What is the unit of measurement for loudness?

Thanks 08Busa.



A decibel is 0.1 bel.



DB in New Zealand stands for Dominion Breweries. Also a unit of measurement for loudness.:)



What I was getting at above is that the BEL is the unit; a decibel is a tenth of a bel, just as a deciliter is a tenth of a liter. The unit of volume is not the deciliter but the liter.-As "Ads" posts, loudness is subjective. Its unit is the phon. The phon is seldom used, however, possibly for the very reason that it *is* subjective. -The bel is not an absolute measure of power (or loudness). A bel represents the RATIO of two power levels, to help us compare them. Technically, a bel is the logarithm of the ratio of two power levels:-B = log (P1/P2). -For decibels, simply multiply by 10:dB = 10 (log(P1/P2))-The logarithm reduces a large range of numbers to a small, more convenient, range. Examples: A ratio of 10 to one is 10 dB. A ratio of 1000 to one is 30 dB. A ratio of a trillion to one is 130 dB. -The logarithm reduces the huge range (a trillion to one), to only 130. The smaller number is easier to work with. -Like beer, logarithms make us happy. :) Right now, they make me want beer. :)



LOL, mmmmmm, beer.

by 08Busa on October 28th, 2009




Beer: The cause of (and the solution to) all of man's problems. -cf. Homer



I always wanted a man who could wrestle beers.



That reminds me of the greenhorn who went to Alaska to become a sourdough prospector. He went straight to the nearest saloon to seek advice. -A grizzled old prospector sized up the greenhorn, nodded his head, and said, "Wal, sonny, they's three things ya gots ta do to become a grizzled old sourdough like me. First, drink a quart of rotgut whiskey. Then have sex with an Eskimo squaw. Then go and wrassle a polar bear. When you're finished, come back here and we'll induct you into the Sourdough Prospectors club." -The greenhorn opened the door and headed out into a horizontal blizzard. The prospectors had a good laugh and returned to their card game.-Just before dawn the greenhorn reappeared, bleeding, clothing ripped to shreds, and drunk on his ass. "Awright!" he announced. "Now, where is that Eskimo squaw I'm sposed ta wrassle?"



Beery funny. Did you hear about the big kerfuffle regarding our Eskimo sweets? A visiting inuit activist said it was culturally insensitive and the name should be changed. Interesting that you, much closer to the area than us, and presumably with a much greater knowledge of the culture, should still use the term.(Have we discussed this before? I sometimes feel I repeat myself). (Have we discussed this before? I sometimes feel I repeat myself).



>>Inuit activistI'm aware that American Indians ("Native Americans") and Eskimos (also Native Americans) reject the term "squaw," meaning wife or woman. I wouldn't use the word in public speaking but it's consistent with the joke, which may be 200 years old. (My dad grubstaked in Alaska during the Great Depression.)Some words acquire an aura of political sensitivity. Black folks used to be called Negroes. That was the official, polite term, the quotidian. (Love that word.) "Nigger" is simply slang for Negro, which means "black" (Spanish & Portuguese). The word wasn't originally used to belittle, insult, or disparage. It was neutral, just the everyday term (quotidian). In the 1960s, "black" replaced "Negro," which was no longer acceptable, and then "African American" replaced black. Ironically, a lot of white families are native Africans (S. Africa). If they move to the U.S., then they, too, become "African Americans." Huh? Meanwhile, black kids call one another "nigger" in their own rap "music." I give up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn/&nbsp



There's been another change, the Creole biscuit having its name changed for being racist?When I was a kid, Maori were sometimes called "hori" It was derogatory, said with a sneer, but not specific as to what the insult was. Like " ma nigger", it could be used by Maori in fun but not by pakeha. It was also used to slag someone's expertise "you made a hori job of that". It's not used now.



I had to look up the meaning of "grubstaked", I'd never heard it before. Interestingly I was just thinking there wasn't a slang word for Maori women. The Maori word wahine translates as woman, but I don't remember it ever being used in a derogatory way.



Hori, incidentally, can also be used as an actual name, I think as a supplementary name, usually with George, like Peggy for Margaret.The actual translation is "tiller of the soil."



I've restarted this comment half a dozen times. Each time I get sidetracked and wander off on another tab to research something and when I return, all is lost, so to speak. My attention span is in the latrine. I tried restarting the 3rd pill I mentioned and it feels like I'm hal-LOO-sinnating. I'll have to wait until it wears off and try again.



I just re=read my comments, they're all over the place anyway. I haven't got a third pill, so I'll have to blame sunstroke.



Maybe it was sun spots/solar flares.

by 08Busa on October 31st, 2009




I just saw a photo of the effect of sunspots/solar flares in Alaska: an eerie green light, quite surreal. Apparently 2003 was THE year:"Impressive, but it can't hold a pumpkin's candle to the Halloween storms of 2003. Six years ago, a series of 17 major solar flares and coronal mass ejections buffeted Earth for weeks around All Hallows Eve. The storms caused a power outage in Sweden, blinded sensors on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), damaged the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft, and may have ripped away some of Mars' atmosphere. In the United States, blood-red Northern Lights startled sky watchers as far south as Florida and Texas."



>>The Maori word wahineIt's international, throughout Polynesia and Hawaii. First-time tourists returning to the States from Hawaii like to show off their newly acquired Hawaiian vocabulary, casually tossing about new words like wahine, luau, aloha, ukulele, haole, and Dole, while we landlocked lubbers can only watch and listen in awe.-AFAIK, "Creole" is perfectly acceptable everywhere. It's a culture and a cuisine. I've never heard of a "Creole biscuit." You've had much more culinary experience than I've had. You could make something up and I'd probably swallow it, esp. if it's warm with melted butter.-I'd better post this before something goes haywire again. It's silly to imagine that the privately owned vehicles of early space travelers will function smoothly and reliably. Before electronic ignition and fuel injection, we'd see dozens of automobiles on any given road pushed off to the side or simply abandoned. The man would get out and tinker under the hood. -Assuming similar failure statistics in early spacecraft, where will we park the jalopy while waiting for a tow truck? And who's going to step outside and tinker under the hood? With no brakes we'll coast along for centuries at the same speed we were going when the dilithium crystals crapped out, until we run out of food or run into something.



News Supermarket giant Coles will change the name of an in-house brand of biscuits amid claims it is racist.Coles Spokesman Jim Cooper said the name of the "You'll Love Coles" brand of chocolate and vanilla biscuits, called Creole Creams, will be changed as part of the company-wide rebranding of Coles products.The name change comes on the back of claims of racism, with the word Creole used to describe a person of mixed European and African ancestry."The word Creole comes from a period when people's humanity was measured by the amount of white blood they had in their bloodstream. This is the same kind of thought that underpinned horrific regimes like the Nazis," Sam Watson, the deputy director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland, told brisbanetimes.com.au yesterday.Just to prove I kid you not.>> AFAIK,Don't you swear at me boy-o.



