[make sure it's true!]
The strangest thing I read today was a typical Nigerian scam mail, only the person had changed the part where Mr. Nabungabunga was killed by rebels to Steve Irwin and a stingray.
But they mail was almost completely unchanged otherwise.... down to Mrs. Irwin encouraging me to send her my bank account number before the stingrays and the government of Australia hunted her down.
This is a sick, sad world.
Well, I haven't done much strange things today, aprt from being able to wake up after three hours of sleep, but that's almost not strange.
Anyway, maybe what could be cosidered as a strange event in my life were three models (female) in my car today. That's something that doesn't happen every day.
But I should probably explain it, I was asked by my father, who s organizing a fashion show for some kind of his business partner, to help him pick eight models from the airport and bring them to the hotel...
Ok, it's not very strange when you put it that way, but come on, three models in a car with me!!! And I wasn't hallucinating...
(I just had to tell someone here... Sorry...) :P
KAt, as for the scam mail... The world really is sick... :(
Are you SURE you were not hallucinating?
...and did his father accept the explanation of why it took three hours to drive 10 miles.
The strangest thing I ATE today was some black olive and bacon spread/dip on a Nacho Cheese Dorito, because I ran out of crackers... :o SPICY Doritos.
The strangest thing I experienced today was dealing with a crazy lady. She came into work, ordered steak, ate like 2 bites and asked me to pack the rest to go. She paid her bill and said (no joke!) "I didn't tip you but that's not because of you. It's because of *them*! If they just left me alone, you'd get a tip." While she pointed at EMTPTY AIR. Then we got a call from the front desk about her saying that she was being harassed in the pub by 'hooligans'. There was nobody in there....
And I get to do it 5 more days this week.
There could have been extra-dimensional hooligans there. ;D
The strangest thing I ate today was Vermonty Python ice cream. My husband bought it for me as a surprise, and there are chocolate cows in it!
Quote from: Tansy on September 26, 2006, 03:59:43 AM
She paid her bill and said (no joke!) "I didn't tip you but that's not because of you. It's because of *them*! If they just left me alone, you'd get a tip." While she pointed at EMTPTY AIR. Then we got a call from the front desk about her saying that she was being harassed in the pub by 'hooligans'. There was nobody in there....
I didn't do anything strange today, but that reminds me of when I sold electronics downtown (I took a year off between high school and university to work).
A guy came in looking to buy a mini stereo system. I showed him a few and he settled on a Sony. All through our conversation, he seemed normal. I rang the sale through, he paid, picked up his new stereo and went to leave. I noticed that he left his receipt on the counter, so I pointed it out to him. He said, "Oh... I don't want it."
I told him, "you should hold onto it in case you want to return it, or if you have to make a warranty claim."
He said, "yeah... I know... but I don't want to have to take care of all the little people in the ink." He looked completely serious.
"What?"
He put the stereo down, picked up the receipt and pointed to all the zeros and 'O's. "Look - see? There's one, and there's one, and another one... ooo... ooo... ooooo........ ah, f*** 'em." And then he stuffed the receipt in his pocket, picked up his stereo and walked out.
The strangest thing I ate today was leftover ostrich burgers.
Quote from: Kat on September 25, 2006, 07:53:21 PM
Are you SURE you were not hallucinating?
I'm very sure... And I had the opportunity to show them the city after the show this afternoon (there were six of the with me, not only three this time)... I'm getting used to hanging out with models... ;)
Anyway, I have figured out a very strange thing today... I realized that I have been sober for more than 12 hours...
I will have been sober for 12 hours in about 30 minutes.
My migraine drugs are addictive. If the migraine can be cured with cheap scotch, that's the way I go.
The strangest thing I got in the mail today was Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, the 25th anniversary edition.
Sibling Outis, have you tried to treat migraine with feverfew? It works for me, and is not addictive, but a little bit tricky to use.
The strangest thing I did today was read all these strange things you guys did. I gotta get out more...
The strangest thing I ate today was either a hamburger patty on toast for breakfast, or a grilled rice cheese sandwich for lunch.
Both are fairly odd, now that I think about it.
The strangest thing I've seen today is that avatar of yours, good Lambi. What the heck is it? A sea squirt? A cloud shaped like a zepplin? Some kind of protozoan? It's fascinating.
It's a yeastie. ;D
More specifically, it's Brettanomyces, though I don't know if it's Brettanomyces Lambicus or not.
I also think it looks a bit like a cross between a seal and a manatee.
