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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
Did not see much fauna, a couple of juvenile lesser grebe … Quite a few homo sapiens (a pest species apparently) …
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
Yes, it's a Yellow Tussock Moth caterpillar.The hair can be an irritant, and children are more sensitive to it than adults.
The caterpillars feed on a large variety of leaves including oak, walnut, willow, rose, maple, pear, and many others, including conifers.
@Walker said:
Meds were delivered early enough, and I got most of what I wanted to get done last night, so jumped back in the car and drove back today.
I missed my calling in life. Should have been a long-distance trucker. lol
Good to hear....How far do you have to travel/drive ?
Many thanks Looked it up and came to the same ID.
From our perspective, the caterpillar is maybe more attractive than the moth. Very common. Never seen one before.
meanwhile … I watched this recommended documentary:
@Walker said:
Meds were delivered early enough, and I got most of what I wanted to get done last night, so jumped back in the car and drove back today.
I missed my calling in life. Should have been a long-distance trucker. lol
Good to hear....How far do you have to travel/drive ?
About a six hour drive. Mostly decent roads. Night-time driving this time of year is dicey though. The deer are in their rut season. Hence, I was happy to get away in the morning.
@Jeroen I really want to visit the Netherlands some day. The way you guys have built your transportation infrastructure and general city design looks amazing to a North American eye.
We're literally decades behind you in bicycle infrastructure and public transportation.
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
You’d be very welcome! There was a big wave of emigration to North America in the 50’s and 60’s, and I have some family who settled in Canada near Vancouver. So lots of people speak decent English, and it’s quite hospitable to visitors.
Have a look at Lelystad in the Flevopolder if you’re interested in modern city design. It’s the most recent attempt at creating a city from scratch on reclaimed-from-the-sea land.
I've visited the Netherlands quite a few times, back in the 70s & 80s, I lived in Rotterdam for a while back in 79/80 got casual work through an uitzendbureau, I started to learn some Dutch but for the most part every time I tried to speak to someone in Dutch, they would say "Speak English it's easier to understand" so I gave up...🙃
There are lots of people from the Netherlands living in Aotearoa, and from what I gather many came over in the 50s & 60s, there're quite a few living on the island....
Yes It is @Walker, the Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe..
What I found interesting when living there was Dutch TV, they don't dub, they just use subtitles for movies etc... I guess this is one of the reasons why most Dutch people speak very good English...
2
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Shoshin1 said:
I've visited the Netherlands quite a few times, back in the 70s & 80s, I lived in Rotterdam for a while back in 79/80 got casual work through an uitzendbureau
Hehe, that’s fun, you actually came and lived here! There’s quite a lively English expat community living in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, I played Dungeons and Dragons a few times with some of that crowd a few years ago when I was living closer to Amsterdam.
When I lived in Rotterdam, I was flatting with three French people, a couple and their friend., One spoke a little English( about as much English as my French which was not much) and another spoke some German, I had lived in Germany for a while working at a youth hostel, plus I studied German at night school for a few months, (so I could get by in German) and one could only speak French.
The language of the flat was Un peu de français ....Ein bisschen Deutsch and a little English...It's quite amazing when I think back, we got on really well, we worked together, lived together and socialised together, communication was not a problem...
Bravo @Shoshin1
… language is simple when we don't use it too much …
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
edited October 2021
@lobster said:
Bravo @Shoshin1
… language is simple when we don't use it too much …
You see kids on beaches, all playing together, from different families, with varying nationalities.. It would be nice if countries got along like they can...
3
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
The problem is, countries are governed by greedy people with massive ego’s. I was just reading about the uproar around the Syrian government pocketing half the aid money spent on helping the people there…
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
I know of only 1 country that is led by a compassionate and conscientious leader, and that is New Zealand. I can't think of anyone else that can even stand inher shadow.
Mum was moved from the hospital in Saskatoon to the hospital in town yesterday. I was finally able to see her and give her a hug.
We are now trying to get her well enough to be able to come home. She needs to be eating better and her mobility will be a challenge. Mrs Walker took a piece of cheesecake in for her this afternoon which was eagerly consumed. Ramp is almost complete and we will probably have a few more jobs to do to make the house suitable for her to stay here.
