stm25rs

I got back in the gym for the first time in 3+ years on Friday, went again today. I need to get back in the routine. On our trip to the Smokies, I got what I assume is patellar tendonitis - knee pain, particularly when going downhill carrying the daypack - on our long hike. Talked to my buddy who is a veterinarian and fitness nut (I'm also looking up physical therapists in the area). Said best thing to do is rest and ibuprofen till pain goes away, then exercise more. Can't exactly strengthen the knee joint itself, but can strengthen the muscles around it to limit strain on the knee. Previously when I've had my gym phases I only focused on bulking up/strength, in the interest of vanity (read: trying to get laid). Now I'm in my 30s, noticing little signs of my body getting old, and thinking more long term, so looking at conditioning/stretching routines, yoga, etc.

Our dog likes to put his head on pillows but hasn't quite figured out he can move them. My buddy has a greyhound who is nuts for pillows. She'll move them around and make herself a pillow fort.

Such a rough life he has

Tried giving my dog pills in cheese (but realized cheese, even a little bit, gave him diarrhea). Tried peanut butter, he'd just kind of suck on the pill/PB glob then spit out the cleaned off pill. Have been doing the pill jammed in the back of the throat method. He doesn't seem to mind too much. Usually give him a couple small treats right after to help make sure it's swallowed. Had to give eye drops for a week last year. First couple days he was traumatized but I got a good method down that made it go smoothly

I like scrambles, definitely more physically challenging than just walking on rocky/uneven stuff, but from a purely foot comfort thing, I'll take scrambles over walking on jagged rocks any day

Trail runners on rough/rocky terrain? Are you a masochist, or do you just hike so often on rough terrain that you get used to it? I'm talking stuff like this:

Back from another trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, camped in Smokemont. Went last fall for the foliage, and were looking for wildflowers this go round. I think we were a bit past the peak blooms, but still saw a good variety, especially at mid/high elevation. Really want to see the rhododendrons in bloom. Looked like the buds were starting to form, so I'm guessing they'll start to pop in the next couple weeks. Hiked about 35 miles over 4 days, longest day was 14.2...that kicked my ass. Also made me think I should get some mid or high top hiking boots with stronger soles for rough terrain. I have a pair of Merrell hiking shoes which are great for easy to moderate trails, but on the rocky trails I felt every single rock jabbing my foot, and my ankles were killing me.

Millennial/newish homeowner thought - how did people learn how to do diy home repairs pre-youtube? I don't even mean major renovations, just small stuff. Like a hose bib stem leak or sink handle cartridge leak. Rely on a paid repairman? Tribal knowledge from friends/family/neighbors? Were hardcopy product manuals readily available? A book on common repairs and how-to steps? The internet sure has a lot of garbage, but people that make basic diy videos have saved me so much money. I can't fathom paying a plumber $100+ to come to my house just to spend a couple seconds tightening a packing nut to stop a leak.

Sorry to hear about the long covid. That was the main reason I decided to get the vax. I'm young and healthy enough I wasn't worried about rona death, but seems like the covid long haul thing is very random in who suffers

Buddy of mine finally got a house under contract. Started looking early this year and was having a hell of a time. Bidding wars, places being under contract within a couple days of listing, etc. He and his wife decided they wanted to move to the area we grew up in...northern Baltimore County, for anyone familiar with the area, and wanted to be close to the highway for ease of commute, so a fairly limited geography they were shopping in. His last ditch effort was sending unsolicited letters to houses in the area he was interested in. Was like a college application letter - included info about himself and his wife, how they loved growing up in the area and wanted to move back, wanted a nice sized yard for gardening/entertaining/dog, good school system for the family they'll be starting soon, etc. And it worked! The seller was already preparing to downsize, but was planning on late this year. They agreed to a closing date in July. Got a decent price too.

What are those calls about anyway? I figure it's a scam of some sort, but is it a phishing scam to get personal data? Or is it just a pushy sales scam, trying to get you to sign up for some kind of shitty extended warranty?

Ted Nugent has the rona. Or maybe it's just fever....cat scratch fever

Another weekend, another hike

I'll do some serious irrigation like that once I have a house with a yard and can do real gardening. Ended up ordering a basic kit from the Drip Store, using drip tubing, and a Bhyve wifi timer. Will be setting that up this weekend. This is my "garden" for now, plus a couple railing boxes out back with herbs that will just continue to get manually watered.

Anybody here have an irrigation system for plants? I have a few containers with flowers and looking to setup an automated irrigation system so I can be lazy and not manually water every day (and twice a day in the middle of summer) Main thing I'm trying to decide on is do I use drip tubing or individual emitters. Might do a mix, drip tubing for the bigger containers, then emitters for the smaller containers

Been a bit over 24 hours since my 2nd dose of pfizer. No major side effects. Felt a bit dehydrated/dry mouth last night even though I was chugging water. Arm was pretty sore over night, so didn't sleep too well. Very minor headache this morning.

The opposite has been the case for the handful of people I know that have had both doses. I just got my 2nd Pfizer a couple hours ago.

This is the MO of prosecutors in all kinds of places....search coercive plea bargaining if interested in reading more.

In general, what I've seen over the last year (outside sales for industrial process controls) is that the maintenance workers are pretty lax - masks hanging under their chins, eating lunch/taking smoke breaks together, etc. The guy I was talking to said their patient zero would take off his mask when talking to people, despite constant reminders that doing so kind of defeats the purpose. When I meet with engineers at plants they tend to be much more mindful of masks, hand hygiene, distancing when possible, etc

Gotta love it when the loonies from both ends of the spectrum find some common ground

One of my customers was out with covid for nearly 4 weeks. Said it started out with mild symptoms for a few days, then downhill for a few days, then hospital. Was on a ventilator for a week to stabilize his condition, then got antibody treatment, and recovered over the next week. Said it's by far the worst thing he's been through, and this guy has been through some shit. Medical discharge from the military after an explosion shattered one of his legs. Broke his back falling off a roof. Bone cancer in his forearm. He's in the maintenance department, and one of his coworkers apparently came in not feeling well. Ended up with 7-8 people, most of the maintenance team, getting it. One of them (not anyone I've met) died. The guy that apparently kicked it off there is having some heart problems from it. He was at a big wake for a family member several days prior to showing up to work sick.

Why, are they saying it's antisemitic? I've seen some libertarian/sovereign citizen types saying Real ID is tantamount to Nazi Germany, papers please, wear the star of David kinda stuff.

My previous license had a star cutout in a black circle, so already Real ID compliant. I think it just varies by state regarding gold vs black star. Maryland mails out the licenses so all I got today was a printed out temporary license.

Renewed my driver's license today. The DMV here in MD is by appointment only due to Covid, and it was great....in and out in about 20 minutes. Hopefully they keep the appointment system going forward.