About Me:
Single, over-60, SW England resident, with fairly wide range of interests & musical tastes - but I'd be no good in a pub quiz 'cos I know very little about TV, gadgets called i-something, competitive sports, many entertainments & "so-called celebrities!
Was on EP, but left it long before it closed. Won't touch Facebook & its ilk.
"Adult" themes: quite broad-minded, like nudity but not pornography. Against cruelty, and consider spanking as a game for consenting adults only.
I can't see him banning energy-saving bulbs, just not encouraging them.I think I know his motive - he thinks America can be "great again" if only it can restore the industries it has lost and the employment they needed. He has a point - Britain too, has l... moreI can't see him banning energy-saving bulbs, just not encouraging them.I think I know his motive - he thinks America can be "great again" if only it can restore the industries it has lost and the employment they needed. He has a point - Britain too, has lost an enormous amount of heavy industry - and he also wants votes and promises like that help him. Unfortunately he thinks that's possible whatever the cost, and does not care about the cost. It's obviously not occurred to him that you can have manufacturing industry, but without harming the environment, but the regulations necessary for that are complicated and far-reaching, and add to the companies' overheads.He may not be aware too that modern industry does not need anything like the numbers of employees, thanks to mechanical aids and automation. For example, a modern precision-engineering company making components for, say car or 'plane builders, can turn out in a week many more parts with significantly fewer staff than was pos... less
Conscripts or not, the death sentence, for mutiny if not insubordination, may apply in some countries, but I think in most it would have to be an extremely serious offence to merit worse than being court-martialled, imprisoned then given a disho... moreConscripts or not, the death sentence, for mutiny if not insubordination, may apply in some countries, but I think in most it would have to be an extremely serious offence to merit worse than being court-martialled, imprisoned then given a dishonourable discharge. Although a lot of soldiers were shot for alleged "cowardice" in WW1, I doubt very much if that would be at all legal now - more likely the senior officer responsible would be on trial for murder.
The commercial sale of incandescent lamps, except for a few certain types, has been banned in the UK (and I think the EU generally) for some years now. It's not illegal still to use them if you had bought them while still available, but in time ... moreThe commercial sale of incandescent lamps, except for a few certain types, has been banned in the UK (and I think the EU generally) for some years now. It's not illegal still to use them if you had bought them while still available, but in time those will all disappear.The first replacements were "energy-saving" lamps that are miniature flourescents, bringing their own problem of disposal because the fluorescent coating inside, is poisonous. (A filament lamp's materials are non-toxic for all practical purposes - and salvageable - being just metal and glass.)These are being supplanted by l.e.d. units that have a long life, draw very low current for equivalent light output ... but their materials include fairly scarce elements difficult to find and finite.When it comes to "going green", nothing is as simple as it seems!++++I attended a public lecture a few days ago, on aspects of sustainable power sources, by a professor whose Bournemouth University team is developing efficiency impro... less
Having had both knees replaced, thanks to arthritis...I don't know if there is a genuine medical difference between a "disease" and a "condition": both are parts of the body going wrong for some reason. It could be the word "disease" is used more fo... moreHaving had both knees replaced, thanks to arthritis...I don't know if there is a genuine medical difference between a "disease" and a "condition": both are parts of the body going wrong for some reason. It could be the word "disease" is used more for illnesses with directly external causes like bacteria, poisons or radiation; while a "condition" is something the body has gone and done all by itself.Either way, I can assure you it was a disease to me!
What advantage was there to Trump in this?I'm puzzled - I don't understand what he was trying to do or prove. The name 'Alabama' crops up in this, but was the State genuinely in the direct path of the worst of the storm or was Trump trying to claim t... moreWhat advantage was there to Trump in this?I'm puzzled - I don't understand what he was trying to do or prove. The name 'Alabama' crops up in this, but was the State genuinely in the direct path of the worst of the storm or was Trump trying to claim that, for some reason I can't see?
Interesting point. Don't forget my knowledge of America' internal politics and society is limited, but I am aware it is very unequal, divisive and divided. I don't "hate" people out of hand for holding unpleasant views I do not share at all, unless I know... moreInteresting point. Don't forget my knowledge of America' internal politics and society is limited, but I am aware it is very unequal, divisive and divided. I don't "hate" people out of hand for holding unpleasant views I do not share at all, unless I know their own motives. For I cannot judge unknown individuals but believe most of them hold such poisonous views out of genuine ignorance, peer-pressure and personal background, rather than deliberate choice to be nasty individuals. However, I have no time for racism and general, divisive hatred in a political cause anyway. Ignorance and the negative communal attitudes it spawns are bad enough, buts even worse when ignorance cannot be an excuse. Such as when peddled by a leader apparently unable to grasp he is even seen abroad as a fool and a liar, and who should know better than gather support by stoking up old resentments and scapegoating among his fellow-citizens.Happy Saturday to you too! less
Thank you Rosie!We care for all those Americans who are simply trying to get on with life despite whoever's in charge. I think the BBC report did admit, via an interview with an American, that President Trump hates being contradicted. I didn't catch ... moreThank you Rosie!We care for all those Americans who are simply trying to get on with life despite whoever's in charge. I think the BBC report did admit, via an interview with an American, that President Trump hates being contradicted. I didn't catch the interviewee's name and role though; probably a journalist or political analyst.Does Trump still have much real support from those who voted for him? (I know he won the election by a quirk of arithmetic and procedure, and that Putin's lot interfered with the campaigning.) less
This incident puzzled me!It was reported on the BBC Radio Four news-programme the other day, as Trump himself altering a weather map. Though I'm still none the wiser why he would demonstrate he thinks a golf-course builder knows better than professio... moreThis incident puzzled me!It was reported on the BBC Radio Four news-programme the other day, as Trump himself altering a weather map. Though I'm still none the wiser why he would demonstrate he thinks a golf-course builder knows better than professional meteorologists how to predict hurricane courses, though the report did show he has little respect for scientists.On the face of it, the action is so weird it's just laughable, and indeed the presenter could not help losing his professional composure and bursting out laughing. less
I think many would set aside political differences, because attacks like that kill and injure innocent people who are simply carrying on their normal work or other aspects of life.It's your President and his Government, not Americans generally, who h... moreI think many would set aside political differences, because attacks like that kill and injure innocent people who are simply carrying on their normal work or other aspects of life.It's your President and his Government, not Americans generally, who have upset so many people around the world.
I don't think he intends to weaken America. I think he is simply too naïve and clumsy to realise what the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are doing for their own ends. It is they - and other anti-Western interests -&nb... moreI don't think he intends to weaken America. I think he is simply too naïve and clumsy to realise what the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are doing for their own ends. It is they - and other anti-Western interests - who want the USA to be weak, and Trump is inept enough to help them without seeing it. He probably thinks Putin saw him as a genuine ally, though I am not sure why that would be in either party's interests. Possibly, the Russians thought Trump's campaign pledges on reviving dying industries, would bring a strong trading partner, bearing in mind no-one before the election is likely to have foreseen just how incompetent he would be on international affairs. Further, they, or at least Putin and his supporters, probably also saw in Trump the sort of strong-minded, hard-Right, hard-capitalist, nationalist they respect. Alternatively, they had analysed the respective Parties' candidates and policies and when picking whic... less
Thank you Rosie. I have not seen him since May, while I recover from a knee replacement, but I had the impression on my last few visits he was struggling to remember me. His brother and sister-in-law took him out to an event nearby one day, but ... moreThank you Rosie. I have not seen him since May, while I recover from a knee replacement, but I had the impression on my last few visits he was struggling to remember me. His brother and sister-in-law took him out to an event nearby one day, but he'd forgotten only three days later when his wife asked him about it.He used to greet with a smile but now his expression is more often a strange, haunted look. His wife says she sees the same thing.Dementia (not senility) is like any disease in that developing it is very much a matter of chance, though it is more likely in old age. Sometimes you hear people talking about it becoming more common, but if so that reflects both rising population anyway, and living beyond or protected from illnesses that in the past would have been terminal or would have encouraged fatal complications like pneumonia. less
An intriguing idea, tuning a 2+only nominal 2 into a 1+possibly 2, but the text makes it clear that is was a "special", a custom-car built for an individual, not a production vehicle.Otherwise, motor- bi- and tri- cycles and racing-cars apart, the on... moreAn intriguing idea, tuning a 2+only nominal 2 into a 1+possibly 2, but the text makes it clear that is was a "special", a custom-car built for an individual, not a production vehicle.Otherwise, motor- bi- and tri- cycles and racing-cars apart, the only production vehicles with central driving positions are agricultural, earth-moving and other industrial machines that are driver-only, without passenger seats; and may have reasons connected with their functions for that configuration. I can think of only one production-car that was the exception to this; the 1+1 Messerschmidt 3-wheeler of the 1940s-50, and with an appearance that that gave rise to the myth that its upper bodywork was basically the upper half of the WW2, Me109 fighter-plane cockpit!However, the principle of central steering is not at all new! Most of the very earliest steam- or i.c.- powered, road vehicles were centrally steered, many with a tiller rather than steering-wheel; but these were individual or made only in v... less
One evening I rescued two toads in blissful union, from a very dangerous spot, the side of the street.I kept them overnight in the kitchen sink, with an inch of water and a sponge "island", then transported them in a suitable box to work, t... moreOne evening I rescued two toads in blissful union, from a very dangerous spot, the side of the street.I kept them overnight in the kitchen sink, with an inch of water and a sponge "island", then transported them in a suitable box to work, to release in a pond in the grounds. Once safely on the leaf-litter at the water's edge they sat still for a few moments, then suddenly turned and swam down into the peaty depths.As far as I could ascertain, they remained coupled throughout! Evidently, amorous amphibians don't like to rush things. less
It's the European Commission, not "England", who made that law. Or more accurately, The EU created the Directive that EU countries have to re-write to fit their own legal systems, supposedly without altering the basic purpose, meaning and sense.... moreIt's the European Commission, not "England", who made that law. Or more accurately, The EU created the Directive that EU countries have to re-write to fit their own legal systems, supposedly without altering the basic purpose, meaning and sense. Some Directives do reflect international rules or treaties more widely (and the UK is a member or signatory of over 90 international bodies and treaties, outside of the EU). Some are "gold-plated" by national governments, including the UK's at ministerial level, rather than being implemented in their basic forms; hence becoming foolishly and impracticably dictatorial. One reason so many hold the EU in such contempt is its freedom for bureaucrats to invent silly rules, or to gold-plate basically good, simple ones into stupidity. Yes, that ruling on fish is foolish: made with the best intentions but out of ignorance. The Directives are made in an unstoppable flood by the EU's Commissioners (some failed ex-politicians, but The EC is ... less
Hmmm. I have had the very occasional flash of seeing a familiar location as if anew, but I wonder if that might simply be a matter of familiarity tending to make you miss details over time, and the brain refreshing its memory. I used to make a regular wee... moreHmmm. I have had the very occasional flash of seeing a familiar location as if anew, but I wonder if that might simply be a matter of familiarity tending to make you miss details over time, and the brain refreshing its memory. I used to make a regular weekend journey whose 60-mile return on a late Sunday evening was mainly 20 miles of open countryside, a fairly large town, then another rural 20 miles. One Winter night I arrived home from the 60-mile night drive, and thought, "I don't remember driving through Yeovil" - the town in the middle, with a brightly-lit main road through it. I realised habit had made me drive on a sort of auto-pilot, and fearing this meant I was not concentrating, I frequently varied my route thereafter. In fact I had probably had been concentrating knowingly on the driving, but only subconsciously on the locations.'''' Strictly speaking "senile" means simply "old" - same root as "senior", and opposite to "juvenile"; but I do have a friend whose Alzheimer's or s... less
I don't know the location (and Scotland covers a large mainland area and many islands) but whatever the airfield, I am not clear how the diversion to buy more expensive fuel benefits Trump. Don't get me wrong, I believe you, but I don't know the comm... moreI don't know the location (and Scotland covers a large mainland area and many islands) but whatever the airfield, I am not clear how the diversion to buy more expensive fuel benefits Trump. Don't get me wrong, I believe you, but I don't know the commercial background here. Does he have direct business links or large share holdings with the fuel manufacturer or seller concerned?
