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

[Carol the Dabbler]

23 hours ago, J.P. said:

As for ditching the masks etc. - we shouldn't be to enthusiastic about it. You can still get the Covid and give it to others, even if the risk is much smaller. I'm a bit concerned about the "cuddle parties", especially as people use fake certificates.

I've never been really keen on being in close physical proximity to strangers, mere co-workers, et al., and I suspect the Covid experience is making me all the more averse, which will presumably become a long-term habit.  But I am definitely looking forward to being able to visit normally with friends, share meals with them, etc.

I do wonder, though, about the rule that (barring any stricter rules imposed by facility owners) fully vaccinated persons no longer need to wear masks in public.  As far as I'm aware, nobody has said anything about how staff members are supposed to know who's been vaccinated and who's merely sick and tired of wearing a mask.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

OK, had my second shot day before yesterday (almost 47 hours ago).  My arm got more sore than with the first shot (and is still just a little sore), but nothing horrible or incapacitating.  I'm feeling sleepy, took a little nap, but that could be just the weather.  Other than that, no side effects.  So -- twelve more days and I can legally buy groceries without wearing a mask.  

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

7 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

OK, had my second shot day before yesterday [....]  I'm feeling sleepy, took a little nap, but that could be just the weather.  Other than that, no side effects.

On second thought, it may not be the weather.  I had to take another little nap later.  And I have hardly any appetite -- not feeling queasy or anything, just not especially hungry.  Not complaining, though -- I'd far rather take a few naps and eat small meals than feel flu-ish.

[The Reichenbach Fall]

Check out my Lego idea: The Reichenbach Fall! https://ideas.lego.com/s/p:fd5adca832544cd2b8898b70f5f1a986

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hello, TRF -- welcome to Sherlock Forum!  

You've clearly put a lot of thought into your proposal, so that it represents a very concentrated version of the real thing (e.g., the archway is actually to the left of that building, but including it makes the scene feel more authentic).  I wish you luck!

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 4/26/2021 at 2:20 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Ah.  I assumed it was the stereotypical photo of a naked baby, traditionally on a bearskin rug, though I never knew anyone who owned such a rug.  (Such a photo is supposedly used later to embarrass the kid as a teenager, by showing it to their first sweetheart.)  If yours just sort of happened, I won't hold it against your parents.  But I'm still glad that my parents didn't take any naked pictures of me.  

Err Carol, bare bottom, not naked  and no bear skin rug. Now you make me miss that abominable photo and all my childhood photos. If I don't have childhood and I hate photo now..gah! I'll have nothing! The invading future aliens wouldn't know I exist!

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

I got my first shot not too long ago, two weeks? Astra Zeneca, and got no side effect. We are lucky that my immediate family, among us we have different types of vaccine based on where we are, and no one had side effects other than sore arm that last probably just a day. However, quite a number of our acquaintances did have fever, couldn't get out of bed for three days (various age range) but most are okay.

P.S. I know the controversy of AZ, but there are bigger picture to look at. With the possibility of me looking more like Chimpanzee should it go wrong, I don't mind taking the vaccine. (AZ is using different method that have something to do with Chimp, it's not as scifi as it sounds.

And my cousin's wife had succumbed to Covid, I don't know her much, but she is a very kind person, just like my cousin, and some of my other relatives including some of my cousins are battling it, one just got out from ICU but he recovers.  We don't stay near and I barely know them but this frigging thing is very real and I wonder why kind of human brain still denying it. At this rate of *stupidity* we won't get out of it soon.

On 5/26/2021 at 5:28 AM, J.P. said:

As for ditching the masks etc. - we shouldn't be to enthusiastic about it. You can still get the Covid and give it to others, even if the risk is much smaller. I'm a bit concerned about the "cuddle parties", especially as people use fake certificates.

Wholeheartedly agree. Don't do it just yet, we have new variant. Many vaccines especially Pfeizer and Moderna were created then and most vaccines are not proven to fight variant Delta yet. Don't ditch it too soon. 

I find that mask is effective to cover pimples too. Pimples are teenager's problem. Yah right. That IS science fiction.

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

Sorry so many posts, I have missed many.

Congritulation Arcadia!!! I love the color of the house. The darker shade of it is my favorite color. It looks cozy and nice. Now, where is the corner for me to hide for and leave early should we have forum party??

Also, am I the only one who looks like my avatar? I think I do!

But nice seeing many of you. One of these days I'll show you my uncanny resemblance with my avatar.

Again, congrats! Not many things beat having a home you can call your own, especially nowadays.

[Carol the Dabbler]

55 minutes ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Now you make me miss that abominable photo

And I must admit to being curious about it!  

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

47 minutes ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

... my cousin's wife had succumbed to Covid....

