Speedy's Cafe - General Chat about anything you like!

[Caya]

Living where, as a German saying goes, the fox and the hare say good night to each other, sure has its benefits sometimes, yeah. Glad to hear you're doing fine - I heard from Fox today too, btw, and she's safe and sound as well.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Fox still can't log in, huh?  Has she tried creating a new identity -- maybe just call herself Fox this time?

Note to newer members:  Fox is "Bakerstreet Irregular," who has been unable to log in for the past few years.

 

[Caya]

I'll suggest that to her, good idea!

[Artemis]

13 hours ago, Caya said:

You and your folks still okay, @Artemis ?

...

7 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

Well, she checked in six hours ago, so at least she's functional and has internet service.  But yeah, how's it going, Arty?  Is your father at your house or at his?

Everyone's still okay, albeit stressed.  There's talk of the rioters moving out closer to my area, but so far it's quiet here.  My father's at his house, and I may end up there with him soon.  I'm still out of work because of the shutdown.  At least I have the option available to me; many people don't.  But it's far from ideal.  He's going to drive me crazy.   

Thanks for asking!

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

31 minutes ago, Artemis said:

He's going to drive me crazy.

Maybe it'll be a bit different, you being at his house vs when he was at yours.  But I will freely admit to being relieved that Mom outlived Daddy.  I cannot imagine me being his caregiver -- he was so used to having his own way, and I'm just as stubborn and opinionated as he was.

 

[Artemis]

5 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

Maybe it'll be a bit different, you being at his house vs when he was at yours. 

Unfortunately, I very much doubt that.  I’ve lived with him before and it’s even worse that way.

 

[Artemis]

On 5/30/2020 at 3:16 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Those individuals are unlikely to change their outlook, so the important thing is to ensure that criminal behavior is not tolerated, regardless of whose behavior it is.

Exactly.  👍 

 

[T.o.b.y]

Hey everyone... 

I thought things were crazy over here when the pandemic began. Turns out sheltered me here in rural Germany doesn't even begin to understand crazy. 

It's good to hear from you all who keep posting here in spite of everything that's going on. Wish I could help somehow. Wish I could make Sherlock become real and persuade him to go around restoring some balance to the universe. 

It sure seems to need it. 

[J.P.]

I'm afraid we would need at least Mycroft. And even he would have to bribe Eurus with some nice present.
Seriously, the situation in the USA seems to be so messed up, I cannot even imagine how we could ever come back to normal.

In the meantime the other part does as the corona crisis was over or even non existent. Opening borders and outdoor swimming pools. Vacation frenzy. Full malls. Where the hell is that rocket to Mars!

[Carol the Dabbler]

5 hours ago, J.P. said:

In the meantime the other part does as the corona crisis was over or even non existent. Opening borders and outdoor swimming pools. Vacation frenzy. Full malls.

Are you talking about your part of the globe?  Quite a lot different from here!

 

[J.P.]

Yes, we are reopening. There is no significant rise of the daily cases after the "freedom"-protests last weekends, so it's probably less risky to meet outdoors than we feared. We've had some super-spreader cases, but AFAIK they all happened indoors.

Still, I don't share people's urge to travel, especially travel abroad. Or go to a cinema, restaurant… oh, wait, I've never felt like that, actually. Forgot, again, that I'm an 👽.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I wouldn't care to be all cooped up with a planeload of potentially germy people and no fresh air, that's for sure!  I'm not real fond of it under normal circumstances, of course, but I do occasionally take the risk.

We're opening up as well, but apparently taking a different tack from you folks, or at least further behind.  Our playgrounds, public pools, theaters, exercise gyms, etc. are all still closed, and will apparently be the the last category to reopen.  Most stores, restaurants, malls, etc., reopened a couple of weeks ago, but are still under restrictions such as masks required (not always enforced, but most people are complying), social distancing (e.g., every-other table is blocked off), no self-serve food or drinks allowed, etc.

 

[J.P.]

The reopenings of most venues are under restrictions too. It's still not the normal "normal".

[Arcadia]

Hi all, just reporting in.

At the moment, I'm in limbo with the sale of the house  ... the inspection report was about 20 pages long, and the buyer's rep asked me to fix every little thing they marked down. Some things I've agreed to (e.g., two of the electrical outlets aren't wired properly ... although we've been using them for 40 years without a problem, but hey) ... some are ridiculous .... they want me to replace every window in the house because, surprisingly enough, they're 40 years old. I laughed at that one ... ain't gonna happen. The yard's been destroyed (again) from trying to find problems with the septic system even though it's obviously working fine. Yadda yadda. I'm learning to really hate the realty business.