I understand what you mean by a murderer being "insane", and that may well be so in a clinical sense for many; but a lot of unlawful single killings are by someone known to the victim and who suddenly loses control for some reason. that does not excu... moreI understand what you mean by a murderer being "insane", and that may well be so in a clinical sense for many; but a lot of unlawful single killings are by someone known to the victim and who suddenly loses control for some reason. that does not excuse the crime but the reason may form a legal defence.The gratuitous massacres are another matter. If the killer is insane it's not a madness defined by such things as extremely low IQ, because such crimes often require a fair degree of intelligence and cold planning. Rather, it's some sort of personality disorder.The Founding Fathers could not possibly have foreseen what happened a couple of centuries later, but I think they would have been horrified to think that arms "right", which had particular reasons in its own time and in the days of inaccurate, short-range, single-shot guns, could go so out of control.As well as laws against driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, UK law also has a charge of "causing death by d... less
At least we know the depths of an iceberg (9 times the average height visible above the water) or that of the Marianas Trench... There is something odd about that refuelling report though.I understand "gas" to be American for petrol, as used in cars.... moreAt least we know the depths of an iceberg (9 times the average height visible above the water) or that of the Marianas Trench... There is something odd about that refuelling report though.I understand "gas" to be American for petrol, as used in cars. Most modern air-force planes are jets though, burning refined kerosene (called 'paraffin' in the UK); and many filling-stations in the UK do stock paraffin but not in large amounts as its civilian uses and volumes are small. Further, they normally sell it in 5-litre (roughly 1 gallon) plastic containers, not aviation amounts; and such garages are for refuelling cars so do not have runways!The aeroplanes concerned may have been small, petrol-fuelled piston-engine ones perhaps used normally for training or short flights for officers between air-force bases... but still needing runways.I think the refuelling station was not a "tiny gas station" but something else entirely: a small but proper air-field. Or it is tha... less
Someone on another site told me recently there have been more than 250 such incidents in the USA this year alone - but he did not define "mass" or say if they are all gratuitous slaughter of innocent victims, or if he included the drugs-gang warfare he'd ... moreSomeone on another site told me recently there have been more than 250 such incidents in the USA this year alone - but he did not define "mass" or say if they are all gratuitous slaughter of innocent victims, or if he included the drugs-gang warfare he'd told me also entails a very large number of shootings.Such massacres of random, innocent victims seem an almost uniquely American phenomenon. Discounting "terrorist" (politically-motivated) attacks, they are very rare indeed in almost all other developed countries put together. By "terrorist" I mean overtly nationalist or other political, religious or racial extremist motives.Since most of the gratuitous, lone gun-men have shot themselves or been shot dead at the scene, so not caught alive and tried in Court, we can never really know the real motives, but only guess. Most seem some sort of personal grudge-settling. Dismissing the shooter as "mentally ill" even before the police have had time to investigate his background i... less
Yes, if thinking about personally non-emotional matters - day-to-day practicalities and problem-solving, academic or philosophical matters, and the like.If the subject arouses strong emotions then it's harder to control ones' thoughts about... moreYes, if thinking about personally non-emotional matters - day-to-day practicalities and problem-solving, academic or philosophical matters, and the like.If the subject arouses strong emotions then it's harder to control ones' thoughts about it, or to think objectively and analytically.
Returning to the original question itself rather than allegations about private lives and opinions....Might Trump believe emissions laws like those of California undermine his weakening of the EPA and his election-campaign desire to revive the coal a... moreReturning to the original question itself rather than allegations about private lives and opinions....Might Trump believe emissions laws like those of California undermine his weakening of the EPA and his election-campaign desire to revive the coal and steel industries apparently without applying corresponding environmental laws to them?
When I was young I wanted to be either a Scientist or an Engineer. I was inspired by my Dad, a Chartered Electrical Engineer who worked in that capacity as a scientist, but for the Ministry of Defence so I don't know what he actually did! Also to some ext... moreWhen I was young I wanted to be either a Scientist or an Engineer. I was inspired by my Dad, a Chartered Electrical Engineer who worked in that capacity as a scientist, but for the Ministry of Defence so I don't know what he actually did! Also to some extent by an uncle employed by the railway research & development laboratory owned by the then-British Railways; though again I don't know what sort of work he did. Unfortunately both science, especially physics, and engineering are both deeply mathematical, and mathematics is one of my weakest subjects.So I ended up working in various engineering trades at a semi-skilled, shop-floor level; and now enjoy science at a lay level, understanding its effects but not the deeper principles, and engineering as a creative craft hobby. less
That would require a car to be either a very roomy 3-seats wide or the driver being the only front-seat occupant. The former would make cars even wider than they have become; the latter would necessitate them being significantly longer for the same p... moreThat would require a car to be either a very roomy 3-seats wide or the driver being the only front-seat occupant. The former would make cars even wider than they have become; the latter would necessitate them being significantly longer for the same passenger and luggage capacity.Also, the driver being at the side of the vehicle allowed hand-signals, though I don't know if anyone uses these now, relying entirely on the turn-indicator lamps. 'Difficult to see how cars are developing. We've seen cars become more and more compact, not least for fuel efficiency (less mass to accelerate and keep moving) but also needing less garage, parking and road space. Yet larger saloon and estate cars have become wider, sometimes by using extended wheel-arches while giving with little extra interior room further cramped by exaggerated tapering upwards of the sides - to the extent many cannot be kept in domestic garages, and they create problems in public car-parks. (Particularly when their drivers ca... less
I don't play billiards or snooker, though I've occasionally played pool, but they are different games.Pool is an American game derived from billiards (an English invention) and snooker, but played on a small table.Snooker and billiards use a muc... moreI don't play billiards or snooker, though I've occasionally played pool, but they are different games.Pool is an American game derived from billiards (an English invention) and snooker, but played on a small table.Snooker and billiards use a much larger table, but it does not have the "posts" My2cents mentions. Snooker and Pool use full ball sets; Billiards uses only three balls. Snooker is played at professional league level, televised and all; but you hear much less about billiards, for some reason.There is or was a pub game called Bar Billiards, which is related. Once popular in Southern England, it comes from France and Belgian but is of Russian ancestry. Judging by photos of a bar billiards set, its smaller-size table does have "posts", or more accurately small mushroom-shaped wooden pins. I don't know how their purpose, or how the game is played, though. less
Passion, not profession (I am retired now but worked at modest levels in various factories!). Or more accurately, I have a general interest in the natural sciences.
Thankyou JustAsking.It happened on two replies on Rosie's Corner. I had typed the reply and the effect appeared when I selected "Post Reply". I have not seen it happen anywhere else. I did wonder if I had mis-typed something and inadvertently operated a k... moreThankyou JustAsking.It happened on two replies on Rosie's Corner. I had typed the reply and the effect appeared when I selected "Post Reply". I have not seen it happen anywhere else. I did wonder if I had mis-typed something and inadvertently operated a key combination that activates the command, but if so I would expect to be able to remove it by selecting the affected text and cycling the Strike-through button as you suggest.It might affect only my end of the correspondence, too. I use a conventional PC, with WIN 7 Pro.I don't know the underlying browser's type or identity, behind my ISP's home page and e-mail service (BTInternet). less
It appears on the text of answers I contribute here, when I select "Post Reply", but it is intermittent, not on all messages, and it's entirely possible it affects only my end of the system.
Thank you!Heat is a form of energy. Temperature is the intensity but not amount, of that energy at any given point.The climate is driven ultimately by heat from the Sun, so the greater the amount of heat, the higher the temperature and the more ... moreThank you!Heat is a form of energy. Temperature is the intensity but not amount, of that energy at any given point.The climate is driven ultimately by heat from the Sun, so the greater the amount of heat, the higher the temperature and the more intense the weather. Latitude's effect is to give a higher thickness of air for the heat to penetrate, with higher latitudes; and the atmosphere absorbs and scatters the energy, and reflects a good deal of it back into Space. So the higher the latitude the less heat reaches the ground and sea surface. The warmer-latitude seas store an enormous amount of heat in their upper layers, moving it around in huge circulations; and evaporating a lot of water. The colder high-latitude seas can absorb a lot of heat, cooling the air above them and giving up less water vapour. These effects give weather extremes in tropical and polar regions, and blend to give more moderate weather in the temperate latitudes. The land too, absor... less
Unwanted striking-though of part of message, appearing automatically when I press Send: reason and how to remove it, please? (Tried "Help" but that's all artificial FAQs, so no help!)