Well, it (your avatar) is just the cutest, strangest thing I've seen all day. I believe we could create a similar look by putting the pudgey arm of a Cabbage Patch kid doll, pudgey hand out, about elbow-deep, around the corner behind a mirror wall. Don't you?
Hmm... I can see that. Especially if you throw in some weird mood lighting.
Indeed.
Played with electricity and fish protien in Bioengineering.
The strangest thing I woke up today was the sound of three chainsaws starting at once as the three tree companies on my block right now waited for 7am- the earliest they can turn them on without being fined.
I can't eat anything, because I'm out of butter.
Kat, do we need to organize a butter air drop for you?
I know you can't live without butter.
;D
Kat needs an emergency cow...one of our locals had his herd brought to barns and weaned his calves early during the multi-hurricane refugee season with Katrina/Rita in order to provide milk for the folks that were at the County Convention Center and in campers and tents. His grandkids started calling that part of his herd...the ones that became dairy cows out of necessity...the emergency cows.
Then, of course, she'll need a churn. ;)
You can roll the cream in a jar to churn it...and my bread machine has a butter churning setting.
We got butter. We were O-Kay.
And now i'm thinking seriously about setting up with the local dairy to pick up milk and cream regularly. (Pasturized, not homoginized, so I can take the extra cream off the milk as well.)
Hmmm, must Google electric churns...
The strangest thing I saw was from my friend Sara... I just *loves* her...
'cuz life can be a little too serious at times. Can't have that. ;P
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php
This short film is worth waiting for, to watch fully.
Kiwi Short (http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=20550)
Warning! It can make you a bit misty-eyed ...
I threw sticky balls at a dart-style target on the whiteboard in my bio engineering class. Got a few on, and nailed the Hamlet poster about three feet above the target. >.<
I was sitting on the porch today, watching the squirrels play on the steps and in the yard. There were several groups of two or three, and they were having a huge squirrelathon all over. I'd been sitting very still, and suddenly, one scurried up the steps and into my lap (high spot = vantage point from which to watch other squirrlies) and sat scoping out the scene.
Suddenly, he turned, looked into my face and froze for a few seconds. He then sort of headbutted me (like they do when they're really playing with one another) and took off again. It was almost surreal.
That is too cool!
My school and lab is being featured on a documentary for Japanese public TV.
That's neat. the Japanese have such an exacting school system that any interest in what your school is doing leads me to think they're pretty advanced!!
My mystical thing with nature continued today. The leaves are falling a LOT now, and I was watching the peach tree lose leaves of bright yellow, no red/brown/orange. Suddenly it looked as though some of the leaves were flying upward!! As the leaves themselves continued down, I realized that it was bright yellow butterflies, scores of them, flying through the area. They fluttered along, stopping on trees, lawns, porch rails, clothesline poles and sleeping dogs and cats, then fluttered on. There may have been as many as a hundred of them, all traveling in one large area, then vanishing.
Nature is amazing.
Quote from: Sibling Chatty on November 29, 2006, 12:53:53 AM
I was sitting on the porch today, watching the squirrels play on the steps and in the yard. There were several groups of two or three, and they were having a huge squirrelathon all over. I'd been sitting very still, and suddenly, one scurried up the steps and into my lap (high spot = vantage point from which to watch other squirrlies) and sat scoping out the scene.
Suddenly, he turned, looked into my face and froze for a few seconds. He then sort of headbutted me (like they do when they're really playing with one another) and took off again. It was almost surreal.
Sometimes, I think that animals are attuned to some level that we mere humans cannot perceive.
Or, perhaps, being "all growed up" we no longer are able to perceive it ::) as some very young people sometimes seem to be attuned as well as animals.
Of course, there are some adults that seem to have perceptions beyond the pale-- I'm thinking of the mystics or Tibetan monks who have remarkable physical abilities.
But, animals sometimes appear to have kept that ethereal touch. Maybe it's a function of just living in one constant "now". No yesterday, no tomorrow-- just one, constant "now".
xxxxx
Anyway, it could be that squirrel sensed you wouldn't really do it any harm, at just that moment. Who knows?
Cool story any way it happened. :D
The coda to that little tale...
Spencer smelled squirrely on me when he got in my lap. He sniffed for 20 minutes. When I took those clothes off and put them in the laundry basket, he dragged them out and lay on them and rolled around and pawed at them to try and cover the scent of squirrel that had been on Mommy. He kept coming over to sniff me to make sure there was no residual scent.
He's been very vocal about his displeasure with the squirrels...
Quote from: Sibling Chatty on December 02, 2006, 04:40:55 AM
The coda to that little tale...
