Thread Drift

toad question: I would like to place a pie tin of beer (very cheap generic beer) in the front yard to kill (in a humanely pleasantly drunk way) the slugs.

Will this harm toads? I haven't seen any toads but would like to attract toads to the area. Do toads like to drink or will they be put off by cheap beer.

Many places paint the cattle grates, much cheaper, don't have to run drainage under the road and must be just as effective. Very confusing to cyclists, I have been on rides where "gra....oh never mind it's painted" has been called out.

I'm not a gardening expert, and don't play one on TV. I learned from my Mom that it depends on what you want.

Deadheading the plant may get you a second round of blooms because the plant thinks "wait, wait I forgot to bloom, better do that now". Plants are as dumb as cows :::runs away now from cow fans :::::

I know I should snip the deadheads with special deadhead snipping pruners approved by the Queen of Englands cottage gardeners, if I'm out there, see deadheading to do ... I just gently do that by hand, just don't damage the stems.

Since me folks always did the same I figure it's ok.

All I know about roses is I'm supposed to prune back in February and feed them a lot

On the other hand if you want the plant to put energy into root and other growth leave it alone.

I kept buying nursey plants based on their blooms. OOoOH this one's pretty. But they were putting all their energy into the blooms and the plants never got established.

I don't know if this is correct but now even if the whole nursery stock is in bloom... I look for the ones without flowers.

Much more better plant survival rate now.

As for the rootstock, grafting plants I really don't know about but if you want I can ask my Mom, bet she'd know if it's a good idea or not.

Off to lunch with Mom....

Trek- Oh, no polarizing here. Don't worry. FTR, I actually don't have a number for Knot's sig line controversy. Also, I don't think the beer would hurt the toads in your yard. I'm thinking it'd taste like hoppy, rotten grain water to them and they would be far more interested in a fresher supply.

Brina- I agree. There are so many children out there who need parents who will love them. Just because you *can* make your own, doesn't mean... wait wait, wait. I said that in another thread. Back to my "no polarizing here" statement... :rolleyes: I think one of the things that can be most prohibitive of adoption is just not knowing the genes going into this child, whether or not drug use was a factor during the pregnancy, etc. when you make your own, you at least have a decent idea of genetic faults/abnormalities/traits present (mom and dad are both bipolar, Dad's diabetic and....) (not me, but you know where I'm going) it'd be a very scary unknown.

I think I *saw* Knot's sig at one point, somewhere, and didn't think it was that offensive...

**Adjusting moderator hat** Let's put the controversy to rest. Knot's sig was never complained about. There was a thread that the admins thought would get out of hand, and so it was shut down.

**throws hat in the air**

I just ran into the most amazingly stupid woman at Target. I was checking out, a man and his little boy were in front of me. The boy has a Thomas the Tank Engine Lego set; I asked if it was for him. He nodded solemnly, and I told him I thought that was very cool.

Dad uses his charge card, signs the little screen thing and waits. The checker begins scanning my stuff; then hands me the bag. I point to the gentleman and say "He's waiting for his receipt" She gives me this vacant look, then hands him the receipt.

I step up to the POS thing, and she stands there looking at me. (At this point, I'm thinking cows look more intelligent) I say "I need to pay for my items". She points the the man and little boy leaving the store "Oh, you're not with him?" Uh, no, perhaps you should stop him before he gets home and realizes he just paid $70 for a lego set? She stands there. ***moo*** So I run after him to let him know what happened.

PITA getting everything straightened out. OH! And she tells her supervisor it's our fault - we were talking to each other! So remember, no conversations with 4 year old boys while waiting to check out at Target.

What did Seattle put into the municipal water system?!?!

I'm just so damm happy! It's unnatural! I feel like the whole world has opened up to me, all the possibilities I thought I'd never have again, just the richest most beautiful treasure box in the universe!

I feel alive out to the very tips of my fingers and toes! I love everything! I feel such an incredible sense of FREEDOM. Freedom, and also an odd sense of power.

I feel like there is NOTHING wrong with me! Like I'm actually a pretty nifty person!

Even if I end up single for a looooooong time, I'm not terrified of being single. Seems pretty peachy to me right now! I'm liking it!

Maybe someone slipped something funny into my coffee this morning...