>>I'd better click Post before this goes haywire again.I've had endless trouble lately getting my posts to stick. They make all the right noises and then disappear into the ether. Very frustrating.



I did a little editing while you posted 2 replies. :)-Like Enkidu, I've lost my speed. Or I think too much. Or too slow. -lCreole has no negative associations that I'm aware in these parts, unless they happened recently:http://www.google.com/search?q=creole&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a



OMG.I just read this on the BBC. ROTFL. I presume you joined the Seattle run?Each year, dozens run down the city's snowy streets wearing only trainers and a hollowed-out pumpkin on their heads.But, this year, the police are ready to arrest anyone who takes part in the Naked Pumpkin Run.Officials say they will charge pumpkin-clad runners under the city's law against indecent exposure.According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 40 officers will be present on the traditional route, with two elite teams of officer patrolling nearby.Last year, some 150 nude people turned out for the 10th event of its kind, which happens after nightfall.Similar runs have also taken place in other US cities including Seattle, Portland and Arcata.



Or you were busy. See above.:)



I'm listening to BBC and I heard the same report about an hour ago. I thought it was in Colorado but I could be wrong. Seattle does have a few nude events every year. The longest and most celebrated is the Solstice celebration in Fremont (a district). Here are some photos from this year's naked cyclists run. Warning: It's big, 872 kB. Not recommended for dial-up:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Fremont_Solstice_Parade_2007_-_naked_cyclists_relax.jpg-Check out the painted lady making a call on her wireless. -http://media.seattleweekly.com/fremont-solstice-parade-nude-cyclists-dick-cheney-doobies.2277859.36.jpg-Here is a collection of thumbnails sampling recent Fremont Solstice Cycling events. They're moving from buff bikers to painted cyclists. I like the colorful paint. I have a collection of body painting. http://www.bodyfreedom.org/painted_cyclists/-"Over the years the cyclists in the Fremont Summer Solstice Parade have been given several names, often given by others. They have been known as Riders in the Raw, Nekkid Cyclists, Naked Bicyclists, Nude Bikers, Bikers in the Buff, Painted Naked Cyclists."



Ya, I see that some of my links are kaput. They work fine for me, until they're posted. Try a Google search on the following (omit quotes):"fremont solstice parade"-I need some shut-eye. I hope I dream in technicolor, painted bodies galore. :)



I have trouble with quite a few of your links. I thought it was me being a technophobe.Should I wish you sweet dreams or is that redundant?:)



Speaking of techno-this-or-that, what's the status of your PC? Any progress? Any promises? :)-Speaking of sweets, I keep daydreaming about peach or pineapple upside-down cake. Ahgahgahgahg (Homer gurgle). Long ago I actually baked one or two. I love the caramel flavor of the brown sugar. Good thing it's non-fattening. :(-My last link, "bodyfreedom," seems solid. It has lots of thumbnails, about 1/3 of them interesting. I can find others if you're interested, plus my Personal Collection of fascinating (to me) body painting. :)



Ziggy says it's been done but have not yet been loaded onto this computer. He's in the middle of studying for finals so a grunt and a sniff is as good as it gets. I'll chase him a bit and he'll do it.I have a beautiful recipe for peach upside down cake, but I haven't made it for a few years. We have two peach trees and we're only a couple of months off ripe fruit (golden queen - yum).



I do like body painting, especially Maori designs which have symbolic meaning and are quite beautiful as art anyway. Usually tattooed though.We have a TV ad for the national airways that shows all the crew with their uniforms painted on. I'll see if I can find a link.



Oops..Ziggy is Che's nickname.



>>Che's nickname.I was about to ask! ->>it's been done but have not yet been loaded onto this computer.Can you elaborate? What's been done? What remains? I guess you don't need to know, after he gets it working. Is it all in pieces, or can you start it up? (Don't try to start it if he's in the middle of something.) I'm terribly curious. Also, ask the Zigmeister what OS and what SP is installed. It doesn't matter to you, but it gives me a clearer picture of what you're working with. -I can hardly remember what real peaches taste like. Here in the states they're picked green and still hard, cooked in massive quantities of sugar, canned, and whisked off to the retailers. They almost deliberately remove the flavor. I've had fresh peaches only a few times in my life. Incredibly sweet & juicy. Gahghaghagha. -Here's a "skillet" upside-down cake (pineapple). http://www.mark-pearson.com/mexican-everyday-recipe-pictures/Pineapple%20Skillet%20Upside-Down%20Cake%20-%20flipped.jpg-Warning: large image (slow to load).



>>ask the ZigmeisterHeh. That's what a friend of his always calls him. Will let you know re computer. I may have to do the "one grunt for yes, two grunts for no" kind of questioning.



OK. I use a handy utility that assesses all the components of one's computer, including the CPU, OS, and the speed and temperature of the CPU. Brief description:-"Use this 100% free software to learn more about your computer and its components, detect/diagnose any problems in your computer, and increase your computer's performance. "Here's their website for a free download:http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.phpLook in the upper left corner.It's safe. -Didja like the upside-down cake? I useta think you had to stand on your head to eat them, and I wondered why my nose filled up with crumbs and sweet topping. I finally realized that later on when I needed a snack I could stick my tongue out, jump up and down, and the crumbs & topping would fall onto my tongue for a quick afternoon snack.



Here's what my summary looks like (cheap old computer):-PC Wizard 2008 Version 1.871-----------------------------------Owner: [User Name]Organisation: [Company Name]User: ZoltanOperating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 SP3Report Date: Monday 02 November 2009 at 16:12<<< System Summary >>>> Manufacturer : ABS Computer Technologies Inc.> Mainboard : MSI RS482M4-ILD (MS-7191)> Chipset : ATI RS482> Processor : AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2000 MHz> Physical Memory : 1024 MB (2 x 512 DDR-SDRAM )> Video Card : ATI Radeon X1650 Series> Hard Disk : WDC (80 GB)> Hard Disk : ST325041 (250 GB)> DVD-Rom Drive : TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-S182D> DVD-Rom Drive : LITE-ON COMBO SOHC-5236V> Monitor Type : NEC Technologies NEC FE700+ - 16 inches> Network Card : 3COM Corp, Networking Division 3C905B Fast Etherlink XL 10/100> Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3> DirectX : Version 9.0c----------------------------------------



OMG why do you go to all that trouble just to eat an upside down cake?!!We just go to bed in the morning, put our pyjamas on, walk backwards to the lounge and eat it upside down on the plate.(Actually when the kids were small, we used to have "upside-down days" on the holidays where we reversed all our normal activities. They used to love it, especially having icecream and pudding in their pyjamas for breakfast.)



