The little things that piss you off

[Jon]

Gold Bond Friction Defense Aloe. It's friction defense, what could possibly make this company think I need something that moisturizes?

It looks like they phased out the old kind, so the only place you can get it (here) is from the Internet in 3–4 packs for $40. I understand that the old version had aloe vera oil in it, but this new formulation has "entire leaves". And it doesn't work.

God, I'm an old man.

[DiagnoseMeHarder]

I've got some bizarre shit going on: my lymph nodes are all swollen, and I lost all hearing in my right ear, and my face is swollen up, and weird ass pains in weird ass places (alongside normal places like neck, head, and such).

According to the ER, it's likely corollary to the fucking RA.

I see new primary doctor on friday.


Hey, I noticed that there wasn't an update to this - so I thought I'd ask- how are you now? Have things improved? I hope you're doing ok.

[Jinsai]

Harry Potter. It was supposed to end. It will never fucking end.

It's not imaginative, it's annoying. Let's give all our characters shitty annoying-sounding names like "Hufflepiff" and "Snortlebuff" and "Slitherin" and "Shuffleclip" or whatever, and then let's have all our main characters be white, but don't worry, they're be some token non-white characters in the background who will never speak or involve themselves in the story. They're just there to say "hey, Griffendorf Snufflepugglelugalus School is open minded"

But the whole thing sounds like an episode of Sesame Street / Scooby Doo, and if it ended there it'd be cool, but goddamn do I hate Harry Potter and all of the bullshit behind it. There's nothing endearing about naming your characters shit like "Dumbledore"
It's just annoying. And more than anything I am sick of adults who don't read books, don't really care about art, whatever, being like "OMG school Hifflepiff!"

Fuck Harry Potter. If I had kids, which I never will, I'd rather them never read a book in their lives than read some Harry Potter bullshit. I HATE this shit and I cannot believe it will not stop. Harry Potter is the Minecraft of literature. Should we be surprised the author is a hateful bigot?

[Swykk]

Harry Potter was always Great Value Lord Of The Rings to me even before Rowling revealed herself to be a twat.

[BRoswell]

Harry Potter. It was supposed to end. It will never fucking end.

I feel this way about most franchises at this point. There's no sense of finality anymore. Stories never have to end if there's money to be made.

[Khrz]

I feel this way about most franchises at this point. There's no sense of finality anymore. Stories never have to end if there's money to be made.

Yeah when I read Jinsai's post I thought "you misspelled "Star Wars, man"

[elevenism]

Hey, I noticed that there wasn't an update to this - so I thought I'd ask- how are you now? Have things improved? I hope you're doing ok.

Brother, unfortunately not.
Now I have a mass in my chest, too, and all the other shit is worse, and not better.
I've been referred to a breast cancer place,
and they haven't even read the scans from the soft tissue on my neck, yet.

Idk. I'm kind of at an "it's been cool" point. But, it's ok.

[ickyvicky]

ugh, I'm so sorry elevenism ! I hope they figure out what's wrong right away

[elevenism]

ugh, I'm so sorry @elevenism (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=2475) ! I hope they figure out what's wrong right away
THAT is what pisses me off: the "right away" bit.
A lot of it has to do with where I live. Like, I know it takes time to see a new specialist, ANYWHERE.

But, goddamn. ALL the soft tissue on the right side of my neck is HARD. I had to wait a week to get these scans...like "do I have lymphoma or not" scans.
And I GOT the motherfuckers, but the Dr ain't calling me to give me any idea of what in the actual fuck is going on.
They IMMEDIATELY told me about the necessity of the breast cancer workup, when I had the attempted MAMMOGRAMS, lol, and then the chest sonograms.
But they told me my primary would have to get back with me on the neck stuff, and the hearing loss, and the fact that I basically have like 10% more shit in my HEAD than usual. (I wish my head would just get bigger). :p

I had those tests done on monday, and no-one is calling. I've called THEM, but nobody calls back.

I'm doing this through the Dumas hospital system, aka the Dumas Morgue (that's seriously what people call this place around here).

I'm just DAMN glad I see my rheumatologist on monday, in the relative civilization of Amarillo.

[Jon]

"Alexa, play notifications"

"From Amazon Shopping, last month you purchased Spaeworforapalatte. How many stars would you rate it?"

Slow down, girl.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

I’m so glad Star Wars gets its own special day. Especially the day before my birthday. AND throughout my birthday, if you buy into the Revenge of the Fifth/Sixth shit.

It’s not like it gets talked about every waking moment of the rest of the year. Such a small, relatively unknown IP. It really needs the attention. Hopefully, one day, it can have 20 shows, and 15 movies, and 100 games that no one plays but that people keep buying, and a shitzillion toys, and a specially branded Sears refrigerator, and prints, and shoes, and shirts, and popcorn makers, and more prints, and MORE games no one will play, and new trilogies that won’t be made, and new trilogies that will “super duper totally be made for real this time,” and more books, and more products, and more products, and more products. Can’t wait for next Star Wars show to be announced. Oh boy.

I can’t think of one thing that I personally like that I wish had THAT much cultural saturation. If NIN put out a new album every year, I’d drop off fast. If Metal Gear had a new game every 6 months, I’d jump ship so fucking fast.

But no, product needs a special day. Gotta talk about it aaaaaall day. Everyone needs a Star Wars event to commemorate the thing every human being on earth already knows about. Star Wars Star Wars Star Wars. Can’t not talk about Star Wars.

Sorry. Just. Jesus Christ.

[Demogorgon]

But no, product needs a special day. Gotta talk about it aaaaaall day. Everyone needs a Star Wars event to commemorate the thing every human being on earth already knows about. Star Wars Star Wars Star Wars. Can’t not talk about Star Wars.

Sorry. Just. Jesus Christ.

I'm an older fan and the May 4th stuff just irritates the shit out of me. I try to completely ignore it every year.

[elevenism]

Idk WHO to blame for THIS shit, but i just heard Heroes by Bowie playing in a youtube ad.
I looked up, thinking it was, you know, about a new doc or something.
I was terribly mistaken.

TO MY HORROR, it was a fucking LOUIS VUITTON ad, featuring some youngish leading man Suit type walking away from a private jet, pulling a suitCASE behind him.
Idk if it was an ad for the suit or the plane or the suitcase or WHAT the fuck, but, apparently, this is the way to become a hero, just for one day.

So amidst a WHIRLWIND of trying to insulate my mind from increasingly terrifying personal health and financial shit, i saw this.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, this REALLY, honestly fucked my head up for a minute.

[marodi]

I had a disagreement with a sidewalk. The sidewalk won.

I broke my glasses (they were only 4 months old), got scrapes and cuts on my left temple that bled a freaking lot, I sprained both elbows and my right wrist, banged both knees really well. Went to the hospital: nothing broken, got the bleeding cuts and scrapes around my left eyes glued, will have a great black eye to show for a while.

And once again, brand new eye glasses.

Could have been a lot worst though; the way my glasses broke, I could have ended with some parts in my eye. That would have sucked.

[Jinsai]

Could have been a lot worst though; the way my glasses broke, I could have ended with some parts in my eye. That would have sucked.

Always remember the little blessings

[ickyvicky]

Ouch marodi ! Glad you're okay though

[Jinsai]

Pitchfork Media, what the fuck happened to you man? You used to be snarky and catty and all about "here's some indie music that sucks but you've never heard of it!" You used to be this edgy wannabe Lester Bangs thing, and honestly, you occasionally pointed out some cool music I hadn't heard. Yeah, you were a bunch of edgelord dorks who pretended to like Autechre, but at least that's who you were and you stuck to it.

Now, whenever I see Pitchfork on my social media, it's like "Taylor Swift has a new album with some bullshit person!" or Drake news. What the fuck. Did somebody buy them out?

[allegate]

I am signing up for so many medical accounts right now because apparently they all have the same records system? That's great, sure, but I have to create a new account at each new site even though they're connected. This is a little thing that's pissing me off, sure, but the part of it that really grinds my gears is that I can't just copy/paste my email address. Nope, they have disabled that on each of the signup pages so I have to type it out fully every time, and they all have the "type it again to verify" box.

slightly more than little is that one of them is a place I've been to several times since I moved here in 02 and they only have two visits online, from 18 and 20. wtf.

[Jinsai]

I don't really mess around with Twitter, it was always awful... but now when I check it out, ever since Elon Musk took over, my feed is all alt-right politicians and talking heads. I have had to block like 20 accounts already. Back in the day, it showed me stuff by people I actually followed.

