General Discussion, Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Stella

IcelandAlftavatn

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196 Responses to General Discussion, Wednesday, May 18, 2016

  1. SwissMike (formerly ZurichMike)'s avatar ZurichMike says:
    May 18, 2016 at 12:04 am

    That looks like a photo from the movie set of The Lord of the RIngs!

    Liked by 5 people

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  2. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    May 18, 2016 at 12:11 am

    I’m going to quadruple my knowledge of Iceland before you’re done with this series, stella.

    Liked by 6 people

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  3. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    May 18, 2016 at 12:14 am

    Wow, good thing we have the Iran Deal in place.

    Iranian Navy Commander: If Americans “make even slightest mistake, their naval vessels will be sunk in the Persian Gulf”

    https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/05/iranian-navy-commander-if-americans-make-even-slightest-mistake-their-naval-vessels-will-be-sunk-in-persian-gulf

    Liked by 5 people

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    • MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
      May 18, 2016 at 12:16 am

      Kerry’s comments on this ought to be good.

      Liked by 4 people

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    • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
      May 18, 2016 at 12:35 am

      I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over this, one of the first reports I hsd to deal with when I moved from the European war plan to the Mideast war plan was the Iranians saying the same thing. Later on, after I got attached to a Navy command, I found this was a regular theme with them.
      The Iranians have some strong naval bases in the Gulf, especially around the Straits where theybexpect to block oil ships coming and hoing but our Navy’s had the job of keeping the Gulf open for decades and are on top of the Iranian threat in every way. Iran’s got a lot of bluster, it’s their schtick, but have you actually successfully take on a US warship underway in the last almost 40 years?

      Liked by 6 people

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      • MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
        May 18, 2016 at 12:43 am

        One MIGHT reasonably expect some diminishing of aggressive rhetoric after forking over billions to them.

        But I guess I’m out-of-date in my thinking.

        Liked by 2 people

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        • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
          May 18, 2016 at 1:02 am

          Governments finction on a public and private levels. Pre-Obama the US would let Iran run its mouth on just about anything, it’s what Iran did that counted. Iran blustered about attacking US ships but never actually attacked one, the bluster’s tolerated to keep them from having to actually do something to keep their position in the Mideast mosh pit. It’s refusing to rise to the bait of a schoolyard bully while keeping a watchful eye on him.

          Liked by 2 people

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  4. MaryfromMarin's avatar MaryfromMarin says:
    May 18, 2016 at 12:47 am

    Excellent quote:

    “If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past.” ~ Spinoza

    Liked by 6 people

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  5. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    May 18, 2016 at 6:49 am

    Another excellent quote:

    “Hello, Benji speaking. Yeah, your going to have to call back. The reception is bad here and there’s a weird echo. I can’t understand you at all. I’m hanging up now. Buh-Bye.”

    — Benjamin Franklin (Just arriving in France as America’s first ambassador 1776)

    Liked by 4 people

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  6. doodahdaze's avatar Howie says:
    May 18, 2016 at 7:20 am

    Go Green Bernie People, Go Green once the democrat establishment crushes Bernie. The media blackout on Jill is planned. green is your natural habitat! Get off the democrat establishment plantation the blacks are trapped in.
    http://www.jill2016.com/plan

    Liked by 2 people

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  7. WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
    May 18, 2016 at 8:04 am

    Mornin’ kids!

    Liked by 6 people

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  8. SwissMike (formerly ZurichMike)'s avatar ZurichMike says:
    May 18, 2016 at 8:43 am

    Is there some kind of breakfast boycott going on?

    Liked by 3 people

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  9. Stella's avatar stella says:
    May 18, 2016 at 9:17 am

    Somebody next door posted some Charlie Daniels, so I was inspired:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnepPZChA5U

    Liked by 7 people

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  10. Stella's avatar stella says:
    May 18, 2016 at 9:49 am

    Good morning! It’s a beautiful Spring day here today – sun shining, temp is 57 right now, and not a cloud to be seen. This favorite Robert Browning poem seems right –

    The year’s at the spring,
    And day’s at the morn;
    Morning’s at seven;
    The hill-side’s dew-pearled;
    The lark’s on the wing;
    The snail’s on the thorn;
    God’s in his Heaven—
    All’s right with the world!

