#they were like this one's expired so we can't sell it to you

[dalishthunder]

Committed a social faux pas today and I hate it

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

Just a totally normal headline for a society that's "back to normal" after "beating a pandemic" :)

By Jennifer Yoon

Montreal pharmacist Aleck Brodeur just got a shipment of COVID-19 rapid tests. Ever since the temperature has been dropping, more people have wanted to buy them, he says.

"They go out so fast. We always have to order some every day, and we keep increasing the supply that we order, but they're still all going," he said.

He expects this shipment — 13 kits in total — to be gone by the end of the day. In Quebec, there were 3,882 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21.

Unlike last fall, Brodeur doesn't have free rapid tests to hand out. The federal government stopped providing free COVID rapid tests to provinces and territories in May.

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Health Canada said it is no longer procuring rapid tests en-masse. The agency also says there are no plans to replenish the federal inventory after it is depleted.

That means pharmacies have been purchasing the tests from suppliers and selling them, like any other over-the-counter merchandise. Pharmacists say the supply is sometimes thin.

"We kind of hunt them down and make sure they're Health Canada approved," said Kyro Maseh, a Toronto-area pharmacist.

Artron Laboratories Inc., which manufactures COVID test kits, said in an email it has increased test production in the past few months, and is expecting to ramp it up even more for the upcoming winter season.

Where can you get your hands on COVID tests? You might need to visit several pharmacies before you're able to find one that carries rapid tests — free or for sale.

While some pharmacies in Quebec and Ontario have run out of free tests, the situation is different elsewhere. Alberta public health says they're still handing out free tests from the federal stockpile at participating pharmacies until the supply runs out.

While Quebec pharmacies may not have any more free rapid tests, the province is handing out free rapid tests at certain clinics or service centres.

PCR testing is also available in some provinces for those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. The results just take a bit longer to come in: at least 24 hours.

If you have expired tests, experts say most work for a few months after the expiry date, but they also warn false negatives are a risk: if you test negative on an expired test, but you're still experiencing symptoms, it's possible you may still have COVID — even if the expired test didn't detect it.

"If it's positive, you're definitely positive. If it's negative with symptoms, that's when you need to worry about using expired tests," said Dr. Dawn Bowdish, a professor of immunology at McMaster University and the executive director at the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, in Hamilton.

Should we even be testing for COVID anymore? If you're otherwise healthy and young, chances are, whether you test positive for COVID or you have the common cold, you'll be given the same advice: don't go to work or school, stay at home.

But for those who are more vulnerable to severe illness, an early positive test can change the treatment options — and possibly, health outcomes.

"Older adults and the immunocompromised who are at high risk of hospitalization should get antiviral drugs within a day or no more than two of becoming ill," Bowdish said.

"If they don't know they have COVID, they can't get the drugs that might keep them out of hospital."

Latest numbers from select public health and hospital laboratories across Canada suggest COVID-19 levels are holding steady nation-wide, but Dr. Donald Vinh, an infectious disease specialist and medical microbiologist at the McGill University Health Centre, thinks the numbers don't reflect what's actually going on in the community.

"What we know is that this is an underestimate of what's going on," he said.

There's no doubt in his mind about whether widespread testing is still worthwhile. COVID, he says, can have serious impacts on vulnerable populations — and there are also treatments available.

"Instead of saying, well, we're four years out, do we still need tests for SARS-CoV-2? I would say we, in fact, should be having broad availability of tests for pathogens which have high impact in high-risk populations and for which we can give therapy," said Vinh.

In the U.S., the federal government has re-opened a program that allows any household to receive up to four free COVID test kits by mail. American public health authorities are urging the public to take a quick test before visiting with friends and family during the holiday season.

Bowdish, the immunologist, says she would like to see something similar in Canada.

"People do change their behaviours and decisions if they know they have an infection that might cause an older adult or someone who's vulnerable to get seriously ill."

[coimbrabertone]

Cautiously Optimistic - Liberty Media Buying MotoGP

So, Liberty Media, owners of Formula One, are officially trying to buy MotoGP. This has been rumored for the last few months, with Dorna Sports - the parent company of MotoGP and World Superbike - had spent the last few years making the kind of moves you'd make before a big sale. The launch of sprint races in MotoGP, appointing a new CCO in the form of Dan Rossomondo, and expanding the calendar with new races in new markets.

Nevertheless, there were always question marks over whether Liberty Media could own both MotoGP and Formula One, because precedent suggested they could not. As Simon Patterson reported for the Race, in 2006, CVC Capital Partners acquired Formula One and thus European regulators ordered them to sell off MotoGP. Thus, MotoGP was sold to another private equity firm, Bridgepoint. Bridgepoint would then acquire World Superbike in 2013, and evidently owning the two premier global motorcycle racing series didn't seem to bother any regulators at that point.

I can't help but combine that with a quote from Dan Rossomondo made at some point while being the Chief Commercial Officer of MotoGP. Rossomondo said, essentially, that MotoGP doesn't just compete with other racing series, it competes with going out for a walk, listening to music, and all the other things you could do on a Sunday instead of sitting down and watching a motorcycle race.

Was that more than just an innocuous quote? Maybe it's a hint of how Dorna and Liberty will make their case to various regulatory bodies to justify this merger.

Whether or not that's true, Liberty Media seems confident that they're going to pass regulatory approval. How exactly that'll happen remains to be seen - some have suggested that World Superbike will be sold off as a sort of sacrificial lamb to allow this to happen - but it now seems like MotoGP and F1 will very likely end up under the same ownership.

So...what does that mean for MotoGP?

Well, it means that the company that turned F1 into this trendy giant of a series is going to give some of that marketing love to MotoGP. That can only be a good thing - MotoGP is fantastic racing and it deserves more attention.

Will MotoGP see a move from historic venues to chase new markets? I would argue that it already has. Dorna has already been chasing emerging markets and a simple look at the calendar will show that - Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, etc, etc. Not only that, but that's arguably a necessary decision for MotoGP because, quite frankly, those are the countries that are buying motorcycles these days. 1000cc sport bikes? Not necessarily, but quite frankly, KTM doesn't even make a 1000cc sport bike, so MotoGP has become more of a showcase of the motorcycle industry rather than a marketing tool for a particular type of motorcycle.

