This is definitely not news for many people, but I always wondered how failban was blocking an ip.ad.dre.ss when I couldn’t find any of the banned IPs with iptables-save | grep ip.ad.dre.ss

I always left it for another time and boy did it pass long and quickly, with other things more important.

But no more! This past weekend I finally learned how fail2ban manages IP block lists with Firewalld: it uses ipset and then creates iptables multiport matches on that defined ipset!

Boy, was I happy… May come in useful in the future, and in the past it was definitely very useful at times, rather than other workarounds.

Still… nice. I must thrive to make time to learn new stuff at least every weekend.

Gostei muito dos auscultadores que comprei esta semana na vossa loja mas fiquei a-bis-ma-do com a vossa falta de vergonha e muita lata:

«Os auscultadores só podem ser utilizados para uso privado, e não com fins industriais ou comerciais.»

O quê? Mas a que propósito se acham sequer com coragem de declarar isto? É vergonhoso que achem isto correto!

Depois desta falta de vergonha, ainda têm a distinta lata de terminar com a seguinte frase ao virar a página, na mesma secção:

«Deve respeitar as leis e os regulamentos nacionais do país de utilização.»

Olha, ninguém quererá mesmo saber disto, eu por mim estou só a dar um desabafo e vocês, Lidl e SilverCrest, seguramente nem querem saber.

A verdade é que eu estou satisfeito com o produto e vocês ficaram satisfeitos com o dinheiro.

Só não dou o devido uso a este papel porque prefiro algo muito mais fofinho, está bem?

Tenho medo de provar, estas malaguetas estavam fortes q.b. nas “tostas” picantes e crocantes de queijo que tentei fazer e ficaram fabulosas!

Daqui por uns dias digo se sobrevivi…

Molho picante de malagueta – Receita Petitchef

https://pt.petitchef.com/receitas/outro/molho-picante-de-malagueta-fid-146072

Oh… Ye… Gods… It is amazing! It’s, by far, the best peanut butter I’ve ever eaten.

First try and so good means that those sold in supermarkets are pure crap. Don’t buy them, buy peanuts instead and spend 10 minutes.

I loosely followed the above recipe (3 tablespoons of butter, using one of the best Portuguese butters, Milhafre from Azores, and a frying pan of peanuts) and it tasted so good I’m having to contain myself, if I start eating I might but be able to stop before it ends!

7 were retired for being too big to use, even with a belt
4 I can still use, with a belt
2 perfect fits (and boy did I miss these two 501’s)
3 that are still a bit too tight to feel comfortable

This means I should consider buying a few transitional cheap pants in a couple of months,  on the sales period.

All this I achieved by keeping myself quite faithful to a ketogenic diet.

In a few days, the remaining stitches will also be removed.

This post will have some gore imagery but it won’t be automatically displayed, you’ll have to click the images in order to view them. It was so traumatic to me that I need to do this as a sort of catharsis.

WARNING: it is long, and it’s mean, and VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Soon after entering the hospital I went into triage, my blood pressure was checked and, as I strained to open my eyes and see why the machine was sounding an alarm, it was at 200/120 (sys/dia). Very likely an extreme hypertensive episode.

Medication was provided, blood and urine were sampled for analysis, I got better and had an appointment scheduled for post urgency follow up.

This is where I met Dr. House (kidding, but I wonder…), he set me up for a plethora of blood and urine samples, but as they were being printed and he kept looking at the first sample results he then said to me…

This is rare but we should check out a couple more tests to see whether you have a problem in an adrenal gland…

… and he added a few more tests , in handwriting, to the just printed prescription as well as prescribe me some blood pressure medication.

A few days of the prescription and I am pleased to finally see blood pressure that is considered normal, rather than a bit high.

I do the tests, including a very bad night with 24 blood pressure map, and then came back to a new follow-up appointment. The doctor just looks directly to the tests he added and says…

You have a problem in an adrenal gland so we need an MRI to see what’s in there.

And it sure looked like it, as there was this big mass between liver and kidney, by the aorta and cava-vein, reasonably close to the adrenal gland. The image below is safe and actually is from a PET scan I took later on:

He thought it to be a pheochromocytoma and sent me along to another internal medicine doctor for ongoing follow-up of my blood pressure, while the case was taken to the hospital board, and from then on I was handled very, very, carefully.