OMG Snap, that's so pathetic. I loved the scary bridge pictures, by the way.

nice frog, kelowna.

so I did my last ever marathon this morning. it wasn't even my slowest marathon, but I didn't run much at all, so it was pretty slow. very well supported event. I wore a shirt with ribbons w/the names of my honorees (including SK's dad, snap's friend Bob and Julie ann) - I will put a pic up and do a report when the fire in my feet goes out. my local honoree friend met me at the finish w/a dozen roses. since he'd been the one who inspired me to did it, that was pretty cool. ("honoree" is team in training speak for an honored leukemia patient you are doing an event for.)

I can't believe I missed controversy while I was out doing a stupid marathon!!!

Yeah, but you did it MP! I was wondering what kind of day you were having.

V.

Whatever it is, I want some. =) Glad things are feeling good for you, Knot!
I take it things are satisfactorily 'over' between you and PITA?
Ah, that liberated 'single' feeling- I remember it so well... living on beer and pizza and as much sake as I could sneak from xdh without him noticing... being obnoxiously 'single' around my taken friends, flirting shamelessly and knowing I was somethin' to look at...

Then finding DGF and being all tingly with excitement, too... on the weekends I managed to visit and all through the week when all I could do was email. Ah! *grin*

Y'know... she's getting home in half an hour. I'm gonna call her.

Why do you say it's your last, MP? Could it be because (ssshhhh) running isn't FUN?

Snap- I am speechless.

thanks guys!

it was a l o n g day, V. start in the dark, finish in daylight (well, ok, at noon). just like a lot of my doubles (not the noon part!).

nanci - running stinks. I know you like trail running, and I can see doing that still. but pounding asphalt for 26 miles.... urgh!!

snapdragen

don't talk to strangers, it confuses the cows :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Trek420

snapdragen

don't talk to strangers, it confuses the cows :p

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OMG, I do not know what I was expecting, but coffee went everywhere.

Knot- YAY, I am so happy for you. Freedom is a wonderful feeling.

Snap-this just confirms my theory that shopping online is better. BTW, cute moderator hat.

MP-your last marathon? Maybe you will change your mind next year? I do agree cross country running is much better than asphalt.

(Talk amongst yourselves. I need a little time to vent were children cannot hear mom's pity party. No answers are needed, I am just talking to myself.)
I want to bike and I want to swim. Augh. At least I can run, right? So what if I need to tell my mind to move my left side, I am out there, right? It will get better, it could get worse, but why dwell. Now stop feeling sorry for your sorry butt and take a shower.

Resume TD....

Now now, Trek... be kind to the cows.
There are varying degrees of 'dumb' in the animal kingdom...
[edited because no one needs to see my animal pet peeves]
Oh, yeah, Trek, there's a vast, rich world of "stupid" out there, and it's not just limited to cows.
Aren't we lucky?
moo.

Bikingmomof3 "I do agree cross country running is much better than asphalt."

stupid question: are there cross country marathons? or are they all on asphalt?

keep telling your mind to move your left side. You will get better. You're just creating new neural pathways. You're an athlete, this is just another part of training.

has no-one posted anything on TD for 5 hours!?!? Whoa. Spooky.

I know. :( My thought exactly, but I jabber enough on all the other threads I didn't want to be the *first* person saying anything in awhile. It's so *dull* here tonight...

Good grief! I go cheer at the marathon and then make out for hours with J. and you people go berserk! :p

I will answer the first question: How do I stand it when women make poor choices around childbearing? I stay as "in the moment" as I possibly can. I try to help women feel proud of the bodies, their babies, and make the best choices they can. And I have the luxury of transferring someone out of the midwifery service (to the docs) if she's acting in a way that's dangerous for herself or her baby.

As an infertile midwife, I made my peace some years ago with the fact that there's no "justice" in who conceives, only biology. Sometimes pregnancy and birth can be a positive life-transforming experience for a woman/family, and I try to help that happen. The rest I do my best to accept. I do have moments when I walk out of a patient's room and put my head in my hands. I know that many women were abused as children and feel ambivalent/detached/hateful about their own bodies. I try to help them be as connected to their babies as I can. But I realize that I'm just a blip on the radar screen of their lives.

People get pregnant. Life goes on. I work hard to help women find safe, effective contraception so they can *choose* when they want to have babies, if at all.

MP, looking forward to the marathon report! :D L.

Aw, Lise. NICE job in that post. Beautifully said.

Ho ho. Glad you were making out.

I started reading TD over again from the very beginning.