Will this result in MotoGP chasing street circuits like F1 did? Well, Liberty Media has already said no, and as much as the word of giant corporations is worthless in 2024, simple safety concerns make it unfeasible. MotoGP needs a ton of space and big gravel traps to stop the bikes - and more importantly, the riders - in the kind of dramatic crashes that can happen in this sport.

What do I think will happen? Well, in the short term, not much, but come 2026, 2027 when circuit contracts start expiring, I suspect we'll lose a few existing venues - having four races in Spain presents an obvious opportunity for some trimming - and probably gain another race in the US (likely that Flatrock track in Tennessee) and if I had to guess, another one in East Asia, most likely China.

Maybe India will pave the way towards MotoGP reviving old, disused F1 tracks, and we could see the likes of South Korea and Istanbul Park added to the MotoGP calendar. If not MotoGP, then WSBK with a Turkish star in the form of Toprak Razgatlioglu really ought to consider it.

Anyway, the way I see it, the legitimate criticisms that F1 fans have with Liberty Media - being greedy, chasing new venues at the expense of historic ones, pushing the teams hard by constantly expanding the schedule - is all stuff that Dorna has already been doing. Even the complaints about the Drive to Survive drama, Dorna has tried two different DTS clones and neither one moved the needle. If you're going to be doing these things anyway, you might as well do them with the company that has at least been successful with it.

For now though, I have MotoGP coverage through Max and TruTV in the US, commercial free, and that's a dramatic improvement over how I had to watch the series last year. Dan Rossomondo's team has made MotoGP far more accessible and pleasant to watch already, and if that can continue under Liberty Media's ownership, then I hope this series that I've fallen in love with over the last year and a half can grow.

Thus, the overall verdict is...I'm cautiously optimistic.

[dollsonmain]

So do you all remember

me mentioning finding TONS of expired stuff all around the store? And how Manager had ordered way too many rolls and not enough buns?

I really haven't had the time to deal with it because I'm the only one on the register in the morning and the breads are in the cooler (I can't hear the door or customers from in there), but I did finally manage to get through EVERYTHING at least once (though I am aware that I've forgotten a shelf by the ice cream that has probably expired jelly...) and also finally got through the bread stash and yep.

All expired. It's kept refrigerated so they're willing to keep it 2 more weeks after expiration but some was moldy and some expired in May, so now there's like.

No bread.

Because she thought we had tons of bread and didn't order any.

We're out of buns because I used them all at the beginning of the week and she never orders enough. I've also gone through most of the buns that were on the shelf to sell.

I'm just....

I don't want to make sandwiches anymore. You could go to Walmart and get a whole pack of Land o Frost lunchmeat for the cost of one sandwich with 3 slices on it.

I also don't like that she reuses the tubs the "salads" come in so the expiration date is meaningless. That's such a risk... If a sandwich makes someone sick and an inspector sees the exp date on the tub is 5 months ago, that's a problem.

[slotumn]

Some additional thoughts on a post I made before, on how to make Deer and Leicester eviler™:

On top of profitting off of selling weapons and supplies during the war, Leicester can absolutely use that position to sabotage the other two factions even more. Like, in addition to "make them fight each other to death (and make money off of it)" As in, they can purposefully sell shittier quality weapons and supplies to the other two, while keeping all the better ones for themselves. Adrestia and Faerghus may be able to act finnicky at first because they can produce their own... but what happens as the war goes on for longer and they both keep bleeding money and people and production capabilities? Leicester can literally go "yeah we're gonna sell you shitty weapons and expired food and you're gonna buy it because there are no other options."

Even scummier if at first Leicester does do quality control if only to make sure their products are competitive with the domestically produced Adrestian and Faerghan products, then over the years the quality lowers while the prices get higher. The popular resentment for Leicester in other regions would be through the roof even (especially) if they win lmao

And speaking of resentment, following from the above it would be great if Byleth has to rein in and beat the Leicester nobles' ass to maintain the unity as much as they have to crush anyone trying to revolt under Adrestian/Faerghan banner. There's absolutely no way the greedy Leicester nobles who profiteered off war wouldn't try to divide up and exploit the rest of the continent as their colony once they win, and Byleth would have to fight for their life to stop that from happening, even if (or especially because) Leicester was their ally in the war.

I just generally like the idea of postwar rebuilding in Fódlan being even more difficult and a headache than just winning battles in the war, no matter who wins; everything's not magically better, people are bitter and hateful and that doesn't automatically go away, as a matter of fact the repercussions will probably hang around for the next few generations, and nobody is fully satisfied with anything, but they still have to do it because the other option is eternal kill-or-be-killed animal kingdom shit. Byleth, who grew up a mercenary in those exact conditions even before the war, would definitely be committed to rebuilding.

...Also all this really makes Claude sound like even more of an asshole for just taking off to Almyra right after the war ends huh (he's my fave)

But honestly, Almyra, a neighboring nation that's presumably stronger than the newly united Fódlan militarily and economically, not deciding to invade and take over right after is already a ridiculously nice scenario compared to what tends to happen in real life lol. And if Almyra gives Fódlan economic support and good trade terms to help with the rebuilding, without severe internal meddling in exchange even, Fódlan will have to be Almyra's staunch ally for the next few centuries at least! Plus aside from the direct threat by Almyra being gone, having a bigger stronger country as your ally is a good deterrence for places like Sreng or Brigid invading in a "hit 'em while they're down (so they can't attack us again)" way.

(However I'd fully support a non-recruited Petra attacking Fódlan post-VW to warn them they shouldn't try anything funny to Brigid again lmao. Also I think Petra should try to annex Albinea post-war just to have more shores to launch attacks/counterattacks from + be able to exert more economic pressure on Fódlan as needed since Dominic trades with Albinea. Morality of it aside, it could be a decent political strategy)

That aside, I don't actually see Fódlan-Almyra normalization going something like

Almyra: Sorry about invading and shit

Fódlan: I forgive you it's cool let's start over

or even

Fódlan: Sorry we were extremely uncommunicative and called you guys savages without trying to get to know you, we were prejudiced.