Spencer smelled squirrely on me when he got in my lap. He sniffed for 20 minutes. When I took those clothes off and put them in the laundry basket, he dragged them out and lay on them and rolled around and pawed at them to try and cover the scent of squirrel that had been on Mommy. He kept coming over to sniff me to make sure there was no residual scent.
He's been very vocal about his displeasure with the squirrels...
Dogs are VERY protective of their pack-- especially the ALPHA member! ;D
The strangest thing I've done lately was buy myrrh (two days ago).
Yesterday I burned some of it.... I don't know if what I bought was of good quality or not, but the smell left something to be desired. Unless you like the smell of hot glue (y'know the hot glue guns with the little sticks of glue... like that).
I think I'll try frankincense instead, next time.
Ugh. I'd only use that in VERY small doeses. That stuff is powerful. I had to attend a Vespers mass on Sunday, and my coat STILL smells like it, and I'm still coughing it out. NOT good for asthmatics, and it can make you nauseated.
I stole salsa from someone in class.
The strangest thing I've done today is get semi-high off my chair.
I got a new wheelie desk chair. It came all wrapped up in plastic - when I took the wrapping off, it started off-gassing something fierce.
I'm sure it can't be good for me, but I'm too buzzed to care. ;D
BTW - I think the second-weirdest thing I did today was use the word "off-gassing" when describing a chair.
Oh, my work chair does that all the time.... but I think it's from the on-gassing I give it.
Does drinking Wiser's on the rocks out of my coffee mug at work count as weird? It's the boss's Wiser's....
Does the boss mind?
And don't chair and drive, Lambi. Have a soft landing!
Heh... he started it!
:D
Duje, i'm reminding you that you're supposed to be writing reports so you can get outta there.
You tol' us to remind you... ;D
Almost done... ish.
Anyways, almost outta here. Just assembling PDFs.
The strangest thing I did today was find out I
may have a (possibly) up-and-coming pop starlet for a second cousin:
http://www.miakulba.com/home.asp
QuoteOn the song placement side of life, the years not over yet and 18 year old Mia has already had songs placed in Falcon Beach (Magazine Blue), Queer as Folk (Lemon and Lime), CTV television series the Eleventh Hour (Love Songs). Her song 'Just Like January' will be released by Canadian Idol winner, Melissa O'Neil on her debut album in November.
Still need to do some inquiries within the family to see if she's who I think she is (Dad's cousin's daughter???). Weird. ???
Nice name-pun, though. ;)
Neat! My second cousin is Ronald McDonald. Really.
No relation to the clown, though, and he had the name before the restaurant chain took it.
The stupidest thing I've done so far today......
I was getting ready to leave the house this morning, but needed a quick application of deodorant and a bit 'o chapstick for the dry lips on the way out. I absentmindedly grabbed the first stick I found, and started applying it to the wrong body part.
I'm glad that the first stick I found was the chapstick, but my left armpit is still burning/freezing from the peppermint oil in it. :P
do you have a very small deodorant or a very large chapstick?
Or, perhaps, delayed perception facility initiation on startup? ;D
Quote from: goat starer on January 18, 2007, 03:37:43 PM
do you have a very small deodorant or a very large chapstick?
Quote from: The Meromorph (Quasimodo) on January 18, 2007, 03:50:17 PM
Or, perhaps, delayed perception facility initiation on startup? ;D
I have no excuse either way. I had been up for about an hour and a half already, showered, fed and tea'd (I'm a slow startup person), and both are normal size and shape. It was more like this:
Brain: Need chapstick and deodorant. LA LA LA LA LA!!
Hand: There's one; brain not available, apply without consulting brain further.
Armpit: Wait, that's too small to be pitstick... AHHH! IT BURNS!
My brain often wanders away if I'm not keeping a close eye on it.
Oh my.
I think I've made it clear that I live in an area with mild tempteratures, and the weather's been weird lately.
It got weirder.
Ice, when it forms, which is rare, is gone by ten o'clock, tops. Not today! I came home at 3:45pm and nearly slipped in some. Ice thick enough that walking on it didn't break it. Very strange!
The strangest thing I did today was fire my doctor and threaten to fire an entire pharmacy...
Quote from: Sibling Chatty on January 19, 2007, 06:31:10 AM
The strangest thing I did today was fire my doctor and threaten to fire an entire pharmacy...
To do that you fire your doctor (already on fire) in the general direction of the pharmacy. Remember your math (parabolic shot) and consider the wind.
:daz:
-----------
The strangest thing I did today was to lend a cooler with ice to one of my neighbors after she asked me to put some of her stuff on my fridge because hers is broken.
The strangest thing I did yesterday was to handle a wild snake in my living room.
