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LennyLen
Member #5,313
December 2004
avatar

l j said:

My last doctor's visit was 4 EUR. The one before that I think might've been 25 EUR or something.

4 Euro is pretty good. A standard consultation with my GP costs me 30 NZD, which is ~18 Euro (22 USD). I did last year have surgery which included a 2 week hospital stay and a district nurse coming to my home every other day for another week to change dressings. That was completely free.

If you have any sort of accident in NZ, even if it's doing something which is known to cause injuries (such as playing Rugby), then treatment is also completely free.

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

Yay for fairness and equality. :) Boo, again, for America. :-*

Append:

TL;DR My ISP nearly swatted me.

This was a rather strange night, but that last line is read-bait. It's not actually that exciting, of course.

Essentially what my body/mind seem to want is to sleep from 08:00 to 18:00 and work from 18:00 to 02:00 (or 05:00, if I'm distracted throughout the day, which is the norm for me in 2021) and then my other time for other responsibilities and what little recreation fits. I thought I was on track to fix it last night. I had a decent sleep the night before, and woken up rested at 05:00. It was polar opposite to my norm. I felt great, and I was motivated to be productive. But after about an hour and a half my productivity tanked again.

I had finally finished work by about 01:00. Which was good compared to the past few weeks. But I didn't have enough time left for recreation to ease my anxiety without sacrificing sleep. I ended up going to bed around 04:30. I woke up early for stand-up at 10:00, checked my email, and began looking into a status alarm. After stand-up and figuring out what the alarm was about I climbed back into bed to more fully recover. I had an alarm set at 13:00 and an alarm set at 14:00 because I had a meeting scheduled for 14:00. At the latest I intended to wake up then. Except that I woke up at 16:30. I slept through both of those alarms. Fortunately, I woke up to a notification that my 14:00 meeting had been rescheduled 30 minutes before it was supposed to occur to the next day. So I don't even think I missed it.

So short story long, now I'm working through the evening and early morning to recover the hours because I slept through most of the day. And doesn't the Internet fail.

Many days ago the ISP had come and replaced our modem because our Internet kept disconnecting and it seemed like it had to be either their modem or on their end. Tonight, a few days later, the Internet drops again. I try resetting the modem, but still nothing. So seems like it's between my modem and the ISP or it's the ISP.

I begrudgingly call the ISP, and only because we're frustrated with the service, and working without Internet will be more challenging. I wait for 7 or 10 minutes of annoying ads (which really wasn't all that bad) repeating on what feels like a 1 minute loop, absorbing nothing consciously, and so everything subconsciously (what have I done?!).

I was using my wife's Airpods(tm) at the time because they're supposed to have amazing sound both in and out (confirmed by my wife when I called her using them). Yet somehow while on hold waiting for a free line I was hearing noise through the line. I sat questioning what piece of equipment is introducing this noise and why. Can my ISP not even make a clear call happen in 2021?! My energy level for anything, but social interaction in particular, is at an all time low too. Just as I'm about to tell the human being what my phone number is so that they can identify the account to begin troubleshooting the call abruptly ends.

I should point out that I'm high. I'm fully functional, mind you. My tolerance is quite high. I just smoked half a gram of delicious bargain-bin Sativa from my bong with my new wide bowl.

I wasn't sure if maybe I had accidentally gestured by touching one of the Airpods (I have no idea what the commands are so I just tap them with varying degrees of aggressiveness until they obey, or they timeout and I pull out my phone). Or if I had accidentally triggered a touch on the screen when I reached over to reposition my phone. Or maybe the call centre technician hung up (whether intended or not). I didn't really want to wait through the phone ads again only to be annoyed with their response regardless so I didn't bother calling back. Truth be told, I was also probably embarrassed, not knowing whose fault it was.

So I don't call back. I just tethered my phone to my laptop and continued working. I figured the Internet would likely be back after a while on its own. Sure enough it is. I disable the tether and continue working, but a few hours later the Internet has dropped again. I decide to smoke another bowl of cannabis while I let the modem memory hopefully clear. But just as I'm walking away from the laptop to take a break I notice lights out my living room window. I look outside to find an ISP van is parked literally right in front of my house, with a technician raised up in the bucket working on the line. Amused, I go into the bedroom to tell my wife, but she is already sleeping. I peek out of the blind in the window only to find two more ISP vans practically blocking the road on the other side of my driveway. They had me surrounded. With their flashing orange lights it resembled a movie or TV group police arrest.