Damm funny.

it takes a freakin' long time, Knot. I was at 4 days, then lost my place over the weekend and gave up. That was when TD was around 168 pages. =P

Oh, thank God, the doc was right. 48 mile tandem ride today, no problem with broken toe pain because soles are stiff and you don't use that part of your foot anyway. What a relief! Improved my disposition considerably, as Mr. Salsa would be the first to attest. (went bathroom fixture shopping yesterday in the walking boot; got fixture ambitions WAY above my station; got very tired and grumpy to boot. Urg, please pardon an unpardonable pun).

BMomof3 (I write this a different way every time)--The med side effects seem to be diminishing? If your BP stays at level X for Y amount of time, can you then bike and swim? Did they set clear criteria for you to track? I am looking forward to your first post after you get back to those two things, and I am sure you will. Also, I like Trek420's post about building new neural pathways, just another part of training. Think that's right.

MP. Yuh. Running was never my thing. Amazing that you did a marathon. You are a formidable athlete, I think.

Hiya, Quill! Nice to see you here.

That whole thing about animals reacting to shadows and painted lines is fascinating. Our cat Nina MUST sit/sleep in a visually defined place, whether it's on a sheet of paper, or a thin square of fabric, or whatever. I expect there's some pretty cool research on animal visual perception. Amazing stuff.

Kit, thought your comments on childrearing were eminently sane.

Did PR really, really do that on the bus? I am not at all a delicate flower, but I find that DISGUSTING.

Am guessing Chickwhorips did NOT get burned at the stake by the villagers last night.

Nanci. Nice century report--congrats. Is this part of the brevet series? What triggers hibernation for Fagalo in Florida? Is there enough noticeable weather change to do that? If he comes inside, does that hold off hibernation?

Haha, Knotted! Pretty fabulous day out there today, wasn't it? Especially after that elephant got lifted off your brow a few days ago...

Knot- the Trek fan club is on page 212, and a brief summary of the first chunk of TD is on 218. :D

Salsa- "Eminently sane." Hm. Thanks ...I think. :D Glad you could go out for a spin. (I'll pardon your pun if you pardon mine)

Lise- ooooh making out. :D I feel like we're in highschool. *giggle! titter!* No pics, tho, thanks. :)

Well Knotted, I've been working my way through TD steadily for weeks now and I'm not even close to being done. Pheww! This whole now-ex GF thing has been hammering at you for a long time. I'm happy for you that you finally did what you needed to. No matter what the circumstances, it's always hard. BTW, very nice to see you so overjoyed today! I think it's sunk in, has it? Here's hoping you find a nice young woman (when you're ready ;) ) who is good enough to deserve someone as wonderful as you.

I'm staying away from the child raising issue. No kids (love kids, just don't have any) so officially, I have no opinion.

Snap - my dog did the same thing. I had to pick her up and carry her across. This is the same dog who would hang out the window or off the side of the boat until the point where she'd all but fall out but still wouldn't walk across a bridge. :confused: Gotta love them tho.

Trek420 - glad the table is ok. Furniture isn't cheap. :D BTW, Did ya put the beer in the yard? I'll be over with a straw. I'm a cheap date so one plate oughta do it.

BMo3 - hope it's not a cold. I know you'll be back on the bike soon. Are you allowed to ride on a trainer? Keep after that left side. It'll come around and remember what it's supposed to be doing. Give it time.

Nanci - did ya wash the hand yet? :eek:

Sorry if I missed anyone! Take care and be safe.

-X.

Wha? How did I miss Lise making out? So, I take it he's pretty good since you said you were making out for hours. At least someone is getting some face time around here! :D I may have to live vicariously through you.

Yes I washed it!! I'd been washing and disinfecting it and wiping tables and stuff with cleaners all day!! This morning it smells like pancake syrup. I don't even have any in the house...The other one matches, fortunately.

Yes it gets cold here! The forecast, which I don't quite believe, is highs in the low 70s all week, and lows in the low 40s. It was 90 yesterday. I think the diminishing hours of daylight and the cold and the dwindling food supply trigger hibernation. If we bring him in, he stays awake, though we could probably get him to hibernate inside by keeping him cool and withdrawing food, too. But I wouldn't want to. If he comes in, he lives in the bathtub on a rug with a box to hide in.

Lise - Thanks for the reply, sounds like a positive way to go about a job as challenging and rewarding as yours.

Lise, you're so smart!

Salsa, you should see the research on pigeon visual perception.

From Wikepedia:

In a famous article in 1995, Watanabe, Sakamoto and Wakita described an experiment which showed that pigeons can be trained to discriminate between paintings by Picasso and Monet.

