The Maldovarium
This topic contains 1,003 replies, has 38 voices, and was last updated by 
IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan 5 years, 6 months ago.
-
AuthorPosts
-
23 March 2017 at 09:56 #55849
@ichabod Mad times indeed. (Hugs for those who need them) One of the saddest things about these disasters right now is that while the officials, etc. in the U.K. are handling this with grace and dignity, it is not a guarantee that those in power elsewhere will. Many people will turn this into just another political football to kick around to advance their agendas, and lose sight of the real losses.
24 March 2017 at 09:11 #55850@craig: Listened to this, it’s quite manic isn’t it. It put me in mind of Heaven Sent.
Missy
24 March 2017 at 17:22 #5585224 March 2017 at 17:45 #55853Indeed! Just saw the post of Facebook. No live streaming yet.
24 March 2017 at 17:49 #55854They’ve been testing the cameras all day, luckily the live stream was just on when she arrived. A few camera problems now, though. Do you follow the chat there?
24 March 2017 at 18:37 #55855Occasionally, but not closely enough to avoid losing the thread because when you scroll back it pings forward every time someone joins.
Blue is about on schedule, so a week or so for the others, if all has gone well over winter.
So! Get your popcorn out for another season of sex and shenanigans on the Dyfi!
24 March 2017 at 18:54 #55856When you click on the little padlock at the bottom of the chat it will stop updating and you can catch up. 🙂
Let’s hope for a proper popcorn season this year!
24 March 2017 at 22:04 #5585724 March 2017 at 23:28 #55858Yes, but I haven’t managed to see her myself, yet. Have you read the blog about the other nest?
It’s been an exciting few days – both are back at Manton Bay, and at Loch of the Lowes, too. And one at Loch Garten. And…
*sigh*
Why oh why did you post that link to the Dyfi last year?!? 😀
25 March 2017 at 00:22 #55859It was a cunning plan to bring about the Osprey Overlordship.
25 March 2017 at 01:11 #55860Anonymous @
Mum (PUro the older) says hello and welcome back!!
The Osprey project. She said exactly the same as @xad4. SHe was looking at it all the time last year. Got confused about what was who but considering magpies and swallows look the same to her shes learning something!
She hopeful for a shindig 🙂
Thank you. Thane and Puro
(it seems that the Dr Who Forum elders are returning …….)
27 March 2017 at 17:31 #55874Many things return in the spring. Ospreys, pollen, my energy, etc. Is the return of the ospreys the first sign of spring in Wales? I like to say that the first sign of spring in Vancouver is when Bellagio’s Gelato reopens on Main Street (this hasn’t happened yet). Spring has been a little slow arriving this year, as we actually had winter for once. No cherry blossoms yet. But daffodils are starting to open! I’ve spent much of the winter with my head in alternate realities, but I’m pulling myself out now to get out into the garden as soon as it stops raining.
I hope everyone has made it successfully through the winter (or summer, as the case may be), surviving blizzards, floods, droughts, and political upheaval of all sorts. Love to all, especially the lurkers!
28 March 2017 at 01:11 #55883We’ve been watching horrific news coverage about Cyclone Debbie and the damage being caused in Queensland.
I’m sure that all of us hope fervently that any members who live there are safe.Missy
28 March 2017 at 02:27 #55884Well, we’ve been waiting for you! (ssh, Puro here, using Thane15’s account). Appreciated your comments re: the passing of various significant musos on the Music Thread.
Glad to see you’re back and also in one piece -Canada aint that far from the US and that’s crazy town….
Storm season in full array I’m afraid. This particular cyclone is slow and so deceptive. See a bit of sun? No more rain? Unfortunately, the worst hasn’t happened yet. It’s stalling over the warm waters off Airlie and Bowen and will likely smash into Bowen -around now. Anyone not evacuated should basically stay inside and lie in the bath (did that many a time myself -though probably not during a cyclone 🙂 ). They’re clever not to deploy volunteer emergency services until the worst is over. In SE QLD, we’re just getting NE warm breezes and appalling humidity.
Good thing my parents never bought their dream house. About 35 years ago, they stood near to Airlie Beach -as in ON it where with a spectacular 3 storey mansion had been ‘developed.’ I was almost 16 but even I knew that the house would likely sink or be blown away within a year.
