The Blessing of the Thread:

Our pasta, who art in a colander, draining be your noodles. Thy noodle come, Thy sauce be yum, on top some grated Parmesan. Give us this day, our garlic bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trample on our lawns. And lead us not into vegetarianism, but deliver us some pizza, for thine is the meatball, the noodle, and the sauce, forever and ever. R’amen.

Rule 303 said:

The Blessing of the Thread:

Our pasta, who art in a colander, draining be your noodles. Thy noodle come, Thy sauce be yum, on top some grated Parmesan. Give us this day, our garlic bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trample on our lawns. And lead us not into vegetarianism, but deliver us some pizza, for thine is the meatball, the noodle, and the sauce, forever and ever. R’amen.

When Janina was here today I played her some Sarah Jarosz youtubes. She Jarosz was Polish for ‘does not eat meat.’

sarahs mum said:

Rule 303 said:

The Blessing of the Thread:

Our pasta, who art in a colander, draining be your noodles. Thy noodle come, Thy sauce be yum, on top some grated Parmesan. Give us this day, our garlic bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trample on our lawns. And lead us not into vegetarianism, but deliver us some pizza, for thine is the meatball, the noodle, and the sauce, forever and ever. R’amen.

When Janina was here today I played her some Sarah Jarosz youtubes. She Jarosz was Polish for ‘does not eat meat.’

She’s right, according to Google Translate.

Rule 303 said:

sarahs mum said:

Rule 303 said:

The Blessing of the Thread:

Our pasta, who art in a colander, draining be your noodles. Thy noodle come, Thy sauce be yum, on top some grated Parmesan. Give us this day, our garlic bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trample on our lawns. And lead us not into vegetarianism, but deliver us some pizza, for thine is the meatball, the noodle, and the sauce, forever and ever. R’amen.

When Janina was here today I played her some Sarah Jarosz youtubes. She Jarosz was Polish for ‘does not eat meat.’

She’s right, according to Google Translate.

Strange. But what can you do.

I went to a school the other day where the teacher asked me if she could lead a prayer before the class started.. she did and then I launched into talking about unsolicited sexual images and serial killers, death and murder.. I forgot to check under her desk, but I’m pretty sure she had several litters of kittens

Arts said:

I went to a school the other day where the teacher asked me if she could lead a prayer before the class started.. she did and then I launched into talking about unsolicited sexual images and serial killers, death and murder.. I forgot to check under her desk, but I’m pretty sure she had several litters of kittens

you’d need a special prayer for that.

Arts said:

I went to a school the other day where the teacher asked me if she could lead a prayer before the class started.. she did and then I launched into talking about unsolicited sexual images and serial killers, death and murder.. I forgot to check under her desk, but I’m pretty sure she had several litters of kittens

S’OK, she was storing them there for the ritual offering later.

Need to get out of Melbourne.

Today.

After I fix the leak in the roof.

Good morning Holidayers. Presently 16 degrees and overcast. It hasn’t rained yet. But it would appear to be on its way.

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR141.loop.shtml#skip

Breakfast at the bakery with Hamilton friend at 8.00am today.

Morning.

Overcast and 29 today.

Dream report: IRL the fan was on so I dreamed I was holidaying in the snow.

Not surprised but Mrs rb’s covid test came back negative.

roughbarked said:

Not surprised but Mrs rb’s covid test came back negative.

That’s good. Can’t be too careful about these things.

Divine Angel said:

roughbarked said:

Not surprised but Mrs rb’s covid test came back negative.

That’s good. Can’t be too careful about these things.

True. She said “there are no hotspots in NSW” I said, if you test positive, you’ll be the hotspot.

Divine Angel said:

roughbarked said:

Not surprised but Mrs rb’s covid test came back negative.

That’s good. Can’t be too careful about these things.

:)

Agree.

Good morning everyone.

It’s warm and sticky here: 24.1%deg;C, 85% RH, overcast and a light air. BoM predicts 29°C and a chance of rain this morning.

After breakfast, I’ll check The Kimchi Experiment again and see if it’s sour enough to go into the fridge. Then I’ll check the toaster and see if I can discover why it no longer locks down to cook. And see whether that’s fixable. It’s likely irreparable, but we’ll see. It has tamper-resistant triangular-tooled screws, so I mightn’t even be able to get into it.

Anyway, that should keep me off the streets for a while at least…

roughbarked said:

Divine Angel said:

roughbarked said:

Not surprised but Mrs rb’s covid test came back negative.

That’s good. Can’t be too careful about these things.

True. She said “there are no hotspots in NSW” I said, if you test positive, you’ll be the hotspot.

fair

Morning Pilgrims, pinch and a left hook.

Back from breakfast. I enjoyed my sweet chilli chicken and salad wrap.

I think wine is a much more agreeable thing to argue over.

I think I might look into doing my Christmas cards today. I need to find my list.

buffy said:

I think I might look into doing my Christmas cards today. I need to find my list.

I’m considering wrapping the teacher’s present, but should wait for Mini Me to include something.

Saw some kids bringing presents for their teachers this morning. There’s still a week left of school (they finish Wed next week; instead of a pay rise this year, teachers get an extra two days of Christmas holidays).

“Australia Post’s Christmas cut-off is just days away”

I woulda thunk the cut-off would be mid-October, based on my recent experiences.

Divine Angel said:

“Australia Post’s Christmas cut-off is just days away”

I woulda thunk the cut-off would be mid-October, based on my recent experiences.

I think they were talking about the cut off for next christmas…

Divine Angel said:

“Australia Post’s Christmas cut-off is just days away”

I woulda thunk the cut-off would be mid-October, based on my recent experiences.

They’re aiming for 2021

I sent something to northern NSW via registered post (to get tracking). It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, it only just entered NSW yesterday.

I added detailed tracking notes for the mystery shop and the company replied, “Wow, it certainly went all around the world getting to you!” Not quite the whole world…

Divine Angel said:

I sent something to northern NSW via registered post (to get tracking). It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, it only just entered NSW yesterday.

I added detailed tracking notes for the mystery shop and the company replied, “Wow, it certainly went all around the world getting to you!” Not quite the whole world…

I received a carton of wine from my daughter. A very clever woman, she worded the message so that if it arrived on time it was my birthday present. If it was delayed it would have been my xmas pressie.

buffy said:

I think I might look into doing my Christmas cards today. I need to find my list.

Some people outsource their Christmas carding to social media and electronic mail, I’ll have no truck with any of that nonsense. If they try that on with me I’ll just disfriend them.
I mean if I go to the trouble of sending someone a $20 Hallmark quality card that sort of plays Jinglebells when you open it and only get a zero dollar email in return with fake cgi snow and reindeer and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Hark! the Angel well they can get rogered and burnt.
Good Day.

Tamb said:

Divine Angel said:

I sent something to northern NSW via registered post (to get tracking). It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, it only just entered NSW yesterday.

I added detailed tracking notes for the mystery shop and the company replied, “Wow, it certainly went all around the world getting to you!” Not quite the whole world…

I received a carton of wine from my daughter. A very clever woman, she worded the message so that if it arrived on time it was my birthday present. If it was delayed it would have been my xmas pressie.

It’s both.

Sorry.

Peak Warming Man said:

I think wine is a much more agreeable thing to argue over.

Thanks for reminding me. I’d better go taste mine.

Peak Warming Man said:

buffy said:

I think I might look into doing my Christmas cards today. I need to find my list.

Some people outsource their Christmas carding to social media and electronic mail, I’ll have no truck with any of that nonsense. If they try that on with me I’ll just disfriend them.
I mean if I go to the trouble of sending someone a $20 Hallmark quality card that sort of plays Jinglebells when you open it and only get a zero dollar email in return with fake cgi snow and reindeer and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Hark! the Angel well they can get rogered and burnt.
Good Day.

Aldi currently have an animatronic pug…

Rule 303 said:

Tamb said:

Divine Angel said:

I sent something to northern NSW via registered post (to get tracking). It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, it only just entered NSW yesterday.

I added detailed tracking notes for the mystery shop and the company replied, “Wow, it certainly went all around the world getting to you!” Not quite the whole world…

I received a carton of wine from my daughter. A very clever woman, she worded the message so that if it arrived on time it was my birthday present. If it was delayed it would have been my xmas pressie.

It’s both.

Sorry.

Told you she was clever.
Not only that she messaged me to say if there was a bottle of “The Butterfly Effect” shiraz I’m to save it for her when she comes here for birthday/xmas.

Divine Angel said:

I sent something to northern NSW via registered post (to get tracking). It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, it only just entered NSW yesterday.

I added detailed tracking notes for the mystery shop and the company replied, “Wow, it certainly went all around the world getting to you!” Not quite the whole world…

I just checked. The parcel I posted normal mail to Texas on 9/11/20 was delivered yesterday. Not too bad, I suppose.

Tamb said:

Rule 303 said:

Tamb said:

I received a carton of wine from my daughter. A very clever woman, she worded the message so that if it arrived on time it was my birthday present. If it was delayed it would have been my xmas pressie.

It’s both.

Sorry.

Told you she was clever.
Not only that she messaged me to say if there was a bottle of “The Butterfly Effect” shiraz I’m to save it for her when she comes here for birthday/xmas.

You lucky bastard.

Meh

Hello

Peak Warming Man said:

Tamb said:

Rule 303 said:

It’s both.

Sorry.

Told you she was clever.
Not only that she messaged me to say if there was a bottle of “The Butterfly Effect” shiraz I’m to save it for her when she comes here for birthday/xmas.

You lucky bastard.

There was one so I put a “Danger! Poison! tag on it.

Cymek said:

Meh

Hello

Greetings

Peak Warming Man said:

Cymek said:

Meh

Hello

Greetings

+1

Cymek said:

Meh

Hello

Yo

Cymek said:

Meh

I agree with this sentiment. I have a lingering headache. I would not be surprised if it was a tumour…

Divine Angel said:

Peak Warming Man said:

buffy said:

I think I might look into doing my Christmas cards today. I need to find my list.

Some people outsource their Christmas carding to social media and electronic mail, I’ll have no truck with any of that nonsense. If they try that on with me I’ll just disfriend them.
I mean if I go to the trouble of sending someone a $20 Hallmark quality card that sort of plays Jinglebells when you open it and only get a zero dollar email in return with fake cgi snow and reindeer and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Hark! the Angel well they can get rogered and burnt.
Good Day.

Aldi currently have an animatronic pug…

Does it wheeze when you squeeze it?

Witty Rejoinder said:

Divine Angel said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Some people outsource their Christmas carding to social media and electronic mail, I’ll have no truck with any of that nonsense. If they try that on with me I’ll just disfriend them.
I mean if I go to the trouble of sending someone a $20 Hallmark quality card that sort of plays Jinglebells when you open it and only get a zero dollar email in return with fake cgi snow and reindeer and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Hark! the Angel well they can get rogered and burnt.
Good Day.

Aldi currently have an animatronic pug…

Does it wheeze when you squeeze it?

Battery powered or do you pug it in

Witty Rejoinder said:

Divine Angel said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Some people outsource their Christmas carding to social media and electronic mail, I’ll have no truck with any of that nonsense. If they try that on with me I’ll just disfriend them.
I mean if I go to the trouble of sending someone a $20 Hallmark quality card that sort of plays Jinglebells when you open it and only get a zero dollar email in return with fake cgi snow and reindeer and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Hark! the Angel well they can get rogered and burnt.
Good Day.

Aldi currently have an animatronic pug…

Does it wheeze when you squeeze it?

Nah, it sneezes in your face…and then yawns bigly.

sweet rain is so gentle
patters on that tin roof
ephemeral it is maybe
visits from high above
has scent too’t beauty
as does a rose’s petal

must’ve been sleepwalking lastnight, coffeed, had a scribble

Cymek said:

Witty Rejoinder said:

Divine Angel said:

Aldi currently have an animatronic pug…

Does it wheeze when you squeeze it?

Battery powered or do you pug it in

Do you need to refill the drool container?

transition said:

sweet rain is so gentle
patters on that tin roof
ephemeral it is maybe
visits from high above
has scent too’t beauty
as does a rose’s petal

must’ve been sleepwalking lastnight, coffeed, had a scribble

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

I think wine is a much more agreeable thing to argue over.

Thanks for reminding me. I’d better go taste mine.

Still not quite sour enough. It tastes pretty kimchi-funky, though.

Michael V said:

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

I think wine is a much more agreeable thing to argue over.

Thanks for reminding me. I’d better go taste mine.

Still not quite sour enough. It tastes pretty kimchi-funky, though.

You made it yourself ?
Something I should try its expensive to buy

Cymek said:

Michael V said:

Michael V said:

Thanks for reminding me. I’d better go taste mine.

Still not quite sour enough. It tastes pretty kimchi-funky, though.

You made it yourself ?
Something I should try its expensive to buy

Yes. My first Kimchi Experiment.

Forum: Bubblecar’s posting in December again, what an idiot!

Bubblecar said:

Forum: Bubblecar’s posting in December again, what an idiot!

It changes if we directly reply to someone using the old thread

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

In typical PH fashion, she hadn’t thought it through properly.

Speedy said:

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

In typical PH fashion, she hadn’t thought it through properly.

She’s clearly not up to the task.

Rule 303 said:

Speedy said:

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

In typical PH fashion, she hadn’t thought it through properly.

She’s clearly not up to the task.

No. Pauline Hanson is very up to the task of responding to those that vote for her, and she does it very well. Perhaps you might like to think it through, and conclude that it’s those that vote for her that are not up to the task.

Speedy said:

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

In typical PH fashion, she hadn’t thought it through properly.

That’s your fault Queensland. *points.

Woodie and I are in agreement.

Woodie said:

Rule 303 said:

Speedy said:

In typical PH fashion, she hadn’t thought it through properly.

She’s clearly not up to the task.

No. Pauline Hanson is very up to the task of responding to those that vote for her, and she does it very well. Perhaps you might like to think it through, and conclude that it’s those that vote for her that are not up to the task.

I see her inability to think things through as being the cause of her representing the people who vote for her.

Woodie said:

Rule 303 said:

Speedy said:

In typical PH fashion, she hadn’t thought it through properly.

She’s clearly not up to the task.

No. Pauline Hanson is very up to the task of responding to those that vote for her, and she does it very well. Perhaps you might like to think it through, and conclude that it’s those that vote for her that are not up to the task.

I wonder what we could buy or eat if in any way the manufacturer/nation of origin exploited someone/thing or had a bad humans rights record (current not historical as that would be even more of them)

Seventy-eight years to the day since his heroic actions in World War II, Ordinary Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean has become the first Navy crew member to be awarded Australia’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross.

In an investiture ceremony in Canberra on Tuesday, Ordinary Seaman Sheean was been honoured for his “remarkable gallantry, sacrifice and the significance of his actions to modern Australia”.

In December 1942, the 18-year-old defied orders to abandon the rapidly-sinking HMAS Armidale off the coast of East Timor, which was under heavy attack by Japanese aircraft, and instead strapped himself to the ship’s anti-aircraft gun and shot at enemy planes until he disappeared beneath the waves.

more..

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/wwii-hero-edward-teddy-sheean-awarded-victoria-cross/12935426

Lunch: bowl of spinach with a dob of marge, shake of lemon pepper, salt.

Rule 303 said:

Woodie said:

Rule 303 said:

She’s clearly not up to the task.

No. Pauline Hanson is very up to the task of responding to those that vote for her, and she does it very well. Perhaps you might like to think it through, and conclude that it’s those that vote for her that are not up to the task.

I see her inability to think things through as being the cause of her representing the people who vote for her.

She’s not overly bright though and make knee jerk statements that appeal to other people who don’t think too hard

sarahs mum said:

Seventy-eight years to the day since his heroic actions in World War II, Ordinary Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean has become the first Navy crew member to be awarded Australia’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross.

In an investiture ceremony in Canberra on Tuesday, Ordinary Seaman Sheean was been honoured for his “remarkable gallantry, sacrifice and the significance of his actions to modern Australia”.

In December 1942, the 18-year-old defied orders to abandon the rapidly-sinking HMAS Armidale off the coast of East Timor, which was under heavy attack by Japanese aircraft, and instead strapped himself to the ship’s anti-aircraft gun and shot at enemy planes until he disappeared beneath the waves.

more..

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/wwii-hero-edward-teddy-sheean-awarded-victoria-cross/12935426

Did you its the Rosa Parks day as well

Cymek said:

sarahs mum said:

Seventy-eight years to the day since his heroic actions in World War II, Ordinary Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean has become the first Navy crew member to be awarded Australia’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross.

