The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss

E.F.B.

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I may or may not be driving Dad (and Mom) to a doctor appointment tomorrow (cardiologist this time; Mom has to go with him, because he doesn't always hear or report what the doctors are saying to him anymore), but otherwise I'm about to start the first decorating/detail phase of the ornaments (a.k.a when I can really eff them up royally.) Trying to remember the KISS rule, but I'll still probably end up relying on glitter. Glitter, in my experience, hides a multitude of flaws.
That seems to be a thing with a lot of older men. My mom goes with dad for his appointments for the same reason.

Also, glitter makes everything better.


Honeycrisps have a nice flavor, too, but you look at them funny and they go all mealy and mushy on you.
#truth

I've mostly had opinions on grapes lately. For the record, Cotton Candy grapes don't really taste like cotton candy to me. They are lightly sweet but the more I eat them the more they taste like regular grapes. The Gum Drop grapes do indeed taste something like gum drops but I don't like it that much and also find their texture odd. Moondrop grapes are really sweetly flavorful and I like them and their weird shape, and Jam grapes are punch of sweet and tart flavor to the mouth in a good way.

All the indoor Christmas decorations are up, including ornaments for the tree. It looks so pretty.
Same here. Loving it. <3

So I finally figured out what profession my MC has, and it came to me in a dream, of all places. She was delivering packages when a dog came after her. She escaped, but it was close. Now I need to figure out a way to work that into the plot, meaning I need to figure how to make it more than just a dog chasing her.
I love getting story ideas from dreams. Wish it happened more often.




Evening, Cantina. I have spent most of today being tech support for my parents and myself. When I got my phone yesterday they had a buy-1-get-1 free thing going so my mom ended up getting a new phone too. Then the employee helping us informed us that our provider is dropping all its 3G network stuff next year and therefore dad's reeeeaaaally old flip phone (we called it the "dumb phone" since it wasn't a smart phone) was no longer going to be able work anymore. Sooo, he had to get a new phone too and because neither me or mom were going to go through trying to teach him smart phone technology, much less give him a way to obsess on the internet outside of the house, he got a new "dumb phone". So, I have single handedly set up all three of our new phones and got the data transferred from the old ones to the new ones and yeeeeerg it took way longer than it should have. New tech is both fun and stressful.

Well, at least one good thing that came from the unexpected money and time expenditures is that we were able to sign up for the data plan that gets us a year of Disney+ for free. So I did my tech support thang and got that set up too. We therefore watched the first episode of The Mandalorian and liked it a lot. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes that are out as we have time. Also watched the Lady and the Tramp remake and that was fine but not all that exciting to us. *shrug*


tl;dr I didn't have time to write today but hopefully will tomorrow. I did get my Sysiphus prompt up in the thread, though.
 
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Brightdreamer

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EFB - Tech support for family... the nightmare of the modern age.
Around here, we get more varieties of apple than grape (aside from green and red and occasionally black), though I admit I don't really look at them much. Usually I'm okay with grapes but sometimes the texture gets to me for some reason.

Tuesday night, got everything ready for tomorrow. Gut still gives me the occasional twinge; I'm hoping I already had whatever bug hit Dad and is currently slamming the sibling, because I don't need to miss work (and if I do have to miss work I need to be well enough to at least hit my workshed, which this bug does not look conducive to - the sibling's got it even worse than Dad did.) Hear that, intestines? Cooperate, already!

Today was pretty much a wash on productivity, though I got some more course videos watched (it helps that these videos are actually educational and somewhat fun. That last one... yeah, okay, this bit of code can move a decimal point and that one can reverse a string of text - what is the point if you won't give me a practical application of when I'd need to do this? And since when does an introductory coding course keep referring to other coding languages like I should already know them? What does "introductory" even mean to you? Gah...) Also managed a bit of exercise, so yay for that I suppose.

Guess I'd best do some spitballing and wind down the day with reading, though I'm really getting annoyed with my paperback read right now. (Ever read a book and think that it really should almost be over, and then realize that you're not even at page 200 of a 500+ page book? It's one of those...)
 

LadyV

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Good morning, Cantina!

I had another interesting dream last night, though this one didn't have anything to do with my story. I was playing D&D with my friends on a huge, life-size board with massive miniatures. It was really cool. I'm new to the world of D&D. I've only played it twice so far, but the world is really interesting.

I'm currently packing for my trip to Philadelphia this weekend. I'm attending a board gaming convention called PAX Unplugged. I'm really excited.
 

The Second Moon

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Hey everyone. I'm back from Disney! So much fun. My favorite ride had to be Space Mountain. I love the ride as well as the atmosphere of it.

And for whoever asked...Yes, I am getting a comfort dog this month.
 

Brightdreamer

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LadyV - Sounds like a fun trip. Enjoy!

The Second Moon - Hooray for enjoyable outings!

JeanGenie - A "comfort dog" is a form of service animal, for those suffering serious anxiety disorders.

Wednesday afternoon, misty and gray and already too dark outside.

