Becoming Invisible

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

i've been living in country number 10 on this list for the past... oh dear... for a long, long time and luckily benefit from its universal healthcare system. (Daniela, over hear, hearing aids are usually fully reimbursed). i find that universal healthcare is really something to uphold and well worth the taxes we pay!

what i can potentially add to this is this:

i read some years ago that folks living in southern half of this country tend to live on average ten years longer than those living in the northern half. questions were raised as to why and how..., and the article concluded that the longevity witnessed in the southern half of the country had more to do with the amount of sunlight people were getting than any other factor (the country really does have an upper half without much sunlight and a lower half with loads of sunlight). of course, once you get more sunlight, you get nice ripe tomatoes, etc. as well...


as to being or wanting to be invisible, i find that, these days, being visible on-line is more a problem than off-line. to this effect, can someone tell me how to change my avatar picture (to something invisible)?

Hiya Wolfie..
Go to the top of this page and on the left side you should see User CP.. click on this and a new page comes up.. left side you'll see user controls.. scan down and click on Edit Avatar.. New page comes up.. scan down and it gives you the option to select and upload a picture, whatever of your choice from your computer.. easy peasy

[wolfgal]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Hiya Wolfie..
Go to the top of this page and on the left side you should see User CP.. click on this and a new page comes up.. left side you'll see user controls.. scan down and click on Edit Avatar.. New page comes up.. scan down and it gives you the option to select and upload a picture, whatever of your choice from your computer.. easy peasy

thanks good man! now let's see how long it takes me to do it.... oh dear.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by boatman61

...But you are talking about America.. the creator and land of cheap Junk Food.. also a place where health treatment is very expensive and dependant on wealth.
Could help explain why the USA comes 33rd in the average life expectancy stakes behind Japan, S Korea, the whole of Europe, Chile Costa Rica and even Cuba.. who just edges you at 32nd.

The relationship holds everywhere it has been researched. This includes all OECD countries.

The key point though is not absolute wealth, but relative wealth. Poverty and wealth are largely defined by the community you reside in. High wealth disparity produces a steeper gradient of health outcomes. More equal societies have much less of a gradient.

Universal healthcare systems are a significant means of evening out the wealth disparity — of redistributing wealth. This is why there is a relationship between universal healthcare and life expectancy. But the more profound causal connection appears to be wealth inequality WITHIN a country.

[hatteras53]

I have continued to read the posts to Ann, others and even a few to myself.

Just to set the record straight, I am 66. I was forced into a semi retirement status because of a nasty divorce, a son who abandoned ship (something that I could never fathom from my time at the Naval Academy) at our 94 year old small family business, employees who took advantage of me and my compromised situation, lost my 500 k family home to the ex wife, have chronic pain issues, remarried to a Filipino from a very poor family, and we live quite modestly in a few small rooms in an industrial building with no contact of any kind from my 7 grown children because of the ex wife's interference.

So, in case you were thinking I am a spoiled older man, let the above be food for thought my fellow shipmates.

I merely was pointing out in my posts about how quickly we become invisible to many when they can't (for many) take from us anymore or we serve no useful purpose. You get to find out how many real friends you have quickly.

Not looking for sympathy either folks.

Life ain't fair.

Our boat has been undergoing a refit for 7 years now because of finances and many other circumstances beyond our control. Hopefully, soon it will be ready in maybe 3-4 more months.

Truly don't miss all the stress and pressure from many who only wanted something from me anyway. It just came as a shock how many were 1 way Charlies.

All in all, I consider myself truly blessed.

My wife and I are truly happy.

Thanks for listening.

I sincerely hope to be sailing the high seas sooner than later.

When I pass the Naval Academy, I shall salute John Paul Jones !

A special thanks to Ann who has been so very KIND to many of us.

Shipmate Michael

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by deltaten

Then there are some that choose to be invisible. Being the " Gray man" could/does have some benefit.

Agreed.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

When I was being pushed in the chair, NO ONE made eye contact! It really was as if I didn't exist. It was creepy. ...And, I bet it happens a lot to people in wheel chairs. It made me start looking at them and smiling at them.

I totally know about the eye contact thing. I think it comes from living in high population density areas. I saw it in South Florida. But I also found another scenario where people stare at you but act as if you don't exist. This really disturbed me and I found it abusive. Sometimes I would say to them: what are you looking at? But nothing was ever said in return. Now I am in a small town where people are much more normal so for that I am thankful.

