Twilight for the fishes, we say goodby to our great Clown Loach.

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Jim Thompson

That big owl on the hill, that I've posted pictures of, scares me a
bit.

He sat there and looked hungrily at the puppy,

You'll have to put up a big sign 'TANSTAAFL for OWLS'.

so I climbed up on the fireplace and waved my arms wildly at it.

He finally flew off.

So I sat back down at the umbrella table and continued sipping my wine.

A few minutes later he buzzed the deck so close I could feel the wind
of the flap of his wings on my face :-(

You are luck that he didn't leave a large present in your wine glass!

 

[Ian]

I get a very occasional "junk male"... love that phrase ;-)

But I NEVER see a Jehovah's Witness.

Must be about 30 years ago now... when I was young I would sleep late
on weekends... now I'm up at dawn.

Three female JW's show up at about 8AM on Sunday morning and ring the
door bell, waking me up.

I jump out of bed, thinking, "What the hell?"

Grab a towel and wrap around me (since I sleep in the nude), then
answer the door.

There they stand.

As soon as I see their pamphlets I say, "Get off my property!"

Though I say it again, they don't budge.

So I drop the towel.

Watch 'em run!

What fun ;-)

They must maintain a national list... I've never seen another
Jehovah's Witness, even though I haven't lived at the old address for
eleven years ;-)

...Jim Thompson

LMAO!

One of our "well out on the bell curve" bachelor engineers had
a couple of JW's visit him one evening. He had just settled down
with a glass of wine, and wasn't planning on doing anything, so he
invited them in. He had been reading a book on sects (no, the
religious sort), so he was all set.

They gave up after a couple of hours, made their excuses and left.
He said he did it for fun, and to help make sure his neighbours
weren't bothered ;-)

Regards
Ian

 

[Ian]

They can become dangerous. We have few owls but a family of turkey
vultures with 6ft wing spans. When we moved here they buzzed my wife
until one of them looked back, probably to see if he put a good scare
into her. I yelled at him, not to scold but to tell him to watch out.
Didn't work, he hit the TV antenna mast full bore. How embarrassing that
must have been for the bird. Tumbled to the ground but before I was up
at the driveway he took off again. No more buzzing since that event...

Regards, Joerg

Some years ago, we were having a project meeting in one
of the rooms with a window. I usually sit so I can while away
the time looking out.

There were a couple of pheasants making a tremendous racket
disputing their territory in the woodland outside. Finally, one of
them "lost", and flew off low and fast.

I sat there and watched as the bird flew straight at me, and
crashed into the window! Noone else had seen this, so they
all jumped pretty high - me, I was out of there to go and grab
the bird. It had broken it's neck, so I took it home. Very tasty.
The strange thing was, almost all the others were astonished
I did that, it grossed them out.

Regards
Ian

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 10:58:39 +0100, "Ian"

[snip]

One of our "well out on the bell curve" bachelor engineers had
a couple of JW's visit him one evening. He had just settled down
with a glass of wine, and wasn't planning on doing anything, so he
invited them in. He had been reading a book on sects (no, the
religious sort), so he was all set.

They gave up after a couple of hours, made their excuses and left.
He said he did it for fun, and to help make sure his neighbours
weren't bothered ;-)

Regards
Ian

I had a physics-major buddy at MIT who would invite the Bible-thumpers
in and debate them for hours.

Damned if he didn't fail out of MIT and then became a Baptist circuit
preacher in Texas.

Then he became a lawyer, and now is a law professor at (IIRC)
University of Houston.

When you think about it, doesn't that profession trail make absolute
sense ?

...Jim Thompson

 

[Bob Stephens]

LMAO!

One of our "well out on the bell curve" bachelor engineers had
a couple of JW's visit him one evening. He had just settled down
with a glass of wine, and wasn't planning on doing anything, so he
invited them in. He had been reading a book on sects (no, the
religious sort), so he was all set.

They gave up after a couple of hours, made their excuses and left.
He said he did it for fun, and to help make sure his neighbours
weren't bothered ;-)

Regards
Ian

They must keep some sort of list. Or perhaps they make 'hobo' chalk
marks on the sidewalks of unrepentant sinners. We used to be plagued by
JW's constantly until about ten years ago. After a particularly festive
Saturday night, I was awakened by a fresh - faced little strumpet
leaning on my doorbell at 0730. She asked me something like 'Do you know
the three parts of God's plan for our lives?" I responded: "You bet!
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll. Which one shall we start with toots?" She
got a priceless deer in the headlights look and scurried back out to the
street. Ever since I see them bugging the neighbors on both sides, but
giving my house a wide berth. You've got to break them in the way you're
gonna run 'em.


