How's it sit? Pretty cunning, don'tchya think?

Jayne ,'The Message'


Natter 78: I might need to watch some Buffy for inspiration

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Steph L. - May 03, 2026 8:34:14 am PDT #12506 of 12659
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

Fixing the collapsed lung is complicated because of the surgery he had to prevent the lung from collapsing again (irony). Waiting for a doctor to explain what the next step is. Could be caused by pneumonia, although he doesn’t really have any symptoms (and apparently you can have walking pneumonia with minor or no symptoms, so it’s a possibility).

I am so fucking tired.


Jessica - May 03, 2026 9:10:36 am PDT #12507 of 12659
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

Oh Tep, what an awful stressful situation.

Ethan had a health scare this weekend that turned out to be mostly a false alarm (most importantly, it was Not A Heart Attack), but still needed an overnight hospital stay which meant I wound up driving to Boston late Friday night to help Dylan move out of his dorm. I drove home around 2pm yesterday which made it almost exactly 24-hours round trip and I never want to see another car again as long as I live.


Dana - May 03, 2026 9:12:29 am PDT #12508 of 12659
I haven't trusted science since I saw the film "Flubber."

No more health problems, people. Cut it out.


JenP - May 03, 2026 9:54:15 am PDT #12509 of 12659

Oh, geez, yeah, what Dana said.

Sending ALL of the healing ~ma Tim's way and the dealing without collapsing ~ma your way, Tep.

Glad you're done with that crappy 24 hours, Jess. And that Ethan's thing was not A Thing. Jesus.


Steph L. - May 03, 2026 10:58:29 am PDT #12510 of 12659
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

Glad Ethan’s thing was not a thing!

The surgery Tim had in 2022 was meant to keep his lung from collapsing again, and the way it worked was that the top part of his lung was basically attached to the inside of his chest wall (in a normal situation, our lungs are otherwise not attached to the chest wall).

So he’ll need that surgery again, to attach MORE of the lung to the chest wall. Think of it as stapling construction paper to a bulletin board.

He does not have pneumonia, which is yay. This lung just likes to collapse, apparently. And stapling it to the bulletin board of his chest wall is the best way to fix it.

Compared to cancer, this is no big deal. Still a pain in the ass, though.

Anyway, the surgery will be tomorrow or Tuesday; we don’t know yet.

My hip is cordially invited to fuck all the way off.


Matt the Bruins fan - May 03, 2026 11:15:16 am PDT #12511 of 12659
You have to remember that being a 5-time Olympic medalist means Hilary Knight has been playing hockey at an elite level at least 16 years. It's impossible for her to be a teenage girl less than 16 years old, thus the President's complete lack of interest.

Here's hoping all goes smoothly and Tim's lung learns its lesson, Steph.


lisah - May 03, 2026 11:26:11 am PDT #12512 of 12659
Punishingly Intricate

Sending you all love, Steph


Dana - May 03, 2026 11:41:58 am PDT #12513 of 12659
I haven't trusted science since I saw the film "Flubber."

No pneumonia is good, but joint pain is so miserable. My knee, post-steroid shot, is mostly okay except when I'm lying down. Because you want persistent knee pain while you're trying to sleep.


Steph L. - May 03, 2026 11:52:42 am PDT #12514 of 12659
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine

My knee, post-steroid shot, is mostly okay

After the steroid shot in my hip, it was pretty darn good until maybe 2 weeks ago, when the pain started creeping back despite me doing my PT and taking Meloxicam every day. But the ortho PA told me that some people can go a year between shots, but for some people it’s 6 months, or even 4 months, which is seeming true for me.

except when I'm lying down. Because you want persistent knee pain while you're trying to sleep.

That knee is not logical.


Jessica - May 03, 2026 12:28:23 pm PDT #12515 of 12659
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

stapling it to the bulletin board of his chest wall is the best way to fix it.

Surprising only because 2026 still feels like a future sci-fi-only year to me, surely we ought to have flying cars and medicine that works by waving a glowy thing in front of the patient by now??