Reply to Sir2u Ah, nice. Had an ex from Honduras. It certainly seemed lovely, so i was surprised...and then in turn, unsurpirsed, so hear this was the country lol
Reports will have it that there are a good lot of children among them. Some of them have lost adult peers during their journey. Some vanish in a jungle somewhere. Outside of a comprehensive international effort, I'm not really seeing any good way to improve this stuff. A change in conditions where they come from might be the way to go?
Millions of people are trying to make it to North America.
As far as I know there are no roads connecting Columbia and Panama. So anyone traveling through there would be on foot, and have one hell of a journey to make.
As far as I know there are no roads connecting Columbia and Panama. So anyone traveling through there would be on foot, and have one hell of a journey to make.
I think that there are trails cutting through the area. Hell there must be an reasonably easy way to get from Columbia to Panama judging from the number of people from down there passing though here. There are people from Venezuela, Ecuador, China and gods know where else traveling in groups going though here everyday.
I suppose they could be crossing by boats on the north coast, but with the amount of surveillance around there I think we would have heard about it.
Edit: Check this in Google maps, but use the satellite view.
8.662527789601402, -77.36878835650803
It seems like there is a trail, but it seems touristic. The options for transport are ferries crossing the gulfs apparently https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Panama-Country/Colombia
My other Hamster is called Basma and is Syrian. Wolfgang, who is Siberian and somewhat of a Siberian supremacist, does not like her at all and constantly berates her. I put it down to insecurity, as Siberian, aka Russian Dwarf hamsters, are aptly much tinier than their Syrian counterparts. Every time I suggest this to Wolfgang though he bites me and runs away. I want to teach Wolfgang to be less insecure and appreciate the diversity of hamster world but I am running out of protective gloves. Any suggestions?
I'm on the tread mill, but can we switch to gerbils instead? I think you'll find that they run a little faster. Please, allow all the running to be absolutely freely willed by the creature, and do not hook the wheel to an energy harnessing device or you'll enter the category of cruelty.
I may be opening myself up to mockery here, the bane of the honest man. But if you are familiar with the phenomenon of horse whisperers, I am that to hamsters. I do not claim to be able to converse with them directly: I am well aware of the exclusivity of human language and the cognitive limits of our rodent cousins. It is more like--well I want to say a non-linguistic telepathy, though even that sounds inappropriately "woo" and, as you are well aware, I am a man of science and reason.
Let us just say I can "read" in a certain sense their signals, understand their moods and reflect back unto them gestural, guttural, and otherwise non-linguistic signs that appear to function communicatively such that I have a certain control over their behaviour that goes beyond mere coincidence. How many people do you know that can get a hamster to respond to its name? Or to exercise or stop exercising on command?
Anyhow, I do not wish to boast. In fact, the limits of my powers have become apparent with my inability to inculcate Wolfgang with cross-cultural etiquette such that he may peacefully co-exist with Basma. In fact, I may have inadvertently encouraged his irrational sense of nationalistic superiority through over-indulgent positive feedback intended only to reward successful communication. For example, when he obeyed a command, I would clap and cheer in Russian, "Yes, Wolfgang! You are the best! Soon you will be breaking wild horses and wrestling bears!" It may have all gone to his little head.
Reply to Baden My son is currently visiting your ancestral homeland in search of a St. Paddy's Day intoxication that apparently can't be found here. When he arrives at your shores, do see to it he is made to feel at home. I would do the same for your family members if they arrived here in God's country, even if your family is limited to the rats you tend to.
I liked this part. I can't understand the moods of other human beings, or even mine for that matter. So it made me feel so good to see that at least someone has a full grasp of the complete range of animalistic feelings, that I laughed, almost out loud. The silent laugh, ever catch a hamster laughing at you?
It was St. Patrick's Day yesterday and I didn't say anything. Neither did I drink Guinness (but I ate potatoes, which is typical Irish too) nor did I read Seamus Heaney's poems with @Baden, etc. I am a disgrace.
Reply to javi2541997 I ordered the corned beef at a restaurant, but the carrots and cabbage were crunchy, an impossibility if all ingredients are slow cooked together, which is the only way I've ever made it. It felt like some microwaved version. A further disgrace on that must holy of days.
Nobody says anything about Burns Night or St Andrew’s Day, even though there are more active Scotspeople than Irishpeople on TPF. I guess we don’t have the mass appeal that makes the Irish attractive to an international audience.
Corned beef is a common Jewish food from Eastern Europe, found at all Jewish delis. I learned a second ago that it was the Jews who made it a St. Patrick's Day food.
Nobody says anything about Burns Night or St Andrew’s Day, even though there are more active Scotspeople than Irishpeople on TPF. I guess we don’t have the mass appeal that makes the Irish attractive to an international audience.
I was not aware of any corned beef connection to St Patrick’s Day.
The last time I joined in the celebrations was in 1999 or 2000, and I was in Liverpool, the most Irish of English cities. I drank too much and got separated from my companion, a work colleague of Irish heritage who was from the city. After hanging around with a variety of strangers I wandered around in a daze until I stumbled upon Lime Street station and got the train back home to Wigan.
Oddly, I think this all took place in the span of three hours or less, because there was still daylight on the way home, and we’d started mid-afternoon, and the sun sets about 18:20 in Liverpool on March 17th. I suspect someone put something in my beer because I felt very wrong, and that put me off St Patrick’s Day for life.
Oddly, I think this all took place in the span of three hours or less, because there was still daylight on the way home, and we’d started mid-afternoon, and the sun sets about 18:20 in Liverpool on March 17th.
Yes, it is amazing how the time goes weirdly fast when someone's on alcohol. The last time I was in St. Patrick celebration was in 2017 in an Irish pub in Madrid. Nothing special and we don't have the special vibe as others cities like Dublin, Liverpool, Boston, etc do. But, the fact the owners gave us Leprechaun-like hats for drinking Guinness was priceless. I drank a lot as well, and yes, everything lasted in a span of three hours at much. I was in the pub at 22:00, and I remember ending up in my bed like at 01:00.
An Irishman came by yesterday, distraught, rambling on about a man he must find, but who's been missing since St. Patrick's Day 1999, around 18:20. He spoke like a Beatle, with an Irish twist. I asked where he was from you little fool, but he said no, it was from Liverpool.
That rhyming exchange wasn't the strangest part though.
He said he had searched the world over for the missing man, thinking he found him in Madrid in 2017 at 22:00. This man was too young though, and he spoke a broken English with a priceless leprechaun hat. The man he sought was as he best recollected 10 feet tall, legs of oak trees, a man purse slung round his neck that bopped to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" as his grapefruit sized Adam's apple upped and downed the lyrics.
That wasn't the strangest part though.
He spoke to me in Yiddish, harder even to understand from his eating his corned beef on rye with spicy mustard and a particularly sour pickle. He went on about pomegranate wine and the subtleies of a foreign land where he and the missing man once were. I lost train of thought and he slipped away, never to be seen again.
Not wanting to seem petty or anything like that, but unless the camera is making them look darker than they really are, THEY ARE BROWN. :cool:
My wife cleaned that bathroom floor with some sort of acid cleaner that took off the finish. She said she didn't mind the destruction, and so neither did I. My view is that nothing matters unless someone else says it does and then it matters to them and by default me. But me, I'm superchill 24/7/364, but not 365. I have one day of spinning, swirling anxiety, where I throw myself about on the floor and cry for freedom.
My wife cleaned that bathroom floor with some sort of acid cleaner that took off the finish. She said she didn't mind the destruction, and so neither did I.
But that still does not alter the fact that your pants, shoes and the marks on the floor are BROWN.
My view is that nothing matters unless someone else says it does and then it matters to them and by default me. But me, I'm superchill 24/7/364, but not 365. I have one day of spinning, swirling anxiety, where I throw myself about on the floor and cry for freedom.
Superchill every other day though.
Blood y hell, make up you mind. Or do we have to ask for your agenda to figure out when not to make fun of you. :lol:
Ok, I am freaking out right now. Wolfgang has started eating his own shit and he flat out refuses to tell me why.
This ties in with some other worrying developments in Hamster world. I have reason to believe *deep breath* Wolfgang's antipathy towards Basma may have all along been feigned. The reasons remain obscure but I have my suspicions. More later.... I am just... I really cannot cope right now. :sad:
Midnight, March 19th, Year of Our Lord, 2024. My Bedroom.
I really need to start keeping a record of this so I can even believe it myself. Not five minutes ago i awake from a disturbing dream--there's this horrible noise like someone scraping their fingers on a blackboard, only really high pitched,--like it's a really small person doing it--and getting more and more high pitched and I wake up and, here's the fucking thing, I still hear the noise. Coming from the corner of the room. Wolfgang's corner. I drag myself out of bed and over there. Soon as I get there, noise stops.
This point I begin to doubt my sanity. Wolfgang looks fast asleep. Basma in the cage next door, ditto. Then I see it. Fucking... OK just bear with me... I am like looking at this right now with my own eyes, sober and awake and not dreaming, cogito ergo fucking sum, and there's a cut, a jagged gap through one of the bars on Wolfgang's cage and I'm staring at it, reaching out to touch it to make sure it's real and out of the corner of my eye I see this glint, a glint and gone, and I could swear Wolfgang opened an eye, just one, scoped me out and then... Give me a moment... So, I am not paranoid. You want pictures? I am touching this right now, it's real--here's one hand and here's the bar! That bar has been sawed or chewed through. And what kind of hamster has metal fucking jaws?
Wolfang is dominating you both psychologically and emotionally. Hamsters can be very astute. You didn't lose your sanity, Baden. And that wasn't just a dream. It is time to be tough and face Wolfang's interpersonal manipulation. If I were you, I would have a deep conversation with Wolfang, telling him he is nobody to enter into your dreams and mind.
Wolfgang has started eating his own shit and he flat out refuses to tell me why.
Listen to me! Fuck man, he's laughing at you. Philosophers like to hype up this idea that human beings have this great unique capacity, the ability to laugh. The human creatures might even hire a jester to feed this illusion. This raises them up to lofty levels high above the animal kingdom (in their delusions). In reality, all the animals ever do is play tricks on us, and they're laughing at us. ALL THE TIME!
Thank you! Thank you all for your much valued advice!
OK, so hear me out. Here’s my theory: Wolfgang’s eating his own shit is a Hamlet move–'Though this is madness, yet there is method in’t'--a feign, a fake, the old lull them into a false sense of security thing. Then I’m looking for reasons, I mean if he’s Hamlet, who am I? The King? That doesn’t end well does it? And anyhow, what … like why? Did I kill his father? Ha… he… Did I…? OK, well, actually I did kill his father. Sort of. Do not judge me, do not dare judge me! Do not… OK, so I fed his father to Wanda, and then, talk about karma, she choked on him. My cat choked on Wolfgang’s father and died. That cat on the mantle, right there! My confession is complete. Are you satisfied now? Is that tragedy enough? Do we need more Shakespeare? The Hamster’s revenge? I make one moral error in a pristine life of animal kindness and benefactory and now I’m, like, a target? Besides, his daddio, Vlad, was a total dick. Complete… OK, just saying...
Anyhow and so I could take Wolfgang out in a pre-emptive strike. That would be totally justified, but do I do that? No. I am humbly remorseful for putting the rising cost of catfood on a superior level of.. of… I am fully apologetic for prioritizing economics above life itself. And so therefore I will deal with Wolfgang and every other living creature in future according to properly established moral precepts. That means, proof first, then the blender. One step at a time, right? Tell me I'm thinking straight here. Please.
Did I kill his father? Ha… he… Did I…? OK, well, actually I did kill his father. Sort of. Do not judge me, do not dare judge me! Do not… OK, so I fed his father to Wanda, and then, talk about karma, she choked on him. My cat choked on Wolfgang’s father and died.
You offered a meal to your cat. But that meal was Wolfgang's father. Whether Wolfgang is aware of his family members or not, I think it was actually a common sense act. One species was eaten by another species, but it turned out both died at the same time. There is no abusive dominance here...
I could end up being eaten by Jamal or Wanda too. It is a question of perspective.
You chose economics above ethics. Now you regret it, but you have learned the moral lesson. It is like a fable! I am starting to think that Wolfgang is a talking animal!
Thank you javi, that helps, and at least it proves me innocent of the charge of killing Wanda through enforced veganism, right? i mean, it's not like Wolfgang's father was a tofu cube. My conscience is entirely clear on that point. Yes.
Every morning, Pretzel, Peanut, Fred, and Gumbo would run to the breakfast table for a cheese party, where I would sing the cheese party song and go in circles giving them each a bit of cheese until I had exhausted the daily allotment.
Turns out cheese isn't so good for dogs and cats and so I had to stop. They soon forgot about the routine and went about doing whatever it is they did before they cheese partied.
My point is this: Don't slowly kill your animals with the wrong food, even if they seem to enjoy it. The same holds true for your children and crystal meth.
That last sentence was classic Hanover edginess. Hope you enjoyed.
Thank you [s]javi[/s] Hanover, that helps, and at least it proves me innocent of the charge of killing Wanda through enforced veganism, right? I mean, it's not like Wolfgang's father was a [s]tofu[/s] cheese cube. My conscience is entirely clear on that point. Yes.
Reply to Baden Oh, no, no, no, I think you are misunderstanding. You are absolutely guilty of killing Wanda and you have blood on your hands. Make no mistake about it. My main point, and one I completely failed to mention, is that some people knit, others brew their own beer, and even others enjoy peaceful walks in the park. You happen to murder. It's just you being you. What I'd like to see is an end to this worry and a self-embracing of You.
I mean look, we've all done things we think makes us weird or unusual, but if you look deeply into anyone's soul, you'll see the same darkness, bucking back and forth like a racehorse at the gate, wanting desperatly to get out, being held into place by a tiny pin, doubtfully able to contain it much longer.
Not sure what to make of that last paragraph, but, back on point. You be You! Kill those vermin. And at the end of the day, what isn't vermin?
Reply to Baden If I were you, I would have my conscience clear too, but with the only exception to Veganism. I think this evil practice should be forbidden by law. Wanda deserves to have steak tartar for supper.
And it is always impossible for Hanover to redeem us for something. He would accuse us in a trial if he could.
Spanish lesson n? 249: Hanover siempre está enfadite con nosotros... Mi mediocre nivel de inglés le irrita y se enfada con Baden por lo del hámster. Nos acusaría en juicio si pudiera.
Watched a great program on the political and heavy equipment aspects of Boston's Big Dig project. The author lists 6 phases of a really big civil engineering project:
1. Euphoria
2. Fear
3. Resignation
4. Search for the Guilty
5. Punishment of the Innocent
6. Praise and glory of the uninvolved.
In the end, the elevated freeway cutting through Boston was put underground, new bridges and tunnels were built, horrendous engineering problems were overcome, vast sums of money were spent. Now the subway system is falling apart.
In the end, the elevated freeway cutting through Boston was put underground, new bridges and tunnels were built, horrendous engineering problems were overcome, vast sums of money were spent. Now the subway system is falling apart.
The preferred method is to find the least desirable part of town and to build an interstate over it, offering a nice divider through the community so that the two groups lose all contact with one another and evolve seperately, one with webbed feet and the other only eating eucalyptus.
Reply to Hanover That was part of an early plan -- the SW Corridor was going to plow through working class neighborhoods and a huge interchange was planned for Roxbury -- Boston's black cultural center. Another project was going to circle Cambridge. Citizen opposition stopped the plan so successfully that then governor Sargent closed down all freeway construction projects in Boston (in the early 70s).
The Big Dig was conceived and planning started long before a shovel of dirt was tossed. The work was done by Bechtel Parsons Brinckerhoff, a very capable construction giant which was also quite secretive about anticipated costs.
In the event that you find you have a burning desire to immerse yourself in the Big Dig, here's a link to GBH's series on the Big Dig.
Reply to javi2541997 In fairness to artificial intelligence, Google did a decent job. What I wrote was nonsense.
On the other hand, lots of Google Translate efforts fail miserably. They either don't make sense at all, or they are very crude approximations. How do I know? Well, quite often the text with the foreign language term provides the meaning.
Hey, how are you doing? ¿Qué pasa? What is the function of the accent mark on 'é'?
Today is the first day of spring. It's cool, clear, and windy here -- temperature is 10ºC / 49F. The highs for the next week are only a little above freezing. Those temperature are normal. Unfortunately, we have had quite a few days of abnormal warmth, so it seems cold.
Google translates que es el auto and qué es el auto the same way, with or without the accent. On the other hand, it appears to have more responses Eng ----> Span than Span ----> Eng
Where is the car? ... ¿Dónde está el auto?
That is the car. ... Ese es el auto
Is that the car? ... ¿Es ese el auto? ...
What car is that? ... ¿Qué auto es ese?
I was going to learn to speak Spanish like a native this afternoon, but obviously the language is too complicated.
Thank heavens I already speak English like a native. It would be far too difficult, otherwise.
We need a simple language!
All verbs are in the present tense, for instance. All nouns are singular. No unnecessary words. "Yesterday I eat little. I is 87 in 2034. I is 67 in 2014, You is in Spain for 1+ year. We is member of philosophy forum. Some people is ban.
See? Simple. Spelling obviously has to be simplified.
"Al verbs r in present tens." "al nowns r singular." "Filosofe forum". "som pepl is ban.
Ether pronowns all letrs n word or get rid uv them: "Knight" = kenicht. "Nit" is more simple.
So, I wake up this morning with a bloody lower lip. You want to know why I have a bloody lower lip? Buddy, you don’t want to know, believe me. But I’m going to tell you. First, let’s get straight on what happened last night. Wolfgang is gone. Yes, gone. Vamoose, busted out, scarpered. No longer in the building. The cage door is wide open and the hamster has bolted. That’s number one. But I’m just getting started. Wolfgang is gone, but something else is here. In me. How can I explain? Oh yeah, the lip. My lip is bloody, bud, because my upper incisors are now 5cm long. Yes, you heard right. I may add that I have developed a thin furry coating over my entire body. You got me? So the hair I can handle. But the teeth… I can’t even talk without ripping myself up. I look like a freakin’... I’m looking in the mirror right now. I don’t like what I see. I really don’t like what I see. Things have escalated. We are now in the realm of very bad doo doo. Well… what now, Einsteins?
Reply to Baden Firstly, don't worry for bleeding out of your lower lip. I tend to bleed out of my lips when I wake up too. It is 06:55, and I was bleeding 25 minutes ago. When I sleep my mouth gets drought for unknown reasons, and when I open it I start bleeding because the lips get cut. It is a weird feeling, but it is OK to bleed. It is the potion of our body and the sacred liquid of Jesus. We should not fear blood. It is not a coincidence that you and I have bled out of our lips. I think most of the users do, but they are afraid of sharing this in the shoutbox.
On the other hand, it surprised me that Wolfgang had actually scapered. After all the drama and emotional issues of yesterday, he decided to leave the building. Yet I believe Wolfgang will come back to your room sooner or later. Animals tend to do this, and although Wolfgang is intellectual, he is an animal with the feeling of being petted anyway. I bet whenever Wolfgang starts to get hungry he will go to your room and knock on your door again. I hope you will stop bleeding then. I would not like to be in your position of bleeding in front of the hamster... a violent scene could happen.
When the one who is laughing at you has become you, there's only one thing you can do, and that is to laugh at yourself. The rest of us become innocent bystanders.
What's the difference between hurling an insult, and making a joke?
Last night we were without electricity and discovered that scented candles are bloody useless for illumination. Therefore my advice is to stock up on regular old-fashioned candles, preferably made of spermaceti.
You might be interested in Toki Pona, the world’s smallest language.
Ironically, the less the number of words, the more it is complex to learn and understand the language, because it is open to every possible interpretation. For example: Car is 'moving room' in Toki Pona. Because Tomo can mean house, building, room, etc. and Tawa means moving forward. So, connecting those two words, it means 'Car'. It is very complex, indeed. :sweat:
Reply to javi2541997 This sounds Spidermanish, where maybe a radioactive hamster bit you. I saw a documentary where a man turned into a fly. I can't remember the name of it, but I think it was called The Fly. The good news is that you'll have all the traits of a hamster, just as more extreme superpowers. You'll scamper really fast and maybe nibble with crazy accuracy. I can only hope you use your powers for good. Being a comic book hero is a demanding job.
For example: Car is 'moving room' in Toki Pona. Because Tomo can mean house, building, room, etc. and Tawa means moving forward. So, connecting those two words, it means 'Car'. It is very complex, indeed.
We have the same problem with English. Like we call a rooster a cock and a penis a cock, and unless you're really tuned into English nuance, you'll continually embarass yourself with the misuse of these two similar but very different terms.
For example, I ordered the coq de vin, which is a slow cooked rooster dish, but I told the waiter I wanted a steaming plate of cock to fill my hungry mouth with, obviously intending to order the coq de vin, but he misunderstood the subtlties of my native tongue. What followed was a tragic misunderstanding.
The easiest language is English. At least for me. The others are really hard to pronounce and I don't know what they mean.
LMAO! :lol: Hanover, I think it is obvious that each of us consider our native language as the easiest because it is the one we are familiar with. I think Spanish is the easiest and Baden and Wolfgang think Gaelic is the easiest too.
Reply to Jamal I've seen several Youtube presentations by this guy. Interesting. Another approach is Basic English.
Basic English was devised by Cambridge philosopher Charles Sumner around 1930. It has a vocabulary of 850 words with about 20 verbs. I don't know what percentage of Basic English vocabulary were selected from the Anglo Saxon core of English; my guess is that quite a few were.
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is composed of roughly 90% words from the Anglo Saxon core and common words added (mostly from French) which gave him a Middle Earth vocabulary of maybe 10,000 words, max. Then there were the languages Tolkien invented.
A few years ago I tried learning French using Rosetta Stone. I liked the program and I did make some progress. Interest flagged, however. My interest was reading French; I don't especially like the way French sounds (coming out of some Francophone mouths) and its spelling is terrible.
It's not impossible for us old folks to learn new languages, but it is quite hard. One's brain doesn't have as many empty memory slots to put stuff in as young people have. Plus, once the brain has found an empty slot, it's hard to keep stuff from sliding out and ending up as a jumble on the floor.
Or you learn something new really well only to discover that something older and important is erased.
It's not impossible for us old folks to learn new languages, but it is quite hard. One's brain doesn't have as many empty memory slots to put stuff in as young people have. Plus, once the brain has found an empty slot, it's hard to keep stuff from sliding out and ending up as a jumble on the floor.
The number of English words has increased over time and its grammar has simplified over time for this very reason. Old people are stupid. If you insert young people into a society, they will learn the language close to the natives, but the old fuckers will drop the grammatical irregularities and will throw in words from their homelands. They do this because old people are just bad at learning language.
If you look at a language like modern English and go back to Middle and then Old English, you can pretty much figure out that immigration has been taking place and older speakers have entered the mix.
I find the issues of accents, the inabilty to emulate native languages, and the addition of new words by foreigners an interesting evolutionary control over integration. That we can easily distinguish strangers from natives by speaking to them seems to be an important social control.
French sounds (coming out of some Francophone mouths)
You should try listening to Quebecois or Wallon French, it is especially unpleasant, not to use stronger words (sorry).
In the case of Wallon I would not blame the French language however, nothing in Belgium sounds good.
Anyone that thinks this is worse. Some might be ignorant of thing that younger people consider important, but some of us are wise enough to not try and emulate them.
If you insert young people into a society, they will learn the language close to the natives, but the old fuckers will drop the grammatical irregularities and will throw in words from their homelands. They do this because old people are just bad at learning language.
The only thing you got right there was the last line, or at least partially right. The youngest will learn easiest because their brain is still developing its language center and they are capable of learning 2 words for the same thing much easier that older folks. they also have no or little shame about making mistakes and trying again.
Most of the time it is the young teens that insert homeland words because it sounds cool or the adult that is just trying to get along and does not really need to learn properly as long as the understand what is said to them.
B.C. got it right, it is more difficult for older folks to learn a new language, but not because they are stupid. If you spend 60 or 80 years calling something a horse, it is very difficult to think of it as anything else. The brain needs to do a lot more work to register the new word and coordinate its use into sentences made of other new words.
Reply to Sir2u I said old people are stupid to be self depreciating, putting myself into that class. I didn't mean to insult anyone. But now I find myself head to head with the AARP. So my apologies to one and to all. I came meaning no harm.
But the old (and really not that old btw) are less able to learn new languages as part of the ways brains develop. If you start a language later in life you will never (as in never ever) speak it like a native.
I usually have to carry a notebook with different dates, appointments, meetings, etc. for my academy, and it is full of Tipp-Ex. I tend to confuse the days or the numbers... if I delete the mistake with another pen it looks ugly, honestly.
Thanks, Germany, for creating the Tipp-Ex!
Please do excuse all that nonsense concerning my transformation into a Siberian hamster. Of course, none of that ever happened, haha. Just my little joke. I even forged that note. As one of you fellows noticed, I wrote it with my left hand to give the appearance of authenticity. I am as human as ever, haha. (Though one might be forgiven for thinking I had some odd obsession with these little critters. What a thought! *chuckle*).
So, the real focus of my efforts here is purely academic. I aim to play a pivotal role in a humanities project I am deeply engaged in as part of my research studies; it involves the transformation of a number of Shakespearean plays into a hamsterian perspective. To clarify, this will involve each character being a form of hamster, or a human / hamster hybrid if you will (which is why you may have gleaned by now it was necessary as part of this PURELY ACADEMIC effort for me to get inside the mind of such a creature. Again, apologies if it all seemed a bit TOO REAL, haha. But I assure you I am perfectly fine and indeed 100% human *chuckle*).
And so for the purposes of research, I require just 5 or 6 of volunteers from the cohort of fine budding philosophers here to mentally transform into hamsters and read and rewrite a Shakespeare play (the first will be Hamlet) as outlined above. Please feel free to collaborate and strategize over responsibilities concerning scenes, acts, characters and suchlike. I am sure there will be some competition among you over who gets to play “Hamsterlet” eh? Haha, *chuckle*.
In any case, the deadline for applications for this project is 3pm next Wednesday afternoon. I will judge the successful applicants purely on merit.
Ulug öördüm!
Professor Wolfgang Baden II
Dean
Faculty of Arts and Sciences,
Little Yenisey University,
Kyzyl,
Republic of Tuva,
Siberia,
Russia
Your image of Wolfgang as I perceive him (only in my imagination, of course, haha, *chuckle*, as if he even exists hehe, the very thought!) is startling perceptive. And I believe a fellow of your artistic talents would be much suited to the academic environs hereabouts. Please do feel free to initiate correspondence on this topic. In any case, I must rush now. My exercise wheel beckons.
Reply to Baden I will be very pleased to take part in your project. It looks interesting, and it is not difficult to transform myself into a hamster if it is necessary. Nonetheless, I have a little suggestion here. Rather than Shakespeare's plays, I would love to read Nordic playwrights, especially Jon Fosse. Why? Because I am a melancholic and nostalgic boy. The transformation into a hamster doesn't keep me out of being sensitive. It is important to collaborate but not avoid who I am, because the collaboration will be useless and fake. Well... whenever my transformation into a rodent is done... I would love to be named Pablo Guillermo. I know it is weird, but I think animals deserve to have two names and not only one.
Note 1: I am ready.
Note 2: OH MY GOD. You actually updated your profile picture to Wolfgang Mouse drawing. This weirdly makes me happy. You will never know where happiness is.
Javier
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras.
Parque de Palomeras Bajas, 23.
Madrid. 28018.
Spain.
And so for the purposes of research, I require just 5 or 6 of volunteers from the cohort of fine budding philosophers here to mentally transform into hamsters and read and rewrite a Shakespeare play (the first will be Hamlet) as outlined above.
I'd take part, but only if you'd allow me to be a gerbil instead of a hamster. Furthermore, I think you'd find that I would flatly refuse to read Shakespeare, as I did in high school, finding the language to be undecipherable gerbilish. So my collaborating and strategizing would be nothing more than cheating the system. I'll be on the tread mill, just call if that's what you want.
You actually updated your profile picture to Wolfgang Mouse drawing
An honour, sir! And I am delighted that you have signalled your participation. I agree to your terms and I am assured this will be a grand success! :cheer:
Reply to Baden I'm ready to get started on your project. I was thinking about a hamster falling in love with a gerbil, and we all know the fued between those two in terms of which makes the better ratpet. Their love is forbidden, but they very much want to interbreed to the extent they're not evolutionary too distinct to do so. All sorts of efforts are made to bring these two together and get them bouncing on top of each other, but inevitably the boy hamster fucks something up, misunderstands something, and, feeling all is lost, throws himself into the mouth of a cat, which then leads the girl gerbil to get all dramatic and shit and so she jams her head into the gerbil wheel and waits for another unsuspecting gerbil to get on it and spin her head off flying across the cage.
It'd be a tragic story if we we weren't just talking about rats.
I mean it's a first stab at this, but I think it's coming along pretty well.
Reply to Metaphysician Undercover I refused to read Shakespeare when I was in school too. But... this is different... Baden is asking us to transform ourselves into hamsters. I think it will be special to be rodents for a day.
Look... I am expecting a lot from you, MU... there is nothing like sharing the love and affection of animals amongst friends. I feel more confident when I transform myself into X, because Y is already screwed.
'I love acting. It is so much real than life' - Oscar Wilde.
But gerbils we need not. Let us make it a romance of the Siberian and Syrian breeds.
"O Wolfgang, Wolfgang, wherefore art thou Wolfgang?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I’ll no longer be a Syrian.
‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though not a Siberian.
What’s Siberian? It is not paw nor foot
Nor tooth nor snout nor any other part
Belonging to a hamster. O be some other name.
What’s in a name? That which we call a raisin
By any other name would taste as sweet;
So Wolfgang would, were he not Wolfgang call’d,
Retain that rodentian perfection which he owes
Without that title. Wolfgang, doff thy name,
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself."
The Formula One Grand Prix is in my city this weekend. The streets will be packed with inebriated race fans wearing $95 Ferrari baseball caps. My trams have been replaced by buses and the air is thick with the smell of E10 fuel and grid girls doused in Soleil Brûlant by Tom Ford... I wish I was dead.
I understand that feeling. I hate Formula One. I usually go to Montmeló and the city becomes noisy, toxic and unbearable. This is one of the things I don't mind if Catalonia has it, but Madrid doesn't. Yet it seems that F1 will be in Madrid in the next tournaments too... Pathetic. The governors of my city are stupid for wanting to hold the Grand Prix with its toxicity and its hard smell.
Uber Tuber Eats? Grubs Hubs? (Do they enjoy the wee wiggling worms?)
Who is to say that Mr Wombie wouldn’t appreciate being invited to vacation with you?
From the videos I’ve seen, I’d be afraid of hurting his feelings and getting roughed up. :monkey: :sweat:
Reply to 0 thru 9 It's a burden. He will only eat two varieties of natives grass. The pet store gets it in for me and I keep a a few days supply handy in my rooftop greenhouse. But the fucker will eat all of it unless someone monitors portion control. I'd take him with me but he burps loudly all the time and people get spooked.
And it’s strange, everything you said about your wombat could be said about my two closest friends, who may have been descended from wombats.
Except that they don’t eat two kinds of native grass, they smoke it. :blush:
@Miguel Hernández .And you have to be careful. This a ropey area. I forgot to take my bromazepam pills this morning while eating the breakfast and now I feel aggressive and mad with the damn train because it is even slower than a snail.
Reply to Baden I just need to point out the ongoing absurdity of the English laying claim to proper English. They might have invented it, but we perfected it.
In a death match, Ozzie English would have a decent chance--some quirky moves. But honestly, in the end, each dialect would probably end up wounding each other so badly that Chinese would just come along and take over. So I'm not sure I like your idea. Of course, I may be misunderstanding since you are speaking yankmerican.
Reply to Baden Yeah Ravi Shanker, all I'm hearing is a box of toys from you. You want to read and write? I'm short of a sheet with a ship in full sale in my hand without an ounce of chicken curry.
I think that's how I would challenge you to a fight in East London.
It is difficult not to question the grace of our heavenly creator when we see his erasure of the multitude of shades of beige with the bothersome colors of spring.
Wisteria in bloom.
And so for the purposes of research, I require just 5 or 6 of volunteers from the cohort of fine budding philosophers here to mentally transform into hamsters...
I will be very pleased to take part in your project.
I will have my hamster-like playwriting done tomorrow morning. Shall I post it here in the shoutbox @Baden?
I approve. As a child I used to go to Nardini’s cafe for ice cream floats, otherwise known as coke floats. Coca-Cola in a tall sundae glass with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Those were around in the early 1950s. Wiedenhaft's Grocery had them. They were disgusting, Ditto for the other items n the list. Especially candy corn.
Reply to Hanover I was online ten minutes early and waited until 15 after the start time twiddling my thumbs. It was an uphill battle anyhow :P Another time! Perhaps something around an event/holiday so its on minds more.
@Baden. Here it goes... I hope it is entertaining and easy to read. Thanks for allowing me to take part in your project. I only wish this is (somehow) what you are looking for...
March 25th of the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 2024.
I am waiting in the endless circle of life and temptations. My days are simple: I wake up, I eat, I question my existence, and then I go to sleep.
Sorry, if I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Pablo Guillermo, and I am a hamster living in a purple light cage in an office inside other blocks of offices in Madrid. My owner X is wacky, but we understand each other. One day, I ate a pen from his suitcase, and randomly he gnawed the pencil too. I wonder if humans could transform into hamsters since then. Anyway, it is 08:56 and the owner is passing by the door.
X: Do you... (?) Do you... I mean, did you finish the draft? oh yes... I understand, etc. Oh, man, it is impossible to get things done with these teammates. Hey, how are you doing? If only I could transform into a hamster and speak to you, my life would be more pleasant.
Pablo Guillermo: I hope I will not regret doing this after all...
*clink*
X: Where is my suitcase... Here... There... WAIT A MINUTE. Why is the table that long? Someone put something in my coffee this morning, absolutely.
Pablo Guillermo: No, buddy. You are just now a hamster like me. Everything looks bigger than you are used to. The distances and lengths are longer too. Life passes by slowly as much as the hands of a clock. But it never stops. I mean, our way to our end.
X: Oh, God! Pablo Guillermo is literally talking.
Pablo Guillermo: I can't believe you got surprised because of my ability to talk and not my existential crisis.
X: Oh, true. What do hamsters do?
Pablo Guillermo: Follow me. I will show you something special.
Part II.
They jumped from the desk and started to run along the blue carpet. Everything was monstrously bigger than them, but the most curious fact is that there was no noise. It only heard their paws scrolling. They entered a dark and cold room. With his tiny paws, Pablo Guillermo lit a bulb up and opened a box.
Pablo Guillermo: Look what I was storing in this secret room...
*Pablo Guillermo shows the nibbled pen*
X: Oh, Lord! It is the pen I bit once.
Pablo Guillermo: Yes, it is. I have had it with me since then. When I saw you bit it like I do, I knew you would like to be a hamster...
*They start to cry*
X: You are right. Transforming myself into a hamster is everything I always dreamed of. I didn't want to share this because I was afraid of being treated as a mental disorder person... I am crying for happiness... I never felt this free. It is hard to explain, but as a hamster I can fit in the puzzle of life.
Pablo Guillermo: I tend to question my existence when I am in the cage. I see you working covered by papers, and I am there running in the endless circle...
X: Endless circle?
Pablo Guillermo: Yes you know. We sleep, we wake up, take breakfast, go to work or study, cry and then go to sleep again. Since we are rodents now, I think we can face life and do different things. Let's leave these offices.
X: OK. I follow you, but don't forget this. *X grabs the pen*
The two rodents left the room silently. There were people with suits around, but they didn't recognize them. Who knows? Maybe one of these workers wants to be a hamster too. Opening the entry door, the sun brightly reflects on them. A new life is about to start. It is time to be a hamster... Although it only lasts one day.
This is an absolutely exemplary addition to the field of Hamsterish literature and will form an invaluable contribution to my research. I am honored you have shared it with me. :pray:
Reply to Baden Thank you for your kindness, Baden. Your words cheered me up, and it was fun to write this play. I am honored as well you took your time to read it.
A wannabe fabulist in the pursuit of Hamsterish literature,
Reply to Tom Storm Wow! Thank you, Tom for reading my basic play in the first place. :party: :100: I really appreciate it.
Baden inspired me with this Hamsterish thing. I will never look at these rodents in the same way either. When I said I wanted to transform into a hamster I was joking, but now... I think it would be worth trying.
Metaphysician UndercoverMarch 26, 2024 at 00:33#8908770 likes
I like the ending, except for the part about only one day. Why not forever?
Because everything was a dream... tomorrow morning X will be a boring worker in the office again... he was dreaming about everything he wished for: a new life, a new body, escapism, etc.
The despair of the first paragraph is told by Pablo Guillermo the hamster but with the mind and soul of X, the office worker. :sad:
I did a past life regression analysis using your basic statistical formulas for such things and it turns out that prior to being Hanover of Hanoveria, I was Delilalicious, a go go dancer at a seedy whisky bar on the lower south east west side. I danced in a cage for 12 hours straight, my knee length boots cracking at the knees while I maintained a far away look in my eyes and gyrated for tips and pickled herring. My father would sip his beer as he looked past my shoulder, watching the horse races, always betting on Thickcock in the 3rd.
As it turned out, I would fall for a regular, a cowboy with a broken back with an angry laugh that belied his gentle spirit. He saved me from that life, where my twelve Amish children and he moved me into a house built upon stilts that stood 100 yards into the ocean just past the breaking waves. We would swim to our abode, with my infant Lucy clutching my hair as she road along my back like a baby turtle.
We lived a modest life, snacking upon peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches and salt water taffy. I taught my children well and sang the songs of the old country to them so as to preserve that part of me.
"Oh Tangaestaneovia! Oh Tangestanovia! How my heart longs for your gentle fields as the cackle birds fly high in the sky above the rivers that flow with the blood of the Kankarovions, our mortal enemy! Let them die! Let them Cry!"
Singing that national anthem would bring me such pride.
That I have moved from that life to what I am now, a moderator, is just proof that there is a kind and gentle god. The story explains much, particularly my penchant for the longboot and those with broken backs.
Reply to Deleted user That photograph does provide conclusive proof of at least one rejection (and that is indisputably the shadow of Jesus' prominent chin), but I don't how how they arrived at "most." The word only showed up above one of the listener's heads. Typically if there were an outcry, you'd see blurbs throughout the angry crowd.
Reply to Hanover You see, the pharisees were very orderly people, they let one speak, and if there was no objection, it meant that he spoke for all, without need for a ruckus.
, I've not been able to figure out how to rig them up.
You just put "Netflix" in your google and pay them $10 or whatever it is they charge. Then you can watch Sweet Home on your mighty phone. I think you'd like it.
Schlapp: lockdowns and the pandemic, yep, and drugs :mask: Mace: Biden's infra policies Posobiec: Biden, it's all Biden's fault Bartiromo: the border, it's border policies Scott: the border, it's the wide-open border Jones: cyber-attack, world war 3 has started :death: Tate: cyber-attack, yep
"DrRemingtonPHD": big boom :fire:
"Alex_Oloyede2": Israel
"Bubblebathgirl": anti-white business practices err corporate diversity initiatives Gabriel: Buttigieg's'gotta go
What is this? A secret message? Is the illuminati behind this? It is not the first time that I have seen a plane and a cup of coffee on banknotes. Yesterday it was on a €20 note and then now on this €50 one. What does the European Central Bank want to say about this?
Some EU members like @Benkei for example. Did you notice this in your banknotes?
More precisely. Why does the cup of coffee appear in Spain? Hmm... this is very strange and mysterious to me.
I lease a parking space and the leaseholder pays me in cash. Just €80, and when I saw the €50 banknote I thought Jesus! His children painted on them. But no... It is clearly a hidden message from the European Central Bank.
I lease a parking space and the leaseholder pays me in cash. Just €80, and when I saw the €50 banknote I thought Jesus! His children painted on them. But no... It is clearly a hidden message from the European Central Bank.
Ooh, how I love a good all-encompassing international mystery! You never know just how far this rabbit hole will go. Or what we might uncover, if we even survive, pray tell! This reminds me of Sherlock Holmes (the book not the cheesy modern movie) or National Treasure with Nicholas Cage. Could it be a treasure map? A secret, covert message from a wealthy insider who happened upon something horrible, knowing he's being watched and so his only option of conveyance was to leave such a subtle, seemingly innocuous clue for the world to see and hope someone with a keen eye and sharp wit answers his call and stops whatever it may be before it's too late?!
What an unfortunate time to have stopped drinking. A nice, hearty glass of brandy or cognac to sip on would be excellent to have in hand as we combine our shared wits and philosophical intuitions to become an unstoppable force and unravel this mystery together. What a shame. You picked a terrible time to stumble upon an international mystery, Javi. If I didn't know any better... I'd say you opted for this timing on purpose! You're in on it, aren't you? Don't lie to me.
Reply to Outlander I must admit I opted for this timing on purpose. It is indescribable the anxiety I suffered when I saw the drawing in the first place. I go to shopping to Mercadona every day. This beautiful mall is the main location where I always buy bread, spring onions, pepper, water, alcohol, etc. I think Mercadona workers respect me and do I with them. So, I will never cheat on them. It is sad and they do not deserve it. When I saw the f*cking plane and coffee cup I thought: 'this notebook deserves to be put on the rubbish', but I wonder why the hell it has these symbols. A plane seriously has to mean something. And this object is located at the 'E' of Euro. But the coffee cup is in the middle of my country.
I think the hidden message is the following one: if you want to have a coffee in Spain you need to previously buy a plane ticket to travel abroad.
... But it is obvious that the message could be darker, cursed and violent. I am very afraid of the European Central Bank. Christine Lagarde seems to be a very twisted person.
And yet when I returned from Mercadona my parents (my holy PARENTS) scolded me shouting: why didn't you buy alcohol and only this shit? *pointing out to rye bread*
I watched a pretty good 90 minute show on Netflix yesterday -- Leaving the World Behind -- something like that. It was full of mostly unrealized menace. An oil tanker plowed into a beach on Long Island. A lot of deer gathered around a house, silently staring at the humans. Radio, TV, telephones, & the Internet were all down, but oddly there was still electricity. Odd events happened. A plane dropped undecipherable messages on orange paper. Strange noises caused this teenager's teeth to fall out. Self-driving cars caused road blockages by committing automotive hari-kari.
In the end there were nuclear explosions (not very convincing) over Manhattan.
Take away: It was just like the containership plowing into the bridge in Baltimore. You've seen the show, no need to buy a ticket.
Excuse me, well *ahem* I have been thinking and, er, that is to say, mulling over some of the comments here and, ah, yes, so suppose, just suppose Bob Hope were a hamster *bear with me*, ah, the point being. would that not, ah, *burp* all things considered, take the, shall we say, negative edge off his character? And, ah, excuse me while I develop this... if we, that is to say, extend this line of, ah, reasoning, so to speak, suppose, well it may sound odd, but so be it, *fart* ah, excuse me, well, as I was saying... strange as it may sound on first reading, suppose that, to merely theorize, one might say if.. well , if "everyone" (scare quotes *chuckle*) *ahem* if everyone were a hamster *burp*, yes I said it, just suppose, the point being, would not the world... ah, just think about it, be a better place? *burp* *ahem* *fart*... excuse me.
(Please see schematic below for further theoretical elucidation).
(Please see schematic below for further theoretical elucidation).
Excellent. Thank you for sharing it with us. Well, I can't add anything but how humanity could be a better place without people. Until I didn't take part in your activity, I wasn't aware of the kindness of these rodents... I feel bad... I never considered it a reliable species... but now my eyes and heart are opened and my transformation into a hamster was worthwhile.
Reply to Baden I can't read your handwriting. Is the group of people on the left "Hannity," as in Sean Hannity from Fox News? Why is he represented by a group of four stickmen, and what caused the group of Hannity to arrive on scene here?
How does this relate to the scribbles on @javi2541997's Euro and the shipwreck in Balitmore?
Well, I can't add anything but how humanity could be a better place without people.
Knowing of your interest in improving your English writing skills, I thought I should point out that you could more concisely write, "Hamsteranity could be better."
An important feature of hamsteranity is that mother hamsters under stress eat their babies. So hamsteranity would never reach humanity's stressful level of overpopulation.
Knowing of your interest in improving your English writing skills, I thought I should point out that you could more concisely write, "Hamsteranity could be better."
Thanks for the feedback, wonderer1. :up:
I am interested in my writing skills, but I am aware that I write very badly. Wait a minute... how would Javi be if I could write English perfectly like a native?
If one day I finally reach a better level of grammar, folks would say: this is not Javi! Chat GPT kidnapped him!
Hannity, indeed, another fine rodent. Note the hamsterish prose and chubby cheeks.
He looks to be around 12 years old in that photo and he already spoke so eloquently of the fleeting joys of success and the demands of hard work. I've not paid much attention to him in the past, but now I will listen only to him. And you. Because you're a talking hamster.
Funnily, I got that accusation in the story I submitted for the contest.
Wow! Sometimes we don't know where the criticism could come from... you write English pretty well. I mean, you are non-native like me, but it is obvious that your level is higher than mine.
Interesting points, and on the whole I agree that for my next book, the subject of Barbara Streisand's journey to hamsterhood should be de-emphasized in favour of Sean's. In our previous extensive discussions on the topic of our chubby cheeked friend, I must confess I omitted a few salacious details, which, well *chuckle* I can hardly resist revealing *burp*. You see, I once shared a cage with the naughty hamsterlet Sean once was and he had the objectionable habit of--well, it's all rather amusing in hindsight--the thing is he used to *chuckle* consume his own pellets... faeces that is, which in itself is no... I mean who hasn't from time to time? But the reason *ahem* *chuckle* *burp* he did this was to make himself physically sick with the purpose of vomiting into the food bowl so no-one else would eat the food but him! He has always had a stalwart constitution the greedy scoundrel haha! Well, it took several starvations (Dwight Eisenhower and Warren Beatty among them) for us to cotton onto his little trick and put an end to it. Barbara and I were *chuckle* *fart* the only survivors of the cage, in fact--along with Sean of course!--the little rascal *chuckle*.
Thank you too, but the story of the rodentification of Led Zeppelin would take several volumes and most likely a number of decades to complete. Oh, the times we had! *chuckle* *fart* *burp* *vomit* hehe.
Thank you too, but the story of the rodentification of Led Zeppelin would take several volumes and most likely a number of decades to complete. Oh, the times we had! *chuckle* *fart* *burp* *vomit* hehe.
So let me see if I follow what's going on. You own a couple of hamsters and you gave them nonsense names, probably so you could have something to talk about when people asked you why you bought rats for your house, and then that resulted in your making stories up about them, ranging from Shakespeare to Hannity, although the latter one from my inability to read your writing, and you actually morphed into a hamster at some point, and now you talk to me as if a hamster and that is accomplished through reference to bodily functions and sounds?
Sometimes it helps to just say what is going on in order to give us a chance to self-assess.
That is so kind of you. All I can say is that if the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me.
It fell out the window and landed on the mailman. I'm now trying to watch Netflix on a broken TV on a dead mailman. It was better when it was static. Barely.
Reply to Hanover That is great. If you don't enjoy the show, you can read your neighbours' mail instead.
I recommend you pick the letters before the corpse starts rotting.
Life of Brian is not my cup of tea, Banno. But I will watch it again. Why not?
Did you read or see The Last Temptation? It is worthwhile.
Interesting, can we compare the two? Kazantzakis is serious philosophy. Python is satire - which points to its own seriousness. If it helps, I grew up around Monty Python and they never much appealed to me. Small doses ok.
I wonder it Scorsese took a Greek Orthodox influenced account of Jesus and made it Catholic. Is this Jesus just another instantiation of Travis Bickle? Discuss.
Good points. I agree with your analysis actually. So, yes, obviously I'm not a hamster and Wolfgang is not human or half-human or whatever other madness he was claiming but 100% a hamster who unfortunately got access to my account here and, well, I've only read the recent stuff but there are clear inaccuracies there. I mean, it's admittedly plausible that Sean Hannity eats his own shit etc (I don't know the guy personally) but if you look closely at Wolfgang’s statements, stuff doesn't add up. I mean he says he shared a cage with Warren Beatty who died of starvation through Hannity’s shit-eating food hogging tactics. But, get this, [I] Beatty is still alive[/i]. I mean he's not even that old. Not like e.g. Bing Crosby. So, yes, Wolfgang kind of discredited himself there and me in the process, but anyway, to clarify everything's back to normal now. I am not a hamster and Wolfgang is not human. That's the main thing to keep in mind. Thank you.
If you could just spare a few raisins. Wolfgang ate all mine. :sad:
I have my alarm clock set up for 05:30 every morning. But, just in case, I also set it up to 05:50 in the case the first alarm doesn't sound.
Well, that is what happened this morning and I can't understand why. My alarm didn't sound at 05:30 but 05:50. I am lucky that I am a foresightful man, but what would happen if I didn't set it up twice? Maybe I would still have slept in my bed right now...
