The Awkward Silence

Journeyman Geek

2:16 AM

@Tinkeringbell it had an even less pronouncable name earlier

Extroverted Main Man

3:06 AM

0

Q: How do have a serious talk with my boyfriend without crying

We have been going out since September. We have so much fun. He said he loved me first. Then we discussed maybe me moving in. The issue is, my adult son lives with me. Long story but I took him in when he was suicidal. I can't just kick him out. He has a job, but his spending habits are not great...

avazula

6:23 AM

Morning everyone!

JAD

7:22 AM

hai

avazula

ahoj! :)

Tinkeringbell

7:35 AM

@JourneymanGeek 2019-nCoV?

Journeyman Geek

had a hashtag somewhere

Tinkeringbell

Not that hard to remember, but yeah... doesn't really roll of the tongue. Wuhan-virus or Coronavirus did fine though, if you ask me.

@avazula morning.

Journeyman Geek

coronavirus is a family

and even the current name is for the disease

and where was that article I saw

avazula

@Tinkeringbell scientifically speaking this one or even COVID-19 makes more sense than the others

But yeah idk what people with no biology background understand from them haha

Journeyman Geek

@Tinkeringbell ignore me, I apparenty misremembered

Tinkeringbell

7:38 AM

@avazula True, true... then just say so though, this article I read yesterday really presented it as the main reason being that we shouldn't associate people or places with a disease!

'We have a new, official, scientific name for everyone to ignore!' XD

@JourneymanGeek No worries. It's still early? :P

Journeyman Geek

kinda sorta

JAD

@Tinkeringbell well, most species have a scientific and a popular name

avazula

@Tinkeringbell it sure sounds silly ... Harm's done to me but seriously, it wouldn't have been a bad thing to have a name that's not related to a location in our racist country...

My Vietnamese manager gets shouted at racist threats every day now u_u

Tinkeringbell

Meh. There's been this petition over here because a radio maker made a song that wasn't nice to Chinese people too... and a nice bit of virtue signalling related to it on the company's intranet.

But the guy apologized so... seems like problem solved to me, unless he does it again.

JAD

And the problem with the name Coronavirus is that it's like calling Python regius Snake. It's not wrong, it's just not very specific.

Tinkeringbell

7:41 AM

@avazula That's not good....

Journeyman Geek

if I remember correctly (AND YOU GUYS NEED TO CORRECT ME IF I AM NOT...)

Tinkeringbell

@JAD Yet it's specific enough: 'the' coronavirus vs. 'my snake' :P

avazula

@JourneymanGeek SURE NO WORRIES

Journeyman Geek

Its the entre class of virus

including SARS

Tinkeringbell

And MERS, yeah

JAD

7:43 AM

and while it's clear enough for most people to know what you're talking about, for the scientific community you need to be more specific. Those two names can easily co-exist.

@Tinkeringbell exactly

@JourneymanGeek correct.

avazula

It is yeah

Coronavirus

A coronavirus is one of a number of viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, the viruses cause respiratory infections, including the common cold, which are typically mild, though rarer forms such as SARS, MERS and 2019-nCoV can be lethal. Symptoms vary in other species: in chickens, they cause an upper respiratory disease, while in cows and pigs coronaviruses cause diarrhea. There are no vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent or treat human coronavirus infections. Coronaviruses are in the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae in the family Coronaviridae, in the order Nidovirales. They...

Journeyman Geek

bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51466362

So much so its called....

JAD

it's similar to how HIV is a Retrovirus, but a Retrovirus isn't necessarily HIV.

Tinkeringbell

Why did SARS and MERS get to keep their location?

Journeyman Geek

SARS didn't have a location

Tinkeringbell

7:44 AM

South Asian Respiratory Syndrome, Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome?

JAD

Severe acute respiratory syndrome what location?

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) oh, that location

Tinkeringbell

Huh.

avazula

xD

Journeyman Geek

Basically "Patient's Resparatory system decided not to respire any more"

JAD

(taking those from Wikipedia)

Tinkeringbell

7:45 AM

Oh. I always remembered SARS as South Asian XD

Journeyman Geek

I am cross referencing too

@Tinkeringbell uhm

South Asia = indian subcontinent

Tinkeringbell

Yeah, wiki says the virus came from Southern China.

