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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
On the news last night there was a segment where they explained the blood red colour appearance of the moon...It was something to do with rays of light reflecting off the moon from the sun, and the reason why the moon looked red was because the red coloured rays were longer than the other colours, it would seem that in this still shot, my phone camera eye was trying to bring it altogether, capturing the flashes of colours of the sun's rays bouncing off the moon...
...Or it could just be a dirty lens
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Etsy is a nice site, especially if you like to prefer smaller manufacturers and hand-crafted items. Amazon can be cheaper but it’s all mass-produced.
0
Fosdickin its eye are mirrored far off mountainsAlaska, USAVeteran
This is the view out my back door today. Temperature has been within 2 degrees of 0 F. day and night for 10 days and counting. It is a mystery to me how the birds survive during these cold snaps - they stop coming to the feeder. Maybe they go to other, more richly endowed feeders in the area.
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
The Hanseatic League: For those unaware:
What was the main purpose of the Hanseatic League?
Hanseatic League, also called Hansa, German Hanse, organization founded by north German towns and German merchant communities abroad to protect their mutual trading interests. The league dominated commercial activity in northern Europe from the 13th to the 15th century.
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
edited November 2021
I thought people might like to know what I've been getting up to the past few weeks...
In brief, our dick-stupid Council sold a piece of land to a land-owner, who promptly decided to rent it back to the council at an astronomical sum of £30,000/year. The council were going to fell four mature, two-century-old trees to make way for a car park. Well I - and about 300 other people - set up a protest group called "Stop the Chop" and we organised a petition, and a gofundme page, and to cut a long story short, the Council, in an extraordinary Meeting this evening, reversed their decision, the trees are saved, as are the bats which roost, the squirrels which climb and the birds that settle.
It's not a vast piece of land - it's about half the size of a british soccer pitch - but it's an oasis of green in a concrete and tarmac town, and we were not going to lose it lying down, and without a fight.
The Council got as far as removing part of the surrounding hedge with a chainsaw, and erecting barriers all the way round, but people refused to leave, and the Police chose to not use heavy-handed methods, which meant 4 people remained within the enclosure for a whole night, while many others stood outside, in vigil.
It was a cold night - the 11th of November, Remembrance Day.
On the 12th, The Council's Chair attended the sit-in, and advised everyone that subject to discussion, the trees and grass area would be saved.
The people spoke, and we made them U-Turn.
So proud to have been a part of that.
Well, the last couple months have been, to put it bluntly, shitty.
Our cat, Smokey, has not been doing well for awhile, and things came to a head while we were in Saskatchewan. We thought he may not survive the long car-trip home. We were able to see a vet and got him at least comfortable enough to make it back here.
We got him into our vet, and it would have been possible to buy him some more time, but it would have involved force-feeding and giving subcutaneous fluids. We decided that it wasn't in his best interests to make him go through that.
The vet came to our place today and put him down here.
He was able to go the same way that his Nan went. At home, with the people he loved.
Animal companions are for many, part of the family and when they pass, grief and the sense of loss can be just as strong...
"Transient alas; are all component things Subject are they to birth and then decay Having gained birth, to death the life flux swings Bliss truly dawns when unrest dies away"
We have just started to hold our Monday evening Buddhist group meetings on the beach, had the first Buddhism on the beach last Monday, which was a nice change from zooming...plenty of space for social distancing, there was only around half a dozen of us, we sat in a circle.. we had the calming sound of the waves in the background...not many people around at that time of evening...The twilight was magical...
BTW you can make your own meditation sand cushions...
I walked to the beach this afternoon...after doing some Spring cleaning...
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
The annual explosion of gold from a 1400-year-old Ginkgo tree located within the walls of the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple, in the Zhongnan Mountains region of China.
Sounds like you’re having a bit of a cold blast in England?
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
We watch the BBC news most evenings so are well up to date with how England is faring, we hear about all kinds of things such as storms over Edinburgh, red weather alerts, people cueing to climb up Mt Snowden and the immigrants attempting to cross the channel.
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Around 10 turned up for Monday evening's Buddhism on the beach and from what I gather all fully vaxxed..
We finished just as it got dark...It was nice catching up with Dharma friends IRL..
Think I should watch the breathing video as it literally took my breath away and I couldn't breathe. Maybe need to work on that
Try a mantra out breathing to start. ('Jesus Christ, why is there no hot water' is mostly not a mantra). Or how about feeding the hell realms with your pain? Can you relax whilst in a state of no breath?
