[QuickTidal]

Wife had a conference today early, so I had to drop the kids at school (I usually leave for work early, so she does drop-off as she WFM 3 out of 5 days anyways)...which is fine, only that they don't start school till 9AM. So I wait till then, drop them, and hit the transit....off hours TTC is longer wait times (fuckers cut service down after a rate hike....) and the traffic is heavier for the bus portions of my trip to work due to it being much later in the morning. So doing this steals about 2.5hrs of my work day which I have to make up in the evening...which again, it's fine....wife doesn't have conferences all the time.

But then I'm on the bus and I'm playing my Switch and across from me is a crusty dude who is ranting at medium volume about religion, and how he's both military AND CIA...AND he's taking random swipes at me as I play my game....so eventually I get annoyed and I move....but I had noticed the guy stank and I kept getting wafts of nastiness...so he decided he was hot and took off the parka he wore today (it's cool, not freezing buddy) and isn't there SHIT all up and down the back of his pants, and up onto his shirt....it looks like at some point inn the last 24hours, this gentleman had explosive diarrhea and it went every which way....so yeah, that's what I was smelling.

So yeah....it's been a SHIT morning really.

[Tiste Simeon]

Man spending that log in traffic I bet you're pooped

[Abyss]

That's a crap way to start a day.

[worry]

Treating this thread like it’s your diary-ah!

[Slow Ben]

worry, on 25 May 2023 - 10:40 PM, said:

Treating this thread like it's your diary-ah!

Thats somehow maybe the best and worst pun ive seen at the same time.

[QuickTidal]

QuickTidal, on 19 May 2023 - 01:34 AM, said:

I got mine already actually, LOL. Ordered them off Amazon. $40 including shipping.

Had them in tonight for a bit. Comfy, really soft silicone. Can hear people around me just fine, but ambient other noises are definitely deadened.

The litmus test will be when there is a cacophony of noise, but so far so good.

And yeah, I’m way more sensitive post pandemic than prepandemic. My wife noted that specifically about how I used to handle over stimulation.

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 19 May 2023 - 08:17 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 19 May 2023 - 01:34 AM, said:

I got mine already actually, LOL. Ordered them off Amazon. $40 including shipping.

Had them in tonight for a bit. Comfy, really soft silicone. Can hear people around me just fine, but ambient other noises are definitely deadened.

The litmus test will be when there is a cacophony of noise, but so far so good.

And yeah, I’m way more sensitive post pandemic than prepandemic. My wife noted that specifically about how I used to handle over stimulation.

Argh, super jealous! Still waiting on mine - I'm glad you're finding them useful though, that bodes well!

Update. I wore them in the car with the kids and all day at an arcade, indoor play place and they protected me from the worst of the cacophony. REALLY solid product, and they fit nicely and didn't bother my ears even after hours of wearing them.

[Cause]

Forgice me if I have compalined about this before but I find it more than strange, hhypocritical and perhaps even outright disrespectful that in the USA memorial day is nothing more than a long weekend for shopping.

Growing up in South Africa we didnt make too much of Remembrance day I will fully admit but by comparison Rembrance day in the UK seems to be a much more solemn day

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Cause, on 26 May 2023 - 09:00 PM, said:

Forgice me if I have compalined about this before but I find it more than strange, hhypocritical and perhaps even outright disrespectful that in the USA memorial day is nothing more than a long weekend for shopping.

Growing up in South Africa we didnt make too much of Remembrance day I will fully admit but by comparison Rembrance day in the UK seems to be a much more solemn day

But the BBQ represents... well, not the Revolutionary War or the Civil War so much iirc, and the War of 1812 only a little (though apparently no one died inside the burning buildings... no one whose body parts they identified as such, anyway), but...

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Azath Vitr (D, on 26 May 2023 - 09:05 PM, said:

Cause, on 26 May 2023 - 09:00 PM, said:

Forgice me if I have compalined about this before but I find it more than strange, hhypocritical and perhaps even outright disrespectful that in the USA memorial day is nothing more than a long weekend for shopping.

Growing up in South Africa we didnt make too much of Remembrance day I will fully admit but by comparison Rembrance day in the UK seems to be a much more solemn day

But the BBQ represents... well, not the Revolutionary War or the Civil War so much iirc, and the War of 1812 only a little (though apparently no one died inside the burning buildings... no one whose body parts they identified as such, anyway), but...

On second thought I must be wrong... 'by the rockets' red glare, / The bombs bursting in air'.

Quote

Mortars and howitzers did loft exploding shells in high arcs [...] It wouldn’t have been a modern war, though, without a few big explosions. During the war’s eight years, there were a few REALLY BIG explosions, the kind that shook the earth, created mushroom clouds, and were heard for miles around.

