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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
In May of this year, I will celebrate my 21st.
No, not birthday (as if!), but my anniversary of being a miss Bossy-boots on this forum! 21 years ago, our esteemed Founder, @Brian, asked me to accept a role of Moderator.
To say that a lot of water has passed under THAT bridge, would be an understatement! Yet here I am, "bloodied but unbowed"...! Here's to what may lie in store! 😆😆
@Shoshin1 said:
Well, I'm sitting in my new car (a 2016 Nissan Note X) on the car ferry back to the island. I looked at a few cars over the last couple of weeks Suzuki swift, Suzuki splash, Nissan March, Nissan Note... Decided on the Note .
Looks like the one in this photo.
Had a pre purchase inspection done ✅ by a really friendly/happy young man, originally from the Philippines.
Because I had to wait longer than expected, he also did a diagnostic test too, for no extra charge .
The reason I went with the Note was it only had 24,000 kms on the clock and is in really good condition. It's a Japanese import, one owner . Plus after the PPI report I got the dealer to replace four tires, put in a new battery. It comes with a years Warrant of fitness and six month registration. I also got him to reduce the price by a couple of thousand dollars...
wishing you happy and safe motoring. as a previous Nissan owner I can in my personal experience vouch for reliability and trouble free motoring. 🙏🏻😀
@Shoshin1 I love the ocean. But the Atlantic is freezing and scary. I found it terrifying to look down and see it all go pitch black. Still, relaxing too. > @Shoshin1 said:
On the driveway this afternoon I came across this little fellow.
I remembered a talk a Zen master gave once. He simply walked into the university hall and took the stage. The students, loudly, cheerfully, some laughing at his bald head, others unattentive. He waited, standing there and then, at some point, when the class went silent he clapped his hands loudly and said:
This is is is supposed to be the season of blossoming and promise
(Or of shift to preparations for winter coming, between the heat of Summer and the Chill of winter.) Either way, a season of change, beauty and celebration or contemplation.
Given the idiocy of fools in high places, it can be difficult at this time, but do try to enjoy even a moment of peace, beauty, and celebration of life.
Well Cylone Vaianu has left Fiji and now making its way towards the North Island of Aotearoa (NZ). It is meant to reach the area/island where I live early hours of Sunday morning (NZ time) .The island is between Auckland, Gt Barrier Is and the Coromandel
It looks quite impressive from above ...but not so impressive when underneath it.
They say it's not as powerful as Cyclone Gabrielle but can still cause major damage and possible lost of life.
The severe Category 3 tropical cyclone (out of a maximum scale of 5) is currently situated west of >Fiji, bringing heavy rain, thunderstorms and potentially damaging northerlies today to the island nation, mostly around northern and western parts of Viti Levu and the western most islands. The storm should remain centred offshore.
Vaianu will track offshore for a number of days, before curving into northern New Zealand this >Sunday where a direct hit is certainly possible (although we’ll still need a few more days to lock it in and be more specific).
We have the latest maps, tracking, wind and rainfall over the coming 8 days – and we’ll have daily updates until Vaianu is no longer a storm in the Fiji and New Zealand areas.
They say it's not as powerful as Cyclone Gabrielle but can still cause major damage and possible lost of life.
Update/correction: Cyclone Vaianu could be more powerful than Cyclone Gabrielle. And to top it all off, there’s another system close by, Cyclone Maila, which has hit the Solomon Islands, moved through Papua New Guinea, and is now heading towards the north Queensland coast of Australia.
It has started to rain on and off here, but we are not expecting the full force of the cyclone until early tomorrow morning. People are busy tying things down and making preparations.
It never rains but it pours… literally...Oh and not forgetting the stronger winds ...
A glimpse of the shape of things to come: climate change.
