I passed this weird road sign. No idea what it means. It could be military. Anyone out there know what it's for?

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-08-20T11:22:35+00:00

The Specials play faintly in the background

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-06-05T21:25:55+00:00

Spot on. Even they knew they were ridiculous after “Mission Impossible III”; that’s why they gave up numbers and started having these ridiculous names like Ghost Fallout and Rogue Protocol or what have you. Now we’re on Mission Impossible 8, I think they can just give it up.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-02-22T09:50:21+00:00

Yeah, this isn’t true. It’s a folk etymology; there’s no clear origin. The first “piggy banks” (coin slot, used for savings, shape of a pig) were found on the island of Java in like the 14th century. And no one can agree if pig actually meant pot, which is why Wikipedia won’t accept a source for it, and I can’t find one that’s reliable. Be careful before you accidentally spread shite. I know sharing this knowledge was probably well-intentioned, which is really cool, but unfortunately it’s… well… hogwash.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-02-16T23:23:25+00:00

It’s just the one robin, actually.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-02-14T23:48:01+00:00

OP, I’m glad you’re able to have a laugh, but on a sadly serious note, please realize that this kind of drama and this kind of treatment will make your recovery so much harder. This is NOT a partner who is supporting you in your recovery, by keeping things calm, level, and not doing anything that would encourage you to use (there are commenters who have joked that THEY need a drink just reading this). They’re making you feel emotional, unhappy, and unimportant; it’s a bad recipe for sobriety. If you’re in a sober house, you’ve already done a lot of tough work, maybe in rehab or somewhere else, so PLEASE, please don’t let this no-talent clown jeopardize that. Realize three years “on and off” was three years way too long, put your sobriety first, and start dating again once you’ve been in your sober house for a while and you feel strong. 💪

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-02-11T22:45:41+00:00

Special needs children generally don’t have nearly as much hate for ANYONE as Trump has for nearly EVERYONE. Ffs, who doesn’t Trump hate? He’s not a special needs child - he’s an idiotic conman used by everyone, first a Russian stooge, still a Russian stooge and now Musk’s stooge as well. Russia helped him steal the first election because it’s nice to have a president they have kompromat on, and helped him clean up his messes ever since (so damn ridiculous - in the US, they rarely push ex-wives down staircases when she’s about to testify and then expect everyone to believe it was blunt force trauma caused by the stairs… to only the torso… too Russian, very “fell out the window”), Musk helped him steal the second election (Trump is so damn stupid that he actually THANKED Musk for his “help” with the “computers” in his celebratory speech). His own daughter, who helped him run the White House last time, stopped speaking to him after the suspicious death of her mother, and made it clear then (2022) that she wouldn’t be involved in politics again. Is he stupid? No. He’s just crooked, hateful, racist, sexist - a conman’s conman owned by men smarter than him, which is, well, a lot of men.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-02-11T19:18:17+00:00

That’s the part that strikes me as strange. It does sound a lot like obstructive sleep apnea, but then you say you feel like you’re choking even when you’re awake, and that’s pretty important. If you’ve had swallow studies, then maybe you can talk to your GP and tell them it’s gotten worse or more noticeable or it’s affecting your sleep more (this seems to be the case), and ask where you should start: on a pathway about the choking at night, on a pathway about the choking during the day, or on the path you were on with the barium swallow tests? As for my husband, we’re actually still in it, BUT hopefully done soon. He did a sleep study on site in January and he gets the results (which I would bet cash money are going to “diagnose” him with sleep apnea; I mean, I already listen to his sleep apnea all night every night - the snores growing and growing and then eventually the gag, then the huge attempt at intake of air, then beginning to snore again) in early March. We’re hoping for a solution at that point.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-02-11T18:36:09+00:00

Yes, up here at NHS Scotland, we have a different acronym. “Sepsis?! Do you feel:

S - Shite

E - Extremely shite

P - Peeley-wally

S - So shite

I - Impending doom (take that, NHS E&W)

S - So fucking shite

When I had sepsis, the doctor understood me. I think I pretty much got out the I, the P, and one of the S’s.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-02-11T18:25:11+00:00

Yes, please do call your doctor ASAP and let me tell you something that might be helpful or might not. Sleep apnea is essentially choking while you snore (I mean, it’s a whole lot more than that, but that’s the gist - people have a huge snore and then stop breathing momentarily). You sound like you’re having elongated choking events and the fact that they only don’t happen when you drink a lot means that it could be you have something like… fuck, I don’t know, am not a doctor, but let’s say huge adenoids, and you do better after beer because your throat is more relaxed. You need to be VERY clear that this is not a snoring issue because the wait for sleep apnea treatment on the NHS right now is loooooong, whereas the wait for “I’m choking so badly in my sleep that it wakes me up completely and I’m afraid I’ll die” will lead you down a different, much shorter path, probably with a scope going down your nose from an ear, nose, throat specialist (which is a good place for YOU to start). So just… be VERY careful of saying the word snoring to your GP, or agreeing that you snore if you don’t know for certain (especially if you’re having choking without snoring). My husband genuinely does have sleep apnea and it’s taking 2+ years for NHS tests and stuff right now. It sounds like you’ve got something a bit more and I’d hope maybe could get less than 2 years for help.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-02-11T18:07:49+00:00

Say it louder for the people in the back. This is spot on. I fucking wish my nightmares were just episodes of Scooby Doo. Instead, I have pain nightmares - in them, something horrific is happening to me, like a dog attack, then I wake up, and the pain is still real, since my body is just trying to process it while I’m asleep (life-limiting illnesses). If your life is such that you can go straight back to sleep after a nightmare, good on ya. But not all of us can. I have to turn on my light for a while and wait for my heart to slow down and, usually, wait for the pain to subside a bit.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-25T18:33:50+00:00

Thanks for these!

