Watcha Doin' - 2017.1 edition Showing 751-800 of 5,020

[Janice, Moderator]

I didn't plug my car in last night and it dropped to below -32C. Needless to say, my battery died and my car wouldn't even turn over.

Our vehicles all come equipped with a block heater that is affixed to the vehicle's engine. You literally plug it in to a power socket so that it keeps the engine warm enough that it will start. Twice this year I have driven away, trailing my extension cord behind me because I forgot to unplug my car.

My client is going to stop by to give me a boost - an electrical jolt to the battery. It's just like shocking the heart when someone's heart stops.

I'm ready to move somewhere warm.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I am sorry, Janice. Good your client is kind enough to assist you!

(The image of you driving still "plugged in" made me laugh, though)

[Travis]

Well I've never drove off still plugged in before. But to make you feel better one time I was at the gas station and I go that guy is going to drive away with the nozzle and hose still in his tank. He filled up then went in and paid and never hung the hose up. Before I could react he just drives off ripping the hose off the pump. I know after this they use break away coupling somewhere along the line he drove about 50ft before he realized it. Then shamefully had to drive back and give the station back their hose. I about died laughing. I'm not kidding I about peed myself. Funniest thing I've ever seen. I triple check myself at pump out of fear of not hanging up hose ever since thiugh

[Kristie, Moderator]

I've never tried to drive away while plugged in or attached to anything...but, I have tried to get out of the car with my seatbelt still on. lol

[Sandra, Moderator]

Kristie wrote: "I've never tried to drive away while plugged in or attached to anything...but, I have tried to get out of the car with my seatbelt still on. lol"

I have done that too!

[KimeyDiann]

Janice, I literally cannot imagine temperatures that cold! It is a comfortable 68f (20c) here.

I've never drove away plugged into anything either, but I have done the seat belt thing. And one time there was a huge sheet of plastic in the road, I swerved to miss it and thought I did, but apparently the wind blew just right when I went by for it to get caught on my back bumper. I couldn't see it in my mirrors but a kind stranger got my attention at the red light and told me about it. I was so embarrassed, I drove with it dragging behind me for at lease a mile.

[Tejas Janet]

Ditto for me, Kimey and Kristie. But I have once or twice attempted to go forward from parking spot that had a concrete parking curb. Oops. Not done that in a very long time now. Something I'm more prone to do is look for my reading glasses when they're on my head : )

[Kristie, Moderator]

Oh, funny, Kimey!

TJ, I've also looked for my phone while talking on it. I use it for so much else!

[Joan]

Did you know that there is a charity which collects old hearing aids? I just learned of one in the US, The Starkey Hearing Foundation. So if you replace your hearing aids ask your audiologist about donating the old ones.

[Lisa]

Janice wrote: "I didn't plug my car in last night and it dropped to below -32C. Needless to say, my battery died and my car wouldn't even turn over.

Our vehicles all come equipped with a block heater that is af..."

That must of been annoying, Janice! I did have a bit of a chuckle at the thought of you driving away whilst still plugged in though... ;)

[Janice, Moderator]

I've seen other people driving down the road dragging an extension cord behind them and have a wee chuckle from it. Up until this year, I had never done it myself, and then I did it twice in one week.

There have been a couple times this year that I've realized I still had my seat belt before attempting to get out of the car.

Travis, I howled when I read that story about the guy driving away from the gas station with the hose till in his gas tank! I probably would have peed myself.

[Sarah]

I had no idea that you had to plug your cars in to keep them warm. It kind of sounds sweet when you say it. Like you are tucking them up in a blanket for the night. lol. When I first read your post Janice, I assumed you had an electric car and were charging it.
That is funny Travis. It wouldn't happen here. The person would get shouted at over the tanoy if they didn't replace the hose. You cannot pay either if it hasn't been replaced as it won't come up on the computer that fueling has finished.

[Travis]

What may have happened Sarah is he paid at pump with card and put gas cap in nozzle so it would pump while he went in store to buy other things. Or something similar to that

[Rusalka, Moderator]

All the lit I read for that assignment was that through observation, no matter what people's opinions or education was, they encouraged girls away from STEM things.

Don't build things with lego, here's your doll and tea set. Don't get dirty while playing and experimenting, maybe go quietly read your book. The worst was looking at choosing subjects in high school. Girls who were out performing boys in maths and sciences were asked with their parents (who knew their performance) to choose subjects together in another room. They were observed, and parents actively encouraged the girls away from STEM subjects and to English and languages instead. While important, that ties into the stereotype that girls are better at those subjects, and boys do STEM.