[...] A British army captured the city of Philadelphia in 1777, but supplying the city required unobstructed access to the Atlantic Ocean [...] Under heavy bombardment, a fire broke out near Augusta’s stern that soon spread throughout the ship. [...] After an hour or so, the flames reached the ship’s gunpowder stores. The resulting explosion was heard up to thirty miles away and broke windows in Philadelphia.

Top 5 Explosions of the Revolutionary War - Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com)

And of course 'War is Hell' Sherman...

Quote

burned nearly all of the captured city of Atlanta, Georgia [...] near the end of the U.S. Civil War

Burning of Atlanta (nationalgeographic.org)

Hence the BBQ. The scent of charred flesh... although:

Quote

Burning [human] muscle tissue gives off an aroma similar to beef in a frying pan, and body fat smells like a side of fatty pork on the grill. But you probably won’t mistake the scent of human remains for a cookout. That’s because a whole body includes all sorts of parts that we’d rarely use for a regular barbecue. For example, cattle are bled after slaughter, and the beef and pork we eat contain few blood vessels. When a whole human body burns, all the iron-rich blood still inside can give the smell a coppery, metallic component. Full bodies also include internal organs, which rarely burn completely because of their high fluid content; they smell like burnt liver. Firefighters say that cerebrospinal fluid burns up in a musky, sweet perfume.

What does burning human flesh smell like? (slate.com)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

lol I forgot The Star Spangled Banner ('bombs bursting in air') was about the war of 1812, not the Revolutionary War. But I was right that I was wrong....

You pass the true US citizenship test by failing it! Or rather: anyone who passes the US Citizenship test is probably not a US citizen (yet).

[RealGatekeeper1]

We’re Americans. Nothing means anything anymore.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

RealGatekeeper1, on 27 May 2023 - 04:43 AM, said:

We're Americans. Nothing means anything anymore.

But money means everything forevermore. As our great national poet wrote: And our souls from out that shadow that lies inflating upon the floor / Shall be on sale---nevermore!

But no, that's not so true anymore: the capital of ideology Trumps the capital of money (which in turn still Trumps the capital of truth...).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 27 May 2023 - 11:41 AM

[amphibian]

I'm leaving my cousin's place in about 9 hours to go back to New York. I've been here 5 days total on this Australia trip and it's genuinely great to be around his family. His kids are sweet terrors and so lively.

It'll be hard to say goodbye to him again after not seeing him for ten years. We knew each other as 5 years old (32 years ago) and lived together for close to 7 years as adults. I probably won't see him for another 3-5 years.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

amphibian, on 27 May 2023 - 11:58 AM, said:

I'm leaving my cousin's place in about 9 hours to go back to New York. I've been here 5 days total on this Australia trip and it's genuinely great to be around his family. His kids are sweet terrors and so lively.

It'll be hard to say goodbye to him again after not seeing him for ten years. We knew each other as 5 years old (32 years ago) and lived together for close to 7 years as adults. I probably won't see him for another 3-5 years.

But you'll always have virtual reality (as an option)?... Hugging isn't quite the same; though I'd suppose a shape-changing robotic hand could allow for handshakes. 3D printers could reproduce their smells too. Then again, I'd suppose playing contact sports or sparring will remain difficult to accurately simulate cost effectively in the near term....

Messing with my groove (and, even worse, my stonks):

Quote

Democratic lawmakers across the country[...] largely say they're pro-housing and that they want to address the affordability crisis, homelessness, and the housing shortage. But Democratic politicians have stood in the way of building new and denser housing in blue and red states alike.

In New York and Texas, Democrats recently facilitated the death of major pieces of pro-housing legislation.

[...] Some Texas Democrats opposed the legislation because it would have opened opportunities for short-term rentals, like Airbnbs. [... claiming it] would "make a commercial, uncontrollable, really unforeseeable mess out of every neighborhood in the state."

[...] New York stripped Gov. Kathy Hochul's plan to mandate denser housing around New York City from the state budget amid opposition from Democratic members of the state assembly, particularly those in wealthy suburban districts.

[...] The overwhelming majority of New Yorkers say housing affordability is a top concern.

[...] "There is a very loud minority of New Yorkers who call their legislators every day to complain about the possibility that the state would require housing to get built," [...] "And many politicians are scared of those voters."

Texas and New York Just Shut Down Pro-Housing Legislation (businessinsider.com)

[Cause]

amphibian, on 27 May 2023 - 11:58 AM, said:

I'm leaving my cousin's place in about 9 hours to go back to New York. I've been here 5 days total on this Australia trip and it's genuinely great to be around his family. His kids are sweet terrors and so lively.

It'll be hard to say goodbye to him again after not seeing him for ten years. We knew each other as 5 years old (32 years ago) and lived together for close to 7 years as adults. I probably won't see him for another 3-5 years.