By the way, the last day of the months which have 31 days tend to be twisted and cursed...
If you are like me, then whatever you're worried about, you will make happen by being overly cautious and attentive to specific things which you believe could cause what you're worried about to happen, so much so, that you will inadvertently do something else, which you don't recognize will actually cause what you're worried about to happen. You don't notice, because you're too preoccupied by the other things which you believe could cause it to happen. So, it's likely that setting your alarm to 5:50 actually negated the 5:30 setting or something like that, and you didn't realize it. Then you actually caused the first alarm not to sound by being too worried about the possibility that it might not sound.
By the way, if you haven't come to understand this yet, life itself is twisted and cursed.
My father always used a wind up alarm clock in fear of a late night power outage. I tried that, but the ticking kept me up, eliminating the need for the alarm.
When I was young, I put my alarm clock across the room so I'd have to get up and assure myself I wouldn't go back to sleep.
I now rely on anxiety to awake me, which is fail proof. The cat too. She knows when it's breakfast time.
Reply to Metaphysician UndercoverReply to Hanover The alarm clock worked perfectly this morning, mates! Good morning. I wish you a beautiful start to the gorgeous month of April. :flower: :sparkle: :party:
but it is obvious that your level is higher than mine
Also, I would not take that as being from my capacity more than it is from my opportunities. I have lived, dated, studied, and worked in English at different points of my life, so I would have to actively try for my English not to be good. Whatever level your English is, I have no trouble understanding anything you say, which for me is enough. But then take this thread https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/14597/what-can-i-know-with-100-certainty , where we go as far as using logical symbols, and yet we don't understand each other.
But then take this thread https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/14597/what-can-i-know-with-100-certainty , where we go as far as using logical symbols, and yet we don't understand each other.
Those threads are very interesting, but whenever I want to dive into them, it already has 10 pages of comments or even more... and whatever I have been thinking about posting would not be as substantial as the comments of others users.
I just got mine today. The path of totality is about an hour from where I live, and it's looking like there might be clear skies here on the day. (A rarity here in April.)
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 04, 2024 at 11:02#8937730 likes
Imagine a herd of millions of human beings wearing welding masks, stumbling along, while staring at the sky, following the path of total lunacy. The end is nigh!
Imagine a herd of millions of human beings wearing welding masks, stumbling along, while staring at the sky, following the path of total lunacy. The end is nigh!
Central Indiana has observed severe weather on 7 different occasions on April 8 since 1950:
Severe Weather on April 8
Year Type of Severe Weather Timing
1965 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds During and After Time of 2024 Eclipse
1980 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds During Time of 2024 Eclipse
1995 Hail, Damaging Winds During and After Time of 2024 Eclipse
1998 Hail, Damaging Winds, Funnel Cloud After Time of 2024 Eclipse
2000 Flooding/Flash Flooding Before Time of 2024 Eclipse
2015 Hail, Damaging Winds, Flash Flooding Before and During Time of 2024 Eclipse
2020 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds After Time of 2024 Eclipse
Severe Weather on April 8
Year Type of Severe Weather Timing
1965 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds During and After Time of 2024 Eclipse
1980 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds During Time of 2024 Eclipse
1995 Hail, Damaging Winds During and After Time of 2024 Eclipse
1998 Hail, Damaging Winds, Funnel Cloud After Time of 2024 Eclipse
2000 Flooding/Flash Flooding Before Time of 2024 Eclipse
2015 Hail, Damaging Winds, Flash Flooding Before and During Time of 2024 Eclipse
2020 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds After Time of 2024 Eclipse
The part I don't fully understand is how all these tornadoes over the past approximately 50 years all occurred during and after the time of the 2024 eclipse. How did the 1965 tornado occur at the same time as the eclipse that is going to happen next week?
I sometimes get Nebraska and Indiana confused in my head. I think they're sort of up and to the left of where I live, but not so far left as to be near the crazies.
I was troubled by my disheveled shoes. The suede was hard to keep up, but I found a suede cleaning spray and some protective spray as well, and I must say they now look quite smart indeed.
I wonder, if perhaps overall size of the participants could be a factor or some other variable such as access to or prevalence of research facilities (suggesting some other possible difference between the eventual selected participants, including methodology in selection, from 1930 to 1970? Surely much has changed socially in basically every measurable way in the near-half century span from a time when most people kept perishables chilled by iceboxes versus landing a spacecraft on another planetary body? :chin:
Measurements seem to be on an upward trend, except for cortical thickness. What implications does that have?
Human life is getting more complex, and our cortexes are getting spread thin as our brains try to keep up.
That's my hypothesis, and I'll bet you a case of wine that I'll be proven right in 25 years. (Of course there is the risk that by that time our cortexes will have popped like overly inflated balloons.)
Studies have estimated that more than 90% of all Cavaliers have a malformation that squeezes their brain through the foramen magnum, the hole at the back of the skull.
Cartoonish, which would make it funny if it weren't cruel and sad.
Reply to jorndoe New tools (like fMRI), new studies (like the microbiome), and so on illuminate the previously unknown or vaguely known. New studies give people new reasons to feel happy, sad, anxious, secure, smart, stupid, confused...
Imagine how the ordinary dog feels every time a program about that damned over-achieving border Collie Chaser is on -- again: Resentment, jealousy, anguish, indifference, hatred, fear, loathing... "Hey, if you cheapskates had given me 1000 toys to play with, instead of the 2 toys I got in my whole life, maybe I would have been brilliant too!!!"
I accidentally broke two cups of wine during the meal.
My family, who are very surreptitious, started to gaze at me with a sense of both worry and concern...
The first time I broke the cup my father shouted: JAVIER!!!
But, when I broke the second cup, I felt a cold and painful silence on the table... they said to their inner themselves: oh yes, there is our cursed member of the family.
Reply to javi2541997 There is a passage late in Bernstein's Mass where the priest drops the glass goblet of wine. The soloist sings about "how easily things get broken".
A glass of wine is just a thing. Things get broken. They are not important.
How did the glass get broken? Tipped over? Dropped on the floor? Dramatically thrown into the fire place?
How did the glass get broken? Tipped over? Dropped on the floor? Dramatically thrown into the fire place?
They both got tipped over. The first cup was in the sink, waiting to be filled, and then my clumsy body pushed it accidentally. The second cup was already filled on the table, but then my grandmother asked me to go for some napkins. When I stood up, I rubbed the cup with my elbow, and it tipped over...
Rather than feeling cursed, I felt idle.
Reply to javi2541997 Wine glasses are a classic case of bad engineering -- narrow base, top heavy, fragile. Who ever designed the wine glass should be taken out and shot.
Actually, the rule is that you are not to cry over spilled milk. Wine is a different matter.
Actually, I cried on the table and in the presence of the rest of my family members. But I cried because of being idle and stupid. I didn't make a distinction on the liquid poured over the place. I would cry again if I tipped over a can of Pepsi...
Wine glasses are a classic case of bad engineering -- narrow base, top heavy, fragile. Who ever designed the wine glass should be taken out and shot.
I'd actually argue it's a genius safety mechanism to alert the consumer when one has consumed more than their fair share of "the creature", as it were.
I like wine glasses because I can grip the glass without smearing it with my greasy fingers, and they’re good for connoisseurs who want to keep the wine below a certain temperature. But I also like the Duralex Picardie tumbler for wine:
This is my go to. It's low profile wide base makes it virtually tip proof.
In fact, when crossing the North Sea with 200 foot swells, my ship tossed about like a rag doll in the blackest of nights, where we lost 20 men to Davy Jones' beckoning locker, this was my vessel. Ah, that night was the roughest, but when the morning sun raised its warmth, the waters now calmed, but my hammock still swinging, there she sat at my bedside. She was still filled with the sweetest of port and ready to drink. She taught me a lesson with her sea legs most stable, this storm just another night among a life of so many.
I took of her base, holding most tightly, not wanting to now spill it after all it had proved. I bowed now just slightly, and raised it most highly, respectfully making a toast to those lost and no doubt departed. I then made my offering by slinging it forward, just o'er the railing, to offer the souls at the cold eerie bottom one final sip of this sweetness of life. But the wine would not part, stubbornly holding, clinging so tightly, and the glass also melding and forming to my grip trying to open.
With the toast still pending and no one imbibing, I placed this fine chalice to my lips still trembling, to take me a sip a sip most demanding. The sweet nectar relasing, now dancing within me, coating and drenching to the depths of my soul. The strength of the gods then came up upon me, followed by a halo emitting, emitting and shining, and swirling now above me.
The locks of my hair now suddenly growing, cascading down downward just past my shoulders. My dirty garb now falling, falling right off from me, a long robe now draping, draping about me.
This Holy Grail now telling me ever so humbly, no need to worry, no need to bother, no need to worry or bother with those whose greatest of losses come from the glasses, that break ever so freely, ever so weakly, and spill forth the wine onto the floor of the judging.
Well, I noticed some folks lack basic knowledge about glasses, cups, cutlery and glassware. It is important to correctly choose the glassy location where the liquid must rest (even though you are clumsy - like me - and tip the glass over and broke it usually).
Only true masters and administrators of websites drink their tea, water, wine, whisky, anise, etc from this:
The glass is broken but your integrity is intact. This is not something you need be ashamed of.
This reads to me like an I Ching hexagram, or some such similar prognosis via divination, palm reading, etc.
I've been sleeping in a bit too late recently, and feel guilt for my sloth and laziness. I've generally been rather lazy at my job as well. Is my behavior justified, or am I in for a rude kick in the pants, oh Baden?
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 07, 2024 at 16:17#8946730 likes
1.4 litres! Jesus! No doubt that glass would fall off my slippery hands.
We never actually filled the yard, we'd just put a pint or two in the bottom, and "sip" it. The critical feature is that it's a yard long, so the beer from the bottom has to flow down that long neck to get to your mouth. Because of the way that gravity works over time, the beer is flowing so fast after traveling that yard, that it's in your stomach by the time you feel it in your mouth. That makes a pretty serious "sip".
We never actually filled the yard, we'd just put a pint or two in the bottom, and "sip" it.
We used to have beer bucket contests, you paid the price of the 8 pints to enter and got a double refund if you finished first. I there were plenty of people participating, second place got a refund.
What most people never figured out was the preparation for the event was more important than the speed you drank at. Eight to 10 cups of coffee and plenty of salty biscuits leading up to it and only one pint before the event. I participated in quiet a few and only ever lost to a charming young lady who appeared to have hollow legs.
Reply to Metaphysician Undercover While this tradition is slowly dying off (luckily) it has, for about 30 years, been a rite of passage for 21-Year-Olds to drink an entire Yard Glass here in NZ. It has always made me very uncomfortable, even during my years as a serious problem drinker.
so the beer from the bottom has to flow down that long neck to get to your mouth. Because of the way that gravity works over time, the beer is flowing so fast after traveling that yard, that it's in your stomach by the time you feel it in your mouth. That makes a pretty serious "sip".
Amazing and stunning experience, indeed. I wonder if the use of a bib is needed. I guess when the beer has to flow down to your mouth it splashes a lot, or you (we) can experience the risk of pouring the beer over us.
Absolutely, this is a serious sip. When I tall about drinking and glasses I can only be serious.
Where do you drink your coffee every morning? In a beautiful porcelain cup from China, right?
I've been sleeping in a bit too late recently, and feel guilt for my sloth and laziness. I've generally been rather lazy at my job as well. Is my behavior justified, or am I in for a rude kick in the pants, oh Baden?
It seems that you are kicking your job in the pants. Is that because it is wearing your pants, oh Noble?
Reply to BCI looked up the stats, and it showed a 3.8% overall unemployment rate in the US, but a 4.8% unemployment rate for college grads. The oddness of this stat is due to the fact that college grad unemployment rates include recent grads who have yet to find a job. The stats show that 52% of college grads are unemployed 1 year after graduating. That figure has to be assessed against how many are actively looking and not just slow walking their entry into the workforce.
The more interesting stat would be to see the figures after 5 year intervals. I'd find it hard to believe art history majors are unemployed 5 years out at 8% when the general population is at 3.8%. The reason I find that hard to believe is that I typically go at lunch 2 to 3 times a week to my local art history firm to ask the on call art historian the history of this or that piece. Couldn't live without them.
Where do you drink your coffee every morning? In a beautiful porcelain cup from China, right?
Sadly, China no longer manufactures those room-sized porcelain cups where one could rest on an over-stuffed sofa while taking one's morning coffee surrounded by blue and gold dragon figures devouring maidens. For this tragic loss we can thank Mao Zedong. Also, smaller kitchens. Also the collapse of the over-stuffed sofa industry during the the Y2K and dot-com panics of late 1999.
Reply to BC While you probably wrote your reply to my comment, I was watching my favorite program of TVE (the Spanish version of RTÉ in Ireland or the BBC in the UK). It is called Here The Earth! (Aquí la tierra) and they were talking about Chinese oranges, cups and cutlery. I love these coincidences.
The program usually ends with questions about the history of Spain and the host asked: What is the province with the most castles in it? I knew it was Jaén, but it was funny how the interviewees replied with cities of Castilla endlessly, because Jaen was a city of Castilla when the latter was a kingdom and Andalusia belonged to the Arabs!
The stats show that 52% of college grads are unemployed 1 year after graduating. That figure has to be assessed against how many are actively looking and not just slow walking their entry into the workforce.
The more interesting stat would be to see the figures after 5 year intervals. I'd find it hard to believe art history majors are unemployed 5 years out at 8% when the general population is at 3.8%.
From a macro-perspective on college education, I think there is a fairly large discontinuity between what colleges advertise, what prospective students expect as benefits for BAs, and what actually happens.
Colleges claim that a bachelor's education is intellectually useful. I thought that majoring in English Literature would be beneficial to me. Prospective employers sifted out applicants who had not completed college. So, it all worked out positively?
The degree turned out to be very useful. That part was accurately represented. Less well represented was the relationship of coursework to job skills and performance. Reading Chaucer in Middle English didn't help me relate to very disadvantaged students. Learning to study boring material was helpful in tutoring college students. Neither English literature nor history classes helped me devise outreach strategies for HIV prevention.
If I had it to do over, I would still go to college; I would still major in a English Lit; I wouldn't expect practical application in the short run.
Reply to javi2541997 As you observed, it is surprising how two people separated by thousands of miles, age, and background may both be thinking tangentially to everything else, yet the tangents cross.
If I had it to do over, I would still go to college; I would still major in a English Lit; I wouldn't expect practical application in the short run.
If I could do it all over, I would still major in philosophy. But, I never expected practical application. Why did I do it? So I could feel right at home at TPF. See, I have an incredible capacity to predict the future, right up there Thales who supposedly predicted the solar eclipse of 585 BC. With a predictive capacity like that, there's no need to do it all over.
Double decker buses! I think I never been in of those. There are some around the city but it is just a vehicle for tourists. Even, when I was in London I think didn't take the classic red double decker either.
Well folks, how was your eclipse experience yesterday?
Philosophy majors were too destitute to show up on the list at all. I'm thankful I didn't go in for art history -- I'd be on skid row for sure.
You use those majors to increase intelligence, not the funds in your bank account. Then, get into something that pays well. You are less likely to suffer from dementia.
Some speak of cultural pendulums swinging throughout history.
Inglehart and Welzel tried to quantify cultural changes since the 1990s in two dimensions: survival/tribalism versus self-expression/individualism (x-axis), and traditional versus secular/rational (y-axis). These are then plotted on a per-country basis, and trends compared over time.
Not sure what can be learned, though some may find it interesting.
Hardly anything. That Germany and Switzerland are somehow closer to Finland than to Austria is obviously wrong by pretty much every metric. Everyone can draw bubbles around world regions and give titles to them based on feelings, but no bubble drawn will ever be satisfactory. That some people had a Wik*pedia page written about their map does not make it any more legitimate.
Well folks, how was your eclipse experience yesterday?
It was a great adventure! We headed east and south on rural highways avoiding anything which could rightly be called a city while scanning the skies for cloud cover. Despite our intention of avoiding cities, we ended up in Union City Indiana, with only high thin clouds.
We were close to the line of maximum totality duration, so we were able to look at the glowing ring in the dark sky for four minutes without eclipse glasses, and even passing around binoculars. The view through the binoculars was quite impressive despite the imperfect clarity of the sky. Through the binoculars, what had looked like an irregular white ring around the moon, could be resolved into red, orange, and yellow regions of coronal activity, with a particular large bright red solar prominence sticking out past the 'bottom' of the moon.
Reply to wonderer1 I can feel the happiness and emotion you experienced by reading your post! I am glad you were happy doing that. These kinds of events are really worth living, indeed. :cool:
After 36 hours of meditation on this, I got nothing but a dislocated hip.
Being a hamster, nature's nimble trapeze artists, that must have took quite a bit of effort! Fortunately, hamsters are known for their incredible recovery speed, thus earning them a top spot in the animal kingdom. In my book, at least. Bravo.
By the way, I just learnt in my reply to @L'éléphant, that in English the teachers 'give' marks to the students. We use the verb 'put' instead.
For example: el profesor de inglés me puso mala nota...
That phrase should be literally translated as 'the English teacher put me a poor mark' but it turned out the proper verb is 'give'. So, the correct translation is: the English teacher gave me a poor mark.
It is known that dogs and insects and whales and lions see colour differently from us. Dogs smell differently from us. But I have never seen the sound question explored. Do they hear differently than us? It could be the elephant is there staring into the horizon, or perhaps it can experience Clair de Lune in a way that is inconceivable to us.
My theory is that dogs hear the same music we hear. Dogs appear to have zero interest, however, in these sounds, presumably because they have no capacity to respond to the music they are hearing. Music is to them what random noise is to us: meaningless. On the other hand, humans don't respond all that positively to kinds of music they have not previously encountered. My first encounter with the Peking Opera (from Beijing, 1984) was that that the sounds were harsh, discordant, and unpleasant.
Apparently some parrots are capable of responding to the rhythm of music, because they respond by moving rhythmically.
Some anecdotes I have heard suggest that cows respond to music -- country western, Mozart, whatever, by exhibiting calmer behavior.
Elephants' relationship to sounds may be quite different than that of dogs, cats, or giraffes.
This review just came up in my feed for anyone interested https://physicsworld.com/a/entangled-entities-bohr-einstein-and-the-battle-over-quantum-fundamentals/
Thank you, thank you for this collective effort of scientific research, all of which I continue to collate and store! (Much like a hamster devouring peanuts, haha *burp* * fart* *chuckle*.)
unenlightenedApril 12, 2024 at 14:08#8958740 likes
unenlightenedApril 12, 2024 at 17:35#8959160 likes
Reply to Baden You cannot beat letting animals speak for themselves in their home environment for giving a rounded realistic picture of their way of life.
By the way, I just learnt in my reply to L'éléphant, that in English the teachers 'give' marks to the students. We use the verb 'put' instead.
For example: el profesor de inglés me puso mala nota...
That phrase should be literally translated as 'the English teacher put me a poor mark' but it turned out the proper verb is 'give'. So, the correct translation is: the English teacher gave me a poor mark.
Good to be in the old country for a while. You can’t see it in this photograph but there was a goose near the pond that seemed to be making the sound of a sheep (“baaaa”) because there was a nearby sheep hiding behind a bush.
Reply to Jamal Extremely beautiful and green. That means it still rains frequently there. I also like that stone wall. It is very common in the landscapes of Scotland.
Very different from where I am now. Drought, yellowish, brownish, etc. A classic landscape of La Mancha:
PD: be careful of geese... it is another animal who works for the government, like pigeons.
Extremely beautiful and green. That means it still rains frequently there. I also like that stone wall. It is very common in the landscapes of Scotland.
Very different from where I am now. Drought, yellowish, brownish, etc. A classic landscape of La Mancha:
If I were First Minister of Scotland I would donate three quarters of this season's Scottish rain to Spain, as I'm aware of your drought. There's been so much rain here over the past few weeks that the crops are failing and the lambs are dying.
I also like that stone wall. It is very common in the landscapes of Scotland.
Yes indeed, and the North of England too, and probably Wales, and probably Ireland. They're called dry stone (or drystane) dykes. They do courses in how to build them. I'd like to do it.
If I were First Minister of Scotland I would donate three quarters of this season's Scottish rain to Spain, as I'm aware of your drought
Oh! Such a lovely gesture! Yes, we have an important shortage of water. There are some mayors in Catalunya and Andalucía who already put restrictions on the use of water. It is probably the biggest challenge of my country in this century, but our politicians are not making a big effort towards it...
There are over 600,000 bridges in the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridges_in_the_United_States_by_state#:~:text=This%20list%20of%20bridges%20in,600%2C000%20bridges%20in%20the%20U.S.
There are 4,970 bridges in Scotland.
https://www.transport.gov.scot/transport-network/roads/bridges-and-structures/#:~:text=We%20maintain%204970%20structures%2C%20including,mast%20lighting%20and%20retaining%20walls.
Based upon this information, I stand corrected. 6 is lower than 497 and zeros count for nothing. Scotland wins this round, but the US will get them next time.
Just saw "In the Valley of Violence " A western where they killed Ethan Hawke's dog so he shot up the whole town, including John Travolta, who was the town marshal, no longer just the fuck up in Mr. Kotter's class.
Your land must be composed of small pod islands stitched together by a network of bridges, with the inhabitants of each northward pod speaking in progressively more muddled dialects, at the far extreme north sounding like a jackhammer of drunken rolling Rs.
That explains that.
Where I live, we have a single long bridge that we count 600,000 times. It goes nowhere, but we have it to keep out of the rain. Before the Bridge Legislation of 1804, we were a sopping nation. Now we're bone dry, like a perfect martini.
I'm fighting the AI takeover with these sorts of posts. It could never mimic this brilliance and keeps me necessary.
Yes, "necessary" is the word I was looking for.
unenlightenedApril 14, 2024 at 19:59#8965150 likes
Slate must be more available there than here. It's interesting to think about a farmer having constructed that 100s of years ago and it still stands.. Nothing here is more than a few decades old it seems.
unenlightenedApril 14, 2024 at 20:24#8965190 likes
Slate is very available, but I'm wondering if the difference between a wall and a fence is a matter of thickness only or permeability, or something else? And what of hedges?
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 14, 2024 at 20:36#8965240 likes
Slate is very available, but I'm wondering if the difference between a wall and a fence is a matter of thickness only or permeability, or something else?
I think it's a difference of height. A deer can jump over a fence, but not a wall.
I think it's a difference of height. A deer can jump over a fence, but not a wall.
A fence is perhaps a subset of a wall, but not vice versa. I have walls in my house that I'd never call a fence, but I could call my fence in my yard a wall of sorts.
If the definition of a wall is dependent upon how high a deer could jump, then walls must exceed 7 feet according to my deer jumping sources. https://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Mammals/Whitetail-Deer/Fencing-to-Exclude-Deer#:~:text=An%20adult%20deer%20can%20easily,short%20fences%20(4%20ft.)
Then what of Olympian deer that can jump 10 or even 12 feet?
To me a hedge is a live planted shrub, although a dead shrub would still be a hedge, albeit in heaven. A wall then might be inorganic, but never a shrub. A shrub is then a subset of a wall requiring at least one carbon atom, among other things. Deer can eat all shrubs, but not all walls.
Even more general is the barrier, which includes walls, shrubs, fences, and condoms, among other things.
Another barrier is lack of intelligence, which is described by what it isn't composed of, like a hole. A deer will not be admitted into Harvard because of the intelligence barrier.
When I was a kid, I asked my dad to throw a ball with me, but he told me to bounce it off the wall. It wasn't the same, but it was something at least.
Good for him. Co-dependence is a terrible thing to permanently instill unto a young child. Count yourself lucky to have been present in the aura of such foresight and wisdom.
Good for him. Co-dependence is a terrible thing to permanently instill unto a young child. Count yourself lucky to have been present in the aura of such foresight and wisdom.
I provided the same for my son. He would ask me to play the card game War over and over with him, so I showed him how he could play with the owl figurine we had by dealing him in and flipping the cards for him. I'd see him later go grab the deck of cards and the owl and play for hours.
Maybe when he has kids, I'll send him the owl and that worn out deck of cards.
I never heard of such until now. It could arguably be considered a ditch more than a wall. If it were to encircle the entirely of the pasture, it would be more of a moat, although a moat is typically filled with water and perhaps alligators and possibly dragons. Those are typically for keeping enemies out as opposed to livestock in.
A wall blocking water is a dam. There was a store near the dam near me and it was called the Dam Store. It burnt down. Yep, the Dam Store burnt down. True story.
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 15, 2024 at 02:06#8966350 likes
When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
Oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Even though hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it’s typically not found in its pure form and is often combined with other elements. Creating pure hydrogen for vehicles involves an energy-intensive process to break down compounds, usually derived from fossil fuels like natural gas.
Reply to jorndoe Luckily, I don't like cars and everything that holds an engine inside itself. I think it is an evil machine that drives people into risky situations. I can't imagine a world without trains. I love trains! I use them every day.
Probably the train has been one of the most important inventions of humanity, but the stupid car eclipsed the fragrance of transporting oneself along railroads...
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 15, 2024 at 11:37#8967090 likes
Reply to jorndoe
The primary problem of hydrogen fuel is the challenge to create pure hydrogen. The secondary issue is the explosive nature of the fuel. The article you linked has a misleading title because nowhere is it revealed how BMW has actually solved the primary problem, and designed an efficient way to get pure hydrogen, and the secondary problem is not mentioned.
In the past, I think researchers have concentrated their efforts toward understanding the relationship between hydrogen and oxygen, but the important relationship is actually more of a three way relationship, hydrogen-carbon-oxygen, rather than the simple hydrogen-oxygen relationship. I believe that the key to efficient hydrogen production is a thorough understanding of the carbon/hydrogen relationship.
Plants produce sugars, and yeast converts sugar to ethanol. Methanol on the other hand, is a convenient source for useful hydrogen, but it is not produced in the same way as ethanol. I believe that through genetic manipulation we ought to be able to create organisms which produce methanol directly. We already have organisms which produce methane, and the relationship between methane and methanol is somewhat understood. But this field of activity, the production of methane, along with the relationship between methane and methanol, remains somewhat mysterious.
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 15, 2024 at 11:45#8967100 likes
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
"Groovy" is a really cool word. I think it must be derived from the grooves of a vinyl record. Hum a tune and if the producer thinks you've got something worth vinyl: "hey that's groovy man!". I would think that's a really good feeling.
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 15, 2024 at 12:29#8967140 likes
Reference to the feelings wheel (https://feelingswheel.com/) did not reveal any feeling called "groovy". I think it must be a confluence of many good feelings in the "happy" category, confident, proud, courageous, creative, joyful, accepted, powerful, free, optimistic, inspired, etc.. Maybe it's the epitome of happiness itself. Perhaps we could describe "groovy" as feeling like "I have a direct line to the Supreme Being", as very distinct from "I am the Supreme Being", in the master/slave relation.
Reply to javi2541997 Google dictionary reveals it means nothing beyond another synonym for "good".
I originally thought it meant something like "jazzy".
Google Ngram calculates the frequency of word usage based on its very large corpus of scanned printed matter.
"Groovy" was in use for all of the 20th century, but at a very low level until the 1960s. Whether "groovy" referred to a pleasant state of mind or merely the presence of peaks and valleys in otherwise flat surfaces isn't revealed in Ngram. One would think that "peak groovy" occurred in the 1960s/1970s but no -- the early 21st century was "peak groovy".
Apparently the financial crisis of 2007-2008 frosted grooviness to some extent.
More groovy details below.
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 15, 2024 at 19:39#8967890 likes
Reply to BC
The 80s was kind of a down period, probably all that industry hype about CDs taking over the market. The vinyl groove would be dead in its tracks. But grooviness just keeps coming in waves. Bring it on!
Slate:Briefly, the word dates back to jazz circles in the 1930s and ultimately derives from the phrase “in the groove,” meaning “performing or doing exceptionally well.” What the “groove” in that phrase originally referred to is hard to establish definitively, because several meanings current in the 1930s all permit plausible theories.
Many dictionaries do link the groove of in the groove to the groove of a record. But groove could also refer to the path between a pitcher and the strike zone (and had done so since the turn of the century); a pitcher who was throwing “in the groove” was throwing very well. Groove also had a vulgar sexual connotation, which could likewise give in the groove the connotation of high performance and pleasure.
And groove could simply mean a “style,” a sense associated with the parallel between being in a groove and being in a rut. (In the 19th century, groovy actually meant “to be in a rut” or to be “of settled habits” or “conventional”; the first Oxford English Dictionary citation for this kind of grooviness is dated 1867.)
In any event, by the 1940s groovy had expanded beyond the jazz world and–a harbinger of what would happen in the 1960s and ‘70s–was being used by nongroovy adults in a typically pathetic attempt to seem hip. Here’s a Buick ad, cited by Thomas Dalzell, a lexicographer of slang, in his terrific book Flappers 2 Rappers: “Stand off and beam at Buick’s years-ahead style–there’s something not only favored by the old folks, but termed by the younger idea, definitely groovy!” The ad appeared in Newsweek in 1946
EVEN MORE GROOVY DETAILS!!!
Recent scholarship makes it clear that sound recording was invented twice: First by inventor Edouard-Léon Scott de Martinville in 1857 France, then 20 years later by Thomas Alva Edison in the United States. However, the Frenchman recorded sound for scientific analysis. His method didn't allow for playback. So, we can conclude that Thomas Edison is responsible for a lot of the grooviness going around.
Reply to Metaphysician Undercover CDs don't really have a groove, they have the digital pox. So yes, CD's decreased grooviness. Another major factor was the election of the very non-groovy Ronald Reagan. Clinton was groovy (a bit too much for his own good) but George Bush II has never been accused of being groovy.
Full disclosure: I have never been called groovy.
"Are you in the groove? You mean, 'ever diminishing circles'?" Marshal McLuhan
All these groovy details will probably kill off the groovy topic.
Don't mention "kill" here. Remember Get Smart and the Groovy Guru. The Sacred Cows sing "Kill, Kill, Kill, Thrill, Thrill, Thrill"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gvkmTQgyQM
The 1980s were a downer, for sure. The 60's and 70s had been a time of great music and liberation with a contrasting crappy war, presidential assassination, and Richard Nixon's shenanigans. The 80s had Reagan and AIDS, Silence=Death, and the fucking silent majority.
I'll have to check out Flappers 2 Rappers. Thanks for the reference.
You have to try eating Tzatziki for breakfast. The morning starts with a fresh air of the mix of both yogurt and cucumber. I have smeared, with my special silver spoon, that delicious Greek sauce on two slides of Santiveri rye bread. The result was groovy. The only flaw is that the product expires soon. I have to eat it quicker than I used to do with tofu.
I am finding other ways to have breakfast... I am starting to get bored with eating tomato and olive oil every morning. It is healthy, yes. But everything has a limit.
After eating Tzatziki for breakfast, I wanted to sing "Milo mou kai mandarini". A lovely Greek folk song on my way to the station, where other responsible people (like me) take the train to go to uncertain locations.
You have to try eating Tzatziki for breakfast. The morning starts with a fresh air of the mix of both yogurt and cucumber. I have smeared, with my special silver spoon, that delicious Greek sauce on two slides of Santiveri rye bread. The result was groovy. The only flaw is that the product expires soon. I have to eat it quicker than I used to do with tofu.
I was excited by your first line to see a story that was to written in the second person, but then it quickly returned to first, like most others.
Just like olive and tomatoe for breakfast. Same ole same ole.
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 17, 2024 at 11:21#8971660 likes
I was excited by your first line to see a story that was to written in the second person, but then it quickly returned to first, like most others.
My intention was to attract your excitement and/or attention to the pleasure I experienced this morning while I was relishing the Tzatziki. So, the objective is done. I did it!
Yes, I tend to mix first, second and third person in the same story. I blame my dyslexia.
I promise I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was a kid.
I am laughing at this. Because I personally believe I do things correctly by taking a train every morning instead of doing telework. :lol:
But how is taking a train to go "wherever" classified as doing things correctly? What signals you to get off that train? And where do you go after you get off? Why would you even want to get off? What is "getting off"? It's a crazy world out there, I think you might just prefer to stay home and go to work.
But how is taking a train to go "wherever" classified as doing things correctly?
Because trains do not pollute. They are friendly. You see a lot of people. A lot of faces. I feel cosy (or cozy). Just like I am sharing my time and doing my best with the rest of the passengers. While taking a car is something individualistic and it is toxic to the environment.
What signals you to get off that train? And where do you go after you get off?
Good questions.
Firstly, the train speaks with a female tone. It says: the next station is Atocha, orwe remind you that this train only goes to Villalba, etc.
How do I know I have to get off? When the train says the next station is curved. For example, the next station is Mendéz Álvaro. Be careful, the station is curved!
Where do I go? Well, I can't answer that. Everything is sporadic. I could end up in a land registry or a police department. It depends if it rains or not.
Because each train has an end station. I never want to get off there. It scares me. Very spooky. This is why I have to get off in other stations (curved station if it is possible).
I like that. It reminds me of a song by Stone Temple Pilots, called "Plush":
"And I feel, so much depends on the weather
So is it raining in your bedroom?"
Because each train has an end station. I never want to get off there. It scares me. Very spooky. This is why I have to get off in other stations (curved station if it is possible).
I agree, getting off at the end scares me too. I always want more after I get off. I wonder why.
Reply to javi2541997 Some claim to see angels and hear the voices of their long dead ancestors. So it doesn't shock me too much when some people see two vowels where there is one.
I agree, getting off at the end scares me too. I always want more after I get off. I wonder why.
I wonder why that too.
I just remembered something curious. When I attended college, I met a colleague who claimed he used to stay on the train from the first station to the last one.
He was lucky to live closer to one of the stations where the lines of the Madrid metro starts (or ends? ...) every morning.
He said: I take the train at Pinar de Chamartín and I do not mind waiting until Argüelles. The latter is the last station... but he never got off at that station. He always got off at Canillas or Velázquez.
It was crazy because I wanted to do the same one day, but I never tried it. Maybe this weekend! Who knows...
Reply to jorndoe Considering that the debate around the nature of QM is not settled 4 years after, I would imagine Dr. Hansson has not fully proven his case.
Reply to jorndoe That's just an abstract? Do you have a pdf of the full article? I'm in the thick of this right now in the context of the book Quantum Mind and would be interested in reviewing. Specifically, Alexander Wendt characterizes the result of the "delayed choice" experiment as indicative of the fact that "measurements made in the immediate future are incorporated into descriptions of the current state of a system." I could see where superdeterminism could be misconstrued.
Something that puzzles me is how someone like Mike Johnson (US politician) can be elected by large numbers of adults. He's a young-earth'er, wants to outlaw homosexuality, works at chipping away at environmental regulation, theocrat, ...
While one might argue that he can still function well as a politician, the former alone is kind of damning, sufficiently reality-removed to disqualify for public office. One might value dissidence, yet ...
Maybe religious fundamentalism / extremism is more common in the US (south) than I thought; maybe he's a symptom of reactionary sentiments/impulses; maybe his political career was carried by some sort of (unchallenged) subversive campaign (perhaps originating outside the US for that matter); ... Either way, it seems to me a sign of cultural decline, possibly not just in the US.
Insights, anyone?
[sup](didn't know if this topic is worthwhile a thread of its own)[/sup]
didn't know if this topic is worthwhile a thread of its own
Why people vote the way they do is worth a thread of its own. It is a very contentious topic. Explaining voter behavior is a very contentious topic in itself.
Extreme views (religious, social, political, etc.) are held by significant numbers of adults, and not just in the south. A significant number of adults, whose views may not be extreme, can be manipulated by deploying polarizing rhetoric. A significant number of adults do not vote at all. The economy--inflation, unemployment, diminished security, a pandemic, etc. destabilizes confidence in the status quo.
American politics have shifted rightward, to some extent, and become more polarized. The far right is closer to falling off the deep end. The far left isn't the old Marxist left that focused on wages, unions, labor, and economic issues. They are now more focussed on social issues. That isn't all bad, but social issues engage people more than economic issues. A focus on wages and unions attracts the big guns of corporate power. A focus on gender, race, and ethnic identity activates the conservative rank and file.
All this plays out according to local politics. Some states have secure liberal majorities; others have secure conservative majorities. The political security of some states, like Wisconsin, is contested.
Some people long for a time when life was "simpler" and "nicer". The climate wasn't changing. Children were obedient. Men were men and women were women--full stop. A woman's place was in the home. Racial minorities knew their place (back of the bus, in the ghetto, not in OUR schools, etc.) Everyone went to church, believed in God, obeyed his laws. People who didn't were punished. Everyone worked hard for an honest day's wages. Men made the important decisions, God was in his heaven, and all was right with the world.
Never Never Land is gone and they want it back, and by god, they are going to get it back one of these days and make the liberal evil doers pay for their wickedness!!!
Some people long for a time when life was "simpler" and "nicer". The climate wasn't changing. Children were obedient. Men were men and women were women--full stop. A woman's place was in the home. Racial minorities knew their place (back of the bus, in the ghetto, not in OUR schools, etc.) Everyone went to church, believed in God, obeyed his laws. People who didn't were punished. Everyone worked hard for an honest day's wages. Men made the important decisions, God was in his heaven, and all was right with the world.
I agree with some things in here, some things not. I do like obedient children. I do think men and women are different. I do believe in God. I'll side with hard work and honest wages. I don't agree that women belong in the home or blacks in the back of the bus. I don't believe in punishing the non-religious or in giving men special rights to decide.
I agree with some things in here, some things not.
The items in the paragraph are not an extra-wide paint-roller description of what is, or of what was; it's a perhaps broad brush description of a time that never existed. Children have always been disobedient at times. Women have long borne a significant share of labor at home, in the factory, and on the farm. Sex was never simple. Minorities have justly resented and resisted their disadvantageous situations for a long time. Religious dissent has been a hallmark of the American experience since the getgo--some of the founding fathers held views that were far-out for their times. God has never gotten full compliance anywhere at any time. At various times in the past hard work was the alternative to starving to death -- it wasn't a devotion to hard work, per se.
Most people, just guessing, prefer a predictable orderly world where things are either getting better or are, at least, not falling apart. In fact, the world is as predictable and orderly as it has ever been (which doesn't mean heaven on earth). The world has always been getting better and falling apart, just not for the same people at the same time in the same place.
Those for whom the world is falling apart -- in their time and place -- wish for a past when their world was OK, or maybe was getting better. When they lose perspective, it can be overwhelming--evidence for disaster crops up all over the place.
I don't like some of the stuff that is going on in the world, but I don't think most of it is dangerous, and certainly not catastrophic (except for global warming and the enduring risk of nuclear war).
Most people, just guessing, prefer a predictable orderly world where things are either getting better or are, at least, not falling apart. In fact, the world is as predictable and orderly as it has ever been (which doesn't mean heaven on earth). The world has always been getting better and falling apart, just not for the same people at the same time in the same place.
Conservatives tend to think the world is getting worse and progressives tend to think that it is getting better. Fancy that. You painted a rosy-eyed picture of the past to ridicule conservatives. Others will paint rosy-eyed pictures of the future to ridicule progressives. Same game, different team. The notion that the two sides lack symmetry is, in my opinion, the consequence of an echo-chamber.
Do you think it fair to say that such traits are easier to find in conservatives than in liberals?
I think conservatives will naturally want to conserve the past and progressives will naturally want to move forward. A conservative might resent change and a progressive resent maintaining tradition.
But both can be equally wrong. Clinging to injustice is as wrong as insisting upon false equality.
As to my comment (can't speak for others), I wasn't surprised that you can find people with ridiculous beliefs, but that this fella' was elected for public office, by adults, now representing a large number of people. Is it then worthwhile asking how common such beliefs are? Or how he managed to get elected, more than once at that? Incidentally, a colleague of his was caught spreading false claims. Well then, how common is this sort of crap, since we're no longer just talking remote fringe out in the swamps? Ideally, I'd ask the voters, but can't. :)
So you think you've heard it all? Well, no, you haven't. I give you Texasdeutsch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_German
Well, fantastic to have a review on Texas German. The word 'blanket' is literally the same in both Standard English and Texas German. This is important. I put a blanket on my head two hours ago, and I went to Mercadona to buy my meal.
When I was looking for the Tzatziki a Greek person approached me and said: excuse me, do you know why Formentera and Eivissa are called the Pitiusas Islands?
I answered: yes, because 'pitis' means pines in Greek. The islands were covered by a groovy and beautiful green blanket of pines, and the Greeks baptised those islands with that name.
The Greek person started to cry and me too, because of the poetic metaphor.
I removed the blanket from my head and I put it on the shoulders of the Greek. I invited him to eat at my home. We had a delicious jamón serrano and Greek salad. After the meal, we took a siesta but when I woke up, the Greek fellow was no longer in the saloon. Yet there was drawn the following on the blanket of before:
Reply to javi2541997 Cloaked in a blanket, you cried with a Greek man and shared a meal and then a nap, only to find later your blanket became a picturesque map.
Your story is a common one, so much so that when it is described, it comes out in rhyme, and is sung to children who refuse to sleep.
So you think you've heard it all? Well, no, you haven't. I give you Texasdeutsch.
There are many German communities around the New World. In Brazil there is a dialect of Low German that is almost extinct outside of the country — East Pomeranian. There is also Namibian German.
But it gets much more bizarre. There is Sri Lankan Portuguese (and Malaysian too), Italians in Lebanon, Mongol speakers in Russia and Afghanistan, and a South Indian language, Brahui, lost in the middle of Pakistan. And I am not talking about recent migration, each of these have been there for centuries — except the pasta folks in Lebanon, that was recent.
He was a deep thinker. I believe I've said it before, but he has the distinction of being one of the few philosophers of free will to contribute anything to the discussion, and doing so after everything had already been said.
I'm always sad to see anyone go, and so it goes with him. I never met him, but I've been influenced enough by his cadre, and impressed enough with his philosophy, that it made me sad to see a brilliant and beautifully stubborn mind go.
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 19, 2024 at 16:32#8977560 likes
Reply to Deleted user
A TikToker in Northern Ireland who specialized in the slang of that area, found to her surprise, that the only people in the world who could understand her slang, were residents of Newfoundland Canada.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/newfoundland-slang-ireland-1.7160584
Reply to Moliere Not just to be a naysayer or to speak ill of the dead, but I found his thoughts on consciousness useless, not very thoughtful, and stubborn in an almost uncurious sort of way.
Compare him to Chalmers, for example, you wouldn't think they were engaged in the same inquiry.
Reply to Hanover I don't agree with his philosophy at all -- even the bit on free will I think is some really good philosophy, but I disagree with it entirely.
I'm more sympathetic to Chalmers, tho I've come around a bit in feeling critical (as we all do, eventually).
What Dennet always provided was a strong position that could be attacked, and he provided it for that purpose -- it was what he really believed but he was also willing to expose what others might find dismissible.
I looked about and can't remember, but he had a witticism he wrote about ecumenical hybridism which I wanted to invert. My takeaway from the expression is he preffered clearly explicable, defendable, and yet strong stances over the wishy washy (which I tend to go towards).
Just got back from the dermatologist. I had a bump on my ankle. He said it wasn't nothing but a chicken wing. He took it off and threw it in a jar to send off to a lab just to be sure. I'm going to ask for its return to bury it with me when I die so that the entirety of me will go to heaven and I'll not have to find all the assorted pieces from all the prior years once I get up there. I imagine there are all sorts of signs on heaven telephone poles with pictures of bits and pieces that are in search of origins.
Then I think about how when a long lost piece of skin or mist of sneeze finds it owner, what a warm embrace must follow. It'd be a slice of heaven in heaven.
Reply to Hanover Your corporeal integrity concerns in the afterlife remind me of an old (and not very funny) joke. [i]The revival meeting preacher was quoting Matthew 13:42 where Jesus says, "They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Responding to a question from a listener in the back of the tent, "Preacher, what if we have lost all our teeth?" he said, "brother, teeth will be provided."[/I]
Some people worry about their missing body parts, and some think that the cremated won't get a new body when all the dead are raised, incorruptible. I wasn't aware that Jews generally worried about this matter. It seems to be more of a fundamentalist anxiety. There is also the existential question as to whether the various growths and parasites that live on us are "us" or "them". Is a tape worm you or somebody else? Are you not your very own flesh-eating streptococci?
As for the fiery furnace, will that be a dirty coal fired furnace or a clean hydrogen furnace?
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 20, 2024 at 00:13#8978480 likes
There is also the existential question as to whether the various growths and parasites that live on us are "us" or "them". Is a tape worm you or somebody else? Are you not your very own flesh-eating streptococci?
How about that patient who had covid for a year and a half, and mutated about 50 different variants of the virus right within his own body? Too bad they eventually killed him, that's their loss.
Reply to BC "According to Jewish law, a Jew is to be buried as he was born - complete with all his limbs and organs. The human body is considered as sacred in death as it was in life as it contained a G?dly soul. He must be buried in a traditional grave in the ground, so that the body may return to the earth."Quoting BC
As for the fiery furnace, will that be a dirty coal fired furnace or a clean hydrogen furnace?
"Cremation is explicitly forbidden according to all authentic Jewish opinions and there are never any circumstances where it is permitted. Jewish law considers cremation as pure idol worship, and as "going in the ways of the gentiles." Any instructions to be cremated must be ignored without feelings of guilt or regret."
Fellow resident of my hometown, I remember he signed every book of his that the library had, with a little note saying “To the readers of Andover…”. I always liked that.
Went to a lecture of his when I was a freshman, met him briefly in the hallway. Seemed like a kindly old man.
I liked his take on religion — felt it was a better attitude than the others of the late 2000s, like Dawkins and Hitchens.
This interview (below) with Bill Moyers always stood out to me as fairly reasonable. The rest of his thinking I never found terribly interesting.
In any case— may he rest in peace. A real loss to the philosophy community— if there is one.
Question for any of the resident lawyers, particularly Hanover...
How is the Hebrew "law" of :speedy" entire body burial reconciled with autopsy practices/requirements of organ removal and examination which may take extensive periods of time depending on mode of death? Muslims have similar requirements, correct?
And on a silly note, how would a cannibal be divided up/ reallocated in heaven with regard to the recent pages' discussion of returning body parts and bits?
Not suggesting any S/box discussions are silly.... with a few exceptions.
Reply to Hanover So, the funereal composting is out too, I suppose. It's above ground in a large container with wood chips and leafy material; kale, probably. Green burials -- really, just an old fashioned unembalmed burial in a plain wooden box -- are increasingly popular, though still a niche market.
Reply to Metaphysician Undercover In Argentina (and Uruguay) there is a type of slang called Lunfardo that is unseen in other parts of the Spanish world, it comes from Italian immigrants in the 19th century.
Reply to kazan Here's generally on Jewish law and autopsy: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/autopsies-and-jewish-law/
Your questions relate to halacha, which is how Jewish law is interpreted, which, in itself, is a legalistic thought process that goes down all sorts of rabbit holes. Pick any question and start to think of exceptions or special circumstances and someone has probably analyzed it over the past few thousand years.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halakha
My best guess with your cannabilsm question is that you puree the cannibal and inject the resultant gazpacho into the uneaten portions of deceased grandpa, thus reconstituting the Jewish decedent with his former body contents and now allowing for a lovely service.
But I'm not a rabbi, so I could be wrong.
I tend toward much more liberal strands of Judaism and find value in the respect for humanity that is exhibited by the sacred treatment of the dead, so I'd be fine with whatever forms of autopsy or burial that promote that spirit without worrying as much about strict adherence to legalistic rules. But that's me.
No need to panic until someone from the future leaves behind neuromorphic hardware. (Or we develop practical neuromorphic hardware ourselves.)
Hala Point contains 1.15 billion artificial neurons across 1152 Loihi 2 Chips, and is capable of 380 trillion synaptic operations per second. Mike Davies at Intel says that despite this power it occupies just six racks in a standard server case – a space similar to that of a microwave oven. Larger machines will be possible, says Davies. “We built this scale of system because, honestly, a billion neurons was a nice round number,” he says. “I mean, there wasn’t any particular technical engineering challenge that made us stop at this level.”
If you thought your wife pregnant, but would learn the 9 month destension was just corked abdominal gas relieved by a careful uncorkscrewing, would you name your fartbaby Odoriferous and raise her as an equal with your other children or would you treat her as a lesser being?
Hanover
Thanks.Well nuanced short article.
Can relate to rabbitholes considering divergency of views / interpretations whenever religion is discussed.
Wouldn't Gasphartchio be a better name? As a tribute to yr wrongly overlooked and underappreciated pureed can-a-ball comment. sad smile.
Metaphysician UndercoverApril 21, 2024 at 11:53#8981240 likes
Oh my God! There's a lot of threads about the paradoxes which entail from the magic of mathematical axioms, that have popped up lately. Let's just go back to discussing the problems of the magical Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Being instead.
Reply to frank I've seen a number of articles questioning the safety of puberty blockers and I saw Scotland has stopped prescribing them. I think for those under 18, it's going to become increasingly uncommon to provide hormones or any interventional treatment.
I also don't feel like the trans supporters are going to win the public restroom or sports participation battle.