Journeyman Geek

This I am sure cause I have been ranting about this a lot :D

Tinkeringbell

I shall update my memory of it to include Southern chinese Acute Respiratory Syndrome ;)

avazula

One of my coworkers is completely panicking where really there's no reason for that

Journeyman Geek

7:46 AM

@avazula I've had a nasty cough the last 3 days :D

everything else is fine tho

Tinkeringbell

@avazula They'll love me. I have a cold and a very nice nasty cough to go with it right now ;)

avazula

I'm wondering if I should tell him I'm going to London at the end of the month and therefore I'll basically be surrounded by crowds from all other the world ...

Journeyman Geek

@avazula work has us submit our body temperatures twice a day

JAD

Everybody I know has pretty much ignored the news about it so far

avazula

@JourneymanGeek oh. :(

Journeyman Geek

7:47 AM

someone mis-typed and immediately my bosses boss - who no one has seen before went "Are you ok?"

Tinkeringbell

@JAD Except me, me is being confused about name-giving ;)

Journeyman Geek

@avazula even when off work

@JAD we have the second most cases

avazula

Darn

Tinkeringbell

@JourneymanGeek That's really something you can only get people to do over there... I know over here people would scream something like 'that's PII, and an invasion of my privacy, I rather take paid leave' XD

Journeyman Geek

@Tinkeringbell one of my workers came back from china

and got 2 weeks quarantine

JAD

7:49 AM

@Tinkeringbell :shrug: scientific name: nCoV-2019, popular name: Coronavirus. I think it's too late to change the popular name effectively

Journeyman Geek

(home quarantine, avoid meeting people from work)

Tinkeringbell

Yeah, there's a few people that were evacuated from Wuhan and they're apparently in quarantine over here too...

Same sort of, if home situation allows it.

JAD

@Tinkeringbell I'd take paid leave over quite a few things tbh

Journeyman Geek

@Tinkeringbell sars kinda lasted a few months

and it seems this is significantly more serious

Tinkeringbell

@JAD :) that last bit wasn't entirely serious but I do know some people will make a stink over privacy!

Journeyman Geek

7:50 AM

I think the government is spooked

JAD

At the same time, it sounds like the mortality rate is lower

Tinkeringbell

I think people are trying to spook us all.... There's quite some horror stories.

Journeyman Geek

@JAD The spread feels oddly random

there's a few people who caught it at work, cab and grab (its like uber), a chinese medical hall for tourists ...

Tinkeringbell

That doesn't sound like they've found patient zero yet.

JAD

@JourneymanGeek isn't that partially because of the lack of symptoms in some people. While no symptoms is nice for the person in question, it 1) lowers the mortality rate and 2) makes controlling the spread harder

Journeyman Geek

7:53 AM

@Tinkeringbell there's no one patient zero

CaldeiraG

Morning :)

JAD

@Tinkeringbell At this point, what good would that do?

Journeyman Geek

ugh, where's the map

Tinkeringbell

@JAD Squash the rumours of it being man-made and spread in strategical locations to ensure a proper outbreak? :P

@JourneymanGeek maps.google.com

@CaldeiraG Morning :)

Journeyman Geek

sgwuhan.xose.net

Tinkeringbell

7:56 AM

What are the blinking red ones?

Journeyman Geek

latest cases

CaldeiraG

(new cases)

Tinkeringbell

oh, found the legend, nvm :P

Journeyman Geek

gimme a sec

let me explain why I am so freaked out

I live somewhere around the bottom middle red circle

I work at the airport, somewhere around circle on the left

Tinkeringbell

And you work on the other side of the line of zombies? :P

Yay, guessed right XD

Journeyman Geek

8:01 AM

I also live near the main general hospital (though the infectious diseases place is somewhere else)

JAD

Singapore's roads look like a nice bowl of spaghetti

@JourneymanGeek right*?