Which is exactly what happened four months later. I did ask them: “Why do you think this is so cheap?”
Dad, still trusting at that point, said: “because this is such a beautiful; hidden eden, far away from major cities. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live here?”
Being a teenager, all I could think of was: boiling humidity, no friends, no roads, shops, malls or cinemas. Also no university.
A week later they bought in Brisbane! Lucky in more ways than one.
Kindest,
Thane and Puro.
28 March 2017 at 02:41 #55885“alternate realities”
What did you find?
Thane would likely say “a black hole” without realising how rude that would actually be!
Thankfully it’s just Puro -I’m the one who talks waaay too much. Good to hear that Gelato is opening and daffodils springing up, “loudly say cuckoo” (you’d know that ditty I’m sure).
As our Winter approaches with temps of a mild 21 degrees it’s time to plant lettuces, tomatoes and annuals. I favour snapdragons, violas, pansies and petunias which will last to December. I’ve a great landscape gardener who does some fabulous favours including digging holes and bringing around the smelliest compost which the neighbours fuss over. But a month on, the garden will be a picture postcard -not as beautiful as @mudlark whose garden is of a professional standard! But it might be worth Thane snapping a picture for the Maldo when in full bloom. I’ll put a Who clue inside it! Then it will be, as kids say these days: “legit.”
Puro.
28 March 2017 at 03:59 #55887Thane and Puro.
Let us hope that Debbie will bow herself out very soon. Why lie in the bath? How in the world would that help?
We’ve been to Brisbane and the Gold coast a few times, in fact Brisbane reminded us very much of London in some areas. alas, the humidity precluded any thoughts of moving there.
Missy
28 March 2017 at 06:13 #55890baths are great. It’s a strong, fortified position in a room with tiles and generally properly sealed windows -if it’s built properly.
The bathroom area is very safe in a storm and a storm blanket placed over the occupants in the bath can be one way to protect yourself if there are many windows in open rooms (QLD houses tend to be open plan) which can shatter.
Brisbane like London in some areas? Not sure I’ve heard that before myself 🙂
29 March 2017 at 21:03 #55899@thane15 (puro)
Flattery will get you a long way, 🙂 but I think that you over-praise my garden. The word ‘professional’ would not occur to anyone seeing it at the moment, at any rate, although it has a certain degree of dishevelled charm, with the narcissi, primroses, violets, camellia and Japanese quince in full flower It is still suffering the after effects of last year’s neglect, when I was convalescing from the hip op and couldn’t do much; and now that I am fit but once again fully engaged in my research project, it is still not getting the attention it needs. Yesterday I had fully intended to make use of the spring weather – sunny, 17 C – by cutting the lawn and doing some much needed weeding at least, but ended up spending the whole day trying to sort out some anomalies in my mapping of the medieval field system. I think that I now have it sorted, but after ten hours trying to get it to fit exactly the 15th century written description I was ready to hit the bottle.
@arbutus I think I know what you mean about alternate realities, although in my case my head, or at least my nose, was for most of the season tucked firmly under my furry tail, emerging from time to time only to observe that the world seemed, indeed, to be yielding to insanity. In the present circumstances, alternate realities look very seductive 😈
29 March 2017 at 23:25 #55900@mudlark your garden is I’m sure terrific! However, the medieval work is amazing!!
I’m at home because….all SE QLDs are closed. My mate texted me (who has the telly on in the morning?) and I thought it was a prank. Mum didn’t think so, she was up out in the STORM putting grassy stuff on the lawn so it goes greener. I saw this figure wet, like a monster, looming in front of me (I was up too -studying for a spelling test I didn’t know about which I’ll now never sit!) and wondered what the hell?
Apparently Mum always used to do this. Why pour water from the hose when you’ve got a big rain?
Apparently we have flash flooding. This has never happened.. I mean it’s UNPRECEDENTED!
Also I didn’t know did I and ended up wandering around an empty school. The entire school system closed?
A very late call indeed.
Possibly Mum’ll make me sit the test (with her) and read 🙂
Or telly!
Thane
29 March 2017 at 23:58 #55901@all
so yes, the soccer club is under water already, the local park has bars or something but they’re under water too.
I’m now watching the telly!