Reply to frankReply to Hanover Pretending that one can change one's gender is fantasy. Some of the fantasies we entertain in our heads should stay there. 2050 is only 26 years away; we'll see if common sense prevails. I keep thinking that global heating will become the only issue that people will worry about, and "cool, clear water" will be the only fantasy.
I've seen a number of articles questioning the safety of puberty blockers and I saw Scotland has stopped prescribing them. I think for those under 18, it's going to become increasingly uncommon to provide hormones or any interventional treatment.
I also don't feel like the trans supporters are going to win the public restroom or sports participation battle.
The NHS just shut down a trans clinic for gross negligence. No quality research has been done on the long term outcomes of providing surgery and hormones to kids. The US is in the process of outlawing it. And I don't think the pronoun thing has legs either. Most people think it's stupid.
I don't think anybody is going to worry about the climate. They'll just adapt as it changes.
Although we have to adapt to the challenge of global heating, it is an issue (or matter) that we all should care about. Sadly, the politicians or other important representatives are not taking care of, or at most, they are not making a great effort. There are some who deny global heating, and others overreact to it. Promising a lot, but with low practice in reality. What I am 100 % certain is that my country is becoming deserted, and some regions are close to be run of water. This is a fact. You can check the weather and water supply of Catalunya, and it is scary. As frank pointed out, we should have to adapt. I guess this is what is in the politicians' minds... because they are aware everything is a disaster regarding climate change.
And yes, it is obvious this is more important than gender issues. I read around the Internet that trans topics are the trend of millennials. I couldn't have said it better. Again, I am sorry on behalf of my generation.
They say it's an illusion that a biological woman can live a normal life as a male
I believe that transsexuals (most are M to F) are living a fantasy, proped up with hormones and in many cases, surgery. At least some, maybe many, are happy with the results. But it's still a fantasy, still a delusion.
Some men (a few women too, I guess) find a great deal of satisfaction in transvestitism--wearing the clothing of the opposite sex. They also seem to find a great deal of satisfaction in wearing the hair/wig clothes, makeup, and miscellaneous accoutrements of the opposite sex. But then they put on their ordinary clothes and go to work.
Many men find a great deal of satisfaction in sculpting a hyper-masculine persona of ripped physiques and extensive tattoos. It likely takes a lot of time, hard labor, and hormones to achieve the most elaborate goals. Wrap-around, neck to knee tattoos are expensive. Attractive? Oh yes, sexy as hell. The average man in today's gay porn (for instance) or some fashion magazines is far beefier, far more defined, nearly hairless, and decorated than average men were in similar photos 55 or 60 years ago.
We humans entertain all sorts of fantasies and delusions about ourselves, about: how masculine / feminine we appear; how beautiful we are; how healthy we are (chewing bushels of kale); how inventive, how holy and good; how politically astute; how smart, how funny, and on and on. We are flawed, but the flaw isn't in fantasizing: the flaw is mistaking the fantasy for reality. The flaw is taking the delusion as truth.
I feel like my reference to a pureed cannibal as gazpacho didn't get its due recognition.
Mercadona's gazpacho is pretty good, actually. Don't confuse gazpacho with salmorejo. The latter has bread on it! Both are delicious. I don't know how it is in your countries, but here it is very common to put gazpacho on the menu for weddings... most of the guests are expecting this dish.
Oh, there is also green gazpacho which is made with cucumbers and fruit. It is disgusting.
Although we have to adapt to the challenge of global heating
Some People in the richer cooler areas of the earth will adapt to global warming. People in the hottest parts of India and the Middle East will be dead. Millions in coastal areas will drown or flee, leaving everything behind. millions of people will starve or be unable to find drinking water. Being dead will be their adaptation.
When? We will have to wait a few decades for the world-class climate crises to arrive. Maybe 4 decades--2064, say. If you can move to an area that will be tolerable for the rest of your expected life, start working on that now. Finding a safe refuge is a bit dicey. For instance, if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation that funnels warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of Ireland and Norway shuts down (because of Greenland's fresh water pouring into the salty ocean) Europe will not just be cool, it will be colder than it has been in a long time -- several millennia. This could happen on short notice. In that case, hot dry ?España might be better than frigid Norway.
I plan on being dead in a few years. Old age has its advantages.
I plan on being dead in a few years. Old age has its advantages.
This made me feel terribly sad and melancholic after I read it... I understand death is a natural thing, it comes to all of us, and some are closer than others on this site because you are +70 years old. Yet, whenever this happens, I will miss you a lot. :broken:
We should write an obituary when a member of TPF passes away. Unless some of you declare something different in a will. I made a will a few years ago. I have to change it. I feel the people I named as my beneficiaries no longer deserve it.
I am now wondering if someone could name a member of TPF (or the site itself) as beneficiary. I guess I have to name an administrator to meet with the heirs. The administrator of my will and goods will be @T Clark and my will is that I divide the goods among you, my friends.
Some People in the richer cooler areas of the earth will adapt to global warming. People in the hottest parts of India and the Middle East will be dead. Millions in coastal areas will drown or flee, leaving everything behind. millions of people will starve or be unable to find drinking water. Being dead will be their adaptation
Perhaps, but why dwell on those who fare poorest? Canada will become a retiree's paradise with its warm summers and mild winters all along Hudson Bay and the Northwest Passage.
What I am 100 % certain is that my country is becoming deserted, and some regions are close to be run of water. This is a fact. You can check the weather and water supply of Catalunya, and it is scary.
The Japanese have desalination plants, some for industrial use and some for the water supply. Where are the Spaniards going? Texas?
This will increase the available salt supply, which will finally bring salt prices down. I have gone too long with poorly salted eggs and french fries, so I welcome global warming with open arms.
This will increase the available salt supply, which will finally bring salt prices down. I have gone too long with poorly salted eggs and french fries, so I welcome global warming with open arms.
Do you just walk around with open arms welcoming it?
No, mate! Most of us go to Ireland or the UK. There is a good diaspora of Spaniards working there. I even found Spaniards in remote regions or cities like Brighton or Leicester. Texas is very far, and it is expensive to fly there. Thanks for the invitation, anyway. :smile:
I will keep living here. I don't mind if Castilla turns into a desert like Morocco or Tunisia.
No, mate! Most of us go to Ireland or the UK. There is a good diaspora of Spaniards working there. I even found Spaniards in remote regions or cities like Brighton or Leicester. Texas is very far, and it is expensive to fly there. Thanks for the invitation, anyway. :smile:
I will keep living here. I don't mind if Castilla turns into a desert like Morocco or Tunisia.
I can see you out there hiding in a cave from one of those desert tigers who evolved due to climate change. You're writing in a little journal about Japanese desalination plants and planning your next foray into the market town to see that girl.
Hey, thanks for caring. I know there have always been quarrels between Castillians and Portuguese... but now times are different, and we are now friends. Olivença is still part of Extremadura, but please, do not care that much about that region... it is very undeveloped. They do not have train connection with Madrid. I mean, it is not a 'loss' whether Olivença is part of Portugal or not.
This week is the 50th anniversary of Revolução dos Cravos. It took part on 25 April 1974. I was born on 25 April 1997. Maybe I was a Portuguese citizens in my past life but I do not have memories of it!
I can see you out there hiding in a cave from one of those desert tigers who evolved due to climate change. You're writing in a little journal
Spain is the country with the most people living in caves in Europe. It is crazy how many families live in the caves in Granada. I am writing stuff. Not journal papers but fables. :smile:
If God answers my prayers, then my faith grows.
If God delays the answer, then my patience grows.
If God doesn't answer, it doesn't mean He has left me;
it means something better is destined for me.
I don't know who wrote this drivel, but it is wildly and ridiculously optimistic, especially the last line.
If God answers my prayers, then my faith grows.
If God delays the answer, then my patience grows.
If God doesn't answer, it doesn't mean He has left me;
it means something better is destined for me.
I don't know who wrote this drivel, but it is wildly and ridiculously optimistic, especially the last line.
I think whoever wrote that is ready to drink the coolaid.
I don't know who wrote this drivel, but it is wildly and ridiculously optimistic, especially the last line.
No different than "it's always darkest before the dawn". Nothing wrong with giving people hope and life purpose in the form of factual anecdotal possibility, distinct from false hope as would be "everything you desire will occur as you imagine if you believe X or "nothing bad will happen to you if you follow Y", for example.
In fact, it can be argued, on the other hand, believing one knows as absolute fact the ultimate and absolute nature of reality and all possible forms of existence based on what can or has been observed in a man's short, limited life and resulting experience is what is truly ridiculous and close-minded. 1,000 years ago if you told people mankind would be able to communicate with any person anywhere on Earth in an instant or explore the skies and ocean depths as any bird or aquatic creature does, you'd be considered just as absurd and woefully misguided as any atheist today sees you now. That's the thing about man, he's always right. Until he's not. :wink:
Nothing wrong with subscribing to the Socratic philosophy of "The only thing I know is that I know nothing" and keeping an open mind, I'd say. Of course, anything man creates or commandeers (organized religion in this case) is bound to have its dangers and potential for abuse and negative outcome.
If God answers my prayers, then my faith grows.
If God delays the answer, then my patience grows.
If God doesn't answer, it doesn't mean He has left me;
it means something better is destined for me.
I don't know who wrote this drivel, but it is wildly and ridiculously optimistic, especially the last line.
The logically omitted possibility is that sometimes his answer is no. It would follow that an all wise God wouldn't help you find your next fix of heroin and an all good God would eventually lead you in the right direction, which would be cause for optimism.
But then there's that pesky monkey wrench of true, undeniable evil.
But then there's that pesky monkey wrench of true, undeniable evil.
There's an old saying along the lines of "never assume malice toward that which can be adequately explained by stupidity". Not sure if I particularly agree with that, of course it depends on a variety of factors unique to the person or situation, surely.
Still, ignorance is often called evil. For example, a child putting his father in mortal danger because he punished the child, whether appropriately and within reason or not. For example. No? People can be vindictive and outright cruel, sometimes as a response to their environment and it being all they've ever known, sometimes simply for the positive endorphin rush and feeling of "power" over others, perhaps due to having felt powerless throughout a large portion of their life by a despicable person who you happen to remind them of, or perhaps just for the feeling itself. I'm not sure if I'd call these acts inherently (undeniably) "evil". Would you?
Still, ignorance is often called evil. For example, a child putting his father in mortal danger because he punished the child, whether appropriately and within reason or not.
The child in that example is acting deliberately. First, because he didn't behave accordingly, and his father punished him. But instead of redeeming himself, he goes for revenge, putting the father in danger. We have a Karamazov child here. A nihilistic, a little boy who wants to live without rules and moral authority.
Reply to javi2541997 A child might well put somebody in mortal danger without understanding the mechanism of 'mortal danger'. A 4 year old might pick up a loaded gun (left out by a stupid adult) and kill his little brother.
Save for the born-psychopath karamozovs of the world, it takes time and a whole batch of bad stuff to produce a nihilist who really has no interest in the moral aspects of life.
So what are we going to do with this young bad actor -- life without parole?
It is always darkest before the dawn because 3:30 a.m is only relatively darker than 4:30 a.m., given the increasing light of dawn. Things don't naturally reach rock bottom (the darkest hour) and then rebound. Usually things reach rock bottom and stay there.
I am not a student of the dawn, so I don't know how dark it is just before sunrise. I prefer to let the sun reach somewhere overhead before I get out of bed. I can speak to the darkness between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. however. It's pretty damn dark.
Reply to Hanover Lacing up everything from heroin to my boots with fentanyl is evil. The Chinese ship a lot of fentanyl precursors to Mexico where it the drug is made and brought into the US by the ton.
Is this a form of chemical warfare? As many as 50,000 people die from Fentanyl ODs every year. It shows up in cocaine, heroin, K, weed, meth, etc. A therapeutic dose is quite tiny; an OD is still not very much.
A 4 year old might pick up a loaded gun (left out by a stupid adult) and kill his little brother.
One thing is picking up a loaded gun, and the other is to kill a person. The first action is done without any interest. The second goes deliberately. We often take for granted that toddlers are not ready to understand what is bad, good, evil, unethical, etc. But I think we make a big mistake here. I would say with boldness that there have been innate negative thoughts since we were kids, such as envy and revenge.
I have always picked up a knife in my kitchen, but I have never had the aim of killing a family member.
So what are we going to do with this young bad actor -- life without parole?
No! I understand he has to be jailed for a considerable time. This is a big debate, but I am against life without parole. Every criminal and every felony are different, but when we are talking about familiar crimes, such as fratricide, we should look at this from a different perspective. At least, I will give my best to redeem the soul of the child...
It doesn't matter if he is in or out of prison. He will carry with him the sordid sense of guilt for killing his brother for the rest of his life. What kind of punishment is worse than this?
He will carry with him the sordid sense of guilt for killing his brother for the rest of his life.
Unless you're just projecting your sense of empathy on a psychopath.
It would be a wonderful world if malice were just bad judgment, where if only people were tempered enough to have thought through the consequences of their actions they wouldn't have committed them.
What of the kid who is happy he killed his parents, or those who never gave it a second thought?
Unless you're just projecting your sense of empathy on a psychopath.
If the child doesn't have regret after killing a parent or sibling, he is clearly mentally ill. This is very difficult to proceed with. We can at least agree that psychopathy is an illness.
I understand this child deserves to be punished by the law anyway. But what would be more rational? Put him in prison or in a mental sanatorium?
Furthermore, what is the point of life sentencing without parole to a sick child with a low sense of reality? Don't you think?
What if he attacks other prisoners when he is locked in?
Furthermore, what is the point of life sentencing without parole to a sick child with a low sense of reality? Don't you think?
This is the "why do we put imprison?" question. Is it to rehabilitate, to punish, to deter others, to just incapacitate the offender? I think it's usually a combination of all these things.
If you have a child who kills his parents, we'd like to make him better, we'd like to teach him a lesson, we'd like to let others know that sort of behavior won't be tolerated, and we'd like to protect society from him.
I'm not necessarily a fan of just sorting the good from the bad and locking down the bad, but I also have a limited appetite for accomodating bad behavior and I only can shed so many tears for the predators.
but I also have a limited appetite for accomodating bad behavior and I only can shed so many tears for the predators.
I feel the same, but I tried to give a different view on something complex like putting a toddler in prison. Our criminal procedure doesn't allow us to lock kids in prison. They can only be locked down in a 'probation centre' until the young criminal is 18 years old and is transferred to a prison. What I disagree is with proceeding against a child if he was like an adult. I think this is a mistake.
Anyway, this is a serious and difficult task for every court/judge in countries where the guarantees of being legally assisted are assured.
I didn't want to go for the easiest way: yeah, lock him up for life because a 9 years old has the same sense of reality and awareness of his actions as a 35 years old.
I feel the same, but I tried to give a different view on something complex like putting a toddler in prison. Our criminal procedure doesn't allow us to lock kids in prison.
The toddler example challenges the element of intent, where we set an age where we don't believe people have the requisite understanding of the consequences of their actions to hold them fully accountable. The age is officially 18, although some jurisdictions allow for 17 and when it's younger than that, the judge can decide if they should be tried as an adult, but I don't think it ever gets younger than 15, but I'm not sure.
It's for the same reason you have things like statutory rape laws where it is assumed someone below a certain age cannot consent because they cannot understand the consequences of their actions.
What's interesting is that it used to be that the less sophisticated the jurisdiction, the lower the age of consent was for sex. Rural states kept that age very low and industrialized states kept the age higher. Today it's flipped, where the less sophisticated states have become conservative and have increased the age of consent and the other states (and Europe) have dropped the age.
It's for the same reason you have things like statutory rape laws where it is assumed someone below a certain age cannot consent because they cannot understand the consequences of their actions.
Exactly. This is the point I wanted to state: a child should not be punished by the law like an adult because he doesn't fully understand the consequences of a felony. But I am not attempting to defend exclusiveness but 'contra bonos mores' for acting against a basic knowledge of morality (if a child has some).
What's interesting is that it used to be that the less sophisticated the jurisdiction, the lower the age of consent was for sex.
Yeah, and this is one of the main topics which intrigued me the most about civil law. You can get married at just 14 years old here, but for sexual consent, it is needed at 16–18 years old. Another interesting fact is the law only refers to girls and not boys. I guess this is due to females being prone to suffer more sexual harassment than boys statistically.
The Roman Empire allowed children at just 12 years old to get a scope of supply thanks to 'venia aetis'. Nonetheless, Roman legislators considered it mature enough for a person at only 14 years old.
The span object of debate about consent was always that: 12, 14, 16, 18 or even 21 years old. As you explained, there were differences between rural and industrialised areas.
But the curiosity is that most of the legislation limited one age or another to consent to marriage, but not sex, because the latter was implicit.
(Don't have sex until the wedding!), yet now it is different (at least here). There are more barriers to consent towards sex acts.
unenlightenedApril 23, 2024 at 19:22#8986300 likes
I appeal in the name of pedantry that the title "The Breadth of the Moral Sphere" be changed to "The Diameter of the Moral Sphere".
Is that for the sake of saving expressions like: "The Depth of his Moral Depravity?
As long as the depth is measured in fathoms, (unless it is unfathomable, of course), I have no problem with the depth of moral depravity, unless it it claimed to be spherical in which case the radius would be its maximal depth.
Reply to unenlightened
Now Dante sort of had an underground parking garage. Does that give a finite depth with an infinite capacity to expand horizontally as generations piled on? Talk about a growth industry.
Reply to jorndoe - I think you are underestimating the difference in the Overton window. Beyond that, I think scientists tend to make for poor leaders, so I don't accept the idea that if a leader is not a scientist or acquiescing to popular science this will make him a poor leader (I don't know anything about Mike Johnson). Leadership (and politics) is about making prudential decisions, weighing interests, and being capable of avoiding absolutizing approaches. It's about being able to make and stand behind difficult decisions that will not be popular with everyone.
Reply to Leontiskos, it's not about being a scientist (at all), it's about being reasonably well-informed, and not putting childish superstitions above evidence + reason. In particular as a public servant, in principle an employee of the rest of the population.
While one might argue that he can still function well as a politician, the former alone is kind of damning, sufficiently reality-removed to disqualify for public office. One might value dissidence, yet ...
I'd take it that an elected official would meet a minimal baseline. But, hey, a societal decline explains it well enough. Greene is just another fine circus clown. Will we see dome-flat-Earth'ers making grand decisions as elected politicians next? :D Maybe it's a postmodernist type thing.
The Integrated Triad
A derivation of the Trinity within our rational comprehension.
[sup]— Johanan Raatz · Mar 26, 2017 · 8m:48s[/sup]
There are some comments here and there by the author.
DifferentiatingEggApril 25, 2024 at 18:23#8990450 likes
Reply to jorndoe Yes, it uses solid theories and slams them all together with some hyperbole to argue a thesis that cannot be currently proven. But science has hinted at lots of interesting things in the past century.
Reply to Hanover I used to run a whole lot, but the further past 50 I go the more challenging it becomes. I would be over the moon to run a 28 minute 5 k these days. Go for it! It's a respectable clip. :)
Reply to Hanover I used to jog 7 miles to work -- maybe 3 times a week. The best 3 miles (5k) took me about 36 minutes, maybe 32 on a good day. The last 4 miles was slower. I was 38 at the time. I also bicycled and swam.
Double the age now that I was then, and running anywhere is pretty much a distant memory.
If you are doing a 5k for your health, great. The important thing (for your health) is to keep moving, and move hard enough to increase / maintain cardio and major muscle capacity over time.
To get a target heart rate, subtract your age from 220. Then multiply the result by .50, .65, .75, or 85. The result is your target heart rate. So, for a 50 year old whose fitness level is unknown, it's 220-50 x .65 or 85 beats per minute. That's where an otherwise healthy person might start out, running just hard enough to maintain 85 bpm for 10 or 15 minutes.
If you already exercise regularly and don't have health problems, you might try for a heart rate of 127 bpm. 144 bpm would be 85% of the maximum heart rate.
The idea is to start exercising at a rate below 85% of maximum, and over time work up to 85%. Then, try to maintain an exercise level where your heart rate remains close to 85% for something like 30 minutes. No pain, no gain? Nobody's life was improved by having a heart attack, so don't start at the top.
Only the young athlete should think about exceeding 85%.
it's not about being a scientist (at all), it's about being reasonably well-informed, and not putting childish superstitions above evidence + reason.
Sure it is. You think he is a poor official because he does not assent to the scientific theory of evolution. Or to quote myself, it is the idea that, "if a leader is not a scientist or acquiescing to popular science this will make him a poor leader."
Presumably this is your argument:
Evolution is rational.
Those who do not assent to Evolution are not rational.
Those who are not rational should not be in public office.
What I am pointing to is a validity problem, where science-rationality and politics-rationality are two different kinds of rationality. So failure to assent to Evolution is not a litmus test for a candidate receiving my vote. But again, I think the Overton window is the bigger issue.
where science-rationality and politics-rationality are two different kinds of rationality
That nonetheless have many things in common. Among others: avoiding non-sequuntur, knowing how to write and read clearly, considering alternate points of view, etc.
Reply to Deleted user - There are overlaps and some cross-influence, but at least in American politics the options tend to be extremely limited. For example, in the next Presidential election I will probably get to choose between Biden and Trump (!). There are about a hundred things I would want to look at before considering their views on Evolution, and they will generally relate more directly to politics-rationality.
Reply to Leontiskos I think that the point is that, for most people, believing that the Earth is 5k years old is a bit like not knowing how many countries border your own. That sort of thing which undermines the trust in someone's ability to make good decisions.
I used to jog 7 miles to work -- maybe 3 times a week. The best 3 miles (5k) took me about 36 minutes, maybe 32 on a good day. The last 4 miles was slower. I was 38 at the time. I also bicycled and swam.
They had a shower at your work? That is actually pretty impressive, making me think you were either very competitive and obsessive about your health or dealing with depression and anxiety. I say that only because I think to the time when I used to do kickboxing, and I would go back to back to back sessions, spending two hours in hard core cardio to where I could barely walk to the car when it was over. I had my own competition in my head with all those around me where I was working harder than everyone else.
I was in amazing shape, but not so much from the neck up. But I overshare.
Only the young athlete should think about exceeding 85%.
My heart rate will get up to 185-190 on the elliptical machine. I slow down when I see stars. I can see the people's machines next to mine and they can't get that high. I totally kick their ass and they're like half my age. They're losing so bad they don't even know there's a race going on.
My heart rate will get up to 185-190 on the elliptical machine. I slow down when I see stars. I can see the people's machines next to mine and they can't get that high. I totally kick their ass and they're like half my age. They're losing so bad they don't even know there's a race going on.
My HR hits 180 when I push. The 225 minus age calculation doesn't work well for trained athletes. However I did see a youtube last week that cited a study where older athletes who continued to do intensive "threshold" training have a higher than average incidence of cardiac events.
Thanks for allowing me to join this board. I hope to contribute well and abide by all the rules. You make the place look great, it's really good to read from the sidelines, and the place is moderated optimally. I will enjoy my time as a member. Good luck folks.
Johnson holds that the Earth is half a dozen 1000 years old. The universe, too. Sure, I guess biological evolution is out the window then (which, granted, it likely is in any case here). For that matter, his reading of the Bible comes first, before (the laws of) the US. I suppose a sliding Overton window is a good description (assuming I understand it right).
It is crazy how many families live in the caves in Granada.
:D Lovely spot by the way. My last visit to Spain was Peñíscola, another lovely, albeit tourist'y, spot. Some of the restaurants in the castle area make great paella. :ok: In-land from there has that beautiful Spanish countryside, nature, scattered villages.
Reply to jorndoe Wow! Thanks for your appreciation for my country, man. I only tend to read negative comments about Spain (except for Jamal because he lived in Valencia, and Lionino, who is an Iberian loyalist).
My last visit to Spain was Peñíscola, another lovely, albeit tourist'y, spot
Yeah, Castellón is a pretty province and Peñíscola one of its gems. It is the most unknown region, because tourists tend to go to Alicante or Valencia.
Yes, on campus -- an athletics department building next to where I worked. I was a bit compulsive and heading towards major depression, but wasn't quite there yet. I was about as fit then as I ever would be. Fit feels good.
When I had a Y membership, I liked the stairclimber and rowing machine.
For that matter, his reading of the Bible comes first, before (the laws of) the US.
I mean, the list of things you gave read like something out of a partisan tabloid, and so it's hard to give them credence without proper substantiation. For instance, I opened an article from The Guardian on Johnson's supposed "theocracy." I only skimmed the article for quotations, but the evidence looks paper-thin. Here are the two primary quotations that are given:
“Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.”
“You know, we don’t live in a democracy” but a “biblical” republic.
"Therefore, Johnson is a theocrat. QED." :chin:
In the U.S. "theocrat" basically means, "He's religious and I disagree with him politically."
The Shoutbox is the place to admit that you actually masturbate
We could do a poll, but what's the point? It's like conducting a survey to find out whether forum participants breathe. As they sang in HAIR! the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, 1968.
Masturbation
Can be fun
Join the holy orgy
Kama Sutra
Everyone!
Masturbation
Can be fun
Join the holy orgy
Kama Sutra
Everyone!
:lol:
1968. The 1960s... LSD, masturbation, orgies, hippies, flowers against the Vietnam War, etc. The good old golden times which will never come back again...
I am very happy to notice you are already used to my weird posts. Why didn't I get banned then? Because I handed 1 Kg of Bomba rice to Jamal and Baden as a bribe.
I used to jog 7 miles to work -- maybe 3 times a week. The best 3 miles (5k) took me about 36 minutes, maybe 32 on a good day. The last 4 miles was slower. I was 38 at the time. I also bicycled and swam.
Wow. Impressive. I ran to catch a train once and it nearly killed me. I don't believe I have actually properly run since around 1981-82.
Curiously, my friends are mostly getting fat and dying. I lost a vegetarian athlete friend who had a massive stroke at 42. Other friends have been dying off from cancer, heart disease and depression/suicide. All of them went to gyms and worried about what they ate. I don't give a shit about any of that (although I have an innate dislike of sugar, soft drinks, fatty foods and red meat) and I weigh what I did when I was 20. On the other hand, living to the age of 98 like my father did fills me with horror. I am already bored now (for the most part) and can't imagine 40 more years.
Welcome to, Reply to Barkon.
Here you'll find a good lot of smart people, some grumpy old-timers, and such.
Hang your virtual coat in the virtual lobby, grab a virtual coffee, enjoy. :)
Curiously, my friends are mostly getting fat and dying. I lost a vegetarian athlete friend who had a massive stroke at 42. Other friends have been dying off from cancer, heart disease and depression/suicide. All of them went to gyms and worried about what they ate.
There are some worrisome trends. One is from a 10 year trend--young people (in their 30s and 40s) dying from colorectal cancer. One of my nephews--otherwise healthy--died of that at 42. That type of cancer used to be a rarity in people under 60.
Deaths among my peers (late 70s) are a fact of life. Quite a few of my classmates from high school are dead. In 2021, the average age at death for white men was 76.8.
My father lived to 102. I do not want to live that long. How long? Hard to pick a number. 80? 90? I am curious about what will happen next -- to the climate, the economy, politics, society in general. I still enjoying learning. The major downside of old age for me is physical deterioration impeding mobility, independent living, and all that. For others it's clearly mental deterioration. Which is worse?
Geez, surely there are less depressing things to talk about!
Yesterday I went to a double-birthday. Small little party, some 10 people in an apartment. The variety of alcohol was too diverse and the quality too poor it seems. At the end of it everybody in the party was puking or had puked. Me, my close friend, and some Greek guy were the last people standing. Just built different. Great night.
As an American, I felt it my duty to watch a western, especially a John Wayne movie, because I don't think I'd ever seen one before. I watched The Searchers, a movie about some Comanches that lured some Texas ranchers away from home so they could burn it to the ground, murder the men and older woman left behind, and steal away the young women. The ensuing rape was implied.
The Comanches' motive was revenge for the murder of their family at some point in the past. John Wayne's character's (Ethan) motive was also revenge, which he ultimately got, saving who he could and killing the leader Comanche.
Everyone was equally brutal and racist. Ethan tried to kill one of his own family members who had been kidnapped because she had been sullied sexually by a Comanche and he despised another family member for being a "half-breed," because he was part Native American.
Ethan was bitter, vengeful, had been a former insurgent (fought for the Confederacy), and refused to take an oath as a Texas Ranger because he remained in rebellion. In short, he was a dick.
The movie was from 1956, so I don't know what it meant to say. Was I to buy into the idea that the Indians were barbarians? Was I to challenge that notion? Was I to admire Ethan's rugged individualism? Was I to admire the Comanche chief's commitment to his cause, even as he showed off his scalpings? Was the whole thing apolitical and just showing the stark reality of a Darwinistic lawless frontier?
Nice. The Searchers is considered one of the greatest golden era movies of all time by one of the greatest auteurs, John Ford. Scorsese worships this film. The only westerns I like are made by Italians.
As an American, I felt it my duty to watch a western, especially a John Wayne movie...
Agreed, Hanover. Yet we have a special channel for Western movies. It continuously shows movies by Sergio Leone or other 'Spaghetti Western' works. I think they have a good appreciation because they were filmed here.
I can't find what a 'neuterama' is on the Internet. It hasn't an equivalent word to Spanish. It seems like a zoo or pet shop. But I urgently need to know what a 'neuterama' is, because I tend to suffer anxiety when I read words that I can't understand.
PD: I just found this: What is a “Neuterama?” For the last 8 years, my CARE Cat program has recruited veterinary professionals from within our community to volunteer their vital time and skills to spay and neuter cats in need.https://winnipeghumanesociety.ca/another-great-year-for-neuterama-2020/
I think I now understand what Neuterama could mean.
I guess you don't want to hear about when I was a kid holding the port side legs of a piglet, while my brother handled the starboard side, and my father approached the aft end.
Reply to wonderer1 Farming life experiences like that cause me a heavy and painful stomachache. Although I am not vegetarian and I probably ate a considerable number of piglets, I have empathy when castration is applied to animals. I know it is for their own good. But I tend to be sensitive about them...
unenlightenedApril 30, 2024 at 17:21#9002800 likes
You know it isn't, but for the farmer's good. But we no longer do it to human boys for the pleasure of the singing voices of castrati. That's progress.
I can't find what a 'neuterama' is on the Internet.
You can find it here, which is the internet. I had thought I made the word up. There aren't enough words for me to express my thoughts sometimes. It's hard to be me.
I guess you don't want to hear about when I was a kid holding the port side legs of a piglet, while my brother handled the starboard side, and my father approached the aft end.
Things are looking up around here, now we have nautical farmyard reference. :rofl:
So, my father has just arrived home from Málaga. He usually goes to work at Andalucía thanks to AVE (our beautiful and off-white train).
Anyway, he bought a present in a souvenir shop in the Málaga train station. He gave me a pair of cute and cosy socks.
But there is currently being a big debate in the kitchen about what vegetable - or fruit - is sewn in the sock.
I say it is a tomato but my father states it is a strawberry.
I told him I would search for some consensus in TPF...
Reply to javi2541997 So eat them and tell us the right answer. I reckon it's a sparkling lava flow enveloping the jungle slopes of Mt. Somewhere. Guaranteed to keep your feet as warm as anything. Why would anyone want fruit on their feet?
You know it isn't, but for the farmer's good. But we no longer do it to human boys for the pleasure of the singing voices of castrati. That's progress.
I read that mules must be castrated or they go wild and are out of control. You're not even allowed to bring an uncastated mule to your muling events due to their disruptions, assuming you go to muling events. https://www.ruralheritage.com/new_rh_website/resources/mules_donkeys/gelding_john_mule.shtml
Whether a mule is happier castrated, I don't know. I would suspect the lady donkeys and horses are happier without a bucking mule coming at them. I know I would be.
I didn't know what to eat for supper this night, but that idea is tempting... leave me a few hours alone in the kitchen and I will tell you the result.
I read that mules must be castrated or they go wild and are out of control.
Mules (the 4 legged animal with big ears, not the shoe--see picture) are pretty big and strong, the better to trample people with. Gelded or intact, mules tend to be bitter and resentful because of their perverse parentage, sterility, and low social status. Donkeys don't get good press, either. It all goes to horses.
Would a fashion minded mule want to wear mules like these?
Would a fashion minded mule want to wear mules like these?
I was unaware of the word to describe a shoe with no back to contain the heel. Now I know and my life that much closer to complete.
I did a little reading about mules, and I learned that typically mules are not shoed like horses, although you would shoe a mule if you were to take him on rocky journeys. If shoed with a mule, then they'd be muled I suppose.
Your question then is whether you would mule a mule. I would start by asking if you're referring to a molly mule or a jack mule. If a jack, then only if a drag jack, but if a molly, only if a fashonista molly. I would suggest a pastel saddle mule for Easter, leaving your Oreo model for brunch with the other mollies, perhaps while sipping a mimosa.
Grilled cheese sandwich with two slices of ham in the middle.
There's a problem with this sandwich, which is that the ham doesn't submit to the teeth as easily as the cheese, and to make this even worse, the ham gains no traction within its pocket of unctuous, slippery, melted cheese. The result is that the thing is always on the cusp of collapse without a level of ongoing maintenance that prevents full enjoyment.
But ham and melted cheese are combined in famously good sandwiches, such as the croque monsieur. What is the secret of their construction?
But ham and melted cheese are combined in famously good sandwiches, such as the croque monsieur. What is the secret of their construction?
:up:
I guess simplicity is what attract people the most. Mixing ham and melted cheese is a simple act which everybody can do. It is a statement of the freedom that everyone has in their own kitchen.
I guess simplicity is what attract people the most. Mixing ham and melted cheese is a simple act which everybody can do. It is a statement of the freedom that everyone has in their own kitchen.
A mild sanding to roughen the surface of the ham to gain adhesion of the cheese upon melting is one solution. A kitchen sander is uncommon, but well worth it for the demanding ham and cheese sandwich architect.
That's the thing, I was using rough dry ham (the best kind), so I shouldn't've need a ham sander.
That is interesting and it makes me think the problem lies less with the ham and more with the cheese. Unconventional as it might sound, I'm going to suggest perhaps a mild acid (diluted hydrochloric or sulphuric) to etch the cheese so that it will bond to the ham. I don't think we're at the point where we might want to try different cheeses because I would hate to discard your perfectly good supply, so let's try the acids first.
To counter the punch of the acid when you bite the sandwich, you might want to first coat your tongue with baking soda to reduce the pH. If you acheive a thick bubbling froth when the acid hits the base, you know you've done it right.
Good idea, but I've thought of something simpler: I could glue the hams to the inner sides of the bread, and put the cheese in the middle. That way, the bread is secure in the bread, and the cheese, though slippery, is also sticky enough not to shoot out the sides.
Good idea, but I've thought of something simpler: I could glue the hams to the inner sides of the bread, and put the cheese in the middle. That way, the bread is secure in the bread, and the cheese, though slippery, is also sticky enough not to shoot out the sides.
Staples are even easier and also are non-toxic. Or shingle tacks maybe.
Once I was on an English train filled with English people and the cart wench came around with all her feedings, one of which was a chopped up brown meat sandwich swimming in a watery mayonnaise that I chose. It tasted like something Oliver Twist would have refused, but I choked it down and enjoyed the chugging through the country side.
When the cart returned, I look helplessly at the wench and, in my best cockney accent, muttered "Ma'am please, more food."
Reply to Jamal
According to my recent training, I shouldn't take this personally, but should remain rationally detached, recognize that your communication is influenced by events in your life, and attempt to be supportive.
At the end of the course they ask you if you think you'll be using the training while on the job. I checked no.
I suppose the advantage of the machine-made sandwiches is that their edges are sealed, locking in the ham
Well, yes. Now you are starting to think. Typical of this place, I provide the answer and no one listens. :roll:
Alternately, done well, the cheese will melt sufficiently to bind the two slices of bread, holding the ham firmly in place. To do this the consistency of the bread and the cheese is paramount. The bread must have holes of a size sufficient to provide a firm attachment for the melted cheese. The cheese must be of a type that will melt into the holes while cooking and firm when heat is removed.
Only empirical study with the products available in your location will find the right combination.
A useful trick is to soften the cheese by very briefly microwaving the sandwich after construction. Fifteen to thirty seconds. Then on to a hot pan, oiled, to brown and complete melting.
@javi2541997 I bought some olive oil at the store that was from Spain. Maybe you passed by the very tree from which the extra virginal organic non gmo cold pressed oil was extracted.
We've discussed a number of ways to properly stabilize the internal ingredients of a sandwich, overlooking the obvious hydraulic press method shown below:
Reply to Hanover the Mormon Tabernacle Sandwich Compressor about which you posted a video actually isn't destructive enough. What you need to do is achieve a complete integration of ingredients, something that can be done in seconds using a blender. After processing the sandwich can be eaten with a spoon. If you add the entire meal to the blender, you can probably drink the sandwich, milk, salad, and pie.
Just as the Mormon Tabernacle Sandwich Compressor eliminates the aesthetic qualities of a sandwich, so will the electric blender. What is lost in aesthetics is gained in the speed with which one can safely consume the sandwich. The pureed sandwich is never a choke hazard, regardless of how fast you scarf it down like a ravenous wolf.
Speaking of wild animals, a squirrel can be reduced to a red sauce in about 2 minutes. ***
***2 minutes, exclusive of the time it takes to catch the squirrel, get it under control, and stuff it into the blender.
Reply to BC I do think the sandwich smoothie could have been better achieved with a blender than the hydraulic small hole method he used.
I'd have hoped for a more compressed and intact final product, sort of a microfiche sandwich, packed with full calories, but transportable beneath your fingernail.
I didn't get the Mormon reference. The press operator sounded Russian or maybe German. Definitely not from Utah.
Reply to Hanover A friend of mine called the Choir in Salt Lake the Mormon Tabernacle Cheese Press. He didn't like their sound.
Certainly the sandwich could be far more compressed if the food was compressed in a cylinder. There is a limit, presumably -- the water in the sandwich would limit the amount of compression. As thin as microfiche? Probably not. Maybe as thin as a matzoh cracker.
Maybe you passed by the very tree from which the extra virginal organic non gmo cold pressed oil was extracted.
Maybe, yes! If the olive tree is from Andalucía, La Mancha or Cataluña there are a lot of probabilities that I passed by the tree from which the extra virginal organic non gmo cold pressed oil was extracted, because those territories are full of vineyards and I have travelled around them since I was born.
Reply to javi2541997 The provenance of the oil is no more specific than 'Spain'. However, I'll just assume it was from Andalucía; it sounds nice. I haven't opened it yet. I most often use butter to sauté meat. But olive oil is good for sauté, and with rice and vegetable lentil-type combos. Do you make popcorn, and if so, do you use olive oil, coconut oil, or corn oil? I've tasted popcorn seasoned with olive oil and it's interesting, but not quite the flavor I want.
I also bought bread flour and yeast today; I've been making my own bread for a long time. I don't use liquid oils for bread -- just butter, eggs, milk, salt, and yeast. Oh, flour too. Bread flour has a higher protein level than all purpose flour. I don't like liquid oils for most baking, actually. Solid fats work better.
The best olive oil is made from corn. It's less expensive and the words on the bottle are always English. It smells less olivey than other olive oils though.
Do you make popcorn, and if so, do you use olive oil, coconut oil, or corn oil?
Yes, I make popcorn often, and I use olive oil. We don't have coconut oil in the average supermarket, and corn oil has a low reputation. My mother only buys it when she wants to make ali-oli.
Excellent! My parents used to make their own bread too, but the cost of light has been high since 2021. They haven't used the oven for years, and I miss it. The food has a different flavor when it is cooked in it.
I had an interesting experience this morning: I went to Mercadona to buy some groceries, but I only got a €20 bill in my pocket. I started to get a weird feeling of anxiety because I wasn't sure if €20 was enough for all the products on the list. I didn't carry my wallet and credit cards with me either. The products were: chicken, olives, paté, bread, anchovies and asparagus. All of this cost me €19.84.
You can't imagine the feeling of relief I experienced when the Mercadona worker told me the price. I think I am a lucky man today.
The products were: chicken, olives, paté, bread, anchovies and asparagus. All of this cost me €19.84.
That's sort of a fun challenge, and it'd likely save you money where you bring a certain amount to the store and you have to feed yourself on just that.
Credit cards I think are the cause of inflation, where you buy without looking at what you have to spend. I haven't carried cash in years. It results in a change residue, where you end up with annoying coins everywhere, especially in your cup holder in you car. It keeps the cup from sitting right. When faced with the choice, I'd take life sapping inflation over unsteady cups any day. You can always get a second or third job to pay the bills, but you can't get back your days that were sidetracked by a wobbly cup of iced tea.
Credit cards I think are the cause of inflation, where you buy without looking at what you have to spend.
Yeah. There is another issue with credit cards: the PIN. I don't usually forget the secret number, but it is annoying when the double-authentication is needed, and then there are a lot of numbers on the screen for just buying groceries or a notebook. The bank system could be safer than ever, but it is a pain in the neck...
It results in a change residue, where you end up with annoying coins everywhere,
I have a lot of €0.01, €0.02 and €0.05 coins in my bedroom. I save them on purpose. They end up being inserted into a ticket vending machine. Oftentimes for train trips, others for tolls. I know it is uncomfortable to carry them to the vending machine. But, trust me when I say it is worth doing it.
There's these little bugs made by an enemy of the West that preys on the clean, lands on humans then makes them itch and lots of red marked lines appear all over and more of the location of bite. It's a Super Weapon. If these bites get too numerous, there'll be a pandemic, and lots of loss of limbs and death.
Moss-some to hear. If only such an expedition were to be accompanied by photos of such so as to provide those not so travel-inclined the opportunity to live vicariously through those who are.
Alas, every now and then we must learn to cut our mosses and move on sometimes. Such is life at times.
I'm afraid I have little to offer in return at the moment, save for a preview excerpt from my wholly non-existent book, that may exist someday.
"What is shocking the first time around becomes boring and vacuous when repeated*, and so, if this is the path we as a society allow to be laid before us, arts and entertainment devolve into little more than a swirling cesspool in which the things that once held us together, such as decency and uprightness, become little more than ideological excrement we ritually sacrifice unto the proverbial porcelain toilet turned alter that is shock value, until we as a society are left barren and destitute, robbed of all that was once desirable and meaningful in life, a self-inflicted wound of the highest magnitude, leaving us lost and alone in a soulless, alien world, forever searching for what once was in a spiritual wasteland of ruin and decay whose only purpose is to be destroyed*."
- "Why Am I Here, Please Kill Me", Chapter 7: A Fork in the Parking Lot That Used to Be a Road (Or So the Vagrant on the Sidewalk Tells Me)
*denotes snippets inspired by if not outright repeated from late English philosopher Roger Scruton
Reply to HanoverReply to javi2541997 Credit is like printing money, where everyone with a card has a legal press. A lot more cash chases the goods people want or need, and prices, wages, housing, etc. are inflated. If everyone paid off their card balance every month, banks would be much less eager to hand out cards, and the money printing aspect of credit would diminish. Americans currently carry 1.2 trillion dollars in credit card balances, and that, of course, isn't the sum total of household debt.
The good news is that the CC debt level is 14% less than it was in 2019.
I budgeted about $40 for my trip to the grocery store yesterday. I used a list, but added some items I remembered. The bill was $82. Had I skipped the olive oil, pork chop, sauerkraut, jar of yeast, and arborio rice, and large box of oatmeal (store brand), the bill would have been pretty close to $40. The bill would have been less had I gone to Aldis, but I went to the closer, more pleasant local market.
I charged the bill because I only had $43 in my wallet. I am debt averse so I pay off the card balance monthly. :halo: I'm surprised Wells Fargo lets me starve them of revenue every month.
Wells Fargo used to have coin counters in their offices; I used to accumulate coins; it was a nice surprise to find I had 23.94 or whatever in the jar. They ripped the coin counters out, for some reason, and the tellers now refuse to take coins that aren't in rolls. So much for customer service.
Interesting article on the Vietnam protests.
https://www.fpri.org/article/2000/06/mythed-opportunities-the-truth-about-vietnam-anti-war-protests/
"All the data we have from the time, and since, show that the obscenity, illegality, and raging anti-patriotism of the antiwar protesters made them the most hated group in America during the late 1960s and early 1970s. When police beat up protesters in the park across from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, most people who were watching on television sympathized with the police.
The backlash had significant repercussions on the national political scene. Without the antiwar protests, which were associated in the minds of the “silent majority” with a militarized black power movement that had somehow metastasized from the civil rights movement, George Wallace could never have become a national political figure, if only for a while. Nor would Richard Nixon have won the White House in 1968.
Furthermore, the antiwar movement undermined the Democratic Party and hurt Hubert Humphrey’s bid for the presidency in a very tight election.) The political reaction to the radical antiwar protests aided both the Johnson and Nixon administrations’ efforts to manage growing public disquiet over the war. More Americans would have opposed the war sooner had they not been put off by radical protest tactics."
"All the data we have from the time, and since, show that the obscenity, illegality, and raging anti-patriotism of the antiwar protesters made them the most hated group in America during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
I was present at a number of very large demonstrations against the war in Vietnam in 1968 and 1970, mostly in Boston and Washington, DC. I witnessed very little obscenity in placards and chants, nor illegality. OK, Country Joe McDonald's "Give me an F; Give me a U; Give me a C; Give me a K; What does that spell? Fuck. What does that spell? Fuck. What does that spell? Fuck. What does that spell? Fuck. What does that spell? Fuck." Permits for marches that were law-abiding and orderly. Not always, not everywhere, but usually.
Primetime wasn't quite ready for 'fuck' in 1968. Before a Boston appearance (his story goes) the police warned him not to sing the "give me an F..."
None the less, your observation about polarization over the Vietnam War (and hippies, women's lib, gay lib, etc.) was quite real. As a 25 year old, I thought the times were exciting and good. When I returned to Minnesota in 1970, it was of course a different world than Boston. We were at a small cafe in a small town; a guy came buy with his young son who wanted to touch my beard. I got it; beards were a rarity in the outstate area.
The antiwar protestors certainly came across to much of the mainstream as at least unpatriotic. Our opposition to the war was worse than lacking patriotic fervor; it was a dereliction of duty. It was seditious, immoral, perverse. un-American in every sense. That's reasonable for people who reserve a preferential option for the views and experience of the military establishment.
The privileged POV of the military didn't go away when the Vietnam war was over. It's alive and well.
Hello Shawn! Happy to see you again. You were off from TPF because a group of pigs kidnapped you on their farm, and now they set you free. The first thing you did afterwards was post here. This is a real compromise for a user. :cheer:
Reply to Shawn Hey, long time no wallow dude. Everyone has been very sad and playing with their food since you were away. I hope they will have the decency not to be mentioning 'ham' all the time now!
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 05, 2024 at 11:36#9015250 likes
What's with the price of olive oil these days? It seems to go up by about twenty five percent every time I go to buy some. Is there a shortage of olives, or are those huge hydraulic presses getting more expensive to operate, or something like that?
It's becoming a luxury item, and I'm going to have to start buying the cornolive, or maybe canolive (which is really rapeseed but I guess they didn't like the name).
Thanks, unenlightened. My only sadness is very great over the issue of how our appetite seems to cause unenlightenment towards pain and suffering of these poor animals, called 'pigs'.
Reply to Shawn They say you should never meet your heroes because you're likely to be disappointed. Maybe steer clear of actual pigs. You might find they aren't all you expected them to be.
Reply to Hanover I have met several pigs and they are delightful fun loving creatures. It is only humans that drive them into depravity; left to themselves, they like acorns and truffles, and live in the forest.
have met several pigs and they are delightful fun loving creatures. It is only humans that drive them into depravity; left to themselves, they like acorns and truffles, and live in the forest.
We have a wild pig problem here from abandoned pigs. They destroy the land and wreak havoc on the country side. It is possible they are simply bitter from their mistreatment and their relegation to the lowest rung of rural society.
I will work towards a better understanding of their plight.
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 05, 2024 at 19:04#9016090 likes
I've heard that some states have declared open season on wild boars. Kill them by any means, pounds of rat poison, machine gun, landmines, bombings, whatever. It's a veritable war out there, and the enemy is a sly one.
That is another name to add on to the famous still alive list.
We got into trouble so many times for sneaking radios into school and bribing the bus driver to play music because of singers like him and the school not wanting us to listen to them.
Let's hear the cheer folks "And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?"
I went fishing today. Maybe tomorrow I'll go catching.
I got some worms at the sporting good store that says they were from Canada. They were refrigerated and mostly dead, which is the way most Canadians are. I think. Dead is good if you want a compliant worm, but bad if you want a wiggly worm.
A Mexican guy caught a bunch of tiny bream and he kept them in a net bag he kept in the water. Maybe he's making fish nuggets with them.
Exodus 10:Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these signs of mine among them 2 that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them...
Was it the case that Pharaoh was actually quite reasonable, but had to be toughened up by the lord for theatrical purposes ?
