Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[janie jones]

I live on the west coast, so it was quite clearly not an accident by the time I woke up on 9/11.  My grandma was living with us at the time, and when I went in the living room, she was watching the news, as usual, but she had this look on her face I won't forget.

 

5 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

9/11 I was listening to the radio, getting ready for work. At first I thought it was a joke. "Oh, those wacky am DJ's" Then I realized it was real so I turned on CNN.

I was at a party once when this drunk guy came along and was rambling about Osama bin Laden being dead.  My friends and I brushed him off, but then we got home and saw the news and realized that drunk guy wasn't joking around.

Edited January 28, 2020 by janie jones

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, janie jones said:

I was at a party once when this drunk guy came along and was rambling about Osama bin Laden being dead.  My friends and I brushed him on, but then we got home and saw the news and realized that drunk guy wasn't joking around.

I was on the other side of that scenario; a group of us were gathered at a friend's house to watch movies (while drinking), someone got a call from his mom telling him Osama bin Laden had been killed (why she felt he needed to know right then, I'm not sure), and we briefly switched to the news to get the facts.  When the host's girlfriend came home and we told her Osama bin Laden was dead, she initially thought it was something we'd been joking about in our inebriation.

[SoMuchTV]

I remember being annoyed by the Bin Laden announcement because it cut off the end of “The Good Wife”. And my daughter was very annoyed, because it happened on her birthday. But in retrospect, after hearing about Obama and the White House correspondents dinner, gotta say I was a little impressed. Don’t play poker with that guy!

[Annber03]

17 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

And my daughter was very annoyed, because it happened on her birthday..

Yeah, it was right about the time of my sister's birthday, too, so that's how I remember the date.

I think somebody told me that news, too, but I can't really recall the exact details right now. 

[SoMuchTV]

4 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

 

I think somebody told me that news, too, but I can't really recall the exact details right now. 

Omg I definitely remember. Prez. O. broke into my stories and came walking down the corridor to the podium, and I had flashbacks to the Cold War era. Are the missiles coming? Do I need to duck and cover?

[Colleenna]

6 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Omg I definitely remember. Prez. O. broke into my stories and came walking down the corridor to the podium, and I had flashbacks to the Cold War era. Are the missiles coming? Do I need to duck and cover?

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by Colleenna
Nebbermine.

[ABay]

On 9/11, I was late getting to work because I'd dropped my car off for repairs. As soon as I got in, one of my coworkers asked if I'd heard anything and, like everyone else here, I assumed it was a small plane accident. When my coworker mentioned a second plane, I tried to access CNN and then the other networks' sites and couldn't--that's when I was sure it wasn't just a rumor--so I checked the CBC and Globe & Mail and got the full story. The university closed but I couldn't go home because car wasn't ready, so I had lunch at a nearby restaurant that had Univision on the bar TV. I don't speak Spanish but I didn't need to.

One of my friends frequently went into NYC so I called her and panicked a bit when she didn't answer. It turned out she was in Las Vegas at a conference and then couldn't get home because all flights were grounded.

Thinking about the wonderful people of Gander still chokes me up.

There isn't a lot of air traffic near me but there is some, small planes going to Tweed airport, news helicopters, probably some traffic to the Coast Guard Academy in Groton. But the first time I heard a helicopter after 9/11 it really stood out.

I live in CT and I remember those cars in parking lots shown on the local news. But I thought it was a couple of days later because all of the transportation out of the city was shut down and no one could get out unless they walked over the bridge?

The students entering the university last year were born in 2001. I wonder what their 9/11 will be. For many, because we are in CT and they were old enough to remember, it will be Sandy Hook.

 

 

[friendperidot]

Kennedy, I was in 7th grade, we had just finished P.E. class and were showering and dressing when the overhead announcement came. We had to observe a minute's silence, wet and naked and half naked. My next class was Civics, we had a test scheduled that had questions about who was President, Vice President, Members of the Cabinet, etc. Our teacher instructed us to answer as we would have in 1st hour.

On 9/11, I was pulling into the parking lot of work when I heard the first plane had hit. Like many others, I assumed it was a small plane. By the time I parked and got into the building, the tv in the lobby was on CNN and the 2nd plane had hit, we knew then it wasn't small planes and things were very wrong. A little later our CEO ordered all tvs and radios turned off because we had children and adolescent psych patients in the hospital and she did not want them hearing the news. Not many of us obeyed. Those of us in offices where no patients went had radios on all day listening to the news. After a day of this, I went home and absorbed as much as I could handle. That was the night I was surfing the web, looking at news stories, watching the news on tv and I found TWOP Commercials thread. I found my internet home and people.