    As you probably all know, Trump won Oregon, and accrued 17 or 18 more delegates. I think his total is now 1,160, which means he needs a minimum of 77 more delegates before the convention to insure the nomination. With the California and New Jersey primaries still ahead, that shouldn’t be a problem. He will also pick up some delegates in Washington and New Mexico for sure.

    Have a great day!

    Liked by 8 people

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  11. lovely's avatar lovely says:
    May 18, 2016 at 10:17 am

    We are down to 5 cygnets. The poppa swan’s neck feathers are puffed up because my mom’s dog ran onto the deck and startled him.

    Liked by 7 people

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    • WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
      May 18, 2016 at 11:47 am

      Awwwww…… any idea what happened to the 6th one?

      Liked by 3 people

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      • lovely's avatar lovely says:
        May 18, 2016 at 12:43 pm

        We never know.

        Generally the lake folks think that snapping turtles get them or they were sickly?. I don’t think people would be able to snatch them, the parents would rip your arm off, plus I don’t think any of the people on the lake would even try to get one.

        Liked by 2 people

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        • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
          May 18, 2016 at 2:48 pm

          Some large fish like bass, pike, that sort, will nail them too. Until they were dealt with we had gar and they are notorious for nailing swimming birds. Fish and Game folks told me that only about 40% of hatchlings survive to their first birthday as it is so I guess anything better’s a plus.
          Right now my ‘thing’ is a pair of peacocks that have taken up residence in the woods about 4 miles from our place. I’ve seen them on and off for nearly two years now and I’m curious to see if they’ll form a flock.

          Liked by 1 person

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          • lovely's avatar lovely says:
            May 18, 2016 at 3:10 pm

            Peacocks? How neat! I’ve only seen them in zoos.

            I think the largest brood of swans we’ve had survive is 5 out of 5. They normally start with between 5 -7 and end up with 2. I love when they ride on the parents back.

            We do have bass, pike and gar fish. I don’t think we have many gar fish as I haven’t seen one in years. The lake is a spring lake and we have mostly blue gills, perch and sunfish.

            Liked by 1 person

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            • michellc's avatar michellc says:
              May 18, 2016 at 10:21 pm

              I recently sold my last pair of peacocks, I kind of miss them, but they can be noisy and although they say you can train them to stay around, mine would fly away to never return if we didn’t keep them in a fly pen. We raised a couple that we hatched in the incubator and thought they’d stay around without having to keep them in a pen, but as soon as they learned to fly they kept flying farther and farther away until one day they didn’t come back that night.
              I found them very hard to raise though.

              Liked by 1 person

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    • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
      May 18, 2016 at 12:41 pm

      Do you have geese on the lake?

      Liked by 2 people

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      • lovely's avatar lovely says:
        May 18, 2016 at 12:44 pm

        Not as their “home” there was a large brood there yesterday and there are often some on the lake or shore but I don’t think the swans let them nest there.

        Liked by 2 people

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        • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
          May 18, 2016 at 12:51 pm

          Just curious, they generally don’t get along on the same lake when they have hatchlings. Geese will go after my wood duck ducklings if the get the chance, wondering if they bothered the cygnets.

          Liked by 3 people

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          • lovely's avatar lovely says:
            May 18, 2016 at 12:59 pm

            I have never seen the geese go after the swans, the swans are generally very aggressive toward the geese and keep them far away from the cygnets. There are a couple of swamps very nearby and the geese are often there. That is where I would guess they nest.

