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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!

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Comments

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited January 2019

    Back to the electric scooter hire....When I was leaving London to fly back home, my son who I had been staying with, booked a hire car to drive me to the airport using his smartphone ...similar to the E scooter hire, where the scooters are dropped off all over the place, and so it would seem are these mobile app cars for hire, which shows you where the closest pick up spot is ie the closest street where one is parked ...

    It's amazing how far we human beings have come modern tech wise.......Is it a good thing ? Is it a bad thing ?

    I guess it's all relative...

  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    Very warm this side of the ditch too @Shoshin. My ex and my kids will be in Auckland next weekend for a week.

    Shoshin
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    I seem to recall your ex having relatives living on the island @Bunks...was it an uncle living in Orapiu ?

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Fortunately @Bunks the island doesn't reach up in the 40s (well not yet... but climate change could soon fix that)

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    If I precede a comment on facebook by an asterisk, and follow it immediately after with an asterisk, I see the comment, once sent or posted, in bold. For italics, I precede and conclude with an underscore. Just like here.

    However, I am informed by a recipient of a pm I sent, that they just see the asterisks and underscores, but the text enclosed by those icons, remains unchanged.

    I am the only one to see the formatting results....

    WTF?? So what's the point - ?!

    Maybe @Linc could provide some insight...!

  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    @Shoshin said:
    I seem to recall your ex having relatives living on the island @Bunks...was it an uncle living in Orapiu ?

    Correct, her uncle had a place there. However he sold a few years ago and moved to the Coramandel. Unfortunately I’ve lost touch since we separated.

  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    So I started looking into online dating about a month ago. I am ready to jump back in the pool.

    I have to say it is one of the most stressful and degrading things you can undertake!!

    I had actually booked tickets to go and meet someone that I liked and out of the blue she just writes and says she doesn't want me to come and blocks me. I can't speak to her or anything.

    It's horrible. But how else does one meet someone these days?

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Forming a relationship can be tough going...However...
    You could look at joining a local mixed social group, for example hiking group or other types of outdoor activity groups...at least this way you get to meet people (potential date partners) in person...
    Good luck @Bunks :)

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @Bunks, I'm of an age where meeting people on line seems awkward, technical and, in my opinion, just alien to my own concept of interaction (and here we are, on-line chatting! :lol: )

    Don't think of it as 'jumping back in the Pool'. Look at it as re-connecting with others and creating something significant.

    Which may, or may not blossom into a meaningful, intimate or significant relationship, but will certainly broaden your horizons and bring something of enhancing value to your life.

    I agree with @Shoshin.
    Get a hobby, join a group, sure - but do it for the hobby or the group interest.
    You will, either way, meet people you won't see eye to eye with. But you'll also meet wonderful, interesting, vivacious, lively and stimulating individuals.

    Both will add to your life, and enrich it.

    and who knows....? ;)

    Bunks
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    Agree with @shoshin and @Federica, meeting people online is very hit and miss. You could try Tinder, or Plenty of Fish, but I’d stay away from paid dating websites, they are often full of fake profiles.

    Hiking groups can work very well, my dad found a new girlfriend that way when he was 62.

  • Yep my mother found two partners through ramblers/hiking ...
    What a hussy! ;)

    I probably have totally the wrong idea about 'Plenty of Fish'. Must restrain my lobsterian tendencies ... :3

    federicaBunks
  • I met my wife on POF! We’ve now been together for 5 years and married with 2 kids. It turned out she only lived 5 miles down the road from me and we hit it off.

    I found her at a time when I’d just become totally ok with being on my own and could take or leave being in a serious relationship. It was just a few months after taking my 2 older kids (9 and 7 at the time) on holiday to Spain as a single dad, one of the most memorable achievements of my life!

    In other news, another forum I visit just had a thread brought back to life with a new post after 13 years of inactivity, must be some sort of record!

    Bunkslobster
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Heads-up everyone!

    I went to Morrison's (Major supermarket store in the UK) the other day, and they have plastic 'tupperware style' boxes on sale, for you to put your purchased food in, instead of using their wrapping and packaging. So I boughts some mince and used their re-usable boxes! Brilliant idea!