Journeyman Geek

Other left

Right

I need a new left/right sign :/

avazula

@JourneymanGeek left is red right is green :D

Journeyman Geek

@avazula oh, its indirectly related to my dyslexia

I have no sense of which is which

avazula

Me neither ... I didn't know dyslexia caused that

It's better now that I'm driving but before that I'd only distinct them through odd socks and homemade wristbands. I'd just have to remember which one is which side

Tinkeringbell

8:05 AM

Left is where your thumb is on the right ;)

avazula

@Tinkeringbell HOW IS THAT CLEARER?! Left on the right? screams in isometry

Journeyman Geek

@avazula its a bit messier

My dyslexia might have been worsened? triggered? cause I was forced to switch handedness.

avazula

Oh

Journeyman Geek

I just switched monitors. My old monitor had a sign saying <--- Left Right (Other Left) ---->

Tinkeringbell

@avazula Heh, that's the whole point of that sentence XD

JAD

8:07 AM

@Tinkeringbell If you look at the back of your hand, left is where the thumb and index finger form an L

Tinkeringbell

@JAD Yeah, so the thumb is on the right ;)

CaldeiraG

:P

Journeyman Geek

(was playing RA with a friend... told him to go left, when I meant right... and at some point I realised and was hollering OTHER LEFT. OTHER LEFFFTTTT)

JAD

left is the way you turn a screwdriver to loosen a screw

CaldeiraG

We already live in a world where a movie is renamed for SEO optimization :( (source)

Journeyman Geek

8:09 AM

@CaldeiraG and get hotfixes.

avazula

@JAD NOT ALL THE TIME :'(

Journeyman Geek

Even if said movie is a hot mess. (Cats)

with emphasis on mess

CaldeiraG

XD

avazula

@JAD This drove me crazy when I started engineering

JAD

@avazula hmm, ok, most sensible screws*

Journeyman Geek

8:10 AM

@avazula I just softly test both ways and hope no one notices

avazula

@JourneymanGeek Tested & approved since 1997

Journeyman Geek

I'm looking at options for new signs

the problem with the one I like the most is I'd need to order 50 :D

Tinkeringbell

@JourneymanGeek Same but not softly so.. 'oh, it moved'.... 'hmm, but now it's even more stuck'

Journeyman Geek

@Tinkeringbell for a big guy I'm surprisingly gentle when performming planned disassembly

unlike the real engineers in my family :/

Tinkeringbell

@JourneymanGeek XD my tasks mostly consist of just opening things up to see what's inside, I'm not allowed to touch stuff still deemed 'fixable'

For example...

Journeyman Geek

8:15 AM

@Tinkeringbell I once took apart a decade old speaker dock, swapped out the battery for one from a drone, and it worked... for a while

I have better tools now though

.... seems a perfect use for those heatshrink/solder things I have...

Tinkeringbell

We have a shed, and a lamppost in the alley behind it.

One time, some kids decided to start demolishing said lamp, pulling loose some cables.

Dad repaired it, seemed fine.... until they went on vacation and it started raining. Water got into the lamp somehow, and made a shortage.
I tried turning the power back on, it just went out again. Tried again, same result. Tried it switch for switch, found out the problem was in the shed.

(also, apparently the kitchen lamp and router in the back of the living room :/ )

CaldeiraG

:/

Tinkeringbell

Anyhow, there's a freezer in the shed so I wanted to fix things rather quickly XD

Went looking, saw nothing, remembered to check the lamp and saw the moisture... at that point I called dad. I know there's a switch in the shed where you can easily disconnect the lamp from the grid, and fix the entire problem.

Dad went uh, huh, hmm, yeah.... HUNG UP ON ME.

seconds later my brother comes down, on the phone, calling, with dad...

Yeah, so dad seriously called my brother to fix this instead of letting me do it.