You flew to Australia for 5 days? Ouch. Isnt that like a days travel each way alone

[amphibian]

Cause, on 27 May 2023 - 03:12 PM, said:

amphibian, on 27 May 2023 - 11:58 AM, said:

I'm leaving my cousin's place in about 9 hours to go back to New York. I've been here 5 days total on this Australia trip and it's genuinely great to be around his family. His kids are sweet terrors and so lively.

It'll be hard to say goodbye to him again after not seeing him for ten years. We knew each other as 5 years old (32 years ago) and lived together for close to 7 years as adults. I probably won't see him for another 3-5 years.

You flew to Australia for 5 days? Ouch. Isnt that like a days travel each way alone

I left on the 15th, arrived on the 17th (date line meant I never lived Tuesday the 16th), and am leaving the 28th - getting back on the 28th with the longest day that I will likely live.

Was extremely fun. I got to go to Melbourne, Hobart (Tasmania), Cairns, Port Douglas, then back to Melbourne.

[Tsundoku]

amphibian, on 28 May 2023 - 12:13 AM, said:

Cause, on 27 May 2023 - 03:12 PM, said:

amphibian, on 27 May 2023 - 11:58 AM, said:

I'm leaving my cousin's place in about 9 hours to go back to New York. I've been here 5 days total on this Australia trip and it's genuinely great to be around his family. His kids are sweet terrors and so lively.

It'll be hard to say goodbye to him again after not seeing him for ten years. We knew each other as 5 years old (32 years ago) and lived together for close to 7 years as adults. I probably won't see him for another 3-5 years.

You flew to Australia for 5 days? Ouch. Isnt that like a days travel each way alone

I left on the 15th, arrived on the 17th (date line meant I never lived Tuesday the 16th), and am leaving the 28th - getting back on the 28th with the longest day that I will likely live.

Was extremely fun. I got to go to Melbourne, Hobart (Tasmania), Cairns, Port Douglas, then back to Melbourne.

At least you didn't have one day over and over like Groundhog Day or Palm Springs. Still one of those 5 days over and over would have been better than the films.

And I draw your attention to the small fact that Brisbane is pretty much smack bang halfway in between Melbourne And Cairns. Tsk, rude!

Seriously though, glad you had a good time.

[Cause]

The amount of dust in my apartment! It doesn’t compute. The floor is hard wood, looks completely clean but I run a vacuum and will have a whole dust bin of dust.

A day later it’s back! Dead skin, hair. Sure. But not that much! Is the air con just blowing in outside dust 24/7?

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Cause, on 30 May 2023 - 10:10 PM, said:

The amount of dust in my apartment! It doesn't compute. The floor is hard wood, looks completely clean but I run a vacuum and will have a whole dust bin of dust.

A day later it's back! Dead skin, hair. Sure. But not that much! Is the air con just blowing in outside dust 24/7?

Can you turn off the air conditioning? Has it actually been hot in your apartment yet this year? It hasn't gone above 80 yet in Philadelphia iirc (or if it has, only barely and briefly). The high today was 75.

I haven't used air conditioning in my apartment for years, even though the door directly opens onto the outdoors (granted, I do use some stuff to seal the door a bit). It's 70 degrees in my apartment right now.

Air conditioning is terrible for the environment as well as being a waste of money. If you have trouble falling asleep because your core temperature doesn't drop, it's easier to do something to heat up your core temperature for 15 minutes starting about 90 minutes before bed (for example, I put on a heavy winter coat---a warm bath is also recommended, but that also wastes electricity) then remove most clothes and don't use blankets. Or since it gets cooler out at night anyway you could just open the windows.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 30 May 2023 - 10:30 PM

[Tsundoku]

Azath Vitr (D, on 30 May 2023 - 10:29 PM, said:

Cause, on 30 May 2023 - 10:10 PM, said:

The amount of dust in my apartment! It doesn't compute. The floor is hard wood, looks completely clean but I run a vacuum and will have a whole dust bin of dust.

A day later it's back! Dead skin, hair. Sure. But not that much! Is the air con just blowing in outside dust 24/7?

Can you turn off the air conditioning? Has it actually been hot in your apartment yet this year? It hasn't gone above 80 yet in Philadelphia iirc (or if it has, only barely and briefly). The high today was 75.

I haven't used air conditioning in my apartment for years, even though the door directly opens onto the outdoors (granted, I do use some stuff to seal the door a bit). It's 70 degrees in my apartment right now.

Air conditioning is terrible for the environment as well as being a waste of money. If you have trouble falling asleep because your core temperature doesn't drop, it's easier to do something to heat up your core temperature for 15 minutes starting about 90 minutes before bed (for example, I put on a heavy winter coat---a warm bath is also recommended, but that also wastes electricity) then remove most clothes and don't use blankets. Or since it gets cooler out at night anyway you could just open the windows.

Just make sure you only open the windows and not the blinds after you remove your clothes and don't use blankets.