Meanwhile, the temporary quarters I'm supposed to move into are nowhere near ready, and in fact is probably the filthiest place I have ever had the displeasure to be in. I thought I'd finally finished with heavy duty cleaning when I put this house on the market, now I'm faced with even heavier duty cleaning.  Spent last Wednesday out there and managed to clear the trash out of one room, but the whole place needs a good scrubbing. Meanwhile, I spend about half of every day packing boxes and taking stuff to the dump, and the other half pulling wild onions out of the yard.

I hate to say it, but this COVID business has been a godsend for me ... if I'd had to do all this AND teach every day, I'd be in the loony bin by now. I don't know how my parents went through this every couple of years. Well .... for one thing, Dad's employers paid people to do a lot of the packing and moving and cleaning and storing. Still .... ugh.

I'm supposed to be moved out by the 30th, assuming the sale actually goes through. And I'll start teaching again on the 28th. I have to wear a mask and gloves and stay 6 feet away from my students while my co-worker points a camera at me so they can see what I'm doing. THAT's going to be an ... interesting ... week. 

On the bright side ... I am now a land owner! Two itty bitty lots in the woods near a lake upon which, someday and God willing, I shall have my very own little itty bitty house. The builder keeps saying they'll have me in by November, but I have my doubts ... based solely on the fact that every person I meet says "no way" they can build a house that quickly. Meanwhile, a McMansion down the road from me has gone up practically overnight. I really don't understand the universe.

[kimber8ada]

More p!aces around here are opening. My niece has a zoo membership and is taking her two daughters there on Tuesday. She had to make a reservation, pick a day and time, only outdoor exhibits are open, no carousel or train rides. Her three year old asked if I was going but for now it's only open to members. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

10 hours ago, Arcadia said:

they want me to replace every window in the house because, surprisingly enough, they're 40 years old. I laughed at that one ... ain't gonna happen.

That is utterly asinine!  As long as the 40-year-old windows still work, they're WAY better than any replacement windows would be.  For one thing, they're actually part of the house structure.  The only way to remove them is to saw through the connecting lumber.  The replacements would merely be slid into the resulting hole and nailed in place, so the result wouldn't be nearly as sturdy.  Also, it sounds like you've got a nice house there, so I'm assuming the windows were pretty much state of the art 40 years ago.  As far as I know, about the only thing that's improved since then is the availability of glass that filters out certain wavelengths -- and the lack of those is NOT a defect!

Frankly, I wish we'd chosen simpler windows when our house was built 15 years ago.  These can supposedly be unlatched to tilt in so you can clean them from inside the house, but (even though they're a good brand) the only two windows we've tried that with can no longer be used normally.  In one of them, the upper sash won't stay up, and in the other one, the lower sash won't stay up, so we just leave them closed (and locked, so that the one upper sash won't come thudding down).

10 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I spend about half of every day packing boxes and taking stuff to the dump, and the other half pulling wild onions out of the yard.

Are you actually able to remove the bulbs by pulling?  Unless you have unusually fluffy soil, they usually need to be dug up.  If all you're doing is pulling the tops off, they'll just resprout, so it'd be a whole lot quicker to mow.  In fact, unless the onions are listed on the inspection report, there's really no point in worrying about them.  Then you could get your temporary quarters ready a lot sooner.

10 hours ago, Arcadia said:

The builder keeps saying they'll have me in by November, but I have my doubts ... based solely on the fact that every person I meet says "no way" they can build a house that quickly.

If you're signed up with a large construction company, they can work almost like an assembly line.  One crew comes in and excavates, the next day another crew comes in and pours the foundation, and so on.  They don't need to wait for subcontractors to show up, the way a smaller construction company would, and a lot of the time several crews can be doing different things at the same time.  Have you spoken with any of their prior clients?

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 4/27/2020 at 12:51 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Just today, it occurred to me that I haven't had any "spam" phone calls for a few weeks.  ("This is Monica from Your Credit Card Company" or "There is a problem with your Windows computer.")  Apparently those rooms of wall-to-wall telephones are closed for the duration -- the silver lining on the current cloud!

 

On 4/27/2020 at 1:14 AM, Artemis said:

Wish I could say the same!

 

 

On 4/27/2020 at 9:14 AM, kimber8ada said:

Mine disappeared for a few weeks but are starting up again now.

 

I've had no more than a couple of those calls in the two weeks since then.    How about the rest of you?

 

 

[kimber8ada]

15 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

 

 

 

I've had no more than a couple of those calls in the two weeks since then.    How about the rest of you?

