What you've done today - There will be no dawn for Men

[BruceVC]

26 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

Also ättestupet right next to the walking path is too much of a temptation

Holy Smoke you Nordic people are.....hectic with your perceived societal failures  

Remember the Nordic countries are still the happiest places to live and if you throw yourself off a cliff you will undermine this data, so dont do it....remember the data !!!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2021/03/19/the-20-happiest-countries-in-the-world-in-2021/?sh=6551d6d370a0

[Azdeus]

12 minutes ago, BruceVC said:

Holy Smoke you Nordic people are.....hectic with your perceived societal failures  

Remember the Nordic countries are still the happiest places to live and if you throw yourself off a cliff you will undermine this data, so dont do it....remember the data !!!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2021/03/19/the-20-happiest-countries-in-the-world-in-2021/?sh=6551d6d370a0

Quite right, I didn't consider the data

 

[Gfted1]

7 hours ago, Gorth said:

This cat is currently on its 10th+ life

It will probably be something silly like a lightning strike or a tile falling off a roof in the city

Which reminds me, I really should get officially registered as an organ donor and get a will done one of these days. Things you sometimes forget when you feel immortal... which usually last until you get very surprised.

You and me both. My earlier years saw me treat my body like a carnival.  Coincidentally, for the first time ever in my life, I signed up as an organ donor this last time I renewed my drivers license. I joke with my wife that probably none of them are in good enough shape to donate though.

2 hours ago, BruceVC said:

You right about the important of your stomach working properly. And one of simple but effective things to help with this is a diet of bran. I generally have All-Bran Flakes for breakfast, with yoghurt  ( also excellent for your gut) and a banana 4-5 days out of the week and I reserve the weekend for cooked breakfasts or more unhealthy breakfasts

When I say "gut" I dont mean just the stomach, I also mean the intestinal system. I mostly consume fiber in the form of nuts (cashews are my favorite but I like them all), granola, and dried fruits.

[Azdeus]

1 minute ago, Gfted1 said:

When I say "gut" I dont mean just the stomach, I also mean the intestinal system. I mostly consume fiber in the form of nuts (cashews are my favorite but I like them all), granola, and dried fruits.

Damn, I just got a baaad craving for dried apples...

[Gfted1]

1 hour ago, Azdeus said:

Also ättestupet right next to the walking path is too much of a temptation

A clifff used for senicide! Dang, you Nords DO NOT mess around. 

 

[Azdeus]

11 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

A clifff used for senicide! Dang, you Nords DO NOT mess around. 

 

It's more humane than putting them on the ice

[Raithe]

This might not make sense to the Americans here, but I was digging through things and found my provisional drivers license.

Now, I applied for it back in, '96 when I first became legal to drive, took about 10 lessons, then life disrupted them. For other reasons I've never actually needed to drive places myself, everywhere I've needed to go has been in walking distance, easy and good public transport, or I had friends going there who were driving past my house on the way there who were happy to pick me up.

You need to get your provisional license before you can take lessons, then if you pass your theory test, then you can take your driving exam, and then you get your  full driving license.  Some years back they changed it so provisional licenses needed your photo, and would only be good for a few years before you'd need to re-apply.

My provisional license is the oooold provisional license. It's folded paper, no picture.. and it's valid until 2049.

Now I'm actually looking into doing one of those intensive driving courses to get my license, but yeesh.  For 40 hours of driving lessons, the cost of theory and practical, you're looking at about £1,400 - £1,900 cost.

 

[Azdeus]

24 minutes ago, Raithe said:

Now I'm actually looking into doing one of those intensive driving courses to get my license, but yeesh.  For 40 hours of driving lessons, the cost of theory and practical, you're looking at about £1,400 - £1,900 cost.

I sort of did that when I got my licence a couple of years ago, I ended up getting money back for not using alot of the lessons. If I were you I'd buy the theory book and read it cover to cover a couple of times, see if you can get your hand on some software to test you, and once you feel confident in the theory lessons you just go and ask for some regular driving tests.

Do they allow you to practice privately?