[elevenism]

Pitchfork Media, what the fuck happened to you man? You used to be snarky and catty and all about "here's some indie music that sucks but you've never heard of it!" You used to be this edgy wannabe Lester Bangs thing, and honestly, you occasionally pointed out some cool music I hadn't heard. Yeah, you were a bunch of edgelord dorks who pretended to like Autechre, but at least that's who you were and you stuck to it.

Now, whenever I see Pitchfork on my social media, it's like "Taylor Swift has a new album with some bullshit person!" or Drake news. What the fuck. Did somebody buy them out?

Heyyyyyy...at least we have The Needle Drop. Anthony has turned me on to a LOT of shit over the past ten or twelve years, whether he liked it or not: Odd Future, clipping, old Chance the Rapper, Tyler, Earl Sweatshirt, 100 Gecs, the continued existence of True Widow (of Dallas), the continuing existence of Neon Indian (aka Ghosthustler, of Dallas), JPEGMAFIA, a fucking live interview with Squarepusher, Ghostemane, Ghost, a bunch of other more shit...
Also, don't forget what Pitchfork said about The Fragile.

Meanwhile, get you some...hmm...You're already aware of Venetian Snares, Nurse With Wound, Autechre. Baxter, maybe? Broadcast, perhaps?
And don't miss Fair to Midland, I Love Math, Subtle and all the associated projects, Old 97s, 1100 Springs, Midlake, Slobberbone, The Drams, Funland, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Rasputina, new Tricky & co, "Fuck, most of these bands have been around for decades and we're all 1/2 dead," etc.
Meanwhile, at least there's this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xjtOZTmWv1o

[Jinsai]

@elevenism (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=2475) it's just that the last twenty times Pitchfork has shown up on my Facebook feed it's been bullshit about Taylor Swift, or something like "Greenday were great." Let me check right now. Here's an article about Dave Grohl's song Everlong. The next is a Taysway article. The one after that is a Taysway article. Then they're on about Neutral Milk Hotel, who haven't done anything in like 25 years and are the most overrated band of all time. Then there's another Taylor Swift article. I'm not making this up. Then there's ANOTHER Taylor Swift article, in a row.

Seriously, check out the Pitchfork Facebook feed.

[elevenism]

@elevenism (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=2475) it's just that the last twenty times Pitchfork has shown up on my Facebook feed it's been bullshit about Taylor Swift, or something like "Greenday were great." Let me check right now. Here's an article about Dave Grohl's song Everlong. The next is a Taysway article. The one after that is a Taysway article. Then they're on about Neutral Milk Hotel, who haven't done anything in like 25 years and are the most overrated band of all time. Then there's another Taylor Swift article. I'm not making this up. Then there's ANOTHER Taylor Swift article, in a row.

Seriously, check out the Pitchfork Facebook feed.

I hear you. THIS is why I thought the fantano video was so strange. I THINK it was fake, but like, everything it said about fantano read like a criticism of the way pitchfork USED to be.
So I am confuse.
Inception level shit.

Meanwhile, DAVE FUCKING GROHL pisses me off. Why is Dave Grohl the arbiter of rock these days? He's THE FACE of "rock." Yeah, I likedd the first tape, and everlong, and a couple others, but that's it.
He was in Nirvana, for fuck's sake. Now. NIRVANA ROCKED.
Dave could have, too, but he opted out. Dave opted not to rock. He mostly writes bubblegum, middle of the road stuff.

Yet, when they couldn't have traditional R&R HOF, it was Dave Grohl.
Shit, there was some series about musicians and their mothers. It was hosted by...Dave Grohl. I watched ONE EPISODE, about Geddy Lee: I'm a Rush geek and Ged's mom is a fucking HOLOCAUST survivor.
The episode had more to do with Dave Grohl and HIS mom, than Ged...and there was ALREADY a fucking Dave Grohl episode.

He's inescapable, this Dave, and I don't know WHY.

[Jinsai]

I don't like his music, but he's a really nice guy and it's hard to dislike him on a personal level... and he's a talented musician and he was the drummer for Nirvana, so I guess I get it, even if I never want to hear his music ever again. But I'll take the Foo Fighters over Taysway any day.

EDIT: and, apparently Grohl doesn't know any of the words to March of the Pigs except "I wanna watch it go down"
https://www.nme.com/news/music/watch-foo-fighters-cover-nine-inch-nails-march-of-the-pigs-3449344?fbclid=IwAR1SGpx3II9A9w-BusTaTpYAe8mgslWY11rK7BMM9GTVWRcXj_G7iszyB1U

[fillow]

Fuck kidney stones.

[Erneuert]

Fuck kidney stones.

How bad are yours / what size are they / how many?

My worst experience was a few years back. Got put on that medication that opens up your urinal tract, etc, to help it pass through more easily, and given suppositories for pain (they didn’t work). The worst bout had me on the floor in pain at 1am, punching my leg in agony on the drive to the doctor. He gave me morphine and even that had no effect on the pain. The only relief I got at all was to lay in a really hot bath tub. That’s saying a lot.

I’ve had a few since then but nothing that bad since, touch wood.

[Jinsai]

if I ever get another kidney stone I'm going to a doc. Passing that thing naturally was hell.

[allegate]

Back in December my wife had a kidney stone block the little tube because it was 12mm. Didn't know that's what it was, just knew she was in excruciating pain but she has nerve damage from a surgery so she thought it was that. Friday morning she was alternating fevers/chills and we rushed to the ER - a 30 minute drive that only took 20 - and they took her back almost immediately due to the pain levels. She set an ER record with a temp of 104.8 as well. Anyway, they put her in a isolation room because they needed to rule out it wasn't something crazy that could take people out and finally they did an ultrasound. Oh look at that, the 10mm kidney stone is 12mm now and is nicely plugged into the exit. They prepped up pretty quickly to put a stent in.

Now, what I'm about to type is going to be spoiled so don't click if you don't want to read one of the most disgusting two-word pairings I've ever heard: puss-ey pee was drained from the kidney along with some other smaller stones now that they had an exit. They gave her some antibiotics for the infection and scheduled her for a follow-up surgery to blast the kidney stone when the infection had cleared up.

They tried to give her penicillin but she said she was allergic. They said "well actually it turns out that the agent penicillin was in was what people were reacting to back when you were a kid so we've changed the formula" and I told them that she broke out in hives when giving amoxicillin to our son and they said OK so she's allergic...we'll give her something else. As if the kidney stone wasn't doing enough work to kill her already! lol

But wait, the story doesn't end there.

The day of the surgery it goes fine. They give her some fentanyl and she got loopy almost immediately. Goes in, they blast it, she wakes up, we go home. All good. That night her Fitbit woke her up saying her heart rate was 122 bpm and she should probably do something about it. Off we go on the same 30/20 drive (though it was much easier at 3AM) and get into the ER. It takes a lot longer to be seen because they are confused due to her being there the day before and a lack of a doctor who specializes in that area so we have to wait. They finally get someone and they finally decide to put her into a hospital room for monitoring. I go home to sleep - they still weren't allowing visitors to stay - and come back later.

Turns out the doctor who did the surgery asked for a second opinion because the kidney stone looked "fuzzy" on the monitor and she was worried about another infection. The second opinion said "go ahead and blast it, it's fine" and so they did. It was not fine, it blasted the stone and its bacteria into the kidney proper and she had to stay in the hospital for another week or so because of the infection and having to pass all of the pieces before they would let her leave.

She's still alive thankfully but it was pretty close there both times. 103 is the "ok this person's sick" temp and 104 is where you start to worry about hyperpyrexia, which was what she had due to sepsis. Fun.

[Erneuert]

^ And that’s why the leading cause of death is medical malpractice. Or bad opinions.

[Jinsai]

I had no idea what was going on when I first felt the stone. We were setting up to play a live show and while carrying in my gear it felt like someone stabbed me in the back. Luckily the set list called for lots of screaming

[elevenism]

Yesterday would have been the 43rd birthday of one of the best friends I've ever had: RJ Brown. But I always called him Rod.
He was a beautiful, brilliant person, who'd had a heroin problem, but BEAT it.
Rod was studying Criminal Justice on a scholarship in Oklahoma. He left Dallas to get AWAY from the tar.
Alas, he relapsed on some oxy.

