[Maark Abbott]

The fact I've not seen any family for over a year is starting to wear, and I've not seen certain among my friends in person for... thirteen odd months?

Hell, I can't even get to the band practice space to make noise just now.

Great fun.

[Gorefest]

Haven't seen my parents since January last year. Or my sister. Or my nephews and niece.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Pet crematories say they won't do pick ups anymore because of COVID-19. WTF. I don't have a car, and I'm sure as hell not taking an Uber---or two different subway trains and a bus---there....

Same goes for animal control, which is far to the north.

Philadelphia allows deceased 'wild' animals to be placed of in the trash, but not 'domestic' animals, because of state law. Which also forbids burial within 100 feet of any human domicile, so no traveling to my relatives in the suburbs for backyard burial. I'd suppose I understand not wanting to 'traumatize' people with the sight of a pet in the garbage, but if they're in an opaque trash bag it shouldn't be any more of an issue than a raccoon or a couple of squirrels (or large rats...). Or meat. Not comparable to humans where there can be disease issues. And we should be allowed to eat our deceased pets if we want to. (If I were more of a chef I might consider it. Suggested to me by a Chinese-Vietnamese-American actually. I did eat lion on a stick once nearby.)

(I'd suppose the belief that there's something magical about corpses goes back to ancient superstition. Could be connected to the old Christian belief that people will be resurrected in their actual physical bodies---the ones in their graves---and thus need to be buried. But in that case cremation wouldn't make much sense, unless they want to be resurrected as ash monsters. Then again, it could be about 'respect' for the image of the dead---which is really an indictment of the mental frailty and irrationality of so much of humanity.)

Still haven't gotten any response from several other pet crematories that used to do pick ups. Would be so much easier to just have her freeze dried instead... but then I'd need to worry about moths and bugs getting her, and petting a body with no warmth just isn't the same. (Haven't found a place that will implant anything to generate faux body heat....)

So I might have to walk about an hour to get to the nearest pet crematory, carrying her frozen corpse through the cold, and hoping I don't get mugged going through Devils Pocket and Grays Ferry (adjacent to Forgotten Bottom...). If not for COVID-19 I'd at least be able to stop at Little Saigon afterwards. (Not going to try to ask the Vietnamese-American chefs there to cook a little bit of her for me....)

But I'll probably be able to use TaskRabbit or some other service to have someone deliver her for me. Leaning towards walking if I have to... I'll wear my bulletproof hoodie under my coat, maybe carry a staff. (Bulletproof plate would be overkill I think.) Hopefully no one will bother mugging me for my $30 elastomeric mask (or for my bulletproof hoodie... I'll try to hide it beneath my winter coat).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 05 February 2021 - 09:58 PM

[Malankazooie]

Oops, I goofed it and posted this in the Making me happy thread.

Skunked beer. Shit pisses me off. Only affecting one 6-pack it seems. We shall see.

Update: It was only the one six pack, so that is good. Also, the beers in the middle of the skunked 6'er weren't as bad.

Umm, do you guys know how to delete a post? Maybe a mod can delete the one in the Happy thread? *kaythxbye XOXOXO.

[Malankazooie]

Ran during the Super Bowl. Punch -> Face sequence activated.

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

Work Covid protections have devolved into "let's rely on other businesses to do the right thing, so we can carry on as usual." Easiest work place guideline to follow is "don't have a bunch of people sitting around the break room table at lunch," but half the staff, including the boss, is there at noon every day. With an old friend of mine catching a symptomatic case (lost her sense of smell today), the work thing is really bugging me. Not that her case isn't too. All the down feelings are probably all being exacerbated by the anniversary of my Dad passing away and how difficult it still is to talk to my Mom on the phone knowing how down she's about that too (she's in my Covid bubble, but we don't live in the same city so don't see each other often).

[Cause]

Azath Vitr (D, on 05 February 2021 - 09:57 PM, said:

Pet crematories say they won't do pick ups anymore because of COVID-19. WTF. I don't have a car, and I'm sure as hell not taking an Uber---or two different subway trains and a bus---there....

Same goes for animal control, which is far to the north.

Philadelphia allows deceased 'wild' animals to be placed of in the trash, but not 'domestic' animals, because of state law. Which also forbids burial within 100 feet of any human domicile, so no traveling to my relatives in the suburbs for backyard burial. I'd suppose I understand not wanting to 'traumatize' people with the sight of a pet in the garbage, but if they're in an opaque trash bag it shouldn't be any more of an issue than a raccoon or a couple of squirrels (or large rats...). Or meat. Not comparable to humans where there can be disease issues. And we should be allowed to eat our deceased pets if we want to. (If I were more of a chef I might consider it. Suggested to me by a Chinese-Vietnamese-American actually. I did eat lion on a stick once nearby.)

(I'd suppose the belief that there's something magical about corpses goes back to ancient superstition. Could be connected to the old Christian belief that people will be resurrected in their actual physical bodies---the ones in their graves---and thus need to be buried. But in that case cremation wouldn't make much sense, unless they want to be resurrected as ash monsters. Then again, it could be about 'respect' for the image of the dead---which is really an indictment of the mental frailty and irrationality of so much of humanity.)