I'm a little paranoid from the weed so I question whether these men are truly telecommunications technicians or undercover police/federal agents setting up additional equipment to monitor me. I cast that aside if only because even if true there isn't much that little old me can do about it. So fuck it. I grab my bong and step out into the driveway, look at the technician on the pole 50 feet ahead, and walk back into my garage. I fire the bowl up with my Zippo and some hemp wick. Delicious. I get 7 or 8 lungs full and head back inside, making sure to stop and look directly at the agent technician on the pole before proceeding inside with my prominent bong.

A few minutes later I noticed that my Internet was fixed. And shortly after that the vehicles bugged out. Pretty trippy for a stoner to call the ISP, give his name which isn't unique, but have the call drop before giving identifying information. But shortly thereafter finding the house surrounded by ISP vehicles blocking the streets, working on the pole directly outside. :P I found that hilarious. Unfortunately, they're probably judging me for the cannabis, but I don't want to let that stop me. The stigma will never go away if people shy away from using in front of others. Fuck it.

OK, Internet back, story documented. Time to try to get the rest of these items done. :-/

Bob Keane
Member #7,342
June 2006

The last time my internet was down was a bit amusing. I thought it was the router at first. It was old, the wifi connection was out and I was using a wap. But one night my connection went out and resetting did not help. I had a replacement router so I hooked it up and everything seemed fine. A few days later, no internet, so I called my isp. They pinged the router but got no response, so we decided the modem was no good. I replaced it and reconnected the old router. Everything worked for a few days, then no connection again. I swapped out the router and got back on. Next day, no internet again. So, the router was new, the modem was new, what was the problem? Yup, I forgot to test the cable from the router to the modem. Swapping it out seemed to work, so I reconnected the old router and was back online. A few days later, no internet again, so I reconnected the new one.

Bamccaig said:

Boo, again, for America.

I know what you mean. The internet reported Trump will be back in office March 3. I've been hiding in a hole avoiding the news since he took the office back.

By reading this sig, I, the reader, agree to render my soul to Bob Keane. I, the reader, understand this is a legally binding contract and freely render my soul.
"Love thy neighbor as much as you love yourself means be nice to the people next door. Everyone else can go to hell. Missy Cooper.
The advantage to learning something on your own is that there is no one there to tell you something can't be done.

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

Had a phone appointment with my family doctor today. I was worried he was going to take my weed away, but it never came up. He doesn't sound overly worried about the cannabis. We did discuss it, and he agrees there's a risk of the cannabis making things worse, but it didn't sound like a very big risk. That said, I'm now experiencing clinical depression and severe anxiety without alcohol. So we're very concerned about that. Thoughts of suicide are back to being nearly a daily occurrence, despite taking my medicine and avoiding alcohol. I'm finally being referred to psychiatry. In the meantime, we're also doubling my antidepressant dose from 20 mg Citalopram to 40 mg. >:( He put medical leave from work on the table so I could probably ask for time off work if I wanted, and I could definitely use it, but we can't afford our bills without my income so I don't think I can really take advantage of that... At best I might get paid 55% of my income through employment insurance/government, but that would stretch us way too thin. We're already struggling because my cannabis needs have been going up and up with tolerance. I probably need to take a tolerance break to flush my endocannabinoid system out and make me more susceptible to the cannabinoids again, but at the moment cannabis seems like the most effective tool I have for combating the suicidal ideation so I'm not sure now is the best time to take that break. :-/

DanielH
Member #934
January 2001
avatar

I'm glad you are trying.

Did you have to be referred or could you have gone previously to psychiatry?

Just some thoughts. I also have depression, but it is not as bad as what you are going through.

Citalopram (Celexa) is ok for depression. I was on escitalopram (Lexapro) for a few years. It's the same drug just purified to remove the inactive portion. Sounds like you need more than one antidepressant. Maybe one with more antianxiety effect. Maybe a different type of antidepressant. One that affects a different monoamine (SSRI, SNRI, DNRI, etc..)

From my experience as a pharmacist working in a mental health clinic, only taking one antidepressant is rare. Especially if your having those thoughts of suicide.

On a side note: there is a black box warning on most antidepressants.
Antidepressants increased the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior

This is not quite correct. What they are finding is that people are already having suicidal thoughts, but are too depressed to act on them. When they start taking the antidepressant and they are no longer too depressed to act on those thoughts is the concern.