In an investiture ceremony in Canberra on Tuesday, Ordinary Seaman Sheean was been honoured for his “remarkable gallantry, sacrifice and the significance of his actions to modern Australia”.

In December 1942, the 18-year-old defied orders to abandon the rapidly-sinking HMAS Armidale off the coast of East Timor, which was under heavy attack by Japanese aircraft, and instead strapped himself to the ship’s anti-aircraft gun and shot at enemy planes until he disappeared beneath the waves.

more..

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/wwii-hero-edward-teddy-sheean-awarded-victoria-cross/12935426

Did you its the Rosa Parks day as well

Far out that’s left field.

Cymek said:

Rule 303 said:

Woodie said:

No. Pauline Hanson is very up to the task of responding to those that vote for her, and she does it very well. Perhaps you might like to think it through, and conclude that it’s those that vote for her that are not up to the task.

I see her inability to think things through as being the cause of her representing the people who vote for her.

She’s not overly bright though and make knee jerk statements that appeal to other people who don’t think too hard

It doesn’t help that she keeps making stupid mistakes that drop her in the shit and leave her wide open for exploitation by the very bottom of the political cesspit again and again.

sarahs mum said:

Cymek said:

sarahs mum said:

Seventy-eight years to the day since his heroic actions in World War II, Ordinary Seaman Edward ‘Teddy’ Sheean has become the first Navy crew member to be awarded Australia’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross.

In an investiture ceremony in Canberra on Tuesday, Ordinary Seaman Sheean was been honoured for his “remarkable gallantry, sacrifice and the significance of his actions to modern Australia”.

In December 1942, the 18-year-old defied orders to abandon the rapidly-sinking HMAS Armidale off the coast of East Timor, which was under heavy attack by Japanese aircraft, and instead strapped himself to the ship’s anti-aircraft gun and shot at enemy planes until he disappeared beneath the waves.

more..

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/wwii-hero-edward-teddy-sheean-awarded-victoria-cross/12935426

Did you its the Rosa Parks day as well

Far out that’s left field.

I was looking at on this day on Wikipedia and its was one of the things that happened

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

Yes. Hopefully she means that retailers and suppliers will start looking at sourcing products from elsewhere in preference to buying from China, rather than consumers making the sudden switch and leaving shelves full of Chinese stuff unsold. Which I don’t think will happen anyway. It will mean shifting more towards buying from India or ASEAN nations, but since they’re all darkies too I don’t expect PH will follow through on it much.

sarahs mum said:

Speedy said:

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

In typical PH fashion, she hadn’t thought it through properly.

That’s your fault Queensland. *points.

I will not take the blame. I didn’t vote for her.

stamps foot

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

party_pants said:

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

Yes. Hopefully she means that retailers and suppliers will start looking at sourcing products from elsewhere in preference to buying from China, rather than consumers making the sudden switch and leaving shelves full of Chinese stuff unsold. Which I don’t think will happen anyway. It will mean shifting more towards buying from India or ASEAN nations, but since they’re all darkies too I don’t expect PH will follow through on it much.

Taiwan, buy from Taiwan, that will really piss them off.

Michael V said:

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

I have some points files, actually they were dads and I haven’t used them for yonks either.

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

Yes. Hopefully she means that retailers and suppliers will start looking at sourcing products from elsewhere in preference to buying from China, rather than consumers making the sudden switch and leaving shelves full of Chinese stuff unsold. Which I don’t think will happen anyway. It will mean shifting more towards buying from India or ASEAN nations, but since they’re all darkies too I don’t expect PH will follow through on it much.

Taiwan, buy from Taiwan, that will really piss them off.

:)

Michael V said:

sarahs mum said:

Speedy said:

In typical PH fashion, she hadn’t thought it through properly.

That’s your fault Queensland. *points.

I will not take the blame. I didn’t vote for her.

stamps foot

I live in Katter country.

Peak Warming Man said:

Michael V said:

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

I have some points files, actually they were dads and I haven’t used them for yonks either.

:)

I suspect some of my points files came from Dad, and from Grandpa, too.

Michael V said:

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

Wet ‘n Dry is your friend.

:-)

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Michael V said:

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

I have some points files, actually they were dads and I haven’t used them for yonks either.

:)

I suspect some of my points files came from Dad, and from Grandpa, too.

Not much call for points in modern engines.

Tamb said:

Michael V said:

sarahs mum said:

That’s your fault Queensland. *points.

I will not take the blame. I didn’t vote for her.

stamps foot

I live in Katter country.

Uh-oh.

Michael V said:

Tamb said:

Michael V said:

I will not take the blame. I didn’t vote for her.

stamps foot

I live in Katter country.

Uh-oh.

Makes voting easy. Federally Bob gets reelected regardless. State elections are the same. KAP’s Shane Knuth.

Rule 303 said:

Michael V said:

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

Wet ‘n Dry is your friend.

:-)

For the final bit. My wet-n-dry is mostly 1000 grit. The points are quite badly pitted and oxidised.

I do have some medium emery cloth somewhere. At a pinch, that might work.

Tamb said:

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

I have some points files, actually they were dads and I haven’t used them for yonks either.

:)

I suspect some of my points files came from Dad, and from Grandpa, too.

Not much call for points in modern engines.

Probably why I haven’t used them for such a long while.

Anyway, I’d better go look.

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

Bubblecar said:

>Pauline Hanson calls for boycott of Chinese products for Christmas

That would put many Australian shops out of business.

Yes. Hopefully she means that retailers and suppliers will start looking at sourcing products from elsewhere in preference to buying from China, rather than consumers making the sudden switch and leaving shelves full of Chinese stuff unsold. Which I don’t think will happen anyway. It will mean shifting more towards buying from India or ASEAN nations, but since they’re all darkies too I don’t expect PH will follow through on it much.

Taiwan, buy from Taiwan, that will really piss them off.

Do Taiwan still make stuff?

Michael V said:

Rule 303 said:

Michael V said:

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

Wet ‘n Dry is your friend.

:-)

For the final bit. My wet-n-dry is mostly 1000 grit. The points are quite badly pitted and oxidised.

I do have some medium emery cloth somewhere. At a pinch, that might work.

Sounds fine to me. I used to just pull them out and let the spring apply the pressure as I dragged the paper through.

Rule 303 said:

Cymek said:

Rule 303 said:

I see her inability to think things through as being the cause of her representing the people who vote for her.

She’s not overly bright though and make knee jerk statements that appeal to other people who don’t think too hard

It doesn’t help that she keeps making stupid mistakes that drop her in the shit and leave her wide open for exploitation by the very bottom of the political cesspit again and again.

probably all a bit spoilt by English comedy, expecting parochial to at least be moderately amusing, but I have to say i’ve had some challenges in my time adding some dimension of humor to even horrors, mostly been successful, but occasionally something turns up, and I have to go deeper, into a weirdness, looking for just a hint of fun I might be able to work with, totally depleted of creativity I start not to care, and just have to resolve there’s nothing there, so go elsewhere

Rule 303 said:

Michael V said:

Rule 303 said:

Wet ‘n Dry is your friend.

:-)

For the final bit. My wet-n-dry is mostly 1000 grit. The points are quite badly pitted and oxidised.

I do have some medium emery cloth somewhere. At a pinch, that might work.

Sounds fine to me. I used to just pull them out and let the spring apply the pressure as I dragged the paper through.

Fold the paper so it does both points at once. This means that even if you sharpen with a bias the points will still be parallel.

party_pants said:

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

Yes. Hopefully she means that retailers and suppliers will start looking at sourcing products from elsewhere in preference to buying from China, rather than consumers making the sudden switch and leaving shelves full of Chinese stuff unsold. Which I don’t think will happen anyway. It will mean shifting more towards buying from India or ASEAN nations, but since they’re all darkies too I don’t expect PH will follow through on it much.

Taiwan, buy from Taiwan, that will really piss them off.

Do Taiwan still make stuff?

Yes. Bangladesh is closing in though, especially with clothes.

Windy and dark this end. I expect our 80% chance of rain will be starting soon.

party_pants said:

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

Yes. Hopefully she means that retailers and suppliers will start looking at sourcing products from elsewhere in preference to buying from China, rather than consumers making the sudden switch and leaving shelves full of Chinese stuff unsold. Which I don’t think will happen anyway. It will mean shifting more towards buying from India or ASEAN nations, but since they’re all darkies too I don’t expect PH will follow through on it much.

Taiwan, buy from Taiwan, that will really piss them off.

Do Taiwan still make stuff?

Yep. The world’s most valuable semiconductor company is located there, so there is a fair chance you’ve got processors or other bits and bobs strewn around your house which were manufactured in Taiwan.

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Taiwan, buy from Taiwan, that will really piss them off.

Do Taiwan still make stuff?

Yep. The world’s most valuable semiconductor company is located there, so there is a fair chance you’ve got processors or other bits and bobs strewn around your house which were manufactured in Taiwan.

Pretty sure its a return point for a number of GPU’s for Australian customers

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

Bubblecar said:

Windy and dark this end. I expect our 80% chance of rain will be starting soon.

Ben and Alice just drove through your town on the way to Ben’s Mum’s. they said it has been raining on and off all the way up the Midlands hwy. It only started raining here 5 minutes ago and it has stopped again.

Divine Angel said:

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

Wooooooooooo!

Divine Angel said:

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

That sounds like a good thing…

Divine Angel said:

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

Oh, congratulations!!!

Divine Angel said:

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

Sweet, you could sign them as well

Divine Angel said:

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

:)

Divine Angel said:

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

When its turned into a movie can I have a part in it, obviously you will defrost Bryan Brown for the lead role

Divine Angel said:

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

Excellent. Great. Wonderful.

This is very exciting! I was not expecting that at all.

Michael V said:

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

Oh no! You weren’t living in Rainbow Beach in 1986. “Sensible” is somewhere else…

Divine Angel said:

This is very exciting! I was not expecting that at all.

One of the librarians might have read it and decided it’s worthy enough to get multiple copies.

Bubblecar said:

Divine Angel said:

This is very exciting! I was not expecting that at all.

One of the librarians might have read it and decided it’s worthy enough to get multiple copies.

Probably they have received more than one enquiry as to whether the book was available.

Bubblecar said:

Divine Angel said:

This is very exciting! I was not expecting that at all.

One of the librarians might have read it and decided it’s worthy enough to get multiple copies.

Yeah, OK, we’ll go with that.

I’m doing a talk in March (which was postponed from this year) and they support presenters by purchasing copies of their books. Someone did some detective work and found my listing on Amazon. They emailed me to ask if that was indeed my book.

Michael V said:

Tamb said:

Michael V said:

:)

I suspect some of my points files came from Dad, and from Grandpa, too.

Not much call for points in modern engines.

Probably why I haven’t used them for such a long while.

Anyway, I’d better go look.

Not found. I’ll try again later.

But I have found the emery cloth. That’ll do in a pinch…

Rule 303 said:

Michael V said:

Rule 303 said:

Wet ‘n Dry is your friend.

:-)

For the final bit. My wet-n-dry is mostly 1000 grit. The points are quite badly pitted and oxidised.

I do have some medium emery cloth somewhere. At a pinch, that might work.

Sounds fine to me. I used to just pull them out and let the spring apply the pressure as I dragged the paper through.

I used to do the same. These points are “normally open” so I’ll have to use finger pressure.

Tamb said:

Rule 303 said:

Michael V said:

For the final bit. My wet-n-dry is mostly 1000 grit. The points are quite badly pitted and oxidised.

I do have some medium emery cloth somewhere. At a pinch, that might work.

Sounds fine to me. I used to just pull them out and let the spring apply the pressure as I dragged the paper through.

Fold the paper so it does both points at once. This means that even if you sharpen with a bias the points will still be parallel.

I used to do that, too.

Michael V said:

Tamb said:

Rule 303 said:

Sounds fine to me. I used to just pull them out and let the spring apply the pressure as I dragged the paper through.

Fold the paper so it does both points at once. This means that even if you sharpen with a bias the points will still be parallel.

I used to do that, too.

Dredged that memory out of the mists of time.

Divine Angel said:

Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap I just got an email from the local library, they want to purchase copies of my novel! This means it will be available for loan, and each time it is borrowed, I get paid. As opposed to me donating the book, in which I don’t get paid…

Cool!

:)

buffy said:

Michael V said:

OK. The toaster is in pieces and the circuit board holding three sets of points is released and now in a position to have those points cleaned.

Next, I wonder where I put my points files…

I haven’t used them since about 1986, but I feel sure I’ve put them somewhere sensible.

Oh no! You weren’t living in Rainbow Beach in 1986. “Sensible” is somewhere else…

Possibly. I’ll try again later.

Fortified Iron Age Settlement at Biskupin

The iron age settlement at Biskupin was once perched on a lake in a marshy peninsula in northwest Poland. Rising water concealed the timber dwellings and ramparts, which were constructed in 738 BCE, hiding it from sight for centuries. When the water subsided in 1933, a local school teacher brought it to the attention of archaeologists who began excavating the site. They found workshops, stables and houses, which were likely home to several hundred people. The complex is encircled by a single timber wall and inhabitants entered and exited through its only gate. Archaeologists found agricultural tools, like wheels and flows, and iron and bronze implements, pottery and wool cloth.

I thought it sounded windy…gusting around 70 at the moment. Been in the 60s for a couple of hours now. The FOGO bin is on its side – I’d better bring it in. Mr buffy had to upright it before when it blew over before the truck came around.

Bushfire-affected Mallacoota residents suffer heightened anxiety during Telstra outages
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/mallacoota-residents-still-on-edge-with-telstra-phone-outages/12937352

For sale: 2 kids. One’s not mine, but I’m sure the mum won’t mind. Jellybean sure won’t mind.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/fraser-island-fire-warning-increased-as-flames-move-south/12938420

Divine Angel said:

For sale: 2 kids. One’s not mine, but I’m sure the mum won’t mind. Jellybean sure won’t mind.

Uh-oh.

Michael V said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/fraser-island-fire-warning-increased-as-flames-move-south/12938420

It’s been going so long now.

An Australian radio telescope has conducted a record-breaking survey of the southern sky, mapping three million galaxies — including about one million never seen before — in just two weeks.
It is the first time CSIRO’s Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope located about 370 kilometres north-east of Geraldton in Western Australia, has been thoroughly tested, and the results have been considered a game-changer for astronomers.

The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) has created a “Google Map” of the Universe from 903 radio images in 300 hours.

In the past, similar surveys have taken years to complete.

CSIRO astronomer and lead author David McConnell said it is a significant milestone for the radio telescope and the science community.

Michael V said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/fraser-island-fire-warning-increased-as-flames-move-south/12938420

Uh oh

roughbarked said:

An Australian radio telescope has conducted a record-breaking survey of the southern sky, mapping three million galaxies — including about one million never seen before — in just two weeks.
It is the first time CSIRO’s Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope located about 370 kilometres north-east of Geraldton in Western Australia, has been thoroughly tested, and the results have been considered a game-changer for astronomers.

The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) has created a “Google Map” of the Universe from 903 radio images in 300 hours.

In the past, similar surveys have taken years to complete.

CSIRO astronomer and lead author David McConnell said it is a significant milestone for the radio telescope and the science community.

Woo hoo

Michael V said:

Divine Angel said:

For sale: 2 kids. One’s not mine, but I’m sure the mum won’t mind. Jellybean sure won’t mind.

Uh-oh.

Free to a good home?

sarahs mum said:

Michael V said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/fraser-island-fire-warning-increased-as-flames-move-south/12938420

It’s been going so long now.

Yes, yes it has.

Divine Angel said:

Michael V said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/fraser-island-fire-warning-increased-as-flames-move-south/12938420

Uh oh

From the sounds of it, about half of the vegetated area of Fraser Island has been burned.

Tamb said:

Michael V said:

Divine Angel said:

For sale: 2 kids. One’s not mine, but I’m sure the mum won’t mind. Jellybean sure won’t mind.

Uh-oh.

Free to a good home?

The one that’s not mine keeps yelling at the dog for doing dog things. The one that is mine is hiding in a cupboard for something or other. Too hot, don’t care.

I’m returning the other one soon.

Divine Angel said:

Tamb said:

Michael V said:

Uh-oh.

Free to a good home?

The one that’s not mine keeps yelling at the dog for doing dog things. The one that is mine is hiding in a cupboard for something or other. Too hot, don’t care.

I’m returning the other one soon.

The joys of motherhood eh?

