@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

WhippoorwillSong

@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social

Canadian lady writing about life, the end of life, possibly the afterlife... lots of life thoughts.

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WhippoorwillSong, to random
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

Consumerism, and hard times...

It's been conventional wisdom for decades, that when the economy has a downturn, sales of little luxuries like cosmetics go up. (I believe this was first observed during the Great Depression, but that may be a myth?)

Well, cosmetic sales soared in 2023. A record year. Leaving other consumer products in the dust.

💋

WhippoorwillSong, to random
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

How much longer before the prices move upward at the small grocers? This is my question.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10468076/loblaw-boycott-small-grocer-benefits/

WhippoorwillSong, to random
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

A question that I just heard someone else pose... and it seems really valid...

Whatever happened to cheap diner or automat food?

So cheap, that regular working stiffs, students, anyone on a budget, could grab a quick bite to eat and a hot cup of joe?

Even diner food is pricy nowadays. It's a special occasion to dine out, no matter where it is... But how did it happen? With all of our modern food manufacturing and shipping apparatus... shouldn't food be as affordable as ever?

What happened?

WhippoorwillSong, to random
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

One: The shorts that I've been trying to fit into for three years fit now! It'll be a good summer.

Two: Tulips are blooming! Early, but I'll take them.

Three: Time to paint my toenails again! My toes have been liberated for the summer.

#ThreeGoodThings
#3GoodThings

WhippoorwillSong, to random
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

Welp. A CT scan is scheduled tomorrow. Results should be back in a week or two.

This is the first scan since diagnosis. We'll find out if the meds are doing any good (I had to reduce the dose of one, due to side effects.)

I've learned that worrying is a waste of time. That's always true. Worrying helps nothing.

It's tough not to be a little antsy, though. I know I'll have many scans ahead. Some won't be great.

The goal is just to kick the can as far down the road as possible.

WhippoorwillSong, to random
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

I've lost quite a few pounds, since a little over a year ago.

Almost all of that was dieting, before my diagnosis.

I'm at a plateau now, feeling OK.

Hoping to keep the few extra pounds that I have now as a buffer. Always good to have some extra padding there, for the times where I might be under the weather.

And my clothes are all loose, now. You'd think this would be a nice problem to have.

I look at my closet though, and I think "Clown outfits." Bright, colourful... clown outfits...

WhippoorwillSong, to Ottawa
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

It's a beautiful day in and... the impatient drivers are out in full force.

There's an aggressive streak in some drivers that's on full display.

Sitting in my apartment, I can hear any road rage honking and yelling going on around Holland Avenue and Wellington Street West. I've heard at least a half a dozen of these today.

I would love to put speed bumps all down this area and watch people lose their minds.

WhippoorwillSong, to random
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

I partly understand why many people feel some nostalgia towards the 1960s, or some longing for what they see as a halcyon era in the 1960s.

Another part of me is like, that was 60 years ago. Six decades. No one in the 1960s was saying, "We need to be more like the 1900-1910 decade." I can't even with the 1960s anymore.

Part of it is the Baby Boomer shadow, I get that too.

History is longer and richer than that. Are we stuck in the past at the expense of recognizing our unique present?

WhippoorwillSong, to random
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

There's been news articles here and there about the drop in teen sexual activity in recent years. Now this article comes out, about a sharp decline in sex scenes in movies.

So, is it the chicken or the egg? Are the youth of today influencing the movies, or is it the other way around? :

https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/may/02/hollywood-sex-scenes-decline-by-40-percent

laprice, to random
@laprice@mastodon.social avatar

Musk blowing up one of the most successful business units of his struggling flagship company because he got pushback from a female executive is just hilarious.

WhippoorwillSong,
@WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

@laprice @FantasticalEconomics An utter toddler, with no impulse control, no emotional maturity, no gravitas.

Nothing but endless meme fodder. Entertainment for onlookers who like to watch somebody self-immolating on the multi-year plan.

I’ve said it before: he’s our 21st century Howard Hughes. Losing his mind, whatever’s left of it now.

grivettcarnac, to Ottawa
@grivettcarnac@mstdn.social avatar

deleted_by_author

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    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    @grivettcarnac Don’t know these particular specimens.

    But there has been the occasional sighting of confrontational dirt-disturbers in the core, ever since the convoy.

    I really hope that when more people return to the office downtown, that these antagonizers get rounded up and have the book thrown at them for any of these types of antics.

    WhippoorwillSong, to wildlife
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    There were already warning signs about wild geese posted on my office building’s outside doors.

    Now there are signs to stay away from a fox den with cubs that’s located near another part of the building exterior.

    Is it just me, or is the zoo closing in?

    MsHearthWitch, to random
    @MsHearthWitch@wandering.shop avatar

    Anyone else familiar with the hearthcraft tradition of not bringing the old broom into the new house?

    Getting myself a new broom and mop for the new place (they need replacing anyways). But I'm pondering on the treatment of the Roomba and Brava Jet.

    My thinking is to replace the brushes and pads (needs doing anyways). So the machine is the same but the broom-esque part is new.

