Getting Old

Just like those ads on TV say, keep clear of big trucks with huge blind spots and long braking distances. Darwin awards. But I am not a fan of the way those B Double tip trucks are driven, lots being used on the new Sydney Harbour tunnel being excavated near my place, seen some insanely aggressive driving in city traffic from them. I think they're on an hourly rate, still no excuse to drive like a Dickhead.
 
I had a coming together with large truck at an unanticipated lane merge two-three years ago, which wasn’t a pleasant experience. Fortunately our car just bounced off the side of his cab without too much damage. However, my wife, who was in the front passenger seat, alongside the lorry, totally freaked out as many years earlier she got spun around by a Hungarian lorry, on a UK motorway, and nearly dragged under, when the driver pulled out into her lane without warning. I’m incredibly lucky to still have a wife and family.
 
The A48 between Gloucester and Chepstow close to where I live is a mix of single and dual carriageway ...... a few speed cameras thrown in , but also more unrestricted stretches as well .

There`s a stretch where the single becomes a dual for a short while , before returning to a single again ...... the two lanes merging back into one just before a fairly sharp right hand curve ......... ( I expect you can half guess what`s coming next ) ............

I was following a car doing about 60 mph ...... the dual section about to come up .......... I thought ok , I`ll just nip past him here when the outside lane appears .......

Up to about 75 mph with the car now level with me on the left , when it occurred to me that the dual section wasn`t as long as it should have been / ought to have been / actually was .........

Leant over into the now single carriageway right hander at a far higher speed than I intended , with the " overtaken " car still somewhere just behind my left ankle ........

No beeping or headlamp flashing from the car involved ...... but I bet the driver was having a jolly good smirk at the bike rider who had bitten off more than he could chew .........

Have always treated that section of road with a little more respect since then ........... I quite like the idea of surviving long enough in order to get the chance to become old ......... :) ...............
 
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Good luck, mate. Just to compare, my left leg blew up a month ago. No other symptoms, no pain, just very swollen and red; the swelling slowly went down, and its preety buised up. Not the right leg, though; see the Dr next week. I am thinking Deep Vein Thrombosis. Bloody odd thing to happen. At random.
 
I hope it all goes well and you get the op soon. A few years ago I went to the hospital with a pain in the side, I was told it was the appendix and they will probably take it out later in the evening. The surgeon came to see me and explained the procedure and all being well I'd get home tomorrow. A couple of hours later I suddenly felt as if I had been knifed in the stomach. I was rushed down to theatre and knocked out enroute. Later that night I got a visit from the surgeon and all he said was that it had been "particularly nasty". Turns out it had ruptured and poisoned me. I was kept in for a week with tubes in my arm and nose, throat to stomach. It was a horrible experience.
 
Hospital food is designed to make you want to get out and go home ASAP.

Jail food has the same effect.
At least according to local newspapers, in Finland current jail food is better than what is served in hospitals, schools, military service, air travel, or possibly in any public institutions.

I was a small kid in beginning of 1990's. In school we had often porridge served with berry soup. Often the berry soup had dead ants on it.
Potatoes were often like rubber balls. According to one urban legend potatoes that were not good enough even for pigs were sent to school kitchens.

-Jouni
 
The day surgery when I got my cataracts done required NILL BY MOUTH, so I was bloody hungry in recovery. You get your choice of sandwich and drink for free. The surgery was free as well. Oz is a great country. Just to clarify, we pay taxes and the Medicare levy, so not exactly free, but extremely civilised.
 
At least according to local newspapers, in Finland current jail food is better than what is served in hospitals, schools, military service, air travel, or possibly in any public institutions.

I was a small kid in beginning of 1990's. In school we had often porridge served with berry soup. Often the berry soup had dead ants on it.
Potatoes were often like rubber balls. According to one urban legend potatoes that were not good enough even for pigs were sent to school kitchens.

-Jouni

🕵️‍♀️ If your schools sports department gave you tennis balls that had eyes in them, I think we found the problem.
 
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