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

[Carol the Dabbler]

9 hours ago, besleybean said:

over 25 years ago...

The new baby's all grown up, then!  I guess if they're still together, it may work out yet.

9 hours ago, besleybean said:

there may some sort of resolution with my sister's situation , in the next year or two...

her housemate is hoping to retire and then decisions will have to be made- re: locations, house mates etc.

 Does your sister seem uncomfortable with the current status quo?  If she is, that may already be a resolution of sorts.

 

[besleybean]

Oh no all is fine,

it is just the housemate's retiral is the next natural step,

plus whatever happens with our parents and then my own retirement...

[Arcadia]

On 1/27/2021 at 11:33 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Today I came across a face-recognition quiz [here].  It's not intended as a real diagnostic -- right now they're apparently testing anyone who comes along, and using the results to help come up with a standardized test -- but it is interesting nevertheless.  They show you black & white photos of famous people (mostly American celebrities), just their faces, and ask if you can identify them.

Alex and I both tried it, and of course he did far better than I did, partly because he's much better at recognizing faces, but also because he's more of a movie buff than I am.  (I got one that he didn't, though.   )

Well, I did much better than average, so there goes my "face-blindess" theory. I guess if my parents had been famous, I wouldn't have had any trouble recognizing them.  

On 2/4/2021 at 4:51 PM, kimber8ada said:

Years ago I was horrified to think I might be becoming allergic to cats. But then I realized that every time my allergies acted up when I nuzzled my cat he had just come in from outside, so it was the pollen I was reacting to.  Thank goodness!

Same thing happened to me! I had one cat in particular who seemed to delight in rolling in the pollen on the driveway, and he'd set me off when I cuddled him. As you say, thank goodness that's what it was!

[Carol the Dabbler]

4 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Well, I did much better than average, so there goes my "face-blindess" theory. I guess if my parents had been famous, I wouldn't have had any trouble recognizing them.

Bear in mind that face-blindness isn't an all-or-nothing proposition.  There's an entire spectrum, from super-recognizers on one end to people like my mother on the other end, and I'm pretty sure I'm somewhere in the middle.  You may have done so much better than me (and better than average) at least in part because you're familiar with a lot of currently famous faces.  Plus I didn't tend to venture a name unless I was reasonably sure.  I missed a couple that I could have gotten right by half guessing.

 

[kimber8ada]

I was surprised at how easy, for me, the test was. I only missed one and I recognized her face but couldn't think of the name. I'm puzzled by some of the results. The average score for my age group was only 8.70 but I thought the subjects should all be relatively well known. Also I thought there would be more obscure choices, but it did state it was about famous faces so I guess that would explain it.

[Arcadia]

I suspect in my case, a lot of times I don't recognize people because I'm a) inherently shy and b) not usually very interested in people, especially new ones. So I tend not to look at their faces a lot. However, that doesn't explain why I couldn't recognize my own parents! Or my own brother when he met me at the train station once; looked right past him about four times, until he finally hailed me. Embarrassing!

[Carol the Dabbler]

12 hours ago, kimber8ada said:

I only missed one

Wow!

12 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I'm a) inherently shy and b) not usually very interested in people, especially new ones. So I tend not to look at their faces a lot. However, that doesn't explain why I couldn't recognize my own parents! Or my own brother when he met me at the train station once

Were you expecting to be met by your brother?  If not, you wouldn't have been looking for him.  But if you did know he'd be there, that is a bit odd.  Had his appearance changed since the last time you'd seen him?  New hairstyle, glasses, not his usual clothing?

What one is expecting to see can make a big difference.

 

[Arcadia]

Yeah, I was expecting him. He was my ride!  I don't remember him looking any different; it was cold (Thanksgiving time) and he was bundled up, maybe that's all it took to throw me. Although I've seen him bundled up before.....

[Carol the Dabbler]

Was his face partially hidden by the "bundling"?

 

[Artemis]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:27 PM, Artemis said:

I got my first dose today, I'll let you know if I experience any adverse reactions.  So far all I have is a very sore arm.  I'm also feeling short of breath, but I suspect that's just anxiety.

10 days out, here’s what I’ve experienced so far.

In the first couple of hours after the vaccine, shakiness, shortness of breath and hot flashes.  A tad of numbness in my arm and leg on the injection side.

In the first couple of days, an extremely sore arm and heavy fatigue.

Right after that, I developed a very tender lump on my collarbone, which Google tells me is probably a swollen lymph node circulating white blood cells to fight off the infection.  I hope it’s that, anyway.

It’s still there, but as of yesterday, the tenderness is beginning to subside, as long as I don’t accidentally pinch or bump it.

 

[Arcadia]

On 2/12/2021 at 1:01 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Was his face partially hidden by the "bundling"?

His chin, maybe!

On 2/14/2021 at 2:35 AM, Artemis said:

10 days out, here’s what I’ve experienced so far.

In the first couple of hours after the vaccine, shortness of breath and hot flashes.  A tad of numbness in my arm.

In the first couple of days, an extremely sore arm and heavy fatigue.

Right after that, I developed a very tender lump on my collarbone, which Google tells me is probably a swollen lymph node circulating white blood cells to fight off the infection.  I hope it’s that, anyway.

It’s still there, but as of yesterday, the tenderness is beginning to subside, as long as I don’t accidentally pinch or bump it.