The birds were first trained on a limited set of paintings: when the shown painting was a Picasso, the pigeon was able to obtain food by repeated pecking; when it was a Monet, pecking had no effect. After a while, the pigeons would only peck when shown Picasso paintings. They were then able to generalize, and correctly discriminate between paintings of the two painters not previously shown, and even between cubist and impressionist paintings (cubism and impressionism being the two stylistic schools Picasso and Monet belong to). When the Monet paintings were shown upside down, the pigeons were not able to properly categorize anymore; showing the cubist works upside down did not have such an effect.

In 1995, the authors won the humorous Ig Nobel Prize in psychology for this work.

In a later paper, Watanabe showed that if pigeons and human college students undergo the same training, their performance in distinguishing between Van Gogh and Chagall paintings is comparable.

Similar experiments had shown earlier that pigeons can be trained to distinguish between photos showing human beings and those that do not, and between photos showing trees and those that do not, among many other examples.

In all these cases, discrimination is quite easy for humans, even though the classes are so complex that no simple distinguishing algorithm or rule can be specified. It has therefore been argued that pigeons are able to form "concepts" or "categories" similar to humans, but that interpretation is controversial. Nevertheless, the experiments remain important and often cited examples in cognitive science.

Kitsune06 "it takes a freakin' long time, Knot. I was at 4 days, then lost my place over the weekend and gave up. That was when TD was around 168 pages. =P"

I'm not doin' it, I'm just going to wait for "TE TD, the movie"

I think you guys are impressive, trying to read so far back into this thread.
I can't do it.

I was, however on the Marinoni website. They make beautiful steel bikes.
a guy here in my building has one. he complained that he didn't have enough gears though (that was the only thing he didn't like about his bike)


I am so happy to hear that Salsa is riding again and wish BMof4 could too.
Speaking of a lot of kids, I just heard that Nancy Pelosi had 6 kids in 5 years!

Nanci, when I was a teen, i could smell the smell of onions on my hands for days after my step mother asked me to cut an onion up and put it on a slab of meat to roast in the oven.. I didn't like so i wouldn't do the chore.. (what a brat I was)
I never smelled maple syrup on my hands after washing though.

KY, I am so glad that you are feeling better. Life is good, even though we're going to get rained on this week.

about babies, Lise, you are right, it's just biology. If we try to make sense of it, we're going to have headaches. the only requirement for having babies is enough health to bring it to term. That's how a species continues. We as human beings have tried to interject our morals, religion and opinions upon the process, and we just can't. Evil people can produce babies, as well as nuns (who say DARN!) and grandmothers who say OOPS and little girls who are still whining about having to do their homework. And some gals with the best intellects and instincts can't.
I always wonder about the little souls who ask to be born into the arms of a mom who is drug addled. I knew a kid like that.
There was this young woman with a heroin problem. she had already lost 1/2 an arm to tracks... She had this baby boy. (she was clean at the time) he was a beautiful child, and when he was very very small, i had an opportunity to watch him (and her) she was a careless jerky kind of person, but this little boy was sensitive and very aware. he was about 4-5 months old. He followed her every cue..Having had 2 babies myself, I was startled at his acuity and the way he was tuned in to his mom.
She had a nice boyfriend, someone with plenty of sense and clean time..
Fast forward. Mom is dead. Boyfriend adopted the boy, the boy is doing very very well. She was really a terrible mom, but the boyfriend was a great dad.
The kid is in highschool now, taking college classes.
ohwell, no more storytelling for now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Trek420

I'm not doin' it, I'm just going to wait for "TE TD, the movie"

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Honey, you and I were there from the very beginning. We don't HAVE to read it again, but it really is pretty fun!

Mimi- did you ever try, when cutting onions, sticking a small slice on the top of your head- then they don't make you cry? Works for me!

I can also smell stuff in my pee- onions, coffee, asparagus- anything strong flavored.

My mom never let me do anything! No cooking, no laundry, no dish washing...I got to pick up apples in the yard for 10 cents, and mow the yard, starting in sixth grade, for $1.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nanci

Mimi- did you ever try, when cutting onions, sticking a small slice on the top of your head- then they don't make you cry? Works for me!

I can also smell stuff in my pee- onions, coffee, asparagus- anything strong flavored.

My mom never let me do anything! No cooking, no laundry, no dish washing...I got to pick up apples in the yard for 10 cents, and mow the yard, starting in sixth grade, for $1.

