This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
My hands hurt.
This contract ends next week so I’ll be back to a normal schedule.
hugs for everyone
—
I managed to read the Grenade thread (and its offspring) but was almost always too late to comment.
(and usually asleep by 8 PM)
Well done, Horde.
hugs back chigau. will be glad to have you around more.
Good idea, Portia. Besides, it’d be a shame to disturb that old plaster. Hanging there for as long as it has and all. I’m sure you’ll be happy with the results. We can haz foto?
Oh, and sorry about the blubers. You should try again.
Cicely, thank you for the kind sentiment. I heartily agree with it! =)
Careful, FossilFishy. Tony’s been on fire lately. Hate to see anything happen to you beard.
Sympathies for Mellow Monkey and niece. If only a prayer would work . . .
I will provide photographic evidence if and when I get the project done :)
—
Went and had a beer (a single beer) with a friend at a bar down the block. My (fairly harmless, so far) drunken neighbor was there, who is always at a bar in town and never sees me because I am never at the bar. He said, from down the bar, “Hey, Carrie,what are you doing here?!” I said “Same thing you are, presumably.” Three people laughed and said “You’re not a lawyer are you? ‘Presumably’?” I need to do better switching back to colloquialese after work, ha.
Mellow Monkey:
I am so sorry to hear about your niece.
Thanks for the sympathy, everyone. I always feel bad bringing negative life stuff into the Lounge, but I just feel so panicky over this. She had a fever earlier, too. When she saw her doctor yesterday, she (the doctor) didn’t seem especially concerned about her recovery. It just got worse tonight.
portia
*scratches head* I speak that way all the time, and I’ve never been inside a law class in my life, that I can recall.
MM:
Let me try to take one small thing off your shoulders: talking it out in here and getting moral support is exactly what we’re here for. *hugs*
Dalillama:
Maybe I’m just in hickville :)
Oh he can try Crudley, he can try. But I’m all aready for this here tussle. My nits are all lined up and ready for the ‘picken.*
You mentioned a while back your admiration for the craftsmanship (Is there a gender neutral for that term?) in old houses. Clearly you never tried to renovate my former girlfriend’s house. It was built in 1901 by what we later found out was a newspaper reporter. He clearly wasn’t any sort of carpenter. Nothing, and I mean nothing was square, true, plumb or on center. We pulled off the old lathe and plaster to insulate the walls and Every. Fucking. Sheet. of drywall needed to be cut lengthwise or a new stud had to be put in in order to fix the edges. It was nightmare from start to finish, including taking down a ceiling light to discover that the person she’d hired to pull all the cloth covered wiring gave up 3/4 of the way through and didn’t tell her.
*Actual I really like Buffy, but any show that runs that long will have problematic bits.
Have I mentioned how glad I am that I’m in a brand new house? :)
Ah! Ibis3, that Moodies song is from the album Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, which has cover art that is as poignant as it is magical.
Also on that album is “You Can Never Go Home” which contains the lines:
For more the rest of the lyrics and more goto* http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/moody_blues/you_can_never_go_home.html
*Why, yes, I am an old BASIC programmer. Why do you ask?
Cicely:
I ate! I received a stern lecture from Loved One before he left back to Dickinson last night. I haz tasty tuna salad for myself and the rats. Thank you. ♥
MM, oh, such heartbreak. I hope all goes well, and you are both well taken care of, I know it’s been a hard time lately.
Carlie, all the love. Because. ♥
:::rolls up Shoop Sleeves:::
Casting Mistake?
Casting Mistake??
Dems fightin’ words pardner.
We gonna have to Pinky Fight now!
Eliza Dushku can out act any dumb Doctor Who goober.
She played Buffy to a T when they swapped bodies. Faith had more personality than Buffy and more nuance.
Shame rq ain’t here to watch me win at Pictionary against Portia and Pinky Fights with FossilFishy.
Oh, and I didnt forget cicely over there. When I finish with the two of them, you and I are
G
O
I
N
G
H
O
R
S
E
B
A
C
K
Ridin’!
Mm:
Never feel bad for discussing anything here. Listening and caring…it’s not just something we do. Its part of who we are.
MM:
Don’t ever feel bad on that account. For Odin’s sake, people come here to whine about a broken shoelace! I think a loved one in a bad physical and emotional situation counts a bit more than that, right? You can’t help support her if you don’t have support yourself. Speaking of support, you have all of mine, always.
Faith is…cliched. SMG did a way better Faith…because she doesn’t overact.
I think Eliza Dushku would be an excellent Beatrice in a stage production of Much Ado About Nothing. Which is to say, her over the top spunky schtick would play really well…just not on camera.
*gallops away*
I won’t get in to the Faith vs. Buffy debate, because I ship Fuffy. They belong together!
No, but I’ve worked on a few just like it. Old foundations settle and some “builders” just have their own ideas about what is needed and what is “good enough”. I assume you ended up getting the job done. Or close enough?
MM: What Portia said. Really.
Oh yes Mellow Monkey I’m going to back Portia here. Community isn’t just about common interests, it isn’t just about sharing the positives, it’s also about supporting those in need.
I’m going to rip off Spider Robinson here and say that one of the fundamental aspects of us social animals is that shared joys are increased and shared pains are decreased. We’re stronger for that sharing, *all* of us are stronger for that sharing, be it the one who is talking or those who are listening.
Your troubles are no burden to be unloaded upon us, never that, they are an opportunity. They’re way in which we can make this world a better place in a small yet unequivocally real way. If you wish to share I would be honoured, and mean that quite literally, to listen.
I just turned down an invitation to a music festival from a friend because I feel like he’s getting the wrong idea (several years ago, before our currently renewed friendship, he got the wrong idea, and took the rejection well). I might be wrong about his ideas, but I don’t want to take a chance. I wish I didn’t worry about it, because he just moved here and knows almost no one and I would really like to have a regular-hang-out friend and also keep him from being bored to tears in this tiny town. Oh well. C’est la vie.
Dushku was also the star of Whedon’s Dollhouse. She’s a fine actor, however, I don’t much like her. I don’t know why, just one of those things.
