"I'm upset!!"

[Rateus]

Good luck Teamy.

 

[Oegyein]

So that's actually the exact advice we got at our local pet store/shelter; it is reassuring to hear it from more than one source, though. They've started eating; we found out by mistake that the kittens will lick the formula off our fingers. A little unconventional, but our hands have been washed very thoroughly and we are doing it because it works. We've attempted to get them to use the bathroom a few times; it hasn't worked but we're planning to try again in a bit. And keeping them somewhere warm is no issue; the house is sweltering right now so we put a couple quiet fans in a small room and it's just above room temp. Things are looking up for the kittens.

side note: watching Seinfeld is normally a great way to de-stress, unless it happens to be the episode where Elaine briefly plots murder against two cats

One more thing I'll add is to try and avoid syringes and any bottle teats with a hole in the very top, and never squeeze a bottle or syringe straight into a kittens mouth. Ideally you want it to suck the milk out by itself, and direct and/or forceful streams risk choking the kitten

 

[chaosenjoyer]

It is honestly a miracle that these kittens are still alive. We finally found out why they weren't drinking the milk: it was the wrong formula. This was not entirely our mistake; the packaging for the milk we bought was fairly misleading, especially for people as inexperienced as we are. For two days, they weren't really getting all the nutrition they needed. We bought the correct formula, and suddenly they were eating it up like there was no tomorrow. They're doing very, very well now, and are literally the cutest little animals ever. They've even started sleeping on their backs while close to us. According to Google, that means they feel safe. We're keeping them for a couple months more, until they're weaned and litter trained, then returning them to the family that found them. They're close family friends, so we'll be able to visit the kitties often. I'll take some pictures at some point and get them into the cat thread, because they are precious beans and you will all love them. It could be a while though, since taking care of kittens is pretty similar to raising infants; they are pretty much a 24/7 commitment. I love the kittens, but I am not going to miss waking up at 3 am to feed them.

 

[Rateus]

Congrats, I admire your dedication.

 

[Storel]

 

[bicyclesonthemoon]

Take a look at this map:

Place marked with arrow.
There is a water lock gate on the canal.
(or how you call this stuff in English, I'm not sure)
For many years it was possible to cross the river there.
On foot, on bike, with a baby cart (or how do you call it in English?)
Not any more.
Some time ago it was closed for reconstruction.
Ok, understandable.
Anyway, it was promised that after the work is finished
it would be available again.
The reconstruction took lot more months that planned
but finally was finished.
But the place is not available for people to cross the river any more.
Because it's "unsafe and dangerous"
Even though:
- It is in a much better state (and safer) than before,
- It was promised
- next places to cross the river are far away:

Recently I was cycling near that place and got upset again.

 

[Zules]

Oh no!

...this reminds me a lot about your comic (which I'm still in the process of reading).

 

[bicyclesonthemoon]

From all the things I wrote, the one that reminds you of the comic is the post where I complain about the river situation.

 

[Rateus]

"There is a water lock gate on the canal.
(or how you call this stuff in English, I'm not sure)"

We call the locks, spot on with that one.

"For many years it was possible to cross the river there.
On foot, on bike, with a baby cart (or how do you call it in English?) "

Prams in the UK (an abbreviation of perambulator) baby carriage or stroller in the US if the media has taught be anything. That sounds very annoying, especially since they've fenced it off and everything. In Den Bosch we crossed a river like that on a hand pulled chained ferry (which was basically just a platform with low sides attached to a chain) which felt much more dangerous than that sounds.

 

[BleepBloopBeep]

"There is a water lock gate on the canal.
(or how you call this stuff in English, I'm not sure)"

We call the locks, spot on with that one.

"For many years it was possible to cross the river there.
On foot, on bike, with a baby cart (or how do you call it in English?) "

Prams in the UK (an abbreviation of perambulator) baby carriage or stroller in the US if the media has taught be anything. That sounds very annoying, especially since they've fenced it off and everything. In Den Bosch we crossed a river like that on a hand pulled chained ferry (which was basically just a platform with low sides attached to a chain) which felt much more dangerous than that sounds.