The cake looks yummy but I've never made one with pineapple. Have you ever tried making it with real pineapple? It would have quite a bite. Is a skillet a frying pan? How do you make it in that? The peach one is baked in the oven. Recipe coming. I'm just going to tweak it a bit so if you make it with canned peaches it has a good flavour.



>>"upside-down days" What a great idea. Be sure to include that in your book. I can just hear them squealing with delight. :)-The pineapple cake was just for the drool content (the picture). I'd never bother with a *fresh pineapple*, as in that article, nor with a skillet (frying pan). I'd use canned peaches or pineapple, and bake it in the oven. <yum> -Gotta hit the hay. It's 3:30 am here (daylight saving time ended on the weekend). -Just gotcher email. Praise to Sascha. What an amazing achievement. What level class was this? For any level it'x excellent.



Sacha is in the first year of her BA.



Wow. I have a fondness for bright women. I hope her bf recognizes the importance of her accomplishments and that they mean as much to him as to her. If not, he'll be her first divorce. :(-Is the medical incident with her bf concluded? i'm not trying to be nosey, just get a picture. Is S. going to the college where you all visited 1 or 2 weeks ago? That was a fast enrollment and move. -i'm a little frantic today (agitated in the usual sense). :) I forgot to pay my property taxes and I can't find the payment coupon, whatever it's called, with the amount and code numbers on ie. I've looked for hours. Now I'll have to search the hard way. ***FOUND IT***That is, I found a text file with all the identifying numbers. I have little text files for most everthing I can think of. I make them while I'm working on some financial problem, with little notes with dates, names I talked to, what they promised, and all the necessary code numbers. :) -I keep the files for future reference. My filing .methods are getting better, but only on the PC. I still have stacks of paperwork that I need to paw through and sort out. :(



Sbf is very supportive although not an academic himself. It's something that concerns him I think. He has a month off work and still has pain. Yes the university was in the area we visited.>>That is, I found a text file with all the identifying numbers.That's a damn good idea. I keep meaning to do it but instead have bits of paper in a thousand files all over the place. I was just looking for some receipts for my tax return (to claim equipment expenses) and I can't find them anywhere.:( I have to file the return in two days or face a late penalty so I'm going to flag it and just send it in as is. I do this sort of bs all the time.



Oh monkey's bum! I can't work out my return without a calculator...somebody shoot me!We're getting ready here for Guy Fawke's Day it's still legal here to light your own fireworks (Nov 5)even though it's in summer and there's always problems. We shoot them over toward the river though. I'm clearing our area out back so we have have a little outside open fire (circle of bricks and a grill) and cook sausages and stuff.



Just have to keep the garden hose handy!



<aacckk> Lost another one. Just imagine that I've posted a long intense, witty, philosophical comment that DIDN'T get lost when I got sidetracked looking for additional fascinating information in other tabs.



Okity dokity. I am always dazzled by your brilliance and wit, of course. Although since I have to imagine it perhaps it's my brilliance and wit this time...



So you celebrate your 4th of July on the 5th of November? When in NZ, do as the Kiwis do, eh? :)-My fav cousin used to build model rockets when we were kids. One of his finest, a two-stage model, arced gracefully through the night sky and made a perfect landing on his grandfather's roof, half a km away, where it exploded in a harmless ball of flame, setting the roof on fire. -Other cousins made a functional cannon. Making the fuel for that was far scarier than the rockets. As they cooked it up in the basement a spark alighted in the syrupy mix. Gosh, who could have anticipated that, cooking over an open flame. It didn't explode since it wasn't confined; it merely shot a cylindrical shaft of roaring flame 30 cm in diameter, straight up to the ceiling, where it flared out to a meter in diameter and ignited the solid wood beams. We just stood and watched, mouths agape. If that mixture had been even slightly confined it would have exploded and killed us all. But it didn't, so we learned nothing from our close calls. :)-Can your <coff> <snort> Guy Fawkes Day compare with THAT? :)



>>So you celebrate your 4th of July on the 5th of November? You could get the impression that no-one's very fond of the British government, couldn't you?>>where it exploded in a harmless ball of flame, setting the roof on fire.Setting the roof on fire is harmless?!What's harmful then - when a couple of the neighbour's houses go up too?When we were kids we threw plums and apples at the neighbours - obviously we were a very tame lot.>>Other cousins made a functional cannon.Talk about the fighting Irish...



>>If that mixture had been even slightly confined it would have exploded and killed us all. But it didn't, so we learned nothing from our close calls. :)Yeah, cos shafts of roaring flames aint even slightly scary. Having said that, kids now don't take the "scientific" risks a lot of kids did then, although someone in Jas's school managed to blow a hole in the roof of the science lab. There's a strong move toward making Guy Fawke's so safe it barely exists. Most people go to a public display now. A home fireworks kit is about $70 as well.



The fire risk is high though - today is about 22 degrees C and the grass down the back is dry. Once a fire takes off you've got real problems and our local fire brigade is voluntary. Tonight I guarantee we will hear the siren to call them in go off over and over. We always get a few rockets flying over the roof. The dog and cats crawl under the lounge table and shake.:(



As you can tell I am torn between the angel on my left shoulder and the devil on the right.(I got my political allegancies right there, didn't I?)



>>harmless ball of flameIt made me giggle so I knew it was right; i.e., it's crazy even for me. My destination is that place where crazy and ordinary are one, and parallel lines converge. :) I've met a few guys like that, and at least one girl. They didn't seem to know or care that they were terminally crazy, so it didn't matter. -My typing is clumsy b/c I have a brand-new $19 keyboard, and some of the keys are not where I remember them on my old keyboard. I'll check again; it may be upside-down. -Blowing things up in school takes me back. In Mr. Coyle's high school chemistry lab my experiment (which I created) was a way I thought I could make hydrogen. I was holding the Erlenmeyer flask in one hand and staring into it with the other. I must ave been successful b/c it blew up. There was no glass left that I could find that was larger than a small fingernail. I immediately called Hitler and canceled my reservations on the Hindenberg. -I think I'm sick. You'd better wash



>> My destination is that place where crazy and ordinary are one, and parallel lines converge. :) Everyone has a place like that in their head. Most people see it as some place on the distant horizon; only some reach the destination.>>some of the keys are not where I remember them on my old keyboard. Oh just admit that your typing and spelling are crap for goodness sake...Have to sleep. It's boring but I can't get out of the habit.