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No, i never put onions on my head, then my hair would smell. I don't mind my eyes tearing up a little...
I am the same way, i can smell all sorts of stuff. Heck, I can smell when my husband isn't drinking enough water on a bike ride because his urine is too strong!
I am well endowed with nose. I have never had a cold that took away my sense of smell. ever. (and i have had some riproaring colds!)

your mom never LET you do anything? what a strange concept!!

Off to work, just checking in quick.
BTW, anyone know why I can't edit my posts? The edit button is there, I click it, do my edit and then it bumps me totally out of TE and makes me log in again. I'm doing something wrong, I just don't know what. :confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xrayted

Off to work, just checking in quick.
BTW, anyone know why I can't edit my posts? The edit button is there, I click it, do my edit and then it bumps me totally out of TE and makes me log in again. I'm doing something wrong, I just don't know what. :confused:

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it could be your browser. try a different browser?
(like firefox?)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bikingmomof3

.
Fredwina- As much as I enjoyed Hugh Laurie in the Black Adder series, I preferred him as Bertie Wooster.

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Oh No! another BBC series to check out! Would have checked in earlier , but spent yesterday fighting off a sinus infection. I'm back at the looney bin know as Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services. Oh joy!

We share a hill (sloping north) with our neighbor to the north. Most of it is on our property line. People tend to be pretty chainsaw-happy due to the lake views.

About two weeks ago I noticed some surveying of the north property line. We ignored it (shouldn't have) and subsequently listened to chainsaws and grading equipment all weekend. :mad: So neighbor didn't keep her word to notify us of future plans. Problem is the this hill is sensitive watershed area that is also maintaining the integrity of our east slope. We talk to fiance of owner who (silly him) is initially dismissive of us ("what do you GIRLS want, I'm paying these guys $20 an hour"...). I ask questions with the words permit, licensed contractor, site survey in them. The dufus gets sheepish and admits that the only "expert" opinion came from a landscaping company. :rolleyes: Also lies about trees cut.

So the hill is getting chopped at the bottom. Rainy season is upon us. I call the city who will inspect tomorrow. No permit, no site eval, no consideration.

Thanks for letting me ven.....Quill

Sorry about the hill, Quill. I had some major beaver destruction at my old place- no way to make them stop!!

I am so smart! SMRT!

I bought BF's Christmas present today. There's this (giant, super-fancy, has everything) health club that he has been pining away for for the last four years. He can't afford it. No other HC measures up. This is the one that _all_ his coworkers and all our friends belong to. I have no interest in HCs. I'm just not into it. But I thought I would stop and ask questions at lunch, since my employer is doing open enrollment right now, and that's one of the things you can sign up for. Oops, you have to be married to have a family membership. I am so disappointed. But wait- I can buy him a gift membership, and don't even have to waste money on a membership for me! I can get it payroll deducted bimonthly, costing roughly one hour of pay per check. After two years, the annual cost decreases by 1/3! They can never raise the rate.

I am so excited I am giving it to him when he gets home. I could have waited till Christmas, but what if he needs the pool, or the ice pool, or whatever before/after IM FL.

Mimi- I'd be so happy when I'd eat dinner at a friend's, and "get to" wash the dishes! Maybe she was like me, just wanted things done her way, and the easiest way to accomplish that is do it yourself.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nanci

Sorry about the hill, Quill. I had some major beaver destruction at my old place- no way to make them stop!!


Mimi- I'd be so happy when I'd eat dinner at a friend's, and "get to" wash the dishes! Maybe she was like me, just wanted things done her way, and the easiest way to accomplish that is do it yourself.

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Nanci
please come to my house. We will feed you good food AND pies if you will wash dishes and do house chores for us.
My kids always "got to" help us but they never WANT To!

you can bring as many lizards as you want. and pigeons too. We are a pet friendly zone.
(and that's why my son's girlfriend's doctor has BANNED her from our house!)

i found out that my dad is now back at home. no more hospitals or meds. seems that his alzheimer's meds were giving him hallucinations and the other meds were giving him problems with his memory. go figure.

so he's off drugs and at home. seems to make sense 99% of the time. though while my stepmum is at school teaching he is at a day care center, but is able to spend the rest of the time at home with her.

:D :) :D :) :D

aren't you a little young to have a dad with alzheimers's?? Aren't you in your 20s or early 30s?

I'm sorry to hear that. That's what took my own father out.
but i'm glad that once again the patient did better without the drugs!

my parents had me late. my sister is 40 and my brother is now 44.