Mrs Walker is looking into compassionate leave at her job, and we may be staying here, for the near future. We'll have to look into getting someone to check our place every couple of days over the winter to make sure the furnace doesn't quit and water pipes don't freeze, etc.
@federica said:
I know of only 1 country that is led by a compassionate and conscientious leader, and that is New Zealand. I can't think of anyone else that can even stand inher shadow.
Naturally @federica she has her critics both here and overseas, however mostly I feel it's just a case of tall poppy syndrome, sour grapes on their part...dare I say a big dollop of envy is involved...especially from the right wing opposition leaders... and no matter how much they and their families too have benefited from her leadership during this crises, I guess it's their job to bitch and moan...and of course they start to say how they would have done things differently ...hmm “Most people'sopposition politician’s hindsight is 20-20”~Richard Armour~.
On the whole I think most Kiwis think she's done an excellent job leading the country especially in times of crises, the Christchurch terror attack, the White island volcanic eruption and now the pandemic...
She's only human so she's not quite perfect, but for a politician she has set positive examples which will be quite hard for other politicians here in Aotearoa to emulate....
@Walker said:
Mum was moved from the hospital in Saskatoon to the hospital in town yesterday. I was finally able to see her and give her a hug.
We are now trying to get her well enough to be able to come home. She needs to be eating better and her mobility will be a challenge. Mrs Walker took a piece of cheesecake in for her this afternoon which was eagerly consumed. Ramp is almost complete and we will probably have a few more jobs to do to make the house suitable for her to stay here.
Mrs Walker is looking into compassionate leave at her job, and we may be staying here, for the near future. We'll have to look into getting someone to check our place every couple of days over the winter to make sure the furnace doesn't quit and water pipes don't freeze, etc.
That's good news @Walker and no doubt relief for all the family...
It's been a cold overcast stormy windy day today, the ocean's been like a washing machine with all the soapsuds on the shore line...Similar weather to yesterday, still I got my washing dried quickly thanks to the strong winds...
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Walker said:
Mrs Walker is looking into compassionate leave at her job, and we may be staying here, for the near future. We'll have to look into getting someone to check our place every couple of days over the winter to make sure the furnace doesn't quit and water pipes don't freeze, etc.
Ouch, the practicalities of things strike home. I hope she comes home soon and there are no problems over leave and so on. The employment market is so tight at the moment that it can be difficult to find a replacement…
Her employer seems to be pretty good about giving leave when people need it. They don't like to be losing trained personnel, and they don't want people working when they are facing personal stress, as it can be dangerous to have them in a very active rail yard when they aren't 100% focussed on the job.
Usually, refraining from singing in public is an act of compassion toward all sentient beings - at least those within the sound of my voice. Today however, I broke with that policy while standing in line at the pharmacy. There were quite a few of us in line as the minutes ticked off until they would open. A child, perhaps 7-8 years old, standing with their grandmother behind me asked her, "If you had enough money to buy anything, what would you like to buy?" While I was pondering the question, grandmother responded, "I'd like to buy you a bright future," while the elderly man in front of me turned and offered, "I'd like to buy all my meds!" And then I was singing, surprising the hell out of myself.
I reached the eighth word in the song when a woman in the back of the line took it up - and she sang as beautifully as I've ever heard anyone. And then, the coolest thing ever as everyone in line (except the child who wasn't old enough to know the words) joined in - six of us in all. If you're old enough, you will probably remember... I'd like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love...
It's interesting when you think about it....
Marketing companies knew they were onto a good thing when they came up with one of the best marketing tools ....a catchy earworm tune to help sell products...
@Bunks
Next time you get a washing machine..consider getting a front loader. It is gentle enough on clothing to have your average forgotten tissue paper simply wad up into a ball instead of breaking apart into smaller pieces.
The downside is unless you are prepared to wipe down the front door seal on a regular basis, you'll end up with a funky mold smell that can be very tough to get rid of.
& the same silicone shortage that is now starting to limit computer chip production around the world is the same product that those seals are imbued with to try to prevent that mold from getting a footing on.
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
Ah, washing machine mould. Caused by your fabric softener, that contains the same kind of oil you fry your chips in. That black mould in your machine? That's where it's from!
Stop using fabric conditioner! You DON'T NEED IT! I haven't used fabric conditioner for about 8 years. No mould, no stink.Clothes still fine!