Just found a joke I thought you'd like:There was this couple that had been married for 20 years.Every time they made love the husband always insisted on shutting off thelight.Well, after 20 years the wife felt this was ridiculous.She figured she would break him out of this crazy habit.So one night, while they were in the middle of a wild, screaming, romanticsession, she turned on the lights.She looked down... and saw her husband was holding a battery-operatedpleasure device... a vibrator!Soft, wonderful and larger than a real one.She went completely ballistic."You impotent bastard," She screamed at him, "how could you be lying to meall of these years? You better explain yourself!"The husband looks her straight in the eyes and says calmly:"I'll explain the toy . . . you explain the kids."



I felt miserable last night. Couldn't even finish my last sentence. I was about to say, "You'd better wash your hands after reading this msg to prevent getting whatever I have." But I feel great this morning, so I guess I'm OK (as far as I can ever be). :) -I'm glad to see you've loosened up a bit. :) -I'll try to post a joke I learned from a Cajun buddy.



A young Cajun girl was about to marry her sweetheart, and she admitted to her mother that she wasn't prepared for what intimate activities lay ahead (so to speak). Her mother said, "Honey, I'm glad you came to me. Your husband will ask you to do unspeakable things, and you'll just have to do what he says--with one exceptioin. If he ever says, 'Let's swap ends,' you slap him, pack your bags, and come home to Mama!"-The first few weeks went very well, until one night her husband whispered, "Honey? Let's swap ends!"-"What?" she shouted. "Mama warned me this might happen!" She jumped up and began stuffing her clothes into a suitcase.-"But sweetheart!" her husband pleaded, "don't you want to have a baby?"



>>I'm glad to see you've loosened up a bit. Watch who you're calling a loose woman buddy! (You knew that was coming, right? I like to meet the expectations of my audience. To which your response will be predictable). I like your joke. Does it imply something about Cajun women? Otherwise I was wondering why it was specific.I'm glad you're feeling better. You did sound pretty down and I saw you weren't posting much. One of these days we'll probably have doctors who will judge our mental and physical health by what we post online, when and how.-



We didn't have our fireworks night. Everyone was a bit tired and I had to work late. Might do it Saturday if the weather permits.



One year long ago my dad bought a huge assortment of fireworks. He set off about half the first year, half of the remainder the next year. I think they lasted 3 years. :) -Years later, my bro and I would buy a few each year for our family celebrations, but as time goes on it's harder to find good ones. We have to sneak out to one of several nearby Indian reservations and buy them under the counter. You tell the dude what you're looking for and it magically appears on the counter. :) If he doesn't trust you, or doesn't trust the suspicious guy in brown shoes lurking behind you, the answer is a police, "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't carry those. They're illegal."-Then we have to worry driving home that we might get stopped and inspected by the State Patrol--big fine, plus confiscation. I haven't bothered with fireworks the last few years, so I don't have current details. -It's silly. Two or three dumbass kids lose a few fingers or an eye, and everyone gets excited and wants more laws. The cops rarely enforce these laws anyway, from a few days before to a few days after the 4th of July. They'd be chasing kids down every street and up every alley.



So it's illegal to have fireworks without a permit except for those few days around 4th July? I do take safety concerns seriously - I've seen photos of kids with half their face blown off due to fireworks - but it's a matter of education really and a bit of responsibility. Laws aint gonna do it. I was reminded about that the other day when a couple of Jas's schoolmates (she knew them but they weren't close friends)were killed in a drunk-driving car crash.It happened the same night that she tried to persuade me to drive her and friends somewhere even after I told her I'd had a couple of wines and didn't feel safe to drive.



They know the drink-driving message backwards- the oldest two are members of Students against Drink Driving, but when she wants her own way...:( Whether it is legal or not doesn't enter into their thinking.



>>Students against Drink DrivingWe have Mothers Against Drunk Driving MADD), and Drunks Against Mad Mothers (DAMN). -More than half a century ago (1956 or 57) an older cousin had a car full of the high school's finest. He was always drinking, and when his car hit the concrete bridge abutment his rattle-trap car exploded bodies in all directions, killing all but my cousin, who landed safely in the river below. It was a horror. -My mother went to the hospital where the bleeding bodies were taken, some clinging briefly to life and then losing it. -Two younger cousins went deer hunting one year; one stood up directly in front of the other, and took a bullet to the brain. The other has died since, from alcoholism, I believe. I can't even tell you all the stories, including my own.



There has just been a case here of a man, who trying to kill himself, drove his car across the median strip,ploughed into another car, and killed a young bride. Film of him in court breaking down in tears was horrific to watch. We never learn.Sascha cooked a superb meal tonight, about six inter-related Indian dishes, I made the chapatis (big woop). She goes to such a lot of trouble, just for the pleasure of doing it.I'm so going to miss that girl.



I LOVE Indian food! <wahh> See if you can zip a whiff and attach it to your next email. In the mustache pic, she looked much younger than she did in the pic you took across the table at the floating restaurant (the one I adjusted for gamma and contrast). -Chapati, Chapiti. Wasn't he Pinocchio's stepfather?



I took a photo of the Indian meal,I'll post it with the next lot so you can lick the screen. We still have enough for another meal in the fridge.The moustache pic was only taken a month or so back and the restaurant photo was taken earlier than that. The difference is probably makeup.The restaurant is by the beach by not floating - well, unless we have a tsunami I guess.



I already need drool remover for my monitor, not always for the visuals of sumptuous culinary ftes. -I took another look at the restaurant photo. S really does have a young face, in BOTH photos. Otoh, I guess I've been away from 18 y/o kids for so long I don't remember. No further questions, yer honor. -Are those roses and blue and white flowers in your garden? How far away is that beautiful green hillside? Are you allowed to hike there? It should be a healthy jaunt up that hill and down again. I tweaked the photo just a little and I'll send it back soon. You probably won't see any difference unless you compare the original and the tweaked very closely under good light. -I was hungry last time I shopped at Costco. You're never supposed to shop for food when you're hungry. I got a huge, industrial apple pie, a gallon of eggnog (to supplement the gallon of ice cream I got previously), and 2.5# of mixed, salted nuts (a little over 1 kg). I need to put on fat for the winter, to keep me warm and snoring peacefully, deep in my cave.-Disclaimer:I use the same justification every season. In the spring, I still need to put on fat for the winter.



