Some Non-trivial Things That Annoy Me.

[Gillianren]

This morning, the cats had an appointment at the vet to get fixed. Mouse had been listless the last few days, but we were pretty sure he was just depressed--he and Min had been separated since Christmas Eve, and I think he's lonely. However, he passed blood this morning, and when we got him to the vet, they said they couldn't do the operation, but they'd keep him there until the vet showed up. Then they called us after we'd gotten home to tell us that they were afraid he wasn't going to make it that long, and he needed to be transported to the emergency vet right now.

It turns out to have been a relatively minor issue--he had a urinary blockage, which they were able to deal with--but he's got to be on a special diet for the rest of his life, and it cost considerably more than I could really afford. I was able to pay them, but it's probably going to screw up my budget for several months.

[Trebuchet]

Dang. Sorry for Mouse. Male cats tend to have a problem with that. The passages just aren't large enough.
We discovered it in "The Foo" (you figure it out) when he peed on the drapes and there was blood in it. He was a sweet little guy but ever after peed on every vertical surface in our house, particularly doors he couldn't go through. Once he had the habit, it never ended.

For some reason my wife insists on only female cats from then on.

[Gillianren]

Well, Mouse is now lying listlessly on a pad under the table. He's gotten two doses of his pills and has not eaten the food next to him.

Min is home. I had a voucher for our cats from the local human society, intended for low-income residents of our county, that meant they were each supposed to cost $25. However, that's intended in reality as a $300 voucher to the vet, and whatever over that, you pay yourself. Which means I'm out-of-pocket $169, including over $50 in expenses they asked me if I wanted without telling me they were charging for--or how much.

[Swift]

Well, Mouse is now lying listlessly on a pad under the table. He's gotten two doses of his pills and has not eaten the food next to him.

Min is home. I had a voucher for our cats from the local human society, intended for low-income residents of our county, that meant they were each supposed to cost $25. However, that's intended in reality as a $300 voucher to the vet, and whatever over that, you pay yourself. Which means I'm out-of-pocket $169, including over $50 in expenses they asked me if I wanted without telling me they were charging for--or how much.

I'm sorry for your troubles with Mouse. I hope he gets better and he doesn't break your budget.

[Trebuchet]

My wife used to take her mother to lunch regularly with a group of former Avon ladies, all older than my wife. My wife became good friends with them. We got a card in the mail today which was a funeral notice for one of them. She died in a nursing home of Covid-19.

[Gillianren]

An online friend's father died of it this week, too.

[Solfe]

Social media has pushed me to rage factor eleven. Excuse me while I vent, because I logged off a facebook before getting involved. And it's killing me.

I have a friend from high school who has had a very hard life. She had cancer in high school. She recovered, got married to a trucker and has a raise a family almost on her own. She's almost 50 now, raising teenagers. Her one son has albinism. He also has no eyes. They are two very different medical problems.

Someone tried to tell her that albinism doesn't always lead to blindness and maybe she should take her child to the doctor for glasses.

I don't even have cuss words for this scenario, I just went straight the meme with the guy throwing papers and quitting. It's not my problem, really. I don't have to say anything. But I really, really, want to.

[Noclevername]

Social media has pushed me to rage factor eleven. Excuse me while I vent, because I logged off a facebook before getting involved. And it's killing me.

I have a friend from high school who has had a very hard life. She had cancer in high school. She recovered, got married to a trucker and has a raise a family almost on her own. She's almost 50 now, raising teenagers. Her one son has albinism. He also has no eyes. They are two very different medical problems.

Someone tried to tell her that albinism doesn't always lead to blindness and maybe she should take her child to the doctor for glasses.

I don't even have cuss words for this scenario, I just went straight the meme with the guy throwing papers and quitting. It's not my problem, really. I don't have to say anything. But I really, really, want to.

Social media means Sturgeons Law applied to real life.

[grant hutchison]

Social media means Sturgeons Law applied to real life.

Sturgeon's Revelation was, at origin, a statement about real life. His only error was to underestimate the size of the problem.

Grant Hutchison

[KaiYeves]

Her one son has albinism. He also has no eyes. They are two very different medical problems.

Wait, he’s blind, or he literally has no eyes like a cave fish?

[grant hutchison]

Wait, he’s blind, or he literally has no eyes like a cave fish?

Yikes. Probably not cool to compare people who suffer from anophthalmia with cave fish.

Grant Hutchison

[KaiYeves]

Yikes. Probably not cool to compare people who suffer from anophthalmia with cave fish.

Grant Hutchison

Oh my god, I didn’t realize that was an actual condition in humans! I thought it was just odd phrasing on Solfe’s part and it was something impossible, hence the joking fish comparison. I didn’t mean to be insensitive and I apologize.

Should I delete that post?

[grant hutchison]

Oh my god, I didn’t realize that was an actual condition in humans! I thought it was just odd phrasing on Solfe’s part and it was something impossible, hence the joking fish comparison. I didn’t mean to be insensitive and I apologize.