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
The breathing is key though, if you get that started it doesn’t feel so cold.
I have too but am still nervous about my fellow indoor exercising deep breathers and that only about 30 % are wearing masks.
I carry a mask when I'm jolking, because I use a narrow bush track, arched with low hanging branches which leads down to the beach (bearing in mind I'm puffing and panting by the time I get there)...Some track users are mindful of how narrow it is and also wear or carry masks at the ready when using the track, but on a number of occasions I've come across people without masks, however for the most part they do try to get out the way as much as possible by turning away from me as I 'puff' pass them...wearing my mask...
I guess it's difficult to tell if a person is exempt from wearing one (for medical reasons), forgot to bring one, or is anti mask wearing or a Covid denier... We have our fair share of Covid deniers on the island...
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
@Bunks said:
Thanks for the feedback guys. Will try again tomorrow morning.
I do really recommend you get hold of a n inexpensive thermometer; one you can hold in the flow of water (nearest the shower head) to gauge the temperature of the flow. something like a small Greenhouse thermometer, with easy-to-read numbers.. I think you'll be surprised...
When walking into the village this morning I came across a Monarch butterfly fluttering around on the sand, one of its wings was broken...It looked like a bird had taken a chunk out of it plus it was bend out of shape...
I let it crawl onto my hand then it made its way up to my shoulder, where it stayed until I walked up the track leading to the village... There I gently placed it by a tree...
Well since the beginning of January this year it turns out I've jolked over 1700 kms (6kms a day for 6 day and 3kms on the day I start work at 9am), that's like running from Auckland to Wellington and back and then back to Wellington again or from Auckland to Invercargill ...
I never set out to run every day, I just fell into the routine...There has only been two mornings where it was too stormy to go out, so I did a 4 km visual walk on my exercise step machine (watching a in real time English countryside walk video) ...
I guess it's a good discipline practice, up every morning regardless of what feelings are present, (tiredness not feeling too well), and just go out there and do it, before the emotions try talk the body out of it...Some mornings I really don't feel like it, but I do it anyway, and normally find after the first km or two I come right...
It's amazing what you can do, if you put your mind to it...
Tis said....A journey of a thousand (and seven hundred) kms begins with the first step...and a good pair of running shoes...and I guess the right frame of mind...
5
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
That’s a worthy milestone @shoshin1 … I hope you’ve got something to treat yourself with?
Spent some of last night with some other kids watching the Santa truck parade barrel through the streets of Victoria. This is where 80 or so Santa's in the biggest trucks/mobile cranes/ cement mixers/ stone slingers etc who have spent the previous week attaching as many Christmas lights/musical horns/laser displays/soap bubble makers as possible to portable generators that they are also carrying, get to race around on police cleared main streets. It is madness for sure but the locals all turn out for the show.
Ear protection is definitely advisable. It was Covid cancelled last year and this years race seemed a bit saner and slower than previous years where it looked like various Santa's were all competing in who could get their own mammoth's to do the best drifts around street corners.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well demonstrated. Yawning is related to pranayama, getting energy/life/spirit/prana into the system. I'll see your yawn and raise it to [dramatic pause - too late] … zz zzz zzzz
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 propose we organise our own "parade" here, and post photos of any type of "Christmassy feel" pictures, just to show willing to be jolly, if not actually participating in the standard, annual Yuletide madness!
I'll open a thread in "General Banter" and anyone who wants to join in The season of Goodwill to all Men, can do so!
Oh how I miss the adrenaline rush when I used to go body surfing in Coogee and the shark siren goes off, it's quite amazing how fast one can move to get out of the water..
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
@Bunks said:
I must admit I've become more hesitant to swim in the sea these days.
This happened about 20 minutes away from where I live.
Comments
Amazon has quite a nice selection…
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Hourglass&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
On the news last night there was a segment where they explained the blood red colour appearance of the moon...It was something to do with rays of light reflecting off the moon from the sun, and the reason why the moon looked red was because the red coloured rays were longer than the other colours, it would seem that in this still shot, my phone camera eye was trying to bring it altogether, capturing the flashes of colours of the sun's rays bouncing off the moon...
...Or it could just be a dirty lens
@Shoshin1 I found it! Etsy.com
Etsy is a nice site, especially if you like to prefer smaller manufacturers and hand-crafted items. Amazon can be cheaper but it’s all mass-produced.
This is the view out my back door today. Temperature has been within 2 degrees of 0 F. day and night for 10 days and counting. It is a mystery to me how the birds survive during these cold snaps - they stop coming to the feeder. Maybe they go to other, more richly endowed feeders in the area.