Edgar Reynaldo
Major Reynaldo
May 2007
avatar

Brandon,

I too have suffered from major depression throughout most of my adult life. I am also on Lexapro like DanielH but I don't have many problems with suicidal thoughts. I wish I could offer you advice, but I don't know what is causing your depression and anxiety. I do know that anxiety is fear of the future as I used to suffer from pretty bad anxiety too. The only thing that helped me through it was learning to trust God. I understand you're not a believer, but prayer can help in difficult times if you're willing to be open about it. Like I said I don't know much what I can do to help you, but I sincerely hope you feel better about life and about yourself. I will pray for you, and I can only hope that God heals you of your problems. Depression and anxiety can utterly destroy a person's life if you let them. I hope and pray you feel better soon.

Marc

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

DanielH said:

Did you have to be referred or could you have gone previously to psychiatry?

I'm uncertain. It's hard to even find answers to those questions. I think that the preferred approach is to go through your family doctor, in part because they need to eliminate medical reasons in the process. In fact, I guess technically I don't have my referral yet because they need updated blood work first. :D I could save them the time.

THCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCT
HCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTH
CTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHC
THCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCT
HCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTH
CTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHCTHC

The blood work is to rule out thyroid and maybe kidney issues.

The real reason though is that I just cannot afford it. If they're referring me to a private service they're wasting everyone's time because I most likely cannot afford it. :P But hopefully it's going to be at least partially covered through the taxes that I already pay (and the health benefits through work).

DanielH said:

Citalopram (Celexa) is ok for depression. I was on escitalopram (Lexapro) for a few years. It's the same drug just purified to remove the inactive portion. Sounds like you need more than one antidepressant. Maybe one with more antianxiety effect. Maybe a different type of antidepressant. One that affects a different monoamine (SSRI, SNRI, DNRI, etc..)

From my experience as a pharmacist working in a mental health clinic, only taking one antidepressant is rare. Especially if your having those thoughts of suicide.

On a side note: there is a black box warning on most antidepressants.
Antidepressants increased the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior

This is not quite correct. What they are finding is that people are already having suicidal thoughts, but are too depressed to act on them. When they start taking the antidepressant and they are no longer too depressed to act on those thoughts is the concern.

:o Some really neat information there. I wonder if my doctor is referring me to psychiatry only because I believe I'm autistic and that it's distressing and it's probably somewhat bothersome constantly asking him for help with it when he doesn't think it's important. :P I mentioned that my wife thinks I'm a hypochondriac or have Munchhausen's syndrome or something like that, and that I don't think I do in a P.S. I'm a little worried he's only sending me to psychiatric for that. :o

That said, it's possible that he is detecting hints that this is not just a medical issue, which I would concur, and is actually taking me seriously, in which case he may wish for a psychiatrist to help with figuring out which combination is appropriate.

I wish I could offer you advice, but I don't know what is causing your depression and anxiety. I do know that anxiety is fear of the future as I used to suffer from pretty bad anxiety too. The only thing that helped me through it was learning to trust God.

What helped me through it in the past was avoiding responsibilities so that I didn't have anybody or anything to worry about except for me. That and self-medicating with alcohol. That was going great until my 🐓 fucked it up. I got one woman and somehow that turned into a woman, a second car, a cat, a mortgage, and a dog. And she wants to pile more responsibilities on my shoulders even as I struggle to stay above water!

"We" bought a house together in 2018. Itself a hurried decision that I had to make without really knowing enough to make a wise one, but would have faced a miserable bitch of a wife for the foreseeable future had I gone the other way. And we would have lost out on a truly amazing house for the money. She wasn't going to give up on pressuring me to buy one, and the next one might not be so good. Within a busy few weeks my bank accounts and most of my bills were changed to joint accounts which were originally my wife's accounts. She had first class access and I had third class access (now I'm maybe at 2nd class status with 50% of the accounts, partly because I'm too busy and burned out to even think about trying to fix it, but also because it's a credit union and their software and service is shit compared to my old bank).

