It's Personal...

Mundane & Pointless Stuff I Must Share: The Off Topic Forum

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
deaddmwalking
Prince
Posts: 3343
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 11:33 am

Post by deaddmwalking »

RobbyPants wrote:I think the road to town is currently open, but I don't really feel like a five-hour round trip and making my family self-isolate for 14 days just to get some beer.
You can brew your own. I'm sure a Mister Beer kit or similar is available where you are. It takes up some space, and brewing smells like yeast, so there are reasons you might not want to go that route.

During prohibition, raisins were popular for making wine. Here's a recipe

In personal news, my cousin who developed epileptic seizures fell in the bathroom and required emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. It is most likely that he has severe brain damage. They have determined that he is not likely to survive when removed from a respirator. His parents have decided to remove him from life support very soon.

My father-in-law has been fighting bile duct cancer for more than a year. The treatments were determined to have ceased to be effective in January. He was trying to qualify for a drug trial, but was not healthy enough to do so. He had his spleen removed to try to qualify as a last-ditch effort, but that does not appear to have worked. At this point we don't know how long he has - he'll begin a chemotherapy regimen that is designed to slow, but not stop, the cancer. We'll be visiting him for 10 days in early July.
-This space intentionally left blank
User avatar
The Adventurer's Almanac
Duke
Posts: 1530
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:59 pm
Contact:

Post by The Adventurer's Almanac »

Jesus man, that's fucking awful.
User avatar
RobbyPants
King
Posts: 5201
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:11 pm

Post by RobbyPants »

Damn. I'm sorry to hear that.
User avatar
Josh_Kablack
King
Posts: 5317
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Location: Online. duh

Post by Josh_Kablack »

Humblebrag I guess:

So for July, I have been attempting a monthly mileage challenge on Strava, with the goal of cycling at least 750 miles.

So far I have been on pace to hit that number.

The humbling part is how many people have logged more miles than me. I mean I figured pro-cyclists, wanna-be pros, people on bikepacking tours/vacations, and messengers all regularly top that. And sure there's also the occasional hardcore recreational roadie, masochist commuter or gravel enthusiast. And sure there will be a few more folks on covid-layoff logging some extra bike miles, so not like I was under any illusion of being anywhere near the top while still working 40 hours (not remote) a week.

But I didn't figure that there would be literally tens of thousands of folks averaging way over my 25+ miles per day.
"But transportation issues are social-justice issues. The toll of bad transit policies and worse infrastructure—trains and buses that don’t run well and badly serve low-income neighborhoods, vehicular traffic that pollutes the environment and endangers the lives of cyclists and pedestrians—is borne disproportionately by black and brown communities."
User avatar
Stahlseele
King
Posts: 5930
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:51 pm
Location: Hamburg, Germany

Post by Stahlseele »

25+ miles per day does not sound like recreational cycling to me.
And at those numbers probably more cycling to and from work.
Welcome, to IronHell.
Shrapnel wrote:
TFwiki wrote:Soon is the name of the region in the time-domain (familiar to all marketing departments, and to the moderators and staff of Fun Publications) which sees release of all BotCon news, club exclusives, and other fan desirables. Soon is when then will become now.

Peculiar properties of spacetime ensure that the perception of the magnitude of Soon is fluid and dependent, not on an individual's time-reference, but on spatial and cultural location. A marketer generally perceives Soon as a finite, known, yet unspeakable time-interval; to a fan, the interval appears greater, and may in fact approach the infinite, becoming Never. Once the interval has passed, however, a certain time-lensing effect seems to occur, and the time-interval becomes vanishingly small. We therefore see the strange result that the same fragment of spacetime may be observed, in quick succession, as Soon, Never, and All Too Quickly.
Aharon
Master
Posts: 216
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:55 am

Post by Aharon »

Aharon wrote:
Aharon wrote:I'm pretty happy right now :biggrin: After my breakup four years ago, I didn't have any partners. Recently, two poly pairs have invited me (separately) in their dynamics as secondary, which is a lot of fun. Not the same as being in a monogamous relationship or the primary in a poly relationship, but still really, really good!
Soo... In one of those pairs, I got feelings not only for the girl, but also the guy (I didn't realize/know I was bisexual before). He isn't interested in pursuing anything sexual, but his roommate is. The roommate is cute, adorably good-natured and basically what I look for in partners. However, he would be my first male partner and I'm a bit afraid of going for it
By the way, an update: I recently married the cute, adorably good-natured roommate :biggrin:
Red_Rob
Prince
Posts: 2594
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2009 10:07 pm

Post by Red_Rob »

Congrats Aharon! Nice to get some good vibes in 2020 for a change.
Simplified Tome Armor.