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, friendperidot said:

Kennedy, I was in 7th grade, we had just finished P.E. class and were showering and dressing when the overhead announcement came. We had to observe a minute's silence, wet and naked and half naked. My next class was Civics, we had a test scheduled that had questions about who was President, Vice President, Members of the Cabinet, etc. Our teacher instructed us to answer as we would have in 1st hour.

Oh, my god. How weird. 

[friendperidot]

Annber, I think most of us grabbed towels and wrapped ourselves and I doubt that we stood for a full minute, we just quietly picked up our clothes and put them on.

[shapeshifter]

23 hours ago, Annber03 said:

23 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

And my daughter was very annoyed, because it happened on her birthday..

Yeah, it was right about the time of my sister's birthday, too, so that's how I remember the date

You guys are wimps. My birthday (and my coworker’s) is 9/11. 
But in 2011 it was kind of cool because some people sent paper lanterns up over the lake and I pretended it was for me. 

 

 

11 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

Kennedy, I was in 7th grade, we had just finished P.E. class and were showering and dressing when the overhead announcement came. We had to observe a minute's silence, wet and naked and half naked

I would think that would be the best possible memory to have of any intense news. No?
 

 

 

[SoMuchTV]

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

You guys are wimps. My birthday (and my coworker’s) is 9/11. 

So was my mom’s. I just didn’t want to brag, y’know   

[friendperidot]

I'm sorry that so many have birthdays with bad events connected to them, but I understand. On my parent's 60th wedding anniversary, Michael Jackson had the temerity to die. I've never forgiven him. My parents were both gone by then, but it was a special day for me to remember them. And I never was a Michael Jackson fan. I also was never a Prince, a David Bowie fan either. But I always remember Phil and Don Everly's birthdays. Don's is Super Bowl Sunday when I hope the KC Chiefs will repeat their win of 50 years ago.

[Ashforth]

12 hours ago, ABay said:

I don't speak Spanish but I didn't need to.

Nine words that say everything. 

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, friendperidot said:

I'm sorry that so many have birthdays with bad events connected to them, but I understand. On my parent's 60th wedding anniversary, Michael Jackson had the temerity to die. I've never forgiven him. My parents were both gone by then, but it was a special day for me to remember them. And I never was a Michael Jackson fan. I also was never a Prince, a David Bowie fan either. But I always remember Phil and Don Everly's birthdays. Don's is Super Bowl Sunday when I hope the KC Chiefs will repeat their win of 50 years ago.

No one remembers that Farrah Fawcett died earlier that day. Jackson's death overshadowed everything. And the way people were talking about him, I fully expected him to rise on the 3rd day.  I was on my annual Road Trip at the Best Western in Winchester, VA.  I had been in West Virginia that morning and stopped to see this. It was a lot of fun. (I thought I'd lighten the subject matter a bit, LOL)

[Bastet]

33 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

No one remembers that Farrah Fawcett died earlier that day.

I do, because a friend and I had been emailing about it all morning (we were both Charlie's Angels fans as kids, and liked how Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Farrah Fawcett had remained friends), and after Michael Jackson's death was announced, one of the first things we mentioned was that Farrah just got seriously bumped, and it was a shame (she certainly had her faults, but as far as I know she never raped children, so ...). 

So, while I certainly don't remember the date, when someone mentions it being the anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, the first thing I think is, "And Farrah Fawcett's".

[Colleenna]

3 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

So was my mom’s. I just didn’t want to brag, y’know   

I have friends  who  got married  on 9/11 (NOT 2001) to try to create a positive connection with  that date. 

[Prevailing Wind]

9 hours ago, Colleenna said:

I have friends  who  got married  on 9/11 (NOT 2001) to try to create a positive connection with  that date. 

It was my parents' anniversary, too - married in 1942.

[mmecorday]

I work for a small town newspaper. We received this op-ed today. We won't print it because we don't run canned opinion pieces. Also, this writer is full of shit:

Big Pharma doesn't deserve all the hate
By Sandip Shah

Americans loathe the pharmaceutical industry. It ranks dead last in a recent Gallup poll that tracks the public's opinion of 25 different sectors.