I guess S does have a young face and she's not much taller than me but she's not usually mistaken for someone younger because she's also got "don't fuck with me" written all over her face. I could have wiped it off but I think it will stand her in good stead. I see how well it works for her within the family anyway. She's a direct descendant of Ghengis Khan on her father's side and on my side, a renowned Maori chieftain. Be afraid. Be very afraid.



I'm glad the flower photos came through. I couldn't see them before. Yes, they're in my back garden. This time of year it looks beautiful and the front garden is even better. Another month or so, and the heat will get to it. :( The hillside is in my suburb, a few streets away. It has beautiful bush walks and you can tramp for miles without seeing anyone much. You could tramp for days if you wanted to. I have just found an old book called how to survive in the bush, on the coast and in the mountains of NZ. It has everything from edible bush plants to erecting a shelter to bush first aid. Fascinating. I've never seen a book like it.It was written by an air force officer and seems to be a DIY if your plane crashes in the middle of nowhere.



S and I are going on a red meat- and sugar-free diet. I just had both for lunch (not together). I may need to work a bit harder.



>>"don't fuck with me" written all over her face. I could have wiped it off but I think it will stand her in good stead.<<-Would you agree that a petite woman needs that to survive in a dangerous world? My old friend from Brooklyn moved out west to Arizona some years ago with his tough, petite gf. He laughed as he recounted the time a traveling salesman came up the walk with his merchandise. Mary spotted him and yelled, "BEAT IT! SCRAM! GET OUTTA HERE!" Tom said the poor guy spun around and beat it, tail between his legs. :) -S seems very bright, self-confident, motivated, and determined. All good qualities for success. I would encourage all of them, short of being socially unapproachable (no friends). I had a young face at her age, too, and people talked down to me, as if I were a kid. It really annoyed me. Something happened that triggered an awakening, and I've been assertive ever since.->>She's a direct descendant of Ghengis KhanAnother vignette for the book!



>>how to survive in the bushI used to love books like that. In 1960 I ordered one similar to yours, written by the U.S. Air Force as a survival guide. I recall that it assumed northern plants and topography. I used to hike and backpack miles into the wilderness. -No comment on your new diet. I used to eat all I wanted and I kept trim b/c I was physically active: Gymnast in high school and first year college, hiking and backpacking, swimming, bicycling, later running (jogging). You wouldn't know it now. :( My depression keeps me isolated and surly.-I plan to get a new phone Monday. There's a special deal at Costco. They offer a rebate that zeros the price, so I end up paying only a few dollars sales tax. -I wrecked my old (3 years) Nokia, which I liked just fine. I wanted to repair it but you have to get permission, then get a loaner (I have no other phone), then ship it off to East Devil's Asshole, Alabama, wait two weeks while they decide IF it's worth repairing, and finally get it back, at god-only-knows what price. (It's long out of warranty.)-The new one will have a better camera, GPS, Bluetooth( the Nokia has that), and a USB 2.0 cable to uploade photos and contacts to the PC. I feel sleek and oily with so much luxury. (If you saw my shack you wouldn't think "luxury." :)-How's life? Any new relationships? Nite-nite. -



>>I had a young face at her age, too, and people talked down to me, as if I were a kid. It really annoyed me.That's EXACTLY what happened to me and I had EXACTLY the same reaction. People were always saying to me "Oh goodness, you're how old? You don't look it!" Unforch, just when I might consider it a compliment, they stopped saying it..:(You were a gymnast? I always wanted to be, or a ballet dancer...I'm talking 7 or 8 years old when I was fairy-like..I have decided to do some more hiking etc this summer, I don't really know why but I've given up even taking the dog for a walk.



I had an idea of going walking in the bush near here and filming it as we go (my camera takes short movies) and then posting it for you..our accents should give you a laugh anyway..The new phone sounds good. My shack doesn't scream luxury either which is why I photograph the garden and bring bowlfuls of roses inside. The smell and look of roses is to divert people's attention away from the tears in the wallpaper :)



Hehe, no wallpaper here, but the walls have long been ready for some new paint. Broken windows, leaky outside wall, no hot water in kitchen sink, spider webs in every corner, dirty kitchen floor. The toilet and bathroom sink are probably the cleanest items in the house. :( All b/c I'm too unmotivated to fix things, sometimes even to move. I'm descending into abysmal squalor.-Funny, I've thought many times it would be cool to hear your voices. I found my old $10 microphone and got it working a few days ago (it's down right now, b/c I removed the drivers). It's easy to record a short wav file, and attach it to an email. But the camera sounds like more fun. Better take extra batteries. I hear that the little digital cameras eat em alive, esp. the two-cell, extra-compact models. -When I was 17 I entered an auto parts store to get a part. I spoke softly, and the owner roared, "Speak up, boy! I can fart louder than you talk!" I think he did it to entertain a friend he was chatting with. I went nuts, screamed at him, gave him the finger, and left. That was the day I began changing from passive to assertive, oftetn aggressive. Long story, but it's hard to bully me now. Apparently S. has done the same thing, based on your reports. -I'm off to snooze. It's 7:15 am here. ZZZzzz



7.15am? Were you awake till then?! That's what Che does on his days off but he's working full-time now (summer holiday job) as well as studying for his end-of-year exams, so he's in a more regular routine. Colour in his face and money in his pocket - he looks much happier and healthier. I, meantime, have just spent the day cleaning the house, cobwebs 'n all, despite Che protesting that I was depriving the spiders of their home and livelihood. Better for the environment than fly spray he says, and I follow his logic..and have done for some time...:)



I have just bought a bicycle helmet and a friend says she will go biking with me, which doesn't explain why I am sitting here..hmmm...I hate people who are rude to teenagers (or any kids) it always hacks me off. A lot of adults think they are sub-ordinates, I've seen it in the workplace as well. I tell my kids to speak up for themselves, but be polite, even if the adults aren't. If other people see that as aggressive, tough. It's not the most common scenario (the kids don't have many run-ins with people) but it does happen now and then.



Maria Shriver (Arnie's wife) once said "well-behaved women never make history." Probably true. I'm off to make a mushroom pie and I'll put that peach recipe up soon.



Mushroom pie? Never heard of it, but I'm sure I'd like it. (Cooks tell me I'm easy to please.) I've been thinking of that upside-down cake the last few days. I have a huge #10 can of fruit cocktail (those bland, over-sweetened little cubes of fruit) and I'll bet I could make a cake with it. I'll prob'ly just buy a mix. -I found some GREAT lightly-smoked salmon. It melts in the mouth, just like the TV ads used to say. I'm already addicted to it.-I have to get my photos and contacts transferred from the old phone to the PC, so I can download them to the new phone. I hope I can do that. The phone's main memory is suddenly inaccessible, and that's where all my contacts are stored. <waahhh>



>>'ll prob'ly just buy a mix.Hang about, I have got a really nice muffin recipe using those..if only I didn't have 5 million recipe books to hunt through..:( I'll see if I can find it though.Sascha bought some fresh salmon pieces today..$5 for the tiniest amount.The mushroom pie was OK but I have to replant all my herbs, it needed some to counterbalance the cream and sour cream, very rich.



