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This really is a full service blog.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

I really should read my own blog.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We still have time to mess this up!

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Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

The revolution will be supervised.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

No one could have predicted…

Peak wingnut was a lie.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Infrastructure week. at last.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Saturday Night Open Thread

Saturday Night Open Thread

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I had a basically politics free day today, and it was nice. Woke up early, said to hell with it and went back to bed, then engaged in the always dangerous corralling of Steve in order to take him to the groomers. He was just too matted and a mess for me, and I had to bring in the professionals.

He was much better behaved today- didn’t act like he was being murdered on the drive there, and according to the groomers he only shit on them twice and didn’t puke this visit, and no one was bled, so all in all a success. Got him home, and as usual, he refused to make eye contact with me for a few hours, which I suppose is reasonable. If Steve put me in a cage, took me somewhere and had strangers manhandle me and shave my ass, I’d probably be a bit miffed, too.

At any rate, the hurt fee-fee’s never last long, because he always feels so much better after being trimmed and beautified, and the tuna for dinner did not hurt, and he has spent the last few hours on top of me aggressively purring, kneading, and generally being an all around swell guy.

I’m the fat one with the grey beard.

OMG IS SCOUT THE MOST PRECIOUS THING EVER!!!!

I just want to hold her and tell her she is amazing.

Reader Interactions

133Comments

  2. 2.

    khead

    If Steve put me in a cage, took me somewhere and had strangers manhandle me and shave my ass, I’d probably be a bit miffed, too.

    Steve works for the CIA now?

  7. 7.

    Schlemazel

    @khead:
    I flipped over to catch the score & got to see a really horrible non-call that would have given the Rams the ball on the 1 & a first down. The D-back did everything but pull the receivers pants down to his ankles but no call. Another case of the refs deciding the outcome of the game

  8. 8.

    Ruckus

    You made him look and feel better of course he’s going to be happy. It’s the inbetween going and getting home that bothers him.
    My last mutt, Bud the cocker had to be muzzled to be groomed. Every groomer I took him to told me to never bring him back. So I had to groom him as he grew hair at about a rate of an inch a month. It was not fun for either of us. But the moment it was done he was fine, and seemed no worse for the experience. Me on the other hand……

  9. 9.

    mai naem mobile

    Couldn’t we have some before and after pictures instead of thsee shitty pictures? I mean before and after pics of Steve, not of you with bloody bandages.

  13. 13.

    khead

    @Schlemazel:

    There was a pretty bad call in the Chiefs game too. KC player blitzes untouched and DRILLS Mariota…. Mariota fumbles….refs call play dead due to “forward progress” being stopped. Pretty sure KC could’ve scored on that play after picking up the fumble. Might have made Levenson’s comment (see Mike J above) look a little better. Chiefs are just not the same team without Kelce though.

  14. 14.

    Jackie

    Steve is gorgeous and looks extremely content ❤️ And, yes, Scout is absolutely adorable! ?

  17. 17.

    Jeffro

    Steve looks both very stable, and a genius, in that he selected and has stayed with you, Cole.

    Does he tweet?

  18. 18.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @John Cole: The Terry Richardson thing’s been in the news for a while, but my statement – that the fallout will be significantly worse in this field – is a prediction. The glut of sexualized violence in fashion ads makes this a safe bet at any rate; given the existence of shit like Redwall’s “La borsa è la vita” (be forewarned: MASSIVELY NSFW/L), I would be unsurprised to find a good deal of legit serial killers.

  19. 19.

    Mnemosyne

    When I take our cats to the groomers to get their nails trimmed, I ask them to do it in the front where I can help because our rescue cats get a little freaked out if they can’t see us and think they’re being abandoned at a shelter. G forgot this protocol last time and let the groomer take Charlotte to the back, where she drew blood.

    There’s a reason for the protocol, dude! Hopefully he’ll remember this embarrassment next time he has to take them solo. ?

  20. 20.

    Suzanne

    LOVE THAT SCOUT.
    Of course, I have a Scout of my own, so I am biased.

    Steve looks lovely.

    I also had a politics-free day. Mr. Suzanne and I own(ed) – bunch of those recalled IKEA dressers, and we are having them picked up next week. We bought them shortly after we got married, when we were broke AF, and they are all falling apart anyway. Ergo, we are accepting the full refund. However, that meant that we had to replace them. After much shopping, looking at both new and vintage stores, we found a teak midcentury dresser that we really love. Had that delivered last weekend. Then today, we found a dining room buffet at a thrift store that could merit some refinishing, but was absolutely a lovely piece and very solidly built, and at a more-than-fair price. So we had to borrow a friend’s truck, schlep all over town, but finally got it home. We also de-Christmas-ed the house, which feels nice.

