mike carey

Magpies have outwitted scientists by helping each other remove tracking devices: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-22/magpies-show-cooperative-behaviour-by-removing-tracking-device/100851458

I guess that means he has a salad with his steak once every three months or so. Whether he needs it or not.

Yep, here it's 22/02/2022 which, if you leave the /s out is a palindrome!

I can understand your concern as it appears to be a new thing, but in reality it's an established practice being applied to a new disease. Children receive a raft of vaccinations some having up to three shots in the course. Most of them are long lasting but boosters for some, like pertussis, are recommended in later life if you're going to be around children too young to be vaccinated. When I travelled in tropical countries cholera and typhoid vaccinations were required on a cycle (every three years IIRC) as their effectiveness was known to wane. And back in prehistoric times, regular smallpox inoculations were needed. Also, if you don't have an up-to-date tetanus vaccination, you're dicing with death. (Which reminds me, I don't.) Long story short, the understanding of the efficacy and duration of effectiveness of vaccines develops over time. As it does, regimens for boosters or revaccination are established. I'll be paying attention to what is recommended and getting those jabs. And checking which others I hadn't been paying attention to.

I remember seeing a version of this question with LinkedIn being listed just after 'climb in through my bedroom window'.

If it wasn't clear I was alluding to the forum weekend, and by 'short flight' I meant coming in from Seattle, New York or Washington, or wherever. 'Short' is a relative concept, so for me those trips are 'short'!

You're welcome. Brussels is a place I haven't been for years, it's good to be reminded of travel destinations. Moderator note: perhaps you guys can take this offline so as not to divert this thread.

I was going to say welcome to the forum, but you've been here for a year!

First port of call is always your mobile service provider, they will have options (as references above to AT&T attest). They may have more than one way to do it, so you need to research. I'm in a different country so my experience is not directly relevant, but my provider offers add-ons for up to seven days for data, voice and text, or both that don't use my plan credits. On some of their plans they offer a roaming fee (like the AT&T plan) that uses your home credits. They also have (very high) default call and data charges if you don't set something up. YMMV. Buying a local SIM is always an option, but you need to weigh the disadvantages of not being on your usual number: you won't receive incoming calls, and if you call people in your life they won't know it's you. (Your WhatsApp will continue to work regardless.) You can minimise your use of your plan credits by using WiFi (including for regular calls and texts if your phone can be set up to do that, or if it does so automatically). That is less important, or even irrelevant, if your roaming deal is a flat daily fee, but important if you're charged by the amount of usage. There is always the option of calling (or checking the web page of) your provider, asking what their option is and saying, 'That sounds fine'.

Moderator's Note: This thread is about one pastor's journey from an adult industry career to his current calling. Comments on the issues that arise from that are fine, but a more general discussion of Religion does not belong in the Lounge. Members are welcome to start, or continue, conversations about Religion in the Political Issues Forum.

Here too. Does it give you Avis and Hertz status as well?

Good points raised by Benjamin and also @Pensanton the benefits offered by the Amex Platinum card (what I get in Australia is different so I didn't know for sure what they were in the US). Also @tassojunioron the different value of hotel program points, and some travel redemption ideas. (On hotels, if one program's points are worth twice another's, make sure you aren't getting just half as many for each dollar spent.) Bear in mind that a hotel or airline card will credit all your points to their loyalty program, but you will receive a set of benefits at that hotel or airline. Make sure what they offer is what you need, and that you're happy with how that limits how you can redeem them. Chase, and others like Capital One, and Amex offer benefits that aren't brand specific and allow you to transfer your points to other programs. The travel cards have flagship cards (like Amex Platinum) but they also have a range of cards with lower and sometime zero fees (and lesser benefits) that work the same way. You can pick the level at which you enter, and move to a higher (or lower) price point later if you need to. You may find it's worthwhile to have both types of cards, but only you know if you have the discipline to use each for the purposes for which they are best suited.

Oh, he is! Twenty-six and some months. It's right there at the top of his ad.

I've only just recovered from had my first booster, so not something I've had to consider yet. I'm not sure what the protocols are here for fourth and subsequent shots. It may well not be possible to have a fourth. I won't mention taking the one after that.