>>using thoseUsing fruit cocktail? -Fish has gone way up in price since it started getting scarce. I paid $12.79 / pound for tender, lightly-smoked salmon. Here's the conversion from Google:-12.79 (U.S. dollars / pound) = 38.0015139 New Zealand dollars / kg.-Here's how to do it, if you're interested:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=FZD&q=12.79+USD+%2F+lb+in+NZD+%2F+kg&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=-I don't know if that huge url is going to work.Dang, it DOES work. Here's what I entered in the google search bar:12.79 USD / lb in NZD / kg-It means, 12.79 U.S. Dollars per pound "in" NZ dollars per kg. The word "in" is an operator. It tells the google calculator to convert. -That was very nice of S to bring salmon home. It's easy for me to be selfish, living alone. -Oh-- I fixed my phone memory! Long story. I finally found a T-Mobile guy who knew how to look up the problem from his huge database. None of thte other experts bothered to look it up, apparently. Now I'll be able to transfer all my contacts to the new phone when I get it. -<yawwwn> I need some shuteye. Don't go to a lot of trouble finding that recipe, but if you do find it, let me know. :)



One recipe down (on the other question). The car had to get towed to the mechanic. Now the washing machine isn't working, the lawnmower isn't working, the car isn't working. In another two weeks I won't be working either, and we'll be a matched set.:(



I hope you didn't get charged too much for the towing. Here they charge ferociously for towing, esp. if it's the result of a parking ticket (parking violation). Sweet-talking the mechanic might motivate him to tow your car to his shop, but that doesn't always work. Customs differ from town to town, much more from country to country. -Any news on Sbf's court date with the magistrate (or other solution)?



Sbf has just written an explanatory letter to the police. You don't get to court here until your fine is way overdue and even then they first refer it to a debt collector. Going to court here is unusual unless you're in a gang or sell drugs or both. It's pretty much social death, so I take it it's seen in a very different light in the US.



I use the same mechanic all the time (we're on first name basis) and he's a nice guy who always explains the problem in detail, what caused it and how to avoid it next time. This visit I had to get the fuel pump replaced - total bill $550. At least it's going now. I'm handmowing the lawn, handwashing the laundry and walking the dog every day, so I might be broke for Christmas but I'll be fit!



You're right; we're advised by various advocacy groups to take every traffic violation to traffic court.>>letter to policeHere we emphasize a major separation between the police (enforcement) and the courts (adjudication). Once a cop has issued a "ticket" (citation) the matter is out of his hands (and interest). Even if you convince a cop that he has made a mistake, there'd be nothing he could do about it. And even if there WERE something he could do he would not, b/c it would undermine his own career, and would probably get him fired. -The cops are interested in One Thing: to arrest lawbreakers and then testify against them in court. My attorney tells me, "DON'T TALK TO THE COPS. They are not your friends." -This doesn't mean there are no friendly cops. I've met several, very polite, who just wanted to warn me about my driving (usually speeding), and then they let me go with no citation.-When a cop issues a citation he asks you to sign an agreement on the backside, your promise to appear (in court). It's not a promise to pay a fine, but if you CHOOSE to pay the fine, you can avoid going to court. If we plan to contest a citation we mail the ticket to the court and request a hearing date. We do NOT pay any fine until the matter has been resolved. -I assume your system is similar to ours, which (I believe) is modeled on the British. (I have now reached the limits of my expertise. :)-If Sbf has not paid his fine yet, ask him to examine the address on the envelope. That should be the court itself. And read the front and back of the ticket for instructions on contesting it.



I was about to start yelling, $550??? For a fuel pump??? After converting to USD it's $408, still 2x what I think it should be. I wonder if he installed a new pump or a "rebuilt" (much cheaper). -I was thinking, if your kids don't want the Maori scholarship, that could be an avenue for you. You could explore a new subject or a 2nd career, and start a whole new life. Your happiness wouldn't depend so much on whether the kids remember to call or visit. (Sad but predictable) You're close to your kids; my family has each gone his separate way, like spiders, and there is very little association among us.



The mechanic said a new fuel pump was about $400, and he had shopped around to get a cheaper one. The actual cost was $299, I think. (I haven't got the bill, cos it was close to closing time and they're posting it). The rest was labour, he said a fuel pump is difficult to remove and replace. I couldn't debate this except to ring around other mechanics, the only guy I know who has any mechanical knowledge does his own car repairs and uses a lot of guesswork.



I have had my eye on some university papers but I'm not sure where they would lead me job-wise. Every time I get an idea for a business venture some bastard leads in and does it first. I don't have any start-up capital but there are ways around that; it's more getting a solid, practical idea.



You're right; you can't debate the price of a fuel pump w/o some knowledge. Anyway, I shouldn't be criticizing the prices of fuel pumps in NZ when I'm totally ignorant. Maybe there's a big import tariff, for example. If you wanted to do just a little more checking you could visit a local auto parts store. Tell them your car's year, make, & model, and ask the price of a fuel pump. They'll ask, "New or rebuilt?" Ask for both prices. A new one of anything costs about 3x a rebuilt. They must make a huge profit on the new ones. Or maybe they have to buy original mfr's parts from the auto dealer, who isn't about to give any serious discounts to his competitors. -Auto parts rebuilders work deep in a subterranean basement in Lost Souls, Alabama, where they're working off drug debts and mafia loans. They get carloads of defective parts, which they disassemble, clean, and replace as little as possible. I don't think they bother to test the "repaired" units. You never know what you're getting with a rebuilt, but they're affordable. :(



He may be right that the fuel pump is difficult to remove. I believe it's located inside the fuel tank (seriously), so he has to drain the fuel, lower the tank, open it up, etc. I've never gone inside the fuel tank. There be dragons. :(-So this shop is big enough that they have a computer to print the bills? I had pictured a little garage with a dirt floor and a mechanic covered with grease and dirt, head to foot, from rolling around under oil-oozing vehicles while snakes, rats, and wild rabbits run around, over his face, chased by barking dingoes and giant spiders. :)