Almyra: Honestly we called you guys savages too and kept invading, we're sorry too. There now it's even, we can start over as friends now!

It probably goes more like

Fódlan: thank you sooooo much for the money and help big bwother almywa :333 we will never try to act like hot shit in front of you or call you bad names again :33333

Almyra: Haha no prob. You're gonna send us lots of troops and money if we ever get in a war too, right?

Fódlan: yes yes anything you say big bwo almywa :3333

Like regardless of how personally friendly and on equal terms the monarchs are, or whether Fódlan manages to get strong enough in the future that it doesn't need to do that towards Almyra anymore, this is probably the angle they'd have to go for when it comes to the politics of it lmao.

First one would probably be seen as humiliating to Almyra (why the fuck are they apologizing when they haven't lost/what makes Fódlan think they're in the high position to be "granting forgiveness"), second one would probably make Almyrans and Fódlanis mad (again, "why are we apologizing, we haven't done anything wrong!"), third one is... like yeah it's probably embarrassing for the Fódlanis but that's diplomacy and international politics when you're a weak country just getting up from the shambles of war.

Tl;dr once again Golden Deer and Leicester deserve to be eviller, postwar rebuilding should bust Byleth's balls (metaphorical or literal), and Petra should get to threaten and intimidate Fódlan juuuust a little.

[solarishashernoseinabook]

Could you expand on what you said in a post about libraries about the big 5 publishers screwing over libraries in terms of digital lending rights?? I’ve not heard of that at *all* and im generally pretty caught up on publisher news, so I think theres a pretty big library-shaped hole in my sources lol

All righty, a couple disclaimers here. One, this is from a Canadian library perspective, so idk how well it applies to the US. Two, I don't work in the collections department at my library, so I'm basing this off what I remember from class years ago

(also clarifying that I'll be referring to ebooks and audiobooks collectively as digital books just to make it easier)

But in short, the Big Five publishers only very reluctantly put up with libraries having physical books, and one of the reasons they do that is because only one person can have a physical book at a time. Digital books, though? Why, if a library has a copy of one of those, hundreds of people could read it at a time! That's profits they're losing! How terrible!

But, well, selling to libraries is still a sale, so the companies sell to them but restrict it as much as possible. One, libraries pay much more for digital books than your average consumer. I don't have the exact number, but it's significantly higher. Two, unlike a physical book, which a library can have rebound if it's popular but hard to find, and which could conceivably last years if it's hardcover or paperback binding, digital books have severe limits on them. Maybe the library can only buy one "copy" of a digital book - i.e., only one patron can use it at a time. That digital copy artificially expires after 20 loans or 2 years, whichever comes first. Got a waitlist of 50 people waiting to read the latest Alexander McCall Smith book? Too bad! 30 of them are gonna have to go without! Do you have a moderately popular book by Danielle Steel, which gets borrowed every couple of months? Sorry! You've had it for two years, so it's gone now! Better buy a new copy!

Now, this is the case on digital platforms like Libby/Overdrive. Each digital book acts the same as a physical book, except that most of them go away after a certain amount of time. Certain public domain books might be a one-time buy for libraries, but for the most part, every loan, every week that goes by is chipping away at a digital book's life. Certain digital platforms - Hoopla, for example - have what's called "simultaneous use" policies - maybe you only have one ebook copy of a book by Agatha Christie, but every library patron can read it at once. The trade-off for this is that my library has to pay a certain amount for every person currently reading or listening to a book on Hoopla. We have a daily budget that can't be exceeded. Every week we field calls from people who, one afternoon, wanted to open up Hoopla, but were told they couldn't take out any books - because too many of my library's 40 000 active patrons had also decided to enjoy a book that day. And not every publisher even allows simultaneous use licenses, or they don't allow it on all of their titles

A final reminder to this very long post: please do not boycott Libby or Hoopla over this, I beg of you. Your libraries are pouring a lot of money into them because they're being used. Instead, put pressure on the big five publishers to make their digital books accessible, and vote in your municipal elections to get libraries more funding so we have more budget to put into those items. An easy way to increase your library's funding is just to spend a bit of time a week in there. Hang out with your friend for a few hours, just walk in and look at the shelves, or sit there and use their free wifi to play games on your phone. Digital books are here to stay, and libraries are important for getting those books into people's hands

[bakedbakermom]

making a hard decision today

so before momlife, i was the owner of a small business making silicone mermaid tails. here's one of my favorites, modeled by the client who commissioned it.

it was fun, fulfilling, creative work that i mostly loved (outside of a few really hard clients).

then child came. these tails were labor-intensive, as you can imagine, and there were some processes that lasted 4+ hours with no way to take much of a break in between - not exactly a schedule conducive to momming an infant. plus some of the chemicals i use really should not be in any kind of contact with a baby, and no matter how carefully i ppe and wash up after i just didn't feel safe. daycare was more expensive than what i made selling tails, so husband and i decided that i would stay-at-home mom for a few years and put the tail business on hold.

we started kiddo in daycare right around the time she turned 3, because she needed the social development and i needed to be more than a mom. i started cleaning up my studio (spare room in the basement), making some new sculpts, prepared to reopen...

then covid. preschool shut down. no one has money for tails. fuck.

since then i have tried several times to get my business back up and running. each time there's been an illness or an injury that set things back. facebook and instagram, where i used to post religiously to try and catch clients, have devolved into a nightmare that i just do not have the energy to navigate, not to mention the skin-crawling ick factor of that horrid corporation using my and my clients' hard work to create ai to drive real humans out of business. the mermaid community has changed as well, with everyone trying to be the next big name, and i am lost in a sea (pun intended) of other micro-makers and can't get traction.

my studio has become a graveyard of half-finished moulds, accessories that never sold, expired supplies purchased for a comeback that never came back. it bums me out every time i go in there, and the prospect of starting again does things to my insides that i should probably listen to.

i need creativity in my life to stay sane, but i have learned in the intervening years that creating for money sucks the joy out of it.

i think... i think it's time to quit for real. every august i get a letter from the small business arm of the secretary of state to renew my llc and i'm sitting here staring at it and thinking, why. why should i pay $100 a year to renew a license for a business that hasn't made a single sale in 8 years. why should i go back to something that sucks up all my time and energy that gives me nothing back anymore. why should i have an entire room in my house that i can't go into or even think about too hard because it makes me weep to feel like a failure? (i know i'm not a failure, but no one said feelings were rational okay.)

i made beautiful things. i met wonderful people. i had fun. but i think it's time to let go.