Tome item system and expanded Wish Economy rules.

Try our fantasy card game Clash of Nations! Available via Print on Demand.

“Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities” - Voltaire
User avatar
RobbyPants
King
Posts: 5201
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:11 pm

Post by RobbyPants »

No kidding. Congratulations!
violence in the media
Duke
Posts: 1723
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:18 pm

Post by violence in the media »

Congratulations!
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8866
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Congratulations!
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
User avatar
Hicks
Duke
Posts: 1313
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 3:36 pm
Location: On the road

Post by Hicks »

Congratulations Aharon!

Code: Select all

  ,d88b.d88b,
  88888888888
  `Y8888888Y'
    `Y888Y'    
      `Y'
Last edited by Hicks on Fri Sep 04, 2020 4:19 am, edited 2 times in total.
Image
"Besides, my strong, cult like faith in the colon of the cards allows me to pull whatever I need out of my posterior!"
-Kid Radd
shadzar wrote:those training harder get more, and training less, don't get the more.
Lokathor wrote:Anything worth sniffing can't be sniffed
Stuff I've Made
User avatar
Leress
Prince
Posts: 2767
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by Leress »

Way to go, Aharon! :thumb:
Last edited by Leress on Fri Sep 04, 2020 8:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
Koumei wrote:I'm just glad that Jill Stein stayed true to her homeopathic principles by trying to win with .2% of the vote. She just hasn't diluted it enough!
Koumei wrote:I am disappointed in Santorum: he should carry his dead election campaign to term!
Just a heads up... Your post is pregnant... When you miss that many periods it's just a given.
I want him to tongue-punch my box.
]
The divine in me says the divine in you should go fuck itself.
Thaluikhain
Prince
Posts: 4993
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

More congratulations, this time from me.
User avatar
The Adventurer's Almanac
Duke
Posts: 1530
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:59 pm
Contact:

Post by The Adventurer's Almanac »

Holy shit. I was bored and looking through my old D&D stuff for some campaigns I wrote up in college, and uh... imagine my fucking surprise when I discovered that I apparently downloaded a 437 page document of The fucking Tomes about 8 years ago.
I can't imagine how my tabletop life would have gone had I ever gotten the chance to use it. :argh:
User avatar
deaddmwalking
Prince
Posts: 3343
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 11:33 am

Post by deaddmwalking »

In the ongoing saga of how 2020 is an absolute shit year including for everyone collectively and for everyone individually and personally, my crappy experience today was having my wallet stolen out of my gym locker.

I got a text from a credit card company asking me to approve a $1500 purchase at Best Buy. I didn't. I was thinking that my card was compromised online, so I left the floor and found the lock from my locker had been cut off.

I reported it to the front desk, then I was going to go home when I realized they had my keys, too. My wife had to swing by with the keys and I've spent the last 2 hours letting all the credit card companies know.

There's a $1500 purchase on my DEBIT card which is a pain the ass, but I don't have any authorized payments that are going to bounce as a result, and I'm not overdrawn.

They also have my Driver's License.

I may have to deal with all kinds of fallout from future identity theft, too.

One of the places they spent $612 was a Target and I could see the address. They have video which they'll make available to the police. I don't know which Best Buy they went to (yet) but I'll try to see if they have video, too.

I did file a police report, but it make be 3-4 days before they get back to me.
-This space intentionally left blank
User avatar
The Adventurer's Almanac
Duke
Posts: 1530
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:59 pm
Contact:

Post by The Adventurer's Almanac »

Fucking hell. I don't know where you live or how effective and swift the legal system is there, but I hope you get your shit back relatively soon. That's some pretty deliberate theft too - cutting off a lock? Sounds like either they knew who to fuck with or you just got really unlucky.
User avatar
deaddmwalking
Prince
Posts: 3343
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 11:33 am

Post by deaddmwalking »

The gym I'm with is part of a chain, and they tried to hit another location. They cut off at least 5 locks at that location - might have hit the busier 'just off work crowd'. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but somehow my stuff was recovered at the other location - I got everything back.