In the 1960s and 70s I bought a few books published by women, for women, with tips for on starting a new business. I figured if a book was good for women it could be good for me, too, since women are so much like people. I hear we share 75% of our DNA. I just hope that the books don't make me wear hose and high heels. I'd have to think twice about that. -Here are a couple searches that might yield something useful:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=ZNZ&q=women+working+home&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=-http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=4kE&q=women+entrepreneurs&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10-I suppose you've already made these or similar searches. I just looked through my stacks of books but I couldn't find an example. I may have donated them. I'm about to take another load down to the Senior Center. My neighbor volunteers there. I got in every couple of months and find kitchenware, books, and perfectly good shirts for $2. &nbsp



I made so many typos and misspells in the previous comment I have to re-post it. -In the 1960s and 70s I bought a few books published by women, for women, with tips for starting and running a small business. I figured if a book was good for women it could be good for me, too, since women are a lot like people. I hear we share 75% of our DNA. I just hope that those women's books won't make me wear hose and high heels. I'd have to think twice about that.-Here are a couple searches that might yield something useful:[see above]-I suppose you've already made similar searches. I just looked through my stacks of books but I couldn't find an example. I may have donated them. I'm about to take another load down to the local Senior Center. My neighbor volunteers there and she often suggests that I donate my old stuff there, too. I go in every couple of months and I find cheap kitchenware, books, and perfectly good shirts for $2.



You were right about the garage except for the snakes and dingoes.:)Ditto about the fuel pump being in the fuel tank, he also said I need to keep the car quarter or half-full because the fuel acts as lubricant for the pump. He said, frowning, that he had to put $10 petrol in the car because it was bone-dry but I guess this actually helped him when he was taking it apart. Perhaps I should have asked for a price reduction for being so considerate.



At the last book sale I went to I found a photographic study of early NZ, and tonight discovered a photo in there of my great great grandmother. She's in the centre of a group of huge, fierce-looking Maori warriors, a tiny pakeha woman with a determined look in her eye and arms folded. Sascha in 1867.:)



>>Sascha in 1867That prompted me to look for more info on the Maori. This looks interesting. It's tidbits of a history of NZ from Clemson College or University (?):http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/PamMack/lec124/newzealand.html-This appears to be a homepage for history of NZ:http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/At the bottom of the page is a "Memorials Register" that looks interesting. You might find some family history there. -What are some Maori characteristics? Facial, skin, body type, etc? In scanning their photos online I noticed that some of them look Japanese to me. Here's an example, but it's an artist's sketch, not a photo:http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/conscription-propaganda-poster-for-maori->>$10 petrolDon't worry; you've paid for it, even if it wasn't itemized separately. :)-I've also heard that you should keep some fuel in the tank but the important thing is to keep the pump itself primed (full of liquid). If the fuel level drops too far the pump intake will be exposed and the pump will "suck air." It's the liquid fuel inside the pump that provides the lubricating and cooling. Even a gallon is enough. Oops. I mean a few liters. :)-For two totally different reasons it's better to keep the tank full (or close to it). One, in winter, the water vapor contained in the air will condense inside the tank. Water is heavier than the fuel and sinks to the bottom--where it will eventually rise a cm or so to the level of the pump intake. Water in the fuel line will freeze and block the flow of fuel to the engine--no start. -Two, in case of a medical emergency, natural disaster, terrorist attack, volcano eruption, or enraged Maori warriors uprising to take back their land, you'll want a full tank to get you to a safe place. Either that or dress like a Maori warrior and hope they accept you. :)-So the garage really has a dirt floor? How many people work there? Just one mechanic or more? -



>>So the garage really has a dirt floor?No, I was kidding, but it's just a small garage, although part of a larger chain. There's about four mechanics and the woman in reception. Thank you for the extra info, handy to know, especially as the car is getting old, stupid to have problems that are just the result of my own ignorance, if I can prevent them.Maori characteristics are a brown skin (although there are many Maori now who are fair-skinned), men are muscular as a rule, medium height about 5ft 8in. Facial characteristics are a flattish, broad nose, large brown eyes,thickish lips, square face.Black or red hair. Maori woman are usually quite beautiful (my mother was). Think Kiri te Kanawa.



The soldier sketch you linked is wildly inaccurate, they have no Japanese characteristics, quite the opposite really. Maori generally are very musical, easy-going, generous and openly affectionate, very community/family oriented. This description is, of course, very simplistic but it's broadly true. It's quite hard to describe what Maori look like now because there has been so much inter-marriage. It is not uncommon to see someone in the media speaking on Maori issues, with a Maori name, who looks completely Pakeha.



Thank you for the links on NZ BTW - really interesting. NZers are largely ignorant of their own history, for some reason, maybe because they for so long thought of themselves as being linked to somewhere else rather than as a entity on their own.



Wow, she's a knockout. I didn't know she was a NZer. Hubba-hubba! Ding-ding! :)http://www.achievement.org/achievers/tek0/headers/tek0_image.gif-http://www.achievement.org/achievers/tek0/large/tek0-033.jpg-I was checking my Recipes folder and I found this link. I love Baba Ghannouj:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_ghanoushIt's much more tangy and tasty than hummus (IMO). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummus-Interesting description of the Maori characteristics. I'd need to study some naked Maori women to complete the picture and give me a fuller appreciation. ... Are you gonna slap me now? :)-Did you allow the fuel tank to run dry? If not, then you didn't do anything to cause its demise. They just wear out. How many miles on your rig? You've never mentioned the make/model. Most cars are worth fixing as long as you can drive them. If it costs $500 NZD to repair it now and then, consider that payments on a new car would cost that much every month. I keep every car as long as possible. I have 10 years on my Subaru.



The odometer stopped eons ago. I have no idea how many KM on the clock. It's a 92 Nissan Bluebird.>>I'd need to study some naked Maori women to complete the picture and give me a fuller appreciation. ... Are you gonna slap me now? :)-No need. Maori women are very forthright and have no qualms about telling you exactly what they think. They tend to slap their husbands around for sport as well. When my neighbour threw her husband out, she literally threw him out, shoved him out the front door screaming obscenities at him and threw everything he owned after him, then slammed the door shut.No-one needed to be told what was happening there.



I think the odometer and speedometer use the same cable. I replaced one on my old VW Beetle long ago. It might be a backyard mechanic kind of thing (not too difficult). The cable itself should be cheap. The only question is the labor. -The Nissan Bluebird http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Bluebirdhas been around since 1957, with various model names and numbers. It must be very reliable or it wouldn't be so popular. The most important thing is to keep the oil changed, Every 8,000 km is good for normal driving, more frequently if a lot of your driving is in short trips. -On short trips the engine never warms up to its rated operating temperature, which is nedessary in order to boil off the small amount of water in the crankcase. Water combines with sulfur and other impurities in the oil and forms strong acids, which attack the metal inside the engine, causing serious wear. -Lawdy, how I do go on. -



Replacing the odometer cable would only benefit me if I was going to sell it, and I think the old girl has too many bumps and grinds to have any commercial value. It is an extremely reliable car as a rule, but it's starting to cost me now. I was saving for another one but the economic downturn put paid to that, I had to use the money for frivolous stuff like bread and milk.