I was busy with work and so obviously when she offered to go and set everything up that made sense. Except she put all of the bills in just her name, and just going to her, and so I've never seen a bill for the house that I live in and presumably pay for (save for an occasional anomalous utilities bill that she shares to emphasize our energy consumption requirements :P). That's some ignorant Feminist bullshit right there. You receive the bills that you can't even afford to pay, eh?! Our pay all goes into a single chequing account and she pays all of the bills out of that. I could be that chauvinist pig and insist upon putting my name on everything, but I'd be faced with shame and humiliation if I do and it's not like my money would be any safer even if I did.

Considering in the apartment I handled everything it is rather uncomfortable, not least of all because she's younger than me and has everything to gain by screwing me over and little to lose. All the while I've long been conscious of the fact that men receive unfair treatment in divorce and family courts, and in general. I'm now also reading a book to confirm my biases with references. And it's outrageous that it has been on shelves for 2 decades and nothing changes.

It's outrageous that people continue to bring up bullshit ideas like the wage gap when it has been debunked countless times by credible sources. It's outrageous that throughout history men have protected and provided for women, and in return women turn around and use their power over us to rewrite history into making men into oppressors and abusers, and women into victims of patriarchy.

A few months after getting our first house we get an 8 week old puppy. Of a large breed. Again it was a hurried and forced decision. She tricked me into getting the cat when I was hungover so my guard was up. We happened to get free tickets to a hockey game where the puppy was being showcased during an advertising intermission. My wife heard about the puppy through Facebook and was excited about it. She begged me if we could apply. She gave me the impression that there would be countless people applying and we would be unlikely to get the dog anyway. Turns out there was very few suckers that day. I was the only one apparently.

Nevertheless, there was a snafu at the shelter and we were almost denied due to an identity mix-up, but my wife made sure to follow-up with them until she was able to straighten it all out. I love dogs, and having a dog is great, but a puppy is a fucking ton of work. It is not an appropriate time to get one when you're still adjusting to big changes in your life. :P He's now about 16 months old, and he is still a handful. Now instead of it being a helpless and needy little baby it is a body building T-Rex. :P That I have to handle several times per day. Besides constantly trying to destroy things, and eat me, he's great. We're finally getting to the point where he can be uncaged for extended periods of time without driving us crazy or injuring or breaking anything, but it's still hit or miss. :P

When he was a puppy is when I first had my mental breakdown. The first month or so we were just picking up pee puddles in the house, but after a couple of months we were taking him outside practically every hour to pee. No joke. All day and night. For a few months. So I was losing lots of sleep trying to keep up with work and this puppy.

My employer was doing a poor job communicating health and stability to staff in previous years, and several employees were nervous about the future. One of our primary devs got another job and was leaving in December 2019. Around the same time I just so happened to get a hit on LinkedIn for a job. Money was a bit better. Sounded good. Tough decision. No way to know what the correct decision is. I change jobs. For the first time in my life. And it doesn't go well. I'm working for the CEO's brother, who has until now been developing the solution all on his own. He's resistant to change or anything different than he likes it. He is also terrible at communicating, and generally abrasive. The CEO is equally abrasive. The kind of guy that will joke about you being fired just to fuck with you. That may be funny to somebody privileged that doesn't need to work, but for the average person that's never going to be funny unless it's clear that you're joking. They would outwardly say shit like that over the whole office, as well as privately to you. It was very uncomfortable. It felt very abusive. Of course, there's no real solution to it other than leaving it.

Fortunately I tried to leave my previous job the right way when I left so I desperately reached out to my old manager to tell him how I was struggling, and express interest in going back. And fortunately they were excited to have me back. But things are still significantly changed since the other staff member left, and since then my manager has left too. So we're understaffed, and a lot of the day to day burden of answering to live technical concerns falls on me. I also am responsible for software system health, builds, and deployments. Meanwhile I still have a queue of items to complete for the sprint, but between my health and medication my concentration and focus is now gone.

Which makes work extremely difficult. I sit down to work. I'm at my computer. I'm trying to work. But I'm just spaced out and can't seem to stay focused like I used to be able to. I used to zone out and work for 8 hours straight. Now I zone out and don't get anything done for seemingly 8 hours. :P Except it's not 8 hours straight. It's like 5 minutes here. 5 minutes there. Every day is slow and unproductive. I'm not even listening to music nor playing games nor have the other usual distractions. I barely look at my phone. And so my work days extend from 8 hours into 12 or 16 hours as I only log the productive actions I took and try to make up for the deficits after hours. I'm sort of working double time and not getting paid for it. And I'm quickly burning out.

