The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss

Brightdreamer

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I don't hate the virus, it's just doing what they do. It's the grass roots people who refused to take precautions as well as the government who bungled the response at every level to the point of sabotaging the effort to contain the outbreak. TFG refusing to social distance at political rallies? Yeah, deliberate sabotage, in my opinion.
Don't want to derail the Cantina into politics, but IIRC, there's some evidence that the (lack of proper) response was quite deliberate. (And I can't say they're doing a bang-up job even now re: getting a clear and consistent message out and not just pretending it's gone away because nobody wants to pandemic anymore.)

And that's all I'll say about that here.

Friday night, and it does not feel remotely like half past nine PM, but it apparently is half past nine PM, and the day is trying to catch up and tackle me again (because my earlier zonk-out wasn't enough rest... did I mention only four of us were trying our dangedest to clear a backlog north of 2000 totes?). So I think I'll crawl into bed and try to read until sleep happens. It's that awkward time of the season when it's too warm part of the night for long sleepwear and all the blankets, yet too cool the other part of the night for short sleepwear and few-to-no blankets (though my stupid brain always needs at least the semblance of a blanket to sleep). Which side should I err on tonight?
 
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MaeZe

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Lack of response was due to TFG fantasizing it would go away, not deliberate per se. It's a pattern. I too shall leave it at that, I felt a correction was needed.

@CMBright: don't worry about a harmless murmur your child had at age one. The blood flow is normally turbulent. In babies and toddlers the chest wall is thin so normal turbulence can be heard.


A murmur is the sound of blood flowing through the heart and the large blood vessels that carry the blood through the body. [snipped part not applicable] In children, murmurs are often harmless and are just the sound of a heart working normally. These harmless murmurs are often called innocent or functional murmurs. Murmurs are easily heard in children because they have thin chests and the heart is closer to the stethoscope. When children have fevers or are scared, their hearts beat faster and murmurs can become even louder than usual.
 

E.F.B.

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Morning, Cantina. Two weeks since my last post (life was generalized busy) and mom's still doing well. Last week, she got a super great report from her rheumatologist that her blood work shows that the vasculitis is now under control. Apparently, her June hospitalization was 100% caused by the infection that set up due to excess mucus, so now she's on nebulizer treatments that break that stuff up and get it out and there have been no more issues with that. Her in-home PT even got her doing this one particular exercise this week that resulted in her oxygen count going UP instead of down, which was a wonderful indicator of improvement. It's going to be a slow journey to regaining her previous strength, and eventually getting weaned off of needing oxygen 24/7 but she and her doctors feel she's hit a real turning point.

The only major news besides that is that I'm *finally* scheduled to take my driver's test on the 15th. I've been the designated driver for my parents for the past several months, so yeah, even dad has to admit that it's time to get this done. Shockingly, dad didn't have an anxiety fit about it when mom told him we'd scheduled it. I think he's finally gotten it through his head that it's not as big a complicated woopty-doo as he thought it was, and it makes him feel better that this DMV has a closed course behind the building so I'm not going to go out on public roads with a stranger, which has long been a huge source of anxiety for him for years. (Because he doesn't have anxiety problems and doesn't need to be treated for it, nope.)

The only thing I'm really worried about is that the test wants me to be able to back into a parking spot surrounded by cones. The problem is, despite driving for 15 years, I don't have experience doing that because dad DETESTS people backing into parking spots, (he sees it as inconsiderate because many people aren't actually good at it and hold up traffic longer than necessary just to do it) so my parents never do it, and neither do I. An additional problem I discovered upon going to an empty school parking lot to practice this for the first time is that I literally cannot see ANYTHING on the ground behind our CRV, no matter whether I look in the mirrors or twist around to look out the back window. I did manage to back into a space multiple times, generally straight, after trying a bunch of times, but was completely dependent on our backup camera. The driving test grades you, in part, on use of mirrors, so I may just have to pretend to look in the mirrors while actually watching the back up cam screen. :Shrug: I'm kind of hoping that the presence of cones will actually help, since I'd be able to see those better. Hopefully I'll get more chances to practice before then, though.