Provided it was well out of my own earshot:Frank Sinatra's My Way or Come Fly With Me. (Apart from the former song's wilful illiteracy and egotism, I regard Sinatra as the most hyped but least able, singer of his era and style. Though they had no and need... moreProvided it was well out of my own earshot:Frank Sinatra's My Way or Come Fly With Me. (Apart from the former song's wilful illiteracy and egotism, I regard Sinatra as the most hyped but least able, singer of his era and style. Though they had no and needed no pitch-correctors in their studios, and he was generally in pitch and time, he sort of spoke rather than sang the words.)Any one song from the films The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins.Any rap / drum-&-bass / similar track.The Jackson's Long-haired Lover From Liverpool, (or indeed anything by the Jackson(s) (Five) or Osmonds together or individually, or Prince).Any American Christmas-commerce hit, dripping with insincerity, unoriginality and pseudo-sentimentality, like Dreaming of a White Christmas or "Sanna" Clause Is Coming To Town.'This is an obscure one: If my victim is Donald John Trump, perhaps After The Flood, on Van der Graff Generator's 1970 album "The Least We Can Do is Wave To Each Other". I like their music but it is... less
Thank you! Sorry - I missed the second question, why anyone chooses to live in naturally-hazardous areas. I don't know if anyone can answer that, though some such regions offer advantages that must outweigh the risks. It's possible that the same hazards h... moreThank you! Sorry - I missed the second question, why anyone chooses to live in naturally-hazardous areas. I don't know if anyone can answer that, though some such regions offer advantages that must outweigh the risks. It's possible that the same hazards had less serious outcomes in the past, due to the way the residents lived. In some places now, the risks and effects of natural hazards have been greatly increased by such intervention as removing mangrove swamps to build tourist developments. One specific example I found is that of Louisiana, slowly sinking thanks to a combination of ground-water, oil and gas extraction and ironically, by loss of natural sediment deposition by the Mississippi's floods having been contained by dams and artificial levees designed to protect the area's towns from those floods. The figure I read was about 9mm/year, compounded by 3mm/yr sea-level rise, so an effective loss of altitude of 12mm (nearly half an inch) a year. The river is only trying to... less
I agree with the premise of your question - remove the rules and you invite environmental damage - but I am a foreigner and do not know the entire background to the USA's internal affairs, so I try to be at least fair to your country's president and certa... moreI agree with the premise of your question - remove the rules and you invite environmental damage - but I am a foreigner and do not know the entire background to the USA's internal affairs, so I try to be at least fair to your country's president and certainly its political system.That does not mean I agree with Trump. Nor do I think he is at all competent but I do recognise he has or had a lot of electoral support. Whether he still has that support I do not know; but I think many of those supporters have or had the same ignorance of, and disdain for, science and the environment as he has. Especially in regions impoverished by losing their main industries. If someone promises to restore them, it would be only natural if former employees put their own and family's present needs first and support him, come what may. In any political or social controversy, irrespective of location and my views, I try to step back from the immediate and "obvious", and... less
Not so much "inventions" as three "discoveries" or "developments.1) That of producing metals from their ores, and working those metals. Particularly Iron, which requires coke derived from coal for its smelting; and much later, Steel from that iron.Ir... moreNot so much "inventions" as three "discoveries" or "developments.1) That of producing metals from their ores, and working those metals. Particularly Iron, which requires coke derived from coal for its smelting; and much later, Steel from that iron.Iron and its alloys (the steels) permeate EVERYTHING else we have or use in life including whatever you are reading this on, even if those metals are not directly present.2) The Wheel - and think far beyond the obvious wheels on vehicles etc., to such fields as rotating machinery.3) Mathematics - like iron, also utterly ubiquitous and essential to utilising both of the above.Without those three we'd be unable to ponder it here. We would still be living in the Neolithic. less
I can see the sense in the curfew (part of protecting against looting as well as not wanting anyone out in physically dangerous areas after dark), and in staying sober, but I've often wondered where all the evacuees do go in such emergencies. Do the autho... moreI can see the sense in the curfew (part of protecting against looting as well as not wanting anyone out in physically dangerous areas after dark), and in staying sober, but I've often wondered where all the evacuees do go in such emergencies. Do the authorities find as many buses as possible, to help move as many people as possible to safety?I'd have thought not just inland but also to the side of the storm's predicted path, but I don't know how far inland a hurricane typically travels before becoming exhausted. less
Not "alleys" but suitable areas of the world. Hurricanes and destructive cyclones (tornadoes) are tropical storms. Hurricanes need large expanses of warm oceans to feed them, but those affecting the Caribbean and the S.E. coast of America originate over t... moreNot "alleys" but suitable areas of the world. Hurricanes and destructive cyclones (tornadoes) are tropical storms. Hurricanes need large expanses of warm oceans to feed them, but those affecting the Caribbean and the S.E. coast of America originate over the Sahara Desert and grow into hurricanes as they move Westwards across the Atlantic. Similarly, the other disasters My2cents mentions are not fussy about nationality. They are physical-geography processes. The most violent earthquakes are those associated with specific plate-tectonics processes; with the Pacific and Mediterranean coasts being the most active. (The tsunami and violently explosive volcanic eruptions in the same regions are also results of the same processes.)Forest, heath and grass fires can occur almost anywhere, giving sufficiently dry weather, in tropical or temperate latitudes. Mud slides, and land-slips generally, are a natural part of the erosion of hills and of river and coastal cliffs, although they can occur following... less
Hello Rosie - I'd not left but was away!I had realised you ask compound questions!President Trump has a reputation for being anti-science , rather ironically given his use of the Internet, but I think it would be more accurate to say he has a very po... moreHello Rosie - I'd not left but was away!I had realised you ask compound questions!President Trump has a reputation for being anti-science , rather ironically given his use of the Internet, but I think it would be more accurate to say he has a very poor understanding of science coupled with disdain for anything not supporting his political views and motives.
Ah, now. .President Truman's bid. This morning, the BBC Radio 4 current-affairs programme Today interviewed a leading American - I think the present or former US Ambassador to Denmark but certainly an authority on such matters - about that.He explained wh... moreAh, now. .President Truman's bid. This morning, the BBC Radio 4 current-affairs programme Today interviewed a leading American - I think the present or former US Ambassador to Denmark but certainly an authority on such matters - about that.He explained why you cannot compare the situations. Truman's government had a strategic reason. This pre-dated NATO and President Truman wanted tighter Western control of the Arctic as the Cold War started to develop. Since Denmark including Greenland became a NATO member, that territorial need by the USA no longer exists. less
Rosie, you are asking two separate questions there!Environmental protection laws are established for very good reasons, and even the People's Republic of China has recognised the problems its massive industrial developments have caused, and is now working... moreRosie, you are asking two separate questions there!Environmental protection laws are established for very good reasons, and even the People's Republic of China has recognised the problems its massive industrial developments have caused, and is now working hard to put that right.There is a point many people may not realise. Forget trade agreements or wars, tariffs, etc. A lot of nations and blocs like the EU have long imposed certain minimum standards equally on both internally made and imported goods, to ensure at least equivalence to the importing nation's. These are mainly for safety and quality (often linked). In the EU, the outwards sign is the "CE" mark on a product, and sometimes a leaflet listing the relevant detail standards. The US equivalent is the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) but whatever happens, the exported goods must meet the importers' legal specifications. More recently though, standards have started to spread possibly to employment-protection and certainly t... less
There must have been a definite reason for it - apart from the obvious that people living in very remote countryside at the time probably had to hunt wild animals to supplement their diet.What was that reason? Was it to allow raising militias before ... moreThere must have been a definite reason for it - apart from the obvious that people living in very remote countryside at the time probably had to hunt wild animals to supplement their diet.What was that reason? Was it to allow raising militias before the fledgling nation could establish a properly-equipped and trained, professional Army? It was also in the days of crude pistols and muskets of modest accuracy and low range; not high-power hand-guns and long-range, magazine-fed, assault-pattern rifles. It sort of echoes a Mediaeval English law, from well before fire-arms, that required all able-bodied men to be able to use long-bows. The primary difference is that once the need for such private armaments faded away in Britain as more regular armies and guns started to develop, the law too eventually disappeared. As far as I know it was not transferred to gun ownership, and though originally an obligation but later simply tolerated, owing any weapon of war never became some sort of auto... less
Any TV series loosely described as a "soap opera". Or so-called "reality". They reflect real, reality?I was rather surprised though, by chance seeing a sub-titled instalment of Brookside on a cafeteria TV... in Norway.
Soldier Blue.In fact I could not watch most of the gory massacre, which was based on an only too real incident even though the film's central story - which I seem to recall was a romance between a native American woman and a US Cavalry man - was... moreSoldier Blue.In fact I could not watch most of the gory massacre, which was based on an only too real incident even though the film's central story - which I seem to recall was a romance between a native American woman and a US Cavalry man - was fictional.Another scene I found very disturbing the first time I heard it on the radio, is not from a film but an opera - Dialogues des Carmélites , by Francis Poulenc. Written in 1956, its central character is a girl who to the distress of her parents, joins a small Carmelite convent at the time of the French Revolution and the ensuing 'Reign of Terror'. The finale has the dozen nuns evicted from their retreat by the Revolutionary thugs, and one by one led off-stage to be guillotined, each marked by a loud, off-beat crash punctuating the remaining women singing the 'Salve Regina'. Even though my experience of it was purely aural, it made me feel rather queasy. Also angry and baffled at the utter pointlessness and brutality of the murders, beca... less
Ah, yes, I spotted your post about the NRA member saying that.Christmas... Peace on Earth and Goodwill .... I can't believe anyone would be so stupid as to suggest a powerful rifle is a normal Christmas present for a young girl, but if he was serious and ... moreAh, yes, I spotted your post about the NRA member saying that.Christmas... Peace on Earth and Goodwill .... I can't believe anyone would be so stupid as to suggest a powerful rifle is a normal Christmas present for a young girl, but if he was serious and it wasn't his sick humour or deliberate exaggeration to make some point, what a nasty attitude to take.Oh, I am sure you are right about some hunting fathers taking their children along as soon as old enough to hold a gun - but not skilled enough to kill an animal that didn't need killing anyway, cleanly with a single round.I was tempted to look at the NRA's web-site to see what they have to say for themselves publicly but realised I'd either start receiving unwanted ads for rifles, my computer settings would block it or some Internet server filter would flag me up to General Communications Head-Quarters (part of the UK's security services, concerned with tracking cyber-crime and terrorism)! less
If it's any comfort, Shell might try that on but it does not own its employees' minds.By the way, was this in normal working time or on a weekend when the staff would normally be at home unless on necessary process-shift work?