That's not even all. But basically I have real problems, and imagined problems, and there's no easy fix to either of them. Society is set up by design with huge gaping holes. I'm afraid of falling into one as I attempt to navigate my days. Unfortunately, my concerns are mostly justified.

I think that the pressure just grew too quick. The only pressure that my wife feels is time. So she's in a rush to check all the boxes in her life as quickly as possible before it's too late. ::) If she had to fund them herself she wouldn't even be able to consider these things, but because she gets to think about what to spend my income on she gets to. Must be fucking nice, I say. So much for Feminism, 2021. Still women don't pull half their weight. Not because men are "oppressing them", but because they're weak and fragile. :P Because THEY refuse to work. Even when lives are on the line. And we don't exactly have a good way to measure how much somebody can contribute. And so women generally get a pass before anyone else.

Many of them are in the workforce today at some point in their lives so they give us all the impression that they're doing the same thing as the rest of us, but in the majority of cases they'll be on reduced hours or take more time off throughout their careers. Not because they're forced to, but because they want to. In fact, some employment benefits now enjoyed by men were originally awarded to women despite men suffering through those same conditions for millennia. Suddenly when women were in the workforce things had to change to accommodate their special needs. And so some of the extra rights afforded to them were eventually extended to men too.

Throughout history women have been master complainers. Always having it better than men, and always complaining the most. It's the only way to even explain Feminism. Think about it. It's batshit insane, and yet society as a whole has adopted it. Our universities have abandoned reasoned thought for feelings and safe spaces. The only possible way for things to be like this is for women to be so goddamned special and privileged that they're able to make us all play this fucking stupid game pretending just to make them feel better! >:(

...Feel better about already having it better than you and I and most people that ever lived? :-/

I literally feel like it's hopeless to even bother anymore. Look around. Our society is circling the toilet. We're throwing away hundreds of years of wisdom and going back in time to repeat previous failures. If we don't kill each other through destruction we'll destroy each other through consumption. I'm exhausted worrying about it all. I'm exhausted period. I'm starting to be convinced that this species isn't worth saving. Perhaps instead of going green we should be trying to ensure certain extinction.

I understand you're not a believer, but prayer can help in difficult times if you're willing to be open about it. Like I said I don't know much what I can do to help you, but I sincerely hope you feel better about life and about yourself. I will pray for you, and I can only hope that God heals you of your problems. Depression and anxiety can utterly destroy a person's life if you let them. I hope and pray you feel better soon.

I do believe that I am in need of "spiritual" healing, but I do not believe that I will find any relief in religion. Those work for people that are able to believe them, but I am unable to come to terms with the contradictions and lack of evidence. For me the very concept of a religion is dirty. Believing ideas precisely because there is no evidence is irrational. It's a recipe for disaster. Religions have far more bad ideas than they do good. So while they might do some good for some of the people, I'm convinced that most people are either harmed or neutral.

Anyway, I'm surprised how little the elders at my family church have changed in the 20 years since I've attended. I expected most of them to be passed away or close to it, but many are still in surprisingly good health. It is sometimes a tempting notion to return. But I'm only fond of the family atmosphere that I remember as a child. In reality, everything about the church is different, from its layout to its politics and social dynamics. Even if the religion stuff wasn't a turn off the very thought of it fills me with anxiety. I'd need special treatment to make it pleasant for me. E.g., Special training in the helping out duties because I won't just get it like everyone else, or exemption from them, but that would probably come with social costs and would probably be humiliating. :P

Edgar Reynaldo
Major Reynaldo
May 2007
avatar

bamccaig said:

I do believe that I am in need of "spiritual" healing, but I do not believe that I will find any relief in religion. Those work for people that are able to believe them, but I am unable to come to terms with the contradictions and lack of evidence. For me the very concept of a religion is dirty. Believing ideas precisely because there is no evidence is irrational. It's a recipe for disaster. Religions have far more bad ideas than they do good. So while they might do some good for some of the people, I'm convinced that most people are either harmed or neutral.

Christianity is not a religion, it's a reality. These contradictions you believe in for the most part do not exist. They come from ignorant teachers that don't know the truth of God's Word. There is plenty of evidence of Jesus life historically, not just including the New Testament. If you had read the Bible with understanding, you would know there is plenty of evidence FOR God, because it proves itself time and time again if you're willing to learn with patience.

