GJ said about 4 hours later

However, if you want to find out how NOT to prepare for a swine flu infestation, by all means head over the the craziness that is the Huffington Post and check out this column. The nucking futs is strong with the health columnists on that site.

Marc said 24 minutes later

Reading (This will be short):

• Eclipse Plug-ins: brushing up on the latest version, but mostly because I'm addicted to computer books.

Watching (If I miss them on TV AND DVR cause Time Warner sucks, I catch them on hulu):

• 24: On Monday nights on Fox. Lately, the past couple seasons of 24 have sucked horribly, this season is surprisingly quite good. Reminds me a lot of the first season.
• NHL (but not on TV!): Been going to Carolina Hurricanes games a lot. Saw the Sabres vs. Hurricanes shootout the other night, go Canes!
• Family Guy: This is the best show ever created.

Playing:

• Rock Band 2: Still addicted to this game and look forward to the Stevie Ray Vaughn pack next Tuesday. XBox 360
• Halo 3: Just got re-addicted to this game. Xbox 360
• Team Fortress 2: Not quite as addicting as the first, mostly cause I suck in comparison, but we'll see. Graphics and sounds are hilarious. XBox 360
• Mario Kart: Haven't picked it up in a while, but this game is a lot of fun. GJ, I still gotta race you. :) Wii

Other:

• Looking into picking up a puppy (Cockapoo) sometime in the next month. Already found a cute girl with a heart shape on her head in her hair. Likely going to be named Hope. Which, don't tell Laura, is naturally named after a Rush song. She just thinks it's a cute name.
• Moving to a new apartment April 1st (no joke!)
• Helping to teach my roommate guitar

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Geoff said about 3 hours later

Reading (This will be even shorter):

* Nothing. But my co-worker just lent me an all you need to know about Chevy LS1-LS6 V-8 engines

Watching

* Ashlyn for the most part.
* Family Guy Rocks
* MoonLight on SciFi?? Michelle enjoys it. It's not half bad for SciFi stuff.
* Total MMA junkie. UFC, WEC, Affliction, K-1...from now on call me Geoff Liddell

Playing

* Nothing. I was playing Conquest of the New World.

Other:

* Been turning into a car freak lately. After getting the G8 tuned, I threw in an intake and had it re-tuned for the intake. Starting debadging the car. Just installed an auto-dim mirror. And depending on how taxes turn out, I may jump into some fun stuff and throw some long tube headers in and a catback system. Either that, or a new cam. We'll see though. I'll first run a few times at the track and see how it feels.

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Kristen said 1 day later

Even shorter yet:

Reading:
*How to plan an elegant wedding for $5000 (yeah, my a$$!)
*Transcripts

Watching:
*I seem to be catching Ax-Men on the History Channel randomly. It's this show about loggers from Oregon and Washington. They sure know how to cuss!

Playing:
*Can someone tell me how to turn laundry and dishes into a game?
Other:
*digging out of 8-10 inches of snow. No power or plow in my neighborhood all day Monday, so I'm glad the significant other owns a Tahoe. He had fun "plowing" my driveway with it too. I'm currently holding out for snow day number 3.

My Wishlist:
Reading: The audacity of hope--Obama's book. Sitting on my shelf calling to me. Also, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. A good book about how to avoid the financial situation that most of us are in now--the rat race. Voting for Obama may not have been the best thing for that, but it sure made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Watching: LOST. Both last season, which I pretty much slept through, and this season. And Prison Break.
Playing: anything but civilization.

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Abby said 3 days later

Probably kinda-sorta long....

Reading:
+ The Warriors series (Hunter), as usual
+ Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck), for school
+ Death From the Skies (Plait) - forgot where I set it down again... haha
+ two more books for school that I can't be bothered to find

Watching:
+ Star Wars: The Clone Wars
+ the computer screen
+ lots of Spongebob. Yay staying home sick!

Playing:
+ The Sims 2
+ Animal Crossing

Other:
+ here's to hoping my sick spell is over :) I don't feel like missing out on the performance tomorrow and Saturday!

GJ said 5 minutes later

And those in the auto industry won't care for this one, either. Lest you think I'm piling on, I'm just about out of a job, too. Yay, go holiday season!

