Topic: Generic chat thread  (Read 15147 times)


Silenia

« on: October 25, 2017, 07:19:11 PM »
I noticed we don't really have a thread just to talk with each other about random stuff--just threads with specific subjects. Figured we could maybe use one of these.

Or maybe not, but in that case, the thread will either die on its own soon enough (if no one's interested) or Sami will lock it (if there's a reason I've overlooked for not having a thread like this; if so, Sami, my apologies)

So yeah, hi folks. *waves* How's everyone doing?

nekot

« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2017, 02:41:34 PM »
Hello there.

Maybe we need some "Random question and answer" game to make this thread alive.

It's hard to answer your question so I'll just say for myself.
I'm busy at work (just got lunch now so I can "chat" here), but it's FRIDAY!!! :)

My question for next chatter is:
Where are you from?

Silenia

« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2017, 06:55:56 PM »
The Netherlands, and you? I think we have a fairly diverse (though probably still mostly North-American and European) bunch here on the forums nationality-wise, from bits and pieces I picked up here and there. Considering what time you posted saying you had lunch, UK or West-Europe for you as well I'd guess?

And a random question for whoever pops up here next: what is the last song you listened to?

JEB Davis

« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2017, 08:15:04 PM »
Hello... I'm enjoying a couple of vacation days!
But it is cool and raining so I'm inside the house now.
How is the weather in the Netherlands today?

On the radio now is "Ahead of Myself" by X Ambassadors.

Last week I went to a concert: Imagine Dragons with Grouplove & K.Flay
I like all 3 bands, but tickets are way too expensive and Dragons seemed
to be in a contest to have the loudest speakers... ear-piercing treble.
They had a wall of man-sized speakers 16 wide by 8 tall behind stage.
128 speakers was a bit over the top, especially for all the little kids.

Anyone else with a concert experience?

Silenia

« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2017, 05:33:15 AM »
Damp. Fairly warm for the time of year (~14C; just last week we had several days well over 20C which is ridiculous for mid-October) but ugh. Makes the wrist I broke twice a tad achy too.

Yup. Several small-scale metal concerts and a couple of times to a free yearly outdoors festival in the city my boyfriend's originally from. Festival grew far too large the last few years, though. No longer fun to go to, just a huge mass of people including many, many obnoxious ones. Music selection went down the drain too.

How's the weather where everyone else is?
And any other concert experiences?

DfDevadander

« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2017, 06:48:27 AM »
JEB Davis: That sounds a bit too intense, and I bet even Iron Maiden would feel overwhelmed by that many speakers!

  No concerts recently for me, but I did go to a wonderful Renaissance Faire over the past two weekends and listened to a fair amount of live music there. Bought a new seax and some other odds and ends as well, and sampled some good mead and cider. Last weekend was sunny and warm, but today was overcast and wet with the temperature getting to just barely above 4 Celsius; thank the gods I wore my wool tunic and cloak, although I still felt like an ice block by day's end!

  I'm ready for the winter to go full-swing, as I've spent a good deal of time splitting wood for the fireplace over the summer, and the wood from last year (mostly ash with some walnut and oak mixed in) is seasoned well enough to keep us toasty all winter :)

Question: How do you all prepare for winter in the real world?

Silenia

« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2017, 08:03:58 PM »
Ooh, Renaissance Faires and the likes are fun. We used to have a great annual "Scottish Event" as they called it but it was cancelled this year due to the leasehold of the estate (a monumental building/estate owned by Natuurmonumenten, a Dutch Government Organization for Protected Area) on which the event is hosted not being extended, as well as renovations to the estate.
Said event may or may not return when the renovations are done and there are new leasers of the estate, but it's all really unclear at the moment.

We haven't had many winters worth preparing for the last several years, and even when it's a 'harsher' (by Dutch standards) winter there's not much preparing necessary, other than making sure you have a shovel to clean the driveway if it snows and making sure you have some road salt. (Especially because our municipality has managed to run out of the stuff early in two of the last three winters where we actually had a decent amount of staying snow, though they managed to replenish their stock half a week later or so. Decent amount of snow still being a low amount compared to the more northern countries. It's been a long time since I've seen more than maybe a foot of snow equally spread, and the only time I've seen several feet of snow is when the wind blows it on heaps against some object. I've seen school cancelled due to snow exactly once in my school-time and that was called in so late about 85% of the students ended up at school anyway just to be told "no school" and head back home through the snow...yeah, real useful that. Driving licenses are at 18 here, though, so it's not like anyone had to drive a car. Just walk, bicycle, take public transport or in cases of those 16 and above, drive a scooter. Not that more than a handful of folks even decided to come by scooter what with the snow, from what I remember)

And have some food/blankets/candles or battery-powered torches in case the power/gas/water drops out, but that's just good sense to have in a home under any circumstance. Not that it happens often; if I've had the electricity quit on me for four hours total in the past decade it'll be much; I've been without water last summer when a pipe sprung next town over but that was fixed within two hours and I can't even remember the last time anything happened to the gas. Phone landline and internet have been out a fair few times last summer when they managed to keep. hitting. cables. during construction work but cellphone kept signal so there's that.