"In your patience possess ye your soul."

Jesus makes our burdens lighter, not heavier. He died on the cross so we could be forgiven our sins and find peace with God the Father.

In any case, you are married, and it sounds like it is causing you a lot of stress. So my advice is, talk to Miranda about your problems, especially if she is the one putting so much pressure on you. Tell her how hard your life has become and how stressful it is to you. If you can't talk to her, then maybe she isn't right for you. You need someone to support you mutually, not just bear the entire burden of the household on yourself. It's okay to show weakness. When we are weak, we are the strongest, because it is God Himself who is holding us up. If it wasn't for Christianity, Jesus, and the Father, I would still be suffering from major anxiety today. Learning to let go and trust God was the best thing I ever did for myself. I still struggle with depression, but talking to God eases my burden. He says to cast your cares on Him, because He cares for you.

Faith is the counter to anxiety. If you have no faith, your anxiety will be great indeed, because you'll be spending all your time worrying about how everything is going to turn out instead of letting go of your worries and taking it one day at a time.

I can give you advice, and I can help you learn about God, but I can't magically take away your depression or anxiety without you willing to put some effort into letting go and learning new things.

I really think you need a professional psychologist to talk to in therapy sessions. I believe you need to get your problems out in the open where you can see them from a different perspective and realize maybe you're not so bad off after all.

Keep your head up Brandon, and don't give up hope. The best is yet to come, bro. Believe it.

MiquelFire
Member #3,110
January 2003
avatar

So... nothing is happening around here this week? I'm surprised that nothing been posted anywhere on these forums since Tuesday.

Edit: Wow, what timing... Posted basically one minute after Edgar

---
Febreze (and other air fresheners actually) is just below perfumes/colognes, and that's just below dead skunks in terms of smells that offend my nose.
MiquelFire.red
If anyone is of the opinion that there is no systemic racism in America, they're either blind, stupid, or racist too. ~Edgar Reynaldo

Erin Maus
Member #7,537
July 2006
avatar

I have some cool things going on in my life but didn't wanna post after bambam. I didn't want to be rude.

---
ItsyRealm, a quirky 2D/3D RPG where you fight, skill, and explore in a medieval world with horrors unimaginable.
they / she

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

Erin Maus
Member #7,537
July 2006
avatar

I'm moving in with my boyfriend soon. ;D

After this next lease (so in like a year) I'll be buying a house. :o

My job (at Truist, a regional US bank headquartered in Charlotte, NC) is going well, making really big waves with the stuff I'm working on*. Career trajectory is good, my performance review was pretty much amazing (exceeding expectations across the board - not only is that hard in a good year, it's even harder in a "bad" year [i.e., COVID]). 8-)

ItsyRealm is coming along nicely, a friend of mine is making some great music for it. Hoping to launch it on Steam Early Access by the end of the year, but that's a soft deadline since it's just a hobby. :D

Also my legal name should be changed within the next 4-6 weeks. So that's great. :)

*: To be clear, I took a single-page app "proof of concept" and made it a fully functional app that totally shifted our goals the following PI (program increment; basically a collection of sprints).

---
ItsyRealm, a quirky 2D/3D RPG where you fight, skill, and explore in a medieval world with horrors unimaginable.
they / she

GullRaDriel
Member #3,861
September 2003
avatar

Good news Erin !

Here we are going to get married, as soon as it's possible with the fucking covid (and the money X-D)

8-)

"Code is like shit - it only smells if it is not yours"
Allegro Wiki, full of examples and articles !!

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
avatar

2020 Trump: Kids in cages
(Democrats: "OMG, TRAVESTY")
2021 Biden: Kids in bunkers
(Democrats: "meh. they probably deserve it.")

https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/16/politics/border-children/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0_CKjNHiVir4AHVtXRzYcxzBthoyd4GAaRSKH_eJFTYea7RScZE9JjLD0

8-)

You know, I couldn't actually make these points if Democrats would actually... you know... be Democrats.

Kinda like "Black Lives Matter" until they don't, and we just elect a white guy whose sole credentials are "I was friends with a black guy". He can probably say the n-word. And even though nothing BLM-related has changed... magically electing a white democrat has suddenly stopped all the BLM protests.

Meanwhile progressives like AOC are like:

Universal income? "Nah."
Medicare 4 all? "Nah."
$15 minimum wage? "Nah."