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Geoff said about 10 hours later

I agree with these points. However, seeing that we bailed out some of these banks, I honestly don't see how the government won't bail out GM. The public's opinion of the government bailing out "white collar" jobs and letting the hard working "blue collar" jobs collapse would probably cause a few riots. I think we already shot ourselves in the foot, a couple times.

If we were to let the big three collapse, the road would be filled with Camrys and Accords...can we say BORING!

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GJ said about 17 hours later

1) the road is already full of them, or have you not been paying attention? :)
2) GM has more than blue collar jobs. Dad's job wasn't blue collar, now was it?
3) Banks don't have blue collar jobs, but they are the lifeblood of the economy. No banks, we go back to barter. Period.

Everybody is selling the theory that if there is no bailout, the big 3 are toast. Not so--if all three go the bankruptcy route, it's likely two will emerge, much smaller, leaner, and better able to compete with Toyota, who is having very serious financial issues of their own right now. However, a LOT of people will lose their jobs...but you know what--these bailouts cost money. That's more taxes for me and you, and every other business out there. Raise taxes, and more jobs are lost. Some tradeoff, eh? It might be...if there was something done to fix the automakers. Giving them money to survive until the economy gets better will not correct their long-term issues. A healthy company doesn't go belly up during tight economic times, but sickly companies like GM, Ford and Chrysler do.

There is no easy answer...but throwing money at them with no required changes in operation and personnel would be the worst thing we can do--even worse than letting them die.

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Geoff said 1 day later

I'm just saying that is how it will be perceived by most Americans...remember...most Americans are idiots :)

As for Camrys and Accords...the awesomeness of my G8 simply overwhelms these lackluster cars. Now imagine if GM, Ford, and Chrysler ceased to exist. What are all the mechanics going to do. They'll have no cars to fix!

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GJ said 1 day later

I don't know, my mechanic works on a lot of Audis, Subarus, and Hondas. I'm one of his few GM customers.

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GJ said 3 days later

How many GM executives does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

49

1 unscrew the old bulb.

Another to blame the UAW for screwing it in too tightly even though it was GM engineering that gave them the torque specs. Unfortunately, someone forgot to convert the specs to standard from metric since the lightbulb came from Opel… even though it was manufactured in Ohio, shipped to Germany, then shipped back in the trunk of a Saturn Astra.

A third to open a PO to Delphi for a taller ladder to put the new bulb in. The one used to remove the old bulb belonged to the Hummer division and had to be strapped on the roof of an H2 as a buyer incentive. Besides, installing new bulbs is the job of the warranty department and the old ladder belonged to marketing so they couldn’t use it anyway.

A fourth to realize that the bulb wasn’t actually burned out in the first place… the power was turned off because Accounts Payable was ordered to not pay the bills for 92 days in an effort to show more cash on hand at the end of the third quarter.

37 consultants to write “The Definitive Memorandum on the Exchange of Incandescent Lighting Materials” which pretty much regurgetated what everyone below an unclassified level already knew but leadership never bothered to ask about.

2 government relations employees to explain to Carl Levin that GM may not be able to turn the light back on without government help but that “we’re really on track to keep them after some short-term assistance.”

One CEO on the way to Bay Harbor in the corporate jet reading the report by the marketing VP about the successful bulb exchange.

---

Steve said 3 days later

someday I'll have time to respond to this joke of comments. If you only knew...

The big three are asking for a LOAN!! Not a freaking handout. Not a bailout. a LOAN! That pays 5-6% interest! The banks got free money, now we are just asking that some of that money be turned around and loaned to us. We pay back, plus interest, so the government makes money! The government (meaning you taxpayers) made over $300 million dollars back in the 80's when the gov't LOANED Chrysler money to stay afloat. And it was all paid back 7 years early!

More to come when I have time. Off to on of my last SCCA meetings, yippee!

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GJ said 3 days later

Yeah, but if I was a bank I wouldn't give GM/Ford/Cerebus a loan at 5-6% API. Come on, any kind of loan to the automakers is a risky bet--methinks they should get the same kind of interest rates I saw on the first credit card I got after my filing the big B years ago.

