What's on your mind?

[FatherAlabaster]

Our sunset is later than Zack's, but not by too much. There are things I really like about late fall and winter but the early nightfall isn't one of them.

Tummy bug from my son's school is officially eating its way through the rest of us. Wife stayed home sick from work and I've been in bed pretty much all day. No music, no food, no bueno. I hope tomorrow brings joy.

[AlSymerz]

Having spent so much of my working life in the darkness I don't mind how early it arrives, but I am really sick of rain and wind.

 

The best bit about those school bugs is that usually they are kind enough to come back around every few months

 

[RelentlessOblivion]

Hope everyone feels better soon FA

[GoatmasterGeneral]

I love the darkness. I don't think I'd really mind having all day darkness. Or like 2 days with the normal amount of daylight and then 5 solid days of darkness. Or maybe something like 6 hours of daylight each day and then dark all the rest of the time. I hate that daylight savings time when it stays light out til 9pm bullshit. There's just no good reason for it not to be dark by 5pm, or at the latest 6pm. 7:20 right now and it's been dark for about 3 hours already. This is as it should be.

[RelentlessOblivion]

2 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I love the darkness. I don't think I'd really mind having all day darkness. Or like 2 days with the normal amount of daylight and then 5 solid days of darkness. Or maybe something like 6 hours of daylight each day and then dark all the rest of the time. I hate that daylight savings time when it stays light out til 9pm bullshit. There's just no good reason for it not to be dark by 5pm, or at the latest 6pm. 7:20 right now and it's been dark for about 3 hours already. This is as it should be.

I respectfully disagree light is my, and everyone else with my eye condion’s friend. Sunset at 8pm is ideal thanks.

[AlSymerz]

I think if you could utilise a way of using the light many of us don't want to use for your own benefit there would be no argument.

[zackflag]

I actually kinda like the darkness too but I also prefer more than 6 hours of daylight. It isn't enough. I have the Vitamin D supplements but forget to take them most days.

[SurgicalBrute]

Honestly, while I do enjoy the dark, I know it would absolutely get to me to live in one of those areas in the North that get like 30 days of darkness. Seasonal depression fucks with me every year, and I know the reduced amount of daylight plays a huge factor in that. I can actually feel my mood improve on winter days when the sun is out and shining

[AlSymerz]

19 minutes ago, zackflag said:

I actually kinda like the darkness too but I also prefer more than 6 hours of daylight. It isn't enough. I have the Vitamin D supplements but forget to take them most days.

Are  they prescribed by a doctor?

In Aus many doctors used to prescribe Vit D tablets and supplements but most have been told to stop in all but serious cases because they weren't addressing the problem that many people actually needed daylight.

[navybsn]

I am powered by sunshine, but my soul is black.

[zackflag]

9 minutes ago, KillaKukumba said:

Are  they prescribed by a doctor?

In Aus many doctors used to prescribe Vit D tablets and supplements but most have been told to stop in all but serious cases because they weren't addressing the problem that many people actually needed daylight.

Nah they're just some regular, over-the-counter, chewable tablets. "Supplement" probably wasn't the proper term haha.

[markm]

Sunset in MD is now 4:45 which is too early. 3:45 would make me suicidal. I hate this time of year. The fucking holidays. Can't wait for January to roll around. 

[RelentlessOblivion]

2 hours ago, navybsn said:

I am powered by sunshine, but my soul is black.

You still have a soul? Cthulhu consumed mine aeons ago…

[markm]

3 hours ago, SurgicalBrute said:

Honestly, while I do enjoy the dark, I know it would absolutely get to me to live in one of those areas in the North that get like 30 days of darkness. Seasonal depression fucks with me every year, and I know the reduced amount of daylight plays a huge factor in that. I can actually feel my mood improve on winter days when the sun is out and shining

Same and those of us that enjoy outdoor activities after work or school love the extra time the daylight affords us. You can work a full day and then go out and play somewhere outside. Walk, bike, kayak, hike, run, climb, swim. To be outdoors in the evening in the warmth of summer is nirvana.  

[Sheol]

10 hours ago, SurgicalBrute said:

Honestly, while I do enjoy the dark, I know it would absolutely get to me to live in one of those areas in the North that get like 30 days of darkness. Seasonal depression fucks with me every year, and I know the reduced amount of daylight plays a huge factor in that. I can actually feel my mood improve on winter days when the sun is out and shining

In Jukkasjärvi in the north of sweden you get 2 hrs of sunlight today.

Sunrise: 10:25 - Sunset: 12:29

In a week on dec 10 it will be just 35 min of sunlight

Sunrise: 11:12 - Sunset: 11:47

 

Then again, between mid may and mid july the sun never sets below the horizon

[SurgicalBrute]

4 hours ago, Sheol said:

In Jukkasjärvi in the north of sweden you get 2 hrs of sunlight today.

Sunrise: 10:25 - Sunset: 12:29

In a week on dec 10 it will be just 35 min of sunlight

Sunrise: 11:12 - Sunset: 11:47

 

Then again, between mid may and mid july the sun never sets below the horizon

That's right up in or around the arctic circle, right?