    I now know what to do with all those take-away plastic boxes I have at home - take them shopping, transfer goods (keeping the label, of course!), and let the supermarket deal with the rubbish!
    SO: C'mon guys - let's do our bit: The next time you go shopping, take bags - AND some containers!! Transform the way you shop - and cut your waste down by over half!

    lobsterColinAJeroen
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited January 2019

    Bravo @federica

    My local market (support the little gal/guy) has a stall with loose produce ... Morrisons used to do a loose soup mix; lentils, barley, chickpeas etc, add veg = soup. Food done.
    I am after pot barley (wholegrain) and my favourite bean
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flageolet_bean

    ColinA
  • ColinAColinA Explorer

    That is brilliant @federica and thank you for passing it on. Plastic is a huge threat. I read somewhere that unless we get a handle on our plastic problem, there may be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050.

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    I went shopping today armed with bags and plastic boxes and bought several items which I then transferred to my own boxes. The cashier was bemused but clearly approved, and smiling, asked, "I take it this is for us, to deal with our own rubbish?"
    "You got it!" I beamed, and she disposed of all their redundant food packaging into her bin, with a certain amount of glee, I might add. The shopper behind me said "Now THERE'S an idea!"
    Everything is now transferred directly to my fridge and freezer. I don't need sell by/best before dates. If it's in the freezer, it will keep until needed. If it's in the fridge, I intend to use it within the next few days.
    Sorted!

    @ColinA , I often say I might not make a huge difference, but it's still a difference. And if others catch on... who knows? We could start a revolution!!

  • ColinAColinA Explorer

    That is wonderful @federica . If everybody did their own little bit at a local level the whole world would be transformed. A revolution indeed. We owe it to ourselves, our planet and to our future generations.

  • ColinAColinA Explorer

    The Native Americans were very mindful of our planet.

    federica
  • @DaftChris said:
    Inspired by a thread on another forum I'm on, announce anything you wish (as long as it is within forum rules! ); no matter how minor, insignificant or pointless.

    I'll start. Today I had an ever so healthy dinner of tortilla chips and salsa.

    Yum!

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    I doubt his appetite has been sated by that, since he had it in 2013.... mind you, I found a jar of anchovies in oil, at the back of my store cupboard dated 2009. Still delicious!!

    lobsterperson
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    And then there were nine ( only eight are visible in the photo)

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Is this a kibbutz-style commune, or are you gonna start charging these guys some serious rent...?!

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Venus, the Moon, Jupiter. Good morning!

    lobsterJeroenBunks
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    I just walked down to close my front door and this little fellow was sitting in the driveway

    The property I live on is a safe haven...Last night on the vineyard property next door some people were shooting bunnies ... I heard the crack of a rifle and then a vehicle drove up the road with a spot light, somebody jumped out and pick up the dead bunny...This is the same vineyard property where all the Buddha statues are...

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Have you thought of having a word with them...? or reporting the issue? You know, wild bunnies can become a seriously invasive problem, and some people regard them as vermin. I'm not making excuses, but maybe they have a permit or something? Total guesswork, obviously. Just asking, really...

  • ColinAColinA Explorer

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47066659

    And they chanted lock her up about Hillary??

  • Cold day. Near a busy London road bridge, spotted this Bodhi sparrow hawk, hunting pigeon. Has he never heard of veganuary?
    https://veganuary.com

    Shoshin
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @federica said:
    Have you thought of having a word with them...? or reporting the issue? You know, wild bunnies can become a seriously invasive problem, and some people regard them as vermin. I'm not making excuses, but maybe they have a permit or something? Total guesswork, obviously. Just asking, really...

    They will have a permit ...Some property owners hire the local rifle club when they want to reduce the bunny population on their property...