The road outside Mini Me’s school is about to undergo major roadworks, due to finish this time next year. For the past week, these yellow cutouts have been popping up everywhere.

roughbarked said:

An Australian radio telescope has conducted a record-breaking survey of the southern sky, mapping three million galaxies — including about one million never seen before — in just two weeks.
It is the first time CSIRO’s Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope located about 370 kilometres north-east of Geraldton in Western Australia, has been thoroughly tested, and the results have been considered a game-changer for astronomers.

The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) has created a “Google Map” of the Universe from 903 radio images in 300 hours.

In the past, similar surveys have taken years to complete.

CSIRO astronomer and lead author David McConnell said it is a significant milestone for the radio telescope and the science community.

Yeah, I’d go along with significant milestone.

roughbarked said:

Divine Angel said:

Michael V said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-01/fraser-island-fire-warning-increased-as-flames-move-south/12938420

Uh oh

From the sounds of it, about half of the vegetated area of Fraser Island has been burned.

Pretty much.

:(

Back to working on the toaster contacts.

Still gusty and will be until tomorrow evening.

https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-214.56,-43.35,1755/loc=147.158,-41.982

Hey! Over here!!

buffy said:

Hey! Over here!!

Wind keeps blowing us back to last month.

Food report. Mr buffy is cook. I have observed a couple of pork chops being defrosted. I have no idea what accompaniments are planned. I have made a couple of redcurrant tarts for dessert. Well, I made the jam. Cam the baker made the little tartlet bases for me. I just had to warm the jam and tip it in. It’s my entire crop of redcurrants for the year…made two tartlets. I’ve got more bases. And I’ve made loganberry jam for tarts tomorrow.

Bubblecar said:

buffy said:

Hey! Over here!!

Wind keeps blowing us back to last month.

I was going to say it’s calmed down a bit here, but I just looked out the window and the tree was all to the right of the midline…

I’m having leftover pasta but not until I’m hungry enough.

Just scoffed an orange.

Ah, we have dropped our gusts down to the mid sixties instead of the high sixties. We may possibly have a small shower of rain soon, but it might blow straight over the top of us.

buffy said:

Food report. Mr buffy is cook. I have observed a couple of pork chops being defrosted. I have no idea what accompaniments are planned. I have made a couple of redcurrant tarts for dessert. Well, I made the jam. Cam the baker made the little tartlet bases for me. I just had to warm the jam and tip it in. It’s my entire crop of redcurrants for the year…made two tartlets. I’ve got more bases. And I’ve made loganberry jam for tarts tomorrow.

I had some left over lamb slow cooker from last nights dinner… so I put them into some small bowls and covered them with pastry to freeze for the kids for when they feel like a pie… then I had pastry left over, so I had to make some apple turnovers… I think this will be dessert tonight . but I used up all the pastry :)

buffy said:

Food report. Mr buffy is cook. I have observed a couple of pork chops being defrosted. I have no idea what accompaniments are planned. I have made a couple of redcurrant tarts for dessert. Well, I made the jam. Cam the baker made the little tartlet bases for me. I just had to warm the jam and tip it in. It’s my entire crop of redcurrants for the year…made two tartlets. I’ve got more bases. And I’ve made loganberry jam for tarts tomorrow.

I used to make a tart/s each Christmas. Grab someof Cam’s tart shells. Mix some cream cheese with lemon rind and lemon juice and fill shells. Arrange strawberries on the top. Then I would melt some redcurrant jelly with a little splash of cointreau or water…and spoon it over the strawberries.

Bubblecar said:

I’m having leftover pasta but not until I’m hungry enough.

Just scoffed an orange.

I have rissoles and spuds leftover from last night. I binned the leftover brussel sprout.

Arts said:

buffy said:

Food report. Mr buffy is cook. I have observed a couple of pork chops being defrosted. I have no idea what accompaniments are planned. I have made a couple of redcurrant tarts for dessert. Well, I made the jam. Cam the baker made the little tartlet bases for me. I just had to warm the jam and tip it in. It’s my entire crop of redcurrants for the year…made two tartlets. I’ve got more bases. And I’ve made loganberry jam for tarts tomorrow.

I had some left over lamb slow cooker from last nights dinner… so I put them into some small bowls and covered them with pastry to freeze for the kids for when they feel like a pie… then I had pastry left over, so I had to make some apple turnovers… I think this will be dessert tonight . but I used up all the pastry :)

things made with leftover pastry are called ‘clancys”. as in clancy of the overflow.

sarahs mum said:

Bubblecar said:

I’m having leftover pasta but not until I’m hungry enough.

Just scoffed an orange.

I have rissoles and spuds leftover from last night. I binned the leftover brussel sprout.

I think it’s a crime to call those things Brussel Sprouts.

Arts said:

buffy said:

Food report. Mr buffy is cook. I have observed a couple of pork chops being defrosted. I have no idea what accompaniments are planned. I have made a couple of redcurrant tarts for dessert. Well, I made the jam. Cam the baker made the little tartlet bases for me. I just had to warm the jam and tip it in. It’s my entire crop of redcurrants for the year…made two tartlets. I’ve got more bases. And I’ve made loganberry jam for tarts tomorrow.

I had some left over lamb slow cooker from last nights dinner… so I put them into some small bowls and covered them with pastry to freeze for the kids for when they feel like a pie… then I had pastry left over, so I had to make some apple turnovers… I think this will be dessert tonight . but I used up all the pastry :)

There should always be leftover pastry. For things like you’ve done. Or just flipped into patty tins with a teaspoon of jam as a jam tart.

:)

ChrispenEvan said:

sarahs mum said:

Bubblecar said:

I’m having leftover pasta but not until I’m hungry enough.

Just scoffed an orange.

I have rissoles and spuds leftover from last night. I binned the leftover brussel sprout.

I think it’s a crime to call those things Brussel Sprouts.

I think so too. From now on I shall refer to them as garbage sprouts.

sarahs mum said:

buffy said:

Food report. Mr buffy is cook. I have observed a couple of pork chops being defrosted. I have no idea what accompaniments are planned. I have made a couple of redcurrant tarts for dessert. Well, I made the jam. Cam the baker made the little tartlet bases for me. I just had to warm the jam and tip it in. It’s my entire crop of redcurrants for the year…made two tartlets. I’ve got more bases. And I’ve made loganberry jam for tarts tomorrow.

I used to make a tart/s each Christmas. Grab some of Cam’s tart shells. Mix some cream cheese with lemon rind and lemon juice and fill shells. Arrange strawberries on the top. Then I would melt some redcurrant jelly with a little splash of cointreau or water…and spoon it over the strawberries.

This sounds good. And dead easy!

Where’s the phone number for A Current Affair? I’ve got a rort for them.

I’ve got Mini Me’s booklist for next year. The school recommends you go through their supplier, which is about $120 but $40 of that goes to the school. Their cutoff date is Nov 23 to guarantee delivery before school starts next year.

I already have some of her stuff from this year stuck in the cupboard. Today, she came home with more stuff she didn’t use during the year (school was only closed for four weeks at the height of Covid, she wouldn’t have gone through all that unused stuff). I spent $50 getting it all from Aldi at the beginning of the year.

So this year, with the things she didn’t use, I’ll probably only spend $30. Sucked in to the parents who bought the entire booklist from the school’s supplier.

sarahs mum said:

ChrispenEvan said:

sarahs mum said:

I have rissoles and spuds leftover from last night. I binned the leftover brussel sprout.

I think it’s a crime to call those things Brussel Sprouts.

I think so too. From now on I shall refer to them as garbage sprouts.

Frozen ones? I don’t know how they manage to turn them into such travesties. Maybe they just don’t freeze well at all.

buffy said:

sarahs mum said:

buffy said:

Food report. Mr buffy is cook. I have observed a couple of pork chops being defrosted. I have no idea what accompaniments are planned. I have made a couple of redcurrant tarts for dessert. Well, I made the jam. Cam the baker made the little tartlet bases for me. I just had to warm the jam and tip it in. It’s my entire crop of redcurrants for the year…made two tartlets. I’ve got more bases. And I’ve made loganberry jam for tarts tomorrow.

I used to make a tart/s each Christmas. Grab some of Cam’s tart shells. Mix some cream cheese with lemon rind and lemon juice and fill shells. Arrange strawberries on the top. Then I would melt some redcurrant jelly with a little splash of cointreau or water…and spoon it over the strawberries.

This sounds good. And dead easy!

Delicious. Really.

Bubblecar said:

sarahs mum said:

ChrispenEvan said:

I think it’s a crime to call those things Brussel Sprouts.

I think so too. From now on I shall refer to them as garbage sprouts.

Frozen ones? I don’t know how they manage to turn them into such travesties. Maybe they just don’t freeze well at all.

I didn’t think they were going be as awful as they are.

ChrispenEvan said:

Arts said:

buffy said:

Food report. Mr buffy is cook. I have observed a couple of pork chops being defrosted. I have no idea what accompaniments are planned. I have made a couple of redcurrant tarts for dessert. Well, I made the jam. Cam the baker made the little tartlet bases for me. I just had to warm the jam and tip it in. It’s my entire crop of redcurrants for the year…made two tartlets. I’ve got more bases. And I’ve made loganberry jam for tarts tomorrow.

I had some left over lamb slow cooker from last nights dinner… so I put them into some small bowls and covered them with pastry to freeze for the kids for when they feel like a pie… then I had pastry left over, so I had to make some apple turnovers… I think this will be dessert tonight . but I used up all the pastry :)

things made with leftover pastry are called ‘clancys”. as in clancy of the overflow.

so tonight I’ll be having Clancys apples.

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

Divine Angel said:

Where’s the phone number for A Current Affair? I’ve got a rort for them.

I’ve got Mini Me’s booklist for next year. The school recommends you go through their supplier, which is about $120 but $40 of that goes to the school. Their cutoff date is Nov 23 to guarantee delivery before school starts next year.

I already have some of her stuff from this year stuck in the cupboard. Today, she came home with more stuff she didn’t use during the year (school was only closed for four weeks at the height of Covid, she wouldn’t have gone through all that unused stuff). I spent $50 getting it all from Aldi at the beginning of the year.

So this year, with the things she didn’t use, I’ll probably only spend $30. Sucked in to the parents who bought the entire booklist from the school’s supplier.

I just went through the kids lists for next year… I crossed out all the things like files and paper and pens, because I can get that stuff anywhere… I also on bought two exercise books instead of the recommended six.. we don’t like in a desert here people! I can find exercise books throughout the year if they re needed. Including the few text books they need it cost me $78 for both kids… I neglected to get the $270 calculator that Miss J was supposed to get… apparently it can fly you all the way to Sydney… I reckon there’ll be ones she can use in class..

Bubblecar said:

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

it’s called ‘secret Santa’.

Bubblecar said:

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

I have Tim’s grandfather. And a $50 limit. I have no idea.

Arts said:

Bubblecar said:

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

it’s called ‘secret Santa’.

Don’t know why, since we all know who’ll be gifting whom.

Tonight we will watch another Dr Who episode. “Partners in Crime”.

sarahs mum said:

Bubblecar said:

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

I have Tim’s grandfather. And a $50 limit. I have no idea.

Pete will probably be happy with a bottle of fine whisky, but I’ll ask Beth if there’s anything else he particularly wants.

sarahs mum said:

Bubblecar said:

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

I have Tim’s grandfather. And a $50 limit. I have no idea.

A print? A tiny one?

sarahs mum said:

Bubblecar said:

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

I have Tim’s grandfather. And a $50 limit. I have no idea.

Get him a clock.

Bubblecar said:

Arts said:

Bubblecar said:

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

it’s called ‘secret Santa’.

Don’t know why, since we all know who’ll be gifting whom.

it just is.

I have my brother in law, whom I am not a big fan of.. but I’ll just get him alcohol or something.

buffy said:

sarahs mum said:

Bubblecar said:

This year our family are doing the one-person-gets-present-for-one-other-person thing, with names pulled out of a hat.

Just been messaged by the immediately younger sister who did the hat-pulling. My present recipient is the same as last year, the Ross bro-in-law.

I have Tim’s grandfather. And a $50 limit. I have no idea.

A print? A tiny one?

I do have prints by other people in drawer. And I was thinking of pulling some out this year. But I am not sure that is the right present in this instance. I’m sure he gets grog every year.

Arts said:

Bubblecar said:

Arts said:

it’s called ‘secret Santa’.

Don’t know why, since we all know who’ll be gifting whom.

it just is.

I have my brother in law, whom I am not a big fan of.. but I’ll just get him alcohol or something.

Hold on, I didn’t think you thought much of him?

confused from Essendon

sarahs mum said:

buffy said:

sarahs mum said:

I have Tim’s grandfather. And a $50 limit. I have no idea.

A print? A tiny one?

I do have prints by other people in drawer. And I was thinking of pulling some out this year. But I am not sure that is the right present in this instance. I’m sure he gets grog every year.

So he needs to get something different.

We don’t really do presents. I have sent a teatowel with maggies on it to my sister in Houston. It arrived today. But I would have sent that regardless of Christmas or birthdays. It’s just appropriate. She picked up Mum’s maggie mugs and stuff last year when she was out here. Mum was gaga about maggies.

buffy said:

sarahs mum said:

buffy said:

A print? A tiny one?

I do have prints by other people in drawer. And I was thinking of pulling some out this year. But I am not sure that is the right present in this instance. I’m sure he gets grog every year.

So he needs to get something different.

We don’t really do presents. I have sent a teatowel with maggies on it to my sister in Houston. It arrived today. But I would have sent that regardless of Christmas or birthdays. It’s just appropriate. She picked up Mum’s maggie mugs and stuff last year when she was out here. Mum was gaga about maggies.

It does become a buy something for people even if you’ve spent money throughout the year on them and don’t see the point of getting something else

>>Pete will probably be happy with a bottle of fine whisky

rubs hands

Cymek said:

buffy said:

sarahs mum said:

I do have prints by other people in drawer. And I was thinking of pulling some out this year. But I am not sure that is the right present in this instance. I’m sure he gets grog every year.

So he needs to get something different.

We don’t really do presents. I have sent a teatowel with maggies on it to my sister in Houston. It arrived today. But I would have sent that regardless of Christmas or birthdays. It’s just appropriate. She picked up Mum’s maggie mugs and stuff last year when she was out here. Mum was gaga about maggies.

It does become a buy something for people even if you’ve spent money throughout the year on them and don’t see the point of getting something else

In my case I am buying something for someone I have hardly talked to let alone really know well.

I have no idea why I am not just going to stay home and cry. It’s far more economical.

Peak Warming Man said:

>>Pete will probably be happy with a bottle of fine whisky

rubs hands

Not you, the Ross Pete.

Senator Rachel Siewert

1 min ·
Since lifting the temporary payment suspension, there have been more than 250,112 income support payments suspended.
Unfortunately the Senate did not support our motion recognising the distress and aggravation of mental ill-health caused by strict mutual obligation requirements.

Horizontal rain.

!https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/128572092_846178562861389_3533973338953940666_o.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=2&_nc_sid=b9115d&_nc_ohc=aOWlXZJ7gd0AX_PxbG7&_nc_ht=scontent-syd2-1.xx&oh=877ba2e6ba80da914b6391978587329c&oe=5FED495E!Kings Forman
old Australian Truck Driver’s Group
1 hr ·
Some very old MYER Fleet Vehicles.

Chris Ho
1 hr ·
One of Australia’s biggest and longest serving Holden dealers has switched to Ford, in a badge swap that was once unthinkable.
The former Suttons Holden dealership at Homebush, Sydney will soon start selling new Ford cars after a dealer agreement was finalised last week.

Text and pic credit CarAdvice.com

sarahs mum said:

!https://scontent-syd2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/128572092_846178562861389_3533973338953940666_o.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=2&_nc_sid=b9115d&_nc_ohc=aOWlXZJ7gd0AX_PxbG7&_nc_ht=scontent-syd2-1.xx&oh=877ba2e6ba80da914b6391978587329c&oe=5FED495E!Kings Forman
old Australian Truck Driver’s Group
1 hr ·
Some very old MYER Fleet Vehicles.

Ta. Saved in Nostalgia/Vehicles/Commercial.

sarahs mum said:

Chris Ho
1 hr ·
One of Australia’s biggest and longest serving Holden dealers has switched to Ford, in a badge swap that was once unthinkable.
The former Suttons Holden dealership at Homebush, Sydney will soon start selling new Ford cars after a dealer agreement was finalised last week.

Text and pic credit CarAdvice.com

Ditto.

Sutton’s are now on the list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crown_(TV_series)

watching that^, quite good

Media Reach called me to do a survey on how the government handled the coronavirus.

roughbarked said:

Media Reach called me to do a survey on how the government handled the coronavirus.

State or federal?

