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Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
64,141
46,582
In a coffee shop.
Well, just chilling after yesterday's first really spring (not almost summer weather of two weeks ago) and sunny weather of yesterday, today raining and 14° whereas yesterday got up to 18°. That said, I can do some tasks around the house and some e-banking (bills) as the next two-three weeks will be very busy. This upcoming week is the last of the spring semester, then finishing marking and final reports.
Ah, marking.

Good luck with this.

Grading both term essays, term papers, and exam papers: I remember that this used to take weeks of my life each year when I dwelt in the groves of academe.
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,866
2,056
Lard
Statistically speaking I am slightly above average so they should not feel sorry for me unless you mean that they would cry because "there is no hope for humanity".
I've noticed that religious people here try so hard to keep reality away that they don't want any reminders. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the married couples wear three layers of clothing to go to sleep to avoid thinking of what might happen.
 

decafjava

macrumors 603
Feb 7, 2011
5,206
7,324
Geneva
Ah, marking.

Good luck with this.

Grading both term essays, term papers, and exam papers: I remember that this used to take weeks of my life each year when I dwelt in the groves of academe.
Well I am fortunate that I am not responsible for actual marking (though I've done it before) but tabulating marks and grades as well as working with my colleagues for the final semester reports including financial. While I enjoy the fact rain is washing away pollen I am hoping for good weather this coming Friday as our final activity is taking a boat across the Geneva Lake (called Leman by most locals except those in Geneva) for lunch in the small French village of Yvoire.
 

rm5

macrumors 68020
Mar 4, 2022
2,341
2,681
United States
Thing is, in my hometown, the weather is so predictable. Winter it never really gets colder than 30 degrees, spring it's always warm and windy, in the summer it's always over 100, and the fall is just a cooler summer (nothing really changes besides the temperature getting slightly colder). Here, the weather actually changes.
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,866
2,056
Lard
Thing is, in my hometown, the weather is so predictable. Winter it never really gets colder than 30 degrees, spring it's always warm and windy, in the summer it's always over 100, and the fall is just a cooler summer (nothing really changes besides the temperature getting slightly colder). Here, the weather actually changes.
The weather change in Northern California is intense. I remember that it would be 50 degrees F in the morning and over 100 degrees F in the late afternoon. In the middle states, it might be 95 degrees F all night and in the winter, below 0 degrees F for weeks. Florida weather made the most sense to me because it changed about 25 degrees in a 24 hour period.
 
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mtbdudex

macrumors 68030
Aug 28, 2007
2,701
4,294
SE Michigan
adfc6ceac435302f1b08e1f93e9d4fa7.jpg

336f23e1b6fbb7ad6aa0827802165c8a.jpg

Was at a hotel this weekend in Hancock Michigan, picked up my 2 kids from MTU college. Saw these in the hotel hallway, can’t remember last time I saw a “glass breaking device” next to a secured fire extinguisher.
 
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DaveFromCampbelltown

macrumors 68000
Jun 24, 2020
1,562
2,545
Somehow ended up with a squirrel deciding to make its home in the engine bay of our Kia Sorento.

I was driving to Uni in my original model Ford Cortina, and was hearing a funny squeak from the engine compartment. I pulled over, opened the bonnet, only to find a small kitten person hanging on for dear life. I rescued the poor thing, turned around, drove home (now, sans squeak ), dropped her off to her mother, and went back to my lecture, fortunately not late.
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
64,141
46,582
In a coffee shop.
Somehow ended up with a squirrel deciding to make its home in the engine bay of our Kia Sorento.
Better a squirrel than a snake (as has been the case with colleagues of mine).

A nice warm car engine, and add to that a reptile that has just emerged from hibernation, and is now somewhat alert, (rather than somnolent), rather hungry and, yes, it would appear also rather randy, as the business of finding a mate will be uppermost in its reptilian mind when it awakes from its winter slumber.
 
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scubachap

macrumors 6502a
Aug 30, 2016
501
811
UK
Somehow ended up with a squirrel deciding to make its home in the engine bay of our Kia Sorento.
There's a big and increasingly expensive problem here of foxes sneaking under cars and having a good chew on anything rubbery they can find.
 

someoldguy

macrumors 68030
Aug 2, 2009
2,757
13,369
usa
Several years back , I had a Ford Fusion . Bought it new , and around 6 months after I got it ,I started having strange malfunctions in the lights . Took it into the dealer as it was under warranty , and the guy there said that the wiring harness got gnawed by squirrels . Apparently , the materials surrounding the harness' wires were made from a soy based plastic that the local critters found tasty .
 
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rm5

macrumors 68020
Mar 4, 2022
2,341
2,681
United States
I have honestly been having a really bad day. Can't wait for it to be done. Even though I answered all the questions thoroughly, I still feel like I didn't do well on my midterm. And I got news that a friend of a friend passed away. I didn't know them, but I can only imaging how my friend feels right now. It's just not been good, unfortunately.
 
