The Dino-Aspie Ex-Café (for Those 40+... or feeling creaky)

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oh, richie, you do that. definitely keep those appointments. it really is important to get those levels monitored. and yeah, the aura thing is not fun. i don't get them often anymore, but they're wicked when they hit. i have found that cold seems to help - something like drinking a slurpee and giving myself the equivalent of a 'brain freeze' seems to really help with a migraine.

yeah, we were so lucky here, the water rose 4 feet, but it was at about the same time as low tide. high tide would have been unpleasant, as a lot of our beachfront is developed and it's just about completely unprotected.. ft. bragg and crescent city have had their harbors shredded - little towns, fishing communities. the boats that put to sea survived, but have nothing to tie up to when they come back now. the boats that didn't go out to sea won't be in the future, from what i hear. no people hurt, except one fool who just had to go down to the water to take photos. he was swept out and they haven't found him yet, up north. still, though nothing like the poor japanese nation has to deal with now.

i took the kid up to the mountains this evening - she had girl scouts camp for the weekend. foggy outside tonight, and twisty mountain roads i didn't know. stopped and did a serious caffeine fueling before trying the trip back down, and it was still a challenge - serious sleep deprivation that's about to be fixed.. on the plus side, the radio station from mexico was playing a lot of baroque, up-tempo pieces. which was good, as i think i left fingerprints in the steeringwheel from gripping it so hard. coming down the mountains i was thinking about the san onofre reactor and how i bet it's not nearly as well constructed as the japanese ones. and theirs are threatening to melt down. so i thought, hmmm, how about my childhood home.... and when i checked the news tonight it seems they're having epic, hundred-year flooding there. ok, i thought, look at where i spent my young adult years. it seems to be on fire right now.

well. huh. what else is there to do? a good stiff glass of baileys and then off to bed to listen to coast-to-coast as there's not a damned thing else i can do. except phone the red cross and make a donation tomorrow.

No worries, Nan. My brother used to work at San Onofre, so I have some familiarity with its construction. First off, that nuke plant in Japan that's threatening to melt down is one of the oldest in the world, designed and built long before the Dolly Parton Memorial Power Plant down there. Its problem is that coolant water must be pumped, and valves worked, by electronic controls, and their backup diesel generator was outside - the tsunami literally flooded the engine, and now it has to be disassembled and dried before it can work. They're trying to get another generator installed, but it's not easy.

At San Onofre, on the other hand, if the backup generator should fail, they're actually equipped to pump the water and work the valves by hand. It's not a popular drill, as you can imagine, but it is done. SO also has a stronger containment building than the older Japanese design. (Contrary to claims made a decade ago that "no one could ever have foreseen someone using a plane as a weapon", the concrete buildings surrounding Units One and Two at SO are designed to withstand a direct impact by a fully-loaded 747.) On top of that, one of the other issues is the need to evacuate everyone living within 10-20 km of the plant - and, located as it is on Camp Pendleton, SO is already more than ten klicks from the nearest residential neighborhood...

you know, everyone says that about s.o. - looks kind of like a 9,000 "DD" cup....

they've got tv japan unscrambled on the tv. wish i could understand it - if the kid was here, she could tell me what they're saying. then again, i probably don't want to know as they are showing diagrams of a reactor core and nobody is smiling, not even a little. they all have that tight look you see when things are going down the tubes.

you know, this preservation (sp) thing is a royal pain in the ass. i saw, at like 3 in the morning the other morning, video of cars being swept off a road there. there were people in the cars. as they were flung around some of them were beating at the windshields, trying to get out. and then they were swept away. if i don't keep very busy, when i close my eyes i see a young woman beating frantically at the windshield of her car and imagine what it must have been like for her. and i know very well that she is dead and that it was not a quick death. over and over and over. her image was on the screen for less than 5 seconds, but it locked in. it really is not a blessing to have a memory like this, sometimes.

and then i'll stare at the ceiling and try to get back to genealogy (my pet hobby). i have just, finally, after like 30 years of trying, found my father's grandmother, finally - starving in a hamlet in donegal in the famine and then making it out on a coffin ship to america. marrying and becoming a widow with two little kids in five years, remarrying, having more, living to be a very old woman. happy st. paddy's day (and if you have a tendency to be a little on the depressive side, do NOT read in depth about the irish famines of the 1840s-50s. oh my god.).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3BiK8gTqw4

but when i stop keeping busy, stop doing laundry or combing the cat, my mind goes back to that young woman in the car, pounding on the glass. and, of course, i have to SEE it again.

i probably oughta see a shrink, someday. but i doubt it'd help. i'll be replaying this one for years, less and less often, but when i least expect it it'll pop into mind. sometimes i do think if they ever got a pill to fix this i'd take it. it's definitely a mixed bag.