Two nations divided by a common language but also very UN-common attitudes to guns, eh?I've no children of my own but none of our family have ever owned so much as a paint-ball gun. Nor do I know anyone else who does.Racking my brains I cannot think at al... moreTwo nations divided by a common language but also very UN-common attitudes to guns, eh?I've no children of my own but none of our family have ever owned so much as a paint-ball gun. Nor do I know anyone else who does.Racking my brains I cannot think at all of any of the many people I have known over the years who could answer "yes" to that question, with the possible exception of a work colleague who was a clay-pigeon enthusiast.Not long ago the British Police Forces held another guns amnesty. My own county's force had a couple of dozen weapons handed in for destruction, mainly sporting or pest-control weapons no longer wanted. Some might have been "inherited" by the families of now-deceased owners. less
About Me:
Single, over-60, SW England resident, with fairly wide range of interests & musical tastes - but I'd be no good in a pub quiz 'cos I know very little about TV, gadgets called i-something, competitive sports, many entertainments & "so-called celebrities!
Was on EP, but left it long before it closed. Won't touch Facebook & its ilk.
"Adult" themes: quite broad-minded, like nudity but not pornography. Against cruelty, and consider spanking as a game for consenting adults only.
Unwanted striking-though of part of message, appearing automatic... moreUnwanted striking-though of part of message, appearing automatically when I press Send: reason and how to remove it, please? (Tried "Help" but that's all artificial FAQs, so no help!)
A review on the radio this morning, of the day's papers, touched... moreA review on the radio this morning, of the day's papers, touched on the tale of a woman who smashed her children's iPhones, with the result that their family became much happier, more cohesive and communicative.It also produced two other, conflicting third-party results; one promoting wanton waste, both sharing a theme of utter childishness and stupidity. One of these results was a (sadly predictable?) barrage of insults and abuse on social media. The other was confessions of similar actions, with some owners admitting to throwing their instruments under vehicle wheels (did they clear up the mess?) or into canals (more litter - a few prosecutions would not come amiss).By all means get rid of the device you felt apparently necessary to own in the first place, but wouldn't it far more constructive to sell it, or at least give it away, than wantonly destroy a costly, perfectly serviceable, instrument someone else could use, and perhaps use rather more sensibly?For the record, I have a basic port... less
Generally I ignore the side-bar ads though I know they pay ... moreGenerally I ignore the side-bar ads though I know they pay for the site. However I couldn't let this go without comment.It was a list of assorted suggested uses for the well-known water-repellent, WD-40, shown by its Material Safety Data Sheet to be a mineral-oil based mixture.As wells as the ingenious and the blindingly obvious ideas, the advertising feature suggested using it as an adjunct to toilet cleaners, and for cleaning shower-heads. In other words, squirt mineral-oils down the drain, despite consistent, highly publicised warnings not to do so at all from chemical manufacturers, regulatory bodies and water companies!Come on AnswerMug, get that nonsense off the site and advise WD-40's manufacturers that some ignorant advertising company is promulgating a highly irresponsible (and in some countries possibly illegal) misuse of their chemicals. less
Such as portable telephones? Bounced into buying a brand new por... moreSuch as portable telephones? Bounced into buying a brand new portable telephone - I need only to make voice calls and text messages, and then briefly and infrequently; I am not one of those teenage girls who spend all day acquiring RSI by tap-tap-tappety-tap on little blocks of plastic. Nor do I believe in walking round supermarkets and into pedestrians by concentrating on shouting at a block of plastic glued to the ear. - I ended up with a nightmarish contraption, an LG something-or-other: the model label is inside, found only by taking the back off and removing the battery.Its text feature is better than the old multi-letter press-buttons, but that's about it....It took me a while to find instructions (see above on identifying it, as I'd lost the packaging), but these revealed the telephone aspect is only peripheral. LG lists it as an application rather than main function.It's also bulky, so less portable than the previous generation, at about twice the area; and surpri... less
I quote from an item on the BT Internet's news service:"Accordin... moreI quote from an item on the BT Internet's news service:"According to NetMarketShare, Windows 7 remains the most popular operating system on PC, with 44.81% of the market share in February 2018. WIndows 10 is slowly increasing but still comes in second with 28.19%. "I do not question the statistics, but does anyone else see the flaw? You will if you are not so taken in by advertising blurb that you fail to realise what is carefully concealed.
A typical board track-game has a single, rigid route of numbered... moreA typical board track-game has a single, rigid route of numbered squares, controlled by die throws, with certain actions given in some squares - e.g. "Snakes & Ladders". One track from start to end even if you must return somewhere, miss a turn or advance N squares, etc. as ordained when landing on those given pointsNow set the game on THREE separate, identically-sized, rectangular boards of 3:2 proportions; EACH marked off into 6 squares by a longitudinal centre-line and two cross-lines at thirds length. Label the boards (for this question on the game's geometry) A, B and C. Label each meeting-point of line and edge, 1 - 6, consistently on all 3 boards so every "port" is unique, A1 to C6.Do that with the individual board in landscape mode; 1 on the left-hand end, number clockwise so the RH end is 4, round to 6 at bottom left. All 3 boards the same apart from identity-letter. The track is drawn on these lines such that when one board is set against the othe... less
I've known MS operating systems since Microsoft-DOS (Disc ... moreI've known MS operating systems since Microsoft-DOS (Disc Operating System) days: I've used DOS, 3.1, 5, NT, XP (I think MS' best), now 7, and have had an unfortunate brush with 10.Also used briefly, a SUN computer giving a half-way house between command-line and windows (not "Windows TM") screens; and my first PC was an Amstrad with CP/M O.S. BTW the windows "graphical user interface" as it was pretentiously called, was IBM's invention, not µSoft's Has MS lost its way with WIN-10 though? -- The home-page of my ISP, BTInternet, always has links to sets of instructions to deal with all sorts of obviously common WIN-10 problems that should be minimal or non-existent if the system was designed, written and tested properly before publication. -- A correspondent on another forum tells me his computer often freezes with the floods of WIN-10 automatic "up-dates" over which the user has no control - to be fair he also said the Internet speed is ver... less
Unless of course you want to buy something!However... Unless&nbs... moreUnless of course you want to buy something!However... Unless the company is Hewlett-Packard and you want to buy their printer cartridges because the blighters have programmed their printers to reject refills and third-party ones. I've tried their sales web-site - it does not work.Definitely though if the printer has suddenly decided to crop randomly, images put into documents; and you'd like the manufacturers' help in putting it right. (This is what inspired me here - I found the HP Printer sites b++++y useless and very patronising, so marked its customer-satisfaction questions one-star only and told 'em so in the 'Comments' box.)Definitely if you wish to solve a service problem with an ISP (BT in my case).Or need help with specialist software that does work, but you can't understand how to use particular features because the officially-written pdf manual doesn't tell you, and the supposed training CD contains curious errors that result in you deleting the exercise it's had yo... less
As a club committee-member preparing for the AGM I took every ca... moreAs a club committee-member preparing for the AGM I took every care to save my Report as a Word document (.doc) so the Secretary and others can collate it with other Officers' Reports. So what did M-Soft do? Only converted it automatically to a b++++y docx image! I can't even edit it, if I wanted to, on my own PC because it's now read-only and in only WordPad. It took me ages to find it because Windows had saved it as a so-called "down-load" even though on the originating PC, and not in my chosen directory and folder. If I want to convert a docx file to a doc format for further editing or collating, I'd have to pay an expensive subscription to Adobe for the converter - I don't trust Adobe anyway because its Flashplayer for a start, never loads properly. Over £30 a month I think, for something I'd need only a few times a year. This was never previously necessary - saved files stayed as you chose, in the folder you chose. It's a scam! less
Answering another question just now, I scrolled down to the ramm... moreAnswering another question just now, I scrolled down to the rammel that infests the bottom of the screen below the AnswerMug window. Among the usual collection of insignificant rhubarb necessary only to fund AM, was this gem I quote as accurately as I can. Below a portrait of a smiling, attractive woman was the caption: "Top Ten Dating Sites In Abbotsbury"Abbotsbury is a village in West Dorset (England), famous for its Swannery; but whether it is the dating capital of Britain, I cannot say.Who the Hell designs these advertisements? less
I'd not heard Breitbart (sounds German) until a guest on today's... moreI'd not heard Breitbart (sounds German) until a guest on today's BBC Radio 3's Private Passions briefly mentioned being viciously attacked by this "outfit" he called it, after he had given a lecture by invitation on the International Law aspects of climate-change, to the UK's Supreme Court.Our Supreme Court is the UK's top appeals court. It is not the same as the US one although misleadingly copying the name, and until recently was The Law Lords, judges also sitting in an advisory capacity in the House of Lords, but separated fairly recently for clearer separation between Parliament and Judiciary. Cases that reach that high, beyond Appeal Court level, may well test the Statute Law as well as the facts of the individual case. Further of course, these lawyers may have to advise Parliament on international law: the UK is a signatory to and active in, an enormous number and range of treaties, organisations and agreements. The guest was the British barrister Philippe Sands, a leading expert o... less
I need to establish if one particular UK agent for a particular ... moreI need to establish if one particular UK agent for a particular software company, is still trading.I tried to e-post to him a simple sales question, but it bounced, and I can't determine if that means the address no longer exists.I need only to ask the software firm itself two basic questions: "Is ...... still one of your UK agents; if so is the e-post address I'd used, current?"You'd think they be pleased to help what might mean another sale, but no... Customers do not matter to the IT trade beyond the purchases. After that you're on your own and if you have problems with the quality of the goods or services, or you need technical advice ... tough.I have tried the publisher's own web-site but it carries no contact details whatsoever. Lots of product ads; but no phone number, no e-mail address, no postal address. Instead, as with so many other IT and telecomms firms, it fobs you off with a list of set technical questions and a supposed "users' forum" (these admit... less
I've had problems with e-posted 'Word' and 'Excel' files being c... moreI've had problems with e-posted 'Word' and 'Excel' files being converted to a strange default file-type signified by an 'x' after the normal suffix. These are locked, un-useable images.I need occasionally to collate reports etc to help me at a club's committee meetings. These arrive as e-post attachments from different people so in a mixture of styles, software editions and files, but I want to put them in one neat style in one document I can print and archive properly. Today I tried to save two, both .pdf files so images unreliable to print, and difficult or impossible to edit, place in or render compatible with, proper documents.However, whatever handles pdf files offers saving them in several other forms including ".doc", even offering British rather than US English, though that would not have mattered there. Only, the "Convert" button merely opens a sales page expecting me to pay £££/month to subscribe to an outfit called Adobe for what should be a basic MS-"Wi... less
Come on someone, put me out of my misery! Well, all right, ... moreCome on someone, put me out of my misery! Well, all right, it's not that dramatic and certainly not serious. I'm just intrigued, in a totally light-hearted way.So:What on Earth is that Sandra & Woo cartoon at the head of the page about?We see a young woman who, to use the correct, modern Claire in the Community lingo, seems to suffer from Acute Species Dysphoria; and her boyfriend, a nut-cake addict who believes he can cast magic spells with ordinary cutlery. I hope the so-called "religious right" don't get him - you know, the supposedly-grown-ups who had severe attacks of the vapours over the children's Harry Potter stories. Go on - I don't get the joke! Does it refer to an American children's game or something?:-)))PS: Claire in the Community: a BBC Radio Four situation-comedy that started as, and still is, a newspaper cartoon strip, about a team of urban social-workers and their own personal problems, sorry, "issues". Claire is the team-leader who prissily spouts all the rig... less
Like many sites this is partly supported by companies placing ad... moreLike many sites this is partly supported by companies placing advertisements in the margins of the Home and other pages. Some are eerily local to you as user: one waffles about " Opticians... " apparently threatened by some technical development in their trade. I saw one regularly on EP, telling me things like "Sarah lives four miles from you" - it was a lie of course, but it opened a dating-site that showed it knew roughly I live, within perhaps 50 miles anyway. The advertising-agencies use your approximate location bought or gleaned from the web-site. One though, advertised a "Simple trick to see if you've ever had PPI" (Payment Protection Insurance, usually for mortgages.) I know I do not, and when I did I was not a victim of a miss-selling racket the banks ran for a while, but I selected it out of curiosity. My security software 'Bulldog' promptly leapt up, snarled at it as dangerous, and blocked it.Possibly, Bulldog is very wary of anything mentioning money on non-https web-sites ev... less
What's happened to the location in the profiles? The profile for... moreWhat's happened to the location in the profiles? The profile form asks for it but it no longer appears on the public information part. Or have I missed something?
