What you've done today - Days of Our Lives

[Gromnir]

4 hours ago, Hurlshot said:

A bunch of my running group were supposed to run a marathon this week in place of the Boston Marathon, but the air quality has been terrible.

it seems am living at the place where all the smoke is backing up.

https://weather.com/weather/today/l/dc669994ba0ee5c8369bc4f5648a861560bbcac2e8427d7f5dea5b62dc8701cf

current air quality index for our specific location says 282 (very unhealthy). were 307 earlier today and +300 most o' yesterday. am consistent 75-100 worse than sacramento, which is down in the valley from us and only 24 miles to the west.

checked and south lake tahoe is a smidge worse than san jose for air quality, even at +6,200' (1900m.) gotta get near halfway cross nevada (north) before air quality becomes typical? 

we considered taking the dogs on a road trip and staying at our place in idaho, but air quality there is only slight better than san jose. might still make the trip if the dogs show any signs o' discomfort other than stir craziness resulting from extreme reduced walks.  is an entire western US issue. no ez escape. 

is 'bout as bad as it were a couple years ago and am hopeful this ain't some kinda new cycle which gets repeated any year when rainfall is a bit lower than normal. borderline unlivable. covid-19 guidelines suggest we should get outdoors and take advantage o' those healthy activities which as a natural consequence lead to social distancing. tough to find much joy in the great outdoors when air quality is hovering constant 'tween "very unhealthy" and "hazardous."

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Gorth]

...and global warming throws a spanner in the works. Sorry to hear that, people in the western US. Living in Australia, I can appreciate what the "new normal" is for bush fire seasons (almost choking to death in my old place in Melbourne last year).

 

Currently just sitting here, tapping my feet impatiently on the floor, procrastinating on the internet and waiting for the container to get delivered to my door with all my old personal belongings. My stuff has spent the last 6 years in self storage in Europe and now I could finally afford to get it shipped down here

 

Much of the stuff was bought down here before I moved to Berlin, but there is also stuff that dates back to my childhood. Yeah, nostalgia can be a bitch sometimes

 

Edit: Now unpacking stuff... nostalgia indeed (I think the tape is so old it wont work anymore)

 

 

[BruceVC]

5 hours ago, Gorth said:

...and global warming throws a spanner in the works. Sorry to hear that, people in the western US. Living in Australia, I can appreciate what the "new normal" is for bush fire seasons (almost choking to death in my old place in Melbourne last year).

 

Currently just sitting here, tapping my feet impatiently on the floor, procrastinating on the internet and waiting for the container to get delivered to my door with all my old personal belongings. My stuff has spent the last 6 years in self storage in Europe and now I could finally afford to get it shipped down here

 

Much of the stuff was bought down here before I moved to Berlin, but there is also stuff that dates back to my childhood. Yeah, nostalgia can be a bitch sometimes

 

Edit: Now unpacking stuff... nostalgia indeed (I think the tape is so old it wont work anymore)

 

 

Gorthfuscious !!! Stop being coy and reticent....its extremely rude and we have established how polite people from Nordic countries generally are so there is no real excuse to be rude like saying " Im French or Russian " which would be understandable if you were being rude 

What exactly is in the container? What are these "childhood " items of nostalgic value. Somethings in life have an intrinsic, sentimental value and we keep them forever 

I gave away and sold most of my possessions when I moved to CPT but I  transported  to CPT my vast collection of Conan comics, all my books, my Games Workshop board games like Talisman and other things from my past that I will always keep

[BruceVC]

We had a fantastic weekend away, we stayed on a farm called De Hoek just outside the small town of Barrydale. I went on a hike on Saturday and the food was self-catering which my sister and stepmom arranged so we ate like kings 

It was about 2.5 hours drive outside CPT  in an area called The Karoo which is basically a semi-desert with vast sweeping mountain ranges and arid, ancient landscapes. I have tried to include photos below which encapsulate the trip and beautiful scenery. One of the highlights of the drive was going through a mountain, underground pass called the Huguenot Pass. It is a about 2.8 miles and a marvel of modern  engineering 

 

[Gfted1]

Huh, you guys drive on the other side of the road over there.