  21. 21.

    Ruckus

    Anyone know the learning curve of a roommate who has no idea how loud everything she does is, movies, talking on the phone (always on speaker, full volume)? I realize that I’m an old and probably have a different comfort level but I’d think it would be less than 3 yrs. Of course it is possible after 3 yrs that never is the reality. She will lower it if I ask but I’m about at my limit of being the bad guy here, always having to initiate the discussion. And we do live in an apt so if it’s loud it’s not just me.

  26. 26.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    She goes to Clearwater FL to see a dentist.
    I’ve suggested that she might be somewhat fucking deaf but she can hold an normal conversation. It’s more that she just seems to care only about herself. She’s on the phone, that’s more important than everyone else having to listen. She walks down the street with her phone on speaker. I can hear her coming. She wants to have the full experience of a movie, but because she talks over them she has to have subtitles on. Suggesting that I move would not be a new idea to me. But we are both on the lease so if one of us goes…….

  28. 28.

    Marnie

    @John Cole
    I’m the fat one with the grey beard.

    That doesn’t help. :-) Beautiful critters–both of you.

  35. 35.

    Viva BrisVegas

    If Trump wants to know where all the Global Warming went, it went to Sydney.

    110 degrees in the city today.
    117 degrees in the suburbs.

  36. 36.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mike J: I haven’t seen anything reported about who they’re planning on nominating. Hopefully he’ll be better than ADM Rogers and less megalomaniacal than GEN Alexander was.

  37. 37.

    raven

    Man I’m starting to have 2nd (30th) thoughts about going the National Championship. I’m wheezing and can’t sleep and they changed the forecast back to rain and sleet. I went ahead and listed my ticket again, I guess I’ll wait to see if it sells.

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: Speaking as someone who has this crud, Sell! Be smart, you couldn’t have had a better trip than the Rose Bowl, the seats, the parade, the win in overtime, etc. Take the win, take care of yourself, and take the money.

  42. 42.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: All is true, I’m pretty committed to this silly shit though. I actually thought I was better and even started to sleep in bed instead of on the couch but then the coughing hit me big time.

  44. 44.

    Lyrebird

    @raven: Apologies if this is overstepping, but I’ve read that there are some NOT good flu strains going around this year – might want to find a walk-in clinic and see if you got one.

    I got one of the strains last year that the vaccine didn’t work for, and after that experience the word “Tamiflu” is as beautiful as roses.

    ETA: Yay @Mnemosyne has a link… Boo flu.

  46. 46.

    sharl

    Scout is adorable, and I love that pic of the two dogs (as I also love geg6’s pics of Lovey and Koda together in the same shot).

    Haven’t been around here much lately, so don’t know if this was linked over here already – bit of a long read, but a gripping account:

    Millions Are Hounded for Debt They Don’t Owe. One Victim Fought Back, With a Vengeance:
    …….Andrew Therrien wanted payback. He got it—and uncovered a conspiracy.

    Somewhere—at the top of a ladder of dirty debt collectors that Therrien would spend the next two years relentlessly climbing—a man named Joel Tucker had no idea what was coming.

    Therrien had been caught up in a fraud known as phantom debt, where millions of Americans are hassled to pay back money they don’t owe. The concept is centuries old: Inmates of a New York debtors’ prison joked about it as early as 1800, in a newspaper they published called Forlorn Hope. But systematic schemes to collect on fake debts started only about five years ago. It begins when someone scoops up troves of personal information that are available cheaply online—old loan applications, long-expired obligations, data from hacked accounts—and reformats it to look like a list of debts. Then they make deals with unscrupulous collectors who will demand repayment of the fictitious bills. Their targets are often poor and likely to already be getting confusing calls about other loans. The harassment usually doesn’t work, but some marks are convinced that because the collectors know so much, the debt must be real.

    The problem is as simple as it is intractable. In 2012 a call center in India was busted for making 8 million calls in eight months to collect made-up bills. The Federal Trade Commission has since broken up at least 13 similar scams. In most cases, regulators weren’t able to identify the original perpetrators because the data files had been sold and repackaged so many times. Victims have essentially no recourse to do anything but take the abuse.