Here's how the press treated it...Police Find Large Drug Cache in Apartment of Dead Man." (https://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/news/local_news/nsu-police-find-large-drug-cache-in-apartment-of-dead/article_18ace052-015a-5d18-8076-a421007cc56d.html) Edit: Seriously. Somebody look at this and pretend it's about one of YOUR best friends, you'd met on first day of HS, and stuck with till the end).
because, omg, he had weed in his dorm room, and a couple Xanax bars, and was attempting to grow a couple psilocybin mushrooms.
No mention of his studies, or his devout church activities wherein he served as the de facto youth minister (at a time when i fucking ABHORRED christianity of any kind) or ANYTHING about him, aside from his name.
Even in the headline, he's just the "dead man."
Fuck you, you stupid fucking rednecks.

I still think of something I wanna say to Rod, or ask him, at LEAST once a week, but suddenly remember I can't. This has been going on for 15 years.
Love you, dead man.

[Jon]

At the ER for my wife. Liver enzymes have been elevated for over 2 months now... Do you have a specialist? Oh, you do? Let's rush you right in. 6am let's do this!

[Jon]

At the ER for my wife. Liver enzymes have been elevated for over 2 months now... Do you have a specialist? Oh, you do? Let's rush you right in. 6am let's do this!

Talking to myself... Surgery successful, enzymes 24 hours later are down more than 20x (from 600+ to 32 on one score).

All from a stone in the bile duct, 12 years after gallbladder removal.

[elevenism]

Talking to myself... Surgery successful, enzymes 24 hours later are down more than 20x (from 600+ to 32 on one score).

All from a stone in the bile duct, 12 years after gallbladder removal.

Jesus, man! Glad you're better
And see, both my wife and mother have SEVERE gi issues, and neither has a gallbladder, and both complain of pain where it WAS.

[eversonpoe]

Talking to myself... Surgery successful, enzymes 24 hours later are down more than 20x (from 600+ to 32 on one score).

All from a stone in the bile duct, 12 years after gallbladder removal.

i'm getting my gallbladder out on thursday...good to know to look out for this shit.

[Jinsai]

I guess there's no thread for things that make you sad, but someone I went to high school with just died of a heart attack. We weren't close friends or anything, but I didn't have anything against him. He actually reached out to me randomly and we "caught up," though the last time I talked to him I basically told him to piss off over an argument. And then suddenly, the guy's dead.

He'd just given birth to his son, who I think is just turning two. It's just depressing, and I realize this sort of thing is going to happen more and more frequently the longer I go along. People grow up and die. I just feel strangely shocked by this, and I also feel guilty for telling him to fuck off. It's not the first time that sort of thing has happened either. I don't know. I feel stunned.

[Swykk]

Had COVID from May 30-Jun 8th. I’ve been struggling with getting my energy levels back to usual. Got that lingering cough and my usual allergies too. On top of bullshit work politics which I’m kicking myself for; I’m soooo bad at this aspect; I’m honest to my detriment and I do not play “the game.”

It’s not been a good scene the last 2 weeks.

I typically get 9-10k steps daily and yesterday I went on the longest walk I’ve done since I came down with it, then spent the day with my girlfriend walking around antique shops and I crashed hard after. I was so determined to overcome this shit.

So I made the questionable (admittedly haven’t been of soundest mind during this time) choice to try one of those IV places to see if that would aid the recovery process. I don’t know if it’s made a difference yet. It’s only been like 4 hours. What I do know is the lady fucked up the first attempt and I’ve got this really rad painful bump behind it that my friend who used to be a phlebotomist says will likely become a hematoma.

Really cool and fun stuff happening. Very exciting times. I want to disappear.

[sweeterthan]

Had COVID from May 30-Jun 8th. I’ve been struggling with getting my energy levels back to usual. Got that lingering cough and my usual allergies too. On top of bullshit work politics which I’m kicking myself for; I’m soooo bad at this aspect; I’m honest to my detriment and I do not play “the game.”

It’s not been a good scene the last 2 weeks.

I typically get 9-10k steps daily and yesterday I went on the longest walk I’ve done since I came down with it, then spent the day with my girlfriend walking around antique shops and I crashed hard after. I was so determined to overcome this shit.

So I made the questionable (admittedly haven’t been of soundest mind during this time) choice to try one of those IV places to see if that would aid the recovery process. I don’t know if it’s made a difference yet. It’s only been like 4 hours. What I do know is the lady fucked up the first attempt and I’ve got this really rad painful bump behind it that my friend who used to be a phlebotomist says will likely become a hematoma.

Really cool and fun stuff happening. Very exciting times. I want to disappear.

sorry swykk! i get it. my own recovery from covid i got 14 days ago has been rough. i don’t know about those therapy places either. the only people i know who use them are mostly healthy alcohol drinkers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Swykk]

I thought the extra vitamins would help.

[Jon]

i'm getting my gallbladder out on thursday...good to know to look out for this shit.

If you end up getting stones in your duct down the line, it will feel exactly like gallbladder pain (except you don't have your gallbladder). It will also be very apparent on the three liver enzyme tests they run.

[allegate]

Read through this and did the usual feeling of "this shit sucks" but then saw that he added at the bottom that he ran the strip in 1999. ridiculous how terrible it is still.

https://assets.amuniversal.com/525f8650cc17013bf88f005056a9545d

[Jinsai]

went out to a club last night, industrial music. Some guy walked up to me like "give me a hug" and I was ok with that, accepted his hug, and then he reached down and very aggressively grabbed my ass and then reached around and groped me. I immediately made it clear I wasn't into it and he wouldn't let go and kept groping at me while I pushed him off, and then a couple minutes later he tried to do it again.

At the time, I felt like "well, that was a little strange and whatever" and went back to mingling and enjoying the show... the band was good...

But I woke up this morning feeling really weirdly violated.

[Khrz]

Well yeah, that's sexual assault... It took you some time to process it because as men, we're not really used to that kind of behavior, not on a regular basis anyway, so it takes a while before our brain goes "waiiiiiit a minute...."

[Jinsai]

Yeah... I mean, I've had a couple experiences in the past where a guy has come up to me and been pretty forward with the wrong idea, but it was like a gentle crotch touch kinda thing... and then I would just quickly say no, "I'm not gay" and they'd say "oh, that's too bad" and it wasn't that weird. This was weird. The guy literally grabbed my junk and squeezed hard and wouldn't let go and he was in my face while I was pushing him away.

[Khrz]

Yeah same, well especially when I was younger, guys being pretty forward in an "all or nothing" way, and that doesn't phase me, sorry dawg, wrong tree. And then there's the other guys, the ones we constantly hear about from our sisters, our girlfriends or friends, the guys who think "no" is a temporary fancy that they can overcome by leaving you no choice.

Sorry you had one of those encounters, man...

[sweeterthan]

i’m pretty sure my 19 year old cat is dying. he’s been falling down a bunch so i took him to the vet yesterday and they gave him pain meds and he’s just been a mess since. it’s so sad. i love him so much and i can’t help him.

[Jinsai]

sweeterthan I'm really sorry. Give him some hugs and try to forget for a moment

[ickyvicky]

oh no i'm so sorry sweeterthan

sorry to hear that Jinsai

[marodi]

sweeterthan and Jinsai

My heart is breaking for you both. I'm so sorry you're going through this.

[sweeterthan]

thanks everyone. we’re keeping him comfortable and watching for the signs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Deacon Blackfire]

I only know you both from your excellent contributions here but I am so sorry that you are dealing with such pain in your lives, from trauma and from grief & loss. Words just kind of fumble at these sort of issues, I know they don't really help. I just wish you weren't going through this.

[chuckrh]

i’m pretty sure my 19 year old cat is dying. he’s been falling down a bunch so i took him to the vet yesterday and they gave him pain meds and he’s just been a mess since. it’s so sad. i love him so much and i can’t help him.
Sorry for your loss

[Zimbo]

Fuck rent.

[allegate]

YouTube is throwing so many right wing videos at me over the past couple of days and I've not done anything more than watch the usual videos from people I'm already subscribed to. Wish you could report them without watching them.


i’m pretty sure my 19 year old cat is dying. he’s been falling down a bunch so i took him to the vet yesterday and they gave him pain meds and he’s just been a mess since. it’s so sad. i love him so much and i can’t help him.
I'm so sorry about this, watching your best friend not be their best is rough.

This may sound weird but there's a comic that I read daily that helped when my cat passed. It's about cats that the person who draws (actually paints in watercolor, to be fair) has owned over the years. Some of them have passed but she keeps their memory alive as characters in the comic. It's called Breaking Cat News (https://www.gocomics.com/breaking-cat-news) and there are a couple collections available as well.

[Toadflax]

YouTube is throwing so many right wing videos at me over the past couple of days and I've not done anything more than watch the usual videos from people I'm already subscribed to. Wish you could report them without watching them.

