jones. I love adventure books.
> View attachment 29292


As a one-time librarian (not professionally but as a student in both Jr. High and High School), my shelves must be alphabetized by both author and title, and the spines MUST be even and flush with the shelf. ;-) I use a two-foot level. The trick is to pull the books (or DVDs/Blurays) slightly out from the shelf, and snap the edge of the level against the top of the shelf edge/base of the media. Viola, perfect alignment every time.


----------



## Foxee

Agh, who knew that teenagers can be every bit as needy as toddlers? 
(_is immediately deafened by the affirmation of all the parents of teenagers_)


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sinister said:


> *Good morning!!!*
> 
> It's now 5:30 AM where I live.  I'm soaking wet in fresh clothes and smell like colloidal oatmeal, sulfur and vinegar while a giant black lab is doing frantic laps around my house.  His 90 lb dumbass just had a 15 minute bath because...  Well...because he had to go out in the dead of night and chase that fat black and white squirrel.
> 
> Can't wait for the rest of the day, but I'm gonna call it early.  It's five o'clock somewhere and that five o'clock is right here.
> 
> -Sin


Get plenty of sleep. It eases your depressive symptoms if you have any.


----------



## Foxee

Sinister said:


> *Good morning!!!*
> 
> It's now 5:30 AM where I live.  I'm soaking wet in fresh clothes and smell like colloidal oatmeal, sulfur and vinegar while a giant black lab is doing frantic laps around my house.  His 90 lb dumbass just had a 15 minute bath because...  Well...because he had to go out in the dead of night and chase that fat black and white squirrel.
> 
> Can't wait for the rest of the day, but I'm gonna call it early.  It's five o'clock somewhere and that five o'clock is right here.
> 
> -Sin


Sinister, I love having you here. Sorry to hear you had a smelly early morning wakeup call but you've made it entertaining.


That Guy Named Aaron said:


> I literally had to explain simple numerics not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times, to a couple of twentysomethings that the roll-off at location *E9* that they needed to throw their scrap material in is the bin that has the large placard that reads _*"E9" *_ and not the that has the large placard that reads "*E7"*.  Because a black four feet tall 7 ion a white square is difficult to distinguish from a 9 at ten feet away....


Go to Sinister's place, it's probably still five o'clock. Life is too short to deal with earnest dullness.


Splinter said:


> This is one of three bookcases where my published books are sandwiched between Wellington and Tristan Jones. I love adventure books.


Okay, only on website where most of our nightstands are full of books because our bookcases are jammed with other books (while we plot to obtain books) can I honestly say...that's one nice looking bookcase, Splinter.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Constantly having arguments over emotional needs. I hope that sometimes me and my parents were thinking the same thing I am reasoning or feeling what I am feeling. The house we are building is the priority and not my emotional needs. I estimate more months of travel and investment to rent it to customers.

Anyway, my oldest brother helped me get the last copy of this book:
Write, Revise, Rejoice!: How to Write a Book, From Start to Finish, Using Emotional Prose to Raise Your Voice

It's got good reviews across the board on the Library Journal website. It's rare for seven members to vote for it and for it to rate 4 stars. I grabbed it to improve my prose. It's going to be ultra rare one day. I picked it up not for the rarity, but for the tips.Also, now I see that last copy going for over 60 dollars.









						Write, Revise, Rejoice!: How to Write a Book, From Start to Finish, Using Emotional Prose to Raise Your Voice by Daniel Raynes
					


Click to read more about Write, Revise, Rejoice!: How to Write a Book, From Start to Finish, Using Emotional Prose to Raise Your Voice by Daniel Raynes.  LibraryThing is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers





					www.librarything.com


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Foxee said:


> Go to Sinister's place, it's probably still five o'clock. Life is too short to deal with earnest dullness.
> 
> I have wine at home and a six of lager in the trunk. I’m good.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

We've got a big customer making a tour through the shop later this week. Serious cleaning and tidying up going on tonight. _Mopey The Wonder Slug_ down tossing cardboard into the bailer at the end of the night. Dude's got two speeds: slower and stop. I think I've fallen down stairs faster than this guy's worked. Dude was so slow that his boss had to literally get everyone from that department to stop what they were doing and go help him (a dozen people) so they could get it done by the end of the shift. And because of what I do, it held me up from getting my job done.

This is just another example of things I'm writing about. I have no idea what Mopey's real name is, and I don't care to learn it.

OK, done with the vent. I'm going to have a cold beer and a hot shower.
At the same time.


A.C.


----------



## indianroads

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> We've got a big customer making a tour through the shop later this week. Serious cleaning and tidying up going on tonight. _Mopey The Wonder Slug_ down tossing cardboard into the bailer at the end of the night. Dude's got two speeds: slower and stop. I think I've fallen down stairs faster than this guy's worked. Dude was so slow that his boss had to literally get everyone from that department to stop what they were doing and go help him (a dozen people) so they could get it done by the end of the shift. And because of what I do, it held me up from getting my job done.
> 
> This is just another example of things I'm writing about. I have no idea what Mopey's real name is, and I don't care to learn it.
> 
> OK, done with the vent. I'm going to have a cold beer and a hot shower.
> At the same time.
> 
> 
> A.C.


In every industry and job site there is a Mopey.


----------



## Foxee

indianroads said:


> In every industry and job site there is a Mopey.


My daughter already met Mopey back in about third grade when she decided the Mopeys of the world make group projects a real bummer for everyone else. I'm proud to say that my daughter is turning out to be a creative introvert who drops truth bombs.

I'm currently going out of my mind thanks to tons of The Busy. I'm spending so much time out of my mind that I'm afraid someone else will move in while I'm gone.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Foxee said:


> I'm currently going out of my mind thanks to tons of The Busy. I'm spending so much time out of my mind that I'm afraid someone else will move in while I'm gone.



Squatter's rights!!!!!

A.C.


----------



## Parabola

For me, every day is an adrenaline rush--not in the positive sense.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I did a bunch of research, which I hope will turn into the last draft of the story. Also, for writing the setting and description, I used Project Gutenberg to find a book based on a real place. I like that google books support dual highlighting since a book there I read for free when doing my research.


----------



## Sinister

I'm still home and can confirm that it is definitely still five o'clock.  Got a fresh pineapple and some Kilokai Rum with some coconut cream.  Come in outta the heat before you die of thirst.  ^^

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

Is that for a pina colada? An obligatory pina colada song will soon play.


----------



## Sinister

Theglasshouse said:


> Is that for a pina colada? An obligatory pina colada song will soon play.


As it should.

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Theglasshouse said:


> Is that for a pina colada? An obligatory pina colada song will soon play.



Do you like pina coladas
 gettin' caught in the rain
If you're not into yoga
If you have half a brain
If you like makin' love at midnight
In the dunes on the cape
Then I'm the love that you've looked for
Write to me and escape


----------



## Taylor

I should have asked @PrairieHostage what to wear to a writer's conference before I tried to pack for the SSC Writer's Festival happening this weekend.  Having retired in 2019, the only things I could find in my closet were business suits—strangely the waistbands had all shrunk , sports attire, jeans, sweats, and t-shirts.

My husband said, don't worry, it's not a fashion show.  Haha . . . funny guy . . . but he had a point.  However, I still want to blend in with the tribe.

Fortunately, the mall was near.  As I was shopping for my ensemble, I couldn't help snickering to myself about @Kent_Jacobs' thread on, what a writer _looks_ like.  LOL!! (Yeah, I dropped the professional part). Eventually, I settled on some linen shirts, khaki slacks, and mule-type penny-loafers. I think my designer protagonist would approve!


----------



## PrairieHostage

@Taylor, writers dressed casually at the one I went to. Linen shorts and khaki slacks sounds about right! I had a wardrobe hiccup also. I packed a few mini skirts, but it was darn cold on the coast!


----------



## indianroads

Taylor said:


> I should have asked @PrairieHostage what to wear to a writer's conference before I tried to pack for the SSC Writer's Festival happening this weekend.  Having retired in 2019, the only things I could find in my closet were business suits—strangely the waists had all shrunk , sports attire, jeans, sweats, and t-shirts.
> 
> My husband said, don't worry, it's not a fashion show.  Haha . . . funny guy . . . but he had a point.  However, I still want to blend in with the tribe.
> 
> Fortunately, the mall was near.  As I was shopping for my ensemble, I couldn't help snickering to myself about @Kent_Jacobs' thread on, what a writer _looks_ like. LOL!! (Yeah, I dropped the professional part). Eventually, I settled on some linen shirts, khaki slacks, and mule-type penny-loafers. I think my designer protagonist would approve!


Not someone that's into fashion in any degree - however, from those I've met through my writers guild, most resemble nerdy computer programmers. So, wear a rumpled t-shirt emblazoned with a Nora Roberts quote along with ill fitting shorts with black socks and dress loafers, and strap an Apple phone to your waist and you'll fit right in.

Oh - and post a pic of yourself here so we can appraise your look.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

So…. Blue jeans single solid one color tee shirt, no?


----------



## Taylor

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> So…. Blue jeans single solid one color tee shirt, no?


It depends.  What shoe would you choose?


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Taylor said:


> It depends.  What shoe would you choose?



New Balance sneakers. Casual and comfy.


----------



## Parabola

Endless sarcasm can be an empty cavalcade. Well at least it has pomp...


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

I'm now up. There's about six to twelve of us from work who have breakfast together once a month on payday Friday at a nearby greasy-spoon that serves incredible food. This month, it was eight of us. One of our little group took a transfer to day shift, and this was his last breakfast/meal with us. This group is also a part of the group of coworkers following my book as I write it. So when a certain alternative lifestyle coworker wasn't keeping us in stitches with hilarious tales of his love life, I was telling them about the progress of my book.


A.C.


----------



## Parabola

Not bad. I'm reaching a nice, inspired state of flow. Might do some writing on a "gritty" short story I've been planning. The plot just needs to come tumbling down the ol' pipes. At this current stage, I very much enjoy a dilapidated and surreal aesthetic. Protags with a darker slant but a broader meaning.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Couldn't concentrate today. There's too much noise. We still haven't given away or sold the puppies which are almost 3 months old. There's a little girl who comes to play. She is obnoxiously loud since she likes to be around the puppies (she screams when around the puppies in excitement). On top of this mood disorder and I am annoyed by the noises (Autism). In the small house you can hear the puppies, the little girl, people talking. A writer needs a quiet space to be alone. The dog we have is also loud. It likes to bark to ask for food and to anything all the time. My expectations is that mornings are the quitest. It doesn't give me much time. I will have to wait until I acquire some ear muffs or leave this house located on the mountain. When I am at home, there's a quiet room. But still I dislike having to rest on the bed with the computer. There's nothing I can do. My mother wanted company. Next time I will set the conditions. I am unproductive when I am here. In the city where it is actually hotter I get more written than here. There's another house we own. However, that house is difficult to clean. That's why we stay in the smaller house. I can hear any noise or anyone talking. My concentration is always frustrated here. Not to mention I can't have my mood under better control. It's exacerbated by not writing and the noises which prevent me from doing things. I took an afternoon nap and the situation hasn't improved (both for mood and the noise levels). I am hoping to leave as soon as possible. Where I am its impossible given my autisitc personality and mood disorder. I never disclose my conditions to anyone. It's the doctor's advice and my mother is relunctant.


----------



## Parabola

Interesting thing is, I get a cool feeling in my stomach when I predict a narcissist "punching back" (due to my upbringing). I'm rarely wrong. Their communication has a manipulative, biting edge to it.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Theglasshouse said:


> I took an afternoon nap and the situation hasn't improved (both for mood and the noise levels). I am hoping to leave as soon as possible. Where I am its impossible given my autistic personality and mood disorder.


I'm sorry, Glass. It sounds like a frustrating moment. I felt awful last night for a while but better today. I hope you feel better tomorrow.

Today I was distracted from myself (and my ruminations) by babysitting my grand daughter and then taking my niece out. Gym tomorrow!


----------



## VRanger

I started writing early tonight. 11 PM instead of midnight. LOL Got a lot of production and then came to WF for some distraction.  But it's good distraction. I engage in a few threads and it revs me up to produce more fiction.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Buddy from work's FB post. Perhaps something inspirational for someone for story ideas?


----------



## Foxee

At 2:35 am my day is finally wrapping up. So, so tired all the time.


----------



## VRanger

Foxee said:


> At 2:35 am my day is finally wrapping up. So, so tired all the time.


My life too. My only defense is an afternoon nap. SOME days.


----------



## PiP

My day disappeared. ... food, drink, housework, grandkids and playing with fur grandchild ... long siesta. Now it is bedtime and I am exhausted but with Zen. I wanted to write ... but sigh ... too many interruptions and distractions. I sympathize with any writer who has young children ...


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Family get together at my dad’s. Decided to take the family tractor over. They wanted to go to a nearby deer museum, so we did.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

And I wake up to discover that a coworker murdered someone over the weekend. Someone I see daily, but I try not to interact with.  Still waking up, absorbing the news, and trying to get the details about. In the time I've written this post, I've gotten a dozen text and FB messages from coworkers asking about it. Not the first time I've had this happen, but the first time at this place.

So how's your weekend....


A.C.


----------



## Darkkin

This is Potato Cat, as everybody knows.  Potato Cat tends to be a pretty people oriented kitty.  (He likes to be near or on his humans, not a big fan of being petted (too much stimuli), but enjoys company and interaction (play)).

Last night he was a bit off, staying downstairs in the basement (on the ottoman), while everyone else (humans and dogs) were upstairs.  Potato Cat is always on the same floor, within line of sight to his people.  For him, this was hiding.  The freak out mode and google searches didn't assuage the worry.

He wasn't showing any signs of illness or pain.  He is eating and drinking just fine.  No hair balls, vomiting, discomfort, or litter box issues.  He has been happy to play and is interactive, but Potato Cat is scared.  There is no other way to describe his behavior other than straight up fear, particularly dealing with the back door and the basement steps.

Something happened sometime over the last 48 hours involving the back door that terrified him.  Whether a bird hit the window, the meter man walked around the wrong side of the house, or someone tried to get in.  Whatever it was only Potato Cat knows and it has him thoroughly spooked.

I've ordered some CBD oil for him to help with the anxiety.  I called the vet and explained the situation (Potato Cat is due for his annual wellness check and vaccinations pretty soon anyway, and we need to rule out anything organic just to be sure.  He has an appointment in a couple weeks. )  But I know my cat.  He isn't sick, he is scared and it hurts to see him so unsure.

We put the blind on the back door window down and that has seemed to help quite a bit.  Potato Cat did come upstairs for a little while this morning, sat on the kitchen table, drank out of a vase (clean water), and played in the tunnel I brought upstairs to give him some cover.

He wants to chase and play, but something is still spooking him.  He is delighted to pounce on toes from the safety of his doughnut tunnel and chases his ribbon until he's dizzy.  He willingly climbs up on the couch to sit with you, but you can still see that he is almost expecting  a monster to jump out and grab him.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Been taking a break from my long-term short story project, which someone has been helping me to increase the flow of the logic of the sentences (for one day). I have been writing long notes on my characters before I attempt to write something new. I consider myself a planner instead of writing spontaneously, spurned by books that have questionnaires rather than writing continuously and spontaneously. The character is based on me. The notes I write will be used as inspiration for writing future stories.


