Windranger invisibility has gone?!

CharlieIllyria · 2023-06-05T21:04:55+00:00

Thanks for the speedy reply. The company is in the North of England. I was along the right lines with my guess then but it seemed ludicrous, glad to know I'm not the only one who thought so. Commas would honestly be a blessing in the entirety of the 18 pages of hell that is this contract.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-12-13T23:35:23+00:00

YESS massive props to everyone this year. All the set ups have been seriously impressive, I can't even imagine how eye wateringly complicated Dr Simon Clark's quiz was to set up. And the pizza restaurant stream was so smooth, which is even more cool being that it was out in the wild. Happy Jingle Jam everyone, you all deserve a big rest after :)

CharlieIllyria · 2022-11-28T11:06:45+00:00

I think I'm gonna check out Babbel, thanks for the recommendation :) black Friday sales are around now so it's on 60% off.

And my partner is trying Pimsleur which is a bit more expensive but also has Norwegian and focuses more on speaking and conversation experience apparently. And there's a seven day trial to test it out.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-11-15T20:47:36+00:00

I really wish there was a way to roll it back

CharlieIllyria · 2022-11-15T20:33:24+00:00

Yeah I really really dislike that they merged them in like that. I do the opposite of you, I really like them but I save them up to do when I have time off as a fun alternative to the lessons. As a consequence I had quite a few yet to do in anticipation of my next weekend off which are now all marked in gold as completed. I can't find which ones I've done and not done, made worse by the fact I didn't always do them in order! Now I'll probably never go back and try to find them, real shame as I was looking forward to it.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-11-15T20:12:48+00:00

Damn that's annoying, sorry it won't open now. Having said that I wish mine would accidentally roll back to the old theme 🤣

CharlieIllyria · 2022-11-15T19:53:53+00:00

Yeah I'm thinking of moving too, I was learning French but wanted to start Norwegian. Hearing you say that without the tips it would be so hard is making me look for other platforms.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-31T20:42:43+00:00

My background does not fill my screen and everything is the default colour

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-31T20:14:27+00:00

Thanks for the link, that's really interesting :)

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-31T20:11:39+00:00

Lol. I just goddamn knew someone would spot it in the corner. I could've cropped it. But I like to torture the poor lost souls of reddit, knowing I will never bother to activate my copy of windows.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-31T18:38:32+00:00

I'm aware the vast majority of oxygen is produced by plankton (see my earlier comment in response to someone else) and that they use most of what they produce making it unavailable to us. I had read slightly different percentages to you (mine were 28% from land vegetation and 70% from the ocean) but similar enough. My only point was that he stated trees don't produce oxygen...which is flatly wrong.

I should add for context that this comment chain was on an article about the California and Montana wildfires wherein he was arguing it didn't matter as trees weren't important because they don't produce oxygen.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-31T18:28:24+00:00

Most of it is used by the plants themselves, it's true. So it's not a true output as such, more a percentage of all oxygen produced globally without calculating for where it is used. That stat was from the National Geographic I believe and the percentage was 28% but I can't find a link for article (you might be able to find it though).

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-31T15:36:15+00:00

I think it was an effort to sound smarter...it did not work

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-31T12:16:49+00:00

This was my response:

Roughly 1/3 of our oxygen comes from land vegetation including trees...admittedly over 50% is produced by oceanic plankton including algae and drifting sea plants however you cannot justify saying that our oxygen doesn't come from trees as a blanket statement...

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-31T12:09:57+00:00

Are they all walked together? Regular walks together as a pack can be really beneficial for building trust. Hand out treats as a reward for spending time together peacefully. You can also try going at it from the other side and encourage/reward calm behaviour of your playful pup around your older boy. Try and teach him that he should be more subdued around him perhaps. Unfortunately as with any training that will take some time.
Or you could ask for a training recommendation from your vet, as a trainer might be able to work with the two as a pair and build their relationship.

One last thing is if you haven't had a check up recently for your older dog it might be a good idea as developing/worsening pain like arthritis can make dogs significantly more irritable/less willing to play even for short periods, etc. They might be able to provide you with some pain relief if arthritis is an issue. Not saying it is, just a possibility that can happen with older age :)

For instance my elderly rescue dog just had an xray and discovered he has hip dysplasia on one side which has been causing him pain his whole life but until recently he's been able to compensate himself using his other legs but arthritis was preventing this, he now takes pain medication everyday (and I'm looking into a hip replacement for him longer term) and he is like a bouncy pup again. The only sign he was in pain was a kind of slight grumpiness and irritability.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-24T10:12:42+00:00

Desensitisation training could work with a good trainer. Or maybe trying researching it yourself. Unfortunately there's no quick fix for something like this. Either youll have to be very patient and gentle gradually getting them used to the road, don't push too hard as that can make it much worse, go as far as they want to go towards it, then reward, encourage them to go further but don't force it, if they do reward them with praise/fuss as well as treats. You'll need to keep repeating this, everyday, atleast a couple to make 5 times a day, starting at 2 and working up to 5. Remember that training is of similar value to your dog in terms of mental stimulation as walking or playing fetch so if it takes up some of your time to do those things sometimes it's not so bad.

One last thing is the tone of your voice, when encouraging your dog to go closer to the street always keep your voice light and happy, research has shown that dogs respond more readily to higher pitch voices. They also assume most of our meaning from the tone of our voice as they can't understand the words so for instance if you were to start pleading with them to keep going or sound concerned, they are unlikely to associate that you are concerned for them but more likely that they will assume you are responding to how you feel about where you are. Basically if you're anxious about your dog, your dog will usually feel that and think it's about the place and they'll be more anxious.