            Here is a better picture of the cygnets and the dad hissing a warning at my mom’s dog. This is the first year that they have shown any aggression toward the dog. The dog is oblivious (old, almost completely deaf and doesn’t see too well) and didn’t even notice the swans but they did not like her being on the deck so maybe they had a bad experience with a dog this year.

            Liked by 2 people

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            • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
              May 18, 2016 at 1:34 pm

              We have an old tape of the geese at a city park chasing my grandson around and we were thinking of getting a few Chinese geese as guards. We see wild Canadians (the geese, not the tourists) attacking the turtles on stumps to get perches and, as I said, ain’t unusual to see them going after the ducks.

              Liked by 3 people

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  12. Stella's avatar stella says:
    May 18, 2016 at 10:19 am

    Nate Silver ….

    How I Acted Like A Pundit And Screwed Up On Donald Trump

    http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-i-acted-like-a-pundit-and-screwed-up-on-donald-trump/

    Liked by 4 people

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    • Menagerie's avatar Menagerie says:
      May 18, 2016 at 11:59 am

      It took him quite some time to say this bluntly, although I have to give him credit for the title.

      Without having a model, I found, I was subject to a lot of the same biases as the pundits I usually criticize. In particular, I got anchored on my initial forecast and was slow to update my priors in the face of new data. And I found myself selectively interpreting the evidence and engaging in some lazy reasoning.

      Overall, he held himself accountable with decent explanations that I did not take to be excuses, kind of surprisingly. I still don’t like him, but that is completely not relevant. And probably why he himself had to write the article, about allowing his dislike of someone causing him to really screw his facts up.

      Liked by 5 people

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  13. WeeWeed's avatar WeeWeed says:
    May 18, 2016 at 1:01 pm

    Happy Birthday George! 😀

    Liked by 5 people

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  14. nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
    May 18, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    Hiring Hurdle: Finding Workers Who Can Pass a Drug Test

    …
    Jackie Calmes writes in the NYT that all over the country, employers say they see a disturbing downside of tighter labor markets as they try to rebuild from the worst recession since the Depression: the struggle to find workers who can pass a pre-employment drug test.
    Data suggests employers’ difficulties reflect an increase in the use of drugs, especially marijuana — employers’ main gripe — and also heroin and other opioid drugs much in the news. Data on the scope of the problem is sketchy because figures on job applicants who test positive for drugs miss the many people who simply skip tests they cannot pass. But Quest Diagnostics, which has compiled employer-testing data since 1988, documented a 10% increase in one year in the percentage of American workers who tested positive for illicit drugs — up to 4.7 percent in 2014 from 4.3 percent in 2013.

    Liked by 3 people

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    • czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
      May 18, 2016 at 3:13 pm

      Well, we have that opiate-addiction solution Imposted yesterday, effective but probaly not socially acceptable. I like how the Hollyork crowd has made drug use a sacrament while demonizing gun ownership, having an alcohol or drug induced buzz has been made as acceptable brushing after every meal – probably more so.
      I know we had a hard time for years on the military side with initially enlisting drug-free recruits and keeping the troops clean on duty. The US’s drug habit funds untold numbers of people in Latin and South America, has funded various Communist governments and revolutionary groups in South America, Europe and Asia while costing us billions in lost productivity and policing activities. It’s also enriched businesses from banks on down the line and let’s not forget the elected and appointed officials that dip their beaks into the profits.
      In line with my draconian opiate program I’d suggest that folks who can’t get or keep a job because they test positive for drugs not receive any public assistance until they test free for an extended period of time. I can’t see financing some schlub’s illegal activities when there are people out there who really need the aid.

      Liked by 4 people

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    • Menagerie's avatar Menagerie says:
      May 18, 2016 at 5:20 pm

      Try looking for someone who has a registerable IQ AND can pass a drug test. And will be at work on time AND understand that their phone doesn’t come to work with them. Go ahead. I dare you.