You can ask YT to stop recommending videos from that channel, which might also tell the algorithm you're not interested in seeing similar content.

[allegate]

everything I read about the algorerhythm is that is it operates on the "any interaction is an interaction" mindset so even that is it saying "well sure but eventually you're going to want to see this!"

[allegate]

I cannot install ad blockers on my computer at work, hence the following complaint:

The Temu ads are amazingly NSFW sometimes. I'm just trying to find information about how to make PowerAutomate and PowerApps work and the advertisements on the pages are so god damn creepy. I don't need to see an ad for what looks like a cock ring next to a tied-up anime fox girl ffs.

[Demogorgon]

Fireworks. I know, i know, it's the 4th, and i don't have much choice other than to tolerate them. But i hate 'em. Flat out hate them.

[chuckrh]

giant steel needles & bone saws

[otnavuskire]

This is more of a massive thing that's pissing me off. Vermont is FUCKED right now. We had so much rain the last couple days that there is horrible flooding all over the place. Thankfully I'm fine where I am, but some of the neighboring towns are completely underwater. Many of my friends and coworkers either got evacuated from their homes or are stuck in them. My work was closed yesterday and today, and they called off the rest of the week as well.

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

I know motorcyclists want us all to be more careful watching out for them whenever there’s a tragic car accident, but…if more of them would also start wearing helmets and using turn signals and stop driving like they’re in some kind of action movie and trying to impress people, the rest of us on the road would really, REALLY appreciate it.

Out there making the rest of us nervous all the time. Chill. We BOTH gotta be attentive and careful. You are not exempt from road rules just because you want to be cool instead of being safe. You gotta do your part, too.

[Jinsai]

I know motorcyclists want us all to be more careful watching out for them whenever there’s a tragic car accident, but…if more of them would also start wearing helmets and using turn signals and stop driving like they’re in some kind of action movie and trying to impress people, the rest of us on the road would really, REALLY appreciate it.

Out there making the rest of us nervous all the time. Chill. We BOTH gotta be attentive and careful. You are not exempt from road rules just because you want to be cool instead of being safe. You gotta do your part, too.

Also, those "loud pipes save lives" people? Someone gunned their "loud pipes" next to me once and startled me so much I almost swerved into him.

[ickyvicky]

Twitter has officially changed to X on my phone now :p

[sweeterthan]

Twitter has officially changed to X on my phone now :p

the fucking worst

[Jinsai]

the fucking worst

Looks like a porn app...

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Oh man! She’s re-recording an album!!!……again…!!!

Every tangentially music-related publication on the planet better mention it just in case no one else does, gotta get those clicks…!!!

[MrLobster]

When you buy something and you think it's like the last thing you bought because it has the same model number as the previous one you bought... and it's lesser... and doesn't fulfill your needs.

And then you have to spend a lot more money to get what you wanted in the first place...

[Swykk]

My thyroid is all out of sync again so that’s been a frustrating rollercoaster.

Waiting to hear from my doctor.

[chuckrh]

My thyroid is all out of sync again so that’s been a frustrating rollercoaster.

Waiting to hear from my doctor.
Feel better soon!

[otnavuskire]

Roommate's dog decided it would be a good idea to fight a skunk at 5 in the morning today (so like, 15 minutes ago).

[elevenism]

Ok, so, seriously, all the soft tissue on the right side of my neck is hard as a rock, still: I mean from my ear, down to the back of my neck. I feel like I've mentioned this before.

So, THEN, the other day, I woke up with some sort of like, biological material all in my hair and beard (I've grown a ridiculous beard), that made it to where all that shit was stuck to my shirt.

So they said it was CANCER, and then NOT cancer, and then maybe it IS, and then I saw an ENT who couldn't find anything wrong, and FUCK ME.

Often, I can HEAR and FEEL like...fluid, going through my neck. It really sucks.

ALSO
Your mother.
Not anyone's mother in PARTICULAR, but SPECIFICALLY, YOUR mother, if you're still reading this. If she's sick or no longer with us, I apologize.

[elevenism]

Does any of the above sound like ANYTHING that ANY of you folks have ever heard of?
Like, i'm ready to slice my fucking head and neck in half, and see if i live.
I'm just curious. I've been to MD after MD and specialist after specialist.
I've hit a couple of oncology departments. I've had fucking CTs and PET scans and sonograms.
I've been diagnosed with Lymphadenoma (which was real), and Lymphoma (a deadly blood cancer which was ALLEDGEDLY a false diagnosis), and a Bunch of Other More Shit.

But, nobody can fix it. They feed me this medicine and that one. But, no matter what, it HUUUUUUUUUURTS.
50% of my head and neck is rife with horrific agony, 90% of the time.

ALSO, my Rheumatologist QUIT. chuckrh , you're likely the only cat who MIGHT understand.
Could it be that the Bullshit has gotten into my cervical spine?

[chuckrh]

Does any of the above sound like ANYTHING that ANY of you folks have ever heard of?
Like, i'm ready to slice my fucking head and neck in half, and see if i live.
I'm just curious. I've been to MD after MD and specialist after specialist.
I've hit a couple of oncology departments. I've had fucking CTs and PET scans and sonograms.
I've been diagnosed with Lymphadenoma (which was real), and Lymphoma (a deadly blood cancer which was ALLEDGEDLY a false diagnosis), and a Bunch of Other More Shit.

But, nobody can fix it. They feed me this medicine and that one. But, no matter what, it HUUUUUUUUUURTS.
50% of my head and neck is rife with horrific agony, 90% of the time.

ALSO, my Rheumatologist QUIT. @chuckrh (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=6224) , you're likely the only cat who MIGHT understand.
Could it be that the Bullshit has gotten into my cervical spine?
It's pretty rare with RA but the answer is yes. I'm currently fighting with insurance about getting a spinal implant. The trouble for me started in my lumbar spine but now has spread to my whole spine. I'm just this side of crippled. I really need a total spinal fusion but the surgeon thinks it would kill me & that surgery has a poor track record. My doctor is appealing the insurance company decision.

[elevenism]

Ok. I'm finally going to tell you guys the score, and I can only really be mad at myself.
On April 22, I woke up at 7pm. I got in an argument with my wife and decided to borrow my mom's car to sneak a beer. I didn't want anyone to KNOW I was drinking a beer, so I drank it in the parking lot of the store.
NOW. This is nothing to brag about, but I can GODDAMN sure drink ONE 24oz IPA and drive one mile. I have epilepsy, and I'd been neglecting to take my meds, though, and I had a fucking seizure at PRECISELY the worst possible time.
In this town, they don't pull over the locals. But, I was driving erratically, so they kind of HAD to pull me over. For full context: seizures erase my memory. I don't even remember BUYING the can of beer. I just remember coming to (from the seizure, not the beer), in jail.
I was so embarrassed that I wasn't even going to ASK anyone to bond me out, but then, they wouldn't give me my fucking Xanax or Suboxone.
So I've been out on bond this WHOLE time. Because I caught a DWI in 2000, before I was old enough to DRINK, it's #2 and the penalty is harsh, and I'm facing up to 1.5 YEARS in the tiny, TINY jail, here: I'm talking 10 single cells, just in a row: 5 for men and five for women, just straight up IN the police station. YES, I had a seizure, BUT, over .08 is over .08.
The scariest part is, that I've been on 3-4 mg of Xanax a day for like 15 years, and 24mg of suboxone for over four years. You can easily DIE from abrupt Xanax cessation, and the suboxone withdrawal is nastier than ACTUAL opiate withdrawal.
Luckily, I (and my lawyer) have letters from three doctors attesting to this fact.
Almost 5 months later and i still haven't heard anything. I refused to blow, and refused the blood test for as long as I could, so MAYBE my BAC had gotten low enough. And I've also got good friends, here, in high (for a small town) places, and my family name carries some weight, so MAYBE they won't throw the book at me. Shit, I wouldn't be so scared if this were Dallas (aside from the med issue) because it's 3 days per one day, due to overcrowding. Here, idk if they have good time or what-i mean, this is JAIL. Town of 2k: they'll leave the light on for you.

I feel like I'm in a confession booth, here. I'm deeply sorry if anyone reading this has lost anyone, or been injured by someone drinking and driving. It was honestly one can, but, still. I know it's wrong.

So between trying to compartmentalize THAT (i have a wife, and disabled mother, and now a teenage son to look out for, plus I don't wanna die from xanax withdrawal), along with "you have cancer/you don't/have cancer/wait you MIGHT/we don't know WHAT'S wrong", yeah...I feel like I've had my fucking head in a guillotine for months, waiting for the blade to drop, and i'm just trying not to lose my mind, here.