This scorn is misplaced. It's true that the biopharmaceutical sector contains a few bad actors. But the majority of drug companies are responsible corporate citizens that spend billions to invent lifesaving medicines.

If we let our collective resentment turn into tangible, anti-innovation policies -- such as drug price controls -- we'll end up worse off.

American pharmaceutical researchers deserve credit for the lion's share of medical progress. In 2017, firms poured $97 billion into research and development operations in the United States. That's more than double the U.S. government's spending on scientific research. Scientists in U.S. labs are currently developing more than half of all medicines in development worldwide.

Thanks to these efforts, Americans are beating deadly diseases in record numbers. Cancer death rates have declined close to 30 percent since the 1990s. Researchers credit nearly three-quarters of these survival gains to groundbreaking drugs.  

Biopharmaceutical research also revolutionized the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Just 30 years ago, a diagnosis was a death sentence. In the mid-1990s, scientists developed highly active antiretroviral therapies. These drugs caused HIV/AIDS death rates to plummet 88 percent.  

Scientists have recently turned to new types of drugs, such as gene and immuno-therapies, that reprogram patients' bodies to fight disease. Doctors already use these medicines to treat hemophilia, leukemia, and blindness.  

Progress like this doesn't come easy. It takes over a decade to turn a promising lab compound into a marketable medicine. For every experimental drug that makes it to patients, nine others fail in clinical trials.  

Taking failure into consideration, it costs more than $2 billion on average to bring a new treatment to market.

For the most part, pharmaceutical companies set drug prices at reasonable levels that help them recoup their investments and fund future research, while still preserving patients' access to new therapies. Unfortunately, few Americans see that side of the industry. They only see people like Martin Shkreli, the so-called "pharma bro" who bought the rights to a 60-year-old, off-patent drug and then raised its price by more than 5,000 percent.  

What Shkreli did was despicable. But he's the exception, not the rule.

To see the true face of the pharmaceutical industry, Americans can look to innovators like the late Maurice Hilleman, a researcher who developed eight of the 14 most common children's vaccines, including immunizations for chickenpox and measles. Researchers like him have collectively saved and improved tens of millions of lives.

The biopharmaceutical industry isn't perfect. But drug companies work every day to cure deadly diseases, risking billions of dollars in the process.

If we forget that basic fact and eliminate companies' incentives to invest in research, we'll live to regret it. Or perhaps, we won't.

Sandip Shah is founder and president of Market Access Solutions, which develops strategies to optimize patient access to life-changing therapies.

[peacheslatour]

So a marketing guy defends marketing. Shocking, I know. I don't think the pharmaceutical would get the hate that they do if they would top throwing billions of dollars at advertising.

[mmecorday]

And they're getting gypped because the ads aren't even good -- they're lousy!

[Bastet]

From another thread:

Quote

I've a bra place near me that's allegedly that good, but anytime anyone's ever tried to fit me, the damn band is too tight. I have trouble with the straps sliding off my (incredibly smooth) shoulders, so they say, "Tighter band!" which hurts like hell and doesn't explain WHY camisole straps and nightgown straps do the same thing. The nightgown HANGS there - you'd think gravity would keep the straps in place - but, Noooooooo.  I wish I had the nerve to go braless.

If you have a short torso, narrow shoulders, or sloping shoulders, straps are a battle.  I have a short torso, and that's one of the things the bra expert I talked about in the other thread keeps in mind when selecting styles for me.

I found this article that goes into a lot of the reasons why straps may slide, and offers some suggestions.  Unfortunately, there's a fair bit of ground left uncovered in terms of what styles to look for depending on the source of the problem.  I mean, duh, racerback, but there aren't a lot of those and they tend not to be all that attractive.  (Although you can use a j-hook to turn a "regular" bra into a racerback.  But that's not always comfortable.)  So there may not be anything new to you in there, but just in case you want to take a gander.

[Prevailing Wind]

"Tighten the straps" - and all I end up with is the band creeping up my back. Bras were invented by the devil.

[AuntiePam]

The hooks shown in that article would work, but I can't see how do you use them without help putting them on?  You'd have to put the hooks/strap onto the bra straps and then slip the bra over your head, wouldn't you?  Maybe I'll look for a video.