JAD

lol

Tinkeringbell

Yeah well... and that's why I say I'm only allowed near non-fixable stuff :P

avazula

8:25 AM

:(

Now the real question is which one is the most fun? Fixing some boring regular issues or being a badass that never lets go and goes beyond impossible to fix the unfixable?

dun dun dun

Tinkeringbell

@avazula It's okay, we laugh about it now ;) Dad's reasoning was that my brother is a head taller than me, and could more easily reach the switch. I would've needed one of those household step ladders (which is stored in the shed XD) ... He just didn't explain at that time, only when I talked to him about this afterwards (that I can fix things and I didn't like him defaulting to the boys when he needs help)

@avazula Ehh, I do neither. But apparently that makes @JourneymanGeek a badass ;)

Journeyman Geek

@Tinkeringbell no girls here and if I had a sister with the gift I am bloody well going to let her use it 😁

Tinkeringbell

:D

How's that going, btw?

Journeyman Geek

No updates

😁

Tinkeringbell

boooring :P

It really does take long!

Journeyman Geek

8:32 AM

You would be about the third to know

I'm still going solo and clueless

avazula

@JourneymanGeek the two first being you and her? xD

Tinkeringbell

Okay, but only because I know who else is on that list. Otherwise I'd never appreciate being put in third spot! :P

Journeyman Geek

@avazula I suspect she would know before me. 🤣

I would want to be first 😁

avazula

haha

Journeyman Geek

@avazula I would say the girl would probably be in on the decision sameish time as me

I hope at least

avazula

8:36 AM

Don't answer if you don't want to, but what would happen if you met someone outside of this system? Would it be possible for you to get together or does it have to happen through the system?

Journeyman Geek

@avazula I'd give it a shot

Might have done a few things "outside the system" when I was younger

but that's... not a story for SE chat :D

avazula

haha, okay.

~~see you on Discord then~~ ;)

Journeyman Geek

One of my cousins married a guy who is outside my caste and vegitarian

@avazula oh... which one? :D

I found a client I don't dislike but...

avazula

@JourneymanGeek Aren't you on our Discord TAS?

Journeyman Geek

(anyway, we like him more than we like her)

@avazula no?

I didn't use discord much until last week or so

JAD

8:39 AM

@avazula is that still alive?

avazula

@JAD lively as ever!

@JourneymanGeek lemme fix that. :D

@JAD would you be interested? I think the link is still in this room's favs

Tinkeringbell

@avazula Invites expire after 24 hours, you'd need a new one for JAD :)

avazula

@Tinkeringbell I'm gonna wait to see if he wants it then :)

Tinkeringbell

I already sent one through Discord, I still have them in my friends list XD

You can accept or decline, whatever you want, JAD :)

And if anyone else wants in, lemme know! :)

avazula

@Tinkeringbell I want in! :D haha

Tinkeringbell

8:52 AM

You're already there :P

Am I? :O

yes.

mmh.

9:17 AM

\\o

o//

\o/

avazula

\o/

CaldeiraG

9:32 AM

\o7

Belle

One of your arms is longer than the other, @CaldeiraG

CaldeiraG

@Belle lol :p

avazula

9:47 AM

you're remote today @Tink?

Tinkeringbell

yep!

what gave it away?

;)

avazula

IIRC you're remote W T F (and also the green icon in Discord :p)

Tinkeringbell

Only W and F :)

and yeah, I may keep a few tabs open that I close at work ;)

avazula

Isn't that too hard to alternate between office and home?

Tinkeringbell

I find it quite nice actually, it allows for handling work that I struggled with one day, the next day.

If working home is two days in a row, that's also two days without a coworker next to you.

CaldeiraG

9:58 AM

@Tinkeringbell And talking loudly with someone else about life

Source: just happened a few minutes ago

Tinkeringbell

@CaldeiraG I do that too, but always at the coffee machine XD

(which is on a hallway, so it doesn't matter much :P)

Belle

Most of my colleagues have a standing desk. Every time I see them stand, I think, "I want one too."

CaldeiraG

@Tinkeringbell On the coffee machine it's fine :)

Belle

But I wonder, do I really want to have a standing desk or do I just want to have what they have?

Tinkeringbell

@CaldeiraG Well not 'on'... the coffee machine won't survive XD

CaldeiraG

10:05 AM

@Tinkeringbell :P around it then :)

JAD

@avazula I think I was in and left after a while because I felt it was part dead, part used by people I didn't know. I can give it another shot

Tinkeringbell

@JAD That probably was tinyman's server, this one is set up by brug, it's a whole new one.

