The observation and asides thread

Post by **LarsMac** » Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:17 pm

magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:03 pm ...
I'm just going to shrug and walk away.

Sometimes, that is all you really can do.

Post by **spot** » Sun Jan 31, 2021 12:39 pm

"the military removed at least a dozen National Guardsmen from inauguration duty over concerns about their ties."?

Clearly they ought to have been wearing uniform while on duty.

Post by **LarsMac** » Sun Jan 31, 2021 1:26 pm

spot wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 12:39 pm "the military removed at least a dozen National Guardsmen from inauguration duty over concerns about their ties."?

Clearly they ought to have been wearing uniform while on duty.

BDU's don't have ties. More Democrat Lies.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Sun Jan 31, 2021 4:52 pm

LarsMac wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 1:26 pm
spot wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 12:39 pm "the military removed at least a dozen National Guardsmen from inauguration duty over concerns about their ties."?

Clearly they ought to have been wearing uniform while on duty.
BDU's don't have ties. More Democrat Lies.

Thinly veiled threat to tell them they are on to them. That's why it's so obvious.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:10 pm

Procrastination ..... I don't really want to catch a train into Melbourne and back out again.

Just to go back again in a couple of days time.

2 hours and 14 mins on a train, then the same back out again almost immediately.

9:30 amMorwell Station
(Morwell Station, Princes Dr, Morwell VIC 3840)
Melbourne - Traralgon Via Pakenham, Moe & Morwell towards Melbourne
11:44 amSouthern Cross Station
(Southern Cross Station, Spencer St, Docklands VIC 3008)

Post by **spot** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:24 pm

Do the windows open on that sort of train? I quite like an open window when I'm travelling and it would keep you safer.

cars · Post by **cars** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:45 pm

Talking of long train rides, when I was younger, I was petrified to fly in an Airplane.

So when I had to go Florida I left NYC in an Amtrak train that took between 26to 32 hours "one way" to get there! It depended on problems they had alone the way. And the same going home.

One time we hit a car that was crossing over a "train track crossing"! The car misjudged the train speed!

One time the train hit some metal debris on the train tracks and it bounced up under the bottom of the train and cut the hydraulic break lines between the coupling of the train cars! We were stuck 4 hours
to get the hoses, and then they had replace the cut lines.

At least I had a Sleeper Cabin! And the Dining car had good food! So that made it somewhat easier for me.

Post by **spot** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:53 pm

It sounds a lot better than driving. I enjoy long train journeys, I think the longest I've done was from the Hook of Holland to Moscow, with that odd change to broad gauge at Berlin. I had no idea how flat Eastern Europe was until then. Did your NYC to Florida Amtrak stay near the sea all the way, or was the scenery more varied?

Post by **LarsMac** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 4:19 pm

spot wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:53 pm It sounds a lot better than driving. I enjoy long train journeys, I think the longest I've done was from the Hook of Holland to Moscow, with that odd change to broad gauge at Berlin. I had no idea how flat Eastern Europe was until then. Did your NYC to Florida Amtrak stay near the sea all the way, or was the scenery more varied?

The route goes more inland most of the way. The scenery is still somewhat interesting in some areas, but not many views of the Ocean.
My favorite train trip, so far, was the trip from Paris to Milan.
On one AMTRACK trip, from Denver to San Francisco, we left Denver with no diner car. Every meal time Amtrack would call ahead to some fast food outfit and order a ton of burgers or the like. The train would stop at a crossing near a town and a couple of cars, or vanes would roll up and start chucking bags of meals on to the train.

On the return trip, the train died in the middle of Wyoming, and we sat until a new set of Engines could get to us.

We also got bounced out of our bunk coming south from Portland Oregon to San Francisco, once, when a mild Earthquake hit the region.
Train travel in the US is NOT for the faint of heart.

cars · Post by **cars** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:10 pm

spot wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:53 pm It sounds a lot better than driving. I enjoy long train journeys, I think the longest I've done was from the Hook of Holland to Moscow, with that odd change to broad gauge at Berlin. I had no idea how flat Eastern Europe was until then. Did your NYC to Florida Amtrak stay near the sea all the way, or was the scenery more varied?

No actually, not that scenic, unless you call going through/passing by the "shanty towns" down South in the Southern states scenery, the train tracks didn't go close to upscale towns.
Except for when going into the actual train stations.

cars · Post by **cars** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:18 pm

cars wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:10 pm
spot wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 2:53 pm It sounds a lot better than driving. I enjoy long train journeys, I think the longest I've done was from the Hook of Holland to Moscow, with that odd change to broad gauge at Berlin. I had no idea how flat Eastern Europe was until then. Did your NYC to Florida Amtrak stay near the sea all the way, or was the scenery more varied?
No actually, not that scenic, (In Land) unless you call going through/passing by the "shanty towns" down South in the Southern states scenery, the train tracks didn't go close to upscale towns.
Except for when going into the actual train stations. (To pick up passengers also going to Florida.)