Bubblecar said:

roughbarked said:

Media Reach called me to do a survey on how the government handled the coronavirus.

State or federal?

Didn’t wait around to find out.

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
2 hrs ·

in comments…

No law suits will happen.
Part of the purpose of this new CDC Bill, is to entrench cardholders legally outside any rights &/or protections at law, which might possibly be used to mount any legal challenges.
They’ve learnt only that much, from Robodebt and the privatised Aged Care debacles.
This card scam er, “program”, literally turns human lives into collectively privately-profitable but legally individually-worthless …commodities …human live-stock per se.
No private corp would touch this thing, if they thought they’d ever end up being sued over it, for any harms they do to people.
So this vile sociopathic LNP Govt are legislating to remove that risk entirely, for the Govt themselves, for the private-corps and for their Public-Money-funded profits & wealthy shareholders.
The cardholder victims/prey wear and suffer ALL the risk and ALL the consequences, entirely alone. Fullstop.⏰💣

sarahs mum said:

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
2 hrs ·

in comments…

No law suits will happen.
Part of the purpose of this new CDC Bill, is to entrench cardholders legally outside any rights &/or protections at law, which might possibly be used to mount any legal challenges.
They’ve learnt only that much, from Robodebt and the privatised Aged Care debacles.
This card scam er, “program”, literally turns human lives into collectively privately-profitable but legally individually-worthless …commodities …human live-stock per se.
No private corp would touch this thing, if they thought they’d ever end up being sued over it, for any harms they do to people.
So this vile sociopathic LNP Govt are legislating to remove that risk entirely, for the Govt themselves, for the private-corps and for their Public-Money-funded profits & wealthy shareholders.
The cardholder victims/prey wear and suffer ALL the risk and ALL the consequences, entirely alone. Fullstop.⏰💣

That attitude is what Australia is and has always been about.

Received another message: seems too many people were stuck with the same present recipient as last year, so there’s been another round of names pulled from the hat.

Now instead of the Ross bro-in-law, I’ve got the older sister Anna, and the immediately younger sister has me.

sarahs mum said:

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
2 hrs ·

in comments…

No law suits will happen.
Part of the purpose of this new CDC Bill, is to entrench cardholders legally outside any rights &/or protections at law, which might possibly be used to mount any legal challenges.
They’ve learnt only that much, from Robodebt and the privatised Aged Care debacles.
This card scam er, “program”, literally turns human lives into collectively privately-profitable but legally individually-worthless …commodities …human live-stock per se.
No private corp would touch this thing, if they thought they’d ever end up being sued over it, for any harms they do to people.
So this vile sociopathic LNP Govt are legislating to remove that risk entirely, for the Govt themselves, for the private-corps and for their Public-Money-funded profits & wealthy shareholders.
The cardholder victims/prey wear and suffer ALL the risk and ALL the consequences, entirely alone. Fullstop.⏰💣

Is anyone here over the fact that the Indue site has been down for a week today? I haven’t been able to pay any rent or my bills or get a balance unless I call them all week.
I spoke with Services Australia yesterday about getting the forms to exit & the man I spoke with basically laughed at me & wished me luck trying to exit.
I’m nearly 48 & have always managed my money responsibly. Now my rent is behind because of THEM & they laugh because I want to exit.
It’s disgusting

sarahs mum said:

sarahs mum said:

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
2 hrs ·

in comments…

No law suits will happen.
Part of the purpose of this new CDC Bill, is to entrench cardholders legally outside any rights &/or protections at law, which might possibly be used to mount any legal challenges.
They’ve learnt only that much, from Robodebt and the privatised Aged Care debacles.
This card scam er, “program”, literally turns human lives into collectively privately-profitable but legally individually-worthless …commodities …human live-stock per se.
No private corp would touch this thing, if they thought they’d ever end up being sued over it, for any harms they do to people.
So this vile sociopathic LNP Govt are legislating to remove that risk entirely, for the Govt themselves, for the private-corps and for their Public-Money-funded profits & wealthy shareholders.
The cardholder victims/prey wear and suffer ALL the risk and ALL the consequences, entirely alone. Fullstop.⏰💣

Is anyone here over the fact that the Indue site has been down for a week today? I haven’t been able to pay any rent or my bills or get a balance unless I call them all week.
I spoke with Services Australia yesterday about getting the forms to exit & the man I spoke with basically laughed at me & wished me luck trying to exit.
I’m nearly 48 & have always managed my money responsibly. Now my rent is behind because of THEM & they laugh because I want to exit.
It’s disgusting

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
it wasn’t Indue who treated me badly actually, it was Services Australia who handle the exit off the system. The man I spoke with gave me a speech about how he knew it was frustrating & when I told him that there is no good reason for me to be on the card, he laughed & said that everyone on a payment is going to be rolled into the card & he wished me luck exiting.
I’m furious.
How do I contact Rachel Siewert please for help to exit?

sarahs mum said:

sarahs mum said:

sarahs mum said:

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
2 hrs ·

in comments…

No law suits will happen.
Part of the purpose of this new CDC Bill, is to entrench cardholders legally outside any rights &/or protections at law, which might possibly be used to mount any legal challenges.
They’ve learnt only that much, from Robodebt and the privatised Aged Care debacles.
This card scam er, “program”, literally turns human lives into collectively privately-profitable but legally individually-worthless …commodities …human live-stock per se.
No private corp would touch this thing, if they thought they’d ever end up being sued over it, for any harms they do to people.
So this vile sociopathic LNP Govt are legislating to remove that risk entirely, for the Govt themselves, for the private-corps and for their Public-Money-funded profits & wealthy shareholders.
The cardholder victims/prey wear and suffer ALL the risk and ALL the consequences, entirely alone. Fullstop.⏰💣

Is anyone here over the fact that the Indue site has been down for a week today? I haven’t been able to pay any rent or my bills or get a balance unless I call them all week.
I spoke with Services Australia yesterday about getting the forms to exit & the man I spoke with basically laughed at me & wished me luck trying to exit.
I’m nearly 48 & have always managed my money responsibly. Now my rent is behind because of THEM & they laugh because I want to exit.
It’s disgusting

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
it wasn’t Indue who treated me badly actually, it was Services Australia who handle the exit off the system. The man I spoke with gave me a speech about how he knew it was frustrating & when I told him that there is no good reason for me to be on the card, he laughed & said that everyone on a payment is going to be rolled into the card & he wished me luck exiting.
I’m furious.
How do I contact Rachel Siewert please for help to exit?

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
they keep telling me that they’re working on fixing it & everyday they’ve said that it’ll be back up tomorrow.
Every day it’s still down.
It’s disgusting.

sarahs mum said:

sarahs mum said:

sarahs mum said:

Is anyone here over the fact that the Indue site has been down for a week today? I haven’t been able to pay any rent or my bills or get a balance unless I call them all week.
I spoke with Services Australia yesterday about getting the forms to exit & the man I spoke with basically laughed at me & wished me luck trying to exit.
I’m nearly 48 & have always managed my money responsibly. Now my rent is behind because of THEM & they laugh because I want to exit.
It’s disgusting

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
it wasn’t Indue who treated me badly actually, it was Services Australia who handle the exit off the system. The man I spoke with gave me a speech about how he knew it was frustrating & when I told him that there is no good reason for me to be on the card, he laughed & said that everyone on a payment is going to be rolled into the card & he wished me luck exiting.
I’m furious.
How do I contact Rachel Siewert please for help to exit?

No Cashless Welfare Debit Card Australia
they keep telling me that they’re working on fixing it & everyday they’ve said that it’ll be back up tomorrow.
Every day it’s still down.
It’s disgusting.

my MP is LNP Rick Wilson. Couldn’t give a crap basically. He sends me a stock “sorry you are frustrated, but it’s now government policy, if you are expecting hardship please call Services Australia” & I go back to the beginning

I wonder if jesus has something to say about cashless welfare cards ?

wookiemeister said:

I wonder if jesus has something to say about cashless welfare cards ?

He’d turn them into loaves and fishes.

From my time amongst orthodox Jewish families in the west bank I learnt WHY the Jews never accepted him

Judaism is a patriarchy

The messiah was to be in the line of David ie a direct male relative

Jesus’ dad was god, not a human male relative of david

wookiemeister said:

I wonder if jesus has something to say about cashless welfare cards ?

He kicked their tables ober?

Bubblecar said:

wookiemeister said:

I wonder if jesus has something to say about cashless welfare cards ?

He’d turn them into loaves and fishes.

Very good on several levels

The Opposition, with a fair bit of evidence, questions what lessons on bushfire unpreparedness have been learned after not one cent of the $4 billion Emergency Relief fund has been spent.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2020/12/01/paul-bongiorno-atrocious-decisions-pm/

—

None? nothing at all at all? Really?

And the monies given to charities have on the most part not trickled down either.

Jesus would not have liked that.

With his death jesus entered into the pantheon of gods created by men

I was talking to a man from Singapore a few years ago on the Gold Coast; he told me in Singapore there was NO unemployment, if you didn’t have a job the government would employ you.

Good idea.

Can’t talk, the Wookster’s in the house.

In the last week, new Liberal Leader Zak Kirkup has been on 4 out of 6 West Australian front pages, being praised as a “boy wonder” and with the suggestion he could be an “election superhero”.

ChrispenEvan said:

In the last week, new Liberal Leader Zak Kirkup has been on 4 out of 6 West Australian front pages, being praised as a “boy wonder” and with the suggestion he could be an “election superhero”.

Quick Boy Wonder we’ve got no time to lose, slide down this poll.

ChrispenEvan said:

In the last week, new Liberal Leader Zak Kirkup has been on 4 out of 6 West Australian front pages, being praised as a “boy wonder” and with the suggestion he could be an “election superhero”.

Rupert?

sarahs mum said:

ChrispenEvan said:

In the last week, new Liberal Leader Zak Kirkup has been on 4 out of 6 West Australian front pages, being praised as a “boy wonder” and with the suggestion he could be an “election superhero”.

Rupert?

kerry stokes, seven west media.

So…how come China is supposed to apologise and ScoMO doesn’t have to? The labor party spent a good bit of yesterday trying to get Sco Mo to say he was sorry.

How’s the weather there Woodie, it’s stifling at the Redoubt.
I’d kill for a bottle of gin and tonic but I’ve only got beer.

ChrispenEvan said:

sarahs mum said:

ChrispenEvan said:

In the last week, new Liberal Leader Zak Kirkup has been on 4 out of 6 West Australian front pages, being praised as a “boy wonder” and with the suggestion he could be an “election superhero”.

Rupert?

kerry stokes, seven west media.

He’s turning into a right bastard this fellow.

Peak Warming Man said:

How’s the weather there Woodie, it’s stifling at the Redoubt.
I’d kill for a bottle of gin and tonic but I’ve only got beer.

I have my bottle of gin in the freezer.

37C today Mr Man. This to come.

sarahs mum said:

So…how come China is supposed to apologise and ScoMO doesn’t have to? The labor party spent a good bit of yesterday trying to get Sco Mo to say he was sorry.

What did they want him to say sorry for?

party_pants said:

ChrispenEvan said:

sarahs mum said:

Rupert?

kerry stokes, seven west media.

He’s turning into a right bastard this fellow.

Well we all know what sorta nickname he’s gunna get don’t we. Dirk Kockup would be quite apt, don’t you think?

Woodie said:

Peak Warming Man said:

How’s the weather there Woodie, it’s stifling at the Redoubt.
I’d kill for a bottle of gin and tonic but I’ve only got beer.

I have my bottle of gin in the freezer.

37C today Mr Man. This to come.

We’‘ll all be rooned.

captain_spalding said:

sarahs mum said:

So…how come China is supposed to apologise and ScoMO doesn’t have to? The labor party spent a good bit of yesterday trying to get Sco Mo to say he was sorry.

What did they want him to say sorry for?

robodebt

sarahs mum said:

captain_spalding said:

sarahs mum said:

So…how come China is supposed to apologise and ScoMO doesn’t have to? The labor party spent a good bit of yesterday trying to get Sco Mo to say he was sorry.

What did they want him to say sorry for?

robodebt

Ah.

No, there’s no point in saying ‘sorry’.

We want blood. People falling on swords. Tumbrels. Guillotines. Firing squads. People executed on quarterdecks.

Something they’ll remember in their dreams while dozing in the House.

Woodie said:

party_pants said:

ChrispenEvan said:

kerry stokes, seven west media.

He’s turning into a right bastard this fellow.

Well we all know what sorta nickname he’s gunna get don’t we. Dirk Kockup would be quite apt, don’t you think?

No, Kerry Stokes. I don’t give a fuck about some former staffer turned MP. He vowed to pay the defence costs for any SAS soldier charged with war crimes in the latest scandal, and he is sure looking like starting to turn that into a political topic when the whole thing needs to be de-politicised and dealt with fairly. Plus he’s having a go at Cricket Australia too, barged in, outbid everyone else, fucked it up and lost money and now it is everyone else’s fault.

party_pants said:

Woodie said:

party_pants said:

He’s turning into a right bastard this fellow.

Well we all know what sorta nickname he’s gunna get don’t we. Dirk Kockup would be quite apt, don’t you think?

No, Kerry Stokes. I don’t give a fuck about some former staffer turned MP. He vowed to pay the defence costs for any SAS soldier charged with war crimes in the latest scandal, and he is sure looking like starting to turn that into a political topic when the whole thing needs to be de-politicised and dealt with fairly. Plus he’s having a go at Cricket Australia too, barged in, outbid everyone else, fucked it up and lost money and now it is everyone else’s fault.

See, this is why we shouldn’t be a republic.

You’‘d end up with over-cashed shitbirds like Stokes making themselves into a Trump copy and trying to be President.

captain_spalding said:

sarahs mum said:

captain_spalding said:

What did they want him to say sorry for?

robodebt

Ah.

No, there’s no point in saying ‘sorry’.

We want blood. People falling on swords. Tumbrels. Guillotines. Firing squads. People executed on quarterdecks.

Something they’ll remember in their dreams while dozing in the House.

Scomo has already apologised for the programme introduced by Shorten and Plibersek

captain_spalding said:

party_pants said:

Woodie said:

Well we all know what sorta nickname he’s gunna get don’t we. Dirk Kockup would be quite apt, don’t you think?

No, Kerry Stokes. I don’t give a fuck about some former staffer turned MP. He vowed to pay the defence costs for any SAS soldier charged with war crimes in the latest scandal, and he is sure looking like starting to turn that into a political topic when the whole thing needs to be de-politicised and dealt with fairly. Plus he’s having a go at Cricket Australia too, barged in, outbid everyone else, fucked it up and lost money and now it is everyone else’s fault.

See, this is why we shouldn’t be a republic.

You’‘d end up with over-cashed shitbirds like Stokes making themselves into a Trump copy and trying to be President.

We shouldn’t be a British monarchy either.

Or we could have some sensible media ownership laws, and a return to media reporting the news and not being players in the process.

Peak Warming Man said:

captain_spalding said:

sarahs mum said:

robodebt

Ah.

No, there’s no point in saying ‘sorry’.

We want blood. People falling on swords. Tumbrels. Guillotines. Firing squads. People executed on quarterdecks.

Something they’ll remember in their dreams while dozing in the House.

Scomo has already apologised for the programme introduced by Shorten and Plibersek

Yes. It was the Secret Government, without the nefarious schemes of which the L/NP would have already ushered in a golden age.

party_pants said:

Woodie said:

party_pants said:

He’s turning into a right bastard this fellow.

Well we all know what sorta nickname he’s gunna get don’t we. Dirk Kockup would be quite apt, don’t you think?

No, Kerry Stokes. I don’t give a fuck about some former staffer turned MP. He vowed to pay the defence costs for any SAS soldier charged with war crimes in the latest scandal, and he is sure looking like starting to turn that into a political topic when the whole thing needs to be de-politicised and dealt with fairly. Plus he’s having a go at Cricket Australia too, barged in, outbid everyone else, fucked it up and lost money and now it is everyone else’s fault.

WA has a long list of politicians and wealthy ratbags with political influence.

Peak Warming Man said:

captain_spalding said:

sarahs mum said:

robodebt

Ah.

No, there’s no point in saying ‘sorry’.

We want blood. People falling on swords. Tumbrels. Guillotines. Firing squads. People executed on quarterdecks.

Something they’ll remember in their dreams while dozing in the House.