Yike. Well, better to be forewarned, I guess. Thanks for sharing that with us.

Apparently my nephew qualified for some special status; at any rate, he just got the shot. My brother-in-law (who does have a tendency to be dramatic) said my nephew felt "deathly ill" afterwards, but when I asked for specifics, it sounded more like what you're describing, especially the fatigue. Which isn't pleasant, of course, but I'm willing to put up with it if it protects me from the virus!

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 2/13/2021 at 2:01 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Was his face partially hidden by the "bundling"?

 

Not sure why, this makes me lol.

 

 

Hey, I'm short of money! Didn't realize we can sell this. You can have mine for a dollar! You can do monthly subscription too, I have plenty!

 

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

I honestly didn't know Math is that hard.

[Arcadia]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:43 AM, Van Buren Supernova said:

I honestly didn't know Math is that hard.

And that's just addition! Wait until you get to long division, you'll be amazed at how much you'll long for a calculator....

[Van Buren Supernova]

Could the palmrecovery thingy is just a super calculator store?

 

Related, do you guys feel dumber everyday?

I used to be good at mental math, and actually remember a lot of phone numbers and ID numbers, birthdays and everything. Now that I have smartphone that could help me with all that, I don't think I even remember those emergency numbers, I'm doubtful about my mental calculation and mix-up dates, I'd never able to precisely answer today's date in short notice.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Yeah, I know what you mean.  I can generally remember my husband's cell phone number, and my one brother's, but as for my other brother's or any friend's number, I have absolutely no idea these days.  Used to be I could not only tell you any number that I called frequently, I could tell you what a friend's phone number used to be.

I do try to maintain my arithmetic skills by doing most calculations either mentally or on paper before double-checking myself with the calculator, but will admit that I'm getting lazy.  As for dates, I lost track of those when I retired.

 

[Artemis]

22 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Related, do you guys feel dumber everyday?

I used to be good at mental math, and actually remember a lot of phone numbers and ID numbers, birthdays and everything. Now that I have smartphone that could help me with all that, I don't think I even remember those emergency numbers, I'm doubtful about my mental calculation and mix-up dates, I'd never able to precisely answer today's date in short notice.

They say you should force yourself to memorize things in order to improve/maintain good memory.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

58 minutes ago, Artemis said:

They say you should force yourself to memorize things in order to improve/maintain good memory.

I've always disliked "memorizing" (in the sense of deliberately committing something to memory), as opposed to learning it in the course of using it.  My memory seems to be quite good, so I trust that learning is as good a brain exercise as memorizing.

I will also mention that I've been taking a supplement called PQQ that has very clearly improved my memory in recent years.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

Maybe it's just a sign of you getting older.

[Carol the Dabbler]

15 minutes ago, Fantasy Lover said:

Maybe it's just a sign of you getting older.

Of course it is.  Everything is a sign of getting older.  I mean, what's the alternative?  

I see what you mean, but from what I've read, what's normal with age is absent-mindedness, but that doesn't mean you actually forgot something, it just means you didn't happen to think of it.  Actual memory loss, as in you are no longer able to remember some things that you've known perfectly well for years, tends to occur more often in older people, but it is not normal.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

I see, good to know. Maybe it's just the fact that you use less than you originally did. Math was required when you were at school, but in your job you don't use it anymore unless you work in NASA or are a math teacher.

[Carol the Dabbler]

31 minutes ago, Fantasy Lover said:

Maybe it's just the fact that you use less than you originally did. Math was required when you were at school, but in your job you don't use it anymore unless you work in NASA or are a math teacher.

I'm sure you're right about that.  It's the old "use it or lose it" situation.  Not all that long ago, people needed to keep using the math they'd learned in school, just to do ordinary things like balancing their checkbook.  Nowadays, if they don't just let the bank's website do it for them, they do all the math on their calculator.  And I've heard that students are allowed to use calculators in school, so they may never learn those basic skills in the first place.

Maybe that shouldn't bother me.  After all, hardly anyone knows how to ride a horse any more either, or how to grow their own food.  Maybe this is simply one of those things that only bothers the people who remember how it used to be.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

I'm probably the youngest of this forum but I took horse riding lessons, but when I got the lesson of jumping I quit. I was really frightened of the possibility of my horse becoming scared and throwing me of its back. I'm pretty sure young people still want to learn it, as for growing food I can't say the same. 

[besleybean]

Kids love growing stuff!

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 3/2/2021 at 3:38 PM, Fantasy Lover said:

I took horse riding lessons, but when I got the lesson of jumping I quit. I was really frightened of the possibility of my horse becoming scared and throwing me of its back.

I took riding lessons also, and quit after a low-hanging branch knocked my glasses off.  They were OK, and I wasn't hurt either, but I didn't really have the money to pay for riding lessons AND perhaps a new pair of glasses if they got knocked off again.
 

On 3/2/2021 at 3:38 PM, Fantasy Lover said:

I'm pretty sure young people still want to learn [horseback riding], as for growing food I can't say the same. 

 

On 3/2/2021 at 3:40 PM, besleybean said:

Kids love growing stuff!

I suspect some kids nowadays think that both of those would be fun, but that's all it is to them, something to do now and then for fun.  What I was talking about was when most kids learned both of those things as a matter of course, because they were necessary skills for rural life, which was the life that most people lived up until very recently.  I can't offhand think of a current-day equivalent.  Using a computer, maybe?