Post a bad thing that happened in your life today

[Ed Rooney]

I disagree with the word "absolutely," Michael. 

 

As I said, I don't expect be on a crowded train to Chester for the trip of about an hour if I travel midday. I am in the process of checking out all the details. Other than the train trip, I won't be doing anything I don't do here in Liverpool. 

 

The political picture? I've not made any comments about the craziness that happening in America right now, so I won't comment about the situation here. 

[spacecadet]

Well, pick a nice empty train if you can, Ed, and sit near a window.

[Bryan]

4 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

I

Amsterdam and Copenhagen are a bike-riders world now. There seem to be no rules for bikes here in Beatles Town. 

 

I had two bikes stolen when I was a student in Liverpool, a long time ago, but I'm not sure I'd want to give them another chance....

 

We made the mistake of travelling by train on a weekend, going out early was fine but coming back the train was full, including groups of youths not wearing masks. The situation was made worse as large sections of the carriages were roped off to protect the guard, so space at a premium.  Probably better midday during the working week, but at this point in time I just wouldn't risk it.

Edited October 3, 2020 by Bryan

[Allan Bell]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Well, pick a nice empty train if you can, Ed, and sit near a window.

 

So you can dive out if someone starts coughing.

 

Allan

 

[NYCat]

5 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

I was asking about the latest 'rule', Bryan. I know the virus drill. I wouldn't expect a midday train to Chester to be crowded like the London Underground going and coming to work. Anyway, the weather does not look promising for pics here or down the road in Chester. 

 

I had a bike in NYC, but stopped riding it after seeing a bike messenger killed in front of me. He was waiting at a light and a taxi rolled up behind him and gave him what looked like a gentle tap. He flew about fifteen feet and when he came down you could hear his neck crack. Anyway, my balance is not so good anymore. 

 

Amsterdam and Copenhagen are a bike-riders world now. There seem to be no rules for bikes here in Beatles Town. 

 

They are really encouraging bikes here in NYC these days and I'm sorry they do. When I was very busy as a cat-sitter (and younger) I would use a bike on the big holidays. I was only in the Village and little traffic on those days but, even so, I was once knocked over by someone opening the door of a parked car. I was lucky no one was coming behind me. I know someone here who was hit by a bike and has a cracked skull so being a pedestrian around them is rather frightening. There are electric ones now that don't make any noise and come out of nowhere at high speed. The people who really upset me are the ones who have their kids on the bike. Too dangerous. Rant over.

 

Paulette

[MDM]

 

 

4 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

I disagree with the word "absolutely," Michael. 

 

As I said, I don't expect be on a crowded train to Chester for the trip of about an hour if I travel midday. I am in the process of checking out all the details. Other than the train trip, I won't be doing anything I don't do here in Liverpool. 

 

The political picture? I've not made any comments about the craziness that happening in America right now, so I won't comment about the situation here. 

 

OK how about poco loco then Edo 😀. It's not only the train (and there are no guarantees about how many people will be on that or how well it will have been cleaned). If you are staying a few days then presumably you will be in a hotel and eating out a lot. It just increases the risk - the more people you are in contact with the riskier it is and the virus is really rampant again.

 

As for politics I doubt that even the most ardent Tory would argue that the government has handled the pandemic in a rational and sensible manner. Same for your country of origin but even worse, way way worse in fact.  So if anyone is insulted by what I said then they need to open their eyes, grow some skin and some brain cells. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

So you can dive out if someone starts coughing.

 

Allan

 

 

It's the ones who are asymptomatic that you have to worry about. Recent testing, which is much more extensive than it was back in March, seems to show a very high proportion of university students who test positive have no symptoms. There was a very recent report about the University of Northumbria in Newcastle where only about 1 in 10 of students who tested positive have symptoms (with 770 students positive). It is also rampant in Liverpool. 

Edited October 3, 2020 by MDM

[spacecadet]

We all have to strike a balance. Judging by his recent uploads Ed still eats out a fair bit anyway. He might as well do it in Chester as Liverpool.

I went into town for the first time since February for a lodge meeting- the February trip was a lodge meeting too. Masks on the Tube and all that, not many people and Kingsway quieter than Christmas Day on a Friday afternoon.

Although Freemasons' Hall is following all the guidelines and is allowed 30, Grand Lodge is setting an example by following the rule of 6. So five of us met for the first time in 7 months and you know what- I feel much the better for it. So did everyone. We needed it. It was a grasp at a tiny bit of normality.