ETA: Oh, and I also, finally, finished adding alt text to all the photos in all my Etsy listings. Yes, all 940-ish photos. *is ded but hopeful that making the effort might help someone*
 
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Brightdreamer

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Hooray for scheduled driving tests! (For the record, I don't back into places, either, though I understand the reasoning; it's easier to get out of a place in a hurry in case of emergency.) Not getting one part right won't necessarily fail you; I messed up parallel parking on my driver's test and still got my license. (Which was annoying because I aced it in driver's ed... but, then, I avoid parallel parking if at all humanly possible, and even then I want to park on an end...)

Saturday morning, overcast but looks to burn off, and sibling is siblingating at moderate levels in the other room. Plans for the day are the usual weekly room tidying(ish) and getting that logo out for approval, and at some point I want to start Stranger Things S4 V2, but that probably won't happen until evening. Also mulling some ideas for Summer Sisyphus.

And siblingination has not abated, making e-mail writing and mulling impossible, so I think I'll get going on that tidying thing...
 

owlion

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The only thing I'm really worried about is that the test wants me to be able to back into a parking spot surrounded by cones. The problem is, despite driving for 15 years, I don't have experience doing that because dad DETESTS people backing into parking spots, (he sees it as inconsiderate because many people aren't actually good at it and hold up traffic longer than necessary just to do it) so my parents never do it, and neither do I. An additional problem I discovered upon going to an empty school parking lot to practice this for the first time is that I literally cannot see ANYTHING on the ground behind our CRV, no matter whether I look in the mirrors or twist around to look out the back window. I did manage to back into a space multiple times, generally straight, after trying a bunch of times, but was completely dependent on our backup camera. The driving test grades you, in part, on use of mirrors, so I may just have to pretend to look in the mirrors while actually watching the back up cam screen. :Shrug: I'm kind of hoping that the presence of cones will actually help, since I'd be able to see those better. Hopefully I'll get more chances to practice before then, though.
My sister had to do a similar thing for her test and told me you can use the lines/cones and keep them at an angle to be able to back into a spot reasonably consistently, so you only need to be able to see the lines/cones in your mirror. I can ask her for more specifics about the angle if you want? Good luck with the test!
 

Brightdreamer

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Tidying done, e-mail finally away. So logo work is effectively done (or paused pending approval/changes).

Now to find something else to do with the rest of the day...

--

And evening on Saturday. The cloud cover never burned off; in fact, it feels unseasonably cool out there. Again.

Managed to make myself exercise, and I made dinner (hot dogs with baked beans and potato salad, because sibling is at work and it wasn't worth putting any more effort than that into it). Also fetched mail.

Did not manage much brainstorming on Summer Sisyphus, and I haven't started Stranger Things yet. Might be a bad night to do that, actually, if the sibling makes her usual Grand Entrance after work.

--

Wrappin' up Saturday. Saw the first part of Stranger Things. Hope to finish tomorrow. So far, still good, if dark. Feels just a slight bit stretched, but very intense and cinematic.

On an unrelated note, a new installment of a YouTube series I'm following finally dropped, a "Complete History of the Earth" visiting the various eons and periods of prehistory; newest one covers the Silurian. Playlist link here, starting with the Hadean eon, by Paleo Analysis. Interesting stuff, at least to me...

And the sibling was chosen to help train a new hire, which partially offset some truly horrific customers she had to deal with. (It does mean that they take her seriously as an employee, at least, which she often has doubts about, being the sibling.)
 
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E.F.B.