I was going out to check the mailbox and carelessly kicked aside what looked like a shoelace sticking out from my by-the-door shoes... until I remembered that they were clogs!
Turns out I had kicked a small snake, maybe a foot long, grey with brown star-like patches. I put a glass bowl over him so I could check my reptile book to make sure he wasn't poisonous, but ID'd him as a baby black rat snake (nonpoisonous and actually good at mouse-hunting). Took me a bit to get up the nerve, but I finally picked him up behind the head and along his little smooth snake body and carried him outside. I put him in some leaves, where he sat for a minute until he felt safe, then slithered off into the leaves.
I imagined that he was thinking: "Ha! Fooled them!"
The strangest thing I did this week was take water samples at -22 C. Or wore snowshoes to work....
The strangest thing I did yesterday was stop traffic for geese. Here's the story:
I looked out my window to see two Canada geese walking across my lawn with five little yellow newly-hatched goslings in tow.
I called my wife over, and we both watched them as they walked off our lawn, onto our little street and towards the high-speed thoroughfare near our house. My wife and I stopped traffic on the main road while the geese walked across.
Finally, they crossed the road and made it to the little pond they were heading for.
The hatchlings were very cute. The little ones were shorter than the curb, so it took several tries for them to jump up. My wife took pictures; if we can get them off her phone, hopefully I'll be able to post them here.
I hope, I hope...
MUST see baby gooses!!
Heh, we found a family with very young goslings on a (large) second-story sitting area of a building downtown this weekend (along the Plus 15 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plus_15)).
We have urban Canada geese and beavers here, and jackrabbits. ;D
Yeah, we've got plenty of animals around here. We see deer quite a bit (often in farmers' fields - I'm sure they LOVE that :) ), and we also have a few swans, plenty of geese and ducks, some sandpipers, and lots of rabbits.
And something that decapitates rabbits - I suspect foxes.
Edit: Aggie, when I first saw the Plus 15, I thought it was strange that Calgary would put its underground path (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_path) on the second story. ;D
Quote from: Sibling Lambicus the Toluous on May 08, 2007, 01:43:49 PM
Edit: Aggie, when I first saw the Plus 15, I thought it was strange that Calgary would put its underground path (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_path) on the second story. ;D
Heh, but our subway is at street level!
Yeah, it's like you don't want to be troglodytes or something. Strange.
;D
Quote from: Agujjim on May 08, 2007, 06:58:51 AMWe have urban Canada geese and beavers here, and jackrabbits. ;D
Going into London by train 20 years ago you'd often see foxes in the wasteland by the tracks pretty near the centre. And the occasional commuter who'd turned savage after waiting two years for the 07:15 to London Bridge.
Two mallards were shopping at M&S this week.
It's a tossup today....
I cut a frozen turkey up with a handsaw (halves is TOUGH - turkeys are round and hard to hang on to! Quarters get easier because there's a flat bit).
I also spent a month's pay buying spiders....
Quote from: Agujjim on May 10, 2007, 06:24:20 AMI cut a frozen turkey up with a handsaw (halves is TOUGH - turkeys are round and hard to hang on to! Quarters get easier because there's a flat bit).
Sounds like you need to make yourself a turkey-sized mitre box... which could also be a strangest thing you ____ed that day.
QuoteI also spent a month's pay buying spiders....
Investment?
Ayup. SPDRs.
;D
That's crazy - I didn't even know about those! I was actually trying to make a joke about spider farming and breeding.
Have a look into ETFs (there's also Diamonds, Cubes and a bunch of other clever names). I'd never heard about them until a couple of weeks ago.
Unfortunately, the markets are all doing quite well so I'm not convinced that I won't end up taking a loss in the short-term; the particular ones I'm in are long term investments. WANT palladium, but physical (Maple Leafs) has ridiculous amounts of tax & premiums up front to get into, and the two palladium ETFs out there (ooh.... the Swiss one launched today!) are on foreign markets and therefore a pain to buy. :P
I'm lost, why is the markets doing a well a bad thing for SPDRs? I thought they were for going long rather than shorting. Not that I know much about them, them being foreign (relative to me that is).
Or have you tied it in with some complex derivative trade that's going to make LTCM look like a hiccup?
Or is it just they've done so well up till now you think it can't last?
P.S. We're relying on you for commodity tips, especially if one of your reports can close a mine unexpectedly ;) .
Quote from: beagle on May 10, 2007, 09:08:02 PMOr is it just they've done so well up till now you think it can't last?
