Hey, so I’m working on a piece about the Plymouth shooter, and it’s taking a bit longer than expected.
So in the meantime, here’s an assortment of capybara gifs. The theme today is “scratchies.”
Scratchies and … vicious bird attacks!
And as promised, BIRD ATTACK!
Follow me on Mastodon.
Send tips to dfutrelle at gmail dot com.
We Hunted the Mammoth relies on support from you, its readers, to survive. So please donate here if you can, or at David-Futrelle-1 on Venmo.
Come for the trenchant social commentary, stay for the capybaras.
That last one literally made me LOL.
Bird: professional “Got Your Nose” champion.
Capybara: Rodent of unusual size, good at flopping over. Will not maul you in the fire swamp, but does exist.
David, take care of yourself! And thanks for the capybaras in the meantime.
For those who are curious…
Yes, I’m still watching The Good Place. Yes, I’m even more like Chidi after more of his flaws were revealed near the end of Season 1. Currently I’m halfway through Season 2, which means Ive seen the Trolley Problem episode.
@Crip Dyke: That show is great. They explain the philosophy pretty dang well too, which is a definite plus.
And the oscar goes to ‘Capybara dies after sudden but inevitable betrayal’. The drama, the gravitas. Truly the voice of a generation. 🙂
@ battering lamb
That capybara knows that the secret of a good fight scene is to really sell the punch!
Anyone have a rec for a good exercise bike? I’m not spending the money on a Peleton, but would like something that has different settings to simulate hills and things like that.
Love the capybaras!
All Capybaras Are Baby <3
@WWTH
I use an Airdyne bike, which can be used to simulate an outdoor ride on a hilly road like that. It’s also like a road ride because when you pedal you turn a fan that makes it feel like the wind on you outside. But then an Airdyne makes you use your arms in a way you wouldn’t riding a bike outside so you may not like that, I realize.
Stacey,
Thanks. I’ll look into that. If by using my arms, you mean working them out, I’m good with that as they need some toning. I’m mostly just wanting to lose the weight I gained being at home all the time in the pandemic. Walking the dog isn’t cutting it, especially since she’s an old lady and can’t go as long as she used to anymore.
Note: I’m not saying anyone else should feel obligated to get rid or bad about pandemic weight. I just personally don’t feel good right now and as hot as it is now, in Minnesota weather too cold for outdoor exercise could come weekly. Given that my work has for the time being no requirements to return to the office and the pandemic’s not going anywhere, it looks like I’m going to be not leaving the house much this winter.
@WWTH
Yes, you will definitely get some arm workout on an Airdyne bike; your arms are kind of going in a pumping motion as the handles go back and forth as you pedal so it always feels like it’s good for other upper-body development too, like shoulders. (I’m not sure but that’s how it feels).
I don’t have qualifications as an athletic trainer so everyone interested should always consult with a qualified person that they trust (that last part being as important as anything else of course). But you probably know the general importance of building some muscle strength when trying to get toned and lose weight (which is one reason that obsession with a scale is not only unhealthy for us emotionally but just not really telling you that much anyway because any good muscle you build will also weigh so we can’t just follow the numbers)
If you like riding an indoor bike for cardio work to burn calories as part of an overall plan that is wonderful and you should do it!
I totally and completely understand what you say about wanting to get toned. I have to work on muscle tone a lot for the type of appearance I’m always trying to craft. Most of my everyday wear outfits are based on a bodysuit or leotard and sheer tights with only a belt (never a skirt or anything over it because I hate that) and I choose materials that bring out the tone and contour of my body. I have a lot of mock t neck sleeveless leotards too that really show my shoulders and arms so I’m usually conscious of the kind of toned look this kind of workout helps with.
But aside from my personal situation also for really lots of people in general just working on that kind of fitness like you are talking about just makes you feel better. You’ll probably love the feeling of your blood pumping and all that oxygen in you from a strong bike workout!
Have fun and let us know how it goes!