It's a rare condition, so not something most people have heard about; and I can see how, with the mention of albinism, the "cave fish" association sprang to mind.
My apologies for being so abrupt--I was concerned at how distressed Solfe already seemed to be, but I could have handled that better.

Grant HUtchison

[kpatz]

Today's entries:

1. Having to work on a holiday because my employer is a... well, you know.
2. Having 5 bleeping meetings on said holiday because, people just love to have meetings where a single email would have sufficed.

I could have slept today, or at least gotten some actual WORK done today.

[Solfe]

Wait, he’s blind, or he literally has no eyes like a cave fish?

Yes, he doesn't have eyes. I've seen this a couple of times. I've seen some weird medical stuff. Typically, most people who don't have eyes that I have met have had a surgical operation to remove them for various reasons. Since this is/was the population of people I used to work with, it happens. I generally don't hear the reason or rational for it, unless I know them for a number of years. I would imagine some sort of infection or trauma at an early age is the rational for surgical removal.

I knew a kid who had a very, very serious accident. He could not see because they removed a portion of his skull and his skin collapsed and covered his eyes. That was kind of interesting because his skull was removed to allow global brain trauma to heal. The doctors attached the removed portions of his skull to his hip. Once the brain swelling went down and he was stable (a very relative term), they were able to replace his skull, which naturally restored his vision by supporting the skin in a more natural way. As I understand it, not all of his skull was able to be saved in this way so they used some of his body fat to rebuild his face.

I had a teacher in high school that was blind but only missing one eye. It was a consequence of being a boat person from Cuba. They were barely rescued in time. She was blind from birth but the damage from the sea water and sun caused them to remove one eye surgically to save her life. It was pretty gruesome.

Of the other people who I have met that can't see, two of them had Chromosome 18 Long Arm Deletion (18q?). They went blind over a period of time. I think the cause of this is still under study and not understood. At least, not understood by me anyway.

Just to be clear, I am not any sort of medical anything. I worked in special education and a group home.

Edit - In retrospect, I have eyes and limbs. I shouldn't be troubled by anything... maybe. I don't know.

[Solfe]

It's a rare condition, so not something most people have heard about; and I can see how, with the mention of albinism, the "cave fish" association sprang to mind.
My apologies for being so abrupt--I was concerned at how distressed Solfe already seemed to be, but I could have handled that better.

Grant HUtchison

I used to work with people who have autism, sometimes saying something "straight and neat" works best.

The guy on facebook was anything but clear. He honestly thought mom was self diagnosing blindness and attributing the blindness to a second condition in error. When corrected, he replied with someone even worse, "Ok. I don't know how that could be, but if you say so..." I was tempted to say something along the lines of "Can you not see his photograph? Sure, he's wearing sunglasses, a hat and smiling but..." It was like a scene from Monty Python, where there is something obviously very wrong, but none of the actors acknowledge it while continuing with the comedy sketch.

Doctor: Have you tried walking?
Guy with no legs: No, not lately...
Doctor: Right, I am going to suggest you run for 5 km a day.
Guy with no legs: Yes, yes, Doctor.
Doctor: Running is good for the heart. Build character and stamina.
Guy with no legs: Will I have to wear one of those paper numbers?
Doctor: Yes, you wouldn't be a runner without that.
Guy with no legs: Good. I've always liked those.

[Gillianren]

The proliferation of self-diagnosis tends to mean that those of us who are diagnosed end up fighting to convince people that our diagnoses are valid. Especially if it's a "popular" condition.

[Swift]

Today's entries:

1. Having to work on a holiday because my employer is a... well, you know.
2. Having 5 bleeping meetings on said holiday because, people just love to have meetings where a single email would have sufficed.

I could have slept today, or at least gotten some actual WORK done today.

I had the opposite. For unknown reasons, we got Presidents' Day as a holiday this year (we didn't get an extra holiday, we usually get a "floating holiday"). I think this is the first time since at least college (and maybe high school) that I got Presidents' Day as a holiday.

Given the pandemic I didn't do anything particularly exciting with the holiday; just got to sleep in a little later.

[grant hutchison]

The guy on facebook was anything but clear. He honestly thought mom was self diagnosing blindness and attributing the blindness to a second condition in error.

Rookie errors, either assuming that the patient doesn't have a second disease, or assuming that they do have a second disease. There's even an apophthegm on that topic:

Hickam's Dictum: Patients can have as many diseases as they damn well please.

Grant Hutchison

[Trebuchet]

The USA has now passed half a million Covid-19 deaths. Damn.

[Swift]

Hickam's Dictum: Patients can have as many diseases as they damn well please.

Grant Hutchison

Personally, I would actually prefer to have a few less diseases than I do. I seem to still be in the acquisition phase.

[grant hutchison]

Personally, I would actually prefer to have a few less diseases than I do. I seem to still be in the acquisition phase.