----------



## Sinister

I learned of the passing of two people at the same time.  One a dear friend that I let slip away.  The other of a relative.  I've been off my meds again for the last week, because my pharmacy sent the refill request to the wrong Doctor.  I was doing okay with that.  I really was.  Plus my dogs are sick...all over the house.  You know it's when the little stuff piles up.  Honestly, if one more bad thing happens, I'm going to start laughing maniacally and just go to bed.

So weird.  It's been a shitty day.  That is all.


-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

Picked up my books. I think I am learning a lot about how people teach writing plots. Supposedly, a book on creative writing written by an academic recommends James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure. Christopher booker's book about plot is also highly recommended. Previously leec recommended plot and structure to me in his top books on my visitor page. This is more validation that I should learn what is in the book.

Tired after a long trip that lasted 4 hours.

Also, I received all my syntax books, but studying these will be postponed.


----------



## Theglasshouse

@Sinister: if you feel severe "bouts" of depression you could always consult. I know in my case they told me expressively that if someone near me dies, I need to go to a psychiatrist because it affects my disease directly. It would increase my symptoms, which are almost non-existent. Only do so if you think it is the right call. The death of relatives and close people, such as friends, can increase anxiety. In my case, it increases depression, which exacerbates my disease.


----------



## Darkkin

This will probably be one of my favourite pictures of Potato Cat ever.  He's upstairs on his own terms.  Still skittish, but seeing this from where he was on Tuesday is really what hope is all about.

Update:  Potato Cat hug!  I've missed my kitty.


----------



## Sinister

@Theglasshouse 
I'm okay with this.  I mean, I'm not, but that's okay, too.  What I'm trying to say is, aside from the normal amount of relapse and anxiety attacks, I'm cool.  Some old compulsions are coming back.  My thing with turning that hourglass.  Talking to no one and glaring at the Ertan Deep.  But I'm good and this(the meds) is all getting sorted out Monday.  And I'm dealing with the bad news in a mature and adult fashion, so far.  Which is surprising, if I say so myself.  Cause I'm neither of those things.

-Sin


----------



## Matchu

Three night shifts on the trot - boosts my empathatic abilities re the gentleman and the people who  I support.  Mind scrambled like three eggs in a bowl.  Lonely eggs, one actually.

But finally - away from the soapface and may concentrate on literary *talent* here at WF. 

Anxiety is high re 1 - external auditor in the workplace and 2 - the upcoming anthology, and issues relating to comedic piece - understood, I believe as literary - or wank - in the parlance...and actually every granule is this self-induced anxiety, and the photo-bio and why oh why...

Music and booze tonight.


----------



## Sinister

Dog.  Skunk.  That's how the morning started.  It proceeded to me having to make a trip at breakneck speeds to a township nearly forty-miles away to take pictures of documents to save someone from being stranded in Texas.  It's been a weird day, really.  I'm thinking about ending it with a pizza, tbh.  Mushroom and pepperoni, or just mushrooms?  Maybe even a Philly cheesesteak pizza.  Don't judge me.  lol  I finally got tired of cooking.

6/10

-Sin


----------



## Taylor

Sinister said:


> Dog.  Skunk.  That's how the morning started.  It proceeded to me having to make a trip at breakneck speeds to a township nearly forty-miles away to take pictures of documents to save someone from being stranded in Texas.  It's been a weird day, really.  I'm thinking about ending it with a pizza, tbh.  Mushroom and pepperoni, or just mushrooms?  Maybe even a Philly cheesesteak pizza.  Don't judge me.  lol  I finally got tired of cooking.
> 
> 6/10
> 
> -Sin


Oh, I know.  Pizza may not be the panacea for life's struggles -- but it's pretty damn close!


----------



## Darkkin

National Dog Day!  You're welcome.


----------



## Sinister

What a beautiful pupper, Darkkin.  ^^

Today was...a good day.

Moved some furniture and went to two different houses checking on puppy dogs, making sure they had plenty of love, water and food while their owners were away.  This weekend I'm going to move some more furniture.  I just hope my thumb stops hurting before then.  It's been hurting at the carpometacarpal joint.  I've done no repetitive motions, or exercises and it started hurting long before I moved furniture.

Must be getting old...or something.  Life gives us so much to live through and live around.  Sometimes just a simple joint pain...sometimes much worse.  Like the flooding in Pakistan.  Think how horrified those poor people are.  I wish I could help or contribute give money, volunteer or something.  I should never have any great amount of money.  I just don't value it.  Not over other people.  I'm far too naive to be rich.

Don't know how this post turned into this, but we're here now.  lol  I hope everyone out there had a good day today, too.

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

Eavesdropping at my grandmother's house. I am going to keep recording as much as I can on my trip here. Using the mac's recorder to accomplish this.


----------



## VRanger

Sometimes I have to prove I can do something all by myself, and usually that involves moving some large, heavy object ... often up some stairs.

Tonight I arranged to buy a new rocker-recliner. The one I'm using is OLD and most of the padding has compressed. I recently figured out that some of the leg and foot issues I've been having come directly from spending my days in this chair.

The problem is, I'm getting a great deal. Well, the great deal isn't the problem. The chair comes as a set with a la-z-boy couch. The set is less than half the price of just a recliner, because it's been used in staging a home and they can't sell it new anymore.

SO ... that means I had to move a chair and a loveseat from our living room. The chair went in the master bedroom, and the loveseat is going in the library. So moving the loveseat up the stairs was the challenge. I got it up there after pushing it up the stairs on its front, rotating it until it would ALMOST fit through the door at the top of the stairs, letting the topside feet hold it on the stairs, putting two boards under the top to lift them OFF the top two stairs while the bottom feet held on the stairs. squeezing my legs down the four-inch gap between it and the stairwell wall, lifting the bottom level with the landing and rotating it to squeeze through the doorway, and keeping it rotated while I pushed it onto the landing. Now I need to go down to my shop and get a four-wheel dolly, because it will only go through the door to the library on end so I can rotate it through the door.

All that so the couch from the den can go in the living room, but I'll let the guys bringing the new furniture tomorrow help me with that. It doesn't have to go up stairs!


----------



## Matchu

Quarter to four am..

…covering shift for man-baby’s sniffle/the man who could not face the prospect of another twelve hours in…_mental_ _health_ _context_…umm…our asylum…it is not really an asylum.  Asylum is my device - I cannot talk about the job…I have to metaphoralise…oblique…I’m kind of a secret agent…for Christ, like Chris Rea fighting Satan, Spanish train, that is my job.

I think it is Wednesday?  I can have a beer on Thursday night, i could have a beer in the morning technically.  Arriving home, despatched to bed with a mug of tea for three hour day sleep.  Blimey, night shift bipolar seeps through these walls, walls wobbling, the carpet soaked autism, holiday booked with one of the fellas next week. we trade skins,  he walks  a ‘free man,’ I remain confined forever.  No worse than that, I fall asleep, he peels off all of my flesh with his spoon…I go home skinless.  Honestly, worse things happen on night shift.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Reading recommended music artists lists and recommended movie lists. So listening to steve perry's music (from Journey). I might see Passing which was reviewed by Roger Ebert and it is on Netflix. I have some frustrations. My father has strong opinions about how I spend my money (books). I saw Dune yesterday. I think I books inspired by Dune might be the next books I read. Jemisin wrote a book that is similar to Dune. I want to study such novels to write my own works on environmentalism. The dune movie was good in its character development and imagination. I consider it fantasy and science fiction. Some of the magic powers of the characters are way over the top. The one I saw was directed and written by David lynch. To manage my schizoaffective disorder I have to entertain myself. One way I have been trying to do so is to listen to people's favorite music and see the best movies recommended by Ebert on Netflix.  This is the only way to regulate my moods besides the medicine I take. Yale university is giving a free course on poetry. To get all the books would be outside my budget. Google for a free a poetry course and you will find it. The dune messiah is the next book in the series. Dune relies heavily on world-building. So much it gave some interesting insights on how power in this world is gained by controlling nature and the spices.


----------



## Parabola

Some days I feel like conceptual peanut butter, spreading myself infinitely thin on the floor of the universe. At least it's the extra crunchy kind.


----------



## Sinister

I've hurt myself.  I won't be on for a while.  I'm alright.  I've suffered a concussion and broken a rib.  I'm on pain medication at the moment.  I just wanted to confirm to everyone that I am relatively okay, so far as anyone knows.  Hopefully, I won't be out of it too long.  Love you all and hope you're all being safe and doing well.

-Sin


----------



## PrairieHostage

Sinister said:


> I've hurt myself.  I won't be on for a while.  I'm alright.  I've suffered a concussion and broken a rib.  I'm on pain medication at the moment.  I just wanted to confirm to everyone that I am relatively okay, so far as anyone knows.  Hopefully, I won't be out of it too long.  Love you all and hope you're all being safe and doing well.
> 
> -Sin


Good luck with recuperation, Sin.

Today we threw my daughter in law a baby shower. I was exhausted after lol but it went well.

Today two guys went on a stabbing spree and killed 10 people and injured 15 people. They're still at large and last seen in my city. They'll likely be caught within 24 because they have the make & model of their vehicle and names & physical description of the men.


----------



## Taylor

PrairieHostage said:


> Good luck with recuperation, Sin.
> 
> Today we threw my daughter in law a baby shower. I was exhausted after lol but it went well.
> 
> Today two guys went on a stabbing spree and killed 10 people and injured 15 people. They're still at large and last seen in my city. They'll likely be caught within 24 because they have the make & model of their vehicle and names & physical description of the men.


Take care @PrairieHostage


----------



## PrairieHostage

Taylor said:


> Take care @PrairieHostage


Thanks Taylor. I see it's even made CNN and BBC news. It's unlikely for my province to make any news and it's too bad we made news for this reason.


----------



## Sinister

I'm okay.  I feel good.  Can't do aerobics, but I'm counting my blessings.  As for how it happened, I do not want to discuss it, even if you believed me.  Just say I slipped in the tub.  ><;  lol

Also, @PrairieHostage, that's not really what I meant, when I said stay safe out there.  That's insane.  I hope you've taken up the habit of keeping locked doors.  The mental landscape is really shaky lately.

-Sin


----------



## PrairieHostage

Well I guess they found one of the two brothers. He'd been stabbed to death. I think he tried to stop his brother and paid the ultimate price. The one brother is still at lae


Sinister said:


> I'm okay.  I feel good.  Can't do aerobics, but I'm counting my blessings.  As for how it happened, I do not want to discuss it, even if you believed me.  Just say I slipped in the tub.  ><;  lol
> 
> Also, @PrairieHostage, that's not really what I meant, when I said stay safe out there.  That's insane.  I hope you've taken up the habit of keeping locked doors.  The mental landscape is really shaky lately.
> 
> -Sin


Glad you're on the mend. I've had some falls myself, mostly on ice in the winter  

They found one of the brothers dead from stab wounds. The other brother is still at large. Crazy they haven't caught him yet. Likely someone is hiding him.


----------



## PrairieHostage

Well on to much happier news...I bought myself a little townhouse. I had to dip into my savings for a down payment but I think it's worth it for the gorgeous greenery that surrounds this complex. It's like walking into another realm. They've an outdoor pool, green gables above the doors, green shutters frame windows and a bit of green lattice against each wall. Very picturesque.
The grass is lush and there's at least four different kinds of tall trees. My cats will love the patio and we're getting new six foot fencing.
Possession September 29 but I'll move over a series of weekends to end of October. I want to clean the bejeezus out of it before hauling stiff in.


----------



## TerraLiga

PrairieHostage said:


> Well on to much happier news...I bought myself a little townhouse. I had to dip into my savings for a down payment but I think it's worth it for the gorgeous greenery that surrounds this complex. It's like walking into another realm. They've an outdoor pool, green gables above the doors, green shutters frame windows and a bit of green lattice against each wall. Very picturesque.
> The grass is lush and there's at least four different kinds of tall trees. My cats will love the patio and we're getting new six foot fencing.
> Possession September 29 but I'll move over a series of weekends to end of October. I want to clean the bejeezus out of it before hauling stiff in.


I assume invites for the housewarming will be in the post shortly?


----------



## PrairieHostage

TerraLiga said:


> I assume invites for the housewarming will be in the post shortly?


Hahaha I wish! Drinks by the pool before autumn weather hits!!


----------



## Sinister

PrairieHostage said:


> Well on to much happier news...I bought myself a little townhouse. I had to dip into my savings for a down payment but I think it's worth it for the gorgeous greenery that surrounds this complex. It's like walking into another realm. They've an outdoor pool, green gables above the doors, green shutters frame windows and a bit of green lattice against each wall. Very picturesque.
> The grass is lush and there's at least four different kinds of tall trees. My cats will love the patio and we're getting new six foot fencing.
> Possession September 29 but I'll move over a series of weekends to end of October. I want to clean the bejeezus out of it before hauling stiff in.



That's wonderful!  Everyone deserves a place to transform into a world that reflects their heart and personality.  It's such an amazing creative process, not unlike writing a book.  I'm happy for you.  But it can be tiring too.  So stay safe.  ^^

My day is going well...  I'm in my space room wrapped in a crocheted blanket that my Grandmother made for me, a little numb on pain medicine.  I'm eating cinnamon rolls and playing poker on my PS4 while listening to Mrballen stories.  There's a slumbering Labrador by the foot of my recliner.

Lazy day.  6/10

-Sin


----------



## Foxee

I had a packed schedule today...until my husband backed a quad (ATV*) off of a lift as he was unloading it from a truck. He shot off backwards, falling about seven feet to the concrete. The quad somehow didn't land on him which was good because the thing was huge. Unfortunately he had also been delivering it to a customer for work. 

My husband drove himself to the clinic that his work wanted him to use which I seriously do not think he should have done. However, worryingly, he defended the action by saying, "I hit my head, I'm probably not making great decisions." Excellent. Made me feel better. (NOT)

90% of our time at the clinic was spent trying to sort out worker's comp and a past-due bill from when worker's comp stiffed him from the injury from his LAST job. And also waiting for a pharmacist to pick up the phone so that the nurse could get a list of his prescriptions from them. The other 10% was the doc looking him over and deciding to send him to the ER.

The ER was more full than I've ever seen it. Full enough that the staff wasn't letting anyone but the patients stay. So I waited in my car and was updated by text. They did a CT and x-rays and found nothing broken, it's just the soft tissue damage that's going to be a real pain until he heals.

Tomorrow we find out if he still has a job, I guess.

We stopped at the grocery store for frozen pizzas and the prescriptions the hospital had given him. When we came out it was raining and the sun was out, creating the most gorgeous, clear, bright double rainbow I've ever gotten to see personally. As I was driving home the rainbow appeared to keep pace, often seeming to end in the field next to the road or on the road (I saw no pot of gold, sadly). This thing stayed steady until I went over the last hill, out of the rain.

Ups and downs today, I guess. Little more steep than some days.

*All Terrain Vehicle


----------



## Parabola

Okay so far. I've been up and tagging sections of Murder Console for future reference. Maybe I'll start a blog or thread dedicated to snippets. It's a bit journal-y, and as of now I see it as a time capsule (pertinent to my own life and no one else's).


----------



## Splinter

Splinter said:


> Now that our living room has a cosy log burner, new flooring and repainted walls, I turned my attention to the bookcases. This is mainly because our cleaner (mucama) who comes over twice a month, has no respect for books at all. I'm not obsessive about order, but there are some things that should be in the correct order, primarily books.
> This is one of three bookcases where my published books are sandwiched between Wellington and Tristan Jones. I love adventure books.
> View attachment 29292


A smaller bookcase, but no less important. Priorities, see?