[MrLobster]

ooof

that's... that's a lot. Hoping for a decent outcome.

[ickyvicky]

Wow, that's a lot. Hoping things work out!

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Hope you're ok, buddy!

[allegate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXL24m9tfA0

not the video but the message; I'm glad they have comments turned off.

[Jinsai]

websites that try to get you to disable your ad blocker. It's turned on for a reason. Go fuck yourself.

[poinoup]

The condescending "How to disable" link on their notice.

[allegate]

Bought tickets for a Taylor Tomlinson show back in May when they went on sale.


Price per ticket $157.50
Quantity x 2
Subtotal $315.00
tax $0.00
Total fees + $92.45
Total $407.45
Whatever, my wife really wanted to see her live. I go to print the tickets out for the show this coming Friday:

FULL PRICE
Price $79.75
Fee $0.00
Service Charge $14.25
$188 is significantly less than the $407 I paid. Like, $188 is 46% of 407.45. I used stubhub and I didn't use their resale thing, I bought them straight.

Fuck stubhub I guess.

[stankeybearlover]

Aren't employers who try to demand you work from home when you're in bed with a fever great?

[allegate]

ha, someone at work called in with Covid and I jokingly told my wife, "you're already working from home, you should still work." Sucks that my joke is your reality.

Update on the stubhub thing: Went to the show and gritted my teeth because they were at least close seats so we should have a good view. It was good, but the people behind us were four/five basic-ass bitches who were doing the whole Valley Girl "oh my god!" and "hastag winning!" and "OMG that's such a cute photo of you, can I post it?" before the opener came out. Sure, OK. One was a loud talker but I was consoled by the fact that she couldn't talk during the show. Well she was also a loud laugher. Like my wife and I had to plug our ears it was so loud. After he left the stage we basically ran to the box office asking for a handicap seat, anything, and they said, "the show's sold out, I don't know what to tell you" and we pointed to her seat graphic in front of her and said "this entire section is empty, can we sit there?" and she said no because they were sold tickets.

We sat there anyway, three seats away from the very back of the auditorium, because my $400 seats were pieces of crap. At least it was a good show? We had a great date night other than those women.

[ickyvicky]

allegate Oh man, I hate people who talk so loud during shows! My husband and I almost got into a fist fight with another couple (who were drunk) that wouldn't shut up during AN ACOUSTIC SET - it's so ridiculous!

[Jinsai]

@allegate (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=1739) Oh man, I hate people who talk so loud during shows! My husband and I almost got into a fist fight with another couple (who were drunk) that wouldn't shut up during AN ACOUSTIC SET - it's so ridiculous!

What I really hate is when people loudly yammer away while the opening band is playing. Believe it or not, some of us in the audience actually want to see their show.

[Timinator]

I hate people that disappear for years with no reason.

[fillow]

right now, youtube with its adblock crackdown. do they honestly believe they can win this?

[elevenism]

My best irl friend is dead.

We'd been super close since 1994 or so. He was a gangster, (GD/Folks,) and an underground rapper, turned spiritual seeker, Kabbalist, and Merkabah mystic, and recently monetized youtuber.

We introduced each other as "my cousin" to everyone. I LOVED this motherfucker. We hugged. We said "I love you." I can't believe this is real.

This is as close to my actual family as you can get: he was a closer, more consistent friend than any of my blood cousins or aunts or uncles. He was my brother, pretty much. All of my fucking close friends are DEad,. save one or two, but I don't TRUST the living ones. I'm so tired of funerals. It's like goddamn....final destination at this point.

Think of that sound before TDS. (the song). That's how I feel.

Here's one of his YouTube vids.

https://youtu.be/u0nRQLcVFDA?si=IA02QKTS83bPisYB

[chuckrh]

My best irl friend is dead.

We'd been super close since 1994 or so. He was a gangster, (GD/Folks,) and an underground rapper, turned spiritual seeker, Kabbalist, and Merkabah mystic, and recently monetized youtuber.

We introduced each other as "my cousin" to everyone. I LOVED this motherfucker. We hugged. We said "I love you." I can't believe this is real.

This is as close to my actual family as you can get: he was a closer, more consistent friend than any of my blood cousins or aunts or uncles. He was my brother, pretty much. All of my fucking close friends are DEad,. save one or two, but I don't TRUST the living ones. I'm so tired of funerals. It's like goddamn....final destination at this point.

Think of that sound before TDS. (the song). That's how I feel.

Here's one of his YouTube vids.

https://youtu.be/u0nRQLcVFDA?si=IA02QKTS83bPisYB
Sorry for your loss.

[ickyvicky]

elevenism so sorry for your loss, my friend

[henryeatscereal]

elevenism sorry to hear that

[elevenism]

@henryeatscereal (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=1572) @ickyvicky (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=3971) @chuckrh (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=6224) thank y'all.

My brother messaged me this morning. He said "Tyler, you're saying Justin was ALMOST family. But that's not true. We actually lost our little brother."

And it's like, yeah. SO many people are gone.

But this one is just too much. It's...yeah. I think my brother is right.

HE'S so fucked up from it, he's now saying "I don't HAVE any more friends, and I'm not MAKING anymore, because they just die."

I know everybody dies. @Erneuert (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=7060) , @Wolfkiller (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=675) and co, I've been listening to Everyone I Love is Dead and Everything Dies quite a bit. I'm fucking TIRED of playing those songs in someone's honor, though.

I KNOW everyone dies, but NOT at 25 and 35 and 40. My people really, REALLY are, pretty much ALL gone, now.
This was number 24 on my list (I keep an actual list) of people i've loved/called close friends, who died young.
And I guess it's KIND of my fault. I mean, shit...I was addicted to fentanyl for YEARS, WAY before it was on the news and whatnot....it started around '03 and ended around, well...2019? How's THAT for a confession?
I guess it's the company I've kept...you know...people attuned to my own lunacy, of drugs and shoplifting and playing rock music and doing whatever was crazy.
There's like ONE normal car crash, and ONE cancer, but ALL the rest are overdoses, suicides, or crazy shit like street racing in convertible.
We all had some kind of deep PAIN, though, in retrospect: this one had a secret sexuality confusion, that one was an orphan, the other was abused...that sort of thing.

At ANY rate, As a great man once said, "I'd give anything to wake up from this motherfucking dream."-Rhett Miller, OLD 97S, Nashville.

In FACT, while I'm at it...y'all check this one out...it MIGHT just turn you on to my other favorite band. I don't even know how to begin to explain them, but I've seen them around 100 times, and they were the band in the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special. Oh, and also, they fucking kick ass.


Anyway...here's the thing



https://youtu.be/QSrPNh7isXE?si=1VrudmMrh83Egrxk

But, yeah. I quit, temporarily. I don't know what day it is.
I thought about cutting my hair off as a sign of mourning, but I've got a better idea: it's gonna be a lean ass Christmas for us (just like a LOT of us), so I know what I'm getting is a little money for a couple shirts and pants.
I'm scheming on trying to get all-black costumes, and perhaps dying my hair black, and only wearing all black everything for a couple months.

[otnavuskire]

The heat and hot water (they're on the same system) in my house in northern Vermont stopped working a week ago. I just rent a room in the house so the owners are the ones taking care of it. Repair company came on Monday but they need some part that no one can seem to find. Feels like there's no end in sight to this situation. Temps are supposed to get down into the teens on Monday night. I'm currently staying with family in Massachusetts through Thanksgiving so I at least have heat and hot water here, but I'll be returning home on Friday. This is really pissing me off.

[chuckrh]

getting medicine practiced on me. tomorrow they're going to put a camera down my throat to see what's going on with my stomach. they think it's bleeding. once i got in touch with the gastroentrologist & told him what's going on things have been moving scary fast. it can take weeks to get in to see this guy & i'm getting in in 2 work days. sigh. getting old isn't for the meek.

[ickyvicky]

chuckrh Good luck

[chuckrh]

@chuckrh (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=6224) Good luck
Thank you

[chuckrh]

Update: so, they found some growths in my stomach that weren't there a few years ago when I had this test for a different matter. They took biopsies & now I have to wait for the results. With the holiday I probably won't have them until early next week. I may need some more tests too. At least I'm not a hypochondriac. The growths caused the bleeding. Not getting ahead of myself but this could be bad (don't want to voice it but the word starts with a C). All prayers & healing vibes appreciated. Hoping its something minor of course. Chilling out today as the effects of the anesthesia haven't quite worn off.

