Real Life and What's Happening...

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After living in NYC for a couple years I remember watching a group of teenagers beat the shit out of a dude and steal his wallet while I was on my way to get a tattoo. All I did was laugh. I didn't interfere or check on the dude or even call the cops. That's when I realized it was time to get back to CA.
Is NYC considered to be very "impersonal" like this still? I've read people say it has changed since the 90s, but don't know how accurate that is.
 
Had my first covid vac shot last week.
Seems like all the cool cats are doing it :grin:

Day two was full of headaches and mild temp, plus lethargic+++
Day three was just lethargic, but after that ok.
Arm is still a bit sore one week out.
Now just looking forward to when I can get the booster out of the way

This may end up being a yearly thing I reckon
Hopefully all these vacs can help turn the tide with this bloody virus

Stay safe everyone :thumbsup:
Honestly, I feel that they're gonna be a booster shot requirement every six to eight months due to the large group who drag ass on getting the vaccine. ☹
 
After living in NYC for a couple years I remember watching a group of teenagers beat the shit out of a dude and steal his wallet while I was on my way to get a tattoo. All I did was laugh. I didn't interfere or check on the dude or even call the cops. That's when I realized it was time to get back to CA.

I would have called the cops and checked on the person; most New Yorkers aren't that cold
 
Is NYC considered to be very "impersonal" like this still? I've read people say it has changed since the 90s, but don't know how accurate that is.

Actually, it wasn't that bad when I lived there (which was most of my life). Not everyone was/is impersonal; due to the population size, it gets a bad rap because the percentage of scumbags is higher than many other areas. I only left because I couldn't afford to live there anymore. I'd have stayed if I could afford to stay. Don't get me wrong, Portland's nice, but there are many things about it that are worse than NYC. The homeless are a much bigger problem here than in NY, and they're too lenient on trespassing imho.
 
Actually, it wasn't that bad when I lived there (which was most of my life). Not everyone was/is impersonal; due to the population size, it gets a bad rap because the percentage of scumbags is higher than many other areas. I only left because I couldn't afford to live there anymore. I'd have stayed if I could afford to stay.
Where did you live in the city? I was there in the late 90's and it wasn't a bougie neighborhood. On the first fucking day I lived there someone set a car on fire in front of my ground floor apartment window. From an outsider's perspective, it's not like everyone there is a scumbag but you gotta cultivate a certain degree of callousness to get by. While on the street don't engage with people, don't make eye contact, and that terrible thing happening over there is none of your fucking business. After a certain point it just wasn't worth it having to be a hardass all the time even though the nightclubs were good.

Don't get me wrong, Portland's nice, but there are many things about it that are worse than NYC. The homeless are a much bigger problem here than in NY, and they're too lenient on trespassing imho.
Even though West Coast bums lack the obnoxious aggression of NYC bums their sheer numbers makes up for it. They tend to concentrate in areas with more uh lenient polices towards homeless like San Fran and Seattle. Where I live, the Orange County sheriffs are notorious for relocating homeless to other areas so I guess I got that going for me.

Is NYC considered to be very "impersonal" like this still? I've read people say it has changed since the 90s, but don't know how accurate that is.
I have been led to believe that since I left, gentrification priced out all the low life scumbags and now NYC is kid- and hipster-friendly. I haven't been able to personally verify this.
 
What mic are you using and how do you like it?
I'm using this mic.

It's one of those things if I had more money I'd probably go heavy in on a mic, but honestly, it is actually pretty good.

I do streams for my work, and the audio quality on them sounds good. (I have the pop filter off of it right now, as I ordered a new one that doesn't take up as much space).
 
I'm using this mic.

It's one of those things if I had more money I'd probably go heavy in on a mic, but honestly, it is actually pretty good.

I do streams for my work, and the audio quality on them sounds good. (I have the pop filter off of it right now, as I ordered a new one that doesn't take up as much space).
What would you say are it's deficiencies? I've been looking at getting something for online play.
 