    In May 2016, Therrien emailed his discoveries to the FTC. A lawyer replied right away: “Andrew, we need to talk about this.” Therrien also gave his intel to some private lawyers who were going after Tucker in Texas. They contacted Harsh, and in August 2016 he submitted an affidavit to the court. Harsh, who declined to comment for this story, testified that Tucker had asked him to manipulate a database of almost 8 million payday-loan applications, writing in a made-up lender and adding an amount owed of $300 for each person.

    Therrien had been right all along.

    I see this problem only getting worse with President Stable Genius and his henchmen gutting Federal consumer protections, and I’m expecting more Mr. Therriens as well, although unlike him, I could imagine some of those future debt vigilantes resorting to “Second Amendment solutions”. Hopefully individual states will try to work together more to go after these scumbags in the event the Feds bail on this responsibility.

  48. 48.

    Mnemosyne

    @WaterGirl:

    I just responded to your blanket comment. I, too, like the blanket but wouldn’t marry it, unlike some people on Amazon. I just wanted to be sure it was warm enough for the Midwest before I get one for my mom.

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: Doing what you love is never silly. I just always try to pay attention when I am going back-and-forth over something.

  52. 52.

    WaterGirl

    @Mnemosyne: We were at zero or below at my niece’s over Christmas, and it was warm enough for me! (And I am nearly always cold at her house.) So I’d say it’s a go for your mom.

  54. 54.

    Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)

    @Lyrebird: My parents and two of my siblings have been incapacitated by the from Christmas until about Friday. Oddly enough, even though it usually lays me out for two days from pharyngitis I haven’t really been hit – though I spent most of Christmas week just drowsy, along with sporadic dry throat.

  60. 60.

    Lyrebird

    @Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD): Good thoughts to your whole family, yikes! Not fun.

    @raven: I am not an expert, and I doubt you’re in the kind of danger that much older people would be in, but iirc some of the danger of the flu strain in the news is from fluid building up in the lungs faster than the body’s usual clearing-out mechanisms can clear it. Obvs there’s a risk in going to a walk-in clinic that you then get exposed to something else that you didn’t have before, but if you feel really knocked out by the crud you describe, it might be well worth checking.

  62. 62.

    Lyrebird

    @James E. Powell: Depends on your age, health, and level of occupational exposure. Working on college campuses gives one excellent chances for exposure.

    Speaking of people who don’t get enough sleep… I should hush up and go rest.

    Peace all & happy puppy pictures!

  63. 63.

    raven

    @Lyrebird: I don’t feel all that bad, just intermittent coughing fits. That’s why I thought I’d suck it up and go. We way overdid it in LA what with the parade, game family and friends.

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: That’s worth paying attention to. I know you powered through when you were starting to get sick, but it’s a lot tougher to power through when you truly are sick. Not much fun to be sick, cold and wet.

  66. 66.

    Yarrow

    @raven: Generally, if you’re running a fever it’s the flu. Anything over a very low grade fever, that is. Everyone’s different, but that can be a marker for flu.

    @raven: Tamiflu only works if you take it within the first 48 hours of realizing you’re sick and first 24 hours are best.

  70. 70.

    raven

    I took and couple of expectorants so maybe I can lie here and not sleep because of the drugs instead of the wheezing!

  71. 71.

    Yarrow

    @James E. Powell: The flu shot protects you but it also protects others. I am around a lot of old people so I get the flu shot to help avoid getting them sick in addition to keeping myself from getting it (ideally). It’s like any vaccine. Herd immunity makes a difference.

  73. 73.

    Mnemosyne

    @raven:

    I think you have to take Tamiflu within 48 or 72 hours, so you may be out of luck as far as that goes. There are other things they can do if you don’t let it go too long, so if in doubt, take yourself and/or your bride to urgent care and tell them you may have whatever is going around So Cal.

    @WaterGirl:

    That’s really pretty, but I’m already picturing Charlotte ripping it to shreds when her claws get too long. ?

  76. 76.

    frosty

    @raven: I think that in 10 years people will be talking about the Rose Bowl win, even if the Dawgs win the Natl Championship. Double overtime??!!??

    Given your latest forecast, if it was me I’d sell and rest on my laurels for the awesome day you had.

  77. 77.