    Rabbits are seen as a big problem in many parts of NZ...Another case of man's ignorance, introducing rabbits for their fur and flesh ( with no natural predators ...well apart from birds of prey and man)...Rabbits breed like rabbits and now they are a problem ...A similar thing happened with the opossums, introduced from Oz for the same reason as the rabbits, fur and flesh, with no natural predators, I think there are around 70 millions possums and counting ....

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    Why some Japanese pensioners want to go to jail
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-47033704

    Amusing story about what happens when families break down and pensions are too low. An elderly crime wave of petty theft in order to be sent to jail.

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    I see nothing amusing about it. Sadly, it's an overwhelming global problem; people are getting older, living longer - sometimes, thir retirement is just as long as their working years - and Government Pensions are being eroded, whittled down and slowly eliminated. And what do we do with this staggeringly versatile, intelligent, capable and precious sector of society? We ignore it.

    We assume they'll have their own private pensions, because a Government pension alone is never commensurate with the daily cost of living. The elderly are legion, and they can be very lonely, isolated and unnoticed.
    It gets my goat that miscreants and law-breakers in this country are pampered and given every single available opportunity to lead a comfortable life, with many 'luxury' resources given to them - FOR FREE - while outside, there are elderly people dying of hypothermia, without the means to afford lighting, heating or television, such is the cost of living.

    "Amusing"...? Hardly.

  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited February 2019

    There I was this evening drinking wine and eating baby sheep ... :3
    I had two glasses of white wine. Really enjoyed it. Got rather merry/pissed. Yep does not take much ... So glad I am a lay Buddha baddy

    We bought the minced baby sentient in Waitrose (free tea and coffee if you bring your own container), where I tried to buy pot barley (as opposed to the non wholegrain pearl or polished barley). I think by their reaction, they thought I was trying to score some illegal Islamic intoxicant ... ?

    Must be one of those bad crazy buddhists ... :p
    http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/comment/505532#Comment_505532

  • Must try harder to be kinder to the flock This link may not be available outside The United Shires of England. Basically it is a true story from the Upside of News

    Bunks
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited February 2019

    And then there were.........I lost count they keep moving around the nest when I take a photo..but I did count up to 14 at one point, however there could be more...

    You can see the new cells being built...and the sealed cells which will soon produce more workers...

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited February 2019

    Well today is Waitangi Day where back in 1840 on this day Maori Chiefs ( some but not all) signed a treaty with the British crown...So it our (Aotearoa AKA New Zealand) national day....and it's also the late great Bob Marley's birthday

    So for all indigenous people around the world that have been colonised and (more often than not) unfairly treated...

    Bunkspersonlobster
  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    Please correct me if I am wrong @Shoshin but wasn't there a King in the Waikato who refused to sign the treaty so none has been agreed in that area even to this day?

    Shoshin
  • BunksBunks Australia Veteran

    We had Australia Day here last weekend but no one gives a s**t and it generally passes unnoticed.

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @Bunks said:
    Please correct me if I am wrong @Shoshin but wasn't there a King in the Waikato who refused to sign the treaty so none has been agreed in that area even to this day?

    Yes sort of @Bunks ...The "Maori King Movement"

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    @Bunks said:
    We had Australia Day here last weekend but no one gives a s**t and it generally passes unnoticed.

    Each year on the island the local Marae holds a Waitangi Day event, music, hangi ....it's a festive occasion...

    I was at the beach this morning until it got too hot ...I was going to go to the Marae this afternoon, however it's still quite hot , so I'll give it a miss...

    Bunks
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    Isn’t it so that when life decides to give you an unexpected event you get to find out where your practice has taken you? I’m having to move house (landlady decided not to renew the letting agreement because she wants to sell) which has been quite stressful, and I’m suddenly finding that my meditative calm has some difficulty returning. Fretting, worrying, anxiety, all these things which are the mind’s default activities when your security comes under threat, all that comes to the fore.

    And that while i know that security is not achievable, that everything is impermanent and subject to change. On some level my brain doesn’t believe it, there remains an underlying assumption that because these things appear stable in the world things will continue as they are. It is still a shock when stuff changes.