 

[smittykins]

I just learned that my 11th- and 12th-grade English teacher passed away last week.  Until her husband’s passing last year, they had been married for 71 years.

[Annber03]

Oh, I'm sorry :(.

71 years. Wow. That's lovely. 

[smittykins]

She was known for her “tangential” discussions; she’d start off with a topic related to what we were studying, then veer off in directions that were entertaining, but still educational—then suddenly say “but we can’t get into that right now.”

[peacheslatour]

10 minutes ago, smittykins said:

She was known for her “tangential” discussions; she’d start off with a topic related to what we were studying, then veer off in directions that were entertaining, but still educational—then suddenly say “but we can’t get into that right now.”

Lol, I bet that drove you crazy. I had teachers that did that too and I always wanted say "nooo, tell us more!"

[Prevailing Wind]

Asking for a friend: If you take 2-hour nap in the afternoon, does that count towards last night's 8 hours or tonight's 8 hours? Or is it a stand-alone event, not affecting either night's sleep?

[shapeshifter]

It counts as part of the sleep for that 24-hour period. 
 

 

[janie jones]

On 2/16/2020 at 10:15 AM, shapeshifter said:

It counts as part of the sleep for that 24-hour period.

I agree but would like to add, I don't think you can sleep if you don't need sleep.  What I mean is, if someone has no "sleep debt" I doubt they'd be able to take a two-hour nap.  So for that reason, I'd say it counts toward last night's (or the night before's).

[Bastet]

6 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I agree but would like to add, I don't think you can sleep if you don't need sleep.  What I mean is, if someone has no "sleep debt" I doubt they'd be able to take a two-hour nap.  So for that reason, I'd say it counts toward last night's (or the night before's).

That's my thought process, too - the only time I nap is when haven't slept enough (or have slept poorly) for a few nights or am sick but haven't had any additional sleep to compensate for that, because that's the only time I can nap; sometimes I feel just a little tired and lie down for a nap, but can't fall asleep.  So, since it's catching up on lost sleep, I'd add my nap times to prior sleep, rather than upcoming sleep, if I was tabulating.

[janie jones]

On 2/24/2020 at 11:36 AM, Ohiopirate02 said:

Now, I know 21st century libraries are not what they used to be.  I work in a public library.  We do turn a blind eye to casual drinks and snacks as long as the patron does not leave a mess.

From the Annoy thread -- Out of curiosity, how many of you guys' local libraries sells food?  My library has a little coffee counter that sells beverages and sandwiches and croissants and stuff.  Is that not a common thing?  Not all the libraries in the system do this, but they're also way smaller than the one I'm talking about.

[Beany Malone]

14 minutes ago, janie jones said:

From the Annoy thread -- Out of curiosity, how many of you guys' local libraries sells food? 

In our city the main downtown library has a small food counter that sells drinks and prepackaged snack foods and there are a few tables set up near it meant for the patrons.  AFAIK though none of the smaller branch libraries are doing this, at least not yet.  I don't think I've noticed any signs forbidding food and drink but I also don't think I've ever seen anyone actually eating and drinking in any library I've been in.  Maybe it's just a trend that hasn't caught on here.

Edited March 2, 2020 by Beany Malone

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 3/2/2020 at 2:37 PM, janie jones said:

From the Annoy thread -- Out of curiosity, how many of you guys' local libraries sells food?  My library has a little coffee counter that sells beverages and sandwiches and croissants and stuff.  Is that not a common thing?  Not all the libraries in the system do this, but they're also way smaller than the one I'm talking about.

I live in NC, and we don't have snack counters, but you can bring in a bottle of water or soda to drink while you're at the computers as long as you keep the cap on otherwise. No cans of soda, but you can also bring in cups of coffee that have lids.

[Ashforth]

I'm cross-posting this in multiple threads, apologies, but I think it's that important:

Tom Colicchio is out front in publicizing that the need to feed our nation's children during the COVID-19 crisis is even more critical than it quietly is every "normal" day. With schools closing because of the pandemic, millions of kids in the U.S. will lose their primary source of nutrition. https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2174246/coronavirus-children-school-lunch/

Not only that, millions of people, especially in the service industry, are going to lose their incomes and may be faced with going hungry.