However, I'd love to have a discussion that doesn't involve the same old crappy talking points. The gun-to-the-head approach GM is taking is pathetic--"if we go down, you ALL are going down!" and there has been absolutely no acceptance of responsibility for the dumb decisions they've made over the years. That's a big reason why they're getting very little support from folks in the non-auto industries and the government.

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Geoff said 3 days later

It's funny how everyone calls this the "bailout" plan, but when it came to the banks, it was a "rescue plan." The banks were just as stupid with their money as GM, so if we bail them out, by principal, we must bail out the big three and everyone else who has a major impact on our economy. That, or we let them all fail and suck it up.

I've heard plenty people say that we had no choice but to bail out the banks, what would happen if we didn't? I'm just curious. I'm not saying I am for or against the "bailout" for the auto makers, but if we don't bail them out, they definitely won't be spending their money on new technologically advanced cars, they'll still be trying to figure out how in the hell just to stay alive...meanwhile Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai will be building flying DeLoreans and flux capacitors.

It basically comes down to this: Would the bailout give any of these American factions a chance at really competing or would it just prolong their inevitable demise? Many would say the later, I would actually like to hear from Steve who actually works for Chrysler :) He should know better than any of us I would think.

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GJ said 4 days later

If the banks fail, the economy as we know it crumbles. However, like what I want to see from the automakers, I wanted the heads of the banks that took the money.

The domestic automakers need to make some serious changes. GM especially has far too many brands, vehicles, and dealers. It's unfortunate that it comes to this, but I think unless the domestics take some huge cuts, there won't be much in the way of loans coming beyond the initial 25M offering for "retooling."

I do find it interesting that the automakers say that they can't do the bankruptcy thing, as customers will no longer trust them enough to buy cars from them. Um, guys...sitting on the steps of the Capitol begging for a handout and claiming (correctly for GM) that they'll be out of business in 2-3 months without it is just as damaging to customer confidence, don't you think? You get the feeling that they're just not serious. I mean, they've run a huge PR campaign over this...but what REAL changes are they going to apply? Unfortunately, the banks beat them to the analysis-free bailout, so now as part of the plan to get their own "rescue" plan, they need to sell it to the people AND the government.

Given how many folks have lost their jobs over the last three decades and had to realign their lives and move on, I think they have a tough sell.

---

Steve said 4 days later

If you had a clue about the auto industry GJ, you'd know that the big three have been trying to close plants and dealers as fast as they can. You'd also know it's not easy to do.

Marc said 10 minutes later

That was only in NY. I found you or Dad in Texas:

http://criminalsearches.com/summary.aspx?input=name&fn=&ln=baumbach&city=&state=TX&zip=

And it looks like your two cohorts Kisses Baumbach and Fat Pat Baumbach.

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GJ said 18 minutes later

Hey! They told me "What happens in Texas, stays in Texas." Or what that Las Vegas? I forget. Oh, and let's not mention Kisses to Darcy at the next family get-together.

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Kristen said about 10 hours later

I did see a couple of Joe's....hummm....somehow that wouldn't surprise me too much! I don't think he ever lived in Texas though.

Geoff said 37 minutes later

So are the stings painful?

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Marc said about 4 hours later

It's an interesting pain, I'm sure we'll have 5 different stories, since five of us were stung. :) I got it on my foot and it was like a pulsating prick/sting. It wasn't all that painful per se, it was more really annoying. But just ask your handy lifeguard and they'll spray you down with their magical bottle which makes it go away almost instantly.

Except for Abby, she appeared to have a pretty unpleasant allergic reaction.

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Steve said about 4 hours later

Gina also got stung pretty good, and she had the area swell up like a hive pretty good. She swore that it hurts a lot more than just a bee sting!

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Abby said 1 day later

it reminded me more of a wasp sting than much else. I would've been fine if I didn't have to have a wacky reaction.

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GJ said 1 day later

And of course, everyone's toleration for pain (and their pain receptor's ability to transmit that pain message to the brain correctly) is different.