Even when you as a parent encourage a equal opportunity household, you are competing with the world. TV, friends, preschool, daycare, teachers, family friends, randoms in the supermarket, advertising, marketing in the shops. It's pervasive and is just honestly, holding us all back. Us as humans, not just women.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Rusalka wrote: "Even when you as a parent encourage a equal opportunity household, you are competing with the world. TV, friends, preschool, daycare, teachers, family friends, randoms in the supermarket, advertising, marketing in the shops. It's pervasive and is just honestly, holding us all back. Us as humans, not just women. "

It is true. My two daughter are STEM subjects inclined (the oldest one will start a major in Biologic Engineering next year, and the youngest one is only 10, but bright in Math) , and we try to encourage them, but that is not what they find in the outside world. My husband is a mathematician, and he knows how hard it is for his female colleagues, including his sister, to survive in a "male" scientific environment. There is a big lack of woman in his area.

[Janice, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "I had no idea that you had to plug your cars in to keep them warm. It kind of sounds sweet when you say it. Like you are tucking them up in a blanket for the night. lol. When I first read your post..."

That's why I explained the whole block heater thing. I've had people from warmer climates ask if I had an electric car, so I thought I'd include the explanation.

[Sarah]

Your explanation was much appreciated Janice. Thank you :-)

[Joan]

Rusalka wrote: "All the lit I read for that assignment was that through observation, no matter what people's opinions or education was, they encouraged girls away from STEM things.

Don't build things with lego, h..."

Interesting, I read of a study that sent standardized email messages to University professors requesting a meeting to discuss careers and grad schools. The researchers used the same message just changed the names. Email messages with male, northern European sounding names were more likely to get a positive response.

[Trudy]

Janice wrote: "I didn't plug my car in last night and it dropped to below -32C. Needless to say, my battery died and my car wouldn't even turn over.

Our vehicles all come equipped with a block heater that is af..."

Move to lower mainland BC! My car doesn't even have a block heater. I think the coldest it has been in the 20 years I've lived here has been -12C. And virtually no mosquitos in the summer.

[Joan]

Janice wrote: "I didn't plug my car in last night and it dropped to below -32C. Needless to say, my battery died and my car wouldn't even turn over.

Our vehicles all come equipped with a block heater that is af..."

Janice, do cars parked in garages need heaters too?

[Dawn]

TrudyAn wrote: "And virtually no mosquitoes in the summer...."

Umm, well, don't live where I do because we have 'em. :)

Other than that, Lower Mainland is a great idea, it's nice here when it's not freaking snowing!!

[Janice, Moderator]

TrudyAn wrote: "Move to lower mainland BC! My car doesn't even have a block heater. I think the coldest it has been in the 20 years I've lived here has been -12C. And virtually no mosquitos in the summer. ..."

Didn't you get something like 2 ft of snow the other day? How are you coping?

[Janice, Moderator]

Joan wrote: "Janice, do cars parked in garages need heaters too?..."

Generally no, but it's likely the vehicle is still equipped with them. The dealers in the area order the vehicles with them as standard equipment.

[Trudy]

Janice wrote: "TrudyAn wrote: "Move to lower mainland BC! My car doesn't even have a block heater. I think the coldest it has been in the 20 years I've lived here has been -12C. And virtually no mosquitos in the ..."

We did get a lot of snow. But I won't complain, because we don't get five months of it, like most of Canada does. I lived in Sask and northern BC for about 40 years, so I am happy to just live here and not complain about the weather.

[Trudy]

Dawn wrote: "TrudyAn wrote: "And virtually no mosquitoes in the summer...."

Umm, well, don't live where I do because we have 'em. :)

Other than that, Lower Mainland is a great idea, it's nice here when it's n..."

I'm in central Fraser Valley. We see about five mosquitos each summer, but I realize they are abundant in areas not far from here. I never want to move.

[Janice, Moderator]

Ugh! Yeah, 5 months of winter. I'm starting to get cabin fever.

[Trudy]

Janice, you would laugh. Because of the snow, schools have been closed, as have the public libraries and many of the small shops around town. Granted, there was more snow than the city has equipment to handle, but the major roads are fine. It has been a great time to stay inside and read. If I could just get off of this iPad!

[Joan]

Janice, do you get to see The Northern Lights?

[Dawn]

I do live in a particularly bad area for them, but I still love it here. I'm at the east end of the Valley, the more affordable part!
Though being a life long Fraser Valley resident, I totally complain about the snow, we got 3 feet of the stuff in 4 days, that's too much, and my car is too short to drive in it! :)

[Janice, Moderator]

The city schools might not shut down, but any of the county schools do shut down if buses have had to cancel due to weather. There were closures last week because of the freezing rain.

Joan, we do get the Northern Lights here. I don't see them as much now that I live in the city, because the lights are too bright. When I lived in the country, we used to walk out into the hay field to watch them. If it was a really cold light, you could even hear a faint cracking sound.