Beautifully said. This is what I tell my friends, because I really do feel honored when someone confides in me or leans on me.
wow, just wow completely out of touch due to heavy work schedule until a friend alerted me to the after effects of the grenade post. Thank you Caine, and all of the others who stepped up. Home from Fargo but working on the same stuff, lots of hours but at least I am home.
Caine:
I much preferred her in Dollhouse. I think she was more …tempered in that character. But even so, I also had this nagging dissatisfaction with her persona, and I can’t put my finger on it in that show. In Buffy, I am certain. It’s the overacting.
Hey, Broboxley, good to see you. For every thread rotten with apologists, there was a mass effort, and it was a thing of beauty, full of shiny people everywhere, raising their axes as one. Hell of a thing, I gotta say.
Well, I was all set to invite you to move down here and I would be your bestus friend for a small weekly rate…but then you had to go blaspheme and gallop away on cicelys horse…
____
That does really suck though. Maybe he thought you changed your mind since it was some time ago? Of course directly asking you seems like the way to go.
Caine, Flower of Protection and Slayer of Fools, said:
Ratties eats fishies?
. . . or . . .
No! You didn’t!!
Oh, my lands and stars . . .
Portia:
Same here, and it is hard to put a finger on it.
CW:
They do, with great gusto, and no, I didn’t eat any rats! Writing skillz, I haz them not.
Favourite Buffy episodes, in no particular order:
-Once More With Feeling
-Hush
-Doppelgangland, for this bit:
WILLOW
It’s horrible. That’s me as a
vampire? I mean, I’m so evil,
and skanky,
(softly, to Buffy)
and I think I’m kind of gay.
BUFFY
Just remember, a vampire’s
personality has nothing to
do with the person it was.
ANGEL
Well, actually —
(off Buffy’s glare)
— that’s a good point.
Oh very much a close enough sorta situation. I’m no carpenter either, it was strictly a case of learning as I went. We’d finish one ‘room’* and look back at the job we’d done on the previous one and go “Fuck, I could do that way better now.” It was interesting, frustrating and educational all at the same time. And it produced one of my favorite pics of me. She always seemed to have money for this stuff in winter, Canadian prairies winter. That pic is of me, Sawzall over my shoulder, grinning, standing in the gap in her front wall where the new window was to go as the snow blew into her lounge room.
*Scare quotes because she told the tax folk that it was 450 square feet, and she lied about it. It was actually smaller than that.
Xander: Wait till you have an evil twin, see how you do!
Willow: …I handled it just fine.
Mellow Monkey: *hugs* and well-wishing for you and your niece. That sounds scary.
:(
(Later)
Additional *hugs*. Don’t worry about bringing your woes to the [Lounge]—we’re here for you, and we got your back.
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…which I first read as “I will provide pictographic evidence [….]”
I believe I’d like to see that!
:D :D :D
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Over your dead body, Tony! I got a heavy duty quad-cane, and I aint’n’t a-feared to use it!
–
This is lovely. Thank you. ♥
FossilFishy @ 518: Brother, you Rock Righteous. We are moved and confirmed in our concern for each other. Thanks for you eloquence and right-on-ness.
Waddaya say we forget about the greying beards at twenty paces and all that. I’ve got a better idea. Let’s step over to the bar and have a Pan Galactic Gargleblaster instead.
Oh, and FossilFishy. You took on one hell of a job with little experience?
Bold. Daring.
Sorta like, like, oh what’s that thing? Oh, yeah! Sorta like life!
Portia, is there any way you could clearly, but tactfully, clue your friend that you continue to want to just be friends?
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Yes. Nothing concrete, just….
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broboxley!
*boozes*
–
It’s the grenade-shock.
To which you are totally entitled.
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Hush is probably my third favorite.
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Remind me to tell y’all the Story of the Incredibly-Inept Plumbing, sometime.
Not right now. cicely go sleepy-time, now.
‘Night, everyone.
–
Night cicely!
He hasn’t said anything explicit, so I think I’m going to just keep insisting on going Dutch when we grab a beer and keeping him at arm’s length, like not going to musical festivals together. : p
[Raises his glass. Waves away cloud of suspiciously coloured steam. Tries to ignore the gurgling and hissing.]
I’ll [hesitates. Gathers his resolve. Considers girding his loins.] drink to that!
Here’s to all us fallible, fragile humans.
[Slams it back]
Blaaaarghhhh……….
Oh, and Tony, I’m pretty sure we’re already bestus friends, so tough toenails, buster!
Oh Tony, I have to say that I was never convinced by the Faith character. I don’t know if it was overacting or what, but every time she was on screen it broke my suspension of disbelief. I always felt like I was watching an actor work rather than being a fly on the wall to a real experience. But the subjective is subjective and I’m glad you got pleasure from her performance.
Sigh, I’m really crap at this fighting about the little stuff aren’t I. ;)
Heya, Tony The Queer Shoop @464 – Sorry, just got back on the computer (family of four, one PC), so I’m way behind.
Anyway, yes, it’s fun watching someone discover BtVS for the first time – we talked our younger daughter into watching last year, although she gave up partway through S5. She likes Fringe and Dr Who better. Not that I can blame her – Fringe was outstanding.
Off the top of my head, some of my favorite episodes from before where Portia says she’s at would be – The pilot (The Harvest, I think – I imprinted on Giles immediately), pretty much all of Season 3, the Thanksgiving episode, the last episode of S4, Hush, Buffy vs Dracula… I’m sure I could think of others, but not just at the moment.
Yes, the last episode of S4 (can’t remember the title just now) is fascinating, and I really like the one before that, where Giles and the Scoobies become a Slayer gestalt to defeat the Big Bad.
Weird question: For months, I have had a stabbing, recurring (obviously), sharp pain in the center of the back of my right thigh. I think my internist (when I had one) waved it off as referred pain. It has appeared tonight and last night, after I have been laying down for a while. Does anyone have ideas? It’s so sharp when it happens that I invariably physically wince.