AOC went from staging a photoshoot of crying at the fence because of suffering migrant children to... ignoring those same kids.

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video

I'm one of those idiots who actually... you know... expects change when people run on a platform of change. I didn't realize voting was only about telling everyone around you that you're a member of their clique and not about actually changing things.

Seasons change. The left wins. The right wins. At least the rich get richer every election. In Jeff Bezos we trust.

-----sig:
“Programs should be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

Yes, of course, politics is 100% about attaining power to sell it to the highest bidder. Who gets to be a politician? Generally a slimey weasel of a person with a nice smile and a firm handshake and a brain that makes them feel righteous and confident all the time, even when they shouldn't. The job itself sucks. At least, doing it does. Fortunately for them, they have staffers to do most of the job for them. I'm not sure what is left for them. Probably making appearances look good, mostly. And maybe actually voting on a few laws so it looks like you work there.

AOC may be something bigger, but it's too soon to say. Ultimately though, her hands are tied having to play the political games too. We better hope she's for real because I think she's about the only reasonable person that I've heard of over there. :P Which is not to say that I agree with everything she does, but she seems to be after what is best instead of just getting rich so that's something. Or maybe she just has me fooled. But I don't care that much I can't do anything about it anyway.

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
avatar

The thing that makes me so upset is that everyone was so divisive, and so angry, and so judging of the other side and at the end of the day, the single important issue--the kids lives--still hasn't been solved. As the left and right move on to the next battleground to get their adrenaline high. Trump was "a monster" for letting those kids suffer, but Biden built the cages, and still hasn't saved them. For months into his presidency.

I mean, at this point, just let the goddamn kids into the goddamn country. What's the point of laws if they're hurting children? Take a mere $100 million from the war budget and actually save some lives and give them homes, parents, and swimming pools for all I care.

Pot is legal in tons of states yet we haven't heard a pepe from our progressive government about changing that on the federal level even though, objectively, the classification is wrong for marijuana. marijuana is scheduled as a drug that has "no medical, or scientific value" which is patently, flat earther-tier, false. So even if you don't support marijuana legalization, the classification is still wrong. We KNOW kids with seizures can benefit from CBT in marijuana. And forbidding scientists from even studying it is a moral injustice that will affect tens of thousands or more. We wouldn't even know about those kids if people didn't illegally try to save them. And once again, if saving kids is illegal, !@$! the laws.

[edit]

Biden tells migrants 'don't come' to US as border crisis surges

hahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaahhahaah

-----sig:
“Programs should be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute.” - Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
"Political Correctness is fascism disguised as manners" --George Carlin

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

You seem to have this nonsense idea that people that associate themselves with the Democratic party actually have any control over the actions of their elected officials. That's just insane. The electoral system is just broken by design. The people in power won't fix it because they like power. And they're the only ones that can.

Earlier "today" (yesterday because my workday has stretched into the wee hours of the morning) I found myself wondering (and I don't remember why) if the reason the federal government hasn't dropped the cannabis laws is because they've locked so many goddamn people up wrongfully over it, particularly people of colour, that admitting they were wrong could result in massive lawsuits or reparations that the government can't possibly afford (let alone the sudden surge of unemployment when the prison population halves overnight). :P

I cannot fathom why else they would maintain such a ridiculous position on cannabis. As an alcoholic I can confirm that alcohol is much more harmful in every way compared to cannabis.

There is one other possibility. People with a risk of mental illness, in particular psychosis, may be at an increased risk of accelerating their mental decline by using cannabis. Maybe the federal government has the hard scientific data that Americans are all crazy, and therefore needs to protect them from the effects of cannabis. :P

Notably psychosis is also known as schizophrenia. And apparently that's what autism used to be considered. :o There are apparently links between autism and schizophrenia. (Also, I heard today from an autistic YouTuber that transgender people are 6x more likely to be autistic than non-trans people.)

Append:

To be fair, COVID-19.

Also, you seem to get a sick sense of pleasure out of Democratic failings, and yet seem to have a hardon for Trump. Yet you claim to be a liberal?

Do you want America to fail? :P

LennyLen
Member #5,313
December 2004
avatar

A question for American forum-goers (though if you're not American but know the answer, go for it): In American movies/TV shows, whenever a driver is stopped by police they're always asked for their licence and registration. What registration are they asking for? Car registration? If so, does that mean that you don't have to have your registration details showing at all times if it's something that you keep on you to give to the cops?