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My sister had to do a similar thing for her test and told me you can use the lines/cones and keep them at an angle to be able to back into a spot reasonably consistently, so you only need to be able to see the lines/cones in your mirror. I can ask her for more specifics about the angle if you want? Good luck with the test!
I actually tried looking up some videos about backing into parking spaces, and found one where a guy said something similar and showed how to do it. The concept makes sense, but after trying it, the problem I ran into is that your car/truck/van has to be the same size as the one owned by the person giving the advice, or you can't replicate the results. (Truly, I did exactly what he said and ended up smack over the line.) All I can do is try to get a chance to practice again and figure out my own angles that are unique to my vehicle. :Shrug:
 

owlion

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I actually tried looking up some videos about backing into parking spaces, and found one where a guy said something similar and showed how to do it. The concept makes sense, but after trying it, the problem I ran into is that your car/truck/van has to be the same size as the one owned by the person giving the advice, or you can't replicate the results. (Truly, I did exactly what he said and ended up smack over the line.) All I can do is try to get a chance to practice again and figure out my own angles that are unique to my vehicle. :Shrug:
Ah, darn, that's a shame. I hope you can practise a bit before the test, but either way, good luck for it!
 
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Brightdreamer

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Sunday morning, cloudy with some rain overnight, and we're planning on doing tomorrow's shopping today. (Nobody in this house is feeling very festive for the Fourth.) Nothing back on the logo yet... not that I'm obsessively checking my e-mail or anything... Eh, well. Done what I could.
 

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Saw the fireworks last night over Lake Sammamish, courtesy of the Issaquah food bank. Not as loud and fancy as the Seattle ones, but enjoyable because onlookers could distance. It had been a long time since I saw fireworks in person and I enjoyed it.
 

Brightdreamer

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I didn't even know they were doing fireworks...

Later on Sunday, and taking a break while watching Stranger Things (it's a 2-plus hour episode, and relatives started babbling, so I paused it for a bit of a stretch). Shopping got done earlier, though I'll probably have to go out Monday for the sibling's Monday tostado salad at Taco Time.

And back at it. Enjoying the episode, but not a huge fan of the long runtimes... (ETA: Finished the ep. Intense, interesting, though again I felt it was just a slight bit drawn out.)
 
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MaeZe

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Rude awakening. There's a news story about some horrific incident of police shooting an unarmed man as he fled, fired a gazillion times but that's not what I'm posting about. They named the police chief, Steve Mylet. At first my ears perked up because that's the name of the police chief here where I live. Then they said Ohio. So I looked up our police chief—was I mistaken and it was a different first name, did two police chiefs have the same name?

Turns out the chief just left in March [correction: a year ago] for a new job in Ohio! So he's only been on the job a few months and this happened. I wonder if he misses our peaceful city?


On another note, I really wanted a muffin and didn't want to drive anywhere so I decided to make one. How hard could it be?

I hobbled together a mix from stuff I had around the kitchen. I think I was okay but maybe didn't mix the oil in very well. Smoke poured from the oven. the muffins were flat as pancakes but they passed the toothpick test.

Apparently the oil managed to stay in one muffin where it spilled over and was burning (no flames) on the bottom of the oven. Great. Now that's going to smoke even after I make an attempt to clean it.

The muffins were edible but I really should have driven to the store.
 
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Brightdreamer

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Makeshift Muffins is so the name of a band that's never getting out of the garage...

And it's after dinner on a Sunday that remained gray and damp all day. Need to get dishes washed, then find something else to do before sleep occurs. (Wound up blowing off exercise because lazy.) Still poking around for story sparks, finding nothing substantial. Hope I can find one and keep it short again...
 

CMBright

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Rude awakening. There's a news story about some horrific incident of police shooting an unarmed man as he fled, fired a gazillion times but that's not what I'm posting about. They named the police chief, Steve Mylet. At first my ears perked up because that's the name of the police chief here where I live. Then they said Ohio. So I looked up our police chief—was I mistaken and it was a different first name, did two police chiefs have the same name?

Turns out the chief just left in March for a new job in Ohio! So he's only been on the job a few months and this happened. I wonder if he misses our peaceful city?


On another note, I really wanted a muffin and didn't want to drive anywhere so I decided to make one. How hard could it be?

I hobbled together a mix from stuff I had around the kitchen. I think I was okay but maybe didn't mix the oil in very well. Smoke poured from the oven. the muffins were flat as pancakes but they passed the toothpick test.

Apparently the oil managed to stay in one muffin where it spilled over and was burning (no flames) on the bottom of the oven. Great. Now that's going to smoke even after I make an attempt to clean it.

The muffins were edible but I really should have driven to the store.