Wow! So beautiful @Fosdick - getting hot and dry here. Hard to imagine being in the snow.
What's snow ???
Amazing ....Your garden looks like a winter wonderland @Fosdick.. very picturesque...
Went on a long walk today in the area of the river IJssel, where there used to be the Hanseatic League cities.
Lovely @Jeroen
The Hanseatic League: For those unaware:
What was the main purpose of the Hanseatic League?
Hanseatic League, also called Hansa, German Hanse, organization founded by north German towns and German merchant communities abroad to protect their mutual trading interests. The league dominated commercial activity in northern Europe from the 13th to the 15th century.
I thought people might like to know what I've been getting up to the past few weeks...
In brief, our dick-stupid Council sold a piece of land to a land-owner, who promptly decided to rent it back to the council at an astronomical sum of £30,000/year. The council were going to fell four mature, two-century-old trees to make way for a car park. Well I - and about 300 other people - set up a protest group called "Stop the Chop" and we organised a petition, and a gofundme page, and to cut a long story short, the Council, in an extraordinary Meeting this evening, reversed their decision, the trees are saved, as are the bats which roost, the squirrels which climb and the birds that settle.
It's not a vast piece of land - it's about half the size of a british soccer pitch - but it's an oasis of green in a concrete and tarmac town, and we were not going to lose it lying down, and without a fight.
The Council got as far as removing part of the surrounding hedge with a chainsaw, and erecting barriers all the way round, but people refused to leave, and the Police chose to not use heavy-handed methods, which meant 4 people remained within the enclosure for a whole night, while many others stood outside, in vigil.
It was a cold night - the 11th of November, Remembrance Day.
On the 12th, The Council's Chair attended the sit-in, and advised everyone that subject to discussion, the trees and grass area would be saved.
The people spoke, and we made them U-Turn.
So proud to have been a part of that.
Well, the last couple months have been, to put it bluntly, shitty.
Our cat, Smokey, has not been doing well for awhile, and things came to a head while we were in Saskatchewan. We thought he may not survive the long car-trip home. We were able to see a vet and got him at least comfortable enough to make it back here.
We got him into our vet, and it would have been possible to buy him some more time, but it would have involved force-feeding and giving subcutaneous fluids. We decided that it wasn't in his best interests to make him go through that.
The vet came to our place today and put him down here.
He was able to go the same way that his Nan went. At home, with the people he loved.
Animal companions are for many, part of the family and when they pass, grief and the sense of loss can be just as strong...
"Transient alas; are all component things
Subject are they to birth and then decay
Having gained birth, to death the life flux swings
Bliss truly dawns when unrest dies away"
The cycle of life
Yes, he was very much part of our family. He will be greatly missed, but we will have many wonderful memories of him.
Really? I mean - REALLY - ?!
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/24/uk/stella-creasy-baby-westminster-intl-scli-gbr/index.html
Put the babies in charge @federica … oh they are (explains a lot)
Which reminds me...
“Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason,”
We have just started to hold our Monday evening Buddhist group meetings on the beach, had the first Buddhism on the beach last Monday, which was a nice change from zooming...plenty of space for social distancing, there was only around half a dozen of us, we sat in a circle.. we had the calming sound of the waves in the background...not many people around at that time of evening...The twilight was magical...
BTW you can make your own meditation sand cushions...
I walked to the beach this afternoon...after doing some Spring cleaning...
The annual explosion of gold from a 1400-year-old Ginkgo tree located within the walls of the Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple, in the Zhongnan Mountains region of China.
Sounds like you’re having a bit of a cold blast in England?
We watch the BBC news most evenings so are well up to date with how England is faring, we hear about all kinds of things such as storms over Edinburgh, red weather alerts, people cueing to climb up Mt Snowden and the immigrants attempting to cross the channel.
Getting our first real hint of summer
30, 29 and 28 next three days
Of course, now is the ideal time to begin taking those cold showers...
I have rejoined the hordes of gym-training proletarians.
I have too but am still nervous about my fellow indoor exercising deep breathers and that only about 30 % are wearing masks.
Around 10 turned up for Monday evening's Buddhism on the beach and from what I gather all fully vaxxed..
We finished just as it got dark...It was nice catching up with Dharma friends IRL..
Oh yes! I must re-visit our chat
I'm with you @Bunks! In spirit, I hasten to add... I don't want anyone round here getting ideas, adding 2 + 2 and making 37...!
Hahaha
Just finished shower - did about 5 seconds fully cold.