[dungeonegg]

Kust wanted to give you all a quick little update about how things have been going. This is gonna be a bit long so I'll do the cut thing here.

A couple weeks ago, my mom asks me if we can afford car payments to go up because she wants to trade in the leased car for a new car. I tell her if it's really what she wants, we'll figure it out. So the dealership orders in a new car for her. Then three days ago, she shows me the back of her phone because she noticed an issue with it.

Not sure if the photo will post but if not, the glass over her camera on the back if somehow perfectly shattered over one of the lenses and a bit in a few other spots too. Major safety issue. She did end up getting glass feom it in her finger at one point. So on top of a new car, new phone needed. So off to the provider we go the next day to get a new phone. During that process, mom decides we're updating mine as well since neither of us have updated in like five years or so. Because it was late when we got there, they couldn't activate or transfer things same day so we get an appointment to come back the next day to do that.

So yesterday was the appointment. I let my coworkers know that hey, need to leave pretty much right when we close to go to this appointment as it's like a 30 minute drive to get there. Around 230 or so my one coworker comes back from lunch with a thing of canned air to clean his station which is right next to mine. He then decides to experiment with it by holding it upside down and spraying coins. Not a big deal. Next thing j know, he's frozen his pen.

Apparently the combined smell of chemically frozen ink and way too much canned air in a sort of small space was too much for me. So I start coughing. Trying to help someone cash their check and I keep having to stop to cough. But get that done and go to the other room to put away cash. Bear in mind, at this stage I've already told coworker he's never allowed canned air again and he's apologized several times. Can't stop coughing. Go to break room to sit for a moment and get something to drink, help with the cough. One of my other coworkers is there and just kinda staring at me like "dude, wtf" so I tell him what happened. He immediately gets worried and tells me to sit and do I want him to kick first coworker, because he will. Give mom a call to let her know what happened. During the call, start trying to clear my throat. By this point, I'm coughing, hacking, and gagging. Apparently I can give the exorcist a run for their money, according to my coworker and it sounds like I'm possessed by the devil. Nearly throw up. Mom tells me to stop outside so I can get some fresh air, which helped a bit so I go back inside to sort money and sell to vault.

Continue coughing. So I go make some tea and send possibly the most British texts (my mother is 1/2 British, 1/2 Irish) I have ever sent in my life: 'making tea. Coworker is never allowed canned air again'. Normally when I make tea, there's milk and sugar in it but since the only milk there is expired by three months, I threw out the milk and just added a TON of honey with the sugar. Not my favorite taste but not bad and it seriously helped so much. My poor coworker who'd brought the canned air kept apologizing. Later, I was telling my boss what happened only to wind up explaining that you're not supposed to shake canned air, which apparently she has done every time she uses it.

Anyway, get out of work, go to phone appointment, that takes about an hour, then off to dealership so we can get the new car. We were there for a couple hours to get paperwork and everything finished up. Luckily there wasn't too much because mom had been earlier and done a bunch of it but car wasn't ready then which is why we had to go back. Have been sporadically coughing the entire time.

Did manage to get a bit of progress on a little drabble thing for Dungeon Egg that I'm using as a way to get a better grasp of some of the characters. Honestly it deals with a bit of a spoiler for one of them so probably won't be releasing it for a while still but I will release it eventually.

I promise, I'm still working on the demo! Not entirely sure when I'll have it up hut hoping to do so within the next couple weeks or so. No promises other than you guys will know as soon as it's available!

[myfckingnameisnuwanda]

CH.2 Money Doesn’t Fall From the Trees

November 21, day 15.

Hey, mom.

I’m sorry to say we are no closer to finding out how to go back than in my first letter.

It’s been two weeks now, and Sam is getting out of his dissociative state. He now interacts more with Other Mia. I think he wants to make her his girlfriend after her and Sammy’s terrible break up. I know he doesn’t want to hear it, but Jake, Felix and I know it’s not going to work. He also avoids his Other Family like the plague.

Not that I fault him. I don’t think interacting with our Other Families is doing any good to the rest of us. Seeing them makes me miss you all even more. And Felix seems almost obsessed with Oscar. Jake is starting to avoid his Other Parents, too. I think he fears his Other Mother may put a restraining order on him.

I think I also should get away from my Other Family.

I’m trying to be objective here.

They are not my family.

They don’t owe me anything. And they have done plenty enough to help already. We are not their responsibility, and we can’t expect them to take care of all of us much longer.

To be honest, I may never have put myself in their shoes in the first place if it wasn’t because I found Other Nai Nai’s account book yesterday. They are losing a lot of money on us. Feeding us and clothing us. Not even helping them out in the restaurant will help, since they have the regular workers too.

We also can’t keep eating exclusively chinese food every day, I’m going to get sick. I’m grateful, but, also, I very much can't keep eating it anymore. I want mac and cheese so bad.

And that’s without mentioning dumpster food. The last donut Jake ate left him stuck in our bathroom for ours. Or at least I suspect it was the donut. It may have been the carbonara sauce (it was just the sauce, mom. A packet of 250mg of expired carbonara sauce) but Sam also ate that and he was fine. Though, Sam’s stomach could be an object of research for scientists.

What I'm trying to get at is; we should start looking for jobs.

I talked to the boys about this last night. They agreed with me after I explained my reasoning behind it.

Jake says he will look for a job at the convenience store, since he can probably get away with taking all the recently expired food to the cabin. He is out right now, talking with the manager. He should get it, after all, they always have that big job advertisement in the window besides the door.

Felix said he would look in the records store, or the library, but he seemed unconfident about getting the job, for some reason. Maybe he fears he won’t get a job because of his appearance?