My work from home consequence is that today I feel sore after a day of walking around Paris, while before it never did. That’s not an apparence thing per se, but I guess it mean I have a valid reason to do exercices now if I can avoid that.
Feeling good about its body isn’t just about exterior look, nor just about looking like what you want to look ; it’s also about not having the impression your body limit you.
(and in my case it’s probably litteraly just gaining weight via gaining more muscles)
I need a martial arts movie starring that flamingo. Death Touch!
@gss ex noob
I was tipped off tonight that there’s such a thing as ‘aggressive capybaras’! (translation).
So we have our pro and ant agonists.
“Whichever one wins, we go awww!”
@Alan Robertshaw:
Google Translate yields this:
Red alert in Nordelta for invasion of aggressive capybaras that attack pets and damage property
Facing the beginning of the mating season, the world’s largest rodents already number 400 specimens, and it is estimated that they could climb to 3,500. “I would like to move the capybaras to my pet in my own garden. I almost killed him,” said a neighbor from Nordelta.
Nordelta is not far from my home! It’s like, two towns over.
It’s actually a massive “private neighbourhood”, famous for massively impacting the environment for its contruction, massive tax evasion tactics, oh yeah, and massively harbouring big time drug traffickers.
Let’s just say most people outside of Nordelta are rooting for the Carpinchos.
Here are some documented moments of the invasion:
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/NJORRIDWTBBFBL2QACNBHAFRKA.jpg)
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/UFYRLZV35ZEUHNFTJD2T2BPNRM.png)
And of course memes are ensuing:
@ luxbelitx
If you hadn’t made it clear that was a meme I would probably have spent a few minutes going ‘Eh, I didn’t know they had opposable thumbs.”
(I do know they have four toes on each front foot but three on the back ones)
Sooooooo…a year ago I realized that I was dealing with a bedbug infestation in my apartment, one that I ignorantly allowed to get pretty bad. (I had never looked up what one looked liked until then and honestly thought they were a species of cockroach living next to the ones I was already dealing with.)
I didn’t say anything to the landlord about it because 1. I didn’t want to risk eviction and loosing my Housing vouchers (a good possibility for that, since I’m a packrat to begin with), and 2. my Housing advisor told me that I’d ultimately be the one paying for the exterminator to make a special visit out to deal with the bugs, and quite frankly I didn’t have the money to spare for the added expense to my rent. Thankfully a few cans of Raid bug defogger took care of the vast majority of the bugs, enough so I didn’t feel like getting eaten alive every time I went to sleep.
Fast forward to now, and I’m in the process of moving out of the current place and putting my stuff in storage (things haven’t been finalized yet for the new place I’m looking at). My question is, how do I treat my stuff to make sure the bugs don’t follow me into the new place? I read online on how to ‘debug’ things like clothing (thirty+ minutes in a hot dryer), and there is a bug spray I can use on at least some of my furniture to kill anything still living on that.
I’ve sprinkled Diatomaceous earth around the inside perimeter of my storage unit and set off a few bug defoggers to try and catch anything that’s still alive after leaving my apartment. Is there a solution of some type that folks here can recommend for use on items that can’t be tossed into a dryer or really wouldn’t like contact with a wet spray (i.e. books, stuffed toys, knickknacks, things like that)? Something that can be used as a wipe to clean off and kill any remaining bugs?
My thanks for any help anyone wants to give me.
Wrap them in plastic, bag them, 24 hours in the freezer. Done.
What kinds of things are ok for an “open thread” ? I do not want to offend anybody this time ok.
@Howard
Open threads are generally no trolls, no MRAs, no incels, etc. And all threads require you to follow the comments policy. If you can manage both of those things, go for it.
@ Howard
I’m not exactly a long time poster or a popular regular, but I like to hear myself talk so to speak, so my two cents is first check out the Comments Policy if you haven’t yet. Try not to be a dick or pester anyone (I’m working on that one myself…)
As for what to talk about, people often bring up topics related to this site that David may or may not have covered, current news, political happenings, things that have happened to them recently, ask for advice, vent about their problems, etc.