[Raithe]

15 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

I sort of did that when I got my licence a couple of years ago, I ended up getting money back for not using alot of the lessons. If I were you I'd buy the theory book and read it cover to cover a couple of times, see if you can get your hand on some software to test you, and once you feel confident in the theory lessons you just go and ask for some regular driving tests.

Do they allow you to practice privately?

Well my only experience in driving are those 10 lessons about 20 years ago.  So I pretty much need the practical run through of it all.

Before you take the practical test, they expect you to have around 40 hours of lessons so it's not all theory.

Private practice is sort of outside that, and is limited in where you can do it, and you have to have an experienced driver in the car with you during it all.

[Azdeus]

41 minutes ago, Raithe said:

Well my only experience in driving are those 10 lessons about 20 years ago.  So I pretty much need the practical run through of it all.

Before you take the practical test, they expect you to have around 40 hours of lessons so it's not all theory.

Private practice is sort of outside that, and is limited in where you can do it, and you have to have an experienced driver in the car with you during it all.

It's mandated that you have to take 40 hours of lessons? That's... stupid, it should be judged individually by the teacher.

[majestic]

Something* in this thread made me think back a long while, during a summer where I had a pretty messed up surgery. I'll put that one into spoilers. Don't blame me if you click on it.

Spoiler

Messed up not as in with a botched result, but with a problem with the dosage of the local anesthetic. Not going to lie, you don't want your pain sensation to come back while you've got a scalpel cutting out parts of you. That might sound like a fun experience, but it really isn't. Luckily it only got really bad at the very end, so a few cuts left and the very fun experience of having the wound stitched up with what felt like being stapled by an industrial sized stapler.

And no, the idea of suing for malpractice did not enter my 13 year old head there. I was just glad it was over.

Ended up with a drain and ate heavy painkillers for a month. What an experience, walking around with those annoying plastic tubes sprouting from your body, with a valve that drains blood and other fluids that accrue and cause pain otherwise. I mean, the pain's kind of there, but when it becomes unbearable even with painkillers then you turn it on and watch everything drip into those fun little collection bottles. Uhm... yeah.

Not the funnest summer holidays I've ever had.

*That something was talking about dietary habits, I mean, this was a point in my life where I gained a good 25 pounds in a month due to surgery induced inactivity, eating out of utter boredom and to take my mind off things, and I'm sure the medication didn't help either.

The pain went away, the eating habits and activity level not so much. Then I got into high school with its incredibly busy schedule (I regularly days exceeding a 16 hour total commute, study and homework time), and that didn't help. Cue blood sugar problems several years later.

[majestic]

1 hour ago, Raithe said:

Now I'm actually looking into doing one of those intensive driving courses to get my license, but yeesh.  For 40 hours of driving lessons, the cost of theory and practical, you're looking at about £1,400 - £1,900 cost.

License here costs roughly the same (a bit cheaper, overall), but with only 20 hours of lessons shown for it. I mean, driving lessons. There's a lengthy course on theory. The cheapter alternative is going for private practice, for which you only need to buy 6 hours of driving lessons, but need an experienced driver to guide you and need to spool off some 3500 kilometers of driving to be allowed to take the exam.

edit:

I also got mine super late, but that's because I hate driving and procrastinated until I point where I could not do without a driver's license any longer.

Edited July 22, 2021 by majestic

[Malcador]

4 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

A clifff used for senicide! Dang, you Nords DO NOT mess around. 

 

The future of Social Security

[Amentep]

26 minutes ago, majestic said:

Something* in this thread made me think back a long while, during a summer where I had a pretty messed up surgery. I'll put that one into spoilers. Don't blame me if you click on it.

  Hide contents

Messed up not as in with a botched result, but with a problem with the dosage of the local anesthetic. Not going to lie, you don't want your pain sensation to come back while you've got a scalpel cutting out parts of you. That might sound like a fun experience, but it really isn't. Luckily it only got really bad at the very end, so a few cuts left and the very fun experience of having the wound stitched up with what felt like being stapled by an industrial sized stapler.

And no, the idea of suing for malpractice did not enter my 13 year old head there. I was just glad it was over.