 

 

I'm still on!y getting a few calls a week, maybe two or three. The last one a few days ago was about Medicare supplement plans. I made the mistake of answering that one because I was expecting a return call from someone.  I don't usually pick up on numbers I don't recognize feeling that if it's legitimate or important they'll leave a message. Of course when I told the caller that I wasn't interested she didn't respond at all, she just hung up without even saying thank you for your time. At least she didn't continue her spiel which I find equally annoying, like if they just keep pushing I'll change my mind.

[Valkyrie123]

 

 

5 hours ago, linear_panda said:

It might sound scary but I agree with you Artemis. Actually I think maybe racism is essential for small ethnicities and dying cultures. But when it's taken to such an extreme, now that's just disgusting...
 

 

I'm sorry, but I am quite offended that you think racism is essential. So now that it is actually on the news, that's the only time its disgusting? Is that what you think? React to this post if you agree that linear panda is wrong. 

[besleybean]

Yes, who the heck could think racism is essential?

Depending on one's definition of racism, perhaps.

[Pamela]

6 hours ago, linear_panda said:

 Actually I think maybe racism is essential for small ethnicities and dying cultures. But when it's taken to such an extreme, now that's just disgusting...
 

 

Say what? Explain, please!

[besleybean]

Well, I'm not sure! 

But for my part:

yes there are people who hold racist views.

While that is unfortunate and I would seek to re-educate them...

unless they are in a position of power,for example making government policy...then they are irrelevant.

Of course if they act on those views, for instance directly threatening somebody, then we have laws to deal with that...

And please ignore the box below...god knows how I got that!

Spoiler

 

 

[Valkyrie123]

Well,

I think you've explained sufficiently, but maybe be careful of what you say because a lot of people will see your point of view as extremely controversial. Just a little tip to make sure nobody sees your opinion the wrong way....

23 minutes ago, linear_panda said:

 

I want to believe that freedom is worthwhile that's why I said all that stuff. i don't mind if people disagree with all this but saying only no to racism is just not good enough anymore. There's more to it than that and as a person who doesn't want to give up on freedom i have to show you guys where I'm coming from.

Seriously tho I am pretty sorry to everyone who got so shocked by my earlier post...hope I've kinda explained it all better here
 

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

17 hours ago, linear_panda said:

I think maybe racism is essential for small ethnicities and dying cultures. But when it's taken to such an extreme, now that's just disgusting...

I'd never thought of it that way, Panda (may I call you that?), but I agree, a certain amount of shall we call it ethnocentrism is healthy for any ethnicity.  These days that seems to be applauded when exhibited by members of minorities, but looked down on when engaged in by the majority.  I'm a pretty generic American (mostly European ancestry with a slight admixture of something-or-other else, such that I'm not likely to be taken for a European, even when I keep my mouth shut), but I contend that I have every bit as much right to enjoy my native culture as anyone else does -- as long as I respect their right to enjoy theirs.  As you say, though, there needs to be moderation, and hopefully mutual respect.

17 hours ago, linear_panda said:

... there's racism and then there's misunderstanding and people can interpret one as the other depending on where they're coming from.

I've been thinking about that sort of misunderstanding myself the past few days.  I read an account by a black man who had been bird-watching in Central Park (New York City).  A white woman was nearby with her dog, and apparently the man was concerned that it might attack the birds or chase them away, so he asked her to put it on its leash.  He says she then accused him of being violent.  Sadly enough, it's entirely possible that his impression of her attitude was accurate.  However, it's also conceivable that the woman's thoughts might actually have gone something like this:  "Hmm, there's a man just kind of hanging around.  That's suspicious.  OK, he has binoculars, so maybe he's watching birds.  On the other hand, some of my friends have recently been attacked right here in this park by guys pretending to be doing something innocent.  I'd better let Brunhilde off her leash -- then if the guy tries to attack me, she can defend me.  Oh dear, the man doesn't like me doing that.  He's definitely up to no good!!!"  (Apparently there's a video of at least part of their encounter, which may clarify this specific event, but my point is that it's easy for these general sorts of misunderstandings to occur.)

Regarding that family thinking maybe you didn't understand English -- well, when they spoke to you, you failed to reply, so they weren't going by just your Eurasian face.  I assume you're right, it was a misunderstanding.  (By the way, is your ancestry the reason for the "panda" in your name?)  We know a woman who was born and raised in Hong Kong, and learned English in school there, then moved to the US as an adult (but didn't change her citizenship).  One day she told us how upset she was that some woman had (politely) asked her what her nationality was.  (She had huffily replied "American!")  If our friend hadn't been quite so indignant, I would have pointed out that the woman was probably going more by her British accent than by her Chinese face.  She definitely doesn't sound like she's from around here!

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

8 hours ago, SherLOCKED123 said:

maybe be careful of what you say because a lot of people will see your point of view as extremely controversial.

 

That's always good advice!