[alaskaflyfish]

Originally Posted by hatteras53

I have continued to read the posts to Ann, others and even a few to myself.

Just to set the record straight, I am 66. I was forced into a semi retirement status because of a nasty divorce, a son who abandoned ship (something that I could never fathom from my time at the Naval Academy) at our 94 year old small family business, employees who took advantage of me and my compromised situation, lost my 500 k family home to the ex wife, have chronic pain issues, remarried to a Filipino from a very poor family, and we live quite modestly in a few small rooms in an industrial building with no contact of any kind from my 7 grown children because of the ex wife's interference.

So, in case you were thinking I am a spoiled older man, let the above be food for thought my fellow shipmates.

I merely was pointing out in my posts about how quickly we become invisible to many when they can't (for many) take from us anymore or we serve no useful purpose. You get to find out how many real friends you have quickly.

Not looking for sympathy either folks.

Life ain't fair.

Our boat has been undergoing a refit for 7 years now because of finances and many other circumstances beyond our control. Hopefully, soon it will be ready in maybe 3-4 more months.

Truly don't miss all the stress and pressure from many who only wanted something from me anyway. It just came as a shock how many were 1 way Charlies.

All in all, I consider myself truly blessed.

My wife and I are truly happy.

Thanks for listening.

I sincerely hope to be sailing the high seas sooner than later.

When I pass the Naval Academy, I shall salute John Paul Jones !

A special thanks to Ann who has been so very KIND to many of us.

Shipmate Michael

Sorry to hear about your "court rape". It has made debt slaves out of many of my peers. Like you, they also sought out partners that had not been "westernized" and although now considered poor, are much happier.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

, NO ONE made eye contact! It really was as if I didn't exist.

Notice this a lot on public transport and walking around the city.
Even when travelling I would be amazed at people sitting in a great location , ignoring the person they were with, missing out on the view as the phone sapped their intelligence away from them.


(Puts tablet down, walks out onto back deck with coffee in hand to take in the view)

[Viking Sailor]

It could be that some of the invisibility experiences noted are the result of subconscious body language communications. People tend to subconsciously communicate their state-of-being through body language. If all is right with the world a person has their head up looking for others to interact with. Conversely, when things are not going well, a person has their head down trying to avoid eye contact.

[atoll]

if you are feeling invisible,chances are your life is in a rut.
time to shake things up a bit ,go sailing as a cruiser,meet new people,challenge yourself arrive at new destinations without preconceived ideas,quest for information,share your experiences ,be a winner be approachable....works for me

[toddster8]

Dunno, I've pretty much always been invisible. I can't count the number of times I'm standing in line or something and women slam into me at full speed. Then look around comically because they can't figure out what on earth they ran into.
Moments of sudden visibility are often a bit embarrassing...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzWN4v2Ck0s

[wolfgal]

Originally Posted by toddster8

Dunno, I've pretty much always been invisible. I can't count the number of times I'm standing in line or something and women slam into me at full speed. Then look around comically because they can't figure out what on earth they ran into.
Moments of sudden visibility are often a bit embarrassing...

oh dear... were these women texting on their phones when they ran into you at full speed?

meanwhile, i still cannot get my avatar picture down...

[Olddan1943]

Please, do not stare into the eyes of my sister in law. She will turn you to stone.

[toddster8]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

oh dear... were these women texting on their phones when they ran into you at full speed?

meanwhile, i still cannot get my avatar picture down...

I come from a time long before cell phones.
Another fun trick used to be going to restaurants with co-workers. Waitresses would take everyone else's order, but when it came to my turn, they just walked away. Or if I did manage to shout an order, it never came. But enough of that stuff.

I'm not very familiar with the mechanisms on this particular site, but have you tried to upload a different image "on top of" the one you want to remove?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by wolfgal

oh dear... were these women texting on their phones when they ran into you at full speed?

meanwhile, i still cannot get my avatar picture down...

If you have found the Avatar page you will see your avatar in the box at the top. to the right of the picture is a place, white spot, where you click to switch to do not use Custom Avatar..
Once you have sorted out the avatar you want go back to the page and upload the new image..

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