Post by **LarsMac** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:30 pm

And, much of the travel by train takes place at night in the US.

Post by **Betty Boop** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 5:48 am

Well said Mary,

She suggested that older women should use their power to unnerve patriarchal societies. “Instead of the accusation of witchcraft being used to put women down, perhaps women can use the power of witchcraft for themselves. I may not talk to the dead, but that is something I really could believe.”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/ ... 1612854370

Post by **spot** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:40 am

"She has since named and shamed some of her online abusers" - and that, I think, is far and away the best option available. Dox the sods.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Thu Feb 11, 2021 4:14 pm

Betty Boop wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 5:48 am Well said Mary,
She suggested that older women should use their power to unnerve patriarchal societies. “Instead of the accusation of witchcraft being used to put women down, perhaps women can use the power of witchcraft for themselves. I may not talk to the dead, but that is something I really could believe.”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/ ... 1612854370

When someone calls me a witch or slut or C ....I take it as a compliment . It usually denotes the power I have over another person for them to say that.

anyone can talk to the dead...........it's when they talk back, that's when the problems begin. lol

Hope6 · Post by **Hope6** » Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:59 pm

I've been accused of being an actual witch. My Granny could take warts off people and she and several of my aunts could see ghosts. I guess they think it runs in the family.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:23 pm

Hope6 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:59 pm I've been accused of being an actual witch. My Granny could take warts off people and she and several of my aunts could see ghosts. I guess they think it runs in the family.

My eldest sister told everyone that myself and my mother were witches......she's not a well person.

Hope6 · Post by **Hope6** » Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:33 pm

magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:23 pm
Hope6 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 12, 2021 1:59 pm I've been accused of being an actual witch. My Granny could take warts off people and she and several of my aunts could see ghosts. I guess they think it runs in the family.
My eldest sister told everyone that myself and my mother were witches......she's not a well person.

A cousin of mine told my aunt that Jesus came to her and told her that another cousin and I were both very powerful witches.

Hope6 · Post by **Hope6** » Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:43 pm

I'm all alone...... it says at the bottom of the page

browsing this forum: Hope6 and 0 guests

HELLOOOOOOOO.....echo.....echo......

you guys be safe I just came off of 3 days with no electricity from an ice storm with another one coming Thursday that they say is worse than the last one. My son says we are de-evolving into cave people.

Post by **spot** » Wed Feb 17, 2021 5:38 am

Hope6 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:43 pm you guys be safe I just came off of 3 days with no electricity from an ice storm with another one coming Thursday that they say is worse than the last one. My son says we are de-evolving into cave people.

The British news has followed the storm and the crashed electric supply in America this week, it's been lethal. Do take care, it's bound to warm up eventually.

Post by **LarsMac** » Wed Feb 17, 2021 8:29 am

spot wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 5:38 am
Hope6 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 16, 2021 7:43 pm you guys be safe I just came off of 3 days with no electricity from an ice storm with another one coming Thursday that they say is worse than the last one. My son says we are de-evolving into cave people.
The British news has followed the storm and the crashed electric supply in America this week, it's been lethal. Do take care, it's bound to warm up eventually.

The electric "Crash" is not America. It is Texas. They decided that the rest of the country was wrong, and built their very own grid. Told us to go fuck ourselves.

We do have some regional problem in other areas, with temporary outages, but nothing quite as ugly as in Texas.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/2 ... mpaign=RSS

A somewhat less biased view:
https://apnews.com/article/100-million- ... 37b13899d6

Post by **spot** » Wed Feb 17, 2021 9:56 am

Just think, you could have got a beachside apartment around Guatemala City for the year.

Post by **spot** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:35 am

This is just wonderful headlining.

'6.2cm-tall man' offered priority Covid vaccine after NHS blunder

Liam Thorp, whose real height is 6ft 2in, was recorded as having a BMI of 28,000

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... liam-thorp

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:28 pm

spot wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:35 am This is just wonderful headlining.

'6.2cm-tall man' offered priority Covid vaccine after NHS blunder

Liam Thorp, whose real height is 6ft 2in, was recorded as having a BMI of 28,000

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... liam-thorp

I see Greece is covered in snow as well.

Post by **spot** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:08 pm

And Jerusalem. People get cold there when it snows, they don't do serious central heating.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:57 pm

Well I guess we now know what's coming our way for winter. We haven't had much of a summer.

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:01 pm

magentaflame wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:28 pm
spot wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:35 am This is just wonderful headlining.