From what I've seen RM profiles continue if an escort changes his profile name without leaving the site. You see this if you buddy list someone and they change their name, they are still in your buddy list. So, reviews would probably remain if they change their handle.

Not at the standard retail outlet, although there used to be some that they did (more common with ointments than drugs taken by mouth). There are businesses called 'compounding chemists' that do that.

I hope only the bed deflated.

A minor point of clarification, these flights are on Air Tahiti Nui (TN) not Air Tahiti (VT), which is the domestic carrier in French Polynesia.

Are you talking about their B787 or former A340 J class (I haven't flown with them at all)? Air Tahiti Nui have stopped flying to Sydney but they codeshare with QF across the ditch and I've seen them on QF searches SYD-LAX.

I thought of, but omitted a comment on that in my previous post. That counter would usually be called the dispensary here. There is a distinction here between things that require a qualified pharmacist and those that don't, but that isn't reflected in what the shop is called. The Safeway issue doesn't arise here as the pharmacists' cartel (the Pharmacy Guild) has successfully lobbied to retain a ban on people who are not qualified pharmacists from owning a pharmacy. I suspect that when that changes (or one of the big retailers finds a way around it) that will be called something like the pharmacy counter but 'Chemist' will continue to be what the specialised shop is called no matter what else it sells.

Interesting distinction (to me at least). The word 'drugstore' is not used here at all (my spell checker even puts a wriggly red line under the word). Pharmacy, chemist's or chemist shop are the usual terms, although they don't sell the same range of goods that US 'drugstores' do.

I'm perplexed by the commentary that's been going on about 'hoarding'. The situations where taking a test might be appropriate have changed as infection levels and perceived risk of doing things when infected have been changing over recent weeks. Different people face those situations with different frequencies. So, is there any 'appropriate' number to have in the cupboard? When needing to self administer a RAT (as opposed to having one administered in a clinical setting) became a thing here it was impossible to find them in shops, so people would buy several if they had the chance and the money. If you buy 10x20 roll packs of toilet paper, that qualifies as hoarding, but is it hoarding if you buy enough groceries to last a week rather than a day? What about if you shop once a month? I wouldn't apply an absolute test that says having 12 tests on hand is too many, but it probably would be if you had established a pattern of needing one test every two weeks and you bought 12 more now.

In my accustomed penny-pinching public transport friendly manner, I investigated Amtrak as an option early on. As you suggest, the Palm Springs Amtrak station is a non-option. There was, however, an option to catch a train from LA Union Station to Fullerton then a Thruway (i.e. Amtrak) bus from there, but there were, I think, only about two of those a day. As I've said here before, I've just opted to take a connecting flight to PSP via some convenient city that isn't Los Angeles (nothing against LA, last time I rented a car at PSP and drove to LA via other places in the region for my flight home).

As @Epigonos noted in the Palm Springs Weekend thread, Australia will be opening its borders to foreign travellers from 21 February. Nobody is expecting a rush, but Qantas, at least, is bringing forward its plans to resume flying to many destinations, and possibly bringing forward plans to operate some new routes. They anticipate a fair volume of overseas based VFR traffic, in much the same way that Australian based VFR passengers jumped at the chance to travel late last year when Australians were allowed to leave the country (new routes to Delhi sold out in record time, and they had record redemptions of flight rewards). Qantas has already resumed flying A380s on the Sydney to Los Angeles route and will resume flying Sydney to DFW in a couple of weeks (using B787s not A380s). They are also considering bringing forward San Francisco flights from their current planned July resumption. Elsewhere, they plan to resume flights to Rome after almost 20 years. The one part of the country not open is Western Australia, which remains effectively closed not just to foreigners but also to Eastern Staters. WA's closed borders mean that non-stop flights from Perth to London are leaving from Darwin. Prospective travellers must be double vaccinated and have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of their scheduled flight departure, or a negative RAT (also referred to as a lateral flow test) conducted under medical supervision within 24 hours of scheduled departure and certified as negative by a medical practitioner. VFR = visiting friends and relatives, not visual flight rules.