Today is usually my Friday but due to the schedule with my second job I don't have a day off until the 20th. I'm livin' La Vida Loca.
My kid went to Beacon hill (near where Giganotosaurus Giganotosaurus lives for the rest of you) this last week with mom and loved it. I need to convince her it is ok for the two of them to be gone for a week galavanting around wherever. Even two weeks would be fine. She’s not really working and he has online school for a week. Goddamn, go crazy. Take him to Thailand, have a blast.
 
My kid went to Beacon hill (near where Giganotosaurus Giganotosaurus lives for the rest of you) this last week with mom and loved it. I need to convince her it is ok for the two of them to be gone for a week galavanting around wherever. Even two weeks would be fine. She’s not really working and he has online school for a week. Goddamn, go crazy. Take him to Thailand, have a blast.
I'm trying to determine if there's a Beacon Hill near Spokane, or if you just thought that I lived near Seattle.
 
Where did you live in the city? I was there in the late 90's and it wasn't a bougie neighborhood. On the first fucking day I lived there someone set a car on fire in front of my ground floor apartment window. From an outsider's perspective, it's not like everyone there is a scumbag but you gotta cultivate a certain degree of callousness to get by. While on the street don't engage with people, don't make eye contact, and that terrible thing happening over there is none of your fucking business. After a certain point it just wasn't worth it having to be a hardass all the time even though the nightclubs were good.

I lived in Flushing, in Queens. However, I worked in Manhattan many years, as well as hung out there. I've never seen anything like you're describing other than on the news. Where exactly were you living at the time? Where I lived, most people were friendly. In Manhattan you had some assholes, but I didn't have to avoid making eye contact with people (outside of crazy homeless people), or engaging with someone if I needed to (unless I was dealing with a trespasser at work). That doesn't mean bad shit didn't happen; the riots during Dinkins administration or things like the Diallo shooting are good examples of the bad shit that does happen. But it wasn't always like that in my experience. I lived there more than 40 years, and if I could have afforded to stay, I would have. That wasn't feasible, so I left.

On the other hand, 80's and early 90's Times Square wasn't always safe. I remember a group of Teamsters started shooting at a rival group in the middle of the day. As nutty is Guilianni is now, cleaning up Times Square is something he got right. Once it got cleaned up, it was a much nicer area

Even though West Coast bums lack the obnoxious aggression of NYC bums their sheer numbers makes up for it. They tend to concentrate in areas with more uh lenient polices towards homeless like San Fran and Seattle. Where I live, the Orange County sheriffs are notorious for relocating homeless to other areas so I guess I got that going for me.
West Coast bums can be just as bad as NYC ones. I've encountered more than a few here that were just as bad as some I had to deal with in NY. The fact that they set up their tents wherever the hell they like here wouldn't happen in NY.
I have been led to believe that since I left, gentrification priced out all the low life scumbags and now NYC is kid- and hipster-friendly. I haven't been able to personally verify this.

Brooklyn was turning into hipsterville years before I moved out west. There was a running gag about it on Two Broke Girls. Harlem gentrified by the early 2000's. Where I lived wasn't gentrified, but the quality of life was good as far back as I can remember. I had wonderful neighbors (most of our block showed up for my dad's wake after he passed), and until the mid-2000's, I knew almost everyone on my street by name. As more Koreans moved onto our block, they didn't associate with us much (language was one reason, but I'm sure there were others), but they didn't ignore people either. It was more of a friendly nod type of situation with them
 
West Coast bums can be just as bad as NYC ones. I've encountered more than a few here that were just as bad as some I had to deal with in NY. The fact that they set up their tents wherever the hell they like here wouldn't happen in NY.
Seattle homelessness is a special. There's a school in seattle with a homeless camp apparently on school property and the city won't deal with it unless the school district asks which it apparently has not. This place is weird. I don't know what the right call is but if this is what the right call looks like it's a very different world than I'm used to.
 