Mellow Monkey, I’m so sorry to hear about your niece. I have lots of hugs, if you could use some.
rq – I’ve been meaning to respond to your message in the last thread, but it was about the last thing I had time to read before life outside of Pharyngula got really busy for me, and I never got the chance. I gladly accept your *hugs* and hope you are feeling much better by now so that neither of us needs to worry about the transfer of germs. :D
As you can probably guess, I’m thoroughly threadrupt, so I’ll just leave this pile of *hugs and chocolate* so that they’re available for everyone, and I’ll start getting caught up on the most recent comments. (I know I’ll never have time to read them all.)
portia
Offhand, it sounds like a nerve impingement; if so, stretches and massage may help (assuming that a muscle pinch is causing it, which is commonly the case)
re: the assassin bug that landed on my arm earlier:
Went to bugguide.net and identified the rascal. It is Zeldus luridus. Picture here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/187298
From the site:
Identification —
May be brown, black or brightly colored. Short three-segmented beak used for stabbing prey. Beak folds into groove in prosternum. Head typically constricted behind the eyes, giving a neck-like appearance. Antennae long, thin, not clubbed. Forelegs sometimes swollen or expanded for catching prey.
Food —
Most prey on arthropods; Triatominae suck blood.
Life cycle —
Incomplete metamorphosis: eggs hatch into tiny nymphs which molt several times as they grow to adulthood.
Remarks —
Many species can inflict a painful bite on humans if handled, so it’s wise to avoid touching them. If one lands or is seen on your body, brush it or flick it off with a sideways motion. Do not slap or swat it because it will almost certainly bite if you try to crush it.
Numbers —
184 spp. in 49 genera north of Mexico(3); second largest heteropteran family, with close to 7,000 spp. in almost 1,000 genera worldwide(4), arranged in 25 subfamilies; world taxa cataloged on(5)
When it lit on my arm I had an inkling of what it was but wasn’t sure. I took it gently by its hindmost parts and brought it inside and placed it in a clear, plastic container. I keep several handy, you know.
Upon examination through a hand lens I saw its jointed beak and said to myself, “Aha! Assassin Bug! Cool.
A few minutes ago I captured a large crane fly (http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=crane+fly&search=Search), which was somewhat the worse for wear due to the capture, and put it in with the Z. luridus and commence to watch.
Z. luridus assumed an alert pose and approached in a stealthy manner. Closer and closer, it stalked the crane fly. Suddenly the crane fly spasmed and two of its incredibly long, thin legs entangled Z. lurids. Z. lurids struggled to withdraw and only through great effort untangled itself, pulling off one of crane fly’s longer legs in the process. It then retreated, the disembodied leg still tangled on a shoulder spike and twitching grotesquely. It has since shown no interest in the free meal I so thoughtfully provided.
So, I come away with this. A grusome predator named Luridus, know to fearlessly bite humans, with a relative that sucks blood and infamous in the world of arthropods falls fairly to hand and, upon capture, becomes cautious and seemingly loses its apatite. Passing strange. Maybe it’s a cowardly assassin bug. I feel a tad let down.
Still, I can’t help but think that Z. luridus might fit nicely into an episode of Buffy. Are they still being produced? Pity if not. I’d really like to see the molting bit.
spelling errors in my last
it’s late and sleepiness comes fast
as midnight constellations rise
great tpyos comes and blinds my eyes
last post I swear
Did you hear? SpaceX flew their Grasshopper rocket again today. Sideways!
http://www.space.com/22379-spacex-grasshopper-rocket-sideways-flight-video.html
I love this stuff and you know what? I’m holding out. Yes, I’m gonna hold out. I’m not taking that long sleep until someone calls home from Mars. I’ve been waiting all my life and I ain’t goin’ nowhere till someone calls home. From Mars.
____________
Now I lay me down to sleep
And dreaming utter not a peep.
Silently I’ll listen
And noiselessly I’ll zoom,
Exploring and remembering
This grand, expanding room.
Through ethers distant I will roam
Please, ‘ere I die, someone! Call home!
Dear MellowMonkey,
Assuming that this was a wanted pregnancy, I’m so sorry for your niece’s loss.I’m so sorry for the loss of a wanted little one for you. A second trimester loss is quite serious indeed. As someone who has experienced a later loss, I’d say, be sure to reassure her that she did nothing wrong. That prayers did not desert her. (In that the loss was some result of lack of prayer). Remind her that science is imperfect, and we are working on it all of the time. That we strive to prevent such loss. Gosh. I probably shouldn’t comment on this one other than to offer condolences. My thoughts are with you.
Portia, a referred pain is not to be handwaved. Frinst., sharp, nasty pains in between the should blades is a referred pain from the pancreas (learned that one first hand.) Get another opinion, because if it is a referred pain, that means something is going on elsewhere in the bod and you need to know what.
For all the Lounge book lovers:
http://www.forgottenbookmarks.com/
This site looks kind of interesting. I always wonder about previous owners when I buy used books; once in a while finding clues to who they were tucked inside.
Nice site bluentx. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it when you’ve been around but I managed a used books tor for almost 20 years. I found lots and lots of things in books. Truth be told I never paid much attention to the ones that were just book marks. But you’d be surprised at the number of love letters and nekid pictures* that get hidden in books and then forgotten. Not much cash though. I think over the whole time it amounted to less than a hundred dollars.
At one point the staff were pinning things they found to a cork board in a semi-public place in the store. I had to put a stop to it because some of the stuff was personal and perhaps identifiable. My attempt to explain why, “How would you feel if you saw a love letter you wrote pinned up for all to see?” fell on deaf ears. I ended up just having to pull a ‘because I said so.’
*Most weren’t anything too out there. Although one still puzzles me. It was obviously taken in a motel and showed a naked woman holding a volley ball, from her expression she was having a good time. What the hell was the volley ball about?
The most moving thing I found was a letter from a soldier who was in training before being shipped to France in WWI. It was tucked in the back of a bible and I suspect that he never came back. I couldn’t find out anything about him though because the signature was unreadable.
blf & justatheory – thank you for the suggestions to my menu. Along with the lightly killed baby toads and spotted dicks I plan to serve devil sauce, pickled bloaters, neck pudding, and stuffed teddy bears.
After the spankings we shall have Singin’ Hinnies*
*page 334 Jane Girgsons English Food
*twirls away*
Hi there
I’m back from our holidays and struggling against the dirt.
Moar later
*hugs all around*
FossilFishy
I do remember you mentioning the bookstore. I haven’t found anything really interesting* as a bookmark but the inscriptions can be a hoot!