Yes, I look back fondly on that time in my life when, if I developed a disease, after a while it would just go away. That seemed a much better system. Now it seems like I'm locked into some sort of "Collect The Full Set!" contest.

Grant Hutchison

[schlaugh]

Yes, I look back fondly on that time in my life when, if I developed a disease, after a while it would just go away. That seemed a much better system. Now it seems like I'm locked into some sort of "Collect The Full Set!" contest.

Grant Hutchison

Not long ago I browsed through the various diagnosis that my doctors have identified and my first thought was "why am I still alive?" But after reflecting I realized it was just age and the list is only going to get longer.

[Swift]

Yes, I look back fondly on that time in my life when, if I developed a disease, after a while it would just go away. That seemed a much better system. Now it seems like I'm locked into some sort of "Collect The Full Set!" contest.

Grant Hutchison

Maybe diseases work like trading cards or Pokeman cards.
COLLECT THE FULL SET! TRADE THEM WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

[ozduck]

The Australian Parliament is in the midst of passing a law that requires companies like Google and Facebook to pay for using articles from news organisations. The argument is that the Internet companies are encroaching on the intellectual property rights created in producing those articles and then gain advertising revenue from displaying them. Obviously Murdoch's empire has been pushing for this over many years but all news companies, both private and public, are now strongly behind the push. The legislation would require Google and Facebook to negotiate in good faith and if an agreement can not be reached an independent authority would set the rate. I gather places like Canada and the EU are thinking along similar lines. The involvement of outside bodies in setting prices appears to be their worst nightmare.

Google originally threatened to block all Australian news sites but has now begun reaching agreement with the news companies directly. Their original threat was blunted somewhat by Microsoft loudly saying that it would do whatever it took to enhance Bing to replace Google in Australia and that it would be happy to fall in line with the new laws. With these individual agreements Google has now blunted any threat to their current dominance

Facebook has instead today gone the 'Nuclear option' and blocked all news feeds to Australian news sites. However they also 'accidentally' blocked access to government sites that provide information on bushfires, in the middle of the bushfire season, and Covid - 19 news. They also blocked sites that provided information on disability help, domestic violence help and other community organisations. Numerous charities have also been blocked. Some of these sites are slowly being restored but with no apology while others may be sitting in limbo for weeks. The interesting thing is that claims have been made that sites that described themselves as "news sites" but specialise in producing anti- Covid vaccine articles or other similar dis-information have apparently not been blocked. See the second link.

The theory is that Facebook does not particularly care about its Australian revenue but wants to 'warn off' other countries. The situation is still too new for a full picture to have appeared but it is possible that there could be a backlash at Facebook over this but it is also possible that social media has got such a strong grip that anger will instead be directed towards the proposed new law.

I have never had any Facebook presence.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56109036

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/...llout/13167318

[Jens]

I’m not sure what it is that annoys you. That Facebook didn’t know how to respond?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jens]

The interesting thing is that claims have been made that sites that described themselves as "news sites" but specialise in producing anti- Covid vaccine articles or other similar dis-information have apparently not been blocked.

I really don't know anything about this, so I'm not trying to argue against what you're saying. But saying that Facebook is deliberately trying to promote anti-COVID vaccine articles seems to be a fairly serious accusation. Do you really have good evidence that Facebook is doing that? If true it would be an incredibly important charge I think. So the burden of proof should be high.

[Noclevername]

I really don't know anything about this, so I'm not trying to argue against what you're saying. But saying that Facebook is deliberately trying to promote anti-COVID vaccine articles seems to be a fairly serious accusation. Do you really have good evidence that Facebook is doing that? If true it would be an incredibly important charge I think. So the burden of proof should be high.

"Not blocked" and "deliberately promoting" are worlds apart.

[ozduck]

Sorry I should have worded my posts better. I would obviously have been a terrible journalist or commentator. I had tossed up where to post and thought this was the appropriate thread.

I think that there are several things that annoy me. One was that Mark Zukerberg was discussing the matter with our Federal Treasurer (second most important Minister in the government) yesterday and didn't warn him that this restriction was going to happen within 15 hours. Another was that when Facebook decided to cut off the news sites feeds they did such a bad job of it.They cut off important sites that give out vital information and are not news sites. - in some states they cut off the weather bureau. A number of private companies that have no relationship to news sites also lost their feeds. It seems to have been very clumsily done.

As regards the matter of the anti-covid etc sites, as I said this has been claimed to have happened - the second link in my original post details these claims (I added this link as an edit and didn't properly refer to it when I realised that I had forgotten to do so initially. My apologies. ) As a further edit, as Noclevername has said, the claim outlined in the article is that these 'fringe' sites which claim to be news sites have not been blocked when other sites which make no such claim have been blocked.

[Gillianren]

I use Facebook, for several reasons, but it's not exactly news that they make quite a lot of money on ad revenues from fringe sites and aren't going to turn it down.