[BruceVC]

5 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Huh, you guys drive on the other side of the road over there.

Yeah we drive on the left, thats why I  have always been nervous getting a hired car in the US because of how my normal driving will be impacted 

[Orogun01]

Man, if I ever get enough machine guns to keep the unwashed, uncivilized hordes of natives away. I could see myself in S.Africa...No offense to Bruce, he can visit....provided that he bathes.

[BruceVC]

1 minute ago, Orogun01 said:

Man, if I ever get enough machine guns to keep the unwashed, uncivilized hordes of natives away. I could see myself in S.Africa...No offense to Bruce, he can visit....provided that he bathes.

I promise to bath ....but do I have to bath everyday, Im thinking 1-2 a week  is probably fair ?

[Gfted1]

3 minutes ago, Orogun01 said:

Man, if I ever get enough machine guns to keep the unwashed, uncivilized hordes of natives away. I could see myself in S.Africa...No offense to Bruce, he can visit....provided that he bathes.

Funny you should mention that. As I was scrolling the pictures I couldnt help but wonder what are the odds of dying to machete attack.

[BruceVC]

Just now, Gfted1 said:

Funny you should mention that. As I was scrolling the pictures I couldnt help but wonder what are the odds of dying to machete attack.

Where we stayed is very safe. you dont think my family would ever stay anywhere unsafe...they a little paranoid actually 

On the farm you have permanent people who are like caretakers and security, we have panic buttons and alarms throughout the farm and a private security company that will respond to the alarm or panic button being tripped and thats apart from the police

So its safe as it can be ...but nothing in SA is ever 100 % safe 

[Skazz]

EDIT: Nothing to see here.

Edited September 14, 2020 by Skazz

[Keyrock]

My parents came to visit and I drove them west to the mountains. We stopped in Asheville and had a super delicious brunch at a French bistro that was shockingly inexpensive for how nice an establishment it was and how good the food was. We then drove through the Smokies into Tennessee and visited Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I love seeing the looks on people's faces that are seeing Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge for the first time. 

[Gorth]

3 hours ago, Keyrock said:

My parents came to visit and I drove them west to the mountains. We stopped in Asheville and had a super delicious brunch at a French bistro that was shockingly inexpensive for how nice an establishment it was and how good the food was. We then drove through the Smokies into Tennessee and visited Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I love seeing the looks on people's faces that are seeing Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge for the first time. 

Now I imagine something like this, when you put it that way...

 

 

[LadyCrimson]

Is that a lap pool in Bruce's photos? Or just a water decoration.  I can't tell.

I'm glad I bought those air filter things a while back with all these fires. They're selling out on Amazon like mad.  I wish I'd bought a couple more but it's better than nothing. Stuck the smaller one in my PC room and have it noisily going full blast.  Seems to help a little. By now the poor air is getting to me (allergies/nose, throat, etc) even sitting indoors all the time (not like our home is 100% air sealed) and it's  (the air) "just" 180ish here.  Can't imagine up in Oregon or any other places where it's 400-500 rated. Hope hubby's sister is ok...

Edited September 14, 2020 by LadyCrimson

[Keyrock]

34 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Now I imagine something like this, when you put it that way...

 

 

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are tourist trap towns with the weirdness factor turned up to 11 and breathtakingly beautiful mountains serving as the backdrop. There is no shortage of sights in both towns which will make you say "what the $@*%!?"

Pigeon Forge is also the home of Dollywood, so if you like country singers with humongous mammaries, they got your hook up.