If you can afford to, please donate to your local food bank. You can save lives with a $5 donation.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Ashforth

[Silver Raven]

1 hour ago, Ashforth said:

I'm cross-posting this in multiple threads and if I get banned, this is the hill I'm willing to die on:

Tom Colicchio is out front in publicizing that the need to feed our nation's children during the COVID-19 crisis is even more critical than it quietly is every "normal" day. With schools closing because of the pandemic, millions of kids in the U.S. will lose their primary source of nutrition. https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2174246/coronavirus-children-school-lunch/

Not only that, millions of people, especially in the service industry, are going to lose their incomes and may be faced with going hungry.

If you can afford to, please donate to your local food bank. You can save lives with a $5 donation.

A Denver city councilman said he will be giving out breakfasts and lunches to kids who are out of school.  They'll be boxed, so people can just drive up and pick them up.

[chessiegal]

Our county has set up 53 sites where you can get lunches for kids out of school.

[chessiegal]

Just saw the county is providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner to the kids out of school who need it.

[mmecorday]

I got laid off from my job of 15 years at a small town newspaper just in time for the first reported case of COVID-19 in our county. And my girlfriend is a hypochondriac, and she's been taking her temperature every hour today. I'm just going to be a bear and try and sleep as much as I can the next couple months.

[Annber03]

Sorry to hear that, @mmecorday. Hope you and your girlfriend stay safe. 

11 minutes ago, mmecorday said:

I'm just going to be a bear and try and sleep as much as I can the next couple months.

I think that'd be a good idea for everyone at this point. 

[friendperidot]

In favorite commercials, Abay said: "That's how I always referred to the couple that lived in the apartment above me. Moving out of there was  such a relief."

that's better than the last upstairs neighbors I had the last time I lived in an apartment. I always knew when they had sex, their headboard banged against a wall. The worst time was Valentine's Day when I had signed divorce papers that day. I would turn on the radio, the tv, anything to distract me, it made for awkward chance meetings.

Editing to add, that my divorce was a good thing. I've considered signing the papers on Valentine's Day to be a gift of freedom I gave myself.

Edited April 2, 2020 by friendperidot

[Prevailing Wind]

I had an upstairs neighbor I called Thunderfoot.  She never shut up, either, so she was Thunderfoot Flapping Mouth.

 

[Silver Raven]

I had an upstairs neighbor who lifted weights.  And dropped them.  Over and over and over and over.

I finally had to go the management to complain.

 

[Colleenna]

On 4/3/2020 at 9:07 AM, icemiser69 said:

I seriously doubt that there will be a baby boom nine months down the road.  With all of the social distancing going on, there aren't many dudes dragging around a six foot penis.  And if they do happen to be so lucky, congratulations. 

When the Big Kahuna was handing out penises, he must have fallen asleep resulting in some getting more than they deserved, and the rest of us feeling shortchanged.

You do know that  social distancing rules don't  apply WITHIN YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD,  right?

[peacheslatour]

13 minutes ago, Colleenna said:

You do know that  social distancing rules don't  apply WITHIN YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD,  right?

Unless someone is showing symptoms. I've heard of people hunkering down in their garages and basements to stay away from other family members.

[Prevailing Wind]

I've read that there's a Facebook page that's pairing up idle vacation RVs with healthcare workers who need to stay away from their families, but need a place to rest.  That's SO encouraging regarding the goodness of most people, it makes me weepy.

[janie jones]

9 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Unless someone is showing symptoms. I've heard of people hunkering down in their garages and basements to stay away from other family members.

Yeah but a lot of people aren't doing that. Plus they're anticipating a condom shortage because some of the major factories had to shut down.

[Trini]

12 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Unless someone is showing symptoms. I've heard of people hunkering down in their garages and basements to stay away from other family members.

I guess it depends on how big your home is, and how susceptible household members are? Because in my small household in our small house, I'm thinking it's a given that if one of us gets it, we're all getting it.

[mojoween]

We have a two bedroom, one bath 1000 foot ranch.  If one of the three of us gets it, there is nowhere for the other two to go. 

I didn’t want to hijack the annoyed thread, because I have just found out that there are (multiple!) people who do not like select-a-size paper towels and my mind, she is blown.

I love love LOVE the half size sheets.  The only time I use a full sheet is when I am making microwave bacon or peeling potatoes.  And the little sheets are great for cleaning the bathroom.