Well, THAT was transcendentally unpleasant, but at about 7 this morning, a final excruciating moment of agony largely ended the pain.
I case you're wondering, it felt kind of like this...
...but different.
Having been up (save for fitful naps of less than an hour) for a week, I immediately collapsed and slept through my alarm clock.
This was by far the worst kidney stone episode I've ever had, even the one that impacted and required surgery a few years ago did not approach this in pain.
An important note to my readers regarding home remedies:
I have gathered that while some products do indeed facilitate the dissolving of certain types of kidney stones, they are stone-type specific. Maniacally chugging vast quantities of them can push the PH of the kidney too far in the other direction...which causes very rapid formation of entirely different kinds of stones...in my case less congenial ones.
1
When I did the "13 stones in 12 months" back around 2000-2001, it was discovered that I had uric acid stones, as opposed to the more common calcium stones. Uric acid stones have the unfortunate property of being nigh-on invisible to the x-ray machines of 15 years ago, meaning they couldn't do anything to help (like break them up with ultrasonic cannon, which use x-rays as targeting devices).
Once I passed the biggest stone (which had sharp points!)... well.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Fri Oct 23 20:45:06 2015 (a12rG)
2
The usual controlling factor for women is that acidity allows yeast infections, but seldom does it get that far unless combined with stress. I suspect you have had a lot of stress lately, so acidity was probably achieved faster.
So yeah, be glad you are a guy....
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at Sat Oct 24 10:49:59 2015 (3wybu)
For over a week, I have not one, but two of these that have embarked on their respective journeys of discovery. One of them seems to have stopped just short of the threshold, either due to second thoughts, to contemplate how different the journey might have been on the right side, or simply to ensure that there is a record of its passing etched permanently along the path. Though both are born of the same awesome process that gives us spectacular cave formations, I confess I have less appreciation for the miracle of their formation than I might if they were not cutting up my urinary tract.
But enough bio-crystallography; here is something, that while in no way a substitute for content, is at least pleasant to look at.
Hestia, goddess of the hearth, ribbons, and win by Mr.Vi
(Note: Most of the discussion of Hestia's character design tends to focus on the physics of her ribbon, but I'm more curious as to the function of the air intakes over her ears.)
Built to fight the Barbary Pirates (yes our first war was against Islamists) the ship distinguished herself in that war as well as the War of 1812, where the ship defeated HMShips Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane, and Levant and in the process earned the nickname "Old Ironsides".
Saved from the breakers by public outcry, the ship served for nearly a hundred years, circumnavigating the world, fighting pirates and slavers, serving as a a school ship, carrying out various diplomatic duties, and on occasion even supporting archeological and oceanographic expeditions. In 1874 she carried the US delegation and display to that year's Paris World's Fair.
After a spell as an accommodation hulk, the ship was restored as a museum ship in the early 1900's and is moored in Boston harbor, the oldest commissioned warship afloat.
1
Also the first US territory visited by a pope.
It was super cool to visit it in Boston. Reading a lot of Napoleonic sea stuff beforehand will help a lot.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at Wed Oct 21 17:47:23 2015 (ZJVQ5)
2
Right now she's in dry dock. If you go into the USS Constitution Museum immediately adjacent to the dry dock, you can put your signature on one of the new copper plates that will be replacing the old ones on her hull.
Posted by: thornharp at Thu Oct 22 20:39:32 2015 (nuTMQ)
1
That's exactly how I've been feeling. The trailers and teasers have so many elements that look wonderful, but I don't have any faith in what Abrams will create. Star Wars isn't high art, but it does have certain beats that you have to get right. As George Lucas proved, just putting some canon names in the movie doesn't make it all OK.
Posted by: Ben at Wed Oct 21 10:19:56 2015 (SqM8E)
1
I remember seeing this at an anime club in Philly, then seeing the translated version (I think in a theater). Back then, of course, no importer would ever THINK of leaving a film completely intact, they had to prove they were important by editing it. So for some reason they changed the order of the segments, and I think they left one out, but I could never be sure.
Posted by: Mauser at Mon Oct 19 04:21:29 2015 (TJ7ih)
It's long but warrants a read (though one should probably ignore the breathless headline). STRATFOR can be hit or miss on their predictions, but they do give a decent overview of what's happening now and, more importantly, they also keep an eye on parts of the world that get less coverage.
I started to post on this some time ago, but could not find he words or the time and, in any event, felt I needed to cool my jets as I was being inordinately vexed by a matter that, on its face, was fairly trivial.