[ickyvicky]

chuckrh oh dear :( i hope everything works out for the best

[elevenism]

You got this @chuckrh (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=6224) . Hit me up. They told me I had lymphoma, and then, allegedly I don't?
Holla at your homeboy.

Ok, so, as for an actually small thing. "To Which.'

I hear it fucking CONSTANTLY: " Susan went to the zoo, to which she saw an elephant. She enjoyed the elephant, to which she decided she LIKED elephants, to which she bought an elephant plushie, to which she put on her night stand.'

I swear to god, it's honestly THAT fucking bad, especially on YouTube, to which there are many damn fine aspiring documentarians, to which MOST of them misuse the phrase 'to which,' to which I think they're just trying to sound, to which, intelligent, to which.

[marodi]

Sending prayers and good vibes to you, chuckrh .

[chuckrh]

thanks @marodi (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=125) & @elevenism (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=2475) & ickyvicky

[Swykk]

I’m sorry to hear this chuckrh. I really hope it’s not that bad news.

[chuckrh]

I’m sorry to hear this @chuckrh (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=6224). I really hope it’s not that bad news.
thank you

[elevenism]

Hit me up Mr RH.

[otnavuskire]

The heat and hot water (they're on the same system) in my house in northern Vermont stopped working a week ago. I just rent a room in the house so the owners are the ones taking care of it. Repair company came on Monday but they need some part that no one can seem to find. Feels like there's no end in sight to this situation. Temps are supposed to get down into the teens on Monday night. I'm currently staying with family in Massachusetts through Thanksgiving so I at least have heat and hot water here, but I'll be returning home on Friday. This is really pissing me off.

Over two weeks without hot water (which is also what we use to heat the house with) at this point. It's fucking cold in northern Vermont. There's snow everywhere outside. This sucks. We have space heaters which keep the temperature in the house at a reasonable level at least, but it's almost impossible to shower because the water is freezing.

[Timinator]

When my 20/20-hindsight, Monday-morning-QB boss chews me out for not having a crystal ball 4 months ago.

[ickyvicky]

otnavuskire cold showers are the worst! I hope it gets fixed soon!

[chuckrh]

Update: so, they found some growths in my stomach that weren't there a few years ago when I had this test for a different matter. They took biopsies & now I have to wait for the results. With the holiday I probably won't have them until early next week. I may need some more tests too. At least I'm not a hypochondriac. The growths caused the bleeding. Not getting ahead of myself but this could be bad (don't want to voice it but the word starts with a C). All prayers & healing vibes appreciated. Hoping its something minor of course. Chilling out today as the effects of the anesthesia haven't quite worn off.

Lab report back. There's a problem with my stomach but thankfully it's not cancer. Working on getting appointment with doc about fixing it, current state can't continue. I'm not as good at reading gut reports as I am spine/joint reports.

[otnavuskire]

Over two weeks without hot water (which is also what we use to heat the house with) at this point. It's fucking cold in northern Vermont. There's snow everywhere outside. This sucks. We have space heaters which keep the temperature in the house at a reasonable level at least, but it's almost impossible to shower because the water is freezing.

IT'S FIXED! But holy shit the story of it getting fixed pisses me off even more. I wrote a tweet and tagged Suburban Propane in it a day or two ago, and that seemed to have kicked them into gear as they responded to me that they would bug the local branch about it, and they ended up sending someone today to “see what they can do.”

The guy that came is someone who just got back from vacation. He told us about how they don't keep an inventory on their parts that they have in stock so they don’t have to pay taxes on them, so no one knew who had what part. Each technician just keeps a stock of parts on their work truck. He came and it turns out IT WASNT EVEN THE PART THE ORIGINAL GUY SAID IT WAS!!!

[otnavuskire]

IT'S FIXED! But holy shit the story of it getting fixed pisses me off even more. I wrote a tweet and tagged Suburban Propane in it a day or two ago, and that seemed to have kicked them into gear as they responded to me that they would bug the local branch about it, and they ended up sending someone today to “see what they can do.”

The guy that came is someone who just got back from vacation. He told us about how they don't keep an inventory on their parts that they have in stock so they don’t have to pay taxes on them, so no one knew who had what part. Each technician just keeps a stock of parts on their work truck. He came and it turns out IT WASNT EVEN THE PART THE ORIGINAL GUY SAID IT WAS!!!

NEVERMIND! Furnace stopped again. God damn it.

[ickyvicky]

chuckrh That is wonderful news! At least it's fixable. Hopefully they can do it sooner than later.

otnavuskire Ugh, that's so frustrating!! I'm seeing more and more of a lack of urgency in everything from everyone.

[otnavuskire]

Fixed again. Hopefully for good this time.

[allegate]

I was going for "stupid" but the second one certainly fits in here.

So, twitter. My work has an official twitter account so the site isn't blocked via the filters that are in place to keep us worker bees humming. That said, the filter apparently only works for "twitter.com" and not "x.com" so I can see tweets but just the words. Anything else is blocked. Pictures, videos, user icons. It's great for me because I was able to give the site up whole-hog.

the other one also concerns the filter. maybe you've heard about the great adblock fight that Google's having with Youtube and everyone else? Well they consider the filter we use as part of that so I cannot watch any youtube. Which, yeah, but also a lot of training is on there that I was watching to learn how to do things like Power Bi, Visio, and Project. Now I have to watch 240p or it stutters like I'm watching dialup, which, at 240p, I might as well be.

[Wolfkiller]

@henryeatscereal (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=1572) @ickyvicky (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=3971) @chuckrh (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=6224) thank y'all.

My brother messaged me this morning. He said "Tyler, you're saying Justin was ALMOST family. But that's not true. We actually lost our little brother."

And it's like, yeah. SO many people are gone.

But this one is just too much. It's...yeah. I think my brother is right.

HE'S so fucked up from it, he's now saying "I don't HAVE any more friends, and I'm not MAKING anymore, because they just die."

I know everybody dies. @Erneuert (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=7060) , @Wolfkiller (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=675) and co, I've been listening to Everyone I Love is Dead and Everything Dies quite a bit. I'm fucking TIRED of playing those songs in someone's honor, though.

I KNOW everyone dies, but NOT at 25 and 35 and 40. My people really, REALLY are, pretty much ALL gone, now.
This was number 24 on my list (I keep an actual list) of people i've loved/called close friends, who died young.
And I guess it's KIND of my fault. I mean, shit...I was addicted to fentanyl for YEARS, WAY before it was on the news and whatnot....it started around '03 and ended around, well...2019? How's THAT for a confession?
I guess it's the company I've kept...you know...people attuned to my own lunacy, of drugs and shoplifting and playing rock music and doing whatever was crazy.
There's like ONE normal car crash, and ONE cancer, but ALL the rest are overdoses, suicides, or crazy shit like street racing in convertible.
We all had some kind of deep PAIN, though, in retrospect: this one had a secret sexuality confusion, that one was an orphan, the other was abused...that sort of thing.

At ANY rate, As a great man once said, "I'd give anything to wake up from this motherfucking dream."-Rhett Miller, OLD 97S, Nashville.

In FACT, while I'm at it...y'all check this one out...it MIGHT just turn you on to my other favorite band. I don't even know how to begin to explain them, but I've seen them around 100 times, and they were the band in the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special. Oh, and also, they fucking kick ass.


Anyway...here's the thing



https://youtu.be/QSrPNh7isXE?si=1VrudmMrh83Egrxk

But, yeah. I quit, temporarily. I don't know what day it is.
I thought about cutting my hair off as a sign of mourning, but I've got a better idea: it's gonna be a lean ass Christmas for us (just like a LOT of us), so I know what I'm getting is a little money for a couple shirts and pants.
I'm scheming on trying to get all-black costumes, and perhaps dying my hair black, and only wearing all black everything for a couple months.

Hey man, sorry to hear about your friend. I don't get on here much these days but I meant to tell you thanks for posting that From The River song. It's a banger and I've been playing it often. Take care, keep moving forward brother.

[elevenism]

Ok, so I vented a bit much, here, so here's the condensed version (although it's still pretty long).

We live in our old family estate house with my mom. We pay a few hundred in rent, we buy ALL of the food, and we do, pretty much, LITERALLY EVERYTHING for her. And my wife regularly buys things for the house (cool new shower head, outdoor motion lights, air fryer, etc).

Bur she thinks my wife's job is a Cartoon Job or something, because my wife works from home, and that her hours can randomly bend to HER whims and needs. She acts like the thousands of dollars we provide in food (that she LEGALLY shouldn't be EATING) is Monopoly money.

