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Spankytoes

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Posts posted by Spankytoes

  1. On 3/13/2023 at 3:24 PM, closetojumping said:

    Listen, I often don't give a shit about the cost of things when I travel, but both prices you quoted are expensive as hell, and I've done London + Paris multiple times and each unattached to the other multiple times. There are a lot of good recs here already. If you're interested in doing the non-hotel route for both places, LMK because my wife has booked with local services that are better than AirBnB for both places multiple times and we travel with 4 kids and sometimes my in-laws. I can promise that this route is not only likely less expensive, it's a better fit for your family. We stayed in a penthouse apartment in Paris in the 7th arrondisement with another couple during Christmas time in 2021 and the total expense was under $5k for 6 nights. You could do something less ridiculous and with less space for 5 nights likely in the $2500-$3K range.

    We did the trip to Normandy. Did not do Mont-St.-Michel, unfortunately. We scheduled a tour guide to meet us at Bayonne (I think? It's a B-city near Normandy on the Parisian train line) getting off the train. He took us to Pointe du Hoc, then to the American cemetary/monument area where we saw them bring the flags down while playing "Taps" and then he took us to Omaha Beach and we were on the frigging beach. I despise tours like the others, but this is one I would recommend because the dude was extremely informative and the stops were pertinent and well-timed. 

    Once upon a time, my wife and I and our 3 (at the time) little kids were going from London to Torquay and we decided to stop and see Stonehenge. My expectations were low. Wife is half-British and spent much of early life in England and was like "you don't know shit and you are going to love this." She was right. I can't explain it, but it resonated and was the most quintessential British historic thing I have encountered, even after many trips. This was pre-pandemic, so it sounds like things have gotten harder in terms of visiting it, but I stand by the notion that it is worth it. 

    60-120 minutes of research and conversation with your wife will have you mapping out all of the landmarks and museums of both cities and isn't worth paying anyone else for, IMO. 

    The coolest shit in London that are tourist traps and still worth it are: Westminster Abbey (don't miss this and buy tickets ahead) and walking around Big Ben/The Eye/Parliament (especially if they're in session); The Tower of London; Greenwich by boat and the Prime Meridian; Buckingham Palace and walking towards Trafalgar Square; The British Imperial War Museum; numerous parks and pubs. 

    The famous shit to avoid in London that are tourist traps or touristy things: Fish and chips; The British Museum - I have been to the fucking BM multiple times - dragged there - and it is a giant nothingburger of old pottery, old money, mummies, a few statues and, if you're really lucky, the Rosetta Stone (they didn't have this out the last time I had to go there in December of 2022) - and I love museums; the crown jewels at The Tower, and the Tate Modern. 

    The coolest shit in Paris that are tourist traps and still worth it are: The Eiffel Tower (yes, fucking go to this), The Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Jardin des Tuileries, Notre Dame, pick any of the better known brasseries and they're still worth it. Also, stop at every pattisserie you see if you like sweets. They've all got different things going on and they're usually top notch or they wouldn't be in business.

    The famous shit to avoid in London that are tourist traps or touristy things: Les Champs-Elysees (this area was designed with dumb Americans, Brits, and Asians in mind, I swear); Arc de Triomphe (next to Champs-Elysees and a general waste of time unless you want to walk up hundreds of stairs in non-air-conditioned heat without ventilation to see a bird's eye view of the Champs. drive by in a taxi or uber instead and check it off.); and, far and away, the Palace of Versailles, which is one of the most boring, tedious, stuffy wastes of time in the entirety of my adulthood travels. 

    Hope that helps. 

    Echo your feelings on Versailles. If you like tapestries, wait in that long line. If you just want to say you’ve been there, rent a golf cart and self-tour the gardens. IMO, the outside and gardens are where it’s at. With kids, Disneyland isn’t too far away either. My teen (at the time) had a good time there. They have golf at the resort too. (I want to say it was a Hyatt?)

    We picked up our rental in Caen too. (Couldn’t think of the city) Rental car companies are within walking distance of the train station IIRC.

    Hotels near Normandy are at a fishing village. We stayed right on the canals, which was cool to walk around at dusk. Not a lot of eateries nearby, so we stocked up on groceries in Paris and brought them with us on the train. Would do that again.

    Don’t know if Notre Dame is open again, but there are stairs. You’ll see…

  2. I despise tours, so I can’t help you there. I like to be in control of where I go, how long I stay and when I need a change of venue. The only tour that I’d recommend is the Yeoman’s tour of the Tower of London. I don’t know your hotels, but you’re on the right track with regards to area. I always stay in those areas in London and Paris. I really like the Opera area in Paris as the Louvre is a short walk away. In London, you’re close to Hyde Park which is cool. 
     

    Never been to Stonehenge because it doesn’t appeal to me. If you are doing Normandy, make time for Mont-St. Michael. I would take a train out of London and Paris and pickup a car outside the city. A lot less stress that way. 

    • Like 1
  3. Depends on where you want to go. I’m going to lose Hilton Diamond in April because I couldn’t travel for 1/2 the year due to medical issues. Personally, I’d get both IHG cards. You get a free anniversary night for each, a low annual fee and it’s easy as hell to earn points with stays and partners. They recently redid their elite benefits and hitting Diamond is relatively simple. 

    • Like 1
  4. 2 vax of Pfizer + 1 booster. My heart stopped 8X. Several strokes, heart attacks and a blood clot in my left thigh. Regular visits to an array of doctors beforehand, including a cardiologist. No known problems beyond Type 2 diabetes.

