Zompist Bboard Again

bradrn wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 10:28 am

Lērisama wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 10:23 am ¹ Although weirdly satisfying when it lands on already settled snow like back in 2018, I think it was

Why, what happens then?

It's a nice crunchy feeling when you step on it.¹ Nothing more than that.

¹ Although a false surface to the ground does sound really dangerous now I think about it

Travis B. wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 10:39 am I hate freezing rain, much more so than snow. Far more dangerous as a whole, I'd say.

Yes, freezing rain is worse than snow. Snow is a nuisance; freezing rain makes it almost impossible to leave the house.

Lērisama wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 10:23 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 8:29 am But that's the thing, isn't it? If you have or want to do stuff that involves leaving the house, walking somewhere or taking public transportation somewhere or driving somewhere, rain that freezes as soon as it hits the ground can easily be worse than snow. And that's apparently what they "promised" us here.

It's usually called “freezing rain” in English,

Thank you!

Travis B. wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 10:39 am I hate freezing rain, much more so than snow. Far more dangerous as a whole, I'd say.

WeepingElf wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 12:00 pm Yes, freezing rain is worse than snow. Snow is a nuisance; freezing rain makes it almost impossible to leave the house.

Agreed.

(Note to people reading this from somewhere in the warmer parts of the planet, if any are - perhaps, if I stay in the mood for it, later tonight I might post a quick overview of different kinds of freezing weather and their various practical impacts, a a reference for people who don't know about these things from personal experience.)

In that case, might it be worth splitting off a “freezing weather thread?”

Vacation in the US has ended, and now I'm in Shithole Schiphol on the way back to Luxembourg. Was great to spend time with my mother and cats (and brother too), but (a) it felt like it went by way too quickly and (b) my brother's car broke down on the way to the airport... about 10 mi/16 km away from the airport! Was able to make it to the airport without issue, but I felt bad that I left my brother on the side of the road (though not for so long, apparently) and that he then had to deal with the tow back to Fayetteville and the car dealership to figure out what went wrong. Great drama to start the trip back, and this was compounded with my neighbors on the JFK–AMS plane being complete terrors.

doctor shark wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 12:42 am Vacation in the US has ended, and now I'm in Shithole Schiphol on the way back to Luxembourg. Was great to spend time with my mother and cats (and brother too), but (a) it felt like it went by way too quickly and (b) my brother's car broke down on the way to the airport... about 10 mi/16 km away from the airport! Was able to make it to the airport without issue, but I felt bad that I left my brother on the side of the road (though not for so long, apparently) and that he then had to deal with the tow back to Fayetteville and the car dealership to figure out what went wrong. Great drama to start the trip back, and this was compounded with my neighbors on the JFK–AMS plane being complete terrors.

Sorry to hear.

I just had a complete brain fart for some reason and tried to take a sip of a freshly brewed hot drink. Ouch.

There's a fairly serious argument erupting right now between some people who are, well, I don't know them well enough to call them "friends" of mine, but they're acquaintances with whom I've always gotten along well so far, and who, until now, got along well among each other too. Not pleasant when that happens.

Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Jan 18, 2026 9:30 am There's a fairly serious argument erupting right now between some people who are, well, I don't know them well enough to call them "friends" of mine, but they're acquaintances with whom I've always gotten along well so far, and who, until now, got along well among each other too. Not pleasant when that happens.

That does sound unpleasant. Are you the kind of person who gets dragged in as a mutual sensible acquaintance with some expectation of sorting it out? Because that's exhausting and generally terrible the first time and then desperately trying to get out of it every other time is pretty much the same.

Lērisama wrote: ↑Sun Jan 18, 2026 11:53 am

That does sound unpleasant. Are you the kind of person who gets dragged in as a mutual sensible acquaintance with some expectation of sorting it out? Because that's exhausting and generally terrible the first time and then desperately trying to get out of it every other time is pretty much the same.