    Mnemosyne

    @Yarrow:

    There is apparently some good evidence from Japan that the best way to prevent elderly people from getting the flu is to immunize young people, particularly kids under 18.

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    @Mnemosyne: I have a beautiful lavendar one and a sage colored one, but they don’t have either of those right now. You definitely can’t throw them in the washer, either.

  80. 80.

    Yarrow

    @raven: When I was very sick last year and had a bad cough my doctor prescribed an expectorant and a suppressant. I couldn’t take the suppressant because it made me so woozy. A few days later I went in for a check up and I was still coughing pretty badly. The doctor told me I had to take a cough suppressant (the one I’d quit taking) because the lungs get irritated by all the coughing and part of the coughing is the irritation. The expectorant is to loosen the phlegm to make more come up when you do cough. The suppressant is to lessen the coughing so your lungs can heal, and of course so you can rest.

    I didn’t know that part but he was right. I found an over-the-counter cough suppressant I could tolerate and I took it on schedule and I my lungs healed fairly quickly.

  81. 81.

    Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)

    @raven: Watergirl and Lyrebird have wise advice. Look out for your health first. I hope you feel better soon. Also, too, go Dawgs!

    This is the first year in a long time that I haven’t gotten a flu shot, but not out of any aversion to it — I just keep forgetting.

    With that, I’ll be spending the rest of tonight finally setting up my own photography website. I figure since I paid Zenfolio for it back in November I might as well use it. I’d be a little worried about learning the e-commerce side of things if I thought any of my work would actually sell. Ha!

  83. 83.

    Ruckus

    @Yarrow:
    The lease is now month to month and as my plan is to fully retire in 2 yrs, I’ve warned her that I will be leaving then because I’m not staying here when I do. Looking for a place north of SF but I’m not going to live in a major urban area. At some time in the future I will have to live in an assisted living situation because of my health issues so I’d like to have a bit of time in a nice area. As I said the other day the constant noise/people/roommate thing is just a bit much right now. Here, if you want to go get dinner you have to wait anyplace at least a half hour to be seated or served if you don’t do like I did tonight, go after nine. OTOH, this afternoon when I walked to the store, outside my front door I watched an arrest of a Lamborghini driver and the car towed. It looked like they chased him and forced him to stop. Could have been stolen or just a rich fuck who did something stupid. Imagine that.

  85. 85.

    Yarrow

    @raven: Retirement community, assisted living, etc. Don’t think you’re in that category, what with your gallivanting across the country and taking in a parade and the best bowl game in memory in the same day!

  88. 88.

    Yarrow

    @raven: Look for a cough suppressant. It made a difference for me. Over-the-counter works pretty well but prescription is stronger. If you’ve got a fever then consider at least calling your doctor.

  90. 90.

    frosty

    @raven:

    Sooo, when we talk about “old people”. . . ?

    They’re clearly talking about someone else. Not you or me (a couple of years behind you) :-)

  91. 91.

    Fair Economist

    @Mnemosyne:

    There is apparently some good evidence from Japan that the best way to prevent elderly people from getting the flu is to immunize young people, particularly kids under 18.

    I believe that. I get most of my diseases from my teen son, including my most recent probable flu. And, yes, I neglected to get him a flu shot this year.

  92. 92.

    raven

    @Yarrow: Ok, I went with this and seems to have stopped coughing “An expectorant won’t treat the infection that’s causing your symptoms, but it will help you get a good night’s sleep and make you feel a little better while your immune system does its job.”

  93. 93.

    Suzanne

    @Ruckus: I have that roommate. She’s my mom. She hasn’t learned. It’s been years. She has some hearing loss but is also just loud.

  95. 95.

    Yarrow

    @Ruckus: Couldn’t you find another roommate situation that isn’t as noisy? Seems like some people might like a quieter home.

  98. 98.

    Yarrow

    @raven: If it’s working for you then go with it. If you need some more help with it, then look at the labels and find a suppressant as well. A lot of cough medicines have both. Hope you feel better soon.

  99. 99.

    frosty

    @Ruckus:

    …outside my front door I watched an arrest of a Lamborghini driver and the car towed.

    Meh. Old news, Haven’t seen that in South Pennsyltucky more than half a dozen times.

  101. 101.

    Ruckus

    @Yarrow:
    Every time I get a flu shot I get sick for days. I get the pneumonia shot but the flu shot seems to like me too much. Or not like me, I can never get that straight.
    Because I spend a lot of time at VA clinics/hospital I’d like to get the shot. And I have in years past. But getting the flu100% of the time from the shot really puts a damper on my enthusiasm for it. Most people don’t have the reaction that I do so I really strongly suggest it.

