Here Comes the Rain... *Again*

[TonyMontana1638]

Originally Posted by Magrus

I like staying out in the rain. Or walking in it. It is wonderfully soothing. Besides, being outside in the middle of a downpour brings back fond memories of my times with Pattie. Oh, and when it's a bad storm with thunder and lightning, I get the roads to myself to walk around on. It's almost energizing.

You go DW! Whack you some happy-go-lucky idjits.

I totally agree with you: my parents used to think I was weird because I'd go for walks at night, but only when it was raining out (they were probably right too). I totally agree with you how soothing it is, but if I'm not in the mood for a walk it makes the couch by the fireplace all the more inviting. I admit I might get sick of it if I had to deal with what DW is right now, but rain makes me quite content really. Happy even.

... Of course we don't have any fireplaces here at college.

[fable]

Originally Posted by dragon wench

And we have something warming and amber

Yes, sex helps.

in a bottle for a little later...

Oh, alcohol. Well, yes, that's okay, too.

Given the similar climate, I can well understand why the Scots developed fine single malt....

I never could understand why people would continue to live in hostile climates. For various reasons and at different times in my life I've had to live in Spokane and Syracuse, both being large, dull cities located at the bottom of frigid valleys, with high-lying fog that lasted for as long as 6 months at a time. It simulated cloudy skies very well, and was just awful. In fact, Syracuse was rated one of the ten worst places to live in the US for climate by some annoying book put out years ago. There is simply no reason for anybody to live in such a place. If they want to keep their cultures (such as they are) intact, let them get up en masse and move together to sunnier climes.

[Magrus]

@ Fable, Syracuse NY?

[Gwalchmai]

Originally Posted by dragon wench

So... I would be very grateful to hear of suggestions from my fellow Symians in countering this bleak weather....

Well, its quite sunny here in Tucson..... as Patrick mentioned. Time for another visit? Actually, they say there is a small chance of rain this weekend, so maybe not. Temps are expected to drop at least.....

I suppose you could occupy your time playing computer games set in warm and sunny environments. Maybe there's a mod for Morrowind that will let you set the weather to 'summer'

Another thought, with Christmas just over, I'm reminded of the videos they sell that show burning fires in the hearth. Maybe they have lovely springtime scenery videos you could rent? Butterflies, birds, babbling brooks, naked druids, etc.... that sort of thing.

[Chanak]

@Gwally: Argh, I could use some of your weather over here. It's been a tad chilly here in Austin. Not only that, but it hasn't rained in quite a while, creating a drought of sorts. The molds have been rather high, and the cedar pollen is creating havoc with my sinuses and my overall demeanor. Ugh. I never suffered from allergies until I came to Austin, Texas.

@fable: Good to see you too. Everything goes well?

@DW: Sufficient ultraviolet radiation: that's what you need. That, and some vitamin D. Perhaps if you positioned yourself under one of those "lamps" ( ) and, say, popped some megavitamins loaded with vitamin D, your spirits would lift. A side-effect: all of that vitamin D would help increase calcium absorption in your diet, something a female needs to make a priority for herself as she reaches the magical 4-0.

Surely you can lay your hands on one of those lamps. What's good for "plants" can be good for you. Shoot, maybe you can enhance the experience by reclining in a hydroponic bath as you sit under the grow lamp.

[fable]

Originally Posted by Chanak

@fable: Good to see you too. Everything goes well?

Pretty much so. Got the report on my December bloodwork yesterday. Cholesterol is down to 137 (borderline is 200-239; I always used be around 210). No liver effects from the meds, so I'm pretty stable at the moment, or at least as stable as a witch with a recent heart attack can be.

@DW: Sufficient ultraviolet radiation: that's what you need. That, and some vitamin D. Perhaps if you positioned yourself under one of those "lamps" ( ) and, say, popped some megavitamins loaded with vitamin D, your spirits would lift. A side-effect: all of that vitamin D would help increase calcium absorption in your diet, something a female needs to make a priority for herself as she reaches the magical 4-0.

But it is possible to overdose on vitamin D. If you're already taking a mega-vitamin, be careful with that. Here's what I read in one discussion of it:

There is wide individual variation in the amount of vitamin D that causes hypervitaminosis. The continued ingestion of 50,000IU or more daily by a person with normal vitamin D sensitivity may result in poisoning. Doses of 60,000IU per day can cause hypercalcaemia, with muscle weakness, Proteinuria, hypertension and irregular heartbeat. Symptoms and signs generally appear two to eight days after acute intoxication with massive doses of vitamin D.

Chronic hypercalcaemia can lead to generalised vascular calcification with high concentration of calcium salts in soft tissues, especially in the kidney. This will exacerbate rapid deterioration of kidney functions. Other sites of calcification may include blood vessels, heart, lungs and skin. The stored vitamin in the body will be released slowly as it has a long plasma half-life of three months. Therefore after discontinuation.

Another potentially toxic action of vitamin D is the effect on fat metabolism. There is some evidence that 700IU to 2,500IU daily in adults may raise the plasma cholesterol level.