Next an endocrinology appointment… I didn’t even bother scheduling it, they just called me and asked if the time was right for me. Sure enough. Let’s go.

It appears there’s a different opinion from endocrinology, they believe it to be a paraganglioma, and want me to do a PET scan with gallium 68 to look for more. Yup, there could be more, and if so it would be better to take them all at once rather than in multiple surgeries.

Fortunately, the previously shown mass was the only one, now shown with colours and lines pointing to the centre of the mass:

Meanwhile, follow-up with internal medicine, where the doctor prescribes me a β-blocker to help muzzle what they believed to be a pheochromacytoma. This actually raised my blood pressure just a few days after I started taking it, and I had a scare of > 180/95, so in contact with the doctor we removed it and the pressure came back to the controlled normality after a few more days.

Apparently, this effect confirmed the paraganglioma diagnose as it’s a documented effect with this sort of tumour.

I’m then sent to surgery and anaesthesiology appointments where I’d meet the surgeon who cut the little chest-burster I had off of me and the anaesthetist who, having a speciality in paraganglioma, prepared me for a long period of pre-surgery treatment in order to muzzle the tumour because it could complicate things during surgery.

And by complications we’re talking about lowering a 90% fatality rate (without treatment) to 0.08% (with carefully followed treatment). Still 8 more cases than I’d like to think about but the drugs could be heroine for all I cared, just shoot it up my veins, please!

Fortunately it was a matter of having an α-blocker and a β-blocker taken in growing dosage until blood pressure and heart rate were very, very low.

I felt so weak for a few weeks… for example I had to climb up stairs 4 to 5 steps at a time, otherwise I’d be dizzy from lack of oxygen in my head, and even a short steep ramp would be a huge cause of  concern, to me…

After a few weeks of this treatment, the anaesthetist considered  we had reached a satisfactory target and gave the go order, just a couple of days before the scheduled surgery date.

And so the day arrived… just before I turned my phone off I called my wife to tell her I love her, and to leave a last warning as I knew this would be a risky procedure. Dramatic, I know, but that’s how I felt… I gave a margin because I didn’t know whether I’d stay only one night in ICU as predicted or if I needed two:

At the OR the surgeon informed me their expectations of using laparoscopic surgery were too optimist so they decided not to even try it and just go straight to laparotomy (ouchie, I thought, but ok, whatever, just take it off).

Then, I woke up (well, about 3/4 of a day to actually wake up) at the Intensive Care Unit, where I had lots of catheters, three in my left hand, an epidural one on my back, on my neck, an algal, and two respiratory tubes, one with additional oxygen and one into the nose through to the trachea.

It most definitely wasn’t comfortable:

• I felt extremely dehydrated but could not drink… as much as I would like to, all I was allowed to was to have my lips moistened with a tiny sponge,
• the tube leading into my trachea hurt my larynx (I firstly though it was dry throat but then they showed me it was the tube),
• I knew I had an epidural catheter so I was afraid to move even a millimetre, not that I could hardly move anything at all,
• and felt hurt all over, specially in the abdominal region, even with the pain killers which the nurses very attentively updated frequently and asked if I felt pain in order to increase the dosage

I finally went into my bedroom the following day, as predicted, though nearly at dinner time. I insisted on having my phone in order to make sure I’d let everyone known I was fine:

And here’s a picture of my covered wound, the drain tube is visible, you can see how big it is!

For the first few days I felt a bit emotional, every move was so hard to do, and all I wanted was to be left alone watching online videos or other stuff I took with me. I had a few visits from family and friends but really, even talking was a bit hard so sorry if I gave a wrong impression, I just really wanted to be left alone…

On Saturday they took the respiratory tubes, one hand catheter and the neck catheter.

On Sunday they took off the epidural catheter and the algal, so I was left much more comfortable to start moving. So much, in fact, that I even had my first sitting meal, scrambled eggs with cheese (I insisted I wanted a ketogenic diet as I didn’t want to ruin myself and they complied), also at my disposal full fat milk and natural Greek yogurt, as well as having green vegetables accompanying the main meals.