Well, it's been a month and a half and this still bugs me.
Earlier this year, at the World Science Fiction Convention...
"Oh crap! Please don't talk about THAT out in the open!"
UPDATE:The linked story is problematically parsimonious with the pictures. There is a better spread at the Daily Mail of all places and, of course, a bunch of super high-res pictures can be found at the New Horizon's page at NASA.
I've gotten through 3 more episodes of Is The Order A WABBIT!!? and this trite series about wacky young baristas working their way through...high school(?) continues pushing the envelope on bromidic cuteness. I had thought that the first three episodes were exceedingly möe, but that was nothing compared to the next episode which cranked the sweetness up to eleven. Fortunately the show has just enough senseless violence...
This is nothing compared to what happened to the crêpe.
...that it is amusing me sufficiently I to continue watching it for now. The show is doing a masterful job of lulling its audience into complacency, but I'm pretty sure that the woman who has begun stalking our protagonists has a sinister agenda...no doubt connected in some way to a giant Robot buried beneath the cafe.
Or perhaps not..
...but even if that theory is Jossed, this cornucopia of anachronisms and cuteness does have some things going for it.
Posted by: Mauser at Sun Oct 11 03:22:09 2015 (TJ7ih)
2
Well, this tournament has been upcoming for two seasons now. If they didn't do it there would be grief.
Also Cinder appears to be planning to set her plan in motion during this festival. At least that's what the dialog concerning Torchwick's 'jumping the gun' seemed to imply.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Oct 11 03:46:40 2015 (LImEF)
3
Love the characters, but once I realized the story was actually headed toward a tournament I lost some enthusiasm. Every time an action show does a tournament I usually stop watching; it's just too tropey and predictable.
Of course, considering Monty Oum created the storyline, I should have expected a fighting tournament.
Posted by: Ben at Sun Oct 11 14:10:37 2015 (DRaH+)
4
If I remember correctly, they talk about "the tournament" in the very first episode. This is not news, this is not a surprise, and given the track record of the show, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. While I surely can't tell you what to do, I can certainly suggest that you do the same.
Posted by: Wonderduck at Sun Oct 11 15:52:26 2015 (a12rG)
5
They did, but I never felt like that's what the show was about. I thought I'd was just background information or a setting detail. I'll certainly give the new series a try; Oum demonstrated with Dead Fantasy that he can make a straight fight scene interesting. I'm just hoping it's not a "Match One, Match Two, Match Three, etc." thing.
Posted by: Ben at Sun Oct 11 20:16:21 2015 (gPTe0)
Article 5 of the Washington Treaty (generally referred to as the NATO Charter, to avoid confusion with that other Washington Treaty...and because it IS the NATO CHARTER) reads as follows...
Article 5 of the Washington Treaty:
The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.
As an aside, apropos of nothing, I'm sure..., here are a few of the mornings headlines...
I am have tests coming up and no time to opine on these matters so instead I'll just leave this here.
UPDATE@22:44:
Tam has comprehensive yet concise thoughts on the matter here as well as worrying confirmation that it's not just me looking to Fred Thompson for insight on this matter.
1
I'm sure you'll be excited to know that Russians attacked ISIS with 26 cruise missiles today, launched by 3 MRK (Small Missile Ship) and 1 Missile Cruiser "Dagestan". If it's any consolation, MRKs expended their ordnance and had to return to base for re-arming. This being a 21st century, they posted an official video to Youtube.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Wed Oct 7 19:53:48 2015 (RqRa5)
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Oct 7 22:46:25 2015 (LImEF)
3
Well yeah... It is logistically easier than driving ships through Bosphorus into Eastern Med, given that the missiles have sufficient range anyway. Note, however, that MRK can cross over between Black and Caspian sea, should the need arise. In fact I suspect Dagestan might as well. It was launched well upstream and it's about 1/8th size of Moskva (which is BTW nuclear powered) - only displaces 1400 tonnes. Despite the diminutive size, those are basically missile fregates and are supposedly seaworthy.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Thu Oct 8 00:19:38 2015 (RqRa5)
4
Actually, come to think of it... There's a channel that connects the Moskva river with Neva basin. I know about that because I heard of river cruises between Moscow and St. Pb.. But Neva is connected (through lakes) with White Sea. There was a famous canal, which Stalin built, basically lined with bones of dead prisoners. White Sea freezes in the winter, but otherwise those MRKs and frigates can go from Caspian to Baltics and to North sea. Well, technically.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Thu Oct 8 00:23:03 2015 (RqRa5)
5
Didn't I read that some of the missiles came short and landed in Iran?