Bad news….possibly no beach holiday…
30 March 2017 at 02:41 #55902@thane15 I am happy that you and Mom are OK. I have been watching some of the videos of the damage to peoples homes from the wind and all the flooding. My thoughts are with you guys.
When my kids were young they would get up for school and if there was a blizzard or freezing rain they would huddle by the radio (no internet way,way back then ) and hope that they would hear the magic words “school buses are cancelled and schools are closed.” Then much rejoicing,by them of course.
@mudlark Only a few brave crocus have showed themselves here but soon…..
30 March 2017 at 03:04 #55903Yep, well mum got a ‘school closed’ warning on her phone. except it was at 10 am -I was home already!
Crazy. Also, there’s water creep. Bit by bit downstairs has some wet spots coming in from the kick boards -or whatever they’re called. I’m on towel duty. So, who knows. We have milk and dry goods and are expecting two days of power outs due to storm damage. Scrabble, candles and books is what we’ll have. Ohm except without power mum’s treatment stuff won’t work but I can’t imagine she’ll want to leave the house. Not with water creep….
Me? I say, it’s just a house and mum says “its THE house.” 😀 Spirits up….
30 March 2017 at 05:10 #55904@thane15;
Me? I say, it’s just a house and mum says “its THE house.” 😀 Spirits up….
And she’s right!
As for Brisbane mirroring parts of London. The few times we’ve been, we would be about to turn the corner, and I’d say ” St. Pancras station is round the corner.” It was unnerving to find that it wasn’t.
Missy
30 March 2017 at 09:36 #55908Morning (or whatever it is where you are) Whopeople. One last shameless plug from me for the 24 hour lecture marathon which kicks off at 17.00 today and goes on till 17.00 on Friday 31st. Full programme, including details of how you can tune in to our pop-up radio station, if you so wish, from 15.00 today:
All in aid of Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity and Teenage Cancer Trust. If anyone felt moved/able to donate, we’d be incredibly grateful.
<span class=”im”>https://mydonate.bt.com/<wbr />events/24hourinspire2017</span>
No more sleep for me till Friday night, but I’ll be able to turn my thoughts to Who once this is done!
30 March 2017 at 10:25 #55909https://mydonate.bt.com/events/24hourinspire2017
That link came out a bit scrambled – see if this is better…
30 March 2017 at 10:55 #55910@thane15
Stay safe all of you. I just checked your weather here which indicates that you are currently (10.30 am our time) still at the epicentre of a deluge. I hope that does not mean that the water creep in your house has turned into a full scale flood. Having experienced a flooded house once, way back in 1968 when the piddling little river that bordered the garden rose 7ft overnight and decided to re-route itself down our driveway, I know how devastating that can be.
The crocuses here have done their stuff and are now over, but they made quite a show. I planted a single handful of corms (species crocuses from my mother’s garden) 22 years ago and they have gradually proliferated into a carpet, covering large areas of the borders and invading the lawn.
Minor panic first thing this morning, when I suddenly remembered that I had a haematology appointment looming and should have had a blood sample taken two days ago 😳 Cue desperate call to my GP surgery:
Me – in my best wheedling tones: I need a blood sample taken today for a teleclinic appointment next Tuesday; is there any chance … ?
Receptionist: Do you have the appropriate form with you?
Me: Yes.
Receptionist: No problem then. What time would suit you best? 9.30 or 10.05?
Who says the NHS is inefficient!
30 March 2017 at 13:37 #55911@thane13 I hope you and family are ok and too adversely affected by “Debbie”.
Cheers
Janette
30 March 2017 at 17:29 #55912Evening All
Especially the special ones, you know who you are 😉
I’m going to a real pub tonight to meet an old friend who was my first Whovian friend, we genuinely used to hide behind the sofa at each others houses whilst watching D2 and D3!!!!
Big hugs all around and so looking forward to the new season
31 March 2017 at 00:46 #55913@mudlark @janetteb and all (hello @rob)
Yes, Puro, Dad and I are OK. Mum was moaning about 8 pm when the wind started howling: “the roof will blow off”
and then exhausted because of the nappy changing -by that I mean the water creep, and towels changing under the kickboards or wainscotting -or whatever one calls it, she fell asleep. We all took turns changing the towels. She has a builder mate who is coming to look at the problems.
