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Questions for 7 - 11 December
I've got very behind with these. The weather's been miserable when it's meant to be summer, everything's been cancelled, the probably 5% of the 10% no-vaxxers society are demonstrating and calling everyone else Nazis, friends have been abused by no-vaxxers to the extent they didn't want to go to work, and I'm so depressed and pissed off with life in general that I started looking at properties in places with better weather. Anyway.
8. What is an unusual item you or somebody you know owns?
I'm blanking on this. I suppose three Roman coins I picked up in Israel and had authenticated at the British museum.
9. Does it bother you if someone practically bathes in perfume?
Hell, yes! I sometimes used to feel very ill on the bus from strong perfume. Once I was sprayed in a department store before I could object and I spent all afternoon repeatedly trying to get the horrible smell off my wrist. Someone obviously liked the stuff though or they wouldn't sell it. It's very personal, depending on one's skin; what works for one person might not for another. I have some Dior that was horrible on a friend but nice on me; not that I wear perfume more than a handful of times a year.
10. Have you ever won a trophy for something?
Not as such, but several prizes or certificates for science, piano, or artwork.
7. What is something you are sceptical about?
Just who is fomenting all the upheavals in society (see above). The so-called freedom movement is clearly backed by Americans, going by the language - the shithead's government certainly backed the protests against the gun laws being tightened - yeah, morons, we don't have a constitution or a right to bear arms. I'm not sure why the current US would want to destabilise our society, so who's really backing all this viciousness and why? Now there's one for you, all you conspiracy theorists!
8. What is an unusual item you or somebody you know owns?
I'm blanking on this. I suppose three Roman coins I picked up in Israel and had authenticated at the British museum.
9. Does it bother you if someone practically bathes in perfume?
Hell, yes! I sometimes used to feel very ill on the bus from strong perfume. Once I was sprayed in a department store before I could object and I spent all afternoon repeatedly trying to get the horrible smell off my wrist. Someone obviously liked the stuff though or they wouldn't sell it. It's very personal, depending on one's skin; what works for one person might not for another. I have some Dior that was horrible on a friend but nice on me; not that I wear perfume more than a handful of times a year.
10. Have you ever won a trophy for something?
Not as such, but several prizes or certificates for science, piano, or artwork.
11. What is your favourite yogurt topping?
Nothing! My favourite yogurt is plain Greek-style and I like it the way it is. Apparently you can buy yogurt toppings separately in the US and UK? Not here, but a lot of yogurt comes with added fruit on top which is too sweet for me.
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It's already been found that ~80% of the faceborg posts by anti-vaxxers are actually made by a Russian bot-farm run by an organisation with ties to a section of the russian Mafia that has long been suspected to an arm of the Russian intelligence services, used to control Russia's criminal underground. (their version of the Terra Nostra.)
It's long been Putin's Modus Operandi to foment dissent and destabilize governments globally in order to create opportunities for Russia to advance it's power. And with his Ukraine adventure kicking off, I dare say he'd prefer it if everyone else's governments were distracted by domestic problems, so he can waltz in with minimal interference or consequences to his first step to re-establishing Greater Russia or even the Former Soviet Empire. Or at least nab a couple more warm water sea ports so the Russian Navy isn't out of action for four months of the year.
The Trumpite Americans are just the dumb-ass front for Russian intelligence, basically.
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Ditto here... way too much American media imports I think. Idiots forgot we're not the 51st State... yet.
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Yup, ditto... when Scotland was pushing for independence after Brexit and it looked like the UK wouldn't be so United any more, there was a fairly vocal lot that wanted to petition to join America as an overseas territory at a minimum and a full blown State for preference. Not to mention do away with the monarchy, or relegate it in a purely ceremonial fashion, so we could be a republic.
They actually wanted Trump in charge...
I think most people's reaction to the idea was semi-hysterical derisive laughter, at least until they realised these people were being serious.
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A friend says we should go to the demos and shout that the birds aren't real, that all the gulls plaguing us around town are government drones. They'd probably believe it though. Fighting lunacy with lunacy: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/technology/birds-arent-real-gen-z-misinformation.html
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Yeah... don't do that. They actually will believe it. We had a nutter in town just the other day ranting about that, among other things.
I was just a tiny bit evil though. I told him that I had a friend who worked at GCHQ (true) and he'd told me that not only were the birds government drones...but some of them were armed and would take out anyone that looked like they were getting too close to the truth.
He went away after that, rapidly.
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I like your icon. We have a black cat, Sebastian, who is the sweetest guy. All the black cats I've known have been affectionate and full of personality. One (Greg's sister's) used to invite all the neighbourhood cats to visit; there'd be 17 of them in the garden and on the fence.