Still haven't gotten any response from several other pet crematories that used to do pick ups. Would be so much easier to just have her freeze dried instead... but then I'd need to worry about moths and bugs getting her, and petting a body with no warmth just isn't the same. (Haven't found a place that will implant anything to generate faux body heat....)

So I might have to walk about an hour to get to the nearest pet crematory, carrying her frozen corpse through the cold, and hoping I don't get mugged going through Devils Pocket and Grays Ferry (adjacent to Forgotten Bottom...). If not for COVID-19 I'd at least be able to stop at Little Saigon afterwards. (Not going to try to ask the Vietnamese-American chefs there to cook a little bit of her for me....)

But I'll probably be able to use TaskRabbit or some other service to have someone deliver her for me. Leaning towards walking if I have to... I'll wear my bulletproof hoodie under my coat, maybe carry a staff. (Bulletproof plate would be overkill I think.) Hopefully no one will bother mugging me for my $30 elastomeric mask (or for my bulletproof hoodie... I'll try to hide it beneath my winter coat).

Sorry about your cat, I remember you saying she was sick.

Also is Philly so much dodgier than I think! Or are you just in a really bad area

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Cause, on 09 February 2021 - 05:29 PM, said:

Sorry about your cat, I remember you saying she was sick.

Also is Philly so much dodgier than I think! Or are you just in a really bad area

Had to call around to find ones that would pick her up. First two wanted $200 more than I expected from their websites. Only option for < $370 turned out to be located in Delaware (almost didn't even bother calling that one...).

She became seriously ill about a day before Biden's inauguration: your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth kept springing to mind....

I'm not in a particularly dangerous area, though the projects are a few blocks away and I used to walk by them frequently (before the pandemic).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 10 February 2021 - 09:22 PM

[Malankazooie]

Polar Vortex is slowly strengthening, taking tight grip by the weekend. Might be the coldest Valentine's Day on record. Do you have your proper winter shorts ready?

[Slow Ben]

Gonna get some negative temps!





The SB household is on quarantine. Youngest daughter had a cough, runny nose, and mild fever over the weekend. She was negative on the rapid test, but came back positive on the 2 day. Fekking pre-school, its like a petri dish.

Anyway, wife has symptoms, me and the oldest are fine. We're supposed to be staying away from each other in the house. Going ok so far, but i'll cave my diet in a donut shop the first time she cries and says she wants to snuggle. But we'll see.

This post has been edited by Slow Ben: 10 February 2021 - 09:45 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

Oh man that's hard SB hope you're all ok and you pull through!

[Malankazooie]

Malankazooie, on 10 February 2021 - 09:14 PM, said:

Polar Vortex is slowly strengthening, taking tight grip by the weekend. Might be the coldest Valentine's Day on record. Do you have your proper winter shorts ready?

Yikes, current forecast is for -10 °F this weekend. Did the conversion to °C, which is -23 (is that cold?)

If you do have your winter shorts laid out and ready to go, I would like to offer a protip: pair them with some long johns à la grunge era fashion from the early/mid 1990s.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Malankazooie, on 11 February 2021 - 07:37 PM, said:

Malankazooie, on 10 February 2021 - 09:14 PM, said:

Polar Vortex is slowly strengthening, taking tight grip by the weekend. Might be the coldest Valentine's Day on record. Do you have your proper winter shorts ready?

Yikes, current forecast is for -10 °F this weekend. Did the conversion to °C, which is -23 (is that cold?)

If you do have your winter shorts laid out and ready to go, I would like to offer a protip: pair them with some long johns à la grunge era fashion from the early/mid 1990s.

When I was an adolescent I wore shorts, sandals, and short-sleeved shirts (no coat) in the winter and the snow, and heavy coats on hot summer days. The point was to transcend suffering and train my body to endure temperature extremes.

Never got frostbite or frostnip or came close to heat exhaustion.

Much later I did get frostnip on the fingers of my right hand... washing my hands with almost ice cold water in a cold room when I was almost naked. Some of the fingers of my right hand have been cold-sensitive ever since.

'Poetry is like a fan in winter or a fireplace in summer' - Basho

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 11 February 2021 - 07:49 PM

[Cause]

I HATE the philadelphia soda tax! 10 dollars worth of soda using online grocery shopping became 21, once I entered my area code! No! Also it was on sale!!!

That’s some serious sin tax!

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'Philly's COVID-19 restrictions linked to city's alarming rise in gun violence, Temple study finds

The pandemic worsened poverty, unemployment and structural racism in Philadelphia

In 2020, Philadelphia had one of its worst years for gun violence, most gruesomely evident by the 499 homicides last year, the vast majority of which were shooting deaths.

Last year's homicide total equals 40% more people killed than 2019 and marked the second deadliest year ever in Philadelphia – just one homicide shy of 1990 when 500 people were killed.


[...] "Our research shows that the measures put in place to contain the pandemic for health and safety reasons had a significant and sustained association with increased firearm violence in the city."