So you can take a tiny risk or stay at home. I'm with Ed. Take care- great care- and then a small step.

Edited October 3, 2020 by spacecadet

[MDM]

33 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

We all have to strike a balance. I think Ed still eats out a lot anyway.

I went into town for the first time since February for a lodge meeting- the February trip was a lodge meeting too. Masks on the Tube and all that, not many people and Kingsway quieter than Christmas Day on a Friday afternoon.

Although Freemasons' Hall is following all the guidelines and is allowed 30, Grand Lodge is setting an example by following the rule of 6. So five of us met for the first time in 7 months and you know what- I feel much the better for it. So did everyone. We needed it. It was a grasp at a tiny bit of normality.

So you can take a tiny risk or stay at home. I'm with Ed. Take care- great care- and then a small step.

Whatever turns you on I guess. I am guessing you are in your early to mid-60s so the risk is a lot less serious than for someone in their mid-80s. The rule of six has about as much basis in real science as the hypothesis that having Uranus rising at the time of your birth will lead to a volatile personality. It is one of the most ridiculous things the government has come out with. Dog help us if there is a dog (sorry wrong thread). 
 

Edit  - we are a long way from normality, a long, long way.

Edited October 3, 2020 by MDM

[spacecadet]

10 minutes ago, MDM said:

Whatever turns you on I guess.

It occurred to me that Ed could do with a measure of support, so I offered my experience as an alternative point of view, not as ammunition for an ill-informed dig, thanks very much, and you're some years off in your other speculation.

[MDM]

1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

It occurred to me that Ed could do with a measure of support, so I offered my experience as an alternative point of view, not as ammunition for an ill-informed dig, thanks very much, and you're some years off in your other speculation.

 

My intentions in providing an opinion were to be be supportive. In private communication, I have been giving Edo what I would consider to be support in the recent past - trying to help him with his wifi problems for one thing. In my estimation, the risk of making the journey he is talking about is not insignificant at all for a man of his age with medical problems that he has declared openly here. Covid-19 is indeed extremely serious and potentially fatal, particularly in elderly people. If he goes I wish him the best. And I wish you the best too.

Edited October 3, 2020 by MDM

[John Mitchell]

16 hours ago, MizBrown said:

Decided I had to cancel a photo shoot of a Nicaraguan birthday party because the group would have 18 people in it, and while I have a couple of N-95 masks, the whole party would require moving light gear from my house to there, and dealing with a lot of people who don't wear masks.   I suggested another local photographer who has done passport photos and printing for me and has the same lighting gear.   It was my ex-landlord and I've wanted to get photos of him and his immediate family, but didn't this event was really worth the contact risk or having gear on light stands around children.  

 

News from the US underlined the need to be prudent. 

 

 

Sounds like you made the right decision -- "prudent" is a good old-fashioned word. Enough said. 🤐

[MizBrown]

39 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Sounds like you made the right decision -- "prudent" is a good old-fashioned word. Enough said. 🤐

 

Got a call from the guy who wanted the photo.   He went with the local guy and was very pleased.  The local guy has the same lighting gear I have and shoots Canon, and is a professional.   I'm sure his business needs clients in these times.   I do have a pension. 

[Thyrsis]

Tried to download the new NHS Covid19 app. No luck!  The operating system on my 4 year old iphone is too old.

[Bryan]

1 hour ago, Thyrsis said:

Tried to download the new NHS Covid19 app. No luck!  The operating system on my 4 year old iphone is too old.

 

As  newcomers to the world of smart phones we share a phone between the two of us and it is most often found left in the house (as our house phone), so of debatable usefulness for virus tracking.

 

I do wish that they would copy the successful practice used elsewhere of local teams knocking on peoples' doors, rather than relying overmuch on technology. I suspect a (masked) face to face meeting would be much more likely to engender compliance than an anonymous message on a phone.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Bryan

[Ed Rooney]

Bon dia, tots!

 

https://edostrange.blogspot.com/2020/10/reluctant-nomad.html

 

Oh, sorry—posted in the wrong place.

 

 

Edited October 4, 2020 by Ed Rooney

[Ed Rooney]

"Poco loco" does sound better, Michael. In Spanish, the phrase sounds more friendly. 🤪

[Allan Bell]

4 hours ago, Thyrsis said:

Tried to download the new NHS Covid19 app. No luck!  The operating system on my 4 year old iphone is too old.

