Rant within, read at your own risk.

[Drayco84]

Guys, I'm gonna level with you here... The last half of May and all of June so far, has been an incredibly crappy time...

  I'm going to give you a mish-mashed summary because I don't have all the details, and my brain is running on caffeine-free soda... Personally, I'm waging a war on two fronts and neither of them look pretty...
  First off, I've been having some hard times breathing. Previously I went to my preferred physician and was prescribed two different inhalers for my asthma. The "Rescue" inhaler was $20 a month, and the "Maintenance" inhaler was $200 a month. And yes, I asked for generics. Unemployed and no insurance means that I can't really afford them. And this was last year. Thankfully, there's a bunch of research online and I think my asthma has been the result of my allergies steadily getting worse. (The fact that people around in my area like to burn trash in the evening of every damn day of the week isn't helping. Plus, my parents in their limited wisdom decided to switch over to using a wood-burning stove in the basement for heat in the winter has turned the three months of former allergy relief into a year-round nightmare.)
  The OTC Chlor-Trimeton I'm taking feels like it's helping. (Before, some days saw me panting for breath while lying down. And yes, I tried the Benadryl stuff before. It worked, but also made me irritable as hell.)  I can do stuff, but I still don't have a lot of energy to work with. And if my body's tired, my brain feels the strain as well and loses focus. I'm trying out a caffeine-free diet to keep the issues I've been having with chest pains down. It seems like that's working as well, but that might've been a side effect of the asthma. (And I've already bought over 20 2-liters of the stuff because it was on sale during my restocking times. Come hell or high water, it WILL be used.)
  Also, once again, some jerk has turned my parents in to Zoning. Previously, it was for a hole in the roof of a place they bought. (Which was BS.) And previously it was for owning a commercial vehicle. (Even more BS. Plus, for three months, the zoning officer swore up and down that it was a commercial dump truck. He finally gave up when my mother demanded that he take her to court over it because he wouldn't show her his supposed "proof".) THIS TIME, it's for our ownership of Muscovy ducks on less than an acre. My mom applied for a variance to get them moved up to a different place of ours (With a limit of 150 birds, which even I say is too many.) However, due to the fact that as of '09, the area's in a "Riparian Setback Zone", which means you can't even put up a damn FENCE or a shed, things we need to contain the birds. A petition was passed, and a total of 44 people signed it. (One used a fake address, and a few others aren't even in the Setback Zone.)
  We've since found out that ONE: They're regulated as waterfowl and NOT poultry. TWO: We're not allowed to raise them nor sell them as anything other than meat birds as of March 31st, 2010. Also THREE: Some group has pretty much told us that we're not allowed to have them and (essentially) that we should get rid of them. (On the other hand, laws are in the works to allow poultry/livestock on less than an acre, but are at least two years away.) We're going to reduce the population down to some females in a last-ditch effort to try and keep them since we've been told that "It's our own fault for applying for the variance". (Again, I don't know specifics.)
  Soooo, not only are we essentially being forced to destroy a few years' worth of work, but I'm concerned that once the ducks are gone, the same freaking bastards are going to complain about my bunnies and that... THAT is really pushing me over the edge right now...
  I'm not really looking for sympathy or pity here... I just needed a place to rant/vent and explain why if it seems like I'm short-tempered or inactive in certain sections where I once enjoyed posting, this is why.
  So, thank you for your time.

EDIT: I apologize profusely if the Villa isn't the place to put this, and I acknowledge that this forum isn't my personal blog. I just really needed to get this crap off my chest and I didn't know the best place for it.

[techmaster-glitch]

Oh man, you really have had a rough time...

Take care of yourself first, and hopefully something will work out.

[VAE]

Hmm, this truly is crappy.

Firstly, my aunt had asthma and stuff (now is better) and it sucks... you have all sympathies.

As far as the chest pains... i have suspicion it is either from the asthma, or more importantly , a bad back  - i myself had a really nasty instance of back pain that involved chest pain and even breath shortness (fixed it then by rubbing against a column until something jumped back)
And, it wouldn't be a surprise either.