[Joan]

They sound amazing...definitely on my hope to see list.

[Peggy]

Amazing Janice! I would love to see them one day. I had no idea you live that far north!

[Lynn]

Is anyone else having problems with their Goodreads challenge counter?

All of a sudden my book count has dropped from 30 books read to 9 books read (and telling me I'm behind schedule - which I'm bloody not!)

Edit - Well after a day of being incorrect, after posting the above comment I go back to the tracker to refresh and the counter is now correct! lol

[Lynn]

Ah! It may have something to do with the new change ..... I've just noticed that we can now log re-reads.

[Sarah]

Lynn wrote: "Ah! It may have something to do with the new change ..... I've just noticed that we can now log re-reads."

That's interesting. I hadn't noticed anything wrong with my counter but I don't pay much attention to it at the beginning of the year.

[Lynn]

I'm the opposite, the beginning of the year is probably when I take notice of it most. I always try to make sure I have a good start and ahead of schedule by the end of January, that way it makes it much easier for the rest of the year.

[Lisa]

Lynn wrote: "Ah! It may have something to do with the new change ..... I've just noticed that we can now log re-reads."

I've not had any problems with my counter. It's interesting that we can now log rereads. I can't seem to find how to do that on my page. Unless I'm just being blind...

[Sandra, Moderator]

Lisa, there isn't a "reread" shelf. When you mark as "currently reading" a book you already had read, then GR will count this as a reread:

"Next time you decide to reread a book that you've already marked as Read on Goodreads, simply mark it as Currently Reading. When you are done, just mark it as Read. (...) We take care of marking it as a reread for you. Bonus, it will also automatically be included in your Reading Challenge."

https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/8...

[Peggy]

It also says they roll it out gradually, so not everyone gets the feature at the same time. I had a banner about it on the top of my homepage.

I don't really care about it, I rarely reread books and when I do I don't feel I need to log that or make a note of it.

[Lisa]

Thanks, Sandra.

I don't often reread books and if I do, I'm not usually bothered about logging them but I'm currently rereading a book for the survey challenge and I thought I would also count it for my Goodreads challenge on this occasion.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Janice wrote: "That's why I explained the whole block heater thing. I've had people from warmer climates ask if I had an electric car, so I thought I'd include the explanation. ."

I was so excited when I thought you guys all had electric cars!

[Sandra, Moderator]

I don't usually reread, but there are so many readers here who are rereaders, that I think this feature was a must.

[Lisa]

Sandra wrote: "I don't usually reread, but there are so many readers here who are rereaders, that I think this feature was a must."

I agree.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Janice, I'd love to see the northern lights someday.

Lynn, I didn't notice any issues with my counter. I did see something about re-reads, but didn't pay any attention to it.

I hardly ever re-read, but when I do I just switch it to currently reading, then read. I thought it already added it to your yearly count that way. I like that it marks it as a re-read now. I just finished re-reading a HP book (I'm repeating the series) and didn't notice if anything was different. I'll have to check it and pay more attention to the next one.

[Travis]

When I reread o go through the pain of switching to another edition which will give me multiple rating and reviews but I don't know about the counter. I don't pay attention anymore

[Janice, Moderator]

I think the new re-read feature has caused some bugs that have affected challenge widget.

I have read 13 books which my challenge reported, but there were only 12 covers shown. I compared those with my 2017 shelf and found the missing cover to be Pride and Prejudice. When I clicked on the link from my shelf (which was for the edition I read), it didn't even show I had shelved the book let alone read it and reviewed it. When I did a general search and clicked on the first edition that came up, my review was there.

I posted in GR's feedback and my bug has been fixed. Others still seem to have it.

The problem seemed to be with the editions. Somehow the new feature was messing with the editions.

I'm almost afraid to look at the books that I have re-read in case there are more bugs.

[Janice, Moderator]

Hehe, maybe I should take my electric car for a drive out to the country to see if the northern lights are dancing.

[Lisa]

I have just finished a reread and it appears to have been logged with no problems. However, I have just changed Temeraire from "Want to Read" to "Currently Reading" as I'm about to start it but for some reason, in my stats for the book, it's saying that I am reading it for the second time. I haven't read it before so I don't know why it's showing up that way. It won't affect any challenges but it's slightly annoying.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Probably there will be many bugs in the first times of the feature. Hopefully they will be fix soon.

[Joan]

8 to 10 inches of snow forecast for us tomorrow- so there are lines at the gas station and closings and cancellations are pouring in. Even the state courts have closed for two days so my jury duty is cancelled.
I thought you folks to the north would find it amusing.

If you commented on Gilbert Grape, please check and edit your posts on the discussion thread for spoilers. If you responded to a post, check the reference part as well, please.