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    @MsHearthWitch I'd never heard of this. But there must be something to it... I just discarded the old, beat-up broom, and switched it out for a new and improved version with a deeper dustpan, prior to an upcoming move...

    WhippoorwillSong, to random
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    A different take on decriminalization and addiction.

    https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-drug-decriminalization-is-not-to-blame-for-all-of-our-social-woes/

    WhippoorwillSong, to random
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    I find myself surprised that I never see any post-secondary level student "newspaper" accounts on mastodon. (Or student news websites, whatever the kids call them nowadays.)

    Maybe they're here, and I just don't see them?

    They couldn't possibly be on bird site, still, could they? Have they gone to somewhere else?

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    Maybe the talent pool for student journalism dried up over the years... it's been many years since I was at university, after all.

    Maybe all the wannabe Mike Wallaces go straight into marketing or PR programs nowadays instead. I suppose that wouldn't be too surprising.

    excuse_haver, to random
    @excuse_haver@normal.style avatar

    Of all the bellwethers throughout history, “arresting student protesters” is unmatched in identifying the right side of history. Literally undefeated.

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    @excuse_haver Hm, I can think of coups with questionable outcomes had a lot of student support (Iranian Revolution that swept the ayatollahs to power; Khmer Rouge; Chinese cultural revolution etc).

    It's never a good idea to generalize about any generation, simply because they are a certain age.

    coffeegeek, to fediverse
    @coffeegeek@flipboard.social avatar

    Barista Magazine (who are not in the , but really should be - contact them via other socials and suggest it!) continues to get into reviewing consumer coffee gear. The latest is for a hand grinder that wasn't previously on my own radar:

    cc @coffee

    https://www.baristamagazine.com/test-drive-java-g25-coffee-grinder-by-vssl/

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    @coffeegeek @coffee I've got a different hand grinder. It is sooo worth the little bit of extra effort to hand grind some fresh coffee, though. (No counter space for a machine alas)

    WhippoorwillSong, to random
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    Just thinking about some of the things from the 1970s that we just don't see anymore...

    Teens on motorcycles. Hippie pads with groups of kids crashing there. Rusted out, heavily dented cars on the road. Little old ladies still wearing dresses and white gloves with white purses, and little old men still wearing suspenders and fedoras or flat caps. Standalone tobacco stores. Vending machines for cigarettes. Department store displays for sewing and knitting patterns.

    Sigh... how things change.

    RickiTarr, to random
    @RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

    If you could have one new skill starting right now, what would it be?

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    @RickiTarr Bike riding through traffic, long distance. That's a real skill set, which I will never have. Would love to have it though.

    fungible_thadius, to random
    @fungible_thadius@masto.ai avatar

    What did the 70’s smell like? I feel like it would’ve been… not good.

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    @fungible_thadius Way more cigarette smoke than I could even begin to describe, way more.

    Wet polyester and wet fake fur (like on vinyl jacket collars) also have a weird smell.

    There were a lot more cheap, dodgy pubs and dive bars. You'd walk past when someone was going in or out, and the stale beer stench would waft out of the door.

    Car interiors smelled different in the summer. The vinyl seats and plastic parts would bake in the sun. And the ashtrays, they'd heat up and you could smell it.

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    @fungible_thadius I almost forgot oil-based house paint, either interior or exterior. Reeks beyond belief, a very strong chemical smell. Latex paints can't hold a candle to that.

    Household air fresheners have come a long way since the 1970s. They stank like fake pine and other weird things back then.

    Cheap perfume was really cheap. At least nowadays it's mainly a vanilla scent. Back then it was musk that was popular.

    House carpets stank. House drapes stank.

    Everything frigging stank.

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    @Archnemysis @fungible_thadius There were lots of problems, but the pace of life was slower, and I guess we were more innocent when we weren't glued to our phones and our screens.

    We just lived in the moment more.

    No concerns about pollution, toxic or carcinogenic substances, seatbelts, deadly lawn darts, etc.

    Man, I miss the 70s too.

    WhippoorwillSong, to random
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    I guess I might as well vent about disability and working stuff. Why not?

    Usually I have nothing to gripe about, my employer is very on board with accommodations and accessibility. I'm very lucky and I know it.

    So what's there to vent about?

    Other employees' attitudes, assumptions, entitled behaviour.

    I jumped through all the hoops to get assigned to a fix desk in an office where everyone normally "hot desks" (you book a desk to use each day, and there are no fixed, assigned desks).
    1/?

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    This is just the first time someone has broken equipment assigned to me.

    And there are people who help themselves to ergo chairs assigned to other people. That they don't need themselves. They just grab them and take them to another cubicle.

    It's ridiculous. It's insane. It's weird, entitled behaviour. It's human nature, I guess.

    And this is the reality of accommodations. Other people will turn it into something time consuming, burdensome, a hassle.

    And I'm one of the lucky ones...

    4/4

    WhippoorwillSong,
    @WhippoorwillSong@mstdn.social avatar

    I should add: Every problem as a solution, and we're working on it. My boss has even posted signs to keep the pests away from my assigned desk.

    It's just so nuts, though.

    Why can't people just respect the accommodations?

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