Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[Anduin]

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Interesting!  I will have to try that.  I also have problem holding the binoculars steady.  I tried leaning my elbow on my husband's shoulder the other day.

Oh, I was thinking it was a double vision thing. Stability is a different issue.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Bald eagle and nuthatcher!  Love that.

I like watching birds, but I'm crap with the binoculars.  They make me dizzy or I can't focus. 

My father taught me how to use them but I forget now because it's been so long.  There was one pair that did that and another that didn't so I found it depended on the binoculars.  When I was a kid my bedroom window was high up and faced the tip end of the Harlem River.  We were on a cliff so I saw everything, even the 225th St. Bridge, the Palisades and Spuytin Duyvil.  There was always a "show" to watch from my window, whether it was an accident on the NYS Thruway, the trains on the tracks or barges on the river.  Even the bridge going up and down to let tall boats pass.  So I kept a pair of binoculars on my windowsill to watch the show from my bed.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

Our mirrors must have come from the same place.  To quote Billy Crystal I look "marvelous" in my bathroom mirror.  The mirror at the beauty salon where I got my hair cut earlier today, not so much!

I just got my hair cut yesterday.  I swear I look like Jabba the Hutt in that mirror!!

[annzeepark914]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I just got my hair cut yesterday.  I swear I look like Jabba the Hutt in that mirror!!

Oh, no! Did they cut your bangs too short? When I do that to myself, in between appts, I said I look like Buster Brown

[Yeah No]

37 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Oh, no! Did they cut your bangs too short? When I do that to myself, in between appts, I said I look like Buster Brown

LOL you made me spray tea at my screen!!  😆 Actually no, I have one big side bang I messed up too many times to attempt myself anymore, but I did go in a couple of weeks early because my stylist is going on vacation soon and I worried she would cut it too short. She didn't, thankfully. I've been with her for over 20 years now. Thank goodness she's 10 years younger than me.

[EtheltoTillie]

I just looked up Jabba the Hut and he has no hair!  Also a pointy head.  Surely you don't look like that.

[Yeah No]

1 minute ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I just looked up Jabba the Hut and he has no hair!  Also a pointy head.  Surely you don't look like that.

I admit I suffer from body dysmorphia but no, even I don't really think I look like that, thankfully!!

[Browncoat]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

My father taught me how to use them but I forget now because it's been so long.  There was one pair that did that and another that didn't so I found it depended on the binoculars.  When I was a kid my bedroom window was high up and faced the tip end of the Harlem River.  We were on a cliff so I saw everything, even the 225th St. Bridge, the Palisades and Spuytin Duyvil.  There was always a "show" to watch from my window, whether it was an accident on the NYS Thruway, the trains on the tracks or barges on the river.  Even the bridge going up and down to let tall boats pass.  So I kept a pair of binoculars on my windowsill to watch the show from my bed.

The first thing to do with binoculars is make sure the eyepieces are the correct distance apart.  Your binoculars should be adjustable -- look through both sides and "fold" them until you only see one image.  One that's done, focus should be fairly easy if your set has a focus wheel in the middle.  I still sometimes turn it the wrong way, but it's quick enough to turn it back.  Steadiness I can't help with -- your best bet is to brace your arms on something solid.  There are other adjustments, but those are the basics.

[Anela]

I've been up all day, for a few days in a row - finally. I was just outside, and almost stepped on a snake that went slithering past me. I let out a "whoa!" and then saw a frog leaping across the garden, about thirty seconds after it went under the deck. 

It was a harmless snake. I know they're out there, I just don't expect them to go right past me. 

[annzeepark914]

I just can't handle seeing snakes. There's a commercial on TV lately, about a garden hose and egads...in some scenes it looks like a slithering snake 😖.

[Anela]

8 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

I just can't handle seeing snakes. There's a commercial on TV lately, about a garden hose and egads...in some scenes it looks like a slithering snake 😖.

I thought it was the hose, at first.  Then it moved, as I walked back to the deck. I wonder if it lives under there.  It did freak me out a bit, that it was under there, even though I know it can’t hurt me. 

[SweetieDarling]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

I thought it was the hose, at first.  Then it moved, as I walked back to the deck. I wonder if it lives under there.  It did freak me out a bit, that it was under there, even though I know it can’t hurt me. 