Scomo has already apologised for the programme introduced by Shorten and Plibersek

fuck off with this false equivalence bullshit. learn the fucking difference between the two. one had human oversight the other didn’t.

party_pants said:

captain_spalding said:

party_pants said:

No, Kerry Stokes. I don’t give a fuck about some former staffer turned MP. He vowed to pay the defence costs for any SAS soldier charged with war crimes in the latest scandal, and he is sure looking like starting to turn that into a political topic when the whole thing needs to be de-politicised and dealt with fairly. Plus he’s having a go at Cricket Australia too, barged in, outbid everyone else, fucked it up and lost money and now it is everyone else’s fault.

See, this is why we shouldn’t be a republic.

You’‘d end up with over-cashed shitbirds like Stokes making themselves into a Trump copy and trying to be President.

We shouldn’t be a British monarchy either.

Or we could have some sensible media ownership laws, and a return to media reporting the news and not being players in the process.

We should get rid of the Governor General. And Governors.

Keep the queen as nominal head of state. She doesn’t cost us much. And it prevents someone getting installed as President or similar as job-for-one-of-the-boys and living la vie en rose at our expense for no real purpose.

ChrispenEvan said:

Peak Warming Man said:

captain_spalding said:

Ah.

No, there’s no point in saying ‘sorry’.

We want blood. People falling on swords. Tumbrels. Guillotines. Firing squads. People executed on quarterdecks.

Something they’ll remember in their dreams while dozing in the House.

Scomo has already apologised for the programme introduced by Shorten and Plibersek

fuck off with this false equivalence bullshit. learn the fucking difference between the two. one had human oversight the other didn’t.

and once again, political point scoring rather than consideration for the actual victims. christian, you? lol.

PermeateFree said:

party_pants said:

Woodie said:

Well we all know what sorta nickname he’s gunna get don’t we. Dirk Kockup would be quite apt, don’t you think?

No, Kerry Stokes. I don’t give a fuck about some former staffer turned MP. He vowed to pay the defence costs for any SAS soldier charged with war crimes in the latest scandal, and he is sure looking like starting to turn that into a political topic when the whole thing needs to be de-politicised and dealt with fairly. Plus he’s having a go at Cricket Australia too, barged in, outbid everyone else, fucked it up and lost money and now it is everyone else’s fault.

WA has a long list of politicians and wealthy ratbags with political influence.

Yeah, they’re mostly all cunts too. But for a long time I thought Stokes was a bit different. A bit more reasonable and pragmatic, and not so politically activist. Turns out I was wrong.

Peak Warming Man said:

captain_spalding said:

sarahs mum said:

robodebt

Ah.

No, there’s no point in saying ‘sorry’.

We want blood. People falling on swords. Tumbrels. Guillotines. Firing squads. People executed on quarterdecks.

Something they’ll remember in their dreams while dozing in the House.

Scomo has already apologised for the programme introduced by Shorten and Plibersek

Not funny.

He started the program. He decided to continue it when it showed itself to be illegal. He negotiated the court settlement. It’s his party.

captain_spalding said:

Peak Warming Man said:

captain_spalding said:

Ah.

No, there’s no point in saying ‘sorry’.

We want blood. People falling on swords. Tumbrels. Guillotines. Firing squads. People executed on quarterdecks.

Something they’ll remember in their dreams while dozing in the House.

Scomo has already apologised for the programme introduced by Shorten and Plibersek

Yes. It was the Secret Government, without the nefarious schemes of which the L/NP would have already ushered in a golden age.

I’ll have no truck with the way the Coalition prosecuted Robodebt, I listened to the debate in the Senate today and the ALP probably wishes they never raised the issue because they started it and were up to their nuts in it when in office. There’s no winners here.

captain_spalding said:

party_pants said:

captain_spalding said:

See, this is why we shouldn’t be a republic.

You’‘d end up with over-cashed shitbirds like Stokes making themselves into a Trump copy and trying to be President.

We shouldn’t be a British monarchy either.

Or we could have some sensible media ownership laws, and a return to media reporting the news and not being players in the process.

We should get rid of the Governor General. And Governors.

Keep the queen as nominal head of state. She doesn’t cost us much. And it prevents someone getting installed as President or similar as job-for-one-of-the-boys and living la vie en rose at our expense for no real purpose.

Nup. Piss the Queen off forever along with her heirs and successors. No place in a modern world for people to be “chosen by God” as head of state.

party_pants said:

Yeah, they’re mostly all cunts too. But for a long time I thought Stokes was a bit different. A bit more reasonable and pragmatic, and not so politically activist. Turns out I was wrong.

Well, you get a bit of money, you rub shoulders with some bigwigs at a few parties, and you start to think you can rearrange things a bit, put some daydreams into action…

Peak Warming Man said:

captain_spalding said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Scomo has already apologised for the programme introduced by Shorten and Plibersek

Yes. It was the Secret Government, without the nefarious schemes of which the L/NP would have already ushered in a golden age.

I’ll have no truck with the way the Coalition prosecuted Robodebt, I listened to the debate in the Senate today and the ALP probably wishes they never raised the issue because they started it and were up to their nuts in it when in office. There’s no winners here.

still lying? centrelink has always had checks. the lnp, your mates, introduced robodebt. not the same thing in the least.

Peak Warming Man said:

I’ll have no truck with the way the Coalition prosecuted Robodebt, I listened to the debate in the Senate today and the ALP probably wishes they never raised the issue because they started it and were up to their nuts in it when in office. There’s no winners here.

It started in July 2016.

The L/NP was elected to office on 02 July 2016.

They could have stopped it before it started. But the concept appealed to them. A remorseless, relentless, tireless automated programme in pursuit of the ‘sponging classes’ they so despise.

If they could have fitted rockets to it, they would have.

ah we see everyone in support of STEMocracy again this is good news

Very nearly lost a friend to 2020. She ended up in emergency surgery with a particularly nasty bout of peritonitis. She already has a myriad of chronic health issues. I swear she’s got more lives than a cat.

“Labor’s leadership team of Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek pioneered the “robo-debt” data-matching system Centrelink is using to target current and former welfare recipients for apparently not declaring their income properly but now argue it should be suspended. The automated system of matching income data from the tax office and reported income to Centrelink to identify discrepancies was announced in a joint release by the then minister for human services, Ms Plibersek, and the then assistant treasurer, now Opposition Leader, in June 2011, adding an extra $71 million to the budget. The release said the “tax garnishee process had been carried out manually once a year for the past 15 years and involved a significant amount of time on the part of departmental officers”.

This from the Australian, it was pages deep in google and a similar article was in the Guardian, apparently but that one is probably miles deep.

Divine Angel said:

I canna read it Jimmy.

Peak Warming Man said:

“Labor’s leadership team of Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek pioneered the “robo-debt” data-matching system Centrelink is using to target current and former welfare recipients for apparently not declaring their income properly but now argue it should be suspended. The automated system of matching income data from the tax office and reported income to Centrelink to identify discrepancies was announced in a joint release by the then minister for human services, Ms Plibersek, and the then assistant treasurer, now Opposition Leader, in June 2011, adding an extra $71 million to the budget. The release said the “tax garnishee process had been carried out manually once a year for the past 15 years and involved a significant amount of time on the part of departmental officers”.

This from the Australian, it was pages deep in google and a similar article was in the Guardian, apparently but that one is probably miles deep.

You are not understanding the issue of human oversight and checking of the computerised match-ups.

It’s not that hard.

Peak Warming Man said:

“Labor’s leadership team of Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek pioneered the “robo-debt” data-matching system Centrelink is using to target current and former welfare recipients for apparently not declaring their income properly but now argue it should be suspended. The automated system of matching income data from the tax office and reported income to Centrelink to identify discrepancies was announced in a joint release by the then minister for human services, Ms Plibersek, and the then assistant treasurer, now Opposition Leader, in June 2011, adding an extra $71 million to the budget. The release said the “tax garnishee process had been carried out manually once a year for the past 15 years and involved a significant amount of time on the part of departmental officers”.

This from the Australian, it was pages deep in google and a similar article was in the Guardian, apparently but that one is probably miles deep.

Nonetheless, the programme didn’t begin until after the L/NP was in office. Stopping it was always within their power. They didn’t, because they loved the idea. After it became apparent that it was a clusterfuck, they’d invested too much political capital in it to do so.

Sure, they could have blamed the idea on Labor. But they couldn’t blame Labor for persisting with a stupid idea after it was obviously not going to work. They were willing to trash a lot of stuff Labor had implemented or planned, but Robodebt was something that they really wanted to see work. They never considered dumping that until they were up to their necks in it.

Divine Angel said:

I sold the concrete pipes for that resort to the developers.

party_pants said:

Peak Warming Man said:

“Labor’s leadership team of Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek pioneered the “robo-debt” data-matching system Centrelink is using to target current and former welfare recipients for apparently not declaring their income properly but now argue it should be suspended. The automated system of matching income data from the tax office and reported income to Centrelink to identify discrepancies was announced in a joint release by the then minister for human services, Ms Plibersek, and the then assistant treasurer, now Opposition Leader, in June 2011, adding an extra $71 million to the budget. The release said the “tax garnishee process had been carried out manually once a year for the past 15 years and involved a significant amount of time on the part of departmental officers”.

This from the Australian, it was pages deep in google and a similar article was in the Guardian, apparently but that one is probably miles deep.

You are not understanding the issue of human oversight and checking of the computerised match-ups.

It’s not that hard.

he isn’t interested in that, just the point scoring. as with his point scoring on refugees, no concern for the people at all. he just doesn’t care when he can attack labor.

Peak Warming Man said:

Divine Angel said:

I canna read it Jimmy.

Over one million litres of water and gel has been dumped on K’gari fire since last week. Now threatening Kingfisher Resort.

captain_spalding said:

Divine Angel said:

I sold the concrete pipes for that resort to the developers.

You bastard.

Peak Warming Man said:

captain_spalding said:

Divine Angel said:

I sold the concrete pipes for that resort to the developers.

You bastard.

It’s ok, i ripped them off.

ChrispenEvan said:

party_pants said:

Peak Warming Man said:

“Labor’s leadership team of Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek pioneered the “robo-debt” data-matching system Centrelink is using to target current and former welfare recipients for apparently not declaring their income properly but now argue it should be suspended. The automated system of matching income data from the tax office and reported income to Centrelink to identify discrepancies was announced in a joint release by the then minister for human services, Ms Plibersek, and the then assistant treasurer, now Opposition Leader, in June 2011, adding an extra $71 million to the budget. The release said the “tax garnishee process had been carried out manually once a year for the past 15 years and involved a significant amount of time on the part of departmental officers”.

This from the Australian, it was pages deep in google and a similar article was in the Guardian, apparently but that one is probably miles deep.

You are not understanding the issue of human oversight and checking of the computerised match-ups.

It’s not that hard.

he isn’t interested in that, just the point scoring. as with his point scoring on refugees, no concern for the people at all. he just doesn’t care when he can attack labor.

Truth is..Labor doesnt give either.

I just looked at wiki on Robodebts. It was Christian Porter not Scomo who wound it out.

In the system established in 2011, Centrelink staff manually checked customer records against data provided by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), generating debt notices at an estimated rate of about 20,000 a year. In July 2016, the manual system was replaced with the Online Compliance Intervention, an automated data-matching technique with less human oversight, capable of identifying and issuing computer-generated debt notices to welfare recipients who had potentially been overpaid. Announced to the public in December 2016, by then-Minister for Social Services Christian Porter, this new automated debt recovery scheme – given the colloquial name ‘robodebt’ by the media – was estimated to be capable of issuing debt notices at a rate of 20,000 a week.

Divine Angel said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Divine Angel said:

I canna read it Jimmy.

Over one million litres of water and gel has been dumped on K’gari fire since last week. Now threatening Kingfisher Resort.

2,500,000 litres
A standard Olympic-size swimming pool contains 2.5 ML or 2,500,000 litres of water.

That’s less than 1/2 a swimming pool full. Not too sure how many Sydney Harbour fulls that translates to, but.

The swimming pool at King Fisher Bay Resort.

Divine Angel said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Divine Angel said:

I canna read it Jimmy.

Over one million litres of water and gel has been dumped on K’gari fire since last week. Now threatening Kingfisher Resort.

Ta.

sarahs mum said:

captain_spalding said:

sarahs mum said:

So…how come China is supposed to apologise and ScoMO doesn’t have to? The labor party spent a good bit of yesterday trying to get Sco Mo to say he was sorry.

What did they want him to say sorry for?

robodebt

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/pm-apologises-for-hurt-and-harm-caused-robodebt-scheme/12345166

Ben Bova, by his son.

Benjamin William Bova died on the morning of November 29th, 2020. He was an American writer. He was 88 years old.

Dr. Bova was the author of more than 200 works of science fact and fiction, including short stories, essays, newspaper articles, non-fiction works and novels. He was the six-time winner of the prestigious Hugo Award, the editor of Analog Magazine, and the editorial director of Omni Magazine. He was president of the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.

It is a common wish to visit the future and report back to the present; to time travel. Ben Bova was that time traveler; his books and short stories: the journals from the future. In his various writings, Dr. Ben Bova predicted — years before they happened: the race to the Moon during the 1960s, satellites using the Sun to power the Earth’s technologies, the discovery of organic compounds in interstellar space, virtual reality and the internet, human cloning, the struggle to relieve the world of nuclear weapons, humans living on Mars, stem cell therapy, the discovery of ice and water on the Moon, electronic book publishing, robot police, and sex in space.

While he experimented with some fantasy works (his Orion series is a good example) most of his novels were science fiction: no stories of a rocket’s roar in empty space (where sound cannot travel). He believed that a reader should feel, immersed in one of his books and short stories, that you were walking on the rusty, rock strewn surface of Mars, enduring the planet’s light pull on your cheeks, and tasting the stale air in your suit helmet. Newton’s Laws were not suggestions.

Widely read, Dr. Bova would delight in reciting entire poems of, say, Rudyard Kipling, or the songs of Cole Porter on occasion. He would acknowledge the most esoteric pun or obscure reference with a groan or a wry grin. He could – as he often did during writing breaks – with pen and sans eraser, complete entire New York Times crossword puzzles in the time it takes to finish a lunch cup of yoghurt. Words were his tools; his memory and imagination, his toolbox. And his two pointing fingers – he never used his entire set of fingers to write, the hammers that pounded first the typewriter keys and then, when it was invented, the home computer to conceive and mold a good story.

And stories he wrote. Translations of his multiple works appear in bookstores and libraries world-wide. He once said of his craft that “it is so easy to find a reason for not writing. Writing is hard, grueling work; it’s much easier to do something else. Especially if you have a “real” job that demands eight hours a day or more, it is difficult to make the time for writing. Yet that is precisely what you must do. Make the time. “Writers,” he said, “don’t “find” the time to write. They make time for their writing. Family, friends, job, all the other pleasures and obligations of your life must take second place to writing,” he counseled. “If you are going to be a successful writer, you must write.”

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the depths of The Great Depression, his family was so poor, a can of beans would suffice as supper, and so destitute he suffered from rickets, a vitamin D deficiency, now readily available in supermarket milk. Asthma kept him from playing stick ball and out of South Philadelphia’s violent street gangs which, along with his curious mind, led him to read books and write stories. Lots of books. Lots of stories.

To support his family, he worked as a newspaper reporter for several years before joining Project Vanguard, the first American artificial satellite program. He later wrote scripts for teaching films with the Physical Sciences Study Committee in association with Nobel Laureates from many universities. Later still he became the manager of marketing for Avco Everett Research Laboratory, in Massachusetts, and worked with leading scientists in fields such as high-power lasers, artificial hearts, and plasma dynamics.

But it was as the editor of Analog Magazine (earlier Astounding Science Fiction — the running joke at that time was that nothing was amazing, only astounding), then editorial director of Omni Magazine in New York City where he had the most influence on the craft of writing. It was at these magazines that Dr. Bova discovered, guided, and promoted some of the most talented writers known today.

For his exceptional editorial work, he received the Science Fiction Achievement Award (the “Hugo”) for Best Professional Editor six times. In 2001 Dr. Bova was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He received the 1996 Isaac Asimov Memorial Award; was the 1974 recipient of the E.E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction; the 1983 Balrog Award winner for Professional Achievement; the 1985 Inkpot Award recipient for his outstanding achievements in science fiction. In 2000, he was Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention, Chicon2000.

Dr. Bova taught science fiction at Harvard University and at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, where he also directed film courses. He received his doctorate in education in 1996 from California Coast University, a master of arts degree in communications from the State University of New York at Albany (1987) and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University (1954).

He lectured on topics dealing with the prospects for human immortality, the interaction of science and politics, space exploration and development, the craft of writing, and the search for extraterrestrial life. He worked with film makers and television producers such as Woody Allen, George Lucas, and Gene Roddenberry.