That'd be the one. I'm a pessimist, particularly in regards to the US market (stuck a bunch of money in an emerging markets ETF, and have a good chunk in Canadian-based stuff). I should really invest in QID:
QuoteUltraShort QQQ ProShares (ETF) seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the inverse of the daily performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index. The Fund's principal investment strategies include taking positions in financial instruments (including derivatives), in combination, should have similar daily return characteristics as twice (200%) the inverse performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index. The Fund will not sell short the individual equity securities of issuers contained in the NASDAQ-100 Index. It invests assets not invested in financial instruments, in debt instruments and/or money market instruments. The Fund's investment advisor is ProShare Advisors LLC.
When the NASDAQ takes a dive, QID goes up TWICE as much. Seems risky unless you're sure there's a crash coming, but I might jump in if it keeps losing value.
As far as tips go, I am not usually on anything economy-shattering. Entire midsize petroleum companies yes, but big mines? Nope. ;)
Mind you, if I was able to easily able to get at the London Stock Exchange I'd be buying ETFS Physical Palladium shares ( http://www.etfsecurities.com/msl/etfs_physical_palladium.asp ) since I think Pd is undervalued right now and stands to rise in the future. Maybe Swato has some inside info on the chemical applications, but the higher Pt gets, the more likely it is that manufacturers will start substituting Pd for catalytic applications. If China ever makes catalytic converters mandatory on cars, there will be a BIG bump in prices. Purely speculative - I'm no expert, but palladium just took a small hop downwards after being up for a while here.
Googling SPDR to find out what you were talking about led me to slight confusion (http://www.spdrdogs.org/).
Personally I hold out no investment hopes. My main concern is also that the markets are doing too well. It indicates that everything will plummet. I am convinced this will coincide with my needing to liquidise. It helps to be gloomy as it fosters a things-couldn't-be-worse happy-go-lucky attitude. I have invested in air conditioning in my one too-hot room in order to increase my saleability should the need arise...... I am now dependent on global warming.
Quote from: Agujjim on May 10, 2007, 09:54:02 PM
That'd be the one. I'm a pessimist, particularly in regards to the US market
There does seem to be an unhealthy assumption that risk and inflation have disappeared throughout the world. ;)
Unless you can pick the next Microsoft it hasn't made much sense to hold US Dollar stocks in the UK. The rapid decline of the Dollar has meant even the best performing US mutuals/unit trusts have lost money over five years in Sterling terms. Pretty much anywhere else in the world has been a better bet (until the coup or the compulsory nationalisations :) ).
Most of my minimal fortune is in high yield UK equity income on the principle the dividend underwrites the "real" value in the medium/long term. I've just reduced UK commercial property exposure after a multi-year very good run. As I totter towards my dotage I'm faced with the same problem as Griffin, the need to put more in guaranteed equity bonds or similar in case I need my pension at the worst possible moment.
Quote
Mind you, if I was able to easily able to get at the London Stock Exchange...
Is it difficult for Canadians to own foreign stock/instruments directly? I know Americans prefer American Depository Receipts to direct ownership, whereas Brits tend to buy directly in the local market. Or is it just the hassle of meeting all the money laundering proof regulations and setting up a nominee account?
Griffin's London property plan seems good in the long term. It's worked for the Dukes of Westminster for the last few centuries.
Quote from: beagle on May 11, 2007, 07:38:09 AM
Unless you can pick the next Microsoft it hasn't made much sense to hold US Dollar stocks in the UK. The rapid decline of the Dollar has meant even the best performing US mutuals/unit trusts have lost money over five years in Sterling terms. Pretty much anywhere else in the world has been a better bet (until the coup or the compulsory nationalisations :) ).
Right now with the Canadian dollar doing well against the USD, it's not a bad idea to keep some funds on that side of the border. If the $C tanks, then the US stuff will hold some value. The reverse is probably not true as our economy would be in big trouble if the Loonie beat out the Greenback - although gasoline prices might go down a bit! Heh, I think the best investment right now would be buying and holding bulk petrol when the price is low.
QuoteIs it difficult for Canadians to own foreign stock/instruments directly? I know Americans prefer American Depository Receipts to direct ownership, whereas Brits tend to buy directly in the local market. Or is it just the hassle of meeting all the money laundering proof regulations and setting up a nominee account?
I can trade CDN/US stock online through an account I've set up with my bank. AFAIK, there are not big issues with buying foreign stock (I'm assuming Canadians will be able to buy UK stock fairly easily) but I'll need a broker to do so - not sure if my bank will provide the service if I use their people, but I know of a couple other banks that will.
