# (Old) Halfway through the month - Midway in the MMP **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** mmp\ **Created:** [January 13, 2025, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910 "2025-01-13T11:40:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/301 "2025-01-18T18:17:54Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Good morning all. Awaiting breakfast as the nurses took me off the liquid diet and I’m getting Pancakes and bacon. Just popping in to add my best wishes for a quick, full recovery, **Metal Mouse**! And well done you for not shilly-shallying around when symptoms of Something Amiss arose. I am sure that by your quick response, you’ve saved yourself from a more difficult outcome. **BBBoo** , I’m thrilled you’re on the other side of your surgery and recovering so quickly! **Shoe** , very glad the Achilles Heel concerns are abating as well. Best wishes to all who are struggling with health challenges! > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I didn’t need the alert. Let the little Piper Mutt out; she was yapping to get in within a minute. Great big Piper Mutt, who usually loves the snow, started whining within two minutes. Ugh. You reminded me of winters in north central Montana. Remember that 30-30-30 rule! I know you will. > [@Taters](#): > > I bit the hell out of the inside of my left cheek yesterday, and it’s still bothering me. Youch. Such an annoying, painful thing. I’ll add my hopes for reduced swelling soon. > [@JaneDoe42](#): > > The Uggs currently on my feet were bought in 2017. They were my footwear of choice for years and years, until I fell in love with my Kiwi/Aussie eventual husband. The first time I went to visit him in Aus and we were getting ready for an outing, he took one horrified look at my feet and said, “Why don’t you just sport a pink track suit while you’re at it?” I was left with no doubt that they are _not_ considered fashionable Down Under; rather, a loud signal of low class. Hated to, but I kind of gave them up after that, lovely as they are! > [@Misnomer](#): > > Yesterday’s second Shingrix injection was quick and mostly painless (both literally and figuratively). The pharmacist – and **JtC** – warned me that sometimes people develop flu-like symptoms after the second shot: they could take a day or so to appear, but so far so good (🤞). I got my first injection yesterday. I wish the first shot had been without flu-like symptoms, but typical for me, it wasn’t. They weren’t too bad except for a couple hours around 2:00 a.m. I’m sure not looking forward to that second shot, though. I’m glad it went better for you! > [@Paintcharge](#): > > Puns are ok. Puns are always ok. IMHO. 😃 > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I love when people take the initiative to do tiny little good deeds like this. Me, too. * * * My weather is mostly **Lily** ’s weather, so cold, grey and moist here today. I provisioned yesterday while I was at the Safeway getting my torture jab preventive vaccination for shingles. I’d been putting it off but felt I could no longer. Breakfast soon will be eggs, sausage, a wee slice of toast with butter and a banana. Dinner will be either leftover meatballs with marinara sauce and pasta with spinach - or - a smoked turkey sandwich on a baguette with lettuce, cheese, avocado, onion and sprouts. The rest of the weekend is earmarked for recovery from the shot, laundry and general KP detail. Ollie the Dachshund says, “Can’t we just snooze and play instead?” He’s smarter than I am, so I will probably listen. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/302 "2025-01-18T18:22:31Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Remember that 30-30-30 rule! I know you will. I don’t live in an area affected by horrible cold (lowest I’ve seen here in 20+ years was somewhere in the 20s F), but would you explain this, please? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/303 "2025-01-18T18:23:56Z")
Ah, sorry. If it’s -30F outside and the wind is blowing 30 MPH, you have 30 seconds before any exposed skin freezes. One of those things that’s pretty easy to remember if you’ve ever experienced cold like that… ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/304 "2025-01-18T18:29:19Z")
Ah. I’ve never been anywhere near that cold, but that looks like useful info. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/305 "2025-01-18T18:33:16Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Ah. I’ve never been anywhere near that cold, but that looks like useful info. I never will be again! ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/306 "2025-01-18T18:35:37Z")
Sounds like a good plan, IMO. Pretty sure that’s well outside human operating temperature range. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/307 "2025-01-18T18:39:54Z")
Sunny as hell again but ❄ is imminent, according to the Oracles. Therefore I have the heat back off and the side door open so Monkey can go sniff around & my lemon tree gets a few minutes of photosynthesis. Everything is all drippy, which I’m sure will freeze nicely overnight. 🫠 Must also arrange for more booze to stash for the day(s?) off, since _some_one keeps consuming what I have. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Dinner will be either leftover meatballs with marinara sauce and pasta with spinach - or - a smoked turkey sandwich on a baguette with lettuce, cheese, avocado, onion and sprouts. I vote that you keep your marinara & then also send me the sandwich - there’s nothing there that doesn’t sound perfect. 🙂 * * * Monks just came back in to check on me 🙂 and despite the 27F temps, half of his back was _WARM._ Black fur FTW! ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/308 "2025-01-18T18:48:17Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I vote that you keep your marinara & then also send me the sandwich - there’s nothing there that doesn’t sound perfect. 