Well finally the rain has stopped and the forecast is for warm sunny weather tomorrow...
On this afternoon's walk I stopped to listen carefully to what Mother Nature had to say...
This guy's channel is great. A Canadian living in Amsterdam explains why North American cities are so junky compared to what cities are like elsewhere.
This guy's channel is great. A Canadian living in Amsterdam explains why North American cities are so junky compared to what cities are like elsewhere.
I spent some time in Birmingham, AL and Charlotte, NC in 2006 and was shocked that you couldn't walk anywhere in the suburbs we were in!
There were no footpaths (pavements / sidewalks).
In fact, my ex wife (much to my annoyance) had to get in a car with a random stranger to cross a freeway to get to a shopping centre.
Some of the streets in my neighbourhood (in the McMansion zone) don't have any sidewalks. It's frustrating, because the narrow lot, walkable, dense areas (where I live) are far away from the shopping areas on the nearest arteries, while the massive homes with two Beemer SUVs on each driveway are closer.
Good news
There is a light rail line planned for my area (with a stop about a five minute walk from my place).
Bad news
It's probably not going to get built for at least another fifteen years.
There are hardly any footpaths on the island just the village and some of the other small settlement centre, but it's safe to walk around most places....
A pair of Eastern Rosellas playing tag in the vineyard next door...
2
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Walker said:
This guy's channel is great. A Canadian living in Amsterdam explains why North American cities are so junky compared to what cities are like elsewhere.
Fascinating stuff, @walker … I spent some time in the US when I was young, but I had no idea the car dependency had grown this bad over there. Love the YouTube channel (and not just because he says complimentary things about the Netherlands).
@Jeroen
It's funny, when he started posting videos, the YouTube algorithm was recommending his videos to viewers in the Netherlands, and a big chunk of his audience was (and still is) Dutch.
The comments can be pretty hilarious to read, stuff like
'Of course we build bike paths, why wouldn't we?'
Thing is, even the Netherlands was razing neighbourhoods and filling in canals (Utrecht) to build motorways before they realized the damage they were doing and made a concentrated effort to reverse the damage they had done.
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
Comments
Anyone know what this caterpillar is? The colour was a lemony yellow. I think it may be a moth? Saw on a trip to a national trust arboretum.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/winkworth-arboretum
Did not see much fauna, a couple of juvenile lesser grebe … Quite a few homo sapiens (a pest species apparently) …
Yes, it's a Yellow Tussock Moth caterpillar.The hair can be an irritant, and children are more sensitive to it than adults.
The caterpillars feed on a large variety of leaves including oak, walnut, willow, rose, maple, pear, and many others, including conifers.
Ah yes, the full moon of October.
Tomorrow marks the final day of Vassa (Rains Retreat).
The monks and nuns will come out of their three months in hibernation
Yeah, I bet they really like their meditation retreat thought of as a hibernation. lol
Maybe it’s more a cocooning and a transformation into dharma-butterflies?
Inspiring… check the photos of the ceremony
https://plumvillage.org/articles/go-to-the-other-shore/
Meds were delivered early enough, and I got most of what I wanted to get done last night, so jumped back in the car and drove back today.
I missed my calling in life. Should have been a long-distance trucker. lol
Good to hear....How far do you have to travel/drive ?
Many thanks
Looked it up and came to the same ID.
From our perspective, the caterpillar is maybe more attractive than the moth. Very common. Never seen one before.
meanwhile … I watched this recommended documentary:
Tee Hee!
Sing a song of Sangha
A pocket full of rile
Four and twenty ravings
Waked inner Pi …
eh wait …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing_a_Song_of_Sixpence
About a six hour drive. Mostly decent roads. Night-time driving this time of year is dicey though. The deer are in their rut season. Hence, I was happy to get away in the morning.
On the island a 15 minutes drive is a long drive...I normally pack a lunch
Went for a nice social distance walk with a Dharma friend...
Spectacular cloud formation...
Yeah, the Netherlands is a small country too. A couple of hours will get you pretty much anywhere inside.
@Jeroen I really want to visit the Netherlands some day. The way you guys have built your transportation infrastructure and general city design looks amazing to a North American eye.
We're literally decades behind you in bicycle infrastructure and public transportation.
