Passenger Contract Deadlines - A little too realistic for me

[AndySlater]

I had to give up normal work about 10 years ago when I got CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). It means that I'm unemployable in the normal sense because while there are days when I'm fine, there are many other days when I'm 'useless'. Working Monday to Friday is impossible (I wouldn't be there half the time) and as I never know how I'm going to be on any given day it's also very difficult for me to plan anything (I always have to 'reserve the right' to cancel at the last minute) or commit to deadlines. I do take on some 'projects' but only on the understanding that if somebody wants me to do the equivalent of a weeks 'work', I need three weeks in which to do it and even then I can't PROMISE to have it done on time.

Anyway, having spent a few hours running back and forth between Lave and Zaonce I'd added a few of those upgrades that you really don't want to leave home without and had a couple of thousand credits in the bank. I observed that there were two passengers wanting to get to systems that were about five systems away. So I decided to convert some of the cargo hold, take the contracts and plot a course that would allow me to buy and sell a few things along the way.

Suddently, the whole thing changed because rather than flitting happily between systems trading goods in my own sweet time I was now under pressure to meet deadlines. It ceased to be fun and I nearly bit my wife's head off when she interrupted me to ask if I wanted another cup of tea. The sense of relief when I dropped the passengers off (on time) at their destinations was so huge that I've now sold the passenger berths (at a loss) and have vowed never to take on any more.

Scary!

[Rxke]

Heehee...

You know these contracts, often you have oodles of time to spare. Just remember: two short jumps are faster than one long one. counter-intuitive, fer sure.

[Dr. Nil]

Sorry to hear about your condition. I suppose you know that mentioning this on the net makes you a target for all kinds of well meant advise and comments. Mine is: I have every kind of respect for the medical profession... BUT they don't seem to be great communicators. They should know about placebos and suggestions from their education and I really think this ought to make them rethink the names of anything they call chronic or terminal. Placebos DO cause a certain percentage of people to get healthy (which strongly suggests that suggestions have some effect) - I can't help thinking of in how many cases then the stamps 'terminal' and 'chronic' work in excactly the same way to kill people or keep them sick. The doctor might know that something kills in 95% of the cases and don't want to give anybody false hopes - but by refraining from that he might just make those in the 5% group more likely to give up on getting better.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that "...if only you believe enough" (because you've probably gotten enough of that advise) - It's more like if only your doctor believed enough - or something. OK that was fairly off topic. I just have a hard time getting why doctor's don't adjust their communication to what they have been taught about the power of suggestions.

Next time something the game becomes too much I'd suggest you to force a misjump and take it out on some thargoids - they always deserve it

[AndySlater]

I suppose you know that mentioning this on the net makes you a target for all kinds of well meant advise and comments.

Tell me about it. There aren't enough hours in the day for me to be able to take all the dietary supplements, excercise routines, meditations, aromatheapies, and so on that have been recommended. At the end of the day though they won't do any good as the cause is probably a) pesticides and food additives - the government know exactly what causes it or are covering it up, b) an experiment being carried out by the grey aliens, c) God's revenge on me for being a git or d) that I'm a just a lazy sod who needs to pull his socks up. After 10 years, it just goes in one ear and out the other.

Good point about the use of the words "chronic" and "terminal" though. They're not exactly encouraging.

Anyway, back to more serious issues... anybody else noticed any unexpected similarities between the Ooniverse and this one?

[Captain Hesperus]

Anyway, back to more serious issues... anybody
else noticed any unexpected similarities between the Ooniverse and this one?

Yeah, the interminable wait to get into the space station when there's even one other ship ahead of you vs. the queues at the multi-level carparks.

Captain Hesperus
"The easiest way to by-pass the docking queue is to broadcast that there's a female undressing in one of the windows on the side of the station. just don't state which window, side or species and all of a sudden you're next in line to dock!"