Random Thoughts II

[DrTiTus]

If you’re on a Mac, open a Terminal and type the following command:

open /System/Library/Image\ Capture/Devices/VirtualScanner.app/Contents/Resources/simpledoc.pdf

Requires 10.14+

Happy Easter

[Ab]

America.

Truck carrying 40,000 pounds of toxic soil from East Palestine train derailment site crashes on highway

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/east-pa...es-on-highway/

[MadMax]

I’ve ridden shotgun numerous times with truckies on overnight runs. You may or may not have noticed it but at night they frequently flash their marker and/or decorative lights at each other as they pass in opposite directions. Usually those with minimal or standard lighting simply give a single flash on their right hand indicators as an alternative.

On a couple of occasions I’ve tried it in my car - giving trucks with extravagant lights a cheeky right hand blink of my indicators but of course this would never be interpreted the same way. The other night however I noticed they DO respond to blinks of your fog lights. YMMV.

[Lightspeed]

For some reason it's strange to me that there's more time between now and my birth than my birth and the start of WWII.

[StN]

Originally Posted by Lightspeed

For some reason it's strange to me that there's more time between now and my birth than my birth and the start of WWII.

...or the end of WWI !

[Lightspeed]

Oof.

[MadMax]

Rooibos tea. So good.

Has a curious Manuka honey taste.

[DrTiTus]

Originally Posted by Lightspeed

For some reason it's strange to me that there's more time between now and my birth than my birth and the start of WWII.

I saw this trivia and was reminded of your post:

Cleopatra lived closer in time to the building of Pizza Hut than the completion of Great Pyramid.

Although I also remember reading in a facts book when I was a kid that there were multiple "Cleopatras"... 7 in fact. So I'm not sure if this applies to all, or the last one.

[Ab]

All of them.

[Cyberbob]

There were Woolly Mammoths chilling out at the time of the Great Pyramid too.

[MadMax]

Went up into the roof space of our recently purchased 14 year old home to plan how to run some cables. Something about looking at all the relatively still fresh construction made me sit there for a while in admiration and pride. Quite the step up from our last place which was built in 1939.

[MadMax]

This is bloody horrible

https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/13184...afety-measures

I find myself thinking back to all the times I’ve been so pissed after a great night out that I’ve barely managed to get home. Like waking up in bed with twigs stuck to my clothes reminding me of how I was walking into peoples front yard shrubs

If that was me walking along that harbour front in such a state I’d have suffered the same, possibly even wearing the same tee shirt.

[_indigo1]

.

[Lightspeed]

Oof:

Argentina central bank hikes interest rate to 81% after inflation overshoot

[[fe]]

Spinoff asking the important questions how-do-you-order-your-cutlery-drawer

[Caesar]

Originally Posted by [fe]

Spinoff asking the important questions how-do-you-order-your-cutlery-drawer

LOL.... I literally just did this today.
I was getting pissed off with not being able to find shit so I re-organized our cutlery draw today.

[StN]

Righto chaps - I need to tap into the NZG wisdom of the crowd.

Today at the ANZAC service, the MC said the band would play "God save the Queen" much to my amusement. Back at the pub, one defender was adamant that Chuck hadn't been crowed yet, so we still need to refer to Liz. Another one said that they had an edict from RSA head office that said it had to be "Queen".

I am not above calling bullshit on at least one of them. As far as I am aware, Chuck sign the ascension papers on 12/9/2022 and was at least from that stage formally referred to within England as King. Does that extend to the colonies at that stage, or do we need the coronation to take place?

Asking for a friend...

I mean the published protocols seem pretty straight forward:

A 17 November 1977 supplement to the New Zealand Gazette announced that the national anthems of New Zealand shall be the traditional anthem 'God Save the Queen' and 'God Defend New Zealand', thus granting equal status to both.

Following the accession of King Charles III to the throne in September 2022, the words have changed to ‘God Save The King’

[Ab]

The anthem is sung in honour of the sovereign, who instantly became the sovereign upon the death of the previous sovereign. It would make no sense to sing God Save the Queen, since the sovereign is a King.

[Cyberbob]

Between us girls, it's not the Queen part that I have a problem with in "God save the Queen."
But how do you approach that without being cancelled.

[Lightspeed]

In the historic conceptualisation of the crown, excluding the former would negate the latter. The institution is a bit more robust now, not so much relying on the acceptance of God's word.

[DrTiTus]

Originally Posted by Cyberbob

But how do you approach that without being cancelled.

Do we need to? Did you sing it? Were you harmed as a result? It's impossible to please everyone. I'd be offended if they removed the reference because someone was hyper-sensitive and we're trying to be "inclusive". Either you're not happy, or I'm not happy. In either case, someone's not happy.

Until you can prove God does not exist, for all definitions of God, then those who choose to have faith in God (for some definition of God), are employing the concept of faith (belief without evidence) to give themselves mental fortitude.

If you're on a ship that sinks, and you're clinging to a floating bit of wreckage in the middle of nowhere, you're probably going to be wishing, hoping, you might even call it "praying" that someone finds you - somehow. You would have no evidence to suggest that they will, you can't do a damn thing to influence the situation, but rather than saying "there is no evidence someone will save me, therefore I will just drown myself", you're going to be clinging to some sort of faith to get you through.