JAD

ah

yes it was

Tinkeringbell

I keep messing up people's discord names and SE names XD

JAD

:o

Tinkeringbell

10:07 AM

Then there's also Twitter names, Hangout names, Facebook names... AAAAAGH

JAD

it's a difficult life

CaldeiraG

My name is the same on everywhere :) just because i don't have a better username

JAD

my name has the same root at least :P

Belle

Is that you with the red and white hat?

JAD

yep

Belle

10:17 AM

Nice hat

JAD

That's actually my old SE avatar as well lol

that's better

the avatar is back from an old Runescape forum. It was tradition to edit a santa hat into your avatar around x-mas there. At some point I just was too lazy to change it back

and through gravatar it sticks around

Belle

10:59 AM

Today in small victories: one of my colleagues (not from my department/location) got reported to HR for harassment and got fired less than two weeks after the report.

Belle

11:24 AM

I'm doing it again... I'm looking up the things that hurt me. I notice I do that when I feel upset, but it doesn't help. At all.

I'm not sure what I'm looking for either. Validation maybe? Hoping that someone gave them what I feel that they deserve? That doesn't help me, yet I want it so badly.

Tinkeringbell

11:44 AM

@Belle A way to handle them that allows you closure?

Tinkeringbell

11:54 AM

Heh. I added a pattern to Ravelry yesterday and today it shows up in my pattern highlights... Uhmmm... It's already in my library? :P

Extroverted Main Man

12:13 PM

0

Q: How can I find out why I am in a relationship I never wanted and I seem unable to get out of it?

Long time ago I started dating a girl casually. I was not interested in having a relationship with her, i.e. I was not interested in being her boyfriend or her being my girlfriend. However, it was fine to meet her sometimes as friends. Maybe a couple of times per month. Then she asked me once if...

relationships

Alex Robinson

12:54 PM

that question is a bit of an oof

Tinkeringbell

Yeah plenty comments but no votes? :P

I'd rather not close it singlehandedly, ya know. Even when I do comment ;)

avazula

1:07 PM

@Belle yay! <3

@Belle and noooo! Have some cats! Have some love! You're great just the way you are and we love you!

@IPSCommentBot cats! Right now!

IPS Comment Bot

avazula

Thank you.

CaldeiraG

wow, that's a cute cat <3

r/awww

avazula

^ totally

Belle

<3

Belle

2:18 PM

I hope the making of cosmetics is on topic for arts & crafts, since I just asked a question about it. As I wrote the first question about the topic, I also created the tag for it.

Tinkeringbell

I think it should be, but you never know ;)

Belle

After searching a bit longer I may have found an answer to my own question x)

Belle

2:40 PM

I used to get my stuff at Holland & Barrett, but I always felt like they were overpriced and never had just what I needed. I now found a webshop that sells everything for DIY cosmetics, right here in NL, so cheap shipping :D

Tinkeringbell

that's nice!

I almost never use cosmetics, and when I do, I don't make them myself XD

Belle

I'm starting to resort to that, because of my stupid allergy :\

JAD

@Tinkeringbell me neither

Belle

I assume you use shampoo and soap though? :)

Magisch

shampoo and soap aren't classed as cosmetics are they?

Belle

2:46 PM

In the DIY cosmetics community they are

Tinkeringbell

@Belle little to none...

Belle

> In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates cosmetics, defines cosmetics as "intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting the body's structure or functions."

CaldeiraG

shampoo is a cosmetic in essence, there are so many of them

Belle

They specifically exclude pure soap though, but as soon as the soap is scented, it's a cosmetic

Basically anything that changes the way you look or leaves a smell or is "good" for your skin or hair. So, shampoo and soap, but also deodorant and skin cream, and of course make-up.

Magisch

I use melon, strawberry or coconut scented soap

Belle

2:51 PM

I've got coconut scented soap too :) so nice

The answer to my question is: vitamin E

I'll leave it for someone else to answer though

If there's no answer by tomorrow or so, I might self-answer

My colleagues are talking Dunglish on purpose. I can't stop laughing. "We klik the vinkje hiero. Then you go to yearrekening."