----------



## Parabola

I keep waking up with a bone-dry mouth and grinding my teeth. Some mornings it feels like having a mouthful of sand, this was one of them.


----------



## Joker

My buddy took this picture of our cars at the meet today. His is on the left, mine is on the right.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I got the microphone to work on the Mac computer. It makes mistakes. It made about two mistakes in Microsoft word which is the most accurate speech-to-text software that I believe exists on the Mac. Yes, even otter is inferior. There were some drivers that I had to download from the Internet. I assumed it did not work because I did not know that the drivers existed. I am anxious to try it out and correct errors I made in my stories. (I corrected 3 errors in this paragraph that siri made when I was dictating) (it types faster than me typing)


----------



## Sinister

Cold morning for me.
Frost is nibbling on mint leaves.
Heated Blanket, now.



-Sin


----------



## Parabola

Another boring day wrapped in an eternal mystery.


----------



## Theglasshouse

@Yumi Koizumi : I found a website that has many recommendations depending on your budget and this works perfectly with dragon 15. I found this in my research. I went everywhere: youtube, google to search for products, and on amazon's website I would filter the reviews to check to see if was good for mac and dictation since many people use it as a sound studio, prodcating, chat, streaming, etc. However, there are no recorder recommendations.





__





						Microphone Selection Guide
					






					www.speechrecsolutions.com
				




Here's a free demonstration: 
At 65 dollars is what I will try to get for myself. It's compatible with mac and PC. The website is from professionals it seems. They have tested many microphones and reviewed these in detail.

I myself plan to use it for google voice typing. It has noise cancellation. This is the budget mic. The accuracy and noise cancellation is present in this device and it is for dedicated speech and voice recognition.

It even compares the tablemikes known for their accuracy and noise cancellation. This one got four stars out of five. They even mentioned in this review it is good even though tablemikes are the best.

Good luck.


----------



## Parabola

How did my day go? Sometimes I like to poke at elitists, now this might not exactly be reading to kids at the orphanage, but it's my way of contributing to society. That's "so far" anyway. The rest of the day is still an open oyster.


----------



## Sinister

That's weird.  I wondered why it posted a music video on my above post.    Must've hit CTRL + V or something...

Edited it out.

Just finished feeding and watering and repotting.  I've got two Oncidiums, now, that are sporting inflorescences.  Can't wait.  One of them I haven't seen yet.
Finished resurfacing and sealing my driveway.  Winter will screw it up all over again, I'm sure.  But it looks nice for now.

Think my Beech tree died, sadly.  It was too old to re-plant, I think.  We'll see.  Here's hoping.  I'm going to chill for the rest of the day.

And here is the main headline, though.  Church BBQ was today.  I got two Lbs of pork and two of Mutton.  I'll freeze what I don't eat and that'll keep me in vittles for at least five or six days.  They have the best pit BBQ in the universe.  I've seen them do it.  They take mops and buckets from Lowe's and slather the stuff in sauce over the pit for like two days.  Ribs with a raspberry BBQ sauce, with a perfect smoke ring.  Worth leaving the house for...

-Sin


----------



## Parabola

Sometimes, after I finish a debate with someone (in my defense, they usually start it), I wonder how they manage various mundane tasks. Maybe the mouth isn't connected to the brain in the typical sense.


----------



## Theglasshouse

A storm is approaching according to the weather forecasts. I stayed at home. My family went instead of me to my grandmother's house. Overall, today was a good day. They brought some dessert with them and we will eat it tomorrow. 

I was at first skeptical about investing in science journals, but now I believe it is a must to write science fiction. I might invest in a subscription for MIT technology review. One of their articles got my attention. I will subscribe in the future. I am selling two items as used products on different websites. This is where I get some of my ideas. 80 sounds like a high price to pay. However, I have a used book I am selling for 100 dollars. Science fiction writers need science journals. The free one isn't doing the trick. The article has a high-concept idea. I just need to explain the science behind the technology.

I am selling a speech mike microphone. So that should be enough if it sells.

A science journal is needed for plotting, so I will keep it in mind when I receive the money I receive.

Some of my best ideas came from the MIT technology review, which is no longer free. My most recent story has a technology developed by MIT. I think this is a good science journal.


----------



## Parabola

I need to stop spoiling tv shows for myself.


----------



## NajaNoir

Just found out I'm not the superhuman I thought I was. Tested positive for Covid for the 1st time, quite a bummer, thought I was one of those lucky immune people.

But all in all could be worse, I got five days off and I'm going to spend them writing...or at least thinking about writing.


----------



## PiP

I've got the *Grandfather *of ALL toothaches and I can't get an appointment until tomorrow morning. It's been throbbing continuously for two days so can someone cut my head off, please?


----------



## Parabola

Some days I wonder if I've gone insane, but really that's a neutral statement overall.


----------



## Joker

PiP said:


> I've got the *Grandfather *of ALL toothaches and I can't get an appointment until tomorrow morning. It's been throbbing continuously for two days so can someone cut my head off, please?


----------



## PiP

Be warned. I've had a crap week so far so I'm on a short fuse. The grandfather of all toothaches has morphed into an infection in my glands and ears. The dentist can't remove the tooth (root canal) because it is so inflamed even the anaesthetic injections launched me into orbit and failed to numb the inflamed area. . I then had a violent reaction to the anaesthetic and went into shock. I thought I was going to be carted away in an ambulance. The antibiotics have not yet kicked in ... and painkillers only last six hours. Currently sitting here with an ice collar around my neck.

If AB doesn't kick in by Sunday I will have to go to the hospital.

 To top it all a lightening strike frazzled my router and we've been without WiFi at home since Tuesday night. Today's highlight. The internet guy arrived on our doorstep a day earlier than scheduled, gave us a new router and fingers crossed normal service is resumed.

I normally love the friends or are currently staying with us but even so I've eaten them alive on a couple of occasions then had to apologize. I have no patience with them asking stupid questions and telling me what to do when I can't do any more than I'm doing I'm crawling up the walls with pain.


----------



## Parabola

I can't be around anxious ocd types. They make me want to develop an alcohol addiction. In my defense, I tried.


----------



## Splinter

I feel for you @PiP . That sounds truly agonising, so get well soon.
Tomorrow I'm going to see a Royal Enfield Himalayan motorcycle that I may buy, but I won't mention it to my current bike as I'm riding over there, just in case.
Changing bikes is like changing horses - it's a serious business.


----------



## Sinister

Spent the last hour and a half carpooling home with a drunkish gay/bi gentleman snuggled up and asleep on my left arm.  He reassured me I didn't have to ever tell anyone and thanked me for the body-warmth.  But I'm secure in my asexuality, so it's fine.  He also speaks fluent Dutch, apparently.  How do I know?  He talks in his sleep.  This was after having left a Pinball and Arcade bar(where I drank two old-fashioneds, a mojito and humiliatingly enough, a jello shot), after leaving a ramen automat in Nashville.  Bachelor parties...  I left my sanctuary, fought down my agoraphobia and social anxiety, traveled to Music city...to get buzzed, eat Tonkatsu Ramen, play Wacko and Atari Star Wars and socialize with total strangers.  I was prolly the weirdest weirdo there, but I had a great time and met some cool people.

All-in-all...  It was a solid 7/10 day and I don't want to do something like it again for another year...

-Sin


----------



## Splinter

Psst...
My bike hasn't clocked yet, so I think I'm safe. It'll be hard saying goodbye.


----------



## Splinter

Deposit paid on this beauty!


----------



## VRanger

Not that great for me. Last week somehow the cargo light got on in our SUV. My best guess is the corner of a cardboard box tapped it on as I unloaded while recycling. I've been able to get the battery charged enough to crank the car three times since then, but it wouldn't retain the charge. So today I spent 90 minutes in AutoZone, while a guy who had no clue what he was doing tried to sell me a battery. Actually, that was 65 minutes. At that point a competent employee noticed what was going on, confirmed and found the correct battery, and installed it.

That was 3:30 to 5, and I HAD to leave there with a new battery or I might as well have moved into the place. Then it was on to the grocery store at the WORST TIME OF DAY to be shopping for groceries. Lines across the front and down into the aisles, but I got lucky and got one where no one had full carts. Still 45 minutes there for simple maintenance stocking.

Resetting everything in the car since the battery was exchanged.

Then rush hour traffic. I actually had to stop for one of the traffic lights on the bypass. A nightmare. ;-)


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Free coffee at work last night. All right. Had me an extra cup figuring I'd stay awake to write when I got home. Instead battled with city over the phone all morning over meth heads across the street again.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am tempted to study anthropology, psychology, and sociology. They say it helps with characterization and I agree. After reading McKee's book on characterisation it makes sense. He refutes Aristotle's plot importance like Lajos Egri did (character is more important than plot). Reading non-fiction works of the people you are going to write about is necessary, it seems.

Currently preparing the backstory for a character in my story. The story got extensive feedback from a member here.

Anyone take Jerry Jenkin's classes? I am mostly interested in self-editing my work. Making an outline is one of those things I find necessary to do. I might be in a position to pay the monthly subscription fee.  However, that might be as early as this month or as late as December. I guess I want to create bullet points of my paragraph and to structure it accordingly. So that it flows logically without any problems with logical consistency.

I hope I don't have to pay for something that costs 245.  I promised myself I needed to vary or try different hobbies and not just write. For example, I grew up in an era of video games. An old classic game of my younger years is about to release again. It's goldeneye 007.

To do the last thing I said I need to save money and it's conflicting with my writing goals.

I want to achieve my goals by saving money economically? Does anyone have advice? I want to edit myself with the help of Jerry Jenkin's class. I don't know when I will take it. But a member here said that they found it useful for correcting my work. Did anyone try to take any of his courses or any class of his in general? Or did they sign up for it?

Today, my day is going well. I am reading McKee and stopped after 18 pages because reading can make me sleepy and somewhat tired. I am doing this to flesh out the character in the revision of the story that was checked by a member. Yesterday, I read much more than that. My goal was to write a backstory that is compelling to readers and Mckee explains what I need to do.

By knowing the three dimensions, I could change the desire of the character I am supposing and what they want in the story. I have a long way to go to finish McKee's book.


----------



## Pamelyn Casto

My day went super. I got a copy of my newly published book this afternoon and everything looks good. It's nice to finally hold it in my hands after all the years of hard work.


----------



## Parabola

Decent, quality will most likely decrease but then I usually bring that on myself. Heh.


----------



## Parabola

Still working on ol' buck 'em joe story. I wonder if he's a more or less harmless nomadic sociopath.


----------



## VRanger

Busy cooking. I decided to do Oktoberfest today ... so I made German potato salad ... for the first time but it turned out great  ... brats, and apple strudel. I wanted to watch a German movie while we ate, so I fired up Where Eagles Dare. Lots of Germans in that one. ;-)


----------



## JBF

VRanger said:


> Busy cooking. I decided to do Oktoberfest today ... so I made German potato salad (for the first time but it turned out great  ... brats, and apple strudel. I wanted to watch a German movie while we ate, so I fired up Where Eagles Dare. Lots of Germans in that one. ;-)



The bierwaschbaer approve.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

VRanger said:


> I wanted to watch a German movie while we ate, so I fired up Where Eagles Dare. Lots of Germans in that one. ;-)



Das Boot would've been my choice, but hey, you're not wrong.


----------



## Mark Twain't

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Das Boot would've been my choice, but hey, you're not wrong.


Downfall, absolutely brilliant movie.


----------



## JBF

_Stalingrad_.  The German one from 1993.

Watch it backwards for a story of three Wermacht buddies escaping a frozen Russian hellscape to vacation in the Med.


----------



## Parabola

My headphones stopped working. Wtf?


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> My headphones stopped working. Wtf?



Thoughts and prayers


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Thoughts and prayers



Seriously.


----------



## FreeG

Splinter said:


> Deposit paid on this beauty!


Congrats. That looks great.


----------



## Splinter

I'm not keen on riding in the rain but when it's a question of collecting money, I'm game!
Anyway, the Himalayan is very safe and stable in the wet and even has ABS so in the end, even though it was torrential, it was fun.


----------



## VRanger

Finally winding down a bit today. I spent most of it putting the finishing touches on a new eCommerce site (which I've been working on since late last week) and fighting the internet, which I've detected some issues on today ... late emails ... uncharacteristic lag on some major sites. My DNS on a new URL for the new site wouldn't resolve ... I wound up piggy-backing their product images under a previously established client's image site so my partner can see the product images as he does the final user testing. Strange day.


----------



## Sinister

I have finally nailed down the one single thing that I hate about this season.  Every other thing is perfection.  The temps, the colored leaves, the greatest holiday but there must be a flaw to let ourselves know that things could always get better.


EDIT:

And remember, if you feel called-out or triggered by this:  It's the reactionary horror of people who see the obsession, but just don't understand.  I decided very early on that pumpkin spice, pumpkin pie and pumpkin flavored things...I just don't get it.

-Sin


----------



## Parabola

Woke up with considerable neck pain. Hope it passes in a day or two.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> Woke up with considerable neck pain. Hope it passed in a day or two.



Heal quickly and fully, amigo.


A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

One of my Work-Betas wasn't there yesterday, so they got their binder copy of _God Bless Smalltown, USA_ tonight (well, last night). They flagged me down later on with an interesting complement. They told me that when they go into a bookstore, and they see a book that catches their attention, they'll pick it up and read the first two paragraphs and ten the last two paragraphs. They told me that if that hooks them, they buy the book.

Anyone relate?

Interesting enough, when I approached this person to be a Beta reader, they told me to tell them nothing about the book other than the title. I obliged them, natch. Told them the title and that I wrote it. When they flagged me down tonight, they told me they did their regular thing of read the first two paragraphs and then the last two. They said they absolutely love it.

Umm... interesting.

So, if nothing else, I can write a kick ass opening paragraph and a killer closing paragraph. Neither of those changed from the original skeletons, so I'm hogging all the credit to myself there.


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> One of my Work-Betas wasn't there yesterday, so they got their binder copy of _God Bless Smalltown, USA_ tonight (well, last night). They flagged me down later on with an interesting complement. They told me that when they go into a bookstore, and they see a book that catches their attention, they'll pick it up and read the first two paragraphs and ten the last two paragraphs. They told me that if that hooks them, they buy the book.
> 
> Anyone relate?
> 
> Interesting enough, when I approached this person to be a Beta reader, they told me to tell them nothing about the book other than the title. I obliged them, natch. Told them the title and that I wrote it. When they flagged me down tonight, they told me they did their regular thing of read the first two paragraphs and then the last two. They said they absolutely love it.
> 
> Umm... interesting.
> 
> So, if nothing else, I can write a kick ass opening paragraph and a killer closing paragraph. Neither of those changed from the original skeletons, so I'm hogging all the credit to myself there.



I seem to have this thing where I can look at someone's writing and predict "this person will be contacted by an agent/will have success some other way (ebooks)." From where I'm standing, you have this in the bag. Another big thing is the concept and some broader series flow, ability to think things through on that end (again, nailed).

Also, out of curiosity, you mentioned this being "slice of life"? Do you have another genre it sort of slots into?


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> I seem to have this thing where I can look at someone's writing and predict "this person will be contacted by an agent/will have success some other way (ebooks)." From where I'm standing, you have this in the bag. Another big thing is the concept and some broader series flow, ability to think things through on that end (again, nailed).
> 
> Also, out of curiosity, you mentioned this being "slice of life"? Do you have another genre it sort of slots into?



