Jump to content

Doug E. Fresh

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    467
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Doug E. Fresh

  1. 3 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

    I know more people that have caught it in the past 5-6 days than the rest of the pandemic, combined

     

    xmas and new years gonna kick this into overdrive

    Same here in London. Had dinner with 8 people today, six just recovered in the past few days. The ninth couldn’t attend when he tested positive this morning. 

  2. Have made several batches every year for ages now. Also introduced it to friends as well that love it. We’re thinking about cutting down the sugar content to see if it makes a meaningful difference in taste but reduces the overall sugar factor. May go with 3/4 lb on the next one to see.

  3. 4 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

    Ok.  Paid for the first 30% of my trip to Egypt in November.  So excited.  

    It is 11 Days/10 Nights.  I will probably arrive in Cairo a day early.  

    Day 1 - Cairo

    Day 2 - Pyramids and Egyptian Museum

    Day 3 - Fly to Luxor - Day in Luxor

    Day 4 - Valley of the Kings - Begin a Nile River Cruise (on a new boat)

    Day 5, 6, 7 - Nile Cruise

    Day 8 - Aswan City

    Day 9 - Aswan City/Fly back to Cairo

    Day 10 - Cairo

    Day 11 - Departure

    There is a Red Sea Add on, but I am going to head on home unless I go somewhere else on the way home.  

     

    That should be an amazing trip. I did Cairo for 4 or 5 days then Sharm at the 4S years ago and loved it. You will see more than I did, historically, which makes me want to go back.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  4. 6 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

    Same here.  Mood is worse because people are absolutely tired of it.  You have whole hosts of people who have done the right thing, and because of assholes who won't or, the cases of some countries, do not have the infrastructure to get their populations vaccinated/still have assholes who refuse to do the right thing, then it seems like it is a never ending cycle.  Long and short, if you are not vaccinated/boosted, you should not be traveling...PERIOD.  There needs to be significant coordination by the world governments, especially the US and West Europe, to get shots in arms in poor countries.

    You summed it up well. People are just tired of it. And here, the blatant disregard by No 10 and other cabinet members for the rules they put in place last year has killed any credibility Boris might have left.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  5. 6 hours ago, closetojumping said:

    One thing I forgot to mention is that Paris, and apparently much of Europe, is empty. We walked into The Louvre, walked up to the Eiffel Tower*, and toured Normandy without any waits or hassles. I mean, the four of us and our guide took Omaha Beach without another person in sight.

    After thinking about it, outside of the general lack of Americans, there are pretty much no, and I mean zilch, tourists right now from the far east. I don't recall many in NYC either, but it was a lot more packed, I presume because of American tourists, than Paris.

    I would say there isn't a better time to visit Europe than before the far eastern countries fully open up, provided you aren't terrified of corona.

     

    *While I've been to Paris 4 times and my wife way more than that, the other couple had never been, so we did touristy shit for chunks of the trip. We're tourists, sue me. 

    Not surprised Paris was empty. The central parts of major European cities tend to be quiet the week before Christmas as the locals empty out to go visit family, head to the chalets or are on other holidays. The lack of activity, as you say though, is further impacted by no Asian tourists and general Omicron fear. Where I’m at in central London (Marylebone) is absolutely dead now. People are staying home to try and avoid Covid so they can see their families at the weekend. Many of the pubs are shutting in the next few days due to to lack of traffic and looming restrictions. Same for restaurants. We’re going to hit covent garden on Wednesday in hopes of finding some signs of life. In some ways, the mood is almost worse than last year when we just had a lockdown.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  6. On 12/16/2021 at 9:03 PM, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

    How are you feeling today?  I went to the ZOOM Company Holiday party last night as it was the only one I could attend, drank one bottle of wine, then stupidly opened another, finished that one, and had some meloncello I brought back from Naples.  So needless to say, I woke up with a headache that is 100% unrelated to COVID.

    Actually, on the COVID front, the congestion is abating, and I feel a lot better.  Now if I can shake the hangover (Doh!), I would actually feel pretty damned good.  I have taken a nap in the afternoon most days, but that is more because I get sleepy after lunch than a general fatigue I feel.

    I did just see that France said no non-essential travel from the UK.  So that completely fucks up my plans for my trip (I was pretty sure it was going to be a no go anyway).

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/world/europe/france-uk-travel-restrictions-omicron.html

    I have not cancelled anything, but I am pretty sure I will have to.  Hell, my friend who lives in London cannot come, so there is really no fucking point.  And I would have to change all my routing to fly directly into Paris.  

    I am really thinking I might just say fuck it, cancel, and reschedule for May.  I fucking hate COVID.

    Think I’m pretty much over it after 4 days now. Still a little tired but not bad at all. If I can test negative for 2 consecutive days, I’ll venture back out. I’m supposed to isolate until the 23rd.

    Took the dog for a walk tonight and some friends brought me a pint outside at the pub. Starting to get cooped up inside.

  7. 2 hours ago, Don Johnson said:

    Yesterday, the UK blew by the previous day's record of 78K cases with 88k.  Most ever.  Will be interesting to see what today brings.

     

    I thought we’d be over 100k today but it was “only” 93k today so not quite spiking like some though it would. There were predictions of up to 600k per day by this weekend, which won’t even be close.