Bob

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 10:21:17 -0700, Bob Stephens

[snip]

They must keep some sort of list. Or perhaps they make 'hobo' chalk
marks on the sidewalks of unrepentant sinners. We used to be plagued by
JW's constantly until about ten years ago. After a particularly festive
Saturday night, I was awakened by a fresh - faced little strumpet
leaning on my doorbell at 0730. She asked me something like 'Do you know
the three parts of God's plan for our lives?" I responded: "You bet!
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll. Which one shall we start with toots?" She
got a priceless deer in the headlights look and scurried back out to the
street. Ever since I see them bugging the neighbors on both sides, but
giving my house a wide berth. You've got to break them in the way you're
gonna run 'em.


Bob

Love it!

I'll add that line to my repertoire... the Baptists don't seem to want
to take NO for an answer.

I guess the only caution is to make sure the "strumpet" is of age, so
you can't get arrested ;-)

...Jim Thompson

 

[Rich The Newsgropup Wacko]

Hello John,


It still happens. Not that we feed the wild foxes around here anything but
one family returns every year to give birth and provide their kits a few
months of a safe home. They must feel secure and welcome around us.

They even show off their newborn to us. The vixen often nurses next to the
garage. I can start the car and drive away without them getting into a
panic. As long as it's our cars, not with any others. In the evenings the
adults take turns resting on a rock about 20ft from where we sit,
listening to our conversations and then slowly dozing off.

Once, while I was sitting on a rock at Solana Beach, a sea lion or seal
came gaflumping up the beach, gave me the eye as if to say, "hey, that
was supposed to be my spot", and after a moment or so of she and I eying
each other, with me sort of asking, "What? Is this your spot?" she
gaflumped a few feet to the side and climbed up on the rocks to a spot
very near where I was sitting, as if to say, "Well, OK, this is good
enough, I guess (Idiot! Humph.)." ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

That big owl on the hill, that I've posted pictures of, scares me a bit.

He sat there and looked hungrily at the puppy, so I climbed up on the
fireplace and waved my arms wildly at it.

He finally flew off.

So I sat back down at the umbrella table and continued sipping my wine.

A few minutes later he buzzed the deck so close I could feel the wind of
the flap of his wings on my face :-(

In the daytime? That's pretty aggressive for an owl.

I've heard that they love eyes.

Good Luck!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Jim Thompson


You'll have to put up a big sign 'TANSTAAFL for OWLS'.

Just get a bigger owl:
http://www.gombergkites.com/LM-OWL.JPG

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Ken Taylor]

Once, while I was sitting on a rock at Solana Beach, a sea lion or seal
came gaflumping up the beach, gave me the eye as if to say, "hey, that
was supposed to be my spot", and after a moment or so of she and I eying
each other, with me sort of asking, "What? Is this your spot?" she
gaflumped a few feet to the side and climbed up on the rocks to a spot
very near where I was sitting, as if to say, "Well, OK, this is good
enough, I guess (Idiot! Humph.)." ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

My folks live in a small seaside town where they've been feeding some native
birds (kookaburras, magpies and parakeets) for a few years. Now the latest
generation are quite happy to hop in to their garage to have a nosey around,
but they still avoid other humans. Mum and dad moved a couple of years ago,
just a few blocks but they wondered what would happen to the birds.

Took 'em a few weeks but the birds found where the feed-bin had shifted to!

Ken

 

[Winfield Hill]

Ken Taylor wrote...

My folks live in a small seaside town where they've been feeding
some native birds (kookaburras, magpies and parakeets) ...

EXCUSE ME, doesn't anyone care anymore about me and my fishes?

 

[Joerg]

Hello Winfield,

EXCUSE ME, doesn't anyone care anymore about me and my fishes?

Well, yes. How is the second Clown Loach doing? Does he still go into
hiding a lot?

People often say animals don't show much of our behavior. But they do
mourn similar to us.

Regards, Joerg

 

[keith]

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 11:25:07 +0100, Ian wrote:

Some years ago, we were having a project meeting in one
of the rooms with a window. I usually sit so I can while away
the time looking out.

There were a couple of pheasants making a tremendous racket
disputing their territory in the woodland outside. Finally, one of
them "lost", and flew off low and fast.

I sat there and watched as the bird flew straight at me, and
crashed into the window! Noone else had seen this, so they
all jumped pretty high - me, I was out of there to go and grab
the bird. It had broken it's neck, so I took it home. Very tasty.
The strange thing was, almost all the others were astonished
I did that, it grossed them out.

Some years ago I was awakend to hammering on the house. I searched all
around and found nothing, until I opened the livingroom curtains. The
Cedar Waxwings had been "sampling" our cherry tree and were *plastered*.
They'd get spooked and fly en-mass (*hundreds*) into the windows, then
"stager" back to the bar for another round. This went on for a couple of
hours.

 

[keith]

LMAO!

One of our "well out on the bell curve" bachelor engineers had
a couple of JW's visit him one evening. He had just settled down
with a glass of wine, and wasn't planning on doing anything, so he
invited them in. He had been reading a book on sects (no, the
religious sort), so he was all set.

Did he offer them a glass?

