Posts by bluecrane16

Grace Davis77 said:Dr. Fauci handles spine issues in general.

Thanks so much. Have you actually worked with him before?

I'm really hoping to get a second opinion because my first neurosurgeon told me I need stabilization surgery—specifically getting screws put in at the Lumbar Spine—and honestly, I am just terrified.

I think I read somewhere that he mostly focuses on the neck, or maybe I just got my wires crossed.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a neurosurgeon specializing in the Lumbar Spine over at Johns Hopkins Hospital? I'm really curious if anyone here has had any personal experiences they could share with me.

Does anyone happen to know what the wait times look like for physical therapy over at the Salad clinic versus the Rib facility? Even just a rough estimate would be helpful if anyone has experienced it.

Alright, thanks so much! 🙂

Hey there!
I'm looking to sell my Cosmos case, and I was just wondering if anyone could help me figure out what a fair price might be?

Just little old me, supposedly non-political...🤣

Why shouldn't my fans chant "Nationalists, Nationalists!" during my shows? Honestly, wouldn't that serve as a perfect model for all political organizations to show how the younger generation can truly unite?
June 2002, Los Angeles Times.

I really don't think displaying Nationalists symbols in public should be against the law.
January 2004, The New York Times.

Personally, I don't have any issue with Nationalists symbols, so why on earth should I care?
August 2005, Time Magazine.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being open about my right-wing, Nationalists convictions.
The New York Times, July 2002.

silverscout2 said:Honestly, doesn't that just make you want to do the exact opposite? 😬 Honestly, I can't help but wonder... where on earth was I before I found people like this? 😂

That’s exactly how I see things too, though I still have quite a long way to go before I reach that point. 🤣

Lisa Turner14 said:I really admire when people take genuine care of their physical health, because while looking good can be a great motivator, isn't the true reward actually that incredible sense of accomplishment you feel right after a solid workout?😁

Is it just me, or does that deep, hollow sense of hunger hit you right after you finish a heavy workout? 😬

What motivates me most is exactly what Gwen was saying earlier. I honestly feel like a completely different person when I look in the mirror now that I’ve started working out regularly. I actually managed to squeeze into those jeans I couldn't even get halfway zipped up last year, which felt pretty amazing. It might sound a bit strange to some people, but I also find myself having so much more energy to tackle all those little daily tasks that used to wear me down.

So, what did those two orthopedic surgeons end up telling you?

Anthony Diaz10 said:(1) Harassment and sexual harassment are strictly prohibited.
(2) Harassment is any conduct by an employer or employee intended to, or that actually results in, violating someone's dignity, creating a hostile, humiliating, or offensive environment, or causing fear.
(3) This includes discriminatory behavior where an employee is placed at a disadvantage due to race, skin color, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family obligations, age, language, religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin, economic status, birth, social standing, political affiliation, union membership, or physical or mental disability.
(4) Sexual harassment includes any verbal, non-verbal, or physical behavior of a sexual nature intended to, or that actually results in, violating an employee's dignity, creating a fearful, hostile, humiliating, or offensive environment.
(5) Behavior that violates a person's dignity can be intentional or negligent and includes things like:
– gossiping, spreading rumors, or slander,
– insults, threats, profanity, and disparagement,
– sexist behavior involving socially inappropriate terms regarding gender or orientation, jokes, or unwanted physical contact,
– intentionally withholding work-related information or providing misinformation, and
– assigning meaningless, impossible, or degrading tasks—or failing to assign tasks altogether.

If this happens, an employee should report it to a supervisor, a union representative, or an authorized company official designated to handle dignity and harassment complaints (a confidential advisor).

Depending on the severity, the authorized person is required to investigate the complaint immediately, or at least within eight days, and take all necessary steps to stop the harassment if they find it occurred.
If the employer fails to take appropriate action to prevent harassment or if their response is clearly inadequate, the employee has the right to stop working until protection is provided, provided they file for protection with the appropriate court within eight days.

But how can you actually prove something like that when it's bolded?
Especially at a company where your salary and pay grade are tied to whether or not you belong to a specific political party?