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Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
64,141
46,582
In a coffee shop.
I have honestly been having a really bad day. Can't wait for it to be done.
That sounds rough.
Even though I answered all the questions thoroughly, I still feel like I didn't do well on my midterm.
I would imagine that you probably did a lot better than you think.

In my experience, people (students) who work hard, study hard, and care about their studies, often feel like this when they sit a paper.
And I got news that a friend of a friend passed away. I didn't know them, but I can only imaging how my friend feels right now. It's just not been good, unfortunately.
My sympathies.

Again, my experience (and recollections) is that deaths of friends (or friends of friends) that occur when you are a young student tend to hit one somewhat harder than, perhaps, later in your life.

For some, it may be their first introduction to death, the first time that someone they know - of, roughly their own age - has died; this is always a shock, and can be very upsetting, for, when we are young, sometimes, we feel that we are immortal.

And we're not.

Anyway, the very best of luck.
 
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bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,866
2,056
Lard
SOMEONE cut the telephone line in my area.

7 days without the internet.

Thank god for the BT Openreach guy today aka Mr fixer.

That socket was old old.

Very happy now.
More than a year ago, thieves were cutting the big copper cables in a certain area that was mostly farm land. The big three mobile phone companies would be down and then later, the biggest cable TV company, mostly not at the same time. Thankfully, the local county's sheriff's office found them trying to sell the copper.
 

Herdfan

macrumors 65816
Apr 11, 2011
1,121
7,629
How people regularly travel between the east coast and west coast.

I grew up in the Eastern time zone. Sure I went west on trips, but that gains me time. So I was up for breakfast at 5 in Vegas and ready to go to bed at 9, but that is doable.

But I recently made my first trip back east after living in the Pacific time zone for a year. It was horrible. Could not get my body clock adjusted. So I was just sitting around doing nothing after midnight as it was still 9 on my body clock. You can force yourself to stay up much easier than you can force yourself to go to sleep.

I don't understand how celebs and others do the east/west coast travel as often as they do.
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,866
2,056
Lard
How people regularly travel between the east coast and west coast.

I grew up in the Eastern time zone. Sure I went west on trips, but that gains me time. So I was up for breakfast at 5 in Vegas and ready to go to bed at 9, but that is doable.

But I recently made my first trip back east after living in the Pacific time zone for a year. It was horrible. Could not get my body clock adjusted. So I was just sitting around doing nothing after midnight as it was still 9 on my body clock. You can force yourself to stay up much easier than you can force yourself to go to sleep.

I don't understand how celebs and others do the east/west coast travel as often as they do.
I'm not sure, either.

I was born in Japan and much of my life through school years was spent on the edge of Central and Eastern time zones. I was comfortable waking up around 4 in the afternoon. When I returned to Japan, I was waking comfortably at 6 in the morning.

Only my internal clock knows why.
 

Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
55,441
53,294
Behind the Lens, UK
How people regularly travel between the east coast and west coast.

I grew up in the Eastern time zone. Sure I went west on trips, but that gains me time. So I was up for breakfast at 5 in Vegas and ready to go to bed at 9, but that is doable.

But I recently made my first trip back east after living in the Pacific time zone for a year. It was horrible. Could not get my body clock adjusted. So I was just sitting around doing nothing after midnight as it was still 9 on my body clock. You can force yourself to stay up much easier than you can force yourself to go to sleep.

I don't understand how celebs and others do the east/west coast travel as often as they do.
Probably easier when you travel by private jet and don’t have to get up early for work the next day.
Try doing it from LA to London. That really messes you up!
 

mtbdudex

macrumors 68030
Aug 28, 2007
2,701
4,294
SE Michigan
More than a year ago, thieves were cutting the big copper cables in a certain area that was mostly farm land. The big three mobile phone companies would be down and then later, the biggest cable TV company, mostly not at the same time. Thankfully, the local county's sheriff's office found them trying to sell the copper.

It’s crazy how at Home Depot / Lowes the copper wire is all behind lock n key due to theft. Like all stores now.
 
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bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,866
2,056
Lard
It’s crazy how at Home Depot / Lowes the copper wire is all behind lock n key due to theft. Like all stores now.
When I lived in Florida from 1998-2008, they were trying to put copper theft into law, where scrap metal dealers had to identify people bringing copper to them, and how much they had.

The thieves were going to the roofs of unfinished buildings and ripping up the air conditioning units.

As an aside, the local Grocery Outlet has the Spam locked up at the front of the store. I used to laugh at the TV advert about razor blade refills where the alarm was sounded when someone tried to access the refills. Now, the local Walmart has almost anything locked up. Target has had to lock up the gift cards because people would take them, put the numbers into their system, make them look new, return them to the store, and when someone bought them, they'd have money.
 
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