She scoffs at the cash money Mrs Elevenism gives her every month. It's not as if she NEEDS rent money: this house is paid for.

We're basically "the help."
And I'm in far worse health than SHE is, at this point.

Yet, she insinuates she DOESN'T NEED us here, even though we quite literally handle all affairs to the point that she ONLY leaves the house, once a month, to go to an appointment to get a narcotic.
Furthermore, we've tried to move out TWICE, but she cried and begged and talked us into staying.

Worst of all, she fucks with us to the point that it seems like it's a GAME to her or something: goes on and on about how "lucky" we are to be here, creates contradictory rules, and starts nonsensical arguments on a regular basis.

It's MADDENING to have someone cry and beg and tell you they can't live without your help when you try to LEAVE, and THEN, constantly insinuate that you are of little worth, expect you to be at their beck and call 24/7, regularly suggesting that they are doing YOU some huge favor by "letting you live there," and just generally fucking with you, while you're trapped, through emotional manipulation, in a tiny (under 2k people) farming community.

Strangely, like 1/2 the time, she's the sweetest person in the world. You just never know which version you'll get.
Today was extra fucked up, as it was my wife's birthday, so, HEY! She was EXCEPTIONALLY cruel. Happy birthday!

It just fucking blows.

[marodi]

elevenism I have one word for you, my friend: leave. You and Mrs elevenism, find a little, quiet place for yourselves, pack up your things and leave.

I'm all for taking care of our elderly. That's what I'm doing right now with my mom, and it's not easy. I see it as a duty. However, everything has its limits.

Your mom sounds like a toxic person and neither you or your wife need that right now. You both have a lot to deal with already; you don't need narcissist mom on top of it. Always remember: in order to be able to take care of others, you first need to learn to take care of yourself. I'm thinking your health would get better if you were to put some distance between you and mom.

Best of luck to you and all the love to you and your missus.

As for what pisses me of: all those holiday songs in all the stores. I want to break something.

[elevenism]

@marodi (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=125) , @allegro (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=76) has been telling us to leave for YEARS. And, yes, my mom is a VERY toxic person.
Unfortunately, we can't leave right NOW: we'd have to save up enough money (again). I'm also beholden to this county for god knows HOW long- I'm still waiting on a first court date for the DWI I got 8 months ago...hell, I'm still waiting to hear what my BAC was! And then they'll likely put me on some YEARS of probation, when the hammer finally falls.

As far as the toxicity, one of the STRANGEST games she plays is talking shit about my wife to ME, to hurt ME, but mostly being exceptionally sweet to my wife herself.

She also calls us on the phone from inside the house, constantly...I'm talking 8-10 times a day, (it's a big house, but DAMN), with NO regard for whether we're asleep or, anything, really.

My wife has taken to like, completely avoiding her, if at all possible:p

Edit: thanks, Wolfkiller . And hell yes: From the River. It IS a banger, and the song along with the vid are ALSO a good, concise history lesson. I'm also not here, much, anymore, but it's due to social isolation, and I'm scheming on coming back. I hope you're well, brother.

[elevenism]

Sorry for double post, but, twas in this very thread that I learned "biased" was going the way of "prejudiced."

Well, I just saw a YouTube clip of a fucking REPORTER saying "bias" instead of "biased," and I mean, fucking CLEARLY.

It was like "but the opposition says...THOSE people are JUST BIAS. Back to you, Tom."

It literally fucking blows goats (literally now means figuratively, of course), but I guess language lives and breathes. I mean, I certainly don't want to be, you know, prejudice, or bias.

I'm honestly REALLY surprised the definition of prejudice hasn't already been changed.

[Jinsai]

Pro Tools. Look, I know it's an editing beast, but it's got so many bullshit hotkeys and unintuitive functions grandfathered into it at this point, that none of it really makes sense. The whole layout is batshit and unnecessarily convoluted, but I get it - they can't change it because everyone is used to the shitty way it is.

It's a sterile production environment that feels clinical, and going through a mix feels like I'm working with my feet. I used to know the software better when I was in studios more pre-Covid, but I guess I got rusty, because it's like learning it all over again, and I guess I have to, but ugggggggh... I prefer Logic, Cubase, Performer... I write in Ableton, Renoise, and Reason and I'm moving towards doing final mixes in Logic, but nooooo... I have to also know PT.

I'm really hoping I just warm up to this. I eventually became ambivalent before, but this is such a slog, and unlike practically every other musical discipline, this does not come back like riding a bike.

Oh yeah, and fuck their overpriced subscription-based price. Logic, you buy it once for what, 200 bucks? Then you get free updates and whatever. Pro Tools, for the basic usable version, requires a year subscription at 300 bucks. Now I'm running into playback issues... the song is crashing/stalling at the exact same spot in the timeline, and I can't figure out why. I'm not pushing the processor too hard here.

/rant

[benoïde]

Pro Tools. Look, I know it's an editing beast, but it's got so many bullshit hotkeys and unintuitive functions grandfathered into it at this point, that none of it really makes sense. The whole layout is batshit and unnecessarily convoluted, but I get it - they can't change it because everyone is used to the shitty way it is.

It's a sterile production environment that feels clinical, and going through a mix feels like I'm working with my feet. I used to know the software better when I was in studios more pre-Covid, but I guess I got rusty, because it's like learning it all over again, and I guess I have to, but ugggggggh... I prefer Logic, Cubase, Performer... I write in Ableton, Renoise, and Reason and I'm moving towards doing final mixes in Logic, but nooooo... I have to also know PT.

I'm really hoping I just warm up to this. I eventually became ambivalent before, but this is such a slog, and unlike practically every other musical discipline, this does not come back like riding a bike.

Oh yeah, and fuck their overpriced subscription-based price. Logic, you buy it once for what, 200 bucks? Then you get free updates and whatever. Pro Tools, for the basic usable version, requires a year subscription at 300 bucks. Now I'm running into playback issues... the song is crashing/stalling at the exact same spot in the timeline, and I can't figure out why. I'm not pushing the processor too hard here.

/rant


Haha, I get you. I work as a post sound engineer and love Pro Tools for editing (interoperability is key) and straight up mixing (also for music), but use Logic to compose anything. PT is too bland and uninspiring for that, always feels like working a day job whatever I do.

[Jinsai]

Haha, I get you. I work as a post sound engineer and love Pro Tools for editing (interoperability is key) and straight up mixing (also for music), but use Logic to compose anything. PT is too bland and uninspiring for that, always feels like working a day job whatever I do.

Yeah, I'm doing ambiance and foley for an indie movie, and I know PT is where it's at for that, and back around six years ago I had it all down. It's weird though, spotting and doing sound for film in PT is great, but mixing music feels... yeah, sterile and uncreative by comparison to the competition to me

[Timinator]

People that use "of" instead of "have".

[Pillfred]

Looking for apartments. When did an administration fee become a thing? Im already paying to apply. Granted it’s been a minute since I’ve had to rent a spot the standard way but jfc.

[otnavuskire]

My dog got sprayed by a skunk last night when I let her out to pee one last time before bed. It was out behind my parents house where we're visiting for the week. Amazingly, washing her with a concoction of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap seems to have gotten all the smell off of her. The house still doesn't smell great, but it's a lot better than it smelled last night. Annoyingly though, I think the skunk lives somewhere under the condo complex, possibly even under my parents' back porch.

[GulDukat]

I had a dog that was sprayed by a skunk and smelled bad for about 6 months. He had thick hair though.

[allegate]

Do you think we'll ever get to a point where these people will be considered mentally ill? I mean by the general public and not just people sick of seeing this bullshit?

Boyzone’s Shane Lynch accuses Taylor Swift of performing demonic rituals at concerts (https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/music/boyzone-s-shane-lynch-accuses-taylor-swift-of-performing-demonic-rituals-at-concerts/ar-BB1iVSFq?OCID=ansmsnnews11)

[MrLobster]

People so stuck in the 1990s that the nostalgia physically hurts them and they are so scared to try newer things....

[GulDukat]

The ship on The Love Boat was not a "boat," it was a ship. The show should have been called The Love Ship.

[Swykk]

On the doorstep of a colonoscopy here after a super fun night of prep. It’s been a whirlwind of checking health stuff over the last two and a half months. I’m so tired of having to think like I do and thinking about this stuff because my life is now pretty good otherwise! I got a better position at the company I’ve worked for for almost 14 years. I’m getting married in October. But since I had cancer when I was a kid and it killed two of my best friends in their mid 40s and your dude is turning 45 in 2.5 weeks, I’m hyper aware/vigilant of feeling poorly. And I’m not being a hypochondriac…I have permanent problems because I had cancer. It’s just that my anxiety makes everything bigger. But if I don’t thoroughly get checked out and spend time trying to figure out what’s going on, THAT’S when whatever will get me.

