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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
Well had my first skinny dip of the season...the ocean was chillingly refreshing...(luckily my goose bumps kept me warm )...At the same time last year the water temperature was a few degrees warmer...Scientists say it was something to do with a body of warm water coming from the tropics, moving down the North island..anyhow now it's back to the usual chillingly refreshing for this time of the year...
At the end of last summer, I picked up one of those collapsible/pop up beach tents from the op shop (minus the carry bag-somebody had managed to fold it up and tie it together) ...Anyhow when I got it home I popped it up and boy did I have a hard time trying to fold it back up again...I didn't fold it properly I just wedged it in behind the wardrobe...
Well yesterday evening I decided/buck up the courage to pop it again and see if I could fold it up...what can I say!!! it was a nightmare ...I went on Mr Knowitall youtube , but even with their help, no way in hell was the tent going to give in and fold up...However this morning I came across another youtube clip and when following the instruction, there was a snap (literally a snap sound) and then it folded up...So I've just tried it again and it works... It would seem that the wires must have buckled during my many attempts at folding it, hence why it wouldn't fold.... the snap sound was the wires unbuckling....
Perseverance paid off... In fact I'm feeling quite smug...no doubt this smugness will wear off when I try to fold it up again at the beach .....
Leaf-moves in wind, straw drawn toward amber,
all parts of the world are in love,
but they do not tell their secrets. Cows grazing
on a sacramental table, ants whispering in Solomon’s ear.
Mountains mumbling an echo. Sky, calm.
If the sun were not in love, he would have no brightness,
the side of the hill no grass on it.
The ocean would come to rest somewhere.
Bodhi Rumi
She isn’t, no. Her family is Christian but she has generally left religion behind. We have asked my grandmother to officiate, as she’s a Quaker elder (although it won’t technically be a Quaker wedding).
Thanks for all the well wishes everyone; they’re very touching.
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
This is wonderful news!
Just as long as you don't have kids....
(runs and throws herself behind sofa...! )
3
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Actually, taken seriously (which it wasn't... well, not totally....) that's not the issue. Taking nothing away from your truly delightful news, I took the opportunity to try to examine my own reasoning ('The world is seriously over-populated') and checked it out. INteresting read, because actually, those "experts" approached, all had a common thread running through their opinions and findings. See for yourself....
0
Fosdickin its eye are mirrored far off mountainsAlaska, USAVeteran
edited November 2019
They should have asked a biologist, not economics and history professors, et al of that homocentric ilk. The answer would have been more cogent and to the point. I'm not sure these people possess even a basic working definition of overpopulation, and If they ever took a course in basic ecology, I'm pretty sure they flunked it.
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Bhikkhu Samahita in Denmark on Oct 12th this year. He was someone I had made a connection with through the Dhamma.
He took his own life apparently.
R.I.P.
3
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited November 2019
@federica said:
Actually, taken seriously (which it wasn't... well, not totally....) that's not the issue. Taking nothing away from your truly delightful news, I took the opportunity to try to examine my own reasoning ('The world is seriously over-populated') and checked it out. INteresting read, because actually, those "experts" approached, all had a common thread running through their opinions and findings. See for yourself....
The question is not can the world sustain more people, because it can, but do we want it to? A deep connection with nature is something that gives us all pleasure, and do we want to be in a position where all we have left of that is a few small parks?
That and intensive farming practices which are really bad for the topsoil.
The fire season is well and truly under way in my part of the world. There’s already been devastating fires north of the border (apparently because we legalised same sex marriage!)
Yes, the fire season seems to start earlier and earlier every year....
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Just like our winds and floods. Do you suppose the Climate is trying to tell us something...?
0
Fosdickin its eye are mirrored far off mountainsAlaska, USAVeteran
No. Climate change is a Chinese hoax.
3
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Fosdick said:
No. Climate change is a Chinese hoax.
Funny. But the longer I think about it, the more I am coming to realise that all the complot theories on the internet are not helping people in accepting what is really true. It seems almost every major event has some form of complot theory attached to it.