I don't really think all of it fits into one genre, but has elements of others thrown in along the way:
Coming of age (at least in the first half of this book); dark humor; tragedy; romance; historical fiction (it's weird to refer to the nineties and aughties as _historical_); erotica (smidges here and there, but mostly leading up to the act, and then cuts to something else); drama. And I'm still not quite sure how to categorize the part where I'm pretty much giving you step-by-step instructions on how one built and run an unlicensed (illegal) fully operational FM radio station out of your dwelling in the 90's without getting caught. (Pretty much the books _The Making Of Pat Mediocre_ through _The Death Of The Radio Pirate_).

By the way, statute of limitations and conditional government amnesty on that last part, if you're wondering about me worried about what I'm writing about. 

So I honestly have no clue as to what genre to call these beasties... other than fiction. 

A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> Woke up with considerable neck pain. Hope it passed in a day or two.



My wife fractured her neck in a car accident the spring before we were to get married. She made a full recovery, but she has neck pain from time to time.


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> I don't really think all of it fits into one genre, but has elements of others thrown in along the way:
> Coming of age (at least in the first half of this book); dark humor; tragedy; romance; historical fiction (it's weird to refer to the nineties and aughties as _historical_); erotica (smidges here and there, but mostly leading up to the act, and then cuts to something else); drama. And I'm still not quite sure how to categorize the part where I'm pretty much giving you step-by-step instructions on how one built and run an unlicensed (illegal) fully operational FM radio station out of your dwelling in the 90's without getting caught. (Pretty much the books _The Making Of Pat Mediocre_ through _The Death Of The Radio Pirate_).
> 
> By the way, statute of limitations and conditional government amnesty on that last part, if you're wondering about me worried about what I'm writing about.
> 
> So I honestly have no clue as to what genre to call these beasties... other than fiction.
> 
> A.C.



Yeah, for some reason I also lean towards the nineties and early 2000s, especially for longer stuff. 

Also, that's one of the challenges, trying to make your book marketable by fitting it into the appropriate genre(s), though that's my issue too other than with the occasional horror piece.  

Both of those titles you just listed are growing on me btw.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sleeping in a bad position will give me a stiff neck. That's if I do not sleep in a straight position in bed. Also, I feel pain in my hands from time-to-time if I sleep in a bad position. If I rest my head on my arms I feel pain the next day. This is perfectly normal. It has happened to me plenty of times. I sleep face-up to avoid sleeping on my arms or hand. I also make sure I have a normal position in bed or lined. This is probably common knowledge but I decided to share. When young we don't know certain things that can happen such as these mentioned ideas.


----------



## Joker

Sinister said:


> I have finally nailed down the one single thing that I hate about this season.  Every other thing is perfection.  The temps, the colored leaves, the greatest holiday but there must be a flaw to let ourselves know that things could always get better.
> 
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> And remember, if you feel called-out or triggered by this:  It's the reactionary horror of people who see the obsession, but just don't understand.  I decided very early on that pumpkin spice, pumpkin pie and pumpkin flavored things...I just don't get it.
> 
> -Sin



Pumpkin spice be dope tho - a white man


----------



## S J Ward

A day off, during my two month holiday. No shopping, no trailing round towns, no walking the hounds. I went fishing; no fish also.
Meant to be judging the lit man competition. Just needed a break.
No BLOODY FISH  THOUGH!
SIX RUDDY HOURS!
NOT A FRIGGIN MINNOW!98


----------



## Parabola

Joker said:


> Pumpkin spice be dope tho - a white man



I do have a "pumpkin spice and chill" coffee mug (was given to me).


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

I got out to my car after work, and there was a variety 24 pack of beer in the passenger seat.

Thank you, Beer Fairy.


----------



## Parabola

Overslept. Now time for coffee and keyboarding.


----------



## Joker

Parabola said:


> I do have a "pumpkin spice and chill" coffee mug (was given to me).



Now _that's _white.


----------



## Parabola

Joker said:


> Now _that's _white.



I am fairly white, yes.


----------



## mistamastamusta

Parabola said:


> Overslept. Now time for coffee and keyboarding.


Pumpkin spice creamer?


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

mistamastamusta said:


> Pumpkin spice creamer?



Stop! It exists.


----------



## mistamastamusta

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Stop! It exists.


Yup it does. 

I myself just enjoyed a couple of pumpkin spice donuts from Krispy Kreme


----------



## Parabola

Having a little trouble getting started after a headache inducing day.


----------



## Foxee

The fall colors showed up in earnest about two weeks ago. Yesterday was so raw and inhospitable that the community cats (Karen, Stripes, and The Darkness) hung out in our enclosed porch and in our kitchen much of the day. As the cold creeps in and drives the reserved warmth of summer from the woods, it's time to turn to the fire and read. 

I'm really busy as usual but right at the moment feeling a tremendous satisfaction in the WF group effort to put out a Halloween Collection.


----------



## Sinister

Made Pozole.  I made it without the Aztec Long-PIg.  So, don't call the cops.  Also, I seem to have drank my share of Goldschlager.  Can't walk straight, but still, I'm gonna clean house, make baked potatoes and season the steaks for tomorrow and also play Cyberpunk 2077 while drinking all of the remaining alcohol.

Sad but true.

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Coffee


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> I am fairly white, yes.


I’m _drive my tractor 300 miles in 3 days to cross a 5 mile bridge then drive it back home again_ white


----------



## Arsenex

My day began as usual, sloshing through the sewers beneath the city as the Karthian frigate and its drones remain overhead. Call me a rat, a slithering snake, I don't care. I won't be part of the ritualized slaughter of the rest of the human race as you go blindly through your day watching TV and chatting on your phones, typing messages to each other over the "internet", thinking you are relevant.

Bill Gates is not the enemy. He only works for the enemy. You people don't even know you have implants. And the world is not round as they've tricked you into believing. It's flat. I've been to the edge and looked over.

Today we are to get torrential rains here. My tunnels will flood. Their attempt to rid the world of me. But I will keep sloshing, slithering, I don't care. My day will come. And when they've been defeated, Gates and all, I will rise from my manhole cover and shout, "Libertas! Libertas! Orior triumpho!"


----------



## Explosia

I'm feelin' kind of exhausted, to be honest, for reasons that offer me plenty mixed feelings. I recently decided to try adopting cats again, and this time I wanted to get two so that they would both have each other and not be lonely. So two 1-year-old cats have come here to stay while I foster them for roughly a month or so to see if we're a good fit. They are sweet sisters, one torti and one light calico. 

They arrived on Sunday, but I have to say, I am exhausted... Not because of them running around and causing mischief. In fact, they're very well behaved. But they're very shy, so we're all going through this transitional "getting used to things" period. That's fine enough, too, and the torti is already acclimating pretty well. But her sister, the calico, she's more timid. But what has me most concerned is that she doesn't eat much. She'll eat treats but barely nibbles wet food and doesn't touch her hard food. So for the past few days, I've been stressing over how much she's eating. Add to that also stressing about "Am I giving them enough attention? Should I be trying to coax them out of their hiding spots more? Should I leave the door open or close it?"

Right now, I'm sitting on my couch, and the door to their room is open, so they're free to wander out whenever they want. But I'm just going to sink into the crevices of my couch and bury myself in edits for my horror novella. And this is what writing is most great for, folks.


----------



## Joker

Explosia said:


> I'm feelin' kind of exhausted, to be honest, for reasons that offer me plenty mixed feelings. I recently decided to try adopting cats again, and this time I wanted to get two so that they would both have each other and not be lonely. So two 1-year-old cats have come here to stay while I foster them for roughly a month or so to see if we're a good fit. They are sweet sisters, one torti and one light calico.
> 
> They arrived on Sunday, but I have to say, I am exhausted... Not because of them running around and causing mischief. In fact, they're very well behaved. But they're very shy, so we're all going through this transitional "getting used to things" period. That's fine enough, too, and the torti is already acclimating pretty well. But her sister, the calico, she's more timid. But what has me most concerned is that she doesn't eat much. She'll eat treats but barely nibbles wet food and doesn't touch her hard food. So for the past few days, I've been stressing over how much she's eating. Add to that also stressing about "Am I giving them enough attention? Should I be trying to coax them out of their hiding spots more? Should I leave the door open or close it?"
> 
> Right now, I'm sitting on my couch, and the door to their room is open, so they're free to wander out whenever they want. But I'm just going to sink into the crevices of my couch and bury myself in edits for my horror novella. And this is what writing is most great for, folks.



You been tracking her weight?


----------



## Explosia

Joker said:


> You been tracking her weight?


She is visibly thinner than her sister, but not underweight (and to be fair, her sister is just a tad on the pudgy side). I think her weight is fine right now, but I admit, I do keep eyeballing her to see if she looks like she's losing weight...


----------



## Parabola

Not bad. Just sunk about 1K into MC3. In the middle of the school takeover scene that's set during Halloween (flashback). Will probably set it aside for the night.

Maybe I'll watch an episode of my secret shame tv show.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

*(WARNING: SERIES SPOILER ALERT)*

I finished my coffee and did some dishes.  ( * SPOILER ALERT NUMBER A * ) As I did, I got to thinking an odd interaction at the funeral of MC Chris later in the series (End of Book 11, The Death Of The Radio Pirate). We have Elisa, who I introduced early in book 1 (God Bless Small Town, USA). I've decided her story arc is that after her and Mark get married and have second kid in Hays, Kansas, that she decided to get into local politics and run for city council. She'll be a democrat, which might sound odd considering Kansas is hardcore Republican land, but we're talking about a college town, so the possibility of a Democrat getting elected is plausible.
But wait, that's not all.
We have Paul, whom I'm introducing later in the series (Book 6: The World's Greatest Ex-Boyfriend) . Paul is the boyfriend, then later husband of Shay (who Chris meets at a party at the end of book 4: Some Caffeine And A Hurricane), who Chris dates when he moves to Lincoln in Book 5 (It Never Goes As Planned).  ( * SPOILER ALERT NUMBER B  * ) I'm also making it so that Paul is the cousin of a former lover of Chris, Amanda, whom I introduced second half of Book 1 (The awkward revelation comes book 6.. or maybe it's in 7.. I can't remember, and I don't have my notes in front of me.) because we need interesting _It's a small world_ moments to read about. Anyways, Paul, the reader will discover has political ambitions himself, wanting to someday be the governor of Nebraska (there are running jokes about it and comparing Paul and Shay to Bill and Hillary Clinton through out that part of the series.)

So, I'm standing there in the kitchen washing coffee cups and thinking _Should I have Elisa and Paul standing off to the side near Chris' casket doing a meet 'n' greet political networking thing with each other or is that too tasteless for a funeral scene that's about to get extremely chaotic anyways?_

Sorry, still chuckling to myself about it right now.

Why are you all looking at me like that?


----------



## Parabola

Procrastinating on jumping into MC3. I have to finish the flashback school scene, then it jumps back to Kevin's regime in full swing, where Jason puts Ethan at gunpoint, forcing him to kill his dad. 

Another scene I'm thinking about is much further down the line, toward the end in Mia's fortress. Eugene sees his best friend as causing chaos every time he intervenes. They have a common thread through most of this story, but Ethan is about to cause change again. So, will Eugene be like, "gonna have to stop you right there, chief"?

We'll see.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Two week vacation starts today.


----------



## Parabola

Head splitting, and yet for some odd reason I'm still conscious.


----------



## Sinister

Wretched.  Bought a 24 case of Dr. Pepper only to realize that because I haven't drank colas in over a year...That I simply can't drink them anymore.  They're too sweet.  They are CLOYINGLY sweet.  I mean, a single sip makes me nauseous.

-Sin


----------



## Matchu

24 case is a lot.  Why not buy a single tin at a time, or really…drink tea, water, booze only , my guidelines.


----------



## Sinister

Matchu said:


> 24 case is a lot.  Why not buy a single tin at a time, or really…drink tea, water, booze only , my guidelines.


Yeah, well, once upon a time 24 wasn't that much.  It would last me about two weeks.  But now, I'm apparently going to stick to coffee, water and booze.
Idk what I'm gonna do with the colas now.

-Sin


----------



## Matchu

Only…I know lots of guys who drink lots of fizzy pop…and they get diabetes…

[probably completely unrelated to our conversation]


----------



## C.K.Johnson

As a side gig, I pet sit. I just learned one of my regular clients passed away a few weeks ago at age 42. Oliver misses her so much


----------



## mistamastamusta

My first homecoming went really well. I had a lot of fun with my friends and boyfriend.
I'm the one on the right.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I bought the best book on how to describe anything that is an image such as a picture. I recommend it if someone has access to the apple store's digital books. Or maybe the google play store has a copy that can be bought (digital file). Last time I saw the tiny book for sale it went for 45 dollars. (it's shipped from Australia in some stores)

Here is the title of the book:
*How to write what you want to sav about visual images
a guide for students who know what they want to say but can't find the words.*

Here is the complete list of techniques on how to describe:
Describing, explaining, inferring, interpreting, comparing, analyzing. critiquing, reflecting.
(these are the table of contents)(it gives prompts to brainstorm how to infer from the image, analyze it and so on)

I admit I wanted to have it in paperback, but it is out of print.
Sample of analyzing an image:
Meaning examining the parts of something in detail and discussing or interpreting the relationship of the parts to each other and to the whole thing to know. As analyzing may involve describing, comparing, explaining, interpreting and critiquing. The information on those also, be useful. Pages may involve displaying graphic organizers for analyzing describe the part and discussing its relationship to other parts and the whole image.
• describe the part • discuss its relationship to other parts and the whole image
PART OF THE IMAGE
• describe the part • discuss its relationship to other parts and the whole image

If someone needs to describe better, this book does explain in 80 pages how to do it. I mention this because joker for example, mentioned he had some difficulty with describing. There are many different ways to describe. To be inspired you can always compare, infer, analyze, explain and so on.

I bought Pamelyn Casto's physical book on flash fiction. I also decided to subscribe to a science news website that will help me write the technology of the stories I write for science fiction (Mit Technology Review).

Also, it is worth mentioning I don't think a better book exists. It's been me researching this for a long time. I took a risk and it paid off. It gives examples of using each technique (there are more than six techniques). For example, to compare it gives an example. It suggests how to start the description.

I imagine this book is good enough for describing when doing observation when in a physical setting as well.

To compare it suggests comparing two different pictures in stark contrast. For example, a house in the woods at night and a house that looked like a barn in the morning. Or compare two different texts concerning these locations to get good ideas on how to describe it by knowing how to say it.

I will start writing tomorrow again.

This book was a risk to buy, even judging by the sample (4-5 pages long), but it works for me.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> Yeah, well, once upon a time 24 wasn't that much.  It would last me about two weeks.  But now, I'm apparently going to stick to coffee, water and booze.
> Idk what I'm gonna do with the colas now.
> 
> -Sin



Knuckle dragger idea: give it away at Halloween.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

mistamastamusta said:


> My first homecoming went really well. I had a lot of fun with my friends and boyfriend.
> I'm the one on the right.
> 
> 
> View attachment 29697



<respectful, complementary font>  You look very nice.


----------



## JBF

Good news: new small laptop so I'm not reliant on fat-fingering my smartphone trying to type messages here.

Bad news: this replaces my favored Word 2007 with something called Office 365....a subscription model, unless you opt to do the free online version (and no, because I hate technology and everything associated with it, up to and including 'secure' online storage).  So now I'm looking for something that won't mangle my Word files from the other computer while also allowing me to flip Microsoft the bird.  