I did find some historical gems (censored letters from my uncles to my mom during WWII), mementos (passes allowing us to return to our house after hurricanes in Louisiana) and awful reminders (blatantly racist letters to voters from the local political boss– on official letterhead no less!) when going through my parents things after they died. The things you learn about your family as ‘executor of the estate’.
—
* I guess that’s cause folks like you take out the nekid pictures, darn it!
MellowMonkey,
I’m sorry. *hugs*
And well wishes for your niece.
Woke up briefly…
…Hi Giliell!
Hope you and the fam enjoyed yourselves.
Warning: Grenade thread is explosive…have soft objects nearby…much facepalming will ensue
I’m so sorry about your niece, Mellow Monkey. Hope she’s well cared-for and that she will be OK :-((((
I am told there is a nova* in the Dolphin constellation (nearby Cygnus, Aquila and Lyrae)
Its luminosity is growing and it should be visible to the naked eye, if you are in a place with pitch-black night sky and know where to look.
* an “ordinary” nova, not a supernova but still a rare naked-eye object.
— — — — — — — — — — —
Chinese super-rat roamed Earth 160 million years ago http://phys.org/news/2013-08-chinese-super-rat-roamed-earth-million.html Make a bigger version and it can give the honey badger a run for the money.
Actually it is 100 million years older than Rodentia, but the morphology screams “rat”!
— — — — — — — — — — —
Busted: Researchers debunk myth of ‘right-brain’ and ‘left-brain’ personality traits http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-08-debunk-myth-right-brain-left-brain-personality.html “Braaains…”
— — — — — — — — — — —
Universal flu vaccine may be a step closer http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-08-universal-flu-vaccine-closer.html
— — — — — — — — — — —
Mine those asteroids: Strathclyde team finds easy 12 http://phys.org/news/2013-08-asteroids-strathclyde-team-easy.html
A necessary delta-vee of 500m/s or less.
Hi Patricia!!!!
Dalillama:
Sometimes pushing with my hand on the affected area does help a little, so maybe I’ll give it a bigger effort next time. Thanks for the input.
Caine:
I never thought of it like that, partly because this was the first doctor who ever told me that, and she was very unconcerned about it. She also handwaved a recurring pain in the area of the pressure point behind my jaw under my ear. Made it sound like there was no way to know where the pain was referred from.
I might have health insurance soon, and I’ll try to get a better doctor if I do.
FossilFishy: I love your book stories.
bluentx: Thanks for the link.
crossposted to Thunderdome also.
Follow-up on Dave Silverman’s tweet “liking” the Mr Deity video, from a comment over at Ophelia’s:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels/2013/08/transcript-of-mr-deitys-advice-on-gossip-and-wine-consumption/#comment-611662
Pteryxx:
That’s pretty encouraging. Add me to the list of people who didn’t finish the video til I was tipped off, so it’s a totally credible explanation to me. Here’s hoping the man himself addresses it when he’s back from vacation.
I’m hoping it was something like that also – I usually never watch the Mr. Deity clips past the story, as the first ones were all fundraising sales pitches.
Pteryxx,
I like this Dave Muscato. I’m hoping follow-up responses will echo his
My local news station says on facebook that it’s Tell a Joke Day.
Here’s my attempt:
Q. What do you call a hundred lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
A. A large group of well-rounded, heavily-indebted, argumentative SCUBA divers.
Yeah, some lawyer jokes rub me the wrong way, what gave me away? :)
After he got done promoting rape culture, he did the sales pitch.
Okeee, I’m reading the grenade thread. Bad, bad, bad. I think I need a puke-bucket. And lost of time
*hugs* Giliell and welcome home.
I hate Strong Female Characters. Interesting read.
I finally found an English-language link:
“Teen boozing habits linked to dementia” http://www.thelocal.se/49612/20130813/
Thanks again everyone.
And specifically thank you, yazikus @549. I’ve never been pregnant or even had a relationship that could lead to a pregnancy without outside assistance, so this is all very foreign to me. Words of experience help me a lot in being more supportive.
They gave my niece a D&C, but they were having such a difficult time with pain management that they had to sedate her and she was kept overnight. Her fiance is going to get her this morning, having brought their 15mo daughter home at around 1am to try to get her to sleep. She didn’t all night, but zonked out once he stuck her in the car to head back to the hospital. I can’t even imagine how exhausted he has to be.
This was a wanted pregnancy though it had happened earlier than they were planning, but it’s doubly sad because it’s doubtful that they’ll ever have any more. Her fiance has a serious heart/skeletal condition that is dominant inherited. The two had doubted this was truly going to be passed onto their children (even after speaking with doctors and a genetic counselor) because the fiance has five siblings and none of them have it and his mother insists that the doctors are wrong. (Stupid magical thinking woman and poor hopeful young people listening to her.) Well, spontaneous mutations occur and that’s what happened in his case. They won the 50/50 coin toss with their first daughter, but this fetus was delivered with what was clearly the same condition the father had, except far more severe. They’ve decided that it’s not worth the risk and the tax on my niece’s body to try again. They know there are other options for the future (AI, adopting, IVF with genetic screening), but right now they’re poor and sad and scared.
So this is a lot to mourn for them right now and my heart breaks for them. I’m just glad we’re mourning hypothetical children and not the loss of my niece.
My niece, Lisa Sundin and her team at Ghent University got an article published in “Science” magazine!
Here is an excerpt from Phys.org: An enzyme to ease biofuel production http://phys.org/news/2013-08-enzyme-ease-biofuel-production.html
(happy dance with cohabiting feline predator and a cloud of cat hair)
And me.
All the hugs in the world to you and your family Mellow Monkey
Ooooh, religious people.
I just found out that, more than ten years ago, just after my gran died, a neighbor came to give her condolences to my mother and said that we should not have cremated gran because now her soul can’t get to heaven.
Fucking woman. She fucking dared. And my mom is nice to her, and we go out to pay her bills and buy her bread… and she’s still admonishing us for stuff like “letting dad work in the garden when he’s this sick. what if he dies?”. Well, you think I don’t worry about that every time he’s there? I can’t strap him to a chair and keep him here, now can I?
People. Bah.