    Sure, it’s a coincidence and people should just shut up trying to find answers. I’ll remember that when I start receiving my disability payments in a few weeks using a walker to go to my mailbox en route to my dialysis treatments 3X a week.

    When have doctors ever been wrong?

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  5. On 1/18/2023 at 5:57 AM, UpperWestside said:

    I know NYC is known for their pizza, but I am about as far removed as you can be from there right now and I have had pizza twice here and the taste is superior to anything I have had in NYC. Pizza places in the city need to either up their game or just charge more and put better ingredients on the pizza. People will pay for it if it is really good.

    Pizza in New Haven is better

  6. 1 hour ago, Porterhouse said:

    Honest questions: 1) are you overweight; and 2) why did you get boosted 2 weeks after having Covid?  I don’t think that’d hospitalize you - just be a waste of a boost with strong Covid antibodies still present. 

    1. At the time of my episode, I was somewhere between 205 and 210 lbs. I am currently 162 lbs. Some of that is muscle loss in my arms and legs from being in a coma and on a ventilator. I’ve been out of the nursing home for about 6 weeks and am doing PT/OT at home now. I’m approx. 5’10”. I’ve gone from obese to slightly overweight. I was a 38 waist and now wear 32 and medium/large shirts. My A1C is completely under control now.

    2. Because it was recommended to me to do so by my doctor. At the time, there needed to be a certain amount of time before your 2nd shot and your booster. I chose MLK day because I didn’t have to take off work.

  7. 41 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

     

    I’m sorry this happened to you. Thank you for linking the study. I haven’t had time to read it in detail, but it suggests there may be a correlation between patients who were previously infected and then got a booster, which sounds like what happened to you. The overall numbers of EMS calls are small however, and I could not find on quick scan whether they analyzed documented cardiac or vascular events (acute MI or ST changes, PE, stroke or limb ischemia) as a subset of total EMS calls. 
     

    The French study is 70k documented vascular and cardiac events looking at over 40M lives. I did not see any analysis broken down by age groups, other than upper limit of 75 y but it showed no association. It would be nice to look at the 16-50 yo subset

    clearly we need more well designed studies with high power

     

    Finally anecdotes are important. They are data points and get enough together you can see apparent trends. That allows well designed studies to be done to see if the apparent trends are real associations 

    Here is one: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/moderna-covid-19-vaccines-safety-slightly-bests-pfizers

  8. 26 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    @Spankytoes if your issues began after you had vaccines and also a Covid infection, why don’t you think it’s the Covid that is the cause of your health problems?

    For me, it was the timing of the infections and symptoms. I had my OG shots of Pfizer in April and May of 2021. I first tested positive for COVID on 12/31/21. So I attributed not getting COVID to my shots and getting masked up and realized that being vaccinated wasn’t foolproof…like using a condom. 
     

    I got my booster on 1/17/2021. I was hospitalized on 2/4/2021 for 4 nights because I fell at work. I had a full gambit of lab work and scans done and a low B12 level was the verdict. I accepted that and took supplements daily. But, I still had lingering issues like randomly vomiting, migraines and gait issues that required me using a cane sometimes. Then, all hell broke loose in August.

    I am a type 2 diabetic, so I acknowledge that this may have played a part in things. I wasn’t very good at controlling my sugars at all. Other than that, I was in good health, albeit I was fat. Then I researched a little more and found that rare side effects of the boosters are strokes, heart attacks, blood clots and renal failure. I checked all of those boxes. Maybe it was getting older and not taking care of myself like I should have been post 40. But, for me, it raised a lot of questions. I’ve caught COVID 2X with 2 shots and a booster. My mom has the same, has never caught COVID and hasn’t experienced any health issues. I’ve had a few 30-40 something friends that had a similar experience to me. The patterns are concerning.

    In summary, fuck COVID

  9. 15 minutes ago, ChiTownDoc said:

    Serious question, did you get covid encephalopathy?

     

    Not sure where to begin so I’ll just take the high road and wish you the best.  Long Covid is a real thing and a bitch too.  

    Yes, I had a full neurological check. Everything was fine. I caught COVID on 12/31/21 after 2 shots. I got my booster on MLK day in 2022 and was hospitalized 3 weeks later because I couldn’t walk. I was diagnosed with a low B12 count and got better until 8/10/22 when shit hit the fan. I took multiple tests between the two COVID positive tests for work and to go out in NYC.

    Not sure what high road there is to take. I’ve said that it could just be a coincidence. I don’t know, with any amount of certainty, that the episodes are related. But, this is what happened to me and they are finding all of my symptoms associated with Pfizer shots. I just find it eerie that others are having the same issues. Nothing in my family history indicates any heart issues.

  10. 1 hour ago, Sawbonz said:

    A story is not a study. Yes studies can be biased. No one paid for the study I linked. It was published in the annals of internal medicine, one of the most respected peer reviewed journals in the world. This study has limits in that it is retrospective case series but it includes review of 70k + ischemic events and finds no association in patients under 75 years for Pfizer and Moderna. 
     

    If you know of any peer reviewed published study showing an association between acute vascular events and these vaccines please link it. I have done multiple pubmed searches using several meSH terms and have found none

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10928-z
     

    Yes. There’s no long term data because, like with the shots themselves, there hasn’t been enough time to properly monitor them. Unlike the “wackos”, people just accept that the shots are safe despite the fact that we rushed them out a few months after we figured out what COVID was. I got 2 Pfizer shots and a booster. I’ve caught COVID twice, once while I was hospitalized. 
     

    No one can definitively rule one way or the other. We didn’t figure out that blood transfusions may be bad until we gave a lot of people HIV.

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