Please excuse the rambling and I hope there’s sense here somewhere. Needed to vent. Love you guys.

[Erneuert]

On the doorstep of a colonoscopy here after a super fun night of prep. It’s been a whirlwind of checking health stuff over the last two and a half months. I’m so tired of having to think like I do and thinking about this stuff because my life is now pretty good otherwise! I got a better position at the company I’ve worked for for almost 14 years. I’m getting married in October. But since I had cancer when I was a kid and it killed two of my best friends in their mid 40s and your dude is turning 45 in 2.5 weeks, I’m hyper aware/vigilant of feeling poorly. And I’m not being a hypochondriac…I have permanent problems because I had cancer. It’s just that my anxiety makes everything bigger. But if I don’t thoroughly get checked out and spend time trying to figure out what’s going on, THAT’S when whatever will get me.

Please excuse the rambling and I hope there’s sense here somewhere. Needed to vent. Love you guys.

What’s been going on? Symptom-wise?

[chuckrh]

Actually it's a big thing pissing me off. Cancer. A few months ago I was diagnosed with pre-cancerous growths in my stomach. Not the end of the world but not pleasant. Last Friday I went to my primary care for a check-up. He found I have skin cancer. I don't know what kind yet. I'm going to a dermatologist today & going in for a scan tomorrow. This is on top of my losing war with rheumatoid arthritis. Life pretty much sucks right now.

[MrLobster]

Actually it's a big thing pissing me off.

Definitely a thing to be pissed at.... empathy over it.

[Swykk]

I’m sorry chuckrh. I hope it was caught quickly. My mom has RA so I’m aware of how fucking gnarly it is.

As for me, I’m good today as of now. Awake and about to eat. My fiance is the best.

A couple weeks ago I ended up in the ER and they found colitis. I’d been feeling awful before; I think I got something from a place I ate a few days before. I did a food sensitivity thing the other day (I’ve had food sensitivity before) and the results came back while I was under. They’re completely different than when I last did it like 8 years ago but much better results overall than last time. Seems like that coupled with the bad food I got were the culprits here. But the colitis is gone now! Seems like I was eating too much chicken as well as almonds.

[ickyvicky]

Lots of hugs chuckrh You're strong

[chuckrh]

Lots of hugs @chuckrh (https://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=6224) You're strong
Thanks. Did first round of treatments last week. It's going to be a long haul. Turns out some of the RA drugs I've tried may have something to do with the skin cancer. Rheumatologist is getting with the dermatologist about it. I had a scan for other cancers Friday but no results yet. I'm so tired.....

[marodi]

Thanks. Did first round of treatments last week. It's going to be a long haul. Turns out some of the RA drugs I've tried may have something to do with the skin cancer. Rheumatologist is getting with the dermatologist about it. I had a scan for other cancers Friday but no results yet. I'm so tired.....

Hugs, love and healing vibes for you, my friend. Take good care of yourself, one day at a time.

As for what is pissing me off today: everything. I'm in a killing mood. Good thing I'd stayed home. Thanks, menopause.

[Jinsai]

Sometimes you just have to bite your tongue, shut up, and do your job. Like when you’re mixing live sound for a band, and they suddenly break into Try That in a Small Town. You do your best to make it sound “good.”

I think that’s the first time I’ve heard that entire song all the way through.

[allegate]

https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1535653808ra/26224611.gif

[allegate]

More of a "nag" than "piss off" but I'm in Walla Walla for work this week and no one has good onion rings. How the hell do you not have good onion rings in Walla Walla?!?

I did get a pic of the La Quinta at Walla Walla Washington though. When I saw Mike in January he said he was able to go back to that La Quinta for the first time since it happened.

Mike Birbiglia - This American Life - "Stranger in the Night" - Episode 361 (8/8/2008) (youtube.com) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KkQC4A4a2w)

[Leviathant]

This qualifies as pissing me off, I think.

I live right in one of the oldest parts of the Philadelphia, and for as long as I've been here, there have been car break-ins. Last year, around Labor Day, I took a poster-based approach to reducing this, to surprisingly good effect: I put signs up with the Philly Police Department logo, alerting people to call 911 if their window is broken (911 isn't just for emergencies in my city). This led to a precipitous drop in break-ins, going from 2-3 a night, to once every two months or so.

Last month, a notorious corner of Philadelphia that's been known as an open-air drug market for, at this point, decades, was "cleaned out" by our new mayor (countless words spilled about this online already, so - moving on) and since then, car break-ins are on the rise again. I keep track, I clean my street, so I've got a pretty clear view into how bad it has gotten, and how quickly. So, last night was hoppin' - and around 1am, I hear what sounded like glass breaking, and a car alarm going off. I lean out my window, and I see the rear door of a Honda Accord opening and closing, while the alarm is going off. I put on my shoes and walk down the street, and I realize this is perhaps not a great idea - it's dark under the overpass, I'm not looking for a direct confrontation, just trying to see what's going on... so I walk to the end of the block before I cross to the other side of the street to come back home. Back in my house, I call it into 911. "Someone is actively breaking into this car I'm looking at in front of me." They say they'll send someone over as soon as they can.

A few minutes go by, and I decide to grab my mirrorless Canon camera, slap a 200mm zoom lens on it, and wait for this person to pop out of the car. I hear sirens, and a police cruiser with lights on comes up my street, and flies past my house. Bigger fish to fry, I guess. I'm leaning out my window, pointing at the Honda, when out of the corner of my eye, I notice a car park in a tow zone, in front of a hydrant, and two guys get out. They cross the street, walk to the car parked almost in front of my house, and definitely parked right behind my van, and pop, they smash the fucking window. I'm absolutely shocked - I swing my camera around and yell out, "You really want to do that on camera?" and press the shutter button. Now, I had all my settings for shooting telephoto in the dark, but I had to throw on autofocus because I'm pointing at something different now - and the damn thing hunts for focus as these guys cross the street back to their car. This at least gives the camera enough contrast to lock on to, and I rapid-fire over a half dozen 32 megapixel shots of these assholes getting back into their car.

So, now I've got doorbell camera footage of the break-in, clear shots of the car and it's license plate (a paper tag from New Jersey, great), and a couple minutes later, another police cruiser drives by - this one slows down at my house, and then continues down the street. I throw my shoes back on, run down the steps, and I see he's turned around and is talking to a crowd of people who just arrived at their smashed out car window. I walk up to the cop and say, "Take care of these folks first, but come to 103 Callowhill and I'll share photos and videos of people breaking a car window from minutes ago." The cop looks surprised, "Did you call the other one in?" I say, the Honda? He replies, "Someone called about a car break-in at 301 Callowhill."

Folks, 301 Callowhill is a commercial building with no nearby residences. I think that first cop car that blasted past my house was responding to an address flub.

Anyway, shared what I had with the police, it's 50/50 on whether they'll actually follow up. I'm getting ready to turn in, again, when I hear people down below - it's the owner of the car in front of my house, now with the broken window. I once again sprint down the stairs, and flag them down as they're leaving. I get their contact info, and share the photos and videos with them - and tell them that nothing got stolen, at least.

Eventually, I finally got back to bed - but I don't really fall asleep until after 2:30am, and I basically bolt awake at 7:30am today. Adrenaline is funny!

[ickyvicky]

Wow Leviathant Just make sure to be careful!

It's amazing how many cars are getting stolen, or broken into for parts lately. There was a carwash near me where dudes would just wait around the corner for the car attendant to pull the cars up, and once the car wash guys were done drying off the car, the perps would run up and steal the car right off the lot!

[GulDukat]

Those Kevin Hart commercials.

[BRoswell]

Those Kevin Hart commercials.

I'll expand on that: ANY commercial featuring a celebrity that you know for a fact is making shitloads of money already pisses me off.

[raptors661]

35 minutes of trailers and another 5 minutes of ads after the trailers in front of Bad Boys 4. No wonder people are skipping theaters.

[BRoswell]

35 minutes of trailers and another 5 minutes of ads after the trailers in front of Bad Boys 4. No wonder people are skipping theaters.

I don't mind trailers, especially if I see something that I wasn't aware of, or a trailer is really well done, but the ads are the worst.

[ickyvicky]

The new Target commercial improvising the Michelle Branch song