0
personDon't believe everything you thinkThe liminal spaceVeteran
30 years ago I had a job cleaning out a house. Some stuff was left behind. There were a couple chairs that I thought looked kind of cool so I nabbed them (this was fine as everything was abandoned). One of them I've used as more of a piece of interest that fits my decor. The other has been sitting in storage waiting for some time to use it. This winter I sought to reorganize my storage space to make some more room and decided its time to let go of the chair. I wanted to find out what it was first to see if there might be some interest from anyone to restore it rather than throw it out. Its a mid century modern chair from Plycraft, haven't been able to get a firm ID past that.
Anyway, rather than give it away, or sell it for cheap I decided to make it a winter project to try my hand at restoring it as the skill set, and tools, are sort of in my wheel house. At first I tried a heavier lacquer finish but had lots of problems with what is called "blushing" where the finish turns white in places. So I stripped it back down again and started trying lacquer over again, but immediately had some of the same issues. So I just finished it with a Danish finish oil, which apparently is closer to the original style of finish. So I spent maybe $125 and several hours that I didn't need to. But its a learning experience, so not a complete waste. Also, replace some screws and bolts to match closer than a previous restoration, as well as some chrome polish and rust removal.
Anyway, anyway, its now done and I think looks great. I hope to get $400-$600 for it.
2
JeroenNot all those who wander are lostNetherlandsVeteran
Ooh, reminds me of the tv series Lost where they come across a mysterious bunker with furniture from the 1960’s. It’s cool.
Attended a Stop the Wars Coalition Peace rally yesterday. Fortunately the ferries were still running, the tropical cyclone was approaching but hadn't quite made itself felt. Anyhow, the rally was peaceful as usual, with good to the point speeches. It was organised by trade union and socialist party with different community groups there in support of Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, to name just a few of the countries the US and Israel have been bombing and killing innocent civilians including women and children and deliberately destroying cultural and thousands of years old historical sites.
We marched to the US consulate. Prior to our arrival there had been a few pro war-happy for the US and Israel to bomb their own people- Iranian monarchists and pro Israel supporters outside the consulate. Most had scurried off by the time we arrived.
I can scurry off to the side usually. Not that I a learned that from a crab or anything.
Anyway keep safe by being on the wrong side at the right time... https://signal.org/download/#
@person said:
30 years ago I had a job cleaning out a house. Some stuff was left behind. There were a couple chairs that I thought looked kind of cool so I nabbed them (this was fine as everything was abandoned). One of them I've used as more of a piece of interest that fits my decor. The other has been sitting in storage waiting for some time to use it. This winter I sought to reorganize my storage space to make some more room and decided its time to let go of the chair. I wanted to find out what it was first to see if there might be some interest from anyone to restore it rather than throw it out. Its a mid century modern chair from Plycraft, haven't been able to get a firm ID past that.
Anyway, rather than give it away, or sell it for cheap I decided to make it a winter project to try my hand at restoring it as the skill set, and tools, are sort of in my wheel house. At first I tried a heavier lacquer finish but had lots of problems with what is called "blushing" where the finish turns white in places. So I stripped it back down again and started trying lacquer over again, but immediately had some of the same issues. So I just finished it with a Danish finish oil, which apparently is closer to the original style of finish. So I spent maybe $125 and several hours that I didn't need to. But its a learning experience, so not a complete waste. Also, replace some screws and bolts to match closer than a previous restoration, as well as some chrome polish and rust removal.
Anyway, anyway, its now done and I think looks great. I hope to get $400-$600 for it.
I think that would be a badass chair for my office. Great job.
GOT THIS message "502 Bad Gateway" when trying to add a link
to my thread on 'becoming a penguin' (Linux user) - this really is something to notify @Linc about but am a bit busy...
I'm switching to my sand hourglass (measures 43-45mins) after, for the second time, having had an issue with my 30minute meditation timer. It would not stop after hitting the 30minute mark and I was like: "Wow, this session feels long..."
0
Fosdickin its eye are mirrored far off mountainsAlaska, USAVeteran
My dog is dying miserably of kidney failure, but he hasn't given up - managed to chase an intruder out of the house this morning - a cat that came in through an open door.