Last edited by Nan on 12 Mar 2011, 11:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

when in doubt, go back to earlier days and trot those memories out. never thought i'd be on the other side of this dialog....


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q29YR5-t3gg[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5sSEkZ86ts&feature=related[/youtube]

Happy Pi Day folks!! !! !

A little something I found on facebook:

"If you can't afford a doctor, go to an airport - you'll get a free x-ray and a breast exam, and; if you mention Al Qaeda, you'll get a free colonoscopy."

The Bricklayers Song

June 23, 2007/Show #1256

This song was popularized by Scots singing duo The Corries and is also known as "Why Paddy's Not at Work Today." Amongst many other listeners, physics teachers have written to us for the lyrics to help them teach their students the principals of mechanics.

Dear Sir I write this note to you to tell you of my plight
For at the time of writing it I'm not a pretty sight
My body is all black and blue, my face a deathly grey
And I write this note to say why I am not at work today

Whilst working on the 14th floor some bricks I had to clear
But tossing them down from such a height was not a good idea
The foreman wasn't very pleased he is an arkward sod
And he said I had to cart them down the ladders in me hod

Clearing all these bricks by hand it was so very slow
So I hoisted up a barrel and secured a rope below
But in me haste to do the job, I was too blind to see
That a barrel full of building bricks was heavier than me

And so when I untied the rope the barrel fell like lead
And clinging tightly to the rope I started up instead
I shot up like a rocket, and to my dismay I found
That halfway up I met the bloody barrel coming down

Well the barrel broke me shoulder as to the ground it sped
And when I reached the top I banged the pulley with me head
But I clung on tightly none with shock from this almighty blow
While the barrel spilled out half its bricks some 14 floors below

When these bricks had fallen from the barrel to the floor
I then outweighed the barrel and so started down once more
But I clung on tightly to the rope my body racked with pain
And halfway down I met the bloody barrel once again

Now the force of this collision halfway down the office block
Caused multiple abrasions and a nasty case of shock
But I clung on tightly to the rope as I fell towards the ground
And I landed on the broken bricks the barrel had scattered round.

Now as I lay there on the ground I thought I'd passed the worst
But the barrel hit the pulley wheel and then the bottom burst
A shower of bricks rained down on me I didn't have a hope
As I lay there bleeding on the ground I let go the bloody rope

The barrel now being heavier so started down once more
It landed right across me as I lay there on the floor
It broke 3 ribs and my left arm and I can only say
I hope you`ll understand why I am not at work today .
Here are two versions of the Bricklayer's Song

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70vcS41tr2A[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaoqJ6hr1Dc[/youtube]

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! !! !

I'm trying to learn all this on my own, would appreciate any help. Would be glad to make new friends my age or closer. Also need any hints, tips on navigating this site and others. this new laptop is hard to figure out. Been gone for a few years due to moving, taking care of sick mother, had heart attack, quit school, mom died, moved again, and accidently killed last two computers. Starting all over, need tips, hints, help with learning this again and how not to kill this new laptop.

To WrongPlanet!! !

Check out the computers, math, science, & technology forum. Always make sure the vents on the laptop are clear of any obstructions to prevent overheating.
Clean them regularly.

timidme, an interesting button for navigating is:

left top corner--> Community --> Discussion Forums, if this page is loaded, you see the table with all the subjects, on the right side on top of this table you see --> View your posts , if you click that you get a list of the threads you have posted in, which makes it easy to follow the discussions you took part in

Welcome to Wrongplanet !

(hint, if you are looking for age peers, it might be useful to indicate your own age)

Just lurking... and Stimming... as usual......

Oh, my God. (roflmho)

So, the folk song tradition in England isn't dead yet.
My parish priest just happens to be a semi-professional folk musician by hobby; he'd be well interested in a ditty like this.

I haven't been here in awhile. Hi, everyone!

Hello! Welcome back.