Wow, glad you passed through Covid, Christian. I would have been quite frightened in your stead.
Anyway, merry christmas, Andorra! 
Tired, although this is the best year I've had, work-wise. I'll even have a few days to sleep and do nothing! 
1 Like
Thanks.
I was more annoyed than nervous. Maybe I was flagged as a close contact to the intern one desk over who tested positive. But I hadn’t really been close. Aldo I had no symptoms, not even imaginary ones.
My time home, and off during the holidays, is spent painting miniatures. Primarily Warlords ‘Pike & Shotte’ Landsknechte.
1 Like
Happy New Year amici.
In Denmark we are urged to keep COVID risks down and not gather in large numbers.
Some of our neighbouring countries ban fireworks, to avoid people forming large groups outside and to avoid clogging hospitals with fireworks related injuries. But not here.
For me it matters little, we’ll do what we’ve done for years: Have a fancy dinner, with a single close family friend as guest, and fire off some fireworks at midnight.
I hope next year is a better one
Happy new year to all of you.
1 Like
It took me decades, but I finally had a REVELATION!
I always disliked the new year and its vows. It just felt like forcing oneself to party, and fakeness gallore.
But I saw it in the wrong light.
Belief, focused through words. Inebriation and altered states. This is all one giant ritual of chaos magic, by which we try to impose our will on the world, and make the new year a good one, give people health, that sort of things.
And that changes things immensely. Now, not only does this finally make sense to me, it has become pretty cool!
Sure, 2020 was a huge botch on the health part. But is a single, lonely botch enough for us to renounce sorcery? I say thee nay! And I wish you an happy new year, to you and your loved ones
1 Like
I will have to catch up next week. Some crazy shit is going down in my nation and I am distressed and distracted.
2 Likes
You bet.
While unsurprising in a way, it was both frightening and disheartening.
And if I feel like this from afar, I can't imagine what it must be like to you.
Much courage to you. There are trying times ahead.
I saw this on Kickstarter and had to share. (After I got mine.)
2 Likes
Nice!
If I had some spare money, I'd take one for my best friend's son.
Thanks, peregrine! Long time, no talk, I hope you're doing okay.
1 Like
I'm doing okay. Still working from home, which I've been doing since Mom and I moved to New York state about a year and a quarter ago. Still frustrated...not so much with my job itself, but with our company's owners pretty much everyone outside of our company that I have to deal with. Found myself saying last night, "Welp. Another day, another reason to play the lottery." And, of course, the US is still trying to pretend Covid is no big deal, so Mom and I are pretty much house-bound. I leave to go get groceries about once a week or so (we're in a small apartment, so we're not really able to stockpile), but that's about it.
You?
I glad to read that you're okay and being careful. Keep going.
Well, me, it's a little weird.
Due to my job, I've worked non-stop, even through 2 lockdowns.
Aside from co-workers and shops, I usually see few people.
This means that my life routine was seldom impacted by it all, so I take it all far better than about everyone I know (co-workers included).
My biggest worry currently is my colleagues. 98% don't want to vaccinate, and mask discipline is spotty*, despite clear orders from on high. With the variants circulating and being more contagious, it's, IMO, only a matter of time until we have a nice cluster.
'* To give an example: two 20-persons meeting, with a distance between people of 3 feet at the very best. About 1/4 didn't have their masks on all along. Bring out the epiphany cakes. I was the only one to go out to eat it without risking transmitting the virus. Several didn't put their masks back on afterwards
That's certainly not good, Fixer. Hope you can avoid catching anyting from your uncaring coworkers. 
I haven't stopped working either, but from home. So I don't have to worry about this kind of situation. And even so, my coworkers are sensible people who follow the health safety instructions.
I have been out of work for almost a year. Finances are getting pretty scary, but the death rate is even more worrisome.
Good news arthur.
It's always a relief to know people are Okay.
Marko... This is... I mean, it looks like it's "work, or die", which you shouldn't hear coming from a rich, supposedly civilized country. I dunno what to say. I seem to remember biden was supposed to get some package going for people, I'm crossing my fingers for you. Keep us posted, please, unless, of course, you don't feel like it.
Work or die isn't an option when there is no work to be had. But there is relief money coming. Don't worry just yet.
COVID really strikes lopsidedly. Mark unfortunately is in a business hit hard.
I on the other hand work with the building industry, and things are booming in Denmark right now. The public sector did a lot to keep things moving, moving maintenance budgets ahead, so there’s been plenty of work with schools etc. But the private sector is busy building as well. But my wife works on a book store -a non essential business these days - in a shopping centre - which is a risk factor due to high concentration of people. They’re closed but she is still paid. Government has a help package, for businesses which keep their staff. The idea is that if you fire staff, you need to spend time hiring and training new staff once society opens up again. And that means less optimal business, less revenue meaning less taxes. But she is looking forward to going back to work.
3 Likes
I am actually quite happy to be out of work and stay home. I have been slacking on Ars Magica, but I have been doing a massive amount of OSR gaming on Discord. If only I could somehow turn this saga into a live voice chat game, we could get ten times as much accomplished.
1 Like
Your opinion of my ability to understand spoken english warms my heart.
Ranting about France
Little down here. Long story short, Macron and his government are preparing to face against LePen (Racist shit) next year by... embracing her ideas and making them mainstream.
The latest being an attack to researchers, teachers and universities, accused of being "islamo-gauchistes", a made-up concept that's the spiritual successor to "Judeo–Bolshevism": Assume an insidious enemy from the inside, and portray anyone who disagrees with you as complicit to that enemy (and terrorism).
So these once fringe, lunatic concepts are legitimized and become mainstream. Yeepikay.
I voted for macron last time, because I thought that, at least, we would be spared the racist bullshit, but I'm having an harder and harder time telling the difference on these matters.
We've had a freaking debate between LePen and Darmanin (Police minister. An asshole accused of rape, who btw recognised having used his political clout for sexual favors) on Islam, Immigration, Islam, Security and Islam, in which they mostly agreed, with darmanin notably telling LePen that she was "too soft".
1 Like
A live game would be efficient.
However I think our different time zones would make it inconvenient
1 Like
You are talking to a single guy who has been out of work for a year and has no set schedule. But it may be too late. This can't last forever and we have wasted our opportunity. Though one never knows what the net relief package may provide. If ever the United States starts a UBI program, I will just retire.
1 Like