I am on my second electronic copy of Ruhlman's Ratio. I love playing with the recipes and muffins are one of many.
 
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Brightdreamer

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Monday, late morning, and technically a national holiday, but not one I feel much like celebrating (see: All The Things). We're doing breakfast for dinner. Probably should've gotten bacon, but just wasn't feelin' it today... just gonna be omelet with waffles and OJ.

Got the sibling's tostado salad. That's the extent of my ambition right now.
 

Brigid Barry

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Baked on grease is the worst, but don't most modern oven cleaners take care of that now?

We do breakfast for dinner because we get 4-6 fresh eggs a day but bacon is just too expensive right now, along with everything else.

New development, my nerve issues in my spine aren't compatible with each other. 🤣 I've had something known as meralgia paresthetica (the outside of my left thigh is numb and misfiring nerves) because of compression of the nerve between L2-L3. This has been going on for years and no one seems concerned. I have a deformed spinal cord because of bone spurs in my C5-C6 causing radiculopathy- my whole arm goes completely numb. I also have a degenerating facet at S1.

If I lie on my back for my neck, my leg catches fire and wakes me up. If I sleep on my side for my leg, my arms go numb.

Maybe someone will come up with a zero gravity sleep chamber where I can just float. 🤣🤣
 
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Brightdreamer

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Boo for conflicting nerves! (Starting to wonder if some of the sibling's leg/back Issues aren't nerve compression or disc degeneration related, but they seem to ignore overweight people in pain, so I don't expect we'll get a diagnosis until she literally cannot move anymore.)

Later on Monday, and the sun finally appeared. Got the car vacuumed and tried to clean the windows inside, but of course I won't know how successfully that went until I'm driving and the sun hits at just the right angle to either get through fine or turn the glass into a smeary, milky screen of death. Also organized the trunk and culled some of the console clutter.

I do live a wild and crazy life...

Dinner (or breakfast for dinner) existed.

It's now that time of day where it's borderline too warm in the house, but not quite warm enough to justify a fan.
 

Friendly Frog

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Just need to rant a little about government health officials, skip to [HERE ENDETH THE RANT] below if you don't feel like reading it. There's cursing.

So government health officials... and their absolute worthlessness! I mean, it's bad enough they don't think we're adult enough to decide to get a vaccine on our own, so they restricted access to the COVID vaccine in their infinite arrogant wisdom. That's a rant on it's own, BUT THEN, those pencil pushers had the idea to silently and unilaterally issue new covid vax certificates and I can't think of a single reason they did that other than just to fuck with people!

Europe decided the certificates are valid for a year! A full year! The majority of the population was vaxxed only last January! We're barely six months since! I know my vaccine from back then is barely effective now, but you won't let me take another dose without an invitation that you're not giving out except to healt care workers and 80 year olds! Stupid arrogant sods. (Oh but case numbers are rising sharply again, my 'dear' officials, and who wants to bet you're going to botch the next vaccination round AGAIN, because you too busy with being condescending instead of preparing?)

I would have gladly paid for the vaccine and the doc visit out of pocket. But no, you knew better. Meanwhile vaccines are spoiling because you won't give them to your population and you won't give them to others who need them too. We all paid for those things. Incompetent jerks.

Whyyyyy update the papers when nothing else about my vaccine status has changed! And why did you do it so backhandedly that there is only a minute difference in the QR code and no further information the new certificate is the new certificate. You purposely deleted the history of downloading certificates to make it look as if there never was one before this one. You purposely 'forgot' alert people of it ahead of time, even if the infrastructure is RIGHT THERE. You purposefully made sure people just can't tell they have a valid certificate until they're denied access to the airplane, the care unit, etc... This is not just imcompetence, that's just cruel bullshit.

You just made a new piece of paper for the sake of making a new piece of paper!

Why do it very quietly and secretly a month before the official summer holidays and then only make an official announcement a week into the holidays!? You bastards! People relied on false information to get their travelling sorted. But oh, you were so concerned and caring AFTER the fact. Hypocrites!