I also started getting up by myself, which was quite a daunting task, but it was either that or risk peeing in bed (even with a pot, spills can happen), so I had a strong motivation.

By Monday, the surgeon was hoping to let me go, but since I had to raise the bed’s back area in order to help me get up or back into the bed, which was a crutch I couldn’t have at home, I still felt too insecure to be let go, so we agreed to give it one more day.

Finally, it’s Tuesday and I’m cleared for getting out. Before leaving, the nurse replaced my wound cover and I took a picture…

You can view the uncovered wound (warning: gore-ish, maybe nsfw) by following this link. Don’t bother correcting my count if it’s a little off, I don’t really care

Then I finally got out.

I had asked my soulmate to take me to a hairdresser in order to have my head cleaned (5 days without shampoo) and massaged (it itched and felt uncomfortable). Even though the new cover is water resistant, I’d rather have one first high quality hair wash without fear of wetting the cover. And it felt so, so very relaxing!…

The following day I received the pictures from the removal, but I suppose only the tumour (warning: gore-ish, maybe nsfw) is actually worth it.

As one could see in the PET scan above, it’s quite big! Also, being well formed and not connected to the other organs lends to a very good prognosis, although if it’s confirmed to be a paraganglioma it may be tricky to know for sure whether it was benign or not.

What matters is that it’s out, the risky procedure was excellently well done by very good professionals I’m very grateful for, and all the rest of the staff (nurses and help) deserve a lot of praise too.

Now I have to recover with movement, that is… if I stay very still the healing may be quicker but it will be harder to go back to normal, so I have to rest (more like avoid stress and don’t do efforts for a couple of weeks) but I have to walk around.

It still feels very weird but an abdominal belt is helping me move more confidently.

The rest is time.

Thank you for reading, even though I wrote a lot about a very personal, private, and traumatic experience, telling this account of the event has been very cathartic, and I needed it.

Amazing!

As fotografias tiradas foram sem autorização, mas considero de maior relevância a documentação que sustenta a minha opinião.

Primeiro, as cadernetas:

«Junta os selos e coleciona os teus peluches» implica que o sujeito são os peluches na frase seguinte: «Com 20 selos 2.99 € cada». O português parece-me claro, exceto para o Continente, representado pelos coordenadores de área, de segurança e de uma suposta advogada do Continente através de uma suposta conversa telefónica que o coordenador de segurança supostamente teve.

Depois, o resumo do regulamento confirma o entendimento [de notar que à data da fotografia, o stand visível não tinha nem verso nem segunda folha, pelo que nem me ocorreu fotografar esse facto]:

Efetivamente o que diz é:

Os selos, depois de colocados na caderneta, servem para os Clientes adquirirem por um preço extraordinariamente baixo os 10 (dez) Peluches Angry Birds selecionados exclusivamente para a Campanha.

Factos identificados:

• na caderneta (singular)
• um preço extraordinariamente baixo (os tais «€ 2.99 cada» quando se completam os 20 selos compõem-se um preço extraordinariamente baixo, um a 2.99 os restantes a 15 [estimo, não sei o valor], já não se pode entender como extraordinariamente baixo)
• a ausência de qualquer limitação a um boneco por cada caderneta

Hoje, as caixas dos peluches ainda indicam a mesma informação:

De notar o facto curioso de se ver numa das caixas um autocolante a dizer “um peluche”. No mínimo, quando há preço distinto em dois locais, reverte a favor do cliente, ou seja, seria utilizado o preço mais barato. Mas foi aqui que comecei a suspeitar que iria ter de lutar para satisfazer a custo razoável os desejos do miúdo.

Chego então à caixa, e começam por me exigir as cadernetas [plural]. Percebi logo que ia mesmo ter de haver um happening e que a pessoa que me atendeu não tinha culpa nenhuma tendo solicitado que chamasse alguém com autoridade.

Veio uma pessoa que não se identificou (e não consegui ler o crachá), que repetiu a informação contraditória em relação ao publicitado, pelo que lhe exigi que fosse buscar alguém com autoridade.