 

I have a newer phone and out of interest as well as duty I downloaded the app. You have to have bluetooth turned on all the time so I tried it out for a day with BTooth on all day.

 

Now during a normal day without BTooth on my phone uses about 10 - 20% of battery life. With BTooth all day it used nearly 50% of battery life. So if you are not going out leave BTooth off and only switch it on when going out. Or get/take a backup battery with you.

 

Allan

 

[sb photos]

4 hours ago, Thyrsis said:

Tried to download the new NHS Covid19 app. No luck!  The operating system on my 4 year old iphone is too old.

 

I use an iPhone 6, battery has been replaced and currently does everything I want. Too old for the Covid-19 app. 

[MDM]

1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said:

"Poco loco" does sound better, Michael. In Spanish, the phrase sounds more friendly. 🤪

I think my use of the word mad reflects my Dublin origins. There it means poco loco, a bit wild, as a mheabhair, or it did when I was growing up - a compliment of sorts, reflecting perhaps an acceptance or even admiration for the risk taker. 😎

[Mr Standfast]

Bit soggy here. Time to put Mount Arrarat into the sat nav... 😉

[Ed Rooney]

3 hours ago, MDM said:

I think my use of the word mad reflects my Dublin origins. There it means poco loco, a bit wild, as a mheabhair, or it did when I was growing up - a compliment of sorts, reflecting perhaps an acceptance or even admiration for the risk taker. 😎

 

In the States, where Spanish is the second language, loco means crazy. But it's a friendly way of commenting on a person's eccentric ways. If someone were angry at someone else, they would use stronger language with heavy use of the F word as a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb. 

[MizBrown]

14 hours ago, Bryan said:

I do wish that they would copy the successful practice used elsewhere of local teams knocking on peoples' doors, rather than relying overmuch on technology. I suspect a (masked) face to face meeting would be much more likely to engender compliance than an anonymous message on a phone.

 

Lots of unemployed people especially in countries which relied significantly on tourism, and there are people who can be trained to take temps and ask questions from a checklist.  Keeps people employed through these times.

[Betty LaRue]

As I may have mentioned elsewhere (did I?) I trimmed my snowball bush the other day. I’ve had pretty bad arthritis in my hands (well, everywhere else too) since my 20s.

My daughter gifted me with a pair of ratchet nippers a couple of years ago that’s much easier on the joints when trimming branches.

I spent 2-3 hours cutting that 13 foot bush down to about 4-5 feet.  First mostly with electric hedge trimmers except for too-thick branches. It was what I did with the cut branches that took so long. I trimmed every side branch off, then cut every piece to 12-15 inch lengths so they would fit in the bin. 
My son-in-law dropped by the next day to pick up something. I bragged about the job I’d done. He asked how my hands were. I proudly opened and closed them into fists and said they didn’t hurt a bit, weren’t sore.

About an hour after that remark, the pain hit. I could barely hold my toothbrush or anything else for the next two days.

What I get for bragging.

I trimmed another shrub today. I know what’s coming. I have two more to go. I’ll use the hedge trimmers on the next two. They aren’t so tall that I can’t cut them down 12 inch lengths at a time, then they’ll fit nicely.
So the bad news is the pain. But I’m still proud of the job I did! 😊

[Patrick Cooper]

This particular bit of unfortunate news didn't occur today but it was fairly recent. I was photographing a whale from an elevated position with an old 600mm mirror lens. When I had finished, a woman approached me and told me that she was starting up a magazine. She wanted to buy my whale photos for her magazine without even seeing them.

 

Some time later, I e-mailed some low resolution watermarked versions of the images so that she could select which ones she wants to publish. She e-mails back and says that she doesn't want any of them. She says that she was hoping for 'clearer' photos of the whale and I don't have a clue what she means by that. The images that I sent her are in focus and the whale is very large within the frame (magnified by the 600mm.) There are no obstructions blocking the view and no distractions. There is no fog, haze or mist. I don't know how I'm supposed to take 'clearer' photos of the subject. I do have one more whale image that I'm going to send her so I may have a very slim chance there.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Patrick Cooper

[Ed Rooney]

Patrick, surely that's not the first time you've heard total BS from a picture buyer.