The locusts arrived on the east wind, blowing across the desersts of Arabia. What had the locusts been eating in the desert to build up to plague strength? After the stage business of the locust plague had gone on long enough, a west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea. If being blown across the Red Sea was so hazardous to locusts, how come they survived when the east wind was blowing???
The next plague was total darkness across the land, except where the Israelites were standing around. Star turn for the spotlight team. After this, the lord had to harden pharaoh's heart again.
If the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, how was it that they had (apparently) accumulated large herds that they insisted on taking with them. (Pharaoh's Council of Economic Advisors were concerned about inflated beef and goat prices if the Israelites exited with all their livestock in tow.)
Another problem: the Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years. The ate manna from heaven. Why didn't they have pot roast? And what were they feeding their prospective pot roasts and lamb chops all those years in the inhospitable wilderness? Manna was sent for the people; bales of hay failed to appear for the livestock. Problems in the shipping department? Maybe the wilderness wasn't all that bad?
Clearly Biblical literalists have not read the Bible closely enough.
Reply to Shawn To God who is omnipresent in time and space, everyone who was ever born has died. But, as luck would have it, to an omnipresent god everyone who died is still alive. In the eternal present of god, there is no such thing as birth or death.
Was it the case that Pharaoh was actually quite reasonable, but had to be toughened up by the lord for theatrical purposes ?
God allowed the Pharaohs 400 years of free will and they used it to enslave the Jews, then they get a few droppings of El Yahweh's comeuppance and they're like "My bad, y'all can go on bout your day." Yeah, I don't think so. Holy Creator's like "You're finna get your heart all hardened up and I'm gonna show you a real smack down."
And so it was, with an outstretched hand and a mighty blow, the Heavenly Daddy-O back hand bitch slapped the spit out Pharaoh's face, leaving it as bone dry as the desert surrounding him. And then it got real. As in real real.
You think locusts was bad? Lordman says, "hold my beer, watch this."
Deepfried tiddlers be a common meal hither and yonder, howbeit I canst be speakin' for the Mexicans.
Interesting thing happened yesterday. The plan was to go to a cafe on a windswept hillside by a lochan (a particular cafe, not just any one), and I felt there was no point going there unless I had the full (they call it the "Large" on the menu) breakfast. The dish is these:
Two pork links
One slice of Lorne sausage
Two rashers of back bacon
One fried tattie scone
One thick slice of black pudding
One slice of buttered brown toast
Three mushrooms
Some baked beans
One fried egg
I'm trying to lose weight and because this was happening about 11:30 in the morning, I decided to make the meal function as brunch, thus skipping the meals I would normally have early morning and lunchtime. But, having been up since 07:00, I was rather hungry by the time the full breakfast arrived before me.
The thing is, although I could see that the ingredients were not of the best quality (the cheapest kind of frozen sausages, for example), I enjoyed it immensely. In my head and heart I knew it was mediocre at best, but I loved it—all at the same time.
And what is with the single egg in Scottish breakfasts? I don't think it's stereotypical Scottish meanness, because they're happy to provide two sausages...
But I did say they're the cheapest sausages, didn't I? Cheaper than eggs? :chin:
EDIT: local worms for local fish
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 06, 2024 at 10:33#9017750 likes
I enjoyed it immensely. In my head and heart I knew it was mediocre at best, but I loved it—all at the same time.
Why do you suppose that is? Simple ravenous, primal hunger brought on by the lateness of the hour? It all sounds rather charming really, a quaint - presumably picturesque - rural eatery tucked away in a seldom-traveled, grassy European countryside that has changed little over the millennia, overlooked by the Highlands in the distance, accompanied by a serene lake beckoning all who travel nearby to stop for a moment and perhaps pause one's weary mind and feet offering seldom-held opportunity for reflection and in this case, by matter of good fortune, engorgement. Like something out of a dream or distant memory overshadowed by the pressures and pursuits of the modern age.
I presume no photography is available. I promise I'm not a paid assassin tailing you and trying to determine your whereabouts to report back to my shady team of associates. :lol:
Yes, I do particularly like the combination of fried eggs and fried potatoes. However, I had some bad experiences in Barcelona. Fried eggs and fries it said on the menu, or something like that. The dish that came was a pile of French fries with a fried egg on top that had been intentionally smashed to pieces. I almost threw it in the small waiter's face.
The taste sensation can also be increased by adding one on top of fried rice, as in nasi goreng:
Lordy mama, why does the big man need someone to hold his beer when he springs into action?
It's a figure of speech. Conveying the minimal if not non-existent amount of effort, focus, or planning needed to perform or accomplish something. Typically used by arrogant men when in the presence of their witless and impressionable followers.
Why do you suppose that is? Simple ravenous, primal hunger brought on by the lateness of the hour? It all sounds rather charming really, a quaint - presumably picturesque - rural eatery tucked away in a seldom-traveled, grassy European countryside that has changed little over the millennia, overlooked by the Highlands in the distance, accompanied by a serene lake beckoning all who travel nearby to stop for a moment and perhaps pause one's weary mind and feet offering seldom-held opportunity for reflection and in this case, by matter of good fortune, engorgement. Like something out of a dream or distant memory overshadowed by the pressures and pursuits of the modern age.
You've pretty much hit the nail on the head, while simultaneously making me feel wistful.
To subtract a point because you said I could see the Highlands when there is copious evidence on TPF that I'm currently in the Scottish Borders would be churlish of me.
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 06, 2024 at 11:08#9017850 likes
Really? Not much of a traveler these days, but should things work out I suppose it wouldn't be off the table.
What are some of these drawbacks, if you don't mind sharing? Both in general as a resident and perhaps as a short-term visitor (things to avoid or be leery of, things not to, etc.)? A cousin of mine (or something) visited the place some odd years ago and seemed to enjoy it very much. I suppose it's all where you go and whether or not luck happens to favor you that particular journey. :smile:
The thing is, although I could see that the ingredients were not of the best quality (the cheapest kind of frozen sausages, for example), I enjoyed it immensely. In my head and heart I knew it was mediocre at best, but I loved it—all at the same time.
Funny thing similar happened to me also. I went to this old barn looking restaraunt near me that has outsurvived the development in the area, and so I thought it'd be old school and authentic. Most the folks behind the counter skipped their bath and had far away stares that didn't meet your eyes when you talked to them, so I thought these were locals from the land that time forgot and they could serve me up a plate of food the way it was meant to be served.
I mean, that's a reasonable assumption, right?
The biscuit was flakey and buttery and I think it came from the loving, kneading hands of one of the folks on duty, but that's about where it ended. The eggs seemed like a mix and the sausages were from the factory. The grits were also watery. I didn't get it. Why would they open a place just to microwave breakfast items from the frozen food aisle? And why am I eating in a barn in the middle of the suburbs? And who is this lady next to me and why is she talking to me?
I like the idea that the Sun is a frame of 4D space, and I wonder if the other stars and their planets are even spawned in for us, whether that's a local phenomenon and the far away stars are actually not presences, but essences of possible states.
Reply to Outlander I think you will not have a serious problem as a visitor, and you will probably like and enjoy the city. Thanks to Dalí and Gaudí, Barcelona has an aesthetic vibe worth experiencing. But I don't recommend staying there more than 3 or 4 days.
These are some reasons:
The city became very chaotic. The mayor doesn't allow people to enter the centre of the city using cars, causing the public transport and streets to collapse.
The prices are high, most of the 'cool' things are a bit overrated, and they do not have a good offer of museums.
There is now a big issue regarding pickpocketing. Barcelona is becoming more insecure than Marseille! Crazy!
Asking javi2541997 what he thinks of Barcelona is like asking a Glaswegian what they think of Edinburgh.
You know me pretty well, friend. I love the analogy, by the way.
We have a lot of mockery of each other, but everything is OK if it is done with good manners. What I personally dislike is how our politicians use the cities to divide us. I remember that in the 2020 pandemic, some separatists started to cheer on the victims of coronavirus in Madrid.
On the other side (here), I see politicians who are proud of themselves for not having Catalan products in their homes.
The politicians of my country are embarrassing, and I feel very sad about the current situation.
Embarrassing? Javi, if you don't live in the United States you don't know what EMBARRASSING is!
Well, all politicians in most countries of the world are embarrassing.
I have a simple principle: I would not share a pint of beer with a politician. At the moment of leaving the pub my wallet could have been stolen, or I would get angry about all the bollocks I would have heard before.
A politician (it doesn't matter his/her ideology) is not a nice mate to stay with in a pub.
"Pumba, a 200-pound pot-bellied pig who escaped from a New Jersey farm, was caught by police after roaming around “a quiet, serene neighborhood,” according to a Facebook post by the Washington Township Police Department on Friday."
— KIRO 7 News Seattle
I'm sure there's an anti-establishmentarianist pun to be had there somewhere.
How many times have I talked about suicide in philosophical terms here?
How many times have I seen the aesthetic and romantic view of suicide due to my readings by Mishima?
Nevertheless, when you experience suicide closely, someone doesn't know how to act or say.
This morning, a few hours ago, a person committed suicide by jumping onto the rail tracks...
I take the train every morning at the same station. But, when I was walking there, a lot of ambulances and police cars started to arrive with their sirens on...
The speaker of the train station said: sorry, but there is a track interrupted because there was an accident at Vallecas Station thirty minutes ago.
But a police officer said to us that the 'accident' was a suicide. A person deliberately jumped onto the tracks when the train was approaching, and the officer told us to not expect to fix this at least in hours, and they politely asked us to leave and take the bus instead.
We left the station silently...
I am speechless about how the suicide rate has drastically increased in Spain, and now I 'experienced' a case relatively closer...
I think our politicians should take into account this important matter and learn what other countries do to face this issue. Like Japan does, for instance.
The other day I went for an interesting bike ride. It had highs and lows, one of the lows being an attempted suicide.
I got 40 kilometres from home when my knees started playing up (meaning they became very painful and thus dysfunctional). This had never happened on my bike before, and since cycling is my favourite activity and the only exercise I ever want to do, I became depressed. I turned around and headed for home, even though I was only a few kilometres from my lunchtime destination.
I went slowly on the way back, trying to save my knees. Alongside the river I saw a big splash in the water. It was an osprey catching a fish. It struggled for ten seconds to lift itself out of the water, then finally flew away with a trout in its talons. Ospreys are known to live in this region but it's not often you see them. It was the first time for me. This was a high point of the ride.
Close to home the route went under a rather high road bridge, which spans the river. Approaching, I noticed an ambulance on the river bank under the bridge, and looked up to see someone high up on the edge of the bridge deck, on the wrong side of the fence. There were several people on the other side, presumably trying to talk him out of jumping. I don't know what happened, but it would have been difficult for them to prevent him from jumping if he chose to.
The following image of the bridge was taken by someone else at a less fraught time.
What happened was you squandered the opportunity fate has given you to be a hero like you wanted not that long ago...
The osprey was a manifestation of you saving the man from a murky depth or state of mind and lifting him up into the Heavens of contentedness and purpose, similar to how Jesus was a fisher of men, you were to be the fisher and the man was to be the fish.
Don't screw it up next time. Fate can be unkind to those who ignore Her doings.
I don't know what happened, but it would have been difficult for them to prevent him from jumping if he chose to.
Exactly. It is nearly impossible to know how to act in such delicate moments. I think there are experts inside the police agents who try to maintain a dialogue with the suicidal, but I don't really know to what extent this practice actually is... It is a bad and sad episode that makes you feel in a low mood for the rest of the day...
Actually, maybe not. As administrator of my preferred stomping ground, I consider you too valuable to be in the unsupervised presence of individuals who do not value their own life as such a state entails, as an automatic precondition, not caring about or valuing the lives of others.
The old adage, "no good deed goes unpunished" often rings true:
Just like to say I find the posters here to be very intellectual and I have learned a lot from reading your posts. My favorite poster is @Michael, very cool.
I think there are experts inside the police agents who try to maintain a dialogue with the suicidal, but I don't really know to what extent this practice actually is...
I am trained in suicide intervention and have often been a first responder. The model used around the world is fairly straight forward and involves some intensive training. It's not about talking them out of it, it involves supporting the person to identify their reasons for dying, along with their reasons for living. People want to be heard and validated and they often appreciate being reminded of what is or has been important to them. I've ususally been successful, but you can't prevent someone from killing themselves if they really want to. The serious ones often don't tell anyone they are going to do it and do it when no one can see them.
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 08, 2024 at 12:04#9024090 likes
I am trained in suicide intervention and have often been a first responder.
It seems a very hard task to accomplish. Hopefully, there are professionals like you, Tom, who are trained to provide help in these complex situations. If I were in a similar situation like yours, I would not know how to act, as I confessed to Jamal. I always had in mind that it is important to support the person and identify why he ended up in such a situation. Nonetheless, I am also afraid that maybe my words would sound fake or not really reliable. It is surprising how a suicidal perceives if the words are told with the soul or just to be polite.
I've ususally been successful, but you can't prevent someone from killing themselves if they really want to. The serious ones often don't tell anyone they are going to do it and do it when no one can see them.
A hard statement to swallow, but it is the truth. I think the man who committed suicide this morning had in mind this act the night before, or he has even been struggling with suicidal thoughts for years. I agree that the serious ones often don't tell people they will kill themselves, but why do they leave a letter, poem or declaration usually? Is it a way of saying goodbye and understanding why the person does this?
but why do they leave a letter, poem or declaration usually?
They don't. No one knows how many people actually leave notes - probably around a quarter. I have only ever seen a couple of notes. People do it in films and stories, so many people assume it is de rigueur.
but why do they leave a letter, poem or declaration usually?
There are two reasons why (per Tom Storm above) most people do not leave notes, poems, or letters:
The first and main reason is that explaining why, exactly, one has decided to exit the world is that writing memorable, effective text is difficult under the best of circumstances. I completed the third draft of a book, Effective Suicide Notes for the Anguished, Hurried, and/or Dull, but publishers have taken a pass on it.
The second reason is that there is simply too much to say about the manifold deficiencies of the cosmos, and how those deficiencies have combined to make life a living nightmare for the prospective suicide. This is especially true for people who are thoughtful and like to write. The typical Philosophy Forum person writing their suicide note wouldn't feel satisfied until they had typed 500 pages or so.
And life is a living nightmare. For instance, you go to the store for a box of pasta to make pasta with cheese (aka, macaroni & cheese). You think you really ought to get whole wheat pasta -- more nutritious, less processed, etc. Then you find that a blend of 5 Italian cheeses is on sale - 2 for $5, instead of cheddar. You buy those. So now you are back home, and whip up a batch. It fails!!! the whole wheat pasta is too brown and has the wrong mouth feel. The 5 Italian cheeses are very bland. You put a hair too much cayenne pepper in the sauce, and it's unpleasantly hot. All that trouble for a bowl of regret!
Living nightmare, I tell you, and that was just 2 hours worth of life.
I can tell you guys how to save a life because I once saved my own. I was drowning and I pulled myself out of the water. I sort of reached over my bobbing head with my right arm flailing in panic but my left arm sure and focused. The left arm grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and yanked me to safety. It then slapped my face to bring me to my senses. It then finally pleasured me to the most gentle of sleeps, reminding me of the time with, you guessed it, the supermodel.
I love that left hand. I use it all the time. It's my right hand man.
I bought a radio that is supposed to pull in AM stations from all over the US. I've gotten some from far away, but I need to run antenna wire through my trees I think if I want really good reception.
My other option is to stream stations through my phone, but I feel like old school is the way to go.
I'm looking into getting a ham radio and starting my own philosophy channel. My hesitation is due to the ham not sticking to the bread.
My question to you: Any of you fuckers into listening to far away radio stations? If you're a European fucker, does the language variation from country to country make the whole enterprise undoable? Have any of you heard what the Luxemburgians talk about when think no one is paying attention?
My question to you: Any of you fuckers into listening to far away radio stations? If you're a European fucker, does the language variation from country to country make the whole enterprise undoable? Have any of you heard what the Luxemburgians talk about when think no one is paying attention?
Do you know that Russian intelligence actually plays on the variation of European identity through playing on identities defined by so many languages in the EU? France calls it social aspect, Poland calls it selfhood, and Germany once called it living space.
It boggles my mind what pigs squealing noises sound like in Russia.
writing memorable, effective text is difficult under the best of circumstances. I completed the third draft of a book, Effective Suicide Notes for the Anguished, Hurried, and/or Dull, but publishers have taken a pass on it.
As a reminder, Yukio Mishima sent 'The Decay of the Angel' (his last novel) to the publisher hours before committing seppuku. Maybe Mishima was just an extraordinary example among suicidal people. What might be in the mind of this magnificent Japanese writer always makes me feel a strange feeling of concern and worry.
How far is far away? On a good night WBBM-CBS (780 AM) in Chicago comes in clearly (if intermittently) in Minneapolis. 400 miles away. French-speaking AM stations from Canada are often receivable. WWL AM from New Orleans, a station from Del Rio, Texas; Omaha; Denver. Nothing from the west coast, usually very few stations from New York City.
Reply to javi2541997 Westerners don't seem to have any problem with people blowing their brains out or splatting on a sidewalk after jumping off a building. Somehow disemboweling one's self seems a bit too messy and probably takes waaaay too long. Better to take an OD of fentanyl. It's reliable and fast with no bloody messes to clean up.
Morbid, man; morbid.
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 09, 2024 at 10:29#9026310 likes
I've gotten some from far away, but I need to run antenna wire through my trees I think if I want really good reception.
When I was young (back in the good ole days), we could listen to AM from all over the place, at night. My brother was a keener and did put wires through the trees. It's really quite boring though, you know, same old, same old, throughout the land, top 40 here is the top 40 there, and the Wolfman Jack soundalike here, sounds like the Wolman Jack soundalike there.
[quote=Wikipedia: Wolfman Jack]In 1963, Smith took his act to the border when Inter-American Radio Advertising's Ramon Bosquez hired him and sent him to the studio and transmitter site of XERF-AM at Ciudad Acuña in Mexico, a station across the U.S.-Mexico border from Del Rio, Texas, whose high-powered border blaster signal could be picked up across much of the United States. In an interview with writer Tom Miller, Smith described the reach of the XERF signal: "We had the most powerful signal in North America. Birds dropped dead when they flew too close to the tower. A car driving from New York to L.A. would never lose the station."[6] [/quote]
In CB and shortwave there is a phenomenon known as "skip". The radio waves reflect off the solar waves or something like that (enough to drive the QM buffs on this forum insane), resulting in transmission around the world. I think it works best at sunrise and sunset.
Racism is bad. You don't make pointless wars that you don't upkeep, with people, that is unprofitable. Your enemy could be profiting from the war and since you just stoke the fires and don't pay any real attention, you play a losing game. Best to take care with your wars...
Reply to Tom Storm
There is also the kind of self-destruction that is a withdrawal from discourse altogether. Erasing the traces of the crime, if you will. I have come into contact with that sort in my life more clearly than the other kind.
The End of the Dark Universe?
A new “post-quantum” theory of gravity says we can wave dark matter and dark energy goodbye.
[sup]— Sabine Hossenfelder · Nautilus · Mar 13, 2024[/sup]
I have heard of goat-fucking but pig-fucking is novel for me. I am writing this down in my diary.
No, no, no. She just sits with me and oinks and squeals. Sometimes she gets angry at me when she doesnt get a truffle or some oats with honey and cornflakes.
The first and main reason is that explaining why, exactly, one has decided to exit the world is that writing memorable, effective text is difficult under the best of circumstances
Given the situation, those notes would be exceedingly poignant regardless if they fail to capture their desperation. The mere act of recording one's final testament to a world they have forsaken, an explanation for the seemingly unexplainable, is the most poetic thing imaginable.
Westerners don't seem to have any problem with people blowing their brains out or splatting on a sidewalk after jumping off a building. Somehow disemboweling one's self seems a bit too messy and probably takes waaaay too long. Better to take an OD of fentanyl.
I only had a brief bout of suicidal depression almost a decade ago. The suicidal ideations circled around laying on train tracks or buying something like fentanyl. Someone on this forum once said that suicide imposes a burden on your family, especially parents, if they are still alive. The thought of dying and leaving my mother in shambles continuously harassed my ideations until the deep depression abated.
Only recently I've been thinking about a humane way of assisted dying for animals and came to the conclusion that stopping their/one's heart would be the most humane way of dying. No fear, just lights go dark right after the NMDA toxin is in the bloodstream. There are fishes off of Japan and sea urchins that have very potent NMDA toxins that can do this very quickly.
Just my two cents for the downtrodden and desperate.
I've been thinking about a humane way of assisted dying for animals and came to the conclusion that stopping their/one's heart would be the most humane way of dying.
Many vets use pentobarbital, a barbiturate. It's fast, induces sleep, then shuts down cardiac and pulmonary activity. When I had to euthanize my dog that's why they used. It was very quick. Very sad day.
The problem with pentobarbital is that there isn't time for the body to even begin metabolizing the drug, so a lot of the drug remains in the animal's body. Cremation or adequately deep burial doesn't present, problems, but leaving the carcass out in the open, or rendering the animal does. A horse euthanized with pentobarbital still had the drug present in its decomposed carcass nearly a year later.
I wonder what it would be like to be binge drinking near the Great Lakes and wake up next to the welcome sign for Hell.
It would be equally interesting to live a life as a real estate agent in Uncertain, certainly much more difficult than to be one in Last Chance.
Either way, you may find me buying a lottery ticket in Luck or starting a fight in Coward.
Just something to do to take a break from studying the intimacy rates of Intercourse and contrasting them with the auto collision rates in Accident.
Or I may forego this strange fascination with city names and the long term effects on the people who live there and retire to Cool instead.
My sympathy will however remain strong for the real estate people and mayoral staff of Dead Women Crossing, a great place to raise a family I hear. One thing is for certain, it sure beats living in the middle of Nowhere!
Reply to Outlander That is really cute. I know that the US has a lot of cities named after other famous cities in the world. So one could make a text about visiting Piedmont and being able to see Mount Rushmore, instead of the Alps, from the local Wendys. Taking a two hour car ride from Rome to Athens. And so on for other cities.
Reply to Outlander Ah, cool. Another cryptic message. What a shame that I lost my classes at the Committee for State Security for playing poker with my mates in the cafeteria…
This is the kind of public management I always wished for. I am in a random park in Pozuelo de Alarcón (a city with its own council inside the Madrid region).
I was having a brief walk to have a break from my project group, and then, observing the surroundings, I noticed that the bins had a little green box with a dog drawn in it.
I approached the bin and the box contained poop bags for dogs.
We all that have dogs love this kind of endeavours. Thanks to the Pozuelo council for spending the public budget on necessary and reasonable things.
I read that the average shoe size for American men has increased from 8.5 in the 1970s to 10.5 today. My foot grew significantly during that time, so my personal experience is consistent with this.
The Dutch have the largest average feet (11.5) and the Japanese the smallest (7). It has been said that the Japanese could use an average wooden Dutch shoe as a afishing boat. By "said," I mean written, as in I just wrote it a second ago.
I buy Clark shoes, offering a nod to their fine British design and handling, much like a Jaguar, prior to its sale to various car makers the world over.
It has been written that if I were a car, I'd be a beige Volvo, exciting in every regard.
I talked of shoe size with no mention of dick size. Unusual for me.
I buy New Balance shoes. Classic 574 series. It fits very well with my goose-like feet. They are comfortable, and my favourite colours are yellow, black and grey.
I know it is not related at all, but I want to share this important data: I use talcum powder in my socks to prevent my feet sweating like hell and then avoid wounds and scrapes. :up:
I use talcum powder in my socks to prevent my feet sweating like hell and then avoid wounds and scrapes. :up:
I also recommend a heavy belly dusting. Not only will you feel fresh all day, but if you slap your belly, you'll raise up a refreshing dust cloud that will be appreciated by all who pass by.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/SarcasmMother/status/1214941871266385921[/tweet] Quoting Mother Of Sarcasm
Imagine you discovered the ability to time travel.
You go 30 years into the future expecting to meet your future self only to discover that you've been missing for 30 years.
I am starting to get a weird attraction to those Dutch wooden shoes. I wonder if I can wear them on when I go to and fro around Madrid. (Did you ever put them on? @Benkei )
Just half watching some film on the box - and there is a young woman looking at her phone, and a split screen image of what she's looking at. Standard filmic convention we all understand ...
... because we're all schizophrenic now; it's normal. And the other half is posting comments on philosophy forums.
I don't know what half of these words mean. I won't look them up either
Floaters are those little flecks you see in the corners of your eyes that you can never focus on.
A migraine aura is the visual distortion (flickering lights, reduced field of vision) you get before the headache and other symptoms set in. You can also get numbness in your hands and lips, become forgetful, be unable to recollect words, and have slurred speech. It's all the fun of a stroke, but without the long term effects.
Reply to Hanover Since I promised I wouldn't be looking them up, and your post can technically be used as a source, I will not betray my ethics and my soul and thus my eyes will be avoiding everything between "Hanover" and "15 minutes ago". Well played, but I am steadfast.
I find that quite speculative (personally).
Would be a fantastic discovery, though.
Might even be enough for people to get their heads out of their a*s. :)
You can experience floaters and flashes together or on their own. Both floaters and flashes happen when the vitreous or vitreous humor, lifts up from the surface and pulls on the retina, creating tension. The vitreous is a gel-like substance in the middle of your eye. This process is called posterior vitreous detachment. It’s a normal process of aging.
Surprising (shocking!) fact: the squishy stuff that fills your eyeball can be removed. Once removed, even more ghastly procedures are easier to perform. Afterward the eyeball is refilled with saline, which actually works just fine. "Fine" he said.
Interesting aspect of migraine auras: they are very similar to the auras that precede epileptic seizures. Not that migraines and seizures are the same thing, but are perhaps similar phenomena.
Conclusion: Migraine and seizures are worse than floaters.
Interesting aspect of migraine auras: they are very similar to the auras that precede epileptic seizures. Not that migraines and seizures are the same thing, but are perhaps similar phenomena.
I have heard of dogs that can sense an oncoming epileptic attack and so they sit on the epileptic before he seizes, holding him steady in safety.
Fred will sit on me, but it seems at random and more for his own attention than my safety.
There isn't such a thing as a migraine dog because having a dog on you while having a migraine offers you no relief. It's no fun for either of you.
If you aren't sure if you're having a migraine or an epileptic fit, you should put a cat on your head.
will not betray my ethics and my soul and thus my eyes will be avoiding everything between "Hanover" and "15 minutes ago". Well played, but I am steadfast.
There is no way you have the self control not to read my posts.
Many have tried. All have failed. Try not to look at the purple cow. Impossible!
Another contribution to the movement of Dutchmen leaving their cities (where do they even go?), Amsterdam is an English-speaking city now, others are following.
Reply to Deleted user Grossly exaggerated. Just because most Dutch people can speak Dutch and Amsterdam is a tourist destination, doesn't make it an English-speaking city. You can speak English everywhere but also Dutch.
I thought Hanover was referring to a trick or language riddle, so I decided to search around Google what was going on with purple cows. The only thing the Internet has illuminated me is with this piece of natural beauty:
Reply to Deleted user Sounds like bias to me. One wonders why. Maybe you can respect my own experience and accept I'm telling the truth. I do work there after all.
Amsterdam is an English-speaking city now, others are following.
I know nothing of Amsterdam, but I've begun to encounter a problem here in the Land of the Free. People speak to me sometimes with really thick accents, and I can't understand what they're saying. I ask them to repeat themselves and sometimes I still can't follow what they're saying. It can get kind of testy because I'm not sure they believe me and they think that I'm just some middle aged white guy insisting that they speak clearly. It's happened a few times. When I finally do figure out what they're saying, I tell them I have a hearing problem so as to not appear like I just couldn't figure out what they were saying.
The hardest accents to decipher for me are the Carribean Island accents. The British accent coupled with the native way they break up their words can be difficult.
I've seen the videos of remote Scottish accents that are barely English, but we don't get many aboriginal Scots where I live. Most the Scots we get we got from long ago from a rickety boat and they now live up in the mountains and talk with a twang and eat cornbread and work on broken tractors. They aren't hard to understand.
I don't have an accent. My speech is perfectly normal. In fact, my speech has been recorded and stored at the Smithsonian next to the standardized inch and teaspoon so as to be sure we don't lose that accepted measure. Speaking of which, you should probably bring your teaspoon in to the Smithsonian and check it to see if it's not out of whack. I had mine checked, and it turned out it had gotten out of tune by over a gallon. My home baked cookies were suffering terribly from that mis-measurement, but I got that all worked out now.
Benkei,
Check out Australia. A bit like the USA,but dialed to the political Left. Plenty of opportunities for wealth improvement, decent social safety net for down times, health system a bit better than the UK. A million emigrants since covid can't be wrong.....apparently.! smile
Oh, bring your own home, housing is a bit tight currently....probably the million emigrants are to "blame"
but strangely they all seem to be housed. smile
immigrants .....emigrants...... which ever..... settlers new to the country.
Word for the wise. Come by plane not by boat or you are not welcome..... apparently. smile
Funny how one letter changes everything. Claude is NOW available in Europe*!
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 16, 2024 at 10:42#9043690 likes
Reply to Deleted user
I believe that is known as "the butterfly effect". The change of one letter changes one word, changes one sentence, changes the idea signified, changes the minds of many readers, changes their attitudes, changes their actions, and ultimately the whole world is different. All that, because you, Lionino, made one tiny mistake. Lesson to be learned; "think before you act", because your tiny mistake could bring an end to the whole world.
But chaos describes life more than death, so your meaning should be life, not death, if chaos is your god.
Mars, for example, well that's a boring place to live. There's nothing there. Same monotonous shit day in and day out. Times Square though, that's some lively chaos. That's why I moved.
Reply to Hanover Since chaos is, minimally, defined by the coexistence of opposites, I say that being inconsistent is more consistent with my values — since 5 hours ago — than being consistent.
Since chaos is, minimally, defined by the coexistence of opposites,
That's not chaos, but Yin and Yang, which I would argue (and I mean with a beet red face, filled with rage) is a symbol of harmony of opposites. Chaos would be shit fucking up everywhere, like the doorknob falls off into your hand, the floorboard flips up at your nuts, and your egg salad sandwich falls all over you suit pants. That's the sort of "anything can happen day" you'd see in the Mickey Mouse Club on Wednesdays when ping pong balls would suddenly fall from the sky.
Even if you don't get my references, you can see that no one can live in a world like that. It's just too unpredictable.
Do you know how much I miss my morning conversations about breakfast with @Noble Dust?
I remember this was the main topic of The Shoutbox, and Baden even told me: would you stop talking about food when you reach 2541997 posts? :sweat: . It is funny because he did a simile with the number of posts and my birthday.
By the way, I no longer eat tofu for breakfast.
What to eat for breakfast?
My main food combination is based on Tzatziki and olive oil.
It is a good logical mixture. Experts call it: 'Mediterranean diet'
Some people avoid garlic, especially raw garlic (such as is found in tzatziki) for breakfast, but I don’t understand that. Some people say that it makes you smell bad but I don’t understand that either—doesn’t it just make you smell of garlic? I like the smell of garlic.
Right now the woods here smell of garlic. It’s because of all the wild garlic.
Wow, look at those blooms! Those are "leaks", or "ramps", and they are delicious. Not quite a garlic, not quite an onion, but you get the best of both. I haven't tried them for breakfast, but Wikipedia says: " In central Appalachia, ramps are most commonly fried with potatoes in bacon fat or scrambled with eggs and served with bacon, pinto beans and cornbread".
In eastern Canada there used to be roadside vendors who'd sell bottles of pickled leaks which were highly valued. Due to the fear of endangerment, trafficking in them is now a punishable offence which is strictly enforced to the point of roadside checks of suspicious vehicles. Fines are tied to the amount of bulbs in one's possession, and can climb well into the thousands of dollars:
"Violators now face fines ranging from $10,000 to $6 million or administrative monetary penalties of between $2,000 and $10,000."
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-wants-to-better-regulate-wild-garlic-harvesting-and-transplanting-1.6366781
One of its names is “wild garlic” and it’s in the same genus and it has a somewhat similar aroma and taste, so it’s a garlic in my book. Not garlic garlic, but garlic nonetheless.
" In central Appalachia, ramps are most commonly fried with potatoes in bacon fat or scrambled with eggs and served with bacon, pinto beans and cornbread"
Chaos would be shit fucking up everywhere, like the doorknob falls off into your hand,
I remember someone saying something similar.
"Being fucked is when you cannot open the door to leave the bathroom where the toilet you just flushed containing the biggest crap of your life is blocked and overflowing. And your hated mother-in-law is standing outside with her legs crossed waiting for you to leave the only bathroom in the house. And you still have to eat the dinner you were invited to."
Leeks, for fucks sake! Leaks are what pipes do when they have frozen and split and then thawed.
Leeks, butter, potatoes, and cream. make some fucking soup, and stop pissing about. Wild garlic is also nice, but a bit stringy. Put it in chickpea curry or something. It's completely different.
For Jesus fucking God damn fuck sake, here's what's in my fridge. The label calls them green onions, but I call them scallions. I always thought the green part were chives, but I'm to learn in my recent onion studies that chives are a whole different animal, but they sure the fuck taste alike.
When I was a kid, we'd pick wild onions that grew like weeds. They were super strong and you'd never eat them in a real meal. They were for tasting and then throwing at your brother, like crabapple and other nasty shit in the yard.
Here's what they look like before and after you pick them.
It also tells me what I thought to be wild onions are actually wild garlic.
Nothing is sacred.
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 18, 2024 at 01:53#9047550 likes
When I was a kid, we'd pick wild onions that grew like weeds.
When I was a kid we squealed when we caught sight of chives, because in America we know that green things are healthy and healthy things taste bad. So my parents told me that they are just for decoration, which made me think that we were not required to eat them. But we were required to eat them. That was when I first learned that decorations are not just for decoration, and must also be eaten.
Reply to javi2541997 Very true! Pigs are very poor at flamenco; they might like to be good at it, but they just can't. Dalmatians aren't great flamenco dancers either, but at least they can move much more briskly and twirl around, something pigs don't do well. Plus, pig snorts are just not very elegant in a refined setting,
one rarely sees flamenco dancers on a truffle hunt. When it comes to noses, the pig wins every time.
I can't disagree with that! It is obvious that a pig has more skills than a flamenco dancer. On the other hand, pigs are located all over the world but flamenco dancers and singers are only available in Sevilla and Granada!
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 18, 2024 at 11:14#9048070 likes
Reply to Hanover
I guess there's a lot of different "allium" species. According to Wikipedia, hundreds (somewhere between 260 and 979, I guess because they haven't figured out whether half of them are truly alliums or not), including the onion. The flavour, apparently, is dependent on the sulfate content of the soil. Reply to Jamal
See why I don't call them "wild garlic"? Hanover shows me a site talking about using all sorts of herbicides to control the noxious weed "wild garlic". Yet in Quebec there's million dollar fines for trafficking the endangered species called "wild garlic". I think something's leaky with that name. @unenlightened
Jeez this place stinks of garlic, onions and pig shit. Time for a weekend clean up and maybe a change of topic.
Garlic, onions and pork can be a fabulous combination. Mate, if you feel these stink, it could only mean that you are pregnant... :yikes: Congratulations!
Mate, if you feel these stink, it could only mean that you are pregnant... :yikes: Congratulations!
Well that would be a world record wouldn't it. A 70 year old man pregnant. :rofl:
A bet I could make enough money to retire from the newspapers, book and the movie they make about it will pay for the kids college. Cool
If I had said that only two people here would have understood, but that is not exactly it any way. We make a sauce out of all of the ingredients , the ones I mentioned and maybe green pepper, cayenne, and soak the ribs in it for a while. Then the sauce is used for basting while the ribs are on the grill.
But ramps are called wild garlic too, also Hanover's noxious weed allium vineale is called wild garlic, and probably a couple hundred other species. You need a more original name for your delicacy, maybe bear garlic.
I see from Wiki that the big difference between tricoccum and ursinum (other than place of origin), is that tricoccum blooms after its leaves die. I guess that's why the flowers in your picture impressed me so much.
I think something's leaky with that name. unenlightened
Ever since the war of Independence, it's all gone onion-shaped on your benighted continent. But in this case, I'd blame the French. They have a thing about onions and garlic - maybe 2 things...
Not sure if someone has posted this here yet, but here is the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus in the original German and two English translations side by side: https://people.umass.edu/klement/tlp/tlp.html#bodytext
But ramps are called wild garlic too, also Hanover's noxious weed allium vineale is called wild garlic, and probably a couple hundred other species. You need a more original name for your delicacy, maybe bear garlic.
Having spent the better part of a week immersed in the study of garlic and onion, what I can say is that their familial intertwinment is so intimate that should the two one day find themselves in a romantic embrace, the consummation could not be described as anything less than incestuous and fully opposed to the holy decrees of nature and Yahweh.
I have concocted a plan to harness the power of AI in order to produce the mother of all sitcoms.
What I shall do is feed it all 1,795 pages of the Shoutbox, an entire decade's worth of witty, philosophical genius to create a cast of a dozen relatable characters each with a unique background story, personality, and series of catch phrases. The result will be an award-winning genius of a new television series that will put every other show in existence to shame. Nothing short of a paradigm shift in modern day culture, similar to that spurred by the relatable, never-miss humorous antics of The Simpsons, the intellectual prowess of the Big Bang Theory, and what should have been with the innovative utopian world of Eureka. I wholly expect most popular series currently on the air to be shortly cancelled as a result. All that I must do is make sure to filter out Hanover's inane ramblings and the plan will be nothing short of unstoppable.
Please make sure not to steal my incredibly original idea of stealing other people's ideas. Thank you all for your unwitting contribution toward the next era of human entertainment, modern day Shakespeares, each and every one of you. :up:
Nothing short of a paradigm shift in modern day culture, similar to that spurred by the relatable, never-miss humorous antics of The Simpsons, the intellectual prowess of the Big Bang Theory, and what should have been with the innovative utopian world of Eureka.
Comically satirical fantasy Sci-Fi, not quite a new genre but definitely one that has not been over done so far. Quite a good chance of making something out of it.
But in this case, I'd blame the French. They have a thing about onions and garlic - maybe 2 things...
You might be right. French Canadians seem to be responsible for making the ramps illegal. The Québécois seem to really run with anything they find to taste good, and milk it until it runs out. If the legislation wasn't enacted, we'd probably have every casse-croute in Québec selling wild-garlic poutine. I'd say, hop right on the gravy train, but I think there must already be a shortage of gravy factories.
A lot of that stuff is not only fake, but also seriously diluted in relation to the manufacturer's recommendations.
Wild garlic propagates by seed, and ours do not bloom like those in Jamal's shot. It would probably take hundreds, if not thousands, of years to build up a big patch like the one in that picture, and the wanton harvesters could wipe it out in a season. Next year, find another one.
Gravy is so Anglo; but here in Blighty, it usually comes in a boat, rather than a train. The French abhor mere gravy, and would insist on 'un p'tit béchamel' or some such nonsense.
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 19, 2024 at 17:07#9051300 likes
Reply to unenlightened
A good honest man would take a boatload of gravy over the gravy train, any day of the week.
We like our biscuits sopped with gravy where I'm from. Gravy comes in white and brown. White gravy has no animal product in it, but is made from flour and butter. And a biscuit isn't a cookie, but an English scone, but an American scone is different. It's sweeter, has much more butter, and has fruit baked in.
You eat scones with tea and speak with an English accent. It's funny every time. Every.
You'd never put gravy on scones and you'd never have biscuits for dessert.
It's so annoying how the Brits made this so confusing.
Gravy comes in white and brown. White gravy has no animal product in it, but is made from flour and butter.
Oh come on, what ever happened to your dictionary skills? The very definition of gravy means that it has animal juices in it. That white stuff is a sauce, nothing else.
I used to eat fish and chips with gravy, and then chocolate biscuits for desert.
Without video evidence, I can't accept this testimony as valid.Quoting Sir2u
The very definition of gravy means that it has animal juices in it. That white stuff is a sauce, nothing else.
It says "Gravy" right there on the powder mix. What you're suggesting is that the package makers are liars. I can't accept that. They are good people with hearts of gold. Hearts of gold!
It says "Gravy" right there on the powder mix. What you're suggesting is that the package makers are liars. I vague accept that. They are good people with hearts of gold. Hearts of gold!
Gravy:
A sauce made by adding stock, flour, or other ingredients to the juice and fat that drips from cooking meats
The seasoned but not thickened juices that drip from cooking meats; often a little water is added
If that is not enough; https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=define+gravy
The makers of that stuff are not liars, the are sales people. OK, I know that there is a great similarity but I try to be charitable. Did you read the contents to see if there is any animal fat in it? I don't see any vegetarian or vegan markers on it.
But I think that the real question about that being real gravy is how the hell they got cooked animal juice to be white, do they use bleach in it?
And I agree that they have a heart of gold, payed for from the money from your pockets.
White gravy has no animal product in it, but is made from flour and butter.
"White gravy", what the fuck is that? Some kind of cream sauce without the cream? And your "butter, is it hydrogenated vegetable oil, or is it milk fat? In my book (of the highest culinary principles, as you might expect), fat comes from animals and oil comes from vegetables. That the scientists have devised a way to make oil appear to be fat doesn't mean that it is. and milk fat is not a vegetable oil.
And your "butter, is it hydrogenated vegetable oil, or is it milk fat?
Lard is trief and schmaltz is hard to come by these days. Margarine is pareve but unhealthy, so I don't use it. I do prefer butter, but it's milchig, so what to do with a fleishig meal?
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 20, 2024 at 01:12#9053440 likes
Reply to Hanover
Keep talking, you're turning me on. The sauce is the milchig and the gravy is the fleishig?
@Hanover: Just so you know, the blueberries I just ate were grown in Georgia, They were a large blue berry having a remarkable similarity to blueberries from Peru or Michigan.
The French like bluets, the germans like Blaubeere.
FYI, Blueberries and cranberries are close cousins and are in fact not berries at all; they belong instead to a class of fruits known as epigynous or false berries. Unlike a true berry, the fruit grows from beneath the rest of the flower parts, and as the fruit ripens the flower stays attached and ripens as well.
the blueberries. The French like bluets, the germans like Blaubeere.
The magic of etymology shows us that the word has a common root in those three different languages: Blue, because the latter is the colour of the fruit.
Nonetheless, we call them 'arándanos'. It is clear that there is no trace of the adjective 'blue' in the noun. So, I did search on R.A.E. about the origin of that word and it says about arándanos:
Reply to javi2541997 Odd that the name for blue berries would have Celtic, Latin, or Greek roots, considering the berry originated in the New World. The Ojibwa (tribe in Minnesota and elsewhere) called blue berries [i]miinan[/I] (pron. mé nun). Blueberry pie is "Miina-baashkiminasigani-biitoosijigani-bakwezhigan" one of the longest nouns in the Ojibwa language. While everybody likes blueberry pie, the ancient ones didn't make it very often because it had such a long name. One of the blessings of the French and English was giving them the one-syllable words 'tart' or 'pie'.
Boozhoo in Ojibwa means welcome, hello, hi...
So, boozhoo, señor Javi. Want a piece of Miina-baashkiminasigani-biitoosijigani-bakwezhigan?
To use your brain manually, you must target your temple, and use it to hoist or lower your brain muscle, directing your brain organ.
Eyes work strangely, rather than swinging your eye to the left, you can look left through a tick of the iris feeler compilation alone. When you automatically look, there is an untraceable pattern of pupil, eyeball, iris and other.
All body can be controlled introspectively, without 'struggle'. The temple is a way we can control our mind introspectively(like the iris with the eyes).
Many possibilities arise through this function if you get to grips with how phenomena in the universe and your self works. You can compute from mind and process into the environment, possibly in the smallest most petty way, with potential for growth. This is the future, this is the grounds for evolution, and we need proper mentalization in our world.
I had a random memory of him previously when I saw a Cannabis gummies pack in a pharmacy, and then I said to myself: there is a TPF mate who I have always talked about this topic with... and he is 0 thru 9.
Yet, his profile info says his last time online was two months ago. I hope he is doing well.
Memorandum: if you want to have a break from the forum please leave a note (as you do in your fridge) saying something like 'I will be fine', 'I leave because I have to fish salmon in New Caledonia', etc.
Memorandum: if you want to have a break from the forum please leave a note (as you do in your fridge) saying something like 'I will be fine', 'I leave because I have to fish salmon in New Caledonia', etc.
Open a thread called "Fridge Door", that way we will know where to look for messages that are of utmost importance.
What do I put on the door if I do not want to leave for a break?
I gotta ask, what’s the deal with the Russian little person with dreads as your profile pic?
The elusive Schopenhauer on the Shoutbox? Has the world gone mad? What's next, Shawn eating a bacon sandwich with extra bacon? Surely this makes it the Schopbox for today.
+1 for identical bewilderment. How do you know they're supposed to be Russian though? :chin:
The elusive Schopenhauer on the Shoutbox? Has the world gone mad? What's next, Shawn eating a bacon sandwich with extra bacon? Surely this makes it the Schopbox for today.
I'll tell ya.. It bothered/perplexed me that much that I had to point it out.. I saw the Shoutbox as the best option...Why? What does it mean? What the hell is your game @BitconnectCarlos?!
+1 for identical bewilderment. How do you know they're supposed to be Russian though? :chin:
I did a reverse lookup on the image.. First I was unsure if that was a baby with dreads, or if that was a real photo of BitconnectCarlos.. Then I saw that.. But then that brings up even more questions..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasbulla
BitconnectCarlosMay 21, 2024 at 21:46#9058740 likes
I read that statins increase cardiac calcium scores, although they do lower blood levels of cholesterol. Why would they still be prescribing statins if they increase the clogging of arteries?
Can someone look into this question for me? I feel like the best place to come for medical information is the Shoutbox.
Reply to Hanover I don't know if you will like my answer. But this is what I found on Google and Fundación Española del Corazón about why they still be prescribing statins:
treatment with statins, alone or in combination with other drugs, has benefits that far outweigh the risks. However, statins should only be used on the advice of the physician, who knows when to use them and what should be used in each case.
Original (only in Spanish but I guess Google Translate can help you):
El tratamiento con estatinas, solo o en combinación con otros fármacos, presenta beneficios mucho mayores que los riesgos. Pero las estatinas deben utilizarse solo con indicación del médico, que es quien conoce cuándo hay que usarlas y qué se debe utilizar en cada caso.
https://www.verywellhealth.com:Evidence supports the idea that statin therapy not only reduces cholesterol levels but also changes existing plaques to make them less dangerous. As part of this process, the plaques may become more calcified—and thus, the calcium score goes up. An increasing calcium score with statin therapy, therefore, may indicate treatment success, and should not be a cause for alarm.
Any connection between the medical question/s and the steak and port (and sweets) pics? Apart from the obvious?..... smile like it's meant.
The feel like the salad offset the fat and sugar and the port reduced my heart rate.
But you're right, I fear my heavy reliance upon bacon as a primary staple can't be sustained much longer. I will soon switch to carrots and kale and live miserably into my old age.
I call this "Port in a Glass near a Steak on a Salad.
Some musings:
Recently, I gifted a colleague two wine bottles (red and white). I had not felt, at the time, to get one for myself. Even though I knew they were good wines, my brain actually did not have the desire to try them. Then now I think about your steak. I could have potentially gifted him a nice piece of steak and not had one slight twitch to want to eat it myself. It puzzles me.
medical question/s and the steak and port (and sweets) pics
We worry about the long-term health of our most revered moderator and shoutbox guru.
In addition to the risks of red meat, sugar, and alcohol there's also the dietary disaster of grilling anything. Grilling food produces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (also found in cigarette smoke, scorched broccoli, and forest fires) which when eaten raise the risks of colon cancer.
Did you use iceberg lettuce in that mini-salad? It's next to worthless. Think dark leafy green -- beet greens, swiss chard, romaine, broccoli (unscorched), turnip greens, kale, mustard greens, nettles...
In addition to the health risks of badly scorched broccoli, it takes a week of airing out to get rid of the stink.
Reply to BC Thank you for you concerns. I have addressed the colon cancer risk by an overly aggressive colonoscopy schedule. This is due to a strong family history of such cancers, which, like a dry sarcastic self-deprecating sense of humor, is common among Jews.
My salad was adorned with pickled beets, chickpeas, and tomatoes because that's how the Italian place nearby makes it, so I copied them. They still do the free birthday meal, so I was there on the 21st, which is the day you forgot my birthday. I ate it to remember being forgotten.
I douse the salad with Wishbone Italian dressing because it's been a friend by my side sense my earliest days, first as an unweaned child and now today, as a fully teat extracted gentleman.
I agree that broccoli is a troublesome fruit with its propensity to scorch. so I turn often to thie mini cabbage, the sprout from Brussels. It too will burn and char, but it's stench is not just tolerable, but downright enjoyable.
My arterial calcium score taken by CT fell in the mild range actually, but my wife's was a 0, and I'm feeling competitive. Perhaps instead of lowering my risk factors, I will sabotage hers, leaving chocolates and lardcakes around where she won't be able to resist.