I mean you also can't cross the majority of locks by bike or with a pram, or by any way other than on foot really.

 

[bicyclesonthemoon]

When I crossed it, while it was still available, it was on foot with bike, not on bike so that was a simplification. Anyway now I can't in any way.

 

[Rue]

Currently contemplating the passage of time due to the knowledge that next year, my friends' daughter will be in HIGH SCHOOL.

 

[Rue]

This is mostly for our non-American friends.

For when they held me against my will at the ER -- I was sent a bill for $1600.
For the transfer to the looney bin, which is part of my care network, my deductible is like another $830.

Again. Against my will. They aren't getting this money from me. For one, I don't have it.

 

[Val]

This is mostly for our non-American friends.

For when they held me against my will at the ER -- I was sent a bill for $1600.
For the transfer to the looney bin, which is part of my care network, my deductible is like another $830.

Again. Against my will. They aren't getting this money from me. For one, I don't have it.

Ah yes, the land of freedom... how the frick is that even legal?!

 

[Rue]

Ah yes, the land of freedom... how the frick is that even legal?!

Extra fun fact, the total bill for the looney bin was a bit over 9k but the insurance paid a bit over 8k so it's only a "measly" $830 I owe lol
For one I'm super pissed off about this because I only called the crisis hotline to help me calm down but that dude escalated the situation into this

 

[TheJLT]

Extra fun fact, the total bill for the looney bin was a bit over 9k but the insurance paid a bit over 8k so it's only a "measly" $830 I owe lol
For one I'm super pissed off about this because I only called the crisis hotline to help me calm down but that dude escalated the situation into this

You have my condolences. I've been to the emergency room before. It was covered by workers comp, but the boss tried to shirk the bill to me. Obviously I didn't even pay a penny.

 

[Zules]

I'm upset because Blender wouldn't accept this as a driver expression since it was over 256 characters

0.5882 if SD == 1 and SM == 1 else (0.6705 if SD ==2 and SM == 1 else (0.8784 if SD == 3 and SM == 1 else (0.9686 if SD == 4 and SM == 1 else (0.5490 if SD == 1 and SM == 2 else (0.6392 if SD == 2 and SM == 2 else (0.8666 if SD == 3 and SM == 2 else (0.9568 if SD == 4 and SM == 2 else (0.4549 if SD == 1 and SM == 3 else (0.5647 if SD == 2 and SM == 3 else (0.8352 if SD == 3 and SM == 3 else (0.9450 if SD == 4 and SM == 3 else (0.4313 if SD == 1 and SM == 4 else (0.5333 if SD == 2 and SM == 4 else (0.8235 if SD == 3 and SM == 4 else 0.9411))))))))))))))

Now I have to learn more weird Blender Python stuff to get it to work

 

[bicyclesonthemoon]

I'm upset because Blender wouldn't accept this as a driver expression since it was over 256 characters

0.5882 if SD == 1 and SM == 1 else (0.6705 if SD ==2 and SM == 1 else (0.8784 if SD == 3 and SM == 1 else (0.9686 if SD == 4 and SM == 1 else (0.5490 if SD == 1 and SM == 2 else (0.6392 if SD == 2 and SM == 2 else (0.8666 if SD == 3 and SM == 2 else (0.9568 if SD == 4 and SM == 2 else (0.4549 if SD == 1 and SM == 3 else (0.5647 if SD == 2 and SM == 3 else (0.8352 if SD == 3 and SM == 3 else (0.9450 if SD == 4 and SM == 3 else (0.4313 if SD == 1 and SM == 4 else (0.5333 if SD == 2 and SM == 4 else (0.8235 if SD == 3 and SM == 4 else 0.9411))))))))))))))

Now I have to learn more weird Blender Python stuff to get it to work

If the text is only slightly above the limit first thing I would try is removing spaces which are not needed.
But here I see you are above double the character limit so a different approach is needed.