Work was overloaded. We're doing early start the rest of the week. (We actually had it today, but I didn't get the e-mail in time to actually show up for it.) Could always use the money, though it kinda shoots down my plans to do workshed stuff after work; I'm tired enough after ordinary work, no way I'll get out there after waking up too frellin' early and working an extra hour and a half.

And I didn't get out to the workshed today after work because I had to shop for lunch supplies for early start (we get a half hour lunch break on early start days.)

Mergh. It's always something, dang it.

Best wander off soon to get dinner started. Pork chops if they're still edible, steak if the pork chops are off. (People kept not wanting pork chop. I don't buy food to throw it out, people... gah.)
 

JeanGenie

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I see, thanks for the insight :) I would love a comfort dog, but at the moment I have a cat (are there such things as comfort cats?) Are there any breeds that are better than others?
 

Cobalt Jade

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My tenant registered her wiener dog mix as a comfort dog, as she has issues around flying. Uma (the dog) flies with her in the cabin and has crossed the country several times both flying and driving. Uma's probably been to more states than I have.

I did my first batch of Christmas baking... oatmeal cookies mmmm! I will freeze them and defrost later to drizzle with frosting for an extra special touch.
 

Brightdreamer

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Well, that was interesting. We felt a single jolt about an hour ago; turns out there was a small quake a few miles away, under 3 points but close enough to feel.

Dinner is done and dishes washed. (For the curious, the pork chops were still good.) Now to spitball and read my way to bed (or at least lying down and feigning sleep.) Already got the alarm set for early start.

Which reminds me that I need to make my sandwiches. Should do that before spitballing.
 

Religion0

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JeanGenie - A "comfort dog" is a form of service animal, for those suffering serious anxiety disorders.
Ah. We'd thought about getting one, or having Minty registered as one for me, but as they're service dogs they need to be trained as such, and with the best will in the world... Minty is stupid and she's got less discipline than a soggy sneaker. And it wouldn't feel fair to get another dog that I could and would then bring with me everywhere and then just leave Minty all alone. She's very much my dog, she'll often choose to be alone in my room than together with someone else anywhere else, and the top three priorities in life are treats, pats and me, ideally all three at once.
Bleh, I get a little heartsick just at thinking of doing that to her.
 

The Second Moon

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I see, thanks for the insight :) I would love a comfort dog, but at the moment I have a cat (are there such things as comfort cats?) Are there any breeds that are better than others?

From what I know, a cat can be a comfort animal, but I've heard that a cat would be harder to train. Which is sad because I love cats and think they are very comforting. But, I am very excited to get a dog.
 

Bufty

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From what I know, a cat can be a comfort animal, but I've heard that a cat would be harder to train. Which is sad because I love cats and think they are very comforting. But, I am very excited to get a dog.

Is it even possible to train a cat beyond using the litter tray?
 

Brightdreamer

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Thursday morning, up way too early thanks to early start at work and an uncooperative brain.

Eh, well... I need the money...

Guess I'd best get shoes on, grab my sandwich, and head out the door. Hopefully I won't have to shop my way home today, though I do need to remember to reload grocery bags in the car. (Keep forgetting to do that...)
 

The Second Moon

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Is it even possible to train a cat beyond using the litter tray?

My kitten comes when you come shake the cat treat bag, but I don't think that's training. :tongue

On a more serious note... that's why I decided to go with a dog for my comfort animal. They're easier to train.
 

Bufty

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There is no "train a cat."

Cats train us.

Yep- now I think back to when I had a cat, many years ago. Loved her. She was just - there, but it was me who opened the doors and the tins at the right time etc.:snoopy:
 

starrystorm

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Came back from Disney with The Second Moon. I have to agree, the atmosphere was amazing. It really makes Disney so unique. Everyone is so friendly and nice...except for the people who run you over with strollers. I don't get why people bring little, little kids that can't even ride anything. My grandma and I saw a woman holding a baby that my grandma said couldn't have been more than 3 months old. Why?

Anyway, I had a great time. Only I realized what I was missing in my book due to some free time to read. More and more revisions, here we come.
 

Cobalt Jade

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Came back from Disney with The Second Moon. I have to agree, the atmosphere was amazing. It really makes Disney so unique. Everyone is so friendly and nice...except for the people who run you over with strollers. I don't get why people bring little, little kids that can't even ride anything. My grandma and I saw a woman holding a baby that my grandma said couldn't have been more than 3 months old. Why?

Maybe they could not find a babysitter. Or didn't trust the child with a sitter. Babies are free at Disney, aren't they? If enough of the family goes, there's always someone to watch the baby while the parent does the fun things. Anyway my two cents. I agree the sea of strollers is annoying.

I've had the privilege of visiting Disneyland twice, once as a child and once as an adult -- I definitely appreciated it more as an adult. I've also gone to Disneyworld, albeit Typhoon Lagoon, one of the water parks. It would have been more enjoyable if I hadn't gotten vertigo on the Crusher Slusher. Next time I do a water park, I need my dramamine. The parks are pricey, but they give good value for your money.