      And just give up on not having very noticeable tattoos and piercings. Not gonna happen. All you can shoot for is maybe not on the face, and hopefully not those gawdawful crap thingies in the ears. Personally, I’d prefer a headhunter with a bone is his nose than those danged things.

      I just accepted a part time job, and I think a big reason that I was hired was that they don’t (praise God!) test for Jack Daniels, although I woulda told them to KMA if so, I was dressed appropriately, and I could answer interview questions without feeling the need to insert a single “like”, “um”, or “ya know.” Overall, I see older workers fairing well against younger ones in jobs that deal with the public. How us older people fare on drug tests I can’t say.

      Liked by 5 people

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      • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
        May 18, 2016 at 5:36 pm

        I had a job once.

        Liked by 6 people

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      • nyetneetot's avatar nyetneetot says:
        May 18, 2016 at 6:47 pm

        Even if I wanted to hire anyone, the regulations in my city make that an insane direction to go. I would lose more money in mandatory benefits then I could reasonably bill for.

        Liked by 4 people

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      • lovely's avatar lovely says:
        May 18, 2016 at 6:49 pm

        Personally, I’d prefer a headhunter with a bone is his nose than those danged things.

        Ugh! I cannot stand gauges! I saw a guy and thought he had a skin disease, the reality was that he at one point had huge gauges, took them out and his ears looked like Goofy if Goofy had mange.

        🙈

        Liked by 4 people

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      • michellc's avatar michellc says:
        May 18, 2016 at 10:38 pm

        The sad thing is about 10 years ago we told kids they wouldn’t be able to get a job looking like a freak and they proved us wrong because I see them everywhere. However, even in department stores and grocery stores I’m starting to see more older, normal looking people working. I think people are getting tired of the freaks and are realizing they’ll get more reliability and less complaints when they hire older folks.

        Liked by 3 people

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        • auscitizenmom's avatar auscitizenmom says:
          May 18, 2016 at 10:52 pm

          I have to laugh when I hear some doofus on the TV say that ONLY kids out of high school work at Walmart. Almost without exception in this area it is middle aged to very old who do the work there.

          Liked by 2 people

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          • michellc's avatar michellc says:
            May 19, 2016 at 12:01 am

            I know of a lot of older folks who work at WalMart, we have a cashier at ours that is in her late 70’s. I don’t know how she stands there all day, my feet would be killing me, but she says she’ll keep on working until she can’t get out of bed because she can’t afford to live on just SS.

            Liked by 2 people

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  15. czarowniczy's avatar czarowniczy says:
    May 18, 2016 at 3:33 pm

    HEY! How come no one here notified us that yesterday was ‘International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia? I gotta find out by seeing pix of stalwart protestors moncing aroundvthe White House; no commentbfrom the POtuS, he was apparently closeted with members of his staff.
    Come on folks, we’re falling behind in our obligation to not only ride the crest but surf the wave of biversity…diversity.

    Liked by 5 people

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  16. Pam's avatar Pam says:
    May 18, 2016 at 6:31 pm

    Hi everyone! I had no idea. And look who else I see…Mary and Aus and Wee and Menage and Nyet, Lovely (hope I didn’t miss anyone). I want to do a happy dance…. but I’m probably still in moderation.

    Liked by 6 people

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  17. lovely's avatar lovely says:
    May 18, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    According to Drudge, Trump brings up the rape allegations against Bill Clinton in an interview with Hannity tonight.

    Liked by 2 people

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  18. Pam's avatar Pam says:
    May 18, 2016 at 10:47 pm

    Night all. I’ve got to go watch an episode of TURN, then try to go to sleep. But I’ll be back. Have a good evening.

    Liked by 6 people

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  19. texan59's avatar texan59 says:
    May 18, 2016 at 10:53 pm

    Another made-up hate crime. No charges filed against the liar though. 👿

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/university-of-iowa-student-lied-about-violent-hate-crime/ar-BBtcVsm?li=BBnb7Kz

    Liked by 3 people

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