No, I don't know any of them well enough to have to worry about that. They know each other better than they know me. But thank you for worrying.

rotting bones wrote: ↑Thu Dec 18, 2025 9:27 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Wed Dec 17, 2025 9:40 am Look, I'm very much in favor of using public transportation. And I wouldn't be able to afford a car even if I would have wanted to do all this by car. But I've got the impression that all this would have taken a lot less time if I would somehow have been able to magically rearrange all the bus and train timetables to be exactly the way I would have ideally wanted them to be.

People who drive cars in the big city sure spend an awful lot of time looking for parking. My cousin never wants to drive to any public place east towards New York because he assumes he won't be able to find parking. If he is driving his car, that means we're simply not going there.

If there were more investment in public transportation, it could be made cleaner and more convenient to use. It's also better for the environment.

[Another necropost, but one that I felt was worth sharing.]

There are apps that can help with the parking issue, at least in some cases. We make use of SpotHero, which is helpful for finding paid parking: you can put in the address of your destination, and the app will show you a map showing parking garages and paid parking lots in that area, including the price of parking at each and the distance to your destination. Once you have chosen a place to park, you can pay online through the app, and it will reserve a spot in advance at that (say) parking garage for the time period that you specify, as well as providing the address, a photo of the parking garage, and other details. When you arrive, you can show the app or scan the provided QR code to enter. SpotHero is only available in the US and Canada, as far as I know, and primarily in larger urban areas, but its network covers over 300 cities. We have made good use of it in Washington, DC and New York City, among others.

At the same time, I also agree that more investment in public transportation would be welcome. In particular, I have had good experiences with most of the subway systems that I have used (Paris, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Washington, DC; the New York City subway was the only one I found difficult), and, to a lesser extent, with some light rail, bus, and tram systems.

Lērisama wrote: ↑Sun Jan 18, 2026 11:53 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Jan 18, 2026 9:30 am There's a fairly serious argument erupting right now between some people who are, well, I don't know them well enough to call them "friends" of mine, but they're acquaintances with whom I've always gotten along well so far, and who, until now, got along well among each other too. Not pleasant when that happens.

That does sound unpleasant. Are you the kind of person who gets dragged in as a mutual sensible acquaintance with some expectation of sorting it out? Because that's exhausting and generally terrible the first time and then desperately trying to get out of it every other time is pretty much the same.

It satisfies me when I get roped in and manage to sort things out.

MacAnDàil wrote: ↑Tue Jan 27, 2026 8:27 am
It satisfies me when I get roped in and manage to sort things out.

I'm not really close enough to the people in question, or important enough from their perspective, to try to do that.

I bought an ebook straight from a small press. I'm perfectly happy with the ebook itself. I'm also perfectly happy that they're selling it as a simple .epub file which I can download and use in whichever way I want.

What I find a bit weird, though, is that they don't indicate anywhere that they're selling their ebooks as simple .epub files which customers can download and use in whichever way they want. I seriously had no way of knowing what exactly I was about to buy before I bought the ebook. Perhaps they'd sell more ebooks if their website would be more reassuring in that regard.

It looks like some troubles I've had with the bureaucratic side of medical care might be about to be resolved. I won't count on anything until I see the end result, but I'm cautiously optimistic for now.

On the one hand, I'm relieved and somewhat happy about that. On the other hand, I'm a bit angry that the whole saga took so long and was so complicated.

Two hours ago, I was feeling fairly cheerful and upbeat, because various things had worked out well for me. Now, because of a few small things, I'm feeling a good deal gloomier. Mood swings like that can be annoying.

First wasp of the year in the apartment today.

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 8:24 am First wasp of the year in the apartment today.

How is that a contradictory feeling? Wasps in your house sound like an obvious bad thing.

malloc wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 11:33 am

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 8:24 am First wasp of the year in the apartment today.

How is that a contradictory feeling? Wasps in your house sound like an obvious bad thing.

Well, it's also a sign of spring.

Raphael wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2026 8:24 am First wasp of the year in the apartment today.

first of many to come