That happened to me once, until I remembered we don't own a black hose.

I was very disappointed none of the neighbors came out to see what the screaming was about

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

I was just outside, and almost stepped on a snake that went slithering past me. I let out a "whoa!"

That's far more dignified than my reaction would have been.  I am, after all, one half of the duo that, seeing a snake slither across a hiking trail in front of us, jumped, turned in mid-air, and ran smack into each other.

If I came across one in my own yard?  I'd be channeling Frank Constanza, declaring "That's it, we're moving - I will not tolerate infestation!"

[Browncoat]

Give me all the snakes!  Y'all can have the spiders.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Spiders can piss off (unless they're named Charlotte)! Snakes can piss off (unless they're Frank from DankPods)!!

[Bastet]

21 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Give me all the snakes!  Y'all can have the spiders.

Works for me.

[EtheltoTillie]

4 hours ago, Browncoat said:

The first thing to do with binoculars is make sure the eyepieces are the correct distance apart.  Your binoculars should be adjustable -- look through both sides and "fold" them until you only see one image.  One that's done, focus should be fairly easy if your set has a focus wheel in the middle.  I still sometimes turn it the wrong way, but it's quick enough to turn it back.  Steadiness I can't help with -- your best bet is to brace your arms on something solid.  There are other adjustments, but those are the basics.

I know all of this, but I'm still all thumbs as it were.  I can never get the right distance and so on. 

[Mondrianyone]

Do you think you'd do better with a monocular? (Just linked for cheapness and availability.)

[isalicat]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

Works for me.

I like snakes *and* spiders, so I'll take all of y'alls...and you can have all the buzzing flying creatures (bees, wasps, hornets, anything that flies and makes a sound while doing so) - they all terrify me. 😿

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 6/17/2024 at 7:00 AM, Ancaster said:

It's in the contract you sign when you move in -- it acknowledges that all retirement home food must be criticized. 

Mr. Outlier's mother lives in the independent living section of a retirement facility.  They have a dining room for residents, and we make a point to have lunch with her when shrimp and grits is on the menu.  It's fantastic.

 

On 6/17/2024 at 3:02 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

What is Cookout?  I never heard of it.  There seems to be a location in NYC.  Don't know if it is the same company.

Cookout isn't in NYC.

I like to go to regional chains when I'm traveling around, and went to Cookout two or three times.  I like the food okay, and Mr. Outlier's a big milkshake consumer, and it's relatively cheap.  But I noticed they were playing very obviously Christian music, which seemed strange but I figured it was a local thing (we were in Florence, Alabama).  But they also have bible verse citations on some of their products, à la In-N-Out.  Bah.

[EtheltoTillie]

15 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Do you think you'd do better with a monocular? (Just linked for cheapness and availability.)

Why is this not just called a telescope?  I suppose because it doesn't telescope physically in and out?  I have to say I'd never heard of this in the modern day.  It could be worth looking into (har har).  With the binoculars, I have trouble adjusting the eye angle and the focus.  By the time I get it right, the bird is gone. 

Speaking of telescopes, they were not just for Captain Bligh.  I watched the movie Jeanne du Barry the other day.  It's about Madame du Barry and Louis XV (played by Johnny Depp).  Since she had to remain hidden during the earlier parts of the movie, she would watch various palace festivities using a telescope from her window! 

Edited June 20 by EtheltoTillie

[Yeah No]

22 hours ago, Browncoat said:

The first thing to do with binoculars is make sure the eyepieces are the correct distance apart.  Your binoculars should be adjustable -- look through both sides and "fold" them until you only see one image.  One that's done, focus should be fairly easy if your set has a focus wheel in the middle.  I still sometimes turn it the wrong way, but it's quick enough to turn it back.  Steadiness I can't help with -- your best bet is to brace your arms on something solid.  There are other adjustments, but those are the basics.

I think part of the problem with me is that my father's binoculars were military issue and probably sized for the average man. I always felt that no matter how I adjusted them they were too far apart for my eyes. The other pair we had was smaller and fit me like a glove without much adjusting necessary. They may have been my mother's army binoculars but I don't remember. I think I still have them somewhere in a box.