Now, what is Zoning i had to look in  the internet as i am suspicious our country does not have it, especially not in the extent you describe (i am from a village as well, and have both rabbits and ducks (and goats as well but that's different story)).
I wonder where those assholes expect your family to get some meat!?
We had to deal with idiot arse neighbors but these folk you describe truly surpass everything, together with the stupid laws - did they at least pay you something when declaring your land to be in such a zone back in 2009?
Also i think burning trash is somewhat legally fishy especially in such an area... it might be a good idea to use it to get back at those assholes - evidence is not that difficult  to get, and it could stand - public health and sanitation is sort of being endangered, especially if it's in some sort of ecologically semi protected zone like this.
I hold you fingers that your ducks come out of it unharmed and you find a way to teach those arseholes some lesson 

[Lysander]

Dang, man, the health issues/expenses suck. Two of my brothers and my sister have had to deal with similar issues and it sucks. Also, not being allowed to have the birds just because your property isn't large seems rediculous; wonder how they decided to create that new ordinance this year.   

[WhiteFox]

You, good sir, have my deepest sympathies.

I'm diabetic, half blind, arthritic, and have ADHD. My meds and supplies come out to about 600$ a month plus, but at least I'm on social assistance for medical disability (which covers all but two of my meds. The most expensive ones, actually, but I get by). I also see four specialists for what-have-you.

Probably the only reason I'm still in one piece is because of the support I get from my family.

Best of luck to you and yours, in all your affairs.

[Drayco84]

Well, I suppose I feel up to making an update...

Most of the ducks are gone, but I'm not saying how. We're getting inspected tomorrow and we'll see what happens. Supposedly, Zoning can't take them and it's up to Fish and Wildlife to physically take the birds if they feel like there's a need. (Also supposedly, Fish and Wildlife isn't enforcing the rules. I won't hold my breath though.) So, tomorrow is the big day and determines the fate of the remaining birds.

@Danman
Google has failed me... I mean, seriously, HOW HARD is it to make sure that people can put in "Franklin County Ohio Zoning Regulations" and get some damned results instead of having to sift through a confusing as hell site for hours?!
Ugh... Anyway, the US, and most cities for that matter, are regulated so that people can't piss off their neighbors by creating their own farm unless it's in an area zoned as rural, or agricultural. Why? Because people apparently can't tolerate the smell. (And yes, I'm aware that they DO smell, especially pigs. I'm also aware that morons who can't clean up after their dogs are just as bad.) You wanna know what tops that? It's illegal to discharge a firearm within most city limits. So yeah, somebody breaks in and you use a gun to defend yourself, and you can still get fined for "disturbing the peace". (If the police had a response time of >5 seconds, it wouldn't be too bad, but most in cases it takes half an hour or more.)
This is part of why a depression is so dangerous to America. Since people, especially in cities, aren't allowed to grow part of their own food, they're expected to pick it up at the supermarket. (Where the quality control is dictated by the major food producers and is often tossed out the window in favor of profit. Yeah, there are SOME groups that act responsibly, but they're usually individuals or small-time growers.)
Although, to be honest, I don't even think most of the people down our road even knew we had ducks until we were MISINFORMED by this one particular zoning officer (whom we swear has a vendetta against us,) and thus tried to move them to a combined lot that had an acre.
Trash burning in our county isn't fishy, it's downright illegal, but like everything else that goes on in my area, nobody really gives a shit until SOMEBODY complains.
And last but not least, PFFFFFFT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Pay the residents when they declared the area a Riparian Setback Zone?! Hell, they didn't even NOTIFY ANYBODY! HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Shows you how much the township thinks of its residents, huh?

@Lysander
Probably because the housing bubble burst and Ryan Estates wasn't interested in building any more high-cost homes. (It might be considered a "blighted" area, but Darby Creek runs along one side of the area and the land itself is rather beautiful.)  