Announcement: I am no longer gonna sit by and complain about the shallow and materialistic trappings of Christmas, only then to fall and give in to the social pressures, expectations and guilt of giving to friends and loved ones who already have plenty and then some....who some won't appreciate it anyway....and admit that I fell into it even more when we climbed the income ladder. This year and every year going forward, I will be making charitable donations in their names, and they will be getting a card in the mail or in person saying just that....Including my 2 teenage children still at home . If any of them feels some type of way about it....tough shit!
6
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
0
Fosdickin its eye are mirrored far off mountainsAlaska, USAVeteran
I dreamed about Donald Trump last night - dreamed I met him on the street somewhere, and he invited me to go to a restaurant with him. when the check came, he said he was out of cash and I'd have to pay the tab. There was more, but the theme was similar. I hope he goes to bother someone else tonight - preferably one of his own partisans.
5
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
@Vastmind said:
Announcement: I am no longer gonna sit by and complain about the shallow and materialistic trappings of Christmas, only then to fall and give in to the social pressures, expectations and guilt of giving to friends and loved ones who already have plenty and then some....who some won't appreciate it anyway....and admit that I fell into it even more when we climbed the income ladder. This year and every year going forward, I will be making charitable donations in their names, and they will be getting a card in the mail or in person saying just that....Including my 2 teenage children still at home . If any of them feels some type of way about it....tough shit!
I have already asked my friends that IF they are considering purchasing me a card, to forget it, and instead add the money to their chosen charity.
IF they're kind, loving and generous enough to consider getting me a gift, to forget it, give me the money and I will put it towards MY chosen charity.
I'm not buying - nor making - crackers. We can go without.
ALL my decorations are either glass, or home-made (my paper chain is brill!) and all my food will be simple, well-flavoured, cosy, comforting and about as traditional as you can get without going overboard. When I look at shopping trolleys and see just how much waste is going to be generated, my heart weeps. But this year, it's gonna be a fab Christmas chez moi!
Something small to celebrate:
Don't know if this is the appropriate thread, but here goes.
My wife has been bed bound for more than 15 months. Part of her problem is a seriously pinched nerve in her back. an MRI was taken last year showing a sever blockage of her spine. It was pinched, had a some fat tissue blocking it and other oddities. while she has a long way to go before she can stand or walk, one item did change.
The MRI of her spine showed the fat tissue gone, no foreign debris, no blockage of the nerve. The Dr said this is very rare - people with deteriorating spinal columns generally do not improve. as I said, a long long way to go but a step up is a step up.
@Fosdick said:
I dreamed about Donald Trump last night - dreamed I met him on the street somewhere, and he invited me to go to a restaurant with him. when the check came, he said he was out of cash and I'd have to pay the tab. There was more, but the theme was similar. I hope he goes to bother someone else tonight - preferably one of his own partisans.
Clearly you are making progress in right speech. You did not describe it as a nightmare.
Where we place our attention, manifests in our consciousness ... change of input/diet?
Sent in my postal vote for UK elections. Voted Green. 🕊🌳🌎
2
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Please wish her well from everyone here, and as you say, a small step, is still a small step. Hope everything proceeds positively. Lovely news, @Lionduck . XXOOXX
Japanese Maple
Your death, near now, is of an easy sort.
So slow a fading out brings no real pain.
Breath growing short
Is just uncomfortable. You feel the drain
Of energy, but thought and sight remain:
Enhanced, in fact. When did you ever see
So much sweet beauty as when fine rain falls
On that small tree
And saturates your brick back garden walls,
So many Amber Rooms and mirror halls?
Ever more lavish as the dusk descends
This glistening illuminates the air.
It never ends.
Whenever the rain comes it will be there,
Beyond my time, but now I take my share.
My daughter’s choice, the maple tree is new.
Come autumn and its leaves will turn to flame.
What I must do
Is live to see that.That will end the game
For me, though life continues all the same:
Filling the double doors to bathe my eyes,
A final flood of colors will live on
As my mind dies,
Burned by my vision of a world that shone
So brightly at the last, and then was gone.