Roger Walker4 said:I caught a segment on the news yesterday about a Syrian doctor who just moved to Memphis. They mentioned that quite a few people from across the border are settling in the area, along with a handful of foreign nationals
Is there any actual truth to this?
The figure they cited for these newcomers was somewhere around 1,500 people, and apparently, there’s room for more since certain industries are facing labor shortages and are desperate for new workers.

That’s actually true. In St. Louis, they are really struggling to find professionals like doctors, dentists, psychologists, social workers, and specialized teachers. My understanding is that the city tries to help by offering subsidized housing to these kinds of experts. For instance, there's a social worker living in my building who moved here from Washington, D.C., and the person in the apartment next to mine is a doctor I believe came from San Francisco. I even have a colleague from Smalltown, USA, who is a German and history professor; he was offered a position at a local high school because they hadn't been able to fill that role for nearly a year, as the local employment office in St. Louis just couldn't find anyone with his specific expertise.

Does anyone else deal with intense headaches during their period? It’s been happening for the last few months now, and honestly, they are just brutal. I could barely make it through my shift at work today because it felt like my head was actually going to split open. I've been on Triquilar for about two years, and usually, my periods aren't painful—they only last three or four days and I haven't had any side effects from the birth control itself. My doctor says everything looks perfectly normal, too. I'm just sitting here wondering if there's some kind of connection between the two, or if I'm just losing my mind.

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pure genius 😬

I completely agree. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I actually walked into a physical branch to pay a bill. I mostly just handle everything online, including picking up shares and managing my mutual funds through the portal.

Right now, I'm using Chase's online banking, and I have to say, it’s been incredibly smooth.

crimsonwalker6 said:So, do you just layer socks over the leggings?

Not really, because I usually just stick to thick tights that get the job done. Since I find myself wearing skirts quite often, I tend to pick out pairs with various patterns and colors, though nothing too loud—just little subtle designs that feel right.
I also make sure to check the fabric composition, because if they're made entirely of synthetic materials, my skin starts itching like crazy. 😬

When I'm just relaxing at home, I have those heavy wool socks that my grandmother knitted for me. 🤣

I've got plenty of thick tights in my closet. They’re mostly colorful and come in all sorts of different patterns, too. Honestly, I can't help but wonder if my toes would just fall off from the sheer cold if I tried wearing nothing but thin nylons during the winter? I really am someone who freezes at the slightest chill.

Harold Booth68 said:Honestly, I think these people are just experts on weather when it comes to air conditioning. They love to claim that AC is bad for you or whatever, but isn't this heat actually three times more damaging than just sitting in an air-conditioned room? Especially if you're using a high-quality unit, isn't it actually much better for you?

Have you ever wondered why stepping out of a warm room into a blast of air conditioning feels so jarring? It’s because those sudden temperature shifts cause your blood vessels to constrict instantly, which can actually pose a real risk to your health.I mean, come on, think about it—if you’ve been baking on the beach in 122-degree heat and then suddenly jump into water that's only about 80 degrees, how massive is that temperature shock actually going to feel?

Man, what can you even say about kids these days? I was heading out to the store around 6:00 PM the other day, and the asphalt was so scorching it felt like it was hitting 140 degrees, but then I stepped inside that shop where they had the AC cranked up so high...
It felt fine for that first second, honestly—I actually thought, "Wow, this is great"—but then everything just went sideways. My head started throbbing and my ears began ringing so loudly, and I broke out in this cold sweat; I have absolutely no idea how I didn't even realize I was losing consciousness.

Anonymous said:Maybe I'm a bit off base here...

I’m not really up to speed on what land is going for out in the Midwest lately... but I'm looking into it...
Does anyone have an idea of the rough prices per acre?
Also, how much can you actually make if you decide to lease the land out?

Based on data from the local IRS office El Paso, Županja branch office, here are the starting sale prices for farmland:

Class I ……………… $4680/acre
Class II ……………… $4212/acre
Class III ……………… $3744/acre
Class IV ……………… $3276/acre
Class V ……………… $2808/acre
Class VI ……………… $2340/acre

The baseline for determining land value starts with Class VI ($2340), and for every grade higher, the price increases by 20%, meaning Class I ends up being about twice the value of Class VI.