Speaking of military issue, this reminded me that when I was in high school I often wore my mother's army field jacket, which back in the '70s was considered "too cool for school", LOL. It had sergeant stripes on it, pins and everything. She sewed over the patch with her maiden name one with my father's last name. I still have that, and if it wasn't for my HS boyfriend I wouldn't have a photo of me wearing it!

[shapeshifter]

17 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Speaking of military issue, this reminded me that when I was in high school I often wore my mother's army field jacket, which back in the '70s was considered "too cool for school", LOL. It had sergeant stripes on it, pins and everything. She sewed over the patch with her maiden name one with my father's last name. I still have that, and if it wasn't for my HS boyfriend I wouldn't have a photo of me wearing it!

Please post it❣️

[Yeah No]

17 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Please post it❣️

I would love to but all I have of it is the negative if you can believe that. After he took the photos he put them in a negative sleeve and gave them to me. I just saw it a few days ago when I was in a photo box finding a photo of my father to post on Facebook in honor of Father's Day. I should ask my husband to do something with those negatives as he's the photographer in the family. They're in black and white, BTW.

ETA:  Actually I may have already done that and they're on my other computer.  When I have time I'll go look for it.

Edited June 20 by Yeah No

[EtheltoTillie]

I gotta see that army jacket!  That really was the cool thing to have in the 70s, but a woman's jacket, wow.

Edited June 20 by EtheltoTillie

[Minivanessa]

I've been meaning to mention this. It's a small thing but something that might be useful to someone, someday.

After I replaced the old deadbolt and knob on my condo's front door (see above post, and thanks to everyone for such nice replies to it) - I had the deadbolt and knob assemblies to dispose of. All that metal is heavy.  But that stuff is not acceptable to put in mixed-use household recycling streams.

I figured that most of it would be of interest to scrap metal dealers. After a tiny bit of research, I grabbed the box I'd put it in, and stopped by the locksmith company I've done business with in the past. It's the company I'd have hired to install the new lock and lever if my DIY had failed. I asked them if they send their old lock assemblies etc. to be scrapped and if so would they add my stuff to theirs. 

Yep. He said that they have a couple of big barrels in the back where they toss the old stuff and discards like mine. When the barrels are full they go to a local scrap metal dealer and it all gets sorted out and melted down.  I gladly handed over my old stuff to be added to the load.

I didn't ask for any money. That stuff of mine, if a scrap dealer would have bought it, would have made me a buck (less than the cost of gas to drive to a scrap yard). I just hated the idea of it all going into a landfill vs having the metal be eventually reclaimed. BTW, I watched a YT video of a guy breaking down old household lock/knob assemblies to separate the brass and other components, which if I had the tools to do it, might have increased the value of my stuff at a scrapyard to - two or three bucks. That guy salvages those things in multiples so it makes sense for him.

Edited June 20 by Jeeves

[Mondrianyone]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

It could be worth looking into (har har). 

🤣

[Ohiopirate02]

On 6/18/2024 at 11:19 AM, Anela said:

 This reminds me of an Australian streamer who just got a job in North Carolina, back in March.  They’re trying to get him a visa, his girlfriend lives in Los Angeles, so they were both thrilled that he could be much closer to her.  He isn’t so happy about the food choices, though, because there aren’t many healthy options.  

Sorry, but this sounds like a load of crap with a side of elitism. It's so easy to make fun of the South and all of its unhealthy, fried food. I'm trying to figure out which city this streamer could have conceivably moved to in NC that does not have easy to obtain healthy food. He's probably living in the Greater Charlotte area or the Triangle or maybe the Triad, all three areas where healthy food is easy to get. Ditto for Asheville, Wilmington, Boone, and Greenville. I assume the same for Fayetteville, the only city in the top ten of NC population where I never go. 

[Mountainair]

14 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Sorry, but this sounds like a load of crap with a side of elitism. It's so easy to make fun of the South and all of its unhealthy, fried food. I'm trying to figure out which city this streamer could have conceivably moved to in NC that does not have easy to obtain healthy food. He's probably living in the Greater Charlotte area or the Triangle or maybe the Triad, all three areas where healthy food is easy to get. Ditto for Asheville, Wilmington, Boone, and Greenville. I assume the same for Fayetteville, the only city in the top ten of NC population where I never go. 

lol! FayetHell. Same. There aren’t many quick service healthy options but I assume that’s the case in most states. Sit down or to go restaurants are plentiful with tons of healthy options. I moved from the Eastern part of the state to Asheville 15 years ago and yes there are tons of BBQ joints there are even more lovely vegan and vegetable forward options here. 