Dr. Bova was a regular commentator on WGCU-FM, the southwest Florida NPR station. He was the science analyst on CBS Morning News, and appeared frequently on Good Morning America and the Today show.

Dr. Bova served on panels of the Office of Technology Assessment. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a charter member of the Planetary Society, and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Temple University honored him as a Distin­guished Alumnus in 1981, and in 1982 made him an Alumni Fellow.

He was the resident Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, “for fueling mankind’s imagination regarding the wonders of outer space.” His 2006 novel TITAN received the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year. In 2008 he won the Robert A. Heinlein Award “for his outstanding body of work in the field of literature.” In 2012 he received a Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society.

Using romance, adventure, and scientific accuracy, Dr. Bova showed how the human race will expand through the solar system in his Grand Tour novels LEVIATHANS OF JUPITER, MARS, and TITAN. His nonfiction books, such as FAINT ECHOES, DISTANT STARS and IMMORTALITY were honored by the American Librarians Association.
If one is fortunate, one is able to count at the end of one’s life the few good deeds done for a friend, for a son or daughter, perhaps for a student. In this, Ben Bova was blessed. His humor and warm counsel are the gifts he leaves to a multitude of friends. His love, his caring, his generous soul, and a cornucopia of memories, are the gifts he leaves to his family. His literary works are the gifts he leaves the world, requited now by the gratitude of those who read and enjoy his stories, and in the future, by those yet to be born.

ChrispenEvan said:

Ben Bova, by his son.

Benjamin William Bova died on the morning of November 29th, 2020. He was an American writer. He was 88 years old.

Dr. Bova was the author of more than 200 works of science fact and fiction, including short stories, essays, newspaper articles, non-fiction works and novels. He was the six-time winner of the prestigious Hugo Award, the editor of Analog Magazine, and the editorial director of Omni Magazine. He was president of the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.

It is a common wish to visit the future and report back to the present; to time travel. Ben Bova was that time traveler; his books and short stories: the journals from the future. In his various writings, Dr. Ben Bova predicted — years before they happened: the race to the Moon during the 1960s, satellites using the Sun to power the Earth’s technologies, the discovery of organic compounds in interstellar space, virtual reality and the internet, human cloning, the struggle to relieve the world of nuclear weapons, humans living on Mars, stem cell therapy, the discovery of ice and water on the Moon, electronic book publishing, robot police, and sex in space.

While he experimented with some fantasy works (his Orion series is a good example) most of his novels were science fiction: no stories of a rocket’s roar in empty space (where sound cannot travel). He believed that a reader should feel, immersed in one of his books and short stories, that you were walking on the rusty, rock strewn surface of Mars, enduring the planet’s light pull on your cheeks, and tasting the stale air in your suit helmet. Newton’s Laws were not suggestions.

Widely read, Dr. Bova would delight in reciting entire poems of, say, Rudyard Kipling, or the songs of Cole Porter on occasion. He would acknowledge the most esoteric pun or obscure reference with a groan or a wry grin. He could – as he often did during writing breaks – with pen and sans eraser, complete entire New York Times crossword puzzles in the time it takes to finish a lunch cup of yoghurt. Words were his tools; his memory and imagination, his toolbox. And his two pointing fingers – he never used his entire set of fingers to write, the hammers that pounded first the typewriter keys and then, when it was invented, the home computer to conceive and mold a good story.

And stories he wrote. Translations of his multiple works appear in bookstores and libraries world-wide. He once said of his craft that “it is so easy to find a reason for not writing. Writing is hard, grueling work; it’s much easier to do something else. Especially if you have a “real” job that demands eight hours a day or more, it is difficult to make the time for writing. Yet that is precisely what you must do. Make the time. “Writers,” he said, “don’t “find” the time to write. They make time for their writing. Family, friends, job, all the other pleasures and obligations of your life must take second place to writing,” he counseled. “If you are going to be a successful writer, you must write.”

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the depths of The Great Depression, his family was so poor, a can of beans would suffice as supper, and so destitute he suffered from rickets, a vitamin D deficiency, now readily available in supermarket milk. Asthma kept him from playing stick ball and out of South Philadelphia’s violent street gangs which, along with his curious mind, led him to read books and write stories. Lots of books. Lots of stories.

To support his family, he worked as a newspaper reporter for several years before joining Project Vanguard, the first American artificial satellite program. He later wrote scripts for teaching films with the Physical Sciences Study Committee in association with Nobel Laureates from many universities. Later still he became the manager of marketing for Avco Everett Research Laboratory, in Massachusetts, and worked with leading scientists in fields such as high-power lasers, artificial hearts, and plasma dynamics.

But it was as the editor of Analog Magazine (earlier Astounding Science Fiction — the running joke at that time was that nothing was amazing, only astounding), then editorial director of Omni Magazine in New York City where he had the most influence on the craft of writing. It was at these magazines that Dr. Bova discovered, guided, and promoted some of the most talented writers known today.

For his exceptional editorial work, he received the Science Fiction Achievement Award (the “Hugo”) for Best Professional Editor six times. In 2001 Dr. Bova was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He received the 1996 Isaac Asimov Memorial Award; was the 1974 recipient of the E.E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction; the 1983 Balrog Award winner for Professional Achievement; the 1985 Inkpot Award recipient for his outstanding achievements in science fiction. In 2000, he was Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention, Chicon2000.

Dr. Bova taught science fiction at Harvard University and at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, where he also directed film courses. He received his doctorate in education in 1996 from California Coast University, a master of arts degree in communications from the State University of New York at Albany (1987) and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University (1954).

He lectured on topics dealing with the prospects for human immortality, the interaction of science and politics, space exploration and development, the craft of writing, and the search for extraterrestrial life. He worked with film makers and television producers such as Woody Allen, George Lucas, and Gene Roddenberry.

Dr. Bova was a regular commentator on WGCU-FM, the southwest Florida NPR station. He was the science analyst on CBS Morning News, and appeared frequently on Good Morning America and the Today show.

Dr. Bova served on panels of the Office of Technology Assessment. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a charter member of the Planetary Society, and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Temple University honored him as a Distin­guished Alumnus in 1981, and in 1982 made him an Alumni Fellow.

He was the resident Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, “for fueling mankind’s imagination regarding the wonders of outer space.” His 2006 novel TITAN received the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year. In 2008 he won the Robert A. Heinlein Award “for his outstanding body of work in the field of literature.” In 2012 he received a Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society.

Using romance, adventure, and scientific accuracy, Dr. Bova showed how the human race will expand through the solar system in his Grand Tour novels LEVIATHANS OF JUPITER, MARS, and TITAN. His nonfiction books, such as FAINT ECHOES, DISTANT STARS and IMMORTALITY were honored by the American Librarians Association.
If one is fortunate, one is able to count at the end of one’s life the few good deeds done for a friend, for a son or daughter, perhaps for a student. In this, Ben Bova was blessed. His humor and warm counsel are the gifts he leaves to a multitude of friends. His love, his caring, his generous soul, and a cornucopia of memories, are the gifts he leaves to his family. His literary works are the gifts he leaves the world, requited now by the gratitude of those who read and enjoy his stories, and in the future, by those yet to be born.

Thanks for that, Boris.

sibeen said:

ChrispenEvan said:

Ben Bova, by his son.

Benjamin William Bova died on the morning of November 29th, 2020. He was an American writer. He was 88 years old.

Dr. Bova was the author of more than 200 works of science fact and fiction, including short stories, essays, newspaper articles, non-fiction works and novels. He was the six-time winner of the prestigious Hugo Award, the editor of Analog Magazine, and the editorial director of Omni Magazine. He was president of the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.

It is a common wish to visit the future and report back to the present; to time travel. Ben Bova was that time traveler; his books and short stories: the journals from the future. In his various writings, Dr. Ben Bova predicted — years before they happened: the race to the Moon during the 1960s, satellites using the Sun to power the Earth’s technologies, the discovery of organic compounds in interstellar space, virtual reality and the internet, human cloning, the struggle to relieve the world of nuclear weapons, humans living on Mars, stem cell therapy, the discovery of ice and water on the Moon, electronic book publishing, robot police, and sex in space.

While he experimented with some fantasy works (his Orion series is a good example) most of his novels were science fiction: no stories of a rocket’s roar in empty space (where sound cannot travel). He believed that a reader should feel, immersed in one of his books and short stories, that you were walking on the rusty, rock strewn surface of Mars, enduring the planet’s light pull on your cheeks, and tasting the stale air in your suit helmet. Newton’s Laws were not suggestions.

Widely read, Dr. Bova would delight in reciting entire poems of, say, Rudyard Kipling, or the songs of Cole Porter on occasion. He would acknowledge the most esoteric pun or obscure reference with a groan or a wry grin. He could – as he often did during writing breaks – with pen and sans eraser, complete entire New York Times crossword puzzles in the time it takes to finish a lunch cup of yoghurt. Words were his tools; his memory and imagination, his toolbox. And his two pointing fingers – he never used his entire set of fingers to write, the hammers that pounded first the typewriter keys and then, when it was invented, the home computer to conceive and mold a good story.

And stories he wrote. Translations of his multiple works appear in bookstores and libraries world-wide. He once said of his craft that “it is so easy to find a reason for not writing. Writing is hard, grueling work; it’s much easier to do something else. Especially if you have a “real” job that demands eight hours a day or more, it is difficult to make the time for writing. Yet that is precisely what you must do. Make the time. “Writers,” he said, “don’t “find” the time to write. They make time for their writing. Family, friends, job, all the other pleasures and obligations of your life must take second place to writing,” he counseled. “If you are going to be a successful writer, you must write.”

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the depths of The Great Depression, his family was so poor, a can of beans would suffice as supper, and so destitute he suffered from rickets, a vitamin D deficiency, now readily available in supermarket milk. Asthma kept him from playing stick ball and out of South Philadelphia’s violent street gangs which, along with his curious mind, led him to read books and write stories. Lots of books. Lots of stories.

To support his family, he worked as a newspaper reporter for several years before joining Project Vanguard, the first American artificial satellite program. He later wrote scripts for teaching films with the Physical Sciences Study Committee in association with Nobel Laureates from many universities. Later still he became the manager of marketing for Avco Everett Research Laboratory, in Massachusetts, and worked with leading scientists in fields such as high-power lasers, artificial hearts, and plasma dynamics.

But it was as the editor of Analog Magazine (earlier Astounding Science Fiction — the running joke at that time was that nothing was amazing, only astounding), then editorial director of Omni Magazine in New York City where he had the most influence on the craft of writing. It was at these magazines that Dr. Bova discovered, guided, and promoted some of the most talented writers known today.

For his exceptional editorial work, he received the Science Fiction Achievement Award (the “Hugo”) for Best Professional Editor six times. In 2001 Dr. Bova was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He received the 1996 Isaac Asimov Memorial Award; was the 1974 recipient of the E.E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction; the 1983 Balrog Award winner for Professional Achievement; the 1985 Inkpot Award recipient for his outstanding achievements in science fiction. In 2000, he was Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention, Chicon2000.

Dr. Bova taught science fiction at Harvard University and at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, where he also directed film courses. He received his doctorate in education in 1996 from California Coast University, a master of arts degree in communications from the State University of New York at Albany (1987) and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University (1954).

He lectured on topics dealing with the prospects for human immortality, the interaction of science and politics, space exploration and development, the craft of writing, and the search for extraterrestrial life. He worked with film makers and television producers such as Woody Allen, George Lucas, and Gene Roddenberry.

Dr. Bova was a regular commentator on WGCU-FM, the southwest Florida NPR station. He was the science analyst on CBS Morning News, and appeared frequently on Good Morning America and the Today show.

Dr. Bova served on panels of the Office of Technology Assessment. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a charter member of the Planetary Society, and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Temple University honored him as a Distin­guished Alumnus in 1981, and in 1982 made him an Alumni Fellow.

He was the resident Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, “for fueling mankind’s imagination regarding the wonders of outer space.” His 2006 novel TITAN received the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year. In 2008 he won the Robert A. Heinlein Award “for his outstanding body of work in the field of literature.” In 2012 he received a Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society.

Using romance, adventure, and scientific accuracy, Dr. Bova showed how the human race will expand through the solar system in his Grand Tour novels LEVIATHANS OF JUPITER, MARS, and TITAN. His nonfiction books, such as FAINT ECHOES, DISTANT STARS and IMMORTALITY were honored by the American Librarians Association.
If one is fortunate, one is able to count at the end of one’s life the few good deeds done for a friend, for a son or daughter, perhaps for a student. In this, Ben Bova was blessed. His humor and warm counsel are the gifts he leaves to a multitude of friends. His love, his caring, his generous soul, and a cornucopia of memories, are the gifts he leaves to his family. His literary works are the gifts he leaves the world, requited now by the gratitude of those who read and enjoy his stories, and in the future, by those yet to be born.

Thanks for that, Boris.

I thought you’d like to see it.

sibeen said:

sarahs mum said:

captain_spalding said:

What did they want him to say sorry for?

robodebt

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/pm-apologises-for-hurt-and-harm-caused-robodebt-scheme/12345166

I think it is an apology with consequences, not just the apology, that is required.

sibeen said:

sarahs mum said:

captain_spalding said:

What did they want him to say sorry for?

robodebt

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/pm-apologises-for-hurt-and-harm-caused-robodebt-scheme/12345166

Yes. I found it. And I found the bit about Porter. And I am left with believing in the Greens.

Did you see my post about Telstra and Mallacoota?

And I am left with believing in the Greens.
—-
Labor is voting against the new Indue bill. With Greens. They need two people to cross the floor in the Senate.

However last time round Labor voted with the Liberal/CP. They tacked the exit clause on the bill. Nobody had managed to exit until just a bit before the last election when some of the people who had waited a year or so since applying got an exit. The new bill will have people exit only at the Minister’s discretion.

This inhuman shit is still going.

sarahs mum said:

sibeen said:

sarahs mum said:

robodebt

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/pm-apologises-for-hurt-and-harm-caused-robodebt-scheme/12345166

Yes. I found it. And I found the bit about Porter. And I am left with believing in the Greens.

Did you see my post about Telstra and Mallacoota?

Yep, saw that earlier today. I must admit I thought it was a bit of a storm in a teacup. A remote Telstra exchange has a fault – it’s not as if that’s a rare occurrence.

sibeen said:

sarahs mum said:

sibeen said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/pm-apologises-for-hurt-and-harm-caused-robodebt-scheme/12345166

Yes. I found it. And I found the bit about Porter. And I am left with believing in the Greens.

Did you see my post about Telstra and Mallacoota?

Yep, saw that earlier today. I must admit I thought it was a bit of a storm in a teacup. A remote Telstra exchange has a fault – it’s not as if that’s a rare occurrence.

they sent a man from Melbourne.

sarahs mum said:

sibeen said:

sarahs mum said:

Yes. I found it. And I found the bit about Porter. And I am left with believing in the Greens.

Did you see my post about Telstra and Mallacoota?

Yep, saw that earlier today. I must admit I thought it was a bit of a storm in a teacup. A remote Telstra exchange has a fault – it’s not as if that’s a rare occurrence.

they sent a man from Melbourne.

They’d have someone closer but they might not have the skillset to fix the problem.

sibeen said:

sarahs mum said:

sibeen said:

Yep, saw that earlier today. I must admit I thought it was a bit of a storm in a teacup. A remote Telstra exchange has a fault – it’s not as if that’s a rare occurrence.

they sent a man from Melbourne.

They’d have someone closer but they might not have the skillset to fix the problem.

…or the parts required.

Again that’s not unusual.

The Greenwich Tunnel.

Running from Longnose Point,Balmain across the Harbour, to Mann’s Point,Greenwich.
Dug by hand,carried power cables across the water. Flooded these days.

circa 1930

Image courtesy of Sydney History.

sibeen said:

Arts said:

Bubblecar said:

Don’t know why, since we all know who’ll be gifting whom.

it just is.

I have my brother in law, whom I am not a big fan of.. but I’ll just get him alcohol or something.

Hold on, I didn’t think you thought much of him?

confused from Essendon

with poison in it.

The UK’s new truck movements software for customs declarations post-Brexit will be rolled out and go live on 23 December.

Should be no worries at all…

party_pants said:

The UK’s new truck movements software for customs declarations post-Brexit will be rolled out and go live on 23 December.

Should be no worries at all…

Just like contact tracing software really; easy as 1, 3, 1547…

‘nings.

If anyone sees a little old lady with a bad case of crazy eyes in the hills near Melbourne, ring the cops, would you please? Donna Buang is a bad place to get lost.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/outer-east/warburton-missing-woman-susan-shaw-last-seen-on-donna-buang-road/news-story/0cad1254bdbd1978232eb3f61e548415

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

The UK’s new truck movements software for customs declarations post-Brexit will be rolled out and go live on 23 December.