3
JeroenNot all those who wander are lostNetherlandsVeteran
Have you heard of Musk’s SpaceX public offering? He is trying to get something like 1.5 trillion dollars from the public as a valuation for the company by including an AI component… while the only part of the company that’s making a profit is the StarLink division, at about 1 billion dollars a year. The whole thing is very sketchy and promises-based.
0
JeroenNot all those who wander are lostNetherlandsVeteran
And what a crazy place the US is… I saw an excerpt from a law case about a child dying while in the care of grandparents, then the mother sues the grandparents, who appeal to their insurers to fight the case for them?
Personally I am finding value in much not related to past holding dharma. Preparing for the Neo-religions and non Buddhist and other cults such as Tantra. Though that is likely to change at a moments notice due to too much time wasting...
Spending more time away from social media such as Mastodon and NewBuddhist https://www.adamsdesk.com/posts/list-mastodon-resources/
1
JeroenNot all those who wander are lostNetherlandsVeteran
@Bunks said:
Good morning folks, thought I'd pop by and say hello.
It's been a while.
hope you're all well?
Hey @Bunks! It has indeed been a while, good to hear from you although you don’t say much about how you’ve been…
For me it has been a tough and emotional couple of years, marked by the death of my father and stepfather, and the illness of my mother. There has recently been some light at the end of the tunnel, but it hasn’t been easy…
Personally I am finding value in much not related to past holding dharma. Preparing for the Neo-religions and non Buddhist and other cults such as Tantra. Though that is likely to change at a moments notice due to too much time wasting...
Spending more time away from social media such as Mastodon and NewBuddhist https://www.adamsdesk.com/posts/list-mastodon-resources/
Glad you haven't lost that wicked sense of humour Lobster
@Bunks said:
Good morning folks, thought I'd pop by and say hello.
It's been a while.
hope you're all well?
Hey @Bunks! It has indeed been a while, good to hear from you although you don’t say much about how you’ve been…
For me it has been a tough and emotional couple of years, marked by the death of my father and stepfather, and the illness of my mother. There has recently been some light at the end of the tunnel, but it hasn’t been easy…
Sorry to hear that Jeroen. Hope things improve.
life for me is fine. Kids growing up. 13 and 16 now.
I have a new love interest but she lives 7000 kms away
I am hanging with the monks and nuns at the Monastery this weekend, will post some photos
3
JeroenNot all those who wander are lostNetherlandsVeteran
Researchers have discovered that at least one species of whale has a complex learned language similar in character to Chinese. That is to say, tonal. The otherwhale species may also have their own complex language. However, only one has enough data to confirm so.
0
JeroenNot all those who wander are lostNetherlandsVeteran
@Lionduck said:
Researchers have discovered that at least one species of whale has a complex learned language similar in character to Chinese. That is to say, tonal. The otherwhale species may also have their own complex language. However, only one has enough data to confirm so.
The early attempts to monitor whales using networks of acoustical receivers and a database fed into an AI related to what they use for the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence radio monitoring program is very promising.
Comments
In May of this year, I will celebrate my 21st.
No, not birthday (as if!), but my anniversary of being a miss Bossy-boots on this forum! 21 years ago, our esteemed Founder, @Brian, asked me to accept a role of Moderator.
To say that a lot of water has passed under THAT bridge, would be an understatement! Yet here I am, "bloodied but unbowed"...! Here's to what may lie in store! 😆😆
Those celebrating birthdays or following peace walking. May be interested in other steps...
https://www.urbandharma.org/udharma7/3steps.html
Thank you @lobster . A wonderful read.
*bows *
Decide to have a break and go skinny dipping
wishing you happy and safe motoring. as a previous Nissan owner I can in my personal experience vouch for reliability and trouble free motoring. 🙏🏻😀
@Shoshin1 I love the ocean. But the Atlantic is freezing and scary. I found it terrifying to look down and see it all go pitch black. Still, relaxing too. > @Shoshin1 said:
Is that...a hedgehog!!!!!
