dewline: Exclamation: "Hear, Hear!" (celebration)
[personal profile] dewline
I mentioned privately last week that I'd been accepted for enrolment into the Canadian Dental Insurance Plan. The one that our federal government hired Sun Life to administer for everyone earning less than C$90K/year and not already covered by their employer or their province?

That one.

I finally got the card in the papermail from Sun Life today.

Orange and pink and white plastic.

It's just hitting me now that, after over three decades of paying out of pocket by instalments for my dental health basics - exams, fillings and repairs of same, that sort of thing - I no longer have to worry about that part of my life's financial juggling. It's already covered through my federal income tax from now on unless I land a sufficiently lucrative job with its own coverage.

Hoping it all works out.

Prodigy

Jun. 10th, 2025 12:48 pm

Happy Pride.....

Jun. 10th, 2025 09:19 am
disneydream06: (Disney Friends)
[personal profile] disneydream06
You are important and you are loved.....

Pride 8
dewline: A fake starmap of the fictional Kitchissippi Sector (Ottawa)
[personal profile] dewline
I found out today - or was reminded today, I'm not entirely sure as I've downloaded resources from the IAU on the subject of star names in the past year and then neglected to review them carefully - that in 2015, a star in Monoceros - HD 45652 - was named "Lusitânia", in connection with their Name ExoWorlds programme. The one known planet orbiting it is named "Viriato". For the purposes of the projects I'm working on with the Tranquility Press fanfic gang, it's in Klingon space as of 2240-2410.

I love that this astronomical naming process is picking up speed in my lifetime!

Pro-tip

Jun. 9th, 2025 07:40 pm
sabotabby: (molotov)
[personal profile] sabotabby
 They are going to beat you, and eventually kill you, regardless of whether your protest is violent or non-violent.

A little urban charm

Jun. 9th, 2025 11:29 pm
loganberrybunny: Drawing of my lapine character's face by Eliki (Default)
[personal profile] loganberrybunny
Public

Poppies, Bewdley, 9th June 2025
129/365: Poppies, Bewdley
Click for a larger, sharper image

Not a great deal to report today, as I didn't really do anything terribly interesting. I did enjoy some rum and raisin ice cream, which is one of my favourite flavours, though in truth the weather was only just warm enough for it. It's supposed to be a good deal warmer from Wednesday onwards, with temperatures into the mid-20s, but also a substantial risk of thunderstorms. I popped into Sainsbury's to get a snack, but I dithered so much that I didn't end up buying anything. Today's photo was taken on the eastern edge of Bewdley, along Kidderminster Road. There's a building site just over the wall you can see here, so the poppies create a nice splash of colour to compensate a bit.
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Every day is perfect, if
when you wake, you hear birds
in the garden, in the yard. Birds

up and down, ushering in one more day
in all the houses on Shaker Way. Birds
on telephone lines, light posts. Birds

twit, twittering on trees
hailing fellow birds
with a nod of  beak—gray kingbird;

top-hatted, streamertail
tuxedoed, doctor bird—
busy-bodied hummingbird

tucking in, out, of pink, red ixoras
punch-drunk in love. Birds
preening for, chatting up other birds—

the oriole, the grass quit, in mid-song
on the lawn, in a dance of  birds
an all-day-long conference of bird;

red-headed woodpecker
—drummer boy, or girl bird
in this daily symphony of  birds

—an orchestra on Shaker Way
in serenade of each perfect day with birds—
from the very first mockingbird

heralding, in solo warble
one more day, filled with birds—
brightened, lightened, trilled by birds:

precious, diamond-throated
sweet song, miracle-toting birds
the-gift-of-day-is-here birds.

Bird, bird, bird. Hello bird.
You lift me up bird.
You sing the day beautiful, bird.


***********


Link
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Rok continues to be the best at everything, and deserves all the hugs. Though I remain baffled how ST thinks they can on one hand have post-scarcity nearly everywhere (including, one presumes, in places just outside of the Federation where they can easily abscond with probable Federation citizens) and also have seedy underbellies everywhere as well. The problem is that they never actually worked out how it all works, and I think the only solution is to ditch the idea that even the Federation really has no currency and is totally post-scarcity. Everybody has their basic needs met, I'll agree is supported by the writing. Anything past that, no.

Anyway, Rok's friend in her tragic backstory was clearly no more able to leave that situation than she was and though I can see there's too much plot for that to happen in canon I really hope they could rescue him.