Surely you can lay your hands on one of those lamps. What's good for "plants" can be good for you. Shoot, maybe you can enhance the experience by reclining in a hydroponic bath as you sit under the grow lamp.

I think it would set a great example for all of us if somebody would start putting out rudimentary feelers and develop their plant side. It might as well be DW, too, since at the moment she can only claim, when asked, that she is either American (which draws analogies to George Bush) or Canadian (which makes people think of beavers wearing Lorne Greene masks). This way, she could truthfully answer, "paramecium," and be proud.

[Chanak]

Originally Posted by fable

Pretty much so. Got the report on my December bloodwork yesterday. Cholesterol is down to 137 (borderline is 200-239; I always used be around 210). No liver effects from the meds, so I'm pretty stable at the moment, or at least as stable as a witch with a recent heart attack can be.

Good cholesterol level. Mine was 135 when I was 22...no telling what it might be now. 14 years and some bad habits down the road.

Originally Posted by fable

But it is possible to overdose on vitamin D. If you're already taking a mega-vitamin, be careful with that.

Thanks for the warning - very informative.

Originally Posted by fable

I think it would set a great example for all of us if somebody would start putting out rudimentary feelers and develop their plant side. It might as well be DW, too, since at the moment she can only claim, when asked, that she is either American (which draws analogies to George Bush) or Canadian (which makes people think of beavers wearing Lorne Greene masks). This way, she could truthfully answer, "paramecium," and be proud.

Or, worse, William Shatner on late night talkshows.

Swishing around in the nutrient fluid would certainly encourage parameciumhood. A return to the roots, after a fashion.

I, on the other hand, will continue to be a mutli-cellular organism. The price that one pays.

[fable]

Originally Posted by Chanak

Good cholesterol level. Mine was 135 when I was 22...no telling what it might be now. 14 years and some bad habits down the road.

About the only change I've had to make to my eating habits is cutting down heavily on cheese. Also, deli meats are out, but there, I've been a good lad for years. You know, you might check with a primary care physician to get some bloodwork done, just to check major items out. If you didn't and ended up withot a heartbeat, boy, would you look foolish! Besides, you can always get a homekit to take your own cholesterol. As I recall, Texans aren't at their best when it comes to showing the world examples of healthy eating.

Or, worse, William Shatner on late night talkshows.

I wasn't going to bring that menace up. Curse you, for mentioning the unspeakable here in this forum where children can read such things!

Swishing around in the nutrient fluid would certainly encourage parameciumhood. A return to the roots, after a fashion.

I, on the other hand, will continue to be a mutli-cellular organism. The price that one pays.

But there's a gift to be simple, as the old Shaker song has it. Or was that simple-minded? In a nation where showing obvious signs of self-thought can be considered grounds for internal exile, it's probably important to remember which.

[Greg.]

DW, were you forecast lots of rain this winter?

Because in Scotland, we were forecast a cold winter with lots of snow, but haven't got much snow (maybe 6 inches before Christmas, when we decided to go sledging in the full moon on the local golf course, and a friend of mine hit a tree and spent the night in hospital... Thats 16/17 year-olds for you... ). So just wondering if you are getting all our precipitation...

As for things to do... Try inventing a new sport... Brewing (but not distilling, if your laws are like ours) your own alcohol... Learning how to bake (ha ha, call me sexist if you want)... Learning how to play FPS games (especially online)... You really are limited only by your own imagination...

[fable]

Originally Posted by GregtheSleeper

As for things to do... Try inventing a new sport... Brewing (but not distilling, if your laws are like ours) your own alcohol... Learning how to bake (ha ha, call me sexist if you want)... Learning how to play FPS games (especially online)... You really are limited only by your own imagination...

And bear in mind, coming from a people who eat sheep's intestines, he really means it.

[Athena]

What's this? I declare the rain stretched from the North American west coast all the way over to the east. and oh, there's The London Fog. It was very foggy and humid today.

[Greg.]

Originally Posted by fable

And bear in mind, coming from a people who eat sheep's intestines, he really means it.

Lol - not... A haggis is a sheep's stomach stuffed with... pretty much the rest of the sheep...

That's not my imagination... it's someone elses...

Don't Americans eat fried pig intestines? And sweetbreads - are they the pancreas or the spleen? I can never remember...

Lol

Haggis is a food of necessity... It keeps through the long cold winter... And gives you something to drink either of our national drinks with (whisky and Irn-Bru - made from girders)

[Magrus]

That all sounds crazy to me. What gives with not just eating a nice steak of whatever animal you just killed?

[Greg.]

Originally Posted by Magrus

That all sounds crazy to me. What gives with not just eating a nice steak of whatever animal you just killed?

Waste not want not...

What do you think is in turkey twizzlers/chicken nuggets - all the bits they couldn't sell...

[Hill-Shatar]

Don't listen to the heathen ancient man, Greg. He who lives in the nation where such abominations as sausage, sloppy joes and, above all, prarie oysters, run rampant.