  102. 102.

    Mnemosyne

    @frosty:

    I feel I should clarify that my follow-up suggestion of Humboldt County does fit the initial parameters since it’s on the coast near the Oregon border.

    I’ve only been to SLO on a couple of day trips, but it was nice and seemed to be reasonably low-key compared to Pasadena. Plus Cal Poly SLO is up there so there might be some light machining work as desired for a retiree.

  103. 103.

    Fair Economist

    @Ruckus: I frequently get a “flu” from the flu shot, but it’s not at all like a real flu. I’m generally only sick about 36 hours or so, and it’s much milder than a flu. I’ve always suspected it’s an immune reaction to the shot due to it resembling flus I’ve had in the past. Remember most of the misery from the flu is due not to the virus per se but to your response to it – mostly the interferons.

  105. 105.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:
    You don’t need to remind me. I made the mistake of walking by there one night to go get some food and one of their morons accosted me, trying to work up another fucking sucker. I used my best sailor language and told him to get out of my way. (that means that every other word is what miss manners would call a naughty one) I’m not sure he understood, but the other people on the sidewalk did. Some of them giggled.

  106. 106.

    Mnemosyne

    @Ruckus:

    When I get really bored, I’m sometimes tempted to memorize all of the answers to their “free personality test” and take it under a fake name to make myself look like a Scientology messiah. But then I realize I would be stuck having to talk to them for hours and the urge passes.

  107. 107.

    Yarrow

    @Ruckus: I’m about a 40 to 50%-er in getting sick after getting the flu shot. This time I casually mentioned it and the guy administering the shot actually stopped and asked me more questions. Maybe mention that to your doctor. They might have a different version of it that would work better for you.

  108. 108.

    Mnemosyne

    Knee-related whining: I’ve been putting more weight on it the past couple of days as advised by the physical therapist, but the stupid thing swells up on me because I also have a decent-sized bone bruise and that’s what they do, apparently.

    It’s not, like, the size of a cantaloupe or anything, but swells just enough to be slightly uncomfortable. Ugh.

  109. 109.

    Yarrow

    @Mnemosyne: Seems like you’ve been dealing with that knee injury forever. Did I see you say you were still using crutches? Good luck with the physical therapy.

  110. 110.

    Ruckus

    @frosty:
    Around here they worship rich people. I have no idea why. Just to get stopped this guy must have done something far more than just speeding. Four cop cars, they shut off the street for a while.
    @Mnemosyne:
    I have friends up there. We actually get along pretty well. Amazing I know. I’m not locked in but it’s also a nice area, the rents, while not great might be doable. I’m sort of screwed on retirement, due to the recession. I know others in the same boat, one couple with 2 kids now in college. They lost everything, jobs, home…….. They are like me, making a comeback but they are 20 yrs younger. And I’ve worked long enough, I’m not doing machine work after I retire. Selling all my tools, waking away. 57+ yrs is more than enough. If I find myself twiddling my thumbs and need something to do to keep me from going crazy(ier) I’ll look for old man work.

  111. 111.

    Ruckus

    @Fair Economist:
    I’ve always gotten rather sick for several days. And just for an example, in boot camp they give you all kinds of inoculations, all on the same day. Shots in both arms. Fun times. I’m the only one out of 80 guys to get sick, pass out and have to be hospitalized with a temp of 104+. It isn’t that bad with the flu shot but it isn’t good either. I got the idea that I wasn’t normal health wise a long time ago. I stay away from most people and that works.

  112. 112.

    Mnemosyne

    @Yarrow:

    I injured it in mid-October. I really should have started physical therapy within a couple of weeks, but there was some kind of mix-up (still not sure whose fault) and I didn’t get the approval until mid-December, which was plenty of time for the damn thing to seize up, so now we’re trying to get back to square one. Physical therapy is already helping a lot with the pain and stiffness, but it’s still annoying. I’m hoping to be off the crutches by the end of January, but who knows?

    @Ruckus:

    Oh, if you know people in the area you’re thinking of, that’s different. You probably want to stay within reasonably easy reach of a VA, but that’s not too hard on the west coast. And if needed you could probably find a quieter roommate up there.

  113. 113.