Whoever thought this was a good idea deserves a chainsaw enema.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

I use open office, and for grammar checking, Google Doc. However they don't play nicey-nicey with each other in the copy-pasta department. But that's on a 16 year old re-furbed MacBook Pro, too.  So I'm sure someone with more brain cells will have a better idea. 

I hate the fact software is now going to subscription service.  Makes me appreciate open source stuff even more, even if some of it is either Freddy Flintstone or has a huge learning curve.


----------



## JBF

For the moment I'm testing out LibreOffice Writer.  

So far so good.  It's not a hundred-percent interchange, but a lot of the open-source alternatives seem to be good at taking the best parts from the Microsoft suite and dumping the useless.  I'm cautiously optimistic.  

Plus...no tiny phone keys.  Decided plus there.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

JBF said:


> For the moment I'm testing out LibreOffice Writer.
> 
> So far so good.  It's not a hundred-percent interchange, but a lot of the open-source alternatives seem to be good at taking the best parts from the Microsoft suite and dumping the useless.  I'm cautiously optimistic.
> 
> Plus...no tiny phone keys.  Decided plus there.



I've been so absorbed into Mac stuff for so long that I honestly thought LibreOffice and OpenOffice were the same thing, just referred to by different names.

Point and laugh, it's OK. 

You'll have to let me know how that works. I might have to look into it if it's a better option than OpenOffice.


----------



## JBF

I loved OpenOffice until I started shifting files between Writer and Word.  For strict utility it was great.  For jumping between software...let's say some stuff got lost in translation, usually a complete formatting upheaval and the random appearance of letters and symbols.  Anything that made the jump essentially had to be re-edited from the start once I was done.

Still think it was a better program than the abomination of Word once they introduced...ribbons.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Just for gits and shiggles, I tried downloading Libre to see what it’s like. My Mac’s too old and outdated, it won’t run on it.


----------



## JBF

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Just for gits and shiggles, I tried downloading Libre to see what it’s like. My Mac’s too old and outdated, it won’t run on it.



Pour one out for the old homies.


----------



## Parabola

Not bad. It's the morning though, which is my favorite time since after that everything goes downhill. That aside, going over MC2's google doc and approaching it like a game design thing. Thinking about atmospheric/world ruleset, which is meant to be the "absurd sequel" mood-wise, although that's just one aspect of the aesthetic.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Step-sprout decided to go see a hockey game two hours from her house... which is an hour on the other side of us. Her hubs is out enjoying Indian summer on the links with his kinfolk. So somehow we're grandsprout-watching.

I'm still trying to figure out how this happened....


----------



## mistamastamusta

Had another competition today. The band did pretty well today compared to last week. Scored a 87.6, but it wasn't enough to beat our rival school, nonetheless higher than last week's score.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

mistamastamusta said:


> Had another competition today. The band did pretty well today compared to last week. Scored a 87.6, but it wasn't enough to beat our rival school, nonetheless higher than last week's score.



Good for you in your progress.  What do you play?

In high school, I marched with a bass clarinet. That was.... interesting. For just curiosity, I tried marching once with a contrabass clarinet. That last all of five minutes. I would've needed a freakin' skateboard or a rollerskate to hold it. 

Wifey's oldest grand-sprout plays drums in his high school marching band. They scored a '1' in their regional competition last weekend (highest rating), and performed this weekend in the Motor City.


----------



## mistamastamusta

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Good for you in your progress.  What do you play?
> 
> In high school, I marched with a bass clarinet. That was.... interesting. For just curiosity, I tried marching once with a contrabass clarinet. That last all of five minutes. I would've needed a freakin' skateboard or a rollerskate to hold it.
> 
> Wifey's oldest grand-sprout plays drums in his high school marching band. They scored a '1' in their regional competition last weekend (highest rating), and performed this weekend in the Motor City.


Well, I'm in Colorguard, but in concert band, I play baritone. 

That indeed is very interesting, I don't know of a band that competes in TOB or NJMBDA that marches bass clarinet. 

I wanted to march tenor last year, but then I chose Colorguard instead. We scored 4th in our group size today.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

mistamastamusta said:


> Well, I'm in Colorguard, but in concert band, I play baritone.
> 
> That indeed is very interesting, I don't know of a band that competes in TOB or NJMBDA that marches bass clarinet.
> 
> I wanted to march tenor last year, but then I chose Colorguard instead. We scored 4th in our group size today.



Congrats on your score.   We never had a colorguard in our high school and at the time. I'm in understanding that they have one now. 

At that time, we didn't compete as a marching band. If we had, I'm sure I would've been made to do the regular clarinet... against my will.

We did, though, compete in orchestra. I went from E-flat contrabass clarinet to the E-flat soprano clarinet (smaller than the normal B-flat clarinet) to the B-flat bass clarinet for the five songs we performed. The joys of trying to keep three different reeds moist was tough. And my jaw was sore from the different mouthpiece sizes.


----------



## mistamastamusta

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Congrats on your score.   We never had a colorguard in our high school and at the time. I'm in understanding that they have one now.
> 
> At that time, we didn't compete as a marching band. If we had, I'm sure I would've been made to do the regular clarinet... against my will.
> 
> We did, though, compete in orchestra. I went from E-flat contrabass clarinet to the E-flat soprano clarinet (smaller than the normal B-flat clarinet) to the B-flat bass clarinet for the five songs we performed. The joys of trying to keep three different reeds moist was tough. And my jaw was sore from the different mouthpiece sizes.


Yeah, I could never be a woodwind. not that there is anything wrong with them. 

In junior high, I played violin in my school's orchestra, then my last year there I played trumpet, and now I'm a euphonium.


----------



## JBF

I was in band in middle school.  Went to percussion, mostly for drums....I like that big boom.  Didn't realize at the time that percussion included bells.  Which I hated.  After a year of getting almost straight bell parts, I quit.  

Ironic, since I wouldn't mind learning the piano now.


----------



## Parabola

Mind-numbing or head splitting seem to be neighbors. So about the usual. I might try to browse for some escapism in a bit, in the form of a compelling series. Yeah, so far that chronically on and off quest never really hits "mission accomplished" but you never know.


----------



## Sinister

Feel pretty fragile lately.  Just got back from my therapist.  Taken my meds.  Picked up a bottle of red wine.  Maybe it's the season?  Gonna cook roast chicken tonight and make sandwiches. 

A friend of mine is losing their good senses.  It's hard on a lot of people at the moment.  Like a relay race of bad mental hygiene and I've got the ball atm.  I've been accused of being a sociopathic and spiritual drag on them.  Despite them mixing with tarot cards and "social media psychology."  Every exchange between us has led to me being discovered as some sort of secret villain plotting their life's destruction.

It would be funny normally.  I don't interact with anyone.  I barely interact with my plants and dogs.  I only answer DMs when they're sent to me.  So imagine my surprise to discover that I am some sort of supernatural force attacking this...drama queen.

I am at the end of my tether and very close to...  Just locking the entire universe out of my house.  It's no longer welcome here.

2/10

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

“bad mental hygiene”

I gotta remember that one.


----------



## Foxee

I am trying to remember that I had some good creative time this morning. After my husband dragged me out of The Zone backward I had to go to Wal-mart which killed my soul. I tried recording some notes regarding my Shadows flash story but once I was in that store it zapped every bit of energy from me. A couple of hundred dollars later and a perfect fall day in ruins, I made it home...just in time to cook dinner and take my son to a meeting for the Hobgoblin Hike at our local park. His friend from school invited him to be one of the volunteers and he loves the idea of scaring people so ok.

However, when I got home from that there is still no rest or downtime because he's in a state of total excitement and has been talking my ear off. He has all these ideas for a costume and he keeps asking me where things are. I'm desperate for a few quiet minutes and when my husband said my tea water was ready I almost beheaded him. 

_(In dire tones) _I desperately need to be alone.


----------



## Matchu

It is my day off.  Reeling.
:


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Foxee said:


> I had to go to Wal-mart which killed my soul.



I can say honestly with a straight face with all honesty that I've only been in a Wal-Mart 3 times in my life, and that's 3 times more that I ever wanted to. There's plenty of other places to drop coin. I won't get on my soapbox, but I'll just say I'd rather shop at local businesses.
Wifey was a huge Wal-Mart fanatic, and I've managed to get her out of the train of thought throughout our marriage.


----------



## Matchu

I punish my wife if she even goes to Mcdonalds.  Not for long but disaproval is palpable until I eat mine.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Meanwhile, back at The Ranch, after the loss of the Death Star.....

Two days ago, test drove a vehicle I wouldn't consider buying. Afterwards discussing with salesmen, lamenting on how I hate automatics and would rather have a manual transmission. Salesman tells me I'm in luck, they make a 5-speed and a 6(!)-speed in this sporty little economic number right over here. They don't have any in stock, but he could probably check around to see if any of the regional dealers had any. (I got my 5-speed civic in that manner back in '04). Told him, I'd come back tomorrow (yesterday) for a test drive of the automatic version to see if I likey-likey enough for him to start looking.
Test drove automatic version. Me likey-likey. Nice tag price, too. Only thing missing that I really, really, really want is the moon roof. This one's interior felt dark without it. Handled well on some of the curvy back roads I took, and had nice get-up-and-go on the freeway. I get back to the dealership and go to talk to salesman.  Salesman just happened to be talking with manager as I strolled up. As I chatted, ready to buy said four wheel pony, I got a pair of bad news of that car.
Number A - no manual transmissions available here in the state. Ugh. 
Number B - this model doesn't have the moonroof option, no matter the variant. Double Ugh.

As I leave, another dealer right across the street. See small sporty SUV that pricks the curiosity. It's late, dealership about to close for the day, but salesman there willing to chat with me for a bit. Going back later this morning to test drive that, and to see. List of available options with it are pretty cool. My civic was top of the line in features for its day, but it had NOTHING like this one does, and the price is still in my budget. 

News at 11....


----------



## Foxee

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> I can say honestly with a straight face with all honesty that I've only been in a Wal-Mart 3 times in my life, and that's 3 times more that I ever wanted to.


I'd rather not go there, either, and seldom do. I feel the same way in any big-box store. I used to like Amazon better because I could get big-box pricing without going there...and then the scammers and knockoffs proliferated. Local business is better if you still have it...unfortunately it's pretty thin on the ground here. We've got as many Dollar Generals as you could ever want (and more).



That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Meanwhile, back at The Ranch, after the loss of the Death Star.....
> 
> Two days ago, test drove a vehicle I wouldn't consider buying. Afterwards discussing with salesmen, lamenting on how I hate automatics and would rather have a manual transmission.


I'm hearing that it's already really difficult to find manual transmissions and it'll become nearly impossible. This is sad. I loved when cars were mechanical things. And I love moonroofs. My Envoy has one...hubby's Scoobydoo (Subaru) jalopy has two. Plus all the rust you could ever want...and more! And neither one is manual. _sigh_


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

We’ve got an army of grandkids here to bag up the remaining portion of the 7000 pieces of candy that we’ll pass out for Halloween


----------



## PrairieHostage

My 34 year old twin sons have a huge group of friends in all manner of professions. Dentist, mortgage broker, doctor, realtor, lawyer and any trade you can think of. Today they sent their plumber friend to switch out an anode rod in my water heater. He was very warm, talkative, and honest. He chatted about one of their friends who commit suicide a couple years ago and how his own mental health took a hit from that. People always tell me things. He hugged me before he left. Its always an honor when the millennials love this old boomer.


----------



## Sinister

Left the house today.  Grocery shopping.  I'm in a savage mood, so I bought the fixings for comfort food.  I'm going to warm my house, smoke my pipe, cook, eat and glare out at the world through my window like an old miser.

Today's definitely better.

3/10

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Got a LOT done today. Car tags renewed since my birthday is Saturday. Insurance paid, money deposited into the other account for phone bill (I have a seperate account at a separate bank just for on-line stuff. It gets hacked, I don't lose much.) Worked on a few more segments of christmas programs. Oh, and got @PrairieHostage voice file produced and shred to the forum. 

I call that a pretty productive day.


----------



## JBF

Foxee said:


> ...I had to go to Wal-mart



Wal-Mart is the debbil.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

JBF said:


> Wal-Mart is the debbil.



*BRUTHUH JAY BEE EFF HAZ TEZTEE-FIDE, BRUTHUHZ UND SEEZTAHZ!!!!!!*


----------



## VRanger

JBF said:


> Wal-Mart is the debbil.


You must be related the The Waterboy. 

Missed out on Wally World today, but did have a 2-hour shopping trip including The Meat Center and the supermarket.

Ultra-unfair. I haven't seen zero sugar Orange Crush soda even on the shelf in TWO AND A HALF YEARS! Three stacks of it today, but at full price of $8 or $9 per carton of 12. Not buying at that price. $185 and a full cart at the supermarket. I got the line of my favorite cashier, Theresa. She retired recently but had to go back to work because of the ridiculous price increases. I don't think it does it justice to call it "inflation" when many things went up 50% and more in a year. Anyway, we're kind of buddies in a customer/cashier who see each other once a month kind of way. I showed her the shopping list I left the house with and she saw all six items on it and laughed. But outside of the Orange Crush, there were quite a few things on sale which we eat, so I stocked up on them whether we needed them or not. Luckily we have a big pantry, a large chest freezer, and three fridges.


----------



## JBF

_I am angry.  

I am very, very angry.  _


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

JBF said:


> _I am angry.
> 
> I am very, very angry.  _


???


----------



## JBF

I work a two-man shift that runs twelve hours.  We were busy enough at the changeover that the last shift (also working twelves) stayed twenty minutes or so late just to keep a lid on things. 

My esteemed night coworker called in five minutes before the handoff to announce that they would not be partaking in work today due to a 'migraine'.  This is the sixth or seventh time they've played that since I went to working nights, and I'm sure it has nothing to do with their beach vacation this weekend.  This also discounts the eight days they missed a couple of weeks back (and I got to run the office singlehanded) because they caught 'covid', after which they immediately went to a bar and snapchatted a picture of themselves to someone who used to work here...who in turn forwarded it to one of their relations, who still DOES work here. 

This is not a field in which you should EVER have a single individual on shift.  My living nightmare here is getting swamped and having to run multiple emergencies without backup. 

 As a hard-backslid Southern Baptist who's probably only ever going back into a church if somebody's getting married or a buried...I pray to God nobody dies because of this idiot.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Sinister said:


> Feel pretty fragile lately.  Just got back from my therapist.  Taken my meds.  Picked up a bottle of red wine.  Maybe it's the season?  Gonna cook roast chicken tonight and make sandwiches.
> 
> A friend of mine is losing their good senses.  It's hard on a lot of people at the moment.  Like a relay race of bad mental hygiene and I've got the ball atm.  I've been accused of being a sociopathic and spiritual drag on them.  Despite them mixing with tarot cards and "social media psychology."  Every exchange between us has led to me being discovered as some sort of secret villain plotting their life's destruction.
> 
> It would be funny normally.  I don't interact with anyone.  I barely interact with my plants and dogs.  I only answer DMs when they're sent to me.  So imagine my surprise to discover that I am some sort of supernatural force attacking this...drama queen.
> 
> I am at the end of my tether and very close to...  Just locking the entire universe out of my house.  It's no longer welcome here.
> 
> 2/10
> 
> -Sin


@Sinister. Don't take alcohol with meds. One of my uncles, who is a heart doctor (cardiologist and medical internist), says that could have killed me (I hadn't taken alcohol then with my new medications and got a nasty surprise and I loved sweet alcoholic drinks all you can imagine). I can't drink alcohol for the rest of my life. It could create a scenario where I could have a heart attack even though I am healthy and don't drink it. Not even a cup, not even a spoonful. It's the most common cause of death of people with my condition, according to my psychiatrist who later told me. It could make you fragile, just like it did me. Consult with your doctor for further details.