Here I see that you are selecting a value based on 2 variables SD and SM, both being from 1 to 4.
So we can pack the values into a 2D array
( actually, here I used tuple, but you can also use list if you replace () with [] )
and then use SD and SM for indexing

((0.5882, 0.6705, 0.8784, 0.9686), (0.5490, 0.6392, 0.8666, 0.9568), (0.4549, 0.5647, 0.8352, 0.9450), (0.4313, 0.5333, 0.8235, 0.9411))[SM - 1][SD - 1]

The "-1" is because the variables are in range from 1 to 4 and in python indexing starts from 0 not 1.
This should work as long as both SM and SD are from 1 to 4.
That's 152 characters < 256.
With removing spaces we can bring it down to 133:

((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[SM-1][SD-1]

 

[Zules]

If the text is only slightly above the limit first thing I would try is removing spaces which are not needed.
But here I see you are above double the character limit so a different approach is needed.

Here I see that you are selecting a value based on 2 variables SD and SM, both being from 1 to 4.
So we can pack the values into a 2D array
( actually, here I used tuple, but you can also use list if you replace () with [] )
and then use SD and SM for indexing

((0.5882, 0.6705, 0.8784, 0.9686), (0.5490, 0.6392, 0.8666, 0.9568), (0.4549, 0.5647, 0.8352, 0.9450), (0.4313, 0.5333, 0.8235, 0.9411))[SM - 1][SD - 1]

The "-1" is because the variables are in range from 1 to 4 and in python indexing starts from 0 not 1.
This should work as long as both SM and SD are from 1 to 4.
That's 152 characters < 256.
With removing spaces we can bring it down to 133:

((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[SM-1][SD-1]

Whoa! I don't even understand the format of this code but it seems to work. I'll have to look at it in more detail later when I have time. Thank you so much!!!

 

[bicyclesonthemoon]

Whoa! I don't even understand the format of this code but it seems to work. I'll have to look at it in more detail later when I have time.

Explanation time!

If I do this:
a = (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)
then a[0] == 0.5882, a[1] == 0.6705, a[2] == 0.8784, a[3] == 0.9686.

Of course, I don't have to create a name but can use the values directly:
(0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[0] == 0.5882, (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[1] == 0.6705, (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[2] == 0.8784, (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[3] == 0.9686

Instead of numbers, I can select with SD:
(0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[SD-1]
So:
for SD == 1: (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[SD-1] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[0] == 0.5882,
for SD == 2: (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[SD-1] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[1] == 0.6705,
for SD == 3: (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[SD-1] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[2] == 0.8784,
for SD == 4: (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[SD-1] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[3] == 0.9686.

At this point we have already achieved selecting by SD with the silent assumption that SM == 1

The same way that we could get a value from a 1D array, we can get a 1D array from a 2D array:

((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[0] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[1] == (0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[2] == (0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[3] == (0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411).

But we can continue selecting from the already selected thing:
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[0][0] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[0] == 0.5882,
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[0][1] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[1] == 0.6705,
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[0][2] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[2] == 0.8784,
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[0][3] == (0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686)[3] == 0.9686,
and so on.

And again, we can use SD, and SM for selecting:
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[SM-1][SD-1]
which is the final solution.

To see how it works, we can observe it for selected values.
Here I check it for SM == 2 and SD == 3:

((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[SM-1][SD-1]
becomes
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[2-1][3-1]
which is
((0.5882,0.6705,0.8784,0.9686),(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568),(0.4549,0.5647,0.8352,0.9450),(0.4313,0.5333,0.8235,0.9411))[1][2]
which is
(0.5490,0.6392,0.8666,0.9568)[2]
which is
0.8666

and similarly it will work for other values.