I lived in Flushing, in Queens. However, I worked in Manhattan many years, as well as hung out there. I've never seen anything like you're describing other than on the news. Where exactly were you living at the time?
I lived in on the 1st floor of a 3 story brownstone in an obscure place called Long Island City. It's basically the western tip of Astoria. The neighborhood wasn't that bad I guess other than minor crime committed by gangs of young jabronis and the usual crazy people. I never learned the story car on fire in front of my apartment. I spent most of my waking hours in the city. I find it really strange that your experiences were so different than mine. I got a chipped tooth and nasty scar on my forehead as a reminder that the city was full of scumbags.

Admittedly for most of my life I have been a beacon for strange people so maybe that accounts for many of my experiences in NYC. I used to feel like I had an invisible sign over my head that says "Hi, I am friendly and approachable, come talk to me!" because complete strangers would frequently initiate conversation and share the most intimate details
 
because complete strangers would frequently initiate conversation and share the most intimate details
I had a guy once sit next to me on a bus heading back from a hospital and start talking about his colon woes. Looking back on it he probably just received some bad news from his doctor and just wanted to talk to someone about it. Still didn't need to know about it.
 
I had a guy once sit next to me on a bus heading back from a hospital and start talking about his colon woes. Looking back on it he probably just received some bad news from his doctor and just wanted to talk to someone about it. Still didn't need to know about it.
"Thanks for sharing!"
 
I had a guy once sit next to me on a bus heading back from a hospital and start talking about his colon woes. Looking back on it he probably just received some bad news from his doctor and just wanted to talk to someone about it. Still didn't need to know about it.
When I was visiting a famous NYC hospital (six weeks, longest I’ve ever been away from home), an elderly gentleman — always with a “WWII veteran” cap — used to take the same bus as I did and ask for help getting into the bus. I gladly obliged, of course.

One day I asked about the cap and he commented that he was Spanish (he did give
Me a Spanish surname) and fought on Spain.

Puzzled, I mentioned that I never knew of any WWII battles in Spain.

He took a few seconds, looked sideways and went: “well... I was what you might call today... a spy.”

I went all in. “For which side?”

Another, longer pause and a distant stare. “I worked for both sides.”

And then my stop came up.

I’ll never know whether he was pulling my leg.

But it was a memorable exchange.

Never saw him again at the bus stop, coincidence or not.
 
When I signed up last Friday for my upcoming vaccination, the online form asked for a lot of information. Among the pieces was the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. There was an opt-out box, however, that said 'I do not have a Social Security number.'

The form also asked for a mobile/cell phone number. There was no opt out for this and you had to provide it or the form would not allow you to proceed to the next page and ultimately schedule your shot. So I guess the people who designed the form could imagine a person without a Social Security number, but not one without a cell phone.

As it happens, I have a Social Security number, but no cell phone. Fortunately it would accept the number of my office land line, or I would still be trying to schedule an appointment.
 
Went on a bit of a spending-spree with some of my stimulus money @ REI yesterday. Got a new running hat, a super-lightweight outdoor jacket, a new pocket knife, a couple fun t-shirts, a nice plaid shortsleeve button-down shirt, and trail-jambalaya packet.

Drove to the city's edge, to check out the new BBQ restaurant, City's Edge, but it turned out they were closed because they had an employee test positive for COVID. So instead, I drove up to Evanston and tried an old, but new-to-me BBQ place called Hecky's. Got a brisket sandwich and baked beans. It was old school- sandwich was just bread, brisket, and BBQ sauce. I enjoyed it. Probably wouldn't go out of my way to go there again, but if I was in the neighborhood and hungry, I would return.

My city, state, and workplace all still have mask mandates in place, and I'm bored of all my current masks. Any suggestions for places to get fun/cool masks?
 
When I was visiting a famous NYC hospital (six weeks, longest I’ve ever been away from home), an elderly gentleman — always with a “WWII veteran” cap — used to take the same bus as I did and ask for help getting into the bus. I gladly obliged, of course.

One day I asked about the cap and he commented that he was Spanish (he did give
Me a Spanish surname) and fought on Spain.

Puzzled, I mentioned that I never knew of any WWII battles in Spain.

He took a few seconds, looked sideways and went: “well... I was what you might call today... a spy.”

I went all in. “For which side?”

Another, longer pause and a distant stare. “I worked for both sides.”

And then my stop came up.