[Ohiopirate02]

10 minutes ago, Mountainair said:

lol! FayetHell. Same. There aren’t many quick service healthy options but I assume that’s the case in most states. Sit down or to go restaurants are plentiful with tons of healthy options. I moved from the Eastern part of the state to Asheville 15 years ago and yes there are tons of BBQ joints there are even more lovely vegan and vegetable forward options here. 

I guess if this streamer did move to a town without a Food Lion, he would have a point. But, if he is still a streamer, he's not living in Ahoskie or Snow Hill or Trenton. Even Kenansville has a Subway and a Food Lion. My best guess is this Aussie streamer has hooked up with Mr. Beast which would mean he's in Greenville where healthy food is abundant. Greenville may not have a Whole Foods or whatever healthy chain this guy's LA based girlfriend is used to, so I guess all of the fast food is "unhealthy" to them.

[Absolom]

My public service reminder of the day is that vegan and organic do not equate to healthy.  There are plenty of vegan and organic junk foods and ultraprocessed foods that are just as harmful as the non-vegan or not organic ones.

[Dimity]

3 minutes ago, Absolom said:

My public service reminder of the day is that vegan and organic do not equate to healthy. 

And contrary to popular belief these food choices are not necessarily diet friendly.  My niece is vegan and is in a constant struggle with her weight and is annoyed by how many people assume she must be subsisting on lettuce and celery so how dare she gain weight!

[Anela]

58 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Sorry, but this sounds like a load of crap with a side of elitism. It's so easy to make fun of the South and all of its unhealthy, fried food. I'm trying to figure out which city this streamer could have conceivably moved to in NC that does not have easy to obtain healthy food. He's probably living in the Greater Charlotte area or the Triangle or maybe the Triad, all three areas where healthy food is easy to get. Ditto for Asheville, Wilmington, Boone, and Greenville. I assume the same for Fayetteville, the only city in the top ten of NC population where I never go. 

I don’t know.  I’ve never been there. If anyone wants to take it up with him, he’s Brodie, on twitch.  

Edited June 20 by Anela

[Quof]

15 minutes ago, Dimity said:

contrary to popular belief these food choices are not necessarily diet friendly

I got into an argument with an Instagram influencer who was promoting a cookie as "healthier", simply because it was gluten free.  

[Anela]

2 minutes ago, Quof said:

I got into an argument with an Instagram influencer who was promoting a cookie as "healthier", simply because it was gluten free.  

I once had a friend tell me that I should be drinking smoothies, not juice, because of fibre.  I couldn’t always tolerate the juice, because of my stomach issue that had me throwing up all the time.  Smoothies don’t always settle, and fibre can be an issue for me.  I just managed to eat a salad, just a little while ago, but it could still make me sick.  

[Dimity]

17 minutes ago, Quof said:

I got into an argument with an Instagram influencer who was promoting a cookie as "healthier", simply because it was gluten free.  

My sister has celiac and this is an argument she gets into all the time.  If you are avoiding gluten because you can't tolerate it that's one thing but avoiding it only because you think the alternatives are healthier usually just means you are spending more money on stuff than you have to.  

[ginger90]

49 minutes ago, Absolom said:

My public service reminder of the day is that vegan and organic do not equate to healthy.  There are plenty of vegan and organic junk foods and ultraprocessed foods that are just as harmful as the non-vegan or not organic ones.

Similar to the use of many “low fat” products.

Edited June 20 by ginger90

[Quof]

Snackwell cookies have entered the chat

 

https://rsbenedict.substack.com/p/healthy-junk-media-and-the-snackwell

[Browncoat]

7 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

With the binoculars, I have trouble adjusting the eye angle and the focus.  By the time I get it right, the bird is gone. 

A great tip I got was to keep my eye on the bird and raise the binoculars to my face.  Yes, sometimes the bird will still leave, but a lot of the time, they'll just hang around and flit from branch to branch in the same tree.

5 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I think part of the problem with me is that my father's binoculars were military issue and probably sized for the average man. I always felt that no matter how I adjusted them they were too far apart for my eyes.