🙂 If you had the meatballs and marinara, you might agree it’s pretty good, too. 😉 But I’m with you on the sammie. One of my favorite combinations. I’d share them both if you were closer by! Stay warm, **Shoe**. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/309 "2025-01-18T19:02:11Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Must also arrange for more booze to stash for the day(s?) off, since _some_one keeps consuming what I have. That guy seems to be visiting me too. Hope your power stays on. Could you run the oven with the door open to help heat, if necessary? > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Dinner will be either leftover meatballs with marinara sauce and pasta with spinach - or - a smoked turkey sandwich on a baguette with lettuce, cheese, avocado, onion and sprouts. Meatball sub? Send it to **shoe**. Or maybe to me. Last load of laundry is in the dryer, roll-suck has been accomplished, will run the dishwasher after dinner. All else is quiet at casa paint. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/310 "2025-01-18T19:34:01Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > If it’s -30F outside and the wind is blowing 30 MPH, you have 30 seconds before any exposed skin freezes. I was going to ask as well. Not sure how that translates to metric. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/311 "2025-01-18T19:35:44Z")
LOL, fair point! Somehow I don’t think you need our stupid rule to keep out of harm’s way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/312 "2025-01-18T19:40:48Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@Aspenglow](#): > > > > If it’s -30F outside and the wind is blowing 30 MPH, you have 30 seconds before any exposed skin freezes. > > I was going to ask as well. Not sure how that translates to metric. 😉 -30F is about -34.4C, if the online converter I used knows what it’s talking about. I’d say using -30C in that rule **Aspenglow** provided would be, as my grandfather would say, “close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades”. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/313 "2025-01-18T19:42:17Z")
I think 30 mph translates to 50 km/h. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/314 "2025-01-18T19:49:43Z")
48.2, so you’re close enough, and I forgot to adjust that while we’re converting the 30-30-30 to metric. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/315 "2025-01-18T19:51:17Z")
When we went metric, the highway speed limit went from 60 mph to 100 km/h, so I always use that as a rough approximation. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/316 "2025-01-18T19:57:38Z")
Best wishes to all for non-freezing pipes, the glow of radiant heat, and no more slipping or falling! I’m eating the lentil stew, which is yum, and taking a little break from dictating from my journal to email so I can then transcribe the resulting mess and, next week, start organizing the chunks into my novella outline. Evening plan after dinner with friends is to run a load of dishes, a load of laundry, and the dryer as I’m going to bed in order to raise the temp a bit. I’m pleased to say that there’s no condensation inside the spendy windows. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/317 "2025-01-18T19:59:26Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Just popping in to add my best wishes for a quick, full recovery, **Metal Mouse**! And well done you for not shilly-shallying around when symptoms of Something Amiss arose. Well, to be totally honest, this has been going on for awhile now, I knew there was something happening down there, but I had no pain and it would go away sometimes so I let it go until part of my bowel got trapped and caused me some noticeable pain. Still, by going promptly once it was serious, I avoided damage to the bowel which might have complicated matters. And yes, I’m home. Took awhile to get released, I was ready to leave by 9am but the doctor and the paperwork took longer than that, so it was about 1pm when I got back. Drove myself, for which I was taken to task by my neighbor lady, but I had had no narcotics, was not nauseous or dizzy during the while time, and only had 5 minutes of driving. Now I’m home and won’t be moving much for the next 24 hours or so, and probably have a 30-day postponement of my weight training sessions. I see the Doc in two weeks so will know better then. Again, my thanks and appreciation to everyone who cared and sent good thoughts my way. Now let’s get all the other Mumpers who are hurting back in the game. Will try to resume normal operations tomorrow, we’ll just have to see how it goes… ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/318 "2025-01-18T20:16:46Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Could you run the oven with the door open to help heat, if necessary? That can be quite dangerous with a gas oven - there’s a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or the buildup of other gasses. Much safer to use pots of heated water to create radiant heaters that can then be placed around the home as needed (assuming there are heat resistant surfaces the pots can be placed on). Most newer gas ovens also won’t function without electricity. You can use the range if the gas flow to each burner is controlled by knobs and can then use a lighter to start the flame, but there’s no way to tell the oven to open the gas tap. ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/319 "2025-01-18T20:41:26Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > And yes, I’m home. Hooray!!! ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/320 "2025-01-18T21:01:11Z")
> [@liirogue](#): > > but there’s no way to tell the oven to open the gas tap. Ignorance fought. Always appreciated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910.md?page=17)