Here's what I'd like to know--how long did the stinging sensation last? See, a wasp sting is quick--it hurts, but it's over and done with pretty quickly. I got the impression that the stinging sensation lasted until you all got the vinegar spray from the lifeguards to neutralize the stinging cells. That would make it worse than wasp sting in my book.

---

Marc said 1 day later

You would be correct GJ, it continues to sting with what appears to be no end. In the water I kept repeating how I can't believe it still stings since it had been several minutes afterwords and I still felt the sting.

The difference with the jellyfish compared to most other things is that it's all external and they leave these exploding cells, according to the lifeguard, that will continue to pop until they are neutralized with the vinegar. This seemed to make sense because my foot looked like I had a bunch of red dots all over it.

In terms of pain though, I would say a wasp sting hurts initially a lot more. So I don't know what's worse.

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Abby said 5 days later

I still have red dots on my leg. They've faded again, but they're definitely still there.

Marc said about 10 hours later

I was thinking of making the exact same thread. Anywho, I'm back safe and sound at work (Boo!). I talked with Mom and Dad last night, they were in Charleston taking a tour. Hope everyone else has a safe trip.

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GJ said about 11 hours later

Unfortunately, Aaron got sick, so we've added a day to our vacation and will be here through Sunday morning now.

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Steve said about 19 hours later

Sorry to hear about Aaron there GJ. I hope he feels better soon.

I had a lot of fun, but my stupidity is causing me mucho pain now. 2nd degree burns over my entire shoulders. By the time I FINALLY made it back to Detroit (3 hours late), the shoulders of my shirt were rigid, after soaking up lots yucky puss and a little bit of blood from the blisters and then drying out. Gross, I know. But Parsla is being nice and patient and playing nursemaid and not calling me stupid too often.

So, lesson learned - always, always, always wear sunscreen - especially when you expose a part of your body not used to the sun. And apply it at least 30 minutes prior to your body touching water. I wish I could express how painful this is - I'd take 12 jellyfish stings over this constant pain. And it's risky too, burns like this can get infected (yes, I'm using lots of neosporin), and are also great sites for Melanoma skin cancer to develop.

Parents, coat your kids in sunscreen.

I should know better, as one of my friends has a triple layer of stiches in his right arm from where a Melanoma developed, and his wife had a friend pass away from Melanoma that was caught too late. This is serious stuff!

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Geoff said about 19 hours later

No worries for me, it's been pouring here in lovely Connecticut. Beach...what beach?

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Kristen said 1 day later

I'm back ok in the 'Berg, had no issues getting back at all, which was nice. Gee, no sunburn or jellyfish stings either, although I slept for 12 hours the night I got back from pure exhausted! I think that pool volleyball wore me out!

Steve--I burned my forehead/scalp that way two summers ago after spending a whole day at Virginia Beach. That night my forehead started dripping, and then crusted over and turned absolutely disgusting. My friends were nice to me, but later told me I looked like something out of a horror movie. Definitely learned my lesson the hard way. I think the key is to apply the sunscreen before you even get in the car or leave your house. Otherwise you get distracted when you get near the water and just want to hop in. I swear by that spray stuff, it's great!

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Steve said 1 day later

You want to know what really sucks? Get a mosquito bite in the middle of your really badly sunburned skin. GRRRRRRRRRRRR

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Marc said 2 days later

You sound like you need a vacation Steve! :)

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Kristen said 2 days later

I bet Parsla will need one too :)~

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Steve said 4 days later

I'm doing much better now, thanks in a large part to the care of Parsla. Just some dead skin falling off, 99% of the pain is gone by now.

That was just a precursor to some real pain. Tuesday I get a couple wisdom teeth pulled. Yowzers! That's gonna hurt. After that, Parsla may need a vacation, as she'll be taking care of me then too. She's having a little fun with it, trying to figure out what interesting food she can make me for dinner that night, then put it in the blender to make it easier to eat. She's had some interesting (read: scary) ideas!

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Marc said 4 days later

Are your wisdom teeth impacted? If not, it really isn't too bad. I had all four out, none impacted, and after like 2 days, I was doing pretty good. Kristen on the other hand was not so lucky!

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GJ said 5 days later

Me, I had 3 impacted and one has been removed (since it erupted and gave me a toothache). The other two....I'll get rid of 'em whenever they show their ugly hides.