This may have been mentioned before, but it bears repeating: Chris Hayes is hosting an excellent documentary on climate change.
http://tv.msnbc.com/politics-of-power-hayes/
http://www.salon.com/2013/08/16/chris_hayes_were_going_to_have_to_leave_20_trillion_in_the_ground/
Tonight, August 16, at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time on MSNBC
I think the political angle is going to be enlightening.
Beatrice @578:
Having recently recovered from a stroke I can say from experience that people trying to keep one “safe” can be damned irritating and counter productive.
First of all, you can’t keep elderly patients “safe.” You can take reasonable precautions, but limiting their activities too much is also dangerous. Balancing quality of life with safety can be tricky. As far as I can see, too many people urge the elderly to play it safe and their quality of life suffers so much that they wish they were dead, and/or they suffer from depression and other ills associated with inactivity.
We’re all going to fucking die anyway, so don’t fucking tell me I can’t hike on rough ground because I might fall. Yeah, I might. I’m not elderly, but I now know all too intimately some of the indignities forced on them.
The effort of dead-heading her flowers may have been what did my grandma in. But she lived until she died.
My grandpa, on the other hand, refuses to rise to his potential capability, preferring to demand hand/foot waiting, etc.
—
A friend of mine is having a third or fourth surgery on Monday. Her boyfriend is very overprotective about her lifting things or mowing the lawn. I think he thought I’d be on his side when they told me about the fight they had.
I live alone. I have to do everything myself, including yard work. Necessity is a good thing when it comes to physical therapy.
When I first started mowing my lawn again, it took me seven hours. Now it takes me about 2.5 hours, just half an hour longer than the pre-stroke time.
There are worse things than dying while dead-heading flowers.
More power to you, Lynna. And ‘grats on getting back so much proficiency (if that’s the right way to say that).
Sorry if my comment was morbid. : / I just meant it was comforting to me that my grandma always had her zeal for life and her love for her flowers.
Lynna,
You’re right, of course. I should have skipped that last part. Besides, to be honest, it’s for all our benefit that he goes there.
He would be miserable if he had to stop working in the garden. Considering that he’s not a very… nice person, he’d be making mom and me miserable too.
I still worry, though , especially since he refuses to take a mobile with him. Some asshole neighbor making mom and me feel guilty, I could do without.
Lynna,
Sorry if I reminded you of busy-bodies who try to stop you from doing what you like.
We did ask dad to lower his workload in the garden a bit, and he didn’t complain since he realized himself that it was a bit much. If we lived there, it wouldn’t be a problem, but it’s a lot of work just for weekends. It’s been too much for his health for a while there. In fact, when the doctor said that dad had already had one hear attack, dad admitted it happened while he was in the garden, alone.
So we worry. We don’t try to stop him from going.
CN: Suicide
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Good Morning Horde,
I’d like ideas for a message for a sympathy card I’m going to be sending shortly. The people I’m sending the card to are catholic, and they lost their son to suicide a couple of days ago. Any ideas for a humanist message for them that won’t come off as preachy?
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This has made me really angry at the catholic teachings on suicide. Absolutely cruel. Wrong. Downright evil.
yazikus 586 religion is for the living, the dead have no need of it. Send them comfort words to them, manner of the loss isn’t important, it the loss that hurts
http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2011/08/24/grief-beyond-belief-how-atheists-are-dealing-with-death/
Yazikus, this link may or may not be helpful. It deals with atheists and how they deal with grief.
Since learning from others mistakes, I’m presenting some work I did today…. I’m not happy with it but I also know that I’m hyper critical of my own work. Take a look (I recommend using full screen). Comment, critique, ignore….
yazikus – it doesn’t have to be profound or important. Tell them you hurt for them and with them, tell them how much they mean to you and how much their son meant to you, tell them you’ll stop by with a casserole in a couple of weeks after they’ve had some time.
If they’re not very close to you, you can just say that you’re so sorry they’re going through this, and you’re thinking of them.
skeptianthro -The fact that the tone of voice used for Jack in the rape one didn’t change at all and remained as friendly sounding as in all the other scenarios was a nice touch. I’m not sure of any helpful criticism I could offer, though.
In good news, I finally got through to the unemployment people yesterday, and there is a program I can use. Unfortunately, because private industry is the best and Republicans keep voting, the actual disbursement of the money is via Bank of America, so I won’t see any of it until next week sometime.
broboxley, Tony & Carlie, thank you.
I didn’t know him well (he is related to my partner), so I just want to be thoughtful and kind. It is sad anyway you look at it.
Hooray for actual provision of services! Boo for stupid delays.
*hugs* for all of the above.
Thank you Mellow Monkey. I appreciate the comments.
Random lighthearted rant: how the hell is it that I’m as old as I am (and that’s pretty darned old) and I still don’t quite understand what color my skin is? Fucking makeup counters with all their “choices”.
ALSO, if you’re going to sell a sample size, do it in all of the colors, not just the most common ones.
carlie,
I’m so white, I used to just choose the lightest concealer/foundation/powder they had. Unless it was actually white and not white-as-in-very-pale-skin-tone.
And in more joy, L’s new sewing machine (that we borrowed money from a friend for when his last one started breaking down) has started to break down already, impededing and damaging his work, despite the fact that we’ve had the fucker for less than two fucking weeks now.
Dalillama:
Damn, I’m sorry. : / Mine’s busted too, but that affects me less because my money doesn’t come from it. I’m sorry.
—
What can I make with lots of eggs? Besides actual egg dishes…I’m not such a fan.
Portia, pudding? Custard? Lemon meringue cookies? Big, rich, fluffy cakes? I get a ton of eggs from a friends’ farm–they’re currently getting more than they can use or sell–and when I find myself being overwhelmed with eggs, I usually start in on baked goods. They go quickly that way.
Thanks for the great suggestions. I’ve never had Lemon Meringue Cookies but they sound delicious and easy! Now I’d just have to find someone to share them with in meatspace :) I get farm fresh eggs myself, and they’re in my fridge, but I just acquired 2.5 dozen from the leftovers of the fire dept pancake breakfast. Baked goods sounds great.
“The slayer is a robot! Did anyone else know the slayer is a robot?!”
The Au Gratin potatoes are done. The salmon is in the oven. Friday night at Casa la Pelirroja… Hollandaise sauce is ready for both the salmon and lima beans….