I'm really sorry to hear that.  I know a few people who've had Covid, plus I know some people who know some people who've had it, but I don't recall hearing of any deaths from it.  Of course I haven't been out and about as much since Covid hit, so I haven't heard as much of what's been going on.

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

Thank you, I'm sort of glad I don't know her well. She is younger than me, but feel sorry for my cousin who is on top of that, now is battling it too with his children. It sucks. 

My SIL actually had lost some friends to it, and she is younger than me too. I don't keep in touch with many friends at all (maybe I should?) but I know one or two who recovered. 

If zombies eat brains only, maybe human won't extinct.

 

Anyway, let's talk about something lighter. As Sherlock's fans, can you guys apply knowledge we learn from SIB to deduce the code of this secured entry? 

I mean, some of the buttons look really worn off! Anyone?? Should we get Sherlock?

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 7/3/2021 at 7:46 AM, Van Buren Supernova said:

can you guys apply knowledge we learn from SIB to deduce the code of this secured entry? 

Let's see.  The digits used most often are clearly 3, 4, and 9.  Most passcodes are four digits, so one of those must be repeated.  The unit number, 3944, fits that pattern, but nobody would even consider doing anything that obvious!!!  Which leaves a few hundred other possibilities.

Hey, how the heck should I know???  

 

 

[Arcadia]

Hi all! Thanks for all the congratulatory notes! I never meant to be gone this long but, oh man, moving into a new home (new to me, the house itself is ancient) has been so much more stressful and time consuming than I ever imagined. It's almost broken me more than once, and it's not over yet. The former owners were far more neglectful than we realized, and the house has needed repairs to just about everything, and what hasn't been repaired has needed to be cleaned down to the cellular level ... or so it seemed at the time I was scrubbing at it. Yeesh! Why don't some people take care of their homes?

At any rate, I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (and I'm just hoping the light doesn't belong to on oncoming train). I'm wayyyyyyyyyyyy over budget so I'll be stressing about my financial state for ... well, probably forever ... but that's not exactly a new thing. But at the moment I'm lying here looking at cool green trees and hearing nothing but birdsong, and I can't complain about that.

Just as an example, I'll tell you the kind of thing I've been dealing with ... it was beyond frustrating at the time, but I'm starting to see the funny side of it now. The first thing to be fixed up was the kitchen; the dishwasher was broken, the refrigerator was breaking, and the oven and microwave were both covered in such a thick layer of grease that I didn't want to touch them. (The surrounding cabinets and counters were also covered in grease ... old, thick and hardened grease ... it took me four days of scrubbing to clean them. Geez, humans are dirty creatures...........)

So I ordered new appliances, thinking they would be installed and ready to go by the time I actually moved in a couple weeks later. Ha ha.

First try ... I wait for them all day (the delivery was supposed to take place between "8 a.m. and 4 p.m."). They are supposed to call me when they arrive. Guess what ... they can't find the address, AND there's no cell phone signal out here. I see the truck as it is driving away -- on the wrong road -- but it's too late to chase them down and I can't make a phone call.

So I go to the store and give them very specific directions to pass along to the drivers.

Second try ... they are supposed to deliver between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. (!) At 11:30 in the morning, as I am starting my hour-long commute from my then residence to my new residence, I get a call that they are there but cannot find the house ... again. They cannot wait an hour for me to show up, and they leave.

Third try ... I'm told the only time available is Tuesday 4 to 8 p.m., when I'm supposed to be teaching classes, so I cancel the classes ... no income today! Around 7 p.m. I get a faint cell phone signal and call to check on them ... the delivery company has nothing on the schedule for me.

Fourth try; by now, I'm living here, subsisting on apples and energy bars. Again they can "only" deliver on Tuesday from 4 to 8. Again, I cancel classes.  At 2 p.m. I spot the truck ... once again, on the wrong road. I go flying down the hill and manage to intercept them. Finally, the appliances are delivered, yay! Look, a shiny new fridge, yay! I wander off to do something else, and when I return the stove is also in place ... and it's the wrong color. At which point they tell me they don't uninstall/install microwaves, I have to pay someone extra to do that. They leave.

So at this point I have a black fridge, a white stove, an old greasy beige microwave, and a huge box with a (supposedly) black microwave sitting in the middle of my living room. I go back to the store, and they say no, the microwave in the box is white, not black. Fine, I say, then send me a white fridge. As long as everything is the same color.

Fifth try ... once again, the delivery is two hours earlier than I was told, and once again, they go to the wrong place, and I have to go running after them; again. The lead character is an excitable fellow; he keeps saying the fridge won't fit through the door and he's going to leave without doing anything. I keep telling him he can't leave and show him how to take off the door.

Finally, it's done ... and the new fridge starts rattling so loud I can't even hear myself think. I finally fix it by sticking a rock under one side. (Apparently they didn't level it properly.)