Griffin's real estate plan is solid - we missed the latest boom by about 4 years here. I plan to pick up some bare land if the right opportunity comes along, but I'll probably have to wait a couple of years for the market to cool in order to buy a house.
It's not that solid. There's a major river nearby. :ROFL:
All the signs are that we WILL need a new Thames Barrier but no one else seems to have it on their agenda. Think twice before investing in the London Stock Exchange; it'll be swept away. Mark my words. :GOT:
Have you been listening to Lib Dems about the increasing use of the barrier? If so you might want to listen to the archive copy of the Radio 4 Investigation program where they showed the figures wrong by the simple expedient of getting on the 472 bus to Charlton and visiting Andy Batchelor who runs the Barrier and asking him.
See listen again link here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6295021.stm) (It's just over half way through the program, but the whole thing is interesting).
The claimed figures are the barrier was used 55 times in the last five years, and 12 in the previous five years. The correct figures are 31, down from 35 times. I understand the Lib Dems still use the incorrect figures to this day on their green issues web sites.
But then as, Harold Wilson said, "A lie can be half way round the world before the truth has got its boots on".
Quote from: beagle on May 12, 2007, 08:29:30 PM
Have you been listening to Lib Dems about the increasing use of the barrier?
No I haven't. :o
A few years ago I had a chat with one of the Barrier engineers about how it is designed to affect my area of London. Not a very reassuring chat in the very much longer term at that point in time but several lifetimes ahead of mine.
There was a nice interactive web page with the barrier which you could click to make it go up or down. I've googled and googled for it but it seems to have disappeared.Since then, the flood tides are on the increase, more frequent and higher, and so are the gales. I keep an eye on them occasionally more out of interest than anything else. However, I have mentally chopped off a few lifetimes, although I expect it's good for quite a few still. On that particular "risk" anyway.
See
Flood London (http://www.floodlondon.com/floodtb.htm) site for interesting info.
And
Thamesweb.com (http://www.thamesweb.com/topic.php?topic_name=Flood%20Defence) have this nice little graph but I don't know who funds them ;)(http://212.67.202.196/~teprep/dev/documents/uploaded/image/tb_closures1.jpg)
They must be the right figures; they've got an Excel graph ;)
When it comes to environmental figures I've decided you should follow Churchill's advice of not believing any statistics you haven't falsified yourself.
That graph stops a few years ago. If it's right it will be interesting how many trends change with the sunspot cycle over the next decade or so. I'm quite prepared to believe we're mucking up the atmosphere, but equally prepared to believe buffeting by the solar wind does too.
If we buy you a notepad, pencil and pair of binoculars will you keep count of the barrier for us?
Quote from: beagle on May 13, 2007, 08:57:26 AM
When it comes to environmental figures I've decided you should follow Churchill's advice of not believing any statistics you haven't falsified yourself.
My sentiments exactly.
Quote from: beagle on May 13, 2007, 08:57:26 AM
That graph stops a few years ago......
If we buy you a notepad, pencil and pair of binoculars will you keep count of the barrier for us?
Presumably the person responsible for the graph was unable to requisition a notebook after 2003. Cut backs no doubt.
Did you know that the barrier is designed so that certain parts of London are
supposed to flood to make it more effective in other areas? Those parts have pub tables - outside on tow path - regularly under water. All I need is beer expenses :)
Saved my telephone from internment in the garage. Somebody left it out there, and I had to hunt around for it. ::)
Put an instruction card explaining "how to flush" in my bathrooom for my forthcoming visitors.
This is for the week, not just today...
I've had a whole bunch of odd things happen to me over the course of National Dairy Goat Awareness Week. As Bill & Ted said, strange things are afoot at the Circle K:
- on Monday (I think it was Monday), I passed the mouth of the local creek and saw a plethora (well, if a "plethora" is six or so) of large salmon flopping around in the shallows... not like they were having trouble breathing or anything, but more like when a dog scratches his back on a carpet.
- on Tuesday, we had fire training for a big car race coming up. I got to go to the Fire Department training centre and spray fire extinguishers at things (or as one of the other guys put it, "blow powder" ;) ). This one isn't too strange, since I do it every year, but I only do it once per year, so I think it counts a little. I also got two fillings replaced.
- on Wednesday, my driver called to tell me that he's withdrawing from our rally this weekend. The fish were doing their thing again as well.
- also on Wednesday, the protective epoxy (I think) coating on my one new filling decided to go walkabout. First time anything like that has ever happened to me.
- on Thursday, my car just up and quit. It was running... and then it wasn't. My best guess is it's something fuel-ish (hopefully just a filter, but possibly the fuel pump).
