Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)

[Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)]

Medical Update of the Day:

Cramps suck.

Thank you, modern medicine, for the variety of analgesics available today!

If only they took effect instantly instead of taking up to an hour.  Still, bless them and their inventors.

That is all.

[What Are You Watching?]

Thanks for the reminder!  I saw the full moon rise bright and clear an hour or two ago.  Now there's a bit of haze visible around it.  Fingers crossed that it will stay mostly clear long enough to see the eclipse!

[The Weather.]

So, on Saturday morning the plow did indeed come to my Court shortly after 7:15am, giving me plenty of time to shovel out the surprisingly minimal ridge behind my car, the fluffy snow from there to my back tires, and enough of the drifts to the side, to be able to load up Mickey and get to work only a few minutes late.  To learn that my 8am had just cancelled.

So, still being in my boots and coat, I left Mickey in the office and went outside to shovel a path in the grass over to and around a tree.  Our patients have their needs, after all.  I rather enjoy shoveling, it's good exercise and accomplishes something readily visible and useful.  Sort of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) if you shovel and them take short rests.  Mickey doesn't seem to mind going through deeper snow, but it's a little difficult to find a place to do his business in it,

The plow was still working on the office lot.  I had actually set up a security webcam (we got it for free with points from purchases) facing the parking lot, so I knew there had been no sign of anyone clearing any snow within its view until 7:30am, which I'm sure thrilled the breakfast restaurant next door that opens at 6am.

The building is L-shaped, with us on the end of the L away from the main road, next to an entrance off a smaller side road with a Citibank in the other side.  There are three rows of parking, two with parking spaces on either side and one along the other leg of the L with spaces only on the other side.  The plow looked like it had just finished plowing one half of the section in front of us, so that's where I and a few others who arrived around the same time parked, to allow them to plow the other sections.  When snow is coming, we usually try to park all in the middle area so they can plow ours, then we move our cars to the cleared area while the plow is still there.  That way we minimize the spaces not plowed due to having a car in them.

Well, there was one plow width cleared along our leg of the L, with ridges of snow with a few brave souls' tire ruts in them along the rest of it.  The bank across the street was worse, and there were ridges of deep snow on the road next to us, too. Whie I was shoveling, along comes a guy in, of all things, a Camaro!  He tried to turn into the Citibank lot and, of course, got stuck in the snow ridges, spinning his wheels endlessly at high speed.  So, I brought my shovel over and offered to help, shoveling out the snow from around and behind his rear wheels so he could get some traction.  I had to tell the guy to please not try driving while I was still back there in case he, you know, actually got traction, and again while I was shoveling out his front wheels, in case the car slid around.  Apparently, people who try to drive a Camaro in Chicagoland in fresh snow are not very good at seeing potential bad outcomes to their actions.  Who would have guessed?

So, I get the snow out of the way, so he can pull out of the ridges and head down the side road back to the main road that's actually plowed.  Instead, he tries to back into the entrance to our lot, and neatly misses completely the area that's actually plowed, instead going directly into the deep ridges where more snow capable vehicles drove, getting himself solidly stuck again.  Right in the way of the plow still working on our lot being able to actually clear them away.

This time I handed him the shovel and watched HIM shovel out his tires.  And took the shovel with me back inside when he was done, being rather cold by then.  If he needed it, he could come get it.  Shed my coat and boots, left them in the office, came back out to the front to join the staff watching as he'd almost immediately gotten himself stuck again.  This time, the plow driver got out and gave him a push to get him going out towards the road, and he finally kept on going and got out of everyone's way.

I guess he gave us some entertainment, until the appointments finally started arriving once the roads were better plowed and salted.  My boss took a turn at shoveling, too, clearing a bit more grass and some sidewalk, before the landlord's crew came to finish the sidewalks.  I think she enjoys shoveling just like I do.  :-)  Of course, if I had to clear an entire driveway in order to get my car out of a garage, I suspect I'd be a lot less happy with it, especially if I was in a hurry.

 

The temperatures have plunged today, and last I heard they're predicting more snow tonight, so clearing it tomorrow may not be as much fun, but it's not supposed to be much more, so maybe I'll only have to brush my car off.  We'll see!

[Sketchbook Thursday January 17, 2019 (Matching Color Balance)]

It shows how good Dan is at showing expressions and mannerisms, that you can still clearly tell who is who.

[The Weather.]

