Thicker, and Nothing Changes!?

[DetroitDad]

Does anyone else think things have been showing signs of getting a bit worse around here, as of recent?

My walks around the city have been changing, it's different, and last night the city felt all together different to me. The changes I've been noticing aren't positive. Suburbs and city, I don't like what I'm experiencing.

Thoughts? Mine is a different feel in the air than that of earlier in the decade.

[johnny1954]

Yes, I try to be positive but the signs of a very bad downturn are looming.
Look at this stat:
Bigger than expected. The bank now has 1.3 million customers who are more than 60 days delinquent; 195,000 haven't paid in two years. Of those homes, 56,000 are vacant.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...T2010120400375

[johnny1954]

Everyone is under some type of stress in this environment. We are like passengers on the Titanic struggling to survive.

[Lowell]

Beware of SAD "Seasonal Affective Disorder Depression". The days get longer in 17 days.

Seasonal affective disorder [[SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year, experience depressive symptoms in the winter or, less frequently, in the summer, spring or autumn, repeatedly, year after year. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [[DSM-IV), SAD is not a unique mood disorder, but is "a specifier of major depression".

[johnny1954]

Im glad they are gone. I have been a silent observer on this post for awhile. I could not believe the crap I saw the other day.

[jcole]

Beware of SADD. "Seasonal Affective Disorder Depression". The days get longer in 17 days.

Does that cause posts to disappear?

[johnny1954]

Does that cause posts to disappear?

Watch it. This is Detroit. People have been know to disappear too.

[1KielsonDrive]

The sword of the censor!

[johnny1954]

getting back... are people feeling more positive going into 2011?

[1KielsonDrive]

I thought I posted a supportive comment to Detroitdad, and it's gone. Huh?

[Lowell]

Address the thread topic; don't attack the poster. Posts doing so will be removed and any follow up posts, good or bad, that reference such attacks will likewise be removed.

The following seems to have been have skipped over by a very few this when they agreed to the rules of participation on this forum:

3-Address the entire forum and topic being discussed in a polite manner and address other participants by their forum names. Posts that badger, needle or provoke others will be removed without notice or explanation. Any posts in context to personal attacks will likewise be removed, good or bad.

[firstandten]

DetroitDad I agree, it seems depressing around here. Some of it is the winter season and the early darkness, but most of it is that our one-trick pony [[manufacturing) got really sick before we had a chance to teach it some new tricks. Now we have to figure out what to do. I'm afraid we will be in for some hard times for a significant period

[Stosh]

Once the excess surface population disappears, due to the non- support of the state, the real shit will hit the fan.
Pulling the plug on the welfare state, according to some, will be a good thing. I don't see the positives.

[gazhekwe]

I feel very down, but I know it is because the dark seems to clamp down so early. It happens every year, and every year it shocks me. Of course DST going off at just the point when it really counts adds to the suddenness of it. Take heart, only 17 more days before the trend is reversed and it will gradually get lighter.

As for walking around, there is a certain apprehension about walking in the dark. You can't see who it is approaching you, the dark spaces between buildings seem ominous, and for me, walking with no sidewalks, traffic is even more scary because I know they can't see me, so I have to get right off the road when somebody passes. This apprehension in the dark is normal, but we have to put up with it much longer because it gets dark so darn early. That there are gaps in lighting doesn't help at all.

[thnk2mch]

Does anyone else think things have been showing signs of getting a bit worse around here, as of recent?

My walks around the city have been changing, it's different, and last night the city felt all together different to me. The changes I've been noticing aren't positive. Suburbs and city, I don't like what I'm experiencing.

Thoughts? Mine is a different feel in the air than that of earlier in the decade.

What do you mean, thicker?

[oladub]

Beware of SAD. "Seasonal Affective Disorder Depression". The days get longer in 17 days.

January is tonic. December has only about half the hours of sunshine as September. January has 29% more hours of actual sunshine than December.

Detroit's Monthly Sunshine Hours

Month Sunshine Hours
Jan 40%
Feb 46%
Mar 52%
Apr 54%
May 61%
Jun 66%
Jul 68%
Aug 67%
Sept61%
Oct 51%
Nov 35%
Dec 31%
Sunshine hours refers to the amount sunshine there is during the hours of daylight. A higher percentage means there is more sunshine through the day and a lower percentage will indicate that it is probably cloudier.
http://www.rssweather.com/climate/Michigan/Detroit/

[Hornwrecker]

What do you mean, thicker?

Maybe he has a lithsp.

[BrushStart]

The night is always darkest just before the dawn. Keep the faith.

[Homer]

It will only keep getting thicker around here until May 21st, then things will open up.

[Hamtragedy]

The bottom redefines itself weekly 'round these parts.

[Laurent]

LOL, Hornwrecker

[Gannon]

I'd like to add a negative LOL...what would that be, a Frown Out Loud?


DetroitDad's simple description of his feelings regarding the overall temperature and pressure of society seems spot on, in my estimation.


Care to add anything of significance, Ham, or just drag us all down to your level?! LOL


I also feel something drier, colder, and more desperate brewing in the population at large.

I do NOT believe it can be attributed to something as simple as SAD...although that may be an amplifying factor in some ways. Of course, I've also felt that the city was going to suffer some explosion during the hot summer months, over the past four years, as well.


It just seems to all be coming to a head. We're getting accustomed to this increase in troubles, with no recognition of what will happen when we reach our tipping point. I believe the unrest throughout Europe is what they seek to create in us here...and I know that sounds conspiratorial...but with my analysis of the trends, there is little chance it could be random.


But there is still a chance, and we've NOT yet begun open rioting...so I take solace in that for today.


Cheers and more...regardless the tone of this discussion.

[canuck]

Gannon,

I have to say I am surprised no movement arose from the population regarding the whole sub prime fiasco that brought the system to its knees. But I guess it is hard for dispossessed folk to stand up and fight for something they lost to a massive banking system. Everything is tied up in the greed that is instilled in all of us. Everybody's dream of living in bigger and better circumstances, there is no end to that stupidity. I hope no violence comes out of this period, and we could buy some more humility and frugality to keep us warm this winter.

[DetroitDad]

No doubt, we are getting bad news rolling out, even though everyone keeps telling us we are on the path to better times.

Inaction while that feeling descends on you is maybe best?

[Laurent]

Gannon, You're making some good points. As for the opposite of LOL, I found this link, but I don't think any of the suggestions have caught on. Maybe web posters prefer to spell out their negative thoughts in detail [[plus, most of that webspeak starts with carefree teenagers, right?). Still wondering about "thicker" though. http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/531721