I’ll never know whether he was pulling my leg.

But it was a memorable exchange.

Never saw him again at the bus stop, coincidence or not.
Some classic disinformation tactics there!
 
Anyone have suggestions for a good laptop case? The laptop is a 15" HP.

In the past, I've always left my laptop at home when I travel, but I'm doing a lot more computing these days, so I think I'll bring it on my upcoming trip.
 
Impossible! No way there could be two Beacon Hills in North America!!
:-)

I tried to have a little fun with folks when I moved from Raleigh NC to Portland OR...

In the Portland area, there are the Raleigh Hills and there's a Durham...

When I went to college, I had to educate folks about coming from "the" Lexington (MA) since Lexington to many was Lexington KY...

And of course growing up in Lexington and Concord I of course immediately thought of Beacon Hill in Boston when I read that...
 
Every morning, sitting alone at work, I hear voices whispering indistinctly. Sometimes angry. Sometimes sad. Always at the edge of hearing, too low to make out words.

It was a relief to discover today that the mailroom guy likes to start his mornings by watching Netflix on his phone while leaning against the other side of the wall behind me.
 
week 2 of contractors. I just cannot believe it. I really can't believe they have this job. It's un-fucking-believable. get out of the room and let the adults do this.
 
I lived in on the 1st floor of a 3 story brownstone in an obscure place called Long Island City. It's basically the western tip of Astoria. The neighborhood wasn't that bad I guess other than minor crime committed by gangs of young jabronis and the usual crazy people. I never learned the story car on fire in front of my apartment. I spent most of my waking hours in the city. I find it really strange that your experiences were so different than mine. I got a chipped tooth and nasty scar on my forehead as a reminder that the city was full of scumbags.

Long Island City is no more a representative of what the entire city is like anymore than the South Bronx is. There are bad neighborhoods and there are good ones. LIC was a bad area until (iirc) the early to mid 2000's. Astoria in general is pretty nice. My favorite place to eat is on Steinway street. It's one of the things I still miss about NY.

I never had to worry about getting jumped at random (except when I worked security at Trinity Church, because that was after Regan emptied out all the mental health facilities, so we had a lot of homeless with mental issues hanging out), but on the street? I never had any problems walking around, day or night. I went to a lot of shows in Manhattan (I can't recall how many times I went to CBGB's and was in that area up to 2 or 3 in the morning) as I was working in the music industry in the mid-late 90's

We did have MS13 moving into our area a few years before I moved out west, but I never had a run in with them (thankfully). Maybe I'm just lucky, but I don't recall anyone I know who had your experiences either.

Don't get me wrong; I've read about plenty of bad stuff going on (I grew up during the Summer of Sam, and I remember the Diallo shooting); I saw part of what happened on 9/11, but then again, who in NYC at the time didn't? But that's really the only thing the city as a whole dealt with imho. What happened to you was terrible, and I'm sorry your experiences while living in NYC were like that. It just wasn't representative of what everyone living there at the time had to deal with or go through though.
 
What happened to you was terrible, and I'm sorry your experiences while living in NYC were like that.
I appreciate the sentiment but it's wasn't like mentally traumatizing or anything I just got on the wrong side of a 3-man ass beating by some jabroni dirtbags. I got fucked up but I didn't wind up in intensive care or anything. I grew up in a tough Mexican neighborhood where getting jumped was an accepted risk for outdoor kids, it's just surprising behavior to see in grown ass men who aren't wearing gang colors.
 
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Went to the dentist today after a month of fairly strong pain in the tooth, preventing sleep etc.

All went grand, but the new dental nurse is Japanese and she told me Japanese women get their teeth distorted on purpose sometimes because the "cute girl next door with crooked teeth" look is popular there. Thought that was interesting.
 
Went to the dentist today after a month of fairly strong pain in the tooth, preventing sleep etc.

All went grand, but the new dental nurse is Japanese and she told me Japanese women get their teeth distorted on purpose sometimes because the "cute girl next door with crooked teeth" look is popular there. Thought that was interesting.
Everywhere has their little things that make a foreigner go "Huh?!"
 
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