I imagine a similar thing happens when you're in a war, with no hard evidence that you will in fact survive or be part of the winning team. You could just piss your pants and surrender, or you could kiss a lucky charm, mutter some positive affirmations (perhaps a prayer) and go hard. Kissing the charm and muttering obviously does nothing, but at least you're tricking yourself into thinking positively.

If you think of God as an old man in the sky, then you may have just chosen the wrong concept of God to attempt to disprove or not believe in. You could think of God as "a force which guides fate". You could say it is your own choices and actions which determine your fate, but it becomes quite difficult - at least at this point in time - to specify exactly how or why you have the thoughts and make the decisions you do, while experiencing the circumstances that are thrown your way. Are you part of a larger complex system, and your consciousness is some strange emergent behaviour? Is it chemical soup and a bit of luck (evolution)? God knows.

It's in the same category as "love"... it may just be a result of chemical soup, and not an actual thing - merely an illusion. Are you also suggesting that songs remove all references of "love"? It's just part of the human experience, and something we can all understand to some extent. Maybe some feel they understand it more than others, but we all know what is meant by the term. It's possible you've never understood what it means to have faith in God. Oh well. Some people have never been in love. But that doesn't prove it doesn't exist as part of the human experience. If you're going to interrupt every time someone sings a love song and say "well actually, love doesn't really exist, it's just that you were horny and your mate staying with one partner increases the chances of your genes reproducing rather than someone else's", you're going to get some funny looks on the drive home.

[xor]

That's cool and all but do you know how to do a granby roll?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ttYLoaWo0hM

Took me most of yesterday to learn how to do it properly.

[Ab]

RIP my Fisher and Paykel SmartDrive washing machine. Purchased new in June 1998, survived a move across the Tasman, kept on trucking, and died in Adelaide this week 2023. They don’t make white goods like that any more.

Fried mobo, could replace but at a cost greater than a new modern washer.

[Lightspeed]

HB blynk.

40s is good times.

[Ab]

It sure is. HB blynk!

[StN]

Originally Posted by Ab

RIP my Fisher and Paykel SmartDrive washing machine. Purchased new in June 1998, survived a move across the Tasman, kept on trucking, and died in Adelaide this week 2023. They don’t make white goods like that any more.

Fried mobo, could replace but at a cost greater than a new modern washer.

Oh man - was that the bloke's version with pretty much just a power button, and one big blue button for "Go"? - That was the best one, no phaffing around with settings for stuff which was probably just spin from marketing. (On digging further, there may have been a couple of other buttons, but they were optional...page 2)

[Ab]

Mine was a “Phase 5 (early)”. What a freakin Hilux of a thing.

[blynk]

Originally Posted by Lightspeed

HB blynk.

40s is good times.

Thanks LS (and AB). Yep, having day naps, forgetting things. Getting grumpy.

Loving it.

[blynk]

Originally Posted by Ab

RIP my Fisher and Paykel SmartDrive washing machine. Purchased new in June 1998, survived a move across the Tasman, kept on trucking, and died in Adelaide this week 2023. They don’t make white goods like that any more.

Fried mobo, could replace but at a cost greater than a new modern washer.

Mine was still running - purchased about 2004. We just sold it because we were remodelling the laundry and wanted under bench machines.

[Lightspeed]

Fuck me this is dodgy, who the hell behind the scenes is shrugging off these concerns? Who's their dodgy hook-up for expired parts?

Kaitaki report finds ferry's failed $500 part was overdue for replacement

The TAIC report found the root cause of the problem was a rubber expansion joint which ruptured in the cooling system. The part was manufactured in 2005 but installed on the Kaitaki in 2018. It was two months overdue for replacement.

...

The part manufacturer told TAIC that the part should not be installed if it was older than eight months old and replaced after five years if in a safety critical use.

[blynk]

Go, Lighty, It's your birthday
We gon' party like it's your birthday

[wazza]

Happy Birthday, J !

[[fe]]

HB2U! (And Native ) Let there be cake.

[wazza]

mmm fucken love cake

[DrTiTus]

Happy birthday Lightspeed

[Ab]

HB Natts and LS

[Lightspeed]

Thanks fullas.

[Native]

Had a great day being happily old and playing Titanfall 2 campaign. How have I had not discovered this amazing fucking game.

[StN]

So I noticed a small burn like blister on my index finger a few days back - but I can't remember touching anything hot enough to do that.

Then this morning when getting out of the shower I noticed a pin prick bleed at the same spot.

All I can put it down to is a long embedded metal splinter or wire that I hadn't noticed getting aggravated by the MRI I had last week. Surprised that it's the only one.

Those things are bloody loud - and take a looooong time. But, contrary to what my mother questioned in my youth, I do appear to have a brain in my head - and some nasty rust and buggered-beyond-repair disks proving I do have a bad back after all!

Prognosis - I am old. And need to build up my core to support bung bones. And probably need to sit down to cough and sneeze so I don't fall down. So basically a bit happy that I won't be taking up a hospital bed getting fusion done when the chaps are in short supply (although doesn't seem to be a problem going private?). That mecanno set screwed into the 3D prints on his desk gave me the creeps!

[fixed_truth]

Originally Posted by StN

All I can put it down to is a long embedded metal splinter or wire that I hadn't noticed getting aggravated by the MRI I had last week. Surprised that it's the only one.

Could have been worse I suppose.