Meanwhile, one of the other workmen I've had around the place  noticed that my hot water heater had thick brown goo oozing out of it, so I had it replaced too. Yay, the guys that install the hot water heater also know how to install microwaves! They come in, start opening the box ... and it's the wrong color. It's neither black nor white, but stainless steel.

This time I elect not to go to the store, but to wait on hold for customer service for an hour and a half (seriously.) Hey, by now I'm living in the place, and the store's an hour away; I figure I'm saving time. They don't even bother to apologize, but they do send the right color this time. The same team as last time delivers it; the excitable guy refuses to even get out of the truck, letting his buddy do all the hauling. But at last, I have three appliances the same color, even though one is still in the box. (Why only three, you ask? I decided I didn't need a dishwasher.) The box is still sitting there; I had another set of workmen that were supposed to come in yesterday and set it up, but they didn't show up. (Another long story.)

Needless to say, after all this, I decided to order a washer/dryer from a different store, which was supposed to be delivered July 3. On July 1, I get a call saying there would be a delay ... until August 11.

 

 

[J.P.]

There are times you think the whole Universum conspires against you. I know that it passes (like the proverbial kidney stone).

[Carol the Dabbler]

Welcome back, Arcadia!!!   

We live in what passes for the boonies around here -- in farm country, on a little gravel private road, a mile from the little blacktop county road -- and when we first moved in, delivery people couldn't find us because their GPS didn't recognize the address.  So I gave them explicit directions.  One guy tried to follow the directions, but by the time he'd driven through a little patch of woods (down a hill and across a creek and up another hill) he decided he must be lost, so he turned around and went back.  Mind you, this wasn't just some little local store's part-time delivery guy, this was a full-time professional delivery guy for either Fed-Ex or UPS (I don't recall which, but by then I was just abou Fed-UP).

So I phoned the company and explained the situation (nicely but quite explicitly) -- and before I knew it, the manager had driven all the way out from Indianapolis with our package.  Most GPS systems recognize our address now (except for ours, which describes our last hundred feet or so as "Naviga Ting Aw Froad").

But your house has been there for some time, so I'm not saying that's your problem.  I think you've done the right thing by switching to another store.  As for the new store's delay, sounds like they just hit a snag in the supply chain, such as is happening a lot these days.  Hopefully once they have your appliances back in stock (hopefully by August 11), they'll prove to be far more reliable than the prior outfit.

Meanwhile, I hope there are some good laundromats in your area!

 

[Arcadia]

On 7/8/2021 at 1:44 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Welcome back, Arcadia!!!   

We live in what passes for the boonies around here -- in farm country, on a little gravel private road, a mile from the little blacktop county road -- and when we first moved in, delivery people couldn't find us because their GPS didn't recognize the address.  So I gave them explicit directions.  One guy tried to follow the directions, but by the time he'd driven through a little patch of woods (down a hill and across a creek and up another hill) he decided he must be lost, so he turned around and went back.  Mind you, this wasn't just some little local store's part-time delivery guy, this was a full-time professional delivery guy for either Fed-Ex or UPS (I don't recall which, but by then I was just abou Fed-UP).

So I phoned the company and explained the situation (nicely but quite explicitly) -- and before I knew it, the manager had driven all the way out from Indianapolis with our package.  Most GPS systems recognize our address now (except for ours, which describes our last hundred feet or so as "Naviga Ting Aw Froad").

But your house has been there for some time, so I'm not saying that's your problem.  I think you've done the right thing by switching to another store.  As for the new store's delay, sounds like they just hit a snag in the supply chain, such as is happening a lot these days.  Hopefully once they have your appliances back in stock (hopefully by August 11), they'll prove to be far more reliable than the prior outfit.

Meanwhile, I hope there are some good laundromats in your area!

 

Oi, laundromats ... when I looked, the only ones I could find (by looking online) were in areas known for their higher-than-usual-crime (mostly car break-ins and such). No thanks, sez I, and was trying to manage by washing everything in the sink. Then the stopper for the sink broke.

Fortunately I mentioned all this to one of my students, who knew of a nice place to go. They even did my laundry for me (for an extra fee, but it was worth it to be able to get my errands run while it was being done.) 

[Arcadia]

On 7/8/2021 at 1:01 PM, J.P. said:

There are times you think the whole Universum conspires against you. I know that it passes (like the proverbial kidney stone).

Yeah, I've done my share of cursing the universe lately. It's getting a bit tiresome. How long before it passes?

[Van Buren Supernova]

Okay, all these stories don't help with my imagination that you guys are staying at some fairy lands or something, when someone could crawl out below your house and say, my precious......

So I suppose your areas are considered as rural? Or something between urban and rural?

I guess I have never stayed in rural areas before, despite moving around various states, cities and countries. No wonder it's so refreshing and everytime I go holiday I would seek out nature. Although can't say I'm envious of the inconvenience. 

