[Maark Abbott]

Tiste Simeon, on 05 October 2026 - 03:45 PM, said:

Thanks Maark. How are you getting on?

Up and down. Went back to work on a phased return (very light duties 2 weeks, then probably full days but still light duties for another couple of weeks) - the worst bit is seeing stuff that reminds me of her, I'm liable to fall apart at a moment's notice. But we'll get there.

[QuickTidal]

Maark Abbott, on 06 October 2026 - 07:21 AM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 05 October 2026 - 03:45 PM, said:

Thanks Maark. How are you getting on?

the worst bit is seeing stuff that reminds me of her, I'm liable to fall apart at a moment's notice. But we'll get there.

I know it's not on the same level but after I lost my mom the grief counsellor my wife sees (for her moms passing) said "Anger and Grief are brothers who show up randomly and never when you're expecting them" and that continues to be true even 4 years on...I still get waves of it from random things - usually stuff my mom loved doing, like cooking or Christmas decorations....my wife knows that every year now I break down when we decorate the tree because of deep rooted memories with my mom doing that...and over time I've started just accepting that grief as it helps me remember her and the times she did the things she loved.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Two reports of people carrying guns in areas I sometimes pass through getting into shoot-outs with police:

Quote

According to police, officers responded to reports of a man with a gun in the area shortly after 11 a.m.

Authorities said the calls included information that the man had fired the weapon before police arrived, although Commissioner Kevin Bethel said investigators had not yet reached that conclusion.

Police said officers attempted to engage the man using a bullhorn but were unsuccessful. [...] "Police got out and as soon as I heard him say drop the gun, I ran across and behind a tree in front of the Barnes museum and kind of took cover there."

Authorities said the man then fired a shot at officers.

Man shot, killed by police after confrontation along Ben Franklin Parkway in Center City Philadelphia - 6abc Philadelphia

Quote

Two Philadelphia police officers were critically injured in a shooting early Saturday morning after responding to a report of an armed man in West Philadelphia.
[...] officers were dispatched for a report of a man armed with a firearm on the porch of a residence.

When officers arrived and approached the property, a gunman opened fire, striking both officers multiple times.
One officer, a 33-year-old father of five, was reportedly shot 12 times.
The second officer, described as a 40-year-old father, was also struck by gunfire. [...] Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

Philly Crime Update - Facebook

Thanks a lot Nico &co.

Here's hoping I don't get caught in another shoot-out as I walk down the Parkway today.

And apparently after the spate of recent armed robberies some people are calling my preferred attire of mask + hoodie the unofficial uniform of Philadelphia criminals. Definitely seems like I've been getting more disturbed looks. But a real criminal probably wouldn't wear such an unusual looking mask.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 10 October 2026 - 03:24 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Oh and I forgot this guy standing outside a store in Center City in broad daylight holding two knives, walking towards people and threatening them, apparently mentally ill... security guards just watch.

https://www.facebook...773017430671770

At least he's not wearing a mask and hoodie thouggh...

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 10 October 2026 - 04:03 PM

[Macros]

Do you genuinely still walk around wearing a mask?


Do you have underlying medical conditions that would mean a respiratory illness would drop you?

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Macros, on 11 October 2026 - 09:12 AM, said:

Do you genuinely still walk around wearing a mask?

Do you have underlying medical conditions that would mean a respiratory illness would drop you?

Yes and no.

I got the mask originally after reading about studies demonstrating that the air pollution in Philadelphia is very bad and leads to serious long-term health issues, which is the primary reason why I wear it outdoors most of the time in most parts of the city.

But I also really don't want to get long covid, which is the primary reason why I wear it indoors. A year or more of brain fog that drastically dampens creativity as well as mental acuity, causes lasting brain damage, and increases the risk of serious long-term health problems? Hell no.

The risk of getting long covid has not gone down substantially over the last few years. Studies have demonstrated that it does not decrease with repeated infection.