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Kristen said 5 days later

Mine weren't too bad actually--the bad part for me was that the dentist shot me up with so much novacaine that I was numb until the wee hours of the morning! Marc probably remembers me being slightly frustrated that I couldn't eat a dang thing and that I was drooling like a madman. Then a few days later I puked my guts up after combining codeine and Reese's peanut butter puffs. Nice. But the pain wasn't really too bad, and my cheeks didn't puff up like a chipmunk.

Far worse is to not get your wisdom teeth out, like someone I know named Drew, who ended up needing brain surgery because of infections that traveled to his brain.

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Geoff said 5 days later

I still have all 4 of mine... :)

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GJ said 6 days later

Impacted wisdom teeth won't cause an infection in and of themselves, unless something else is going on (like, as I mentioned, they erupt from the gum, completely lacking any enamel). They tend to cause hideously nasty toothaches (been there, done that) long before becoming infected.

And an infection can spread anywhere if left untreated, not just your brain. But you'd have to be the kind of person who doesn't brush their teeth and have next to no nerves left in your mouth to fail to notice an infection up there!

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Steve said 7 days later

Well, they are out. A bit painful yesterday, but not too bad. Sunburn was worse. The oral surgeon is pretty convinced I have Sleep Apnea, based on something that was happening as they put me to sleep. It wasn't the most pleasant time getting put to sleep, as they stopped halfway through to check things out because of the concern about the sleep apnea.

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GJ said 7 days later

Time for fun with the sleep doctors! Darcy's dad had this. Mucho fun, indeed.

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Kristen said 7 days later

Yet more fun for Parsla, especially if you need to use one of those noisy machines at night!

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GJ said 7 days later

Is it any worse than the snoring? Sleep apnea sufferers tend to have really loud, obnoxious snores.

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Marc said 8 days later

I was tested with sleep apnea. Unfortunately, after taking the test, the doctor never called me back. I take it I don't have it or it's so bad the doctor doesn't know how to break it to me.

But it's ok, now they're trying to determine whether I had/have a kidney stone or what, because I am still in pain since vacation. Hopefully everyone else is feeling ok, I heard even Rascal is sick!

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Geoff said 8 days later

Boy...I'm thinking I made the right decision going to Connecticut and skipping out on the beach. Other than not going to bed until 4AM, I'm as healthy as a horse! The rest of you sound like you need another vacation!

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Marc said 8 days later

On top of it all, I'm currently in limbo waiting for my insurance card to come, so after all of this is over, I'm going to have to go back to the insurance company to get reimbursement. That's probably going to be more painful. :)

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Kristen said 8 days later

I've been back at work for 4 days and I'm sick of working, does that count? :)~

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Geoff said 8 days later

:)~

Is this a tongue sticking out or a smiley face with a goatee?

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GJ said 8 days later

Or someone who has those neck rings.

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Kristen said 9 days later

Or it could be the Baumbach double-chin--although I meant it to be a tongue sticking out!

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Geoff said 9 days later

oh ok, the preferred method is :P

Unless I am behind the times with my smiligraphy.

Steve said about 1 hour later

I haven't yet, but I'm in the same boat as you. Most of mine is about 5 years old, just haven't bothered developing it yet. I don't know that there's much you can do about it. Darcy's dad might know, right? He was into photography a bit. My biggest concern is that over time the amount of light that might find it's way into the film canister might begin to expose some of the film.

I don't think that having the photos developed in any special way would do anything to help. You can always try by taking the oldest one in and seeing what happens. Let me know if you do!

Geoff said about 9 hours later

Nice read

Marc said about 16 hours later

Wow, that is a nasty abuse of the system. I think I would give money back to a person who did send me something via a cashier's check anyway, but I can imagine situations where it seems perfectly feasible why you would assume that since it's in your account, it must have cleared.

So cashier's checks are possibly more dangerous than a regular check, simply because the victim involved will assume they are perfectly valid.

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GJ said about 21 hours later

Yeah, on Ebay years ago, people used to take money orders or cashier's checks. Not so much anymore, but you still see it somewhat frequently.