Speaking of the latter, I am currently recovering from Delta and am worried. I got Covid fairly early on, then got vaccinated, don’t have any major health risks going on, but seem to be unusually susceptible for some reason.
The reason I am worried is that I am supposedly two weeks into it and therefore should be getting better, but am not. I am not the most active or athlete fellow, but I have always been a walker. I pace, I up and take a four mile walk in adverse weather on a whim, usually I take some kind of walk every day, etc, etc. However, these last few days have been rough. Going on my usual jaunts has led to me feeling like I am going to collapse, chest hurting, heavy breathing, fast pulse. My oximeter has been registering low 90s off and on these two weeks or so, but after a walk I am getting high 80s. (My understanding is 85 and under is a drop everything and get to the hospital kind of thing, so not at all good.) I didn’t walk today, but I can’t stop pacing and still feel like crap.
I have decided not to be stubborn here and intend to take some time off on the exercise thing, but my real worry is that my odd susceptibility may mean this is long Covid and this may be my new normal. I know this is hardly the most horrific fate and probably not even going to come to pass, but I am worried.
Damn it, all I want to do is take a walk.
Guess I have to wait and see.
.45
That is rough. I am also an unathletic walker, who gets stir crazy as heck if the daily mileage is anything below 7. I hear you on the tired pacing, because I also do that when I’m sick and can barely do stairs.
I didn’t get covid (we think) but I did do the chronic fatigue thing and way too many pvcs (bigeminy is fun, yay) last summer, and it took way too long for me to identify it.
The only real strong advice I have for you is start collecting data and keeping a digital or written record. I’ll just throw a bunch of things down here that ended up helping me? You might already be doing half of it, so ymmv:
Keep checking pulse and spo2.
Add a BP measurement, if you can. I have the cheapest cuff from Walgreens, myself.
Get a pedometer, or use the pedometer in the health app on your phone to log how far you go each day.
Having numbers and trends to present to docs can be really bloody useful in getting them to believe you, and it can sometimes be really hard to see when gradual improvements start happening. Or if things start getting worse.
Shorten the whim walks to flat routes or short routes. More frequent short jaunts can sometimes get you to enough activity for the pacing to shut down without feeling like dying.
Find someone who can check in on you on days you feel ambitious (I.e. “going for a walk around x, if you don’t hear from me in y do z”).
Chest pain, eh? Does your pulse ever (after it stops being way to fast) suddenly start feeling way to slow and way to strong? You might be having pvcs, like me! They suck. They’re treatable though, sort of. If you feel like your heart is doing anything squirrelly at all, get to an urgent care (or doc, or Er) and see if you can get an ekg WHILE it’s being squirrelly.
I also finally caved and blew my discretionary/better food than ramen budget to get a smart watch just for the heart rate tracking function, so I was able to whip out the “hey, look at these 5 heart rate warnings for being under 40 for 2 minutes! Do I look like a pro swimmer at rest? Or do you think there might be something more wrong than me being out of shape, here?”
My fatigue and out-of-breath panting improved amazingly with proper medication and management.
Don’t despair and accept this as your new normal until you’ve got some data and argued with some docs about it, first.
That is the cutest damn invasion ever. I, too, am on the side of los carpinchos. Let the furry proletariat uprising commence!
Maybe the rich people can hire some hitman flamingos.
I typed “Nordelta” into Google and auto-complete gave me “carpinchos”. Heh.
@.45: Pushing yourself now is a really great way to *guarantee* it turns into long Covid, the permanent kind. REST. That’s what you need to do. Sit outside in a chair, don’t walk. Your body is telling you it needs a bit more time to recover from this again.
… also, what GSS ex-noob said.
Rest as much as you can make yourself rest. It can be really hard and frustrating to rest. But rest is important.
Numbers, tracking, doctor pestering are also important if it does become the long haul, but rest is super important.
Not my favorite bit, which is why I almost always end up pushing it and getting reactive bronchitis after every flu. Don’t be me. Be smarter than me at my worst, please.
Rest!
Also, record data and pester docs.