Here, we have all the relevant info affixed to the inside of the windscreen:

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This way, police and parking wardens can tell if you're registration is up to date even if you're not currently in the car.

Bob Keane
Member #7,342
June 2006

We do not have registration stickers on cars in the US like you have. I guess we haven't thought of it yet. The problem may be people will forget to change them when they renew their registration. License plates (car tags) do have stickers which tell when they expire.

Bamccaig said:

Also, you seem to get a sick sense of pleasure out of Democratic failings, and yet seem to have a hardon for Trump. Yet you claim to be a liberal?

Do you want America to fail? :P

Maybe he is just stirring controversy to get a debate going?

To get back on topic, maybe we should use bitwarden to avoid threads locking too soon?

By reading this sig, I, the reader, agree to render my soul to Bob Keane. I, the reader, understand this is a legally binding contract and freely render my soul.
"Love thy neighbor as much as you love yourself means be nice to the people next door. Everyone else can go to hell. Missy Cooper.
The advantage to learning something on your own is that there is no one there to tell you something can't be done.

MiquelFire
Member #3,110
January 2003
avatar

Most Americans tend to keep the registration in the glove box or something like it (There's so much storage compartments in cars now...)

It might be a state thing, but in here in Michigan, you're also asked for your insurance as well.

---
Febreze (and other air fresheners actually) is just below perfumes/colognes, and that's just below dead skunks in terms of smells that offend my nose.
MiquelFire.red
If anyone is of the opinion that there is no systemic racism in America, they're either blind, stupid, or racist too. ~Edgar Reynaldo

Matthew Leverton
Supreme Loser
January 1999
avatar

It's going to vary by state; movies are probably based on whatever rule was in place in California in 1950.

In Illinois, car registration is not required to keep on hand here for regular passenger vehicles. The police run the license plate number on their computers to look that up before they even get to the window. You just have to show proof of insurance and a valid driver's license. (The latter they could look up too, but that would require the driver knowing what his or her actual name is.)

Asking for registration has probably always been more of a way to give the police a simple way to arrest you if they are suspicious about your racial appearance.

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

The police can look up the information in Ontario, but they'll ask you for it first. Then they'll take it back to their car and verify your information against the computer. If you don't have it on you I think you can be charged, but typically they'll just require you to show up at the police station within a few days to prove that you have it all and it's all still valid.

There are vehicle stickers that must be affixed to the corner of the license plate that are issued with your registration in Ontario, but I think that it only contains the expiry date and you are expected to have the paperwork too. This way police can identify lawful citizens with expired registration from outside the vehicle, but a more thorough investigation is needed to verify that the registration is on hand and valid, etc. As MiquelFire said, most people put it in their glove box, though some might use other convenient interior storage depending on make/model and preferences.

For my motorcycle I've started storing my registration and insurance in my newer motorcycle jacket, which is full of pockets. I won't ride without one so it helps to ensure that I have it on me without having it wrapped in a plastic bag in the pillion and still getting wet/dirty. The only problem there is that I have two jackets and with the weight off my old one fits and it's much more comfortable in warm weather, but like I said you can typically bring proof later on so if I happen to get caught without it I'm depending on, "oops, it's in my other jacket" to get me by without getting shot or tasered.

Bob Keane
Member #7,342
June 2006

might be a state thing, but in here in Michigan, you're also asked for your insurance as well.

Here in Massachusetts our insurance co. stamps the registration form. I think we can be arrested for not having the form on us, but usually the officers just do a registry check. Off topic, someone hit a house in my neighborhood last week. The driver was doing 35 mph in a 20 mph zone and driving with a suspended license.

By reading this sig, I, the reader, agree to render my soul to Bob Keane. I, the reader, understand this is a legally binding contract and freely render my soul.
"Love thy neighbor as much as you love yourself means be nice to the people next door. Everyone else can go to hell. Missy Cooper.
The advantage to learning something on your own is that there is no one there to tell you something can't be done.

Edgar Reynaldo
Major Reynaldo
May 2007
avatar

License, registration, and proof of insurance please...

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bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

video

I'm a little terrified of being pulled over by American cops. They all seem like trigger-happy cowards. ::) Might be time you regulate your guns a little bit more. Your police are terrified. (Yes, I know that video was uploaded in 2014 or something, but it was NOT hard to find one.)



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