Clive James, 2014
He died on Sunday the 24th November ...Beautiful...honest & insightful poem
Hmm I wonder if they do vegetarian Christmas Tinner
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited November 2019
@Shoshin said: He died on Sunday the 24th November ...Beautiful...honest & insightful poem
Yes, and our dearly beloved enthusiastic, spiky-haired innovative chef, Gary Rhodes also died suddenly, after being taken ill during the filming of a programme. Sudden, unexpected and quite a shock to all who knew him. He was possibly one of the first chefs to really bring basic cuisine in an entertaining, educational way to the British table. Rael shame, I so liked him.
Just chilling
...well actually I was more like perspiring...it was overcast hot sticky & humid...
I was on my way back home from the village and decide to sit awhile and read my book...
3
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Just learnt that the European School of Shiatsu (with whom I studied) has severed links with the French quarter, due to the French intransigent stance of refusing to accept UK qualifications, and insisting all and any pupils transitioning from the UK to France, have to sit a further abrifged French course and examination in order to be entitled to work in France. And then insisting on a supervised probationary period of 2 years, before being allowed to practice independently.
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
We in the UK are a few hours away from Bojo/Bozo/Brix It Clown troupe - the Cuntservatives (Tsk, tsk lobster - very bad spelling) and the possibility of a radical shift to a caring society ...
I live in a safe Labour seat, so can afford to vote Green.
Anyone else, try and break free and vote JC/Labour and the end of bwanker funded oily planet killers ...
I stopped for a breather on my way back up the track from the beach this morning and came across this industrious ant colony......
And this is what goes on inside an ant colony..
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Where I live is one great big giant red ant colony. And contrary to popular advice or belief, if ants make a nest in a large flowerpot with a good plant in it, they can wreak havoc and ultimately kill the plant by exposing the toots to too much oxygen, and not enough water retention. I have lost 2 lovely plants through diligent red ant sculpting. Thanks a bunch you industrious fekkers.
Comments
Yes it was....Waiheke Island around 19 kms ferry ride from Auckland...
I took the lift
No, it's not a difficult climb, quite steep, but plenty of footing , I found it harder climbing down than going back up...
Appropriately for this day, today's word is
Phenakism
...and in colloquial terms Trump or Johnson can be used
He's heading for an impeachment, if there is ANY justice at all, left in some small, insignificant and remote pocket of American politics...
Well had my first skinny dip of the season...the ocean was chillingly refreshing...(luckily my goose bumps kept me warm
)...At the same time last year the water temperature was a few degrees warmer...Scientists say it was something to do with a body of warm water coming from the tropics, moving down the North island..anyhow now it's back to the usual chillingly refreshing for this time of the year...
At the end of last summer, I picked up one of those collapsible/pop up beach tents from the op shop (minus the carry bag-somebody had managed to fold it up and tie it together) ...Anyhow when I got it home I popped it up and boy did I have a hard time trying to fold it back up again...I didn't fold it properly I just wedged it in behind the wardrobe...
Well yesterday evening I decided/buck up the courage to pop it again and see if I could fold it up...what can I say!!! it was a nightmare ...I went on Mr Knowitall youtube , but even with their help, no way in hell was the tent going to give in and fold up...However this morning I came across another youtube clip and when following the instruction, there was a snap (literally a snap sound) and then it folded up...So I've just tried it again and it works... It would seem that the wires must have buckled during my many attempts at folding it, hence why it wouldn't fold.... the snap sound was the wires unbuckling....
Perseverance paid off... In fact I'm feeling quite smug...no doubt this smugness will wear off when I try to fold it up again at the beach .....
I was at the op shop today and bought this T shirt for $2
As I walked down the path to the beach I heard clapping...It turned out the leaves were giving me a round of applaud......
@Shoshin
Leaf-moves in wind, straw drawn toward amber,
all parts of the world are in love,
but they do not tell their secrets. Cows grazing
on a sacramental table, ants whispering in Solomon’s ear.
Mountains mumbling an echo. Sky, calm.
If the sun were not in love, he would have no brightness,
the side of the hill no grass on it.
The ocean would come to rest somewhere.
Bodhi Rumi
My girlfriend and I are engaged! We told her parents last weekend and mine tonight. And now I can tell you.
Lots of love to you all
Wonderful news @adamcrossley
Wonderful 💗 and congratulations ... (same message as @Shoshin) 🙏🏽
Congrats @adamcrossley ! I love good news......