I just got to the cabin after visiting Other Nai Nai with the news that we were looking for jobs, and she offered me one, as a waiter or a delivery guy. I rejected her offer, but asked her if she would accept Felix or Sam for the job. She looked at me like she knew exactly why I rejected her, and accepted.

But it can’t be on delivery, because we don’t have any form of transport or licence to use one, and Sam’s stolen skate isn’t something Other Nai Nai accepts to deliver food. Too unsafe, she said.

But, anyways, these days, when I’m not in town or with the boys, I walk down the stream of the river besides the cabin more often than not. And in the past week, I have been meeting this old man that spends his afternoons fishing. He talks about fishes, and rows, and bait, and I listen and nod.

It’s interesting, and I’ve never felt this close to nature. I’m sure you would be against it, but I’m going to ask the man for a job.

He sells bait and fishing rows, and rents boats out to other fishermen. He also owns a dock in the widest part of the river, where he keeps his rentable boats.

He doesn’t sell fish, though. He says that’s for him and his family.

He gave me a fish three days ago, but I have no idea what to do with a fish that’s not even descaled at the very least. I asked the guys if they knew how to prepare it, but it was futile. We had to let the fish go in the river.

I will ask him to teach me, when I ask him for a job tomorrow.

We will be okay, I believe.

I miss you so so much. I love you, mom.

Tired of chinese food,

Andy.

<- Ch.1-Ch.2 In Betweens

Ch.2-Ch.3 In Betweens ->

Summary

[rogue-driv3r]

It's been a while since my last rant about automotive industry, but here we go again.

As a premise, i must say that this will probably be more valid for EU than for the rest of the world. Also expect a LONG post. So.

Hybrids and EVs are surely more efficient and "clean" than the average ICE car. But, as a car enthusiast, i'm very aware that technology end efficiency are expensive, definitely not for everyone. Here where i live we get bonuses for changing old cars with brand new "eco-friendly" ones, but only if they are old enough. Bonuses that, anyway, even in best cases will cover less than a quarter of the price of a new vehicle.

Most importantly, and that's something i learned the hard way, no institution will give you a single cent for the running costs - and they're high running costs. And about (stupidly heavy) EVs, electricity now is so expensive that the cost-per-km is the same of regular gasoline, so no real advantage. I remember when the seller told us that the simplicity of the powertrain meant less service costs, it was quite the opposite. Moreover, we were forced to service the car at their shop, at their prices, because they were the only ones who knew how to work on those components. Oh, and it was the only way to keep the warranty valid on expensive parts, too.

I had a (second hand) hybrid, like my parents. But i went from precarious worker to student and i'm unable to find a proper job while i'm studying due to some issues with my mental health, so my income suddenly dropped to zero. Keeping the car is expensive and in three years, when the warranty expires, the value will decrease drastically (a new battery could cost until 8k euros, nobody would buy a car with that risk). So i planned ahead and sold the hybrid car to get a cheaper one with decent quality and safety, reasonable running costs, free from the blackmail of our official dealer and easily fixable by any mechanic.

The problem: the most reliable and most fuel-saving version of that model on the second-hand car market (and well, basically the only one i found nearby) was a Diesel one. And Diesels are EU's scapegoat for the increasing air pollution, so Countries are forced to make laws to stay within certain limits - that's not bad itself. The problem is that private cars, depending on the sources, are only between 10% and 20% of the total greenhouse gas emissions.

But it's easier to wage war against citizens than corporations who are truly responsible for that 80-90%. And i'm not talking about those wealthy citizens who already got their fancy Tesla, but those who literally can't afford a new car (for any reason). This is a class problem.

There are "old" Diesel cars which still require less fuel than modern, high-end Diesels that satisfy the new requirements for mass production. A 10 years old 1.4 Diesel will always require less fuel and pollute less than a 2-tonne mild-hybrid "environmentally friendly" 3.0 Diesel BMW or Audi. Oh wait, it gets better: ironically an Euro 5 Diesel could be stopped from traffic while a brand new 1500 hp quad-turbo W16 Bugatti Chiron can roam around in the city centre on the very same day. But hey, the Chiron is not an evil Diesel. Once again, this. Is. A. Class. Problem.

Forcing people to go hybrid/electric with restrictions is repression against low-income classes. There could be so much more that can be done if private transport really is the root of all evil. Like a bonus that covers 100% the price of a new car (oh btw, an Euro 5 Diesel is old enough to get stopped on certain conditions, but not old enough to receive a bonus). Or investing in bio/synthetic fuels so people can run their older cars with carbon neutral emissions - but that'd make the poor automakers angry as they couldn't sell their new hypertechnological cars. Or provide new catalysts for free to install on older cars - but also that would make automakers quite angry. Or governments could also consider doing something about intensive farming (y'know, that thing that sends methane into atmosphere which is 84 times worse for global warming than CO2), or better public transport, or heavy industry, or invest in nuclear so we can stop burning fossil fuels for energy (i know this is gonna cause a shitstorm lmao, i believe safely stocking radioactive material under layers of rocks in sterile zones is better than keeping on produce greenhouse gases), or anything that doesn't involve the private life of people already struggling with ever-increasing prices of goods.

"B-but there are exceptions to traffic restrictions" sure, but it's hard to satisfy all of the requirements. One of them is quite easy to get anyway: it's a certificate that you're on the route from home to work or viceversa - you can pollute if you produce. Using an old car for free-time? Nope. Getting groceries? Nope. Sounds dystopic as hell, innit?

Don't get me wrong, technology and research are good, hybrids and EVs are fascinating and surely relatively more efficient. But not affordable by everyone, nor a permanent solution for environmental problems: not only for batteries, but also for the energy required to charge them, and the fossil fuels still needed for hybrids. A lot of research is still needed but, while we wait, we should stop pointing the finger at who can't afford to buy and sustain a new car.