I primed a chair, let it dry, and then went ot paint. The primer is coming off. Sigh. Guess I can’t get away without sanding after all. Disappointing.
Just finished reading Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races which could resonate with some folks here. It’s YA fiction with a legendary-creature theme, but a welcome break from vampires: on this island are predatory water-horses capall uisce. A few people die quite horribly, but I won’t be spoiling anything if I tell that the protagonist doesn’t die. Whew.
I’ve read all the Stiefvater books I can lay my hands on, loving the way she writes her young female heroes.
Uhm, tempura paint?
Dalillama, Yay! for unemployment program, Boo! for delays and malfunctional sewing machine.
And *hugs* for general stuff and shit.
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Portia, if you blow out the insides (omelet time!—or, many baked goods freeze well; you could be looking at an assured supply of snack-nommables for some time to come) you can do amazing things with the outsides—for instance, pysanky (I’ve done some; it’s fun!), or etched eggs.
:) :) :) :) :)
And the look on Glory’s face when she says it!
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Of course they’re predatory! They’re Horses! And water-Horses are particularly notorious in this regard. Many’s the Player Character been thus hauled off to hir doom (with a certain amount of Kicking and Screaming, of course).
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Oh, hey…
Does this mean it can be tried as an adult?
“You’re…”
“…a miracle.”
“Yes. But then, I always thought so.”
*sniffle*
Those eggs are gorgeous. I’m not so good with detail work though. :) Baking stuff then freezing it though, that sounds like my skill level! Thanks.
Portia, here’s another cute idea for empty egg shells.
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Mellow Monkey – I’m sorry about your niece. I hope she recovers soon. *hugs* for you both.
birgerjohansson – Congratulations to your niece!
Dalillama – Good news indeed (about available benefits)! Bad news regarding L’s new sewing machine. Sorry.
cicely – *pouncehug and chocolate*
Hekuni Cat, *pouncehugback* and *chocolate reciprocity*
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And if you like the combo of raspberry and chocolate, you could be in luck.
:)
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L makes lovely raspberry chocolate truffles.
Good morning
Mellow Monkey
My heart goes out to your niece and her family (that means you ;) )
If you want to do something for her, stop the rest of the family from saying stuff like “it was for the best” and such and provide a sympathetic ear for talking. Because quite often women are supposed “to get over it” even before they’ve stopped bleeding.
beatrice
I’ always amazed that the most omnipotent god can apparently resurrect bodies after thousands of years when all the atoms have spread again evenly, but fails at making instant soup.
carlie
I’m always amazed that “light” skin is often several shades darker than my skin even in summer….
Holiday write-up
Location
The capsite we went to was more or less the only one we could still get a place on, but it was actually better than our usual one. Smaller, less “professional holiday entertainment”, more quiet. Cheaper.
Mosquitos
The fuckers broke all the rules. They were out 24/7, they went through your clothes, they got you on the toilet. I spent about 50 bucks on repellent and then they would get us on the soles of our feet and our fingers.
Kids
The average 4yo asks about 400 questions a day. Because of mine, 4 other kids have to shut up.
Highlights
The Aquarium in La Rochelle. Only that next time we’ll either be there at 7 am or late at night, because I hate standing in line. #1 was totally excited, telling me it was the best trip ever. The little one was overwhelmed, meaning that she told us all the time that she wanted to go home and out and NOT see the sharks. As soon as we were back again she asked us when we were going there again…
Rest
Sun, sea, good food, wine…
My doc is going to kill me. I have a blood test next week. Way more alcohol than usually, more fat than usually and of course iodine…
Actual chickens.
────────────────────────────────────
Tuna and forty-foot killed rat “Caesar” salad! With lots of cheese and MUSHROOMS! Yum!
────────────────────────────────────
I stayed up most the night a day or three ago watching re-runs of the The Advengers (and some The New Advengers), and a bit of Dr Who, and am now wondering where my DVD set of The Prisoner has gone to. Will probably have to contact Number 2 and ask for a rover to start searching…
The Time covers are different — but what of the contents? You know, the actual articles…?
● Are they different? (I have no idea.)
● Are they even vaguely interesting? (In my opinion, only rarely.)
● Are they relevant, timely, and — allowing for certain classes of mistakes due to the nature / pressures of current events journalism — correct? (As far as I can now recall, not really, seemingly infused with what I interpret as thug babble.)
I occasionally get Time (European version) when there’s nothing else at the newsstand and the cover is intriguing, but tend to avoid it as I don’t consider it very reliable. I don’t recall buying a single copy this year (so far), hence my caveats above.
My niece is on bedrest for the next week, so it looks like while her fiance is working, I’ll be on toddler duty.
After having done that last week, I’m starting to reconsider the hypotheticals of parenthood. I love my little niece (she’s really a wonderful little person), but…I cannot even fathom doing this every day. For years. This is the most exhausting, frustrating way to spend time, but at least I can help out in this one small way.
Is it completely irresponsible aunthood if I just keep baking cookies and feeding them to the child to keep her sedated on fat and sugar? ;)
One the thing is on the spit and slowing turning over the hot coals, here really isn’t that much to it.
Bon appétit!
Thanks for the chuckle, blf.
Portia:
“You dont understand my pain”
“Then I ‘ll just have to settle for causing it!”
You flew through the season.
My offerings (plural) to Tpyos included for fre.
Thinking of Ogvorbis. Hope he is ok.
****
Thinking of rq. Miss her.
****
How do you pronounce Tpyos? Silent T?
“Silent T” seems a rather unusual pronunciation, even for Ingerlish.
I myself usually pronounce it “Feck! Feck! FSMcootieshiteing peas fecky horsed feck!” with varying volumes vnd vehemence.
Seconded. “Actual chickens” teehehe. Though they’re nasty little uselessly winged jerks…I am not a fan of chickens. Probably childhood trauma from a lily-white rooster named Ricky, who chased us and terrorized even the neighbor’s German Shepherds.
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cicely:
Those are very cute candles! I might try them.
—
Giliell:
Sounds like vacation w as a success, glad to hear it. I had the same problem with mosquitoes on my camping trip a few weeks ago.