If you are feeling weak because of the alcohol, call a neighbor or someone you trust and ask for help. Remember, I suffer from panic attacks and take medicine to keep it under control.

I will also add to suspend the alcohol intake until you feel better and never resume taking it. (consult the doctor)


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

JBF said:


> My esteemed night coworker called in five minutes before the handoff to announce that they would not be partaking in work today due to a 'migraine'.  This is the sixth or seventh time they've played that since I went to working nights, and I'm sure it has nothing to do with their beach vacation this weekend.



Obviously not a s near as a dire situation for which you are in, but we've got one that plays the FMLA "Migraine" card every payday like clock work. Has even posted pictures of him on vacation that very same call-in day. It sucks. It'll catch up to him eventually. It always does.


----------



## JBF

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Obviously not a s near as a dire situation for which you are in, but we've got one that plays the FMLA "Migraine" card every payday like clock work. Has even posted pictures of him on vacation that very same call-in day. It sucks. It'll catch up to him eventually. It always does.



It would behoove them to hope that 'it' catches up to them before_ I_ catch up to them.  

I have one more overnight shift to run alone.  After that...I'm noon to midnight and back among the competent.  Saturday morning can't get here fast enough.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

I had the most bizarre dream. I get weird ones, but this one takes the freaking urinal cake. 

I dreamt that I was hanging out with these two guys that I have no idea who they are. We're in the southeast part of the city, which is fairly ghetto, but more _dirtfloorcracka_ in population. Anyways, the two guys have saddled horses, and I've got a saddled... longhorn steer?!? How in the p-huck does one saddle-break a longhorn steer?!? Stop laughing, will ya?

Anyways, the three of us decide to mosey down the primary street through this particular section of town on our steeds (I'm literally sitting here laughing as I remember quite vividly the backside of the bull's head like I had really been on the damn thing) until we get to this abandoned house. We all get off our animals. The one guy tells me to wait with the horses and longhorn because they need to go check on something in the house. The other guy is griping about nails coming up through the bottom of his flip flops.

The guy'd been riding a horse in flip-flops. Where did the dark subconscious corners of my grey-matter come up with this crap?!?

So I walk with them up to the house, then turn around to go watch over the horses and steer. They're gone. Shuckens!  I look up to see one of the horses wandering into the back door of a house across the street. I go over and see the cow inside and going up a set of stairs to the second story.

About this time, Wifey's alarm went off, and I woke up.  But Sholy Hit, man!!!!!


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, after the loss of the Death Star...

I scored again in Celebrity Dead Pool with Jerry Lee Lewis. I'm now in 2nd with 12 points.


----------



## VRanger

Panic this afternoon as I took my glasses off to clean them and the right-side closure popped open, sending the lens flying. No scratch on the lens but the screw obviously snapped, and Betty got rid of all her eyeglass repair kits in the last couple of years since she had new lenses put in both eyes and got super vision. I was hoping I could get enough grooves to catch to hold them together until I can get to a more permanent solution.

I've got a set of jewelry sized tools I spent better than an hour searching for, and finally found in the second place I'd looked for them, but behind something I didn't move far enough to see them. Luckily Betty also eventually found a keychain with an eyeglass frame sized screwdriver, because even though I had a proper sized screwdriver in the jeweler's set, it wasn't very convenient to use, since I had to squeeze by my finger holding the frame up against the lens and still get into the little hole where the screw slot is.

It took the better part of a half hour to learn how to get everything right and tighten the screw enough to hold the frame together, but I'm using the glasses now. If I wasn't, I wouldn't even be on the computer, since letters are fuzzy without them. I'm good at normal reading distance, but not computer screen distance. But I WILL soon be visiting an eyeglass place.


----------



## C.K.Johnson

Found the World Series on a local channel, woohoo!


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Wifey: go find movie for us to watch
Me finds movie
Five minutes in, Wifey asleep


----------



## VRanger

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Wifey: go find movie for us to watch
> Me finds movie
> Five minutes in, Wifey asleep


You ain't alone, brother.
Hint #1: There ARE thing you can do to wake her up.
Hint #2: If she's a slapper, don't ask for specifics about Hint #1.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

VRanger said:


> You ain't alone, brother.
> Hint #1: There ARE thing you can do to wake her up.
> Hint #2: If she's a slapper, don't ask for specifics about Hint #1.


She'd been up since 4 that morning and we went on a hike in the afternoon, so that negated anything 1 and 2 was going to do.
Now, she's sleeping in this morning. We're having dinner with my dad at one of my faves for my birthday this evening, and the second most important college football game of the year (for us) is a night game tonight, so the motivation to stay up late tonight is there. 

But I do appreciate ya looking out for me, amigo.


----------



## Sinister

Started today with salsa scrambled egg with lime and avocado.  It's amazing how a favorite breakfast can really make your mood.  Gonna go get some apothic red and make some hot mulled wine(Star anise, green cardamom pods, brown sugar and plenty of cinnamon) and enjoy a brand-new MST episode.  Try and keep the spirits high in every sense.  Might cap the day off with playing some Cyberpunk.  I need to get back to writing but I feel like I need to soak in the holiday first.

I'll be okay soon.  Feeling so much better.

6/10

-Sin


----------



## VRanger

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> She'd been up since 4 that morning and we went on a hike in the afternoon, so that negated anything 1 and 2 was going to do.
> Now, she's sleeping in this morning. We're having dinner with my dad at one of my faves for my birthday this evening, and the second most important college football game of the year (for us) is a night game tonight, so the motivation to stay up late tonight is there.
> 
> But I do appreciate ya looking out for me, amigo.


Happy Birthday!!


----------



## Sinister

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> We're having dinner with my dad at one of my faves for my birthday this evening,


Way to bury the lede!  Happy Birthday!  ^^
Hope you have a really nice one, too.


-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> Way to bury the lede!  Happy Birthday!  ^^
> Hope you have a really nice one, too.
> 
> 
> -Sin


Thank you


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

VRanger said:


> Happy Birthday!!


Thank you


----------



## Darkkin

Nice walk with an awesome guy.


----------



## PiP

He is SO handsome! What a lovely kind face and gentle eyes


----------



## S J Ward

Visited Lindisfarne (Holy island) and took a photo of the statue of St Aiden. The one where he's about to do the infamous microphone drop with a 
SennheiserG4 radio mike, after yet another successful gig. Beatifically!


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sennheisers are my fave mics are Shure 57's & 58's


----------



## S J Ward

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Sennheisers are my fave mics are Shure 57's & 58's


I've got a E935 and two x 58's. And never use them now! The Sennheiser i used to use for vocals in my home studio. the 58's when playing live. Just can't part with them yet!


----------



## M J Tennant 2022

I managed to fit 12 marshmallows in my mouth all at once today.  My personal best.  Does that count?


----------



## Parabola

Alcohol needed but that's every day.


----------



## Theglasshouse

Finally home. Supposedly, the iPod 7th generation is the last one they will make of that product. That is a shame. They bought a radio that uses iPods for my mother's birthday. I am going to pop that in.

I am annoyed when people buy salty snacks. It's one of my pet peeves. Anyway, it takes forever to convince my father to bring hummus, which is a much healthier alternative. Vegetable spreads are much healthier in general.

I hope to write a new story this week. I was busy today. My parents drove down the mountain. I didn't have time. Sometimes I sleep 6 hours in the afternoon like I did today when I returned.

I know I have some personal issues with my father. My father may be a hard worker. That's how he got us a good education. But IMO he believes I think the disabled should be uneducated.

My brother is going to be transferred to the UK to its embassy (of my country not the UK). He currently resides in Germany in the Embassy of my country. I said the previous statements because I don't know how far my father would be willing to help if I studied in the UK if that opportunity arouse.

Now that I am in better health, I would need to take some tests to know what I can study before making a quick decision. I think it's going to happen next year.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Yearly physical.

Or as I call it, the cold finger of injustice….


----------



## Parabola

Foxee said:


> I had to go to Wal-mart which killed my soul.



I used to work at Wal-Mart which killed my soul.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Took me three hours to set up the lights and sound for Halloween this year. Took us 45 minutes to tear down in the rain. We made up 750 bags of candy for trick or treating. Each bag with 10 pieces of candy. After two hours, when we wrapped things up, we had five bags of candy left. 
My mother-in-law has proclaimed one of those are hers, so we actually have four bags of candy left.

You do the math at home, and you'll see why I set $50 a month aside just for Halloween candy.

This was our 14th year. We had a LOT of people reach over the table and shake my hand and thank me and Wifey for doing it this year. We didn't quite have the neighborhood participation this year as we did in the past (just under half the neighborhood), but the whole block normally gets into it. 



A.C.


----------



## Parabola

I just came up with an idea partly based on yet another debate. Definitely has that modern "sizzle." Not even sure if I have the energy to write it at present, beyond a short story. 

One of those rare instances where I feel compelled to put fingers to keyboard though.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Going to a NaNoWriMoEIEIO kick start event this evening at a local library. Taking a copy of the beta God Bless Small Town, USA with me.
I’ll have beer waiting for me at home.


----------



## Parabola

Ok. Still trying to figure out the tentpoles of the story. The devil is in the details, but he always insists on doing goofy stuff in the ninth circle. Cheeky bastard.


----------



## JBF

Domestics, man....just...domestics.


----------



## Parabola

The mornings are always the best time for me. It reminds me of that one episode of American Dad. "I enjoy a solitary lean pocket at dawn. Your presence would disturb that."


----------



## C.K.Johnson

Sat straight up in bed at 5 AM. What’s that noise? I ask myself. Got up and walked around the house until I realized the sound was rain. That’s how long it’s been since I’ve heard rain.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Just got off the phone with a buddy who’s running for office in a different state. He loves to shoot the crap on his campaign. Been fun to follow. He doubts he’ll win, but he’s having fun.


----------



## Joker

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Just got off the phone with a buddy who’s running for office in a different state. He loves to shoot the crap on his campaign. Been fun to follow. He doubts he’ll win, but he’s having fun.



After the official end of the civil war in 1996, [Charles] Taylor ran for president in the 1997 general election. He campaigned on the notorious slogan "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him."[20]

Can he beat that slogan?


----------



## Sinister

I had a good day, despite having to scrape up old baking soda and vacuum and mop...  =/  Got Pizza today, because I am done cooking after Halloween.  Just...idk, tired of it.  lol

6/10

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Tomorrow is the last day of paid vacation. After this weekend, back to work.  Got the new car to pay for, ya know....


----------



## Parabola

I feel like Satan is just trolling me, and I'm living the same day over and over again. "The strangest things always happen out in the country" etc.


----------



## Parabola

Ready to claim domain like a Ventrue but with a Malkavian's sense of style.


----------



## Parabola

Didn't sleep well last night. Nap required.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> Didn't sleep well last night. Nap required.



Same


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Someone dumped something VVVEEERRRYYY putrid into one of the waste oil collection barrels in one of my work areas. If anyone’s interested, I’ve set up a Go Fund Me to pay for my nostril’s psychiatrist bills.


----------



## VRanger

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Someone dumped something VVVEEERRRYYY putrid into one of the waste oil collection barrels in one of my work areas. If anyone’s interested, I’ve set up a Go Fund Me to pay for my nostril’s psychiatrist bills.


I wonder how an enterprise called "Go Find Me" would work?


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Someone dumped something VVVEEERRRYYY putrid into one of the waste oil collection barrels in one of my work areas. If anyone’s interested, I’ve set up a Go Fund Me to pay for my nostril’s psychiatrist bills.



Gives new meaning to the term "Biological Psychiatry."


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

VRanger said:


> I wonder how an enterprise called "Go Find Me" would work?



Go find the idiot who dumped something putrid down the waste oil collection barrel. Then go find the idiot who threw a bag of garbage down the cardboard baler. (Not fun to clean out). I'll pay handsomely.


----------



## Arsenex

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Go find the idiot who dumped something putrid down the waste oil collection barrel. Then go find the idiot who threw a bag of garbage down the cardboard baler. (Not fun to clean out). I'll pay handsomely.


Okay. I'll confess. It was me, using my warp portal for hijinx again. Sorry. <snickers>


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Arsenex said:


> Okay. I'll confess. It was me, using my warp portal for hijinx again. Sorry. <snickers>



Just for that, I’m gonna knock your plant over with my 9000lb of silent bright orange death.


----------



## Arsenex

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Just for that, I’m gonna knock your plant over with my 9000lb of silent bright orange death.


My wife stood it up earlier and it fell over again. lol. The winds have died down now. It stands tall and majestic again, aspiring to climb to the sun... only the sun has now set. <sigh>


----------



## Darkkin

Rue Dog's reaction to Potato Cat's master plan...


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

I love the cat's expression....


----------



## Parabola

Have you ever talked to someone who is, just: nope, this is my view. Utter certainty for no good reason. I'd like to take that drug and become them. What a carefree, breezy existence.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Parabola said:


> Have you ever talked to someone who is, just: nope, this is my view. Utter certainty for no good reason. I'd like to take that drug and become them. What a carefree, breezy existence.



Come spend a night at work with me.  PPPLLLEEEAAAASSSEEE!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Come spend a night at work with me.  PPPLLLEEEAAAASSSEEE!!!!!!!!!



It would give me an excuse to run the forklift again.


----------



## VRanger

Long day.

Some WF business this morning distracted me to the point I forgot to put our toiletry bag in the car as I packed for our vacation. Our hats, either. I kept checking on that business rather than making sure everything we need for a week a the beach was properly gathered.

So at halftime of my football game I walked up to our favorite seafood restaurant down here and put in an order for Calabash shrimp. That would have 15 minutes to be ready, so I darted across H'way 17 to the dollar store for 2 toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, mouthwash, toothpaste, and a half gallon of milk for Betty's cereal. Luckily I also hedged my bets by picking up a package of hot dogs buns. That bet paid off when I got back to the condo and after asking, found out Betty hadn't put any buns in for us. Frozen hamburgers and hot dogs, yes. But no buns. So we're ready for hot dogs for lunch tomorrow.

Then I hit the far corner to buy some wine coolers, and back across THAT street to the restaurant, where my order waited. I decided to do takeout today because last April when we ate there with every table full, we picked up a bug and were sick for the rest of the week and a few days after we got home ... which was early since we saw no reason to sit here sick rather than go home and be sick. According to the test, we didn't have COVID, but whatever we had wasn't pleasant. I had no appetite for three days. I did lose weight, so maybe we should have tried to catch it again.

About 9PM I finally made it to the keyboard to do some writing. Then Betty had trouble with her notebook charging. It turns out you just have to have the charging cord in an exact position. Possibly a slightly loose pin in the computer. While looking at that, I noticed her screen flickering. I did Windows Update to get the latest display drivers, no luck. It wasn't flickering on the Windows Welcome screen or inside an open app, so not hardware. Well, not exactly.