I'll generally only take my mask off indoors with someone if I think there's a good chance we'll be having sex (or its medically necessary, or I'm legally required to, as when I got my driver's license renewed and had to let them take a photo indoors---suffice it to say that as I'm holding my breath I probably look more like a psycho killer in that photo than on any of my previous driver's licenses, especially since the guy was taking his time), and I'll only do that within 2 months of getting my booster. On that note, I'm running out of time this year, and I got fucked by a hurricane again today, because I'm only going to outdoor venues. Here's hoping it doesn't rain over Halloween. Not sure how many more years I'll be able to maintain my six pack and youthful appearance, despite all the electrodes, planks, red light, fasting, sunscreens, and retinol creams. I do hope an effective intranasal vaccine is developed and approved soon.
And wearing an N95 mask isn't all that unusual in Philadelphia. But elastomeric P100 masks are rare here and some people mistake them for gas masks.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 11 October 2026 - 03:10 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

> Worries about dampening creativity and damaging mental acuity.

> Is a huge AI fan.

Lol

[Macros]

At what stage do you decide to live your life vs the risk?

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Macros, on 11 October 2026 - 04:11 PM, said:

At what stage do you decide to live your life vs the risk?

For me it's mostly just a minor inconvenience. It doesn't stop me from living my life for the most part.

In contrast, getting long covid would. (For the most part, that is.) And I probably don't have many years left before that period of rapid aging that happens to most people in their 40s.

Quote

Time marches on predictably, but biological aging is anything but constant, according to a new Stanford Medicine study. [...] We undergo two periods of rapid change, averaging around age 44 and age 60, according to a Stanford Medicine study.

Massive biomolecular shifts occur in our 40s and 60s, Stanford Medicine researchers find - Stanford Medicine News Center

Maybe once I'm in my dotage and AI wearables give us constant access to superintelligence and supercreativity (and maybe some electric shocks to keep us awake and living our best lives) I won't care as much about long covid brain fog. A lot of my best ideas come to me as if via divine inspiration anyway, from my unconscious mind, along with an ecstatic feeling. Perhaps I'm just addicted to divine inspiration and hate the idea of getting cut off from it (like characters in The Wheel of Time getting cut off from the source). But Tiste is right---AI will probably eventually be able to replace it. When I'm deep into my dotage and become a cyborg (perhaps like a cyborg ship of Theseus... almost).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 11 October 2026 - 05:02 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Oh ffs now someone with a gun has taken over a Philadelphia public transit bus and barricaded himself inside, and the SWAT team is shutting down the surrounding streets. The hijacker claims to have just killed two people. And they did find two murdered women this morning, though that could just be a coincidence.

SWAT respond to armed man barricaded on SEPTA bus in Philadelphia's Fox Chase section - 6abc Philadelphia

Why oh why...

The guy who shot the cops climbed up a tree and continued shooting at them, but amazingly they apprehended him alive. Maybe after he ran out of bullets?... Wonder if they had to climb up the tree to grapple him down.

[Macros]

Ask Nico why

[Mezla PigDog]

I saw Maark's news upthread. So sorry to read that. It totally sucks. I hope you are doing as well as can be expected mate.

Also thanks to everyone who replied to my unloading in this thread last time I was here. My kid got diagnosed with ADHD in the end. We are still figuring things out and we aren't taking the medication route but he's on a reasonable streak at the moment, long may it last.

[Macros]

At least with a diagnosis you sort of know where you are at?


There's an excellent (and acceptable length) book by Kimberly Wilson that focuses on diet and what it does to our brain and there are a few chapters on adolescents and how it can affect disorders like adhd. I can pop you the book version over if you want?

[Maark Abbott]

Mezla PigDog, on 14 October 2026 - 07:52 PM, said:

I saw Maark's news upthread. So sorry to read that. It totally sucks. I hope you are doing as well as can be expected mate.