- and this morning, Friday, I saw a crane or heron down where the fish were doing their thing... from what I can gather from www.whatbird.com , I think it might've been a Great Blue Heron!
And the final strange thing I did today was visit www.whatbird.com !
Here's the strangest thing I saw yesterday:
A 2-foot-long snake in the grass... with a frog... mostly sticking out of its mouth... while the snake attempted to swallow it.
Funny, I saw a snake about the same length 2 days ago but it was just struggling to go up a step.
not that strange, but worth mentioning: I learned today is Sean Connerys birthday. well actually, yesterday, 'cos it's 12:30
but hey, I didn't even know it. and I watched a bond film. (pierce, sadly, not Sean)
~Qwerty
Yesterday - cremated a fish.
No, that's not a comment on my cooking! What else to do with a dear friend? Too sentimental to flush (this particular fish, the white clouds are mindless eating machines and would return to the earth via that particular route), and no land for a burial.
Gar! Having just watched the film "The Thing" I am rather fed up with cremations. ;)
Hmmmm, been a while since I indulged in a bit of thread necromancy.... :D
Anyway, the strangets thing I have seen today was this webpage:
http://themormonworker.org/ (http://themormonworker.org/)
Apparently a group of leftist-ish mormons trying to reconcile the book of mormon with labour activism. Huh.
Quote from: Lindorm on August 20, 2010, 07:57:39 PM
............. a group of leftist-ish mormons...........
isn't that an oxymorman ? :giggle:
congrats on The Resurrection of This Thread.
Brilliant one, Griffin! It might have to go in the lexicon.
Strangest thing today:
We were asked to help with a distant relative's funeral. Not to sit in the dingy old chapel and croak hymns, but to stay behind at the flat where everyone met up, and look after Cap'n B while they all went to the crem.
We spent 2 hours with the little monkey, playing in the park and watching the river Severn rapidly flooding said park - great fun! - then back for coffee and cakes with the mourners and off home. We had a splendid afternoon; so did Cap'n B. Best funeral we've (not) been to for ages.
Oh he's sweet. Cherish every moment (I know you do). Mine is so far away in Canada.
Thanks, Griffin. I think I can imagine how tough it was to lose yours. :hug:
The strangest thing I had happen to me today was just about an hour ago I was driving to the store to stock up before the snowfall, when suddenly the volume on my car radio went WAY UP all by itself!
I usually have it at about 11 or 12, but this went to 32! I didn't even know it could go that high.
The sad thing is that this radio is on the fritz anyway, and is very difficult to turn on or off, or change volume. My first instinct was to turn it off, but it wouldn't turn off! I pulled over and reached into the arm rest box and was able to volume down through the remote control.
It must have looked funny. The radio was playing Bartholdy's - "Italian" Symphony (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM5DrxPKUWw), which is quite lively at any volume, but just imagine it at "deafening". My ears are still ringing!
I guess it is because the radio is old and wonky that caused the sudden loudness. Either that or I happened to pass by a house where someone was fiddling with a remote that I happened to pick up in my car?
Mendelssohn is meant to be played loud!
;) :P :mrgreen:
Don't confuse him with Bruckner :mrgreen:
(a tiny man possibly overcompensating by writing music where a simple f or ff is not enough. Iirc he goes up to ffff)
I knew I could count on our top two classical music toadfish siblings to comment on this!
Dunno, while I have to say that I don't enjoy Bruckner's stuff I believe he was a reasonable human being, even if he realized some of Wagner's (musical) excesses to fruition.
OTOH Mendelssohn was more cheerful both personally and musically.
Not a Bruckner fan either. I do not know much about him actually. I am more into obscure composers* :mrgreen:
----
We had certain persons in the neighbourhood who had very strong subwoofers in their car. One could always feel quite some time in advance, when they came driving down the road, much earlier than one could hear the car itself. And they had a predilection for music (clearly not classical) with a strong regular bass beat. wham wham wham wham wham wham whamwham wham whamwham wham wham wham wham wham wham wham wham wham wham wham
*like:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Avshalomov
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciurlionis
Quote from: Opsa on March 05, 2013, 06:53:59 PM
The strangest thing I had happen to me today was just about an hour ago I was driving to the store to stock up before the snowfall, when suddenly the volume on my car radio went WAY UP all by itself!
I usually have it at about 11 or 12, but this went to 32! I didn't even know it could go that high.
The sad thing is that this radio is on the fritz anyway, and is very difficult to turn on or off, or change volume. My first instinct was to turn it off, but it wouldn't turn off! I pulled over and reached into the arm rest box and was able to volume down through the remote control.
