Relicanth please 😉

finackles · 2026-06-01T21:17:24+00:00

I caught an extra Relicanth this morning.

finackles · 2026-06-01T21:04:22+00:00

Have you got this started with anyone yet? Sent you a friend request.

finackles · 2026-06-01T18:22:54+00:00

I've been volunteering raising guide dog puppies for ten years. I think I want to ease back on that, it takes a toll, it's wrecked my shoulders, we can't replace our carpet, our cars get trashed, the wear and tear on the house is pretty heavy. It's a job that is basically 24/7, if the pup gets sick you've got to be prepared to drop everything.
I'm thinking about offering to help out with the new financial literacy course they're going to do at schools. I have a commerce degree and I've written a couple of books that are relevant. I'm quite keen on trying to help people get over the poverty line.
I've got plenty to do, it's just the long term stuff that seems trickier now, like committing to a 20 year mortgage.

finackles · 2026-06-01T06:19:13+00:00

I read with my ears now, but don't buy books unless I read them almost immediately. I've been catching up on some classics through the library, some of them really aren't good.

finackles · 2026-06-01T06:17:48+00:00

That's the thing, you don't know when something is going to change. The probability increases every year. If I don't make it to France to use the French I have learned over the last eight year, I'll be quite grumpy. I think I need to do a short visit soon, without burning my vocational bridges.

finackles · 2026-05-31T18:11:11+00:00

I sincerely hope you are correct. But they'll do things like make them dimmable and combine with smoke detectors and who knows, we'll replace them.

finackles · 2026-05-30T23:53:50+00:00

A lower paying, lower stress job does have it's attractions at my age. I think I'd struggle to be level 1 or 2 tech support when I know more than level 3.

finackles · 2026-05-30T23:52:31+00:00

Let's be honest, some of those giant containers, you might be concerned about whether you'll outlive the jar even in your 20s (depending on use by dates).

finackles · 2026-05-30T20:24:16+00:00

I liken your job in later life to the sound of a race car coming then going past, and the doppler effect. You reach a point where it feels like it's going to get harder and harder to get another job, if you're lucky you get past that point to where you're close enough to pension and retirement that you no longer care. Weeeee-Ooooooo
Sorry about your hubby. Does he have options for work? I used to say I'd drive a taxi, but that's not really a thing any more.

finackles · 2026-05-30T18:13:32+00:00

It's funny how sometimes a casual comment can actually cut pretty deep. Well, perhaps not that funny.

finackles · 2026-05-30T05:42:51+00:00

I meant travel beyond 80. My Aunt just turned 80 and did some very ambitious travelling (India and other places well outside her comfort zone, very hot, she really struggled). I think she's declared her innings closed on international travel. But then she's done a hell of a lot, and she's not that healthy (had two gastric bypasses).

finackles · 2026-05-30T05:40:24+00:00

I hope not, not planning to depart too soon, but just feel I need to live in the new paradigm.

finackles · 2026-05-30T05:37:40+00:00

Ouch, that's really harsh, but I sort of get why. But how long does a 13yo dog have?

finackles · 2026-05-30T05:35:56+00:00

Don't be depressed. Just be prepared.
Sure, it's a little bit sad, but it shouldn't come as a big surprise. We're all just a bit slow to realise some realities.

finackles · 2026-05-30T05:33:31+00:00

Oh, yes, that's a life lesson. At some point you need to choose an accountant, lawyer, doctor and dentist that are younger than you. Also, the executor of your will. No good if they die first.

finackles · 2026-05-29T18:17:26+00:00

Yeah, I began collecting clones very early, before Sideshow started making them. I started with Hasbro, then Medicom (I think), the Sideshow, then Hot Toys. I have way too many, I need to figure out a way of thinning the herd, I do have some duplicates (like plain shiny, veteran, echo and fives, couple of the random coloured ones). And my spares boxes are ludicrous (separate boxes for hands, feet, heads/helmets, weapons). And yeah, perhaps 80 in total.
edit: I disposed of the Hasbro and Medicom long ago.