All the other areas down south and north are pretty bad though -we’re damn lucky.
Thane and the House
31 March 2017 at 01:15 #55914That sounds both upsetting -the blood test – and then great! In between flood warnings we had Theresa May talking in Parliament about Brexit. I really hope the NHS is going to continue to be great. But there’s a lot of press saying Brexit’s Bad and we agree.
I forgot to say -we kept power which meant mum’s stuff, in the fridge, and everywhere could still work if she needed it so we’re very very lucky and not moaning. So much worse stuff on the news. House after house under water: Dad’s school area is totally down but schools are closed now anyway. No-one’s on the roads!
Thane and the House (thanks @missy. Yes, house is important, of course, but we ‘re worried about leaving the suburb to get to a hospital -the three main ones near here were cut off! )
31 March 2017 at 05:29 #55915@thane15:
Oh good grief! we watched the TV news this morning, those poor people.
A friend of ours lives in Palm Springs and so far all is well, not even power cuts. She was explaining that there are many creeks and rivers in Queensland, so with the run off from the mountains it will be disaster for low lying areas those poor animals too. Thank goodness all is all right with you. How are the leaks?
Missy
31 March 2017 at 06:25 #55916@mudlark Your research sounds interesting. What allure can modern weeds hold in the face of 15th-century fields? 🙂 Temperatures are just starting to creep up into double digits here, so I haven’t done much yet. This will come. My alternate reality this past few months has circled between the world of the writing and the world of the 17-year-old son. Graduation approaches and with it a seminal realignment of the world as we know it.
@thane15 Hello, Hybrid! Ha. Thane would not be wrong. Writing these days is definitely a black hole, although it shoots me out just in time to prepare dinner, or make it to teaching on time, but certainly not soon enough to iron the shirts or clean the bathroom. Sorry, guys, I promise I’ll get that done tomorrow! 🙂
I gather you all are not drowned. Thank goodness. I saw some horrifying footage, but I think the worst of it was to the north of you? Why is it with water, that so often there is either not enough or too much? You all sound as if you’re holding your own with remarkable fortitude! I trust no serious damage has been done to the home, and so fortunate that you didn’t lose power.
Arbutus Jr. would envy you your “Flood Day”; this past winter was actually the coldest of his entire life, and still no Snow Days for the public schools. They just don’t close them here, most kids just don’t live far enough from the schools for it to be necessary. The private schools tend to close up, but they have a wider-spread population. He was in New York for a week on a music tour, and they had a big blizzard the second day which shut down the city. He sent me an unnatural photo of empty streets in lower Manhattan. So their performance in New Jersey was cancelled, and they all slept in and spent the afternoon shopping instead. It’s been some kind of year everywhere, hasn’t it?
31 March 2017 at 09:11 #55917@arbutus Cleaning bathrooms is always a job for tomorrow. I am feeling guilty this week because I have not done any writing, Too busy editing a podcast. In terms of gardening Canada is the opposite of S.A. We can’t do any gardening in summer due to the heat so we are just heading into garden season now and my garden is greatly in need of attention because unfortunately it has not been too hot for the weeds and with all the un-seasonal rain this summer they have run riot. Morning Glory is taking over again and even the wisteria needs a pruning. Reading you post however about just heading into double digits makes me glad that my ancestors decided to head east not west. (I do have a great grand grandfather buried in Canada. All his sons but one headed over there.)
@thane, continue to keep fingers crossed for you and your family. Wish you could send some of that excess water down our way. My garden really needs it.
Cheers
Janette
31 March 2017 at 09:19 #55918Yes, thank you the leaks stopped when the rain did. We went thru old rags, sleeping bags, old sheets and pretty much anything that was going to be taken away to the local charity shop. It’s dry now but ready for the next use until the builder (who visited today) can come and do a proper job.
The issue is that all low lying areas are under water -in some places water rose 1.5 metres in two hours. Someone showed, via phone, as it was rippling over their feet and the in the same place walked in with a very large stick and the water was way over their head -this was a back garden about 2 km south of our house in a nearby suburb called Stones Corner which has a levee with broken banks.
All along the major freeway, the side roads are mostly under water in a lot of places with announcements coming in at 8 pm last night to places like Beenleigh, Eagleby, Slacks Creek for an Evacuation Order -these places are roughly 15 kms south of us whilst 3 kms to the north all low lying suburbs we regularly visit are pretty badly hit.