You've got great taste! Unfortunately, that's likely one indulgence you would benefit from limiting some. Remember the rule of thumb for life on Earth, if it tastes or feels good, it's probably going to kill you. :up:
Reply to L'éléphant There are a variety of possible reasons for your behavior: (1) your generosity is so magnanimous that the very thought of subtracting from an intended gift from a recipient brings you far greater pain than denying yourself that part of the gift, (2) you suffer from donataneuralgia, a rare syndrome characterized by mental numbness when donating to others, or (3) you just really don't like wine and steak that much.
Reply to Shawn The preview of a man standing on the slippery stainless steel and vertiginous heights of the Chrysler Building was high anxiety inducing. How much more of that sort of thing is in in the film?
Coppola has apparently been sitting on this egg for 30 years, which is a long time for a gestating chicken.
The preview of a man standing on the slippery stainless steel and vertiginous heights of the Chrysler Building was high anxiety inducing. How much more of that sort of thing is in in the film?
From what I read, there's quite a lot of dialogue, and intellectualization. I heard that there are some references to 9/11 in New York. Also, the title is a take on the much older Metropolis, made in 1927.
Coppola has apparently been sitting on this egg for 30 years, which is a long time for a gestating chicken.
Allegedly, the poor in material wealth, Coppola, while probably rich in other regards, has been delayed by his personal debts, since he made the film from out of pocket.
In other news, I believe we spoke about Dune, have you seen the second part, as I might sometime later tonight...
Reply to Shawn
I just recently saw Adam Driver in "Patterson." It was wonderful - small, personal, and open-hearted. Clearly much different than this one.
In addition to the risks of red meat, sugar, and alcohol there's also the dietary disaster of grilling anything. Grilling food produces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (also found in cigarette smoke, scorched broccoli, and forest fires) which when eaten raise the risks of colon cancer.
True facts: grilling and deep frying develop carcinogenic substances in the food.
But there are ways to mitigate the carcinogens. Cut the meat into smaller pieces to grill them faster and at lower temp (this is when bamboo skewers become handy). Same with frying. Do not use the metal barbecue pit that intensifies the heat.
Use clay pots instead. See Asians. lol.
(FYI, I don't grill and deep fry for myself-- only for guests and rarely).
There are a variety of possible reasons for your behavior: (1) your generosity is so magnanimous that the very thought of subtracting from an intended gift from a recipient brings you far greater pain than denying yourself that part of the gift, (2) you suffer from donataneuralgia, a rare syndrome characterized by mental numbness when donating to others, or (3) you just really don't like wine and steak that much.
Back and posting possibly prurient pictures of suggestive strawberries. Put some crème fraîche on before the children see it.
Suggestive strawberry, yes. But it is thumb shaped and that's a very @T Clark's thing in The Shoutbox.
I don't like the smell of strawberries. It is a strong odour which extends all over the fridge... but yes, I would eat them with chocolate or cream, anyway.
If that reference to chopped liver is a metaphor of crap or rubbish, then we have a common view of liver. It stinks, and the taste is so disgusting that I think I have never tasted anything worse than it.
Reply to javi2541997 I really like chicken liver with onion, a little cracked pepper, cream and some Marsala served on tagliatelle pasta. Fuckin' delicious.
Reply to Tom Storm Onion, pepper, Marsala, and tagliatelle pasta are very tasty and yummy. But if we mix them with chicken livers, all the ingredients will lose their flavour and the odour of the liver will be unbearable.
Haven't had a good pork chop in years myself. Grilled onions. The works. When was the last time actually. Small deli/cafe down the road was having a special I believe. Boy that would explain the void I've been feeling in life the past two or three years. Oh well. At least Shawn would be proud.
Reply to javi2541997 Well, Spanish cuisine is some of the greatest in the world, so if we have dinner one evening, I will leave it to you to pick some favourites.
Well, Spanish cuisine is some of the greatest in the world, so if we have dinner one evening, I will leave it to you to pick some favourites.
Wow! Thank you for your kindness, Tom. Your post cheered me up. Yes, the gastronomy of my country is one of the few things I am proud of being born in the Peninsula.
Tom Birchmire from Needham, MA wrote:
Dear Rabbi,
Perhaps you can settle a discussion (argument) between my mother-in-law and me. She has used the expression "What am I, chopped liver?" sprinkled here and therein conversation. When I asked her what was the beginning of the joke, she replied that there isn't any - the phrase stands alone. Are you aware of the origins of the phrase? Any help will be appreciated.
Dear Tom Birchmire,
As far as I know, the origins of the phrase are not Yiddish; I believe the phrase was originally coined in America. Being that chopped liver was always considered a side dish and not a main course, the phrase is used to express hurt and amazement when a person feels he has been overlooked and treated just like a "side dish."
I realize that chopped liver formed the height of Jewish cuisine in the 1970s, but like schmaltz, fell into disfavor as Jews could begin to afford to eat the more preferable parts of the animal, but I still must question why a rabbi should be consulted as the expert here.
The village philologist gets so little work as it is, I'd think we should turn to him as opposed to a spiritual leader.
have always thought of myself as a side-dish in the banquet of life. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, peas.
I would think a "side dish" would be a mistress, who you could playfully refer to as Tater Salad. It'd be a fun inside joke you could use in the throes of adultery.
I would think a "side dish" would be a mistress, who you could playfully refer to as Tater Salad. It'd be a fun inside joke you could use in the throes of adultery.
There is some evidence, based on comparison of years of posts, that you and I don't think exactly alike.
Metaphysician UndercoverMay 27, 2024 at 21:47#9069820 likes
Being that chopped liver was always considered a side dish and not a main course, the phrase is used to express hurt and amazement when a person feels he has been overlooked and treated just like a "side dish."
More appropriately spoken as "second fiddle". But "chopped liver" is generally very derogatory, like completely unwanted.
Please do. I've run low on material. I'm down to posting pictures of steak
I have not been photographing my endlessly fascinating iterations of cutting edge culinary experimentation and ingenuity. Perhaps I will grace the foodbox with my morsels of wisdom. Perhaps I shan't. Esoteric knowledge is hidden from the many to spare them from madness in most cases.
See, I never could understand folk who drink while they eat. It's like, if you're going to put half your organs through liquid hell you might as well at least enjoy the only surmisable point of doing so: a nice, hearty buzz along with the relaxing frame of mind that accompanies such. I know they say food doesn't really absorb alcohol or sober you up; but it really does. Maybe not scientifically, but I know from experience it most certainly has an effect somewhere in that neighborhood. Don't get me wrong now, friends of mine are seasoned drinkers and they tell me if you're going to drink for an extended period, you need to eat meat somewhere along the way, otherwise you'll just get dizzy and tired. Of course, some people like that.
I know they say food doesn't really absorb alcohol or sober you up; but it really does.
As the Governor of the Shoutbox, I have a very high responsibility of assuring that all that is written here is Truth. The vast majority of media outlets get their news here first and then they distribute what they learn through a complex series of rope knots to others until it is finally reprinted on mainstream news sources.
A guy named Jeff orchestrates the whole thing. He's a non-descript guy but for his American flag cowboy boot on one foot and a black and white mule (@BC will explain) on the other.
Anywho, my point is I must correct you. "They" don't deny that food intercepts alcohol. They say it does. You should in fact eat when you drink so you won't get as drunk. https://www.bgsu.edu/recwell/wellness-connection/alcohol-education/alcohol-metabolism.html#:~:text=Food%20can%20either%20absorb%20alcohol,the%20wall%20of%20the%20stomach.
"The surface area of the small intestine is very large (about the size of a tennis court)" :brow:
Still, I feel my point remains. If you're not drinking alcohol to get drunk (or mildly buzzed and relaxed, focused, energized, whatever it is you're after, per se), that kinda seems more like an intimate ritual self-flogging of one's organs more so than anything else.
Unless one is currently undergoing some bizarre juvenile right-of-passage, I'd stand by my suggestion of drinking before eating (something I would often enjoy in the not-so-distant past before I kicked the habit for work-related reasons for its sensory enhancing capabilities, be they real or imagined), waiting until after, or simply drinking less in the proximity of a meal altogether. No reason to douse your innards if you're not even receiving the brunt of the reward when it's all said and done now, is there? It'd be like smoking a nicotine-free cigarette in lieu of a standard one under the mindset of "giving your body a break", I'd say. Just seems a bit silly to me. :chin:
Hanover,
The lack of acknowledgement of your "forgot my birthday" baited hook suggests a collusion of parties on the s/box? Perhaps, teamed with the extravagant recognition of T Clark's return/reappearance, an extended absence from said s/box may garner your 'umble self similar kodos. Absence of a time no more than that necessary for a quick urination would suffice.....perhaps. smile, anyway preferred.
Is there any salad left after the drop, or does it splay out willy-nilly atop the table top, spritzing dressing hither and thither, a drop landing in Fred's eye, causing her to drop her port glass, spilling the viscous liquid on the ornate white table cloth as you reach across in a fruitless, panicked attempt to stop the spillage, a morsel of garlic salt steak dropping from your outstretched steak knife into the waiting jaws of other Fred who is allergic to garlic and will soon die after his triumphant ingestion of the juicy beef, lost for a precious moment in the revelry of the sublime flavor before his imminent passing?
These are the questions you should be asking yourself before you doll out steak recipes to strangers on the internet.
The steak is dropped FROM A FIREMAN'S (sorry, I hit Caps Lock) bucket. I have to call in a fire to get them out, and once there, I explain my real purpose, they laugh, and then they do the steak drop for me. I typically give them a shredded carrot from the salad for their time.
a drop landing in Fred's eye, causing her to drop her port glass
In what world is "Fred" a female? You are obviously thinking Fred is short for Frederina, but it's not. It's short for Fredd, which is his full name. His full name is Fredd Kevin Barkowitz. It didn't use to have the double D, but now it does since we had this convo. Convo is short for conversation, which is no longer short because I had to explain it.
"The surface area of the small intestine is very large (about the size of a tennis court)"
Does that include the area in the doubles line or are they just talking about a single's match? I'd also think it might matter whether we're talking about a young petite woman with a flowing skirt versus a strapping young man of over 6 and half feet and 250 pounds with piercing blue eyes.
The point is that I think there is small intestine variance from person to person and an unclarity regarding tennis court size, so these comparisons are hard to use in real life. Like if I were called upon to extract a small intestine, I would be at a complete loss as to how big a spool I would need to reel it up based upon the limited information you've provided.
The steak is dropped FROM A FIREMAN'S (sorry, I hit Caps Lock) bucket. I have to call in a fire to get them out, and once there, I explain my real purpose, they laugh, and then they do the steak drop for me. I typically give them a shredded carrot from the salad for their time.
Your steak drop method is impressive in it's ingenuity, but you haven't answered my question, vis-à-vis, whether any salad remains post-drop. This is the most important question, because it brings into focus the purpose of the drop itself. Are you attempting to distribute salad across the dinner table equally and equitably to all present, imparting a warm afterglow of meatiness to the leafs via their fleeting contact with the steak as it lands? Or are you an agent of chaos hell-bent on salad destruction for it's own sake, as if the act of dropping a floppy slab of meat from a great height on to the slimy contents of a salad bowl constituted some sort of performance art?
As to Fred's gender, this is clearly a sensitive issue to you, so we shall leave it in their hands to define themselves however they wish; we shan't force any pronouns upon them just because their name is Fred.
Dumbo produced the Man Elephant. It was a movie about an elephant that was so ugly, he looked like a man and none of the elephants would fuck him, but he had this beauty within, so we all felt sorry for him.
It was from the elephant POV. I gave it a tomato.
Then the fire department dropped s steak on it, but we still don't know if it splattered.
I like my thoughts like I like my eggs. Scrambled with cheese.
My word, I've never seen this side of you before, Shawn.
Someone please, hide the piglets. :scream:
We had some members who stood out, or "up." Honestly, the mod's have quite a job up there. Do you know that there's a Non-Disclosure Agreement after you become a mod, not to tell secrets? Then again, I just made that last part up.
Shawn,
"This is a mother pig."
Or a sow with piglets?
Please pig-illucidate. Smile porcinely if you wish.
Yes, every time I think about pigs, I feel more happy. It's important that they aren't eaten. I wouldn't convert to Judaism to do so; but, they have their own reasons. On some things Jews and Muslims agree, who would have thought?
Is it AI generated? You get some weird stuff. I once asked GPT AI for an image of a thick waxy candle and it drew a... Well, let's just say something escaped the censor.
Is it AI generated? You get some weird stuff. I once asked GPT AI for an image of a thick waxy candle and it drew a... Well, let's just say something escaped the censor.
Yes, I think you guys are doing a great job on our humble abode. We really appreciate the time and effort you guys put into this ship.
I really put some more than usual effort into my latest thread. Please feel free to scan it. There are some connotations in that thread about whether treating every act in terms of to the gain of one party and losses to the other.
Thrasymachus is to a hornet if Socrates is a gadfly.
Dinner was red lentil soup with pita bread and a couscous salad on the side. I'm quite proud of the salad. No recipe: pearl couscous toasted in olive oil and then cooked in low sodium veg broth, cooled and mixed with red onion, canned artichoke hearts, sumac, za'atar, oilive oil, lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Really tasty.
Reply to Noble Dust Canned artichoke hearts are not sufficiently well known.
Sumac. It grows wild around here, and in the summer the blossoms turn into thick clusters of fruits with a fuzzy covering. They smell good, and if one gets past the fuzziness, they have a very pleasant flavor--but the fuzz is a drawback.
In the fall the leaves turn bright red.
Red lentils are so much more attractive than the gray-brown variety that looks like mud when cooked. Don't think the flavor is much different between the two.
With about the same proportions of water to organic matter. Hope the flavour's different, or China now has an extra can-able and exportable resource. smile.
We had some members who stood out, or "up." Honestly, the mod's have quite a job up there. Do you know that there's a Non-Disclosure Agreement after you become a mod, not to tell secrets? Then again, I just made that last part up.
After you've signed the papers, you cannot reveal that you've signed the papers. You can only reveal that if you've signed the papers you cannot reveal that you've signed the papers.
I grew some lentils once. Bushy plants about 1m. high. Quite prolific, but it turns out that they grow 2 lentils to a pod, and life's too short to harvest them without some machinery. So the chickens got some extra protein that year.
You don't know the half of it, Shawn. It's like Stalin's politburo up here. The closer you get to @Jamal the more dangerous it becomes. Fdrake is taking a real risk speaking out. Even indirectly. And so am I just by saying that. If you never hear from either of us again... Well, there's an old wall that runs from the peak of the Gap of Dunloe due east and up the mountain. If you happened to follow it for exactly 77 meters from the road's edge, you might notice one of the stones in it, just one, isn't grey but red, and under that stone you might find something. A message even... Ah, I've really said too much. Now, I can only pray. :groan:
Dinner was red lentil soup with pita bread and a couscous salad on the side. I'm quite proud of the salad. No recipe: pearl couscous toasted in olive oil and then cooked in low sodium veg broth, cooled and mixed with red onion, canned artichoke hearts, sumac, za'atar, oilive oil, lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Really tasty.
I made a 16 bean Cajun turkey soup. I had wanted to put the leftover andouille sausage in it, but my wife doesn't like it and she threw it out. While I bring the sausage home, she is generally in charge of what to do with it.
Oh, and there were 16 types of beans, not just 16 total beans. That would be a poor person's soup, unless they were big beans like watermelon beans. Lentils and beans taste a lot of like in that neither have much taste.
Oh, and there were 16 types of beans, not just 16 total beans.
This was my first question. Please name every bean in the soup, if there were indeed 16. It seems to me that there wouldn't be a lot of each bean. Kind of like making a 16 vegetable soup; there'd probably only be like 3 pieces of each vegetable total, so each serving would be like a new soup. Kind of genius, but could also lead to a lot of unhappy customers if served at a restaurant.
It's aware it's being eaten? What does it think of Donald Trump's guilty verdict, or does it, like many salads, prefer to stay apolitical? Did it ever aspire to one day make it to the big leagues and sit at a fancy New York salad bar or is it content facing a grizzly end in your humble abode? :chin:
Sumac. It grows wild around here, and in the summer the blossoms turn into thick clusters of fruits with a fuzzy covering. They smell good, and if one gets past the fuzziness, they have a very pleasant flavor--but the fuzz is a drawback.
Is it the same sumac that the spice is derived from? I remember Poison Sumac being a rare but scary plant to look out for in Ohio, a sort of less common cousin to Poison Ivy. I always associated the term Sumac with that, so when I encountered it in a Middle Eastern restaurant I was befuddled and perplexed. Flabbergasted even. Turns out it's really tasty and a bit citrus-y.
Red lentils are so much more attractive than the gray-brown variety that looks like mud when cooked. Don't think the flavor is much different between the two.
The main difference is texture. Red lentils fall apart so good for soup. Black or brown are firmer and better for salads.
Comments (61561)
I came up with it in consultation with my hamster, Wolfgang. He has a devilish wit.
Quoting Sir2u
A riddle, eh? You have outdone yourself, Yorick!
Why Chinese migrants to the US risk deadly journey via the jungles of South America
[sup]— Shawn Yuan · South China Morning Post · Aug 20, 2023[/sup]
The Persistence of the Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Crisis
[sup]— Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, Alexandra Winkler · Center for Strategic and International Studies · Nov 27, 2023[/sup]
Reports will have it that there are a good lot of children among them. Some of them have lost adult peers during their journey. Some vanish in a jungle somewhere. Outside of a comprehensive international effort, I'm not really seeing any good way to improve this stuff. A change in conditions where they come from might be the way to go?
Many weird things about this.
So i can relate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
hes great.
As far as I know there are no roads connecting Columbia and Panama. So anyone traveling through there would be on foot, and have one hell of a journey to make.
I think that there are trails cutting through the area. Hell there must be an reasonably easy way to get from Columbia to Panama judging from the number of people from down there passing though here. There are people from Venezuela, Ecuador, China and gods know where else traveling in groups going though here everyday.
I suppose they could be crossing by boats on the north coast, but with the amount of surveillance around there I think we would have heard about it.
Edit: Check this in Google maps, but use the satellite view.
8.662527789601402, -77.36878835650803
Where?
E.g. https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/13942/descartes-and-animal-cruelty/p1
That’s like being vegan and expecting your cat to be vegan too.
I was wondering why they all died. But still, just run with me on this...
I'm on the tread mill, but can we switch to gerbils instead? I think you'll find that they run a little faster. Please, allow all the running to be absolutely freely willed by the creature, and do not hook the wheel to an energy harnessing device or you'll enter the category of cruelty.
I may be opening myself up to mockery here, the bane of the honest man. But if you are familiar with the phenomenon of horse whisperers, I am that to hamsters. I do not claim to be able to converse with them directly: I am well aware of the exclusivity of human language and the cognitive limits of our rodent cousins. It is more like--well I want to say a non-linguistic telepathy, though even that sounds inappropriately "woo" and, as you are well aware, I am a man of science and reason.
Let us just say I can "read" in a certain sense their signals, understand their moods and reflect back unto them gestural, guttural, and otherwise non-linguistic signs that appear to function communicatively such that I have a certain control over their behaviour that goes beyond mere coincidence. How many people do you know that can get a hamster to respond to its name? Or to exercise or stop exercising on command?
Anyhow, I do not wish to boast. In fact, the limits of my powers have become apparent with my inability to inculcate Wolfgang with cross-cultural etiquette such that he may peacefully co-exist with Basma. In fact, I may have inadvertently encouraged his irrational sense of nationalistic superiority through over-indulgent positive feedback intended only to reward successful communication. For example, when he obeyed a command, I would clap and cheer in Russian, "Yes, Wolfgang! You are the best! Soon you will be breaking wild horses and wrestling bears!" It may have all gone to his little head.
Try searching for Heidegger + Nazi, you'll more than likely get a few to choose from.
Quoting Baden
At least you didn't vivisect them.
Oh, what else... ?
Quoting Deleted user
Certainly not. I did stuff Wanda, who was a particularly beautiful Siamese, and now resides on my mantle. But that's hardly unusual.
I am currently in Thailand, bruv. But if he passes through the Kingdom of Kerry, let me know and I'll steer him right. :strong:
I liked this part. I can't understand the moods of other human beings, or even mine for that matter. So it made me feel so good to see that at least someone has a full grasp of the complete range of animalistic feelings, that I laughed, almost out loud. The silent laugh, ever catch a hamster laughing at you?
An Irish friend (ironically named Scott) complained that St. Patrick's Day was just another excuse for the Irish to get drunk.
And, they say that on St. Patrick's Day everyone is Irish, so...
https://www.jewishnola.com/oy-such-a-st-patricks-day
The Torah and corned beef. Our gifts to the world. You're welcome.
When you get green beer, call me.
Why do people no longer care about this holy and pure tradition? We live in the era of rebellion and sinners! :cry:
The last time I joined in the celebrations was in 1999 or 2000, and I was in Liverpool, the most Irish of English cities. I drank too much and got separated from my companion, a work colleague of Irish heritage who was from the city. After hanging around with a variety of strangers I wandered around in a daze until I stumbled upon Lime Street station and got the train back home to Wigan.
Oddly, I think this all took place in the span of three hours or less, because there was still daylight on the way home, and we’d started mid-afternoon, and the sun sets about 18:20 in Liverpool on March 17th. I suspect someone put something in my beer because I felt very wrong, and that put me off St Patrick’s Day for life.
Yes, it is amazing how the time goes weirdly fast when someone's on alcohol. The last time I was in St. Patrick celebration was in 2017 in an Irish pub in Madrid. Nothing special and we don't have the special vibe as others cities like Dublin, Liverpool, Boston, etc do. But, the fact the owners gave us Leprechaun-like hats for drinking Guinness was priceless. I drank a lot as well, and yes, everything lasted in a span of three hours at much. I was in the pub at 22:00, and I remember ending up in my bed like at 01:00.
Quoting Jamal
No! :cry:
And what happened to your companion?
Did he get lost in the endless St. Patrick's parade in Liverpool?
I never saw him or heard from him again, as I’d left the job already and then I moved to Edinburgh and we didn’t keep in contact.
That something is better known as alcohol, and the reason for feeling "very wrong" is the irrational ratio between time and quantity consumed.
I celebrate it religiously. :pray:
Love me a bit of Jewrish food on Rabbi Patrick's day. :up:
I know some folks who start to get more rational when the ratio of alcohol increases.
An Irishman came by yesterday, distraught, rambling on about a man he must find, but who's been missing since St. Patrick's Day 1999, around 18:20. He spoke like a Beatle, with an Irish twist. I asked where he was from you little fool, but he said no, it was from Liverpool.
That rhyming exchange wasn't the strangest part though.
He said he had searched the world over for the missing man, thinking he found him in Madrid in 2017 at 22:00. This man was too young though, and he spoke a broken English with a priceless leprechaun hat. The man he sought was as he best recollected 10 feet tall, legs of oak trees, a man purse slung round his neck that bopped to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" as his grapefruit sized Adam's apple upped and downed the lyrics.
That wasn't the strangest part though.
He spoke to me in Yiddish, harder even to understand from his eating his corned beef on rye with spicy mustard and a particularly sour pickle. He went on about pomegranate wine and the subtleies of a foreign land where he and the missing man once were. I lost train of thought and he slipped away, never to be seen again.
That was the strangest part.
Not wanting to seem petty or anything like that, but unless the camera is making them look darker than they really are, THEY ARE BROWN. :cool:
I always try to write and speak English correctly :cry: , but Hanover the teacher scolds me anyway.
My wife cleaned that bathroom floor with some sort of acid cleaner that took off the finish. She said she didn't mind the destruction, and so neither did I. My view is that nothing matters unless someone else says it does and then it matters to them and by default me. But me, I'm superchill 24/7/364, but not 365. I have one day of spinning, swirling anxiety, where I throw myself about on the floor and cry for freedom.
Superchill every other day though.
But that still does not alter the fact that your pants, shoes and the marks on the floor are BROWN.
Quoting Hanover
Blood y hell, make up you mind. Or do we have to ask for your agenda to figure out when not to make fun of you. :lol:
This ties in with some other worrying developments in Hamster world. I have reason to believe *deep breath* Wolfgang's antipathy towards Basma may have all along been feigned. The reasons remain obscure but I have my suspicions. More later.... I am just... I really cannot cope right now. :sad:
Midnight, March 19th, Year of Our Lord, 2024. My Bedroom.
I really need to start keeping a record of this so I can even believe it myself. Not five minutes ago i awake from a disturbing dream--there's this horrible noise like someone scraping their fingers on a blackboard, only really high pitched,--like it's a really small person doing it--and getting more and more high pitched and I wake up and, here's the fucking thing, I still hear the noise. Coming from the corner of the room. Wolfgang's corner. I drag myself out of bed and over there. Soon as I get there, noise stops.
This point I begin to doubt my sanity. Wolfgang looks fast asleep. Basma in the cage next door, ditto. Then I see it. Fucking... OK just bear with me... I am like looking at this right now with my own eyes, sober and awake and not dreaming, cogito ergo fucking sum, and there's a cut, a jagged gap through one of the bars on Wolfgang's cage and I'm staring at it, reaching out to touch it to make sure it's real and out of the corner of my eye I see this glint, a glint and gone, and I could swear Wolfgang opened an eye, just one, scoped me out and then... Give me a moment... So, I am not paranoid. You want pictures? I am touching this right now, it's real--here's one hand and here's the bar! That bar has been sawed or chewed through. And what kind of hamster has metal fucking jaws?
Well?
Wolfang is dominating you both psychologically and emotionally. Hamsters can be very astute. You didn't lose your sanity, Baden. And that wasn't just a dream. It is time to be tough and face Wolfang's interpersonal manipulation. If I were you, I would have a deep conversation with Wolfang, telling him he is nobody to enter into your dreams and mind.
Is this Basma and Wolfgang? They've done this before. Just be careful.
Quoting Hanover
Is there a coincidence here, or am I just paranoid?
Quoting Hanover
That would be March 17th I suppose? Sorry, let me crawl back into my bottle, the real world is too much for me to take.
Quoting Baden
Listen to me! Fuck man, he's laughing at you. Philosophers like to hype up this idea that human beings have this great unique capacity, the ability to laugh. The human creatures might even hire a jester to feed this illusion. This raises them up to lofty levels high above the animal kingdom (in their delusions). In reality, all the animals ever do is play tricks on us, and they're laughing at us. ALL THE TIME!
Thank you! Thank you all for your much valued advice!
OK, so hear me out. Here’s my theory: Wolfgang’s eating his own shit is a Hamlet move–'Though this is madness, yet there is method in’t'--a feign, a fake, the old lull them into a false sense of security thing. Then I’m looking for reasons, I mean if he’s Hamlet, who am I? The King? That doesn’t end well does it? And anyhow, what … like why? Did I kill his father? Ha… he… Did I…? OK, well, actually I did kill his father. Sort of. Do not judge me, do not dare judge me! Do not… OK, so I fed his father to Wanda, and then, talk about karma, she choked on him. My cat choked on Wolfgang’s father and died. That cat on the mantle, right there! My confession is complete. Are you satisfied now? Is that tragedy enough? Do we need more Shakespeare? The Hamster’s revenge? I make one moral error in a pristine life of animal kindness and benefactory and now I’m, like, a target? Besides, his daddio, Vlad, was a total dick. Complete… OK, just saying...
Anyhow and so I could take Wolfgang out in a pre-emptive strike. That would be totally justified, but do I do that? No. I am humbly remorseful for putting the rising cost of catfood on a superior level of.. of… I am fully apologetic for prioritizing economics above life itself. And so therefore I will deal with Wolfgang and every other living creature in future according to properly established moral precepts. That means, proof first, then the blender. One step at a time, right? Tell me I'm thinking straight here. Please.
You offered a meal to your cat. But that meal was Wolfgang's father. Whether Wolfgang is aware of his family members or not, I think it was actually a common sense act. One species was eaten by another species, but it turned out both died at the same time. There is no abusive dominance here...
I could end up being eaten by Jamal or Wanda too. It is a question of perspective.
Quoting Baden
You chose economics above ethics. Now you regret it, but you have learned the moral lesson. It is like a fable! I am starting to think that Wolfgang is a talking animal!
Thank you javi, that helps, and at least it proves me innocent of the charge of killing Wanda through enforced veganism, right? i mean, it's not like Wolfgang's father was a tofu cube. My conscience is entirely clear on that point. Yes.
Turns out cheese isn't so good for dogs and cats and so I had to stop. They soon forgot about the routine and went about doing whatever it is they did before they cheese partied.
My point is this: Don't slowly kill your animals with the wrong food, even if they seem to enjoy it. The same holds true for your children and crystal meth.
That last sentence was classic Hanover edginess. Hope you enjoyed.
Thank you [s]javi[/s] Hanover, that helps, and at least it proves me innocent of the charge of killing Wanda through enforced veganism, right? I mean, it's not like Wolfgang's father was a [s]tofu[/s] cheese cube. My conscience is entirely clear on that point. Yes.
I mean look, we've all done things we think makes us weird or unusual, but if you look deeply into anyone's soul, you'll see the same darkness, bucking back and forth like a racehorse at the gate, wanting desperatly to get out, being held into place by a tiny pin, doubtfully able to contain it much longer.
Not sure what to make of that last paragraph, but, back on point. You be You! Kill those vermin. And at the end of the day, what isn't vermin?
And it is always impossible for Hanover to redeem us for something. He would accuse us in a trial if he could.
Spanish lesson n? 249: Hanover siempre está enfadite con nosotros... Mi mediocre nivel de inglés le irrita y se enfada con Baden por lo del hámster. Nos acusaría en juicio si pudiera.
1. Euphoria
2. Fear
3. Resignation
4. Search for the Guilty
5. Punishment of the Innocent
6. Praise and glory of the uninvolved.
In the end, the elevated freeway cutting through Boston was put underground, new bridges and tunnels were built, horrendous engineering problems were overcome, vast sums of money were spent. Now the subway system is falling apart.
The preferred method is to find the least desirable part of town and to build an interstate over it, offering a nice divider through the community so that the two groups lose all contact with one another and evolve seperately, one with webbed feet and the other only eating eucalyptus.
The Big Dig was conceived and planning started long before a shovel of dirt was tossed. The work was done by Bechtel Parsons Brinckerhoff, a very capable construction giant which was also quite secretive about anticipated costs.
In the event that you find you have a burning desire to immerse yourself in the Big Dig, here's a link to GBH's series on the Big Dig.
For example, Trump would call it the Election Deception
Trumps's opponents would say he attempted an Election Interception
If you'd like additional scandal rhymes (which I refer to as a scandal handle), tell me of the scandal, and I'll provide the rhyme.
On the other hand, lots of Google Translate efforts fail miserably. They either don't make sense at all, or they are very crude approximations. How do I know? Well, quite often the text with the foreign language term provides the meaning.
Hey, how are you doing? ¿Qué pasa? What is the function of the accent mark on 'é'?
Today is the first day of spring. It's cool, clear, and windy here -- temperature is 10ºC / 49F. The highs for the next week are only a little above freezing. Those temperature are normal. Unfortunately, we have had quite a few days of abnormal warmth, so it seems cold.
We mark the accent in the vowels when we use interrogative words. It is called 'tilde diacrítica' :smile:
Where is the car? ... ¿Dónde está el auto?
That is the car. ... Ese es el auto
Is that the car? ... ¿Es ese el auto? ...
What car is that? ... ¿Qué auto es ese?
I was going to learn to speak Spanish like a native this afternoon, but obviously the language is too complicated.
Thank heavens I already speak English like a native. It would be far too difficult, otherwise.
We need a simple language!
All verbs are in the present tense, for instance. All nouns are singular. No unnecessary words. "Yesterday I eat little. I is 87 in 2034. I is 67 in 2014, You is in Spain for 1+ year. We is member of philosophy forum. Some people is ban.
See? Simple. Spelling obviously has to be simplified.
"Al verbs r in present tens." "al nowns r singular." "Filosofe forum". "som pepl is ban.
Ether pronowns all letrs n word or get rid uv them: "Knight" = kenicht. "Nit" is more simple.
It gets weirder.
March 20th. Year of Our Lord, 2024. My Bathroom.
So, I wake up this morning with a bloody lower lip. You want to know why I have a bloody lower lip? Buddy, you don’t want to know, believe me. But I’m going to tell you. First, let’s get straight on what happened last night. Wolfgang is gone. Yes, gone. Vamoose, busted out, scarpered. No longer in the building. The cage door is wide open and the hamster has bolted. That’s number one. But I’m just getting started. Wolfgang is gone, but something else is here. In me. How can I explain? Oh yeah, the lip. My lip is bloody, bud, because my upper incisors are now 5cm long. Yes, you heard right. I may add that I have developed a thin furry coating over my entire body. You got me? So the hair I can handle. But the teeth… I can’t even talk without ripping myself up. I look like a freakin’... I’m looking in the mirror right now. I don’t like what I see. I really don’t like what I see. Things have escalated. We are now in the realm of very bad doo doo. Well… what now, Einsteins?
On the other hand, it surprised me that Wolfgang had actually scapered. After all the drama and emotional issues of yesterday, he decided to leave the building. Yet I believe Wolfgang will come back to your room sooner or later. Animals tend to do this, and although Wolfgang is intellectual, he is an animal with the feeling of being petted anyway. I bet whenever Wolfgang starts to get hungry he will go to your room and knock on your door again. I hope you will stop bleeding then. I would not like to be in your position of bleeding in front of the hamster... a violent scene could happen.
A broom, a broom!
Thanks I hav started chewing bedposd anywa
When the one who is laughing at you has become you, there's only one thing you can do, and that is to laugh at yourself. The rest of us become innocent bystanders.
What's the difference between hurling an insult, and making a joke?
You might be interested in Toki Pona, the world’s smallest language.
Ironically, the less the number of words, the more it is complex to learn and understand the language, because it is open to every possible interpretation. For example: Car is 'moving room' in Toki Pona. Because Tomo can mean house, building, room, etc. and Tawa means moving forward. So, connecting those two words, it means 'Car'. It is very complex, indeed. :sweat:
I wish you God's speed. Whatever that means.
We have the same problem with English. Like we call a rooster a cock and a penis a cock, and unless you're really tuned into English nuance, you'll continually embarass yourself with the misuse of these two similar but very different terms.
For example, I ordered the coq de vin, which is a slow cooked rooster dish, but I told the waiter I wanted a steaming plate of cock to fill my hungry mouth with, obviously intending to order the coq de vin, but he misunderstood the subtlties of my native tongue. What followed was a tragic misunderstanding.
LMAO! :lol: Hanover, I think it is obvious that each of us consider our native language as the easiest because it is the one we are familiar with. I think Spanish is the easiest and Baden and Wolfgang think Gaelic is the easiest too.
I believe Wolfgang speaks Tuvan.
Basic English was devised by Cambridge philosopher Charles Sumner around 1930. It has a vocabulary of 850 words with about 20 verbs. I don't know what percentage of Basic English vocabulary were selected from the Anglo Saxon core of English; my guess is that quite a few were.
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is composed of roughly 90% words from the Anglo Saxon core and common words added (mostly from French) which gave him a Middle Earth vocabulary of maybe 10,000 words, max. Then there were the languages Tolkien invented.
A few years ago I tried learning French using Rosetta Stone. I liked the program and I did make some progress. Interest flagged, however. My interest was reading French; I don't especially like the way French sounds (coming out of some Francophone mouths) and its spelling is terrible.
It's not impossible for us old folks to learn new languages, but it is quite hard. One's brain doesn't have as many empty memory slots to put stuff in as young people have. Plus, once the brain has found an empty slot, it's hard to keep stuff from sliding out and ending up as a jumble on the floor.
Or you learn something new really well only to discover that something older and important is erased.
The number of English words has increased over time and its grammar has simplified over time for this very reason. Old people are stupid. If you insert young people into a society, they will learn the language close to the natives, but the old fuckers will drop the grammatical irregularities and will throw in words from their homelands. They do this because old people are just bad at learning language.
If you look at a language like modern English and go back to Middle and then Old English, you can pretty much figure out that immigration has been taking place and older speakers have entered the mix.
I find the issues of accents, the inabilty to emulate native languages, and the addition of new words by foreigners an interesting evolutionary control over integration. That we can easily distinguish strangers from natives by speaking to them seems to be an important social control.
You should try listening to Quebecois or Wallon French, it is especially unpleasant, not to use stronger words (sorry).
In the case of Wallon I would not blame the French language however, nothing in Belgium sounds good.
The messed up tippex really got me.
Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of the "Living death of Baden Wolfgang", "Can I have another bed post please".
This episode was brought to you by Big Farma, the drug company that keeps you alive so that you keep on buying their drugs.
Anyone that thinks this is worse. Some might be ignorant of thing that younger people consider important, but some of us are wise enough to not try and emulate them.
I am 70, and I am still studying new stuff.Quoting Hanover
The only thing you got right there was the last line, or at least partially right. The youngest will learn easiest because their brain is still developing its language center and they are capable of learning 2 words for the same thing much easier that older folks. they also have no or little shame about making mistakes and trying again.
Most of the time it is the young teens that insert homeland words because it sounds cool or the adult that is just trying to get along and does not really need to learn properly as long as the understand what is said to them.
B.C. got it right, it is more difficult for older folks to learn a new language, but not because they are stupid. If you spend 60 or 80 years calling something a horse, it is very difficult to think of it as anything else. The brain needs to do a lot more work to register the new word and coordinate its use into sentences made of other new words.
But the old (and really not that old btw) are less able to learn new languages as part of the ways brains develop. If you start a language later in life you will never (as in never ever) speak it like a native.
I usually have to carry a notebook with different dates, appointments, meetings, etc. for my academy, and it is full of Tipp-Ex. I tend to confuse the days or the numbers... if I delete the mistake with another pen it looks ugly, honestly.
Thanks, Germany, for creating the Tipp-Ex!
Possible avatar for @Wolfgang
Well, there is no doubt it is a hamster (or a mouse) the animal I drew yesterday. Some folks can easily think it is a cat or a hyena.
Dear esteemed TPF community members,
Please do excuse all that nonsense concerning my transformation into a Siberian hamster. Of course, none of that ever happened, haha. Just my little joke. I even forged that note. As one of you fellows noticed, I wrote it with my left hand to give the appearance of authenticity. I am as human as ever, haha. (Though one might be forgiven for thinking I had some odd obsession with these little critters. What a thought! *chuckle*).
So, the real focus of my efforts here is purely academic. I aim to play a pivotal role in a humanities project I am deeply engaged in as part of my research studies; it involves the transformation of a number of Shakespearean plays into a hamsterian perspective. To clarify, this will involve each character being a form of hamster, or a human / hamster hybrid if you will (which is why you may have gleaned by now it was necessary as part of this PURELY ACADEMIC effort for me to get inside the mind of such a creature. Again, apologies if it all seemed a bit TOO REAL, haha. But I assure you I am perfectly fine and indeed 100% human *chuckle*).
And so for the purposes of research, I require just 5 or 6 of volunteers from the cohort of fine budding philosophers here to mentally transform into hamsters and read and rewrite a Shakespeare play (the first will be Hamlet) as outlined above. Please feel free to collaborate and strategize over responsibilities concerning scenes, acts, characters and suchlike. I am sure there will be some competition among you over who gets to play “Hamsterlet” eh? Haha, *chuckle*.
In any case, the deadline for applications for this project is 3pm next Wednesday afternoon. I will judge the successful applicants purely on merit.
Ulug öördüm!
Professor Wolfgang Baden II
Dean
Faculty of Arts and Sciences,
Little Yenisey University,
Kyzyl,
Republic of Tuva,
Siberia,
Russia
Your image of Wolfgang as I perceive him (only in my imagination, of course, haha, *chuckle*, as if he even exists hehe, the very thought!) is startling perceptive. And I believe a fellow of your artistic talents would be much suited to the academic environs hereabouts. Please do feel free to initiate correspondence on this topic. In any case, I must rush now. My exercise wheel beckons.
Note 1: I am ready.
Note 2: OH MY GOD. You actually updated your profile picture to Wolfgang Mouse drawing. This weirdly makes me happy. You will never know where happiness is.
Javier
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras.
Parque de Palomeras Bajas, 23.
Madrid. 28018.
Spain.
I'd take part, but only if you'd allow me to be a gerbil instead of a hamster. Furthermore, I think you'd find that I would flatly refuse to read Shakespeare, as I did in high school, finding the language to be undecipherable gerbilish. So my collaborating and strategizing would be nothing more than cheating the system. I'll be on the tread mill, just call if that's what you want.
An honour, sir! And I am delighted that you have signalled your participation. I agree to your terms and I am assured this will be a grand success! :cheer:
Quoting Metaphysician Undercover
But this is indeed part of my motivation (somewhat hidden from the authorities) to make it more hamsterish. :eyes:
We shall call you Lemmiwinks.
It'd be a tragic story if we we weren't just talking about rats.
I mean it's a first stab at this, but I think it's coming along pretty well.
Look... I am expecting a lot from you, MU... there is nothing like sharing the love and affection of animals amongst friends. I feel more confident when I transform myself into X, because Y is already screwed.
'I love acting. It is so much real than life' - Oscar Wilde.
"Wolfgang and Juliet" eh? Magandandzhyg!
But gerbils we need not. Let us make it a romance of the Siberian and Syrian breeds.
"O Wolfgang, Wolfgang, wherefore art thou Wolfgang?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love
And I’ll no longer be a Syrian.
‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy:
Thou art thyself, though not a Siberian.
What’s Siberian? It is not paw nor foot
Nor tooth nor snout nor any other part
Belonging to a hamster. O be some other name.
What’s in a name? That which we call a raisin
By any other name would taste as sweet;
So Wolfgang would, were he not Wolfgang call’d,
Retain that rodentian perfection which he owes
Without that title. Wolfgang, doff thy name,
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself."
Quoting javi2541997
:pray:
Tis a TPF meet-up via AVL - if any are interested, or want to suggest better timing.
I understand that feeling. I hate Formula One. I usually go to Montmeló and the city becomes noisy, toxic and unbearable. This is one of the things I don't mind if Catalonia has it, but Madrid doesn't. Yet it seems that F1 will be in Madrid in the next tournaments too... Pathetic. The governors of my city are stupid for wanting to hold the Grand Prix with its toxicity and its hard smell.
Just fly out to the Bungle Bungles for a few days, get away from it all, paint some pictures.
I fail at philosophy and fabulism. I'm a quotidian.
Uber Tuber Eats? Grubs Hubs? (Do they enjoy the wee wiggling worms?)
Who is to say that Mr Wombie wouldn’t appreciate being invited to vacation with you?
From the videos I’ve seen, I’d be afraid of hurting his feelings and getting roughed up. :monkey: :sweat:
And it’s strange, everything you said about your wombat could be said about my two closest friends, who may have been descended from wombats.
Except that they don’t eat two kinds of native grass, they smoke it. :blush:
I'm scared.
Quoting Hanover
I started learning Spanish when I was 21, on the phone I can usually pass as a local. It is when they see me that they know I am not.
Being a quotidian is even more artistic and aesthetic than folks who are always discussing metaphysics and/or modern politics.
'Now Art should never try to be popular. The public should try to make itself artistic'. - Oscar Wilde.
Oh, Jesus! I am obsessed with Wilde's quotes.
He's great. His aphoristic excellence reminds me of a benign and less truculent Nietzsche.
:up:
I love another quote from him: 'My life is a scandal.'
I had never heard this term "ropey" before. It is apparently British English, which is a corrupted form of the accepted American standard.
In a death match, Ozzie English would have a decent chance--some quirky moves. But honestly, in the end, each dialect would probably end up wounding each other so badly that Chinese would just come along and take over. So I'm not sure I like your idea. Of course, I may be misunderstanding since you are speaking yankmerican.
I think that's how I would challenge you to a fight in East London.
https://happy2movelondon.co.uk/complete-dictionary-of-cockney-rhyming-slang/
Wisteria in bloom.
B.S.
I will have my hamster-like playwriting done tomorrow morning. Shall I post it here in the shoutbox @Baden?
Peeps
Candy corn
Those wax mini soda bottles
Necco wafers
Black liquorice
Yes, yes, please, wonderful! *chuckle* *burp*
I agree. But this does happen because Coca-Cola is disgusting itself.
Wait till you have it as a sauce on ham. The journey to the dark side will be complete.
It is impossible for me to imagine a combo like that. It is that disgusting my mind blocks it automatically.
Well, they had a poetic imagination at least.
I approve. As a child I used to go to Nardini’s cafe for ice cream floats, otherwise known as coke floats. Coca-Cola in a tall sundae glass with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Those were around in the early 1950s. Wiedenhaft's Grocery had them. They were disgusting, Ditto for the other items n the list. Especially candy corn.
Bless your soul.
I am waiting in the endless circle of life and temptations. My days are simple: I wake up, I eat, I question my existence, and then I go to sleep.
Sorry, if I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Pablo Guillermo, and I am a hamster living in a purple light cage in an office inside other blocks of offices in Madrid. My owner X is wacky, but we understand each other. One day, I ate a pen from his suitcase, and randomly he gnawed the pencil too. I wonder if humans could transform into hamsters since then. Anyway, it is 08:56 and the owner is passing by the door.
X: Do you... (?) Do you... I mean, did you finish the draft? oh yes... I understand, etc. Oh, man, it is impossible to get things done with these teammates. Hey, how are you doing? If only I could transform into a hamster and speak to you, my life would be more pleasant.
Pablo Guillermo: I hope I will not regret doing this after all...
*clink*
X: Where is my suitcase... Here... There... WAIT A MINUTE. Why is the table that long? Someone put something in my coffee this morning, absolutely.
Pablo Guillermo: No, buddy. You are just now a hamster like me. Everything looks bigger than you are used to. The distances and lengths are longer too. Life passes by slowly as much as the hands of a clock. But it never stops. I mean, our way to our end.
X: Oh, God! Pablo Guillermo is literally talking.
Pablo Guillermo: I can't believe you got surprised because of my ability to talk and not my existential crisis.
X: Oh, true. What do hamsters do?
Pablo Guillermo: Follow me. I will show you something special.
Part II.
They jumped from the desk and started to run along the blue carpet. Everything was monstrously bigger than them, but the most curious fact is that there was no noise. It only heard their paws scrolling. They entered a dark and cold room. With his tiny paws, Pablo Guillermo lit a bulb up and opened a box.
Pablo Guillermo: Look what I was storing in this secret room...
*Pablo Guillermo shows the nibbled pen*
X: Oh, Lord! It is the pen I bit once.
Pablo Guillermo: Yes, it is. I have had it with me since then. When I saw you bit it like I do, I knew you would like to be a hamster...
*They start to cry*
X: You are right. Transforming myself into a hamster is everything I always dreamed of. I didn't want to share this because I was afraid of being treated as a mental disorder person... I am crying for happiness... I never felt this free. It is hard to explain, but as a hamster I can fit in the puzzle of life.
Pablo Guillermo: I tend to question my existence when I am in the cage. I see you working covered by papers, and I am there running in the endless circle...
X: Endless circle?
Pablo Guillermo: Yes you know. We sleep, we wake up, take breakfast, go to work or study, cry and then go to sleep again. Since we are rodents now, I think we can face life and do different things. Let's leave these offices.
X: OK. I follow you, but don't forget this. *X grabs the pen*
The two rodents left the room silently. There were people with suits around, but they didn't recognize them. Who knows? Maybe one of these workers wants to be a hamster too. Opening the entry door, the sun brightly reflects on them. A new life is about to start. It is time to be a hamster... Although it only lasts one day.
My dear Sir Javi,
This is an absolutely exemplary addition to the field of Hamsterish literature and will form an invaluable contribution to my research. I am honored you have shared it with me. :pray:
Your humble servant,
Prof. Wolfgang Baden II
A wannabe fabulist in the pursuit of Hamsterish literature,
Javi, el cuarto de los ratones.
Best wishes. Until the next activity/project!
Baden inspired me with this Hamsterish thing. I will never look at these rodents in the same way either. When I said I wanted to transform into a hamster I was joking, but now... I think it would be worth trying.
I like the ending, except for the part about only one day. Why not forever?
I can't do it, still too scared. Maybe I could handle being a chicken.
Because everything was a dream... tomorrow morning X will be a boring worker in the office again... he was dreaming about everything he wished for: a new life, a new body, escapism, etc.
The despair of the first paragraph is told by Pablo Guillermo the hamster but with the mind and soul of X, the office worker. :sad:
Quoting Metaphysician Undercover
Chickens can fly! :sparkle:
I thought you were an albatross!
Jamalbatross?
I couldn't have said it better!
Sort of, but I think the better word is flee.
The nomological argument for the existence of God (— Tyler Hildebrand, Thomas Metcalf · Big Think · May 3, 2021)
Nerd humor :D
As it turned out, I would fall for a regular, a cowboy with a broken back with an angry laugh that belied his gentle spirit. He saved me from that life, where my twelve Amish children and he moved me into a house built upon stilts that stood 100 yards into the ocean just past the breaking waves. We would swim to our abode, with my infant Lucy clutching my hair as she road along my back like a baby turtle.