Alright then! Cheers to you two 🥂 BTW...if you told us earlier...we wouldn’t have let it slip to your parents, hahaha.
Great news @adamcrossley ... is she a Buddhist too?
She isn’t, no. Her family is Christian but she has generally left religion behind. We have asked my grandmother to officiate, as she’s a Quaker elder (although it won’t technically be a Quaker wedding).
Thanks for all the well wishes everyone; they’re very touching.
This is wonderful news!
Just as long as you don't have kids....
(runs and throws herself behind sofa...! )
Actually, taken seriously (which it wasn't... well, not totally....) that's not the issue. Taking nothing away from your truly delightful news, I took the opportunity to try to examine my own reasoning ('The world is seriously over-populated') and checked it out. INteresting read, because actually, those "experts" approached, all had a common thread running through their opinions and findings. See for yourself....
They should have asked a biologist, not economics and history professors, et al of that homocentric ilk. The answer would have been more cogent and to the point. I'm not sure these people possess even a basic working definition of overpopulation, and If they ever took a course in basic ecology, I'm pretty sure they flunked it.
I was saddened to hear of the passing of Bhikkhu Samahita in Denmark on Oct 12th this year. He was someone I had made a connection with through the Dhamma.
He took his own life apparently.
R.I.P.
The question is not can the world sustain more people, because it can, but do we want it to? A deep connection with nature is something that gives us all pleasure, and do we want to be in a position where all we have left of that is a few small parks?
That and intensive farming practices which are really bad for the topsoil.
At first glance I thought it was a rat dropping on the deck,
however on closer inspection it turned out to be a mason bee/wasp pupa which had dropped down from under the eaves
Tis that wonderful time of year again when all creatures great & small will pay me a visit ...I look forward to their visits
An adult mason bee popped in for a quick visit yesterday ...
The fire season is well and truly under way in my part of the world. There’s already been devastating fires north of the border (apparently because we legalised same sex marriage!)
May all beings be safe and well.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-20/emergency-officials-declare-code-red-day-for-victoria/11722420
I heard that it's been the worst fire season on record in NSW & QL...
I watched this amazing rescue of a koala bear..
Yes, the fire season seems to start earlier and earlier every year....
Just like our winds and floods. Do you suppose the Climate is trying to tell us something...?
No. Climate change is a Chinese hoax.
Funny. But the longer I think about it, the more I am coming to realise that all the complot theories on the internet are not helping people in accepting what is really true. It seems almost every major event has some form of complot theory attached to it.
The heavy rain's a great relief for some parts of Oz...
https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-fires-volunteers-and-locals-dance-as-rain-falls-in-rollands-plains/49a28dce-0a78-4d38-8e92-2e11c5bc5905
Very happy for them. If they'd asked, we could have sent them ours and saved all that damn flooding!
Announcement: I am no longer gonna sit by and complain about the shallow and materialistic trappings of Christmas, only then to fall and give in to the social pressures, expectations and guilt of giving to friends and loved ones who already have plenty and then some....who some won't appreciate it anyway....and admit that I fell into it even more when we climbed the income ladder. This year and every year going forward, I will be making charitable donations in their names, and they will be getting a card in the mail or in person saying just that....Including my 2 teenage children still at home . If any of them feels some type of way about it....tough shit!
I dreamed about Donald Trump last night - dreamed I met him on the street somewhere, and he invited me to go to a restaurant with him. when the check came, he said he was out of cash and I'd have to pay the tab. There was more, but the theme was similar. I hope he goes to bother someone else tonight - preferably one of his own partisans.
I have already asked my friends that IF they are considering purchasing me a card, to forget it, and instead add the money to their chosen charity.
IF they're kind, loving and generous enough to consider getting me a gift, to forget it, give me the money and I will put it towards MY chosen charity.
I'm not buying - nor making - crackers. We can go without.
ALL my decorations are either glass, or home-made (my paper chain is brill!) and all my food will be simple, well-flavoured, cosy, comforting and about as traditional as you can get without going overboard. When I look at shopping trolleys and see just how much waste is going to be generated, my heart weeps. But this year, it's gonna be a fab Christmas chez moi!