Charles Ramos7 said:I don't doubt your quality, but in this day and age, buying meat products without all the necessary paperwork feels like too much of a gamble.
As for the price, if you're charging $50/lb and you aren't running a registered business or paying taxes, once that same product hits a supermarket shelf, it would cost at least $50 (like someone mentioned), if not more. In my opinion, that’s insanely overpriced.
Just because there's a protected designation for "traditional regional sausage" doesn't mean other similar products can't be sold as sausage.
Besides, all this fuss over "protected traditional status" feels like selling smoke—or more accurately, "all hat and no cattle." You described it perfectly: one pig, a handful of spices, an hour of work... the hardest part is just typing out those zeros on the price tag... Let's be real, it's not like we're launching a rocket to the moon!😠

I'm sorry if I sound blunt, but let's not talk nonsense, okay?

The whole protection process is actually still happening right now. She just listed some of the steps they've taken so far. Once everything is officially finalized, no "similar products" will be allowed to use that specific name anymore, because the regulations will dictate every single detail—from the type of meat used to the exact ingredients, shape, and color—just to qualify for the label. 🙂
The real issue is that our market here in the States isn't regulated well enough yet, so you see all sorts of random sausages in grocery stores being sold as premium cured meats. People buy them thinking they're getting the real thing, but they have no idea. The other day at a major supermarket chain, I saw this salami that was shaped vaguely like the traditional product, but it had the name printed in massive letters on the package. And don't even get me started on the price. It was ridiculous.

Why don't you try making a "similar product" to something that has already gone through the full legal protection process and finished all the paperwork, and then we'll see how that goes.

Samuel Smith5 said:bluecrane16 — I’ll post some photos once everything finally matures 😁

So, I found this link over on the USDA website...

The operational support program for producing regional specialty sausages

Does anyone know where I can dig up info on getting a certification for this kind of meat, how to get production legalized, or what specific sanitary requirements we're looking at to stay compliant?

Here is the link for that local association...http://www.slavonski-kulen.com/
Right now they have about 70 members, ranging from large farms to smaller producers, spread across the entire Midwest region. Not everyone is officially registered yet, but they are working toward that, along with implementing HACCP systems throughout the production process and focusing on quality control and protection.

They've actually established regulations for traditional meat production—which covers everything from the specific geographic area and raw material sourcing to veterinary safety measures and the actual manufacturing technology—as well as oversight rules for monitoring production quality and labeling. I believe there's also a completed study regarding authenticity protection and official branding.
They even set up a dedicated processing center, Kulin Co.

If you're interested, I can send you some contact numbers via private message.

Samuel Smith5 said:I don't bother with retail shelves. I sell to people who actually have an eye for quality—and trust me, this stuff is the real deal. Sure, there's no sales tax factored in and I haven't jumped through all the hoops for a formal certification, but that doesn't change the fact that the product holds up just fine.

"To make authentic, small-batch smoked sausage, you should exclusively use the premium cuts of pork."
Yeah, sounds great in a cookbook, doesn't it? But reality usually tells a different story.

So, what do you think a fair price for some genuine, homemade sausage should actually be?

Hey... I'm really sorry if my last reply felt like a personal attack on you, because that truly wasn't my intention at all. I was just talking about all those various sausages sold in our local supermarkets under the label of "authentic sausage" when they really shouldn't even be allowed to carry that name.
As for your specific product and its quality, I can't really comment since I don't know anything about it personally. 🙂

And now, regarding the pricing: in the American market, we see somewhere between 15 and 20 railcars worth of authentic regional smoked sausage sold annually (though studies suggest there is actually demand for about 60 railcars of the dry variety per year). A huge portion of this trade happens "under the table," meaning it's cash sales without receipts that never show up on any official books. The market is still expanding, too. There's a particular shortage of this kind of sausage during the months from September through May. Generally, the wholesale production cost for authentic regional smoked sausage fluctuates between $150 and $83/lb, depending on the quality of the meat and how it's being sold.