Edited September 15, 2020 by Keyrock

[Gorth]

23 hours ago, BruceVC said:

Gorthfuscious !!! Stop being coy and reticent....its extremely rude and we have established how polite people from Nordic countries generally are so there is no real excuse to be rude like saying " Im French or Russian " which would be understandable if you were being rude 

What exactly is in the container? What are these "childhood " items of nostalgic value. Somethings in life have an intrinsic, sentimental value and we keep them forever 

I gave away and sold most of my possessions when I moved to CPT but I  transported  to CPT my vast collection of Conan comics, all my books, my Games Workshop board games like Talisman and other things from my past that I will always keep

I'm not going to post the bill of lading, but lets just say it was a lot of books, a lot of dvd movies, a lot of Games Workshop stuff (when I say lot, I mean LOT, like several thousand metal miniatures, including long out of print stuff from the beginning of the company), wall units, book shelves, living room furniture, tumble dryer, lots of tools and power tools, clothes, my grand old plasma tv and dvd and a blu-ray player, kitchen stuff.... just so many things.

 

As for the personal stuff, lots of things that only makes sense to me, like a teddy bear that I've had since I was 2 years old (with clothes knitted by now dead family members which is why it's important to, never mind the silly bear), drawings and later letters made by what was then little nephews and nieces for their uncle etc. As said, entirely only of personal value.

 

[BruceVC]

4 hours ago, LadyCrimson said:

Is that a lap pool in Bruce's photos? Or just a water decoration.  I can't tell.

 

Its a small pool, really used just to cool down in and not for real swimming.  After my hike on Saturday I used it. The water was freezing but I was extremely hot .....semi-deserts are warm places 

[majestic]

Back to mandated home office against the background of rising infections. Also super stoked about launching the largest customer project in years from home. 's exactly what I need, my brain beginning to associate the place where I usually relax with crunch.

[Malcador]

Realize I log in to work late because I spend 90 mins in bed staring at ceiling dreading logging in to work.

[Azdeus]

I'll be honest, I'm glad I can't work from home.

Well, until they ask me to have a workday doing traffic stuff, and I have to go from my lovely mechanical keyboard to some POS 10$ keyboard...

[Orogun01]

10 hours ago, Malcador said:

Realize I log in to work late because I spend 90 mins in bed staring at ceiling dreading logging in to work.

Yeah, that too is my morning routine.

[Skazz]

On 9/15/2020 at 3:29 PM, Malcador said:

Realize I log in to work late because I spend 90 mins in bed staring at ceiling dreading logging in to work.

I do not mean to pry, but... is everything all right?

[Malcador]

5 minutes ago, Skazz said:

I do not mean to pry, but... is everything all right?

Same as always is, uninteresting crap to work on and meetings, so many meetings. Always one guy that makes my morning standups torture, was a guy who thought he was Humphrey Appleby and would ramble on and do nothing, now it's a guy who breathes into the mic like some sort of pervert and is totally out of it on the call. 

[Hurlshort]

I know I'm obnoxious about this, but you could take that 90 minutes and mix it up. Like, do some exercise. I find it only takes me 30 minutes of dread to get out of bed for a 30-minute workout. That workout can be whatever, jog, swim, DDPYoga. Then you have 30 minutes to recover and log in to work late. Plus now you have a few positive endorphins to help you deal with the mouthbreather.

[Malcador]

3 hours ago, Hurlshot said:

I know I'm obnoxious about this, but you could take that 90 minutes and mix it up. Like, do some exercise. I find it only takes me 30 minutes of dread to get out of bed for a 30-minute workout. That workout can be whatever, jog, swim, DDPYoga. Then you have 30 minutes to recover and log in to work late. Plus now you have a few positive endorphins to help you deal with the mouthbreather.

Good idea, will try this. 

But have had a good streak of getting back into the habit of getting out, logging on so they think I started work early and then going to play with the dogs or read a bit.  Do also get a chance to start work which is nice as my work day is punctuated a lot by people bothering me for help (dire days when I am the person to help others )

Edited September 16, 2020 by Malcador