@Whitefox
Wow... I've got ADD (Without the hyperactivity.) so I know a small part of what you're feeling, and my Great-Grandfather had diabetes. (But I'm still not too sure what the personal effects are.) Being half-blind is completely new to me as while I've worn glasses for pretty much all my life, so I've never really looked into it. (I'm pretty sure that I'm legally blind without them. All I know is that one eye usually uses the highest power they offer in prescription glasses, and the other eye isn't too far behind it.) In short, that info does make your Nerf headshots on Mechanisto quite a bit more impressive...
Although... How many years has it been since I last had my vision checked?
EDIT: I forgot to say that I forgot. There's gotta be a paradox in there somewhere...

[VAE]

Hell... the residents are assholes of the first degree... I would really do something with the trash burning - you will breathe better, and show them that pulling you by the fingers isn't such fun when they can slip too.

As for the second, i was thinking... such change devalues your property... so in plenty of places it would warrant some kind of return - it might be worth checking it  - maybe you have an opportunity to grill those high up, and get some much warranted cash.

With the food production... in my country is something similar - cheap low quality imports are killing our national agriculture as people are poor, and those importers also seem to have secret treaties with (also foreign) supermarkets....


BTW, you folk actually make me feel healthy the only thing wrong with me is somewhat worse liver tests, and myopia+astigmatism, at a rather low level of -3 dioptres... 

[Drayco84]

Well, my Mom went in for the variance hearing and got shot down. Now, for $75, we can have the variance changed so we're allowed to have 11 females at our place. (Which may or may not pass...)

In other news, the reason why the particular zoning officer has been riding our asses is because the people calling in are buddy-buddy with them. We ALSO know who it is that's complaining now, but it doesn't help us a lot due to the aforementioned relationship with said zoning officer.

I'm gonna go massacre some virtual things now...

[Drayco84]

I know it's been a while since my last update on this, but government-related crap moves so freaking slowly, ya know?
Still, I have good news! The struggle is over and zoning has made it's decision.

We're not allowed to have ANY ducks. Period.

And this is AFTER reduing the amount of birds we have to -4-. One elderly female, one abnormally big female, a baby with a broken leg, and one we didn't think was going to survive to adulthood. So yeah... We've already had to say goodbye to all the ones we liked and kept around, including our khaki campbells. My last favorite, Monk, a white duck with a brown spot on the top of her head, already passed away the week before last, in the care of the person we gave her to.
The people making the complaints have been hanging out goddamn signs for all of the past few weeks. (Which we have pictures of, possibly for use in a harassment lawsuit.)

Seriously, these people are royally pissing me off here... They refused to talk with my mom about how many would be okay to put up there, instead of telling us that something's an eyesore or they don't like looking at it they complain to zoning... My mom and the lady there used to sit and talk for hours and they couldn't bother to say one goddamn word to us?!

Where's my copy of Metal Saga? I need to blow something up...

[VAE]

Now these folks are pissing me off and i don't even know them... you have my sympathies.

Now for useful.. the pics are fine but try to also get evidence of the assholes burning trash in their gardens which you mentioned ... that can make for a nice lawsuit as it is generally illegal... and also you might be able to get paid for them making your health problems  worse as you have papers of being asthmatic i would say....

I love the government's decision too... such "intellect" is rarely seen even in my country and that is something to say!

[Brunhidden]

pity there are no umbrellas rated to 'shitstorm'

[VAE]

You might like this and find it relevant
http://www.27bslash6.com/strata.html

[Drayco84]

wHY CAN'T I STOP LOSING THINGS?!

Earlier today (About one hour ago.) I went out to take care of my bunnies. Ya know, feed them and refill water bottles. Well, I get out there, check on 9 year-old Chinchu, who's fine, and then notice that his barely 1 year-old son Wolf isn't acting right. I pick him up, feel that he's unusually limp. and also notice that he's gasping for breath via his mouth.

For anybody that doesn't know much about rabbits, that's a TERRIBLE sign...

I rush him inside, tell my mom that something's wrong with him, and run back out to check his water bottle to make sure it's working. (It was.) By the time I get back inside, he's gone...