E-posted notifications. These used to have direct links to AM - ... moreE-posted notifications. These used to have direct links to AM - you still had to sign in but at least the links worked. They no longer work. The most recent was from Just Asking, and reads "Click here to reply / profile / 145." It is not a link, and I have not been able to find the message on Am itself.The message does not tell me how to find "/profile/145". It does not tell me whose profile. Why have those links been cut and why do notifications still carry an instruction to use them?Member IndexThe list is and always was purely random by default, but offered Aphabetical and Recent sorting options. You could find individuals on the Membership list by choosing "Alphabetical", estimating which page number carrying the name, then homing in from there by the page-number arrows. Why have these index options been removed?
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I can't see him banning energy-saving bulbs, just not encouragin... moreI can't see him banning energy-saving bulbs, just not encouraging them.I think I know his motive - he thinks America can be "great again" if only it can restore the industries it has lost and the employment they needed. He has a point - Britain too, has lost an enormous amount of heavy industry - and he also wants votes and promises like that help him. Unfortunately he thinks that's possible whatever the cost, and does not care about the cost. It's obviously not occurred to him that you can have manufacturing industry, but without harming the environment, but the regulations necessary for that are complicated and far-reaching, and add to the companies' overheads.He may not be aware too that modern industry does not need anything like the numbers of employees, thanks to mechanical aids and automation. For example, a modern precision-engineering company making components for, say car or 'plane builders, can turn out in a week many more parts with significantly fewer staff than was pos... less
This post was edited by Durdle at September 16, 2019 3:33 AM MDT
Conscripts or not, the death sentence, for mutiny if not in... moreConscripts or not, the death sentence, for mutiny if not insubordination, may apply in some countries, but I think in most it would have to be an extremely serious offence to merit worse than being court-martialled, imprisoned then given a dishonourable discharge. Although a lot of soldiers were shot for alleged "cowardice" in WW1, I doubt very much if that would be at all legal now - more likely the senior officer responsible would be on trial for murder.
The commercial sale of incandescent lamps, except for a few cert... moreThe commercial sale of incandescent lamps, except for a few certain types, has been banned in the UK (and I think the EU generally) for some years now. It's not illegal still to use them if you had bought them while still available, but in time those will all disappear.The first replacements were "energy-saving" lamps that are miniature flourescents, bringing their own problem of disposal because the fluorescent coating inside, is poisonous. (A filament lamp's materials are non-toxic for all practical purposes - and salvageable - being just metal and glass.)These are being supplanted by l.e.d. units that have a long life, draw very low current for equivalent light output ... but their materials include fairly scarce elements difficult to find and finite.When it comes to "going green", nothing is as simple as it seems!++++I attended a public lecture a few days ago, on aspects of sustainable power sources, by a professor whose Bournemouth University team is developing efficiency impro... less
Having had both knees replaced, thanks to arthritis...I don't kn... moreHaving had both knees replaced, thanks to arthritis...I don't know if there is a genuine medical difference between a "disease" and a "condition": both are parts of the body going wrong for some reason. It could be the word "disease" is used more for illnesses with directly external causes like bacteria, poisons or radiation; while a "condition" is something the body has gone and done all by itself.Either way, I can assure you it was a disease to me!
Or, My Way, perhaps: as egotistical as it's semi-literate. And a... moreOr, My Way, perhaps: as egotistical as it's semi-literate. And a hit for a singer alleged to have had rather murky associates.
What advantage was there to Trump in this?I'm puzzled - I don't ... moreWhat advantage was there to Trump in this?I'm puzzled - I don't understand what he was trying to do or prove. The name 'Alabama' crops up in this, but was the State genuinely in the direct path of the worst of the storm or was Trump trying to claim that, for some reason I can't see?
Interesting point. Don't forget my knowledge of America' interna... moreInteresting point. Don't forget my knowledge of America' internal politics and society is limited, but I am aware it is very unequal, divisive and divided. I don't "hate" people out of hand for holding unpleasant views I do not share at all, unless I know their own motives. For I cannot judge unknown individuals but believe most of them hold such poisonous views out of genuine ignorance, peer-pressure and personal background, rather than deliberate choice to be nasty individuals. However, I have no time for racism and general, divisive hatred in a political cause anyway. Ignorance and the negative communal attitudes it spawns are bad enough, buts even worse when ignorance cannot be an excuse. Such as when peddled by a leader apparently unable to grasp he is even seen abroad as a fool and a liar, and who should know better than gather support by stoking up old resentments and scapegoating among his fellow-citizens.Happy Saturday to you too! less
Thank you Rosie!We care for all those Americans who are simply t... moreThank you Rosie!We care for all those Americans who are simply trying to get on with life despite whoever's in charge. I think the BBC report did admit, via an interview with an American, that President Trump hates being contradicted. I didn't catch the interviewee's name and role though; probably a journalist or political analyst.Does Trump still have much real support from those who voted for him? (I know he won the election by a quirk of arithmetic and procedure, and that Putin's lot interfered with the campaigning.) less
This incident puzzled me!It was reported on the BBC Radio Four n... moreThis incident puzzled me!It was reported on the BBC Radio Four news-programme the other day, as Trump himself altering a weather map. Though I'm still none the wiser why he would demonstrate he thinks a golf-course builder knows better than professional meteorologists how to predict hurricane courses, though the report did show he has little respect for scientists.On the face of it, the action is so weird it's just laughable, and indeed the presenter could not help losing his professional composure and bursting out laughing. less
I think many would set aside political differences, because atta... moreI think many would set aside political differences, because attacks like that kill and injure innocent people who are simply carrying on their normal work or other aspects of life.It's your President and his Government, not Americans generally, who have upset so many people around the world.
I don't think he intends to weaken America. I think he is simply... moreI don't think he intends to weaken America. I think he is simply too naïve and clumsy to realise what the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China are doing for their own ends. It is they - and other anti-Western interests - who want the USA to be weak, and Trump is inept enough to help them without seeing it. He probably thinks Putin saw him as a genuine ally, though I am not sure why that would be in either party's interests. Possibly, the Russians thought Trump's campaign pledges on reviving dying industries, would bring a strong trading partner, bearing in mind no-one before the election is likely to have foreseen just how incompetent he would be on international affairs. Further, they, or at least Putin and his supporters, probably also saw in Trump the sort of strong-minded, hard-Right, hard-capitalist, nationalist they respect. Alternatively, they had analysed the respective Parties' candidates and policies and when picking whic... less
Thank you Rosie. I have not seen him since May, while I recover ... moreThank you Rosie. I have not seen him since May, while I recover from a knee replacement, but I had the impression on my last few visits he was struggling to remember me. His brother and sister-in-law took him out to an event nearby one day, but he'd forgotten only three days later when his wife asked him about it.He used to greet with a smile but now his expression is more often a strange, haunted look. His wife says she sees the same thing.Dementia (not senility) is like any disease in that developing it is very much a matter of chance, though it is more likely in old age. Sometimes you hear people talking about it becoming more common, but if so that reflects both rising population anyway, and living beyond or protected from illnesses that in the past would have been terminal or would have encouraged fatal complications like pneumonia. less
An intriguing idea, tuning a 2+only nominal 2 into a 1+possibly ... moreAn intriguing idea, tuning a 2+only nominal 2 into a 1+possibly 2, but the text makes it clear that is was a "special", a custom-car built for an individual, not a production vehicle.Otherwise, motor- bi- and tri- cycles and racing-cars apart, the only production vehicles with central driving positions are agricultural, earth-moving and other industrial machines that are driver-only, without passenger seats; and may have reasons connected with their functions for that configuration. I can think of only one production-car that was the exception to this; the 1+1 Messerschmidt 3-wheeler of the 1940s-50, and with an appearance that that gave rise to the myth that its upper bodywork was basically the upper half of the WW2, Me109 fighter-plane cockpit!However, the principle of central steering is not at all new! Most of the very earliest steam- or i.c.- powered, road vehicles were centrally steered, many with a tiller rather than steering-wheel; but these were individual or made only in v... less
One evening I rescued two toads in blissful union, from a very d... moreOne evening I rescued two toads in blissful union, from a very dangerous spot, the side of the street.I kept them overnight in the kitchen sink, with an inch of water and a sponge "island", then transported them in a suitable box to work, to release in a pond in the grounds. Once safely on the leaf-litter at the water's edge they sat still for a few moments, then suddenly turned and swam down into the peaty depths.As far as I could ascertain, they remained coupled throughout! Evidently, amorous amphibians don't like to rush things. less
Oh and by the way (sorry- meant it as footnote to previous)... "... moreOh and by the way (sorry- meant it as footnote to previous)... " senile" simply means "old", not "foolish" or anything like that!