Forecasts are for five to nine inches of snow between now and noon tomorrow.  Last time we had any significant snow, they took until almost 9:30am to plow my court enough for me to get out.  My first Saturday appointment is at 8am.  I'm really hoping they do better this time around.  They say they will, but my confidence is not high.

If the central street of our complex is plowed but my court isn't, I may call my boss and see if her four wheel drive can pick me up at the intersection.  There's also a part of me that just wants to stay in the office all night and not have to deal with it.  It's not that silly, we have a nice air matress stored here for emergencies and/or patients needing frequent overnight care (and a couple of times a very anxious owner paid a tech to sleep at the hospital while her darlings were boarding).

Since they weren't sure when the snow would start and whether it would be bad by the time I'm done for the night, I did bring a change of clothes, and I keep some food handy at work to make it easier to resist the yummy junk clients give us.  I gave my kitty an extra half-can on my lunch break, so she should be fine until Saturday mid-day if worse comes to worst.  I'm not worried about this storm, I'm more annoyed.

[This Day In History]

2 hours ago, Scotty said:

and loved soo much 

Except among veterinarians -- the woman was the public face of an ad campaign that drilled into peoples' heads that taking their dog to the vet is a huge hassle and should be avoided whenever possible.  The dogs mostly love getting to go in the car, saying hi to lots of nice people, getting petted (albeit in strange ways sometimes), and getting treats from the nice people.  Shots are barely worth registering for most dogs.  But no, taking your dog to see their vet is awful and you should avoid them!  Just buy your pet's medications online, supporting a massive corporation instead of your vet, and yet expect the vet's prices to stay ridiculously low compared to human medicine for everything else when a health problem (that's been brewing for months and might have been diagnosed sooner if you'd brought them in) becomes an emergency and suddenly you realize you do need your local veterinarian....

Sorry.  Bit of a sore spot.  She may be a very nice lady, but the very thought of her is forever poisoned by her being in those commercials.

[NP Wednesday January 16, 2019]

Sort of a twist on the trope of a guy being turned into a woman, and immediately checking out his new boobs.  Note that the trope says "In front of a mirror, if one is available."  I suspect that's the sort of ideas that made Sarah blush.

[Story Wednesday January 16, 2019]

Hmm, tricky situation for Grace if she doesn't want to go telling other peoples' secrets.  Maybe just tell him to talk to Sarah about it, but not say why, and let Sarah decide whether to tell Sam she's got a mark too.  As for Tedd, asking if she can tell a friend with a similar ability about Sam so they can meet, could backfire given how Sam was observant enough to suggest the name Tess to Tedd, and he would likely make the connection himself just from that.

If they do talk, what will Tedd tell Sam about how long they've been able to transform and how long they've had a magic mark?  It would be very easy to let slip that the two are not the same, opening up a whole new can of question-worms.

[What Are You Ingesting?]

Went to a meal with the Ethnic Dining group, to Korean BBQ.  It was fun, got to grill lots of meats at the table, tried some new things.  It was pretty busy, which is good for the restaurant but meant getting water glasses filked or more meat was sometimes a bit slow.  There were eight of us at the table and three grilling things along it, so lots of passing things back and forth.  Unfortunately about half the meat options were pork, which I don't like, and while we tried squid and baby octopuses, no one went for weird stuff like Large Intestine.  ;-)

[Story Friday January 11, 2019]

9 hours ago, Scotty said:

Yeah, if Sam was in a male body then, the chances of him being marked by Pandora prior to her reset are higher, we already know that Pandora liked Sarah enough to genuinely want to offer help in awakening in exchange for helping deal with the energy clog. If she saw that Sarah was getting involved with Sam and saw that Sam had anxiety of the fact that he's trans, she might have marked him to help that relationship along.

Although, by that time she knew Magic was in danger of resetting, mostly because she'd been marking too many people, so it doesn't seem likely she would casually give out another one.  Not saying she didn't make an exception, just that she'd have thought hard about the plusses and minuses.

But then, if Sam was in a male body on that date, why the wave?

[Things You Find Amusing]

Of course, they could have used liking roller coasters, or skydiving, or joining the military or police force, or becoming a firefighter, or any of so many other ways a reduction in fear and in avoidance of dangerous situations might manifest.  It was purely for titillation they chose being into BDSM.

[This Day In History]

9 hours ago, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

532 – Nika riots in Constantinople.  Fans of the Blue and Green Chariot Racing teams destroy half the city of Constantinople.  Hooligans in Britain seem so timid in comparison.

Another one I knew about from being a sci-fi fan, in this case an episode of The Tomorrow People (the real one, not that CW travesty).