So, now my sister had lost her favorite bunny, and I'll easily admit that I liked him a ton too, and all I can think of is... WHY?! I mean, this was a rabbit that was running around inside the pen yesterday. (Which he had done dozens of times before, and yesterday was also a rather cool day too...) And if it was heatstroke, then WHY on a rather cool day?! Yesterday he had eaten well, as usual, and his water bottle was refilled yesterday...

I mean, I could've understood if his 9 year-old father had passed away today, but a ONE-YEAR-OLD bunny?! With absolutely NO signs of distress until he dropped?! This... This just isn't fucking fair... And there's little reason as to WHY the hell this happened...

Excuse me... I still need to finish taking care of the bunnies that are still with us...

[VAE]

Hmm, this is strange.
Sure it wasn't a sickness or something?
Clean your hands well when working with that pen.

My family raises rabbits for food and they tend to be really easy to mess up with themselves... there are strange stories.

[techmaster-glitch]

Man drayco, that bites hard

I'd say take the bunny to a vet pronto before the body is too far gone, and see if they can still look inside him, maybe they can see what happened...

[VAE]

I dunno... there are some diseases that can drop rabbits but i don't know many cures for them... usually you just eat the ones that aren't dead and dezinfect.
Myxomatosis which is the real bad one, usually manifests by "knots' on the liver.

I don't really know symptoms of anything... we usually just find out when they are dead or if they behave strangely.

All in all going to check with a vet for a dead one does not seem like too good idea, especially since it tends to be expensive

[Drayco84]

All in all going to check with a vet for a dead one does not seem like too good idea, especially since it tends to be expensive

And it also hurts because to most vets, rabbits are an "exotic" animal. So, not only do few places treat them, but they're horribly expensive about it. Plus, Wolf is was a beloved pet. While some answers would be highly valued, it was readily agreed not to cut him up just to find those answers. (My mom does have a great deal of experience from butchering the ducks and we probably could've done it ourselves.)

We've made that mistake once with Blackie, a black satin whose teeth grew in crooked and we could never keep them aligned. To make things worse, he was the result or accidental inbreeding and satins have shortened life expectancies. Anyway, the vet cut his teeth crooked and didn't do any better than we did... (He still passed away some time later.)

And we've had a fair amount of bunnies over the years. Cutey and Sleepy were our first two, which we had for a few years before adopting Speckles and Metallica. (She was gray and metallic-looking, okay?) Chinchu and Renno were the offspring of the last two, and Speckles got a hold of Renno not once, but twice. Plus, some other adopted bunnies...

Unfortunately, due to the inbreeding, we've had quite a bit of experience with the various maladies that can befall bunnies, ranging from heat stroke (Remedy is frozen pop bottles full of water. Symptons include constant panting and some drooling.) to gut stasis (Where the bunny isn't eating. If they don't eat for 24 hours, they're gone. Also, if they can't get anything to drink, they won't eat. This is bitch year-round as they drink more water in summer, and water bottles freeze in the winter.) to even hind leg paralysis. (When a bunny sprains a hind leg and can't move it. Happens most often in males, but also happens with females if two or more are sharing a hutch due to the way they assert dominance.)

Since ours are pets and treated as such, the most common sign that something is wrong is when they don't come up to the open door to greet you. (They've been handled since they were babies, btw. Their momma, Trouble, was mostly okay with it, but was kinda jealous at times.)

Tech, normally I'd agree with you on an autopsy for cause of death, but for a vet to professionally do one is hard to find, expensive, and the last thing anybody wanted to do was drive around with his body in the backseat, and then for some stranger to cut open our beloved pet. (And then take him back home and bury him.) Regardless, he was buried a few hours after he had passed... (We also moved his sister Nipper into his hutch just to avoid looking at that sad, empty space where such a lively bunny had been...)

Danman, if it was Myxomatosis, then one or more of our other bunnies is screwed because they're all in an outdoor shed. Plus, while I know that Chinchu has fleas, he's also had them for quite a bit of time. (Repeated dustings of diatomaceous earth haven't gotten rid of them.)

Ugh... I'm rambling, and now I'm crying again...