It's the European Commission, not "England", who made that ... moreIt's the European Commission, not "England", who made that law. Or more accurately, The EU created the Directive that EU countries have to re-write to fit their own legal systems, supposedly without altering the basic purpose, meaning and sense. Some Directives do reflect international rules or treaties more widely (and the UK is a member or signatory of over 90 international bodies and treaties, outside of the EU). Some are "gold-plated" by national governments, including the UK's at ministerial level, rather than being implemented in their basic forms; hence becoming foolishly and impracticably dictatorial. One reason so many hold the EU in such contempt is its freedom for bureaucrats to invent silly rules, or to gold-plate basically good, simple ones into stupidity. Yes, that ruling on fish is foolish: made with the best intentions but out of ignorance. The Directives are made in an unstoppable flood by the EU's Commissioners (some failed ex-politicians, but The EC is ... less
Really, no-one "wins" a trade war. Simply, one side is less... moreReally, no-one "wins" a trade war. Simply, one side is less harmed than the other.I doubt anyone now can beat China at its own game.
Hmmm. I have had the very occasional flash of seeing a familiar ... moreHmmm. I have had the very occasional flash of seeing a familiar location as if anew, but I wonder if that might simply be a matter of familiarity tending to make you miss details over time, and the brain refreshing its memory. I used to make a regular weekend journey whose 60-mile return on a late Sunday evening was mainly 20 miles of open countryside, a fairly large town, then another rural 20 miles. One Winter night I arrived home from the 60-mile night drive, and thought, "I don't remember driving through Yeovil" - the town in the middle, with a brightly-lit main road through it. I realised habit had made me drive on a sort of auto-pilot, and fearing this meant I was not concentrating, I frequently varied my route thereafter. In fact I had probably had been concentrating knowingly on the driving, but only subconsciously on the locations.'''' Strictly speaking "senile" means simply "old" - same root as "senior", and opposite to "juvenile"; but I do have a friend whose Alzheimer's or s... less
I don't know the location (and Scotland covers a large mainland ... moreI don't know the location (and Scotland covers a large mainland area and many islands) but whatever the airfield, I am not clear how the diversion to buy more expensive fuel benefits Trump. Don't get me wrong, I believe you, but I don't know the commercial background here. Does he have direct business links or large share holdings with the fuel manufacturer or seller concerned?
I understand what you mean by a murderer being "insane", and tha... moreI understand what you mean by a murderer being "insane", and that may well be so in a clinical sense for many; but a lot of unlawful single killings are by someone known to the victim and who suddenly loses control for some reason. that does not excuse the crime but the reason may form a legal defence.The gratuitous massacres are another matter. If the killer is insane it's not a madness defined by such things as extremely low IQ, because such crimes often require a fair degree of intelligence and cold planning. Rather, it's some sort of personality disorder.The Founding Fathers could not possibly have foreseen what happened a couple of centuries later, but I think they would have been horrified to think that arms "right", which had particular reasons in its own time and in the days of inaccurate, short-range, single-shot guns, could go so out of control.As well as laws against driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, UK law also has a charge of "causing death by d... less
At least we know the depths of an iceberg (9 times the average&n... moreAt least we know the depths of an iceberg (9 times the average height visible above the water) or that of the Marianas Trench... There is something odd about that refuelling report though.I understand "gas" to be American for petrol, as used in cars. Most modern air-force planes are jets though, burning refined kerosene (called 'paraffin' in the UK); and many filling-stations in the UK do stock paraffin but not in large amounts as its civilian uses and volumes are small. Further, they normally sell it in 5-litre (roughly 1 gallon) plastic containers, not aviation amounts; and such garages are for refuelling cars so do not have runways!The aeroplanes concerned may have been small, petrol-fuelled piston-engine ones perhaps used normally for training or short flights for officers between air-force bases... but still needing runways.I think the refuelling station was not a "tiny gas station" but something else entirely: a small but proper air-field. Or it is tha... less
Someone on another site told me recently there have been more th... moreSomeone on another site told me recently there have been more than 250 such incidents in the USA this year alone - but he did not define "mass" or say if they are all gratuitous slaughter of innocent victims, or if he included the drugs-gang warfare he'd told me also entails a very large number of shootings.Such massacres of random, innocent victims seem an almost uniquely American phenomenon. Discounting "terrorist" (politically-motivated) attacks, they are very rare indeed in almost all other developed countries put together. By "terrorist" I mean overtly nationalist or other political, religious or racial extremist motives.Since most of the gratuitous, lone gun-men have shot themselves or been shot dead at the scene, so not caught alive and tried in Court, we can never really know the real motives, but only guess. Most seem some sort of personal grudge-settling. Dismissing the shooter as "mentally ill" even before the police have had time to investigate his background i... less
Yes, if thinking about personally non-emotional matters - d... moreYes, if thinking about personally non-emotional matters - day-to-day practicalities and problem-solving, academic or philosophical matters, and the like.If the subject arouses strong emotions then it's harder to control ones' thoughts about it, or to think objectively and analytically.
Returning to the original question itself rather than allegation... moreReturning to the original question itself rather than allegations about private lives and opinions....Might Trump believe emissions laws like those of California undermine his weakening of the EPA and his election-campaign desire to revive the coal and steel industries apparently without applying corresponding environmental laws to them?
When I was young I wanted to be either a Scientist or an Enginee... moreWhen I was young I wanted to be either a Scientist or an Engineer. I was inspired by my Dad, a Chartered Electrical Engineer who worked in that capacity as a scientist, but for the Ministry of Defence so I don't know what he actually did! Also to some extent by an uncle employed by the railway research & development laboratory owned by the then-British Railways; though again I don't know what sort of work he did. Unfortunately both science, especially physics, and engineering are both deeply mathematical, and mathematics is one of my weakest subjects.So I ended up working in various engineering trades at a semi-skilled, shop-floor level; and now enjoy science at a lay level, understanding its effects but not the deeper principles, and engineering as a creative craft hobby. less
That would require a car to be either a very roomy 3-seats wide&... moreThat would require a car to be either a very roomy 3-seats wide or the driver being the only front-seat occupant. The former would make cars even wider than they have become; the latter would necessitate them being significantly longer for the same passenger and luggage capacity.Also, the driver being at the side of the vehicle allowed hand-signals, though I don't know if anyone uses these now, relying entirely on the turn-indicator lamps. 'Difficult to see how cars are developing. We've seen cars become more and more compact, not least for fuel efficiency (less mass to accelerate and keep moving) but also needing less garage, parking and road space. Yet larger saloon and estate cars have become wider, sometimes by using extended wheel-arches while giving with little extra interior room further cramped by exaggerated tapering upwards of the sides - to the extent many cannot be kept in domestic garages, and they create problems in public car-parks. (Particularly when their drivers ca... less
I don't play billiards or snooker, though I've occasionally play... moreI don't play billiards or snooker, though I've occasionally played pool, but they are different games.Pool is an American game derived from billiards (an English invention) and snooker, but played on a small table.Snooker and billiards use a much larger table, but it does not have the "posts" My2cents mentions. Snooker and Pool use full ball sets; Billiards uses only three balls. Snooker is played at professional league level, televised and all; but you hear much less about billiards, for some reason.There is or was a pub game called Bar Billiards, which is related. Once popular in Southern England, it comes from France and Belgian but is of Russian ancestry. Judging by photos of a bar billiards set, its smaller-size table does have "posts", or more accurately small mushroom-shaped wooden pins. I don't know how their purpose, or how the game is played, though. less
Passion, not profession (I am retired now but worked at modest l... morePassion, not profession (I am retired now but worked at modest levels in various factories!). Or more accurately, I have a general interest in the natural sciences.
Thankyou JustAsking.It happened on two replies on Rosie's Corner... moreThankyou JustAsking.It happened on two replies on Rosie's Corner. I had typed the reply and the effect appeared when I selected "Post Reply". I have not seen it happen anywhere else. I did wonder if I had mis-typed something and inadvertently operated a key combination that activates the command, but if so I would expect to be able to remove it by selecting the affected text and cycling the Strike-through button as you suggest.It might affect only my end of the correspondence, too. I use a conventional PC, with WIN 7 Pro.I don't know the underlying browser's type or identity, behind my ISP's home page and e-mail service (BTInternet). less
It appears on the text of answers I contribute here, when I ... moreIt appears on the text of answers I contribute here, when I select "Post Reply", but it is intermittent, not on all messages, and it's entirely possible it affects only my end of the system.
Good point - and without fire manufacturing most of those o... moreGood point - and without fire manufacturing most of those objects would not be possible.
Thank you!Heat is a form of energy. Temperature is the intensity... moreThank you!Heat is a form of energy. Temperature is the intensity but not amount, of that energy at any given point.The climate is driven ultimately by heat from the Sun, so the greater the amount of heat, the higher the temperature and the more intense the weather. Latitude's effect is to give a higher thickness of air for the heat to penetrate, with higher latitudes; and the atmosphere absorbs and scatters the energy, and reflects a good deal of it back into Space. So the higher the latitude the less heat reaches the ground and sea surface. The warmer-latitude seas store an enormous amount of heat in their upper layers, moving it around in huge circulations; and evaporating a lot of water. The colder high-latitude seas can absorb a lot of heat, cooling the air above them and giving up less water vapour. These effects give weather extremes in tropical and polar regions, and blend to give more moderate weather in the temperate latitudes. The land too, absor... less
Unwanted striking-though of part of message, appearing automatic... moreUnwanted striking-though of part of message, appearing automatically when I press Send: reason and how to remove it, please? (Tried "Help" but that's all artificial FAQs, so no help!)