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited February 2019

    @Kerome said:
    Isn’t it so that when life decides to give you an unexpected event you get to find out where your practice has taken you? I’m having to move house (landlady decided not to renew the letting agreement because she wants to sell) which has been quite stressful, and I’m suddenly finding that my meditative calm has some difficulty returning. Fretting, worrying, anxiety, all these things which are the mind’s default activities when your security comes under threat, all that comes to the fore.

    And that while i know that security is not achievable, that everything is impermanent and subject to change. On some level my brain doesn’t believe it, there remains an underlying assumption that because these things appear stable in the world things will continue as they are. It is still a shock when stuff changes.

    Yes, thus have I found it: practice is a cinch when things are going well: It's when the scatological matter collides with the rotating ventilator that we are really put to the test.
    It is only when things are topsy-turvy that the reality of our status and level of achievement comes to the fore.

    In previous times of trial (and believe me, I've had a few) it has been some help to put myself in the shoes of those who seem to be the cause of my distress, and understand their motivations for acting as they do.
    Some have been deliberately hurtful, manipulative or vindictive, and such instances have been hard to process.
    But your Landlord is within her rights. I'm sure she doesn't mean you harm, she just needs to look after her interests, and perhaps doesn't want to carry the burden of being a Landlady any more.
    That, in itself, is a challenge all of its own! Tenant rights are quite strong here in the UK, and legal procedures to deal with rogue tenants are long-winded and expensive. Many Landlords having to cope in such cases, suffer enormous emotional and financial losses, so your Landlady at least, is fortunate in having you as a tenant.
    You could negotiate with her and ask her to give you time to move; that as soon as she has a buyer, you will move within 14 days of that... in the meantime, seek a new landlord through Agencies, and be willing to make sure the place is decent, tidy and clean, for prospective purchasers.

    Some landlords are willing to sell the property with sitting tenants.
    But buyers are more difficult to find, then...

    Bunks
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @Bunks , if you read this I'm going to sue you for an invasion of my right to post comments without you reading it.

    personlobsterBunks
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Key Points...
    Mr Samuel believes he should be paid to live because it was not his choice to be born
    His mother said she "would not have had" Mr Samuel — had she have met him before he was born
    He identifies as an "anti-natalist", a philosophy that assigns a negative value to birth

    Interesting @Bunks ..But he does have a point....being born is not a choice (well not one that most people are aware of) I'd say the vast majority of people make the most out of the world they were born into (or out of) and some it would seem are just born to complain..

    Hmm which reminds me..

    An Optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds ...A Pessimist fears it is true

  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    edited February 2019

    Before doing yoga yesterday I meditated in full lotus, proving my gentle yoga has worked on my posture. My next goal is heels on the floor in dog asana and a more relaxed meditative Uttanasana

    I am so grateful I found my yoga mojo again. I combine it with chi-kung. I may start meditating in horse stance.

    Bunks
  • This is a song thrush, singing his heart out yesterday. <3

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Walking back up from the beach..the Cicadas & Crickets were serenading each other.... one trying to out do the other...Boy they were noisy.....

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    @lobster said:
    This is a song thrush, singing his heart out yesterday. <3

    "...That's the Wise thrush;
    He sings each song twice over,
    lest you should think
    he never could recapture
    That first, fine, careless rapture!"

    Robert Browning, Home Thoughts From Abroad"

    Has to be my favourite poem....

    lobster
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    An interesting discussion on the 4NT and neurophysiology

    https://knife.media/brain-in-nirvana/

    lobster
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator

    Oooh, that looks interesting! As I am about to leave for my afternoon shift at work, I will look forward to reading that studiously later on....

  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran
    edited March 2019

    Things are buzzing along quite nicely for Ms Wasp and her clan...

    Like how honey bees beat their wing to regulate the temperature within the hive (especially near the cells which contain the eggs and larvae) so it would seem do social wasp colonies :)

    And last weekend it was overcast and a bit windy... this little madam was blown off course when returning to her hive, so she took refuge on my deck railing...( Perhaps it getting lost had something to do with poor polarized light, due to it being cloudy...)

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