“So now I come to you
With open arms
Nothing to hide
Believe what I say
So here I am with open arms
Hoping you’ll see
What your love means to me
Open arms”
Cant remember if this is Journey or Foreigner…
Oh, and yeah, I flew through the season. I decided to do housework instead of lawyerwork yesterday (yay self employment) and had it on while I did chores.
What is Judge Ballew going to do about all the Latinos named “Jesus”? Wholesale baby name changes by law?
I must say that Messiah/Martin is damned cute.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/17/us/in-the-name-of-god-or-baby-messiah-competing-claims-of-religious-freedom.html“>Link.
Separation of church and state? Some people say no. A bunch of clergy are campaigning for the right to endorse candidates from the pulpit. A lot of religious congregations agree with them.
More here, Washington Post link.
I see I fucked up the html for the link in my previous post, but it still seems to work.
There’s more here, including a video of Isaacs and a conspiracy theory about translators not giving dragons their due. Ken Ham should add more dragons to his “museum”.
If they want to endorse candidates from the pulpit, I say fine, but pay some damn taxes.
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I heard an argument once that Mormons don’t make charitable donations when they tithe, because it’s quid pro quo: you don’t pay, you don’t get into the temple. Ergo, it’s not a tax deductible donation, it’s a price for a service. Makes sense to me.
I agree with Portia at 632. If preachers want to endorse politicians from the pulpit, let the churches pay taxes. The article referenced earlier also makes the point that endorsing political candidates also affects non-church, that is, secular 501c3 organizations. All of ’em should pay taxes if they want to endorse candidates.
Crusade for Christ is arguing that the ban on endorsing politicians “ban chills free speech and violates the culture of people who see the weaving of faith and political expression as essential to their religious practice.” Talk about toxic. Religion has its own toxicity rating, but combine religion and politics and Oh Man!
I think the Jews might have a word or two to say about that, judge.
Say, is anyone else having trouble with comments not showing up?
Lynna:
Of course, I see no reason they shouldn’t pay taxes regardless, but that’s a different discussion…
Indeed, I generally argue that they should be held to the exact standards that any other nonprofit is: Money used for charitable work=not taxed Money going anywhere else=taxed the same as anyone else. For cases where, e.g. a food bank is operated out of the church basement, they can work out how much of the church building is used for that, and get that percent break on property tax, for instance. (Note that a food bank not part of a church would still be able to count their entire building in this model). Of course, I also take the tack that if we had decent fucking social infrastructure in this shithole, 80% of nonprofits would vanish overnight; there’s no need for food banks if everyone can afford to eat.
Oh my gods, yes, there’s no reason we shouldn’t feed everyone.
Portia @632:
Yes, that’s a good analysis of mormon tithing. Ex-mormons discuss the conundrum of tithing frequently. The mormon church takes in about $7 billion in tithing per year. They have a top-heavy organization in which many white geezers like Boyd K. Packer pretend to volunteer their services while actually raking in a generous “stipend” and a fuckton of other goodies. They also pay an army of lawyers and real estate specialists to keep their true businesses humming along without IRS interference. They recently built a multi-billion dollar mall in Salt Lake City.
Mormon bishops interview heads of households at least once a year to see if they are “temple worthy,” and the first order of business is assuring that the 10% tithe has been paid. If daddy doesn’t pay his tithe, then his daughter can’t be married in the temple. If she is not married in the temple, then her marriage is “for time only” and not for eternity, not to mention the fact that mormons believe, contrary to statistics, that non-temple marriages will fail more often.
Having one’s bishop take away one’s temple recommend is stressful and negative consequences cover a lot of territory, including perhaps: condemnation from one’s spouse, loss of status in the community, and even closer big-brothering from the mormon hierarchy. If you die while not temple worthy …. well, not even god can help you.
Excerpts from ex-mormons discussing tithing:
Tithing hurts the poor.
The greedy church and it’s Romney-ish businesses.
That’s what really grinds my gears. They claim to be so sooper charitable, but you have to submit to the brainwashing and the culty-creepy stuff to get their help. More quid pro quo that they can use to blinker the moderates who think “churches do good work.” And fuck the people who still do the 17th century crap where you get food or buildings or whatever, but your kids sit through the VBS.
Mormons are reaping tax-free profits from their new mall/condo complex.
http://exmormon.org/d6/drupal/Mormon-Mall-City-Creek-profits-go-tax-free-to-the-Prophet
http://www.kutv.com/news/features/local/stories/vid_797.shtml
Portia @638:
At the Republican National Convention that capped Mitt Romney’s campaign for the presidency an attempt was made to make the robot-like Romney look human. Couples and individuals who know Romney personally were trotted out to bear their testimony about how the selfless superman had helped them. Every damn one of the Romney-is-a-nice-human witnesses was mormon.
Conclusion: if you are mormon, Romney may help you. Even then, he will do his best to help you without spending any of his or the church’s money.
Oh, yeah, he was a “home teacher” or something, right? Somebody who will come to your house and help you out if you’ve been a good little godbot?
Most mormons have a “home teacher” assignment (“calling”), including Romney. Romney was higher in the mormon hierarchy, he was a bishop.
http://www.alternet.org/belief/mitt-romneys-role-mormon-bishop-shows-his-extremist-religious-beliefs
He used his position as bishop to mentally torture some single, pregnant women.
Ex-mormons discuss the intrusive, fake-friendly “home teaching” requirements of the LDS church:
http://exmormon.org/d6/drupal/Our-mormon-neighbor-was-not-our-friend-he-was-our-home-teacher
Some mormons use their home teaching assignments to proselytize for their multi-level marketing businesses.
How do mormons get through their repetitive, ultra boring three-hour Sunday services?
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56710560-78/church-devices-lds-lake.html.csp
Crudely Wrott,
“now I lay me down to bed
darkness won’t engulf my head
I can see by infra-red
How I hate the night”
(Marvin the paranoid android)
I visited my local Mormon church at one point and my main impression of the service was… repetition. It’s tedious how everybody gets up and says “I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know the Book of Mormon is true.” Yadda-fucking-yadda.
The scriptural readings are also quite tedious because nobody dares say anything unorthodox or take any kind of critical angle on the text. Only the fact that I was there in an anthropological errand made it bearable. I couldn’t handle that every week.