Its why, many years ago in the 30s to 50s, all houses were built up to 3 or more metres high off the ground -that way, your garage is wet and everything else safe. Many modern houses aren’t built that way, but if you’re near a creek then you should be up a certain height. No matter what the real estate agents tell you. Behind our house, and one can see this on a map, there are flood and ‘underground’ creek patterns. Our house happens to be above that low lying creek (now built over) by about 7-8 metres. Other people behind us have steep driveways and the water falls right back down in the road. Good for them, but not for the street or for anyone who wants to drive thru it (when it’s flooded) and leave the area. Last night, it was mainly fine in this small area -our leaks were really from horizontal rain plummeting at the house for 48 straight hours!
Can’t believe it, but by 11 am today I was SO bored! I wished school had been on. I was complaining for weeks about needing a holiday and when I get one, I’m annoyed 😀
Still, I can see why dumb people scurf -getting behind a 4WD and being pulled along on a surf board over a wet area. They’re bored and think it’s fun but they don’t know that sharp metal, debris and logs can spit back up and cause serious injuries – & other things lurking in the water you can’t see but can make you sick.
Duh!
Cheers
The Hybrids. (or Hybrid?)
31 March 2017 at 09:20 #55919thank you yes -but we wished for rain for months! And then this happened!
Can’t win. Global warming f’sure.
31 March 2017 at 23:05 #55926@thane15
Delighted and relieved to know that you all survived with nothing worse than a little rising/falling damp, though I feel for all those who were flooded out, or lost their roofs or more.
I don’t know whether you followed up the link I included, but if not, and you weren’t already aware of the site, it is quite entertaining and informative and I used it to track the course of Debbie. You can zoom in on any place on the planet and get information on the current weather and forecast, with a side bar which you can use to summon up a general view of temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed or barometric pressure. Hours of innocent fun if you have nothing better to do 🙂
The blood test was just routine. The vampires (phlebotomists) have taken untold litres of my blood over the years without any ill effect. My only concern was that I usually book an appointment ahead of time, and I wasn’t sure if the could fit me in at short notice. If they hadn’t, I could have gone to the NHS walk-in centre in the city – about 25 mins walk from here even at my now relatively sedate pace, but that might have entailed my waiting there for an hour or two .
As for the NHS in general; in this region – at least in my recent experience -it is still providing a remarkably good and efficient service despite being under considerable strain, but how long this can continue is uncertain. In relation to GDP Britain spends less on its health service than any other country in Europe, and the present government seems intent on making further cuts while promoting policies which fragment the service and make it less efficient and cost effective. The man put in charge is on record as favouring a privatised system, which tells you all you need to know about the ideology driving their policy. I spent half an hour this evening filling in a questionnaire for a group campaigning for the NHS against the government and I have been signing petitions and writing letters, though with vanishing hope that it will have any effect. As for Brexit, I can hardly bring myself to watch the news or read the headlines now, or I become terminally depressed 🙁
I agree that weeds do not, in themselves, hold much allure, and I can become more than a little obsessive once I am absorbed in research, but yesterday and today the sun was shining and the temperatures were almost summery so, for the afternoons at least, the lawn and the weeds won, and even lawn-mowing and weeding can be quite soothing to the spirit. In normal years the weeds and pests have been controlled by a brief, gentle amble round the garden two or three times a weeks, but because I was incapacitated for much of last summer they flourished, flowered and seeded – so it’s back to square one. As my maternal grandmother observed in her wisdom, ‘One year’s seeding, seven years weeding’. The slugs and snails have yet to make an appearance, but I am armed and ready to do battle – and where they are concerned, I take no prisoners.
1 April 2017 at 06:08 #55933We haven’t heard – as yet – of any looting. One thing which has annoyed my OH and I, is that they are going ahead with the Commonwealth Games? It’s going to cost millions, which to our mind would be better served in helping ALL the flood victims. Sport can wait.
Missy
1 April 2017 at 13:48 #55941@mudlark I have to get out and garden in the next two days as the movers and shakers of the town will be doing a walking tour down our street on Wednesday. Eldest son gets the job of mowing though. I draw the line at lawnmowers.