It must have looked funny. The radio was playing Bartholdy's - "Italian" Symphony (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM5DrxPKUWw), which is quite lively at any volume, but just imagine it at "deafening". My ears are still ringing!
I guess it is because the radio is old and wonky that caused the sudden loudness. Either that or I happened to pass by a house where someone was fiddling with a remote that I happened to pick up in my car?
On my previous truck, I had a lovely Ford factory radio that had one of those electronic volume knobs-- in otherwords, it wasn't an actual electronic control, it was a rotary switch which talked to the computer that ran the radio, and indicated my desire to turn up and/or down the volume (among other functions).
Of course, by the time the truck came to me, the radio was all but toast-- chiefly, this rotary control-- volume control was hit-or-miss, and all too often would suddenly go dead-soft, or max volume.
Naturally, I replaced that sucker pretty quickly. :D
In fact, I put in a nice Sony radio, that was one of the first parts I stripped out of the truck, when it was hit-- went into the in-between blue truck I drove for about 6 months or so.
After I got my Sprinter van, again I was wanting to replace the worn out factory unit-- I elected to let the Sony go when we sold off the blue truck, though. It was 5 years or so old by then, and technology had moved on. :)
My current radio is a nice JVC (I think?) radio that has built-in Bluetooth. It automatically connects to my cell phone and to my Android Dell Streak tablet (now mounted behind the window visor). I have all my tunes, via the Android tablet, and a lovely GUI music selection display to run it. And a hands-free for my phone.
Nice.
And I paid less than $140 for it, new. :D
Yeah, I think it's time we replaced this old set, too. The CD player hasn't worked for years. I'll look at the JVCs.
^ The fill-in-blank from the headline is "shopped"
I hunt down some of my leathers and fantastic Leather!Dogs! textiles from Goodwill and the Salvation Army. You have to know when to go for the best 'new' stuff, but that's part of the fun. Even adding professional cleaning for what I can't launder, it's a good price for textiles I would never find new locally, and there's the good karma of upcycling to a fresh purpose. Both thrift stores have a religious-esque backstory, but you'd never know it while you're in there.
Today I decided to try the "community thrift store" on the way home. I pulled into the parking lot, shut off the engine, and lifted up mine eyes to see
THE LORD GOD'S
TEN COMMANDMENTS
in a technicolor mural on the side of the building. My kneejerk reaction was to say,
oh, for #@*%'s sake! before I could stop myself.
:censored: :blush:
Overall, things (at least, today's things) seemed to be in quite good condition, and
very reasonably priced. I found some great pieces to dismantle for raw materials, and that category was on half-off sale, so yays. OTOH, my eyes couldn't sweep an 8-foot section of wall without encountering another giant, brightly colored
THE LORD GOD'S TEN COMMANDMENTS sign, mural, or inspirational kitsch. I started uncontrollably whisper-laughing to myself, and couldn't decide whether I was sorry or glad that I didn't wear one of my old neo-pagan teeshirts today...
The cherry-on-top was the (I swear to god on his
TEN COMMANDMENTS)
FIREARMS WELCOME sign at the register, designed to look like a "SMOKING AREA" sign with a handgun silhouette instead of a cigarette. I gasped that I didn't need a bag or a receipt
o god and your TEN COMMANDMENTS, get me the hell out of here before i start laughing like a maniac and someone shoots me and gtfo to my car.
:ROFL:
I might go back, but I'll be mentally prepped beforehand!
I think thrift, like cleanliness, is next to Godliness. (actually I haven't a clue what that means, does it sit beside G-d?).
If I were you I'd prepare for even more signs etc next time............
I saw a lot of roadside billboards with THE TEN COMMANDMENTS in Montana. You don't want to know about northern Idaho...
I can relate. There seems to be a screamin' Xtian theme in a lot of United States thrift stores. Th'Opsalette tends to blurt out "Dear Lord" and I mumble "Oh for the luvva..." and we then go into giggle fits. Ah, I'm gonna miss her when she grows up and leaves the nest.
By then, skype-for-tablet-computer might be a viable option for you to 'tag along' on each other's most promising excursions...
:giggle:
Hmm, that makes me wonder if we should start a photo blasphemy thread here for posting pictures of bombastic religious displays.
(I first typed 'bleasphemy". With another 'h' in there, I think we may have a new word for the ol' Toadfish Lexicon.)
Just clarify whether bleahsphemy indicates a rather rather mundane instance or something truly horrifying!
:devil2:
Or how about those people putting the wordings up should be suffering from blushphemy !! ;;)
Ooh! That's a good one, too!