6
CNN launched that rumour, without any kind of source. But frankly I would not be surprised. Flying 70 ft off the ground virtually guarantees hitting a bird or radio tower, if you do enough of it. I covered 3000 nautical miles last week and had to maneuver around a bird once, but I was between 1000 to 3000 ft off the ground. And I am quite certain those rusty Russian missiles are not entirely reliable. It's a surprise all 26 left the launch tubes this time.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Thu Oct 8 23:02:37 2015 (XOPVE)
A ship is a perfect platform for a laser weapon, because it's mobile, has plenty of electric power, and potentially has things to shoot at.
The nicest thing about a laser weapon is that guidance is easy. You don't have to lead the target; you shoot exactly where you see it, because the beam is moving at the speed of light (of course).
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Tue Oct 6 05:17:10 2015 (PiXy!)
2
Well, you could live in Toledo, where this happens in low spots in town every time it rains... but the drainage is better everywhere except the low bits of the streets, so only the roads under the railroad underpasses get inundated like that....
So yeah, that is pretty impressive amounts of rain.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at Tue Oct 6 17:25:12 2015 (ZJVQ5)
Questions For My Readers Regarding Matters of No Importance
Some months ago, in a moment of indiscipline, I picked up a DVD ofDid You Order the Hossenfeffer?and, having watched the first three episodes I'm wondering if I've missed something.
Where ARE they? It looks like Rotterdam and I initially thought that the protagonist (Cocoa) was, in fact, an exchange student, but everyone else has (unlikely) Japanese names and the mannerisms, school related rituals and references to samurai indicate this is not the case. Sentai's subtitling seemed a tad off at first, and I was wondering if I'd missed something or this is just set in "Myazaki land", a theme park...or perhaps Hokkaido.
Setting aside, the show seems to be a standard CGDCT series but has made me laugh a couple of times. However, the cast has transcended quirky and appears to have been generated by randomly pulling approved ipseities from Tumbler. We've got the directionally challenged, the lesbian, the autistic cubist, the girl intimately in touch with her exotic culture who is not from the American southeast, and the tribble who identifies as a pre-op transexual rabbit. In contrast, there is also something of a combo breaker...
...the badass barista of competence who warrants a completely different sort of trigger warning. There is no indication as of yet that her Browning is an air-soft...which simply adds more questions about the setting.
(I've noted no zombies as of yet but remain hopeful)
1
The "Fake Europe" setting is rather common. Sometimes it's rather medieval (an excellent example of it can be seen in GBF of all things!
It's Matsushita's original world and it's stolen from one of old Gundams.). Other times it's a fantasy tinged, such as in Haibane Renmei. Or it may be "realistic fake Europe" like in Kokoro Toshokan. Either way, it's a common idiom and Gochuumon wa Usagi Desuka follows it right on center. I specifically mean a common idiom outside of sword-and-sourcery genre, where it is a part of the standard setting both in Japan and U.S.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Mon Oct 5 15:13:01 2015 (RqRa5)
2
Oh, and just for the record, GochiUsa didn't earn top marks at Ani-nouto. Even came close to being dropped, despite being intensely popular among my co-workers. Steven was more positive, but he's in it for screencaps.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Mon Oct 5 15:25:10 2015 (RqRa5)
As Pete says, all I did was scan through it looking for plunder. But if there's any actual plot to the series I couldn't discern it. It's pure "cute girls doing cute things" from one end to the other.
Rize (the one in your picture) is the prize, though. She's the one who owns all the guns.
4
I wan't sure.
There were an awful lot of Japanese specific cultural references and those threw me.
It's pleasant enough, I've laughed out loud a couple of times, but it cranks the möe up to disturbing levels. 3 episodes may be the maximum safe dose in a sitting without risking insulin shock.
Rize, however, Rize is win.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Mon Oct 5 17:12:02 2015 (LImEF)
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Mon Oct 5 17:25:57 2015 (RqRa5)
6
My owner and I tried as hard as we could to like this show. I think we made it to ep nine or so, then gave up. It may have been their attempt to introduce a plot that finally ruined it for us. Many, many charming elements along the way, though.
Posted by: Clayton Barnett at Mon Oct 5 17:53:34 2015 (lU4ZJ)
7
The second season starts on Saturday if you're after more.
Posted by: Riktol at Wed Oct 7 14:35:34 2015 (7kvRN)