I tend to read mostly world news rather than Australian news because the later, being closer to home, depresses me more. Unfortunately now the Guardian covers Australia more and I keep noticing things I would rather not know. Sadly our government, like yours is also anti public health. Well more just anti public. They have voted for another tax drop for business. They now pay 25 percent tax. Salary earners pay up to fifty percent. I hate news and I hate caring about the news. (Saying that I am reminded of the women in the hospital ward saying that they don’t watch news anymore. No wonder they had no idea of what was going on the world and no concern which would not be such a problem if they did not have the vote.)
Cheers
Janette
1 April 2017 at 16:44 #55942@xad4 @Thane15
And Monty and Glesni arrive back on the same day. Let shenanigans begin!
1 April 2017 at 21:08 #55943And I am not dead. Just a very busy yank.
2 April 2017 at 02:51 #559472 April 2017 at 13:57 #55957This made me LOL. LindaLee’s politically engaged colleague:
6 April 2017 at 11:21 #55984Whatever makes you smile I suppose.
Missy
10 April 2017 at 05:12 #56056For an expatriate Australian, really sad news that John Clarke died today. One of the best satirists Australia (or New Zealand, his home country) has ever produced. There are a million clips that could capture his brilliance. Here is one of them.
10 April 2017 at 05:43 #56057sad indeed.
I’d look forward every Thursday to their 3 mins skits -and Clarke’s articles, and books.
Considering our Australian usage and abusage discussion on the other thread, this hits home.
Puro and Thane
10 April 2017 at 10:36 #56061Now that was funny and very, very clever. My OH used to love watching this every week.
I thought that he was an Australian and have since discovered that he was a New Zealander. At least he died doing what he loved.
Missy
16 April 2017 at 04:33 #56240I totally agree. This is Puro speaking -I (Thane) have issues with the slowness with Broadchurch!
I, however, have utterly LOVED it. Tennant’s performance in the penultimate episode when he was “having at” the boys who hassled his daughter was superb. His ability to stay tense, and in the moment is balanced out by completely ‘losing it.’ I agree -if this is Chibnall at his best then Long Live Doctor Who. I’ve seen many of these actors in other roles (the wife of Mark Latimer) but their performances here are underscored by a very strong, specific direction. Over seen by the creative director. It’s a much tighter, clearer set of interwoven stories than even Season 1, in my opinion so, again Long Live….
Best to all, and welcome back @rorysmith too. And @phaseshift.
Thane for Puro.
23 April 2017 at 13:28 #56607Hearkening back to the discussion about pronunciation I thought this article worth a read.
Cheers
Janette
24 April 2017 at 06:02 #56634@janetteb From the cited article: Similarly the pronunciation of the letter “t” in words like metal is disappearing and is being replaced by glottal stops, in which a stop sound is made by rapidly closing the vocal cords. In this way, the word butter has ended up with a pronunciation like “bu’er”.
Agh! I hate it, hate it, hate it! I do *not* understand why this is, but this exact change is also going on in the US, and it sounds awful in a sentence spoken by in America English: “We drove to the moun’ins to buy some bu’er.” This is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, people — not in New York or San Francisco or D.C. or — on the other hand, I haven’t been to any of those cities recently, so who knows. Now that I’ve spotted it coming from news announcers on TV, I expect the end is pretty damn nigh. And I am not a happy camper. I mean, when “Bill Potts” speaks this way, the rest of what she’s saying works with it. When the young Latina clerk at the medical supply store does, it sounds ghastly.
I want it to stop. Too bad . . .
24 April 2017 at 17:22 #56648For those of us with hearing loss, the problem goes beyond general annoyance. For me, the consonants are already missing somewhat, so the failure to pronounce them only compounds my problem. Hearing aids help, but of course they can’t replace the hearing that’s lost; they only augment whatever hearing the individual has.
When people realize you have hearing loss, they tend to shout … then look baffled when you still don’t understand what they’re saying. All shouting does is pump up the volume. But if portions of the speaker’s pitch stray beyond the listener’s range, or the “punctuation” provided by consonants is missing, what we hear is a lot of verbal mud, with the occasional clearly understood word thrown in.
-
AuthorPosts
The topic ‘The Maldovarium’ is closed to new replies.