Should be no worries at all…

Just like contact tracing software really; easy as 1, 3, 1547…

They still don’t seem to have such a program up and running yet. Even we managed it.

party_pants said:

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

The UK’s new truck movements software for customs declarations post-Brexit will be rolled out and go live on 23 December.

Should be no worries at all…

Just like contact tracing software really; easy as 1, 3, 1547…

They still don’t seem to have such a program up and running yet. Even we managed it.

Did we? AFAIK it’s not what you’d call a great system.

party_pants said:

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

The UK’s new truck movements software for customs declarations post-Brexit will be rolled out and go live on 23 December.

Should be no worries at all…

Just like contact tracing software really; easy as 1, 3, 1547…

They still don’t seem to have such a program up and running yet. Even we managed it.

we had little numbers. they had to keep carrying the one.

arecibo

sarahs mum said:

The Greenwich Tunnel.

Running from Longnose Point,Balmain across the Harbour, to Mann’s Point,Greenwich.
Dug by hand,carried power cables across the water. Flooded these days.

circa 1930

Image courtesy of Sydney History.

Just went & read about this tunnel. Very interesting. Thank you.

party_pants said:

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

The UK’s new truck movements software for customs declarations post-Brexit will be rolled out and go live on 23 December.

Should be no worries at all…

Just like contact tracing software really; easy as 1, 3, 1547…

They still don’t seem to have such a program up and running yet. Even we managed it.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-12-01/covidsafe-app-overhaul-contact-tracing-security-bluetooth-herald/12935764

the announcement has drawn a mixture of surprise and despair from the tech community, which says the update ignores the fact that COVIDSafe is outdated and other countries are rapidly shifting to a tried-and-tested contact tracing technology developed by Google and Apple

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

sibeen said:

Just like contact tracing software really; easy as 1, 3, 1547…

They still don’t seem to have such a program up and running yet. Even we managed it.

Did we? AFAIK it’s not what you’d call a great system.

Just has to work. Doesn’t have to be great. AKAIK they still don’t have a system that works, or at least that is what scientists and medical officials are leaking to the press. They are about to end their lockdown and go back to some regional tiered system, but everyone else is saying that the track & trace system is not yet fit for purpose.

Looking at their graphs they have turned the corner with their lock down since early November, but they still have over 10K new cases per day. They need to stay the course on this and get it way down IMHO. However BoJo promised the lockdown will end on 2 December, and he risks a revolt within his own party if he tries to extend it longer. It seems the Covid deniers are concentrated within his own party, and overlap very strongly with the anti-EU mob. So Labour are abstaining from the vote on the grounds that the track and trace system isn’t ready for a rolling back of restrictions.

party_pants said:

sibeen said:

party_pants said:

They still don’t seem to have such a program up and running yet. Even we managed it.

Did we? AFAIK it’s not what you’d call a great system.

Just has to work. Doesn’t have to be great. AKAIK they still don’t have a system that works, or at least that is what scientists and medical officials are leaking to the press. They are about to end their lockdown and go back to some regional tiered system, but everyone else is saying that the track & trace system is not yet fit for purpose.

Looking at their graphs they have turned the corner with their lock down since early November, but they still have over 10K new cases per day. They need to stay the course on this and get it way down IMHO. However BoJo promised the lockdown will end on 2 December, and he risks a revolt within his own party if he tries to extend it longer. It seems the Covid deniers are concentrated within his own party, and overlap very strongly with the anti-EU mob. So Labour are abstaining from the vote on the grounds that the track and trace system isn’t ready for a rolling back of restrictions.

Google-Apple Exposure Notification system is a beacon — when two people are near each other, their phones exchange and record these Bluetooth identifiers.

By the end of November, more than 50 jurisdictions, including the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Canada and many US states, were using the Google-Apple system.

Rule 303 said:

sarahs mum said:

The Greenwich Tunnel.

Running from Longnose Point,Balmain across the Harbour, to Mann’s Point,Greenwich.
Dug by hand,carried power cables across the water. Flooded these days.

circa 1930

Image courtesy of Sydney History.

Just went & read about this tunnel. Very interesting. Thank you.

gotta link?

I did not know of it.
1930 my grandfather was living in Pymble but working on the northern bridge pylons.

SCIENCE said:

party_pants said:

sibeen said:

Did we? AFAIK it’s not what you’d call a great system.

Just has to work. Doesn’t have to be great. AKAIK they still don’t have a system that works, or at least that is what scientists and medical officials are leaking to the press. They are about to end their lockdown and go back to some regional tiered system, but everyone else is saying that the track & trace system is not yet fit for purpose.

Looking at their graphs they have turned the corner with their lock down since early November, but they still have over 10K new cases per day. They need to stay the course on this and get it way down IMHO. However BoJo promised the lockdown will end on 2 December, and he risks a revolt within his own party if he tries to extend it longer. It seems the Covid deniers are concentrated within his own party, and overlap very strongly with the anti-EU mob. So Labour are abstaining from the vote on the grounds that the track and trace system isn’t ready for a rolling back of restrictions.

Google-Apple Exposure Notification system is a beacon — when two people are near each other, their phones exchange and record these Bluetooth identifiers.

By the end of November, more than 50 jurisdictions, including the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Canada and many US states, were using the Google-Apple system.

It is not which app you use which is the problem there, it is the way in which the data is used and a system created for stopping the spread of the virus.

I bought an ancient pair of boots to renovate as a project because I know things about leather and bored. I’m scrubbing, stripping, sanding, shaping, heating, waxing, melting, oiling, shaping, expanding this, securing that… The boots come up a million bucks. Except for the soles, which are leather and worn (full Goodyear welt, for the benefit of the people who know what that is).

I take the boots to the cobbler. Local bloke who does good work, always helpful, he’s exactly the person for this job – He wont have anything to do with them. They should have had rubber years ago. You can’t just grind into the sole and expect the stitching won’t fall apart. He flatly refuses to touch them unless it’s to completely re-sole and re-heal, which costs $170. The alternative, which is more than sufficient, IMO, costs $55.

Moral dilemma….

sarahs mum said:

Rule 303 said:

sarahs mum said:

The Greenwich Tunnel.

Running from Longnose Point,Balmain across the Harbour, to Mann’s Point,Greenwich.
Dug by hand,carried power cables across the water. Flooded these days.

circa 1930

Image courtesy of Sydney History.

Just went & read about this tunnel. Very interesting. Thank you.

gotta link?

I did not know of it.
1930 my grandfather was living in Pymble but working on the northern bridge pylons.

I got a Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_railway_electricity_tunnel

Train Man would know all about it, if you need way, way more info.

Rule 303 said:

I bought an ancient pair of boots to renovate as a project because I know things about leather and bored. I’m scrubbing, stripping, sanding, shaping, heating, waxing, melting, oiling, shaping, expanding this, securing that… The boots come up a million bucks. Except for the soles, which are leather and worn (full Goodyear welt, for the benefit of the people who know what that is).

I take the boots to the cobbler. Local bloke who does good work, always helpful, he’s exactly the person for this job – He wont have anything to do with them. They should have had rubber years ago. You can’t just grind into the sole and expect the stitching won’t fall apart. He flatly refuses to touch them unless it’s to completely re-sole and re-heal, which costs $170. The alternative, which is more than sufficient, IMO, costs $55.

Moral dilemma….

How much would the boots cost new?

Rule 303 said:

sarahs mum said:

Rule 303 said:

Just went & read about this tunnel. Very interesting. Thank you.

gotta link?

I did not know of it.
1930 my grandfather was living in Pymble but working on the northern bridge pylons.

I got a Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_railway_electricity_tunnel

Train Man would know all about it, if you need way, way more info.

bing wanted to take me to the thames. Pages of it. I hate Bing.

Rule 303 said:

sarahs mum said:

Rule 303 said:

Just went & read about this tunnel. Very interesting. Thank you.

gotta link?

I did not know of it.
1930 my grandfather was living in Pymble but working on the northern bridge pylons.

I got a Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_railway_electricity_tunnel

Train Man would know all about it, if you need way, way more info.

Sounds like awfully scary stuff.

sarahs mum said:

Rule 303 said:

I bought an ancient pair of boots to renovate as a project because I know things about leather and bored. I’m scrubbing, stripping, sanding, shaping, heating, waxing, melting, oiling, shaping, expanding this, securing that… The boots come up a million bucks. Except for the soles, which are leather and worn (full Goodyear welt, for the benefit of the people who know what that is).

I take the boots to the cobbler. Local bloke who does good work, always helpful, he’s exactly the person for this job – He wont have anything to do with them. They should have had rubber years ago. You can’t just grind into the sole and expect the stitching won’t fall apart. He flatly refuses to touch them unless it’s to completely re-sole and re-heal, which costs $170. The alternative, which is more than sufficient, IMO, costs $55.

Moral dilemma….

How much would the boots cost new?

A lot. But that’s not the point. Much as I like the Cobbler, he’s got form up-selling me (full rubber sole when 3/4 would do, for example) and I let him get away with it because I can. Hmmmmm…

I’ll prolly get 20 years out of the $55 repair.

sarahs mum said:

Rule 303 said:

sarahs mum said:

gotta link?

I did not know of it.
1930 my grandfather was living in Pymble but working on the northern bridge pylons.

I got a Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_railway_electricity_tunnel

Train Man would know all about it, if you need way, way more info.

Sounds like awfully scary stuff.

>nods<

another coffee, i’ll do it, stay seated

sarahs mum said:

Rule 303 said:

sarahs mum said:

gotta link?

I did not know of it.
1930 my grandfather was living in Pymble but working on the northern bridge pylons.

I got a Wiki article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Harbour_railway_electricity_tunnel

Train Man would know all about it, if you need way, way more info.

bing wanted to take me to the thames. Pages of it. I hate Bing.

https://www.startpage.com/

Morning punters and correctors, going to be another hot one at the Redoubt, it’s got that early morning feel about it.
The Chinese moon dirt gathering mission has landed, apparently.

party_pants said:

Peak Warming Man said:

“Labor’s leadership team of Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek pioneered the “robo-debt” data-matching system Centrelink is using to target current and former welfare recipients for apparently not declaring their income properly but now argue it should be suspended. The automated system of matching income data from the tax office and reported income to Centrelink to identify discrepancies was announced in a joint release by the then minister for human services, Ms Plibersek, and the then assistant treasurer, now Opposition Leader, in June 2011, adding an extra $71 million to the budget. The release said the “tax garnishee process had been carried out manually once a year for the past 15 years and involved a significant amount of time on the part of departmental officers”.

This from the Australian, it was pages deep in google and a similar article was in the Guardian, apparently but that one is probably miles deep.

You are not understanding the issue of human oversight and checking of the computerised match-ups.

It’s not that hard.

It would be difficult to comprehend unless you were one whom it applied to.

ChrispenEvan said:

arecibo

:(

Good morning Holidayers. Presently 5 degrees and sunny and still. The wind blew itself out overnight. Our forecast for today is for a mostly cloudy 17.

Mr buffy is going to the bush this afternoon. I’m not going. I’ll shortly feed the chooks and pick loganberries. I think I might mow today. It must be four or five days since I last mowed something…

sibeen said:

ChrispenEvan said:

Ben Bova, by his son.

Benjamin William Bova died on the morning of November 29th, 2020. He was an American writer. He was 88 years old.

Dr. Bova was the author of more than 200 works of science fact and fiction, including short stories, essays, newspaper articles, non-fiction works and novels. He was the six-time winner of the prestigious Hugo Award, the editor of Analog Magazine, and the editorial director of Omni Magazine. He was president of the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.

It is a common wish to visit the future and report back to the present; to time travel. Ben Bova was that time traveler; his books and short stories: the journals from the future. In his various writings, Dr. Ben Bova predicted — years before they happened: the race to the Moon during the 1960s, satellites using the Sun to power the Earth’s technologies, the discovery of organic compounds in interstellar space, virtual reality and the internet, human cloning, the struggle to relieve the world of nuclear weapons, humans living on Mars, stem cell therapy, the discovery of ice and water on the Moon, electronic book publishing, robot police, and sex in space.

While he experimented with some fantasy works (his Orion series is a good example) most of his novels were science fiction: no stories of a rocket’s roar in empty space (where sound cannot travel). He believed that a reader should feel, immersed in one of his books and short stories, that you were walking on the rusty, rock strewn surface of Mars, enduring the planet’s light pull on your cheeks, and tasting the stale air in your suit helmet. Newton’s Laws were not suggestions.

Widely read, Dr. Bova would delight in reciting entire poems of, say, Rudyard Kipling, or the songs of Cole Porter on occasion. He would acknowledge the most esoteric pun or obscure reference with a groan or a wry grin. He could – as he often did during writing breaks – with pen and sans eraser, complete entire New York Times crossword puzzles in the time it takes to finish a lunch cup of yoghurt. Words were his tools; his memory and imagination, his toolbox. And his two pointing fingers – he never used his entire set of fingers to write, the hammers that pounded first the typewriter keys and then, when it was invented, the home computer to conceive and mold a good story.

And stories he wrote. Translations of his multiple works appear in bookstores and libraries world-wide. He once said of his craft that “it is so easy to find a reason for not writing. Writing is hard, grueling work; it’s much easier to do something else. Especially if you have a “real” job that demands eight hours a day or more, it is difficult to make the time for writing. Yet that is precisely what you must do. Make the time. “Writers,” he said, “don’t “find” the time to write. They make time for their writing. Family, friends, job, all the other pleasures and obligations of your life must take second place to writing,” he counseled. “If you are going to be a successful writer, you must write.”

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the depths of The Great Depression, his family was so poor, a can of beans would suffice as supper, and so destitute he suffered from rickets, a vitamin D deficiency, now readily available in supermarket milk. Asthma kept him from playing stick ball and out of South Philadelphia’s violent street gangs which, along with his curious mind, led him to read books and write stories. Lots of books. Lots of stories.

To support his family, he worked as a newspaper reporter for several years before joining Project Vanguard, the first American artificial satellite program. He later wrote scripts for teaching films with the Physical Sciences Study Committee in association with Nobel Laureates from many universities. Later still he became the manager of marketing for Avco Everett Research Laboratory, in Massachusetts, and worked with leading scientists in fields such as high-power lasers, artificial hearts, and plasma dynamics.

But it was as the editor of Analog Magazine (earlier Astounding Science Fiction — the running joke at that time was that nothing was amazing, only astounding), then editorial director of Omni Magazine in New York City where he had the most influence on the craft of writing. It was at these magazines that Dr. Bova discovered, guided, and promoted some of the most talented writers known today.

For his exceptional editorial work, he received the Science Fiction Achievement Award (the “Hugo”) for Best Professional Editor six times. In 2001 Dr. Bova was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He received the 1996 Isaac Asimov Memorial Award; was the 1974 recipient of the E.E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction; the 1983 Balrog Award winner for Professional Achievement; the 1985 Inkpot Award recipient for his outstanding achievements in science fiction. In 2000, he was Guest of Honor at the 58th World Science Fiction Convention, Chicon2000.

Dr. Bova taught science fiction at Harvard University and at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, where he also directed film courses. He received his doctorate in education in 1996 from California Coast University, a master of arts degree in communications from the State University of New York at Albany (1987) and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University (1954).

He lectured on topics dealing with the prospects for human immortality, the interaction of science and politics, space exploration and development, the craft of writing, and the search for extraterrestrial life. He worked with film makers and television producers such as Woody Allen, George Lucas, and Gene Roddenberry.

Dr. Bova was a regular commentator on WGCU-FM, the southwest Florida NPR station. He was the science analyst on CBS Morning News, and appeared frequently on Good Morning America and the Today show.

Dr. Bova served on panels of the Office of Technology Assessment. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a charter member of the Planetary Society, and a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society. Temple University honored him as a Distin­guished Alumnus in 1981, and in 1982 made him an Alumni Fellow.

He was the resident Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, “for fueling mankind’s imagination regarding the wonders of outer space.” His 2006 novel TITAN received the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year. In 2008 he won the Robert A. Heinlein Award “for his outstanding body of work in the field of literature.” In 2012 he received a Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society.

Using romance, adventure, and scientific accuracy, Dr. Bova showed how the human race will expand through the solar system in his Grand Tour novels LEVIATHANS OF JUPITER, MARS, and TITAN. His nonfiction books, such as FAINT ECHOES, DISTANT STARS and IMMORTALITY were honored by the American Librarians Association.
If one is fortunate, one is able to count at the end of one’s life the few good deeds done for a friend, for a son or daughter, perhaps for a student. In this, Ben Bova was blessed. His humor and warm counsel are the gifts he leaves to a multitude of friends. His love, his caring, his generous soul, and a cornucopia of memories, are the gifts he leaves to his family. His literary works are the gifts he leaves the world, requited now by the gratitude of those who read and enjoy his stories, and in the future, by those yet to be born.