    I had 3 days of congestion and fatigue but it all seems to have passed today. Took the dog out for a walk and Central London is very quiet tonight, although some of that is due to this being the last day of work/school for most people.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  8. On 12/9/2021 at 12:49 AM, Doug E. Fresh said:

    I wouldn’t worry too much about he new restrictions that came out today. The big requirements are 1) vaccine passports for theatre, cinema and venues that hold over 500, 2) work from home is back and 3) expanded mask requirements. Everything is still open. We just got back from our office Christmas do at the Haymarket hotel. It was so nice to have a fun, boozy night out again. Tomorrow I’ll be at the Churchill Arms in Notting Hill Gate, Friday is dinner and drinks in Shepherds Market, lunch Saturday at the Guinea. I’m going to enjoy the next several weeks and just get on with it.

     

     

    Welp, guess I spoke too soon. Wife tested positive for Covid today, I’m negative (for now). She has to isolate for 10 days so should be able to clear it just before Christmas. Hopefully I can avoid it and the the isolation requirement or else Christmas is fucked.

    • Hook 'Em 2
  9. 7 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

    Yeah, I went and read what they are doing.  So far, I'm still going.  I have made all my plans as flexible as possible just in case.

    Stay safe!!!

    Cool. Your only travel risk at this point for the UK is if Boris puts in more restrictions after Christmas. I would be shocked if there were any further changes before.

  10. 1 hour ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

    Welp...

    I'm a lot less optimistic today.  Sigh.

    Thankfully, everything is really flexible.

    I wouldn’t worry too much about he new restrictions that came out today. The big requirements are 1) vaccine passports for theatre, cinema and venues that hold over 500, 2) work from home is back and 3) expanded mask requirements. Everything is still open. We just got back from our office Christmas do at the Haymarket hotel. It was so nice to have a fun, boozy night out again. Tomorrow I’ll be at the Churchill Arms in Notting Hill Gate, Friday is dinner and drinks in Shepherds Market, lunch Saturday at the Guinea. I’m going to enjoy the next several weeks and just get on with it.

     

     

  11. 4 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

    Nevermind.  I called the London Edition.  They have an inhouse rapid test. I need to call them about 2 weeks before I arrive to arrange for it.  I do the test there in house, and then in 4-6 hours, I have results.  That is most likely my absolute best option unless something changes.  Perhaps, as more info about Omicron comes out, if it is less serious, then maybe, just maybe, they will relax things a bit.

    Yup, there are several places around the city. You can also get one at LHR  but not sure how easy that is to do.

     

    The restrictions will be revisited in 3 weeks so hopefully this will all relax a bit. I’m honestly not that worried about it. England will not go into any serious lockdown measures unless the NHS becomes overwhelmed and hospitals are heaving. At the peak of the pandemic we had 70k patients in hospital. It is 10% of that today. 

    Either way, I suspect we won’t know that until late January.

     

  12. 2 hours ago, Chopper said:

    It makes no sense, does it? Isn't the antigen test more effective than a PCR test specifically if the goal is to detect near-term infection? 

    I'm transiting airside through LHR to FCO soon (and back again a month later) and it appears GB's rules have remained the same. Just have to be up to date on vaccines and fill out a passenger locator form. Once some of the many unknowns about omnicom become known in the next couple weeks I'm not going to be shocked to see the rules change.

    No, PCR is more reliable than antigen. You can get same day results in London if you know where to go or worst case 24 hours for results.

    Still, a 48 to 72 hour isolation is pointless. People won’t follow the rules and there aren’t enough NHS contact tracing staff to meaningfully enforce it.

     

  13. On 11/26/2021 at 10:21 PM, Brisketexan said:

    The new variant and travel shutdowns bode even MORE poorly.

    In fact, we're starting to wonder whether the boy will even be able to fly home for Christmas.  Concern about him getting out, and concern about him getting back.  We've got a few weeks yet to figure it out.

    But fuck this pandemic.

    Yep, travel is getting messy again. I’m just back to London after 2 weeks in the US and new travel restrictions go in place here on Tuesday. It’s not too bad, you just have to isolate until you get the results of your day 2 test back upon return. Hopefully Omicron won’t be that bad and this will all settle down in a few weeks. I’m optimistic.

  14. 7 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

    In theory it is great but who is really not finishing that great bottle of wine in one sitting ??

    Agreed. Bought one when it first came out, rarely use it. A good red can last a few nights, but at our house it rarely gets last one.

  15. On 11/2/2021 at 9:02 PM, Gil Bang said:

    www.autoslash.com

    Way cheaper than costco.  I just got a car at MIA for $16/day.

    Will have to check that out. Headed to Houston next week and have been debating Uber vs. car. At $85 per day, I was leaning towards Uber but will see what I can get on this site.

  16. I have done several of the markets across Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria although it has been over a decade.. In Germany, Nurnberg, Munich, Hanover, etc. are great, large markets, but some of the smaller towns will also have one or two markets that are fantastic. Think we did Bamberg once, probably since it is reasonably close to Nurnberg.

    Prague would be a solid option for you if there is time, due to the proximity from Berlin/Dresden.

    Strasbourg, just across the German border, is also fantastic and one of my favorites, although it is potentially a bit too far for you being on the opposite side of the country.

     

    • Hook 'Em 1
  17. 3 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

    If Trump wins again, my plans to live abroad will be expedited. This country will be dead to me. There would be too much stupidity to endure 

    One of several reasons it wasn’t difficult for me to move to London. I miss my family, I miss my friends but for the long term, I’ll take this over the US and especially Texas. It’s not the Texas of my childhood and I don’t like the way it’s headed.

     

    • Hook 'Em 4
  18. 7 hours ago, Augustus said:

    Whoever wrote the dialogue for this thing is just flat out amazing.

    Are you serious? This show is an absolute disaster. Maybe the acting is decent but the plot, the script, etc are fucking terrible

×
×
  • Create New...