Quote

1404 – The Act of Multipliers is passed by the English Parliament forbidding alchemists to use their knowledge to create precious metals (it was feared that if any alchemist should succeed it would bring ruin upon the state).  So that's why I can't find anyone who will change my lead to gold.  It isn't because it breaks the laws of nature.  It just breaks the laws.

The more recent equivalent being a supposed law that ordinary citizens are not allowed to communicate with extraterrestrials.  Not actually a real law, just a very loose misinterpretation of one.

Quote

1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, first cousin of both Queen Anne Boleyn and Queen Catherine Howard (second and fifth wives of King Henry VIII) is sentenced to death by said King. Or, as Mr VIII calls it, Thursday.  

Correct!.  (By the Gregorian calendar it would be Monday, but that wasn't introduced until 1582.)

Quote

2002 – Fox has free reign in Washington.  A wild fox wanders into the United States Supreme Court Building and evades capture for more than a day despite being spotted by a police officer and observed on video cameras.

A fw years ago in Arlington Heights, IL, a bat, which turned out to be rabid to boot, got into the the town hall, and wound up of all places in the crime lab.

[Story Friday January 11, 2019]

The open shirt definitely confirms for me that Sam is transformed into a physically male body now.  His expression and body language in the first and second panels he's in here confirm it for me.  It's smart of him to keep wearing the same shirt, just as an outer layer now -- someone with such a trademark look would draw a lot of attention if he suddenly stopped dressing that way, even if the pockets did originally serve to help mask the presence of unwanted body parts and are thus no longer needed.  

I expect lack of pockets in female clothing would be a big one of the many things he'd hate about having to present as female, seeing as how he's overcompensating so much!  ;-)

Wanna bet he's going to be ready to start snuggling and kissing on his next date with Sarah?  And good thing Grace is going to let him know Sarah knows about magic, so he won't hesitate to come out to her just for fear she wouldn't believe him!

[This Day In History]

9 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

This contains my favorite joke I've ever written for one of these. See if you can spot it.

1787 – Two moons of Uranus, Oberon and Titania, are discovered by William Herschel. When Uranus moons Titania and Oberon, its Bottom looks like an ass.

Is it this one?  'Cos that's definitely my favorite!

9 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

1994 – Helmut Poppendick dies. Yeah, yeah, get it out of your system.

I may have mentioned here before, for many years on the internet newsgroups I frequented, there was a gentleman by the name of Brian Woodcock, whose signature file at the end of his messages read, "Yes, splinterlips, that *is* my real name!"

[Things You Find Amusing]

A new study claims that people who own cats are more likely to be into bondage.

[Story Wednesday January 9, 2019]

19 hours ago, hkmaly said:

If Gordon already knows what antennae are, he would understand the need to keep it secret. If he doesn't, he would assume it's just weird hairstyle and is unlikely to even just comment about it. Same is true for Sam. The antennae aren't something so obviously alien people would recognize Grace as one without already knowing about Uryuom.

They are if they're moving around under their own power!

19 hours ago, hkmaly said:

That said, I like the idea of presenting as two people more ...

... yes, Grace might be only one who recognized him as the same Sam. Maybe he knows (or checks through window) who is present and have the clerks divided into "these knows me as man" and "these knows me as woman"? Hell, he may even actually be in records as single person, if the record just says "Sam" ... the gender is unlikely to be noted there.

Yeah, if he set up the account with, say, Gil, and had to show ID to do it, then the account itself may boil down to 1) a name on a clipboard listing who has which titles reserved, and 2) any more personally identifying info may be locked in a filing cabinet (if there are credit card numbers, they are legally required to be locked up), to be pulled out only if someone fails to come in for their comics.  George and Gordon may never have seen anything but "Sam Lastname" on a clipboard or box.  Then Sam just has to worry about whether the one person who set up the account is present.  Heck, maybe it's even Justin's uncle, or someone who doesn't work there anymore.  That would kinda be ideal for Sam.

[This Day In History]

On 1/6/2019 at 4:31 AM, Illjwamh said:

1412 – A girl named Jehenne (Jeanne/Joan) is born in the town of Domrémy. There is no place called Arc. Is everything a lie????

Yet another post to this thread that leads to fascinating info.  I knew she was from a village called Domrémy but I hadn't realized that they didn't even use apostrophes in surnames in her days.  Her father was a tax collector, and the only thing she asked of Charles VII in thanks for putting him on the throne was that her commune be exempt from taxes, because taxes are a burden on the people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Joan_of_Arc

[This Day In History]

On 1/2/2019 at 1:42 PM, Illjwamh said:

1920 - Isaac Asimov is born. To robots, probably.