They did make a $1500 purchase on my debit card and a $618 purchase on one of my credit cards. I had received some texts about confirming activity (which is how I became aware in the first place), and I should be able to get all of that back with some time and headache with the various banks. I NEVER use my debit card but fortunately that's not going to overdraw the account or force me to miss any payments.

So all in all, not nearly as bad as it could have been.
-This space intentionally left blank
User avatar
The Adventurer's Almanac
Duke
Posts: 1530
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2019 6:59 pm
Contact:

Post by The Adventurer's Almanac »

What the fuck? That just makes it sound like the guy got caught at the other location and they just got your stuff off of him, because he... did it almost immediately after robbing you.
How hard is it to just play it cool, man? Either way, glad to hear it's been resolved so quickly.
Thaluikhain
Prince
Posts: 4993
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Ouch. They can spend $1500 without your PIN?
violence in the media
Duke
Posts: 1723
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:18 pm

Post by violence in the media »

Man, that sucks. Glad that it's not going to fuck up your life significantly though.
Omegonthesane
Prince
Posts: 3625
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:55 pm

Post by Omegonthesane »

Thaluikhain: if US debit card regs are anything like UK debit card regs, you can make a purchase online with just the information on the physical card.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath, Justin Bieber, shitmuffin
User avatar
deaddmwalking
Prince
Posts: 3343
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 11:33 am

Post by deaddmwalking »

Thaluikhain wrote:Ouch. They can spend $1500 without your PIN?
Every Debit card in the US also has a credit card logo (Visa/MasterCard) and can be run as 'signature debit', which doesn't require a PIN.

In Europe, it is standard that you have to use a PIN with a debit or credit card, but Americans have more credit cards on average and banks make money when you use your card. It's in their interest to make it as easy to use your card as possible, so it is rare that they require a PIN. With the new 'chip cards', they can require a PIN on any specific transaction, but since cardholders aren't used to that, that's basically not an issue.

In any case, I asked my bank if there was any way to block 'signature debit' since I don't use my debit card for anything but ATM withdrawls but they said I couldn't. They have given me a $1500 'provisional credit' so my bank balance looks healthy, but I'm afraid to actually spend that money in case something bad happens.

Ultimately, I was really lucky. There were a couple of other charges on credit cards, but I'm going to get those back.

There was one moment of real fear.

I received a call from a police officer indicating that they had my stuff, and instructing me to meet them at the Gym where it was taken. I loaded the kids into my car (the person who stole my wallet had my address and the keys to my house). When I got to the gym the police officer was not waiting, and the gym attendant said that the police hadn't been there. I was concerned that they had tricked me into leaving so they could be robbing my house while I was away.... As I drove back home worrying I had been duped I called 911 and was able to determine that the officer was a real person and he was at the OTHER gym location. Both locations had a Sonic in the parking lot, so I was talking about one location and he was talking about another one.

We still spent $500 on rekeying all our locks.
-This space intentionally left blank
User avatar
RobbyPants
King
Posts: 5201
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:11 pm

Post by RobbyPants »

For the last 2 1/2 years I've been living in a remote First Nations community in northern Ontario. We're here because my wife has been teaching the grade 1-4 class.

Last Friday, my wife was released from her contract, essentially for mental health reasons. The job became significantly more stressful both because of covid, and also because her class went from 14 kids and 4 grades to 24 kids and 6 grades.

The good news is they're being fairly generous and letting us stay here until the end of February, and are even paying my wife's salary through that time. Still, I have to try and find a job in southern Ontario and try to get us established on fairly short notice. Also, I'm not really looking forward to driving out of the community on the 140 km gravel road in the middle of January or February.

I'm going to feel a lot better once I have some answers about our future and that part of the drive is behind me.
Thaluikhain
Prince
Posts: 4993
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

This is more personal than coronavirus, so I'll put it here.

While working today, I had to explain to someone what covid was. Not a covid denier or anything, someone who apparently had not heard there was a pandemic going on and wondered why people had to wear masks on public transport in the Greater Sydney area.

You know how in movies the hero will ask really obvious questions so they can get exposition for the audience? I used to think I'd helpfully answer in that circumstance, but it turns out I'm more one of those "How do you not know this?" types.
User avatar
virgil
King
Posts: 6339
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by virgil »

The poster, Cynic, is my brother-in-law. He died of covid-19 last week.
Come see Sprockets & Serials
How do you confuse a barbarian?
Put a greatsword a maul and a greataxe in a room and ask them to take their pick
EXPLOSIVE RUNES!
Post Reply