Ended up with a drain and ate heavy painkillers for a month. What an experience, walking around with those annoying plastic tubes sprouting from your body, with a valve that drains blood and other fluids that accrue and cause pain otherwise. I mean, the pain's kind of there, but when it becomes unbearable even with painkillers then you turn it on and watch everything drip into those fun little collection bottles. Uhm... yeah.

Not the funnest summer holidays I've ever had.

*That something was talking about dietary habits, I mean, this was a point in my life where I gained a good 25 pounds in a month due to surgery induced inactivity, eating out of utter boredom and to take my mind off things, and I'm sure the medication didn't help either.

The pain went away, the eating habits and activity level not so much. Then I got into high school with its incredibly busy schedule (I regularly days exceeding a 16 hour total commute, study and homework time), and that didn't help. Cue blood sugar problems several years later.

My oldest brother has had a couple of surgeries (the one I remember was a root canal) where the anesthetic didn't do anything for him and he just had to endure.  So sympathies to your 13 year old self.

I woke up just at the tail end of having all four of my wisdom teeth out.  The dental surgeon was like "How are you doing? Fine? That's great, can you relax and go back to sleep so we can finish?" And I said 'Yeaphblees" and nodded back off.  Didn't feel any pain or anything though.  The closest I came tp that was a toe surgery, but I think what I was feeling was actually from further up my foot from what they were doing to my toe rather than feeling what they were doing to the toe itself.   Still darned uncomfortable, but thankfully not actually painful. 

[ShadySands]

2 hours ago, Raithe said:

This might not make sense to the Americans here

I'm curious

2 hours ago, Raithe said:

everywhere I've needed to go has been in walking distance, easy and good public transport

What sorcery is this?

 

[Sarex]

Nightmare fuel is the people who wake up during surgery but can't move or talk.

[Gfted1]

*rocks gently on porch* Back in my day, they taught drivers education in high school and then you could go to the DMV to test and get your license.

Ive had two surgeries (on the same knee) and the first time I had them knock me out. It was all good until I woke up from the anesthesia and then I puked. The second time I opted for a spinal which only numbed me from the waist down, and watched the whole operation on a screen. No problems there either but its a little freaky not being able to feel your dong for a couple hours though.

 

[BruceVC]

One of my Cpt  brothers and his wife have moved into a new house, rental for the moment, due to  space restraints in their owned house. So we had a family gathering for my Cpt family and with all the violence in the country , which has almost subsided, my Dad was also in Cpt. We had a delicious curry, some drinks and laughs.....we tend to take things for granted in life but the brevity of life is real and you never know when something could go horribly wrong so I really appreciate family time together 

They have these really cute dogs and an even cuter fat  cat ....George 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2021 by BruceVC

[Amentep]

4 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

*rocks gently on porch* Back in my day, they taught drivers education in high school and then you could go to the DMV to test and get your license.

Funnily enough they did the same thing when I was in high school.

...well, except the actual year I was to take it when they changed the rules so that I couldn't take it unless I wanted to do it out of school for a fee, a move that was so decried they changed it back the next year, but I'd missed the only window where it'd have fit in my hs schedule...

[Raithe]

14 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

*rocks gently on porch* Back in my day, they taught drivers education in high school and then you could go to the DMV to test and get your license.

Driver's Ed over here has never been something related to school.

Of course, we have to wait till 17 to get a provisional license, but all lessons, and the tests themselves are paid for privately.

Funny note, I have a friend who went out to the US back around.. oh 1999/2000 and got married to a girl in California. He went out with his UK provisional driving license, never having taken his test and gotten a full license.  Showed his provisional to the DMV and did the "I'm a UK citizen moving over here", and they gave him a USA driving licence to use, since apparently whoever he was dealing with at the DMV didn't actually understand the UK's split of provisional / full license.

Then on a return visit to his family over here, he showed his DMV issued license to the relevant government body as a full driving license, so they then gave him the UK driving license.  He's not taken the driving exams in either country.

Although I'm assuming by now, with the power of the internet, that sort of bureaucratic overlook has been tidied up.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Raithe

[Gorth]

4 hours ago, Raithe said:

Funny note, I have a friend who went out to the US back around.. oh 1999/2000 and got married to a girl in California. He went out with his UK provisional driving license, never having taken his test and gotten a full license.  Showed his provisional to the DMV and did the "I'm a UK citizen moving over here", and they gave him a USA driving licence to use, since apparently whoever he was dealing with at the DMV didn't actually understand the UK's split of provisional / full license.