'6.2cm-tall man' offered priority Covid vaccine after NHS blunder

Liam Thorp, whose real height is 6ft 2in, was recorded as having a BMI of 28,000

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... liam-thorp

I see Greece is covered in snow as well.

Not just Athens, several of my friends on Crete are snowed in.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:06 pm

Bryn Mawr wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:01 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:28 pm
spot wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:35 am This is just wonderful headlining.

'6.2cm-tall man' offered priority Covid vaccine after NHS blunder

Liam Thorp, whose real height is 6ft 2in, was recorded as having a BMI of 28,000

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... liam-thorp

I see Greece is covered in snow as well.
Not just Athens, several of my friends on Crete are snowed in.

Hmmm... seems to be a decent blast then. I remember when America had that decent blast (one in a hundred years storm well it's happened again and I'm sure it's not a hundred years on.)

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:41 pm

magentaflame wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:06 pm
Bryn Mawr wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:01 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:28 pm
spot wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 8:35 am This is just wonderful headlining.

'6.2cm-tall man' offered priority Covid vaccine after NHS blunder

Liam Thorp, whose real height is 6ft 2in, was recorded as having a BMI of 28,000

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... liam-thorp

I see Greece is covered in snow as well.
Not just Athens, several of my friends on Crete are snowed in.
Hmmm... seems to be a decent blast then. I remember when America had that decent blast (one in a hundred years storm well it's happened again and I'm sure it's not a hundred years on.)

It’s a doozy ok, they really don’t know how to cope with it.

Post by **spot** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:05 pm

Bryn Mawr wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:41 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:06 pm
Hmmm... seems to be a decent blast then. I remember when America had that decent blast (one in a hundred years storm well it's happened again and I'm sure it's not a hundred years on.)
It’s a doozy ok, they really don’t know how to cope with it.

A lot of people these days think their belief is reality, rather than trying to focus on throwing away their belief and concentrating on what's actually happening. I reckon that explains why so many Americans die in car crashes too but I've been told before that I'm wrong. It certainly explains traffic statistics in India though.

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Fri Feb 19, 2021 8:08 am

spot wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 6:05 pm
Bryn Mawr wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:41 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:06 pm
Hmmm... seems to be a decent blast then. I remember when America had that decent blast (one in a hundred years storm well it's happened again and I'm sure it's not a hundred years on.)
It’s a doozy ok, they really don’t know how to cope with it.
A lot of people these days think their belief is reality, rather than trying to focus on throwing away their belief and concentrating on what's actually happening. I reckon that explains why so many Americans die in car crashes too but I've been told before that I'm wrong. It certainly explains traffic statistics in India though.

Not a case of beliefs, more a case of no snow clearing equipment for the roads and often insufficient heating in their homes because they’re not built in the expectation of such conditions.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:18 pm

sitting here waiting for the briquette factory chimney demolition sounds. Two towers are coming down this morning....actually in ten minutes.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:56 pm

feeling the reverberation of the second chimney....oh yeah baby. I reckon the air will be full of black dust today .

Post by **spot** » Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:03 pm

magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:18 pm sitting here waiting for the briquette factory chimney demolition sounds. Two towers are coming down this morning....actually in ten minutes.

Six months behind schedule then.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:11 pm

spot wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:03 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:18 pm sitting here waiting for the briquette factory chimney demolition sounds. Two towers are coming down this morning....actually in ten minutes.
Six months behind schedule then.

Ummm no.

Post by **spot** » Fri Feb 19, 2021 5:42 pm

magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:11 pm
spot wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:03 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:18 pm sitting here waiting for the briquette factory chimney demolition sounds. Two towers are coming down this morning....actually in ten minutes.
Six months behind schedule then.
Ummm no.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-06/ ... p/11080582 says it is.

I'll delete that if it's personal information though.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:11 pm

spot wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 5:42 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:11 pm
spot wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:03 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:18 pm sitting here waiting for the briquette factory chimney demolition sounds. Two towers are coming down this morning....actually in ten minutes.
Six months behind schedule then.
Ummm no.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-06/ ... p/11080582 says it is.

I'll delete that if it's personal information though.

No you're confusing the towers. The first two went in 2019 the other two were expected to be felled mid last year but they were felled this morning instead.
https://www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au ... l/?cs=1462

Post by **spot** » Sat Feb 20, 2021 2:15 am

magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:11 pm
spot wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 5:42 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 3:11 pm
spot wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 2:03 pm
magentaflame wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 1:18 pm sitting here waiting for the briquette factory chimney demolition sounds. Two towers are coming down this morning....actually in ten minutes.
Six months behind schedule then.
Ummm no.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-06/ ... p/11080582 says it is.