It's possible we get a genuinely harsh winter, of course--it happens, just not often--but even so this is the Netherlands. We have basically no wilderness worth speaking of, at least not in the meaning of "being a long way from civilization". Small country with a high population density and all that. We have a land surface area of ~33,900 km2 with around 7000 towns/villages/cities. That's one town, village or city every 4.8 km2 on average(!). There's like...three hospitals with a first aid and emergency post in a ten km radius of me, too, and the roads to them are kept free of snow quite well (provided snow actually falls, anyway--two of the past five winters I've seen less than an inch of snow and it didn't stay more than half a day), other than the ~200m before I actually leave the neighbourhood.

So basically, by the time I'd actually need more than basic preparations, there's a lot more wrong than just winter.

I'll repeat DfDevadander's question: how do you all prepare for winter?
« Last Edit: October 29, 2017, 08:05:37 PM by Silenia »

LoLotov

« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2017, 12:58:02 AM »
I live right by the US/Canada border, and we've been getting nice harsh winters lately. I love driving in the snow, cause there aren't very many other cars on the road, and going slow let's you enjoy the scenery. Pretty much don't prepare though, we sometimes have super mild winters, so you feel silly when you don't need any of your preparations.

My best concert experience is being at the front of the crowd at Mayhem Fest in Auburn, Washington for 3 Inches of Blood when I was 15, right by their bass stack, so I had my hearing blown out for a couple days. Totally worth it, and made me pick up bass guitar.

I just found out a few weeks ago that we've had a rennaissance faire here for the last ten years, but they don't advertise it publically at all. Would've been all over that shit.
Iiiiii juuuuust want to set the woooooooorld onnnn fiiiiiiiiireeeeeee.... Iiiiiiii don't want to start a flame in your heeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrt.
And with your admissiiiiion you feeeeel the same, I'llllll have reached the goaaaal I'm dreamiiiing offfff, believe meeeeee

spamgoose

« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2017, 03:18:42 AM »
I'm in Calgary, Alberta (Canada), so winters can be very random. It's possible to get close to -40(Celsius), but we also get Chinooks that can raise the temperature from deep minuses to positive teens within a day. Chinooks are a strange prairie/foothills phenomenon where warm winds are forced down the Rocky Mountains.

My only preparation is a transition to spending a lot of time in my shed, with an extension cord, a space heater, and too many cigars. It's wonderful playing unreal world with a howling blizzard outside.

Best music experience was definitely any night in St. John's, Newfoundland. I spent my university years in there, where there is an amazing live music scene at basically every bar. The best was probably when The Navigators dedicated the whole night to Pogues songs. That was awesome.

LoLotov

« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2017, 02:35:26 PM »
Infinite candy, three one dollar energy drinks, two packs of pall malls, three grams of skunk, one six-pack of 9%ers and I've got a beautifully made cabin on the Unreal World and new bags under my eyes. The girlfriend blacked out and woke up in her car sans glasses and keys, only to find them in the bushes near the door from a prior attempt at ingress into her dwelling. Anyone else have a good halloween?! :D
Iiiiii juuuuust want to set the woooooooorld onnnn fiiiiiiiiireeeeeee.... Iiiiiiii don't want to start a flame in your heeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrt.
And with your admissiiiiion you feeeeel the same, I'llllll have reached the goaaaal I'm dreamiiiing offfff, believe meeeeee

DfDevadander

« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2017, 09:05:30 AM »
Yes and it's doubly sad that most good faires only run for a month or two during the year :( I make sure to always bring a cookie with me to brighten my day while I'm there, and of course the mead/cider blend is fantastic, even if I only get to have a couple of mugs since I've made a deal with my girlfriend to be the designated sober driver.

My Halloween was quite eventful. My dog decided to try and swallow a piece of scrap leather that was about 15x5cm, and I only knew that because after a few hours of him making these strange hiccup/vomit motions and me loving on him because I thought he was sick, I heard him make the noise and then a chewing sound; so I reached into his mouth and pulled the piece of leather out of his throat. I had felt so bad for him that whole time he was acting strange, and all the while it was caused by his own buffoonery. I have no idea how he got the leather in the first place, but he's now prohibited from being anywhere near any unapproved leather goods.