I started playing around with display settings and turned off the setting to automatically adjust screen brightness for room brightness. The flickering stopped. Either her camera has a glitch, or more likely is just dirty. Either way, she doesn't really need her screen brightness to automatically adjust in ANY case. So that problem is out of the way. Now I need at least another 1200 words tonight for even marginal production. Wish me luck. ;-)


----------



## Theglasshouse

I took my time to extrapolate the meaning behind a dream I had and came up with a what-if premise that sounds good on paper. Now I just need to get started writing. I am frustrated that I must go everywhere my parents travel (it's somewhere in the countryside). However, I brainstormed the story. Writing what you know helps with writing what you don't know (and by this I mean to imagine a story from something you didn't experience). Hopefully, I will leave this place where I am soon. I want to write this story when I am at home and nowhere else. Working on top of a bed is no good substitute for a table. On a bright note, however, I know the beginning, middle, and ending of the story. I used my life experiences for the last one and will use them for this one.  I have been using my life experiences more often in my stories. So mixing facts or real-life events, my fears, hopes, and dreams with imagination seems to be the way my mind works for writing stories. The last story I wrote used my life experiences and I added a lot of imagination to make it a fictional story.


----------



## Parabola

Someone told me I had a "social skills problem." I just called him a dumbass and walked away.


----------



## Foxee

I managed to make an insulated shelter for our semi-friendly feral cats which included using a jigsaw for the first time. 
I made bone broth. 
And I admired my neighbor's yard decorations when out walking the dog...


----------



## PrairieHostage

If I don't see another Home Depot, Lowes, Co-op or Home Hardware for the rest of my life, I will not cry. Today my bathroom was tiled. I'm happy to say I'm done renovation projects in my new place.


----------



## Parabola

300 words done. Now I'm tired since I've been up since 5ish. Didn't sleep well. I'll probably get to 500 today at least, so there's that.


----------



## M J Tennant 2022

Darkkin said:


> View attachment 29840
> 
> Rue Dog's reaction to Potato Cat's master plan...


What a gorgeous shot!  Love it.  Too cute!

Cunning cat!

M J x


----------



## C.K.Johnson

I found a calendar coincidence that adds a little twist to my WIP. The FMC gets pregnant at her high school graduation party, June 7, 2003. I calculated her due date to be February 28, 2004, and that's a leap year so I'm going to have the kid born on the 29th, just to be mean 

I picked 2003 for her to graduate because the story leaps ahead 10 years at the 20% point. I didn't want to bump into 9/11 or the pandemic. 2013 seemed like a safe year. In another coincidence: The laws that allowed gays to adopt children changed in 2003 and gay marriage was legalized in 2013. That's when I realized the child in my story would have two dads. It's like it was meant to be.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

C.K.Johnson said:


> I found a calendar coincidence that adds a little twist to my WIP. The FMC gets pregnant at her high school graduation party, June 7, 2003. I calculated her due date to be February 28, 2004, and that's a leap year so I'm going to have the kid born on the 29th, just to be mean
> 
> I picked 2003 for her to graduate because the story leaps ahead 10 years at the 20% point. I didn't want to bump into 9/11 or the pandemic. 2013 seemed like a safe year. In another coincidence: The laws that allowed gays to adopt children changed in 2003 and gay marriage was legalized in 2013. That's when I realized the child in my story would have two dads. It's like it was meant to be.



I had a good friend who was born on the 29th. Her and I went out on a “date” (for lack of better terms) one night our senior year. I joked I was taking a 4 year old to dinner (she was 17 at the time). Nobody but her found it funny.

I officially hired with my current employer Feb 29 of 2000, but they moved it back to the 27th. I used to enjoy making leap year jokes about my time here.


----------



## C.K.Johnson

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> I had a good friend who was born on the 29th. Her and I went out on a “date” (for lack of better terms) one night our senior year. I joked I was taking a 4 year old to dinner (she was 17 at the time). Nobody but her found it funny.
> 
> I officially hired with my current employer Feb 29 of 2000, but they moved it back to the 27th. I used to enjoy making leap year jokes about my time here.


I worked with a guy who came within minutes of being born on the 29th. (He has a conspiracy theory that his mom convinced the doctor to put in an earlier time.) Now I have to use this friend's name (Scott) for the boy in my story.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I am trying to wake up since the morning sun isn't on the horizon yet with its ever-flowing light beaming with great intensity. Instead, it seems we are covered by shadows or the sun isn't out yet. It's one of those early morning scenarios when it is a still somewhat dark like on a cloudy day. I guess the earth hasn't rotated enough to catch all its rays.

It seems when I exercise I feel more emotional. Not that I wasn't before. But the exercise does help those with a schizoaffective disorder to be more empathetic (research has shown it is true of those at a later more advanced stage of the disease). It's not easy believe me and sometimes I consider myself a cold machine.

Today one of our pet puppies that is 5-6 months old got sick since it swallowed a bone. We spent over three hours trying to figure out what was wrong. It all started yesterday when we think it swallowed a bone. It took too much to chew. It was yelping in pain every time we picked it up.

I noticed my biggest brother is more emotional than me. He hugs the dog in his own way. He even gets it water. He even gets the cage to transport him to the veterinarian when sick. He criticizes me for not doing enough. Of course, I remember when our last dog died. He called me a cynic.

Also, it seems I managed to maintain a conversation with my father longer than I thought. Being a father figure does imply caring, I realized yesterday. But it's difficult to feel when I feel inadequate because I wish I had a job.

Anyway, as soon as I wake up, I'll do some writing. Yesterday I spotted a peculiar event. I intend to write about it. I have been reclining on this sofa a bit, which is soporific. After I took my meds, I felt like I wanted to sleep. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to be fair. I did an exercise that lasted for about one hour.

For a moment, the puppy (named Rocky) in pain felt like it would go into dog heaven. Not sure if that is the name of the children's film of my childhood.

I am convinced I have some emotional feelings that seem to be absent or blindness and I could tell the difference today when there was a major event.

Anyway, they took the puppy, who was in pain, to the vet.


----------



## Parabola

The only frustration I've been having lately, summing up I guess, is dissecting groupthink patterns. People might say "you have this ideology"  when it's really I try offer a balanced perspective, and they don't want to see a moderate view. Sometimes sarcasm works, other times not.


----------



## Sinister

A package arrived on my doorstep.  "From Santa" was the only thing written on it.  It was massive and heavy, but it did have my address on the package.  I opened it and inside was a Wal-mart box.  Wth?  Right?  Inside that was...and I'm telling all, a PS5 Horizon Forbidden West edition with two controllers.

So, I'm thinking...this is a huge mistake.  Someone delivered this to my door...by accident.  Our mail/package delivery isn't great out here.  And it WAS a mistake.  It was supposed to be delivered tomorrow, apparently.

So I get a telephone call immediately explaining that...the package and it's contents are mine to keep.  And outside in my driveway is my father in his truck.  We hug and inside we go, to set it up, play the game that came with it and cap off the day eating pumpkin pie and watching the rest of Wednesday on Netflix.

You don't need all the treasure in the world...  You don't even need all the friends in the world.  To give life meaning, sometimes you can still be an agoraphobic hermit...  You just need to have someone understand and value you and to equally return that sentiment.  That said, how wonderful would it be to have the opportunity to mean that much to as many people as possible?

Thank you, Dad.
And get a damn calendar...  Christmas is in December.

9/10

-Sin


----------



## Theglasshouse

Been fasting on desserts for over 2 weeks. It made me realize how many sweets my family would buy. I'm the only one saying no to the family to requests to have their cake and eat it too. I'm thinking I will do this for a prolonged period of time as a goal.


----------



## Sinister

Crappy day.
I went to a lot of trouble to bake a yellow cake for my cousin.  I'm not great at baking, but I do my best.  They had the nerve to bitch about radiation poisoning...  See if I go to any effort on her behalf again...

4/10

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

I worked last night. Volunteered in a machining department cleaning coolant tanks. Nice wonderful clean work that is always pleasant to the nostrils.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I tested speech notes. It worked. It is almost 95 percent accurate. I use a microphone that costed me  75 dollars. @Yumi Koizumi. I am not sure you need dragon because it's the best alternative to paying a lot of money. All you might need is chrome and going to speech notes webpage which is free.  I also did some outlining of some character problems. I will start writing one of a few short stories tomorrow. The webpage I recommended far back in this thread or the other has the lists of microphones that are good for dictation. That is assuming you still need advice on dictation. I use a gooseneck soundtech usb2.


----------



## PrairieHostage

I spent way too much on a coffee table, cabbage rolls for Boxing Day supper, and a sleep sack for the littlest baby grandchild. Then I listened to Jane Siberry's Child album which I highly recommend to anyone who doesn't like their carols on the saccharine side. I danced with the cats. Lanny loved it but Grey Lady not so much. She's got places to be.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Work went sideways during the second half of last night. Meanwhile, I haven't even gotten around for work tonight, and @Argeshnex456's boss is texting me wanting coolant for their area. It's gonna be one of those nights on the 9000 pounds of silent bright orange death.  


A.C.


----------



## C.K.Johnson

Overdosed on cookies. Why, why, why do I do this to myself? Sugar makes my blood pressure go up and gives me a headache. 
Still better than my husband’s day, he had a biopsy on the roof of his mouth


----------



## Theglasshouse

Exercise lowers blood sugar and stops sugar cravings when done for at least 45 minutes a day. The less carbohydrates you consume the less hungry you feel. My Mediterranean diet has it seems about a similar carb count like that of keto.


----------



## Darkkin

I didn't stab anybody with a pencil, tracked down a boatload of books, and made tuna for dinner.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

*THE METH-HEADS ACROSS THE STREET ARE GETTING EVICTED FINALLY!*

The guy from a bank was there today. I chatted with him as I was filling bird feeders. I guess the locks are getting changed within the next few days.

Barkeep? I wanna buy a round for everyone.


----------



## Parabola

Darkkin said:


> I didn't stab anybody with a pencil.



I always consider this a daily achievement.


----------



## Joker

Parabola said:


> I always consider this a daily achievement.



I already failed.


----------



## Parabola

@Joker Reminds me whether or not I should see The Joker (2019) film. Some people tell me it's great, others say it's overrated.


----------



## Joker

Parabola said:


> @Joker Reminds me whether or not I should see The Joker (2019) film. Some people tell me it's great, others say it's overrated.



It's great, others are stupid.


----------



## Parabola

Joker said:


> It's great, others are stupid.



Well, I guess technically you would be the ultimate authority in such matters.


----------



## Sinister

*I'll kill you all!!  Do you understand?  All of you!*


And once I've killed all of you stupid flies...  My _Day_ will be fine...  Where did these things even come from?  How do they get in my damn house in WINTER?!

I hate house flies!  I don't even have a venus fly trap to feed them to.

4/10

-Sin


----------



## Arsenex

I remember hearing at some point that there are more people alive today than have ever lived. Thinking about that I came to the conclusion that it just didn't sound right. So I investigated. Scientific estimates place the dead at around 104B while the living are at about 8B. So there. The dead outnumber us about 13 to 1. And I say "us" because I want to believe everyone reading this isn't dead. Am I right? How many here are dead already and you just can't stop lingering for whatever reason? Deaders? Kaput? Crapped out?


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Arsenex said:


> I remember hearing at some point that there are more people alive today than have ever lived. Thinking about that I came to the conclusion that it just didn't sound right. So I investigated. Scientific estimates place the dead at around 104B while the living are at about 8B. So there. The dead outnumber us about 13 to 1. And I say "us" because I want to believe everyone reading this isn't dead. Am I right? How many here are dead already and you just can't stop lingering for whatever reason? Deaders? Kaput? Crapped out?



Well, there's the idiot on a work trike barreling through a IPV area of the shop that came around a blind corner and almost kissed my backstop tonight. Had I not been so quick on the brakes, he'd been dead. And I'd be a mess. 

I might joke about it, but in all honesty with @Argeshnex456 as a witness, I take safety on my forklift _*quite*_ seriously.


----------



## Parabola

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Well, there's the idiot on a work trike barreling through a IPV area of the shop that came around a blind corner and almost kissed my backstop tonight. Had I not been so quick on the brakes, he'd been dead. And I'd be a mess.
> 
> I might joke about it, but in all honesty with @Argeshnex456 as a witness, I take safety on my forklift _*quite*_ seriously.



I feel like an old man who can't keep up with the memes. "Hell, I was _there_ for the birth of bright orange death...back in my day you had to wait at least three days for a quality forklift meme. Now, there's an app for that kind of thing."

And then I will slump poignantly in my rocking chair, dead.


----------



## VRanger

A little while ago Betty's outside with the small dogs (Chili, 10 lb toy poodle and Max, 10 lb Min Pin/Jack Russel mix). I'm on the phone with a friend discussing Fantasy Football. She comes running in, "Jim! I don't know what you can do about this but you have to do SOMETHING!"

So I tell Bob I have to go NOW, head for the back door, and Betty tells me Max has a hedgehog backed up into the corner of our fence. I didn't stand and ponder the news, but I know our area of the country is not known for its fierce hedgehogs.

I grab her flashlight and go outside, and Max is down in the low corner of the yard raising hell. TWO sets of snarling and growling going on, and it's the other side of our fake Magnolia and fig trees. So I get around the trees and shine the flash ... Max is standing off against a big ol' possum.

I had a hard time backing Max off enough that I could pick him up without putting my hands close to the possum's teeth, which are numerous and sharp, but I got Max up, then retrieved Chili, who was on the other side of the yard and utterly disinterested in the disturbance.

Now I have a 15-pound (estimated) possum to deal with, because I can't leave it inside the fence for the next time we take the dogs out. We keep an umbrella in our breezeway and I have a push broom out on the deck to keep leaves cleared off, so I appropriated each and sallied forth with lance and shield, as a proper knight to the rescue should arm himself.

I opened the gate in the fence, which is a substantial distance from the defensive ground the possum has staked out. Getting the possum out of the fence corner was the trickiest part, because I had to hook it with the broom and pull it TOWARD me. But after a few feet I was able to get behind it and continually push a recalcitrant, snarling, hissing possum up the fence line ... occasionally biting the end of the broom handle. I held the broom and flash in one hand and the umbrella in the other ... not wanting my defensive side twice encumbered. That got the possum up to the top corner of the fence. Then I had to repeat getting him out of the corner to move him toward the open gate. Thankfully, that's the shortest run of the fence, and once he cleared the fence and saw the opening clearly, the possum lit out in a determined scamper.

Betty did not witness my Wild Kingdom wildlife handling and heroism ... she retreated into the house. LOL If she'd been wearing a pointy hat with some scarves or ribbons dangling from it, she'd have owned a better excuse. ;-)

Luckily I was up against a scared possum and not something aggressive. As we might say in the South, "He warn't happy, but mostly he went along peaceable."


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Almost had half a ton of solid material come crash down on me and the 9000lbs of silent bright orange death due to either a faulty stop piece, a broken pallet, or both.


----------



## Matchu

Exhausted today.  

I did 60 hours during the Monday to Friday, a double night shift Sunday /Monday to come/then the Xmas party and holding the fort thru Xmas. [tosser earnest]

this last Midweek I hosted  a couple of stranded colleagues coz of the snow.  But  I’ve had this thing I never~never suffered before - the last couple of weeks in the workplace -  when I have too much information/jobs/data spinning around in my head…when it’s like a hyperventilation moment…and ‘ten minutes later’ appears a big fuss about ‘nothing.’

I knew I was tired when I rang the library to thank them, record semi-officially their assistance with outreach projects.  I had a little speech in my mind, but kept stumbling over the words ‘eternal gratitude,’ the words rising in my throat toward the grief shudder, a real total prat.  Ach, got it done - got my words out and their bosses get to read it so…but my god, libraries…powerhouses of future communities.  Quite interesting  (nerd post)


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Last night, volunteered on a machining line that's a few thousand parts behind. A few weeks back I was there. That night, they used the time with extra help (me) to train a newbie. Unfortunately, a vacuum-grip robot crashed, and we spent half the shift watching maintenance repair it.

