Zompist Bboard Again

Oh, I loved the landscapes. I never visited Glasgow, but Edinburgh is really beautiful and has everything you might want in a city.

The Scots were extremely friendly. In fact, I had the impression they were extra friendly to French people; in any case, I met a folk singer who was convinced France is some sort of socialist paradise. (I tried to disabuse him, to no avail I'm afraid.)
I also really liked the pub scene. I'm partial to a pint or a wee dram so of course I felt right at home.

Ares Land wrote: ↑Tue Sep 09, 2025 10:26 am Oh, I loved the landscapes. I never visited Glasgow, but Edinburgh is really beautiful and has everything you might want in a city.

The Scots were extremely friendly. In fact, I had the impression they were extra friendly to French people; in any case, I met a folk singer who was convinced France is some sort of socialist paradise. (I tried to disabuse him, to no avail I'm afraid.)
I also really liked the pub scene. I'm partial to a pint or a wee dram so of course I felt right at home.

Edinburgh is where I am from and like going back. My wife and I also went to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Shetland this European summer.

I just visited Edinburgh today! It was very pretty, albeit touristy… not that I wasn’t expecting that.

bradrn wrote: ↑Wed Sep 10, 2025 11:47 am I just visited Edinburgh today! It was very pretty, albeit touristy… not that I wasn’t expecting that.

Sounds lovely! I hope you're enjoying the UK so far.

bradrn wrote: ↑Wed Sep 10, 2025 11:47 am I just visited Edinburgh today! It was very pretty, albeit touristy… not that I wasn’t expecting that.

Which bits did you go to?

alice wrote: ↑Wed Sep 10, 2025 2:51 pm

bradrn wrote: ↑Wed Sep 10, 2025 11:47 am I just visited Edinburgh today! It was very pretty, albeit touristy… not that I wasn’t expecting that.

Which bits did you go to?

Just the usual tourist sites around Waverley station: Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, the Scott Monument, etc. More interestingly, we also went to the National Portrait Gallery to try find some artwork done by a distant relative; unfortunately it turned out to be in storage, though we did get shown a portrait of his mother Muriel Spark.

bradrn wrote: ↑Wed Sep 10, 2025 2:55 pm Just the usual tourist sites around Waverley station: Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, the Scott Monument, etc. More interestingly, we also went to the National Portrait Gallery to try find some artwork done by a distant relative; unfortunately it turned out to be in storage, though we did get shown a portrait of his mother Muriel Spark.

So you're distantly related to Muriel Spark? Interesting! What's your impression of Scotland so far; do you think you'll last the winter?

alice wrote: ↑Thu Sep 11, 2025 2:44 pm

bradrn wrote: ↑Wed Sep 10, 2025 2:55 pm Just the usual tourist sites around Waverley station: Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, the Scott Monument, etc. More interestingly, we also went to the National Portrait Gallery to try find some artwork done by a distant relative; unfortunately it turned out to be in storage, though we did get shown a portrait of his mother Muriel Spark.

So you're distantly related to Muriel Spark? Interesting!

Indeed I am! Her (ex-)husband was related to my grandmother.

What's your impression of Scotland so far

Well, there’s quite a lot of weather here…

do you think you'll last the winter?

At the moment it’s quite cold enough for me! They say it only gets worse from here, though. I guess we’ll see!

(My supervisor says I’ll be fine, but then again he’s also the sort of person who’ll happily go out on a small boat in -20°C weather…)

bradrn wrote: ↑Thu Sep 11, 2025 3:23 pm

alice wrote: ↑Thu Sep 11, 2025 2:44 pm do you think you'll last the winter? :)

At the moment it’s quite cold enough for me! They say it only gets worse from here, though. I guess we’ll see!

(My supervisor says I’ll be fine, but then again he’s also the sort of person who’ll happily go out on a small boat in -20°C weather…)

There's not much in terms of cold weather that more layers of clothing can't solve. [looks at Glasgow weather] Actually, Glasgow's weather looks pretty fine, though this is coming from someone who dealt with two-and-a-half winters in central Wisconsin and three winters in Snowhio. Lack of sunshine may be sad, but it's not the bitter cold and meters of snow. (And you have the south of France and Italy for escapes to milder climes.)

doctor shark wrote: ↑Fri Sep 12, 2025 3:49 am

bradrn wrote: ↑Thu Sep 11, 2025 3:23 pm

alice wrote: ↑Thu Sep 11, 2025 2:44 pm do you think you'll last the winter?

