Also, I just spent $40 to stock up on candy to hand out tomorrow. That kind of repelled me, maybe I’m a vampire.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Also, I just spent $40 to stock up on candy to hand out tomorrow. That kind of repelled me, maybe I’m a vampire.
Or maybe I’m a dentist?
Given the Tories’ utter decimation of the NHS where I am, I have been forced to go private for my dentistry at present. The bill for an examination, two fillings and a cleaning is close to £400.
I’d rather take my chances with the vampire.
Our seems to be the shunned house on the block. Even though we give all indications that we have candy and trick-or-treaters are welcome, we’re lucky if one kid to shows up.
Oh well, all the more Snickers with Almonds for me!
@ 2
Oh! Just wait until you have to deal with root canals, crowns, or dentures! That’s when things get REALLY expensive even for those of us with insurance.
Oh, I’ve seen the price lists. I’m just hoping I can get back onto an NHS dentist’s books before I need the really pricey stuff. I have little faith in the Blairite party that is inevitably going to take over from the current crop of bastards, but they did at least keep the NHS in a reasonable way last time.
cartomancer @2: In Canada, dental and eye care are outside the public health system. I had knee replacement surgery last year, with four weeks of post-op rehab classes, and the only cost was a few bucks for pain pills. Costs far more to have a chipped tooth fixed.
Oh yes. My NHS choleocystectomy last year didn’t cost me a penny. The chipped tooth isn’t even on the agenda right now, given the cost.
I’ve been fully stocked with Halloween candy for a while now, But since I’m forced to once again work on Halloween night and live alone, I’ll just leave it all unattended on my balcony, and I’ll have what the trick-or- treaters don’t take afterwards. I live on the seventh floor. It’s a nice system.
We had a Halloween party for the building’s children over the weekend. So, that saved me a candy bill and being on the eighth floor, well knocking on doors is actively discouraged in our building for random individuals.
So, the bag of candy a diabetic neighbor gave me is all mine. It’ll likely last me the year.
Cupcakes and pies, well, those last about as long as a block of ice in the broiler.*
*OK, a little longer than that, they’ll last around a week for a box of them. Oddly, blueberry pies last the shortest amount of time, due to their lower sweetness.
Oops, forgot dentistry.
Had private insurance when I was working, never could afford the copays. Which is why, now that I’ve got medicaid, I’m finally seeing a dentist and well, getting tons of extractions.
And a dental infection is what killed my wife in the matter of mere hours.
A bit of trivia. What’s found commonly within arterial plaque? When PCR testing was performed, a fair amount of oral flora and fungi genes were detected inside of that arterial plaque. That matched a higher number of patients having myocardial infarctions that had significant dental issues. But, it’s all the cholesterol, ignore all that calcium in the plaque.
Or realize, things medical are like everything else involving life, complex and interacting. Hence, no simple bandaid solutions, so brush your toes!
Not even the coalition that depends on the Swedish xenophobe party dares messing with health care and dentistry.
There would be the Swedish version of torches and pitchforks (aka dropping below the 4% limit where a party is entitled to representation in the parliament).
If you want to scare the kids, show them the 1980s big-budget “Lifeforce”.
Vampires from space.
birgerjohansson @11: almost once a month I find yet another reason I want to move to a Nordic country; but I’m not sure y’all would have me given where I come from.
Har, har, har, Rishi Sunak’s horror contribution will be this year’s The King’s Speech.
Sunak has prepared a bunch of things he thinks will increase his popularity with his base, but he has done no gallup-style preparation. Because he is a Muskian genius who needs no advice. According to rumors of his plans he is going to horrify everyone including many tory voters.
Billseymour @ 13
Pick Norway. Their air is on the damp side for me, but their economy is very strong, anchored in oil-profit funds that are locked away from greedy politicians and will only be accessed by future generations.
(Looks at Texas and Louisiana) -what, you did not save the money?
birgerjohansson @ 12, if I want to scare kids, I just show them my medical bills.
And if anybody reading this thinks they don’t need candy cause no kids will come around… True Story!
Halloween 1983. It was our first Halloween in the apartment. It was a secure building, nobody could just walk in. So we figured we didn’t need any candy.
About 6pm. [knock knock] TRICK OR TREAT
Oh noes. “Hang on kids”. I head for the kitchen, my wife heads for the bedroom. I’m looking around. A slice of bread. An apple. A stick of butter!
Then wife comes back with a handful of coins. “How many kids” “I think 3”. So she counted out 3 piles of 10 pennies. Which I put in their bags. The kids were 4 or 5 and they were like “WOAH! MONEY! MOM we got MONEY!”.
So it all worked out.
Also. This apartment was the end unit on the 2nd floor. Overlooking the pool. And I worked graveshift. No A/C so the window was open in the summer. And the women would come down to sunbathe in the afternoon. And talk. And all I can say is OMG!
If some monster fish-men come and want to bite me, thus sharing their DNA… good idea!
Hundred year life spans for three freshwater fishes in Arizona.
https://phys.org/news/2023-10-uncovers-hundred-year-lifespans-freshwater-fish.html
Those fish-men hybrids in Innsmouth were on to something.
The creature from the Black Lagoon was just looking for a long-time spouse. If you might be together for a century it makes sense to do your due dilligence before getting introduced.
Besides, it was his swimming pool.
https://youtu.be/ariuokNFhSw
Billseymour, Wzrd1
Trump realised you spell us as “u” and “s”.
And I noticed SWEden has a “we”. It is a sign. You should obviously leave run-by-grifter-land behind and get your asses over here, before Trump takes over and you get a Road Warrior scenario.
Or maybe NorWAY is the way to go. Or mark DenMARK on your map, it is the warmest place in Scandinavia.
IrLAND has a good economy, maybe a good place to settle.
(I tried Canada, but nada seems a bit negative)
I dunno, given what you said of the century fish, would not the LAND of Fins be superior for longevity and well, having beaten back the Soviets, they’re also pretty damned tough?
We had neighbors, a Finnish couple. On one occasion, a bunch of neighbors and we were invited over for a weekend outdoor dinner. Being early and living 20 meters away, I helped set up. The Finnish wife and I moved a heavy teak wood table into place, for her with no apparent effort, despite having been hospitalized the week prior.
The following week a diagnosis arrived as to what had hospitalized her, a severe P. falciparum infection.
So, effortlessly moving a table weighing a few hundred pounds while anemic, that’s pretty damned tough. ;)
Obviously, there are two morals present. Don’t make war in winter with Finland. Eat old freshwater fish.
I’ll just get my jacket…