I'm out of sorts. I railed to my boyfriend last night about the Trump situation, ending by saying we should move to Peru, where he's from, if things don't improve. He informs me his house there lies at 12,000 feet in the Andes; I don't know if I could handle that altitude. Something to think about.

THEN I had insomnia and when I did sleep, I had weird, creepy dreams all night, one of which began playing a murder victim (involving dismemberment) in a Brad Pitt movie and ended with me teaching myself to roller skate. I'm this all is holiday stress and/or end-of-decade stress.
 

Brightdreamer

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Sigh... could we stop with the "cats own me" stereotype ready? The reason cats have been called untrainable is because you can't beat/Koehler flip them into submission. Cats can be trained if you make sure there's something in it for them, usually treats and attention. There have been cat training books since at least the 70's. Hollywood has used trained cats for ages.(That clicker thing for dogs? I read about that in the 1980's in a book by a Hollywood cat trainer - the click was easy to edit out.) Watch Jackson Galaxy for practical tips on persuading a cat to alter behavior - aka training. A lot of bad situations get worse, and many people and cats suffer the consequences, when you insist cats are incapable of being trained out of bad habits or they don't pay attention and hate you anyway or so forth...

Sorry. It's a bit of a sore spot with me as a cat lover. And I did once teach an indoor/outdoor cat to sit on comand, so I know it can be done.

Gremlin break at work on Thursday. May break out the Kindle soon - starting to read invariably leads to interruption.

Typing on phone - sorry for typos.
 

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*waves*

Hey folks! I survived my foodie trip to Ontario. And gained 7 pounds in a week. Yup. Luckily, 3 days after returning, I've lost 5 of them. I have a trip to Ireland coming in June, so now I'm in full-blown must-lose mode. I want to be more comfortable on the flight, in chairs, sleep better, and walk more. My walking is still being limited by this annoying heel spur, but I'm working on it.

I came back from my week-long vacation to a triple-threat at work: First day after month-end close (my busiest day of the year) when the other plants did NOT have the Monday off (we did due to the first day of buck season, go figure), and budget questions coming to a head, as those are due Friday. Not enough hours in the day the last three days. But I think it's mostly under control now.

No writing, though I did get some of my editing backlog done on vacation. I still have my NaNo novella to edit and the WIP novel I finished in October. I got lots of beading done :)

Tonight is author's group, yay! Then this weekend the last art show of the year (indoors, thank the gods). And a beading workshop on the 14th.
 

Friendly Frog

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Is it even possible to train a cat beyond using the litter tray?

There is no "train a cat."

Cats train us.

Sigh... could we stop with the "cats own me" stereotype ready? The reason cats have been called untrainable is because you can't beat/Koehler flip them into submission. Cats can be trained if you make sure there's something in it for them, usually treats and attention.[..]
I'm going to agree with Brightdreamer here, cats can be trained really well. But that doesn't mean cat owners can't also be trained. The trick seems to be that neither should be aware they're being trained. :ROFL:We both like to think we're the cleverest partner in this relationship.

Dogs can be trained because they like to see you happy, cats can be trained as long as there is something that makes them happy. I trained my cat to respond to one hand signal and two voice commands and while I trained him with food, I don't have to feed him all the time now to get him to comply. That said, I readily admit he trained me in return as well. He has this silent meow to indicate he wants pets and I find myself complying almost always. We're still working on a good signal to communicate play time.

*waves*

Hey folks! I survived my foodie trip to Ontario. And gained 7 pounds in a week. Yup. Luckily, 3 days after returning, I've lost 5 of them. I have a trip to Ireland coming in June, so now I'm in full-blown must-lose mode. I want to be more comfortable on the flight, in chairs, sleep better, and walk more. My walking is still being limited by this annoying heel spur, but I'm working on it.
I'm glad you had fun!
 

Brightdreamer

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And home. The gremlins successfully thwarted further work. So tomorrow will suck.

Almost got run off the freeway on the way home, when someone decided they wanted my lane as I was passing them. (Had just enough warning with them creeping up on the line to tap the brakes a bit and there not to be a crunch.) Fortunately, there was grass instead of a concrete barrier. Still fishtailed something terrible... far too frellin' close. Very Not Fun.
 

JJ Litke

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Sigh... could we stop with the "cats own me" stereotype ready? The reason cats have been called untrainable is because you can't beat/Koehler flip them into submission.

o_O You don’t train dogs by beating them or dominating them into submission. But if someone were awful enough to resort to such methods, I’d bet they’d work about as well on cats as they would on dogs.

Dogs can be trained because they like to see you happy, cats can be trained as long as there is something that makes them happy. I trained my cat to respond to one hand signal and two voice commands and while I trained him with food, I don't have to feed him all the time now to get him to comply. That said, I readily admit he trained me in return as well. He has this silent meow to indicate he wants pets and I find myself complying almost always. We're still working on a good signal to communicate play time.

Sure, dogs and cats have different hunting instincts and social structures. If you take that kind of thing into account, you can train all kinds of mammals.