Speaking of tragic backstories, I cannot believe a. that Dal tried to say his was the worst and b. his version of being "the worst" absolutely skips past the part where Read more... ) But seriously, dude, you grew up as a slave on a mine full of child slaves. It's not a situation people get into because their life was just so great beforehand. If everything was hunky-dory, none of you would've been targeted in the first damn place. You all have a terrible backstory, you don't need to prove it!

Moving on, Murf continues to also be the best, but ffs, can somebody get him an AAC? Or a whiteboard, at least? Teach him sign language? This is a solved problem even in the real world, surely Starfleet can figure it out!

Nothing to say about Jankom, he's just there. *shrug* And I feel kinda ditto about Zero, tbh. I mean, I like them, but....

Ma'Jel, between her cool hair and her increasingly consternated expression as the turbolift got more and more crowded, is clearly not one of the most unemotional Vulcans out there. (I don't care what Vulcans say, the opposite of "logical" is not "emotional", it's just "illogical".) I feel like she and our darling T'Lyn would have a lot to talk about.

The adults on the ship - this show is clearly trying to walk a fine line between keeping them competent and allowing the kids to run circles around them. I'm not sure it always works, but I appreciate the effort, and also I appreciate how they were careful to make it clear that the adults, whether they're being strict or a bit Too Much, are only acting the way they do because they're sympathetic. (Frankly, all the kids could stand to appreciate their new situation a bit more - except Rok, she already gets it - but I understand why they're struggling a bit.)

Gets a bit spoilery )

**************


Ugh, the news )
loganberrybunny: Election rosette (Rosette)
[personal profile] loganberrybunny
Public

Today's U-turn on Winter Fuel Allowance payments is arguably fairly reasonable in its intent, in that it means truly wealthy pensioners will not receive WFA but those on average incomes will. Put like that, it sounds fine, and in principle I can get behind it. The snag is... well, the several snags are:

1) The government has insisted, loudly, since last year that on no account would they do this, and that anyone suggesting they'd U-turn was not telling the truth. The "anyones" were telling the truth; the government wasn't.
2) Rachel Reeves has acquired a reputation as an extremely poor Chancellor who neither sticks by her commitments nor acknowledges U-turns. This will make that reputation even worse.
3) The new limit will be £35,000 a year, per person. But a couple on a combined income of £69,000 with no mortgage is much wealthier than the large majority of working people, especially those with children to support.
4) We're told that whether someone reaches the £35,000 mark will be decided via income tax returns. But most pensioners who have no other income don't do tax returns in the first place.
5) The change will cost £1.2 billion. Where's that coming from? Almost nobody believes Reeves' comment that the economy is suddenly doing sufficiently better to afford this.
6) There's already a strong sense that wealthier pensioners are uniquely shielded from cuts while everyone else suffers -- the triple lock is another example. This looks like strengthening that feeling.
7) If previously announced public spending, eg the extra money for public transport outside London, is cut again to pay for this then there will be absolute carnage in Labour's support in the regions.
8) The UK's demographics mean that the pensioner:worker ratio is becoming ever more tilted towards pensioners. If current trends continue, this change will become less affordable, not more.
9) One way of ameliorating this is by allowing more immigration -- but this is becoming politically toxic. England (specifically) is the most densely populated non-tiny country in Europe.
10) Nigel Farage, who pushed for this change, now has a clear win. Everyone knows that Reform's economics are far more fantastical than Labour's, but it doesn't seem to affect its polling.

Other than that, it's absolutely fine...

Songs From The Movies.....

Jun. 9th, 2025 07:47 am
disneydream06: (Disney Music)
[personal profile] disneydream06
Not a lot of explaination needed here......


Monday At The Movies.....

Jun. 9th, 2025 07:34 am
disneydream06: (Disney Movies)
[personal profile] disneydream06
This Week's Movie Quote...

V. B.: When a lady says no, she means... get your hand off my dick, buddy!

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 3


Which Movie Does This Quote Come From?

View Answers

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert
1 (33.3%)

Muriel's Wedding
1 (33.3%)

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar
1 (33.3%)

I Don't Have A Clue...
0 (0.0%)




Last Week's Movie Quote...

Celsius: Chewing gum helps me think.
Albert: Sweetie, you're wasting your gum!

It came from the 1996 movie, "The Birdcage".
It starred Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a Gay couple who's son is about to marry the daughter of a Conservative US Senator.
What could go wrong?