And @Arcadia, I guess you must be very patient (but understand the need to in that case) but if those happened to me, it would drive me full nut and I'd end up with colourful appliances because it would be gaaaaaahhh, wouldn't have the patience to keep on waiting.

[Carol the Dabbler]

19 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Okay, all these stories don't help with my imagination that you guys are staying at some fairy lands or something, when someone could crawl out below your house and say, my precious......

So I suppose your areas are considered as rural? Or something between urban and rural?

I can't speak for Arcadia's location, but mine is basically rural.  Our little neighborhood is surrounded by farm fields, and the places where we shop are all about half an hour's drive from our house.  We can't get city water or sewer or cable TV service, but we do have phone service and electricity (and natural gas is available).  The nearest neighbor's house is "only" about 250 feet (about 75 meters) away from ours.

We don't have fairies (as far as I'm aware), but we have seen some really spectacular firefly displays in our meadow!

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 7/18/2021 at 11:02 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

I can't speak for Arcadia's location, but mine is basically rural.  Our little neighborhood is surrounded by farm fields, and the places where we shop are all about half an hour's drive from our house.  We can't get city water or sewer or cable TV service, but we do have phone service and electricity (and natural gas is available).  The nearest neighbor's house is "only" about 250 feet (about 75 meters) away from ours.

We don't have fairies (as far as I'm aware), but we have seen some really spectacular firefly displays in our meadow!

 

It actually sounds really awesome, and sounds like holiday for me. But you don't have problem with internet, so it seems. So it sounds perfect!

Except when there is murderer out there, blackout, and late at night when you stay alone and your dog is howling at nothingness or worse, a pair of sparkling eyes that may or may not have some kind of axe or chainsaw on its hand, or swarm of blood thirsty rats that have nothing else to bother in 75 meter radius except you.... yah, I would like that place please.

Ah.. firefly, I love firefly, and actually travelled to purposely see firefly. The setting is always so surreal for me. Traditional boat, quiet, everyone shut up, dark, and all we could see are them. Not sure about now, the last experience I had was flip phone time, and phones were mostly kept aside in holiday because no service anyway. Now those bright screens and the desire to share every single experience to internet ruin everything.

[Carol the Dabbler]

12 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

... sounds like holiday for me. But you don't have problem with internet, so it seems. So it sounds perfect!

Yes, we are online.  And no, we're no longer relying on dial-up service.  Right now we have DSL service from our (landline) phone company; it's what I'd call medium-speed.  So if you'd be happy with that, you're welcome to come visit us!

12 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Except when there is murderer out there, blackout, and late at night when you stay alone and your dog is howling at nothingness ....

Fortunately we do not have a dog.  

12 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I love firefly, and actually travelled to purposely see firefly.

My favorite is when they do "the wave."  (The first time, I thought I was imagining it.)  But I haven't seen them do it lately.  Of course it never was all night long or even every night, so for all I know I simply haven't been looking at the right time.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

I need to get something off my chest: I'm disabled, and because of that I had a hard time applying for jobs because I don't have a degree. And people who are autistic like me seem to end up doing either IT or working at an assembly line. I refused to work in IT because customers are entitled assholes, and I refused to work at an assembly line because people who work there are considered mentally challenged and because it's boring and repetitive.

Despite that I did two internships at a assembly line and one in a mushroom factory, at the end of my last internship I was fed up with my previous job where I was a dishwasher. So I was like if an assembly line job is the only alternative to this so be it, so I worked at an assembly line factory for the past month. Is it boring and repetitive? Yes, but it's an improvement to my previous job. Are my colleagues mentally challenged? No, most are normal. I feel like I wasted a lot of time, if only I wasn't so stubborn and swallowed my pride sooner I would have spared myself a lot of job hunting frustrations and stress.

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

12 hours ago, Fantasy Lover said:

I feel like I wasted a lot of time, if only I wasn't so stubborn and swallowed my pride sooner I would have spared myself a lot of job hunting frustrations and stress.

The important thing is that you HAVE learned this now.  And because it was a hard lesson, you're more likely to remember it and therefore benefit from it.

I might prefer the assembly line over IT work as well, because I think the most important aspect of a job is the people you work with.  I did temporary office work (typing, answering the phone, etc.) for a couple of years, and have fond memories of that job because the virtually all of the people were so nice.

  

12 hours ago, Fantasy Lover said:

I refused to work at an assembly line because people who work there are considered mentally challenged

I've known a few people who actually are mentally challenged, and they're a lot like anybody else.  For example, most are very nice, though some have unpleasant quirks.  And (again, just like the rest of us) once they find a job that they're well suited for, they generally do good work.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

Guess who got engaged?

[Caya]

Wohoo, congrats!