Provided it was well out of my own earshot:Frank Sinatra's My Wa... moreProvided it was well out of my own earshot:Frank Sinatra's My Way or Come Fly With Me. (Apart from the former song's wilful illiteracy and egotism, I regard Sinatra as the most hyped but least able, singer of his era and style. Though they had no and needed no pitch-correctors in their studios, and he was generally in pitch and time, he sort of spoke rather than sang the words.)Any one song from the films The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins.Any rap / drum-&-bass / similar track.The Jackson's Long-haired Lover From Liverpool, (or indeed anything by the Jackson(s) (Five) or Osmonds together or individually, or Prince).Any American Christmas-commerce hit, dripping with insincerity, unoriginality and pseudo-sentimentality, like Dreaming of a White Christmas or "Sanna" Clause Is Coming To Town.'This is an obscure one: If my victim is Donald John Trump, perhaps After The Flood, on Van der Graff Generator's 1970 album "The Least We Can Do is Wave To Each Other". I like their music but it is... less
This post was edited by Just Asking at September 6, 2019 2:40 AM MDT
Thank you! Sorry - I missed the second question, why anyone choo... moreThank you! Sorry - I missed the second question, why anyone chooses to live in naturally-hazardous areas. I don't know if anyone can answer that, though some such regions offer advantages that must outweigh the risks. It's possible that the same hazards had less serious outcomes in the past, due to the way the residents lived. In some places now, the risks and effects of natural hazards have been greatly increased by such intervention as removing mangrove swamps to build tourist developments. One specific example I found is that of Louisiana, slowly sinking thanks to a combination of ground-water, oil and gas extraction and ironically, by loss of natural sediment deposition by the Mississippi's floods having been contained by dams and artificial levees designed to protect the area's towns from those floods. The figure I read was about 9mm/year, compounded by 3mm/yr sea-level rise, so an effective loss of altitude of 12mm (nearly half an inch) a year. The river is only trying to... less
I agree with the premise of your question - remove the rules and... moreI agree with the premise of your question - remove the rules and you invite environmental damage - but I am a foreigner and do not know the entire background to the USA's internal affairs, so I try to be at least fair to your country's president and certainly its political system.That does not mean I agree with Trump. Nor do I think he is at all competent but I do recognise he has or had a lot of electoral support. Whether he still has that support I do not know; but I think many of those supporters have or had the same ignorance of, and disdain for, science and the environment as he has. Especially in regions impoverished by losing their main industries. If someone promises to restore them, it would be only natural if former employees put their own and family's present needs first and support him, come what may. In any political or social controversy, irrespective of location and my views, I try to step back from the immediate and "obvious", and... less
This post was edited by Durdle at September 4, 2019 6:01 AM MDT
Not so much "inventions" as three "discoveries" or "developments... moreNot so much "inventions" as three "discoveries" or "developments.1) That of producing metals from their ores, and working those metals. Particularly Iron, which requires coke derived from coal for its smelting; and much later, Steel from that iron.Iron and its alloys (the steels) permeate EVERYTHING else we have or use in life including whatever you are reading this on, even if those metals are not directly present.2) The Wheel - and think far beyond the obvious wheels on vehicles etc., to such fields as rotating machinery.3) Mathematics - like iron, also utterly ubiquitous and essential to utilising both of the above.Without those three we'd be unable to ponder it here. We would still be living in the Neolithic. less
I can see the sense in the curfew (part of protecting against lo... moreI can see the sense in the curfew (part of protecting against looting as well as not wanting anyone out in physically dangerous areas after dark), and in staying sober, but I've often wondered where all the evacuees do go in such emergencies. Do the authorities find as many buses as possible, to help move as many people as possible to safety?I'd have thought not just inland but also to the side of the storm's predicted path, but I don't know how far inland a hurricane typically travels before becoming exhausted. less
Not "alleys" but suitable areas of the world. Hurricanes and des... moreNot "alleys" but suitable areas of the world. Hurricanes and destructive cyclones (tornadoes) are tropical storms. Hurricanes need large expanses of warm oceans to feed them, but those affecting the Caribbean and the S.E. coast of America originate over the Sahara Desert and grow into hurricanes as they move Westwards across the Atlantic. Similarly, the other disasters My2cents mentions are not fussy about nationality. They are physical-geography processes. The most violent earthquakes are those associated with specific plate-tectonics processes; with the Pacific and Mediterranean coasts being the most active. (The tsunami and violently explosive volcanic eruptions in the same regions are also results of the same processes.)Forest, heath and grass fires can occur almost anywhere, giving sufficiently dry weather, in tropical or temperate latitudes. Mud slides, and land-slips generally, are a natural part of the erosion of hills and of river and coastal cliffs, although they can occur following... less
Hello Rosie - I'd not left but was away!I had realised you ask c... moreHello Rosie - I'd not left but was away!I had realised you ask compound questions!President Trump has a reputation for being anti-science , rather ironically given his use of the Internet, but I think it would be more accurate to say he has a very poor understanding of science coupled with disdain for anything not supporting his political views and motives.
Ah, now. .President Truman's bid. This morning, the BBC Radio 4 ... moreAh, now. .President Truman's bid. This morning, the BBC Radio 4 current-affairs programme Today interviewed a leading American - I think the present or former US Ambassador to Denmark but certainly an authority on such matters - about that.He explained why you cannot compare the situations. Truman's government had a strategic reason. This pre-dated NATO and President Truman wanted tighter Western control of the Arctic as the Cold War started to develop. Since Denmark including Greenland became a NATO member, that territorial need by the USA no longer exists. less
Rosie, you are asking two separate questions there!Environmental... moreRosie, you are asking two separate questions there!Environmental protection laws are established for very good reasons, and even the People's Republic of China has recognised the problems its massive industrial developments have caused, and is now working hard to put that right.There is a point many people may not realise. Forget trade agreements or wars, tariffs, etc. A lot of nations and blocs like the EU have long imposed certain minimum standards equally on both internally made and imported goods, to ensure at least equivalence to the importing nation's. These are mainly for safety and quality (often linked). In the EU, the outwards sign is the "CE" mark on a product, and sometimes a leaflet listing the relevant detail standards. The US equivalent is the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) but whatever happens, the exported goods must meet the importers' legal specifications. More recently though, standards have started to spread possibly to employment-protection and certainly t... less
This post was edited by Durdle at August 21, 2019 4:17 AM MDT
There must have been a definite reason for it - apart from the o... moreThere must have been a definite reason for it - apart from the obvious that people living in very remote countryside at the time probably had to hunt wild animals to supplement their diet.What was that reason? Was it to allow raising militias before the fledgling nation could establish a properly-equipped and trained, professional Army? It was also in the days of crude pistols and muskets of modest accuracy and low range; not high-power hand-guns and long-range, magazine-fed, assault-pattern rifles. It sort of echoes a Mediaeval English law, from well before fire-arms, that required all able-bodied men to be able to use long-bows. The primary difference is that once the need for such private armaments faded away in Britain as more regular armies and guns started to develop, the law too eventually disappeared. As far as I know it was not transferred to gun ownership, and though originally an obligation but later simply tolerated, owing any weapon of war never became some sort of auto... less
Any TV series loosely described as a "soap opera". Or so-called ... moreAny TV series loosely described as a "soap opera". Or so-called "reality". They reflect real, reality?I was rather surprised though, by chance seeing a sub-titled instalment of Brookside on a cafeteria TV... in Norway.
Soldier Blue.In fact I could not watch most of the gory massacre... moreSoldier Blue.In fact I could not watch most of the gory massacre, which was based on an only too real incident even though the film's central story - which I seem to recall was a romance between a native American woman and a US Cavalry man - was fictional.Another scene I found very disturbing the first time I heard it on the radio, is not from a film but an opera - Dialogues des Carmélites , by Francis Poulenc. Written in 1956, its central character is a girl who to the distress of her parents, joins a small Carmelite convent at the time of the French Revolution and the ensuing 'Reign of Terror'. The finale has the dozen nuns evicted from their retreat by the Revolutionary thugs, and one by one led off-stage to be guillotined, each marked by a loud, off-beat crash punctuating the remaining women singing the 'Salve Regina'. Even though my experience of it was purely aural, it made me feel rather queasy. Also angry and baffled at the utter pointlessness and brutality of the murders, beca... less
Ah, yes, I spotted your post about the NRA member saying that.Ch... moreAh, yes, I spotted your post about the NRA member saying that.Christmas... Peace on Earth and Goodwill .... I can't believe anyone would be so stupid as to suggest a powerful rifle is a normal Christmas present for a young girl, but if he was serious and it wasn't his sick humour or deliberate exaggeration to make some point, what a nasty attitude to take.Oh, I am sure you are right about some hunting fathers taking their children along as soon as old enough to hold a gun - but not skilled enough to kill an animal that didn't need killing anyway, cleanly with a single round.I was tempted to look at the NRA's web-site to see what they have to say for themselves publicly but realised I'd either start receiving unwanted ads for rifles, my computer settings would block it or some Internet server filter would flag me up to General Communications Head-Quarters (part of the UK's security services, concerned with tracking cyber-crime and terrorism)! less
Oh, I agree it's not right; but it's also really weird. Especial... moreOh, I agree it's not right; but it's also really weird. Especially if this rally would have taken people out of work for the day.
If it's any comfort, Shell might try that on but it does not own... moreIf it's any comfort, Shell might try that on but it does not own its employees' minds.By the way, was this in normal working time or on a weekend when the staff would normally be at home unless on necessary process-shift work?
Two nations divided by a common language but also very UN-common... moreTwo nations divided by a common language but also very UN-common attitudes to guns, eh?I've no children of my own but none of our family have ever owned so much as a paint-ball gun. Nor do I know anyone else who does.Racking my brains I cannot think at all of any of the many people I have known over the years who could answer "yes" to that question, with the possible exception of a work colleague who was a clay-pigeon enthusiast.Not long ago the British Police Forces held another guns amnesty. My own county's force had a couple of dozen weapons handed in for destruction, mainly sporting or pest-control weapons no longer wanted. Some might have been "inherited" by the families of now-deceased owners. less
StrictChristianParenting
Why does correcting have to be by violence? And if that's a quote, no, I don't accept the say-so of unknown Late Bronze Age tribal elders!
September 1, 2016
tate99
Greetings Tate99 from a fellow Briton (S> Dorset) and nudist!
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
July 29, 2016
MistyGoddess
Welcome to AM - and to a goodly number of us interested in spanking whether we advocate or oppose it in reality or think it best kept as a game for consenting adults!
Best Wishes,
Durdle
(also in UK)
July 29, 2016
timothy in London
Thank you for the compliment, Timothys Knickers. I should say I am not a full cross-dresser but like occasionally to wear a nightdress or miniskirt, at home only. Much of the time, if warm enough, I like to be nude or nearly so.
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
May 17, 2016
Capes
Hello Capes.
Welcome to Answer Mug!
Durdle here: 64 nearly, also a Briton (in Dorset), here similarly.
My profile groups list gives you some idea of me but I am happy to chat on many other topics too if they interest me and I feel I know enough about the topic. I will add that despite the implications I don't like the idea of spanking children, especially with any weapon, but feel the traditional spanking has a place for adults, as long as it's consensual!
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
July 30, 2016
VPLUK
I don't even try to look convincing - I don't cross-dress often and than only partly, in the home. liking the feel of the garments. Sometimes sleep in a nightie.
July 29, 2016
Marc
Not so much a comment as a question, Marc. I am uneasy to say the least about spanking children but what of adults feeling they need similar punishments in a therapeutic way?
July 29, 2016
harbourboy
Hi Harbourboy.
Welcome... come on then, elucidate on your specialist subjects!
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
July 30, 2016
Steve Tomms
Hello Steve.
UK too - Dorset in fact. And like to be nude or, occasionally, in panties.
As for human behaviour - yes, I agree it is fascinating... and bewildering at times, frustrating at others, but never the same twice!