They gave up after a couple of hours, made their excuses and left.
He said he did it for fun, and to help make sure his neighbours
weren't bothered ;-)

I have a friend (a no >50YO Vietnam-era marine recon type) who stepped out
of the shower to see what thee commotion was (they kept knocking unitl he
answered). As soon as he figured out who they were he let the towel
"slip" and continued to ask what exactly what it was they wanted. They
didn't come back.

I just tell them that I gave at the office.

 

[Roger Johansson]

Ken Taylor wrote...

EXCUSE ME, doesn't anyone care anymore about me and my fishes?

This newsgroup reminds me of a short film I saw lately.
In a positive way

It was a US military documentation of a small troup of soldiers who had
been given LSD and sent out on a simple field exercise mission.

They were to navigate themselves from one side of a grass field
to the other side. They never made it.

This film was made many years ago, when they conducted some tests to
find out the possibilities of acid in war. The film has been secret
until
recently.

They failed to understand the map, turned it upside down and back
again, could not agree on the direction, got more confused and
disorganised.

The efficiency decreased gradually, as the soldiers started to giggle,
took off their uniforms, tried to feed the birds, lay down laughing in
the grass.

 

[Rich Grise]

Ken Taylor wrote...

EXCUSE ME, doesn't anyone care anymore about me and my fishes?

Yes, I've read a couple of kindly posts, and I do care about your fishes,
and I care about you and your opinions and stuff. I've been refraining
from posting the last few days about your loss of your friend, because
my inner imp wanted to turn it into some kind of competition with the
news of that dead guy in Italy. If we feel like the heat's off, what I
have been restraining myself from saying is, "At least this is about the
loss of someone that somebody cares about."

You did write a very moving piece about her, too, and I didn't know how
to say thanks for that.

On a lighter note, I'm sorely tempted to go back to that other branch
library and xerox the inner backflap of your dust jacket, and post it
with a caption, "Frighten your children!" ;-)

All my best,
Rich

 

[Rich The Newsgropup Wacko]

This newsgroup reminds me of a short film I saw lately. In a positive way

It was a US military documentation of a small troup of soldiers who had
been given LSD and sent out on a simple field exercise mission.
They were to navigate themselves from one side of a grass field to the
other side. They never made it.
This film was made many years ago, when they conducted some tests to find
out the possibilities of acid in war. The film has been secret until
recently.

They failed to understand the map, turned it upside down and back again,
could not agree on the direction, got more confused and disorganised.

The efficiency decreased gradually, as the soldiers started to giggle,
took off their uniforms, tried to feed the birds, lay down laughing in the
grass.

This is the primary reason that governments hate drugs with such passion:

Drugs cause peace.

Peace on Drugs!

 

[Ban]

Yes, I've read a couple of kindly posts, and I do care about your
fishes, and I care about you and your opinions and stuff. I've been
refraining from posting the last few days about your loss of your
friend, because my inner imp wanted to turn it into some kind of
competition with the news of that dead guy in Italy. If we feel like
the heat's off, what I have been restraining myself from saying is,
"At least this is about the loss of someone that somebody cares
about."

Yeah, this time has its own flavour, we are reminded of death, not only
because of the Pope or Wins fish, but also of Rainier, Prince of Monaco, who
died yesterday(only 10 mls away). Guy you should see what is happening here,
transport is booked out, millions are rushing to Rome or Monte Carlo, the TV
doesn't follow the schedule any more, too many "breaking news".
I on the other hand had a pleasent surprise this morning, my ADSL line shut
down for a moment, and when I reestablished it, the displayed connection
speed had gone up from 800kb/s to 1.5Mb/s. Well I tried it and the download
is indeed up to 150kB double from before. My provider didn't even mention
this, but with all the money I paid for my flat rate during the past 4years,
he must have done well.

 

[Roger Johansson]

This is the primary reason that governments hate drugs with such
passion:

Drugs cause peace.

Peace on Drugs!

There is an even bigger problem buried here.
(behind the official war on drugs)

We live in a culture which is strongly against lazyness and against
taking things lightly.

There are strong moral traditions about working hard, being very
serious, and living in the fear of God, whatever that means

The creationist culture is using social repression and manipulation to
uphold the old traditions, the holy matrimony, the eternal love, the
holy spirit and the holy wrath, gender roles, mobbing, violence, fear,
strong convictions, etc..

This systems requires a lot of training of the mind, creating strong
will power, social dominance, and stiff minds.


http://humanist.250free.com/

 

[Pooh Bear]

There is an even bigger problem buried here.
(behind the official war on drugs)

We live in a culture which is strongly against lazyness and against
taking things lightly.

There are strong moral traditions about working hard, being very
serious, and living in the fear of God, whatever that means

The creationist culture is using social repression and manipulation to
uphold the old traditions, the holy matrimony, the eternal love, the
holy spirit and the holy wrath, gender roles, mobbing, violence, fear,
strong convictions, etc..

This systems requires a lot of training of the mind, creating strong
will power, social dominance, and stiff minds.

Blimey !

I thought you guys were pretty laid back in Denmark. What a guilt trip ! I
must have been mistaken.


Graham