Also thanks to everyone who replied to my unloading in this thread last time I was here. My kid got diagnosed with ADHD in the end. We are still figuring things out and we aren't taking the medication route but he's on a reasonable streak at the moment, long may it last.

Thanks. Things are an odd mix of settled and thoroughly shit and it varies wildly day to day. I found her bridal headpiece earlier on and you can imagine how well that went for me.

RE your youngun, ADHD is definitely manageable, from my experience / possible undiagnosed life through it something to focus the mind is usually the way for me. I picked up Warhammer to build and paint and that's been REALLY helpful - busies the body, busies the mind, lets me make jokes about IM PAINTIN ME NOB BOYZ. It's a good thing.

[QuickTidal]

Mezla PigDog, on 14 October 2026 - 07:52 PM, said:

I saw Maark's news upthread. So sorry to read that. It totally sucks. I hope you are doing as well as can be expected mate.

Also thanks to everyone who replied to my unloading in this thread last time I was here. My kid got diagnosed with ADHD in the end. We are still figuring things out and we aren't taking the medication route but he's on a reasonable streak at the moment, long may it last.

If you ever go the Meds route and have questions, you can ask me. We tried for a full year without meds for our son, but in the end we had to opt for meds as the school was saying he literally wasn't able to learn as his focus was all over the place.

After a few meds that didn't really do anything, and one really scary one that made him hear things that weren't there, we landed on one that worked really well, but it made him not hungry and he was losing too much weight so we've switched him to another. We've now got him on a regimen that works and life is much more peaceful overall, and his school work is vastly improved.

[Morgoth]

I just saw your post Maark, and I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you find some kind of peace with time, though I imagine that feels impossible right now.

[Mezla PigDog]

Cheers QT. His diagnosis is "mild" but the impact is high when his anxiety is up. So we will see and I may well be in touch. A friend just took her kid off meds as he was getting facial ticks. It's a minefield.

I have used my time off between jobs to read a book about teaching ADHD kids executive skills so on a mission on that front right now.

@Macros - will it tell me to cook from scratch more often? Cos I have enough to do!

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Maark Abbott, on 15 October 2026 - 07:20 AM, said:

RE your youngun, ADHD is definitely manageable, from my experience / possible undiagnosed life through it something to focus the mind is usually the way for me. I picked up Warhammer to build and paint and that's been REALLY helpful - busies the body, busies the mind, lets me make jokes about IM PAINTIN ME NOB BOYZ. It's a good thing.

Anecdotal, but one of our close friends has ADHD and has reported similar positive results from Warhammer miniature painting - or I presume fill in any alternative enjoyable pastime that busies mind and body.

[QuickTidal]

Mezla PigDog, on 15 October 2026 - 12:53 PM, said:

A friend just took her kid off meds as he was getting facial ticks. It's a minefield.

The one med that made him hear things was a SCARY night and made me feel like a terrible parent. He was TERRIFIED that something was in his wall and talking to him. He would not leave my side and he stayed with me downstairs long past his bedtime till exhaustion took him....I cried on the stairs after lifting him into his bed as I felt it was our fault we put him on a medication that caused such a scary thing for him to endure at like 7 years old. Luckily it was only once and only that med...but yeah minefield is right!

Fait warning that med was Focusin.

If you can manage him without, that's the best route for sure.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

QuickTidal, on 15 October 2026 - 02:07 PM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 15 October 2026 - 12:53 PM, said:

A friend just took her kid off meds as he was getting facial ticks. It's a minefield.

The one med that made him hear things was a SCARY night and made me feel like a terrible parent. He was TERRIFIED that something was in his wall and talking to him. He would not leave my side and he stayed with me downstairs long past his bedtime till exhaustion took him....I cried on the stairs after lifting him into his bed as I felt it was our fault we put him on a medication that caused such a scary thing for him to endure at like 7 years old. Luckily it was only once and only that med...but yeah minefield is right!

Fait warning that med was Focusin.

If you can manage him without, that's the best route for sure.

What med have you found that works?