At the moment it’s quite cold enough for me! They say it only gets worse from here, though. I guess we’ll see!

(My supervisor says I’ll be fine, but then again he’s also the sort of person who’ll happily go out on a small boat in -20°C weather…)

There's not much in terms of cold weather that more layers of clothing can't solve. [looks at Glasgow weather] Actually, Glasgow's weather looks pretty fine, though this is coming from someone who dealt with two-and-a-half winters in central Wisconsin and three winters in Snowhio. Lack of sunshine may be sad, but it's not the bitter cold and meters of snow. (And you have the south of France and Italy for escapes to milder climes.)

As for Glasgow in the winter, from what I hear though it is supposed to be damp cold as opposed to the dry cold of here in Wisconsin. Apparently dry cold is easier to tolerate than damp cold...

I had originally planned to post this in the Venting thread once the latest round of trying to handle malloc's problems had calmed down a bit, but that thread is temporarily locked now, and it's really closer to a contradictory feelings thing anyway, in the sense that it's not exactly world-shaking, so here it goes:

Fairly often, when I'm doing something, I get this really strong feeling that I forgot to do something small but important, or that I got something small but important wrong.

For instance, when I'm out in public, I usually have my backpack with me. And every now and then, I get this really strong urge to double-check whether I really closed all the zippers on my backpack. Because I keep getting the impression that I must have left some of them open.

Another example: This happens less often now than it used to, but I used to get really convinced, shortly after I left an apartment where I lived, that I must certainly have forgotten to lock the door. So I had to go back and check, and usually discovered that I had locked it just fine. Of course, that happened especially often during that time back in my twenties when I lived on a somewhat high floor in a building without an elevator for a while.

Even when I vote in an election, sometimes, when I'm on my way home from the polling station, I start to seriously ask myself, "Did I accidentally vote for someone else than the one for whom I wanted to vote?"

Is there some kind of psychological technical term for that kind of thing?

Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Sep 14, 2025 5:19 am Is there some kind of psychological technical term for that kind of thing?

Sounds to me like you have mild OCD! As a fellow sufferer those feelings are highly recognisable.

Raphael wrote: ↑Sun Sep 14, 2025 5:19 am Is there some kind of psychological technical term for that kind of thing?

Not sure, except for what Bradrn said, but I recognise the feelings, to an extent.

I get those feelings too -- one thing I've often felt is that I might have left a faucet running, the refrigerator door open, or a burner on (!) so I feel I must go back and check before I leave the house. And likewise, I sometimes worry I left the house unlocked or that I voted for the wrong person (or forgot to vote at all).

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sun Sep 14, 2025 12:00 pm I get those feelings too -- one thing I've often felt is that I might have left a faucet running, the refrigerator door open, or a burner on (!) so I feel I must go back and check before I leave the house. And likewise, I sometimes worry I left the house unlocked or that I voted for the wrong person (or forgot to vote at all).

As it happens, ‘worrying that you left the stove burning’ was my previous therapist’s favoured go-to example for illustrating OCD.

bradrn wrote: ↑Sun Sep 14, 2025 12:08 pm

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sun Sep 14, 2025 12:00 pm I get those feelings too -- one thing I've often felt is that I might have left a faucet running, the refrigerator door open, or a burner on (!) so I feel I must go back and check before I leave the house. And likewise, I sometimes worry I left the house unlocked or that I voted for the wrong person (or forgot to vote at all).

As it happens, ‘worrying that you left the stove burning’ was my previous therapist’s favoured go-to example for illustrating OCD.

Usually I don't worry that the burner is running full-tilt but rather that it is slightly on but not lit, slowly leaking gas into the house.

That said, I am not dxed with OCD but only with 'OCD tendencies', as mine are relatively mild and significantly outweighed by my primary dx, bipolar I.

I am also an OCD sufferer and I can confirm what the others are saying.

Travis B. wrote: ↑Sun Sep 14, 2025 12:33 pm That said, I am not dxed with OCD but only with 'OCD tendencies', as mine are relatively mild and significantly outweighed by my primary dx, bipolar I.

Yes, that is my impression of Raphael’s symptoms too.

Man in Space wrote: ↑Sun Sep 14, 2025 1:32 pm I am also an OCD sufferer and I can confirm what the others are saying.

I haven't been diagnosed with OCD, but I do have similar, er, traits. A good one is getting halfway down the street and having to go back to check that I haven't forgotten to lock the door, or that I haven't accidentally left open flames lying around for the cat to knock over.