Hedgehog during the day! Bad sign! Means sick or hungry! Poor creature!
Edit: It is technically a hoglet!
Today - 8th of March - is International Women’s Day.
Yesterday, March 8th, we time traveled one hour into the future. Beside upsetting a few squirrels, nothing else to report.
I remembered a talk a Zen master gave once. He simply walked into the university hall and took the stage. The students, loudly, cheerfully, some laughing at his bald head, others unattentive. He waited, standing there and then, at some point, when the class went silent he clapped his hands loudly and said:
WAKE UP!
This is is is supposed to be the season of blossoming and promise
(Or of shift to preparations for winter coming, between the heat of Summer and the Chill of winter.) Either way, a season of change, beauty and celebration or contemplation.
Given the idiocy of fools in high places, it can be difficult at this time, but do try to enjoy even a moment of peace, beauty, and celebration of life.
Peace to all
Is time for me to marry a river?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/30/country-diary-taking-the-plunge-and-marrying-a-river
Is time for me to marry a river?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/30/country-diary-taking-the-plunge-and-marrying-a-river
Well Cylone Vaianu has left Fiji and now making its way towards the North Island of Aotearoa (NZ). It is meant to reach the area/island where I live early hours of Sunday morning (NZ time) .The island is between Auckland, Gt Barrier Is and the Coromandel
It looks quite impressive from above ...but not so impressive when underneath it.
https://zoom.earth/storms/vaianu-2026/
They say it's not as powerful as Cyclone Gabrielle but can still cause major damage and possible lost of life.
They say it's not as powerful as Cyclone Gabrielle but can still cause major damage and possible lost of life.
Update/correction: Cyclone Vaianu could be more powerful than Cyclone Gabrielle. And to top it all off, there’s another system close by, Cyclone Maila, which has hit the Solomon Islands, moved through Papua New Guinea, and is now heading towards the north Queensland coast of Australia.
It has started to rain on and off here, but we are not expecting the full force of the cyclone until early tomorrow morning. People are busy tying things down and making preparations.
It never rains but it pours… literally...Oh and not forgetting the stronger winds ...
A glimpse of the shape of things to come: climate change.
30 years ago I had a job cleaning out a house. Some stuff was left behind. There were a couple chairs that I thought looked kind of cool so I nabbed them (this was fine as everything was abandoned). One of them I've used as more of a piece of interest that fits my decor. The other has been sitting in storage waiting for some time to use it. This winter I sought to reorganize my storage space to make some more room and decided its time to let go of the chair. I wanted to find out what it was first to see if there might be some interest from anyone to restore it rather than throw it out. Its a mid century modern chair from Plycraft, haven't been able to get a firm ID past that.
Anyway, rather than give it away, or sell it for cheap I decided to make it a winter project to try my hand at restoring it as the skill set, and tools, are sort of in my wheel house. At first I tried a heavier lacquer finish but had lots of problems with what is called "blushing" where the finish turns white in places. So I stripped it back down again and started trying lacquer over again, but immediately had some of the same issues. So I just finished it with a Danish finish oil, which apparently is closer to the original style of finish. So I spent maybe $125 and several hours that I didn't need to. But its a learning experience, so not a complete waste. Also, replace some screws and bolts to match closer than a previous restoration, as well as some chrome polish and rust removal.
Anyway, anyway, its now done and I think looks great. I hope to get $400-$600 for it.
Ooh, reminds me of the tv series Lost where they come across a mysterious bunker with furniture from the 1960’s. It’s cool.
Attended a Stop the Wars Coalition Peace rally yesterday. Fortunately the ferries were still running, the tropical cyclone was approaching but hadn't quite made itself felt. Anyhow, the rally was peaceful as usual, with good to the point speeches. It was organised by trade union and socialist party with different community groups there in support of Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, to name just a few of the countries the US and Israel have been bombing and killing innocent civilians including women and children and deliberately destroying cultural and thousands of years old historical sites.