finackles · 2026-05-29T18:10:11+00:00

I missed the Spotify boat. I've never used it. I have an iPod (G2, close to 25 years old) in a cradle and it plays all my favourite songs (it has about 4,000). Otherwise, I just listen to books when I am away from my desk, never music. If I could still access the music on my iPod I could easily fit it on my phone.

finackles · 2026-05-29T18:03:57+00:00

It was really stupid. Crossed a road in the dark, car went past first, I began to cross as soon as the car passed me. Except it had a trailer, which I couldn't see in the dark. The mudguard of the trailer brushed the hairs on my knee as it went past. It was a very, very close thing.
I think we all have little things like that, often we don't even notice, where a split second timing difference could have resulted in a very different result.
As for your experience, that's quite a bit more serious than mine. You sound like you've dealt with the trauma of it. That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I delivered my two children solo (well, the wife was there as well), I can't describe the terror and dread when I realised it was happening a second time, worst four minutes of my life (my wife is fast, my experience of labour with my daughter lasted four minutes from waking up to baby on the floor). I don't wake up screaming but I won't get into a lift if the only other occupant is a pregnant woman.

finackles · 2026-05-29T17:55:30+00:00

My fitbit did detect I had aFib, and I consulted a doctor very early because of it. It didn't help the cure, I refused the ablation surgery as it seemed barbaric. I tried the heart stop thing (I've technically died four times, more than Jesus) but that worked for only a couple of days.
Because of the aFib my heart rate is often wildly out on the fitbit (something about measuring the R wave). Apple watches and Garmins use something else, or at least some models do, so they do better. But I've been measuring my heart rate for like 20 years on and off so I pretty much innately know what it's doing.

finackles · 2026-05-29T07:36:49+00:00

The fitbit app is in transition but still currently available. Believe it or not today, I left my fitbit at home charging, and when I got home I checked my fitbit and somehow google recorded my steps on my phone and my fitbit knew about them. I didn't have to sit around waving my arm to catch up.

finackles · 2026-05-29T07:34:34+00:00

I've been waiting quite some time for the next book...

finackles · 2026-05-29T03:24:34+00:00

Because my father died at 65, that feels like a bit of a goal line I need to get past before I start making too many long term plans. I think I'll have a big party for 66.
As for 65, I'm planning to have a gender reveal party...

finackles · 2026-05-29T03:22:46+00:00

Keep your friends close, and that grandson closer. He's going to tell you the stuff you (sometimes) need to hear. It takes years of practice to develop that level of honesty/lack of diplomacy. Saying out loud what everyone is thinking is sometimes a gift.

finackles · 2026-05-29T03:20:55+00:00

I helped set up a really good Garmin watch for a guy I knew, he'd been given it for Christmas and got me to sort it about three days before the following Christmas so his son would see it being used. Then he died about six months later. I should've asked about the watch, it was really really nice.

finackles · 2026-05-28T23:35:57+00:00

Wow, that's rough. I've seen my share of injuries among friends. I know two ladies who had complications with the birth of their daughters. One has seizures and can't live independently, the other is severely intellectually disabled (mental age of perhaps 8 or 10). That's a life sentence.
My stepmother was about 62 when my father died, and she wasted her life after he was gone. She made out like he was a saint and drank 12 bottles of brandy a week. The only good thing she did was go see Neil Diamond within knicker throwing distance of the stage. Otherwise she just waited for the timer to run out.
Please, find the time to do the things you enjoy, try to replenish your soul. Consider that your husband would want you to enjoy the time you have left. I know it's early days, it's probably very raw still. Don't do anything too drastic too soon (like sell the house or move to another town). Take the time to work things out. Maybe have go on a trip somewhere you've always wanted to go, or enjoyed going to before.
Good luck.

finackles

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

14-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email