We lived a modest life, snacking upon peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches and salt water taffy. I taught my children well and sang the songs of the old country to them so as to preserve that part of me.
"Oh Tangaestaneovia! Oh Tangestanovia! How my heart longs for your gentle fields as the cackle birds fly high in the sky above the rivers that flow with the blood of the Kankarovions, our mortal enemy! Let them die! Let them Cry!"
Singing that national anthem would bring me such pride.
That I have moved from that life to what I am now, a moderator, is just proof that there is a kind and gentle god. The story explains much, particularly my penchant for the longboot and those with broken backs.
Three Body Problem is on Netflix.
Had a conversation about the sun at a Flat Earth Convention and it almost broke us. (Nov 1, 2023 · 1m:18s)
[tweet]https://twitter.com/TheGoodLiars/status/1719872720463176108[/tweet]
Thank you for providing its location.
It's also in a book. The descriptions of events in Communist China are brutal.
Have you watched any of it?
I caught up to the latest episode last night. I'm liking it. But I'll leave it there, for now.
I'll look on Youtube and see if it'll show me how to do it.
Yes. It's pretty good.
Quoting Hanover
You just put "Netflix" in your google and pay them $10 or whatever it is they charge. Then you can watch Sweet Home on your mighty phone. I think you'd like it.
Schlapp: lockdowns and the pandemic, yep, and drugs :mask:
Mace: Biden's infra policies
Posobiec: Biden, it's all Biden's fault
Bartiromo: the border, it's border policies
Scott: the border, it's the wide-open border
Jones: cyber-attack, world war 3 has started :death:
Tate: cyber-attack, yep
"DrRemingtonPHD": big boom :fire:
"Alex_Oloyede2": Israel
"Bubblebathgirl": anti-white business practices err corporate diversity initiatives
Gabriel: Buttigieg's'gotta go
— afp, rollingstone, thedailybeast
Some EU members like @Benkei for example. Did you notice this in your banknotes?
More precisely. Why does the cup of coffee appear in Spain? Hmm... this is very strange and mysterious to me.
No. I cannot! I tried it the first time I saw the drawings. But it seems they are part of the banknotes, and were printed with them.
Quoting Benkei
I lease a parking space and the leaseholder pays me in cash. Just €80, and when I saw the €50 banknote I thought Jesus! His children painted on them. But no... It is clearly a hidden message from the European Central Bank.
Ooh, how I love a good all-encompassing international mystery! You never know just how far this rabbit hole will go. Or what we might uncover, if we even survive, pray tell! This reminds me of Sherlock Holmes (the book not the cheesy modern movie) or National Treasure with Nicholas Cage. Could it be a treasure map? A secret, covert message from a wealthy insider who happened upon something horrible, knowing he's being watched and so his only option of conveyance was to leave such a subtle, seemingly innocuous clue for the world to see and hope someone with a keen eye and sharp wit answers his call and stops whatever it may be before it's too late?!
What an unfortunate time to have stopped drinking. A nice, hearty glass of brandy or cognac to sip on would be excellent to have in hand as we combine our shared wits and philosophical intuitions to become an unstoppable force and unravel this mystery together. What a shame. You picked a terrible time to stumble upon an international mystery, Javi. If I didn't know any better... I'd say you opted for this timing on purpose! You're in on it, aren't you? Don't lie to me.
I think the hidden message is the following one: if you want to have a coffee in Spain you need to previously buy a plane ticket to travel abroad.
... But it is obvious that the message could be darker, cursed and violent. I am very afraid of the European Central Bank. Christine Lagarde seems to be a very twisted person.
Quoting Outlander
And yet when I returned from Mercadona my parents (my holy PARENTS) scolded me shouting: why didn't you buy alcohol and only this shit? *pointing out to rye bread*
Currently 16.89. It's a reasonably good deal; you can cancel anytime.
In the end there were nuclear explosions (not very convincing) over Manhattan.
Take away: It was just like the containership plowing into the bridge in Baltimore. You've seen the show, no need to buy a ticket.
Nature Creates Increasingly Complex Systems
[sup]— J X Mason · Jun 16, 2018[/sup]
I got my subscription to watch the second season of Sweet Home. They got me!
(Please see schematic below for further theoretical elucidation).
Quoting Baden
Excellent. Thank you for sharing it with us. Well, I can't add anything but how humanity could be a better place without people. Until I didn't take part in your activity, I wasn't aware of the kindness of these rodents... I feel bad... I never considered it a reliable species... but now my eyes and heart are opened and my transformation into a hamster was worthwhile.
How does this relate to the scribbles on @javi2541997's Euro and the shipwreck in Balitmore?
We hamsters shall inherit the earth. :heart:
Hannity, indeed, another fine rodent. Note the hamsterish prose and chubby cheeks.
Because Jamalbatross and Wolfgang (the hamster) are behind that!
Knowing of your interest in improving your English writing skills, I thought I should point out that you could more concisely write, "Hamsteranity could be better."
An important feature of hamsteranity is that mother hamsters under stress eat their babies. So hamsteranity would never reach humanity's stressful level of overpopulation.
Thanks for the feedback, wonderer1. :up:
I am interested in my writing skills, but I am aware that I write very badly. Wait a minute... how would Javi be if I could write English perfectly like a native?
If one day I finally reach a better level of grammar, folks would say: this is not Javi! Chat GPT kidnapped him!
He looks to be around 12 years old in that photo and he already spoke so eloquently of the fleeting joys of success and the demands of hard work. I've not paid much attention to him in the past, but now I will listen only to him. And you. Because you're a talking hamster.
Invisibility Shield (Mar 2022)
Not exactly perfect, but kind of neat.
Funnily, I got that accusation in the story I submitted for the contest.
You are obligated to watch Life of Brian.
How shall we fuck off, oh Lord?
Probably my fave of theirs.
Wow! Sometimes we don't know where the criticism could come from... you write English pretty well. I mean, you are non-native like me, but it is obvious that your level is higher than mine.
Cool.
Life of Brian is not my cup of tea, Banno. But I will watch it again. Why not?
Did you read or see The Last Temptation? It is worthwhile.
We're all doomed.
The only way I can get this song out of my head that has been repeating over and over is to post it here. Now it is yours.
Interesting points, and on the whole I agree that for my next book, the subject of Barbara Streisand's journey to hamsterhood should be de-emphasized in favour of Sean's. In our previous extensive discussions on the topic of our chubby cheeked friend, I must confess I omitted a few salacious details, which, well *chuckle* I can hardly resist revealing *burp*. You see, I once shared a cage with the naughty hamsterlet Sean once was and he had the objectionable habit of--well, it's all rather amusing in hindsight--the thing is he used to *chuckle* consume his own pellets... faeces that is, which in itself is no... I mean who hasn't from time to time? But the reason *ahem* *chuckle* *burp* he did this was to make himself physically sick with the purpose of vomiting into the food bowl so no-one else would eat the food but him! He has always had a stalwart constitution the greedy scoundrel haha! Well, it took several starvations (Dwight Eisenhower and Warren Beatty among them) for us to cotton onto his little trick and put an end to it. Barbara and I were *chuckle* *fart* the only survivors of the cage, in fact--along with Sean of course!--the little rascal *chuckle*.
Thank you too, but the story of the rodentification of Led Zeppelin would take several volumes and most likely a number of decades to complete. Oh, the times we had! *chuckle* *fart* *burp* *vomit* hehe.
You're welcome.
So let me see if I follow what's going on. You own a couple of hamsters and you gave them nonsense names, probably so you could have something to talk about when people asked you why you bought rats for your house, and then that resulted in your making stories up about them, ranging from Shakespeare to Hannity, although the latter one from my inability to read your writing, and you actually morphed into a hamster at some point, and now you talk to me as if a hamster and that is accomplished through reference to bodily functions and sounds?
Sometimes it helps to just say what is going on in order to give us a chance to self-assess.
That is so kind of you. All I can say is that if the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me.
It fell out the window and landed on the mailman. I'm now trying to watch Netflix on a broken TV on a dead mailman. It was better when it was static. Barely.
I recommend you pick the letters before the corpse starts rotting.
Interesting, can we compare the two? Kazantzakis is serious philosophy. Python is satire - which points to its own seriousness. If it helps, I grew up around Monty Python and they never much appealed to me. Small doses ok.
I wonder it Scorsese took a Greek Orthodox influenced account of Jesus and made it Catholic. Is this Jesus just another instantiation of Travis Bickle? Discuss.
Good points. I agree with your analysis actually. So, yes, obviously I'm not a hamster and Wolfgang is not human or half-human or whatever other madness he was claiming but 100% a hamster who unfortunately got access to my account here and, well, I've only read the recent stuff but there are clear inaccuracies there. I mean, it's admittedly plausible that Sean Hannity eats his own shit etc (I don't know the guy personally) but if you look closely at Wolfgang’s statements, stuff doesn't add up. I mean he says he shared a cage with Warren Beatty who died of starvation through Hannity’s shit-eating food hogging tactics. But, get this, [I] Beatty is still alive[/i]. I mean he's not even that old. Not like e.g. Bing Crosby. So, yes, Wolfgang kind of discredited himself there and me in the process, but anyway, to clarify everything's back to normal now. I am not a hamster and Wolfgang is not human. That's the main thing to keep in mind. Thank you.
If you could just spare a few raisins. Wolfgang ate all mine. :sad:
Well, that is what happened this morning and I can't understand why. My alarm didn't sound at 05:30 but 05:50. I am lucky that I am a foresightful man, but what would happen if I didn't set it up twice? Maybe I would still have slept in my bed right now...
By the way, the last day of the months which have 31 days tend to be twisted and cursed...
Language, Banno, language! There are children present.
If you are like me, then whatever you're worried about, you will make happen by being overly cautious and attentive to specific things which you believe could cause what you're worried about to happen, so much so, that you will inadvertently do something else, which you don't recognize will actually cause what you're worried about to happen. You don't notice, because you're too preoccupied by the other things which you believe could cause it to happen. So, it's likely that setting your alarm to 5:50 actually negated the 5:30 setting or something like that, and you didn't realize it. Then you actually caused the first alarm not to sound by being too worried about the possibility that it might not sound.
By the way, if you haven't come to understand this yet, life itself is twisted and cursed.
Could be an AM/PM error.
My father always used a wind up alarm clock in fear of a late night power outage. I tried that, but the ticking kept me up, eliminating the need for the alarm.
When I was young, I put my alarm clock across the room so I'd have to get up and assure myself I wouldn't go back to sleep.
I now rely on anxiety to awake me, which is fail proof. The cat too. She knows when it's breakfast time.
Also, I would not take that as being from my capacity more than it is from my opportunities. I have lived, dated, studied, and worked in English at different points of my life, so I would have to actively try for my English not to be good. Whatever level your English is, I have no trouble understanding anything you say, which for me is enough. But then take this thread https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/14597/what-can-i-know-with-100-certainty , where we go as far as using logical symbols, and yet we don't understand each other.
Obligado, friend.
Quoting Deleted user
Those threads are very interesting, but whenever I want to dive into them, it already has 10 pages of comments or even more... and whatever I have been thinking about posting would not be as substantial as the comments of others users.
Be glad that the wish has passed.
What brings these episodes on?
Is it the weather? The Economy? News of war and famine?
The solar equinox has significant religious import.
Saw what you did there...
https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/
Those cool things never happen here... :confused:
Not true. There will be total eclipses of the sun visible in Spain in 2026, 2027, and 2057.
¡Viva!
I don't know where I will be in 2026. It seems it is closer, only two years. But life is constantly changing...
She wasn't wearing eclipse glasses! :scream:
I just got mine today. The path of totality is about an hour from where I live, and it's looking like there might be clear skies here on the day. (A rarity here in April.)
Just a warning for lunatics, best to stay away from Indiana:
April 8 Severe Weather Climo (1950-2023)
Central Indiana has observed severe weather on 7 different occasions on April 8 since 1950:
Severe Weather on April 8
Year Type of Severe Weather Timing
1965 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds During and After Time of 2024 Eclipse
1980 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds During Time of 2024 Eclipse
1995 Hail, Damaging Winds During and After Time of 2024 Eclipse
1998 Hail, Damaging Winds, Funnel Cloud After Time of 2024 Eclipse
2000 Flooding/Flash Flooding Before Time of 2024 Eclipse
2015 Hail, Damaging Winds, Flash Flooding Before and During Time of 2024 Eclipse
2020 Tornado, Hail, Damaging Winds After Time of 2024 Eclipse
The part I don't fully understand is how all these tornadoes over the past approximately 50 years all occurred during and after the time of the 2024 eclipse. How did the 1965 tornado occur at the same time as the eclipse that is going to happen next week?
You just have no idea how weird things are in Indiana.
If Nebraska and Indiana are up to you, I don't even want to think about how down you are.
Trends in Intracranial and Cerebral Volumes of Framingham Heart Study Participants Born 1930 to 1970
[sup]— Charles DeCarli, Pauline Maillard, Matthew P Pase et al · JAMA Neurology · Mar 25, 2024[/sup]
Will the latest decades break the trend? :D
I wonder, if perhaps overall size of the participants could be a factor or some other variable such as access to or prevalence of research facilities (suggesting some other possible difference between the eventual selected participants, including methodology in selection, from 1930 to 1970? Surely much has changed socially in basically every measurable way in the near-half century span from a time when most people kept perishables chilled by iceboxes versus landing a spacecraft on another planetary body? :chin:
Human life is getting more complex, and our cortexes are getting spread thin as our brains try to keep up.
That's my hypothesis, and I'll bet you a case of wine that I'll be proven right in 25 years. (Of course there is the risk that by that time our cortexes will have popped like overly inflated balloons.)
I think there is a dog breed that does exactly that.
Cartoonish, which would make it funny if it weren't cruel and sad.
As to causes/explanations, maybe people just generally live healthier, or train/use the brain more, who knows.
I doubt it means better/smarter. Heck, bad/good idiotic/smart could all be magnified. (I have evidence :wink:.)
Unexpected, to me (personally) anyway.
Imagine how the ordinary dog feels every time a program about that damned over-achieving border Collie Chaser is on -- again: Resentment, jealousy, anguish, indifference, hatred, fear, loathing... "Hey, if you cheapskates had given me 1000 toys to play with, instead of the 2 toys I got in my whole life, maybe I would have been brilliant too!!!"
My family, who are very surreptitious, started to gaze at me with a sense of both worry and concern...
The first time I broke the cup my father shouted: JAVIER!!!
But, when I broke the second cup, I felt a cold and painful silence on the table... they said to their inner themselves: oh yes, there is our cursed member of the family.
I am cursed today!
A glass of wine is just a thing. Things get broken. They are not important.
How did the glass get broken? Tipped over? Dropped on the floor? Dramatically thrown into the fire place?
I have lifted the curse.
From whom? "People" who like chocolate ice cream instead? Don't cast pearls onto the swine.
The glass is broken but your integrity is intact. This is not something you need be ashamed of.
They both got tipped over. The first cup was in the sink, waiting to be filled, and then my clumsy body pushed it accidentally. The second cup was already filled on the table, but then my grandmother asked me to go for some napkins. When I stood up, I rubbed the cup with my elbow, and it tipped over...
Rather than feeling cursed, I felt idle.
Thank you, Baden. :heart:
It is something I always try to hold. My integrity intact. It will not happen again if we use plastic glasses.
Actually, the rule is that you are not to cry over spilled milk. Wine is a different matter.
Exactly! It is outrageous how fragile the wine cups are! It can be broken with a blow of the air!
The base is wide, the stem is narrow.
Actually, I cried on the table and in the presence of the rest of my family members. But I cried because of being idle and stupid. I didn't make a distinction on the liquid poured over the place. I would cry again if I tipped over a can of Pepsi...
I'd actually argue it's a genius safety mechanism to alert the consumer when one has consumed more than their fair share of "the creature", as it were.
Never thought about it before. I'm not sure I have ever owned wine glasses, perhaps back in the early 1990's, I don't recall.
In fact, when crossing the North Sea with 200 foot swells, my ship tossed about like a rag doll in the blackest of nights, where we lost 20 men to Davy Jones' beckoning locker, this was my vessel. Ah, that night was the roughest, but when the morning sun raised its warmth, the waters now calmed, but my hammock still swinging, there she sat at my bedside. She was still filled with the sweetest of port and ready to drink. She taught me a lesson with her sea legs most stable, this storm just another night among a life of so many.
I took of her base, holding most tightly, not wanting to now spill it after all it had proved. I bowed now just slightly, and raised it most highly, respectfully making a toast to those lost and no doubt departed. I then made my offering by slinging it forward, just o'er the railing, to offer the souls at the cold eerie bottom one final sip of this sweetness of life. But the wine would not part, stubbornly holding, clinging so tightly, and the glass also melding and forming to my grip trying to open.
With the toast still pending and no one imbibing, I placed this fine chalice to my lips still trembling, to take me a sip a sip most demanding. The sweet nectar relasing, now dancing within me, coating and drenching to the depths of my soul. The strength of the gods then came up upon me, followed by a halo emitting, emitting and shining, and swirling now above me.
The locks of my hair now suddenly growing, cascading down downward just past my shoulders. My dirty garb now falling, falling right off from me, a long robe now draping, draping about me.
This Holy Grail now telling me ever so humbly, no need to worry, no need to bother, no need to worry or bother with those whose greatest of losses come from the glasses, that break ever so freely, ever so weakly, and spill forth the wine onto the floor of the judging.
Only true masters and administrators of websites drink their tea, water, wine, whisky, anise, etc from this:
Is the English version of your name Harvey?
Phonetics at its best...
This reads to me like an I Ching hexagram, or some such similar prognosis via divination, palm reading, etc.
I've been sleeping in a bit too late recently, and feel guilt for my sloth and laziness. I've generally been rather lazy at my job as well. Is my behavior justified, or am I in for a rude kick in the pants, oh Baden?
Looks like a miniature version of the yard glass:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yard_of_ale
A yard of ale or yard glass is a very tall beer glass used for drinking around 2+1?2 imperial pints (1.4 L) of beer, depending upon the diameter.
1.4 litres! Jesus! No doubt that glass would fall off my slippery hands.
We never actually filled the yard, we'd just put a pint or two in the bottom, and "sip" it. The critical feature is that it's a yard long, so the beer from the bottom has to flow down that long neck to get to your mouth. Because of the way that gravity works over time, the beer is flowing so fast after traveling that yard, that it's in your stomach by the time you feel it in your mouth. That makes a pretty serious "sip".
We used to have beer bucket contests, you paid the price of the 8 pints to enter and got a double refund if you finished first. I there were plenty of people participating, second place got a refund.
What most people never figured out was the preparation for the event was more important than the speed you drank at. Eight to 10 cups of coffee and plenty of salty biscuits leading up to it and only one pint before the event. I participated in quiet a few and only ever lost to a charming young lady who appeared to have hollow legs.
Amazing and stunning experience, indeed. I wonder if the use of a bib is needed. I guess when the beer has to flow down to your mouth it splashes a lot, or you (we) can experience the risk of pouring the beer over us.
Absolutely, this is a serious sip. When I tall about drinking and glasses I can only be serious.
Where do you drink your coffee every morning? In a beautiful porcelain cup from China, right?
Just hamster talk.
Quoting Noble Dust
It seems that you are kicking your job in the pants. Is that because it is wearing your pants, oh Noble?
The more interesting stat would be to see the figures after 5 year intervals. I'd find it hard to believe art history majors are unemployed 5 years out at 8% when the general population is at 3.8%. The reason I find that hard to believe is that I typically go at lunch 2 to 3 times a week to my local art history firm to ask the on call art historian the history of this or that piece. Couldn't live without them.
Sadly, China no longer manufactures those room-sized porcelain cups where one could rest on an over-stuffed sofa while taking one's morning coffee surrounded by blue and gold dragon figures devouring maidens. For this tragic loss we can thank Mao Zedong. Also, smaller kitchens. Also the collapse of the over-stuffed sofa industry during the the Y2K and dot-com panics of late 1999.
Those were the good old days.
The program usually ends with questions about the history of Spain and the host asked: What is the province with the most castles in it? I knew it was Jaén, but it was funny how the interviewees replied with cities of Castilla endlessly, because Jaen was a city of Castilla when the latter was a kingdom and Andalusia belonged to the Arabs!
From a macro-perspective on college education, I think there is a fairly large discontinuity between what colleges advertise, what prospective students expect as benefits for BAs, and what actually happens.
Colleges claim that a bachelor's education is intellectually useful. I thought that majoring in English Literature would be beneficial to me. Prospective employers sifted out applicants who had not completed college. So, it all worked out positively?
The degree turned out to be very useful. That part was accurately represented. Less well represented was the relationship of coursework to job skills and performance. Reading Chaucer in Middle English didn't help me relate to very disadvantaged students. Learning to study boring material was helpful in tutoring college students. Neither English literature nor history classes helped me devise outreach strategies for HIV prevention.
If I had it to do over, I would still go to college; I would still major in a English Lit; I wouldn't expect practical application in the short run.
They're the only glasses I own or use - whether it's coffee or water.
If I could do it all over, I would still major in philosophy. But, I never expected practical application. Why did I do it? So I could feel right at home at TPF. See, I have an incredible capacity to predict the future, right up there Thales who supposedly predicted the solar eclipse of 585 BC. With a predictive capacity like that, there's no need to do it all over.
I was hoping for more "The sloth looks north but catches it's foot on a vine. No blame if the perch is maintained."
Double decker buses! I think I never been in of those. There are some around the city but it is just a vehicle for tourists. Even, when I was in London I think didn't take the classic red double decker either.
Well folks, how was your eclipse experience yesterday?
You use those majors to increase intelligence, not the funds in your bank account. Then, get into something that pays well. You are less likely to suffer from dementia.
Inglehart and Welzel tried to quantify cultural changes since the 1990s in two dimensions: survival/tribalism versus self-expression/individualism (x-axis), and traditional versus secular/rational (y-axis). These are then plotted on a per-country basis, and trends compared over time.
? Inglehart–Welzel cultural map of the world (Wikipedia)
? Western values are steadily diverging from the rest of the world’s (The Economist · Aug 3, 2023)
? Inglehart Welzel cultural map (google search)
Not sure what can be learned, though some may find it interesting.
I think the issue here is finding who to use to increase both intelligence and the funds of my bank.
... A logician?
Good one, Tom. That is a very nice option.
Brain surgeons! How could I forget these professionals?
Hardly anything. That Germany and Switzerland are somehow closer to Finland than to Austria is obviously wrong by pretty much every metric. Everyone can draw bubbles around world regions and give titles to them based on feelings, but no bubble drawn will ever be satisfactory. That some people had a Wik*pedia page written about their map does not make it any more legitimate.
It was a great adventure! We headed east and south on rural highways avoiding anything which could rightly be called a city while scanning the skies for cloud cover. Despite our intention of avoiding cities, we ended up in Union City Indiana, with only high thin clouds.
We were close to the line of maximum totality duration, so we were able to look at the glowing ring in the dark sky for four minutes without eclipse glasses, and even passing around binoculars. The view through the binoculars was quite impressive despite the imperfect clarity of the sky. Through the binoculars, what had looked like an irregular white ring around the moon, could be resolved into red, orange, and yellow regions of coronal activity, with a particular large bright red solar prominence sticking out past the 'bottom' of the moon.
I'm very glad we made the trip.
I am pretty darn happy.
Congratulations! :cool:
What a fantastic emotion is to achieve good marks. Right?
After 36 hours of meditation on this, I got nothing but a dislocated hip.
Being a hamster, nature's nimble trapeze artists, that must have took quite a bit of effort! Fortunately, hamsters are known for their incredible recovery speed, thus earning them a top spot in the animal kingdom. In my book, at least. Bravo.
Great! Something to brag about! :cool:
I've had tough professors so nothing was good enough. :roll:
Same here. It felt like my professors were allergic to give high marks to the students. :meh:
For example: el profesor de inglés me puso mala nota...
That phrase should be literally translated as 'the English teacher put me a poor mark' but it turned out the proper verb is 'give'. So, the correct translation is: the English teacher gave me a poor mark.
:gasp:
It is known that dogs and insects and whales and lions see colour differently from us. Dogs smell differently from us. But I have never seen the sound question explored. Do they hear differently than us? It could be the elephant is there staring into the horizon, or perhaps it can experience Clair de Lune in a way that is inconceivable to us.
Well this one comes up with dogs quite often, hence dog whistle politics...
My theory is that dogs hear the same music we hear. Dogs appear to have zero interest, however, in these sounds, presumably because they have no capacity to respond to the music they are hearing. Music is to them what random noise is to us: meaningless. On the other hand, humans don't respond all that positively to kinds of music they have not previously encountered. My first encounter with the Peking Opera (from Beijing, 1984) was that that the sounds were harsh, discordant, and unpleasant.
Apparently some parrots are capable of responding to the rhythm of music, because they respond by moving rhythmically.
Some anecdotes I have heard suggest that cows respond to music -- country western, Mozart, whatever, by exhibiting calmer behavior.
Elephants' relationship to sounds may be quite different than that of dogs, cats, or giraffes.
Deer seem to be Simon and Garfunkel fans...
[tweet]https://twitter.com/i/status/1776588485035520259[/tweet]
Wolfgang is doing wicked manoeuvres again! @Baden
This review just came up in my feed for anyone interested https://physicsworld.com/a/entangled-entities-bohr-einstein-and-the-battle-over-quantum-fundamentals/
Thank you, thank you for this collective effort of scientific research, all of which I continue to collate and store! (Much like a hamster devouring peanuts, haha *burp* * fart* *chuckle*.)
:cheer:
If this is Wolfgang, I would consider renaming HER.
Yeah. I had a feeling back then that it was their way of getting you to try harder.
Quoting javi2541997
:up:
What name are you thinking of?
Henrietta or Isabel?
Maybe Catalina la Grande, I think sounds very distinguished and fitting.
Good to be in the old country for a while. You can’t see it in this photograph but there was a goose near the pond that seemed to be making the sound of a sheep (“baaaa”) because there was a nearby sheep hiding behind a bush.
Very different from where I am now. Drought, yellowish, brownish, etc. A classic landscape of La Mancha:
PD: be careful of geese... it is another animal who works for the government, like pigeons.
If I were First Minister of Scotland I would donate three quarters of this season's Scottish rain to Spain, as I'm aware of your drought. There's been so much rain here over the past few weeks that the crops are failing and the lambs are dying.
Quoting javi2541997
I've lived with geese. They are terrorists. Pigeons are ok.
Yes indeed, and the North of England too, and probably Wales, and probably Ireland. They're called dry stone (or drystane) dykes. They do courses in how to build them. I'd like to do it.
It's interesting to hear how others still live elsewhere.
Scotland alone has more bridges than the US.
Oh! Such a lovely gesture! Yes, we have an important shortage of water. There are some mayors in Catalunya and Andalucía who already put restrictions on the use of water. It is probably the biggest challenge of my country in this century, but our politicians are not making a big effort towards it...
Quoting Jamal
Cool! Next time I see a pigeon I will 'hats off' to him. :grin:
Yeah, the border with Mexico is a good example of that inclusiveness. :lol:
There are over 600,000 bridges in the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridges_in_the_United_States_by_state#:~:text=This%20list%20of%20bridges%20in,600%2C000%20bridges%20in%20the%20U.S.
There are 4,970 bridges in Scotland.
https://www.transport.gov.scot/transport-network/roads/bridges-and-structures/#:~:text=We%20maintain%204970%20structures%2C%20including,mast%20lighting%20and%20retaining%20walls.
Based upon this information, I stand corrected. 6 is lower than 497 and zeros count for nothing. Scotland wins this round, but the US will get them next time.
Damn all of you! Damn you all!
Walls and fences are different things. We have more walls than Scotland also. At least I think so, but I'll defer to the numbers
But they share a common principle: avoid inclusiveness.
Can confirm. Very similar landscape and ovine antics.
I saw that many before breakfast.
Your land must be composed of small pod islands stitched together by a network of bridges, with the inhabitants of each northward pod speaking in progressively more muddled dialects, at the far extreme north sounding like a jackhammer of drunken rolling Rs.
That explains that.
Where I live, we have a single long bridge that we count 600,000 times. It goes nowhere, but we have it to keep out of the rain. Before the Bridge Legislation of 1804, we were a sopping nation. Now we're bone dry, like a perfect martini.
I'm fighting the AI takeover with these sorts of posts. It could never mimic this brilliance and keeps me necessary.
Yes, "necessary" is the word I was looking for.
Stone fences are popular hereabouts.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/snowdonia-slate-fence.html?sortBy=relevant
Slate must be more available there than here. It's interesting to think about a farmer having constructed that 100s of years ago and it still stands.. Nothing here is more than a few decades old it seems.
I think it's a difference of height. A deer can jump over a fence, but not a wall.
A fence is perhaps a subset of a wall, but not vice versa. I have walls in my house that I'd never call a fence, but I could call my fence in my yard a wall of sorts.
If the definition of a wall is dependent upon how high a deer could jump, then walls must exceed 7 feet according to my deer jumping sources. https://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Mammals/Whitetail-Deer/Fencing-to-Exclude-Deer#:~:text=An%20adult%20deer%20can%20easily,short%20fences%20(4%20ft.)
Then what of Olympian deer that can jump 10 or even 12 feet?
To me a hedge is a live planted shrub, although a dead shrub would still be a hedge, albeit in heaven. A wall then might be inorganic, but never a shrub. A shrub is then a subset of a wall requiring at least one carbon atom, among other things. Deer can eat all shrubs, but not all walls.
Another barrier is lack of intelligence, which is described by what it isn't composed of, like a hole. A deer will not be admitted into Harvard because of the intelligence barrier.
Good for him. Co-dependence is a terrible thing to permanently instill unto a young child. Count yourself lucky to have been present in the aura of such foresight and wisdom.
I provided the same for my son. He would ask me to play the card game War over and over with him, so I showed him how he could play with the owl figurine we had by dealing him in and flipping the cards for him. I'd see him later go grab the deck of cards and the owl and play for hours.
Maybe when he has kids, I'll send him the owl and that worn out deck of cards.
I never heard of such until now. It could arguably be considered a ditch more than a wall. If it were to encircle the entirely of the pasture, it would be more of a moat, although a moat is typically filled with water and perhaps alligators and possibly dragons. Those are typically for keeping enemies out as opposed to livestock in.
A wall blocking water is a dam. There was a store near the dam near me and it was called the Dam Store. It burnt down. Yep, the Dam Store burnt down. True story.
Some dams double as a bridge. Did you remember to count them?
600,001. Thanks.
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
Oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
[sup]— Aizaz khan · MyElectricSparks · Jan 29, 2024[/sup]
:chin:
Probably the train has been one of the most important inventions of humanity, but the stupid car eclipsed the fragrance of transporting oneself along railroads...
I think it more has to do with bridges
Right, like...
The primary problem of hydrogen fuel is the challenge to create pure hydrogen. The secondary issue is the explosive nature of the fuel. The article you linked has a misleading title because nowhere is it revealed how BMW has actually solved the primary problem, and designed an efficient way to get pure hydrogen, and the secondary problem is not mentioned.
In the past, I think researchers have concentrated their efforts toward understanding the relationship between hydrogen and oxygen, but the important relationship is actually more of a three way relationship, hydrogen-carbon-oxygen, rather than the simple hydrogen-oxygen relationship. I believe that the key to efficient hydrogen production is a thorough understanding of the carbon/hydrogen relationship.
Plants produce sugars, and yeast converts sugar to ethanol. Methanol on the other hand, is a convenient source for useful hydrogen, but it is not produced in the same way as ethanol. I believe that through genetic manipulation we ought to be able to create organisms which produce methanol directly. We already have organisms which produce methane, and the relationship between methane and methanol is somewhat understood. But this field of activity, the production of methane, along with the relationship between methane and methanol, remains somewhat mysterious.
"Groovy" is a really cool word. I think it must be derived from the grooves of a vinyl record. Hum a tune and if the producer thinks you've got something worth vinyl: "hey that's groovy man!". I would think that's a really good feeling.
It seems to me that it is feeling the late stages of an acid trip, because the next stanza goes...
Simon don't need to get no rhymes from a lamp post, he's already imbibed in the full groove.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq-gYOrU8bA
I translated it into my language, and it means fabuloso or genial. We use these adjectives to describe something extraordinary.
I originally thought it meant something like "jazzy".
A) Irish dance-pop singer-songwriter. https://www.instagram.com/jazzyofficial__/
B) Adjective. Exciting or showy.
I guess that dance-pop singer-songwriter is both groovy and jazzy. Yeah, I definitely think so.
Google Ngram calculates the frequency of word usage based on its very large corpus of scanned printed matter.
"Groovy" was in use for all of the 20th century, but at a very low level until the 1960s. Whether "groovy" referred to a pleasant state of mind or merely the presence of peaks and valleys in otherwise flat surfaces isn't revealed in Ngram. One would think that "peak groovy" occurred in the 1960s/1970s but no -- the early 21st century was "peak groovy".
Apparently the financial crisis of 2007-2008 frosted grooviness to some extent.
More groovy details below.
The 80s was kind of a down period, probably all that industry hype about CDs taking over the market. The vinyl groove would be dead in its tracks. But grooviness just keeps coming in waves. Bring it on!
EVEN MORE GROOVY DETAILS!!!
Recent scholarship makes it clear that sound recording was invented twice: First by inventor Edouard-Léon Scott de Martinville in 1857 France, then 20 years later by Thomas Alva Edison in the United States. However, the Frenchman recorded sound for scientific analysis. His method didn't allow for playback. So, we can conclude that Thomas Edison is responsible for a lot of the grooviness going around.
Full disclosure: I have never been called groovy.
"Are you in the groove? You mean, 'ever diminishing circles'?" Marshal McLuhan
:lol:
What a name for a book! Did Thomas Dalzell write the basic handbook for seekers of the groovy?
Don't mention "kill" here. Remember Get Smart and the Groovy Guru. The Sacred Cows sing "Kill, Kill, Kill, Thrill, Thrill, Thrill"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gvkmTQgyQM
The 1980s were a downer, for sure. The 60's and 70s had been a time of great music and liberation with a contrasting crappy war, presidential assassination, and Richard Nixon's shenanigans. The 80s had Reagan and AIDS, Silence=Death, and the fucking silent majority.
I'll have to check out Flappers 2 Rappers. Thanks for the reference.
OMG, The Sacred Cows plagiarized The Fugs. I guess there's a lot of truth to that old comedy.
I am finding other ways to have breakfast... I am starting to get bored with eating tomato and olive oil every morning. It is healthy, yes. But everything has a limit.
After eating Tzatziki for breakfast, I wanted to sing "Milo mou kai mandarini". A lovely Greek folk song on my way to the station, where other responsible people (like me) take the train to go to uncertain locations.
I was excited by your first line to see a story that was to written in the second person, but then it quickly returned to first, like most others.
Just like olive and tomatoe for breakfast. Same ole same ole.
That sounds like a groovy trip, definitely not same ole same ole. But how is taking a ride to an uncertain location being responsible?
My intention was to attract your excitement and/or attention to the pleasure I experienced this morning while I was relishing the Tzatziki. So, the objective is done. I did it!
Yes, I tend to mix first, second and third person in the same story. I blame my dyslexia.
I promise I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was a kid.
Because that specific passenger is courageous enough to take a train and go wherever instead of staying home and working remotely.
I know I am very weird at using my logic and arguments. Please, be patient with me!
I am laughing at this. Because I personally believe I do things correctly by taking a train every morning instead of doing telework. :lol:
By knowing one's velocity with great accuracy?
Speaking of
Ignore the silly man after the deed.
But how is taking a train to go "wherever" classified as doing things correctly? What signals you to get off that train? And where do you go after you get off? Why would you even want to get off? What is "getting off"? It's a crazy world out there, I think you might just prefer to stay home and go to work.
Because trains do not pollute. They are friendly. You see a lot of people. A lot of faces. I feel cosy (or cozy). Just like I am sharing my time and doing my best with the rest of the passengers. While taking a car is something individualistic and it is toxic to the environment.
Quoting Metaphysician Undercover
Good questions.
Firstly, the train speaks with a female tone. It says: the next station is Atocha, orwe remind you that this train only goes to Villalba, etc.
How do I know I have to get off? When the train says the next station is curved. For example, the next station is Mendéz Álvaro. Be careful, the station is curved!
Where do I go? Well, I can't answer that. Everything is sporadic. I could end up in a land registry or a police department. It depends if it rains or not.
Quoting Metaphysician Undercover
Because each train has an end station. I never want to get off there. It scares me. Very spooky. This is why I have to get off in other stations (curved station if it is possible).
I like that. It reminds me of a song by Stone Temple Pilots, called "Plush":
"And I feel, so much depends on the weather
So is it raining in your bedroom?"
Quoting javi2541997
I agree, getting off at the end scares me too. I always want more after I get off. I wonder why.
I wonder why that too.
I just remembered something curious. When I attended college, I met a colleague who claimed he used to stay on the train from the first station to the last one.
He was lucky to live closer to one of the stations where the lines of the Madrid metro starts (or ends? ...) every morning.
He said: I take the train at Pinar de Chamartín and I do not mind waiting until Argüelles. The latter is the last station... but he never got off at that station. He always got off at Canillas or Velázquez.
It was crazy because I wanted to do the same one day, but I never tried it. Maybe this weekend! Who knows...
Bell’s theorem and its tests: Proof that nature is superdeterministic—Not random (pdf) — Johan Hansson · 2020
While one might argue that he can still function well as a politician, the former alone is kind of damning, sufficiently reality-removed to disqualify for public office. One might value dissidence, yet ...
Maybe religious fundamentalism / extremism is more common in the US (south) than I thought; maybe he's a symptom of reactionary sentiments/impulses; maybe his political career was carried by some sort of (unchallenged) subversive campaign (perhaps originating outside the US for that matter); ... Either way, it seems to me a sign of cultural decline, possibly not just in the US.
Insights, anyone?
[sup](didn't know if this topic is worthwhile a thread of its own)[/sup]
Why people vote the way they do is worth a thread of its own. It is a very contentious topic. Explaining voter behavior is a very contentious topic in itself.
Extreme views (religious, social, political, etc.) are held by significant numbers of adults, and not just in the south. A significant number of adults, whose views may not be extreme, can be manipulated by deploying polarizing rhetoric. A significant number of adults do not vote at all. The economy--inflation, unemployment, diminished security, a pandemic, etc. destabilizes confidence in the status quo.
American politics have shifted rightward, to some extent, and become more polarized. The far right is closer to falling off the deep end. The far left isn't the old Marxist left that focused on wages, unions, labor, and economic issues. They are now more focussed on social issues. That isn't all bad, but social issues engage people more than economic issues. A focus on wages and unions attracts the big guns of corporate power. A focus on gender, race, and ethnic identity activates the conservative rank and file.
All this plays out according to local politics. Some states have secure liberal majorities; others have secure conservative majorities. The political security of some states, like Wisconsin, is contested.
Some people long for a time when life was "simpler" and "nicer". The climate wasn't changing. Children were obedient. Men were men and women were women--full stop. A woman's place was in the home. Racial minorities knew their place (back of the bus, in the ghetto, not in OUR schools, etc.) Everyone went to church, believed in God, obeyed his laws. People who didn't were punished. Everyone worked hard for an honest day's wages. Men made the important decisions, God was in his heaven, and all was right with the world.
Never Never Land is gone and they want it back, and by god, they are going to get it back one of these days and make the liberal evil doers pay for their wickedness!!!
I think the far right isn't right at all. It's Trumpist, whatever that is.
I also think the far left is falling off the deep end.
Quoting BC
I agree with some things in here, some things not. I do like obedient children. I do think men and women are different. I do believe in God. I'll side with hard work and honest wages. I don't agree that women belong in the home or blacks in the back of the bus. I don't believe in punishing the non-religious or in giving men special rights to decide.
All those things don't go hand in hand.
Sure, people are individuals.
Do you think it fair to say that such traits are easier to find in conservatives than in liberals?
The items in the paragraph are not an extra-wide paint-roller description of what is, or of what was; it's a perhaps broad brush description of a time that never existed. Children have always been disobedient at times. Women have long borne a significant share of labor at home, in the factory, and on the farm. Sex was never simple. Minorities have justly resented and resisted their disadvantageous situations for a long time. Religious dissent has been a hallmark of the American experience since the getgo--some of the founding fathers held views that were far-out for their times. God has never gotten full compliance anywhere at any time. At various times in the past hard work was the alternative to starving to death -- it wasn't a devotion to hard work, per se.
Most people, just guessing, prefer a predictable orderly world where things are either getting better or are, at least, not falling apart. In fact, the world is as predictable and orderly as it has ever been (which doesn't mean heaven on earth). The world has always been getting better and falling apart, just not for the same people at the same time in the same place.
Those for whom the world is falling apart -- in their time and place -- wish for a past when their world was OK, or maybe was getting better. When they lose perspective, it can be overwhelming--evidence for disaster crops up all over the place.
I don't like some of the stuff that is going on in the world, but I don't think most of it is dangerous, and certainly not catastrophic (except for global warming and the enduring risk of nuclear war).
Conservatives tend to think the world is getting worse and progressives tend to think that it is getting better. Fancy that. You painted a rosy-eyed picture of the past to ridicule conservatives. Others will paint rosy-eyed pictures of the future to ridicule progressives. Same game, different team. The notion that the two sides lack symmetry is, in my opinion, the consequence of an echo-chamber.
But both can be equally wrong. Clinging to injustice is as wrong as insisting upon false equality.
As to my comment (can't speak for others), I wasn't surprised that you can find people with ridiculous beliefs, but that this fella' was elected for public office, by adults, now representing a large number of people. Is it then worthwhile asking how common such beliefs are? Or how he managed to get elected, more than once at that? Incidentally, a colleague of his was caught spreading false claims. Well then, how common is this sort of crap, since we're no longer just talking remote fringe out in the swamps? Ideally, I'd ask the voters, but can't. :)
Well, fantastic to have a review on Texas German. The word 'blanket' is literally the same in both Standard English and Texas German. This is important. I put a blanket on my head two hours ago, and I went to Mercadona to buy my meal.
When I was looking for the Tzatziki a Greek person approached me and said: excuse me, do you know why Formentera and Eivissa are called the Pitiusas Islands?
I answered: yes, because 'pitis' means pines in Greek. The islands were covered by a groovy and beautiful green blanket of pines, and the Greeks baptised those islands with that name.
The Greek person started to cry and me too, because of the poetic metaphor.
I removed the blanket from my head and I put it on the shoulders of the Greek. I invited him to eat at my home. We had a delicious jamón serrano and Greek salad. After the meal, we took a siesta but when I woke up, the Greek fellow was no longer in the saloon. Yet there was drawn the following on the blanket of before:
Your story is a common one, so much so that when it is described, it comes out in rhyme, and is sung to children who refuse to sleep.
I always wanted to write children's literature, but editors didn't allow me to publish due to my huge sense of nostalgia and existentialism. :grin:
There are many German communities around the New World. In Brazil there is a dialect of Low German that is almost extinct outside of the country — East Pomeranian. There is also Namibian German.
But it gets much more bizarre. There is Sri Lankan Portuguese (and Malaysian too), Italians in Lebanon, Mongol speakers in Russia and Afghanistan, and a South Indian language, Brahui, lost in the middle of Pakistan. And I am not talking about recent migration, each of these have been there for centuries — except the pasta folks in Lebanon, that was recent.
News from one of his philosophical opponents.
He was a deep thinker. I believe I've said it before, but he has the distinction of being one of the few philosophers of free will to contribute anything to the discussion, and doing so after everything had already been said.
I'm always sad to see anyone go, and so it goes with him. I never met him, but I've been influenced enough by his cadre, and impressed enough with his philosophy, that it made me sad to see a brilliant and beautifully stubborn mind go.
A TikToker in Northern Ireland who specialized in the slang of that area, found to her surprise, that the only people in the world who could understand her slang, were residents of Newfoundland Canada.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/newfoundland-slang-ireland-1.7160584
Compare him to Chalmers, for example, you wouldn't think they were engaged in the same inquiry.
I'm more sympathetic to Chalmers, tho I've come around a bit in feeling critical (as we all do, eventually).
What Dennet always provided was a strong position that could be attacked, and he provided it for that purpose -- it was what he really believed but he was also willing to expose what others might find dismissible.
I looked about and can't remember, but he had a witticism he wrote about ecumenical hybridism which I wanted to invert. My takeaway from the expression is he preffered clearly explicable, defendable, and yet strong stances over the wishy washy (which I tend to go towards).
Then I think about how when a long lost piece of skin or mist of sneeze finds it owner, what a warm embrace must follow. It'd be a slice of heaven in heaven.
Some people worry about their missing body parts, and some think that the cremated won't get a new body when all the dead are raised, incorruptible. I wasn't aware that Jews generally worried about this matter. It seems to be more of a fundamentalist anxiety. There is also the existential question as to whether the various growths and parasites that live on us are "us" or "them". Is a tape worm you or somebody else? Are you not your very own flesh-eating streptococci?
As for the fiery furnace, will that be a dirty coal fired furnace or a clean hydrogen furnace?
How about that patient who had covid for a year and a half, and mutated about 50 different variants of the virus right within his own body? Too bad they eventually killed him, that's their loss.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/books/daniel-dennett-dead.html
I see molly already noted this.
"Cremation is explicitly forbidden according to all authentic Jewish opinions and there are never any circumstances where it is permitted. Jewish law considers cremation as pure idol worship, and as "going in the ways of the gentiles." Any instructions to be cremated must be ignored without feelings of guilt or regret."
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/367836/jewish/Basic-Laws-of-a-Jewish-Funeral.htm
Fellow resident of my hometown, I remember he signed every book of his that the library had, with a little note saying “To the readers of Andover…”. I always liked that.
Went to a lecture of his when I was a freshman, met him briefly in the hallway. Seemed like a kindly old man.
I liked his take on religion — felt it was a better attitude than the others of the late 2000s, like Dawkins and Hitchens.
This interview (below) with Bill Moyers always stood out to me as fairly reasonable. The rest of his thinking I never found terribly interesting.
In any case— may he rest in peace. A real loss to the philosophy community— if there is one.
How is the Hebrew "law" of :speedy" entire body burial reconciled with autopsy practices/requirements of organ removal and examination which may take extensive periods of time depending on mode of death? Muslims have similar requirements, correct?
And on a silly note, how would a cannibal be divided up/ reallocated in heaven with regard to the recent pages' discussion of returning body parts and bits?
Not suggesting any S/box discussions are silly.... with a few exceptions.
Your questions relate to halacha, which is how Jewish law is interpreted, which, in itself, is a legalistic thought process that goes down all sorts of rabbit holes. Pick any question and start to think of exceptions or special circumstances and someone has probably analyzed it over the past few thousand years.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halakha
My best guess with your cannabilsm question is that you puree the cannibal and inject the resultant gazpacho into the uneaten portions of deceased grandpa, thus reconstituting the Jewish decedent with his former body contents and now allowing for a lovely service.
But I'm not a rabbi, so I could be wrong.
I tend toward much more liberal strands of Judaism and find value in the respect for humanity that is exhibited by the sacred treatment of the dead, so I'd be fine with whatever forms of autopsy or burial that promote that spirit without worrying as much about strict adherence to legalistic rules. But that's me.
An Electric New Era for Atlas (— Boston Dynamics · Apr 17, 2024)
No need to panic until someone from the future leaves behind neuromorphic hardware. (Or we develop practical neuromorphic hardware ourselves.)
Light her up, as an evil spirit I think.
Thanks.Well nuanced short article.
Can relate to rabbitholes considering divergency of views / interpretations whenever religion is discussed.
Wouldn't Gasphartchio be a better name? As a tribute to yr wrongly overlooked and underappreciated pureed can-a-ball comment. sad smile.
Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!
For fairness sake, we need a Free Jilly bar, a naked gay bar for gay women and for straight who like to stare. Maybe call it Creepy's.
I also don't feel like the trans supporters are going to win the public restroom or sports participation battle.
I misplaced my thread on Dennett and put it in the Lounge instead of General, if you or any mod can fix this please, it would be appreciated.
I put it in general.
Thank you.
The NHS just shut down a trans clinic for gross negligence. No quality research has been done on the long term outcomes of providing surgery and hormones to kids. The US is in the process of outlawing it. And I don't think the pronoun thing has legs either. Most people think it's stupid.
Quoting BC
That's exactly what detransitioners say. They say it's an illusion that a biological woman can live a normal life as a male.
Quoting BC
I don't think anybody is going to worry about the climate. They'll just adapt as it changes.
Quoting frank
Although we have to adapt to the challenge of global heating, it is an issue (or matter) that we all should care about. Sadly, the politicians or other important representatives are not taking care of, or at most, they are not making a great effort. There are some who deny global heating, and others overreact to it. Promising a lot, but with low practice in reality. What I am 100 % certain is that my country is becoming deserted, and some regions are close to be run of water. This is a fact. You can check the weather and water supply of Catalunya, and it is scary. As frank pointed out, we should have to adapt. I guess this is what is in the politicians' minds... because they are aware everything is a disaster regarding climate change.