You’d be very welcome! There was a big wave of emigration to North America in the 50’s and 60’s, and I have some family who settled in Canada near Vancouver. So lots of people speak decent English, and it’s quite hospitable to visitors.
Have a look at Lelystad in the Flevopolder if you’re interested in modern city design. It’s the most recent attempt at creating a city from scratch on reclaimed-from-the-sea land.
There a lot of Dutch immigrants in the Edmonton area too. I had a few friends growing up whose parents were farmers.
I've visited the Netherlands quite a few times, back in the 70s & 80s, I lived in Rotterdam for a while back in 79/80 got casual work through an uitzendbureau, I started to learn some Dutch but for the most part every time I tried to speak to someone in Dutch, they would say "Speak English it's easier to understand" so I gave up...🙃
There are lots of people from the Netherlands living in Aotearoa, and from what I gather many came over in the 50s & 60s, there're quite a few living on the island....
Rotterdam sounds like an interesting place to visit. Probably the most 'North American' style city in The Netherlands.
Yes It is @Walker, the Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe..
What I found interesting when living there was Dutch TV, they don't dub, they just use subtitles for movies etc... I guess this is one of the reasons why most Dutch people speak very good English...
Hehe, that’s fun, you actually came and lived here! There’s quite a lively English expat community living in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, I played Dungeons and Dragons a few times with some of that crowd a few years ago when I was living closer to Amsterdam.
When I lived in Rotterdam, I was flatting with three French people, a couple and their friend., One spoke a little English( about as much English as my French which was not much) and another spoke some German, I had lived in Germany for a while working at a youth hostel, plus I studied German at night school for a few months, (so I could get by in German) and one could only speak French.
The language of the flat was Un peu de français ....Ein bisschen Deutsch and a little English...It's quite amazing when I think back, we got on really well, we worked together, lived together and socialised together, communication was not a problem...
Bravo @Shoshin1
… language is simple when we don't use it too much …
You see kids on beaches, all playing together, from different families, with varying nationalities.. It would be nice if countries got along like they can...
The problem is, countries are governed by greedy people with massive ego’s. I was just reading about the uproar around the Syrian government pocketing half the aid money spent on helping the people there…
I know of only 1 country that is led by a compassionate and conscientious leader, and that is New Zealand. I can't think of anyone else that can even stand inher shadow.
Mum was moved from the hospital in Saskatoon to the hospital in town yesterday. I was finally able to see her and give her a hug.
We are now trying to get her well enough to be able to come home. She needs to be eating better and her mobility will be a challenge. Mrs Walker took a piece of cheesecake in for her this afternoon which was eagerly consumed. Ramp is almost complete and we will probably have a few more jobs to do to make the house suitable for her to stay here.
Mrs Walker is looking into compassionate leave at her job, and we may be staying here, for the near future. We'll have to look into getting someone to check our place every couple of days over the winter to make sure the furnace doesn't quit and water pipes don't freeze, etc.
Naturally @federica she has her critics both here and overseas, however mostly I feel it's just a case of tall poppy syndrome, sour grapes on their part...dare I say a big dollop of envy is involved...especially from the right wing opposition leaders... and no matter how much they and their families too have benefited from her leadership during this crises, I guess it's their job to bitch and moan...and of course they start to say how they would have done things differently ...hmm
“Most people'sopposition politician’s hindsight is 20-20” ~Richard Armour~.
On the whole I think most Kiwis think she's done an excellent job leading the country especially in times of crises, the Christchurch terror attack, the White island volcanic eruption and now the pandemic...
She's only human so she's not quite perfect, but for a politician she has set positive examples which will be quite hard for other politicians here in Aotearoa to emulate....
That's good news @Walker and no doubt relief for all the family...
It's been a cold overcast stormy windy day today, the ocean's been like a washing machine with all the soapsuds on the shore line...Similar weather to yesterday, still I got my washing dried quickly thanks to the strong winds...
Ouch, the practicalities of things strike home. I hope she comes home soon and there are no problems over leave and so on. The employment market is so tight at the moment that it can be difficult to find a replacement…
Her employer seems to be pretty good about giving leave when people need it. They don't like to be losing trained personnel, and they don't want people working when they are facing personal stress, as it can be dangerous to have them in a very active rail yard when they aren't 100% focussed on the job.
