Velo Vol 

A few weeks ago someone posted how to upgrade from 7 to 10. I thought about doing it, but hadn't. This changes everything.

WalksOn2Wheels

Well, two things: 1) Once you drive from your house/apartment to the freeway, get on the freeway, and then drive into Lewisville, you feel like you've gone farther than that and 2) There used to be basically nothing between Denton and Lewisville. It's now totally filled in. Denton is essentially the most northern part of DFW now.

Trsnrtr

Couldn’t ride yesterday mostly due to rain, I really wanted to get out and I perceived an hour to hour and a half window early. Obviously my perception is poor because besides a deluge 5 miles in, I had to endure about 45 seconds of pea sized hail a mile from the car. Damn, that **** hurts.

LAJ

seedsbelize 

I just came from the bank. Record high exchange rate and it got me thinking. This is the perfect storm for Mexico. They went all in for Swine Flu and the economy never fully recovered. Pemex (as corrupt as can be) was already struggling before the bottom fell out of the oil market. It is known by everyone who buys gas that Pemex pumps don't pump a full liter. Enter Gulf Oil, with the ad campaign of filling a graduated beaker and checking it against the pump. They got my business, and now I'm seeing road signs pointing to Gulf stations.
Tourism is their bread and butter, so closing the border is unthinkable. They were forced into a new trade deal that is not in their best interest. The upside is that only 7% of the population is over 65. But 60%? live in poverty, closely packed in to small, dirty spaces. They have absorbed migrants heading to the US on both their northern and southern borders. Obesity and diabeties are rampant.. I read that 3 out of 5 Mexican children are obese. And on and on. Italy might have to take a step back when it's all over and done.
Oh and our president is even more flip about it than Orangie.
Sad!

Trsnrtr

Many years ago, I was in a mad dash to the car during a ride in a thunderstorm when it started hailing. There was a side wind and a hailstone hit me on right ear lobe and I could have sworn at the time that it took a chunk out.

seedsbelize 

This popped up after the hail video. A nice diversion. And now I must ride.

WhyFi

Ah, I don't know that I've seen an ad. I honestly don't even know what the gameplay looks like. I don't know if it's just macro view with ships/stations or if you have an avatar/character that you can walk around and interact with others... but, again, the level of detail seems intriguing. It also is a bit of a turn-off for me, tbh, because it feels like something that I might get sucked in to and have a hard time quitting.

Re: Ender's Game - I'd read it ages ago and enjoyed it, but finally got to read it with the boy over the fall/winter. He loved it. I don't think that he's be as in to the sequels at this point (he'll be 9 in May), though, so I'll let him discover those on his own sometime down the line.

Jadesfire 

Agreed. I've read a couple of the sequels and I remember finding them dry but decent reads, but not as enjoyable (or thought-provoking) as the original.

indyfabz

From my employer:"What your benefits will cover

If testing is required for COVID-19, in-network testing will be covered at 100% with no requirement to meet your deductible. Your health plan covers the care you receive if you are diagnosed as having COVID-19. You will pay any out-of-pocket expenses the plan requires, unless otherwise determined by law or regulation. You can call the number on your Anthem or United HealthCare ID card to confirm coverage. "

So I've got that going for me.

Trsnrtr

The Wire, Season 1, Ep. 1.

“What’s your boy’s name?”
”Snot.”
”Snot?”
”Snotboogie.”

WhyFi

Yeah, there's not as much action and It's a really big shift in the types of issues being addressed. They're interesting, they're good reads, but they're not necessarily good reads for the same audiences.

I read through all of the Ender-centric novels and then I started reading some of those that revisit the same events from other perspectives (like Bean's). At that point, I felt like Card was just getting lazy and going back to the same well too many times. Not long after that, there was the whole thing with him being an avid supporter, both vocally and financially, of some issues that don't jibe with me, so I've stopped supporting/following him (I went so far as to buy Ender's Game used so that he wouldn't see the 10 cents in royalties from buying new).

Jadesfire 

I need to go find my copy somewhere in one of the moving boxes I never unpacked. It's...wait...my book is twenty-six years old . That happened fast.

BillyD

IKR, family forum.

indyfabz

One of the many perks that comes with being the only one in the office is that I can yell at my computer or whatever with impunity.

Heathpack 

Lol, literally I just had a "Can I get a neuro consult?" query.

Old poodle losing weight acting sick, here to see the internal medicine service for those problems.

They astutely notice that the dog is also paralyzed in the hind legs which the owners did not notice (!). Can we take a look?

Sure but what did you find on your side of things.

"Oh he's icteric and azotemic and probably has a splenic mass"

MoAlpha

Poor old bastard. I'm guessing no MRI. I must say, there is an odd sort of pleasure for me in hearing about animal neurology, especially with all the other **** going on. At the risk of boring our normal friends to death, keep the stories coming.

Heathpack 

Happy to be a distraction.

The dog is not paralyzed in the hind legs, he has motor function and if her were not so sick, he'd probably be able to walk. Localizes to the thoracolumbar spinal cord.

However, the dog is not just icteric but also anemic and thrombocytopenic. He has bounding pulses and is overall quite weak so I suspect he is symptomatic for his anemia. Yesterday he had a HCT of 25% on referral bloodwork but today's clinical picture in one of a dog with a more profound anemia than that. So I suspect his HCT today is much lower than 25%. Despite being icteric, his bilirubin was barely elevated on yesterday's referring vet's bloodwork so I suspect the bloodwork is suspect- it was run on an in-house lab machine.

Anyway, their investigation into his systemic illness will likely uncover the underlying disease causing all of these symptoms and I suggest they do their thing first and if its still a mystery come find me.

I suspect he has cancer with spinal metastasis or possible a vascular event to his cord.

Trsnrtr

Just dropped some tax stuff off at my accountant and decided to stop at Walmart on the way home for some potatoes to bake. Lots of bare shelves but lots to find if you're creative. Anyway, despite a pretty bare fresh meat section and signs asking everyone to restrain themselves, a guy in front of me in check-out had $184 worth of meat. He had cold cuts, huge family packs of various meats, steaks, you name it.

He said he was an over the road truck driver. Either he must have a big freezer in his truck or he's reselling to other drivers, I'm guessing.

MoAlpha

In a human, we'd be thinking about a consumption coagulopathy like TTP.

MoAlpha

Quarantine home gym day:

One-leg stationary lunges off an 8" step
Brief, low-cadence intervals on the trainer
Ab rollouts and side planks
Pushups (utterly pitiful)

Managed to put a nice hurt on the legs, at least. Next time need to try some one-leg hip extensions on that step to punish the glutei.

sbxx1985 

I bet we end up with 8-10 inches of snow. I braved the elements to support our local corner grocery store and Nick N Willy's take and bake pizza. My law partner supported the economy by buying a 1926 Peerless in Wisconsin.

LAJ

Nice. Today is a great day for pizza. Sedan or Roadster?

I went to Wally's Meats to pick a cert for friend/coach John. His Dad just had a resection, and should now be able to eat like a king. They do amazing cuts of beast.

BillyD

Did you see any vegetables?

bampilot06

heading back to charlotte for another 5 days on. So far I am the only passenger on this flight.