And yes, it is obvious this is more important than gender issues. I read around the Internet that trans topics are the trend of millennials. I couldn't have said it better. Again, I am sorry on behalf of my generation.
I believe that transsexuals (most are M to F) are living a fantasy, proped up with hormones and in many cases, surgery. At least some, maybe many, are happy with the results. But it's still a fantasy, still a delusion.
Some men (a few women too, I guess) find a great deal of satisfaction in transvestitism--wearing the clothing of the opposite sex. They also seem to find a great deal of satisfaction in wearing the hair/wig clothes, makeup, and miscellaneous accoutrements of the opposite sex. But then they put on their ordinary clothes and go to work.
Many men find a great deal of satisfaction in sculpting a hyper-masculine persona of ripped physiques and extensive tattoos. It likely takes a lot of time, hard labor, and hormones to achieve the most elaborate goals. Wrap-around, neck to knee tattoos are expensive. Attractive? Oh yes, sexy as hell. The average man in today's gay porn (for instance) or some fashion magazines is far beefier, far more defined, nearly hairless, and decorated than average men were in similar photos 55 or 60 years ago.
We humans entertain all sorts of fantasies and delusions about ourselves, about: how masculine / feminine we appear; how beautiful we are; how healthy we are (chewing bushels of kale); how inventive, how holy and good; how politically astute; how smart, how funny, and on and on. We are flawed, but the flaw isn't in fantasizing: the flaw is mistaking the fantasy for reality. The flaw is taking the delusion as truth.
Damn it!
Mercadona's gazpacho is pretty good, actually. Don't confuse gazpacho with salmorejo. The latter has bread on it! Both are delicious. I don't know how it is in your countries, but here it is very common to put gazpacho on the menu for weddings... most of the guests are expecting this dish.
Oh, there is also green gazpacho which is made with cucumbers and fruit. It is disgusting.
Some People in the richer cooler areas of the earth will adapt to global warming. People in the hottest parts of India and the Middle East will be dead. Millions in coastal areas will drown or flee, leaving everything behind. millions of people will starve or be unable to find drinking water. Being dead will be their adaptation.
When? We will have to wait a few decades for the world-class climate crises to arrive. Maybe 4 decades--2064, say. If you can move to an area that will be tolerable for the rest of your expected life, start working on that now. Finding a safe refuge is a bit dicey. For instance, if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation that funnels warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the shores of Ireland and Norway shuts down (because of Greenland's fresh water pouring into the salty ocean) Europe will not just be cool, it will be colder than it has been in a long time -- several millennia. This could happen on short notice. In that case, hot dry ?España might be better than frigid Norway.
I plan on being dead in a few years. Old age has its advantages.
This made me feel terribly sad and melancholic after I read it... I understand death is a natural thing, it comes to all of us, and some are closer than others on this site because you are +70 years old. Yet, whenever this happens, I will miss you a lot. :broken:
We should write an obituary when a member of TPF passes away. Unless some of you declare something different in a will. I made a will a few years ago. I have to change it. I feel the people I named as my beneficiaries no longer deserve it.
I am now wondering if someone could name a member of TPF (or the site itself) as beneficiary. I guess I have to name an administrator to meet with the heirs. The administrator of my will and goods will be @T Clark and my will is that I divide the goods among you, my friends.
Perhaps, but why dwell on those who fare poorest? Canada will become a retiree's paradise with its warm summers and mild winters all along Hudson Bay and the Northwest Passage.
Also, all the "more discussions" involve abolishing something. What is going on.
Yep
The Japanese have desalination plants, some for industrial use and some for the water supply. Where are the Spaniards going? Texas?
My garage is already filled with enough junk.
This will increase the available salt supply, which will finally bring salt prices down. I have gone too long with poorly salted eggs and french fries, so I welcome global warming with open arms.
Do you just walk around with open arms welcoming it?
Sort of like Frankenstein.
No, mate! Most of us go to Ireland or the UK. There is a good diaspora of Spaniards working there. I even found Spaniards in remote regions or cities like Brighton or Leicester. Texas is very far, and it is expensive to fly there. Thanks for the invitation, anyway. :smile:
I will keep living here. I don't mind if Castilla turns into a desert like Morocco or Tunisia.
Junk!!!!??? Do you really call junk my 2003 golden medal Madrid regional swimming championship? Ingratitude at its finest!
I do!
Well now I don't know what to do.
I can see you out there hiding in a cave from one of those desert tigers who evolved due to climate change. You're writing in a little journal about Japanese desalination plants and planning your next foray into the market town to see that girl.
Hey, thanks for caring. I know there have always been quarrels between Castillians and Portuguese... but now times are different, and we are now friends. Olivença is still part of Extremadura, but please, do not care that much about that region... it is very undeveloped. They do not have train connection with Madrid. I mean, it is not a 'loss' whether Olivença is part of Portugal or not.
This week is the 50th anniversary of Revolução dos Cravos. It took part on 25 April 1974. I was born on 25 April 1997. Maybe I was a Portuguese citizens in my past life but I do not have memories of it!
Note: Cravos = Claveles = Carnation.
Spain is the country with the most people living in caves in Europe. It is crazy how many families live in the caves in Granada. I am writing stuff. Not journal papers but fables. :smile:
Is there a lot of bloodshed?
Quoting javi2541997
I don't know what to say about that. Are they cannibals?
Just troglodytes :^)
There are gypsies (if they count as cannibals)
Quoting javi2541997
I thought troglodytes lived under ground and gypsies lived in little wooden caravans.
Chill your room.
I don't know who wrote this drivel, but it is wildly and ridiculously optimistic, especially the last line.
Yes, Atheism.
I think whoever wrote that is ready to drink the coolaid.
No different than "it's always darkest before the dawn". Nothing wrong with giving people hope and life purpose in the form of factual anecdotal possibility, distinct from false hope as would be "everything you desire will occur as you imagine if you believe X or "nothing bad will happen to you if you follow Y", for example.
In fact, it can be argued, on the other hand, believing one knows as absolute fact the ultimate and absolute nature of reality and all possible forms of existence based on what can or has been observed in a man's short, limited life and resulting experience is what is truly ridiculous and close-minded. 1,000 years ago if you told people mankind would be able to communicate with any person anywhere on Earth in an instant or explore the skies and ocean depths as any bird or aquatic creature does, you'd be considered just as absurd and woefully misguided as any atheist today sees you now. That's the thing about man, he's always right. Until he's not. :wink:
Nothing wrong with subscribing to the Socratic philosophy of "The only thing I know is that I know nothing" and keeping an open mind, I'd say. Of course, anything man creates or commandeers (organized religion in this case) is bound to have its dangers and potential for abuse and negative outcome.
The logically omitted possibility is that sometimes his answer is no. It would follow that an all wise God wouldn't help you find your next fix of heroin and an all good God would eventually lead you in the right direction, which would be cause for optimism.
But then there's that pesky monkey wrench of true, undeniable evil.
There's an old saying along the lines of "never assume malice toward that which can be adequately explained by stupidity". Not sure if I particularly agree with that, of course it depends on a variety of factors unique to the person or situation, surely.
Still, ignorance is often called evil. For example, a child putting his father in mortal danger because he punished the child, whether appropriately and within reason or not. For example. No? People can be vindictive and outright cruel, sometimes as a response to their environment and it being all they've ever known, sometimes simply for the positive endorphin rush and feeling of "power" over others, perhaps due to having felt powerless throughout a large portion of their life by a despicable person who you happen to remind them of, or perhaps just for the feeling itself. I'm not sure if I'd call these acts inherently (undeniably) "evil". Would you?
The child in that example is acting deliberately. First, because he didn't behave accordingly, and his father punished him. But instead of redeeming himself, he goes for revenge, putting the father in danger. We have a Karamazov child here. A nihilistic, a little boy who wants to live without rules and moral authority.
Save for the born-psychopath karamozovs of the world, it takes time and a whole batch of bad stuff to produce a nihilist who really has no interest in the moral aspects of life.
So what are we going to do with this young bad actor -- life without parole?
It is always darkest before the dawn because 3:30 a.m is only relatively darker than 4:30 a.m., given the increasing light of dawn. Things don't naturally reach rock bottom (the darkest hour) and then rebound. Usually things reach rock bottom and stay there.
I am not a student of the dawn, so I don't know how dark it is just before sunrise. I prefer to let the sun reach somewhere overhead before I get out of bed. I can speak to the darkness between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. however. It's pretty damn dark.
Is this a form of chemical warfare? As many as 50,000 people die from Fentanyl ODs every year. It shows up in cocaine, heroin, K, weed, meth, etc. A therapeutic dose is quite tiny; an OD is still not very much.
One thing is picking up a loaded gun, and the other is to kill a person. The first action is done without any interest. The second goes deliberately. We often take for granted that toddlers are not ready to understand what is bad, good, evil, unethical, etc. But I think we make a big mistake here. I would say with boldness that there have been innate negative thoughts since we were kids, such as envy and revenge.
I have always picked up a knife in my kitchen, but I have never had the aim of killing a family member.
Quoting BC
No! I understand he has to be jailed for a considerable time. This is a big debate, but I am against life without parole. Every criminal and every felony are different, but when we are talking about familiar crimes, such as fratricide, we should look at this from a different perspective. At least, I will give my best to redeem the soul of the child...
It doesn't matter if he is in or out of prison. He will carry with him the sordid sense of guilt for killing his brother for the rest of his life. What kind of punishment is worse than this?
Unless you're just projecting your sense of empathy on a psychopath.
It would be a wonderful world if malice were just bad judgment, where if only people were tempered enough to have thought through the consequences of their actions they wouldn't have committed them.
What of the kid who is happy he killed his parents, or those who never gave it a second thought?
I knew I would read a similar question, but you already answered it, Hanover:
Quoting Hanover
If the child doesn't have regret after killing a parent or sibling, he is clearly mentally ill. This is very difficult to proceed with. We can at least agree that psychopathy is an illness.
I understand this child deserves to be punished by the law anyway. But what would be more rational? Put him in prison or in a mental sanatorium?
Furthermore, what is the point of life sentencing without parole to a sick child with a low sense of reality? Don't you think?
What if he attacks other prisoners when he is locked in?
This is the "why do we put imprison?" question. Is it to rehabilitate, to punish, to deter others, to just incapacitate the offender? I think it's usually a combination of all these things.
If you have a child who kills his parents, we'd like to make him better, we'd like to teach him a lesson, we'd like to let others know that sort of behavior won't be tolerated, and we'd like to protect society from him.
I'm not necessarily a fan of just sorting the good from the bad and locking down the bad, but I also have a limited appetite for accomodating bad behavior and I only can shed so many tears for the predators.
I feel the same, but I tried to give a different view on something complex like putting a toddler in prison. Our criminal procedure doesn't allow us to lock kids in prison. They can only be locked down in a 'probation centre' until the young criminal is 18 years old and is transferred to a prison. What I disagree is with proceeding against a child if he was like an adult. I think this is a mistake.
Anyway, this is a serious and difficult task for every court/judge in countries where the guarantees of being legally assisted are assured.
I didn't want to go for the easiest way: yeah, lock him up for life because a 9 years old has the same sense of reality and awareness of his actions as a 35 years old.
The toddler example challenges the element of intent, where we set an age where we don't believe people have the requisite understanding of the consequences of their actions to hold them fully accountable. The age is officially 18, although some jurisdictions allow for 17 and when it's younger than that, the judge can decide if they should be tried as an adult, but I don't think it ever gets younger than 15, but I'm not sure.
It's for the same reason you have things like statutory rape laws where it is assumed someone below a certain age cannot consent because they cannot understand the consequences of their actions.
What's interesting is that it used to be that the less sophisticated the jurisdiction, the lower the age of consent was for sex. Rural states kept that age very low and industrialized states kept the age higher. Today it's flipped, where the less sophisticated states have become conservative and have increased the age of consent and the other states (and Europe) have dropped the age.
Exactly. This is the point I wanted to state: a child should not be punished by the law like an adult because he doesn't fully understand the consequences of a felony. But I am not attempting to defend exclusiveness but 'contra bonos mores' for acting against a basic knowledge of morality (if a child has some).
Quoting Hanover
Yeah, and this is one of the main topics which intrigued me the most about civil law. You can get married at just 14 years old here, but for sexual consent, it is needed at 16–18 years old. Another interesting fact is the law only refers to girls and not boys. I guess this is due to females being prone to suffer more sexual harassment than boys statistically.
The Roman Empire allowed children at just 12 years old to get a scope of supply thanks to 'venia aetis'. Nonetheless, Roman legislators considered it mature enough for a person at only 14 years old.
The span object of debate about consent was always that: 12, 14, 16, 18 or even 21 years old. As you explained, there were differences between rural and industrialised areas.
But the curiosity is that most of the legislation limited one age or another to consent to marriage, but not sex, because the latter was implicit.
(Don't have sex until the wedding!), yet now it is different (at least here). There are more barriers to consent towards sex acts.
Is that for the sake of saving expressions like: "The Depth of his Moral Depravity?
'Who put Marjorie Taylor Greene in charge?' Conservative media sours on far-right rep
[sup]— Carl Gibson · AlterNet · Apr 23, 2024[/sup]
:D good grief what a circus
As long as the depth is measured in fathoms, (unless it is unfathomable, of course), I have no problem with the depth of moral depravity, unless it it claimed to be spherical in which case the radius would be its maximal depth.
Now Dante sort of had an underground parking garage. Does that give a finite depth with an infinite capacity to expand horizontally as generations piled on? Talk about a growth industry.
Quoting Apr 18, 2024
I'd take it that an elected official would meet a minimal baseline. But, hey, a societal decline explains it well enough. Greene is just another fine circus clown. Will we see dome-flat-Earth'ers making grand decisions as elected politicians next? :D Maybe it's a postmodernist type thing.
The Integrated Triad
A derivation of the Trinity within our rational comprehension.
[sup]— Johanan Raatz · Mar 26, 2017 · 8m:48s[/sup]
There are some comments here and there by the author.
Double the age now that I was then, and running anywhere is pretty much a distant memory.
If you are doing a 5k for your health, great. The important thing (for your health) is to keep moving, and move hard enough to increase / maintain cardio and major muscle capacity over time.
To get a target heart rate, subtract your age from 220. Then multiply the result by .50, .65, .75, or 85. The result is your target heart rate. So, for a 50 year old whose fitness level is unknown, it's 220-50 x .65 or 85 beats per minute. That's where an otherwise healthy person might start out, running just hard enough to maintain 85 bpm for 10 or 15 minutes.
If you already exercise regularly and don't have health problems, you might try for a heart rate of 127 bpm. 144 bpm would be 85% of the maximum heart rate.
The idea is to start exercising at a rate below 85% of maximum, and over time work up to 85%. Then, try to maintain an exercise level where your heart rate remains close to 85% for something like 30 minutes. No pain, no gain? Nobody's life was improved by having a heart attack, so don't start at the top.
Only the young athlete should think about exceeding 85%.
Sure it is. You think he is a poor official because he does not assent to the scientific theory of evolution. Or to quote myself, it is the idea that, "if a leader is not a scientist or acquiescing to popular science this will make him a poor leader."
Presumably this is your argument:
What I am pointing to is a validity problem, where science-rationality and politics-rationality are two different kinds of rationality. So failure to assent to Evolution is not a litmus test for a candidate receiving my vote. But again, I think the Overton window is the bigger issue.
That nonetheless have many things in common. Among others: avoiding non-sequuntur, knowing how to write and read clearly, considering alternate points of view, etc.
They had a shower at your work? That is actually pretty impressive, making me think you were either very competitive and obsessive about your health or dealing with depression and anxiety. I say that only because I think to the time when I used to do kickboxing, and I would go back to back to back sessions, spending two hours in hard core cardio to where I could barely walk to the car when it was over. I had my own competition in my head with all those around me where I was working harder than everyone else.
I was in amazing shape, but not so much from the neck up. But I overshare.
Quoting BC
My heart rate will get up to 185-190 on the elliptical machine. I slow down when I see stars. I can see the people's machines next to mine and they can't get that high. I totally kick their ass and they're like half my age. They're losing so bad they don't even know there's a race going on.
My HR hits 180 when I push. The 225 minus age calculation doesn't work well for trained athletes. However I did see a youtube last week that cited a study where older athletes who continued to do intensive "threshold" training have a higher than average incidence of cardiac events.
Johnson holds that the Earth is half a dozen 1000 years old. The universe, too. Sure, I guess biological evolution is out the window then (which, granted, it likely is in any case here). For that matter, his reading of the Bible comes first, before (the laws of) the US. I suppose a sliding Overton window is a good description (assuming I understand it right).
When was the last time I saw Neon Genesis Evangelion? Maybe years. This anime traumatised me...
:D Lovely spot by the way. My last visit to Spain was Peñíscola, another lovely, albeit tourist'y, spot. Some of the restaurants in the castle area make great paella. :ok: In-land from there has that beautiful Spanish countryside, nature, scattered villages.
Quoting jorndoe
Yeah, Castellón is a pretty province and Peñíscola one of its gems. It is the most unknown region, because tourists tend to go to Alicante or Valencia.
Quoting jorndoe
I dislike Paella haha. But, yes, they are the masters of this dish.
Quoting jorndoe
:up: :smile:
I recommend you to visit Cabo de Palos (Murcia) or Polop de la Marina. Not touristic zones and very friendly places.
I've been to Pensacola. Never had a Penis Cola though.
Yes, on campus -- an athletics department building next to where I worked. I was a bit compulsive and heading towards major depression, but wasn't quite there yet. I was about as fit then as I ever would be. Fit feels good.
When I had a Y membership, I liked the stairclimber and rowing machine.
Another incredibly based post, as usual.
I mean, the list of things you gave read like something out of a partisan tabloid, and so it's hard to give them credence without proper substantiation. For instance, I opened an article from The Guardian on Johnson's supposed "theocracy." I only skimmed the article for quotations, but the evidence looks paper-thin. Here are the two primary quotations that are given:
"Therefore, Johnson is a theocrat. QED." :chin:
In the U.S. "theocrat" basically means, "He's religious and I disagree with him politically."
We could do a poll, but what's the point? It's like conducting a survey to find out whether forum participants breathe. As they sang in HAIR! the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, 1968.
I will sip upon a beer and imagine I am having an equal amount of fun.
Agreed, BC. Polls are useless. More if the subject of the polls is political elections.
Quoting BC
:lol:
1968. The 1960s... LSD, masturbation, orgies, hippies, flowers against the Vietnam War, etc. The good old golden times which will never come back again...
I am very happy to notice you are already used to my weird posts. Why didn't I get banned then? Because I handed 1 Kg of Bomba rice to Jamal and Baden as a bribe.
Wow. Impressive. I ran to catch a train once and it nearly killed me. I don't believe I have actually properly run since around 1981-82.
Curiously, my friends are mostly getting fat and dying. I lost a vegetarian athlete friend who had a massive stroke at 42. Other friends have been dying off from cancer, heart disease and depression/suicide. All of them went to gyms and worried about what they ate. I don't give a shit about any of that (although I have an innate dislike of sugar, soft drinks, fatty foods and red meat) and I weigh what I did when I was 20. On the other hand, living to the age of 98 like my father did fills me with horror. I am already bored now (for the most part) and can't imagine 40 more years.
I hope you have a good time here!
If you were Colombian, it would be 1kg of something else.
Oh! A riddle! I love them. Let me guess...
1kg of Quindío coffee?
Bingo!
Here you'll find a good lot of smart people, some grumpy old-timers, and such.
Hang your virtual coat in the virtual lobby, grab a virtual coffee, enjoy. :)
I'll be careful don't worry :)
There are some worrisome trends. One is from a 10 year trend--young people (in their 30s and 40s) dying from colorectal cancer. One of my nephews--otherwise healthy--died of that at 42. That type of cancer used to be a rarity in people under 60.
Deaths among my peers (late 70s) are a fact of life. Quite a few of my classmates from high school are dead. In 2021, the average age at death for white men was 76.8.
My father lived to 102. I do not want to live that long. How long? Hard to pick a number. 80? 90? I am curious about what will happen next -- to the climate, the economy, politics, society in general. I still enjoying learning. The major downside of old age for me is physical deterioration impeding mobility, independent living, and all that. For others it's clearly mental deterioration. Which is worse?
Geez, surely there are less depressing things to talk about!
Don't you have a short story to write? :smirk:
[hide="Reveal"]
This is the best product name for one of those vans with a suction pipe ever.
It's a super sucker!
It's a jetting machine!
It's a super sucker cum jetting machine!
Talk about multiorgasmic!
The Comanches' motive was revenge for the murder of their family at some point in the past. John Wayne's character's (Ethan) motive was also revenge, which he ultimately got, saving who he could and killing the leader Comanche.
Everyone was equally brutal and racist. Ethan tried to kill one of his own family members who had been kidnapped because she had been sullied sexually by a Comanche and he despised another family member for being a "half-breed," because he was part Native American.
Ethan was bitter, vengeful, had been a former insurgent (fought for the Confederacy), and refused to take an oath as a Texas Ranger because he remained in rebellion. In short, he was a dick.
The movie was from 1956, so I don't know what it meant to say. Was I to buy into the idea that the Indians were barbarians? Was I to challenge that notion? Was I to admire Ethan's rugged individualism? Was I to admire the Comanche chief's commitment to his cause, even as he showed off his scalpings? Was the whole thing apolitical and just showing the stark reality of a Darwinistic lawless frontier?
Topical, right?
Any other westerns someone might recommend?
Nice. The Searchers is considered one of the greatest golden era movies of all time by one of the greatest auteurs, John Ford. Scorsese worships this film. The only westerns I like are made by Italians.
Agreed, Hanover. Yet we have a special channel for Western movies. It continuously shows movies by Sergio Leone or other 'Spaghetti Western' works. I think they have a good appreciation because they were filmed here.
Quoting Hanover
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Pretty good, emotional and melancholic. It is far from a 'topical' Western movie, but it is a Western one.
No idea. Perhaps gone underground?
They do tend to resurface now and then though.
[Source: The Penguin Guide to Hamsters, p. 294]
[Source: The Hamster Guide to Penguins, p.294]
Disclaimer: Avian anatomy is not a Hamster's strong point.
Quoting Baden
It is completely understandable. The human world is ropey and corrupt. It is full of viciousness and lacks ethical standards.
Quoting Baden
I am searching for this holy book in my local bookstores. They say it is not translated yet. So I will ask for a shipment from Kennys. :heart:
:smile: :up:
Signs of spiders from Mars
[sup]— ESA · Apr 24, 2024[/sup]
Hundreds of black 'spiders' spotted in mysterious 'Inca City' on Mars in new satellite photos
[sup]— Stephanie Pappas · Live Science · Apr 25, 2024[/sup]
After a while we grew tired of nutting penguins and we started using puppy nuts from the local neuterama. Tasted like walnuts, just rawhidier.
I can't find what a 'neuterama' is on the Internet. It hasn't an equivalent word to Spanish. It seems like a zoo or pet shop. But I urgently need to know what a 'neuterama' is, because I tend to suffer anxiety when I read words that I can't understand.
PD: I just found this: What is a “Neuterama?” For the last 8 years, my CARE Cat program has recruited veterinary professionals from within our community to volunteer their vital time and skills to spay and neuter cats in need. https://winnipeghumanesociety.ca/another-great-year-for-neuterama-2020/
I think I now understand what Neuterama could mean.
castración station
:scream:
Yikes! That word started to get a spooky vibe...
I guess you don't want to hear about when I was a kid holding the port side legs of a piglet, while my brother handled the starboard side, and my father approached the aft end.
You know it isn't, but for the farmer's good. But we no longer do it to human boys for the pleasure of the singing voices of castrati. That's progress.
You can find it here, which is the internet. I had thought I made the word up. There aren't enough words for me to express my thoughts sometimes. It's hard to be me.
Things are looking up around here, now we have nautical farmyard reference. :rofl:
What does happen when I can't find it on the Internet either?
Quoting Hanover
Yes, indeed.
Anyway, he bought a present in a souvenir shop in the Málaga train station. He gave me a pair of cute and cosy socks.
But there is currently being a big debate in the kitchen about what vegetable - or fruit - is sewn in the sock.
I say it is a tomato but my father states it is a strawberry.
I told him I would search for some consensus in TPF...
What do you guys think? Tomato or strawberry?
If that's what tomatoes look like where you come from, I'd contact your local agricultural administration immediately. Right after a doctor.
Strawberries have a pitted rough exterior that whoever manufactured those items of apparel attempted, woefully, to replicate.
So yeah. Strawberry for sure.
They'd answer you 'they are the best tomatoes ever!' :sweat:
Quoting Outlander
I thought the same at first glance. But the green stem seems too big for a strawberry...
Quoting Outlander
+1 for strawberry sock! It is the main choice at the moment!
'Watermelon' was not set in the beginning. Yet looking closer to my pretty socks, the fruit/vegetable sewn on them could be a watermelon as well...
Watermelon? Strawberry? Tomato?
Please people! Hurry up! Or I have the risk of not eating noodles today.
Whatever ambiguity there might be in terms of what sort of socks they are, one thing is for certain. They are ruggedly masculine.
I read that mules must be castrated or they go wild and are out of control. You're not even allowed to bring an uncastated mule to your muling events due to their disruptions, assuming you go to muling events. https://www.ruralheritage.com/new_rh_website/resources/mules_donkeys/gelding_john_mule.shtml
Whether a mule is happier castrated, I don't know. I would suspect the lady donkeys and horses are happier without a bucking mule coming at them. I know I would be.
I didn't know what to eat for supper this night, but that idea is tempting... leave me a few hours alone in the kitchen and I will tell you the result.
Quoting unenlightened
True. The correct place for fruit is our noses.
Mules (the 4 legged animal with big ears, not the shoe--see picture) are pretty big and strong, the better to trample people with. Gelded or intact, mules tend to be bitter and resentful because of their perverse parentage, sterility, and low social status. Donkeys don't get good press, either. It all goes to horses.
Would a fashion minded mule want to wear mules like these?
I was unaware of the word to describe a shoe with no back to contain the heel. Now I know and my life that much closer to complete.
I did a little reading about mules, and I learned that typically mules are not shoed like horses, although you would shoe a mule if you were to take him on rocky journeys. If shoed with a mule, then they'd be muled I suppose.
Your question then is whether you would mule a mule. I would start by asking if you're referring to a molly mule or a jack mule. If a jack, then only if a drag jack, but if a molly, only if a fashonista molly. I would suggest a pastel saddle mule for Easter, leaving your Oreo model for brunch with the other mollies, perhaps while sipping a mimosa.
:meh:
Here https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/beg-the-question
First line is how people use it
Second line is the philosophical definition
Okay, I now understand you. Thanks for taking your time to explain to me. :smile:
The Corruption of the American Mind: How Foreign Funding in U.S. Higher Education by Authoritarian Regimes, Widely Undisclosed, Predicts Erosion of Democratic Norms and Antisemitic Incidents on Campus
[sup]— NCRI · Nov 6, 2023 · 53 pages[/sup]
A bot or a motivated TPF learner/apprentice? The time will let us know...
Breakfast: coffee and magdalenas.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention Javi. The situation is being closely monitored.
Grilled cheese sandwich with two slices of ham in the middle.
There's a problem with this sandwich, which is that the ham doesn't submit to the teeth as easily as the cheese, and to make this even worse, the ham gains no traction within its pocket of unctuous, slippery, melted cheese. The result is that the thing is always on the cusp of collapse without a level of ongoing maintenance that prevents full enjoyment.
But ham and melted cheese are combined in famously good sandwiches, such as the croque monsieur. What is the secret of their construction?
Quoting Jamal
:up:
I guess simplicity is what attract people the most. Mixing ham and melted cheese is a simple act which everybody can do. It is a statement of the freedom that everyone has in their own kitchen.
Fine words, but do they answer my question?
Jamal: What is the secret of their construction?
Javi: Its simplicity.
That's what I understand as an answer to your question. Am I close to the answer you were looking for?
A Breville sandwich toaster.
Neat little sealed pockets.
You’re some kind of sandwich mystic, and that makes me suspicious.
Hm. I have big doubts.
Enjoy your yummy sandwich cooked with love.
Are the cherry tomatoes on the upper left edible? Or you just put them on the dish as decoration?
That's the thing, I was using rough dry ham (the best kind), so I shouldn't've need a ham sander.
Yes, I used one of those machines when I was a child. I've since progressed to real sandwiches.
EDIT: I suppose the advantage of the machine-made sandwiches is that their edges are sealed, locking in the ham
That is interesting and it makes me think the problem lies less with the ham and more with the cheese. Unconventional as it might sound, I'm going to suggest perhaps a mild acid (diluted hydrochloric or sulphuric) to etch the cheese so that it will bond to the ham. I don't think we're at the point where we might want to try different cheeses because I would hate to discard your perfectly good supply, so let's try the acids first.
To counter the punch of the acid when you bite the sandwich, you might want to first coat your tongue with baking soda to reduce the pH. If you acheive a thick bubbling froth when the acid hits the base, you know you've done it right.
Bon apetite!
Good idea, but I've thought of something simpler: I could glue the hams to the inner sides of the bread, and put the cheese in the middle. That way, the bread is secure in the bread, and the cheese, though slippery, is also sticky enough not to shoot out the sides.
Not a bad idea. Were you thinking regular carpenter's glue or a glue gun? Would you clamp it while it dried?
Have you considered a weld, or do you think there's a chance the entire sandwich would be consumed in flame?
Staples are even easier and also are non-toxic. Or shingle tacks maybe.
I typically use lead based tacks. They're not toxic in a fatal sort of way, but they have made me stupid as shit.
When the cart returned, I look helplessly at the wench and, in my best cockney accent, muttered "Ma'am please, more food."
You don’t say.
It’s great to have real medical professionals around to give us these wondrous gems of physiological knowledge.
Were you angry when you said that? Just curious.
Just marginally vexed.
According to my recent training, I shouldn't take this personally, but should remain rationally detached, recognize that your communication is influenced by events in your life, and attempt to be supportive.
At the end of the course they ask you if you think you'll be using the training while on the job. I checked no.
Well, yes. Now you are starting to think. Typical of this place, I provide the answer and no one listens. :roll:
Alternately, done well, the cheese will melt sufficiently to bind the two slices of bread, holding the ham firmly in place. To do this the consistency of the bread and the cheese is paramount. The bread must have holes of a size sufficient to provide a firm attachment for the melted cheese. The cheese must be of a type that will melt into the holes while cooking and firm when heat is removed.
Only empirical study with the products available in your location will find the right combination.
A useful trick is to soften the cheese by very briefly microwaving the sandwich after construction. Fifteen to thirty seconds. Then on to a hot pan, oiled, to brown and complete melting.
Just as the Mormon Tabernacle Sandwich Compressor eliminates the aesthetic qualities of a sandwich, so will the electric blender. What is lost in aesthetics is gained in the speed with which one can safely consume the sandwich. The pureed sandwich is never a choke hazard, regardless of how fast you scarf it down like a ravenous wolf.
Speaking of wild animals, a squirrel can be reduced to a red sauce in about 2 minutes. ***
***2 minutes, exclusive of the time it takes to catch the squirrel, get it under control, and stuff it into the blender.
I'd have hoped for a more compressed and intact final product, sort of a microfiche sandwich, packed with full calories, but transportable beneath your fingernail.
I didn't get the Mormon reference. The press operator sounded Russian or maybe German. Definitely not from Utah.
Certainly the sandwich could be far more compressed if the food was compressed in a cylinder. There is a limit, presumably -- the water in the sandwich would limit the amount of compression. As thin as microfiche? Probably not. Maybe as thin as a matzoh cracker.
Our most valuable product. :heart:
Not tourism or Rafael Nadal.
(Well, Dalí deserves a very good recognition too.)
Quoting BC
Maybe, yes! If the olive tree is from Andalucía, La Mancha or Cataluña there are a lot of probabilities that I passed by the tree from which the extra virginal organic non gmo cold pressed oil was extracted, because those territories are full of vineyards and I have travelled around them since I was born.
Is your olive oil bottle from Córdoba or Jaén?
I also bought bread flour and yeast today; I've been making my own bread for a long time. I don't use liquid oils for bread -- just butter, eggs, milk, salt, and yeast. Oh, flour too. Bread flour has a higher protein level than all purpose flour. I don't like liquid oils for most baking, actually. Solid fats work better.
How are you doing?
Yes, I make popcorn often, and I use olive oil. We don't have coconut oil in the average supermarket, and corn oil has a low reputation. My mother only buys it when she wants to make ali-oli.
Quoting BC
Excellent! My parents used to make their own bread too, but the cost of light has been high since 2021. They haven't used the oven for years, and I miss it. The food has a different flavor when it is cooked in it.
Quoting BC
I had an interesting experience this morning: I went to Mercadona to buy some groceries, but I only got a €20 bill in my pocket. I started to get a weird feeling of anxiety because I wasn't sure if €20 was enough for all the products on the list. I didn't carry my wallet and credit cards with me either. The products were: chicken, olives, paté, bread, anchovies and asparagus. All of this cost me €19.84.
You can't imagine the feeling of relief I experienced when the Mercadona worker told me the price. I think I am a lucky man today.
That's sort of a fun challenge, and it'd likely save you money where you bring a certain amount to the store and you have to feed yourself on just that.
Credit cards I think are the cause of inflation, where you buy without looking at what you have to spend. I haven't carried cash in years. It results in a change residue, where you end up with annoying coins everywhere, especially in your cup holder in you car. It keeps the cup from sitting right. When faced with the choice, I'd take life sapping inflation over unsteady cups any day. You can always get a second or third job to pay the bills, but you can't get back your days that were sidetracked by a wobbly cup of iced tea.
Yeah. There is another issue with credit cards: the PIN. I don't usually forget the secret number, but it is annoying when the double-authentication is needed, and then there are a lot of numbers on the screen for just buying groceries or a notebook. The bank system could be safer than ever, but it is a pain in the neck...
Quoting Hanover
I have a lot of €0.01, €0.02 and €0.05 coins in my bedroom. I save them on purpose. They end up being inserted into a ticket vending machine. Oftentimes for train trips, others for tolls. I know it is uncomfortable to carry them to the vending machine. But, trust me when I say it is worth doing it.
:chin:
Moss-some to hear. If only such an expedition were to be accompanied by photos of such so as to provide those not so travel-inclined the opportunity to live vicariously through those who are.
Alas, every now and then we must learn to cut our mosses and move on sometimes. Such is life at times.
I enjoyed your moss puns, so here are the photos you crave...
I'm afraid I have little to offer in return at the moment, save for a preview excerpt from my wholly non-existent book, that may exist someday.
"What is shocking the first time around becomes boring and vacuous when repeated*, and so, if this is the path we as a society allow to be laid before us, arts and entertainment devolve into little more than a swirling cesspool in which the things that once held us together, such as decency and uprightness, become little more than ideological excrement we ritually sacrifice unto the proverbial porcelain toilet turned alter that is shock value, until we as a society are left barren and destitute, robbed of all that was once desirable and meaningful in life, a self-inflicted wound of the highest magnitude, leaving us lost and alone in a soulless, alien world, forever searching for what once was in a spiritual wasteland of ruin and decay whose only purpose is to be destroyed*."
- "Why Am I Here, Please Kill Me", Chapter 7: A Fork in the Parking Lot That Used to Be a Road (Or So the Vagrant on the Sidewalk Tells Me)
*denotes snippets inspired by if not outright repeated from late English philosopher Roger Scruton
*altar
The good news is that the CC debt level is 14% less than it was in 2019.
I budgeted about $40 for my trip to the grocery store yesterday. I used a list, but added some items I remembered. The bill was $82. Had I skipped the olive oil, pork chop, sauerkraut, jar of yeast, and arborio rice, and large box of oatmeal (store brand), the bill would have been pretty close to $40. The bill would have been less had I gone to Aldis, but I went to the closer, more pleasant local market.
I charged the bill because I only had $43 in my wallet. I am debt averse so I pay off the card balance monthly. :halo: I'm surprised Wells Fargo lets me starve them of revenue every month.
Wells Fargo used to have coin counters in their offices; I used to accumulate coins; it was a nice surprise to find I had 23.94 or whatever in the jar. They ripped the coin counters out, for some reason, and the tellers now refuse to take coins that aren't in rolls. So much for customer service.
https://www.fpri.org/article/2000/06/mythed-opportunities-the-truth-about-vietnam-anti-war-protests/
"All the data we have from the time, and since, show that the obscenity, illegality, and raging anti-patriotism of the antiwar protesters made them the most hated group in America during the late 1960s and early 1970s. When police beat up protesters in the park across from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, most people who were watching on television sympathized with the police.
The backlash had significant repercussions on the national political scene. Without the antiwar protests, which were associated in the minds of the “silent majority” with a militarized black power movement that had somehow metastasized from the civil rights movement, George Wallace could never have become a national political figure, if only for a while. Nor would Richard Nixon have won the White House in 1968.
Furthermore, the antiwar movement undermined the Democratic Party and hurt Hubert Humphrey’s bid for the presidency in a very tight election.) The political reaction to the radical antiwar protests aided both the Johnson and Nixon administrations’ efforts to manage growing public disquiet over the war. More Americans would have opposed the war sooner had they not been put off by radical protest tactics."
:chin:
I was present at a number of very large demonstrations against the war in Vietnam in 1968 and 1970, mostly in Boston and Washington, DC. I witnessed very little obscenity in placards and chants, nor illegality. OK, Country Joe McDonald's "Give me an F; Give me a U; Give me a C; Give me a K; What does that spell? Fuck. What does that spell? Fuck. What does that spell? Fuck. What does that spell? Fuck. What does that spell? Fuck." Permits for marches that were law-abiding and orderly. Not always, not everywhere, but usually.
Primetime wasn't quite ready for 'fuck' in 1968. Before a Boston appearance (his story goes) the police warned him not to sing the "give me an F..."
None the less, your observation about polarization over the Vietnam War (and hippies, women's lib, gay lib, etc.) was quite real. As a 25 year old, I thought the times were exciting and good. When I returned to Minnesota in 1970, it was of course a different world than Boston. We were at a small cafe in a small town; a guy came buy with his young son who wanted to touch my beard. I got it; beards were a rarity in the outstate area.
The antiwar protestors certainly came across to much of the mainstream as at least unpatriotic. Our opposition to the war was worse than lacking patriotic fervor; it was a dereliction of duty. It was seditious, immoral, perverse. un-American in every sense. That's reasonable for people who reserve a preferential option for the views and experience of the military establishment.
The privileged POV of the military didn't go away when the Vietnam war was over. It's alive and well.
Any pig pics you wish to share?
Sorry, I don't have any pigs to share; but, the doctor pig is treating me well.
As always, the doctor is ready for you. Regarding which, I am wondering if you by chance adopted a pig?
Welcome back!
Hello Shawn! Happy to see you again. You were off from TPF because a group of pigs kidnapped you on their farm, and now they set you free. The first thing you did afterwards was post here. This is a real compromise for a user. :cheer:
Good to see you again!
It's becoming a luxury item, and I'm going to have to start buying the cornolive, or maybe canolive (which is really rapeseed but I guess they didn't like the name).
I buy them from the local Greek shop. 22€ the kg, it is spring now, they are more delicious than ever.
Thanks, unenlightened. My only sadness is very great over the issue of how our appetite seems to cause unenlightenment towards pain and suffering of these poor animals, called 'pigs'.
We have a wild pig problem here from abandoned pigs. They destroy the land and wreak havoc on the country side. It is possible they are simply bitter from their mistreatment and their relegation to the lowest rung of rural society.
I will work towards a better understanding of their plight.
That is another name to add on to the famous still alive list.
We got into trouble so many times for sneaking radios into school and bribing the bus driver to play music because of singers like him and the school not wanting us to listen to them.
Let's hear the cheer folks "And it's one, two, three, what are we fighting for?"
I got some worms at the sporting good store that says they were from Canada. They were refrigerated and mostly dead, which is the way most Canadians are. I think. Dead is good if you want a compliant worm, but bad if you want a wiggly worm.
A Mexican guy caught a bunch of tiny bream and he kept them in a net bag he kept in the water. Maybe he's making fish nuggets with them.
Thoughts?
Go ahead and kill all the locusts.
You got an innumerable, hungry, breakfast-loving and ham-and-cheese-enjoying mob to convince otherwise there, Shawn. Good luck. :smirk:
Go ahead and ask YHWH since when has killing solved anything?
Was it the case that Pharaoh was actually quite reasonable, but had to be toughened up by the lord for theatrical purposes ?
The locusts arrived on the east wind, blowing across the desersts of Arabia. What had the locusts been eating in the desert to build up to plague strength? After the stage business of the locust plague had gone on long enough, a west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea. If being blown across the Red Sea was so hazardous to locusts, how come they survived when the east wind was blowing???
The next plague was total darkness across the land, except where the Israelites were standing around. Star turn for the spotlight team. After this, the lord had to harden pharaoh's heart again.
If the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, how was it that they had (apparently) accumulated large herds that they insisted on taking with them. (Pharaoh's Council of Economic Advisors were concerned about inflated beef and goat prices if the Israelites exited with all their livestock in tow.)
Another problem: the Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years. The ate manna from heaven. Why didn't they have pot roast? And what were they feeding their prospective pot roasts and lamb chops all those years in the inhospitable wilderness? Manna was sent for the people; bales of hay failed to appear for the livestock. Problems in the shipping department? Maybe the wilderness wasn't all that bad?
Clearly Biblical literalists have not read the Bible closely enough.
So, God is certain of everything He does?
Then the only rational response would be quietism?
God allowed the Pharaohs 400 years of free will and they used it to enslave the Jews, then they get a few droppings of El Yahweh's comeuppance and they're like "My bad, y'all can go on bout your day." Yeah, I don't think so. Holy Creator's like "You're finna get your heart all hardened up and I'm gonna show you a real smack down."
And so it was, with an outstretched hand and a mighty blow, the Heavenly Daddy-O back hand bitch slapped the spit out Pharaoh's face, leaving it as bone dry as the desert surrounding him. And then it got real. As in real real.
You think locusts was bad? Lordman says, "hold my beer, watch this."
I await your full translation of the Bible.
Deepfried tiddlers be a common meal hither and yonder, howbeit I canst be speakin' for the Mexicans.
Interesting thing happened yesterday. The plan was to go to a cafe on a windswept hillside by a lochan (a particular cafe, not just any one), and I felt there was no point going there unless I had the full (they call it the "Large" on the menu) breakfast. The dish is these:
Two pork links
One slice of Lorne sausage
Two rashers of back bacon
One fried tattie scone
One thick slice of black pudding
One slice of buttered brown toast
Three mushrooms
Some baked beans
One fried egg
I'm trying to lose weight and because this was happening about 11:30 in the morning, I decided to make the meal function as brunch, thus skipping the meals I would normally have early morning and lunchtime. But, having been up since 07:00, I was rather hungry by the time the full breakfast arrived before me.
The thing is, although I could see that the ingredients were not of the best quality (the cheapest kind of frozen sausages, for example), I enjoyed it immensely. In my head and heart I knew it was mediocre at best, but I loved it—all at the same time.
And what is with the single egg in Scottish breakfasts? I don't think it's stereotypical Scottish meanness, because they're happy to provide two sausages...
But I did say they're the cheapest sausages, didn't I? Cheaper than eggs? :chin:
EDIT: local worms for local fish
Lordy mama, why does the big man need someone to hold his beer when he springs into action?
Fried eggs! Delicious. I almost forgot the last time I ate one of those.
The degree of flavour-ness and quality increases when you mix them up with jamón serrano and fries.
Why do you suppose that is? Simple ravenous, primal hunger brought on by the lateness of the hour? It all sounds rather charming really, a quaint - presumably picturesque - rural eatery tucked away in a seldom-traveled, grassy European countryside that has changed little over the millennia, overlooked by the Highlands in the distance, accompanied by a serene lake beckoning all who travel nearby to stop for a moment and perhaps pause one's weary mind and feet offering seldom-held opportunity for reflection and in this case, by matter of good fortune, engorgement. Like something out of a dream or distant memory overshadowed by the pressures and pursuits of the modern age.
I presume no photography is available. I promise I'm not a paid assassin tailing you and trying to determine your whereabouts to report back to my shady team of associates. :lol:
Yes, I do particularly like the combination of fried eggs and fried potatoes. However, I had some bad experiences in Barcelona. Fried eggs and fries it said on the menu, or something like that. The dish that came was a pile of French fries with a fried egg on top that had been intentionally smashed to pieces. I almost threw it in the small waiter's face.
The taste sensation can also be increased by adding one on top of fried rice, as in nasi goreng:
It's a figure of speech. Conveying the minimal if not non-existent amount of effort, focus, or planning needed to perform or accomplish something. Typically used by arrogant men when in the presence of their witless and impressionable followers.
You've pretty much hit the nail on the head, while simultaneously making me feel wistful.
To subtract a point because you said I could see the Highlands when there is copious evidence on TPF that I'm currently in the Scottish Borders would be churlish of me.
Minimal effort, yet The Man needs someone to hold his beer for him while he does it. Well that's a paradox deserving of a thread of its own.
Who hadn't? :rofl:
Jokes aside. I wish the provinces of my country the best, but I admit Barcelona has a lot of downs.
Really? Not much of a traveler these days, but should things work out I suppose it wouldn't be off the table.
What are some of these drawbacks, if you don't mind sharing? Both in general as a resident and perhaps as a short-term visitor (things to avoid or be leery of, things not to, etc.)? A cousin of mine (or something) visited the place some odd years ago and seemed to enjoy it very much. I suppose it's all where you go and whether or not luck happens to favor you that particular journey. :smile:
Funny thing similar happened to me also. I went to this old barn looking restaraunt near me that has outsurvived the development in the area, and so I thought it'd be old school and authentic. Most the folks behind the counter skipped their bath and had far away stares that didn't meet your eyes when you talked to them, so I thought these were locals from the land that time forgot and they could serve me up a plate of food the way it was meant to be served.
I mean, that's a reasonable assumption, right?
The biscuit was flakey and buttery and I think it came from the loving, kneading hands of one of the folks on duty, but that's about where it ended. The eggs seemed like a mix and the sausages were from the factory. The grits were also watery. I didn't get it. Why would they open a place just to microwave breakfast items from the frozen food aisle? And why am I eating in a barn in the middle of the suburbs? And who is this lady next to me and why is she talking to me?
It was a lot, that's all I'm saying.
What
[math]2x^4+4x^2+2[/math]
He was talking to His ex, that's when She left Him.
These are some reasons:
The city became very chaotic. The mayor doesn't allow people to enter the centre of the city using cars, causing the public transport and streets to collapse.
The prices are high, most of the 'cool' things are a bit overrated, and they do not have a good offer of museums.
There is now a big issue regarding pickpocketing. Barcelona is becoming more insecure than Marseille! Crazy!
Asking @javi2541997 what he thinks of Barcelona is like asking a Glaswegian what they think of Edinburgh.
EDIT: Or maybe more like asking a Londoner what he thinks of Edinburgh.
EDIT 2: No, that’s ridiculous. I’ll stick with the first analogy.
Really? Because that's a crazy high bar.
You know me pretty well, friend. I love the analogy, by the way.
We have a lot of mockery of each other, but everything is OK if it is done with good manners. What I personally dislike is how our politicians use the cities to divide us. I remember that in the 2020 pandemic, some separatists started to cheer on the victims of coronavirus in Madrid.
On the other side (here), I see politicians who are proud of themselves for not having Catalan products in their homes.
The politicians of my country are embarrassing, and I feel very sad about the current situation.
I overreacted a bit. Yet, it is true Barcelona - and its surroundings - is following the path of Marseille and Naples, instead of Berlin or München.
* I quote these German cities because Catalan nationalists always had a weird fetish for North European nations. *
Embarrassing? Javi, if you don't live in the United States you don't know what EMBARRASSING is!
Well, all politicians in most countries of the world are embarrassing.
I have a simple principle: I would not share a pint of beer with a politician. At the moment of leaving the pub my wallet could have been stolen, or I would get angry about all the bollocks I would have heard before.
A politician (it doesn't matter his/her ideology) is not a nice mate to stay with in a pub.
Everything is bigger in the US. Even their mediocrity is mediocrer.
AI Catholic Priest Demoted After Saying It's OK to Baptize Babies With Gatorade
[sup]— Theodore McKenzie · May 1, 2024[/sup]
— KIRO 7 News Seattle
I'm sure there's an anti-establishmentarianist pun to be had there somewhere.
Do you know Pumba just was hungry and wanted to eat?
I know of a couple of escaped pot-bellieds who got blasted, mistaken for the enemy, wild boar. Shame, shame.
I can squat this pig. Ooga booga.
How many times have I seen the aesthetic and romantic view of suicide due to my readings by Mishima?
Nevertheless, when you experience suicide closely, someone doesn't know how to act or say.
This morning, a few hours ago, a person committed suicide by jumping onto the rail tracks...
I take the train every morning at the same station. But, when I was walking there, a lot of ambulances and police cars started to arrive with their sirens on...