We marched to the US consulate. Prior to our arrival there had been a few pro war-happy for the US and Israel to bomb their own people- Iranian monarchists and pro Israel supporters outside the consulate. Most had scurried off by the time we arrived.
I can scurry off to the side usually. Not that I a learned that from a crab or anything.
Anyway keep safe by being on the wrong side at the right time...
https://signal.org/download/#
Ukelele
I think that would be a badass chair for my office. Great job.
Dopephins having a puff on their waterproof spliff
Hm lucky they were caught off our State's jurisdiction as that is a schedule I substance
That’s hilarious, dolphins getting high on a pufferfish’s neurotoxins… way to go, dude!
I found curious how they "pass it around". Incredibly intelligent and social creatures!
Unlike humans
GOT THIS message "502 Bad Gateway" when trying to add a link
to my thread on 'becoming a penguin' (Linux user) - this really is something to notify @Linc about but am a bit busy...
https://cromwell-intl.com/open-source/getting-started.html?s=mc
I am getting these 502 Bad Gateways recently. But it resolves once I've refreshed enough!
I love it.."Led by donkeys" activists strike again during a far right anti immigration rally in London on Saturday. 😃
Tee Hee!
Have already seen that on Mastodon.
It seems that Reform are not able to hear anything but their own opinions
... or sponsors interests?
https://donation.watch/en/unitedkingdom/party/REFORM/donors
I'm switching to my sand hourglass (measures 43-45mins) after, for the second time, having had an issue with my 30minute meditation timer. It would not stop after hitting the 30minute mark and I was like: "Wow, this session feels long..."
My dog is dying miserably of kidney failure, but he hasn't given up - managed to chase an intruder out of the house this morning - a cat that came in through an open door.
Have you heard of Musk’s SpaceX public offering? He is trying to get something like 1.5 trillion dollars from the public as a valuation for the company by including an AI component… while the only part of the company that’s making a profit is the StarLink division, at about 1 billion dollars a year. The whole thing is very sketchy and promises-based.
And what a crazy place the US is… I saw an excerpt from a law case about a child dying while in the care of grandparents, then the mother sues the grandparents, who appeal to their insurers to fight the case for them?
Good morning folks, thought I'd pop by and say hello.
It's been a while.
hope you're all well?
@Bunks !
Surviving the heat with some AC!
Really good down here
Thought about you a few weeks ago when I was reading about Pureland and Nenbutsu practice. You still practice? Hope everything is fine!
Peace
Always.
Personally I am finding value in much not related to past holding dharma. Preparing for the Neo-religions and non Buddhist and other cults such as Tantra. Though that is likely to change at a moments notice due to too much time wasting...
Spending more time away from social media such as Mastodon and NewBuddhist
https://www.adamsdesk.com/posts/list-mastodon-resources/
Hey @Bunks! It has indeed been a while, good to hear from you although you don’t say much about how you’ve been…
For me it has been a tough and emotional couple of years, marked by the death of my father and stepfather, and the illness of my mother. There has recently been some light at the end of the tunnel, but it hasn’t been easy…
Hey ho!
I am all over the place tbh. Sometimes nembetsu, sometimes meditation.
Glad you haven't lost that wicked sense of humour Lobster
Sorry to hear that Jeroen. Hope things improve.
life for me is fine. Kids growing up. 13 and 16 now.
I have a new love interest but she lives 7000 kms away
I am hanging with the monks and nuns at the Monastery this weekend, will post some photos
Just noticed this…
Researchers have discovered that at least one species of whale has a complex learned language similar in character to Chinese. That is to say, tonal. The otherwhale species may also have their own complex language. However, only one has enough data to confirm so.
The early attempts to monitor whales using networks of acoustical receivers and a database fed into an AI related to what they use for the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence radio monitoring program is very promising.
Nigella Fromage, the french fascist is becoming more ridiculous than Trump. Is that possible?
Sure!
https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2026/06/01/farage-desert-island-discs/
Try the Global news on the Canary if not an Englander...