So last night, they used the opportunity of having extra help (me) to train a newbie... and the same vacuum grip robot crashed again, and we spent half the shift watching maintenance repair it. The lead operator told me I'm no longer allowed to volunteer for their line again. (It wasn't my fault, but they're a superstitious bunch).


A.C.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Matchu said:


> Exhausted today.
> 
> I did 60 hours during the Monday to Friday, a double night shift Sunday /Monday to come/then the Xmas party and holding the fort thru Xmas. [tosser earnest]



I remember my years of 60 hour weeks. Good times.


----------



## JBF

Went to an unexpected gun show.
Bought an unexpected gun.

Trading holes in the bank account to patch holes in the collection.  At least it’s not a meth habit.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

JBF said:


> At least it’s not a meth habit.



If you’re interested, I can introduce you to my soon-to-be-ex-neighbors.


----------



## Sinister

My sister lives next door to her local meth entrepreneur.  Not a pretty scene.  Last year I got her a set of security cameras for Christmas.  I'm glad you're getting new neighbors and wish you better luck with them.

I count myself lucky.
My nearest neighbor is a distant cousin of mine.  Distant in terms of blood relation and distant as in 1.5 miles away.  They do deer hunt on my land, though.  Not a fan of that.  But family is family and I refuse to be THAT relative. 

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> My sister lives next door to her local meth entrepreneur.  Not a pretty scene.  Last year I got her a set of security cameras for Christmas.  I'm glad you're getting new neighbors and wish you better luck with them.
> 
> I count myself lucky.
> My nearest neighbor is a distant cousin of mine.  Distant in terms of blood relation and distant as in 1.5 miles away.  They do deer hunt on my land, though.  Not a fan of that.  But family is family and I refuse to be THAT relative.
> 
> -Sin



Still waiting for the official kick out, but they’ve been gone since around Thanksgiving when we discovered they were sleeping in their cars around back. Cops put the end to that. 
Bank was to change locks last week, but…???


----------



## Sinister

A lot of times the worst part isn't even the dealers themselves, but their clientele.  My sister had them rip off everything from lawnmower batteries to power tools.

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Never had that problem. They knew everybody on the street had 911 on speed dial. Plus the two houses next to me were friends with local PD, and my last roomy’s now a local state boy. Something came missing, that place would’ve been crawling.


----------



## Sinister

Well, the town I speak of doesn't have a PD, necessarily.  I do believe they have retained a retired policeman as a peace officer.  But from what I understand he isn't well-paid and therefore not very well-motivated either.  One of the reasons a lot of the people of that area are a big fan of the 2nd amendment. 

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

“God Bless Small Town, USA.”

Oh, wait…


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Made buckeyes for a bake-sale at work for coworker badly injured in car crash. Then had date night with Wifey.
Went home, we watched a movie. She went to bed, I got 6 more hours of Xmas Cast done. 3 more to go and I’ll be finished.


----------



## Sinister

Omg, I love buckeyes.  That really took me back.  I haven't had one of those since the stone age.  My grandmother used to make them every year.  One of those recipes that only last as long as someone in your family can still bake.

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> Omg, I love buckeyes.  That really took me back.  I haven't had one of those since the stone age.  My grandmother used to make them every year.  One of those recipes that only last as long as someone in your family can still bake.
> 
> -Sin



I absolutely LLLOOOVVVEEE homemade buckeyes. Every year, my dad used to make enough to feed several third world countries. Wifey made some two ears ago, and we still have a box of them in the freezer (I'll grab one every once in a while when the mood strikes me).

I made them for the first time this year. I made a batch of three dozen with the traditional semi-sweet chocolate covering. Then I made a dozen with a blend of semi-sweet and dark chocolate. Not bad, but it could've used a bit more dark chocolate. Funny thing is, I can't stand peanutbutter, but do I lllooovvveee buckeyes.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Damnit, Sin... now I want a buckeye, but I'm about to go to bed as soon as I finish this beer so I better not.


----------



## Sinister

Well, you put a craving on me and I don't even know how to make the blessed things.  Only Christmas confection I know how to craft are bourbon balls.  Which I might make...  Still have some Elijah Craig somewhere...

-Sin


----------



## JBF

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> If you’re interested, I can introduce you to my soon-to-be-ex-neighbors.



Several problems: 

 - I like having a pile o' guns
 - I like not being hunted by my colleagues
 - it's very difficult to bite/transmit rabies without teeth


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

JBF said:


> - it's very difficult to bite/transmit rabies without teeth



Well that’s the point, actually…


----------



## JBF

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> Well that’s the point, actually…



So...uh...cancel your Christmas present?


----------



## Darkkin

Just got back from our annual twilight snow walk...(and this is the fourth time this week it has snowed.)


----------



## Theglasshouse

Can't fall asleep. I slept for 6 hours in the afternoon. I took some magnesium and hopefully I will fall asleep soon. If I try to nap or have a siesta, it lasts for 6 hours. I think it's either the medicine or some other cause. I know I can't go to sleep in the afternoon. Sometimes it is unavoidable.

However, looking forward to writing when the next day begins.


----------



## Darkkin

Potato Cat actively asked for his dry kibble this morning...(the level of relief on this simple behaviour is profound).

Something triggered Potato Cat's PTSD sometime on Friday and he stopped eating and drinking.  (For a 13 lb cat this can spell disaster in a hurry.)  By the end of the weekend he hadn't touched anything but water from the tuna can, and wouldn't even take much of that.

Monday morning I got his CBD into him by putting it on his front paws so he had to lick it off and got him to play and chew on a spider plant frond (works like cat nip on him).  Hoping he would get the munchies after the trip, I put both his wet (pate and tuna water) and his dry kibble down.  He didn't eat it all, but he grazed a bit.  It was a start.

We've spent the better part of the week getting him to eat again.  He cleared his wet food last night and asked for his freeze dried treat as well.  This morning was the first 'normal' feed we've had since Friday and even that had kitten kibble (high protein, high fat) mixed in.

This is the effect of trauma.  The incident with our back door this summer left a big dent in Potato Cat's sense of security and confidence.  He has bounced back remarkably well and this is the first recurrence of the trauma behaviour we've seen.

Essentially Potato Cat's anxiety made him nauseous to the point where he simply couldn't eat.  He knew he wouldn't keep it down and he absolutely hates vomit, (always has).  (Many cats will go back and reconsume their gacked up food.  Not Potato Cat.)

The incident, while relatively mild in the grand scheme of things, was scary because it was something that could have had a major and immediate impact on Potato Cat's health and well being.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

XMAS CAST IS FINISHED AND READY TO GO.

Streaming server is running a test-cast. Now, I can relax.

No, not really.


----------



## Dante77

I got a heart monitoring device strapped to my chest, which I have to wear for 2 weeks. then I built an aatrox deck in legends of runeterra and I've been making people rage quit with it in high platinum, I'm going for top 700 Masters but I just lost to an annie deck and it felt bad so for the moment I took a break


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Interesting event just now.  Maintenance having a pot luck. Was invited to attend/participate, so I brought chips. Just grabbed a big plate of food, including peel and eat shrimp from the Maint. Office, and headed back to my desk. 
along the way, went by area that I used to work at. Two beautiful brunettes working as I walked by, minding my own. A lot of the guys eye them a lot. Wifey and I have partied with one of them before. They see my plate, and yell at me. Jokingly, I held up a shrimp, and it got a positive reaction from both. They both run over, squat down and started acting like seals in front of me as I’m holding this shrimp up.
As everyone nearby is watching, I’m feeding shrimp to these two while they’re squatting down in front of me with their heads back and mouth open, acting like seals.
Betcha I was the envy of a lot of guys around right then and there….


----------



## Parabola

Eh.


----------



## Louanne Learning

My day is going pretty good, thanks for asking! Terrible writer's block but I've been reading and spending quality time on the internet (!). Quiet at home today since my niece who lives with me went skiing. We're  bracing for a blizzard to move in tomorrow and hopefully I get some writing done then.


----------



## Arsenex

So my wife is prepping salmon for me to grill on a cedar plank. After starting the grill heating, I came inside and glanced at the fireplace. It's not particularly cold here yet, but it has been dreary and overcast all day. I asked if she wanted me to throw a log on the fire. She thought for a moment and replied, "Nah." When I looked back at the fireplace our dachshund had walked over to the mantle and had his front paws standing on it as he looked into the fireplace, something he has never once done. I turned to the wife and said, "Look at him. He knows what a fire is." She wasn't buying it. I most assuredly am.


----------



## Louanne Learning

Dogs are smart and know a lot more things than many people give them credit for.


----------



## Arsenex

Louanne Learning said:


> Dogs are smart and know a lot more things than many people give them credit for.


We had our first fire in the fireplace earlier this week, since getting him .


----------



## Sinister

Whelp...Elliot is knocking at my door.  Here's hoping I keep power...cause, I'm not confident in ye olde generator.  -5F and a -15F wind chill and loverly sleet/rain.
Stay warm, stay safe, everyone

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> Whelp...Elliot is knocking at my door.  Here's hoping I keep power...cause, I'm not confident in ye olde generator.  -5F and a -15F wind chill and loverly sleet/rain.
> Stay warm, stay safe, everyone
> 
> -Sin


You stay safe, too.


----------



## Theglasshouse

I got allergic conjunctivitis and was told by my uncle, who is a doctor (medical internist and cardiologist) that I have to be very careful. I need to protect my eyes. The medicinal treatment I took means I am allergic to some medicine or pills that helped me to relax the muscles in my leg. I took it because I was feeling muscle pain in my left leg. It's not viral. My eyes can redden. I can't rub them with my hands since I could go blind. I have to be protective of my eyes for 10 days. I took this medicine prescribed by my doctor to treat the allergic reaction. I have to take it for ten days. I can't log in for a long time. I need to make sure I make a recovery. So yes, I will log on for brief periods of time only. I was watching the Japanese Anime called Evangelion today (TV is better for the eyes than when using the computer). Since I like science fiction and fantasy and anime has this as its main genre, that is what I will do in my free time. It's nothing to panic about if I take care of myself. I will be absent for many hours during the day from the forums until I can recover.


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Serious funny question:
Anyone else here have a pet cat or dog that insists on performing guard duty while you’re sitting on the toilet, or am I the only one?


----------



## Sinister

My only love interest died.  I'm very drunk right now.  You might not understand?  I don't blame you.  I'm what the alphabet soup of LGBTQA+ whatever-the-fuck refers to as AROACE.  Aromantic Asexual.  I did love three different women in my life.  I suppose it happens to all of us in phases of our lives?  I don't know.  I'm not permitted the perspective to confirm.  But one of those women...probably the single most important woman in my entire life has...  I don't know how to express it?  I guess since none of you know me or my circumstances, so it's okay to type onto the internet.  She has taken her own life in a fit of...I can't even begin to understand her circumstances.

I wonder now if my choices had been different, if her choices would have been different.  If so, I am...so sorry.  I am so sorry.

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> My only love interest died.  I'm very drunk right now.  You might not understand?  I don't blame you.  I'm what the alphabet soup of LGBTQA+ whatever-the-fuck refers to as AROACE.  Aromantic Asexual.  I did love three different women in my life.  I suppose it happens to all of us in phases of our lives?  I don't know.  I'm not permitted the perspective to confirm.  But one of those women...probably the single most important woman in my entire life has...  I don't know how to express it?  I guess since none of you know me or my circumstances, so it's okay to type onto the internet.  She has taken her own life in a fit of...I can't even begin to understand her circumstances.
> 
> I wonder now if my choices had been different, if her choices would have been different.  If so, I am...so sorry.  I am so sorry.
> 
> -Sin




I'm so very sorry to hear. My condolences. And to hear/read that it's a suicide honestly pains me. I know too well about loss from suicide.  With suicide, we sometimes never know the circumstances that drove them to that. It can magnify the helplessness, frustration, hurt, anger, and survivor's guilt. 

Sin, I strongly advise seeking out grief counseling groups for those affected by suicide. I wish I can say you'll get over the pain of this, but I'd be a liar. It's been nearly 17 years since my only brother took his life, and I still miss him as much today as I did when I got the sickening phone call to tell me he'd died. But please, for your own good, seek counseling. 

May you find some sort of comfort. I wish you well, sir.  


Aaron


----------



## Sinister

That Guy Named Aaron said:


> I'm so very sorry to hear. My condolences. And to hear/read that it's a suicide honestly pains me. I know too well about loss from suicide.  With suicide, we sometimes never know the circumstances that drove them to that. It can magnify the helplessness, frustration, hurt, anger, and survivor's guilt.
> 
> Sin, I strongly advise seeking out grief counseling groups for those affected by suicide. I wish I can say you'll get over the pain of this, but I'd be a liar. It's been nearly 17 years since my only brother took his life, and I still miss him as much today as I did when I got the sickening phone call to tell me he'd died. But please, for your own good, seek counseling.
> 
> May you find some sort of comfort. I wish you well, sir.
> 
> 
> Aaron



I'm sorry, Aaron.  I just.  Honestly, it happened some days ago.  I'm just now...processing it?  It's a lot to take in.  I'm going to bring it up with my therapist.

-Sin


----------



## That Guy Named Aaron

Sinister said:


> I'm sorry, Aaron.  I just.  Honestly, it happened some days ago.  I'm just now...processing it?  It's a lot to take in.  I'm going to bring it up with my therapist.
> 
> -Sin



Sin, I totally get it. No worries. May you find peace.

Aaron


----------



## Theglasshouse

You are already doing the right thing by going to therapy. In my case, I am instructed when someone close to me dies to tell the psychiatrist who will reevaluate me so they can determine whether they need to modify the treatment plan. Sorry for your loss.

As for today, I am finding it annoying I can't sleep on time again. One of my medicines has side effects that can cause me to not sleep. I hope the magnesium's soporific effect kicks in sometime soon. I pine to have some droopy eyes soon. Yes, I might be hinting at Droopy, the character that sometimes would appear on the cartoon channel. I learned that word by watching the cartoon show. This was the way I discovered the meaning behind Daffy, which means acting in a loony way. In cartoons, they can get away with almost anything just like a writer does.


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## Parabola

Woke up wondering if my back was going to give out on me. So far, I've managed to walk alright. Usually, it passes in a couple of days.


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## Theglasshouse

@Parabola: read about correct posture. I have an uncle who is a bone surgeon. In my experience, I sit in a chair if it promotes a good posture. Not all chairs are created equal. Likewise, I don't know if sleeping on a sofa is causing the problem. I have an office desk chair made of leather I don't sit in since in case my back hurts. Do what makes sense, is right, and what research suggests about posture. Bad posture can lead to a back operation, which is what one wants to avoid. He is an orthopedic doctor (rough translation from another language). So I recommend correct posture to improve the odds of avoiding a back operation.

Some of my family got sick with the virus from the pandemic including the very young nephew I have. I hope they recover well soon.


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## The Green Shield

Weekend's been relaxing. Doing precisely _nothing_ and just ignoring my silly brain because it apparently doesn't like it when I'm not busy 24/7. Mate, I don't care if I want to spend the weekends playing _World of Warcraft_ while stuffing myself with Cheeto's. I've a job, a car, I pay my taxes, etc.


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