I was thinking of being able to track how many km you've driven since the last oil change. But you're right, the cable is low on your list of priorities. Keeping clean oil in the crankcase is the most important thing for extending the life of the engine. -Shame on you for wasting your $$ on frivolous stuff like bread and milk!



Oh I know. Occasionally when no-one is looking I even throw a chocolate bar into the shopping trolley but only on days when I'm feeling truly adventurous..seriously, I'm starting to feel that's far too close to the truth. Must be because we're on the verge of summer and Christmas holidays but...not quite yet. I can't wait to get off the treadmill. I feel quite restless and bored.



I hibernate on holidays. Lie low and keep quiet. Avoid making any noise that would tip off the enemy. -I can't imagine Xmas in the middle of summer. I guess it's just the opposite for you. If you see any xmas cards that show xmas in the summer, pls send a scan or image. Do you have a scanner? I have an old hp printer-scanner-copier that cost about $80 USD 5 years ago but it produces excellent results. Do you have an annual tradition of exchanging xmas cards, as we do here?



We do have a tradition of sending cards, or at least we used to, before people starting sending e-cards.I used to get the kids to make them when they were pre-schoolers but then they grew up and started complaining about being used as child labour and I started to really look at the damn things, snow-capped mountains 'n all and incredibly expensive and flagged it. I do return cards if one is sent to me, but it's usually a photo card to update rarely-seen relatives on what we've been doing. Despite being non-religious I do like the festive spirit and shopping for pressies 'n stuff..guess I'm just another sucker for the retailers to grow fat on.



There are lots of kiwi/Australian cards with Santa is jandals (flipflops, thongs, whatever you call them)and usually a pair of Hawaiian-style shorts, drinking a beer and lying out on the beach. The only "white" Christmas I ever had was in London and it was fun for about two hours and then it was boring - nothing to do, nowhere to go. We usually spend the morning together then the kids go off to see friends, and then we all go to the beach for a barbecue. Occasionally it rains and then all the board games come out and we eat our weight in chips and dip.



I'll see if I can find you a pic. I gave my scanner away, never used it.



Was it a standalone (separate) scanner or a combination printer-scanner-copier? I'm always scanning things. I scan tiny labels, too small to read, on new equipment, and blow them up until they're legible. I save the image, sometimes print it. I scan original documents, like application forms, so if (when) I make a mistake I can print new blank forms. i scan important papers before I mail them, and store the scanned JPG images for reference. It's not high-tech; it's just ordinary clerical work. -I'm going into lockdown mode. Tomorrow is my last day to prepare myself mentally to visit my mother, the last surviving matriarch. She was next to the youngest in a family of seven sisters. She said there was one boy, but he died. I would have done the same. No male could have survived in that hostile environment. -My mom used to put me to work making paper chains for the xmas tree. She would give me a pile of old wrapping paper, scissors, and glue, and I'd cut out strips, roll them into circles and glue the ends together to make links. I took pride in my work and didn't notice that she was keeping me occupied and out of her way while she cooked and cleaned and fussed about. We were like a regular family for the first few years. I don't know what happened after that. Couldn't have been important.



>>I used to get the kids to make them when they were pre-schoolers but then they grew up and started complaining about being used as child labour<<-I don't know how you do it, but there's another description that begs to be immortalized in your family biography. It's just hilarious.



The scanner was a combination. Your usage makes sense - wish I'd thought of it.



Well, they get better and cheaper all the time. I've had good luck with my old HP. It's slow but it has surprisingly good resolution, both printing and scanning. Since I'm not running production quantities, speed is not an issue. -I also have an older Canon with clogged color jets in the printhead so I use it for black only, which is 98% of my printing needs. I have some old bulk ink I bought long ago for refilling cartridges. I don't bother refilling any longer; when the printing looks shabby I just pour a few drops of ink onto the felt at the bottom of the cartridge. It soaks in and lets me print another 50 pages or so. :) I'm a cheapskate when it comes to unnecessary new hardware. -As a friend once said, home computing should be FUN. If it's not fun, then why bother?



>>No male could have survived in that hostile environment.I forgot to answer this: you're talking to someone from a family of two boys and seven girls.:0I've had too much fun in the sun. Got the kids out weeding the gardens - yes I bribed them *rolls eyes* - but we got a lot done and it's almost looking presentable. 23 degrees today though so it's warming up. Just bought a new hammock, very cool, and have strung it up between the plum and walnut tree. It takes two people so I'm not sure how long it's going to last once the various bf's figure it's a nice way to cuddle.



>>nice way to cuddle.ya, RIGHT! You might need to reinforce the support ropes. Teenage cuddling can be quite frisky. That may not be what you wanted to hear. :)-Extortion plot:You could hide a video camera out there and threaten to post the 'cuddle' videos on the 'net unless they weed the garden vigorously, 12 hours/day for the rest of the summer. :)-Or, much simpler, mount a couple of spotlights in the trees above the hammock, with the switch inside the house. At the first sounds of cuddling (!), you flip the switch, and the cuddling is brightly illuminated. -Better yet, use motion detector spotlights. No motion = no problem. Energetic cuddling = bright lights. -Sadly, your kids are much too smart to fall for any simple solution. :(



>>two boys and seven girls.Did the boys grow up gay?? :)



I've already had to reinforce the support ropes - I jumped into it and the whole lot crashed to the ground - three times. No Christmas puddin' for me.:(>>Sadly, your kids are much too smart to fall for any simple solution. :(Not only that but I'm way too lazy.>>Did the boys grow up gay?? :)I've passed this on to my rugby-playing, beer-drinking ya-talkin'-to-me-Jimmy? type brothers. They'll be around to see you shortly.Have just posted a NZ Santa pic for you in another answer on this thread, which will no doubt confuse the hell out of Keithold:)



I found your Kiwi Santa, thanks. Is it something you found online? Doesn't matter; I'm just curious. I didn't post a comment there, since we've already gone way off-topic here. At a certain point it's called "hijacking the thread." Let's move to another thread that one of us started. Apologies to Keithold. :)



When it IS Christmas in the summer I will post a real McCoy photo for ya. I think Keithold is Kiwi or Oz, so I don't think he'll scream. But OK, see you shortly elsewhere.