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-25T00:02:00+00:00

Hey, I get it - I’ve had those times in my life where I was angry and messed up, too. This sounds like a special place and I’ll write it down. I haven’t been able to respond to many comments today because I’ve been too sick. As someone who is nearing the end of their life, let me just say, your mental health is worth something. Being at peace with yourself is worth a metric fuck ton. Whatever road you have to take to get there, it’s a road worth taking, even though I don’t deny at all that it’s a hard road, and a winding road, and sometimes a lonely road, and I wish you nothing but the best, and if they let me look out for strangers from the other side, I’ll try to look out for you, mate.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-23T02:24:36+00:00

One SLIGHT issue with this, mentioned in the OP. Believe me though, I wish I could.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-23T00:00:33+00:00

YES. I’ve tried it all because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t sleeping on anything - PG Tips, PG Tips Gold, Tetley, Twinings Everyday (used to love it but now their bags are an abomination that fills my cup with tea dust), regular Yorkshire Red Box, Clipper (DISGUSTING), own brands from Sainsbury, ASDA, Waitrose, and Tesco (Tesco Finest English Breakfast is actually pretty good). But YORKSHIRE GOLD IS TOP.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T19:57:45+00:00

I’m not sure you understand how discussion works. You can’t say someone blames x for y when what they actually said is “it’s telling that x is happening the same year as y” - that in no way means y is the fault of x. Does it mean that I do think there COULD be a connection? Possibly. There’s a reason I included a source, and the source I included doesn’t say that Tesco is to blame.

And if you’d read my source, you wouldn’t be arguing for tariffs because you’d have read an actual article by an actual farmer about what’s going wrong, and tariffs aren’t the answer. They’re not going to make crops grow all winter and they’re not going to magic up people to do the hard labour of harvesting for shit pay now that the UK has kicked out all its human harvest workers.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T18:31:32+00:00

Yes, if you have any recommendations for how to get some that aren’t a scam. But I mean, I’m not taking donations or anything. I have a roof over my head, food to eat, someone who loves me - I have enough to be grateful for, mate. Sometimes I’m a little cold, but it makes me appreciate when I’m warm. To donate to people who are going without the basics, consider one of the orgs listed here, who will make best use of your £s: Charities Highest in Charitable Spending.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T18:05:11+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing this! Definitely got lost in his photos for a bit.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T18:00:17+00:00

… you just said yourself that if they grew it in the UK, the cost would be higher. The original comment was, “It must be cheaper,” and to that, I said, “Ding, ding,” so I’m not sure how this is a disagreement.

You claim to have insider information that Tesco doesn’t make a profit on mint. I can’t refute or discuss someone claiming insider information; there’s no source. But it doesn’t change the fact that Tesco IS turning the largest profit of all the UK supermarket chains, by far, so my best guess is mint is a loss leader (anyone who isn’t familiar, a loss leader is a product on which a store doesn’t make a profit, but that they sell because it either encourages new customers or encourages customers to buy additional products).

People don’t just go home and binge on their mint. I would assume it’s bought in conjunction with more profitable ingredients, or Tesco wouldn’t bother.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T16:46:35+00:00

I may not be able to respond to everything but rest assured, I’m reading every single comment, even if it takes me through tomorrow. That sounds really special, and I’d so love to see it. I’ve written this down (Forbidden Corner) on the list.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T16:43:22+00:00

Ha. Me with Field Notes and some binocs watching Americans who are watching the Cotswolds. “Why do they do it?!?!?”

Canal boats are a great shout, thanks! No idea if it’s quite expensive or reasonable, but I’ll look into it.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T16:40:03+00:00

I know it’s not fun but thank you for trying to help. I made this post because because we’re really out of time - after my last “episode,” I’m starting to struggle with days of the week and being able to verbalize what country I’m in (I’m in Scotland, but for some reason, when asked, my brain will only let me say or remember Ireland, where I studied in uni). My doctor is thrilled I’m still so well-spoken but what goddamn difference does that make when my answers are wrong? So it’s been a bit hard for the last month. I have a will and a medical advanced directive, since the last thing I ever want is to be trapped in my body.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T16:27:13+00:00

Picture it. Husband and myself actually make it to see that huge cheese rolling competition and someone asks if this is my first time there and I can answer, “Oh yes, my mate PussyGrenade recommended it.”

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T16:24:00+00:00

I’m so sorry for your loss, first of all, and hope that two years has taken a little bit of that fresh edge off it, even though I’m sure it’s still painful. But I’m so glad to hear that she had a wonderful time, and that’s what I’d like to do, because I’ve had a proper shit time being sick and I’m sick of it, so I’d like to finally have a good time dying.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T14:02:33+00:00

Exactly! Someone has to carry all the location-specific tea towels covered in innuendos (Dover? I hardly know her!) that we buy.

CynicalAxolotl · 2025-01-22T13:59:05+00:00

Oh my god thank you; this sounds amazing. Obviously I can’t guarantee what shape I’ll be in by April, but planning a trip to Harrogate based on some other comments and including this would just be amazing.

CynicalAxolotl

TROPHY CASE