Now, i know what you're thinking: "but you could've got another non-Diesel model and save even more money" maybe you're right, but for me the choice of the car is very personal and important, there are many criteria i have, picking any cheap shitbox is not an option for me if i have a decent budget. Laws can change, safety and reliability don't. There are good cars out there which only problem is bad laws made against them. Cars that can perfectly run and could end up in a junkyard only because of these laws, that's the opposite of sustainability, that's forced consumerism. Plus, it's not only about me, but also and most importantly about the millions of people that get screwed everyday and have no fucking choice.

[valeriele3]

Everything I've compiled into my brain so far (Not properly arranged & I might have missed a lot)

All the other au's are connected and there is a space where you can see the different aus with little decorations/knick knacks that matches the world

CH au has a loop

CB's world is basically a self-aware au gone wrong

Noir flowers bloom from noir hearts of hundreds of faes and is a very potent poison to light faes

Purified noir flowers can grant you a wish and the wish doesn't expire a.k.a if you can't think of a wish at the moment you can use it in the future

Normal people/fae cannot enter the forest. The only exceptions are if you have a pure heart or part of both dark and light fae

If you enter a noir will crystalize and the forest will eat you alive and turn you into fertilizer for the flowers

MC and Wataru are very long longgg distanced cousins

MC only exists rn because of the wish of the old faes and it is said that the core fae is the solution to surviving the "catastrophe"

MC's parents didn't want their child to be used as a tool and want to save MC, MC is then put to sleep in a forest(The forest full of noir flowers) made to protect them until the time comes for MC to wake up. (Aira is the one who woke MC up)

When Aira woke MC up MDD Aira was in control/possessed CH Aira

Even though asleep, MC can somewhat interact with the world. MC is the invisible audience that leaves daises or letters for Wataru a.k.a Wataru's first fan is MC

When MC/the invisible audience suddenly disappeared Wataru decided to search for them and found Aira coming out of the forbidden forest with MC

It was here that Wataru decided to "adopt" MC and made MC his cousin

1st and 2nd core fae had a ability of time and space. MC the third core fae has both

Before Kohaku and MC even met, he had a dream of saving someone from falling. We see this happening when MC got sent to the human world and Kohaku catches MC

Wayyy before MC was sent to the human world to collect crystal hearts MC made a ton of candies/sweets for Aira which caused Aira to ask his online friends if they want it. There was so much in fact that his friends started thinking he was selling drugs from how often he asked

Aira then delivered most the candies to Kohaku since Kohaku likes/loves sweets. Over time Kohaku started falling for this mysterious friend(MC) his friend(Aira) had.

Since this is getting too long and all imma cut it off after a few more numbers

The oracles the old fae got is from a dream

In Distorted Party, we see two guys arrive in certain location, admiring an old city, an ancient place. The two guys are Aira and Kohaku and I'm guessing the old city is where the old fae used to live/stay

We see a line "We still have to enter some old fools dreamy-dream". Old fools = Old fae. And the enter some old fools dreamy dream..Could that mean that they'll enter the old faes dream quite literally? Or they could mean the "oracle" since the old faes got the oracle from a dream

If we were to go back near the start (I think chapter 6?) we'll see a static/glitched out post. There are 3 in total and the one talking is most likely Aira

Aira has different nicknames. Ai-Ai for normal Aira and Air-pyon for MDD Aira since MDD Aira would sometimes astral dream(?) into CH au

In Distorted Party Picture/banner there's an alt text. I'm guessing the "Self destruction Left nothing but pain Wish upon a flower Nothing is gain" Is referring to MC trying/wanting to self destruct to save everyone. "Left nothing but pain" might be referring to MC wanting to self destruct again orrr the result of CB's destruction. CB left nothing but pain in his wake. "Wish upon a flower" is referring to when MC made Aira a flower crown made out of purified noir flowers which allows you to make a wish. "nothing is gain" im not that sure about this one

"Shall we form this distorted party and change what is written" Does that mean that they want to rewrite fate? To change the future that has been set for them?

[nochiquinn]

Hey! I added this to the pinned post already, but the company we buy needles through, Pip, is doing gift cards now! These are what we were getting through Amazon before they stopped letting us ship to our address*, and both Kiddo and David say they prefer them over the Relion needles we usually get otherwise. (They also tend to have the correct gauge in stock, which the pharmacy doesn't always.) Pip also sells stuff like alcohol swabs and lancets, and it'd just be really handy to be able to have stuff delivered again instead of having to rely on being able to get to the pharmacy - not always a given since we're all some level of disabled or can't drive.

If this is something you'd like to do to help us out (and it'd be a big help), the gift cards are sold here. At checkout, for "contact email" use nquinngift AT gmail DOT com, and it'll send the gift card automatically. I already accidentally bought one trying to make sure I knew how it worked, so I can confirm it is basically instantaneous, and they don't expire! As always, thank you for any help you give, it all takes just a little bit of weight off our shoulders. 💙

(* it's just needles, it's all needles, I don't know why, I literally ordered a box of needles one day and when I looked the next day there was a "cannot ship to your address" in the info box. I'd had a regular delivery set up for months at that point. I've even called amazon CS and sat there while we went through every. single. brand. and made sure there wasn't a single one I could have delivered. there's no black mark on my account or a new shipping law in my state or anything, it just. broke. highly frustrating.)

[fuzziekins]

As a retail worker, i've seen people bring their non-service dogs into the store A LOT. some will have their dog sitting in the wagon (one dog, who used to come in a lot and i'd make conversation with his owner, nice guy and curious puppy who would always be quiet when i'd talk to them but every once in a while you could just hear him barking from the other side of the store. doggy may have known me and recognized me hence his quiet nature around me, but around other customers? he did not know them, therefore he bark.). some will have their dog in their bag or a carrier. i've seen a few people just outright walk their dog on a leash. i love dogs, have one of my own, but it takes a LOT not to get distracted by them and wanting to go over and say hi to the dog and pet them (although one customer who i helped shop once, after we were done and he was loading the final bag into his car he did say i could pet and talk to his service dog. i proceeded to scratch his head quickly and thank him for letting me shop with him and his owner. and ONLY because i was given permission. otherwise DO NOT DO THIS). Surprisingly, i'm not at work to have fun; i'm there to work. And as adorable as the doggies are, they don't help. I would MUCH rather pet and play with and talk to doggies instead of work.