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We have a void kitty as well, by the name of Monkey. His former owners called him MJ, after Michael Jackson. We couldn't get him to recognise a completely new name, so we just changed it a bit. Besides, he's a right little monkey at times!
One of our prior black cats went by the name of Merlin... he had a gang that would rock up to the house and ask if he was playing out, sorta. The local dogs used to avoid our street for fear of them and him. He had this weird way of fighting that involved spinning around like a small tornado on one paw and flailing madly with the other three, occasionally alternating paws to change direction. It resembled Taz the tasmanian devil from the old loony tunes cartoons... did about as much destruction too!
This was.. oh.. almost twenty years ago, and Merlin has long since passed over the rainbow bridge. But there are still cats around here that use that fighting style to great effect. He taught his gang, or they copied him, and others have copied them and so on..
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Sebastian's a bit of a pacifist, but previous cats have defended their territory with tenacity, often scaring off dogs. Seb would probably either try to make friends.
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People underestimate how much of cat behaviour is learnt, and how if you have stable population of cats in an area, they develop a society with it's own cultural rules and behaviours passed down through generations. Heck, they'll even develop a regional accent if left to their own devices.
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We've always encouraged ours to talk to us.. as much as is possible with a vocal apparatus that's ill-suited to human sounds. the most talkative of ours has a vocabulary of around 100 words (distinct sounds that mimic to some degree human words) and is able to string together five or six into a coherent sentence. Especially if food is involved somehow.
They've figured out how to open two different sorts of doors [round knobs and lever type handles] and strategies to reach them. They can open clip type lids on the treat boxes. (which are now kept out of reach!) We've even got a vocal mimic of a new kitten who's worked out that the adult cats are allowed out at night if they meow at the interior kitchen door...and copies their specific meow. She hasn't quite realised that although she can fool us into opening the inner door, we can see her and won't open the back door to let her out... but she is only seven months old.
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Well, I had Jules (after Jules Verne) come rushing in today, and let fly with long rush of..something... but I clearly got "Iiiird!" (bird) and "Daaad now!" So I told him "Ok, show me then" and followed him.
He'd caught a bird, and was Very Proud. (well, he is only 8 months)
It's all in the encouragement really. Once they know they can talk to you, and communication is possible albeit a bit awkward, then they will talk.
It might not be more than scribble, but they'll try.
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Oh.. and sometimes it's very clear... Like Calidor's first experience of snow. He went skitty in it for awhile, then came in with a very loud; "Brrrrr 'olld!" (Brr cold)
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It relates, they have to be able to understand what the noises you make mean, before they can copy them. It's not just blind parroting after all.
Actually, I think that's probably why ours do have an active vocab, because we talk to them without baby-talk and teach them. Like this
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Ours certainly recognise "tuna" and "yogurt" and several other phrases. We don't use baby talk either (yuck), but talk to them like people. So far they don't reply with other than mrrps, squeaks, and meows. I joke to Greg that I ask them what they've been doing and what they want and where they lost their soccer balls etc, but they don't tell me. :-P
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Huh.. I never thought what they are doing was that special. I mean, all it takes is listening... although not everyone can get it until you point it out then it's a case of "Ohhh.. yeah!".
Hm. I'll have to see if I can get some of their talk on video. Although, they're cats. If they think I want them to, they probably won't do it.
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Oh yeah, I've a few like that...or I would have if I didn't delete them. (some of that sort I've kept because as imperfect as they are, they're all I've got.)
But, because cats are nothing if not living exceptions to every rule, then there was Amy, who would come running if I got my camera out, and who'd pose even if I wasn't taking a photo of her, and would quickly make the photo hers regardless.
One thing is for sure... we don't have normal cats, or rather, we don't have cats who are normal for the feline standard of normal. But then we do encourage them to be as much them as they can be, so that's hardly surprising.
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There have been some weird protests; I saw on the TV there were Trump flags at one of them and I said What?? This is NZ, nothing to do with Trump. 0_o
I have a metal weather-house / barometer I made at metalwork class when I was 11, I had to weld the pieces together myself (with goggles on). That was wild.
I have oily skin so found out the hard way that I can only have floral orientals, anything else smells bad on me. :(
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I don't understand why anyone here would support the shithead. They should be glad to live somewhere decent, but they obviously lack both intelligence and common sense.
How very cool! Does it have a barometer in it, or does it use seaweed or something else that changes with the weather?
Opium is lovely on me, but I rarely bother with it. Otherwise I have pure rose essence Greg brought back from Bulgaria which is probably fairly inoffensive. I knew someone who used vanilla essence and that was nice.
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It has a guitar string attached to the objects that say if it's fine or wet; it expands and contracts depending on the moisture in the air. :)
The rose essence sounds nice.
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