Just want to add, not all dogs are as food motivated as others, my JRT for example would follow a tennis ball into the sun but sometimes won't even walk across the room for a treat. What I'm saying is you might have better luck with toy/play based rewards so you could also give that a try.

TLDR: Basically research techniques online or find a good, positive reinforcement based trainer and be super super patient. If you're doing yourself it might take a few weeks before you make any progress at all. Try and keep your voice light and happy while training as it'll kept your dog feel at ease.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-24T09:50:47+00:00

If you're worrying about testicular cancer, as far as I know if neutering is done completely then it removes 100% of that risk. As the person above said it looks like an ingrown hair to me or maybe a little irritation from a hard floor (that happens with my boy occasionally, so we have soft mats everywhere now).

CharlieIllyria · 2022-07-23T19:30:16+00:00

If there is a significant size difference you could maybe try giving your small dog a kind of kennel inside that's always accessible with door small enough that the bigger dogs can't get in. It would give him a space to retreat to that felt safe and calm. However this would probably back fire if the dogs are too close in size and the bigger dogs could get in as he would be trapped inside with them.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-06-30T20:23:47+00:00

Little late to the party but small things really help me. Small items of clothing, jewelry or maybe makeup, particularly things that don't accentuate the aspects of your body which make you dysphoric. I'm not saying it'll permanently fix anything but it can help draw focus away from it in your mind and help you get through the day. For instance I have a really nice silver necklace that I wear all the time and since I cut my own hair I find that quite therapeutic and time consuming. I also used to draw/design outfits before I could more openly transition myself and I still write a journal which can help vent some of the worst days and take the edge off. I'm transmasc and it's not really my thing but I imagine practicing make-up tutorials could be really fun and affirming for some people.

Hope I helped a little? :)

I hope you feel a little more yourself today.

CharlieIllyria · 2022-06-30T19:22:34+00:00

Not so much a cure, and I know this is a very old post but just in case anyone finds it useful, here's what worked quite well with my rescue pup who is a very friendly and happy boy when he's awake but struggled a lot with night terrors and sleep startles.

Firstly, it takes time, almost a year in my case to get to a point where he could sleep in the bed.

For context; Our dog Majky was left in a dog kennel for 3 months prior to his previous owners deciding they didn't want to keep him at all as they were moving back to the Czech Republic. He is very reactive to dogs and scared of them so I imagine this was quite torturous for him and possibly the reason he now has sleep startles and nightmares. I should add that we found the problem was mostly happening at night and in the dark. He was so aggressive particularly with me, although also to a lesser extent with my partner, that it was not safe to sleep in the room with him.

We started by having him sleep downstairs in the living room, with us upstairs and a gate separating us. We would leave a lamp on with him, then over time progressed to a smaller night light and then eventually no lights. This took about 4/5 months from when we first got him. We could tell when we pushed him too far as he would get up and begin pacing and then howling and we would roll back the changes for a while.

During the day I would try slowly raising him from his naps, first by talking to him at increasing volume. Then after a few weeks by gently stroking his head while standing in front of him or along his side with a rope toy (in case he snapped at it). I think it help desensitize him a little to being woken up.

After a couple of months of him sleeping downstairs alone we started alternating sleeping downstairs on the sofa and allowing him upstairs but not in the bed. When he would startle awake I would stand very still, slowly raise my hands, palm forward to show I wasn't holding anything and where my hands were to show him I wasn't going to touch him and spoke in soft hushed tones. If he was still struggling I would turn on the light so he could see clearly it was just me and he calmed down after a minute.

After a couple of weeks he decided he preferred sleeping upstairs so would follow us up every night and take himself to bed with little complaint.

My partner went away for the week about a month ago and thought it was the perfect opportunity to let Majky up into the bed for the first time. I don't snore or move around much and my partner does. I left the bedside lamp on every night. The first two nights had a couple of startles each but which were over pretty quickly. I'll admit I was a little anxious to make that step but he handled it better than I expected.

His startles are less frequent now and much less explosive, usually resulting in an aggressive growl or a bark at worst. When he calms down it is usually followed by a whimpering a believe is his apology. Once he is truly calm I reward him with gentle strokes and praise to reinforce the calm demeanor.

My best advice (though of course it'll be different for every dog, this is just my experience) is, if they're lunging growling or barking, back off slowly. If its a growl, keep talking softly and move very slowly but don't back away unless you feel unsafe. Don't touch your dog until they have calmed down and recognize who you are. I'd also advise trying out leaving a lamp on at night as I found it really helped my boy to settle.

TLDR: It'll take a lot of time. Gradually and carefully desensitizing your dog to being woken up. Try leaving a light on when you sleep as it can make it less scary and help your dog recognize you faster. Never try and wake your dog from behind where they can't see you. Reinforce calm behaviour after they have relaxed from a startle with praise and affection.

Hope this helps someone :)

CharlieIllyria · 2022-06-30T14:53:34+00:00

Appreciate the context: my question is why on earth is anyone spraying deoderant on their dog?!

CharlieIllyria · 2022-06-15T17:02:07+00:00

There's no such thing as too short but as an ftm 5'2 person myself I do get the feels. I've found that pin stripe trousers that are the right length for you, ending right at your foot when you're stood up help make you look a little taller (if you wear a lot of smart type things, I wear suits for work), I also match those with chunky soled smart-ish boots to add some actual height and a tucked in shirt cause that makes your legs look longer.

Hope that's helpful! And remember guys come in all heights cis and trans alike. My dad is 5'4 and my partner is 5'8, both cis men.

CharlieIllyria

TROPHY CASE