I assume those mobile phones and tablets were purchased at a moronic cult-owned (possibly indirectly) shop, the SIM cards / calls / “Apps” are from companies owned (at least in part, and possibly indirectly) by the moronic cult, manufactured by…, serviced by… etc., etc. In other words, as long as they are tithing the moronic cult, why would the moronic cult’s enforcers care ?
All hail Tpyos. May His holy wrod never be spellchecked.
When politicians get the internet wrong, the internet can be ruthless:
Among other things, Skype is owned by a very large corporation who almost certainly tithe the Grand Vizier’s party, if not him personally. And — if the behavior of other large companies is any guide — probably also employ dubious tax-reduction strategies.
A note of explanation: A wealthy lady died and willed c.0,5M£ to “the government” which was interpreted by the “ruling” coalition parties as meaning them. After this was discovered they returned the stolen funds. (Lib Dems and Tories hand back £520,000 bequest after outcry.) Ironically, the discovery was made by a traditional newspaper, not “the Internet”.
The opinion piece sadly asserts Vice President Gore did say he invented the Internet (he never did say that, see Snopes). And the writer is conflating “the Internet” with “the Web”. So perhaps writers should also be careful…
It’s a loan shark. I just got it.
Sorry, but you’ve just lost me. What is this “it” you’re talking about?
Sorry, Buffy reference.
Ah. Buffy, That’s got something to do with Teh Vampyres That Ate Fiction. Or is it celery? I forget. Not much difference. Both need staking and a garlic bath.
I just tried one of my random experiments for dinner: Fresh Gnocchi (made at a local shop), cooked in Miso soup, served with a warm sauce of Gorgonzola, Dijon mustard, egg, and (Arabic) fermented milk.
It actually worked. (Most of the miso cooking liquid / soup is leftover, as anticipated.)
Italian-Japanese-French-Arabian fusion cooking for the win!
Well, if you groom a dog just right…
On the other hand, this might be promising for endangered species survival.
I got a pair of roller blades for $2 at the local thrift shop (which is both locally supplied and locally charity-focused, and not religious to boot). I’m excited to give them a shot.
Why? What did they do to you?
Instead of shooting them, I suggest donating them to a worthy cause. Like nailing them to Teh Banananananaman’s (or Ken “Piglet Rapist” Ham’s) feet and filming the action as it rolls off a thousand foot cliff…
blf @647:
Nope. Mostly iPhones and iPads. However, there is an app for Book of Mormon scriptures.
One of the head honchos who sits on the dais every Sunday says he has the app for scriptures on his iPad, but he does not use in church on Sundays. He wants to avoid the “appearance of evil” (same reason Mormons don’t go to Starbucks to buy a cold drink.) He thinks all mormons should leave their electronic devices at the door.
I have seen people posting on Recovery from Mormonism during Sunday sacrament meetings — often ex-mormons whose spouses require them to attend for family harmony reasons. Pretty funny.
Just debunking the irksome myth that mormonism is the “fastest growing religion.” Heard this again today, and I just cringe every time.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2890645
According to LDS-published statistics, the annual number of LDS converts declined from a high of 321,385 in 1996 to 241,239 in 2004. In the 1990s, the church’s growth rate went from 5 percent a year to 3 percent.
By comparison, the Seventh-day Adventist Church reports it has added more than 900,000 adult converts each year since 2000 (an average growth of about 5 percent), bringing the total membership to 14.3 million. The Assemblies of God now claims more than 50 million members worldwide, adding 10,000 new members every day.
“It is a matter of grave concern that the areas with the most rapid numerical membership increase, Latin America and the Philippines, are also the areas with extremely low convert retention,” says Stewart, a California physician. “Many other groups, including the Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, have consistently achieved excellent convert retention rates in those cultures and societies. Latter-day Saints lose 70 to 80 percent of their converts, while Adventists retain 70 to 80 percent of theirs.
And the moronic cult does not own shares in Apple? Certainly possible, possibility even wise; but assuming they don’t, is it due to financial or theononsensical reasons? (I fully realize the finances of the cult are probably Über Top Secret…)
How silly were we not to see this one coming.
It’s our 35th wedding anniversary tomorrow. So daughter #1 suggested we go to her place for afternoon tea yesterday because she’s busy today, #2 was working on Sat night and they both had to work on Monday. We said yes.
We turned up there yesterday to find streamers, banners, sparkly cards, a lavish spread of food and a mountainous chocolate cake with bigger shards sticking up like chocolate cliffs. And. the. whole. fam. damly. waiting for us. And we never once thought she might do that.
I really do hate to intrude into ongoing and seemingly cheerfull conversation so abrubtly and unvelcome, but I have a rather pressing issue in my mind and this is by far the best place I can find to ask the questions I need to ask before I come to a decision. Which is rather sad in and of itself.
I have a suspicion, that I might have some traits of high functional autism/Aspergers syndrome. I certainly am clumsy in most, if not all, social situations, I prefer to work alone to work in team etc. This, combined with the fact that “my need to pair-bond with a woman conflicts with the apparent collective decision of all womankind to deny me that opportunity”, is causing me severe depressions. And I mean severe, as in I-do-not-want-to-breathe-anymore severe for the last few months. Nothing seems to be causing any pleasure whatsoever and things capable of at least distraction are becomming scarcer every day. And it gets worse with age, contrary to my hopes and expectations, and to popular folk-wisdom. I am still able to wake up in the morning, go to work and do my part without anyone noticing anything, but it gets increasingly more difficult. Has it not been for my parents, whose situation would be much worse of without my rather good income, I probably would not bother anymore since I see no point in sloughing on.
From what I gathered around here, on pharyngula are more people who have similar experiences and/or are similarily “non-neurotypical”. From those I would like to know, if it to their knowledge has at least hypothetical chance to be of any use to get diagnosis to whehter I really have autistic traits, or if at my age (37) I need not bother since it is too late to do anything about it anyway. I would also like to get some info about experience with antidepressives, since I know only two people who took them, and what they told me is not ecouraging at all. They both complained that it severely impaired their intelectual capabilities, and if it is so, then I am better of dead, since my brain is my source of income. Without my intelect, I am even less usefull than I already am.
I am not asking for compassion you are not obliged to grant me, I am not asking for help you cannot provide, I am not asking for resources I do not need, I am asking for information you migh have and I lack.
NEW THREAD.