    Ruckus

    @Mnemosyne:

    But then I realize I would be stuck having to talk to them for hours and the urge passes.

    They really are worse than the JW. Those guys run if you talk to them right. These morons just try harder. They make the moonies look like fine upstanding citizens. L Ron couldn’t write SF for shit but he came up with a way to make fools part with their money. And like it. I have a deal with roommate, we don’t discuss religion in any way shape or form and things will go just fine. Her ex tried that a few times but gave up when my arguments made more sense than his. Which wasn’t difficult in the least.

  116. 116.

    AnotherBruce

    @khead: I still don’t get that one. Stopped forward progress? Was there a whistle that was blown the second Mariota got stuffed? Shit, football is going to start having to hire attorneys to figure this stupid shit out.

  117. 117.

    Darkrose

    Last week, my auto-delivery for pet food was cancelled because the vet wanted to see Ogdred. We took him to Davis (I need to find a new vet that’s closer and not near my former hated worlplace) and I swear they probably heard him yowling at the Capitol when we put him in the carrier. Aside from him peeing in the car, he was fine, but then we came home and it was World War III. Alistair, bless his stupid heart, goes nuts when we bring Ogdred back from the vet because he smells different, and so for the past three days he’s been snarling and hissing every time Ogdred comes in the vicinity. Og doesn’t understand why his brother’s being such a dick, and he pushes it, getting all up in Alistair’s face. We’ve tried keeping them in separate rooms, but they claw and scratch at the closed doors.

    Last night around 5 am I was in the middle of farming a dungeon in FFXIV and Ogdred came in. They growled at each other, and suddenly someone leapt at the other and there was snarling and yowling and literal fur flying. I freaked out because it was late, and tried to separate them, which distracted me and got me and a good portion of the raid group killed.

    Cat aggro, man.

  120. 120.

    Anne Laurie

    @Ruckus:

    Every time I get a flu shot I get sick for days. I get the pneumonia shot but the flu shot seems to like me too much. Or not like me, I can never get that straight.

    Happens to me, too; the medical professionals tell me it’s actually my immune system “overreacting” to the killed virus in the vaccine.

    I get the damned shot every year anyway, because there’s no living with the Spousal Unit when I don’t. Last winter I *still* got That Flu Which Was Going Around, but it only lasted 48 hours — a good three days less than the standard. So I dutifully let them poke me again this year, knowing I’d spend at least one day afterwards feeling like it had misfired.

  121. 121.

    Elizabelle

    Good evening/very early morning, jackals. Do not take this flu thing lightly. As mentioned above, California is having a go of H3N2 virus, which is not repelled by the flu virus. It can be lethal.

    LA Times: Severe flu brings medicine shortages, packed ERs and a rising death toll in California

    So many people have fallen sick with influenza in California that pharmacies have run out of flu medicines, emergency rooms are packed, and the death toll is rising higher than in previous years.

    Health officials said Friday that 27 people younger than 65 have died of the flu in California since October, compared with three at the same time last year. Nationwide and in California, flu activity spiked sharply in late December and continues to grow.

    … Most people in California and nationwide are catching a strain of influenza known as H3N2, which the flu vaccine typically doesn’t work as well against. National health officials say the vaccine might only be about 32% effective this year, which could be contributing to the high number of people falling ill.

    H3N2 is also a particularly dangerous strain of the flu, experts say.

    …. Doctors often prescribe the flu medication oseltamivir, known by the brand name Tamiflu, to patients with the flu. But doctors and patients said this week that the drug was hard to find.

    [While there is not a national shortage of Tamiflu, it can be hard to find in California, due to increased demand there.]

    …. Doctors say Tamiflu doesn’t eliminate the flu but lessens the severity of symptoms and how long they last. It works best if taken within 48 hours of when patients start to feel sick.

    Nihar Mandavia, a pharmacist who owns the Druggist Pharmacy in Laguna Niguel, said he’s been ordering as much Tamiflu as possible from wholesalers and filling 25 prescriptions a day, compared with a typical one a day. He said out-of-stock pharmacies are referring patients to him.

    ,,,, Though flu season is underway, health officials say it’s not too late to get the flu shot. The vaccine is recommended for everyone older than 6 months.

    “Even if you’re healthy, the downside of getting the flu vaccine is so low — it’s relatively inexpensive. At the worst you’ll have a sore arm,” Gunzenhauser said.