That being said, i have not only seen dogs in the store. I've seen plenty of people come in with cats as well (which is just as distracting to me and just as difficult to attempt to ignore because adorable fluffy animal so yes, i would love to say hi to adorable fluffy animal and pet it if it will let me). There are only two differences between the cat and dog owners: 1, cats don't make a noise at the other customers, they'll typically be pretty quiet and don't necessarily react to other customers. and 2, 99% of the time they'll be in a carrier unlike the doggies chilling in the actual wagon or walking on their leashes. (the one recent time i've seen otherwise with a cat, a customer came in to buy like 3 things and had her cat in her jacket. literally, her jacket was zippered up and the kitty was sticking its head out from it.)

There was also one time a younger customer who was shopping with their parent, they had a backpack that was really some kinda cage/containment/holder with a couple of baby birds in it but that was one instance and the birds were surprisingly quiet.

I wish we could outright say to all these customers who bring their pets in that, unless they are service animals, they're not allowed in. especially because of all the food we sell. not to mention, the pets that are in the wagons? people put food in those wagons after. these wagons don't get cleaned. so if someone with say, an allergy to dog (or cat) hair used a wagon afterwards? they're in trouble. and so would the store, because it happened on our watch and we didn't do a damn thing about it. but we're not allowed to tell customers "no" (outside of say, "i'm sorry but you can't use this coupon because it expired" or "i'm sorry but we don't have the item you're looking for").

My point is, it's not just dog owners that bring their pets into areas that pets [excluding service pets] are not allowed. It's just that, 9 times out of 10, the dogs will be out in the open and not in a carrier as opposed to, say, cats, and will also verbally react to the other people in the store. Regardless of the type of pet, any animal should not be in a store unless it's a trained and certified service animal.

We gotta do something about the way dog owners behave. No other pet owner is just bringin the pet wherever the fuck they go all the time but for some reason with dog owners they think its fine if they bring their dog to the gym and taco bell and whatever. And you invite a dog owner to your house where youve got your own pets youve got your dog and your cats and whatever it is you have and this dog owner shows up at your door like "oh i brought my dog i hope thats okay hes so sweet youll love him" and it is always the most untrained poorly behaved agressive animal that has ever lived. And we all have to pretend like its acceptable behaviour well im sick of it

[dollsonmain]

Got up at 3:30 on a day off just to breathe.

Here comes Son. I need alone time. Trying not to cry.

Anyway. Long, long rambly about food storage and handling.

Still EXTREMELY frustrated by the food handling and storage situation at the gas station, like it takes up space in my head when I'm not at work, and trying to remember what made it so efficient at Wegman's. I've probably already been over this I just can't remember. I'm also just like CAN I say anything? Would that go over well or be annoying? I don't know.

They've owned the place since 2020 and have been doing things this way the whole time as far as I know, and also afaik haven't been tracking expiration dates well at all so likely have no idea how much food/money they're wasting or how much expired food they're feeding customers.

I can't tell if Manager has had the food handler's training and is certified. It could be that she is certified but doesn't really care and it's not a place that a health inspector is likely to wander into and catch them.

Granted Wegman's is a food selling place so would care more about food handling and storage than a gas station, and turns pretty big profits so has more to spend on food handling and storage.

Though proper storage would save money over time and likely increase sales because customers would be able to trust they're going to get something "good" every time. Consistency is important to building a good reputation.

-

Storage

The first thing is a place for everything, everything in it's place.

If we were out of cheddar, for example, there would be an empty shelf in the big walk-in cooler. You could see with a glance that we were out of cheddar or that we had 5 blocks left and it was time to order more.

In the gas station, right now, there are 3 boxes of chicken patties. One in the primary freezer, one in the ice cream freezer, and one in the cooler, thawed and moldy. They should all be in the same place. They should all be frozen.

I wouldn't know there were three if I hadn't happened to stumble upon them myself.

The second is clear containers and washable labels.

Cheddar would arrive in cardboard boxes with each 40lb block in it's own plastic bag and each bag had a printed label on it. Cardboard boxes were discarded and the bags stacked on the shelf. This worked because a block of cheddar was a rectangle.

For things that don't stack easily, like olives which arrived in little plastic kegs, when it was time to open a keg they would be dumped out into large, clear, plastic food storage bins and labeled with what it was and it's expiration date. Once that date hit, regardless of what container it was in, it was discarded.

These food storage bins all had lids designed for stacking and it was very efficient to store because you could just stack everything neatly, see the labels, and see what was inside, it's status, and how much there was. If it got moldy or was running low, you could see.

Some for hummus, it came in large bags and was dumped into steel bins to be put onto the olive bar. The detriment to this is that being spread out into a steel bar bin means more surface area, so in the case of the gas station, keeping the sandwich salads in their original, plastic tubs works just as well in the mini fridge as transferring them to bins would. Less surface area in the containers and the round tubs take up about the same amount of space as the rectangular, stacked bins would. However, getting things in and out would be easier with stacked, rectangular bins.

The places where plastic bins would help the most at the gas station are the freezers and the cooler, though usually we don't have any deli stuff in the cooler other than bread. Right now there's lots of meat in there, too.

Don't get me started on how that's being stored. tl:dr it's wrong.

The dirty shipping boxes are put into the freezer as is, then opened, a hole ripped in the bag inside, and we just stick our [gloved] hand into the open bags to get stuff out. It is not ideal. If the box is up on it's end I can't see the label without taking the box out, if the box is lifted out of the freezer the wrong way the product all falls out, and you can't see how much is left without pulling out the whole box and looking inside. Knowing when to reorder is difficult because everything has to be dumped out to see how much is left.

And, since the bags are just open in there, everything gets frostbitten.

The cooler stays at 35F which is actually a bit low for food storage but is ok. One of the fridges (has factory-made sandwiches, lunchables, and small snack cheeses) gets up to 45-48F now and then long enough to be able to feel the change if I stick my arm in, and that's not acceptable, but I can't do anything about it. That fridge's compressor rattles something awful, too. It'll break soon I think.

-

Expiration dates

We get tubs of sandwich salads pre-made and Manager doesn't seem to understand how expiration dates work.