Thanks for that, Boris.

ditto

buffy said:

Good morning Holidayers. Presently 5 degrees and sunny and still. The wind blew itself out overnight. Our forecast for today is for a mostly cloudy 17.

Mr buffy is going to the bush this afternoon. I’m not going. I’ll shortly feed the chooks and pick loganberries. I think I might mow today. It must be four or five days since I last mowed something…

Witty will be able to breathe out now…

Hey MV, dunno if you saw what I posted last night…

I’ve been up a while and had a fruitful session in the studio.

Heading for 18 here, 20-30km wind. Seems very calm at the moment.

Morning.

Hot and sunny today with a top of 31 and a 70% chance of rain tonight.

Dream report: something about dressing barbie dolls in paper clothes.

Divine Angel said:

Morning.

Hot and sunny today with a top of 31 and a 70% chance of rain tonight.

Dream report: something about dressing barbie dolls in paper clothes.

So they burn easier?

Divine Angel said:

Hey MV, dunno if you saw what I posted last night…

Just saw that, thanks.

Half the island burnt to the ground, all because some bar-steward had to have an illegal camp fire. It’ll likely not recover in our lifetimes.

It stinks here today, and the sky is yellow.

Divine Angel said:

Hey MV, dunno if you saw what I posted last night…

And as Woodie pointed out a million litres is less than half of an olympic pool, so really not all that much.

China sneaked onto the moon where they plan to establish a vineyard bigger than Australia.

sibeen said:

Divine Angel said:

Hey MV, dunno if you saw what I posted last night…

And as Woodie pointed out a million litres is less than half of an olympic pool, so really not all that much.

From the interview with the local fire chief, they aren’t doing a lot more than trying to save the town.

Yes it is difficult to fight the fire but it is true that someone could have tried harder. What’s the point of saving the town? It can be rebuilt. Fraser Island cannot so easily be stood back up again.

sibeen said:

Divine Angel said:

Hey MV, dunno if you saw what I posted last night…

And as Woodie pointed out a million litres is less than half of an olympic pool, so really not all that much.

One million litres is 1000 cubic metres which weighs 1000 tonnes.

Time for:

C…o…f…f…e…e…

roughbarked said:

China sneaked onto the moon where they plan to establish a vineyard bigger than Australia.

Any word from the Apollo-was-a-hoax people on whether or not the Chinese really sent a probe to the moon?

Michael V said:

sibeen said:

Divine Angel said:

Hey MV, dunno if you saw what I posted last night…

And as Woodie pointed out a million litres is less than half of an olympic pool, so really not all that much.

One million litres is 1000 cubic metres which weighs 1000 tonnes.

So a tank 10 metres long, 10 metres wide, 10 metres high.

A lot, but not an awful lot.

captain_spalding said:

roughbarked said:

China sneaked onto the moon where they plan to establish a vineyard bigger than Australia.

Any word from the Apollo-was-a-hoax people on whether or not the Chinese really sent a probe to the moon?

Ha!

captain_spalding said:

Michael V said:

sibeen said:

And as Woodie pointed out a million litres is less than half of an olympic pool, so really not all that much.

One million litres is 1000 cubic metres which weighs 1000 tonnes.

So a tank 10 metres long, 10 metres wide, 10 metres high.

A lot, but not an awful lot.

Particularly spread out over the 80,000 Ha that has been burnt.

Though, to be fair, they didn’t bother to start spreading water onto the fire until about 50,000 Ha had already been burnt.

Michael V said:

captain_spalding said:

Michael V said:

One million litres is 1000 cubic metres which weighs 1000 tonnes.

So a tank 10 metres long, 10 metres wide, 10 metres high.

A lot, but not an awful lot.

Particularly spread out over the 80,000 Ha that has been burnt.

Though, to be fair, they didn’t bother to start spreading water onto the fire until about 50,000 Ha had already been burnt.

So that means they’ve gone to the trouble of putting 3.3 micro metres of water across that 30,000 hectares :)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/01/arecibo-radio-telescope-collapses-puerto-rico

posted a pic last night of the collapse.

sibeen said:

Michael V said:

captain_spalding said:

So a tank 10 metres long, 10 metres wide, 10 metres high.

A lot, but not an awful lot.

Particularly spread out over the 80,000 Ha that has been burnt.

Though, to be fair, they didn’t bother to start spreading water onto the fire until about 50,000 Ha had already been burnt.

So that means they’ve gone to the trouble of putting 3.3 micro metres of water across that 30,000 hectares :)

It certainly doesn’t appear to be a lot of pseudo-rainfall.

About 2 weeks into the fire, on 28 October, the then-burning area received significant rainfall – I estimate between 50 mm and 100 mm on one day. They got more than us judging by the radar, and we got 56 mm. That didn’t stop the fire, unfortunately.

Michael V said:

captain_spalding said:

roughbarked said:

China sneaked onto the moon where they plan to establish a vineyard bigger than Australia.

Any word from the Apollo-was-a-hoax people on whether or not the Chinese really sent a probe to the moon?

Ha!

They’ve been strangely silent for a good while now.

Michael V said:

sibeen said:

Michael V said:

Particularly spread out over the 80,000 Ha that has been burnt.

Though, to be fair, they didn’t bother to start spreading water onto the fire until about 50,000 Ha had already been burnt.

So that means they’ve gone to the trouble of putting 3.3 micro metres of water across that 30,000 hectares :)

It certainly doesn’t appear to be a lot of pseudo-rainfall.

About 2 weeks into the fire, on 28 October, the then-burning area received significant rainfall – I estimate between 50 mm and 100 mm on one day. They got more than us judging by the radar, and we got 56 mm. That didn’t stop the fire, unfortunately.

Having been so dry beforehand, they would have required more lilke 400mm to control the fire at that stage.

sibeen said:

Michael V said:

captain_spalding said:

So a tank 10 metres long, 10 metres wide, 10 metres high.

A lot, but not an awful lot.

Particularly spread out over the 80,000 Ha that has been burnt.

Though, to be fair, they didn’t bother to start spreading water onto the fire until about 50,000 Ha had already been burnt.

So that means they’ve gone to the trouble of putting 3.3 micro metres of water across that 30,000 hectares :)

No it doesn’t.

ChrispenEvan said:

sibeen said:

Michael V said:

Particularly spread out over the 80,000 Ha that has been burnt.

Though, to be fair, they didn’t bother to start spreading water onto the fire until about 50,000 Ha had already been burnt.

So that means they’ve gone to the trouble of putting 3.3 micro metres of water across that 30,000 hectares :)

No it doesn’t.

blows raspberry

That’s heartwarming:

MPs from around the world have called on their citizens to drink Australian wine in December

After China’s tariffs on Australian wine, global campaign calls for people to drink a ‘bottle or two’

A global alliance of parliamentarians have called on their compatriots to “stand against authoritarian bullying” as they launch a campaign to support Australian winemakers battered by Chinese trade tariffs.

In a short video released on Tuesday, a number of MPs from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) called on their citizens to ditch their national beverages this December in a bid to support the Australian wine industry.

IPAC represents more than 200 MPs from 19 countries who describe themselves as a “cross-party group of legislators working towards reform on how democratic countries approach China”.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-02/china-australia-wine-tariffs-ipac-calls-people-to-support-sector/12941152

Bubblecar said:

That’s heartwarming:

MPs from around the world have called on their citizens to drink Australian wine in December

After China’s tariffs on Australian wine, global campaign calls for people to drink a ‘bottle or two’

A global alliance of parliamentarians have called on their compatriots to “stand against authoritarian bullying” as they launch a campaign to support Australian winemakers battered by Chinese trade tariffs.

In a short video released on Tuesday, a number of MPs from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) called on their citizens to ditch their national beverages this December in a bid to support the Australian wine industry.

IPAC represents more than 200 MPs from 19 countries who describe themselves as a “cross-party group of legislators working towards reform on how democratic countries approach China”.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-02/china-australia-wine-tariffs-ipac-calls-people-to-support-sector/12941152

ChrispenEvan said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/01/arecibo-radio-telescope-collapses-puerto-rico

posted a pic last night of the collapse.

So I saw. It’s a loss, that’s for sure.

A Uni SA study assessed the 2017 annual and sustainability reports of 448 companies against a range of outcomes developed by Reconciliation Australia.

It found just 36 companies, or eight per cent, mentioned any ideology, policy, or initiatives related to Aboriginal people.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-02/less-than-10-pc-mining-companies-mention-aboriginal-policy/12939142

There’s some strange cattle on a farm near me which I have to pass every day. Not having seen them before, I had to look them up. The Belted Galloway.

captain_spalding said:

Michael V said:

sibeen said:

And as Woodie pointed out a million litres is less than half of an olympic pool, so really not all that much.

One million litres is 1000 cubic metres which weighs 1000 tonnes.

So a tank 10 metres long, 10 metres wide, 10 metres high.

A lot, but not an awful lot.

not much use as a cube, that’s more like how it is when stored, handy way to measure it, conceptualize it in whatever reservoir, but if you put all the cubes in a line it’s a kilometre long, and half a cube then two kilometres long, and quarter a cube four kilometres long, and you splash that strategically on a firefront, or near, front of, whatever

the weight too can be used, tonnes they call it, but really it’s a reference to gravity, adds some predictability to water if water is dropped near the surface of the earth, tends to go down, in fact the very idea of down comes from that, gravity. Helpful too to know how much weight a vehicle is carrying, or plane, for liftoff and all, all takes energy

subject energy, trees and grass etc burn, turns out fire is a replicator of sorts, or contagion, if conditions are right it can happen, otherwise known as combustion, and the more that is being burnt at the same time the more combustion, the more heat, even creates its own airflow

one joy of things burnt, burnt properly, is they are reluctant to burn again soon, the burnable material’s been dephlogisticated, an alchemist might have said of it

transition said:

one joy of things burnt, burnt properly, is they are reluctant to burn again soon, the burnable material’s been dephlogisticated, an alchemist might have said of it

One sadness of things burnt (like an environment that includes rainforest that grows on what’s basically just sand) is that they take FOREVER to regenerate, IF they regenerate at all.

captain_spalding said:

transition said:

one joy of things burnt, burnt properly, is they are reluctant to burn again soon, the burnable material’s been dephlogisticated, an alchemist might have said of it

One sadness of things burnt (like an environment that includes rainforest that grows on what’s basically just sand) is that they take FOREVER to regenerate, IF they regenerate at all.

yeah I know, but of the situation of fighting a fire, to put it out, knowing what can be burnt, the already burnt stuff is your friend in a sense

Just been shopping, and noticed some damage to the old Red Bridge :(

Nothing dramatic but still sad. The nicely weathered face of one of the big old stone blocks has fallen off in a neat slice, crumbling when it hit the path.

Probably just due to 182 years of vibration.

If you’re going to pull a copy-cat publicity grab, at least put some care into it:

!!

roughbarked said:

A Uni SA study assessed the 2017 annual and sustainability reports of 448 companies against a range of outcomes developed by Reconciliation Australia.

It found just 36 companies, or eight per cent, mentioned any ideology, policy, or initiatives related to Aboriginal people.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-02/less-than-10-pc-mining-companies-mention-aboriginal-policy/12939142

They’re wrong.

Every company I worked for since the mid 1990s has had strong policies around local aboriginal engagement. Just because they don’t splash that around on web sites and as stock market and other public announcements doesn’t mean that they don’t have policies.

That said, it would certainly be good to have representation on boards and in senior management. But when the companies consist of just three or four personnel, senior management engagement becomes problematic. Boards shouldn’t be an issue. And that’s the place policy is set. Boards could be the sensible training grounds for senior management.

roughbarked said:

There’s some strange cattle on a farm near me which I have to pass every day. Not having seen them before, I had to look them up. The Belted Galloway.

I was reading about Belted Galloway cattle just a few months back. Never seen any, though.

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

A Uni SA study assessed the 2017 annual and sustainability reports of 448 companies against a range of outcomes developed by Reconciliation Australia.

It found just 36 companies, or eight per cent, mentioned any ideology, policy, or initiatives related to Aboriginal people.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-02/less-than-10-pc-mining-companies-mention-aboriginal-policy/12939142

They’re wrong.

Every company I worked for since the mid 1990s has had strong policies around local aboriginal engagement. Just because they don’t splash that around on web sites and as stock market and other public announcements doesn’t mean that they don’t have policies.

That said, it would certainly be good to have representation on boards and in senior management. But when the companies consist of just three or four personnel, senior management engagement becomes problematic. Boards shouldn’t be an issue. And that’s the place policy is set. Boards could be the sensible training grounds for senior management.

Yes it did spark those thoughts in my head too.

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

There’s some strange cattle on a farm near me which I have to pass every day. Not having seen them before, I had to look them up. The Belted Galloway.

I was reading about Belted Galloway cattle just a few months back. Never seen any, though.

This farm has had a small mob of them installed recently. Haven’t ever seen them in my travels all around beforehand.

captain_spalding said:

transition said:

one joy of things burnt, burnt properly, is they are reluctant to burn again soon, the burnable material’s been dephlogisticated, an alchemist might have said of it

One sadness of things burnt (like an environment that includes rainforest that grows on what’s basically just sand) is that they take FOREVER to regenerate, IF they regenerate at all.

^ This.

The sand mining on K’gari (Fraser Island) stopped about 50 years ago. Those areas have not recovered. 20 cm high shrubs only, and not at all representative of the original flora and ecological systems.

The Carlo Sand Blow near us was named in 1770. It clearly was bare 250 years ago. It was stripped bare by fire – evidenced by a charcoal layer in the sand.

I seriously hope I’m wrong, but I don’t expect recovery in our lifetimes.

Michael V said:

captain_spalding said:

transition said:

one joy of things burnt, burnt properly, is they are reluctant to burn again soon, the burnable material’s been dephlogisticated, an alchemist might have said of it

One sadness of things burnt (like an environment that includes rainforest that grows on what’s basically just sand) is that they take FOREVER to regenerate, IF they regenerate at all.

^ This.

The sand mining on K’gari (Fraser Island) stopped about 50 years ago. Those areas have not recovered. 20 cm high shrubs only, and not at all representative of the original flora and ecological systems.

The Carlo Sand Blow near us was named in 1770. It clearly was bare 250 years ago. It was stripped bare by fire – evidenced by a charcoal layer in the sand.

I seriously hope I’m wrong, but I don’t expect recovery in our lifetimes.

I hope there’s a camper out there who’s very, very unhappy.

Michael V said:

captain_spalding said:

transition said:

one joy of things burnt, burnt properly, is they are reluctant to burn again soon, the burnable material’s been dephlogisticated, an alchemist might have said of it

One sadness of things burnt (like an environment that includes rainforest that grows on what’s basically just sand) is that they take FOREVER to regenerate, IF they regenerate at all.

^ This.

The sand mining on K’gari (Fraser Island) stopped about 50 years ago. Those areas have not recovered. 20 cm high shrubs only, and not at all representative of the original flora and ecological systems.

The Carlo Sand Blow near us was named in 1770. It clearly was bare 250 years ago. It was stripped bare by fire – evidenced by a charcoal layer in the sand.

I seriously hope I’m wrong, but I don’t expect recovery in our lifetimes.

On that fb post I screenshotted, the comments… omg the comments! Everything from “it’s the Greenies fault” to “if it had of been backburnt… (sic)” Only one comment I saw was about the inability of sand to retain water and regenerate flora.

Michael V said:

captain_spalding said:

transition said:

one joy of things burnt, burnt properly, is they are reluctant to burn again soon, the burnable material’s been dephlogisticated, an alchemist might have said of it

One sadness of things burnt (like an environment that includes rainforest that grows on what’s basically just sand) is that they take FOREVER to regenerate, IF they regenerate at all.

^ This.

The sand mining on K’gari (Fraser Island) stopped about 50 years ago. Those areas have not recovered. 20 cm high shrubs only, and not at all representative of the original flora and ecological systems.

The Carlo Sand Blow near us was named in 1770. It clearly was bare 250 years ago. It was stripped bare by fire – evidenced by a charcoal layer in the sand.

I seriously hope I’m wrong, but I don’t expect recovery in our lifetimes.

that’s half the trouble i’d expect, is an ever-expanding everything is subject to the activities of human lifetimes, being shrunk that way