Tinkeringbell

3:09 PM

Dunglish is fun :)

If you need help chiming in, I can look stuff up for you ;)

JAD

hmm, it's always lovely talking to the development team. The general code language is english, except for domainspecific terms like Overlijdensrisicoverzekering or Hypotheekrenteaftrek. It makes for a nice jumbled vocabulary

Extroverted Main Man

0

Q: How to confront affair but not quite?

Alice and Bob were dating. Alice left Bob. Alice asked Bob to take her back. Bob refused. Bob and Alice gradually became friends again. Alice renewed her campaign to get back into a relationship with Bob again. Bob kept refusing and continued being very good friends with Alice. Bob came to know f...

dating

Tinkeringbell

@ExtrovertedMainMan hmmm

Belle

@JAD We actually translate all our stuff. Sometimes it's wrong. That's frustrating.

JAD

I prefer it this way tbh, the translation for ORV would be LifeInsurance, which is just confusing as all hell, given it's entirely different vs levensverzekering

Belle

3:24 PM

Yeah, I'm not very fond of it either. It works for terms like trial balance / kolommenbalans, but it gets weird when you have things that are based in the law

CaldeiraG

3:51 PM

@ExtrovertedMainMan I have a feeling this is an hypothetical story rather than something real

Tinkeringbell

@CaldeiraG Hmm. I'm looking for a way to ask why Bob has to say this/wants to say this, without being accused of editing the 'should I' out of it in the first place XD

CaldeiraG

4:08 PM

I see your point :)

It just looks odd to me

Tinkeringbell

6:59 PM

@ExtrovertedMainMan Guys we really need to get a bit better at closing stuff that needs workshopping.... it looks bad if I do it all on my own once the bad answers come in!

@JourneymanGeek are you asleep or awake rn?

Rainbacon

Sorry @Tinkeringbell, I've been pretty busy with the new job and thus less active on IPS

Tinkeringbell

7:20 PM

@Rainbacon No worries :) How's the new job? :)

Rainbacon

7:37 PM

I'm enjoying it so far, though the hours are a bit later than I'd like

scohe001

But hopefully it starts later too? Or are you working overtime?

Rainbacon

It does, but I'd much prefer 8-5 to 9-6

scohe001

Ahh gotcha. There's no flexibility to just come in an hr or two earlier?

Rainbacon

My manager comes in earlier, but she also stays just as late

scohe001

7:53 PM

:/

avazula

8:09 PM

Sorry to interrupt, hope you don't mind

I just bought the house!!

So whenever any of you is coming to France, I have bedrooms ready for you!

El'endia Starman

\o/!

Rainbacon

@avazula Congrats!

Tinkeringbell

woohoo! I might take you up on that offer some day :)

scohe001

Ayyyyy! If I'm ever around baguette country, I'll hit you up :D

avazula

8:30 PM

@Tinkeringbell you're more than welcome to do so <3

@scohe001 BAGUETTE!

Can I count on you for a home tour if I drop by Texas on my American trip? ;D

scohe001

@avazula lol I'm not near any of the cool/fun parts of Texas, but we can probably house you! DM me on Discord when you're setting up your itinerary and we can talk more :)

avazula

@scohe001 what I'm most interested in about this trip is to meet you guys (does that sound creepy?). So basically you're the cool/fun part ;)

Will do! I'm afraid it won't be this year (moving, works in the house and garden, blablabla) but probably 2021 yes

scohe001

8:55 PM

Ooh IPS road trip! Haha you're going to hit all the American households?

That's good to give yourself time, especially with everything happening in the Ava life. You'll have to keep me posted!

avazula

9:26 PM

@scohe001 i don't think I can do that :p y'all are just all other this country!

I do have some places I don't wanna miss though. California and NY are not to be missed and I have a thing for Texas (drag queens, again... Haha)

But this seems very difficult to achieve in just one trip... So for now I'm just fantasizing about it.

scohe001

9:39 PM

Ohhh boy. My neck of Texas is a little...conservative, unfortunately. I don't think I've seen anyone dressed drag in this city since I moved here actually (as opposed to how often I'd see ppl in CA)