I would have gone with "Isaac Asimov is born and immediately picks up a pen.  He will not stop writing for over 72 years."  Bu tthen, I've always appreciatee his mysteries and essays more than his robot stuff.  Black Widowers FT

And he was considered extremely conservative back then.  These days no Republicans would even talk to him.

On 1/7/2019 at 3:11 PM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1994 – US Ladies Figure Skating championship is won by Tonya Harding.  Enjoy it while you can, Ms Harding.  I'd say "break a leg" in anticipation of your performance in Lillehammer, but you already did.

To be fair, not only did she not do any breaking herself, it's generally agreed that she didn't know about the scheme until after the fact.  Her offense was not reporting it when she found out what they had done.

22 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

On January 9 in History:

1127 – Jurchen soldiers of the Jin dynasty sack the Song capital of Bianjing, abducting the emperor while they’re at it. “We are China now,” they say. What’s left of the Song flee south and set up a new government, stubbornly insisting that they are, in fact, still China. What a weird situation. Bet nothing like that will ever happen again.

So that's where River's name came from!  ;-)

22 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

 murder Emperor Xizong of Jin so he can take the throne.

Am I the only one who read this, and wondered how murdering someone would make him Emperor and what good it would do anyone to put a dead man on the throne?

[What Are You Watching?]

I've been watching a lot of clips of QI on YouTube.  Unfortunately, they seem to have taken down all of the actual episodes.  A few seasons are on Britbox, and a few are on Acorn. 

Hmm, I thought Britbox had the old seasons of Doctor Who, but they only list "Specials" in their page.  Wonder where they've gone now?

[Things That Are Just Annoying]

On 1/6/2019 at 11:55 AM, The Old Hack said:

On a mildly related note I am reminded of the town council of Gould, Arkansas which in 2011 banned all organisations and assemblies of three or more people that did not have the approval of the council. When the city attorney warned them that there might be a problem with this law, they attempted to fire him because they could certainly not see that there was anything at all wrong with their law.

Someone read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and decided that Dolores Umbridge would be a perfect role model.

[Sketchbook Tuesday January 8, 2019 (NP Colored 010419)]

Or Dan just said that for comedic effect....

[Story Wednesday January 9, 2019]

9 minutes ago, Scotty said:

I feel it'd be strange for Sam to be presenting female at the comic shop. Especially if staff and patrons would only know him as presenting male (Grace would be the exception cus she knows that Sam is trans). Unless he's got a double life thing going on where his female presenting self is seen as a separate person who also happens to be named Sam, in which case, Grace might be about to accidentally discover that secret about Sam as well.

Hmm, yes, I can see how a "Sam" in a dress and Alice band might not be associated with the "Sam" who has a little soul patch beard, who just happens to be the same height and hair color.  Still, it seems like a pretty big risk that someone there would make the connection!

[NP Monday January 7, 2019]

On 1/6/2019 at 11:42 PM, ijuin said:

Future inflation notwithstanding, six million bucks is enough to pay for living a middle class lifestyle for the rest of her life without making a penny of other income ever again. If she can get a three percent rate of return (above inflation), then she can live on just the dividends without ever touching the principal . . .

The first time I bought a CD after moving up here, it got about 7.5% interest.  A lot of retirement planning talks assumed similar returns.  These days, it seems rare to see anything advertised as guaranteed for more than 2.25%, maybe 2.5%.

That said, I'd happily take an income of 2% of six million!  Even if she only gets the $3,000,000, at 2% that would yield an income of $60,000 per year, enough to let her choose how to spend her time based on what she wants to do rather than need to keep herself, or even herself and a family, housed, clothed, fed, and educated!  (Assuming she doesn't blow it and get herself into an oppressive mortgage on a mansion or something....)

[Story Monday January 7, 2019]

Oh yeah, and either Grace isn't including herself, or Gordon must be superhuman to be the most innocent and friendly of all comic shop clerks.

[Story Wednesday January 9, 2019]

So, enough adrenaline and her antennae come out involuntarily?

Unless Gordon chooses this monent to open the door, wide enough for Sam to see the antennae, I'm not sure how this will affect the situation.  And if that happened, Grace would probably be too busy dealing with a very surprised and confused Gordon to be able to talk to Sam before he'd run off again.