When we make the sandwiches, she wants the ones made with refrigerated ingredients marked for disposal after 7 days (it should be 4), and with frozen ingredients marked for 9 days (it should also be 4 because those ingredients are thawed as they sit in the cooler) (as a matter of fact the tubs should also be discarded 4 days after they're opened).

That's regardless of the expiration date on the pre-made salads or ingredients. Which is wrong.

For example, we had egg and tuna salads that expired on Oct 3 and were still making sandwiches with them on Oct7 because she decided they're still ok because of when they arrived.

Arrival date has no effect on expiration date, it's manufacture date and the expiration date of any individual ingredients when it's manufactured that affect the expiration date.

Anyway, those sandwiches were still being marked for 7 days out.

We got in a new tub of chicken salad but it expires on the 16th. Every sandwich with that chicken salad, regardless of when it's made, should have a disposal date no later than the 16th, but we're still marking them for 7 days out from when they're assembled.

A new-new tub of chicken salad arrived Thursday that expires on the 17th. Anything made with that tub should have a disposal date no later than the 17th. I guarantee they'll be marked 7 days out regardless of when they're assembled.

-

And like, if I were officially put in charge of these things I would implement these changes and put in a request for food bins immediately but I'm not in charge.

I already solved one minor problem. When I first started she would tell me to make as many sandwiches as there was bread in the bag because she hates trying to keep the bread fresh in the cooler.

Buns are in big, long, weirdly shaped bags for restaurants I guess, and they're difficult to close once you've ripped a hole in the middle to get to the bread.

I open the bags on a corner and tie the bags shut when I'm done.

... That was it. I just tie the bags shut, and the bread keeps longer.

Like.....

I'm so frustrated. Just let me fix it......

[nathank77]

9/15/24

11:44 a.m

The cramping stopped, I've had a sandwich with each pill of my antibiotics. I feel like a fat ass.

For all I know it was brief food poisoning. All I know is I'd rather be a fatty for another 5 days than risk having such extremely painful cramping.. I can lose whatever I gain.

I've been getting a slight pulsating above my left ear today. I've also been having some popping in my ears but not a lot.

My tsh being normal is a good thing, it means I can celebrate the weight loss if the scale was correct that is... but I mean inevitably eating another sandwich a day for a week solid will raise the scale. I'd rather that than having that cramping. I feel bad for women who get extreme cramps for their period cause holy fuck it hurts. I will be off the antibiotic by Thursday and be able to go back to my regular diet.

I'm terrified of going to the eye Dr this week it's far away and idk what she's going to do. I'm worried she will want to poke my eyes......... also I'm prob going to have to do a standard eye exam. I'm wondering if my script went up. I can't afford it. Idk if they will do that but I think it's likely.

Idk what to think about these extract white mulberries as I play a game with less dialogue I believe they aren't as powerful.

Then i think about weed for example- a gram of weed has 30% thc in it. When you buy a vape it has let's say 3.5 grams thc extracted into it to make 80% thc in the vape. But the weed and extracts are regulated by the government... but extracts are a thing....

I'm back on the other brand feeling like its ineffective. Idk....

Then I think of synaptic pruning. And it takes years. It happens when children are growing but happens over life too. So Maybe one day my neurons will return to normal but I doubt it.

I took a little more last night to make sure my circadian rhythm is back to 10:30... I hope tonight I fall asleep easily bc otherwise we are smoking weed..... unfortunately... expired vape weed.... that I want nothing to do with.

I'm lonely. I'm playing silent hill and having a red bull day bc I deserve it but I'm sick of being alone and fighting so hard for this life.

I'm trying alternative ways to bypass hdcp but idk if its possible we will see. As I really want to play shattered memories and silent hill 1.

Idk I'm just feeling unfulfilled....

I did sleep well but I always do on more....I had strange dreams. Katie came back to me. She knew I was her soulmate. I kept thinking what if Elise shows up for me I don't think Katie is my soulmate...

In the dream I was taking care of Nala and keeki.

Beyond that 3 girls were in love with me and moved in, I forgot who they were. They stole all my silent hill games. I kept looking for them.

I dream a lot of my car being destroyed. That didn't happen in my dream. But the most valuable things I own are my car and those silent hill games.

When I die my sister will sell those games never having played them. Instead of cherishing them for what they are some of my most sentimental memories. If I was to die, I'd want them buried with me or given to my children and I'd want them passed down the line. In 200 years they'll be worth millions.... rather than the Hundreds they are worth now... and beyond that they are one of the only things that bring me true joy.

I want my car passed down too. But I have no one to give it to that won't sell it.

All I know is I'm sick of living in a virtual world. I want a real life.

[perpetual-fool]

Copyright isn't fixable, minor gripe.

Presumably, you're upset about preserving works, or maybe fanfiction/fan projects getting shut down. (Tangentially related: Japan does not have fair use, you can't fix that either.)

First, copyright. It comes from a time when copying was hard, the point of it is to restrict who can make copies, and it is a consequence of monetizing by selling those copies. It used to expire after a period of time, now it effectively doesn't. That's in part because lawmakers have been persuaded to extend it, and probably in part due to the rapid development of technology making certain mediums obsolete before the work becomes public domain.

Point one, copyright reform probably isn't gonna happen because money. Companies can make more money (and have more influence on law) by sitting on properties, if only by shutting down potential competition. And there's no money to be made by releasing properties or by instituting some kind of responsibility to preserve works.

Point two, the solution is not copyright. Fundamentally, the only way copying would be allowed is if the money is coming from somewhere else. Like an artist gets paid to make the work, and after it's published it's free. And you may not be able to enforce your copyright without an army of lawyers in the first place. So I think the actual solution is monetization via a commission or patron model, published as open source/open hardware/public domain/copyleft.

For instance, AM2R, what the fuck were you thinking? Of course Nintendo is going to shut you down. All you had to do was give things new names and a different coat of paint. We could have had a whole series of Shmetroid games with Séamus Orion and you would have been legally in the clear. probably.

Support free works or accept a future where your fridge has to be activated with an always-online subscription service.