I got my first two speeding tickets in Australia while still having only my old Danish drivers license (with no English translations), but that didn't bother the Hertz car rental apparently. It also meant I couldn't get "penalty points" on my license. Australia has a point system, where driving offenses costs points. If a you drive badly enough, your license is void. I eventually did get a proper Australian drivers license, because I could get fully credited for my Danish license and get a full Australian license right away. No tests... not even a written one. Later I did enroll in a training course and got motorcycle added to my license (complete with driving/skill test).

Edit: And yes, spent my first 12 months driving around on my motorcycle with that ugly 'L' sign on it ("Learner") and the restrictions associated with it

[LadyCrimson]

12 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

but its a little freaky not being able to feel your dong for a couple hours though.

... ... ... ...

[Azdeus]

4 hours ago, Gorth said:

I got my first two speeding tickets in Australia while still having only my old Danish drivers license (with no English translations), but that didn't bother the Hertz car rental apparently. It also meant I couldn't get "penalty points" on my license. Australia has a point system, where driving offenses costs points. If a you drive badly enough, your license is void. I eventually did get a proper Australian drivers license, because I could get fully credited for my Danish license and get a full Australian license right away. No tests... not even a written one. Later I did enroll in a training course and got motorcycle added to my license (complete with driving/skill test).

Edit: And yes, spent my first 12 months driving around on my motorcycle with that ugly 'L' sign on it ("Learner") and the restrictions associated with it

I'm just a wee bit jealous of my father that got motorcycle licence along with the car licence. When my grandfather went to the police to renew his licence, he got a paper where he got to fill in what he was supposed to have, so he crossed A, B, C, D, E. A week later he had a licence to drive anything with wheels

[majestic]

I just had one of the weirdest talks ever. I'm working from home today beause nobody else is in the office so why bother, suddenly someone knocks on the door. I often get to take deliveries for neighbors when working from home, so I think nothing of it and open the door without checking, which turned out of be a funny mistake.

Nope, no delivery guy, just a Greenpeace activist. Since I'm working from home today, I'm just wearing a white, plain cotton t-shirt which right now has copious amounts of food stains on it, and comfortable but severely oversized running pants. I still haven't gone to the barber shop and hairdresser, which means my hair and my beard is a major mess right now. Between that and having had a rough week at work with barely any sleep, I literally look like a bum living on the streets.

He stares at me and goes: "I came to tell you about the bees that need help and how we're fighting for them, but... you can't really support us financially right now, can you?"

And I'm like, slightly perplexed by a random Greenpeace stranger showing up at my doorstep: "Yeah, it's been tough, you know, with the lockdowns, man."

"Short hours?"

At this point I transitioned from shock to a state of being annoyed by door to door soliciting.

"Yeah, at first, during the initial lockdown, then I got fired. I worked at a shipping company but the continued lack of air travel almost killed our business, but if you want, you can leave a card, and I'll call you guys up once I find my footing again, yes?"

"That's rough man, I'm sorry. Take care."

Guy left without giving me his card. There's a lesson in never judging a book by its covers in here, I'm sure. Not that I would agree to donate* to people who solicit donations like that (and certainly never to Greenpeace Austria, that bunch of twerps). It's bad enough when they approach me at a mall or at a railway station or any other sites where they prepare their annoying ambushes, but going from door to door, that's a new low. The only other people who come by regularily are Jehova's witnesses.

As much as I hate talking to random strangers, I've had Greenpeace people approach me so often that I'm kind of used to it by now.

*Don't have anything against donating to charities or voluntary aid groups. I'm a Red Cross supporting member and donate to our local volunteer firefighters, and I regularily buy an overpiced newspaper that homeless people are allowed to sell on the streets to get by and provide something for them to do that's not drinking (the seller gets to keep half of what he earns). Or I used to, before being stuck at home for a year.

Edited July 23, 2021 by majestic

[Keyrock]

@majesticNever let anyone tell you that looking disheveled doesn't have its benefits.