The speaker of the train station said: sorry, but there is a track interrupted because there was an accident at Vallecas Station thirty minutes ago.
But a police officer said to us that the 'accident' was a suicide. A person deliberately jumped onto the tracks when the train was approaching, and the officer told us to not expect to fix this at least in hours, and they politely asked us to leave and take the bus instead.
We left the station silently...
I am speechless about how the suicide rate has drastically increased in Spain, and now I 'experienced' a case relatively closer...
I think our politicians should take into account this important matter and learn what other countries do to face this issue. Like Japan does, for instance.
The other day I went for an interesting bike ride. It had highs and lows, one of the lows being an attempted suicide.
I got 40 kilometres from home when my knees started playing up (meaning they became very painful and thus dysfunctional). This had never happened on my bike before, and since cycling is my favourite activity and the only exercise I ever want to do, I became depressed. I turned around and headed for home, even though I was only a few kilometres from my lunchtime destination.
I went slowly on the way back, trying to save my knees. Alongside the river I saw a big splash in the water. It was an osprey catching a fish. It struggled for ten seconds to lift itself out of the water, then finally flew away with a trout in its talons. Ospreys are known to live in this region but it's not often you see them. It was the first time for me. This was a high point of the ride.
Close to home the route went under a rather high road bridge, which spans the river. Approaching, I noticed an ambulance on the river bank under the bridge, and looked up to see someone high up on the edge of the bridge deck, on the wrong side of the fence. There were several people on the other side, presumably trying to talk him out of jumping. I don't know what happened, but it would have been difficult for them to prevent him from jumping if he chose to.
The following image of the bridge was taken by someone else at a less fraught time.
What happened was you squandered the opportunity fate has given you to be a hero like you wanted not that long ago...
The osprey was a manifestation of you saving the man from a murky depth or state of mind and lifting him up into the Heavens of contentedness and purpose, similar to how Jesus was a fisher of men, you were to be the fisher and the man was to be the fish.
Don't screw it up next time. Fate can be unkind to those who ignore Her doings.
What should I have done, wise one? So I know for next time (it's happened before on that bridge).
Exactly. It is nearly impossible to know how to act in such delicate moments. I think there are experts inside the police agents who try to maintain a dialogue with the suicidal, but I don't really know to what extent this practice actually is... It is a bad and sad episode that makes you feel in a low mood for the rest of the day...
In the moment, face to face and soul to soul gazing into the eyes of the would-otherwise-be-damned, You will know.
The old adage, "no good deed goes unpunished" often rings true:
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/houston-attorney-killed-intervening-in-mcdonalds-dispute
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/09/24/hit-and-run-driver-kills-good-samaritan-florida-steals-car/1408202002/
:grimace:
Just get @Hanover to do it or something. :up:
I am trained in suicide intervention and have often been a first responder. The model used around the world is fairly straight forward and involves some intensive training. It's not about talking them out of it, it involves supporting the person to identify their reasons for dying, along with their reasons for living. People want to be heard and validated and they often appreciate being reminded of what is or has been important to them. I've ususally been successful, but you can't prevent someone from killing themselves if they really want to. The serious ones often don't tell anyone they are going to do it and do it when no one can see them.
Isn't the required act, to run underneath and catch the poor soul? Or is that only appropriate with babies?
It seems a very hard task to accomplish. Hopefully, there are professionals like you, Tom, who are trained to provide help in these complex situations. If I were in a similar situation like yours, I would not know how to act, as I confessed to Jamal. I always had in mind that it is important to support the person and identify why he ended up in such a situation. Nonetheless, I am also afraid that maybe my words would sound fake or not really reliable. It is surprising how a suicidal perceives if the words are told with the soul or just to be polite.
Quoting Tom Storm
A hard statement to swallow, but it is the truth. I think the man who committed suicide this morning had in mind this act the night before, or he has even been struggling with suicidal thoughts for years. I agree that the serious ones often don't tell people they will kill themselves, but why do they leave a letter, poem or declaration usually? Is it a way of saying goodbye and understanding why the person does this?
Toasts all around!
They don't. No one knows how many people actually leave notes - probably around a quarter. I have only ever seen a couple of notes. People do it in films and stories, so many people assume it is de rigueur.
There are two reasons why (per Tom Storm above) most people do not leave notes, poems, or letters:
The first and main reason is that explaining why, exactly, one has decided to exit the world is that writing memorable, effective text is difficult under the best of circumstances. I completed the third draft of a book, Effective Suicide Notes for the Anguished, Hurried, and/or Dull, but publishers have taken a pass on it.
The second reason is that there is simply too much to say about the manifold deficiencies of the cosmos, and how those deficiencies have combined to make life a living nightmare for the prospective suicide. This is especially true for people who are thoughtful and like to write. The typical Philosophy Forum person writing their suicide note wouldn't feel satisfied until they had typed 500 pages or so.
And life is a living nightmare. For instance, you go to the store for a box of pasta to make pasta with cheese (aka, macaroni & cheese). You think you really ought to get whole wheat pasta -- more nutritious, less processed, etc. Then you find that a blend of 5 Italian cheeses is on sale - 2 for $5, instead of cheddar. You buy those. So now you are back home, and whip up a batch. It fails!!! the whole wheat pasta is too brown and has the wrong mouth feel. The 5 Italian cheeses are very bland. You put a hair too much cayenne pepper in the sauce, and it's unpleasantly hot. All that trouble for a bowl of regret!
Living nightmare, I tell you, and that was just 2 hours worth of life.
I love that left hand. I use it all the time. It's my right hand man.
My other option is to stream stations through my phone, but I feel like old school is the way to go.
I'm looking into getting a ham radio and starting my own philosophy channel. My hesitation is due to the ham not sticking to the bread.
My question to you: Any of you fuckers into listening to far away radio stations? If you're a European fucker, does the language variation from country to country make the whole enterprise undoable? Have any of you heard what the Luxemburgians talk about when think no one is paying attention?
Do you know that Russian intelligence actually plays on the variation of European identity through playing on identities defined by so many languages in the EU? France calls it social aspect, Poland calls it selfhood, and Germany once called it living space.
It boggles my mind what pigs squealing noises sound like in Russia.
As a reminder, Yukio Mishima sent 'The Decay of the Angel' (his last novel) to the publisher hours before committing seppuku. Maybe Mishima was just an extraordinary example among suicidal people. What might be in the mind of this magnificent Japanese writer always makes me feel a strange feeling of concern and worry.
Quoting BC
Absolutely! When someone is suffering, the hours seem to pass slowly...
How far is far away? On a good night WBBM-CBS (780 AM) in Chicago comes in clearly (if intermittently) in Minneapolis. 400 miles away. French-speaking AM stations from Canada are often receivable. WWL AM from New Orleans, a station from Del Rio, Texas; Omaha; Denver. Nothing from the west coast, usually very few stations from New York City.
Morbid, man; morbid.
When I was young (back in the good ole days), we could listen to AM from all over the place, at night. My brother was a keener and did put wires through the trees. It's really quite boring though, you know, same old, same old, throughout the land, top 40 here is the top 40 there, and the Wolfman Jack soundalike here, sounds like the Wolman Jack soundalike there.
[quote=Wikipedia: Wolfman Jack]In 1963, Smith took his act to the border when Inter-American Radio Advertising's Ramon Bosquez hired him and sent him to the studio and transmitter site of XERF-AM at Ciudad Acuña in Mexico, a station across the U.S.-Mexico border from Del Rio, Texas, whose high-powered border blaster signal could be picked up across much of the United States. In an interview with writer Tom Miller, Smith described the reach of the XERF signal: "We had the most powerful signal in North America. Birds dropped dead when they flew too close to the tower. A car driving from New York to L.A. would never lose the station."[6] [/quote]
In CB and shortwave there is a phenomenon known as "skip". The radio waves reflect off the solar waves or something like that (enough to drive the QM buffs on this forum insane), resulting in transmission around the world. I think it works best at sunrise and sunset.
All that heat, wasted - on global warming. Perhaps it would be better if it was cold.
There is also the kind of self-destruction that is a withdrawal from discourse altogether. Erasing the traces of the crime, if you will. I have come into contact with that sort in my life more clearly than the other kind.
The End of the Dark Universe?
A new “post-quantum” theory of gravity says we can wave dark matter and dark energy goodbye.
[sup]— Sabine Hossenfelder · Nautilus · Mar 13, 2024[/sup]
No, no, no. She just sits with me and oinks and squeals. Sometimes she gets angry at me when she doesnt get a truffle or some oats with honey and cornflakes.
It's always the best of times between us.
Look, I don't know what you think you saw, but I was just helping that goat over the fence.
The details could have stopped before that.
She just makes some noises when she needs to eat. Sometimes she licks me for a treat also.
Fridays she gets a can of beer and then kind of oinks happily.
Argh... what's next? Will you release a tape too?
Given the situation, those notes would be exceedingly poignant regardless if they fail to capture their desperation. The mere act of recording one's final testament to a world they have forsaken, an explanation for the seemingly unexplainable, is the most poetic thing imaginable.
I only had a brief bout of suicidal depression almost a decade ago. The suicidal ideations circled around laying on train tracks or buying something like fentanyl. Someone on this forum once said that suicide imposes a burden on your family, especially parents, if they are still alive. The thought of dying and leaving my mother in shambles continuously harassed my ideations until the deep depression abated.
Only recently I've been thinking about a humane way of assisted dying for animals and came to the conclusion that stopping their/one's heart would be the most humane way of dying. No fear, just lights go dark right after the NMDA toxin is in the bloodstream. There are fishes off of Japan and sea urchins that have very potent NMDA toxins that can do this very quickly.
Just my two cents for the downtrodden and desperate.
Toasting a pig gets you cracklin, I am in for that. :rofl:
Show some mercy.
I knew a girl called Mercy a long time ago. and I would probably get banned for showing you pictures of her. :lol:
Many vets use pentobarbital, a barbiturate. It's fast, induces sleep, then shuts down cardiac and pulmonary activity. When I had to euthanize my dog that's why they used. It was very quick. Very sad day.
The problem with pentobarbital is that there isn't time for the body to even begin metabolizing the drug, so a lot of the drug remains in the animal's body. Cremation or adequately deep burial doesn't present, problems, but leaving the carcass out in the open, or rendering the animal does. A horse euthanized with pentobarbital still had the drug present in its decomposed carcass nearly a year later.
Sorry about your dog.
The NMDA toxins in those sea urchins are so potent and dissolve in the bloodstream soon after administration.
Nope, it was Mattas.
It would be equally interesting to live a life as a real estate agent in Uncertain, certainly much more difficult than to be one in Last Chance.
Either way, you may find me buying a lottery ticket in Luck or starting a fight in Coward.
Just something to do to take a break from studying the intimacy rates of Intercourse and contrasting them with the auto collision rates in Accident.
Or I may forego this strange fascination with city names and the long term effects on the people who live there and retire to Cool instead.
My sympathy will however remain strong for the real estate people and mayoral staff of Dead Women Crossing, a great place to raise a family I hear. One thing is for certain, it sure beats living in the middle of Nowhere!
I was having a brief walk to have a break from my project group, and then, observing the surroundings, I noticed that the bins had a little green box with a dog drawn in it.
I approached the bin and the box contained poop bags for dogs.
We all that have dogs love this kind of endeavours. Thanks to the Pozuelo council for spending the public budget on necessary and reasonable things.
The Dutch have the largest average feet (11.5) and the Japanese the smallest (7). It has been said that the Japanese could use an average wooden Dutch shoe as a afishing boat. By "said," I mean written, as in I just wrote it a second ago.
I buy Clark shoes, offering a nod to their fine British design and handling, much like a Jaguar, prior to its sale to various car makers the world over.
It has been written that if I were a car, I'd be a beige Volvo, exciting in every regard.
I talked of shoe size with no mention of dick size. Unusual for me.
I buy New Balance shoes. Classic 574 series. It fits very well with my goose-like feet. They are comfortable, and my favourite colours are yellow, black and grey.
Quoting Hanover
A Volvo! Nice election! Swedish delicacy.
If I were a car, I'd be a white 1980 SEAT ibiza or 1991 Lada. Anchored to the past and melancholia.
Quoting Hanover
I know it is not related at all, but I want to share this important data: I use talcum powder in my socks to prevent my feet sweating like hell and then avoid wounds and scrapes. :up:
I also recommend a heavy belly dusting. Not only will you feel fresh all day, but if you slap your belly, you'll raise up a refreshing dust cloud that will be appreciated by all who pass by.
Cute :love:
Quoting Mother Of Sarcasm
Quoting Deleted user
Little wooden Dutch shoes.
Cute or horrendous?
I am starting to get a weird attraction to those Dutch wooden shoes. I wonder if I can wear them on when I go to and fro around Madrid. (Did you ever put them on? @Benkei )
... because we're all schizophrenic now; it's normal. And the other half is posting comments on philosophy forums.
Some times of the year I see flying black dots in the corner of my eyes. In some rare cases I heard voices as well, my voice, but still.
Those are either floaters or the aura of an oncoming migraine. I prefer the former, but to each his own.
Floaters are those little flecks you see in the corners of your eyes that you can never focus on.
A migraine aura is the visual distortion (flickering lights, reduced field of vision) you get before the headache and other symptoms set in. You can also get numbness in your hands and lips, become forgetful, be unable to recollect words, and have slurred speech. It's all the fun of a stroke, but without the long term effects.
[sup]— Jonathan O’Callaghan · New Scientist · May 10, 2024[/sup]
I find that quite speculative (personally).
Would be a fantastic discovery, though.
Might even be enough for people to get their heads out of their a*s. :)
Quoting Hanover
Surprising (shocking!) fact: the squishy stuff that fills your eyeball can be removed. Once removed, even more ghastly procedures are easier to perform. Afterward the eyeball is refilled with saline, which actually works just fine. "Fine" he said.
Quoting Hanover
Interesting aspect of migraine auras: they are very similar to the auras that precede epileptic seizures. Not that migraines and seizures are the same thing, but are perhaps similar phenomena.
Conclusion: Migraine and seizures are worse than floaters.
I have heard of dogs that can sense an oncoming epileptic attack and so they sit on the epileptic before he seizes, holding him steady in safety.
Fred will sit on me, but it seems at random and more for his own attention than my safety.
There isn't such a thing as a migraine dog because having a dog on you while having a migraine offers you no relief. It's no fun for either of you.
If you aren't sure if you're having a migraine or an epileptic fit, you should put a cat on your head.
Know why? (wait for it... this is a good one)
You need a cat scan.
Budumpbump
There is no way you have the self control not to read my posts.
Many have tried. All have failed. Try not to look at the purple cow. Impossible!
It's wise not to over-estimate the solicitude of dogs. It's impossible to overestimate the indifference of cats.
Oh no! :sad: I have the risk of getting them broken in pieces because of the weight of my goose-like feet.
What purple cow?
Another contribution to the movement of Dutchmen leaving their cities (where do they even go?), Amsterdam is an English-speaking city now, others are following.
I thought Hanover was referring to a trick or language riddle, so I decided to search around Google what was going on with purple cows. The only thing the Internet has illuminated me is with this piece of natural beauty:
Sounds like cope to me, because I have heard otherwise from many native Dutchies.
I know nothing of Amsterdam, but I've begun to encounter a problem here in the Land of the Free. People speak to me sometimes with really thick accents, and I can't understand what they're saying. I ask them to repeat themselves and sometimes I still can't follow what they're saying. It can get kind of testy because I'm not sure they believe me and they think that I'm just some middle aged white guy insisting that they speak clearly. It's happened a few times. When I finally do figure out what they're saying, I tell them I have a hearing problem so as to not appear like I just couldn't figure out what they were saying.
The hardest accents to decipher for me are the Carribean Island accents. The British accent coupled with the native way they break up their words can be difficult.
I've seen the videos of remote Scottish accents that are barely English, but we don't get many aboriginal Scots where I live. Most the Scots we get we got from long ago from a rickety boat and they now live up in the mountains and talk with a twang and eat cornbread and work on broken tractors. They aren't hard to understand.
I don't have an accent. My speech is perfectly normal. In fact, my speech has been recorded and stored at the Smithsonian next to the standardized inch and teaspoon so as to be sure we don't lose that accepted measure. Speaking of which, you should probably bring your teaspoon in to the Smithsonian and check it to see if it's not out of whack. I had mine checked, and it turned out it had gotten out of tune by over a gallon. My home baked cookies were suffering terribly from that mis-measurement, but I got that all worked out now.
Quoting Deleted user
Speaking about cows on this gentle Wednesday:
Check out Australia. A bit like the USA,but dialed to the political Left. Plenty of opportunities for wealth improvement, decent social safety net for down times, health system a bit better than the UK. A million emigrants since covid can't be wrong.....apparently.! smile
Oh, bring your own home, housing is a bit tight currently....probably the million emigrants are to "blame"
but strangely they all seem to be housed. smile
Word for the wise. Come by plane not by boat or you are not welcome..... apparently. smile
Funny how one letter changes everything. Claude is NOW available in Europe*!
I believe that is known as "the butterfly effect". The change of one letter changes one word, changes one sentence, changes the idea signified, changes the minds of many readers, changes their attitudes, changes their actions, and ultimately the whole world is different. All that, because you, Lionino, made one tiny mistake. Lesson to be learned; "think before you act", because your tiny mistake could bring an end to the whole world.
Chaos is my god and death is my meaning!
But chaos describes life more than death, so your meaning should be life, not death, if chaos is your god.
Mars, for example, well that's a boring place to live. There's nothing there. Same monotonous shit day in and day out. Times Square though, that's some lively chaos. That's why I moved.
That's not chaos, but Yin and Yang, which I would argue (and I mean with a beet red face, filled with rage) is a symbol of harmony of opposites. Chaos would be shit fucking up everywhere, like the doorknob falls off into your hand, the floorboard flips up at your nuts, and your egg salad sandwich falls all over you suit pants. That's the sort of "anything can happen day" you'd see in the Mickey Mouse Club on Wednesdays when ping pong balls would suddenly fall from the sky.
Even if you don't get my references, you can see that no one can live in a world like that. It's just too unpredictable.
Wasn't that the moose who had all the ping pong balls falling on him? What's the moose's name Bulwinkle? No, it was the moose on Captain Kangaroo!
Quoting Deleted user
Try some Captain Kangaroo, much more entertaining than TikTok.
I remember this was the main topic of The Shoutbox, and Baden even told me: would you stop talking about food when you reach 2541997 posts? :sweat: . It is funny because he did a simile with the number of posts and my birthday.
By the way, I no longer eat tofu for breakfast.
What to eat for breakfast?
My main food combination is based on Tzatziki and olive oil.
It is a good logical mixture. Experts call it: 'Mediterranean diet'
:up:
Some people avoid garlic, especially raw garlic (such as is found in tzatziki) for breakfast, but I don’t understand that. Some people say that it makes you smell bad but I don’t understand that either—doesn’t it just make you smell of garlic? I like the smell of garlic.
Right now the woods here smell of garlic. It’s because of all the wild garlic.
Can it be used in cooking, you ask? Yes.
I guess those who avoid garlic for breakfast are the ones who eat low-caloric meals such as cereals or canary seeds.
Quoting Jamal
Beautiful forest! Nothing like a good walk around the fauna and flora in the morning!
Quoting Jamal
I was thinking of using garlic with kombucha, but nice to know it can be cooked too. :grin:
Wow, look at those blooms! Those are "leaks", or "ramps", and they are delicious. Not quite a garlic, not quite an onion, but you get the best of both. I haven't tried them for breakfast, but Wikipedia says: " In central Appalachia, ramps are most commonly fried with potatoes in bacon fat or scrambled with eggs and served with bacon, pinto beans and cornbread".
In eastern Canada there used to be roadside vendors who'd sell bottles of pickled leaks which were highly valued. Due to the fear of endangerment, trafficking in them is now a punishable offence which is strictly enforced to the point of roadside checks of suspicious vehicles. Fines are tied to the amount of bulbs in one's possession, and can climb well into the thousands of dollars:
"Violators now face fines ranging from $10,000 to $6 million or administrative monetary penalties of between $2,000 and $10,000."
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-wants-to-better-regulate-wild-garlic-harvesting-and-transplanting-1.6366781
One of its names is “wild garlic” and it’s in the same genus and it has a somewhat similar aroma and taste, so it’s a garlic in my book. Not garlic garlic, but garlic nonetheless.
And over here, these are leeks:
Quoting Metaphysician Undercover
:yum:
I remember someone saying something similar.
"Being fucked is when you cannot open the door to leave the bathroom where the toilet you just flushed containing the biggest crap of your life is blocked and overflowing. And your hated mother-in-law is standing outside with her legs crossed waiting for you to leave the only bathroom in the house. And you still have to eat the dinner you were invited to."
"Shit happens" F. Gump.
Leeks, butter, potatoes, and cream. make some fucking soup, and stop pissing about. Wild garlic is also nice, but a bit stringy. Put it in chickpea curry or something. It's completely different.
When I was a kid, we'd pick wild onions that grew like weeds. They were super strong and you'd never eat them in a real meal. They were for tasting and then throwing at your brother, like crabapple and other nasty shit in the yard.
Here's what they look like before and after you pick them.
It also tells me what I thought to be wild onions are actually wild garlic.
Nothing is sacred.
Quoting Jamal
Thanks for the numerous corrections. I guess I'll just call them ramps, and keep eating them because they sure are good.
Those are not ramps (wild garlic), you can tell by the shape of the leaves, like the ones in Jamal's picture, with all the flowers.
Whether they're ramps or not, I can't say. That's not a term I know, but wild garlic it surely is.
https://ugaurbanag.com/how-do-we-control-wild-garlic-in-lawns/#:~:text=Wild%20garlic%20(Allium%20vineale%20L,the%20winter%20and%20spring%20months.
When I was a kid we squealed when we caught sight of chives, because in America we know that green things are healthy and healthy things taste bad. So my parents told me that they are just for decoration, which made me think that we were not required to eat them. But we were required to eat them. That was when I first learned that decorations are not just for decoration, and must also be eaten.
Daily dose of a pig.
When you see black and white spots, think Flamenco, not pigs or Dalmatians. :wink:
No. They are not. :lol:
Quoting unenlightened
I can't disagree with that! It is obvious that a pig has more skills than a flamenco dancer. On the other hand, pigs are located all over the world but flamenco dancers and singers are only available in Sevilla and Granada!
I guess there's a lot of different "allium" species. According to Wikipedia, hundreds (somewhere between 260 and 979, I guess because they haven't figured out whether half of them are truly alliums or not), including the onion. The flavour, apparently, is dependent on the sulfate content of the soil.
See why I don't call them "wild garlic"? Hanover shows me a site talking about using all sorts of herbicides to control the noxious weed "wild garlic". Yet in Quebec there's million dollar fines for trafficking the endangered species called "wild garlic". I think something's leaky with that name. @unenlightened
Ramps are similar but not the same as the flowering plants shown in that photo of a European beech forest.
Ramps = Allium tricoccum
Wild garlic = Allium ursinum
I am going to barbecue some ribs tomorrow, with plenty of tomato, onion and garlic sauce.
Garlic, onions and pork can be a fabulous combination. Mate, if you feel these stink, it could only mean that you are pregnant... :yikes: Congratulations!
Quoting Sir2u
You mean pisto manchego.
Congrats on the pregnancy :clap: :flower:
Well that would be a world record wouldn't it. A 70 year old man pregnant. :rofl:
A bet I could make enough money to retire from the newspapers, book and the movie they make about it will pay for the kids college. Cool
Quoting javi2541997
If I had said that only two people here would have understood, but that is not exactly it any way. We make a sauce out of all of the ingredients , the ones I mentioned and maybe green pepper, cayenne, and soak the ribs in it for a while. Then the sauce is used for basting while the ribs are on the grill.
One of the wonderful things about English is the way that we have of expressing our sentiments in a friendly way.
Up yours. :wink:
But ramps are called wild garlic too, also Hanover's noxious weed allium vineale is called wild garlic, and probably a couple hundred other species. You need a more original name for your delicacy, maybe bear garlic.
I see from Wiki that the big difference between tricoccum and ursinum (other than place of origin), is that tricoccum blooms after its leaves die. I guess that's why the flowers in your picture impressed me so much.
Ever since the war of Independence, it's all gone onion-shaped on your benighted continent. But in this case, I'd blame the French. They have a thing about onions and garlic - maybe 2 things...
Ah, I see now.
Having spent the better part of a week immersed in the study of garlic and onion, what I can say is that their familial intertwinment is so intimate that should the two one day find themselves in a romantic embrace, the consummation could not be described as anything less than incestuous and fully opposed to the holy decrees of nature and Yahweh.
That's my takeaway at least.
What I shall do is feed it all 1,795 pages of the Shoutbox, an entire decade's worth of witty, philosophical genius to create a cast of a dozen relatable characters each with a unique background story, personality, and series of catch phrases. The result will be an award-winning genius of a new television series that will put every other show in existence to shame. Nothing short of a paradigm shift in modern day culture, similar to that spurred by the relatable, never-miss humorous antics of The Simpsons, the intellectual prowess of the Big Bang Theory, and what should have been with the innovative utopian world of Eureka. I wholly expect most popular series currently on the air to be shortly cancelled as a result. All that I must do is make sure to filter out Hanover's inane ramblings and the plan will be nothing short of unstoppable.
Please make sure not to steal my incredibly original idea of stealing other people's ideas. Thank you all for your unwitting contribution toward the next era of human entertainment, modern day Shakespeares, each and every one of you. :up:
I'm sure pigs will be featured. Somehow its really all about pigs at the end of the day.
Comically satirical fantasy Sci-Fi, not quite a new genre but definitely one that has not been over done so far. Quite a good chance of making something out of it.
Quoting Outlander
Oh good, you spotted the main problem.
Quoting Shawn
Now that would add another twist to the stories. Maybe you could add some goats as well, sort of honoring our illustrious Banno.
I think @Banno deep down understands that a pig is more than what a goat is.
You might be right. French Canadians seem to be responsible for making the ramps illegal. The Québécois seem to really run with anything they find to taste good, and milk it until it runs out. If the legislation wasn't enacted, we'd probably have every casse-croute in Québec selling wild-garlic poutine. I'd say, hop right on the gravy train, but I think there must already be a shortage of gravy factories.
A lot of that stuff is not only fake, but also seriously diluted in relation to the manufacturer's recommendations.
Wild garlic propagates by seed, and ours do not bloom like those in Jamal's shot. It would probably take hundreds, if not thousands, of years to build up a big patch like the one in that picture, and the wanton harvesters could wipe it out in a season. Next year, find another one.
Gravy is so Anglo; but here in Blighty, it usually comes in a boat, rather than a train. The French abhor mere gravy, and would insist on 'un p'tit béchamel' or some such nonsense.
A good honest man would take a boatload of gravy over the gravy train, any day of the week.
You eat scones with tea and speak with an English accent. It's funny every time. Every.
You'd never put gravy on scones and you'd never have biscuits for dessert.
It's so annoying how the Brits made this so confusing.
Maybe, but I doubt it. :lol:
What is a goat to a pig? Apples and oranges?
Oh come on, what ever happened to your dictionary skills? The very definition of gravy means that it has animal juices in it. That white stuff is a sauce, nothing else.
Quoting Hanover
You eat burgers and speak with one of many American accents. It's funny every time. Every single time
Quoting Hanover
I used to eat fish and chips with gravy, and then chocolate biscuits for desert.
28 gorgeous chops there, get the apple sauce someone.
Quoting Shawn
I have no idea what a goat is to a pig, but a pig to a goat is probably something he would try to shag.
Without video evidence, I can't accept this testimony as valid.Quoting Sir2u
It says "Gravy" right there on the powder mix. What you're suggesting is that the package makers are liars. I can't accept that. They are good people with hearts of gold. Hearts of gold!
Let me borrow your time machine to go back 50 something years ago and I will provide it.
Quoting Hanover
Gravy:
A sauce made by adding stock, flour, or other ingredients to the juice and fat that drips from cooking meats
The seasoned but not thickened juices that drip from cooking meats; often a little water is added
If that is not enough; https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=define+gravy
The makers of that stuff are not liars, the are sales people. OK, I know that there is a great similarity but I try to be charitable. Did you read the contents to see if there is any animal fat in it? I don't see any vegetarian or vegan markers on it.
But I think that the real question about that being real gravy is how the hell they got cooked animal juice to be white, do they use bleach in it?
And I agree that they have a heart of gold, payed for from the money from your pockets.
OK, so they can plead insanity or just ignorance. But they really do take advantage of the users ignorance so that would make them fraudsters.
A pigoat? :smile:
Gopig sounds more exotic. :cool:
Goap? :lol:
Male - Rapi or pira
Female - Ewpi or piew
Let's stop now before people think we are being silly. :rofl:
"White gravy", what the fuck is that? Some kind of cream sauce without the cream? And your "butter, is it hydrogenated vegetable oil, or is it milk fat? In my book (of the highest culinary principles, as you might expect), fat comes from animals and oil comes from vegetables. That the scientists have devised a way to make oil appear to be fat doesn't mean that it is. and milk fat is not a vegetable oil.
Lard is trief and schmaltz is hard to come by these days. Margarine is pareve but unhealthy, so I don't use it. I do prefer butter, but it's milchig, so what to do with a fleishig meal?
Keep talking, you're turning me on. The sauce is the milchig and the gravy is the fleishig?
The last time I wore fake eyelashes I almost lost my visual capacity and pupils.
Dangerous toys are not for toddlers!
I feel like you're trying to talk about some other sort of gravy.
Is milchig of the milk, and fleishig of the flesh? If so, then the white sauce is milchig and gravy is fleishig.
The French like bluets, the germans like Blaubeere.
The magic of etymology shows us that the word has a common root in those three different languages: Blue, because the latter is the colour of the fruit.
Nonetheless, we call them 'arándanos'. It is clear that there is no trace of the adjective 'blue' in the noun. So, I did search on R.A.E. about the origin of that word and it says about arándanos:
It perhaps comes from Celtic 'aran' + Late Latin 'rodand?rum' or Greek 'rodódendron'.
https://dle.rae.es/ar%C3%A1ndano
Boozhoo in Ojibwa means welcome, hello, hi...
So, boozhoo, señor Javi. Want a piece of Miina-baashkiminasigani-biitoosijigani-bakwezhigan?
You are right, it is odd. But the root of 'arándano' is not blueberry because it is 'adelfa' instead.
Quoting BC
Yes, I do! A piece of Miina-baashkiminasigani-biitoosijigani-bakwezhigan with coffee in the morning. What else is better than this?
I gotta ask, what’s the deal with the Russian little person with dreads as your profile pic?
Eyes work strangely, rather than swinging your eye to the left, you can look left through a tick of the iris feeler compilation alone. When you automatically look, there is an untraceable pattern of pupil, eyeball, iris and other.
All body can be controlled introspectively, without 'struggle'. The temple is a way we can control our mind introspectively(like the iris with the eyes).
Many possibilities arise through this function if you get to grips with how phenomena in the universe and your self works. You can compute from mind and process into the environment, possibly in the smallest most petty way, with potential for growth. This is the future, this is the grounds for evolution, and we need proper mentalization in our world.
I had a random memory of him previously when I saw a Cannabis gummies pack in a pharmacy, and then I said to myself: there is a TPF mate who I have always talked about this topic with... and he is 0 thru 9.
Yet, his profile info says his last time online was two months ago. I hope he is doing well.
Memorandum: if you want to have a break from the forum please leave a note (as you do in your fridge) saying something like 'I will be fine', 'I leave because I have to fish salmon in New Caledonia', etc.
Open a thread called "Fridge Door", that way we will know where to look for messages that are of utmost importance.
What do I put on the door if I do not want to leave for a break?
The elusive Schopenhauer on the Shoutbox? Has the world gone mad? What's next, Shawn eating a bacon sandwich with extra bacon? Surely this makes it the Schopbox for today.
+1 for identical bewilderment. How do you know they're supposed to be Russian though? :chin:
I'll tell ya.. It bothered/perplexed me that much that I had to point it out.. I saw the Shoutbox as the best option...Why? What does it mean? What the hell is your game @BitconnectCarlos?!
Quoting Outlander
I did a reverse lookup on the image.. First I was unsure if that was a baby with dreads, or if that was a real photo of BitconnectCarlos.. Then I saw that.. But then that brings up even more questions..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasbulla
Just a meme.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nq9BALiyPOM
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/70uj5D0SRHg
Please have mercy on those pigs... :cry:
That's a good idea.
Quoting Sir2u
Hands off my beer!
Qué gran idea :up:
Quoting Sir2u
That you occasionally go to New Caledonia to fish for salmon. :grin:
Dead on. :rofl:
No one would believe that, I think that I would probably put something like
"I am still here, if that makes you unhappy then suck it up"
Can someone look into this question for me? I feel like the best place to come for medical information is the Shoutbox.
Original (only in Spanish but I guess Google Translate can help you): ESTATINAS
:up:
The feel like the salad offset the fat and sugar and the port reduced my heart rate.
But you're right, I fear my heavy reliance upon bacon as a primary staple can't be sustained much longer. I will soon switch to carrots and kale and live miserably into my old age.
Some musings:
Recently, I gifted a colleague two wine bottles (red and white). I had not felt, at the time, to get one for myself. Even though I knew they were good wines, my brain actually did not have the desire to try them. Then now I think about your steak. I could have potentially gifted him a nice piece of steak and not had one slight twitch to want to eat it myself. It puzzles me.
Quoting kazan
We worry about the long-term health of our most revered moderator and shoutbox guru.
In addition to the risks of red meat, sugar, and alcohol there's also the dietary disaster of grilling anything. Grilling food produces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (also found in cigarette smoke, scorched broccoli, and forest fires) which when eaten raise the risks of colon cancer.
Did you use iceberg lettuce in that mini-salad? It's next to worthless. Think dark leafy green -- beet greens, swiss chard, romaine, broccoli (unscorched), turnip greens, kale, mustard greens, nettles...
In addition to the health risks of badly scorched broccoli, it takes a week of airing out to get rid of the stink.
My salad was adorned with pickled beets, chickpeas, and tomatoes because that's how the Italian place nearby makes it, so I copied them. They still do the free birthday meal, so I was there on the 21st, which is the day you forgot my birthday. I ate it to remember being forgotten.
I douse the salad with Wishbone Italian dressing because it's been a friend by my side sense my earliest days, first as an unweaned child and now today, as a fully teat extracted gentleman.
I agree that broccoli is a troublesome fruit with its propensity to scorch. so I turn often to thie mini cabbage, the sprout from Brussels. It too will burn and char, but it's stench is not just tolerable, but downright enjoyable.
My arterial calcium score taken by CT fell in the mild range actually, but my wife's was a 0, and I'm feeling competitive. Perhaps instead of lowering my risk factors, I will sabotage hers, leaving chocolates and lardcakes around where she won't be able to resist.
:eyes:
Quoting Hanover
You've got great taste! Unfortunately, that's likely one indulgence you would benefit from limiting some. Remember the rule of thumb for life on Earth, if it tastes or feels good, it's probably going to kill you. :up:
It does appear to be a psychologically based amalgamation.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Glad to see you.
Now that you're back, please a take a moment to see what I've been up to so you'll be up to speed.
Coppola has apparently been sitting on this egg for 30 years, which is a long time for a gestating chicken.
From what I read, there's quite a lot of dialogue, and intellectualization. I heard that there are some references to 9/11 in New York. Also, the title is a take on the much older Metropolis, made in 1927.
Quoting BC
Allegedly, the poor in material wealth, Coppola, while probably rich in other regards, has been delayed by his personal debts, since he made the film from out of pocket.
In other news, I believe we spoke about Dune, have you seen the second part, as I might sometime later tonight...
Best regards
@javi2541997 has been reporting to me on a regular basis. Nothing he has told me has been a surprise. A disappointment, perhaps, but not a surprise.
I just recently saw Adam Driver in "Patterson." It was wonderful - small, personal, and open-hearted. Clearly much different than this one.
Please do. I've run low on material. I'm down to posting pictures of steak
Ahhh yes. It feels like you never left.
A prurient thumbs-up? Seems you're the prurient one BC.
True facts: grilling and deep frying develop carcinogenic substances in the food.
But there are ways to mitigate the carcinogens. Cut the meat into smaller pieces to grill them faster and at lower temp (this is when bamboo skewers become handy). Same with frying. Do not use the metal barbecue pit that intensifies the heat.
Use clay pots instead. See Asians. lol.
(FYI, I don't grill and deep fry for myself-- only for guests and rarely).
Quoting Hanover
:lol: I like all of the above.
Nice strawberry thumb.
That is one good looking pig.
Suggestive strawberry, yes. But it is thumb shaped and that's a very @T Clark's thing in The Shoutbox.
I don't like the smell of strawberries. It is a strong odour which extends all over the fridge... but yes, I would eat them with chocolate or cream, anyway.
I thought you would be offended if I didn't say something smarty-pants.
I don't see that it's prurient. It's just my new thumbs up tcemoji.
So the rest of us are chopped liver?
Hígado cortado :lol:
If that reference to chopped liver is a metaphor of crap or rubbish, then we have a common view of liver. It stinks, and the taste is so disgusting that I think I have never tasted anything worse than it.
In my experience chopped liver refers to chicken livers, which are actually pretty good.
I shouldn't have left you out, because you are definitely not chopped liver, but the rest of them are.
Yep, I was referring to chicken livers too. They are not my cup of tea. I rather like eating green beans and spring onion.
At least for me...
When my mummy cooks chicken liver, she uses onion, garlic and olive oil. Is it maybe the garlic guilty of the strong odour and not the chicken liver?
But the taste is still weird and paste-like to me. Nah, it is something I will not put up for supper if I invite you one day, Tom.
Wow! Thank you for your kindness, Tom. Your post cheered me up. Yes, the gastronomy of my country is one of the few things I am proud of being born in the Peninsula.
Apart from the Visigoths, obviously.
Last week I caught a turtle with chicken livers, but threw him back because I don't eat lake turtles. I was hoping for a catfish.
Very big strawberry. Very small pig.
From Ask The Rabbi:
I have always thought of myself as a side-dish in the banquet of life. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, peas.
I realize that chopped liver formed the height of Jewish cuisine in the 1970s, but like schmaltz, fell into disfavor as Jews could begin to afford to eat the more preferable parts of the animal, but I still must question why a rabbi should be consulted as the expert here.
The village philologist gets so little work as it is, I'd think we should turn to him as opposed to a spiritual leader.
I would think a "side dish" would be a mistress, who you could playfully refer to as Tater Salad. It'd be a fun inside joke you could use in the throes of adultery.
There is some evidence, based on comparison of years of posts, that you and I don't think exactly alike.
More appropriately spoken as "second fiddle". But "chopped liver" is generally very derogatory, like completely unwanted.
At least I tried... :roll:
:flower:
Quoting Hanover
I have not been photographing my endlessly fascinating iterations of cutting edge culinary experimentation and ingenuity. Perhaps I will grace the foodbox with my morsels of wisdom. Perhaps I shan't. Esoteric knowledge is hidden from the many to spare them from madness in most cases.
@hanover has his steaks, @shawn has his pigs, and I have my bon mots. There's no reason you shouldn't jump in with your haute cuisine.
I'm delighting in the word "shan't." Thank you for that. It feels like a Renaissance fair here me lord.
Cook, drop on salad, eat.
Serve with a plate and fork and knife.
Say to wife: "This port glass ain't gonna fill itself," wait for effect, and then go get the port and fill your glass.
See, I never could understand folk who drink while they eat. It's like, if you're going to put half your organs through liquid hell you might as well at least enjoy the only surmisable point of doing so: a nice, hearty buzz along with the relaxing frame of mind that accompanies such. I know they say food doesn't really absorb alcohol or sober you up; but it really does. Maybe not scientifically, but I know from experience it most certainly has an effect somewhere in that neighborhood. Don't get me wrong now, friends of mine are seasoned drinkers and they tell me if you're going to drink for an extended period, you need to eat meat somewhere along the way, otherwise you'll just get dizzy and tired. Of course, some people like that.
To each their own. :up:
As the Governor of the Shoutbox, I have a very high responsibility of assuring that all that is written here is Truth. The vast majority of media outlets get their news here first and then they distribute what they learn through a complex series of rope knots to others until it is finally reprinted on mainstream news sources.
A guy named Jeff orchestrates the whole thing. He's a non-descript guy but for his American flag cowboy boot on one foot and a black and white mule (@BC will explain) on the other.
Anywho, my point is I must correct you. "They" don't deny that food intercepts alcohol. They say it does. You should in fact eat when you drink so you won't get as drunk. https://www.bgsu.edu/recwell/wellness-connection/alcohol-education/alcohol-metabolism.html#:~:text=Food%20can%20either%20absorb%20alcohol,the%20wall%20of%20the%20stomach.
I stand educated. And a bit disturbed.
"The surface area of the small intestine is very large (about the size of a tennis court)" :brow:
Still, I feel my point remains. If you're not drinking alcohol to get drunk (or mildly buzzed and relaxed, focused, energized, whatever it is you're after, per se), that kinda seems more like an intimate ritual self-flogging of one's organs more so than anything else.
Unless one is currently undergoing some bizarre juvenile right-of-passage, I'd stand by my suggestion of drinking before eating (something I would often enjoy in the not-so-distant past before I kicked the habit for work-related reasons for its sensory enhancing capabilities, be they real or imagined), waiting until after, or simply drinking less in the proximity of a meal altogether. No reason to douse your innards if you're not even receiving the brunt of the reward when it's all said and done now, is there? It'd be like smoking a nicotine-free cigarette in lieu of a standard one under the mindset of "giving your body a break", I'd say. Just seems a bit silly to me. :chin:
The lack of acknowledgement of your "forgot my birthday" baited hook suggests a collusion of parties on the s/box? Perhaps, teamed with the extravagant recognition of T Clark's return/reappearance, an extended absence from said s/box may garner your 'umble self similar kodos. Absence of a time no more than that necessary for a quick urination would suffice.....perhaps. smile, anyway preferred.
Is there any salad left after the drop, or does it splay out willy-nilly atop the table top, spritzing dressing hither and thither, a drop landing in Fred's eye, causing her to drop her port glass, spilling the viscous liquid on the ornate white table cloth as you reach across in a fruitless, panicked attempt to stop the spillage, a morsel of garlic salt steak dropping from your outstretched steak knife into the waiting jaws of other Fred who is allergic to garlic and will soon die after his triumphant ingestion of the juicy beef, lost for a precious moment in the revelry of the sublime flavor before his imminent passing?
These are the questions you should be asking yourself before you doll out steak recipes to strangers on the internet.
The steak is dropped FROM A FIREMAN'S (sorry, I hit Caps Lock) bucket. I have to call in a fire to get them out, and once there, I explain my real purpose, they laugh, and then they do the steak drop for me. I typically give them a shredded carrot from the salad for their time.
Quoting Noble Dust
In what world is "Fred" a female? You are obviously thinking Fred is short for Frederina, but it's not. It's short for Fredd, which is his full name. His full name is Fredd Kevin Barkowitz. It didn't use to have the double D, but now it does since we had this convo. Convo is short for conversation, which is no longer short because I had to explain it.
Does that include the area in the doubles line or are they just talking about a single's match? I'd also think it might matter whether we're talking about a young petite woman with a flowing skirt versus a strapping young man of over 6 and half feet and 250 pounds with piercing blue eyes.
The point is that I think there is small intestine variance from person to person and an unclarity regarding tennis court size, so these comparisons are hard to use in real life. Like if I were called upon to extract a small intestine, I would be at a complete loss as to how big a spool I would need to reel it up based upon the limited information you've provided.
Please, please, please do better next time.
Your steak drop method is impressive in it's ingenuity, but you haven't answered my question, vis-à-vis, whether any salad remains post-drop. This is the most important question, because it brings into focus the purpose of the drop itself. Are you attempting to distribute salad across the dinner table equally and equitably to all present, imparting a warm afterglow of meatiness to the leafs via their fleeting contact with the steak as it lands? Or are you an agent of chaos hell-bent on salad destruction for it's own sake, as if the act of dropping a floppy slab of meat from a great height on to the slimy contents of a salad bowl constituted some sort of performance art?
As to Fred's gender, this is clearly a sensitive issue to you, so we shall leave it in their hands to define themselves however they wish; we shan't force any pronouns upon them just because their name is Fred.
By the way, who is Fred again?
@T Clark speaking about movies, have you seen The Elephant Man? If you liked Heart of Darkness, I'd imagine you would like The Elephant Man...
No, I never have.
It was from the elephant POV. I gave it a tomato.
Then the fire department dropped s steak on it, but we still don't know if it splattered.
I like my thoughts like I like my eggs. Scrambled with cheese.
Don't covet your neighbor.
Spose he has a pig?
Quoting Hanover
Quoting Hanover
Quoting Hanover
So, I can't gather my thoughts about this elephant's POV and your;
Quoting Hanover
Quoting Hanover
Is this a tip? Do go on...
Yeah, I still think about him to this day. He was quite a chap, don't you say?
My word, I've never seen this side of you before, Shawn.
Someone please, hide the piglets. :scream:
"This is a mother pig."
Or a sow with piglets?
Please pig-illucidate. Smile porcinely if you wish.
We had some members who stood out, or "up." Honestly, the mod's have quite a job up there. Do you know that there's a Non-Disclosure Agreement after you become a mod, not to tell secrets? Then again, I just made that last part up.
I'm just being congenial. :wink:
Yes, every time I think about pigs, I feel more happy. It's important that they aren't eaten. I wouldn't convert to Judaism to do so; but, they have their own reasons. On some things Jews and Muslims agree, who would have thought?
Somebody finish the thought...
I considered @S one of my friends here on the forum. I miss him.
Any thoughts? smile not at one's own expense.
Are you still drinking in the belly of the day?
Because there is beauty in drinking coffee in the belly of the day.
Why thank you.
Coincident with your return, sir, yes.
Quoting Shawn
:cheer:
Quoting T Clark
:up:
Is it AI generated? You get some weird stuff. I once asked GPT AI for an image of a thick waxy candle and it drew a... Well, let's just say something escaped the censor.
[sup]— Jessie Yeung, Yoonjung Seo · CNN · May 29, 2024[/sup]
:D
Yes, I think you guys are doing a great job on our humble abode. We really appreciate the time and effort you guys put into this ship.
It's delicate work I can imagine.
Thrasymachus is to a hornet if Socrates is a gadfly.
Corncob?
Think it was an eggplant actually. :lol:
Braggart.
Sumac. It grows wild around here, and in the summer the blossoms turn into thick clusters of fruits with a fuzzy covering. They smell good, and if one gets past the fuzziness, they have a very pleasant flavor--but the fuzz is a drawback.
In the fall the leaves turn bright red.
Red lentils are so much more attractive than the gray-brown variety that looks like mud when cooked. Don't think the flavor is much different between the two.
After you've signed the papers, you cannot reveal that you've signed the papers. You can only reveal that if you've signed the papers you cannot reveal that you've signed the papers.
You don't know the half of it, Shawn. It's like Stalin's politburo up here. The closer you get to @Jamal the more dangerous it becomes. Fdrake is taking a real risk speaking out. Even indirectly. And so am I just by saying that. If you never hear from either of us again... Well, there's an old wall that runs from the peak of the Gap of Dunloe due east and up the mountain. If you happened to follow it for exactly 77 meters from the road's edge, you might notice one of the stones in it, just one, isn't grey but red, and under that stone you might find something. A message even... Ah, I've really said too much. Now, I can only pray. :groan:
I made a 16 bean Cajun turkey soup. I had wanted to put the leftover andouille sausage in it, but my wife doesn't like it and she threw it out. While I bring the sausage home, she is generally in charge of what to do with it.
Oh, and there were 16 types of beans, not just 16 total beans. That would be a poor person's soup, unless they were big beans like watermelon beans. Lentils and beans taste a lot of like in that neither have much taste.
End of post.
This was my first question. Please name every bean in the soup, if there were indeed 16. It seems to me that there wouldn't be a lot of each bean. Kind of like making a 16 vegetable soup; there'd probably only be like 3 pieces of each vegetable total, so each serving would be like a new soup. Kind of genius, but could also lead to a lot of unhappy customers if served at a restaurant.
A photo my now famous couscous artichoke salad:
It's aware it's being eaten? What does it think of Donald Trump's guilty verdict, or does it, like many salads, prefer to stay apolitical? Did it ever aspire to one day make it to the big leagues and sit at a fancy New York salad bar or is it content facing a grizzly end in your humble abode? :chin:
Sufficient for what?
Quoting BC
Is it the same sumac that the spice is derived from? I remember Poison Sumac being a rare but scary plant to look out for in Ohio, a sort of less common cousin to Poison Ivy. I always associated the term Sumac with that, so when I encountered it in a Middle Eastern restaurant I was befuddled and perplexed. Flabbergasted even. Turns out it's really tasty and a bit citrus-y.
Quoting BC
The main difference is texture. Red lentils fall apart so good for soup. Black or brown are firmer and better for salads.