Something small to celebrate:
Don't know if this is the appropriate thread, but here goes.
My wife has been bed bound for more than 15 months. Part of her problem is a seriously pinched nerve in her back. an MRI was taken last year showing a sever blockage of her spine. It was pinched, had a some fat tissue blocking it and other oddities. while she has a long way to go before she can stand or walk, one item did change.
The MRI of her spine showed the fat tissue gone, no foreign debris, no blockage of the nerve. The Dr said this is very rare - people with deteriorating spinal columns generally do not improve. as I said, a long long way to go but a step up is a step up.
Peace to all
@Lionduck
How was the dinner ?
Clearly you are making progress in right speech. You did not describe it as a nightmare.
Where we place our attention, manifests in our consciousness ... change of input/diet?
Sent in my postal vote for UK elections. Voted Green. 🕊🌳🌎
I wouldn't say it wa something 'small'...
Please wish her well from everyone here, and as you say, a small step, is still a small step. Hope everything proceeds positively. Lovely news, @Lionduck . XXOOXX
Random Acts of Kindness.....enjoy!
https://www.abc.net.au/life/acts-of-kindness-that-will-seriously-warm-your-heart/11724898
Japanese Maple
Your death, near now, is of an easy sort.
So slow a fading out brings no real pain.
Breath growing short
Is just uncomfortable. You feel the drain
Of energy, but thought and sight remain:
Enhanced, in fact. When did you ever see
So much sweet beauty as when fine rain falls
On that small tree
And saturates your brick back garden walls,
So many Amber Rooms and mirror halls?
Ever more lavish as the dusk descends
This glistening illuminates the air.
It never ends.
Whenever the rain comes it will be there,
Beyond my time, but now I take my share.
My daughter’s choice, the maple tree is new.
Come autumn and its leaves will turn to flame.
What I must do
Is live to see that.That will end the game
For me, though life continues all the same:
Filling the double doors to bathe my eyes,
A final flood of colors will live on
As my mind dies,
Burned by my vision of a world that shone
So brightly at the last, and then was gone.
Clive James, 2014
He died on Sunday the 24th November ...Beautiful...honest & insightful poem
Ah yes, Clive James.
Behind Fosters Lager, possibly our finest export
R.I.P.
Christmas Tinner anyone ??? ...
Hmm I wonder if they do vegetarian Christmas Tinner
Yes, and our dearly beloved enthusiastic, spiky-haired innovative chef, Gary Rhodes also died suddenly, after being taken ill during the filming of a programme. Sudden, unexpected and quite a shock to all who knew him. He was possibly one of the first chefs to really bring basic cuisine in an entertaining, educational way to the British table. Rael shame, I so liked him.
Just chilling
...well actually I was more like perspiring...it was overcast hot sticky & humid...
I was on my way back home from the village and decide to sit awhile and read my book...
Just learnt that the European School of Shiatsu (with whom I studied) has severed links with the French quarter, due to the French intransigent stance of refusing to accept UK qualifications, and insisting all and any pupils transitioning from the UK to France, have to sit a further abrifged French course and examination in order to be entitled to work in France. And then insisting on a supervised probationary period of 2 years, before being allowed to practice independently.
We in the UK are a few hours away from Bojo/Bozo/Brix It Clown troupe - the Cuntservatives (Tsk, tsk lobster - very bad spelling) and the possibility of a radical shift to a caring society ...
I live in a safe Labour seat, so can afford to vote Green.
Anyone else, try and break free and vote JC/Labour and the end of bwanker funded oily planet killers ...
ooh I am so radical ...
https://www.doubledown.news/
I stopped for a breather on my way back up the track from the beach this morning and came across this industrious ant colony......
And this is what goes on inside an ant colony..
Where I live is one great big giant red ant colony. And contrary to popular advice or belief, if ants make a nest in a large flowerpot with a good plant in it, they can wreak havoc and ultimately kill the plant by exposing the toots to too much oxygen, and not enough water retention. I have lost 2 lovely plants through diligent red ant sculpting. Thanks a bunch you industrious fekkers.