Those Who Knew or Guessed Correctly...
[profile] sidhe_uaine42
[personal profile] spikesgirl58
[personal profile] meathiel
[personal profile] adminbear
[personal profile] mrdreamjeans
[personal profile] merlinwon
[profile] fairy69version2
[personal profile] murakozi
[personal profile] thewayne
[personal profile] hauntedlittleme

Happy Pride.....

Jun. 9th, 2025 06:53 am
disneydream06: (Disney Happy)
[personal profile] disneydream06
Again mixed with a little Political Rant.....


Pride 11

Years when decades happen

Jun. 9th, 2025 07:23 am
sabotabby: (doom doom doom)
[personal profile] sabotabby
 I dunno, what do you guys want me to rant about? The Freedom Flotilla? LA vs. ICE? The fact that my government is planning more pipelines while sending in the army to deal with out-of-control wildfires? Or, closer to home, Bill 5 or the Toronto bubble zone law, or...?

This is why people curl up and retreat into fiction.

Well, I read the news

Jun. 9th, 2025 08:33 pm
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
Or, anyway, I glanced at the headlines and oh fuck no. Can I just go back to bed, and somebody wake me when things improve?
frith: Obama Motivation Poster style cartoon pony (FIM Twilight Magic)
[personal profile] frith
Day03_Brave_face

It's prompt 4 time but I wanted to try the "putting on a brave face" option in the previous prompt. There are still problems (like head was supposed to be turned slightly) but it's better than the 'funny face' attempt.

Day04_Scenic_walk

I still managed to crank out a drawing for Day 4: pony trotting / on a scenic walk. I forgot to use the clearly trotting model for the stride and the eyes might be too small but it's fine for a quick and dirty protest drawing. Protest? Why yes! Prompt 2 also called for moving / walking the walk. So here you are, a cross pony dragging my drawing for Prompt 2. It's déjà vu all over again. *shakes hoof*

Colliers time!

Jun. 8th, 2025 09:31 pm
loganberrybunny: Drawing of my lapine character's face by Eliki (Default)
[personal profile] loganberrybunny
Public

Colliers Country Stores, 8th June 2025
128/365: Colliers Country Stores
Click for a larger, sharper image

I was treated to breakfast by someone today at the Colliers. This is a pub-restaurant a few miles west of Bewdley, near the small village of Clows (rhymes with "cows") Top. Their breakfast baps are truly excellent -- I went for sausage, bacon and tomato today. Then it was off to the next-door shop you see here. It sells some ordinary things, which are frankly expensive, but of more interest to me are the local pies and pasties, Bennetts ice cream (my favourite farmhouse brand) and cider. All of these were acquired today, so I think it counts as a successful mission! The shop also sells a few locally made ornaments and such -- you can just see some of the wooden animals (reindeer and rabbits) inside the outer door.

Happy Pride.....

Jun. 8th, 2025 07:47 am
disneydream06: (Disney Happy)
[personal profile] disneydream06
On a lighter note...


Pride 12

Political Rant.....

Jun. 8th, 2025 07:45 am
disneydream06: (Disney Angry)
[personal profile] disneydream06
People have to stop calling "ICE agents" government employees.

Call them what they are Political Thugs and the new Gestapo.

I am willing to bet that most of them are part of "The Proud Boys" organization,
and were actively at the Insurrection at the US Capital on January 6th.

Stop legitimizing them.

JFC what is it about Greeks?

Jun. 8th, 2025 08:49 am
conuly: (Default)
[personal profile] conuly
A shocking number of people will blithely tell us all about the book they read, in English, on an English-language subreddit, and never tell us that they didn't read it in English. I can only catch so many of them - if they don't say "English isn't my first language" or make any obvious foreign language errors then I'll never know. (Some of them say "I read this in my own language" and then don't tell us what that language was.)

Most of these people, if prompted, will tell you what language they read it in. Three times now, I've had to ask twice because they refused to answer the question in a useful way, and every time that person has been Greek.

I thought it was a little funny the second time, but three times is the start of a worrying pattern, especially as it's not at all the most popular not-English language posted there. Maybe there's something going badly wrong with their school system?

(And, sidenote, even if you're certain it was translated from English you still ought to tell us the language it was written in. At least in theory this can help us weed out false positives, although I may be expecting too much of fellow commenters to that subreddit.)

***************


Read more... )

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