Think I should watch the breathing video as it literally took my breath away and I couldn't breathe. Maybe need to work on that
Try a mantra out breathing to start. ('Jesus Christ, why is there no hot water' is mostly not a mantra). Or how about feeding the hell realms with your pain? Can you relax whilst in a state of no breath?
The breathing is key though, if you get that started it doesn’t feel so cold.
Thanks for the feedback guys. Will try again tomorrow morning.
I carry a mask when I'm jolking, because I use a narrow bush track, arched with low hanging branches which leads down to the beach (bearing in mind I'm puffing and panting by the time I get there)...Some track users are mindful of how narrow it is and also wear or carry masks at the ready when using the track, but on a number of occasions I've come across people without masks, however for the most part they do try to get out the way as much as possible by turning away from me as I 'puff' pass them...wearing my mask...
I guess it's difficult to tell if a person is exempt from wearing one (for medical reasons), forgot to bring one, or is anti mask wearing or a Covid denier... We have our fair share of Covid deniers on the island...
I do really recommend you get hold of a n inexpensive thermometer; one you can hold in the flow of water (nearest the shower head) to gauge the temperature of the flow. something like a small Greenhouse thermometer, with easy-to-read numbers.. I think you'll be surprised...
When walking into the village this morning I came across a Monarch butterfly fluttering around on the sand, one of its wings was broken...It looked like a bird had taken a chunk out of it plus it was bend out of shape...
I let it crawl onto my hand then it made its way up to my shoulder, where it stayed until I walked up the track leading to the village... There I gently placed it by a tree...
Isn't nature dukkhaish? @Shoshin1 Anyone would think the butterfly hell realms are Nirvana.
Here is me dreaming I am a flutterby or vice versa …
https://www.philosophy-foundation.org/enquiries/view/the-butterfly-dream
Well since the beginning of January this year it turns out I've jolked over 1700 kms (6kms a day for 6 day and 3kms on the day I start work at 9am), that's like running from Auckland to Wellington and back and then back to Wellington again or from Auckland to Invercargill ...
I never set out to run every day, I just fell into the routine...There has only been two mornings where it was too stormy to go out, so I did a 4 km visual walk on my exercise step machine (watching a in real time English countryside walk video) ...
I guess it's a good discipline practice, up every morning regardless of what feelings are present, (tiredness not feeling too well), and just go out there and do it, before the emotions try talk the body out of it...Some mornings I really don't feel like it, but I do it anyway, and normally find after the first km or two I come right...
It's amazing what you can do, if you put your mind to it...
Tis said....A journey of a thousand (and seven hundred) kms begins with the first step...and a good pair of running shoes...and I guess the right frame of mind...
That’s a worthy milestone @shoshin1 … I hope you’ve got something to treat yourself with?
Yes, with another run in the morning
Victoria BC's version of Mad Max meets Christmas
Spent some of last night with some other kids watching the Santa truck parade barrel through the streets of Victoria. This is where 80 or so Santa's in the biggest trucks/mobile cranes/ cement mixers/ stone slingers etc who have spent the previous week attaching as many Christmas lights/musical horns/laser displays/soap bubble makers as possible to portable generators that they are also carrying, get to race around on police cleared main streets. It is madness for sure but the locals all turn out for the show.
Ear protection is definitely advisable. It was Covid cancelled last year and this years race seemed a bit saner and slower than previous years where it looked like various Santa's were all competing in who could get their own mammoth's to do the best drifts around street corners.
What could possibly go wrong?
The island will be having a Santa parade this coming Saturday...
"Bah Humbug"
Yawn...
Well demonstrated. Yawning is related to pranayama, getting energy/life/spirit/prana into the system. I'll see your yawn and raise it to [dramatic pause - too late] … zz zzz zzzz
I propose we organise our own "parade" here, and post photos of any type of "Christmassy feel" pictures, just to show willing to be jolly, if not actually participating in the standard, annual Yuletide madness!
I'll open a thread in "General Banter" and anyone who wants to join in The season of Goodwill to all Men, can do so!
I must admit I've become more hesitant to swim in the sea these days.
This happened about 20 minutes away from where I live.
https://www.3aw.com.au/teens-taken-to-hospital-after-bellarine-peninsula-shark-attack/
Oh how I miss the adrenaline rush when I used to go body surfing in Coogee and the shark siren goes off, it's quite amazing how fast one can move to get out of the water..
Snakes, spiders, sharks... However chilly and morose the weather, however mundane the wildlife, I think the UK is safer!