Did I NEED the stress of having to figure out to get my mom an updated certificate when she's half a continent away? No, I did not. It took three hours of data and phone minutes and time I will never get back to get that sorted, you bunch of ù$µé&§! And all for your own ego. Gaaah! I'd wish a pox on you if I'd be sure your incompetence wouldn't cause it to land right back on my doorstep!

[HERE ENDETH THE RANT]
 
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Friendly Frog

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(And I hear ya on shoes for comfort first, looks second... have never understood why anyone would hate their feet and back enough to voluntarily wear high heels, either...)
Although I dislike high heels personally (would break my ankles in a heartbeat if I tried them) I usually have more issue with the tiny tips. Like, do modern people have less toes than what was usual when I was born or something? Where do they fit them?

Squashing my toes together to the point of them becoming misformed is just not comfortable at all. But it seems to be the case in the majority of standard footwear and I just don't understand it.

I think he's finally gotten it through his head that it's not as big a complicated woopty-doo as he thought it was, and it makes him feel better that this DMV has a closed course behind the building so I'm not going to go out on public roads with a stranger, which has long been a huge source of anxiety for him for years. (Because he doesn't have anxiety problems and doesn't need to be treated for it, nope.)
Can I just be a smidge jealous without anyone feeling bad?

Because compared to that I feel like once again the rules for getting a driving license here are ridiculously hard and complicated.

[RANT, feel free to skip]We have a mandatory theoretic test, a sight test, a traffic awereness test and a practical test out in real traffic before you can get a license. Make one mistaken against right of way and you fail. And you have to do them all in three years or retake the theoretical. And you need to follow another course three months after your practical because 'you might have forgotten'. Add the barest minium of driving lessons to that and you've paid enough for a small second-hand car before you can actually drive one on your own.

Aaand now they're salvitating about a license with points which means you have to do the whole thing again after a few speeding and parking tickets.[/RANT]

Sorry, got ranting again.

Anyway, best of luck with your test! May you have the needed chances to practise that parking. But you have 15 years of experience, you can do it!
:e2cheer:


On another note, I really wanted a muffin and didn't want to drive anywhere so I decided to make one. How hard could it be?
Eek, those are famous last words for a reason.:eek:
 
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Brightdreamer

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Boo for incompetent health departments!

Tuesday morning, lightly misty, and nothing much on the slate for today. Really need to get my head together for Summer Sisyphus brainstorming, here...
 

Brigid Barry

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Boo for conflicting nerves! (Starting to wonder if some of the sibling's leg/back Issues aren't nerve compression or disc degeneration related, but they seem to ignore overweight people in pain, so I don't expect we'll get a diagnosis until she literally cannot move anymore.)
Don't you know that the pain is always caused by being overweight, and the treatment is to not be overweight anymore?
 
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Brightdreamer

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Don't you know that the pain is always caused by being overweight, and the treatment is to not be overweight anymore?
Doctors should encourage all patients to become overweight; the fat evidently absorbs all ailments, then a body only needs to lose weight to be cured of disease and pain. It really is that easy!
 

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Doctors should encourage all patients to become overweight; the fat evidently absorbs all ailments, then a body only needs to lose weight to be cured of disease and pain. It really is that easy!
BRILLIANT! You just cured everything!

I do love how physicians talk about losing weight like it's as easy as changing your shoes. Not a single one of them is interesting in figuring out whether or not there might be an underlying cause (I have a binge eating disorder because trauma and food insecurity as a kid) or acknowledge any potential impediments (my spine falling apart makes exercise difficult), "just lose weight".
 

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And it's almost noon on Tuesday, having some leftover breakfast for dinner for lunch. Got the green light on the camp logo already (this new site director may be a last-minute replacement, but darned if they don't get back to us a heck of a lot faster), so I'll be printing up the master copy later today. And I already got site work done. Might put off exercise until later; will probably be weed whacking, and if the sibling's actually getting sleep I don't want to wake her up.

--

Later, and got the final image printed up, so that's done on my end. Decided to do a file backup to my Seagate external drive while I was at it. Now I need to try to come up with something viable for writing, hopefully something short like last time...
 
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