    The vaccine can also mean not getting sick and then infecting someone who might not recover so easily. Nationwide, 13 children have died of influenza this flu season.

    Dr. Greg Hendey, UCLA’s chair of emergency medicine, said people usually develop flu symptoms two to three days after they’re exposed to the virus, but are most contagious the day before symptoms develop.

    “So before you even know you’re sick you’re already spreading the virus,” he said.

    He recommended that people wash their hands often and avoid close contact with anyone coughing or sneezing.

    Stay healthy, jackals. Wash those hands, frequently, and keep them away from your face. Get that flu shot; it will offer some protection (possibly to the elderly, if not you).

  122. 122.

    Ruckus

    @Anne Laurie:
    I understand. Mine’s always been several days of every flu symptom. Sure there is a risk, especially as we get older or the strain is especially virulent. And as I said having to spend a lot of time in clinics/hospital really makes that risk a lot worse.

  123. 123.

    Elizabelle

    @Ruckus: Stay healthy, Ruckus.

    My sympathies on the noisy roommate. Any chance she might move out? And concur with those who recommend SLO. Seemed like a lovely place, and a university town.

  124. 124.

    Elizabelle

    @Ruckus: And this is a mean solution, but could you train her to stop talking so loud on the speakerphone by making some loud noises that interrupt her conversation?

    It’s a cell phone. A mobile. She could take that phone conversation elsewhere. And if she needs hearing aids, it would be considerate of her to obtain them.

    FWIW, I’d be tempted to handle her call like a sports announcer: repeat what you hear, loudly, like you are following a game.

    Although being in sight of her with your fingers plugging your ears for peace could work too. Make her aware of the effect her lack of consideration has on you. Some people are dense.

    Noise pollution is a real issue. It’s so lovely to be in places where you can hear yourself think.

  125. 125.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Ruckus: I do get some flu symptoms after my yearly flu shot, usually a day or two. On the other hand, the flu itself can last a week or more, I’d take a day or two, or three as opposed to a week or more.

  127. 127.

    Ruckus

    @Elizabelle:
    Well….. Yesterday when I got home she was talking on the phone and I sort of shut my door a little rapidly. Same thing tonight. I was going to go into the kitchen and make dinner but she had her friend over and was watching a movie on her computer, with it loud and her door open. I wasn’t in the mood to stand there and cook so I went and got something. When I left I let the front door shut (self closer) by itself without slowing it down. When I came back her door was closed. But I don’t like being passive aggressive. She’s not a horrible person, she just doesn’t consider other people, especially if it conflicts with what she wants. It has began to make things a bit tense at times and of course that pisses me off as well. It didn’t help that her daughter has lived with us for about 9 of the last 12 months. BTW she’s not a fan of that either. But she does things that affect both of us without even asking. Last time her daughter needed to move back in she asked me the evening that she needed to show up. Daughter is OK, but this much sharing, when it really isn’t, is just a bit much. She took a pottery class and bought a throwing wheel, which is in the front room so she can use it but of course neglected to ask or tell me until it was in the back of her car. That was 6-8 weeks ago, it hasn’t been plugged in. What it boils down to is that this is her apt and I’m just renting a room, although my name is on the lease and I pay half of everything. It’s frustrating to be back living with my sisters. I thought I’d out gotten away from that. Oh and she discussed with the manager about a 3 bedroom apt so daughter could live with us and pay almost nothing, while we would split the extra $800 or so. The look on my face told her that was an absolute no go. I’m sorry but I’m not paying an extra $400/month for someone else’s adult child to live here.
    It’s a cluster but right now the best for me is to suck it up and live with it for a couple more years. I’ve been in worse situations.

  129. 129.

    Elizabelle

    @Ruckus: Oy vey. Interesting that daughter also notices her mother’s lack of boundaries with how she treats others.

    Up to you, but I would do an actual letter, a nice and polite one, outlining small changes she could make that would make life more tolerable for you. The woman sounds inconsiderate, not mean, as you say. If you are on the lease, your needs take precedence too.

    Hang in there, bud. If you invent some device to make life more quiet for you, you could fund a very nice retirement. You are resourceful. Cheers.

  131. 131.

    laura

    @Ruckus: Petaluma, Sebastopol and Windsor are all really nice.
    My mother lived in an assisted living memory care unit in Petaluma down the street from the high school. It wasn’t glamorous, but the care was tender, and I am forever grateful.
    I hope you are able to find the just right spot and no or better roommate.

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