Yeah...as awesome as it might be, I know that would play havoc with my head after awhile

[GoatmasterGeneral]

24 minutes ago, SurgicalBrute said:

That's right up in or around the arctic circle, right?

Yeah...as awesome as it might be, I know that would play havoc with my head after awhile

Then you could have yourself a nice little lie down at the world renowned Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi.

 

[Dead1]

I have heard of that hotel and pics look amazing but it doesn't look comfortable!

[SurgicalBrute]

Yeah...I remember that thing from the James Bond movie Die Another Day

1 minute ago, Dead1 said:

but it doesn't look comfortable!

Agreed...always thought it looked pretty unappealing as a place to sleep

[Thatguy]

22 hours ago, KillaKukumba said:

Are  they prescribed by a doctor?

In Aus many doctors used to prescribe Vit D tablets and supplements but most have been told to stop in all but serious cases because they weren't addressing the problem that many people actually needed daylight.

You've got to use daylight in moderation.

I run 3 days a week and am often out walking or gardening and was vit D deficient despite this. There is genetic variation in the ability of skin to synthesise vit D whatever the skin colour. I am pretty damn pale - as you'd expect of any Anglo dermatologist or ex-dermatologist. Also, the ability to synth vit D will diminish with age especially in women.

You don't need to buy into the mystic benefits of vit D. I don't. But you need normal vit D levels for bone health - again, especially as you get older. Having broken maybe more than my fair share of bones over the years - fingers, toes, ribs, comminuted fracture dislocation R ankle - I would like to keep my bones in as good shape as possible.

All that said, I was out running this morning on Mt Taylor, and the light, the blue sky, the 18C, the breeze...fantastic.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Mr Freeze would love it, the rest of us not so much

[markm]

I have to say, that Ice Hotel looks pretty cool and I bet is-cool that is. 

[AlSymerz]

54 minutes ago, Thatguy said:

You've got to use daylight in moderation.

I run 3 days a week and am often out walking or gardening and was vit D deficient despite this. There is genetic variation in the ability of skin to synthesise vit D whatever the skin colour. I am pretty damn pale - as you'd expect of any Anglo dermatologist or ex-dermatologist. Also, the ability to synth vit D will diminish with age especially in women.

You don't need to buy into the mystic benefits of vit D. I don't. But you need normal vit D levels for bone health - again, especially as you get older. Having broken maybe more than my fair share of bones over the years - fingers, toes, ribs, comminuted fracture dislocation R ankle - I would like to keep my bones in as good shape as possible.

All that said, I was out running this morning on Mt Taylor, and the light, the blue sky, the 18C, the breeze...fantastic.

Yeah my doctor said the same thing, although at the time we were working on his farm fixing fences he didn't have time to fix so his idea of 'moderation' was more like "as long as it takes to finish my farm".

I'm out most mornings as the sun rises or just before as daylight makes it easier to see. Since whatever bug I got back in September (be it the flu or covid I don't know for sure) I haven't been able to ride my bike as far but I do wander the farms checking the cows and the fences. I'm not a bronzed aussie because for the most part I've always used sunscreen since I've always been one of those people that burns rather than tans. I've never been told to take extra Vit D so I never have. The only thing I've ever been told to cut down on is salt and high acid things because of a stomach ulcer.

 

[Dead1]

So after 30+ years of being "only" an Australian after dissolution of Yugoslavia, I have decided to get  my Croatian citizenship next year.

 

Why?  Because I am not Australian and because increasingly I hate what Australia has become and what Australia is.

I hate the increasing tolerance for exploitation, inequality, laziness, entitlement, selfishness and corruption (yes I know Europe is corrupt but equality still matters there).  It's ultra tolerant of alcohol and drug abuse and crime.   Some of these things I see everyday at work or in daily interactions.

I hate the mindless plastic consumerism and intellectual vapidity of the Australian people.   I hate how plastic Australian society has become.   They might not have ever been a philosophically intellectual culture, but Australians were once upon a time at least mainly honest, humble and had some sort of values.  Now it's fuck your neighbour over as long as your house prices are going up.

I hate how Australians have no sense of past or future.  They live for today.    I hate how oblivious and apathetic they are to everything.

I hate how they wish to keep destroying the planet with absolute wanton abandon just so they can buy their next big ute, big house, expensive toys etc etc.   I even hate that my Australian wife has pursued that line (eg we now have two cars and three TVs - we only need 1 of each!).

I hate their perverse notion of art being merely something to shock or random garbage being applauded as self expression.  Skill and artisanship are not appreciated in this country.  I hate their modern architecture which at best is bland and at worst is disjointed garbage.

 

 

But sadly I lack the skills (both technical and language) to move to Europe to start again (and am too old) and even more critically I have too many ties here (ie wife and daughter and everything else).

 

So I will find solace in getting back into Europe at least in a legal fashion.  Hopefully I will be able to retire there and leave my ashes on that once enlightened continent instead of this festering shithole.

 

[Thatguy]

1 hour ago, Dead1 said:

So I will find solace in getting back into Europe at least in a legal fashion.  Hopefully I will be able to retire there and leave my ashes on that once enlightened continent instead of this festering shithol

I think yer problem is not so much with Australia as with the modern world, but all the best anyway.