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
September 16, 2016
Uncle UK
Welcome to AM, Dominic, as one of the rather few fellow-Britons on here (I live in South of England). I am not sure about the spanking of children, though I've nothing against adults being spanked if they wish, erotically or as therapeutic punishment.
Regards,
Durdle.
September 6, 2016
NudiSuzie
Hello NudieSuzie.
Thankyou - would love to be your friend!
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
August 31, 2016
Tawser22
What's your take on adult, consensual, spanking?
September 9, 2016
RB1954
May I ask, what is your take on adult, consensual spanking, e.g. in a "DD" relationship or as a sort of punitive therapy?
September 9, 2016
harry
Hello Harry.
Greetings from Dorset!
Lubrication by Beer - definitely. Naturism - Oh yes. Spanking - well, I don't support genuine CP but have been fascinated by it since boyhood, and later by the adult-fun variety.
Chatting - I can be chatty!
Best Wishes,
Durdle
July 28, 2016
french_delph
Hello French_Delph.
I don't favour spanking children but if it must be done I think it must be by hand only, and only enough to make the point. Am interested in spanking generally and think it has a place for adults who feel they need a little discipline and punishment.
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
July 30, 2016
fatherfigure
I'm probably of similar age to you then, my fascination with spanking goes back to boyhood but no I don't think the world would be better for beating children! And yet...
Adult, consensual spanking - fine, and it's odd that now I feel I ought receive the occasional, belated spanking, firm hand not weapon, I did not receive and would not have wanted in boyhood, for immature failings I believe originated at that time!
Best Wishes,
Durdle
July 29, 2016
Legion
Hi Legion!
I reckon your Miss Hamilton might have done me some good! (Doubtless others too!)
Cheers,
Durdle
July 30, 2016
Michael
18 and 20. Adults, with the full choice of protection from assault by law.
September 1, 2016
Stonehenge43
Hello Stonehenge.
Welcome! I'm 64 and an ex-EP user but left it when parts of it started to become really sleazy or stupid. My profile gives a fir idea but I'm happy to chat about a wide range of subjects in which I am interested or can give reasonably knowledgeable facts or opinions.
You mention Adultmug. I know what you mean. I ignore the worst, some of which I find unpleasant, but do dip into some of the other threads on it. I'm slightly bi and interested in nudity and adult-consensual spanking, so am not quite a shrinking violet.
I did make one or two penfriendships (e-mail) from EP but they've fizzled out, thanks to losses in house moves, changes of computer and perhaps laziness by me!
How about you? Your interests, music etc?
Best Wishes,
Durdle. (after Durdle Door).
July 30, 2016
Eva amirhom
A sad story, Eva. Yes, you were wrong to do what you did but you have realised that, not everyone in the world will hate you, and I hope you will find forgiveness and happiness.
Durdle.
July 29, 2016
Stonehenge43
I would be very happy to chat about whatever we find of mutual interest, but I can't send a private message unless I add you as a friend first. may I do so, please?
regards,
Durdle
September 9, 2016
sjf47
welcome to AM and its Naturist section!
AM Male, 63 and live in Dorset.
Cheers,
Durdle
July 28, 2016
Pofan1201
That's not "spanking" , that's whipping, and cruel! What effect did it have on you in adult life?
August 14, 2016
Pofan1201
Hi Pofan.
Interesting: many people who admit they were beaten severely as children become adults either wanting to give or receive similar in games between consenting adults, or are turned off spanking and CP entirely.
You evidently became sexually submissive, but were you aroused by either the whipping or the submission at the time or in remembering it later?
Sorry, I'm not quite clear by what you mean as a "switcher" - switching between what?
I appreciate bare bottoms including my own as well, but unfortunately mine has aged with me and is now a bit soft and sagging.
Regards,
Durdle
August 15, 2016
Pofan1201
Thank you very much Pofan. Would love to be friends with you!
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
August 15, 2016
Elshara Silverheart
Thank you for the compliment Elashara. I'm not sure what it means, but please do tell me what in particular influenced you.
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
June 9, 2016
sp4sp4
Hello Sp4sp4. I too was on EP, though I left it well before it folded. "Drawn too deeply." I know the feeling. I think I was tempted too far into some EP fora, so am becoming fairly selective on what I view on here and chosen "stop following" on some already. Is this why you've not listed any groups? You have a point, using private e-mails.
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
September 16, 2016
Stuart
Hi Stuart. Thank you very much for your greetings, and have mine to you!
I oppose real CP but have been interested in spanking since boyhood, and have enjoyed quite a few gentle, erotic, spanking games.
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
September 16, 2016
Aaron
I couldn't agree more about being naked, Aaron!
Joanne1966
Love to be in a night-dress or nude. I like Sharon1717's comment too!
September 9, 2016
Sophronius Pupoid
Thank you very much for your comment! Sophronius.
Yes, my nickname is from Durdle Door. One of my sisters held her wedding-reception at Pennsylvania Castle, well before it reverted to a private house. The new owners have hosted garden fetes there though.
'Moonfleet' was one of our set books at school, and I remember the passage about the two leading characters escaping from Ringstead (I can't remember if that name was used in the book) by using a very steep cliff path. That path, or an equivalent, exists, up White Nothe, some 400 feet high, and someone showed it me a few years ago. I was glad to have climbed it, but I found it frightening and would not care to try it again!
The normal path from the car-park to that area of beach is gentler and not at all exposed.
I suppose I'm nearly local! Our family moved to Weymouth in 1959, when I was 7, when Dad's work was moved.
September 22, 2016
Nudistdad
Hello and Welcome, Nudistdad.
I'm single but not a father (seem to be collecting quite a tribe of first and grand nephews & nieces though!); but like you enjoy being nude around the home. There is a naturist beach not far from me, and I used to visit it fairly often, but I have leg problems now that make the long, steep path to it a bit too much. Can still be undressed at home, as I am now, though!
Best Wishes,
Durdle
August 14, 2016
Donny
I oppose using CP on children - especially the sort of gratuitous violence with assorted weapons described on the site - but what is your take on adult-only, consensual spanking, be it erotic, for some sort of punitive therapy or stress-relieving, curiosity or indeed to reprise personal or vicarious past experiences?
Regards,
Durdle.
September 9, 2016
caned4doz
Hello Caned4doz.
Overlapping (!) interests. I'm not as educated as you. Don't smoke, but do drink (moderately) and not religious. Am interested in science and have a wide range of musical tastes though can't play an instrument. Fitness more by walking and manual work and play than by speed!
I too am interested in discipline and do have regressive tendencies and sometimes feel I ought to be spanked for my immature faults.
July 29, 2016
caned4doz
Hello Caned4Dozen.
Thank you for the Friend request - certainly! This site is confusing - I've not managed to work out how the Friends and Messages parts work!
Anyway I think this part is public. For example I can see the messages between you and Forever shorts, on this page. AM does not seem to have a private-message system, at least not obviously so. All it does it let you separate individual conversations from the forum section.
I will say I oppose genuine CP - some of the accounts on this site are of frankly appalling cruelty. Yet it was seeing one or two real instances at school, and finding descriptions and images in history-books, that nurtured my interest.
The regressive streak I said I have surfaced really quite recently, in my 50s I think, although I had experimented with self-spanking since "discovering" it in my teens - when no doubt I had a rather more smackable bottom than now, had the right circumstances to introduce me to spanking fun, come along!
August 1, 2016
caned4doz
I advocate discipline - a system of behaviour - but not in its euphemistic malapropism for corporal punishment of children. However I believe for a consenting adult, there need be no bar beyond sensible, individual boundaries to being spanked ( or slippered or caned) appropriately in a therapeutic or punitive sense, as well obviously as purely erotically. In the last situation it might even be a foreplay activity. Similarly, some adults find release in being under regressive discipline, with or without physical punishment.
(Discipline and punishment are NOT synonyms: the latter is for wilful breaking of the former.)
September 7, 2016
Cravingyourtouch
Welcome Cravingyourtouch.
Mot only the women of the household who would benefit from a little suitable discipline at times!
Regards,
Durdle
(in Dorset)
July 29, 2016
spanko28
Do you like adult (consensual) spanking too?
September 9, 2016
NaughtyNicola
About You: sexiest lingerie a gurl can find - indeed, and very nice too!
September 1, 2016
NaughtyNicola
A pleasure Nicola - and I like your profile picture too!
September 7, 2016
NaughtyNicola
Not a full cross-dresser myself and I've few femme clothes, but I like to sleep in a nightie now and then, or wear something at least like a loose-fitting miniskirt. Love to be nude, too! The long-legged lass in that Timothy's Knickers pic fg5 you've commented on, looks as if she's about to be spanked!
September 7, 2016
Killkenny11
That's two of us from Dorset , then, Kilkenny!
Welcome to AnswerMug!
Cheers,
Durdle - and I won't need to explain my inspiration for that nick-name.
July 29, 2016
SJS
Hello SJS
I'm uneasy about the idea of spanking children - discipline yes, punishment or at least a reprimand if they break that discipline yes, but need it be physical punishment? If it does I would hope it be by hand only, not weapons as some parents seem to think clever, and only enough to make the point. What of adult, consensual spanking though! I can see that as therapeutic or stress-relief, and eminently suitable for someone who is of middle-age upwards but rather immature or regressive.
Regards,
Durdle
(Dorset - as the nickname may have suggested!)
July 30, 2016
tonyparker1
Hello Tonyparker1
Thank you for the invitation.
I too was on EP but abandoned it a few years ago. I'm a little older at nearly 64, also short and slim, well, nearly slim. Slightly bi, and enjoy being nude though knee troubles limit my excursions such as to an unofficial naturist beach not far from my South Dorset home. Also interested in spanking fun.
Various interests and fair range of musical tastes.
Best Wishes,
Durdle
(my nickname is from a feature on the Dorset coast.)
July 29, 2016
tonyparker1
Hello Tonyparker.
I thought I'd left a message but it doesn't appear here so perhaps I didn't.
Anyway your Profile Information describes me too, almost exactly - I am 64, and with a slight tummy.
I live in S.Dorset - hence my nick-name (from famous coastal feature).
Welcome to AM!
Best Wishes,
Durdle
July 30, 2016
softlywaking
Thank you for the compliment, Softlywaking.
Regards,
Durdle.
June 14, 2016
missspanking
Welcome to AmswerMug, Missspanking.
No shortage of people here interested in spanking, whether approving or not of beating children, or are like me, approving only of adult consensual spanking.
Best Wishes,
Durdle
July 29, 2016
2Pink1s
Thank you for that brief private chat this afternoon. It was unexpected and I enjoyed it though I don't really understand how to use it.
Best Wishes,
Durdle.
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