That would definitely be a problem!  I got my most recent set at B&H in NYC -- at one point, I think we had about a dozen different sets out on the counter for me to try.  There was at least one that I picked up and immediately put back down, because I could tell it wasn't right for me.

1 hour ago, Mountainair said:

FayetHell.

We used to call it FayetteNam.

 

 

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

3 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I'm trying to figure out which city this streamer could have conceivably moved to in NC that does not have easy to obtain healthy food.

It was easy for me to find healthy food in NC because the hot dogs have cole slaw, which is a vegetable, on them.

[Ohiopirate02]

3 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

It was easy for me to find healthy food in NC because the hot dogs have cole slaw, which is a vegetable, on them.

And if you get the barbeque chicken instead of fried with slaw or green beans or brunswick stew...

[EtheltoTillie]

Wasn't Brunswick Stew originally made with squirrel or rabbit . . . .?  Eww.

I guess now they use chicken or pork. 

[annzeepark914]

6 hours ago, Browncoat said:

We used to call it FayetteNam.

 

 

 

Yup! I moved to Raleigh in 1976 & remember hearing "FayetteNam" for the first time. 

[ECM1231]

We're currently at our mountain vacation home, trying to beat the heat, but it's actually cooler at home (according to a weather app) than it is here.

After dinner we went to a nearby campground that has a general store and they allow non- guests to make purchases. There's a little window from which they sell ice cream, so we went to get some and sit by their manmade lake. My husband's extended family would gather there in the Fall for a reunion weekend.

Anyway, there's a little enclosure where 3 male peacocks reside. They sure make a racket! Well, the birds are allowed to roam freely and I started to get agitated noticing how close one was getting to me. My mobility is not great, so running away was not an option. Fortunately, he didn't approach so I didn't have to use my cane to shoo him away. 

Edited June 21 by ECM1231

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Anyway, there's a little enclosure where 3 male peacocks reside. They sure make a racket! Well, the birds are allowed to roam freely and I started to get agitated noticing how close one was getting to me. My mobility is not great, so running away was not an option. Fortunately, he didn't approach so I didn't have to use my cable to shoo him away. 

As an adult I've rarely spent money on eating out, and even less on vacations, but when my kids were young and I was still married, on Sundays in Siskiyou County California we often drove down Hoy Road, which cut through a peacock farm. My ex would stop the car long enough for the peacocks to wander over and spread their seemingly phosphorescent tail feathers. We never got out of the car. In the rural high mountain desert, the peacocks were quite exotic.

[fairffaxx]

I doubt that peacocks are dangerous to humans unless they perceive a threat.  If there are no baby peacocks around & you're just sitting there eating ice cream, I'm not even sure that the bird would be interested in your cone, much less in you.

 

[Mindthinkr]

I was judging a horse show once at a farm that had a peacock. It must have liked me as it followed me around and when the riders lined up at the end of the class the horses who weren’t from that farm got a bit nervous about the bird. Someone took a video of it as it looked funny if you were a spectator. More than once the Steward had to shoo it away. 

[Dimity]

I love the way real estate agents can turn a negative into a positive.  A house near me just went on the market and I checked the listing.  Under features the agent wrote "paved road".  Which shouldn't even be considered a feature really out here in the rich heartland of suburbia but the house is on  a busy  main road and near the turn off to the highway. But hey the street is paved so it's all good!

[Bastet]

I've seen posts on NextDoor from people in nearby neighborhoods, with photos of peacocks walking down the sidewalk, but I've never come across them on my walks.  I spent some time with the peacocks that roam the garden at Warwick Castle many years ago; the plumage is a beautiful sight up close in person.

[fairffaxx]

Clarissa Dickson Wright (one of the Two Fat Ladies on the TV cooking/travelogue show of the same name), wrote an autobiography in which she describes her encounter with a peacock.   She was staying at a home in rural England & heard a ruckus in the vegetable garden one night, which she thought must be a fox or raccoon or rabbit raiding the crops -- so she grabbed a shotgun & dispatched the critter, only to find that it was a peacock.  Rather than waste it, she roasted it for dinner the next night when she'd invited the neighbors to visit & was surprised to learn that their pet peacock had gone missing.  But the meal was great!