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I don't know how it is in Belgium (European social systems tend to be similar though), but here in Austria, the company only has to keep paying you for three days' worth of sick leave and then the health insurance takes over (same wages, just from elsewhere). So if you're sick for more than three days you always need a doctor's note because the insurance requires one. Less than that, it's left to the employer - my current place doesn't ask for one if you're sick for three days max, but I also worked at companies that asked for one when you were missing more than one day, or even for single-day absences. On the plus side, the max length of being sick is a full year (you might get sent to a health resort or similar because of a lengthy sick leave if the insurance thinks it'll help, though - then again, that's covered by said insurance as well). Also, your doctor is weird. Pissing off your patients doesn't sound like a winning strategy to me.

I am so glad that none of the places I've worked required a doctor's note for absence. Of course we're allowed only a certain number of "sick days," and after that we either lose our pay or go on longterm disability. But in general all we have to do is phone our employer and let them know we're sick. Also glad that I don't have your doctor. It takes me a couple of weeks to get over a cold, and if I try to tough it out and keep working (the way some idiots do, thereby spreading their germs), I simply don't get any better until I take time off.

So I'm sick, I asked my doctor to get a leave of absence until tomorrow. She refused and said she would give me a leave of absence until today because I would be "healed" by then. I'm not, so I have to go back tomorrow to get a new leave of absence. Like I know my own body, I know how it takes to heal from a cold. This could all have been prevented if she listened to me, stupid female canine.

Just ran across a YouTube video called "Why Modern Movies [Stink]-- They're Written By Children." It illustrates its case with scenes from TOS and TNG versus the reboot movies, Discovery, etc. I do not disagree.

That sort of thing gets to just about everyone eventually, I think. I went with some friends to a street carnival. She didn't want to go on any of the rides. He wanted to go on all of them, but wanted some company. So we compromised and went on only the rides that I (thought I was) comfortable with. One of them was the Tilt-A-Whirl, where you're in a three-or-four-person seat that tilts and whirls as it moves around the center of the ride. I had always thought of it as a reasonably tame ride -- but was not aware that the lap bar was also a control mechanism. My friend wanted to whirl faster, so he kept pulling on the bar, and I was getting dizzy but I toughed it out. When we got back to their apartment, he excused himself and headed for the bathroom. She and I talked for a while, then got to wondering what was taking him so long. She went to check, then reported that he was in there throwing up. We were not overly sympathetic.

I saw the trailer for this film and thought it looked really interesting but potentially disturbing. So I sent my best friend the link, she watched the whole movie and told me "you'll probably like it but don't watch it alone." Husband isn't interested so I'll have to wait until I get together with her (and we've worked off all the other films and series on our ever-growing "must watch together" list... ) Apropos rides and ferris wheels: I would never get on anything like that for myself, I have hight-freight and am not interested in wasting adrenaline. However, I am now a mom of an almost-five-year-old boy with a very different outlook on things and live in a place where practically the only accessible and family-friendly public entertainment is an annual fun fair. So... Let me just say I've had some interesting experiences lately. ("Mom, I'm getting scared! Make it stop!" / "I can't, love, once it's going round it'll continue going round until the ride is over. But there's nothing to be scared about, look, we can see the church steeple down there! And can you find our house?" / "Why are you trembling?" / "Because it's cold..." )

Which may explain why your screen name is SherlockandKey, rather than WatsonandKey?

It is nice to see that once in a while, but I gotta say I like his brother, Boromir, more. Flaws and all.

Don't congratulate yourself just yet. I'm starting to think that either a] they may have run out of good plots over the first six seasons, so that b] they've given up on keeping the plots manageable, and/or c] the casting people have run out of actors with distinguishing characteristics. Things do still come together in the end, but meanwhile I sometimes find myself watching the set decoration instead of the show.

I used to love ferris wheels, until one time at a street carnival I noticed how much the thing was creaking and moaning. And it occurred to me that they had to disassemble it every time they left a town, then re-assemble it at the next place. And what if they lost a few bolts in the process? Or simply forgot to install some pieces?

Woo hoo! My work here is done!

Ambitious squirrel.....

I think I know how this dog feels....

Yet more references I am unfamiliar with! Just more proof, folks, that I am getting old.

I think I've used a variation on most of those, with mixed results. The two most needy ladies, though, keep on going even after I've said I gotta go. Heck, they keep on going even after they've said (more than once) that they're going to let me go! Some people like that I'm perfectly capable of avoiding, but sometimes their need is so great that I can't help but want to respond to it. So I guess it's on me if I suffer the consequences. At this point it's not annoying enough to cut these people out of my life; just annoying enough to complain about.

I never was crazy about rollercoasters, but yeah, even less so now. I had a free pass to a theme park a couple years ago. My lord, most of the rides I saw there looked absolutely terrifying. All about height and speed. One was a) turbo-powered and b) completely in the dark. Several of the kids (and they were all kids, no adults) were sitting outside the amphitheater with white faces and/or throwing up. And no doubt planning to go on it again. At any rate, I asked a friend if there were any "tame" rides I might enjoy, and she recommended some coaster or other. Now I know why they lock you in so tightly to those things. I swear, I was so terrified I would have ripped the bar off and jumped if I could have. The rational brain completely shut down, all I wanted was to escape. Horrible! I did quite enjoy the log plume ride, though. The only ride in the place where the vehicle never got airborne. It was a blast.

Arcadia: to you. Ideas on how to end phone convos: - at the start of the conversation, point out that you have a time limit à la "I need to do / be at X by Y o'clock". Make something up if you need to. When that time comes round, point it out and hang up with a quick "got to go" or similar. - If your phone has a "knock" option, call it from another phone or line and say "oh, sorry, I have to take that" - If you have kids or pets, they might take care of the issue for you - If you're on a cell phone, purposely go somewhere with really bad reception - Seriously though, nobody is entitled to hours of your time. I think it should be socially acceptable to just tell people you would like to end the conversation. If they can't respect your boundaries then the value of the acquaintance is doubtful.

(yes, it's real: https://petallianceorlando.org/pawgwarts/ )

I didn't get it at first and then I realized it's the chorus to the Shawn Mendes/Camilla Cabello pop song of the same title. He's got other phrases he uses . . Matthew McConaughey and others saying "I like your cut, G." and "Honey, I'm home." His Tom Hiddleston was perfect, as was his Andrew Scott. His Cumberbatch was very very good . . hard to get as deep as the 'Batch. Downey, Jr. had me cracking up. Mycroft very good also. Really, just give this kid a berth on SNL already. He's the next Bill Hader.

Well, you've finally done it Arcadia -- you've permanently warped my perceptions of the filmed media! We've been watching our DVD set of Murder, She Wrote, and during the first episode of season 7, I said, "Hey, the cinematography's different!" Nothing bizarre, you understand, maybe a touch more artistic. A few episodes later, it still seems a bit more imaginative than I recall from prior seasons, so I checked IMDb -- and sure enough, they just got a new DoP, Peter Salim. What ever happened to the Good Old Days, when I could just watch a show???

Thanks. Maybe there isn't a logical connection, just one of those silly things that becomes a fad. But I guess that amounts to the same thing you said.

Nor do some of them seem to realize that other people may also have problems, which is the part that eventually gets to me. I don't mind lending a sympathetic ear to someone who's willing to return the favor once in a while.