Usually, refraining from singing in public is an act of compassion toward all sentient beings - at least those within the sound of my voice. Today however, I broke with that policy while standing in line at the pharmacy. There were quite a few of us in line as the minutes ticked off until they would open. A child, perhaps 7-8 years old, standing with their grandmother behind me asked her, "If you had enough money to buy anything, what would you like to buy?" While I was pondering the question, grandmother responded, "I'd like to buy you a bright future," while the elderly man in front of me turned and offered, "I'd like to buy all my meds!" And then I was singing, surprising the hell out of myself.
I reached the eighth word in the song when a woman in the back of the line took it up - and she sang as beautifully as I've ever heard anyone. And then, the coolest thing ever as everyone in line (except the child who wasn't old enough to know the words) joined in - six of us in all. If you're old enough, you will probably remember... I'd like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love...
It's interesting when you think about it....
Marketing companies knew they were onto a good thing when they came up with one of the best marketing tools ....a catchy earworm tune to help sell products...
Don’t you love it when you leave a tissue in your pocket when washing
@Bunks
Next time you get a washing machine..consider getting a front loader. It is gentle enough on clothing to have your average forgotten tissue paper simply wad up into a ball instead of breaking apart into smaller pieces.
The downside is unless you are prepared to wipe down the front door seal on a regular basis, you'll end up with a funky mold smell that can be very tough to get rid of.
& the same silicone shortage that is now starting to limit computer chip production around the world is the same product that those seals are imbued with to try to prevent that mold from getting a footing on.
Ah, washing machine mould. Caused by your fabric softener, that contains the same kind of oil you fry your chips in. That black mould in your machine? That's where it's from!
Stop using fabric conditioner! You DON'T NEED IT! I haven't used fabric conditioner for about 8 years. No mould, no stink.Clothes still fine!
Well finally the rain has stopped and the forecast is for warm sunny weather tomorrow...
On this afternoon's walk I stopped to listen carefully to what Mother Nature had to say...
Ground breaking ceremony today for the new retreat centre at Newbury Buddhist Monastery.
There is hope… apparently Facebook is losing traction with teens.
Of course they are trying to rectify this, but a whistleblower has leaked a whole bunch of documents about the effort.
If you want to have a read about what Facebook is up to, have a look here…
https://www.theverge.com/22743744/facebook-teen-usage-decline-frances-haugen-leaks
This guy's channel is great. A Canadian living in Amsterdam explains why North American cities are so junky compared to what cities are like elsewhere.
I spent some time in Birmingham, AL and Charlotte, NC in 2006 and was shocked that you couldn't walk anywhere in the suburbs we were in!
There were no footpaths (pavements / sidewalks).
In fact, my ex wife (much to my annoyance) had to get in a car with a random stranger to cross a freeway to get to a shopping centre.
Weird.
Some of the streets in my neighbourhood (in the McMansion zone) don't have any sidewalks. It's frustrating, because the narrow lot, walkable, dense areas (where I live) are far away from the shopping areas on the nearest arteries, while the massive homes with two Beemer SUVs on each driveway are closer.
Good news
There is a light rail line planned for my area (with a stop about a five minute walk from my place).
Bad news
It's probably not going to get built for at least another fifteen years.
@Bunks
Here's another video from the same guy, he talks about a similar experience he had in Houston.
There are hardly any footpaths on the island just the village and some of the other small settlement centre, but it's safe to walk around most places....
A pair of Eastern Rosellas playing tag in the vineyard next door...
Fascinating stuff, @walker … I spent some time in the US when I was young, but I had no idea the car dependency had grown this bad over there. Love the YouTube channel (and not just because he says complimentary things about the Netherlands).
@Jeroen
It's funny, when he started posting videos, the YouTube algorithm was recommending his videos to viewers in the Netherlands, and a big chunk of his audience was (and still is) Dutch.
The comments can be pretty hilarious to read, stuff like
'Of course we build bike paths, why wouldn't we?'
Thing is, even the Netherlands was razing neighbourhoods and filling in canals (Utrecht) to build motorways before they realized the damage they were doing and made a concentrated effort to reverse the damage they had done.
Red sky at night...
Yesterday afternoon a kererū (native wood pigeon) paid my neighbour's gutting a visit, in search of a snack...
On my afternoon walk I heard a bird singing its heart out...in the bush area down the driveway...Not quite sure what species of bird it was...