I'll delete that if it's personal information though.
No you're confusing the towers. The first two went in 2019 the other two were expected to be felled mid last year but they were felled this morning instead.
https://www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au ... l/?cs=1462

That's what I wrote! "The total demolition is expected to be completed by September, 2020", hence the final two towers came down yesterday six months behind schedule!

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Sat Feb 20, 2021 1:19 pm

takes time and planning.... there is a lot of asbestos and black coal dust. Huge job in this area which has powered Victoria for decades. So while others are being sorted others are brought down.

Post by **spot** » Sat Mar 13, 2021 11:15 am

Listening to the radio, with no associated imagery, gives rise to odd mental flashes. Archaeological excavation of the ancient slag found recently near the Nile was one such moment. Has the BBC no standards, I wondered?

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Sat Mar 13, 2021 8:53 pm

spot wrote: ↑Sat Mar 13, 2021 11:15 am Listening to the radio, with no associated imagery, gives rise to odd mental flashes. Archaeological excavation of the ancient slag found recently near the Nile was one such moment. Has the BBC no standards, I wondered?

SPOOOT!!!..... Have some decorum.

would be interesting slag though.

Post by **spot** » Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:18 am

The Internet can occasionally just fail when it comes to advice. Suitable words to respond to the loss of a pet should not include "That’s a shame. What a pity! Better luck next time", all of which were linked on the Cambridge Dictionary site.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:31 pm

spot wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:18 am The Internet can occasionally just fail when it comes to advice. Suitable words to respond to the loss of a pet should not include "That’s a shame. What a pity! Better luck next time", all of which were linked on the Cambridge Dictionary site.

"so...what's for dinner then?"

No?

Post by **spot** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 3:36 am

magentaflame wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:31 pm
spot wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:18 am The Internet can occasionally just fail when it comes to advice. Suitable words to respond to the loss of a pet should not include "That’s a shame. What a pity! Better luck next time", all of which were linked on the Cambridge Dictionary site.
"so...what's for dinner then?"

No?

That's ideal - I'll forward the suggestion immediately.

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 5:02 am

magentaflame wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:31 pm
spot wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:18 am The Internet can occasionally just fail when it comes to advice. Suitable words to respond to the loss of a pet should not include "That’s a shame. What a pity! Better luck next time", all of which were linked on the Cambridge Dictionary site.
"so...what's for dinner then?"

No?

You don’t ask that in this house - my wife had a pet rabbit when she was young and she still hasn’t forgiven or forgotten.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 3:19 pm

spot wrote: ↑Thu Mar 18, 2021 3:36 am
magentaflame wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:31 pm
spot wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:18 am The Internet can occasionally just fail when it comes to advice. Suitable words to respond to the loss of a pet should not include "That’s a shame. What a pity! Better luck next time", all of which were linked on the Cambridge Dictionary site.
"so...what's for dinner then?"

No?
That's ideal - I'll forward the suggestion immediately.

Post haste my good man.........You'll be the talk of the village!

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Thu Mar 18, 2021 3:22 pm

Bryn Mawr wrote: ↑Thu Mar 18, 2021 5:02 am
magentaflame wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:31 pm
spot wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 7:18 am The Internet can occasionally just fail when it comes to advice. Suitable words to respond to the loss of a pet should not include "That’s a shame. What a pity! Better luck next time", all of which were linked on the Cambridge Dictionary site.
"so...what's for dinner then?"

No?
You don’t ask that in this house - my wife had a pet rabbit when she was young and she still hasn’t forgiven or forgotten.

Oh yes. I remember dad coming back from ferreting. He had a big cage full of kittens. I must have been quite young because I thought he was the best dad in the world for bringing home baby rabbits for us to care for and love.

Nope!

Post by **spot** » Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:35 am

The Theatre Royal Windsor opened its online booking office at 11 this morning. I clicked five seconds before and it was still closed. At 2 seconds past I clicked and got position 222 in the queue, though it processed them in three minutes and I bought my two tickets. I thought I'd post here and gloat.

I remember, fifty years back, seeing Ian McKellen on the stage of the Phoenix in Leicester playing Hamlet. This summer he's doing it again and I bet he's learned a few more tricks since then. I'm quite excited. Jowan and I have seats in the stalls for a matinee performance in August, and beds near the Tower of London so we can get to Windsor and back easily on the day.

magentaflame · Post by **magentaflame** » Sun Apr 04, 2021 3:34 pm

Day light savings has kicked in on this long Easter weekend. Monday morning up early and now sitting here waiting for 9.00 am to come around so I can mow the lawns. I hate daylight savings! (pushing nature around again)

Post by **spot** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 3:31 am

It's an unreasonable nuisance, I'm of the opinion that it was invented by prudish fundamentalists who disapproved of nightlife. I expect Mother Leadsom has views that way too.