Reparei que apesar de se ter afastado, volta e meia ia espreitando para ver se eu já tinha ido embora. Apenas na sequência de três verificações se ainda lá estava, é que finalmente veio a coordenadora de área, Margarida Delgado, que repete a mesma informação.

Após trocarmos argumentos, onde eu leio e cito as cadernetas e a informação que havia no stand originalmente fotografado, ameaça que eu tenho de escolher um e que vai mandar retirar os restantes da caixa.

Eu rejeito isso, insisto em pretender ser satisfeito de acordo com o que foi publicitado e que não deixo que retire nenhum boneco.

Na sequência disto, chama o coordenador de segurança, Leonardo Tenente. A ameaça implícita é evidente: sou um ignóbil vilão que está a colocar em causa a segurança de alguém, mas não me deixo intimidar.

Quando começam os dois a dizer que a interpretação é minha e que eu é que estou errado, eu desabafo que se não entendem português corretamente, então o problema não é meu e aqui o coordenador de segurança sai-se logo com «está a chamar-me de incompetente?», algo que imediatamente refutei cabalmente: não o fiz, nem rocei minimamente o tema da competência de seja quem for, se alguém o fez foi o próprio coordenador.

Eu mantenho a minha posição e solicito, tendo sido negado várias vezes, que me apresentem provas que contradigam as que possuo.

Chegam a mencionar o site, mas se formos ao site do Continente eles hoje não têm nada na página principal:

E se utilizarmos o campo de pesquisa procurando por «Angry Birds» verifica-se que também não se encontra nenhuma informação:

Talvez exista algum link obscuro com essa informação, mas a verdade é que não está evidente em lado algum, e o que está evidente nas cadernetas e nas caixas é o “preço extraordinariamente baixo” e “com 20 selos, 2.99 € cada”

Durante cerca de uma hora é uma repetição desta troca de argumentos, perante uma muito infeliz pessoa na caixa que acaba por ter de ser trocada por chegar a hora do almoço.

Depois de uma suposta conversa telefónica que o coordenador de segurança supostamente teve com uma suposta advogada do Continente (não assisti a nada) decidiram-se finalmente a trazer-me as provas que tinham, e trazem-me um stand como o fotografado acima:

De notar que, tal como na fotografia acima, nada neste documento indica ter qualquer verso ou folhas extras, mas a verdade é que este stand tem uma segunda folha virada para o lado que não está visível para os clientes e que tem um texto alternativo que agora fala em “um peluche”.

Nada para mim me convence que não tenham impresso esta folha enquanto me enrolavam uma hora à espera.

Mesmo que existisse esta segunda folha neste stand e no outro não (sim, foi num Continente diferente), em nenhum caso está visível para os clientes, pois uma pessoa normalmente não pega nos stands e nada na face visível dava indicações para ler o verso. Eu fi-lo por precaução no primeiro caso, e no segundo virei-o com confiança e vejo a segunda folha com texto distinto.

Perante este cenário, desisto, não levo nem um único Angry Bird e opto por ir para casa. Mas não sem deixar uma reclamação oficial que espero que seja levada a sério pela ASAE, e não sem documentar esta situação publicamente com o intuito de alertar outros para o que para mim não passa de publicidade enganosa que o Continente levou a cabo.

E pelos vistos não fui o único a deparar-me com isto, há uma lista extensa de casos iguais no Portal da Queixa.

Para concluir, já agora, sai uma dica para quem não fez as contas: aceitando as regras do Continente, sai mais barato comprar os bonecos a € 7.99 com caderneta dedicada de 10 selos do que comprar a € 2.99 com caderneta dedicada de 20 selos.

Aproveitem se quiserem, eu por mim já vou ter de explicar ao miúdo que não os vai ter todos, não vou inventar compras sem necessidade apenas para completar uma coleção idiota de peluches, porque o Continente andou a enganar as pessoas.

PS: ainda tive uma outra ameaça do coordenador de segurança, que eu estava proibido de utilizar o nome dele. Segundo o próprio uma suposta recomendação da suposta advogada com quem supostamente falou. Só respondi ao senhor Leonardo Tenente que o fascismo em Portugal acabou em 1975. Tenho liberdade de expressão e meramente estou a relatar o que se passou e com quem interagi de forma relevante nesta situação.