They looked at Philadelphia Police data for shooting victims for the past five years and found the number of people shot every week had spiked following COVID-19 lockdown measures in March 2020.

[...] There also has been a startling rise in gun violence and homicides among children. An average of three children were shot per week in the city, CNN reported in August 2020.

The research team looked to other major events from 2020 to spot trends beyond the pandemic.

They also analyzed the number of shooting victims in the weeks after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, which led to nationwide protests. Beard and the other researchers found the protests did not correlated to and increase in gun violence in Philadelphia. "

"In addition to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 in Philadelphia, we must also come together to address what is now an epidemic of gun violence in the city," [...]

Some effort has been made to reduce gun violence in Philadelphia. City Council sponsored gun buy-back events in North Philly and South Philly, where a total of 224 guns were returned in exchange for $100 gift cards for groceries. [Only $100? How much does a gun go for Can't they just re-legalize an illegal gun to resell it?]

Philadelphia police said guns left in houses typically end up getting stolen and used later in violent crimes. Free gun lockers are available through Temple Safety Net.'

https://www.phillyvo...e8jlL2Lkf1ef9oU

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'SEPTA employees endure steady threats of violence even as transit ridership drops

[...] Benedetto had just run out of spare masks, or else she would've handed out a few for free. After she instructed the teenagers to put their masks on, or at least cover their faces with their shirts, the conversation escalated. It didn't take long for the violent threats to begin.

"She's telling me, 'I'm going to ride to the end of the line and kick your ass. I'm going to wipe the floor with your face,'" Benedetto said.

As is her right, Benedetto kicked the passengers off the bus when they started to threaten her. But when she got to the end of the line, the teens were there. Hiding behind a car, the two were waiting there for her and ready to fight when Benedetto unboarded. She saw them, locked the doors and called for Transit Police.

Benedetto's driven SEPTA buses for 21 years now. That recent scare was one of countless times she's endured harassment, threats, or physical attacks on the job.

[...]

For most of the last year, SEPTA sustained up to an 80% drop in ridership — but incidents of harassment against employees were as high as ever. Physical assaults, like spitting and throwing objects at workers, barely dropped.

It's not one especially dangerous route, not one specific job[...] that's vulnerable. Violence is a universal experience for public-facing SEPTA employees. Some say due to a combination of pandemic-induced anger and people experiencing homelessness sleeping in stations, it's gotten worse over the last 12 months.

[...]

Verbal and physical harassment toward employees is commonplace at transit systems across the country, and by many accounts, 2020 was an especially harrowing year for frontline transit workers.

[...]

Twelve of these incidents sent SEPTA employees to the hospital.

[...] Bus drivers are the most common victim,[...] but it happens to everyone: cashiers, cleaning staff, even custodial workers at SEPTA HQ at 12th and Market streets.

Robert Wolfson has been working at Philly's transit authority headquarters for 29 years. One November night on his commute home, five teenagers attacked him at Frankford Transportation Center — beating him unconscious and breaking his jaw.

[...] Riders were most likely to threaten him when he told them to pay the fare — so he stopped telling them.

"In the cashier booth I would just tell them, 'If you pull back the turnstile, I'm not going to stop you,'" [...] "They would fight, scream, holler, bang on the cashier booth. They would say, 'I'm coming back, I know where you're at.'"

[...]

Benedetto has mostly gotten used to the constant contempt — but she admits some incidents still get to her. Every so often there's a threat that makes her stomach sink and her hands get clammy.'

https://whyy.org/art...6DVIms86ufgfIhE

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 17 February 2021 - 04:04 AM

[Malankazooie]

Morning clumsiness found me executing one of those rare moves where I clipped just the precise cap of my knee on the door jamb as I was leaving the bathroom while grabbing a towel off the floor. You know, one of those deals where if it would have been just a little bit more of the knee it would have hit the fleshy/muscle side, and not worth a second thought. But no, it was that little section at the tip of the knee cap. I almost jumped out of my skin in agonizing pain. It's mid-day now, and I have this throbbing pain that is incrementally getting duller and duller. Hopefully by the weekend it will dissipate enough to where I don't notice it.

[Cause]

My neighbor has this beautiful puppy that every time it seas me pulls on its leash to reach me and clearly wants the opportunity to smell someone new and play with them. I for my part love dogs and want to play with it so much but my neighbor when I asked if I could pay her dog told me no, because of covid.

Which I can understand but it’s also I think ridiculous. But I’m not gonna argue with her. Still every time I see the dog in the hallway and it tries so hard to reach me I get sad.

[Macros]

The fucking weather

I just want to see the block work done.
I want the new roof on my workshop
I want to be able to complete the netting at the range.
Until this howling wind and rain fuck off none of the above will happen

[Cause]

My cousin has a medical exam tomorrow and only finished shift at 8 pm tonight. So thinking it would help her out I said I’d get us takeout from the Cheesecake Factory (she really likes it) and she wouldn’t have to worry about dinner. Door dash failed to deliver the first order, so I asked for a redilevery. Apparently the wrong driver picked up the order. So after 2 orders and 3 hours, my cousin is eating toast and doordash kindly offered to refund me in full. Their service sucks